Working hard to misunderstand
It’s getting harder and harder to debate with people these days. The mere suggestion of disagreement becomes “a personal attack” and it seems that all the arguments you present to convince the hearers of your position are misunderstood intentionally, many times with the obvious goal of misdirecting the debate into territory that is not pertinent to the discussion.
The following quote is from Pyromaniacs: Coffee Klatsch. Read the full post, but here’s a quote to whet your appetite:
Postmodernists aren’t sure about much, but they work harder than Mormon apologists to maintain the few cardinal dogmas of their system. Of course, the first article of faith in the postmodernists’ short canon is their belief that an impregnable fortress of ambiguity surrounds the very slippery notion of “truth.” They can’t seem to muster any settled conviction even when God Himself has spoken. But here’s one thing they are dead certain about: Meaning is always elusive.
Meaning is at its most evanescent whenever someone disagrees with them. The more you labor to make your meaning plain, the harder the postmodern mind will labor to find a way to deconstruct your clarifications. And if you are stubborn enough to continue explaining yourself in the face of their determination to misread what you are saying, a devoted pomo will simply pretend not to be able to hear. If you persist anyway, prepare to be labeled either stupid or uncharitable.
Wisdom from a fictional source
Buckingham Palace Gardens
My wife has been devouring her new Anne Perry book (Buckingham Palace Gardens). This morning she read some quotes from the book that struck her as addressing some of the recent conversations we have had. My wife and I believe that we Christians hurt the name of Christ when we present what I call “gospel-plus.” It’s a presentation of the true Gospel of Jesus Christ; that Christ came to earth, took on human flesh, died on the cross and rose from the grave three days later in order to pay the penalty that we could not pay for our sins and to secure a place in heaven for all the believing ones.
Buckingham Palace Gardens
The plus is all the added requirements that we think make us more acceptable to God. These are such things as demanding total abstinence from aclohol when the scriptures demand moderation, demanding the use of a particular Bible version when there is nothing indicating that this should be done in scripture, demanding a particular standard of dress when these things are not presented in scripture, and demanding that Christians listen to a particular style of music when this is not addressed in scripture. Apparently, Christians think that God did a pretty good job overall, but had they been god—they would have done better. So they present the world with their list of addenda to the 10 Commandments—typically numbering in the hundreds of new commandments to follow to gain God’s approval.
The greatest problem I see when we do this is that we misrepresent Christ to the world. This gives rise to a skewed view of who and what Christ is and stands for. The vision of Christ we present to the world is that of stereotypical Fundamentalist Bible-Thumpers. This turns people off so quickly that it inhibits our attempts at evangelism. The old saying is “you catch more flies with honey than with vinegar.” We Christians seem to love to walk up to people, throw a bucket full of vinegar in their face and then say, “God loves you,” and walk away.
Here’s that stereotype as presented by one of the characters in Anne Perry’s new book:
“I don’t want to see the last true passion tamed by railways and men with Bibles telling everyone to cover their bodies.”
—Anne Perry, Buckingham Palace Gardens, p. 196
Holier than thou or holier than God?
Please take the time to go to my wife’s blog and read The Forgotten Commandments. This is a topic that I think bubbles to the surface of conservative evangelicalism with increasing frequency and strength as the days go by.
I’m better than you are…
Blogs are interesting things. My wife has noticed a common thread among blogs that she has visited—the tendency for the people who write the blogs to present themselves in an impossibly positive light. My wife has begun calling these the I’m-Better-Than-You-Are blogs.
Pride is spiritual cancer; it eats the very possibility of love or contentment, or even common sense.
— C. S. Lewis (1898–1963)
Another common theme among these blogs is that they are written by those who profess Christianity. This is of particular concern because, as Christians, we should possess a spirit of humility, recognizing the old adage, “There, but for the grace of God, go I.” And recognizing that we were saved, not because of any good in us, but because of the goodness of God who saved us in spite of our sinfulness and inability.
I recently read the following admonition from Charles Haddon Spurgeon in his book Your Available Power:
The Holy Spirit will not bless us in order to sustain our pride. Is it not possible that we may be wishing for a great blessing that we may be thought great men? This will hinder our success; the string of the bow is out of place, and the arrow will veer aside. What does God do with men that are proud? Does He exalt them? I think not.
Herod made an eloquent oration, and he put on a dazzling, silver robe that glistened in the sun. When the people saw his garments and listened to his charming voice, they cried, “It is the voice of a god, and not of a man” (Acts 12:22); but the Lord smote him, and he was eaten by worms.
Worms have a prescriptive right to proud flesh; when we get very mighty and very big, the worms expect to make a meal of us. “Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall” (Prov. 16:18). Keep humble if you want the Spirit of God with you. The Holy Spirit takes no pleasure in the inflated oratory of the proud; how can He? Would you have Him sanction bombast? “Walk humbly with thy God” (Mic. 6:8), for you cannot walk with Him in any other way; and if you do not walk with Him, your walking will be vain.
Blogs may become a curse, if we allow our pride to spill over onto the pages. May God protect us from ourselves.
Further reading:
My father has posted A Proud Church in a Proud Society – Rev. 3:14-22 on his Navigators blog.
Post-Christian Britain
Many of us heard yesterday that the Archbishop of Canterbury made a statement accepting the likelihood that Sharia law will be put into place for Muslims in the U.K. This is evidence of the breakdown of British culture—especially British religious culture. But this article from the Alpha & Omega Ministries blog reveals much greater evidence that our Christian brothers and sisters in Great Britain are living in an openly hostile environment.
Post-Christian Britain
Many of us heard yesterday that the Archbishop of Canterbury made a statement accepting the likelihood that Sharia law will be put into place for Muslims in the U.K. This is evidence of the breakdown of British culture—especially British religious culture. But this article from the Alpha & Omega Ministries blog reveals much greater evidence that our Christian brothers and sisters in Great Britain are living in an openly hostile environment.
Busy, busy, busy
Progress always gives us more and more of everything faster and faster . There are only so many details that can be comfortably managed in anybody’s life. Once this number has been exceeded, one of two things happens: disorganization or frustration. Yet progress gives us more and more details every year—often at exponential rates. We have to deal with more “things per person” than ever before in the history of humankind. Every year we have more products, more information, more technology, more activities, more choices, more change, more traffic, more commitments, more work. In short, more of everything. Faster…. Progress automatically leads to increasing overload, meaninglessness, speed, change, stress, and complexity.
Richard A. Swenson, The Overload Syndrome (Colorado Springs, CO: NavPress, 1998), pp. 43-44; emphasis in the original.
The more we watch the lives of men, the more we see that one of the reasons why men are not occupied with great thoughts and interests is the way in which their lives are overfilled with little things ”
quoted by William Philip in a January 2003 newsletter from The Proclamation Trust in London.
Busy, busy, busy
Progress always gives us more and more of everything faster and faster . There are only so many details that can be comfortably managed in anybody’s life. Once this number has been exceeded, one of two things happens: disorganization or frustration. Yet progress gives us more and more details every year—often at exponential rates. We have to deal with more “things per person” than ever before in the history of humankind. Every year we have more products, more information, more technology, more activities, more choices, more change, more traffic, more commitments, more work. In short, more of everything. Faster…. Progress automatically leads to increasing overload, meaninglessness, speed, change, stress, and complexity.
Richard A. Swenson, The Overload Syndrome (Colorado Springs, CO: NavPress, 1998), pp. 43-44; emphasis in the original.
The more we watch the lives of men, the more we see that one of the reasons why men are not occupied with great thoughts and interests is the way in which their lives are overfilled with little things ”
quoted by William Philip in a January 2003 newsletter from The Proclamation Trust in London.
Sanctity of Life Week
Thirteen years ago a young woman went to a party and came home pregnant. She had already given birth to a girl and aborted another child. This pregnancy put her in a bad position with her parents who had told her that if she were to have another child she would have to move out of their house. This young lady was counseled by many people to have an abortion. The list of people encouraging her to kill her child included her parents (the child’s grandparents), some of her teachers, and even her pastor.
Fortunately (providentially), she chose to carry the pregnancy to term and to give birth to … my son.
About 12 and a half years ago, this young lady came to our house and discussed her options. We did not express an interest in adopting her child; we simply gave her the information she was looking for: who could she turn to to give her an option other than having another abortion. We put her in touch with the adoption agency we were in contact with regarding our desire to adopt a child.
My wife and I have been involved in the prolife cause for all of our married lives. We have attended rallies, participated in events, and even worked for non-profit prolife activism agencies. We offered our home to young women who may be experiencing an unplanned pregnancy that had caused her to be thrown out of her house. We didn’t know how to put our convictions into action. But God knew….
Twelve and a half years ago, my wife stood in the delivery room with our son’s birth mother. At the doctor’s direction, my wife cut the umbilical cord—a particularly moving and symbolic action. A few minutes later I was brought into the delivery room to meet my son for the first time.
If not for the commitment to life that this birth mother showed, my wife and I would not have our wonderful son. We would not have experienced the many blessings that have come into our lives as a result of this boy who is growing to manhood in front of our eyes. And, as we have said many times to our son, we would still be a couple, had he not made us a family.
Praise God for those mothers who protect their children from the easy abortion that is made available to all in our society. Praise God for my son’s birth mother. Praise God for my son, who made us a family.
Martin Luther King Day
Today is the day that our nation celebrates the life and accomplishments of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. It is good for us to celebrate the positive impact of individuals who fight for what’s right. It is particularly good to see the vision of such people come to fruition in the society we live in.
William Wilberforce dedicated his life to improving the morals of English society and to the total and complete abolition of the slave trade. We can read his writings and look at the world around us and realize that his dreams have been fulfilled. We can celebrate the life of William Wilbeforce, rejoicing in the knowledge that what he worked so hard to accomplish has become a reality today.
But what of Dr. Martin Luther King’s dream? We all know what his dream was—he stood on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in our nation’s capitol and told us what that dream was. Dr. King said that he had a dream that one day all men “will be judged not by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.” Has Dr. King’s dream become a reality?
In a day when the majority of people in our society proclaim that we are making personal attacks against anyone whose character we call into question, I think the answer must be “no.” In a day when a Barack Obama can run for the presidency of our nation and although he never brings up the topic of the color of his skin, we hear non-stop reports (both favorable and negative) about him being “the first black man to run for the presidency,” and we hear about folks complaining to Oprah Winfrey for campaigning for “the black man instead of the woman” candidate.
These are not what Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., fought and died for. May we all commit ourselves to viewing and judging those around us not by the color of their skin or the nation of their origin, but by the content of their character. And I would add to that the need to judge them also by their understanding and belief in the death and resurrection of the Son of God who came to save people from every tribe, tongue, and nation—not because of the color of their skin, or because of the content of their character, but because of their great need of a Savior. I don’t recommend judging them to disenfranchise them, but to target them for the proclamation of the gospel because if they do not yet believe in Jesus Christ, this is their greatest need.
Sanctity of Life Week
Thirteen years ago a young woman went to a party and came home pregnant. She had already given birth to a girl and aborted another child. This pregnancy put her in a bad position with her parents who had told her that if she were to have another child she would have to move out of their house. This young lady was counseled by many people to have an abortion. The list of people encouraging her to kill her child included her parents (the child’s grandparents), some of her teachers, and even her pastor.
Fortunately (providentially), she chose to carry the pregnancy to term and to give birth to … my son.
About 12 and a half years ago, this young lady came to our house and discussed her options. We did not express an interest in adopting her child; we simply gave her the information she was looking for: who could she turn to to give her an option other than having another abortion. We put her in touch with the adoption agency we were in contact with regarding our desire to adopt a child.
My wife and I have been involved in the prolife cause for all of our married lives. We have attended rallies, participated in events, and even worked for non-profit prolife activism agencies. We offered our home to young women who may be experiencing an unplanned pregnancy that had caused her to be thrown out of her house. We didn’t know how to put our convictions into action. But God knew….
Twelve and a half years ago, my wife stood in the delivery room with our son’s birth mother. At the doctor’s direction, my wife cut the umbilical cord—a particularly moving and symbolic action. A few minutes later I was brought into the delivery room to meet my son for the first time.
If not for the commitment to life that this birth mother showed, my wife and I would not have our wonderful son. We would not have experienced the many blessings that have come into our lives as a result of this boy who is growing to manhood in front of our eyes. And, as we have said many times to our son, we would still be a couple, had he not made us a family.
Praise God for those mothers who protect their children from the easy abortion that is made available to all in our society. Praise God for my son’s birth mother. Praise God for my son, who made us a family.
Martin Luther King Day
Today is the day that our nation celebrates the life and accomplishments of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. It is good for us to celebrate the positive impact of individuals who fight for what’s right. It is particularly good to see the vision of such people come to fruition in the society we live in.
William Wilberforce dedicated his life to improving the morals of English society and to the total and complete abolition of the slave trade. We can read his writings and look at the world around us and realize that his dreams have been fulfilled. We can celebrate the life of William Wilbeforce, rejoicing in the knowledge that what he worked so hard to accomplish has become a reality today.
But what of Dr. Martin Luther King’s dream? We all know what his dream was—he stood on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in our nation’s capitol and told us what that dream was. Dr. King said that he had a dream that one day all men “will be judged not by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.” Has Dr. King’s dream become a reality?
In a day when the majority of people in our society proclaim that we are making personal attacks against anyone whose character we call into question, I think the answer must be “no.” In a day when a Barack Obama can run for the presidency of our nation and although he never brings up the topic of the color of his skin, we hear non-stop reports (both favorable and negative) about him being “the first black man to run for the presidency,” and we hear about folks complaining to Oprah Winfrey for campaigning for “the black man instead of the woman” candidate.
These are not what Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., fought and died for. May we all commit ourselves to viewing and judging those around us not by the color of their skin or the nation of their origin, but by the content of their character. And I would add to that the need to judge them also by their understanding and belief in the death and resurrection of the Son of God who came to save people from every tribe, tongue, and nation—not because of the color of their skin, or because of the content of their character, but because of their great need of a Savior. I don’t recommend judging them to disenfranchise them, but to target them for the proclamation of the gospel because if they do not yet believe in Jesus Christ, this is their greatest need.
Losing by seeking too hard
Michael S. Horton of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church made a statement that I found greatly encouraging:
The paradox of seeker orientation seems to be that while its watchword is evangelism, its effect has quite generally been the opposite. Instead of reaching the lost, we’re losing the reached. Having been taught themselves, our members would be the first to admonish us if our elders decided to exchange catechesis for Christian versions of MTV and Disneyland. If we transformed our Sunday-evening catechetical preaching into entertainment, we would have a mutiny on our hands
Those who have been taught properly from the Word of God, who have experienced the majesty and solemnity of true worship in liturgical or non-liturgical assembly, will revolt when new methods are introduced that lose a sense of the majesty and holiness of God. This transcends the simplistic arguments for “which style (genre) of music we should sing in church” and gets to the heart of worshiping God in spirit and in truth.
“Perhaps some of the confusion in the worship wars would be lessened if careful consideration were given to the subversion of purpose that can take place when the underlying assumptions of various social structures are mixed. When churches begin to look at the congregation as consumers and the programs of the church as products, when worship services begin to resemble a well-staged Broadway show, then maybe, just maybe the church has taken a few steps into the wrong social structure. Is the church defeating herself by fraternizing with the enemy—by being on the wrong battlefield?”
—Maureen Bradley
If we are seeking to honor God through preaching that is bible-derived and bible-saturated, and through fellowship that is aimed at edification, and through corporate communication of our recognition of God’s worth and an understanding of God’s character, and through songs that proclaim God’s majesty, sovereignty, and holiness…and if all these things are done in a way that is honoring to God because we have done them to the best of our (corporate) abilities—then we will move far beyond the mundane arguments of “contemporary or traditional” and will build congregations that will revolt when the conversation turns to such mundane matters as “contemporary or traditional.”
Maureen Bradley has some outstanding thoughts on this subject at Worship Wars: Are We on the Right Battlefield?. May God grant today’s evangelical church the desire to return to worshiping Him in spirit and in truth without trying in the process to fill the pews or to entertain. Let’s leave God’s work to God.
By His grace - For His glory 