Christian Issues

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One of my co-workers said that he voted for Barack Obama because he (the co-worker) believed that Obama would govern more centrist than what he campaigned.

"So...you're saying that you voted for the man because you believed that his campaign promises were lies?"

Within minutes of our new president taking the oath of office, the White House web page had been changed.  A few of the "changes" on his agenda could directly target Christians and Christian organizations.

  • It could become illegal for a Christian hospital to deny abortions for any reason.
  • It could become illegal for a Christian adoption agency to adopt only to heterosexual married couples.

"Changes" directly contradict the Constitution's mandate of "state's rights".

FOCA would effectively make ALL abortion issues federal issues and would effectively (and purposefully) overturn laws made at a state level.

FOCA would not only take away state's rights to make laws that do not concern things in the Constitution, they also take away the citizen's rights to vote on proposals concerning abortion at the state level.

President Obama's agenda is a two-prong offensive against

  • state's rights
  • Christians following their consciences in matters of the gay agenda and the abortion agenda.

I will pray for our president's safety and health.  I will pray that God guide his heart and change his attitude toward the most innocent and vulnerable of our citizens - the unborn.  I will pray that God sway his mind in a way that guides his toward the Living God.

I will not support him, which includes by necessity supporting his agenda.

I will "all work together" in much the same way that liberals "worked together" with President Bush.  They fought him every step of the way and were outspoken about where they disagreed.

So will I be.

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Two pursuits, yet very similar.

Jerry Bridges wrote two books, "The Pursuit of Holiness" and "The Practice of Godliness".

Holiness and Godliness are two callings of a Christian; similar, but Bridges makes a distinction.  In the book on holiness, he talks about putting off the old man, Godliness is about putting on the new man.

Neither one of these works unless you include a generous sprinking of the Gospel.  Unless we have a full understanding that we are called to be perfect, but the only perfection we can rely on is the perfection of Christ, we will run into deep anger and dispair at the failure of our efforts.  If we don't understand that we cannot to it on our own, we run into deep pride.

And still, we are called to holiness, Godliness; we are called to be perfect, for the Lord our God is perfect.

What does it mean to be "holy"?  We turn away from that which is sin.  We love what is good and we hate what is evil.

What makes God angry also makes us angry.

In the call to holiness and Godliness, we strive (with the Spirit's sanctification) to become more like Christ.

What made Christ angry?  Those religious people who took what was evil and called it "good".

Immediately, Gene Robinson comes to mind.  Those religous people who look at abortion and call it a good, human right.

Those who look at women and call them inferior, denying them an education and a voice.  Men who abuse their wives and call it "leadership".

You see, there are extremes on either side.  To examine the extreme on one side without examining the log on your own side...

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That is the question...

There was a real St. Nicholas, so it's not like we're making anything up.  The challenge is to keep the day that we celebrate the birth of Christ - Christ centered.

Which is pretty hard to start with, when the day seems to be surrounding presents (stuff) and presence (people).

I would ask...what does the presence of Santa Clause add to the holiday?

Well...Santa could add the expectation of gifts (for me).  Materialism.

Or he could add the concept of giving without getting.  It is Santa who exists for giving with no expectation of getting gifts in return.

He could also introduce the concept of anonymous giving.   As "santa", we can slip a gift under the "giving tree" or slip a $20 into the Salvation Army bucket.

Giving without "your left hand knowing what your right hand is doing".

There is a different feeling in giving without others knowing.  Giving in secret makes it all about the recipient, without an expectation of a "payoff" (either physical or emotional).

Our church is participating in the "Advent Conspiracy"...No, it's not about Santa, and it's not about being anonymous.  It is about giving to those in need with no expectation of return.

Consider being about "giving with no expectation" this year...

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A while ago (years) I read an article about a woman who had a wretched childhood and grew up into a wretched adulthood.  Prostitution, porn, drugs, etc.

Then Christ made her His child.

There were a number of bloggers out there who had problems with her telling her whole story and the issues they had were varied.

One was - why does she glorify sin by telling of the sin she was in?  That is not the way to look at it...she is glorifying God by telling the depths to which she had sunk and that God can nobody is beyond God's grace.

Another - who is she to think that she can just repent  and have a "get out of consequences free" card?   Does she really think that she can just become a Christian and be accepted?  Hello?  do you know what she did?  That is not the way that it is!  If the Father embraced the prodigal, so should we.  It is our job to raise up the children in the faith, not keep them down.

Next - Okay, she's a Christian?  but she will never be qualified for ministry - after all, she may be forgiven, but there are earthly consequences.  No...no...  Paul was  a murderer.  So was Moses.  David was a murderer - and an adulterer.  They were all ministers of God's Word.

The prodigal should be restored.  Period.

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I am working my way through "Prodigal God" and I am reminded that I am thankful for the "Fathers" and "neighbors" in my life.

I am thankful for those who welcome me back, who rejoice at my homecoming.

I am also increasingly aware of those who resent the grace extended - I am aware of the "older brother".  Those who will not ony "not forgive", but also resent the forgiveness extended by the Father.

There was a time when I was the "older brother" - that was a lead up in my life to a time when I could be either the "older brother" from the parable, or I could choose to be the "right" older brother - the one who welcomed the younger back.

There are many people who are not ready to restore.  Restore!  That is the point of forgiveness.

Forgiveness is not a hoop to jump through in order to get God's favor.  Following God's pattern for forgiveness is the way that we show that we are forgiven.  So much so that Scripture tells us that if we do not forgive, God will not forgive us.

Forgiveness is a witness to the world that we are forgiven.  And if there are debts that we are holding, it is those sort of debts that will be held against us.

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I still don't have the capability to post youtube videos on the blog...but PLEASE go watch this.

Lisa Gerrard is best known for her deep, haunting contralto voice. She has received a Golden Globe award and an Acadamy Award nomination for the score for the film "Gladiator" (which she collaborated on).

Gerrard has achieved her greatest fame by never saying a word. Rather, she sings in tongues, a habit formed and nurtured in the early days of Dead Can Dance, continuing through to her present-day solo and soundtrack work. It’s a technique that allows her voice to join the chorus of synths, organs, strings, and (why not) dulcimer, basically, any instrument that can play a note for a very long time, without the words that could potentially distract from that chorus (...)

While these tracks are pretty, however, Gerrard shows in other places that she can lend this technique a lyrical quality that just about doubles the intensity of whatever song it appears on. “Swans” is a solo standout, on which Dimitry Kyryakou provides an incredible, almost dance-like bouzouki backdrop that sets the song far apart from the Dead Can Dance material and the soundtrack contributions. Gerrard reciprocates with a vocal line that sounds like a narrative except for the fact that there are no words. Even without the words, however, we can hear her story slowly increase in intensity, lull, climax, and slowly fade, mindful of the repercussions of the events that precede that fade. It’s an all-encompassing sort of story arc, allowing us the opportunity to provide our own words to the music

There is some indication that Gerrard claims Christianity...but what is important about this story is that

1)  singing in tongues is a habit

2) it is formed

3) it is nurtured

4) in Gerrard's case it has nothing to do with the religious experience.

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When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.

Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven. And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one was hearing them speak in his own language. And they were amazed and astonished, saying, "Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each of us in his own native language? Parthians and Medes and Elamites and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabians—we hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God." And all were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, "What does this mean?" But others mocking said, "They are filled with new wine."

(...)

Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, "Brothers, what shall we do?" And Peter said to them, "Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself." (ESV)

In Pentecostal churches, people receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit, the initial evidence of which is speaking in tongues.  If you don't have tongues, you don't have the baptism - based on this passage of Scripture.

You are saved (first act of grace) and then you speak in a language that nobody but God can understand (second act of grace).

But...let's read the Scripture...

The people who had received the Holy Spirit began to speak in other tongues...yes.  But...at the sound, devout men from "every nation" came together and each of them heard in his own language.  Those who were there spoke in tongues and the other believers heard in tongues.  Who were the ones who did not hear in their own tongues?  The mockers...unbelievers.

The "moral" of the story?  If somebody around you is "baptized with the Holy Spirit as a second work of grace", and you can't understand - you cannot hear in your own tongue...

you may not be one of the saved.  It bears thinking about when coveting the gift.

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Come on, ladies...You all know how we can get.  All of us...we're sinners.  There's a reason for the saying, "If mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy."

A very wise, very wonderful pastor's wife - Linda - once told a group of us, "a woman is the barometer of the home."  If we are content, the home is content.  If we are not content, the house will most likely be discontented.  What a privilege and responsibility - the way that we are (good or not) has an effect on everybody around us...such is the way of human beings.

We are affected by those around us.  If we have a child who is whining, it affects us.  If we have a spouse who refuses to take out the garbage, that affects us.  If we (women) are selfish and controlling...that affects those around us.  If you don't get like that sometimes...you are a perfect saint and I most likely don't want to hang out with you because you would make me look bad...  😉

Now...those of us who are married...our "one-flesh" partners - our heads - can be especially effected by our attitudes (good or bad).  If we are selfish and controlling, he can be angry and cranky...sometimes downright abusive.  Or he can shut down and become a couch potato.  Both are sin...but just as we are sinners...so are men.

It's the way of this lost and fallen world.  We are sinners...and we are affected by those around us, just as we affect those around us.   It's reciprocal - human beings react to each other.  Sometimes good, sometimes bad.

The way of the Spirit is the right way.  We submit to our husbands as the church submits to Christ...we follow his good leading (but not into sin).  He loves us as Christ loves the church.  We don't interact identically, but reciprocally.  We each have our jobs and when we do them to the best of our ability, the entire home runs smoothly.

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Side note:  Spell check knew "glossolalia", but not "xenoglossy".

Both  can be referred to as "speaking in tongues", but they are different and (as one website put it) should be distinguished from each other as often as possible.

Definitions:

Glossolalia. From (from Greek γλωσσολαλιά and that from γλῶσσα - glossa "tongue, language" and λαλεῖν (lalein) "to talk") - this is copied and pasted so if it's not exactly correct, hopefully it's good enough for a lay person.
Trying to find an "official" definition that clearly defines glossolalia as different than xenoglossy and isn't biased in terms of Continuationist vs. Cessationist has turned out to be an interesting side trip.  It was easier to get the definition from a secular dictionary.

The ability or phenomenon to utter words or sounds of a language unknown to the speaker, especially as an expression of religious ecstasy. Also called glossolalia, speaking in tongues.

The important key words are "words or sounds".

A less generous defintion (both from answers.com):

Fabricated and nonmeaningful speech, especially such speech associated with a trance state or certain schizophrenic syndromes.

Xenoglossy.  (from Greek ξενογλωσσία - xenoglossia, from ξένος - xenos, "foreign" + γλώσσα - glossa, "tongue, language").

This was an easier defintion (from worldwidewords.com):

The ability to speak a language without having learned it.

The important key word:  language.

Compare:

  • both glossolalia and xenoglossy use "sounds" or "words" that do not belong to a language that the speaker knows.
  • Both can be associated with religious activity.

and contrast:

  • glossolalia belongs to no known language.  Pentecostals call this "tongues of angels" and it may be referred to as a "private prayer language" that nobody (except presumably God) can understand.
  • xenoglossy can be identified as a real language and can be understood by a person who speaks that language.  In some cases it is claimed that a 2-way conversation has taken place between a native speaker and the "tongues-speaker" who has never been exposed to that language.

In short:  real language vs. not real language.

Other handy definitions:

  • Cessationism:  the view that the charismatic (or prophetic) gifts of the Holy Spirit, such as tongues, prophecy, and healing, were only given to the new church for a period of time and ceased either at the end of the apostolic era or shortly after.
  • Charismatic: the general term used to describe Christians who believe that these same gifts are available to Christians today (see "Continuationism").  Closely related to Continuationism, and I'm not sure of the difference, other than continuationism is the belief and charismatic is the movement.  Also see "Pentecostal" - although, you can be charismatic without being Pentecostal.    Mark Driscoll refers to his church as being "charismatic with a seatbelt", which I think is a way of saying, "we're charismatic but not Pentecostal."
  • Continuationism: the view that these same gifts continue to this present age and are available for all Christians alive today.
  • Pentecostal: the belief that a "born again" Christian can (and should) receive a subsequent experience of a "baptism of the Holy Spirit", the initial evidence of which is speaking in tongues as the Sprit gives utterance.  Some Pentecostals believe and teach that a person who has not spoken in tongues (received the baptism of the Holy Spirit) is not saved.  All Pentecostals believe that the "gift" of tongues is THE gift that proves the baptism of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2).  The other gifts were given later and a believer does not have tongues or another gift...it is always tongues plus the rest of the gifts listed later.

Here's the problem:  Christians are not the only group of people who experience glossolalia and xenoglossy.