Matt Chandler in the AP

Great AP article about Matt Chandler and his struggle with brain cancer.

The Gospel and the Economy

I had a conversation a while back with a Christian brother who has a management position for a manufacturing company. At one point our conversation turned to the state of the economy. I asked him if there were any improvements in the manufacturing sector in recent months. He said there wasn’t. I asked him if he was optimistic about the future. He again said no, and then began to tell me why. I was a bit excited. As a pastor, I feel somewhat separated from the daily grind of the business world. Now I was talking to an insider, and I thought I was about to receive a piece of pertinent information. Information that I hoped was filled with both direct knowledge and Christian principles. My friend’s rationale, however, quickly digressed into a capitalistic speech that sounded more like Rush Limbaugh than Christian. The problem, he said, was that America was again engaging in a massive social experiment. FDR did the same thing in the 30s in attempt to bring the US out of the depression, and we’ve paid for it ever since. If FDR would only have left things alone, my friend said, if he would only have let the markets work everything out, we would have been fine. And now Obama was making the same mistake and thus crippling our country for years to come.

I didn’t respond to my friend. I didn’t think it would do any good, but I was thinking, “Do these hyper-capitalists even know their history? The market was naturally going to pull us out of the depression? What market? There was no market. 40% unemployment was just going to go dissolve away in time? Have these guys ever read Steinbeck? Have they ever tried to raise a family in a cardboard box with no work?” But I’m not here to rant about the historical inaccuracies of hyper-capitalists, for that isn’t my main concern. What bothers me most about this view of the economy is how non-Christian it was. How little of a role the gospel plays in it. And yet how prevalent this view is among evangelical Christians.

Capitalism and Human Depravity. The market will sort things out if we will just leave it alone. Get government out. Less regulation the better. So the hyper-capitalist say (for the record, I’m not against capitalism). They speak as if the markets are weather patterns operating according to the laws of the natural universe. Spring always follows winter. But the markets aren’t run by natural laws. They are run by people, and people are selfish, foolish, and sinful. The market isn’t an “it.” It is a “them.” It is people. Many right-wing Christians point out that the government is run by selfish human beings who morally are no better than the people they rule. Government can’t be the answer, they say. I agree. But I also would like to remind us all that human depravity runs the market place. Should we have more confidence in it? Isn’t pretty much every economist in agreement that the cause of the recession was not government regulation but capitalism gone awry? And the fact that it goes awry shouldn’t catch us off guard.

Capitalism with a capital “C”: Capitalism will save the day, if we just put our faith in it. Those aren’t the exact words of the hyper-capitalist, but it comes pretty close to that. Such a view to me is flirting, or perhaps more than flirting, with idolatry. It is sub-Christian. Jesus, not capitalism, holds the answers to our economic needs. For human sin and not socialism, communism, or any other “ism” is the true enemy of prosperity and life. Governments and markets always fail because humans fail. Our only hope for not failing is to be radically changed by his grace.

I have yet to cement my political views on many things, but it seems to me that this is not the path to a gospel-centered view of governance. I'm interested in what others think.

Churches In Haiti

A new mission effort is being erected in attempt to help the churches in Haiti. If there is going to be longstanding spiritual help to these poor people, it seems clear that the Haitian church must be aided. Not only are they recovering from their own losses, but they need our support in bringing the hope of Christ to Haiti in this tragic hour.

Bonhoeffer's Life Together

I have been reading Dietrich Bonhoeffer's book Life Together, and several quotes have been ministering to me.

On Christian identity:

[The Christian] knows that God's Word in Jesus Christ pronounces him guilty, even when he does not feel his guilt, and God's Word in Jesus Christ pronounces him not guilty and righteous, even when he does not feel that he is righteous at all. The Christian no longer lives of himself by his own claims and his own justification, but by God's claims and God's justification. He lives wholly by God's Word pronounced upon him, whether that Word declares him guilty or innocent.

On Christian Community:

Every human wish dream that is injected into the Christian community is a hinderance to genuine community and must be banished if genuine community is to survive. He who loves his dream of a community more than the Christian community itself becomes a destroyer of the latter, even though his personal intentions may be ever so honest and earnest and sacrificial.

The man who fashions a visionary ideal of a community demands that it be realized by God, by others, and by himself. He enters the community of Christians with his demands, sets up his own law, and judges the brethren and God Himself accordingly. He stands adamant, a living reproach to all others in the circle of brethren. He acts as if he is the creator of the Christian community, as if his dream binds men together. When things do not go his way, he calls the effort a failure. When his ideal picture is destroyed, he sees the community going to smash. So he becomes, first an accuser of his brethren, then an accuser of God, and finally the despairing accuser of himself.

Because God has already laid the only foundation of our fellowship, because God has bound us together in one body . . . in Jesus Christ, we enter into [community] not as demanders but as thankful recipients. . . . We thank God for giving us brethren who live by His call, by His forgiveness, and His promise. We do not complain of what God does not give us; we rather thank God for what He does give us daily. . . . Even when sin and misunderstanding burden the communal life, is not the sinning brother still a brother, with whom I, too, stand under the Word of Christ? Will not his sin be a constant occasion for me to give thanks that both of us may live in the forgiving love God in Jesus Christ?

Future of the Blog

Some of you have probably noticed the drop-off in blogging Bible. So I just wanted to update you on a decision that I have had to make. As much as I would like to continue blogging through Romans, logistically it just isn't working. I have been trying to fit the blog somewhere into my life, and right now I just don't have a space for it. So the future of the blog, as least as of right now, will be more thoughts that arise out of my everyday life (thoughts from books, sermons, news, etc.). I still hope you find it profitable.

David Brooks on Haiti

David Brooks as usual provides some clear and thought provoking observations on the poverty of Haiti.

On Oct. 17, 1989, a major earthquake with a magnitude of 7.0 struck the Bay Area in Northern California. Sixty-three people were killed. This week, a major earthquake, also measuring a magnitude of 7.0, struck near Port-au-Prince, Haiti. The Red Cross estimates that between 45,000 and 50,000 people have died.

This is not a natural disaster story. This is a poverty story. It’s a story about poorly constructed buildings, bad infrastructure and terrible public services. On Thursday, President Obama told the people of Haiti: “You will not be forsaken; you will not be forgotten.” If he is going to remain faithful to that vow then he is going to have to use this tragedy as an occasion to rethink our approach to global poverty. He’s going to have to acknowledge a few difficult truths.

Read the whole thing to discover what those truths are. In my mind, they all lead to the gospel. One of my growing prayers is that this tragedy leads many in the Church to devote their lives to shining the light of Jesus into this very dark land.

More Haiti

Justin Taylor recommends Children's Hunger Fund.

I have found Samaritan's Purse to be a wise choice as well.

Haiti Help

If you wondering what a Christian response to the recent tragedy should be, perhaps some of these pictures can give you some inspiration.

Here are some charitable organizations at work in Haiti.

Give Wisely

Give to the needy, but here is a graphic on how to do it wisely.

Obedient Children

John Piper offers some good counsel on why parent should required unregenerate children to try to live like they are regenerate.

Epidemic

Here is a sobering but not too surprising report about the rise of porn. Justin Taylor also provides a list of aids in fighting this battle.

Romans 7:13-20

Did that which is good, then, bring death to me? By no means! It was sin, producing death in me through what is good, in order that sin might be shown to be sin, and through the commandment might become sinful beyond measure. 14 For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am of the flesh, sold under sin. 15 For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. 16 Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good. 17 So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. 18 For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. 19 For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. 20 Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. (Romans 7:13-20)

Depravity Redefined. When theologians speak of total depravity, many get a false and muddled picture of human sinfulness. Total depravity seems to indicate a wholesale fall into perversion. Man is as wicked as he possibly could become. However, neither the Scriptures nor experience support such a view. The fact is that the portrait of human evil is quite a bit more complex than this, and Paul gives a very helpful analysis of our predicament.

I want but I don’t. Oddly enough the depths of our waywardness is revealed by the good and healthy desires of our heart. We, like Paul, often find ourselves wanting to refrain from certain activities. We don’t want to grow bitter and resentful or to be controlled by greed or lust. In this our hearts “agree” with God’s law, which as creatures created in the image of God is engraved upon our conscience (Romans 2:15). However, there is no grounds here to grow confident in our own goodness, for Paul points out that although we reveal God’s imprint through healthy desires, we immediately reject those healthy wants and do what we “hate.” Bondage is not control that goes unresisted. When we speak of slavery, we speak of those unfortunate peoples forced into labors and duties that they would not choose for themselves and are offered no proper reward. In the same way, the bondage of sin is not a slavery that goes uncontested within us. The descent into depravity is an embattled one. Thus, the shackles of our wickedness is powerfully demonstrated by the fervent though impotent resistance of our hearts. We don’t want to do it, and we do it again and again and again.

Is it sin or me? Paul ends here by stating that it is sin and not “I” who does the deed that I do not want. It may, then, seem like Paul is removing himself and us from the culpability of our actions. Given the entire context of Romans, and Paul’s other writings, this clearly is not the case. In the very next section, Paul proclaims, “Wretched man that I am!” and not “Wretched sin that dwells in me.” “Sin” is his master, and at the same time sin is a part of him. It rules him, and yet it dwells in him and is not external to him.

Total Depravity. Thus, total depravity does not mean we are as bad as we can possibly be. It means that we want to live a good and righteous life, but we can’t want it enough. We are tortured souls ever living with the hatred of our own words, thoughts, and deeds, but powerless to speak, think, or act differently. And so we are perpetually condemned to valley of guilt, regret, and shame with a longing to climb out but lacking the strength to do so. If only there was someone willing to descend into this dark, deathly ravine, who also had the strength to carry us out.

Athens and Jerusalem: Church and Culture Part 2

“What hath Athens to do with Jerusalem? What between the Academy and the Church?” These are the famous words of the early church father Tertullian, and they mark the philosophy that he attempted to live by. He totally denounced all Roman authority, he exempted all Christians from civic obligations, he decried all forms of public entertainment, and he rejected the notion that any good could be gained from secular philosophy. What’s more, Tertullian promoted a rigorous ascetic lifestyle that sometimes went to unhealthy extremes. In short, Tertullian advocated complete rejection of all culture.

“What hath Athens to do with Jerusalem?” Well, apparently more than Tertullian realized. It is well known that he was highly influenced by Stoicism as a young man. The Stoics believed that one needed to maintain an emotional detachment from the physical world, part of which they achieved through a strict asceticism. It is pretty clear that this Stoic detachment from pain and pleasure influenced Tertullian throughout his Christian life. For example, he believed that sexual pleasure of any kind was a sin and should be avoided. Stoic philosophy was so embedded in him that although he claimed to reject it entirely he actually filtered his Christian beliefs through it.

Tertullian’s blind spot does not provide the answer for the questions of Christianity and culture, but it does provide some significant warnings. First, total separation from culture is simply not possible. One can hardly imagine an individual going further extremes than Tertuallian, and even he could not escape. Culture is the air the we breath. Christians obviously need to be discerning of culture and must reject much of it. But to say that Christians should avoid all culture is a non-answer. The very motives for rejecting pagan culture may be pagan themselves.

Secondly, Tertullian’s blindness reminds us of our own blindness. What Tertullian viewed as righteousness was actually an ethic derived from a secular, pantheistic philosophy. This early church father tried to draw dark, bold lines between Christ and the world, and he failed. Can you draw the lines between Christ and the world? It seems that suspicion is in order. Perhaps the world isn’t out there. Perhaps the world is much closer than you think.

African Prosperity "Gospel"

Here is a heartbreaking report by Christianity Today on the spread of the prosperity "gospel" in Africa.

The Prosperity Gospel from The Global Conversation on Vimeo.

Early Christians and Culture

The subject of church and culture is one that I have been studying for some time. Of course, this is subject that is on the front burner of contemporary American Christianity, and in one form or another has always been front and center. Think of how significant and comprehensive are the questions regarding this issue. How involved should the Church be in politics? What is Christian art? Should Christian art even be obviously “Christian”? How far should Christians venture into “worldly” movies, music, and entertainment? What exactly is “worldliness”? What meaning is there in “secular” employment? How does the Church be “in the world” without becoming “of the world”? How does the Church proclaim a counter-cultural (by the way, what does “counter-cultural” mean?) gospel without becoming irrelevant to the culture (and what does “irrelevant” mean and should we care?). Enter John Barber’s The Road from Eden, which is an attempt at a comprehensive history of how the church has interacted with culture. As I slowly work through this book, I thought I would share some perspectives on church and culture from various points in Christian history.

Up first is a piece of early Christian art, the painting titled Raising of Lazarus. In the picture Christ is portrayed as a “large, senatorial, Apollo-type figure.” The Roman senate was the most distinguished and powerful class in the Roman Empire. Apollo was the god of power, and one the three most significant gods in the Roman mind. So why would a Christian artist fashion Jesus after a pagan god?

At first, this painting appears to be simple syncretism, a thoughtless absorption of pagan culture into Christianity. Christianity, even at this early date, appears to be blending with the Roman worship of power. But the situation isn’t that simple. In pagan mythology Apollo is extremely powerful, but he has his limits. And one particularly notable limitation is that he can’t raise people from the dead. But the painting is about raising Lazarus from the dead. Is it not ironic that such a picture would feature Apollo? Ironic or antagonistic? The painting sends a subtle and powerful message into its culture, Jesus is greater than Apollo. Jesus can do what neither the Roman empire, nor its gods could ever do. The Roman elite, the emperor, the pagan gods are not lord. Jesus is Lord.

The painting reveals that the early Christians understood well their neighbors and friends, but it also reveals their devotion to Jesus. They knew how to communicate to the pagan mind without compromising the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Not only did know the pagan culture, they were able to wield for the sake of Christ. This painting (and Barber actually lists several other examples) raises the question: Can Christians use pagan culture to proclaim a counter-cultural gospel?