A Test of Faith

Our family recently suffered a double loss, in the unexpected death of Mrs. Manly’s Mom in November, and the very sudden death of her sister Donna in February. This has been a very trying time for all of us. We now know at a very deep and personal level what people mean when they talk about experiencing a test of faith. We have been thoroughly tested, for sure. We walk together, closer now, and by faith, and sometimes faith alone.

Easter arrived. The observance of both the “passing of Jesus” on the cross, and His Resurrection that forms the absolute foundation of the Christian faith, clearly prompts us to think about the ways we recover from tragedy. How God brings good from bad, how He can help us find victory in the midst of defeat, how He can lead us to peace, even joy, after a season of despair.

Spring also arrives in the Northeast, finally, after several false starts. I think the Punxsutawney Phil has been, for several weeks now, on the Ten Most Wanted List in Upstate NY. But warmer weather and sunshine suddenly melts away the hard resolve of a stubborn winter. Outside, we look for signs of what we already feel, inside.

Hope reborn, in a cycle even older than man and woman.

Several family members dwell in grief and sadness, and do not see a reason for a faith they do not feel. There, but by the grace of God, go us.

One remarks that he can’t get motivated by any kind of Supreme Being, who can put his creations through so much of the bad things that go on, every day in this fallen world. Violence, vividly illustrated, if not celebrated. The sudden taking of the lost loved one, the peaceful, the kind, the good, and the cherished. He wonders if this is God’s idea of “Tough Love” for his creations, but instead condemns God as another absentee parent.

It is a hard place to dwell. It is a difficult place to gain a foothold, to reason with a brother, to point him to a faith that feels a cheat, before one even holds it close to heart.

We can share what life held for us, what God offered, what we grabbed hold of, and what happened next, for us. But we cannot pass our personal conviction to another like some kind of cloak, here you go, one size fits all, take mine.

The answers must all be personal, but they don’t need to be private. And so, we try to reason together, but always first and foremost, from the heart of one to another.

Here’s a letter Mrs. Manly sent to our hurting brother, as the only words she could find in answer to his indictment of a callous and uncaring, absentee God.

What kept going through my mind was that the two deaths, so close together (Mom and Donna), and the age of Donna, has certainly shaken my faith. But as I reflected back over my life and struggles, pains, hurts, I realized that it was through these times that I grew in my faith. Not immediately by far, but over time and I can look back now and see and remember.

The other thing that keeps going through my mind is that we do all die. Whether my Mom was 100 or Donna was 90, I would still be devastated by them leaving my life, especially since Mom and Donna were my stability from the day I was born.

There is not anyone in my family that I depended on, could talk to at any time, would not judge me, would love me just as I was and that I had so much fun with, and just loved the way they were. Through my growing up years, there are so many things that only Donna and I knew, that she took care of me in the midst of my Dad’s drinking days, and my Mom was always there for me no matter what I had to say.

Those pieces of my life are totally gone, with no one to take their places.

So for me, I know that Donna and My Mom believed that Jesus Christ lived and died for them, and they believed in eternal life. I'm going to keep asking God to give me truth, reassurance and belief. I need to keep seeking Him because I want to see my family again, and what they believed, is that we all will.

Again, this is me. I cannot make you believe it or see it. We spend so much time finding ways not to believe, and finding fault, than to embrace that this is not our permanent place.

I think back over all the things that I have seen and experienced that were good. I think back to a Mission trip I took with Jeff quite a few years ago. We were with people that had little or nothing compared to us, not even running water. They were happy and were so close to each other, and they believed in God! I left here, thinking I was going to “help” them, and they taught me things I will never forget. They did not know what they were missing, because they never had it.

Yet we question God, why He allows so much tragedy, etc. We are so spoiled compared to almost everyone. No one and nothing promised us this grand life or lifestyles. We are blessed to have had loved these two dear ladies, and they loved us. The gift is, we did have them, and some people never experience people like them in their lives.

I have nothing to lose by believing, I have a lot to lose by not. The devil is real, he gets a foothold in many lives and minds of very intelligent people. Deceiving them and telling them in their minds, “How can you believe in a God that does these things?”

God gives us free will and free choice. I have used this example before: if I'm speeding down the highway and I have a car accident and die from speeding, is it God’s fault, or mine? I made the choice, I had free will. Then, you could say, well what about all the terrible things that happen in the world?

Exactly, the world. From what I read, from what I believe, the Holy Spirit has spoken to my heart. This world is just a stopping point. The part that I need to hang onto, is that Jesus says in his word: in this world, you WILL have trouble, but I have OVERCOME the world.

There is good and there is evil. I don't like some things, I don't understand some things, but I know I'm here and they are not. I need to go on “somehow” and I'm not sure why, other than that God is real.

I have begun to pray again, and read the bible, and listen to Christian Music on my car radio, hearing comforting words, and peace is beginning to take root in my spirit. I will still doubt and wonder and question.

From where my life was before I believed, and how my life is now, that is my personal life, I have to say I would choose to spend the rest of my days living this way, rather than the way I used to, very destructive and miserable.

I know in time, the pain will lessen. I will always miss them and love them, I'm so grateful we all had them, and were together for the years we had. I know that generations upon generations upon generations have believed in Jesus. Why did they? Why did Christ not fade like a fad? Those are the things I need to hang onto.

I will NEVER begin to think that anyone should believe what I do, I believe it is very personal between an individual and God. I just encourage you, in the midst of your pain and sorrow, to cry out to Him and tell Him your disappointment in His taking Donna, or anything else that may be or have been a burden in your life, sorrow in your past, etc. Tell Him the truth, you don't believe!

That is what I did about 18 years ago. I remember it like it was yesterday. I was standing in my dining room of where I lived at the time, yelling and screaming at God. (I was brought up Catholic, and taught to believe so I did believe, because I was told to believe growing up.)

It may sound crazy to you but I know that is the time that my life started to change, and I started to change in positive ways. I totally changed, totally and I know I did not do it myself. There is no way, the way I was living that I just decided to do it, because I did not think that there was anything I had to do, I just wanted this “God” to do it.

Now, I'm grateful for the people along the way who prayed for me, listened to me, loved me, helped me, directed me, guided me, hugged me, let me cry, and loved me just the way I was.

Mrs. Manly has a most precious gift, a God-given empathy and willingness to share, transparently, what fills her heart. It is a gift that brings great pain, but profound healing, as well. I watch her when she displays this gift. I see the Divine that will sometimes shine within, when one of His children acts in the center of His purpose. This is when we can touch God, when we reach out to others.

I completely agree with Mrs. D., that this is all about Free Will, what philosophers and scientists call “Agency.” Who is responsible for what. How much control we have, versus how much God has.

We are powerfully reminded of the human capacity for evil, chaos, and harm this week as people the world over struggle to make sense of the senseless.

I am reminded of the Serenity Prayer, cherished by members and friends of Alcoholics Anonymous and other 12 Step groups. One of my readers once shared what she called "the full version." Practitioners of the Roman Catholic faith also embrace this prayer, attributed to theologian Reinhold Niebuhr:

God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, Courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.

Living one day at a time; Enjoying one moment at a time; Accepting hardship as the pathway to peace.

Taking, as He did, this sinful world as it is, not as I would have it.

Trusting that He will make all things right if I surrender to His Will; That I may be reasonably happy in this life, and supremely happy with Him forever in the next.

When I accessed a wonderful online source for prayer seeking the text for the Serenity Prayer, I found a very moving combination of elements.

Just below a soothing image and the Serenity Prayer, they included Proverbs 3:5-6 (New International Version):

5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
6 in all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make your paths straight.
Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society

This carried special meaning for Mrs. Manly and I, as these are the verses that most touched her Mom in the hospital those last days. God has frequently blessed us with reminders of these verses in the days since Mom’s passing, Donna’s sudden death, and the many days of grief and healing since.

As long as we continue to insist that life can only make sense on our terms, life and all its ups and downs will never make sense. Another way to look at it, only God could make sense of what He created, because He has set in motion such complexity -- an infinite amount of interconnected pieces and parts -- that no human being could ever hope to comprehend.

This I know. God, and Faith in Him, can bring peace, because He is bringing peace to Mrs. Dadmanly, and to me, and to millions of others who have trusted Him.

They needed to trust Him before they found the peace. Without Him, there can be none.

Unbelief and Assurance

Friends invited me recently to a Bible Study taught by a man very mature in his Christian walk, Jack, an excellent teacher with a heart for evangelism.

I went to the study as a way of encouraging my wife’s Dad, who’s been struggling to find his way after the recent death of his wife, after sixty years of marriage. I know some of the folks who attend, but would tend to stick with small groups of my own congregation.

As anyone of any maturity in Christ can tell you often happens, God used this divine appointment with me in a special way. Dad may have had his own appointment that night too, but there was a message for me, waiting at that table.

As a way of starting a conversation about the Assurance of Salvation, Jack started in Isaiah, with what he described as “messianic” text. The term “Messianic,” when used to describe portions of the Old Testament, describes those verses of the Old Testament that foretell or hearken to the promise of the coming Messiah, in the form of the Christ, the Son of Man, the Chosen One of God, the Deliverer, hence the term, “Messianic.”

Matthew spends the largest part of his Gospel account highlighting how Jesus fulfilled all manner of Messianic prophesies in the Hebrew testaments, many found in Isaiah, but also in Psalms, Daniel, Jeremiah, and later Prophets. I re-read Isaiah often, but I did not recognize this text (another occasion with which I think mature Christians will relate):

Songs of Praise

1 In that day you will say:
"I will praise you, O LORD.
Although you were angry with me,
your anger has turned away
and you have comforted me.
2 Surely God is my salvation;
I will trust and not be afraid.
The LORD, the LORD, is my strength and my song;
he has become my salvation."
3 With joy you will draw water
from the wells of salvation.
4 In that day you will say:
"Give thanks to the LORD, call on his name;
make known among the nations what he has done,
and proclaim that his name is exalted.
5 Sing to the LORD, for he has done glorious things;
let this be known to all the world.
6 Shout aloud and sing for joy, people of Zion,
for great is the Holy One of Israel among you."
(Isaiah 12:1-6, New International Version. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society)

“In that day, you will say, ‘I will praise you, O Lord.’”

To what day is Isaiah referring? The exuberant praise of Chapter 12 is preceded by prophesy in Chapter 11, about a Branch from Jesse, upon whom the Holy Spirit will rest. The Jesse to whom Isaiah refers is that same Jesse, son of Obed, grandson of Boaz and Ruth, and father of David the King, among whose descendants the Jews expect would appear their Messiah.

This descendant of Jesse would “delight in the fear of the Lord,” “with righteousness judge the needy,” and “strike the earth with the rod of his mouth.” Isaiah proclaims:

10 In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to him, and his place of rest will be glorious.
(Isaiah 11:10, New International Version. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society)

In the context of the revealed Messiah, thus Isaiah professes, “In that day, you will say, ‘I will praise you, O Lord.’”

Jack then asked several of us, point blank. How confident were we of salvation, of eternal life with Jesus after death? Jack asked all of us to question our hearts, how sure were we? Did we have doubts? How strong was our belief?

How can a follower of Christ hear such praise and acknowledgement of Jesus’ divine nature, and the promises of salvation, read the triumphant passages of Isaiah 11 and 12, and not feel the lifting of his or her heart?

And yet, we may know of times ourselves, or perhaps on the part of brothers or sisters in Christ, when such temporary hopefulness is small consolation indeed, when it should make us feel triumphant.

Doubt happens. Commitment ebbs. Strength departs. Hope fades. Unbelief appears.

Jack didn’t ask me, but he asked the men next to me. One said, “Iffy.” Another said, “How strong should it be? Absolutely certain? Never a doubt at all?”

I thought about belief and unbelief and how we can feel both at the same time, a war within us, with each like a banner, beckoning us follow. Jesus’ own disciples struggled with their doubts, and weakened in their faith, when forced to confront the limits of their own powers and abilities. Peter managed a few steps across the water, before fear overcame his attention, and gravity his divine levitation. He likewise faltered and denied Jesus, and all ran away at Gethsemane.

My father-in-law, at a time of great struggle and loss in his life, seeks comfort and maybe answers from fellow believers who come alongside. “How did you learn so much about the Bible? How can you remember where in scripture to find what you want? There’s no way I can do what Jack and Freddie (another of our friends) can do, quoting scriptures all over the place. Not at my age!”

I love Dad for his honesty, and I share some right back at him. “I have to use the concordance, this index in the back that tells you where certain words appear. Then I only have to remember one important word.” As it happens, Jack’s challenge prompts me to look up the scripture that talks about belief and unbelief, the one I remember but can’t identify, and it turns out it’s in Mark:

The Healing of a Boy with an Evil Spirit

14When they came to the other disciples, they saw a large crowd around them and the teachers of the law arguing with them. 15As soon as all the people saw Jesus, they were overwhelmed with wonder and ran to greet him.
16"What are you arguing with them about?" he asked.
17A man in the crowd answered, "Teacher, I brought you my son, who is possessed by a spirit that has robbed him of speech. 18Whenever it seizes him, it throws him to the ground. He foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth and becomes rigid. I asked your disciples to drive out the spirit, but they could not."
19"O unbelieving generation," Jesus replied, "how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy to me."
20So they brought him. When the spirit saw Jesus, it immediately threw the boy into a convulsion. He fell to the ground and rolled around, foaming at the mouth.
21Jesus asked the boy's father, "How long has he been like this?"
"From childhood," he answered. 22"It has often thrown him into fire or water to kill him. But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us."
23" 'If you can'?" said Jesus. "Everything is possible for him who believes."
24Immediately the boy's father exclaimed, "I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!"
25When Jesus saw that a crowd was running to the scene, he rebuked the evil spirit. "You deaf and mute spirit," he said, "I command you, come out of him and never enter him again."
26The spirit shrieked, convulsed him violently and came out. The boy looked so much like a corpse that many said, "He's dead." 27But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him to his feet, and he stood up.
28After Jesus had gone indoors, his disciples asked him privately, "Why couldn't we drive it out?"
29He replied, "This kind can come out only by prayer."
(Mark 9:24-29, New International Version. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society)

That’s me, that’s many of us, like that boy’s father. “I believe, but help me with the unbelief I have in equal measure!” (For at those times, if I have more belief than unbelief my belief is sufficient for the fight.) Help us with our unbelief.

As I review Mark’s account, I’m struck by how the disciples found the challenge of the evil spirit, and the fact that none of their efforts could prevail to free the boy. Fully briefed, awash in the Spirit, in the presence of their Lord and the person of their Salvation, they were unable to do what Jesus had instructed, and told them they would have power to accomplish, in His name.

We receive the gift of salvation. We invite Jesus into our hearts. We seek forgiveness for specific sins, we maintain a spiritual inventory, we make amends for any wrongs we have done. We name and claim our victory in Jesus. And yet, we may still doubt, we find unbelief within our hearts and minds. How much like Jesus’ disciples, when they lost their focus on their Lord, and sought in their own strength to do the job He’d set before them. Is it lack of will, or commitment? Or habit of mind, or mental conditioning, or even patience? We have the tools, outside of ourselves, we know they work, but we sometimes don’t keep patience. In the Lord’s time just doesn’t seem soon enough sometimes, as if we knew better than He, what time is best.

Jesus told His disciples that "This kind can come out only by prayer." There are challenges we will confront which will be completely beyond our power, as there were for the disciples. Jesus points us to the Father, as only by lifting our problems to Him will we find any hope. We can’t, but He can. It’s all about where we focus our attention, not what we do or how we do it. Our own strength and power remains insufficient for the task.

This speaks to our attitudes, our habits of heart and mind, our obedience. Obedience often takes the form of waiting patiently upon the Lord. We can be certain of nothing, certainly not in ourselves, nor in the exact how or when of what the Lord will do in response to our prayers. We should be thankful we can be so in doubt and reluctant in our own strengths in these times, there are many times we delude ourselves into thinking we can do it on our own. At least when our courage fails, we’ll more likely turn to Him who saves. But He first and foremost calls us to obedience, and Godly fear (respect) for Him and His purposes.

When He answers, when His Holy Spirit moves in our lives and circumstances, how often we see, less a change in our environment, than we experience a change of self, in our perspective, our outlook, our attitudes towards what we confront.

Belief and unbelief, many of us struggle with both internal voices, sometimes in equal measure, and sometimes, with unbelief at least the louder of the two. It’s a personal and individual struggle to be sure, and I often hear from mature followers of the Faith, that we none of us should waste time comparing ourselves with our brothers and sisters. As we’ve each been gifted differently by God, we each of us as well must strive for deep relationship with God, and let Him speak into our lives of purpose, of praise, and yes oftentimes, of correction.

We find a way to block out the many dissenting voices in our heads that seek to distract, ensnare, impede, or misdirect us. These after all are a reflection of the power of this world. We need to listen for His voice.

Casting Crowns captured this perfectly in their song, The Voice of Truth. They use the two examples of Peter on the waves, and David before Goliath of the Philistines. When we consider the times we experience unbelief alongside belief, we try to put ourselves in the position of those who came before us, were strengthened and lifted up by God, and conquered both fear and challenge. But we hear those other voices, whether the accusation of the crashing waves, or the scorn of the Giant:

Oh what I would do to have
The kind of faith it takes
To climb out of this boat I'm in
Onto the crashing waves

To step out of my comfort zone
Into the realm of the unknown where Jesus is
And He's holding out His hand

But the waves are calling out my name And they laugh at me
Reminding me of all the times I've tried before and failed
The waves they keep on telling me
Time and time again. "Boy, you'll never win!"
"You'll never win!"

But if we would but choose to listen, we can hear that other Voice:

Chorus: But the voice of truth tells me a different story
The voice of truth says, "Do not be afraid!
"The voice of truth says, "This is for My glory"
Out of all the voices calling out to me
I will choose to listen and believe the voice of truth

Fear is what keeps us stuck in ourselves. What God offers is for us to let God be God, let Him be glorified by being our Deliverer in time of trouble.

And what is the Voice of Truth trying to speak into our lives, our circumstances, our hearts and minds, our souls?

That we can dwell in the Assurance of Salvation:

10Anyone who believes in the Son of God has this testimony in his heart. Anyone who does not believe God has made him out to be a liar, because he has not believed the testimony God has given about his Son. 11And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.

Concluding Remarks

13I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.
(1 John 5:10-13, New International Version. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society)

Jack finished his lesson with us that night with these, the verses that most concisely capture what God Himself tells us through the Good News of the Gospels, through Paul and all the Saints who’ve come before us, and lived the Christian life with complete confidence in the power of God to transform our circumstances by conforming His children more fully in His perfect image.

As Jesus assured us all:

24"I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life.
(John 5:24, New International Version. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society)

And of that, we can be so assured.

Grief and Praise

My good friend John of Blogotional encouraged me to share the story of how it came to pass that Mrs. Manly’s Mom passed from life to Life last week. We all grieve and mourn her passing, but God, in His mercy, has used the past few weeks and Ma’s last days on earth in a powerful way.

I called her Ma -- my Mom is always Mom, but I needed a word special for Grandma Manly, and Ma seemed to work for all of us. Ma was a terrific person, daughter, sister, wife, Mom, Grandma, Great Grandma, and friend, and I was honored to get to be her son, even if by marriage.

We found out about a month ago that Ma (81) had Pancreatic Cancer. Two weeks ago the Doctors urged us to have her checked in to a local hospital with blood clots in her lungs. Then found them all through her legs, Liver starting to fail. She was taken off everything this past Saturday.

Ma passed away Wednesday morning, November 29, 2006. There was a lovely obituary in the local paper. We held a Wake the following Friday, and a Funeral Service on Saturday morning at a local Catholic Church.

Ma passed from life to Life peacefully and without pain, Praise God. Everyone is doing well, strong when they need, dwelling in sorrow and grief when they need, coming alongside each other throughout.

Everything was incredibly sudden, for someone who was pretty active and healthy. Grandpa Manly (85) is the same way, taking it very hard, but we think he’ll bounce back. Big family, lots of support, well prepared financially, and Mrs. Manly is the youngest of three surviving sisters – and we’re all sharing the effort, and friends and family have been terrific. We are dealing with the usual silliness, dysfunction, some conflicts, family stuff, but overall much less than could be, and things get resolved or at least set aside fairly quickly.

Best of all, God has been glorified in many ways. Here are a couple.

Little Manly (10 years old, 11 in February) has been considering getting baptized. He accepted Jesus, as he explains, when he was 5, but he didn’t really understand as he does now. He watched as several young people of the church were baptized, and listened to their testimonies intently. He felt convicted that he wasn’t going to do it until he could really commit to being a Christian, as he described it, to get serious about reading the Bible, praying, and being what God wants him to be. (!!!)

The Sunday before Ma went into the hospital (11/12), Little Manly was listening to a Missionary speak at church, as the Missionary explained how he was struggling with the decision to take on mission work, whether he was “up to it,” or prepared for such a calling. Doubts. He described being led to the following verses, 2 Timothy 1:

6 Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands. 7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.

Not Ashamed of the Gospel

8 Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me His prisoner, but share with me in the sufferings for the gospel according to the power of God, 9 who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began,

At that moment, Little Manly connected with that same deliberation and doubt in himself, felt convicted by the testimony and God’s word, and told us straight away that he wanted to be baptized, that he was ready, that he knew that he knew. Obviously, we were overjoyed (as was the missionary when later he was told the impact his story had on our son, and others too). We made arrangements to have our Pastor meet with Little Manly to discuss his intentions the following Saturday.

The very next Tuesday (11/14), Ma went to the hospital. She was fine in every respect, except that her legs were swollen and she couldn’t walk easily without help – and she was told by a nurse, “if you try to get out of that bed, the clots could kill you.” We didn’t know for a few days how advanced the cancer was, how thoroughly run through her organs, the number of clots, etc. By Friday (11/17), the Doctor shared with Mrs. Manly and her sisters how bad things really were.

We had our Pastor come to the hospital Saturday afternoon to meet with Little Manly. He found us in her room, the Pastor visited with Grandma and Grandpa Manly, and one of her sisters. We intended to step away into a conference or prayer room, but after a while, Little Manly started talking to Pastor John at Ma’s bedside. John proceeded to ask him a series of questions, very conversational, about how he came to be a Christian, what that meant to him, what was different now from when he was 5, just getting him to talk about his faith and what he believed. In 20 minutes time, Little Manly just blew us all away with his seriousness, his understanding, and way he described that sense of, “now I KNOW what it means to need salvation, and accept Jesus as Savior.”

Ma listened intently to every word.

John then used Little Manly’s testimony as an opportunity to ask the family if any of them could relate to what he had shared, and whether they had likewise accepted Jesus as their personal Savior, not saved by a Priest (they were all raised Catholic, and Grandma and Grandpa Manly still attended Catholic masses), or by being in a Christian family, or by husbands or wives or parents, but a personal relationship with Jesus.

Ma said she had, about 5 years earlier. (We were with her then, it was a year or two after her elder daughter died of Breast Cancer after being a survivor for 7 years.)

Pastor John highlighted Little Manly’s testimony, explaining that, he was talking about a true repentance and a turning in the heart, of giving oneself to Jesus as Lord. As John discussed with Ma, she described how she felt an immediate peace 5 years ago, like Jesus had indeed come into her heart.

She said something that made him think to follow up, and ask her if there was any bitterness or regret that she harbored, that felt like it was wrapped around her heart.

She said, yes there was. John encouraged her to take some time that night, it could even be just her and God, and speak to God about that hurt or bitterness or regret, and surrender it to Him, that he would receive it from her as a burden she could shed. She said she would.

Mrs. Manly followed up the next day, asked her if she remembered what John had said, she said, “of course,” my wife asked if she had spoke to God about it, she had, did she want to talk to her about it, she said no. But she was very glad, and Mrs. Manly sensed that she did indeed seem freed from whatever it was.

Since then, we all brought an entire Thanksgiving dinner to the hospital, Ma slept all day, then just when we were done, woke up, and asked for a few bites of her favorites, oyster stuffing, mashed potato, stuffing, turkey, gravy, a bite of everything. Grandpa Manly’s brother has 2 grown daughters and 4 sons, and they all showed up later on, spent time with Ma, then many of us joined around Ma’s bedside and lifted her up in prayer, blessed her for her love and honored her as a Mom, Grandma, Great Grandma, Sister, Aunt, Friend.

This past Saturday, the Doctor sat down with Grandpa, Mrs. Manly and her sisters and told her the end was near, and he was stopping any cancer treatments. He recommended, and they agreed, to remove the IV, which was actually promoting the edema and swelling that was making her more uncomfortable. She’d been quite jaundiced all along, and her liver and kidneys were obviously failing day by day.

Since she had entered the hospital, nobody had really explained in detail to Ma what her situation was. Even Dad was spared some of the details, and Mrs. Manly and her sisters, as proxies, asked that conversations go through them. Dad was not functioning well both before and after Ma went in the hospital.

Ma had been trying to talk a lot that day. All most of us could make out was, “I don’t know.” The nurses that evening suggested that it might help if we told her plainly what was happening, and told her it was alright to let go, and go be with God. (The nurses, almost without exception, have been angels and very attached to the family.) Dad started crying, saying, there was no way he could bring himself to say that, however much he knew it was true.)

Mrs. Manly and I drove away from the hospital that night very troubled. My wife called the nurse’s station, talked to the nurse we were closest to, Marcie, and asked her how Ma was. She said, “wide awake.” Ma kept saying, “I don’t know.” Marcie said Ma said she didn’t understand why she wasn’t getting any better.

Mrs. Manly asked if it would be alright if we came back – after visiting hours – and Marcie encouraged us to do so. Her Mom was wide wake, from 9:30 pm straight through until about 3 am. For an hour or so, we spoke with her, explained that she wasn’t going to get better, that she was going to go to be with Jesus, we didn’t want her to, but that was what God wanted to do, to spare her any suffering. She said she knew, that the Doctor had told her. We told her how much we loved her as Mom and Grandma to Little Manly, what a great job she did, how much we all loved her, how much she gave to all of us, how much it meant that she grabbed hold of my daughters as her own Grandchildren, how much she had given to our son and how much he loved her. Ma squeezed her daughter’s hand tight several times, which she hasn’t been able to do, and Mrs. Manly knew that she heard every word. Mrs. Manly asked her Mom if she wanted both of us to stay that night, she nodded yes, so we did.

From about 11 until 3, Mrs. Manly kept lifting her head to see her Mom, who kept looking at her, and my wife would tell her we were right there with her, tell her she was going to be okay, not to be afraid, that God was taking care of her. At 3, Mrs. Manly suggested to the Nurse that maybe she could have something to sleep, which they did, and she did, as we did. The next morning, we explained to Dad and Mrs. Manly’s sisters what happened, they were upset, but okay with it. (Dad has been offered a rollaway bed, but hasn’t wanted to stay (or go home either), and he wants so much to feel like she knows he’s there, and wants to help, but he feels helpless. It’s been very hard on him. But they did take some time this past week, speaking to each other, saying they love each other.

By Monday, Ma could open her eyes with effort, blink, sometimes smile or scrunch up her face. Dad and Mrs. Manly’s sisters, friends and family all had opportunities to tell Ma how much she meant to them, and that if God needed her to come be with Him, it was okay to go.

Ma passed from life to Life Wednesday shortly after 8:00 am in the morning, with her eyes looking up, ever peaceful and free from pain. We prayed around her bedside that morning, commended her to God, praised her and her life, and prayed for peace and comfort. The priest at the hospital came, and administered Last Rites, as customary in her Roman Catholic faith tradition. The Father was very nice, and we started into this season of mourning, but with confidence and joy that Ma indeed had gone to rest in the loving arms of the Heavenly Father.

We all loved Ma very much, and are very, very proud of her legacy as a Wife, Mom, Sister, Grandma, and most of all, precious child of God. I am very proud of Mrs. Manly, too, who along with Dad, her sisters, and nieces, have carried through this difficult time with tremendous grace. They provide a powerful testimony to God’s ability to provision and to sustain, even at times most difficult.

Thanks to all for prayers and encouragement. The family deeply appreciates everyone’s condolences, sympathy, companionship, and comfort. God bless you all, lift us all, in prayer, and I look forward to connecting with everyone again soon.

Distractions

It's been a very long time since I've posted here. Too long. I hope to remedy my neglect.

Here's a short reflection on distractions, that came up in a conversation with a friend.

My friend Kevin is a gifted musician and composer of inspirational, praise and worship music. He knows of my background in Theater, and my recent writings, online and off.

We often discuss the creative arts, and the ways in which we sense God working through the gifts He has provided us, and the challenge of living up to His trust.

Kevin shared some of his sometime struggle with distractions. He has a virtual recording studio in his home, and describes that sometimes fiddling with his equipment or some other technological components consumes more of his “creative time” than he would like. He gets into some equipment or setting things up, then before he knows it, his creative time is over, and nothing’s been created.

I can relate. I suppose any of us who web log (blog) with any regularity or passion deal with the age old problem of creation versus experience. How’s that?

I read a lot online, most often to get ideas for things to write about. I write more of politics than is healthy, I think. Whether military or political, I can spend so much time reading that I run out of time for writing. More than just a matter of time, however, is the matter of attention and focus. I spend too much time watching, reading, absorbing, and dwelling on the wrong things.

8Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. (Philippians 4:8)

Good writers will always tell you that life experience comes before any good writing. You have to have things to write about. Hemingway had to go fight in the Spanish Civil War. (Well, no he didn’t, but his war-time experience gave him lots of material to work with for his writing.) Military bloggers (MILBLOGS) have a ready source for their military commentary, based on their war-time experience.

Writers who spend too much time immersed in their writing often find themselves detached or isolated from communities, public life, or other life experiences. They can often feel out of touch, and many set aside time to explore new circumstances, or reintegrate themselves into familiar settings.

Sometimes I think life is all about the distractions. I think sometimes Art comes from distraction. Art is how those distracted respond to the distraction.

Distraction comes from living in the world. We can’t avoid or eliminate the distractions themselves, and God doesn’t call us to.

God may call us to be a part of this world, but not to be conformed to it.

2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. (Romans 12:2)

There is one in us that strengthens us to not conform, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit that allows us to stand apart, and stand strong.

4 You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. (1 John 4:4)

Paul describes a thorn in the flesh, an ever-present intrusion or distraction that he must somehow accommodate, and over which he must persevere. Whether in fact this was a chronic injury or illness, or a recurring temptation, Paul’s thorn describes something unhealed and unresolved. A part of life, the thorn represents an opportunity for Paul to rise above his circumstances.

So it can be for us.

We ought not to be too hard on ourselves – and possibly let go of any sense that we are responsible – for the distractions we experience. We ought not to pretend or try to wish away our emotions or emotional responses to events or circumstances that interrupt what otherwise we plan to accomplish or in which we would participate. We can change our behaviors, but we shouldn’t try to become inhuman.

We’re all too human, and we will experience the full range of emotions – and if we try to stuff or ignore them, they will find other ways to present themselves. In and of themselves, our emotions are neither good nor bad. We sin or triumph over sin in how we respond to our emotions. The same is true with distractions.

Some distractions are invitations. Some are signs and warnings.

We must not become the distractions that mislead or tempt others. Don’t be conformed to the world.

So often, we cut corners (or want to). We take steps, more or less than required, to avoid discomfort, or seek out leisure or ease. In the process, we may shirk a responsibility, or miss out on an experience that God divinely appoints.

Sometimes, it’s most important that we feel that thorn as a thorn, and keep looking on distraction for what it is. Only then, will we receive what God has meant for our good, as we allow the Holy Spirit to prompt us to respond in a new and different way. Often, that can be an act of creation.

Stay in Formation

A slight bit of gaming workmanship caught my attention this week. While sipping myself to full consciousness with Mrs. Dadmanly one morning this weekend, I came to the following insight.

Little Manly owns a Playstation game, I believe it’s Call of Duty 2: Big Red One. I will remember that title I think, because the Lad polished off the entire game, all levels, within his first two days of summer vacation. Not.his.money’s.worth. But then, as he paid for it himself, who am I to complain?

One of the levels involves flying in a formation of Liberators I believe. (Would that be B-24s, my historically unchallenged friends?)

Among the many added environmental touches in these games are dialog and other atmospherics that add to the realism, or impact.

That morning I overheard a commander in the game sternly instruct my son at the controller, “Don’t take evasive action, don’t break formation.”

That resonated. I think that’s a useful metaphor for a lot of situations in life, and an important way God works in situations. A way that too frequently we miss, misunderstand, avoid, or try to take for granted.

In the context of the game, “pilots” are ordered to stay in formation, not to take evasive action, as they fly through a shower of anti-aircraft fire. They are to remain on target, not swerve or try to avoid the deadly flak as planes all around them were sent careening ground-ward in flames.

I’m no aerial warfare specialist, but I imagine that this principle of aerial bombing attack follows a rule reminiscent of 18th century infantry tactics: maintain ranks. Many will be struck down but not all. Keep focused on the target.

Individual compliance to the order of the whole is the secret to success.

If each one thinks, I need to protect myself, and takes evasive action, then the whole will falter and the goal likely lost. We can also harm others in formation, if we turn or pull out, we can crash into those next to us, and they fail in their goal as well.

I think God often has multiple people motivated towards a goal. Whether he explicitly sets them all in parallel motion, or whether in the course of His leading of His servants, others join in, either way, there’s a formation towards the goal.

Not all will follow through to the objective. Some will fall away or be struck down. But He intends all to be part of the whole to accomplish His purpose.

I think that tells us something important about the formations in which we will sometimes find ourselves.

We may be the sole reason for accomplishment of some higher purpose, or merely part of a larger whole that fulfills a mission. By our commitment, we may encourage or strengthen others. By our faith, we ensure we don’t collide with others, or shake their confidence.

Ignore the flak. Stay the course. Have confidence in your purpose, and hope in your success. Keep true to your objective, with honor and in fellowship with those flying beside you.

Stay in formation.

Christian Carnival is Up!

I am late in linking, but Christian Canrival is up over at All Kinds of Time. I finally got around to posting the very belated third part of my three part study of the Light under a Bushel imagery from the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke.

Check it out if you haven't. And check out the carnival too, lots of spirit filled blog-goodness over at All Kinds of Time.

Light and Darkness (Part Three)

In Part One of this three part study, I discussed Matthew’s Gospel and the context within which the light under a bushel metaphor is presented. In Part Two, I likewise explored the context within which Light and Bushel imagery is presented in the Gospel of Mark. In this the final and third part, I look at the context within which Luke presents the light under the bushel.

Luke’s Gospel

As Mark, Luke recounts the Parable of the Revealed Light immediately following his rendering of the Parable of the Sower.

The Parable of the Sower Explained

11 “Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. 12 Those by the wayside are the ones who hear; then the devil comes and takes away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved. 13 But the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, who believe
for a while and in time of temptation fall away. 14 Now the ones that fell among thorns are those who, when they have heard, go out and are choked with cares, riches, and pleasures of life, and bring no fruit to maturity. 15 But the ones that fell on the good ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience. (Luke 8:11-15)

More so than Mark, Luke’s account of the Parable of the Sower emphasizes that this parable is a metaphor that speaks of the condition of the heart. The seed of the gospel is sown in the listener’s heart, and the degree to which that seed takes root in the heart dictates what will result.

For some, the seed misses the mark altogether, it hits the wayside, in much the way a salvation message is dismissed and pushed aside. Whether by distraction, or resistance, enmity, or simple carelessness, for these, the Good News is no news of note at all. It is as if a telegraph of gladness is set aside and forgotten, it’s joyful message of no account.

For others, there is an existing hardness of the heart. They receive the message of God’s salvation through His Son with initial joy and excitement. The seed is received, but without a place to find root and grow, when temptation comes, the message is forgotten and the seed falls away.

Some allow competing interests and distractions steal away nourishment for the seed. The emphasis here is that which allows us to bring forth fruit. These cares and distractions may involve sin, and certainly result in temptation, but they may not in themselves be bad things. But by allowing them a greater prominence and attention in our lives, we don’t prepare our hearts to allow the Gospel to bring fruit into our lives. And while that fruit may bless us, the fruit that’s referred to here is a fruit intended to bless others.

Luke’s rendering of the parable describes the “good ground” as those who can hear the word with a “noble and good heart.” The nobility of heart in this context is surely not a gift of birth, but of attention, concentration, and commitment. Noble in the same sense as those noble of heart who love others as God loves them. This leads to a life and witness that is able to “bear fruit with patience.”

There aren’t many fruits that come from the discipled life that don’t require patience. Fruit itself requires time, good husbandry, nurturing care and feeding, and no small amount of pruning (as the previous example of the thorny and weedy ground well illustrates).

Thus Luke prepares the context for the next Parable.

The Parable of the Revealed Light

16 “No one, when he has lit a lamp, covers it with a
vessel or puts it under a bed, but sets it on a lampstand, that those who enter
may see the light. 17 For nothing is secret that will not be revealed, nor
anything hidden that will not be known and come to light. 18 Therefore take heed
how you hear. For whoever has, to him more will be given; and whoever does not
have, even what he seems to have will be taken from him.” (Luke
8:16-18)

Consistent with Matthew and Mark, Luke uses the image of the central communal lamp, in this case, so that “those who enter may see the light.” Here too, Luke also compares this light to revelation, to the way in which all secrets will be revealed, all darkness will be chased away.

What starts as common sense – who puts a light under a bed – ends with a warning about things of greater consequence. The Gospel cannot be passively received and not acted upon. How will we respond to the imperatives of revelation? How prepared are we to react? How ready are our hearts for the weights that will be placed upon them?

Just as Mark, Luke relays Jesus’s promise that, as we respond to His call into our lives, we grow in God and understanding of His purposes. Those who don’t prepare their hearts, or neglect His call, what little understanding they have will be lost.
The Gospel carries an obligation for believers. It isn’t just that we acknowledge the need for a savior, or that we turn from sin. There is a work of the heart to be accomplished, that working out of our faith that is all about sanctification and sharing that light with others. We are not our own, we are that vessel of light that God will use, if we are prepared.

Unity in Text, Diversity in Emphasis

In Matthew’s account, Jesus clearly charges His followers to share our faith with our family and friends, “giving light to all who are in the house.” Believers are compared with that communal light that extends our lives beyond the natural limits of daylight. Light here is the source of closeness and connection, and the believer is described as the light by which the connection is established.

Matthew describes the urging of Jesus that we would so shine, that those around them could see their good works. Those who would see those works will glorify the God who is the Author and originator and inspiration for those works. Our good works should give the glory to God, and be merely a reflection of the Light He brought into the world.

In Mark, there is a subtle transformation of the light that Matthew introduced as the light of believers, into a description of light as the revelation of God to all humankind. This light cannot be hidden, and by which the secrets and mystery of faith from the beginning of the world will be revealed.

Mark’s account includes a warning not to hide the Gospel, or constrain it into our preconceptions of what we want it to mean. If we hide it under such a bushel, we will limit what God can do with us. As we respond to His call into our lives, we grow in God, we grow in Jesus.

Luke faithfully presents a Gospel which cannot be passively received and must be acted upon. As we respond to His call into our lives, we grow in God and understanding of His purposes. Those who don’t prepare their hearts, or neglect His call will lose what little understanding they have.

Luke’s account of the Parable of Revealed Light speaks of an obligation for believers. There is a work of the heart to be accomplished. As our hearts receive and nourish the Gospel, we turn and share that light with others. We are not our own, we are that vessel of light that God seeks to use.

Each of the disciples seemed to receive this parable in slightly different ways. The different contexts within which they present the parable, and their differing emphases, reveal a richness of the message that Jesus intended to convey. Each is Gospel, all are divinely intended. Taken together, they point us towards a state of mind and heart that we are well advised to nurture as we walk the disciple’s path.

Much has been revealed. The light is bright. The more we prepare our hearts, the more we are willing to be redeemed as His vessels, the greater we can shine that light that He brought into the world.

Thoughts on Sanctification

John Schroeder, posting at Blogotional, discusses Idols and Idolatry (with a little help from the Jollyblogger:

If I am in an upscale community that values family, success and financial freedom I might decide that the way to reach these folks is to build a family friendly church with classes and seminars on marriage and parenting, money management and a biblical view of success, or how to use your success in a godly way. There are many good aspects to all of these emphases, but we can miss the fact that people often value family, money and success for idolatrous reasons. In other words, it may be helpful to give someone biblical principles for budgeting, but it may be that their interest in budgeting is driven by an idol of greed.

And so I am suggesting that we not treat sinners as if they are sinless. For some time now it has been en vogue to listen to the unregenerate and tailor our ministries to their stated needs, desires and values. This has been the case with the church growth movement, the seeker sensitive movement, and in many cases with postmodern and emerging movements. In doing so we often fail to get behind the sinless and idolatrous motives that are driving the needs, desires and values.

John amplifies this thought of the Jollyblogger’s, that otherwise harmless or acceptable behaviors may prove sinful, based on our motivations. John extended this idea into a very interesting area: church growth, and efforts to build fellowship without proper focus on God’s purposes for that fellowship:

Now here's the really insidious part - church growth is not a sin, unless I approach it with an idolatrous attitude - that is to say I operate my church in a fashion to pursue growth when I should be pursuing God.

Anything can become an idol. Have you ever thought that the Pharisees real problem was that they made the Law an idol? Think about it. They were so zealous to do what they thought God wanted, they forgot God, isn't that the very definition of idolatry?

John goes on to ask some good questions and seek feedback on how God wants us to respond in cases when a church may be straying from a focus on God’s purposes, and stumbling off into areas of a sinful (prideful) focus on numbers, attendance, growth for growth’s sake?

For John, leaving the work of change only to the Holy Spirit may be suggested, but that seems troublesome:

Of course, changing people "on the inside" really is the work of the Holy Spirit, but somehow that seems like a cop out. Surely God has a role for us in situations like this?

This resonates with me particularly now. Mrs. Dadmanly and I undertook a 12 week small group study in our fellowship, involving a biblical process for seeking change. The book, and materials, have been written by James MacDonald, called “I Want to Change…So Help Me God.”

In an opening chapter of the book, MacDonald starts by speaking of the need for God’s people to “take out the garbage.” This relates to getting rid of faulty psychological and spiritual methods for change. One of the faulty psychological methods for change was identified as “digging up your past.”

MacDonald, mentioning Freud and alluding to questionable practices like “recovered” memories, makes the point that any attempt to change that involves will, manmade, or other self-centered methods, is bound to fail. Only God can change the heart, based on the tried and true process of true repentance and sanctification.

While I might objected to an outright dismissal of various psychological methods for change, I think MacDonald makes a point here that I need to absorb. I still have some concerns that MacDonald’s treatment of these methods as “garbage” are too negative and judgmental, but I know I have things I WANT to change and haven’t been able to, and I know that God needs to change my heart. And I think that’s where this is best suited, lingering sin and resistance to God. NOT that everything else is garbage, but just not what’s needed now, for these circumstances and sin areas. And I also think, McDonald describes Therapy in VERY limited and archaic terms, more Psychiatry than psychology, Freud, etc., and did not mention 12 step (which is not exactly self-help in my opinion), recovery from addiction, Christian counseling, etc.

Mrs. Dadmanly and I received healing from 12 step, both secular and Christian based, and from secular and Christian counseling. The twelve steps themselves are scriptural (even if widely misunderstood). Yes, people get stuck in the past, and latch on to human beings, and never really come to know their Higher Power intimately, but that’s a failing of the individual (and sometimes groups that don’t hold themselves accountable), not to a weakness of the program per se.

I want to make one other observation about change. A CORRECT or appropriate identification of what a person REALLY needs to change is not trivial or properly dismissed with a joke along the lines of “Now what could I possibly need to change, I am so near perfect…” (As an aside, I think any time we say to ourselves, “Ordinarily I don’t like negative [critical] teaching, but…” that should be a warning sign. Attacking anything or other alternative approaches is a weaker place to start than why a different approach is RIGHT.

In my experience, one reason (among many) some Christians from dysfunctional families have not been able to “change” is because they identify the wrong things to change, and the wrong things as sins. In an abusive or dysfunctional family, the pressure is overwhelmingly that the abused “get with the program” and stop making waves. Putting up with the abuse and putting it out of mind is the fix. “I am the problem” can be very destructive and counter-effective. I can think of several current circumstances that people remain in bondage by thinking it’s all them, and they “conform” to what they think is right. Hitting someone over the head with the Bible may seem simple, but it can backfire (and represent the garbage bag candidate of a Legalistic approach by the way).

Mrs. Dadmanly observes that she needs no practice looking in the mirror and saying, “what a wretched, worthless creature am I.” Many of us spent the better part of our lives doing just that. As I said, I think it is vitally important that we in pastoral and teaching roles (and in Christian counseling, for that matter) be alert to what people focus on as what needs to change. Yes, we can only change ourselves, but we need to know what things God wants us to change, and what we are being “pushed” into change for conformity or to fit some Legalistic definition. I think McDonald’s approach could continue to work oppression on some, and reinforce an external (legalistic) conformity. Makes for a lot of sick fellowships (and bad counseling) if not properly accountable to God, and each other.

So how does all of this relate to what Jollyblogger and John Schroeder are discussing? I think they are the two wider paths upon which well-intentioned believers can stray.

Seekers and the searching bring a lot of diverse points of view, opinions, and life experiences, and many of these will be blended in what could be a much richer tapestry of the Christian life. Sure, there are non-negotiables, but all of us have prejudices and limitations to our experiences, areas where a brother or sister can reveal that God works in at least some mysterious ways that we ourselves have not experienced directly.

I can argue this point of view all day long. And Jesus associated with all manner of sinners in His ministry, that the religious purists of his day were shocked to observe. But if we never reach beyond that initial invitation, and we continue in what we want to be true fellowship, we do need to be attentive to each other’s walk, even if it is difficult to fully understand or identify with our brothers and sisters. We can risk discarding or neglecting important issues of sin, mutual accountability, sanctification, walking through salvation, in the interest of reaching people “just as they are.” Reaching people is one thing, helping them transform is another. I came to faith with a lot of “unchurched” areas of my life, and if I was never confronted with the distinctives to which my new brothers and sisters attend, I would have missed out on a very important process of prayerful reflection, conviction, and eventual sanctification (at least in individual areas).

It may be as simple as learning table manners, and it might be ways that my behavior is hurting my friends and family, and I have lacked an ability to perceive the effects of my behavior. It may be an area of addiction or compulsion that I was not willing to deal with until God had worked sanctification far enough in me to accept correction.

On the flip side, a fellowship can set standards so high, that many are turned away in despair. Sadly, many of us who spent time in recovery, have first experiences with other Christians outside recovery and therapeutic settings that greatly limited the positive influence that broader Christian fellowship might have had, both for our sanctification, and for theirs.

We all sin, and fall short of the glory of God. When we set conditions for the types of sin we can work with, and others that we can’t, or criteria for “how saved” we must be to participate in fellowship, we limit what God can do in our midst. Too frequently, it’s not just that we don’t give each other room to grow, but we discourage the kind of sharing lead to living a transparent life with each other. We may also be so used to our own way – say, what it means to be a foot in the Body of Christ – that we can’t recognize the differences on the part of the Body that is an arm.

Change is needed, and there is no time to waste. And surely the change most needed is a change of heart. Sometimes, the change will be some outward behavior and manifestation of rebellion, and loving correction that continues the lifetime process of sanctification. And sometimes, that change needs to be in the heart of him who would sit in judgment.

For me, I know I have to watch myself both ways. Because I still rebel at times, and need more sanctification. And I know I need to grow in tolerance for my brothers and sisters in Christ, because they struggle as I do too. And joining each other in that struggle is what God has called us to do.

Light and Darkness (Part Two)

In Part One of this three part study, I discussed Matthew’s Gospel and the context within which the light under a bushel metaphor is presented. In Part Two, I will likewise explore the context within which Light and Bushel imagery is presented in the Gospel of Mark.

Mark’s Gospel

Matthew presented his explanation of the Light under a Basket teaching immediately following the Sermon on the Mount. In contrast, Mark makes no direct mention of the teaching of the Beautitudes. Instead, Mark explains Jesus’s teaching of the light we are to be immediately following the Parable of the Sower.

The Parable of the Sower Explained

13 And He said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables? 14 The sower sows the word. 15 And these are the ones by the wayside where the word is sown. When they hear, Satan comes immediately and takes away the word that was sown in their hearts. 16 These likewise are the ones sown on stony ground who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with gladness; 17 and they have no root in themselves, and so endure only for a time. Afterward, when tribulation or persecution arises for the word’s sake, immediately they stumble. 18 Now these are the ones sown among thorns; they are the ones who hear the word, 19 and the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things entering in choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. 20 But these are the ones sown on good ground, those who hear the word, accept it, and bear fruit: some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred.” (Mark 4:13-20)

The Parable of the Sower describes evangelism and the spreading of the Gospel, the Good News, to a hungry world. Quite intentionally, Jesus uses an agricultural example for what His disciples would experience. The lesson here is not about where to sow and where not to -- people are sometimes far harder to read and spiritually navigate than the highways and byways – but rather describing what causes some “soil” to be more fertile than others.

Throughout the Old and New Testament, God through His prophets speaks the metaphor of shaking the dust from your sandals when confronted with those hostile or resistant to the work of God. But not here. Here in the Parable of the Sower, Mark captures Jesus’s teaching that is so much more about the fertile and infertile ground, those who He would have us witness to, not anything of substance about the sower. For truly, it is Jesus who sows, not us, we are merely His messenger.

The ground, hearers of the word but not yet doers, are described as: the wayside (think the shoulder of a modern highway perhaps); stony ground, hard and allowinf no roots to penetrate; ground overgrown with thorns; and good, fertile ground that bears fruit in abundance. The seed we sow is that which we carry from God, a message of good news that will be tidings of great joy to all peoples.

Mark relates how Jesus taught on the quality of the soil. For some who hear the word, Satan comes immediately and snatches away what seeds have landed in their hearts. The enemy confounds the good news, distracts the hearer, and causes that which might have taken root to be pushed aside before any good can come.

For some who hear the word, they take an immediate interest and experience an immediate but transitory joy from the good news. Jesus describes these who “have no root in themselves, and whatever grows from the witness they’ve received will not long ensure. Troubles, tribulations, or persecution for His sake will cause them to stumble. They are stony in that they have no depth of soil, no permanence or rootedness to their faith.

Some hear the world amid a tumult of competing desires and cares, and while the good news may cause peace and understanding for a time, ultimately these will fall away into distraction. The thorns are the cares of this world, “deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things.” Just as with trials and tribulations, riches can pull us away from the perfect peace and fulfillment that God seeks to give us through the Gospel.

Jesus sums up the goal of the Sower, as providing listeners with the opportunity to “Hear the word, accept it, and bear fruit.” When hearers of the word become doers of the word, as admonished by James 1:22), they bear the fruit that Jesus speaks of in this parable. And in completion of the cycle, when they then proceed to witness to others themselves.

Jesus spoke of soil, of sowing seeds. Mark then relates how Jesus spoke of the need to be the Sower he speaks of, and not keep all the seeds to oneself.

Light Under a Basket

21 Also He said to them, “Is a lamp brought to be put under a basket or under a bed? Is it not to be set on a lampstand? 22 For there is nothing hidden which will not be revealed, nor has anything been kept secret but that it should come to light. 23 If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.”
24 Then He said to them, “Take heed what you hear. With the same measure you use, it will be measured to you; and to you who hear, more will be given. 25 For whoever has, to him more will be given; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.” (Mark 4:21-25)

Granted, Jesus speaks of a different metaphor here, but it is a continuation of a train of thought. You get the sense, reading the Gospels, that Jesus often shifted from one metaphorical construct to another as necessary, to press home the messages He needed to communicate, in terms His listeners needed, in order to fully understand. And as we know, they were sometimes still confused, although things became clearer as the mystery of faith was revealed in Jesus’s death and resurrection.

Jesus says these words often, “Anyone who has ears to hear, let him hear,” words not only of hope, but also of caution and admonition. Today, perhaps they would be rendered something like, “Alright, Listen up!”

The image of a lampstand may be somewhat alien to modern ears. We may think of a night table, a lamp for reading perhaps, something alongside the sofa or easy chair. I think this misses an essential element of Jesus’s meaning here.

The lamp on the lampstand would form a primary means of illumination, used for all purposes of work, cooking or other food preparation, other household labor. Light was a valuable commodity, as were the implements of sustaining it, oil, oil lamps, wicks, lampstands, and often these objects were prominently featured in religious observances, as well. Lighting the lamps, stories of lamps, figure in major legends of the Hebrews in the Old Testament, as well as sacramental practices (the Mennorah, etc.)

I mentioned in Part One, that the image here is of a central communal lamp, by which the members of a household might gather for an evening meal, or share stories, or otherwise go about making a life extend beyond the natural limits of daylight. It creates possibilities where they would not exist otherwise. And in doing so, this light brings things to light, it is part of a process of revelation. In fact, Jesus here claims that there is “nothing hidden which will not be revealed,” and that any secrets kept will be revealed.

Here in Mark, there is a subtle transformation of the light that Matthew introduced as the light of believers, sharing the gospel. Mark’s description of Jesus’s light under the bushel takes on a deeper significance, as the light is the revelation of God to all humankind, and that that light will not be restrained, and the secrets and mystery of faith from the beginning of the world will be revealed, with witnesses to that light, but without any particular witness.

Jesus exhorts His disciples to hear the words He speaks, and to “take heed.” As they listen to His teachings, as we listen to His teachings, we are to carefully measure His words and their meaning. By constraining the Gospel into our preconceptions or prejudices of what we want it to mean (or sincerely but wrongly believe it to mean), we constrain and limit what God can do with us, the ways He will use us.

Jesus promises that, as we fully hear and take to heart, even more understanding wikll be given us. As we respond to His call into our lives, we are made more ready for the more He has in store for us. We grow in God, we grow in Jesus.

Yet there is a warning of contrast, as well. Those who cannot or will not hear, will lose even that which they have. The sense here is not so much physical or material possessions, but understanding and wisdom. As we receive, hear, absorb, and put into practice His words for our lives, we grow into better containers for the light He gives us to share with others.

The Parable of the Growing Seed

26 And He said, “The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground, 27 and should sleep by night and rise by day, and the seed should sprout and grow, he himself does not know how. 28 For the earth yields crops by itself: first the blade, then the head, after that the full grain in the head. 29 But when the grain ripens, immediately he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.” (Mark 4:26-29)

Mark chronicles how Jesus now returns to the earth, for images of growth and harvest. Yet something more, Jesus now speaks of the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom of God, as Jesus describes it here, is that which is part of the ‘natural order” of things, with the Sower spreading seeds, but God in His wisdom growing the harvest. And in the natural order of things, when the harvest is ready, the Harvester will put “in the sickle, because the harvest is come.”

This is another image that a modern reader might not fully appreciate. The allusion here is of a great burgeoning of a plentiful harvest, one that grows by the grace of God, but as men sow, they may watch in wonder as His bounty proliferates. But this very growth, explosive and vibrant though it may be, is a harbinger of something much more serious. As a latter Hebrew Prophet warned, “Put in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Come, go down; for the winepress is full, the vats overflow – for their wickedness is great.” (Joel 3:13).

In another parable, Jesus describes that the tare (weeds) will grow along with the wheat, but in the harvest, the seed will be gathered while the tares will b e bundled and tossed in the fire, with “great weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

Harvest metaphors often speak to fond experiences of seasons, regeneration and rebirth. But in a spiritual sense, the harvest is a “day of reckoning,” as well. When those of us who have been charged with “sharing the light,” may also be held to account for what we shared, and what we did not share, what seeds we sowed, and what seeds we let fall to the ground, or get devoured.

In Part Three, I will complete my exploration of the context within which Light and Bushel imagery is presented, in the Gospel of Luke.

Christian Carnival XCIII is Up!

Christian Carnival #93 is up over at White Ribbon Warriors.

The first part of my series on Light and Darkness is featured. Lots of fine and enlightening reading up at the Carnival, check it out!

Light and Darkness (Part One)

In looking up the Bible reference for Jesus’ teaching related to hiding “a light under a bushel," I discovered some variances on how this parable is presented in Matthew, Mark and Luke.

The nuances of the three presentations suggest something very remarkable about what I believe Jesus taught in this example. What’s more, the adjacent passages in all three gospels demonstrate the difference in emphasis that each of these disciples may have attached to this teaching.

As the first of a three part study, I first examine and discuss Matthew’s Gospel and the context within which the light under a bushel metaphor is presented.

Matthew’s Gospel

Matthew is the primary source for some of the most powerful and evocative rendering of the Christian Gospel in the New Testament. Jesus’s cautionary teaching about keeping our light under a bushel is sandwiched between the Beautitudes, in which God describes those who receive special favor in His heart and eyes, and the assertion that Jesus was the fulfillment of the Law of the Old Testament prophets, to whom God had promised to “write the Law upon their hearts.”

3 “ Blessed are the poor in spirit,
For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 Blessed are those who mourn,
For they shall be comforted.
5 Blessed are the meek,
For they shall inherit the earth.
6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
For they shall be filled.
7 Blessed are the merciful,
For they shall obtain mercy.
8 Blessed are the pure in heart,
For they shall see God.
9 Blessed are the peacemakers,
For they shall be called sons of God.
10 Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake,
For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 “Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. 12 Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Matthew’s gospel presents the Beautitudes immediately prior to the passages that present Jesus’s teaching on the light under a bushel. These aptly named verses beautifully capture those who are closest to God’s heart. God is especially attentive to the people and situations that this passage describes, the meek, the peacemakers, “those who hunger and thirst for righteousness.”

God provides a special blessing for those who are persecuted for His sake, and promises such as these a greater reward in heaven.

Believers Are Salt and Light
13 “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.
14 “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. 16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.

In contrast, the opening of Matthew’s verses on the Light we are to be, speaks about believers as the “salt of the earth.” Commonly understood, this would be the natural occurrence of salt inland, far from the ocean, which in the days of Jesus would signify a rare and valuable find. It would be that special blessing by God, and a thing of need and value for the people of a community.

Salt was a preservative, and it often meant that people could preserve meat and fish longer than this sustenance would last without preservation. That could mean life or death for people who had to live hand to mouth in an ancient economy.

People in those days would spend great sums of money or trade dearly for salt, which would otherwise be acquired from a trader who had arranged transport from an ocean coastline or other salt deposit. Given that salt mines were widely known in history and legend as places of terrible toil, having a community of believers perceived as “salt,” would mean that their availability would preclude having others mine that same salt themselves.

In this way, by sharing the good news, Believers whose “salt” retains its flavor can spare those who hear and respond to their invitation the toil associated with mining their salt “the hard way.”

The worst thing that could happen is for believers to lose their purpose, and be “good for nothing,” like salt that loses its flavor. God has called out those followers who He entrusts with His good news, the Gospel of His Son Jesus. He makes them salt for those who need “preservation.”

Matthew’s account then moves into the reference that began my search, speaking of how believers are the Light of the World, “a city set on a hill that cannot be hidden.” This is the Biblical source of the “Shining City on a Hill” allusion most recently popularized by President Ronald Reagan.

The Founders and many admirers since frequently refer to America as the “shining city on the hill,” not least because of our widespread Christian faith, but also because of the particular way in which America has been chartered as the foremost exporter of liberty and freedom for more than 200 years.

As followers of Christ, God clearly charges us in the Gospel to share our faith and join Him in His purposes, with our family and friends and in our communities. In these places, our faith is to be like the lamp placed on a lampstand, “giving light to all who are in the house.” This is in the days of oil lamps and cooking fires, not candles, and certainly no kind of artificial lighting.

The image here is of the central communal lamp, by which the members of a household might gather for an evening meal, or share stories, or otherwise go about making a life extend beyond the natural limits of daylight. This is an intentional harkening to a time and place of closeness and connection, by which the believer is the light by which the connection is established.

Lastly in these middle verses, Matthew describes the urging of Jesus upon His followers, that they would so shine that those around them, their community, the people with whom they shared, could see their good works. In seeing, those who would see will glorify the God who is the Author and originator and inspiration for those works.

This is an important admonition, too, that our good works should be cause for witnesses to give the glory to God. If they give the glory to us, it may well be that we distract their attention and detract from what God intends: namely, that the light we shine be merely a reflection of the Light He brought into the world, for all mankind.

Christ Fulfills the Law
17 “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. 18 For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled.

Matthew ends his account of Jesus’s teaching with Jesus cautioning His followers that He did not come to lead His followers to abandon their scripture or faith, as exemplified by the law of the Prophets. Jesus plainly declares that not until the end of time, “One jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law until all is fulfilled.” (In other words, not one bit will pass away.)

This last segment of Jesus’s teaching actually led to great dissension within the early church. Jewish believers thought Jesus meant that one had to be an observant Jew first, and obey all of the law, following “every jot and tittle.” Gentiles, urged on by Paul among others, asserted that the critical portion of Jesus’s pronouncement was “Until all is fulfilled,” and hold that Jesus’s death on the cross represents the fulfillment of all for the purposes of this teaching.

Still others would hold that the law is still intact in its entirety as God gave the law to Moses and the Prophets, but that that is the grace and mercy of faith in Jesus, that while we were still sinners, our faith allows us to stand as if we stand righteous in all fullness of the law. We are presented before God blameless, and counted as heirs with Christ.

Matthew is back where he always prefers to be, where Jesus fulfills the prophesies of Torah (Old Testament). But we as believers, function in the text, as we are to function in the world, as a bridge between God’s unwarranted favor and the fulfillment of the Law in the hearts of those who would seek Him. For it is only because a fellow believer brings the “good news” to us that any of us became believers in the faith.

In Part Two, I will likewise explore the context within which Light and Bushel imagery is presented in the Gospel of Mark.

Death and Rebirth (Part Two)

A continuation to an earlier post, Faith and Adversity.

In the first part of Romans Chapter 5, Paul spoke of how faith perseveres and even triumphs through adversity. It is the refiner’s fire, where gloss is burned away leaving that which is pure and unblemished. But Paul speaks of more, of something else God is doing in these experiences, not just scourge, but succor and restoration. We are chastined, but we are also rebuilt from the inside out.

Christ in Our Place

6 For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. 10 For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. 11 And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation. (Romans 5:6-11)

Paul explains how the Reconciliation spoken of here allows those of us who sin to be reconciled to the Perfect Lord and God of all creation. This is one of the great mysteries of faith, and perfect resolution to the problem of sin since the Fall. For God to be God in any meaningful sense, He must be that Perfect Divine Will before which no impurity or fault can stand. We are ungodly before we come into saving knowledge and acknowledgement of the One True God. This is the ultimate separation between those things that seem good to a man, a sense of good enough or earned acceptance, and the standard that would need to attain for the Supreme Being, Creator of all Life and Substance, He that spoke all things into existence and answers the question of who He is with the essential, “I AM that I AM.”

Death in Adam, Life in Christ

12 Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned— 13 (For until the law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law. 14 Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who had not sinned according to the likeness of the transgression of Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come. 15 But the free gift is not like the offense. For if by the one man’s offense many died, much more the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abounded to many. 16 And the gift is not like that which came through the one who sinned. For the judgment which came from one offense resulted in condemnation, but the free gift which came from many offenses resulted in justification. 17 For if by the one man’s offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.) (Romans 5:12-17)

18 Therefore, as through one man’s offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through one Man’s righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life. 19 For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man’s obedience many will be made righteous. 20 Moreover the law entered that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more, 21 so that as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. (Romans 5:18-21)

That reconciliation makes all the difference in this world, and the next. It eliminates all the generations of rebellion, it ends the intergenerational curse, it perfectly and completely obliterates any sense of the sin of the Fathers being transmitted to their children, not to any generations at all, let alone the third and fourth in the fullness of time.

That reconciliation starts the process of redemption, rejuvenation, renewal. All things are new again. We become the promised new creations. As sin entered the world through our Ancient first born, with the arrival of consciousness and intellect, so too God’s restoration and redemption, through the atoning sacrifice of One, the Perfect One. For with perfect wisdom and precision, God finds the way to turn our greatest defeat into His greatest victory through us His created. In striving to be like gods unto ourselves, we fell. By being made co-inheritors with Christ, we are made His children, and this sanctified and made whole in His eyes.

What once was lost has now been found.

Christian Carnival is Up!

This week's Christian Carnival is up at In the Spirit of Grace. The theme for this week is a little deeper than it appears at first glance...looking at mind, body, and spirit in a variety of contexts.

The Carnival this week includes my earlier post, A Eulogy for the Fallen, which includes reflections from Sandberg, King David, and Shakespeare. We march, each of us, through the endless pendulum swings of eternity, here to mark the time for such a brief moment.

Lots of other reflections on mind, body, and spirit over at In the Spirit of Grace.

Christian Carnival #88 is Up!

Christian Carnival #88 is up over at Digitus, Finger & Co. Lots of good carnival entries this week, including my recent The War Within post.

Check out the Carnival, and be blessed!

Faith and Adversity (Part One)

Many non-believers, and perhaps, many a new Christian, are very curious about how some Christians seem to maintain such stoicism in the face of adversity, crisis, or catastrophe. Those of us who believe, and yet struggle with doubt sometimes over God’s purposes in tribulations, can take courage and comfort from Chapter 5 of Paul’s letter to the Romans.

Faith Triumphs in Trouble

1 Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 3 And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; 4 and perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us. (Romans 5:1-5)

Faith in Jesus Christ is our pathway to peace, for Jesus is that ultimate Righteousness asked of Man by God. God spoke through the Prophet Isaiah, in promising that our reward for Righteousness would be peace, quietness (the absence of inner turmoil or contention), and assurance for eternity: This is the “peace that surpasses all understanding,” that so fascinates yet confounds those who have not found Him:

17 The work of righteousness will be peace, and the effect of righteousness, quietness and assurance forever. (Isaiah 32:17)

Yet we can’t achieve this in our own selves, when competing without a Champion with our own sinful natures. “There is none righteous, no not one,” and in our own strength without faith we cannot achieve that perfect Righteousness that would bring the peace of the Lord. But in faith, our belief in Jesus, the Son of God, cloaks us in His perfect righteousness and gives us access to that peace.

Accepting Jesus as Savior and asking that our sins be forgiven allows us to approach the throne of grace without fault or blemish. Not that we are pure, but that the atoning sacrifice of Jesus, of his sacrifice on the cross, presents us as pure before the throne of judgment. We can this have hope in the future, precisely because we can stand in His presence forgiven, and be accounted as righteous.

The promise of our redemption is about our eternal future, but dwelling in the hope of God can bring us joy and contentment today, a peace that God is our guide, a quietness of mind and heart, not that we may not be troubled, but that the concerns of each day will not eat away at our insides, that we may maintain a quietness of soul. “Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine,” goes the hymn, “O what a foretaste of glory divine! Heir of salvation, purchase of God, Born of His Spirit, washed in His blood.” (Blessed Assurance, words by Fanny Crosby.)

He’s broken down the wall of separation between Creator and created; He has torn the curtain asunder to allow us entrance to the Holy of Holies, and usher us into His presence:

14 For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation, 15 having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace, 16 and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity. (Ephesians 2:14-16)

6 but Christ as a Son over His own house, whose house we are if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm to the end. (Hebrews 3:6)

This is the meaning of being Heirs of Salvation and partakers in the inheritance. Jesus has made it possible for us to be first fruits too, and join Him as new creations.

And this assurance then gives us courage and strength to endure tribulations, even find glory in them, as God lifts us up, protects and sustains us, and brings us out the other side. We persevere; we stand on God’s promise. As we endure and persevere, we grow stronger, perhaps wiser too, and more knowing of the way in which we can keep God ever-present throughout our struggles, that we might remain hopeful and not despair.

11 “Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. 12 Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. (Matthew 5:11, 12)

2 My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. (James 1:2-3)

God thus works with our character, He makes us more than we would have been, without the tribulation, and without His love, and His Holy Spirit He gives to us, which dwells in us as believers. We become born of His spirit, as it indwells; we are washed in His redeeming blood, which is the start and finish of our faith and the author of our peace in Him.

12 Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him. (James 1:12)

We are forgiven in Christ once for all; we are purchased at the greatest price possible, the sacrifice of His own Son Jesus. As we all learn eventually when we come to faith, God’s promise does not mean our lives will be all sweetness and light ever after; but He does assure us, and we can experience, that He is with us in every trial and tribulation, and like silver or gold in a refiners fire, can be made better than what we were. God has placed His seal upon us:

21 Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and has anointed us is God, 22 who also has sealed us and given us the Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee. (2 Corinthians 1:21-22)

Jesus said, “Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high.” (Luke 24:49)

That is what the disciples did, and they were to be anointed with the Holy Spirit of God, the Promise that Jesus spoke of. And so might all of us receive that Promise upon us, if we but put our faith in the Lord our God, and believe on His Son Jesus.

It is the indwelling Holy Spirit in us that is God’s guarantee that He will be with always, “even to the end of the Age.” (Matthew 28:20)

Coming in Part Two: Death and Rebirth

God's Promises (Part Three)

This is a continuation from Part Two, in Which God instructed Israel that it was God who raised up Cyrus to rule them, so that he would rebuild God’s Temple, and in Which God warned of the folly of Man’s Hubris (Isaiah 45:9-16)

Part 3: In Which God brings a warning and a promise to His people, that In the Lord Alone Are Righteousness and Strength.

Now God, speaking through Isaiah, speaks directly to His chosen people, the Children of Israel.

17 But Israel shall be saved by the LORD
With an everlasting salvation;
You shall not be ashamed or disgraced
Forever and ever.
18 For thus says the LORD,
Who created the heavens,
Who is God,
Who formed the earth and made it,
Who has established it,
Who did not create it in vain,
Who formed it to be inhabited:
“ I am the LORD, and there is no other.
19 I have not spoken in secret,
In a dark place of the earth;
I did not say to the seed of Jacob,
‘ Seek Me in vain’;
I, the LORD, speak righteousness,
I declare things that are right.

God announces His pre-eminence to His people, people He called out to, people He encouraged to seek Him while He yet may be found. This God, this potter, this Artist but more than an artist who formed and established the earth so that Man might dwell on it. And He called the seed of Jacob as those who would carry His banner on the earth, despite travails and long captivity, despite cruelties and severe indignities, yet God said they would not be ashamed or disgraced forever, but would emerge from the darkness of the host nations to which they were carried.

Through Isaiah, God offers Israel this encouragement:

20 “ Assemble yourselves and come;
Draw near together,
You who have escaped from the nations.
They have no knowledge,
Who carry the wood of their carved image,
And pray to a god that cannot save.
21 Tell and bring forth your case;
Yes, let them take counsel together.
Who has declared this from ancient time?
Who has told it from that time?
Have not I, the LORD?
And there is no other God besides Me,
A just God and a Savior;
There is none besides Me.

God yet again calls Israel out of bondage, out from among the heathen people who craft their own gods and pray to craven images. He fulfills His promise as Savior, and suggests the way of His promise that will be fully fulfilled when His Son would walk the earth as Man, die for the sins of mankind, and be risen triumphant in glory as a resurrected new creation to take His place at the right hand of God.

Isaiah foretells the promise of God’s Messiah:

22 “ Look to Me, and be saved,
All you ends of the earth!
For I am God, and there is no other.
23 I have sworn by Myself;
The word has gone out of My mouth in righteousness,
And shall not return,
That to Me every knee shall bow,
Every tongue shall take an oath.[a]
24 He shall say,
‘ Surely in the LORD I have righteousness and strength.
To Him men shall come,
And all shall be ashamed
Who are incensed against Him.
25 In the LORD all the descendants of Israel
Shall be justified, and shall glory.’”

[a] In Paul’s letter to the Romans, as translated Paul renders this as “And every tongue shall confess to God.”

God promises all the descendants of Israel this inheritance. They may look to Him with assurance, and so may we. God speaks through Isaiah here, declaring the promise of the day when “every knee shall bow and every tongue will cry out His name, repent and affirm His Lordship.

Paul writes, in his letter to the believers in Philippi:

Therefore, God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth. (Philippians 2:9-10)

It starts with the movement of God upon the earth. He rises men and women up as part of His purpose. He rises servants up, to follow Him in obedience, and teach all who would come to Him through the promise of His Son Jesus. And this is His Kingdom established, the Kingdom of God.

God's Hands On (Part One)

Clay Nations (Part Two)

Christian Carnival #87 is Up!

The 87th Christian Carnival is up over at PseudoPolymath.

There's a post from Gladmanly this week, and lots of other great reads as well.

UPDATE: Having had the time to visit the Carnival, I'd like to recommend the following posts:

Jeremy at Parable Man observes:

There's almost nothing in the gospels about circumcision. Jesus was circumcised. There's one appearance besides that, I believe, and it's almost a side issue to a much more specific discussion about something else. Jesus didn't seem very interested in it. That's interesting for a number of reasons, but I want to suggest one thing that we should conclude that may not be as obvious.

David at All Kinds of Time quotes from 1 Sam 8:6-22a, and concludes:

But the church at large, especially in America, has failed at the very least to be socially active in crying out against a nation that would settle for a government that would attempt (and so blatantly fail) to care for said nation's poor.

Rev-ed at Attention Span describes the painful experience of losing a friend to a heart attack, and it tears him up. “Frankly, I'm still in shock. I'm typing this as some kind of catharsis -- a way to process all this -- because this really rips at me.”

Mark Olson, this week’s host at Pseudo-Polymath, laments that “The past had myth and magical stories in abundance,” and asks “What do we hold in that place today?”

Weekend Fisher of Heart Mind Soul & Strength believes that “the Quality Control branch of Christianity is out of control itself. It doesn't know when to stop pruning.”

Pastor Mark at Runalong with Pastor Mark uses the example of a man who is determined to visit every Starbucks store on the Planet:

There are two ways to go wrong in life and only one way to get it right. You can live without purpose or passion- if that is your life you need to wake up and live ("if I should wake before I die..."). You can live passionately for the wrong things, or even for good things that aren't the best things. No one ever said on his deathbed, "I wish I'd spent more time at the office." Or you can live passionately for that which is most valuable and meaningful in life.

Check them out, and be blessed!

Clay Nations (Part Two)

This is a continuation from God's Hands On (Part One), in Which God warned Cyrus he was being used of God, but because the Lord God chose to, not due to the righteousness of Cyrus. (Isaiah 45:1-8)

Part 2: In Which God instructs Israel that it is God who raises up Cyrus to rule them, so that he may rebuild God’s Temple, and in Which God warns of the folly of Man’s Hubris (Isaiah 45:9-16)

9 “ Woe to him who strives with his Maker!
Let the potsherd strive with the potsherds of the earth!
Shall the clay say to him who forms it, ‘What are you making?’
Or shall your handiwork say, ‘He has no hands’?
10 Woe to him who says to his father, ‘What are you begetting?’
Or to the woman, ‘What have you brought forth?’”
11 Thus says the LORD,
The Holy One of Israel, and his Maker:

“ Ask Me of things to come concerning My sons;
And concerning the work of My hands, you command Me.
12 I have made the earth,
And created man on it.
I—My hands—stretched out the heavens,
And all their host I have commanded.
13 I have raised him up in righteousness,
And I will direct all his ways;
He shall build My city
And let My exiles go free,
Not for price nor reward,”
Says the LORD of hosts. (Isaiah 45:9-13)

An ancient in the time of Isaiah would have understood the image of the clay somewhat differently than we do today. An ancient Hebrew in Isaiah’s day would have understood the clay to be the source from which God created Man. Clay was made from the dust of the earth, and scripture frequently uses clay and dust in similar descriptions. Beginning in Genesis, the Bible states:

And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being. (Genesis 2:7)

In Job, the text describes the houses of Israel, made of clay, “whose foundations are in the dust,” referring to the very fleeting time they exist, their temporal impermanence compared to the Eternal God and His creations. “They perish forever, with no one regarding.” (Job 4:19, 20) Such are the works of man, his works are like himself, destined to pass into obscurity without the intervention of God. Men of clay, in creations of clay, all to return to dust. Job laments to God, later in the account:

Remember, I pray, that you have made me like clay. And will you turn me into dust again? (Job 10:9)

To speak of clay in scriptures, we speak of the works of God as He fashions His will upon the physical world. Isaiah, in fervent prayer to God His creator:

But now, Oh Lord, You are our Father; we are the clay, and you are the potter; and all we are the work of Your hand.

Today, we think of the modern image of an artist with a hunk of modeler’s clay, molding shapes, or of a potter with a potter’s wheel, spinning and spinning with water and constant caress shaping the object gradually. There are times that God creates this way, too.

But here, in this passage of Isaiah, man is described as potter’s clay to remind man of his very temporary existence on earth. He has fashioned all principalities, the hosts (armies) they command. He guides the movements, commands, and utterances of the kings of this ancient world, and in Cyrus’s day, causes Cyrus to rebuild the city of the Temple, Jerusalem, and free the hostages of the Children of Israel.

The Lord God also spoke through His prophet Jeremiah, in speaking of Israel as the clay in the potter’s hands:

6 “O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter?” says the LORD. “Look, as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are you in My hand, O house of Israel! 7 The instant I speak concerning a nation and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up, to pull down, and to destroy it, 8 if that nation against whom I have spoken turns from its evil, I will relent of the disaster that I thought to bring upon it. 9 And the instant I speak concerning a nation and concerning a kingdom, to build and to plant it, 10 if it does evil in My sight so that it does not obey My voice, then I will relent concerning the good with which I said I would benefit it. (Jeremiah 18:6-10)

In the days of the Prophets, God influenced the rise and fall of nations on the earth, their leaders and forms of government. He directed their steps, he rewarded the faithful and obedient and punished the evil. He led the Children of Israel as a powerful witness, not only to their generations to come, but the generations of the Gentiles to come.

The LORD, the Only Savior

14 Thus says the LORD:

“ The labor of Egypt and merchandise of Cush
And of the Sabeans, men of stature,
Shall come over to you, and they shall be yours;
They shall walk behind you,
They shall come over in chains;
And they shall bow down to you.
They will make supplication to you, saying, ‘Surely God is in you,
And there is no other;
There is no other God.’”
15 Truly You are God, who hide Yourself,
O God of Israel, the Savior!
16 They shall be ashamed
And also disgraced, all of them;
They shall go in confusion together,
Who are makers of idols. (Isaiah 45:14-16)

God reveals Himself to the Prophet, and the Prophet explains to the people, and the people stand as witness to the wonderful Mercy and Grace of God, to spare and restore this stiff necked people.

Coming in God's Promises (Part Three): In Which God brings a warning and a promise to His people, that In the Lord Alone Are Righteousness and Strength.

God's Hands On (Part One)

God's Hands On (Part One)

I've been hanging on to a scripture passage for several months, and I can’t say I even know why. But I'm led to share the following, perhaps it's for someone out there to read.

Isaiah is one of the great prophets of the Old Testament, who foretold great events in the history of Israel, and prophesized as well about the coming of Messiah in great detail, fully confirmed in the gospels of Jesus and his ministry.

Cyrus was one of the great kings of his age, and God, speaking through Isaiah, makes it clear that it is by God and His purposes that Cyrus holds the fate of the Hebrews in his hands.

Part 1: In Which God warns Cyrus he is being used of God, but because the Lord God chooses to, not due to the righteousness of Cyrus. (Isaiah 45:1-8)

Cyrus, God’s Instrument

1 “Thus says the LORD to His anointed,
To Cyrus, whose right hand I have held—
To subdue nations before him
And loose the armor of kings,
To open before him the double doors,
So that the gates will not be shut:
2 ‘ I will go before you
And make the crooked places straight;
I will break in pieces the gates of bronze
And cut the bars of iron.
3 I will give you the treasures of darkness
And hidden riches of secret places,
That you may know that I, the LORD,
Who call you by your name,
Am the God of Israel.
4 For Jacob My servant’s sake,
And Israel My elect,
I have even called you by your name;
I have named you, though you have not known Me.
5 I am the LORD, and there is no other;
There is no God besides Me.
I will gird you, though you have not known Me,
6 That they may know from the rising of the sun to its setting
That there is none besides Me.
I am the LORD, and there is no other;
7 I form the light and create darkness,
I make peace and create calamity;
I, the LORD, do all these things.’
8 “ Rain down, you heavens, from above,
And let the skies pour down righteousness;
Let the earth open, let them bring forth salvation,
And let righteousness spring up together.
I, the LORD, have created it.

God used Cyrus as His instrument. There’s no mention of any quality of Cyrus’s that warranted God’s favor, and indeed, Cyrus may simply be the most ambitious or best suited man to rise to the throne of Empire. In those days, the Man was the Empire, perhaps difficult to a modern mind to fully comprehend unless one has lived under the toke of a total Tyrant. Just as He used Babylon during the days of captivity, God chose to use Persia to effect a rebuilding of the Temple in Israel.

God’s purpose in so doing could easily have been mistaken for favor. But note how God speaks about Cyrus and Persia in terms almost entirely about what God will do in power and might, and how little actually refers to the Persians, their power or lack thereof. They are passive recipients of God’s favor, and the benefits that accrue to Persia are only meant to underscore how thoroughly God will “make the crooked places straight,” “break in pieces the gates of bronze and cut the bars of iron.”

God through Isaiah himself confirms that he calls Cyrus by name, and girds him for his battles with his neighbors. God does a mighty work, and He uses Cyrus, but only as He might be exalted for Jacob His servant’s sake.

Cyrus has been lifted up as an instrument in God’s purpose, and equipped and fortified by God to ensure he can achieve what God has given his hand for his children Israel. God intends Cyrus to demonstrate His power. He seeks to demonstrate that “There is no God besides Me.” Cyrus will be God’s wrath and vengeance upon the people’s he vanquishes, and God will preserve His people under the protection of Cyrus.

We can know that God will oftentimes use worldly men and women, people who have not known the Lord, to achieve His purposes. We can be assured that God moves in this world, and while with our limited perspective, we may see the evil succeed and the good falter, yet He will make all things work for good.

When Cyrus ruled his empire, it might not have seemed to the Hebrews that God was in control, or that God still looked out for them. They saw His calamity, but not His peace. Thus Isaiah carried the message, to both Persian and Jew, that God was working through this earthly king, and Israel would come to know His favor through Cyrus.

As David proclaims in Psalm 102:

12 But You, O LORD, shall endure forever,
And the remembrance of Your name to all generations.
13 You will arise and have mercy on Zion;
For the time to favor her,
Yes, the set time, has come.
14 For Your servants take pleasure in her stones,
And show favor to her dust.
15 So the nations shall fear the name of the LORD,
And all the kings of the earth Your glory. (Psalm 102:12-15)

God has been working His purposes on earth since time began. He has used the kingdoms and principalities of the earth as His instruments, always so that the Nations might come to know the God of Israel, and His glory. And more than that, as a witness to those future generations such as we, who look upon the unfolding of history, in the plan of salvation revealed in the fullness of time. The story of Exodus, the story of Israel’s captivity, the story of their release, the rebuilding of the Temple, all these stories resonate with the love of God for His people, not a timid love that spares correction, but a fierce and determined love, and unconditional Love that yet demands obedience, discipline, and repentance of sin and departures from His ways.

David continues in Psalm 102:

18 This will be written for the generation to come,
That a people yet to be created may praise the LORD.
19 For He looked down from the height of His sanctuary;
From heaven the LORD viewed the earth,
20 To hear the groaning of the prisoner,
To release those appointed to death,
21 To declare the name of the LORD in Zion,
And His praise in Jerusalem,
22 When the peoples are gathered together,
And the kingdoms, to serve the LORD. (Psalm 102:18-22)

God carried the Israelites through their heroic journey in history, and His perfect legacy carried throughout the Nations in reputation and honor and fear of the Lord of the Jews. The Prophet Malachi declares how completely God affirmed His glory through His people:

11 For from the rising of the sun, even to its going down,
My name shall be great among the Gentiles;
In every place incense shall be offered to My name,
And a pure offering;
For My name shall be great among the nations,”
Says the LORD of hosts. (Malachi 1:11)

And His name has been great among the Nations, and ever shall be.

Coming next in Part 2: In Which God instructs Israel that it is God who raises up Cyrus to rule them, so that he may rebuild God’s Temple, and in Which God warns of the folly of Man’s Hubris (Isaiah 45:9-16)

Christian Carnival is Up!

The Christian Carnival is up over at TechnoGypsy. This week's Carnival includes posts from both Gladmanly and Dadmanly sites.

Stop by the Carnival, and enjoy!

When God Can Work With Us

Romans 4

Paul’s contribution to the early church was of immense importance, so much so that God, working through the early church, ensured that his extant letters to believers throughout the known ancient world would be preserved as Canon.

Paul’s letter to the church in Rome stands as a treatise on the justifications for, and recommended practice of this new faith for both Jews and Gentiles. And central to the Divine Doctrine he taught, was the expansive discussion on Faith for the Christian, which continues in Chapter 4.

Abraham Justified by Faith

1 What then shall we say that Abraham our father has found according to the flesh? 2 For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. 3 For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” 4 Now to him who works, the wages are not counted as grace but as debt.

Thus Paul begins the great argument of the necessary (and wholly sufficient) faith. God had come to Abraham in a vision, and in this vision he was shown great things. In this vision, he was told that even at his advanced age, he would have an heir. He was told to count the stars in the heavens, and told, “So shall your descendants be.” (Genesis 15:5) That is the promise, that was the vision, those were the words of prophesy that Abraham believed were truly from God, and that specific belief was what was accounted as righteousness. (Genesis 15:6)

If we believe what we see with our eyes and what we know from experience, how much faith does that require? If we count on those truths that we have already proven in count or by touch or from direct observation, we give but passive assent to that which is evident, that stands as solid as anything in the world.

But to believe a vision? Some imaginary flourish, that, as Scrooge would say, was some undigested bit of porridge, some fit of fancy?

If we then have faith in that which is unseen, as the letter to the Hebrews has it, faith being the “substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1), then it follows that any work that we perform is in response to our feeling of indebtedness to Him, not as work in exchange for some future earning. And in that sense, are not engaged ion some kind of worldly exchange of value: as in the example, when we offer our labor as effort in some manner of exchange, we rightly expect that payment due, a transfer of some agreed upon equivalent in value.

As Paul says, such efforts, such works as are performed “for hire” may very well be subject of some pride, but only in the ways of men. God has not engaged us as journeymen for hire, nor do we earn anything by way of recompense that God now owes to us. And Paul goes on to underscore that exact point by reference to The Psalmist King David.

David Celebrates the Same Truth

5 But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness, 6 just as David also describes the blessedness of the man to whom God imputes righteousness apart from works:
7 “ Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven,
And whose sins are covered;
8 Blessed is the man to whom the LORD shall not impute sin.”

Men will ever sin, and there is surely time and place for repentance and a call to obedience. But here Paul use’s the words of David to underscore the vital correlation between faith and righteousness. By our deeds, we know “there are none righteous, no not one.” It is faith, pure and unmediated faith that is what God sees and acknowledges in His children that brings His blessing.

It is when we seek out God, that we trust in His word, that we believe what He says, and are willing to see Him at work around us and believe in the reality of His presence and work, that He can work with us. We are all imperfect vessels, and He knows that. But He can do nothing with us until we are ready to humbly accept that fact, but humbly seek him despite knowing our own weaknesses and unworthiness. That’s when He can work with us, that’s when we are as malleable as clay.

What of Abraham, what of circumcision? Oh, you can almost put yourself in the middle of the quarrels. This aspect of Jewish law, that aspect, the traditions of Jerusalem, the practices of Roman believers, and oh those heathen Gentiles! Here is where Paul points his argument directly at the schism of Jew and Gentile.

Abraham Justified Before Circumcision

9 Does this blessedness then come upon the circumcised only, or upon the uncircumcised also? For we say that faith was accounted to Abraham for righteousness. 10 How then was it accounted? While he was circumcised, or uncircumcised? Not while circumcised, but while uncircumcised. 11 And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had while still uncircumcised, that he might be the father of all those who believe, though they are uncircumcised, that righteousness might be imputed to them also, 12 and the father of circumcision to those who not only are of the circumcision, but who also walk in the steps of the faith which our father Abraham had while still uncircumcised.

Paul makes the rather simple argument that Abraham was justified by faith quite a time before he was called upon to circumcise himself and his tribe. And yet, uncircumcised as he was, Abraham was accounted as righteous. Faith is altogether different than God’s instruction for the children of the Law to circumcise themselves in obedience to him, and as covenant that they would uphold his laws and ordinances.

God promised Abraham the rich abundance of His blessing not because of Abraham’s obedience under some law, but because Abraham was righteous in His faith in God and what God said. Abraham later obeyed God because he first had faith that whatever God wanted for Abraham was what Abraham would or should want too. He knew that God’s way was the best way, and thus later obeyed when called by God to do so.

The Promise Granted Through Faith

13 For the promise that he would be the heir of the world was not to Abraham or to his seed through the law, but through the righteousness of faith. 14 For if those who are of the law are heirs, faith is made void and the promise made of no effect, 15 because the law brings about wrath; for where there is no law there is no transgression.
16 Therefore it is of faith that it might be according to grace, so that the promise might be sure to all the seed, not only to those who are of the law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all 17 (as it is written, “I have made you a father of many nations”) in the presence of Him whom he believed—God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did; 18 who, contrary to hope, in hope believed, so that he became the father of many nations, according to what was spoken, “So shall your descendants be.”

Paul declares that heirs are heirs by sharing Abraham’s faith, not by sharing in his circumcision. If heirs are heirs only if they obey the law, then as Paul says, faith is of no account, heirs achieve God’s blessing only through works under law. Again, this comes back to earning the promise as a wage slave for works. We put in the time, we do the job, we get the reward. What we think about the job, or our Master, is entirely beside the point. Otherwise, it’s, “You owe us our due, God.” And that would mean God is obligated to us, not showing us mercy in blessing us on the virtue of our faith, alone.

That is God’s amazing grace, that while we were yet sinners and not obedient to Him, came to believe, and God showed us mercy and offered forgiveness of sin by belief in His Son Jesus. Being an heir in a human sense can be precarious, you might be in competition with the other heirs in the eyes of the Lord of the Estate, promises can be made, but broken, earthly riches can evaporate.

As Paul said, God gives life to the dead and can speak that which does not exist as though they do, and thus speaks things into being that were not. He has promised Abraham heirs among many nations, not just one nation, and not just one people.

19 And not being weak in faith, he did not consider his own body, already dead (since he was about a hundred years old), and the deadness of Sarah’s womb. 20 He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, 21 and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform. 22 And therefore “it was accounted to him for righteousness.”
23 Now it was not written for his sake alone that it was imputed to him, 24 but also for us. It shall be imputed to us who believe in Him who raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead, 25 who was delivered up because of our offenses, and was raised because of our justification.

Faith comes first. We believe all these things are possible. God gives our hearts and minds this absolutely incredible, impossible-to-believe-idea, that the God of all creation has a heart that beats specifically for each of us. This promise to all who would believe had been prepared long before Abraham knew God, long before Abraham himself, and stands so today for all of his spiritual heirs. But it comes first. We believe, and that draws us. It compels us. It grows obedience in us, as we test His yoke and find the burden light. We test His promises and find them true.

God looks for that attentiveness in us. For it is then that He can work with us.

May He find you in a clayful mood.

Katrina

Glenn Reynolds at Instapundit has complete coverage of where to offer assistance to victims of Katrina.

N.Z. Bear has a community set up, and Terry Teachout has comprehensive links to up-to-the-minute reporting.

As has been remarked by Austin Bay, the only America that's prepared to help out with this one is America herself. And that would be us.

Technorati tags: flood aid, Hurricane Katrina

Christian Carnival #85 is Up!

Christian Carnival #85 is now ready for your pleasure and inspection, up at Crossroads: Where Faith and Inquiry Meet.

I recommend you stop by the Carnival, where I enjoyed the following:

A Penitent Blogger reflects on the fragility of life and the security of Christ in I thought it was safe.

Donna-Jean at LibertyandLily has some thoughts on forgiveness - and unforgiveness - and how vital it is that we get it all right. This topic is a hard one for me so I really appreciated this post:
Something to Think About.

Lots more, but that's all I have time for tonight, I am overdue for bed!

My First Anniversary

(Posted simultaneously at Dadmanly)

I'll be flap doodled.

I was searching for an old post I remember from early on, and it turns out yesterday was the One Year Anniversary of my very first post on my blog.

I feel like I just graduated from blogfancy to blogolescence.

(And it coincides with a move this week from Marauding Marsupial to Large Mammal on the The Truth Laid Bare ecosystem. So I'm feeling decidedly all teenage bear cub frisky.)

Blogger shows me with 298 posts on Dadmanly; my companion site Gladmanly shows 64 posts, and Debate Space, the now dormant debate blog I share with the Liberal Avenger, shows 18 posts. So I have an average output for this past year of about 1 post per day, with an average of about 100 hits per day for the year. (Thanks Mom, but you can stop now.)

I have just over 35,000 visits, and over 50,000 page views in the portion of that year I had Site Meter installed.

As to my objectives, I'd say I met them, and then some. I've "met" some great MILBLOGGERS, such as Greyhawk (and Mrs. Greyhawk) and Mudville Gazette, Blackfive and Mustang 23, some fellow Christian Bloggers such as John at Blogotional and Ella's Dad at Ragged Edges, and even some new friends who have encouraged, such as Arthur Chrenkoff, Bill Roggio at Fourth Rail and Joe Katzman at Winds of Change. I'v even had some great, regular commenters such as Retread, RT, Kat, Papa Ray, and many others.

I'm sure as I think about it, I'll think of more, so friends, please don't feel left out.

I've written just about as much as I did as an Analyst and Reporter during my three years Active Duty in Germany, and this time, it's all unclassified. A lot more fun to write. And (hopefully), more enjoyable to read.

Here's how I introduced myself a year ago:

As if there aren't enough voices out here in the wilderness, I thought I'd try this whole blogging thing out. I don't have anything to say just now -- nor a lot of time to spend coming up with anything clever.

My intent is to weigh in from time to time on various matters military and politic, and invite response from any interested party who can abide by these simple rules:
1. Interpersonal public communication is best conducted with intelligence, rationality, and humor. (Although any one of these qualities goes a long way.)
2. Juvenile name calling and insults are immediate grounds for ignoring you altogether.
3. It's my blog, if you don't like it start your own.
4. Technology is a terrific thing, but good literature (and great writing) is eternal, regardless of the media. Try to contribute (positively).
5. I can't think of anything else. Let me know if you think of anything.

Dadmanly, New Blogger

Thanks so much to all my readers, long standing and newly arrived. I have very much enjoyed the dialogs -- even the aggravating ones -- and been very much humbled by all the terrific support and encouragement.

Christian Carnival is Up!

(A belated announcement)

Christian Carnival is up over at Wallo World. A few highlights:

Northern ‘burbs blog presents A Modern Babel, which “discusses similarities between our pride in our scientific achievements in matters of life & death and the Tower of Babel story in Gen. 11.”

Another Man’s Meat presents Pickin’ a Fight, in which the author says “a trip to the mall is all it takes to have your eyes opened to the realities of contemporary American culture.”

Ella's Dad at Ragged Edges presents Where’s The Meat? Ella's Dad writes, “As my Wife and I begin searching for a new church home here in our new locale, we’ve started noticing the messages on church marquee signs more and more.”

There's also a link to Part Two of my Eulogy For Lincoln.

Take a ride at the Carnival and be blessed!

Love the Sinner ...

I came across a very remarkable story from a young woman, a Christian, that befriended a very troubled young woman while in college. Her experiences with this woman taught her something very important about Christ, about how He would have us respond with love.

Parts of it can be very upsetting, course language is partially covered (but still apparent), and what the young woman shares is very tragic and upsetting.

But I feel led to share it, and leave it to your discretion if at this moment, or perhaps along the way, you might consider it too upsetting or graphic to continue.

My apologies in advance if I have in any way offended any of you, my good friends.

Righteousness and Faith

The second chapter of Paul’s letter to Roman believers concluded with the argument that he that would be approved of God is he that is “circumcised” inwardly, rather than outwardly. This refers to those who keep the righteous requirements of the law, whether or not they are physically circumcised, and thereby might receive praise not from men but from God.

In the third chapter, Paul continues his discussion of what constitutes righteousness, and what righteousness means to God.

God's Faithfulness

1What advantage, then, is there in being a Jew, or what value is there in circumcision? 2Much in every way! First of all, they have been entrusted with the very words of God.
3What if some did not have faith? Will their lack of faith nullify God's faithfulness? 4Not at all! Let God be true, and every man a liar. As it is written:
"So that you may be proved right when you speak
and prevail when you judge."
5But if our unrighteousness brings out God's righteousness more clearly, what shall we say? That God is unjust in bringing his wrath on us? (I am using a human argument.) 6Certainly not! If that were so, how could God judge the world? 7Someone might argue, "If my falsehood enhances God's truthfulness and so increases his glory, why am I still condemned as a sinner?" 8Why not say—as we are being slanderously reported as saying and as some claim that we say—"Let us do evil that good may result"? Their condemnation is deserved. (Romans 3:1-8)

While Gentiles have been invited into God’s inheritance by faith in Jesus, Paul assures the Romans that those Jewish believers in Christ have a great advantage. God entrusted his very words with His chosen people. Yet surely there were Jews who did not have faith, but Paul asserts that only serves to highlight the perfect righteousness of God. It isn’t any aspect of God that causes us to stray, nor do our acts of disobedience in any way affect God’s faithfulness to us. For He knows our character, and our faults.

God shows His righteousness despite how we respond to Him. Paul quotes Psalms 51:4, and poses the rhetorical question, that if our unrighteousness by contrast proves God’s righteousness, shouldn’t that service to God cause Him to spare His wrath?

Ends don’t ever necessarily justify means. A positive outcome in no way proves the righteousness of what it took to get there. This is similar to Paul’s warning about tempting Grace. Once we are saved, we may be tempted to think that we can knowingly continue in sin, with the knowledge that Jesus forgave us once for all. That flouts God’s law, and may very well try God’s patience.

God’s mercy exists before and beyond any effort of our part to obey. It exists before and beyond our failures and falling short. For this is God who declares his kindnesses and tender mercies.

22 Through the LORD’s mercies we are not consumed,
Because His compassions fail not.
23 They are new every morning;
Great is Your faithfulness. (Lamentations 3:22-23)

Contemporary Christian artists Casting Crowns say it best in their song, Who Am I:

Not because of who I am
But because of what You’ve done
Not because of what I’ve done
But because of who You are

It is not because of who we are, nor what we do for God. It is what He did with the sacrifice of His son, and His essential character.

No One is Righteous

9What shall we conclude then? Are we any better? Not at all! We have already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under sin. 10As it is written:
"There is no one righteous, not even one;
11there is no one who understands,
no one who seeks God.
12All have turned away,
they have together become worthless;
there is no one who does good,
not even one."
13"Their throats are open graves;
their tongues practice deceit."
"The poison of vipers is on their lips."
14"Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness."
15"Their feet are swift to shed blood;
16ruin and misery mark their ways,
17and the way of peace they do not know."
18"There is no fear of God before their eyes."
19Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God. 20Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin. (Romans 3:9-20)

The law condemned us. None of us can live perfectly under God’s law. Under the law, even the slightest departure from the law brought condemnation. None of us by our own accord or the total of our works can stand in God’s perfect presence without the Savior being our mediator and covering for our sin.

We may be successful for a time, we may be accounted righteous by fellow men and women, but in the end our imperfections make a life lived wholly under the law worthless, without the atoning sacrifice once for all. That was the lesson of the children of Israel. And that is the point of the law, as Paul presents it, that the law condemns, convicts, “so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God.”

The law, and our shame in falling short, are part of the way in which God communicates His plan of salvation to those who would be His children. We must find faith, for we cannot be justified under God without it.

Righteousness Through Faith

21But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. 22This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, 23for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. 25God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished— 26he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.
27Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. On what principle? On that of observing the law? No, but on that of faith. 28For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from observing the law. 29Is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles too? Yes, of Gentiles too, 30since there is only one God, who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through that same faith. 31Do we, then, nullify the law by this faith? Not at all! Rather, we uphold the law. (Romans 3:21-31)

There is a new work under the sun with the arrival of Messiah. A work foretold, a work in existence with God at the beginning of the world – “the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God.” (John 1:1-2)

Jesus had to serve as the sacrifice, or God’s justice would be unfinished. Paul here declares that God had left sins unpunished, and that the sacrifice of His Son demonstrated the necessity of His judgment, as well as the depth of His mercy in providing the sacrifice.

This is what is spoken of in Hebrews, where:

17 By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, 18 of whom it was said, “In Isaac your seed shall be called,” 19 concluding that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead, from which he also received him in a figurative sense.

We need to accept our sinful state. We, like Abraham, need to confess that we fall short of the glory of God, that we none of us are righteous, that we should all be laid out like Abraham’s son Isaac. And that is when God can work salvation in His mercy, and at the same time demonstrate His perfect justice as well in requiring the sacrifice for sin, sin that is vanquished in the atoning death of His Son Jesus.

Faith that we have salvation as a gift from God confirms what would have been our penalty under true justice, and reassures us that the penalty has been paid in full once for all. And by so acknowledging, we confirm and uphold the law, that in our own power, we are incapable of fulfilling perfectly. And that is God’s greatest mercy, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8)

Christian Carnival is Up!

This week's Christian Carnival is up over at All Kinds of Time.

My friend Lance at Ragged Edges has a heartfelt tribite to the church he's had to leave with his move, and some important information about the situation in the Sudan.

Robin Lee at Write Thinking has a wonderful and very timely piece on the Potter's Hands. I happened to be in an IM with Mrs. Dadmanly, she was sharing our uncertainties to what to do next, and I read Robin's piece. Sent it along, the Mrs. and I were both blessed tonight!

John Bambenek explains in a very thoughtful post why morality and a community-minded population is needed to maintain a free society.

And last but not least, there's a post each from Gladmanly and Dadmanly.

Stop by the Carnival, and be blessed!

Divine Evolution

Frederick Turner is on a mission, and he thinks he’s reached a point of transformation in his ongoing debate. I’m not sure the folks most heatedly in conversation with him agree, but I find his approach a refreshing one to consider.

In his continuing series of articles on Evolution, Turner has now hypothesized a synthetic framework (as in “synthesized,” rather than “ersatz”) for reconciling Evolution and Intelligence Design in Divine Evolution, up at Tech Central Station.

In addition to mentioning his colleagues at Tech Central Station, Lee Harris, James Pinkerton, and Nick Schulz, Turner mentions an ongoing dialogue at Natural History magazine.

Turner catalogs some areas in which some Intelligent Design proponents are willing to more or less accept some (theoretical) aspects of Evolution, as well as other, broader conceptions found in current astrophysical research. He cites as examples "Old-earth" Intelligent Design proponents, who “accept that the universe may have started 13 billion years ago with a Big Bang, that the Earth is at least 4 billion years old, and that "microevolution", the diversification of species into strains and breeds, can occur through selection.” Or those who are willing to accept that “different species and genera can diverge from a common ancestor,” although with the caveat that major transformations would require act of the Divine, “literally a miracle.”

Turner is hopeful that these developments in the debate may signal the readiness for a conversation, “a fruitful inquiry that includes good biological science but does not exclude the insights of other disciplines.”

Turner sees a major problem for those of us who believe in a Divine Creation, but who nevertheless aren’t ready to discount (out of hand) the findings of science:

If evolution, as 99% at least of all scientists who have studied biology agree, is quite capable of producing all the life forms of the world without outside intervention in the process, what need is there for God?

Quite. Now as a born again Christian, I have come to know first hand the reality and trustworthiness of the Word of God in the matters leading up to, prompting and confirming my conversion, and with my witness since salvation, with the many wonderful ways God reminds me of His ever-presence, and proximity. But I am a modern man, I have studied (some) science, I am prepared to concede much in evidence in the modern world that would appear to contradict both traditions and certain interpretations of Biblical text. But I strive for consistency and reconciliation, as I believe Turner does, because that is my faith, and it informs my reflections, as it must.

Turner introduces several premises upon which God can be logically intuited without contradiction, and then discusses problems with these conceptions from both the creationist and materialist perspectives. The first is what Turner states cosmologists call the "goldilocks" problem. This term captures the concept that many essential conditions for the creation of the Universe – of those observable by science – had to be “just so” (not too hot, not too cold), or “we would not be here to observe it.”

Turner discounts William Paley’s analogy for divine design based on finding a watch. Scientists now think a staggering complexity can be randomly evolved “given time, variation, selection, the marvelous versatility of the genome and proteome, and the interaction of genome with environment in embryonic and fetal development.

Turner suggests a better analogy, given the state of today’s science, one that is more compelling in suggesting design:

But if the true analogy of the watch is not the eye or the flagellum, but the initial parameters of the universe itself, all packed into the atom-sized singularity of the first moment of the Big Bang, perfectly and uniquely fitted to produce orchids and finches and sperm whales and human beings after 13 billion years, one begins to wonder. Doesn't that look a heck of a lot like design? Some cosmological physicists, in an attempt to avoid the question, now postulate an enormous number of different universes being produced at random by the big bang, nearly all of which wouldn't be fitted to produce life and mind, and the fact that we are aboard this one, which is so fitted, is not so strange. But this explanation violates the philosophical principle of Occam's razor, which is that one shouldn't make one's explanation wildly more complicated and inexplicable than what one is trying to explain. Why should the big bang be perfectly fitted to produce trillions of universes, one of which was bound to produce life? If there were trillions of big bangs, just one of which could produce universes, one of which could produce life, the same problem arises. Turtles all the way down. An uncreated creator is simpler at least, and it is not intellectual suicide to postulate one.

This is the problem for anti-design thinkers: though evolution, once it is set in motion, mightn't require further design, design certainly looks like the least implausible explanation for the beginning of the process itself.

But Turner doesn’t let the Creationist off the hook either:

What would we say about a creator who started a universe with the evident intention of producing life and intelligence, but who needed to step in every few billion years, or every few seconds, to fix the process, rewrite the program, give the actors new lines, touch up the brushstrokes of the painting, seize the conductor's baton and introduce a new melody?

Well, say the theists -- doesn't that leave us with a god who, having as the Bible says taken a holiday on the seventh day, no longer concerns himself with his creation? This, they say, is the deist position, with its uncomfortable implication that our god is a deus absconditus, an absconding god, an otiose deity, no longer interested in the world enough to bother giving us moral guidance or comfort in our mortal pain.

Turner raises yet another interesting twist in his debate, ushering in the Founders as character references for the synthesis he proposes.

The universe they envisaged, of "nature and of nature's God", as it says in our Declaration of Independence, is distinguished by its overriding quality of freedom. It's a hands-off universe, in which things do what they want, what is in their nature to want, rather than one that is micromanaged by a an external deity who forces things to happen the way he wants, concealing his manipulations as he goes, like a devious boss in an office.

There is a part of this that speaks truth to the Believer. If God controls our decisions of faith and preordains them, then are we really the agent of our own salvation? We are free to choose, and free to reject. God may know which choice we will make, but the choice is still ours.

Turner rejects the notion that such conceptions mean that God is remote and uncaring. Rather, he suggests it may be that God is all around us, all the time. That is certainly consistent with my reading of the Bible and the evidences of my Christian walk. Turner asks the question that is at the heart of his suggested synthesis:

What if God is always intimately here, at hand, in the very workings of nature itself, in the sun and moon, the ox and the ass, the human body, as Saint Francis believed? God would certainly be remote and detached if he were outside nature, and did not mess with the process of evolutionary history once begun. But if God is within nature, and the free creative evolutionary process is his very intention working itself marvelously out -- as Emerson thought -- then he would be very close indeed, maybe even uncomfortably so.

I have often thought that God created the universe in a pattern reflected in Genesis, but perhaps consistent also with what modern science attempts to pin down as biological mechanisms. What if evolution itself is an attempt to describe the manner in which God created life, in all its astonishing abundance and incredible variety?

And Turner suggests a trace of the finger of God elsewhere in contemporary models of biology:

Here is a way in which a "God of Nature" might be seen as intimately involved with our lives. We now know that nonlinear dynamical systems -- essentially, systems whose elements all cause and control each other's actions, and in which a single line of cause and effect is impossible to untangle -- have "strange attractors". Strange attractors are graphically demonstrable forms that govern the evolution of the dynamical system, but do it in a way that is not predictable. Some attractors, like the Lorenz attractor, govern lots of very different dynamical systems, from dripping faucets to the rotation of star clusters. Living organisms are highly complex dynamical systems, combining in their operation many hierarchical levels of different attractors, with a grand super-attractor that is unique to each species. That attractor can be seen at work in embryonic and fetal development and maturation, where the proteins specified by the genes self-assemble into the adult organism. A much swifter form of self-assembly, but of the same kind, takes place in the brain when the nonlinear dynamical system of the neurons, connected by continually-adjusting synaptic gates, comes up with an idea or a memory.

And in Turner’s synthesis, these same strange attractors can be consistently construed as acts of God in causing His will to be reflected in His works:

This conception might be called natural providence, and it has some appealing features from a theological point of view. Whereas classical linear cause and effect "pushes" events into happening, enforces them, attractors "pull" or invite them to happen; what happens next is only one of a number of possible outcomes for the system at that moment -- in effect, choice is built into the physical world. This view of things suggests that if there are divine intentions working themselves out, they are incarnate within nature itself. It brings the will of God into the most intimate recesses of our bodies. And yet it does not constrain belief in God -- a hugely important criterion in the Bible, at least, since we must be free to choose to believe. For we can always dismiss the whole process as merely a natural phenomenon.

As Turner concludes, he notes that his proposition in no way invalidates or conflicts with a conception of a Divine Being, and

…Is not at odds with any revelation we might have about them. What it does do is recover the immanent, or incarnate, aspects of the divine that were lost when Enlightenment theologians decided to kick God out of the physical universe.

"I am the true vine," said Jesus, "and you are the branches." The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that grows and branches into a tree; it's like a sower whose seeds have differential rates of reproduction; it's like the yeast that leavens the whole lump. These images are entirely consistent with the theory of evolution.

Illumination from Joe Katzman

Joe Katzman, responded to the Turner piece with a post at Winds of Change.

Spiritual progress can be made very complicated, but at its core it's very simple: "be and become more like G-d."

While Joe comes from a different faith tradition than I, what he shares about cultivating a direct relationship with God, and that we must assume responsibility for advancing spiritually, are entirely consistent with the imperatives of my faith as a Christian.

Joe asserts that love and responsibility are a pair of wings we need to fly:

For G-d is not just ultimate love. G-d is also ultimate responsibility. Responsibility requires knowledge, even experience. You know how your parents' decisions start to look smarter as you get older?

So connection with love, removal of ego, humility, clear perception, giving... these are all aspects of the divine.

Understanding, responsibility, learning about creation and what it means to be a creator - these, too, are aspects of the divine.

We are learning that we need both wings to fly.

Joe makes an excellent point on the critical importance of valuing and pursuing spiritual growth and observance. What takes its place if we don’t?

If we renounce the spiritual side or pledge worship to our fellow man, we get hell on earth. The 20th century was one long, eloquent demonstration. As one Jewish scholar put it "The Holocaust may make faith in G-d difficult, but it makes faith in man impossible."

Which, I think, brings us back to the limitations of a purely Scientific Man, who cannot accept the conception of an Intelligent Designer. Faith in God may be difficult, but Faith in Man (alone) is indeed impossible.

Forgiveness: Wrong, or Wronged?

(Posted concurrently at Dadmanly and Gladmanly)

I wrote the following in response to a friend, and thought I would share it with my readers.

I have learned, much of it the hard way, that all organizations have dynamics, and that people's motivations are never as clear cut as they seem to me. Everyone, myself included, can experience bouts of selfishness and complete self-interest, but many times, we are in a mix of emotions and motivations about just about anything.

Sometimes people mean us harm personally. Often, hurts are unintended. Most usually, even when we mean to hurt someone spitefully, we may not have a full or even good understanding of how hurtful our actions or words are.

I went through the twelve steps, I made up about three different moral inventories, a lot of the contents were the same, but each time there were new things to ask God forgiveness for, and new things I needed to prayerfully consider whether and how to make amends.

I have had bosses I despised, some I hated, some I did not respect, and some that I knew in my heart they were either venal, corrupt, or incapable of doing their job as well as I thought they should have. I sat in judgment, and I grew angrier and angrier, full of righteous indignation. Some of these situations were military, some involved either my employer managers or client managers or customers. (I'm a salaried employee who earns my company money through consulting assignments with other corporations or governmental agencies.)

I was on a track (it wasn't fast, but by sheer determination and assertiveness, I was on it) for senior management, and I started down a road that involved longer hours, harder trade-offs, complexity, uncertainty, greater ego battles, more competition, and LOTS more judgment of others.

Thank God, with the help of Him and the good counsel of Mrs. Dadmanly, I stepped off that track. I regret it at times -- I still don't like the decisions that are made -- but I am more rested, calmer, less stressed, I enjoy my status and stature as a subject matter expert and veteran consultant -- they defer to me a lot more now that I am not actively competing against them -- and I have to say I've found more joy and contentment, and found a manner of work and "doing my job" that allows my family time and interests to stay Number 1, 40 hours a week job and that's all.

In the Army, it's been somewhat different. I am in a leadership position, but I have superiors, and there are many situations where I must obey, and I must expect and direct my subordinates to do likewise, even if I would do differently or disagree. I mediate where I can, I soften, I try to lessen impacts of bad decisions, I will even keep up (some) resistance or at least continue to advise against courses of action where I can without jeopardizing good military order.

But I have come to realize even there, that you can allow your subordinates too much latitude, you can lose their respect, you can degrade motivation and performance, and you can sometimes even jeopardize your authority by not running a tight enough ship. I am most often the Good Cop to my CSMs Bad Cop, but I often pay the price of not having immediate obedience when I need it. Thank goodness, we haven't been in life or death situations yet, but that could happen, and the Drill Sergeant leadership model makes certain you have it when you need it, while it is sometimes forced or grudging; whereas the friendlier, more accommodating style I usually adopt can sometimes leave me vulnerable or not having full control when I need it.

Scripture makes frequent mention of slaves and masters, authority, and how we as Christians are to render proper obedience to our Masters. The modern equivalent of the Master Servant relationship is the employer and employee.

I had a Commander once who was amazingly selfish, self-centered, prideful, arrogant, hurtful, spiteful, vengeful... I could go on. But my point is, even though I felt he was totally unsuited to Command, unless and until he issued an unlawful order or crossed a line where obeying his order harmed our soldiers unnecessarily, I had to obey. It was wrong when I talked about him behind his back. It was wrong when we traded stories about what a Jack a** he was. (All human, all understandable, but as a Christian, I'm convicted that I often need to ask forgiveness for the many times I condemned him with judgment. I think I even said once, "G - D him straight to hell," God forgive me.) He was chosen and placed in that position to make those decisions, and it was not my place or job or duty to make sure his decisions were best or even advisable.

It wasn't about him, he was beset by evil, enmeshed, he dwelt in sin. It was about me. By yielding to that anger and judgment, I allowed the devil a foothold.

I need to be able to forgive even my enemies. And that helps me be the Christian witness God wants me to be.

I have found that there are those I have hurt, whose feelings I have hurt, even though I meant no harm. I have sometimes hurt people in ways I didn't know about. In the same way that I may have history that makes me very susceptible or vulnerable to certain patterns of behavior, or awakening of deeper hurts, it may be that those with whom we are in conflict with likewise have secrets or hidden scars or other circumstances or dynamics we don't know about. Doesn't make them right, but it may explain why they act or react the way they do.

I know what I know about my first wife and our failed marriage and divorce. I became a born again Christian after that, and am in a committed Christian Marriage before God with another Christian that had a similar situation, and was likewise redeemed and renewed and given a second chance on the way God intended husband and wife to bond -- not to fill the empty parts or fix what's broke -- but to be co-equals, partners, and draw closer to each other as we each draw closer to God.

I know the scars I carry from my failed marriage. I know the sins committed against me. But I also know that, because of her scars, her terrible experiences, there were ways that without meaning to I hurt her deeply in ways that I wasn't able to see at first. I needed to do what I could to make amends unless to do so would hurt that person or others. And it didn't matter that she could not come to a place to forgive me, I needed to forgive her.

I've had to do the same with family. I can't say I'm 100% all the way there yet, but I know making amends is not going to always work reconciliation, nor should it, nor can we expect forgiveness, and may even receive hostility. But we step forward in faith, we do what He would have us do, we do what we need to do for ourselves, and then turn the hurt, the wrong, the working out of our salvation over to Him.

Chris Muir and Cathy Need Your Help

(Via Mudville Gazette)


Cathy, the sister of Day by Day cartoonist Chris Muir, is being treated at the Cancer Ablation Center in Gulf Shores, Alabama.

The Cancer Ablation Center in Gulf Shores, Alabama. will have an ad to be aired on CNN cancer special on August 14th and 20th, but Chris is asking for our help in doing more.

For the next TEN DAYS, click on the banner (or links) as often as you can and boost their visibility in search engines.

And if you can, please pray for God to give Cathy a full recovery, and for peace and comfort for Chris and his family.

Christian Carnival is Up!

The Bloke in the Outer hosts this week's Christinan Carnival.

The Bloke organized the Carnival in a very unusual and creative way, and one that will teach most of us something we did not know. I'll let the Bloke describe it:

As we begin this week’s showcase of posts, I would like to introduce to you an ancient Chinese Christian text. It was found among scrolls discovered hidden in the caves of Dunhuang and were subsequently known as the Jesus Sutras. Very little is known about their origins, but the stories that have come to us from those who have researched them are facinating. At the very least, it has confirmed how seriously the early church took Jesus’ words to take the gospel to the ends of the earth, and it sheds light in how they have interacted with peoples of remote areas and distant cultures. It also gives us hope of reaching the world with the gospel of the peace that passes all understanding. And it provides us with a glimpse of the gospel through different perspectives, thus hopefully helping us to fresher insights to the meaning of following our Lord in this world.

Within these texts is this passage which begins with the question: “What are the Four Essential Laws of Dharma?” Dharma literally means “what holds together” and can refer to teachings, principles, or precepts. The Jesus Sutras answers the question with the following four dharmas: “no wanting” (or “no desire”), “no doing” (or “no action” or “no effort”), “no piousness” (or “no virtue”), and “no truth”. As you read this week’s Christican Carnival, I invite you to do so with an attitude of learning with a view of catching a fresh glimpse of your life in the Spirit as a Christ follower.

As for the links, there are many fine entries to visit and enjoy, among them:

Ron Stewart of Northern ‘burbs blog continuing his series on marriage in The purposes of Marriage: Part III - Completion writes about how spouses complete and complement each other.

James Jordan of Points of Light provides us with some stunning visual reminders that “God does some of His best work in the early part of the day” in Up Early, comparing these images to the many Scriptural references about meeting God in the morning.

Robin of Write Thinking: Miscellaneous Musings of a Christian Novelist has provides us with a personal reflection on the question of who or what we rely upon as the source for our sense of security, intertwining her own thoughts Biblical references and themes from her own writing.

From a Penitent Blogger we have a lesson from Moses’ experience of facing the uncertainties of life and death with calm faith and trust in God’s grace and mercy in Helplessness and Anxiety.

Mark Olson at Psuedo-Polymath offers some thoughts on the struggle between modesty, spirituality, art and worship in A Good Beginning.

And of course, I have a post at the Carnival as well. Starting with a personal reflection on my own journey of faith, I examine the second part of Romans chapter 2, focusing on the initiative and priority of God’s rich love and mercy when He wrote His law onto our hearts.

Enjoy the Carnival!

The Law Upon Our Hearts

I’ve paused for a period of reflection in my walk through Paul’s letter to the Romans. I’d like to make it sound like this was my idea, like I devoted the past week and more to reflecting on what it means for the “law to be written on our hearts.”

But that would be false. I have spent the better part of two weeks struggling against God.

Not that I recognized it that way, but that’s what I was doing. I sought release and escape in my own pursuits. Under grace, I avoided any sense of responsibility or accountability for my walk, my prayer life, reading His word, honoring my commitments, or even in the things I find to distract me from the sometime loneliness and ever present ache for home.

Are the things I speak of the kind of things that would hurt or harm my family, or bring discredit to my unit or my soldiers? Not at all. In the world’s eyes, they might at best be considered sins of omission, things I might have done, no wrongs committed. But God wants us to see ourselves and our behaviors through His eyes, not the world’s.

And as I am His child and called and purchased at a very great price, I am chastened and ask humbly for His forgiveness in the name of His Son Jesus.

I stand at perhaps the most momentous crossroads of my life, when all of the chaff that was the petty concerns of the former times will be blown away. The seed, the meal, the leaven of His provision will remain. I know what it means to say that I see through the glass but darkly. There is the glimmer of His Spirit, His purposes, but to say more, to see more now, would be to guess, and perhaps to hope.

So I read today the second half of Romans Chapter 2 (verses 17-29), and God reveals more of His intent when He has written the law upon our hearts.

The Jews Guilty as the Gentiles

17 Indeed you are called a Jew, and rest on the law, and make your boast in God, 18 and know His will, and approve the things that are excellent, being instructed out of the law, 19 and are confident that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness, 20 an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of babes, having the form of knowledge and truth in the law. 21 You, therefore, who teach another, do you not teach yourself? You who preach that a man should not steal, do you steal? 22 You who say, “Do not commit adultery,” do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? 23 You who make your boast in the law, do you dishonor God through breaking the law? 24 For “the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you,” as it is written. (Romans 2:17-24)

Paul speaks here powerfully of the obligation of believers to not deceive themselves. We will all of us sin and transgress, and cannot hope to redeem ourselves by merely obedience to God’s commands. Paul acknowledges that his Roman brothers and sisters are indeed “a guide to the blind, a light to those in darkness.” Paul’s instruction here is not about some failing in effort, neither a condemnation of what the Romans taught, but rather the state of their hearts.

Did Paul know of specific sins and transgressions within the Roman church? Perhaps. But he need not have, but surely recognized that the great redeeming work of salvation through the Son of God meant that the law would be written upon our hearts as believers in Him. God’s mercy radiates from the plan He had from the beginning to allow any that seek Him, to find Him. Paul warns the Romans that they risk following the example of their spiritual forefathers, the children of Israel, when by their pride they shamed their very faith, in following the letter of the law but surely not its spirit.

5 Now therefore, what have I here,” says the LORD,
“ That My people are taken away for nothing?
Those who rule over them
Make them wail,” says the LORD,
“ And My name is blasphemed continually every day.

6 Therefore My people shall know My name;
Therefore they shall know in that day
That I am He who speaks:
‘ Behold, it is I.’” (Isaiah 52:5-6)

God convicts us, we “blaspheme” through our behaviors and the many petty ways in which we ignore or trifle with His direction. We, the followers of Jesus, have been filled with His Holy Spirit, and have ready at hand the very source for the finishing of our faith, within us.

38 He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” (John 7:38)

There is no surer trap for any of us than the sin of pride, and the blinders that can place upon our ability to rightly perceive and assess ourselves, our behavior, and most importantly, our motivations. Why do we do what we do? God warned His children not to focus so exclusively on their gifts and sacrificial obediences on the altar.

6 For I desire mercy and not sacrifice,
And the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings. (Hosea 6:6).

Jesus emphasized this point, and followed it with what should be our take-away:

13 But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice.’ For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.” (Matthew 9:13)

There was at the time of Christ and the Early Church no stronger symbol of Jewish obedience to their faith and God than circumcision. From the time God commanded Abraham as a perpetual sign of covenant between God and His people (Genesis 17:1-11), the Jewish believers had been ensuring that every “male child in your generations” would be circumcised. This applied to those outsiders brought into the community of covenant.

6 I will make you exceedingly fruitful; and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come from you. 7 And I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you in their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and your descendants after you. (Genesis 17:6-7)

In Genesis, God also speaks of giving to the children of Israel the lands in which they were once wanderers and strangers. God fulfilled this in a dramatic way with the conversion of Rome and the Roman Emperors, bur perhaps not in the manner the world would expect. And with what would be the conversion of much of the modern (western) world awaiting, God made clear through Paul’s ministry that what He had prepared would be “good tidings of great joy which will be to all people.” (Luke 2:10)

Paul therefore reasons with the Romans, who perhaps hold obedience to the law above all else, above the work of the Spirit upon the believer.

Circumcision of No Avail

25 For circumcision is indeed profitable if you keep the law; but if you are a breaker of the law, your circumcision has become uncircumcision. 26 Therefore, if an uncircumcised man keeps the righteous requirements of the law, will not his uncircumcision be counted as circumcision? 27 And will not the physically uncircumcised, if he fulfills the law, judge you who, even with your written code and circumcision, are a transgressor of the law? 28 For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh; 29 but he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the Spirit, not in the letter; whose praise is not from men but from God. (Romans 2:25-29)

This is the triumph and inheritance we have in our faith, that Jesus by His atoning sacrifice has allowed us to be inheritors and heirs with Him of His Father’s mercies and blessings. God had provided the better and more excellent way.

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, 5 who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. (1 Peter 1:3-5)

We compromise our inheritance by vainly trying to set up and follow some rulebook for faith. We all of us can be beset by our shame. None of us are perfect. We can misunderstand His words that speak to new creation and putting sin far from us, and think that, when we sin (not if), that somehow we do not believe “strongly enough.” This leads to despair! That is the same for us, like these Romans, who might retain the old ruler of the law, both to measure the extent of our faith and to rap our own knuckles when we inevitably fall short of the grace of God.

Our own failings and spiritual impurities make us tremble and doubt the promises made that our sins have been (and will be) forgiven once for all through Jesus’ death and resurrection. That, and our very human natures resist. Are we really prepared to fully die to self and yield fully to His cleansing presence? How many of us want to “give it all,” but then hold back that area, that part, that crutch, that comfort, that is our “old way” of soothing hurt or making pain go away? So many of our “quiet” and secret sins are after, part of that life that struggles along trying to find happiness and peace.

This leads us to set formulas. We say to ourselves, “At least I give this. I do all this. At least I don’t do that – invariably connected with some comparison to a brother or neighbor and the mote in their eye. But God says, not works of your hands! Not your vain sacrifices and obediences in matter of gifts and tithes. Thos can be important, but the unmitigated Grace of God is His gift through the atoning sacrifice of His Son Jesus.

Purpose of the Mystery

8 To me, who am less than the least of all the saints, this grace was given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, 9 and to make all see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the ages has been hidden in God who created all things through Jesus Christ; (Ephesians 3:8-9)

Through His prophets, God foretold of the time in which He would break down the barriers between the people of the Law (His People, the children of Israel) and the gentiles (everybody else).

God Redeems Jerusalem

1 Awake, awake!
Put on your strength, O Zion;
Put on your beautiful garments,
O Jerusalem, the holy city!
For the uncircumcised and the unclean
Shall no longer come to you.
2 Shake yourself from the dust, arise;
Sit down, O Jerusalem!
Loose yourself from the bonds of your neck,
O captive daughter of Zion!

3 For thus says the LORD:
“ You have sold yourselves for nothing,
And you shall be redeemed without money.” (Isaiah 52:1-3)

Through Isaiah, God rebuked the Israelites that they had “sold themselves for nothing,” yet would “be redeemed without money.” God promised His children a day when the “uncircumcised and unclean” would no longer come to them. The Israelites might well have hoped that this meant the end of long capitivity, or the end of war with their neighbors, but God was foretelling a time when circumcision and non-circumcision but be of no meaning. A time fulfilled with Jesus, when circumcision (obedience) would be “of the heart, in the Spirit,” and triumphantly, “from God.”

It is not in us, it is in Him. As contemporary Christian artists Casting Crowns declare in their song, Who Am I:

Not because of who I am
But because of what You’ve done
Not because of what I’ve done
But because of who You are

It is not because of who we are, any sense of position, or class, or stature. It is not because of what we do for God, some way in which we’ve earned His love and mercy.

It is entirely because of what He did with the sacrifice of His son, and His essential character of love and mercy.

Teen Sex and Other Matters

(Welcome, Dadmanly Readers! This is his other blog.)

A week ago, Glenn Reynolds at Instapundit linked to a post by a Patri Friedman at Catallarchy, The Voice of Hedonism. Glenn capped his remarks by noting an “interesting discussion in the comments.”

Now I respect Glenn and his Instapundit tremendously, and along with Greyhawk at Mudville Gazette inspired me and informed me most about this strange new world of the Blog. But I have to say, The Catallarchy post and its comments was the most distressing threads of conversation I have ever come across. (Perhaps Glenn meant interesting in the sense that a train wreck can be morbidly interesting.)

I want to admit that I am reacting as a Father of daughters (now 18 and 22), and in trying to raise them responsibly, had several difficult discussion about premarital sex, the various kinds of predatory and manipulative behaviors that some individuals practice, things the watch for, lessons Mrs. Dadmanly and I had to learn the hard way. So I’ve been over a lot of this ground already, while I still have a 9 year old son at home. I don’t pretend to have all the answers, but I deplore and lament the philosophical approach employed by Friedman, and the amoral (note, not immoral, just the absence of morality at all) support this can receive from the gullible as noted in his many (mostly positive) comments.

The Voice of Hedonism

In the update to his original post, Friedman summarizes his argument thusly:

I am making three main arguments. The first is that restricting your children’s knowledge, in the belief that this will help them make better decisions, is both foolish and unlibertarian. The second is that teenage sex is fun, and if done safely is worth the risks. This is an argument about the particular costs and benefits of a particular choice, and thus has little to do with libertarianism, except in the basic assumption that if an activity doesn’t harm others, cost/benefit analysis is the right way to decide if its a good activity. And the third, which got relatively little discussion, is that teenagers are real people and should get to make their own choices. The last is a libertarian argument.

In the comments, many readers objected to Friedman’s equating the promotion of abstinence with promoting ignorance. Friedman rebuts:

Promoting ignorance is unlibertarian. Advising an individual on a course of action you think is in their best interests is not unlibertarian, although forcing that cource of action on them is. (I should note that “force” here is a tricky gray area. Parents shouldn’t have to pay for actions they don’t approve of, but when kids are totally financially beholden to their parents, the latter have a lot of leverage).

But I do believe that the choice to keep your kid ignorant is the exact opposite of libertarianism. It is a policy of restricting knowledge from individuals who have the capacity to use it to make better choices, because you think you know better. It is exactly what we protest in government censorship and regulation - what could be less libertarian? We aren’t talking about a baby reaching for an electric socket, we’re talking about people whose brains and bodies are almost fully developed. They may not always make good decisions - but neither do adults, and I don’t think there is a large difference.

Friedman’s philosophic core is libertarian, and he makes a deep connection between parents and government:

Both government officials and parents have their own cost/benefit analysis at heart, even when making a decision for another.

Which then leads him to the inevitable conclusion:

Parents advise, kids decide, seems like a superior policy, once the kids are reasonably old.

And further, Friedman admits that he disagrees with the ages commonly viewed as the ages of adulthood, consent, majority, or the age at which full or partial rights are vested in the individual:

What I disagree with is the choice of 18, which I think is too high, and the sudden and discontinuous nature of achieving majority. Legally, people go from kids to adults on a single day. There are good reasons for bright line rules in legal situations, but I don’t see them for parenting. Hence as your kids get older, and more capable of acting as adults, you should steadily more often let them act as adults. A 16-year old, in my opinion, should be making a lot of their own decisions (which is how my siblings and I were raised).

Friedman makes a point that there are avoidable and unavoidable costs to teen sex. He labels painful breakups, getting into committed relationships too early, and other emotional entanglements as some of the unavoidable costs. (I would add premature sexualization and susceptibility to predatory or other manipulative “relationships” to the list as well.) The rest of the costs most parents are most concerned about – sexually transmitted diseases, pregnancy, abrupt marriages, temptation to abort, single parenthood – Friedman views as focus based on emotion and not logical analysis. And as he views them as entirely preventable, Friedman dismisses these concerns -- in his cost benefit analysis, he drastically undervalues these costs:

My suspicion is that these risks (pregnancy in particular) are the ones we faced through most of our evolutionary history, and hence we are hard-wired to worry about them. But like many other hard-wired instincts, this is just not rational in the modern world, and we can make better choices by consciously overriding them.

And when it comes to the costs incurred by society as a whole because of teen pregnancy, Friedman states:

Some brief points, first: abstinence-based education does not decrease pregnancy rates, and second: adult pregnancy (say among poor 20-year olds) has costs too. But I do agree that this is a genuine cost imposed on society. Heck, I agree so much that I’d seriously consider a policy where people had to post bonds (or indicate assets) sufficient to raise a kid, or be put on birth control. Its no different than requiring insurance for things you might do to harm others - which seems like a reasonable policy for Ancapistan. I just don’t think its particularly unique to minors, or that less graphic sex ed actually helps.

Neat trick! First Friedman states that abstinence education doesn’t reduce teen pregnancy (as if that’s the only solution on the table). He then balances these costs against societal costs relating to adult pregnancy, which is outside of the set he has presented for his cost benefit analysis. (Think of it as a corporation that makes themselves look profitable by transferring a disproportionate amount of costs to a backwater subsidiary.)

Friedman’s conclusion is an important one, in suggesting that the issue reduces itself to the central issue of moral agency:

This is a complicated subject, and I believe the central philosophical issue is one of individualism and moral agency. Who should make decisions for an individual? When is a person old enough to make their own decisions? There is also a central practical issue, namely the costs and benefits of teenage sex, about which there seems to be widespread disagreement. As a libertarian I think this question is less important. What matters is that people should get to make their own decisions; after that we can fight about what the right decision is.

A Digression on the Abortion Debate

Friedman – and much of modern society – views abortion as a means of dramatically lowering the tangible and intangible costs of unwanted (teen or otherwise) pregnancy. This is false on several levels, and immoral beyond that. From a strictly utilitarian perspective such as Friedman’s what he doesn’t say (because it’s not his concern today) is that the calculations and cost benefit equations that allow abortion to cancel out any costs of teen pregnancy could likewise allow infanticide as a means to cancel out the costs of (unwanted) parenthood.

Abortion brings with it many tangible and intangible costs, many of the intangible ones not easily recognized by irresponsible youth in particular, and a very extreme cost to the individual whose life if terminated as a by-product of the calculation. As Americans, we might rightly shudder at the very idea of decisions of life and death being reduced to cost benefit equations, unless the individual who’s very well being rests on the decision has some part in it!

Chronically, the press and our elites so misrepresent the basic arguments for and against abortion as to make public debate impossible. We can’t agree on any premise for debate, as the various positions are distorted in the popular imagination.

Thus I found very helpful an explanation offered this past week by Edward Whalen in the National Review Online, Abortion and Justice.
Whalen identifies three competing positions on the constitutionality of abortion, as excerpted below:

1. The pro-abortion position. The first position is that the Constitution prohibits, to one degree or another, laws that protect the life of an unborn human being against her mother's desire to have her killed. In Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court adopted an extreme version of this "pro-abortion" position. The Court invoked the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment — which provides that no state shall "deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law" — to overturn the abortion laws of all 50 states. The Court ruled that the Due Process Clause prohibits protection of the lives of unborn human beings at any time through the second trimester. And even from viability until birth, the Court, under the predominant reading of Roe's companion case, Doe v. Bolton, requires that abortion be available whenever the abortionist determines that it would serve the mother's well-being.

As Whalen relates, a five-justice majority later ratified Roe in the 1992 ruling in Planned Parenthood v. Casey. Their basis for so adjudicating:

"At the heart of liberty is the right to define one's own concept of existence, of meaning, of the universe, and of the mystery of human life."

Whalen then presents what he sees as the second and third position:

2. The pro-life position. A second position is that the Constitution prohibits, to one degree or another, laws that permit abortion. Under this "pro-life" position, unborn human beings would be recognized as "persons" for purposes of the Due Process Clause. The argument for this position would begin with the historical fact that, prior to Roe, the American tradition long provided broad legal protection for the lives of unborn human beings from the time that those lives were understood, in light of the biological knowledge of the age, to commence. It would build on the modern advances in embryology and genetics, which establish that the life of each individual member of the species Homo sapiens begins at conception. Consistent with the American tradition, this pro-life position might allow limited exceptions for abortion — for example, where continuation of the pregnancy threatened the life of the mother.

3. The substantively neutral position. The third position is that the Constitution generally does not speak to the question of abortion. Under this substantively neutral position, American citizens would have the constitutional power to determine through their state representatives what the abortion policy in their own states would be.

For all political commentators and the press, note the commonsense semantics suggested by Whalen:

Insofar as sensible political labels might be applied to these three positions, it would seem plain that the first (pro-abortion) position would be labeled liberal (with the Roe version of that position being radical), the second (pro-life) would be labeled conservative, and the third (neutral) would be labeled moderate.
Needless to say, these are not the standard definitions employed by media in discussions of this issue.

Why do I bring this into a discussion of teen sex, and what I view as a disturbing treatise on its cost beneficial aspects? As just one example of how, when morals and any sense of moral framework are removed from a discussion, what is lost is more valuable than what is retained. By not making the issue real in any personal sense – and actively discounting or devaluing very real (albeit subjective and intangible) costs -- such arguments are like the dummy strawman, where a phony situation or state of affairs is propped up precisely so one can that much more easily knock it down.

One More Digression, from Glenn Reynolds

When Glenn originally linked to the Catallarchy post, he linked to an article he wrote for Fox News about teen sex from three years ago, Teen Sex and the Media Hype . While I am not in complete agreement with Glenn, there is enough of value in his article that I wanted to include some worthy points.

Glenn made (makes) the argument that we infantilize our children, and even infantilize ourselves as adults. I strongly concur with his assessment.
As Glenn describes it, where once teenagers were “adults-in-training,” now we have nothing better for them to do, indulged and sheltered. We took away adult responsibilities. Glenn quotes Thomas Hine writing in American Heritage, “We stopped expecting young people to be productive members of the society.”

“We have infantilized teen-agers,” Glenn asserts, “and then we act surprised that they behave immaturely.

In conclusion, Glenn suggests a different approach:

If we want teen-agers to be more adult, in their virtues as well as their vices, we should try treating them more like adults. Teen-agers should be encouraged to hold jobs in addition to going to school. (Or instead of since high school is not for everyone.)

One of the things that drive me crazy about our society and culture, large portions of both are dedicated to mitigating or eliminating the consequences of (bad) decisions.

That’s how we learn, isn’t it? If we’re protected from the consequences of our behavior, how are we to learn what behavior we may want to avoid in the future? From a parent telling me not to? I doubt it. From a parent who is honest enough to say, “these are choices I made, and these are the things that happened”? Perhaps. Silence is never going to end up being the right answer.

But to the extent that teenagers engage in adult behaviors, they absolutely need to be confronted with the realities, with the tangible and intangible “costs.” We fail them with anything less, diminish their ability to render right judgments about the world in which they make their way. And minimizing the costs of teenage sex is very much a vain and dangerous conceit.

But in seeking after pleasure with diminished perceptions of consequence, these former teens, now wiser adults, will discover where all this misguided boosterism led them. To that extent, as Friedman claims, knowledge is good. But it helps if you get it when it can do you some good.

Epilog

Before I end my critique Friedman’s thesis, something else in the comments to his original post gripped my attention.

In answer to Friedman’s post, one of the commentators mentioned that she thought she might be one of the only teenage girls at her college that did not have sex with Mr. Friedman. This is hardly definitive proof that such promiscuity is the case, and could be entirely spurious, but I would suppose that if there is anything much to it, Mr. Friedman’s reputation on campus is fairly well established.

I would have no doubt that anyone who stakes out a position so willfully dedicated to unmediated libertinism is wholly in favor of teenagers having sex. It suits him, doesn’t it, and allows him to believe he lives for pleasure without any negative consequences? His benefits are all tangible, his partners’ costs are mostly intangible. On simply utilitarian grounds he can play his games and win rhetorically with the lazy logic crowd.

Morals and ethics have intrinsic value to both individuals and society, and dry appeals to logic and consequences can’t hope to compete with Peter Pan like appeals to the ecstatic. I am convinced, though, that these same “explorers” (or rather, not the explorers but their willing deck hands) who range beyond the bounds of what have been traditional guideposts for appropriate and socially constructive sexual relationships within marriage will discover who the man behind the curtain is, too late, and reap consequences in later life they can’t possibly appreciate in youth. Failure at marriage, difficulty bonding, sexual dysfunction, difficulty with intimacy.

Long term monogamous relationships cemented through committed marriage provides a strength and security young people do not naturally seek, nor realize they’ve missed until such relationships are usually no longer within their reach. No amount of statistical tabulation nor clinical assessment will measure these effects. Intangible they may be, but sometimes catastrophic in their emotional impact.

Priapus has a strong appeal, and some maidens are no doubt tempted, but it is no accident he can so easily be recognized. Call it mid-life crisis, call it sexual predation; it’s hollow, ultimately unfulfilling, and incredibly lonely.

(Linked at Basil's Blog for Lunch, part of Morning Quarters at the Indepundit, all while stuck in the Traffic Jam Outside the Beltway.)

Christian Carnival is Up!

The 81st Edition of the Christian Carnival has been
successfully posted at href="http://www.livejournal.com/users/dunmoose/81688.html#cutid1">Dunmoose
the Ageless.

Featured at this week's Carnival:

Adrian Warnock has a post in which he explains why his nine year old daughter can define love better than the Oxford Dictionaries.

Apprehension giving us Part 3 of a series on C S Lewis' Mere Christianity. Lewis discusses whether "Right" and "Wrong" are mere impulses or social conventions or are as palpable a reality as mathematical truths.

And my recent post, We have the Poor With Us Always .

Enjoy, and God Bless!