Atheism

Does God exist?

He says so.  The evidence for the existence of God is the existence of the natural world.  The mind that says, “I do not see any evidence of God”, is a remarkably incurious thing.  Such an attitude requires that one take the existence of all things as a neutral condition.  Given the state of human knowledge about the nature of reality, that is not a reasonable position.

Once upon a time, man could look at the world as big lumps of “stuff” that had always, in his experience, been there.  In those simple, bygone days, most people took it for granted that there was a deity behind it all, somewhere.  Today, with physics speaking of sub-atomic particles, describing the atomic structure of matter with some confidence, and wrestling with the nature of the forces of all of those things, to suggest that this all “just happened” is risible.

Before the age of genetics, life was a challenge to explain, absent a deity.  The greater the sum of human knowledge and understanding about the structure of living things, and how they function, the clearer it becomes that such elegance and efficiency in the structure and function of life-forms of all descriptions, and their interdependency, cannot be explained by careless and casual reference to some vague metaphysical statement about evolution.  If ever there was a religion built on shaky evidence, flying in the face of both common sense and serious thought, it is atheism.


As the equation is stated in the Bible, “every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God.”  When one encounters a wristwatch on the beach, no one ever assumes they have stumbled upon a unique natural phenomenon.  The appearance alone suggests manufacture and artifice – the word behind “artificial”.  It is instantly clear that someone has lost their watch.  Similarly, when one comes across an automobile in the woods, even such as has a tree growing up through the floorboards and the roof, one can tell that someone drove that car there at some previous time.  No one mistakes it for a natural formation.

However, when one looks at the intricacies of a living cell, just one of the millions in a plant or an animal, science would have us believe that it just sort of fell together with some sort of inevitability provided by time.   The information stored in a unique and efficient, self-replicating library called DNA, is imagined to have arisen from random happenings.  Information Theory, a relatively new field of study in the last century, has concluded that information cannot arise from random processes.  But the information stored in the simplest cells is huge!  One scientist speculated that there are more bits of information in the simplest living cell that there are letters in all of the books in the world’s largest library combined!

The processes of life as we know it require an oxidizing environment.  The process of forming the chemical components of life, however, require a reducing atmosphere.  In order for life processes to continue, they say, the chemicals of life must be transferred from one environment to another quickly – and the living molecules must be sufficiently complex to protect themselves from ruinous oxidization and able to replicate themselves in order to proceed to develop into more complex life.  With no intelligence and no force directing the process the chemicals would have no way of knowing either of those things, and no method of transport from one environment to another.

Then we come to the incredible complexity of the living cell, and chemical operations which must occur within the cell in order for life to continue.  Looking at an apple as a thing, and a solitary unit, one might be able to imagine that such a process could somehow develop by chance.  Looking at the variety of cells within the apple, and examining the many processes that must occur, and produce a variety of effects, depending on the cell, leaves one with the feeling of having stumbled across a very complex and expensive wristwatch on the beach, and being asked to accept that it pulled itself together into its present form all by itself, through random chemical processes with random resources available.  Either than, or matter has an innate directionality to it that requires it to organize itself into living things, which the dust-bunnies under my bed do not appear to possess.

The structure of matter, being composed of energy bound into some form somehow, and then being further organized into atoms, molecules, elements, planets, and such, cries out for an organizing principle.  Piled on top is life, which comes in an amazing variety and mind-boggling complexity, which cries out for a creator of some sort.  God.  The next question would be who is God?, or which deity is God?, or do we know the deity who is responsible?  But until men can humble themselves enough to acknowledge the painfully evident – that there is a god, and that this deity created, or guided the processes of creation, we are hardly ready to honestly ask and discuss the questions about God’s identity.

When you get there, He has weighed in and we are ready to talk.

Hans and Jacob

A poem from my childhood, which my mother kept repeating at odd moments.  I quote it here to preserve it and share it.

To be read with a Norwegian accent, if you can do it.

We were twins
Me and my brother. 
We look so very much alike
You couldn't tell one from the other. 

One of us was Hans,
The other, Jacob was His name
But whether Hans or Jacob
We both got called the same. 

Now one of us is dead. 
Yea, mister, that is so. 
But whether Hans or Jacob
My mother she don't know. 

So, Now I am in trouble
'Cause I can't get through my head
Whether I am Hans, what am living
Or Jacob, what am dead.

A Pastor’s Daily Prayer

O Almighty God, merciful Father, I, a poor, miserable sinner, confess unto Thee all my sins and iniquities; especially do I acknowledge my indolence in prayer, my neglect of Thy Word, and my seeking after good days and vainglory.  But I am heartily sorry of them and sincerely repent of them; and I pray Thee, of Thy boundless mercy and for the sake of the holy, innocent, bitter sufferings and death of Thy beloved Son, forgive me all my sins, and be gracious and merciful to me.  Yea, cleanse me through Thy Spirit by the blood of Jesus Christ, and give me more and more power and willingness to strive after holiness, for Thou hast called me that I should be holy and blameless before Thee in love.

I thank thee also, O faithful God, for my family, my wife and children, and for all my relatives.  Thou hast given them to me purely out of fatherly, divine goodness and mercy, without any merit or worthiness in me.  Preserve them in good health, and give them their daily bread; but above all keep them in Thy grace and in the true confession of Thy name unto the end.

Thou, O God of all grace and mercy, hast also called me, a poor unworthy simmer, to be a servant of Thy Word and hast placed me into that office which preaches the reconciliation and hast given me this flock to feed.  In and by myself I am wholly incompetent to perform the work of this great office; and, therefore, I pray Thee, make me an able minister of Thy Church.  Give me Thy Holy Spirit, the Spirit of wisdom and knowledge, of grace and prayer, of power and strength, of courage and joyfulness, of sanctification and the fear of God .  Fill me with the right knowledge, and open my lips that my mouth may proclaim the honor of Thy name.  Fill my heart with a passion for souls and with skillfulness to give unto each and every sheep or lamb entrusted to my care what is due unto it at the proper time.  Give me at all times sound advice and just works; and whatever I overlook something or in the weakness of my flesh speak or act wrongly, do Thou set it aright, and help that no one may through me suffer harm to his soul.

Glory and honor, praise and thanks be unto Thee, God, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, for all the mercy and faithfulness Thou hast shown to this congregation.  Thy Word has not returned unto Thee void, but Thou hast here fathered a people that knows Thee and fears Thy name.  Give me Thy Holy Spirit, that I may at all times see the good things in this congregation and praise and thank Thee for them.  Bless Thy Word in the future, that it may preserve the believers in Thy grace, convert those that are not yet Thine, and bring back the erring and delinquent.  Gather Thy people as a hen gathers her chickens under her wings, and be Thou a wall of fire round about Thy congregation.

Graciously take into Thy fatherly care the sick and the needy, all widows and orphans, and all who are in any trouble, temptation, anguish of labor, peril of death, or any other adversity.  Comfort them, O God, with Thy Holy Spirit, that they may patiently endure their afflictions and acknowledge them as a manifestation of Thy fatherly will.  Preserve their soul from faint-heartedness and despondency, and help that they may seek Thee, the great Physician of their souls.  And if any pass through the valley of the shadow of death, suffer them not, in the last hour, for any pain or fear of death, to fall away from thee, but let Thine everlasting arms be underneath them, and grant them a peaceful departure and a happy entrance into Thine eternal kingdom.

Furthermore, I pray Thee, Thou wouldst at all times fill the offices of this congregation and its societies with upright, honest, and sincere men and women, who have the welfare of their congregation at heart and are able to help me in my office with their counsel and their deeds.  Unite their hearts with me in love for the truth; give them the spirit of prayer for me and for their congregation, so that we may in unity and harmony build Thy kingdom in this place.

And since hypocrites and ungodly people are often found within the visible church organization.  I pray Thee, do not permit Satan to disrupt this congregation through such or hind the efficiency of my office.  If there are such in our midst, let Thy Word be like unto a hammer upon their hearts of stone.  Have patience with them; but if they persist in their unbelief, hypocrisy, and wickedness, do Thou reveal them, so that they may be put forth from Thy congregation.  Give me a forgiving heart towards all, and help me, especially for their sake, to speak and act cautiously.

Preserve and keep the youth of our Church from falling away and joining the world, and keep them from the many sins of youth.  Thou, O Lord, knowest how difficult it is to lead the young on the right paths and to divide the Word of Truth with respect to them; do Thou, therefore, give me particular wisdom and skill to be stern without estranging their hearts, and mild and charitable without strengthening them in frivolity and unruliness.

Mercifully bless the education and instruction of the children, that they may grow up in Thy fear to praise of Thy name.  I commend unto Thee also the nursery of our church, the Christian day school.  Hinder and frustrate all enemies of this institution.  May I ever regard and accept it as a precious gift of God!  Give our congregation able and apt teachers.  Preserve them from an indecent and evil walk and conversation.  Bless the work of our Sunday school teachers, and help them to lead the little ones into the Savior’s loving arms.

To Thy grace and mercy I also commend all my brethren in office.  Arrest and suppress all discord and dissension.  Give me a brotherly heart towards all and true humility, and help me to bear with patience their casual weakness or deficiencies.   Grant that they also may act as true brethren toward me.

Keep and preserve our whole Synod, its teachers and officers, true to Thy Word.  Cause the work of our Synod to grow.  Guard and protect all members of Synod against sinful ambitions, dissension, and indifference in doctrine and practice.  Bless all higher institutions of learning, our colleges, seminaries, and universities.  Accompany all missionaries on their dangerous ways, and help them to perform their work.  Gather the elect from all nations not Thy holy Christian Church, and bring their at last into Thy Church Triumphant in heaven.

Grant also health and prosperity to all that are in authority in our country, especially to the President and Congress of the United States, the Governor and Legislature of this State, and to all Judges and Magistrates.  Endue them with grace to rule after Thy good pleasure, to the maintenance of righteousness and to the hindrance and punishment of wickedness, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.

Hear me, most merciful God, in these my humble requests, which I offer up unto Thee in the name of Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, to whom, with Thee and the Holy Ghost, be all honor and glory, world without end.  Amen.

Another prayer I use regularly - although not daily - which comes from The Lutheran Liturgy - pp. 117-120.

I reproduce them here so that they will be more widely available.

A Pastor's Prayer

O Lord Jesus Christ, Thou Chief Shepherd and only Head of Thy Church, help me to minister unto this flock, to which Thou hast called me as a pastor.  And since I am a man of unclean lips and not worthy to proclaim Thy Word, I beseech Thee, send down Thy Holy Spirit to cleanse my lips, so that I may be bold to preach Thy Word in all its fullness, in season and out of season, ready to offer up the prayers and supplications of Thy people, and willing to serve as a faithful minister of the means of grace.

Help me, O Lord, to give myself wholly to my office by daily meditation and study of the Scriptures, that I may be able to make full proof of my ministry, to feed, to instruct, to build up, to warn, to watch over , and to guide the lambs and the sheep of this flock, which Thou hast purchased with Thy blood.  Let Thy Holy Spirit direct me that I may always speak the things which become sound doctrine and in all things show myself a pattern of good works, and example to the believers in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, and in purity.

O Lord, make me daily more conscious of the great responsibilities of my high office as Thine ambassador and steward of Thy mysteries, to preach good tidings unto the meek, to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and the opening of the prison to them that are bound, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord and the day of the vengeance of our God, to comfort all that mourn, to appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness, that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He might be glorified.  For Thy name and for Thy truth’s sake hear me, O Lord Jesus.  Amen.

from the The Lutheran Liturgy, Concordia Publishing House, circa 1942.

Prayed this every morning in my first parish.  Less frequently after, but it still seems to be a marvelous prayer with which to approach the ministry.

Is the Pope the AntiChrist?

Yes.

Some argue that the office of the Papacy is the Antichrist, not the particular men who hold the office.  It is a silly argument.  The man who holds the office of Pastor is pastor while he holds it.  So, the man who holds the office of the Antichrist is the Antichrist while he holds the office.

Does that mean that Roman Catholics are not Christians?  No.  It means that the Pope is the Antichrist.  Individual Catholics may well be Christians, just as individual Lutherans of the most orthodox denominations may not be Christian at all.  It is not one's label that makes them a Christian.

Those who belong to anti-Christian religious bodies are clearly not Christians.  Those who choose not to belong to any Christian church at all are clearly not Christians.  Those who disavow Christ and the church are clearly not Christians.  But those who profess a faith in Christ may be Christian, and may not be, depending on what they mean by believing, and who they think Christ is, and what they believe about Him and sin and forgiveness and such topics.  Then again, some who profess faith are quite self-consciously hypocrites.  They are not Christians.  But whether they are or not is in the hands of God to judge, not mine or anyone else's.

The judgement that the Pope is the Antichrist is Scriptural and Confessional.  Those same Scriptures and Confessions instruct us not to be judging one another but to leave judgment to God.  We may assess theological statements as to being true and in accord with Scriptures or not, but we cannot judge the heart of another.  We don't have the ability to do it correctly, and we do not have the authority from God, to whom the job of judging hearts belongs.

Sadly, this doctrine of the faith has become a wedge to damage the political campaign of a candidate, and still it is not being addressed or examined for its meaning or truth.  Our nation and the world are the worse for both of these realities.

An Ugly Moment

All of my life I have prided myself that I could do just about any job.  And I have at one time or another.

The other day I was sitting in the restaurant watching the help as I waited for my dinner, and it struck me that I could not make my body do many of those tasks for any length of time any more.  If I need to get a job, I now have to be very careful to find one that I can actually physically do!

You know that you are getting old when you have to admit to yourself that you cannot do the things that you once could -- even things you would rather not do.  That flexibility was kind of like an ace in the hole just in case.  Now I cannot do many things just because this body is getting older.

It is a truly ugly moment in one's life!

Why Me?

Sometimes I want to ask that question.  Or "Why not me?".

I just read the district newsletter.  It was full of wonderful articles about people doing things and how wonderfully they worked for them.  I am delighted that they have captured success.

I just wonder why when I do those same exact things, it never has those same salutary results for me.  I go out of my way to help people and if I get a thank you I am doing better than average.  People don't join my church.  They don't come and help me when I need it.  Sometimes, if they have the opportunity, they will turn on me and do or say something nasty.

I read an article about a pastor who began to read through the Bible with his wife.  Suddenly, he had a Bible study with thirty people attending!  Two Bible studies, actually.  I am happy for him.  I have been reading the Bible for decades.  My Bible classes are basically reading through the Bible, sometimes with commentary, and answering questions.  My Bible studies have shrunk, not grown.  Mind you, most everyone who attends tells me how wonderful they think they are!  I have had people leave my congregation for a different local congregation telling me how terrific I am, and that I ought to be the pastor of a large congregation, so that my talent will benefit even more people - as they are on their way out the door!  Why doesn't it work for me?

I am not complaining.  No, really!  I know why the things that are happening are happening.  God works in His own way and at His own time.  I have been doing the same things for decades, and have had varying "success" at different times.  I just find it frustrating to read all the 'how to' articles and the 'we did it this way' testimonials, which all suggest or say outright that if you are creative and clever like them and do things the right way, you will be amazed at the results.

I understand that God works in His own way and at His own time.  I would love to have different results, but I would love even more if people in the church stopped acting as though it is their creativity and their effort that makes things work the way they work.  I have figured out that God grants the prosperity we enjoy, whatever that prosperity may be (actually, the Bible teaches that principle). I just worry that someone who hasn't figured that out might actually take those theology of glory kind of messages to heart and be beaten-up by the sense of failure that accompanies doing all the right things - things others are boasting about making them so successful - and finding their results are not all that impressive.

Limited sucess is hard enough to handle without those who ought to know better preaching to you that the right program or technique is all you need.

When will the church get back to living out and living in her own theology?

A New Trend?

I have noticed recently that fewer and fewer of the Obits list church affiliation for the "dearly departed".

It started with fewer services being held for the departed at any church.  Now it is rare to find a church mentioned in the obituary.  I have also noticed that there seems to be an increase in no funeral or memorial service at all.  The obit simply tells us that beloved so-and-so has died, and will be fondly remembered, and so forth.  Sometimes it says, explicitly, that there will be no service.  Sometimes the mention of any funeral or burial is simply lacking.

I see this as a measure of our culture.  Faith is waning.  People have more generally accepted the evolutionary idea that we are just life forms, and that life is limited to this realm.  The hope or hunger for the eternal has been morphed into the fascination with "ghosts" and the paranormal.

On a similar vein, our local animal rescue establishment is ever expanding, but the local 'help the needy' effort, which is - oddly enough - located right next door to the animal rescue establishment, is small and struggles for support.  It would appear that those cute little animals are more worthy of charity and assistance than our fellow human beings.

Our society is sick, and getting sicker.  Pray for us!

An Odd Thought

I post my sermons on-line.  I also post my newsletter articles.  I do it to make them freely available to the church.

I am flattered and gratified that I occasionally get emails from all over the world about what I have posted.  I received notes from pastors who use my sermons and my newsletters for ideas, for study, for theology.  I receive notes from people from three or four continents who find solace and spiritual substance in my sermons.  I have received notes from vacant parishes acknowledging that they use my sermons to fill their pulpit while they do not have a pastor, or, occasionally, while their pastor is on vacation or absent for some other reason.

I have told my tiny congregation that their continued struggle to exist and support a pastor provides this service to the church at large, and that our congregation is really quite a bit larger than we see on Sunday mornings.  Since my congregation does not fully support me, paying a small fraction of the "budgeted salary and benefits", I find that thought comforting too, when I ask the 'coming-from-my-flesh' question of why I continue to struggle at this task.  I know that I continue because God made me to be a pastor, and called me into this work.

But the thought crossed my mind a while back about the state of the Christian faith in this internet age where many acknowledge receiving from this congregation and its pastor, and appreciating what they have received, but to date, none has ever even asked how they might support this ministry.  The Bible says that a laborer is worthy of his hire, but today many Christians feed themselves for free and consider that the way it should be, and have no sense of how they might return to God for what they have received, or have any idea that they might have some reciprocal obligation to help the laborer continue his work from which they draw sustenance and comfort.

God takes care of me, which is good.  But there is something amiss on the receiving end when there is no curiosity about how they might return something to the one from whom they receive.  Gal.6:6, "Let the one who is taught the Word share all good things with him who teaches."  Like Paul, I have learned to live within the blessings the Lord gives me, but I wonder about the church that has learned to take but not to give.

Insane

As I read the news and the opinions sprouting from what is referred to as the Main Stream Media, I am impressed by one thing, the insanity of what is acceptable today in society.

I pray daily for this nation, but I understand why the Lord allows it to go the path it going.  Sickness and stupidity are not just accepted, but endorsed and encouraged.

Lord have mercy.

A Moment of Sorrow

This year I did not receive the annual pocket calendar from CPH.  When I inquired of my friends, they told me that CPH was eliminating them.

 

I am just writing to express my sorrow -- and my thanks.  My sorrow that they will no longer be available.  I have looked at the regrettable replacement offered by CPH in the form of the online calendar.  Sadly, I cannot fit that into my pocket , and I, unlike my better compensated brethren, cannot afford those cute electronic devices that can access the web and fit into a pocket.

 

I want to express my thanks for the thirty years of calendars that I have enjoyed.  The one thing that had not changed in my ministry over the thirty years was my dependence on my "brain in my pocket" - the memory helper of that burgundy calendar.  I can track through the past thirty-plus years in the pages of those calendars, most of which I still have on my bookshelf.  I will make do with something else.  It will be a minor inconvenience, and a constant nagging pain for a while, but such is life at times.

 

Thanks again to Concordia Publishing House for the years of calendars in the past.  I am sorry you that CPH has decided to stop serving the church in that specific way.  I understand some of the likely reasons.  It is just a point of sorrow that it is to be no longer.

 

New Person to Blame

A Spanish woman is claiming to own the sun, according to the news.  She intends to charge for the use of it.  The thought occurs, does she open herself up for lawsuits for the unrequested shining of the sun, sun-burns, fading fabrics and the like?  If you have skin cancer, is she now legally responsible?

I figure I am going to sue her for waking me up in the morning with all of that light I did not request.

How silly can anyone be?

The Gospel Is Still Needed

In this age which runs from the Christian religion and which denies that there is any need for that “crutch”, the need for the Gospel is still there and still evident.  In ages past, men followed a variety of false Gods.  There was Dagon, the Philistine fish-headed god, the sacred trees and poles called the Ashtoreth, a tremendous variety of deities called the “Baals”, and, well, if I tried to name all the various “gods” that men have worshiped, it would require many pages on this blog post.  The world that knew that multiplicity of deities needed the Gospel, and the need was obvious.

Our age has its multiplicity as well; Allah, the various Hindu deities, the not-quite-divine focus of Buddhism, the modern occult deities, Mother Earth in her many ecological disguises, and the false gods cruising the realm of pseudo-Christian civic religions: the grand old man in the sky, the god who rewards men on the basis of their good works, and the various gods who wear the names of Christ and Jesus but bear no resemblance to the Biblically revealed Son of God.  Our age needs the Gospel, too.

Oddly, it is the secular, pagan world around us that reflects that need – the hunger for something spiritual and someone real – most clearly.  You can see the need highlighted in the entertainments that they create, movies like “Ghost”, or “Always”, or the recently released new movie starring Matt Damon, “Hereafter”, and television shows of the sort of “Ghost Whisperer” or “Touched by an Angel”.  They all want to tell us what death is like.  They try to answer the question that haunts humanity, “After death, what?”.

The problem is that they answer this question from ignorance.  They tell us what they creators of these answer wish were so, not what is true, because they have no truth.  The answers are entertaining, and comforting in what they present, if not in any lasting effect.  The uniformly show a common result that includes everyone, without distinction between good and evil, between this religion and that, between age or social condition.  The answer is always something peaceful and pleasant.  The concoction they come up with varies in this element or that degree, but it is fundamentally the view that we all die and go to the same pleasant place without distinction or discrimination.  Death is a friend.  It is pleasant and the afterlife is wonderful.  There is not a hint of judgment, particularly in regards to religious belief, except that in most cases, something awful is reserved for the truly wicked and extremely evil such as murderers and those who offend the secular morality of the moment most egregiously.

The message is, don’t worry about death.  You are going to be okay.  Whatever there may be will be good and you will come out well in the eschatological future.  This message is, of course, false.  It is the answer of the world and of the devil to the judgment of God, namely, denial.  It is the proclamation that there is no real religion and there is nothing to worry about.  I imagine that they movies would show that death was the end and there was nothing more to come, if there was a reasonable plot-line to it, and the true doctrine of demons would sell tickets.  This teaches us nothing, except, perhaps, that the world is still riveted by the question of what happens after death, and uneasy about the judgment that they somehow know is coming.

We have the answer!  We have the truth, revealed by God Himself.  There is judgment coming, and there is a hell, and it is something that we all deserve.  That there is no distinction between people, by nature, is the one part of the picture that the modern media answers have right.  We all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God!  But there is a distinction in the day of judgment.  It is the judgment that distinguishes those who are God’s from those who patently refuse to be His.

There is a need for the Gospel of the redemption which is in Christ Jesus and of the grace of God which forgives us our sins.  In this Gospel, God bestows as a gift the perfect righteousness of Christ, and as a result gives life everlasting and salvation to those who believe.  By "believe" we mean those who trust in the Lord to be who He has revealed Himself to be and to do all that He has promised to do in connection with Jesus Christ.  This is not the Gospel of meeting felt needs, but the Gospel of the grace of God.  This Gospel, however, also answers those “felt needs” ultimately, but it does so much more.  It actually comforts with a lasting comfort, and, although it refuses to answer all the questions that the mind of man can conjure up with any specificity, it answer the main questions: Is there something after death?  Yes.  Is it good for everyone?  No, but for some there is eternal life in glory, and for others there is eternal death in pain of body and mind and soul.  How can I know what is my part?  What can I do?  Believe in Jesus Christ (the One revealed in the Bible, not the imitations invented by society) and you shall be saved.  Jesus has accomplished all that you need done, and salvation is His gift.

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding.  In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your path straight.”

Good Words

I love Walther!  He hits the nail on the head so clearly and sweetly.  Today’s devotion from “God Grant It” struck me as particularly applicable to the daily struggle of the Christian’s life.  Here is just an excerpt:

“. . . Our text advises us to ‘put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil’ (Ephesians 6:11). The evil spirits employ exceedingly cunning attacks against us.  Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.  If he wants to cast us down into error, he presents this error as truth and distorts God’s Word in an effort to support his claim.  If he wants to cast us down into sin, he presents the sin as a virtue or as something permissible, innocent and unimportant, If he wants to persuade us to fall away from God, he tries to convince us, as he did Adam, that this is a way for us to draw closer to God and become more like God.
When we think we are furthest from Satan – for example, when we are praying, reading or hearing God’s Word, or when we are in the midst of upright Christians – there Satan is next to us, seeking to remove the seed of the Word from our hear and to annihilate the blessing of the communion.  He does not attack us where we are strong, but here we are weak.  Wherever he finds and opening in the wall of our heart, there he comes in.”

God Grant It, Daily Devotions from C.F.W. Walther, translated by Gerhard P. Grabenhofer, Compiled by August Crull, Concordia Publishing House, Saint Louis, MO, 2006, pp. 829-830.

What a Big Difference a Small Difference Makes

We were talking about Contemporary Worship - so-called - when it occurred to me what a difference a couple of letters can make.  Someone asked the question of why it was so important in this generation to bring culture, our modern culture, into the church.  No other generation had done it.

That, of course, was balderdash.  Every generation has done it to some extent.  We use the language of our culture, in one form or another.  We change our Scriptures to more modern translations from time to time.  But those intrusions of culture are relatively mild and, often, necessary so that the members of the congregation can participate in the service with understanding.  The intrusions of culture in what is called "Contemporary Worship" are far more significant, and are often done simply as a matter or taste (or the lack of it) and preference.

Contemporary Worship involves a theological shift as well.  The focus of the service becomes the individual worshiper's entertainment or sense of accomplishing something religious.  The worshiper is the one the service seeks to please.  Traditional Liturgical Worship was centered in the deity, and, for Lutherans, in receiving from God the gifts He came to bring in the Divine Service through Word and Sacrament.

The question, "Why is it all of a sudden so important to bring the culture into the church?", elicited the response from me that the churches that practice Contemporary Worship are different now than they once were.  Now they are apostate - unbelieving - worshiping the worshiper instead of the One who is worthy of all worship, the Lord.

The little difference that struck me is the difference from what was to what is:  from apostolic to apostate.  Just a couple of letters.  Such a small difference in language but such a huge difference in everything else.  Of course, the two words come from significantly different roots in Greek, but in English, they look and sound so close to each other.  Just three or four letters and you go from faithful and true to Contemptible - that is Contemporary - Worship

The Installation

It was good to see our new president installed, even though it had to be on-line.  Some of the pomp could lead one to wonder if we were installing a president or a pope, but that is the way it works in large organizations, I suppose.  I am puzzled that the Holy Supper is served in a crowd with so many of other faiths acknowledged to be present.  How does one regulate admission to the altar?

I guess this is why I am merely a humble parish pastor.

Surprise, Surprise!

The experts are reporting their surprise that terrorist are being radicalized here in America.  Given the high level of hostility on the political left to our nation, its prosperity, and its prominence, all soon to be former, the development of home-grown terrorists should be no surprise at all, particularly in the light of the eco-terrorists active for more than a decade with the full approval of lap-dog media.

But the most surprising thing is that none of the analysts seem willing to look at the source of the "radicalized" Muslims, Islam itself.  The religion teaches jihad, and commands jihad as part of the faithful Muslim's life.  It takes no more work to 'radicalize" your typical Muslim male than it does to encourage your average Protestant teen-ager to live out his or her Christian faith.  They begin with a well-stocked pond of adherents to the religion that demands and encourages and endorses and praises violent actions in what is believed to be the support of their religion and their deity.

The most moderate leaders of the Islamic religion will not condemn violent jihad.  There is no official element of the religion that opposes it.  So-called moderate Muslims were dancing and singing in the streets when Islam struck the twin towers on September 11, 2001, celebrating their victory against the "great Satan" of America, even inside the borders of this nation.  Islam is not merely a religion, but a political movement as well.  The very best Moslem has a split loyalty. 

How can our "experts" be surprised that the ardent followers of this religion can be induced to do terroristic things?  They are either deliberately looking away, which is dumb and irresponsible, or they are idiots.

A Failure to Communicate . . .

Some days, life seems to imitate art.

This is not one of those days, but the topic at hand put me in mind of the line from the film, Cool Hand Luke, "What we have here is a failure to communicate."  I was enmeshed in a mini-controversy on one of those email discussion groups when it struck me that the problem we were having in the discussion is often the problem in most human communications on topics of interest.  People confuse opinion with fact and knowledge with uninformed prejudice.

It appears that the combination of fierce individualism and thorough-going egalitarianism have produced circumstances in which everyone believes that their passing opinion on any topic they deign to opine upon is absolute truth, or at least every bit as true as anything anyone else might say.  I blame this on the Psychologist Carl Rogers as much as anyone.  He pioneered the idea that everyone and everything was precious and wonderful just by virtue of being.  His approach to self-esteem has crippled a couple of generations of American children, and it is on the way to crippling discourse in our nation.

It is bad enough that everyone thinks they are right, but when they lose the ability to distinguish between a mere opinion and a clear fact, debate and even education may be at risk.  In the on-line discussion that prompted this entry, an individual asked a question, having admitted a lack of knowledge to form a decisive assessment of a situation.  When offered the information upon which he might form his opinion, the individual became argumentative.  He rejected and contradicted facts simply because they did not conform to his prior prejudices nor support his hastily formed and unfounded opinions.  He subsequently withdrew from the on-line forum altogether, convinced that the group was the sort that would not grant equality to his passing thoughts with the results of careful inquiry and scholarly investigation.

It was an unfortunate decision, but it highlighted the problem in modern communications.  Too many people think that just because they hold an idea, it outweighs facts and reality altogether.  It is fine if someone wishes to cling to their own ideas and prejudices, even in the face of truth and evidence to the contrary.  It is not productive, but they have that right.  It is not helpful, however, if they feel the need to dismiss and invalidate facts and reality in pursuit of their ill-informed ideas, and to hold those who treat facts as something other than a mere opinion as unjustly prejudiced and even arrogant.

If bigoted fantasy and hard, cold facts are believed to be on an equal footing, rational discourse will cease to be possible.  We will have a true failure to communicate.

The Problem with Blogging

My son is always after me to blog more often.  In principle, I think that would be great.  In practice, by the time I have formulated my blog entry in my mind, my need to express myself is often satisfied.

I recently realized one of my biggest problems with blogging is the "So what?" factor.  I have read so may things that people blog that leave me wondering why they bothered.  What was the point?

It is like Facebook or Twitter.  I have trouble understanding the point, unless the point is for someone to say, "Dig Me!!!".  I was raised in the time when one did not pursue shameless self-promotion just for the sake of being noticed.  I remember telling a joke once in the presence of a couple of older acquaintances,and the joke sounded like I was bragging - that was the joke part of it.  One of the older women, an old German lady, simply spoke the German phrase which translates "Self-praise stinks".  That was my upbringing.   Even when one did promote themselves, it had a purpose - like getting elected or making money.  Waving my arms (so to speak) and yelling for people to notice me just to be noticed for a moment seems shallow and pointless -- and when I am done, it makes me feel more insignificant than ever.  Imagine!  I have to behave in this silly fashion to get anyone to pay me any mind.  Embarrassing!

I wish that when people were to take the time to write something, they would have a purpose for it, a goal other than being noticed, or mere self-expression.  I imagine, however, that my wishes perfectly fit my mother's favorite adage, "Wish in one hand . . ."

My Second Chance!

It came in the mail today.  Emblazoned across the front of the envelope, "Here's that second chance you hoped for!".  It came from an insurance company.  I was suspicious from the get-go.

It was an offer to sell me some life insurance!  It started, "Why didn't I get more life insurance when I was younger . . . and when it was cheaper?"  Yes, it was in bold green!

I couldn't help laughing out loud and reading the ridiculous thing loudly to the neighborhood.  It was over 95 degrees out, with high humidity, so I had a very small audience, mostly squirrels, and my dog, Martin.

I did not buy more insurance when I was younger because I could not afford it then.  Since I lived this long, it proved to be a wise lack of investment.  All of those years not paying for that insurance!  I feel silly about the stuff I did buy.  Wasted money so far.

My mother always said life insurance is a bet that you are going to die before your spend too much on the insurance.  The insurance I have is the sort that pays you back after a while, like an investment, if you don't die and use it up.  I can justify something I can use later.  The last thing I am looking for right now is more life insurance.

But a good laugh?  Thank you Mutual of Omaha!