Nice quote from Richard Fernandez:
"I have occasionally argued that “there are no atheists in foxholes” not just because people pray for survival but because they eventually realize they have to pray for forgiveness. We strive for righteousness; and the most righteous of all know how short of the mark they fall."
Are you a moralist? Are you a prolifigate? Here is a fascinating article, about Tullian Tchividjian (Billy Graham's grandson) and his church.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/features/fl-fv-tullian-tchividjian-book-20100628,0,7880549.story
If you have time and interest after reading the article above, I wrote a few comments below.
Article quote:
""Instead of the gospel, we've communicated moralism," the pastor of the Fort Lauderdale congregation says. "Somewhere along the way, Christians have communicated that Christianity is for good people, keeping rules, maintaining standards, doing what's right."
Is he correct?
It is interesting that he is not the only one to be preaching this message these days. Tim Keller is a well-known preacher in New York City who teaches similarly. Keller says there are three ways to live: irreligion (like the reckless brother of Luke 15), moralism (like the elder brother of Luke 15), or gospel.
Popular preachers are popping up all over the country with this the-gospel-is-not-moralism slant. Is this just a theological fad associated with postmodernism? Or are they are following in the footsteps of the Apostle Paul - "You have been severed from Christ, you who are seeking to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace." (Galatians 5:4)
Article quote:
The lesson for modern America, and Christian conservative activism, is the need for mercy, not just judgment, Tchividjian suggests.
"So much of the religious right over the last 25 years has done good things, but it's also done real damage to the reputation of the church. It's been more outspoken about what it's against than what it's for. Christians who genuinely understand God's grace always point a finger at themselves before pointing it at other people."
There is a lot packed into what he is saying. When he says "the religious right", he is referring to the self-conscious politically-active subgroup within the historical American fundamentalist evangelical movement which "became increasingly vocal and organized in reaction to a series of United States Supreme Court decisions (notably Bob Jones University v. Simon and Bob Jones University v. United States) and also engaged in battles over pornography, obscenity, abortion, state sanctioned prayer in public schools, textbook contents (concerning evolution vs. creationism), homosexuality, and sexual education." (Wikipedia, above link) And more.
But when the "religious right" is subtly denigrated as 'attacking', the question arises as to whether Christ's description of His disciples being "the salt of the earth" and "the light of the world" (Matthew 5) might indeed have political ramifications. Is there anything wrong with seeking to help one's country enact good laws that promote decency? Is the only correct path to avoid all political involvement, sitting in a corner to avoid offending anyone?
Back to Tchividjian. He says that the religious right has caused damage to the church, presumably because it focused TOO MUCH on morality issues and not enough on the gospel. Political involvement is ok, we and Tchividjian might say, as long as it always remains secondary to the main thing, which is knowing Christ Jesus and making Him known... primarily by making more individual disciples of Christ. The problem with 'legislating morality' is not that it is always improper (some laws are indeed 'better' than others, and all laws are based upon some moral foundation), but that it treats the symptom, rather than the underlying heart cause. Both are necessary, but our great commission is primarily/specifically to make disciples, and only secondarily/along-the-way-while-fulfilling-the-great-commission to enact good laws.
But then Tchividjian says something slightly different. "It's been more outspoken about what it's against than what it's for. Christians who genuinely understand God's grace always point a finger at themselves before pointing it at other people."
In one sense he's attacking a bit of a straw man here. But there is an important grain of truth I think...
The church in every age has had to defend the gospel. Some opponents have been doctrinal/philosophical (Athanasius, etc), others moralistic/ascetic, and others licentious. In Martin Luther's age the opponent was the Roman Catholic Church and its works-salvation and other dogmas. Luther emphasized that justification was by faith alone, not faith plus works. (Romans 3-4).
In the early 1900s the modernist-fundamentalist controversy saw true followers of Christ opposed by those who believed that the miracles in the New Testament did not actually happen and that the important take-home points were merely the 'spiritual lessons' from the miracle stories. Machen and others emphasized that one had to believe in the fundamentals of the gospel (such as the actual/literal/physical resurrection of Jesus from the dead), or else one was believing a false gospel (1 Corinthians 15, Galatians 1).
In the 1960s and following, the American culture was moving very fast toward 'immorality and lawlessness'. It was the era of Woodstock, hippies, drugs, and free love. Movies were becoming more raunchy, colleges were being shut down by armed students protesting regulations, Vietnam protests were everywhere, and the Cold War with the USSR threatened nuclear annihilation. The Bible and prayer were removed from public schools during these decades.
The churches of this time had to take a "firm stance" on Christ's call to purity (Matthew 5, and many more places in the New Testament, echoing God's earlier calls throughout the Old Testament). Unfortunately, as always tends to happen, moralism and pharasaicalism sometimes developed, with more and more spoken and unspoken rules set in place to try to hold the immoral culture of the day out of the church and the family.
Hence Tchividjian and the current generation of American Christians, reacting somewhat painfully to the previous generation's legalistic and political excesses, as the pendulum swings back again. There is a genuine need to reiterate the gospel these days as being all about the grace of Christ. As Keller says, true followers of Christ have a sense of wonder permeating their lives, because they know how wicked their hearts are and are amazed that God would love THEM. (me!!)
This is one side of the true gospel. One might call it the 'Grace' side. And it is definitely extremely important to preach.
Article quote:
Tchividjian believes they left because he preached that church people build "idols" and need grace as much as those outside. Such idols include pride, self-righteousness, even tradition and patriotism, according to the minister.
Ouch! Respectable, good, clean-talking, moral, nice, kind, patriotic, Bible-believing, Bible-memorizing, upstanding Christian men and women who regularly attend church "need grace as much as" nonChristian sinners? As much as fornicators and adulterers and murderers and homosexuals and smokers and drug addicts and drunks? How can this be?
Yet if one reads Jesus' teachings, surely Tchividjian is right about this! (John 9:39-41, Luke 11:37-42, Luke 18:9-14, Luke 7:29-48, ETC!) We who have been born into Christian families and set on an 'outwardly more moral' course of life by our parents have the same wicked hearts as those whose actions are more visibly 'bad'. Even when we have had more help in training our thoughts toward righteousness, the inner 'principle of sin living in me' is just as hideous and just as needful of God's power and grace in putting it to death and living in 'the freedom of the glory of the children of God' (Romans 8:21, 7:21). As Paul said, "The sins of some men are quite evident, going before them to judgment; for others, their sins follow after." (1 Timothy 5:24)
YET, for all of Tchividjian's correctness about grace, there is another side of the gospel. Jesus commanded his disciples: "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." (Matt 28:19-20)
One might call this the "Effects of Grace" side of the gospel. If a person claims to have "faith" in Jesus but their "faith" does not produce a changed life of obedience and continual repentance and a heart eager to 'observe all that Jesus commanded us', that "faith" is worthless. It is not true, gospel, saving faith. (James 2, 1 John 1-5, Romans 1:5, 16:26, Matthew 3:8, Matthew 7:17/context, Matthew 13, 2 Corinthians 13:5, Isaiah 66:2, ETC).
We must believe, live, and preach BOTH sides of the gospel! Not one or the other. "It's not either-or, it's both-and," as Jerry Newcombe was quoted in the article. What we need is not less doctrinal teaching, but more love.
What are your thoughts?
Regarding the "crash" (collapse of peace and economic prosperity in the USA and beyond) which some people (including myself) see on the horizon...
underlying cause:
- millions of individual unsaved Americans, a collective nation turning gradually further from God (we were never God's chosen people, and we were only a "Christian nation" in the sense of being composed of a high percentage of people espousing Christianity or judeo-christian morality (e.g. one might just as well say that we used to be a "Caucasian nation" or some other such originally shared characteristic), and not in the sense of possessing a divine national charter)
proximal causes:
==>> abortion (twenty thousand precious unborn humans murdered per week in America)
-> recognition of homosexual 'marriages'
-> abandoning Israel
cultural factors leading to the decline
- divorce, homosexuality and the breakdown of the family
- removing the Bible from the public square (especially schools) and requiring secularistic science teaching
- affluence --> laziness (engineering school enrollment, etc)
- feminism (more girls now going to college than boys, divorce epidemic, etc, cf. Mohler articles such as http://www.albertmohler.com/2009/10/23/feminism-unfulfilled-why-are-so-many-women-unhappy/
http://www.albertmohler.com/2010/02/09/newsnote-where-are-the-young-men/
http://www.albertmohler.com/2010/02/05/newsnote-masculinity-in-a-can-fight-club-at-church-and-the-crisis-of-manhood/
http://www.albertmohler.com/2009/10/28/the-divorce-divide-a-national-embarrassment/)
- media evil: Hollywood movies, tv shows, pornography, etc
factors in the predicted coming economic collapse of the USA and subsequent one-world government
Global:
- sovereign debt (of many nations, e.g. Greece, Spain, Ireland, Britain, and the USA...)
- oil dependency - for transportation, food growing and transporting, manufacturing, energy, etc
- nuclear Iran (dilemma: if pre-emptive attack of Iran, risk losing 'world goodwill', if wait/sanctions, risk nuclear war and/or an EMP-bomb attack against Israel, Europe, USA, etc) http://pajamasmedia.com/blog/the-time-to-act-against-iran-is-fast-approaching/?singlepage=true
USA:
- national sovereign debt - $14 trillion and growing - now equal to 100% of the 2010 GDP
- continued expansion of government entitlement programs like welfare, unemployment, disability, medicare, etc
- social security collapsing due to borrowing - e.g. paying out more than it takes in, starting 2010 http://www.investors.com/NewsAndAnalysis/Article/539411/201007061804/Are-Overdue-Reports-Concealing-ObamaCare-Impact-On-Medicare-.aspx
- the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan - approximately $1 billion spent so far
- the subprime mortgage crisis due to Clinton-era FreddieMac/FannieMae intervention - http://pajamasmedia.com/rogerkimball/2008/09/29/who-caused-the-biggest-financial-crisis-since-the-great-depression/
- 12 million illegal immigrants taking up millions of dollars in local services
- high personal credit card debt, $8000 average per household
- the Obama $700 billion 'stimulus' bill of 2009
- the national healthcare bill of 2010, taking effect gradually over the next 5 years
- Bush tax cuts expiring in 2011
Predictions
- something will trigger a global economic meltdown
- runaway money-printing / inflation will occur in USA and the dollar will lose most or all of its value (cf. Argentina, Zimbabwe)
- some level of national turmoil will occur, especially acutely in the cities with riots when gas and food run out
- Christians will experience major persecution
At some point, the world will transition to a one-world Islamic government and everyone who accepts the new world leader will receive an implanted RFID microchip allowing them to buy and sell. However, the timing of the transition is not known... the USA meltdown might occur many years before the world transition, or within a few weeks or months. God might grant many more years to the earth before bringing the final end of the age.
Recommendations
- http://tim223.xanga.com/722854326/preparing-for-the-coming-distress/ (Rejoice in Jesus Christ all day long! and prepare in a few prudent earthly ways)
- Pray for revival in the USA...
- More ideas: www.transitionus.org , www.postpeakliving.com
Nice little quote from John Piper (about 1 Corinthians 7:29-31)
"...Marriage is momentary. It’s over at death, and there is no marriage in the resurrection. Wives and husbands are second priorities, not first. Christ is first. Marriage is for making much of him.
It means: If she is exquisitely desirable, beware of desiring her more than Christ. And if she is deeply disappointing, beware of being hurt too much. This is temporary—only a brief lifetime. Then comes the never-disappointing life which is life indeed. ..."
Some 'reaction' on recent news:
- On the wikileaks video of US soldiers 'accidentally' shooting civilians (http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/libertycentral/2010/apr/07/wikileaks-collateral-murder-iraq-video) , it strikes me that as the Bible says in Numbers 32:23, "be sure your sin will find you out." In other words, if the crew in the attack helicopter had known that their casual words would later be listened to by millions of people (and would jeopardize the lives of many of their fellow soldiers by making people think that they were all alike), they would have spoken (and maybe acted) differently. As Jesus said in Matthew 12:34, "the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart." It is the daily, hidden actions, thoughts, and words which few people or no people know about, which gradually shape our characters and consciences... and it is our character / heart which is revealed suddenly, without warning, when circumstances suddenly put us to the test.... and it is our character / heart by which we will ultimately be judged. As Jesus continues in Matthew 12:37, "by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned." Because they show our heart.
How then to live? Try to guard our words and hidden actions extremely closely? Not quite... I'd say focus on the heart - learn specifics of how God wants you to live, repent and confess your sin to God when you see yourself breaking the specifics, rejoice that Jesus has paid for all of your sins, ask God for help in "by the Spirit... putting to death the deeds of the body" (Rom. 8:13), try to stop sinning and start obeying in that specific (with the motive of being an "obedient child" (1 Peter 1:14), and repeat the cycle in other specific areas!
- On sending people away to seminary (from my previous post's question) - one thing that occurred to me is that there are some items in some situations which a local church might not have the ability to teach certain helpful things to people who are involved in certain ministries. For example, if an elder wanted to learn Greek or Hebrew to better guard his church people from doctrinal error and help them to deeper understanding of God's word, in some parts of the world (without access to local teachers or correspondance courses) the only way to acquire such learning is to travel to a seminary. But I still think that such training is overvalued in America compared to study of God's word, life experience, proven character, training/mentorship by mature older Christians, etc.
- On D.C.Innes' editorial "Our Present Civil Cold War" (http://online.worldmag.com/2010/06/09/our-present-civil-cold-war/)... it is a short and excellent commentary on the 'choice' facing Americans today between limited government and unlimited government (socialism). While I think he puts the issues well, I am surprised at his optimism and the optimism of many other conservatives ("taking back our country" rhetoric). I think a better summary might be this succinct paragraph: "A democracy is always temporary in nature; it simply cannot exist as a permanent form of government. A democracy will continue to exist up until the time that voters discover that they can vote themselves generous gifts from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates who promise the most benefits from the public treasury, with the result that every democracy will finally collapse due to loose fiscal policy, which is always followed by a dictatorship."
That quote is attributed to Alexander Tytler, probably falsely, but regardless of whoever first wrote it I think it seems rather insightful. Have not many historical nations foundered due to 'loose fiscal policy', been thrust into a time of societal turmoil, and then experienced a dictatorship?
The question then, for me, is how to live if we are in such a situation in our country right now. My current thought is to (1) pray for revival, (2) reach out to help as many individual people as possible, firstly spiritually in coming to know Christ, secondly economically in getting out of debt and growing in education and maturity, (3) spend a small/moderate amount of effort in political causes to try to help enact good laws and elect good leaders, and (4) prepare in whatever little ways are possible for the tough times ahead.
What are your thoughts? Do you think D.C.Innes is right? Does it affect your life at all?
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
Our government seems to be relying more and more on Other People's Money these days... in the continued welfare programs for unemployed people, in moving toward a more socialized healthcare system, in borrowing money from China and other countries to sustain our deficit, etc.
At some point, there usually comes a time when it is generally realized that borrowing other people's money won't work any more. "Why don't you spend the money from your own pocket to help the poor, rather than taking money from someone else's pocket?"... the sentiment is eventually inevitable.
However, this post is not primarily about fiscal policy, but about an analogy between the eventual breakdown of such "OPM" expectations and the salvation of our friends who do not believe in Jesus. First a bit of background, then a thought at the end making the link.
As many of you readers know, the Bible indicates that all humans have an inborn bent toward sinning (inherited from Adam and Eve) which causes us to commit actual sins... thousands of them every day... acts of arrogant evil and corruption in blatant disobedience to God. Even people who do not read the Bible still have some knowledge of what is right and wrong... and still often choose to do what's wrong anyway.
As the Bible explains, the One True God who created the world happens to be both Just and Loving. His Justice does not allow him to turn a blind eye to our sins. Instead, "the person who sins will die" (Ezekiel 18:20); "the wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23). But His Love caused Him to decide to essentially pay the debt Himself that we owed... God the Son in cooperation with God the Father volunteered to be "pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed" (Isaiah 53:5).
It so happens that not everyone will receive this salvation, however... only those who "believe"; those whose hearts God "opens" (Acts 16:14) to accept God's free gift of salvation and put their allegiance and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. Moreover, according to Jesus this will be a minority of humanity: "Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it" (Matthew 7:13-14).
It so happens that I have received this free gift of salvation through Jesus Christ, and so I will some day be in heaven forever with God in indescribable joy and bliss, though I fully deserve instead to be forever in hell. But it also so happens that a large percentage of my friends, neighbors, coworkers, and other acquaintances do not believe in Jesus and so are on their way toward eternal hell and what the Bible calls "the second death". So I am often burdened to pray for my friends, that God would have mercy on them and open their eyes to see the truth.
And so, I often beg for "Other Person's Mercy", specifically, that God would have mercy on my friends, changing their minds to see the evil of their own souls and their need for Jesus Christ. I so desire it.... I so want my friends to experience eternal life rather than eternal death. I want this so badly that sometimes I almost get upset with God for His delay in answering these prayers, and my fear that maybe He will say "no" and my friends will end up in Hell.
Recently then, I was reminded how it is completely God's prerogative to show His own mercy to whomever He deems would be best to enter Life, since He is "paying the bill" of their ransom, so to speak. I can ask, but that's all I can do. It's not my place to dole out His mercy and His suffering and His 100%-commitment-'chesed'-covenant-love to various humans that I meet during my seventy-whatever year trek on earth with my 3-pound puny little brain. If He decides not to select any of my unbelieving friends for salvation, I can trust the all-knowing, eternal, infinitely loving and infinitely wise God to choose what is best.
Have you ever had someone tell you that you needed to "find yourself"? What does that phrase mean?
When high schoolers or college students use the phrase of themselves, as in "I just need to take a year off before more schooling and find myself", they typically mean they are confused about life ("what's it all for") or are disillusioned with hard work and studying at school, and want to travel, see the world, experience some different situations than they experienced growing up, etc. Especially, they may be in search of a 'metanarrative' - a big story that makes sense of all the little stories of their life - which they can 'plug into'.
Another meaning of the phrase might be more literal: someone who doesn't know themself very well... someone who doesn't know their own interests, their history, their skills/abilities, etc.
Yet another meaning might be more like: "You need to develop yourself and formulate a more defined personality. You need to make for yourself a more interesting life. You need to get yourself a hobby or two that you can spend money on and develop a passion for. You need to pick some favorite sports teams to root for. You need to understand the types of foods and entertainments you naturally enjoy, and then start investing lots of time and money in them, and begin to make your preferences known loudly to other people. You need to become more opinionated. You need to become more passionate about earthly matters. All in all, you need to 'get a life.'"
One person once told me, in all seriousness, that I needed to find myself. At the time I merely accepted the advice, storing it away. What I should have done instead, I think, is to ask the person precisely what was meant by the advice.
Meant in this last sense, the recommendation that someone needs to "find themself" seems to conflict with the example set by Paul:
For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a slave to all, so that I may win more.
To the Jews I became as a Jew, so that I might win Jews; to those who are under the Law, as under the Law though not being myself under the Law, so that I might win those who are under the Law; to those who are without law, as without law, though not being without the law of God but under the law of Christ, so that I might win those who are without law.
To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak; I have become all things to all men, so that I may by all means save some. I do all things for the sake of the gospel, so that I may become a fellow partaker of it. (1 Cor 9:19-23)
Paul's chameleon-like adaption of himself to whatever people he was with had several interesting implications:
Apparently, Paul was so obsessed with the value of Jesus Christ that everything else was basically irrelevant to him. Or, put another way, the relevance/value of anything and everything else in life was only in how it helped him bring other people to Jesus Christ, enhance the reputation of Jesus Christ, and assist him to properly delight in Jesus Christ. Related verses:
"But this I say, brethren, the time has been shortened, so that from now on those who have wives should be as though they had none; and those who weep, as though they did not weep; and those who rejoice, as though they did not rejoice; and those who buy, as though they did not possess; and those who use the world, as though they did not make full use of it; for the form of this world is passing away." 1 Cor 7:29-31
3for we are the true circumcision, who worship in the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh, 4although I myself might have confidence even in the flesh. If anyone else has a mind to put confidence in the flesh, I far more:
5circumcised the eighth day, of the nation of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the Law, a Pharisee;
6as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to the righteousness which is in the Law, found blameless.
7But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ.
8More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ, 9and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith, 10that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death; 11in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead. (Philippians 3)
Matthew 13:44
"The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid again; and from joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field."
Finally, those of us who belong to Jesus are truly and permanently "found"... our identities are secure in a way that others' will never be.
1Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. 3For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory. (Colossians 3)
I received a large number of thoughtful responses from my earlier post "Chivalry versus Love" (http://tim223.xanga.com/724969192/chivalry-versus-love/). I thought I'd post some excerpts here. I've posted them without identifying information for internet privacy, but if you'd like me to attribute your comment with your name, I'll gladly comply.
My previous post argued that chivalry was generally "ok", though most of it was already covered by the Bible's commands about agape love, and parts of it were either completely silly, neutral, or anti-Biblical, and that one ought to seek intimacy with God rather than chivalry.
In light of all the comments, it seems that most people agree that chivalry is more of a cultural thing than a moral thing, but they caveat that there are times when speaking the cultural language of chivalry might be the morally right thing to do. For example, if you're married to a woman whose "love language" is chivalry, or if you're trying to share Christ with people whose culture is strongly chivalrous. 1 Cor 9:22 is a pretty powerful verse... it seems to imply that anything cultural pattern that's not actually "Biblically-wrong"/"immoral" is fair game to "wear" for kingdom purposes.
Two wrenching pieces of news today:
2. "No matter how used you are to your chicken, it will not stop you slaughtering it." - a 'rationale' given for the continued regular killings of civilians (by their neighbors) in Jos, Nigeria and neighboring towns.
Below: some comments and practical applications.
(1) Dehumanization is always a component of genocide. Notice above how the violent man compared the humans he was killing to chickens. Violence always starts in the mind (Matthew 5:21-22). Hitler's evolutionary rhetoric claimed that the Jews and others he hated were "less evolved" and so "less human" and thus able to be killed without qualm.
The Bible gives the antidote in Genesis 1 (among other places) - humans are created in the image of God, unlike all other animals. Therefore killing another human is wrong (except capital punishment/military/police/government, Romans 13:4)
Genesis 9:6 makes the connection -
"Whoever sheds man's blood,
By man his blood shall be shed,
For in the image of God
He made man."
Some Christians claim that the literal historicity of Genesis 1 is not important. Whether humans evolved from other animals or were literally directly created by God is irrelevant, they claim. But it seems clear that this issue is extremely relevant. It is only because Genesis 1 is literally & historically accurate that we are justified in believing that human life is intrinsically valuable.
(2) Where is the justice? How could a good God let an innocent New Yorker get killed trying to help someone else? How could a good God let innocent farmers and herdsmen in Nigeria get killed every day? How could a good God allow a righteous man like Naboth be killed simply so someone else could take his vinyard? How could a good God allow righteous people to be "killed all day long;...considered as sheep to be slaughtered"? (Ps 44:22)
The answer is that God is watching, and in due time, He will enact full justice. God says: "Vengeance is Mine, I will repay" (Deut. 32:35, Romans 12:19, Hebrews 10:30).
I have struggled to understand Psalm 37, because it often seems to fail to apply, in daily news here on earth. But if we expand our perspective a bit to include life after this short time on earth, it becomes perfectly clear. I think Psalm 37 applies "in general" to some degree (in a "proverbs"-type sense) on earth, but it applies fully and completely and perfectly to the complete view of life which takes into account our life after we die. In other words, as you read the various promises regarding the righteous and the wicked in this and other psalms, ask yourself the question "Does this text say WHEN this will occur? On this side of death, or unspecified?" Most of the time it is unspecified.
If you have a moment, read through Psalm 37 and ponder it.
1 Do not fret because of evil men
or be envious of those who do wrong;
2 for like the grass they will soon wither,
like green plants they will soon die away.
3 Trust in the LORD and do good;
dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.
4 Delight yourself in the LORD
and he will give you the desires of your heart.
5 Commit your way to the LORD;
trust in him and he will do this:
6 He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn,
the justice of your cause like the noonday sun.
7 Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him;
do not fret when men succeed in their ways,
when they carry out their wicked schemes.
8 Refrain from anger and turn from wrath;
do not fret—it leads only to evil.
9 For evil men will be cut off,
but those who hope in the LORD will inherit the land.
10 A little while, and the wicked will be no more;
though you look for them, they will not be found.
11 But the meek will inherit the land
and enjoy great peace.
12 The wicked plot against the righteous
and gnash their teeth at them;
13 but the Lord laughs at the wicked,
for he knows their day is coming.
14 The wicked draw the sword
and bend the bow
to bring down the poor and needy,
to slay those whose ways are upright.
15 But their swords will pierce their own hearts,
and their bows will be broken.
16 Better the little that the righteous have
than the wealth of many wicked;
17 for the power of the wicked will be broken,
but the LORD upholds the righteous.
18 The days of the blameless are known to the LORD,
and their inheritance will endure forever.
19 In times of disaster they will not wither;
in days of famine they will enjoy plenty.
20 But the wicked will perish:
The LORD's enemies will be like the beauty of the fields,
they will vanish—vanish like smoke.
21 The wicked borrow and do not repay,
but the righteous give generously;
22 those the LORD blesses will inherit the land,
but those he curses will be cut off.
23 If the LORD delights in a man's way,
he makes his steps firm;
24 though he stumble, he will not fall,
for the LORD upholds him with his hand.
25 I was young and now I am old,
yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken
or their children begging bread.
26 They are always generous and lend freely;
their children will be blessed.
27 Turn from evil and do good;
then you will dwell in the land forever.
28 For the LORD loves the just
and will not forsake his faithful ones.
They will be protected forever,
but the offspring of the wicked will be cut off;
29 the righteous will inherit the land
and dwell in it forever.
30 The mouth of the righteous man utters wisdom,
and his tongue speaks what is just.
31 The law of his God is in his heart;
his feet do not slip.
32 The wicked lie in wait for the righteous,
seeking their very lives;
33 but the LORD will not leave them in their power
or let them be condemned when brought to trial.
34 Wait for the LORD
and keep his way.
He will exalt you to inherit the land;
when the wicked are cut off, you will see it.
35 I have seen a wicked and ruthless man
flourishing like a green tree in its native soil,
36 but he soon passed away and was no more;
though I looked for him, he could not be found.
37 Consider the blameless, observe the upright;
there is a future for the man of peace.
38 But all sinners will be destroyed;
the future of the wicked will be cut off.
39 The salvation of the righteous comes from the LORD;
he is their stronghold in time of trouble.
40 The LORD helps them and delivers them;
he delivers them from the wicked and saves them,
because they take refuge in him.
(3) How should we respond to injustice?
But who will go? "How will they hear without a preacher?" (Rom 11) Who will love them enough to risk personal pain to bring them the gospel?
Chivalry versus Love
What are your thoughts on chivalry? Is it a good thing? A bad thing? What is it, precisely?
My 'pet peeve' against 'chivalry' continues to grow with each passing month... and so this post continues a discussion of chivalry started in a previous post (http://tim223.xanga.com/721860037/godliness-versus-the-art-of-manliness/). (However, when I say I dislike chivalry, you'll have to read more to see what I mean). A micro outline of what follows: first, some attempts at defining chivalry. Second, an initial comparison with the Bible. Third, a deadly danger of chivalry. Fourth, some frustrating common-sense contradictions and rants about chivalry. Finally, an exhortation. I have had so many thoughts about this subject that I am sure I'll not be able to write it all - please then, if you agree or disagree or want to clarify or caveat, post your comment and let's continue the discussion!
First then, what is chivalry?
The first two definitions from Dictionary.com say:
Chivalry: 1. the sum of the ideal qualifications of a knight, including courtesy, generosity, valor, and dexterity in arms. 2. the rules and customs of medieval knighthood.
Reference.com expands a bit more... "a fusion of Christian and military concepts of morality and still form the basis of gentlemanly conduct"... The chief chivalric virtues were piety, honor, valor, courtesy, chastity, and loyalty. The knight's loyalty was due to the spiritual master, God; to the temporal master, the suzerain; and to the mistress of the heart, his sworn love. Love, in the chivalrous sense, was largely platonic; as a rule, only a virgin or another man's wife could be the chosen object of chivalrous love."
"In practice, chivalric conduct was never free from corruption, increasingly evident in the later Middle Ages. Courtly love often deteriorated into promiscuity and adultery and pious militance into barbarous warfare. Moreover, the chivalric duties were not owed to those outside the bounds of feudal obligation. The outward trappings of chivalry and knighthood declined in the 15th cent., by which time wars were fought for victory and individual valor was irrelevant."
I think that characterization of chivalry as a "fusion" of Christian and military/cultural precepts is deadly accurate. My desire is to separate out this "fusion" into what I am beginning to understand are its two constitutive parts: God's law, and cultural traditions.
First, a bit more definition of chivalry. The above definitions implicated "courtly love". Ask.com gives the following definition of "courtly love" -
"Courtly love was a medieval European conception of nobly and chivalrously expressing love and admiration. Generally, courtly love was secret and between members of the nobility. It was also generally not practiced between husband and wife.
[ right away the above statement should be a red flag that 'courtly love' is antibiblical... ]
Courtly love began in the ducal and princely courts of Aquitaine, Provence, Champagne and ducal Burgundy, at the end of the eleventh century. In essence, courtly love was an experience between erotic desire and spiritual attainment that now seems contradictory, "a love at once illicit and morally elevating, passionate and disciplined, humiliating and exalting, human and transcendent".
The term "courtly love" was first popularized by Gaston Paris in 1883, and has since come under a wide variety of definitions and uses, even being dismissed as nineteenth-century romantic fiction. Its interpretation, origins and influences continue to be a matter of critical debate.
Richard Trachsler claims that "the concept of courtly literature is linked to the idea of the existence of courtly texts, texts produced and read by men and women sharing some kind of elaborate culture they all have in common." (Busby) He argues that many of the texts that scholars claim to be courtly also include "uncourtly" texts, and argues that there is no clear way to determine "where courtliness ends and uncourtliness starts"."
Well, that sounds pretty yucky. But maybe chivalry is higher and better than "courtly love"...? Or at least, some parts of chivalry...?
Here are a few more links:
http://www.chronique.com/Library/Chivalry/code.htm - a distillation of chivalry principles: Prowess, Justice, Loyalty, Defense, Courage, Faith, Humility, Largesse, Nobility, Franchise.
http://mysuperchargedlife.com/blog/men-revive-chivalry-virtue-honor-love/ - with some practical examples of so-called modern chivalry
http://medievalisms.blogspot.com/2007/02/death-of-chivalry.html - I like this phrase: "...courtesy is rooted in practicality."
http://community.artofmanliness.com/group/chivalry/forum/topics/current-forms-of-chivalry
Quote:
"Have any of you cats ever heard of Southern Manners? I live in Virginia, below the Mason-Dixon, and In recent years have begun making every attempt to practice Southern manners. All allusions to slavery aside, as that is a thing of the past, and distasteful, I'm quite proud to be a Southern Man.
I open the door for women, I stop if I see them stranded on the side of the road (flat tire, etc..), if I see a mother with multiple children and armload/shopping cart full of groceries, I can't help but ask if she needs a hand. Standing up when a woman leaves the house, or the table (I'm working on making this one habit, it's a new one to me), as well as common table manners.... All these things are part of being a true Southern Gentleman, in my personal opinion."
Next, this five-part series from The Rebelution, a blog of Christians Alex and Brett Harris (brothers of Josh 'I Kissed Dating Goodbye' Harris), including an interesting quote from Al Mohler. My basic question after reading their posts is: "From whom comes this call to be 'chivalrous' and 'gentlemanly' and to 'do hard things' in general? Does it come from God??? or from man???"
http://www.therebelution.com/blog/2006/08/modern-day-gentleman/
http://www.therebelution.com/blog/2006/08/when-lancelot-comes-riding-part-1/
http://www.therebelution.com/blog/2006/09/the-big-misunderstanding/
http://www.therebelution.com/blog/2006/09/receiving-counterfeit-chivalry/
http://www.therebelution.com/blog/2006/09/when-chivalry-is-inconvenient/
Finally, http://marshall.freeshell.org/chivalry.html - This link is a great collection of actual examples of ancient chivalry and chivalry principles (and some courtly love principles). It includes such things as "defend the weak and innocent" and "avoid lying" and "be polite and attentive." This article is only perhaps one or two pages long and is worth reading if you are at all interested in chivalry and this discussion.
Those things sound great! "Defend the weak and innocent" sounds like Isaiah 58 and SO MANY other places in the Bible -
6"Is this not the fast which I choose,
To loosen the bonds of wickedness,
To undo the bands of the yoke,
And to let the oppressed go free
And break every yoke?
7"Is it not to divide your bread with the hungry
And bring the homeless poor into the house;
When you see the naked, to cover him;
And not to hide yourself from your own flesh?
8"Then your light will break out like the dawn,
And your recovery will speedily spring forth;
And your righteousness will go before you;
The glory of the LORD will be your rear guard.
9"Then you will call, and the LORD will answer;
You will cry, and He will say, 'Here I am '
If you remove the yoke from your midst,
The pointing of the finger and speaking wickedness,
10And if you give yourself to the hungry
And satisfy the desire of the afflicted,
Then your light will rise in darkness
And your gloom will become like midday.
Actually however, the Bible's teaching about love completely obviates, precedes, supercedes, and in every way blows chivalry out of the water:
Matthew 22
35One of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him,
36"Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?"
37And 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.'
38"This is the great and foremost commandment.
39"The second is like it, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'
40"On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets."
and
"Treat others the same way you want them to treat you." (Luke 6:31)
Here then is my basic thought about chivalry - Chivalry adds nothing of value to the Bible's teaching about love, but it adds a lot of dangerous cultural baggage.
Cultural baggage by itself can be bad, because it makes people try to safeguard tradition at the expense of God's law (Mark 7:8), but there is a deeper danger - chivalry makes people feel good about their own politeness and big public acts of altruism, leading them to deceive their own souls about their own actual inner wickedness and desperate need for God's salvation.
The good can be the enemy of the best. Chivalry can mask people's need for the gospel. Recall this short and hard-hitting story from Jesus (Luke 18) -
And He also told this parable to some people who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and viewed others with contempt:
"Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood and was praying this to himself: 'God, I thank You that I am not like other people: swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. 'I fast twice a week; I pay tithes of all that I get.'
But the tax collector, standing some distance away, was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying, 'God, be merciful to me, the sinner!'
I tell you, this man went to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.""
Is there anything wrong with fasting twice a week or tithing? What does Jesus' story imply? Didn't Jesus himself fast and pay money to the temple?
Is there anything wrong with chivalry? If it gives you confidence in your own 'nobility' and 'courtesy' and 'integrity', it is leading you straight into hell.
Where is your righteousness? Where is my righteousness? If we are trusting in ourselves, we are lost! Only if we are trusting in Jesus and His death/life/goodness on our behalf are we safe and right with God.
At this point some one will say, "Tim, I agree with you on the importance of admitting one's absolute wickedness before God and one's absolute dependence on Jesus for salvation. But after one is saved, when we are urged to 'walk in a manner worthy of your calling' (Ephesians 4), surely chivalry is at least a reasonably correct set of guidelines?"
The aspects of chivalry that align with the Bible's command to love one's neighbor as oneself, yes. But are there not some aspects of "Southern Gentlemanliness" and chivalry that are purely cultural and have no love-your-neighbor value?
How about these questions toward figuring out what parts of the chivalry guidelines are useful and what parts are not:
- Can this practice be applied by either men or women? (since both men and women are required to love their neighbors as themselves)
- Does this practice demonstrate love toward the other person? ('agape' self-sacrificial love, not 'eros' "cant-stop-thinking-about-you"/romantic/'courtly'/Hollywood love)
How about some examples of classically "chivalrous" deeds (please remind me of any other classics that come to mind!)...
1. Holding open a building door for someone
This would seem to fit into 'looking out for the other person's best interest (Philippians 2)/agape love', as in seeking to minimize their expenditure of calories and sending a signal of friendship in being aware of their presence and small 'need'. Also, it's something that a man could do for a woman or a woman for a man. If the person being helped was physically weak or handicapped, it would definitely fit this category.
2. Men (specifically) holding open building doors for women (specifically)
This would seem to be a cultural artifact. Are women physically in "need of help" in getting the door open? Not in most cases. It seems to be a case of: 'Chivalrous gentlemen always hold the door open for women.' 'Why?' 'Because that's the way it's always been.'
3. Same as above for helping someone carry heavy items, assisting at a roadside breakdown, helping a beleaguered person in an unjust fight, etc. It would seem that these could be applied equally to men or women and could be expressions of agape love.
4. Standing up when a woman enters the room
How does this demonstrate agape love? Is this not a mere cultural tradition? If I'm wrong on these things, please let me know.
5. A man coming around to the passenger side car door to open the door for his wife
Again, how does this demonstrate love? Is the woman physically unable to open the door for herself? If the woman came around to the drivers' side door to open the door for her husband, would that likewise demonstrate love?
6. In certain African countries, it is the culture for men to laze in the shade while the women carry heavy loads of water pots, wood piles, etc and tend the gardens. In many places it would be culturally inappropriate for a man to "do woman's work" in helping his wife physically. But would "love your neighbor as yourself" call the man to a different role?
7. A man throws his coat down over a puddle so that a woman can walk over it
Hmmm... why not have both people walk around the puddle? 
Seriously though, wouldn't it be equally loving for the woman to do it for the man, or the man to do it for the woman?
8. A man helping his wife put her coat on, and/or a woman helping her husband putting his coat on...
Seems applicable to both men and women. What about a random man 'helping' random women put their coats on or random women 'helping' random men put their coats on? Eh... probably shady and thus unadvisable, depending on the situation.
9. A man offers his chair for a woman, then stands or takes a floor seat
This would seem to be potentially applicable for both men and women, as a gesture of welcome. I.e. a man could do this for another man, or a woman could do this for a man, etc. "Culture" and "chivalry" prescribe this only in the case of a man for a woman (perhaps from a background of trying-to-impress-the-girl?), but love would seem to prescribe this equally to and from all...? On the other hand, if the newcomer to the room was a pregnant woman or an elderly man or a handicapped man or someone else who could really use a seat, agape-love would seem to absolutely impel such behavior. I.e not "I'm giving up my seat because that's the type of high-quality man that I am", but instead "I'm giving up my seat because I delight to show agape-love to other people because that's the type of love that God has shown to me, wretch that I am."
Finally then, an exhortation.
It is a well known general principle that men tend to seek to be respected, honored, and admired while women tend to seek to be cherished, accepted, and loved. This seems to be part of the way that God has 'wired' us... and God's commands for husbands and wives perfectly fit men's and women's wiring: "Husbands... love [agape] your wives"; "Wives... submit yourselves to your husbands" (Ephesians 4-6 and many other places in the Bible).
However, if you try to get your satisfaction from other people (whether spouse, family, or friends), you will end up empty and broken. Your and my ultimate satisfaction, for those of us who are followers of Jesus Christ, will only come after this life....
Hebrews 11-13, 13:14 "For here we do not have a lasting city, but we are seeking the city which is to come."
Matthew 13:44 "The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid again; and from joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field."
Lamentations 3:24- "'The Lord is my portion,' says my soul, 'therefore I have hope in Him.'"
Women, find your satisfaction in the God who offers you true love (pathetic though you are)! If you're married, don't complain that your husband is unchivalrous to you. If you're unmarried, don't seek the perfect 'Southern Gentleman' and expect that he will make you happy. Instead, revel and be filled and satisfied with God's perfect, eternal, unchanging love, in Christ Jesus, for you! (and don't settle for anything less than a man who LOVES [agape] God and others, and seek to instill this in yourself too ("I, Isaac, take thee, Rebekah")).
"Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? Just as it is written,
"For your sake we are being put to death all day long;
We were considered as sheep to be slaughtered."
But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 8:35-39, see also 8:28-34)
Men, find your satisfaction in the God who offers you true glory and honor (despicable though you are)! If you're married and your wife disrespects you and denies your requests and bosses you around, remember that God's esteem and approval is far more important to seek than hers... don't put your energy toward becoming a chivalrous gentleman; put your energy toward knowing God and making Him known. If you're unmarried, don't expect to someday find the perfect woman who will completely satisfy you, nor attempt to add more 'chivalry' to your life in order to attract such a woman. Remember Jesus' question "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?" (John 5:44) and Psalm 73:25-26 "Whom have I in heaven but You? [God] And besides You, I desire nothing on earth. My flesh and my heart may fail, But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever." Practice loving [agape] others (Genesis 24:19) as Jesus Christ has loved you...
Remember the inestimably glorious call of God:
Thus says the LORD,
"Heaven is My throne and the earth is My footstool.
Where then is a house you could build for Me?
And where is a place that I may rest?
"For My hand made all these things,
Thus all these things came into being," declares the LORD.
"But to this one I will look,
To him who is humble and contrite of spirit, and who trembles at My word.
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