King of the Universe, or Cosmic Idiot

It's often said in secular circles that Jesus was a fine moral teacher, but it's nonsense to try to make Him out to be the Lord of the universe. This kind of thinking just won't work if we actually listen to what Jesus Himself said (all of these quotes are from John 8):

“I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

“You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world."

"I told you that you would die in your sins, for unless you believe that I am he you will die in your sins."

"If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and I am here."

"Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death."

“Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.”

When the people listening to Jesus heard all this, they did not conclude that he was a good moral teacher. They picked up rocks and attempted to stone him to death.

CS Lewis was right; enough of this nonsense about Jesus being a good moral teacher. Either He is the Lord and King of the universe, or He's a complete idiot. There simply isn't a middle road. He's not left that option open to us.

Tolerance

Washington Post writer Michael Gerson, on the Brit Hume/Tiger Woods ordeal:

True tolerance consists in engaging deep disagreements respectfully — through persuasion — not in banning certain categories of argument and belief from public debate.

In this controversy, we are presented with two models of discourse. Hume, in an angry sea of loss and tragedy — his son’s death in 1998 — found a life preserver in faith. He offered that life preserver to another drowning man. Whatever your view of Hume’s beliefs, he could have no motive other than concern for Woods himself.

The other model has come from critics such as Shales, in a spittle-flinging rage at the mention of religion in public, comparing Hume to “Mary Poppins on the joys of a tidy room, or Ron Popeil on the glories of some amazing potato peeler.” Shales, of course, is engaged in proselytism of his own — for a secular fundamentalism that trivializes and banishes all other faiths. He distributes the sacrament of the sneer.

Who in this picture is more intolerant?

Brit Hume on Tiger Woods

I suppose many of you have seen or heard about this, but in case you haven't:



It's cool to see someone tell it like it is even though they know it's not going to be popular.

What's Wrong with this Picture?

Have you ever seen this bumper sticker?Here's the problem. A pro-life advocate makes a moral claim that he/she believes is objectively true: that elective abortion unjustly takes the life of a defenseless human being. The advocate of abortion-choice responds by turning that objective truth claim into a preference, like preferring chocolate ice cream to vanilla.

But this misses the point entirely. Being pro-life isn't about what I like better, it's about what is true. I don't oppose abortion because I find it distasteful; I oppose it because it violates rational moral principles.

So this bumper sticker, no matter how passionately it is slapped onto someone's car, is really irrelevant to the abortion debate. It treats the unborn like an ice cream flavor instead of a human being.

Imagine a bumper sticker that read, "Don't like slavery? Then don't own one!" Are we ok with that as a society? Then we shouldn't be ok with one for abortion either.

How would you counsel this person?

Since every Christian is called to be a minister of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:17ff), it's good to think through how you might share with people in different situations. Here's a real situation with some made-up names. As a Christian, what would you say to help this person:

Amanda is an old friend from high school who knows that you are a pretty committed Christian. She is Jewish and identifies religion as being very important to her. She is married to Bill, who she explains is a devout Catholic. They are expecting a son in a few months, and are having a bit of a conflict in regards to whether to have their son undergo the Jewish tradition of a Bris, which is the ceremony of circumcision that takes place on the 8th day of the boy's life.

Bill is very opposed to performing the Bris, because he feels that it would be an indication that that they are committing to raise him as Jewish. Amanda doesn't understand why circumcision is a big deal, since it fulfills the covenant that was made with Abraham and is a part of the Old Testament which Christians embrace.

So what do you think about this situation? Should Bill allow his son to have a Bris? What would you say to Amanda with regard to why Christians don't perform a Bris for their newborn sons?

Deflating our Pride

John Stott:

"Every time we look at the cross Christ seems to say to us, 'I am here because of you. It is your sin I am bearing, your curse I am suffering, your debt I am paying, your death I am dying.' Nothing in history or in the universe cuts us down to size like the cross. All of us have inflated views of ourselves, especially in self-righteousness, until we have visited a place called Calvary. It is here, at the foot of the cross, that we shrink to our true size."

A Good Kind of Seeker-Sensitivity

The term "seeker-sensitive" is a pretty loathsome term for many people. It smells of compromising the truth of the gospel in order to win crowds by giving them what they want. And I admit, I loathe that kind of attitude myself.

But a couple of weeks ago I listened to a sermon by Mark Dever in which I saw a wonderful kind of "seeker-sensitivity" (you can listen to the sermon here). As you would imagine from a guy like Dever, this had nothing to do with selling out the truth. It had to do with a very small thing at the beginning of his sermon.

In asking the congregation to turn to Revelation 21 (the passage for the morning's sermon), Dever said something along the lines of:

"If you're not familiar with the Bible, just turn to very end and thumb a few pages backwards. The large numbers are the chapters, and the smaller numbers are the verse numbers. We are going to begin in chapter 21, verse 1 today..."

And then he went on to read the passage and preached for over an hour (not seeker-sensitive there!). I was really impressed by this small gesture, a simple statement to those present who were not Christians that Dever was thinking about them, and aware of and grateful for their presence in the congregation that day.

Now that is a positive way to be senstive to those investigating the Christian faith. As it is, many evangelical churches (most?) speak in only "churchish" language that leaves a non-believer feeling like he or she doesn't belong.

The message of the cross is a stumbling block; that we will not change! But churches need to do everything possible to remove all unneccessary stumbling blocks, which means having a constant awareness that non-believers are in your presence, and "coming down to their level" so that they can keep up with what is going on.

I was grateful for that reminder from Mark Dever.

Don't Forget to Groan, 1/4

This video certainly made me groan. It also made me cry:

Communicating with Grace and Truth

Another good quote from Chris Castaldo's book, Holy Ground. Castaldo is actually quoting John Stackhouse's book, Humble Apologetics. When sharing with non-believers,

"We should sound like we really do respect the intelligence and spiritual interest and moral integrity of our neighbors. We should act as if we do see the very image of God in them. It is a voice that speaks authentically out of Christian convictions about our own very real limitations and our neighbor's very real dignity, not cynical expediency.

"We are rhetorically humble because we are not prophets infallibly inspired by God, let alone the One who could speak with authority in a way no one else can speak. We are messengers of that One: messengers who earnestly mean well, but who forget this bit of the message or never really understood that bit; messengers who never entirely live up to their own good news; messengers who recognize the ambiguities in the world that make the message harder to believe; and therefore messengers who can sympathize with neighbors who aren't ready just yet to believe everything we're telling them."

What Produces Prayer

This morning I had the (unexpected) privilege of preaching on prayer, which reminded me of this quote from Matt Chandler:

When the illusion of control disappears we become men and women of prayer.

He should know; he's currently undergoing chemotherapy and radiation treatment for a malignant brain tumor. Of course I pray that it doesn't take that for me to learn this lesson, but what a valuable lesson it is to know.

Congratulations, Gerry

You're the proud winner of the iTunes gift card (though you'll probably have the gift card before you read this post and know that you are the winner!).

Thanks again for the encouragement of those who left comments earlier in the week.

"Happy Holidays" or "Merry Christmas"?

So it seems that some Christians (a lot?) get irked by the way that "Happy Holidays" has become the predominant way of greeting people in the second half of Decemeber. They are frustrated that it's just another way in which Christ is being marginalized in our society.

Maybe it's because of my ethnicity, but I don't really see what the fuss is about. One of the wonderful qualities about our nation is that we have the freedom to believe what we want to believe about God. It seems to me that saying "Happy Holidays" is a way of expressing our sensitivity to those around us who don't believe what we believe. Plus, it's not as though the Bible actually uses the word "Christmas" anywhere, right?

At least that's what I think about the whole thing; what about you? Are you bothered by the growing distaste for saying, "Merry Christmas" in our culture? If so, why do you feel that way?

Don't Forget to Groan, 1/1

A new year doesn't change the fact the world is still groaning with the pains of childbirth, waiting on tip toe for its redemption:


An Afghan child looks from a doorway as the shadow of a United States Marine is seen on the wall during an operation in Garmsir district, southern Afghanistan.

If you click the photo to enlarge it, you can see that the boys eyes are filled with fear. But one day, soldiers will beat their swords into plowshares. On that day, there will be no fear.

But until that day, we groan.

Happy New Year from the Lazarii

Make the Most of the New Year

Don Whitney:

The beginning of a new year is an ideal time to stop, look up, and get our bearings. To that end, here are some questions to ask prayerfully in the presence of God.

1. What’s one thing you could do this year to increase your enjoyment of God?
2. What’s the most humanly impossible thing you will ask God to do this year?
3. What’s the single most important thing you could do to improve the quality of your family life this year?
4. In which spiritual discipline do you most want to make progress this year, and what will you do about it?
5. What is the single biggest time-waster in your life, and what will you do about it this year?
6. What is the most helpful new way you could strengthen your church?
7. For whose salvation will you pray most fervently this year?
8. What’s the most important way you will, by God’s grace, try to make this year different from last year?
9. What one thing could you do to improve your prayer life this year?
10. What single thing that you plan to do this year will matter most in ten years? In eternity?

Whitney also offers an additional 21 questions to help us “consider our ways,” which can be read here.