The Dawn Treader

Ralph Winter

Growing up in Pasadena, and having numerous ties to Fuller Seminary, I was familiar with the name Ralph Winter.  Dr. Winter recently passed away at the age of 84 in California.  Once listed as one of America's most influential evangelicals, Winter was a huge force in the area of world missions.

What I never realized, however, was that Winter was working late in his life to raise awareness of what he called "intelligent evil."  I suspect every Christian has thought about the origin of diseases, or things like parasites and viruses.  I have, especially when I get sick!

What role does God's sovereignty play in relation to sicknesses?  Does God allow micro-evolution a role in causing things like the H1N1 virus ( aka swine flu ) to develop?  Or, is there an evil intelligence at work?  Could working from a presumption of intelligent causation ... rather than chance ... make a difference in eradicating diseases faster?

Have a look at this interesting CT article on Winter's proposition.

John Edward's Defense of Mediumship

Can John Edward really communicate with the dead?  Regardless of what you think, I find Edward's apologetic approach interesting.

Here is Sean Hannity's interview with John Edward.

Jon and Kate

Unless you live under a rock, you no doubt have heard the buzz about America's currently most discussed divorce ... of Jon and Kate Gosselin.

My family, like many in America, got hooked on their reality show ... primarily because of the cute kids.  I watched it occasionally ... well, as long as I could tolerate Kate ... which was not very long.  Kate is a perfect illustration of Proverbs 27:15

I was glad to see that TLC announced that this show will go on hiatus.  I hope they go ahead and pull the plug.

I get disgusted when I hear platitudes like "it is best for the kids" ... or, "our kids are our number one priority".  How about making your marriage your number one priority if you are so concerned about the kids?

Every divorce is a tragedy, this one particularly so.  Yes, there are all those kids.  But, in this case, many perceived the Gosselins as a Christian family.  As Point commenter Kristin said,

"... apparently have quite a following among believers and churches who have previously praised the show as being "wholesome, family-friendly" programming. From what I understand, churches and Christian groups have played a big part in Kate's speaking engagements, and their book sales."

Ugh.

And this quote from Jon, the star of the show ...

"I was too passive," Jon said of their relationship. "I just . . . went along with everything. Now I finally stood up on my own two feet and I'm proud of myself."

I am sorry, but proud?  Proud?  How about filled with remorse for perfecting conflict avoidance for ten years and harboring resentment ...

Jon and Kate would have benefited from the teaching of Peacemaker ministries.  Too bad there was not an episode of Jon and Kate as peace makers ... versus peace breakers and oft times, peace fakers.   Sad.

Is Money Evil?

1 Timothy 6:10
For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.

Is money evil?

Most American "Christians" Are Not Trinitarian

Much like their perceptions of Satan, most Christians do not believe that the Holy Spirit is a living force, either. Overall, 38% strongly agreed and 20% agreed somewhat that the Holy Spirit is “a symbol of God’s power or presence but is not a living entity.” Just one-third of Christians disagreed that the Holy Spirit is not a living force (9% disagreed somewhat, 25% disagreed strongly) while 9% were not sure.

~ Recent Barna Poll

Time for a Dawntreader poll for those readers who are professing Christians.  Post a comment.

Is the Holy Spirit a living and personal entity? (iow, you should answer "no" if you think the Holy Spirit is a symbol of God's power).

I would like to compare my audience with the average American "Christian".

Opened Up The Window And In Flew Enza

I recently saw a status that read, "I'm sick of hearing about the swine flu already."

For a little historical perspective of how serious a pandemic is, check out this ABC News video.

Any DT readers concerned about the swine flu?

Benign Tyranny Of Euro Socialism

"But, he [Charles Murray] goes on to show, there's a difference between encouragement and support. European-style socialism "supports" faith by providing and maintaining church buildings; "supports" family with childcare and generous maternity benefits, "supports" vocation through workplace regulations, and community through the creation of a European brand. The result is, according to Murray, empty churches, a collapsing birthrate, low job satisfaction, and increasingly cynical Germans, Swedes, Frenchmen, and Spaniards. "

~ Janie Cheaney, WORLD magazine writer, commenting on the Charles Murray's 2009 Irving Kristol Lecture

Nice write up in WORLD magazine about libertarian Charles Murray's speech last month, entitled "The Happiness of the People".

Cheaney sums up Murray's thesis as "By usurping many of the responsibilities that used to belong to individuals, the state has sapped much of the energy, drive, and satisfaction from living."

Cheaney, however, points out that Murray's optimism in science as our way out is a misguided optimism.  Empirical reasons alone do not change the human heart, as Murray seems to hope.  People with power, influence and self-interest will use knowledge ... empirical or otherwise ... to further themselves.  It has been that way ever since the Fall, as history has proven again and again.

Murray's lecture is an interesting read.  If you are interested in the question, "Do we want the United States to be like Europe?", then I encourage you to read Murray's address.

The conservatives and libertarians will amen his sentiments, the lefties will throw rocks.  I would be interested in hearing some intelligent responses to both the WORLD article or the Murray speech.

Obama's Moral Clarity and Moral Blindness

"Science that can heal, used to kill. Education that can enlighten, used to rationalize away basic moral impulses. The bureaucracy that sustains modern life, used as the machinery of mass death, a ruthless, chillingly efficient system where many were responsible for the killing, but few got actual blood on their hands."

~ President Obama, addressing a holocaust remembrance crowd

These words are exactly right.  Technology and education are not our saviors.  They just as easily become weapons of mass destruction.  Hence, science in a vacuum is not the answer and history proves it.  More math and science classes are not the answer.  The answer has to involve the human heart, because that is where decisions are made and responsibility resides.

"Today and every day we have an opportunity as well as an obligation to confront these scourges, to fight the impulse to turn the channel when we see images that disturb us or wrap ourselves in the false comfort that others sufferings are not our own," he said.

"Instead we have the opportunity to make a habit of empathy, to recognize ourselves in each other, to commit ourselves to resisting injustice and intolerance and indifference in whatever forms they may take, whether confronting those who tell lies about history or doing everything we can to prevent and end atrocities like those that took place in Rwanda, those taking place in Darfur. That is my commitment as president. I hope that is yours as well."

Again, great words.   I especially resonate with the part about not turning away from images that disturb us.  We need to see the end result of our moral reasoning.  Images are powerful.

The great irony, of course, is that Obama has a flawless record of supporting a mother's right to abort her unborn child and the unfettered use of unwanted human embryos for their body parts (i.e. their stem cells).  He fails to see the intolerance and injustice of the holocaust against the most helpless human beings of all ... the smallest ones.  In other words, the victims who are discriminated against and denied person hood because of their size and stage of human development.

Obama's words are amazing, but his record is so loud and clear that it drowns them out.  I wonder if he has viewed disturbing images of a partial birth abortion, or has he simply turned the channel.

Asking DT Readers

Why do you think people find it so difficult to truly forgive one another?

I am curious to hear what my fellow Christ followers think.

Let me hear from you.

Ask Catherine

Catherine, as you are probably aware, "The Shack" is a runaway best seller that tells a story about forgiveness in light of tragedy.  Here are two quotes from The Shack involving a conversation between “Papa” (i.e. God) and the protagonist (Mack).

"Forgiveness is not about forgetting, Mack.  It is about letting go of another person's throat.”

Forgiveness is first for you, the forgiver," answered Papa, "to release you from something that will eat you alive; that will destroy your joy and your ability to love fully and openly."

There is some truth in these quotes, but your book does a good job of explaining how forgiveness involves something bigger.  Please expound.

Thanks, Jeff, for the good question. One of the things I noticed in studying forgiveness is how much pop psychology has truncated our view of why we forgive. Dr. Phil, for example, defines forgiveness as “a choice you make to release yourself from pain, bitterness, and anger.” While I’d agree that forgiveness is a choice we make, and while I’d agree that forgiveness can often bring a very real sense of relief and release, I would differ in this: I think forgiveness isn’t primarily a selfish act. Forgiveness is a gift—a gift given to the person in our lives who may least deserve it. When we forgive, we may actually suffer in the process as we let go of the right to avenge or let go of something that was giving us a sense of identity, or any number of things. There is certainly a joy in doing something which is gracious and good, but it won’t be a joy without cost.

I love what you wrote on page 92 when you said,

“Like any gift, forgiveness can bring joy to both the giver and the receiver, and the one who gives pays the highest price.  But perhaps the extreme costliness of this particular gift imbues forgiveness, of all human actions, with the greatest potential to image forth the divine.”

Forgiveness is central to the gospel, and it is extremely costly.  You reference Bonhoeffer in your book and call forgiveness an “active form of suffering” on p 263.  Please unpack what you mean.

It’s interesting you bring up Bonhoeffer as I’ve just been re-reading The Cost of Discipleship.  Bonhoeffer teaches us a lot about something we’ve forgotten. That is that the Christian life is one that like our Lord Jesus Christ’s will be marked by suffering. We don’t measure our success in this world by whether we’re going along smoothly and carefree. In terms of forgiveness, when someone wrongs us we suffer passively. But when we choose to forgive, we take up an active form of suffering in giving a costly gift to an “enemy.” We let go of shoving that wrong in someone’s face, for example, or of using a past misdeed to keep another person in position of debt to us. There are many ways that giving up the perceived right to avenge will feel like suffering. In saying this, I don’t want to minimize the joy there is in doing right. Christ went to the cross for the joy set before him. When we forgive, we create the possibility of a renewed future and a renewed relationship. We participate in seeing shalom restored. There’s a reward in our suffering that can outweigh the pain of the offering.

You have said in one of your interviews that "holding on to that forgiveness is the hardest" thing for you.  Would you say that forgiveness is a process, or would you say it is a one-time thing?  In other words, do you think one can be in the process of forgiving someone, or is it something that either happens or doesn’t?  And once you have forgiven someone, do you think it is a done deal, or is it ongoing?

I think forgiveness is definitely a process. I do think that at some point we make a choice to forgive and then we hold on to that choice. But the choice to hold on may strike us in ways that seem new and may bring up old pain. For instance, just this past week I saw a consequence in my life of a wrong that had been done to me almost nine years ago. I’ve chosen already to forgive that wrong. But I’d never really seen and felt the pain of that particular aspect of the consequence of the wrong in my life until just last week. As that pain hit me in a fresh, new way, I had to hold on to that choice that I’d made to forgive. And in a sense, I forgave again as a new aspect of the harm done to me was revealed. I don’t think that the fact that I felt a new level of pain, hurt and even anger negates the reality of the forgiveness I’d already extended. It just shows that any kind of harm can affect those around us in ways that are very multi-faceted and far-reaching.

Colossians 3:13 tells us "as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive."   This verse humbles me every time I read it, because I think of the depth of Christ's forgiveness for me personally, and think, there is no way I can forgive as Christ forgave.   At the end of the day, would you say that forgiveness is possible outside the supernatural work and grace of Christ in the human heart?

I believe that any good that any of us do (Christian or non-Christian) is grace from God. So in that sense, any forgiveness in the world, any selflessness, any noble and pure sacrifice is part of God’s supernatural work. But you probably mean can people who don’t see the atoning death of Jesus as a motivator to forgive, can they truly forgive? I would say, yes, they can. There’s a reason that what’s at the heart of Christian ethics, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you,” is found in so many religions and cultures. This empathy-based ethic is understandable and even reasonable to people who don’t operate based on motives of faith. And many people are able to remember a time when they were forgiven or when they desperately wanted forgiveness and they received it. They can remember how good that felt and feel motivated to want to likewise extend that to another human being. But I think that a person who is a Christian is going to have experienced this in a much more profound way than most of us do in our normal everyday lives. The more we understand that we desperately need forgiveness (in other words the more we understand how truly sinful we are), the more we will see the need to extend that same grace to others. But there’s also another motivation for Christians, and that is pleasing and becoming like Christ. We know that as we imitate Christ, it shows His love to the world. There’s a motivation in that which can help bypass the suffering and discomfort of extending forgiveness.

Thanks for these good questions and for the opportunity to share a bit more about the importance of forgiveness.