epichorēgeō Your Faith

2Peter 1:3-7 gives us another Biblical example of the partnership involved in the Christian walk. [Also see Phil.2:12-13] After being informed of what God has supplied, the believer is then exhorted to "add to/furnish" his faith. The verb translated "add to/furnish" is epichoregeo. This fine old Greek word introduces the metaphor of the Choregos of Classical Athens.

The ancient world was totally alien from our modern view of culture, religion and politics. That sounds almost simplistic, but it's amazing how we tend to forget this when reading our Bibles! Civic, cultural and religious life were inextricably linked. There was no separation of church and state. There was no sense of "individualism" or "self determination". Membership in a particular city-state was the key component of their lives. Greek drama was presented as a part of the religious celebrations during various festivals. Wealthy patrons would be the ones to finance these endeavors. Such acts of generosity were viewed as an important factor in being a citizen of a particular polis. The Choregos was the patron who donated the money to finance the chorus. [The purpose of the chorus was to explain things to the audience and interact with various characters. They were a vital element in a Greek play.] In recognition of such magnanimous behavior, the Choregos was often honored with a monument, bearing appropriate inscriptions. This is a picture of such a monument in Athens. It's located just below the Acropolis, on the sides of which were the two primary theaters of Classical Athens.

The word eventually came to mean "generous and costly co-operation". Peter uses it to exhort the believer to engage in a cooperative effort with God that will result in a Christian life that glorifies Him. Do we view OUR Christian walk in this manner? Are we "generous" and making a "costly cooperative effort" to display a Christian walk that glorifies God? I think understanding the meaning and history of this one verb adds an important element to our understanding of Scripture!

Cheap Attempt to Get Comments

I know I haven't been posting much lately. It's not that I'm not thinking. It's not that I'm not reading. It's not that I'm not studying my Bible. It's not even that I'm not writing...I'm just not writing HERE. But you may have noticed that in my previous offerings, I have not had a single comment in ages. That leads me to believe that either no one is READING my blog any more or it's just that no one is writing comments. If I'm really writing only for myself, that's OK. I like to write! ;) But I am curious about which is true.

Sooo..I am posting a story guaranteed to get at least ONE comment. Here are pictures of scenes from LOST as portrayed in LEGOS!! Ehhh? I'm on to something, aren't I?! A crowd pleaser for sure...

Man's Response to Tragedy

There are a few special places in the world where I love to be. Places that draw me back again and again. Places that welcome me and and make me feel as if I belong. One of those places is where Beth did her undergraduate work - Virginia Tech. I love that campus! I love the natural beauty of the area. I love the incredibly friendly, outgoing people there. I love their over-the-top school spirit - where they actually WEAR the school colors and logo every day! I love the Hokie stone architecture with all those great archways and courtyards. I love interacting with perfect strangers who smile at you and are kind and who apparently had Moms who taught them basic manners. I love going into a store or a restaurant where they seem GLAD to serve me! And I especially love Va. Tech football games where they taught me how to be fan. I just love BEING there.

Today in the news I saw what one deranged person can do to such a wonderful place. Seeing the bodies of those crazy students who were pushing Springtime by wearing their maroon "Hokie" shorts being carried out of classrooms, covered in blood, just made me fall apart. I feel as if those are MY kids...as if that gunman came into MY home. I want to hug the families and cry with the students and pray with the faculty and townspeople.

On-line I found a "Comments" section at one of the major East Coast News sites, where people could write down their thoughts. I went to it hoping to find comfort. But instead I found mean-spirited vitriol and a rabid discussion concerning gun-control. Is this how we in America respond to tragedy? By giving our own self-exalting position on an "issue"? Is the opportunity to make a political point more important than feeling grief and sympathy and loss? People died! A university and a community have suffered an extraordinary loss! And there are people who look upon that as just another opportunity to voice their opinion and political agenda? It's just not right.

"Just the Facts, Maam"

I've been reading "Associations, Synagogues and Congregations" by Philip Harland, Asst. Prof. of Christian Origins at Concordia University in Montreal, Canada. It's a secular book examining the sociological aspects of 1st/2nd Century AD Graeco-Roman society in the East [primarily Asia Minor], via inscriptions and literature from that period. In general, I have avoided such sociological interpretations, mainly because of my educational background in Sociology. I find much of Sociology is based upon sheer speculation, rather than hard evidence. There's also an annoying tendency by modern sociologists to incorrectly apply modern sociological models to ancient societies. On the other hand, most of what is considered "Christian" literature is seldom backed up by any actual evidence either. Rather, there's a propensity to quote other Christian authors (who in turn are quoting still other Christian authors) as evidence, rather than looking for primary sources [archaeological, epigraphical, inscriptional, etc.] - such information ultimately ends up in Commentaries and study Bible notes, resulting in the perpetuation of false analyses from pulpits and in Bible studies. And that, unfortunately, greatly hinders an accurate understanding of the Bible.

An example of this would be a "proof" frequently cited concerning the corruption of 1st Century AD Corinth - the alleged practice of widespread temple prostitution connected to the Temple of Aphrodite on Corinth's acropolis [the Acrocorinth - see picture]. I've run across this in numerous Commentaries and study Bibles... but it's just not true! This assertion turns out to be based upon ONE sentence in ONE ancient writing - by Strabo (writing in the 1st Century AD) about a story he HEARD from someone concerning an alleged practice which supposedly occurred during archaic times in Greek Corinth. Ancient writers like Strabo and Herodotus didn't write "history" in the manner of modern historians. They included every story anyone ever told them - some of which may have been true or partly true, but much of which was fictional, or at least mythologized.

Even IF there had been such a practice in archaic times, which would have been contrary to practices everywhere else in archaic Greece, it certainly wasn't true by the 1st Century AD. The Romans under Lucius Mummius completely destroyed Greek Corinth in 146 BC. The city lay in ruins until Rome, under Julius Caesar, rebuilt it in 44 BC (102 years later!) and repopulated it with Roman veteran military colonists (as they also did in Philippi, btw). Greeks, Jews and Asiatics also settled there, but 1st Century AD Corinth was primarily a Roman city (as was Philippi). There was still a Temple of Aphrodite on the Acrocorinth in Paul's time, but it was much, much smaller [10 x 16 meters] and much less significant than in archaic times. The Roman colonists built temples more important to them - to Apollo, Athena Chalinitis, Poseidon, Herakles, Hermes, Venus-Fortuna (a very Roman version of Aphrodite) and Asklepios.

Were there prostitutes in Corinth? Absolutely. Paul speaks of it in 1Corinthians. Every Roman city had brothels, whether on Italian soil [Pompeii] or Provincial soil [Ephesus]. Nor was it unusual for men to use one of their own slaves in this capacity. [Some of whom actually ended up marrying their masters! We know that because of funereal inscriptions, giving considerable detail about the deceased's personal life.] But there is absolutely NO proof that there was temple prostitution in 1st Century AD Corinth. Not even Strabo suggested that! There are indications in some cities that particular temples may have owned slaves used as prostitutes as money-makers for the temple, but these slaves were NEVER involved in temple worship as priestesses, etc. It's just like the Roman Catholic church owned the brothels on the Left Bank of Paris at one time, as a fund-raising mechanism. [later replaced by Bingo... ;)]

There are some other issues that I'd like to write about, but this post has already exceeded the blogging attention span. So I'll save them for another time. I DO want to encourage you to read discerningly and make sure the author has primary evidence to back up his assertions. And if you ever have to write a paper about the ancient world, I hope you will dig a little deeper for factual information and not just quote another author as "proof".

Redefining Words

Language evolves. That's true of any language - modern or ancient. But I've noticed there's been an acceleration of the process. I'm not referring to all the new words that have been added to our language [nobody knew what a pixel was when I was born!], nor do I refer to trendy, short-lived changes in definition [such as "bad" meaning "good"]. I'm thinking about changes in definition that reflect a change in the way we look at or think about something.

In today's paper there was an article about Patrick Kennedy recently being in drug rehab for his addiction to OxyContin. [The Kennedys are always considered good fodder for a story here in New England!] In an interview on the Today Show he said "he felt great as he continued his recovery from substance abuse and was determined not to let the disease 'take its toll on me ever again' ". Did you get that? He was determined not to let "the disease" of substance abuse ever take its toll on him again. Substance abuse is now a "disease"? Did Patrick wake up one morning and "come down with substance abuse"? Did he "catch" it from someone? Are researchers trying to develop a vaccine to immunize people against the disease of substance abuse? The thinking behind all of this, of course, is that he is a VICTIM, and thus NOT RESPONSIBLE for his actions. Do you see the change in thinking that prompts the change in definition? I appreciate all the pain he had to go through in rehab, but we shouldn't loose sight of the fact that HE put the OxyContin in his mouth and swallowed...again...and again...and again. He is not the only one who becomes addicted to OxyContin. So does everyone who ingests it in the same manner Patrick did. He's not special. There ARE consequences to certain actions.

Isn't this just another way to avoid calling sin what it really is? [Sin!] This reminds me of a question that came up in 5th/6th grade SS class last week. Exodus 9:27 says "Then Pharaoh sent for Moses and Aaron, and said to them, "I have sinned this time; the LORD is the righteous one, and I and my people are the wicked ones." The KJV, NKJV, NASB, ASV and LITV (Literal Version) ALL translate it as "wicked ones" or "wicked". The NET uses "guilty". But one of my kids had an NIV that used the word "wrong". The kids thought that took a lot of the punch out! They asked me to look it up and get back to them with the definition for the Hebrew word. The BDB definition says it means "wicked, criminal", "one guilty of crime", "guilty of sin", "wicked, hostile to God".

And "wrong" means what? "Oh... guess I was wrong." Somehow I just don't see the intended Hebrew meaning there. I vote with the kids.

Archaeological Tidbits

I just received my quarterly issue of "Artifax", which gives an interesting overview of current archaeological stories in the news. Here's a sampling:

In Luxor [think Karnak & Valley of the Kings] they recently discovered facilities belonging to Cemetery Workers, near the Rameseum [the Mortuary Temple of Rameses II; see picture]. It includes kitchens, ovens and a school for children, as well as their own nearby cemetery. [Yes...a cemetery for Cemetery workers... ;)] I always find it interesting when they find something dealing with the average guy.

At Qumran a dig by the Univ. of N.C. at Charlotte has discovered a latrine site that would seem to backup the suggestion that Essenes lived in this community. [There's been a lot of debate about this. Recently a group has suggested Qumran was a pottery factory.] According to Josephus & others, the Essenes made it a practice to locate their latrines at a distance from and out of site of the village. [It makes you feel bad for the guy who had to go in the middle of the night! I wonder if they used chamber pots?] Anyway, this latrine site meets those requirements. And you'll be thrilled to hear that they found intestinal round worms, tapeworms, whipworms and pinworms. Apparently the Essenes, in their desire for cleanliness, required human waste be covered (little shovels provided to all), which actually contributed to the survival of intestinal worms...and their spread. Medieval Arabs, on the other hand, did not bury their waste, leaving it out in the open, where the worms quickly died. That's ironic, don't you think?

"The Reformed Pastor", Richard Baxter

Richard Baxter [1615-1691] was a Puritan pastor known for his shepherd's heart. His best known work is The Reformed Pastor, which I have been absolutely enjoying to the max. What a great book! Once you get beyond the Puritan propensity for repetition [not a bad thing in making sure a point sticks], this book is a gem. I was surprised to find out "reformed" did not mean what I thought it did - he's really talking about "the regenerate pastor", to whom the book is addressed.

Though not a pastor, I am finding his exhortations are applicable to all believers to a certain extent. That is the spirit in which I have been going through the book - with a big finger pointed back at ME. I am most convicted about what he has to say about evangelism and most encouraged by what he has to say about the seriousness and effort one must take in studying God's Word. Here's an excerpt:

"So great a God, whose message we deliver, should be honoured by our delivery of it...Do not reason and conscience tell you, that if you dare venture on so high a work as this, you should spare no pains to be qualified for the performance of it? It is not now and then an idle snatch or taste of studies that will serve to make an able and sound divine. I know that laziness hath learned to allege the vanity of all our studies, and how entirely the Spirit must qualify us for, and assist us in our work; as if God commanded us the use of means, and then warranted us to neglect them; as if it were his way to cause us to thrive in a course of idleness, and to bring us to knowledge by dreams when we are asleep, or to take us up into heaven, and show us his counsels, while we think of no such matter, but are idling away our time on earth! O, that men should dare, by their laziness, to 'quench the Spirit,' and then pretend the Spirit for the doing of it!...God hath required us, that we be 'not slothful in business,' but 'fervent in spirit, serving the Lord.' Such we must provoke our hearers to be, and such we must be ourselves. O, therefore, brethren, lose no time! Study, and pray, and confer, and practise; for in these four ways your abilities must be increased. Take heed to yourselves, lest you are weak through your own negligence, and lest you mar the work of God by your weakness."

The Food of My Dreams

Just before waking this AM I had a dream in which I was supposed to write an essay about peanut butter. In the dream my main problems were finding things to write on and trying to finish the essay before the time was up. I actually composed and edited the essay in my dream! When I awoke I felt compelled to quickly write it down. Now what are blogs for if not to share compelling dream essays? [Do you ever compose in your dreams or is this something unique to me? Is this how "War and Peace" was written? ... lots of naps?] Here's as far as I got with the essay before waking up:

What I love most about peanut butter is how it assails your senses. As you grab for that jar with the familiar red, blue and yellow logo you wonder how ANYONE could choose another brand. If we call products "Kleenex" and "Bandaids" and "Fluff", why don't we call peanut butter "Skippy"? As you unscrew the blue lid the strong peanuty aroma transports you back to the endless days of childhood, full of fresh air and sunshine. Then you slowly, precisely spread it onto your white bread, careful not to tear that precious commodity, and fold the bread in half - the perfect meal held in one hand. The first bite has to come from the middle, of course. The resulting overabundance of peanut butter in your mouth thickens your tongue, forcing you to use a finger to pry cheek from teeth.

Out of the Mouths of Babes

On the humorous side - Kids are notorious for getting the words to songs & verses messed up, as well as for being brutally honest. Here are a few good ones. [Thanks, Jane!]

3-year-old Reese:
"Our Father, Who does art in heaven,
Harold is His name. Amen."


After the christening of his baby brother in church,
Jason sobbed all the way home in the back seat of the car.
His father asked him three times what was wrong.
Finally, the boy replied,
"The pastor said he wanted us brought up in a Christian home,
and I wanted to stay with you guys."


A mother was preparing pancakes for her sons, Kevin 5, and Ryan 3.
The boys began to argue over who would get the first pancake.
Their mother saw the opportunity for a moral lesson.
"If Jesus were sitting here, He would say,
'Let my brother have the first pancake, I can wait.'
Kevin turned to his younger brother and said,
"Ryan, you be Jesus!"

Cameron Plays Science

These two articles say more than I could about James Cameron, et. al. [Thanks to Todd Bolen for bringing them to my attention on his blog...] I love the line, "Television is not in the business of education... they're in the business of making money." Let's not forget that! [Btw, this is a shot of the ossuary of Joseph son of Caiaphas, also found in Jerusalem.]


From Atlanta Journal-Constitution:

Modern architects of fantastic finds try to provide an air of legitimacy by invoking scientific jargon, said Garrett G. Fagan, a classics professor at Penn State University and author of, "Archaeological Fantasies: How Pseudoarchaeology Misrepresents the Past and Misleads the Public" (RoutledgeFalmer, $46.95).

"They're not scientists, but they need to dress themselves in the clothes of science to pass muster," Fagan said. Some choose prestigious channels that style themselves as vehicles for public education, he said. "Television is not in the business of education, even with the so-called educational channels like Discovery," Fagan said. "Ultimately, they're in the business of making money."

And when critics pounce on the discoveries, Fagan said it's often too late.

"By the time the rebuttals come out, the mass media would have moved on to the next sensation," Fagan said, "and people will have this vague notion that they have found the tomb of Jesus." Fagan said he expects more fantastic archaeological discoveries to be announced in the near future.

"Someone is going to say they've discovered Moses' beard," he said.

From the Washington Post:

Jodi Magness, an archaeologist at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, expressed irritation that the claims were made at a news conference rather than in a peer-reviewed scientific article. By going directly to the media, she said, the filmmakers "have set it up as if it's a legitimate academic debate, when the vast majority of scholars who specialize in archaeology of this period have flatly rejected this,'' she said. Magness noted that at the time of Jesus, wealthy families buried their dead in tombs cut by hand from solid rock, putting the bones in niches in the walls and then, later, transferring them to ossuaries. She said Jesus came from a poor family that, like most Jews of the time, probably buried their dead in ordinary graves. "If Jesus' family had been wealthy enough to afford a rock-cut tomb, it would have been in Nazareth, not Jerusalem,'' she said. 

Magness also said the names on the Talpiyot ossuaries indicate that the tomb belonged to a family from Judea, the area around Jerusalem, where people were known by their first name and father's name. As Galileans, Jesus and his family members would have used their first name and home town, she said. "This whole case (for the tomb of Jesus) is flawed from beginning to end,'' she said.

Speculations & Philosophies of False Teachers

Screwtape to Wormwood: "Your man has been accustomed, ever since he was a boy, to have a dozen incompatible philosophies dancing about together inside of his head. He doesn't think of doctrines as primarily 'true' or 'false,' but as 'academic,' or 'practical.' Jargon, not argument is your best ally..."

1 Timothy has quite a lot to say about the danger of false teachers. Timothy was to charge "certain persons not to teach any different doctrine, nor to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies, which promote speculations rather than the stewardship from God that is by faith." (1:3) These people had "swerved" from "a sincere faith" and "wandered away into vain discussions, desiring to be teachers of the law, without understanding either what they are saying or the things about which they make confident assertions." (1:6-7) Such a one is "puffed up with conceit and understands nothing. He has an unhealthy craving for controversy and for quarrels about words, which produce envy, dissension, slander, evil suspicions and constant friction among people who are depraved in mind and deprived of the truth..." (6:3-5)

The word for "teach a different doctrine" (1:3, 6:3) is one word in the Greek, a combination of "another of a DIFFERENT kind" and "to teach". This is doctrine "different in kind" from that taught by Jesus via the Apostles, and now written as Scripture. It's not just "another opinion" or "another point of view"; it stands in opposition to biblical teaching.

How often have you heard doctrinal truth being dissed? "Doctrine divides." "I don't bother with minor issues (i.e. doctrines)." "I just love people. I don't beat them over the head with doctrine." Are we even hearing/reading about doctrinal truth... or are we being told "stories", "narratives", "fresh, new meanings"? When foolish men claim they can "prove" Jesus never resurrected, do we think we can "live with" such false accusations without it affecting our "Christianity"?

2Co 10:3-5 "For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God..."

Weapon of Choice

Anyone who knows me will appreciate the irony of this story...

Preparing the guestroom for Christmas, I was putting away extraneous "junk" and tidying up a bit, trying to make space for the soon-to-be arriving "guest" and her luggage. In a little nook in one corner of the room I keep a stack of Concordances and other reference books on the floor. I give them out to the SS kids, who earn them by consistently doing their Quiet Times every week. It's cheaper to buy them in a 5-pack from CBD, so I often have a nice little pile patiently awaiting their future owners. As I cruised around the room picking up I happened to notice this pile was not flush with the wall, so using the side of my foot I gave it a quick smack to push them out of the way.

After the holidays we noticed an unpleasant smell coming from the guest room, which we attributed to gases from the septic system backing up into the house. We have had a similar smell over the years, usually when it gets really cold out, and for years had decided this must be the source of the odor.

Time passes on...the smell goes away.

Recently Beth and Niam came to visit. Beth, who turned into "Super-Smell Woman" with her pregnancy, picked up the scent, though we were no longer able to smell it. She tracked it down - to the pile of reference books on the floor in the nook. After carefully moving the books away from the wall she discovered an extremely thin, extremely dead mouse with bulging eyes - smooshed up against the wall! Yes, friends...it was death by Concordance! MY weapon of choice!

News of My Demise Greatly Exaggerated

I received an interesting call yesterday. A friend I had not spoken with for some time is currently attending Seminary with Tim - out there on the other coast. He had called to ask me how I was. Now, I found that to be quite considerate. Believing he was asking about my long-term cerebral dysfunction, I was pleased to tell him that I have had fewer sensory seizures and migraines since we had last discussed it. At this point I'm thinking..."What a good friend! I haven't emailed or called HIM in months and here he is, busier than I can imagine, calling me all the way from the other coast to inquire into my health." Guilt would have set in, except that we were soon chatting away about various subjects, just like we always used to do. [I even got a good book recommendation out of it!]

After his free phone minutes must have certainly expired [I can't get used to keeping track of how long you talk to people!], it finally came out WHY he had called me. It seems that in a chapel service for the entire Seminary, prayer was requested for Tim's mother, who was seriously ill and in need of saving faith! This was certainly news to ME ... and I'm the only mother he's got, as far as I know. My friend later went up to the man who had requested the prayer to be sure the gentleman had correct information, but the guy insisted he was in a class with Tim and had personally heard it straight from him!

Sooo...my conclusion is either:

1. Tim has had a vision and I am apparently NOT in the place I had thought I was.

2. Tim has not seen a recent entry on my blog and has concluded the worst.

3. The gentleman did not write the request down clearly enough - it was really for Tim's GRANDmother.

I can hardly wait for the reception I will receive from those Seminarians when I go out for graduation in a few months. They will be thrilled to see their prayers have been answered...and to discover it was retroactive by 27 years!

THAT'S What I Meant to Say

In recent years there have certainly been plenty of options for books concerning Ministry Models. Works promoting The Emerging Church, The Purpose Driven Church, and pop psychology models which stress meeting the "felt needs", rather than the "spiritual needs" of people, have left a bad taste in my mouth. They are just NOT biblically based, NOR do they have a biblical view of God. I have often attempted to articulate this to enthusiasts of such models, but usually feel I just haven't made the point well enough. Thankfully, Mark Dever and Paul Alexander have articulated my concerns quite nicely in their recent book, "The Deliberate Church". I haven't finished reading it yet, but so far I find myself jumping up and down and yelling, "YES! YES!" Thanks, guys, for saying what I have been thinking for some time! Let me give you their 4 "P's" for a strong, vital, godly local assembly.

1. Preaching
"God's Word has always been His chosen instrument to create, convict, convert, and conform His people...Pastors must give themselves over to preaching, not programs...because God's power for building His people is in His Word. God's Word builds His church."

"...My word...will not return to Me empty, without accomplishing what I desire..." Isa.55:10-11
"...the gospel...is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes." Rom.1:16
"So faith comes from hearing, and hearing from the word of Christ" Rom.10:17
"...the word of God, which also performs its work in you who believe" I Thes.2:13
"In the exercise of His will He brought us forth by the word of truth" James 1:18

2. Praying
"Prayer shows our dependence on God. It honors Him as the source of all blessing, and it reminds us that converting individuals and growing churches are [ultimately] His works, not ours." 1 Cor.2:14-16; 3:6-7

a. Let Paul's prayers for the churches he planted be an example to us.
b. Pray that the preaching of the Gospel would be faithful, accurate & clear.
c. Pray for the increasing spiritual maturity of the local assembly.
d. Pray for growth in corporate love, holiness and unity.
e. Pray for opportunities to engage in personal evangelism.

3. Personal Discipleship
"and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. " 2Tim.2:2

4. Patience
'Make sure the changes you want to implement are biblical; then patiently teach people about them from God's Word before you expect them to embrace the changes you're encouraging."

"preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching." 2Tim.4:2

"If [Pastor/Elders] define success in terms of size, their desire for numerical growth will probably outrun their patience with the congregation, and perhaps even their fidelity to biblical methods...They will trip over their own ambition. But if they define success in terms of faithfulness, then they are in a position to persevere... Confidence in the Christian ministry does not come from personal competence, charisma, or experience; nor does it come from having the right programs in place, or jumping on the bandwagon of the latest ministry fad... Much like Joshua, our confidence is to be in the presence, power, and promises of God." Joshua 1:9

Amen, brothers! Thanks for saying it.

Cause and Effect

"What is the major error of Christianity through the centuries? Confusing cause with what is effect. You have to get these two straight or you will drift into moralism." Dr. John Hannah

This has been a concern of mine for some time. I believe a recent contributor to this error has been the promotion of Christian "self-help" books & out-of-context Bible studies, which put a heavy emphasis on application and outer "doing", instead of having the focus be on dealing with our inner, heart attitude. I can feel good about my "progress" if I can check off a list of outward actions. It's a lot harder to consistently deal with the sin in my heart.

I've also noticed a trend in some conservative Christian Internet sites placing more and more stress on the outward "dos" and "do nots" of being a good Christian, instead of on our inward sin attitude. These are becoming increasingly vitriolic, and while I admire the desire to be godly and to be holy, I don't admire the spirit in which they are presented, nor the over-emphasis on extrabiblical notions of what makes you godly or ungodly. There's enough of a challenge obeying everything in God's revealed Word, without adding our own extra list of "dos" and "do nots"!

Jesus taught that sin begins in the heart [Mt.15:19]. And that's where we need to deal with it FIRST. When we do that, then godliness is the EFFECT of having a right heart. In Jesus' day the Pharisees were tithing down to the least spice, but their hearts weren't right. [Mt.15:8]

Eph.6:6 says we are to be "...DOING the will of God FROM THE HEART". If I focus on repenting and turning from pride, impatience and an unloving attitude (changing my heart's attitude) - then righteous acts will be the natural EFFECT of having gotten my heart right. But if I focus on outward actions, "dos" and "do nots", thinking they will CAUSE me to be more righteous, then I will be continually frustrated at my inability, and I will fall short.

As Paul reminded Timothy in 1Tim.1:5, "The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith."

Loss of Words = Loss of Thought?

I was pretty zonked out on New Years Day after making a very, very, veeeery early airport run. So after watching The Rose Bowl Parade [yes... all entry and exit ramps particular to my offspring's life were duly noted, as was his city's float entry], I watched (off & on) a day long "Twilight Zone" retrospective on SciFi.

I was pretty excited to see a few episodes that had loomed large in my childhood. I had loooved this show as a child! My friends and I used to actually sit around "story-telling" favorite episodes. [Do kids "story-tell" with each other any more?] We were forever writing and producing plays, "story-telling" and publishing newspapers constructed from our own stories. We were "wordy" kids. We played with language.

Anyway, after a while I caught myself beginning to squirm half way through an episode. I would become impatient and want them to "get on with it". I began to analyze WHAT was making me so squirmy. And then it hit me - it was the abundance of words and the absence of action and visual stimulation!

What incredibly dense, wordy scripts were written back then! They were full of questions and ideas to get you thinking - which is why I think my friends and I spent so much time discussing them. I realized that after years of having been exposed to "action" movies, special effects and witty one-liner TV comedies, I couldn't hold still any more to listen... to consider... to imagine... to think.

Children + "Disposable Income"

Being a new grandmother and grandmother-to-be has uncovered a side of me I never knew I had. I find myself salivating in places like "Baby Gap" as I plan my grandsons' current and future wardrobes. I look longingly at all the adorable child-themed china from the Emma Bridgewater catalogue... even though I know it will cost me an arm and a leg to have it all shipped from Great Britain. I enter the children's section of Barnes and Noble and pour over all the picture books, savoring each illustration and turn of phrase. [OK... I've always done that...]

I recently came across a quote saying, "It costs more to amuse a child than it once did to educate his father."

That got me thinking back to my own lean childhood and the days when my children were little. I've noticed that the homes where small children live on TV makeover shows are just inundated with toys. But I have yet to see a child actually playing with any of them. They're usually off in a corner tearing up a magazine or banging on a pot.

Beth was discussing her plan to think about toy choices ahead of time, planning her approach to toys rather than letting the advertising industry dictate what she needs to "buy" in order to qualify as a good parent. That sounded wise to me. What I remember playing with most when I was little is an old tablespoon (sans silver plating) and an empty cocoa tin (that always smelled a little bit chocolaty). My Nana took care of me while my Mom worked and I didn't have a lot of toys. But I remember how she played board games with me multiple times a day, how she taught me to play Canasta when I could hardly hold all those cards [I could "meld" before I could write!], how she introduced me to art by taking me regularly to the museum home of the sculptor Augustus St. Gaudens, how she let me "help" with her perpetual puzzles laid out on a specially crafted "puzzle board", how her glass-fronted bookcase always held Nancy Drew books for me, and when I was 13 and "Beatle-crazy", how she cut out every article concerning them from the daily paper and let me make a scrapbook [which I still have!].

Wouldn't it be nice if kids learned to be creative, enjoyed spending time interacting with adults and knew how to entertain themselves with the resources at hand? It's worth thinking about in advance.

Top Five Apologetics Books

Just as in any "career" we might pursue, we should be progressively preparing ourselves to be increasingly better at it. No one becomes an expert overnight, if ever (!), but we should be gradually, faithfully increasing in knowledge and ability as time goes by. I think this is especially true in our Christian witness. It is one thing to say "I don't know my Bible well" or "I don't know how to respond to what people are thinking" when we are first saved. But if 5, 10, 20 years have passed and we're STILL where we were, then that's a shame!

Now, of course, the REAL #1 Book to know well is the Bible. With that as a "given", lets encourage one another with suggestions for apologetics books that have enhanced our witness.

1a. Christian Apologetics, Norm Geisler

This isn't a "quick-read", but I found it quite useful for historically tracing philosophical thought. If you get this down, a lot of other things will suddenly make sense to you and you'll begin to recognize how the different elements of modern thought developed. It's worth the work! Take notes. Type it up on your computer and save it for future reference. Review your notes periodically. You'll remember.

1b. Tearing Down Strongholds and Defending the Truth, R.C. Sproul, Jr.

If the first book is a bit more than you can take in, try this one instead.

1c. Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis

Lewis also approaches from the philosophical angle. It's true this isn't a one-size-fits-all approach, but you WILL find a lot of people who like to reason and meditate on things. God may use that approach to reach them, so it's good to know enough to ask them a few questions they can chew on.

2. When Critics Ask, Norman Geisler and Thomas Howe

The approach in this book is to highlight difficult Biblical sections, book by book. For example, Jeremiah15:6 talks about God repenting. What does that MEAN? I like this one for people who have been trivialized to death by cult members. Cults love to confuse people by majoring on trivialities out of context, so it's good to be able to give someone an accurate answer when they ask you about something they have been told. And don't just "tell" them... open up your Bible and SHOW them HOW you came to that conclusion. Ask them questions such as "Who is the author addressing?" and have them find the answer; "What is he talking about in this context?" and have them find the answer. Just "telling" someone an answer seldom convinces them. Taking them to God's Word and having them come to a correct conclusion on their own lays it on the line. Once they get it, then they must choose whether or not to acknowledge it. It's not so easy to discount once YOU are convinced you know what it says!

If you don't know the answer off the top of your head, tell them that's a good question and you want to look at it and get back to them. We've all done that. It is absolutely amazing, though, how the Holy Spirit so often uses the very Scripture you have been studying that week! I can't tell you how many times that has happened to me! And I usually don't even realize it until I reflect upon it later. How good God is!

3. Whatever Happened to Truth?, Andreas Kostenberger, R. Albert Mohler, Jr., J.P. Moreland, Kevin J. Vanhoozer

This little book gives you a good overview of the Postmodern thought so prevalent in modern Western culture. There are other books going into more detail, but this is a good intro.

3a. From God to Us, Norman L. Geisler & William Nix

Ummm...I just happened to notice a pattern here. That's probably because Geisler is so well known for Apologetics and is a good writer to boot. It's a good idea to have a little Bibliology under your belt for those who talk about the supposed unreliability of the Bible.

3b. On the Reliability of the Old Testament, K.A. Kitchen

Kitchen is an Archaeologist and Egyptologist. [Hard to go wrong there! ;)] While I don't completely agree with his dating, he does a good job defending the accuracy of the Bible. This is a thick book you might want to break down into chunks as you study through the books of the OT.

3c. John J. Davis, an Archaeologist and Professor of OT at Grace Theological Seminary, has a series of Commentaries on OT books with an apologetic flavor. The next time you go through the OT, I strongly recommend you use these books as you read and study. Read discerningly, though, and be humble. Archaeology is in constant change and these books were written a while ago. But they will give you a solid head start.

Paradise to Prison: Studies in Genesis
Moses & the Gods of Egypt: Studies in Exodus
A History of Israel: Studies in Joshua, Judges, Ruth, Samuel and 1 Kings, with John Whitcomb

4a. The First Seven Ecumenical Councils: Their History and Theology, Leo Donald Davis

The next time you run across someone who read The DaVinci Code , and they start to tell you what supposedly happened at The Council of Nicaea, wouldn't it be nice to tell them the TRUTH?

4b. Exploring Church History, Howard F. Vos

If you'd like your church history "short and sweet", then this would be a good choice.

5. The Case for Christ, Lee Strobel

I'm not a fan of all his books, but I found this one really useful. I admit I have not run across hoards of people who would necessarily find this enlightening, but there ARE some. This would have been a good book to give ME before I knew the Lord. It's how my mind works. It would have gotten me thinking at least. Loren used books like this to get me thinking and growing. He'd always hit me with the line, "Would you mind reading this and telling me what you think?" [It took me years to figure out what he was doing. ;)]

OK, I admit I cheated a little on "5", but it's nice to give choices! What apologetic books would YOU recommend?

Gullibility

You may have noticed that I changed the quote at the top of the blog. The author is a frequent contributor to my fave group, Assoc. for Biblical Research. I found this quote in an article he wrote on their website concerning recent claims made by Robert Cornuke and David Halbrook in their book "In Search of the Lost Mountains of Noah, the Discovery of the Real Mountains of Ararat", in which they contend they can prove Mt. Ararat is really in Iran. http://abr.christiananswers.net/articles/article.html

It turns out that they haven't done their homework with much care, resulting in MAJOR flaws in their conclusions. But that won't stop just about EVERY Christian who buys this book in their local Christian bookstore (having seen it advertised in their favorite monthly Christian magazine) from believing it is gospel truth. Soon they will begin to tell others about it with missionary zeal, without even checking out the efficacy of its conclusions. And other Christians will BELIEVE them without even checking it out! In time, if someone who has a little knowledge in the field happens to point out the inaccuracy of an assertion, they will then defend the book to the point of death, charging the "unbeliever" with persecuting Christians.

If you think that scenario is outrageous... then you haven't been paying attention lately! Something has happened to American Christianity, turning us into The Gullible, who equate every self-named "Christian" book with Scripture itself. Over time, someone who has impressive initials after their name will publicly torpedo the false assertions made in such a book. The National Media will eagerly pick it up as another example of those foolish, silly Christians. That just makes it easier to discount ANYTHING a Christian may present them with in the future... even the glorious gospel of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. After all, everyone KNOWS how stupid and uninformed Christians are!

How did we get to be this way? First and foremost, we stopped reading our Bibles as the very Word of God. We can't discern error if we don't even know what the Bible teaches! Why did we stop reading our Bibles seriously? Pick one: Listening to the million and one views on Christian radio & TV instead of reading the Bible, reading books about the Bible and not holding them up to the Truth, letting worldly ideas creep in until you can't tell the difference any more, allowing things other than preaching to become the primacy in our worship services, being distracted with the things of the world to the point we're only playing at Christianity (BUT we know how to TALK Christianese), allowing our doctrine to drive our Biblical interpretation instead of vice versa, being too lazy or too distracted to bother teaching ourselves about the world, culture & time of the Bible (resulting in being unable to catch even obvious errors), being affected by our Post Modern culture to the point we forget there IS Truth... I could go on and on...

The thing that is most disturbing about the particular debacle with this book is that before anyone even criticized it, a friend of the authors preempted possible critics by declaring that any disagreements would be spiteful persecutions by jealous Christians! What kind of an attitude is THAT? That alone sets my "spidey senses" tingling!

Let's start reading more critically. Let's get to know our Bibles so well we can pick up on it when someone makes a false statement. [Do you know most Christians don't even LOOK UP the verses cited in books, never mind their CONTEXT? They just assume the author must be correct!] Let's spend regular, progressive time getting to know a little about the world of the Bible. It IS a lifetime quest, but you've got to START somewhere. (I'd be happy to give you some recommendations to head you down the path! ;)

In the News: Rival Monks Clash in Greece

For those of you who may not have picked up on this AP story out of Thessaloniki, Greece, it seems there is rather a to-do about efforts made by the Greek Orthodox Church to improve relations with the Roman Catholic Church. Now a Protestant may not appreciate the doctrinal differences between the two, and I certainly can't claim to be up-to-date on all the specific issues. In the US Roman Catholics greatly outnumber Greek Orthodox, and it is not uncommon for us to unite the two in our minds. BUT... there are major doctrinal and practical differences. The current disagreement did not come as a great surprise to me... but the actions it spurred seemed decidedly "un-monklike" to me. Here is an excerpt:

"Police posted a guard yesterday outside a chapel at an Orthodox monastic sanctuary where rebel monks remained barricaded following clashes that left seven people injured. Wednesday's violence involved rival groups of monks carrying crowbars and sledge-hammers." Not very Friar Tuck-ish, huh?

It reminded me of an article in 2004 about Greek Orthodox and Franciscan priests getting into a fist fight at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem, after arguing over whether a door in the basilica should be closed during a procession. Club-wielding Iraeli riot police had to break up the fight.

I mention all of this because I have talked to believers who live, or have had extended visits, in Israel. When you say you are a "Christian", not only are you identifying yourself with the Spanish Inquisition and any & all Crusader atrocities wreaked upon the Jews, you are also identifying yourself with the Greek Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches. That is their picture of "Christianity". I would hazard a guess that similar assumptions are made in other foreign countries. It's bad enough that we have to be identified with the Jimmy Swaggerts and Tammy Fay Bakers, but we also carry the burden of every brawling priest or monk.

So what's the answer? First, I think we need to realize that everything WE do reflects upon the name "Christian". I can't control the actions of every person who takes on the name "Christian", but I can control my own witness. Second, we have to use God's Word as the basis for Truth. How many times have you witnessed Christ to someone who believed all churches were "full of hypocrites"? I've certainly heard that a lot. My response is that some churches are "full of forgiven sinners", who do not always obey their Lord. Then I point them to God and His Word as being what they ultimately need to deal with.

Any other thoughts? Ideas?