The Good News

The "Good News" or "the Gospel" is how Bible translators have translated the Greek word euangelion into English. This Gospel or Good News, as I've heard a teacher recently explain it is simply that God is both holy and loving. Because He is holy He must punish sin. But because He is loving he sent His Son Jesus Christ to live, then die on a cross and rise again. On the cross Christ satisfied the holiness of God (by taking the punishment for sin) and He also satisfied the love of God (by providing a way for people to be saved).

When we believe in Christ (trusting Him for the forgiveness for our sins) we will be saved and accepted by God. This faith, or belief, is a belief that Christ "lived the life we should have lived and died the death that we should have died."

Quite simply, the message of the Gospel "is that you are more wicked and sinful than you ever dared believe but you are more loved and accepted than you ever dared hope."

So, "though we are wicked, we are absolutely loved and completely accepted through Jesus Christ."

These words that I've quoted on the Gospel were explained by Tim Keller, Pastor at Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City.

I heard some additional comments on the Gospel by Rev. Keller this week in a video called "What is Gospel-Centered Ministry?" In his lecture he explains what ministry shaped by the Gospel looks like.

Here is the link: http://www.thegospelcoalition.org/video/what-is-gospel-centered-ministry

I really enjoyed his comments, I hope you will too.

Blessings,
-Dave

The Business of Temptation

I just finished reading C.S. Lewis' novel called, "The Screwtape Letters" for my class at Reformed Theological Seminary. The book is a wonderful study on the subject of temptation written from the perspective of a senior demon (named Screwtape) to his nephew named Wormwood.

The letters in the book are funny...with hilarious names for the demons (including Screwtape, Wormwood, Glubose, Slubgob, Triptweeze, Toadpipe and Slumtrimpet) as well as an account of Screwtape getting so angry that he turns into a centipede.

The letters are also written from the perspective of the demons, thus God is called "the Enemy" and Satan is referred to as "Our Father Below".

Among the interesting things in the novel is Lewis' use of the word "business" to explain the work of the demons. Screwtape tells his nephew:

• "So do not allow temporary excitement to distract you from the real business of undermining faith and preventing the formation of virtues" (Letter 5)
  
  
• "(God) wants men to be concerned with what they do; our business is to keep them thinking about what will happen to them." (Letter 6)
  
  
• "Our business is to get them away from the Eternal and Present. With this in view, we sometimes tempt a human...to live in the Past...or (to) live in the Future." (Letter 16)

The "business" then of demons, according to Screwtape, is to undermine the faith of Christians, prevent the formation of virtues and to keep people thinking things that are not of God.

Lewis' "Screwtape Letters" serve as a helpful reminder that we, as Christians, will face temptation. The professor of the seminary course, in fact, recommends that all Christians read the novel annually, as he does, to acknowledge the reality of temptation. For me, Lewis' novel is a humbling reminder of our weakness as humans and our utter dependence upon God to deliver us from evil.

Man Bites Dog

Findlay, Ohio - I’m visiting my parents this week at their house in Findlay (a city in northwest Ohio). Coincidentally, on Monday, my sister sent me a link to an article about Findlay in the Washington Post (I've included the link below). To me it displays another example of the mainstream media’s disconnect with Americans who hold traditional values. Articles like this seem to follow a common pattern:

1. Make a story out of a non-story.
   The article is about rumors of presidential candidate Barak Obama’s religion in the conservative city of Findlay, Ohio. In the article the reporter notes that one out of every ten Americans believes that Sen. Obama (falsely) is a Muslim. If I do my math correctly, that means that 90% of Americans believe (correctly) that Sen. Obama claims to be a Christian. So I ask, where is the story? What purpose does it serve to analyze the confused views of ten percent of Americans?
2. Make the candidate (or cause) that you support appear to be a victim.
   While focusing exclusively on rumors about Sen. Obama, the article makes no reference to rumors about Sen. McCain (in Findlay or any other location). I have no doubt that the reporter could have asked interviewees what rumors they have heard about him and received a response.
3. Make an idea that you oppose be the cause of a problem.
   It is interesting that after reporting on the rumors, the reporter then identifies the cause of the rumors, which in essence he says is: conservatism. There could have been numerous causes or theories that could have been offered as to why rumors start and continue to be communicated (including the retirees having more time on their hands to talk, or from a Christian perspective, human sinfulness), but instead the reporter chose tradition. "They always want things the way they were," is how he quoted the city’s mayor. (To me, the mayor's quote seems to be used completely out of context.) To attribute tradition, or a desire not to see things change, as the cause for rumors being spread seems unfounded. So, if I follow the reporter's logic, I would not hear rumors about candidates in less conservative or traditional places?
4. Include unflattering characteristics of those you are writing about (including things that have little or nothing to do with the story).
   Many times contemporary reporters will do this by writing about a person’s appearance or their speech. In this article, in addition to using the term "Rust Belt town" to describe the city, the reporter added the extraneous details of the price of the individual’s home and their celebration of Memorial Day. Although I chuckled when I read the description of the "gigantic plastic unicorn perched on the front porch draped in an American flag", I found it difficult to see how those details contributed to a story about gossip and rumors about a candidate’s faith in a Presidential election.
5. Make sweeping generalizations.
   The reporter noted ominously, "On College Street, nobody wanted anything to change" and "Only one man on College Street remains open-minded". Humorously, Findlay’s local paper noted that at one end of College Street (as the name suggests) is in fact the local college. The houses on College Street near the University of Findlay contain dozens of college students. Were these young people included in the reporter’s description of those who don’t want "anything to change" or those who failed to be "open-minded" about rumors surrounding Sen. Obama’s religion? Did he interview all of these residents on College Street in order to come to his conclusion? Did he interview some of them? Any of them? I doubt it.
6. Provide no perspective on the issue.
   Reading this piece one could easily come to the conclusion that Findlay’s residents are unique in sharing rumors about political candidates and likely even racist in their view of Sen. Obama. The unfortunate fact is that rumors and slander have been consistent throughout America’s Presidential elections (from John Adams and Thomas Jefferson to Bill Clinton and George W. Bush).
7. Quote no moral authorities on the issue.
   The Washington Post article is about a rumor regarding a candidate’s religion. If one is writing an article about religious perspectives in a city, wouldn’t it be helpful to hear from those who are religious leaders? What does a Findlay pastor think about gossip and rumors? How do they guide their flock to listen to the truth?
8. Pretend to be objective.
   Notice the last several lines of the article: "He will listen to their story, weighing facts against fiction. For a few minutes, he might even believe them. Then he’ll close the door and go inside, back to his life. Back to his grocery story, back to his son’s auto shop, back to the gossip on College Street. Back to the rumors again."
   
   First of all, a reporter writing a vivid account about a future event seems ludicrous. When I read those words I wondered:
   
   -What if they don’t come to his door?
   -What if he’s not home?
   -What if he learns more information between now and then?
   
   Journalists are trained to write about what happened (in the past) and if necessary, include quotes from others about predictions of future events. (I would think that would be covered in Journalism 101). Fiction should not be included in a newspaper article.
   
   Secondly, the words smack of fatalism...the despair that things will never change. Interestingly, it was because of this very thing...the nihilism and supposed "detached reflection" in the Press that Christian writer Soren Kierkegaard wrote warnings about their work many years ago. Kierkegaard (who lived from 1813-1855) humorously suggested that the motto of the Press should be: "Here men are demoralized in the shortest possible time on the largest possible scale, at the cheapest possible price." He believed that only "the religious sphere of existence" could combat the nihilism that was found in the Press (and brought about by the Enlightenment).

Since the publication of the Washington Post article about the rumors in Findlay (which was also released on MSNBC’s website and distributed to 669 news organizations in 56 countries), the Courier, Findlay’s local paper, has been filled with letters to the editor from people around the country, some saying how Findlay residents should be "ashamed" of themselves, while others denounce the reporting.

On Tuesday the Courier ran a long article with their own interviews of three of the individuals who were quoted at length in the Washington Post piece. All three said that they were misquoted.

Link to the Washington Post story: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/29/AR2008062901871.html?nav=rss_politics/elections

Surpised by....

On Monday night my younger boys and I went to see the Cincinnati Reds play the Pittsburgh Pirates; two teams that are tied for last place in the National League Central division. The Reds trailed for most of the game and at the bottom of the ninth inning the Reds trailed by one run, causing some in the crowd of 20,000 to leave the stadium. The first batter up for the Reds in the ninth inning was the catcher, David Ross, who hit a double. Next up for the Reds was Ken Griffey, Jr. or simply "Junior" as he's referred to by Cincinnati fans.

I've enjoyed following Griffey Jr.'s career over the years. Growing up in Ohio, I was a fan first of his father who played for the "Big Red Machine". The first time I saw "Junior" play was in 1990, his second year in the Major Leagues, when I had gone to Seattle to visit my grandparents. That game was terrific, as the Mariners faced Nolan Ryan, a veteran pitcher with the Texas Rangers. When the Rangers were batting, Ken Griffey Sr. played left field for the Mariners, with his son in center.

For Monday night's game, as an older Ken Griffey, Jr. came to the plate, the crowd rose to their feet and began cheering and clapping. Soon the pitcher was in his wind-up, and then seconds after the pitch was released, Griffey Jr. hit the ball deep over the center field wall to win the game for the Reds. It was his 603rd home run.

The crowd, the boys, and I were ecstatic. It was so fun to watch.

On the drive home, the boys talked all about the "walk-off home run" while I thought about C.S. Lewis and his many references to joy. It was a concept that Lewis had first encountered in his youth, then in later life, saw the Christian implications.

Lewis used the German word "Sehnsucht" to describe the intense feeling of joy that people can experience. In "The Screwtape Letters", he has a senior demon named Screwtape explain this about joy to his nephew (who was assigned to tempt a Christian):

"Fun is closely related to Joy--a sort of emotional froth arising from the play instinct. It is very little use to us (demons). It can sometimes be used, of course, to divert humans from something else which (God) would like them to be feeling or doing; but in itself it has wholly undesirable tendencies; it promotes charity, courage, contentment, and many other evils."

As Lewis noted in other writing, finding joy can sometimes be surprising...like I found at the bottom of the ninth inning of a baseball game.

Reflections on Psalm 19

After my previous post, I received several emails about people's interests in C.S. Lewis' views on the Psalms, so I'll continue with a few more posts on the topic.

I found it interesting to read this week in "Reflections on Psalms" that C.S. Lewis' favorite was Psalm 19, a pslam with fourteen verses and attributed to King David. Lewis says, "I take this to be the greatest poem in the Psalter and one of the greatest lyrics in the world."

The first six verses of Psalm 19 are a description of nature, and how the heavens "declare the glory of the Lord".

1 The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. 2 Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge. 3 There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard. 4 Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world. In the heavens he has pitched a tent for the sun, 5 which is like a bridegroom coming forth from his pavilion, like a champion rejoicing to run his course. 6 It rises at one end of the heavens and makes its circuit to the other; nothing is hidden from its heat.

On these first five verses, Lewis notes that the writer, first "thinks of the sky; how day after day, the pageantry we see there shows us the splendour of its Creator. Then he thinks of the sun, the bridal joyousness of its rising, the unimaginable speed of its daily voyage from east to west. Finally of its heat.." He adds that "nothing is hidden from its heat" is the key phrase in the psalm, as the writer "has felt the sun, perhaps in the desert, searching him out in every nook of shade where he attempted to hide from it, so he feels the Law searching out all the hiding-places of his soul."

The next several verses (verse 7-12) describe the law of the Lord:

7 The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul. The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy, making wise the simple. 8 The precepts of the LORD are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the LORD are radiant, giving light to the eyes. 9 The fear of the LORD is pure, enduring forever. The ordinances of the LORD are sure and altogether righteous. 10 They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold; they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the comb. 11 By them is your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward.

For me, it was interesting to see a pattern or "formula" in these verses:

"the ____ of the Lord is ____, _____, ____"

For the first part of the formula, the writer used the following words:

• the Law of the Lord
• the statutes of the Lord
• the precepts of the Lord
• the commands of the Lord
• the fear of the Lord
• the ordinances of the Lord

Next, the writer used this amazing set of words to describe the Law: perfect, reviving the soul, trustworthy, making wise the simple, right, giving joy to the heart, radiant, giving light to the eyes, pure, enduing forever, sure, altogether righteous, more precious than g0ld, sweeter than honey.



On these verses, Lewis explains that "the Law gives light, it is clean and everlasting, it is 'sweet'. No one can improve on this and nothing more fully admit us to the old Jewish feeling about the Law; luminous, severe, disinfectant, exultant."

Next (in verses 12 and 13) are two verses about forgiveness:

12 Who can discern his errors? Forgive my hidden faults. 13 Keep your servant also from willful sins; may they not rule over me. Then will I be blameless, innocent of great transgression.

The last verse (verse 14), I noticed, is a verse that traditionally many pastors have said just before delivering a sermon:

14 May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.

...a good prayer for us to pray as we read and reflect on Psalm 19 too.

An Appetite for God

I've shared with some of you that I've started taking some classes from Reformed Theological Seminary in Charlotte, NC. The class I'm currently in is studying the writings of C.S. Lewis, and I've recently been reading his "Reflections on the Psalms", a book that I've found to be rich with insights on worship, justice, mercy and many other topics.

On worship, Lewis described the writers of the Psalms this way:

“They express a longing for Him (the Lord), for His mere presence…they long to live all their days in the Temple so that they may see ‘the fair beauty of the Lord’ (Psalm 27:4). Their longing to go up to Jerusalem and ‘appear before the presence of God’ is like a physical thirst (Ps. 42). From Jerusalem His presence flashes out ‘in perfect beauty’ (Ps. 50:2). Lacking that encounter with Him, their souls are parched like a waterless countryside (Ps. 63:2). They crave to be ‘satisfied by the pleasures’ of His house (Ps. 65:4). Only there can they be at ease, like a bird in the nest (Ps. 84:3). One day of those ‘pleasures’ is like a lifetime spent elsewhere (Ps. 10). "

What an extraordinary description of a heart for worship, or having "an appetite for God", as Lewis describes it.

I've recently begun hosting a monthly worship gathering that incorporates modern worship music with some traditional elements from the Church of England. I'm hopeful that as we gather, we will grow in our heart for God like that of the writers of Psalms.

Take and Read

Two resources have recently crossed my path that encourage learning through reading.

The first is a wonderful commencement address by popular historian David McCullough called The Love of Learning that was given to the graduates of Boston College. A transcript of McCullough's speech can be found here: www.bc.edu/bc_org/rvp/pubaf/08/McCullough_BCCommencement08.pdf

In the commencement address, McCullough quotes the wisdom of Abigail Adams,

"Learning is not attained by chance. It must be sought with ardor and attended with diligence."

He also includes the advice John Adams gave to their son John Quincy Adams, to always carry a book with him on his travels because,

"You will never be alone with a poet in your pocket."

The second resource that reminded me of the importance of learning and reading is this month's issue of the "Mars Hill Audio Journal" by Ken Myers. Their website is: http://www.marshillaudio.org/

At their site you can order issue 90, or listen to a free podcast featuring some of the interviews from this issue. In the Mars Hill Audio piece, Ken Myers makes the point that reading is important because as Christians, we have been given scripture in a written format. He notes that,

“The word spoken and written lives at the center of the Christian faith…We are after all created in the image of a speaking and writing God. One who utters all things into existence who reveals His law by writing with his finger on tablets of stone, who reveals Himself in dreams and visions but who also provides words to accompany and sometimes explain those images, who comes among us as the Living Word.”

Two good pieces encouraging us to read and learn.