Fringe View: The Jesus Myth

One of my primary areas of interest is that of the Jesus myth theory, which suggests that the historical Jesus did not exist and the stories are based on myth.  I was pleased to see that New Testament scholar James McGrath tackled this theory in the Christian Century and gave it an appropriate title.  You can read the article here.

Cessationism and Hebrews 1:1-2

Whenever the topic of cessationism comes up, I am used to 1 Corinthians 13:8-10 coming up.

“Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away.” (1 Corinthians 13:8–10 ESV)

In context it seems pretty clear that the “perfect” that will appear making the gifts of the Spirit unnecessary is not the New Testament canon but the return of Jesus.  More often, I am seeing people citing Hebrews 1:1-2 as proof of cessationism.

“Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world.” (Hebrews 1:1–2 ESV)

The interpretation is that there was once a time for prophecy but now there is a time for the Gospel to be preached.  This passage must be interpreted not as a proof text for a desired theology but within the context of the rest of the chapter. The author of Hebrews is talking about how radical the appearing of the Christ was.  This was not just another interesting event, like the appearance of another prophet or teacher.     In previous times, God worked by sending the Old Testament prophets to warn the people and to command faithfulness.  As important as they were, something much more was needed.  God’s ultimate solution to the separation between God and humanity was the sending of the Son.  The author is not comparing charismatic gifts with the preaching of the Gospel but is comparing the Old Testament prophets with the Christ, just he compares angels to the Christ.  If you disagree with charismatic gifts, that is fine.  Just be careful with the passages that you use as support.

James 1:19-27 and the Apologist

I am preaching on this passage at my church and while I was writing my sermon, I was reflecting on the application for apologetics.

“Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God. Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. 

But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing. 

If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person’s religion is worthless. Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.” (James 1:19–27 ESV)

Having been involved in apologetics for some time, I understand the temptations that go with it.  One of the biggest is to skip the listening part and dive right into the speaking part, often with plenty of anger.  Sometimes we have a message or an argument that we just can’t wait to let loose with.  We are not interested in what the other person has to say, what they believe, what their struggles are or the reasons for their skepticism.  We want to unload a powerful argument that will demolish all their false beliefs.  When they do not respond the way we want or if they are critical of our beliefs, we want to retaliate with anger.  James tells us to pull back, shut up and listen.  When it is time for us to speak, we must ask ourselves what the impact of our words will be and if it is just us venting our anger.

Another temptation is to learn and learn and learn but never put things into practice.  While James is talking here about general Christian teaching, especially in how we treat the poor and other acts of justice, it is also applicable to apologetics.  Hear the word of God and the truth of the Gospel, but then go and put it into practice.  Don’t just be an apologetics junkie, be an apologetic Christian interacting with real people (and not just on the Internet).

Many apologists think of Christianity almost primarily as being about correct doctrine.  Of course we cannot let theology slide or open ourselves to the doctrine of the day.  But James sees religion as more than just doctrine.  James sees true religion as being about care for the poor and the marginalized.  Have you ever considered living apologetically, not just by debating theology or philosophy, but by rolling up your sleeve and helping the needy?

If you are active in apologetics, I would encourage you to read this passage again and reflect on how the teaching of James can transform your apologetics ministry.

David Jones on Christian Ethics

You can find an entire course on Christian ethics taught by David Jones at Covenant Seminary available online in audio format.  You can get it from iTunes U here.  If you don’t do iTunes, you can find it also here.  I found it to be quite good.  It is from a Reformed perspective but a Christian from any tradition can learn from the lectures.

Religion and Mental Health

To listen to some atheists, you would think that religion was psychologically damaging and that it needs to be stopped for the sake of the human race.  But what does the evidence show?  A study by the Canadian Journal of Psychiatry did research on regular worship attendance and the rate of psychiatric disorders.  You can read the article here.  What they found was that people who regular attended worship services had lower rates of psychiatric disorders.  Does this prove that religion is true or that God exists?  No, but it does suggest that religion is not the dangerous thing that some atheists claim.  It looks rather beneficial.

Challenges in Christian Ethics

If you are interested in the subject of Christian ethics, you might enjoy this discussion on ethics from Wheaton College.  You can download both parts from iTunes here.

The Church, Autism and Apologetics

I usually don’t post transcripts of my podcast, but I was encouraged to do so in this case because of the importance of the subject.  Please consider sharing this information with your church, pastor and leadership team.

I would like to do something quite different in this episode.  Today I would like to talk to you about autism.  Autism?  I thought this podcast was about apologetics, not autism.  Well, part of my vision for Hope’s Reason Ministries, in addition to apologetics, is to provide a forum for advocating for special needs children.  Still, why should you as a person interested in apologetics listen to what I have to say about autism?  Imagine if a parent comes to your church and they are really struggling with their autistic child.  How will you respond?  Will you sit down with them and go over the ontological argument for God’s existence or the intricacies of the Trinity?  Will you even try to explain issues related to the logical problem of evil?  If not, do you have anything for them?  I would say that autism and other disabilities are a part of the problem of suffering and therefore connected to apologetics.  But instead of just requiring a rational response, it requires a compassionate response.

I happen to be an expert in autism as I have an earned D.A.D. in fatherhood studies.  In other words, I am a dad to two severely autistic children and have learned much in the process.  What is autism?  According to the Autism Society of Canada: “Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), also referred to as autism, is a neurological disorder which causes developmental disability. Autism affects the way the brain functions, resulting in difficulties with communication and social interaction, and unusual patterns of behaviour, activities and interests.” How prevalent is autism?  According to the Autism Society of Canada it is 1 out of every 165 births and the Autism Society of America, it is 1 out of every 110 births.  Look at those numbers, look at how many people are in your church and see if the numbers match up with how many autistic people are in your congregation.  You may not have any.  My question is: why?  The fact is that it is difficult to bring autistic children to church.  Autistic children do weird things and make loud noises.  Sort of like typical children, only better, and unfortunately more annoying to people who are not informed.  You see, often there is no physical sign that an autistic child has anything wrong and when they act out, other adults glare at the parents for not keeping them under control.  So for most parents, it is easier to just stay home from church.  However, with the difficulties of raising a child with autism, a church community is exactly what a family needs.

How can the church support a family dealing with autism?  Ideally, a church would be set up with the facilities and the volunteers to allow an autistic child to be integrated into the regular children’s programs at a church.  Sometimes that can happen, but as a pastor of two small churches, I know that is often a challenge.  That does not mean you cut the family loose and let them deal with things on their own.  Perhaps there is a person in the church who can do respite on a Sunday morning or you could connect them with a university student or some other person to look after the child.  Not just for Sunday mornings but for the parents to go get groceries or go on a date.  This is a tremendous need.  But you might respond by saying that you and the people you know do not have any special training to look after and autistic child.  Most of the people we have had did not have special training, we gave some tips and our children did the rest of the training.  It really is not that hard.  Just do not go into it with high anxiety or the need to initiate the relationship.  Let the child feel comfortable, respect their boundaries, be observant of their emotions and be prepared to be blessed by wonderful children.  What else can you do?  Even if you are not prepared to work with children, there are other needs.  There is the relationship between the parents.  Autism is a tremendous strain on a marriage and there is not always much emotional energy left over for each other.  One thing I noticed in the Gospels is that most of the time when a parent brought a suffering child to Jesus it was only one parent and not both.  The significance?  Not sure but it is hard to stay together with such challenges.  Help arrange for childcare and invite the parents over for a couples night.  Do not assume that parents of autistic children have no desire to get together with others.  Autism can be very isolating and these adult social times are very important.  Also, try to provide the opportunity for the parents to go on a date.  This is very much appreciated.  Another need is the non-autistic siblings.  It is not easy to be a brother or sister to an autistic child.  They lose the parents attention, they get their toys broken and there are added responsibilities.  Reach out to these children, take them to a movie or a hockey game.  Love them and enrich their childhood.

A couple of last thoughts.  If you see a parent struggling with a child having a meltdown and other siblings looking confused, offer to help.  It may or may not be autism, but offer any way.  If they don’t want your help, they will tell you.  But they may need your help, even to watch the siblings as the parents work on the child having the meltdown.  We have been there many times, most of the time people just glare or smirk at us.  A little help please?  Also, do not judge.  It is easy for people to make judgments when they have not been in that role.  You do not know what it is like.  You might think you know better, but just keep quiet unless your advice is sought.  Also, sometimes parents have to make hard decisions.  We had to send our daughter to a group home.  We have been judged on this, even by other people dealing with autism.  You do not know what we went through, nor do you understand the better relationship we have with our daughter.  We didn’t abandon our daughter, we saved our family, including both our autistic children.

In conclusion, if your church encounters a family dealing with autism, be prepared with a good solid apologetic, an apologetic of compassion.  Demonstrate that Christianity is true, that it works and that the body of Christ has an important place for families dealing with autism.

You can find the audio of this post here.

Zeitgeist, History Rewritten

Here is a helpful documentary by Chris White refuting the Zeitgeist movie.

Christians and Islam

I have noticed that there is a huge concern among Christians about Islam.  In some cases, feelings border on fear.  Does that cashier with the head dress really want to kill my family and force my conversion?  What should we be thinking?  I thought I would share a few thoughts here.

First, I do not accept Islam as a true way for salvation.  I do not believe Muhammad was a prophet, nor do I believe that the Qur’an is revelation.  I believe Muslims are wrong.  Jesus is the Son of God and he did die on a cross.  I believe that Jesus is the only way for eternal life.  I do not support “Chrislam” as the blending of Christianity and Islam (although it bothers me when people use this label to any Christian who is nice to Muslims).  I also have some concerns about the actions of some Muslims.  It is frightening what can happen in some countries to Muslims who convert to Christianity.  It bothers me about the lack of scholarly study by Muslims of their own religion and unwillingness to examine things in a critical way.  Of course there are extremists who rely on terrorism and those who would impose Sharia law on all people.  This must be rejected.

At the same time, we really need some perspective.  Many people who are most afraid of Muslims probably have not had a real conversation with a Muslim outside of an anonymous Internet debate.  Most Muslims are no different than most Christians, they are trying to live their life and to integrate their religion into the rest of their life.  Do Muslims want the who world to convert?  Sure.  So do Christians.  Are most Muslims willing to use force to make those conversions?  Not likely.  Even though there are some that do, we must remember that there have been times that the church has used forced conversions on Muslims.  In fact most of what Christians dislike about Muslims are things that the church has done in its past.

I have heard Christians concerned about Sharia law coming to the west.  Of course we should guard against that.  But at the same time, atheists are much more active in trying to change our laws and restrict our religious freedoms.  In fact we may find that Muslims are likely to support our fight for religious freedoms as we share many values.

So when you see a Muslim in your community, don’t look at them as a potential terrorist or persecutor of Christians.  Look at them as someone that God has brought out of a closed country so that we can enter into relationship with them, love them and share Jesus with them.

Bio-Ethics Bites

The subject of ethics is one that we cannot afford to be ignorant on.  There are some good Christian resources but we should be aware of what non-Christians are saying as well.  I have been listening to a series of podcasts called Bio-Ethics Bites.  This series is connected with Oxford University.  It includes an interview with controversial philosopher Peter Singer.  What I have heard is disturbing and it makes me want to deepen my knowledge of ethics.  The first step is being aware.  You can also find these podcasts on iTunes here.