Why Christianity might survive in North America - Denyse O’Leary

... despite collapses elsewhere ... as observed by David Goldman in How Civilizations Die (and Why Islam Is Dying Too) :

Why Christianity might survive?

A key reason America may be spared is the persistence of personal (not national) religiosity. As Phillip Longman noted (in alarm), it is mainly religious people who raise children. Half of all American women of childbearing age say that religion is important to them, versus one in six of European women.

That in itself provides evidence that Americans will replace themselves and Europeans will not: “When children become a cost rather than an asset, prospective parents must identify with something beyond their own needs in order to sustain child-raising.” Especially in a modern welfare state where those who raise no children expect a comfortable retirement based on the labour of the children of others. Raising children then becomes an act of faith with no earthly reward. One undertaken by evangelicals and observant Catholics but not so much by mainline Protestants.

The really remarkable and hopeful thing we learn is that the vital American model of Christianity (including sustainable populations) seems to be taking root in the global South.

Why Islam is dying too?

Islam is dying too because the Muslim birth rate - according to reliable statistics - has crashed. How badly?

Across the entire Muslim world, university-educated Muslim women bear children at the same rate as their infecund European counterparts.

Whatever they believe about Islam, they have one or two children, but rarely three or four. Not enough to deliver their societies from demographic collapse, given the size of the families they came from. For example,

The average young Tunisian woman - like her Iranian or Turkish counterpart - grew up in a family of seven children, but will bear only one or two herself.

Education for women doesn’t in itself cause birth dearth, but abandonment of the land does. Muslims are not immune from the urbanization that turns children who were once a source of wealth into a major cost centre. Increasing numbers of people, there as here, hope that others will undertake the trouble.

- From my columns in MercatorNet.

Denyse O'Leary is co-author of The Spiritual Brain. Follow UD News at Twitter!

Award Winners--Carolyn Wilker

On November 8^th, the announcement was made at a black-tie dinner and awards ceremony for the latest winner of the Giller Prize. Broadcast live on CBC, Scotia Bank named Esi Edugyan as the 2011 winner.

Edugyan’s book, Half-Blood Blues, was published by Thomas Allen. Its earlier acceptance at Key Porter came up in her interview at Studio Q the next morning.

The neat thing about the Internet is having the opportunity to watch the event and press coverage days after the ceremony. The reporter interviewing Edugyan asked her how she felt about winning, pointing out not only the honour, but also the $50,000 prize money and also that her book would be in great demand.

The thrilled author was nevertheless humble and stated that she would have time for her little daughter who was born earlier this year. On watching the actual footage of the announcement, I noticed the disbelief, excitement and awe on her face when her name was called. Her response reflected those emotions as she struggled to put words to her acceptance. “Miraculous” was one of the words she used.

In her interview the next morning at Studio Q, she shared more about her publication journey with Half-Blood Blues. The book was actually in production with reading copies and a cover design completed when Key Porter made its announcement to suspend publishing operations. What a feeling that must have been for authors who had signed contracts and editors who had worked hard to make those manuscripts the best they could be. Authors, wondering if their book would ever be published, and editors, if they would be paid for the work they had put into their projects.

Edugyan said that she had no publisher for the book for 2-3 months and that there was a possible contract in Britain. She wanted a Canadian publisher, since Canada is her home, and was pleased when Thomas Allen took it on and rushed it to press early in the fall. She was equally as pleased when she learned the wide range of people reading her book.

When the radio announcer asked how she had made the voices and language sound so real, Edugyan said that she had read biographies of Louis Armstrong and another book that had been dictated by a jazz musician as he lay very ill. She studied the language of jazz musicians to get the cadence right and also invented some of the dialog herself. Of other details, she said, “My desire is to be as historically accurate as possible.”

Edugyan was “utterly astonished” to be chosen, with Michael Ondaatje, one of her literary heroes sitting behind her at the event. She had written a few things on paper, notes to herself about whom to thank if she should win, but not a real speech. Her humility was notable.

All of this makes me think of another contest—The Word Guild Awards and Gala— that celebrate excellence in writing. That is, after all, what contests are about—to recognize writers who have been working hard to improve their craft and contribute to a body of writing. While this awards contest may not have the same stature as the Giller, Booker and other public prizes, we can nevertheless, recognize and raise the bar among Canadian writers who are Christian.

Acknowledging that awards acceptance speeches are expected of winners, being ready rings true with this Toastmaster. Those who make the short list would be well advised to prepare a speech, for the emotion of such a moment will surely take over, as it did for Edugyan.

To say our writing is a gift from God is not enough. We have to be willing to revise and polish and make our writing the best it can be, in whatever genre we write. That’s where writer’s conferences, critique groups and continued writing and learning come in. When we use our gift well, we can inspire, entertain and educate with class—and change the world.

As for black tie dinners and awards— imagine yourself there on stage, delighted and surprised, like Esi Edugyan. Then get your entry into the contest. http://www.thewordguild.com/contestsawards/

http://carolynwilker.ca/

Growing through Intimacy - HIRD

By Rev Ed Hird

I never imagined that we can grow through conflict, that we can discover greater intimacy through facing the conflicts in our lives. Many of us are conflict-phobic. Through taking a course with my doctoral advisor Dr Paddy Ducklow, I learned that conflict is not something to be avoided but rather to be celebrated. Many of us have learned from our families of origin to emotionally cut ourselves off whenever anxious situations emerge. But avoidance and emotional cutoff just make things worse.

It takes courage to face painful situations in our life, courage to listen, and courage to confront. Dr Ducklow modeled on this course a non-anxious presence that cared but did not get swallowed by people’s issues. It takes a lot of inner resilience to be able to stay present and calm when the storms of life blow in.

Jesus modeled this by how he acted on a Galilean boat during a storm. Rather than panic, he was totally relaxed and challenged his disciples to have more faith and inner peace. Then he spoke to the wind and storms, saying ‘Peace. Be still’. In the midst of our storms, Jesus is still saying ‘Peace. Be still.’

I first met Paddy Ducklow in 1972 during the Jesus Movement when millions of young people came to a personal faith in Jesus Christ. Paddy at that time was leading the youth ministry at West Vancouver Baptist Church which had between 800 to 1,000 young people attending their Sunday evening service Salt Circus. I remember attending Salt Circus. The place was electric. Paddy later founded the Burnaby Counselling Group before becoming the Senior Pastor of Burnaby Christian Fellowship. Wherever Paddy has gone, he has had a lasting impact on the lives of many, helping them to know greater intimacy and peace through Jesus Christ.

In more recent years, Paddy became the Senior Pastor of Capilano Christian Community on the North Shore, before stepping down to become the Professor of Marriage and Family at Carey Theological College on the UBC Campus. Over two years ago, I began to once again feel the call to do a part-time doctorate. E-mailing Paddy, I asked his advice as to where I might go to do my doctorate. Paddy responded, saying that he was being inducted at West Vancouver Baptist Church that very night Feb 26th 2009 as Carey Professor of Marriage and Family. I attended his induction, during which Paddy gave a hilarious talk on ‘Marriage for Dummies’. God spoke to me that evening, convincing me that I was to ‘step out of the boat’ and move forward on my doctorate. The exciting thing about the Carey Doctorate is that it is a part-time program designed specifically for full-time pastors.

In the past two and a half years, I have learned and grown in so many ways at Carey. Paddy’s own Doctoral Thesis was on how we process conflict. Paddy is passionate about conflict. I will be doing my Doctoral project on Strengthening Marriages, particularly looking at couple conflict and family systems theory. My vision is that many marriages will become more intimate, more life-giving as couples learn to embrace and celebrate the inevitable conflicts in their lives. I dream of couples who, instead of emotionally cutting off and running, choose to hang in there and learn how to really be present to each other in ways that do not take each out.

Marriages and families are worth fighting for. Marriages and families are building blocks of our very communities. It is so easy for us to take each other out and then give up on each other. My prayer for those reading this article is that we will find the strength to be ourselves, to embrace the gift of family and community, to forgive and reconcile at the deepest level.


The Reverend Ed Hird, Rector
St. Simon’s Church North Vancouver
Anglican Mission in the Americas (Canada)
http://stsimonschurch.ca/
-published in the Nov 2011 Deep Cove Crier
-award-winning author of the book ‘Battle for the Soul of Canada’
http://www.battleforthesoulofcanada.blogspot.com/
p.s. In order to obtain a copy of the book ‘Battle for the Soul of Canada’, please send a $18.50 cheque to ‘Ed Hird’, #1008-555 West 28th Street, North Vancouver, BC V7N 2J7. For mailing the book to the USA, please send $20.00 USD. This can also be done by PAYPAL using the e-mail ed_hird@telus.net . Be sure to list your mailing address. The Battle for the Soul of Canada e-book can be obtained for $9.99 CDN/USD.
-Click to download a complimentary PDF copy of the Battle for the Soul study guide : Seeking God’s Solution for a Spirit-Filled Canada
You can also download the complimentary Leader’s Guide PDF: Battle for the Soul Leaders Guide

Strong and Free, Defined - Belec

by Glynis M. Belec

A friend posted this picture on Facebook last week. As a child of WWII veterans, it held a powerful message for me. And this timely addition to the social networking roadway, certainly has sparked conversation. I have entered into a discussion or two about our present state of society with more than one over the last few days and for some reason it is not leaving my brain.

Mom, who passed away in 2007, was a former ATS - Auxiliary Territorial Services - during the war and poppa bear who is still very much alive and in possession of all his marbles, served valiantly from 1942 - 1954 in the Royal Marine 45 Commando Division.

I nodded my head in agreement when I saw these juxtapositioned pictures and read the captions. When I showed this picture to Dad to get his opionion, I think I saw a tear.

 "They have no idea..." was all he uttered.



Dad - 'marching' in the Remembrance Day parade November 11/11

I gave him a hug and helped him don his beret in time for the Remembrance Day parade. His gnarled fingers and the limited range of motion now evident in his battle-weary body interrupts his activities of daily living. Although, for 85 years of age, he does well and still manages to live alone. We keep a close eye on him and look after all his needs, just so that he can stay in his own home.
"They'll have to carry me out!" is his battle cry if anyone dare ask him about moving. I love his spunk and spirit. My sister and I are doing everything we can to help his remaining years be happy and stress free. (We have often said he might just outlive us~)

As I look again at this contrasting picture, I wonder why are we like this today? What is the difference between 'then' and 'now'? Between my Dad's willingness to enlist and today's desire to resist? Why were the boys so willing to give all back then, but now the prevailing message is take as much as you can and make everything about self?

I am probably quick to waggle my finger and nod in agreement as I consider the underlying message in this picture. But then I wonder. The boys who gave it all didn't have everything handed to them on a silver platter. People worked together and looked out for  each other. Families weren't little entities with absent parents and the divorce rate was certainly no where near what it is today. My hubby said his mother would send him out to play in the summer and he would only reappear for meals and when it got dark. Not such a wise idea nowadays. [No parent in their right minds would allow that in this day and age.  Besides, they would likely be reported if they did.] Yep, in our quest for a better life, it seems we have erred somewhere along the way.  It becomes more and more obvious that  we no longer live in a safe world where everyone watched your back. It's a different world. It's a different society. Me first. What about me? What can I get out of it? I want...want...want...

God must look down and shake his head somedays. How he must weep for the mess we are making of His creation. Looking at that first picture does make me feel a little hopeless. Then I remember our Lord Jesus. I remember the first memory verse I learned as a Christian...For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost - Luke 19:10

Yes, I suppose we do appear as a sorry excuse for humankind sometimes. Maybe we need to be reminded that Jesus came to save us from our brokenness and always gives us a second chance [and a third, a fourth, a fifth...]

They do say - a picture is worth a thousand words.



A Writer's Thoughts on this Remembrance Day - Hall

On the main road heading into Fredericton where I live, there is a car dealership with a Canadian flag the size of a house. Whenever we lose a serviceman or woman it flies at half mast. It flies at half mast more often than it should, and it's a sight that always saddens me. I'm usually silent the rest of the way into town, thinking not only the individual families who will mourn the loss of a son or daughter- often the same age as my own children - but of the greater loss to us as a nation. I am silent when I think of what they have given to us as a nation.

Just a quick perusal of BBC online or English Aljazeera, two news sources that I go to on a fairly regular basis, one can see how privileged we are as Canadians. We have so many freedoms to be grateful for. We have a democracy that works.

There is a YouTube video that has, I am sure, gone viral by now, and maybe you have seen it - in it a street interviewer, microphone in hand, is asking groups of young people questions like, 'Do you know what the Halocaust is?' and when they shrug and say they don't know, he presses on. 'How about Adolf Hitler, you know who he is?' More shrugs. More comments like, 'The name sounds familiar, but I don't watch the news.'

Now, I don't know how accurate a portrayal this is of our Canadian youth, but even if only a few don't know the answers, we, as writers have a job to do, a sacred calling, if you will, to make sure generations to come never forget.

So, I will end , inadequate as this is posting is on this awesome day, and say thank you.

Lest we forget.

In Times Like These -- Gibson

“Nana, am I five now?” my third grandbean, aged a mighty three, asked the other day. “Cuz when I get to five, I can SPEED!”

Slow down, child. Just a minute ago, I was five too. Back then (a half-century ago, in 1961) the average hourly wage was $1.15, and the average annual full-time salary, about six and a half thousand dollars. But $18,800 would buy a new house, and $2,275 a brand new car. Gas cost 31 cents a gallon, and you could mail a local first class letter for 4 cents.

A half-century ago, the world contained just 4 billion people. Canada’s population sat at 18,238,247. In the U.S., John F. Kennedy was inaugurated as President, and the same year marked the birth of future president Barak Obama—just in time to have his bottom pampered by the first disposable diapers in the world.

To the south, President Fidel Castro declared Cuba a Communist State. In Germany, Berlin constructed a wall.

But in 1961, entire Western families still sat together on tweed couches, watching Billy Graham’s Hour of Decision (or Dick Van Dyke) on 12” black and white televisions (perhaps munching toast that came from a 21 cent loaf, drinking milk poured from a $1.05 gallon jug.)

Those same families likely shared a church pew on Sundays, and bowed their heads to pray before they ate.

Times have changed some. Do I want my grandbean to speed, to five or fifty-five? On the contrary. I shudder to think what the next half-century holds for the simple faith already growing inside her.

Here’s why: A great and spreading ache has overtaken us. The Biblical message that God loves the world, and sent his Son as the answer for our deepest needs is under attack as never before.

In many countries worldwide, determined efforts to undermine the Christian faith—even eliminate it—have escalated. Inside many Western Christian churches, doctrine is dancing to the piper of social acceptability.

In other parts of the world, speaking up for those things that are trademark to Christianity: respect for life, right living, love for one’s neighbour, kindness to the weakest members of society, forgiveness of one’s enemies, intolerance for injustice and inequality, and defence of the Word of God, is tantamount to a death sentence.

There’s more: according to the organization, Voice of the Martyrs, in the countries of North Korea, Burma, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and over sixty other countries, one Christian is martyred every five minutes. It is routine in those countries for Christians to suffer torture, harassment, rape, imprisonment, slavery, kidnapping and death.

That organization has designated this Sunday, November 13, as this year’s International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church. They would like to remind Christians in the West to pray. If one suffers, we all suffer, they say.

Pray this Sunday, for Christ's Body West and Christ's Body East. And for the sake of my grandbeans, and yours, and all the children of God--don't stop.

***
Find more information at www.dayofprayer.org

Kathleen Gibson
author, columnist, broadcaster
www.kathleengibson.ca

Kingdom Poets Remembers Wilfred Owen - Martin

Wilfred Owen (1893—1918) is considered the leading poet of the First World War. When he was a student, serving as an assistant to the Vicar of Dunsden, he became disillusioned with the Chruch of England because of the lack of care for the poor. Although he entered the war optimistically, his experiences — including shell shock — soon changed him.

He was critical of the European tradition of propagandist poetry that glorified war, and its naive acceptance by his own generation. He upheld a poetry of truth, criticizing the artists and intellectuals who chose to serve partisanship. He was also critical of national churches for betraying the Christian message, and twisting the teachings of Christ to justify politics. He interpreted one of Christ’s instructions as: “Passivity at any price! Suffer dishonour and disgrace, but never resort to arms...”.

His poetry is often characterized by irony and sarcasm: In “The Parable of the Old Man and the Young” Owen has the angel tell “Abram” — “Offer the Ram of Pride instead of him.” Owen then twists the Biblical story into a new parable, making the patriarch a parliamentarian:
-----But the old man would not so, but slew his son,
-----And half the seed of Europe, one by one.

Similarly those who claim to represent God are portrayed in the following poem:

Soldier’s Dream

I dreamed kind Jesus fouled the big-gun gears;
And caused a permanent stoppage in all bolts;
And buckled with a smile Mausers and Colts;
And rusted every bayonet with His tears.

And there were no more bombs, of ours or Theirs,
Not even an old flint-lock, not even a pikel.
But God was vexed, and gave all power to Michael;
And when I woke he'd seen to our repairs.

In 1917 he wrote, “Christ is literally in no man’s land. There men often hear his voice. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life — for a friend...” and that it wasn't only the allies who heard that voice.

Wilfred Owen was killed by an enemy bullet, on 4 November 1918, just one week before the end of the war. The following, one of his best known poems, may suggest that the church had no place at the front lines, because it had sent young men to their deaths.

Anthem For Doomed Youth

What passing-bells for these who die as cattle?
Only the monstrous anger of the guns.
Only the stuttering rifles' rapid rattle
Can patter out their hasty orisons.
No mockeries for them; no prayers nor bells,
Nor any voice of mourning save the choirs,—
The shrill, demented choirs of wailing shells;
And bugles calling for them from sad shires.

What candles may be held to speed them all?
Not in the hands of boys, but in their eyes
Shall shine the holy glimmers of goodbyes.
The pallor of girls' brows shall be their pall;
Their flowers the tenderness of patient minds,
And each slow dusk a drawing-down of blinds.

Entry written by D.S. Martin. He is the award-winning author of the poetry collections Poiema (Wipf & Stock) and So The Moon Would Not Be Swallowed (Rubicon Press). They are both available at: www.dsmartin.ca

This is this week's post from: Kingdom Poets Follow this link to see dozens more, including some of the world's most celebrated poets, as well as some lesser known treasures.

Setting Goals at 3:00 am - M. Laycock

Interesting that the theme for this month is setting goals for your writing. It used to be I didn't worry about setting goals - they always seemed to change or fade away due to the ups and downs of life, so I thought, why bother?

But I have come to realize that setting goals is important. The discipline motivates and keeps me on track. I spent a sleepless night last night thinking about that exact thing. (some of these chemo drugs are stimulants that keep me awake - could call it a benefit in some ways. Instead of 24 hours I get about 36!)

As I pondered the dismal part of my writing life lately - being dumped by my publisher and coming in second in a contest that would have seen that book published anyway - I decided to shake that dark cloak off and set some goals to keep moving forward. It was about 3:00 a.m. but my mind was whirling.

So here they are -
1 - Finish the final edit on A Tumbled Stone, the sequel to One Smooth Stone; format it into an ebook then get it online at Smashwords and Amazon.
2 - begin research for new project - historical non fiction set in Saskatchewan.
3 - write said book; re-write said book into a play - or maybe vice versa

And now that they're set I'm excited again. Goals can do that too. So how about yours? Have you set yours down yet?

Marcia Lee Laycock author of One Smooth Stone, (www.vinemarc.com) A Tumbled Stone, Spur of the Moment and

Abundant Rain. (www.smashwords.com/books/view/58017)

Till Alzheimer's do us part? - Nesdoly

Pat Robertson's answer to the question of what to do when a spouse has Alzheimer's sent shock waves through the audience of the 700 Club show this September. "He should divorce her and start all over again," he said. "Since Alzheimer's is a kind of living death," he went on, "divorce and remarriage wouldn't be violating the marriage vows of being faithful 'till death do us part.'"

Dr. Robert McQuilken did the opposite. When this theologian's wife took ill, he stayed faithfully at the side of his partner of 40 years to the extent of quitting his job so he could provide around-the-clock care.

Sickness is one of many reasons we can find, if we're looking, to rationalize breaking our marriage vows. But the Bible is clear that marital separation should be a rare thing. Here are some things the Bible says about the marriage bond:

• Husbands are to love their wives as themselves and as sacrificially as Christ loved the church, while wives are to respect their husbands (Ephesians 5:25,28, 33; Colossians 3:19).
• Wives of unbelieving husbands should stay with them, hopefully winning them to belief by their outer and inner beauty (1 Peter 3:1-4).
• Our prayers may be hindered by marital strife (1 Peter 3:7).

...and there's no expiry date on any of these.

This story in more depth:

• ABC News story "Pat Robertson Says Alzheimer's Makes Divorce OK"

• Christianity Today article: "Living By Vows" by Robert McQuilken

By Violet Nesdoly - excerpted from "Till Alzheimer's Do Us Part" posted originally on Other Food: daily devos.

*********************************

Website: www.violetnesdoly.com

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Power Washed By God - Arends

Power Washed by God-Carolyn Arends

The blessings—and danger—of divine proximity.
(In the October issue of Christianity Today, posted online 10/17/2011)

Here is my newest CT column - an attempt to grapple with some aspects of God's judgment in light of his mercy ... I'd love to know what you think!
Carolyn 


Last summer, we hired a man with a power washer to clean our deck. As he blasted the dirt that had defied our feeble garden hose, I found myself wishing all the muck in my life could be dealt with so efficiently. Sticky kitchen floor? Messy relationships? Unleash the water pressure!

But not so fast. Two weeks earlier, a neighbor's teenager, Matt, was cleaning the driveway with a rented power washer when he felt an ant crawling on his calf. Instinctively, he turned the nozzle toward his leg, obliterating the insect—and, unfortunately, some layers of muscle and tissue. Matt's injury is not uncommon; an online search produces innumerable accounts of gruesome wounds and even fatalities related to the use of pressure washers.

So I decided to give my handyman and his potentially flesh-stripping machine a wide berth. I had to do some reading for a biblical studies course, so I sat by my kitchen window and kept one eye on my yard and the other on the Pentateuch.

I was making my way through Exodus, feeling a little jealous of my spiritual ancestors. It seemed they never had to wonder if God was there. They had only to follow pillars of cloud and fire, gathering up the manna served fresh daily from God's kitchen. At Sinai, Yahweh made his presence even harder to miss, clearing his throat with thunder, lightning, trumpet blasts, trembling mountains, and billowing smoke.

I wondered why the present-day actions of the immutable God sometimes seem so muted in contrast to the God of Moses. I wouldn't mind a pillar of cloud or fire when I need direction, or some manna on my front lawn when I pray for provision.

But 10 chapters into Leviticus, I sobered up to the dangerous side of God's proximity to the Israelites. They had just set up the tabernacle, and two of Moses' nephews had been recruited for the priesthood. When they failed to follow protocol and offered "unauthorized fire" at the altar, "fire came out from the presence of the Lord and consumed them, and they died before the Lord" (Lev. 10:1-2).

This seems a little harsh. Two guys make one mistake their first day on the job, and they get "fired." But other similar incidents had the same tragic result: Achan's stashed plunder (Josh. 7), Uzzah's casualness with the ark (2 Sam. 6), Ananias and Sapphira lying about their offering (Acts 5). In each case, God was inaugurating a new era in salvation history, and in each case, his holiness was underestimated with dreadful consequences.

These episodes remind me of a strategy employed by one of my schoolteacher friends. On day one, he sends the first unruly student into the hallway, knowing that an early show of authority makes the rest of the year go smoothly. It is tempting to think of the disturbing accounts of God's judgment as cases of extreme classroom management.

But as I struggle to reconcile Yahweh's apparent "zero tolerance" policy in these stories with the inexhaustible mercy we see in Jesus, I wonder if both the wonderful and awful aspects of God's power experienced at close range aren't more like the blasts of a pressure washer than the techniques of an irate teacher. God's holiness is the very thing we need to get wholly clean. But, unmitigated, it's too much for us. We can't survive it.

Maybe Yahweh's holiness (and its sometimes fiery consequences) became more visible at turning points in salvation history less because God wanted to set a stern example, and more because at those moments he'd drawn particularly near to his people in all his power. As envious as I might be of God's visibility to the Israelites, they clearly sensed the danger inherent in his proximity. In Exodus, they ask Moses to speak to God on their behalf, so they can stay at a safe distance.

When I grasp that God's holiness is necessary for my cleansing but is also, by its nature, a vaporizing force, two things come into clearer focus. First, I begin to perceive God's judgment as no more malevolent than the blast of water from a pressure washer. It is simply God's holiness doing what God's holiness does. Second, this reality points to one reason we need a mediator. Jesus is the only human who could vicariously absorb (and ultimately survive) the cleansing we so desperately need. Because of him, we are washed not by a force so intense it annihilates us, but rather by the blood of the Lamb.

Just like I wish I could turn the power washer on all the messes of my life (without the resulting carnage), I still find myself longing for more visible manifestations of God's nearness and power. But in the final analysis, I am grateful that the God who once resided in a cloud on the mountain now lives in us, baptizing us not with an obliterating flood, but with his Spirit.

Copyright © 2011 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.

 www.carolynarends.com

Deception - Derksen

Deception

Over the years,as I've penned my way toward the twelve plus books and over 2500 articles that I've published, I've come to realize that no matter how hard I try to write from a level of objectivity, my belief system permeates my writing. Maybe for some of you, this is a DUH moment but, if this is so for me then it must also be the same for other writers.

When I open a newspaper, I expect that the journalist who wrote the article I read to be writing from an objective point of view. But, if I write from my belief system then so does that person. Articles that report about homosexual activity, abortion rights activists, the war in Iraq, or anything about the church, are written from that person's point of view based on their belief system.

There is no such thing as objectivity. Everything comes from that person's life experiences which formed their belief system so if the person writing the article has had an abusive relationship with a man, she writes every article with an anti-male bias. And haven't we seen a lot of that in the past twenty years.

What about reports about hate speech or abuse toward homosexuals? If a person comes from a situation where they have been denied something they feel is their right, they write from that bias. We never or seldom hear about bullying in general, an occurrence that happens in all schools to some degree or another. We do hear about the inexcusable treatment of a young person who openly admits he's gay.

Let's take this idea a little further. If I write from my belief system, as do all writers whether they want to admit it or not, then why is it we see nothing or few articles in newspapers that have a Christian point of view? Could it be that Christians have abandoned the craft of journalism or are pro Christian articles censored as not being politically correct?

I think there are very few people with a Christian belief system hired by newspapers, either because they are not applying for the positions or because their viewpoint is not accepted or tolerated. It is politically correct to tolerate the explicit activity of the homosexual community, the rampant murder of pre-born children or the pressure to comply with drugs that prevent venereal disease instead of educating our young people about abstinence BUT let a person with a strong sense of moral values declare their insights in any article and it's censored.

Christians are a major part of this society. Newspapers are supposed to reflect the culture they work and live in yet, Christian journalists are few and far between and certainly do not reflect the demographics of our world.

Writers with a Christian belief system need to become active, vocal journalists, Journalists need to write truth not the truth of some lobby group, but truth. When only 300,000 march for gay rights, newspapers should not report that 1,000,000 marched just because the lobby group for gay rights wishes it.

Everyone needs to understand that a person's belief system reflects in their writing. When an article in the newspaper says that such and such is so, research the writer and where he's coming from before believing every word we read as gospel. Above all seek truth, the unvarnished, no matter what.

Creation? or Evolution? – Reynolds

A Meditation on Genesis 1

The old debate about the biblical story of creation (in the first chapter of Genesis) still breaks out occasionally in one form or another, "creationism," or more recently “intelligent design.”

The early part of the twentieth century saw "modernist" and "fundamentalist" in fierce combat on the question whether humanity was a risen ape or fallen angel.  Benjamin Disraeli's testimony was that he was "on the side of the angels" (though Queen Victoria doubtless thought him one of the apes).  And in Tennessee, through that hot July of 1925, William Jennings Bryan and Clarence Darrow debated the first chapter of Genesis (and the future of a young teacher who taught the theory of evolution) in what has come to be known as the "Scopes Monkey Trial."

As it seems to be a matter yet unresolved, let us look again at this first chapter of Genesis.  I don't claim to know much about the various theories of evolution, but perhaps I can help some people to a deeper and richer understanding of what the Bible is saying.

The main point to remember is this:  The Bible is not a science book. It's the Word of God. There is a difference.

Often we read the Bible with our contemporary scientific understanding of the universe, and because it doesn't agree with the Copernican revolution or Newtonian physics, we reject the whole book as impossible or irrelevant. If we read the Bible simply as a science book then we do have to say that modern theories of creation do conflict with this primitive world-view.  We simply do not have the same mental picture of the universe today.   But in 2,000 years time, I think our present scientific understanding will seem as strange to people then as this more primitive "world-view" does to us.

The creation story as science

Do you believe the world is flat?  That over the earth is a kind of sheet-metal sky?  And that outside of that "firmament" and under the earth are primeval waters of chaos waiting to break in and destroy?  If you don't believe that, then you don't believe the first chapter of Genesis as science.

Look at what the story is saying about our scientific understanding of the universe.

It tells us that there was, first of all, darkness and "the deep."  The earth was "without form, and void" (Hebrew tohu wevohu), and darkness was upon the face of the deep, swirling waters of primordial chaos.  The salt-water sea continued to be the symbol of chaos and disorder for the Hebrew mind right through the vision of John in the Apocalypse, the book of Revelation.  Remember in his vision of the New Jerusalem, there would be "no more sea." (Rev. 21:1)

Then the Spirit of God moved over the face of the waters, and God spoke, and the first act of creation was accomplished.  "And God said, `Let there be light!'  And there was light."

Darkness and light are separated from one another, and there is evening and morning, the first day.  (Note there is still no sun or moon, only the light.)

Then God created "the firmament" (the NRSV translates “the dome.”)  As the word also implies in English, the Hebrew word means something quite solid which divided the waters above the earth from the waters below the earth (note Job 26).  The Hebrew word intimates something beaten out, as a metal smith would beat copper into a fine sheet to make a bowl or a plate.  The purpose of the firmament was to keep the waters of chaos "above the firmament," out of this pocket of light and order which God had formed.

And the firmament God called "the heavens," and that was the second day.

Next God caused the waters under the heavens to be gathered together in one place so that the dry land appeared.  This God called "the earth" (Hebrew adhamah).  The seas then were remnants of the waters of primeval chaos.  (If you read the account of Noah's flood, the waters came both from above the earth and below.  ". . . all the fountains of the great deep burst forth and the windows of the heavens were opened” (Genesis 7:11).

Then vegetation appeared upon the earth.  And that was the third day.

Not until the fourth day were the sun and moon created and fixed in the firmament.  On the fifth, all the life of the oceans and the birds of the air.  On the sixth, God created the animals of the earth, the beasts of the field and forest, and then, finally, "in God's own image," God created "man" -- adham, "male and female." 

And then, on the seventh day, God rested.

Genesis 1 as "the Word of God"

But just as, in other ways and in other places, God uses our fallible words to convey to us "the Word of the Lord," so here God uses this primitive scientific understanding to convey to us certain essential and (I believe) eternal truths. 

Read this chapter again asking not what it says about the world but what it says about God; not how the world was created, but why the world was created. 

First, it tells us that God created.

It didn't just happen.  It was brought into being by "the Creator," One who exists beyond the creation. 

There were other stories of creation in the literature of the ancient peoples of the near east -- Egyptian, Accadian, Mesopotamian.  There are points of resemblance between those ancient stories and the Biblical story.  But in significant ways, they differ.

The Biblical story, which arose out of the Hebrew consciousness of God "the Lord" (Yahweh), is in several ways quite unique.  The Hebrews were the only peoples who saw beyond the creation to "the Creator."

            In polytheism the gods were actually the elements and powers in the world personalized and given names.  The primary setting of divine life was thus nature and the life of nature was the life of the gods. 

            Since there was nothing outside the world to create it, thought about the origin of the world could not reach behind the primordial static chaos.

           (G. Ernest Wright, An Introduction to Biblical Archaeology, p. 1)

How do you think this Biblical story came to be written?  Do you think someone sat down one day with pen in hand and said, "OK God, tell me what to write!"  I have a different conception. 

I believe that this story developed over the years, perhaps over centuries of years.  See them, this primitive people, gathered around their fire at night, their Bedouin tents circled about them, the eyes of the children wide with wonder.  And the head of the family, or the family's story-teller, would repeat again the familiar words:

            In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth, and the earth was without form and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep.   And the Spirit of God moved over the face of the waters . . . .

Over the years, this particular people, wooed by the Spirit of God, developed a sense of One who is beyond creation, who was the Creator, One whom they came to call Yahweh, "the Lord." 

Second, in the Bible story, creation is "by the Word of the Lord."  -- “And God said, `Let there be light.'  And there was light."

This is no coincidence.  Several times the Bible reminds us that it was "by the Word of the Lord the heavens and the earth were created."  (Psalm 33:6-9, Hebrews 11:3, II Peter 3:5-7, John 1:1f.)  God spoke, and it was so.

Here there was no struggle between the forces of light and the forces of darkness as in the pagan stories of polytheistic peoples:  the dragon Tiamat against the prince of the Gods, Marduk, in the Mesopotamian epic, Re against the dragon of darkness in the Egyptian story, Baal against Leviathan the sea monster in the Canaanite myth.  In Biblical understanding, God is omnipotent.  God had only to speak, and it was so.

This phrase "the Word of God" has particular meaning in the Bible.  A person's spirit or soul was seen to be in their breath.  (The same Hebrew word, nephesh, means both breath and spirit.)  A word is a puff of breath, an expression of our very being, our soul or spirit.  So "the Word of God" is the outgoing expression of God's Spirit, seeking to accomplish God's purposes.

So we refer to Jesus Christ as "the Word of God" -- the expression of God's purpose for humanity, of the very "Spirit," the Person of God.  Remember how the Gospel of John begins,

            In the beginning was the Word.  And the Word was with God, and the Word was God.   All things were in the beginning with Him, and without Him was not anything made that was made. . . .

 Third, God looked on what has been created and "saw that it was good."

Again and again, the chapter repeats it, as if to beat this truth into the mind and consciousness of the people.  And finally, on the final day of creation, God looked on all that had been made, "And behold, it was very good."

The things which God created are not evil in themselves.  Again, most of the world's religions tend to see the physical as evil and the spiritual as good.  It's an ancient dualism that runs through much of human understanding and has infected the life of the church again and again. 

But the Bible says that the physical world, as God created it, is good.  We are given the use of it in freedom.  So we may use the things of the world for good or for evil -- fire, money, power, a pack of cards.  Even liquor and all forms of drugs, though they are exceedingly dangerous, are not evil in themselves.  It is our use, or abuse, that makes them so.

Fourth, God climaxed the creation with the creation of "man,”

Adam (Hebrew adham) is humanity, male and female, created in "the image of God."  And this, it appears, was a unique and special part of God's creation.

"Created in the image of God."  This phrase has occasioned a lot of thought and discussion in the history of Christian thought.  Let me suggest, for us today, that it may be taken to mean that God has created our humanity for responsible relationship with God and with one another. 

In the Babylonian myth, "man (sic) was created as the slave of the gods to do the menial work of the earth."  In the Biblical account, "man possessed dignity and worth because he was given the freedom to be a responsible being." (Wright, pp. 2 & 5)

And God gave to our humanity a tremendous responsibility -- responsibility for the care of the earth, for the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, the cattle and all that moves upon the face of the earth!

The intimation is that the human race will have a certain power, an authority over the natural world.  But it is also true that the Bible never separates authority from responsibility.  Here and throughout the bible, the intimation is not that humanity is an owner who can use the world for his or her own profit, pleasure and satisfaction.  Rather we are "stewards," trustees, managers, to whom the things of the earth are entrusted.  And we must some day give an accounting to the Creator for our use of the things entrusted to us.

The “three-storied universe” of the Bible is not heaven, earth, and the fires of hell beneath, but “the heavens above, the earth beneath, and the waters under the earth” (Deuteronomy 5:8, Exodus 20:4). 

So many people become confused when they study contemporary scientific theories of how the created order came to be. Evolutionary theories and the Big Bang theory seem to contradict the biblical account. Creationists assert an understanding in defiance of current scientific theories. Actually, the whole debate between evolution and creationism is irrelevant to what the Bible saying.

(Reading the Bible for the Love of God, pp. 62-63.)