Archives For Christianity

God’s Charity?

Owen —  March 15, 2009 — Leave a comment

I came across while looking for pictures for another of my sites:

Милостыня божья.
«Милостыня божья.» на Яндекс.Фотках

It’s labeled “God’s Charity.”

Such a beautiful building, and leaning against it, a man with serious problems.  It would be very easy to go off on a rant now about the priorities of the Orthodox Church.  It is a corrupt institution, with a lust for earthly power.  It deceives people into thinking that they’re saved if they pay some money and go through the motions.  It has failed abysmally to take advantage of the fall of the Soviet Union to bring people to Christ and combat the moral decay and nihilism that is rampant in that part of the world.  That is all true, but it is too simple an interpretation of the photograph.

As one commenter said:

Впечатление, что храм при всей своей красоте абсолютно равнодушен к судьбе этого человека…

(I get the impression that the church, with all it’s beauty, is absolutely indifferent to the fate of this person)

That feeling is made even stronger by the fact that the church is surrounded by a sturdy fence.  Could this picture describe our church, here in America, or our spirituality?  Beautiful on the outside, but walled off to those who need it?

The church in America does a much better job with this, but there is always room for reflection and self-criticism.  And this picture should touch the hearts of anyone who considers themselves a Christian.

Catholics usually give up something specific for Lent, the 40-day period which marks the period that Jesus spent the in the desert, and which leads up to Easter. People will give up things like chocolate, alcohol, fast food, etc. This year, “Catholics are urged to give up texting for Lent:”

Roman Catholic bishops in Italy are urging the faithful to go on a high-tech fast for Lent, switching off modern appliances from cars to iPods and abstaining from surfing the Web or text messaging until Easter.

Dioceses and Catholic groups in Modena, southern Bari and other cities have called for a ban on text messaging every Friday in Lent, which began last week with Ash Wednesday. “It’s a small way to remember the importance of concrete and not virtual relationships,” the Modena diocese said in a statement. “It’s an instrument to remind us that our actions and lifestyles have consequences in distant countries.”

The Turin diocese is suggesting the faithful not watch television during Lent. In the northeastern city of Trento, the church has created a “new lifestyles” calendar with proposals for each week of Lent. Some ideas: Leave cars at home and hop on a bike or a bus; stop throwing chewing gum on the street and start recycling waste; enjoy the silence of a week without the Internet and iPods.

Italian laity and clergy have reacted cautiously to the proposals. Some say Lenten abstinence should be a personal matter, and others contend that people who need technology to work shouldn’t be asked to do without. Benedict praised social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace for forging friendships and understanding, but cautioned that online networking could isolate people from real social interaction.

I think it’s a great idea. Our lives today are interwoven with technology, but it’s useful every now and then to take a step back and realize that the technologies are a tool to facilitate, not replace, human interaction. Last summer, I didn’t use technology during a two-week mission trip to Moldova, and it was quite refreshing to take a break from the rat race. You also realize that keeping up with the 24-hour cycle isn’t as important as you thought.

Is anyone giving anything up for Lent? Anyone inspired now to give up some technology?

James 3: A Story

Owen —  March 13, 2009 — Leave a comment

A warning:

Clearly, there are more problems in that relationship than just getting to church on time. For tips on that practical matter, though a father of seven children has some tips.

Are You Alone in Facing Sin?

Owen —  March 11, 2009 — 1 Comment

A child of the 1980’s, I was taught growing up that I was special … just like everyone else.  We are each unique individuals.  Which, on it’s face, is true.  This idea, however, can be taken to the extreme, when we start to think that we are supremely different from everyone else.  “Nobody can understand me, what I’m going through.  Nobody can possibly relate.”  This isn’t just teen angst, it carries on into our adult lives as well.

For Christians, we begin to think that no one struggles with sin the way we do.  Whatever our problem is, we imagine that we fight with it more than anyone else.  Everyone has an easier time with lust/gluttony/language/greed/drugs/depression/anger/etc.  This thinking can lead to us giving in, thinking that since we’re tempted worse than others, we have a different standard.  Paul warns us against this very idea (1 Cor 10:13):

No temptation has seized you except what is common to man.

Those thoughts that you’re having, that sin that you’re dealing with … it’s not just you.

And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.

It may seem impossible, but there’s always a way out.  Often, the way out is never getting in to the situation in the first place.  Once we have identified problem areas in our lives, the first thing to do is stop putting ourselves in situations where the temptation can occur.  That might mean changing fundamental aspects of our lives, but God helps, and it’s all part of the restorative work that God begins when we accept him into our lives.

When we sin, we usually know full well what we’re doing, and that we shouldn’t be doing it.  We justify it to ourselves, making it acceptable, or a just-this-once execption.  We need God’s help, and when we’re tempted, we should ask him for it.  If we truly realize our problems, if we sincerely repent, and if we honestly attempt to overcome our sin, God is faithful, and will stand with us.

A Brief Theology of Sleep

Owen —  March 10, 2009 — 1 Comment

Why do we need sleep?  For some people, it seems like a defect.  If God created us perfect, then why make us waste a third of our lives lying unconscious.  John Piper, in A Brief Theology of Sleep has an interesting answer:

Psalm 127:2 says, “It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for he gives to his beloved in his sleep.” According to this text sleep is a gift of love, and the gift is often spurned by anxious toil. Peaceful sleep is the opposite of anxiety. God does not want his children to be anxious, but to trust him. Therefore I conclude that God made sleep as a continual reminder that we should not be anxious but should rest in him.

Sleep is a daily reminder from God that we are not God. “He who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep” (Psalm 121:4). But Israel will. For we are not God. Once a day God sends us to bed like patients with a sickness. The sickness is a chronic tendency to think we are in control and that our work is indispensable. To cure us of this disease God turns us into helpless sacks of sand once a day.

God wants to be trusted as the great worker who never tires and never sleeps. He is not nearly so impressed with our late nights and early mornings as he is with the peaceful trust that casts all anxieties on him and sleeps.

Read the whole article

Here’s a very interesting video that talks about some of the theological differences between Christianity and Judaism that have arisen over the last 2,000 years. Judaism, over that time, has changed considerably since the destruction of the temple in 70AD:

Paul Washer Quotes

Owen —  March 3, 2009 — Leave a comment

Paul Washer is easily one of my favorite preachers of today.  I love how he cuts through all the junk and gets right to the message.  Battle 4 Truth has a good collection of some of his quotes.  A couple of my favorites:

“Here stands God on the day of creation. He looks at stars and He says “all you stars move yourself to this place and start in this order and move in a circle and move exactly as I tell you, until I give you another word. Planets-pick yourself up and whirl, make this formation at my command, until I give you another word. He looks at mountains and says “be lifted up” and they obey him. He tells valleys “be cast down” and they obey him. He looks at the sea and says “you will come this far”, and the sea obeys. Then, he looks at you and says “come” and you go “No! Does that bother anyone?”

“People tell me judge not lest ye be judged. I always tell them, twist not scripture lest ye be like satan.”

A retired farmer in England has spent 30 years building a model of Herod’s Temple, complete with thousands of miniature people.

Model of the Herods Temple

Model of Herod's Temple

Royal Porch

Royal Porch

Click here to see all 19 images, well worth it.

Speaking in Toronto, Denver Archbishop Charles Chaput gave a speech that any Christian, not just Catholics, ought to hear:

“I think modern life, including life in the Church, suffers from a phony unwillingness to offend that poses as prudence and good manners, but too often turns out to be cowardice. Human beings owe each other respect and appropriate courtesy. But we also owe each other the truth — which means candor.”

Looking ahead to the coming months and years, Chaput offered four “simple things” to remember.

“First,” he said, “all political leaders draw their authority from God. We owe no leader any submission or cooperation in the pursuit of grave evil.”

“In fact, we have the duty to change bad laws and resist grave evil in our public life, both by our words and our non-violent actions. The truest respect we can show to civil authority is the witness of our Catholic faith and our moral convictions, without excuses or apologies.”

“Americans, including many Catholics, elected a gifted man to fix an economic crisis. That’s the mandate. They gave nobody a mandate to retool American culture on the issues of marriage and the family, sexuality, bioethics, religion in public life and abortion. That retooling could easily happen, and it clearly will happen — but only if Catholics and other religious believers allow it.”

The third point to focus on when the beliefs of Catholics are challenged is that “it doesn’t matter what we claim to believe if we’re unwilling to act on our beliefs,” Chaput counseled.

Continue Reading…

Seeing Clearly puts up a great list of the teachings about Jesus in the Qur’an:

  • Jesus was born of a virgin (Surah 3:45-50)
  • Jesus is sinless (Surah 6:85)
  • Jesus is the Messiah (Surah 3:45)
  • Jesus performed miracles (Surah 3:49)
  • One of these miracles is especially interesting (although only attested elsewhere in the Gospel of Thomas). Surah 3:49 and 5:110 teach that Jesus created a bird out of clay while He was upon this earth.
  • Jesus ascended into heaven in bodily form (Surah 3:55)
  • Jesus spoke at his birth (Surah 19:27-35)
  • Jesus raised the dead (Surah 3:49)

Question for Muslims: since none of the above is true of Muhammed, how can he be called the greatest prophet?

[Whole list taken from Norman Geisler, “Jesus and Muhammed in the Qur’an: A Comparison and Contrast,” SBJT 8:1 (2004), 50-58.]