What happened to thinking?

This past weekend I found myself in a mini-van with 4 other guys en route to a side-job that I sometimes do for extra money.

3 of the 4 other guys are believers.  At some point in the conversation one of them, Chad (fake names) made a comment that caused another guy (Greg) to ask him "What are you a Calvinist?"

The subsequent interaction between Chad and Greg brought me and the other believer in the car, Adam, into the conversation.

As we drove along (about 30 minutes) Greg was adamant that the God of Calvinism wasn't the God of the Bible.  He went so far as saying this exact quote:

"There are like 10 verses in Bible that speak about predestination and hundreds that speak aganist it."

Of course that can't be.  The Scriptures don't conradict, they don't advocate different theologies at different times.  I then asked if he had ever done any study on Reformed theology.

Greg said he had looked into it but that it didn't match what the Bible said.  Of course, I wholeheartedly disagree but I did not have time to debate the fine points right then.

The more important aspect of the conversation was that Adam had no knowledge of Reformed theology.  I tried to summarize the tenets for him quickly and he immediately responded with disgust and anger.

He was pretty upset.  He kept saying that God wouldn't act like that.  He was concrete on our libertarian free-will choice for salvation.  The other Calvinist, Chad, and I were consciously humble in telling Adam that we didn't want to argue with a brother in the faith about the issue - but we did hope that he would do some research into Reformed thinking for himself.

Adam refused.  He simply said that he would not even consider it.  He actually said "I believe what I believe and I ain't gonna change."

At this point I highlighted a deeper division between Adam and I.  While I seek to find the truth through investigation of the Word and the extra-biblical writings of Spirit-filled men, Adam chooses to stick to his beliefs without any willingness to look into other viewpoints.

Seeing that the conversation was going nowhere, Chad and I dropped the conversation with Adam.  Chad and Greg kept talking as we reached our destination and unloaded.  They certainly disagreed, but it was ultimately cordial.

Throughout the early evening, Adam came over and tried to broach the subject with Chad and I again.  I refused to debate the merits of Calvinism with him, even though he made several digs and comments in an attempt to stir up some animosity about the issue.

I did try and reengage him in his deeper presupposition, the idea that there is no need to look into counterpoints when one is content in their faith.  I asked him if he put very much thought into purchasing the two houses that he bought over the past 5 years?

My hope was that he would admit to putting much research and effort into house-hunting, at that point I could explain how much more important theology is than a home.

He blew me away by answering that he put no real thought into his purchases, he simply acted on gut feeling.  I was at a loss.

He tried to turn the tables by asking why we needed to put so much effort into studying deep issues.  He said that it was only important that we love Jesus.

I agreed with him about the importance of Christ-centered theology, but I suggested that without deep study one might be confused about the Jesus that they worship (see Mormons) and be bound for Hell.

He continued to say that the deep things were unimportant and that Chad and I took our faith too far.  I decided to end the conversation because it was so fruitless.

This might seem like a sad and unusual incident, but I would bet that it is the way that most American Evangelicals think.

How do we get people to be willing to think about deep issues, heck to think at all anymore?

Statement of Faith

I believe the Bible is the written word of God, inspired by the Holy Spirit and without error in the original manuscripts. The Bible is the revelation of God's truth and is infallible and authoritative in all matters of faith and practice.

I believe in the Holy Trinity. There is one God, who exists eternally in three persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

I believe that all men are sinners and totally unable to save themselves from God's displeasure, except by His mercy.

I believe that salvation is by God alone as He sovereignly chooses those He will save. I believe His choice is based on His grace, not on any human individual merit, or foreseen faith.

I believe that Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God, who through His perfect life and sacrificial death atoned for the sins of all who will trust in Him, alone, for salvation.

I believe that the Holy Spirit indwells God's people and gives them the strength and wisdom to trust Christ and follow Him.

I believe that Jesus will return, bodily and visibly, to judge all mankind and to receive His people to Himself.

We believe that all aspects of our lives are to be lived to the glory of God under the Lordship of Jesus Christ.

7 Things I'm Thinking On...

1)  Ergun Caner should be ashamed.  To gain prominence within evangelical circles he lied about his past and his experience.  Additionally, Liberty University should be ashamed that they don't do better background checks before they hire new senior leadership.  We all need to pray for this situation and the many people who will revel in another Christian scandel or who will be disillusioned by the fall of a talking head within the faith.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/walid-zafar/ex-muslim-evangelical-exp_b_582225.html

2)  The Catholic claim that Jesus handed Peter the reins to the church via Matthew 16: 13-20 is not accurate in my reading of the passage and, at best, a questionable thing to build so much extra-scriptural doctrine on.

It seems most likely that Jesus was refering to Peter's statement "You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God" as the thing that will build the foundation of the church.

If Peter was suppossed to be "tha man" - why did he get called "Satan" by Jesus in the next few verses...why did he deny Christ at the hour of his trial...why was James the head of the Jerusalem Council and not he...why was he in such error that Paul had to rebuke him in the early church scene?  If his seat as Bishop of Rome was to be supreme, why was the subsequent Bishop of Rome not even present at the Council of Nicea?

There is too little in these few verses to base so much  doctrine and tradition on.  Seems odd to me.

http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=Matthew+16

3)  The toughest apologetical question for me to answer in my conversations with my Muslim co-worker this past week was "How do you know that the Bible was inspired?"

Maybe I am not well versed enough on this one, but all I had was "The sheer number of different books and different authors over 2500 years all telling the same story of redemption is too much to be coincidental & the profound impact that the book has had on millions of people across the ages."

Anybody got anything better?  I know that no answer will be sufficient without the inner working of the Holy Spirit in this co-worker's life, but I want to be prepared to give an answer nonetheless as I pray for that supernatural regeneration to take place.

4)  Once I was thinking of writing a book titled:

Did Adam Fart Before the Fall?
100 Humorous Theological Ponderings

I often wonder if I still should some day.  I don't wite well, but I doubt that I would have to be terribly proper in my grammar and syntax as I am putting that book together.

5)  At work recently we took down 2 large framed prints of the Constitution, which were hanging in our public area, to make room for some new images...the official portraits of President Obama and VP Biden - draw your own conclusions.

6)  I think that the Republican party of the late 70s and early 80s made a deliberate attempt to pander to Christians and paint themselves as the "party of values"

I think that in reality they were committed to their capitalist economic platform and could have largely cared less about social issies, but they needed more voters to secure their dominance and so they created a facade of virtue.

I think that unthinking believers bought into the claims 100% and got taken on a ride. Not to say that the Dems are the party of values by any means, just bringing this up for discussion.

Also...this is just my gut, no research.  Maybe one day I'll look into it more.

7)  Gods Battallions...Rodney Stark—the eminent sociologist and historian of religion—has a new book out, God’s Battalions: The Case for the Crusades, making the case that the Crusaders were not “greedy, colonizing, brutal barbarians” but rather that the Crusades were just, defensive wars designed to repel the Islamic conquest of Byzantium and to prevent the Holy Land from being destroyed.

That should prove to be interesting and controversial.

http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/justintaylor/2010/05/20/but-what-about-the-crusades/

Evangelism

The past several days at work has landed me the chance to speak with a Muslim and an atheist for upwards of 12 hours about matters of faith.

I spoke with the Muslim co-worker for about 6 hours alone and then we were joined on our project by the atheist for another 6 hours or so.

We talked about all sorts of things and I prayerfully tried to maintain a few things in the conversation...

1 - Christ and the Gospel

2 - Scripture References

3 - Humility

4 - Clarity

In our conversations I constantly tried to steer the topic back to our need for salvation and God's rescue plan in Christ.  I stressed that salvation was by grace thru faith and not of works.  I tried to point back to the Bible for the foundation of my points at every turn.  I tried to remain sympathetic, humble, and always ready to either give a clear answer or be honest about not knowing - while vowing to get the answer for them.

This is common at work.  We have Muslims, Atheists, 7th Day Adventists, Charismaniacs, Catholics, and all manner of in-between faiths.  We used to have a Bhuddist, she quit...the only major religion we are missing is Hindu.

Yet, despite the frequency of these conversations and regardless of my attempts to lovingly interact with these individuals - I have seen no progress in anyone coming to trust Christ.

Why?

I understand that God is ultimately the one who draws people and we are simply called upon to preach the Word.  I understand that some people plant seeds and others water them...we aren't always there when a plant blooms.  I get the fact that most people don't have personal experience in being a major player for bringing others to know Jesus...however...

I know people who have "brought" dozens of people to Christ.  I know youth leaders who can claim to have been instrumental in seeing others come to faith multiple times a year for year upon year.

Why don't I see that kind of break-thru?  Constructive criticism welcome.

Headship and Submission

When sin entered the world it ruined the harmony of marriage not because it brought headship and submission into existence, but because it twisted man’s humble, loving headship into hostile domination in some men and lazy indifference in others. And it twisted woman’s intelligent, willing submission into manipulative obsequiousness in some women and brazen insubordination in others. Sin didn’t create headship and submission; it ruined them and distorted them and made them ugly and destructive.
-John Piper

*Might I add that only be continuous trust in Christ and disciplined obedience to the movement of the Spirit (things that I often fail at) can we ever hope to see the beauty of headship and submission as it was intended.

Musical Worship in Evangelicalism

After my last post I saw this...hilarious!


"Sunday's Coming" Movie Trailer from North Point Media on Vimeo.

The Way of the Mean in Worship...

In Greek philosophy there was an idea proposed by Aristotle that there is a desirable middle between the two extremes, that of excess and that of deficiency, which we should all strive for. For example courage, which is a virtue, if taken to excess would manifest itself as recklessness and if observed as deficient it would appear as cowardice.

I really like this idea and I think that we can apply it in so many places.  One of those places is the Sunday morning worship musical experience of modern American Christianity.  Be aware that I write this off the top of my head without any ability or training in music - just observation after attending a charismatic church, a Southern Baptist church, and a Presbyterian church (PCA).

When God first saved me (around 1005) I began attending a neo-pentecostal church.  The musical worship there centered on a band with acoustic/ electric guitar, bass, keyboard, and drums.  The lead pastor sang every Sunday and he had 2-3 girls who sand backup.  It was always either a  lively or a somber worship experience.  We would switch between upbeat and slow songs by contemporary artists like Jonathan Stockstill, Chris Tomlin, or Hillsong.  People would raise their hands, weep openly, bounce with excitement, and shout Amen.  I often took off my flip-flops (as did Moses on the mountain) in reverence to the "holy ground" as I swayed and danced to the music.  We weren't overly wacko - there was no rolling in the floor or being slain in the spirit, thank God! 

- The musical worship at this neo-pentecostal church was wildly emotional and you could feel the notes and the energy like it was a physical thing - however the lyrics were shallow and repetative for the most part.

As we left that church, over doctrinal and ecclesiological issues, we began to attend a So. Baptist church.  In contrast to the 150+ members of our charismatic church, this SBC church had 2000 people on Sunday mornings.  They had an amazingly varied musical worship experience.  There was both a band and a choir - there was a quartet and solo singers - there were guest musicians and banjo days...It was very entertaining, like a concert, we all watched and clapped, but that was about it.  No crying, no dancing, not much hand-raising.  The songs ranged from traditional hymms to  Chris Tomlin style contemporary.

- The musical worship at this SBC church was very ecclectic and always entertaining - however it never seemed participatory nor very touching.  The lyrics were varied between solid hymnal theology and 7-11 repeats as a general rule.

At our current Presbyterian church (PCA) the musical worship is typically done by one or two guys on stage with acoustic guitars.  We are a small congregation (less than 100) and occasionally others will help out, but it is usually the same two fellows.  They play a mix of old hymms set to modern arrangments, traditional hymms, and a few more contemporary works.  No one claps, no one raises hands, no one dances for sure.  The songs are beautiful and rich and they often are quite touching but there is little expression of that feeling.

-  The musical worship at the PCA church we attend now is highly Christ-exalting with very good theological undertones.  It is beautifully composed and it has the potential to stir much emotion, even though that isn't typically apparent.

...so, I am trying to say that the charismatic church and the Presbyterian church are at opposites sides of the spectrum as the Golden Mean applies.

The charismatics are overly emotional with a lack of depth in their song choice  while the Presbyterians have the right kind of songs devoid of any emotion.

What is needed is a middle ground, a place where theologically solid songs are sung in worship AND where the worshippers themselves bring their whole heart to the experience.

I wish I could say that the So. Baptist church had gotten it right - no dice.  They did have solid songs for the most part, but there was little emotion displayed in worship.  I think that their size was a real hinderance, when a church gets too big the Sunday morning worship becomes entertainment for man and not an act of glorifying God.

There is a black Reformed church downtown that I bet has some killer worship.   In fact, Sho Baraka of the Reformed Rap group 116 Clique is on staff there.  I wish it was a local church for us, oh well.

I hope that this post has given you a simple introduction to the Way of the Mean (the Golden Mean) and I hope it has given you something to think about as you read the thoughts of a completely non-musical guy who was just considering the different facets of musical worship.