an incredible chick flick

When it comes to movies, if it has a sword in it, I am pretty much right there. Famous movies like Gladiator and Braveheart, not so famous like Ghost Dog or Kung Fu Hustle.

What I am not usually, is a “chick flick” guy. Except on rare occasions. Of course, I have liked everything Audrey Hepburn ever did, and I bought glasses just like the ones Robert Redford wore in Three Days of the Condor. Now, I just finished watching my new favorite of all time.

An incredible film called Elizabethtown. Like my friend Rich always says,

“It made me laugh; it made me cry; it made me think.”

Buy it. Rent it. See it.

acts 10- God is for everyone

Peter breaks his Jewish religious taboos and discovers God is for the whole world.



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Christcast 1

Danish cartoons, Islam, "ugly" Americans, Vice President Chaney's hunting experience. Live from Corpus Christi, I interview my in-laws on these topics as they share from their decades experience living overseas and doing business for Ford Motors, including several years
in Turkey.


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champions

Back in California to cold and rain, that doesn’t seem right does it? Flew in this afternoon, just in time for our Championship basketball game for our local church school league at 4:30 p.m. My swan song coaching my twin boys and their friends-- to a 7 point victory! Yeaa!!

The team played great and my own sons were excellent, if you don’t mind my saying. I shook hands with my all players after, and my son David said,

“Give me a hug, dad. You taught me everything.”

Well, not everything, but I did teach him to appreciate his dad. I appreciate mine, and I guess it rubs off. What do you think?

last blog from Texas

Last blog from Texas as I will be home tomorrow. It is really quite peaceful down here on Padre Island. South Padre will see all the spring breakers starting tomorrow, so basically I missed all of that excitement by one day. Thousands of college-aged women all around. O ya, I guess guys, too. It is just as well. What do I want to be around all of that… old-enough-to-be-their-father-with-my-hat-pulled-down-low-over-my-bald-head-and-my-cool-shades-on…sucking-in-my-gut…it is so sad.

Instead I am returning to my wonderful and lovely wife of almost 20 years, three teenagers (you old geez, quit looking at my daughter!!), and two labs who just can’t wait to jump on me.

My in-laws are the best and this has been so much fun. I learned how to filet a fish (finally caught a keeper the last day), hung out and talked about life, and I introduced my in-laws to the secret of their neighbor. They live on a canal connected to the intercoastal waterway and so right across the water about 80 yards away is their cross-the-water neighbor, X. To know me, you eventually have to know I am a life long Packer fan. What you may not know is my second favorite team growing up was the Dallas Cowboys. X played for them.

If you go on the web you will see people asking where X is today. E-bay has requests for pictures, autographs, etc. and no one seems to know where he is. Except me. I just saw him putzing around in his yard a while back.

“Hey _____! I’m your neighbor! Can I get a picture? An autograph? Do you know who you are?”

Well e-bay fans, you will just have to keep looking. My in-laws are acquainted with X and won’t let me tell you who he is.

what do you want?

I went to a noon Lenten healing service today. It was a very meaningful time and I enjoyed the company of “senior saints” who were present. They all went up to the altar as I did, and knelt before the pastor who laid hands on them, pronounced the power of Jesus and anointed each with oil.

I missed one thing. The pastor’s words were the same for each. A beautiful prayer of declaring the “healing power of Christ’s love.” Amen to that, but I wanted him to ask me what I needed healing for and pray specifically for that. I wanted to hear the healing power of Jesus specifically addressing that need. Now, he probably knows the most obvious of his flock’s pains and illnesses, but you never know…and he didn’t know mine.

I like this approach from Jesus. When a guy named Bartimaeus cried out to Jesus, here is what happened.


51"What do you want me to do for you?" Jesus asked.
"Teacher," the blind man said, "I want to see!"
52And Jesus said to him, "Go your way. Your faith has healed you." And instantly the blind man could see! Then he followed Jesus down the road.

go figure

I am on Padre Island looking out over the water. When you drive around, you realize how flat it is. It would take a hurricane along with a big surge to cover this place with water. Which has happened. In Corpus Christi. I saw pictures from the “big one” in 1919. Hotels and homes. Now you see them; now you don’t.

I haven’t asked my father-in-law what kind of homeowners insurance he has. I wonder if you can even get it for hurricane. Does everyone just wait for the government to step in? If you think this one through logically, basically someone in Iowa is working harder to pay more taxes to get ready to pay for a hurricane that damages Padre Island homes that are built right where hurricanes go. Kind of like paying for my house in LA built right where we have had two major earthquakes in the last 35 years. Is this a great country or what?

Thank you Iowa person, whoever you are.

podcast

eyes of Texas

I am visiting my in-laws in Corpus Christi, Texas. I haven't really spent significant one-on-one time with them in 20 years of marriage. Always have family time when we are with them or they are visiting us. I thought it would be a good idea to spend some quality bonding time with the couple who raised such an awesome daughter. I'll let you know how it's going. Took the red eye from LA last night and have had about 3 hours sleep in the last day and a half.

Just waiting for the Monster to kick in. Stay tuned...

the podcast world

If you haven’t already discovered it, a podcast is a “radio show” that you broadcast over the internet. You can subscribe to it and have it automatically download into your computer and to your attached I pod, or other mp3 device. You can manually download the file to your hard drive, or listen directly by clicking on a player.

I will be podcasting soon. I am going to post a weekly “radio show” relating to Christian worldview and discipleship. There will be teaching, interviews, and /or musings over current events. I will also have a podcast of my Sunday message if I am preaching that week.

Below is a sample audio blog that my friend Rob helped me post last night. It is my message on the experience of working in the prison that I blogged on last week. Stay tuned!

podcast test dude!

Acts 9
Paul's life transformed in three days. Does this happen now? Let's go to prison and found out.

change?

I heard John Ortberg speak last Saturday. He was making the point of how, in the church, Christians aren’t bothered if people aren’t changing as a result of being influenced by Jesus. He used the example of a sour-pussed man in one of his congregations who was a generous giver, active in ministry, faithful at worship and in adult education. Ortberg asked him,

“Hank are you happy?”

“Yes, of course I am, pastor.”

Then Ortberg responded, “Well, why don’t you tell your face.”

That is a question for today is,

“Was Jesus’ actual plan that we don’t change?”

ash wednesday

When Christians come together for worship, it is always a celebration. Jesus is alive and we worship the King. Today, Christians all over the world are coming together to worship. “Celebration” is what we are doing but not in the way we usually think of the word. Ash Wednesday is a celebration of humility! That seems strange. Like a friend of mine likes to say, “I’m proud of my humility!”

Ash Wednesday reminds us that God is in charge and we are not. When we hear the words, “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return,” we are not thinking of all the wonderful plans we are making to conquer the universe. Instead, we remember that every moment of our life on earth is a gift, and we ignore this basic fact at our own peril. As has been said, “When we are in control of our lives; our lives are out of control.”

Jesus came to earth to let us know how we are to spend those precious moments of our time on earth. To will the good of others (love) and serve them. Love and service? That’s the key to a healthy, God-honoring life? Now, you see why humility is necessary.

continuing to pour

I blogged last week about the California Youth Authority prison weekend. I just heard from one of the chaplains and the weekend “continues” and is pouring out over the camp. Record attendance at the Sunday services. More wards desiring to be baptized. Seeking forgiveness. Taking responsibility. The Holy Spirit continues. Razor wire and fences are no match.

When you have nothing to hold on to and you humbly open yourself up to the Lord, watch what happens. Wouldn’t it be great if you didn’t have to go to prison to realize this?

How much do I have that is getting in the way of God getting his way with me?

a litany

…clump of cells

At the same time, the pro-abortion-rights interest groups are just beginning to grapple with an uncomfortable truth: that many of the million-odd women who have abortions every year are deeply troubled, if not guilt-ridden. "Our patients are not coming to, quote, 'exercise their constitutional rights'," says Claire Keyes, who runs a Pittsburgh abortion clinic. "They want to talk about prayer and forgiveness."

…like trimming your finger nails or cutting your hair

The pro-life movement has done an effective job of showing that a fetus is not just a "blob of tissue," says Peg Johnston, who runs an abortion clinic in New York state. Her patients now talk about " 'babies' " and " 'killing'," she says. "At first I thought they were picking up the language from [anti-abortion protesters] outside. But then I started really tuning in to my patients, and I realized, 'She really feels that way'."

…right to choose

A growing number of clinics are coming up with coping strategies. At her Pittsburgh clinic, Claire Keyes encourages patients to write their feelings on a paper heart that she later tacks to the waiting-room wall. "I love you even though I know in my heart I can't keep you," reads one of about a thousand hearts, which have now overflowed into binders. Keyes gives each patient a polished semiprecious stone to imbue with whatever meaning she wants. The two clinics that permit late-term abortions let their patients hold the fetus in a blanket.



(excerpts from Newsweek article, ‘Reality Check for Roe’)

is anyone listening?

You are almost never going to move someone quickly, if at all, from their worldview to yours (I said “almost never,” for there are exceptions), however influence is possible. The best way to get someone to see where you are coming from is to be as clear and non-threatening as possible. Anything that challenges people’s worldviews will evoke an emotional response. I heard a radio host talk of a study of this in brain research (though I cannot find it anywhere on the net).

People were chosen who strongly supported Senator Kerry or President Bush from the last election. Their brains were wired for response from the emotional response center, the pleasure center, and the judgment center. The subjects were then given factual accounts that called their candidate into question about certain issues. Instantly the emotional center was firing, but nothing in judgment. Only later did another area fire, and that was the pleasure center. The subject was rewarded for being passionate about an issue but not really thinking about it!!

You can see how difficult it is to get someone else to authentically listen to your point of view if it disagrees with theirs. This is why invitation and listening are more important than commanding a response and debating. A popular phrase for this is “bringing light rather than heat.”

The challenge is with so much narcissism out there (and in ourselves, perhaps?), few people are self-differentiated enough to actually listen to what someone else has to say. Usually we are thinking in our own minds why what the other person is saying is wrong and how we are going to refute them. Or we don’t listen at all.

a point of reference

Everybody has a viewpoint. Everybody has a reference from which they look at the world. This “worldview” is absolutely necessary to live in society. If you arbitrarily used different filters for your thinking each time you were trying to make a decision it would be mental chaos. Seeking the truth, it is never a matter of values neutral thinking. It is always a matter of whose thinking best reflects reality.

Attempts to say there is no reality or there is no truth are only statements coming from a specific viewpoint. Perhaps nihilism (nothing really matters), perhaps relativism (reality is what you make it). Neither, however, neutral worldviews.

I am not as interested in what people say their worldview is as much as I am to see how they act. It is a valuable lesson to see what kind of behavior results from adherence to a viewpoint. This isn’t always an indication of the strengths and weaknesses of the worldview compared to reality, however it is an interesting point of reference.

because of him

Well if you guessed “Jesus” in response to yesterday’s question, you are correct. There is hope in Jesus when all else seems hopeless. You take a group of men from some unbelievable situations who make unbelievably bad choices that cause an unbelievable amount of harm and then you let them know you believe in them under the power of Jesus who believes in them, watch what happens.

Transformation right in front of your eyes. The guards say they are very pleased when an Epiphany team comes into the prison. It changes the whole atmosphere. Well, that’s Jesus. They let Christians in to spread his love.

Now they don’t send teams of strict Darwinian biologists into prison to tell the wards that they have been genetically and biologically pre-wired to commit awful crimes and then dialogue about that for awhile. This is just who you are and we lock you up to protect society from you and protect you from yourself.

I am not aware of any atheist teams that come in and say just stop the cycle of violence, robbery, burglary, rape, drug and alcohol abuse, because it is not good for you. Make better choices, why don’t you?

When people authentically work for Jesus, Jesus works. Always has; always will. When you honestly examine where Jesus has worked through his followers, you see new life. I have much hope for my friends from CYA. Not because of whom they are, though they are pretty remarkable young men, but because of whom He is.

hope

I knew this would happen. I worked an Epiphany weekend this past three days. It is a spiritual retreat in prison. California Youth Authority, or incarcerated young men, ages 18-25. I knew after the weekend I would come out with some insight as to what makes for hope for these guys. If you have worked with young people in gangs you already know what I am talking about. That is if you don’t have a political agenda.

All the talk is just talk. Educators, politicians, college professors, community activists have no idea. All you hear is empty politicized sound bites. Ex-gang members know. Or ask the CO’s. The guards. The only thing that seems to work to bring these young men from despair to hope is something that would drive separation of church/state organizations crazy. Where is there hope?

Gee, guess where?

what shocks you?

What is there that shocks you? The whole world seems to be upside down. I saw a statistic that brings this to focus.

Bono was speaking at a national prayer breakfast, and he talked of 150,000 lives being lost due to the 2004 Tsunami. There is a tremendous amount of support for recovery from this disaster. Then he said there are 150,000 who die every month in Africa in a “completely avoidable catastrophe.” Bono is referring to AIDS, poor water conditions, limited medical care, hunger, etc.

So what to do? It is not overwhelming. It is a matter of determination and a sense of love of “neighbor.” It is overcoming systems of government corruption that would make anything we do here look like child’s play. Some of us may decide to go to Africa to serve first hand. All of us can do something else.

1. Pray
2. Be informed
3. Support African causes through your local church or denomination
4. Support government efforts to make a difference

Difficult and challenging, but not overwhelming.

graffiti

We talked on “evil” last night at our local church junior high ministry. I used the example of “evil” being “live” spelled backward. Something that is evil is something that sucks the life and joy right out of you. Then I mentioned something too familiar with us in LA. Graffiti and tagging.

I asked kids what they thought of when they see graffiti.

“Sad”
“Depressed”
“Ugly”

I am not talking about a public mural. I am talking about the scribbles and chicken scratching that proclaim why you are the best or why someone else isn’t. Graffiti is ugly and it sucks out life a tiny bit at a time of those who view it.

Is graffiti evil? I don’t think it is meant to be by those who graffiti. I don’t think they do it to cause you to lose a little bit of your joy. I don’t think they care about you at all. So, in a way, it might not be intended as evil, but it may end up being murder.

If you graffiti in an urban area and thousands of people drive by it every day and it acts as a vampire, sucking out even a bit of a person’s soul where art and love and joy find a hold, well then, you have just killed a little bit of soul of everyone who has seen it. Add it up and you could be charged with multiple soul murder.

Knowing God is a God of beauty I would be absolutely terrified to be an unrepentant serial tagger.

real forgiveness

I wrote yesterday about seeking forgiveness for something someone else did. Empathy, sympathy, and compassion are all possible responses when someone is wronged by someone else, just not forgiveness.

The same goes for an apology. I cannot apologize for what people did in the name of Jesus back in the Crusades or whatever. I can dialogue about the situation, delve into the evidence of what happened, say how unfortunate it is when people misuse God’s name for injustice when injustice occurs, but I can’t apologize.

A similar situation is hurting someone’s feelings. If I have purposely offended someone then I need to seek their forgiveness. If someone took offense at something I said or did that brought about hurt that I did not bring about but was a result of their perception, I can say, “I am sorry that they felt that way.”

Feelings are a strange phenomena. It is logically impossible to hurt someone’s feelings if they don’t allow their feelings to be hurt. You can become the kind of person that doesn’t take offense, even if the offense is purposeful. In the meantime, a disciple graciously and freely seeks to reconcile with someone whom they have wronged unintentionally. It is no big deal to say “I am sorry this happened in our relationship.”

Seeking forgiveness for something that was not sinful is a contradiction in category. One seeks to be as clear as possible in interactions with others. It cheapens forgiveness to ask for it from someone who has not been sinned against. At the same time, it is important to search deep into your own will to see if there is any intention to wrong lurking in some dark corner there.

what I can do

A young friend of mine saw a video in school concerning the horrible treatment of African Americans in the South, in particular prior to the Civil Rights Movement. I don’t know what documentary or which events she viewed but her spontaneous comment was interesting.

“I can’t believe what we did to people.”

I asked her if she meant “What humans could do to each other.” No, she was referring more to what Anglos did to African Americans. It doesn’t work that way. We had a good talk on taking responsibility.

I can serve God by being an influence for the good of others. I can express regret that someone else is treated unjustly, I can work for justice in the present and the future, but I cannot make amends for someone else’s past. I have no personal connection to the event or events of racism my friend was viewing. Even if my family were from the South at that time and were involved in racist behavior, which they are not and were not, I can’t seek forgiveness for someone else, personally. I can seek forgiveness along with you for the mistreatment of people of all times and in all places, as a human being. I can seek forgiveness for what I have not done to bring blessing to others and for what I have done that was sinful toward others.

flags

American flags are being burned. Whoopee… I am offended but complacent.

Danish flags are being burned. Being a Dane by ancestry, I am batting 2 for 2. The same Denmark that provides so much money for humanitarian support in Kosovo, Afghanistan, the Palestinian Authority, Somolia, Sudan…

O well, I am offended (the protestors are burning crosses, by the way, nice religious sensitivity, since it is prominent on the Danish flag, not “Old Glory,” but Dannebrog, the oldest national flag in existence) but complacent.

If I see one protestor burning another flag, though, all bets are off!

cartoons again

Again I have to comment on the furor over the political cartoons of Muhammad. There is so much misinformation that must be clarified before one can make an informed statement in dialogue.

Who? The people rioting are using something that occurred in the fall of 2005 as a pretense to riot. There was no mass reaction to the cartoons until now, I would argue because political organizations that were looking to cause a reaction added two forged cartoons that were much more insulting, and then paid demonstrators to react. There is an ongoing investigation to see if there is any connection to the Syrian and/or Iranian government providing some support for the violent protests.

What? Again, this is not primarily a reaction that is supported in Islam. There is no absolute prohibition to depict the prophet Muhammad in the Q’uran. This is a later interpretation by some denominations of Islam to not allow the depiction of any prophet artistically. I witnessed first-hand that there is no absolute prohibition as I spent a month touring museums of Istanbul and saw Muhammad portrayed in paintings, tapestry, and illuminated manuscripts.

The reason why you know very quickly there is something else going on here than anything having to do with Islam is that the denominations that interpret no portrayals of prophets certainly haven’t been in an uproar over Islam’s second most important prophet, Jesus. For example, there were no riots or violent responses I am aware of by people of the Muslim faith back in 1987 when Andres Serrano published photos portraying Jesus on the cross submerged in a glass of Serrano’s urine. I also mentioned before the depictions of Jesus in TV shows such as The Simpson’s, Family Guy, and South Park, while sarcastic and offensive to many Christians, must be so to Muslims, as well, and yet where are the protests?

This is not about Islam, it is about using some interpretations of the teachings of some branches of Islam, distorting them, and waiting for the resulting political consequences. Even to say it is a Muslim extremist reaction isn’t helpful. There is nothing specific in the Q’uran that warrants violently reacting to an issue of this nature.

Valentine thought

Valentines Day is coming up and the world will talk about “love.” What is the best way to love? I think the biblical view of a certain type of love is the most honest and most desirable. It is agape.

Agape love is desiring that someone is blessed by God and acting upon that. Working toward the good of another. Notice there is no Valentine’s Day sentimentality to this kind of love. I want what God wants for you and I will try to do what I can to be an influence for that.

This doesn’t forbid me for being attracted and emotionally involved in that kind of love for Nancy (my sweetheart and wife), but agape goes way beyond emotion and attraction. I can give agape to a complete stranger. When Jesus says, “Love your enemies,” I can desire my enemies, whoever that may be, to be blessed by God in a way that more and more influences them to be who God wants them to be.

When someone says, “It’s hard to love that person,” I think what is really being said is, “It’s hard to feel good about that person.” That’s not agape. You don’t have to feel anything at all or you may have a burden against certain people, but as you work to treat him/her as precious in God’s sight, it’s interesting how God can work on your own heart. You work to bless someone in spite of who they are, not because of who they are.

Share agape with someone today!

cartoons part 3

There was an excellent article on the Wall Street Journal website. In it a Muslim scholar explains what is going on with the cartoons. He made an analogy that was helpful to me and I pass it on to you. Here is an excerpt.

"The Muslim Fury," one newspaper headline screamed. "The Rage of Islam Sweeps Europe," said another. "The clash of civilizations is coming," warned one commentator. All this refers to the row provoked by the publication of cartoons of the prophet Muhammad in a Danish newspaper four months ago. Since then a number of demonstrations have been held, mostly--though not exclusively--in the West, and Scandinavian embassies and consulates have been besieged.
But how representative of Islam are all those demonstrators? The "rage machine" was set in motion when the Muslim Brotherhood--a political, not a religious, organization--called on sympathizers in the Middle East and Europe to take the field. A fatwa was issued by Yussuf al-Qaradawi, a Brotherhood sheikh with his own program on al-Jazeera. Not to be left behind, the Brotherhood's rivals, Hizb al-Tahrir al-Islami (Islamic Liberation Party) and the Movement of the Exiles (Ghuraba), joined the fray. Believing that there might be something in it for themselves, the Syrian Baathist leaders abandoned their party's 60-year-old secular pretensions and organized attacks on the Danish and Norwegian embassies in Damascus and Beirut.

The analogy that is helpful is to remember that these extremist groups are at their core political not faith-based communities. What I mean by this is they are trying to gain power through use of violence and fear, not trying to practice a religion. So, often we hear the question asked, “Why don’t we hear Muslim leaders cry out against these types of violent events done in the “name of Allah?” I can think of two logical reasons.

One, if a leader lives in a country that is sympathetic toward these extremist political organizations then there is one’s own safety to consider. Two, the Arabic-speaking media is in the sensationalist business like most other media outlets throughout the world and, of course, will report on the most provocative and sensational news possible. Islamic leaders who are not extreme are not often heard, no matter what they say.

cartoon part 2

In this whole uproar concerning cartoons of Muhammad, some of you may be wondering why there is no Christian uproar about the tons more satire and offensive behavior against Jesus and the Christian faith. Every day some political figure or group in Washington D.C. is complaining about Christians. Christian this. Christian right that. Hollywood has a field day with stereotyping Christians in an offensive way. For instance, in Family Guy (I only watch it on occasion for cultural anthropological purposes), Jesus and God are regularly satirized. An example would be when Jesus phones God and catches him in bed with a young woman and God tells Jesus to call back later, he’s busy. Here is another. Also, we all have seen it is open season on the Catholic Church throughout the world.

So where is the protest? First of all, it could never be violent. The model of Jesus and the overall message of the Bible forbids violent protest of any kind. Why not even impassioned protest? O, there are some Christian organizations who may complain, but we also have the model of Jesus and scripture that says this:

Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. (Matthew 5:11-12)

When you ridicule Jesus, I will have a firm word for you about tolerance (respect and courtesy over someone you disagree with), but as a Christian, I am always required to behave as the most mature person in the room. There is a sense of competition in the Christian faith. I can try to outdo you in honoring you, but there is no trash talk. I can’t try to tear you down if you insult Jesus. I may gently but graciously correct you, or I may just walk away. Either way builds up true character.

cartoons of Muhammad

It is a bad thing to purposely try to offend other people. The newspapers of Europe should not have published the cartoons of Muhammad. Again we see a small group of people who react violently in the name of Islam when there are other ways to express “outrage” which are available in the Islamic worldview.

That said, you can see how absolutely wrong the protesters are in the means of their expression of outrage. They are directly saying, “Whatever we say is right. You have to think like we do, or we will strike out at you violently.” You have arbitrarily set yourself up for an inability to live with other people if you violently respond to someone who disagrees with you. It doesn’t matter what the issue, you cannot function in human culture if you take this route. You cannot live in a society where you are not allowed to disagree peacefully. You cannot live in a society where you are not allowed to be offensive because offense is always in the mind of another. Ultimately, when someone takes offense it is beyond your control.

Calls for the Danish, Norwegian, German, etc. governments to apologize is a logical absurdity, A government cannot apologize for something a private newspaper publishes. An apology would be a valid issue when it is an official government publication like the extreme anti-Jewish literature and cartoons of governments like the Palestinian Authority, Iran, and Egypt, however.

I don’t know what the answer is other than to continue to be clear on how inappropriate violence is as a means of expression of viewpoint.

P.S. Good football game yesterday. I was hoping Pittsburgh would have kicked a field goal on that last drive and then Seattle have a quick strike touchdown which would have made the score, 24-17 as I predicted, except that they would have gone for two and so it would have been 24-18, or 24-16, so I’ll just quit talking sports now. At least until NCAA final four basketball.

Super Bowl prediction

Pittsburgh’s defense is just too tough. Seattle lost to Green Bay their last regular season game and they played their starters for much of it. Holmgren is a better coach, but with the hitting that is going on, I wonder if quarterback Matt Hasselback is going to have time to actually follow his game plan. We have already seen Tampa Bay and Baltimore in recent Super Bowl wins, when you have a defense that is this physical, you don’t need a super offense. Yet, Pittsburgh’s offense is better than Baltimore or Tampa Bay in their day, so it’s Pittsburgh, 24-17.

Disclaimer: I could be totally wrong. I really have no idea what I am talking about in this venue.

Enjoy your weekend and I will blog you Monday. About the Bible, in fact.

Jerome Bettis

There doesn’t seem to be much hype about the Super Bowl this year. The main story appears to be the swan song of Jerome Bettis. If any of you are not football savy, he is the running back for the Pittsburgh Steelers who will retire after the game. He has been waiting forever to win a Super Bowl (lost in one and didn’t reach a bunch because good Steelers’ teams didn’t make it out of the playoffs). Bettis is from Detroit and so there is the “homecoming” angle as he is returning there for the game.

What’s cool about Bettis is the leadership he gives to the team and the respect he has from the players. On the trip from Pittsburgh to Detroit, the whole team wore Bettis’ jersey from when he played at Notre Dame. It is just refreshing to see an athlete admired by his teammates because of the quality of his character rather than his skills.

If you are part of the Lutheran tribe of Christian, Bettis attended Lutheran elementary and middle school. Maybe that is why he is so grounded. I like Mike Holmgren and so I am torn on who to root for. Probably neutral until I see who I start yelling for during the game. I will also make my prediction tomorrow.

intensity

Tiger Woods took off for several weeks from competitive golf, and then he promptly won the first tournament he entered, the Buick Invitational, this last Sunday. Tiger is so focused on winning that no one is shocked by his domination of the golf world.

Roger Federer continues to dominate the tennis world. After winning the Australian Open last week, he has a shot at winning more Grand Slam tournaments than Pete Sampras, whose many records were thought untouchable. Federer is already (7 wins) halfway there to Sampras (14), and he is only 24 years old.

While these two guys are playing two different sports they have two things in common. Intense focus and intense workouts. Woods and Federer have a mental intensity not shared by their peers and they work as hard as anyone on their games. What about us?

Winning golf or tennis tournaments is one thing. What about doing God’s work in expanding his Kingdom and giving yourself to be a blessing and influence on others? What about becoming a world class self-giving disciple? Who is going to have more eternal impact, Tiger, Roger, or you?

Learn from them. Intense focus is giving your life to learn more and more from Jesus in any way you can and applying it now. It takes the hard work of study, prayer, being accountable to other Christians, giving generously of your time and possessions to do the mission you are called to do.

When you give your life to Jesus do you give your life to Jesus?

What would the influence of God’s people for the good of the world look like if we served with the intensity and work ethic of Woods and Federer?

Do you have any interest in finding out?

rites of passage

The Samburu tribe out of Kenya have a rite of passage for their boys. They send them out on their own when they think they are ready around 12-14 years old. They live off the land isolated from their village. They return when they think they are men. In former days this included killing a lion. The return can be from 3 months to several years. The future leader of the tribe is the boy who gravitates toward leadership in a group they send out.

There is a circumcision (ouch) ceremony when the boys return. For girls it is different. The women are in charge of the village and so girls are trained in their responsibilities, before they are declared women. When they are deemed ready, there is a clitoridectomy (ouch again!) ceremony.

What are rites of passage for the American tribe? Depending on cultural or religious background, it can be anything from confirmation to bar mitzvah to a Quinceañeras. However there is a cross cultural American rite of passage. It is called a “DRIVERS LICENSE.”

Our daughter just got her license yesterday and it was not a trip to the wilderness or, heaven forbid, surgery, but it was definitely a milestone. She can now go out to the wilderness of the LA Freeway system on her own. When I got out of the car and the test instructor was ready to get in, I slipped a Samburu bracelet on her wrist. This was a gift from my friend Buzz who had just visited the Samburu in December. After she passed the test, I got the bracelet back, along with a new driver in the family. The power of our tribe has expanded.

Jambo!!

End of The Spear

Saw End of The Spear last week. Thought it was just an OK film, but for anything Christian based that makes it in Hollywood, you have to accept anything that is at least half way decent. It tells the story of 5 missionaries out of Wheaton College (one of our rivals at Carthage College where I attended) who were killed in the jungles of Ecuador while sharing the gospel with a group of indigenous people, the Waodani. The film tells the story of what happened as many of the Waodani came to Christ after establishing a relationship with the families of the men who were killed.

The film really didn’t get into the whole missionary/ Bible translator culture (would have loved to hear a ton more about the why? of their journey) that still is at work today. The Waodani culture was so violent and revenge focused that it was apparent from the film that they were on the brink of wiping themselves out. My brief research on this gave a figure of 60% fatality by the time the film took place 1956.

The film made clear the anti-violence, anti-war message that is part of Jesus’ model and biblical teaching that many Christians follow. These men were extreme pacifists, even refusing to fight in self-defense. I am not going into the nuances on biblical teaching on this yet, I will blog on it at a later date, but suffice it to say, this is about as pro-peace as you could possibly get for a movie. Anti-war groups should be raving about this film or at least its message.

Probably not though. The five men and their families were Anglo, and the Waodani are indigenous people of color. There is no way this is not going to be panned by critics, even though it happened this way. I am going to pick 3 film weblinks from imdb.com to read a review and I will let you know if anyone caught the pacifist influence. Be back in 5 minutes.

Back. Variety, reel.com, and Entertainment Weekly. One review caught the anti-violent message, and two were sarcastic about the white man/ native stereotype. Problem is, it happened just that way. Go see the film.

do we have a clue?

Are you genetically and physiologically wired to specific behavior? This week I have mentioned a few observations on this hypothesis. A huge challenge to any of this is of course “choice.” When it is all said and done, people still have to act. Frequently, that may go completely against what is supposed to be their nature. That’s really the issue here. You can analyze brain circuitry and chemical imbalances and all the rest, but what you are left with is people eventually do something. It is not always what is expected. Often. In fact, people are transformed in ways that can’t be explained.

The evidence of the whole human experience has never been this.

“I have tendencies toward A behavior rather than B behavior and therefore I always exhibit A behavior and not B.”

When you are supposed to be A, but you behave in a B fashion, then does that mean you were never A in the first place, or did you choose B for other reasons? Why are there rage-filled and violent people who don’t kill or injure others? Was physiological impulse overcome by physiological resistance because you had been pre-wired to know you might go to prison? How come that circuitry didn’t kick in for those who did act out and get convicted?

Do you see where you can go with this? We haven’t a clue about the intricacies and nuances of the human mind, let alone be able to attribute everything to brain synapses, hormones, and isolated chemicals brewing in the human cauldron.

Back to “the Devil made me do it?”

bonding

Thus far, my quick research in the parental bonding area that I spoke of yesterday has resulted in a possible genetic link for warmth for one’s offspring. Environmental influences for bonding or imprinting on one’s child are so high that genetic factors don’t seem major though possible. The question remains. How do you explain the bonding that occurs so quickly when a parent connects with their adopted child?

When parents hold a child in their arms is it qualitatively different when the parent realizes this is the child they will raise as their own? There is so much to human consciousness and perception that doesn’t fit into a physicalism model.

parental instinct?

If our thinking is totally material, based on “stuff” that is already “wired” in our bodies, then how do you explain the physiological and emotional response of adoptive parents? Let’s say parents who have genetic connections to their offspring have in place mechanisms that “imprint” on these children. Call it instinctual. I don’t know if there is research to this effect, but let’s just say there is.

Now add to the mixture adopting a child. If you know parents who have adopted (recently friends Matt and Susan, for instance), there is an immediate imprint that most often occurs. Where does this physically come from? An instantaneous rerouting of brain circuitry to override the genetic-based imprinting?

Allow me to make a disclaimer here. I am using the logical fallacy of “begging the question”, as I am assuming someone has already done studies on instinctual connections between parents and biological children, and this assumption has to be accurate for my question about adopted children to be correct. If there is indeed some physiological source for parental imprinting, then where is the source for parental imprinting on adopted children?

physicalism

You can’t have it both ways. Either, this is a strictly physical world and everything that exists can be explained materially, or there is something beyond the physical, the metaphysical, as it were, that also is part of our reality.

In a world of physicalism (only physical world), any “true” morality would be non-existent. Helpful or harmful behavior would only be in the “eye” of the beholder. If one were trying to judge whether something is right or wrong, it would simply depend on who was doing the judging. If it was a matter of actual legal work, then whoever has the power decides. In any case, never would there be a values judgment made. Does this match with reality?

Test yourself out with this. Picture a documentary on the hunting skills of the lion. You are watching a lion stalk a zebra. You see him run the zebra down, and pounce! The lion kills the zebra and starts tearing away at the body. What is your values judgment of the lion?

Chances are you didn’t sense your blood pressure rise or get too outraged by this. Lions eat zebras. Now let’s imagine a shift. You are looking outside your window, and you see a pack of coyotes attacking your dog or cat or other beloved pet. If you don’t have a pet bear with me. What would your reaction be if your pet is being torn apart? How would you react to the coyotes?

How do you explain your neurons responding so differently to basically the same act? How do you begin to explain using physicalism?

what if?

Let’s think philosophically about some of the implications of taking a purely physical view of reality.

Hypothesis: The physical or material is all there is.

• If my behavior is “pre-wired” genetically, and then developed physiologically, is there a sense that morality is non-existent? How could some action be moral or immoral if it is simply the result of my physical being?
  
• Do we make a values judgment on a sneeze or a hiccup?
  
• Do we make judgments about computer operations when they are accomplished? (Oh, wait, that’s not a very good analogy! I judge my computer all the time, especially when it freezes up!)
  
• If my neurons and physiological structures bring about behavior that is considered harmful, is there any grounds for my being punished? Or at most would my imprisonment merely be to keep me from harming myself or others? (More like a quarantine)
  
• What is harm? Physical harm? Psychological harm? Take verbal “hate” crime for instance. Should I be imprisoned to protect you from being psychologically harmed by taking offense of what I am saying, or should you be imprisoned to protect me from harming myself by instigating my physiological response in my reaction toward you?
  
  
  
  

innuendo

Looking at C.S. Lewis’ tips on writing it would be helpful o see people actually carry out such advice. For example:

1. Always try to use the language that makes quite clear what you mean and your sentence couldn't mean anything else.

Imagine a public figure speaking without innuendo? The word, innuendo comes from the Latin innuere, meaning “to nod toward.” A good example comes from the Monty Python “wink, wink, nudge, nudge, say no more, say no more.” sketch. As in…

Man: Evening, squire!
Man with hat: Good evening.
Man: Is your...is your wife a goer? Eh? Know what I mean? Know what I mean? Nudge, nudge! Know what I mean? Say no
more!
Man with hat: I-I...I beg your pardon?
Man: Your...your wife. Does she go,eh? Does she go, eh? Eh?
Man with hat: Huh, sometimes she has to go, yes.
Man: I bet she does! I bet she does! Say no more! Say no more! Know what I mean? Nudge, nudge!
Man with hat: I'm afraid I don't quite follow you...

Seeking clarity about an issue makes innuendo a tool that is specifically designed to work against clarity. Asking the listener/reader to fill in the blanks only increases the possibility that what you mean may not be what you mean. I think innuendo is most often used for two reasons.

One, you don’t want to be caught directly criticizing someone and so you use innuendo to cover up your disagreement. Two, you want to purposely try to damage another person’s position by using innuendo, hoping others will take an exaggerated view of what you alluded.

Read any news account where someone opposes someone else’s position and look for examples of innuendo. Homework for the weekend?!

time

We all have the same amount of time to spend on various activities of life. No one person is busier than another. The only difference between person A and person B when it comes to “busy-ness” is what you are doing. If you make a request for an activity from person A and they say, “I can’t, I’m busy,” they are really saying, “I can’t, I am a human being.”

People choose to spend time on activities they are passionate about or that bring escape from day-to-day life. A significant arena of involvement that is often ignored is learning activities that would provide benefit in life in general, often in interpersonal relationships specifically. Some examples of this type of learning…

1. Working on a team
2. Healthy conflict
3. Memory enhancement
4. Understanding the other positions on issues you disagree with

What are areas of your life that could use some focus today?

development

Evolution= Development

One way to help bring less heat and more light to the evolution wars is to limit the use of the term “evolution” unless you are specifically referring to natural selection and random mutation. Development will do just fine.

“The project evolved in unexpected ways.”

No…

“The project developed in unexpected ways.”

Yes...

Gerald Schroeder uses the term “development.” I think he is on to something. I recently read an interesting essay in the Jerusalem Post that has some clear implications on what may be happening from the Darwinist’s perspective.

Apologia

Apologia- Explanation

Read a word study of the Greek word for Apologetics, Apologia. Linguist Terence Mullins, makes the case for the word Apologia meaning “explanation” rather than a more generally used “defense.” This makes the use of apologetics clearer because when you hear, “Defend,” or “Make a defense,” it puts you on the, shall we say, defensive.

When you use the word “explanation” or “explaining,” it co notates making clearer. Of course our explanation of basic Christian teachings is helpful for us and for people who are seeking. You are not in a position to try to defend your faith as much as you find a opportunity to further clarify. If a person is open but skeptical about the truth claims of Jesus and his followers, explain. If someone is closed and antagonistic about the Christian faith, move on and find the new Christian, open skeptic, or those who are truly seeking.

For practical purposes this means you spend far more time studying so you can be clearer in your explanation, and listening, so you can be helpful with the other person. Also, you spend far less time arguing and you stop trying to develop a “proof text” view of the Bible. We are not about proving, we are about explaining.

I was troubled

I heard a bit of the confirmation hearings for the Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito. The word “troubled” was used a few times. As in, “This troubles me.” Here is another word that needs to be retired. Using a word or phrase to describe your emotional state as a basis for decision making is something that is common for us. A friend of mine put it this way.

One hundred years ago you wouldn’t hear people saying, “I feel” when they were trying to make a point. It would be “I think.”

If the intent of the Senators using the term “troubled” was meant to sound ominous, they were actually telling us quite a bit about themselves.

Feelings-based decision making= “I was troubled”
Thinking-based decision making= “I have concerns”

For an interesting exercise on this topic, pay attention to how many times you or someone else says, “I feel…” when dealing with some decision that is coming up. Now, you are probably not going to say it, but I feel you might!

bigot?

Bigot- a person obstinately or intolerantly devoted to his or her own opinions and prejudices. (Webster)

The use of the word “bigot” today is almost always done by someone who is a “bigot,” by definition. Find me one person who calls another, “bigot,” who is also not extremely devoted to his/her own way of thinking and preconceived notions about how someone else thinks. Also, if you want to find someone who is obstinate, look for someone who frequently calls others, “bigoted.”

How could you not be a bigot? By not using name calling (ad hominem attack) when you disagree with someone. By being able to articulate clearly the position of someone you disagree with and assume the best possible intent for their thinking the way they do. I guess we will just have to come up with another word for “bigot.” More often than not, the word does not qualify how you are any different. It is almost like calling someone else a “sinner.”

send or choose?

I was speaking to someone the other day about separating from God forever. “Hell” is another way of saying this.

“How can a loving God send good people who don’t trust in Jesus to hell?”

Perhaps the answer is, “He doesn’t.” If you mean by “good” someone who is sinless like Jesus, then anyone who can live a sinless life will be able to be in God’s direct presence for eternity. If by “good” you mean someone who does more good than evil, whose scale is tipped more to the good side, then what do you do with the consequences for the evil? The all-loving God is an all-just God, as well. Consequences must be dealt with.

Perhaps the answer is, “He doesn’t.” “Send” people to Hell. If you have chosen to separate from Jesus by choice in your lifetime, chosen not to trust in him for forgiveness of sin and new life, then when you die what are the chances you will want to live with him? If he really is the way to God forever then when you find out you were wrong all your life, what are the chances you will say, “Oh, I can’t believe I have been wrong all my life. Sorry, now I know better. Can I stay with you?”

We rarely see people admit they were wrong on lesser issues, let alone on something as big as one’s whole life being based on a false premise, i.e., “I don’t need Jesus.”

When someone asks you how a loving God could send people to Hell, perhaps just reframing the question is enough.

“How could a loving God force his adult children to do something that they are totally unwilling to do?”

Any loving parent eventually comes to the conclusion that I have to let my adult children live their own lives. I can’t try to force them to do anything. Perhaps the language of “choose Hell” is more appropriate then “sent to Hell.”

not alone

What does it mean to be lonely? I ask that question when I consider these words,

Acts 2:44
And all the believers met together constantly and shared everything they had.

When the Holy Spirit comes at Pentecost, those who responded were not alone. They “met together constantly.” They shared life together. Jesus promises he will be with those who gather in his name. When you spend time with someone and one way or another Jesus is part of the mix, then you aren’t lonely. With the rapid pace of society and the impersonal nature of it all, there are times when you can be with people and still be lonely. Yet this doesn’t happen when disciples come together. Why?

Being a follower of Jesus includes being with people for their sake. Support and encouragement. Sometimes just being present knowing “it is good to be here” (Matthew 17:4). You don’t have to be doing any kind of spiritual discipline experience together. It is as simple as knowing you are among friends. Boundaries of graciousness expand and you can be relaxed and refreshed.

it starts with love

When the first Christians began to be an influence in Roman society, we hear they are “enjoying the goodwill of all the people.” (Acts 2:47) Why? It begins with how well they treat each other.

If you attend a church, do people authentically care for each other? Do they actually like each other? This is an important question. Churches that have people who have the best interests of others at heart are churches that are growing in health. Healthy churches are attractive churches. God sends people to them.

“And each day the Lord added to their group those who were being saved.”
(Acts 2:47)

There is no decline in the involvement of people living the life of a disciple in churches moving forward in healthy ways. Churches with people putting the interest of others ahead of their own; churches with people willing to die to themselves to reach out for the needs of others. It’s not about “bells and whistles.” It is about taking yourself less seriously and God more seriously.

pray and wait

The disciples are going to learn much about Kingdom living. They are in for the ride of their lives. The wonders they will see will rival anything they experienced with Jesus. The sick will be healed. Demons will be cast out. They will see the dead raised. Not yet, though.

Acts 1:8
But when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, you will receive power and will tell people about me everywhere--in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."

This is going to be a momentum builder. The Holy Spirit will do amazing things through the disciples. This will influence them to tell the story everywhere. Then more people will get involved. More marvelous wonders. More people will be told.

It is so clear how necessary it is to be open to the Holy Spirit. They don’t try to force the Spirit. They don’t try to give a witness to Jesus without the Spirit. They have been instructed.

They pray.
They wait.

It’s as if the very air they breathe is charged with energy. What now??

now, Lord?

When the apostles were with Jesus, they kept asking him, "Lord, are you going to free Israel now and restore our kingdom?" (Acts 1:6)

The disciples have spent three years with Jesus, learning from him what is important to him. There is nothing more important that the Kingdom of God. Jesus explains the Kingdom. He gives many examples by teaching in parables. He lives the Kingdom life. He dies and raises from the dead, assuring the permanence of God’s Kingdom reign forever.

So, why is it still confusing? The disciples are human, that’s why. They are looking for an angle that benefits me. The idea of “me first” wasn’t invented in the 20/21st century. Every generation is the “me generation.”

“Lord, are you going to free Israel now and restore our kingdom?”

I didn’t know the disciples had their own kingdom. You would think they would be smart enough to at least say “restore your kingdom.” They show their lack of understanding of the mission of Jesus. They will understand soon enough. All of humanity has been given true freedom through the death and resurrection of Jesus. Restoration with God is available to those who connect through Jesus. Instead of a question the disciples can make a statement.

“Lord, you have freed all people, including Israel, and your Kingdom reigns forever.”

They can use a little review.

“Thy kingdom come.”
“Thy will be done.”
“On earth as it is in heaven.”

Rose Bowl

It’s raining on my parade. You can take this phrase literally here in LA. The Rose Parade is taking place in the pouring rain as I write this. Everything is kind of mixed up anyway with New Years on a Sunday, the parade on January 2nd, and the Rose Bowl is a BCS Bowl on January 4th.

A little history.

The first Tournament of Roses was in 1890, with local citizens who had come from back East wanting to showcase how beautiful their new home was. There were parades and games added, with events like ostrich races and bronco busting. The first football game was 1902 with Michigan burying Stanford 49-0, all in three quarters. This is because Stanford gave up in the third quarter. There wasn’t football again until 1916, when the crowds were so big that they built a new football stadium, dubbed the “Rose Bowl,” and played the first game there in 1923.

I have attended 3 Rose Bowl games, with the sweetest being two victories by Wisconsin. As a child in Wisconsin, I used to be like everyone else and dream about beautiful California, watching while I was freezing. That was the original idea behind the Rose parade and game. In my case, I guess that feat has been accomplished.

Now, they don’t have to show a game. People from all over the world keep moving here. Most don’t know football, though they know football, but that’s soccer to me. It really is a great place to live.

Tune in Wednesday. The rain will be over. It will be sunny and beautiful. O, I forgot. TV revenue dictates an evening game. It will be dark. A night time Rose Bowl on January 4th with no Big Ten team? Back to the ostrich races…At least until Wisconsin gets back in the game.

teens

Our Christmas baby is 17 today. It doesn’t seem possible. Much of what is right and good in the world is in the hands of young people such as Kristina. She is a light of our world as she follows the light of the world. An amazing young woman.

Jesus works through those who invite him in. All over the country, I have had the privilege of seeing Christ in the teenagers I meet who have sold out to Jesus. I have so much hope for the future of his Kingdom work. I have to say I am especially prejudiced for the youth in my local church. FLY is the “bomb” or whatever the current vernacular for “outstanding” is. They continue to serve and grow; grow and serve.

You will get a chance to see them in action some day. They will be the ones leading in all arenas of life. They will be the ones who give you hope. If you don’t know them, just look for the ones reaching out with a helping hand. The ones who will marry and raise godly children of their own who will be a powerful influence in their community.

Good luck trying to stop them. I am afraid they have already been infected by the Holy Spirit. The world doesn’t have a cure. My “kids” are going to just keep spreading him around.

Happy Birthday, Kristina. You have no idea the wonders God has in store for you. He works through those whom he can trust. He is extremely busy with you. You see God in action already, but you haven’t seen anything, yet. He’s just warming up.

Going away with the family for the week. I will post again this weekend.

Feast of Stephen

Happy Feast of Stephen’s Day. As in,

Good King Wenceslaus went out
On the Feast of Stephen,
When the snow lay round about
Deep and crisp and even.

Don’t know if you ever sang this song, but it was a popular Christmas carol when I was a child. In fact, it is one of two melodies I can plink out on the piano. The other being Silent Night. Fascinating fact, no doubt.

Today we remember Stephen, the first person to die as a result of proclaiming Jesus as Lord. Millions have followed, but Stephen has the honor of being first. Read his story in Acts 7:1-8:3.

Let’s pray for persecuted Christians around the world today. Many die unknown to us, but certainly known to the Father.

Here is a thought. To those who persecute Christians for their faith, what are you so worried about if it isn’t true? Your religion or worldview should be more persuasive, should it not? Christians are told to examine the evidence. We are told to examine and compare other worldviews. That’s why the modern university movement was Christian driven. As the Bible says, “Test everything.” (1 Thes. 5:21)

speaking of Dover

Speaking of Dover, Pennsylvania, the day the court decision was handed down, I received an invitation to teach a weekend Why God? Conference in… Dover, Pennsylvania. The high school students will have a chance to explore the amazing wonders of the natural world from the macro to the micro. They will be able to examine the solid evidence for natural selection and ask questions about development that natural selection isn’t equipped to answer.

As I have stated, I don’t agree with having mandated instructions to science teachers to introduce students to some of the aspects of Intelligent Design. I do advocate looking at strengths and challenges to any scientific theory. According to the latest court ruling, this won’t happen in Dover. High School students there will be able to discuss strengths and challenges to Darwinian evolution. It just won’t be in school.

“Mom, can I have some money to go to a conference where I can freely talk about scientific theories? No, it’s not at school. It’s at church….”

Have a blessed Christmas!

Comments on Dover

Intelligent Design advocates didn’t support the way the former Dover Pennsylvania school board went about getting some aspects of Intelligent Design mandated teaching in the classroom. Being taken to court ended up being a good thing in that it showed how weak the support for absolute Darwinism really is today. The evidence presented gave a public forum to distance the attempts by Darwinists to characterize Intelligent Design as six day creationism. Only those who would choose to lie for political purposes will continue this straw man logical fallacy.

Another good result in the ruling is the judge showed clearly that he not only did not understand Design arguments, but he also swallowed Darwinian teaching hook, line, and sinker. The 1950’s heyday of Darwinian thinking is over, and it is not just design people who have figured this out. Other scientists like the structuralists and punctuated equilibrium folks are now being put on notice by this ruling, as well. Don’t even think of questioning anything Darwinian in a science classroom? Good luck. Enjoy the churn in the scientific community as the non- Intelligent Design scientists continue to stand up to the Darwinists.

In the meantime if you want your high school student to have the opportunity to ask questions of Darwinian thinking and have open discussion, you can always get involved here.

spirit and truth

When Jesus was asked by the woman at the well (Why didn’t she give her name? I can’t imagine going through life being called “guy who lives by Pierce College”),

John 4:19-20
19"Sir," the woman said, "I can see that you are a prophet. 20Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.”

Jesus’ answer gives a clue why Christians weren’t outraged at what happened at the Church of the Nativity.

John 4:21-24
21Jesus declared, "Believe me, woman, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. 22You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. 24God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth."

The place of worship is not the essential ingredient; it is worshipping in spirit and truth. We view our “houses of worship” with respect and it is an outrage that the Church of the Nativity was so treated, but ultimately God is worshipped in spirit and truth, regardless of the building.

This brings us to another point. Jesus says God seeks true worshippers. Is it not also an outrage to not worship the one from whom salvation comes? What does Jesus think about those who know him but don’t worship him, or those who don’t know him and don’t seek him?

If he doesn’t care about our worship or he doesn’t care if people seek him or not, then why didn’t he just say,

“Don’t worry ‘woman at the well.’ It’s all good.”

what's the difference?

Antiochus Epiphanies had pigs slaughtered on the altar in the Temple of Jerusalem. As the pig is an unclean animal in Judaism, this is a huge sacrilege. He had idols of Greek gods put up, as well. Again, a direct violation of Jewish law. “No other gods before me” and “no graven images.”

It is interesting how a major festival comes out of defeating a foreign power who trashed a house of worship. Granted this is not just any house of worship. Yet, how different than the reaction of Christians over the desecration of the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem by Palestinian terrorists back in 2002. Tradition holds that this church is built on the site of the birthplace of Jesus. Priests and nuns were taken hostage and the church became a “sanctuary” for known terrorists.

Finally, after a negotiated settlement, they left. The church was left in shambles. There will be no major holiday commemorating the cleaning out of the Church of the Nativity and getting rid of the explosives left behind. My guess is you have forgotten about this event, or perhaps weren’t even aware of it.

A holiday commemorated 2100 years later or an already forgotten event three and a half years ago. Why the difference? Chanukah or ? Christians didn’t seem to have a sense of outrage when one of their historic churches is desecrated. I am going to think on this today.

Chanukah

Hanukkah or Chanukah begins on December 25th this year. There will be festivities occurring from the Christian and Jewish communities on the same day!

“Chanukah” is Hebrew for “dedication,” and it commemorates the rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem after it had been desecrated by the Hellenistic Syrians under order of Antiochus Epiphanies in 167 B.C. Led by Judah Maccabee, the Jewish people revolted and defeated the Greeks in 165 B.C. The first order of business was to clean out the Temple of the pagan symbols and desecration that had occurred.

The story from the Jewish commentary, the Talmud, tells of there only being enough special oil to light the lamps of the Temple for one night. That one flask of oil lasted for 8 nights, however, and that is the miracle that is celebrated. The lighting of the 8 candles of the menorah recounts this event.

who is teaching?

I haven’t seen teacher faith affiliation surveys, but if 82% of Americans are self-identified as Christians, then my guess is the majority of public school teachers would identify as Christian. Should they be permitted to teach specific Christian principles in school?

Here is the dilemma. My wife and I are the primary faith nurturers of our children, along with other adult faith mentors from our Christian community. I don’t want public school teachers trying to give them a water-downed version of the gospel. I don’t like it when some of my daughter’s teachers let their political bias loose in the classroom; it is generally an anti-this or anti-that tirade rather than a principled, reasonable, balanced presentation.

Now put Christian faith in the mix. What kind of Christian faith would be taught? Take the role of women, for example. When some Christians teach that a married woman is under the headship of her husband they take that to mean he is always right; the boss of the house, and everyone just has to do what dad says. In my fantasy life would that this were true, but realistically, if marriage isn’t a partnership we are in trouble.

I don’t fret over the fact that some Christians follow this view of marriage, but biblically I would make a far different case for the meaning of the headship of the husband in a Christian home. Now, who is going to teach this to my children in school? I can choose what church I am part of and know what is being taught, but I can’t choose the biblical worldview of the teachers in my children’s classroom.

Christmas thoughts

I heard the latest Gallup poll showing 94% of Americans acknowledge some sort of God. More specifically, most polls show 82% identify themselves as Christian. Judaism (1.3%), Buddhism (.5%), Islam (.5%), and Hindu (.4%) are the next closest religions. With these statistics in mind, let’s reflect on the Christmas season.

You can’t blame businesses for decorating in a non-Christian fashion for Christmas. Happy Holidays and all the rest. Businesses will do just about anything to get you to buy from them in terms of marketing. They aren’t interested in your religious sensibilities; they are interested in turning a profit. So realistically, it must not bother most of the 82% consumer base of self-identified Christians if the businesses are secular. Believe me, you would have the whole Christmas story told in song and word every hour in every store if it actually made a difference in sales. As long as people buy with Santa and snowmen, stores don’t need the Christ Child.

As far as government funded institutions (schools, etc.) go, self-interest is also a logical influence. You could make a strong case for schools to promote a sense of patriotism, not a Christian worldview. Actively promoting the Christian worldview and reaching out in the name of Jesus is the call of Christians and Christian communities. Even with 82% of the population, the type of Christian faith promoted by public institutions would seem too diluted and too strained to make any significant difference. It’s not about political correctness as much as it is lack of effectiveness. Manger scenes and Christmas trees in a country of 82% isn’t far fetched, even for government agencies, but what form of Christianity would you use to get any more specific?

I will give an example tomorrow.

enlighting

A Japanese scientist finds that human hands, foreheads, and the soles of the feet emit detectable light.
(Discover Magazine, Nov. 2005, pg. 9)


29When Moses came down the mountain carrying the stone tablets inscribed with the terms of the covenant, he wasn't aware that his face glowed because he had spoken to the LORD face to face. 30And when Aaron and the people of Israel saw the radiance of Moses' face, they were afraid to come near him. (Exodus 34:29-34)

There is a lot of glare coming from my forehead. It has been uncovered since the 80’s. Not by choice, but by allowing nature to take her course, as it were. Yet, fortunately, people are not afraid to come near me.

This light topic is pretty fascinating. It is interesting how much light keeps coming up in the story of God’s people in the Bible. It is interesting how important light is for the whole scientific venture.

The more we learn about light, the more interesting it makes my Bible reading. I am not trying to make a direct correlation between what the ancients wrote and what we are currently discovering. My faith is based on the evidence of the physical resurrection of Jesus from the dead and its aftermath. The correlations are not insignificant, though. I will say it is fascinating to see the evidence of nature make my biblical study more intriguing.

light of the world

John 8
12Jesus said to the people, "I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won't be stumbling through the darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life."


Matthew 5
14You are the light of the world--like a city on a mountain, glowing in the night for all to see.

Jesus calls himself the light and he calls me the light. It can’t get any clearer than this. He expects me to live my life the way he would live it if he were I. He expects you to live your life as he would live it.

If he has these expectations then he gives the ability. He is not telling us to do something that he doesn’t expect us to be able to do. There is nowhere in scripture where Jesus says, “Do this,” or “Be this,” that he doesn’t expect us to be able to do or be. The creator accomplishes whatever he wants.

“I am the light of the world.”

“You are the light of the world.”

Wow! You aren’t just a student getting ready to take a test today. You aren’t someone getting ready to go to work. You aren’t a “normal” person at all. If you follow Jesus, you are the light of the world.

light

John 1:1-5 (NLT)

1In the beginning the Word already existed. He was with God, and he was God. 2He was in the beginning with God. 3He created everything there is. Nothing exists that he didn't make. 4Life itself was in him, and this life gives light to everyone. 5The light shines through the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it.

Gerald Schroeder likes to speak of life coming from light beams. Using Einstein’s theory of special relativity and Louis de Broglie’s wave mechanics, Schroeder points out that matter is condensed energy, hence, light beams.

Now read John 1:1-5 again. The “life gives light.” What does light give? Life?

Ponder on this for awhile.

design is here to stay

The more and more powerful the instruments of investigation the greater the intricacies of design one will see in nature. This has always been a given in the scientific enterprise. What are scientists thinking who are shocked that there is controversy brewing about speculations they have made concerning “random and purposeless” development? How dare anyone question their worldview? It reminds me of the whole “don’t look behind the curtain” Wizard of Oz thing.

More than any other single factor, I think what is really behind a lot of the “don’t look behind the curtain” thought is this. If we are simply a product of our “particles” responding to our environment, then we are not ultimately responsible for our attitudes and actions. If my development is random and purposeless, then so is my life. Then I can live any way I choose. I can do anything I want. There is no right or wrong (except if you don’t agree with me; then you are wrong). Good or evil. There is just protons, neutrons, electrons, quarks and the rest mixing it up and making “me,” me. There appear to be those in positions of power at the university level, who lean in this direction.

If you are a proponent of “physicalism,” the physical is all there is, then you are tempted to ignore contrary evidence, in particular if you hold positions of power in your field. Your thirst for power may trump your insatiable curiosity to further explore the possibilities of the metaphysical. Like anyone else, if scientists are completely honest with themselves, they will go where the evidence leads. Period. It’s not as if a scientist is simply going to say, “It’s too complicated for me. Let’s just forget about it.” Whether we like it or not, design is here to stay.

why hide it?

Gerald Schroeder explains what happens when the Cambrian explosion was first discovered.

The reality of this explosion of life was discovered long before it was revealed. In 1909, Charles D. Walcott, while searching for fossils in the Canadian Rocky Mountains, came upon a strata of shale near the Burgess Pass, rich in that for which he had been seeking., fossils from the era known as the Cambrian. Over the following four years Walcott collected between 60,000 and 80,000 fossils from the Burgess Shale. These fossils contained representatives from every phylum except one of the phyla that exist today. Walcott recorded his findings meticulously in his notebooks. No new phyla ever evolved after the Cambrian explosion. These fossils could have changed the entire concept of evolution from a tree of life to a bush of life. And they did, but not in 1909.

Walcott knew he had discovered something very important. That is why he collected the vast number of samples. But he could not believe that evolution could have occurred in such a burst of life forms, "simultaneously" to use the words of Scientific American. This was totally against the theory of Darwin in which he and his colleagues were steeped. And so Walcott reburied the fossils, all 60,000 of them, this time in the drawers of his laboratory.

Walcott was the director of the Smithsonian Institute in Washington D.C. It was not until 1985 that they were rediscovered (in the draws of the Smithsonian). Had Walcott wanted, he could have hired a phalanx of graduate students to work on the fossils. But he chose not to rock the boat of evolution.

Today fossil representatives of the Cambrian era have been found in China, Africa, the British Isles, Sweden, Greenland. The explosion was worldwide. But before it became proper to discuss the extraordinary nature of the explosion, the data were simply not reported. It is a classic example of cognitive dissonance, but an example for which we have all paid a severe price.

It is these kind of stories that help fuel the skepticism towards Darwinian evolution. “Examine the evidence,” is replaced by “Examine the evidence if it fits in with a Darwinian approach.” This is why Schroeder advocates simply teaching the wonders of the complexity of it all and let the student make the physical coming from the non-physical connection.

Where did the non-physical causative agent come from? Acccording to Schroeder, it could be the laws of nature or it could be God. If it is the laws of nature the conversation can continue in a public education science class. If it is God, then the conversion can begin, but it will not be initiated by the teacher. The conversation won’t go that far with the students either. What kind of God? Which God? What do you mean by “God”? You can see why these conversations are best left outside of the classroom. Let’s examine the fascinating evidence and the human aspect of curiosity will kick in. This appears to be Dr. Schroeder’s approach.

fill in the blanks

Gerald Schroeder makes the point that to the debate concerning intelligent design in America is not necessary. He says rather than arguing about how and if a “fish became a frog,” teachers ought to simply focus on the wonders of the natural world. “Young people are smart enough to fill in the blanks of the metaphysical significance,” is how Schroeder put it.

The majority of science teachers in our schools are totally Darwinian evolutionists in their thinking. One would have to make the assumption that they would desire to highlight the utter complexity of the physical universe in all its macro and micro levels. Yes, students would fill in the blanks, but are they getting blanks to fill?

For example, when I speak to high school students in various parts of the country, about the “Cambrian explosion,” where virtually all the body plans for animal life appear suddenly about 530 million years ago, only a few hands go up in any audience. Think about it. Prior to this time in the history of life on earth, there is only evidence of some bacteria, plankton, and algae, then, wham, almost all the architectural structures for animal life at once? Is that a little unsettling?

Yes, unsettling to a Darwinian model of slow, gradual, infinitesimal change over vast periods of time for evolution. The Cambrian explosion has huge implications for a classic Darwinian model. There are evolutionary explanations for how this may have occurred, but there is no agreement on this, whatsoever. There is a lively debate going on in biology about these Cambrian events at this very moment, but it doesn’t appear to even be mentioned in many of our classrooms.

Why?

More tomorrow.

visiting the Chabad

I went to hear Dr. Gerald Schroeder speak last night at the Conejo Jewish Academy, in Agoura Hills. There is something about being asked to wear a yarmulke that just means something special is occurring in this place. Something special did happen. Dr. Schroeder was fascinating.

Gerald Schroeder is one of the key influencers of Antony Flew becoming a former atheist. Flew was the world’s leading spokesperson for atheism and then a year ago (December 9,2004), Flew announced he believed in a God. Not a particular one, but, in Flew’s words, “I'm quite happy to believe in an inoffensive inactive god.” Well, that’s a start!

Schroeder’s book, The Hidden Face of God: Science Reveals the Ultimate Truth, was the book that finally persuaded Flew to rethink of his former worldview. For a brief excerpt of this historic announcement, look here.

I will highlight a few of Schroeder’s teachings this week.

why Jesus?

Jesus clearly says he is God and a person needs to trust in him for forgiveness of sin. One example from John 8,

24"That is why I said that you will die in your sins; for unless you believe that I am who I say I am, you will die in your sins."

Jesus calls himself, “I am.” The Jews he is speaking to in this situation from John 8 would know Jesus has just declared himself God, as “I am,” is the sacred name God gives himself.

Again, we see to die in your sins is not saying Jesus-followers don’t sin. It is saying there are two types of people in the world. Those who sin and trust in Jesus to take those sins upon himself and those who don’t trust in Jesus to do this.

God is totally just. God is totally pure. He promises that those who are 100% pure will be in his blessed presence forever when he establishes the new creation for good. Anyone who is not 100% pure can’t be in the direct presence of God. They will be separated from God and his blessings forever. A pure God cannot be directly in contact with the impure. A just God cannot say, “Just forget about the sin.” Someone has to pay for justice to occur.

Jesus is the way out. He takes the sin and destroys it. Only those who want the benefit of that destruction (forgiveness) receive it. It isn’t that forgiveness is not offered to everyone. It is. Once and for all time on the cross. It is just that you don’t have to choose to receive it. You can choose to not trust in Jesus. Then when you die, it will be with the results of your sin remaining on you. This will keep you from living with God forever. You won’t want to and he won’t want you to. He won’t want you to do anything you don’t want to do.

Just like in life, you will convince yourself you are right and he is wrong. There is no second chance when you die because you haven’t taken the multitude of chances in this life. After you die it will be no different. Know God or no God. The choice is yours.

blameless?

16"For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. 17God did not send his Son into the world to condemn it, but to save it.
18"There is no judgment awaiting those who trust him. But those who do not trust him have already been judged for not believing in the only Son of God. (John 3:16-18)

When we face God at the final judgment, those who get to remain with him are those who are blameless. Those who are perfect. Right away you might say, “No one is perfect.” There is where you would be wrong.

19For God in all his fullness was pleased to live in Christ, 20and by him God reconciled everything to himself. He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of his blood on the cross. 21This includes you who were once so far away from God. You were his enemies, separated from him by your evil thoughts and actions, 22yet now he has brought you back as his friends. He has done this through his death on the cross in his own human body. As a result, he has brought you into the very presence of God, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault. (Colossians 1:19-23)

Jesus offers to stand in our place. Take our punishment upon himself. We will stand before God perfect.

Now, those who do not trust in Jesus can theoretically be saved. If they can stand before God blameless on their own merit, then they will be able to live in his presence forever. The reality is no person can stand before God perfect. By not trusting in Jesus, he/she has already become the kind of person who cannot want to live with God for eternity. God honors this desire. This is why scripture says, “But those who do not trust him have already been judged for not believing in the only Son of God.”

Unbelievers become their own judge. The sentence is handed down before they even stand before God in judgment. The sentence? Separated from God forever. They get their wish. God is so loving that both believer and unbeliever get exactly what they want. The choice is not made by God. The choice is our own.

the day

In a Simpson’s episode where Homer wants to imitate Flanders faith life, Homer keeps a portrait of God on his desk at work. The image shifts as he moves it back and forth. A smiling God turns into an angry God as he moves the picture. As he does this Homer says, “Vengeful God; Loving God.”

Homer reminds us that the God of love is also the God of justice. Completely loving and completely fair. Sin cannot go unpunished. A price must be paid. That payment will become due at the “Day of the Lord.” This is a final time of justice when God brings in his Kingdom for good.

All people will be judged one final time. All people sin. All people will receive justice. So, what will that day be like?