Couldn't Help Noticing

Lessons in Unity

The largest Presbyterian denomination in the United States (PCUSA) is on the verge of a serious split. The upcoming General Assembly will decide on whether the PCUSA will allow historic ordination standards to be by-passed in order for homosexual men and lesbian women to be ordained as ministers of the Word. Of course, this is nothing new for mainline denominations—the Methodists, Lutherans, Episcopalians and others have debated the same issue for years.

The issue I find fascinating is that they all refuse to discuss the logical end to their claims. Let me explain. Being an ordained Presbyterian minister, I've been able to hear all the denominational arguments for excluding sexual orientation as part of ordination standards. The one common theme among all the arguments could be summed up in a word—unity. It is unity that those who don't believe in God's Word want to preserve among Christians. It is unity that those who want to deny Jesus' Lordship want to maintain. They argue that if we in the PCUSA allow some local ruling districts to ordain homosexuals and lesbians, then we can maintain what God has called us to foremost—unity.

Here is the logical end they aren't willing to entertain as a possibility of moving forward: Why not remove all denominational standards? Why shouldn't all the mainline denominations seek to become one denomination, similar to what the Australian Uniting Church has done? Of course, the answers would be numerous. There would be a citing of differences over baptism, the Lord's Supper, soteriology, eschatology, polity as well as many other issues. Unfortunately, this just doesn't make sense. They are willing to give in on an issue that is clear in Scripture (homosexual practice being unacceptable by God) and not on issues that are far from being clear in Scripture (polity and the sacraments).

The lesson this teaches to onlookers is that Presbyterians find rites of baptism and church government much more important (and thus worth being divisive about) than issues of sexual purity. Further, it shows the hypocrisy of those who are pushing for unity. They only want unity as they see it, which is no unity at all.

Couldn’t help noticing in The Da Vinci Code (Part III)

For a book which advocates feminism over patriarchy and champions reverence for the ‘sacred feminine’, The Da Vinci Code's primary female character, cryptographer Sophie Neveu, is surprisingly passive and colourless. Aside from some early displays of ingenuity in the Louvre where she manages to extract Robert Langdon from under the watchful eye of the French Police, she spends the rest of the novel simply reacting to the things that happen around her. Furthermore, because of her ignorance about the Holy Grail, Jesus and Mary Magdalene, she becomes the perfect blank canvas on which Langdon and Teabing paint their extravagant theories about their version of the “truth” the Catholic Church doesn't want the world to know. Presumably Sophie is an intelligent woman; after all, she studied at Royal Holloway, a very prestigious college in the University of London, and she was trained from childhood by her grandfather to solve word puzzles. Why, then, does she accept Langdon and Teabing's version of history without question? Why doesn't she seek verification for herself? Could it be that The Da Vinci Code is really part of a patriarchal plot to keep women in their place up on the pedestal?

Who Does God Hate?

According to its website (http://www.godhatesamerica.com), God hates all people except the members of Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kansas. Well, the site doesn't actually say this, but when you read it and see someone like Billy Graham condemned, you have to think “What shot do I have?”.

The church, along with its pastor, Fred Phelps, has been featured on many news and talk shows recently. Phelps organizes demonstrations at every funeral for US military men and women. Unfortunately, they aren't demonstrating their respect and gratitude. He has his people hold up signs that, in no uncertain terms, show their hatred of homosexuals and their belief that God hates homosexuals too and is working to destroy them.

Phelps is glad 9/11 happened. He believes that America is hated by God because of its allowance of homosexuality and thus anyone fighting on behalf of America should be disgraced at his/her funeral.

Many states and even the federal government are seeking ways to block these demonstrators from military funerals. Phelps? response?

You might think you can pass laws that stop us from preaching at the funerals of your Godless brats, but it isn't going to happen. The Messengers of God do not stop preaching the truth just because you pass laws. Here's a little secret. Kansas has had a funeral picketing law for years, and we still picket funerals in Kansas!!! Dying time is truth time!

DEAL WITH IT!!!

Number of Americans who have entered hell as result of this bloody takeover of Babylon: 2,288
WBC Prays for it to be 222,288!!!?

The irony is that despite all this hate, Phelps' church homepage (http://www.godhatesfags.com/main/aboutwbc.html) states that their beliefs “insist that the doctrines of grace be taught publicly to all men”. It would be very interesting to hear their version of the doctrines of grace.

It is very sad indeed that Phelps and Westboro Church are getting so much media attention. In an increasing secularist society, this is all the exposure to ‘Christianity’ many people get.

Psalm one said so, part V

For all the blessed man's efforts in living a righteous life (Psalm 1:1) and reading the Bible day and night (Psalm 1:2), there is not even a hint that his good works are what win him approval in the sight of God.

To begin with, the nature of ‘blessing’ in the Bible is that it comes not from ourselves but from God. He is the one who will ensure that the blessed man “is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither.” (Psalm 1:3) Think about how much a tree contributes to its own watering and you get the idea.

But note also how the Psalm concludes. After all this talk of meditating on God's law, you might expect that the blessing takes the form of knowing God better. No doubt this is so. But the Psalmist flips this idea completely on its head, and points out that rather, the blessing consists not so much in knowing God as being known by him.

For the LORD knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.

Paul offers a similar thought-flip in 1 Corinthians 8:1-3: “Now concerning food offered to idols: we know that ‘all of us possess knowledge.’ This ‘knowledge’ puffs up, but love builds up. If anyone imagines that he knows something, he does not yet know as he ought to know. But if anyone loves God, he is known by God. But if anyone loves God, he is known by God.”

We delight in the Bible, God's law, not so much because in it we know God, as because in it, he knows us!