The only thing held in common by the two subjects of this blog are controversy -- huge controversy. First, unless you've been on another planet you know that there is a growing opposition to the use of vaccines and that many Christians are a large part of that opposition. But they have very little support from Christian doctors, especially in the argument that vaccines are not safe. An article in a leading Christian magazine by a Christian physician argued that being vaccinated, and having our children vaccinated, is an important way of fulfilling the command to love our neighbors as ourselves. All in all, the "unsafe" argument seems to carry little hard scientific weight. Another instance of where the rare exception seems to prove the rule.
But there is another objection to vaccines that some Christians, both Evangelicals and Roman Catholics, raise from time to time. That is the claim that vaccines are derived from the cells of aborted babies. This was brought to a pastor friend of mine years ago and he immediately contacted one or more Christian physicians. They told him that while it may have been true a long time ago it was not now. I heard the issue raised again about six years ago by the same person to the same pastor. He had a man in the church do more research on it and that man concluded the charge was baseless.
This morning I saw the matter raised again on a Facebook post and did some research of my own. What I found was that there is something to the claim that anti vaccine people make but it is not the way it sounds. There are two lines of cells used in making many, but not all. vaccines that utilize human diploid cells derived from two fetuses that were aborted in the 1960's. The two infants were not aborted for the purpose of creating two cell lines. That use of the cells was a decision by physicians and researchers after the fact. This will be important in considering the ethics of all this.
My research concluded that all MMR vaccines are derived from these two lines of cells. Does that mean that my wife and I sinned against God when our children received MMR vaccines in the 1970's? Let us look at it this way. Suppose one of my children will die if they do not receive a heart transplant. Suppose also that a hypothetical young person is shot in the head in a robbery attempt and dies while on life support in the hospital. Would I then allow my dying child to receive a heart transplant from the murder victim. Yes. The victim was not murdered for the purpose of giving my child the badly needed heart.
You can find out which vaccines are or are not derived from the two lines of cells from the 1960's by going to www.know-vaccines.org. The impression given by anti vaccine people that vaccines are derived from current victims of abortion is misleading at best and at worst deliberate deception. This applies also to their implied claim that virtually all vaccines are so derived. I respect their convictions but not their arguments.
Subject number two for this blog: Joel Osteen. "Oh no", you say, "not that subject again". Well, like vaccines, this keeps coming up and some recent research on my part sheds a bit more light on this. His recent purchase of a 10.5 million dollar home put him back in the news and renewed simmering criticisms of him and his wife Victoria. But, I had occasion to read an article in a source I trust; an article by someone who has observed him first hand for a long time. This writer said that he appreciates Joel because: l) like Jesus he is a "friend of sinners"; 2) many of those sinners come to faith in Christ through Joel's messages and books; 3) Joel conducts himself honorably in all situations; 4) his wealth has come from his books, not his salary; 5) he takes no salary and is the largest contributor to the church he pastors; 6) his private jet, paid for by book royalties, is used to go directly to his many speaking engagements and immediately back to his church for Sunday mornings.
This writer brought forth other reasons to put Joel in a different light than his critics see him. All these things being true we are still left with the problem of Joel's (how shall we say it) somewhat deficient teaching and theology which to many fair minded Christians seems to minimize sin and judgment. I have no desire to heap more criticism upon Joel. When I stand before the Lord I want to be able to say with a clear conscience that I prayed for Joel, Victoria and many other believers who had obvious faults and shortcomings. I have a few myself.
Tuesday, January 26, 2016
Wednesday, January 20, 2016
BULLIES, GAYS AND OTHERS
It was the first birthday party for me that I can remember. Mom invited five or six other boys for my tenth birthday. The highlight of the day was the blowing out of the front tire on my newly acquired, but somewhat old, bicycle. I believe I had put too much air in the tires and one of the boys rode it against a tree and . . . bang! Getting that bike was at least as memorable as the birthday. A week each summer was spent with an aunt and uncle in Akron and one evening a visit to some friends of theirs resulted in their friend getting his boyhood bike out of an old garage beside the house and giving it to me. It had been a deluxe bike in its day and in the following four years I rode it many, many miles.
Something else was memorable that summer. It was the first time I recall being bullied. I practically lived to go fishing that summer, usually at the town reservoir not far behind our home. One morning at sunrise I hooked a good sized bass on a Johnson Spoon and almost had it landed when it came off the hook. (There has to be a spiritual lesson in that somewhere.) On another day at the reservoir I was fishing later in the morning for bluegills or whatever else would bite on a worm.
There was a family in town with three boys. I believe the parents were separated and the boys more or less ran wild. Two of them were at the reservoir that morning and the older urged the younger to go after me. He kicked my can of worms into the water. It was simply not in me to fight back. It was truly alien to my nature. So I took my rod and reel and headed for home. The younger brother ran after me and when I turned around to speak to him he hit me in the face. Funny, but after all these years that moment is as vivid as if were yesterday. The sequel is that four or five years later that younger brother and I were fairly good friends. He died about a year ago, gasping for oxygen after a lifetime of smoking. I can stand beside his grave and wonder how as a 10 year old I could have felt so terrorized by him and his brothers and cousins, several of whom are deceased also. There are other graves in that cemetery where I could think similar thoughts. In the first year of high school I was bullied by others and that led to me fighting back for a change.
Bullying has become a target of the social improvers in recent years. There were ways that adults could have been much more of a help to me back then but fighting my battles for me was not one of them. Sooner or later life must be faced on your own. One type of bullying in particular has been targeted in recent years -- the bullying of young people who, in the 20th century, came to be called gays. The use of that word in this way is, of course, a euphemism, meaning "the substitution of a mild, indirect, or vague expression for one thought to be offensively harsh or blunt". As a boy I did not know anyone who would today be designated as such. I did not even think about that subject until I was in college in Chicago when one evening on a major street I heard two men in a convertible cursing such a person for attempting to solicit them.
Bullying (and in a couple instances murder) of some young people called gay is indefensible. Similar things have happened to young people who have taken a consistent stand as Christians and to other young people for other reasons. Here then is the dilemma. How shall a believer, like myself, stand against any cruelty directed against those called gay without giving either tacit or direct approval to same sex erotic acts?
To answer this we must face some unpleasant facts. The effort to stop cruelty to such young people has been hijack by those with a larger and sinister agenda. Since its beginnings in 1969 the gay rights movement has come to stand for a series of lies. Among those lies are : 1) same sex attraction is genetically determined; 2) your feelings and inclinations sexually determine your identity; 3) opposition to and refusal to approve same sex eroticism is a phobia, an irrational fear; 4) humans have the inalienable right to determine their own sexual identity regardless of their physiology.
Since when is dishonesty the best opposition to cruelty? I thought that TRUTH was the best weapon against cruelty and all other sins!
Consider the following: 1) the mapping of the human genome found no such thing as a 'gay gene'; 2) the causes of same sex attraction are not certain and are irrelevant to whether or not it is right in the sight of God to act out those inclinations; 3) opposition to acting out same sex eroticism is, far from being a phobia, a principled, rational position based upon the total teaching of Scripture and the consensus of moral and civilized people since Creation; 4) denial of our physiological identity because of our feelings is neither rational nor scientifically supported; 5) a person's identity is either a man or a woman made in the Image of God and nothing else; 5) the consensus of virtually all civilized people from time immemorial witnesses to the fact that marriage is defined by God in Creation and not by man; 6) to redefine marriage is to render it meaningless since any combination of people or even of people and animals can then be arbitrarily called "marriage"; 7) affirming any of the 4 lies listed above can potentially be a form of cruelty to people with same sex attractions, a cruelty with eternal consequences that will prove much worse than any bullying.
Now, on the basis of truth, how can I as a believer in the Lordship of Christ, help you in your struggle with your temptation to one form of sexual sin and affirm your dignity as one who is made in the Image of God? Maybe you can help me in some of my struggles also. Contrary to what you may think, I am not at war with you. "Faithful are the wounds of a friend" says the Scripture in Proverbs. If you disagree totally with me I will still affirm you as a person made in the Image of God who is worthy of respect. Comments either pro or con may sometimes reveal more about the commentator than about the blog. If someone tells me to "judge not that I be not judged" I remind them of how misused that statement is and how it refers to judging hidden motives. "Come now, and let us reason together, says the Lord . . . ."
If we think that we can stop cruelty toward people with same sex attractions by claiming that there are no moral absolutes then we have destroyed the basis for saying that cruelty itself is sin!
Something else was memorable that summer. It was the first time I recall being bullied. I practically lived to go fishing that summer, usually at the town reservoir not far behind our home. One morning at sunrise I hooked a good sized bass on a Johnson Spoon and almost had it landed when it came off the hook. (There has to be a spiritual lesson in that somewhere.) On another day at the reservoir I was fishing later in the morning for bluegills or whatever else would bite on a worm.
There was a family in town with three boys. I believe the parents were separated and the boys more or less ran wild. Two of them were at the reservoir that morning and the older urged the younger to go after me. He kicked my can of worms into the water. It was simply not in me to fight back. It was truly alien to my nature. So I took my rod and reel and headed for home. The younger brother ran after me and when I turned around to speak to him he hit me in the face. Funny, but after all these years that moment is as vivid as if were yesterday. The sequel is that four or five years later that younger brother and I were fairly good friends. He died about a year ago, gasping for oxygen after a lifetime of smoking. I can stand beside his grave and wonder how as a 10 year old I could have felt so terrorized by him and his brothers and cousins, several of whom are deceased also. There are other graves in that cemetery where I could think similar thoughts. In the first year of high school I was bullied by others and that led to me fighting back for a change.
Bullying has become a target of the social improvers in recent years. There were ways that adults could have been much more of a help to me back then but fighting my battles for me was not one of them. Sooner or later life must be faced on your own. One type of bullying in particular has been targeted in recent years -- the bullying of young people who, in the 20th century, came to be called gays. The use of that word in this way is, of course, a euphemism, meaning "the substitution of a mild, indirect, or vague expression for one thought to be offensively harsh or blunt". As a boy I did not know anyone who would today be designated as such. I did not even think about that subject until I was in college in Chicago when one evening on a major street I heard two men in a convertible cursing such a person for attempting to solicit them.
Bullying (and in a couple instances murder) of some young people called gay is indefensible. Similar things have happened to young people who have taken a consistent stand as Christians and to other young people for other reasons. Here then is the dilemma. How shall a believer, like myself, stand against any cruelty directed against those called gay without giving either tacit or direct approval to same sex erotic acts?
To answer this we must face some unpleasant facts. The effort to stop cruelty to such young people has been hijack by those with a larger and sinister agenda. Since its beginnings in 1969 the gay rights movement has come to stand for a series of lies. Among those lies are : 1) same sex attraction is genetically determined; 2) your feelings and inclinations sexually determine your identity; 3) opposition to and refusal to approve same sex eroticism is a phobia, an irrational fear; 4) humans have the inalienable right to determine their own sexual identity regardless of their physiology.
Since when is dishonesty the best opposition to cruelty? I thought that TRUTH was the best weapon against cruelty and all other sins!
Consider the following: 1) the mapping of the human genome found no such thing as a 'gay gene'; 2) the causes of same sex attraction are not certain and are irrelevant to whether or not it is right in the sight of God to act out those inclinations; 3) opposition to acting out same sex eroticism is, far from being a phobia, a principled, rational position based upon the total teaching of Scripture and the consensus of moral and civilized people since Creation; 4) denial of our physiological identity because of our feelings is neither rational nor scientifically supported; 5) a person's identity is either a man or a woman made in the Image of God and nothing else; 5) the consensus of virtually all civilized people from time immemorial witnesses to the fact that marriage is defined by God in Creation and not by man; 6) to redefine marriage is to render it meaningless since any combination of people or even of people and animals can then be arbitrarily called "marriage"; 7) affirming any of the 4 lies listed above can potentially be a form of cruelty to people with same sex attractions, a cruelty with eternal consequences that will prove much worse than any bullying.
Now, on the basis of truth, how can I as a believer in the Lordship of Christ, help you in your struggle with your temptation to one form of sexual sin and affirm your dignity as one who is made in the Image of God? Maybe you can help me in some of my struggles also. Contrary to what you may think, I am not at war with you. "Faithful are the wounds of a friend" says the Scripture in Proverbs. If you disagree totally with me I will still affirm you as a person made in the Image of God who is worthy of respect. Comments either pro or con may sometimes reveal more about the commentator than about the blog. If someone tells me to "judge not that I be not judged" I remind them of how misused that statement is and how it refers to judging hidden motives. "Come now, and let us reason together, says the Lord . . . ."
If we think that we can stop cruelty toward people with same sex attractions by claiming that there are no moral absolutes then we have destroyed the basis for saying that cruelty itself is sin!
Wednesday, January 13, 2016
GUESS WHERE YOUR NAME WAS MENTIONED
"I had so much to do today that I began by praying for two hours". (From the Journal of John Wesley) I once read statements like that wondering "what in the world do you pray about for two hours?" It seemed like I would run out of things in two minutes! Much different now -- very, very different. How good to talk to the Father at any time during the day, as often as I wish, without keeping track of time. The rest of the time I try to listen to Him. "My sheep hear my voice" said the Son of God.
Is the title of this blog true? Do I really mention your name in His Presence. I probably have or shortly will. A print out of the entire list of my Facebook friends with their photos went to 26 pages -- in full color. (The printer says "ink low".) That list goes with the 27 pages (8 1/2 x 14 small print) with names of nearly every student I ever had at Mansfield Christian School in 34 years. Those two lists go with an entire church family, cousins, neighbors, government officials and (moving up to the top of the list) three children and spouses, seven grandchildren, and, at the very top of the list my best friend who also happens to be married to me. Have I left out anyone?
It would be very dishonest to imply that every name, including yours, on those lists is spoken to The Father every day. And even if I kept track of the total time I spent talking to Him I would never, ever tell anyone. John Wesley's statement about spending two hours in prayer was for his personal records and he probably never dreamed that those journals would someday be printed by the thousands. How do I pray for someone when I only know their name and little or nothing about their current situation. "We do not know what we ought to pray, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groans that word cannot express . . . because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will. (Romans 8:26-27)
It might go like this: "Father, you know whether each of these that I will name in Your Presence is walking with You, or in rebellion against You, or if they are facing a great crisis, or . . . whatever; You know Father. So in naming them before Your Presence I know that You will bring whatever form of blessing is needed. Thank You Father." And then, one by one, I simply speak that person's name, perhaps yours. Long ago I came to believe in the power of The Blessing. I traced it through Scripture and saw how powerful it is. I often say to people: "You are blessed, whether you like it or not". There is just enough humor in the words to keep me from sounding too pious or proud.
I bless, in the Name of Jesus, people I don't even know, especially children. I even urge men who are struggling with pornography to immediately, upon looking at the photo or at the person herself, say: "Father, I ask you to bless her", and keep repeating, "bless her Father". Not only is the power of The Blessing not grasped by many believers, but few understand what cursing really means. It is, in fact, nothing less than the absence of blessing. The failure to bless someone often leaves them open to the working of evil. Thus, they are cursed. When the Holy Spirit brings someone to my mind, even at night when I suddenly awake, I take it to mean that they are in some danger, whether they realize it or not. I speak their name for blessing before the Father even though I may never know in this life what they are delivered from. Frequently I pray this in the widest sense. "Father, if there is an evil person now planning to do great harm somewhere, to murder children in a school, or to murder others, I beg You Father to restrain that evil at this moment."
Back to those long lists of friends, former students and others; if I only mention a person before the Father once in a month or even once in a year, THE HEAVENLY FATHER DOES NOT FORGET! If I only meet a stranger once and bless them in the Name of Jesus that one time, I know on the authority of the Word of God that the blessing will endure into eternity.
Back to the 26 pages of Facebook friends. Why do I rarely, if ever, see most of those names? Is it entirely because of the way that the Facebook main frame computer is programmed or does some of it have to do with the reality that a friend may be a friend in name only and not really all that interested in you or how things are going for you? "I no longer call you servants . . . I have called you friends." (John 15:15) And He means it.
Is the title of this blog true? Do I really mention your name in His Presence. I probably have or shortly will. A print out of the entire list of my Facebook friends with their photos went to 26 pages -- in full color. (The printer says "ink low".) That list goes with the 27 pages (8 1/2 x 14 small print) with names of nearly every student I ever had at Mansfield Christian School in 34 years. Those two lists go with an entire church family, cousins, neighbors, government officials and (moving up to the top of the list) three children and spouses, seven grandchildren, and, at the very top of the list my best friend who also happens to be married to me. Have I left out anyone?
It would be very dishonest to imply that every name, including yours, on those lists is spoken to The Father every day. And even if I kept track of the total time I spent talking to Him I would never, ever tell anyone. John Wesley's statement about spending two hours in prayer was for his personal records and he probably never dreamed that those journals would someday be printed by the thousands. How do I pray for someone when I only know their name and little or nothing about their current situation. "We do not know what we ought to pray, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groans that word cannot express . . . because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will. (Romans 8:26-27)
It might go like this: "Father, you know whether each of these that I will name in Your Presence is walking with You, or in rebellion against You, or if they are facing a great crisis, or . . . whatever; You know Father. So in naming them before Your Presence I know that You will bring whatever form of blessing is needed. Thank You Father." And then, one by one, I simply speak that person's name, perhaps yours. Long ago I came to believe in the power of The Blessing. I traced it through Scripture and saw how powerful it is. I often say to people: "You are blessed, whether you like it or not". There is just enough humor in the words to keep me from sounding too pious or proud.
I bless, in the Name of Jesus, people I don't even know, especially children. I even urge men who are struggling with pornography to immediately, upon looking at the photo or at the person herself, say: "Father, I ask you to bless her", and keep repeating, "bless her Father". Not only is the power of The Blessing not grasped by many believers, but few understand what cursing really means. It is, in fact, nothing less than the absence of blessing. The failure to bless someone often leaves them open to the working of evil. Thus, they are cursed. When the Holy Spirit brings someone to my mind, even at night when I suddenly awake, I take it to mean that they are in some danger, whether they realize it or not. I speak their name for blessing before the Father even though I may never know in this life what they are delivered from. Frequently I pray this in the widest sense. "Father, if there is an evil person now planning to do great harm somewhere, to murder children in a school, or to murder others, I beg You Father to restrain that evil at this moment."
Back to those long lists of friends, former students and others; if I only mention a person before the Father once in a month or even once in a year, THE HEAVENLY FATHER DOES NOT FORGET! If I only meet a stranger once and bless them in the Name of Jesus that one time, I know on the authority of the Word of God that the blessing will endure into eternity.
Back to the 26 pages of Facebook friends. Why do I rarely, if ever, see most of those names? Is it entirely because of the way that the Facebook main frame computer is programmed or does some of it have to do with the reality that a friend may be a friend in name only and not really all that interested in you or how things are going for you? "I no longer call you servants . . . I have called you friends." (John 15:15) And He means it.
Sunday, January 10, 2016
ETERNITY -- I CANNOT GRASP IT
It goes something like this: "Eternal suffering would be unjust even for the most evil of men. A million, two million or even a billion years maybe for a Stalin or Hitler, but forever and ever?" Then the other form of the problem goes like this: "After a few million years of singing hymns, etc., I will be totally bored in Heaven; what in the world are we going to do forever and ever?" My reaction to the first one is "you have no concept of the nature of evil"; and my reaction to the second is "you have no concept of what it means to live, really live!"
"Hell" is an Anglo-Saxon word used since the days of Tyndale to translate (sometimes) the Old Testament Hebrew word sheol and the New Testament Greek words hades, gehenna and tarturus. We would probably be better off if all English translations had simply brought those four words directly into English and not use the words hell, grave, death, etc. to translate them. Then we would not have to listen to people with IQ's of minus three using expressions like, "O, hell yes" or "one hell of a time". I've counted at least fifteen such idiotic and profane uses of the word. The one Old Testament reference to the enemies of God being "thrown into the blazing fire" is Daniel 7:11 and it is a reference to the one the New Testament calls antichrist. Jesus used the word gehenna for the place of eternal punishment and in Matthew 25:41 called it "the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels".
Claiming that the "eternal" nature of this condition is "unjust and unfair of God" ignores completely the reality of rebellion and evil increasing exponentially throughout eternity on the part of the incorrigible. For God to admit such beings into the eternal Kingdom to reintroduce rebellion, suffering and death all over again would be . . . well, you get the picture. As to the worry that God might treat some hypothetical persons "unfairly and unjustly" . . . well, if it wasn't so serious it would be laughable that we fallen and finite sinners are lecturing The Holy One out of a fear that He might just do something wrong! As to the nature of the fire I am convinced it is metaphorical. Fire, as we know it, would not be felt by spirit beings like the devil and his angels.
As regards the "agony in this fire" that the rich man in Hades felt (Luke 16:24); we should not forget that he was 'out of' or 'apart from' his body, which was in a grave somewhere. Like some of Jesus' parables this passage probably raises more questions than it answers. The theme of this passage was expressed by John: "Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love" (I John 4:8). Jesus was not so much teaching the nature of Hades (the word he used) as He was warning about indifference to the suffering of people near us while we indulge in luxury. I cannot refrain from saying that this is one reason why I consider 'cruise ships' as one of the worst possible places for spiritual growth. I would sense the Presence of God more at an inner city rescue mission than on one of those abominable boats. At this moment of time most of us already have too much luxury when compared with most people throughout most of history.
I strongly suspect that Jesus used the symbolic word gehenna (translated hell) because rubbish fires continually burned there and in ancient times it was a place of the horror of infant sacrifices. Is it possible that a totally literal description of the "lake of fire" (Rev. 20:15) would have misled some to say, "that's not so bad"? So Jesus (and John, moved by the Spirit) used the strongest metaphor in language to express the worst possible of all destinies, to be "shut out from the Lord and from the majesty of His power" (II Thess. 1:9), so that no one will minimize it. I am not dogmatic about this but I strongly lean this way. What each one there will experience will be "according to what they had done" (Rev. 20:12).
Another overlooked fact is that Heaven is described as being a place of fire. "A river of fire was flowing, coming out from before Him (God)" (Daniel 7:10). John saw Heaven as "what looked liked a sea of glass mixed with fire" (Rev. 15:2). I am convinced that the fire in both places is none other than the Presence of God Himself. "For our God is a consuming fire" (Heb. 12:29). "If anyone worships the beast and his image and receives his mark on the forehead or on the hand, he too will drink of the wine of God's fury . . . he will be tormented . . . in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment rises for ever and ever." (Rev. 14:9-11) Everyone is going to a place where there is fire! The question is: which one of the two?
As I write this on a cold, windy evening, a warm and cozy fire burns in the Vermont Castings Vigilant stove just a few feet from me. I am rightly related to that fire. If I choose to defy the laws of physics that the Creator has made and angrily rip that fire apart with my bare hands . . . well, you see what I mean. The rebels in hell will have chosen to defy the Creator's moral and spiritual laws and hate the Creator Himself. Their lives may have been filled with what some consider good deeds but if they have refused to believe what the Creator revealed about Himself and how we become rightly related to Him, it is still rebellion.
As to the matter of being bored in the eternal Kingdom, the New Heavens and the New Earth; this also would be laughable if not so serious. "His servants will serve Him" (Rev. 22:3). How endless are the ways of serving Him even now in this fallen and sinful world. How infinite will be the ways of serving Him then. How wonderful the continual discovery of the "unsearchable riches" of Him Who is infinite and eternal in His being.
"The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it" (Rev. 21:24). We are talking here about a very real New Earth with nations and kings and splendor and billions upon billions of redeemed humans joyfully serving the One of Whom Augustine said, "You have make us for Yourself, O God, and our hearts are restless until they rest in You".
"You will fill me with joy in Your Presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand." (Psalm 16:11)
"Hell" is an Anglo-Saxon word used since the days of Tyndale to translate (sometimes) the Old Testament Hebrew word sheol and the New Testament Greek words hades, gehenna and tarturus. We would probably be better off if all English translations had simply brought those four words directly into English and not use the words hell, grave, death, etc. to translate them. Then we would not have to listen to people with IQ's of minus three using expressions like, "O, hell yes" or "one hell of a time". I've counted at least fifteen such idiotic and profane uses of the word. The one Old Testament reference to the enemies of God being "thrown into the blazing fire" is Daniel 7:11 and it is a reference to the one the New Testament calls antichrist. Jesus used the word gehenna for the place of eternal punishment and in Matthew 25:41 called it "the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels".
Claiming that the "eternal" nature of this condition is "unjust and unfair of God" ignores completely the reality of rebellion and evil increasing exponentially throughout eternity on the part of the incorrigible. For God to admit such beings into the eternal Kingdom to reintroduce rebellion, suffering and death all over again would be . . . well, you get the picture. As to the worry that God might treat some hypothetical persons "unfairly and unjustly" . . . well, if it wasn't so serious it would be laughable that we fallen and finite sinners are lecturing The Holy One out of a fear that He might just do something wrong! As to the nature of the fire I am convinced it is metaphorical. Fire, as we know it, would not be felt by spirit beings like the devil and his angels.
As regards the "agony in this fire" that the rich man in Hades felt (Luke 16:24); we should not forget that he was 'out of' or 'apart from' his body, which was in a grave somewhere. Like some of Jesus' parables this passage probably raises more questions than it answers. The theme of this passage was expressed by John: "Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love" (I John 4:8). Jesus was not so much teaching the nature of Hades (the word he used) as He was warning about indifference to the suffering of people near us while we indulge in luxury. I cannot refrain from saying that this is one reason why I consider 'cruise ships' as one of the worst possible places for spiritual growth. I would sense the Presence of God more at an inner city rescue mission than on one of those abominable boats. At this moment of time most of us already have too much luxury when compared with most people throughout most of history.
I strongly suspect that Jesus used the symbolic word gehenna (translated hell) because rubbish fires continually burned there and in ancient times it was a place of the horror of infant sacrifices. Is it possible that a totally literal description of the "lake of fire" (Rev. 20:15) would have misled some to say, "that's not so bad"? So Jesus (and John, moved by the Spirit) used the strongest metaphor in language to express the worst possible of all destinies, to be "shut out from the Lord and from the majesty of His power" (II Thess. 1:9), so that no one will minimize it. I am not dogmatic about this but I strongly lean this way. What each one there will experience will be "according to what they had done" (Rev. 20:12).
Another overlooked fact is that Heaven is described as being a place of fire. "A river of fire was flowing, coming out from before Him (God)" (Daniel 7:10). John saw Heaven as "what looked liked a sea of glass mixed with fire" (Rev. 15:2). I am convinced that the fire in both places is none other than the Presence of God Himself. "For our God is a consuming fire" (Heb. 12:29). "If anyone worships the beast and his image and receives his mark on the forehead or on the hand, he too will drink of the wine of God's fury . . . he will be tormented . . . in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment rises for ever and ever." (Rev. 14:9-11) Everyone is going to a place where there is fire! The question is: which one of the two?
As I write this on a cold, windy evening, a warm and cozy fire burns in the Vermont Castings Vigilant stove just a few feet from me. I am rightly related to that fire. If I choose to defy the laws of physics that the Creator has made and angrily rip that fire apart with my bare hands . . . well, you see what I mean. The rebels in hell will have chosen to defy the Creator's moral and spiritual laws and hate the Creator Himself. Their lives may have been filled with what some consider good deeds but if they have refused to believe what the Creator revealed about Himself and how we become rightly related to Him, it is still rebellion.
As to the matter of being bored in the eternal Kingdom, the New Heavens and the New Earth; this also would be laughable if not so serious. "His servants will serve Him" (Rev. 22:3). How endless are the ways of serving Him even now in this fallen and sinful world. How infinite will be the ways of serving Him then. How wonderful the continual discovery of the "unsearchable riches" of Him Who is infinite and eternal in His being.
"The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it" (Rev. 21:24). We are talking here about a very real New Earth with nations and kings and splendor and billions upon billions of redeemed humans joyfully serving the One of Whom Augustine said, "You have make us for Yourself, O God, and our hearts are restless until they rest in You".
"You will fill me with joy in Your Presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand." (Psalm 16:11)
Saturday, January 2, 2016
"A RIDE WITH 'PAPPY' "
"I remember going between other cars in an underpass just like this, scraping the paint on both sides of the car, and leaving the Chicago cops in the dust." He was not bragging when he said this. He just wanted my two friends and me to know how far God had brought him. Riding with him back into Chicago that November evening was as close as I ever came to knowing someone who was once in organized crime.
Two of my friends from the previous year at Toccoa Falls were now in Chicago, working days and attending evening classes at Moody Bible Institute where I was attending full time. We heard that the President of Toccoa Falls, Dr. Julian Bandy, would be speaking at a Christian and Missionary Alliance church on the west side so we went to hear him. That evening was more significant than I could have ever imagined. The senior student from Moody who was playing the organ that evening would walk up to me after a Sunday school class seventeen years later and introduce himself. We have been friends ever since but never knew each other at Moody.
After the service the three of us from Moody began to visit with Dr. Bandy. We were joined by someone who had graduated from the College division at Toccoa several years earlier. I immediately recognized his name because I had read his testimony in that small paper called Power for Living that was once included with bulletins at many churches on Sundays. An internet search at this late date does not turn up much about Ken "Pappy" Edwards so we will rely on memory. He came to Christ after having been involved in a gambling syndicate. As he drove the three of us back to Moody that November evening he related how he had driven get-away cars for other syndicate members. Soon after becoming a believer he enrolled in the Bible College division of Toccoa Falls Institute where a few years later I would be a senior in the academy. The school has been named Toccoa Falls College since 1976.
An internet search revealed only that when I met him he was with Youth For Christ in the Chicago area ministering to boys who were in trouble with the law. I recall him saying that "when the Lord saved me He took away half of my vocabulary and when I went to Toccoa, Miss Landis (the college English professor) took away the other half!" That quotation may very well be the best use of hyperbole you will ever read. Actually, the Lord (and Miss Landis) did not just take away Ken's vocabulary; He replaced it. The keynote of your conversation should not be nastiness or silliness or flippancy, but a sense of all that we owe to God. (Eph. 5:4, Phillips-New Testament in Modern English)
I do not have a testimony like Ken Edwards about working for organized crime. But I know what he meant by losing a vocabulary and gaining a new one. My maternal grandmother, whose untimely death I related in an earlier blog, told my mother about my vocabulary problems long before I started to school. I was probably around age four that day at my grandmother's home when I suddenly stopped playing with wood blocks (or whatever) and assumed a new role. She described the scene as follows: I opened a book, the way a minister opens a Bible, laid it on one of her end tables, and began to "preach". Having been taken to church since I was three weeks old and also having been taken to revival meetings, I was now about to imitate what I had seen and heard. My Grandmother said I had all the "right" words but I got them all mixed up with the way I had heard some older men use them. I referred to "hell" and "damn" and "Christ" but not quite the way a preacher did.
Oh well, every preacher or teacher has to begin somewhere. It took a more serious turn, however, during three to four of those difficult teen years. But a radical commitment to the Lord Jesus near the end of my junior year in high school resulted in some vocabulary loss and replacement. All of this comes to mind today as I reflect on the vocabulary of some professed Christians on social media.
Like Ken Edwards, some of us need more than just losing some words, we need a replacement. Thankfulness and reverential awe before the living God does wonders.
To broaden this just a bit, a knowledge of the origin (etymology) of words can be an eye opener. If believers actually knew the origin of phrases like "that sucks", "friggin", etc., etc. they might think twice before using them. Even musical terms like "jazz" (ca. 1920) and "rock" (ca. 1950) originated as euphemisms for sexual intercourse. I could go on but at some point this could all become merely prudish and not constructive. Let's go back to Ephesians 5:4 as J.B. Phillips paraphrased it (above). What we do say is ultimately just as important, even more so, than what we do not.
Then one of the seraphs flew to me with a live coal in his hand . . . he touched my lips and said 'your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for'. Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, 'Whom shall I send and who will go for us?' Then I said, 'Here am I. Send me'. He said, 'Go and tell . . . .'
(from Isaiah ch. 6)
Two of my friends from the previous year at Toccoa Falls were now in Chicago, working days and attending evening classes at Moody Bible Institute where I was attending full time. We heard that the President of Toccoa Falls, Dr. Julian Bandy, would be speaking at a Christian and Missionary Alliance church on the west side so we went to hear him. That evening was more significant than I could have ever imagined. The senior student from Moody who was playing the organ that evening would walk up to me after a Sunday school class seventeen years later and introduce himself. We have been friends ever since but never knew each other at Moody.
After the service the three of us from Moody began to visit with Dr. Bandy. We were joined by someone who had graduated from the College division at Toccoa several years earlier. I immediately recognized his name because I had read his testimony in that small paper called Power for Living that was once included with bulletins at many churches on Sundays. An internet search at this late date does not turn up much about Ken "Pappy" Edwards so we will rely on memory. He came to Christ after having been involved in a gambling syndicate. As he drove the three of us back to Moody that November evening he related how he had driven get-away cars for other syndicate members. Soon after becoming a believer he enrolled in the Bible College division of Toccoa Falls Institute where a few years later I would be a senior in the academy. The school has been named Toccoa Falls College since 1976.
An internet search revealed only that when I met him he was with Youth For Christ in the Chicago area ministering to boys who were in trouble with the law. I recall him saying that "when the Lord saved me He took away half of my vocabulary and when I went to Toccoa, Miss Landis (the college English professor) took away the other half!" That quotation may very well be the best use of hyperbole you will ever read. Actually, the Lord (and Miss Landis) did not just take away Ken's vocabulary; He replaced it. The keynote of your conversation should not be nastiness or silliness or flippancy, but a sense of all that we owe to God. (Eph. 5:4, Phillips-New Testament in Modern English)
I do not have a testimony like Ken Edwards about working for organized crime. But I know what he meant by losing a vocabulary and gaining a new one. My maternal grandmother, whose untimely death I related in an earlier blog, told my mother about my vocabulary problems long before I started to school. I was probably around age four that day at my grandmother's home when I suddenly stopped playing with wood blocks (or whatever) and assumed a new role. She described the scene as follows: I opened a book, the way a minister opens a Bible, laid it on one of her end tables, and began to "preach". Having been taken to church since I was three weeks old and also having been taken to revival meetings, I was now about to imitate what I had seen and heard. My Grandmother said I had all the "right" words but I got them all mixed up with the way I had heard some older men use them. I referred to "hell" and "damn" and "Christ" but not quite the way a preacher did.
Oh well, every preacher or teacher has to begin somewhere. It took a more serious turn, however, during three to four of those difficult teen years. But a radical commitment to the Lord Jesus near the end of my junior year in high school resulted in some vocabulary loss and replacement. All of this comes to mind today as I reflect on the vocabulary of some professed Christians on social media.
Like Ken Edwards, some of us need more than just losing some words, we need a replacement. Thankfulness and reverential awe before the living God does wonders.
To broaden this just a bit, a knowledge of the origin (etymology) of words can be an eye opener. If believers actually knew the origin of phrases like "that sucks", "friggin", etc., etc. they might think twice before using them. Even musical terms like "jazz" (ca. 1920) and "rock" (ca. 1950) originated as euphemisms for sexual intercourse. I could go on but at some point this could all become merely prudish and not constructive. Let's go back to Ephesians 5:4 as J.B. Phillips paraphrased it (above). What we do say is ultimately just as important, even more so, than what we do not.
Then one of the seraphs flew to me with a live coal in his hand . . . he touched my lips and said 'your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for'. Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, 'Whom shall I send and who will go for us?' Then I said, 'Here am I. Send me'. He said, 'Go and tell . . . .'
(from Isaiah ch. 6)
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