Friday, December 29, 2006
Tuesday, December 26, 2006
Death in the city - Chapter three
Death in the City – Chapter Three: The Message of Judgment
Schaeffer continues his look at Jeremiah, the weeping prophet. Just as he wept, we too must weep over our church and culture. Neither Jeremiah’s life nor his message was easy. So must our message be. Schaeffer writes: “Christianity is not romantic, not soft. It is tough-fibered and realistic. And the Bible gives us the realistic message I am convinced the church today must preach if it is to be any help in the post-Christian world.” Such a message will make us unpopular both in the church and in the culture.
In Jeremiah’s day there was much external religiosity, but the people had turned away from God to other things. Thus, He rejected their offerings and sacrifices. “When men turn away from the propositional revelation of God, it destroys the acceptability of our worship to God. We are not jousting over abstract theological terms. We are dealing with a question of believing God and believing his revealed truth.”
Jeremiah also rebuked the people’s apostasy. This is the hallmark of our current generation and shows up in the church as relativism. “Men no longer believe that there are absolutes, and more and more it has become the accepted thing not to speak the truth….As men have turned away from God, who alone gives a basis for absolutes in truth, men have become untruthful and hypocritical with each other.”
Jeremiah also rebuked the people for looking to the world for help, everywhere except to God. But that help failed. In the same way the church today looks elsewhere, to mere psychology, to new theology. Schaeffer is adamant that we must look directly to God for help. “It must be the Lord’s work done in the Lord’s way.”
As a result, Jeremiah’s message to the Jews was: utter destruction. “When men turn away from God, the city becomes the city of destruction.” Jeremiah 9:11 says, “I will make Jerusalem a heap of ruins, a haunt of jackals; and I will lay waste the towns of Judah so no one can live there.”
Schaeffer concludes: “Our generation needs to be told that man cannot disregard God, that a culture like ours that has had such light and then has deliberately turned away stands under God’s judgment. God is a god of grace, but the other side of the coin of grace is judgment. If God is there, if God is holy (and we need a holy god or we have no absolutes), there must be judgment….The final reality is that God is really there….But does your Christianity end with something less than God who is there?
Schaeffer continues his look at Jeremiah, the weeping prophet. Just as he wept, we too must weep over our church and culture. Neither Jeremiah’s life nor his message was easy. So must our message be. Schaeffer writes: “Christianity is not romantic, not soft. It is tough-fibered and realistic. And the Bible gives us the realistic message I am convinced the church today must preach if it is to be any help in the post-Christian world.” Such a message will make us unpopular both in the church and in the culture.
In Jeremiah’s day there was much external religiosity, but the people had turned away from God to other things. Thus, He rejected their offerings and sacrifices. “When men turn away from the propositional revelation of God, it destroys the acceptability of our worship to God. We are not jousting over abstract theological terms. We are dealing with a question of believing God and believing his revealed truth.”
Jeremiah also rebuked the people’s apostasy. This is the hallmark of our current generation and shows up in the church as relativism. “Men no longer believe that there are absolutes, and more and more it has become the accepted thing not to speak the truth….As men have turned away from God, who alone gives a basis for absolutes in truth, men have become untruthful and hypocritical with each other.”
Jeremiah also rebuked the people for looking to the world for help, everywhere except to God. But that help failed. In the same way the church today looks elsewhere, to mere psychology, to new theology. Schaeffer is adamant that we must look directly to God for help. “It must be the Lord’s work done in the Lord’s way.”
As a result, Jeremiah’s message to the Jews was: utter destruction. “When men turn away from God, the city becomes the city of destruction.” Jeremiah 9:11 says, “I will make Jerusalem a heap of ruins, a haunt of jackals; and I will lay waste the towns of Judah so no one can live there.”
Schaeffer concludes: “Our generation needs to be told that man cannot disregard God, that a culture like ours that has had such light and then has deliberately turned away stands under God’s judgment. God is a god of grace, but the other side of the coin of grace is judgment. If God is there, if God is holy (and we need a holy god or we have no absolutes), there must be judgment….The final reality is that God is really there….But does your Christianity end with something less than God who is there?
Thursday, December 21, 2006
Favourite Christmas Hymn
Hark the Herald Angels Sing
This is without a doubt the greatest Christmas hymn written. It cuts through all the clutter (no cattle lowing, no angels with golden harps, no rustic little towns, no narrative of wise men or shepherds – not that there’s anything wrong with these things, but the hymn gives us the main point of it all). What’s the main point? God with us. God saves us. God for us. As C.S. Lewis wrote: “The Son of God became a man to enable men to become sons of God.”
Hark! The herald angels sing,
“Glory to the newborn King;
Peace on earth, and mercy mild,
God and sinners reconciled!”
Joyful, all ye nations rise,
Join the triumph of the skies;
With th’angelic host proclaim,
“Christ is born in Bethlehem!”
Refrain
Hark! the herald angels sing,“Glory to the newborn King!”
Christ, by highest Heav’n adored;
Christ the everlasting Lord;
Late in time, behold Him come,
Offspring of a virgin’s womb.
Veiled in flesh the Godhead see;
Hail th’incarnate Deity,
Pleased with us in flesh to dwell,
Jesus our Emmanuel.
Refrain
Hail the heav’nly Prince of Peace!
Hail the Sun of Righteousness!
Light and life to all He brings,
Ris’n with healing in His wings.
Mild He lays His glory by,
Born that man no more may die.
Born to raise the sons of earth,
Born to give them second birth.
Refrain
Come, Desire of nations, come,
Fix in us Thy humble home;
Rise, the woman’s conqu’ring Seed,
Bruise in us the serpent’s head.
Now display Thy saving power,
Ruined nature now restore;
Now in mystic union join
Thine to ours, and ours to Thine.
Refrain
Adam’s likeness, Lord, efface,
Stamp Thine image in its place:
Second Adam from above,
Reinstate us in Thy love.
Let us Thee, though lost, regain,
Thee, the Life, the inner man:
O, to all Thyself impart,
Formed in each believing heart.
Refrain
This is without a doubt the greatest Christmas hymn written. It cuts through all the clutter (no cattle lowing, no angels with golden harps, no rustic little towns, no narrative of wise men or shepherds – not that there’s anything wrong with these things, but the hymn gives us the main point of it all). What’s the main point? God with us. God saves us. God for us. As C.S. Lewis wrote: “The Son of God became a man to enable men to become sons of God.”
Hark! The herald angels sing,
“Glory to the newborn King;
Peace on earth, and mercy mild,
God and sinners reconciled!”
Joyful, all ye nations rise,
Join the triumph of the skies;
With th’angelic host proclaim,
“Christ is born in Bethlehem!”
Refrain
Hark! the herald angels sing,“Glory to the newborn King!”
Christ, by highest Heav’n adored;
Christ the everlasting Lord;
Late in time, behold Him come,
Offspring of a virgin’s womb.
Veiled in flesh the Godhead see;
Hail th’incarnate Deity,
Pleased with us in flesh to dwell,
Jesus our Emmanuel.
Refrain
Hail the heav’nly Prince of Peace!
Hail the Sun of Righteousness!
Light and life to all He brings,
Ris’n with healing in His wings.
Mild He lays His glory by,
Born that man no more may die.
Born to raise the sons of earth,
Born to give them second birth.
Refrain
Come, Desire of nations, come,
Fix in us Thy humble home;
Rise, the woman’s conqu’ring Seed,
Bruise in us the serpent’s head.
Now display Thy saving power,
Ruined nature now restore;
Now in mystic union join
Thine to ours, and ours to Thine.
Refrain
Adam’s likeness, Lord, efface,
Stamp Thine image in its place:
Second Adam from above,
Reinstate us in Thy love.
Let us Thee, though lost, regain,
Thee, the Life, the inner man:
O, to all Thyself impart,
Formed in each believing heart.
Refrain
Wednesday, December 20, 2006
The Christmas Star
There have been many theories regarding the star of Bethlehem. I happen to think that Michael Molnar's theory is the best one.
Will's way with words
Why do people like Shakespeare?
And what would it be like to be insulted by him? (of course I would never say such things to a person...though I might write them...anonymously...)
And what would it be like to be insulted by him? (of course I would never say such things to a person...though I might write them...anonymously...)
Monday, December 18, 2006
Death in the City - Chapter Two: The Loneliness of Man
The current generation has a hunger for meaning in life (this seems to apply as much today as is did in 1968). Unfortunately, the “dust of death” is everywhere. They hunger for meaning because they have forgotten their main purpose in life. To quote the Westminster Shorter Catechism, our chief purpose is “To glorify God and to enjoy Him forever.” Both parts of that succinct statement are needed. Since we’re made in His image, genuine fulfillment can only be in reference to God which brings about an “affirmation of life”. In Christianity the whole man needs fulfillment. This is unlike Platonism where the soul finds final fulfillment and the body is minimized.
Even though, like today’s generation, the Jews of Jeremiah’s day turned away from the true God, they at least turned to idols, recognizing that there was something out there. Only recent modern generations have turned away to God to a belief in a purely materialistic universe. But this means we’ve turned away from the only one who can comfort us and bring meaning, the infinite-personal God who is there.
What are the consequences of turning away from God? Not only the loss of individuals but the loss of our culture. Insofar as the culture was built on Reformation principles, turning away brings death to the city. Schaeffer quotes Lamentations 1:19. “I called to my lovers but they deceived me; my priests and elders perished in the city while seeking food to revive their strength”. He extends the word “city” to include the concept of “polis”, the sociological group or culture.
But what sort of death will this be? It manifests itself most sharply in the form of loneliness. If we reject God, believing that there is no God, then there is no purpose for man’s existence. He is surrounded by thousands or millions of others in the city and yet he is lonely.
He concludes, “In Jeremiah’s day God worked into history upon the basis of His character, and He continues to do so….God judged [the Jews] as they had turned away from Him. He will do the same in our generation.”
Even though, like today’s generation, the Jews of Jeremiah’s day turned away from the true God, they at least turned to idols, recognizing that there was something out there. Only recent modern generations have turned away to God to a belief in a purely materialistic universe. But this means we’ve turned away from the only one who can comfort us and bring meaning, the infinite-personal God who is there.
What are the consequences of turning away from God? Not only the loss of individuals but the loss of our culture. Insofar as the culture was built on Reformation principles, turning away brings death to the city. Schaeffer quotes Lamentations 1:19. “I called to my lovers but they deceived me; my priests and elders perished in the city while seeking food to revive their strength”. He extends the word “city” to include the concept of “polis”, the sociological group or culture.
But what sort of death will this be? It manifests itself most sharply in the form of loneliness. If we reject God, believing that there is no God, then there is no purpose for man’s existence. He is surrounded by thousands or millions of others in the city and yet he is lonely.
He concludes, “In Jeremiah’s day God worked into history upon the basis of His character, and He continues to do so….God judged [the Jews] as they had turned away from Him. He will do the same in our generation.”
Saturday, December 16, 2006
Favourite Hymn #10
O Come, O Come Emmanuel
O come, O come, Emmanuel,
And ransom captive Israel,
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear.
Refrain
Rejoice! Rejoice!Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.
O come, Thou Wisdom from on high,
Who orderest all things mightily;
To us the path of knowledge show,
And teach us in her ways to go.
Refrain
O come, Thou Rod of Jesse, free
Thine own from Satan’s tyranny;
From depths of hell Thy people save,
And give them victory over the grave.
Refrain
O come, Thou Day-spring, come and cheer
Our spirits by Thine advent here;
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night,
And death’s dark shadows put to flight.
Refrain
O come, Thou Key of David, come,
And open wide our heavenly home;
Make safe the way that leads on high,
And close the path to misery.
Refrain
O come, O come, great Lord of might,
Who to Thy tribes on Sinai’s height
In ancient times once gave the law
In cloud and majesty and awe.
Refrain
O come, Thou Root of Jesse’s tree,
An ensign of Thy people be;
Before Thee rulers silent fall;
All peoples on Thy mercy call.
Refrain
O come, Desire of nations, bind
In one the hearts of all mankind;
Bid Thou our sad divisions cease,
And be Thyself our King of Peace.
Refrain
O come, O come, Emmanuel,
And ransom captive Israel,
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear.
Refrain
Rejoice! Rejoice!Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.
O come, Thou Wisdom from on high,
Who orderest all things mightily;
To us the path of knowledge show,
And teach us in her ways to go.
Refrain
O come, Thou Rod of Jesse, free
Thine own from Satan’s tyranny;
From depths of hell Thy people save,
And give them victory over the grave.
Refrain
O come, Thou Day-spring, come and cheer
Our spirits by Thine advent here;
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night,
And death’s dark shadows put to flight.
Refrain
O come, Thou Key of David, come,
And open wide our heavenly home;
Make safe the way that leads on high,
And close the path to misery.
Refrain
O come, O come, great Lord of might,
Who to Thy tribes on Sinai’s height
In ancient times once gave the law
In cloud and majesty and awe.
Refrain
O come, Thou Root of Jesse’s tree,
An ensign of Thy people be;
Before Thee rulers silent fall;
All peoples on Thy mercy call.
Refrain
O come, Desire of nations, bind
In one the hearts of all mankind;
Bid Thou our sad divisions cease,
And be Thyself our King of Peace.
Refrain
Sunday, December 10, 2006
Death in the City - chapter one
Death in the City by Francis Schaeffer (IVP, 1968)
Chapter One
This book is an adaptation of a series of lectures Schaeffer gave at Wheaton College in 1968. He starts the book with the question: How should orthodox, bible-believing Christians view life in a post-Christian world? His goal is to attempt to answer this question through the lens of Jeremiah, Lamentations and Romans.
To those who long for revival, Schaeffer offers this corrective: “There cannot be true revival unless there has been reformation.” He also admits that reformation is incomplete in the absence of revival. The two go together. He writes: “Reformation refers to a restoration to pure doctrine; revival refers to a restoration in the Christian’s life.”
He lays the blame for the directionless and morally bankrupt nature of our society on human foolishness. Quoting Romans 1:21-22, “Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither gave thanks; but became vain in their reasoning”. This foolishness in rejecting God is not merely religious foolishness, but intellectual foolishness. Man has taken a position that is out of step with what he, if he really examines things carefully, knows to be true about the universe. Thus, he is left in a position of intellectual and personal tensions. He laments that, while humans have always turned from God, the speed with which western society has rejected God in his own generation is remarkable.
His phrase “post-Christian”, is now part of the evangelical lexicon. In the generation before his, Christians could have had common ground on which to discuss question of value, ethics, and religion; but in the course of a generation, western (European/North American) culture has abandoned its cultural, religious and intellectual heritage.
He sums up the result of this rejection with strong words: Western culture is under the wrath of God.
There is currently a popular praise song called “Days of Elijah”. Schaeffer, however, believes that we are living in the day of Jeremiah. He writes: “The book of Jeremiah and…Lamentations show how God looks at a culture that knew Him and deliberately turned away. But this is not just the character of Jeremiah’s day of apostasy. It’s my day. It’s your day.”
How does God judge? Unlike Zeus who throws down thunderbolts, God can directly intervene or he can simply turn away, letting the natural course of history do what it has always done. Egypt, Babylon, Persia, Greece, Rome. These are the civilizations that make up the detritus of history. Western culture is in danger of the same fate. He concludes the chapter with this statement: “As the Jews of Jeremiah’s day were hungry for bread and had no comforter, our post-christian world is hungry in state and society and in the individual longings of the heart, for it too has turned in our own day from the only sufficient Comforter.”
Chapter One
This book is an adaptation of a series of lectures Schaeffer gave at Wheaton College in 1968. He starts the book with the question: How should orthodox, bible-believing Christians view life in a post-Christian world? His goal is to attempt to answer this question through the lens of Jeremiah, Lamentations and Romans.
To those who long for revival, Schaeffer offers this corrective: “There cannot be true revival unless there has been reformation.” He also admits that reformation is incomplete in the absence of revival. The two go together. He writes: “Reformation refers to a restoration to pure doctrine; revival refers to a restoration in the Christian’s life.”
He lays the blame for the directionless and morally bankrupt nature of our society on human foolishness. Quoting Romans 1:21-22, “Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither gave thanks; but became vain in their reasoning”. This foolishness in rejecting God is not merely religious foolishness, but intellectual foolishness. Man has taken a position that is out of step with what he, if he really examines things carefully, knows to be true about the universe. Thus, he is left in a position of intellectual and personal tensions. He laments that, while humans have always turned from God, the speed with which western society has rejected God in his own generation is remarkable.
His phrase “post-Christian”, is now part of the evangelical lexicon. In the generation before his, Christians could have had common ground on which to discuss question of value, ethics, and religion; but in the course of a generation, western (European/North American) culture has abandoned its cultural, religious and intellectual heritage.
He sums up the result of this rejection with strong words: Western culture is under the wrath of God.
There is currently a popular praise song called “Days of Elijah”. Schaeffer, however, believes that we are living in the day of Jeremiah. He writes: “The book of Jeremiah and…Lamentations show how God looks at a culture that knew Him and deliberately turned away. But this is not just the character of Jeremiah’s day of apostasy. It’s my day. It’s your day.”
How does God judge? Unlike Zeus who throws down thunderbolts, God can directly intervene or he can simply turn away, letting the natural course of history do what it has always done. Egypt, Babylon, Persia, Greece, Rome. These are the civilizations that make up the detritus of history. Western culture is in danger of the same fate. He concludes the chapter with this statement: “As the Jews of Jeremiah’s day were hungry for bread and had no comforter, our post-christian world is hungry in state and society and in the individual longings of the heart, for it too has turned in our own day from the only sufficient Comforter.”
Friday, December 01, 2006
Favourite Hymn #11
O God Our Help in Ages Past
O God, our help in ages past,
Our hope for years to come,
Our shelter from the stormy blast,
And our eternal home.
Under the shadow of Thy throne
Thy saints have dwelt secure;
Sufficient is Thine arm alone,
And our defense is sure.
Before the hills in order stood,
Or earth received her frame,
From everlasting Thou art God,
To endless years the same.
Thy Word commands our flesh to dust,
“Return, ye sons of men:”
All nations rose from earth at first,
And turn to earth again.
A thousand ages in Thy sight
Are like an evening gone;
Short as the watch that ends the night
Before the rising sun.
The busy tribes of flesh and blood,
With all their lives and cares,
Are carried downwards by the flood,
And lost in following years.
Time, like an ever rolling stream,
Bears all its sons away;
They fly, forgotten, as a dream
Dies at the opening day.
Like flowery fields the nations stand
Pleased with the morning light;
The flowers beneath the mower’s hand
Lie withering ere ‘tis night.
O God, our help in ages past,
Our hope for years to come,
Be Thou our guard while troubles last,
And our eternal home.
O God, our help in ages past,
Our hope for years to come,
Our shelter from the stormy blast,
And our eternal home.
Under the shadow of Thy throne
Thy saints have dwelt secure;
Sufficient is Thine arm alone,
And our defense is sure.
Before the hills in order stood,
Or earth received her frame,
From everlasting Thou art God,
To endless years the same.
Thy Word commands our flesh to dust,
“Return, ye sons of men:”
All nations rose from earth at first,
And turn to earth again.
A thousand ages in Thy sight
Are like an evening gone;
Short as the watch that ends the night
Before the rising sun.
The busy tribes of flesh and blood,
With all their lives and cares,
Are carried downwards by the flood,
And lost in following years.
Time, like an ever rolling stream,
Bears all its sons away;
They fly, forgotten, as a dream
Dies at the opening day.
Like flowery fields the nations stand
Pleased with the morning light;
The flowers beneath the mower’s hand
Lie withering ere ‘tis night.
O God, our help in ages past,
Our hope for years to come,
Be Thou our guard while troubles last,
And our eternal home.
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