The Hurting Lie: What I've Been Hiding From

   Over the last few days, I've been steadily and increasingly drawn to a significant, inevitable and sobering personal conclusion as I contemplate the lessons that I learned during Holy Week and Easter:

I've been keeping the Holy Spirit at a 'safe' distance, afraid of Him, because I'd been fooled by the lies of those who have misrepresented Him and abused His name. I've been hurt, and I've been hiding from the pain for the last four years.

   This is a troubling realization to be arriving at as I try to put this into words. I have a nagging feeling that this is going to be like facing the painful memories of my childhood bullying and abuse that blindsided me more than a year and a half ago. I first began processing those memories in the post "Infliction: Childhood Wounds", as God began unraveling the emotional bandages that I had wrapped my heart in, and dismantling the armor that I had erected to protect myself. I wrote about that in "Adoration: Childhood Heroes" and "Conviction: I'm not Iron Man." I felt scared as I started to work through those memories then; I'm starting to feel scared again now.

   It is an unnerving experience to be taken by God into the hidden and hurting places of my heart, where memories have been suppressed and locked away, wounds bandaged over, barriers erected, defenses at the ready. It is scary to face the truth about our hurt, abuse, fear, and the lies that we have believed about myself or others. However, it is more painful to realize that I have been scared of God as a result of spiritual wounds at the hands of false religion and teaching, and believed a lie about Him. That is the sensation I'm beginning to feel now as I think about the Holy Spirit in light of my experiences of last week, and I'm afraid. I'm afraid because I know it's going to hurt to think through those memories, but I have to if I want to find the truth.

    I first tried to describe my spiritual and intellectual confusion that took place during my teenage years, when my family shifted into the Pentecostal/Charismatic community and congregations in my post "In Search of 'Holy Ground'." It was there that I first heard all sorts of people delivering extraordinary and conflicting claims regarding the Holy Spirit and His power in the life of the believer. Some seemed biblical. But others taught that He 'zapped' people with His power, causing them to shake, shout, clap,  fall over, laugh, roll around, jump, and other strange behavior. Yet others taught that His whole purpose was to deliver anything that was asked of Him on demand, like the 'delivery boy' of the Trinity. According to them, He could be commanded at will with 'name it and claim it' language, with the intention of delivering health, wealth, big houses, cars, success, prosperity, personal aircraft, and anything else that we asked for to make us happy. All of them tried to use Scripture to prove their claims. All of them seemed attractive and legitimate.

Young, gullible and naive as a new Christian, I fell for all of it.

   The end result of believing lies built upon swiss-cheese theology was that I formed a completely wrong picture of God, His Word and especially the Holy Spirit in my mind. This influenced who I thought I was, who I thought He was, how I approached Him, and how I looked at life. In the end, it took two devastating personal crisises that shook the foundations of my world and caused it all to come crashing down to wake me out of my stupidity and "smell the burning coffee." When the shock wore off, I realized to my horror that I had been well and truly fooled. I had been taken for a ride, spiritually duped, fed and believed a delusion, a blasphemy about the person of the Holy Spirit and left a fool at the end of it all. I felt devastated, like I had woken from a bad dream; I had been used, violated, pillaged, an idiot who believed anything and everything that was told to him and robbed of innocence in the process.

   Four years ago, disillusioned and hurting but desperately wanting to live the real and authentic Christian faith, I went in search of a church that could help me lay a solid foundation in my faith and teach me the "truth." God in His mercy led me to the theologically conservative yet somewhat unconventionally Mennonite church that I attend, where I have had to unlearn much of what I thought I knew. Although I have learned much in the process, especially the precious truth about how to carefully read and interpret God's Word, I am beginning to realize that I have unintentionally kept the Holy Spirit at a safe distance. Although I pray to my Heavenly Father and think a lot about Christ, His Son, I have been afraid of speaking too personally to the Holy Spirit, asking for His help or expecting His 'power', because I've been afraid of once again opening the door to all the false teaching that I fell for before, falling into the trap and committing blasphemy in the process.

   It hurts to realize this. I have to face the fear and lie that Satan tells me about the Holy Spirit in my heart and destroy it. I know that I know the real Holy Spirit. He is not the crazy, distorted image that I naively believed in many years ago. I have to firmly establish the truth about Him in my heart, and call on His power. I'm going to stop here for now and go to bed. This has been emotionally exhausting to work through for one evening. See you in the next post.

Good night, Holy Spirit. I love the real You.

- The Wisdom Seeker.

REFERENCES:

============

[1] Infliction: Childhood Wounds

[2] Adoration: Childhood Heroes

[3] Conviction: I'm not Iron Man

[4] Salvation: The Guardian

Humbled By Humility

"...before honour is humility." - Pr. 15:33b, NKJV

   I've just settled down for the evening with my ESV study Bible and some devotional books as I try to keep tracking and immersing myself in the events of Holy Week. Yesterday's readings in the Gospels gave me much to contemplate regarding God's meticulous planning and sovereignty over the events of history, as I thought about the gathering of actors and the setting of the stage for the events leading up to Christ's passion [1]. 

   According to the timeline of the events that have been put together of Christ's final week [2], people in Jerusalem (including Jesus' disciples) have been busy during the day making preparations for the Passover, which begins at sunset. The temple has been extremely busy during the day as lamb after lamb has been sacrificed - some historical estimates place the number around a quarter of a million animals sacrificed for Passover during Christ's time. The disciples have roasted the lamb, and prepared various side dishes for the meal (including bread). They have also prepared the room for celebrating this important meal in their yearly calendar. All Israel is gathering to remember the night of God's deliverance of their ancestors from the land of Egypt thousands of years ago, with the slaying of Egypt's firstborn and his "passing over" of their houses that had been marked and sprinkled with the blood of slain lambs.

Bread. Wine. Body. Blood.

   It is now evening, and Christ has begun the Passover meal with His disciples. During the meal, He has taken bread, broken it and instituted the future memorial of His body, with the words, "This is my body which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me." Passing the cup of wine, He has pronounced its significance: "This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood" [3]. It is also during the meal that He has identified Judas as his betrayer, though none of the others understand. The Passover meal is almost over; the food is almost over, the dishes almost empty. And now, the incarnate Word of God, in whom, through whom and for whom all things exist, once again shows Himself to be a Man like no other:

"Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come from God and was going back to God, rose from supper. He laid aside His outer garments and, and taking a towel, tied it around His waist. Then He poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet and wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around His waist...When He had washed their feet and put on His outer garments and resumed His place, He said to them, 'Do you understand what I have done to you? You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right for so I am . If then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also out to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you. Truly, truly I say to you, a servant is not greater than His master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent Him. If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them." - John 13:3-5, 12-17, ESV

   I can only imagine the shock on the disciples' faces; washing people's feet was considered to be a task reserved for non-Jewish slaves. In that time and culture where people walked long distances on dusty roads What a Man, and yet God! What a Servant, and yet the King of kings! There is no one else like the Lord of glory. Human imagination cannot concoct such a God, who works miracles beyond comprehension, and then stoops to wash the dirty feet of His followers! This righteous and holy God, who walked the dusty roads of Palestine for thirty three years, assumed the posture of a servant and washed the dust that He Himself had created off the feet of His creation. In the gesture of utmost love for His enemies, He even washed the feet of the one who had already agreed to betray Him.

   Attempting to follow in Christ's footsteps, I once tenderly washed someone's feet and dried them with a towel, in an act of love and servanthood. It was an intensely humbling lesson and experience; it made me feel very small and insignificant, a nobody washing the feet of a somebody. I understood through that one small act the attitude and posture that my heart should adopt as a follow and servant of my Lord and Master, and have tried to keep that in mind ever since. The Apostle Paul, thinking about the servant heart and mind of Christ, wrote the following words to the Philippian church:

"Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. Let this mind be in your which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a slave, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross." - Philippians 2:3-8, NKJV

   That's the God my heart follows and obeys; Christ is the Man who leads from the front by example, not from a safe place at the rear. That's the kind of man I want to be, because I'm no greater than my Master. He humbled himself to obedience and death; so must I. I'm going to think about this as I keep pace with the events of the Passion tonight. Jesus and His disciples have left for the Garden of Gethsemane. The pace of the story is ramping up to its inevitable conclusion in another fifteen hours. Time for me to follow them. I have to run. See you in the next post. Until then, here's a great music video featuring the scenes of The Last Supper enacted in "The Passion of The Christ", featuring the song "Remembrance" by Matt Maher:

- The Wisdom Seeker

REFERENCES:
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[1] The Approaching Cross
[2] "Harmony of The Events of Holy Week", ESV Study Bible, pg. 1866
[3] Luke 22:19-20, ESV

Judgement Begins At The House of God

Jesus cleanses the temple in a scene from
"Jesus of Nazareth" (1977)

   Today being the second day of Passion Week, I wanted to look at an event that caught my attention as I was reading through the Gospel of Matthew yesterday. It refers to Jesus' cleansing of the temple on the day following His triumphant entry into Jerusalem, which I reflected on in yesterday's post. On a personal note, I particularly like how this event is portrayed in the 1977 movie "Jesus of Nazareth" that I later watched as a child. The film makers imagined Christ paraphrasing the prophetic words of Isaiah 1:21 - "Jerusalem! The faithful city! She that was full of justice, has become a harlot!" - before proceeding to clean the temple.

   This event can be found described in all four Gospels - Matthew 21:12-13, Mark 11:15-17, Luke 19:45-46, and John 2:13-17. Of these, I thought I'd use the description provided by the Gospel of John here:

"The Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. In the temple he found those who were selling oxen and sheep and pigeons, and the money-changers sitting there. And making a whip of cords, he drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and oxen. And he poured out the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables. And he told those who sold the pigeons, “Take these things away; do not make my Father's house a house of trade.” His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for your house will consume me.” - John 2:13-17, ESV

   Christ never ceases to amaze. The day before, we saw His soul was in distress during His triumphal entry, as He anticipates His coming suffering under the full potency of the Father's divine anger against the sins of human kind. Now, He almost seems a different man. I used to hold to the popular perception of "gentle Jesus, meek and mild", and imagine Him as a "nice guy" when I was growing up. The more I am coming to know Him through Scripture, the more that I see that He is anything but a "nice guy"; we must never forget that this Person emerging through the pages of Scripture is God the Son, the second person of the Trinity, the eternally existing and omnipotent Word through whom all creation was made.

   I was struck that Jesus, after surveying the goings-on in the temple, deliberately sat down and took the time to make a whip out of cords in an act of premeditated aggression. See the fire blazing in the Master's eyes! See the sinews of His strong hands, as He fashions the instrument of His anger! Christ makes no attempt to invoke diplomacy and engage in polite, negotiated conversation. The Lord of glory storms into His temple, people and animals fleeing before the lashes of His whip, as He kicks tables over and flings their money to the ground. What has made the Saviour so angry?

   No one needs ask; Christ Himself roars the accusation with pointed finger - "a house of trade!"; "a den of robbers!"  This is the reason for the Master's potent fury - the desecration of reducing His holy house into a place of commerce and profit; a department store! a foreign exchange counter! When God had first instituted the sacrificial system for worship and sin offerings in the Old Testament, He had commanded that each person was to personally pick and bring the best bull from his herd or lamb from his flock, or if too poor, turtledoves or pigeons. By the time of Christ, worship had lost all sense of truth, meaning or spirit. Corrupted by the emptiness of an external show of religious observances and devoid of true holiness, it had made a mockery of the spirit of God's law by turning the temple into a department store for the worshipper to buy the animals that he needed instead of bringing them himself. For those Jews coming from outside Israel to worship at Jerusalem, money changers had set up business to exchange their currency and buy the animals that they needed. Oh, how the righteous anger of Jesus must have burned as He saw this the previous day!

   It was as I was thinking over this passage that the words from the first Epistle of Peter hit me like a lightning bolt:

"For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God?” - 1 Peter 4:17, NKJV

   Dearly beloved, let us contemplate this verse during Holy Week - God is not mocked or partial; He will set His own house in order first before He ventures to judge those who do not belong to His kingdom. Christ will cleanse His church of every evil that corrupts and distorts His gospel, with stern measures if He has to. This is a very sobering thought, for the the temple of God is not to be found in humble parishes, church buildings or impressive cathedrals; it is not a congregation or denomination. No, indeed, for the Apostle Paul writing to the Corinthian church states the truth of the matter:

"Do you not know that you are God's temple and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are.” - 1 Corinthians 3:16-17, NKJV

   If the Master were to come into my temple today, what would He see? Would I be able to look Him in the eye, or cast my eyes to the ground in shame? Would I hear the words "Well done, good and faithful servant!", or would I hear the kind of words that He used upon those who He drove out with whips in Jerusalem? Knowing that He will begin with me, is my conscience clear? Let us examine ourselves and if we find our temple in disorder, let us repent and confess our sins to Him, knowing that "if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness." - 1 John 1:19, NKJV

   See you in the next post for Passion Week!

- The Wisdom Seeker

The Gospel Stops "The Game"

It's been an extremely busy week with work, ministry and errands to run so I'm really glad that it's the weekend (although the weekend looks like it's filling up pretty quickly too)!

I've just arrived at the half-way mark in Tullian Tchividjian's "Jesus + Nothing = Everything", and it's given me so much to ponder, while transforming my mind to comprehend and marvel at the brilliant truth and beauty of the gospel. I've had to unlearn some wrong ideas in my Christian walk, repent of those sins and turn to Christ as my all-sufficient source of grace and power in my life. As the Holy Spirit has guided and brought me to those moments of conviction and change, I've felt free of those shackles and chains that burden the mind and heart.

As an example, in a section of Chapter 7 subtitled "Foolish or Free", Tullian wrote the following words that I found quite personally relevant and convicting:

    "God hates legalism. That message sounds throughout the Bible, and it's certainly a major theme of Paul's, especially in his letter to the Galatians. Legalism insists that my ongoing relationship with God is based on my ability to do good. That approach is always inconsistent with the gospel, and Paul shoots it down in every letter he writes - both through the way he structures those letters and in their content...In his letter to the Galatians, especially in chapter 1, Paul uses the strongest terms possible in exhorting believers to go back to the gospel as the one and only basis for their Christian lives....Paul goes on to declare, 'For freedom Christ has set us free;' and that must include letting go of the burden of having to 'become a better you.'" [1]

It was during December 2010 that I went through a time of some painful realizations and processing of memories and scars from my childhood years. This led to a four-part series of posts as I processed some of my childhood hurts, heroes, and realizations about both:

• Infliction: Childhood Wounds
• Adoration: Childhood Heroes
• Conviction: I'm Not Iron Man
• Salvation: The Guardian

In the marvelous providence and timing of God, while working through similarly painful convictions brought to my attention by Tullian's book, I came across a video recently that told a similar story told in the life of my friend, Hannah. I have known Hannah now for about two years since she came to serve as a staff member for Campus for Christ in the metro Vancouver area. I had always known her as a conversationally witty, easy-going and laid-back woman who is committed to her faith and purpose in life and able to hold her own in a discussion. But as I watched this video, it struck me how little one might be aware of the deep scars of the heart that may lie below a friend's exterior, or their struggles. But as in my own painful episode of two years ago when God gently hammered away at my pseudo-armor and brought down my walls, Hannah's story also reminded of the deep love of Jesus and the tremendous power of His gospel to free us from our enslavement to sin. Here is Hannah on YouTube, recounting her journey in answering the question "Would you rather play and always lose or never play at all?"

Hannah Lee: "Would You Rather Play and Always Lose or Never Play At All?"

Thanks for reading. See you in the next post, which will be carrying some very exciting news! Until then, grace and peace to you.

- The Wisdom Seeker

REFERENCES:

------------------------

[1] Tullian Tchividjian, Jesus + Nothing = Everything, Crossway, Wheaton IL, Pgs. 101 - 102

Because He's Worth It: Jesus And Nothing Else

Jesus + Nothing = Everything, by Tullian Tchividjian

       I was given a book by my roommate Paulman as a Christmas present. It was not one that I had heard of before, thought I had once caught a glimpse of his personal copy lying next to his computer in the living room - a simple black cover, with the title in red  and white lettering. At the time, it didn't evoke more than just a casual and passing glimpse from me. Christmas came and went, and it was carefully placed among the other books in my little library, for later reading. But I am suddenly in haste to read it now, and finish it today if I can; it has become an important and urgent priority. It is written by a pastor named Tullian Tchividjian, and it's title is a simple statement, written in the form of a mathematical equation: 

JESUS + NOTHING = EVERYTHING.

    Why the urgency? Two events happened yesterday that brought this to the forefront.

    The first was a casual phone call from someone that I'm close to that began well, but ended leaving me feeling uncomfortable and agitated, even angry. I still feel that familiar, tight feeling in the chest when I'm upset as I write this several hours later, and I know why. I didn't like what I heard, because it touched a raw nerve - the sensitive and conflicted area of my ongoing struggle to carefully think through my experiences with teaching and doctrine amongst different Churches that I have been through. It reminded me that this is an urgent and important issue for me to resolve, and provided fresh impetus to revisit the foundations of my faith and focus on the Gospel as a starting point.

    The second was an examination of my heart during my quiet time this morning as I formulated my priorities, my "first things" for this year, and how I would like to live the next twelve months. I know what I want for 2012. I want to make this a year of systematic seeking for truth in my faith, especially in terms of understanding and differentiating between right and wrong doctrine. I want to explore two foundational elements of my faith in greater depth, which I believe I must stay riveted on in order to make sense of everything else - Christ, and His Gospel.

    Stephen R. Covey, an expert in leadership development, made a statement in his book "First Things First" that has stayed with me: "The main thing in life is to keep the main thing the main thing." Some weeks ago, I wrote a post titled "To Follow Jesus All The Way", in which I quoted from the poem "My Choice" by martyred missionary William McChesney. I'm posting the whole poem here, because I believe it is very relevant to the "main thing" for this year. This is what it says:

MY CHOICE

     I want my breakfast served at eight
     With ham and eggs upon the plate
     A well-broiled steak I'll eat at one
     And dine again when day is done.

     I want an ultramodern home
     And in each room a telephone;
     Soft carpets, too, upon the floors
     And pretty drapes to grace the doors.
     A cozy place of lovely things,
     Like easy chairs with inner springs,

     And then, I'll get a nice T.V.
     - Of course, I'm careful what I see.

     I want my wardrobe, too, to be
     Of neatest, finest quality,
     With latest style in suit and vest
     Why should not Christians have the best?

     But then the Master I can hear
     In no uncertain voice, so clear:
     "I bid you come and follow Me,
     The lowly Man of Galilee."

     "Birds of the air have made their nest
     And foxes in their holes find rest,
     But I can offer you no bed;
     No place have I to lay my head."

     In shame I hung my head and cried,
     How could I spurn the Crucified?
     Could I forget the way He went,
     The sleepless nights in prayer He spent?

     For forty days without a bite,
     Alone He fasted day and night;
     Despised, rejected - on He went,
     and did not stop till veil He rent!

     A man of sorrows and of grief
     No earthly friend to bring relief;
     "Smitten of God," the prophet said
     Mocked, beaten, bruised, His blood ran red.
     If He be God, and died for me,
     No sacrifice too great can be
     For me; a mortal man, to make;
     I'll do it all for Jesus' sake.

     Yes, I will tread the path He trod,
     No other way will please my God,
     So, henceforth, this my choice shall be,
     My choice for all eternity.

- William McChesney

      I have the feeling that this is going to be a very intense, challenging, but ultimately rewarding year. I'm going to do this. By His grace alone. For Christ alone. For His Gospel alone. For His glory alone. Because He's Jesus, and He's worth it. See you in the next post!

     Grace and peace to you.

- The Wisdom Seeker

IRONMEN Session 2: Evolution and Christianity

Two posters from my days at Campus for Christ

     In my last post, I had detailed the opening talk by John Neufeld at the IRONMEN Adventure Weekend in Whistler, on the topic of wisdom and its necessity in understanding the conflict of the Christian faith with other worldviews. It was a great talk that laid a foundation for understanding the next two topics that he would talk about, the second one of which I will be detailing in this post - Evolution and Christianity, which we had the privilege of listening to at Milestones restaurant after dinner.

Pastor John delivering his talk at Milestone's Restaurant after dinner

     I think the fundamental question that Pastor John wished to address, and indeed the thrust of Session 2 could basically be stated as follows:

"Is the idea of subscribing to theistic evolution a viable option for Christians? If not, then how can we apply wisdom in approaching the challenge that this worldview presents to the Christian faith?"

     In his opening statements, Pastor John referenced some observations by Dr. David Berlinski, a postdoctoral in mathematics and molecular biology at Columbia University and among other notable achievements - an author, lecturer and agnostic - in an opening statement between evolution and intelligent design:

"The Darwinian theory of evolution is the last of the great 29th century mystery religions, following Freudianism and Marxism into the nether regions, and I am quite sure that Freud, Marx and Darwin are commiserating one with the other in the dark dungeon where discarded gods gather. The problem facing us at the beginning of the 21st century, with a magnificent body of theoretical accomplishments....that when it comes to the large body of global issues that Darwin's theory is intended to address....Random selection is known to be inadequate - especially when it comes to the overwhelming complexities of living forms."

     Dr.  Berlinski pointed out that some major mathematicians simply discount it - the fact that we cannot set up a computer schema to actually show the mechanism whereby it works. He said that workable mechanisms for evolutionary biology are missing - that we cannot point out the amount of changes needed to move from one species to another, neither the process whereby they change. He suggested that Darwinian theory places us into a kind of straight jacket, that does not allow the flexibility to consider the emergence of various theories. Thus evolutionary biology as the grand theory explaining everything continues to bind the discussion in only one direction.

     With that laid down, the question that Pastor John presented to our consideration was one that I myself had been pondering for some years:

A. Is Theistic Evolution a Viable Option?

     Theistic Evolution [1] can be summarised as the view that posits that there is one God, who created using evolution as a process or mechanism to bring about the world and universe as described in the creation account of Genesis, the first book of the Bible. Thus, God basically employs a procedure where He sets up the system and allows random mutation to occur, and evolution to happen.

      A major example of a proponent of this worldview would be Francis Collins [2], the American physican-geneticist and Director of the National Institutes of Health, who is better known for his leadership of the Human Genome Project.

     With that in mind, we proceeded to the next point of consideration - what was to be held in the 'closed fist', ''guarded hand' and 'open hand' in approaching this matter? For a detailing of the idea of the closed fist, guarded hand and open hand, see my last post 'IRONMEN Session 1: Wisdom and the Conflict of Worldviews'.

B. Things In the "Closed Fist"

1. God created the world and God is distinct from it. This is rejecting the idea of "God" presented by Baruch Spinoza as being nature itself [3]
2. God is directly involved in the creation. This rejects the worldview postulated by Deism, which must be rejected if we affirm the incarnation of Jesus Christ.
3. God created, "ex-nihilo" (out of nothing). This implies that we also deny the eternal nature of matter and the physical world, i.e. that this universe will go on forever. It means that we accept that this phsical world and universe will come to an end at some point.
4. God's world was originally good, and therefore, is different from the corrupted world in which we now live. This is something that evolutionary biology, including the idea of theistic evolution, cannot say - that the world was originally good.
5. Romans 5:12 - that sin came into the world through one man, and death - through him (that is, his fall from grace) spread to all men - death reigned from Adam to the present. Hence the story of redemption is redemption from a world cursed by Adamic sin.
6. God's character is revealed (his glory) as he deals with the corruption of his good creation - by providing redemption through Jesus. The entire biblical drama is based on this single premise. Thus, until we recognize that paradise was "lost", we cannot speak of paradise being "regained". Theistic evolution does not provide for this senario either.
7. According to Romans 1, creation speaks of the Creator in such a way that it is impossible to deny his existence.

     With these points clearly laid out, we were led to raise the question with regard to the topic of evolutionary biology - when we encounter the word "evolution", we must ask ourselves the question, "what exactly are we talking about?"

C. Definition of Evolution

1. Micro-evolution - refers to small scale changes within a species allowing it to adapt to its environment. Everyone agrees on this. An example cited is the Hedylepta, a butterfly in Hawaii found only on the Hawaiian islands, and a species that eats only bananas. The point of interest is that bananas were first brought to the Hawaiian Islands only about 1000 years ago - indicating that the species evolved within that time.  
2. Macro-evolution - refers to large scale changes occurring over vast period of time into the formation of new species. It refers to a universal common descent - the idea that all organisms descended from a common ancestry - solely through unguided, purposeless material processes such as natural selection, random variation, mutation, etc. - and this accounts for the appearance of design.
3. Those who hold to the idea of evolution resist the idea of Intelligent Design (ID) [4]. Francis Collins is an example of those who argue against this. It should also be noted that people in the ID movement are only making the case that evolution cannot account for the current scale of biological reality.
4. Evolution or ID essentially presents a system of origins that leaves open belief in a Creator, but does not need it. Essentially, it is atheism, subscribing to a philosophy of materialism.

     Having said all that, Pastor John raised some of the questions that occur to Christians who hold to the creation account of Genesis 1 and 2, which I myself have been searching for answers to.

D. Problems for Those Who Believe Genesis 1-2

1. The age of the Earth. This deals with the question of the Old Earth vs. Young Earth Theory.
2. The fossil record. If death occurred because of Adam's sin, how do we explain the evidence of death & extinctions of species that we see in the geological and fossil record?
3. Meticulous Sovereignty or Deism? The Bible teaches that God is meticulously involved in His creation. For example, the book of Colossians says: "For by Him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities - all things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all thing, and in Him all things hold together." - Col. 1:16-17, ESV
4. The problems with science class

      With these points in our heads for consideration - the non-viablility of theistic evolution as an option, the non-negotiable aspects of biblical thought and doctrine that must be held in the "closed fist", the two scales of evolution that could be defined and the questions in the mind of the believer, Pastor John proceeded to lead us through a detailed study of the first two chapters of Genesis, which are outlined below.

Bible Study

1. Genesis 1:1. Creation is therefore out of nothing. Creation is also therefore not eternal as it is in Bhuddism. But that raises the question - what is the age of the universe?
2. Genesis 1:2. Uses the term "formless and void". In Hebrew, it is transliterated by the term "togu va bogu", meaning without purpose, a howling wasteland. How long was the earth "togu va bogu"? Moses (who wrote the book of Genesis) is silent on this issue. One way of reading Genesis 1:1-2 is in the style of a newspaper headline - the opening sentence being the summary, followed by more detail. Alternately, it could be read sequentially - that God created the Cosmos in Gen. 1:1, and then shifts focus to creation account on Earth.
3. Day 1 (Genesis 1:3-5) - One of the questions raised relates to the described order of creation - how is there "light" without the sun? Day 1 describes God bringing light into being, but then Day 4 talks about the creation of the sun and stars. So what "light" is Day 1 talking about if the sun and stars were not created yet? This seeming contradiction in account can be resolved if we understand the description of conditions and changes as seen from the perspective of an observer standing on the surface of the earth. Thus, Day 1 might be referring to the clearing of interplanetary debris, so that light could penetrate. Day 4 would then be referring to the ordering of already existing sources of light.
4. Day 2 - Genesis 1:6-8. Creation of dry land.
5. Day 3 - Genesis 1:9-13. Creation of vegetation. From our previous discussion on the differences between micro and macro-evolution, we take this to mean creation of all organisms in their mature form.
6. Day 4 - Genesis 1:14-19. Creation of the luminaries. From the assumptions of the perspective adopted on Day 1, we can take this to be the creation of a transparent atmosphere, so that the sun, moon, stars etc. become visible.
7. Day 5 - Genesis 1:20-23. Creation of sea animals.
8. Day 6 - Genesis 1:24-31. Creation of land animals and then creation of man.

     With this reading and study of the creation account and deductions laid out, Pastor John noted that it still left some outstanding questions, and proceeded to walk us through them.

E. Outstanding Questions

1. The day/age question. The first question to ask is - is this a closed, guarded or open hand question? In interpreting the Hebrew, this could be read literally as 6 24-hour periods of time, or alternately, can also refer to an extended period of time. Both might be possible, and it is not necessary to divide as believers over this.
2. Arguments for 6 literal days. The arguments note first of all that each day ends with a morning, and an evening pattern. Secondly, they note that in Exodus 20:11, God specifies 6 days of work, followed by a day of rest, patterning His methodology of creation
3. Arguments for 6 long periods. These arguments point to the 6th day as being crowded with events, and unable to fit in 24 hours - the creation of species, the creation of Adam, the naming of species by Adam and finally, the creation of Eve. Secondly they note that the formula of morning passed and evening came doesn't work the other way around. Thirdly, they point to the verse of 2 Peter 3:8: 8 "But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day."
4. Thus, there are problems that both sides need to address, and one might seem to be convinced if reading one side only.
5. Conclusion: The question of the age of the earth is a very different question than the question of evolution.  

     I am still pondering over these points that Pastor John put forward, even as I type this post. However, he proceeded to bring his talk to an even more interesting point of focus and which became very personal - what do and do we not learn from nature about God and ourselves?

F. What Does Nature Teach All People? From Romans 1:

1.  That there is a Creator. Creation lives and breathes the testimony of a Creator.
2. That we owe God an infinite debt of gratitude. Our Creator has provided us with abundance, even in a fallen world.
3. That our gratitude has not been in keeping with his kindness.
4. That we have substituted our knowledge of him with idols - gods that are fed and taken care of.
5. That we are therefore guilty as ingrates.
6. That we should seek mercy

G. What Nature Does Not Teach Us

1. Whether the God who exists is cruel  or kind
2. Whether the God who exists will bring us mercy
3. The need of Special Revelation through the Bible and the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

     This was an incredible talk and evening as Pastor John brought things to a close. I don't think I will ever forget it, and am still pondering these points as I type them out. See you in the next post, where I wind up this series with detailing the final session - Christian Faith and Homosexuality. See you then!

- The Wisdom Seeker

REFERENCES:

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[1] Theistic Evolution

[2] Francis Collins

[3] Spinozism

[4] Intelligent Design

IRONMEN Session 1: Introduction to Wisdom & the Conflicts of Worldviews

IRONMEN 2011 Adevnture Weekend poster

     The last post I had updated was on the second day of the Ironmen's Adventure weekend. As I didn't take any photos on Day 3, I'm going to start detailing the individual session notes that I took during the retreat. As I mentioned in my previous posts, there were three main sessions that were held. The titles are as follows:

• Session 1: Introduction to Wisdom & the Conflicts of Worldviews
• Session 2: Evolution and Christianity
• Session 3: Christian Faith and Homosexuality

    Pastor John opened the evening of Session 1 with an overview of what we would be looking at over the next three days, and more specifically, why. Given the nature of our times and the frequency of the ideologies and worldviews that we are presented with everyday, it is important for men to cogently decipher, understand and respond to them, especially those that challenge the Christian worldview. We will inevitably find ourselves in such situations as we pursue academic routes at colleges and universities, at work in the professional marketplace, and of significant importance, at home as fathers having to provide answers for the questions that our children may seek answers for, trusting that we will be able to impart wisdom to them. And that is why we need to think carefully through the importance, approach and application of wisdom to some of the foremost and significant questions that we as Christian men will be faced with. As he opened with these thoughts, I was reminded of a question raised by John MacArthur:

    "Today's evangelicals are confronted with a multitude of new perspectives, emerging trends and evangelical fads - all claiming to be more biblical or more effecive than the ideas they seek to overthrow. With such a broad patchwork of competing ideas all clamoring for mainstream acceptance, how can the average person in the pew be expected to know what is truly sound, safe, and biblical? In a world where everything seems colored in shades of gray how can Christians develop the discipline of discernment?"

- John MacArthur, in Tim Challies' "The Discipline of Spiritual Discernment"

    As I mentioned in my opening post of the Adventure Weekend, as John Neufeld proceeded to outline the thesis of his talk for the evening, I was thrilled that I had taken this faith step with the Ironmen, for his chosen topic was the fundamental theme of this blog, and the central pursuit of my life over more than a decade - Wisdom. Needless to say, I thus proceeded to scribble furiously, wanting to compile as detailed a set of notes as I could. Pastor John began with the first two chapters of the book of Proverbs, which are themselves an extensive discourse by Solomon on the importance of acquiring wisdom. From here, he laid out the following points:

A. From Proverbs We Learn:

1. The definition of wisdom (Proverbs 1:1-7)

• Wisdom is practical. It is concerned with the ability to live well, and to live skilfully
• Wisdom is moral. It is intrinsically geared towards taking hold of what is right, and rejecting that which is wrong.
• It is intellectual. Those who would be wise must be lifelong learners, pursuing the development of mind and skillful thought.
• Wisdom is probing. It compels the seeker of wisdom to question and dissect, to inspect the veracity and truth in a truth claim. By its very nature, it consequently differentiates the wise from the vast majority of people who succumb to mass hysteria, believe anything and shake their fist in anger at those who are labelled their 'opponents'
• Wisdom is theological. It is fundamentally predicated on the fear of the Lord, and emerging from a reverential attitude of worship

2. Prerequisites for gaining wisdom (Proverbs 2:1-22)

•  Wisdom must be overwhelmingly desirable
•  Wisdom must be paired to seeking God
•  We must train our "palette" to like wisdom. Wisdom forces the person who seeks it to humble themselves, and reject pride.
•  Wisdom must reject "quick solutions". It cannot be instantaneously acquired. It is developed through faithful and diligent seeking, learning, practice, even hardship. I was reminded of the following verse from Hebrews:

    "...solid food is for the mature, those who have had their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil." (Hebrews 5:14, ESV)

3. Five reasons to be wise (Proverbs 8:1-36)

•  Wisdom is available to all
•  Wisdom is the most valuable thing you possess
•  Wisdom keeps us from rash decisions with bad consequences
•  Wisdom leads to enduring success
•  Widsom leads to unending joy

    Moving on to a related passage in the book of James, we examined two distinct kinds of wisdom identified by the apostle, and Pastor John laid out the following five points.

B. From James We Learn About 2 Kinds of Wisdom (James 3:13-18)

1. Earthly wisdom includes

• Strong feelings of resentment against someone
• A rigid personal pride. There is a distinction to be noted between pride and rigidity. Pride is characterised by the attitude of "I know better than everyone else" and rigidity by the attitude of "my way or the highway"

2. The origin of earthly wisdom

• Human opinions and cultural norms
• A product of your personality
• Demonic

3. The result of human wisdom

• Turmoil in relationships
• Every vile practice

4. Wisdom from above includes

• Humility. One can never be wise until they humble themselves
• Unmixed motives
• Harmony and unity
• Not responding in anger, but in kindness
• Open to dialogue with an open heart
• Quick to seek reconciliation
• Bearing the fruit of the Spirit
• Treats others with fairness
• No mixed motives

5. The result of wisdom from above

• A harvest of righteousness
• Sown in the soil of peace

    As John Neufeld moved on to the next major sections, related to truths about God and the implications derived from those truths, I found myself listening with rapt attention because it was quite relevant to my ongoing struggle to understand differences in doctrines among denominations and various camps in Christendom. I will be writing extensively about my thoughts on these in upcoming posts.

C. Wisdom As It Pertains to the Truths About God

1. Things we hold in a closed fist
2. Things we hold in a guarded hand
3. Things we hold in an open hand

   The wise individual knows the difference between these categories, and issues that fall into these general groupings. Because I was previously aware of these categories and trying to keep up with Pastor John who was moving along quite rapidly, I did not take down extensive notes in this section. However, I was reminded of the following passage from Tim Challies' "The Discipline of Spiritual Discernment", in which he dealt with the same topic referencing a quote from Dr. Albert Mohler:

    "Though we are to test everything, there are some areas of Christian life and doctrine that are of greater consequence than others. Dr. Alber Mohler...writes:

    'Today's Christian faces the daunting task of strategizing which Christian doctrines and theological issues are to be given highest priority in therms of our contemporary context. This applies both to the public defense of Christianity in face of the secular challenge and the internal responsibility of dealing with doctrinal disagreements.'

    Mohler proposes three levels of theological urgency. While it may not always be perfectly clear which category a doctrine falls into, this structure can, at the very least, guide us toward the issues that are of the greatest importance. Debate that is most helpful will be debate that takes into consideration the relative importance of the particular issue.
    First-level issues are those that are most central and essential to the Christian faith. This includes the doctrines of the Trinity, atonement, the deity and humanity of Jesus Christ, justification by faith alone, and the authority of Scripture. Those who deny any of these doctrines are denying truths that are absolutely and fundamentally essential to the Christian faith. Denial of these key doctrines necessarily represents the abandonment of biblical Christianity.
    Second-level issues are doctrines that believers may disagree on but which still represent important issues and will form significant boundaries between Christians. These are often the doctrines that have defined or divided denominations. Examples might include the mode and meaning of baptism or the continuring miraculous gifts of the Holy Spirit. While Christians from either camp will affirm that those on the other side of the disagreement are brothers or sisters in Christ and will share fellowship with them on some level, these people will always experience a level of disagreement that will likely preclude greater unity.
    Third-level issues are those over which Christians may disagree even while maintaining close fellowship and remaining in the same local church. These may include doctrines such as the end times or whether Christians may consume alcohol in moderation.
    A caution is in order. Mohler writes, 'A structure of theological triage does not imply that Christians may take any biblical truth with less than full seriousness. We are charged to embrace and to teach the comprehensive truthfulness of the Christian faith as revealed in the Holy Scriptures. There are no insignificant doctrines revealed in the Bible, but there is an essential foundation of truth that undergirds the entire system of biblical truth.'"

    The next section that Pastor John bridged to from here was the conflict between the wisdom-based foundation of Biblical perspective and the conflict with our culture on major questions of life. The main areas of contention are spelled out in the following points:

D. Wisdom - and the Conflicts With Our Culture
1. The question of truth
2. The question of outcomes in terms of human lives.
3. The question of how we handle disagreements
4. The question of how we instruct our children
5. The question of 1 Peter 3:15
6. The ultimate question: What is the endgame?
    This can be better expressed by the question "What am I seeking to accomplish?"

    With these points laid out relating to the necessity of Wisdom and a biblical perspective, the next logical step that we stepped to in the train of thought was the examination of a wordlview, and the conflict that arises due to differing worldviews. Pastor John began this section with the following quote from James Sire:

E. A Conflict of Worldviews - Or What Is A Worldview?

1. "Whatever anyone thinks is premised upon a worldview. A worldview is a commitment, a fundamental orientation of the heart that can be expressed in a set of presuppositions (assumptions which may be true, partially true or entirely false) which we hold (consciously or subconsciously, consistently or inconsistently) about the basic constitution of reality, and that provides the foundation on which we live and move and have our being."

    That being said, we proceeded to think through the following points:

2. All worldviews ask and answer 7 basic questions:

• What is ultimately real?
• Everyone lives with basic pre-suppositions. Either:

1. There is one God
2. There are many gods
3. Everything is God
4. Nature just exists

• What is the nature of external reality? What kind of world is it?
• What is a human being?
• What happens to a person at death?
• Why is it possible to know anything at all?
• How do we know what is right and wrong?
• What is the meaning of human history?

    Having thought through these questions related to the fundamental idea of a worldview, Pastor John took us to an examination of how Christians sometimes respond to the worldviews around us.

F. Christian Responses to the Worldviews Around Us

1. A reactionary response

•     People adopting this response tend to always be fighting, finding problems with the world around them.

2. An accommodating response

•     This response is adopted by those who are afraid of what other people might think/respond and don't want to be the only ones who think differently from the culture around them

3. The response of wisdom

    And with this laid out, we came to the final section of the first session, setting the stage for the topics that we would think through over the next two days:

G. Two Great Worldview Questions

1. Evolution and the question of origins

• Am I the product of design or random blind chance?
• Do I have purpose?

2. Gender identity and human sexuality

• What is the nature of sexuality?
• Are there ethics based upon sexuality?

    I will be laying out the notes for the next session sometime over the next few days. Do leave feedback and let me know your thoughts on the points laid out in this session. See you in the next post - Session 2: Evolution and Christianity!

- The Wisdom Seeker

Willingdon Ironmen Fall 2011 Retreat: Day 2

8:27 AM:

     We're having a great breakfast in our apartment as the second day of the retreat opens. Tim is an awesome planner - he took all our food needs into account and came fully loaded. The end result is that he made us all awesome breakfast - scrambled eggs with shitake mushrooms and green onions, accompanied with toast and orange juice. Tim Leung is an awesome cook, so impressive that Johnson smelt the aroma while walking down the corridor and came in to join us :) We'll be going for our individual activities later on in the day. Johnson is heading off for a tree-top ecology tour; Bryant and Bryan are running a testimonial workshop in our suite, helping people develop and write a concise testimony of how and why they came to Christ. I'll be heading out to a 6-hour hike at 10 AM, and then off to lunch and second session with Pastor John. I'll update sometime then. Hope everyone reading is having a blessed day!

- The Wisdom Seeker

At breakfast. Johnson dropped by after smelling the delicious aroma in the corridor :)

Tim and Jason making breakfast - scrambled eggs and bagels!

11:49 PM:

     This has been an exhausting, but highly fulfilling day. It had a great beginning, and a wonderful ending. I would write much more in depth, if I wasn't so tired. The hike was great! There were two hikes offered, one covering 13 kilometers, mostly uphill at a steep gradient and ending at a lake with spectacular mountain views from 3,200 feet. The second was a shorter, milder hike across more level terrain with gentler slopes, to Cheakamus Lake, located in Garibaldi Park [1]. I opted for the second one, because I hadn't brought proper hiking shoes and rain gear with me. At the end of the day, after hearing some of the stories of the men that had gone on the more difficult hike, I was glad that I did!

     I met some great men on the hike, and made quite a number of friends. The conversations were deep and personally meaningful. It was surprising how quickly 6-odd hours seemed to fly past with almost non-stop conversation. In spite of that, I still remembered to stop at interesting locations and take photos, some of which I have posted below. One of the great shots I got was a panoramic photo at Cheakamus Lake, which I stitched together later at home using the most handy and open-source tool, Hugin [1].

By a stream going down to the river (shouldn't use the Foliage setting on my camera)

Alex Gonzales by Cheakamuk Lake

A panoramic shot of an area of Cheakamuk Lake, taken during our lunch stop

Collapsed tree trunks and rocky outcroppings by the trail

The intrepid explorer!

A view of the river from the suspension bridge near the trail

      On the way back, I was surprised to get a call from Johnson (who had opted to go on a tree-top ecological tour), asking what I was doing. It turned out that he was back at Tantalus Lodge, unwinding in one of the heated swimming pool, and asked if I wanted to join him in one of the hot tubs. Never having been in a hot tub before and starting to ache from 6 hours of walking, I was most enthusiastic to savour the pleasures of a soak in hot water, until I suddenly realized that I had no swimming trunks. I mentally kicked myself for not having bought one earlier. In any case, after getting back to the lodge, I did drop by the hot tub and snapped Johnson enjoying himself:

Johnson unwinding in the heated swimming pool

   At around 5, we all headed out to dinner at Milestone's restaurant, and the main event of the day which everyone was looking forward to - Session #2, with Pastor John. The topic was something of high anticipation, as he would be delivering a detailed talk on the subject of Evolution and Christianity. And what an evening it was! From the food, fellowship and conversation, it turned out to be a most memorable evening, with 200+ Ironmen filling the restaurant, which we had booked till midnight. And at the end of dinner, the tables were cleared, Pastor John took a seat on a stool with his notes laid out in front of him, and for the next one-and-a-half hours, proceeded to deliver one of the most incisive and fascinating talks that I have heard on the subject. Needless to say, I scribbled furiously as I tried to take down everything I could. I hope to post a detailed layout of his talk in the coming week. See you in the next post!

Alex, Jason, Ben, Tim and Johnson at dinner

Pastor John prepping during dinner

Pastor John speaking after dinner on Christianity and Evolution

- The Wisdom Seeker

REFERENCES:
-------------------------
[1] Cheakamus Lake
[2] Hugin Panorama Photo Stitcher

Heading Out To Whistler With Willingdon Ironmen Fall 2011 Retreat!

Men Sharpening Men: The Willingdon Ironmen Logo

4:30 PM:

     Well, it's the end of another working week and I'm back home. But I'm heading out again in just a few minutes, to leave for my first trip to Whistler with the Willingdon Ironmen's Fall Retreat! I'm really excited for this evening, as well as the next two days that I'll be spending with the men's fellowship at the Tantalus Lodge in Whistler, with our very own Pastor John Neufeld as the main speaker! I'll try to post here as often as I can about what I've been experiencing and learning everyday, with this year's theme being "Run To Win". Well, time to run through the final checklist and head out the door to meet Tim Leung at church for my carpool ride out there. See you all in the next update, hopefully tonight!

- The Wisdom Seeker

10:30 PM:

     Well, it's been an awesome opening day so far at the Ironmen retreat! There are more than 200 men here of all age ranges here. As I write this, I'm at the table watching my roomates Tim, Alex, Faber, James, Bryan, Bryant and my friend Johnson (visiting from his room) playing the game 'Settlers'. This brings back memories of the Campus for Christ Winter Conferences Johnson and I used to attend while in grad school.

James, Faber, Alex and Tim playing Settlers while I write my blogpost

     The trip here was most memorable, though brief. After work, I headed home, quickly packed my laptop and other minor things and headed out to meet Tim at Willingdon. When I got there, he was by parked in the church parking lot by the bus transporting some of the men to the retreat. I took a photo just before we left:

Tim hopping off the bus just before we all left.

      I had never been on the Sea-To-Sky Highway going to Whistler before. Although it was quite overcast and the light was fading as we headed onto it, there was still enough for me to get breathtaking views along the twists and turns along it during the one-and-a-half drive to Tantalus Lodge. When we arrived, we discovered an Ironmen check-in desk set up in the lobby, and a long line-up of men checking in at the front desk:

The Ironmen Welcome and Sign-in Desk

Ironmen Conference Poster

     Having grabbed a quick dinner and checked in to our rooms, we headed out to the Telus Conference Center for the first session. Following a short praise and worship session that began at 8:30, Pastor John began his opening talk for the weekend to come. And as he laid out the theme, I was thrilled that I had taken this faith step with the Ironmen, for his chosen topic is the fundamental theme of this blog, and the central pursuit of my life over more than a decade - Wisdom, and Handling the Conflicts of Worldviews.

     I will flesh out this post with the points that he made from his first talk tomorrow morning. For now, it's midnight and I'm going to have a shower and hit the bed. I'm looking forward to another exciting day tomorrow!

- The Wisdom Seeker