Funny video

Here's a funny video by Christian entertainer Tim Hawkins. Pretty much captures the zeitgeist in a lighthearted way.

This is the same guy who made the classic "A Homeschool Family."

Evolution of an icon

It started with this icon: an unimaginative combination of pop art and third world political propaganda.

Then reality set in. As the narrative changed, so did the posters....

And finally my favorite.....

Happy Birthday, John Calvin?

I've gotten several emails this summer from places like Vision Forum, the National Center for Family Integrated Churches, and American Vision urging me to join them in celebrating John Calvin's 500th birthday. Calvin's life, they suggest, marks the most important event in Christian history since the resurrection. Why? Apparently because Calvin rediscovered and promoted the concept of salvation by grace. While this is certainly an important doctrine, there are some serious problems with all of this Calvin worship.

One problem is the man himself.

As the de facto "Pope of Geneva," he brought about the execution of Miguel Servetus, a Spaniard with whom he had theological disagreements. "If he ever comes [to Geneva]," Calvin wrote to a friend, "I shall never let him go out alive." Servetus did come to Geneva seven years later and was arrested while listening to Calvin speak. Calvin brought charges against him and was the chief witness during the trial. "I hope the verdict will call for the death penalty," Calvin wrote; and it did. Servetus was burned at the stake for heresy (over a pile of half-green wood, to prolong the burning).

What was Servetus' great crime? The two primary charges against him were 1) denying the trinity (being a Unitarian), and 2) renouncing infant baptism. While the former doctrine is certainly misguided, it does not warrant execution; and the latter is actually a Biblically-sound indictment of the likes of John Calvin who continued the Catholic practice of pedobaptism.

Historian Leonard Verduin, author of "The Reformers and their Stepchildren," writes: "The burning of Servetus--let it be said with utmost clarity--was a deed for which Calvin must be held largely responsible. It was not done in spite of Calvin, as some over-ardent admirers of his are wont to say. He planned it beforehand and maneuvered it from start to finish. It occurred because of him and not in spite of him. After it had taken place, Calvin defended it with every possible and impossible argument" (p. 51).

In summary, John Calvin used civil authority to murder someone with different theological views. Imagine if the pastor of your church had done the same. How could you justify it? Did the disciples take this approach? Did Jesus ever teach it? Of course not. We do, however, have a modern equivalent of this kind of behavior: it's called Islam.

A second problem with Calvin worship is the man's provenance. Like Zwingli and Luther he came from the Roman Catholic tradition. We call them "reformers," but do we ever stop to think what they were "re-forming" or "remaking"? They were remaking the Catholic model--Satan's counterfeit church. They did not abandon the model or embrace a purely Biblical model; they just tinkered with a few of the Catholic doctrines and kept the basic blueprint in place (state churches, infant baptism, "universal church," persecution of opponents, etc.). A more apt name for the "reformers" would actually be the "redecorators." Baptists should think twice before incorportating these redecorators into their worship narrative. The Baptists, as Spurgeon famously said, "did not commence our existence at the reformation, we were reformers before Luther or Calvin were born; we never came from the Church of Rome, for we were never in it...."

A third problem with all this adulation is the "man-centered" nature of it: John Calvin as some sort of heart throb for egg-headed seminarians. We've already seen how terribly awry things can go when we elevate an individual over an idea, when we succumb to the cult of personality. We need no better example than our current president. How many of our fellow Americans are hanging their heads sheepishly because they thought they were electing Tiger Woods, only to find out they were duped into electing a radical Marxist with a good marketing scheme. I think many Baptist pastors would feel the same way if they actually had a chance to spend some time with the "Pope of Geneva." If "God is no respecter of persons" (Acts 10: 34) then why should we be?

A fourth problem is the reason given for the worship of Calvin. We hold him up because he purportedly rediscovered salvation by grace (as opposed to salvation by works). But that important doctrine had never died. It was taught by the Donatists, the Paulicians, the Waldensians, the Anabaptists--long before Calvin was born. This wasn't a "new" concept. It was in Scripture all along. Calvin didn't--as his fans claim--get Christianity back on track. He merely stumbled upon one of the doctrines taught by true churches for centuries; but sadly his followers persecuted those same churches while continuing to cling to the Catholic model.

So who's ready to join all those squeaky-clean salesmen and seminarians in celebrating Calvin's birthday? How about dressing up the kids like Reformers for Halloween? (I wish I were joking).

Paradox

I think a lot of people who reject the Bible do so because they can’t come to terms with its paradoxes.

A paradox is a seeming contradiction—the operative word being “seeming.” Two components that don’t jibe at first glance. And the Bible is full of these.

The same God that said “Thou shalt not kill” and “Turn the other cheek” encouraged Joshua to slaughter all the men, women and children of Jericho and showed no displeasure when David beheaded Goliath. The unthinking mind can’t reconcile such a disparity, so it writes it off: kind of like a teenager who doesn’t obey his parents because they seem to contradict themselves. It gives them an easy “out.”

We read “the powers that be are ordained of God” and “whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God” (Romans 13: 1, 2). But then we read how Daniel blatantly resisted the decree of Darius, which led to the whole lion’s den episode. So which example are we supposed to follow?

We know that we should “take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, etc.” (Matthew 6: 25). But then we see Joseph stockpiling seven years’ worth of food—not just for his family, but for his entire country. So which is the right way?

Of course none of the seeming contradictions are true contradictions. It just takes a little extra effort to reconcile the paradoxes and move on. By just opening a concordance we could see that there’s a difference between murdering and killing—and sometimes a holy judge requires the death of wicked men. So there is actually no contradiction at all.

We could learn that “take no thought” actually means “don’t be obsessed or anxious,” not “don’t prepare.”

We might even come to the conclusion that “the powers that be” doesn’t necessarily mean all dictators and bureaucrats (though it certainly suited King James to give us that impression).

But it takes a small amount of extra effort and study to explain these paradoxes to ourselves and others. They can’t always be summed up in a bumper sticker or a 30-second YouTube video. And I think the average person is not willing to get off the treadmill of life long enough to make that effort.

The unsaved who can’t come to grips with Scripture--and even professing Christians who never seem to grow--get mentally paralyzed by these paradoxes. Paradoxes either frustrate them or give them a convenient excuse for not pursuing the truth further. How many times have you heard, “If God is so loving and powerful, why is there evil in the world?” Classic paradox, where most people give up at the question itself because it seems so clever and irreconcilable. But there is actually an answer…which leads us to greater truths.

What Jesus said of parables could also apply to paradoxes:

“And the disciples came, and said unto him, 'Why speakest thou unto them in parables?' He answered and said unto them, 'Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath. Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand. And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, "By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive"'” (Mark 13: 10-14).

Anyway, just something I’ve been observing and thinking about. And yes, that’s the best picture of a paradox I could find.

Idiota

I can count on one hand the American politicians who favor limited government in the tradition of our founding fathers. Mark Sanford is one of them. He was on everybody's list of potential presidential nominees for 2012. But like an idiot he destroyed his opportunity to make any effective change in the course of our nation by having an overseas affair and clumsily trying to cover it up. More disappointing personally because he was a bright light from my home state--a state whose claims to fame are few and far between (let's see, we started the Civil War and then had the oldest living senator for a while). A few of my friends have worked for Sanford at various stages in his career and he seemed to be a rare exception to the rule of statist politicians.

I am now even more convinced that there will be no change in this country unless Christians rise up and take positions of power. I'm not even talking about revival; I'm just talking about preserving freedom. You could put Rush Limbaugh or Mark Sanford or Barry Goldwater in charge of everything and little would change because they lack true Christian values. Their lifestyle would always bring them down and negate their life's work. Sanford's life's work was limited government. But limited government only works when coupled with Christian morality.

All men need a god. At this point in our history we are watching the government-educated masses begging the state to be their god. Sanford seemed to stand against that trend. But like all non-Christian "conservatives," he had no moral compass--and as a result he leaves us with even more of an uphill fight to defend our basic liberties.

Oh well, did William Wallace give up when he was betrayed and the odds were against him? Heck no....at least not in the movie version.

Providence and perspective

"In spite of failures which I lament, of errors which I now see and acknowledge, or of the present aspect of affairs, do I despair the future? The truth is this, the march of Providence is so slow, our desires so impatient, the work of progress is so immense, and our means of aiding it so feeble, the life of humanity is so long, that of the individual so brief, that we often see only the ebb of the advancing wave and are thus discouraged. It is history that teaches us to hope."

Robert E. Lee

The Creation Museum: A Review

The Creation Museum is situated right off Cincinnati’s “beltway,” but the first thing that strikes you is that there are no other commercial properties around. One day some smart entrepreneur will build a gas station or a McDonald’s across the street, but for now it’s only surrounded by small farms.

The admission fee was a little steep ($22 for adults), especially considering the whole complex was built by wheedling donations from the very families who patronize it. But it was in keeping with the prevailing doctrine of Professional Christians: “never proclaim God’s truth for free when you can overcharge for it.”

The museum itself had some memorable displays. There are plenty of dinosaurs for the kids and some impressive animatronics, including Methuselah talking to you inside his tent and Noah’s crew building the ark.

The general flow of the museum seems disjointed at first—a diorama of archeologists, a smattering of small fossils, some texts on the wall of an otherwise empty room, random posters depicting sin (drug addicts, war, starving children). Later it seems to find its rhythm as you proceed through chronological dioramas of the early chapters of Genesis.

There are some decent short films along the way and, at the end of the tour, a longer theatrical film called “The Last Adam” that presents the gospel message. Before you head to the gift shop, you’re encouraged to pick up a card, recite the cheesy “Salvation Poem” on it, and then sign and date it—thereby signifying that you are born again. This, of course, is the most shallow and fruitless type of evangelism and was the most disappointing part of the whole experience: kind of like hearing your pastor say, “Nod your head if you love Jesus. Now welcome to the club.” Maybe they will see fit one day to trash those cards.

Outside they have set up a new petting zoo which is a good addition. There is also a large, scenic garden by the adjacent pond with plenty of walking trails.

In short, the kids loved it; the adults thought it was okay. There is plenty of Ham and cheese, but it is definitely worth a visit if you are in the area. If you understand ahead of time that this is not really a “Creation Museum”—as in a Christian alternative to the usual natural history museums—you won’t be disappointed. It does not really address in any meaningful way the science of the creation/evolution debate, but rather assumes that you already believe the creation model. A more proper name, then, would be “Bible Museum” or “Sunday School Museum” and it is definitely geared toward the “church youth group” crowd. Still, I admire the effort put into it and hope other museums with a Christian worldview are on the horizon.

Christians as sojourners

"Christians are distinguished from other men neither by country, nor language. [living in such places] as the lot of each of them has determined, and following the customs of the natives in respect to clothing, food, and the rest of their ordinary conduct, they display to us their wonderful and confessedly striking method of life. They dwell in their own countries, but simply as sojourners. As citizens, they share in all things with others, and yet endure all things as if foreigners. Every foreign land is to them as their native country, and every land of their birth as a land of strangers...They pass their days on earth, but they are citizens of heaven. They obey the prescribed laws, and at the same time surpass the laws by their lives."

Written by an unknown Christian to Diognetus, tutor to Emperor Marcus Aurelius, around 150 AD