The Great Omission

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I’ve been reading Dallas Willard’s The Great Omission.  This book is a compilation of essay’s Willard has written through the years.  Most of those essays are available online.  They are each able to stand alone, and all are worth the read.

What Happens at an Atheist Concert?

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USA Today reported last week that the US Army has approved an atheist-themed concert at Fort Bragg (NC) after a group complained that they had not received the same support as did organizers of an Evangelical event held last year.  Among those  scheduled to appear is Richard Dawkins.  I didn’t know Dawkins was a singer! But then again, I really never gave it a thought.

I wonder: What does an Athiest concert look like? In other words, what would distinguish an Atheist concert from a simply secular concert, or a humanist concert? Do people gather for anything? Or do they just sing and talk about what they don’t believe?

Comedian Steve Martin might give us a hint.  In the video above Martin takes the mic at the 2010 New Orleans Jazz festival and shares what he calls “The entire Atheist hymnal”.  Funny!

Here are the lyrics to Martin’s Athiest Don’t Have No Songs:

Chris­tians have their hymns and pages,
Hava Nag­i­la’s for the Jews,
Bap­tists have the rock of ages,
Athe­ists just sing the blues.

Ro­man­tics play Claire de Lune,
Born agains sing “He is risen,”
But no one ever wrote a tune,
For god­less ex­is­ten­tial­ism.

For Athe­ists there’s no good news. They’ll never sing a song of faith.
In their songs they have a rule: the “he” is al­ways low­er­case.
The “he” is al­ways low­er­case.

Some folks sing a Bach can­ta­ta,
Luther­ans get Christ­mas trees,
Athe­ist songs add up to nada,
But they do have Sun­days free.

Pentecostals sing to heav­en,
Cop­tics have the books of scrolls,
Nu­merol­o­gists can count to seven,
Athe­ists have rock and roll.

For Athe­ists there’s no good news. They’ll never sing a song of faith.
In their songs they have a rule: the “he” is al­ways low­er­case.
The “he” is al­ways low­er­case.

Atheists don’t have no songs.
Chris­tians have their hymns and pages,
Hava Nag­i­la’s for the Jews,
Bap­tists have the rock of ages,
Athe­ists just sing the blues.

Catholics dress up for Mass,
And lis­ten to, Gre­go­ri­an chants.
Athe­ists just take a pass, Watch foot­ball in their un­der­pants.
Watch foot­ball in their un­der­pants.

Atheists don’t have no songs.

5 Truths About Forgiveness

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Mark Twain describes forgiveness this way:

Forgiveness is the fragrance that the violet sheds on the heal that has crushed it.

What beautifully apropos imagery.

In a recent post I listed 5 Myths About Forgiveness, taken from an article by Sam Storms.  What I didn’t do in that post is describe what forgiveness is.  So in this post we give consideration to that question, again borrowing from Storms.

Here are 5 Truths About Forgiveness:

  1. God in Christ forgave us by absorbing in himself the destructive and painful consequences of our sin against him
  2. God forgave us in Christ by canceling the debt we owed him. That is to say, we are no longer held liable for our sins or in any way made to pay for them.
  3. Forgiving others as God has forgiven us means we resolve to revoke revenge.
  4. Forgiving others as God has forgiven us means that we determine to do good to them rather than evil. (Romans 12.17-21)
  5. God forgave us in Christ by reconciling us to himself, by restoring the relationship that our sin had shattered.

While these truths are still not a definition they do work together to give us understanding, perhaps even better than a mere definition might.  Forgiveness is embodied and demonstrated in the person of Jesus Christ.  He is, in Twain’s words, the Violet that was crushed for us.

***

This list is an excerpt from a post by Sam Storms that originally appeared on the Enjoying God Ministries blog.  To whole article is available in .pdf thanks to the folks at Acts 29 Network. Click: Forgiveness

5 Myths About Forgiveness

/ Dennis Griffith / 3 Comments

In the movie Just Friends pop singer Samantha James (Anna Faris) lyrically muses:

“Forgiveness is more than saying ‘Sorry'” 

Earlier this week I had a conversation with a friend who had been accused by a woman from his church of being “unforgiving” because he was hesitant to re-hire a man who had been fired for cause just a couple years previous.  My friend, who is a very gentle and gracious man, was mostly venting frustration from the sting of this accusation. But he was also honestly trying to resolve the conflict within himself; trying to discern if his hesitancy was truly a reflection of a heart lacking in forgiveness. 

I suspect many self-searching people wrestle with question at one time or another.

The character Samantha James may be on to someting. But what? What is forgiveness? Maybe at least as important, what is forgivenss NOT?

Sam Storms helps us out with that latter question by listing 5 Myths about forgiveness:

  1. Contrary to what many have been led to believe, forgiveness is not forgetting.
  2. Forgiving someone does not mean you no longer feel the pain of their offense.
  3. Forgiving someone who has sinned against you doesn’t mean you cease longing for justice.
  4. Forgiveness does not mean you are to make it easy for the offender to hurt you again.
  5. Forgiveness is rarely a one-time, climactic event. It is most often a life-long process.

This list is an excerpt from a post that originally appeared on the Enjoying God Ministries blog.  To whole article is available in .pdf thanks to the folks at Acts 29 Network. Click: Forgiveness 

In a later post we will consider what Storms says forgiveness is.

The Help

/ Dennis Griffith / 2 Comments

Went yesterday with my wife and daughter to see the movie The Help.  While in one sense this film might fall into the category of Chick Flick, it is more than that.  For us it was somewhat nostalgic.  The area of Jackson, Mississippi where this was filmed and set is the same neighborhood where we lived in for three years while I was in seminary – Belhaven.  (Though the story is set 30 years before we got there.)

This film is poignant – both  funny and sad.   Laced with humor throughout, it is a discomforting reminder about oppressive attitudes that prevailed only a generation ago.  Though the tide had turned by the time we had arrived in Jackson, it was not unusual to stumble upon lingering remnants of the past prevailing prejudices.   I suspect they still linger, and not only in Mississippi.  So in that sense this movie is a good reminder of the ugliness and foolishness of bigotry.  Such reminders insulate against a resurgence of bigoted attitudes.

More than just a moral reminder from days of old, this story is a wonderful demonstration of the power of even just a few to bring about social justice and renewal.  In this way, though God is not central to the plot, it is a reflection of the gospel promise to make all things new.

In short, the movie was well worth the extended lunch that took up a portion of my afternoon.  So guys, no need to be turned away because this movie may initially appear to be gender in-apropros.

3 Lane Escape from Moralism

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I am thankful to Joe Thorn for concisely clarifying an issue that I believe confounds many well intentioned Christians.  The problem addressed is the confusion of moralism with the gospel.  In many case moralism is an attempt to take seriously both God and the Christian faith.  Nevertheless, moralism is off track.

In a post titled Killing Moralism, Thorn observes:

Many Christians have grown up in the church on moralistic preaching; that is, preaching that calls for obedience without connecting the commands of God to the cross of Christ.

Thorn goes on to suggest:

This disconnect is dangerous, potentially leading hearers into either self-loathing or self-righteousness. Moralistic preaching is often the ground in which the devil sows the seeds of legalism.

The more I study the more I am amazed by how cohesive the Scriptures are – both Old Testament and New Testament.  Christ is central to both, as together they unfold God’s awesome plan and work of redemption. 

But Thorn is right, too much of what we hear from our pulpits fails to make the connection.  And sadly that has all too often been true of the pulpits I have stood in through the years.  Oh, the Word was proclaimed. The teaching was faithful. Often rich truth was expressed: doctrinal, devotional, and dutiful.  But too often the cross – which is the crux of the whole Bible – was not clearly tied in.

In recent years I have labored to remedy that. But it is still a work in progress.

In his post Thorn suggests three observations we should look for to draw more deeply from the Scriptures for our preaching, teaching, and personal formation:

  • See the God of the Command
  • See the Grace Behind the Command
  • See the Gospel Above the Command.

To practice this observation Thorn wisely instructs us to remind ourselves of three truths:

  1. Jesus atoned for our failure in this command. (Colossians 1.3; Colossians 2.13, 14; Ephesians 2.16; Romans 5.9)
  2. Jesus fulfilled this command for us. (1 Corinthians 1.30-31; Romans 5.19; Philippians 3.9)
  3. Jesus empowers us to live out this command. (Philippians 2.12-13; Ephesians 6.10-20; 1 Peter 4.11)

The more we embrace these principles the better we will become in “preaching the gospel to ourselves”.  And living in light of the gospel is the key to escaping well intentioned but ultimately vapid moralism.

How Can I Be Sure I Would?

/ Dennis Griffith / 1 Comment

Steve Timmis of The Crowded House and co-author of the book Total Church posed the following questions and thoughts for reflection:

How can I be sure I would lay down my life for sake of Jesus & the gospel? Perhaps I’ll be like Peter in his bravado and subsequent denial? Can’t ultimately be sure until I’m called on to do so.

But there are indicators in what I am reluctant to give up…

  • If I’m not prepared to give up my bed to go and serve someone, I can be fairly confident I won’t give up my life…
  • If I refuse to give up a holiday abroad so I can support someone in gospel ministry, I can be fairly confident I won’t give up my life…
  • If I’m not willing to pursue people who are different from me in order to bless them, I can be fairly certain I won’t give up my life…
  • If I’m not prepared to miss out on promotion so I can stay & help plant churches, I can be fairly certain I won’t give up my life…
  • If I’m not prepared to jeopardize a friendship so that I can tell others about Christ, I can be fairly certain I won’t give up my life.

I think these are worth some personal consideration.  Jesus told those who wanted to hang with him:

“If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” (Luke 9.23)

Being a follower of Jesus and being a fan of Jesus are very different things.

4 Keys to Cultivating Inner Peace

/ Dennis Griffith / 1 Comment

How can one cultivate genuine inner peace?  Thomas a Kempis suggests embracing the following four attitudes and practices:

Such a person will enter into the realm of peace and rest.

From Imitation of Christ 23.1

Spiritual Formation Beyond Decency

/ Dennis Griffith / 2 Comments

We must stop using the fact that we cannot earn grace (whether for justification of for sanctification) as an excuse for not energetically seekng to receive grace.  Having been found by God, we then become seekers of ever-fuller life in him. Grace is opposes to earning, not effort.  The realities of Christian spiritual formation are that we will not be transformed “into his likeness” by more information, or by infusions, inspirations, or ministrations alone. Though all of these have an important place, they never suffice, and reliance upon them alone explains the now-common failure of committed Christians to rise much above a certain level of decency.

~ Dallas Willard, in The Great Omission

Christ-likeness: The Purpose of God for His People

/ Dennis Griffith / 1 Comment

by John R.W. Stott

I remember very vividly, some years ago, that the question which perplexed me as a younger Christian (and some of my friends as well) was this: what is God’s purpose for His people? Granted that we have been converted, granted that we have been saved and received new life in Jesus Christ, what comes next? Of course, we knew the famous statement of the Westminster Shorter Catechism: that man’s chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever: we knew that, and we believed it. We also toyed with some briefer statements, like one of only five words – love God, love your neighbour. But somehow neither of these, nor some others that we could mention, seemed wholly satisfactory. So I want to share with you where my mind has come to rest as I approach the end of my pilgrimage on earth and it is – God wants His people to become like Christ. Christlikeness is the will of God for the people of God.

So if that is true, I am proposing the following:

  • First to lay down the biblical basis for the call to Christ-likeness;
  • Secondly, to give some New Testament examples of this;
  • Thirdly, to draw some practical conclusions.

And it all relates to becoming like Christ.

So first is the biblical basis for the call to Christlikeness. This basis is not a single text: the basis is more substantial than can be encapsulated in a single text. The basis consists rather of three texts which we would do well to hold together in our Christian thinking and living:

Lets look at these three briefly.

Romans 8.29 reads that God has predestined His people to be conformed to the image of His Son: that is, to become like Jesus. We all know that when Adam fell he lost much – though not all – of the divine image in which he had been created. But God has restored it in Christ. Conformity to the image of God means to become like Jesus: Christlikeness is the eternal predestinating purpose of God.

My second text is 2 Corinthians 3.18: ‘And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being changed into his likeness, from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.’ So it is by the indwelling Spirit Himself that we are being changed from glory to glory – it is a magnificent vision.

In this second stage of becoming like Christ, you will notice that the perspective has changed from the past to the present, from God’s eternal predestination to His present transformation of us by the Holy Spirit. It has changed from God’s eternal purpose to make us like Christ, to His historical work by His Holy Spirit to transform us into the image of Jesus.

That brings me to my third text: 1 John 3.2. ‘Beloved, we are God’s children now and it does not yet appear what we shall be but we know that when he appears, we will be like him, for we shall see him as he is.’ We don’t know in any detail what we shall be in the last day, but we do know that we will be like Christ. There is really no need for us to know any more than this. We are content with the glorious truth that we will be with Christ, like Christ, for ever.

Here are three perspectives – past, present and future. All of them are pointing in the same direction: there is God’s eternal purpose, we have been predestined; there is God’s historical purpose, we are being changed, transformed by the Holy Spirit; and there is God’s final or eschatalogical purpose, we will be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. All three, the eternal, the historical and the eschatalogical, combine towards the same end of Christlikeness. This, I suggest, is the purpose of God for the people of God. That is the biblical basis for becoming like Christ: it is the purpose of God for the people of God.

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NOTE: The above address was the last message John Stott gave at the Keswick Convention. This address was given in Summer 2007