Arminian Theology: Myths and Realities

By Roger E. Olson
Published byInterVarsity Press, 2006

Roger E. Olson grew up in a Pentecostal household and has always been an Arminian. Surrounded by Pentecostals, most of the people he knew were also Arminians and so he never felt the need to question or defend the teaching until he got out into the broader Evangelical world. There he ran into Calvinism. I wrote earlier about the Evangelical tendency to avoid doctrinal debate through slander and disinformation. Olson, who is seeking a rapprochement with Calvinists, would never be so blunt, and puts down these ‘myths’ to misunderstandings and ignorance. Perhaps that’s fair. Certainly as these myths circulate, they get repeated by people who have no reason not to take them at face value, but if you’re going to expound on a subject, then you owe to yourself and those you are teaching to learn the truth.

Here Olson’s book provides a solid foundation. He addresses ten common misconceptions about Arminianism, contrasting it with Calvinism. For example, ‘Myth Four: The Heart of Arminianism Is Belief in Free Will.’ When I first studied this subject, about ten years ago, it was because of an interest in free will, but that’s not what Arminius was concerned about. Calvinism teaches a God so completely in control of the world that everything that happens is an expression of His will. His grace is so effectual, that all who God wills to be saved must be saved. Arminius realized that if this were the case, then God is the author of sin and that the Fall of Man could only have happened because it was God’s will that we sin. If God determines who will be saved, He, at the same time, determines who will be damned. This, argued Arminius, was wrong and contrary to the God revealed in scripture. It is not God’s will that any perish. If some do perish, and we know that some do, then there must be some element of free will that allows us to accept or reject His will for us. Arminius was not concerned with free will, per se; he only sought to protect the character of God from what is implicitly taught by Calvinism: that God created sin and condemned people to Hell long before they were even born.

Dr. Olson’s book is both a solid introduction to Arminianism and a strong defence against much of the disinformation that has been circulated about it, but I did have a couple of problems with it. The first concerns structure. Olson wrote each chapter so that it could be read without consulting the other chapters. I understand why. I spent many years in university and it’s an environment that teaches lazy reading. You’re after information and want it as quickly and as easily as possible. But if you are reading the book from cover to cover, it is incredibly repetitive. Rather than assume you’ve read the previous chapter, he repeats points again and again. Olson warns readers of this, but it was still very trying. Another structural problem is that the headers on each page list the myth being addressed in the chapter, but not that it is a myth. Consequently, the same lazy readers the repetition is meant to serve will open the book to, for example, page 160 and see “Arminianism Is Not a Theology of Grace,” instead of “Myth 7: Arminianism Is Not a Theology of Grace.” If you are going to spoon feed information, why stop at half measures?

The second problem is more serious, but also a logical result of Olson’s intentions. Because his goal is the acceptance of Arminius’ teachings within Reform--read: High Calvinist--circles, he makes little reference to the 1500 years of Church teachings that preceded the Reformation. In reality, Arminius’ doctrines were far more in keeping with traditional Christian teachings than Calvin’s. Yes, there were determinist theological teachings before the Reformation, but where were they adopted as formal doctrinal positions? No where. But by treating Calvinism as a norm to be measured against, he creates an inverted little world in which Arminius is always on the defensive. All of the myths addressed in this book assume Calvinism is the norm. All of the Reformation first generation of leaders, Calvin included, were trained as Catholic theologians first and later rejected aspects of Catholicism they believed to be unscriptural and unchristian, but they didn’t start again from scratch. This sort of contextualization could only serve to strengthen the legitimacy of Arminianism as a traditional Christian teaching, but Olson doesn’t give it because he is seeking acceptance form people who would only hold it against him (adding an eleventh myth, that Arminianism is too Catholic or Orthodox).

These criticisms aside, Arminian Theology makes for a great introduction to the subject and I would recommend to anyone interested in the debate.

One Thousand Days Plus

Last week saw the end of my one thousand days. A thousand days ago I set myself a goal. I had grown more and more unsatisfied with where I was spiritually and gave myself this period to set things straight. To set a new course. Somehow.

Many of the important things, however, are still playing themselves out. Events, decisions to be made, have not run their course, in spite of my self-imposed date. I’ve developed some good habits, become interested in some areas of study, but the conclusion of my course? It hasn’t arrived. ‘Why?’ is an interesting question. Is it because I can’t force it? Is it because I lack the courage to go where I should? Is it because I am being dragged down by my habitual procrastination? Perhaps its some combination of the three. I don’t know. But I know I am not there yet. This will take more than the thousand days I originally prescribed and that I can do nothing but continue. Its disappointing, but its not really in my hands.

Matthew 2:12-23

Matthew 2:12-23 Egypt and the Return

Herod had told the Magi to tell him where the new king could be found, but the Wise Men were warned in a dream not to and so left for home by another route. Joseph was also warned about Herod in a dream and told to flee to Egypt. When Herod realized the Wise Men weren’t coming back, he became enraged and ordered all the children in Bethlehem, age two and younger, to be killed. Joseph and his family remained in Egypt until Herod was dead, and an angel spoke to him in a dream telling him it was time to return. When he discovered that Herod’s son Archelaus reigned in his father’s place, he was told in yet another dream to go to Nazareth.

This is a rather complicated passage in which a very busy time in the lives of Joseph, Mary and Jesus is compressed into very few words. It is also full of dreams and prophecies.

Herod’s infamous Murder of Innocents is not recorded outside the Gospel of Matthew, but is it an act historians universally agree is in keeping with the Herod’s character. He has gone down in history as Herod the Great for all of the works he did to aggrandize Judea and Jerusalem. He restored the glory of the Temple, in material terms, to such an extent that it became known as Herod’s Temple, but Herod’s family was Idumaean in origin. Idumea was the Greek name for the Edomites, the descendants of Esau. The Hasmonean kings of Judea had conquered them and forced them to convert to Judaism, absorbing them into the Jewish people, but the Jews of Herod’s time never let him forget where he came from, and consequently his power and position were always closely tied to his friendship with Rome. As famous as he was as a builder, he was equally infamous for the blood he shed to preserve his power, even killing several of his own children.

That Joseph sought refuge in Egypt isn’t surprising. By the first century there was a large and stable Jewish presence there. It was close by, but outside the influence of Herod. When Herod died, his son Herod Archelaus took the throne, and began by killing three thousand Pharisees who opposed him. His reign over the entirety of his father’s kingdom was brief. After two years the Romans divided it up, leaving Archelaus still ruling half of it, including Jerusalem, but the other half was divided between his brothers Herod Philip and Herod Antipas. After ten violent years Archelaus was exiled to Gaul (France) and his kingdom turned into a Roman province. Philip ruled his area peacefully for almost forty years. He was the only one of his brothers to retain his position until the end of his life. Antipas ruled the longest, approximately forty three years, before also being exiled to Gaul. He ruled over Galilee and Perea and was still in power when John the Baptist and Jesus ministered. It was Herod Antipas who would behead John and would mock Jesus, sending back to Pilate. Nevertheless, following the death of their father, Antipas was still much preferred over Archelaus and Joseph, once again warned in a dream, settled in Galilee.

The dynastic politics give us some indication of when Jesus was born. There was no standard calendar at the time. Herod the Great was still alive. He died sometime between 4 and 1 BC. The earlier date is traditional, but there are reasonable grounds for the latter one as well. Jesus was no older than two at this time. Archelaus ruled his father’s entire kingdom for two years before it was divided up, and so Joseph and his family lived in Egypt for at least that long--he couldn’t have been directed to Antipas’ area before the division--and so there were at least four years between the Murder of Innocents and their settling in Nazareth.

Dreams play a big role in the first two chapters of Matthew. While the magi were warned in a dream not to return to Herod, it is Joseph who is counseled by them again and again. It was in a dream that he was told not to divorce the pregnant Mary (1:20) and here he is given directed three times by dreams: to flee to Egypt (2:13), that it was safe to return (2:20), and to settle in Galilee (2:22). These are the only two chapters in which we learn anything of Joseph’s earthly father and we see a man who sought answers in dreams, not the counsel of others, or even the Law. That may be unfair, given that these passages represent only a small part of his life, but it is all we are given. He seems content to follow the example of his Old Testament namesake, Joseph the dreamer.

Prophecy also weighs heavily here. We’ve already seen Matthew quote Isaiah and Micah in order to prove that events in Jesus’ life were the fulfillment of prophecy. Now he adds Hosea and Jeremiah. The family’s sojourn in Egypt was the fulfillment of Hosea 11:1:

When Israel was a child, then I loved him, and called my son out of Egypt.

And the Murder of Innoents was the fulfillment of Jeremiah 31:15:

Thus saith the LORD; A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation, and bitter weeping; Rachel weeping for her children refused to be comforted for her children, because they were not

.On their face, neither of these scriptures seem to foretell Christ. Hosea is talking of the deliverance of Israel from Egypt and Jeremiah of the restoration of the Northern Kingdom to the true worship of God (Rachel was the mother of Joseph and by extension Ephraim, the principal tribe of the Kingdom of Israel; she was buried in Ramah). Yet Matthew sees prophecy anyway. Why? When the early Church read the Old Testament, they saw Jesus everywhere. Each and every scripture spoke of His coming. Modern Christians tend to look to the historical context in a way that the Apostles did not. Early Christians saw the scripture as laden with symbolism, with types and anti-types. Its not that they doubted its history, or saw it as unimportant, but that they saw the Old Testament first and foremost as the foundation of their beliefs and of the promise of the Redeemer. And this was true of every verse, even those passages that wouldn’t appear to be prophecies to others.

Matthew ends his recounting of Jesus’ early life by telling us that His family’s settlement in Nazareth was the fulfillment of a fifth prophecy, that “He shall be called a Nazarene.” But where is this prophecy? Unlike the previous four, Matthew is not quoting any scripture in the Old Testament. An early attempt to find its source, dating back at least as far back as Jerome, ties it to Isaiah 11:1:

And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots

The Hebrew for branch is netzer and so Nazarene could have arisen from a transliteration. But this is stretch. The reality is that no one has come up with a solution that persuasive enough to resolve this question and we’re left with another puzzle by a writer who isn’t afraid to leave us wondering. As he would later quote Jesus, “He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.”

The Gospel According To Chester Brown

The Hooded Unitarian has an interesting article on Chester Brown's adaptations of the Gospel of Matthew and the Gospel of Mark. These have never been collected and I haven't read anything more than what Ng Suat Tong has posted here.

Speaking of Matthew, I have also revised the first paragraph of my own Matthew study.

Easter

I hope this Easter weekend finds you well and that you can make your way to a church to celebrate the important events these feast days commemorate: the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is the focal point of the gospel message.

This holiday is unique in being the only one that the media celebrates with scepticism and scorn. I know that the Bible says that the resurrection is a stumbling block and foolishness to unbelievers (1 Corinthians 1:23), but I can think of no other religions whose major feast day has to run such a gauntlet. With that in mind here are a couple of positive articles, one from the UK and one from the US. The first counters those who say they like Jesus, but not His Church, the second has some interesting information about Easter.

Matthew 2: 11

Matthew 2: 11 The Magi’s Gifts

So, here I pick up where I left off, in the second chapter of the first gospel. I am going to look at only one verse today, the presentation of the Magi’s gifts.

The Wise Men find the baby Jesus with his mother Mary and fall down and worship. This would prove one of the most powerful images in Christianity: worshipping at the feet of the Mother and Child. Of course, it specifically says “his” feet. They weren’t worshipping - or venerating - Mary, but if you visualize this scene, the mother and her baby, the magi falling down in adoration, its easy to see how such an idea could gain such a grip on people’s imaginations and hearts. We’ll talk more about Mary when we get to the Gospel of Luke, which tells the story from her perspective. Matthew focuses on Joseph’s and its interesting that he isn’t mentioned here.

The idea that there were three Magi stems from the fact that there were three gifts. We don’t know how many Wise Men there were. One early tradition says there were twelve. Twelve Tribes, Twelve Apostles, Twelve Magi. Their gifts were gold, frankincense, and myrrh. The latter two are made from resins and were a valued part of the Arabian spice trade. Frankincense was used in the incense that burned before the Lord on the Altar of Incense, first in the Tabernacle and then in the Temple, and myrrh was used in the embalming of the dead. The three gifts, then, speak of the baby’s future: the gold representing authority or lordship, the frankincense representing divinity or worship, and the myrrh the Redeemer or Christ.

The Lost World Of Genesis One: Ancient Cosmology and the Origins Debate

By John H. Walton

Published by IVP Academic, 2009

One of the biggest hot button issues in religion is the creationism v. evolution debate. Exactly how did God create the universe and everything in it, and what does the first chapter of Genesis tell us? Professor John H. Walton, of Wheaton College, offers a new perspective in The Lost World of Genesis One, one aimed at reconciling a conservative Christian position on scripture with the reality of modern science.

He does this by asking how the text of Genesis chapter one would have been understood - not through the eyes of scientists or theologians - but by someone living at the time it was written. His conclusion, which he goes to great lengths to explain, is that it would have been read as a description of God establishing the functions of the world and not an account of its material creation: “people in the ancient world believed that something existed not by virtue of its material properties, but by virtue of having a function within an ordered cosmos.” (p. 26) (Very) briefly, the world began without functions, it was without form and void, then the first three days established functions and the second three days installed those functions. Day one established day and night, periods of light and dark, day two established the sky and seas, creating a roof (firmament) to keep out the cosmic sea, and day three the dry land and vegetation. On day four the first day’s functions were installed, the sun and the moon and the stars, for signs, seasons, days, and years; on day five the skies and oceans were filled with life; and on day six the land was filled with animals, and mankind. On the seventh day God rested. Walton sees the seventh day of creation as pivotal. It does not simply mean that God stopped what he was doing. Rather, when the Genesis account was written people understood that the place a god rested in was his temple. It represented the place of a god’s authority. Genesis one, then describes God’s dominion over every aspect of creation and His continued dominion over all the Earth.

Walton takes time to address many concerns associated with this debate, including whether God created ex nihilo, the state of the world in verse two, and to compare his argument to the many alternatives that are being put forward. He addresses the first concern by looking at the Hebrew word bara, to create. This verb is used many times in the Old Testament and always in reference to God. Must it mean to create, materially, from nothing (ex nihilo)? Walton can find nothing to substantiate that position, though he is quick to point out that he, like others challenging the (so-called) Creationist view, believes that God did indeed create the materials of the universe as well as the functions. It’s a question of how. His point here is that Genesis one isn’t meant to be an account of the formation of those materials. I thought it interesting that he doesn’t actually refer to the original proof text for the teaching that God created the world, ex nihilo, II Maccabees 7:28 (KJV):

I beseech thee, my son, look upon the heaven and the earth, and all that is therein, and consider that God made them of things that were not; and so was mankind made likewise.

In the Vulgate, the Latin translation, “of things that were not” was translated simply “from nothing,” or ex nihilo. I think its ironic, given the anti-Catholic sentiments of so many of the fundamentalist advocating creationism, that this important doctrine’s only explicit scriptural support comes from a Catholic translation of an Apocryphal book. Yes, I know that the teaching was advocated by Jewish commentators, but that’s not scripture. And I know that others scriptures can be referenced (John 1:3, Hebrews 11:3, etc), but they only teach that God made the universe and made it from things other than those which appear now. The first point isn’t being disputed by any one, the second, arguably, supports the idea of creation as a process.

The second verse of Genesis one says that the world was “without form and void.” Its an important point for Walton because it describes a world without function. Some Creationists argue for what they call the “gap theory”: that there is a period between the first verse and the rest of the chapter, when Satan, cast from Heaven, destroyed creation. The idea is that God would never has created a formless, empty, less than perfect world. Walton simply states that the Hebrew doesn’t support such a reading, but I would go further and say that proponents of such a reading ignore their own demand for a “literal” understanding of the scriptures and are interjecting their own views of God into the chapter. The Bible says that God created the Heavens and the Earth and that the Earth was without form and void, and then began the process of creation.

Lastly, Walton argues that his position offers various strengths over a variety of others and here I read with some skepticism. Not because I doubted him, but because I think the proponents of those views are all too often so deeply committed to them that they will read this book looking only to find fault and to criticize. They have their position and I think Walton is naïve if he thinks a well reasoned, scripturally valid argument is enough to sway them. The audience for this book is people like myself, who believe in the Bible and in science. Who are looking for interpretations that of scripture that honour it as the Word of God, without forcing the believer to choose between faith or reason. Since coming into Pentecost almost three decades ago I have been consistently faced with a variety of Creationist accounts, all back up by pseudo-science, and have long chosen to just ignore the subject altogether. But why should I skim through the first chapter of Genesis because others find the billions of years of creation so upsetting? While my experience leads me to believe that many will never give this book a fair hearing, I also believe that there are many like me who are looking for something just like this book. We are Walton’s audience.

Religion And Education

There is an interesting article in the March 6 issue of New Scientist, Where do atheists come from? Apparently the idea that education spreads atheism, that the more educated you are the less likely you are to be religious, simply isn't true. This doesn't really surprise me, but it doesn't seem to sit well with many of those making comments with the online version of the article. Not that they argue the point. Rather, they ignore it and just reiterate their own position.

From the article:

The 2005 results show that while there is a clear positive correlation between education and lack of belief in God, the effect is slightly weaker, not stronger, among those with a university education (14.8 per cent were non-believers) compared with those whose highest attainment was secondary level (17.2 per cent).

And

Looking at white British people, for example, the findings show that only around 25 per cent of men aged between 25 and 34 claiming "no religion" have degrees, compared with around 40 per cent of those describing themselves as religious. For women in the same age group, the difference is less marked but the trend is the same.

You will need a subscription to read the article.

500 Christians Murdered In Nigeria

From Times Online:

On the dusty streets of three Christian villages in northern Nigeria, dozens of bodies lined the streets yesterday. Other victims of the weekend’s Muslim fury jammed a local morgue, the limbs of slaughtered children tangled in a grotesque mess.

One toddler appeared fixed in the protective but hopeless embrace of an older child, possibly his brother. Another had been scalped. Most had severed hands and feet.

Officials estimate that 500 people were massacred in night-time raids by rampaging Muslim gangs near the city of Jos, where the Christian-Muslim fault line cuts across Nigeria...

More.

The Armour of God

The Armour of God is found in the sixth chapter of Paul’s letter to the Ephesians. It is one of the most popular passages of the Bible, prayed every day by some. Last fall I spoke about the Armour at my local church and I want to start off the year’s blogging (much later than intended - sorry!) by sharing that here.

Paul begins by setting a little context (Ephesians 6:10-12):

Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

We are engaged, he tells his audience, in spiritual warfare. Terms like ‘principalities’ and ‘powers’ aren’t as familiar today, but in the first century many, Jew and Gentile alike, believed that there were demonic influences in the world and had developed systems of categories of describe them. No standardized system is explicated endorsed in scripture but the Ephesians would have immediately understood that Paul is warning them of spiritual influences. And, more importantly, he is making the point that their conflict is not with other people, but with those spiritual influences. He told this to the Corinthians as well (2 Corinthians 10:3-4):

For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)

In his letter to the Ephesians he goes on to describe these ‘not carnal’ - non-physical - weapons with which God arms us (Ephesians 6:13-17):

Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:

The Armour is a metaphor. No Indiana Jones is ever going to dig it up. Breaking down this metaphor, what is Paul talking about?

‘Your loins girt about with truth.’ The weight of your body hangs on your back and your back in turn is supported by your lower abdomen. It is the base that holds everything upright. In palates the lower abdomen is called the power zone. Our power zone is truth. Jesus said He wants us to worship Him in spirit and in truth (John 4:24). It’s not enough to have good intentions. It’s not enough to enjoy worship. You also have to have sound doctrine when serving the Lord.

‘The Breast Plate of Righteousness.’ The Bible says that only the Pure of Heart shall see God (Psalms 24:3-4, Matthew 5:8).

‘Feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace.’ To be prepared to share the good news (Isaiah 52:7, Romans 10:15).

‘The shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.’ I have more to say about the importance of shields below, but in life you will be buffeted. Some may be happy to learn that you are serving the Lord, but most people are indifferent or even hostile. It is our faith that enables us to remain strong.

‘The helmet of salvation.’ In the Bible the head represents authority. But this is not our own authority, but another’s. Salvation belongs to the Lord (Psalm 3:8). The helmet of salvation represents submission to God‘s authority and to His salvation plan.

‘The sword of the spirit, which is the word of God.’ The Greek translated as ‘word’ in this verse is not logos, but rhema, which implies something spoken or written, often spontaneously. Paul wants us to be led of the Spirit as we speak or write as Christians.

The Armour of God, then, refers to the many aspects of our Christian walk. Sound doctrine, right living, a readiness to act and to speak, faith and a submission to His will. But once we have the armour on, what do you do? Most people stop reading about the Armour with verse seventeen, but that is only half way through a sentence. Paul continues on the subject for three more verses (Ephesians 6:18-20):
Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints; And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel, For which I am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.

We are in spiritual warfare. We have our armour on. What now? Paul tells us to do three things.

Number one, ‘praying always and in all supplication in the Spirit.’ Supplication means petition. Whether we need money or cancer healed, it means bringing our needs to the Lord. But whatever needs we have, we are to pray in the Spirit. We are to be led by the Spirit when we pray.

Number two, ‘watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints.’ We aren’t to just pray for ourselves. We are to pray diligently for one another. To use the standard Christian terminology, we’re to become intercessors.

Isaiah 59:16-17 reads:

And he saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor: therefore his arm brought salvation unto him; and his righteousness, it sustained him. For he put on righteousness as a breastplate, and an helmet of salvation upon his head; and he put on the garments of vengeance for clothing, and was clad with zeal as a cloak.

Reading this passage I noticed that there are two things Paul later includes in the Armour of God, the breastplate of righteousness and the helmet of salvation, but there are also two things he leaves out. Paul doesn’t write about being clothed in vengeance. That didn’t surprise me. The Bible makes it very clear that vengeance belongs to God. Even people who know nothing of the scripture know God says, ‘vengeance is mine’ (Duet 32:35, Romans 12:19, Hebrews 10:30). But why aren’t we to be clad in zeal as a cloak? Soldiers wore cloaks. God wants us to be zealous. The point Paul is trying to make to the Ephesians, however, took him in a different direction. Before talking about armour he’s talks about family. He’s talks about husbands serving God, wives serving their husbands, children serving their parents, servants serving their masters. There is an appropriate role and order in the family.

In the military there is also an appropriate role and order, an idea Paul carries over from the family to spiritual warfare very easily. He starts off by telling us spiritual soldiers to stand. Every Roman soldier stood in a holding their shields in their left hand and their weapon in their right. They stood shoulder to shoulder, their shields protecting their left side and the right side of the person standing to their left. Their right side was protected by the person standing to their right. They stood protecting one another with a wall of shields. When soldiers were told not to break ranks, they were being told to keep the line firm. To stand. I’ve seen films where armies march smartly towards each other, in ranks, but when they get a few yards from one another they break those ranks and charge. Its all very dramatic, but its wrong. In reality the armies would march right up to one another, attacking without breaking ranks. In fact, the whole point was to get the other side to break its ranks. A group of individuals, however well armed, could never stand against a disciplined unit. In the passage quoted from Isaiah God is pouring out His wrath on Israel, because there were no intercessors. No one in Israel was standing and praying for Israel. We are to pray in the Spirit, to be led by the Spirit, and we are to pray for one another. That’s how we stand.

And the third thing Paul says is ‘pray for me, that I may open my mouth boldly.’ There is a lot packed into that short statement, but I want to focus on two things. First, Paul did not say ‘pray for my ministry,’ or ‘pray that others will receive my message,’ he said ‘pray for me.’ So often our desire to shine as a light for Him gets turned around into a refusal to admit our needs to one another. We wouldn’t think of lying with our words, but we never hesitate to put on a fake smile. But Paul came right out and said, ‘pray for me.’ Its one thing for me to want to watch, with all perseverance, for your needs, but how am I to know what they are if you don’t tell me? Likewise, if I don’t tell you my need, how can I expect you to pray for it?

The second thing I want to focus on is prayer for our leadership. A soldier does what he is told. If his general makes a bad choice, the general does pay for it, but the soldier pays even more. The general sits on the hill top directing his men with orders and trumpets and signals, while the soldiers down below are fighting and killing each other. Who is going to be impacted more by a bad decision? The soldier down there fighting or the general up on the hill watching him fight? You have an interest in your leadership’s welfare. You want your leader to be in touch with God. You want your leader to be blessed of God. You want your leader’s counsel for you to be exactly what God wants it to be. But if you’re not supporting your leader in prayer, you’re weakening your leader and that will come down on you eventually. We have an interest in supporting our leadership in prayer.

A spiritual warrior, then, is a prayer warrior. It seems that everyone I’ve heard described as a prayer warrior is a woman, a senior, and somebody’s mother. Or grandmother. But God wants each of us to bear this burden of prayer. That why we bear the weapons of this warfare. To stand in the gap for His people. To be led in the Spirit in all our supplications, for ourselves and for the whole body of Christ.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas all!

I've got an email today from someone in Pakistan asking for prayer over the holidays, because the Taliban are threatening attacks. I read in the New York Times that Christians in Iraq are preparing for the worst. Meanwhile, I worry about my credit card bill and getting everyone's schedule to line up. I am glad I live in Canada and wish everyone every where a happy and safe holy day.

I've about six months left on my 1000 day goal. I started to re-read Fear and Trembling this week and one paragraph in particular spoke out to me:

In our time nobody is content to stop with faith but wants to go further. It would perhaps be rash to ask where these people are going, but it is surely a sign of breeding and culture for me to assume that everybody has faith, for otherwise it would be queer for them to be... going further. In those old days it was different, then faith was a task for a whole lifetime, because it was assumed that dexterity in faith is not acquired in a few days or weeks. When the tried oldster drew near to his last hour, having fought the good fight and kept the faith, his heart was still young enough not to have forgotten that fear and trembling which chastened the youth, which the man indeed held in check, but which no man quite outgrows. . . except as he might succeed at the earliest opportunity in going further. Where these revered figures arrived, that is the point where everybody in our day begins to go further.

Of course, Kierkegaard was being sardonic. We only assume we've arrived. We are saved and so His work in us must be done. Right?

Again, a Merry Christmas.

Matthew Study

Last week I got a surprise comment on a post I made some time ago. At the end of 2006 I decided to do my own study of the New Testament. I made a couple of entries, covering the first chapter of Matthew and then decided to restart at my other blog. But I only got ten verses into chapter two before it was abandoned. I didn't decide to let it go, but I did.

But this comment got me thinking. I have been thinking of ways to direct my Bible study in the new year. I could at least try this again. Even if I had only written a chapter a month, I would have have finished Matthew by now. So I am going to try again. I may not get much further, but we'll see.

I am creating a link to this called Matthew. If I do more, I'll rename it.

My posts:

Matthew 1: 1-17

Matthew 1: 18-25

Matthew 2: 1-10

Matthew 2: 11

Mathew 2:12-23

Matthew 2: 1-10

Orignally published at David Bird, February 12, 2007

Matthew 2: 1-10: The Wise Men Come To Herod

The second part of the Nativity story centers around Micah 5:2:

But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.

Micah was a contemporary of Isaiah, but was a man of little status in their world. His book is considerably shorter as well, but contains some well known verses focusing on social justice: beating our swords into plowshares (4:3), that God requires justice, mercy, and humility before sacrifice (6:6-8), and the prophecy that the everlasting ruler will come from Bethlehem. Of course Bethlehem, in spite of being a small village, was already the home of a famous ruler. King David was born there.

This part introduces the famous Wise Men. We don’t actually know much about them. The Bible doesn’t say that there were three, or where they came from, or give us any other personal information. They are described as magi who had seen “his star in the east,” and who had come to worship the new King. A magi was an astrologer, or a sorcerer (it’s used that way in Acts 13). In Christ’s time the word was used to refer to foreign forms of magic, forms that were suspect, so it is strange that these men would come to worship the new messiah, but they recognized him for what he was and came to give him the worship he was due. Sometimes the children of the world are wiser than the children of light (Luke 16:8).

They presented themselves to Herod and his court. No one was pleased to hear the news. I’ll get more into Herod’s court in part four of the Nativity story. Herod didn’t know where the Promised One was to be born, which was interesting given his obsession with securing his place. He consulted with the chief priests and scribes and sent the wise men on their way to Bethlehem. Outwardly he was friendly. He told them that he wanted to worship the child too. Once they had finished with Herod’s court they saw the star and it stood directly over where Jesus lay. So why go to the court in the first place? It’s possible that they went to the court out of a sense of protocol. They weren’t conspiring against Herod, and honouring an alternative ruler without going to court might have made it seem as though they were. Alternatively, the star wasn’t constantly before them. It told them that a great king would be born to the Jews, but it didn’t reappear until after they saw Herod. That seems consistent with verses nine and ten:

When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy.

Why would they rejoice to see it, if it were there all the time?

Three News Items

Here are three interesting articles.

Some American soldiers are trying to preserve an ancient monastery in Iraq. The monks who lived there were martyred - read: murdered - in 1743 for refusing to convert to Islam, putting an end to community that was over a thousand years old. Christians in the area are still under attack.

Pew Forum has published another survey on religious beliefs, this one detailing the tendency to mix and match religious ideas. Not surprising, but interesting.

On Salon a New York woman talks about her 'closet' Christianity. Its easy to think she doth protest too much, but then you get to her readers' comments...

China Cracks Down On Churches

On the eve of Obama's visit to China, the Chinese government has begun a campaign of harassment, closing churches and arresting church leaders. This sort of persecution isn't new, but beginning one just as an American president is about to arrive is. Traditionally Beijing looses up its anti-human rights position, sometimes even letting some arrested rights advocate go. What is different this time? For the first time since the US normalized relations with China, America has a government that has officially puts diplomatic good will ahead of human rights. This policy change was apparent last month, when Obama became the first president to refuse to see the Dalai Lama.

Is The Baptist Church A Cult?

The short answer is, No. Of course the Baptist Church is not a cult. A more complete answer would start with another question, Why would you even ask such a ridiculous question?

In the 60s and 70s new and foreign spiritual and religious ideas and practices began to gain a foothold in the West. “Moonies,” Hare Krishnas, and others. They were strange, perplexing, and sometimes just plain annoying. The devotion of their new found followers, more often than not, previously normal, middle class and educated people, mystified many. Then, in 1978, one group, the People’s Temple, committed mass suicide in their compound in Guyana. Over nine hundred people drank cyanide laced Kool Aid at the command of their leader, Jim Jones. Time magazine’s headline was “Cult of Death.” The word cult may well have a long and varied history, but since then its popular usage has been pejorative. To label a group a cult is to warn others against associating with it.

In recent years it has become to habit of some within the Evangelical movement to label anyone who is different as a cult. One site I visited listed everything from other religions (Buddhism, Hinduism) to handwriting analysis and the martial arts as cults. Even some aspects of Judaism. Typically, a cult has become defined as any group that veers from traditional doctrinal beliefs. This is a definition that raises two immediate problems. The first is that it is less than honest. When a group is called a cult, it is done knowing the term will raise alarm and distrust amongst those unfamiliar with the group. It is a derogatory term and it is being used as such. The second problem is that there is more than one tradition within Christianity. There are, in fact, a great many traditions and even within each tradition a great deal of variety and interpretations. That doesn’t mean they are all right, that you should accept all doctrinal teachings as equally valid, but it does mean that the practice of denigrating others as cults is essentially to replace apologetics with slander.

As an example of the ridiculousness of all this, I return to the first question, is the Baptist Church a cult? The Baptist Church has long taught that baptism plays no role in our salvation. Instead, it represents an outward sign of an inward act. We are saved once we accept the Lord as our saviour and are baptized out of obedience to His commands. But is this really a traditional Christian doctrinal belief? Let’s look at five Churches. I start with the Roman Catholic and Orthodox Churches. I realize that many in the Evangelical movement reject much of what these two bodies profess, but they are the oldest Churches, with the oldest traditions. To counter these concerns I also look at three of the oldest Protestant Churches, the first to turn from Rome. What I have done is looked up their statements on baptism. I don’t mean to assert that all of them hold identical beliefs or that there aren’t differences within the groups, but they all agree that there is more to baptism than it simply being an outward sign.

Catholics:

It forgives all sins that may have been committed prior to a person's baptism including original sin and it relieves the punishment for those sins.

Orthodox:

Christian baptism is the mystery of starting anew, of dying to an old way of life and being born again into a new way of life, in Christ. In the Orthodox Church, baptism is "for the remission of sins" (cf. the Nicene Creed) and for entrance into the Church; the person being baptized is cleansed of all sins and is united to Christ; through the waters of baptism he or she is mysteriously crucified and buried with Christ, and is raised with him to newness of life, having "put on" Christ (that is, having been clothed in Christ). The cleansing of sins includes the washing away of the ancestral sin.

Calvinist (Presbyterian):

Baptism signifies:

the faithfulness of God,
the washing away of sin,
rebirth,
putting on the fresh garment of Christ,
being sealed by God's Spirit,
adoption into the covenant family of the Church,
resurrection and illumination in Christ.

Anglican:

From the Thirty-Nine Articles:

XXVII. Of Baptism.

Baptism is not only a sign of profession, and mark of difference, whereby Christian men are discerned from others that be not christened, but it is also a sign of Regeneration or New-Birth, whereby, as by an instrument, they that receive Baptism rightly are grafted into the Church; the promises of the forgiveness of sin, and of our adoption to be the sons of God by the Holy Ghost, are visibly signed and sealed, Faith is confirmed, and Grace increased by virtue of prayer unto God.

Lutheran:

Holy Baptism is God’s gracious act by which He bestows on the baptized the gifts of forgiveness of sins and adoption into His family.

Again, I am not saying that these Churches hold identical views on baptism, or even that every church within their fellowships holds the same view (at least, in regards to the Protestants), but all of them have traditionally accorded baptism some role in our actual salvation. Unlike the Baptists. If a cult is any group that teaches something other than traditional Christian doctrines, where would that place the Baptists? Let’s look at two responses Baptists may make. The first would be to point out that their position can be dated as far back as the Anabaptist movement of the early Reformation. This is true, but it does raise the fact that there is more than one tradition in Christendom. A perfectly legitimate position for anyone to make, in fact, it’s the one I am making, but it that undermines the argument that anyone who teaching doctrines that differ from those of my tradition is in a cult.

A second response is to turn to scripture. A foundational Christian principle (at least within the Protestant traditions) is sola scriptura: by scripture alone. The Bible is the final authority on doctrine. All others are subject to it. Only teachings that are in the Bible, or can be logically deduced from scripture, are true. Anything that contradicts scripture cannot be accepted as true. What does the Bible say about baptism and salvation?

(I am quoting the ESV.)

1 Peter 3:18-22

For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit, in which he went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison, because they formerly did not obey, when God’s patience waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through water. Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him.

Just as the ark saved Noah and his family from the flood, God’s judgement on mankind, so baptism now saves us.

Acts 2:38

And Peter said to them, "Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Acts 22:16

And now why do you wait? Rise and be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on his name.'

In the first scripture (2:38) Peter has just preached and the crowd responded by asking how to be saved. He told them to repent and be baptised and that God would fill them with the Holy Ghost. Why were they to be baptised? “For the forgiveness of your sins.” In the second scripture (22:16) Paul is recounting his own conversion. Jesus had stopped him in his tracks and revealed Himself, and calling Paul to preach the gospel, but Paul still had to be baptized and have his sins washed away.

I have known Baptists respond to these scriptures by asserting that we are saved by faith alone. That anything else is ‘works’. That doesn’t really explain how these scriptures could mean anything but that baptism is a part of God’s salvation plan. It’s a teaching, formally called sola fide, goes all the way back to Martin Luther. But what did Luther have to say about baptism?

To put it most simply, the power, effect, benefit, fruit, and purpose of Baptism is to save. No one is baptized in order to become a prince, but as the words say, to 'be saved.' To be saved, we know, is nothing else than to be delivered from sin, death, and the devil and to enter into the kingdom of Christ and live with him forever.

Obviously he say no contradiction in the ideas the we are saved by faith in Christ redemption alone, and that Jesus requires all His followers to be baptized in order to enter into that redemption. Baptism is not a work of the flesh.

If our doctrines are to be built on scripture alone we must not try to explain away what these three scriptures - 1 Peter 3:18-22, Acts 2:38 and 22:16 - say. Each explicitly link salvation and baptism. To say otherwise is to distort the literal, obvious, plain meaning of the text.

Before moving on I want to talk about two examples of just that kind of behaviour. There are two other scriptures linking salvation to baptism and some responses I have heard could only be asserted by someone desperately wanting to put their preconceptions ahead of what the scriptures say. I point this out because I realize that those who don’t have an interest in this debate may have trouble believing these arguments are put forth in any serious manner and I don’t want you think I am selecting them because they are so obviously weak. People actually make these arguments.

John 3:1-8

Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, "Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him." Jesus answered him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God." Nicodemus said to him, "How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?" Jesus answered, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, 'You must be born again.' The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit."

Most would say that the water and spirit Jesus is talking about is baptism and the gift of the Holy Spirit. Not so, reply many wanting to diminish the role of baptism. According to them Jesus is talking about natural birth. The water is the woman’s water breaking prior to birth and the spirit is the baby’s first breath. If so, is Jesus saying to Nicodemus, ‘Yes, you must enter a second time into your mother’s womb’ or is He saying that all who are born are saved? I’ve never heard a Baptist come right out and teach either position.

And, Mark 16:16:

Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.

Its hard to think of a more obvious scriptural teaching than this one: to be saved you have to believe and be baptized. Oh, but the doubters reply, just because those who believe and are baptized will be saved, that doesn’t mean those who believe and aren’t baptized won’t be saved. That’s like arguing we are saved by faith, but not having faith doesn’t mean you aren’t saved! The reason baptism isn’t mentioned in the second half of the sentence because those who don’t believe won’t be baptized, but the meaning of the first half is clear and obvious: those who believe and are baptized will be saved.

The fact that the last two arguments could be made without being met with scorn and derision reflects another aspect of this problem. Not only are there different traditions, but many of them have built up networks of schools, institutions, and media that allow them to operate without interacting with other traditions. They are all in their own little bubbles - the Evangelical bubble, the Catholic bubble, the Mainstream, or Liberal, Protestant bubble - and they can see each other, but the don’t interact in any meaningful way and their preconceptions about the other groups are rarely challenged. Everything they come in contact with reinforces their own views and preconceptions. Some bubbles are bigger than others. The Evangelical bubble dominants much of contemporary Christian culture, certainly pop culture, and it in turn is widely influenced by Baptists. That’s why I chose the Baptist Church as my example. No, the Baptist church is not a cult, but the five churches that I quote in support of the importance of baptism represent four out five of the world’s Christians! That’s right. Most Christians belong to churches that believe baptism serves a role in God’s salvation plan.

When anyone argues that a group is a cult because their teachings don’t reflect traditional Christian doctrines, it is the speaker and not the group we should first be wary of. They lack either a basic knowledge of Church history and the many traditions that exist within Christianity, or the ability to defend their own views in an honest manner, or both. I don’t believe all traditional teachings are equally valid. No one could. Many churches have adopted contradictory views on a variety of issues. To know which are true, however, requires careful, and prayerful, study, so be careful when someone resorts to slander to end discussion. Truth doesn’t reinforce itself with dishonesty.

June 29, 2010

I haven't posted about my one thousand day program in a while, and I don't think I've posted about it on this blog at all. A year and a half ago, on my other blog, I made this post:

What happens on June 29, 2010? Its the thousandth day from now (including today, October 4, 2007). For a while now I have felt a growing dissatisfaction with my spiritual status quo. I don't know what it is exactly -- if I did I'd address it -- so I am giving myself a period of time to figure out what it is and what to do about it. I didn't want it to be a short time -- this is serious -- but I didn't know how long. After some consideration I decided on one thousand days. More than two and a half years. If I can't at least get a handle on it by then, I haven't been trying.

(Yes, I think my calculations were off by a couple of days.)

The time since has not exactly flown by, but while I've waited for the spiritual penny to drop there has been more progress in many areas of my spiritual walk than it often feels like. I have developed the habit of early morning prayer, getting up most mornings and starting my day with a half hour of prayer. I have read my Bible through from cover to cover from the first time in years, and I went on a three day (72 hour) fast, something I've only done once before. That was when I was a new Christian. When you're just starting out, its easy to push yourself to new levels, but over the years you start to settle. It would be nice to believe that you have simply done all the easy levels and that things have slowed because you're working from a 'higher' level, but that's not really true. And its not just me. I've noticed this in others.

There are other things to be happy about, but right now I am enjoying the prospect of shaking off the dross and rekindling things. In my second year in the Lord a lot of things happened to me and I made some decisions that would bear consequences down to the present day. Yesterday I was thinking about today and the next year, and it occurred to me that this could be a new second year. A time to move forward again from the position of a mature Christian and a mature person. I was only a teen back then.

I am still waiting for the spiritual penny to drop, for the big 'Aha!' moment, but right now I am happily looking forward to the next year.

Bible Reading

I finished reading my Bible yesterday. The whole thing, cover to cover. I don't know how many times I've done it, probably because I haven't done it in years. Perhaps a decade. I was using a reading chart designed to take you through in a year, reading a few chapters a day. I did it in fits and starts and took about eighteen months. A knowledge of God and the scriptures is a basic part of any Christian's spiritual foundation and there isn't any better way of gaining it than reading the Bible. I just wish I could be more systematic. I have developed the habit of getting up early and praying most days. I need to develop a similar one for reading my Bible. I don't think its necessary to read from cover to cover, the Bible wasn't written with that in mind, nor do I think its necessary to read it all in a year (or eighteen months, in this case). The Bible isn't supposed to be approached like any other reading project. You need to take the time to aborb it. Still, I using a yearly chart keeps you to a schedule and reading all the through ensures you read everything and aren't concentrating on the parts that interest you most.

The Bible I used was the King James, the New Cambridge Paragraph Bible With Apocrycha (the Penguin paperback edition). I especially liked its formatting, which prints the text as a single column per page. The papers covers, however, did't weather much use and I had to buy a covering for it. This was the first time, in my twenty eight years as a Christian, I read the Apocrypha. I have other Bibles that include it, but this is the first time I've read it. The Apocrypha is a collection of books, or additions to books, that were a part of the Greek translations of the Old Testament that the early Church used, but not a part of the Hebrew Bibles the Jews were using. Whether the Greeks Jews added them, or the other Jews dropped them, or never used them at all, is something we may never know. When Jerome originally translated the Vulgate he wanted to remove them, but the Church said no. When the Reformation happened the Reform churches did remove them, first setting them a part between the Old and New Testaments, and then dropping them all together. The rationale for initially keeping them, even though they weren't considered scripture, was twofold: tradition, they had been a part of the canon for a very long time, and they added to readers' understanding of the world of the New Testament. I've found them interesting enough to include in my next read through, which I am going to start July 1. This time with an English Standard Version (that also includes them). I am going to supplement my readings with William Barclay's New Daily Study Bible commentaries and have already picked up the first two volumes, which cover Matthew.

God Is Love, Part Two

In my last entry on this subject, some time ago, I discussed how the scripture ‘God is love’ (1 John 4:8 and 16) is linked to God’s inherent oneness. In this follow-up I want to discuss how the idea that God is love is linked to His omniscience. God is love because God is omniscient? That may not make sense on the face of it. How about if I rephrase it and say, God is love because He understands you perfectly? He knows everything about you, including how you feel, what happened to you, and what your motivations really are.

Sometimes when we talk about His omniscience, we imagine a big eye in the sky. A heavenly close circuit camera recording our every thought and action. This is a very limited understanding of His knowledge of us. The Bible says God looks on the inward man (1 Samuel 16:7). He looks beyond our actions, both mental and physical, to see why we are the person we are, and He not only does this with perfect clarity, but His understanding is even greater than our own. That is, He not only understands us when others don’t, He understands us when we ourselves aren’t sure of what is happening or why we behave the way we do.

What He doesn't do, however, is confuse explanations with justifications. Just because He understands why we make a mistake, it doesn't necessary follow that He will accept the mistake. We commonly do. I am sure we've all read of some trial in which there is an acquittal that simply makes no sense to us. There may be a technical, legal reason behind it, but sometimes juries seem willing to accept the most ridiculous explanations. Once, in the US, a man was acquitted of two murders because he had eaten some junk food and his blood sugar was high. There are many less bizarre examples and there is another consequence to this behaviour. We often won't hear an apology because we fear that in listening to why the person wronged us we are implicitly agreeing to accept their explanation. So we simply refuse to listen. God doesn't do that, either.

We all want understanding. We all want someone to identify with us, just as we identify with those we love. Their problems become our problems. Their aspirations our aspirations. Because God is omniscient He can be that person for us. He won't lie to us when were wrong, but His capacity for forgiveness is limitless. And His love for us is as boundless as His knowledge of us.

Pray Without Ceasing, 1 Thes 5:17

That it was a great delusion to think that the times of prayer ought to differ from other times. That we are as strictly obliged to adhere to God by action in the time of action, as by prayer in its season.

That his prayer was nothing else but a sense of the presence of God, his soul being at that time insensible to everything but Divine love: and that when the appointed times of prayer were past, he found no difference, because he still continued with God, praising and blessing Him with all his might, so that he passed his life in continual joy; yet hoped that God would give him somewhat to suffer, when he should grow stronger.

That we ought, once for all, heartily to put our whole trust in God, and make a total surrender of ourselves to Him, secure that He would not deceive us.

That we ought not to be weary of doing little things for the love of God, who regards not the greatness of the work, but the love with which it is performed. That we should not wonder if, in the beginning, we often failed in our endeavours, but that at last we should gain a habit, which will naturally produce its acts in us, without our care, and to our exceeding great delight.

That the whole substance of religion was faith, hope, and charity; by the practice of which we become united to the will of God: that all beside is indifferent and to be used as a means, that we may arrive at our end, and be swallowed up therein, by faith and charity.

That all things are possible to him who believes, that they are less difficult to him who hopes, they are more easy to him who loves, and still more easy to him who perseveres in the practice of these three virtues.

That the end we ought to propose to ourselves is to become, in this life, the most perfect worshippers of God we can possibly be, as we hope to be through all eternity.

The Practice of the Presence of God, The Fourth conversation
Brother Lawrence, 1605-1691