tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-55005798479934230932024-03-13T07:16:05.281-05:00Lutheran ReformissionAt times in Christian thought, the priorities of pure doctrine and passionate mission have been perceived as opposites on a spectrum where emphasis on one results in neglect of the other, but without one, the other is deficient and doomed to crumble. Mission without doctrine is like a body without a skeleton, but apart from mission, doctrine is like dry bones in a museum. A Lutheran Reformission maintains a dual emphasis, resulting in doctrinal missions as well as missional doctrine.<p></p>Rev. Jason P. Petersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02559555598308652106noreply@blogger.comBlogger205125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5500579847993423093.post-21421671659139318032023-11-30T08:02:00.001-06:002024-02-01T08:04:23.213-06:00What Does the Bible Say about Modern Israel?<p>With recent events in the Middle East, we are seeing diverse
reactions among Christians related to the modern nation called Israel. While many of these reactions are made confidently
and enthusiastically, they also include diverse forms of confusion regarding
what the Bible really has to say about the modern Israeli state. </p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">In reality, Scripture says nothing at all about the modern
Israeli state.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Instead, the perspective
of Scripture, and of the first 19 centuries of Christian theologians, was that
Israel was always the Church, and the Church has always been Israel.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This isn’t some sort of “replacement
theology,” as some would accuse, because this does not assert that one has
replaced the other, but that since the moment God called Abraham in Genesis,
they have been one in the same.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The message of the entire book of Hebrews is that the
temple, priesthood, law, and nation of Israel were all pointing us forward to
Jesus, and are ultimately fulfilled in Jesus, and the book of Romans repeatedly
shows that ancestry creates no special status with God, and it is trust in
Jesus which saves even those descended from Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>God’s people are those who trust in Jesus,
whether they do so beforehand, in anticipation of His coming, or by trusting in
the accomplished fact of His death and resurrection, regardless of ancestry or
geography.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">For a finite time, a particular geographic location and
ancestry largely characterized God’s people, but even during that time their
land and genealogy were not exclusive.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Consider the example of Old Testament saints like Rahab and Ruth or the
Israelites who were scattered across nations while still hoping in the coming
Savior.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Consider that at the time of
Elijah, God says that there were only 7000 among them (those who had not given
in to idolatry) who were His people, or the Babylonians, Persians, Greeks, Romans,
British, and others who ruled that land between the time of Jeremiah the
prophet and the present day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">It was only in the 1840s that a man named John Nelson Darby
first invented the idea that the end times involved a restored earthly nation
in that land.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When a nation sharing the
name and location of Israel was founded in the wake of World War II, followers
of his new teaching began to spread the idea that it was coming into
fulfillment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Whatever good reasons, from geopolitical strategy to mercy
for those harmed by war, we might have for supporting this earthly nation, let
us not be deceived by this only 150 year old notion that there is any spiritual
or eschatological significance divinely associated with our secular ally who is
currently under attack.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>Rev. Jason P. Petersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02559555598308652106noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5500579847993423093.post-41011455128722221362022-04-21T15:13:00.001-05:002022-05-11T15:14:03.939-05:00Easter - Ascension - Pentecost<p> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Now that Resurrection Sunday has concluded, the average
person probably thinks to the civic holidays of Summer (Memorial Day,
Independence Day, Labor Day) as the next highlights on the calendar, and
Christmas as the next big religious event.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>However, for the historic Church, the day that we English-speakers call
Easter was really just the beginning of about 2 months of feasts and festivals
remembering major events in the post-Resurrection life of Jesus and the birth
of the Christian Church.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">We just began to celebrate the historic fact that after Jesus
died on Friday afternoon, He rose to life again on Sunday morning, because Easter
Sunday actually serves as merely the kick-off to an eight-week celebration of
the Resurrection.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The 8 weeks represent
the “8<sup>th</sup> Day” of the New Creation which is promised in Scripture and
initiated in the resurrection of Jesus, and many of the readings for these
Sundays show the events in which Jesus appeared to his disciples (Luke 24, John
20-21), other eyewitnesses, and even a crowd of hundreds (1 Corinthians 15)<br />
<br />
40 days into this Easter season is the Feast of the Ascension, observing the
day 40 days after the Resurrection when, while Jesus was talking with His
disciples, Jesus began to be lifted up, and a cloud hid Him from the sight of
the disciples.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Other New Testament
passages speak of Jesus as presently being ascended into Heaven and that He is
“seated at the right hand of God the Father…” as Christians confess in the
Apostles’ Creed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Finally, on the 50<sup>th</sup> day after the Resurrection,
the disciples appeared in Jerusalem, proclaiming the resurrected Christ as the
fulfillment of Old Testament prophesy in a miraculous event where they were
understood by pilgrims of numerous languages and homelands, marking the birth of
Church by the Baptism of 3000 people, which is celebrated by Christians as
Pentecost.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Before Jesus died, He had promised His disciples that after
He had risen, He would send the Holy Spirit to guide them and remind them of
the things He had said (John 14-16), and just before He ascended, He again
promised to send the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:8).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Through the Church, born on Pentecost, He fulfills these promises, which
the rest of the New Testament urges us to seek out in the proclamation of
Scripture, in Baptism, and in the Lord’s Supper, occurring in the gathering of
other Christians, and through which the Holy Spirit causes people to trust in
Jesus.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Thanks be to God for this rich observance of our Lord’s
resurrected life in the heritage of the Church, which we continue to receive,
even nearly 20 centuries after the original events. <o:p></o:p></span></p>Rev. Jason P. Petersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02559555598308652106noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5500579847993423093.post-56539090964560442722021-12-30T15:08:00.001-06:002022-05-11T15:12:09.294-05:00"...in Jesus' name"<p> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Under the Old Testament law, infant boys were commanded to be
circumcised on the 8<sup>th</sup> day after birth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was also custom that they would formally
be named at the time of their circumcision.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Because of this, the Church Year observes the Feast of the “Circumcision
and Name of Jesus” on January 1 (or the evening of December 31), which is the 8<sup>th</sup>
day after we celebrate His birth on Christmas.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In the Gospels, the adult Jesus frequently speaks of those
who trust in Him doing things such as praying, preaching, gathering, and other
actions “in my name,” and the epistles will also speak frequently of the name
of Jesus.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In light of this, we English
speakers might hastily jump to the conclusion that there is some spiritual
power to be exercised simply by speaking the syllables of the name Jesus in
these settings.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Jesus, however, is promising something far greater than
this.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the Old Testament we frequently
see the phrase “Name of the <span style="font-variant: small-caps;">Lord</span>”
used.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That name is the one given to
Moses at the Burning Bush—YHWH, or as we sometimes see it in English, “I
am.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In light of the commandment not to
misuse the Lord’s name, the people of Israel eventually came to never speak it
out loud and would instead substitute “Adonai” (which means Lord) or “Ha-shem”
(the Hebrew words for “the Name”) when reading it out loud.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Later in the New Testament, St. Paul will
proclaim the simple creed, “Jesus is <span style="font-variant: small-caps;">Lord</span>.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In saying that, Paul is not making the
assertion that Jesus is simply our master, but rather that “Jesus is YHWH”,
eternal God with the Father.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">So Jesus is promising something far greater than the ability to
use His name as a magical incantation or to assure our prayers are heard simply
because we concluded them with a formula including His name.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After all, if this were the case, we would
have the trouble of figuring out whether we should go back to the Hebrew
Yeshua, its English equivalent Joshua, or the Greek Iesus or whether it’s ok to
use the anglicized rendering Jesus.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Instead, Jesus and St. Paul are assuring those who hear and
read these promises that those who rely on Jesus are relying on God Himself,
and those who trust in the promises of Jesus are trusting the promises of the
Triune God Himself—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As a result, those who pray trusting in Jesus
have access to YHWH Himself, and those who gather around the proclamation of Jesus
are proclaiming and receiving the same God who is their creator, who took on
human flesh to be our Savior, and who still comes today in His Word and
Sacraments.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>Rev. Jason P. Petersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02559555598308652106noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5500579847993423093.post-50196265382788153032021-10-07T14:37:00.000-05:002022-05-11T15:08:04.436-05:00"...know that I am the Lord."<p> <span style="font-size: 12pt;">“You will know that I am the Lord”</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">
<br />
God stating that someone will “…know that [He is] the Lord” is a familiar refrain for those who read the
Bible even casually. Chances are that
this language probably brings to mind a picture of God’s vengeance for most who
hear it. In fact, the most famous
cultural reference to this Biblical phrase comes from a movie almost 30 years
ago where one of the main characters, a hitman, paraphrases Ezekiel 25:17 as
the last words his victims hear before death, saying, “And I will I will strike
down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger… and you will know I am the Lord when I lay my
vengeance upon you!”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The Old Testament speaks of those who will “know that I am
the Lord” 88 times. Mostly in Ezekiel
and Exodus. In a few cases, such as the
prophesy against Philistia quoted above, and the promises to defeat Pharoah in
Exodus, these words are a reference to the defeated knowing God’s
vengeance. However, it is more commonly
a sign of God’s mercy and rescue for His people instead.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Sometimes it is Israel knowing that He is the Lord. Other times it is the nations knowing that He
is the Lord, so that they might turn to trust in Him, when they witness Israel
being rescued. Never, though, is it
merely directed vengeance executed for its own sake, nor is he achieving
victory for His own sake. Instead, whoever
is to know that He is the Lord, it is in the act of rescuing His people, and
His victory is on their behalf. In His
rescue of those He has chosen, He is known.
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></p>
<span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">The
ultimate victory in which He is known is in the cross and resurrection of
Jesus. While we might long for the kind
of the displays Israel repeatedly witnessed throughout her history by which the
Lord was made known, those served only to foreshadow the greater rescue which
He would achieve in the cross of Christ and greater victory which would be
displayed when Jesus rose from the dead.
That greatest victory is the foundation upon which all truth is built,
and the assurance that God will rescue all who rely on Him from the penalty for
sin and give them instead the eternal, resurrected life which is promised to
all who trust in Jesus.<br />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br />
<!--[endif]--></span>Rev. Jason P. Petersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02559555598308652106noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5500579847993423093.post-50356502995987697642021-08-26T14:34:00.002-05:002022-05-11T14:35:34.919-05:00Heritage and Truth<p> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">It would probably be safe to conclude that everyone agrees
that the church should have a concern for truth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Our history in the English-speaking world,
not to mention some modern-day yard sign battles, might indicate a divergence
about what that truth consists of, but that divergence actually highlights the
common understanding that the church is concerned with truth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">At one time, it was also commonly understood that the church
had a concern for heritage.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some might
see the term tradition, when referring to this heritage, as derogatory, but the
term as used in Scripture simply means that which has been handed down.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was used to refer to the teaching of the
apostles, as it was handed down to their students, and as they recorded it in
their writings, but it also referred to the heritage of the way they conducted
themselves as the church gathered.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In fact, the apostles had such reverence for what had been
handed down that they retained many practices from the synagogue as they began
to gather around preaching and the Sacraments after Pentecost.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If your congregation follows a Church Year
(whether just Christmas and Easter or a fuller calendar), if you hear a series
of three readings on Sunday, or if you sing a canticle in the Communion liturgy
called the Sanctus, which begins with the words “Holy, holy, holy” from Isaiah
6, these are just a few examples where you witness elements which go back not
just to the apostles, but which they and Jesus would have experienced in the
synagogue during Jesus’ earthly ministry.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">At the time of the Reformation, the question of how to handle
this heritage emerged.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some advocated
keeping what was handed down to them, only editing where necessary to remove
error that had arisen, while others chose to build new forms and orders, after
which later generations of those streams largely repeated the effort.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><br />
<br />
Advocates for constant novelty in the church often have good intentions,
seeking to avoid thoughtless repetition and encourage sincere expression, but
notice how unique this is in human experience.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Opening ceremonies of sporting events, the awarding of Olympic medals,
academic graduations, never face such accusations, but rather we largely
embrace what has been handed down because it teaches and assimilates those who
observe and engage in the event.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How
much more appropriate when that tradition carries eternal truth to those who
participate!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><br /></p>Rev. Jason P. Petersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02559555598308652106noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5500579847993423093.post-70465723847075915412021-07-15T14:31:00.000-05:002022-05-11T15:08:44.176-05:00The Vocation of Matryoshka<p> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Several weeks ago, as St. Peter’s and
a number of other congregations in greater Grand Rapids joined forces to raise
funds to support a seminary in Siberia, we had a number of Russian Matryoshka
dolls that we would sometimes give to donors or volunteers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Having a genuine Matryoshka doll in hand for
the first time caused me to recall an illustration I had frequently used them
to make while teaching in the past.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">That is that the various roles we
serve in human life, also known as vocation, serve to reveal insights into the
relationship between our Creator and humanity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The clearest instance of this is in marriage as Paul describes in
Ephesians 5, saying, “…it refers to Christ and the Church,” and another
frequent and familiar example is the reference to God as Father.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The roles we hold in family, church, and
society are all variations which reveal to us facets of the truth about how our
Lord relates to us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">So we see in the relationship between
husband and wife an icon of Christ and His Church.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Just like Christ does not die for Himself and
the Church does not worship herself, a husband is united to a wife in marriage.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the life of the church, pastors represent
the Lord Himself as they baptize, absolve, and commune the gathered Church,
which is collectively Christ’s bride.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Pastors serve as spiritual fathers in their roles, and the Church
herself is routinely referenced in the history of Christian thought as the
mother of Christians.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For example, 3<sup>rd</sup>
Century bishop Cyprian of Carthage wrote that one cannot have God as His Father
without the Church as his mother.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Likewise, the relationship between
father and child, brother and sister, ruler and subject, master and servant (or
employer and employee), or manager and property serve to reveal other facets of
how God and man relate.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We see these and
many other examples sprinkled throughout the writings of the prophets, and we
see them vividly portrayed in the parables of Jesus.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Viewed together, </span><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="background: white; color: black;">they
nest into one another like the Matryoshka, to </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">jointly
reveal to us the greater reality of our Creator and Redeemer who desires to
forgive sin, preserve the world in order, and ultimately restore His creation
to its uncorrupted state on the Last Day, which Scripture commonly portrays as
the wedding feast between Christ and His bride the Church.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>Rev. Jason P. Petersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02559555598308652106noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5500579847993423093.post-16576829652143850682021-04-22T11:25:00.002-05:002021-06-23T11:31:08.945-05:00Christians Mark Time Differently<p><span style="color: white;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: white; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Just a couple weeks ago, we celebrated
Easter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Of course, we in the
English-speaking world are the only ones who use this term, or anything like
it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The ancient Church, and present day
Christians of other languages use some variation on the term Passover or
Resurrection to refer to the day of celebrating Jesus’ rising from death.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is because the day celebrates more than
a mere season, but an event that occurred in real time and space, and that
event is the anchor of a way of marking time completely different than that of
the surrounding world.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Much like the
future eternal life of the Christian is one that will be lived out in space and
matter, the present life of the Church is also one marked within time and
space, rather than one which disregards these material facets of our
existence.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: white; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: white; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Days like Mother’s Day, Father’s Day,
Memorial Day, and Super Bowl Sunday are not a part of this calendar, since
those are national holidays, unique to the United States.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Instead, this includes seasons like Advent,
Epiphany, or Lent, and festivals like Pentecost, Ascension, and All
Saints.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The resurrection is the anchor
point of this calendar, as both the oldest and most significant event it
contains.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Leading up to Resurrection
Sunday is a series of seasons and festivals related to the life of Jesus, and following
the 8-week festival of the Resurrection continues with a time that reflects on
the teachings of Jesus and the life of the Church as it awaits his return.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: white; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="LsbResponsorial" style="line-height: 115%; margin-left: 0in; text-indent: 0in;"><span color="windowtext" face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="color: white; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">This way of
marking time was so prominent in the lives of Christians that during many
centuries of church history, they did not date their letters and speeches with
the Gregorian dates we presently see uniformly used, like March 25, 2021,
Instead, they would use a reference to the church year, such as “Fifth Sunday
in Lent, AD 2021” or “Thursday of Pentecost 12, AD 2021.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When we understand time in such a way, and
revolving around the life of Jesus, we also live, knowing that our future is in
His hands, and free from the anxiety of carefully watching the world’s dangers
and disasters, or and living by its time and its fears, but knowing with
certainty what is prayed during the Easter Vigil:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="LsbResponsorial" style="line-height: 115%; margin-left: 0in; text-indent: 0in;"><span color="windowtext" face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="color: white; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="LsbResponsorial" style="line-height: 115%; margin-left: 0in; text-indent: 0in;"><span color="windowtext" face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="color: white; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">“Christ Jesus,
the same yesterday, today, and forever, the beginning and the ending, the Alpha
and the Omega.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His are time and
eternity; His are the glory and dominion, now and forever.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>By His wounds we have healing both now and
forever…<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>May the light of Christ, who is
risen in glory from the dead, scatter all the darkness of our hearts and minds…
Amen.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: white; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>Rev. Jason P. Petersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02559555598308652106noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5500579847993423093.post-75554787145815312762021-03-11T11:22:00.001-06:002021-06-23T11:23:21.037-05:00Soul Doctor<p> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">This week marks the one year anniversary since everyone’s
life changed in the name of protecting the body from infection.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We have changed behaviors, adjusted our
distance in relation to one another, added precautions and barriers of various
kinds, and so much more in order to care for the body.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><br />
<br />
For a few centuries now, our culture has been conditioned to see the material
aspect of our existence (the body) from the immaterial aspect of our existence
(whether one wants to speak of the mind, the soul, the spirit, or some
combination of the above).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s not that
novel an idea, as it also can be seen in some of the Greek philosophers and
other ancient thinkers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, it is
novel in terms of a Biblical understanding of humanity and in terms of being
introduced to a Christian worldview.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Scripture doesn’t deal with humans as if the material body
were incidental to the real person who is immaterial, and it doesn’t treat
these material and immaterial aspects as if they were isolated entities with
isolated needs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Instead, it deals with
people as an integrated whole.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One of
these aspects cannot act apart from the other and one cannot be affected apart
from the other.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
Medical science had even begun increasingly acknowledge (at least until the
pandemic status descended upon us) that their efforts to heal the body are not
entirely separated from what is going on in the thoughts and spiritual life of
the patient.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is something that had
been a core part of the Church’s understanding of pastoral care, and Scripture
even recognizes it as it speaks of the “soul,” which is not understood in
Biblical literature to refer to the immaterial aspect of a human person, but
rather should be translated as “self” or another term that includes the whole
person.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At the time of Reformation it
was even common to refer to pastors with a word that translates to “soul-curer”
or “soul doctor.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">As we look back in hindsight, we will undoubtedly recognize
that our protection of the body was undertaken with the false perception that I
began with, which seeks to protect the body without regard for the whole
person.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As we are beginning to see risk
decline and people perceive formerly-normal activities as safe, it will be the
task of churches to discern how they might correct the damage done by the
widespread neglect of the whole soul this past year, and the task of Christians
to work with their soul doctors to remedy the injuries they may have suffered
and prepare a plan for whole-person soul-care in the future.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>Rev. Jason P. Petersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02559555598308652106noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5500579847993423093.post-80412061028829894932020-12-31T11:20:00.001-06:002021-06-23T11:22:05.387-05:00Safety, Beauty, and the Image of God<p> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">During the past year, nearly all of us have experienced a
simplification of our lives.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Family
schedules that were a frenzy of activity between school, recreation,
extra-curricular activities, extended family, and various tasks for care of
health and household business.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even for
those who did not experience the generous amount of down time others did,
because their careers actually intensified, their time became more focused on
that task as these other obligations became unavailable or unadvisable.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">While I know many have found that simplification beneficial
as an opportunity to consider their priorities, and reorganize accordingly,
there is also a loss to be mourned in such circumstances, because intense focus
on safety has dramatically curtailed a vital aspect of our human existence, or
at least forced us to engage it in unconventional ways.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That vital aspect is the cultivation of human
ability through such things as the arts and sport, by which we have the
opportunity to express our experience of life or appreciate the display of
ability found in others.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Cultures and religions throughout time and across continents
have recognized this display as a uniquely human activity, as we are able to
reflect on our experience, and hone our performance in a way not found in other
creatures.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For Christians, our effort to
create in a way that builds beyond mere survival is understood to be a facet of
the image of God that is uniquely created in humanity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">As we build, design, perform, and compete, we are exercising
ability given by our Creator, and cultivating it in appreciation for His
goodness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As we enjoy the expression and
performance of others, we are able to appreciate His design for creation and to
be reminded of His gracious provision that exceeds merely sustaining basic life
and safety.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even under the most ideal
conditions, when we participate in these displays and disciplines, we may face
risk of injury, or even death, in the process, because the experience and
opportunity is of such value that we accept that risk.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In an eternal perspective, we also recognize that as St. Paul
said, “Whether we live, or whether we die, we are the Lord’s.” (Romans 14:8)
The one who creates this ability and desire to exercise it within us is the
same one who gives His Son into death to rescue us, and while we may need to
exercise caution for a time, we recognize that even those things that are not
“essential” are a vital part of our nature to engage.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Knowing this, we grieve at the deprivation of
something of great value, and we seek to preserve the framework to engage again
while we anticipate the day when our experience of this vital facet of our
experience of life will be restored. <o:p></o:p></span></p>Rev. Jason P. Petersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02559555598308652106noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5500579847993423093.post-55446727545605045822020-09-24T11:18:00.001-05:002021-06-23T11:19:25.985-05:00Two Kingdoms (Updated COVID Mandate Edition)<p> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In the book of Romans, Paul writes to Christians who are
facing a scenario where their religion has been outlawed, and their lives are
in danger for their confession of faith.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>In chapter 13, he reminds them that all authorities are to be obeyed
because they rule at His pleasure.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When
describing this teaching of the Bible, Martin Luther describes God as ruling
two kingdoms with His two hands.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With
His right hand, He rules the Church by grace, and with His left hand, He rules
the kingdoms of the world, along with the earthly estates of family and
employment, by law, calling Christians to obey those in authority as if
rendering obedience to Him.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">However, one instance when this is not the case is if an
earthly authority would command or coerce a Christian to renounce Christ or to
sin against God, it is their duty to disobey that command and obey God
instead.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The apostle Peter clearly
expresses this in Acts 5:29 when he disobeys a sinful command saying, “We must
obey God rather than men.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In the present day, Christians still live in a situation
where there may be tension between the commands of God and the laws of the
land.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When the secular law allows
actions and behaviors which Scripture clearly forbids, Christians can still
live according to their own conscience within that law.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In cases where regulations and judicial
rulings attempt to restrict the rights of Christians to practice their faith in
the public square or demand that they participate in actions their Scripturally-formed
conscience cannot permit, they may need to disobey the secular authorities in
order to obey God.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Recent mandates and orders have also brought to light another
tension for Christians—whether to obey or disobey orders that they believe are
not legally legitimate.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Since the United
States is not a monarchy, the executive branch (presidents and governors) are
not the highest authority, but rather the fourth layer, after the people
themselves, delegated through the Constitution, to legislative bodies, whose
statutes are enforced by the executive branch.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Christians, even within the same congregation, may disagree about the
legitimacy of an order, and that raises the question over how the congregation
as a whole will respond.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">When this becomes the case, the Church is called to recognize
her role as the administrator of the Lord’s gracious gifts, and not the arbiter
of its members civic conclusions or the enforcer of mandates whose legitimacy
is under question.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Christians who are in
agreement regarding their confession of Christ seek a path to ensure the entire
congregation, regardless of their level of risk, the degree of their anxiety,
or the conclusions regarding civic affairs, are given the opportunity to
receive the Lord’s gifts in Word and Sacrament from God’s right hand, while the
individual members follow their conscience in addressing those in the sphere
governed by His left.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>Rev. Jason P. Petersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02559555598308652106noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5500579847993423093.post-60576892770629689102020-08-13T11:15:00.011-05:002021-06-23T11:17:11.111-05:00Why Gather?<p> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">For centuries, gathering weekly was an automatic assumption
among Christians.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Whether the earliest
years of the Church in homes and storefronts before dawn, hiding from
persecution, or later in Roman public halls, or the Gothic church buildings of
the middle ages, Christians would gather—at times even daily.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Even when the plague killed millions, or in bombed out
buildings in the midst of wars, the church still gathered.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Later, once we discovered many diseases
resulted from bacteria, viruses, fungus, or parasites, rather than any of a
variety of superstitions, they took a couple Sundays off, but rarely, because
of the overwhelming pattern of weekly gathering that dates back to the Old
Testament, and carried on in Christian practice.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I recall that I was in college before I
realized some churches cancelled for snow, because in my hometown in the Thumb,
this had never crossed anyone’s mind, and whoever was capable of travelling
would attend.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">What would cause such determination to gather, even in great
danger?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Of course, we have some direct
commands in Scripture, like the instruction in Hebrews not to “neglect meeting
together, as is the habit of some.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>There’s the Third Commandment (some readers might number it as the 4<sup>th</sup>),
which says to “Remember the Sabbath Day by keeping it holy.” Beyond these,
though, what explains the answer to this question, which also explains why you
see differences between how congregations and denominations approach this, is
another question, “why do we gather?” <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">If Christians gather to offer something up to God, such as
their prayers and praises, then it makes perfect sense if they’re reluctant to
gather when a certain degree of risk comes into play, because that can be done
just as well alone with one’s family.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If
Christians gather to earn something in a sort of transaction with God, then
likewise, they might conclude He would certainly understand if they did it a
little differently for a while.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If
Christians gather to learn facts about Scripture and be inspired and motivated
toward better living, then those purposes can certainly be achieved
electronically.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><br />
<br />
However, if the Church gathers around something physical, where that Word not
only educates but causes the very things it says, and where the main thing is
that the Holy Spirit descends in the midst of Baptismal water, and the Lord
Himself comes down, bringing Heaven itself with Him, as the body and blood of
Christ become present to forgive sins and grant eternal salvation, then the
question ceases to be whether to gather, but how, so that we can avoid causing
earthly harm, but still be present to receive these gifts beyond value in the
Lord’s Word and Sacraments.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>Rev. Jason P. Petersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02559555598308652106noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5500579847993423093.post-90287632803965731072017-03-10T13:23:00.003-06:002022-06-02T12:54:57.189-05:00The Shack - RevisitedThe full-length edition of my book review on The Shack:<br />
<br /><div style="border-bottom: double windowtext 2.25pt; border: none; mso-element: para-border-div; padding: 0in 0in 1pt;"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: double windowtext 2.25pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 1.0pt 0in; padding: 0in; text-align: center;"><br /></div>
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<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 12.0pt; margin: 12pt 0in; text-align: center;">
<b><span face=""segoe ui" , sans-serif" style="font-size: 20pt; line-height: 115%;">A
Theological Analysis and Lutheran Response to William Paul Young’s<i> </i></span></b><b><i><span face=""segoe ui" , sans-serif" style="font-size: 23pt; line-height: 115%;">The
Shack</span></i></b><b><i><span face=""segoe ui" , sans-serif" style="font-size: 20pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<i><span face=""segoe ui" , sans-serif" style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">The Shack, </span></i><span face=""segoe ui" , sans-serif" style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">a
novel by William Paul Young, has been an almost universal topic of conversation
in the United States in recent months.
As of the writing of this response, it is #1 in paperback fiction on the
New York Times Best Seller List as well among the top-selling books on
Amazon.com. This book is probably the
most popular topic in religion today, among Christians and non-Christians
alike. Whether one endorses or opposes
the views expressed in <i>The Shack</i>, it
is hardly possible to be part of the cultural conversation without knowing and
understanding the book. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span face=""segoe ui" , sans-serif" style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">For
the sake of space, I will not retell many details of the book here. If you have read it, you already know them,
and if you have not, I don’t want to decrease your enjoyment of the book, if
you do read it, by revealing the whole plot.
The necessary details are that a man named Mack, whose daughter was
murdered, receives a note from “Papa” requesting to meet him at the shack where
the murder occurred, and when Mack arrives at the shack, he encounters god as
the Author portrays him. The time Mack
spends with “god” at the shack takes up 12 of the book’s 18 chapters. The other 6 “frame” this encounter with the
background and conclusion to the story. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span face=""segoe ui" , sans-serif" style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Difficulties of Theological Fiction<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span face=""segoe ui" , sans-serif" style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">One
difficulty of giving a theological response to a piece of fictional literature
is that there is a degree of interpretation involved before one can even
evaluate the positions of the book and its author. For example, some details of fictional books
are not meant to be literal, but are just devices to move the plot along. This does not make these details neutral,
because unwise choices on the part of the author can still lead the reader down
false paths if they lend themselves easily to misunderstanding. Additionally, since, by its nature, a
fictional work is not able to be an exhaustive treatment of a theological
question, sometimes the author will be silent on a particular point, so we may
have inadequate evidence to determine where the book stands on that
question. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span face=""segoe ui" , sans-serif" style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Even
further, we must examine whose mouth a statement comes from. This occurs, not just in humanly-authored fiction,
but even in Biblical literature. In the
book of Job, Job’s friends make statements that are significantly
off-base. If we were to take these out
of context, we might attribute them as actually being Scriptural truth, but if
we look at them in context, we find out that they are really only the opinion
of the one speaking the statement, and actually express the opposite of the
book’s intended message. We see an
example of this in <i>The Shack</i> when
Mack is talking to his daughter, Missy, about a Native American legend. She asks, “Is the Great Spirit another name
for God—you know, Jesus’ papa?” Mack
responds by saying, “I would suppose so.
It’s a good name for God because he is a Spirit and he is Great.” (p. 31) We can’t justly conclude this type of
statement to be the position of the book or its author, because it could easily
be just the opinion of the character. On
the other hand, when the character making the statement is proposed to be God
Himself, there is no other reasonable conclusion than to presume that statement
to be the position of the book and the belief of its author. It is this type of statement which will be
used as evidence in the sections which follow.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span face=""segoe ui" , sans-serif" style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Bright Moments in <i>The Shack</i><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span face=""segoe ui" , sans-serif" style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">For
those not already familiar with it, <i>The
Shack’</i>s picture of God begins with Papa (God the Father) as a large, African-American
woman. (Many readers have compared her
to Aunt Jemima.) Jesus is a Middle-eastern man in His mid-thirties. (Sounds
pretty accurate) Sarayu (The Holy
Spirit) is portrayed as a small, light-hearted Asian woman. (I imagine the character to resemble a young,
Asian Hippie.) In spite of this bizarre picture of God, I had some moments of
hope early on that all the criticism might be just Fundamentalism run
amok. Many dismiss the book immediately
upon reading or hearing about this description, but I was prepared to suspend
judgment over the non-traditional physical portrayal of God until after I had
read what that god actually said, because the author has stated in interviews
that this is not meant to be a literal depiction of God. If what was said was otherwise orthodox, I
might have been able to look past the book’s visual description of the persons
of the Trinity as a mere metaphor or device of fiction. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span face=""segoe ui" , sans-serif" style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Early
on, <i>The Shack</i> seemed to be good
reading, and I even encountered several seemingly orthodox statements in the
early part of Mack’s conversation with Papa [my reaction in brackets]:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span face=""segoe ui" , sans-serif" style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">“Mackenzie,
the Truth shall set you free and the Truth has a name; he’s over in the
wood-shop right now covered in sawdust.
Everything is about <i>him.</i>” (Papa, p. 95)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span face=""segoe ui" , sans-serif" style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">[Sounds
like a great confession of Jesus. Even
more, in an age where Christian literature seems to properly belong in the
self-help section, how often do we see it said that everything is about Jesus?]<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span face=""segoe ui" , sans-serif" style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">“But
instead of scrapping the whole Creation we rolled up our sleeves and entered
into the middle of the mess—that’s what we have done in Jesus.“ (Papa, p. 99)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span face=""segoe ui" , sans-serif" style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">[This
too sounds like a welcome and all-too-uncommon reference to the Incarnation.]<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span face=""segoe ui" , sans-serif" style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">“We
are not three gods, and we are not talking about one god with three attitudes,
like a man who is a husband, father, and worker. I am one God and I am three persons, and each
of the three is completely and entirely the one.” (Papa, p. 101)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span face=""segoe ui" , sans-serif" style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">[Most
of this sounds like an orthodox, almost Athanasian, definition of the
Trinity. The last clause was a little
unclear to me, but seemed harmless enough at the time.]<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span face=""segoe ui" , sans-serif" style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">“I
am fully God, but I am human to the core.
Like I said, it’s Papa’s miracle.” (Jesus, p. 112)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span face=""segoe ui" , sans-serif" style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">[Wow! Is it even necessary to comment?]<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span face=""segoe ui" , sans-serif" style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">“You
mean,” Mack interjected sarcastically, “that I can’t just ask, ‘What Would
Jesus Do’?” Jesus chuckled, “Good
intentions, bad idea. Let me know how it
works for you, if that’s the way you choose to go…my life was not meant to be
an example to copy. Being my follower is
not trying to ‘be like Jesus…’” (p. 149)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span face=""segoe ui" , sans-serif" style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">[This
is probably the highlight of the book for me.
What Christian author would have the guts to challenge “WWJD”? That’s not something you see every day.]<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span face=""segoe ui" , sans-serif" style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">“The
Bible doesn’t teach you to follow rules.
It is a picture of Jesus.” (Papa, p. 197)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span face=""segoe ui" , sans-serif" style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">[This
comes late in the book, but even after having largely seen the book show its
hand about God’s identity, this gem still stood out.]<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span face=""segoe ui" , sans-serif" style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">If
these statements were the only excerpts one read, and were separated from the remaining
material in the book, one might conclude the book to be orthodox, even to a Lutheran. There are also bright spots in the broader
themes of <i>The Shack</i>. First, it is about God, which is a far cry
from much of what is currently being published under the label of Christian
literature. Additionally, the book has a
commendable purpose in encouraging people to examine their understanding for
misconceptions about God and His nature.
Its central theme seems to be to confront the “problem of evil,” that
is, it attempts to help people who experience emotional pain understand God’s
purpose in their circumstances and to propose a solution concerning how
suffering and tragedies can be reconciled with a God who loves humanity and
cares about people. Addressing this
question is certainly a commendable cause, but does the book remain faithful to
Biblical Christianity in its attempts to answer this question?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span face=""segoe ui" , sans-serif" style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Overstepping the Boundaries<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span face=""segoe ui" , sans-serif" style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">We
cannot deny that people, even Christians, hold to many false understandings of
God. One example specifically mentioned
by the author of <i>The Shack</i> is a sort
of Gandalf-god, where God the Father is a large old man with a long white beard
sitting on a throne. Another false
impression of God which is rightly challenged by <i>The Shack</i> is the view that God is an angry dictator in heaven
uttering commands and waiting to smite people.
Unfortunately, the principle of questioning one’s conceptions of God is
taken far beyond these in the book, even encouraging the reader to question
Biblical descriptions of God in favor of what one can be perceived through
one’s own emotion and understanding, independent of any scripture or body of
believers. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span face=""segoe ui" , sans-serif" style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Likewise,
the author goes too far in his attempt at reconciling a loving God with
suffering and tragedy by speaking where Scripture has not. St. John warns in the last verses of
Revelation about adding to or taking away from the words of Scripture, and the
author of the Shack is culpable of both by attempting to explain the
unexplainable concerning the Trinity and by taking away such things as the Law,
God’s wrath, punishment for sin, and the authority of Scripture. In a work of fiction, one can abide with a
small amount of license for the sake of advancing the plot or developing a
character, but obvious contradiction of Scripture, especially in an alleged
work of Christian literature where three of the four main characters are
presented as a revelation of God, is well beyond the limits of this license by
any standard. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span face=""segoe ui" , sans-serif" style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">In
the sections which follow, I will first address a few miscellaneous
inconsistencies between the worldviews of Scripture and of <i>The Shack</i>, followed by doctrinal difficulties on which all orthodox<a href="file:///C:/Users/Pastor/Google%20Drive/St.%20Peters/The%20Shack/Full%20Review%20-%20bookfold.docx#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> Christians
could agree. The emphasis will then
shift to some particularly Lutheran observations about <i>The Shack’s</i> problems. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span face=""segoe ui" , sans-serif" style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">A Strong Foundation? – Biblical
Inconsistencies<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span face=""segoe ui" , sans-serif" style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">There
is a recurring pattern in <i>The Shack</i>
where Mack confronts one of the God characters with a Scriptural teaching or
quotation, only to have the God character respond by dismissing the Biblical
teaching as a misunderstanding, as if to say, “That’s not what I really
meant.” Not only does this serve to
devalue the Bible as the authoritative revelation of God, it also seeks to
inspire doubt about important Biblical teachings. The most obvious example of this technique is
when Papa and Mack discuss the crucifixion.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span face=""segoe ui" , sans-serif" style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Don’t
ever think that what my son chose to do didn’t cost us dearly. Love always leaves a significant mark,”
[Papa] stated softly and gently. “We
were there <i>together.</i>”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span face=""segoe ui" , sans-serif" style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Mack
was surprised. “At the cross? Now wait, I thought you <i>left</i> him—you know—‘My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?’”…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span face=""segoe ui" , sans-serif" style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">…”You
misunderstand the mystery there.
Regardless of what he <i>felt</i> at
that moment, I never left him.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span face=""segoe ui" , sans-serif" style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">There
are huge implications to this difference.
Jesus was forsaken by the Father as the condemnation for our sin. If the Father did not actually forsake Jesus
at the cross, then our sins have not been paid for and Jesus has not been made
our substitute. Additionally, we
actually lose an important source of comfort.
One of the book’s primary themes is that God does not forsake us,
regardless of the circumstances, but the primary Scriptural reason we can say
this is because Jesus was actually forsaken.
He was forsaken by the Father so that we would not have to be. In addition, if Jesus exclamation about being
forsaken at the cross is not factual, how can we know any of His other
statements are factual rather than merely His flawed perception of the event? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span face=""segoe ui" , sans-serif" style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Additionally,
although they are not the type of foundational doctrines addressed in the next
section (the definition of the Trinity and the two natures of Christ), the book
contradicts clear statements of Scripture on several topics, for example:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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</span></span><!--[endif]--><span face=""segoe ui" , sans-serif" style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Government – Papa says “I don’t create
institutions—never have, never will.” On
the other hand, Romans 13 says, “</span><span face=""segoe ui" , sans-serif" style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Let every person be subject to the governing authorities.
For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been
instituted by God. Therefore whoever
resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist
will incur judgment.” This statement by
Papa also has implications for the Church, Marriage, and Family. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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</span></span><!--[endif]--><span face=""segoe ui" , sans-serif" style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Creation – The Jesus of <i>The Shack</i> says, “From the first day we hid the woman within the
man, so that at the right time we could remove her from within him.” Genesis reveals that God took a rib (not a
woman) from the man and <i>formed it into</i>
a woman. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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</span></span><!--[endif]--><span face=""segoe ui" , sans-serif" style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">The Law – Sarayu correctly identifies the
law, Specifically the Ten Commandments, as the mirror which shows us our sin as
opposed to a set of rules which tell us how to please God and earn His
favor. Unfortunately, this leads, in the
book, to the conclusion that “In Jesus you are not under any law. All things are lawful.” (p. 203) And further, “because of Jesus,
there is now no law.” (p, 224) This is
in clear opposition to Jesus teaching, which says,</span><span face=""segoe ui" , sans-serif" style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;"> “Do not think that I came to
abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish, but to fulfill.
“For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest
letter or stroke shall pass away from the Law, until all is accomplished.”
(Matt. 5:18) The moral law itself is not
negated in Christ, only its power to condemn.
God does not cease to demand that the moral law be kept. He does not ignore the law’s demands, but
instead, He has forgiven the believer’s trespass against it because of Jesus’
Sacrifice. The God of the Bible forgives
sins because of Christ. The god of <i>The Shack</i> knows no sins because he knows
no law.</span><span face=""segoe ui" , sans-serif" style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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</span></span><!--[endif]--><span face=""segoe ui" , sans-serif" style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Divine
Revelation – “You will learn to hear my thoughts in yours, Mackenzie.” (Sarayu, p. 195) A few pages later, she goes
on to direct Mack to look for God’s revelation in art, music, silence, people,
Creation, joy, sorrow, and the Bible [not as the definitive source, but as one
among many]. (p. 198) In Romans 1, among other places, the Bible
makes a distinction between natural revelation (the ability to discern God’s
existence, although not His precise identity or His grace); as distinct from
God’s revelation in the Bible, which tells us who He is and reveals to us His
grace. The God revealed in nature can
only be assumed to be great, mighty, and holy, and we should be rightly
afraid. It is only through Scripture
that we can know Him in His grace, revealed in Jesus.</span><span face=""segoe ui" , sans-serif" style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span face=""segoe ui" , sans-serif" style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Removing the Cornerstone? –
Christological Difficulties<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<i><span face=""segoe ui" , sans-serif" style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">The Shack</span></i><span face=""segoe ui" , sans-serif" style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">
does acknowledge Jesus as both God and man and even as the central focus of
everything. Disappointingly, further
reading reveals details which undermine these definitions. What the book affirms in principle regarding
the Trinity and the two natures of Christ, it eventually denies in fact by its
later statements. Early in Mack’s time
at the shack, Papa goes into a lengthy description of Jesus and His saving
work. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span face=""segoe ui" , sans-serif" style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span face=""segoe ui" , sans-serif" style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">When
we three spoke ourself into human existence as the Son of God, we became fully
human…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span face=""segoe ui" , sans-serif" style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Although
by nature he is fully God, Jesus is fully human and lives as such. While never losing the innate ability to fly,
he chooses moment-by-moment to remain grounded.
That is why his name is Immanuel, God with us, or God with you, to be
more precise…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span face=""segoe ui" , sans-serif" style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Although
he is also fully God, he has <i>never</i>
drawn upon his nature as God to do anything.
He has only lived out of his relationship with me, living in the very
same manner that I desire to be in relationship with e very human being. He is just the first to do it to the
uttermost…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span face=""segoe ui" , sans-serif" style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">He
[performed miracles] as a dependent, limited human being trusting in my life
and power to be at work within him and through him. Jesus as a human being, had no power within
himself to heal anyone. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span face=""segoe ui" , sans-serif" style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">From this excerpt, it is
evident that the Jesus of <i>The Shack </i>is
not actually God in human flesh.
Although the author acknowledges this in principle, his further
explanation results in a denial of the Scriptural teaching concerning the
Incarnation. First, Scripture never
teaches that Jesus relied only on the Father’s divine authority, never His
own. He lived as a man and “became
obedient unto death,” (Philippians 2:8) but when He exercised divine authority,
such as in miracles, it was His own. The
Biblical Jesus’ humanity never diminishes His divine identity as God the
Son. The Jesus of <i>The Shack</i>, although voluntarily, is somehow diminished in his
divinity, by reason of his becoming man.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span face=""segoe ui" , sans-serif" style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Secondly, while the shack
portrays a Jesus whose relationship with Papa is no different than that
attainable by any other human, the relationship between God the Father and the
Biblical Jesus is dramatically different from that of God with other
humans. As God, the second person of the
Trinity, Jesus is one with the Father.
We are not. Whatever closeness we
enjoy with the Father, whether in heaven or on earth, we can never live out the
relationship with the Father which Jesus has, because He relates to the father
within the Trinity, while we are only able do so from the outside. Third, <i>The
Shack</i> states later that Jesus does not exercise Divine Authority, even now,
after the resurrection. In Contrast, the
Gospels and Acts demonstrates that the resurrected Jesus gives evidence of His
divine nature by doing things such as entering locked rooms in His
post-resurrection appearances. Because
of his divinity, the resurrected Jesus is not limited by time and space as the
rest of humanity is.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span face=""segoe ui" , sans-serif" style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">In addition, the Shack’s
view of Christ is flawed in that it misunderstands sin, the cross, and
salvation. Papa says, “I don’t need to
punish people for sin. Sin is its own
punishment, devouring you from the inside.
It is not my purpose to punish it; it’s my joy to cure it.” (p. 120) The third sentence of this statement
is certainly true, although only through Jesus.
On the other hand, both testaments of Scripture clearly attribute
punishment of sin to God. Old Testament
examples are plentiful, and in the New Testament, this includes the death of
Ananias and Sapphira as well as the visions of Revelation. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span face=""segoe ui" , sans-serif" style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Beyond misunderstanding
sin, the author seems to have a serious misunderstanding of salvation. In fact, He never mentions it. Attaining a relationship with God is a
prominent theme, but that relationship does not seem to include faith in the
Christian sense or even Christ as the exclusive means to attain that
relationship. The Jesus of <i>The Shack</i> talks about “Buddhists,
Mormons, Baptists, and Muslims” who “love him,” While he then acknowledges
there are “some roads that lead to nowhere,”
He then follows immediately by saying, “I will travel any road to find
you.” (p. 182) I find it hard to conclude anything from this paragraph of the
book, other than that the author proposes that somehow Jesus saves people even
outside of their being Christians. It
eerily resembles Brian McLaren’s statement about making Muslim, Jewish,
Buddhist, and Hindu, “followers of Christ” who do not become Christians, but
remain in their original religion. In
fact, in the same discussion about salvation, <i>The Shack</i>’s Jesus even says, “Who said anything about being a
Christian? I’m not a Christian.” (of course not. He’s <i>Christ.
</i>He can’t follow <i>Himself.</i>) A few pages later, Papa says, “I am now fully
reconciled to the world.” Mack replies,
“The whole world? You mean those who
believe in you, right?” To which Papa
replies, “…Reconciliation is a two way street, and I have done my part.” The broad conclusion given in the book is
that God is actually reconciled to the whole world, which is then experienced
in an act of free will by humans to live in relationship with Him. On the other hand, the Christian teaching is
that while Jesus died for the whole world, it is only through faith in Him that
salvation is actually applied to the individual by God’s grace. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span face=""segoe ui" , sans-serif" style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">A house built upon the Rock? –
Trinitarian Difficulties<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span face=""segoe ui" , sans-serif" style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">The
broadest area of difficulty by far in <i>The
Shack</i> is a misunderstanding of the Trinity.
The author recognizes that the Trinity is a mystery. Through Papa’s words within the book, as well
as in his own responses during interviews, Young indicates that he describes
the persons of the Trinity in pictures which challenge traditional expectations
in order to force people to reexamine their concrete perceptions of God. He acknowledges that these descriptions are
not meant to be literal, but have his choices of imagery been wise? In a culture where goddess worship is growing
in popularity, does it benefit the reader to have God the Father and the Holy
Spirit portrayed as women? Is there
another way that the author could have disrupted the reader’s false perceptions
of god without leaving an opening for the reader to see his work as an
affirmation of goddess worship? Some
might argue that God the Father does not have gender-specific anatomy, thus to
portray Him as a woman is an acceptable choice, but God never reveals Himself
as “Mother.” Similarly, it has been
argued that God describes himself in terms such as a mother nursing an infant
(Isaiah 66) and Jesus describes Himself like a “hen gathering her chicks under
her wings.” (Matt. 23:37) However, these descriptions are of a far different nature
than God’s revelation as Father. God is
the Father of Jesus. He is the one who
created the world and gave us life. He
does continue to provide for and protect us.
When God describes Himself as Father, He describes His nature and
identity. In the examples above from
Matthew and Isaiah, God is not describing His identity. Instead He is describing His actions. Additionally, He does so by way of simile,
using “like.” He does not say, “I am a
mother,” or “I am a hen.” He says, “like
a mother,” or “like a hen.” On one hand,
we cannot accuse the author of <i>The Shack </i>of
promoting goddess worship or promoting a “God the Mother” theology, since he
has acknowledged in interviews that this is not a literal depiction. On the other hand, it seems that if God has
given us a certain revelation, we ought to honor that revelation and not depict
him in a way which is entirely opposite, even for the sake of catching the
reader’s attention or challenging their preconceived ideas. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span face=""segoe ui" , sans-serif" style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Earlier
Papa’s description of the Trinity was cited, which said, “We are not three
gods, and we are not talking about one god with three attitudes, like a man who
is a husband, father, and worker. I am
one God and I am three persons, and each of the three is completely and
entirely the one.” (Papa, p. 101) At the point in the book where this sentence
occurs, the words, “…and each of the three is completely and entirely the one,”
seemed unclear, and perhaps awkward, but as the book progresses, the meaning
behind them becomes clearer. As Mack
interacts with the characters, we realize that all three persons bear the <i>Stigmata</i> from the crucifixion. Nowhere does the Bible teach that the Father
or the Spirit were crucified or died. In
fact, this teaching, called <i>Patripassionism,</i>
is a form of Modalism and was expressly condemned by the ancient church as
early as the third century A.D. In
addition, The Bible speaks of the Father raising Jesus from the dead (Galatians
1:1 and Romans 6:4, among others). If
the Father were also crucified, then how did He raise Jesus from the dead? It is proper to say that “God died on the
cross,” because Jesus is fully God, but it is not appropriate to take this so
far as to assert that the Father or the Spirit died on the cross. This is an example of the danger of
attempting to offer answers which are beyond the scope of Biblical
revelation. Because Young seeks to say
more about the Trinity than God has revealed in Scripture, the god of <i>The Shack</i> is ultimately not the Holy
Trinity. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span face=""segoe ui" , sans-serif" style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Young’s
error regarding the Trinity is not limited to the distinctiveness of the three
persons, but even extends to reveal Papa in multiple forms—first as the
African-American woman already mentioned, but later in the book, as an older
long-haired man in hiking gear. Papa
tells Mack, <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span face=""segoe ui" , sans-serif" style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">“If I choose to <i>appear</i> to you as a man or a woman, it’s
because I love you. For me to appear to
you as a woman and suggest that you call me Papa is simply to mix metaphors, to
help you keep from falling so easily back into your religious conditioning…To
reveal myself to you as a very large, white grandfather figure with flowing
beard, like Gandalf, would simply reinforce your religious stereotypes.” (Papa, p. 93)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span face=""segoe ui" , sans-serif" style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Papa
goes on to explain that (s)he appears as (s)he does because Mack had a poor
relationship with his father and so an image of an African-American woman is
easier for Mack to relate to than one similar to an earthly father. The god of <i>The Shack</i> does not eternally exist as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,
but is a god which temporarily manifests itself in whatever way is most
effective at the time. For Young,
Scripture’s revelations of God appear to be only revelations for that time, and
God may choose other revelations at other times. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span face=""segoe ui" , sans-serif" style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">In
addition, <i>The Shack</i> repeatedly
asserts that the Trinity—all three persons—became human. Papa says, “When we three spoke ourself into
human existence as the Son of God, we became fully human.” (p. 99) and “He
[Jesus] is the very center of our purpose and in him we are now fully human.”
(p. 192) In contrast, the Bible
unmistakably teaches that only God the Son became man. The Trinity does not become human, nor do the
Father or the Spirit, but only Jesus.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span face=""segoe ui" , sans-serif" style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Another
area of discrepancy between the book’s Trinity and Scripture’s is in their
relation to one another. <i>The Shack</i> presents the Trinity as “a
circle of relationship” (Sarayu, p. 122) and a relationship where all three
members of the Trinity are mutually submitted to one another. (Jesus, p.
145) To the contrary, Scripture talks about
Jesus submitting to the will of the Father (John 6:38, John 8:28, 1 Corinthians
11:3, etc.), but never speaks of the Father submitting to Jesus. Likewise, Scripture never speaks of the
Father or Son submitting to the Spirit.
Biblical teaching indicates that the Spirit always points us back to the
person and teachings of Jesus and is sent to believers by the Father and the
Son. (John 14-16)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span face=""segoe ui" , sans-serif" style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Young
extends this idea of submission to the point where it is said that God actually
submits to humans in the same way that he proposes the persons of the Trinity
submit to one another (Jesus, p. 145) and that even parents and children and
all other relationships in society should be lived in an identical state of
submission. Certainly we are to submit
to God, but, even though God does serve us in Jesus, He is never spoken of as
submitting to us. Both testaments of the
Bible speak of children obeying their parents and servants obeying their
masters, but never the reverse. There
are Biblical instructions that parents not provoke their children and that
masters treat their servants well, but hierarchy remains intact and the
distinctions are not abolished. The god
characters in the book even go so far as to insist that responsibility is not a
Biblical concept (p. 203ff), while the Bible frequently speaks of the
responsibilities of parents, rulers, masters, servants, children, and many
others. <i>The Shack </i>views hierarchy as foreign to God and a result of
sin. Scripture presents hierarchy as a
God-ordained structure which is to be respected.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span face=""segoe ui" , sans-serif" style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">A Mighty Fortress? – Lutheran Responses<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span face=""segoe ui" , sans-serif" style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">The
previous sections have already covered difficulties with <i>The Shack</i> which Christians can broadly agree exist. These include: the Trinity, the person and work of Jesus,
the authority and inerrancy of Scripture, natural and revealed knowledge of
God, sin, salvation, the Law, and earthly authority. In addition to these, there are numerous
other ideas expressed in the book, which although they would not be universally
problematic for Christians, are of special concern for Lutherans. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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</span></span><!--[endif]--><span face=""segoe ui" , sans-serif" style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Knowledge of God—This teaching is foundational
for several of the others. The
difference between natural and revealed knowledge of God was discussed above,
as well as the book’s failure to properly distinguish between them. Additionally, the book seems to denigrate any
concrete knowledge of God. The
previously mentioned cases where the god characters contradict Mack when he
confronts them with Scriptural teachings are one example of this. In addition, Young seeks to use the events of
the book to knock down not only the reader’s false conceptions about God, but
all understandings of God which exist in the mind of the reader. The god of <i>The Shack</i> seems to be completely unknowable, and it seems that,
according to the god characters in <i>The
Shack</i>, all claims to knowledge about God, even Biblical ones, are
inaccurate. The book ultimately proposes
that knowledge of God is irrelevant, but that what matters is relationship with
him (her, it?). It seems to suggest that
God must be experienced rather than known, but how can one have a relationship
with or an experience of someone or something which he does not know? An knowledge of God’s character and identity must
be possessed before relationship can exist.
Lutheran theology, in agreement with the majority of Christianity,
teaches that God is, in fact, knowable as He has revealed Himself in
Scripture. While we do not have license
to propose to know more than revealed there, we can be certain of those things
which have been revealed. Rather than seeking
God through Jesus and through Scripture, <i>The
Shack</i> encourages readers to seek God nearly everywhere, such as through
their own contemplation and introspection as well as natural revelation, other
people, and the arts.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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</span></span><!--[endif]--><span face=""segoe ui" , sans-serif" style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Means of Grace—Many Lutherans would also
object to the methods which God uses to reveal Himself in <i>The Shack</i>. Specifically, by
leaving a note in Mack’s mailbox and by taking on visible form to speak
directly to him. If the author is
proposing that direct revelation of God exists apart from the Word and the
Sacraments, then they are right to object to this as Lutherans. Lutheran theology teaches that humans are not
to seek God in any other way than the Bible, Baptism, and the Lord’s Supper,
because He has never promised to reveal Himself in any other way. While I agree with this objection, I am not
convinced that the author is proposing that individuals seek experiences like
that described at the shack. From a
literary standpoint, I would conclude that the direct revelation experienced by
Mack is not intended to be normative for humans, but is, instead, a fictional
tool to provide opportunity for God to interact with Mack. On the other hand, as discussed in the
previous section, Lutherans can rightly object to the numerous additional
sources of revelation proposed in the book, such as the arts, silence, and
emotions as contrary to the doctrine of the Means of Grace. <i>The
Shack</i> also seems to imply that the revelation of God to the world can
evolve over time, such as the frequent instances where the god characters
re-explain clear Biblical teachings.
Lutheran theology holds that all statements about God are to be tested
against Scripture, and that no new proposition can add to or alter what
Scripture has already taught.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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</span></span><!--[endif]--><span face=""segoe ui" , sans-serif" style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Sin—The faulty understanding of Sin evident
in the book has already been explained, and this has further implications in
light of Lutheran theology. If sin is to
be understood in the way it is in <i>The
Shack</i>, then humans would not actually be sinful creatures. There is no indication given in the book that
people are separated by God by anything but their own ignorance. Furthermore, the ability assumed by the book
for humans to understand God apart from Scripture and seek Him by their own free
will would necessitate that they are neither sinful nor naturally separated
from Him. Additionally, if God does not
punish sin and has no expectations of humans in a legal sense, there would be
no need for a savior, a cross, or even the incarnation of Jesus. Lutheran theology holds that the central
doctrine of the Christian faith is Justification—particularly, that we are
saved by grace alone, through faith alone, because of Jesus alone. Because sin does not separate us from God or
condemn us to His punishment in <i>The Shack</i>,
Jesus does not become our substitute on the cross to suffer God’s wrath. In fact, the Jesus of <i>The Shack</i> does not suffer God’s wrath at all. If there is no punishment for sin, and Jesus
does not suffer God’s wrath, then the only purpose of the cross is to be a
demonstration of God’s love or an example of submission and humility for
us. <i>The
Shack </i>talks a lot about “grace,” but it is a meaningless grace, because its
god knows no wrath or punishment, nor does he actually redeem anyone.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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</span></span><!--[endif]--><span face=""segoe ui" , sans-serif" style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Law and Gospel—Lutherans teach that there
are two doctrines in Scripture: Law and
Gospel. The Law tells us what God
expects us to do, and ultimately reveals our failure to live up to its
requirements. The Gospel reveals what
God has done for us in Christ and is the solution to our failure to live up to
the Law’s demands. <i>The Shack</i> undermines both of these.
As explained in an earlier section, the god characters in the book
explain the law not as fulfilled by Jesus, but as abolished by Him. The god of <i>The Shack</i> has no law by which His creatures are expected to
live. As a result, any talk of grace in <i>The Shack </i>is not truly Gospel, because
in the view of the book, there is apparently nothing to be forgiven and thus no
need for grace. Gospel and grace in <i>The Shack</i> are not that God has forgiven
our sins because of Jesus, but, instead, that He has repealed the law and
instead seeks to live in us so that we respond in love to every situation. (p. 204-205)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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</span></span><!--[endif]--><span face=""segoe ui" , sans-serif" style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">The Church/Ministry—Throughout <i>The Shack</i>, all earthly “institutions,”
including the Church are looked down upon.
For <i>The Shack,</i> God does not
seem to have a use for The Church or pastors in revealing Himself to
humans. In contrast, Cyprian of Carthage
summarized the Bible’s teaching by saying in the 3<sup>rd</sup> century, “He
cannot have God as his Father who has not the Church as his mother,” and “Outside
the Church there is no salvation.”
Hebrews 10 admonishes “Let us not give up meeting together as some are
in the habit of doing.” In harmony with
this, Lutherans have always taught that Christians are intended by God to meet
together regularly with other fellow believers in Christ to hear the Word and
receive the Sacraments. In light of <i>The Shack</i>’s view of organized churches,
it follows that it would also have no use for an ordained ministry or other
professional clergy. In contrast, Jesus
called 12 disciples and sent them out to be the first pastors. In keeping with this, Lutherans believe that
the office of pastor is instituted by Christ Himself and the Church is
instructed to call pastors who will publicly preach the Word and administer the
Sacraments of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper in the Church. It seems that, in <i>The Shack</i>, God is to be sought nearly everywhere, with the
exception of the places where He has specifically promised that we will find
Him—namely, the Bible, Baptism, and the Lord’s Supper.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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</span></span><!--[endif]--><span face=""segoe ui" , sans-serif" style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Vocation—<i>The
Shack</i> frowns on all forms of hierarchy in the world and views them as a
result of sin. It also sees all
relationships as intended by God to be built upon mutual submission. Lutheran theology, on the other hand, sees a
Doctrine of Vocation in the Bible. The
various positions that we each hold, such as ruler, parent, child, employee, manager,
pastor, teacher, or student, are actually blessed and instituted by God for our
good. These distinctions do not arise
out of our sinful desire to dominate each other (although they are sometimes
misused for that purpose). Instead, they
are given by God as a means by which He provides for our instruction and
protection.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span face=""segoe ui" , sans-serif" style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">A Shack built upon the Sand</span></b><span face=""segoe ui" , sans-serif" style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span face=""segoe ui" , sans-serif" style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">While
I am not normally a reader of fiction, I did find reading <i>The Shack</i> to be an interesting and enjoyable experience. There were even a few moments of the book
which I found amusing, such as the criticism of WWJD (mentioned above), the
awkward scenario of saying grace at a meal god is your host and dining
companion, and the very subtle communion reference during the characters’ final
meal together (p. 236). While <i>The Shack</i> might be an enjoyable read and
have admirable motives, and it is certainly a thought-provoking piece of
literature, it ultimately falls short of contributing anything to the
understanding of God. On the Lutheran
talk radio show Issues Etc. it was recently said that “<i>The Shack</i> is a book about God that gets God wrong.” This is a description that I can
wholeheartedly agree with, and one which points us to precisely the reason why
the book fails. To attempt to explain
how to reconcile the idea of a loving God with the facts suffering and tragedy
in the world is not a successful endeavor if the author misrepresents the
identity of God in the process.
Likewise, an attempt to correct people’s false understandings about God
does not achieve its goal if it undermines all concrete knowledge about God in
the process. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span face=""segoe ui" , sans-serif" style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">A
book that seeks to answer deep questions about God, but gets God wrong, is like
a bicycle wheel without a hub. Even with
all its spokes, it will not take the bike anywhere, and will just end up
harming someone with a lot of sharp edges as it spins. <i>The
Shack</i> is Trinitarian enough to turn off a non-Christian, but it falls so
far short of orthodox that it cannot offer any real insight to an orthodox
Christian. Ultimately, a mature
Christian already has an understanding of the themes the book addresses. On the other hand, a new or weak Christian
who needs to understand some of the ideas the book wants to express would
suffer more harm than good from reading it because of the abundant false
teaching saturating the book. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span face=""segoe ui" , sans-serif" style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Many
who are reading over reviews of this book are really looking for the answer to
one question: Should I read this
book? (or should I have read it?) For the</span><span face=""segoe ui" , sans-serif" style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;"> mature Christian who is strongly rooted in the Bible’s teachings,
reading th</span><span face=""segoe ui" , sans-serif" style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">is book will not do any harm</span><span face=""segoe ui" , sans-serif" style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">, providing </span><span face=""segoe ui" , sans-serif" style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">it is read</span><span face=""segoe ui" , sans-serif" style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;"> with the careful understanding that </span><span face=""segoe ui" , sans-serif" style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">it
is</span><span face=""segoe ui" , sans-serif" style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;"> not </span><span face=""segoe ui" , sans-serif" style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">a true and accurate</span><span face=""segoe ui" , sans-serif" style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;"> portrayal of God. In fact, since so many of </span><span face=""segoe ui" , sans-serif" style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">people
</span><span face=""segoe ui" , sans-serif" style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">are reading it already, it </span><span face=""segoe ui" , sans-serif" style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">is
beneficial for mature Christians to be knowledgeable</span><span face=""segoe ui" , sans-serif" style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;"> enough about its contents that </span><span face=""segoe ui" , sans-serif" style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">they</span><span face=""segoe ui" , sans-serif" style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;"> can help guide </span><span face=""segoe ui" , sans-serif" style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">others around</span><span face=""segoe ui" , sans-serif" style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;"> its pitfalls. On the other hand, for children, most
teenagers, new Christians, or those who do not have a precise understanding of
the Bible’s teachings, this book should most certainly not be on </span><span face=""segoe ui" , sans-serif" style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">their</span><span face=""segoe ui" , sans-serif" style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;"> reading list.
It will only serve to obscure God’s identity for </span><span face=""segoe ui" , sans-serif" style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">them</span><span face=""segoe ui" , sans-serif" style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;"> rather th</span><span face=""segoe ui" , sans-serif" style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">an reveal it, and has the
potential to do g</span><span face=""segoe ui" , sans-serif" style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">reat
spiritual harm</span><span face=""segoe ui" , sans-serif" style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;"> if its understanding of God is believed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span face=""segoe ui" , sans-serif" style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Young
has expressed that <i>The </i>Shack was
never intended for mass-distribution, but was originally a private attempt to
communicate to his children the understanding of God in which he had found
comfort. In the final analysis, though,
I think the author is reacting to a perceived theological imbalance which was
evident during his childhood and early adult years. The present church, however, actually seems
to suffer from the opposite imbalance.
While the church of 35-40 years ago may have been too heavy on God’s
greatness, holiness, and wrath, and painted a white male picture of a
Gandalf-god, the church today is reluctant to paint any picture of God or may
even allow every person to paint their own picture (such as Young’s “Trinity”). Today’s church has largely ignored God’s
greatness, holiness, and wrath, and God’s grace is too often understood as
permissiveness instead of forgiveness.
Young said in an interview that he believes our picture of God is often worse
than our fears, but he would rather paint God as better than we can
imagine. Both options fail to benefit
anyone if they are unscriptural. While
Young seems to see himself as unique, cutting-edge, and counter-cultural in
portraying God the way he does, in my judgment, he has actually conformed
precisely to the pattern of today’s world where all religions are seen as equal
and every individual has their own sovereign experience and definition of god
which is not subject to comparison against Scripture or any other authority.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;">
<span face=""segoe ui" , sans-serif" style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Rev. Jason P. Peterson<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="mailto:revjpeterson@yahoo.com"><span face=""segoe ui" , sans-serif" style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">revjpeterson@yahoo.com</span></a><span face=""segoe ui" , sans-serif" style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;">
<span face=""segoe ui" , sans-serif" style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">St. Peter’s Lutheran Church, Rockford, MI<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://www.lutheranreformission.com/"><span face=""segoe ui" , sans-serif" style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">http://www.LutheranReformission.com</span></a><span face=""segoe ui" , sans-serif" style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="file:///C:/Users/Pastor/Google%20Drive/St.%20Peters/The%20Shack/Full%20Review%20-%20bookfold.docx#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""calibri" , sans-serif" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
By “orthodox,” I mean all Christians who hold the definitions of the Trinity
and the two natures of Christ expressed in the three Ecumenical Creeds
(Apostles’ Nicene, Athanasian) as well as the Divine Inspiration and Inerrancy
of Scripture.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Rev. Jason P. Petersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02559555598308652106noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5500579847993423093.post-90883989651056561872016-03-31T10:33:00.001-05:002016-03-31T10:33:15.827-05:00Worship in the Name of the Father, and of the Truth, and of the Spirit<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">For this week's newspapers, I answered a question about what worship "in spirit and truth" means in John 4:23:</span></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Q: What does Jesus mean in John
4:23 when he says that “the true worshipers will worship the Father in
spirit and truth”?</span></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">This is a statement of Jesus that has
been called into service for a variety of agendas over the course of church
history. One of the most popular has
been to suggest that worship should be heartfelt (thus “spirit”) and not rote
memorization or following a set order.
Others have included the idea that a person might have a direct
experience of God in worship as opposed to contact with God that comes through
channels such as the Word and the Sacraments.
<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">These understandings of Jesus words
seem only to come in English-speaking contexts, though, and are not typically
found elsewhere, and they fail to recognize the circumstances under which Jesus
makes the statement. The Samaritan woman
to whom Jesus is having the conversation has just brought up the question over
whether one ought to worship God in the Jerusalem temple as the Jews do, or on
various mountains as the Samaritans do. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Jesus’ response is intended to
redirect her question away from consideration of where is the right place to
worship God under Old Testament law, and instead, toward the question of the
identity of the God being worshipped. In
both alternatives that the woman presents, the proponents of that form of
worship have both departed from the Truth and rejected the Spirit by proposing
their own worship rather than that given by God. For the Samaritans, it was mixing the name of
the true God with ways of worship borrowed from idols. For the religious leaders in Jerusalem, it
was the belief that they could please God with their own good deeds and
observance of the Ceremonial Law. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Jesus answer uses an answer that
reveals to her who the True God is because He names the Trinity by saying that
the true worshippers will worship “The Father,” of whom Jesus is the Son. They will do so “in Spirit,” that is, by the
faith given by the Holy Spirit. And they
will do so in “Truth,” which Jesus reveals to be Himself throughout the Gospel
of John, especially when He says later in John, “I am the way, the truth, and
the life.” <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So in Jesus’ words, we have the
Father, the Truth, and the Spirit. It is
reminiscent of the traditional ending of the prayers of the Church, “Through
Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy
Spirit, one God, now and forever.” True
worshippers are those who acknowledge the Triune God, according to Jesus, and
now that He has arrived, He tells the Samaritan woman that both Jerusalem and
the mountaintops of Samaria are now irrelevant, because they both seek to
worship a God who will someday come to save them, but that God is now standing
before her, and will soon go forward to the cross and grave, from which he will
rise and make both the temple and the Old Testament law obsolete. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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Rev. Jason P. Petersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02559555598308652106noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5500579847993423093.post-40798192339356662222016-03-01T20:18:00.000-06:002016-03-01T20:18:19.153-06:00Extraordinarily Unreliable<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">For this week's newspapers, I answered a question about why we see such a difference between the extraordinary events and revelations in Bible times and the seemingly ordinary events of present day life in the Church:</span></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Q: Why is it that there are so
many dreams, visions, healings, and other miraculous revelations or
interventions recorded in the Bible, but these do not seem to be a prominent
part of the life of the Church today?</span></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Before sin entered the world, Genesis
describes Adam and Eve as having close, direct interactions with their Creator
in their garden home. Even upon their
sin, God still speaks directly to them about the consequences of that sin, but
more importantly about the promise of a savior who would come from among their
descendants. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">From then on, reports of God’s direct
interaction with humanity become less frequent and less numerous. Seen in the lives of men like Noah, Abraham,
Jacob, and Moses, these interactions occur to particular people for a
particular purpose, namely that of preserving and protecting the family line
that will eventually give birth to Jesus.
<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Later in the Old Testament, these
direct revelations become confined only to those called to the office of
Prophet, and once Jesus Himself lives, dies, rises, and ascends into heaven,
those holding the office of Apostle continue to receive inspiration by the Holy
Spirit and proclaim the Divine Word in their preaching and their writings which
now make up our New Testament. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Many people, upon reading of the
extraordinary events they see in the lives of the Biblical personalities,
wonder why it is that they have not experienced such things if they also trust
in Jesus. What is often overlooked,
however, is that these direct encounters with God are particular in nature,
seen manifested in those holding the office of Prophet or Apostle, or in close
association with those holding that office.
Additionally, these events which are described in Scripture are never
connected with a promise that the general population of Christians will
experience the same, whether then or thereafter. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Even Jesus’ own description of the
Holy Spirit’s work among the Apostles in John 14-16 does not include the
promise that He will reveal anything new, but rather is described as reminding
them of what Jesus has taught them and guiding them in their proclamation of
the same.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Now, we do see occasional claims in
the present day that similar events to those in the Bible have occurred. The epistle of 1 John does give some general
standards by which one might rule out that an extraordinary event was divine in
origin, and this is given because of the possibility that spiritual evils could
produce miraculous acts or extraordinary experiences as counterfeits to draw
people away from Jesus. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">This is the danger for relying on
these extraordinary things in the present day—that we cannot verify if they are
genuine divine acts or evil counterfeits sent to distract us from Jesus. In fact, many would warn that it is possible
that the evil one or his angels might grant a person great prosperity or
miraculous rescue and allow them to give God credit for it only to pull the rug
out from under them so that they curse God when these things fail. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Whether God chooses to intervene
directly in the present day or not, there is a source for reliable hope which
is far greater. In his letter to the
Corinthians, Paul describes the miraculous and extraordinary things we might
seek as the imperfect or partial revelation of God, while He points to the
Scriptures and the hope of the Resurrection on the Last Day as the perfect and
complete. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The eyewitness reports of the death
and resurrection of Jesus are secure and trustworthy, along with the rest of
Scripture which flows from them. When
God deals with us through this revelation, as well as that Word made visible in
the Sacraments in His Church, we can know it is Christ Himself and no imposter
who comes to us, because these are firmly attached to His own promises, for
which there is no counterfeit. And when
He returns on the last day to judge the living and the dead, He will reveal
Himself to all people and heal all that is wrong forever. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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Rev. Jason P. Petersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02559555598308652106noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5500579847993423093.post-7010188642460311712016-03-01T20:00:00.003-06:002016-03-01T20:00:37.392-06:00Lead us not into Temptation; but Lead Jesus Instead<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">For last week's newspapers, I answered a question about the Holy Spirit's role in Jesus' wilderness temptation:</span></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Q: If it is Satan who is
responsible for the temptations we face, and not God, then why do Matthew and
Luke say that the Holy Spirit led Jesus out into the wilderness to be tempted
after His Baptism?</span></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">These details do seem to be in
conflict with each other on the surface, but if we wanted to be very detailed
in looking at the sentence, we could note that the Spirit simply leads Jesus
into the wilderness, where Satan does the actual tempting. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">But that answer is not necessarily
adequate, because we still see the Holy Spirit serving to lead Jesus into
temptation when James, the brother of Jesus, writes in his epistle, “God cannot
be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one.” This seems to place the
temptation far too close to the Holy Spirit’s work of leading Jesus for the
comfort of most. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Since the words tempt and temptation
do not refer only to sin, but also to other various types of tests, trials, and
tragedies, some have used the same kinds of explanations here that are often
used by pastors when people face hard times in life. Among these are explanations like that God
does not tempt people, but allows people to be tempted or tested to achieve a
greater good. While explanations like
this may be comforting and may be true, they still seem less than satisfying in
this instance. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">When reading the details that Matthew
and Luke give about Jesus’ temptation, it is interesting that there are
repeated Old Testament connections made by the events of Jesus temptation which
point us in the right direction about what is happening there: <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The best example might be that the
temptation lasts 40 days. The number 40
shows up dozens of times in Old Testament history and in the life of
Jesus. The most relevant here would be
that Moses was on Mount Sinai 40 days when He received the Law in God’s Ten
Commandments, and the people of Israel wandered in the wilderness 40 years on
their way from Egypt to the Promised Land, giving in to many temptations along the
way. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Jesus, on the other hand, spends His
40 days in the wilderness perfectly resisting temptation, and while the Law
revealed by Moses brought only the bad news that we have sinned and fall short
of God’s demands, Jesus spent His 40 day temptation, and all of His earthly
life, fulfilling God’s Law in our place.
His perfect record under temptation is a reversal of our failure to
resist sin. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In another case, an Old Testament
Sacrifice on the Day of Atonement involved sacrificing two goats. One was slaughtered as a Sacrifice for sin,
while a family would confess their sins while laying their hands on the goat’s
head, after which they would lead it into the wilderness and abandon it never
to be seen again, pointing forward to this temptation of Jesus in the
wilderness. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">These among many others, point
Israel, and us with them, to the work of Jesus as the Savior who lives and dies
in our place. Because of this office as
Messiah and Savior, Jesus is different from us in His relation to God. Just as He suffers the cross in our place to
exchange our well-deserved punishment for His perfect rewards, it is necessary
that He be tempted, and so the Spirit leads Him to it in a way that might not
be true for us. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Jesus temptation was done to fulfill
the righteousness God demands and to achieve God’s will which is that people
would rely on Him for forgiveness and be give eternal life through Him. Likewise for us, even when we do face tests
and trials in life, we trust that they occur for the greater purpose of pointing
us to God’s salvation and an eternal, resurrected life in which there will be
neither temptation nor suffering of any kind. </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
Rev. Jason P. Petersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02559555598308652106noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5500579847993423093.post-65452099791164435082016-01-31T11:18:00.003-06:002016-01-31T11:18:42.019-06:00Ash Wednesday<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">For this week's newspapers, I answered a question about the ceremonies of Ash Wednesday and their meaning:</span></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Q: What is Ash Wednesday and what
is the meaning of applying ashes to people’s foreheads on that day? What reasons to churches have behind their
decision to use ashes or not, and how does this custom fit with Jesus warnings
in Matthew 6 about showing off one’s repentance, prayer, and good deeds? </span></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Ash Wednesday is the name that has
come to indicate the first day of Lent.
It occurs 46 days before Easter Sunday, and emphasizes the themes of
sin, mortality, and repentance that carry forward throughout the season of
Lent, which is a period of contemplation and often fasting that prepares for
the celebration of Easter. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The source of the name for Ash
Wednesday comes from one of the customs associated with it—the application of
ashes to those who attend that day’s services.
In Old Testament times, covering oneself with ashes was used as a sign
of mourning or sorrow for sin. In
keeping with that Old Testament tradition, churches began centuries ago to use
this as a way of marking the beginning of Lent, as it fits closely with its
repentant character. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br />
A common tradition relating to the making of the ashes is to make them by
burning the prior year’s palms from the Palm Sunday procession, and the ashes
are usually mixed with a small amount of olive oil in order to achieve the
right consistency for application. Holy
water may also added, such as in Roman and Anglican traditions of
Christianity. The traditional words
which accompany the application of the ashes are “Remember that you are dust
and to dust you shall return,” again emphasizing the themes of sin and mortality
by echoing the words recorded in Genesis as being spoken by God to Adam and Eve
after their fall into sin. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In addition to the Roman and Anglican
tradition, the use of Ashes is also fairly common among Lutherans and
Methodists, as well as some portion of most denominations which observe the season
of Lent. A trend in recent years has
been for even representatives of some traditions which have not typically
observed Lent or other elements of the broader liturgical year to restore the
traditions of Ash Wednesday as part of a renewed interest in the ceremonial
heritage of the ancient Church. It is
rare, if not outright forbidden, in traditions which devalue ancient ceremony
or reject it as merely human tradition. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Some Christians do avoid the use of
ashes at all because they perceive that it violates Jesus’ warnings about
self-righteous displays in Matthew 6, while others, particularly among Roman
Catholics, choose to wear their ashes for the remainder of the day after their
application as a public testimony of faith in Jesus. Others may receive the ashes, but remove them
soon after in response to Jesus’ warnings in Matthew 6. Some even see the receiving and immediate
removal of the ashes as an excellent illustration that we are born sinful and deserve
God’s punishment because we engage in actions which disobey God’s law, but that
the sin has been washed away in Baptism, allowing all who trust in Jesus to
forgive their sin to stand before God at the judgment in His righteousness and
purity rather than their own death-deserving sin. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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Rev. Jason P. Petersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02559555598308652106noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5500579847993423093.post-47467836961263624072016-01-07T17:33:00.002-06:002016-01-07T17:33:45.505-06:00Jesus' Birthday? <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: large;">For last week's newspapers, I answered a question about the date of Jesus' birth and its significance for salvation: </span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Q: How did the Church figure out
if Jesus was born on December 25? Do we
celebrate Christmas because Jesus saved us by being born? </span></span></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Many people do not realize that the
date of Christmas on December 25 was never intended to be understood as a claim
to be the literally precise date of Jesus’ birth. A handful of ancient Church Fathers believed
and defended the possibility that it might be His actual birth date, but the
date of December 25 is more significant for its role in illustrating through
the rhythm of the Church’s year the life, death, and resurrection of
Christ. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">This begins with the common
acknowledgment that the day on which Jesus was crucified was March 25. Because it was not customary for the Jewish
people to record birth dates at the time of Jesus, it was a popular belief that
the date of a person’s death coincided with the date of their conception. By this reasoning, Jesus’ conception began to
be celebrated on March 25 of the Roman calendar while His death and
resurrection were celebrated on the Friday and Sunday of Passover week by the
Jewish calendar. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Out of this eventually developed the
complete Church Year which celebrates the date 9 months after March 25 (which
is December 25) as the commemoration of the birth of Jesus, and through its
various seasons remembers the events of Jesus’ life during the first half of
the calendar and His teachings during the second half of that calendar. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In addition, one can also look to the
record that John the Baptizer was conceived on Yom Kippur, the day his father
served in the Temple for the Jewish Day of Atonement, which occurs in the last
week of September. Luke then records
that Mary conceived Jesus when Elizabeth was six months along in her pregnancy
with John, which would be the last week of March, resulting in Jesus birth nine
months later, in the final week of December.
<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">But, the significance of Christmas
does not come because Jesus birth is the act by which He saves. The perfect life He lived after that birth,
and His death and suffering of God’s wrath on the cross in place of sinners are
necessary in order for salvation to be accomplished. His birth alone would be majestic and worthy
of note, but it would not by itself be able to deliver forgiveness of sins to
humanity or reconcile us to God. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Instead, we celebrate the birth of
Christ because it is the concrete event where God’s salvation first becomes
visible to His creation in the person of Jesus.
In the early Church, the Annunciation (the angel’s announcement which
caused Jesus’ conception in the Virgin Mary) was actually revered of more
highly than Christmas, because they recognized that the significant event was
already full and complete as Jesus was already fully God and fully human from
the moment of His conception—a truth Christians refer to as the
Incarnation. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br />
However, we celebrate Christmas because of the same significant truth, which is
that God took on human flesh in the person of Jesus. God the Son voluntarily allowed Himself to be
conceived, born, grow, and mature in the normal course of human life. He became fully human so that by taking on
our flesh He could stand in our place both in life and in death. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">He accomplished that in the events of
Good Friday and Resurrection Day, but we recognize and celebrate that He began
the earthly life which leads to that on the day of His birth—whether that
literally happened on December 25 or not.
<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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Rev. Jason P. Petersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02559555598308652106noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5500579847993423093.post-90388961072773293042015-11-26T10:40:00.003-06:002015-11-26T10:40:38.709-06:00Churching the State to Justify the Samaritans<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">For this week's newspapers, I answered a question about the Good Samaritan and Syrian Refugees: </span></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Q: Does the Bible offer any
principles about what the U.S. Government policy should be on whether to take
refugees from Syria and the Middle East?
Are the parable of the Good Samaritan or the Old Testament laws
regarding treatment of foreigners relevant to the question?</span></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">While many people might read the
parable of the Good Samaritan as a moral lesson about charity and how a person
should respond to others in need, it is actually about much more. While it certainly is good to help those who
are suffering (which other passages of Scripture reveal), the parable is, first
and foremost, about Jesus Himself. In
the parable, the character of the Good Samaritan is not a president or a
senator. In fact, the character of the
Good Samaritan is not even any ordinary human.
The Good Samaritan is Jesus!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">And the character in the parable that
represents humanity is not even the priest or the Levite, but instead, the
victim is the character in the parable which plays our role. Jesus, the Good Samaritan, comes down into
our uncleanness to cure and heal us, completely apart from our worthiness or
ability to repay. Understanding this
reality completely changes how we approach the parable and rules out its
application to a government’s acceptance of refugees, unless we want to suggest
that the Government or the president are our savior. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Many who have attempted this
application have also made reference to a handful of Old Testament laws
regarding the treatment of foreigners. The
difficulty with this attempt is that those laws were not universal laws given
to humanity, but rather, they were given particularly to the nation of
Israel. So, if we were to suggest that
these laws carry over into the present day, rather than being fulfilled in
Jesus, we would have to apply them not to the United States Government, since
it is not constituted by God or committed to serving Him, but rather to the
Church. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Probably the most relevant passages
of Scripture in relation to this issue are the New Testament sections that describe
the role of government, particularly in Paul’s Epistles. In these passages, the role of Governments
which are not Ancient Israel is consistently described as being to provide
safety and stability to their citizens.
The Church, then, has the role of helping those in need under the
umbrella of that stable and secure nation.
<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So, in the present circumstances, the
Government’s role is to do whatever is in the best interest of our nation’s
security, even if it is not the most humanitarian choice for those outside of
our borders, because its duty is to its own citizens. If it comes down to helping people from other
parts of the globe with the result of incurring a substantial risk to its own
citizens’ safety, or providing security to its own citizens while denying help
to non-citizens, our government’s Biblically-mandated priority is to protect
its own citizens. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The Church’s role, on the other hand,
is to help those in need. So, if our
government should choose to allow the entry of refugees, then Christians are
called to demonstrate the Lord’s mercy by helping those who arrive on our
shores. If the government determines the
threat to our security is too great, then we are still able to provide help
through the hands of our fellow Christians and their Churches in the parts of
the world where the refugees find a home.
<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The government has its own particular
God-given role, and the Church has its own, but as we address these
circumstances, it is important to distinguish those roles and apply the proper
scriptures to the proper roles as we seek Biblical answers to the questions at
hand. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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Rev. Jason P. Petersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02559555598308652106noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5500579847993423093.post-31526171140324810712015-11-09T12:41:00.002-06:002015-11-09T12:41:44.795-06:00Does Paul contradict Jesus?<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">For this week's newspapers, I answered a question about the alleged contradictions between the teachings of Jesus and Paul:</span></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Q: Do St. Paul’s writings in the
Epistles of the New Testament contradict the things that Jesus said as recorded
in the Gospels? Did Paul add to or alter
Jesus’ message when he was writing to the churches, and what gave him authority
in those churches if he was not a follower at the time of the Resurrection? </span></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">This is a recurring accusation during
the most recent two centuries of Christianity:
That Paul’s teachings in the epistles do not align with the things said
by Jesus during our records of His earthly life and ministry. The exact accusation often varies, with those
on one end of the spectrum accusing Paul of being too doctrinal in comparison
to their perception of Jesus as a free spirit whose ministry centered on
helping people, and those on the other end of the spectrum accusing Paul of
being too lenient regarding matters of the Law—whether those found in the Old
Testament or matters of personal holiness—while they believed Jesus to have been
more strict about these things. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Usually this kind of response to the
content of the New Testament results in a person diminishing portions of the
New Testament in favor of others, rather than trying to reconcile the
statements and understand the original intent of Jesus speech or Paul’s writing
to discover that they actually do agree.
When it falls short of outright rejection of Paul’s epistles or other
New Testament books, this kind of approach to Jesus and Paul usually results at
the very least in some imaginative story-telling to explain how the early
Church came to a unanimous consensus regarding Paul’s letters if they are
actually so far removed from Jesus’ teachings.
<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">One way in which it is often quite
simple to reconcile the teachings of Jesus and Paul that seem to contradict on
the surface is to dig deeper into what they are actually communicating. Since most readers in this part of the world
are limited to reading Scripture in English, we sometimes forget that Jesus did
not speak and Paul did not write in English, but we are reading a translation
of their words. In translation, there
are often not direct equivalents for the words being translated, and English
often cannot convey the time and duration as precisely as Greek did. So, even if we have the most accurate
translation possible, a reader might understand the English word differently
than the translator intended to use it, or we may miss that a particular
statement was made only for a particular circumstance while another was made as
a standing, universal proclamation. The
majority of contradiction accusations I see can be solved in this way, and even
for those who do not have access to original language training, looking at a
verse in multiple reliable English translations sometimes clarifies the intent
of the passage. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Another difficulty for those who
propose a contradiction is that the New Testament itself describes that the 11
original disciples of Jesus had access to Paul’s letters, and they examined him
and his message, ultimately endorsing him and approving that He was proclaiming
the same thing as they had learned from Jesus.
Likewise, we have no record that any person at the time of the writing
or in the following century ever proposed that there was a problem between Paul’s
teachings and the things said and done by Jesus. Instead, it was universally understood that
Paul was writing explanation to the churches about what the life, death, and
resurrection of Jesus accomplished and how they were to apply this to life in
their congregations. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">When the New Testament is read with
care to understand the original meaning the authors intended and the history is
taken in full perspective, it becomes exceedingly clear that Paul was, in fact,
proclaiming the same message as Jesus and pointing people to the authentic
Jesus and not to some new formulation that was hijacking Jesus for other
goals. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Questions may be submitted by email to revjpeterson@stjohnsburt.org or sent
to P.O. Box 195; Burt, IA 50522.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Rev. Jason P.
Peterson<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Pastor, St.
John’s Lutheran Church – Burt</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
Rev. Jason P. Petersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02559555598308652106noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5500579847993423093.post-27871640993952086422015-10-27T15:42:00.003-05:002015-10-27T15:42:50.126-05:00Forfeiting Grace to Embrace Sin<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: large;">For this week's newspapers, I answered a reader question about how many sins it takes for a Christian to lose salvation:</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Q: How much sin can a person
commit and still be accepted by God into eternal life at the final
judgment? How much sin should we on
earth tolerate before we no longer consider a person a Christian? </span></span></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Peter once asked Jesus a question
about how many times he should forgive a person who had sinned against
him. Thinking according to the Pharisees
tradition of that time, Peter was expecting an answer in the single digits,
perhaps seven. Jesus answer, however,
was “seventy times seven.” <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">While Jesus’ answer to Peter deals
with how many times people should forgive sins committed by and against one
another, some of us, like Pastors or parents, are assigned the vocation to take
concern over whether a person’s sins against God are forgiven and where the person
stands in relation to God. Even though
not in a position of God-given authority over them, a Christian friend or
neighbor might also be concerned over where a given person stands in relation
to God’s forgiveness because they fear their neighbor may be in danger of
suffering God’s eternal punishment for sin for themselves. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It helps to begin with the fact that
Jesus paid for all sin—“the sin of the world” as John says in his Gospel. Those who rely on Him to forgive them receive
His grace, and have no more penalty left to account for on their own. However, as long as they live this side of
the grave, they remain incapable of perfectly refraining from sin. While we do not excuse sin or treat it
lightly, we also acknowledge that this sin too is forgiven, and not merely the
sin committed prior to trusting in Jesus.
<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Some might wrongly conclude that this
teaching of grace then frees a person to live in any way that seems appealing
and act in any way which feels right.
St. Paul answers this question in his letter to the Romans, though, by
responding to the question of “Should we sin more so that grace might abound?”
with the strongest possible denial the Greek language has to offer—“Certainly
not!” or “May it never be!” <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Having been forgiven, the Christian
is called then to avoid sin and seek to live in agreement with God’s will—even
though they continue to fail. This is
why many of our churches begin the week’s services with a Confession of Sins,
after which the pastor proclaims God’s forgiveness once again to those who
trust in Jesus. When it comes to how
many sins a person might commit before forfeiting salvation, it is not a matter
of counting, but even for the Christian remains a matter of faith. Those who trust in Jesus remain
forgiven. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">However, there is a difference
between one who commits sin and one who embraces it as a lifestyle or adopts it
as an identity. When those assigned the
task of spiritual care examine those under our authority, this is what we
consider: What do they confess? For those who acknowledge their sin and
struggle against it, we act with compassion, pronouncing once again God’s grace
to forgive their sin. On the other hand
when faced with those who love and embrace their sin or consider it a defining
characteristic of their identity, we must pronounce God’s Law and warning
instead, in hopes that they will return and be forgiven, because defending
their sin contradicts their claim to trust in Jesus. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br />
While it remains solely the privilege of God Himself to know the contents of a
person’s heart and the status of their soul, we here on earth can observe the
words and actions of our neighbor and warn or encourage them with the
applicable laws or promises which our Lord has given. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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Rev. Jason P. Petersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02559555598308652106noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5500579847993423093.post-37850059681562619842015-10-12T16:48:00.001-05:002015-10-12T16:48:09.443-05:00Earning Blessing<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">For this week's newspapers, I answered a question about whether faith or obedience are able to earn blessing from God: </span></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Q: Does God grant earthly
blessings to people based on the sincerity of their faith, and does He bless
Christians with health, wealth, or other prosperity based on the degree to
which they obey Him?</span></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It would be easy to make conclusions
that God’s blessings in this world depend on the performance of the individuals
receiving them, because such a conclusion would fit with the majority of
religious thought that has taken place around the world throughout history, and
would fit with the way that we are used to things working among humans in
business and commerce. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">However, no matter how reasonable
this conclusion seems in light of our earthly experience with other
authorities, the Lord who has revealed Himself as the Trinity of Father, Son,
and Holy Spirit does not operate on those same principles. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">When various religions make
propositions about earning a god’s blessing, they are operating under the
assumption of a deity that does not desire to do good to us, but that we need
to achieve a certain level of obedience in order to force his hand. On the other hand, the God of the Bible is
consistently portrayed as one who desires to give and to bless, and we are
undeserving recipients of His gracious gifts.
<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">This is particularly true in
spiritual matters, where God forgives sins as a pure gift because of the
crucified sacrifice of Jesus, but it also applies to the many earthly blessings
over which we have limited control, such as weather, the growth of crops, or
good health. Jesus comments on this with
His words in Matthew 5 that God makes the sun to shine on both the evil and the
good and the rain to fall on the righteous and the unrighteous alike. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">We can also observe that in this
life, those whose faith appears deepest do not always experience perfect health
or abundant wealth. Instead, they may
sometimes suffer more than others while those who commit vile acts seem to
prosper. Many of the heroes of the Bible
are perfect examples of this, as the Apostles and Prophets often faced fierce
opposition and the majority of them died for their faith rather than
experiencing earthly success. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">There is one sense in which this is
true, but it functions in a natural way rather than a supernatural one. This is because the creator of the world in
which we live is also the giver of the laws by which we are commanded to live
in it. As a result, a great deal of
suffering and tragedy can be avoided when God’s laws are obeyed. So, for example, the God who created nature,
the body, and family relationships gives laws which, if obeyed, would allow a
person to avoid many conflicts, diseases and disorders, while the probability
of numerous natural consequences increases dramatically when a person chooses
to depart from that law. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Ultimately, understanding this truth
may help a person avoid a great deal of false guilt that might arise if they
did live faithfully yet see their desires unfulfilled or find themselves
experiencing suffering or tragedy. It
also serves to remind us that as long as we live in this world, our obedience
will remain imperfect and we will still face trials and suffering, but we look
forward with hope to a resurrected life which we receive as pure gift and in
which these things will be no more. Even
though the promises we do see of abundance and prosperity in Scripture are left
partially and unevenly fulfilled in this world, they will be fully and
completely fulfilled in the New Creation to come. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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Rev. Jason P. Petersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02559555598308652106noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5500579847993423093.post-39414521971618219372015-09-28T13:02:00.002-05:002015-09-28T13:02:26.558-05:00All you have to do is... Seriously???<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">For this week's newspapers I answered a question about whether humans have free will and to what extent: </span></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Q: Is it true that humans have a
free will, or are our life and eternity laid down by another power which causes
us to be destined for the events which happen?
</span></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">This is a question which both
religion and philosophy have both struggled over the course of centuries, and
among Christians, it has historically been the source of some of the most
heated disagreements about doctrinal matters.
<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Since for people who live in the
Western world, particularly in the United States, much of our way of life is
founded on the ideas of freedom and opportunity, we often get the impression
that this freedom applies in all areas of life.
<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">When we are talking about earthly
things, this is true for the most part. The
majority of the time, humans do have free will when it comes to merely earthly
matters. So, when it comes to what we
eat, where we live, the things we purchase, what we will do for an occupation
and how we will carry out that occupation, humans have a free choice, provided
the choices of their fellow humans do not impose upon them. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">However, the Bible makes clear that
in spiritual matters, circumstances are far different. Some of the highlights among these include
Paul’s statement in the book of Romans, quoting from the Psalms, that “No one
seeks God” and “No one does good, not even one,” along with the prophet Jeremiah’s statement
that the human heart is deceitful above all things. <br />
<br />
Paul also makes statements throughout the books of Romans, Galatians, and
Ephesians that salvation is “by grace,” that is that it is a pure gift. Now if our salvation is a pure gift, except
that we must exercise an act of free will to make a choice, then it is no
longer pure gift, but rather the result of the human work of making a
choice. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In response to this, some have
suggested that there is no free will at all in humans. They conclude that humans have no free will
at all in spiritual things, and some even extend this to earthly things to the
extent that all things are caused and determined by God with humans merely
carrying out what has been decreed. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">This oversimplifies a highly-nuanced
teaching of Scripture, though, whether we apply this idea, called determinism
or fatalism, to only spiritual things or to all of life. Simple answers are always attractive, but
rarely manage to answer the question with the full depth of Scripture. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The witness of the Bible’s authors is
consistently that God receives full credit for any person whose sin is forgiven
and that they played no role in earning or deserving that gift. However, when speaking of those who receive
the punishment their own sins deserve, God never receives the blame, but that
blame is rather squarely assigned to the person who committed the sin. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">There is also a distinction regarding
whether the question is asked of a Christian or of an unconverted person. For those who are apart from Christ, it is as
if they possess a free will, but it is restrained to only choose evil in
spiritual matters, and in capable of choosing good. However, for those who have been given the
gift of trust in Jesus, that will has been un-chained from that point forward, the
new person created through faith and Baptism does indeed have a free will, although
it continues to struggle against the old sinner that still dwells within them
for the remainder of their natural life.
<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Ultimately, humans do possess a free
will, which all people are able to exercise in merely earthly matters, but none
at all as it touches on salvation; and even after being freed by the Holy
Spirit’s work it continues to struggle against sin’s restraints until they
depart this life to await the final Resurrection with their Lord. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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Rev. Jason P. Petersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02559555598308652106noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5500579847993423093.post-57919281095775457712015-09-13T10:55:00.001-05:002015-09-13T10:55:55.505-05:00Born in the Wrong Body?<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">My article for this week's newspapers answers a question regarding the unity of the body and soul and those who would suggest one is superior or that the two can be mis-matched:</span></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Q: Is it possible for a person to
be “trapped in the wrong body” or for there to be a mismatch between who they
are physically and spiritually?</span></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It used to be that when a person
said, “I am a marathon runner trapped in a sumo wrestler’s body,” or “I am a 29
year old trapped in a 70 year old body,” that it was merely a figure of speech
that a person was using to indicate that their attitude did not line up with
their physical attributes. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Today, however, such claims are
regularly stated with the intention of describing what a person believes to be
a factual set of circumstances. News
stories abound where such statements are made about a given person’s race, sex,
health, or abilities, but those who hear such claims, particularly Christians, would
do well to consider the implications of such claims for our understanding of
the human person if they would be factual.
<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Philosophers in Greek and Roman times
often debated whether a person was composed of two or three or another number
of components parts. Such explanations
would include component parts such as body, soul, mind, and spirit, and in such
systems of thought, it was usually proposed that the immaterial elements made
up the real person and the body was portrayed either as incidental or sometimes
even like a sort of prison. <br />
<br />
In other parts of the world, a variety of religious philosophies teach that the
“real” person is the spirit, which is then born repeatedly through a series of several
lifetimes, taking on different bodies.
The common theme between these views of the human person is that they
begin with components, move to the idea of the person, then assign one
component as the one that is essential to humanity and the others as
auxiliary. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br />
Biblical understanding of humanity, on the other hand, sees the person,
although composed of both material and immaterial aspects, as created
whole. This can be seen from the creation
accounts of Genesis to Paul’s epistles, and everywhere between. Any distinction or discrepancy we perceive
between these aspects is only the result of a fallen world, and something we
will only experience during our mortal lives, because we will be made whole at the
resurrection. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">There are times when a person might perceive
a difference between the roles or traits that society expects of them based on
their outward characteristics, and they make such statements as a way of
legitimately challenging the assigned traits which arise from culture rather
than Scripture. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In other cases, particularly those
regarding gender, a person may suffer a biochemical irregularity which causes
them to, feel, behave, or perceive themselves in ways that do not fit the body
they are born with. In such cases it is
not that a wrong combination of material and immaterial elements have been
joined in the person, or that one element is the real person and the other a
mistake. Instead, even though they were not
created to feel the discord they experience, a part of them is not functioning
as designed for them to be comfortable as the integrated human being that they
were created to be. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">As Christians navigate these kind of
difficulties themselves or help their neighbors who may suffer from such false
perceptions, we recognize that they are a whole person, and since we cannot see
or understand the inner workings of their immaterial elements, the body God
gave them and its genetic code is the only reliable marker of who that person
is before God. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In light of this, we teach that one
aspect of the person is not real while the other is false, but that they are a
whole person. Accordingly, we seek to the best of our
ability to assist them in embracing and living out their reality as a whole
person, and while they endure these struggles in this life, we support and
encourage them through the gifts our Lord has given in His Church until our
Lord returns to make them whole and align all things as He designed them to
be. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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Rev. Jason P. Petersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02559555598308652106noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5500579847993423093.post-22087160327591269182015-08-31T15:20:00.000-05:002015-08-31T15:20:05.081-05:00Circumcising Adiaphora<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">For this week's newspapers, I answered the final follow-up in a series of 3 about what makes and does not make a person sinful by answering how a Christian chooses about what to do when the action is neither commanded nor forbidden by genuine divine laws: </span></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Q: If it is not the things we
consume or touch, or even our actions, that determine our status before God,
then how do Christians choose a course of action in decisions which involve
things beyond the Ten Commandments?<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">When a person understands the fact
that their status with God the Father is determined by Jesus and His perfect
life and crucified death rather than their own performance, it can be a
difficult adjustment because it seems at first to leave a vacuum in the area of
ethics and morality. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">However, the Christian still honors
God’s law, and even desires to keep it, but as a result of God’s goodness to
them rather than as a condition of salvation.
When it regards which actions are a sin, this is guided by the Ten
Commandments, as understood in the light of all of Scripture, but there are
many choices where none of the options would seem to violate one of these
commandments, but a choice still remains to be made. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Sometimes, there are clear New
Testament instructions on a matter, usually dealing with matters of the way the
Church carries out its work. One of the
clearest examples of this is Paul’s instructions to Timothy and Titus about the
qualifications for pastors and elders. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In another instance, there was a
question about whether the gentile Christians should eat certain meats or do
other things that were forbidden by the Old Testament ceremonial law. The result was that the apostles held a
council at Jerusalem and determined that these laws did not apply to Gentiles
when they became Christians, but that they should observe a few customs out of
respect for their Jewish Christian neighbors.
<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Paul Himself had to make a choice
about the law of circumcision when he began to enlist the help of non-Jewish men
as associates in the mission. On one
occasion, he decided that Timothy should be circumcised like the Jews were
according to their law, but on another, he refused to allow Barnabas to be
circumcised. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br />
This is because it was neither commanded nor forbidden that gentiles to be
circumcised like Jewish people were before Jesus came, so Paul chose what best
taught the people what they needed to understand. This is what he means when he talks about
“becoming all things to all men” in 1 Corinthians 9. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Because Timothy would be serving in a
setting where he would be among Jews, Paul allowed for him to be circumcised so
that it would not be an obstacle to his congregation hearing and believing the
Gospel. On the other hand, Barnabas
would be serving in a time and place where Judaizers were seeking to force the
Old Testament law upon Christians, so Paul refused to allow his circumcision in
order to demonstrate the Christians’ freedom from Old Testament ceremonial
laws. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In both cases, Paul made the decision
that most clearly provided a path for people to hear and believe the Gospel
without the corruption of false teaching—making concessions for the sake of
those who might be weak, but standing firmly against those whose pride
undermined the Gospel. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Christians are called to similar
commitments when faced with present customs and behaviors that are matters of
controversy, but don’t relate to the sins specified in the Ten
Commandments. This would include things
like alcohol or tobacco use, many expressions of language, and displays of
wealth, among many others. The
Christian’s goal is to make such choices in the way that avoids being an
obstacle for the Gospel or which tears down obstacles placed by others. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So, when we make choices, we try to
do what would be least confrontational to our neighbors who are offended by
certain things because they are misinformed or fearful, but when confronted
with opponents who seek to enforce their choices upon us out of pride, then we
are called to stand against them so that our neighbors’ freedom and confidence
in the Gospel would not be assaulted. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Questions may be submitted by email to revjpeterson@stjohnsburt.org or sent
to P.O. Box 195; Burt, IA 50522.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<br /></div>
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Rev. Jason P.
Peterson<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Pastor, St.
John’s Lutheran Church – Burt</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
Rev. Jason P. Petersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02559555598308652106noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5500579847993423093.post-18672343086433506202015-08-17T23:36:00.002-05:002015-08-17T23:36:35.295-05:00Abusing the Root of All Prohibition<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;">For this week's newspapers, I answered a follow-up question to last week's answer about whether physical things can be inherently sinful: </span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Q: If it is not certain substances
or objects which are the source of sinfulness, then what about alcohol, drugs,
tobacco, gambling, and other things which play a role in so many problems in
society? Does the same method apply to
examining the morality of actions? </span></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">This question has made frequent
appearance in English-speaking Christianity, particularly here in the United
States. Since so many societal ills
involve abuse of alcohol, drugs, or other substances, people sometimes conclude
that if you could rid society of the substance, you could eliminate the
problem. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Likewise, with actions, they often
conclude that since an action has caused problems for some people in some
circumstances, that the action itself must be evil—or at least in decrying the
abuse of the action, they give the appearance that the action itself is a
sin. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">However, such an approach is not in
step with the worldview of Scripture or of the historic way the Church has
approached such question. Instead, honest
analysis reveals that the problem is not with objects, or in some cases actions,
but rather with the impure desires and motivations which drive people to misuse
them. The problem is not in the use or possession of
the things, or the performance of many actions, but in their abuse. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">So, for example, the Old Testament
frequently used wine as an illustration of joy and celebration and made other
positive references to alcohol consumption, and St. Paul even instructed Timothy
to use wine to aid with digestion.
Meanwhile, in the very same books of the Bible, the authors warned
against drunkenness—the misuse of alcohol.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Similarly, there are many
prescription medications that are beneficial when used as prescribed, but
harmful if misused. Even in the case of
illicit drugs, it is not as if sin was written into the chemical compound, but
because the person is harming their own body by their use (5<sup>th</sup>
Commandment), disobeying lawful authority (4<sup>th</sup> commandment), and
treating God’s blessing of the body in a wasteful manner (7<sup>th</sup>
Commandment). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Sexual intimacy provides an excellent
example where this idea can be applied to an action. When it occurs between a husband and a wife
in the context of marriage, it is a blessed thing which results in numerous
benefits to the relationship of the couple, the foremost of which is the
potential of conceiving a child. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In contrast, when it is used in any
other context, it results in spiritual harm, as well as increased risk of
several kinds of physical and emotional consequences. Similar to the way it is with things above,
it is not the action which is sin, but the wrong use of the action. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Consider also the popular saying that
“Money is the root of all evil.” This
thought by many to be a saying from the Bible, but in reality it is a
misquotation of a Biblical statement, which really says, “The love of money is
the root of all evil.” The misquoted
statement attributes the sin to the object of money, but the genuine statement
rightly blames its wrong use, by loving it, as the real problem. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The Prohibition era in our country
provides an excellent case study in this principle. The Temperance movement advanced the idea
that ridding the country of alcohol would result in a utopian society that was
free of the problems people felt were most pressing at the time. In reality, people obtained alcohol in other
ways, discovered other substances to abuse in its place, and violent organized
crime began to flourish as a direct result of what was intended to be a
beneficial reform. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Ultimately, it is this way with all
sins. Scholars of the commandments have
rightly observed that every other commandment really points back to the First, “You
shall have no other gods.” Whenever a
person misuses an object or an action, they are treating it as a god—no different
than someone who bows down before a carved idol. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The 2<sup>nd</sup> through 8<sup>th</sup>
Commandments describe particular ways in which this occurs, and the final
commandments about coveting bring the idea full circle by revealing that even
the desire to have or do those things which one does not have the right to have
or do is itself a sin even though the thing has not been obtained or the action
accomplished. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Rev. Jason P. Petersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02559555598308652106noreply@blogger.com0