Nut cases who get it right

I heard the author of this book (new release this week) interviewed on a radio program a few days ago. He is a died-in-the-wool proponent of the views of Ayn Rand. It's frustrating that I agree with over fifty per cent of what he says (including everything he says about the free market and education), but he still comes off as a nut case.

Last week a lot of Christians got bent out of shape because of the Muslim reaction to the movie about Mohammed. From what I can tell, it probably had a good bit of truth in it, but it was poorly produced, and its spokespersons came off like nut cases.

We live in an age of sound bites and images, and careful reflection on complex ideas is getter rarer all the time. It doesn't help any of us when right ideas are espoused by nut cases. Those whom God has gifted to be able to communciate well should take the lead in expositing Biblical thinking on current issues. I recommend BreakPoint with Eric Metaxas and John Stonestreet. 

Pervasive banality

As much as those of us who are nerds-in-training might like to

believe that there could be academics as innocent of popular icons and values as Dr. Sheldon Cooper and Dr. Temperance Brennan, it is, in fact, the utter unbelievability of their remoteness which gives charm to these characters. Pop culture rules, even in the halls of ivy. Banality has conquered America. Our diplomats are being murdered, Washington does not respond, and everyone is watching the finals of "America's Got Talent."

Radical Faith: Trusting Public Schools

John Taylor Gatto, former New York City and New York State Teacher of the Year: “Is there an idea more radical in the history of the human race than turning your children over to total strangers who you know nothing about, and having those strangers work on your child’s mind?”

Is anybody paying attention?

Anyone paying attention to the current political ads by our current president must see the obvious parallels between his diatribes against the wealthy and the key Marxist supposition that life is all about class warfare. I have never seen anyone in my entire life state such openly blatant Marxism. And no one is wearing sackcloth and ashes. I don't get it. And I am far from wealthy.

Going back home, but not to my eternal home

This week I will return to my roots, briefly. I have never been ashamed of being from the South, but I no longer identify deeply with its culture.  Linda and I vainly attempted to introduce our children to grits, cornbread, and turnip greens, but their comfort food will always be Mexican. 

Nevertheless, it will be good to spend time with my brother and some old friends from college and the church I grew up in.  

What does this have to do with worldview?  It's easy to forget that this world is not our home. When we take the commands of God seriously, then we can appreciate the labors our ancestors poured into making the places we call home prettier, more habitable, more prosperous, and more convenient.  When I go back to the South, the passage of time gives me a perspective on the changes - mostly for the better; some, not so much. 

Some of the photos on this page show the things Marietta can be proud of: aesthetic, historical, and cultural. But whenever a Mariettan needs to be humbled, just remind him or her that the only thing most people outside of the Atlanta area know about Marietta is that it's home of the Big Chicken.  

The point is that we ought to fulfill God's dominion mandate by improving the places in which we live. But worship of the labors of our hands or a piece of geography is still idolatry, and this world is ultimately not our home... 

Knowing the real deal - when we see it

I have mentioned in a previous blog that I am a regular subscriber to Breakpoint, and always find their commentaries stimulating. Since the passing of Chuck Colson, Eric Metaxas has become the primary contributor, and I found one of his posts this week particularly intriguing.  Here it is, in part:

Here’s a particularly egregious case [of Christian curmudgeoning] in point: the recent campaign to remove a great movie, The Blind Side, from the shelves of LifeWay Christian stores. Remember, The Blind Side was denounced as Christian propaganda by many liberal critics.

It explicitly depicts an affluent white Christian family devoting itself to helping an impoverished black kid because it’s the Christian thing to do.

The film’s offense, according to a Florida pastor who started the campaign to have LifeWay stores pull the DVD, is that the movie contains “explicit profanity, God's name in vain, and racial slurs.” It doesn’t seem to matter that the objectionable language is used to depict the palpably unpleasant world from which the young black man, Michael, was rescued by his adoptive family.

What seems to matter to this pastor is that if we “tolerate” the presence of this movie in Christian bookstores, our children and grandchildren will “embrace” this kind of behavior. I’m not making this up – this is the exact reason given by the pastor. And frankly, I think it’s insane. I saw the movie myself. I even let my 12-year-old daughter see it. That’s because it is a great film and I recommend it highly.

But sadly, LifeWay caved in and removed the “offensive” discs from their shelves.

For outsiders looking in, the moral of the story is that “there is no pleasing Christians. They always seem to be looking for something to be mad about.”

We complain about the calumnies and caricatures of Christians on the big screen; and then, when an Academy Award-winning film shows us at our very best, we complain that scenes depicting harsh, inner-city reality are too true to life!

We are, in effect, making our participation contingent on all our possible objections being met beforehand. Since there are many people who would be happy if we stayed within our cultural and religious ghettos, it’s difficult to imagine how we Christians can hope to be taken seriously in cultural discussions and debates with this kind of an approach.

Concerns about the language in the film also miss the larger point: what made the Tuohys — the family depicted in the film — such great Christian exemplars wasn’t their non-use of profanity; it was their willingness to reach out and embrace someone in need.

If we Christians can’t get this, then maybe we really should refrain from commenting on culture in the first place.

For more on this subject of Christians in the arts and culture, visit BreakPoint.org.

The People I was Writing about Yesterday

So I stumbled across an ad for a new line of clothing bearing this logo. The slug on their web page read "We are not ashamed. We are not afraid." This, of course implies that shame and fear may exist, constructs which are patently impossible in a mechanistic universe controlled by Darwinian selection. Most meaningless of all is their logo, left, which draws on all kinds of deistic history, symbolism, and imagery. It calls to mind what Doug Wilson always says about the thinking of atheists:

Two things atheists believe:

1. There is no God.
2. We hate Him!

In regard to the abundant revelation of God - natural, special, historical, etc. - one can't help picturing a child with his hands over his ears, yelling at the top of his lungs, "I'm not listening!  I'm not listening!  I'm not listening!"

Equipping ourselves - Messianic prophecies

It is emotionally very difficult for some Christians to accept our minority status in today's culture. The demeanor of the unbelieving world around us ranges from aggressive and willful indifference to unmasked hatred of God. So inured are we to this rejection of God's revelation, that we are apt to fall prey to the baseless presuppositions and cynical attitudes of the society we live in.

In The Silver Chair, Jill and Eustace had a real and unmistakeable face-to-face encounter with Aslan himself, and yet, when faced with hardships in fulfilling the task He had set for them (rescuing the trapped Prince Rilian), they still succombed to the "real world" thinking of those around them - worrying about shelter, hot baths, and food. 

Aslan had thoughtfully provided the antidote for this in advance: repeating the "signs" which were to guide their mission. Any reader who has enjoyed this story can remember the frustration one feels when they gradually cease repeating the signs. "The signs!" one wants to scream. "How could you forget?"      

But we are a forgetful people, which is part of the reason for the Sabbath - a cycle that forces us out of the survival rat race and back into contemplation of the eternal. I ran across a site today which reminded me of our tremendous need to "repeat the signs."  With skeptics being interviewed on talk shows and podcasts who question the very historicity of Jesus Himself, it is easy to forget how dramatically God prepared the earth for the arrival of His Son. 

You can go here to enjoy a list of over one hundred specific prohecies of the Messiah from the Old Testament  which were clearly fulfilled in Christ.  These are the kind of signs we should be repeating to ourselves daily as we dwell in the midst of a wicked and perverse generation. The Holy Scriptures have been provided for us for just such a purpose as this - and because we are forgetful.

Remember: 

It isn't that we lack historical evidence.

It isn't because there is evil in the world ("How could there be a God!?")

It isn't because the Bible contradicts itself (when clearly taught).

It isn't because it produces bad fruit.

It isn't because "all so-called Christians are hypocrites."

It isn't because it doesn't make sense.

It isn't because of any of these things that people do not follow Christ. It's because we live in a fallen world, which is at enmity with God. We must live faithfully, stick to the mission, repeat the signs, and trust God for the outcome.  Faint not!

A Prayer for our Nation

ALMIGHTY God, who hast given us this good land for our heritage; We humbly beseech thee that we may always prove ourselves a people mindful of thy favour and glad to do thy will. Bless our land with honourable industry, sound learning, and pure manners. Save us from violence, discord, and confusion; from pride and arrogancy, and from every evil way. Defend our liberties, and fashion into one united people the multitudes brought hither out of many kindreds and tongues. Endue with the spirit of wisdom those to whom in thy Name we entrust the authority of government, that there may be justice and peace at home, and that, through obedience to thy law, we may show forth thy praise among the nations of the earth. In the time of prosperity, fill our hearts with thankfulness, and in the day of trouble, suffer not our trust in thee to fail; all which we ask through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

from The Book of Common Prayer, 1928

Readying for the Holy Spirit

I have never been a big fan of Eugene Peterson's The Message, although one of my sons is somewhat fond of it. I recently learned that my friend Cole Palmer's father was Peterson's roommate at Seattle Pacific University at some point in history. When my friend Dave Rhodes was giving away books as he downsized his life in order to be able to travel around the country in his RV, I claimed a bunch of them for our nascent church library. One of them, Peterson's Christ Plays in Ten Thousand Places, was one title I was pretty sure I was not interested in enough to read.

But eventually it worked it way to the top of the box, and when I was recently stranded somewhere without anything else to read, I thumbed through it. Petersons' style, overall, is a little too informal for me, and is reminiscent of many of the twentieth century "stream-of-consciousness" writers like Faulkner. Not only is Peterson informal, he is somewhat mystical. Like most Reformed folk, I mistrust the subjectivity of mysticism. But in his chapter on how Jesus prepared the disciples for the coming of the Holy Spirit, there were some jewels. Here, for example: 

"The conversation is rambling and unsystematic. This is not what we ordinarily think of as good teaching. But Jesus is not making things clear, smoothing out ambiguities; he is making them vivid, pulsing. What the conversation does is immerse us in the presence of another, the presence of Jesus readying us for the Spirit. We are soon listening more to who he is than what he says; we are drawn into this seamless web of relational attentiveness, leaving and sending, sensing within ourselves the pervasive, soul-permeating continuity between the absent Jesus and the present Spirit.

And there is also this about the conversation. It is exceedingly spare in imperatives. Jesus is not telling us how to practice spiritual formation, 'how to do it' - he is telling how it is done. Spiritual formation is primarily what the Spirit does, forming the resurrection life of Christ in us. There is not a whole lot we can do here any more than we can create the cosmos (that was the work of the Spirit in creation), any more than we can outfit Jesus for salvation (that was the work of the Spirit at Jesus' baptism). But there is a great deal that the Spirit can do - the resurrection community is the Spirit's work. What we can do, need to do, is be there - accept the leaving and the loss of the physically reassuring touch and companionship. Be there to accept what is sent by the Father in Jeus' Name. Be there, receptive and obedient.  Be there praying, 'Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word" (Luke 1:38)." 

Pulling Weeds with Scott Brown

Continuing on the theme of ranting in favor of little-appreciated causes, here is one on which lots of well-meaning brethren disagree with me:  age segregation in the church. It's destroying children and young people by giving parents incentives to abdicate as spiritual leaders. The statistics are in, and children raised in these paradigms are not sticking with the faith when they are out on their own. And yet we keep doing the same things (that already didn't work) over and over.

"The church is not the playground for our creative imaginations. Scripture calls us to be faithful to the means which God has appointed, having onfidence that God both ordained the means and controls the ends. In Leviticus 10:1-3, we are faced with the fact that God strikes men dead for offering profane fire 'which he had not commanded them.' God did not say, 'I told you not to do that.' He said in effect, 'I did not tell you to do that.' Consider how many things the church is doing today that God did not tell it to do. Does that bother us?"  

                                                                                      Scott Brown, A Weed in the Church

The side of the argument we never hear

For a number of years I have subscribed to Acts and Facts, a publication of the Institute for Creation Research. Each issue is flush with fascinating articles about the studies and discoveries of this excellent institute.  Contrary to the sterotypes of pro-evolutionists, these are not a bunch of quacks who are trying to bend truth to fit the Bible. They are real scientists with real credentials. However, the bias the scholarly, where politically correct and published academics vote to support each other's research while scoffing at everyone else's, has caused these brave scientists to be portrayed ludicrously.

The current issue, which arrived yesterday describes the following interesting projects now underway:

• Recent advancments in the field of radiometric dating have demonstrated that the rate of decay of certain isotopes was much faster in the past. This explains why many radiometric age estimates of certain rocks are vastly inflated from the true age. It also means that radiometric dating cannot be used legitimately as an argument against the biblical timescale.
• Advancements in technology have provided much more data about the universe than we currently have theories to explain. Dr. Jason Lisle, who is working on the Anisotropic Synchrony Convention cosmological model, says it's as though "the universe were screaming for a creation-based interpretation of the new data."
• Dr. Jake Hebert is using fossil data to address questions such as "Why did people live so long before the Flood?" and "What do we really know about extinct organisms?"
• Dr. Jeff Tomkins has demonstrated that he DNA of humans is more different than the 97 to 99 per cent similarity to that of apes which is often touted by evolutionists. 
• The notion of "natural selection" is being challenged by Dr. Randy Guliuzza, who has uncovered genetic data which suggests that organisms respond to their circumstances as though they were designed to do so by an intelligence.

These are but a few of the current projects underway by these diligent scientists. Since the controlling establishment will never acknowledge their studies, it is good to inform ourselves of these questions and discoveries in order to counter the smugness of a world which hates God and wishes it could prove He doesn't exist. 

Eroding freedom of religion

Here is a link to my latest.  This is a difficult subject for me to write about, and my editor has promised to back off on this for a while.  I am weary about so much attention being focused on one particular behavior, when so many sins are rampant in our society. Amerca needs to repent, but what prophet doesn't know that?  Father, have mercy!

Legal Gladiators

A few years back there was a movie called Legal Eagles which made heroes out of young lawyers who, frankly, were basically in it for the money, and tangentially supported mostly liberal causes. In contrast, there are a group of select young men and women who receive fellowships from the Alliance Defense Fund as Blackstone Fellows who learn to defend fundamental American freedoms. Fortunately, the ADF is discriminating in their admission to this group, so only about a hundred out of each yearly group of over 800 applicants are admitted.

I first became aware of this program a few weeks ago through a conferfence sponsored by Center for Arizona Policy. I had a table representing Arizona Christian School Tuition Organization, and the table representing ADF was right across the aisle in the exhibit hall. During lulls in the traffic, we chatted. The ADF representative was familiar with Arizona's tax credit law, and very supportive. I was fascinated to learn about the Blackstone Fellows, and very encouraged that ADF is investing in young gladiators who will go into the arena for truth and freedom.

I was reminded of the Blackstone Fellows as I listened to Hugh Hewitt last night on the way home. It turns out he is a big supporter as well, and interviewed one of the directors of the fellowship on his program. I endorse their efforts and encourage you to learn more about what they do here.

Wildcats are #1!

This afternoon I welcomed back my friend Joe Wambach from a long vacation up at Lake Powell, and brought him up to date on U of AZ's march through the College World Series this past week. It turns out he once interviewed U of A baseball coach Andy Lopez on behalf of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, and learned thereby that Lopez is a God-fearing man with a passion for Christ.

While there are always those who want to point out how many jerks there are running lose who claim to be Christians, nobody ever mistakes the real deal when they see it. Before knowing that Lopez explicitly confesses to be a Christ-follower, most U of A sports fans, even as I, have discerned that this is a man of unique moral fiber and character-inspiring leadership. When I told my son Ethan about the conversation I had with Joe, his response regarding Lopez's faith was, "I'm not surprised at all."

The Bible says that at the final judgment, angels will sort the wheat from the tares, and we will see many of those loud-mouthed "Christ-claiming" jerks exposed for what they really are. But few would be surprised to hear the Master say to Andy Lopez, "Well done, good and faithful servant!"  Thank God for men like him.

Contra Mundam

It's happened!  I've found someone as crazy as I am!  Click here and watch "The World is Trespassing" or any of his other fine videos!

It's the last sentence that intrigues me...

"Before the church can hope to win over the surrounding society, it must first win over its own youth. Young people do not just need rules, they need reasons. It's time for the church to regroup, rethink, and recast its strategy for social and political engagement.
Christians must learn to engage the secular worldviews that drive the public debate. They must learn to articulate a worldview rationale for biblical morality. And more importantly, they must back up their message with authentic living before a watching world."

Nancy Pearcey, Saving Leonardo

Text exchange with Tom Massa

                                                                                            

TM: "I've been rereading The Chronicles of Narnia.  I think my favorite part out of all seven is in The Horse and His Boy, Chapter 11.  It's the scene wherein Aslan finally reveals himself to Shasta."                                                        

TA:  "'I was the cat.  I was there all along.' Classic!"                

TM:  "I'm not going to lie:  it brings me close to tears every time.  There is a lion who walks beside me through fire and flood..."                                                                                

TA:  "Amen."

thinking a lot about the disciplines lately...

"Superficiality is the curse of our age. The doctrine of instant satisfaction is a primary spiritual problem. The desperate need today is not for a greater number of intelligent people, or gifted people, but for deep people.

The classical disciplines of the spiritual life call us to move beyond surface living into the depths. The invite us to explore the inner caverns of the spirtual realm. They urge us to be the answer to a hollow world...

Psalm 42:7 reads 'Deep calls to deep.'  Perhaps somewhere in the subterranean chambers of your life you have heard the call to deeper, fuller living. You have become weary of frothy experiences and shallow teaching.  Every now and then you have caught glimpses, hints of something more than you have known. Inwardly you long to launch out into the deep."

-Richard Foster, Celebration of Discipline

On the identity of marriage....

Here is my latest on Presidential Prayer Team. It got the usual mixed response, but more quantity than usual (it is a hot-button topic right now) and, what is more important to me, some signs appear of long-term residual effects from those who habitually read the PPT site.

One reader sees it as Republican Party propaganda and will not read it any more. I actually see this as progress - if someone can't see how careful we are to couch our arguments in biblical rather than political terms, then he/she is better off not wasting their time and ours. Several self-identified African-Americans are admitting to the unbiblical positions of our sitting President. And fewer irrational statements are being made, per capita.

Seed-sowing. We all do it somewhere. It's slow and arduous, but results will come. As the Caterpillar said to Alice, "Keep your temper!"

Because they really ARE leaving!

My latest rant for Presidential Prayer Team will be up through Wednesday and you can see it here.  Entitled "The Chicken or the Egg?  Do Young People elave the church because of politics...or the Bible?"  it challenges one Ivy League research team's attempt to silence conservative Christians when they speak on Biblical issues with public impact. Even though the conclusions of the researchers is bogus (as I show in my article), the fact is that youg people ARE leaving, and we had better care and change something! But not the Bible.

Can't resist my own "Fluke" rant

What she said:   “Without insurance coverage, contraception, as you know, can cost a woman over $3,000 during law school. For a lot of students who, like me, are on public interest scholarships, that’s practically an entire summer’s salary. 40% of the female students at Georgetown Law reported to us that they struggle financially as a result of this policy.

“One told us about how embarrassed and just powerless she felt when she was standing at the pharmacy counter and learned for the first time that contraception was not covered on her insurance and she had to turn and walk away because she couldn’t afford that prescription. Women like her have no choice but to go without contraception.

What it meant:  "Since there are a tiny number of women who may need "the pill" for legitimate health reasons (and within the sanctity of marriage), and since there are law students who get married but do not choose to take on the responsiblities of grown ups (paying their own way in life), and since some of these married-women-with-vaginal problems and married-students-who-don't-believe-they-should-accept-grown-up-responsilibilties have chosen of the own free will to attend a Catholic law school, said Catholic law school is morally and legally responsibile to reject two millenia of its faith and teaching to accommodate the medical and convenience needs of this tiny minority of students out of tuition and donations made for religious education as well as the other 80% of unmarried future-well-paid-lawyers who just want to sleep around. But they don't really sleep around that much. They just want to sleep around about $3000 worth.  And they're not sluts."

Welcome to the Big Apple: This is not your Prairie, Laura Ingalls Wilder

Read here how the New York City Board of Education has declared war on...pretty much no one, but Christians. Finally tipping their hands to betray the logical outcome of many years of attempting to extinguish the existence of God through silence, school officials now openly declare, "We can't let anyone think we approve of such thinking!" No rabid fundamentalist Christian has ever diced the "second degree of separation" apple any finer than these Big Apple bureaucrats who are horribly afrad of guilt by association...with Christians.

Meanwhile 85% of non-fundamentalist Christians blithely offer their children on the altar of Caesar's schools because it's "the American Way," and it was "good enough" for the same generation that has brought us "emergent Christianity" and all the silliness that passes for religious education in evangelical churches.   

What is that faint sound I hear in the background?  Is it Byzantium calling?

Caesar vs. God

Here is a link to Chuck Colson's latest.  For my own commentary, here are a couple of thoughts.

1. While I am a signee of the Manhattan Declaration, and I agree that this falls under their category of "religious freedom," there is a more profound way to frame this. Is any citizen (or in the case of the Roman Catholic Church, any group) allowed to practice their faith outside of the church building when it conflicts with Caesar's (government's) priorities? I am weary of the presumption that government is religiously neutral. As one speaker says, worldview comes out our fingertips. And the government has bought into the same amoral scientific naturalism that atheists espouse. Disregard for Biblical definitions is reflected in policies and laws all over the place, aided and abetted by the news and entertainment industry's effective propaganda campaign to "normalize" aberrant behavior.

2. Outrage (such as Colson expresses here), scorn, ridicule and a bombardment with the facts have not effectively drowned out the voice of media pundits who distort every argument that contains worldview implications. As regards the media, we truly are a nation of sheep. We are incredibly easily misled. Although we must not stop speaking the truth, we must realize that only by living truly counter-cultural (read Biblical) lifestyles will we hope to make any difference. And right now, Christians appear to have more faith in political power than in the success of applied Biblical principles. This must change.

Atheism's poster child

And now, for the people who really don't mind imposing their worldview on everyone else:  the atheists!  Read about their new poster child here.

On Ash Wednesday...

...I began the day at home with the Book of Common Prayer office for the day: 
"Have mercy upon me, O God, after thy great goodness; according to the multitude of thy mercies do away mine offenses."  Psalm 2:1

...had a great season of prayer for the needs of Dove Mountain Church members with Elder Mike Ward.
"For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them." Matthew 18:20

...participated in a thoughtful and fruitful discussion withthe other elders of Dove Mountain Church about how/where/in what manner God has called us to be His church.
"But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should show forth the praises of Him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light."  I Peter 2:9

...prayed with the staff of Dove Mountain church for church leaders.
"Finally, brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may have free course, and be glorified, even as it is with you:"  II Thessalonians 3:1

...observed healthy three-generational  interaction between mother, daughter, and granddaughter as I ate breakfast at the Johnson household

....and all this was before I spent several hours at the Santorum rally,

...graded thirty-six student composition books,

...and refereed a lively Libertarian vs. Republican debate at my weekly men's group called Choir Practice.

Lent is off to a good start.

Political "Blame Game"

My latest on Presidential Prayer Team appears today, an in-depth research into why Susan G. Komen for the Cure reinstated its annual grant to Planned Parenthood. In short, they were bullied. See the whole article here:

http://www.presidentialprayerteam.com/opinion/

Screaming at the television

Okay, I'll admit it: I like trivia and I watch Jeopardy. This week featured the finals of the annual college student tournament. Like their children's tournament, the questions are a slight bit skewed for the age group. But not as much, because, after all, these are young adults. And very bright ones at that.

In yesterday's final of the week long tournament, the three contestants were a nonchalant young man with trendy, spiky hair from Vanderbilt, a sulky "woman" from Goucher (a highly politically correct all-female private college in Baltimore where Margaret Sanger is practically deified), and a flippant Asian gal from University of North Texas.    

As you would expect from "the best and the brightest," they did well in all categories - from abstruse science topics to the usual pop culture categories (music, movies, TV). They especially excelled in government and politics. Following the typical pattern of avoiding the category you know the least about until last, the one category they had not touched until the end of the final round of double jeopardy was - books of the Bible.  Because it was a close game and the scores were nearly even, they strategically started at the bottom of the category (the high dollar questions) and worked their way back up to the top.

In all my years of watching Jeopardy, I have never seen a category so completely stymie a group of contestants, much less the finalists in a highly-contested tournament! There's always one contestant who just happens to be an expert on whatever esoteric topic the Jeopardy writers may dream up. Not only did no one successfully answer the first three questions - no one even buzzed in with a close guess (almost unprecedented)! These were all questions I think my elementary students at Veritas could have answered with ease. For the most part, they looked disinterested - the wise-cracking gal from North Texas actually held up her hands in the "Who cares?" pose after the second uncomfortable silence. After the third miss, host Alex Trebek, attempting ease the tension, made a little joke that "at least you're learning something today."

As an anti-climax, they got the last two questions (the lowest dollar value, and therefore the easiest) right, even though the happy-go-lucky dude from Vandy mistook Exodus for Genesis. Then the sulky broad from Goucher got it after him (by process of elimination, one might assume). The Vandy dude also got one right about Job.The flippant chick from North Texas, who went on to win the whole tournament, didn't buzz in once, clearly blowing off the entire category.

I screamed at the television set. "You are a wicked and adulterous generation, and God will judge you!"  The trouble is....they are the best and brightest of that generation. Jeremiah, move over, we got some lamentin' to do!      

The finger in the dike

Last Saturday night Steve Johnson and Annette hosted the first "couples night" since they moved to their new house. I have been meeting monthly with them (excepting December and January, when Steve and Annette were moving and resettling) since last July. They are couples, with mostly pre-school age children, whom Steve and Annette have  know since younger days at El Camino Baptist. I have been speaking on various topics related to parenting and Biblical principles. They are responsive and highly interactive.  

This month I read a section from John Rosemond's Parenting by the Book about teaching children self-respect (and by inference, respect for others) as opposed to self-esteem (ego-centrism). As a professional psychologist, Rosemond does a great job of refuting the current postmodern psychological parenting mantras that have overtaken American society. He constrasts these (and their disastrous results) with what he calls "what Grandma knew," which is based on Biblical foundations and agrarian common sense.

The questions in the discussion afterwards were both thoughtful and revelatory. Several of these moms have secular education degrees and are having to work hard to ovecome the bad psychology they were taught.  All are somewhat affected by misinformed peer expectations and the ever-present pressure to conform to everyone else's mistakes. It is becoming harder than ever for a Christian family to stand alone in the choices they make for their children.         

For a few moments it felt as though a veil were being lifted in the understanding of some of them. The crushing weight of an ungodly culture is oppressive, but knowing you are not alone does help. On the way home I thought of the legend of the little Dutch boy who put his finger in the dike. It is easy to feel as though too few are doing too little to hold the flood waters back.

But I thank God for authors like John Rosemond and Voddie Baucham and Tedd Tripp,who are saying the things that Christian parents need to hear. And I am especially thankful for Steve and Annette, who are reaching out to help their own friends. God bless them, every one!      

   

Our hymn of the month at Dove Mountain

This just blesses the socks off me every time we sing it!

From today's Losungen

The Son of Man will gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven. Mark 13:27

Sometimes I wonder how I interpreted texgts like this before I was Reformed.  Things that make you go...Hmmmmm. 

Who will be gathered?
Who does the gathering?

Presidential Prayer Team

When I was keeping the Dove Mountaineers blog, I was accustomed to two things I won't be doing here: (1) linking to my Presidential Prayer Team articles whenever a new one came out, and (2) announcing each Friday (at the initial request of a family who no longer attend my class) what the topic would be for the following Sunday. Yet it always seemed to come to a surprise to my Sunday School class that I even write a column for Presidential Prayer Team (and Steve got so embarrassed at my mentioning it recently that he mock-chided me in front of the class for "self-promotion" - there's truth in every jibe, I know). And the class as a whole didn't seem to pay attention to the weekly reminders. I think it's safe to say that they are generally not net readers.

Nevertheless, I like writing for PPT and and am thankful to continue doing so. It leads me to research in venues I might not ordinarily be delving into, and it meshes nicely with my commitment to the Manhattan Declaration. I have more to say about this another time, but by the time I edit this for typos (thank you, Friendly Fire) it will be time to leave for  the new Dad's study breakfast at Veritas Academy.

Anyway, I do have a new article out and you can go to it here.

Kitchen revelation

Okay, this may not sound like much of a revelation, but it needs a little context. 

Both in my vocation and avocations, I have lots of opportunities to experience rejection. Some of it is very direct, but it also comes in subtle forms, ranging from tiny but constant corrections and critiques, to unintentional disregard (people ignoring me without realizing it). Usually, it isn't me personally that is being rejected, but it's the value of things I stand for, believe in, and practice.

A mature Christian prays about this, goes to the Word, meditates on the sufferings of Christ, counts his blessings, expresses gratitude to God, and presses on. I get that, and am thankful that God grants grace and strength to go on.

But "sometimes a light surprises"* and yesterday I had one of those moments. It wasn't a dramatic mountaintop setting. Linda and I were standing in the kitchen. Spontaneously, we began naming the reasons we are content in our calling as Christian educators. Iron sharpened iron as we piled reason upon reason that we are fulfilled in what we do. The revelatory part was that we always knew this cognitively, but in a gracious act of the Holy Spirit in our hearts, we felt validated as ministers. We knew in our hearts that what we do has unique ministry validity, in spite of the disregard of others, and in spite of what most people in the church regard as vocational ministries. We embraced and thanked God together.

Later in the day, two more validations blessed and humbled me. I was able to have an hour-long conversation with a former student I had not seen in several years - a fine young man serving God in bold and faithful ways.             

And I received this e mail from the parent of a current student:

Dear Dr. Askew,

I just love this book. [Little Pilgrim's Progress] It is great!!!  Thank you so much for introducing me to this book.  M--- is loving it, and the university style of schooling has allowed me to be able to talk with M--- about this book………….God gave me an opportunity to talk truth to M---………….in a very neat way, to talk about our faith in a more grown up way…..it was so cool, and the characters are so neat in this book.  I want to give this book to my two so called nieces.  What a neat way to explain about God’s love.

*   

Sometimes a light surprises
  The Christian while he sings;
It is the Lord who rises
  With healing in His wings;
When comforts are declining,
  He grants the soul again

A season of clear shining,
  To cheer it after rain.

William Cowper (1731-1800)

49Up

I ran across a fascinating documentary last night on Hulu called 49 Up. It follows the lives of a group of British children from ages seven through forty-nine, beginning back in 1964, with updates having been filmed every seven years. It doesn't "explain" itself very much, except to say that it was meant to give a "glimpse of Britain's future." 

The individual children in the project seem to be a cross section in terms of economic and social backgrounds, and their adult lives have turned out to be just as diverse. Most of the film, which was last updated in 2006 whent he individuals were 49, concerns their present lives, with frequent flashbacks to ages 7, 14, 21 , 28, 35, and 42.  I thought it was interesting that only one of the subjects (out of about a dozen) dropped out of the project, and refused to be interviewed again after age 21.

The first two thirds of the film seemed rather bleak to me. Quite a few divorces, some children born out of wedlock, career diappointments, etc. The theme of surviving economically comes up frequently in the film, but the pathos is that all of them seem to be looking for more than that. For many, that search has been satisfied in relationships - family, grandchildren, etc. Only near the end of the film do a few of the people seem to have lived lives that our %#*! worldview crowd might consider "redemptive" in any sort of way...through charities, voluntary service, political service, etc.;  one even conducts home Bible studies.

I was struck by how little most were willing to settle for, in life. The majority seem resigned to the fact that there may not be a transcendent purpose. It would be very difficult for me to relate to the lifestyles and thinking of most of them.  For the most part, by 2006, the majority might be described as "postmodern" in philosophy:  the universe is governed by random chance, and we define ourselves subjectively through what we make of the experiences we have along the way.  

Eccelsiastes 1:2-4 came to mind:

  ² “Meaningless! Meaningless!”
   says the Teacher.
“Utterly meaningless!
   Everything is meaningless.”
 ³ What do people gain from all their labors
   at which they toil under the sun?
⁴ Generations come and generations go,
   but the earth remains forever.

I wanted so much to embrace some of them and tell them how the story concludes, in Eccesiastes 12:13...

¹³ Now all has been heard;
   here is the conclusion of the matter:
Fear God and keep his commandments,
   for this is the duty of all mankind.

Of course, this is not the whole story, in the gospel sense. But since "fear of God is the beginning of knowledge" (Proverbs 1:7), I believe that Godly fear alone would inevitably lead one to the gospel. But the sense of "something outside oneself, of any authority or significance" seems hard to find in the world today.

God forbid that those who claim to know the truth should not stand out and look different from those living "lives of quiet desperation" (Thoreau).

Thanks to the filmmakers for holding up such a faithful mirror to the age in which I have lived.

Starting over...and pressing toward the goal

For who hath despised the day of small things? for they shall rejoice, and shall see the plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel with those seven; they are the eyes of the LORD, which run to and fro through the whole earth.  Zechariah 4:10

My new blog will no doubt have fewer followers...but I have learned not to despise small beginnings. The main thing I plan to do here is to challenge and inspire the remnant. The cool crowd have already written off anything I have to say, and frankly, I am too focused to continue casting pearls before you-know-whom.

Like my soul buddy at the right, I will probably be expressing a lot of "jeremiads."  But I hope to do so with a certain amount of humor, as  well. 

One great advantage to starting over is that I haven't made any typos yet!