Alan – Page 16 – Traditores

What’s in a Miracle?

Posted on June 6, 2014June 6, 2014 by Alan

To Christians who struggle with some of the miracles in the Bible in light of the supposed scientific (and experiential) evidence, do you believe in any miracles?

Even a single one the Bible records?

If you accept the most simple miracle that breaks a physical law…that is “supernatural”…then why do you feel a need to explain away (or reject) any other miracle in the Bible, no matter how incredible it is?

You’ve already said you accept that God can do something outside the “natural” restrictions of time and space. Being consistent, then you shouldn’t, without clear evidence to the contrary, assume there are limits to His supernatural powers.

It is really an “all or nothing” situation. You either accept every miracle the Bible mentions could (or, I would suggest, did) happen or don’t accept any of them.

If you don’t accept any of them, you aren’t a Christian.

If you accept a single biblical miracle, but don’t accept the possibility of one or more of the others, at best you are logically inconsistent and…depending on why you reject them…you may not be a Christian.

A God who can do the most simple miracle can do the most incredible miracle. Trust Scripture. Trust Him.

Cognitive Dissonance (“Lord, Lord”)

Posted on June 1, 2014June 1, 2014 by Alan

But Who Do You Say that I Am?

In my last sermon, “But Who Do You Say that I Am?”…which I preached about a month ago at the Antrim Church of Christ…I spent some time looking at what first century people were saying about our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Sadly, most of the biblical examples in the gospels weren’t on the positive side…although…kudos to Peter…he got it right:

16 Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:16).

Based on the verses I shared from Matthew, Mark, and John, our other options were glutton, drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners, a bastard, a person in league with the devil, and a person possessed by the devil, the devil, and a crazy man.

As you can well imagine, we sided with Peter. 🙂

Lunatic, Liar, or Lord?

Now, my inspiration for that sermon was a famous C.S. Lewis quote from Mere Christianity:

Continue reading “Cognitive Dissonance (“Lord, Lord”)”

A House of Cards

Posted on May 26, 2014May 26, 2014 by Alan

Today (and maybe yesterday) I ran into multiple links to “Pope Francis wants Catholics to doubt the Church. He’s right.” by Kyle Cupp. I would posit it is two articles in one.

The first theme is what led to the title of this post (“A House of Cards”) and has to do with infallible belief systems:

According to Catholicism, the core doctrines of the church express absolute truth and therefore cannot be altered, but paradoxically this premise doesn’t preclude changes to its teaching. In the parlance of the church, it only means that a previously proposed understanding wasn’t really unchangeable doctrine. Still, a big deal. By merely entertaining doctrinal development, the church entices believers to question its authority and the exact content of its faith.

Catholicism isn’t the only church that claims inerrancy (at least in aspects)…think of even more recent pseudo-Christian denominations like the Church of Latter Day Saints and Jehovah Witnesses. When a group that has claimed to have a corner on truth changes truth…well, it’s a house of cards. Pull one out (the first wrong “truth” as proven by changing it) and the whole thing crashes down.

Not that folks will not find mental ways to avoid that fact.

The second main point I gleaned out of Cupp’s piece is that, when it comes to God, there really is no way to completely “know” Him: Continue reading “A House of Cards”

Brains Wired for Sin

Posted on May 26, 2014 by Alan

This week, a Yahoo! News article, “Pedophiles’ Brains Wired Differently,” announced:

Pedophiles’ brains are “abnormally tuned” to find young children attractive, according to a new study published this week.

Supposedly it may be a case of where their brains swap nurturing and sexual feelings:

Usually children’s faces elicit feelings of caregiving from both sexes, whereas those of adults provide stimuli in choosing a mate. But among pedophiles, this trend is skewed, with sexual, as opposed to nurturing, emotions burgeoning.

Important note: I am not now about to create a “moral equivalency” between homosexuality and pedophilia. Clearly the object of the desire (and actions) make them significantly different.

However, we would all agree that even if we find a scientific reason for pedophiliac behavior… Continue reading “Brains Wired for Sin”

Reality TV Is…

Posted on May 25, 2014 by Alan

…morally corrupt.

Or so it seems to me.

I am not alone:

“Survivor Is The Most Morally Contemptible Show On TV”

Since I am on a mini-vacation in Santa Fe, New Mexico with my family I won’t go into full blown sermonizing, but seriously think about what reality TV encourages (in its subjects and its viewers) and why you watch it. I suspect we are be the equivalent of a NASCAR spectators who only watch the races to see the crashes.

P.S. And I do realize the vast majority of NASCAR viewers don’t fit my example…but I do suspect the vast majority of reality TV viewers, unwittingly or not, do…

Imprecatory Prayers Make Me Cringe

Posted on May 25, 2014May 25, 2014 by Alan

Okay, I’ll admit it. As much as they are biblical, imprecatory prayers make me cringe. I ran into this one today as I continue to read through all 66 in one year:

Hear, O our God, for we are despised. Turn back their taunt on their own heads and give them up to be plundered in a land where they are captives. Do not cover their guilt, and let not their sin be blotted out from your sight, for they have provoked you to anger in the presence of the builders (Nehemiah 4:4-5, English Standard Versions.

Just not seeing the “love your neighbors” or “turn the other cheek” stuff going on here.

Your thoughts? Considering the persecution of Christians around the world right now, is it okay if we ask God to give them “what they deserve”?

Did Jesus Waver at the End?

Posted on May 24, 2014May 24, 2014 by Alan

Interesting thought from the introduction to “Theological Essays” (published in 1867) regarding how Jesus showed a couple moments of “distress of mind”:

Panegyrists have described the bravery with which some martyrs have endured their sufferings before the eyes of their admirers. Jesus, who suffered not with a view to human applause, but to human consolation and salvation, was not ashamed or afraid to express all which he felt, and his faithful biographers were not ashamed or afraid to record it.

(Pages xvii-xviii.)

And He Departed…

Posted on May 17, 2014 by Alan

When I die…and here’s hopin’ it isn’t too soon :-), I hope nothing even close to these words are said of my passing:

[Jehoram] was thirty- two years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem. And he departed with no one’s regret (2 Chronicles 21:20, English Standard Version, emphasis mine).

Not to mention, if you go read a couple verses above in the text (2 Chronicles 21:18-19), I don’t want to go out like Jehoram did either…

Meriam Yehya Ibrahim Ishag

Posted on May 17, 2014May 31, 2014 by Alan

UPDATE: It looks like Meriam will be released?:

Sudanese authorities are to free a woman who was sentenced to death for having abandoned the Islamic faith, a foreign ministry official says.

Meriam Ibrahim, who gave birth to a daughter in custody, will be freed in a few days, the official told the BBC.

Abdullahi Alzareg, an under-secretary at the foreign ministry, said Sudan guaranteed religious freedom and was committed to protecting the woman.

Khartoum has been facing international condemnation over the death sentence.

(From “Meriam Ibrahim: Sudan ‘to free’ death row woman.”)

Until she’s actually free (and safe), don’t stop praying for her and letting the Sudanese government know of your concern (please see my original post below).

I am not a fan of open letters, especially between Christians. However, I don’t see how a government can be encouraged to do what is right outside of public outcry, so below is what I penned to the Sudanese embassy based on Franklin Graham’s suggestion:

If you are as outraged as I am about Meriam's death sentence, contact the Sudanese embassy in Washington at http://t.co/nGymJktNOC

— Franklin Graham (@Franklin_Graham) May 17, 2014

I encourage everyone to follow the link Franklin gave…

http://www.sudanembassy.org/index.php?option=com_breezingforms&Itemid=13

…and do the same. One does not have to be a Christian to know that, as a world, we have to fight for religious liberty.

Hello,

I know that courts can sometimes hand down rulings that the government does not agree with, and I hope that is the case with the recent one sentencing Meriam Yehya Ibrahim Ishag to lashings and death. No one should be punished for changing his or her faith, regardless of what the change was. It is even more a farce if Amnesty International is correct:

“Amnesty International said the woman, Meriam Yehya Ibrahim Ishag, was raised as an Orthodox Christian, her mother’s religion, because her father, a Muslim, was reportedly absent during her childhood” (from http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-27424064).

Please do the humane and honorable thing and set aside the conviction and sentence, and make legal and/or constitutional changes that mean nobody can be similarly convicted of adultery and apostasy. As a religious man I appreciate the concern for keeping people within a faith, but nobody who converts thanks to fear (direct like this or otherwise) is truly a believer. Even if this approach was effective, it is criminal and abhorant.

Please show the world this court does not reflect Sudan.

My best,

Alan

UPDATE: Alas, originally typing my letter in very small font in a web form on an iPad, I had “humane an honorable” when I meant “humane and honorable.” I changed it in the quote above so it would read the way intended.

Happy Birthday

Posted on May 14, 2014 by Alan

This is the first video in a new Traditores feature, the Traitorous Music Video of the Week. They will not necessarily all be Christian (e.g. “Happy Birthday” by Flipsyde is not), but they will always be thought provoking, great music, or both.

In this case, a talented rapper realizes that an abortion he paid for was a huge mistake and he calls it what it is. As sad as the subject and his error are, this song brings out a positive “redemption” feel to me.

[youtube=http://youtu.be/2bQG8v8kTGs&w=512&rel=0]

Any suggestions for the Traitorous Music Video of the Week? Please contact us.

“For You, You Only, Know the Hearts…”

Posted on May 13, 2014May 15, 2014 by Alan

Ran into this during today’s reading (wise words from Solomon): “…for you, you only, know the hearts of the children of mankind” (2 Ch 6:30, ESV, in part). The “you,” of course, being God. As I’ve often said, including to employees at work, you can comment on what you observe and how it affects you, but you cannot judge what is behind it (the intent). Solomon appears to agree…he thought of it first. 🙂

I Do Not Remember…

Posted on May 11, 2014May 13, 2014 by Alan

Mark, I do not remember how it was to live with you the first five years of my life…

But I do remember you spanking me—not as cruel torture by a decade older brother—but as a kind sibling helping his frequently-disciplined younger brother no longer feel pain when he got spanked by his parents.

Mark, I do not remember why mom and dad kicked you out of the house when you were fifteen…

But I do remember you coming to visit, sick as a dog, and me selfishly pushing you (successfully) to give me your coin collection (which you kept in one of mom’s thread and needle containers).

Mark, I do not remember the next time I saw you…

But I do remember excitedly visiting a Mark Jensen mom found listed at a nearby hospital, only to walk in and see it wasn’t you.

Mark, I do not remember the exact year I got to visit you in Seattle during one of my business trips…

But I do remember taking your picture at the top of the Space Needle. We were brothers again.

Mark, I do not remember what I did to have you insist I be out of your life again…

But I do remember during the Seattle visit how you told me that when you were kicked out of house none of your friend’s parents would allow you to stay. You didn’t say it, but you were so alone. My heart broke. So, if me being out of your life meant less pain for you, I cared enough to accept it. You had more sorrow before becoming an adult than anyone should have their whole life.

Mark, I do not remember our last interaction…

But, it doesn’t matter. You are gone. You were alone. Nobody even knows exactly when you died.

Well, Somebody remembers how we spent our first five years together, why you were kicked out of the house, when I next got to see you, the year we were atop the Space Needle together, why you last insisted we lead separate lives, our last interaction, and the exact moment you entered eternity.

Surely a God who knows whenever a sparrow falls to the ground (Matthew 10:29), knows all of that and more. All your pain and all your smiles. All your sorrows and all your joys. All your demons and all your angels. “Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.”¹ You may have never realized it, but you always have been of more value.

Mark, God will show you the love you refused to receive from your family and me. Will you be in heaven? I do not know. However, I do know the God who cares for sparrows cares for you and that your demons will torture you no more.

Mark, I do not remember the last time I told you, “I love you.”

But I do.

¹ Matthew 10:31, English Standard Version.

UPDATE: With info from a sibling, corrected a couple of ages in the post.

Random Thoughts

Posted on May 10, 2014 by Alan

Random thought #1:

It may seem unfair in the Old Testament that the firstborn was afforded extra rights. What better alternative would prevent jockeying for position?

Random thought #2:

Intellectual honesty requires being able to admit that some questions don’t have definitive answers. Intellectual maturity includes being able to identify those questions.

But Who Do You Say that I Am?

Posted on May 4, 2014May 10, 2014 by Alan

What Is the Most Important Question You Have Ever Been Asked?

What is the most important question you have ever been asked? The one that had the greatest impact on your life? The one you are either very glad you answered a certain way, or have long regretted your response to?

If you are married, perhaps it was something like, “Do you take so-and-so as your lawfully wedded wife (or husband)?” Or maybe, if you are a married woman, it was a question that preceded the wedding…when your boyfriend got down on his knee and asked, “Will you marry me?”

Was it some other question? Perhaps when somebody asked you to do something unwise, immoral, or illegal and you said, “Yes”?

Something else?

The Most Important Question Ever

Today we are going to try to look at the most important question ever asked…one that everyone has to answer. One whose response decides the fate of the responder.

Matthew, Mark, and Luke capture the question, but we’ll focus on the first. Let’s turn to Matthew 16:13-15:

13 Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” 14 And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” 15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”

Within those words we have some options for who Jesus was:

John the Baptist
Elijah
Jeremiah
One of the prophets

Continue reading “But Who Do You Say that I Am?”

Are Your Ears Itchy?

Posted on May 2, 2014May 2, 2014 by Alan

What is the saying? A lie can travel halfway around the world before truth gets its shoes on (or something like that)?

“How the ‘Jesus’ Wife’ Hoax Fell Apart”

(Subtitled “The media loved the 2012 tale from Harvard Divinity School.”)

What is the likelihood the truth will get the same press as the lie?

The entire article is worth reading, but this was especially interesting to me:

It is perhaps understandable that Ms. King would have been taken in when an anonymous owner presented her with some papyrus fragments for research. What is harder to understand was the rush by the media and others to embrace the idea that Jesus had a wife and that Christian beliefs have been mistaken for centuries. No evidence for Jesus having been married exists in any of the thousands of orthodox biblical writings dating to antiquity.

I think the author, Jerry Pattengale, is missing something obvious to us Christians thanks to “orthodox biblical writings dating to antiquity”:

For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths (2 Timothy 4:3, English Standard Version).

If you want to believe, God will find a way. If you don’t want to believe, you will find a way (and God will allow it).