Let's Not Do This...

Let me give as a disclaimer that I have seen, maybe, 2 episodes of Duck Dynasty in my lifetime, but I think that anyone can get the gist of the show in about 12 seconds.

The issues that are swirling through the media right now with what Phil said are an important point of discussion.  It is right for us to examine whether or not Christians have access to free speech, or whether it is automatically labeled "discriminatory" or "hate speech" for simply being from a historically orthodox Christian perspective.

I believe that Phil has the right to say what he believes, and to "stick to his guns" so to speak without feeling the need to compromise or dance around his convictions, and I appreciate anyone willing to take a stand when it could potentially cost them.  It seems to be increasingly clear that Christianity is becoming too culturally taboo for America, and that is not just ironic, but tragic.

At the same time, I want to caution Christians who are ready, willing, and eager to hitch themselves to the back of the Duck Dynasty train, and ride it over whatever cliff it may go.  These seem to be genuine guys with real testimonies of faith, and at the same time they are unashamedly guys who march to the beat of their own drum.  For too many Christians, it seems that as long as the Duck Dynasty guys pray at the end of their show then that makes whatever they do or say not just okay, but a lofty example of Christianity.  I doubt they would put themselves on that pedestal, so we certainly don't need to do it for them.

Phil was honest, but if you read the entire transcript of what he said he also made some remarks that were somewhere between unwise and downright crass.  These guys love hunting, they love guns, they love being silly with one another, and they seem to genuinely love God, and have a desire to follow where He would lead them.  At the same time, they are human, and for their successes there are also some flaws.

It's worth getting in line behind Jesus, and not being ashamed of biblical truth communicated rightly.  That seems to be enough to get any of us thrown out into the street these days.  In light of that, I believe Phil would not want us blindly lining up behind him, so let's be careful that we don't do that.

Imagination in Faith: The Contribution of C.S. Lewis

C.S. Lewis made many contributions to the Christian world.  He was an apologist whose moral arguments for belief in God are still very helpful.  He was a philosopher who even in his simplest books trailed off into dialogues that were weighty.  According to his friends he was a man who loved to laugh, and they knew him simply as 'Jack.'  For me, the great contribution that C.S. Lewis made to Christianity was the infusion of imagination that his writing gave a sometimes too cold and wooden Christendom.

I'll say first off that C.S. Lewis was someone that I have numerous disagreements with in terms of theology.  At times he seemed to argue for inclusivism, or salvation apart from belief in Jesus.  He held that Adam and Eve was a mythical story, and in The Great Divorce he seemed to present heaven and hell as self-inflicted conditions instead of a result of divine judgment.  A wise person once told me about distinguishing meat from bones in Christian writing, and sometimes with Lewis there were bones.

However, despite that, Lewis has made a huge contribution from children to adults, along with overwhelming good in propelling Christians towards a huge part of faith - imagination.  He made metaphors with words and characters that remain some of the most powerful that I have ever read.  No Systematic Theology on redemption has ever painted salvation the way that Eustace's struggle to undress the dragon scales, and Aslan's painful but delivering removal of them did.  No study of the book of Genesis has ever caused me to examine the fall of creation the way that Ransom's struggle in Perelandra painted it so perfectly.  No human written (at least that I have read) doctrinal statement on heaven comes close to connecting with people the way the final chapters of The Last Battle paint eternal joy and ultimate deliverance and community.  I continue to be amazed how many funerals I attend where the words of Narnia are read as comfort and reminder to families.

Jesus called on people to receive the kingdom of God as "one of these" meaning the little ones who were around Him.  Lewis taught me that imagination is one of the most powerful and even necessary points of the Christian faith.  Orthodoxy, without trying to, can wooden and harden great truths, and at times we begin to think that we have connected more dots than we actually have.  The result is that our God and The Story He is writing become too small.  I appreciate so much the work that Lewis did to point so many to imagine and even dream in the midst of the Christian faith, and by doing so find the unsafe but good God who was larger than our thoughts about Him.

Is This Helping? A Gen Y Christian's Thoughts on Santa

I don't know how long the debate on Santa Claus has been going on among Christians.  I am old enough to remember some of the battles of the 1980s, and the question of whether Santa Claus was evil - groups that promoted Santa and Satan having the same lettering in their names, or quoting passages like Jeremiah 10 to make the argument that Christmas trees are listed as pagan idols in the Bible.  Many of those battles have been fought, and probably are still being fought in some areas.  I think it is safe to say that most Christians have good reason NOT to view either Santa Claus or Christmas trees, or Rankin-Bass stop motion animation stories like Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer (thank goodness, it's a classic) as being evil.

That being said, there is no doubt that with all the good intentions of Christmas traditions, the message of Christmas has become so diluted that it is nauseating.  To a majority of the world Christmas is identified with Santa, reindeers, etc., which is a tragedy.  The message of Christmas- Jesus' coming to earth to dwell among us, and give His life as a ransom for many, is not only the most important, but the most entertaining and fulfilling part of this time of year.  That being said, this post is not about that specific subject.

As a parent, I have started to examine the role that Santa Claus plays in raising children from a new vantage point, and it has caused me to look at this more closely and carefully.  I'm cautious about appearing like a fanatic, but I think it is helpful for believers in Christ to examine what it is they do, and often tradition clouds the minds of people more than anything else.  We do it because it is just what we do.

I am really worried about some of the consequences that could take place in the life of a child who is told that Santa Claus exists, and that he brings presents for good little girls and boys on Christmas, and I want to briefly highlight why my wife and I are opting out of teaching our children about a literal Santa Claus, though allowing them to enjoy him as a fictional person (the same way they would enjoy Thomas the Train or Cinderella).

1. It's problematic for any person to teach their child something that isn't true, particularly about a matter that involves faith.  When my child realizes that mom and dad were helping them become part of a cultural myth, and essentially were lying to them, it creates in them some sense of doubting the unseen. As a pastor, I have seen a good deal of people walk away from their faith, and many times it is over a disbelief that something that good could be true.  I wonder if growing out of myths about the tooth fairy and Santa Claus has conditioned them to think that anything they are told about the unseen and supernatural is just too good to be true.
2. Teaching children to obey based on what gifts they will receive is detrimental.  There are a number of bad things in the parenting style of "Santa Claus is watching you."

• Christians are called to obey out of submission to authority and out of love, not based on what they will get in return.  Children who only learn to do good things to get something out of it aren't understanding their role in the world, much less the meaning of Christmas.
• Santa Claus is not the judge of human behavior, God is.  Establishing anyone as an all-seeing, all-knowing person is giving deity or godness to them.  Children who learn to behave well so the all-seeing, all-knowing being will reward them WILL struggle in some way not to treat God as the cosmic Santa who can't help but reward them based on their own merit.

1. (Number 3) I can't help but think it would be far more helpful for children to be thankful for the efforts of their parents and their families.  One of the central truths from the Bible is seeing God as the loving Father who gives good things to His children.  Would it not be helpful for children to appreciate their parents and see the love they have for them in the gifts they give?

I really hope our kids can enjoy all the fluff of Christmas, but my big desire is for their hearts to be softened by the true message of Christmas.  So here's to my kids not being invited to sleepovers at your kid's house (we ARE trying to navigate these things without being the ones who ruin Christmas for those folks who don't share our convictions).

And the Sun Still Shines...

Clinton, Perot, and Bush shaking hands after a 1992 Debate.

One of the memories that is stuck in my head is of the 1992 election.  I was a 6th grader, and this was the first election that made sense to me.  I watched the debates, I took part in class arguments and discussions, I put my eggs in the basket of a candidate.

I can remember, like it was yesterday, going to bed on election night convinced that the world was going to end.  After all, there had been no Democratic Party President for my entire life up to that point.  I had heard of the horrors of the Jimmy Carter presidency, I had listened to others talk about the fear and trepidation that lay ahead of us if a Democrat was elected.

I don't know when it was in Clinton's presidency that I realized the world was not going to end, but I realized it, and that was a really important moment for me.

I went to bed last night with a similar sense of disappointment as some other elections.  I fear most that our country is now defining the rights of an infant to life as a severe, fanatical, and almost prehistoric notion, and to even discuss them is to hate women.  I am concerned, like so many others, about the fractured landscape of our country.  I am not even entirely sure that America itself knows its own identity anymore.  Who are we?  Where are we going, and why are we going there?

One of my, and now one of my children's, favorite movies is A Boy Named Charlie Brown.  In this, Charlie tries to win a state spelling competition, and in essence finishes 2nd.  He goes home, thinking he has disappointed everyone, and commits to remain in his room for life.  His friend Linus comes the next day to encourage him, and deliver to him the message "you know something Charlie Brown?  The world didn't end."

I no longer consider the chances of human survival to be vested in the Presidential election.  No matter who is elected, there are some things that never change, and quite honestly much that affects our lives is outside any form of government's control.  I have yet to hear anyone look back on their life and claim a presidential election had real and lasting impact on them.

I am not excited about what the next four years could hold in terms of the wheels and gears of government, but I am more than assured that the Ruler of the ages cannot be voted in or out.  He holds the nations in his hands, and He's not a Democrat or Republican.  Not one hair on our heads is affected without His knowledge and permission.  It is a good thing to recognize that the world is not ending, to be thankful for how much we have been given, and to continue to fight where conscience and conviction leads us.

Hurricane Sandy - Before You click "Like" on that FB Post

Hurricane Sandy has been an incredible example of just how fallen of a world we live in - unpredictability of nature, humanity's helplessness, and tragic loss.  At the time of writing this blog, Sandy is not finished, and who knows what else will take place from what the storm leaves behind.

I write this post knowing that in the coming days there will be a ton of posts from well-meaning individuals about the storm itself being God's judgment against either the Northeast, the United States as a whole, or having to do with the upcoming Presidential election.  I want to caution anyone who is going to attempt to make such a broad statement, that they are not only insensitive to what is happening, but they are incorrect.

Jesus confronts people who had come to Him looking for the reasoning behind certain tragedies that had taken place, particularly things that had led to death.  One of the instances was a tower that had fallen, killing 18 people. (You can read this account in Luke 13).  Jesus' response to those asking whether these people were killed because of their sin, was to say, in essence, that these kind of tragedies could have happened to any one of them, and they weren't based on their sin.  In Matthew 5:45, Jesus says that God "causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous."

Hurricane Sandy did not take place because of some legislation, or new sin, or even a whim of God.  This hurricane is a reminder of the fallen world that we live in, that produces hurricanes, earthquakes, tsunamis, and cancer - along with a million other tragedies.  This world is fallen because of the decision of mankind to rebel against God, and that's not just something symptomatic in an individual, it is something cataclysmic throughout every molecule in creation.

Jesus said to those asking about the tower, "unless you repent, you will all perish as well."  Tragedies remind us of our need of rescue, by a God who offered His Son to pay the debt of sin that we could not pay.  Let's pray for those going through hard things, and be called to remember our need for rescue.  So when those Facebook posts start placing blame for the hurricane, remember the tower of Siloam and Jesus' words.

Birth Control: From a Pastor's Perspective...

Fertilized egg that has implanted

I am going to try to put in as few words as possible some helpful thoughts on birth control, to add to the discussion taking place, and I am very honored to do so.  Many of you will see this as part of Liz Nicholson's blog, which you can access here.  I am going to be trying to build off of some of the things that she has said in this discussion.

My wife and I have walked through most of the methods listed below, and have had to at times repent of either our ignorance, or trusting poor information given to us about how these things worked.  Often those who work in the offices that prescribe these medications do not have a full understanding of how they work, or a biblical definition of life.

Biblical Picture:

The link that Liz posted to Mark Driscoll's sermon is an excellent discussion of a lot of the theological issues surrounding birth control.  You can read the transcript more quickly than listen to the sermon if you are crunched on time, but it is worth a read if these topics have interested you.  He deals with a lot of the misconceptions about birth control that people come to by misunderstanding biblical stories like Onan, and commissions like "be fruitful and multiply."

He also deals very effectively with legalism, something that can be at the center of this issue as much as a concern for life. How you plan your family is a very important discussion.  It is sinful to be so trite with bringing life into the world that you do not adequately prepare for supporting a child/children once they are here.  Check Driscoll's sermon for a helpful discussion of this.

I want to hit quickly on 2 biblical passages that are at the center of this discussion.

1. Psalm 139, among several others like it, speak clearly of life which exists in the womb from the very beginning.  The medical community tends to define life at implantation (when the egg has implanted into the uteran wall), versus conception (when an egg has been fertilized).  This is not an effective definition logically (simply geography, not substance), or biblically.  David writes of God that he "saw" his "unformed substance", and that his "frame was not hidden from You."  Much of the Psalm is a declaration of hidden life in the womb.  So one of the major questions in birth control is when life begins.  Scripture points to this not being a question of trimesters, but from the very beginning.

2. Genesis 3:16. The Lord says to Eve that he will "greatly increase (her/all women's) pains in childbearing."  I don't believe that this statement only meant labor pains.  Human beings are incredibly inefficient at reproduction, and medical science shows that at least 50% of fertilized eggs (with no interference from BC or otherwise) miscarry.  Many are so early that it is not detectable for the mother, others occur later during the process.  Too many couples, including my own household have faced the pain of seeing an image with no heartbeat, and wondering what could have been done to prevent it.  Feeling the hopelessness of the curse from Genesis 3 in the midst of miscarriages, birth defects, infertility, and on and on the list goes.

*Incidentally, we know that Adam and Eve were not in the garden very long before their sin because Cain is not born until after they were expelled, and there would have been no complications in their fertility before.

Medicinal Birth Control:

Much has been given about NFP (Natural Family Planning), and Liz has written very effectively on that.  I would agree with what she has said, but also add a word of warning to those who practice it that they had better be prepared for the possibility of children, since NFP is based on a number of different hormonal signs and circumstances that can vary, be inconsistent, or be unpredictable.  For some couples it is easier than others, because some women's bodies are easier to read than others, but to the married couple who cannot support children for any number of reasons, be careful in banking on NFP by itself.  Even the average insured couple can plan on paying several thousand dollars for a baby just to be born, let alone caring for it and providing for it.

In the rest of the discussion, for the following medicinal forms, the central question is "how do they work?"  Within that question, is whether these devices "prevent" conception (fertilization), or whether they are designed to destroy a fertilized egg (these are often referred to as abortifacients).

"The Pill" - Often referred to by simply that name, this is one of the most common forms of medicinal birth controls.  The Pill is designed in either pill form, or inserts such as the "Nuva Ring."  A certain amount of hormones are released, to essentially fool the woman's body into believing she is pregnant.  When her body believes she is pregnant, the hope is that no eggs will be released, and thereby no fertilization will take place. The more research that is done on the pill, the less indictment there seems to be for the pill being abortifacient.  That is why I always try to point people towards books like the ones below, done by William Cutrer, a pastor, practicing OBGYN, and Seminary professor.  His research is more up to date than men like Alcorn (who I highly respect, though his writing on birth control is often where Christians get their somewhat dated information).  The Pill seems to be a question mark at best, and a conscience decision for anyone.  It is not a sin issue for someone to take or not take this based on what we know.  The Pill is also available in what is called a "progesterone only" form, where the only effects of it are suppressed ovulation (keeping the woman from releasing an egg), and not hardening of the uteran wall.

Intrauterine Devices (IUDs) - An intrauterine device is inserted and meant to be left in for a period of up to (if I remember right) around 3 years.  It is sold in the USA under the name "Mirena."  The research on IUDs seems to show that what they do is not prevent fertilization (though they sometimes claim to), but rather prevent the egg from attaching.  They are very effective at preventing pregnancies (even though they do so unethically) which is why they are growing in popularity in the USA.  They have been around for several decades elsewhere in the world.  However, fertilized eggs can still be resilient, and implant in very hostile environments.  If an egg implants with an IUD (IUDs still only have somewhere around a 95% success rate at preventing pregnancy) it will be a tubal pregnancy (in the fallopian tubes) which is unsustainable, or a uterine pregnancy which cannot be sustained because of the presence of the IUD.  Either leaving in, or removing the IUD under these circumstances will destroy the baby.

Morning After Pill - This pill and some others that work similarly are forms of birth control that are given orally after intercourse has taken place.  It is intended to flush out any fertilized egg, and is the most blatantly abortifacient form of birth control that there is.

One subject which I have not dealt with are the ethical concerns of different fertility treatments that are out there, which have many similar problems that Christians need to educate themselves on before attempting them as to the positives and negatives of different options.  I would refer anyone wanting more information on the ethical questions of the issues surrounding infertility to The Infertility Companion by William Cutrer.  Anyone who would like more information on contraception, I would encourage you to check out Cutrer's The Contraception Guidebook.  Both are well done and great reads.  Sadly there are few well-done and current Christian books on either subject.

Singing to One Another In...

My goal this year is to be more faithful than I have previously been at blogging. I am shooting for more consistency in this area both because it is helpful for myself, but also because I find a great amount of encouragement from friends who blog well.

My first post this year will be small (as hopefully most of them will). In the midst of doing sermon prep this week for a passage from Ephesians 5, I was greatly moved by this sermon by John Piper (one of my faves, but I am not a Piper disciple on the same level as a lot of guys I know). If you have 30 minutes, this is a great look at church music, why music?, and the goal of music.

http://www.desiringgod.org/resource-library/sermons/singing-and-making-melody-to-the-lord