A Touch of Humor - Scary Costumes

Are people of the world scared of Christians? Why is this so, and can anything be done about it?

A Voice from the Past - Writer of Epistle to Diognetus

The Almighty Himself, the Creator of the universe, the God whom no eye can discern, has sent down His very own Truth from heaven, His own holy and incomprehensible Word, to plant it among men and ground it in their hearts. To this end He has not, as one might imagine, sent to mankind some servant of His, some angel or prince; it is none of the great ones of the earth, nor even one of the vice-regents of heaven. It is no other than the universal Artificer and Constructor Himself, by whose agency God made the heavens and set the seas their bounds; whose mystic word the elements of creation submissively obey; by whom the sun is assigned the limits of his course by day, and at whose command by night the obedient moon unveils her beams, and each compliant star follows circling in her train. Ordainer, Disposer, and Ruler of all things is he; of heaven and all that heaven holds, of earth and all that is in earth, of sea and every creature therein; of fires, ether, and bottomless pit; of things above, and things below, and things in the midst. Such was the Messenger God sent to men.

Writer of The Epistle to Diognetus, The Epistle to Diognetus, approximately 124 AD, Section 7 (Early Christian Writings, translated by Maxwell Staniforth, Penguin Books, 1968, p. 178)

What are the implications of this statement? What does it mean for our lives?

Beside the Church

What does it mean for a ministry to be parachurch? And is it a good thing or a bad thing? It is claimed that a parachurch organization is an organization alongside  the ordinary church. Now the church is the body of all genuine believers in Christ (Colossians 1:18; 1 Corinthians 12:12-14; Ephesians 5:25-29). A parachurch organization may be the church carrying out a particular function, it may be different divisions of the church coming together to meet a specific need, or it may be many other things, but it is still the church.

It is the obligation of the church to teach the whole will of God (Acts 20:27; Matthew 28:20). Now some (though by no means all) parachurch organizations deal with only part of God's teaching on the ground that they are not the church. However, the traditional church organizations have often divided over minor issues (1 Corinthians 1:10-17; Philippians 2:1-4). It is understandable why some would want to avoid getting involved in these questionable disputes. But the solution is not to ignore them, but to ask what things are essential from Scripture. Now there may be a place for groups with differing beliefs to work together for a specific purpose. But this should not be done if it prevents the preaching of truth.

An issue that is commonly evaded is the issue of the sacraments. Again, this is not surprising, as there are many debates here over details. But the ordinances are commanded by God (Matthew 28:18-20; 1 Corinthians 11:23-26), and on analogy with the Old Testament ordinances are the signs and seals of faith (Romans 4:11). Minimizing these seems questionable. However, while there are real issues here, the traditional church organizations have not only become caught up in detail. They have also also sometimes made an issue of who administers the sacraments, something that Scripture never addresses, though it makes sense they should not be performed in conjunction with unbelievers (2 Corinthians 6:14-18).

I am convinced that Scripture does not command a specific form of church government (Deuteronomy 4:2), but there are principles. Parachurch organizations can sometimes put unqualified people in leadership (1 Timothy 3:6) and can take a highly individualistic approach to ministry (Romans 12:4,5). But traditional church organizations can limit leadership to the older members (1 Timothy 4:12) and can see only a few people involved in the work of the ministry (Ephesians 4:16).

I have some sympathy with both sides of this dispute. But both sides are Christ's church, and the ideal is for them to come together as that church. But this is not an easy thing to accomplish. Until we do, I think both sides of the debate have useful things to contribute. But we should work to find ways to reintegrate the parts of Christ's body into one church.

Witchcraft

Re-Posted from "Meditations of a Charismatic Calvinist Who Does Not Speak in Tongues".

What is a witch? Are we to accept the idea of an old crone with a broomstick and a black cat familiar? Or should we look at a follower of the modern practice of Wicca? What does the Bible mean by a witch?

There are various things addressed in Scripture that fall into this category. There is the practice of divination, attempting to determine the future by various means (Acts 16:16-19; Ezekiel 21:21-23), of casting spells (Acts 19:19; Isaiah 47:8-15), of performing wonders by one's own power (Exodus 7:11; Acts 8:9-11), or of being involved in communicating with the dead (1 Samuel 28:3-25; Isaiah 8:19). The underlying principle is the serious practice of magic (as opposed to the stage magician).

Scripturally, God is the only legitimate source of supernatural help. And He cannot be manipulated, only asked. From the Christian viewpoint the main issue is not good intentions versus bad intentions (white versus black magic), but taking to ourselves a power that belongs solely to God. Nor is the issue explicitly worshiping Satan. While I am sure Satan is flattered to be directly worshiped, in the final analysis he does not care who you worship so long as it is not God. While much of it is charlatanism, I do believe Satan and his minions can supply the supernatural power behind serious magic. (Acts 16:16-19 suggests this.) But this is not dependent on the practitioner's consciously following Satan. I know in my youth I dabbled in such things, and it at least seemed to work for me, though only on a small scale. But whether or not it works, it is wrong.

How, then, is the Christian respond to such things? First, we should avoid the use of all such things. I have known Christians to make excuses for such practices. It is also possible to approach spiritual gifts from an attitude of witchcraft, where we start to see them as our personal power rather then depending on God. But we can also become unnecessarily paranoid of witchcraft and everything associated with it. We need to remember that God is victorious over Satan and can protect us (1 John 4:4; Colossians 2:15). Therefore, we should avoid panicking at every mention of witchcraft or reading it in when it is not there. Witchcraft is wrong, but it is no more wrong than many other things our society takes for granted. We should not condone it, but we should face it boldly through faith in Christ.

Witchcraft and Paranoia

Few things seem to promote a knee-jerk reaction in the evangelical church today more than witchcraft or Satan  worship. There is a violent response to anything perceived to be associated with them, like the Harry Potter series. They are associated with hidden conspiracies bent on corrupting our society. This is nothing new.

In the old pagan times, witchcraft was seen as a dangerous reality that helped explain why things went wrong. When someone was sick or there was a destructive storm, perhaps a witch had cast a spell on you and you needed to counteract the spell. While there were undoubtedly some people who dabbled in evil magic, it was more commonly used as a scapegoat. Christianity originally  minimized such things, claiming that the powers of demonic forces, though real, were limited and that God was more powerful. Therefore, those accused of such practices were condemned, but not generally severely punished or excessively feared. But many of the old pagan beliefs continued underground and, over time, came to influence nominal Christianity. Satan was perceived as more powerful, but his methods as more crude and those who followed him as more blatantly evil. A key person who helped make accusations for witchcraft a common practice was Philip IV of France (1268-1314). While his motives might be debated, he appears to have used it as a method to smear his enemies by accusing them of various magical and unChristian practices. From there the condemnation of individuals for witchcraft, with all the overtones of paranoia and conspiracy theory, developed into the notorious witch-hunts. Later, in reaction, people jumped to the simplistic theory that there are no witches.

Now whenever you tell people they can obtain great power by doing something, even something regarded as highly objectionable, there is the danger some people will take you up on it. The present sects of witches and Satan worshipers are examples of this. (Note that witches and Satan worshipers are two different groups, but they reflect two differing interpretations of Medieval witchcraft.) But we need to be careful of reading into them the historic fears connected with witchcraft. Therefore, we must remember that God is all- powerful and in control of the world (Ephesians 1:11; Romans 8:28; Isaiah 43:13). Also, while I am sure it flatters Satan to have people actually worship him, any belief which people embrace other then the truth of God  is following Satan (Ephesians 2:1-3; 2 Corinthians 4:3,4; Hebrews 2:14,15). All idolatry is the worship of demons (1 Corinthians 10:20), and the putting of the things of this earth before God is idolatry (Colossians 3:5). Therefore, while witchcraft cannot be condoned from a Christian point of view, neither should it be regarded as more evil than the multitude of other non-Christian choices available in our culture. While we must stand for the truth, we must do it with gentleness and love and not be carried away by fear (1 Peter 3:15; 2 Timothy 2:24-26; Colossians 4:5,6).         

A Touch of Humor - Sunday Best

What is reverence? What should genuine reverence look like?

A Voice from the Past - John Calvin

For, first of all, the pious mind does not devise for itself any kind of God, but looks alone to the one true God; nor does it feign for him any character it pleases, but is contented to have him in the character in which he manifests himself, always guarding with the utmost diligence, against transgressing his will, and wandering, with daring presumption, from the right path.

John Calvin, 1509-1564, Institutes of the Christian Religion, Book I, Chapter 2, Section 2 (translated by Henry Beveridge, Wm B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1973, p. 41)

Is this true? What should it mean for our approach to God?