Christians are the hard-won Redeemed of the Lord. That word “Redeemed” means we were bought back. It implies a slave market. How we got into slavery we all know. It began with Adam, but you know each and every one of us contributed. We are culpable, to the last man. But the Lord, rich in mercy, bought us with, and adopted us, and made it so we inherit all that Jesus does. And now, as the redeemed of the Lord, we have been redeemed unto fruitfulness.

Proverbs 11:30 (NKJV)

³⁰ The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, And he who wins souls is wise.

 
So now we return to this metaphor we see all over Scripture. We are human trees—fruit trees. God made us to bring forth good fruit, and to be life to those around us. The Proverb says “He who wins souls is wise…” It’s easy, when we read that verse, to immediately start playing defense. “But I’m not an evangelist…” It’s true, not everyone is gifted as an evangelist, but everyone can be a friend. The first step to getting someone out of the slave market is to befriend them. We need to repent of our timidity, of our love of comfort, of our fear that we’ll be rejected by unbelievers because we love the Lord. And when we do, we’ll find that really life doesn’t get any better than when we get to see up close and personal the power of God transforming people’s lives. It’s fun to see the world upended. So pray that God will help you to habitually befriend unbelievers. Pray that God will help you be a little tree of life. And it all starts with friendship...

Obama as Messiah Redux: or The cost of being noticed...

Would anyone pay attention to Michael D'Antuono's artwork if he did not resort to something he knew would provoke Christians? In case you're wondering, he painted President Obama as the crucified Christ, saying that his First Amendment rights should override someone's hurt feelings.

How can we not agree with the fellow? We live in a wimpy culture that has no stomach for real debate. Our skin is as thin as an atheist's epistemology. We whine and cry foul when others begin to critique us. So let the guy paint. But let's remember that he'll have to pick up the tab for it--we all will. All speech, every word, will be answered for.

I'd like to return to the question of art, and the question with which I started this post.Would anyone pay attention to his work if he didn't resort to something so calculated to offend?

Let's repay evil with good, do the guy a favor, and consider his work--that is what he wants us to do.  First, does it show skill? Second, does it show integrity? Last, does it speak the truth?

Skill: Personally, I find it amateurish.  He does not paint like a man who has mastered his craft. Obama seems almost to be a cut out that has been pasted onto the background.Others may be able to point out where the painting is excellent, and certainly I have much to learn about this. But with my eyes, it looks about the quality of a political ad.

Integrity:  D'Antuono says he was not literally portraying Obama as Jesus, and that the crucifixion was metaphorical. Conservative media (and we know they're out in droves), like to depict liberals as literally believing in Obama as their savior... apparently. (Of course, Jamie Foxx was a conservative saying "Our Lord and Savior, Barack Obama," right?). But the artist's denials of a comparison with Jesus do not ring true. Obama's is painted in a pose which is commonly used when painting the crucified Christ, with the head looking down and to the right. Also, whenever someone is portrayed as crucified, the association immediately goes to Jesus. The artist could have chosen other ways to depict the President as being brutalized--many of them very visceral and emotional (dragged behind a pickup truck, lynched, beaten, etc.). They also would have been much less cliche. No doubt D'Antuono is as paranoid of cliche as he is of anthrax, but he made a calculated choice. He can paint in cliche, and have people pay attention for shock value (Sock it to those Christians! That'll get their undies in a wad! Here I think of the infamous crucifix-in-a-jar-of-urine stunt.) Or he can think about his message, and paint it with more integrity and creativity--and risk that others won't notice him.

But getting noticed, folks, getting noticed is what modern art is all about. Y'see, they've got bills to pay, and their talent has not yet been properly lauded, and... and ... Yes, there are always excuses for selling out. I don't know D'antuono's heart, but the way I see it, this is either a little piece of commercialism, or he is clueless about cliche. I think the former more likely.

Truth: the final test I am applying is the truth test. Does the painting speak the truth about the world? If it is merely saying Obama is being crucified, well then, yes, it is speaking truth. Obama, all politicians, and every Christian to boot is crucified, has been crucified, and will have more crosses to look forward to. People speak evil of Obama of which he is not guilty (though he is guilty of many evils). But see above. I think D'Antuono is not speaking the truth about the Jesus-connection. Whenever the left or the right looks to any man as Savior, they will discover that they are in for a terrible disappointment. The way to change our country is not by getting the right man into office, it is by the Holy Spirit replacing our hearts of stone with hearts of flesh, it is by our nation returning to acknowledge the Lordship of Jesus Christ. "For there is given no other name under heaven whereby a man can be saved..."

Writing rhythms

To those of you who graciously make time to read my mutterings, a little explanatory note on my writing rhythms.  You'll notice some intense seasons of posting, and others when I am almost completely silent.  This is not whim, but workload.  This year I am team-teaching a class for a home school co-op (Omnibus 3, if you are curious). When I am "on" all the prep takes about exactly the same amount of time that I would devote to posting here. Usually we cycle in two to three week teaching chunks. So thanks for poking your heads back in to check on things, even when the room is silent...

And he was eaten by worms and died...

So ends the story of Herod Agrippa. I would like to dedicate the following section of Eusebius' The Church History to Jamie Foxx, and his "Lord and Savior, Barack Obama." It tells the story of how Herod Agrippa was worshiped as a god, and because he did not rebuke the people, was struck down by God on the spot. President Obama, if he has any sense, will immediately tell Jamie Foxx that he stepped way out of line. Listen to what happened to Agrippa (Eusebius, pp. 67-68):

"Divine justice brought swift retribution to the king for his plots against the apostles, as Acts records. he had gone to Caesarea, and there on a feast day, adorned in magnificent royal attire, he delivered an address while standing on a dais in front of his throne. The entire audience applauded his address as if it were delivered by a god, not a man but the inspired Word reports than an angel of the Lord struck him instantly, and he was eaten by worms and died (Acts 12:19-23). It is astonishing how this marvel in the divine Scripture is supported also by Josephus in Antiquities, Book 19, where he relates the amazing story in the following words [which I snip for sake of space]:

On the second day of the games he put on a rove woven entirely of silver, a remarkable fabric, and entered the theater at the beginning of the day. When the silver reflected the first glint of the sun's rays it glittered so dazzlingly

Running with the wild crowd

All through the book of Proverbs, God offers His people the enviable life, the good life. Are you gullible and inexperienced, likely to get ripped off, conned or bamboozled? Do you have a birthmark on your back that looks suspiciously like a set of cross hairs? God will make you shrewd and street-smart. Are you seasoned and savvy? God will make you wiser still. Do you want to be able to walk into a knotty situation—"the kind of problems that would cross a rabbi’s eyes"--and be able to deduce exactly what is going down, and what the right thing to do is? Keep listening to Lady Wisdom. Only an unteachable fool would refuse. Fools despise wisdom and instruction. 

How interesting, then, that having offered so much, the first lesson in the school of wisdom is a discussion of peer pressure. If you want to have an enviable life, you’ve got to learn to manage your friends.  "He who walks with wise men will be wise, but the companion of fools will be destroyed.” Few things shape our characters more than our choice of friends. And there’s the problem. Often we do not choose them. We acquiesce to those who are kind to us and accept us.

Let’s look at v. 10. It is genius. Pithy. Concise, and yet expandable. Nine words in English, but only six in Hebrew. “My son, if sinners entice you, Do not consent.”  

Lady Wisdom is a realist. She knows that sometimes we either choose friends badly, or we discover that the friends we thought would exert the right kind of pressure end up pressuring us the wrong way. If you want to have an enviable life, you must cultivate a hardness of character that is able to tell your friends, “no.” And she says, learn to say “no.” And we can add, do it in a way that does not sound self-righteous. God’s children need to form their character and their strengthen their ability to differentiate themselves from their friends by “not consenting” when enticed. When we do this, we exert Proverbs 1:7 pressure on our friends, instead of caving to Proverbs 1:10 pressure from them.  If you say “no” to their foolish schemes and they eventually thank you—keep these friends. If they keep trying to get you to cave, then dump them before you get dumped on. King David's criterion in choosing friends is the only sound one, "I am a companion of all who fear You" (Ps. 119:63).

A Postmortem on Abandoned Faith, part 1

Why do children abandon the religion of their parents? It’s a question that has received the scrutiny of pastors, scholars, and parents, both in and outside the church, for a long time. This interest continues strong today, when it seems that retention rates are sliding. Now, we all know the deal with statistics. They are pretty malleable, and they need to be glared at to keep them humble. At the same time, I think they help us ask good questions from our Bibles, and highlight things we see in the Scriptures, but perhaps do not emphasize.

There are a number of factors that contribute to the tragedy of kids that head for the high grass and into the far country. We’ll have to address them one at a time, and in blog-sized chunks. For now, since I am talking about “listening” in Proverbs, let me address the issue of communicable loves. What I aim to answer, specifically, is how parents so live, and so communicate, that their passions are contagious. I’d like to start with a gander at the clipboards, and then move on to the serious stuff.

First, we’ve already talked about how we train our children in indifference here. The bottom line is, kids are way too savvy. If you’re faking it, they learn the implicit lesson that the real action is somewhere else, and by some unwritten rule, kids have to follow Jesus till they’re eighteen. It's a rough lot, but its no use complainin'. If they keep their trap shut, then they graduate to the privileged life of faking it too. Cue country music about chasing Jesus and chasing skirts now.

The Homeschooling Attitude

This is from the cellars... a piece I wrote for Credenda Agenda back when bicycles were considered high speed transport...

It would be difficult to exaggerate the importance of discipling our children.  Each generation of parents has a spiritual trust, an inheritance, that must pass through them (with interest) to their children, and through them (again, with interest) to their posterity.  Our task, then, is not merely to lead our children in a sinner’s prayer—but to equip them thoroughly to live for Christ.  If each couple had four children, and you discipled each of them to pass on the faith to each of their four children, generation by generation, by AD 2125 you would have influenced over 1000 people for Christ (see me for the math).  This is assuming you never shared the gospel with anyone outside your home, never gave a coin to missions, nor ever prayed for your unbelieving neighbor.  Bizarre assumptions indeed. 

Education is discipleship.  The word “disciple” comes from the Greek word mathetes.  It means “learner.” Learning’s first lesson is to love learning. The beginning of wisdom is get wisdom (Prov. 4:7).  But as to the question of the means of “the getting,” parents are bombarded with choices.  Should we homeschool?  Should we avail ourselves of the local Christian school?  Should we co-op? There are many factors that go into these decisions.  They are complex.  My point in this short article is not to advocate for one or the other, but to remind of the common imperative that binds all parents.  We must all have the homeschooling attitude.

Let is be said that there are many homeschooling families who themselves do not have the homeschooling attitude.  Let it also be said that its absence is even more common for non-homeschooling parents (is it any wonder?).  This is tragic because a failure to have the attitude is the sin of abdication.

It's all in the verb tenses

If you have not read this post from Jake Belder yet, do yourself a favor, especially if you love the doctrines of grace. It's all in the verb tenses...

Buffoons on the runway

 

Listen! Parents love this word, but many of their children have it on auto-delete. Why is it we so often will receive instruction from anyone but our parents? This apparently is not isolated to our century, because the command to "hear" or "listen" occurs at least 31 times in Proverbs, and these were assembled about 3000 years ago. After the intro of 1:1-7, Proverbs begins with this familiar appeal.

⁸ My son, hear the instruction of your father, And do not forsake the law of your mother;

In this case, we are exhorted to listen to "instruction" (Hebrew = musar)—which  is instruction in the avoidance of faults. Fools loathe being told not to run with scissors, to steer around coral reefs, and to avoid Scylla and Charibdis.  They want to blunder forward unchecked. “Musar” is what dad is calling us to heed. “Son, I am going to tell you how not to face plant. Don’t be a fool. Be teachable. Listen.” 

Seek your parent’s counsel.  It’s wise to listen to your parents—they only seek your good and happiness. And specifically, if you want an enviable life, listen to your parents on your friend selection (which is the context of Proverbs 1). Ask them what they think of your friends—desire their opinion. . .  Now, to get young folks to listen to their parents itself seems an insuperable feat. They need some serious motivation. So now we turn to the final part of the exordium, the motivation.

⁹ For they will be a graceful ornament on your head, And chains about your neck.

Everybody—except perhaps computer programmers--wants to look good.  But few people are as image conscious as young people. There is this horrible life-phase where we feel like we are on center stage, and everyone is always looking at us, assessing us, sneering at or praising us. Solomon knows this, so he uses a clothing metaphor. You want to look good, and not look like a dweeb or a buffoon? Then listen  .  .  .  to your parents?!!  

More on Rites of Passage

With Western industrialized society’s preference for relational criteria as indicators of achieving adulthood (as opposed to objective markers like a rite, or marriage, or childbearing, etc.), entering adulthood has become less of an event, and more of a process—a process which seems to be taking longer and longer, and one that is not easily quantified. Once a step, now the transition to adulthood has become a road. Chap Clark in his book, Hurt: Inside the World of Today's Teenagers, explains:

 Throughout time and in every society, the dominant culture has seen the young as its most sacred treasure. Because of this, historically there have been only two primary stages of the life span: childhood and adulthood. Children were viewed as a precious and nurtured resource and as such were guided into their place in the world by those responsible to care for them and their family and community. Once a child had completed the rituals, rites of passage, and training experience necessary to be accepted into interdependent relationships within the adult community, he or she was fully assimilated as an adult member of that community. This process called rite of passage by Arnold van Gennep in 1908, had three elements: separation from the old status; transition, usually with a specified ritual; and incorporation into the adult community. Any type of formalized process of incorporating the young into adulthood has not been valued for over a century, especially in the United States. pp. 25-26.

Youth no longer exit a rite of passage into the community as full adults. Now they emerge from high school and enter an “in-between” time. Scholars have floundered for a decent name for this stage ("Twixters," "Emerging Adults," "Adultolescents" etc.), and even J.R.R. Tolkien described the flighty stage young Hobbits go through in their twenties as the "Tweens." But the point is, now more than ever, young people are having trouble transitioning from childhood to adulthood.

Piddling with follies

One of the deficiencies of Western culture is that there is no objective marker for young men to know when they have passed from "boy" to "man." There is no rite of passage, no initiation ceremony. Some think marriage is the dividing line; others that it is finishing one's education; others when you are allowed to vote, or buy alcohol; others tag it to subjective markers like taking responsibility for one's actions and choices. There is little agreement, except that we've lost something important. Perhaps I'll blog on that next.

But what this ambiguity about adulthood does, practically, is leave our mature males to be "boys-in-men's-bodies"; irresponsible, piddling around with follies, instead of moving the football of cultural dominion down the field and into the end zone.  Some folks have wisely begun to objectivize for their sons when they become a man--and then start expecting them to act accordingly. Some of these attempts at a manhood rite can end up being cheesy and more than a little embarrassing for the kid. I resist the urge to describe some of them--though it is tantalizing--because we cannot despise the day of small beginnings. We don't want to discourage steps in the right direction. But many have been sensible, and truly honor the young man.

Recently a friend, and our church's missionaries to Alaska, gathered some men together to mark his son's passage into manhood. The men were to bring a word of exhortation to Sam. Since I wasn't present, I sent this letter.