ON VIDEO-
.Jeremy’s baseball
.Stick in a park
.Sons are for signs
.Some bad- some good music
.Confessing church
PARTS OF PAST POSTS-
[1611] EXODUS 20- God gives the people his law- the famous
’10 commandments’. In Greek it is Decalogue [meaning 10 words] and these laws
are actually in the form of an ancient treaty type document- in essence God was
not just saying ‘do this- don’t do that’ but he was telling them if they wanted
to survive as a people, a society- then they needed law, just principles from
which to govern themselves by- and also to hold each other accountable to their
government and God.
As I continue to write and post about current world affairs-
I also do lots of actual scholarly studying- I try and ‘mix’ world events in
with historical perspective and keep my thinking in line with others who have
gone on before us- stable thinkers, people who represent a broad range of
thought. It’s too easy [and dangerous!] to view all things from a limited
perspective- and then to see your view confirmed by your limited reading of the
events. I saw a minister on one of the history channel shows speaking about his
view of the ‘end of the world’. It was obvious that the program was allowing
him to share his view- not because they thought it to be accurate- but because
they wanted to show how people can see their beliefs confirmed by world events-
if that’s what they want to see. Now- let me give you an example; during WW2
the church in Germany was divided- some wanted to work in accord with the state
[Hitler] and others said they wanted no type of ungodly alliances with the
state. Men like Dietrich Bonheoffer would reject Hitler’s ideals and be part of
‘the confessing church’ [those evangelicals who would not work with Hitler].
Another very famous theologian [scholar] would sign his name to an important
document that stated the same idea of not condoning Hitler’s regime- his name
was Karl Barth [considered by many to be the most influential theologian of the
20th century] the document was called The Barmen Declaration. In
these cases the church felt she needed to speak out about world events- to side
with those who were being oppressed- and to condemn those who were oppressing.
As I write this morning- we come off a day where our forces
accidentally killed 9 Afghan boys who were out collecting wood for fire. Gen.
Petraeus publicly apologized. Hamid Karzai is livid [rightfully so] and we are
rapidly losing the support of the people [and I don’t blame them]. Yemen's
president gave a very revealing speech- he told his country that he was going
to ‘reveal a secret’. He said there is a secret operations room in Tel Aviv
[Israel] and the purpose for it is to conspire against the Arab world and that
the U.S. and Israel regularly meet to plan the overthrow of the Arab world. He
obviously feels the heat [like all these other nations- he has protestors in
the streets] but the fact that these leaders are actually speaking like this
openly- our ties to these Arab nations are over. At the airport in Germany- a
Muslim employee opened fire on 4 people- killing 2 American soldiers. Reports
are he shouted ‘Allah Akbar’ [God is great] while firing his weapon.
(1022)ECCLESIASTES
Solomon said there was nothing new under the sun. During the 16th
century reformation you had a number of ‘offshoot’ movements that sprouted.
Some define these as the radical reformers. Groups like the Anabaptists [re-baptizers]
and others. As you read the writings of many of these groups you find that they
were definitely seeing truth for their day. George Fox, the founder of the
Quakers, was hitting the nail on the head when it came to ‘church as the
building’ he exposed the limited mindset that many believers embraced. He would
refer to the churches as ‘steeple houses’. Many of these groups were deemed
heretical for a myriad of reasons. The Quakers would embrace a belief that
emphasizes the truth from the Spirit versus the letter of the law. Some would
carry this to an extreme and associate all ‘head knowledge’ faith as wrong. Any
doctrinal correction from the more reformed brothers was seen as ‘dead
knowledge’ coming against Spirit truth. So they would get branded with the
heretic title by some. The same goes for the Anabaptists and many others. The
sad thing is many of these movements were partial ‘reformers’ in their own
right. They had good things to add to the debate. If you read some of their
writings you would think they were a few hundred years before their time. I
have read scholarly works from Catholic theologians on the Ecclesia [church]
and what she is. These works were right on! Even though the average Catholic
might not be aware of them. So you find real treasure in many of these groups.
Their really is ‘nothing new under the sun’. You should avoid a mindset that
begins seeing ‘my group’ or ‘my way of seeing things’ as the true group, and
the majority of other Christian groups as false. While it is easy to see whole
mindsets of limited understanding that exist in the church at large, I feel
it’s dangerous to grasp hold of an idea that says ‘90% of all Christianity is
dead wrong, they have all been duped until now’. This is sort of like the
teenager saying to dad ‘you’re so behind the times, my new way of seeing things
is better than yours’. Most times the teenager later realizes that this was an
overreaction. I think we all need to read the great writers of days gone by,
Bonhoeffer wrote excellently on the communion of the saints. Our Church of Christ
{1208}
yesterday I went to my daughter’s ranch house to work on her A.C., it was over
100 degrees in the direct sun. I thought I threw my tee shirt in the car, but
couldn’t find it. I worked in a long sleeve black shirt, wound up taking the
whole darn thing apart [in direct sun at noon!] and felt like I got some heat
exhaustion. So, it was in this environment that I finished [almost finished]
the book ‘why we love the church’, boy do I have some major disagreements with
Deyoung’s fundamental view of church. I think his view is very limited, I think
it’s unbiblical and I almost don’t want to recommend the book at this stage
[contrary to my earlier endorsement]. I was not sure if I should try and go
thru some quotes and refute them, this mode often turns into a ‘he said, you
say’ type of argument and usually does not convince either side. Let me simply
hit a few things; page 110 ‘I do appreciate church as staged drama’ [quoting
someone else] page 164 ‘the Body of Christ becomes visible to the world in the
congregation gathered around word and sacrament’ [quoting the great martyr
Bonhoeffer] 166 ‘you and your buddies who never ‘go to worship services’ are
under no ecclesiastical authority’ 168 ‘the office itself [pastor] is not to
blame’ then quotes Ephesians 4:11 to justify the modern office of ‘the pastor’,
and on pages 132-135 his overall view of the crusades, well I simply wrote
‘unbelievable!’ on the margins. I always found it untenable when someone quotes
the actual interaction between Paul and his first century ‘organic, communal,
mystical, house churches’ in order to justify the institutional church against
the ‘out of church’ church. Many learned scholars have looked at the term
‘pastor’ in Ephesians 4 and none of them [learned!] believe that this term
defines the later development of pastor as the head of a local congregation who
‘administers the sacraments to the people in the building on Sunday, the Lords
day’. Which reminds me of Deyoung's use of John ‘on the Lords day’ in the book
of Revelation. He believes John was speaking of Sunday ‘the Lords day’, this
term more than likely is speaking of the great dramatic view of revelation and
of course Jesus future coming as well as the whole period of conflicting
kingdoms and Jesus final great victory. ‘His day’ simply speaking of Jesus
victorious time period. Some see a set period of wrath as ‘the Lords day,’ to
see an early ‘Lords day’ as Sunday as church day from this verse is ridiculous.
And the overall argument that Deyoung makes about Christians ‘leaving church’
and trying to be Christians ‘without church’ is simply a huge blind spot of
Deyoung. He tries to say [or says] that because the word ‘church’ [ecclesia]
means assembly [true enough] that those groups who practice community without
‘church building, liturgy, offices, etc..’ are trying to ‘be the church without
the church’. Yet every single New Testament church in the bible, according to
Deyoung’s view, would be ‘the church without the church’. Needless to say I
disagree almost 100 percent with his view of what the Ecclesia is. This will
probably be my last entry on the book [unless the last chapter has some major
things that need to be addressed] Deyoung’s view of church is important for all
to see [emergents, out of church believers, etc.] it is probably the basic view
that most well meaning men would use to defend the traditional view. I believe
this view to be very limited and fundamentally disconnected from scripture and
the first century churches described in the bible. For the record, in a few
hours I will be ‘attending church’ at the mega church I attend here in Corpus.
I also appreciate the historic church tremendously, I agree with Deyoung [and
Kluck] on the bad attitude that many in the ‘out of church’ movement have
towards the historic church. I just think Deyoung went way over board in trying
to say that ‘the Sunday church meeting, in the church building, with the
liturgical sacraments being administered
by the ecclesiastical authorities’ is what church really is. I see this view to
be extremely limited and disconnected from the Ecclesia’s spoken about in
scripture. I simply believe Deyoung has got it wrong. [If you think this review
was too tough, just imagine if I wrote it yesterday with the heat exhaustion!]
Note- To be fair Deyoung does say that you can ‘have church’ without the
building, as long as you have the offices, liturgy, etc. Sort of like saying if
you move the entire Sunday liturgical drama into the basement, then yes you can
‘have church’ without the building. I simply disagree with his entire view of
‘having church’.
(1206) CASH FOR KLUNKERS AND KLUCK-
Okay, I mentioned a few weeks back about the cash for klunkers program, I
thought it was a bad idea. A day ago the govt. officially scrapped the plan.
Dealers all over the country were decrying the red tape and bureaucratic hoops
that they needed to jump thru to get their money, they started dropping out. I
also read a story in the paper how many used car dealers were losing their
normal used vehicle flow; some actually went out of business. One guy said
‘what about all my customers that needed the $3,ooo dollar cars? Where can they
go for the cars, the govt. is crushing them at their expense’ in essence the
people who were smart enough to trade in their $1,ooo dollar cars for $4,500
were not the ones who were really struggling financially, these folks had
enough to finance new cars at the publics expense, the public tax payers were
footing the bill, and losing the used cars that they needed to meet their
needs. Wow, and you want the govt. to run your healthcare. Okay, I read a few
more chapters of ‘why we love the church’ Deyoung [Pastor] and Kluck [sheep- he
attends Deyoung's church] take turns writing their own chapters, just like
their first book. Kluck shares a story about being at a Pastors convention, all
the good preaching and a few top notch evangelicals. He shares from a sincere
perspective how all these men are sincere, how they were encouraged to get back
to expository preaching in ‘their churches’ and he gives a few examples how ‘at
his church’ they have a time when everyone gets a chance to talk every few
months, you know a service of testimonies. And how it usually is not the most
edifying thing in the world, but he appreciates it when his Pastor [Deyoung] is
prepared and teaches a good old expository message. Okay, I think I too would
appreciate attending a theologically reformed church [I don’t] and probably
would like hearing good in depth stuff, but these examples show me that Kluck
and Deyoung are dealing with a different type of thing than the organic church
movement is trying to address. They are basically saying the ‘churches’ on
every corner
[1568] ALEXANDRIA- EGYPT. Last night I was watching the news
coverage of the demonstators in the streets of Egypt- they were protesting the
government’s response [or lack] to the bombing of the church in Alexandria, the
second largest city in Egypt [around 4 million people live in the city]. As I
watched the sad story- in my mind I recalled all the times I have run across
Alexandria in my studies of history. The city was founded by Alexander the
great in the 4th century b.c.e. It had the largest library of the
ancient world and was Egypt's capitol for around 900 years. When the Muslims
took over in the 7th century Cairo became the new capitol [under another name
at the time]. Alexandria was one of the great centers of Christian learning
during the first few centuries of the 1st millennium of
Christianity. I remember reading about the great church father Origen- he lived
in the 3rd century and eventually would head up the school out of Alexandria-
one of the first Christian schools of the day. The famous philosopher Plotinus
also had a lot of influence in the city. It was sad to see the destruction on
the news- so many years later. This morning I read Revelation chapter 13. The
apostle John writes about the persecution of ‘the beast’ against the
Christians- the apostle says he makes war against Gods people and overcomes
them. We often neglect to see this aspect of scripture- I mean how many songs
have you heard that say ‘the beast overcame us and killed us’. We like to sing
stuff like ‘we overcome by the Blood of the Lamb’ [another verse from
Revelation]. Yet the apostle foresees a time of persecution of the church that
will include the deaths of many believers. Those who think the book of
Revelation was written early [before a.d. 70] see Nero as the one who bares the
mark of the beast- yes the popular 666 is in this chapter. Others who date the
book later [around a.d. 90] see the emperor Domitian as the beast- either way
John was speaking about a future ruler who would severely persecute the saints
[and of course the most popular view today among evangelicals is the anti
Christ is yet to come]. In verse 10 of the chapter John says those who kill
with the sword, must die the same way- this is the patience of the saints. John
is communicating to the 7 churches that he is writing to that they should not
retaliate against their oppressors- they should patiently endure- knowing that
the persecutors will eventually ‘hang themselves’ with their own rope. Of
course the great empire of Rome would finally fall- and for those who see Nero
as the 666 guy [my view] he eventually dies a shameful death as well [he killed
himself].
As I watch the various responses from
Muslims and Christians [and Jews] to these types of events- we all have a
tendency to view things most favorably to our own particular viewpoint. While
some Muslims are of course outraged over the church bombing- yet the Christian
. In the 19th century there was a movement in
Christian theology called ‘Liberal theology’- not liberal in politics- but a
whole genre of teaching/thought that challenged a lot of the ‘old time’ beliefs
[like original sin] and focused on the ability of modern man to rise above the
ignorance of the past [even in religious thought] and man was on the road to a
true Utopian society that would never fail. This belief was strong- both in the
universities of Germany as well as in the politics of the Western world. Then
you had the world wars- 8 million people killed in the first one- and 50
million in the 2nd one. Men like Karl Barth [a Swiss theologian- teacher]
would challenge the liberal view of mans ‘inner divinity’ and he would blast
the Christian world with his famous ‘the epistle to the Romans’ his commentary
on Paul’s famous treatise- released in 1918. Though Barth is what some describe
as 'Neo- Orthodox’ [the strong Reformed teachers don’t appreciate Barth very
much] yet he did bring the church back to the biblical doctrines of original
sin and mans inability to ‘save himself’. Barth saw the reality of the WW1 and
rejected the Utopian belief that man was so advanced that he would reach for
the sky- and grab it! Today we see lots of shaking in the world- some are
focused on March madness- some find it profitable to do a story on a stripper-
we need to keep our eyes [and bibles] open- mankind is in need of God- man has
gone thru stages where he thought the ‘old belief’ in God would fall away- to
the contrary- the govt’s of man [apart from God] seem to be the thing that’s
falling away.
Behold, I and the children whom the LORD hath given me are for signs and for wonders in Israel from the LORD of hosts, which dwelleth in mount Zion. Isa. 8:18
Isaiah 53:1 Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed?
Isaiah 53:2 For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and
as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we
shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.
Isaiah 53:3 He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows,
and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was
despised, and we esteemed him not.
Isaiah 53:4 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our
sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
Isaiah 53:5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was
bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and
with his stripes we are healed.
Isaiah 53:6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned
every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
Isaiah 53:7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened
not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before
her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.
Isaiah 53:8 He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who
shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living:
for the transgression of my people was he stricken.
Isaiah 53:9 And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the
rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in
his mouth.
Isaiah 53:10 Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put
him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see
his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper
in his hand.
Isaiah 53:11 He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be
satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he
shall bear their iniquities.
Isaiah 53:12 Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great,
and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his
soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the
sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.
Numbers 18:1 And the LORD said unto Aaron, Thou and thy sons and
thy father's house with thee shall bear the iniquity of the sanctuary: and thou
and thy sons with thee shall bear the iniquity of your priesthood.
Numbers 18:2 And thy brethren also of the tribe of Levi, the tribe
of thy father, bring thou with thee, that they may be joined unto thee, and
minister unto thee: but thou and thy sons with thee shall minister before the
tabernacle of witness.
Numbers 18:3 And they shall keep thy charge, and the charge of all
the tabernacle: only they shall not come nigh the vessels of the sanctuary and
the altar, that neither they, nor ye also, die.
Numbers 18:4 And they shall be joined unto thee, and keep the
charge of the tabernacle of the congregation, for all the service of the
tabernacle: and a stranger shall not come nigh unto you.
Numbers 18:5 And ye shall keep the charge of the sanctuary, and
the charge of the altar: that there be no wrath any more upon the children of
Israel.
Numbers 18:6 And I, behold, I have taken your brethren the Levites
from among the children of Israel: to you they are given as a gift for the
LORD, to do the service of the tabernacle of the congregation.
Numbers 18:7 Therefore thou and thy sons with thee shall keep your
priest's office for everything of the altar, and within the vail; and ye shall
serve: I have given your priest's office unto you as a service of gift: and the
stranger that cometh nigh shall be put to death.
Numbers 20:1 Then came the children of Israel, even the whole congregation,
into the desert of Zin in the first month: and the people abode in Kadesh; and
Miriam died there, and was buried there.
Numbers 20:2 And there was no water for the congregation: and they
gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron.
Numbers 20:3 And the people chode with Moses, and spake, saying,
Would God that we had died when our brethren died before the LORD!
Numbers 20:4 And why have ye brought up the congregation of the
LORD into this wilderness, that we and our cattle should die there?
Numbers 20:5 And wherefore have ye made us to come up out of
Egypt, to bring us in unto this evil place? it is no place of seed, or of figs,
or of vines, or of pomegranates; neither is there any water to drink.
Numbers 20:6 And Moses and Aaron went from the presence of the
assembly unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and they fell
upon their faces: and the glory of the LORD appeared unto them.
Numbers 20:7 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
Numbers 20:8 Take the rod, and gather thou the assembly together,
thou, and Aaron thy brother, and speak ye unto the rock before their eyes; and
it shall give forth his water, and thou shalt bring forth to them water out of
the rock: so thou shalt give the congregation and their beasts drink.
Numbers 20:9 And Moses took the rod from before the LORD, as he
commanded him.
Numbers 20:10 And Moses and Aaron gathered the congregation
together before the rock, and he said unto them, Hear now, ye rebels; must we
fetch you water out of this rock?
Numbers 20:11 And Moses lifted up his hand, and with his rod he
smote the rock twice: and the water came out abundantly, and the congregation
drank, and their beasts also.
Numbers 20:12 And the LORD spake unto Moses and Aaron, Because ye
believed me not, to sanctify me in the eyes of the children of Israel,
therefore ye shall not bring this congregation into the land which I have given
them.
Matthew 27:33 And when they were come unto a place called
Golgotha, that is to say, a place of a skull,
Matthew 27:34 They gave him vinegar to drink mingled with gall:
and when he had tasted thereof, he would not drink.
Matthew 27:35 And they crucified him, and parted his garments,
casting lots: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, They
parted my garments among them, and upon my vesture did they cast lots.
Matthew 27:36 And sitting down they watched him there;
Matthew 27:37 And set up over his head his accusation written,
THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS.
Matthew 27:38 Then were there two thieves crucified with him, one
on the right hand, and another on the left.
Matthew 27:39 And they that passed by reviled him, wagging their
heads,
Matthew 27:40 And saying, Thou that destroyest the temple, and
buildest it in three days, save thyself. If thou be the Son of God, come down
from the cross.
Matthew 27:41 Likewise also the chief priests mocking him, with
the scribes and elders, said,
Matthew 27:42 He saved others; himself he cannot save. If he be
the King of Israel, let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe
him.
Matthew 27:43 He trusted in God; let him deliver him now, if he
will have him: for he said, I am the Son of God.
John 3:26 And they came unto John, and said unto him, Rabbi, he
that was with thee beyond Jordan, to whom thou barest witness, behold, the same
baptizeth, and all men come to him.
John 3:27 John answered and said, A man can receive nothing,
except it be given him from heaven.
A gift is as a precious stone in the eyes of him that
hath it: whithersoever it turneth, it prospereth. Pro. 17:8
But this man, after he had offered one
sacrifice for sins for ever,sat down on the right hand of God;
Heb. 10:12
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Note- Do me a favor, those who read/like the posts- re-post
them on other sites as well as the site you read them on. Thanks- John.
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