Secular?

There is a pervasive lie hanging out there in the wind and it goes by the name of “secular”.  My dictionary of Theological Terms defines secular “that which is worldly, earthly and temporal and thus not religious or spiritual.”  In other words that which is secular is something that remains outside the purview of God All Mighty.  Can someone please tell me what exactly is outside of the interest and influence of the Creator?

I recognize there are secularists, people who think there is no God who created all that is seen and unseen, who formed us all in the the secret place where nothing is hidden from him.  I could go on and on. But the bottom line is–there is no secular world. There is no aspect of all of creation that is not under the rule and authority of God Almighty no matter how many people think or act otherwise.  Those who thinks so should have a read of Job where God puts everyone in his place when he says:

“Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge?
³ Dress for action like a man;
    I will question you, and you make it known to me.

⁴ “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?
    Tell me, if you have understanding. Job 38:2-4

and

And the Lord said to Job:

² “Shall a faultfinder contend with the Almighty?
    He who argues with God, let him answer it.” Job 40:2

 

With that, I would propose the division of this world into two worldview camps: Judeo-Christian and Pagan.  Yeah, pagan sounds– harsh doesn’t it?  Judgmental, maybe?   Good, I have succeeded!  My dictionary of theological terms says a pagan is “one who is a non-Christian and thus does not worship the true and living God.”  The bible makes the distinction between Jew and Gentile along the same sort of line–Paul was the apostle to the Gentiles.  In that time (and even today in the mind of a Jew), you were either a Jew or not and if not, you were a Gentile or “one who is not Jewish my racial origin”.  On this side of the cross, we are either Judeo/Christian or pagan.  It has a certain ring to it, I reckon.

Wondering why Judeo/Christian and not just Christian?  Fair enough. It seems to me that as a Christian, our roots are bound up in the Jewish experience since…well, since the beginning.  We don’t come to be Christian without a Jewish history of God and His interaction with His people.  We don’t understand Christianity without understanding all of God’s character in righteousness, love, grace, justice, and mercy that He has demonstrated since the beginning of time and into eternity.  Christians are the wild olive shoot grafted onto the olive tree.

“¹⁷ But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, although a wild olive shoot, were grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing root of the olive tree, ¹⁸ do not be arrogant toward the branches. If you are, remember it is not you who support the root, but the root that supports you.” Romans 11:17-18

The olive tree has many branches but the root is the same–Jesus Christ.  No one comes to the Father but by him.

So let’s toss away the notion of anything secular.  It doesn’t exist and never has except in the minds of men.  And we know what lives there:  “And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done.” Romans 1:20

May God be glorified in our hearts and minds.  Amen.

 

Not on the menu

 

Germany has now legalized same sex marriage.  There is lots of talk here in Australia about doing the same.  My hope for my new home country is that it will examine first what the repercussions of such a change in the social fabric will cost.  My hope is that they will listen to the voices of the dissenting judges of the US Supreme Court and answer their objections and questions before it becomes law here.

Justice Roberts:  “Stealing this issue from the people will for many cast a cloud over same-sex marriage, making a dramatic social change that much more difficult to accept.”

“[F]rom the standpoint of history and tradition, a leap from opposite-sex marriage to same-sex marriage is much greater than one from a two-person union to plural unions, which have deep roots in some cultures around the world. If the majority is willing to take the big leap, it is hard to see how it can say no to the shorter one.”

Justice Thomas:  “In our society, marriage is not simply a governmental institution; it is a religious institution as well,” Thomas wrote. “Today’s decision might change the former, but it cannot change the latter. It appears all but inevitable that the two will come into conflict, particularly as individuals and churches are confronted with demands to participate in and endorse civil marriages between same-sex couples.”

Justice Scalia: “Until the courts put a stop to it, public debate over same-sex marriage displayed American democracy at its best,”

Justice Alito:  “that those who cling to old beliefs will be able to whisper their thoughts in the recesses of their homes, but if they repeat those views in public, they will risk being labeled as bigots and treated as such by governments, employers, and schools.”

Not long ago I wrote a blog about what a cake maker or a photographer might do when presented with the opportunity to make a cake or take photographs for a same-sex ceremony.  My suggestion came in response to Mr. Belz’s call, from World Magazine, to see what kind of responses he could illicit from his reading audience.  In trying to come up with an idea I suggested that the artists (baker and photographer) could do their work for the couple but accept no payment.  That is a rather cavalier notion since I am not the artist having to forego payment.  Then it came to me…

Just a few months back, when the US was in the period between the election and inauguration, in the flurry of excitement and dread depending on your voting record, there were several declarations coming from The Rockettes, Charlotte Church, Sophie Theallet, etc. stating their intention to not perform at the inauguration or dress Melania Trump.  One designer saying “A designer is an artist and should have the choice of who they want to dress or not.”  Naeem Khan.

Well, if a musical performer is an artist, and a dress designer is an artist, is not a baker or a photographer an artist too?  Don’t they then have the “choice of who they” bake cakes for or take photographs of?

Therefore, I offer a correction to my previous blog and would suggest two approaches.  Firstly, of course the baker and photographer are artists and their job is to interpret the work they have been asked to do.  Their interpretation of a same sex marriage might not be what the couple would like to have, pictures out of focus or taken askew because that is their interpretation of the event before them.  The baker designing a cake that tastes off, whether too much salt or not enough, or a black icing that represents the mournful event that is taking place. As an artist they have the choice.

Thought number two goes a different way.  When you enter a Halal food shop do you demand to have a pulled pork sandwich?  No, it is not on the menu because…well for obvious reasons.  When you go into a Jewish deli, will you find shrimp (prawn) salad on the menu?  No, it is not kosher and is therefore, not on the menu

The baker and photographer now have two means to refuse their participation in a same-sex marriage ceremony:  their artistic interpretation of the event would defeat the purpose in procuring their talents and providing services for such an event is just not on the menu.

Biblically speaking, our choice is clear, same sex sexual relations are sin, plain and simple.  To then go down the road of celebrating it through marriage encourages and approves of the very action that is abhorrent to God.  The book of Romans outlines it this way:

²⁸ And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. ²⁹ They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips,³⁰ slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, ³¹ foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless.³² Though they know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.

It is the last sentence that is the kicker.  Baking cakes, taking pictures, even attending a same sex marriage ceremony gives approval to those who practice the very deeds that produce unrighteousness.  All our sins are deserving of death and to such we are condemned unless we repent.  Marriages serve to bless the unions, and the attendees want to see them flourish in love and commitment, and as a result give approval to those who practice such things.  God will give them up “because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever!” (Romans 1:25)

Christian bakers, photographers, marriage planners have talents that must be used to the glory of God.  It is our calling.  The Westminster Catechism summarizes our life’s purpose in question #1 “What is the chief and highest end of man?”  The answer: “Man’s chief and highest end is to glorify God, and fully to enjoy him forever.”*  Amen to that.

 

 

*Romans 11:36; 1Corithians 6:20; 10:31; Psalm 86:9-12.  BTW, I sent my suggestion to Mr. Belz who was keen on the menu idea.

 

A World Torn Apart

The story of sin continues.

Why do we care what people do so long as what they do does not affect me or you?  Why should we care what goes on in their heads or their bedrooms? As long as I am working at removing the log from my own eye, why should I care about the speck in my brother’s eye?   This is a common complaint directed at Christians who advocate for human fidelity to the word of God.  Honestly and truly, I really do not give a hoot what people do in their heads or their bedrooms.  Nothing would be easier than to say “What you do in your mind and in your home is your business as long as it does not impinge upon me and mine and I will leave you to it.”  The problem is that sinful behavior is never, ever private, just ask Adam and Eve.  “Inherited sin is a dark reality, but it is one with the widest silver lining…Because Adam first sinned, we all participate in that one sin, and as a result we are all in the same sinking boat, we all have the same problem.”  (Adam, the Fall, and Original Sin by Hans Madueme and Michael Reeves).  We all participate in that one sin???  Hang on, I wasn’t in the Garden of Eden tasting the delights of the forbidden fruit, were you?  Why are we and all our ancestors and progeny now saddled with sin? Why should we be tattooed with this “dark reality”?  In the words of that young sage Lancelot from the musical Camelot by Rogers and Hammerstein, “Had I been made the partner of Eve, we’d be in Eden still.” C’est Moi

Yeah, I’m with Lance—I would not have made that mistake and I am sure neither would you.  Nice try but that thinking won’t fly.  Had you or I been the partner of Eve or Adam (or both?) we would still be wrestling with sin to this day because we are no different than they.  (The transmission of sin is fodder for another blog) Freewill involves not only the choice to love and honor Yahweh but to rebel against Him as well.

Louis Berkhof describes the genesis of sin in this way:  “With respect to the origin of sin in the history of mankind, the Bible teaches that it began with the transgression of Adam in paradise, and therefore with a perfectly voluntary act on the part of man.  The tempter came from the spirit world with the suggestion that man, by placing himself in opposition to God, might become like God. Adam yielded to the temptation and committed the first sin by eating of the forbidden fruit.  But the matter did not stop there, for by the first sin Adam became the bond-servant of sin.  That sin carried permanent pollution with it, and a pollution which, because of the solidarity of the human race, would affect not only Adam but all his descendants as well.  As a result of the fall the father of the race could only pass on a depraved human nature to his offspring.  From that unholy source sin flows on as an impure stream to all the generations of men, polluting everyone and everything with which it comes in contact.” (Systematic Theology p. 221)

If, then, Adam’s (and Eve’s) sin reverberated through all generations, how can we assume that our own sins, small and large, will not also echo through time and space?  As our own personal IED, sin is the shrapnel that embeds itself in all our lives and throughout ALL creation.  Hear Paul explain it:  “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.  For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God.  For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope  that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.  For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.”  Romans 8:18-24

I was listening to a recording of How Many Kings by Downhere  (The lead singer must be Freddie Mercury’s cousin) Downhere–How Many Kings?

The chorus goes like this:

Cause how many kings, stepped down from their thrones?
How many lords have abandoned their homes?
How many greats have become the least for me?
How many Gods have poured out their hearts
To romance a world that has torn all apart?
How many fathers gave up their sons for me?

A world torn apart—how did this happen since after His 6 days of creation God pronounced everything good?  No, sin is not a private matter at all.  It tears at the fabric of this world because it is what separates us from God and forces all of creation to groan as it operates contrary to its design.    Thus creation and the state of human sin are inextricably connected.  So sin is not a private affair after all.  Its hold over us taints all of creation forever until such time as the Lord has collected His chosen people to Himself and the new heaven and new earth appear.  By not confronting sin in ourselves and in others, we are, in effect, serving Satan.  We are furthering his purposes, his goals, his desires in this world, and they are legion.  We were made in the image of God, but in holding fast to our sins we remake ourselves in the image of Satan, the father of lies.  Where can we escape this enigma, who can offer respite and cleansing?  “God adjudges all men to be guilty sinners in Adam, just as He adjudges all believers to be righteous in Jesus Christ.” (Berkhof)  All of creation suffers until the “revealing of the sons of God”, until the allotted are redeemed through repentance, belief, and trust in the finished works of Christ.  In the meantime, we abide in the Truth that Yahweh is at work in this world and His kingdom will come.

I mourn.

Everywhere you look there are bands of colors splashed on buildings (yes, even the White House), Facebook postings, towers, bodies and yes, even the American flag. I would like to suggest that those of us who feel that the SCOTUS ruling making same-sex marriage the law of the land in the US is a mistake of colossal proportions unite behind the black ribbon of mourning. Mourning? Why mourning, you might ask? The rapidity with which this change has been foisted upon the populace is without precedence. There have been scant discussions, debates, and conversations about whether or not this will be beneficial to society, families, and children and what the impact will be on our social and political institutions. The states and populace are far from united and have now had their hands forced by this ruling to abide by a law that severely divides the nation (does anyone else sense shades of civil unrest of 175 years ago?)
I will refrain from calling the LGBT, etc. banner a rainbow because that is offensive to me (and we know no one wants to be offensive, don’t we?) A Judeo/Christian emblem, the rainbow, has been usurped by a community that thumbs its nose at the tenants of these faith traditions. If those who find the Flag of the Confederacy offensive managed to have it banned on Amazon and other retail operators, how much traction do you think we faithful few will get to have the color bands  banned in the US? Just a thought–I am not holding my breath.
Anyway, back to mourning. Yes these are sad times, the impact of which we may never fully realize in our life time, my life time anyway. For we have truly known God but do not honor Him or give thanks to Him, we have become futile in our thinking and our foolish hearts are darkened. We have claimed to be wise and instead have become fools. (Romans 1) We are no longer pillars of the faith in the world (China may take over that role as odd as that sounds) but have returned to our child-like origins, allowing ourselves to be “tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.” (Ephesians 4:14) So yes, mourning it is.
Well you might ask, is it all that bad and I would have to answer yes. Not solely because of the SCOTUS ruling but I think this act represents the crowning achievement of the secular forces on a country designed, propagated, and buttressed by the faith of its founders and early leaders. These men and women, as fallen as anyone else that has ever lived, still knew that their value as human beings was endowed to them by their Creator, something we have lost sight of in order to gleefully skip down the road toward apostasy. And we know we have been endowed by our Creator with value because this is what the Scriptures tell us—we would not know this otherwise. The scriptures also tell us while we are valuable we are sinful and in need of a Savior–our sins are so profound and expansive we could not pay the price.  “It is God himself who in holy wrath needs to be propitiated, God himself who in holy love undertook to do the propitiating and God himself who in the person of his Son died for the propitiation of our sins.  Thus God took his own loving initiative to appease his own righteous anger by bearing it his own self in his own Son when he took our place and died for us.  There is no crudity here to evoke our ridicule, only the profundity of holy love to evoke our worship.”  (John Stott in The Cross of Christ) We have a Savior in Jesus Christ, who atoned for our sins and whose first recorded words in the inauguration of his ministry were “Repent, for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand.” So America, repent, for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand. Until then, I mourn.