Last week, the pastor of the Westboro Baptist Church passed away. He was the leader of hundreds of protests staged at sensitive moments, most prominently the funerals of military service members that were killed in action. His vehement anti-homosexuality position and the inflammatory language that was used to denounce homosexuals and other groups that he deemed to be be hated by God drew the ire of everyone, including the Ku Klux Klan.
But it is time to forgive him.
His teachings were the logical extreme of the Reformed and/or Calvinist traditions. He believed that sin was evidence of unbelief, and he saw the death of men and women in uniform as an act of God's vengeance on the United States for tolerating the various groups he despised. He denounced the belief in justification by grace, through faith as heresy, and believed that those who clung to that belief were guilty of apostasy.
But it is time to forgive him.
He did not believe in a God who calls sinners to his embrace and offers them forgiveness for sin that they are born with and cannot help but commit. He could not conceive that God is able to both love the world despite its sin and condemn the world for its sin. He did not understand that God is both merciful and just.
But it is time to forgive him.
And in doing so, we will exemplify how Christianity is supposed to be and how Christians are supposed to live. A vast majority of people will look at him and say that he was an evil person. But the Christian should look at Mr. Phelps and see the same thing that he sees when he looks in a mirror: a sinner in need of God's grace and forgiveness. I condemn his actions as hateful and sinful. But I forgive Fred Phelps for all the hurt that he caused and the unbiblical teachings he held to.
When I asked one of my roommates if he had heard about his death, he said, "Yeah. It's sad because he probably didn't know Jesus." It was so evident during his life that he did not know the forgiveness that can only come from Christ, and that he mistook forgiveness of sins for the acceptance, if not the endorsement, of sin.
His death is perhaps one of the greatest ironies. In death, he will meet the God that he believed in: a god of justice. But he will most likely be surprised when it is him who is cast into hell for unbelief, because he did not believe the Gospel message that God so loved the world, that he gave his only son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. So let us pray the prayer our Lord taught us: forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.
It is time to forgive him.
Monday, March 24, 2014
Friday, February 14, 2014
Valentine's Day for Christian Girls
So, in many evangelical Christian circles in America, there are these ideas about dating and relationships. Some of it is pretty good, in my opinion. Admonitions to study the Word and date with the purpose of getting married. Warnings against giving up your body to our sinful desires in a relationship.
But then there are a lot of phrases and pictures with these phrases on them. Pictures like this one:
But then there are a lot of phrases and pictures with these phrases on them. Pictures like this one:
Or this one:
And while I agree with the sentiment that, as a Christian, you should seek out a partner/future spouse who is a devoted Christian, the actual statements are complete and utter malarkey.
This is because they suggest or outright say that God determines these kinds of details in our lives, or they tell us that God will speak to us and tell us these things directly. But the thing is, the Bible simply doesn't say that anywhere. In fact, it says quite the opposite! "In many and various ways, God spoke to his people of old by the prophets. But now in these last days, he has spoken to us by his Son." Hebrews 1:1-2 tells us that God does not deal with us except by means of His external Word.
To say that God communicates with us (and by us, I mean 21st century Christians) directly is to preach a great heresy - specifically the heresy of enthusiasm or mysticism, which teaches that we can know God apart from what is written in the Bible. This is actually a bigger problem than bad dating advice - it actually teaches that you don't need the Bible to know God or come to faith in Him.
These pictures try to tell you that through your emotions and your feelings, and not through the Word of God, you can come to know God or His will, particularly about who to enter into a relationship with. It's subtle, but that is the way that the devil works. In fact, this belief that it is through your emotions, feelings, or reason that you come to God is the root of every legitimate heresy and apostate religion in the world.
This isn't even to mention that sometimes, these kinds of sentences are nothing more than said Christian girls' way to cope with the fact that they are single and might have been single for quite some time. They try to take their singleness and attribute it to God not picking out the right guy for them or telling the right guy that she is the right girl for him. Or they demonize dating as something "of this world" that they shouldn't take part in. Or something like that.
Often these Christian girls who "just believe the Bible" will read something like 1 Corinthians 7:34, "An unmarried woman or virgin is concerned about the Lord's affairs: Her aim is to be devoted to the Lord in both body and spirit. But a married woman is concerned about the affairs of this world - how she can please her husband." and not really understand what it really means. This verse is in the middle of Paul answering questions that the Corinthian church had. The Corinthian church, in this time, is also undergoing some persecution.
The 21st century Christian girl might look at this and say, "I just need to be focused on Jesus. Then He will give me a husband if I need one." This would make sense, if we ignore context. Paul also writes in 7:2, "But since there is so much immorality, each man should have his own wife, and each woman her own husband." Whenever marriage is discussed in the Bible, it is discussed as a desirable institution to be in. There is no shame in desiring or attempting to enter into this institution. What Paul is addressing in 1 Corinthians is a variety of concerns about what was happening in Corinth. His advice, while still the inspired, inerrant Word of God that breathes life into us and can teach us, does not necessarily apply to us.
Then there's also all sorts of advice and questions about things like "How far is too far?" and "Is this sexual action that isn't outright sex a sin?". This is also heterodoxy. Usually, these aren't questions rooted in firm doctrine, but are rather questions to determine what we can get away with and work around the Law. To be sure, these kinds of questions should be asked with regards to the strength of your faith and the faith of your partner in light of what the Sixth Commandment, "Do not commit adultery," says and teaches. Which is that, not only is any kind of extramarital sex (marital being between one man and one woman in a marriage relationship) sinful, but desiring these kinds of things in our hearts is also sinful.
Our society will tell us, "Do what you are both comfortable consenting to." And some Christians will tell you, "Don't even hold hands until you are engaged. Maybe." But really, a man and a woman in a dating relationship should meet somewhere in the middle. Acknowledge that there are some things that simply should not be done until you are married (anything that involves the genitalia would be a good place to start), set those boundaries, and respect them. But this needs to be done on a relationship by relationship basis.
The way that a Christian should really go about dating is to try to get married. And realizing that marriage is a sacrifice for the other person and for your children. Try to find that person worth sacrificing for. Figure out what qualities about a person you find attractive and desirable in a spouse and seek those people out.
And when you find someone with those qualities, engage with them. No, don't get engaged to them right away, but interact with them. Talk, laugh, play; see if they really have the qualities that you want. See if you can forgive or overlook the qualities that detract from them. Argue with them and challenge each other on an emotional, spiritual, and intellectual level.
Forgive them when they screw up, and ask for forgiveness when you screw up. And if it doesn't work out, then it doesn't work out. Reconcile yourself to them, then move on and try to get married to someone else. And in the mean time, study the Scriptures and develop your faith. That is something that I can agree with evangelicals about.
Friday, January 24, 2014
Everyone is a Role Model
I don't really follow sports that much. It isn't that important to me. I only recently found out about Richard Sherman and how he is kind of an asshole at times, especially with post game interviews and whatnot. Honestly, the section of his Wikipedia page is all I know about him. But, as a result, Charles Barkley was on CNN today and I caught a snippet of an interview with him, referencing a Nike add he did several years ago. In this add, he says that he isn't a role model.
Again, I don't follow sports or athletes at all. I am going to address what Charles Barkley said in this ad and how he is just wrong.
If you don't know what ad I'm talking about, watch it here:
Now, I will admit that I agree with the basic point - that parents need to take a more active role in developing their children and be the first and foremost role model for their children. I wholeheartedly agree with that statement. But what he actually says about him being a role model just isn't true.
He is a celebrity. He was in the public view, more so than a vast majority (I'm going to speculate and say probably around 99%) of other Americans for the mere fact that he was on national TV playing basketball for our entertainment. Whether he wants to believe it or not, while he was playing basketball, he was more of a role model than most people ever are. More than I have ever been, and more than I probably will ever be.
Why? What makes a role model? Well, to use the term pretty broadly, a role model is someone who is looked up to for any number of reasons. His reason was his basketball ability and accompanying celebrity status. And because of that, he became a role model for probably millions of young Americans who may not have had a good family life and found solace with their friends playing basketball, young Americans who did not see the value of education when they could be playing basketball, or young Americans that just enjoyed the game of basketball and played it and watched it as often as possible. People watched him on and off the court. My Air Force ROTC instructor is fond of saying, "You are always in a fishbowl." And this is talking about officers on base, where there's a few thousand people around. There's usually more people in most arenas on game day than there are people on a military base most of the time.
The point I'm trying to make is that everyone is a role model. Everyone gets looked at by people to see if they are worth emulating in some way. I am a role model to the underclassmen in ROTC. I am a role model to my younger siblings. People look up to me - either because I have a position of authority over them or because I am their big brother. And how I act affects them. If I were to wear my uniform incorrectly or messily, then that would give an implicit signal to the underclassmen that the uniform doesn't really matter. If I act like a jerk, then that gives the signal to my younger siblings that being a jerk is okay.
But now think about someone like Charles Barkley! I can affect a few dozen people during the week - he could reach several million over the course of a few hours. And now that we live in an age of instant communication, what happens at one place can be known everywhere in a matter of hours, if not minutes. Take, for instance, Justin Bieber. He was recently arrested for driving under the influence, drag racing, and resisting arrest. He admitted to police officers that he had been drinking, smoking marijuana, and taking prescription medication. This happened overnight in Florida, and I knew about it when I woke up and turned on my computer that next morning. (More and more information surfaces about him: http://www.cnn.com/2014/01/29/showbiz/justin-bieber-toronto-arrest/)
Fortunately, I'm not brainwashed by the teeny-bopping sensation, and actually wasn't surprised at all. But many of his fans probably were, and are in delusions that he is being persecuted. #JustinBieberChangedMyLife is currently trending on Twitter. He has enormous reach. Fortunately, some of them seem to be either complaining about the fact that this hashtag is trending or are completely sarcastic about it. But the fact of the matter is, 40 million people are affected, positively or negatively, by him. He is, unfortunately, a role model.
Which is why the sentiments behind the Charles Barkley ad are so true! Parents need to be more involved with their children's lives. Their children need to become to sole focus of the parents' lives. They need to teach them right from wrong, true and false, and how to discern between the two. Parents also need to control what kind of message their children are getting from the media, so that they can get other people to aid them in this duty. It is the primary responsibility of the parents, but the parents can get help where they need it.
Just remember, if there is anyone that would be considered subordinate to you, whether it be by age, authority, family position, profession, or life experiences, you are a role model. You are sending a message to those people. But the question is, what is the message you are sending them?
Again, I don't follow sports or athletes at all. I am going to address what Charles Barkley said in this ad and how he is just wrong.
If you don't know what ad I'm talking about, watch it here:
Now, I will admit that I agree with the basic point - that parents need to take a more active role in developing their children and be the first and foremost role model for their children. I wholeheartedly agree with that statement. But what he actually says about him being a role model just isn't true.
He is a celebrity. He was in the public view, more so than a vast majority (I'm going to speculate and say probably around 99%) of other Americans for the mere fact that he was on national TV playing basketball for our entertainment. Whether he wants to believe it or not, while he was playing basketball, he was more of a role model than most people ever are. More than I have ever been, and more than I probably will ever be.
Why? What makes a role model? Well, to use the term pretty broadly, a role model is someone who is looked up to for any number of reasons. His reason was his basketball ability and accompanying celebrity status. And because of that, he became a role model for probably millions of young Americans who may not have had a good family life and found solace with their friends playing basketball, young Americans who did not see the value of education when they could be playing basketball, or young Americans that just enjoyed the game of basketball and played it and watched it as often as possible. People watched him on and off the court. My Air Force ROTC instructor is fond of saying, "You are always in a fishbowl." And this is talking about officers on base, where there's a few thousand people around. There's usually more people in most arenas on game day than there are people on a military base most of the time.
The point I'm trying to make is that everyone is a role model. Everyone gets looked at by people to see if they are worth emulating in some way. I am a role model to the underclassmen in ROTC. I am a role model to my younger siblings. People look up to me - either because I have a position of authority over them or because I am their big brother. And how I act affects them. If I were to wear my uniform incorrectly or messily, then that would give an implicit signal to the underclassmen that the uniform doesn't really matter. If I act like a jerk, then that gives the signal to my younger siblings that being a jerk is okay.
But now think about someone like Charles Barkley! I can affect a few dozen people during the week - he could reach several million over the course of a few hours. And now that we live in an age of instant communication, what happens at one place can be known everywhere in a matter of hours, if not minutes. Take, for instance, Justin Bieber. He was recently arrested for driving under the influence, drag racing, and resisting arrest. He admitted to police officers that he had been drinking, smoking marijuana, and taking prescription medication. This happened overnight in Florida, and I knew about it when I woke up and turned on my computer that next morning. (More and more information surfaces about him: http://www.cnn.com/2014/01/29/showbiz/justin-bieber-toronto-arrest/)
Fortunately, I'm not brainwashed by the teeny-bopping sensation, and actually wasn't surprised at all. But many of his fans probably were, and are in delusions that he is being persecuted. #JustinBieberChangedMyLife is currently trending on Twitter. He has enormous reach. Fortunately, some of them seem to be either complaining about the fact that this hashtag is trending or are completely sarcastic about it. But the fact of the matter is, 40 million people are affected, positively or negatively, by him. He is, unfortunately, a role model.
Which is why the sentiments behind the Charles Barkley ad are so true! Parents need to be more involved with their children's lives. Their children need to become to sole focus of the parents' lives. They need to teach them right from wrong, true and false, and how to discern between the two. Parents also need to control what kind of message their children are getting from the media, so that they can get other people to aid them in this duty. It is the primary responsibility of the parents, but the parents can get help where they need it.
Just remember, if there is anyone that would be considered subordinate to you, whether it be by age, authority, family position, profession, or life experiences, you are a role model. You are sending a message to those people. But the question is, what is the message you are sending them?
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