Light and Dark Theology

I do not believe in gray, either you are in the light or in the dark. There is nothing that is gray. If you are in the dark, there is no light. If you are in the light there is no darkness. How do you draw a boundary between the darkness and the light? Is it a fine line? Or a spectrum? Well for light there is the rainbow spectrum of Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Indigo, Blue, and Violet. Yet each of these colors are all light.

There is also a matter of measuring the intensity of the light usually in watts. Does a 40 watt bulb light bring light into a room just like a 150 watt bulb? Once the light is on, is the room then light and no longer dark regardless of the intensity of light?

That is how I look at the room, light and dark do not coexist, you are either in a room that is in the light or in a room that is not in light, which is the dark.

As it relates to Theology, the study of God, which yields knowledge about God that should spur one toward wisdom, the application of that knowledge. Either the bible is in the light and teaches about God or in the dark and distorts God? It is either inerrant and infallible in all its content or it is not? Either the bible is true or it is not true? It can not be halfway true. Every half truth is a lie. So why trust any of it? Or which part do I trust?

The Liberty Christians have in Christ, is living in the light. There is no darkness in the liberty Christ gives. Christ liberates from sin and death, the expressions of darkness. So Christian Liberty is not living in gray areas and light areas. It is only living in the light.

If it is gray, that is darkness. My paraphrase of James 2:10 “If you break even one point of the law, you are guilty of all.” For me, the Bible is teaching that gray is a rational way to ignore a little darkness or sin, and gray is darkness and not light.

Prayer of my soul

My prayer to the Lord.

“When my soul was embittered,
when I was pricked in heart,
I was brutish and ignorant;
I was like a beast toward you.

Nevertheless, I am continually with you;
you hold my right hand.
You guide me with your counsel,
and afterward you will receive me to glory.
Whom have I in heaven but you?
And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.
My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

For behold, those who are far from you shall perish;
you put an end to everyone who is unfaithful to you.
But for me it is good to be near God;
I have made the Lord GOD my refuge,
that I may tell of all your works.” –Psalm 73:21-28 (English Standard Version)

The Church

My view of church is that it should center on God using the Bible as the defined boundary.  Staying as near to the center as possible.  The character of God is so immeasurable a lifetime of seeking God is not enough to even scratch the surface.  Church should encourage and facilitate the center of the gospel: God.  It should not probe around the edges or fringes of the gospel.

Essentially, church should keep the main thing, the main thing: God.

Understanding that the only trustworthy source that reveals God is the Bible.  All other books and ideas can distract and should not be explored in church.  Individuals have freedom and liberty to explore whatever they wish, but the community should stay centered on God and not hang out on the edges.  Whatever edge they may prefer to linger around.  The church should promote the center, God, not the edge.

Psalm 23

This message from the Lord, gives me comfort, may it comfort you if you are also in distress.

Psalm 23

The LORD Is My Shepherd

A Psalm of David.

The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters.
He restores my soul.
He leads me in paths of righteousness
for his name’s sake.

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies;
you anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD
forever.

Update — June 12, 2006

I am still working on writing a book. So far I have the introduction and part of chapter one complete. About 3500 words. Still much more to go. The average book is 330 pages with about 82,000 words. So I am aiming for one about one-third that size. It is as challenging as I thought it would be. But rewarding.

The working title is: Thank You, God.

Saving America?

I am by no means a Historian or Theologian, but I struggle with the deepening sorrow, I have for the continuing erosion and decay of the American Nation, part of my sorrow wanders through Germany of the late 1930s and early 1940s, centered around one man and his struggle against one of the great evils of human history. No doubt I will not make any new friends writing this entry, but here it is.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a German Theologian during the rise of the Nazis in the 1930s. He was a voice warning of the danger of the Nazi party infiltrating the church. He was part of the confessional church movement. He spoke for the Christian’s devotion for the church, over the state. The church being defined as the invisible community of saints beginning from the birth of the church at Pentecost to the modern age, and encompassing the entire world. Not of the state run protestant religions now infiltrated by the Nazis. Churches that now tied themselves to the Nazis and the pride of German Nationalism more than to Christ. He left Germany before the war began, but sensed God’s call to return to Germany. He returned and continued to be a voice against the terror of Nazism. Ultimately he would be executed for participating in the assassination attempts against Adolf Hitler just before the war ended. So all those theoretical questions you heard as a child, of What would have happened if Adolf Hitler had been killed, became reality for Dietrich.

As a Christian, submission to Human authority is one of the struggles we all face. When do I have a moral duty to stop my obedience to the earthly powers and be obedient to God, alone. Most of us play academic games in our heads and debate these subjects with friends, but for Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the question was not theoretical, it was real. In the face of the evil of Nazi Fascists what should the Christian do? Do I continue to turn the other check unto death, or do I have a duty to defend the weak and innocent against the evil that engulfs the world. Did Dietrich go to far in participating in the planning of Adolf’s assassination?

From the Gospels and the Book of Acts, there are two ways to look at this question. First the Apostle Paul completely submitted to the government authority of the Roman Empire which ultimately lead to his execution in Rome; Yet all the while in prison He continued to spread the gospel in writing letters to the churches and converting jailers and fellow inmates to the gospel of peace. This is an act of calm submission like Jesus. As Isaiah prophesied, like a lamb going to the slaughter innocent and pure. But what of the other side. When Jesus is arrested in the Garden, the bold apostle Peter cut off the ear of one of the men coming to arrest Jesus to defend Him–the Innocent. Jesus commanded him to stop and healed his captor. Was Peter’s heart wrong in wanting to defend Jesus? Or was it only a matter of timing, Jesus had to be crucified, but do other innocents need the same fate? This is the same question that I think Dietrich struggled with. Do I allow this evil to march on, or should I act to stop it?

I don’t know the answer to the question, perhaps Dietrich should have divorced himself from the assassination plot, but continue to boldly speak against the horrors of Nazi National Pride and the terror and death it brought to others. But what of the urgency to stop the murdering of millions of Jews, Eastern Europeans, and others defined as undesirables in the new world order of the Third Reich. Who would stand up and defend them? If the house is on fire do you call the fire department and wait, listening to the screams from inside the burning building, or do you act, and rush in? Again I do not know the answer.

How does this compare to American society? Is there any connection to rescuing the innocent slave from his oppression in our past? and what of the stopping of the wholesale killing of innocent pre-born babies through abortion in the present?

Of the assassination plot against Hitler, God is sovereign perhaps its failure was the only way to heal Germany through its complete humiliation and defeat; not in partial surrender. Is that what America needs for an awakening, to be humbled by the Almighty completely, not partially?

One lesson I took from reading about Bonhoeffer and watching the documentary about him, was the real danger is not separation of church and state. The real danger is when the state becomes the religion. Human secularism is religion. It is a religion of humans as their own gods were blind devotion is pledged to human empire, not enlightened trust to the Kingdom of God. A religion without a Creator, but only an slowly evolving process of random actions. One question to consider is personal pride in America greater than love for Kingdom. No man can serve two masters. The salvation of America will not come in upholding its corrupt political institutions; It is in lifting up the gospel of peace to the people, one person at a time.

How far as the infiltration of the American church by Human Secularists gone? What dangers await us, as the nation and the church, if we do not awaken to this engulfing enemy, with its human theories about the nature of God and man–which are contrary to the Bible–and purge ourselves of its decaying philosophies? God will defend and protect his Kingdom here on earth, the gates of Hell will not prevail against it, but how high will be the cost in human suffering, If we do not commit ourselves to defending our Faith.

Choosing a Church home

Advice for President Obama (although I doubt he will hear it or observe it, but perhaps some else out there will?) in his search for a church home.  I hear he has having some trouble picking which church to attend Easter morning.  Below are six questions in any Christian needs to address when selecting which Church to worship at regardless of position or ethnic background of the person. The questions are asked about the preacher of the church.  He sets the tone for the church (Yes, I said He).  It is about worshiping God, Mr. President, not scoring political points or favor from a special interest groups.

Galatians 3:28 “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”

Question 1 (Sola Scriptura): Does the preacher ground everything he says in the Bible? Does he , in other words, begin with the authority and sufficiency of Scripture? A reliable carrier of God’s truth seeks to revel in, wrestle with, and expound from, the Bible. He starts with the Bible. All of his comments flow from what a particular passage in the Bible says. He doesn’t simply use the Bible to support what he wants to say. That is, he submits to what the Bible says, he does not seek to submit the Bible to what he says. He cares about both the Old Testament and the New Testament. He refuses to take verses out of context. He recognizes the unity of the Bible. He acknowledges that both the Old Testament and the New Testament tell one story and point to one figure, namely that God saves sinners through the accomplished work of his son Jesus Christ.

Question 2 (Sola Gratia): Does the preacher freely emphasize that because of sin, a right relationship with God can only be established by God’s grace alone? Beware of any teaching that emphasizes man’s ability over God’s ability; man’s freedom over God’s freedom; man’s power over God’s power; man’s initiative over God’s initiative. Beware of any teaching which subtlety communicates that a right relationship with God depends ultimately on human response over Divine sovereignty.

Question 3 (Sola Fide): Does the preacher stress that salvation is not achieved by what we can do, rather salvation is received by faith in what Christ has already done? It has been rightly stated that there really are only two religions: the religion of human accomplishment and the religion of Divine accomplishment. Does the preacher emphasize the former or the latter? A reliable carrier of God’s truth always highlights the fact that God saves sinners; sinners don’t save themselves.

Question 4 (Sola Christus): Does the preacher underline that Christ is the exclusive mediator between God and man? Does the explainer both affirm and proclaim that Jesus is “the way, the truth, and the life” and that nobody comes to the Father but by Christ? Does he talk about sin and the necessity of Christ? Remember what I have said on numerous occasions: we will never know Christ as a great Savior until we first know ourselves to be great sinners. Any sermon that does not explicitly include the exposition of sin and the exaltation of Christ is unreliable. Any teaching that leads one to believe that Christ is unnecessary is highly unreliable.

Question 5 (Sola Deo Gloria): Does the preacher exalt God above all? A reliable explainer will always lead you to marvel at God. A true carrier of God’s truth will always lead you to encounter the glory of God. A God-centered teacher is just that: God-centered. He will preach and teach in such a way that you find yourself hungering and thirsting for God. You will listen to sermon after sermon and walk away with grand impressions of Divine personality, not grand impressions of human personality.

I suppose there really is one more question: Does the preacher highlight the Biblical fact that this world is not all that there is? While God calls us to participate in the transformation of this world, we do so by living in this world with the next world in view. In other words, the only way we will ever be of any earthly good is if we are heavenly minded. So, to pick on one recent title of a bestselling book, our best life is not intended to be now. For the Christian, the best is yet to come.

Back Home

I returned home yesterday from a week long conference in sunny Costa Mesa, California.  I posted a photo album in my facebook for my friends there to view.  My next entry will have those same photos.

The short version of the adventure was my flight down to California (which was my first airplane flight ever) did not go well, I was queasy for most of the flight and nearly got airsick the last few minutes.  The hotel was grand, the seven-story Hilton of Orange County.  The conference was nice, I attended some seminars and lectures and met a lot of new people from many different states.  Saw part of the sunny southern California, the highlight was a field trip out to an ecological preserve.  I even remembered to call my mother on her birthday from my hotel.  The return flight was no trouble at all.

Stay tuned for future topics: Photos from my trip, Tolerance: A false love, and Sustainability: What are we sustaining?.

A Few Words

Three verses of scripture.  May they encourage you today as they have encouraged me.

“I wait for the LORD, my soul waits,
and in his word I hope;” (Psalm 130:5, ESV)

“You shall be careful therefore to do as the LORD your God has commanded you. You shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left.” (Deuteronomy 5:32, ESV)

“Then I will teach transgressors your ways,
and sinners will return to you.” (Psalm 51:13, ESV)

Updates

Update One.

Security of Salvation is not ownership, It is perseverance.

Beginning last week, I heard a series of very good sermons given by John McArthur from www.oneplace.com teaching about the doctrines of grace and the security of salvation.  Recently I wrote a post trying to look at the security of salvation from the perspective of individuals taking ownership of their salvation, thus securing it by taking responsibility for being saved by God.

McArthur corrects me on this point.  The concept I was really searching for was Perseverance of the Saints.  It is not a new concept either.  It has a long history in Christianity.  Saints or believers need to persevere in the gift of salvation they have been given.

Update Two.

Metallic books from the ancients

A long time ago I wrote a post about my skepticism about ancient peoples being able to create metallic plates and write on them.  This of course was testing the validity of the claim of the self-proclaimed Prophet Joseph Smith, jr that he receive some plates and translated them into King James English to give the world the Book of Mormon.

Well two interesting points on this.  One from England on claims that another book of scripture has been found and translated and second that old metallic plates have been found, can both be seen as proofs to the story told by Joseph Smith, jr about his “gold” bible?  Read on and judge for yourself.

Book of Jeraneck

First is from England. From Wikipedia another set of metallic plates has been found and translated.  They are as valid as any found in New York and that have been reportedly translated by a self-proclaimed American modern prophet.

The Book of Jeraneck is one of the sacred texts of The Latter Day Church of Jesus Christ. No other religious denomination accepts the 110-page book as scripture.

According to Gill, in 2006 he translated the Book of Jeraneck from 24 brass plates that he received from the angel Rafael, who had been sent to him by God. The book was published by the church in 2007. The book purports to be a record of the former ancient inhabitants of the British Isles. Gill’s followers claim his story has many parallels to the story of Joseph Smith, Jr.’s production of the Book of Mormon as a record of ancient inhabitants of the Americas. Among the claims of the Book of Jeraneck is that Stonehenge was a Christian “Temple of Light” of the prehistorical residents of England.

Metallic plates in Bulgaria

Second, there is a set of six gold pages bound together in rings in a museum in Bulgaria that were made around the same time that Joseph Smith, jr claimed his golden plates date from.  So the technology was available to create these metallic plates, but that all being said.  The plates in the museum do not contain the fine hieroglyphs that Joseph said were on his or the number of pages.  The work of craftsmanship in the museum at best is an engraved picture book.  Now in fairness, perhaps the ancients in America had more advanced techniques and better metallurgy then the Etruscans, the ancients of Italy, but as far as I know these Etruscans joined with others and built upon that technology that was instrumental in forming the Roman Empire.  Romans were well known for its metal armor, shields, and swords.  These metal artifacts from the Roman Empire  cover the old world from England to Iran.  Evidence that metal was in common use in the old world.

But where is the ancient American Empire’s metal armor, sheilds, or swords?  According to the Book of Mormon the inhabitants were in continual war just as the Romans were, yet the ancients in America if they did make shields, armor, and swords, where are the metallic artifacts in America, all that has been found is stone arrow points and clubs. where are all the artifacts from the thousands and thousands killed in battles across America.  My bias conclusion is that there is still little physical evidence to support the claims of Mormons as it relates to the Book of Mormon.  A few gold pages connected by a couple of rings do not valid the existence of a several hundred page collection of gold plates with thousands of etchings bound together.