Reactionary doctrine

Amongst the denominations of Christianity there is no small amount of doctrinal elitism. Certain groups will elevate themselves above other Christians based upon their so-called lofty understanding of the Bible. But these are more influenced by tradition than they are by the Bible they claim to follow above all else.

• “I don’t see people getting healed. That’s not for today.”
• “I don’t see apostles. They’re not for today.”
• “I don’t see prophets. They’re not for today.”
• “I don’t hear God. He must not speak anymore.”
• “I know Paul taught there shouldn’t be divisions, but I’m a [insert denomination here]. That must be okay now.”
• “I don’t know anyone who speaks in tongues, and the people that do are crazy. That’s not for today.”

There is no Biblical basis for the assertions made above. They are the product of people who haven’t experienced God thinking they’re doing God a favor by devising pseudo-Biblical explanations for arm-length relationship with their Creator. (In their defense: that is probably the way they were raised.)

Even further–these people will completely ignore passages of the Bible for no legitimate scholarly or spiritual reason (see head coverings).

Don’t reverse engineer your faith based upon what you can see or what someone told you. Read your Bible. And more than reading it–be prepared to believe what God has conveyed in it above what your church or friends have told you.

Saved from sin?

The Lord extends His hand to save us from the sinful patterns of this world. He offers freedom in this life as well as in the next.

“No,” we say, “I do not want to be saved from sin. I merely want to be saved from Hell. I will taste of the pleasures of life while I am here. I am smart enough to decide what is beneficial for me.”

As we swat away His loving hand and turn to walk the path of the world, let us not be surprised as we share in the same failures of the godless.

The Lord would impart wisdom to us, but we do not want it.

We have erected spiritual walls around our ears that dull the voice of God to a hush. Our leaders will not name these walls but will continue in their talk of the God’s love and forgiveness. (There is more to the picture.)

There are many spiritual walls that we can erect around ourselves that will deafen our ears to the voice of God. Many of these walls stem directly from worldliness–things we do because they are commonplace or acceptable in our culture while giving no thought to what God thinks.

Note these verses about the world:

1 John 2:15-17

Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.

Romans 12:2

And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

James 4:4-5

Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. Or do you think that the Scripture says in vain, “The Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously”?

Here is what God would rather have us think on:

2 Corinthians 4:18

while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.

Colossians 3:1-2

If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.

We are strangers in a foreign land–this world is not our home! In many ways, Christians have mimicked the culture, and it is always to our detriment.

We must be wary of the culture–yes, even “Christian culture.”

1 Thessalonians 5:21

Test all things; hold fast what is good.

In regards to issues of correct conduct, fight the temptation to ask “Why not?” or “Is this really that bad?”

This God-ignoring logic has justified alcohol-drinking, terrestrial music, gambling, sexual immorality, tattoos, etc. (Let “everyone else is doing it” NEVER be our commanding internal reasoning.)

Rather–ask “Why?” Better yet–simply ask God. He answers. Do you hear?

I hate Halloween

I’ve only gone trick-or-treating twice. We went with family friends back in Oklahoma when I was little, and I went a second time 2 years ago for the sake of watching after some little children. One of my experiences during the latter will not soon leave my mind.

-/-

As we walked towards the door, there were body parts (most likely dismembered plastic babies) strewn throughout a small garden on our left. On the bench to our right, there was a headless man with the blade from a circular saw protruding from his chest. Beside the door there was a man wearing the Scream outfit holding a plastic jack-o-lantern full of candy. We thought he was a mannequin, but much to our surprise, he extended the candy to us and startled us all.

-/-

Halloween is disgusting in my eyes, but it is far more disgusting in my spirit.

As Christians, do we believe that Satan is real? Do we believe he has a personality and goals and that they are distinctly opposite to God’s? Do we recognize that Satan is known for fashioning his evil as attractive and fun?

If you take a hard look at Halloween, there is no other honest conclusion to be had than this: Halloween is a celebration of darkness, death, and fear.

We might call Halloween a trivialization and celebration of Satan’s work on earth. Darkness is his shroud! Death (spiritual/mental/physical) is his desire for us! Fear is his number-one-hit in our lives!

People may choose to celebrate Halloween in many different (and perhaps harmless) ways, but the core of this holiday (in American culture, at least) is indisputable. All for Satan’s glory.

It’s unlikely that I could hate Halloween any more than I do. But the reason I hate it is that it is so obviously Satan’s handiwork. It reeks of him. (I just want to love what He loves and hate what He hates.)

I would contend that it’s disgusting to the Spirit of God.

Christians should not blindly go along with worldliness. We need God’s wisdom.

Do not be deceived–if we go along with the world and ignore the Spirit of God, we will share in the consequences of worldliness. We are not immune to the consequences of foolishness, and we should not be surprised that we feel far from the Lord when we ignore Him.

Matthew 15:

14 Let them alone. They are blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind leads the blind, both will fall into a ditch.

UPDATE: Read this post by Solomon. He framed the issue perfectly! (hat tip: bones)

If one is celebrating on this day and their celebration does not relate to death, darkness, or fear, there is no issue with that celebration (in my opinion)! Let us separate what is of God from what is of Satan! As we obey Him, listen to Him, and trust Him, He will draw near to us (He promises).

Terrestrial Music

Music of this earth. Music of the world. Worldly music.

I’m not speaking of “secular” music–I’m speaking of any music that doesn’t glorify God. (The pot is much bigger, sadly).

I look around and I see Christians living lives of failure. They’ve been set free and yet they still feel bound! Why is this? The ways of the world enslave us, but the cords of our bondage are invisible to us.

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Somewhere along the way Christians have been sold the lie that we’re smart enough to discern what is good for us and what is bad for us. “That isn’t so bad,” we say. “This will not hurt me in the grand scheme of things.” In many ways we have traded our submission to God’s wisdom for the foolish notions of the world!

And why are we surprised that we are drinking from the same cup of consequence? Why are we surprised that we feel far from God–numb, depressed, helpless, worthless, and guilty?

Jesus brings freedom! Freedom from lust, gluttony, laziness, and so many other forms of bondage (as well as the issues listed above). Avoiding these things is not common sense. We will fall into that pit if we do not heed the Master’s words.

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Satan wants us to not glorify, trust, or obey God. He would fill his heart with glee to see us cursing God with our mouth, murdering, perverting our bodies, etc. But Satan is just as pleased with the Christian who is ineffective in glorifying, trusting, and obeying God. This is Satan’s one goal–to subvert God.

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Satan’s greatest tool is distraction. When music does not glorify God, it is the great distraction.

Ezekiel 28 gives us the best description of Satan and his fall from God. See Ezekiel 28:13

You were in Eden, the garden of God;
Every precious stone was your covering:
The sardius, topaz, and diamond,
Beryl, onyx, and jasper,
Sapphire, turquoise, and emerald with gold.
The workmanship of your timbrels and pipes
Was prepared for you on the day you were created.

This passage is the source of opinion of some that Satan was the worship leader in heaven.

Music is that mix of words and tones that has the ability to dominate our minds in a way nothing else does. If Satan were the worship leader in heaven and he is now using his tool against God, he is doing a very good job.

Music is so very attractive and exhilarating, and we tend to be drawn in by the chord progression and melodies rather than the words. Many go so far as to claim that the words mean little to nothing to them. This is foolishness.

If we know the words, they are in our mind. Man is the sum of his parts. We are like a pot with a crack in the bottom. We put things into our mind and hearts at the top, and as we fill ourselves, whatever is at the bottom of the pot trickles out. If we are filling ourselves with thoughts from God, we will soon be filled with thoughts from above. If we fill ourselves with thoughts from this earth, we will be forcing out God’s thoughts from before. It is a daily job to fill ourselves with God.

Here are my contentions with terrestrial music:

• Gateway drug to the world’s foolishness and consequences
• Supreme distraction from God’s glory and wisdom
• Drowns out the voice of God
• Legitimizes and propagates bad advice

Perhaps I will expound on these later.

I found freedom–it was the kind I was looking for

Christian freedom.

From the outside (looking in):

What kind of freedom is this? All I see are people who do not have fun. They say that they are no longer about rules, but all I see is so many people abstaining from the good things in life. Sure–they don’t do some terrible things like getting into drugs or cheating on their wives, but there are other areas where they just go too far. Why is it that so-called “Christian freedom” just translates into rules you follow because you “love God” or something?

To the outsiders Christian freedom can sound like new branding on Old Testament law. However, when Jesus came, He did not diminish the (non-ceremonial) law–he expanded it. In the days of Moses, one was not allowed to murder. Jesus expanded it to the heart and made the sin of murder equivalent with the sin of disdain of a brother.

So what is this freedom that is brought through obedience?

God conveyed in the Bible that people who do not have the Spirit of God residing in them are enslaved to sin and that they have no other path to take than that of sin. They do not know any better. This brings us to the first aspect of God’s freedom. He lets us know that a certain act is wrong. Why would we not partake in an act if we didn’t know it was wrong? As you can see, the first step to freedom that God gives us is wisdom.

The second aspect of God’s freedom is that He empowers us to defeat our desire to sin. He promises:

1 Corinthians 10:13

“No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.” (emphasis added)

So did God bring us the freedom to lie, cheat, drink, and steal? No–all of these things are not freedom! These actions will enslave us in our spirit and will sooner or later affect our relationships with God and others. So many people are living in turmoil based upon past decisions and they may not even know why.

The effects of sin are not always apparent! Families have brought curses upon themselves for sin (and these curses can stay for generations if not combated in the name of Jesus).

People outside the body of Christ will not understand the freedom Christ gives us from the foolishness of the world–it will look like following rules to them.

“Don’t run in the street,” Jesus says, “this will lead to your death.” We are like Jesus’ blind children who can think of no good reason to not run in the street.

We can’t see the cars.

We don’t trust Jesus for the freedom to run in the street. We trust Jesus for the freedom to not become spiritual roadkill.

I read Twilight (forgive me)

WARNING: CONTAINS SPOILERS

So I read Twilight, and I am surprised that it is so popular.

I am completely troubled by the fact that Bella and Edward’s relationship is supremely and completely based upon aesthetics. I was surprised at it really! It seems that women criticize men for only focusing on looks (which I do not believe is the reality of the situation), but the beau of this book stands only upon his looks! His character qualities (as well as hers, for that matter) are ugly! He is arrogant, commanding, angry, and stalker-ish. The book does not hide the fact that she is mesmerized, captivated, and helplessly in love with him based solely upon his appearance. There isn’t a time that they converse that Bella does not think on his eyes, muscles, smile, or face. This shallowness also went the other way! He didn’t like her for her personality but was drawn to her because of her scent and mystery.

I was simply struck at how shallow their relationship was. All they ever did was fight when they weren’t in awe of each other.

The book was very dark. The whole book consisted of Edward’s homicidal tension. It was much like sexual tension except for the meat of the tension was Edward’s desire to murder Bella (the book’s premise would hold if Edward were a serial killer or rapist fighting his nature). The problem was also that Bella didn’t help him fight his temptation. She was in love with him and intimated to him many times that she didn’t really mind if he drank all her blood. She was under his spell when he didn’t necessarily want her to be.

My main problem with the story was the darkness, but the close runner-up was the defense of letting love override one’s better judgment. On Edward’s side–the story was about a vampire fighting his nature. On Bella’s side–the story was about abandoning all her better judgment to be with the most beautiful person she’d ever seen.

In short, the book was a case study in destructive relationships.

Bella ends up lying to everyone and hurting her family all for the beautiful lie.

I’m just glad that the girls are reading Boy Meets Girl in turn. Hopefully it’ll dispel some of the romanticization of the shallow, fake, dangerous, stupid love in Twilight (which is not love).

Taking interest

There is much entertainment in the world.

I entertain myself with keeping up-to-date on technology, social media, and political news. Sometimes I entertain myself by meandering around Wikipedia and learning things. With Google at my fingertips, a world of distraction’s always a click away. Other times I will entertain myself with YouTube or normal television and movies.

But when I think about the things in life that I really consider important, I am led to wonder why I fill my time with the above. These things I entertain myself with are nowhere to be found in the thought.

And yet they are exciting, riveting, and dare I say–satisfying. But only for a moment.

“This is an outrage!” I think as I note that I am dominating my mind, time, and money with things that even by my own admission don’t matter. “You must stop doing these things that do not matter in the long run!”

Stop following politics? Stop following technology? Stop following social media? Stop watching tv?

I wish I had the strength.

If I did abandon these things, I would feel weak. I have taken pride in my knowledge of computers, politics, and popular culture.

And therein lies the source. Therein lies the enemy.

Is it that my pride in what I think I know and should know is keeping me from being successful in things that I find more important?

Let’s say I fall out of knowledge concerning politics, television, and technology. Am I missing much?

No–not much.

Can you try?

God is always speaking. Do you believe that?

He’s speaking by His Spirit all the time and we can read some of His words that He has communicated to our ancestors. Why are we so afraid to state what God is saying?

We don’t have to say “Thus sayeth the Lord,” but we should at least make ourselves comfortable with “Perhaps God is saying” or “I think God is saying.”

Strong Women music

I was talking to my bro about how much I despise Superchick’s music. I was explaining to him that I thought their concepts were less spiritual than they were “strong woman” music. I was just spouting off, but it did get me to thinking.

I was noting the most popular themes of what I would call “strong woman” music. They are: not being sad about leaving someone, life/people not getting them down, being “independent,” and a paradoxical concept of being skanky while still ladylike.

I feel like these songs represent women fighting to go against their nature. Many of these character traits are unladylike. It is (generally speaking) normal for a woman to be more emotionally involved in relationships, it is normal for words/stresses of life to affect them greatly, it’s their nature to dependent on men, and being sex-driven is generally a masculine trait!

Why would women try to go against their nature (or at least sing feelings that are foreign to them), and who defined strong femininity to be masculinity?

In fact, many of these traits are distinctly masculine. Men are (generally speaking) not as emotionally involved in relationships, they don’t care as much about what others think, they are independent by nature, and they have great sexual desire.

It appears that these songs’ representation of strong femininity may as well be a grab at normal masculinity.

If the view represented in these songs is held by many young women, God help us. This world needs men to be real men and for women to be real women. There is no need to lopside the traits and put asunder the very important real God-inspired feminine traits.

1 Peter 3:3-4
Do not let your adornment be merely outward—arranging the hair, wearing gold, or putting on fine apparel— rather let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God.

BIO182 Lecture Transcript: 8/21/06

Here is the transcript of the first lecture in all its glory.