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'Winging It
by Stan Smith
It has been an axiom since the 1960's. "Question authority!" In the '60's it was considered avant-garde, cutting edge. Today it's considered normal operating procedure. "Of course you have to question authority." I think, however, that it is unevenly applied. There is a series on the National Geographic Channel called Brain Games that explores how the human brain works through games and experiments. One of them was on peer pressure and examined the ways in which we are unconsciously controlled by those around us. In one experiment they had a woman go into an… ( Click for more )
Meet Laelius Socinus. He was one of the founders of a secret religious sect operating under the banner of "Christian". In the late 1500's, this sect, called "Socinians", referred to themselves as Unitarians. The primary doctrinal difference between them and the rest of the existing Christian Church was on the nature of God. Most obviously, they denied the Trinity. They argued, instead, for ... well, a unitarian view. There was one God. The "Holy Spirit" wasn't a person, but was simply the power of God. And Jesus? Well, He was a nice fellow, but certainly… ( Click for more )
I learned a new phrase: "gender complementarity". Cool! I like new things like that. So ... um ... what does it mean? Well, "complementarity" is "The state or quality of being complementary". "Fine," you say, " ... so what in the world does that mean?" Well, obviously it's when you say nice things about people. No, kidding. "Complementary" (as opposed to "complimentary") means "completing" (in short). The idea is this. Presence A has these qualities and thoseshortcomings. Presence B has those qualities… ( Click for more )
If you are a Christian, a genuine follower of Christ who believes in the Bible and all it teaches, be prepared. You are ... narrow-minded. Yes, you. You're not a "free thinker" (defined, oddly, as "one who doubts or denies religious dogma"). By aligning yourself with all that stuff you stand in opposition to all sorts of stuff like "free love" and science and ... well, all sorts of stuff. You, you ... you narrow-minded bigot! Of course, the label is common, but the truth is far from it. Consider a couple of examples. The Bible teaches that sex was… ( Click for more )
In his Institutes of the Christian Religion, John Calvin devoted an entire chapter to the notion that the Christian life is summarized in the concept of self-denial. Like so many other "Calvinisms", this isn't Calvin's idea. It wasn't Calvin who said, "If anyone would come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me" (Matthew 16:24). It wasn't Calvin who wrote things like "I discipline my body and keep it under control" (1 Corinthians 9:27), "I die daily" (1 Corinthians 15:31), or the real kicker: "I have… ( Click for more )
It is obvious that our job as followers of Christ is to speak the truth. Lies do not become us. Neither do false doctrines, misguided rants, or a lazy understanding of God's Word. As followers of "the Truth" (John 14:6), we must find the truth mandatory rather than optional. However ... ... Scripture is clear. We must speak the truth, but we must do so in love (Ephesians 4:15). You see, it can be a pretty simple thing to declare with teeth bared what is true, but it can be a real challenge to do it in love. It speaks to the motivation, the aim, the purpose. Paul told… ( Click for more )
In discussions on abortion, I've seen this passage used to say that God doesn't care about abortion. When men strive together and hit a pregnant woman, so that her children come out, but there is no harm, the one who hit her shall surely be fined, as the woman's husband shall impose on him, and he shall pay as the judges determine. But if there is harm, then you shall pay life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe. (Exodus 21:22-25)
"In this passage," they say, "you can see that… ( Click for more )
There are few verses we love to claim more than Jeremiah 29:11: "I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope"
Mmmm, we love that. We put it on Bible covers and posters and artwork. We put it up at home and remind ourselves at work. The simple, straightforward notion that God has plans for my welfare that gives a future and a hope? Wonderful. Of course, there are no small numbers of genuine, Bible-believing Christians who will tell you, "That's not for you." Why? Well,… ( Click for more )
A group of friends were sharing prayer requests. One said, "Pray for my granddaughter. She feels like she doesn't deserve God's love and is very depressed." So they did. And I thought, "But ... she doesn't deserve God's love." And I became concerned that no one in the group seemed to notice. I became concerned for the group. I get it. "Depressed" is indeed a real problem. That's one of those "demons" that doesn't come out without much prayer. I get it. I'll pray about that. On the other hand, I thought "don't deserve" was at the… ( Click for more )
Paul is a problem sometimes. Like, for instance, he says, "If possible so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all" (Romans 12:18) and then he goes and writes something like this: Women should adorn themselves in respectable apparel, with modesty and self-control, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly attire, but with what is proper for women who profess godliness—with good works. (1 Timothy 2:9-10)
Paul, Paul, what were you thinking, man? You can't get away with something like that? Don't you know this will cause no end of conflict between… ( Click for more )
All religions have various levels of adherents. There are the nominal -- those in name only -- all the way to the devout. There are liberal Muslims who don't take their Qur'an seriously but still classify themselves as Muslims and there are the devout Muslims who really practice what it says and ... well, we know the outcome of that group. There are the liberal Catholics who don't read the Bible -- "We leave that up to the priests" -- but call themselves "Catholics" while seeking to change the Catholic church and there are the devout Catholics who go to Mass every… ( Click for more )
Little children, keep yourselves from idols. (1 John 5:21).
A "word of the day" entry: "anthropocentric". We can find a dictionary definition, but let's see if we can figure it out from its roots. "Anthropos" is the Greek word for "man" -- primarily "man" as a group, not a gender. You know ... humans. Then there is the "centric" part. I think most of us can figure that out. So, simply put, "anthropocentric" means "centered on humans". On one hand, it is fundamental to humans to be anthropocentric.… ( Click for more )
What is a creed? In general, a creed is a statement of beliefs or aims. It is most often associated with Christian or other religious beliefs. But it's fairly straightforward -- "This is what we believe." That's why it's so odd to see Christians declaring, "No creed but Christ." If a creed is "what we believe," "No creed but Christ" is a creed ... and a very odd one indeed. We know creeds. Or, at least, we know of them. We have all likely heard the Apostles' Creed, almost universally accepted across Christendom. We've heard of the Nicene… ( Click for more )
All Christians understand that the Resurrection of Christ is essential to Christianity. Paul classified it as part of the core of the Gospel. I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures. (1 Corinthians 15:3-4)
So we celebrate that Resurrection every Easter. I suspect, however, that if you were to ask Christians, "Why is the Resurrection so important?" they might have a hard time finding much… ( Click for more )
The older group knows the classic "Onward Christian Soldiers" kind of mindset. There is the "Salvation Army" and the Battle Hymn of the Republic. We even have the phrase, "the Church Militant" portraying the Church as doing battle against the powers of evil. We get that. And some of us do it. There are those in what is termed "discernment ministry" sniffing out and calling out false teachers and others in Apologetics which is not apologizing for the faith, but defending it, often with great vigor. (It's ironic that the place we get the word… ( Click for more )
If you are a Christian and if you live in this world, I guarantee you will likely have a struggle with what the Bible refers to as "the desires of the flesh." The concept is explained in Galatians where Paul writes, "The desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh" (Galatians 5:17) We typically think of "the desires of the flesh" in terms of sexual sin; Paul defines it as anything that is against the Spirit. In fact, Paul gives a list of examples: Sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry,… ( Click for more )
Recently the Gillette company put out that offensive ad that warned of "toxic masculinity." The ad was buttressed by a new document put out by the APA that assures us that masculinity is bad for everyone, men included. We have it on good authority -- in the news media, in the entertainment industrial complex, in the social media, in the psychology sciences, in the shaving ads -- that it is bad to act like a man. indeed, if you're woke, you know that men are the problem. That's why it's so jarring to read Paul's instructions to the Corinthians. Be watchful, stand firm… ( Click for more )
The singularly most prevalent thing you will hear from those who think that we who hold to biblical morality need to consider in order to come around to the position that homosexual behavior is just fine is the claim that "Love is good." You know. "How can you be opposed to two people who are in a loving, committed relationship?" What we've got here is a failure to communicate. In the biblical explanation of love (1 Corinthians 13), we find a list of characteristics. The list is interesting, to say the least. Included are things we would expect like… ( Click for more )
Equality is a big thing for us today. We want "equal pay" and "equal rights" and equal everything else. The Supreme Court of the United States intentionally redefined marriage to produce "marriage equality" -- what they call "gay marriage." The modern church has all but folded entirely to the notion of equality that requires the ordination of women to church leadership despite clear biblical command to the contrary (1 Timothy 2:12-15). We will have equality by whatever means possible. "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that… ( Click for more )
There is a chilling phrase tucked away in a well-known passage in Paul's first letter to the church at Corinth. You know the passage. He gives "the gospel I preached to you," how Christ died for our sins, was buried and rose again and appeared to lots and lots of witnesses (1 Corinthians 15:1-9). Good stuff. And really important. Almost buried in that text is this interesting and ominous comment. He says that he is reminding them of the gospel they were taught and by which they were being saved "unless you believed in vain" (1 Corinthians 15:2). Wait,… ( Click for more )
Rick Warren wrote The Purpose-Driven Life. This is not that. This is something else. We are told that we need to find our purpose in life. We are told that we each have a special purpose and if we can find it and fulfill it our lives will be so much better. So we go on searches; we look thither and yon. We take personality tests and life inventories. We try to find ourselves. Because we know if we can find what our purpose is, life will be so much better. Good news! I'm here to help. Scripture says, "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23).… ( Click for more )
Now, if you will, turn with me in your Bible to 3Peter 2 where we will look at what the Bible has to say about our Internet interactions. Okay, not there. The Bible doesn't talk about the Internet. But that's not entirely correct. It does say some things that might be pertinent. I'm thinking right now about "social media", about Twitter and Facebook, about blogs and vlogs and people commenting on stories. We who care about the truth (and most people claim to care about the truth) will see an offensive statement, position, argument, belief, idea -- whatever -- and… ( Click for more )
Paul writes to the Ephesians about Christian living. He contrasts the unbeliever with the believer when he says "you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds" (Ephesians 4:17). They operate in darkened understanding and alienation from God due to internal ignorance and hardness of heart (Ephesians 4:18). "But that is not the way you learned Christ," he says (Ephesians 4:20). How, then? "Put off your old self," he says (Ephesians 4:22). That old self is part of the former life and "is corrupt through deceitful desires."… ( Click for more )
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