At Least Today . . .

. . . an article I wrote is up on the Christian Standard website. You can read it here. Since they usually change over the website on Wednesday, you might have to scroll to the bottom and click on the lesson for June 24th. It's about Isaiah 55.

You Could've Said "Donkey"

I usually check out the Christian Church Today site once a week because it's the non-official official site of the churches with which we're affiliated. As I perused the front page, which looked like this,

I noticed an interesting break in the article, that makes it a little awkward:

Some might say that I was once an "associate pastor ass," but those people would be cruel.

Sadness/Gladness

"Ruth was my life partner, and we were called by God as a team. No one else could have borne the load that she carried. She was a vital and integral part of our ministry, and my work through the years would have been impossible without her encouragment and support . . . I am so grateful to the Lord that He gave me Ruth, and especially for these last few years we've had in the mountains together. We've rekindled the romance of our youth, and my love for her continued to grow deeper every day. I will miss her horribly, and look forward to the day I can join her in heaven."

- Billy Graham

Dirty, Dirty

Apparently an actor portraying Adam in a video clip over at the Creation Museum also did some naughty videos. Here's the link . . . to the Enquirer story, not the videos, you sick-o.

Who Do I Think Jesus Is?

For my Historical Jesus class we were asked to write down our image of Jesus. We're then supposed to revisit our image at the end of the course and see if it has changed. I sat down the other day and, in a few minutes, without consulting a Bible penned my thoughts concerning who I believe Jesus was. Here's what I came up with: Jesus. Was. A. Man. But so much more than just a man. He was God, Creator of the Universe, come to earth in human form. Flesh and Blood and Hair and Bones. Just. Like. Me. But so much more than I could ever attain to. He lived a normal childhood in a small podunk town. He became a man. Took on a trade. Eeked out an existence. But then was unleashed. A mikveh and a voice released Him to ministry. He wandered the countryside and tended to His congregation. He transformed the physical, restoring the broken; His teachings were backed up by His miracles. Oh, and He taught as well, speaking words that have resonated two thousand years. What. An. Incomparable. Teacher. But so much more than a teacher. He was the Paschal Lamb. The only worthy sacrifice for the sins of the world. He was executed like a common criminal, subject to unspeakable brutality He did not deserve. He. Was. Murdered. But He did not stay dead. He rebuked the grave, owning mortality, proving He was who he claimed to be. He ascended into to heaven to reclaim the seat that He had left. But He did not hold on to the past tense. For there is a truth that has lasted far beyond His earthly presence and will forever more. Jesus. Is. Alive.

Where We Came From

This evening Kel, the kid, and I participated in a pastor's perk tonight as we got a sneak peak at the new Creation Museum of Answers In Genesis [AIG] in Northern Kentucky. There's been a lot of hub-bub recently, even talks of protest on their opening day, so I thought I'd give you my impressions on our experience. First, even though the facility isn't 100% finished, it appears that the finished product will be amazing. There were a couple annoying design features [a oddly located stairwell ends one part of the museum] but overall the construction was attractive. Adjacent to the museum is a garden area that, when fully matured, will be a place where couples will want to be wed. Kelly and I were saying that the quality of the displays and the overall ambiance was more impressive than the disappointing Freedom Center. I really can't believe they were able to do it all with private funds. AIG has definitely got the skills to pay the bills.

That being said, there was plenty there that left me scratching my head. Some of it was rather innocuous, such as a display of Moses holding the Ten Commandments written with the Masoretic vowel marks which were added thousands of years after Moses died [I'm a geek]. Some of it was just confusing, such as the bookstore being called Dragon Hall [OK, dinosaurs = real, dragon = not real, and the Dragon in the Bible is symbolic of Satan?]. Some of it was semantics, as they continued to pit "Biblical Wisdom" against "Human Reason" [so belief in the Scriptures is unreasonable?].

But, even after observing the museum, I found one thing disturbing more than any other: AIG speaks beyond the reach of Scripture. There are quite a few examples I could give here, but let me offer just one.

There is the concept known as Pangaea, which was the super-continent that was supposed to exist before plate-tectonics took over and spread them out to where they are today. This process, as evolutionary scientists propose, would have taken thousands, if not millions, of years. The AIG people suggest that it all happened during the Noadic flood, in a time period lasting little more than a year.

So they take a theory of Pangaea [which is not yet 100 years old] and try to fit it into the Biblical narrative; they attempt to explain certain natural topography by using Scripture. Now they could be right, or they could be wrong, but the truth is that they have no idea. So why even attempt to make a definitive statement? Because they accept the premise that the Bible has all the answers we have about everything [i.e., Answers In Genesis]. But Genesis 1 isn't meant to be a scientific reading. It's a way to let God's people know one inescapable concept that His people need to know: God created everything. Beyond that, we need to be careful how authoritatively we state what we know about creation.

But that lack of 100-percentness does not diminish our faith. For instance, I personally believe in the six-literal-day creation that AIG purports; throughout the museum was the Hebrew word "Yom" which means "day". But AIG states that if you don't believe in the six-literal-day creation that you aren't a true Christian. Friends, that's bunk. I would say it's imperative that you believe that God created the universe [isn't He the center of the universe, the only one who could offer grace?] but (dis)belief in one aspect of the creation story does not a(n) (un)believer make.

I have good Christian friends who don't agree with "six-literal days," not because God couldn't do it, but because it doesn't fit into an "old earth" point of view. "AH-HA!" AIG people cry. "They're letting popular science determine the way we view God!" But isn't trying to fit Pangaea into the Noadic Flood the same thing, accepting a theory as fact in implementing it in your Biblical interpretation? Why can't we accept that some things are unknown, and teach that faith is a stretch? Why do we feel a need to try to manipulate the Bible into something it isn't?

I really believe that the AIG folk are well-intentioned people but parts of this museum and their view of Scripture bother me.

So here's my final take on the Creation Museum:

1) Would I recommend that Christian parents take their children there? Yes. They did a very good job of trying to make parts of the Bible come to life. The rooms about Noah's ark did a great job trying to show the size and scope of the boat. Some of it was extremely graphic for younger kids [some rather "nekkid" Adam and Eve figures and skinned sheep sacrifices], but there is a benefit there. I think kids would find it fascinating.

2) Would I recommend that Christians take non-Christian friends there? Not really. There is too much in the museum that defies popular science with insufficient explanation. I think it would cause more harm than good, even though I think AIG sees at as a possible evangelistic tool. It's just me, but I'd say there are better ways to explain the message of Jesus than in this form.

3) Would I recommend that you go? Sure, why not? It's always useful to come to grips with the way you view the world and this museum is a good opportunity to do so. I'm not quite sure it's worth the $20 fee, but they gotsta make ends meet somehow. Judging from the license plates in the parking lot, I think people are going to come from all over to see this anyway.

On Friday we're going to the Cincinnati Museum of Natural History at Union Terminal. It's another opportunity to attend for free one of these museums. I'll be on the look-out to see how the pagan effort compares to the Creation Museum.

First Class

Went rather well. The course I'm taking is The Historical Jesus. Really enjoy the professor, Dr Dewey, who graduated from Havard Theological and was a member of the Jesus Seminar. For those unfamiliar with it, it's a literary critique of the Biblical narrative [specifically the gospels] to try to ascertain who He was and/or wasn't. A lot of Christians would absolutely struggle to sit through some of the discussion tonight; they'd see it as an affront to God. Unlike certain sit-com stars I realize that I'm not going to be able to lob a theological hand grenade that will instantaneously destroy this critique. And I'm cool with that so I'm approaching this class differently, not feeling like I need to defend God. God has some rather broad shoulders so I'm not sure he needs me to defend Him. So I'm going to be selective about my comments, taking it all in stride, seeing how the experience shapes my faith.

One of our "assignments" is to write down our image of Jesus and then revisit it at the end of the course. Interesting question to ponder. I'll post my thoughts here soon.

Otherwise, it'll be an interesting journey. Here I go . . .

Yikes [Apologetically Speaking]

If you haven't already, set the DVR to Wednesday's edition of ABC 's Nightline for the great atheist debate . There is already some leaked footage out on the interwebs [here and here] and it does not look good at all for our side. I'm not sure how ABC will edit it, but it from what I've seen, it looks brutal. Pray for a video malfunction that destroys the footage. Or if you have a time machine, now would be the time to go back a few days and stop this thing from taking place. You know the adage, "never take a knife to a gun fight"? Ray and Kirk were certainly not packing. And they had butter knives. Plastic butter knives. With butter still on them.

If anything, maybe this will be a good thing for evangelical Christianity in the western world. It could be a watershed moment when we finally realize that the rest of the world won't let us get away with surface scientific knowledge and hollow metaphors.

I know I'm coming off as extremely critical, but it was rather arrogant of Ray Comfort and Kirk Cameron to think they could walk into this debate with pretty little arguments that work on inebriated folk enamored by a television camera and convince  them that God is real. It's just not that easy.

Welcome to the revolution, guys. These people don't play nice. Either you have to go into these things with double-barrels-a-blazin', with a solid philosophical/epistemological background, or don't bother showing up to the O.K. Corral.

I'll be watching tomorrow night. But I'll probably be embarrassed.

Get Your Geek On

Now for something cool that you might not care about: they've discovered the tomb of Herod the Great. This is the Herod who ruled when Jesus was born, the same lunatic who ordered the massacre of the innocents in Bethlehem in about 4BC [wrap your mind around the wonderful dating: Jesus was actually born four years before he was thought to be born]. As we've been studying the book of Matthew at Echo, I actually taught an entire message about Herod [audio here].

As bad as Herod comes off in the Biblical narrative, he looks even worse in other sources. Herod was paranoid, to the extent that he had both his favorite wife and son killed, prompting the Roman Emperor to remark, "better to be Herod's pig than his son." He also wanted all of his officials to commit suicide upon his death; nobody followed through. Herod was buried in the Herodian, a massive mountain-like structure a few miles away from Bethlehem. It was here that archaeologists finally found his resting place. But, since Herod was so hated, it appears that the grave was desecrated shortly after his death.

Of course, this discovery doesn't prove that the Christian faith is true, but it does continue to reaffirm the historical validity of Scripture. I take certain delight in the way people unfamiliar with the Bible quickly dismiss it as fake or unimpressive. The Bible continually goes out on a limb by citing historical events and locations; and these facts are continually proven to be legitimate. When deciphering the meaning of life, it's difficult to ignore the Bible.

Oh, and Herod's still dead. But Jesus is alive.

Between Two Worlds

Here's what I'm thinking tonight: I've found myself engaged in quite a lot of dialogue lately concerning theology. While I always welcome lively conversation, I find it can be especially frustrating.

I feel like I live between two worlds.

One one side, I'm a fundamentalist. Because I hold certain doctrines such as the divinity of Christ and the authority of Scripture to be non-negotiable, I'm seen as an old school Bible thumper.  Because I believe that Jesus is the only way for salvation I'm called "intolerant" or "bigoted."

On the other side, I'm a liberal. The church tradition from which I come, the independent Christian Churches, is known for being anti-intellectual, and rightly so. In the early twentieth century the intellectual movement among Western Christianity was driven by Biblical liberalism. People questioned essential doctrines and our churches responded by rejecting any intellectual approach to the Scriptures. It was a "God said it, I believe it, that settles it" response. So now, among some people in my fellowship, I can be perceived as a liberal; since I refuse to endorse certain extra-Biblical teachings, I'm just as wrong as the agnostic or the atheist.

So on one side I face people who believe nothing is concrete, a laissez faire approach to spirituality where everything goes. And on the other side, I'm confronted by those who believe that we know everything about God and there is no room for disagreement.

And there I am, the middle child, trying to play peacemaker. It's a good life.

I'll admit, it's an easier existence to live in one of those two worlds. When you live in the liberal world where everyone's right, you think it means everyone will be happy. But inevitably, someone's "rightness" infringes on your "rightness."

When you live in the fundamentalist world where everyone's wrong, it makes identifying the wrong people easy [anyone who disagrees with you is wrong]. And that's all well and good until you realize that everyone else in the entire world, in addition to 99.9% of all the people who ever lived, are wrong.

So, in which world do you live?

I'm naive enough to believe that there is room enough to live between the two worlds. There is truth from God that needs to be recognized, but there is also much that is mysterious about Him. There is voluminous information that can be discerned from examining creation and the Scriptures, but there is a limit to what we can pronounce undeniably. Unless we're prepared to dwell in a faith that's black and white with shades of grey, we'll beat our heads against brick walls trying to grasp the complexity that is God.

So even though it's a pain, I choose to live between these two worlds with the hope that dwelling here will somehow make a difference.

And that's what I'm thinking about tonight.

Thought 'O' The Day

Today is the National Day of Prayer here in America. Nice for Christians, annoying for atheist. An atheist blogger I regularly check out made this observation about today:

Today's the day to take action instead of idly praying. Worthy actions include: Giving blood, signing up to be an organ donor, helping a stranger, or donating money to your favorite secular non-profit so they can continue the good work that they do!

So his take [obviously a result of his atheism]: prayer is a futile, so be productive and do something that will make a difference.  But I think if you remove one or two words from that statement, it could've been made by today's social-justice-inclined church-- that worshipping the Living God on Sunday is not as effective as getting out and performing good deeds. Just this past week during the evening news, I heard a minister state that "unless the church gets out and does something, then we're useless." Staple that to a phrase a read from another minister this week: "if your church shut its doors, would your community protest?"

Sounds Biblical, right? But is it?

I recognize that for years the church was inwardly focuses, too much so, that we began to support random acts of kindness. It was all well and good until people begin to adopt it as their driving theology; that eradicating hunger and poverty ought to be the church's top priority. While that can be a positive byproduct of the gospel, it isn't its focus. We Christians are called to be more than good-deed doers.

There's much more that I need to write about this, because some of you might be offended that I hold this stance. I'll try to get some more thoughts up about it soon. But I will say now that if we, as the church of Christ, exists only to perform good deeds and make our communities like us then we seriously need to check our priorities. Christians don't own the market on trying to make the world a better place.

Even the atheists do that.

Video I'm Sorry I Watched

So check out this quality video: The Day They Kicked God Out Of School. In response, I say, "yikes."It made me feel icky.

Here's a thought these people never pondered: can you really kick God out of anyplace? I mean, He is God. Orthodox Christianity holds that He is all-powerful. So if we can just kick God out of places, doesn't that mean He couldn't do anything we wanted him to do in the first place?

Video I'm Not Sure I Want To Watch

With the reemergence of atheism as a legitimate presence in the United States, you might think a debate about God would be a good thing. Ray Comfort has challenged the two creators of The Blasphemy Challenge to a debate that will be televised by ABC. Who is Ray? Perhaps you know better his BFF Kirk Cameron. Yes, that Kirk Cameron. Ray and Kirk have their own evangelistic organization that's all over TBN. Part of the deal is that Ray and Kirk won't mention their faith to prove that God exists, but only scientific evidence. This is dumb. Sorry to burst your closed-to-the-world Christian bubble but you can't scientifically prove that God exists. That might tick some of you off, but neither can you scientifically prove that God doesn't exist. Now you can definitely use systems of logic to demonstrate that the odds lean towards the existence of a Creator, but there are many better qualified and experienced Christian apologists who have already debated atheists artfully than this Aussie and former friend of Boner will be able too [long sentence there, but I like it].

So get ready to witness some embarrassing prime-time coverage of our faith. You know I'll watch.

Thoughts On Tragedy

I didn't have much to say about the Virginia Tech shooting yesterday. There wasn't much information out about it then and I'm not sure I had much to say. As news has poured out today about the shooter, his motivation, and his advanced planning [he, at least, purchased the firearm[s] a month in advance] many hard questions have presented themselves. I feel somewhat obligated to make a few statements about what happened. Despite this being the worst campus tragedy in American history, surpassing an incident forty years ago when Charles Whitman killed 15 people from a tower at the University of Texas, I'm not sure that the magnitude of this massacre has really sunken in on the American public. Even though there's been considerable coverage on the 24 hour news channels, I believe the coverage would have been larger in a pre-9/11 world.

Now the natural media progression will lead them towards people to blame for this tragedy, beyond the shooter himself. The easiest target will be the gun industry. Even though he didn't use an assault rifle, there are those who believe that guns caused this incident. Some want to make Virginia Tech officials accountable for not shutting down the campus after the first shooting. And I already read a letter to the editor in today's paper blaming it on our society not taking mental health issues seriously. I'm confident that during the next few weeks we'll see many people offered as the scapegoat for the shooting.

Why the desire to place blame? I find it to be a reflex in order to explain away the tragedy. It isn't enough to observe the senseless nature of the act; there has to have been something that could've been prevented it from happening. We want to continue thinking that we humans have control over our world. But we're deceiving ourselves here. After every similar tragedy there is utter disbelief that "something like this could happen in a place like this." We perceive our personal environment as being safer than others. The reality is that there is not much safety to be found in a chaotic world such as ours.

No matter how hard you try to prevent this kind of evil, it is unavoidable. You can add security cameras and metal detectors, you can ban all sorts of firearms, you can do preventative psychological testing, but this kind of thing will happen again. If someone is willing to give their life to take life, you can't stop it. Friends, we live in a fallen world. The effects of sin yield evil actions like this massacre. No matter where you live or how cautious you are, you will never be fully exempt; this world is not a safe place to be. And our personal sin makes us just as culpable.

I make this observation, not to frighten, but to make us think about how we view our lives. How important is safety to you? If we hold safety to a higher level than we hold our worship of the living God, then we have issues. We're not promised safety in this life. Trying to create a Utopian existence is futile. We need to come to grips with the way the world functions and accept the dangers of a sinful world.

And we shouldn't have to live our lives in fear. We need to find a way to live in the world despite the sinfulness that consumes it. We Christians ought to have a different perspective on all of this. We believe there is a hope for this world, for something more after this life. We believe in the power of the gospel to transform the sinfulness that surrounds us. We might not be guaranteed safety, but it shouldn't keep us from unleashing the good news of Jesus on this world.

Our prayers need to be with the friends and families of those who lost loved ones yesterday. And we shouldn't ignore the opportunity to reflect on our own mortality.

Now That's Biblical Imagery

My favorite part of Mel Gibson's Passion of The Christ was a scene at the beginning of the film. Jesus is praying in the Garden if Gethsemane before his arrest and interacts with Satan. While this exchange isn't exactly Biblical, it gets there as Jesus steps on the head of a snake. Although it's a metaphor, I find the visual compelling. That's why I thought Mars Hill Church in Seattle was rocking when they released the following graphic to advertise their Good Friday services:

I should have thought of that.

Epic Battle

Christian apologist Alister McGrath and noted atheist Richard Dawkins are debating right now in Oxford, England. Might not mean much to you, but I'd love to be in that room. Dawkins talks a bunch of crap and McGrath is just the guy to shove it right back in his face. Here's hoping that we'll get some audio/video for this event.

Invisible Children Screening

In 2003 three guys at a Christian college in California went on a trip to Uganda, an African nation in the midst of a civil war. They took along some video equipment looking to record their trip. While there, they discovered that Ugandan children were being abducted in the middle of the night and forced to fight in the resistance army. The only way the kids could stay safe was to walk over two miles every night in order to sleep in a safe village. The guys were convicted enough that they wanted to expose the plight of these kids to the American public. The result was an independent documentary called Invisible Children.

I became exposed to this film a couple of years ago when a young lady in our college ministry exposed us to it; she actually went to Biola University with these guys. Since then, Invisible Children has spread virally and has made a huge impact in Uganda. While much has been done, there's much more to do.

Echo is hosting a team from the Invisible Children organization this Thursday night at 7pm at the Walnut Hills Christian Church to screen the film and explain their ministry. You could help us out by 1) attending or 2) encouraging anyone you know that would be interested to come. There is no charge for the event. Just come and see how you can make a difference from across the globe.

For more information check out the Echo website as well as the Invisible Children site.

Ain't Even Done With The Night

A story: So tonight my teaching was entitled, "Pocket Change." I taught from Matthew 22, touching on the issue of paying taxes to Caesar and the previous parable about the wedding banquet. While the question was about pocket change, the parable encouraged people to make an full transformation for God, not limiting our discipleship to changing mere pockets of our lives. See, what I did there? I used it as a double-entendre.

Sidenote: I'm so proud of myself for using the the term "double-entendre." Kelly had to help me with the spelling, though.

Anyway, during my introduction, I had people empty their pockets. I wanted to get people thinking about pockets. I then proceeded to talk about the evolution of the pocket, how it was used to hold valuables. Then I made the transition into the sermon. I swear, it was quite witty. You should've been there. We'll have the mp3 up soon on iTunes.

Why do I tell you all this? Well, about 15 minutes into my message the batteries in my wireless headset died. I asked The Dale at the soundboard if we had any more batteries. Inexplicably, we had none. It just so happened that Everett Brewer, a local minister who's known me most of my life, visited church tonight. He asked if the mic took double-A batteries. It does. He just so happened to have two of them with him . . . in his pocket. I swear, it was like we planned it.

All this to say that I had a great night. There are so many things that have happened with Echo that aren't at all planned, but are purely providential. Sure this little battery thing isn't much at all, but I think it's indicative of how things have unfolded throughout this process.

God is to move in our church. He's bringing us people who are continually trying to figure out their faith. We're a community hungry for more. And we're just getting warmed up.

A Bone To Pick

After an evening of church, when we return home to decompress, I usually enjoy a lighter viewing fare. So last night we chose to watch The Amazing Race instead of The Discovery Channel's controversial Jesus Tomb. But I did record it. And I carved out some time today to watch it. Sidebar: I must again affirm that DVR is a wonderful thing. I know, it performs the same task as VCR's did for years, but it makes the process ten times easier.

Like I noted last week, I'm not too concerned about this contrived Jesus tomb issue, but I thought I'd at least note a few items that I took away from the television presentation.

1) The Lost Tomb program featured Canadian filmmaker/scholar Simcha Jacobovici. He hosts a show that I like to watch on the History International Channel called The Naked Archaeologist. In case you're wondering, the show is about Israeli archaeology and not Simcha's nakedness. Even though I suspect Jocaobovici is Jewish, he is usually very supportive of the New Testament story. That's why his participation in this documentary surprised me a little. But, then again, he is Canadian, so can he really be trusted?

2) The involvement of James Tabor, author of The Jesus Dynasty, and the dependence upon the Gnostic gospels as proof for the tomb claim should be an obvious warning sign. What the producers of this film did was tie together a bunch of conspiracy theories to see if at least some of the accusations would stick. As it is, no reputable archaeologist or scholar will attach his/her name to the Tomb theory.

3) Of all the authorities noted, there was a little blurb at the beginning of the documentary that I found noteworthy. Noted scholar John Dominic Crossan made the statement that even if the bones of Jesus were discovered, it would not affect his faith. Crossan believes that Christianity isn't dependent on the resurrection of Jesus to be a viable faith.

This is a position that many liberal scholars try to take, yet it is a poor position to stake out. They think that they are doing Christians a favor by reinterpreting what it means to follow Jesus but, in reality, they dilute their faith. The resurrection is indicative of our ability to have life after death. The apostle Paul explained this in 1 Corinthians 15:16-19:

"For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men."

Our faith hinges on the resurrection of Jesus. To deny this is to deny Scripture and a few thousand years of church history/tradition. That's why this claimed discovery is a direct affront to the Christian faith. Fortunately, there's not much to the Lost Tomb.

So feel free to go on with your lives now.

Told You . . .

. . . that The Secret would blow up. From Publisher's Weekly: Simon & Schuster has placed the biggest reorder in its history for Rhonda Byrne's runaway hit, The Secret, going back to press for two million more copies. The books will be delivered to accounts over the next two weeks. The title—which offers wisdom from "modern-day teachers," as dubbed by S&S, on how to do everything from lose weight to get rich—got its big boost after Oprah Winfrey dedicated two episodes of her talk show to it in February. The new printing will bring total copies in print to 3.75 million.