Friday, March 18, 2011

Call me irresponsible

"He is no fool who gives that which he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose." -- Jim Elliot

"My most recent faith struggle is not one of intellect. I don’t really do that anymore. Sooner or later you just figure out there are some guys who don’t believe in God and they can prove He doesn't exist, and there are some other guys who do believe in God and they can prove He does exist, and the argument stopped being about God a long time ago and now it’s about who is smarter, and honestly I don’t care." ~ Donald Miller

It seems on any given weekend you can scroll mindlessly through the cable channels looking for something to watch and you will probably stumble upon the film Forrest Gump. It is an entertaining film with many memorable characters and lines. The film directed by Robert Zemeckis and starring Tom Hanks is based on a book by the same name by Winston Groom, and it follows the life of the title character from childhood into fatherhood. While Forrest is viewed by all as an idiot or a simpleton he displays honesty, dignity, loyalty, bravery, heroism and even more wisdom and the ability to make better choices than many of those he encounters that possess a higher IQ.

Forrest’s rock is his mama and she always seems to have the ability to explain things to him in way’s he can comprehend. When people tell him he is stupid his reply is “Mama always said that stupid is as stupid does." Forrest’s "Stupid is as stupid does" is a variant of an old adage, "Handsome is as handsome does." This saying appears in J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Lord of the Rings" and in Herman Melville's "Billy Budd," and can be traced as far back as the 14th Century. "Handsome is as handsome does" basically means that true handsomeness has to do with a person's behavior, not just a handsome face. The saying is also phrased in the forms "Pretty is as pretty does" and "Beauty is as beauty does."

Forrest's version of the saying means that stupidity is not just a surface thing derived from a person's looks. Stupidity is a matter of deeds, not appearances. Like the other versions, it comes down to this: judge people by what they do, not by how they appear. While the world views Forrest as a simpleton they are unwittingly touched by him and he serves as a mediator and unifying factor to eventually help them redeem a once pitiful, shallow and empty existence.

I am surprised at times how people react to the fact that I express no embarrassment telling them that I believe and follow the Gospel message of Jesus Christ. I suppose that shouldn’t surprise me, but admittedly it does. I don’t think people can truly grasp that people have placed their faith and trust in Jesus Christ, rarely do this “blindly” as we are often accused of. I can look you square in the eyes and tell you that no decision or choice I have made in my entire life has received as much thought or attention. I have not spent even one sixteenth the amount of thought or effort making life changing decisions as I have in wrestling and agonizing over should I believe the Gospel message. I did not put nearly as much effort into choosing where to go to college, who I was going to marry, if I would be a father, where I would live or what job I was going to take. That is not to say that I stepped into any of those decisions without thought or even prayer. I am just attempting to impress upon you that I have invested nearly a half a century asking myself is it worth it to follow Jesus and should I continue to do so?

People often attempt to marginalize the decision that others make to accept Jesus Christ as the only means to reconciliation with God. They say that it is a product of your subculture, up bringing, a lack of reason or intelligence and even an outcropping of one’s national heritage. To that I would say; not hardly! Even though I was raised in a Christian home and regularly attended church nobody could force me to listen to what was being said. I had the option of mentally checking out and to be frank I often did. Nobody made me read my Bible and more times then I care to admit I didn’t. And even after I graduated from college and started a family of my own, I clearly had the freedom to go my own way and for a period time I actually did. I didn’t have anyone in my immediate family within a 2 to 3 hour radius of me and I could do what I wanted, when I wanted. But ultimately none of these choices offered me the freedom, joy, peace and satisfaction that the Gospel could. A good job, security and a steady income have never given me what the Gospel offered. I never felt more alive than the day that I placed my faith and trust in the finished work of Jesus Christ. And as I have learned more about Him and His matchless gift of grace and mercy it has given my life a deeper and greater meaning and purpose.

I have made poor choices and suffered the consequences and I have ignored God’s Word to my own detriment. The idea that I am a sinner is not hard for me to accept at all. I know me, I know how I think, I know my motives and I know what I secretly want to say or do sometimes. People can see the exterior of a nice and friendly person but they fortunately cannot see inside my head. They don’t see the times of anger, bitterness, annoyance, frustration, pride or self righteousness. I have no problem accepting the concept of sin and the fact that I have offended God and I need His pardon. I know myself all too well, and a good friend reminds me that deep down inside we all know, we know. The words of John Newton echo in my mind; “...I remember two things -- that I am a great sinner, and that Christ is a great Savior." What truly amazes me is that as I grow in my knowledge of God and His Word these distasteful and sinful aspects of my character lessen over time and how I respond and react have dramatically changed over the years. Older and wiser or mellowing cannot account for the change that has occurred over the course of my life and it is by no means any credit to me, but all credit goes to the author of that change; my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

I have not drunk any Kool-aid, I am not a member of a cult and I am not saying I have never wavered or doubted. But even when I doubt, or entertain and examine the alternatives to the Gospel all it does is strength my faith and my resolve that Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life and no one can come to Father (God) but through Him. I am not embarrassed in that exclusive statement and I say it with conviction and boldness. Truth by it’s very nature is exclusive. Don’t believe it then wrestle and agonize with it yourself. Make your choice but don’t be intellectually or spiritually lazy; Jesus doesn’t give you that option. C.S. Lewis said it well when he penned; "Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance. The only thing it cannot be is moderately important."

Some want to accuse Christians of adopting our faith as a form of intellectual laziness and maybe in some cases that is true. But I found out very early in life telling a skeptic I believe something because that is what my parents, pastor, church or school said may work in a cloistered environment but it holds no weight in the real world. “If one stakes out an ethical position on any topic, the assumption is that you have to defend it. Quite frankly defending ideas is hard work.”1 Rather than ignoring the question, embrace it, wrestle with it and consider alternatives to your worldview, but don’t just give up seeking answers. Don’t abdicate the responsibility to others and just accept what they are telling you without doing the heavy lifting for yourself. I have to admit that I have some respect for an atheist because at a minimum he or she is putting a stake in the ground and they have taken a definitive position on the matter. As Teddy Roosevelt once said; “The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena…”2 Get into the arena and wrestle with life’s biggest question; is there a God and if so what does He expect of me?

When Winston Groomed penned stupid is as stupid does he was very close to echoing Psalm 14:1 when David wrote; “The fool says in his heart, "There is no God." Rather than write it off investigate it for yourself. Taste and see that the Lord is good!

"Since Jesus Came into My Heart" by Rufus H. McDaniel

What a wonderful change in my life has been wrought
Since Jesus came into my heart!
I have light in my soul for which long I had sought,
Since Jesus came into my heart!

Since Jesus came into my heart,
Since Jesus came into my heart,
Floods of joy o’er my soul
Like the sea billows roll,
Since Jesus came into my heart.

"It is not as a child that I believe and confess Jesus Christ. My hosanna is born of a furnace of doubt." ~ Fyodor Dostovevski

“You cannot live faithfully in this life unless you are ready for the next.” ~ D.A. Carson

1”Hidden Worldviews; Eight Cultural Stories that Shape Our Lives” by Steve Wilkins and Mark L Sanford pg 86

2Excerpt from the speech "Citizenship In A Republic", delivered at the Sorbonne, in Paris, France on 23 April, 1910

Thursday, March 3, 2011

A modern fable

The man Who Would be King: A Modern Fable

"Life was so much different back when I was right all the time." ~ Barry Parham author/satirist

"Atheism is a disease of the soul before it becomes an error of understanding.” ~ Plato

This week school children across America marked the 107th birthday of Theodor Geisel who is better know by his nom de plume Dr. Seuss. My mother bought a set of Dr. Seuss books for my siblings and I, and they were a treasured possession that I spent hours reading and re-reading. My wife and I loved the books so much that we bought them for our children and we probably loved reading them to our kids as much as they loved listening. Geisel was and still is beloved by children everywhere and his imaginative characters as well as his creative and mesmerizing artwork are as appealing as his clever rhymes.

Wikipedia states; "Though Geisel made a point of not beginning the writing of his stories with a moral in mind, stating that kids can see a moral coming a mile off, he was not against writing about issues; he said that there's an inherent moral in any story." I have penned my own story this week and I will tip you off that there is a moral at the end. It is a difficult story to write without stepping on toes but the premise seems as whimsical and silly as a Dr. Seuss storyline.

Once upon a time there was a Kingdom ruled and watched over by the wisest and most benevolent King. The King created His Kingdom to perfectly sustain and maintain the lives of His subjects. This King set up a system of laws that He wrote on the heart of Everyman. The Kingdom was fine-tuned and magnificent and reflected the King and all of His glory and splendor. All the King asked of His subjects was to return His love and acknowledge His rightful rule. He asked nothing more but to be respected, honored and loved and in return He would give His subjects joy, peace and blessedness.

In the not too distant past and in a region not so far away there was a village called Gnosis. In this village there was a consortium of deep thinkers who grew tired of honoring the King. They had never personally met the King and started to question His very existence. They chafed at His “rules” and longed to rule themselves. They deeply desired to rise above the commonly held belief that the King was the righteous ruler so they began to question His authority to rule them. They started to question if there was something out there, something bigger than themselves, something that defined our existence and gave meaning and purpose to our lives. Something other than the King.

You see they could not accept the Truth that had been passed down through the ages and written on Everyman’s hearts by the King of the land. They could not possibly accept that Everyman inherently knows the difference between wrong and right or good and bad. The very idea of being responsible for one’s actions was preposterous, let alone being answerable for the act of free will was just too logical or rational to bear. They would not accept the King of the world or the very knowledge that He was the right and sovereign ruler.

One of their philosophers named Hume did not wish to follow the reason the King had blessed Everyman with. He wished to help the towns people rally against the King. Hume told the residents of Gnosis; “Reason is, and only ought to be slave of the passions.” They realized that if they could convince Everyman that there was no King, Gnosis would have no foundation for truth of any kind, moral truth included. In doing so they could indulge in any desire or activity they wanted and not have to answer to anyone but themselves for the consequences of their choices. They could do whatever they wanted! They needed to give their people something to believe in, a “faith” to adhere to, and a “deity” to follow. If they could come up with their own over arching story to rival the King’s then they could take over, then they would be the ones in power.

So they came up with a plan; we must find our own book and our own deity. We will create a god in our own image and follow it. They came up with an idea that they thought would appeal to people. They chose a select group of the most learned men of their society from the clan of science and set them up as their High Priests. The High Priests decided they needed to find something to support their bias against the King and help them accumulate power. So they latched onto a new god named Darwin and refused to let go. They said to themselves; “We must make the King’s Truth appear to be oppressive so the world will not accept or embrace it. We will substitute it with our truth. This will allow us to live life as we see fit and not worry about the consequences. We shall be king!”

So they crowned Darwin their king and his book of theories became their bible. They created a class of high priest from the clan of scientists who proclaimed themselves the wisest in the land and the final arbiters of “truth”. As time went on their disciples grew in number and some rose to great prominence. Darwin was “the father”, Nietzche his devoted son and the spirit lived on in Dawkins. They had their trinity and anyone that questioned their theories or found inconsistencies or problems with their great faith were ridiculed and shouted down in the public square. They continued their assault on the rightful King and strived to make people think that His moral and ethical claims were presumptuous and dangerous, all the while drowning out claims that their lawless rule would wreck people’s lives and bring them low.

Before long their followers grew even more militant. They blindly parroted their high priests and embraced the cult of consensus science. A scientist that was brave enough to question the demagoguery and dogma of Gnosis was demonized and denounced. Dissenters risked being shunned and losing their ability and resources to pursue true discovery. “The theory is still valid” they shouted! “Give us more time and we will prove it to you! We have not plumbed the depths of the idolatry of our minds! Do not question our faith, our creed, our book or our high priests!” They openly scorned and mocked those that would cling to "foolish ideas" and continued allegiance to the King.

I wish this modern fable was not true but sadly it has taken center stage in the world in which we live. If you don’t believe me just grab a Bible and read Romans chapter 1. People who claim to be rational, logical and educated people refuse to consider that their “faith” and “religion” of Neo-Darwinism is just that. True scientific discovery proves time after time how little we still know and how much we have yet to truly comprehend and understand. People that claim that they seek truth do not want to go where the truth may lead. They have invested emotional capital in their “religion” and cannot bear that their “faith” could be called into question.

Society has bought into the lie that science is impartial, unbiased, cold and rational. Yet science is not neutral and there is not always objectivity, and those that do research approach it with both bias and presuppositions. In his book “The Structure of Scientific Revolutions”, Thomas Kuhns points out that scientific progress is not linear and that scientific researchers accept a normal set of “received beliefs” that guide and bind their investigations into both new and old phenomena. Any idea or paradigm shift that runs contrary to these “received beliefs” such as natural selection, evolutionary theory or the Big Bang must be either ignored or suppressed. They have unwittingly set up a “religion” with the very characteristics and attributes of the one they despise.

Neo-Darwinism’s ugly little secret is that it requires far greater faith and blind allegiance than the Gospel itself. It has exchanged one absolute Truth for another inferior truth. It has substituted and exchanged one perceived bias with a bias of its very own. Rather than just admit sometimes “I don’t know” science gravitates to any and all theories that remove man’s accountability to a Sovereign God. As Kuhn aptly states; “one conceptual worldview is replaced by another.” Science brushes away certain data that is not consistent with their paradigm and simply ignores or refuses to deal with it. This is viewed as an “acceptable level of error”, and falsifying the data to support a theory is not only common place, but an accepted practice. The irony should not be lost on us that Neo-Darwinism is guilty of many of many the baseless accusations it levels at the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Life is not a Dr. Seuss story and we are all faced with the reality of answering life's big question; what will you do with Jesus Christ? If there is one scintilla of evidence or one nagging doubt in your mind that the Origin of Species, the cause of the Big Bang or Evolutionary theory might not be true don’t you owe it to yourself to at a minimum investigate and consider the alternative? The Gospel not only encourages questions and even doubts, but unlike the “religion” of modern science it embraces and welcomes those questions and doubt. If a theist is wrong, what has he or she really lost? They have a faith in the God of the Bible and that faith has brought them peace, joy and a sense of well being. But what if atheism or agnosticism is wrong? What are the ramifications? If there is even a 50/50 chance that you are wrong and there is a Holy and Righteous God that we are all answerable to, what then? Don’t exchange the Truth of God for a lie.

If you are seeking real Truth take this three week challenge, read one chapter a day from the Gospel of John and ask yourself these key questions; who is Jesus Christ and what did He come to do? Or go to your local library and grab a copy of “Mere Christianity” by C.S. Lewis and explore the possibility God is there and He is not silent.

“God is responsible for the FACT of freedom. Man is responsible for his ACTS of freedom.”

"Only in Atheism does the spring rise higher than the source, the effect exist without the cause, life come from a stone, blood from a turnip, a silk purse from a sow’s ear, a Beethoven Symphony or a Bach Fugue from a kitten walking across the keys." ~ James M. Gillis