The Greater Danger

In the book “Foundations of the Christian Faith,” James Montgomery Boice talks of the tension between church and state, and the role of the Christian in that tension.  He speaks of the sovereignty of God over that of the state as a “God-dominant” condition.  And he uses the example of Pontius Pilate and Jesus, who told Pilate, “You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin."

In this text, Jesus recognizes the authority of the state, but does so with the understanding that this authority is derived from a greater authority…God.  And Jesus also gives the Jews the greater condemnation because they were sinning out of hate-filled hearts and against their own laws, where Pilate was sinning against his conscience—he had already pronounced Jesus innocent.

He concludes this part of the discussion with these words.

“…the greater danger lies, not with the state, but with those who are closest to spiritual things.  Others may sin out of ignorance or neglect or cowardice.  But religious people are inclined to sin out of arrogance or pride or actual hatred of God and God’s truth—even when they think they are most moral.”

This is Jay again.  This statement hauled me up short.  Boice’s point is well-taken.  To think that I may sin out of arrogance and pride, or even hatred of God or the Truth of God, is a sobering thought.  The fact that I have knowledge of God and His Word creates a greater accountability on my part before the Righteous Judge.  And to know that I might commit that kind of sin thinking I am the most moral and righteous is doubly-frightening.

This world is filled with sin-traps.  And this is a big one.  It is obvious that we can never successfully navigate life unaided.  But thanks be to God, who provides us with the “paths of righteousness” and leads us in those paths “for His name’s sake.”

Comments from Attorney General William Barr

Barr is right about religion

BY JAY AMBROSE

TRIBUNE NEWS SERVICE

Attorney General William Barr recently gave a speech on religious freedom at the University of Notre Dame law school. He said that that mainstream faiths were being attacked by secularists, mass media, academia, movies, TV and the like, that our traditional moral system was being degraded and that the traditional self-discipline of the past was fleeing.

In no time at all, he was proven correct. He was not attacked just by atheists and know-nothing politicians, but by fellow Catholics of a leftist persuasion and even a theological professor who said he was threatening separation of church and state. Christians should not carry their faith with them while exercising public duties, we were told. They just might then disregard the rule of law, for instance, and threaten the rights of nonbelievers.

Barr dispelled that goofiness in what he actually said. He does not want government insisting on any faith. He wants religious freedom. He wants limited government that becomes more possible as we get the kind of moral discipline and virtue that the Judeo-Christian tradition instills. When people behave decently, they can be counted on to govern themselves. They do not need of a cop on every corner or bureaucratic enthusiasm for rules that enclose our lives instead of opening them.

But, oh dear, some say, Christians of the Barr kind will heed moral notions that transform our democracy into a theocracy. I wonder if these superiors among us know what Christian morals actually are: if they understand, for instance, what Paul said when he talked about love and described its elements: patience, kindness, humility, calmness, delight in truth, perseverance in helping others, hope and letting one’s life revolve around something bigger than self.

Now let’s turn to secular morals.

Relativity is a biggie. No moral truth is absolutely true, some secularists tell us, and you wonder if they ever heard of the philosopher who asked if it is then sometimes OK to torture a baby to death for the fun of it? We get multiculturalism that tells us all cultures are equal in their values even though we know some cultures approve of killing homosexuals, adulteresses and people of other faiths. We have utilitarians who are willing to dismiss some evils if they make large numbers of people happy, and we know this can be a terror. We have political correctness that often sees the trivial as momentous and sometimes punishes transgressions by ruining lives.

All of this gets complicated. But it is not complicated to say that someone heeding basic religious precepts is ordinarily going to be far less dangerous to democracy than, say, Sen. Bernie Sanders and his historically catastrophic aspirations for governmental envelopment. Though not generally recognized, Christianity has been a major force in giving us science, universities, liberty and the values that still instruct to at least some extent the values of nonbelievers. Though the New Atheists say religion gives us war, research indicates that no more than 10% of wars have some religious connection.

None of this is meant to say that no horrors have been committed in the name of religion or that religious people are ipso facto better than the non-religious. Most Christians recognize their own sinfulness. But it is the case that religion is in steep decline in America today and that the consequences could be the loss of meaning and of what has made us great. The sociologist Charles Murray has shown for instance that the most constant churchgoers among us are the upper middle class and that the working class is suffering mightily from the communal help and guidance that came from churches dying out where they live.

Hurrah for Barr.

The Church and Irrelevance

As you may know, I’ve been wading through the book by James Montgomery Boice; “Foundations of the Christian Faith.”  In the book, Boice goes into great depth on many topics having to do with Christianity and the Christian faith.  In one chapter, he talks about “The Secular Church.”  That is, the church that is abandoning divine authority in favor of the voice of human reasoning and understanding.  He outlines four consequences of that abandonment and substitution of humanity’s reasoning.

First, he says it produces “a pitiful state of uncertainty and insecurity in church leaders.”

“Church leaders,” says Robin Scroggs, professor of New Testament at the Chicago Theological Seminary, “find ourselves in the abyss of a continual uncertainty…we have no assurance that where we happen to be is the best or final place to stand.”

Second, he says that the church turns “to the world and its values.”

“The secular world,” he says, “with its vacillating but audible words (is) the only place to which one could turn for direction.”

A third result, he says, “is a pragmatic dependence upon the fifty-one per-cent vote, the validation of values, goals, objectives and programs by consensus.  Earthly authority will inevitably take Scripture’s place.”

The fourth and final consequence Boice outlines comes from a quote by Peter Berger of Rutgers University.  Berger criticized the lack of authority in the church, which leads to irrelevance.  It was the word “irrelevance” that caught my eye and forced me to thoroughly digest Berger’s quote in the book by Boice.  Here is the quote.

“If there is going to be a renaissance of religion, its bearers will not be people who have been falling all over each other to be ‘relevant to modern man.’  Strong eruptions of religious faith have always been marked by the appearance of people with firm, unapologetic, often uncompromising convictions—that is, by types that are the very opposite from those presently engaged in the various ‘relevance’ operations.  Put simply:  Ages of faith are not marked by ‘dialogue,’ but by proclamation….  I would affirm that the concern for the institutional structures of the Church will be vain unless there is also a new conviction and a new authority in the Christian community.”

This is Jay again.  The church has been, and continues to struggle with irrelevance in today’s society.  I had a conversation just today with our pulpit minister on this topic, and he told me of a recent minister’s conference where the topic was the decline of the church.

Instead of installing more lighting, buying more instruments, putting on more pageants, and engaging in more concerts, perhaps we need to come down firmly on doctrine and the authority of the Scriptures…and do so with conviction…unapologetically.  I’m not talking about the dogma and traditions that have invaded Christendom for centuries…I’m talking about the foundations of the Christian faith.  God, Jesus Christ, the Atonement, Grace, Adoption, and the like.  Leave instrumental music, the name over the door of the building, the way we do communion, and women’s role in the church behind.  Concentrate instead on those things “which pertain to life and godliness.”  Preach them.  Speak them.  Live them.  And we may yet see that renaissance that is wistfully and longingly spoken of by so many.

The Power of Grace and Forgiveness

Earlier this week, Amber Guyger, former Dallas police officer, was sentenced to 10 years in prison for the murder of Bothan Jean.  You’ve probably heard about this if you follow the news at all.  It made national headlines.  You’ve also probably heard about people who are protesting the sentence, demanding justice for the young man who was killed in yet another seemingly too familiar scenario of police versus minority.

Let’s try to go beyond all of that for a moment.  Some facts are crystal clear.  First, this event was a tragedy for everyone involved.  There are no winners.  Everyone loses.

Second, the circumstances surrounding the incident are unique in nature.  Normally, things like this don’t happen.

Third, many lives were unalterably changed forever.  The police officer and her family.  The family of the young man.  Friends, business associates and others all have suffered unwanted change in life.

Fourth, there is a place here for justice.  Someone has to pay the penalty for what was done.  Otherwise, the rule of law is worthless.

Fifth, there is also a place here for mercy.  If ever there was a need and a time for mercy, this situation…this circumstance…would be it.

And last, if there ever was a time for the Christian virtues of love and forgiveness to come out, this would be it.  And those virtues were very much on display when Brandt Jean publicly forgave Ms. Guyger, wished the best for her, said he wished she would not have to serve time, said he loved her just as he loved everyone, and asked the judge if he could give her a hug.  The judge approved, and there was a tearful, emotional scene in the middle of the courtroom that shook those watching to their depth of their souls.

One more thing.  This is an opportunity…an opportunity for redemption, healing, and love to prevail over hate, politics, and ideology.  This is an opportunity for Christians to show what we are made of, and to demonstrate in stark and unmistakable terms the love and forgiveness of God in Christ Jesus.

Just like the Nickel Mines tragedy, when several Amish school girls were murdered in their school some years ago, the world witnessed here what love and forgiveness can do…the power that is in grace extended to the undeserving.

May the world take note and follow the example.

Of Cold Fronts and Gratitude

Have you ever been outside when a cold front air mass came through where you were?  Before the front comes through, the old warm, humid air mass that has kept everyone miserable for several days blows in with southerly winds.  Then, for a brief moment, the wind subsides and there is a calm.  And in just a split moment, there is the first whiff of cool, fresh air on the north side of the front.  The breeze quickens and continues to cool things off in a very, very refreshing sort of way.  And you know that the big blue line you’ve seen on the weather maps in the last few hours has gone through you.

If you’ve never experienced that, you need to do so once in your lifetime.  There are several reasons for doing so.

1.       Change.  Things change.  Situations change.  Life changes.  Change is all about us.  We can embrace the inevitable, or we can continue to rail against it to no avail.  As Archie Bunker once said, “I like change better when everything stays the same!”

2.      It DOES get better.  The staleness and stagnation of the old, humid air mass gives way to refreshment and coolness.  The spirits of people are lifted, and things perk up.  It’s the same with life.  It WILL get better.  There are many downers in life, but there are the peaks as well.  Look for them.

3.      Provision.  There is indeed a Provider who knows what His creation needs and sees to it that those needs are met.  Colliding air masses promote rainfall, change of season, and other benefits.  Our needs are being met as the blue line of the cold front passes through us.

4.      Gratitude.  We live in a generally ungrateful world.  We humans believe, for the most part, that we make ourselves into what we are and have to look out for ourselves.  To an extent, that’s true.  But there are many things about life and living that we haven’t any idea how to control or manipulate.  The weather is one of them.  That front will come through regardless of what humanity may do to slow it down or speed it up.  We need to have a measure of gratitude for those things which come our way purely from the grace of a merciful Creator.

Whatever your taste in weather…rainy, foggy, snow, cold, warm, cloudy…whatever it is, some time take the time to follow an air mass as it creeps closer to you, then plan to be outdoors when it comes through.  And think of the lessons that it brings to you.