Jesus’ disciples suffered martyrdom for their convictions, but other religious people also demonstrate changed lives because of their religious beliefs. Many have willingly given their lives for their faith: Muslims; followers of various religious teachers and political ideologies have inspired life changes and even martyrdom. But transformed lives, whether the disciples or others, does not prove that what they believe is true- It only proves that those who are willing to suffer and die for their religious commitments truly believe them to be true. Is there a difference then between the two?
In general, people committed to a religious or political message really believe it to be true. But belief in something does not make it true. Like other examples of religious or political faith, the disciples believed and followed their leader’s teachings. But unlike all others, the disciples had more than just their beliefs—they had seen the resurrected Jesus. This is a crucial distinction; their faith was true precisely because of the resurrection. Their doubts are well documented in the scriptures, until they witnessed the resurrected Jesus.
Think about it. Which is more likely—that an ideology we believe in is true, or that I and a number of others saw my wife Amy several times during the last month? If eternity rested on our conviction, would we rather base our assurance on the truth of a particular religious or political view, or would we rather have that faith confirmed with repeated cases of seeing someone? Hundreds of people witnessed that Amy was here, in the last month, as hundreds witnessed Jesus after the resurrection.
Unlike the world’s faiths, which rest on certain beliefs being true, the disciples both heard the unique teachings of Jesus, his many miracles and him after being dead and buried! Jesus was the only founder of a major world religion who had miracles reported of Him in reliable sources within a few decades. But most of all, He confirmed His message by rising from the dead. The disciples, both individuals and groups, saw Him repeatedly. Even two skeptics—James the brother of Jesus and Saul of Tarsus (Paul)—witnessed the resurrected Jesus.
No wonder the disciples were willing to die for their faith!
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Abortion- A Wide Long View
Whether it be a part of health care legislation, a matter of law (Roe vs. Wade in America) or a conversation about an “unwanted” pregnancy, it is especially important that Christians are aware of our tradition, and what the Bible teaches about abortion. Abortion has been practiced throughout the world from ancient times, but the fear of death and lack of access to physicians who performed “safe” abortions placed natural limitations on the procedure. In classical paganism, abortion and euthanasia was common and widely approved. The performing of abortions and doing harm was specifically prohibited for physicians who had taken the Hippocratic Oath (4th Century BC and thereafter). This oath to the gods was a step towards saving human life and not performing abortions, but those who lived by this law were the exception. One of the great triumphs of the growth of Christianity in the western world was to greatly diminish the practice of abortion and infanticide in those parts of the world.
Christianity gave the pro-life movement another dimension as the church of Jesus Christ swept through the Roman world, setting standards in medicine, culture, and public policy. Christianity had this effect because what the Bible teaches about human life. If you look for “abortion” in a concordance you won’t find it, as that term was not used by the people of that day, but scripture is not silent on the subject. The biblical foundations for prohibition on induced abortion are found in the doctrines of creation and incarnation. The starting point for a biblical understanding of human nature is the truth that human beings are created in God’s image (imago Dei). It is clear from Genesis 1:26–27 that human beings are distinguished from all other creatures (kinds), by our bearing the likeness of our Maker. The image applies to Jew and Gentile, religious and irreligious, young and old. The issue here is not complex. If someone is human, that person bears the divine image and his or her life is sacred. It’s genetic. With the recognition that human life is sacred, the scriptures guide our actions. This foundation underlies the commandment “Do not murder” (Ex 20:13) and provides a straightforward response to abortion, because it applies to all human beings, from the beginning of life to its end. “Whoever sheds man’s blood, his blood shall be shed by man, for God made man in His image.”) This teaching is also of central importance in the use of human embryos for research and cloning. There is only one logical position one can take from the scriptures: those who are human are made in the divine image and should not be murdered. The main argument against this truth comes in the debate of when a human life begins.
That is where the doctrine of the incarnation comes in. When we celebrate Christmas, we remember that the incarnation of the Son of God, the second Person of the Trinity, took human form and did so from the beginning of human biological existence. He did not just come as a man. The incarnation began with conception. Mary was told by the angel that she would conceive by a miracle, the human life of the Son of God. Shortly afterward she visited Elizabeth, where John the Baptist’s first testimony to his kinsman and Lord is given. As a six month fetus, he leaped in his mother’s womb at the presence of the days-old embryonic Jesus (Lk 1:39–45). With the theological foundations of imago Dei, and the incarnation, the many references to unborn life in the prophets, Job, and especially Psalms (particularly Psalm 139) take on powerful significance.
For this reason, cultures that have remained Christian have a reverence for God, and laws by church and state that prevent the large scale practice of abortion. Many of these laws prohibiting abortion have since been abolished, even in Christianized nations. The influence of the church held fast in the western world until naturalist philosophy, and Darwinian evolution theory displaced the predominant Christian view of man. The devaluing of human life with naturalism and atheism has set the stage for the practice of abortion to re-emerge on a grand scale. In the last 40 years the United States, Canada, Britain, France, Switzerland, Denmark, Hungary, Romania, Italy, and Australia have legalized abortion. Add this to the nations where it is already legal like Russia and China, the world’s abortion leaders, and you have a worldwide abortion rate that is greater than any point in history.
The combination of modern medicine’s advanced abortion procedures, the decline of Christian influence, and the legalization and accessibility of abortion in more countries is yielding an estimated 42 million aborted babies per year worldwide. Nations who maintain a predominantly Christian influence are the world leaders in low abortion statistics and they all have laws against it. Like the physicians who originally took the Hippocratic Oath, Christians find themselves going against the cultural current of the world. If we are to change this grievous trend in our own country and the world it will be through the spread of Christianity and the reestablishment of the biblical teaching of the sanctity of human life. When nations recognize the authority of our creator and God’s word, rather than men’s, the culture and public policy will change.
Christianity gave the pro-life movement another dimension as the church of Jesus Christ swept through the Roman world, setting standards in medicine, culture, and public policy. Christianity had this effect because what the Bible teaches about human life. If you look for “abortion” in a concordance you won’t find it, as that term was not used by the people of that day, but scripture is not silent on the subject. The biblical foundations for prohibition on induced abortion are found in the doctrines of creation and incarnation. The starting point for a biblical understanding of human nature is the truth that human beings are created in God’s image (imago Dei). It is clear from Genesis 1:26–27 that human beings are distinguished from all other creatures (kinds), by our bearing the likeness of our Maker. The image applies to Jew and Gentile, religious and irreligious, young and old. The issue here is not complex. If someone is human, that person bears the divine image and his or her life is sacred. It’s genetic. With the recognition that human life is sacred, the scriptures guide our actions. This foundation underlies the commandment “Do not murder” (Ex 20:13) and provides a straightforward response to abortion, because it applies to all human beings, from the beginning of life to its end. “Whoever sheds man’s blood, his blood shall be shed by man, for God made man in His image.”) This teaching is also of central importance in the use of human embryos for research and cloning. There is only one logical position one can take from the scriptures: those who are human are made in the divine image and should not be murdered. The main argument against this truth comes in the debate of when a human life begins.
That is where the doctrine of the incarnation comes in. When we celebrate Christmas, we remember that the incarnation of the Son of God, the second Person of the Trinity, took human form and did so from the beginning of human biological existence. He did not just come as a man. The incarnation began with conception. Mary was told by the angel that she would conceive by a miracle, the human life of the Son of God. Shortly afterward she visited Elizabeth, where John the Baptist’s first testimony to his kinsman and Lord is given. As a six month fetus, he leaped in his mother’s womb at the presence of the days-old embryonic Jesus (Lk 1:39–45). With the theological foundations of imago Dei, and the incarnation, the many references to unborn life in the prophets, Job, and especially Psalms (particularly Psalm 139) take on powerful significance.
For this reason, cultures that have remained Christian have a reverence for God, and laws by church and state that prevent the large scale practice of abortion. Many of these laws prohibiting abortion have since been abolished, even in Christianized nations. The influence of the church held fast in the western world until naturalist philosophy, and Darwinian evolution theory displaced the predominant Christian view of man. The devaluing of human life with naturalism and atheism has set the stage for the practice of abortion to re-emerge on a grand scale. In the last 40 years the United States, Canada, Britain, France, Switzerland, Denmark, Hungary, Romania, Italy, and Australia have legalized abortion. Add this to the nations where it is already legal like Russia and China, the world’s abortion leaders, and you have a worldwide abortion rate that is greater than any point in history.
The combination of modern medicine’s advanced abortion procedures, the decline of Christian influence, and the legalization and accessibility of abortion in more countries is yielding an estimated 42 million aborted babies per year worldwide. Nations who maintain a predominantly Christian influence are the world leaders in low abortion statistics and they all have laws against it. Like the physicians who originally took the Hippocratic Oath, Christians find themselves going against the cultural current of the world. If we are to change this grievous trend in our own country and the world it will be through the spread of Christianity and the reestablishment of the biblical teaching of the sanctity of human life. When nations recognize the authority of our creator and God’s word, rather than men’s, the culture and public policy will change.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Where's God in the Earthquake?
Q. How do we explain the presence of God in the midst of tragic events such as earthquakes or tsunamis?
A. This question is another form of the common question: How can you reconcile the goodness of God with the presence of evil and suffering in the world? Libraries of books have been written on the subject, as this is a very common objection to the Christian faith. If the topic interests you, I recommend reading The Problem of Pain, by C.S Lewis, as he writes about this subject comprehensively in terms the average person can understand. But, rather than defer the question to someone else entirely, I will answer the question in summary: God is with us in the midst of all our trouble.
When a storm, any kind of storm, comes to our front door, humanity is quick to blame God for it. We demand an explanation from this “loving” God, who has wronged us. In essence we blame God for it, but should we? The Bible teaches that evil is not caused by God, but is the direct result of our rebellion against God. God does not keep us from adversity, but he does promise to be with us, amidst the suffering. Instead of blaming a God we don’t know for our pain, we have peace and hope from our creator and savior, both in this life and the life to come. If you think the answer leaves you short, consider the atheist’s position: People are condemned to live a life of pain that ends with death with no comfort or solution now or in the future.
A. This question is another form of the common question: How can you reconcile the goodness of God with the presence of evil and suffering in the world? Libraries of books have been written on the subject, as this is a very common objection to the Christian faith. If the topic interests you, I recommend reading The Problem of Pain, by C.S Lewis, as he writes about this subject comprehensively in terms the average person can understand. But, rather than defer the question to someone else entirely, I will answer the question in summary: God is with us in the midst of all our trouble.
When a storm, any kind of storm, comes to our front door, humanity is quick to blame God for it. We demand an explanation from this “loving” God, who has wronged us. In essence we blame God for it, but should we? The Bible teaches that evil is not caused by God, but is the direct result of our rebellion against God. God does not keep us from adversity, but he does promise to be with us, amidst the suffering. Instead of blaming a God we don’t know for our pain, we have peace and hope from our creator and savior, both in this life and the life to come. If you think the answer leaves you short, consider the atheist’s position: People are condemned to live a life of pain that ends with death with no comfort or solution now or in the future.
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
I've Been Hurt by the Church
I find myself having a the same conversation with a lot of different people about being hurt by the church. Sometimes it's members of my church, sometimes its from people sharing their story of another church.
As a pastor,I have no dissolutions about the church. And anyone who is a long standing member of Christ’s church will agree with me... Church life is a messy business. Life is messy, both inside and outside the church and the church doesn’t function very well much of the time. But, is this God's fault? It is, what it is, so let's not kid ourselves about the nature of the church and our sinful nature. There is nothing new under the sun. It was the same for Israel in the OT as it is for us today in the church. We hinder the work of God at every turn. So, what do we do when we find ourselves on the receiving end of the sin ledger?
We can complain, point fingers, make accusations, leave the church or a multitude of other things. But, what should we do? I think it is helpful to recall Christ’s words from the Sermon on the Mount: Matthew 5:12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. Who were they? The ones who persecuted the prophets? They were the people of Israel, not other nations. If we expect the church to be without sin and strife, the deception is just as great as us believing that we ourselves are without sin.
Praise God that our hope is not the church, our hope is Christ, in the church. The only redeeming thing about the church is that Christ is in it. Our hobbies, escapes, possessions, entertainments…etc can be redeemed by God, but they come to us spoiled, and don’t proclaim the good news of our salvation. His love does however, miraculously emerge from time to time, through faithful, God fearing saints, who by the grace of God have been nurtured in this same church. His love miraculously breaks through despite the dysfunctional, sin laden state of Christ’s body.
Christ's love may come from one person as a word of encouragement, or from another as a revelation of God’s truth that is heard above the fray. His love came through the people of Israel, despite their great sins, and God accomplished his work on the cross. And our great assurance is that he will also accomplish all his purposes through the church. It is truly a mystery, how God continues to use the church- his sinful children, to proclaim his truth. Oh that we would be more faithful in carrying it out.
It is sometimes easy to get into a weird kind of blame game in the church. I’ve observed it and I have been guilty of it. Our great adversary, the devil, works us from both sides. He assists us in sinning against one another, by breaking God’s commands, always taking more notice of someone elses sin than our own, and then he causes us to find fault in Christ’s “Church.” Satan two, God zero, just the way he likes it. We can break the cycle by being obedient to the Lord of the church, admitting and confessing our own sin, and forgiving others who have sinned against us. (Sounds like a familiar prayer we say together in church doesnt' it?)
None of us come to the church sinless. We all contribute to its current state. We only make it worse by becoming bitter or angry at “the church”. There are a lot of people in the world that have isolated themselves from Jesus, because of the failures of the people in the church. There are others who go from church to church looking for one that loves more pure. They find one…, for a time, until the honeymoon ends and discover that yes, this church is as bad, as the last.
Believers have to remember that it’s not Christ in the church that hurts us, but the sinful people in the church that cause such great harm. We must guard our hearts, and be careful to forgive and not become bitter, because we most certainly have hurt others in Christ’s church with our sins. Not only will the Lord reward us for this, but the church we attend will become one with love a bit more pure.
As a pastor,I have no dissolutions about the church. And anyone who is a long standing member of Christ’s church will agree with me... Church life is a messy business. Life is messy, both inside and outside the church and the church doesn’t function very well much of the time. But, is this God's fault? It is, what it is, so let's not kid ourselves about the nature of the church and our sinful nature. There is nothing new under the sun. It was the same for Israel in the OT as it is for us today in the church. We hinder the work of God at every turn. So, what do we do when we find ourselves on the receiving end of the sin ledger?
We can complain, point fingers, make accusations, leave the church or a multitude of other things. But, what should we do? I think it is helpful to recall Christ’s words from the Sermon on the Mount: Matthew 5:12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. Who were they? The ones who persecuted the prophets? They were the people of Israel, not other nations. If we expect the church to be without sin and strife, the deception is just as great as us believing that we ourselves are without sin.
Praise God that our hope is not the church, our hope is Christ, in the church. The only redeeming thing about the church is that Christ is in it. Our hobbies, escapes, possessions, entertainments…etc can be redeemed by God, but they come to us spoiled, and don’t proclaim the good news of our salvation. His love does however, miraculously emerge from time to time, through faithful, God fearing saints, who by the grace of God have been nurtured in this same church. His love miraculously breaks through despite the dysfunctional, sin laden state of Christ’s body.
Christ's love may come from one person as a word of encouragement, or from another as a revelation of God’s truth that is heard above the fray. His love came through the people of Israel, despite their great sins, and God accomplished his work on the cross. And our great assurance is that he will also accomplish all his purposes through the church. It is truly a mystery, how God continues to use the church- his sinful children, to proclaim his truth. Oh that we would be more faithful in carrying it out.
It is sometimes easy to get into a weird kind of blame game in the church. I’ve observed it and I have been guilty of it. Our great adversary, the devil, works us from both sides. He assists us in sinning against one another, by breaking God’s commands, always taking more notice of someone elses sin than our own, and then he causes us to find fault in Christ’s “Church.” Satan two, God zero, just the way he likes it. We can break the cycle by being obedient to the Lord of the church, admitting and confessing our own sin, and forgiving others who have sinned against us. (Sounds like a familiar prayer we say together in church doesnt' it?)
None of us come to the church sinless. We all contribute to its current state. We only make it worse by becoming bitter or angry at “the church”. There are a lot of people in the world that have isolated themselves from Jesus, because of the failures of the people in the church. There are others who go from church to church looking for one that loves more pure. They find one…, for a time, until the honeymoon ends and discover that yes, this church is as bad, as the last.
Believers have to remember that it’s not Christ in the church that hurts us, but the sinful people in the church that cause such great harm. We must guard our hearts, and be careful to forgive and not become bitter, because we most certainly have hurt others in Christ’s church with our sins. Not only will the Lord reward us for this, but the church we attend will become one with love a bit more pure.
Thursday, January 7, 2010
A Chrisian View of the Sanctity of Life
As January is Sanctity of Life month and “abortion rights” are again in the news as part of the health care legislation, it is especially important that Christians are aware of our tradition, and what the Bible teaches. Abortion has been practiced in every culture from ancient times. One of the great achievements of the spread of the gospel in the Greco-Roman world was to greatly diminish the practice of abortion and infanticide. In classical paganism, abortion (like euthanasia) was common and widely approved. The ancient physicians who took the Hippocratic Oath, whose medical vision was powered by saving life and not taking it, were the exception, not the rule. The pro-life movement truly began when the church of Jesus Christ swept through the Roman world, setting standards in medicine, culture, and public policy. That influence held fast in the western world until the naturalist philosophy, and Darwinian evolution theory displaced the predominant Christian view of man. The devaluing of human life set the stage for the practice of abortion to re-emerge.
If you look for abortion in a concordance you won’t find it, as that term was not used by the people of that day, but scripture is not silent on the subject. The biblical foundations for prohibition on induced abortion are found in the doctrines of creation and incarnation. The starting point for a biblical understanding of human nature is the truth that human beings are created in God’s image (imago Dei). It is clear from Genesis 1:26–27 that human beings, are distinguished from all other creatures (kinds), by our bearing the likeness of our Maker. The image applies to Jew and Gentile, religious and irreligious, young and old. The issue here is not complex. If someone is human, that person bears the divine image and his or her life is sacred. It’s genetic. With this single recognition, we find our answer. This foundation underlies the commandment “Do not murder” (Ex 20:13) and provides a straightforward response to abortion, because it applies to all human beings, from the beginning of life to its end. “Whoever sheds man’s blood, his blood shall be shed by man, for God made man in His image.”) This teaching is also of central importance in the use of human embryos for research and cloning. There is only one position one can take from the scriptures: those who are human are made in the divine image and should not be murdered.
The second foundation lies in the doctrine of the incarnation. As we have just celebrated Christmas, we remember that the incarnation of the Son of God, the second Person of the Trinity, took human form and did so from the beginning of human biological existence. He did not just come as a man, the incarnation began with conception. Mary was told by the angel that she would conceive by a miracle, the human life of the Son of God. Shortly afterward she visited Elizabeth, where John the Baptist’s first testimony to his kinsman and Lord is given. As a six month fetus, he leaped in his mother’s womb at the presence of the days-old embryonic Jesus (Lk 1:39–45).
With the theological foundations of imago Dei, and the incarnation, the many references to unborn life in the prophets, Job, and especially Psalms take on powerful significance. As an exercise, read Psalms 139 with these two doctrines in mind.
Like the physicians who originally took the Hippocratic Oath, we Christians find ourselves going against the cultural current. If we are to prevail in this debate, it will be through the spread of the Gospel. When a majority again submits to the authority of God’s word, rather than men’s, the culture and public policy will change.
If you look for abortion in a concordance you won’t find it, as that term was not used by the people of that day, but scripture is not silent on the subject. The biblical foundations for prohibition on induced abortion are found in the doctrines of creation and incarnation. The starting point for a biblical understanding of human nature is the truth that human beings are created in God’s image (imago Dei). It is clear from Genesis 1:26–27 that human beings, are distinguished from all other creatures (kinds), by our bearing the likeness of our Maker. The image applies to Jew and Gentile, religious and irreligious, young and old. The issue here is not complex. If someone is human, that person bears the divine image and his or her life is sacred. It’s genetic. With this single recognition, we find our answer. This foundation underlies the commandment “Do not murder” (Ex 20:13) and provides a straightforward response to abortion, because it applies to all human beings, from the beginning of life to its end. “Whoever sheds man’s blood, his blood shall be shed by man, for God made man in His image.”) This teaching is also of central importance in the use of human embryos for research and cloning. There is only one position one can take from the scriptures: those who are human are made in the divine image and should not be murdered.
The second foundation lies in the doctrine of the incarnation. As we have just celebrated Christmas, we remember that the incarnation of the Son of God, the second Person of the Trinity, took human form and did so from the beginning of human biological existence. He did not just come as a man, the incarnation began with conception. Mary was told by the angel that she would conceive by a miracle, the human life of the Son of God. Shortly afterward she visited Elizabeth, where John the Baptist’s first testimony to his kinsman and Lord is given. As a six month fetus, he leaped in his mother’s womb at the presence of the days-old embryonic Jesus (Lk 1:39–45).
With the theological foundations of imago Dei, and the incarnation, the many references to unborn life in the prophets, Job, and especially Psalms take on powerful significance. As an exercise, read Psalms 139 with these two doctrines in mind.
Like the physicians who originally took the Hippocratic Oath, we Christians find ourselves going against the cultural current. If we are to prevail in this debate, it will be through the spread of the Gospel. When a majority again submits to the authority of God’s word, rather than men’s, the culture and public policy will change.
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
The Twofold Blessing of E-giving
As the world changes, there are more options, even in how we give at church. Remember when dad used to drop an envelope into the plate as it went by. Some people still prefer this time tested method, but Amy and I have been giving this way to FRC for the last two years, and we love it. Let me share with you some of the benefits of electronic transfer giving:
1. It has made us more consistent. As you might guess, we have a lot to do on Sunday mornings. After determining our tithe and setting the amount for the year that amount is given automatically without us ever having to “remember” to fill out the check and prepare the envelope. To be honest, we would occasionally miss this detail, and have to “make it up”, the next week.
2. We have become more faithful in our tithe. Our consistent giving, even while on vacation or attending a ministry event off site, does not impact our regular giving and we are not tempted to withhold when we go away.
3. It keeps us disciplined. In the past, when finances were lean, we sometimes would hold off giving, with the intention of making it up in the future. While we usually did, there were times when we never caught up. Since we have switched, we don’t consider it and have never had an issue with God not providing.
4. It has made us more generous with God’s money. In the past, we would consider giving a portion of our tithe to things other than the church and then subtract that from our weekly offering. Now we consider these gifts over and above our tithe. Giving to missions, youth group, the needy, special offerings etc., are now in a different category of giving for us.
Electronic contributions mean fewer envelopes to open, less manual accounting and reduced chances for errors. It also increases giving because it minimizes the weekly ebb and flow of giving regardless of members’ weekly attendance. When for example we have had to cancel services due to severe weather, the offerings dip and are not completely made up the following week. When vacations are at their peek in the summer time, the giving drops right with the attendance. How does it work? E-giving is very simple. Through a simple form, provided by the financial secretary, a church member pre-authorizes the church to have his or her contribution automatically debited from a checking or savings account. The church member can choose to have the contribution deducted weekly, semi-monthly, monthly or even annually. Once the church receives authorization for an electronic funds transfer, the church’s bank account is credited, and the parishioner’s account is debited the same amount on the schedule that is set up. It’s that simple. For us, this form of giving has helped us become more generous and more faithful. If you are interested in giving this way, you need only contact the church office.
1. It has made us more consistent. As you might guess, we have a lot to do on Sunday mornings. After determining our tithe and setting the amount for the year that amount is given automatically without us ever having to “remember” to fill out the check and prepare the envelope. To be honest, we would occasionally miss this detail, and have to “make it up”, the next week.
2. We have become more faithful in our tithe. Our consistent giving, even while on vacation or attending a ministry event off site, does not impact our regular giving and we are not tempted to withhold when we go away.
3. It keeps us disciplined. In the past, when finances were lean, we sometimes would hold off giving, with the intention of making it up in the future. While we usually did, there were times when we never caught up. Since we have switched, we don’t consider it and have never had an issue with God not providing.
4. It has made us more generous with God’s money. In the past, we would consider giving a portion of our tithe to things other than the church and then subtract that from our weekly offering. Now we consider these gifts over and above our tithe. Giving to missions, youth group, the needy, special offerings etc., are now in a different category of giving for us.
Electronic contributions mean fewer envelopes to open, less manual accounting and reduced chances for errors. It also increases giving because it minimizes the weekly ebb and flow of giving regardless of members’ weekly attendance. When for example we have had to cancel services due to severe weather, the offerings dip and are not completely made up the following week. When vacations are at their peek in the summer time, the giving drops right with the attendance. How does it work? E-giving is very simple. Through a simple form, provided by the financial secretary, a church member pre-authorizes the church to have his or her contribution automatically debited from a checking or savings account. The church member can choose to have the contribution deducted weekly, semi-monthly, monthly or even annually. Once the church receives authorization for an electronic funds transfer, the church’s bank account is credited, and the parishioner’s account is debited the same amount on the schedule that is set up. It’s that simple. For us, this form of giving has helped us become more generous and more faithful. If you are interested in giving this way, you need only contact the church office.
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
From Disney to Discovery
Our family just arrived home from Spring Break after visiting the Mouse's House, in Orlando, Florida. We all had a great time, but I must confess, from a Christian perspective, the world as we know it coming about by chance gets old. We went on the Spaceship Earth ride, in EPCOT and had our faith in God’s word challenged, Disney style, with 100% presumption of old earth theory. How do we respond to the predominant theories of our day? Do you believe in a literal 24 hour day of creation, or can the Hebrew word for day, yom, also be interpreted to be a long period of time, or an age?
This is certainly not a new question, but most very good questions have been asked before. This question makes for a great debate, which often pit’s geology and astronomy against the biblical account with such authority that we Christians begin to question what Genesis 1 and 2 really mean. This often results in some kind of theological compromise by Christians, like Theistic evolution- The belief that God does exist, and that God must have created things by natural means over a great period of time.
At it’s center is the problem one faces in reconciling several scientific discipline’s “old earth” theories, and a biblical young earth presentation of earth history. I happen to side on the 24 hour day side, simply because it makes a lot more exegetical sense to me despite many theologians who interpret the Hebrew word the other way. Let me explain why I take this position. There was evening and there was morning, the first yom. Either there was another light source that God used in the Genesis account, or we are operating on the same system that we are accustomed to today. The solar and lunar cycles are in place already in Genesis 1.
Then do I just ignore geology, physics, fossils, the expansion of the universe and all the natural processes that have been demonstrated as scientific fact? No. I don’t. I also don’t ignore God. Let me explain what I mean. Let’s start with Genesis. What does Genesis mean? Beginning right? But, not just the beginning…In the beginning, God. What happens when you take God out? Something that we often forget when it comes to modern science is that it works from a naturalistic philosophy that predates Darwin. It is the belief that God does not exist; there is no supernatural, outside or inside force that affects natural processes. Darwin’s theory was a result of this philosophy in biological systems, but Geology, Astronomy and other disciplines have also been impacted by it.
To put it another way…they don’t factor in the miraculous (supernatural) at all. If you don’t factor in God, then you must be able to explain how something has transformed to its current state by random chance. This was not always the case in the scientific community. There was a time, when scientists tried to puzzle out the mysteries of the micro and macro worlds to learn more about their creator. But, we live in an age where the predominant presumption in science is that God does not exist. When this shift took place the primary presumption- that God exists, was rejected and then replaced with the Natural Sciences. We now have museums of Natural Science and History. What’s the difference? All scientific and historical explanations of ourselves and the world around us is limited to natural reasoning.
A basic principle in the scientific method is that if you have a faulty presumption, you will always have a faulty conclusion. That is why it is always dangerous to base one theory upon another. Theories should always be founded on observable facts, not other theories- which by very definition have not yet been proven. Take for example the theory of evolution, and the second law of thermodynamics. The former is yet to be proven; the latter has become a law. Yet, scientists continue to advance the theory of evolution, while ignoring a scientific law, because the theory fits their presupposition- no God factored in.
In Natural systems (Nature), we observe processes and make predictions into the future and past based on those processes. This is very logical. So what happens when you observe and prove the second law of thermodynamics (put into layman’s terms- everything over time breaks down into a more chaotic system until finding a balance), as was first established in 1824. What impact does that have on your observation of so many complex systems that exist? Let’s explore together the two possibilities. This law, without the existence of God, should reveal that the older the cosmos, the more disorder or chaos there should be? This law, with the existence of God, might attribute the power (or energy) of God, in the giving of order in a universe that would break down without it.
So if you don’t believe in God how did our own bodies and all the complex systems around us get so ordered? Answer- Time. Lots and lots and lots of time! Because order should not be observed, because we should not exist, it would take a very long time for it to happen in a random system…like a miracle (but not like a miracle performed by God, because God does not exist) but, a miracle just the same. So, how much time would it take? 15 to 20 Billion years. While the number is much debated, it is debated in the Billions, not thousands. Life as we know it with all it’s complexity should not exist at all in a natural system, so you have to allow for huge quantities of time and chance for it to randomly occur.
I’d like to get back to God for a moment. If you believe in God, you believe in an outside or inside force that can impact natural processes. Take for example Jesus healing someone. Our hospitals are filled with people who we can expect to get well, as the processes of healing occur. Our bodies fight infection, gain strength, and recover…over time. Jesus said, take up your mat and walk. And the lame man walked. We call this a miracle. A doctor operating on someone’s cataract and giving them sight is not a miracle, even though we might use the expression. A miracle is a person going from blind to sighted, without the hand and expertise of a surgeon in real time. Something supernatural, from outside the system has changed the natural course of things.
The Bible unmistakably describes the character of God and his attributes. God is the creator. God is the sustainer. God rules over all things, and God from time to time alters the design he created in what we call miracles. From a purely scientific perspective, our very existence is a miracle. Christians simply attribute the miracle to God instead of luck. Rather than believing (having faith that) against all logic, we are the result of astronomical odds in a universe ordered by random events, we simply believe in God.
With this argument laid out for you, let me ask you a question. If you had the ability to create, anything you wanted, at any time you wanted, simply by saying the words, (Genesis account- and God said, let there be…) would you take 15 billion years to do it? Time itself is a measurement that we have been given by God, for scripture teaches us that God is eternal. In Genesis, God provided something to order our lives: light to rule the day, and darkness to rule the night… there was evening, and morning, the first yom (day). To God a day is like a thousand years, because God exists outside of our parameter, but to us a day has been ordered.
When God created Adam, did he begin with a bacteria, fungi, plankton or an amoeba? No, he took all the materials from the dust of the earth and made a man. Not, an infant, not a boy, a man. Why is this significant? God created sustainable systems in the beginning. When we observe the rocks of the earth and the stars in the sky with the assumption that they were formed without miracle, we can only do it by attributing processes that take much more time, like the healing process within the human body. In Hebrews 1:1-3 we not only find that God created, but that God also sustains all things through the power of his word. That is why certain scientists who believe in the power of God, like Einstein, when discovering predictable, yet invisible power packets inside of unseen atoms, (quantum mechanics, or quantum theory), believed he was discovering a mystery of God.
If you are frustrated as a Christian, at the exclusion of God in science, I would encourage you to stand firm. The origin of science was founded on the search for truth. Christians do not have to compromise their faith to find it, for God’s word is truth. The evidence of God, and his divine attributes are clearly seen, even if the predominant cultural view is contrary to it. There is a reason, despite the fact that evolution and natural sciences are taught in all our public schools, and displayed over and over till nausea strikes on the National Geographic and Discovery Channels that over 80% of the people in our nation still believe in God! Natural sciences do not provide very convincing answers to life’s biggest questions. The irony is that if Science was purely a search for truth, without any error, it would discover…God.
How do you stand up to the challenge?
Our family just arrived home from Spring Break after visiting the Mouse's House, in Orlando, Florida. We all had a great time, but I must confess, from a Christian perspective, the world as we know it coming about by chance gets old. We went on the Spaceship Earth ride, in EPCOT and had our faith in God’s word challenged, Disney style, with 100% presumption of old earth theory. How do we respond to the predominant theories of our day? Do you believe in a literal 24 hour day of creation, or can the Hebrew word for day, yom, also be interpreted to be a long period of time, or an age?
This is certainly not a new question, but most very good questions have been asked before. This question makes for a great debate, which often pit’s geology and astronomy against the biblical account with such authority that we Christians begin to question what Genesis 1 and 2 really mean. This often results in some kind of theological compromise by Christians, like Theistic evolution- The belief that God does exist, and that God must have created things by natural means over a great period of time.
At it’s center is the problem one faces in reconciling several scientific discipline’s “old earth” theories, and a biblical young earth presentation of earth history. I happen to side on the 24 hour day side, simply because it makes a lot more exegetical sense to me despite many theologians who interpret the Hebrew word the other way. Let me explain why I take this position. There was evening and there was morning, the first yom. Either there was another light source that God used in the Genesis account, or we are operating on the same system that we are accustomed to today. The solar and lunar cycles are in place already in Genesis 1.
Then do I just ignore geology, physics, fossils, the expansion of the universe and all the natural processes that have been demonstrated as scientific fact? No. I don’t. I also don’t ignore God. Let me explain what I mean. Let’s start with Genesis. What does Genesis mean? Beginning right? But, not just the beginning…In the beginning, God. What happens when you take God out? Something that we often forget when it comes to modern science is that it works from a naturalistic philosophy that predates Darwin. It is the belief that God does not exist; there is no supernatural, outside or inside force that affects natural processes. Darwin’s theory was a result of this philosophy in biological systems, but Geology, Astronomy and other disciplines have also been impacted by it.
To put it another way…they don’t factor in the miraculous (supernatural) at all. If you don’t factor in God, then you must be able to explain how something has transformed to its current state by random chance. This was not always the case in the scientific community. There was a time, when scientists tried to puzzle out the mysteries of the micro and macro worlds to learn more about their creator. But, we live in an age where the predominant presumption in science is that God does not exist. When this shift took place the primary presumption- that God exists, was rejected and then replaced with the Natural Sciences. We now have museums of Natural Science and History. What’s the difference? All scientific and historical explanations of ourselves and the world around us is limited to natural reasoning.
A basic principle in the scientific method is that if you have a faulty presumption, you will always have a faulty conclusion. That is why it is always dangerous to base one theory upon another. Theories should always be founded on observable facts, not other theories- which by very definition have not yet been proven. Take for example the theory of evolution, and the second law of thermodynamics. The former is yet to be proven; the latter has become a law. Yet, scientists continue to advance the theory of evolution, while ignoring a scientific law, because the theory fits their presupposition- no God factored in.
In Natural systems (Nature), we observe processes and make predictions into the future and past based on those processes. This is very logical. So what happens when you observe and prove the second law of thermodynamics (put into layman’s terms- everything over time breaks down into a more chaotic system until finding a balance), as was first established in 1824. What impact does that have on your observation of so many complex systems that exist? Let’s explore together the two possibilities. This law, without the existence of God, should reveal that the older the cosmos, the more disorder or chaos there should be? This law, with the existence of God, might attribute the power (or energy) of God, in the giving of order in a universe that would break down without it.
So if you don’t believe in God how did our own bodies and all the complex systems around us get so ordered? Answer- Time. Lots and lots and lots of time! Because order should not be observed, because we should not exist, it would take a very long time for it to happen in a random system…like a miracle (but not like a miracle performed by God, because God does not exist) but, a miracle just the same. So, how much time would it take? 15 to 20 Billion years. While the number is much debated, it is debated in the Billions, not thousands. Life as we know it with all it’s complexity should not exist at all in a natural system, so you have to allow for huge quantities of time and chance for it to randomly occur.
I’d like to get back to God for a moment. If you believe in God, you believe in an outside or inside force that can impact natural processes. Take for example Jesus healing someone. Our hospitals are filled with people who we can expect to get well, as the processes of healing occur. Our bodies fight infection, gain strength, and recover…over time. Jesus said, take up your mat and walk. And the lame man walked. We call this a miracle. A doctor operating on someone’s cataract and giving them sight is not a miracle, even though we might use the expression. A miracle is a person going from blind to sighted, without the hand and expertise of a surgeon in real time. Something supernatural, from outside the system has changed the natural course of things.
The Bible unmistakably describes the character of God and his attributes. God is the creator. God is the sustainer. God rules over all things, and God from time to time alters the design he created in what we call miracles. From a purely scientific perspective, our very existence is a miracle. Christians simply attribute the miracle to God instead of luck. Rather than believing (having faith that) against all logic, we are the result of astronomical odds in a universe ordered by random events, we simply believe in God.
With this argument laid out for you, let me ask you a question. If you had the ability to create, anything you wanted, at any time you wanted, simply by saying the words, (Genesis account- and God said, let there be…) would you take 15 billion years to do it? Time itself is a measurement that we have been given by God, for scripture teaches us that God is eternal. In Genesis, God provided something to order our lives: light to rule the day, and darkness to rule the night… there was evening, and morning, the first yom (day). To God a day is like a thousand years, because God exists outside of our parameter, but to us a day has been ordered.
When God created Adam, did he begin with a bacteria, fungi, plankton or an amoeba? No, he took all the materials from the dust of the earth and made a man. Not, an infant, not a boy, a man. Why is this significant? God created sustainable systems in the beginning. When we observe the rocks of the earth and the stars in the sky with the assumption that they were formed without miracle, we can only do it by attributing processes that take much more time, like the healing process within the human body. In Hebrews 1:1-3 we not only find that God created, but that God also sustains all things through the power of his word. That is why certain scientists who believe in the power of God, like Einstein, when discovering predictable, yet invisible power packets inside of unseen atoms, (quantum mechanics, or quantum theory), believed he was discovering a mystery of God.
If you are frustrated as a Christian, at the exclusion of God in science, I would encourage you to stand firm. The origin of science was founded on the search for truth. Christians do not have to compromise their faith to find it, for God’s word is truth. The evidence of God, and his divine attributes are clearly seen, even if the predominant cultural view is contrary to it. There is a reason, despite the fact that evolution and natural sciences are taught in all our public schools, and displayed over and over till nausea strikes on the National Geographic and Discovery Channels that over 80% of the people in our nation still believe in God! Natural sciences do not provide very convincing answers to life’s biggest questions. The irony is that if Science was purely a search for truth, without any error, it would discover…God.
How do you stand up to the challenge?
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