Britons are known for sharp wit and cynicism. We often decry cynicism as an extreme of distrust or unbelief (and rightly so), but today I want to think about misplaced hope and faith, which we leave unchallenged, if we're not careful.
Politics is a prime example of this. If we are honest with ourselves, those of us who care deeply about politics have a kind of faith invested in the ideologies and political candidates we support. The unspoken words in our hearts run something like this: 'If only we could get X into power / If only we could change the constitution, then this country/the world would get better.' This is the dream, to bring about a golden age of prosperity and contentment.
Looking at things from this angle, the reader will not be surprised at the fact that many writers have compared Christians and Marxists. Both dream of a better world and devote a substantial part of their lives and hopes to bringing it about. This much may be obvious to most, but I want to include others in this circle, from vibrant eco-warriors to seemingly restrained conservatives. All of these people are characterized by intense faith and hope, whether they realize it or not; but these groups invest their faith in different things.
Ultimately, there is a divide between the Christians and the others. Christians place their faith in God, a God who has revealed Himself and invited humanity to return to Him. The others have ultimately placed their faith in man, believing Man can solve his own problems. But when it comes to creating the perfect society, man's track record is against him. Of course, this doesn't stop the dreamers; they keep saying, 'Next time will be different!'
Now let me qualify what I have said. This post is not intended to discourage passion to change the world for the better. Far from it - people should aim to help their neighbours and to be more caring and involved. But we need to think about where history is headed and what Man is really like. Dream all you like, but nothing you can do will make Obama or Cameron or Farage or Miliband into the Messiah. There is only one answer God has given for humanity's woes, and His name is Jesus.
Something to think about...
God bless.
Wednesday 25 September 2013
Saturday 21 September 2013
Culture of Violence
My friends know that I am a keen gamer (though not nearly as keen as the pros). In recent months I have been pondering the effect of violent games upon the psyche. I do not think that they can force anyone into committing acts of violence. It seems to me that cases of game-related violence tend to come from people who are already unhinged in some way and/or have played the games to excess (e.g. a thousand times). Most casual gamers are unlikely to go out and shoot or stab people.
That being said, I am concerned about the effect of games on our sense of justice/revenge and our self-definition. Regarding the first point, vendettas and private assassination contracts and acts of passion seem to be quite common in games, whereas the formal proceedings of a court seem to appear rarely. (An excellent exception appears in Knights of the Old Republic, however, where the player is given various options for influencing a wookie judge.)
Regarding the second point, cultures or individuals that define themselves as warriors struggle with a number of disadvantages their stance creates. Firstly, war is not a desired end-state of humanity. People dream of an age of peace when war will be no more. Those who define themselves by war are effectively limiting themselves - they have no part in the future of humanity. Furthermore, the human aging-process limits us, even as strategists planning campaigns. Secondly, war is not always justified; if you are so obsessed with fighting that you look for occasions to fight, then something has gone very wrong. Thirdly, war is not a creative process. It is the reconstruction after war has ceased that employs man's creative talents. Don't get me wrong - I know many of man's greatest scientific and technological discoveries have been fueled by war, but their short-term aims have been to control or destroy the enemy, not to create something that improves people's lives. The improvement of people's lives is largely a task of people at peace.
So, where does this leave us? Well, I think it leaves us wanting more. I don't intend to stop playing (at least not in the short-term), but I am reconsidering what I want out of games. A chance to be more creative, to solve problems - this is beginning to hold more appeal than the repetitive hack 'n' slash, shoot 'em up experience. Still, an outlet for rage is useful...the wheel turns.
God bless.
That being said, I am concerned about the effect of games on our sense of justice/revenge and our self-definition. Regarding the first point, vendettas and private assassination contracts and acts of passion seem to be quite common in games, whereas the formal proceedings of a court seem to appear rarely. (An excellent exception appears in Knights of the Old Republic, however, where the player is given various options for influencing a wookie judge.)
Regarding the second point, cultures or individuals that define themselves as warriors struggle with a number of disadvantages their stance creates. Firstly, war is not a desired end-state of humanity. People dream of an age of peace when war will be no more. Those who define themselves by war are effectively limiting themselves - they have no part in the future of humanity. Furthermore, the human aging-process limits us, even as strategists planning campaigns. Secondly, war is not always justified; if you are so obsessed with fighting that you look for occasions to fight, then something has gone very wrong. Thirdly, war is not a creative process. It is the reconstruction after war has ceased that employs man's creative talents. Don't get me wrong - I know many of man's greatest scientific and technological discoveries have been fueled by war, but their short-term aims have been to control or destroy the enemy, not to create something that improves people's lives. The improvement of people's lives is largely a task of people at peace.
So, where does this leave us? Well, I think it leaves us wanting more. I don't intend to stop playing (at least not in the short-term), but I am reconsidering what I want out of games. A chance to be more creative, to solve problems - this is beginning to hold more appeal than the repetitive hack 'n' slash, shoot 'em up experience. Still, an outlet for rage is useful...the wheel turns.
God bless.
Thursday 12 September 2013
Authority
The Book of Revelation describes Jesus Christ as 'Lord of lords and King of kings' (Revelation 17:14). This is a Hebrew way of expressing a superlative; it means Jesus is the supreme King. With our tradition of democracy, these titles may come as something of a shock to Western readers.
A good starting point is to consider the king's role as judge in the ancient world. A society needs laws and courts in order to function. Often the king served as the supreme judge, the final court of appeal; his ruling was final and provided stability. In human history we have had a number of corrupt judges and kings; nevertheless, the court system has provided order and safety and has eased, if not relieved, the human need for justice.
Jesus will return to judge the living and the dead. Whereas human judges have failed in giving justice, He will succeed. His judgement is just: being God, He knows all of the relevant information and has a perfect sense of justice.
Jesus says at John 5: 25-30 (NKJV), 'Most assuredly, I say to you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who hear will live. For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself, and has given Him authority to execute judgment also, because He is the Son of Man. Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come forth—those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation. I can of Myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me.'
Notice why Jesus has been granted authority to judge humanity - 'because He is the Son of Man'. In other words, because He Himself is human. Jesus has authority to judge us as King of kings because He became human - He knows exactly how things are from our side of the justice problem.
But what about the king's role as supreme military commander? Jesus is the Supreme Commander of Heaven's armies. The buck stops with Him. Unlike earth's wars, however, God's wars are fought for the right reasons and against the right foes. The warfare of the angels and Christians is against spiritual forces of wickedness (Ephesians 6:10-13). Satan means 'enemy' or 'adversary' in Hebrew, as does his title in Greek, Diabolos, from which we get our word 'Devil' (compare French 'Diable'). Satan is the enemy of God, the enemy of humanity, and the enemy of justice. It is against Satan's forces that Christ and His army wage war; Christ's aim is to save people from darkness and to bring them into His Kingdom of love and light. When Christ returns as King of kings on His white horse, coming as the great commander of Heaven's armies, He comes to overthrow Satan's evil kingdom and his puppet-ruler, the Antichrist. Understand that the Antichrist is a wicked ruler who has been persecuting Christians and waging war on earth; his overthrow is just.
Lastly, there is the king's role as leader of the nation, his authority absolute in all things. This perhaps is the hardest for us Western Christians to accept. Free will is a major topic in Western theology: we discuss it with relation to love and salvation. Here it is relevant to obedience. True obedience is given willingly, not compelled by superior force, and this is one of the reasons why Jesus truly is King of kings. He doesn't force Christians to be obedient to Him by using His godly power to make us do things. Jesus asks us and we have the right to say no. We give Him our obedience truly when we do so out of love and reverence for who He is. Jesus has earned our love; John says, 'We love Him because He first loved us.' (1 John 4:19, NKJV.) How much better it is to be King of the Willing than to be King of the Compelled!
Psalm 22:3 (NKJV) says, 'But You are holy, enthroned in the praises of Israel.' God has always been King and will always be King. But we enthrone Him in hearts when we truly worship Him in spirit and truth. We think of kings as people who have everything. What can we give to Jesus, by whom all things were made? We can give Him our love.
God bless.
A good starting point is to consider the king's role as judge in the ancient world. A society needs laws and courts in order to function. Often the king served as the supreme judge, the final court of appeal; his ruling was final and provided stability. In human history we have had a number of corrupt judges and kings; nevertheless, the court system has provided order and safety and has eased, if not relieved, the human need for justice.
Jesus will return to judge the living and the dead. Whereas human judges have failed in giving justice, He will succeed. His judgement is just: being God, He knows all of the relevant information and has a perfect sense of justice.
Jesus says at John 5: 25-30 (NKJV), 'Most assuredly, I say to you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who hear will live. For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself, and has given Him authority to execute judgment also, because He is the Son of Man. Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come forth—those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation. I can of Myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me.'
Notice why Jesus has been granted authority to judge humanity - 'because He is the Son of Man'. In other words, because He Himself is human. Jesus has authority to judge us as King of kings because He became human - He knows exactly how things are from our side of the justice problem.
But what about the king's role as supreme military commander? Jesus is the Supreme Commander of Heaven's armies. The buck stops with Him. Unlike earth's wars, however, God's wars are fought for the right reasons and against the right foes. The warfare of the angels and Christians is against spiritual forces of wickedness (Ephesians 6:10-13). Satan means 'enemy' or 'adversary' in Hebrew, as does his title in Greek, Diabolos, from which we get our word 'Devil' (compare French 'Diable'). Satan is the enemy of God, the enemy of humanity, and the enemy of justice. It is against Satan's forces that Christ and His army wage war; Christ's aim is to save people from darkness and to bring them into His Kingdom of love and light. When Christ returns as King of kings on His white horse, coming as the great commander of Heaven's armies, He comes to overthrow Satan's evil kingdom and his puppet-ruler, the Antichrist. Understand that the Antichrist is a wicked ruler who has been persecuting Christians and waging war on earth; his overthrow is just.
Lastly, there is the king's role as leader of the nation, his authority absolute in all things. This perhaps is the hardest for us Western Christians to accept. Free will is a major topic in Western theology: we discuss it with relation to love and salvation. Here it is relevant to obedience. True obedience is given willingly, not compelled by superior force, and this is one of the reasons why Jesus truly is King of kings. He doesn't force Christians to be obedient to Him by using His godly power to make us do things. Jesus asks us and we have the right to say no. We give Him our obedience truly when we do so out of love and reverence for who He is. Jesus has earned our love; John says, 'We love Him because He first loved us.' (1 John 4:19, NKJV.) How much better it is to be King of the Willing than to be King of the Compelled!
Psalm 22:3 (NKJV) says, 'But You are holy, enthroned in the praises of Israel.' God has always been King and will always be King. But we enthrone Him in hearts when we truly worship Him in spirit and truth. We think of kings as people who have everything. What can we give to Jesus, by whom all things were made? We can give Him our love.
God bless.
Tuesday 3 September 2013
Difficulties in Revelation
Some weeks ago I led two Bible studies, one on Daniel and one on Revelation, which are closely-related books. Many people find Revelation a difficult book to understand because of the symbolic language it uses. While I am by no means an expert, I have spent a lot of time studying Revelation, so I thought I'd use this post to give some tips for any who might be struggling with it.
1) Understand how symbolism and metaphor work. Many people get lost because they say that Revelation is 'just imagery' and stop there as if images don't mean anything. Metaphors consist of two parts: the image, and what the image represents. For example, the Beast from the Sea in Revelation 13 is not a literal beast, but it does represent a literal empire and its wicked ruler who will persecute God's saints on earth. The Beast is symbolic, but the empire, ruler, and persecution are literal. A good preparation for this sort of task is to read Jesus' parables in the Gospels. They work on a similar principle.
2) Use the interpretations that are given to you in the book itself. So many get scared off Revelation because they hear of crazy theories that don't come to pass and aren't founded on the book itself. If you read Revelation carefully, you will find it tells you what many of the images mean. For example, Revelation 12:9 tells the reader that the Red Dragon represents Satan. The Dragon is the image; Satan, a real angelic person, is the literal truth behind the image.
3) Understand that Revelation is both timeless and time-specific. This book speaks to all generations of Christians, who have, to various degrees, suffered persecution and seen the wickedness of fallen humanity and Satan manifested on this earth. There have been many Antichrist-like figures in history: Antiochus Epiphanes and Hitler are prime examples. At the same time there is one man who is THE Antichrist, a figure who will appear later in history not long before Jesus returns to the earth.
4) Use cross-references in a good study Bible to find the Old Testament passages that are being quoted or alluded to in the verse you're reading. Revelation is very closely connected to the Old Testament, and many of its passages become much clearer once one has read the relevant Old Testament verses. For example, the 1260 days, 42 months, 3.5 years mentioned in Revelation all refer to a single period of time found in Daniel 9:27 (where it is half of a 'Week'), and Daniel 12:11.
5) Keep the 'big picture' in mind and simplify where necessary so that you have a basic overview of the book. A basic timeline could go as follows:
Persecution > Jesus Returns > Restoration
Keeping this basic structure in mind will help you to locate where you are in the sequence when you're reading a particular passage and will also indicate the tone of the passage.
Much more could be said, and I may return to this in a later post, but hopefully this is sufficient for an introductory approach to Revelation. May these tips be of service to you.
God bless.
1) Understand how symbolism and metaphor work. Many people get lost because they say that Revelation is 'just imagery' and stop there as if images don't mean anything. Metaphors consist of two parts: the image, and what the image represents. For example, the Beast from the Sea in Revelation 13 is not a literal beast, but it does represent a literal empire and its wicked ruler who will persecute God's saints on earth. The Beast is symbolic, but the empire, ruler, and persecution are literal. A good preparation for this sort of task is to read Jesus' parables in the Gospels. They work on a similar principle.
2) Use the interpretations that are given to you in the book itself. So many get scared off Revelation because they hear of crazy theories that don't come to pass and aren't founded on the book itself. If you read Revelation carefully, you will find it tells you what many of the images mean. For example, Revelation 12:9 tells the reader that the Red Dragon represents Satan. The Dragon is the image; Satan, a real angelic person, is the literal truth behind the image.
3) Understand that Revelation is both timeless and time-specific. This book speaks to all generations of Christians, who have, to various degrees, suffered persecution and seen the wickedness of fallen humanity and Satan manifested on this earth. There have been many Antichrist-like figures in history: Antiochus Epiphanes and Hitler are prime examples. At the same time there is one man who is THE Antichrist, a figure who will appear later in history not long before Jesus returns to the earth.
4) Use cross-references in a good study Bible to find the Old Testament passages that are being quoted or alluded to in the verse you're reading. Revelation is very closely connected to the Old Testament, and many of its passages become much clearer once one has read the relevant Old Testament verses. For example, the 1260 days, 42 months, 3.5 years mentioned in Revelation all refer to a single period of time found in Daniel 9:27 (where it is half of a 'Week'), and Daniel 12:11.
5) Keep the 'big picture' in mind and simplify where necessary so that you have a basic overview of the book. A basic timeline could go as follows:
Persecution > Jesus Returns > Restoration
Keeping this basic structure in mind will help you to locate where you are in the sequence when you're reading a particular passage and will also indicate the tone of the passage.
Much more could be said, and I may return to this in a later post, but hopefully this is sufficient for an introductory approach to Revelation. May these tips be of service to you.
God bless.
Saturday 31 August 2013
Suffering and Death
With all the TV and internet buzz about Syria, many people are asking questions about whether we can stand by and watch innocent people suffer when we are in a position to do something about it. In today's post I'd like to discuss suffering and death generally, rather than talk about the rights and wrongs of military intervention, which I leave to wiser heads than mine.
First of all, let me say that suffering in all its forms is felt by God. He is not absent and aloof from His creation, as some would have us believe. The Lord grieves when He sees what sin has brought about in this world; He grieves when He sees people suffer. When He became a man, He felt suffering just as we do. Jesus wept at the death of Lazarus (John 11:32-36). He wept not only at the loss of His friend, but also at seeing Lazarus' sister weighed down by grief.
Similarly, He wept over Jerusalem when He arrived there on Palm Sunday, because He knew that in rejecting Him, her leaders were rejecting Peace (Shalom). He knew the day would come when the Romans would destroy the city, slaying and enslaving her inhabitants (Luke 19:41-44).
He suffered physical pain when He was scourged by the Romans and nailed to the Cross (Matthew 27:26-35). I'd like you, dear reader, to pause on this for a moment. Those of us who have had happy families and no problems with the law or criminals have little knowledge of what it is like to be physically and verbally abused in this fashion. While we may have experienced physical pain from accident, illness, or exertion, we do not know what it is like to be scourged in this way. It was a truly horrific event in Christ's life. Many did not survive this process - small wonder that He stumbled and could not carry His Cross all the way to Golgotha afterwards.
But terrible as this was, the worst was yet to come. On the Cross, Jesus, quoting David's words from Psalm 22, cried out, 'My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?' (Psalm 22:1; Matthew 27:46; Mark 15:34.) Jesus, being sinless, could not and would not lie. He meant what He said; it was true. At that moment, God the Father turned His face away from God the Son.
He did this because God cannot look at sin and our sin Jesus took upon Himself. As Isaiah said, 'the LORD has laid on him [Jesus] the iniquity of us all' (Isaiah 53:6, NIV). This pain that Jesus felt none of us will truly understand, because we aren't God. We cannot know what it is like to eternally and perfectly love someone and then forsake them because they have accepted the punishment for sins incurred by others. But it is the beauty, the humility, and the glory of God that He did this for us, that He identified with us sinners who also cry out, 'My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?'
Isaiah described Jesus as, 'a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief' (Isaiah 53:3, NKJV). This has to be one of the most touching, beautiful, and understated lines in the Bible. God knows personally and experientially what it is to watch someone suffer and what it is to be the one suffering.
So, where does this leave you, dear reader? Firstly, don't turn away from God. If you are experiencing sorrow, share it with Him. As the Apostle Peter said, 'casting all your care [sorrow/anxiety] upon Him, for He cares for you' (1 Peter 5:7, NKJV). Scream at Him, cry before Him, lean on Him; but don't turn away from Him: He wants to help you. Secondly, don't harden your heart. Jesus took into His soul the suffering of the world. If you would follow Him, you must do likewise. Pray for those who are in sorrow and let God lead you in this. As Paul said, 'weep with those who weep' (Romans 12:15, NKJV). Practically, there are steps you can take, and I would advise you to seek God's will in this. Just because the UK will not be involved militarily in Syria doesn't mean you can't bless the people of the Syria, wherever they may be.
God bless.
First of all, let me say that suffering in all its forms is felt by God. He is not absent and aloof from His creation, as some would have us believe. The Lord grieves when He sees what sin has brought about in this world; He grieves when He sees people suffer. When He became a man, He felt suffering just as we do. Jesus wept at the death of Lazarus (John 11:32-36). He wept not only at the loss of His friend, but also at seeing Lazarus' sister weighed down by grief.
Similarly, He wept over Jerusalem when He arrived there on Palm Sunday, because He knew that in rejecting Him, her leaders were rejecting Peace (Shalom). He knew the day would come when the Romans would destroy the city, slaying and enslaving her inhabitants (Luke 19:41-44).
He suffered physical pain when He was scourged by the Romans and nailed to the Cross (Matthew 27:26-35). I'd like you, dear reader, to pause on this for a moment. Those of us who have had happy families and no problems with the law or criminals have little knowledge of what it is like to be physically and verbally abused in this fashion. While we may have experienced physical pain from accident, illness, or exertion, we do not know what it is like to be scourged in this way. It was a truly horrific event in Christ's life. Many did not survive this process - small wonder that He stumbled and could not carry His Cross all the way to Golgotha afterwards.
But terrible as this was, the worst was yet to come. On the Cross, Jesus, quoting David's words from Psalm 22, cried out, 'My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?' (Psalm 22:1; Matthew 27:46; Mark 15:34.) Jesus, being sinless, could not and would not lie. He meant what He said; it was true. At that moment, God the Father turned His face away from God the Son.
He did this because God cannot look at sin and our sin Jesus took upon Himself. As Isaiah said, 'the LORD has laid on him [Jesus] the iniquity of us all' (Isaiah 53:6, NIV). This pain that Jesus felt none of us will truly understand, because we aren't God. We cannot know what it is like to eternally and perfectly love someone and then forsake them because they have accepted the punishment for sins incurred by others. But it is the beauty, the humility, and the glory of God that He did this for us, that He identified with us sinners who also cry out, 'My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?'
Isaiah described Jesus as, 'a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief' (Isaiah 53:3, NKJV). This has to be one of the most touching, beautiful, and understated lines in the Bible. God knows personally and experientially what it is to watch someone suffer and what it is to be the one suffering.
So, where does this leave you, dear reader? Firstly, don't turn away from God. If you are experiencing sorrow, share it with Him. As the Apostle Peter said, 'casting all your care [sorrow/anxiety] upon Him, for He cares for you' (1 Peter 5:7, NKJV). Scream at Him, cry before Him, lean on Him; but don't turn away from Him: He wants to help you. Secondly, don't harden your heart. Jesus took into His soul the suffering of the world. If you would follow Him, you must do likewise. Pray for those who are in sorrow and let God lead you in this. As Paul said, 'weep with those who weep' (Romans 12:15, NKJV). Practically, there are steps you can take, and I would advise you to seek God's will in this. Just because the UK will not be involved militarily in Syria doesn't mean you can't bless the people of the Syria, wherever they may be.
God bless.
Wednesday 7 August 2013
Pairs
Today's post is about disorder; the title refers to pairing virtues with vices. Christians believe that when Lucifer/Satan and Adam 'fell', sin and disorder entered into God's creation, and that the creation was 'subjected to futility' until the time when Christ ushers in the New Heavens and the New Earth.
This point is important for both Christians and non-Christians. A classic example is sex. Christians are often charged with being prudish and hating sex. The proper Christian doctrine is that sex is good. God created Adam and Eve (that is, Man and Woman) to procreate by sexual means. He intended sex to be an expression of love and unity between a husband and his wife, and the children that come from it are the fruit of that love. The point of difficulty lies in misuse of sex. Such misuse is confusing to our emotions: on the one hand, attraction is a very natural thing and sex is an expression of love; on the other hand, since the Fall, we have become very disordered in our being. There are so many factors that influence our feelings and decision-making: culture, experience, conscience, logic, physical circumstances.
The reason this is important to both Christians and non-Christians is that it helps Christians to be mature and sensitive in how they make decisions and relate to other people. They realize that 'the Flesh' - the sinful disorder in our being - is drawing us in one direction, while the Holy Spirit, who lives in us, wants us to go in another direction.
For the non-Christian, this information is important in helping them to make an informed decision about Christianity. Many of us, myself included, before we became Christians, thought that becoming a Christian meant giving up many things without having anything to replace them; we thought that what it meant was a kind of emptiness. In reality, what Christ's life means is a kind of reordering and restoration of mankind and the universe. We must get away from the notion that the body is inherently evil, right from its creation. Rather, this body is sin-riddled and in need of discipline until its redemption. When the Saints are resurrected they will be given new, 'heavenly' bodies - they will not float around like Ghosts - but these bodies will be free of the sinful disorder that now characterizes human life.
For this reason, I think it can be useful to realize the links between virtues and vices. This is not a fool-proof system that covers all aspects of life, but I think it helps one to avoid extremes and the naivety of separating things that are actually related - vice is, in fact, often a distorted version of virtue.
Below is a short list of some examples. They are given to provoke thought, not as legalistic, binding ideas to be blindly accepted.
-Passion & Obsession
-Imagination & Fantasy
-Authority/Command & Manipulation/Control
-Love & Lust/Greed
-Self-control & Self-deprivation
The list could go on, and the difficulties of language make the task of reflection on these matters harder. People tend to have associations with words and images and they are often graded positively or negatively. To one person the word 'father' means a source of strength and comfort; to another, it means 'Victorian hypocrisy' and a troubled home.
As the ancient Greeks said, 'μηδεν αγαν' - 'nothing in excess'.
God bless.
This point is important for both Christians and non-Christians. A classic example is sex. Christians are often charged with being prudish and hating sex. The proper Christian doctrine is that sex is good. God created Adam and Eve (that is, Man and Woman) to procreate by sexual means. He intended sex to be an expression of love and unity between a husband and his wife, and the children that come from it are the fruit of that love. The point of difficulty lies in misuse of sex. Such misuse is confusing to our emotions: on the one hand, attraction is a very natural thing and sex is an expression of love; on the other hand, since the Fall, we have become very disordered in our being. There are so many factors that influence our feelings and decision-making: culture, experience, conscience, logic, physical circumstances.
The reason this is important to both Christians and non-Christians is that it helps Christians to be mature and sensitive in how they make decisions and relate to other people. They realize that 'the Flesh' - the sinful disorder in our being - is drawing us in one direction, while the Holy Spirit, who lives in us, wants us to go in another direction.
For the non-Christian, this information is important in helping them to make an informed decision about Christianity. Many of us, myself included, before we became Christians, thought that becoming a Christian meant giving up many things without having anything to replace them; we thought that what it meant was a kind of emptiness. In reality, what Christ's life means is a kind of reordering and restoration of mankind and the universe. We must get away from the notion that the body is inherently evil, right from its creation. Rather, this body is sin-riddled and in need of discipline until its redemption. When the Saints are resurrected they will be given new, 'heavenly' bodies - they will not float around like Ghosts - but these bodies will be free of the sinful disorder that now characterizes human life.
For this reason, I think it can be useful to realize the links between virtues and vices. This is not a fool-proof system that covers all aspects of life, but I think it helps one to avoid extremes and the naivety of separating things that are actually related - vice is, in fact, often a distorted version of virtue.
Below is a short list of some examples. They are given to provoke thought, not as legalistic, binding ideas to be blindly accepted.
-Passion & Obsession
-Imagination & Fantasy
-Authority/Command & Manipulation/Control
-Love & Lust/Greed
-Self-control & Self-deprivation
The list could go on, and the difficulties of language make the task of reflection on these matters harder. People tend to have associations with words and images and they are often graded positively or negatively. To one person the word 'father' means a source of strength and comfort; to another, it means 'Victorian hypocrisy' and a troubled home.
As the ancient Greeks said, 'μηδεν αγαν' - 'nothing in excess'.
God bless.
Tuesday 30 July 2013
The Jewish Roots of our Faith - Part 2
In my first post on this topic I said I would write more, and here it is. Today I'd like to think about the Jewish pattern of worship, which has served as a model and basis for Christian church services. Let me say up front that there are a number of things that are different. The gifts of the Spirit were not widely distributed until the Pentecost after the Ascension. Whereas Tongues, Healings, Prophecy and so forth may be regular features of a Christian service today, they were extremely rare in the days before Jesus came. Secondly, whereas Communion is frequently celebrated in Christian churches today, Passover was a feast that occurred once a year. More could be said, but you get the point: the synagogue and Temple services are not identical with the church service.
But let's think about the similarities. Those who have attended a Christian church service can boil down the common format to a couple of categories: worship in the form of singing, reading from the Bible, commentary (sermon/homily) on the passage(s) read, prayers, communion. A number of these features were already established in Jesus' day. If you read the account of Jesus' visit to the Nazareth synagogue in Luke 4, you will find that a Bible passage is read (Isaiah 61:1-2) and Jesus comments on this passage He has just read - i.e. he gives a sermon. From the first God was concerned that His people should know His Word, so He decreed in the Mosaic Law that the Torah should be read to the Israelites every seven years at the Feast of Tabernacles (Deuteronomy 31:9-13).
As for prayers and singing, they were features not only of the synagogue, but also of the Temple, where people made private prayer (Luke 18:9-14) and the Levites sang in formal worship (1 Chronicles 25). Public prayer has long been a feature of Judaism, a beautiful example being Solomon's prayer at the dedication of the Temple, found at 1 Kings 8 and 2 Chronicles 6.
As I've said before, the first Christians were Jews. When they met together, at times after being expelled from their synagogue, they brought some of their patterns and habits with them. This is not to deny that their ways were changed by the teachings of Jesus as passed on by His commissioned Apostles. It is the New Covenant, after all. But this New Covenant is built upon the Old. The Old was, like John the Baptist, the forerunner for Jesus; he prepared the way for the Christ. When you graduate from school to enter the big wide world of experience, you notice the difference between the freedom of this new place compared with the restraint and supervision of your school days. But you don't forget the lessons you learnt there - after all, you were taught these things so you could use them to live well.
Let us be thankful that God used the Jewish people to prepare the way for Messiah and serve as an example for the Church to learn from. 'For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope.' (Romans 15:4, NIV.) But if He began our blessing with them, He will also bring it to its conclusion, its maturity, with them. For it is written, 'For if their being cast away is the reconciling of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead?'
Praise God He is at work among His people Israel. He has broken down the middle wall of separation and made Jew and Gentile one in Yeshua HaMashiach, Jesus the Christ.
Shalom al-Yisrael; shalom al-Yerushalaim.
God bless.
But let's think about the similarities. Those who have attended a Christian church service can boil down the common format to a couple of categories: worship in the form of singing, reading from the Bible, commentary (sermon/homily) on the passage(s) read, prayers, communion. A number of these features were already established in Jesus' day. If you read the account of Jesus' visit to the Nazareth synagogue in Luke 4, you will find that a Bible passage is read (Isaiah 61:1-2) and Jesus comments on this passage He has just read - i.e. he gives a sermon. From the first God was concerned that His people should know His Word, so He decreed in the Mosaic Law that the Torah should be read to the Israelites every seven years at the Feast of Tabernacles (Deuteronomy 31:9-13).
As for prayers and singing, they were features not only of the synagogue, but also of the Temple, where people made private prayer (Luke 18:9-14) and the Levites sang in formal worship (1 Chronicles 25). Public prayer has long been a feature of Judaism, a beautiful example being Solomon's prayer at the dedication of the Temple, found at 1 Kings 8 and 2 Chronicles 6.
As I've said before, the first Christians were Jews. When they met together, at times after being expelled from their synagogue, they brought some of their patterns and habits with them. This is not to deny that their ways were changed by the teachings of Jesus as passed on by His commissioned Apostles. It is the New Covenant, after all. But this New Covenant is built upon the Old. The Old was, like John the Baptist, the forerunner for Jesus; he prepared the way for the Christ. When you graduate from school to enter the big wide world of experience, you notice the difference between the freedom of this new place compared with the restraint and supervision of your school days. But you don't forget the lessons you learnt there - after all, you were taught these things so you could use them to live well.
Let us be thankful that God used the Jewish people to prepare the way for Messiah and serve as an example for the Church to learn from. 'For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope.' (Romans 15:4, NIV.) But if He began our blessing with them, He will also bring it to its conclusion, its maturity, with them. For it is written, 'For if their being cast away is the reconciling of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead?'
Praise God He is at work among His people Israel. He has broken down the middle wall of separation and made Jew and Gentile one in Yeshua HaMashiach, Jesus the Christ.
Shalom al-Yisrael; shalom al-Yerushalaim.
God bless.
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