What to do at "Youth Group"

Field trip to Berkeley to interact with the best of secular thought and Unitarian religion.

Great idea Brett Kunkle, may your tribe increase! Stand to Reason Blog: The Berkeley Mission -- Part 1

To Cap or Not to CAP

Michael Haykin has decided to keep the ALL CAPS TITLES on his blog - See Historia ecclesiastica

He offers an excellent reason (Design. It just looks better. I think I agree) and a fine argument from Gordon Woods who applied net courtesy with more wisdom. All Caps is not a Sin. Plus, he is not writing the titles to or at people - that would be yelling. So, for the sake of design and good looking headers I conceed the point. Just use all caps with wisdom within posts and comments and never all cap anyone in e-mail unless you really want to yell.

Dr. Haykin is no yelling 21st century church historian - he just wants his blog to look cool. And I'm cool with that.

Cool Fun Stuff at Engadget

A couple of fun geek pages over at engadet.com  

• AI Attack Helicopter Beware of unmanned mini helicopters pouring down fire from heaven.
• Fun with Apple - Designers and photoshoppers offer their futuristic designs for the next Apple products.  Fun.

Enjoy

McLaren Knows Our Unconscious Beliefs?

In Leadership Journal, in answering the question "What is the Church for" Brian McLaren makes the following claim:

Most of us have our "theologically correct" answer. The church's purpose is worship, or evangelism, or making disciples, or some combination. But deeper than our conscious answers are our unspoken, unexamined, perhaps even unconscious beliefs—four of which are especially powerful these days:

The church exists to …

1. Provide a civil religion for the state
2. Preserve and promote certain social values
3. Provide a living for religious professionals
4. Promote the satisfaction of its members.

It is on this deeper level that the emerging/missional conversation has, in my opinion, the most to offer.

While I happen to agree with many of the things McLaren bemoans in this article (slavery, racism, even some flavor of environment concern - though I would not use the personified language of "care for creation" which he chooses), it is a bit frustrating that he places beliefs in others that they may not hold. In fact, to say others have "subconscious" beliefs about what the church is for, and then to list them is facile and seems to me to be just a rhetorical device.

First, nobody thinks that Christianity is or should be the state religion by talking about a "Christian nation" - we do not have a national state church (though some of the "states" did in the early days). He is right to remind us of some of the evils perpetrated by Christians in America, but I know very few people he could be referring to (I can't think of one right now - maybe some Theonomists in Idaho?) that want an official civil religion.

Second, the church should promote godliness and holiness in its people and should propehtically call the state to justice. This I think I agree with Mr. McLaren.

Why he patronizes "theologoical correctness" I am really not sure. Other than to poke at people who care about having sound doctrine. Yes, we do not all agree on "correct" but we should all care to move towards that reality. There is incorrect theology, we ought to avoid it. This exhoration is repeated over and over in the New Testament.

I guess my overall frustration with the article is why McLaren chooses to interact with the "unstated, unconcious beliefs." This seems to me to only be the creation of a rhetorical world, to create a world in which emergent can play the hero.

My question is why does emergent have "the most to offer." Obviously it is not because it is a better view, or "more correct" - perhaps just because it is in the middle.

Finally, I want to point out how emergent consistenly uses language like "deeper" and "beyond" and "most to offer." One uses metaphors when there is no arguement offered for why a view is "better."

GK Chesterton once remarked about Nietzsche's use of metaphors (ie Beyond Good and Evil - to avoid saying "better" than good and evil) when he wrote:

Had he faced his thought without metaphors, he would have seen that it was nonsense

McLaren does this often. In his powerpoint presentation from the Emergent Convention (which is no longer on his web site as far as I can tell - I have it downloaded though) he calls us to go "beyond" relativism and absolutism. I just don't know what that means. I think Chesterton would call this nonsenese.

Full article is here Underneath the Cosmetics - LeadershipJournal.net

Palm, Treo and Brains - Jeff Hawkin's New Venture

Jeff Hawkins, who gave the world the PalmPilot in 1996 (I had one of those first little gems) and the founder of Handspring (who gave us the Treo) is now on to looking ot produce a computer based upon his theories of brain functioning.

An interview with Hawkins is available on NPR - NPR : PalmPilot Creator Models Computer on Brain.

Hawkins new company, Numenta , has this as their mission:

Numenta is developing a new type of computer memory system modeled after the human neocortex. The applications of this technology are broad and can be applied to solve problems in computer vision, artificial intelligence, robotics and machine learning. The Numenta technology, called Hierarchical Temporal Memory (HTM), is based on a theory of the neocortex described in Jeff Hawkins' book entitled On Intelligence (with co-author Sandra Blakeslee).

I try to stay up on the Artificial Intelligence conversation, so I need to pick up this book along with Kurzweil's Singularity (which is on its way in one of those delicious little brown Amazon.com boxes)

Mac people step off!

Just kiidding. I like the Mac. Would get one as my next computer perhaps if it could open and effectively convert all my MS Publisher files. But it is funny that the "PC's are a security hazard, Macs never have viruses" schmack is now not so true. You sell enough boxes, somebody will want to attack and hack them. Really, I do like Apple...Especially iPod.

Link - Macs, Safe No More?

Off to Brown University

I am off to Brown University today to speak to a group of college athletes. My topic for the evening is Living as a Christian Athlete in College. Brown has a fairly new Athletes in Action ministry which has been a privilege to connect with. I was able to speak there in November and I am looking forwarding to seeing the crew again.

Darwin's Nemesis

A new book is soon to hit the streets following the emergence of the contemporary Intelligent Design Movement.

Looks like one for the wish list

For more info see: Darwin's Nemesis: Phillip Johnson And the Intelligent Design Movement edited by William A. Dembski, forward by Rick Santorum,

Martin Lloyd Jones at Historia Ecclesiastica

Michael Haykin has a great little post up on Martin Lloyd Jones. Now we just need to get Dr. Haykin to stop YELLING in all of his post titles.

The Wiki of Netiquette states:

Typing in all capital letters usually denotes screaming or yelling.

Here is the link - Historia ecclesiastica: EMINENT CHRISTIANS: 4. MARTYN LLOYD-JONES

Theopedia

Many of us are very familiar with Wikipedia, the Internet Encyclopedia, edited and maintained by some good citizens in cyberspace. Wikis are very common on the net today, and there is a growing Wiki dedicated to the highest of persuits.  As a quick aside, the reliability of Wikipedia has been questioned as mistakes can creep in...yet some are saying that on certain topics, Wikipedia does pretty well.

Enter, Theopedia...

Theopedia is an online encyclopedia of Biblical Christianity edited by a group of net users over time.  Like any Wiki, it is very much a work in progress, but the intial effort looks very good.  I look forward to seeing Theopedia grow and expand over time.  As theological astude Theopedians serve up a course of good teaching to the rest of the world, may their goals be realized:

To centralize the efforts of thousands of net-savvy theologians (armchair or professional) into a comprehensive encyclopedia on all things Christian.

.. a missionary, in the fight of faith and labor of love and evangelism. He has minimal resources where he is at, and is overwhelmed with the scattered resources of the internet. But he stumbles upon Theopedia, a great gateway for him for resources and material. He returns to it to grow in his faith. He feeds on it. Imagine this someday!

Imagine some of the people...living for eternity, eeee, yeah,
You may say that I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one,
For some day He'll come for us, and his sheeeeep, will live as one. 

They already have a full and growing entry on the most important guy - Jesus Christ - Theopedia and of him we know that the Wiki will never be completed:

Now there are also many other things that Jesus did. Were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written. John 21:25 ESV

Perhaps some day my keyboard will be allied with the task of Theopedia.  Perhaps some day. 

Is the Reformation Over?

One of my professors, Gregg Allison, has an excellent review of Mark Noll and Carolyn Nystrom's book Is the Reformation Over? I have recently studied Systematic Theology and Ecclesiology with Dr. Allison and deeply enjoyed each of those interactions. He has much experience and understanding of Catholic Theology and Praxis and this review is a well written overview of Noll and Nystrom's work. Link over at Ref21 - Reformation 21 � Is the Reformation Over?

South Korean Missionary Efforts

A great article has been posted to Christianity Today about the missionary efforts of the South Korean church. See Missions Incredible - Christianity Today Magazine. The article is a fascinating look at the nature of missionary sending churches from Korea as well as other parts of the world. Most of the essay is about the efforst of Korea, highlighted by the labors of Samuel Kang, a long time church planter in Africa, who currently serves as chief executive director of the Korean World Mission Association and dean of the Graduate School of World Mission at Seoul's influential Chongshin University.

A few quotes from the article I found interesting

Another advantage is the evangelistic zeal typical of the majority-world church, a zeal that has been fundamental to majority-world missionary growth. In 1973, CT reported there were at least 3,411 non-Western, crosscultural missionaries in the world. That number has now exploded to 103,000, according to reliable estimates, though figures are difficult to determine in the majority world. That total nearly equals the number of U.S. and Canadian Protestant mission personnel, which stands at about 112,000. As the Western mission movement matures and slows down, majority-world missions are expanding. South Korea sends more than 1,100 new missionaries annually. That means Korea alone sends out as many new missionaries each year as all of the countries of the West combined. This rocketing rate of growth is historic. When Kang returned to his home in 1991, South Korea had sent more than 1,200 missionaries, up from 80 just 11 years before. Today, almost 13,000 South Koreans are serving as longterm missionaries in countries around the world.

The dreams are wide in scope and very strategic. The Asian church has a deep heart and desire to launch the gospel into Islamic lands; a place very hostile to "western" missionary efforts:

Many Korean missionaries work in China, where they help train house-church leaders. David Lee, who has also served as chair of the World Evangelical Alliance mission commission, sees a big role for Korean missionaries in getting Chinese missionaries involved in Korea's Back to Jerusalem project, which aims to send 100,000 missionaries to the Middle East. "If we can somehow assist them in terms of a more modern way of thinking and coping and understanding context and crosscultural communication," he says, "I think they would have a greater survival rate."

The article ends in a bit of a triumphalist tone:

So what happens if, despite immense hurdles, South Korea manages to reach the world's estimated 6,000 unreached people groups? What if it leads 21st-century missions into Asia, the final frontier of missions, and shepherds the majority world as it takes up its role in fulfilling the Great Commission? What happens if Korea's missions miracle continues?
"We expect Christ to come back," says Kang.

Is this unreasonable, or just posturing. I think not. We need our hope in Christ and his zeal for the nations to worship him. We understand that he taught that the gospel of the Kingdom will be proclaimed to all nations, "then the end with come." Our blessed hope is his return in his time. Our part is to manage and push forth the vineyard as his stewards until he wraps up this age. Do we "cause" it by evangelizing the peoples - no, we do not. Is our evangelization of the peoples of the world necessary now in the age until he comes? Absolutely. For we do, to quote Mr. Kang - "expect Christ to come back

California Stem Cell Litigation

There is currently a case going to court in California about the legality of the California Institute of Regenerative Medicine.This agency was created by Proposition 71, a voter initiative to allocate 3 billion in public funds towards controversial stem cell research. A little more on Prop 71:

Proposition 71 authorized the agency to dole out an average of $300 million in research grants each year over 10 years, but 15 months later the agency has yet to hand out a dime because of its legal troubles. The lawsuits have scared off lenders, who won't buy the institute's bonds until the litigation is resolved.

The resolution passed with a 59% vote and was designed to get state funds towards embryonic stem cell research in light of the Bush Administration's withholding of federal dollars toward embryonic research. It should be interesting to see the outcome of this case, though I am assuming that Prop 71 will hold as law. The essence of the challenge from two private groups is as follows:

"The act delegates the disbursal of huge sums of public money to the unfettered discretion of an institution whose governing board and working groups are unaccountable to the public,"

For those interested in the development of embryonic stem cell funding in America, this is a case to watch as several other state governments have considered similar efforts.   

AP Story: Calif. Stem Cell Agency Fights for Life - Yahoo! News

Vista...Only Six Choices

OK, I was wrong before. Microsoft will only be offering six, not eight, versions of its Windows Vista Operating System. If I could find software on the MAC that can conver MS Publisher files, I might make the big switch. Though as with such religious conversions, I need to count all the costs before putting my fingers upon the Mac keyboard. Here is the Reuters' release:

Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq:MSFT - news) plans six core offerings of its upcoming Windows Vista operating system, targeting how people use computers instead of PC hardware specifications, the company said on Monday.

Microsoft to offer 6 versions of Windows Vista - Yahoo! News

Go Heels!

North Carolina Tar Heels News, Scores, Schedule, Stats - Yahoo! Sports

North Carolina Tar Heels (21) North Carolina Tar Heels 19-6 (10-4), 2nd Atlantic Coast Conference.  My old Tarheels are hanging in there this year even with a bunch of Freshman leading the way. Not bad for a team that won it all last year and sent about everybody to the NBA!

ESV Apologetics

Most of my friends know me to be a very bold and compassionate ESV evangelist.  In the halls where I live, work, and play I have been known to respond to the question "What translation of the Bible is that you are using?" with answers such as "The best English translation available, what else..."  Now that I have been evangelizing for the ESV for some years, not pushy or preachy of course, I now have seen someone doing excellent ESV Apologetics. 

Evangelism and Apologetics should ever be married in one effort, so it is great to see my brothers doing such a wonderful job defending and offering great insight into the translation of the ESV.

Anyway, I love the NASB and came to faith with the NIV...but would recommend stearing a bit clear from the TNIV.

For those interested, Daniel Wallace provides a great guide to the history of Bible translations over at Bible.org.  Just be aware, Wallace is an evangelist as well...for something known (well, mostly unknown) as the NET Bible.  No wonder, he is a freaky smart Greek scholar who is one of its translators.

Now, if you are looking for a great Bible translation that is accurate, readable, great to memorize, beautiful (O for the beauty of the Psalms), and usable at all ages....well, don't ask me for any other recommendation but the ESV.

A Review of Breaking the Spell: Religion as a Natural Phenomenon by Daniel C. Dennett

There is a very interesting book review of Daniel Dennett's most recent railings against religion. See 'Breaking the Spell: Religion as a Natural Phenomenon,' by Daniel C. Dennett - The New York Times Book Review An interesting quote from the conclusion of the review:

Dennett recognizes the uses of faith, but not its reasons. In the end, his repudiation of religion is a repudiation of philosophy, which is also an affair of belief in belief. What this shallow and self-congratulatory book establishes most conclusively is that there are many spells that need to be broken.

Dennett and other naturalists have yet to face the true music of their own imploding idea. What good reason to we have to trust the musings of the meaningless mush of matter between our ears? Naturalism offers no good answer. If our brains are the result of a long, blind, material process, then we have no good reason to think that our thoughts should arrive at anything that is "true" or any real reflection of reality. Now, I am no anti-realist, as I believe our minds, our logic, transcend matter alone and our sense perceptions and rational inferences should be trusted. Not on any naturalistic worldview, but rather on one grounded in metaphysics. For indeed truth exists outside of our selves and ultimate reality, yes even God, casts a beautiful light that makes our knowledge possible. And at times our knowledge is true.

For an interesting exchange on Naturalism - see also my post on The Center for Naturalism

The Long Lost Beauty of the Fear of the Lord

So much of today’s Christian world shivers to even talk of a God that one ought to fear in any way. God is recast as the cosmic genie of toleration. Even where people retain a view of God that in some way should be feared the word is usually completed reduced to only a reverent awe for a majestic King. This of course is a very good understanding for one facet of the fear of the Lord, but I fear (sorry, I couldn’t help my self) that this misses a fuller meaning of the biblical phrase. For even in the phrase “reverence and awe” there is indeed a “fear” which goes beyond mere respect and does include an aspect of terror. Beautiful, good for us, wonderful, awe inspiring, terror that does not repel, but draws us inexorably towards God for grace. The ISBE describes the range of meaning of the term fear in the Old Testament:

From this list it is apparent that the notion of fear ranges from terror, which may be evidenced by shaking or trembling, to awe or reverence, which induces love or worship rather than terror.

Bromiley, Geoffrey W. The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, Revised, Vol. 2, Page 289, Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1988; 2002.

Throughout the Old Testament the fear of the Lord is associated with many things. It means to honor God in loyalty or faithfulness, it means to respect Him and obey him and to turn away from evil. Proverbs 16:6 demonstrates this well:

By steadfast love and faithfulness iniquity is atoned for, and by the fear of the Lord one turns away from evil. Proverbs 16:6

The place of understanding that God is God, and we are a needy creature is actually the starting point for all knowledge, but practical and theoretical:

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.

Proverbs 9:10

Although not the focus of the Hebrew idea, this acknowledgement of God has great implication for philosophy. It is no coincidence in the history of ideas that when man becomes a skeptic of God, empties his metaphysical closet of the belief in God, his whole project of truth and knowledge crumble under his own pitiful hand. It is a turn in the history of philosophy that is easy to spot – skepticism about God led directly to the well where knowledge itself is poisoned, with truth floating away into the abyss of the postmodern perspectivalism. When there is not a God’s eye view; there is no knowledge. If one rejects the fear of the Lord, he becomes a fool. The fear of God, living in reverence for him, and in a creaturely posture of humility has many promises associated with it. First, God’s covenant love (hesed) is firmly established with those who fear him. The greatest good for the people of God is to worship and love their God. One does not do this with the clinched fist of pride and arrogance, but rather receives it humbly on bended knee. The fear of God, leads his children to love his ways, shun evil, and receive from him a great treasure…to look upon the face of God in delight rather than expecting horrible judgment. In CS Lewis' book, the Silver Chair, Jill is stuck in a bit of a pickle. She is dying of thirst lying next to the purest, most desirable water she has ever seen. Yet, in her path is a fearful, dreadful, and beautiful Lion. Aslan, King of Narnia is before her for the first time. She comes forward slowly, even asking the question “Do you eat girls?” to which the Lion's answer is “I have eaten realms and kingdoms, boys and girls...” (loose paraphrase) If she does not come and drink she will die of thirst. If she does not come in her fear to the Lion, she will not receive the treasure she needs. Such it is with God. We need him, but we fear. We need him, but we would rather choose pride and arrogance than fear. We need him in all his terrifying glory, but we choose to re-imagine him as a small puppy on a leash to make us feel good about ourselves. Some will never come to him – others, who in fear walk towards the great Lion, will find that the awesome one, is also gracious, abounding in steadfast love, and infinitely desirable and calms our terror with arms of a Father. This morning I was reading in Hebrews 12 where I was confronted with a passage that describes in the New Testament fear of the Lord in terms of reverence and awe:

18 For you have not come to what may be touched, a blazing fire and darkness and gloom and a tempest 19 and the sound of a trumpet and a voice whose words made the hearers beg that no further messages be spoken to them. 20 For they could not endure the order that was given, “If even a beast touches the mountain, it shall be stoned.” 21 Indeed, so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, “I tremble with fear.” 22 But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, 23 and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, 24 and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel. 25 See that you do not refuse him who is speaking. For if they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, much less will we escape if we reject him who warns from heaven. 26 At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, “Yet once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.” 27 This phrase, “Yet once more,” indicates the removal of things that are shaken—that is, things that have been made—in order that the things that cannot be shaken may remain. 28 Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, 29 for our God is a consuming fire.

Let us be grateful for receiving an unshakable kingdom, one where we are called together to God into an assembly of those we are enrolled in heaven, who is called the judge of all. We are called to Jesus, who is a mediator of a new covenant, one in his own blood spilled on the earth. This blood speaks – not as the blood that cried out of sin; that of Abel, but the blood that speaks a word of forgiveness and grace to sinners before a holy God. This word, the passage tells us should not be ignored, for to ignore his word, which is both a gracious offer and a terrifying warning, is to our great peril. It is so easy today for believers to waltz in and out of the presence of God as if they are going to snuggle up to their my buddy doll in big bean bag chair. We do not get this picture of God in the Scripture. Not in Hebrews, not anywhere. Yet because God is gracious and good. Because God is holy and all together a just judge. Because God punished, broke and beat down Jesus for sins that were ours and not his own. Because God reveals himself and comes to us to be marveled at, loved and adored in the gospel, we ought to worship. Our hearts are grateful for we have received a kingdom. The giver of which is one in which we should fear, but yet be drawn to in his holy beauty and our great need. When he draws us we come. And his compulsion is our liberation

Apart from us...

Hebrews 11 is the listing of the faithful down through the ages who clung strong to promises of God. These were our forerunners in the faith, a great cloud of witnesses, a proverbial Hall of Faith. And what did these receive? Not all, yet everything.

39 And all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised, 40 since God had provided something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect.

Hebrews chapter eleven ends with this incredible statement. The people that verse 39 is referring to as "all these" are the looming towers of biblical history; women and men who trusted God in faith throughout the ages looking forward to the coming of the Christ.

They looked forward to the promise of God - a coming kingdom, a new age of the Spirit, an inheritance with God which will not pass away with this present broken age. They were banking on a promise; no, they were banking on the faithful word of a promiser.

Did they receive it in their lifetime? No, they did not. But of such people - those who held firm to God even in the midst of the most difficult of times, God says of them in verse Hebrews 11:38. These were people of whom the world was not worthy.

God had a different plan, one which did not give them the promise right away, but rather the people of God past, would be made perfect together with the people of God present and future. All will come into the promise by faith, by the work of Christ in the fullness of time. All will be changed and perfected when God fulfills all his promises and the new Kingdom dawns.

So the faith is one of great solidarity. Women and men from all ages, all tribes and peoples, standing as one before a great and faithful promise keeping God.

For of Abraham it is said:

For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God.

So we look and expect together. Another city, another King, a different reality of peace, love and joy in the Holy Spirit. For He may not realize all the promises now in my life, yet many more are yet to be born who will partake in the promises. And the fulfillment we shall meet as one people. For together he has provided something better, that apart from us they should not be made perfect.

ESV Bible Online: Passage: Heb 11

Inverted Safari

For some random fun - we produced this video to encourage folks to get plugged into our Inversion community groups.
   
Here is the link to the video - It is MPEG4.