Happy Friday
The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child will lead them. The cow will feed with the bear, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox. The infant will play near the cobra’s den, and the young child will put its hand into the viper’s nest. They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain, for the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.
Isaiah 11
I’ve been reading ahead. To be more specific, I’ve been looking at God’s promises for the future. They are bigger than I remember. Tim Keller’s comments about them are worth passing along. “When we look at the whole scope of this story line, we see clearly that Christianity is not only about getting one’s individual sins forgiven so we can go to heaven. That is an important means of God’s salvation, but not the final end or purpose of it. The purpose of Jesus’s coming is to put the whole world right, to renew and restore the creation, not to escape it. It is not just to bring personal forgiveness and peace, but also justice and shalom to the world. God created both the body and soul, and the resurrection of Jesus shows that he is going to redeem both body and soul. The work of the Spirit of God is not only to save souls but also to care and cultivate the face of the earth, the material world.”
In Pursuit of Intrinsic Good: T.S. Elliot argued that there are two questions Christians should ask themselves: 1) What do I like? And 2) What ought I to like? He went on to claim that Western moral education hinges on this discussion. In a sobering interview with Ken Myers, James Matthew Wilson notes that modern culture has moved away from this view in virtually every way possible. It used to be we educated children by training them to reform their desires so that they seek good itself. But today we have lost the ability to see good in anything that is not pleasurable. He also notes that higher education used to articulate three goals: 1) Introducing students to an atmosphere that refined sensibilities; 2) helping them learn to instinctively recognize things that are good; and 3) helping them rightly order their life. Wilson argues that the contemporary university is now stridently opposed to these three aims.
Several New Studies About the Church: News about the big C church in the West has been mostly bad lately, but a new Harvard study challenges those findings. You can read that here. And as I have done before, I want to remind you that the Secularization Theory (as education spreads, religion will fade) many of us grew up with has been jettisoned by nearly everyone. In fact, the church outside of the West is growing like a brush fire. It tends to grow wide more quickly than it grows deep, but it is spreading quickly.
Quotes Worth Requoting: The dominant culture in which we live is that of expressive individualism. Since the Enlightenment, people like to say, “Well, what the church says might be ok for some, but I think you have to determine right and wrong for yourself.” But they’re not thinking for themselves. They’re doing exactly what the culture tells them. In reality they’re espousing the very way of knowing that’s been imposed on them by their culture…and a very white, Western, individualistic one it is. The question, “Do you think we ought to convert people to Christ?” assumes there are already untouched, unformed people out there and there are pushy Christians trying to convert them to their way of thinking. No, everyone has been deeply formed into some point of view that is not innate. The real question you must face is “which externally imposed formation will have its way with me?” William Willimon
Generosity: From time to time I return to this article by Nicholas Kristof in which he notes trends in giving. The topic is more complicated than he is able to develop in this small article, but the evidence does suggest that those who follow Christ are more generous with their money and time. Of course that is as it should be. We serve a God of amazing generosity.
Springtime: It’s spring here on Earth’s northern hemisphere, which led one person to ask, “Do other planets have seasons?” The answer: “Yes”, according to David Grinspoon, a scientist at the Planetary Science Institute. “It’s springtime on Pluto right now, at least in the northern hemisphere!…And it has been since 1990.”
Real estate Trends: I was told by a realtor friend that one of the trends in new home construction is to replace the dining room with a larger media center. People are opting for a short bar in the kitchen where they can sit and eat.
Psychics as Wellness Coaches: This past Sunday’s New York Times had a piece exploring the expanding role of psychic mediums as wellness coaches. The pyschics who were interviewed noted that people were less inclined to ask for their fortune to be told and more interested in how to live well. I am reminded of Chesterton’s quote, “When people choose not to believe in God, they do not thereafter believe in nothing, they then become capable of believing in anything.”
Closing Prayer: Into your hands, O Lord, we commit ourselves this day. Grant to each one of us so to pass the waves of this troublous world, that finally we lose not the world eternal; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. –Anonymous