Fireworks

Yesterday was the Fourth of July, which, for the international readers, is the day America celebrates her succession and independence from Great Britain, which took place on July 4th, 1776.

A traditional part of this celebration is fireworks. Firework shows are put on by different cities, municipalities, and even private parties. I live in an area with lots of small suburbs, so many different shows were going on at once. From my back yard, you could stand and have fireworks exploding all around you. It was a very beautiful sight.

A thought occurred to me as I watched them: fireworks are happy things. While they have their dangers, watching colorful explosions in the sky is something most people find entertaining. They are just innately happy.

It feels like I’ve been writing a lot recently about how uncertain the present is, and how bad things could happen very suddenly. Perhaps people think that Christianity is an unhappy or depressing worldview, always fretting about how unsure tomorrow is, and never able to see the fireworks.

This is not the case at all. A central idea of Christianity is “good news.” Yes, this world is uncertain, yes, troubles do come, and yes, Christians should keep theirs eyes forward and looking up. But that does not mean they cannot find happiness within the present. A Christian’s happiness within the present, though, comes from acknowledging the fact that the present is uncertain, but enjoying it anyway, knowing that whatever changes and troubles come our way, our lot is with God, and our end is with Him. All our current and future trials are quick and fleeting, so we need not worry about them in the present.

It makes me think of one of my favorite hymns, “Farther Along.” You read the lyrics and hear the melody here (beware of auto-playing music). Here is the chorus:

Farther along we’ll know all about it,
Farther along we’ll understand why;
Cheer up my brother, live in the sunshine,
We’ll understand it all by and by.

A line that always stuck out at me was “cheer up my brother, live in the sunshine.” The song talks of encouragement, and how in the future we’ll understand our present troubles. And then it says that line; we should cheer up even in the present, because in the end we’ll know why we had to undergo the trials and we’ll see the entire picture.

A Christian does not need to dim to present with fears of the future. Instead, one may relax and be content with the present, and enjoy the fireworks, knowing that whatever may come, we will eventually reach an eternal glory.

Whatever Lot

Recently I was looking at the statistics for this blog that are provided by WordPress. I’ve gotten to the point where I’m getting 5-12 views per day (with spikes when I post something new). I have no clue how many of these views are humans and how many are web crawlers (and how many are repeat views), but nevertheless it’s encouraging.

Although the views-per-day mostly fluctuate between 5-12, sometimes it dips down. Just looking at the graph they provide of views, it looks like sometimes it dips down to nothing. However, when I mouse over the point on the graph (which displays the number of views for that point), it still always says something like two or three views.

As some of you may guess, that got me thinking. (This is a strange source of inspiration, but I need an idea and I’m rolling with it.)

An accepted fact of life is that it has ups and downs- mountains and valleys. Good times come, but bad times come too. It reminds me of the graph, sometimes spiking, sometimes having a low point.

During His earthly life and ministry, Jesus had His ups and downs too. When He started, things were reasonably good. People were coming to Him, and He was preaching sermons on mountains. However, things started to get bad. He fell very quickly into disfavor with certain people in places of power. Ultimately, after roughly three years, they finally were able to maneuver into a position where they could kill Him- and they did. Jesus was executed by crucifixion, one of the most gruesome and cruel methods ever used.

Certainly times looked very dark for Him and His disciples as His lifeless body hung on the cross while a Roman soldier impaled Him with a spear to make sure He was dead.

However, as we know, this was not the end. Three days later, Jesus would rise again to life, and His resurrection would provide hope to anyone looking for meaning and hope in this sinful, broken world.

We all know this story. We also should remember that it applies to our own life. We all go through hard times and trials. When troubles come, though, it is often hard to remember that the storm will soon pass over and good time will return once again.

On the violent sea that is life, we should draw on the strength of the Lord and trust in Him, for we know that, according to Romans 8:28, all things work together for good for those who love the Lord.

One thing we need to remember and understand is that, while we cannot see the entire picture, God can. Sometimes we question His methods. We need to understand that, no matter what, God knows what He is doing.

Instead of questioning God when thinks work out differently than how we think they should, we should remember Psalms 46:10: “Be still, and know that I am God.” We’ve all heard this verse- now look at the entire Psalm 46 (taken from the New Living Translation):

God is our refuge and strength,
always ready to help in times of trouble.
So we will not fear when earthquakes come
and the mountains crumble into the sea.
Let the oceans roar and foam.
Let the mountains tremble as the waters surge!

A river brings joy to the city of our God,
the sacred home of the Most High.
God dwells in that city; it cannot be destroyed.
From the very break of day, God will protect it.
The nations are in chaos,
and their kingdoms crumble!
God’s voice thunders,
and the earth melts!
The Lord of Heaven’s Armies is here among us;
the God of Israel is our fortress.

Come, see the glorious works of the Lord:
See how he brings destruction upon the world.
He causes wars to end throughout the earth.
He breaks the bow and snaps the spear;
he burns the shields with fire.

“Be still, and know that I am God!
I will be honored by every nation.
I will be honored throughout the world.”

The Lord of Heaven’s Armies is here among us;
the God of Israel is our fortress.

We have the God of the heavens and the earth on our side, the God who flooded the earth but protected Noah, kept His promise to Abraham, rained fire on Soddom and Gahmorra but saved Lot, blessed the life of Joseph, delivered Moses and the Israelites from Egypt, crumbled the walls of Jericho, blessed the armies of Gideon, gave Samson his strength, forgave David, gave Solomon his wisdom, and so much more. He offered His son to die on the cross, to become sin and face His wrath, for us.

When trials come our way, depend on the Lord, and trust Him to know what He is doing. Whatever troubles you may undergo, remember that it will all work out for good in the end, if you simply be still. Remember the hymn:

When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

Seafaring

I recently went on a sailing trip to the British Virgin Islands (for those of you who wondered why I haven’t posted anything in two weeks). It was great, and I thank God for giving me the opportunity to go and see a marvelous part of His creation.

While sailing around the islands, I was reminded of an old English poem I read once in a British Literature class, called “The Seafarer.” You can read a translated text of the poem here, and I encourage you to do so, but first read another verse we read in that class, titled “Three Sorrowful Things”:

If I think on matters three
I can never happy be.
The first is that I must away.
Then, that I do not know the day.
The third, it is my greatest care
I know now whither I shall fare

In this, the poet is lamenting three things, that prevent his happiness. He must go away, but he doesn’t know when, and he doesn’t know where. It is not hard to make a connection to death. The truth is, none of us know when we will die. Although we take tomorrow for granted, the truth is the future is very uncertain for us. James writes about this in James 4:13-17:

Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit” — yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.

The fact that our future is uncertain, and that we could easily die very soon, obviously distresses the poet very much- he can never be happy because of it. I think many people today share the same sentiments. Many people today live in a constant state of fear, doing whatever they think will grant them a shred more security in this world. The problem is, it doesn’t matter how many safeguards you put in place, there’s always another new danger.

There’s more uncertainty to life than just our own deaths, though. Everything in this world is temporary and uncertain. We have no way of knowing what the future holds, and have no assurance that tomorrow will be free of hardship. We devote time and energy to protecting and securing our belongings and lives, but even with all of our toil, they could be swept away in any number of ways.

This world is volatile. Life is like a vast ocean, constantly changing and never sure. In a sense, we then are all seafarers, struggling and fighting against the vast maw of water, trying to keep our tiny vessel afloat atop the great deep.

If you haven’t already, read “The Seafarer.”

The poet starts off describing his trials at sea- the cold, pain, and loneliness. He states that there is not a man in existence who does not fear when the sails unfurl, who does not tremble in the face of the mighty ocean and what fate might befall him. Later he talks of how the kingdoms of Earth have faded from glory, and how material things do not offer any protection from death.

And then, in the last part of the poem, he offers a solution. The poet begins to talk about God, the only thing in this world that offers security and stability. He ends by praising the “eternal, unchanging creator of earth.”

The elegy phrases it more eloquently than I could ever hope to do. In the stormy seas of life, the only steadfast thing, the only anchor we have, the only thing that can offer any sort of stability and security amidst the crashing waves is God, the Eternal, and the Unchanging, the One who calms the storms.

Blood on the Door

While reading a passage in John, I noticed something interesting. For those of you who don’t know the Bible, the Book of John is one of the four “gospels” or biographies of Jesus’s life (the other three being Matthew, Mark, and Luke).

The passage in question was John 18. This chapter covers the events of Jesus’s arrest and part of His trial. After teaching and ministering for roughly three years, the enemies Jesus had made (by His teachings threatening their power) were finally able to execute a plan to kill Him, with the help of one of Jesus’s close friends and disciples, Judas. The part of the passage I found particularly thought-provoking was John 18:28, which reads:

Then the Jews led Jesus from Caiaphas to the palace of the Roman governor. By now it was early morning, and to avoid ceremonial uncleanness the Jews did not enter the palace; they wanted to be able to eat the Passover.

The Jews arresting Jesus wanted to be able to partake of the Passover meal, a tradition they had been doing since it was instated by the Lord in Exodus 12. If they entered the house of a Gentile (non-Jew), they would be ceremonially unclean according to their understanding of the law, and would be unable to eat the Passover.

The first Passover was while the Israelites (the Jews) were slaves in Egypt (a very long time before Jesus came around). The Lord had sent nine different plagues upon Egypt, so that the Pharaoh would release the Lord’s chosen people, the Israelites. After each plague, Pharaoh’s heart was only hardened further. The Lord commanded the Passover as preparation for the final plague.

Each household was to select a lamb, a year-old male without defect, and slaughter it at twilight. They were to take the blood from the lamb, and spread it over the sides and top of their doorframes, and after that, they were to roast the lamb and eat it. All of it, along with herbs and unleavened bread, in haste, and eat unleavened bread and no yeast for seven days.

At midnight, the Lord struck down all the firstborn of Egypt, from Pharaoh’s firstborn to the livestock’s firstborn. However, the firstborn of the houses of the Israelites, which had blood on their doorframes, were spared. Seeing this, Pharaoh finally broke and sent the Israelites out of Egypt.

And the Lord commanded them to celebrate the Passover every year, as a reminder of how He had taken them out of Egypt.

It was this celebration that the Jews wanted to partake in, so they did not enter the house of Pilate, the Roman governor when they brought Jesus to Him. Interestingly enough, they didn’t care about whether Jesus (also a Jew) was unclean or not. However, there is something more that is terribly ironic about this.

As described in Matthew 26:17-30, earlier in the evening of His arrest, Jesus had eaten the first meal of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Verse 18 says:

He replied, “Go into the city to a certain man and tell him, ‘The Teacher says: My appointed time is near. I am going to celebrate the Passover with my disciples at your house.’

Jesus was preparing to celebrate the Passover. At this time, key parts of the Passover meal were the bread and the wine.

While they were eating, Jesus took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take and eat; this is my body.”

Then he took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. I tell you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it anew with you in my Father’s kingdom.”

Jesus was explaining what He was about to undergo- His death by crucifixion- and why it was necessary. He was about to be killed for the sins of the world.

As I just said, Jesus was preparing to celebrate the Passover. He was preparing to be the blameless lamb slaughtered at twilight.

And much as the blood of that first Passover lamb covered the door frame and protected the homes of the Israelites (who were now killing Him), the blood of Jesus would cover the sins of the world, and protect it from God’s wrath against sin.

Jesus was the true Passover, and the Jews were rejecting Him, and keeping themselves from becoming ceremonially unclean. Ironically enough, Jesus, through His blood, was the only one who could make them truly clean.

Now, what about you? Are you an Egyptian, or one of those in the mob killing Jesus? Are you rejecting Him, even though He’s the only way you can achieve what you really want and need? Or do you want to be the Israelites, and have your sins be covered by the blood of Jesus?

He died for you, and His blood is there. Do you cover your doorframe with it?

Sense in a Senseless World

On my post on Approaching Atheists, Ubiquitous Che commented how my post could be reread in Steve Irwin’s voice, like the Crocodile Hunter was explaining how to approach a dangerous animal. What’s funny is this exact same thought occurred to me as I was writing it.

I went over and visited his blog (Che’s, not Steve Irwin’s), rhetoric sans pareil, where I can across a recent post of his. In it, he talks about the Brights movement.

I’ve heard about the Brights movement before, but only as a typical reactionary “They’re trying to make theists sound dim!” What it actually is, if I understand it right, is a simple attempt to promote understanding of the naturalistic worldview. In his post, Che says he will now more promote the positive points of naturalism, which he calls “beautiful and fulfilling,” instead of attacking differing worldviews.

(By the way, the Brights movement says the opposite of “Bright” isn’t “Dim”; it’s “Super,” because Supers believe in the supernatural. While it still sounds like they’re labeling atheism as something for smart people, anything that makes me feel closer to flying around and shooting lasers out of my eyes earns a point in my book.)

Ironically, this sounds suspiciously like a main way of evangelizing Christianity, summarized in a quote from Madeleine L’Engle (that was used in the Approaching Atheists series):

We do not draw people to Christ by loudly discrediting what they believe, by telling them how wrong they are and how right we are, but by showing them a light that is so lovely that they want with all their hearts to know the source of it.

My reaction to this? I actually view this as good news. Many of the atheists I’ve come in contact with have been completely focused on attacking theism- even to the point of simply mocking it while making no attempt to understand it. It’s nice to see them acknowledging that they won’t win people by simply attacking their worldview alone.

Moreover, I can understand how someone could be content, or even happy with a naturalistic worldview. Were it not for my belief that Christianity is the most rationally justified worldview, I might even be a Bright myself. Except for one thing…

It might be easy to be a Bright when life is good. When the sun is shining and everything is going right, the idea that God might not really exist is trivial- you are happy without God, so why do you need Him? He is only irrelevant clutter, and your worldview is better of without Him.

However, life is not always good. This is a fallen world, and bad, senseless things do happen. Things happen in life that make us question our sanity and whether we have any shred of meaning in the cruel, cold universe.

Times will come when you will wonder if, as Shakespeare wrote, it is “nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, or to take arms against a sea of troubles, and by opposing end them? To die: to sleep.” But then you will come to the concept of death, and no matter how you rebrand it, as “peace” or “rest,” you will still have to come to the acknowledgment that, under the naturalistic worldview, death means an ending of your person- you will cease to exist.

Not only that, but this ending, this quick disintegration into nothingness, could happen anytime. It could come very suddenly- you could die tomorrow, or even today, or in fifty or sixty years. But one thing is for sure: death is certain; you will die.

And when life turns dark, and when death stares you right in the face, advancing on you or someone you love, there will be no order, no sense, no meaning. No comfort will be gleaned from the heavens, for even the stars themselves must die. The entire cold universe will eventually fade and end, and everything you did while on this tiny blue spec, all the pain you suffered, will be meaningless.

So if you are happy being a Bright, that’s fine, stay that way. I hesitate to say this, because it’s not really true; the message of the gospel is a message of urgency, for we do not know when we will die. However, I acknowledge that you may not be ready to accept the gospel yet. My job is to plant or water the seed. Only God can make it grow.

But please understand this:

You may not think you need God now. That is fine. But there will come a time when you will need Him. For your sake, please do not turn away from Him then. He’s not your enemy, someone you have to fight to the end. He’s your father, and He wants to comfort you. When the dark times come in your life, remember Him.

Many have turned to atheism when they look at the suffering and say “There is no God.” I believe many more look and say “God is our only hope.” Atheists often accuse theists of clinging to God because they are scared. Perhaps we just understand the implications better.

Approaching Atheists

Jason at The Cynical Christian is running a series, with Jennifer F. of “Et tu?” – the diary of a former atheist called “Approaching Atheists.” In it they discuss how Christians should interact with atheists. You can browse the whole series by checking out the posts labeled “approaching atheists”. I particularly thought the most recent two posts (as of now) were beneficial to read: the Top 9 Don’ts and Dos for Talking With Atheists.

Definitely check out the series. This is a very important issue for modern Christians in this society, as atheism is on the rise. We need to know how to talk with atheists, how to understand their position, and ultimately how to win some of them over.

Sadly, I think many times in interactions between Christians and atheists, the Christians end up doing more harm than good. Three don’ts for talking with atheists particularly jumped out at me as things I see a lot and that cause major problems: “Quote the Bible,” “Use a lot of Christian catchphrases,” and “Devalue the importance of science and logic.”

Often when talking with atheists, people quote the Bible. Although this is generally done with good intentions, and there is definitely a time and place to use the Bible, at least understand that an atheist does not believe in the Bible. As the article on Don’ts points out, quoting the Bible to an atheist would cause the atheist to feel like you would if your doctor used a Harry Potter book as his source of medical information.

Additionally, quoting the Bible without any sort of justification other than “it must be true because the Bible says it” to an atheist will only reaffirm his or her probable belief that all Christians are merely mindless sheep devoid of logic who couldn’t spot a circular argument if it bit them on the nose. Christians don’t need to be illogical to truly believe in their faith. We know that. We need to show the atheists that.

The next don’t I mentioned was the use of a lot of Christian catchphrases. If, right off the bat without much of an explanation, we tell an atheist to “Open your heart to Jesus, who died on the cross for you, and be washed in the waters of baptism, for the forgiveness of your sins that are covered with the blood of Chist and so that you may receive the gift of the Holy Spirit who will dwell in you,” chances are he or she will shut down right away. Although we know what these phrases mean, someone unversed in Christian theology will only hear religious mumbo-jumbo that will probably reinforce the belief that theists are illogical.

Finally, and importantly, many times Christians devalue the importance of science and logic while they talk with atheists. As the series points out, to many atheists, science and logic are the pinnacles of existence, as they are “what separates us from animals.” Science and logic have their uses, and to simply deny them will cause the atheist to close you out very fast. This isn’t to say that there is a place for pure faith, but it’s hard to convert someone on “blind faith” (although this isn’t to say that it can’t be done).

Also, keep in mind that science and logic are works of God. To refuse to give them the respect they deserve would be to dishonor a facet of God’s great creation.

One other thing to note is that, although atheism is increasing in our society, outright atheism is still in the minority. Far more common, however, are nonreligious people who act very much as if they don’t believe in God, and probably rarely think on the issue. For the most part, we should use these guidelines for talking with these people too, at least until we get to know them better.

In an increasingly secular society, it is very important we know how to interact with atheists, so we may sow good seeds among the still-white fields.

The End of the Story

I’ve recently been thinking about worry and stress. Certainly in today’s world we seem to find much to stress about.

It’s important to remember that, even Jesus, during his time here on Earth, underwent stress, as described in Luke 22:39-46:

Jesus went out as usual to the Mount of Olives, and his disciples followed him. On reaching the place, he said to them, “Pray that you will not fall into temptation.” He withdrew about a stone’s throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed, “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him. And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.

When he rose from prayer and went back to the disciples, he found them asleep, exhausted from sorrow. “Why are you sleeping?” he asked them. “Get up and pray so that you will not fall into temptation.”

Jesus was preparing to undergo something that I will venture to guess that none of us will ever have to go through- the very violent death that was crucifixion at the hands of the Romans. Also, not only was He preparing for earthly torture, but also for the spiritual burden of taking on the monstrous expanse of the sins of humanity. He certainly had a little to be stressed about.

Compared to the trials of Jesus, our present worries seem to lack significance. However, we should still follow Jesus’s example of responding to stress.

And what did He do? He prayed, not that God save Him from death, no matter the cost, but instead “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” He commended Himself totally to God.

He also instructed his disciples to pray that they not fall into temptation. They too were very stressed (they were “exhausted from sorrow”), and Jesus needed them to be strong for the trials that were soon coming.

What happened after Jesus prayed for God’s will to be done? Did things get instantly better? On the contrary, things got very bad very fast. While He was still speaking, a mob came up and seized Him, and while He was taken away, Peter, one of His foremost disciples, denied ever having anything to do with Jesus. Jesus was then mocked and beaten by guards, given a sham trial, brutally flogged, taunted by a vicious crowd, and ultimately crucified.

If we end the story there, we have a pretty bleak picture. After praying for God’s will to be done, what is arguably the very worst thing that could of happened did. If we stopped there, we could glean very little comfort out of knowing that God is in control of everything.

However, the story does not end there. After all these disastrous events took place, people then thought the story was over too. It was far from it, though. After lying dead in the tomb for three days, Jesus Christ rose to life, and with His resurrection He triumphed over His enemies and brought the central event in the ultimate plan of God. If an observer had turned away at any point before this, he would only know of the dark happenings and never learn of the glorious finale.

We need to remember this in our lives. No matter what stresses we’re going through, no matter what worries plague us, no matter what seemingly endless trials we’re being subjected to, we need to understand that, beyond our present troubles, is something so wonderful, so amazing, that the moment we finally catch sight of it, all our stresses, all our worries, will vanish in an instant.

And I know this comfort is dulled in the middle of stress and worries. When undergoing trials, our sight is blinded to the end, and the thought of “this won’t matter in the future” is little help in surviving the present. However, we still need to pray for God’s will to be done.

Remember, God isn’t some uninvolved king ruling from a vast distance. Jesus came down to earth, and He knows what it is like to be overwhelmed by stress. He sweated blood, and was overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. He knows exactly what we’re going through, and He wants to help. As the famous hymn goes, what a friend we have in Jesus.

One of my favorite passages of scripture is 2 Corinthians 4:16-18:

Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal

All the stresses, all the worries, all the trials we go through on this earth, no matter how big, and no matter how small, are temporary. They are simply light and momentary troubles.

Remember that our story does not end with them, but with an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.

Christian

I was talking with someone about a conversation she had with a friend of hers. I don’t remember the details, but it involved the use of the word “Christian.” The person I was talking to said how she had a “Christian” upbringing. This offended her friend, as she felt that her own upbringing was being called “not Christian.” Her friend also talked about how she was offended when the person I was talking to talked about how her children had “Christian friends.” Her friend seemed to think this implied that Christian friends were better.

Her friend felt like her upbringing was “Christian” too. She wanted to be called a “Christian.” When asked if she believed in Christ, she said no, but didn’t think that made a difference.

This (of course) got me thinking about the word “Christian.” In modern society, the word “Christian” has started to become trivialized. In his book Mere Christianity (a very good book, by the way), C. S. Lewis talks about this problem of abuse of the English language. You can read the passage here.

Lewis compares the word “Christian” to the world “gentleman.” He talks of how “gentleman” used to mean something simple- one who had a coat of arms and property. However, the meaning has changed, from the actual definition of the word, to instead describe the qualities a gentleman should have. This is a very important idea.

The first time a group of disciples were called “Christians” is chronicled in Acts 11. The second half of the chapter describes the church in Antioch. The text of Acts 11:19-26 reads:

Now those who had been scattered by the persecution in connection with Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch, telling the message only to Jews. Some of them, however, men from Cyprus and Cyrene, went to Antioch and began to speak to Greeks also, telling them the good news about the Lord Jesus. The Lord’s hand was with them, and a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord.

News of this reached the ears of the church at Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. When he arrived and saw the evidence of the grace of God, he was glad and encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts. He was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith, and a great number of people were brought to the Lord.

Then Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, and when he found him, he brought him to Antioch. So for a whole year Barnabas and Saul met with the church and taught great numbers of people. The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch.

The transliterated Greek word for “Christian” used here is “Christianos,” which literally means “a follower of the Anointed [that is, Christ].” Looking at the above passage, we can determine several qualities that the Christians at Antioch possessed.

First of all, the message at Antioch was preached to both Jews and Gentiles. We read that the Lord was with them, and many “turned to the Lord.” Perhaps more importantly, Barnabas there saw “evidence of the grace of God.” They were also “true to the Lord with all their hearts.”

So, according to the passage, I would venture to say that, for one to be considered a Christian in the true sense (as opposed to whatever the whims of culture consider it) he or she must be a believer and follower of God (being the true God), be true to Him with all his or her heart, and have His grace for the times when they fall. Therefore, unless another way has been found to earn the grace of God besides through the death of Jesus (or a way has been found to live a perfect life that is free of sin), the only way to be a Christian is to be a follower of Jesus Christ.

One final thing: why are people in secular society so anxious to earn this title of “Christian”? Why would people want to be considered Christian if they do not follow Jesus Christ?

Just like “gentleman,” people like the qualities associated with being considered “Christian.” This is actually very good. People recognize “Christian” as something good, and if you are not “Christian,” then that is something bad.

True Christians need to seize this opportunity to tell others just why being a Christian is so good. And, above all, we need to continue behaving as Christians should.

Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed

The movie Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed opens in theaters today. For those of you who haven’t heard, it is an Intelligent Design-related movie that attempts to show that scientists and educators are persecuted because of their religious faith or their questioning of evolution.

As one can imagine, it has generated a good deal of controversy. ID critics have attacked it in numerous ways, from claiming that they mislead interviewees, including Richard Dawkins (yeah, he’s one to talk), to complaining about who was allowed to see invitation-only advanced screenings.

As for me personally, I just hope that they did a good, honest job on the movie. So many times something big in the whole origins debate comes up and the theist end (ID or whatever it happens to be) falls flat and ends up being more of a detriment to Christian apologetics, which is unfortunate, because there really are good arguments for Christianity. Hopefully the movie is a quality, solid support of the ID movement, and not something that will give critics of theism and Christianity more stuff to blast while ignoring the real arguments.

Tom Gilson at Thinking Christian has a post reminding everyone, whatever the movie ends up being, to be calm and thoughtful about it. For more information, I’d recommend browsing through his posts tagged “expelled.”

Elderly Woman Witnesses to Robber

This is a great story. It’s not exactly new, but if you haven’t heard the story of Pauline Jacobi, watch this news bulletin.

Nice to have a truly happy news story. I thought they ruined it towards the end, though, by stating that they are still searching for the guy. Question for readers: should they still have continued to look for this man?

Also, this example shows that apologetics, while useful, are often unnecessary. When witnessing to this man, Jacobi didn’t break down the Cosmological or Teleological Argument; she didn’t start talking about extra-biblical evidence of the life of Jesus or 1 Corinthians 15. She merely convicted the man and got him to acknowledge his sin. He obviously knew what he was doing was wrong, and when his sin was brought to the light, and shown for what it really was, he broke down.

Maybe he had robbed before, or maybe this was his first time. The point is, he realized that he had stooped so low as to threaten a sweet, grandmotherly old lady with death if she didn’t give him money.

So many times we are like the man, secretly knowing we are sinning but refusing to acknowledge our sin for what it is- as we continue to move further and further away from God until we reach the point of threatening to kill an old lady for whatever cash she may have on her. Pray that we stop this.

Hat tip: Joe Carter at the evangelical outpost