"Raising a daughter is like watering your neighbor's garden."

-- fascinating, horrible, quote from this article examining the trend of 'gendercide' (more and more baby girls being aborted around the world).

This raises again the old questions of morality and altruism, for atheists.  Why should one be good to one's fellow man, if one does not believe in an afterlife?  Especially if it inconveniences you?  Why water your neighbor's garden?  Why succor people who are 'inconvenient' to care for and who don't have any potential to repay you (at least in the way you desire), like the baby girls of that article, or elderly people, or handicapped people?

For those of us who believe in the one true God (described in the Bible) and His Son Jesus Christ, the reasons and motivations to love our neighbor (even when it requres self sacrifice) are compelling.  Not that we are trying to 'increase our reproductive success'.  Not that because we are 'guilted into it'...  Not because we are trying to earn our way to heaven... Not that we are trying to better our karma for a higher reincarnation and eventual absorption into nothingness... Not simply that it makes our earthly lives more pleasant in the long run...

Instead, because we ourselves have already been shown huge, specific, mercy through Jesus' sacrifice of Himself to die for our sins.  And because God has already given us the undeserved hope and reward of eternal life in glory out of "the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus".

Why do we, disciples of Jesus Christ, go out of our way to help those who are struggling around us?  Because we want to - because it's what God did for us - because of the incredible inheritance that God has given us...

Luke 14:12-14

And He also went on to say to the one who had invited Him, "When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, otherwise they may also invite you in return and that will be your repayment. But when you give a reception, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed, since they do not have the means to repay you; for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous."

Interesting link --  http://movein.to/vision/

We are encouraging all young Christians to ask themselves to move where they move on purpose and to challenge their default motivations.  Sadly, it seems to have become the norm for Christians to move into a neighbourhood not because of the need or because of a calling to reach it, but because it is convenient. Furthermore, neighbourhoods that are inconvenient or unsafe are avoided.

It is time for Christians to move into neighbourhoods because they are not safe - to move into neighbourhoods that are messy and have high crime rates, high poverty rates, low standards of living, and a disproportionate representation of Christ.

“It has always been my ambition to preach the gospel where Christ was not known, so that I would not be building on someone else’s foundation.” Paul, Romans 15:20

The questions about the Canaanite conquests recorded in the Bible used to bother me a lot, and since one of my friends recently raised the questions with me, I thought I'd post a few thoughts on it.  Below I'll point people to Glenn Miller's article at http://christian-thinktank.com/qamorite.html , and discuss four other thoughts:
1. "Justice" will indeed be done, but not fully until Judgment Day.  Until then only limited/partial justice will be seen here on earth...
2. Fairness - what do we really deserve?  What did the Canaanites really deserve?
3. God is the 'Landlord'... and so He has the right to evict destructive tenants...
4. True love always implies hatred of anything that hurts the beloved.  Besides loving the Israelites in a special way, did not God have some concern/love for all the people that the Canaanite nations were abusing and killing?  Did not God hear their cries?

 

------

The questions include:  How could a "God of love" order the destruction of millions of people?  What about the innocent babies and children?  What right did Israel have to come in and take over other countries' land?  How should one respond when other groups today use same passages to justify their wars of aggression (the Crusades, Jihad, etc)?

If you have time, Glenn Miller's articles (such as http://christian-thinktank.com/qamorite.html ) are excellent and thought-provoking.  He has five to ten related articles about these things, and they're all fascinating.  They have helped me through these questions.  Here's a brief quote from his article:

"Did God actually command Israel to do this, or did they just invent this divine sanction to justify territorial greed or genocidal tendencies?
Why would God use a nation as questionable as the post-Exodus Israelites to deliver His "judgment" on the Canaanites? (Why not just use natural disasters, such as earthquakes [Num 16], volcanic-type phenomena [Gen 19], or plague [2 Kgs 19.35]?)
What about all the innocent people killed in this "holy war"--families, "good" Canaanites, etc.? Even if it is 'okay' for God to execute judgment on nations within history, why didn't He only kill the evil-doers?
Doesn't wholesale slaughter of nations seem a little incompatible with a God of Love and Mercy?

These are NOT simple or light questions (if your heart is in right!), and so we must be VERY thorough in our analysis of the situation. We will need to approach this issue from a number of different sides, to make sure we have seen it clearly and from a large-enough perspective.
We will use the following question-set in analyzing the issue:

Do we have any precedents, paradigm cases, or similar incidents of such orders/actions to annihilate?
Who exactly WERE these people that God wanted Israel to 'exterminate'?
Were there any limits placed upon Israel in this venture, and what was the EXACT content of the orders?
What general principles of God's governance might shed some light on the situation?"

[end quote from Miller's article]

Miller also discusses the "eviction" aspect of God's command to the Israelites ("drive them out"), noting that in most cases the Canaanites were free to convert to Judaism and follow God, or leave the country (and God gave them 40 years to do so! after hearing about the Israelites' leaving Egypt, until they actually crossed the Jordan)... I.e., there were only a few specific battles in which God said "you shall not leave anyone alive".
Here are some more thoughts to consider.

1. Consider what "justice" really means.  According to the Bible, God is just, but the full application of His justice will not be seen until Judgement Day. Here are a few out of many passages:

1 Corinthians 4:5
"Therefore do not go on passing judgment before the time, but wait until the Lord comes who will both bring to light the things hidden in the darkness and disclose the motives of men's hearts; and then each man's praise will come to him from God."

Luke 12:
47"And that slave who knew his master's will and did not get ready or act in accord with his will, will receive many lashes, 48but the one who did not know it, and committed deeds worthy of a flogging, will receive but few. From everyone who has been given much, much will be required; and to whom they entrusted much, of him they will ask all the more.

Revelation 20:12-13
"And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged, every one of them according to their deeds."

So in the end, everything will be meted out justly...  Every wicked deed will be appropriately recompensed, and every good deed likewise.

But in THIS life, on this side of Judgement Day, life is obviously "not fair".  Good people get cancer and have their houses destroyed by hurricanes.  Drug barons drive around in fancy luxurious cars while ordering the killing of innocent fathers and mothers and policemen.  Innocent Christians in many countries are thrown in jail and worse simply because they are Christians.

There is SOME general sense in which the righteous 'usually' prosper 'in general', as Psalms and Proverbs state repeatedly, e.g. "The curse of the LORD is on the house of the wicked, But He blesses the dwelling of the righteous." (Proverbs 3:33)   But as the book of Job poetically explains, many times those who are righteous have HUGE troubles in their lives.

Jesus answered a similar question in John 9:1-3:
"As He passed by, He saw a man blind from birth.
And His disciples asked Him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he would be born blind?"
Jesus answered, "It was neither that this man sinned, nor his parents; but it was so that the works of God might be displayed in him."

Abraham was told that the Canaanites would be given hundreds of years to repent, before the order to destroy them was finally given:  Genesis 15:13-16
"God said to Abram, "Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, where they will be enslaved and oppressed four hundred years.
But I will also judge the nation whom they will serve, and afterward they will come out with many possessions.
As for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you will be buried at a good old age.
Then in the fourth generation they will return here, for the iniquity of the Amorite is not yet complete."

And the author of Psalm 73 likewise asks why the wicked seem to have it so good... here on earth at least...

   1Surely God is good to Israel,
To those who are pure in heart!
2But as for me, my feet came close to stumbling,
My steps had almost slipped.
3For I was envious of the arrogant
As I saw the prosperity of the wicked.
4For there are no pains in their death,
And their body is fat.
5They are not in trouble as other men,
Nor are they plagued like mankind.
6Therefore pride is their necklace;
The garment of violence covers them.
7Their eye bulges from fatness;
The imaginations of their heart run riot.
8They mock and wickedly speak of oppression;
They speak from on high.
9They have set their mouth against the heavens,
And their tongue parades through the earth.
10Therefore his people return to this place,
And waters of abundance are drunk by them.
11They say, "How does God know?
And is there knowledge with the Most High?"
12Behold, these are the wicked;
And always at ease, they have increased in wealth.
13Surely in vain I have kept my heart pure
And washed my hands in innocence;
14For I have been stricken all day long
And chastened every morning.
15If I had said, "I will speak thus,"
Behold, I would have betrayed the generation of Your children.
16When I pondered to understand this,
It was troublesome in my sight
17Until I came into the sanctuary of God;
Then I perceived their end.
18Surely You set them in slippery places;
You cast them down to destruction.
19How they are destroyed in a moment!
They are utterly swept away by sudden terrors!
20Like a dream when one awakes,
O Lord, when aroused, You will despise their form.
In conclusion of this first observation, any "justice" we see on earth is only partial.  Sometimes the wicked are punished, but sometimes they are not... here on earth.   Eventually, at the Judgement Day, everyone will get what they deserve (or better than they deserve, because of Jesus Christ).

As Glenn Miller puts it in his article, "On those very rare occasions when God displays His judgment within human history, it is very sobering and one which we find genuinely disturbing..."

 

2. On "fairness" and "justice", this question seems crucial:   What do we all truly deserve?  

For those of us who honestly see our own heart's wickedness and who believe what the Bible says about the evil of the human heart, the only answer is the Bible's answer (Romans 6:23) -  we all deserve death and hell.

That is, the question about the Canaanite destruction is really not "how could a loving God command that millions of people be killed,"  but "Why would a holy God refrain from immediately destroying people such as the Canaanites or such as ourselves, when we commit such abhorrent sin all the time?"

The latter question doesn't seem as relevant as the former to us sometimes, but it's because we often whitewash our own sins in our minds, and we forget the true horror of them.

What about 'innocent' babies?  Well, although they haven't yet committed many conscious sins, they have the same corrupt soul and 'bent-toward-sinning' that all the rest of us are born with.  It is only a matter of time before their evil hearts cause them to commit specific sins.  As far as I can tell, God would be completely justified in destroying all of us, just as one might destroy a weed ravaging one's garden or a plate of moldy food in one's refrigerator.

But He doesn't...    He waits with extreme patience, and calls us to repentance, and pays the price of our sins HIMSELF through Jesus Christ so that we can be forgiven.
3. "God is the landlord."  That is, God owns the universe, and it seems reasonable that He has the right to evict tenants who don't follow His rules and who abuse His creation.   He could use anything - a flood, a plague, an earthquake... or, in principle, a human army.   God the Landlord can delegate and authorize human agents to be his eviction representatives...

The main difficulty would then seem to be: how do we know that it's really God who's behind some agressive attack?  I think there is actually a smaller number of attacking armies than one might initially think who specifically claim to be acting on God's authority.... and each one's case has to be evaluated individually.  Two common ones might be the Crusades and the current jihadis.  The claim of the Crusades to be on God's authorization would stem back to the Popes and their alleged infallibility.  The claim of the jihadis to be authorized in killing 'infidels' would stem back to Mu ha m mad and his claims about the Qur an.

Essentially the question about the Canaanite battles is closely related to the question of the death penalty and whether it's ever justified.  It seems pretty clear to me that in some cases it is...  Genesis 9:6 - "Whoever sheds man's blood, By man his blood shall be shed, For in the image of God He made man."
4. True love implies enmity against anything that hurts the beloved.   Related to the previous point, when the Canaanites were sacrificing their children by burning them alive for hundreds of years, or raiding the sick and weak stragglers of the Israelite camp, or ravaging the hearts and bodies of so many within their own nation by their fertility-cult immorality, God was listening.  He is not deaf.  He is "the God who sees" (El-Roi - Genesis 16...)    Anyone who cared about the Canaanite babies and who had the power to do something about it would naturally be expected to do something about it...

Here is some of what the Bible says about the Canaanite practices:  (copied from Glenn Miller's qamorite article... he also cites what secular scholars have found from extrabiblical sources)

The LORD said to Moses, 2 "Speak to the Israelites and say to them: `I am the LORD your God. 3 You must not do as they do in Egypt, where you used to live, and you must not do as they do in the land of Canaan, where I am bringing you. Do not follow their practices. 4 You must obey my laws and be careful to follow my decrees. I am the LORD your God. 5 Keep my decrees and laws, for the man who obeys them will live by them. I am the LORD.
6 "`No one is to approach any close relative to have sexual relations. I am the LORD.
7 "`Do not dishonor your father by having sexual relations with your mother. She is your mother; do not have relations with her.
8 "`Do not have sexual relations with your father's wife; that would dishonor your father.
9 "`Do not have sexual relations with your sister, either your father's daughter or your mother's daughter, whether she was born in the same home or elsewhere.
10 "`Do not have sexual relations with your son's daughter or your daughter's daughter; that would dishonor you.
11 "`Do not have sexual relations with the daughter of your father's wife, born to your father; she is your sister.
12 "`Do not have sexual relations with your father's sister; she is your father's close relative.
13 "`Do not have sexual relations with your mother's sister, because she is your mother's close relative.
14 "`Do not dishonor your father's brother by approaching his wife to have sexual relations; she is your aunt.
15 "`Do not have sexual relations with your daughter-in-law. She is your son's wife; do not have relations with her.
16 "`Do not have sexual relations with your brother's wife; that would dishonor your brother.
17 "`Do not have sexual relations with both a woman and her daughter. Do not have sexual relations with either her son's daughter or her daughter's daughter; they are her close relatives. That is wickedness.
18 "`Do not take your wife's sister as a rival wife and have sexual relations with her while your wife is living.
19 "`Do not approach a woman to have sexual relations during the uncleanness of her monthly period.
20 "`Do not have sexual relations with your neighbor's wife and defile yourself with her.
21 "`Do not give any of your children to be sacrificed to Molech, for you must not profane the name of your God. I am the LORD.
22 "`Do not lie with a man as one lies with a woman; that is detestable.
23 "`Do not have sexual relations with an animal and defile yourself with it. A woman must not present herself to an animal to have sexual relations with it; that is a perversion.
24 "`Do not defile yourselves in any of these ways, because this is how the nations that I am going to drive out before you became defiled. 25 Even the land was defiled; so I punished it for its sin, and the land vomited out its inhabitants. 26 But you must keep my decrees and my laws. The native-born and the aliens living among you must not do any of these detestable things, 27 for all these things were done by the people who lived in the land before you, and the land became defiled. 28 And if you defile the land, it will vomit you out as it vomited out the nations that were before you. 29 "`Everyone who does any of these detestable things -- such persons must be cut off from their people. 30 Keep my requirements and do not follow any of the detestable customs that were practiced before you came and do not defile yourselves with them. I am the LORD your God.'" (Lev 18)

You must not worship the LORD your God in their way, because in worshipping their gods, they do all kinds of detestable things the LORD hates. They even burn their sons and daughters in the fire as sacrifices to their gods. (Deut 12.31)

Let no one be found among you who sacrifices his son or daughter in the fire, (Deut 18.10)

There were even male shrine prostitutes in the land; the people engaged in all the detestable practices of the nations the LORD had driven out before the Israelites. (I Kgs 14.24)

So in summary of point #4, yes, it is shocking that God would order the destruction of some specific nations, but it is helpful to understand more about the practices of these nations, to put into context God's commanded destruction of them.

 

Here's a fascinating article about an East German Christian family behind the Berlin Wall (before it fell 20 years ago) who stayed faithful to God and maintained their integrity in many ways, accepting the difficulties that came with refusing to join the Communist Party.

http://creationsafaris.com/crev200911.htm#20091110a

Awesome example to us all...

This was an interesting article: http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn18098-murderer-with-aggression-genes-gets-sentence-cut.html

Basically a convicted murderer had his prison sentence reduced because scientists found that the genetic code in his body contained a particular variant that was "linked to aggression" in other people who had the same genetic variant.

This raises all sorts of interesting questions.  Are people's actions merely products of their genetics?  Are people's actions "deterministic" (they don't have any choice in their actions despite the "illusion of free will")?  If it is true that particular genetic variants are linked to particular temptations (alcoholism, gluttony, sexual immorality, homosexuality, etc), does the presence of the temptation excuse the sin?  Indeed, for naturalists, on what basis could one ever say that any act is "right" or "wrong"?  Thus, on what basis could a legitimate government (with laws and punishments for lawbreaking) ever be enacted in the first place?  Etc.

How about this question - If one believes in natural selection ("survival of the fittest") and also that one's actions are determined by their genes, shouldn't one favor the Biblical Jewish-theocracy capital punishment for acts like murder, reasoning that such genes should be removed from the gene pool as quickly as possible?

Of course, I don't believe that one's actions are determined by their genes.  But it seems that naturalists should consider the implications of their beliefs....

Here is a wonderful article... well worth reading, re-reading, and pondering...

http://www.geocities.com/athens/Delphi/8449/reward.html

 

I would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Psalm 27:13

God has pointed me recently to meditate even more on His promises and to trust even more fully in them.  This is good...  God always keeps His word, and the more we exercise faith in Him through difficult times, the more glory accrues to Him and the more pleased He is...

However, we can't just pick promises randomly from the Bible and think that they apply to us individually.  For example, in Psalm 27:13 above, David says that he expected that God would rescue him here, in this life.  How could David know this?  Because God had specifically promised him that he would someday be king over Israel (1 Samuel 16).  If he died, God's promise would fail.  So he had this life-prophecy over him, that essentially no one could kill him, until God had brought him to the kingship.  Nice promise for a warrior to have, yes?  So we have David killing Goliath, fighting other Philistines, running around for years in the desert trying to keep away from Saul, etc.  He knew what God had promised to him, but when times were very bleak (such as 1 Samuel 30:6 after losing his wife, or 1 Samuel 23:26 being surrounded by a hostile army) the question would press in upon him - would he continue to hold on to God's promise?  David said the thing that kept him from despair was believing that God would show him the goodness of the Lord here in this life.

Does Psalm 27:13 apply to everyone?  Consider this passage from Hebrews 11:32-40 -

And what more shall I say? For time will fail me if I tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets,  who by faith conquered kingdoms, performed acts of righteousness, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions,  quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, from weakness were made strong, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. Women received back their dead by resurrection;
and others were tortured, not accepting their release, so that they might obtain a better resurrection;  and others experienced mockings and scourgings, yes, also chains and imprisonment.  They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were tempted, they were put to death with the sword; they went about in sheepskins, in goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, ill-treated  (men of whom the world was not worthy), wandering in deserts and mountains and caves and holes in the ground.
 And all these, having gained approval through their faith, did not receive what was promised,  because God had provided something better for us, so that apart from us they would not be made perfect.

We see that many of God's adopted children do NOT receive rescue and vindication here in this life, "in the land of the living".   Instead, many of them die...  in poverty and pain.   God has not promised earthly happiness for His children.  Instead:

And Jesus answered and said to them, "See to it that no one misleads you.  5"For many will come in My name, saying, 'I am the Christ,' and will mislead many.  6"You will be hearing of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not frightened, for those things must take place, but that is not yet the end.  7"For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and in various places there will be famines and earthquakes.  8"But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pangs.
9"Then they will deliver you to tribulation, and will kill you, and you will be hated by all nations because of My name.  10"At that time many will fall away and will betray one another and hate one another.  11"Many false prophets will arise and will mislead many.  12"Because lawlessness is increased, most people's love will grow cold.  13"But the one who endures to the end, he will be saved. Matthew 24:4
and
Then He continued by saying to them, "Nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom, 11and there will be great earthquakes, and in various places plagues and famines; and there will be terrors and great signs from heaven.
12"But before all these things, they will lay their hands on you and will persecute you, delivering you to the synagogues and prisons, bringing you before kings and governors for My name's sake.  13"It will lead to an opportunity for your testimony.  14"So make up your minds not to prepare beforehand to defend yourselves;  15for I will give you utterance and wisdom which none of your opponents will be able to resist or refute.  16"But you will be betrayed even by parents and brothers and relatives and friends, and they will put some of you to death,  17and you will be hated by all because of My name.
18"Yet not a hair of your head will perish. Luke 21:10

What does this mean, that "they will put some of you to death", but "not a hair of your head will perish"?   Were these two statements compiled by different redactors, one 'pessimistic' and one 'optimistic'?  Was Jesus absent-minded or loony?

On the contrary - Jesus simply viewed life from an eternal perspective... i.e., that this earthly life is only a short prelude to the real thing.  More statements by Jesus - "Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell." - Matt 10:28 ...   "Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you." - Matt 5:10-12 ...

I think these juxtaposed statements mean that ALL the promises of God to His children will be fulfilled, but not all of them will be fulfilled here in this life.  For example, He says "Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart." (Psalm 37:4)   He does NOT promise that this will happen this week, or in the next fifty years, or at all during your earthly life.  But eventually it will happen.

Regarding whether God will fulfill the promises before we die or not, I think Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego's attitude is best...  from Daniel chapter 3 - "If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire; and He will deliver us out of your hand, O king. "But even if He does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we are not going to serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up."

Why?  Because "even if He does not" answer our prayers for deliverance in this earthly life, He will eventually answer them, in the life to come.

When a situation comes up that makes it look like God's promise (e.g. Romans 8:28) is failing, we have two choices: either say "I don't see how God could possibly redeem this situation... Oh well, it looks like God messed up here...", or say "I don't see how God could possibly redeem this situation... so it will be very interesting to see what really big miracle He's going to pull to turn THIS out for good..."

So what are some of these promises which you and I (believers in Jesus Christ) can stake everything on? ...because of which, as Paul says, we can willingly "suffer the loss of all things"?  Here are some... first some specific promises, then some good and bad examples of faith or lack thereof...

• And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.
  For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.
  What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?
  Romans 8:28-32
• Do not fret because of evildoers,
  Be not envious toward wrongdoers.
  For they will wither quickly like the grass
  And fade like the green herb.
  Trust in the LORD and do good;
  Dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness.
  Delight yourself in the LORD;
  And He will give you the desires of your heart.
  Commit your way to the LORD,
  Trust also in Him, and He will do it.
  He will bring forth your righteousness as the light
  And your judgment as the noonday.
  Rest in the LORD and wait patiently for Him;
  Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way,
  Because of the man who carries out wicked schemes.
  Psalm 37:1-7
• Remember my affliction and my wandering, the wormwood and bitterness.
  Surely my soul remembers
  And is bowed down within me.
  This I recall to my mind,
  Therefore I have hope.
  The LORD'S lovingkindnesses indeed never cease,
  For His compassions never fail.
  They are new every morning;
  Great is Your faithfulness.
  "The LORD is my portion," says my soul,
  "Therefore I have hope in Him."
  The LORD is good to those who wait for Him,
  To the person who seeks Him.
  It is good that he waits silently
  For the salvation of the LORD.
  It is good for a man that he should bear
  The yoke in his youth.
  Let him sit alone and be silent
  Since He has laid it on him.
  Let him put his mouth in the dust,
  Perhaps there is hope.
  Let him give his cheek to the smiter,
  Let him be filled with reproach.
  For the Lord will not reject forever,
  For if He causes grief,
  Then He will have compassion
  According to His abundant lovingkindness.
  For He does not afflict willingly
  Or grieve the sons of men.
  Lamentations 3:19-33
• "For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us." Romans 8:18

• "For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal." 2 Corinthians 4:17-18
• "Do not worry then, saying, 'What will we eat?' or 'What will we drink?' or 'What will we wear for clothing?' For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you." Matthew 6:31-33
• "Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea.  And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband.  And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, "Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them,  and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away."  And He who sits on the throne said, "Behold, I am making all things new." And He said, "Write, for these words are faithful and true.""  Revelation 21:1-5
• Trust in the LORD with all your heart
  And do not lean on your own understanding.
  In all your ways acknowledge Him,
  And He will make your paths straight.
  Proverbs 3:5-6
• "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
  In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ; and though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, obtaining as the outcome of your faith the salvation of your souls."
  1 Peter 1:3-9
• "Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need." Hebrews 4:14-16
• On that day, when evening came, He said to them, "Let us go over to the other side." Leaving the crowd, they took Him along with them in the boat, just as He was; and other boats were with Him. And there arose a fierce gale of wind, and the waves were breaking over the boat so much that the boat was already filling up. Jesus Himself was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke Him and said to Him, "Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?" And He got up and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, "Hush, be still." And the wind died down and it became perfectly calm. And He said to them, "Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?" They became very much afraid and said to one another, "Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?"  Mark 4:35-41
• Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.  Philippians 4:6-7
• Make sure that your character is free from the love of money, being content with what you have; for He Himself has said, "I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you," so that we confidently say,"The Lord is my helper, I will not be afraid. What will man do to me?"  Hebrews 13:5

 

Here are some of my recent thoughts on politics, specifically the economy and the election.  Sorry for the rambling nature of the post.  I doubt it will sway any of you one way or the other, as most people have already made up their minds.  Yet I hope these thoughts will be profitable to you.  As always, I will appreciate hearing your opinions.

1. The economy... in two words. "debt" and "oil".

Our national debt of trillions of dollars seems problematic.  Likewise the 'social security' system, with the 'baby boomers' expecting to retire while a smaller number of people are paying into the system.  Meanwhile personal credit card debt averages around $8000 per family (not including mortgages).  As for mortgages, the Carter administration and Clinton administration (and 1992 and 1999 Congresses) apparently urged Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to increase their 'subprime' mortgage loans to low-income families, which recently caused turmoil as they almost failed and the government chose to provide hundreds of billions of dollars of bailouts.

The issue is: do we allow the consequences of people's poor financial decisions to sting them, or ought the government to step in and provide public money to try to ease or eliminate the consequences?  Which is the most wise and loving thing to do, in the long term?

Most people in government these days seem to be calling for "more regulation", and bailouts, etc. (http://casey.enews.senate.gov/mail/util.cfm?gpiv=1999877173.90323.383&gen=1)  If this trend continues, it will likely apply also to the other financial tsunamis looming, such as the national debt, the credit card debt, social security, etc.  The government will spend taxpayer money to try to keep the system afloat, instead of letting those who were in debt go bankrupt.  This will work, until the government runs out of money.  Then hyperinflation will occur.

I think Alexander Tyler's quote is extremely applicable and prescient:
"A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves money from the Public Treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidate promising the most benefits from the Public Treasury with the result that a democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy always followed by dictatorship."

Meanwhile, oil is the trigger that has surfaced these problems again this year (coincidentally right before the election, or maybe not so coincidentally).  I personally think most people still underestimate how dependent the western economy is upon oil... for energy, transportation, and consequently, for food and water.  The holders of the majority of the world's oil (the Middle East, Venuzuela, Russia, Nigeria) are currently not very friendly with the USA. The 1930's depression had the advantage that more people lived within walking distance of food production than they do today. If oil and gas got really expensive, life might drastically change here in America, and it might trigger a large economic depression and possibly chaos until food and water and jobs became more accessible.

Yet the Bible gives plenty of hope for such times.  Matthew 24, Luke 21... Jesus predicts war, famines, and lots of persecution for Christians.  But He says to 'lift up your eyes, for your redemption draws near."  Habakkuk picks up the same theme:

Though the fig tree should not blossom
And there be no fruit on the vines,
Though the yield of the olive should fail
And the fields produce no food,
Though the flock should be cut off from the fold
And there be no cattle in the stalls,
Yet I will exult in the LORD,
I will rejoice in the God of my salvation.
In other words, even if the economy completely fails and anarchy prevails, we who hope in Christ are completely secure - our citizenship and our hope is in heaven.  The situation will be ripe for reaching out with love and with the gospel to our neighbors.  No matter how we die (as we all will), whether by starvation or persecution or mob violence or cancer, we will wake up "in the presence of the Lord", Jesus Christ the Living Word of God.

 

2. The election - specifically Obama versus McCain.

Obama seems somehow more a discussion topic than McCain... perhaps McCain is seen as somewhat tamer, as a 'continuation' of Bush's presidency, while Obama is seen as more of a change.  I was interested to read tonight perspectives from Brian McClaren and Randy Alcorn on Obama... I'll comment on them below.  I have friends and family whose sentiments lie on both sides, so it's been interesting to hear the different perspectives.

From what I've seen, Christians who are voting for Obama give the following main reasons:

• In foreign policy, Obama emphasizes 'peace and reconciliation', not 'war' (or 'national defense', as the McCain side would say).  I think this means, at the bottom line, that he is more in favor of letting the United Nations handle international affairs, rather than 'unilateral' actions.  War is always horrific, and Obama is emphasizing the need for the United States to extricate itself from the conflicts it is involved in.  Many Christians see Bush as a president who arrogantly went against the world's opinion and thrust the nation into war.  The question of how to deal with Islamic terrorism is not often discussed these days, or at least not as often as it was discussed immediately after 9/11.

 

• Obama emphasizes helping the poor through government action, i.e. moving in a more socialistic direction, in healthcare, expanding welfare programs, mortgage assistance, etc.  It could be termed "helping the poor and needy among us", or "taking more money from the rich and giving it to the poor", or "social justice and equity"... regardless of the terms used, his policies are undeniably more socialistic than McCain's, and to many Christians, this indicates to them that he is more concerned about the poor than is McCain.

 

• Also, of lesser prominence, Obama more emphasizes the need to protecting the environment, and he promises more changes in fiscal policy (i.e. more "government regulation" of Wall Street, health care, etc) than McCain, and so for those who think the current economic problems are due to Bush's policies, such change is welcomed.

Christians who are voting against Obama give the following main reasons:

• Obama is strongly pro-choice.  In other words, he does not consider the aborted fetuses as human babies unjustly killed by the millions each year, but rather as blobs of tissue without rights, whose life or death should be controlled by the mother's wishes.

 

• Obama's socialistic leanings are seen as ultimately harmful to the poor, to the economy, etc.  In other words, his plans to give money to the poor are seen in the light of other unsuccessful socialistic experiments of the past century.

 

• Obama's views on many other topics reflect the Democratic liberal positions, and do not jive with the Bible's teachings (on homosexual marriage, race, and other areas).

My own thoughts on the issues of the war, socialism, and abortion:

• The War on Terror (an ill-conceived title because it is unwinnable) - War is horrible - everybody admits this... including Obama, McCain, and me.  However, what is the alternative?  It is easy to criticise an incumbent president, and say "if I was president, I would withdraw from international conflict; I would bring home the troops."  But the actuality is that there are and will be wars, some of which will inevitably involve us.  Consider the 9/11 attacks, or the Saddam Hussein regime kicking out the nuclear inspectors.  How would Obama react to such events?  Unless I hear from him a novel plan, his 'peace' talk sounds like mere armchair quarterbacking.  I am guessing he would emphasize submission to the UN.  Since I do not trust the UN, this smells bad to me.

 

• Taking money from the rich to give to the poor strikes me as a bad decision for long-term national prosperity.  I personally think that individuals, especially Christians and the Church, should be helping the poor, not the government.  I think the government should step back and get less involved (and shrink itself in general)... drastically reduce welfare, etc.  It seems to me that whenever the government has increased taxes and given more money to low-income people (even back in Roosevelt's 'New Deal' in the 1930's), the subsidy/welfare mentality that has resulted has had long-term detrimental effects on low-income people and families. So when I hear Christians say that we should hold Jesus' emphasis on helping the poor and should thus vote for Obama's socialism, I agree with the former and disagree with the latter.  Government doleouts to the poor, to me, seems less loving, farther from Jesus'/the Bible's recommended approach.  Is McCain any better?  Well, he may be the lesser of two evils...

 

• Abortion = murder.  Government-sanctioned abortion = government-sanctioned murder.

I have heard the following question from my friends: Why would you put advocacy for the unborn above advocacy for the poor, and above advocacy for those being killed by US troops in foreign countries?

My response (openminded, but based on the evidence I have seen so far) is: Government socialistic aid is actually probably not the most loving response to the poor.  War is indeed extremely tragic, but one must weigh whether the carnage from foreign policies of 'appeasement' or inaction might actually be greater than the casualties of 'unilateral regime change', as ugly as that may be.  So advocacy for the unborn is actually the only real advocacy question in this year's election... and there is a clear answer as to whether McCain or Obama is a stronger advocacte for the unborn babies.

 

Finally, two perspectives worth reading (though I have already commented above on their main points)

Brian McClaren, four reasons why he is voting for Obama
http://www.brianmclaren.net/archives/blog/why-im-voting-for-obama-and-why.html

My reaction: On his reason #1, claiming that Jesus' message was one of "reconciliation"... Really???  Reconciliation with whom or what?  How?  The main reconciliation Jesus talked about was between sinners and God.  How does McClaren's post fit with Jesus' emphasis on 'straight and narrow way' leading to life which few find, or "he who is not for me is against me", or Himself as "the way, the truth, and the life... no man comes to the Father but by Me"?  I suspect that McClaren would find the rhetoric of Jesus Himself quite "militant" and "polarizing", were Jesus to be speaking in today's culture.
Also, McClaren's reason #3, on caring for the poor, I have addressed above by questioning whether socialism really provides more hope for the poor than does capitalism; whether big government is the solution, and indeed whether searching for "a solution" is actually a red herring since "the poor you will always have with you"... and whether instead we ought to focus on individual and church-based generosity and urban transformation...

Randy Alcorn, on why he is not voting for Obama
http://randyalcorn.blogspot.com/2008/10/not-cool-obamas-pro-abortion-stance.html

Here's a great quote from his post:
"Please don't tell me abortion isn't the only issue. Of course it isn't. Treatment of the Jews wasn’t the only issue in 1940 Germany. Buying, selling and owning black people wasn’t the only issue in the United States of 1850. Nonetheless, both were the dominant moral issues of their day. Make no mistake about it. In our own day if we support a candidate who defends abortion, who is dedicated to that cause, we are supporting the killing of children. Yes, even if he’s the coolest candidate to come along in decades."

 

 

 

...thinking a bit about patriotism tonight.  Here are some interesting links:

http://fallbackbelmont.blogspot.com/2007/10/easy-to-be-hard-easy-to-be-cold.html - Real versus imaginary patriotism...

http://fallbackbelmont.blogspot.com/2007/10/my-country-tis-of-me.html -  'designer love' and other things...

http://www.pajamasmedia.com/2007/10/pride_and_shame.php - 'America' - a real culture, or only an abstract ideal?

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/10/03/americas-identity-crisis/ - is nationalism wrong?

http://pajamasmedia.com/2007/10/obama_will_no_longer_wear_amer.php - why Barack Obama says he will no longer wear an American flag lapel pin.    What would you think of a husband who said he would no longer wear his wedding ring because it was "only a substitute for true loyalty and love"??

and finally, http://littlegreenfootballs.com/weblog/?entry=27427_UK_Debate-_We_Should_Not_Be_Reluctant_to_Assert_the_Superiority_of_Western_Values&only - a debate on the proposition "We should not be reluctant to assert the superiority of western values."  What do you think?

 

My own situation - I grew up nominally/untestedly patriotic, then went through four years at college of extreme discomfort at the apparently unquestioning 'God-and-country patriotism' mentality being promulgated, then began to think 'deeper' and ponder more whether there might actually be a place for true patriotism.  I like the twofold contrast given by the top two links above: patriotism might be a commitment to sacrificial loyalty to one's homeland/country (the older conception), or it might be a commitment to 'ideal' behavior, as in, 'I will support whichever country or leader operates with the best morality/legitimacy at the moment' (the newer conception).  But since all men and all countries without exception are deeply flawed and sinful (and since many actions of countries are so vast as to be hard to analyze - e.g. were the Americans in the World Trade Center "little Eichmanns" as Ward Churchill claimed?), the latter definition of patriotism usually seems to simplify down to treason: aiding the enemy.

Yet what to do when one's country pursues actions and policies which seem very wrong, and all the (typical) legal ways to change the country's course seem ineffective?   E.g. Vietnam...?  Dietrich Bonhoeffer?  Peter and John?

Is America actually worth dying for?  If so, how does that fit with our higher allegiance to the Kingdom of God (which is unquestionably worth dying for)... ?

I was reading John Mortenson's blog tonight, while reading more on the internet about the postmodernist/emergent controversy stewing at Cedarville University these days (about which I had already heard an inside perspective or two).  Specifically this post and especially the three other previous posts linked from that one.

I am so heartbroken to see my friends embracing postmodernism and "teaching others to do the same".  (I revived my similar post below from October of last year... same thoughts once again... these same thoughts burn through my mind increasingly more frequently).

I am delighted to see the love and acceptance which friends like Mortenson pour out on the needy people around them, and I seek to do this more myself.  But I have "great sorrow and unceasing grief in my heart" when I see postmodern friends avoiding the exclusive and absolute teachings of God's Word (the Bible) and and allowing the culture to dictate the Church's perspective on the Bible, Christian life, and God Himself.

I will tread as lightly as possible as I quote below from Mortenson's earlier post:

"We go outside and he smokes. He is way across the yard from the children and worries that he is smoking too near them. He asks my permission to speak freely, meaning, can he swear in front of me. He says bullshit and watches to see if I will condemn him."...
Eddie comes by. Eddie is on the same road, but much farther gone. Eddie is deeply lined in his face, and skinny, and walks unrhythmically. He shakes hands with everyone over and over. Yeah, hey, hi, you’re a gentleman, thanks a lot, great to be here, shake my hand. He works a crowd like a politician. But this isn’t Eddie; this is Eddie’s robot, the mechanical part of him that the addiction needs to keep going. The addiction gladly kills all that is human, keeping only the smooth scheming parts, the clever negotiating parts, so that the body can get a little food and live another day and keep the addiction alive.
Ray knows this will be him.
He tells me where the crack houses are in this neighborhood, and then says this place gets bad after dark and he wants to leave now.  Gets bad? What could you meet that is worse than this?
He shakes my hand, not scheming like Eddie, but heavy and slow and sad. He walks away.
What Bible verse would you read to Ray?  ...
“Jesus of Nazareth…went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.”

 

There is an extremely fine line to walk.   It is good to be brokenhearted on behalf of others, to "weep with those who weep."   Yet there are words by which we are told to "comfort one another".   Jesus of Nazareth certainly did go about doing good and healing, but He also called people "broods of vipers" and even told some people "Go and sin no more".

Job's three friends sat with him in his misery for seven days without saying a word.  Then they opened their mouths.  The emergents/postmoderns say they should have kept their mouths closed-- that's where they went awry.

But I disagree.  Their problem was that they lost sight of God!   They "knew not the scriptures, nor the power of God".  They went astray not in their confidence about who God was, but in the content of their incorrect supposed knowledge.  They should have known from Genesis (Abraham's story, Joseph's story, etc) that God is not a cosmic karma machine.

The postmodernist will say, "But that's exactly it Tim - don't you see, Job's friends thought they knew God, but actually they were mistaken.  Herein is the lesson for us, never to speak with full authority or confidence on our interpretation of the Scriptures, because we might be wrong.  We ought never to rule out any perspective- be it McClaren, McClaine, or Bin Laden... because we might arrogantly miss some aspect of the truth that they could teach us."

Two thoughts in response: first a tiny caveat, then the main point.  Caveat- I agree that "100% certainty" is an unhelpful thing- it can lock one in to incorrect notions from which there is henceforth no possibility of getting out.  However, I suggest that 99.999...% "asymptotic certainty" is not only very legitimate in many cases, but that it can look outwardly indistinguishable from "100% certainty" in many situations.  Where do we ever see Jesus or Paul or Peter or any Biblical character preaching "Thus and thus says the Lord, and thus and thus you should do in response, but I might be mistaken in my interpretation of His message, so let's dialog about this-- what do you think God is saying to you?"    !
I do suspect that Peter and Paul and Jude had "only" 99.999...% asymptotic certainty, but it didn't preclude them from taking a firm, "dogmatic" stand on what God had previously stated (i.e. the very words)... and it didn't preclude them from saying things like "...I felt the necessity to write to you appealing that you contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints.  For certain persons have crept in unnoticed, those who were long beforehand marked out for this condemnation, ungodly persons who turn the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ."

 

Now the main point:
Notice the Emergent/Postmodern emphasis on avoiding condemnation... as in the quote above "...and watches to see if I will condemn him".    I suggest that the focus in Emergent/Postmodern Christianity is too small... too limited... too terrestial.   My arbiter ought not to be my fellow man.  In fact, if I am looking to peers' approval to make sure I am on the right spiritual track in life, I am committing idolatry.

Rather, my arbiter must be God Himself, through His Word, the Bible (unmediated by human gatekeepers of traditions, but rather aided through the Holy Spirit to understand (cf. Alvin Plantinga's writings on 'warrant')...  yet trusting even no "spirit guidance" except what concurs with the revealed written Word of God, following Jesus' example).

My chief concern should be whether Jesus Himself would want me to confront the swearing man or not... rather than whether or not the swearing man might feel uncomfortably 'judged' by a Christian and henceforth perhaps spurn God.

 

In the words of the old song, "There's a call going out..."   a call to all true Christians in America and the West... to be broken....  doubly broken... in Christ's service and for His sake.

The first brokenness is an empathetic understanding of our postmodern peers... to seek to understand where they're coming from, to listen to them, to engage in gentle kindness and hospitality to them, to avoid the strident sounds of 'harsh, fundamentalistic, modernistic, arrogant, simplistic, judgmental, thoughtless' Christianity whenever possible as part of 'becoming all things to all men.'  We are called to become 'as postmodern' to the postmoderns.

Yet Paul's veneers had limits, as must ours... and thus comes about the second brokenness.  Our postmodern culture tells us that all perspectives are equally valid, and if we believe differently, we will face ridicule, rejection, and persecution by our peers.   We must be willing to accept this rejection... we must be willing to be broken a second time.  To be villified on the one side by the moralists for our empathy and hospitality, and be villified on the other side by the emergents for our unswerving stand upon God's Word and for the exclusive Lordship of Jesus Christ.   To be villified by our supposedly Christian brethren on both sides, for the sake of Christ.  As Jesus so poignantly asked the Pharisees, "How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and you do not seek the glory that is from the one and only God?"

We must be compassionate and loving, while simultaneously 'setting our faces like flint'.  We must be shrewd as serpents, but innocent as doves.

This is the call...   It is a call to love.  Not tolerance, which is cheap... but real love... tough love... which is excruciating.

We live in extremely challenging times...  God has placed us specifically here 'for such a time as this'.

The question was asked above: "What Bible verse would you read to Ray?"  I suggest that for us who truly follow Christ, this question cannot be a rhetorical one.