Apr 24, 2020 | Theology
In this unique time, to say the least, of an over-hyped pandemic (no doubt about that at this point), work and what it accomplishes, private property, is increasingly being seen for what it is, essential. How perverted is it when government tells us what is essential and what isn’t when it comes to providing for our families. Every job is essential! I’m reminded during this time how precious is our Christian faith and worldview, and the Jewish religion that gave it birth. In a book I referenced in my last post, How Christianity Changed the World, the author discusses private property as a uniquely Christian invention that goes back to our spiritual forebearers who brought us the law, the Ten Commandments. Nowhere in Scripture does God say such a thing as “private property” exists, but it is assumed everywhere, and two of the ten reflect that it is the God-given, natural order of things: 8, you shall not steal, and 10, you shall not covet. That which is stolen or coveted belongs to someone else, it is theirs, they own it, and have a right to it before God. The profound implications of this are difficult to overstate. (more…)
Apr 19, 2020 | Theology
Given that many Americans are unemployed through no fault of their own, and are chomping at the bit to get back to work, a few thoughts on Christianity and the dignity of work are appropriate. I’m currently reading How Christianity Changed the World by Alvin J. Schmidt, and making my way through the chapter on “Labor and Economic Freedom Dignified.” I recently wrote about how Christianity transformed the world into which it was birthed, and in due course gave us the modern world and its myriad blessings. As I said, the Christian roots of these blessings are completely ignored today, and no more so than in the area of work. I’ve known about the importance of the Christian influence on work for a long time, but it struck me as I read this chapter how radical a notion it was that work was actually dignified just by being work. (more…)
Apr 12, 2020 | Theology
These trying times are a reminder that the most important question of human existence came from a Jewish Rabbi 2,000 years ago: “But who do you say I am?” Jesus of Nazareth, objectively the most influential human being who ever lived, is himself life’s ultimate question mark. In the context of the time it was an explosive question, both for Jews and Romans, but for very different reasons. Jews had been waiting for their Messiah for 400(!) years. They had been enslaved by one nation after the other, and fully expected the God who had rescued their forefathers from slavery in Egypt, would send another savior to rescue them again. Romans, on the other hand, were not about to let some mythical Messiah figure of these strange and rebellious people threaten the hard won Pax Romana, earned through so much blood and warfare. There had been false alarms before, dynamic figures who claimed Messianic credentials, but nothing, at all, like Jesus of Nazareth. He was nothing like anyone expected, friend and foe alike. Let’s look at the context of the question from Matthew 16: (more…)
Mar 25, 2020 | Theology
I’m working on a post about how Christianity completely transformed the world. In my other writing obsession, I’ve been writing my way through the Bible since April 2014, one of the best things I’ve ever done. God’s word is a bottomless well of profundity that gets more profound to me every day. Having come to this part of the well on love, I realized it is the reason that wherever Christianity goes it transforms (however imperfectly in a fallen world). Nothing of merely human origins can do what it has done and can do, and that’s only one of the many reasons Christianity is the Truth. Some thoughts on love: (more…)
Dec 13, 2019 | Theology
Eight years ago or so I got on my knees, feeling like the miserable Christian I thought I was, and committed to God that I would read the Bible and pray every day. Whatever I could or couldn’t do, I knew I could at least do that. I had been a Christian for 30 plus years, and a seminary graduate, so I knew what I believed and why I believed it, but the reality of those beliefs wasn’t impacting my life in the profound way it should if this whole thing is actually true. Our Sovereign, Creator, Savior God is of course working in us through every up and down of our lives, and this was definitely a down period. In January of 2012 my wife and I were becoming members of the church we were attending, and we were asked to write a testimony. I quote from the last two paragraphs to better make the point of this post: (more…)
Jul 24, 2019 | Theology
Those of you who are parents know those moments Madison Avenue has coined as “priceless.” I had one the other night that thrilled my soul when my son said something to the effect, “I’m so glad that God is my salvation.” The subtitled of my book gets at why this was so thrilling for me: “God’s Provision for Building an Enduring Faith in Your Children.” It’s very easy for Christians, saved fallen sinners that we are, to think our salvation is up to us: if we just do the right things, make the right decisions, live the right way, then God will be a little more pleased with us than he otherwise would be. The focus tends inward, subjective, on us, something I’ve taught our kids all their lives is not the Christianity we embrace.
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