So it’s been awhile since I posted. I was out of town acting as a coach for a seminar for church planters. What a challenge! Not being a coach, but just seeing the commitment of those individuals and couples who were going to go into communities to bring the good news of God’s love, most of them with no salaries at all.
All of this has me asking myself what is going on in the US. I mean, at a time when Christianity is widely perceived as good news in most of the developing world, why is it that it seems to be dying in Europe and barely holding its own in the US? Oh, I know the typical explanations. Probably the most popular is that the increase of scientific knowledge has left fewer and fewer places for God to live. We no longer have need of an external power in a world where so much is explainable in natural terms. But somehow, that seems hollow to me. I mean, sure, we have been able to identify many of the natural processes in our world, but that is like saying that because I understand how my car runs – from the internal combustion process to the method of manufacture, that it is all naturally occurring and has always been here in one form or another. The fact is that this cosmos is a contingent existent – cause and effect are the order of the day throughout. Science has been able to follow the chain of causation back to just a few moments after it all got started to a thing called the “big bang.” Now, all of this is old news – but what it seems to say to me is that everything came from somewhere else. There must be some kind of uncaused thing or being that got the whole thing started.
Of course, none of this means that there is a God, let alone that Christianity is true. But that brings me to the thing that I just cannot get past – the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. As an historian, as well as a person who deals with people all the time, it is inconceivable to me that multiple people would have insisted that they had seen Jesus crucified, buried and then alive again when they were faced with torture and death unless it was true. I know that there were similar claims for others, but never were those making the claim faced with the kind of torture and death that the first generation of Christian leadership was. And yet, that first generation, and all subsequent ones, have all insisted that Jesus really rose from the dead and is alive to this day, and that faith in him makes a genuine difference in one’s life.
So what is going on? Some think that it is the unwillingness of people to give up their lifestyles – something they think would be required if they become Christians. Others say that the real deficit is in church attendance, not faith. I suspect that the latter is true. So why? Why do people not want to attend church anymore? I would love to hear from anyone who thinks they have an answer. In the meantime, keep the faith!
Monday, February 25, 2008
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
Thoughts on "Super Tuesday"
It is popular to complain that politics are dirty, that politicians are liars and that voting is a waste of time. Then, every once in a while, there comes an election where one or more candidates strikes a chord in the hearts and minds of a great number of voters and we see the kind of turnout we did yesterday. And yet, inevitably, the reality of competing interests reins in whoever is elected and less is accomplished than many thought and hoped would be. And so, a new round of disquiet and discouragement about politics sets in and people drop out of the “system.”
What does any of this have to do with being a Christian? Well, first, we have to understand just what the Bible says about government and our relationship to it. It comes as no surprise that democracy as we currently practice it in 21st century America has nothing in common with the kind of government Jesus and the disciples knew and lived under when the New Testament was being written. Ditto for Moses, David, and Isaiah in the Old Testament. Does that mean that the Bible has nothing to say to us? Hardly.
First, we have the principle from scripture that teaches us that government is a God-given concept. Of course, that doesn’t mean that every government is godly, any more than saying that creating humans was God’s idea and therefore every person is godly. Most scholars point to Genesis 9:6 where God says to Noah that, from that time forward, “Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed,” as the first indication that God intends for humanity to institute sufficient structures to insure justice. Human government is a natural outgrowth of this concept.
In the New Testament we have a much clearer exposition of the role of Christians in relation to government. Peter expressed this most fully in 1 Peter 2:13-17 (NIV) 13Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every authority instituted among men: whether to the king, as the supreme authority, 14or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right. 15For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish men. 16Live as free men, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God. 17Show proper respect to everyone: Love the brotherhood of believers, fear God, honor the king. In this passage we are clearly told that we submit to the governing authorities. Why? So that we might show that Christians can also be good citizens and because it is “proper.” Note also the reference to freedom in verse 16 – this is particularly important for we who live in our current society.
So what is our Christian responsibility in the electoral process? It seems to me that first we have a responsibility to do what we can to make it work. In our system we are in the dual position of being both government and governed. In this regard verses thirteen and fourteen above shed the most light on how to do this. The requirement to obey government except when it would mean violating God’s law is the first thing we learn. We are to “submit … to every authority.” That this does not mean in every circumstance is clear from the fact that the same Peter who tells us to do this also challenged the Sanhedrin when he was commanded to cease and desist from preaching Jesus – he not only challenged their authority to command what God had forbidden, but he answered his own challenge by going out and preaching. But the principle remains: we are to submit to the authorities. But notice also that Peter tells us also what the responsibility of those who govern is, as well: “to punish those who do wrong and commend those who do right.” In other words, since in our American democracy those who govern are answerable to the people who elect them, we are required to hold those who govern responsible for doing the right thing! If I refuse to do my part, then I am abrogating my responsibility before God. What does that mean? That taking part in the electoral process is my responsibility before God.
This is why I have voted in every election I could, no matter where I was in the United States, since I was old enough to do so. And, it is also what has informed my standards for candidates. My bottom line is whether the policies of those running for office are likely to do the most good for the most people – whether they promote justice, including social justice. And it is why I cannot in good conscience ever cast a ballot for someone who is in favor of taking the lives of innocent human beings before they are even born, or of allowing others to do so. Are there nuances to that broad statement? Of course – but that is for another time. The point is, I cannot fulfill my responsibility before God as a citizen of the United States unless I vote – even if I have to hold my nose sometimes when I do! So vote in November, regardless of whether your candidate gets the nomination. It is the “Christian” thing to do!
Pastor Ken
What does any of this have to do with being a Christian? Well, first, we have to understand just what the Bible says about government and our relationship to it. It comes as no surprise that democracy as we currently practice it in 21st century America has nothing in common with the kind of government Jesus and the disciples knew and lived under when the New Testament was being written. Ditto for Moses, David, and Isaiah in the Old Testament. Does that mean that the Bible has nothing to say to us? Hardly.
First, we have the principle from scripture that teaches us that government is a God-given concept. Of course, that doesn’t mean that every government is godly, any more than saying that creating humans was God’s idea and therefore every person is godly. Most scholars point to Genesis 9:6 where God says to Noah that, from that time forward, “Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed,” as the first indication that God intends for humanity to institute sufficient structures to insure justice. Human government is a natural outgrowth of this concept.
In the New Testament we have a much clearer exposition of the role of Christians in relation to government. Peter expressed this most fully in 1 Peter 2:13-17 (NIV) 13Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every authority instituted among men: whether to the king, as the supreme authority, 14or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right. 15For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish men. 16Live as free men, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God. 17Show proper respect to everyone: Love the brotherhood of believers, fear God, honor the king. In this passage we are clearly told that we submit to the governing authorities. Why? So that we might show that Christians can also be good citizens and because it is “proper.” Note also the reference to freedom in verse 16 – this is particularly important for we who live in our current society.
So what is our Christian responsibility in the electoral process? It seems to me that first we have a responsibility to do what we can to make it work. In our system we are in the dual position of being both government and governed. In this regard verses thirteen and fourteen above shed the most light on how to do this. The requirement to obey government except when it would mean violating God’s law is the first thing we learn. We are to “submit … to every authority.” That this does not mean in every circumstance is clear from the fact that the same Peter who tells us to do this also challenged the Sanhedrin when he was commanded to cease and desist from preaching Jesus – he not only challenged their authority to command what God had forbidden, but he answered his own challenge by going out and preaching. But the principle remains: we are to submit to the authorities. But notice also that Peter tells us also what the responsibility of those who govern is, as well: “to punish those who do wrong and commend those who do right.” In other words, since in our American democracy those who govern are answerable to the people who elect them, we are required to hold those who govern responsible for doing the right thing! If I refuse to do my part, then I am abrogating my responsibility before God. What does that mean? That taking part in the electoral process is my responsibility before God.
This is why I have voted in every election I could, no matter where I was in the United States, since I was old enough to do so. And, it is also what has informed my standards for candidates. My bottom line is whether the policies of those running for office are likely to do the most good for the most people – whether they promote justice, including social justice. And it is why I cannot in good conscience ever cast a ballot for someone who is in favor of taking the lives of innocent human beings before they are even born, or of allowing others to do so. Are there nuances to that broad statement? Of course – but that is for another time. The point is, I cannot fulfill my responsibility before God as a citizen of the United States unless I vote – even if I have to hold my nose sometimes when I do! So vote in November, regardless of whether your candidate gets the nomination. It is the “Christian” thing to do!
Pastor Ken
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