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Monday, October 06, 2008
Religulous
Open hostility toward Christianity continues to grow in America and elsewhere. Continuing the trend, this past weekend marked the opening of the movie Religulous, in which Bill Maher heaps scorn upon religion in general, and Christianity in particular. The intent of this film is pretty obvious from the title, a synthesis of "religious" and "ridiculous". A survey of reviews and commentary will confirm:
USA Today:
I'm not surprised by the entertainment industry using its muscle to attack Christian values, something it does not begin to understand. Instead, I'm reminded that we are in a spiritual war. I will agree with the USA Today quote above, that this movie is not something that devout believers will want to see. Links to this post
USA Today:
Religulous (which rhymes with "ridiculous") is not for the devout. But those with a taste for irreverent humor and clear-eyed analysis will find it funny, enlightening and disturbing.LA Times:
Reviews have been quite good from top media. Variety hails "Religulous" as "brilliant, incendiary," while Entertainment Weekly adds, "It's a film that's destined to make a lot of people mad, but Maher, for all his showy atheistic 'doubt,' isn't just trying to crucify religion — he truly wants to know what makes it tick. He leaves no stone tablet unturned."More from the LA Times
The documentary on religion sets out not after answers but cheap laughsRoger Ebert:
...
The humor he creates at their expense proves nothing except that dealing from a stacked deck benefits no one but the dealer.
It's more that he lines them up and shoots them down. He interrupts, talks over, slaps on subtitles, edits in movie and TV clips, and doesn't play fair.Washington Post:
But one of the rules of satire is that you can't mock things you don't understand, and "Religulous" starts developing fault lines when it becomes clear that Maher's view of religious faith is based on a sophomoric reading of the Scriptures and that he doesn't understand that some thoughtful people actually do believe in some sort of spiritual life.
I'm not surprised by the entertainment industry using its muscle to attack Christian values, something it does not begin to understand. Instead, I'm reminded that we are in a spiritual war. I will agree with the USA Today quote above, that this movie is not something that devout believers will want to see. Links to this post
Monday, September 29, 2008
Spiritual Lessons from the Financial Crisis
Whenever bad things happen, it is a good idea to see what lessons we can learn from them. After all, if God is trying to teach us something, and we don't get the point, he may "turn up the volume" next time. As serious as the current crisis is, I don't even want to imagine what an amplified version of the lesson might be. So let's see what we can learn from this.
Moth and rust destroy
Home prices were rising. They had always risen, and everyone thought they always would rise. In fact, we bet the farm on it. But we were wrong. When economic conditions changed, housing prices fell and adjustable mortgage rates rose. People could not afford the higher mortgage payments, but they could not afford to sell because the house was now worth less than they owed. Foreclosures followed, dumping more and more discounted houses on the market, further suppressing prices. Moth and rust destroyed the phantom equity. Some would say that thieves stole it.
The core of the American Dream is home ownership. But the dream is misplaced. Rather than dreaming of a home in this world, we should be dreaming of a home in the next.
The slavery of debt
America is addicted and enslaved to debt, both on the individual level and on the national level. Debt is relentless and merciless. In pursuit of the American Dream, many people took on more debt than they could repay.
A family that requires two incomes to pay the bills faces more than twice the risk of bankruptcy of a one-income family. If either income is lost, the bills cannot be paid. A couple living on a single income might lose that income, but there are two people who can go out and seek employment to replace the lost income. So the two-income family has twice the risk of losing income, and fewer options if the risk is realized. Yet, too often they commit both incomes to buy "the house of their dreams" which eventually turns into a nightmare.
Peace or wealth?
Congress and the financial system have encouraged people to buy houses they could not afford. Good intentions aside, many of those people have been made miserable by the unintended consequences of excessive debt. Ask someone who has faced foreclosure whether they are better off today than they were before they bought that home. Whoever encouraged them in that was not doing them a favor.
Profiting from the poor
Profiting from the misfortune of the poor is evil. Tempting people to spend more than they can afford is not compassionate. Far from it. Woe to those who profited by strapping low income families with debt they could not pay.
Pay what you owe
The root of the financial crisis is undisciplined borrowing. Americans need to get out of debt. That is easier said than done. Many people need outside help to get their finances under control. The most effective program I know to help people eliminate their debt comes from Dave Ramsey. If you are having trouble paying your bills, please consider going through his program. It really can change your life!
The inside of the cup
During the 1990's, Congress began to force banks to make risky loans through the Community Reinvestment Act, in order to promote home ownership among lower income households. At first, the banks strongly resisted the idea of lending money to borrowers who could not meet traditional standards. But then they found a way to make a lot of money at it. By bundling the risky mortgages into Mortgage Backed Securities (MBS), they put a prettier face on the risky debt. Those MBS could then be sold under the pretense of being a sound investment. The MBS looked pretty on the outside. But on the inside, they were full of mortgages that were at risk of default at the first sign of financial turbulence. For awhile the MBS seemed fine when housing prices were consistently increasing. But when the housing prices started to fall, the risks in those MBS became intolerable. Suddenly, many borrowers owed more than their houses were worth, and so the lenders were not adequately protected. Now nobody wanted to own those MBS, and the value plummeted. Now, nobody except the taxpayers is willing to buy the MBS. I wonder how many taxpayers are willing.
No matter how you remix a bundle of bad debt, it is still bad debt. Money loaned that will not be paid back is still a loss.
Confessing and denying guilt
Nobody wants to admit responsibility for the financial crisis. But acknowledging that you have a problem is the first step toward recovery. Once the politics fade away, I think historians will assign significant responsibility to Congress for causing this crisis, and for neglecting the warning signs. We have them on tape. They need to face their mistake so they do not make it again... or else we need to replace them.
Conclusions
Over the past 13 years, the politics of "affordable housing" have created an American Nightmare, first for the borrowers, then for the lenders... then for everyone who might need to borrow... and finally for everyone in an economy addicted to borrowing. When nobody is willing to lend, such an economy comes to a halt. This economic crisis is fundamentally a spiritual problem. It is a natural consequence of envy, greed, and materialism -- the addiction to consuming today what we won't pay for until tomorrow. Christians should know better than to live on borrowed money. I hope we are learning our lesson! Links to this post
Moth and rust destroy
Home prices were rising. They had always risen, and everyone thought they always would rise. In fact, we bet the farm on it. But we were wrong. When economic conditions changed, housing prices fell and adjustable mortgage rates rose. People could not afford the higher mortgage payments, but they could not afford to sell because the house was now worth less than they owed. Foreclosures followed, dumping more and more discounted houses on the market, further suppressing prices. Moth and rust destroyed the phantom equity. Some would say that thieves stole it.
The core of the American Dream is home ownership. But the dream is misplaced. Rather than dreaming of a home in this world, we should be dreaming of a home in the next.
The slavery of debt
America is addicted and enslaved to debt, both on the individual level and on the national level. Debt is relentless and merciless. In pursuit of the American Dream, many people took on more debt than they could repay.
A family that requires two incomes to pay the bills faces more than twice the risk of bankruptcy of a one-income family. If either income is lost, the bills cannot be paid. A couple living on a single income might lose that income, but there are two people who can go out and seek employment to replace the lost income. So the two-income family has twice the risk of losing income, and fewer options if the risk is realized. Yet, too often they commit both incomes to buy "the house of their dreams" which eventually turns into a nightmare.
Peace or wealth?
Congress and the financial system have encouraged people to buy houses they could not afford. Good intentions aside, many of those people have been made miserable by the unintended consequences of excessive debt. Ask someone who has faced foreclosure whether they are better off today than they were before they bought that home. Whoever encouraged them in that was not doing them a favor.
Profiting from the poor
Profiting from the misfortune of the poor is evil. Tempting people to spend more than they can afford is not compassionate. Far from it. Woe to those who profited by strapping low income families with debt they could not pay.
Pay what you owe
The root of the financial crisis is undisciplined borrowing. Americans need to get out of debt. That is easier said than done. Many people need outside help to get their finances under control. The most effective program I know to help people eliminate their debt comes from Dave Ramsey. If you are having trouble paying your bills, please consider going through his program. It really can change your life!
The inside of the cup
During the 1990's, Congress began to force banks to make risky loans through the Community Reinvestment Act, in order to promote home ownership among lower income households. At first, the banks strongly resisted the idea of lending money to borrowers who could not meet traditional standards. But then they found a way to make a lot of money at it. By bundling the risky mortgages into Mortgage Backed Securities (MBS), they put a prettier face on the risky debt. Those MBS could then be sold under the pretense of being a sound investment. The MBS looked pretty on the outside. But on the inside, they were full of mortgages that were at risk of default at the first sign of financial turbulence. For awhile the MBS seemed fine when housing prices were consistently increasing. But when the housing prices started to fall, the risks in those MBS became intolerable. Suddenly, many borrowers owed more than their houses were worth, and so the lenders were not adequately protected. Now nobody wanted to own those MBS, and the value plummeted. Now, nobody except the taxpayers is willing to buy the MBS. I wonder how many taxpayers are willing.
No matter how you remix a bundle of bad debt, it is still bad debt. Money loaned that will not be paid back is still a loss.
Confessing and denying guilt
Nobody wants to admit responsibility for the financial crisis. But acknowledging that you have a problem is the first step toward recovery. Once the politics fade away, I think historians will assign significant responsibility to Congress for causing this crisis, and for neglecting the warning signs. We have them on tape. They need to face their mistake so they do not make it again... or else we need to replace them.
Conclusions
Over the past 13 years, the politics of "affordable housing" have created an American Nightmare, first for the borrowers, then for the lenders... then for everyone who might need to borrow... and finally for everyone in an economy addicted to borrowing. When nobody is willing to lend, such an economy comes to a halt. This economic crisis is fundamentally a spiritual problem. It is a natural consequence of envy, greed, and materialism -- the addiction to consuming today what we won't pay for until tomorrow. Christians should know better than to live on borrowed money. I hope we are learning our lesson! Links to this post
Monday, September 22, 2008
Early Church History Seminar
This past weekend, I attended a seminar at the North River Church of Christ with keynote speaker David Bercot, author of Will The Real Heretics Please Stand up? The seminar was titled "Early Church History / AIM Weekend" and was organized by the Athens Institute of Ministry (AIM). In addition to Bercot, three others spoke on aspects of early church history: Douglas Jacoby, Joey Harris, and Steve Staten. These three speakers primarily addressed three early church writers, respectively: Clement, Ignatius, and Irenaeus.
The main events of the seminar were three messages delivered by David Bercot. Bercot's messages focused more on the core beliefs and lifestyle of the early Christians, and the contrast to modern Christendom. I was able to attend only the first two of the three, since I needed to be back at my home congregation for Sunday morning service.
Bercot demonstrated that the core beliefs of the early Christians focused directly on the person Jesus Christ: his life, death, burial, and resurrection -- and on his teachings about life (rather than on things like forms of worship and theology.) In particular, the sermon on the mount was a definitive basis for their beliefs and their lives. According to Bercot, the early Christians looked first to the teachings of Jesus, and used those to guide understanding of the Pauline letters and other subsequent writings. In contrast, he said that modern ecumenicals tend to go first to Paul's writings (particularly to Romans) and then interpret the teachings of Jesus from that framework.
In his Saturday message, Bercot challenged the sectarian spirit of the churches of Christ. He told us that this is the weakness that everyone else sees in the churches of Christ, which we traditionally have not seen in ourselves. To prove his point, he directed our attention to the two greatest commandments:
We all know those verses. But Bercot suggested that churches of Christ generally don't act like they believe them. When presented with a person like Francis of Assisi who had an evident and surpassing love for God and his fellow man, even the most open-minded members of churches of Christ are likely to say that just maybe there is a chance that God might forgive such a man despite his (presumably) erroneous understanding and practice of water baptism. But ask the same question in reference to the spiritual condition of the average member of the church of Christ, who has been (presumably) baptized correctly but who, relatively speaking, lives his life primarily for self interests, the nearly unanimous verdict would be, "Of course God will forgive such a person." So it is demonstrably true that those who hold such views consider the accurate understanding and practice of water baptism as a more important matter than loving God and loving your neighbor. Bercot pointed out that Thomas and Alexander Campbell would have answered that question much differently from how the typical church of Christ member today would answer.
Bercot showed that the early Christians did not see salvation as a one-time event in a person's life, but as a process that is only completed when God says "Well done!" How we live and how we serve is part of the story. Jesus taught about acts of service -- giving cups of water, visiting the sick and those in prison, providing clothing -- as decisive factors in salvation. Salvation is not primarily about having correct doctrinal understandings, but about a relationship with the Savior and a life of obedient faithful service.
After his Saturday afternoon message, the room was buzzing with conversations about baptism, love, and service. We all had a lot to think about. Links to this post
The main events of the seminar were three messages delivered by David Bercot. Bercot's messages focused more on the core beliefs and lifestyle of the early Christians, and the contrast to modern Christendom. I was able to attend only the first two of the three, since I needed to be back at my home congregation for Sunday morning service.
Bercot demonstrated that the core beliefs of the early Christians focused directly on the person Jesus Christ: his life, death, burial, and resurrection -- and on his teachings about life (rather than on things like forms of worship and theology.) In particular, the sermon on the mount was a definitive basis for their beliefs and their lives. According to Bercot, the early Christians looked first to the teachings of Jesus, and used those to guide understanding of the Pauline letters and other subsequent writings. In contrast, he said that modern ecumenicals tend to go first to Paul's writings (particularly to Romans) and then interpret the teachings of Jesus from that framework.
In his Saturday message, Bercot challenged the sectarian spirit of the churches of Christ. He told us that this is the weakness that everyone else sees in the churches of Christ, which we traditionally have not seen in ourselves. To prove his point, he directed our attention to the two greatest commandments:
Matt 22:35-40 And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. "Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?" And he said to him, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets."
We all know those verses. But Bercot suggested that churches of Christ generally don't act like they believe them. When presented with a person like Francis of Assisi who had an evident and surpassing love for God and his fellow man, even the most open-minded members of churches of Christ are likely to say that just maybe there is a chance that God might forgive such a man despite his (presumably) erroneous understanding and practice of water baptism. But ask the same question in reference to the spiritual condition of the average member of the church of Christ, who has been (presumably) baptized correctly but who, relatively speaking, lives his life primarily for self interests, the nearly unanimous verdict would be, "Of course God will forgive such a person." So it is demonstrably true that those who hold such views consider the accurate understanding and practice of water baptism as a more important matter than loving God and loving your neighbor. Bercot pointed out that Thomas and Alexander Campbell would have answered that question much differently from how the typical church of Christ member today would answer.
Bercot showed that the early Christians did not see salvation as a one-time event in a person's life, but as a process that is only completed when God says "Well done!" How we live and how we serve is part of the story. Jesus taught about acts of service -- giving cups of water, visiting the sick and those in prison, providing clothing -- as decisive factors in salvation. Salvation is not primarily about having correct doctrinal understandings, but about a relationship with the Savior and a life of obedient faithful service.
After his Saturday afternoon message, the room was buzzing with conversations about baptism, love, and service. We all had a lot to think about. Links to this post
Monday, September 15, 2008
God and America
America is increasingly becoming intolerant of Christian viewpoints. This is nowhere more evident than in the entertainment and news media, who react with disdain to any public official who hints that their governing decisions will be influenced by what they believe about God. But it has not always been so. Following is a sampling of some quotes by great American leaders of the past:
George Washington
George Washington
"It is impossible to rightly govern a nation without God and the Bible."Abraham Lincoln
"It is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favors."
“Sir, my concern is not whether God is on our side; my greatest concern is to be on God's side, for God is always right”
"The will of God prevails. In great contests each party claims to act in accordance with the will of God. Both may be, and one must be, wrong."
-- September 1862 - Meditation on the Divine Will
"If God now wills the removal of a great wrong, and wills also that we of the North as well as you of the South, shall pay fairly for our complicity in that wrong, impartial history will find therein new cause to attest and revere the justice and goodness of God."-- April 4, 1864 - Letter to Albert Hodges
"We hoped for a happy termination of this terrible war long before this; but God knows best, and has ruled otherwise. We shall yet acknowledge His wisdom and our own error therein." -- September 4, 1864 - Letter to Eliza GurneyFranklin D. Roosevelt
"As Americans, we go forward, in the service of our country, by the will of God."
"With Thy blessing, we shall prevail over the unholy forces of our enemy." -- D-Day prayer
"Thy will be done, Almighty God." -- Closing to D-Day prayerJohn F. Kennedy
"I believe that God has a plan."
"The world is a very different now...and yet the same revolutionary beliefs for which our forebears fought are still at issue around the globe--the belief that the rights of man come not from the generosity of the state but from the hand of God." -- Inaugural address
"And, therefore, as we set sail we ask God's blessing on the most hazardous and dangerous and greatest adventure on which man has ever embarked." -- Inaugural address
"Our goal is not the victory of might, but the vindication of right-not peace at the expense of freedom, but both peace and freedom, here in this hemisphere, and, we hope, around the world. God willing, that goal will be achieved." -- July 4, 1962America has changed dramatically since the days of those leaders. A politician saying such things in today's world can expect to be held up to ridicule by the media and the modern pop culture. Our culture has become ashamed of Christ and Christian values. That should not come as a surprise to Christians:
1Jo 3:13 Do not be surprised, my brothers, if the world hates you.Neither should Christians yield to anti-Christian pressure from the surrounding culture. That kind of reaction should not knock Christians off our stride. We are citizens of a different country:
2Ti 3:12 In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted,
2Ti 3:13 while evil men and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.
Heb 11:13 All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth.Occasionally a leader will buck the trend, and not back down from displaying his or her convictions publicly. It is a good thing when government officials seek to follow the will of God. But when the media ridicules them for doing so, Christians should not be surprised. Links to this post
Heb 11:14 People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own.
Monday, September 08, 2008
The Least of These
In the 35 years since the Roe Vs Wade decision in the U.S. Supreme Court, over 48 million unborn children have lost their lives to abortion.
The magnitude of horror in that number defies the imagination: 48 million innocent lives snuffed out in the womb! We recoil at the thought of six million Jews being killed in Hitler's Germany. And yet, eight times that many innocents have been killed in America through abortion since 1973.
Abortion is wrong because it takes an innocent human life. We instinctively know that taking innocent life is evil. But just in case we miss that point, God has made his view of the matter clear.
It is easy to prove that murder is wrong according to the scriptures. The following two references should suffice:
Mat 25:40 "The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'Christians are saved in order to do good works. Among the most obvious, and most important of those good works is to take care of the "least of these." Nothing is more God-like, more Christ-like, than to defend the weak and powerless. And who is more powerless than an unborn child?
In the 35 years since the Roe Vs Wade decision in the U.S. Supreme Court, over 48 million unborn children have lost their lives to abortion.
The magnitude of horror in that number defies the imagination: 48 million innocent lives snuffed out in the womb! We recoil at the thought of six million Jews being killed in Hitler's Germany. And yet, eight times that many innocents have been killed in America through abortion since 1973.
Abortion is wrong because it takes an innocent human life. We instinctively know that taking innocent life is evil. But just in case we miss that point, God has made his view of the matter clear.
It is easy to prove that murder is wrong according to the scriptures. The following two references should suffice:
Exo 20:13 "You shall not murder.
1Jo 3:15 Anyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life in him.To show that this includes taking the life of an unborn child, we merely need to show that unborn children are considered human lives by God. That, too, is easily proven from the scriptures:
Jer 1:4 The word of the LORD came to me, saying,
Jer 1:5 "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
before you were born I set you apart;
I appointed you as a prophet to the nations."
Isa 44:1 Israel the Chosen
"But now listen, O Jacob, my servant,
Israel, whom I have chosen.
Isa 44:2 This is what the LORD says--
he who made you, who formed you in the womb,
and who will help you:
Do not be afraid, O Jacob, my servant,
Jeshurun, whom I have chosen.
Job 10:8 "Your hands shaped me and made me.
Will you now turn and destroy me?
Job 10:9 Remember that you molded me like clay.
Will you now turn me to dust again?
Job 10:10 Did you not pour me out like milk
and curdle me like cheese,
Job 10:11 clothe me with skin and flesh
and knit me together with bones and sinews?
Job 10:12 You gave me life and showed me kindness,
and in your providence watched over my spirit.
Psa 22:9 Yet you brought me out of the womb;
you made me trust in you
even at my mother's breast.
Psa 22:10 From birth I was cast upon you;
from my mother's womb you have been my God.
Psa 139:13 For you created my inmost being;The account of Mary and Elizabeth clearly demonstrates the humanness of the unborn child. Note that John the Baptist leaped for joy inside Elizabeth's womb:
you knit me together in my mother's womb.
Psa 139:14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
Psa 139:15 My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place.
When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,
Psa 139:16 your eyes saw my unformed body.
All the days ordained for me
were written in your book
before one of them came to be.
Luk 1:39 At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea,The Old Testament law directly addressed the protection of pregnant mothers and their unborn children, proving that unborn children have a right to life and to protection of the law:
Luk 1:40 where she entered Zechariah's home and greeted Elizabeth.
Luk 1:41 When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.
Luk 1:42 In a loud voice she exclaimed: "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear!
Luk 1:43 But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
Luk 1:44 As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy.
Luk 1:45 Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished!"
Exo 21:22 "If men who are fighting hit a pregnant woman and she gives birth prematurely but there is no serious injury, the offender must be fined whatever the woman's husband demands and the court allows.The scriptures also make it clear how God's children should respond to the practice of abortion:
Exo 21:23 But if there is serious injury, you are to take life for life,
Exo 21:24 eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot,
Exo 21:25 burn for burn, wound for wound, bruise for bruise.
Pro 31:8 "Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves,
for the rights of all who are destitute.
Pro 24:11 Rescue those being led away to death;
hold back those staggering toward slaughter.
Pro 24:12 If you say, "But we knew nothing about this,"
does not he who weighs the heart perceive it?
Does not he who guards your life know it?
Will he not repay each person according to what he has done?
Est 4:12 When Esther's words were reported to Mordecai,
Est 4:13 he sent back this answer: "Do not think that because you are in the king's house you alone of all the Jews will escape.
Est 4:14 For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father's family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?"
Psa 82:3 Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless;Whatever we do for the least of these, we do for Christ. And whatever we do not do for them, we do not do for Christ. Let's resolve to speak up for the defenseless. Links to this post
maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed.
Psa 82:4 Rescue the weak and needy;
deliver them from the hand of the wicked.
Wednesday, September 03, 2008
Odds and Ends
I am in the process of reading a fascinating book titled "The New Faces of Christianity: Believing the Bible in the Global South". You can expect a book review on this blog when I'm finished.
Meanwhile, Jay Guin is blogging a series on the future of progressive churches of Christ, based on articles in the September issue of the Christian Standard. That topic is all the more interesting because the Christian Standard is a publication of the independent Christian churches, the ecclesiastically estranged cousins of the churches of Christ. Is the wall between these groups starting to crumble? Let's hope so. There is no sound reason why these two groups should not embrace one another as brothers and sisters, despite differences on some peripheral topics.
On another unity front, the Portland ICOC is seeking to restore fellowship with the other ICOC congregations. This is a positive and hopeful sign for more brotherhood and peace between groups of believers.
And closer to home for me, our congregation is using the facilities of a nearby independent Christian church to conduct a session of Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University. We are also hoping to work out arrangements for us to use their facilities for other activities. The elders of this Christian Church have been extraordinarily gracious and eager to help. We are two congregations with so much in common doctrinally. Links to this post
Meanwhile, Jay Guin is blogging a series on the future of progressive churches of Christ, based on articles in the September issue of the Christian Standard. That topic is all the more interesting because the Christian Standard is a publication of the independent Christian churches, the ecclesiastically estranged cousins of the churches of Christ. Is the wall between these groups starting to crumble? Let's hope so. There is no sound reason why these two groups should not embrace one another as brothers and sisters, despite differences on some peripheral topics.
On another unity front, the Portland ICOC is seeking to restore fellowship with the other ICOC congregations. This is a positive and hopeful sign for more brotherhood and peace between groups of believers.
And closer to home for me, our congregation is using the facilities of a nearby independent Christian church to conduct a session of Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University. We are also hoping to work out arrangements for us to use their facilities for other activities. The elders of this Christian Church have been extraordinarily gracious and eager to help. We are two congregations with so much in common doctrinally. Links to this post
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Culture vs Conviction
The church of Christ is at a crossroads.
More and more voices are questioning whether the teachings of the Bible continue to have authority in the postmodern world. A growing number of people argue that the world of today is much more enlightened than that of the early church, and therefore the teachings about what is sin and what is acceptable should be changed to fit our modern values.
The argument is made about an entire spectrum of topics. Do biblical teachings about the role of women apply today? Are biblical teachings about marriage, divorce, and remarriage still applicable? Is homosexuality still a sin? Is it still necessary to confine sex to the marriage relationship? In each of these topics, people are arguing that the biblical instructions should no longer apply. They hold that the church should change to accommodate permissive, progressive, postmodern culture.
A recent article in the Christian Courier laments The Erosion of Marriage due to mounting pressures to conform to the standards of our postmodern neighbors. It is shocking to read that someone speaking at a "Christian Scholars Conference" would take the position that
The church faces a choice. Will we teach a commitment to vivid otherworldliness, or will we become so much like the world that we will become irrelevant? Links to this post
More and more voices are questioning whether the teachings of the Bible continue to have authority in the postmodern world. A growing number of people argue that the world of today is much more enlightened than that of the early church, and therefore the teachings about what is sin and what is acceptable should be changed to fit our modern values.
The argument is made about an entire spectrum of topics. Do biblical teachings about the role of women apply today? Are biblical teachings about marriage, divorce, and remarriage still applicable? Is homosexuality still a sin? Is it still necessary to confine sex to the marriage relationship? In each of these topics, people are arguing that the biblical instructions should no longer apply. They hold that the church should change to accommodate permissive, progressive, postmodern culture.
A recent article in the Christian Courier laments The Erosion of Marriage due to mounting pressures to conform to the standards of our postmodern neighbors. It is shocking to read that someone speaking at a "Christian Scholars Conference" would take the position that
...the sexual regulations set forth in the Bible merely were cultural and the restrictions imposed in biblical times may be ignored in our contemporary, “post-modern” world.Yet this should not come as such a surprise. For some years, people have been arguing for the abandonment of traditional, biblical teachings about topics like the role of women in the church. They claimed that the traditional teaching was a vestige of the distant past, and an unnecessary, unpopular burden for the church. Others objected that abandoning traditional teachings is a slippery slope. If we can eliminate one doctrine of the Bible because it conflicts with the consensus of modern society, why not another? But those advocating the change insisted that this was as far as it would go. Of course, it has continued to go farther and farther.
The church faces a choice. Will we teach a commitment to vivid otherworldliness, or will we become so much like the world that we will become irrelevant? Links to this post
