God's use of language

The commandment, "Thou shalt not take the name of your Lord God in vain" has always seemed one of the lesser of the Ten Commandments, to me. God wanted proper respect for his name, sure, but didn't he also elevate us to the level of co-heirs with him in his kingdom?
A few class periods ago, my worldview professor explored God's use of language.

• God created the world by speaking it all into existence.
• Jesus used language to perform his miracles. He spoke to the storm while the disciples cowered in fear. "Be still!" he said and the storm ceased.
• Jesus, on another occasion, verbally cursed a fig plant and it withered and died.
• God revels himself to us today by the Bible--the Word of God.

Somehow, there is this power contained within language itself. Although we use a language which is as broken as ourselves, there is a remnant of power within it.

• Paul writes that "because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." (Rom. 10:9)
• "I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move." (Matt 17:20)
• Adam's calling in the garden was to classify and name the animals.

I don't know what the implications for this ideas is yet. I don't know how it will change my writing or how it will affect my everyday speech. But it does explain why God is so concerned with the use of him name.

A Vision Through the Wide-Angle Lens, a review of the book "Engaging God's World"

During the 2008 Presidential elections, I was sure this nation would turn around for the better. I was rubbing shoulders with people from the Family Research Council and I was a passionate member of the Connecticut Family Policy Council, the Family Institute of Connecticut. In my mind and the minds of my chums, then Democrat nominee Barack Obama could not get elected because he was so bad for the country.


We were the youth. We were the new voice. Time and time again we were told that “they will listen to you; they listen to the young people.” So we spoke to fight against the red tide of culture. Dare I say it? We were young, and we thought we were invincible.

But history tells a different story. We failed. Or, that is how it felt like. The subsequent days and weeks after the election of President Obama, I rethought my view on Christians in culture. I was so sure we were going to take it all back for God’s glory, but now we dropped that much more. Each battle was so costly, getting to the point where we were just a few years ago would now require decades of work. I went from a Christian who believed we could and should take back government and reclaim it for God’s glory, to something almost of a complete opposite.

The world was sinful, so sinful that we would never regain a toehold in the culture and we were too few to stop the decent into Gomorrah. The duty of a Christian in culture was to speak the truth and to warn them what is going to happen. Write letters to the editor, attend the public hearings, but all the while, knowing that they would overrule us, laugh us off, or hostilely condemn us. In short, I believed we were to make a half hearted attempt at stopping them, and then say, “Well, we tried.”

I swung from one extreme to the next. But I have found the middle ground from Cornelius Plantinga’s book Engaging God’s World, a Christian Vision of Faith, Learning, and Living. By looking at the core of Christianity, the gospel meta-narrative of creation, fall and finally redemption, Plantinga presents a vision of the principals a Christian should live.

In the first chapter, Plantinga introduces the idea of Shalom. Shalom, the Hebrew word for peace, he says, is a state of eternal peace, larger than what we can satisfy. Every individual longs for this peace and strives for it in some way. “In the Bible,” writes Plantinga, “shalom means universal flourishing, wholeness, and delight—a rich state of affairs in which natural need are satisfied and natural gifts fruitfully employed, all under the arch of God’s love. Shalom, in other words, is the way things are supposed to be.”

Christians have this longing and hope that things are better, that all we see in the here and now is not all of what we can find to satisfy us. Plantinga writes that “Biblical hope has a wide-angle lens. It takes in whole nations and peoples. It brings into focus the entire created order—wolves and lambs, mountains and plains, rivers and valleys. When it is widest and longest, biblical hope looks forward toward a whole “new heaven and new earth” in which death, and mounting, and pain will have passed away (Rev. 21:1, 4)…”

Plantinga shows that as our hope is wide, so is God’s creation. Plantinga quotes Daniel Migliore: “while the stars, the tree, and the animals do not speak or sing of the glory of God in the same way that humans do, in their own way the too lift up their praises to God, and for all we know, they do this with a spontaneity and consistency far greater than our own.” God doesn’t not only hear his glory lauded from the voices of humans, he hears it through all of creation.

However, God gave human kind, his own image bearers, and a special task of ruling over this creation. This is not a narrow mission of stewarding the environment. “According to a widespread interpretation of this mandate (or is it a blessing?),” says Plantinga, “God’s good creation includes not only earth and it’s creatures, but also an array of cultural gifts, such as marriage, family, art, language, commerce, and (even in an ideal world) government.”

But just as creation was wider and bigger than what some may think, sin is more pervasive. The human psyche didn’t develop a duelist nature, or a cancerous growth; the effects of sin infused every cell and action of Man—there is no escaping the gas of brokenness.

But as our sin was greater, so was God’s common grace. God still infuses his providence and his acts throughout the meta-narrative so that it will not fall into complete chaos. As Plantinga writes, “What is striking, once more, is the persistence of God’s grace. God refuses to let the shipwreck happen. So the prophets tell of God’s judgment, and they foretell the exile of his people. But they also see God’s salvation on the horizon, and they want it with the whole force of their hearts.”

Once we adopt God’s worldview, we must become initiated into Christ’s family. This initiation, as taught by many churches, is in the form of baptism into the Church family. Plantinga says, “Before the Red Sea, an Israelite was a slave to a foreign power. After the Red Sea, an Israelite was a liberated Child of God… … Christians get baptized into the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ…”

After we have been reformed, the mission turns wider. Our hearts have been reformed, but all of creation is still contaminated with evil. Plantinga spends the rest of the book discussing how the Christian should be the redemptive force in the world which brings a small part of Christ’s shalom to this earthly world.

The overall message of Engaging God’s World was inspiring. Having caught myself in a period of despair when I saw more of my own sin and failure than the savior, this book showed me a perspective I desperately needed—a big vision, something valuable in this life to eagerly strive for.

The book helped me so much; it is hard to see the imperfections of it. Every Christian should understand that every aspect of their life has worth and meaning to God. Although this book was aimed primarily to Christian college students, a thirty-something who comes to the decision to follow Christ should understand that the faith is not compartmentalized.

Plantinga could have gone into greater depth in two areas. First, he never addressed the first step of redemption. Where is the discussion on becoming saved? In a book which explores the meta-narrative and the broad strokes of Christianity, a discussion on how a person becomes saved should have been included. Instead, Plantinga addresses baptism and the community within the Church. Necessary and critical, but these steps are step two and step three.

Secondly, Plantinga should have explained the scriptural basis for his vision of heaven. He believes that the earth shall turn into heaven when Christ finally returns. He says “My reason for thinking so is that scripture appears to teach not only that there shall be a new heaven and earth, but also that it shall be this earth, renewed. In Revelation 21 the city of God descends to us. We do not go to heaven; heaven comes to us.” This is a very wonderful idea which I find very attractive, but I must approach it critically before I accept it. Plantinga mentions one biblical reference, yet never actually quotes it. Before I accept the idea that this earth shall be renewed and experience shalom at the coming of Christ, Plantinga should have provided stronger references back to the Bible.

Yet Plantinga has given a vision. By going back to the meta-narrative of Christianity, he shows a movement larger than us which will give us fulfillment in this life—something worth living for. Plantinga has given “a Christian vision of faith, learning and living.”

Berlin’s Congregations Join During National Day of Prayer

Residents in Berlin Gather to Pray at the National Day of Prayer

About 30 people gathered at the Worthington Ridge War memorial Thursday evening to simply pray.
The event brought together four churches in Berlin; Bethany Covenant Church; Berlin Congregational Church; Kensington Congregational Church; and Wellspring Church. Members of the congregations were observing the National Day of Prayer.
The participants prayed for seven areas of American life. There were prayers offered up for the well being of the three distinct institutions in America today: Government, Churches and Families. Guidance was sought for the areas of life which influenced those institutions: the military, the media, education, and business.
When asked about the importance of the National Day of Prayer, Bob Switzer, a pastor at Wellspring Church who led the prayers for the media and churches said, “For me, it’s about relationships. There are the relationships with the churches; we are standing together and publicly saying we’re desiring a relationship.” Switzer also pointed out that in the act of praying for culture and government; the people are recognizing the relationship they have with those areas and institutions. Finally, he said that “It’s publicly showing the relationship we have with God.”
The prayer group was a part of a national gathering of prayer services which have been officially occurring for the last sixty years.
In 1952, President Harry Truman signed a measure declaring a National Day of Prayer. Later, in 1988, Ronald Reagan made the National Day of Prayer the first Thursday of the month of May.
This year, Governor Jodi Rell signed an official statement regarding the National Day of Prayer. It read, “It is fitting that we should give thanks for the freedom and prosperity enjoyed by this State and our Nation and pray for continued guidance and comfort, which has been graciously bestowed upon this Nation since its inception.” It continued, “I, M. Jodi Rell, Governor of the State of Connecticut… …urge all citizens to observe this day in ways appropriate to its importance and significance.”

Note: This was my first time attending my town's prayer event; in past years, I have attended the event at the State Capitol. My town's service was so much better than the one at the Capitol. It's eloquence was in its simplicity. Having brought along my camera and notebooks, I covered the event. This piece may be published in my town newspaper, however, I didn't get paid for it, hence the publication on here.

Checking My Spiritual Signs

Recently, I have been asking myself the question, “So how are you, Dan, spiritually?”
“I’m saved, right?” I would answer to myself while running through all the sins I committed in the last two weeks in another part of my head “So everything must be fine.”
The question kept nagging me nonetheless and finally, another question came up: How do we determine how our spiritual well being? What do we look for?
Looking at this issue, I figure three methods of determining our spiritual state. Two of them lead to potential downfall and I have fallen into that kind of thinking at one point or another. Do we base it off how many times we didn’t sin, how many spiritual thrills this week, or something else?
If we are going to be good Christians, than we have to be good and not bad, i.e. sin. Although God doesn’t count it, we must keep a running tally in our head of the good and bad act we committed to determine where we are spiritually. Sinning more than usual? Hmmm, then you need work.
A legalist never really accepts the continual grace of God. For he must work not to break rules, and if he does break them, he thinks that God must surely be as hard on him as he on himself. “Sorry God, I screwed up again today. Forgive me, please. I don’t want to sin anymore. Thank you, amen”
We then have to try again, to do better. Then there is the focus on rules. The legalistic Christian will avoid the big sins by setting up a defense of rules, and then if they break those rules, a further wall of sub-rules to prevent them from breaking the first rules. When it is all done, a maze of rules binds the Christian in.
Rules, sin, legalism, and effort—the continual focus of looking at your sins is discouraging. Run from that. It creates emo Christians.
Another way a Christian may determine his spiritual health is to feel how he is doing. If the Christian determines his spiritual health by the “thrills” he gets, than that is equally corrosive.
When I was about eight or so, I remember hearing contemporary Christian music for the first time. I felt like really praising my Savior when that music of the spirit came on. I would raise my arms, and let the music be my praise to God. It had a beat and electric guitars and cool singers.
But when I listened to secular music for the first time (I had slow socialization growth), I caught myself raising my arms and singing whatever out. Jerking my hand down, I remember thinking, “Dan. What are you doing? This stuff isn’t of the spirit.”
The feel goodness can be often based on the externalities. Your spiritual health is based more on the quality of the worship band, or the charisma of the pastor or other feel good techniques than what is believed and taught. This is shallow.
The spiritual experience isn’t something I want to totally dismiss from the Christian experience; it is an important and wonderful part of Christianity. In addition, the rules and guidelines are important as well. The point I want to make is that they cannot be what we judge to determine who is a strong Christian.
So what determines spiritual health? Could it be the transformation? We were one way, and now that we have changed, the spiritual growth is determined by how much we are indifferent to the temptations of this world? What is the impact of that?
It also means we need to be improving, but that thought is a slippery slope into legalism if we focus on the rules.
No, Spiritual growth is determined on how much our eyes are on Jesus, how much we think about him, spend time with him, and desire him. It is a relationship of trust. If we look on him, through the failures of the flesh, and the dry spiritual times, we will grow.
No relationship is simply based only on ether rules or feelings. So to be very elementary about this, we have to ask the question, what does it mean to have a good relationship? Several things. To have a deepening relationship with someone means that you want to get to know them: how they react in certain situations, what they like and dislike, etc. I may be sticking my foot in my mouth, but the Bible says very little on the nuances of God’s character. We know the broad, generalizations, but we don’t know how God will orchestrate our life. We must spend time with him; talk with him to find that out for ourselves. We really cannot do this by hearing others talk about him.
You have probably experienced that awkward moment when you meet a close friend of your friend. Beaming, they inform you “Oh Dan has told me so much about you. It feels like I already know you!” But do they really? They might know a few of your quirks and they may make an educated guess about how you will react in certain situations, but they don’t really know you. They need to talk to you to hear your voice and spend time with you to discover your subtleties. The same goes with Christ.
Do you think that Jesus Christ can simply be reduced into a pile of cause and effect formulas? He is the most complex personality in the universe. Can we not try to discover that? Let’s stop examining our spirituality and instead focus on our Creator with worship—then and only then our spirituality is in the right place.

Morality and the Market

I want to share this video I discovered on the Foundation for Economic Education's website. The lecturer, Dr Ronald Nash, explains the faulty thinking liberal Christians engage in when they think Jesus advocated for a socialistic economy. It is a good lecture, but watch it when you have a bit of time as it is almost 66 minutes long.


Morality of the Market from FEE on Vimeo.

Q&A with Brett Harris

(Note: This article first appeared in my Church's newsletter last March. Since many of you, my audience, are looking for, or going to attend, a college, I thought I should share this before it becomes completely stale. This is a very interesting article for me because this was my first time interviewing someone.)

Writing a bestselling book (Do Hard Things, Multnomah books), authoring the most visited Christian blog on the web (TheRebelution.com) and being much sought after speakers, Brett Harris, along with his brother Alex, accomplished a great deal. Their message to teens is to shake off low expectations and live to Christ’s glory- doing hard things that makes you grow. Having just begun attending college, Brett Harris sat down with me to discuss how college affects a God-fearing teen’s (also called a rebelutionary) pursuit of Christ. Here is our conversation:

Q As rebelutionarys moves off to college, their time that they had as teenagers becomes taken up. Does this hamper the rebelutionary’s ability to do great things for God’s glory?

A Absolutely not! . . . Absolutely not at all. It’s a way to prepare, a way to launch yourself into the rest of your life.

Q What would you say the attitude of a rebelutionary should be entering college?

A The first thing any young Christian should do is become surrounded by good believers and make college the primary season of primary spiritual growth.
A rebelutionary’s goal is to really learn. Priority will be actual preparation, not a good time, not school games . . . The goal is growth, not good grades . . . Life starts now, not after graduation. . . While in college, look for opportunities to serve God and make room in your schedule for that purpose.

Q Anyone can go to college, how do you go about it for God’s glory?

A The Bible says, “whether you eat or drink, do it all to the glory of God”. For the college student, bringing glory to God involves more than just Bible reading, chapel, church, and other religious activities. It involves writing papers, investing in relationships, etc. etc.

Q So Christianity should permeate every aspect of your time in college.

A Exactly. When doing an activity, you should ask, “God, what is your purpose for this activity and how can I glorify you in the way I perform it?”

Q Now this question has been bouncing around in my head for some time. Do you find that as you set out to do a hard thing, it feels daunting, but looking back, you consider the thing which you thought was hard, not that hard after all?

A Doing hard things is like exercise. I began working out when I started coming to college. When I began, I could bench press 150 pounds. I could have said ‘great! I can bench press 150 pounds’ and just kept on lifting that weight without trying to build my strength. But that wouldn’t be beneficial to me. Being stuck in your comfort zone is bad, no matter how big it is. Alex and I could continue to write books and hold conferences. But that would be easy for us and we wouldn’t be growing. Right now, we’re focusing on the small hard things; we’re just going to be normal students. You do something, gain skills, build, to have the strength to do new things later on.

Q So if you continued with the conferences and the books without growth you would be hypocrites to your own message.

A Yes

Q How has the Rebelution changed since you have published your book?

A It has grown. More people are accepting the message, including secular people.

Q How does the rebelution change as the teenagers who have heard the message move into work and college?

A Hopefully, the Rebelution causes a momentum and mindset that carries into the rest of life. God’s principles apply not just to teens; it applies to all Christians of all ages. We have received feedback from adults, home school moms, business professionals, and all sorts of people. Everyone, not just teens benefit from this message. Alex and I wrote to teens because we were teens at that time and that was the audience we could speak credibly to.

Scientists Find Disease Which Affects Us All

In the past years, scientists have been gradually discovering a host of mental disorders and addictions. Most recently in the wake of tiger wood’s sex scandal, medical researchers in a lab not so far away have announced that they have officially identified a sex disorder. Other physiological addictions include drug addictions, drinking and gambling. Back in the 1970’s, homosexuality was thought to fall into this group but was later discarded with scientific consensus.
Now scientists have discovered a unifying disorder which they have dubbed Humanus Vis “this is an exciting time in the realm of medicine and science” says Dr. Todd Gurry, one of the researchers to discover the disorder. “It means that theoretically the person who has a sex addiction will eventually be treated in the exact same way as a person with a binge eating problem” Scientists are still discussing which disorders are fall under the unifying disorder, but it looks like the final list will be huge. “Even compulsive cheaters and liars can fall under this disorder,” says Dr Gurry.
Patents have found comfort when their doctors told them that the problems that have plagued them for years, and even have ruined their lives, are not their fault—it’s the result of the problems of their mind.
The medical researchers have already begun to solve the next problem—to find a cure for this disorder. “It won’t be easy, as most everybody is affected to some extent,” says Dr John Walden, another researcher with the project, “but when we do find a cure, the potential for the human race is enormous!”
Researchers must solve an apparently impossible puzzle: find a way to change the human mind so that complete healing can occur.

What Shall We Do With The Pope?

Headlines slapped across newsfeeds today announced that the recent development of the Catholic Priest child molestation scandal rocking the world links the Pope to the subsequent cover up of the sin. For a decent video clip on the story, click here.
Don't the Catholics consider the Pope infallible? If so, what does that mean? To quote catholic.com:
"The Catholic Church’s teaching on papal infallibility is one which is generally misunderstood by those outside the Church. In particular, Fundamentalists and other "Bible Christians" often confuse the charism of papal "infallibility" with "impeccability." They imagine Catholics believe the pope cannot sin. Others, who avoid this elementary blunder, think the pope relies on some sort of amulet or magical incantation when an infallible definition is due.
Given these common misapprehensions regarding the basic tenets of papal infallibility, it is necessary to explain exactly what infallibility is not. Infallibility is not the absence of sin. Nor is it a charism that belongs only to the pope. Indeed, infallibility also belongs to the body of bishops as a whole, when, in doctrinal unity with the pope, they solemnly teach a doctrine as true. We have this from Jesus himself, who promised the apostles and their successors the bishops, the magisterium of the Church: "He who hears you hears me" (Luke 10:16), and "Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven" (Matt. 18:18)."
The Catholics believe their leader's teaching is true, and I assume this is something akin to Divine Inspiration, but the leaders are still sinful men. Sin isn't something that is rare; it is something that is expected because, hey, we're all human. But what separates the Christian from the non-believer is what they do after they sin.
Currently the world is dancing over the body of the fallen Catholic Church, gleefully pointing out the hypocrisy and deception in the church. I must admit, although I can go head to head with a Catholic on the matters of faith and theology, I still believe that they are part of the Universal Catholic Church. It saddens me to see fellow brothers fall.
The Papacy, now more than ever, must not show the world a pompous apology ceremony. It must return to the heart of Christianity; to recognize that there has been sin, to fall publicly--with the world as its audience--at the feet of Jesus, and show the world what it means to become restored through the blood of Christ.

Who should interview Hugh Hefner?

Last Saturday I attended an event called “Faith, Film and Philosophy,” a daylong conference discussing art, faith, philosophy, and how that all relates to film. Many good ideas came from the afternoon, and they will probably pop up in future posts, but this post has to do with Christian journalism.
The lecturer, Dr. Douglas Geivett, professor of Philosophy at Biola University, was answering questions and expanding on the topic on the need for Christians in Hollywood. He told the story of a Christian worker in the industry; she felt God was leading into her into a particular job she had been praying for and miraculously, she got it.
The job was, quite simply, to conduct interviews of famous people. In the meeting to decide on the first person to interview, she suggested Billy Graham, but that subject was dismissed and they settled on Hugh Hefner. What was a Christian supposed to do?
She trusted God and went ahead and interviewed Mr. Hefner. The interview brought out the early life of the adult-industry mogul and showed why he made the decisions he did—it showed the man behind the actions.
Hugh Hefner was also touched by the interview. He wrote a note thanking the interview team for conducting such a good interview. Somehow, the interview spoke to Hugh’s soul, and his aides said that it was like a therapy session for him.
There is no place a Christian cannot go to minister. Sure, only a few Christians can go into a situation like that—not all Christians belong everywhere—but a Christian was able to interact with a very un-Christian man, and produce a good work. Who should interview Hugh Hefner? Christians, with love in their hearts and a desire for truth are able to reach out with love and touch even the most broken.

A Tale of Two Churches

It was the best of times; it was the worst of times. It was the age of wisdom; it was the age of foolishness. It was the season of light; it was the season of darkness. There was a church which had a traditional service and contemporary thinking in one town. In the next town there was a church which had a contemporary service and traditional thinking.
The white church with a steeple that probably held a real bell has been around for at least 150 years, and the organ takes up a notable portion of the worship space. When the congregation gathers, they sing traditional hymns to the organ and then listen to an uplifting sermon by a talented preacher on Sunday morning.
The reality is this congregation practices religion. They get to go to an event filled with show and ceremony and aesthetics because that is what Christianity is all about to them. They try to preserve that bubble as much as possible.
In that church, I have been told not to put anything on the communion table and to refrain from wearing hats in the sanctuary. Rules of respect. Yes, it is a sanctuary, but when I am in it, it is not a worship service I am attending—it is usually my violin practice. They show respect for the space because that is all they have to their Christian experience. For some Christians, they hold tightly to the rules and aesthetics because that is the only thing they have left after deluding Jesus and the Gospel.
Contrast our church, or any other modern Evangelical church building. The electric guitar sits in the corner—not a traditional church music maker for sure. The space is informal, and the stained glass is usually vacant on the building. The walls are sheet-rocked. The building aesthetics don’t matter much because when it comes down to it, the building, the songs, the preacher and the people don’t matter. Jesus does.
Am I advocating wearing hat and being generally rude in Church? No. these rules are unwritten in some churches because we seek respect and honor for a person—Jesus—and not a place. It is actions which grow from a spontaneous honor for God, because we did not delude the gospel.

The God of Avatar

Ok, I finally broke down and saw Avatar. I can count on one hand how many times I have stepped inside a movie theater, so this was a pretty important occasion.
If you aren’t up on the hype of Avatar, it is a futuristic Pocahontas tale which is on the world of Pandora, a planet in space. Very recently, it has made more money than the movie Titanic. One reason for this is the people keep on coming back to see it. For one guy in my group, it was his third time. Because of this, it will most likely have a huge impact on our society.
Many conservative Christians dislike this film for its blatant, pro-earth, pro-pantheism, anti-industry message. Seeing the movie, I agree that the film does have that worldview. But it was also interesting to see the earth movement through the eyes of Avatar.
The movie described a “mother earth” god—one that was a being yet was also everything. I have forgotten the name the movie gave her, sorry; let’s just say it was strange enough for me to forget it. She “doesn’t take sides, she only wants balance.” Meaning there was no personal relationship, just a seesaw which you must play with.
Another interesting moment in the movie happened when one of the scientists discovers "this force" in every tree. She, as we later learn, has found the god.
The climax of the story (and this is probably a spoiler) has to do with the antagonists trying to distroy the connection the aliens had with this god. It was interesting to contrast this with our God.
Our God is bigger than we can grasp and understand, therefore we cannot control Him. A mere explosive charge cannot separate us from the relationship He has with us, his creation. Our God is deeper and stronger and more loving than this god of Avatar. The story of the movie showed a god and tried to explain what God might be, yet it fell so short of the truth.
Some of you may be wondering if I recommend the movie or not. Sure, go if you want a good action movie with some good effects, but remember that the worldview that Avatar offers is popcorn to the satisfying bread of God.

Liar, Lunatic or Lord?

Who do you think Jesus was? Many people, such as Muslims, believe he was only a good teacher: “Oh, he was a good man with good teachings”. This is the ‘safe’ position on Jesus. The position recognizes there is something good about him but doesn’t take the risky and life altering view that he is God; it sounds nice, and it doesn’t offend anyone, too much.

But there is that problem of what Jesus has said about himself and the message that he taught. He is more than a serene, slightly eccentric character preaching “do unto others as you would have them do unto you” in the desert. Although that is a part of the message, Jesus’ main message is: “I am the fulfillment of the old prophecies; I am God.” This message stunned people in his day, and it continues to trouble people even now.

The mere man who would make these claims can not be a teacher with sound teachings. Only three possibilities arise: ether he was lying, being a malicious prankster or possessed by a demon; he could have been a lunatic, disillusioned on whom he was; or, he is what he claims to be— God come to save sinful man.

“You must make your choice” writes CS Lewis. “Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up as a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.”

Liar, Lunatic or Lord?

Persuasion By Holy Spirit

This article was published in my church newsletter a couple weeks back. Please feel free to leave any comments about it.


I was at the reception for my violin recital working my way over to the refreshment table to grab a bite of flan when I ran into the pastor of the church where recital was being held. He was standing by himself as I greeted him and then it occurred to me: ‘this is a good time to ask him.’
Several weeks ago the pastor made mention that his church was “a liberal Church.” I wanted to know what he meant by a liberal church, and to understand what he believed and taught.
Throughout the course of the conversation, he told me that he was gay, that he believed the Bible is open to interpretation and that Jesus was only a symbol that the gates of hell are closed forever (similar to the rainbow in Genesis). He explained to me how he believes Christianity may not be the only way to heaven and eternal life “I believe that Christianity is true but I cannot tell another religion that it is wrong.”
This was a belief that needed to be explored. “How do you know that is true?” I asked.
He replied “I have faith and I trust that it is true.”
I mustered all the love and tact I could and asked “But what happens if you are wrong? What if you find out that the way was much narrower than you think it is or it is something totally different such as Buddhism?”
He looked me strait in my eye and said “then I will stand on judgment day and answer for what I have done.”
I realized then how futile my years of study of apologetics turned out to be. They were useless in the course of winning someone to Christ in an argument, because they wouldn’t be attracted to Christianity after some Christian blasted their beliefs out of the water. This pastor, I could tell, was very sensitive and wouldn’t be open to my views. The only way they were going to be persuaded was through the work of the Holy Spirit. As Ravi Zacharias said, “Apologetics is only the spice that flavors the actions and testimony of the Christian.”
The most powerful weapon in the arsenal of Christian apologetics is the Holy Spirit and a Christian with a story to tell.