Counting The Cost

Random thoughts on walking with Jesus in this turvy-topsy world

Drawn to the Supernatural

               I have always loved Halloween.     I love dressing up in crazy costumes and, of course, consuming large amounts of chocolate (although my friends and family will tell you that I do that every day of the year).     Before I became a Christian, I was drawn to Halloween because of the supernatural elements.      In an everyday hum-drum world, sometimes it is nice to have an escape into something otherworldly and mysterious.      Now that I am a Christian, although I still enjoy the festive parts of Halloween, I don't have that need to dabble in the supernatural.     Now, my whole life is supernatural!      Every moment of my life is filled with the presence of an invisible, eternal, all powerful Lord who is mysterious and otherworldly.      How awesome is that?     Well, my point in writing this, is to introduce the article I am posting below.      As a college student, I am around a lot of fellow students who are into New Age mysticism and pagan religions, and because of my own background, I can sympathize with their desire to be a part of a world beyond the ordinary.     I have also seen how empty and dark their lives can become when they lose themselves in that lifestyle.     That's why I try to share the Lord Jesus Christ with them whenever and however I can.      And that's also why I am going to be posting several articles about wicca and witches on my blog up until Halloween.     The same desires that pull people into the world of paganism and mysticism can also pull them towards the Lord who desires to make their lives extraordinary.                -Joy

Witch Path Would You Choose?
Written by Sarah E. Hinlicky

 

We were zipping down the interstate on our way to a concert one rainy summer afternoon when my best friend — let’s call her Sabrina — turned to me after a short lull in the conversation and said, “Does it bother you that I’m a witch?”

 

Had I actually known before that very moment that she was a witch, I might have had the wits about me to make an intelligent remark. As it was, I was so shocked by this unprovoked announcement that all I could manage was, “Well, I don’t exactly approve of it, but I’m not going to let it come between us.”

 

I shouldn’t have been as surprised as I was. Sabrina’s religious wanderings had been the source of ongoing distress to me over the course of our five-year best-friendship. She and her family had been nominally Presbyterian when they were rich, and then nominally Catholic when they became unexpectedly poor, and after a while they gave up on church altogether. But those collected Sundays in the pews left very little impression on Sabrina. The everyday life of the Church — weekly worship, talk about sin and atonement, tithing — was much too dull for her to be troubled with. If the subject of religion came up at all, the conversation turned to icons, saints, candles, hell, miracles, relics and myths. The exotic stuff. All of which is the fair inheritance of Christians, but Christians have also put their total faith in the death and resurrection of Christ and try to live up to their baptismal vows — an “ordinary” matter that never much interested Sabrina.

 

I tried to change the subject. She didn’t want to. “This is my birthright,” she said. “I was born with this power. The women of my family have been witches for generations. My mom doesn’t know she’s a witch, but she has the power, too.”

 

My curiosity temporarily took over. “What powers do you have?” I dared to ask.

 

“I can tell when someone is going to die by looking at the bark on the trees,” she answered solemnly. “I can lock up the evil spirits released by ouija boards. I can communicate with the wolves.”

 

It sounds preposterous, I know. I was half inclined to laugh in her face at her self-delusions and half incensed that she presumed to know anyone’s time of death. (I had recently lost my grandmother in a singularly awful way, which greatly heightened my sensitivity.) Instead I politely acknowledged the intensity of her convictions and then succeeded at last in re-routing our discussion back to the concert.

 

Power Beyond Belief
The name “witch” bears some examination. Most Americans, when they hear the word, conjure up mental pictures of hideous old hags with warts on their noses who try to ruin the good fortunes of virtuous young girls in medieval fairy tales. Those inclined to a slightly more positive image might think of pink-bubble Glinda in The Wizard of Oz. (“Are you a good witch or a bad witch?” she coos.) And the historically informed will shudder to recall the horrifically unjust Salem witch trials of 17th century Massachusetts. The witches you meet today don’t belong in any of these categories. Though they claim a more venerable pedigree, modern “Wiccans” have their origins entirely in this century, stemming from the deliberate revival of long-dead pagan practices by an Englishman named Gerald Gardner around the turn of the century. Witchcraft is just one part of the larger and vaguer “neopagan” movement, which in turn is one part of the even wider and vaguer New Age movement. None of these new “religions” can be rigidly classified — the notion of dogma is anathema to them — but one can at least accurately say that they are mystical, individualistic and decidedly non-Christian religious expressions reacting against a dominantly Christian society. Wicca specifically is composed mostly but not entirely of women, emphasizes the close ties between humanity and nature, and, if it professes belief in deities at all, those will generally be the Goddess and her consort, the Horned God, or the members of ancient pantheons (Celtic ones are especially popular). But all this is purely optional; the litmus test for witchcraft is not belief, but power.

 

In this light, it is extremely important to remember that witches are not Satanists. The two are often equated, a mistake that is not only unfair to Wiccans, but also fails to recognize the real (albeit different) danger in their practices. The very idea of radical evil in the form of Satan is rejected by witches, but this ironically leaves them all the more vulnerable to demonic infiltration. It is easy to see how becoming a Satanist obsessed with the devil is a recipe for trouble, but it’s a little harder to understand why repudiating his existence altogether is just as bad. The heart of the matter is that denying the devil makes it impossible to detect his evil presence in anything.

 

This has two insidious results. The first is the illusion of moral autonomy: without radical evil, there can’t be any such thing as sin. At best there are “little evils” that can be overcome by the individual efforts of well-meaning witches. The Wiccan ethical code is very simple: do harm to no one. But that presumes that each and every witch can know for herself exactly what is harmful and what is not. History shows countless examples of the damage done by people who thought that they were actually doing the good (without encouraging mass hysteria, I would like to point out that Hitler wanted to revive pagan German practices since their ethical priorities included ethnic cleansing). All religions have been guilty of serious wrongdoing, but paganism in particular has always been tied to blood (read: sacrifice) and soil (read: local ethnic preference) — a far cry from seeing every person created in the image of God. Although witchcraft today doesn’t indulge in such violence, it being a newly revived practice, the more witches emphasize their historical continuity, the more they’ll have to face up to this violent potential inherent in their beliefs.

 

The other result is the conjuring of spirits. Much of the actual practice of witchcraft relies on calling up various powers, whether as all-encompassing as the Goddess or as minor as tree or river spirits. Wiccan holidays are times of heightened activity between the mortal and immortal realms. The presupposition is, of course, that these spirits will either be indifferent at worst or benign at best to the interests of mere mortals. Sabrina spoke to me once about her acute awareness of the local powers in nature, and how she felt constrained to revere them. The spiritual danger in such a compulsion is dire. There is a very good reason why God-fearing people have been forbidden to conjure up spirits since Old Testament times: their interests are most decidedly not indifferent or benign. When witches are led to believe otherwise, it is a further reminder that the devil is the father of all lies. It’s an easy conquest: Sabrina, like many witches, denies the existence of truth, too.

 

Irreconcilable Differences
A year passed. Sabrina and I had once been enthusiastic correspondents, treating our epistle-writing as a highly evolved art form, but our communication began to wane. Not deliberately, or at least we didn’t think it was deliberately. I was about to graduate from college, embroiled in the writing of a senior thesis; she was in college also, a long way off from me, and too busy to sustain our old intimacy. We assumed that when the next summer came and we were near each other again, we could just pick up where we left off.

 

Of course, it wasn’t really that simple. Even on the rare occasions that we did scrounge up the cash to indulge in a chat on the phone, I sensed again something strange about her — or at least stranger than before. We seemed to be talking at cross purposes, not really connecting. There were lots of easy explanations for that, though — the long separation, bad moods, school stress. I put the witchcraft thing out of my head, wistfully hoping it was just a passing phase.

 

It’s much easier to see now the source of our increasing personal distance. Christianity and paganism cultivate very different sorts of virtues. The latter emphasizes power: ritual is a flexing of spiritual mastery that thrives on secrecy, itself a potent kind of power. Magic spells are a means manipulating the natural world — there’s no such thing as “unnatural” in Wicca — using body and mind as a channel to control natural powers. But the lust for power spills over into the daily life of witches, well beyond the moonlit meetings for magic. Sabrina described to me once the difficulties she was having concealing her witchliness from her boyfriend. She was going away for a weekend with another witch, and she told him, coyly, that they would be doing some “stuff.” What “stuff”? inquired the naturally suspicious boyfriend. She eluded the answer, and then agonized over what to tell him. It was perfectly clear, though, that the real thrill was not in any of the “stuff” she was planning on doing, but on having such a stupendous secret to withhold or bestow as she pleased.

 

Christian spiritual values are quite the opposite. Christianity is the story of giving up power again and again in obedience to the all-powerful God, who in turn gave up His power in the ultimate humiliation of weakness on the cross. The disparity between Christianity and paganism in this respect could hardly be greater. Sabrina unwittingly drove the point home to me once when she thanked me again for the silver St. Brigid’s cross I brought her from a trip to Ireland. “I believe the Goddess was using you a bit,” she said. “It’s one of the most powerful talismans I’ve ever seen.” I could barely contain my fury; in fact, I felt positively violent. I wanted desperately to rip it right from the chain that hung around her neck. Nothing could be more offensive to me than her perversion of the cross on which my Savior died for the sake of her pagan power-play.

 

Witch Came First
That year of bare-bones friendship was the beginning of the end. The real end began rather innocently: we had some miscommunications via email (a medium that makes it notoriously difficult to convey the exact nuances of expression without resorting to endless smiley faces) and needed to clear the air. That was easily accomplished; they really were just silly misunderstandings. But in the process of patching things up, I inquired if this was not at root a matter of our increasingly great “religious” differences.

 

“Sarah,” she bluntly told me, “I have tried and I cannot be anything but a pagan.” I rather doubt she really tried. In any event, she was very pleased with her new identity as a witch. It had been a process of enormous self-discovery, and she had been very sorry not to include me in it. But now that we were being honest about these things, she hoped I would take a look at her new world. Even if I didn’t agree with it, I could at least recognize the beneficial change it wrought in her. Instead, I spent the weekend wondering whether I should be angrier at her for making that awful choice, or at God for not calling her more irresistibly to be a Christian.

 

I knew already that our friendship was over. But it is vitally important to understand just why it was over. It was never a matter of hating her, or damning her, or even thinking that two people with different religious commitments couldn’t be friends. I would have lost the certainty that she could offer me good advice when I was in a crisis, but that was a fairly minor aspect of our friendship. No, it came down to a direct challenge to my faith: she wanted me either to roundly condemn her to the fire and brimstone and try to burn her at the stake (which would prove that Christians are intolerant bigots), or to fully affirm her chosen religion as a totally legitimate, true and morally compelling option (which would concede that Wicca is not idolatry).

 

Naturally, I had no intention of persecuting her; quite aside from that being a decidedly un-Christian thing to do, I loved her too much to want to hurt her, and I still pray for her eventual conversion. Persecution can never accomplish that. But supporting her was equally impossible. She was willfully stumbling into the hands of powers who had slyly persuaded her that she was still in control. As her best friend, I couldn’t endorse that, no matter how much it meant to her or how good her own intentions were. Even when witches band together wanting nothing more than a loving spiritual support group, it doesn’t change the ugly facts of reality.

 

We debated these matters back and forth and got nowhere. She tried to beg off by insisting that she still did believe in the Holy Trinity and Jesus the redeeming Son of God. (How this fits in with her proclamation that she could be nothing but a pagan is beyond me; but then, postmodern witches can reject reason quite as easily as revelation.) A classic theological distinction came to mind: the distinction between the mere assent that even demons have, and the faith which puts complete trust in the love of God. Sabrina might have sense enough to believe that the God of Christians exists, but she wouldn’t worship Him herself. That would require too much humility.

 

There was one other matter: if she really was coming into contact with superhuman forces, the consequences could only be disastrous. I couldn’t drag her out of a dangerous situation, but I had the responsibility to keep myself away from it. My fondness for her personally was completely clouded over by my recoiling horror at the situation she had put herself in. I was willing to accept any consequences, as long as I had no traffic with these pretenders to godly power. The tragedy was that she had become the point of contact between them and me.

 

My prediction was right: our friendship went down in flames. She openly scorned my vocation to theology and accused me of deeming her unworthy of my love. The friend I once knew was gone, and I didn’t recognize the replacement. The new Sabrina was a monument to spiritual blindness.

 

The whole dreadful experience was not without its spiritual repercussions for me as well. I was forced to turn my heart inside out and examine my motives. It wouldn’t do for me to lose my dearest friend out of some deep-seated desire to be a martyr. And every time I declared the sole truth of the Gospel against the lies of idolatry, I had to fight off my own demons of pharisaism. I constantly feared that my presentation of the divine word of love would be unloving — and drive her even further away from it.

 

All these flaws were present in me to some extent; for all my good intentions, I’m still a sinner in need of gracious correction. Finally, though, I was granted the peace of heart — if not mind — to know that this was a sacrifice required of me, and, however reluctantly, I gave it up to God. We can never choose our own crosses, after all, and the crosses that are presented to us are usually the ones we want least to carry. I couldn’t have managed it without the love of Christ guiding me through it. But ultimately it was a choice of the ultimate thing in my life: was I going to value friendship above all else, or my God? The seductive notions of tolerance that float around our American culture want us to think that staying on good terms with everybody is the most important thing in the world. There’s a grain of truth in that. Our relationships are of extraordinary, even cosmic, importance in our lives. But they can never take priority over the baptismal commitment to our Lord and Savior. At some point, even friendships fail; but God in heaven never does.

 

 

 

Copyright © 2001 Sarah E. Hinlicky. All rights reserved. International copyright secured.
Sarah E. Hinlickyis completing her M.Div. at Princeton Theological Seminary and is a frequent contributor to Boundless.

 

 

The complete text of this article is available at http://www.boundless.org/2001/features/a0000503.html

 

posted by: Jrobbins at 12:44 | link | comments (1) |
witch path would you choose

The Challenge: Radical Faith

Don't be Afraid to be a Renegade

Written by Whitney Hopler

 

 

 

The following is a report on the practical applications of David Foster's new book, A Renegade’s Guide to God: Finding Life Outside Conventional Christianity, (Warner Faith, 2006).

 

 

 

 

Jesus never meant for you to be crushed under the weight of rigid rules and self-righteous religious agendas. You can still love Him with deep conviction if you break free and start living as a renegade for God – someone who rejects conventional religion yet embraces faith with a passion.

 

So go ahead and trade religion for real life in Jesus.  Here’s how:

 

 

 

* Understand that God loves you as you are, not as you ought to be. Stop futile efforts to earn God’s love and accept the fact that there’s absolutely nothing you can do to make Him love you any more or less. Know that He loves you deeply and unconditionally right now.

 

 

 

* Seek transformation instead of just a moral makeover. Recognize that God doesn’t want you simply to change your morals for the better; He wants you to give Him your whole heart so He can transform you into a different person. Know that real faith transcends just adopting a certain lifestyle, joining a certain denomination, or espousing certain political views. Understand that true and lasting change is internal, not external.

 

 

 

* Get rid of shame. Don’t allow people to pile shame on you for past sins with which you’ve already dealt properly. Have confidence that, if you respond to guilt in a healthy way by confessing and repenting, you can count on God’s forgiveness. Remember that once God forgives you, you are free. Accept His forgiveness and move on with your life in peace.

 

 

 

* Stand out rather than fitting in. Understand that God’s goal isn’t for you to just be compliant and fit into a bland and boring group of nice people. Celebrate the unique person God created you to be, and don’t be afraid of standing out in a crowd. Reject labels from people who don’t know you well, and let people get to know you. Embrace God’s purposes for your life, and don’t settle for anything less. Use the distinctive talents He has given you to contribute to the world in ways that only you can. Overcome apathy and don’t waste the time you have. Pursue significance, putting your faith in action to make the world a better place because you lived. Discover true fulfillment by investing your life in what matters most.

 

 

 

* Dream big. Be bold about asking God what His dreams are for you; you will likely find that many of them are beyond what you’ve been dreaming for yourself. Then have the courage to embrace those dreams. Don’t let negative people discourage you from pursuing big dreams. Be willing to take whatever risks are necessary to follow God’s dreams for you, trusting that He will provide all you need along the way. Don’t be one of those people who looks back in regret for not having tried; give your best to pursuing your dreams, and look forward to them coming true.

 

 

 

* Have fun. Know that it’s not wrong to want to have fun. Remember that God wants you to be filled with joy.

 

 

 

* Trade safety for adventure. Recognize that true faith isn’t about safety from the challenges of our fallen world; it’s about engaging that world in redemptive ways. Abandon the false notion of Jesus as some kind of sweet, safe figure who makes you feel warm and fuzzy. Understand that He is the all-powerful God of the universe, and a relationship with Him will cost you everything, but be worth everything. Ask Him to give you the courage you need to live the adventurous life He wants for you. Be willing to take whatever risks you need to take and make whatever sacrifices you need to make to follow where He leads. Know that doing so will change you in profound ways.

 

 

 

* Seek conversion. Don’t settle for religion that doesn’t truly change you. Instead, confront the truth of your sins, express genuine remorse for them, take responsibility, repent, and receive God’s forgiveness and transformation.

 

 

 

* Give it your all. Understand that life with God is much more than simply going to church once a week; it involves a constant, growing connection to Him. Live your faith on Monday through Saturday just as much as you do on Sunday. Give your mind, body, and spirit completely over to something bigger than yourself – the Gospel. Let Jesus change your thoughts and behavior so His love is reflected in all aspects of your life – at home, at work, at play, at rest, and everywhere else. Get to know God’s heart, trust His love, and follow His lead. Ask Jesus to help you show the world you’re His disciple by demonstrating love, honesty, trust, freedom, joy, generosity, humility, and a hunger for Him.

 

 

 

* Be authentic. Don’t worry about projecting a certain image to others. Don’t cave into pressure to pretend to be someone you’re not. Realize that God is much more concerned about your true heart than about your appearance. Ask God to help you discover who He created you to be and to give you the confidence to be yourself with other people.

 

 

 

* Recognize that it’s all about love. Understand that no amount of good works you do will count for anything unless there’s love behind them. Remember that what matters most is simple: loving God and others. Make it a priority to let God’s love flow through you every day, in practical ways that bless other people.

 

 

 

* Distinguish Jesus from Christianity. Remember that real faith isn’t about a religious system; it’s about a relationship. Keep your focus on Jesus. Rather than just trying to get people to join a church, help them encounter Jesus and connect to Him above all.

 

 

 

* Know the reasons behind what you believe. Don’t just buy into faith simply because your parents did or because you want to fit in or please others. Seriously think about what you personally believe, and why. Be able to tell others why you’ve chosen faith.

 

 

 

* Trust. Realize that trusting Jesus is the key that unlocks all the treasures of heaven here on Earth. Understand that even when you don’t understand a situation or can’t predict its outcome, you can rely on the fact that you do know Jesus and trust that He will act according to what’s best for you. Remember that nothing is impossible for you if you call God on His promises and attempt whatever He leads you undertake.

 

 

 

* Embrace freedom. Watch out for people who claim to know it all and charlatans and cheats who claim to speak for God. Remember that, when you’re in a strong relationship with Jesus, you’re free to think for yourself. Exercise your freedom from pressure to please others or to fit into their agenda.

 

 

 

* Savor the sacred now. Be alert to God at work all around you. Look for the extraordinary hidden in the ordinary. Be fully engaged in the present time rather than stuck in the past or preoccupied with the future. View every day as the gift from God that it is, and be grateful. Take time to enjoy life. Never postpone anything that can bring joy into your life or that of someone else.

 

 

 

* Don’t be afraid of mystery. Break out of your comfort zone and stop expecting easy answers or pat formulas to life’s questions. Understand that, while Jesus is the answer to all things, that doesn’t mean all the answers are available to you. Know that God is too big to be owned, analyzed, or sanitized. Realize that any doctrinal statements people can make about God are descriptive, but not exhaustive, since we can’t know anywhere near all there is to know about God here on Earth. But also realize that God reveals enough for us to be sure that He is worthy of our trust. When talking with people about God, engage them in two-sided conversation rather than lecturing. Constantly seek to learn more. Embrace the mysteries of life as opportunities to keep seeking God.

 

 

 

* Live an abundant life. Don’t just eke out a small, safe existence. Instead, dare to do whatever God leads you to do, trusting that you can rely on His strength and the gifts and talents He has given you.

 

 

 

* Grow into greatness. Give your best effort to all you do, pursuing excellence. Rather than trying to use your talents to make yourself great, use them unselfishly to bless others and watch God make you great as a result. Be humble, acknowledging that your power is actually God’s power flowing through you.

 

 

 

 

 

Adapted from A Renegade’s Guide to God: Finding Life Outside Conventional Christianity, copyright 2006 by David Foster.  Published by Warner Faith, a division of Hachette Book Group USA, New York, N.Y., www.warnerfaith.com.
David Foster’s passion is to be “an agent of change with a message of hope to a world in pain.” He is the founding and senior pastor of Bellevue Community Church in Nashville, Tn., the president of Foster Media Group (a consulting marketing company), and the CIO of Renegade Nation.net (an Internet gathering for emerging church conversation). He earned his doctorate from the Reformed Theological Seminary in Jackson, Ms.

 

 

 

For more about living in a relationship with Jesus rather than a religion, visit NotReligion.com.

posted by: Jrobbins at 12:38 | link | comments |
renegades guide to god

Forgive? Always and in all ways!

How Christians Should Respond to Muslim Outrage

 

Written by John Piper

 

  

"Whoever offends our Prophet Mohammed should be killed on the spot by the nearest Muslim." Those were the words of Sheikh Abubakar Hassan Malin to a gathering of Muslims in Mogadishu on Friday, September 15, 2006. On Saturday, Palestinians wielding guns and firebombs attacked five Christian churches in the West Bank and Gaza. On Sunday, September 17, in London, outside Westminster Cathedral, Anjem Choudary addressed a demonstration and said that those who insulted Islam "should be subject to capital punishment."

 

 

These were among the reactions to a speech given by Pope Benedict XVI at Regensburg University, in Germany on Tuesday, September 12. Perhaps connected to the speech was the murder on Sunday in Mogadishu of sixty-six-year-old Leonella Sgorbati, an Italian Catholic nun serving as a nurse in a children's hospital. In the speech, the pope was addressing the foundation of the secular university. The subject was faith and reason. He was arguing that the foundation of the university, and the spread of truth and faith, lay in the rationality of God. He asked, "Is the conviction that acting unreasonably contradicts God's nature merely a Greek idea, or is it always and intrinsically true?" He answers, "I believe that here we can see the profound harmony between what is Greek, in the best sense of the word, and the biblical understanding of faith in God."

 

 

In other words, the pope is arguing that the university, and all people, have an obligation to act in accordance with reason, because reason is rooted in God. At this point, he brought in a discussion of the difference between Islam and Christianity on the relationship between God and reason. Christianity, he argues, sees reason as rooted in God. But, citing a noted French Islamist R. Arnaldez, he says that "Ibn Hazn went so far as to state that [in Islam] God is not bound even by his own word, and that nothing would oblige him to reveal the truth to us. Were it God's will, we would even have to practice idolatry." This, he implies, disconnects God and reason and opens Islam to a use of violence in spreading their faith that is not governed by reason. He cites Sura 2, 256 from the Qur'an, where Mohammed says that there is no compulsion in religion. Then he draws attention to the later developments in the Qur'an by quoting the Byzantine emperor Manuel II Paleologus in 1391 in Ankara (today's capitol of Turkey). The emperor apparently said that Mohammed taught that one could "spread by the sword the faith he preached."

 

 

Then the pope said, “The emperor goes on to explain in detail the reasons why spreading the faith through violence is something unreasonable. Violence is incompatible with the nature of God and the nature of the soul. God is not pleased by blood, and not acting reasonably is contrary to God's nature. Faith is born of the soul, not the body. Whoever would lead someone to faith needs the ability to speak well and to reason properly, without violence and threats. To convince a reasonable soul, one does not need a strong arm, or weapons of any kind, or any other means of threatening a person with death. The decisive statement in this argument against violent conversion is this: not to act in accordance with reason is contrary to God's nature.

 

 

 

These references to the role of reason in Islam, and the apparent endorsement of violence (in parts of the Qur'an) as a way of spreading Islamic faith, have outraged Muslims and sparked violence and calls for violence. Subsequently, the pope said, "I am deeply sorry for the reactions in some countries to a few passages of my address at the University of Regensburg, which were considered offensive to the sensibility of Muslims. These in fact were a quotation from a medieval text, which do not in any way express my personal thought."

 

 

How should Christians respond to this situation? I will suggest ten responses that flow from the Bible.

 

1. Admit that the Christian church has often been too entangled with civil governments, with the result that violence has been endorsed by the church as a way of accomplishing religious, and not just civil, goals. The Crusades, for example, stand as a monument to collective Christian blindness to the teaching of Jesus. We should make every effort today to avoid political alignments between the Christian church and any civil government or political party. (See my article, Tolerance, Truth-Telling, Violence, and Law.)

 

 

2. Make clear that the use of God-sanctioned violence between Israel and the nations in the Old Testament is no longer God's will for his people. The coming of the Messiah, Jesus Christ, as a suffering servant, rather than a warlord, and his gathering of a people from all nations rather than only one, are two of the many reasons why the Christian church today should not-and almost universally does not-endorse or use violence to promote the gospel of Jesus Christ.

 

 

3. Admit that there are many Muslims today who do not approve of violence in the spread of Islam. Admittedly, to many of us in the West, their number seems small and their voice seems muted by the reputation of the more violent strains of Islam. We do not know how large that segment of Islam is.

 

 

4. Point out how Islam, in its most sacred writings and authoritative teachings, belittles Jesus Christ, not just occasionally in the news, but constantly by its dominant claims. Islam denies that Jesus Christ was and is God, a central truth of the New Testament and the Christian church (John 1:1-3; Colossians 2:9; Hebrews 1:8). Dominant streams of Islam deny that Jesus died on the cross and therefore deny that the claim that his death atones for sin and propitiates the wrath of God is true (1 Corinthians 15:1-3; Romans 3:21-26; Galatians 3:13; 1 Peter 2:24; 3:18). Therefore, defenders of Islam daily defame Jesus Christ and insult the glory of his gospel.

 

 

5. Point out that, in response to this constant defamation of Jesus Christ, there are no public threats or demands for apologies. This is not because we do not love Jesus above all things, or because we have no zeal for the glory of his name. It is because he told us to expect this (Matthew 10:25; John 15:20) and then modeled for us how to react: "When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly" (1 Peter 2:23).

 

 

6. Do good to those who hate you-and, of course, those of other faiths who don't hate you (Luke 6:27). This is not because Christians do not believe in vengeance. We simply believe that it is not ours to give. And this age is not the time to give it. This is an age of mercy and patience and forgiveness toward those who malign the King of the universe. He will have his Day of Wrath. But we are too sinful to be entrusted with that righteous judgment. Rather, we should obey the words of the New Testament: "Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, 'Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.' To the contrary, 'if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head'" (Romans 12:19-20).

 

 

7. Seek to win others to saving faith in Jesus by persuading with words, not imposing with force. This was the way the gospel spread among many religions in the early centuries of the Christian church. The earliest teachers said, "Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade others" (2 Corinthians 5:11). When the New Testament speaks of the "sword of the Spirit" (Ephesians 6:17) or "the weapons of our warfare" (2 Corinthians 10:4), it clearly means the word of God and power of spiritual persuasion.

 

 

8. Always be ready to die, but never to kill, for the sake of commending Jesus Christ as the Son of God who died for sinners and rose again as the Lord of the universe. Jesus promises to triumph through our accepting suffering, not our causing suffering. He died to save all who will believe-from every nation and religion. He calls us to follow him on this Calvary Road. "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit" (John 12:24). This is not the death of a suicide-murderer. This is the death of one who loves his enemies and, as he dies, prays, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do" (Luke 23:34), and, "Lord, do not hold this sin against them" (Acts 7:60).

 

 

9. Pray for the salvation of all those who belittle Jesus Christ. Pray that they would put their faith in Jesus Christ who died for our sins so that if anyone-from any nation or any religion-would embrace him as Lord and Savior and Treasure of their lives, they would be saved from the guilt of sin and the wrath of God. They would have eternal life and joy. This is the way the great apostle Paul prayed: "Brothers, my heart's desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved" (Romans 10:1).

 

 

10. No matter the cost, continue to exalt and commend Jesus Christ as the great and only Savior that he is. Say with the apostle Paul, "It is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain." The day will come when every knee will bow to Jesus as Lord and as God (Philippians 2:10-11). Until that day comes, affirm with Paul: "I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God" (Acts 20:24).

 

 

Longing for the Savior to be exalted,

 

John Piper

posted by: Jrobbins at 12:43 | link | comments (2) |
christian response to muslim out

End of Ramadan...Beginning of Hope

     Today marks the end of the Muslim feast of Ramadan, and also the end of the 30 Days of Prayer for the Muslim World project.      I hope that we will all keep on praying and reaching out to share the love of Jesus Christ with our Muslim neighbors and friends.       It is so amazing what God can do, and the more I learn about Him, the more I see that His heart is completely devoted to saving every single person on this earth.      I love that about the Lord!     It is my prayer that my Father will help me to have a heart like His.       To help us remember the Muslim people in our prayers, the 30 Days of Prayer Team sent out a final email message, which I have posted below.     Then, below that, I have posted some words from the Apostle Paul in the book of Romans.     When I came across that passage in the Bible I was blown away.     These words are just perfect (of course!) to help us keep on loving and sharing with all those we meet who don't know the love of our Lord Jesus Christ.     -Joy

 

30-Days of Prayer for the Muslim World

The Pain and Sorrow

 

It is certain that these last five years have seen the Muslim World groaning in great pain… The Afghan and Iraq wars, earthquakes, the Indian Ocean Tsunami and so much more. Christians definitely have the promise and hope that one day the pain and sorrow of this present world will all be washed away.

 

Please pray for the needs of Muslim people affected by these tragedies:

 

Many have lost father and mothers.

Many have lost their children.

Many have lost their entire living family.

Many have lost their homes.

Many have lost their jobs.

Many no longer have schools.

Many no longer have their best friends.

Many have lost their health.

Many have lost limbs.

Many have lost their sight.

Many still lack appropriate food.

Many still lack medicines.

Many have lost their doctor.

Many have lost their favorite teacher.

Many are ruined financially.

Many have lost their family inheritance.

Many have seen horrible deaths before their eyes.

Many have seen rivers of blood.

Many have seen anger.

Many are angry.

Many have known bitterness.

Many are hurting.

Many have lost hope.

Most have never heard the Gospel nor held a Bible.



This is an excerpt from our 30-Days Prayer Guide

 

 

 

 

 

“Brethren, my heart's desire and my prayer to God for them is for their salvation.

For I testify about them that they have a zeal for God, but not in accordance with knowledge.

For not knowing about God's righteousness and seeking to establish their own, they did not subject themselves to the righteousness of God.

For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.

But what does it say? "THE WORD IS NEAR YOU, IN YOUR MOUTH AND IN YOUR HEART"--that is, the word of faith which we are preaching,

that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved;

for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.

For the Scripture says, "WHOEVER BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED."

For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him;

for "WHOEVER WILL CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED."

 How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher?

 How will they preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written, "HOW BEAUTIFUL ARE THE FEET OF THOSE WHO BRING GOOD NEWS OF GOOD THINGS!"

However, they did not all heed the good news; for Isaiah says, "LORD, WHO HAS BELIEVED OUR REPORT?"

So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.”

Romans 10:1-4; 7-17 (NASB)

 

 

posted by: Jrobbins at 12:45 | link | comments (2) |
30 days of prayer end

No More Blind Faith

What is Faith?

Written by Michael Ramsden

 

 

"Faith is believing what you want to believe, yet cannot prove."

 

 

Sadly, many people, including some Christians, live with this definition of faith.  For some it feels liberating.  It means being able to believe in anything you want to.  No explanation is required; indeed, no explanation can be given--it is just a matter of faith.  For others, such a definition is sickening.  Embracing faith means you stop thinking.  As faith increases, reason and meaning eventually disappear.  No explanations can be given, and none can be expected.  Thus, living in faith is living in the dark.

 

 

For both groups, the problem is the same.  By starting with the wrong definition of faith, they have asked the wrong question, are dealing with the wrong problem, and so have ended up with the wrong answer.  Faith is not wishful thinking.  It is not about believing in things that do not exist.  It either makes all things believable, nor meaning impossible.

 

 

So what is the right definition of faith?  "Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen," writes the author of Hebrews.  A few verses later faith is similarly defined as knowing that God exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him.

 

 

Perhaps the best word we can use to translate the Greek word pistis (usually translated faith) is the word "trust" or "trustworthy."  Suppose you tell a friend that you have faith in her.  What does that mean?  It means two things.  First, you are sure the person you are talking to actually exists.  And second, you are convinced she is trustworthy; you can believe what she says and trust in her character.

 

 

 

It is in this way that the writer of Hebrews talks about faith in God. Faith is knowing that God is real and that you can trust in his promises. You cannot trust someone who isn't there, nor can you rely on someone whose promises are not reliable.  This is why faith is talked about as the substance of things hoped for and as the evidence of things not seen.  Both words carry with them a sense of reality.  Our hope is not wishful thinking.  Faith does not make God real.  On the contrary, faith is

the response to a real God who has made Himself known to us:

 

"I am the LORD, and there is no other;

apart from me there is no God.

I will strengthen you,

though you have not acknowledged me,

 

so that from the rising of the sun

to the place of its setting

men may know there is none besides me" (Isaiah 45:5-6).

 

 

Ever since the Church began, the refrain has always been the same.  It has never appealed for people to leap into the dark; no such invitation is found anywhere in Scripture.  Instead, we are called to step into the light. The Christian gospel is not a message that revels in ignorance.  It is the revelation of God in the person Christ, so that we might know there is none besides Him.  The Christian is called to see things as they really are, and not as he would simply like them to be.  We trust in a God who has revealed Himself.  We believe because He is real.

 

 

 

The Christian Gospel invites you delve into reality.  It commands you to be honest in your commitment to know that which is true.  Is Jesus real?  Who did he claim to be?  Is he really alive today?  Faith comes in response to knowing the answers to these questions, even as Christ is calling you near.  But don't stop after the initial introductions!  Just as you are able to put more trust in someone as you grow to know him, so faith increases as you grow in your relationship with Christ.  There is a God who is real and true, and He is calling you unto Himself.  The great joy of the Christian faith is found in the person who invites us to trust and believe.

 

 

 

 

Michael Ramsden is European director of Ravi Zacharias International Ministries in the United Kingdom.

posted by: Jrobbins at 12:44 | link | comments |
no more blind faith

Colson Speaks on Religious Freedom

From Breakpoint.org:

 

 

Entering the Debate

 

The Elections and Religious Freedom

 

A Commentary by Chuck Colson

 

 

With the election season in full swing, I'm going to ask you to forget for a moment all the mud-slinging and scandal-mongering that is raging across your television set, coming from both sides. Instead, consider the really serious weighty issues before the American people this fall: the war on terrorism, Iraq, the sanctity of life, the definition of marriage, immigration, and so much more. Some politicians are talking about these critical issues—more need to. We need to know where our candidates stand on these questions.

 

 

But as Mark Earley told you yesterday on "BreakPoint," there's another issue that Christians absolutely need to bring into the political discussion this election year: religious freedom—not only around the world, but also here at home.

 

 

Certainly the global outlook is grim. Just this past June, a pastor and members of the Full Gospel Church in the province of Than Hoa, Vietnam, were dragged outside by police and brutally beaten. Their only crime: gathering to worship Jesus. In Pakistan, a 7-year-old Christian girl was lured away from her home, raped, beaten, and left for dead in a ditch. She was targeted because of her faith. In China, Peter Xu Yongze, pastor of one of the largest underground Protestant churches there, was hung up across an iron gate during one of his five jail sentences. They then yanked open the gate, so that his chest nearly split in two.

 

 

As chilling as these reports are, even more chilling is the fact that the vast majority of religious persecution cases never make the news. While North Korea is in the headlines for testing a nuclear weapon, few Americans know that hundreds of thousands of Christians are penned up and tortured in grotesquely brutal North Korean concentration camps.

 

And lest we should think that Christians are the only ones subject to torture and death for their faith, consider the following cases:

 

Kurban Zakirov, a Jehovah's Witness in Turkmenistan, was injected with psychotropic drugs while he was imprisoned for his faith. Farzad Kasiri, a Baha'i in Iran, was flogged for his faith. And in Uzbekistan, thousands of Muslims are imprisoned, denied due process, and subjected to torture.

 

So, what does America and the upcoming elections have to do with all of this? Let me put it this way: To whom much is given, much is expected. From the very early days of our republic, Americans recognized the truth that freedom of religion is a God-given right, in fact, the most basic of human rights. And, as the leading world power, the United States is in a unique position to help curb religious persecution around the world. To remain silent about religious persecution would be to betray all that we stand for.

 

As Christians, we must speak out and bring the issue of religious persecution to the forefront of the political debate this fall. And we must press candidates to find out where they stand on this life-and-death issue.

 

And be sure to visit our website for more information and links to organizations that fight religious persecution.

Copyright (c) 2006 Prison Fellowship

 

Get links to further information on today's topic

posted by: Jrobbins at 15:43 | link | comments (1) |
colson speaks religious freedom

What do you believe?

The New Age Worldview: Is it Believable?

Written by Dr. Douglas Groothius

From TrueU.org

 

 Eastern spirituality is a popular trend in America today. Dr. Groothius addresses these beliefs and delves into whether or not they sync with Christianity.

 

The God Within Us

"You are not good. You are not evil. You are God." So intones a woman in her late 50s, speaking in a strange accent, because she is in a trance. Her name is J.Z. Knight, one of many talking heads that punctuate a surprisingly popular film, What the Bleep Do We Know?

 

 

While the term "New Age" is not as commonly used today, the concepts of this worldview are popping up nearly everywhere in American culture. The preferred term is now simply "spirituality" or "the new spirituality."

 

 

This movie is a surreal account of one distressed woman who finds inner peace through taking control of her difficult life. Although the audience is not told until the end of the film, J. Z. Knight is channeling a spirit entity named Ramtha. Along with several scientists, philosophers and others who provide cameos in the film, Knight expounds an ancient message: We are divine (part of a universal energy), all is one, we create our own reality through our consciousness, and there is no difference between good and evil.

 

 

To put it in philosophical terms, the worldview of this film is pantheistic (all is divine), monistic (all is one), and relativistic (we create our own reality). Millions of American are buying into these beliefs. But should anyone believe such things? Are these claims true?

 

It's All About Me

This enticing message of liberation through the realization of one's inner potential has taken hold of American culture at many levels. In the 1980s this general philosophy was called "New Age" and referred to a raft of therapies, seminars and individuals hawking our "unlimited potential" and warning of religions or ideologies that placed any limits on our unlimited possibilities. At the time, many writers (myself included) spoke of this phenomenon as "the New Age movement," although I never claimed that it ever rose to the level of a unified movement, let alone a conspiracy. New Age thinkers drew from Eastern religions (particularly Hinduism), ancient occultism, avant-garde trends in psychology, and speculations in physics to cobble together a worldview that placed the self at the center of the universe.

 

 

While the term "New Age" is not as commonly used today, the concepts of this worldview are popping up nearly everywhere in American culture. The preferred term is now simply "spirituality" or "the new spirituality." Deepak Chopra promises in his many best-selling books and high-priced seminars that by tapping into the divine within ourselves we can find enlightenment and perfect health. He promises an "ageless body and timeless mind."

 

 

Americans by the millions are taking up yoga (which means to be "yoked with the divine"), a practice rooted in Hindu mysticism. Even many Christians fail to discern the potential dangers of yoga's philosophy and thus submit to its alien disciplines. (See my article "Dangerous Meditations," listed in the "About the author" section below, for a further critique of eastern meditation.) The ever-present Oprah Winfrey has probably done more than anyone to promote this form of spirituality. Her television program often features and endorses authors such as Deepak Chopra, Marianne Williamson, Gary Zukav, and many others. Many television viewers are disarmed by Winfrey's upbeat manner and Christian background. Nevertheless, the worldview she and so many others promote is both remote from biblical faith and illogical as well. Let's see how.

 

What's The Difference?

Christianity, rooted in the Jesus Christ of history (Luke 1:1-4; 1 Corinthians 15:1-8), cannot be stuffed into the mold of this "new spirituality." While many invoke Jesus as a mystical master, guru, yogi, or swami who espoused a universal spirituality at one with the supposedly deeper levels of all religions, Jesus in fact stands out from the crowd in what He taught and how He lived.

 

 

Jesus affirmed the reality of one Creator God who is a personal and moral being to whom we are accountable (Matthew 19:4; 25:31-46). Jesus knew God as "Our Father in heaven" (Matthew 6:9, NIV) and not as a universal and impersonal energy, force or principle. He believed that God can be known through divine revelation in history, through Scripture, and supremely in the person and work of Himself. Jesus said, "I and the Father are one" (John 10:30) and the only mediator between God the Father and the human race (Matthew 11:27; John 3:16-18; 14:6; see also Acts 4:12; 1 Timothy 2:5).

 

 

Far from teaching that everything was divine, Jesus claimed uniquely divine prerogatives for Himself, which were applicable to no one else. For example, He forgave people's sins (Mark 2:1-12; Luke 7:36-50), something only God has the authority to do. Jesus also claimed to be "Lord even of the Sabbath" (Mark 2:23-28). Since God instituted the Sabbath (Genesis 2:1-3), and Jesus claimed divine authority over the Sabbath, Jesus claimed to have God's own authority.

 

 

The ever-present Oprah Winfrey has probably done more than anyone to promote this form of spirituality.

 

 

In a dispute with some religious leaders, Jesus scandalized them when He said that "before Abraham was born, I am" (John 8:58). "I AM WHO I AM" is the divine name that God revealed to Moses when He spoke to him in the burning bush (Exodus 3:14). Jesus claimed not only to have existed much longer than His age as a human being, but as the God revealed to Moses. Not believing His statement, the religious leaders tried to stone Him for blasphemy (see Leviticus 24:16).

 

 

The Jesus of history never called people to find the divine within themselves or to create their own reality. Instead, He called people to repent, to turn from their vain attempt to be lords of their own reality, and to turn toward Him as the only Lord of life. He came to save us from ourselves and from losing our souls: "For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost" (Luke 19:10). He backed up these claims by His matchless teachings, His compassionate and just character, His miracles and exorcisms, and supremely through His death and resurrection whereby He secured the forgiveness of sin and life everlasting for those who would put their trust in Him. This is true spirituality. This new life received by faith in what Jesus Christ has done for us is not available through our own resources (John 1:12-13; Ephesians 2:1-10; Titus 3:5-6).¹

 

 

So, we find that the spirituality of What the Bleep Do We Know? and its philosophical soul mates is unbiblical. It is illogical, as well. Let's return to the film to make three essential points against its worldview.

 

A New Form of the Same Old Deception

First, in this film, a theologian (of all people), decries the terrible idea that there is such a thing as evil in the world. However, if the idea is so terrible, then the idea itself would be an evil. So, evil would exist after all. Thus the expert contradicts himself inexcusably, and the premise of his argument cannot be trusted.

 

 

Moreover, no one — outside of a sociopath — can consistently live out this amoral worldview beyond good and evil. If you do not reckon the September 11, 2001 attacks on America as evil, there is simply something radically wrong with your perception of reality. If you do not take rape, child molestation and racism to be objectively evil, then you are radically out of step with reality. The Christian worldview, however, can account for evil as rebellion against God. In fact, God took evil so seriously that Christ was sent to bear its brunt that the world might be restored (Isaiah 53).

 

 

Second, if we create our own reality, why are we so horrendously bad at it? Why does one of the experts (a chiropractor) struggle with his postnasal drip every time he speaks? Why has J.Z. Knight (the medium for Ramtha) aged so terribly in the past 15 years? How can gods fail to live up to their deity? Why are we gods such underachievers? This simply makes no sense. What does ring true, however, is that we are finite and fallible creatures. We are in severe need of redemption from someone outside of ourselves.

 

 

Third, the "create your own reality" approach promoted by the film is also dangerous because it uproots us from any stable sense of objective reality — morally, philosophically or spiritually. This is the way to madness — the lunacy that takes one's thoughts to be all that there is.

 

 

We should not forget that cult leader Charles Manson thought he had transcended the duality of good and evil. On that basis, he commanded his deluded followers to murder at his whim. One of their victims was a young actress, Sharon Tate, and her unborn child. While all who believe that they create reality may not go to these lengths of evil, there is nothing in their worldview to stop them.

 

The new spirituality cannot deliver on its promises. It cannot be harmonized with the reality of Jesus Christ, and it is flatly illogical to boot. Besides, this spirituality is not new at all, but ancient. It is all traced back to the original lie of the serpent in the garden, who promised a better life by disobeying God and making oneself the center of reality (Genesis 3:6-7). But the way out of that perennial snare is to follow Christ on the narrow path that leads to life eternal (Matthew 7:13-14; John 10:10).

 

 

Notes

1. For an introduction to the teachings and life of Jesus from a philosophical perspective, see Douglas Groothuis, On Jesus (Wadsworth, 2003). Back^

posted by: Jrobbins at 18:40 | link | comments |
new age worldview

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