Chimps...Infants...What's the diff?

According to a recent study of baby chimpanzees, some scientists now believe that baby chimpanzees are as or more developed than human infants. If one has a purely naturalistic worldview, does that mean that chimps are therefore more valuable (at least at that stage) than human infants? Princeton bioethicist Peter Singer thinks so. (A few years ago World magazine ran a story on this influential professor that you might want to check out).

What should we say then to someone who says a chimpanzee is just as valuable to the world as an infant? (Can you give an answer without referencing the Bible?)

The Trials of Ted Haggard

Just got done watching a truly sad documentary on former National Association of Evangelical's President Ted Haggard. The man truly has lost everything in the two years since it came out that he had a homosexual affair and engaged in illegal drug use. The Church he served defrocked him and told him he must leave the state for at least a year and a half. So for that time, Ted and his family moved from house to house and hotel to hotel. Because he didn't have anything more than a bachelors degree in Bible from a Christian University, he was unqualified for any high paying jobs (so for most of the time he didn't have steady work). On top of that, people would recognize who he was and wanted nothing to do with him. He has now been allowed to come home to Colorado, but he essentially lives underground trying to sell insurance.

A few things that struck me about this story:

1. From what I know, the church that Ted served, I believe to some extent, responded rightly. As a leader he is held to a higher standard biblically speaking; He was a huge leader in that Church and for the sake of the Body being able to move on they needed to separate from him.

2. That being said, right or wrong, when an Evangelical leader fails morally he is hated by EVERYONE! Those antagonistic to the Church lick their chops for stories like this, because it shows that "this moralist" is a hypocrite; Evangelicals however much they talk about grace, when someone big falls, do everything they can to get rid of them. I was truly saddened by the legalistic, self-righteous letters that Ted received from so called Evangelicals after his fall. In spite of the fact that he was repentant over his sins and didn't defend any of it, I didn't see anyone trying to carry the burden of this brother as Galatians 6 tells us to do, only condemnation which we are told not to do.

3. I realized how guilty I am of judging others. As my heart went out to Ted, I can remember my reaction when I first heard the news of his fall: embarrasment, shame, and disgust. The thought of reaching out to this badly wounded brother didn't even occur to me. The reality is everyone of us are sinners desperately in need of God's grace everyday (some of our sins are hidden, others are visible, but to God they're all transparent).

So I guess this is the point: Apart from the Good Shepherd that leaves the 99 sheep to look for the 1 that has strayed, none of us (from Ted Haggard to you and me) could have any shred of hope.

The God Debate

Good news! Christopher Hitchens (one of the so called "New Atheists") will be debating Willliam Lane Craig at Biola University April 4th. The topic of the debate will be the existence of God. Dr. Craig has debated many on this topic before and of all Christian apologists that I know of, I think he is the most formidable. The tickets are pretty cheap, so if you want to go you better get 'em soon.

In the "What is the Point?" Category...

Update: If you really want to see the video it is still available at A Little Leaven.

I found this video on A Little Leaven today. It depicts a man trying to administer the holy sacrament of baptism on himself. I imagine the creators (Cornerstone Church - Oklahoma) thought it was funny, but what was there point? Does anyone find this video offensive? Should we expect another one for the Lord's supper? There may have been a teaching point that the church was trying to make, but it is not clear. I did not find any explanations on their site or their YouTube page. As it stands, the video is mocking something that God takes very seriously. That is the definition of blasphemy.

Pastor Erick taught on baptism this week at VCC's adult catechism class. If there was anyone there that is reading this blog post I would love to hear your thoughts. If you were not there, I still would love to hear your thoughts.

HT: A Little Leaven

Mark Driscoll on Nightline

In the following video you will see a profile of a Pastor I have a good deal of respect for. I don't agree with everything he says or believes, but I really appreciate what God has done through him. It seemed for a great deal of time within Evangelicalism, the tendency was to water everything down: touchy feely music (with lamey content), topical preaching (seemingly always dealing with money, marriage, or stress)etc. This was done to "try and get seekers to come in" or to be "relevant." What happened is the Church ended up producing many shallow believers who went to Church for the same reason they would a shopping mall: to consume.

What Driscoll has done is strongly preached the Word in all it's sometimes difficult truth (with Jesus as the Hero) and yet at the same time remained relevant to those he was trying to reach with the good news of Jesus' life, death and resurrection. Check out the clip and see what I mean:

(Warning: There is some talk about sex in the clip, just so you're aware)

The Church....Ordinary

Perusing around the Resurgence this morning I found this little post about how the Church does it's mission. It's written by Tim Chester:

Ordinary Life

"Here’s another way of thinking about it. One of the catchphrases we use to capture our vision is “ordinary life with gospel intentionality” or “ordinary people doing ordinary things with gospel intentionality.” In other words, what we do is ordinary life together: household chores, trips to the movies, meals, neighborhood volunteering. But running through all these activities is a commitment to speaking and living the gospel. We pastor one another at the kitchen sink. We evangelize by talking about Jesus over a meal."

Yes, yes, yes! I couldn't have said it better myself. This is the way the gospel primarily is spread. People living out their callings with Jesus being in all of it. So often we want to do events, have revivals, "draw people in;" this view says, we don't try and draw people in, but we are drawn out, compelled to go out, to them. It is in the ordinary, the mundane, even the boring, that God often does His work.

The Lutheran Study Bible

Good news! Concordia Publishing house is publishing "The Lutheran Study Bible." This is entirely distinct from the Concordia Study Bible (which was the NIV Study Bible with a few Lutheran comments). Frankly it's about time (everyone else has come out with a Study Bible!) The Lutheran Study Bible has notes entirely written by Lutheran Scholars and Pastors and has a great many features that have never been in previous study Bibles. I am very much looking forward to it!

Also, there is another great resource that just came out: The Readers Edition of the Book of Concord (called Concordia). Check it out here.

The Case for the Unborn

This week's sermon was on why we should work to protect the unborn. Listen to it here.

The New Atheists

You may have heard of the movement being called "The New Atheists." These new atheists would be people such as Christopher Hitchens, Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, and a few others. Their atheism is nothing new; what's new is that they actually believe those who believe in God (especially Jesus Christ) are dangerous and that religion should be abolished. What should the response be? Tim Keller deals with this below:

Pray for President Obama

I am finding myself thankful today for the transition this country is having towards a new President. When looking at the long span of history, it is exceedingly rare that the transfer of power ever goes this smoothly; usually there is much bloodshed. In our country there is usually lots of sniping and bickering under the radar. But here we have one President that represents about half of the country, handing over power to a President that represents roughly the other half of the country. Yet there have been no riots, no mass bloodshed. It has been peaceful and hopeful.

I am filled with hope (if I can use that seemingly political word now) for our next President. Not because he is a towering giant or anything like that, but because God is a towering Giant and will accomplish His purposes through this man. So do what we're told to do (Romans 13; 1 Timothy 2:1-2; 1 Peter 2) for him: Pray

To drive or not to drive?

A New Hampshire man refused to do his job as a bus driver this week. The reason: On the side of the bus there was an advertisement saying, "There probably is no God." As was reported a few months ago on this blog, an atheist group has started this campaign, putting such slogans on the sides of buses to provoke a response. I think it's been pretty effective actually.

There was a similar story recently in Rancho Cucamonga. An atheist group bought billboard space that said, "Imagine No Religion." Residents of the city went ballistic and the city council found some way to take it down; the city is now being sued.

This is an interesting intersection of the two kingdoms. On the one hand I respect the man who wouldn't drive the bus for having some convictions; I respect Rancho's residents for raising a fuss. On the other hand, if we don't allow these kinds of things, is there any way we can expect our message to be allowed in the public square? I'm sure there will be disagreement with me on this, but I don't see how we can be consistent unless we are willing to let various messages that contradict our own be placed in the public square. As a matter of fact, let it happen, let the public debate begin: I thoroughly believe the Christian worldview is far more persuasive than any other worldview. We should have no fear of contradictory messages being put out there. As long as we're allowed in the public sphere to express our view, I think things like this could actually be beneficial.

I'd love to hear your opinion on this.

Inaugural Milktoast

Once again, Veith has found a great little article illustrating the relativism of our culture. You may have heard that Rick Warren was asked by President-Elect Obama to say a prayer at his inauguration. Warren accepted and ever since there has been controversy on all sides: Pro-lifers were upset that Warren would participate in the inauguration of a President who is pro-choice; Gay marriage advocates were upset that Warren would be invited because he supported Proposition 8.

So at another inauguration event, Obama has invited episcopal bishop Gene Robinson to say a prayer. Gene Robinson, you might remember, is the first openly gay bishop in the episcopalian church. His appointment was actually the catalyst for many Episcopalian churches breaking away from the denomination.

Here are the Bishop's comments about his prayer:

"Bishop Robinson said he had been reading inaugural prayers through history and was “horrified” at how “specifically and aggressively Christian they were.”
“I am very clear,” he said, “that this will not be a Christian prayer, and I won’t be quoting Scripture or anything like that. The texts that I hold as sacred are not sacred texts for all Americans, and I want all people to feel that this is their prayer.”

What's interesting to me is the adjective he chose to use about the past prayers at inaugural events: "horrified." Really? The sad thing is that I believe he really means to use that word. In our world any exclusive claim is "horrifying!" (Insert loud scream of terror from slasher film at this point).

Notice also the underlying ideas of his statement: Belief in something is what makes it sacred for you. The Bible is sacred for me, but the Bhagavad Gita is sacred for you, etc.

Is there anyone who honestly cares about the invocation and prayer at inauguration services anyway? I would rather have none of it.

Under the "This is Sad" category....

First, I read a story this week about a woman (who is a women's studies major in San Diego) auctioning off her virginity on e-bay. (no link because pictures of her could be a little graphic) The offers are now up to 3.8 million dollars. The reason she is doing it? To pay for her graduate studies. Are there really any feminists, or women's studies professors that would defend her actions?

Second, I read a story about the soon to be junior senator from Illinois, Roland Burris (I know this is my second post about him in a week; I promise I know nothing about him and don't have anything against him). It ends up that he already has his own memorial engraved with all his accomplishments (at least up to now). You can read about it here.

Busyanity vs. Christianity

Last week's message was based on Luke 10:38-42. It deals with the issue of being so busy that we crowd out Jesus. Listen to it here.

Who Thought This Was a Good Idea?

I guess it was only a matter of time before people started to make Jesus look like Lemmy from Motorhead.

HT: A Little Leaven

Engaging Culture?

A wonderful blog post here by Carl Trueman critiquing Evangelicals fascination with being "culturally relevant." Here's a sample:

I could become less obsessed with particularities and more concerned with
universals. I could engage less with the accidents of culture and more
with the substance of nature. I might even spend less time training people who
don't know the Apostles' Creed to watch movies that would have made grandma
blush and more time teaching them the basic elements of scripture and doctrine.
Horribly modernist, I know; in fact, boringly passé. But it might,
just might, prove more relevant in the long run than being able to understand
the sacramental significance of Sharon Stone or playing `Spot the Redeemer
Figure' in the latest Jim Carrey movie. (HT: Justin Taylor)

The article is wonderfully insightful, funny and troubling. Realize no matter who you are that there will probably be something in there that bothers you. (It just so happens this week that Dr. Veith is posting excerpts from a lecture given by Carl Trueman about Luther's theology of the cross that is quite interesting as well.)

Also, this last weekend, The White Horse Inn began a series about how Christians can effectively share the good news in our Post Christian culture. Very important stuff.

D.A. Carson on Lazarus

Dr. D.A. Carson is one of the most thoughtful and brilliant scholar/theologians out there. You will appreciate his message.

Swords are for Killing

John Piper has a good little article on the importance of the "sword of the Spirit" in our lives.

Did God really say?

Roland Burris, the man chosen by tainted Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich to fill Barack Obama's Senate seat, said something yesterday that struck a nerve with me.

""We are hoping and praying that they will not be able to deny what the Lord has ordained," Burris said. "I am not hesitating. I am now the junior Senator from the state of Illinois. Some people may want to question that and that is their prerogative."

Now I have no opinion here about whether Burris should be the Senator or not. What I am drawn to is the idea that God ordained him to be the Senator. How does he know this? What if he doesn't end up being the Senator, does that mean God changed His mind? I bring this up because I can't tell you how many times I had friends say that God spoke to them about something, only to see that something not work out. So then the person would be left with two options: 1. God changed His mind (which He can't do according to Scripture) or 2. They didn't do something right and so God is holding off on His promise or command (word of faith, prosperity teaching, theology of glory).

I'm not saying that God can't speak today, He can and does. But I think we need to recognize where God speaks normally: God speaks through His Word (the Bible) and the Sacraments. If you want to know what He has ordained or not ordained look to His word; otherwise please be careful dragging God's holy name into something that you're not absolutely sure is from Him; it is blasphemous if it isn't.

Stressed? Throw a tantrum

Came across this article this morning that suggests the best way to deal with a stressful day back to work is to throw a tantrum! They suggest either yelling, or going somewhere quiet and taking deep breaths.

I suppose if yelling out to nothing to get out stress and frustration would save you from yelling at your family or "kicking the dog," then yell away!

The Foolish Samaritan

This last week's sermon was based on the wonderful story of the Good Samaritan. Listen to it here.