Unity in Diversity: Beings in Relationship

What is man?  Is man a dream in the eye of his creator?  It would seem so, by the Christian worldview.  What is man for?  How can man find fulfillment in life?  

Human kind, one by one may find ultimate fulfillment in relationship.  I have learned slowly but surely, that I am a being made for community and relationship.  

First and foremost I am made for deep connection and relationship to God the creator.  Yet I am also made for relationship with a female whom I will one day call wife.  In addition, I am made for relationship with other believers.  And also with my own children (someday), and extended family.  And at the fringe, I am made for relationship with all people, with animals, and the natural environment around me.

Every human is born with the most important relationship broken.  The relationship with God is not present upon birth.  In fact God is not immediately approachable.  One must approach God through Christ.  Outside of Christ, no approach to God can be made.  Upon the reception of Jesus Christ, the way is open to approach God.  The Holy Spirit distributes a connective force between God and the believer, through the imputed righteousness of Christ.  Very literally, the believer and follower of Jesus Christ wears the perfection of his life, death, and resurrection as a garment of borrowed holiness.  

Meanwhile the Holy Spirit works on the heart and mind of the believer, gently and sometimes firmly the believer is molded into the likeness of Christ, in personality.  This does not mean that every believer is forced into a carbon copy of Jesus Christ, but that every believer is molded with deep attention to their uniqueness and passions toward a perfection of character.  The believer is molded into who they truly are underneath all the sin, darkness, pain, and confusion caused by this world.

In example, a believer may be womanizer, a fan of music, prideful, deceitful, inquisitive, a talented painter, and proficient at science.  The Holy Spirit would not transform this person into a Jewish carpenter with healing powers and oratory skills. Instead the Holy Spirit might turn the pridefulness into humility.  The talent for womanizing would be crafted into a talent for meeting the needs of his wife and family.  The love for music would not be snuffed out but developed and shaped into perhaps a study of an instrument, or a more profound and complex appreciation for the listening experience.  The Holy Spirit might craft the deceitfulness into a cunning zeal for the works of righteousness or serving the poor.  The Holy Spirit might also develop the artistic talents of the individual inspiring them and leading them to produce great works of art.  Given the love for science, the individual might be lead by the Spirit into an organization like NASA or the Human Genome project where those skills could be pushed to the max, and stressed to produce still higher levels of scientific skill and creativity.  The believer does not consign to being forced into the mold of a Galilean peasant, but instead the Holy Spirit maximizes the talents, and transforms and adapts the ugly traits into useful skills.

This process is never completed in life.  We seem to have to learn the same lessons over and over in life.  Thus, when I am in community with others, I am often hurt and I often hurt others.  That is the difficult part of being a being made for community and relationship.  Relationships are often painful.  Of course they are often wonderful and blessed.

I find myself sometimes in daily life slumping back in my chair, realizing that I am finding whatever I happen to be doing at the time wildly unfulfilling.  A sort of angst flashes over my being, jumps about neocortex.  I feel the pain of it.  I feel my own despair and apprehension.  My own fear of the unknown.  I am made for relationship to God, above all else.  

If Jesus Christ connects God and myself, which I believe he does, then the Holy Spirit provides the conduit between us.  A prime ingredient that passes within those conduits must then be love.  The Bible says that God is love.  Love, healing, light, truth.  Conviction, and the romancing of my soul.  I do go off in my own directions sometimes.  And at times I am fearful to come before the architect of reality.  Given the implications, the logical outworking of my beliefs, it is progressively more and more stunning to realize just who I'm coming before.  Indeed if I were to fully realize just who I'm coming before, I would probably find myself frozen with awe, terror, and unspeakable love.  

I did not recognize the beauty of the cross when I first called upon Jesus Christ in the midst of my disaster.  I didn't understand it.  It's only now that I've begun to fully recognize the beauty of the cross.  In Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis we see that God of himself could not identify with or reach out to man in his present state.  God had to become a man, Christ Jesus, and live the life in the flesh day by day, just as we do, and thus he could then step one foot into the water, one foot on shore, and toss a rescue to us.  He tossed the life preserver, the gift of restored relationship.  He offers an emergency transport to return us to right relationship.

Man has often wondered how to find unity in diversity.  One way mankind has attempted to find unity in diversity is by attempting to unify all the worlds religions along a single line of "love."  Since we have so often been told that wars are caused by religion, one might attempt to synchronize all the worlds religions into a system that recognizes similarities for a sort of "coexistence" as the bumper stickers say.  But as Dr. Zacharias has often written, all religions are not the same.  All religions are not fundamentally the same.  All religions are at best superficially similar, while remaining fundamentally different.  I've found that to be quite true when studying Hinduism, Buddhism, and other world religions.  These religions are quite different.  And while synchronizing world religions fails as a solution, in addition, the problem is not even properly understood.  Religion has never been the penultimate problem for humanity.  Selfishness and corruption are the penultimate problems.  The wicked heart of man is the problem.  The great wars across the ages have not been linked to religion.  Instead the great wars across the ages have always been linked to the selfish desires of the few for power, money, and control of the many.  The problem is the evil heart of man, and the outworking of that fact.  The fact is obvious when examining the world wars in the past 100 years.  The desire for power and wealth have devestated the Earth.  Religion is not the problem, and one cannot synchronize world religions that fundamentally contradict one another.

So how can man kind meet the deep seeded desire for unity in diversity?  Humanity must first admit the problem: That the problem is not outside me somewhere, the problem is within my own heart.  Then Humanity can ask: What is the solution to the problem of my own heart?  The solution is Jesus Christ, through whom a person is set in right relationship to God the creator.  With relationship to God at the #1 position of importance, we find that every other area of relationship is progressively set right.  Within the personality of our loving creator is a unity in diversity.  God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.  Indeed within you is a unity in diversity!  What do I mean?

Within your body is the DNA of your mother, the DNA of your father, and within your own experience and life choices is an amalgam of personality and identity, uniquely yours!  Consider even further, how your DNA is connected to the DNA of all your extended family members, down along the ages, all the way back to the very first humans, and indeed to God the creator himself.  Wondrous, truly wondrous!  You friend, are the embodiment of the paradox of unity in diversity, and relationship of life within life inherent in the God-head of our blessed Lord.  

Did the new atheists tell you that you are nothing?  A whisp on the air?  A determined automaton destined for nothingness and meaning nothing?  Is that an adequate trade off for sexual freedom?  In my view, not in the least. 

Since you in fact are a representation of unity in diversity genetically, what then is the ultimate community unity in diversity?  I see the perfection of unity in diversity as the community of Christ-followers told in the Bible to be the "body of Christ" on Earth.  Every believer has unique skills, shepherding, preaching, showing mercy, caring for the poor, exhortation, creativity, writing, and on and on it goes.  The body of Christ on Earth, made up of over 1 billion Christians on Earth, imperfect, deeply flawed, yet moving in unison as the hands and feet of Jesus Christ who is the head of it all. 

In the politics of the United States we see how liberal and conservative war over how to best deal with the problems of evil and corruption.  One side distrusts the individual and the other distrusts the group.  One side sees the problem in big business and the other sees the problem in big government.  Indeed at times both have been problematic.  But the problem does not begin outside ourselves, it begins within ourselves.  Many of my fellow libertarians see the problem as getting people educated.  But that is not the solution.  As they say, if you sober up a horse thief, all you get is a sober horse thief, who can now steal horses without getting caught.  If you send a drug addict to prison he comes out a trained drug dealer.  If you send a bank robber to college, he comes out a professional trained to steal money on a Wallstreet level.  If you send a young man to Princeton, Harvard, or Yale for business, they are told all truth is relative, truth is what you make it, and when they enter the business world and are told there are certain rules to abide by, what do they do?  They assume the truth is what you make it, they run a scam, steal some money, and pretty soon the economies of Europe and the United States are tanking.  The problem is not education.  The problem is the human heart.  

The solution to that problem is the transformation found through Jesus Christ.  One can smirk at the problems of organized Christian groups who so often make fools of themselves, but do the failures of others get me off the hook?  If I rail about the failings of organized religion, does that give me a free ticket to a life of depravity and selfishness?  Of course not.  Let me just say, that if you've noticed that Christians do not live up to the likeness of Christ, and oh, everyone has made that assessment from time to time.  Well, perhaps instead of sitting back and judging, perhaps you should step up, get close with Jesus Christ, and show them how it's done right!  Don't do it wrong because they're doing it wrong!  Do it right, and set the example for those around you!  

We all have free will.  And no joke, Christianity as practiced has many problems.  But it has always had many problems.  All the way back to the book of Acts, and the letters of the New Testament.  Paul describes serious issues in virtually all of his letters to the first churches (Romans, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, etc).  Even from the very outset, there were serious problems.  Indeed Jesus himself taught that such issues are to be expected.  In the parable of the weeds (a.k.a. the parable of the wheat and tares) Jesus teaches that the kingdom of God is like a field of wheat in which an enemy came and sowed weeds in the garden.  Instead of pulling up the weeds, the owner of the garden allows the wheat and weeds to grow up together, and will separate them at the harvest.  This is a representation of the body of Christ.  The wheat are the true followers of Christ and the weeds are those who claim to be Christian (over 80% of Americans claim to be Christian) but aren't really followers of Jesus at all (Matthew 13:24-43).  Despite all the weeds, even the true followers of Jesus will make many mistakes as well. The Christian message is not that once you receive Jesus you suddenly never make another mistake.  We aren't instantly made perfect.  But we do consign ourselves to live on a spiritual basis for the rest of our lives, and cooperate with the Holy Spirit in the works of something Christians call "sanctification."  

As the writer of Hebrews eloquently put it: "For by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy" (Hebrews 10:14).  At the beginning I had a tendency to view God as a cruel task master!  Do this, do that!  Be better!  But in retrospect I now realize the process of sanctification is a profound gift.  The end result is me, Justin, becoming more and more myself.  I hadn't even realized how much damage sin had done.  The process of sanctification is difficult, but so very rewarding.  The reward is in a growing love for God, gratitude for what I have, and a legitimate interest in the affairs of others.  In other words, the destruction of selfishness.  Within that process is the growing reliance upon community and relationship.  It all begins with God, and out-flowing from that connection is my individuality respected, yet placed within a context of divine fellowship with a growing body of broken sinners made perfect in Jesus Christ.

In conclusion, we are people made for community.  God made us for community with him and with others.  He made us to enjoy love and fellowship.  Though man sinned and fell from God, he has offered grace and justification through Jesus Christ.  All one must do is believe in the lord Jesus Christ, living in relationship to him, and his or her place is set in the next phase of existence ahead.  The ultimate expression of unity in diversity, the great quest of the colleges is found within God, in connection to his family of believers.  This unity can not be synchronized to include all beliefs and views on the Earth.  The problem remains within the heart of every person, no matter what they believe!  There is a choice to be made, to either enter that magnificent unity in diversity or to remain excluded from it forever.  When traced back to it's source, one can see that the problem is within us.  That is not an easy answer, but it's the real one.  It's not society, or conditions, of societal conditions or religion or war or Osama Bin Laden or George Bush or even Hitler.  The problem is me.  If I want to continue on in my selfishness, of course that's my choice, to reject God, to keep adding to the problem.  But I then willfully exclude myself from the magnificent unity in diversity.  Of course there is a price to be paid for that unity of community.  The price is death of my own infinite selfishness.  That death can only be achieved through Christ Jesus the all sufficient savior, the transformer of the human soul.  

The problem is me, the solution is Jesus Christ, and I choose today to enter into that rest, the unity of believers under the Creator, as we wait for the final perfecting of our souls for the ultimate reality, in the next life, of the perfection of unity in diversity found in relationship, community with God and people.  Amen. 

Related Posts:
Living in the Suburban Sprawl (Mountains beyond Mountains)
Origin, Meaning, Morality, & Destiny: An atheist and a Christian square off on Worldview
Ancient Doorways in the Brickhouse: Fields of Green in your Dreams
Depression & Meaninglessness: Where is God in the Depths of Despair?
The Awe of Dreams & the Surreal 

Salvation of the Soul: Is it Conditionally Secure or Eternally Secure?

Conditional Security or Eternal Security?

"Salvation is God's way of making us real people." - Augustine

The exegesis of scripture surrounding salvation is perhaps the most important to understand. It's important we understand the complexities of what salvation is, how we can have it, and how we can keep it. We must hold the scriptures in the highest authority, above any doctrines or confessions. The entirety of scripture is needed. Not only select scriptures from select books of the Bible, but all of it. We must understand theology in the light of every book in the Bible.  

To this end, one must ask: Once we are saved in Christ Jesus, reborn and made new in his love.. is there a possibility of losing that relationship, or is that connection unbreakable?  

There are two primary views.  Many (primarily Calvinists) believe that salvation is eternally secure. There is no way of losing that connection.  Many (Arminians/Wesleyans) would tell you that salvation is conditionally secure on faith. So who is correct?

The eternal security view has some scriptures to back it up, but not near as many as conditional security.  Eternal security relies on isolating a few key verses while ignoring a great many others. But in my studies I've found that the eternal security seems to be the prominent view in the evangelical circles where I walk. Being a champion of the underdog, I felt called to write something regarding the theology of conditional security.  
 
There is a treasure trove of scripture to back up the idea of conditional security. Again and again in scripture we see phrases like "departing from the faith", "falling away", and "being lead astray.”

1 Timothy 1:4 (ESV) says "Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons." One can only depart from a faith they already have. There is absolutely no possibility here of "well that person was never truly saved."  It would be a speculative stretch to assume that, at best, if not a clear distortion of scripture.

Hebrews 6:4-6 (ESV) says "For it is impossible, in the case of those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away, to restore them again to repentance, since they are crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding him up to contempt."  

 How could anyone assume that this person was "close, but not quite a Christian?"  The scenario being described is one who has fallen away, after being a Christian.  One cannot share in the Holy Spirit unless they are a saved Christian, who has then fallen away and effectively lost their salvation. There is no reason to think that this would refer to "fellowship with God only” and not to the soul itself.  There is no scripture to back up an idea like that.  

Consider Revelation 2:4-5 (ESV) which states "But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent."  

 Is this yet another case of a person, a church who were not really truly Christians?  No. This is an example of Christians who did very well in serving Christ at first, but slowly moved in the wrong direction.  Jesus warns them: "Do what you did at first or I will remove your lamp stand from it's place."

In John 15:1-15 Jesus Christ describes Christians as branches, who are connected to the vine (Jesus) who are being pruned by the gardener (the Father). In this teaching Jesus says that those branches who bear fruit will be pruned by the Father so they bear more fruit.  He also says that those who do not bear fruit will shrivel up and be tossed into the fire.  

Erwin Lutzer in his book "Doctrines that Divide" (1998) points out two defenses against this verse: That those people were never truly saved, or that the fire only represents the fire at the judgement seat of Christ, and does not affect salvation.  Both of those defenses are in my view stretches of scripture, and miss the plain and simple teaching of Jesus in John 15. Lutzer writes that it's presumptuous to decide the case of eternal or conditional security on a metaphor (Lutzer, 1998, p. 230). Yet metaphor or no metaphor, the meaning is clear: One who does not abide, shrivels up, and is removed by the gardener (the Father) and tossed into the fire. The meaning is plain. 

I would also note that Lutzer points to a book by Robert Shank called Life in the Son that lists scripture after scripture indicating how salvation is conditional (Lutzer, 1998, p. 230). 

Another example, setting aside John 15 are the parables of Jesus. The view of eternal security is unable to survive the parables of Jesus including: the parable of the faithful servant, the parable of the two debtors, the parable of the unforgiving servant, and the parable of the talents.

Since scripture clearly shows that salvation is conditional on the actions of the faithful, what are the possible ways of losing salvation? From scripture we can see that Christians who fail to bear fruit for God will be lost (John 15:1-15). Salvation can be lost through being unforgiving of your neighbor (Matthew 18:21-35). Salvation can also be lost through committing the unforgivable sin (Mark 3:28-30). Salvation can also be lost by denying Christ (2 Timothy 2:12). Though there are some clear ways to lose salvation, sinning, or willful sinning are not included on the list. All believers sin. Though multiplied sinning can lead to habitual sinning, which can then give birth to disillusionment, and more sin, leading to death (James 1:15, Psalm 7:14). 

One could say that sin is the road that leads to lost salvation. At the same time, God promises to protect believers and help them persevere to the very end (John 10:27-29, John 6:37, Romans 8:38-39). 

Philippians 1:6 (ESV) says “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.”  By divorcing Philippians 1:6 from the context of a letter to believers in Philippi one could assume this scripture is pointing toward eternal security, however when carefully exegesis is done, one sees that Philippians 1:6 is bound to it's historical audience and when passing over the bridge to modern times, it is a message of encouragement to perseverance, not eternal security. 

Colossians 1:23 (ESV) says "if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister."  One must look outside the Bible to find the doctrine of eternal security, making it a false doctrine, unsupported by scripture.  There are key verses that can be used to defend eternal security, assuming one isolates those verses from their contexts and ignores the full revelation of scripture.  

Again and again, we see conditional clauses in scripture "if indeed you continue" or "take care brothers lest you fall away" (Hebrews 3:12-14).  The Bible speaks of believers who fall from grace (Galatians 5:4). God gives instructions in his word, to those who have free will choices to make, which must include the possibility of falling away.  

Does this mean that the believer is taking credit for his own salvation? Of course not. As Boyd (2009) says it in his book Across the Spectrum “Salvation is a gracious gift by God, but a gift is not less of a gift because it is accepted.” Faith is not a work, but a gift that is freely received (Boyd, 2009, p. 159). One final scripture points it out elegantly and simply, Hebrews 3:14 (ESV) which states: “For we have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end.” Italics added for emphasis. Additional scriptures that should be inspected are:

Matthew 24:10-13 ESV And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.

Revelation 3:11 ESV I am coming soon. Hold fast what you have, so that no one may seize your crown.

James 1:12 ESV Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.

1 Corinthians 9:27 ESV But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.

James 5:19-20 ESV My brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back, let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.

2 Peter 2:20-22 ESV For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first. For it would have been better for them never to have known the way of righteousness than after knowing it to turn back from the holy commandment delivered to them. What the true proverb says has happened to them: “The dog returns to its own vomit, and the sow, after washing herself, returns to wallow in the mire.” 

Philippians 2:12-14 ESV 12 Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, 13  for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

Now many would say that it doesn't really matter.  As long as we both love Jesus, that's what matters. I agree that as long as we both love Jesus, we're on the same team. Calvinists and Arminians are family. So what we're discussing here is an in-family dispute. But I would be bold enough to say that it does matter.  I've seen ministries like Liberty University, CARM Apologetics, Answers in Genesis, and Got Questions? all supporting an eternal security view of scripture.  

So I thought I would chime in with a view that seems much more grounded in the fullness of scripture.  If you'd like to view articles on the eternal security view, click the two links above which will take you to articles by CARM and Got Questions? defending eternal security.  Many of the reformed preachers that have deeply influenced my ministry are also supporters of eternal security; including James MacDonald, Mark Driscoll, and many others. Of course many others hold Arminian views on salvation, like Derek Prince, David Pawson, Norm Geisler, and A.W. Tozer.

A new believer may say one prayer, and assume they are saved, but later fall away, thinking all the while that their salvation is eternally secure and there is nothing they can do, no matter how much they sin, to lose it.  Conditional security leads to holiness.  Conditional security leads to good works.  Consider in your mind for a moment, which church, of all the churches on the planet Earth most looks like followers of Jesus Christ.  One organization immediately comes to mind: The Salvation Army.  Churches can talk all they want about holiness and following Jesus Christ, but who is living it?  Who is out there on the front lines, living it?  The church serving communities quietly across the entire planet, the Salvation Army, armed with Wesleyan holiness theology.  They are living it.  Some are writing books and having conferences upon conferences, building bigger buildings, shaking hands in fancy suits, appearing on television... but who is really following Jesus Christ, in the trenches, meeting needs and preaching the gospel?  The Salvation Army.  I don't want a bogus Christianity.  I refuse it!  I want a real Christianity, that really practices what it preaches.  So let's do that, together.  Amen.

I'm not interested in traditional divides between Calvinists and Arminians.  I'm not interested in unwaveringly defending the views of others.  I'm interested in what the Bible really, actually teaches.  That is the foundation.  We must always approach our questions and theology from that vantage.  I'm not on anyone's team aside from team Jesus Christ is Lord and Savior.  Amen.

Bibliography

Boyd, Gregory A., and Paul R. Eddy. Across the Spectrum: Understanding Issues in Evangelical Theology. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Academic, 2002.

ESV: Study Bible : English Standard Version. ESV Text ed. Wheaton, Ill.: Crossway Bibles, 2007.

Lutzer, Erwin W. The Doctrines That Divide: A Fresh Look at the Historic Doctrines That Separate Christians. Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 1998.

Seven Objections to the Bible and Seven Reasonable Responses

I was at work the other day, and we were all getting ready to go over to the church services.  I was speaking to a friend who was asking about the times that certain businesses in the area would open up.  I let him know.  Then as he was leaving I suggested, politely, "why don't you join us at church sometime?"  And thus began a 20 minute debate.  

The objections he brought up were fiery and passionate.  In fact I could hardly get a word in edge wise.  Have you ever had one of those discussions with a non-believer that just seems to escalate at record paces?  I have that from time to time.  I've made more than one enemy simply by inviting them to church.  Oh well.  It's a far cry from what people like Canon White go through in Iraq, but it's a start.  

Anyway, I thought it would be interesting to look at his objections (there were a lot) one by one and see if they hold weight and how one can answer those kinds of objections.  It's good to learn these kinds of things, not to mention it's fascinating!

So let's see here, first..

1. "The Bible is a means of control."

Sub-objections included: "Constantine used Christianity to control the Roman empire."

"Millions of witches were burned at the stake by the Catholic church."

"Constantine was forcefully baptized on his death bed he wasn't even a Christian." 

2. "Why should I differentiate between Greek myths and Christianity?  It's all myth."

3.  "None of the gospels were eyewitness accounts, they were stories passed down by word of mouth and weren't even recorded on papyrus until after 60 AD."

4. "I don't understand how Jesus dying on the cross is such a big sacrifice.  Many people die on battlefields, or being tortured or slowly by disease over days or weeks, having died a much more painful death.  And then the Bible says he rises again, so he's alive and well in heaven right now, so how is that such a big sacrifice to absolve all humanity of sin?"

5. "If God is the first cause, who made God?  Saying God is eternal is a cop out." 

6. "The United States has separation of church and state, so Christianity had nothing to do with the founding of the country or the freedom."

7. "There is no way Noah could gather all the animals from across the whole planet, one male and one female and get them on the ark.  And there is no way Noah and his family could build such a large craft."

These are fairly common objections, don't you think?  So how would you answer?  What would you say?  

I said very little.  I couldn't get a word in.  But those objections are reasonable and interesting.  Let's see if there are answers..

1. So is the Bible a means of control?  Is the Bible an "opiate for the masses" as Karl Marx called all religion?  It's true that the Bible tells Christians to obey the ruling authorities.  The Bible tells Christians to await a paradise after death.  The Bible tells Christians not to seek worldly wealth.  Was the Bible developed to keep the sheeple in line?  I find it quite unlikely.  Empirically, we've seen that the most free nations of the world are predominantly Christian nations.  The United States is an excellent example.  Europe as well.  South Korea is another example.  Then think about the opposite, think about nations that have adopted atheism.  Stalin's Russia, the genocide in Cambodia, and Hitler's Nazi Germany are just a few I can think of off the top of my head.  It turned out that Karl Marx's writings were used as the opiate of the masses, leading to genocide.  Very ironic.  Read about the genocide in Cambodia here.

Did Constantine use Christianity to control his empire?  Hard to say what Constantine's motives were.  But the Roman empire was originally predominantly pagan.  The entry of Christianity was not by the hand of Constantine, but by the work of dedicated Christians of the early church.  Constantine simply made it legal, and later the official religion of the empire.  Doubtful that it was used as a means of control.  Constantine had the Roman military to maintain control.  As far as Constantine being baptized on his death bed, there is no way to know for certain if his baptism was sincere or not.  

Finally, were millions of witches burned?  At Salem, there were only twenty.  A tragedy to be certain, but religiously motivated?  That's speculative.  Supported in the Bible?  Not at all.  One must not judge a religious system by how it is abused by a minority.  Learn more here.

2. What's the difference between Greek myths and the Bible?  A great deal, I should think.  I've heard this one worded "Should I believe in leprechauns too?"  There is a great difference between mythical stories and the Biblical texts.  The Greek myths read like legendary myths.  The "gods" in the Greek myths are petty, disturbing images of gods made in the image of man.  The Jesus Christ described in the Bible is a beautiful portrait of divine perfection.  The books of the Bible read like historical accounts.  In addition, the historical reliability of the gospels and books of the Bible are powerful, with outside references and thousands of copies with only miniscule differences.  Watch a presentation by William Lane Craig on the historicity of the gospels (at Yale University).

3. The gospels of John and Matthew were indeed eyewitness accounts written before AD 70 (before the destruction of the Jewish temple.)  Mark and Luke were not eyewitness accounts, but investigative reports.  

4. Why is the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and his resurrection an acceptable sacrifice for all sins?  That is an excellent question.  To begin with, we must understand who Jesus Christ is.  He is both fully man and fully God.  God himself came in human form.  In addition, Jesus Christ, the God-man lived a perfect life.  Never made one "mistake", "slip" or "white lie."  He never sinned even once.  That is unheard of.  It's never ever been done.  It's so alien the idea of it is ludicruous.  Imagine if someone you knew, anyone, said I never made a mistake, not even once. You'd know instantly that it's a lie.  God himself offered his own life, and he was killed, when he was not guilty of a single crime.  Not even one.  Every time I smoked a cigarette, or thought something perverse about a female, I was wracking up a debt to the architect of the universe.  Since God made everything, including me, it all belongs to him.  I belong to him, regardless of if I want to acknowledge that.  Considering the incredible debt I've wracked up over 29 years of hurting myself and others, I am very much in need of a savior.  Why does God's son Jesus provide that?  Because he takes my place, and receives the punishment I should've received.  He endured ridicule, hatred, torture, and a slow death on a cross.  Then he descended, and endured death itself.  But a pure sinless man could not remain dead, he was resurrected, because of his perfection.  And so I will also be resurrected after my death, because I choose to believe that Jesus Christ is my savior, the remover of my sins.  He has facilitated my rebirth into a new family, the family of God.  For an incredible in depth study of the cross, I recommend a book called The Cross of Jesus Christ by John R.W. Stott. 

5. The question "Who made God?" is an excellent question.  Before I became a Christian, I asked this question.  And Christians told me that God is eternal, he has no beginning or end.  I thought that was a bad answer too.  It seems like a cop-out indeed!  But it's important to remember that within naturalism, the theory of the big bang one must also ask the question "What came first?"  It can't just be "and then the big bang."  What created the big bang?  Everything that begins has a cause.  Therefore one must either postulate eternal energy or eternal nothingness preceding the big bang, right?  But even if so, who created the nothingness, or, who created the energy?  Same problem.  The architect must be outside the system, and timeless, with no beginning or end, because everything with a beginning has a cause.  So God must be causeless and eternal, a state outside the human ability to comprehend.  That too seemed a cop-out, but it's not.  It's simply a statement of fact.  Comprehending an eternal causeless being is at least somewhat impossible.  Given the choice between eternal energy and a timeless divine architect, an architect seems more plausible.  The Kalam Cosmological Argument explains it better than I could, click here to view the quick video.

6. Is the United States a Christian nation?  The Supreme Court said so in 1892: "These, and many other matters which might be noticed, add a volume of unofficial declarations to the mass of organic utterances that this is a Christian nation. 143 U.S. 457 (1892)."

7.  How could Noah and his family build an ark of such large dimensions?  Isn't the Noah story impossible?  It may seem implausible, but it is certainly not impossible.  Given that God exists and is an eternal being, infinite in power, he can do anything he likes.  If God can call the universe into existence from nothingness, then helping Noah build a big boat doesn't seem like such a difficult task.  Noah may have only had himself and his family, but according to an article from the Institute for Creation Research, Noah may have had over 100 years to build the ark.  If you recall, in those ancient days people lived much longer, possibly due to more pure and unfettered DNA.  Given such a large amount of time, and divine assistance, the possibility of an ark being built by a family becomes much more possible.  Read the full article on ICR here.

I firmly believe in politely answering questions regarding the Bible and the Christian worldview.  I believe many have honest questions that should be answered with love.  Of course many have an agenda and simply wish to attack.  But that's OK.  There is no way to know who is sincere and who is not.  So if you can get a word, offer some answers and recommend some books or Youtube videos.  I always tell people to go to Youtube.com and search for videos from Frank Turek and William Lane Craig my favorite Christian apologists.  I also recommend C.S. Lewis books like the Problem of Pain and Mere Christianity.  

But the questions and answers are only given with the hope of leading a person to Jesus Christ. He is the reason for all of it.  Jesus Christ is God.  People desperately need to know him, and it's painfully obvious day by day.  There is so much brokenness in the world, and Jesus is the cure to all of it.  

Thank you for reading, and God bless you! 

The Lifestyle Change: Following Jesus one day at a Time

Following Jesus, I mean really following him...  That's the mission.  It's not a social club or a tradition.  It's a vital experience, and it takes work.  It's wonderful.  It's beautiful.  The feelings and experiences are so surreal.  It's like a dream really.  It's stepping into a journey very new, and powerful.  It's not like the old lifestyle.  It's a new lifestyle.  Day in and day out, I change.  I become positive, friendly, selfless, loving, and faithful.  I become wiser and wiser, learning and growing.  It's a beautiful journey that the Jesus-follower enjoys.  It's tough at times, it's easy at times.  It's magical at times and sometimes it hurts.  Yet it's all worth it.  And the goods always outweigh the bads.  

It is a daily lifestyle change.  One day at a time.  24 hours a day, it's living differently than before.  Stepping outside the comfort zone.  And really if I'm not growing then I'm moving backwards.  There is not much standing still in the Christian lifestyle.  There are certainly vacations, quiet time, and sabbaticals, but complacency is a different matter all together.  There are negative extremes that we need to avoid.  On one end is total laziness and on the other is perfectionism.  Both will lead to collapse.  So balance.  Do what you can, yet also take care of your own needs.  And focus on now.  I try not to worry about what's coming next week.  I try to focus on today.

Today I'm a Christian, a follower of Jesus.  Today I'm going to pray before I leave the house.  Today, I'm going to listen to an audio Bible while I scroll through Facebook.  Today I'm going to smile at a stranger.  Today I'm going to stop at the food pantry and give a few cans of food for the poor.  Today I'm going to share some encouraging posts and links on my social media accounts.  Today I'm going to thank God on my knees before bed.

Intimacy with God is a massive goal in all this.  How can I be more intimate with my maker?  How can I cultivate a firm relationship with God?  How can I increase my devotion to following Jesus?  Communication is vital.  Just communicate!  Talk to God.  And listen for his response.  Read the scriptures.  Page through Philippines, Romans, John, Galatians, Psalms, and Proverbs.  Let the life of Jesus Christ inspire your actions.  

One day at a time.  How can I encourage someone?  How can I meet a need?  How can I volunteer my time?  The actions increase our faith.  Our faith rests in the Lord, and our actions confirm that faith and build that faith.  Take an interest in others.  Take an interest in someone who seems upset or lost.  I had no idea how selfish I had become, until I really tried to take an interest in others.  It was harder than I expected.  I'd always considered myself such a great guy, but I really was quite selfish.  But I found as I pushed myself a bit to take an interest in others, I started seeing myself becoming increasingly legitimately interested.  And eventually I started to really care about the people around me.  I started to love to care about others and meet needs.  It snowballed slowly, and as long as I continue to practice that, growth in the Spirit continues.  It's a wonderful thing to experience.  

Truly truly, you have never truly lived until you've loved and cared for someone who can do nothing to help you.  It's really true.  The feeling of helping and loving others is wonderful.  Sometimes it hurts.  Sometimes it really hurts, when they make poor choices.  But in any case, when you're really loving others, despite the result, you will experience the incredible peace of Jesus Christ.  Because you're actively working for the kingdom by loving others and showing mercy.  It's at those moments, and after those moments that you'll truly feel those moments of the active presence of Jesus Christ the architect of the universe.  Truly truly, peace is a lifestyle change.  

So live it my brothers and sisters.  Live it one day at a time.  Don't worry about yesterday or tomorrow.  Live in today.  What can you do today?  You can do a lot today.  You can live for Jesus, just for today.  God bless you, and take care.

Related Posts:
Resurrection Sunday: Living a life of Worship
Pain/Suffering in the Christian Life & the Solution
Father, Comforter & Savior
Choose Greatness10 Encouragements to every 1 Rebuke

The Destiny of the Unevangelized: Universal Opportunity

Introduction

The scenario has commonly been suggested: What if there is a native in a tribe somewhere in the jungles of Africa who has a heart to hear and believe the gospel, but never is evangelized? Is that person damned to eternal disconnection from God for simply being in the wrong place at the wrong time? This area of theology relates to eschatology, and is sometimes called the problem of the destiny of the unevangelized (Boyd, 2009, p. 198). It is also sometimes called “the fate of the unlearned” by skeptics and is used as an argument against the existence of God (Altstadt & Wan, 2005). The question is a very profound one. The great majority of man kind fall into the category of the unevangelized (Boyd, 2009, p. 197). The question of their fate relates to family, friends, cultures, and societies all over the world, past, present, and future. The question raises a great deal of emotion, and controversy (Altstadt & Wan, 2005). The issue is difficult, but there are several views that seek to answer this complicated question.

Views on the Fate of the Unevangelized

The prominent view is commonly considered “the restrictivist view” (Blowers). For the restrictivist the answer is that anyone who did not come to know Jesus Christ as personal savior in their life is damned to hell (Boyd, 2009, p. 199). This causes a problem regarding the question of the goodness of God. How can a good God arbitrarily allow someone with a heart to receive the gospel to miss that opportunity and burn in hell? The restrictivist justifies this position by claiming that the individual did not go to hell because of anything God did or did not do, but went to hell because of his or her sins (Blowers). A second view is called the Post-Mortem Evangelism view (Boyd, 2009, p. 205). For those of the post-mortem evangelism view, the answer would be that the person in question may have the chance to accept Jesus as their savior after they have died (Boyd, 2009, p. 199). Unfortunately there is little scripture to back up this position, aside from the descent of Jesus into the lower parts of the Earth mentioned in Ephesians 4:8-9 and Romans 10:7 (Boyd, 2009, p. 206). A third view is called the Inclusivist view (Boyd, 2009, p. 209). For those holding to the inclusivist view, it would be suggested that the individual may have a faith in Jesus, though he or she does not know his name (Boyd, 2009, p. 209). This is also referred to as the faith principle, indicating that if one has a faith in God, they can be saved through faith, by Jesus Christ, without actually knowing the name of Jesus (Altstadt & Wan, 2005, p. 4). This view edges very closely to pluralism, or the idea that all will be saved regardless of what they specifically believe. The inclusivist view also fails to show adequate support in scripture and is quite nebulous in it's description of the faith principle (Altstadt & Wan, 2005, p. 3-5). Of course it remains a reasonable possibility. However, all these views are incorrect theologically and either omit the loving character of God (the restrictivist view) or lapse too far into speculation (the post mortem and inclusivist views). 

The correct understanding of the destiny of the unevangelized is the Universal Opportunity view (Boyd, 2009, p. 198). The universal opportunity view is that anyone who can receive the gospel will have it presented to them at some time (Blowers). And those who never hear the gospel, never would have received it anyway. The restrictivist view has paradoxically a high level of support in the scriptures, yet also the most offensive to both the character of God and the worth of man. If a man exists somewhere who would have received the gospel but God ignores him and tosses him into the burning pit, the character of God is diminished (1 John 4:8). In addition, the value of man is snuffed out. If God could treat one man with such little regard, there would be no reason to conclude that another is worth anything but garbage. God the Father gave up his son Jesus Christ, the sinless God-man for the sake of the redemption of his image-bearers (2 Corinthians 3:17-18). Therefore man is of value to God (Matthew 6:26). Therefore the exclusivist view is theologically contradictory in it's depiction of the character of God and the value of man. The restrictivist view fails. The post-mortem evangelism view has some merits. After all, all of those who were justified by faith in God before the coming of the messiah waited eagerly for his coming, so they could be freed from their sins (John 8:56, Hebrews 11:13). Would it be so strange to assume certain little ones, children, or even those outside the scope of the great commission's range might be evangelized after death? It's certainly at least possible, though not highly supported by scripture. It's important to remember that the scriptures are not exhaustive (Towns, 2008, p. 21). God has not revealed everything to his people, he only reveals what they directly need to know, namely, Jesus (John 21:25, John 6:29). The inclusivist view is quite interesting, also known as the faith-principle position (Richards, 1994, p. 89). The notion that one could believe in Christ without knowing his name is intriguing, but hardly supported in the scriptures (Richard, 1994, p. 86). It also tends to step too close to pluralism (Altstadt & Wan, 2005, p. 3). But once again it certainly is possible. However, given the blasphemy of the restrictivist view, and the highly speculative nature of the post-mortem evangelism view and inclusivist view, the universal opportunity view is the most correct theological position.

Universal Opportunity

Universal opportunity is the idea that anyone who has a heart to receive the gospel will indeed come to receive the gospel by the power of God (Boyd, 2009, p. 202). Very simply, no matter where someone is in the world, God will bring a missionary or a book or a dream to them to inform them about Jesus Christ (Blowers). John 4:23 (ESV) says “But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him.” Father God seeks out and finds those who whom he wants and those who will freely choose him and gives them salvation in Christ Jesus. At the same time, the gate is narrow that leads to salvation, and there are few who find it (Matthew 7:13-14). It's always been clear within the pages of the Bible that mankind is not particularly disposed to the message of salvation (Jeremiah 17:9). God the Father draws people to Jesus and that is the primary way that the lost come to salvation (John 6:44). Of course it's clear many will resist the calls of God to salvation if they choose to do so, evidenced by Acts 7:51 (ESV) which states “You stiff-necked people! Your hearts and ears are still uncircumcised. You are just like your ancestors: You always resist the Holy Spirit!” Never the less, nothing is too hard for God (Jeremiah 32:27). And God desires all to be saved (1 Timothy 2:3-4).

The Bible is replete with examples of God finding people where they are, people who are searching and wanting to know the truth about life. God uses his disciples to find those seeking him out and they then receive the truth. God has given every Christian a testimony to this very day, a message so important that believers are to forsake personal safety and comfort to deliver it, by the Holy Spirit and the manifestation of God's presence and power (Elwell, 2001, p. 1280). A clear example is that of the Ethiopian eunuch. In Acts 8:26-40 (ESV) Philip comes upon a man searching the scriptures and attempting to understand the prophecies of the Old Testament. Philip takes the opportunity to tell the man about Jesus Christ the savior. Another example is the Samaritan woman at the well (John 4). Jesus Christ came to a seemingly doomed person, a sexually immoral Samaritan and she is saved as a result. Another example would be the preacher called Apollos (Acts 18). Apollos had been taught about Jesus but only knew about the baptism of John. He preached regarding the baptism of John. God saw his heart and his actions and sent Paul and Barnabas to help complete his heart knowledge with the fullness of the baptism of the Holy Spirit, in Christ Jesus (Acts 19). There is a great deal of evidence to support the theological principle that God has not left himself without a witness. According to 1 Peter 3:15 (ESV) “But in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect.” God has commissioned every believer to witness to his son Jesus Christ, and as a result every one among the nations who might seek God would indeed find him by the power of witnesses, or by dreams, visions, or angels (Acts 22:15, Numbers 12:6, Acts 9:3-6, Hebrews 13:2, Acts 8:26).

Theological Support

There are four key theological arguments that support the Universal Opportunity view of the fate of the unevangelized (Blowers). The first argument is that the natural world is not sufficient for salvation, the natural world and the internal conscience of man is sufficient to communicate the moral law and the existence of a creator; but not sufficient for eternal life (Blowers). In other words, nature and internal knowledge do not equal an explicit knowledge of Jesus Christ. The second theological argument is that man needs a special revelation, a special knowledge of Jesus Christ to be saved, it is not sufficient to simply have knowledge of a loving creator (Blowers). The third theological argument is that no one responds to God aside from through his benevolent grace (Blowers). Those who respond to the little bit of light they have within, to search, to seek, and to knock, then God recognizes that response and gifts them Jesus Christ (Blowers). The fourth argument is that scripture mentions nothing of anything after death, aside from hell for those who go there, or eternal life, and no mention is made of any post-mortem evangelism (Blowers). In addition to those theological arguments, universal opportunity has had strong support in church tradition (Boyd, 2009, 204). Major supporters of universal opportunity have been Thomas Aquinas, Dante, Jacobus Arminius, John Henry Newman, Norman Geisler, Earl Radmacher, J. Oliver Buswell, Robert Lightner, and Robertson McQuilken (Blowers). Given strong theological support and weighty defenders of the universal opportunity view, the conclusion seems sound to consider God as loving and gracious to give eternal life through Jesus Christ all those who respond to the light they have (Boyd, 2009, p. 204).

Conclusion

In conclusion, 2 Peter 3:9 (ESV) says “The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.” God the Father wants all to know Jesus Christ. He desires none to perish. God the Father is the God of those whom he elects and predestines to salvation (Romans 8:29, Ephesians 1:11). God the Father is the God of the seekers, the ones who look for him do find him (Deuteronomy 4:29, Proverb 8:17, Matthew 7:7). Jeremiah 29:13 (ESV) says “You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.”

Returning to the question posed at the beginning of this paper: What about the tribal man in the jungles of Africa who never hears the gospel? The answer is, according to the theological underpinnings of universal opportunity, that as this man wanders through the jungle, staring up at the sky, wondering who made the earth, taking joy in the light within, the internal knowledge of God's existence; as he journeys he will encounter a missionary amongst the foliage who will tell him about his redeemer, Jesus Christ. Or the man may have a dream where Jesus speaks to him, and he is saved. Or he may have a vision or be visited by an angel. God will always provide a way to be saved to the one who delights in his presence and seeks him with a full heart (Psalm 27:8).

Bibliography

Altstadt, Robert A., and Enoch Wan. "The Salvation of the Unevangelized: What the Literature Suggests." Global Missiology, Contemporary Practices, 2005. Accessed December 10, 2014. http://www.globalmissiology.net/.

Blowers, Dr. LaVerne P. "Are They Really Lost? What Is the Status of the Unevangelized?" Christian Higher Education 7, no. 1. Accessed December 10, 2014. www.bethelcollege.edu/assets/content/mcarchives/pdfs/v7n1p127.pdf.

Boyd, Gregory A., and Paul R. Eddy. Across the Spectrum: Understanding Issues in Evangelical Theology. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Academic, 2009.

Douglas, J. D., and Merrill C. Tenney. Zondervan Illustrated Bible Dictionary. 2nd ed. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan, 2011.

ESV: Study Bible : English Standard Version. ESV Text ed. Wheaton, Ill.: Crossway Bibles, 2007.

Elwell, Walter A. Evangelical Dictionary of Theology. 2nd ed. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Book House, 2001.

Lutzer, Erwin W. The Doctrines That Divide: A Fresh Look at the Historic Doctrines That Separate Christians. Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 1998.

Richard, Ramesh P. "Soteriological Inclusivism and Dispensationalism." Bibliotheca Sacra 151 (1994): 85-108.

Sproul, R. C. The Reformation Study Bible: English Standard Version, Containing the Old and New Testaments. Orlando, Fla.: Ligonier Ministries, 2005.

Towns, Elmer L. Theology for Today. 3rd ed. Mason, Ohio: Cengage Learning, 2008.

Related Posts:
Kenotic Christology: The Example Christ set in Communion with and Reliance upon the Father and Spirit (Academic)
Christians in Politics: A Brief Analysis of Issues in the United States
Academic Paper: The Image of God
Academic Paper: The Holy Spirit as Guide, Preacher, and Indwelling in the Book of Acts
Academic Paper: Basics of the Faith, Book of Romans

Living in the Suburban Sprawl (Mountains beyond Mountains)

Proverb 27:19 As water reflects the face,
so one’s life reflects the heart.

A spiritual journey begins in the oddest of all places.  In the confusion of a realization that true love in the sense of a perfect relationship is, understandably, impossible and unrequited.  And stomping off into the night.  Waiting at a street corner, trees on the sides, black as night, under the street lights.  Half awake in the suburbs, hoping for something indescribable.  

A construct all encompassing, detached and wondering, what is the purpose?  Knowing something isn't right, in the suburbs.  Growing up in the suburbs.  Taught the stories.  Given the instructions.  On the surface it all makes sense.  Punch the clock, take a drive, work some hours, wear the uniform, entertainment, television, and classes upon classes.  

I was a young man once, but then I was a young man in his twenties.  Feeling out of place wherever he went.  Always out of place.  Always pressure.  Pressure to be someone, employee, family member, brother, son, friend, citizen, faceless consumer.  Suffocating, starving, on the edge.  Couldn't quite breath the air, too thin to take in.  

Something wasn't right about it all.  The consuming society, the producing society.  The suburbs so formatted.  Flying along the highways and byways trying to understand it all.  Everything costs something, everything exacting a price.  Going from place to place, yet every place seems to be same.  Same restaurants, same intersections, same skyline.. 

Joy was fleeting.  On some sort of journey.  Wandering the streets at night.  Almost every night I would be out there.  It was a place of bareness.  I could see better in the dark than I could in the sprawl.  Day was too bright.  In the silence, tracking along quiet forest streets, meandering between street lights listening to indie rock.. wondering.  Why am I here? What is this for?  

Most will never slow down long enough to wonder.  The truth snuck in the back door, of night walks.  Hour after hour, 2 in the morning, 3 in the morning, 4 in the morning, 6 AM, 7 AM.  On and on.  Mile after mile.  Music playing, thoughts spinning, imagining scenarios in my mind.  Asking questions.  

Laughing out loud in the darkness.  Feeling the desperate relief of nothingness, nowhere, void winter nights.  

From my earliest memories I wanted to save the world.  Desperately wanted to fight for the truth.  Never knew the truth.  Caught up in the suburbs.  Caught up in the grind.  Daily go, go, go. Drive, drive, listen to radio, snap on the TV.  So fast, so fast.  

When we were kids we had nowhere to go.  Nowhere was safe.  On the bus, at school, in the bedroom, doing homework, in the hallway, at basketball practice, always told to be something.  Never feeling entirely myself wherever I was.  Nowhere was home.  Yet, being alone in the woods, with a group of friends meandering the streets, that was home.  

Asking others, what is happening here?  I don't like money!  Don't you want something more than sex!?  No one seemed to understand.  Clocks were always ticking, always assignments to turn in on biology, math, and scientism.  Nowhere to hide, brainwashing sinking in.  Materialism, and bang, go!  Chase the money at all costs.  Don't ask questions, don't dare wonder why!  Don't ask how you got here!  

But what was happening?  Is it spirit?  Can I change the world?  Can I stop the megamonsters from devouring the city, from destroying the suburbs?  Can I stop the mighty CEO from bankrupting the world?  Can I change anything?  If so, how?  And if I can, would it matter 200 years from now?  Where do I go when I die?  Why do I exist?  What is the purpose of life?  What is meaning?  How do I change this?  Why am I so addicted?  Why can't I breath?  Why can't I sleep!?

Spiritual journey.  Eyes open.  Light sneaking in through the night.  The moon, the stars.  Hope in the quiet.  Heart shining bright.  

Intersections upon intersections.  Mountains beyond mountains.  Problems and more problems.  Hope in the shadows.  Light in the alleys.  Comprehension in silence.  Mountains beyond mountains.  Ideas beyond ideas.  Spirit by spirit.  Eyes seeing something.  Threat of destruction.  Final ego crush, last moments, last gasps of breath..

Consumerism in the veins, desperation, hospitals upon hospitals.  Detox beyond detox.  Answers in the forest.. a tree shining brightly.  Jesus Christ, please save me.

Living in the suburban sprawl.  Saved from a consumerist nightmare in the veins.  Stuffed to the core with addiction, sex, entertainment.  Hope in the simplicity, God in the shadows of the night walks, stars above and trees to all sides, hope born in the repeating disasters of the past, eyes open, covered in red, cleared of distortion, finally, sight and eyes that see.

In the suburbs things are pretty straight.  You've got shrubs, paved roads, insights, jobs, benefits, family life, doorbells, classrooms, soccer fields, sunlight, laughter, and suburban disaster.  Maybe somewhere there is a twisted boy, running down the night roads screaming within, why is this happening?  Why am I here!?  Is he crazy?  Has he lost his mind?  Doesn't he understand about money and marriage?  Doesn't he have a job?  

But maybe if he wants to know the truth sincerely enough, maybe if he cries out loud enough, God might step out of the shadows and introduce him to hope.  A chance to save the world at last.  A new life beyond the suburbs, where the mouth can breath and the eyes can see clearly, and finally, unplugged from the total dream world.  Woken up.  Changing into who he actually is. 

Wake up.  Are you there?  Can you hear me?  There is a way out of the sprawl.  There is only one who can move the mountains beyond mountains.  He is Spirit.  He is truth.

2 Corinthians 3:18 And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.

(This post inspired by a song by Arcade Fire called Sprawl II - Mountains beyond Mountains a song inspired by the book Mountains beyond Mountains by Tracy Kidder)