CYPRESSWOOD CHURCH OF CHRIST
March 30, 2008
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CONTINUE TO PRAY FOR:
Our congregation Our nation, leaders and military
Various friends, relatives and co-workers The persecuted church
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO:
Yevette Mearns (1st), Hannah Allen (2nd), Talia Gradney (11th), Jo Anna Ross (11th), Sarah Cruthirds (22nd)
THIS AND THAT - 2008, no. 1
“The Lord has done it this very day; let us rejoice today and be glad” (Psalm 118:24).
It snowed in Israel in January. While not an unusual event, the amount of snow and cold weather was a bit unusual. There was about eight inches in Israel and the surrounding nations. Some had never seen snow and enjoyed the experience. I am told that it does this about every six or seven years. As for us, still waiting for snow in Houston.
We all celebrate birthdays in one way or another. It might be a family gathering, a meal out, and definitely a cake. And of course, there are the cards and gifts. Over the years, Christmas as Jesus’ birth has had its critics. We do not know when Jesus was born and scripture says nothing of Him involved in celebrating His birthday. But birthday celebrations were not unknown. One of Herod’s son’s who ruled over Galilee celebrated his birthday with a party and a number of special guests. His wife’s daughter danced and so pleased Herod that he offered her up to half his kingdom. She went to her mother who told her to ask for John the baptizer’s head on a platter; not something I would have suggested. How much were birthdays celebrated in the ancient world we do not know, but a recent discovery in Britain has uncovered some interesting information. The Romans built a wall known as Hadrian’s Wall across Britain to keep those pesky Scots out of England. At an outpost a garbage dump was found. In it were postcard like items found made of a light wood. A number of things were found like a wish for better food and a request to send clothes. One was from a woman to her sister whose husband was a commander at the outpost, in which she stated that she wished her sister could be with her for her birthday. It makes one wonder just how much people did celebrate birthdays.
An archaeologist was digging in the Negev Desert in Israel and came upon a casket containing a mummy, a rather rare occurrence in Israel, to say the least. After examining it, he called Abe, the curator of the Israel museum in Jerusalem. “I’ve just discovered a 3,000 year old mummy of a man who died of heart failure!” the excited scientist exclaimed. Abe replied, “Bring him in. We’ll check it out.” A week later, the amazed Abe called the archaeologist, “You were right about both the mummy’s age and cause of death. How in the world did you know?” “Easy. There was a piece of paper in his hand that said, ‘10,000 Shekels on Goliath.’” (from www.beliefnet.com “joke of the day“).
“The best case for the death penalty -- or at least, the best explanation of it -- was made, paradoxically, by one of the most famous of its opponents, Albert Camus, the French novelist.” So begins an article by Walter Berns. What is the argument? “’The death penalty,’ he said ‘can be legitimized by a truth or a principle that is superior to man.’” Mr. Berns goes on to argue that where the Judeo-Christian ethics are strong, when the death penalty is used, it seen as a means of justice for the innocent. He compares Europe’s lack of the death penalty, outlawed even where popular, and the demise of Christianity. And in the U.S., it is the south rather than the north that still carries out a death sentence. Camus, following Nietzsche’s death of God philosophy, saw Europe where men will “’have their little pleasures for the day, and their little pleasures for the night,’ but no love, no longing, no striving, no hope, no gods or ideals, no politics (“too burdensome’), no passions (especially no anger), only ‘a regard for health.’ To this list, Camus rightly added, no death penalty.” “A world so lacking in passion lacks the necessary components of punishment. Punishment has its origins in the demand for justice, and justice is demanded by angry, morally indignant men, men who are angry when someone else is robbed, raped, or murdered.” Removing God also removes this passion for righteous anger which influences people to make right what is wrong (1).
There is something called the abiotic theory that states that oil comes from the earth rather than from fossils. While there is a lot of scientific jargon in the study, the basic idea is that living organisms as small as plankton may have been the origin of oil rather than dinosaurs and ancient forests. In this argument, “hydrocarbons are naturally produced on a continual basis throughout the solar system, including within the mantle of the earth.” There is something called “Lost City” vents below the Atlantic Ocean in which a recent study has found carbon-13 isotopes that appeared to be formed from the mantle of the earth (2). Well, all of this is beyond me but in the basic understanding it means that oil may be a renewable resource rather than a limited one. This will make for interesting discussion.
John Clayton states that his small organization, “Does God Exist?”, received in one day twenty-six requests from various Christian groups all addressing poverty and illness throughout the world, but none from any atheist group requesting the same type of help (3). Yet leading atheists like Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens tell us that if we removed religion from society, the world would be a better place. One wonders just what world some people live in.
The Archbishop of the Church of England has a disease that has many concerned. It seems he has developed “foot in mouth” disease. In December, comments made by Rowan Williams about the birth of Christ were misreported in the news media. He said that there were some things we just do not know about the birth of Christ and the visit of the wise men from the east. Fair enough. But recently, he stated in an interview that Muslim Shariah law should be used in England were the Muslim culture is dominant, and for Muslims. He has been roundly criticized for this comment. He then stated that he was trying “to tease out some of the broader issues around the rights of religious groups within a secular state.” Needless to say, no one was happy. The Muslims who praised the original statement now complain about Islamphobia. A number of bishops in the Anglican church criticized him as extremely naďve and are wondering, some out loud, if the Archbishop should resign. This just does not help the general situation in the Anglican/Episcopalian church with the Americans who have ordained homosexuals in the pulpit. A meeting of the worldwide church coming up soon will find further disagreement and more difficulty in finding solutions. England is run by a politically correct, multicultural philosophy that is destroying the long English culture. This is just another indication of the situation in a nation where few people attend church (4).
A professor from Iowa State University, who has had a textbook published with Cambridge University Press, had 350 percent more peer-reviewed publication than his own department’s stated standard in research excellence, who has his researched recognized in such publications as Science, Nature, Scientific American and other top publication should be a shoe-in for tenure. One would think. But alas, Guillermo Gonzalez has been denied tenure and his appeals have been rejected. Why? Well he wrote another book called The Privileged Planet: How Our Place in the Cosmos Is Designed for Discovery. This is a book that supports the theory of intelligent design, stating that the universe has been designed. The Discovery Institute” believes that the universe is designed though not necessarily by God. There are both believers and unbelievers in this group. Because of Gonzalez’s book and views, the powers that be in the scientific community have denied him tenure. We think of universities as places in which people will be able to hear, learn, and challenge various ideas. The people who have challenge Gonzalez however have not challenged his research but his beliefs. According to reports, they cannot accept them. They do not consider that their opposition is not to science but to Darwinian philosophy, which is outside the realm of experiment and testing. This is not unusual. A political commentator and actor, Ben Stein, is releasing a movie that shows just how widespread this conflict is. What do these who oppose this fear from a free inquiry into various beliefs and scientific research? It appears they fear that their whole system would collapse so they intend to keep out anything that conflicts with Darwinism. And we send our children to such universities.
One would think that the Anglicans just seek controversy. In the case of N.T. Wright, he is challenging the accepted view of eternity, of where we will be after death and after the return of the Lord in his new book, Surprised by Hope. It is not that he hasn’t written about this before but now he has put it in one place. He sees that when a Christian dies, his soul will be with God in another state until the end. It is not that we die and go to heaven which is poor terminology. At the end, we will meet the Lord as He returns to us to bring the earth to the intended state as found in Eden. God will put everything to the right. Of course, this is a challenge to the dominant idea of the earth being burned up, a thousand year reign, and any number of other ideas connected with the end-times theology. I’m sure many will question his view but it is something that has been around for years and worth considering (5).
One aspect of archaeology is the search for lost ship wrecks. Throughout the world are numerous wreaks. There are those who have sought for Paul’s ship that was wrecked off the coast of Malta and for Pharaoh’s army in the Red Sea. Recently, I read an interesting little story of the finding of three “lost” German submarines from World War II. It appears that after sinking ships off the English coast, the Germans needed them in the Black Sea to sink Russian ships. These three subs were transported across Europe, an interesting feat in and of itself, to Romania and then the Black Sea, across land and rivers, a total of two thousand miles. They were only 140 feet long. When Romania changed sides, they were trapped. Ordered to be sunk by their crews, they remained hidden off the Turkish coast until found recently, mostly intact. Man has a fascination with the sea and information about the past has come from discoveries. We look forward to more.
The Spanish Inquisition received approval from the Pope in November of 1478 but the first two inquisitors were not appointed until September of 1480. Why was King Ferdinand suddenly concerned with examining people? Many historians seem baffled by this, according to Vox Day. But he reveals events that happened in the Spanish and Italians coastal areas that might explain it. It seems that a Turkish fleet attacked a number of towns along the coast for several months. In the town of Otranto, half the population of 20,000 were slaughtered. The archbishop, the garrison commander, and a bishop were brutally murdered. Eight hundred men refused to convert to Islam and were beheaded. At least four other cities were attacked during this time. This is a little known event preceding the Spanish Inquisition which in its 345 years executed less than 1,250 people. That says something about the religion of peace we hear so much about today. During the Spanish Republican Red Terror of 1936, 6,832 Catholic clergy were murdered. Yet, the Inquisition has become more notorious (6).
The comments by the Archbishop of the Anglican Church have continued. N.T. Wright, the fourth highest bishop in the church has weighed in on the controversy. He stated that the interview in which he made the statement about sharia law was during the day in which he was thinking about the lecture he was to give that evening concerning law, the church and the state. Wright admits that he could have said things better; no doubt (7). Had he not used the word “unavoidable” in the interview, we might not have such a controversy. It would be tempting to blame the news media for blowing it out of proportion but in this case, it took on a life of its own. Those who deal with issues in third world countries, and in Muslim areas, have found this statement disconcerting. No amount of backtracking seems to help in their view (8). As one stated, once sharia law begins, it becomes dominant. He also understood the good intentions of the Archbishop but the result was the exact opposite. Rowan Williams is a fine teacher and theologian and a pious man according to a friend “but he lacks political skills and everyday common sense” which are necessary today for an archbishop (9). The discussions will continue.
Islamic leaders have declared that Valentine’s Day should not be recognized in any Islamic country, it being a pagan and Christian holiday. One even declared that it was St. Valentine took part in the attack on the Islamic Spanish city of Cordoba. The only problem with this is that this happened centuries after Valentine died as a martyr in the third century. What is wrong with love? Well it appears that some in Islam do not believe that people should have any fun or humor, joy, nor happiness. All must be serious. A woman was arrested by the Saudi religious police at a Starbucks because she was in the presence of a man not a close relative and she was “exchanging words and laughter with him.” Is it any wonder that the global jihad has anger, rage, and dreariness at its center (10)? This along with Michael Medved’s statement that Islam is the religion of perpetual outrage and we have a glimpse into the psychology of hatred seen in this religion.
I have read one of the new books on politics and religion and thought about doing an article on it. However I have shelved that idea. Instead, Paul Edwards has said it better than anything I have read on the subject of the religious right and left (11). One of the complaints from the religious left is that the religious right is only concerned with abortion and marriage and do little or nothing for the poor and other social concerns. Mr. Edwards lists a number of organizations that deal with the poor, HIV/AIDS especially in Africa, battered women, adoption and other concerns. Add to that many churches who likewise contribute to these efforts and a different picture emerges. “The Religious Left’s appeal for the Religious Right to ‘broaden its agenda” to include poverty, HIV/AIDS, and the environment ignores the fact that conservative evangelicals have always had a strong commitment to these issues.” So what is the agenda? Mr. Edwards sees it as the attempt to move the Religious Right away from the preaching of the good news, the dependence on God, and the fact that Jesus is Lord to the Religious Left’s view that government is responsible for dealing with various social issues. Tony Campolo wrote a book from the Religious Left perspective called Red Letter Christians (12). He stated that he wanted to move Christians away from Rome, meaning government, to Jerusalem, meaning Jesus, as I took it. However, he never left the boundaries of Rome, constantly stating that government should be involved in social concerns. That can be debated but the social gospel of the early 20th Century led to empty pews and hearts. The Religious Right with its dependence on God and its high view of the Bible has led to conservative, Bible believing churches growing and the decline of the mainline denominations; and with that, conflict on the social issues they are trying to solve. Read Mr. Edwards article, it is insightful and excellent. Enough said on politics.
Old Wisdom: My memory’s not as sharp as it used to be. Also, my memory’s not as sharp as it used to be.
Old Wisdom: It’s scary when you start making the same noises as your coffer maker.
Muslims in Palestine have declared the Biblical patriarch Joseph a Muslim. Since Mohammad founded Islam in the 600s A.D., this seems a bit deluded. It is not any worse however than the preacher who declared that the land of Israel belonged to both the Jews and the Muslims based on Genesis 15. The reasoning is that all of Abraham’s children would inherit the land and Ishmael was a child of Abraham as much as Isaac. Of course, this ignores later chapters where God states quite clearly that the child of promise was Isaac. Makes one wonder how desperate some are to find peace with the “religion of peace.”
A Jewish member of the Knesset in Israel stated that according to the Gemera, a Jewish commentary, there are several reasons for earthquakes including homosexuality. Well that stirred up a little ruckus. We are familiar with such statements coming from American preachers who were criticized in the media for such statements. The prophets spoke of the moral conditions of the people of Israel and God’s judgment on the nation for its sins. God made it clear that He was doing the judgment and wanted Israel and all nations to realize that (see Deuteronomy 32 and Amos 4). There are tough words in those texts, difficult for some to come to terms with, challenging, and showing the need to recognize that the Judge of all the earth will do what is right.
The warnings about global warming might have been a little premature. It appears that the northern hemisphere and around the world, winter is really hitting hard. Antarctica has a third more ice than usual. The northern hemisphere has had one of its coldest winters in decades. Central and southern China have had heavy snowfall and Jerusalem, Damascus, Amman and northern Saudi Arabia report the heaviest snowfalls in years. Even northern Vietnam is going through a cold spell. Snow also fell in Crete and Athens has had a extreme cold spell. God stated in Job that He has storehouses of snow, which He appears to have opened this winter. I’m sure some will attribute this to global warming in some way but it does make one think. The weatherman has difficulty telling us what tomorrow’s weather will be like but in one hundred years, the planet will burn up! Yea, right.
In a recent issue of the Christian Chronicle, Bobby Ross, Jr. reports on unusual sermon titles. I guess preachers just like to get people thinking about what the sermon is all about. Among some listed are “Would You Call a Woman a Cow” from Amos 4, “You Can’t Skate in a Buffalo Herd” (I have no idea what this is about), “Seven Ducks in Muddy Water” on Naaman, and from a Houston preacher “H-E-Double-Hockey-Sticks.” I would often consult with Mel, our song leader, on what songs to sing. He would read the title in the bulletin and from that and me, pick songs. One Sunday I told him the title of a sermon, “One More Night With the Frogs.” He looked at me with his mouth wide opened and said, “What song has frogs in it?” Sometimes preachers can have a lot of fun.
Since Easter was last week, you might like to know some facts. Easter is always the first Sunday after the first full moon after the Spring Equinox (March 20). This is based on the lunar calendar that the Jews use to identify Passover, which is why it moves around on the Roman calendar. This year is the earliest Easter any of us will see for the rest of our lives. Only those over ninety-five saw the last one in 1913. The next one will be in 2160. There is also a time when it could be a day earlier, March 22. The last time that occurred was in 1818 and the next time it will occur is in 2285 (13). The latest date for Easter is April 25, the last occurring in 1943 and the next in 2038. Just some interesting facts.
One Sunday after church, a Mom asked her very young daughter what the lesson was about. the daughter answered, “Don’t be scared, you’ll get your quilt.” Needless to say, the Mom was perplexed. Later in the day, the minister stopped by for tea and the Mom asked him what that morning’s Sunday school lesson was about. He said, “Be not afraid, thy comforter is coming.” I know how the Mom feels. Sometimes people interpret words from their own experience and understanding and come up with a different meaning from what was intended. Such is communication.
One of the big issues for atheists is suffering. The defense from a Christian perspective is called theodicy, a fancy word meaning to justify God. Defending God is an interesting concept, sort of like defining a roaring lion coming down the street. Rather, Jim McGuiggan following John Mark Hicks suggests that we have a story to tell in Christ and how that story relates to ours. For insights into this, though not an easy read, see Jim’s website article entitled “Can we vindicate God?” (14).
If you watched the movie about Robin Hood starting Kevin Costner, you might remember that the Muslim fellow played by Morgan Freeman had knowledge about medicine that the poor English didn’t, among other things. One Peter BetBasoo sees things differently. He is an Assyrian Christian who grew up in Baghdad, Iraq. He doesn’t think that Islam is conducive to the pursuit of rational inquiry. He says that Muslims make many claims which they had nothing to do with. “Arabic numerals? From India. The concept of zero? From Babylonia. Parabolic arches? From Assyria.“ It was the Christian Assyrians who first translated Greek into Syriac and then into Arabic. Bernard Lewis, a leading expert on Islam also notes that Islam had to find much in western sources in order to compete, including weapons (15).
It appears that many women who have abortions have been lied to and that the supposed happiness isn’t. Various problems can arise such as post-traumatic stress disorder, suicidal tendencies, eating disorders, relationship problems and short and long term health risks, according to Jane Brennan. She had an abortion and understands this but she is also now a Christian and lives a forgiven life (16). This should make us think when some so easily speak of abortion as nothing more than removing a tumor.
The French are in a predicament. Their president is speaking the unspeakable! He is talking about the importance of religion, Christianity in particular, and it is driving the elites bonkers. He has stated that it is wrong for the European Union to reject its Christian history. He has stated that school children should learn of the 11,000 children who died in the holocaust. His opponents see this as a fundamental problem for the republic, this speaking of religion. O well.
With the fourth Indiana Jones movie coming out soon, thoughts go back to the first and best of the series, “Raiders of the Lost Ark.” The Ark of the Covenant has been a fascination to many for a number of years. Ideas of is current location abound, assuming it still exists. What do we know from scripture about it? We know that the Ark was moved into the Temple during Solomon’s reign. We know that the Egyptians invaded the land when Rehoboam became king. The Egyptian king took items from the Temple but we are not told what they were. Another problem comes from Babylon when they succeed in conquering Jerusalem and carrying away Temple treasures. Daniel five tells of the last king of Babylon drinking from the sacred items. A number of those items were returned to Jerusalem by the exiles. The last account we have comes from the Romans. In Rome there is a monument called Titus’ Arch. On it is inscribed the menorah from the Temple in Jerusalem after it fell in 70 A.D. So where is the ark? Some suggest it was hidden in a secret hiding place under the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. Others have suggested that it is in a Judean village. Some go further, to Ethiopia in Africa. In the past few months, two more books have come out on this subject. One author suggests that it is in the Judean desert. The second that it might be in Zimbabwe, the former Rhodesia, in southern Africa. Why not Rome, Babylon or Egypt? Me, I still like that warehouse somewhere in the states.
We have talked about leadership for years and the frustrations that go with it. How should God’s leaders lead? Jim McGuiggan has an excellent online study called “Musings on Leadership.” You might not agree with everything Jim says but it is worth studying at www.jimmcguiggan.com.
George B. Mearns
(1) Walter Berns, 02/04/2008, www.weeklystandard.com
(2) from Jerome R. Corsi, Discovery backs theory oil not ‘fossil fuel,’ 2/1/2008, www.worldnetdaily.com
(3) Does God Exist?, January/February 2008, p. 30-31.
(4) see Houston Chronicle, 02/08/2008, p. A10; Raphael G. Satter, 02/08/2008, www.dennisprager.com; and “’Resign,’ clergy tell Archbishop of Canterbury,” 02/08/2008, www.worldnetdaily.com
(5) I first heard this view from Jim McGuiggan in his commentary on Romans as well as class teaching at Sunset International Bible Institute. In churches of Christ, it was a view held by a number of preachers in the 1800s (see John Mark Hicks and Bobby Valentine, Kingdom Come). Today, a number of books have addressed this idea including Randy Alcorn in his book Heaven.
(6) Vox Day, “Atheist and inquisition,” 02/11/2008, www.worldnetdaily.com. He has written a book called The Irrational Atheist on which this article is based.
(7) N.T. Wright, “On Faith,” http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com (02/13/2008).
(8) “Archbishop’s plan would advance ‘Islamization,’” 02/14/2008, www.worldnetdaily.com and Joseph Loconte, “Allah, Queen, and Country,” 02/13/2008, www.weeklystandard.com
(9) John O’Sullivan, “British Bishop’s Islamic Idiocy,” 02/14/2008, www.frontpagemag.com
(10) Robert Spencer, “No Valentines For You!”, 02/14/2008, www.humanevents.com. Mr. Spencer is a leading expert on Islam and has written a number of books on the subject. He is also very careful about his security, having received a number of death threats from outraged Muslims. “Saudi religious police criticized over woman’s Starbucks arrest,” Houston Chronicle, 02/20/2008.
(11) Paul Edwards, “Defining Evangelicalism Down,” 02/12/2008, www.townhall.com
(12) This is the book I read and thought about commenting on. See my blog for 02/20/2008 for comments on this book.
(13) Thanks to Mel who emailed this information to me from www.snopes.com/holidays/easter/earlyeaster.asp
(14) www.jimmcguiggan.com
(15) See his interview, “The Muslim Accomplishments That Weren’t,” on www.frontpage.com
(16) “Understanding the Post-Abortive Woman,” on www.crosswalk.com