Magic, Muggles, and Miracles

John Mark Reynolds has a great post over at Scriptorium Daily on the innate desire to know God.

Why Philosophy Does Not Equal Atheism

Yesterday, I heard one of my professors speak at our History and Political Studies department chapel. He had selected Colossians 2:8-15 as his text, but he strangely interpreted it as a putdown to all philosophy.

Verse 8 does say "See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ." Yet, not all philosophy falls into this category of which Christians must be wary.

I have not done exhaustive studies upon any philosopher or philosophy, but my reading and education have given me some knowledge about the writings of Plato and Aristotle. For example, Plato articulated the doctrine of "loving one's enemies" long before Christ's incarnation. Aristotle, though steeped in a culture of polytheism, reasoned his way to an all-powerful, purposing Deity. Should Christians reject these elements of philosophy?

Rather than condemn any philosophy, Christians should take a stance of critical acceptance. We ought not to swallow any idea put forward by seemingly influential people; nor should we assume that only the Bible contains truth.

Indeed, Christians are in the best position to reason correctly. We are united through baptism and faith with Christ, the Logos. With Jesus as our starting point, we can and should seek to understand the world at a deeper level. Viva Philosophia!

The Cordoba Conundrum

Evelyn Beatrice Hall wrote in The Friends of Voltaire: "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." This is exactly my attitude toward the proposed Muslim cultural center near Ground Zero. As our president has said, this may not be the wisest idea, but all people have a right to peacefully practice their religion at all times. For New York or, worse, the federal government to shut down the peaceful practice of Islam would be a rejection of the founders' ideals, including free religion and free speech.

I do not agree with the wisdom of locating the Cordoba House in an area which will offend many who were hurt or lost loved ones on September 11, 2001. But it may be that such a move is exactly the gesture needed to bring closure to the attacks. Furthermore, allowing the cultural center and mosque to operate freely will highlight the difference between authoritarian Islamist regimes and the liberal governments Western civilization has created.

There is no easy answer to this dilemma, but we must always keep one question in mind: what if it were a synagogue? or a church? The same rules one would apply to those places of worship ought to be applied to the Cordoba House. As-Salamu Alaykum.

Wisdom Teeth

Personal note: I just got all four wisdom teeth pulled out. It went quickly, and I'm now recuperating with old episodes of the Office on the couch. Hope to be up-and-running in a few days.

Also, if you would, I'd appreciate prayer for my grandfather, who suffered a massive heart attack last Saturday.

Illegal Means Against the Law

"The court will not allow the state of Arizona to criminalize undocumented immigrants." So said Isabel Garcia, an attorney who opposes the recent immigration bill passed by the Arizona state legislature. Really, she said that. She seems to lack the basic requirement to be an attorney: knowledge of and/or respect for the law. SB1070, the recent bill, did not make innocent people's actions crimes; it merely allowed illegal aliens (who are already criminals because they are illegal) to be punished for their crimes.

Pity the state whose lawyers have rejected the law in favor of their own personal vendettas.

Radical Unity

All mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them. And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one.

John 17:10-11 (ESV)

In the middle of Jesus' high Priestly prayer, He prayed for a radical sort of unity. He asked the Father to keep His followers unified in the name of the Father. The radical feature of this prayer is the analogy He used to describe the unity His followers ought to have: "they may be one, even as we are one." Essentially, Jesus is praying that Christians everywhere have the same level of unity that the Trinity have. This is possible because all Christians are directly, personally, mystically united with God. Therefore, they can be united fully with each other.

Do you see this kind of unity in your church, let alone the universal church? Lord, may we be so unified with You that we enjoy fellowship with one another, just as You enjoy communion with Your Father!

The Outrageous Spirit of God

"And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance."

Acts 2:2-4 (ESV)

The Spirit of God is not merely a "still, small voice."

He is outrageous!

He is loud, powerful, visible, audible, miraculous, and even earth-shaking!

"And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness."

Acts 4:31 (ESV)

The Lamb's Banquet of the Eucharist

This is the Banquet of the Lamb.

It is made ready for those who love Him

and for those who want to love Him more.

So, come, you who have much faith and you who have little,

You who have been here often and you who have not been here long,

You who have tried to follow and you who have failed.

Come, because it is the Lord who invites you.

It is His will that those who want Him should meet Him there.

--From the Book of Common Prayer

The Gospel in Genesis 3

"Who told you that you were naked?

Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?"

And the LORD God

made for Adam and for his wife

garments of skins and

clothed them.

Our Lord -- Defiled, Guilty, and Cleansing

Theological blogging is a dangerous business. I am compelled to deliver the truth I find in the Bible, but the medium of my blog dilutes my message unless I use incredibly blunt language. The danger is slipping into blasphemy in an attempt to capture my readers' attention. Out of all the posts so far, this is the most dangerous, but don't assume from my title that I am a blasphemer.

What do I mean when I say "Our God is defiled and guity"? Or to put it another way, "Jesus needed cleansing from sin"? I mean that on the cross, our sins were both legally and morally transferred to Jesus, Whom God punished mercilessly. His blood thereby cleansed Himself from our sins.

This is the doctrine of "expiation": that is, our sins are removed from us and placed upon Jesus by divine decree. Meditate on that last sentence: your sins are completely, permanently removed! Your history is cleared! Every sin, from the smallest lie to the grossest deceit, from a lustful look to adultery, from drunkenness to bribery, from pride to sorcery, is removed forever.

Now we come to a crucial point: Jesus did not simply endure legal punishment for sins he had never committed. This would have been indeed unjust of the Father to punish the Son without cause. Rather, He endured the just wrath for our sins which now truly stained His soul. In expiation, God did not simply remove our sin, he transferred it to His Beloved Son. God defiled Himself voluntarily.

This has long been the teaching of the church, but is there a biblical text which proves this expiation? Look at 2 Corinthians 5:21: "For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." Jesus, the Holy Son of God, became sin during His crucifixion so that we might become righteousness itself.

What practical effect should this doctrine have upon our lives? First, never fear punishment for sin. If you follow Jesus, you may have faith that God transferred all your transgressions to Jesus, then punished them, so they are gone forever. One way to think about it is that God, by divine miracle, changed history so that every sin you've ever committed was actually done by Jesus. Forget what lies behind and press onward in full assurance of your cleansing!

Second, If you have not believed on Jesus or turned to follow Him, then these promises do not apply to you yet. Yet they are open to all who turn to Jesus. "Look to Him, all you ends of the earth and be saved!" If you want the cleansing of which I've written, talk to a pastor as soon as you can. Ask them how you can be saved.

Third, know the greatness of God's love for you. We can say that God loves you more than He hates sin, because He was willing to let the guilt and shame of sin rest upon Himself rather than punish you.

Fourth, hate sin. Think upon the effect of your sin, not only upon yourself and other humans, but upon your Lord. Will you heap more shame, guilt, and dishonor upon your King? You can not call Jesus your Lord and yet continue to do those things which He hates and which He bore in Himself.

Last, when we inevitably sin and feel defeated and shameful, we can find relief and hope in the truth that Jesus knows those feelings to the utmost. We unholy creatures do feel great shame for our sin, especially after we become Christians, yet Jesus, the great Creator truly knew the depth of evil and iniquity which stained Him upon the cross. Find strength in the thought that Jesus knows what you're going through. Sin will kill you by depression if you do not realize that Jesus knows your pain and will dwell with you and strengthen you.