How do You View Evil?

Girl With Glasses With Beautiful Eyes Looks Mysterious Eyes, TheA thoughtful article was published on The Gospel Coalition website on June 17, 2019, written by Bryan Weynand, (article link) where he contrasts the view of evil between J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings (LOTR) and the HBO series Game of Thrones (GOT) which is based on George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series.

In the article, Weynand, writes that in the LOTR evil is a force that surrounds and tempts all in Middle Earth, and, in fact, overcomes characters in the books who have a “knowledge of good” such as Boromir, Saruman, Denethor, and Gollum.

By contrast, he writes that characters such as Cersei Lannister or Melisandre, from GOT, are “unnaturally dominated by a desire to do evil”. He submits the series doesn’t contain the idea that evil has overcome the character’s desire to do good, as in LOTR, rather, the characters in GOT are a “distinct class of human . . . with a special appetite for hatred and perversity.”

This contrast leads to a consideration of how evil is viewed by our current culture compared to traditional Christian theology, which mirrors LOTR, proclaiming since the created world is in disorder, evil and temptation affect all people and groups.  In illustrating this thought, Weynand writes:

Criticism of Tolkien’s supposedly bland depictions of evil strikes me as reflecting our culture’s stunted view of evil, which isolates it as something existing only in certain persons or groups—and thus removable from our immediate world and communities. Whenever I pass a well-meaning sign that reads, “Hate is not welcome here,” I can imagine Sauron’s scorn at the notion that hate is something so discrete and excisable.

After reading the article and above quote, a few questions come to mind:

How do you think evil is viewed in today’s culture?

Do you agree that today evil is viewed in isolation where it has been removed from our immediate world and exists in certain groups and not in others?

In contrast, do you agree with Tolkien’s view, and Christianity’s, where evil and temptation are all around us and all people are at the risk of being affected, and transformed, by it? 

Finally, how does your view of evil affect your worldview?

God is God and We are Not

catherine siena

I came across the following prayer the other day in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A)’s Book of Common Worship.

O high eternal Trinity!

O our redeemer and resurrection!

O fire ever burning,

O light-giving light:

you are the One Who Is,

and I am the one who is not. Amen.

– Catherine of Siena (1347-1380)

I was struck by this prayer’s power and truth in its brevity. It served to quickly and humbly state the truth of who God is and what God has done for all people, throughout time, while acknowledging the proper order of our existence. God is God and we are not. May we all live a life of love, service and devotion to God and to each other which reflects this reality.

Christian Love during the Plague of Cyprian

plagueFrom approximately 250-270AD, a plague decimated the Roman Empire named the Plague of Cyprian. At the height of this plague, 5,000 people per day were said to have died in Rome. This plague is believed to have started in the North African city of Alexandria. The Bishop of Alexandria, Dionysius, described in a letter that while others fled the city in the hopes of escaping the disease and death, the Christians in the city stayed behind to serve those who were sick and dying; often to their own demise. The letter describing acts of sacrificial, neighborly love, by Christians in the city, can be found in Eusebius’ record of early church history.[1]

Most of our brethren showed love and loyalty in not sparing themselves while helping one another, tending to the sick with no thought of danger and gladly departing this life with them after becoming infected with their disease. Many who nursed others to health died themselves, thus transferring their death to themselves. The best of our own brothers lost their lives in this way – some presbyters, deacons, and laymen – a form of death based on strong faith and piety that seems in every way equal to martyrdom. They would also take up the bodies of the saints, close their eyes, shut their mouths, and carry them on their shoulders. They would embrace them, wash and dress them in burial clothes, and soon receive the same services themselves.

The heathen were the exact opposite. They pushed away those with the first signs of the disease and fled from their dearest. They even threw them half dead into the roads and treated unburied corpses like refuse in hope of avoiding the plague of death, which, for all their efforts, was difficult to escape.

While, in our modern culture, we may not have to face a plague like the Christians in Alexandria, I pray that, like them, the Holy Spirit fills us with the resolve and strength to love our neighbors as radically and sacrificially as they did in Christ’s name. May we never push those away those who need comfort or flea the sick and dying but make it known by our actions that all in our community are our neighbor and will be loved accordingly. As Christ instructs us:

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.” – Mk. 12:30-31

 

[1] Eusebius: The Church History, Trans. By Paul L. Maier (Kregal Publications, Grand Rapids, MI., 2007), 240-241.

The Epistle of Diognetus

early christianI am currently making my way through the book, Early Christian Writings, translated by Maxwell Staniforth, and came across the The Epistle to Diognetus. The document was discovered by Thomas of Arezzo in Constantinople in about 1435. The date of its writing is estimated to be between 120-200AD during a time of Christian persecution.

The document is written by an unknown author to the pagan lord Diognetus to instruct him on beliefs of the Christians and how they are able to “set so little store by this world, and even to make light of death itself,” and to satisfy his curiosity about the “warm fraternal affection they all feel for one another.”

Below, you will find the fifth section of the document titled, Characteristics of the Christian Community. I found this section particularly interesting as the author describes, in detail, what a Christian community looked like in the second century. I would hope the Christian community today would be described in a similar way, within our current cultural context, by someone who lives outside of it. Read the section below and see what you think.

The difference between Christians and the rest of mankind is not a matter of nationality, or language, or customs. Christians do not live apart in separate cities of their own, speak any special dialect, nor practice any eccentric way of life. The doctrine they profess is not the invention of busy human minds and brains, nor are they, like some, adherents of this or that school of human thought. They pass their lives in whatever township – Greek or foreign – each man’s lot has determined; and conform to ordinary local usage in their clothing, diet, and other habits. Nevertheless, the organization of their community does exhibit some features that are remarkable, and even surprising. For instance, though they are residents at home in their own countries, their behavior there is more like that of transients; they take their full part as citizens, but they also submit to anything and everything as if they were aliens. For them, any foreign country is motherland, and any motherland is a foreign country. Like other men, they marry and beget children, thought they do not expose their infants. Any Christian is free to share his neighbor’s table, but never his marriage-bed. Though destiny has placed them here in the flesh, they do not live after the flesh; their days are passed on the earth, but their citizenship is above in the heavens. They obey the prescribed laws, but in their own private lives they transcend the laws. They show love to all men – and all men persecute them. They are misunderstood, and condemned; yet by suffering death they are quickened into life. They are poor, yet making many rich; lacking all things, yet having all things in abundance. They are dishonored, yet made glorious in their very dishonor; slandered, yet vindicated. They repay calumny with blessings, and abuse with courtesy. For the good they do, they suffer stripes as evildoers; and under the strokes they rejoice like men given new life. Jews assail them as heretics, and Greeks harass them with persecutions; and yet of all their ill-wishers there is not one who can produce good grounds for his hostility.

Capernaum Club

capernaum-club

Pictures that capture special moments communicate in a way that words cannot. This became evident as I attempted to write a blog post based on the above photo and soon realized my words were not needed nor adequate. The photo captures a moment that speaks for itself, so I will not speak for it, except to reveal that it captured a Kingdom of God moment where the good news of Jesus Christ is being shared with a student with special needs, along with other students, at the most recent Capernaum Club, held monthly, at First Presbyterian Church in Maumee, Ohio. Capernaum Club is a Young Life ministry that serves students with special needs with the goal of including them fully in the Kingdom of God, both here and to come, through fellowship, song, dance, play and hearing the good news of Christ proclaimed.

Competing Voices

competing-voicesLast Sunday, Pastor Clint Tolbert at First Presbyterian Church, Maumee, Ohio, introduced a new sermon series on the book of First John titled, “Living as Children of the Light.”  During the introduction, he spoke about the difficulties of being a teenager. He expressed that while being a teenager has always been difficult, teens today face greater challenges than previous generations, “as they seek to become the young men and women that God created them to be.”

One of the insights he offered as to why it is more difficult to be a teenager today, which has stuck with me throughout the week, was with the proliferation of technology and social media the “competing voices” of culture don’t shut off. They are available to be watched and heard and read through technology all the time and everywhere. They are competing voices because they are the voices that don’t share your values as a parent and are opposed to the greatest commandment, as stated by Christ, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength” (Mk. 12:30).

Clint’s insight on the impact of competing voices through technology was a good reminder to me to pause as a parent of two teens, and one tween, to evaluate if my voice and the voice Christ is being heard clearly by them. I would guess I am, like most parents, in a struggle to find time that is free from distraction and the busyness of life so that my children can hear my voice clearly. There is always that voice in the back of my head informing me that I could be doing this or that better as a parent. However, within that struggle, I have recently discovered two opportunities to spend time with my daughter, in particular, free from the distractions and competing voices of culture.

The first distraction free time was found by accident even though it can be a source of stress. As my daughter is now sixteen, I have been teaching her to drive. As we have been driving together, with the radio off and the iPhone put away, it has simply been the two of us going down the road, relatively straight, and talking without distractions in between figuring out Roundabouts, left hand turns and how to shut off the high beam headlights when they are turned on accidentally. While I was not expecting this time together to create distraction free space as I was handing her the keys and getting into the passenger seat a little nervously for the first time, it has been valuable for her and me as it has provided moments where I can both hear her voice and speak into her life clearly.

The second way we found distraction free time came about naturally and with less stress involved than navigating Roundabouts. We had been going to the local YMCA to exercise for a few years but normally when we got to the workout area we would separate as she would go to the aerobic equipment and I would go to the free weight area. Our only true time together was in the car ride there and back. However, in the past few weeks, we have changed things up a bit and she began to lift weights with me on occasion rather than going to the aerobic equipment. Besides the health benefits of exercising together, this has become a distraction free block of time where we can talk clearly together about life and figure out where the competing voices of culture may be speaking against the greatest commandment.

While the competing voices of social media and technology are all always around for our teens, I encourage you to try to find spaces that are distraction free where you can speak clearly into their lives. Find spaces where the two of you can figure out where the competing voices of culture are misleading. I believe these spaces often come in situations where you don’t expect them, like during driving lessons or exercising, but they do come. When they come, it is our job as parents to take those moments and speak clearly into their lives so they hear our voices and the voice of Christ rather than the competing voices of culture.

What Do You Want For Christmas?

“What do you want for Christmas?”

“Ask for whatever you want me to give you.”

One question.

One request.

Two different answers.

We hear the question, “What do you want for Christmas?” repeatedly this time of year. When I hear the question, I immediately think of Ralphie from the movie, A Christmas Story, sitting on the department store Santa’s lap overwhelmed and frantically trying to remember to ask for his heart’s desire; a Red Ryder BB gun.

(Here is link to the clip https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQM_kWxrJNI)

If you were asked what you want for Christmas by Santa today, how would you answer? What would be your Red Ryder BB gun? I asked the question to a group of middle school students this week and here is some of what they said they wanted for Christmas: Timberland boots, a record player, Nike sweatpants, Adidas Superstars, Fit-Bit, iPhone, a shopping spree with gift cards, a dog and (my favorite) a profitable future career. Naturally, the answers to the question revolved around personal desires.

However, as the group transitioned from thinking about the question to the request, which was made by God, a shift in thinking occurred. The request was one that was delivered to King Solomon in a dream by God. In the dream, God requests from King Solomon, “Ask for whatever you want me to give you” (1 Kings 3:5).  This request was made to King Solomon by God as Solomon began his rule over the nation of Israel. He was a young man, around 20 years old, who lacked experience in ruling a kingdom and acknowledged this in his response to God when he states, “I am only a little child and do not know how to carry out my duties” (1 Kings 3:7).  He continues in a humble manner when addressing God as he describes himself as God’s servant and referring to the people he will be ruling to be God’s people, rather than his subjects, as he describes them as, “this great people of yours” (1 Kings 3:9). His humbleness will be key in how Solomon responds to God’s request.

In the end, how does Solomon answer God? Does he ask for things that will fulfill his personal desires such as wealth or health or power? No, Solomon doesn’t ask for any of these. Instead, he asks God for the one thing he knows he needs most to govern and lead God’s people well. He asks God to give him a discerning heart, commonly referred to as wisdom (1 Kings 3:9). Because, in his humbleness, he asks for a gift that will allow him to glorify and serve God and others well, rather than satisfy his desires, God was pleased and grants his request. “I will give you a wise and discerning heart” (1 Kings 3:12).

When asking the same middle school students to consider how they would answer God’s request of, “Ask for whatever you want me to give you,” in light of Solomon’s story, they answered with the following: One student asked to have the gift of a peacemaker so they could promote peace in their relationships. Two other students asked for the gift of speaking well so they could communicate effectively and confidently about God with their family and friends. In their answers is seen the shift from focusing on the question of wants, to honoring God’s request, by asking for gifts that will serve others and God rather than themselves.

During the Christmas season it is easy to get wrapped up (no pun intended), like Ralphie, in answering the question, “What do you want for Christmas?” However, the answer to that question is commonly focused on fulfilling personal desires. Take a different approach this year and consider how you would answer God’s request, “Ask for whatever you want me to give you.” If, like Solomon, the answer comes from humbleness and from the selfless desire to serve God and others, it will change you and your community this Christmas season and beyond for God’s glory.

Eighth Grade Bumper Sticker Wisdom

8535It has been my experience that eighth grade students have a unique ability to connect what they hear, see and read to the world around them as they mature into teenagers. This was illustrated most recently for me at a weekly after school Wyldlife middle school meeting. At the meeting, an eighth grade student used the example of a bumper sticker to connect with and illustrate, with brilliant clarity, the foundational theological truth which we were discussing.

Towards the end of our weekly meeting time, we were sitting in a circle in the cafeteria looking at a Bible verse, Romans 10:9, which reads, “If you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” The question proposed to the students based on that verse was, “When we refer to Jesus as Lord, are we using the word ‘Lord’ as a name or a title?” If “Lord” is simply part of Jesus’ name, then it has little meaning beyond providing a means for him to be known. It’s just a name. However, if it is used as a title, in the way the Apostle Paul intended when he used the Greek word, “Kurios,” the meaning of the word takes on great importance. When Paul refers to Jesus as “Lord” or “Kurios,” he is describing Jesus as being supreme in authority; elevating his status as above and over all things.

As our group discussed what it meant for people’s lives to declare Jesus as the supreme authority in the lives, an eighth grade boy in the circle raised his hand. When he was called on he declared, “The bumper sticker that says, ‘Jesus is my co-pilot,’ is wrong. It should say, ‘Jesus is my pilot.’” Wow! If ever there was a “Mic Drop” moment, this was it. This young man had made a perfect analogy that simply summed up the idea of Jesus as, “Kurios.” The Apostle Paul would be proud.

His analogy was perfect because it clearly illustrated the idea that whomever is the authority over your life is the one who is the pilot; doing the steering. If Jesus is the supreme authority over your life, then he is the one with his hands on the wheel taking you where he wants you to go. He is not a co-pilot, as the bumper sticker says, riding in the passenger seat keeping you company waiting for the chance to steer when you are in trouble, tired or not sure where to go.

This is a profound, life changing wisdom revealed by an eighth grader through a bumper sticker. Remember it as you go through your week and reflect on places where Jesus is the pilot doing the steering, your “Kurios,” and where he is the co-pilot, sitting in the passenger seat waiting to steer under your direction. If you allow Jesus to steer your life, you will go places you never thought you would go and do things that you never thought you would do as you live with a new purpose in glorifying God with your life.