God Wins (Part 2)

Popular Christianity seems have moved closer to ambiguity lately.  Questions, doubt and unknowns seem to have replaced truth, certainty and answers.  Doubt has become the new truth.  The growing opinion is that certainty=pride.

I have certainly known my share of arrogant theologians.  Blind certainty is no virtue.  None of us are comfortable with an unyielding debater who wants us to agree with him "because I said so."  But, does uncertainty really fix the problem?  I could be arrogantly walk off a cliff because I can't see it and refuse to believe it is there.  Or, I could stumble around in ignorance until I fall off the cliff I still didn't know was there.  The results are the same, regardless of my level of pride.  

The truth is certainty can be humble, because humility acknowledges the truth.  In this way, only the humble can be justifiably certain, because they submit themselves to the Truth rather than place themselves at the center of knowledge.  From the beginning of creation, man has wrestled with this fundamental question of surrender.  Have you ever thought about the fact that in Genesis, the Serpent begins his deception with the question: Has God really said...?

The Enemy's first step in bringing every sin, every death, every atrocity into this world was to make uncertain what God had made certain.  

He didn't stop there.  He followed his question with a statement: "You will be like God, knowing good and evil."  Satan invited Eve to jettison her certainty in God's revelation, so she could make herself the center of knowledge.  The lie that ushered sin into the world was that we could choose what is right for ourselves.  the Serpent says, "God's Word is uncertain. You must choose for yourself what is right and wrong."  Have you ever thought about what the world would be like if we didn't try to make unclear what God has made clear?

I am not so naive as to believe that everything is clear, that we should never  be uncertain.  The fact is there are a myriad of issues we cannot know with certainty.  There is no imperative to make certain what is uncertain.  It really doesn't matter that much if Adam and Eve had bellybuttons or if the army from the east in Revelation is China or Russia or some other unknown country.  What matters is a few fundamental and clearly revealed truths about God and our relationship with Him. 

Put simply, what matters is Jesus Christ and everything that is necessary to know Him.  These are the things that are quite clear in Scripture.  A face value reading with no re-interpretation of parables or poetry, with no effort to translate Greek words outside the context they were written in will give you the basic fundamentals of the faith (The Deity of Christ, His Resurrection, the Truth of Scripture, etc.).  The existence of Hell is one of those clear principles.  God says there is eternal punishment for those who don't know Christ (Matthew 25:46).  If we ignore this, we allow people to think that they will be okay even though they reject Christ.  It is a serious offense to let a man on his way to an eternity in Hell think that he is safe.  

The same can be said of the exclusivity of salvation in Christ.  Jesus said, "No man comes to the father except through me" (John 14:6).  It's a clear statement, one with eternal consequences.  There is no room for blurry lines here.  Gandhi did some good things, but if he never surrendered his life to Christ, he went to Hell.  Nice guys who love their families but don't know Christ still go to Hell.  Our good works get us nowhere (Isaiah 64:6, Ephesians 2:8).  God is clear about this.  

Certainty blurred to uncertainty has eternal consequences in this regard.  

Having read Love Wins, I can confidently say that Rob Bell never takes a universalist stance.  The reason I can say this with confidence is that Rob Bell does not take a confident stance on much of anything.  I could say that "Rob Bell strongly hints at poetic imagery that probably suggests that universalism is probably a better story that really, really seems to probably be what Rob Bell thinks he might probably believe."

On the one hand, I appreciate that he seems somewhat open on the topic.  On the other hand, if he wasn't going to say anything, he could have saved me $11 and not written the book in the first place.

Uncertainty is no virtue.

In a recent interview Martin Bashir confronts Rob Bell with some hard questions, uncomfortable, unpopular questions about God and human suffering.  (You can watch the video by clicking here.)  Some have argued  that Bashir was a little bit hostile in the interview.   I'm not sure it matters.  The world never guarantees us easy questions or comfortable settings.  In fact the hard questions almost always come with a bite, because the questioner is hurting and needs an answer, a certain one.  Rob Bell didn't have a certain answer for Martin Bashir.

My intention is not to attack Bell or to state all the things he should have said.  The fact is, interviews are difficult.  You usually finish thinking about all the things you wished you'd said.  Don't judge him for not being quick with words under pressure.  It's not easy to take on the biggest apologetic question in history on national television.

The point here is not Bell's mistake.  The point is that a certain answer would have been a lot better than an uncertain one.

Bashir wanted an answer.  The viewers wanted an answer.  The world wants an answer. I think even Bell wanted an answer.

Certainty has its place.  It is evidenced in our disappointment when we can't think of the right thing to say.  It is evidenced in the poignant questions of reporters.  It is evidenced when the bomb squad technician says "green wire."

We want answers.  We need the truth.  

We embrace uncertainty when we lose our source of truth and place ourselves at the center of knowledge.  We are afraid to have to defend our opinion, because we can't back it up.  So, we keep saying "I'm not sure about this" in one way or another.  It's not an effective way to handle a debate, and it's not an effective way to speak the gospel to a desperate world.  

There is some good news.  God never puts us in a situation to have to defend our opinion.  Our role as believers is to simply point to what He says, and let His Word stand.  It really is that simple.  I don't have to go in circles.  I can speak the Word of God with certainty, knowing it is true.  God said it.  I can certainly show my evidence for why I believe it is His word, but I don't have to defend it with explanations.  I don't have to prove God according to a limited, human definition of love.  I simply speak His Word and let His truth stand.  

God doesn't want us to be uncertain.  He wants us to be humble.  Humility, in the context of truth means putting God (not one's self) at the center of knowledge.

If you are interested in digging into this topic of revelation at an academic level, have a look at Has God Said? by John Douglas Morrison.  Great book on the topic!

Heaven, Hell and Rob Bell

The internet is buzzing with controversy as Rob Bell (prominent pastor and writer) has released a teaser video to promote his new book, Love Wins.  As is usually the case with Christian controversy, trenches have been dug.  Some are writing off Bell and doing everything short of preparing kindling at the base of a stake.  Others are vehemently attacking any brother or sister who so much as gently questions Bell's theology.

At the center of the debate, Bell's questions about sin, salvation and eternal punishment.  As believers, we can't deny the importance of the issues in question.  Regardless of where Bell lands on the issues, he isn't talking about worship styles or the use of certain gifts.  These are not fringe issues.  Bell is addressing the central doctrines of the Christian faith.  Have a look at the teaser, which by the way is very creative:



Since the book isn't available until the end of March, I don't know what Bell is going to say about heaven and hell.  It certainly seems that by questioning the love of a God that condemns people to hell, he is implying that (because God is loving) He will not ultimately send everyone to hell.  Bell is known for implications.  Is he teaching universalism (everyone will go to heaven) or inclusivism (everyone who believes in something will go to heaven) or just sparking controversy to sell books?  Until I read his book (and knowing Bell probably even then) I can't speak with certainty about his belief on the subject.

However, in the teaser video Bell models a prominent theological method that I'd like to bring into question today.

Bell is right to say that our view of heaven and hell reflects our view of God, and our view of God is absolutely central to our faith.  I would argue that there is another "question behind the question" namely, "How do we know God?"  Historically, there have been two methods: 

1. We define Him according to our own understanding.
2. We know Him as He reveals Himself to us.

With brevity, let's have a look at each method.  

According to our Own Understanding:

Bell's question: "How can that God be good?" reflects a theological method that puts the knowing subject at the center of knowledge.  Since the Garden of Eden, humanity has defined or judged God according to our own perception of what is good.  During the enlightenment, theologians applied Rene Descartes' "I think, therefore I am" principle, which puts oneself at the center of knowledge, to the the study of God.  The epistemological (study of knowledge) method of the Enlightenment and Liberal theology was to reject all authoritative truth claims, except ones that come from one's own questioning.  In other words, I am the only person who can know anything about anything, and I know things because I question.  I trust no one and no thing to give me answers.  This means ruling out God's own revelation about Himself in favor of human reason.  

As He Reveals Himself:

In contrast to human tendency, enlightenment philosophy and liberal theology of the Schleiermachrian ilk, stands God's redemptive self-revelation.  Each of us have the choice to make our own speculations about God and His nature or trust His revelation of himself.  This is not to say we suspend rational thought.  It does mean putting God at the center of truth about Himself as opposed to ourselves.  

Our Choice:

There is one vital reality to know as we consider our theological method: God is not of this world.  He is infinitely beyond it.  Human knowledge is inherently tied to four-dimensional space-time.  Our logic is limited and bound to it.  Consider this: God created space and time.  He is not limited to it.  He is outside it, and therefore outside the limits of human knowledge and reason.  The only way we can know anything about Him is if He reveals Himself in our space-time universe.  This is why Christ came (Matthew 11:27, John 1:18).  It is why the Word of God was written (Luke 1:1-4, 2 Timothy 3:16-17, 1 John 5:13).  We only know God as He reveals Himself.  Everything else is just an earth-bound guess.  

Don't believe me?  Try making a statement about God absent of any of His revelation: no Christ, no Bible, no universe.  I would say that you would only be left with yourself and your guesses, but since you are created in the image of God that rules you out too.  Without God's revelation, we have nothing.  

God's self-revelation does not always align with our limited views of love and justice.  The question is: What trumps?  Does God's revelation top my mortal opinion, or do I think I know love and justice better than God? Let's have a look at some of Bell's questions in light of God's revelation:

• Will only a few select people make it into heaven? Yes. (Matthew 7:13-14, 
• Will billions burn in hell forever? Yes. (Matthew 25:41, Revelation 20:15, Luke 16:22-28) 
• How do you become one of the few? Surrender to Christ. (John 14:6, Romans 10:9-10, Acts 4:12)
• What is God like? Loving, wrathful, grace-filled, just, merciful, forgiving, powerful, wise, etc. (See Genesis 1:1-Revelation 22:21)

What makes this hard is that our perception seldom lines up with God's revelation.  This is the crux of the matter.  I readily admit that it doesn't seem loving that Ghandi might be in hell despite all his good works, because he didn't surrender his life to Christ (Isaiah 46:6, John 14:6) .  However, the reality is that my view of love is broken and His is perfect.  

We are really dealing with two issues here: 1) Heaven and Hell and 2) How we know God.  So, I recommend we give Rob Bell a chance and read his book.  But, first let's answer the question behind the question.  If you are ready to address the issue of truth, have a look at Has God Said by John Douglas Morrison. 

Questions for the Week:

Where do you get your truth about God?  Is there something about His revelation of Himself that makes you uncomfortable?  What do you find hard to believe about God, and how do you reconcile that with what seems true? Let's discuss this.  

Revelation 5

Where: My living room floor
Coffee: Just finished Twinings Lady Grey Tea
Listening to: Showbread--Who Can Know It? (Available for Free from the Band!)


Pray: 
God, I am parched in spirit and heart.  Fill me with your Spirit.  Speak through your Word, and overflow into the people I meet and the work I do.  Help me to love You, love people and live surrendered.  


Read:
 ¹ Then I saw in the right hand of him who sat on the throne a scroll with writing on both sides and sealed with seven seals. ² And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming in a loud voice, “Who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll?” ³ But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth could open the scroll or even look inside it. ⁴ I wept and wept because no one was found who was worthy to open the scroll or look inside. ⁵ Then one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals.” --Revelation 5:1-5 


Think: 


(Ask, Analyze and Apply)


Write:


There are great deeds to be done at the end of all things, and the One who will open the seals to start it all will be Jesus Christ, the Lamb who was slain.  How amazing that Jesus, who came as a servant and was crucified in our place will be the one calling the shots as Lord of all when the finale starts!  I can't say it better than this.  Read it!


On that great day, the world will wait and weep, thinking none is worthy to break the seals.  But, like a Stone unbroken the Lion of Truth will step to the throne with all authority under his feet.  And, all the saints of God will worship and adore.  We'll sing songs of adoration and worship with all hope as every creature in existence will worships the Roaring Lamb. 


Do:


I'm going to sleep in anticipation of what God is going to do as we worship Him tomorrow.

Like Bringing a Knife to a Gunfight

So, while we were unloading 100 lb. bags of concrete, two Jehovah´s Witnesses walked by us. They were white Americans with white shirts, black ties, dress pants, and name tags. Keep in mind, this is in one of the poorest neighborhoods around.

We were covered in mud, laboring alongside our El Salvadorian brothers in Christ as well as some pre-Christian El Salvadorians. For a moment, I became very angry with the Jehovah´s Witnesses. I was thinking, "You are showing up in a tie, telling the poorest people in the world that they need to do good works to know God. Are you kidding me?!"

What I wanted to do: Say, ¨"Jesus Christ is God and He came to this earth as a servant. What the heck are you doing?" (Since this is a Christian blog, I have edited out some of the words in my thoughts.)

What I did do: I didn´t know what to say, so we watched them walk by and heard them say "How´s it going?"

I was upset about the whole thing. I was so excited to be taking the gospel to another country. It upset me that someone else was there teaching a corrupted version. Later I asked out translator (Claudia) if they were effective. She said that the Jehovah´s Witnesses and Mormons target poverty-stricken areas, becasue the people are excited to see North Americans. They let them in quickly and then visit their churches to see if they are recieved with love. Claudia says, they visit all kinds of churches until they see the real love of Christ. She teared up a bit as she told us how this happens in their churches.

The Jehovah´s Witnesses have nothing on a God who steps down into our existence and humbles himself as a servant. I don´t think they get that. Maybe that´s why they were in ties and we wore work gloves. Its "like bringing a knife to a gun fight."

I think I like a Jesus who gets Hands dirty a lot better than one who shows up to a home-building in a tie. The love of Christ prevails!

ABBA, Alice Cooper, and Authenticity

For a while, I've been thinking that there is something missing from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. I hadn't been able to put my finger on it until recently. Every time I went I was dazzled by the artifacts in the museum: Neil Peart's drum kit, Alice Cooper's fake severed head, the statues from Pink Floyd's Division Bell Album, etc. I am reasonably certain that my own rock n roll ability raised significantly just by being in their presence.

But something (someone) is missing. It wasn't until recently that I had a closer look at the list of inductees and realized who isn't there. There is no Alice Cooper in the Hall, no Thin Lizzy, no Don MacLean, no Allman Brothers, the list goes on. Many of the greats are missing.

Guess who is there: ABBA. Let me say that again for my fellow rock and roll purists who's minds fundamentally cannot accept this cosmic foul. The Swedish pop vocal group (Not a band) ABBA is in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Alice Cooper isn't! That's like inducting Robin into the Superhero Hall of Fame without ever inducting Superman. Seriously, this is a problem!

I feel so lied to, so betrayed. It was as if all the rock artifacts were just there to fool me. The Rock Hall became a bit like a Celine Dion fan wearing a Rolling Stones t-shirt he bought from Target. (The print on the T-shirt may seem rock n roll, but its just not the real thing.) The drum sets and guitars were only on display to trick me, to make me think I was in a Hall of Fame for rock and roll when I was really in the Popular Music Hall of Fame (not a bad place, just not what's on the sign).

Here's the thing. I actually like ABBA. Its not rock, but I can enjoy a little "Mama Mia" now and then. I wouldn't mind going to a hall of fame appropriate for groups like ABBA. I just don't want to go to a Hall of Fame for rock n roll only to find that's not what it really is.

On a recent episode of VH1 Classic's "That Metal Show," Alice Cooper made an appearance and addressed the Hall of Fame issue. Alice (or "Vince" as he is known off stage) showed up sans makeup. No snakes, no special effects, just regular Vince. The guy known for the character he portrays sat down just to hang out with a few fans. During the course of the show, the hosts shared their frustration with the Rock Hall that Alice had not been inducted. Given the opportunity to vent frustration, Alice graciously shared that it was up to the Rock Hall authorities and he was ok with their decision.

Many of you may not know that Alice Cooper is a faithful Christ-follower. It was interesting how simple and gentle he came across. He didn't get indignant, didn't curse. He didn't even speak ill. He just graciously deflected the comments, and tried to focus attention on other things.

His manner was so unassuming that the hosts of the show eventually started asking for advice from the seasoned rocker. Amazed that Cooper had stayed faithful to his wife for 30 years, the hosts asked for wisdom on marital faithfulness. Alice gave credit to his Christ-like upbringing and talked about the importance of taking his wife on dates. No rock and roll tricks, no gimmick, just a regular guy talking about life and how following Christ fits in. That's authenticity, and I've noticed that it always gets an ear.

I think we sometimes try to hard to get attention as Christians. We try to look or act a certain way. Then, when we get passed over or maligned, we cry "foul" and share our frustration with the direction of the culture. We have nearly made a science of getting media attention for what we are against.

I'll be honest. At times (especially in college) I've tried to be a rock star. I can remember dressing and acting differently than normal in order to seem important or artistic. In my mind, I thought that if I could seem like something larger than life, people would want to hear what I had to say about Christ. I think my intentions were good, but it all seems very foolish now.

Jesus never tried to be a rock star. There was nothing about His appearance that would have attracted people (Isaiah 53:1-3). He never argued about what he deserved. He spent most of His time ministering to average people with real problems and real pain. Jesus didn't have slick hair and shiny clothes or a publicist. He was a "regular guy"...and yet he was God.

Strange that even the people who have the ability to wow the crowds have the most impact with simplicity.

Do you think Jesus drew more followers with His miracles or with his love?

Hitler, Hell and Atonement

I recently watched a movie about the Holocaust. Seeing families torn apart and children murdered made me feel an emotion I don’t often experience: anger. Most people will tell you that I’m a pretty easy going guy. I don’t get upset about most things. But when I see wickedness at its worse my sense of justice wells up. It infuriates me. Similarly, I’ve had people sit in my office and tell me they were abused as children. They still live with the scars today. My soul aches. Someone has to answer for this. We just can’t let this kind of evil go unaddressed. Worse than rape or murder would be to pretend they weren’t that bad. It would be like telling the victims that their pain doesn’t matter. To be brutally honest, in those moments when I hear about things like that it makes me glad there is a hell. Of course, in these moments I am forgetting how evil I am.

We don’t want God to wink at sin…unless it is ours.
Last night, I attended our Good Friday Service. It is a sobering affair. The pastor wears black. The band plays dark mournful songs about the suffering of Christ. Instead of a sermon Jim (our pastor) read a list of sins written on bricks. As he read the bricks, he tossed them into a rusty metal wheelbarrow. Each one makes a hollow, metallic noise. Some of the sins were murders and abuse. Others related to bitterness and deceit. All of them made the same heavy noise. In that place, hearing all those sins listed together, I didn’t want God to ignore any of them not even mine. They were all horrible. That same sense of justice that made me want punishment for Hitler, rapists and murderers made me call out for justice for my own sins. I am a wicked man. My sin weighed heavy on that cross. I deserve death.

At the end of the service, as everyone sat with the reality of their sin Jim pushed the wheelbarrow across the stage and dumped the bricks at the foot of the cross. The weight of my sins and the worlds were placed on Christ. Justice was served but at the expense of God’s Son. It was a powerful image.

Feeling the weight of my sin has helped me to see the greatness of God’s grace. The God of justice is also the God of grace, and my sin has made that grace very costly. Praise God for His justice and His grace. I am a bad man who has seen someone go to death for me. Grace is good and I want it for the worst offenders just as it was given to me.

Do you think that it is a good thing to wish for grace for rapists and mass murderers? How does it make you feel to think that Hitler could have gone to heaven if he had surrendered His life to Christ?