Friday, July 31, 2009
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I Hate to Say I Told You So....
On July 10, I posted an article about the nomination by President Obama of Dr. Francis Collins to be the Director of the National Institutes of Health, an article in which I praised the pick on the grounds that Dr. Collins is both an accomplished scientist and a committed Christian.
In that post I said,
I suppose that there are secularist scientists, by which I mean scientists who believe that science has eliminated the possibility of God and who are sometimes downright evangelistic about converting others to their worldview, who are displeased, troubled, and even frightened by the nomination of Collins because they think that he might let his religious beliefs get in the way of good science.
Well, on July 27 the New York Times published an editorial entitled "Science Is in the Details" by Sam Harris, the best-selling author and candidate for a doctorate in neuroscience who is an outspoken advocate of what some have termed the "New Atheism."
In that editorial, Harris said, "It can be difficult to think like a scientist. But few things make thinking like a scientist more difficult than religion."
So, like I said, I hate to say I told you so, but....
For an excellent response to Harris' editorial, read this article by philosopher Eric Reitan.
In that post I said,
I suppose that there are secularist scientists, by which I mean scientists who believe that science has eliminated the possibility of God and who are sometimes downright evangelistic about converting others to their worldview, who are displeased, troubled, and even frightened by the nomination of Collins because they think that he might let his religious beliefs get in the way of good science.
Well, on July 27 the New York Times published an editorial entitled "Science Is in the Details" by Sam Harris, the best-selling author and candidate for a doctorate in neuroscience who is an outspoken advocate of what some have termed the "New Atheism."
In that editorial, Harris said, "It can be difficult to think like a scientist. But few things make thinking like a scientist more difficult than religion."
So, like I said, I hate to say I told you so, but....
For an excellent response to Harris' editorial, read this article by philosopher Eric Reitan.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Sunday, July 26, 2009
The Basis for Everything Else
(A sermon based on Revelation 4 & 5 for Sunday, July 26, 2009)
We Christians need to know that God is with us and that he is working his purposes out. Christians have always needed to know that. A beautiful affirmation of the fact that God is with us and is working his purposes out is found in Revelation 4-5. The message of those two chapters is really the basis for everything else that we find in the book. In fact, the message of those two chapters is really the basis for everything on which we base our lives as Christians. We must know what these chapters use symbolic language to teach if we are to live hopeful Christian lives.
We should keep in mind that we are in the realm of symbolism in these chapters, just as we are in the rest of the book. As one writer has put it, “it is important to recognize that the descriptions are descriptions of symbols, not of the reality conveyed by the symbols” [Bruce M. Metzger, Breaking the Code: Understanding the Book of Revelation (Nashville: Abingdon, 1993), p. 14]. Reality is communicated by the symbols, but the symbol is not the reality. So, for instance, the resurrected Christ is not literally a lamb with seven horns and seven eyes. We should also keep in mind that we are in the realm of vision here. John had an intense visionary experience that, because he wrote it down, we are privileged to view.
Chapter 4 shows that God is worthy of worship and praise because of who he is and because of what he does. The vision John has is one of God sitting on his throne in the heavenly throne room. The heavenly throne room is a conception that is quite common in the OT. The visionary uses precious stones to symbolize the nature of God. The jasper and carnelian perhaps signify the holiness and judgment of God. John’s vision of a rainbow like an emerald around the throne probably indicates the mercy of God, since the rainbow in Jewish thinking was a sign of God’s promised mercy.
John sees worship taking place in heaven. The twenty-four elders who sit on twenty-four thrones and who are described in priestly and royal terms represent the totality of God’s people by combining the twelve patriarchs with the twelve apostles. They are joined around the throne by four living creatures that are the angelic counterparts of all of animated creation. Now, notice the worship service that continually takes place in heaven. The four living creatures constitute the choir, the worship leaders. They continually sing “Holy, holy, holy, the Lord God the Almighty, who was and is and is to come.” When they sing, the twenty-four elders bow down and also join in singing. They sing that God is worthy of honor and glory because he is the Creator.
The vision of the heavenly throne room continues in chapter 5. John sees a scroll in the hand of God. The scroll is sealed with seven seals. Later in the book, different scenes will unfold as each seal is opened. At this point, an angel’s question, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?” is at first left unanswered, at which John weeps. Why is the scroll so important? What is it? Eugene Peterson has suggested that the scroll represents Scripture. He said, “One of the great excitements and glories of Christian worship was that the preaching of Christ unsealed the scrolls of scripture” [Eugene H. Peterson, Reversed Thunder: the Revelation of John & the Praying Imagination (HarperSanFranciso, 1988), p. 64]. More likely, I think, is that the scroll contains God’s plan of judgment for the world and victory for his people. John weeps because if no one can open it, then the plan will remain unexecuted. But then John is told by one of the twenty-four elders not to cry because “the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals” (5:5). Now, those two titles are both drawn from the OT and both had accepted messianic connotations. So John would have been expecting to see a mighty Lion figure with great conquering powers who could take the scroll and rip it open.
Look at what he saw instead! He saw “a Lamb standing as if it had been slaughtered” (5:6). Now, we should note again that we are living in the world of symbolism. The Lamb represents Jesus, but Jesus does not literally look like a lamb. The meaning is that Jesus was sacrificed for our sins. He is worthy to open the scroll because of his sacrificial death. Slain lambs don’t stand, of course. But Jesus is the resurrected Lamb, so this slain Lamb does stand. The heavenly choir, made up of the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders, sings a new song, new because of the tremendous new thing that has happened. Jesus is worthy to open the scroll containing God’s redemptive purposes because he died, thereby making us saints and kings and priests. In short, he is worthy because he gave his life for us. He is worthy because his life and death and resurrection are such a vital part of God’s purpose.
The beautiful picture of chapter five shows us that God’s purposes are already being worked out. They began to unfold in new and in what would ultimately be final ways because of the sacrifice of Jesus. So we gain great encouragement from this picture. We learn that God not only will work his purposes out but also is working his purposes out. The book of God’s purposes for his people and for the world began to be opened in the saving ministry of Jesus.
The picture painted in chapters four and five teaches us something important about worship. There we see joyful worship intentionally offered up to God and to his Son Jesus Christ. The picture painted there says two things about our worship.
First, it says that our worship here on earth is a part of worship that goes on in heaven. That truth is communicated by this interesting note: each of the living creatures and each of the elders hold “golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints” (5:8). So when we pray down here, we are participating in the heavenly worship. We worship together with those who are there now. When the heavenly hosts worship the Lord, our prayers as the Christian community on earth participate in that worship.
Second, this picture gives us something to model our worship here after. Our worship should be focused on God as the Creator and on Jesus Christ as our Savior who holds the fulfillment of history in his hands. Our worship is not a spectator sport, nor is it a mere passing of the time. No, our worship is active participation in the great redemptive plan of God. We are a part of what God is doing, and we should participate with great gusto.
Finally, the picture in chapter five teaches us something very important about the way in which God works his purposes out. We absolutely must grasp the importance of the symbolic picture of Jesus here. He is the Lion who conquers as a slaughtered Lamb. Jesus’ victory over the forces of Satan and over the oppressive evils of the world came through his resurrection, to be sure, but it also came through his sacrificial death. This is the way of God: victory through sacrifice. That means that if we are to share in the victory of God in the world then we must also be people who live sacrificial lives. It is in the willful giving of ourselves to God and in the willful participation in sacrifice that we share in what he is doing. Why? Because then we are living Christ-like lives! Make no mistake about it, though: the slain Lamb who is Jesus Christ has conquered. So will those who are his.
So you see, the message of Revelation 4 & 5 really is the basis for everything else. It is the basis for everything else that will happen in the book: the Jesus who has conquered by his sacrificial death has the authority to unfold the rest of history according to God’s will. It is the basis for everything that we do as Christians, too. Why? Because everything we are and everything that we do must derive from the fact that we serve a crucified and risen Savior who bids us live a life like his. Will you live such a life from this day forward?
We Christians need to know that God is with us and that he is working his purposes out. Christians have always needed to know that. A beautiful affirmation of the fact that God is with us and is working his purposes out is found in Revelation 4-5. The message of those two chapters is really the basis for everything else that we find in the book. In fact, the message of those two chapters is really the basis for everything on which we base our lives as Christians. We must know what these chapters use symbolic language to teach if we are to live hopeful Christian lives.
We should keep in mind that we are in the realm of symbolism in these chapters, just as we are in the rest of the book. As one writer has put it, “it is important to recognize that the descriptions are descriptions of symbols, not of the reality conveyed by the symbols” [Bruce M. Metzger, Breaking the Code: Understanding the Book of Revelation (Nashville: Abingdon, 1993), p. 14]. Reality is communicated by the symbols, but the symbol is not the reality. So, for instance, the resurrected Christ is not literally a lamb with seven horns and seven eyes. We should also keep in mind that we are in the realm of vision here. John had an intense visionary experience that, because he wrote it down, we are privileged to view.
Chapter 4 shows that God is worthy of worship and praise because of who he is and because of what he does. The vision John has is one of God sitting on his throne in the heavenly throne room. The heavenly throne room is a conception that is quite common in the OT. The visionary uses precious stones to symbolize the nature of God. The jasper and carnelian perhaps signify the holiness and judgment of God. John’s vision of a rainbow like an emerald around the throne probably indicates the mercy of God, since the rainbow in Jewish thinking was a sign of God’s promised mercy.
John sees worship taking place in heaven. The twenty-four elders who sit on twenty-four thrones and who are described in priestly and royal terms represent the totality of God’s people by combining the twelve patriarchs with the twelve apostles. They are joined around the throne by four living creatures that are the angelic counterparts of all of animated creation. Now, notice the worship service that continually takes place in heaven. The four living creatures constitute the choir, the worship leaders. They continually sing “Holy, holy, holy, the Lord God the Almighty, who was and is and is to come.” When they sing, the twenty-four elders bow down and also join in singing. They sing that God is worthy of honor and glory because he is the Creator.
The vision of the heavenly throne room continues in chapter 5. John sees a scroll in the hand of God. The scroll is sealed with seven seals. Later in the book, different scenes will unfold as each seal is opened. At this point, an angel’s question, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?” is at first left unanswered, at which John weeps. Why is the scroll so important? What is it? Eugene Peterson has suggested that the scroll represents Scripture. He said, “One of the great excitements and glories of Christian worship was that the preaching of Christ unsealed the scrolls of scripture” [Eugene H. Peterson, Reversed Thunder: the Revelation of John & the Praying Imagination (HarperSanFranciso, 1988), p. 64]. More likely, I think, is that the scroll contains God’s plan of judgment for the world and victory for his people. John weeps because if no one can open it, then the plan will remain unexecuted. But then John is told by one of the twenty-four elders not to cry because “the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals” (5:5). Now, those two titles are both drawn from the OT and both had accepted messianic connotations. So John would have been expecting to see a mighty Lion figure with great conquering powers who could take the scroll and rip it open.
Look at what he saw instead! He saw “a Lamb standing as if it had been slaughtered” (5:6). Now, we should note again that we are living in the world of symbolism. The Lamb represents Jesus, but Jesus does not literally look like a lamb. The meaning is that Jesus was sacrificed for our sins. He is worthy to open the scroll because of his sacrificial death. Slain lambs don’t stand, of course. But Jesus is the resurrected Lamb, so this slain Lamb does stand. The heavenly choir, made up of the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders, sings a new song, new because of the tremendous new thing that has happened. Jesus is worthy to open the scroll containing God’s redemptive purposes because he died, thereby making us saints and kings and priests. In short, he is worthy because he gave his life for us. He is worthy because his life and death and resurrection are such a vital part of God’s purpose.
The beautiful picture of chapter five shows us that God’s purposes are already being worked out. They began to unfold in new and in what would ultimately be final ways because of the sacrifice of Jesus. So we gain great encouragement from this picture. We learn that God not only will work his purposes out but also is working his purposes out. The book of God’s purposes for his people and for the world began to be opened in the saving ministry of Jesus.
The picture painted in chapters four and five teaches us something important about worship. There we see joyful worship intentionally offered up to God and to his Son Jesus Christ. The picture painted there says two things about our worship.
First, it says that our worship here on earth is a part of worship that goes on in heaven. That truth is communicated by this interesting note: each of the living creatures and each of the elders hold “golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints” (5:8). So when we pray down here, we are participating in the heavenly worship. We worship together with those who are there now. When the heavenly hosts worship the Lord, our prayers as the Christian community on earth participate in that worship.
Second, this picture gives us something to model our worship here after. Our worship should be focused on God as the Creator and on Jesus Christ as our Savior who holds the fulfillment of history in his hands. Our worship is not a spectator sport, nor is it a mere passing of the time. No, our worship is active participation in the great redemptive plan of God. We are a part of what God is doing, and we should participate with great gusto.
Finally, the picture in chapter five teaches us something very important about the way in which God works his purposes out. We absolutely must grasp the importance of the symbolic picture of Jesus here. He is the Lion who conquers as a slaughtered Lamb. Jesus’ victory over the forces of Satan and over the oppressive evils of the world came through his resurrection, to be sure, but it also came through his sacrificial death. This is the way of God: victory through sacrifice. That means that if we are to share in the victory of God in the world then we must also be people who live sacrificial lives. It is in the willful giving of ourselves to God and in the willful participation in sacrifice that we share in what he is doing. Why? Because then we are living Christ-like lives! Make no mistake about it, though: the slain Lamb who is Jesus Christ has conquered. So will those who are his.
So you see, the message of Revelation 4 & 5 really is the basis for everything else. It is the basis for everything else that will happen in the book: the Jesus who has conquered by his sacrificial death has the authority to unfold the rest of history according to God’s will. It is the basis for everything that we do as Christians, too. Why? Because everything we are and everything that we do must derive from the fact that we serve a crucified and risen Savior who bids us live a life like his. Will you live such a life from this day forward?
Saturday, July 25, 2009
The Allman Brothers, Providence, and Me
My friend Randy recently wrote about his experiences back in the 1970s with Richard Betts and the other members of the Allman Brothers Band; his essay was inspired by the fact that the Brothers' "Big House"--the place on Vineville Avenue in Macon, Georgia where they hung out during their heyday, will become an Allman Brothers museum at the end of this year. You should read his post to get the full effect of his story; the gist of it is that he got to spend some time playing music--"jamming" is how such folks put it--with the guys in the band at their farm that was located not far from the hometown that Randy and I shared--the city of Barnesville, Georgia.
In his post Randy wrote of how a mysterious figure that he calls "my buddy" and he spent time with the Allman Brothers Band at their rural retreat; I don't know for sure who his "buddy" was--although I have a pretty good idea--but the one thing I do know for certain is that Randy never took me with him to see the Allman Brothers, even though I was his "buddy" too.
Understand, now, that I have known Randy for all my life. I was born a year after him and so we were never in the same class at school but Barnesville was one of those towns where everybody knew everybody and Randy and I knew each other well. Our main point of contact was the beloved Midway Baptist Church which both of our families attended.
We were friends, Randy and I, who shared many interests and many experiences.
But we did not share in getting to know the Allman Brothers Band because Randy did not take me with him.
Now, I did know that Randy had been to the Allmans' farm; he mentioned it when we were roommates at Mercer University, but I thought that he meant that he had been down there one time. It was only when I read his post that I learned that he actually went there numerous times.
Did I mention that he never took me with him?
Wounded as I was by this revelation, I left several comments on Randy's post expressing my disappointment that he had never taken me to meet the band. I did note my acceptance of the fact that that part of his world was not a place where I really belonged; I did not play in a band like Randy did and I was admittedly and regrettably square during my teenage years (yeah, some things never change).
Taken aback and no doubt shamed by my grief-filled and anger-fueled diatribes, Randy finally told me in an email, "If--and only if--you're good between now and November we'll go to the Big House together. Just you and me. And we'll pretend it's 1975. You can drive the Comet and I'll drive the Monte Carlo. It'll be great."
Touched to the point of being teary, I readily accepted Randy's invitation. Besides, his email made it crystal clear to me why he was in the with the Allmans and I wasn't--he drove a Monte Carlo while I drove a Comet! Some things just have to be accepted. As my good wife tells me, "It is what it is."
It also was what it was.
In the great scheme of things it makes no difference, anyway. What if I had been a guitar player and what if I had been in a band with Randy and what if I had gotten to meet and even to jam with the Allman Brothers Band--or even with Wet Willie, for that matter? I truly believe that my life would have turned out very much like it did. I would have still been a Christian; I would have still gone to Mercer; I would have still met and married Debra; I would have still become father to Joshua and Sara; I would have still been a preacher and pastor--those were the ways that were meant to be for me and those truths about me make up who I was supposed to be and, indeed, who I am.
But I'm still just a little bit bummed.
"Why?" you may well be asking.
Once upon a time, Dr. Hook and the Medicine Show had a big hit with the Shel Silverstein-penned "Cover of the Rolling Stone" in which they sang, "We keep getting richer but we can't get our picture on the cover of the Rolling Stone." Well, they did.
As for me, I don't want to be on the cover of the Rolling Stone. But I am haunted by the possibility that, had my buddy Randy included me in his Allman Brothers adventures, I just might have been included in the picture of the Brothers and their extended family that graced the inside of their classic album Brothers and Sisters.
Believe me, I would not have stood out at all!
So, my brother Randy, I want you to know that all is forgiven--unless you tell me that you're in that picture, in which case I'll have to be peeved all over again.
Regardless--Big House, here we come!
In his post Randy wrote of how a mysterious figure that he calls "my buddy" and he spent time with the Allman Brothers Band at their rural retreat; I don't know for sure who his "buddy" was--although I have a pretty good idea--but the one thing I do know for certain is that Randy never took me with him to see the Allman Brothers, even though I was his "buddy" too.
Understand, now, that I have known Randy for all my life. I was born a year after him and so we were never in the same class at school but Barnesville was one of those towns where everybody knew everybody and Randy and I knew each other well. Our main point of contact was the beloved Midway Baptist Church which both of our families attended.
We were friends, Randy and I, who shared many interests and many experiences.
But we did not share in getting to know the Allman Brothers Band because Randy did not take me with him.
Now, I did know that Randy had been to the Allmans' farm; he mentioned it when we were roommates at Mercer University, but I thought that he meant that he had been down there one time. It was only when I read his post that I learned that he actually went there numerous times.
Did I mention that he never took me with him?
Wounded as I was by this revelation, I left several comments on Randy's post expressing my disappointment that he had never taken me to meet the band. I did note my acceptance of the fact that that part of his world was not a place where I really belonged; I did not play in a band like Randy did and I was admittedly and regrettably square during my teenage years (yeah, some things never change).
Taken aback and no doubt shamed by my grief-filled and anger-fueled diatribes, Randy finally told me in an email, "If--and only if--you're good between now and November we'll go to the Big House together. Just you and me. And we'll pretend it's 1975. You can drive the Comet and I'll drive the Monte Carlo. It'll be great."
Touched to the point of being teary, I readily accepted Randy's invitation. Besides, his email made it crystal clear to me why he was in the with the Allmans and I wasn't--he drove a Monte Carlo while I drove a Comet! Some things just have to be accepted. As my good wife tells me, "It is what it is."
It also was what it was.
In the great scheme of things it makes no difference, anyway. What if I had been a guitar player and what if I had been in a band with Randy and what if I had gotten to meet and even to jam with the Allman Brothers Band--or even with Wet Willie, for that matter? I truly believe that my life would have turned out very much like it did. I would have still been a Christian; I would have still gone to Mercer; I would have still met and married Debra; I would have still become father to Joshua and Sara; I would have still been a preacher and pastor--those were the ways that were meant to be for me and those truths about me make up who I was supposed to be and, indeed, who I am.
But I'm still just a little bit bummed.
"Why?" you may well be asking.
Once upon a time, Dr. Hook and the Medicine Show had a big hit with the Shel Silverstein-penned "Cover of the Rolling Stone" in which they sang, "We keep getting richer but we can't get our picture on the cover of the Rolling Stone." Well, they did.
As for me, I don't want to be on the cover of the Rolling Stone. But I am haunted by the possibility that, had my buddy Randy included me in his Allman Brothers adventures, I just might have been included in the picture of the Brothers and their extended family that graced the inside of their classic album Brothers and Sisters.
Believe me, I would not have stood out at all!
So, my brother Randy, I want you to know that all is forgiven--unless you tell me that you're in that picture, in which case I'll have to be peeved all over again.
Regardless--Big House, here we come!
Thursday, July 23, 2009
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