Collateral Damage

*This is the modified transcript of a message I shared last weekend with the students of Crossroads Church of Walton County during their Disciple Now Weekend. It’s only slightly different from what was actually delivered.

This message is about defending the gospel – or, to use a more technical term, it’s about apologetics. If you’ve never heard the term apologetics, let me define it for you in a way you can understand: nerd Christianity.

Just kidding.

Apologetics is being able to explain why you believe what you believe, and to answer questions about your beliefs in a way that shows their logical and reasonable nature. The golden verses of apologetics are 1 Peter 3:15-16:

“Honor the Messiah as Lord in your hearts. Always be ready to give a defense (apologia) to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you. However, do this with gentleness and respect, keeping your conscience clear.”

The key words in those two verses are as follows:

Defense – a well-thought out and thorough explanation of your position. This does not mean you have to explain everything beyond doubt, or to the satisfaction of the person asking questions of you. It merely means that you have to make a compelling case that the evidence you have for your position makes sense with reality.

Reason – solid evidence. Evidence does not have to empirical to be valid; in other words, you don’t have to have God walk into the room in order to show that He exists. You can make a compelling case for His existence without Him having to be revealed. People do this all the time in the scientific world; don’t let their burden of proof be less than yours.

Hope – this is an expected outcome, a fulfilled promise with additional works to happen at a later date. Christian hope is not like we currently define hope; it’s not wishful thinking. It is looking forward to the completion of all of God’s promises – a confidence about what is to come.

Gentleness and respect – let me be clear: in the Christian life, how you live and present the Gospel says as much about the Gospel as the words you use. There is a weight given to both your words and your actions, and if you show arrogance, anger, or other contra-Gospel attitudes when you speak of Christ to someone else, you make one of the following two statements: either the Gospel is false, or you are.

And if you want evidence for that statement, I present you the Westboro Baptist Church.

So, now that we’ve set the parameters for what apologetics kind of is, let’s turn in the Scriptures back to Hebrews 11, starting with verse 32 and reading through chapter 12, verse 1:

11:32 And what more can I say? Time is too short for me to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and the prophets,

33 who by faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions,

34 quenched the raging of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, gained strength after being weak, became mighty in battle, and put foreign armies to flight.

35 Women received their dead–they were raised to life again. Some men were tortured, not accepting release, so that they might gain a better resurrection,

36 and others experienced mockings and scourgings, as well as bonds and imprisonment.

37 They were stoned, they were sawed in two, they died by the sword, they wandered about in sheepskins, in goatskins, destitute, afflicted, and mistreated.

38 The world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and on mountains, hiding in caves and in holes in the ground.

39 All these were approved through their faith, but they did not receive what was promised, since God had provided something better for us, so that they would not be made perfect without us.

12:1 Therefore, since we have such a large cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us lay aside every weight and the sin that so easily ensnares us. Let us run with endurance the race that lies before us,

2 keeping our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that lay before Him endured a cross and despised the shame and has sat down at the right hand of God’s throne.

I want to point out a couple of things from this passage, and then show you a video clip that kind of emphasizes those points. First, people of faith have done, are doing, and will do some extraordinary things. Some amazing things. Some awesome things. Such is the nature of living and walking in the Spirit and power of Christ. Second, people of faith have been hated, abused, despised, hurt, mistreated, tortured and killed, all because they refused to give up their faith in God. Jesus told us to expect it, because the world hates what is Godly.

Which brings me to the video clip. If you haven’t seen The Avengers yet…well, shame on you. This clip is from the end of the movie, after – SPOILER ALERT – the Avengers have saved the earth from the massive alien army led by Loki. Pay special attention to the dialogue.

Did you catch what was going on in that clip? The good guys have won. The bad guys have lost. And yet…people are demanding that the good guys turn themselves in. People want them to be held accountable for the damage caused by their conflict with evil. People are calling for them to be hunted down, registered, and forced to live by a different set of rules.

Collateral damage.

It’s the price that must be paid to be a hero. Not everyone is going to find your deeds heroic. We spoke last night about how we, as Christians, have a mandate to be heroes to the world around us through the power of the Spirit of Christ within us. We are called to take a message of salvation to a world under attack; we are called to face off against the enemy of our souls in the Name of our Savior. That means we have to take a stand on things; we have to draw a line in the sand and say, “Here. No further.”

Marriage. Sex. Success. Excess. Money. Love. Charity. Violence. Morality. Truth.

We are called by God to stand for those things even as those things are being challenged, are being changed. It is part of our mandate. And in defending those things, we will become unpopular with some. We will become pariahs to others. There will be people who call for our heads, people who demand that we be held accountable for the chaos caused by evil’s attacks.

And the question you have to ask yourself is: am I willing to pay that price?

I have been an apologist for a long time. Didn’t always know to call myself that, but it’s been my life’s work. Over the past few years, I’ve come realize that taking a stand for what’s right – what’s Gospel – is not popular. And I’m going to tell you an ugly little secret: sometimes, the people it’s most unpopular with are the folks who are supposed to be your friends. Why is that?

Because we have allowed an Americanized version of the Gospel to take over. We’ve allowed the message of Christ to be hijacked by people, both malignant and benign, and used to promote agendas that have nothing to do with His kingdom and everything to do with the kingdom of someone else. There are enemies of the Gospel in- and outside of the church.

So when you stand on the Word of God, when you stand in the Spirit of Christ, be prepared – you will be called to give an defense for what you say. You will be challenged by people to explain what you mean, why you believe it, and why it should matter to them. There will be times when you’re seen as the scapegoat, times when the tables are turned on you and you are made into the villain. So be it. We don’t live for those moments, but by the grace of God, we live through them.

But many more will be the times when you stand on the Word, for the Son, and the life-giving message of the Gospel is received. And to those people, set free by the message of Christ’s life and love and sacrifice and resurrection, you will be a hero. Check that: Jesus will be the hero, and they will see Him and thank Him and praise Him. You’ll be part of that, and rejoice too.

A Quiet Citizen

It’s been a big week for expressing your opinion on the state of things in our country. With the Supreme Court hearing arguments on Prop 8 and DOMA, lots of people are making their sentiments known via Facebook, Twitter, and other forms of social media. I know in my feeds, an awful lot of people have changed their profile pic to the red equal sign. While my social network isn’t a microcosm of society at large, it does show that things have changed in the past few years.

Of course, there are also those friends who’ve changed their profile pic to a red plus sign, or to a red man and woman. But despite the pictorial tit-for-tat, I’ve not come across any ugly exchanges. In fact, the attitude seems to be detente – each side has stated their case, and the court will decide.

I’m not here to rehash old arguments, nor am I really interested in the issue at all. I think it’s a significant moment in our national history – and I think it likely that the SCOTUS will decide against Prop 8 and DOMA in some shape or form – but personally it doesn’t get me riled up. It actually gives me a headache. Kind of like the Starbucks boycott some people are trying to get off the ground.

So why the post? Well, I’ve been teaching about morality the past couple of weeks. I expected it to be a big deal, a point of discussion for my students that created passionate exchanges and conversations that carried over for days. I pictured a classroom full of gravitas and insight.

Instead, I got a big fat face full of “Eh.”

First, a caveat – I teach this class at 7:30 in the morning, and sometimes it’s all I can do to show up and remain awake. I’m well aware that I’m essentially asking for the moon, but a man with dreams can set his sights high, can’t he? So, the lack of discussion doesn’t exactly surprise me.

What has caught me off guard is that the students I teach don’t labor under the same hindrances as me. Whereas I’m learning a crap ton about what God has to say about morality and its impact and influence on our lives (and how we approach others on matters of morality), my students have a “been there, heard that” look in their eyes that makes me feel like an antiquated dope.

They don’t wrestle with the issue of God’s sovereignty and His authority to determine morality on His terms. They don’t question God’s fairness. They don’t wrestle with legalism or delusions of moral superiority. They understand that their main moral objective is to live obediently, taking a stand with grace and forgiveness when such a stand is called for. They feel no pressure to try and solve the world’s problems; they truly believe that when it’s their turn they’ll do what they can, and trust God for the rest. They wish to be quiet citizens.

And I’m like: dang, dudes. Guess we’ll finish up a little earlier than I anticipated. Good job!

I’m generalizing, of course; there is some push back on certain issues, but for the most part, everyone seems to have the same attitude – that they’ll stand for the Lord when such a stand is necessary, not when someone panics and wants to start a movement. Curiously, they’ve not panicked over the past couple of days. I find that fascinating.

I just saw a Facebook post from Albert Mohler, president of the Southern Baptist Seminary, and while I know Dr. Mohler is decidedly pro-traditional marriage, his statement carries much wisdom – a wisdom I find reflected in my students. I leave it with you as a closing statement.

Christian Meme of the Week

This will probably not make me popular with some folks…

The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil

Yeah, yeah, yeah…I know. I’m boring you with all my blogs lately. Too “deep.” Too “thinky.” Too “much hot air, like a leaky balloon.” I get it. But it’s how I’m wired, man. This morning, I can’t stop thinking about the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

In fact, everything that I’m ready or studying lately seems to be converging on the themes of God’s sovereignty, morality, and the struggle of man with good and evil. It’s so prevalent for me, I couldn’t even enjoy watching The Three Amigos last night without considering the transformation of the Amigos into heroes once they understood the existence of real evil in Santo Poco and their ability – their moral duty – to stand against it.

When you think like that about The Three Amigos, you know you’re in trouble.

I digress.

Back to the tree of knowledge of good and evil: like yesterday’s post, this one is going to be outside of the box, and I’m not sure I can dig all the way down in just a few thousand words (give or take). But it’s just taking up so much space in my brain, I feel like I need to get it out there and let it run around for a bit. If it gets Tasered by people smarter than me, so be it (it might turn out to be fun, like yesterday’s post).

I’ve grown up believing that the tree of knowledge of good and evil imparted moral wisdom to Adam and Eve. That, until they ate of the tree, they didn’t know that such a thing as “good” or “bad” existed. I’ve never questioned it, and have, in fact, preached it as sound on numerous occasions. I don’t dispute that such an interpretation is wrong at all. I’m merely posing something to think about that enhanced my understanding of this doctrine.

The Hebrew words “good” and “evil” used in Genesis 2:9 and 2:17 are the words טוב (towb) and רע (ra`). Here’s where it gets interesting: towb/good is primarily translated as pleasant, agreeable – it’s an adjective. Ra/evil is primarily translated as an adjective too – it means bad, disagreeable, malignant. The two words describe the knowledge gained by eating of the tree – the ability to know that things can either be agreeable/good or disagreeable/bad.

So far, so orthodox. That’s good, right?

But here’s the thing: Adam and Eve both already had moral knowledge before eating of the tree. They didn’t have to eat from the tree in order to learn that some things are bad and some are good; God had already given them that information in Genesis 2:15-17, when He commanded them not to eat of the tree.

The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.”

God gave a command and explained the penalty for transgressing that command. He issued a moral standard by which Adam (and Eve) should live. In hearing that command, Adam (and Eve) knew that there was such a thing as right and wrong. Morality was defined for them from the lips of God, and they understood its implications.

So the tree didn’t impart that to them. God did. Morality comes from God.

Then the serpent came along and questioned the paradigm. He suggested that God had kept them from moral knowledge by prohibiting them from eating of the tree. It’s subtle, but it’s significant: the serpent shifted the locus of morality from God to the tree. Instead of trusting God to tell you/show you what’s right and wrong, Eve, you should eat the fruit of the tree and let it open your eyes on those matters. And by eating of the tree, what it possesses becomes yours too.

Boom. In just a few words, the human condition was tainted. Instead of trusting God to reveal His goodness to us, we now opt to define it for ourselves. The problem is that the innate perfection and holiness required to determine good and evil is found only in God; without Him to guide us, we can no more choose right from wrong than a colorblind person can pick out their favorite shades on a color wheel. By seeking to possess something God had already given us in Himself, we destroyed ourselves and that knowledge.

And if you’ll give me a second to chase a really weird rabbit trail: If the tree was the container of moral knowledge, that takes away from God’s character, does it not? God is diminished because the tree and its fruit holds the essence of the moral law. But we reject that idea on it’s face – God Himself is the moral lawgiver, and morality finds its foundation within Him. So why did the tree have to exist at all? What was it’s point?

To bring God glory. To show us that we could never possess the ability to determine morality for ourselves. To teach us that we would ever have to be in relationship with God in order to know what truly is right and wrong, real and illusion, good and evil.

After typing this all out, it seems fairly basic. Obvious, even. And that just means that I’m chasing windmills here, exploring a trail someone else has blazed. But there’s so much about morality and goodness and evil that I’m just beginning to understand, it seemed significant that our knowledge of right and wrong was given to us long before Adam and Eve ate from that tree. It was a gift freely given by God – not a treasure withheld because we couldn’t handle it. That changes things for me in a way that I simply cannot articulate at this time. I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to spell it out.

So what say you? I welcome your thoughts in the comments below.

Get Rid of Religion? It Won’t Help

I was reading through some Facebook stuff earlier this morning, and someone posted this political cartoon taking aim at Westboro Baptist and their flock. I don’t care for the tactics of the folks at Westboro. I don’t care for their theology. I don’t think, by any stretch of the imagination, that they represent the Body of Christ in any meaningful way.

I’m not out to get into a debate about their free speech rights or their freedom of religion, because honestly, they have to answer for their lives just like I’ll have to answer for mine, or you’ll have to answer for yours. What I do want to post about, however, is one of the comments that someone left on this picture (the comment appears as typed, with no corrections or changes):

you cant believe in talking animals and plants and not be a fanatic. westboro baptist is just one of the many things that equates christianity to the rest of the world-dissolving and society-poisoning religions. i dont think this world will ever get over its greed and intolerance with religion still so popular.

As the commenter pointed out, you slap “Baptist”, “Church”, or any other Christian word onto your organization and, fairly or not, you’re going to be connected to Jesus. I get that point. Of all the many wonderful benefits of free speech in this country, perhaps one of the main detriments to that liberty is the ability of a minority of fools to misrepresent the majority of people. It’s something that every group has to deal with.

But what struck me – and this statement never fails to strike me, regardless of where I see or hear it – is the false notion that a world without religion would be a world without conflict. A world without hate. Just eliminate the need to believe in the supernatural fictions of the religious, the argument goes, and we’d be holding hands and eating s’mores by sundown.

Seriously? People really believe that?

And they give me crap over the notion of a talking donkey?

I live in the South. I’ve seen people beat the living crap out of each other over NASCAR drivers, football teams, Civil War battle maneuvers, beverage choice, whether or not hunting deer is really a sport, and countless other things. And lest you think it’s just the rednecks that are crazy, remember that folks up north riot in the streets after a professional baseball team wins a championship.

I won’t even mention soccer and its fans.

Let me be blunt: religion isn’t the problem with the world. You take away religion, and you’ll still have to deal with war, hatred, bigotry, ignorance disguised as moral superiority, and the rest of the dirty underbelly of humanity. You eliminate any notion of a divine being, and people will still kill you for your money, your land, or your shoes. They’ll just have to take credit for it themselves.

Because what’s wrong with the world is that we’re broken. Imperfect. We are, as Jesus Himself said, sinful. Eliminating religion won’t change that.

It’s a nice dream, this non-religious utopia where everyone loves and laughs and lives in peace without the threat of some Bible/Qu’ran/Buddha-belly thumping zealots hanging over their head. Unfortunately, it’s still a dream.

There’s much that we need to do as Christ’s church to shine His light in a fallen world, which has been the case since Christ Himself walked the earth. And as Tim Tebow is finding out, here in a America we’re now facing a challenge in that our very faith is seen as antithetical to the reality of a loving society. We are guilty now of speaking truth that gets labeled as hate. Westboro and others in that vein have helped create that complication; but so have us non-Westboro folks, by our own timidity.

We can go quietly into the night. We can concede to those who say religion should be done away with and give them a society free of all mention of God or Christ or sin or truth. And when we do, we should not be surprised in the slightest when things go from bad to worse.

The answer, church, is not to withdraw but to critically and lovingly advance. To not hide what we believe, but to express it in love, with the boldness that comes from humility instead of hubris. To allow people to ask questions or attack our positions. To allow ourselves to be labeled as haters and hatemongers, and yet live as Christ, who was labeled a heretic and a drunkard and a demon and worse.

The answer, church, is to live as Christ – by the Word, in the Spirit, through faith in our Father.

Can I get an “Amen”?