Epiphany

I was sitting in Church last Sunday and had a minor epiphany. I realised that I now know and love these people. Such that it doesn’t matter about our theological differences we are family. Just as my brothers and sister are always my family regardless of thought and deed. So, it is now with my Church family.

I think many believers go to Church with a bible in one hand a metaphorical loaded pistol in their pocket. If the Pastor or the Church body start become theologically different from themselves. They cock the hammer on the pistol. If things get worse, they pull out their imaginary gun and start waving it around wildly hoping to get their own way. Stressing the metaphorical element of this whole scenario here but the next step is walking out the door never to return.

I have to say that before I came to this Church I asked God to guide me to the Church He wanted me to become a member of and make it that He wouldn’t allow me to leave. For a number of reasons that is the Church I am a member of now.

For a start, the Pastor is now a close friend and he wouldn’t let me leave without a good reason which he would pursue me to obtain. The Church is quite theologically diverse and although the theology is Reformed individuality seems quite acceptable. I have challenged this premise continually and the Church community continues to accept my opinions with much love and patience. I have come to know the congregation and they are now my friends such that it would be difficult to turn my back on them and to walk away.

Another reason that keeps me with them more than any other is that my disabled son has been with this Church since it was planted and these people have loved and supported him. All the while accepting his different ways. Now, you might say “And so they should!” And yet many people Christian and otherwise are far from accepting of disability. Talking the talk and walking the walk are two completely different issues in this case. 

I can assure you. This is the one thing that of every doubt I have had that God wants me here with this Church. I come back to. That I owe them much on my sons behalf. And a while ago when I first was with them I would have left but that my son pleaded with me to stay.

And so. God has answered my prayer. I asked him to guide me to a Church that He wanted me to join and not allow me to leave and I have to say that He has done that. From where I stand I actually have skin in the game now. I now care deeply for these people and have patience and tolerance for their differing opinions. Even though I may disagree and believe the issues to be important.

So the greatest take home for me is that I’ve always looked for a Church that was a theological match to my beliefs. Whereas now, I see that the quality of the person is much more important than their theological standpoint. I think there will be many who believed on Jesus for their salvation in the Kingdom of Heaven who didn’t agree theologically with each other. Perhaps this is the beginning of wisdom for me?

Replacing God: The Strength Within

It always interests me that those of secular society. Humanists and the like hate the very idea of a moral and powerful creator God. It seems to fan the flames of internal rebellion in their somewhat hardened hearts. They rail at the very idea of a divinely guided creation and simply can’t understand how anyone could challenge the concept of evolution over millions or billions of years powered by competition and survival of the fittest. 

 

Yet, it always intrigues me as a reader of science fiction how these people never miss a chance to attack God, religion and Christians. Usually in that order but are only too happy to envisage humanity, ancient aliens and the like that have through science obtained virtually super natural powers. God like abilities which can create new creatures, such as, robots that are virtually indestructible and have quantum computer artificial intelligence. Then, there are the actual quantum AI computers powerful enough to benevolently control planets and empires. While building enormously powerful space ships the size of moons also controlled by the same types of computer. Not to mention encasing Sun’s in Dyson Spheres and shifting planets to other solar systems. Developing nano technology that can heal, repair and even engineer all manner of other technology. All, nothing short of miraculous and definitely God like. 

Yet humanists will not brook the idea of Jehovah God doing the same things in relation to Earth and the universe we live in this actual reality? But the fact that they can imagine themselves as Gods is pertinent from a Christian perspective. In the book of Genesis at chapter three we read starting at verse 4 The serpent said to the woman, “You surely will not die! 5 For God knows that in the day you eat from it (the tree of knowledge), your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” Satan has encouraged mankind to attain to Godhood from the very beginning in the Garden of Eden. The devil has always used perspective to deceive mankind and convince them of his various lies starting with what he said to Eve in the Garden. 

In our time, the New Age Movement has strongly evangelized among non-Christians and liberal Christianity alike. That they need to forsake Jehovah and look inward to find enlightenment. In that way they can rise to be Gods themselves. There is much of this concept modeled in modern science fiction as characters there, use technology to raise their cognitive abilities and to become as God’s. This is not all there is to this idea because as they attain God like intelligence, they also reject morality believing that their knowledge is superior and they are now beyond mere humanity. 

 

Because there is no morality then if millions die as a result of the heinous things they create. Wars, plagues and misbegotten nano technology for instance and it eventually turns out that aids and Covid 19 are human creations? I’m not saying that they are but, if they were? Then that would be an example of the type of Godless immorality at the hands of supposedly superior elites and exactly what I am talking about here. 

In conclusion, I would simply ask that if we can conceive of mankind eventually rising in technological capability and capacity to perform and achieve the miraculous. Then why can’t we accept that there is a God called Jehovah who already has that technological capability and capacity to have designed and created not only Earth but the very heavens themselves. As the bible says in Psalm nineteen verse one “...The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows His handiwork.”  

Depravity Compared

Interestingly, the old Calvinist – Arminian question of God’s Sovereignty versus Freedom of Choice is rearing its ugly head again in my life. Not least in this argument is the idea of Total Depravity. I was thinking about that and thought of people I knew of that showed a clear difference in their level of depravity.


So, when looking at the concept of total depravity I thought some of the extreme secular socialists of history like Lenin, Stalin and Mao. When thinking of people who behaved more like Christians but who weren’t I could name a large number who lived around the area that I grew up. Namely, Te Poi, Eastern Waikato in the North Island of New Zealand.

Generally speaking, our neighbors were of the same generation as my parents. Those my parents grew up with and who were brought up in a quasi-Christian environment. Who may have attended Church but in many cases didn’t and who might have been said to have, “Adhered in a form of Godliness but denied the power?” There were definitely genuine Christians among them but certainly not all of them by any means.

Now, looking at the three communist dictators. Lenin was responsible for the deaths of eight to twelve million people and started the Russian Civil War. Numerous others perished subsequent to his establishment of Soviet Union. Lenin and his comrades were obviously brutal dictators. Stalin succeeded Lenin and was responsible for the death of in excess of forty million people Most of those opposed communism and were sent to the gulag (work camps) where they worked as slaves and eventually died of exhaustion. Mao was the Chinese leader who defeated the nationalists in 1949. He then founded the Peoples Republic of China.

Through communist policies he killed as many as eighty million people. He killed intellectual dissidents, put people in labor camps and condoned beating them and stoning them in struggle sessions. His great leap forward campaign in the late 1950’s led to between fifteen and forty-five million people dying of starvation.

These leaders believed in secular humanism and that as there is no God and no morality. They believed the “End always justifies the means.” This ethos holds that. humanity and all of the species on the Earth and in the Galaxy / Universe are developed over millions / billions of years through a process of genetic mutation and a process of competition through predation of the vulnerable and survival of the fittest. Those who hold to this philosophy believe there is no sin, no righteousness and no consequences. Therefore, to kill millions of humans is nothing in the greater scheme of the evolution of species. There is no right and wrong and nothing to stop you doing whatever you want providing you have the power to do so. Might has right. In other words, these men were verifiably Totally Depraved.

By comparison, the people who were contemporaries of my mother and father were exceptionally moral. In the way that you would expect of people who were Christians to be. They were kind, caring, loving and capable of resisting sin themselves while encouraging others to resist sin at the same time.

The time in which they lived was by comparison to today a very safe, peaceful and moral time. Children were brought up to be disciplined, respectful and to care about other people. To be quite honest these people were by no means totally depraved and quite often behaved in a manner that was exemplary and even exceeded the behavior of many Christians in that era of New Zealand in the 1960’s.

Now I know that the first thing many Christian’s would say is that salvation is through faith in Jesus Christ and by God’s grace alone. So, righteous good works are as filthy rags before the Lord. Only the blood of Jesus can wash away our sins and I would agree with them but this is not what I am discussing in this article. What I’m saying here is that there is a discernable difference between the behavior of individuals and that some are definitely more depraved than others.

Therefore, each man’s level of depravity depends on the behavior of the man concerned. Hence, the idea that a person is incapable of choosing to follow Jesus due to total depravity is at the very least a moot point.

So, is it to be total depravity of Calvinism or radical depravity of Arminianism? Are we completely depraved in God’s sight or not completely depraved but actually badly damaged by sin, though still able to choose Christ Jesus by ourselves? Perhaps it doesn’t really matter and one way or another. Perhaps God sees to it that those who would follow him in Christ Jesus find the way whether by his enabling or their choice. Depending on the circumstances Hmmm, sounds a bit like Molinism?

Christianity: Formal Worship Service

 

When I was a youngster attending an Anglican boarding school. We followed a liturgy in a common book of prayer. There were several that we recited in a wrote manner. The priest would say his part and we in the place of congregation said our part in response. Although there was a sense of peace in following a format of that kind. 

Even as a youngster I felt that there was something that what not quite right about just reading the liturgy aloud. It didn’t seem to come from the heart. It didn’t involve the mind because this was someone else’s thoughts. You were just reading them aloud. I found it concerning that you could follow that style of church service and never open the Holy Bible. It was a type of tradition based on repetitive recitation.

I guess what I’m saying is that as a believer from a more congregational background I don’t really subscribe to a service format which disconnects the mind from the worship, praise and direct communion between the Lord our God and the congregation gathered before him. I view liturgical communication as being dead and disconnected from God. Pure traditions of men.

In a similar vein, I don’t hold the reading and recital of creeds as being particularly different from reciting a liturgy. There are elements in many of the creeds that simply don’t align with the scriptures. In my opinion at least. The Nicene Creed is a case in point. I ask myself what does the phrase “the only Son of God, begotten from the Father before all ages,” actually mean? To me Christ Jesus was always one with God and never became the Son of Man until he took on flesh. At that point he was begotten. I don’t feel particularly comfortable reciting the Nicene Creed or even listening to it because I don’t believe the people who drew it up got it entirely right.

So, what could we conclude from all of this? Well, if religious tradition makes you feel all mushy inside then I guess it’s your thing. We have religious freedom so as some people say “Go for gold!” But personally, I would feel more comfortable if we were sure that what we recite in a wrote manner is accurate when compared to scripture. I would contend that it is important for a congregation to make a connection with the Father, Christ Jesus and the Holy Spirit. In all of their worship, praise and preaching. That they acknowledge that as the scripture says “For where two or three are assembled in My name, there I am in their midst.” I suppose it’s a question of whether you prefer church tradition or a live connection in church through the Holy Spirit of God.

The Healing of the Man Born Blind

 The Healing of the Man Born Blind

John 10 verses 1-2

As Jesus passed by, He saw a man blind from birth. 2 His disciples asked Him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” 3 Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned. But it happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him.

I find this passage immensely interesting. There’s a question asked here that has troubled believers since time immemorial. We are so prone as humans to jump to conclusions and to be all narrow minded, pious and sanctimonious. Heaping judgement on others for perceived sins they must have committed to have had bad things happen to them. Here Jesus scotches the idea of God’s wrath falling on people for the things they have done and says that in the case of this blind man he has this infirmity so that Jesus can heal him.

John 10 verses 6-7

6 When He had said this, He spat on the ground and made clay with the saliva. He anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay, 7 and said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which means “Sent”). So, he went away and washed, and returned seeing.

Jesus performs the miraculous healing of the blind man and guess what the Pharisee’s reaction is?

13 They brought the man who had been blind to the Pharisees. 14 Now it was a Sabbath day when Jesus made the clay and opened his eyes. 15 Therefore the Pharisees also asked him how he received his sight. He said to them, “He put clay on my eyes, and I washed, and I see.”

So, it doesn’t matter that a blind man sees. It only matters that he was healed on the Sabbath Day and this is wrong in the eyes of the priests. It really causes me to wonder at the motivations of the Pharisee’s in their interactions with Jesus. Did they really believe him to be false prophet or did they know that he was much more than that? At the very least a prophet and in all likely hood the Messiah. Were they foolish and deceived men or were they actually as Christ had indicated disciples of the Devil?

I love what the blind man has to say to them.

John 9 verse 17

17 Then they said to the blind man again, “What do you say about Him, since He opened your eyes?”

He said, “He is a prophet.”

And again. Look at this exchange. What courage this man showed.

John 9 verses 27-33

27 He answered them, “I told you already, and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also want to become His disciples?”

28 Then they insulted him and said, “You are His disciple, but we are Moses’ disciples. 29 We know that God has spoken to Moses. As for this fellow, we do not know where He is from.”

30 The man answered, “Well, here is an amazing thing! You do not know where He is from, and yet He opened my eyes. 31 We know that God does not listen to sinners. But if anyone is a worshipper of God and does His will, He hears him. 32 Since the world began, it has never been heard that anyone opened the eyes of someone born blind. 33 If this Man were not from God, He could do nothing.”

Boy did he stick it to the Pharisees and I bet it smarted as well. But the most wonderful part of this story is at its end.

John 9 verses 35-38

35 Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, and when He found him, He said, “Do you believe in the Son of God?”

36 He answered, “Who is He, Lord, that I may believe in Him?”

37 Jesus said to him, “You have seen Him, and it is He who speaks with you.”

38 Then he said, “Lord, I believe.” And he worshiped Him.

What a beautiful end to a miraculous tale. A man healed his testimony proclaimed before the elders of the nation and his salvation found at feet of the Saviour and the Messiah himself. Christ Jesus. Merry Christmas folks. God Bless and keep you in the precious name of Jesus.

My Perspective on Calvinism

 I don’t know if you’re a Christian or not but if you are you may have had an encounter with a sect called the Calvinists. They’ve been around for about five hundred years and their mentor Jean Calvin was one of the reformers who started a revolution in the Roman Catholic Church. The result of which became the Protestant movement and among other things allowed clergymen to marry and released the bible into the hands of the average person in his or her own language.

Now the folk who call themselves Calvinists believe that a person can do nothing to bring themselves salvation in Jesus Christ. Believers are predestined from the beginning of time to be saved as are the lost predestined to be lost to the fires of hell. In this vein they have mnemonic called TULIP which states that mankind is Totally Depraved; That the believer has Unconditional Election; Christ’s work on the cross is only for the elect not all men. Thus, Limited Atonement; God’s grace is irresistible and therefore the believer cannot resist it. Thus, Irresistible Grace; Perseverance of the Saints. The believer can’t lose their salvation

The folk who are most noted for opposing Calvinism are the followers of a Churchman by the name of Jacob Arminius. Arminius was a contemporary of Jean Calvin and largely opposed Calvin’s teaching on predestination of the believer and in particular the believer’s lack of choice in receiving God’s grace in Jesus Christ.

There are acronym’s for Arminianism as well. One of which is ROSES which is described as follows: Radical Depravity. Man is damaged by the entrance of sin at the Fall but we are made in God’s image and are not totally evil; Overcoming Grace. God accomplishes Salvation of the believer but not in a mechanical or deterministic way. Grace allows the believer to respond to God’s calling / choosing; Sovereign Election. Those He foreknew he predestined. God Sovereignly elects those he knows will accept his call; Eternal Life. This is rather than Perseverance of the Saints through personal ongoing works; Singular Redemption. Christ Jesus’s redemptive work was sufficient for all but is efficient for those who repent and believe.

For most of the last five hundred years there has been a wide-ranging debate, which has at times become a running battle, over the Predestination theological issue. It is fair to say that people have died for believing one way or the other. Calvinism is also intrinsically wound into a greater theology called the Reformed Tradition and so disputes over issues like baptism have also been prominent in the debate. For instance, Anabaptists who believed in immersion baptism of adults were put to death by Calvin’s followers back in the day. The Puritan’s persecuted Arminian faiths in the early colonisation of North America.

Today the battle is showing no signs of abating with theologians on both sides writing lengthy tombs to put forward their perspectives. Barely concealed abuse is not uncommon and with the advent of Social Media curses and death threats against opponents are sadly not unusual. If this state of affairs continues then Christian’s may soon be back in the unenviable position in which the Reformers found themselves. Once again being persecuted by the Church. In this case for their views on Calvinism.

Personally, I find this all patently ridiculous. The arguments are now so contrived that even to say “This dispute over Calvinism is irrelevant because the Christian needs only to be a bible believing Christian,” is not a tenable defence. Calvinists call people who use this defence “Believists” and decry them as members of congregations under Arminian statute.

The reality is that when you begin to write one thousand-page books about how to interpret the bible from a particular perspective then you are in a bad place. As the Pharisee’s were in Jesus time so are these Calvinists and Armenian theologians of our time. They know a lot about the Bible and Christianity but they have lost sight of God and the life of the Spirit Filled Believer.

The irony of this argument is that you are looking at the mechanism of Salvation not the attainment of Salvation. A person has still attained Salvation regardless of which camp they are in regarding the mechanism. Most Calvinists believe that the Arminian is still a believer and vica versa. What they get so hot under the collar about is the idea that Grace entails God making a decision for the believer or the believer making a decision for themselves as to whether to accept Christ’s Redemptive Work on the Cross.

Don’t get me wrong it matters. Not least because if you believe that God makes the decision then it doesn’t matter if you obey the Great Commission of Matthew chapter twenty-eight. It won’t make a difference to how many people get saved because those who will are predestined. Conversely, if you believe the sinner has a choice then you need to obey the Great Commission because there is a need to convince people to make that decision.

However, the argument is highly theological and tends to generate more heat than light. Many believers have lived their lives in ignorance of Calvinism and Arminianism and haven’t missed them. As Jesus said in Matthew 9 verse 37 "The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few…” NASB so we need to get on with getting the gospel out to all of those folks who need to hear it whether they are predestined or foreknown.

Reference List

Roses (An Alternative to TULIP) Gibbons T. https://nleaven.wordpress.com/2013/11/12/roses-alternative-to-tulip-by-timothy-george/ 18/11/2020

Laurence M. Vance, The Other Side of Calvinism (2007: Vance Publications). Washington. USA