Atheists have long grasped at philosophic straws in desperate effort to avoid facing the ultimate fact of reality: God. French existentialist philosopher, Jean-Paul Sartre (1905-1980), argued against God, noting that, if everything requires a cause, and if God created everything, then God would have to have caused himself. The Creator would have to be his own creation, which, of course, is impossible. But, Sartre missed the point. Only contingent (that is, dependent) things require a cause. Every effect requires an adequate cause, but God is not an effect. God simply is. God is the self-existing, uncaused first cause of all creation. As the writer put it long ago, “every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God” (Hebrews 3:4, ESV). God is unique in that he is the only one whose very nature is to be. Thus, God instructs Moses to tell Israel, “I AM has sent me to you” (Exodus 3:14). Everything outside God is contingent, requiring a sufficient cause for its existence. “By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible” (Hebrews 11:3). The principle of causation leads inexorably to an infinite, uncaused, Creator. The atheist must be false to his own nature (which was made to seek God, Acts 17:27), false to the overwhelming evidence (the heavens declare God’s glory, Psalm 19:1), and false to right reason (since disbelief is inexcusable, Romans 1:20). His is a fool’s errand.
Tell the Truth (It’s Easier)
Telling the truth activates fewer areas of the brain than lying, and, so, literally, takes less brain effort. At least that was suggested by a study at Philadelphia’s Temple University School of Medicine in 2004, which used magnetic resonance imaging to take scans of volunteers’ brains. In the small-scale study, six volunteers were asked to pick up a toy gun, shoot it, then lie and say they hadn’t. The remaining three volunteers watched the proceedings, then told the truth on what had transpired. Brain scans revealed seven areas activated in the liars, but only four areas lit up in the truth-tellers. Just as it takes fewer muscles and less effort to smile than it does to frown, so it is easier on the brain (not to mention the conscience) to tell the truth. Is it any wonder that honesty and happiness should be a better fit for humans than lies and despair? After all, the God of all truth (and true science) made us, and with the idea we imitate him. For millennia, the Bible has upheld, not only the rightness of truth-telling, but also the easier time right-doers have, generally. “Good understanding giveth favor; But the way of the transgressor is hard” (Proverbs 13:15). How many people have told lies, then been pressured into telling more lies to coincide with the previous lies? How many people have lied and forgotten the content of their untruths, only to be caught later in their inconsistencies? Nothing good comes of a lie. As Sir Walter Scott wrote in his poem, Marmion, “O, what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive!” Yes, the liar will have a harder go of it in this life, but it will be especially rough in the next, since “all liars…shall be in the lake that burneth with fire and brimstone; which is the second death” (Revelation 21:8). Visit us at the church of Christ, where we value the truth of God’s word on every subject. And remember to always tell the truth. It’s easier.
Wolves
In the late summer of 2005, Jim Dubcak and I were privileged to camp for a week in the Canadian Rockies of British Columbia, where we slept in a canvas tent beneath the Northern Lights. As preachers of the Gospel, both of us had taken aim many a time at spiritual wolves, but, in the mountains, we each had a license to hunt a real wolf (and a bear, but that’s another story).
Wolf hunting is not easy. As a game animal, the wolf is one of the most difficult trophies in North America. We only heard one the whole time we were there. Getting out of the truck, our guide began to call to the wolf, which was about a hundred yards away, on the other side of a tree line. The wolf howled several times in reply, and hung around for a couple of minutes. By that time, a breeze at our back evidently carried our unwelcome scent to his keen nose, and he ghosted away. As close as we were to the wolf—and though we heard him loudly—we never saw him, which is exactly how he wanted it. Still, just hearing one in the wild was an experience. Later, we took three barrels of leftover animal parts from the butcher’s shop in Chetwynd and emptied them in the wilderness, hoping the fragrant mound would attract some wolves. Though we returned several times to inspect the pile, no wolf was visible.
As large and potentially dangerous as they are, wolves do not like to be seen. Wolves are wary and well equipped to pull down animals much bigger than they—especially when working in packs. The damage a wolf (or wolves) can inflict must be the reason the Lord compared Canis lupus to the enemies of the church. Once, in giving his disciples a preaching assignment, Jesus said, “I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves” (Matt. 10:16, ESV). He also warned his followers of “false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves” (Matt. 7:15). A wolf does not win his dinner by sauntering around a herd of deer while howling to advertise his presence. If that were his tactic, the herd would quickly run away. But, he may bring down the unsuspecting by ever-so-quietly sneaking up on his oblivious target and then dashing in for the kill. Likewise, spiritual wolves in the church do not wear T-shirts stating their true intentions. They may not look very fierce or smell threatening. More than likely, as the Lord indicated, they have put together a costume that, to some degree, looks like a sheep. Their disguising ability makes them all the more dangerous. Before leaving the Ephesian elders, Paul warned that “after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them” (Acts 20:29-30).
Wolves do not embrace a “live and let live” approach. The devil is tirelessly trying to make a meal of God’s flock, hunting the weak, the ignorant, the unprepared, the one who dropped his guard, the one who got separated from the rest. He sneaks in close wearing a sheepskin, but it does not fit him well—there is always the telltale sign that something is amiss. The next time you see a sheep with a mouthful of fangs, or with a sharp set of claws where a hoof should be, raise an eyebrow and go wolf hunting.
A Fish Out of Water
My wife, youngest daughter and I just returned from a Caribbean cruise. It was a first for all of us, and had been at the top of my daughter’s wish list for a long time. It was a learning experience and, in many ways, enjoyable. It was time well spent with family, taking in new sights, sounds, sea sickness. It was a week in which my iPhone had no calls, no texts, no e-mails, no notifications, no news headlines, no weather updates, no service (so I used it as a clock, and occasional camera). There was shopping on board. There was shopping in the Mexican ports. We were entertained with a week of formal dining every evening in an elegant atmosphere in which you could easily forget you were, in fact, floating above thousands of fathoms of ocean. The menu was exotic (for my taste), and I held mostly to steak and chicken, while the others tried the new, the strange, the fancy. After dinner came the dessert menu. After dessert (and here’s the best part) we simply got up and left — no bill to pay. What I liked most was the private balcony off our small stateroom. There, I could sit and read while the ocean passed by. At night I could view a full moon shimmering on the Gulf of Mexico. I could look out and see nothing but water, taking in the same view Noah must have had for days on end. In fact, wasn’t all that water simply a remnant of the Genesis Flood — an ever present reminder of the consequences of human sin?
We were some 3,000 people on a floating city, and sin was harder to avoid than it was to find. In truth, there was much on the ship not to like, for it seemed geared toward those who were at least half-heathen. A walk on deck was bound to take you passed sunbathers in various stages of undress (even in November). Going from one end of the boat to the other often entailed trekking through a smoke-filled casino. There was dancing. There were R-rated comedians who edited themselves in early evening, “family friendly” routines before their late night acts where no one under 18 was allowed. Many of the on board shows (even the magic show) were populated with very immodestly dressed women (which explains why we took in so few shows). Ironically enough, if what the crew told us was true, ours was the only cruise ship in the world with its own burlesque show. We did not learn that till after we set sail, but the ship seemed to wear it as a badge of honor. One night’s itinerary included a special event for “GLBT” passengers (if you don’t know what that stands for, it is worse than you think). Alcohol, naturally, was ubiquitous. From that side of things, it left me feeling like a fish out of water. Accustomed to being surrounded by some of the godliest people on earth (i.e. fellow saints at the Sherman Drive congregation) I was out of my element on such a cruise. A fish out of water in a boat on the water.
But, then again, isn’t that how the Lord said it would be? “If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you” (John 15:19, ESV). To say the least, there were many aspects of the cruise where my family did not fit in. And, had some of the passengers known what we truly thought of their behavior, they would surely have hated us. The devil’s tentacles stretch farther than any giant octopus, on land, at sea, in English or Spanish. Satan drags a soul to the murky depths of sin. God gives us a higher calling, wherein, by Jesus’ blood, we can be “blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world” (Philippians 2:15).
Aliens and Evolution
Aliens are ingrained in our cultural psyche. They abound in books, movies, radio, and a thousand theories about the extra-terrestrial, little green men, UFO sightings, abductions, Area 51, Roswell. The year 1898 saw publication of H. G. Wells’ novel, War of the Worlds, which helped pioneer the concept of aliens (and aliens versus man). It was adapted in a 1938 radio broadcast which frightened many into believing aliens were invading America. Wells was an adoring student and disciple of Thomas Huxley, who was known as “Darwin’s bulldog” due to his staunch defense of Charles Darwin’s theory. While aliens have no place in a worldview informed by the Bible, aliens do go hand in glove with evolutionary theory. In his 2008 movie, Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed, Ben Stein chronicled extreme prejudice in academia against belief in Intelligent Design in the universe. At the movie’s end, Stein interviewed Richard Dawkins, one of today’s leading advocates of atheism. Asked about the possibility of the world’s being intelligently designed, Dawkins replied:
“Well… it could come about in the following way: it could be that uh, at some earlier time somewhere in the universe a civilization evolved… by probably some kind of Darwinian means to a very, very high level of technology and designed a form of life that they seeded onto… perhaps this… this planet. Um, now that is a possibility. And uh, an intriguing possibility. And I suppose it’s possible that you might find evidence for that if you look at the um, at the detail… details of our chemistry molecular biology you might find a signature of some sort of designer.”
In other words, even an atheist like Dawkins feels the pressure to admit the prospect of what to so many of us is painfully obvious — that we are surrounded by intentional, intelligent design. So, with straight face, he posits as a rational possibility that unidentified aliens, at an untold time, from undisclosed location, with an unknown method, “seeded” on earth a “form of life” they “designed.” Dawkins’ desperation is palpable, and a grasping at cosmic straws. The debate may be shifting. Whereas atheists used to deny Intelligent Design, at least some now seem willing to admit it, as long as the designer is anyone but God. Even if they are forced to resort to the most baseless assertions, such as Dawkins’ intelligent-design-by-aliens proposal. Scripture affirms the existence of Adam and angels, but not aliens. Come visit us at the Sherman Drive church of Christ, where we are not confused about where we came from.
“Bats”
Image via Wikipedia
Wing-ed flight
Into the night
Mouth of cave
Echo wave
Frantic flapping
Insect trapping
Furry faces
Going places
Finding flowers
At twilight hours
Inserting nose
Far as it goes
Pull it out
Pollen snout
Sun is moon
Midnight noon
Inaudible sound
Above the ground
Nature’s clown
Come unwound
Upside down.
(© Weylan Deaver)
Big Changes: BiblicalNotes.com
Dear Friends–Thanks for all your past support of this blog. My future online efforts will additionally focus on biblicalnotes.com, still in its infancy. If you have not subscribed to it, please do. I’m in process of lining up a staff of quality contributors in hopes of making it a true resource for Christians everywhere. So, stay tuned for high-caliber teaching material as writers come on board and content builds at biblicalnotes.com!
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Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, Don’t Disapprove
In Romans 1:32 Paul mentions those who practice sin, and those who approve sin’s practice. You do not have to be personally guilty of any particular sin in order to endorse others who are. God forbids both sin-practice and sin-practice approval. This month has seen the President strike down the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, which kept soldiers from openly declaring homosexuality. But, it seems, if there is one thing the emboldened homosexual cannot stand, it is the thought that he does not enjoy approval of his behavior, even at the highest level. The homosexual lobby knows no satisfaction short of a complete restructuring of society around its aberrant values. So now, in the military, they will be allowed to be openly homosexual in practice, while the government makes sure we put an indelible, red, white and blue stamp of approval on the practice. A country of greater moral fiber would not be entertaining such issues. If the practice is sinful, then it is also sinful to endorse the practice, even though approval come from the Oval Office. Immorality is not legislated into morality. And our national leaders would do well to remember that biblical principles trump American politics, policy, and political correctness every time. “Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God” (1 Corinthians 6:9-10, ESV). Come visit us at the Sherman Drive church of Christ, where we still believe God meant what he said about sin.
The Sixth Sense
Thanks to Netflix and Clearplay, my oldest daughter and I watched a movie last night from 1999 called “The Sixth Sense.” It is about a young boy with a disturbing ability. He can see dead people. From their wounds, the people are obviously dead, but the dead people don’t realize they are dead. Wherever he goes, he sees them coming up to him and trying to talk to him. The boy’s reaction at the appearance of a dead person is always one of terror, and he immediately tries to run whenever he sees one of these walking corpses. He lives a solitary nightmare until a determined child psychologist convinces the boy that the dead people are really talking to him because they need his help. So the boy begins to conquer his fear by forcing himself not to run. Instead, he starts listening to the dead people who approach him and he begins to try to help whatever their need is that keeps them restlessly roaming about. When the boy learns how to handle his “sixth sense,” it ceases to be a curse to him.
Fortunately for us, that kind of scary thing only happens in the movies, right? Well, think about it in New Testament terminology. If you are a member of the Lord’s church, you are alive by virtue of the indwelling Spirit of God (Rom. 8:11). But, compared to the population, we who are spiritually alive are few and far between (Matt. 7:14). That means most people we see walking and talking all around us are spiritually dead (Col. 2:13). They bear the deadly wounds of sin in their souls, but they don’t realize they are dead. Instead, they go about as if everything were fine.
As living children of God, we have the rare ability to see dead people for what they are. They ring up our groceries at the checkout counter. They surround us at the mall. They work next to us. They pass us on the sidewalk. They serve our meals at the restaurant. They live next door. They are “the dead” and what they need more than anything is our help. We know they need the gospel and we know that God wants us to help them. Yet, too many times our reaction is one of terror. Instead of helping the dead, we run away. Maybe we are repulsed by their being covered with sin (cf. Rom. 5:8). Maybe we are too spiritually immature to offer competent help (cf. Heb. 5:12). Maybe we are afraid of displeasing the dead and ending up hurt (cf. Gal. 1:10). Maybe we are too lazy and comfortable to put forth the effort (cf. John 9:4). How can we help the church if we are unwilling to look into the eyes of a dead man and offer him the bread of life (John 6:58)? As Christians, we need a keenly developed “sixth sense” that alerts us to the walking dead who surround us. It is a rare and significant ability. Do you have it?
You Are Not Your Own
Image by Jeremy Weate via Flickr
Travelers to 1870’s Zanzibar, an island off the coast of East Africa, often commented on the large number of white seashells glistening under the clear waters of the bay. The gruesome truth was far less charming, as they were not shells at all, but the bones of dead slaves tossed overboard—a grim token of the 20,000 stolen men who, each year, passed through Zanzibar, the largest slave market in the world.
Perhaps the most successful of all slavers was an Arab named Hamed bin Muhammed, known widely as “Tippu Tib,” a name meant to imitate the sound of rifles he used to destroy and enslave so many on the Dark Continent. As he would say, “the gun is king of Africa.” A fascinating chapter on Tippu Tib’s rise to prominence is in the book, Tales of the African Frontier, by J.A. Hunter and Daniel P. Mannix.
Tippu Tib perfected a strategy that could be repeated time and again which brought him fabulous wealth, power and respect, and struck terror in the hearts of those who found themselves staring into his muskets. He would travel to the interior, collecting ivory. Then he would overpower an entire village at gunpoint, enslave its citizens, force them to carry the ivory back to Zanzibar, and sell both ivory and his new found slaves for a king’s ransom. Tippu Tib also used inter-tribal warfare to further his fortune. He would form an alliance with a certain tribe and, together, they would wipe out the tribe’s enemy, survivors of which would be sold into slavery. Then, when the friendly tribe grew boastful of its victories and began to demand tribute from Tippu Tib’s caravan, that tribe also would be captured and marched off to Zanzibar, a deadly journey with a mortality rate estimated by Livingstone at 80%. If four out of five died, that was an acceptable loss because the remaining 20% were still enough to keep the industry booming. As one British official stated, “The Arabs regard it like transporting ice. You know most of it will melt away, but there’ll be enough left to show a profit.”
Slavery was abolished in Zanzibar in 1897, but Tippu Tib’s house still stands there, a reminder of a bygone era when man-stealing raked in serious profits. It was a frightful time when you could be minding your own business and find yourself suddenly torn from family and home and marched at gunpoint to be bought and paid for by a stranger who now owned you as private property—lock, stock and barrel.
Macabre memories, to be sure. But, evil as that practice was, it pales in comparison with modern spiritual slavery. “Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness?” (Rom. 6:16, ESV). When you violate God’s law you are “sold under sin” (Rom. 7:14). In essence, you stand exposed and helpless on the auction block and Satan enters the winning bid. He owns you. The other end of the chain around your neck is in the fingers of the prince of darkness. As long as the devil is your master, you are powerless to be righteous. Paul said, “For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness” (Rom. 6:20). In that hopeless situation you would live and die, having been captured by the devil’s wiles, torn from fellowship with God and dragged dangerously distant from the innocence of childhood—doomed to live forever in hell (Rev. 20:15).
You will never cease to be a slave. But, unlike Tippu Tib’s prisoners, you can choose who buys you off the auction block. When you are baptized into Christ (Gal. 3:27), you are purchased at the price of divine blood (Acts 20:28). Paul wrote, “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own,for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body” (1 Cor. 6:19,20).
God’s slaves are volunteers. They are bought, but not stolen. They are owned, but not abused. They are required to labor hard, but helped along the way. They are marched on a route fraught with danger, but which—if survived—leads to the gates of heaven. “But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life” (Rom. 6:22). So, whose slave will you be?
