23 June 2008 by Brian.

Yesterday our pastor was preaching on the fact that the Christian life was never intended to be a call to exert enough will-power to live a righteous life.  (No, I wasn’t calling him a simple mind.  I was referring to my own…the thought is coming.)

As I thought about it, the idea of a believer struggling to “gut out” enough self-righteousness to please God makes just as much sense as a light bulb, disconnected from any source of electricity attempting to “will” itself to illuminate.  Just as the filament in a light bulb requires electricity to illuminate, so the believer requires the empowerment of the Holy Spirit to live the Christian life as it was meant to be lived.  (I’m sure I’m not the first to draw this analogy.)  Even our good deeds, accomplished outside of reliance on the Holy Spirit, are empty and misled.

Lord, teach me to rely on You and to stop trying to impress you with my own pitiful efforts at righteousness.  Once again, thank you for grace!

Posted in Social Injustice, Naturalism, Social Justice, Religious fanaticism, Religion, Humanism, Politics, Missionaries, Christmas, Missions, Trinitarianism, Trinity, Morality, Morals, Contemporary Christianity, Sex, Relativism, Marriage, Sanctity of Life, Biblical Worldview, Postmodernism, False Doctrine, Spirituality, Postmodernity, Postmodern Philosophy, Secularism | 1 Comment »

18 June 2008 by Brian.

It’s late, so here’s a couple of quick thoughts.  I was recently challenged by a former church-goer as to the behavior of the vocal “Christians” and how even their fellow believers fear to do business with them because they are so untrustworthy and can actually be expected to operate in direct opposition to their stated beliefs.  I couldn’t argue…it certainly happens…often.  Is it in keeping with the person of Christ?  Absolutely not.  Is the validity of faith in him and a transforming relationship with him called into question?  Absolutely.  This is a tragedy in the church and one which, as believers, we should be challenging.  I pray for more churches that will call people to lives worthy of the high calling we’ve received in Jesus Christ.

Another sad application of the same issue can be seen in our failure to answer this dangerous school in Virginia.  Islamic students are being taught that it’s acceptable to kill ‘infidels’, yet the American church is so impotent that most Muslims in this land see nothing to attract them to Jesus and the God of the Bible.

If we fail to repent and remedy the current situation, then whether our downfall is ultimately brought about by secular humanism or Islam, the answer for our ineffectiveness in reaching our neighbor will be found in the same place: the mirror.

Posted in Naturalism, Humanism, Abortion, Eurabia, Social Injustice, Bible study, Social Justice, Community, Politics, Missions, Missionaries, Europe, Evil, Environmentalism, Trinity, Trinitarianism, Religious fanaticism, Radicals, Contemporary Christianity, Sex, Biblical Worldview, Relativism, Marriage, Sanctity of Life, Islam, Postmodernism, Postmodern Philosophy, Morality, Religion, Radicalism, Morals, False Doctrine, Postmodernity, Spirituality, Secularism | 2 Comments »

9 June 2008 by Brian.

Richard Dawkins wrote a book entitled, “The God Delusion” in which he attacks belief in God as unscientific and false. This video is an interesting interview with him, during which he attempts to defend his position (which he does rather poorly).

Follow this link for the interview.

Alistair McGrath, by the way, wrote an answer entitled, “The Dawkins Delusion” which I’d recommend to anyone who gets confused by Dawkins’ materialistic dogma.

Dawkins and I share one thing in common. Both of us desire to live our lives in conformity with the truth, no matter the consequences. If he’s sincere in that claim, then I pray that God would break through the intellectual pride and materialist presuppositions and reveal himself to Dawkins (and those like him) in unmistakable ways. It’s interesting to note the final statement in the video, “I don’t believe we’re put here to be comfortable.” As determined as Dawkins is to operate as if there were no ultimate purpose in life (without a Creator, there can be none), he unwittingly lapses back into language that conveys that we have been “put” here (notice the passive voice). Dr. Dawkins should ask himself why, if there is no moral basis to the universe and there is no Creator (or Intelligent Designer), it should matter in the least whether a society lived according to truth or a lie…the universe is certainly impervious to the beliefs of humans? Or why it matters what “purpose” the collection of matter presently known as Richard Dawkins has “decided” it has? After all, if Dawkins is correct, his own thoughts are the predetermined product of chemical interactions in his brain which give the illusion of conscious choice, but have no ultimate purpose or meaning, nor could he have chosen otherwise.

Dr. Dawkins, please remind us why you wrote your book?

Posted in Humanism, Abortion, Naturalism, Social Injustice, Religious fanaticism, Social Justice, Community, Politics, Missions, Missionaries, Evil, Trinitarianism, Social Medicine, Trinity, Radicals, Radicalism, Sex, Biblical Worldview, Contemporary Christianity, Relativism, Sanctity of Life, Marriage, Postmodernism, Postmodern Philosophy, Morality, Religion, Morals, False Doctrine, Postmodernity, Spirituality, Secularism | No Comments »

15 May 2008 by Brian.

I remain convinced that the only hope for Europe is a revived Church, living lives of radical, loving obedience to the Lordship of Jesus.

The danger from Islam is real, but so is the answer.  Pray, give, or go and make a difference.

Posted in Trinity, Politics, Community, Eurabia, Trinitarianism, Evil, Europe, Missionaries, Missions, Social Injustice, Religious fanaticism, Contemporary Christianity, Relativism, Islam, Sanctity of Life, Biblical Worldview, Spirituality, Radicals, Radicalism, Religion, Secularism | 1 Comment »

8 May 2008 by Brian.

When Jesus says, “Take up your cross and follow me.”, does it disturb you?  If not, you’ve probably allowed yourself (as I often have) to sanitize “your” Jesus.  Let’s be clear, there is only one Jesus and he is the person who actually existed and who continues to exist.  (In reality, our perception of him doesn’t change his actual character and nature in the least.)

Todd Agnew’s, “My Jesus” is an excellent challenge to see Jesus as He is and to follow Him, regardless the cost.

Which Jesus do you follow?
Which Jesus do you serve?
If Ephesians says to imitate Christ
Then why do you look so much like the world?

Cause my Jesus bled and died
He spent His time with thieves and liars
He loved the poor and accosted the arrogant
So which one do you want to be?

Blessed are the poor in spirit
Or do we pray to be blessed with the wealth of this land
Blessed are they that hunger and thirst for righteousness
Or do we ache for another taste of this world of shifting sand

Cause my Jesus bled and died for my sins
He spent His time with thieves and sluts and liars
He loved the poor and accosted the rich
So which one do you want to be?

Who is this that you follow
This picture of the American dream
If Jesus was here would you walk right by on the other side or fall down and worship at His holy feet

Pretty blue eyes and curly brown hair and a clear complexion
Is how you see Him as He dies for Your sins
But the Word says He was battered and scarred
Or did you miss that part
Sometimes I doubt we’d recognize Him

Cause my Jesus bled and died
He spent His time with thieves and the least of these
He loved the poor and accosted the comfortable
So which one do you want to be?

Cause my Jesus would never be accepted in my church
The blood and dirt on His feet would stain the carpet
But He reaches for the hurting and despised the proud
I think He’d prefer Beale St. to the stained glass crowd
And I know that He can hear me if I cry out loud

I want to be like my Jesus!
I want to be like my Jesus!

Not a posterchild for American prosperity, but like my Jesus
You see I’m tired of living for success and popularity
I want to be like my Jesus but I’m not sure what that means to be like You Jesus
Cause You said to live like You, love like You but then You died for me
Can I be like You Jesus?
I want to be like my Jesus

Posted in Humanism, Social Injustice, Social Justice, Inductive Bible study, Community, Trinity, Europe, Missionaries, Missions, Trinitarianism, Bible study, Israel, Contemporary Christianity, Relativism, Marriage, Sanctity of Life, Biblical Worldview, Spirituality, Religion, Morality, Morals, False Doctrine, Secularism | 1 Comment »

24 April 2008 by Brian.

I get the iTunes free Single of the Week each week, which happens to be a great value (most weeks, anyway). Occasionally, I don’t get the chance to listen to the song until it pops up randomly on my iPod and I realize I’m hearing it for the first time. Sugarcult’s, “Los Angeles” was one such song. I’ll warn you before you proceed, that the lyrics are harsh, but I’m posting them because they represent the stark reality of life as the center of one’s own universe. For contrast, I offer the 8th century hymn, “Be Thou My Vision” which hints at the enduring joy of a life of worshipping God through Christ.

Do you want to live a life of enduring hunger, never satisfied, simply consuming everything and everyone around you in your search for satisfaction? Or is a life of purpose, satisfaction, and joy which transcends circumstance a more reasonable goal? Read the lyrics and think about it…

Sugarcult – Los Angeles

I want a girl, girl that won’t talk back
And a job, job that gives me slack
And a car, car that won’t break down
In the heat of Los Angeles
Want to go, go without a map
Far away, away, I won’t get trapped
By the sound, a town, the sun beats down
In the heat of Los Angeles

One more holiday
I will not celebrate
I’m almost desperate
Cause I’m down, I’m down, I’m so beat down

This city’s killing me
I want, I want, I want everything
This city’s killing me
In the heat of Los Angeles

I want a love, love that won’t hit back
Want sex, sex without a catch
Want a face, to trust, to feel, to lust
In the heat of Los Angeles
Want to FUCK, FUCK, FUCK this up
Gonna feel, feel, feel you up
Had enough, enough, enough’s enough
In the heat of Los Angeles

This city’s killing me
I want, I want, I want everything
This city’s killing me
In the heat of Los Angeles
What has become of me?
I want, I want, I want everything
This city’s killing me
(I want everything)

Come on, come on
It’s alive and breathing
Come on, come on
Come alive today
Come on, come on
It’s a heartless beating
The sun is burning down Los Angeles
Los Angeles
Los Angeles

I want a girl, girl that won’t talk back
And a job, job that gives me slack
And a car, car that won’t break down
In the heat of Los Angeles

Come on, come on
It’s alive and breathing
Come on, come on
Come alive today
Come on, come on
It’s a heartless beating
The sun is burning down

(This city’s killing me)
Come on, come on
It’s alive and breathing
Come on, come on
Come alive today
(This city’s killing me)
Come on, come on
It’s a heartless beating
The sun is burning down Los Angeles (one more holiday)
The sun is burning down Los Angeles (I will not celebrate)
The sun is burning down Los Angeles (one more holiday)
The sun is burning down Los Angeles (I will not celebrate)

Be Thou My Vision

Be Thou my Vision, O Lord of my heart;_
Naught be all else to me, save that Thou art_
Thou my best Thought, by day or by night,_
Waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light.

Be Thou my Wisdom, and Thou my true Word;_
I ever with Thee and Thou with me, Lord;_
Thou my great Father, I Thy true son;_
Thou in me dwelling, and I with Thee one.

Be Thou my battle Shield, Sword for the fight;_
Be Thou my Dignity, Thou my Delight;_
Thou my soul’s Shelter, Thou my high Tower:_
Raise Thou me heavenward, O Power of my power.

Riches I heed not, nor man’s empty praise,_
Thou mine Inheritance, now and always:_
Thou and Thou only, first in my heart,_
High King of heaven, my Treasure Thou art.

High King of heaven, my victory won,_
May I reach heaven’s joys, O bright heaven’s Sun!_
Heart of my own heart, whatever befall,_
Still be my Vision, O Ruler of all.

Posted in Abortion, Homosexuality, Community, Humanism, Naturalism, Social Injustice, Eurabia, Politics, Trinity, Missionaries, Europe, Christmas, Missions, Evil, Trinitarianism, Environmentalism, Social Justice, Religion, Sex, Biblical Worldview, Postmodernism, Contemporary Christianity, Relativism, Sanctity of Life, Marriage, Postmodern Philosophy, Postmodernity, New Age Spirituality, Morals, Morality, False Doctrine, New Age, North Korea, Spirituality, Secularism | No Comments »

14 April 2008 by Brian.

I’ve been reading a very good book, edited by Ravi Zacharias, called “Beyond Opinion”.  I highly recommend it, as it offers insight into the challenges and opportunities offered by a variety of world views competing with Christianity today.

In the course of reading the chapter on Islam, I learned an interesting fact which explains a lot of the information I’ve heard regarding the religion of Mohammed.  There is a doctrine in Islam known as ‘abrogation’, which allows scholars to explain away one passage which stands in direct opposition to another by saying that the second passage abrogated (repealed) the former.  This explains how Islamic scholars can say that the Quran advocates tolerance of Christians while another passage exhorts Muslims to make war against Christians and to kill them.   It gets really tricky when you consider that there is no clear logic (at least to the casual reader) that indicates which passages supercede the others.

Next time you hear someone defend Islam as a religion of peace while quoting the Quran to “prove” it,  consider the fact that the speaker may be reading a passage that isn’t even considered the final word on the topic.  I’ll share another doctrine in the near future which makes this even trickier.  Bottom line: don’t believe everything you hear…Islam is decidedly different from Christianity or Judaism.  We need to know how so we don’t allow it to simply enforce its will in the world while we look the other way and tell ourselves there’s nothing to be concerned about.

Keep in mind that this has NOTHING to do with the call to love and reach out to Muslim friends and neighbors.  Just because a particular religion is hostile to our own, doesn’t mean we’re not called to love its adherents.  This is just as true of Secular Humanism as it is of Islam and it’s a calling we can never ignore or diminish in any way…we must take up our crosses daily wherever God has called us.

Posted in Community, Politics, Social Medicine, Abortion, Humanism, Social Injustice, Eurabia, Trinity, Trinitarianism, Europe, Christmas, Missionaries, Missions, Environmentalism, Evil, Social Justice, Bible study, Postmodernity, Spirituality, Postmodernism, Biblical Worldview, Islam, Contemporary Christianity, False Doctrine, Morals, Religious fanaticism, Israel, Radicals, Radicalism, Morality, Religion, Sanctity of Life | No Comments »

9 April 2008 by Brian.

It drives me nuts when I hear people use emotional terms when describing their thoughts about an objective, fact-based issue:

Question:  “What do you think should be done in order to prevent Social Security from going bankrupt?”  Answer: “I feel like privatization is the best option.”

What?!?  Nobody asked which flavor of ice cream you prefer today or your emotional reaction in the face of such a daunting challenge.  The question is one that needs rational analysis of a variety of facts and the consequences of the various potential solutions to the problem, producing a well thought-out decision.  Now, the decision could be wrong…nobody expects that the respondent will provide THE definitive, correct answer.  However, the question is one which requires and intellectual response, not an emotional one.

Jesus said, “Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks.”  Our language betrays the fact that our generation has lost faith in objectivity, rationality, fact, and truth.  People rarely “think” or “believe” anything about anything anymore.  Now, they “feel like” everything from the sum of 2 plus 2 to their favorite flavor of ice cream to the results of their monthly budget or the existence or non-existence of God.

As believers, we should be aware that a rational, objective approach is insufficient for 100% of life, but this approach is foundational to reality because a Constant exists in the universe and He is the source of reality, the moral law-giver.  We should never be so arrogant as to believe that we perfectly understand everything and that we cannot be wrong about an issue.  However, we shouldn’t back away (nor slip into our culture’s habit) of speaking as if everything were up to personal choice.  This, I believe.

Posted in Humanism, Abortion, Homosexuality, Community, Naturalism, Eurabia, Bible study, Inductive Bible study, Social Justice, Social Injustice, Politics, Social Medicine, Missions, Missionaries, Europe, Christmas, Evil, Environmentalism, Taxes, Trinity, Trinitarianism, Israel, Religious fanaticism, Sex, Biblical Worldview, Postmodernism, Postmodern Philosophy, Contemporary Christianity, Relativism, Sanctity of Life, Islam, Marriage, Postmodernity, North Korea, Morality, Religion, Radicalism, Radicals, Morals, New Age Spirituality, Spirituality, New Age, False Doctrine, Secularism | No Comments »

1 April 2008 by Brian.

Well, at least insofar as they all purport to make claims as to the existence or non-existence of God.  Beyond that, there are some striking differences.  Here’s an example…see if you can pick out the subtle differences between Islam and Christianity as exposed by this FoxNews article.

“You are innocent if you are a Muslim,” Choudary tells the BBC. “Then you are innocent in the eyes of God. If you are not a Muslim, then you are guilty of not believing in God.”

Choudary said he would not condemn a Muslim for any action.

“As a Muslim, I must support my Muslim brothers and sisters,” Choudary said. “I must have hatred to everything that is not Muslim.”

One of the fundamental tenets of Islam is that everyone is born Muslim.  This means that all those who adhere to other faiths are apostate and enemies of Allah.  Further, enemies of Allah are to be hated and devotion to Allah can be measured by the intensity of the hatred for his enemies.  In stark contrast, the God of the Bible expresses His love and mercy toward humanity, even those who presently oppose Him.  As scripture clearly states, “God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”  As followers of Christ, indwelt by His Spirit, we are called to express this same love for our enemies.

Do we always live up to this high calling?  Sadly, we must admit that we do not.  However, we ARE, in fact, called to live out this same kind of self-sacrificial love for others…enemies included.  The Islamic worldview condones and even inspires hatred.  Same God?  I don’t think so.

Posted in Social Injustice, Eurabia, Social Justice, Religious fanaticism, Radicals, Community, Trinity, Missionaries, Europe, Missions, Evil, Trinitarianism, Radicalism, Religion, Postmodernism, Postmodern Philosophy, Biblical Worldview, Contemporary Christianity, Islam, Postmodernity, Spirituality, Morals, Morality, New Age Spirituality, False Doctrine, New Age, Sanctity of Life | No Comments »

24 March 2008 by Brian.

All along, I thought it was our common commitment to Christ that’s held our marriage together for the past 13 1/2 years, but it turns out it’s simply due to the fact that my wife is better looking than I am!  If you doubt it, just check out FoxNews’ article on the joys of marriage between ugly men and beautiful women.  (Somewhere, there are groups of unattractive guys celebrating the results of this study…in fact, I’d like to see photos of the psychologists who conducted the study!)

This story is completely absurd for a multitude of reasons.  Here’s a few, just to get you thinking:

1.  The study determined whose marriages were healthy by studying couples who had been married for SIX MONTHS?!?  Anyone who thinks that a marriage can be definitively labeled “healthy” or not after such a short period of time, clearly doesn’t understand marriage.

2. The study assumes that physical attractiveness is the primary factor (or at least a vital factor) in producing a “healthy marriage”.  There is no mention of emotional or spiritual compatibility, quality of character, or any other immaterial attribute.

3. Of course, the study presupposes a materialistic world view.  They presume that humanity is enslaved to chemical reactions and evolutionary pressures, rather than free moral agents with souls, having the ability to transcend their biology by using the mind that God has given them and by interacting with spiritual realities.

Maybe it helps that my wife is better looking than I (I certainly don’t have any complaints), but neither one of us is going to be looking too hot 20, 30, or 40 years from now.  I’m grateful that there’s more to life than physical beauty and that I’m married to a woman who possesses qualities that will endure.

Posted in Humanism, Abortion, Naturalism, Social Injustice, Social Justice, Community, Trinity, Missionaries, Europe, Missions, Evil, Trinitarianism, Radicals, Radicalism, Contemporary Christianity, Sex, Relativism, Marriage, Sanctity of Life, Biblical Worldview, Spirituality, Religion, Morality, Morals, False Doctrine, Secularism | 1 Comment »