A Primer on Stem Cells

The Crossway blog has an interview with Scott Klusendorf, the president of Life Training Institute. He trains pro-life advocates to persuasively defend their views and has just written a book called The Case for Life, in which he aims to equip those committed to life to engage our culture regarding these challenging issues. This book is especially timely in light of President Obama’s executive order repealing the policy that limited federal tax dollars for stem cell research.

Especially disheartening in Obama's announcement was his statement of the need to separate science from ideology, a statement that would lead to complete anarchy if followed to its logical conclusion. In in his interview, Klusendorf answers this question about Obama's statement:

6. President Obama said that ideology should not interfere with science. What do you make of that claim?

Well, the claim that ideology should not get in the way of science is itself an ideological claim, and a highly controversial one at that. I found this the most troubling part of his speech. If he is correct that scientific progress trumps morality, one can hardly condemn Hitler for grisly medical experiments on Jews. Nor can one criticize the Tuskegee experiments of the 1940s in which black men suffering from syphilis were promised treatment, only to have it denied so scientists could study the disease. Pro-life advocates are not anti-science. We are not anti-cures. We just insist that scientific progress must be tied to moral truth.

Read the rest of the interview here.

Gospel-Grounded Obedience

This past Sunday my good friend Anthony preached an outstanding sermon on Acts 5:12-42. He made the point that much opposition to the gospel that happens in our country happens within the walls of the church, not outside of it. And he said that one of the ways this resistance to the gospel has been spread is through preaching that is more focused on application than on doctrine and theology.

He then shared four simple steps to show that the way to help people become more practically obedient is to help them see God's love revealed in the Gospel:

1. We want people to become obedient and live God-pleasing lives in every sphere.

2. Jesus says, 'If you love me, you will obey my commandments.' Obedience in the practical issues of life is the fruit of loving God.

3. The Apostle John says that we love God because He first loved us.

4. The love of God is most clearly seen and revealed in the events of the Gospel: Christ's perfect life, substitutionary death and resurrection.

Therefore, if we want people to become obedient, we must saturate them with the gospel in our sermons week after week after week. I was thankful for the exhortation, and thought I would add to Anthony's words by showing some specific places in the New Testament where we see the writers of Scripture doing the very thing that Anthony said we all must do:

• To stir them up to generosity with their finances, Paul says, "⁹For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich." (2 Corinthians 8)
  
• To help them overcome pride and arrogance he tells the Philippians, "⁵Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, ⁶who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, ⁷but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. ⁸And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross." (Philippians 2)
  
• To help them overcome anger, Paul told the Colossians, "¹²Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, ¹³bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive." (Colossians 3)
  
• To help them handle mistreatment and suffering, Peter encouraged the suffering saints, "²¹For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps. ²²He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. ²³When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly. ²⁴He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. ²⁵For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls." (1 Peter 2)
  
• When admonishing the believers for their indifference to the poor, John reminded them of true love, "¹⁶By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers." (1 John 3)
  

More examples could be given, but that should suffice. All that to say, I think Anthony is onto something!

Piper on the Imprisonment of Madoff

Over the weekend John Piper wrote a little reflection on the imprisonment of disgraced billionaire Bernard Madoff. It begins with these words:

A few months ago he was worth over $800 million. Now, at age 70, he sits in this prison cell, 7.5 by 8 feet, with a sink, a toilet, and a bunk. Bernard Madoff went there last Thursday after being under house arrest in his $7 million penthouse since December.

This, Piper says, is a great demonstration of God's mercy to Madoff and you and me. Read the rest here.

The Church in the World

While Monday is a day of rest for me, it signals the beginning of the work week for most. This quote from Michael Horton, in his book Where in the World is the Church?, was a good one to get the week started:

"While the midieval and, to a large extent, pietistic tendency is to call the believer out of the world and into church-related activities, the Reformation approach is to view all church-related activities as 'refueling' stations for their real service in the world. We should not put people who work diligently at their calling on a guilt trip for failing to attend every church-related activity or volunteering for church-related tasks. It is the church that serves the Christian so that the Christian can serve God in the world...

"Even if a church is feeding the sheep with God's promises, a further question must be asked: If the church itself is healthy internally, are individual Christians fulfilling their calling in the world with excellence? That is not the same question as, Are they winning souls? Rather, Do individual believers sense that it is their Christian duty to transcend mediocrity in their daily routines and link their service in the world to their service of an all-knowing God of glory?

"A Christian does not go to work on Monday morning in order to convert people to Christ, but to pursue his or her calling, for which he or she was designed by divine creation."

I am curious to know what those people who went to work at a 'secular' job today think of this quote. Leave a comment and let me know!

What Cesspits and Perfume Have in Common

Last week I decided to take the plunge...I am finally reading through Augustine's City of God. At 1,085 pages, this is a bit of an endeavor, because Augustine is not the easiest person to read. But I'm hoping to be done by March of 2010.

Anyway, I was struck by this quote early on in the book, dealing with how both the righteous and the wicked suffer in this world:

When the good and the wicked suffer alike, the identity of their sufferings does not mean that there is no difference between them. Though the sufferings are the same, the sufferers remain different...The fire which makes gold shine makes chaff smoke...In the same way, the violence which assails good men to test them, to cleanse and purify them, effects in the wicked their condemnation, ruin and annihilation. Thus the wicked, under affliction, execrate God and blaspheme; the good, in the same affliction, offer up prayers and praises. This shows that what matters is the nature of the sufferer, not the nature of the sufferings. Stir a cesspit, and a foul stench arises; stir a perfume, and a delightful fragrance ascends. But the movement is identical.

See why it's going to take a year to read through?

A Test in Discernment

William Paul Young's book The Shack has had mega-success since it was released, selling millions of copies around the world. Some Christians have celebrated the book as life-changing in the way it has helped them to understand God. Other Christians have simultaneously condemned it as heresy and destructive to the Church.

In this interview, Paul Young frankly discusses some of his theological perspectives that fueled the writing of his book. The questions he answers cover the Fatherhood of God, universal redemption and penal substitution, to name a few.

Christians who have read the Shack or not will profit from listening to and thinking through Young's remarks in this interview. As you listen I would encourage you to ask yourself how you would respond to some of the things Young says. As Christians we ought to know why we believe what we do, and ought to be able to give evidence from the Scriptures to support our beliefs. And in my opinion, Young says some things in this interview that seem to attack doctrines that are at the very heart of Christianity. Doctrines that need to be defended with both compassion and conviction.

So listening to this interview is, then, a valuable exercise in using biblical discernment. It is somewhat lengthy, but I believe it is a worthwhile investment of time.

A World without Happy Endings

Last night Michelle and I watched a movie called The Visitor (a few instances of foul language toward the beginning of the movie, but otherwise no objectionable content). I enjoyed this movie mainly because of how much I did not enjoy the ending of the movie.

The movie is about a college professor in Connecticut who goes to New York for a conference. When he arrives at the apartment that he still owns despite almost never returning to the city, he finds a foreign couple who have been illegally subletting the apartment (You can watch the trailer here). The movie was appealing to me because of its focus on life in the city and racial relations.

Without spoiling the rest of the movie, I would just say that I found the ending very unsatisfying. When the credits began to roll, I thought to myself, 'That was a lousy movie.' But in hindsight, I found great value in watching a movie that did not end the way I wanted it to end. It was a reminder that we live in a broken, fallen world, where pain and heartache are the norm.

Happy endings are rare in this world, and I am grateful for how The Visitor reminded me of that. Such reminders whet my appetite for the exceedingly joyful ending that awaits this world because of the redemption that is found in Jesus Christ. Our vapor of a life in this world may be full of unsatisfying endings, but for those whose hope is in Christ, all the groaning is a prelude to glory.

The Smoke of their Torment

As I saw this photo of a scrapyard fire in Bahrain yesterday, I thought of the sobering word in Revelation 14 about the coming judgment of God against sin:

"If anyone worships the beast and its image and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand, he also will drink the wine of God's wrath, poured full strength into the cup of his anger, and he will be tormented with fire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever, and they have no rest, day or night, these worshipers of the beast and its image, and whoever receives the mark of its name."

And I was also filled with praise for Jesus Christ, the risen Son of God who rescues all who will have Him from the wrath to come (1 Thessalonians 1:10).

It's Not Exactly the Empty Tomb, But....

I woke up this morning and the main page of espn.com had this picture:

The headline below the photo read:

Hear 'Em Roar

Penn State beat No. 23 Illinois 64-63 on Thursday night. Was it the win that puts the Nittany Lions into their first Dance since 2001?

This is not exactly as miraculous as the empty tomb, but it is pretty amazing nevertheless. And as I read the report of the game and thought about the Nittany Lions possibly going to the Dance, I had a deep feeling of satisfaction. I was pretty excited when the Phillies won the World Series a few months ago, but this was a much different kind of excitement (not necessarily better, just different).

Since graduating from PSU in 2000, I haven't followed the hoops team too closely. I always know how they are doing (mostly bad), but today I could only tell you the names of two or three players on the team that won last night. Still, I found satisfaction in watching them get some national recognition last night.

As I thought about this, I was reminded of a definition of community that I came across a few weeks ago as I was preparing a sermon on Acts 2:37-47. 'A community is a group of individuals who have been bonded into a body through an intense common experience.'

I think that explains the depth of excitement in seeing PSU hoops get a little positive recognition for a change. For five years of my life, I spent 6-7 months of 40 hour weeks working for the Penn State basketball program, in hopes that some day the words 'Penn State basketball' might mean something beyond the walls of our locker room. All those hours shared by the young men who came before me and after me (players, coaches, managers, etc.) has knit us together in such a way that I still rejoice in their successes, even though I don't know most of the people involved anymore. I was (and am) a part of the community that is Penn State basketball.

And this makes me very excited to see the deep bonds that form among the people who I am now working with as we lead and serve the church that I am privileged to work for. Long hours working for a college basketball team can be a somewhat intense experience, but laboring to see a church become all that it can be for the sake of the Gospel of Christ is an experience far more intense. And I am exceedingly grateful to be cultivating a bond with the men I am now working with, a bond that will endure throughout eternity.

When things get difficult at the church (which inevitably happens even in the best churches), I will look back on today's basketball enthusiasm and hopefully be reminded that all the hard work for Christ's church will eventually produce a bond of love with those who I've worked with that far surpasses what any sporting event can give.

Now let's hope the Nittany Lions done't blow it tomorrow afternoon!

Flesh-Filled Discernment

James MacDonald writes:

This past week my post about 1Timothy 2:1 and it’s exhortation to be thankful for our leaders came back to the forefront. A post I wrote on January 20th when President Obama was sworn in was picked up by a number of ‘watch dog’ discernment groups and the rest is history. I have been called weak, soft on the truth, a compromiser, politically correct, foolish, and worst of all, apostate (not truly saved). Wow!!!

I have been a pastor for more than 25 years and I have heard some pretty harsh things; but the deepest wounding by far has been at the hands of people using the gift of discernment in the flesh. Most often, these are the folks that separate friends, divide churches and destroy families. It is a very dangerous gift when not under the Spirit’s control.

I'd recommend that all Christians who are zealous for truth (and I hope that means all of you who are Christians!) read the rest of his post.

I'm Glad My Life Doesn't Revolve Around the Eagles...

If it did, I'd probably be darn near suicidal!

Since we're on the topic of sports, I can't help but mention the departure of Eagles Safety Brian Dawkins for Denver over the weekend. I was a sophomore in college when Dawkins started wearing Eagles green...that was a long time ago! He plays football the way it's supposed to be played...a classic Philly player.

But now Dawkins will not finish his career in Philly, where everyone seems to think he belongs. I don't think the Eagles are solely responsible for this, as almost all Philly fans seem to think right now. Dawkins could have done something incredibly radical for the sake of Christ (Dawkins professes faith in Christ, and from what I've been able to find he actually walks the talk, unlike so many athletes): he could have taken a big paycut and turned down the big bucks in Denver. It's not like the guy is really hurting financially, you know? When it comes to his Christian witness, I wonder if Dawkins now looks like every other athlete, going wherever he can to get the most millions?

Let's be very clear: Dawkins had no obligation to turn down the big payday in Denver and sign for less money in Philly; he is free in Christ to go to the team that offers him the best financial package. I imagine that being a Christian athlete and signing these extraordinary contracts is very challenging, and I obviously have no idea how Dawkins will spend all that extra money. So please don't hear me taking shots at Dawkins. He is a great player, by all accounts a great man, and he poured out all he had for the city of Philadelphia for 13 years. He will be greatly missed.

It's just a shame that in our day sports are first a business, with loyalty (both by players and teams) being far less important than the almighty dollar. Maybe one day, it won't be that way anymore.

Surely there are some Eagles fans out there reading this; what do you all think of Dawkins' departure?

Loving God and His Gifts

The title of this video clip is Thanking God for Sports, but the application is much wider than only the world of sports.

The Redemption of Culture, #2

A few weeks ago I started looking at the theme of the redemption of culture, but never came back to it. For those who would like to read more about this, I would recommend Richard Mouw's When the Kings Come Marching In, and Chapter 10 of Andy Crouch's Culture Making. What follows is basically a very short summary of material found there.

A comparison of Revelation 21-22 with Isaiah 60 will show that John's vision of the New Jerusalem seems to be shaped by his understanding of Isaiah's vision. And Isaiah depicts a holy city teeming with cultural goods not only from Israel's culture, but from the surrounding nations: domesticated animals, ships, precious minerals, jewels and timber. So as John echoes Isaiah's vision, it does not seem like he is picturing only 'Christian' cultural artifacts when he says that 'the glory and honor of the nations' are brought into the city.

Take the ships of Tarshish, for instance. Isaiah mentions these ships will be a part of the New Jerusalem (60:9). This is odd, because earlier in Isaiah (2:16) we are told that in the coming day of God's judgment, the ships of Tarshish will be among those things that the Lord is against. Yet in chapter 60 they are a part of the redeemed Holy City, being put to good use for God's glory.

How can this be? It seems that the judgment in chapter 2 is not a condemnation of the intrinsic value of these ships, but of the idolatrous function that these vessels are playing in the life of pagan societies. The judgment seems to be a purifying one, not a destruction. When the ships are stripped of the haughtiness and rebellion with which they are presently associated, they are freed for service to God and His people. That is how Isaiah can speak a word of judgment over the ships of Tarshish, yet chapters later speak of their use in the New Jerusalem.

Mouw writes, 'When the Kings come marching in, then, they bring the best of their nations -- even the cultural goods that had been deployed against God and his people. The final vision of the City is one filled, not just with God's glory and presence...but with redeemed human culture too.'

While this initially seemed far-fetched to me, reflection on the reference to the ships of Tarshish leads me to agree with Mouw. Just as our bodies will be redeemed and transformed yet still be our bodies and recognizable to those who knew us, so also cultural goods will be redeemed and transformed, while bearing some resemblance to what they were in the old creation.

This has caused me to ponder which of my favorite cultural artifacts might be cleansed and transformed on the New Earth. If the ships of Tarshish can be stripped of their idolatrous function and put to good use in the New Jerusalem, why not the best of music, film, sport, food, theater and architecture? For these are the things that our nation glories in, aren't they? So here are a few cultural artifacts I'd be delighted to see in the redeemed city of God:

Faithful readers of the blog know that Dave Matthews Band is one of my favorite culture-makers, and their CD Before These Crowded Streets is one of the most musically beautiful recordings I own. Yet I am often grieved that some of the songs contain lyrics that reveal ignorance of and/or hostility toward the God of Scripture. It would be sweet to see Jesus transform this cultural product and put it to use for His glory and honor.

I imagine we'll still love good stories on the New Earth, and this movie is one of my favorite parables of redemption. Cleansed and purified of course, but recognizable nevertheless.

Imagine the thrill of victory and the excellence of athletic greatness, purified from the egos, the greed and the idolatry of so many fans. Perhaps there will be some kind of World Series on the New Earth.

I prefer regular rye as opposed to marble, but a corned beef special would be a nice treat. Of course, as Andy Crouch points out, for the cow's sake I suppose that transformed meals will be vegetarian, but surely they will be a lot better than tofurkey!

Please remember, that my goal on this blog is to share my musings. I am not saying that I know Dave Matthews' music and the Philadelphia Phillies are definitely going to be a part of our experience in the New Jerusalem. All of us see through a mirror dimly when it comes to these matters. But I believe that God is honored when we use our Bible-grounded, sanctified imagination in pondering the wonders of His new creation, so long as we are looking to Him as our ultimate hope and the supreme joy and treasure of all our other joys.

So now it's your turn: what artifacts of culture would you like to see brought into the New Jerusalem?

Re-Learning God's Way

A few weeks ago I shared this quote from Neal Plantinga:

"Thoughtful Christians know that if we obey the Bible's great commandment to love God with our whole mind, as well as with everything else, then we will study the splendor of God's creation in the hope of grasping part of the ingenuity and grace that form it. One way to love God is to know and love God's work.

Learning is therefore a spiritual calling: properly done, it attaches us to God. In addition, the learned person has, so to speak, more to be Christian with. The person who studies chemistry, for example, can enter into God's enthusiasm for the dynamic possibilities of material reality."

On the Seeking Him blog, this led to a prolonged discussion of the merits of different forms of educating our children (ie. home-school, public-school, private school.). But the quote is more focused on learning about all subjects (no matter where that learning is done) through a God-centered vision of all things.

So, readers, here is what I want to know from you: if you could go back to school and re-learn a subject given what you now know about God, what subject would it be? Leave a comment and let me know.

My answer is anthropology.

A Disclaimer

This blog is titled Redemption Groanings: One man's musings as he waits for the restoration of all things.

This morning at church I was reminded that it's important for me to make something very clear about what I am trying to do with this blog: What I write on here is, more often than not, simply my own thinking aloud about issues that affect my faith in Christ. Whether I am writing about Miles Davis, Barbie, or the lyrics of a class hymn of the church, I am not aiming to make dogmatic assertions about things, but simply working out different things in my head. I find it helpful to do that in a format that others can read and interact with, because, as we're told in Proverbs, 'As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.' This happened just the other day, when my friend Erin sharpened me to think more carefully about what I had written about Barbie. Her comment caused me to re-phrase some things in a way that I hope was more God-honoring. Such correction is invaluable to me as I think things through.

So when I write about the dangers of Barbie or the presence of jazz on the New Earth or a potential lyric change in a great hymn of the faith, please don't assume that I have everything figured out and that what I've written is the absolute truth as I see it. Redemption Groanings is simply the overflow of my thinking through how to bring my Christian faith to bear on every aspect of life. That thinking is still very much in process, and I am appreciative of those of you who comment, because it helps me to refine my thinking. For I am no expert on the things I write about; I am just one man musing about life under Christ's lordship.

Thanks for taking the time to read my musings, both the refined and the unrefined.