11 Thursday Jul 2019
Posted in Poetical
Sublime divine mystery
see how my small mind grasps
and leaps, and lapses numb
struck dumb to fit describe what I cannot
circumscribe in thought, my
lot the merest inkling that
I cling to, hints you’ve bidden
hidden wondrously,
O mystery divine.
10 Wednesday Jul 2019
Posted in Contra Mundum, Musings
Tags
America, Freedom, God, Patriotism, Truth
It doesn’t take much reflection to observe that America today is home to many people for whom the nation’s founding principles must appear odious, even scandalous. Consider how this early line from the Declaration of Independence must read to many in our culture:
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.
Scandal upon scandal! One offense unfolds upon another. First is the assertion that anything should be certain and universal, much less “self-evident”, a defiance of the basic relativism of the postmodern mind. Second is the generic use of the masculine pronoun, a capital offense in contemporary academia. Related (Second, Part Second?) is this concept of a ‘man’, which a fair number of our legislators and academics, and the majority of our celebrities, seem no longer very clear on.
But third–and here I wish to dwell a moment–is the real scandal. The worldview and claim of freedom in this document seems to be explicitly based in theism. And, though this sentence does not specify, I think the historical background is sufficient to assert that this theism is a monotheism of at least vaguely Christian contours.
Doctrines of God, creation, and providence are foundational to the American experiment in freedom. Upon such foundations was built a republican (small r) government that most people no longer understand, and which the Democrats (big D) are trying to dismantle because it has proven a nuisance to them lately. But those who like freedom may usefully contemplate its Christian theistic basis, and the implied danger of our growing trends towards secularism (soft atheism?), atheism, paganism, and religious pluralism.
What sort of society do we want? One where schools outlaw prayer and promote sexual immorality and an atheistic evolutionary worldview (the last two are surely related)? One where Antifa thugs beat journalists in the streets? One with increasing government control and technocratic paternalism? Or one where a responsibly free people inculcate in their children a Christian character, and live out that Christian character in love of neighbor, caring for the needy, and pursuing virtue?
If what we want is the last one, then we have to see that secularism as currently understood is not how our nation was put together, has ushered in the other isms aforementioned with their destructive tendencies, and will never produce a just and good society. The American experiment has had massive failures and hypocrisies (e.g. slavery), but it has also had measured successes. Its best hope for getting back on track is to affirm once again the foundation of responsible freedom: the one true God.
“For the LORD Most High is awesome, the great King over all the earth” (Psalm 47:2, NIV)
08 Monday Jul 2019
“O Lord, who art as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land, who beholdest Thy weak creatures, weary of labor, weary of pleasure, weary of hope deferred, weary of self, in Thine abundant compassion and unutterable tenderness, bring us, we pray Thee, unto Thy rest–Amen.”
-Christian Rosetti, quoted in Great Souls at Prayer, 240
09 Thursday May 2019
Posted in Meditations
The gospel message may seem small compared to the powers of this world. American culture loves the display of grandiose wealth and extravagance by the elite figures of the entertainment industry, the wonders of technology, the allure of power. When we look with the eyes of the world, the church (or at least the average church) may seem insignificant and out of touch, a relic of the past.
But appearance does not always equal reality. Peter reminds Christians that their spiritual new birth is the mighty work of God, which grows from the seed of His word: “For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God” (1 Pet. 1:23, NIV).
This stands in start contrast to the pomp and prestige of the world: “For, ‘All people are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord endures forever.’ And this is the word that was preached to you” (vv.24-25).
The splendor of the world passes away, but the word of God does not. The glitz of Hollywood and the power of technocrats is dust, but the word of God endures. God is eternal, and the gospel of God imparts everlasting life.
The church has a treasure the world cannot buy and cannot compete with–the gift of the word of God.
03 Wednesday Apr 2019
Posted in Meditations
Tags
1 Peter, Christianity, God, holiness, Kingdom of God, Paganism, worldliness
One of the basic features of the Christian life is separation from the world. Not isolation from the world–refusal to engage with people outside the bubble of church and family life–but separation from the world–refusal to be worldly. We are called to be holy; holy means set apart by God, for God, and thus reflective of God’s character.
When the apostle Peter wants to express this to the churches, the ‘elect exiles’ living as strangers in this world, he first draws attention to the future, where their hope lies: “Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming” (1 Pet. 1:13). This fallen world, with its perilous pleasures, is not where our hope lies. Our hope is wrapped up in the blessed return of our Lord, and the promise of a new world where His kingship will be fully realized. We live as citizens of that new world, even while we live in this one.
Then the apostle turns attention to the past, to emphasize the contrast in life before and after conversion: “As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance” (v.14). The Christian life is supposed to be different from life apart from Christ. Now that we know our heavenly Father, we ought to live differently than we did before. Holiness is implied by adoption into the family of God.
What defines this difference? The character of God our Father. “But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: ‘Be holy, because I am holy'” (vv.15-16). Those who have been set apart by the Holy One are called to be holy.
This is not a regrettable consequence of Christianity. The pursuit of holiness is one of the blessings of salvation. Those who are united with Christ have been made holy in Him, and are called to be holy by the Holy One who has called them His own. The challenge for the church in our time is to embrace this sacred blessing for what it is, and walk in the blessed holiness we have been given.
21 Thursday Mar 2019
Posted in Meditations
Tags
Anxiety, Compassion, Depression, God, Grace, Kindness, Mercy, Trouble, Worry
“The Lord is full of compassion and mercy.” (James 5:11, NIV)
How badly we need these words.
God is compassionate. God has mercy on those who cry out to Him.
Do you know this? Do you believe it? God is full of compassion and mercy. When your spirits are low and your heart is afraid, when you suffer and struggle, run to Him. He does not turn away the hurting, or reject those who cry out to Him.
Seek the Lord when you are in need. His depths of compassion are unfathomable, His breadth of mercy immeasurable. God is kind and gentle. God is love.
May God be your comfort and peace in every trouble.
17 Sunday Feb 2019
Posted in Meditations
Tags
1 Peter, Divine Sovereignty, Faith, Glory, God, Persecution, Suffering, Trials
When we are suffering, we sometimes ask why. Why does God allow me to go through this? There are philosophical explanations, but that’s not usually what we’re looking for; we’re looking for assurance of God’s love, comfort in the midst of pain.
God alone knows why He allowed this or that bad thing to happen to His children. But the apostle Peter does give us a general idea that Christian suffering is purposeful: it refines our faith. He acknowledges that the believers to whom he is writing “may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith–of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire–may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed” (1 Peter 1:6-7, NIV).
Faith is precious in God’s sight, and so He refines our faith like people refine gold, to remove impurities. Notice, in fact, that faith is not compared with gold so much as contrasted with it; people regard gold as precious, but it’s just a perishable thing–faith is truly precious. If we think it worthwhile to subject ‘mere’ perishable gold to a fiery refining process, how much more should we recognize the worthwhileness of God’s refining work upon our spiritual life!
Understanding this does not take away the pain of suffering. But it should give us courage. Suffering, for Christians, is purposeful. God will use what we suffer, even the hatred we receive from those who hate God, to strengthen and refine us. The end result will be a glorious commendation from God, when Jesus is vindicated at the last day.
02 Saturday Feb 2019
Posted in Contra Mundum, Pro Ecclesia
Tags
Atheism, Canada, Christianity, God, Inclusivity, Liberalism, Scripture, Theism, Truth
While all of us who minister do so only by the grace of God, and I am keenly aware of my unworthiness for this high and holy calling, I think some of the minimal qualifications of pastoral ministry are rather intuitive–such as believing in God.
The United Church of Canada has decided, apparently, that theism is not strictly necessary for pastors. No doubt it is still desirable in the eyes of that denomination’s discerning leadership that their pastors believe in God; but it is not a deal-breaker. That is the inescapable message of the news that the denomination has decided Rev. Gretta Vosper, an avowed atheist, will continue to pastor West Hill United Church, in Toronto.
The article linked above, from the liberal Religion News Service, is enlightening. It begins, “Gretta Vosper is surprised to still be a minister.” I’d imagine quite a lot of people share her surprise. It’s a rather puzzling thing, until you follow the (il)logic.
How does the United Church of Canada justify this decision? Why would a Christian denomination allow an atheist to shepherd a church? The key is inclusivity. The denominational leaders found themselves wrestling with the tension between two of their “core values”: “our faith in God” and “our commitment to being an open and inclusive church.”
So, by “inclusive” they mean not simply that they welcome different groups of people, but that they welcome people with a variety of doctrines (or lack thereof) into the clergy. Aha. That would create a conflict with your cherished belief in the existence of God. The leaders of the United Church of Canada have found themselves in the embarrassing situation of wanting to affirm x and not-x at the same time. I suppose the implication of their solution is that they will accept either x or not-x (please choose one); which is to say that the United Church of Canada believes nothing at all, or at least not with any real conviction.
How does a denomination get to such a pitiful place? Quite obviously they have let themselves be swept along by the winds of western cultural trends and ideologies; the zeitgeist, rather than the Holy Ghost, has been filling their sails. But it’s more specific than that.
The atheist pastor herself offers what may be the key. In this she does a valuable service to orthodox Christianity, if we will heed it. From the article:
Vosper was willing to go through with the hearing even if the ruling went against her. She said she is fit for ministry in the church.
She said she believes what she was taught in seminary.
“Everything I teach is consistent with the theological training I received,” the 60-year-old said. “I was taught the Bible was a human construction, and there is much wisdom in many texts, both ancient and contemporary.”
During her studies, Vosper said she learned that the Bible isn’t the only source of spiritual or moral authority.
“If the Bible is not the authoritative word of God for all time,” she says, “why does it take such a central position in the United Church?”
Well, I think she has put her finger right on the problem. The rot took hold of their seminaries, particularly a rotten doctrine of Scripture, a loss of the orthodox doctrine that the Bible is uniquely inspired, completely true, and utterly authoritative. Her seminary professors passed down to her a faith uprooted and blighted, and at whatever point in her journey it followed the logical course and became no faith at all.
But Vosper can perhaps take some comfort that the Bible does not enjoy nearly so central a place in the United Church as she feared. If that were the case, they might have put more weight on the fact that the Bible starts with the words, “In the beginning, God…” (Gen. 1:1).
We have here a wake-up call for faithful Christians in the United Church of Canada–it might be time for an exit plan; a cautionary tale for the orthodox–guard your institutions, because what’s taught in seminary doesn’t stay in seminary; a warning for theological moderates who want to see more doctrinal inclusivity in your denominations–you might find yourselves inclusive’d all the way to atheism.
The good news is that this disease is easily preventable. There’s a ready antidote to this poison. There’s an extremely popular book that could be studied in seminaries to promote deep and widespread theism among the ministerial students. “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work” (2 Tim. 3:16-17, NASB).
21 Tuesday Jun 2016
Posted in Meditations
God is glorious.
Because God is glorious, there is a glory to the people of God. David underlines this so well when he rejoices in the uniqueness of God and the unique privilege of God’s people Israel:
“There is no one like you, O LORD, and there is no God but you, as we have heard with our own ears. And who is like your people Israel – the one nation on earth whose God went out to redeem a people for himself, and to make a name for yourself, and to perform great and awesome wonders by driving out nations from before your people, whom you redeemed from Egypt? You made your people Israel your very own forever, and you, O LORD, have become their God.” (1 Chronicles 17:20-22)
In contrast to all our vanity, there stands the proper place for self-understanding – gratitude and awe at how richly we’ve been blessed. God is glorious because of who He is; we are glorious because we belong to Him and are found in Christ. God is unique by nature; we are unique by adoption, the favored children of God.
Who is like you, Almighty Lord? And who is like the people you have bought for yourself by the blood of the Lamb? You have redeemed us for yourself, conquering death and Satan and offering the water of eternal life to all who believe.
There is no one like you, O Lord.
05 Tuesday Apr 2016
Posted in Meditations
Tags
Zechariah 12 begins with a beautiful passage prophesying the invincibility God will give to His people in His chosen day. The images come in succession: a cup of wine to afflict the wicked nations with drunkenness, an adamant rock against which the enemies of God smash themselves, panic and blindness upon the armies that oppose God.
The prophecy turns to the strength of God’s people, and the source of this invulnerability is proclaimed in v.5:
“Then the leaders of Judah will say in their hearts, ‘The people of Jerusalem are strong, because the Lord Almighty is their God.'”
Though the prophecy has a particularity to it, the statement is true at all times. The strength of God’s people comes from God, and by His covenant of love with them. When we seem weak, outnumbered, and besieged from every side, there is no cause for fear. When we lose power and privilege in society, there is no cause for panic. The Lord Almighty is our God.
He is strong.
We are strong in Him.
