Who Cares About History?

Why should I care about history? History only tells me about people and events that happened years ago - sometimes hundreds, even thousands of years ago. History fails to help me today because what I face looks nothing like the world even 30 years ago. Even if history could help me, how do I know I can trust what some other person wrote down? That person had their own bias, wore their own colored glasses. Nothing more than his point of view ever made it to the pages of history. I’ve got my own point of view and no one tell me to give more weight to the historian’s view, or even your view. So, who cares about history?

Every time you read one of these articles, you hear about the biblical worldview. Every time I say that the Bible has something to say about all of life, not only our spiritual lives. And yes, the Bible has something to say about history. Everyone has a worldview, a way of looking at the world. We look at the world via the revelation of its Creator, a Creator who placed in us a yearning for Truth, meaning, and purpose. We’ve found it, but the rest of world still searches and they pick at the scraps they find outside of God’s revelation. After all, when you’re hungry, bad food is better than no food, right? However, the non-biblical worldview simply does not fit into what God has made, including what man is. No matter how tantalizing the scraps or how many a person can gather up, what we suppose about the nature of life outside of God’s revelation remains false and will never satisfy.

The opening paragraph describes the substitute view of history held by many today. (1) History is only a series of disconnected events that happened to occur one after the other. (2) History started by chance and it could end in an infinite number of terminals. (3) The record of the past only presents a dead person’s point of view. (4) Since we cannot know truth, we make our own and no truth is any better than any other. (5) The purpose of history (since it cannot truly be known) is to support and bear witness to my truth. That’s the alternative – what’ the biblical view of history?

You might first respond that the Bible says nothing about history, but let’s take a closer look. First, the Bible says “in the beginning” God created all that exists – the beginning of history. The Bible continues, written by the glove of human intellect filled with the hand of God, to count off the history of God’s chosen people towards an event no one fully understood before it happened – God entering the human race through Jesus, the God-man. The Bible even tells us about history that hasn’t happened yet through prophecy. From the Bible, we know that history began with a purpose and that every event through history marks progress towards an established end of pre-eternity where the Christ will meet his bride, the church.

Understandably, Jesus took history seriously. In his early ministry, he made a trip to his own hometown, went to the synagogue and read form the prophet Isaiah about the beginning of Jesus’ ministry, sat down, and said “today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” (Luke 4:21). Isaiah wrote in time past about a future event, Jesus claimed to be the one of whom Isaiah prophesied, and Jesus’ own words describing Elijah and Elisha immediately following the reading gave credence to biblical history.

Stephen’s defense of his faith in Acts chapter 7 recounts the history of God’s redemptive acts. The book of Acts itself chronicles the history of the early church. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 10 that “I don’t want you to be ignorant of [history].” (1 Cor. 10:1a) Hebrews chapter 11 recounts the giants of faith. The entire New Testament company took history seriously.

It might have occurred to you that because the Bible presents the coming of Christ in the context of history, history forms the basis for our very beliefs. In history, God created. In history, Jesus came, died, and was resurrected. In history, the apostles drafted the gospels and epistles. In history, Christ will return. And, in history eternity will begin. Without events in history, we would not have the perfect sacrifice of Christ, we would not have atonement for our sins, we would not have been redeemed.

So, what am I to think about history? History consists of human events with a purpose, God’s purpose. What use is it? First, history helps me understand who I am, where I came from and where I’m going. Second, History provides me with a wealth of examples of good, bad, ugly and lovely human acts and a method of examining myself. Scripture provides me with the standard for evaluating the actions of humankind past. I can certainly look to biblical history to see how the nation of Israel alternately followed God and followed empty idols. I can see the ebb and flow of rebellion and repentance, the constant grace and mercy of God and the undying love of the Creator for his people. From that I evaluate who I am – the rebel or the penitent.

I can also inquire into the worldviews of other historical figures and determine what they presupposed about life, what they based their lives on. Likewise, I can examine the results of their worldview lived out. How did a person with a consistent biblical world view affect the events of history?

For example, during the civil war period in America, there were three main rationales for the anti-slavery movement. David Wilmot, a Democratic congressman represented the first view. Wilmot opposed slavery because of his own separatist views, wanting to limit slavery in order to limit contact with slaves. Abraham Lincoln represented the second view. Lincoln recognized the unalienable rights of slaves, but did not think it necessary to give them equal social or political status. Men like William Lloyd Garrison and Orange Scott represented the third view. “O, how accursed is that system," Garrison observed, "which entombs the godlike mind of man, defaces the divine image, reduces those who by creation were crowned with glory and honor to a level with four-footed beasts.... Why should its existence be prolonged one hour? Is it not evil, only evil, and that continually?” They held a biblical view of man and slavery, that God created each in His image without distinction, and that when man enslaves his fellow man he calls God a liar and does his evil to Christ himself. (See Matt. 25:41-45)

These men possessed varying worldview, with differing presuppositions about the nature of man, and each resulted in a distinct perspective on slavery. Certainly, Lincoln’s view put America on a path of recognizing the equal stamp of God on each man’s soul. But, what would have happened if the position of William Lloyd Garrison and Orange Scott, the biblical view of man, had ruled the day? Would our country have waited 100 years until the Supreme Court decided Brown v. Board of Education to prohibit school segregation or until 1964 when Congress passed the Civil Rights Act to legislate nondiscrimination?

Who cares about history? If we claim to hold a view of the world shaped by the Bible, we should. A bibilical vies of history presents the plan of God unfolding before us; it uses past people and events to draw us into conformity with God’s truth.

The Birth of Jesus: A Short History (over a long time)

So, here we are ready to celebrate the birth of Jesus. Don't let our contracting economy, sagging Christmas retail sales, general uncertainty, personal hardship, and those people with holiday greetings that refuse to include the word "Christmas" distract us from pausing and recognizing the place in time where God invaded humanity - "being found in appearance as man," "being made in human likeness."

The historical and prophetic evidence for the birth and life of Jesus provides a convincing factual foundation for biblical faith. It spans thousands of years and comes from ancients hoping for Messiah, contemporaries who walked in Jesus footsteps, followers carrying on after His death, and unbelieving chroniclers wrestling with the facts.

Ancients:
Isaiah proclaims His miraculous birth: "therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: the virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel." The Psalmist identifies His nature: "I proclaim the decree of the LORD: He said to me, "You are my Son; today I have become you Father." Jeremiah tells of His lineage: "The days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will raise up to David a righteous Branch, a King who will reign wisely and do what is just and right in the land." Micah points out the place of this miracle (and again, His nature): But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times."

Contemporaries:
The Gospel of Luke puts it plain and simple: "In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) And everyone went to his own town to register. So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 7and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn."

Followers:
The New Testament epistles contain a number of texts that scholars have identified as pre-New Testament songs and creeds. With Paul's epistles starting as early as 15 years after Jesus death, these texts belong to His immediate followers. "... His Son, who as to his human nature was a descendant of David, and who through the Spirit of holiness was declared with power to be the Son of God by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord." Romans 1:3-4. "Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross!" Philippians 2:6-8. "Beyond all question, the mystery of godliness is great: He appeared in a body, was vindicated by the Spirit, was seen by angels, was preached among the nations, was believed on in the world, was taken up in glory. " I Timothy 3:16.

Chroniclers:
Writing in the later half of the first Century of Nero's persecution of Roman Christians, Cornelius Tacitus observes "Hence, to suppress the rumor, he falsely charged with the guilt, and punished with the most exquisite tortures, the person commonly called Christians, who were hated for their enormities. Christus, the founder of the name, was put to death by Pontious Pilate, procurator of Judea in the reign of Tiberius" but the pernicious superstition, repressed for a time, broke out again, not only through Judea, where the mischief originated, but through the city of Rome also." At the same time, Greek satirist Lucian of Samosata scorned Christians in his writings. "The Christians, you know, worship a man to this day - the distinguished personage who introduced their novel rites and was crucified on their account. . . . You see, these misguided creatures start with the general conviction that they are immortal for all time, which explains the contempt of death and voluntary self-devotion which are so common among them."

We could explore the evidence for hours and still have stacks left - it's strong. The prosecutors on Law and Order wish they had it this easy, all of Manhattan would be safe. Believers have filled the 1900 years after the Chroniclers with continuing evidence of the reality of Jesus. The overwhelming experience of God's love has motivated multitudes to proclaim Jesus to their own deaths. Renewed minds and transformed lives have pushed forward the best social reforms in history.

Our faith is founded on fact. So, pause, gather yourself, and stop to think about that point in time when Jesus was born. That moment which God had prepared for His Son to take human form in preparation for the redemption of mankind and the future redemption of all creation - the unsearchable riches of Christ, the mystery which for ages past was kept hidden in God.

Merry Christmas!

Tony Cervantes / Jan 1, 1988 - Nov 19, 2008

On Thursday, like most of us, I celebrated Thanksgiving with family and friends. In addition to great food and company, we had ample time to reflect on all the good God has placed in our lives. On Friday I attended the funeral of Tony Cervantes, my brother's 20 year old nephew. Tony was a gracious, generous, smiling young man with his whole life in front of him, or so we thought. A few days before his death, Tony suffered an asthma attack which prevented oxygen from reaching his brain for 6 minutes. Though the medical reports were initially positive, things turned for the worse and Tony died on November 19th.

On Thanksgiving night, I called my Dad and with Tony's funeral planned for the next morning, our conversation naturally turned there. My Dad wanted to know why Tony died at the beginning of a promising life. That just wasn't the way things were supposed to be. How can we make sense of senseless tragedy?

Fair questions - questions that bumper sticker slogans like "everything happens for a purpose" or "God is in control" fail to answer. It's not that God cannot act within the seeming chaos of our world to achieve His purposes, but simple statements fail to answer why the chaos exists and why it is allowed to force itself upon the people we love.

In every instance, when God created He paused and said "it is good," and when it came to man, He said "it is very good." If creation is so good, why do we daily see the effects of natural evil in disasters, disease, and death? Why do we witness constant moral evil inflicted upon innocents? Why did Tony die?

Creation was good – God created man with an intellect, emotions, and a will. In other words, God created us as persons in His own image capable of and craving relationship with each other and God Himself. Man’s will is necessary to his capacity for relationship, for choosing to live in union with others. For a time, man chose to live in face-to-face relationship with God, but then something happened.

By rebelling against God’s simple law, the first man and woman broke their relationship with God and plunged themselves, the whole human race, and all of creation into a state of separation from God. The effects of this rebellion distorted the good God had made. That’s what evil is, a distortion of good. It’s not a thing, but a condition. Not all the good is gone. We still live, love, laugh, and play. But it’s not with the same complete goodness it once had. Our lives are interrupted by disease, accidents, injury, and death, even death of those we deem good, those which had a promising life ahead of them.

Why did Tony die? Because things are not the way they’re supposed to be. Tony was ravaged by the effects of sin, of a world distorted by evil, of a body that retains only a part of the goodness God originally made. If that was the end of the story, our lives would be ground into the dust of despair. But, it’s not the end. God tells us that evil will be destroyed and goodness will be restored. Those who have embraced the Way that He has made for us will rise to an eternal new life when not only they, but all of creation will be put back to the way it is supposed to be.

21st Century Stories

• $26 billion is spent world-wide on movies
• 24,000 movie rental stores operate in America
• Less than 46% of Americans read a book last year
• 95% of all Americans saw a movie
• Average American sees 46 movies a year
• Pollster George Barna in his book Revolution says that 20% of all adults use culture, media, and the arts as their primary spiritual resource. Than number is projected to increase to 35% by the year 2025 and will then equal the number who will look to the Church as their primary spiritual resource.

Film has become the storytelling medium of the 21st century. Gone are the days of widespread familiarity with literature. Consider for a moment how many of the following movies you and everyone reading this piece have seen: Schindler's List, Finding Nemo, Titanic, Beauty and the Beast, and Toy Story. Now, try to imagine five books that each of us would have commonly read. You see my point.

The church has dealt with film primarily through avoidance (the whole thing is corrupt and will corrupt us if we touch it) or caution (only films that directly promote biblical values or the gospel message are worth of our attention). If we limit ourselves to only those two, we miss the opportunity for potent third option: dialogue. Film provides a cultural touch-point with virtually every person we meet and it does Christians well to familiarize themselves with warp and woof of the film in our cultural tapestry. I'm not saying that every film is good or that there are not those we should avoid. There are bad films just as there is bad music, or art, or literature and there are some stories and images that have no redeeming value whatsoever. But, film is so pervasive that if we hope to engage the current culture and participate in forging a new one that can accommodate renewal and revival, we must learn to dialogue with film.

Every story, including film, presents a worldview - or at minimum, a critique of a worldview. Remember that a worldview consists of our view of what is really real and determines our beliefs about life, our values, and ultimately, how we live our lives. It might be explicit in the story, or it might be expressed by one or more characters. There may be multiple or even competing worldviews in a single film.

Francis Schaeffer referred to discussion on the worldview level as pre-evangelism - a true prerequisite to discussions about the gospel. He believed that if my biblical worldview - what I hold to be really real - is different than my neighbor's, until we come to terms on each other's position, the gospel will be unintelligible to to my neighbor. Film provides readily available and fertile ground for worldview dialogue and scattering of the gospel seed.

A cup of coffee or bite to eat after a film with friend provides a great opportunity for worldview dialogue that can start in few other ways. Think about it - over the fence with your neighbor are you more likely to strike up a profitable conversation about why he needs Jesus, or why the main character in the movie The Shawshank Redemption would display such hope (if all that exists is the material world)? Film presents us with door to the 21st century mind and heart. We ought to open it.

How Big?

I remember a family trip to Disneyland on a day the park had over-booked the number of groups attending. Along with then normal crowd, we were continually surrounded by Girl Scouts and knee-high soccer players. At one point, while walking through the New Orleans Square area on our way to the Pirates of Caribbean, we entered a normally crowded but quick moving very wide and very long plaza. On this over-booked day, there were enough people to bring foot traffic to a full stop. A sea of heads stretched for hundreds of feet in front, back, and both sides of us and we were going nowhere. It took 15 minutes to get the crowd moving again. Great fun on a hot Southern California day.

The other I slowed down and marveled at the non-stop activity of my thoughts. One must actually work hard to stop the flow of thoughts - sometimes several at time - from rushing through the mind (don't worry, this will connect up and make sense when I'm done). We dream, analyze, plan, and talk to ourselves every waking moment. If I have ten different thoughts in the course of a minute, I have around 10,000 thoughts a day - makes me kind of tired thinking about it.

Now, remember the last really crowded place you were in - crowded like my day at Disneyland. Imagine for a moment how many thoughts went through your head while a part of that crowd. At the same time you had one thought, everyone else in the crowd had one thought. In fact, any one time, the two-thirds of the awake people in the world are simultaneously having thoughts at every moment.

Have you ever wondered what that sounds like to God? Happy thoughts, sad thoughts, hopeful thoughts, despair, evil, ingenuity and genius all at the same time. Despite our inability to imagine that experience, God hears them all, knows what prompted each, and for those who love Him can intervene in those thoughts to accomplish His desires in our lives - simultaneously.

How would your life change if your belief about what is real included a God of this magnitude? I don't mean relegating this fact about God to the category of spiritual or religious beliefs. I mean holding onto it as the truth about the way things really are - in the same way you believe 2 + 2 = 4. Can I include a God this big in my concept of reality and continue really feel bored, or helpless, or alone in the presence of that God?

How in the World did We Get Here?

You might have seen the A-B-C reasons for supporting Proposition 8 which restores natural marriage. "A" stands for activist judges. Even though over 61% of the voters supported natural marriage by passing Proposition 22 eight years ago, four California Supreme Court Justices decided the voters were wrong. How did we get to a place where four judges can turn the decision of over four million voters on its head?

Coming at the end of a historical period referred to as the Enlightenment - where human reason was considered the source of truth - Darwin published his book Origin of the Species in 1859. Primed by the current reliance on reason, many thinkers of the day latched onto Darwin's theory of evolution as the final step away from God as the transcendent source of truth. No longer did they need to rely on God to explain the existence of mankind. The doors were now open to the primacy of man - not as the pinnacle of creation - but as the species fortunate enough to evolve beyond the others.

This break did not stop with biology, but bled over into other disciplines, including law. Prior to this time, William Blackstone's commentaries on the law served as one of the primaries sources for educating lawyers. In his introduction to the nature of law, Blackstone writes "[u]pon these two foundations, the law of nature and the law of revelation, depend all human laws; that is to say, no human laws should be suffered to contradict these." This was the common view of the time, that human laws must submit themselves the laws of nature and nature's God.

However the introduction of an explanation for our existence apart from God spawed an explanation for the nature of law apart from God. The newly devised case study method for training lawyers that came in the wake of Darwin's theory - where the study of law focused on the decisions of judges - promoted the idea that the law must also evolve over time. The purpose of the courts was not to determine what was in the Constitution and other laws, but what those laws should mean. And, that meaning was determined by what these judges detemined fit the needs current society. The law had lost it moorings and was now afloat in the haphazard currents of personal preference.

Fast forward to today and we find ourselves experiencing the results of 150 years of this new way of looking at the law. What we find should not surprise us. This process has led to judges acting as the final arbitors of our law. They alone decied what laws are good for us and what laws are not. They alone decide right and wrong.

While we can turn the tide and begin to retake lost ground, it will take time. That makes this coming presidential election critical. When the next president takes office, six of the current United States Supreme Court Justices will be over 70 years of age. The next prsident will likely appoint two Justices, maybe more. As important, the President nominates appellate court justices. Most appeals stop at the appellate courts and most of our law is "made" there. The next president has the power to affect the condition of our country for decades and maybe longer, appointing justices that will continue to take the law into their own hands, or appointing justices who will respect the power of the legislature and executive and who will look to what our Constitution and laws say, not what they'd like them to say.

Separation of Church and State

A lot of folks can't even say the phrase "separation of church and state" without looking like the chocolate candy they just chewed was actually a clump of dirt. It's not without good reason we often observe that response. The phrase has been torn from its original meaning and a has become the anthem of all who wish to ban religious expression from any public and many private places.

Many of us know the phrase originated as description of where government should not tread rather than where religious beliefs should not be expressed. True separation of church and state is a good thing. The government is not the church and the church is not the government. Each has its place and purpose, ordained by our Creator to provide benefits to His image bearers. And, neither should encroach upon the boundaries of the other.

Does this mean the Christian conscience should not operate in political activity? Certainly not. Just as in other arenas of life, the Christian must carry his conscience informed by the Word of God into his political activity. This is true for the voter and the elected official. Chuck Colson, in his book God & Government states three good reasons for Christians to engage political activity. "First, as citizens of the nation-state, Christians have the same civic duties all citizens have . . . Second, as citizens of the Kingdom of God Christians are to bring God's standards of righteousness and justice to bear on the kingdom of this world. . . . Third, Christians have an obligation to bring transcendent moral values into public debate." We've seen examples of these principles throughout history - William Wilberforce and his successful fight to end slavery and rebuild the moral fabric of British society comes to mind.

Does this mean that political office becomes a pulpit for the elected? No. The church often finds itself marginalized in public debate, suffering prior decades of hiding from political activity. To swing to the other extreme and use government to accomplish the goals of the church would miss the mark by an equal margin. The elected official's duty is to facilitate government's delegated duty of preserving order and justice. According to Colson, "there is an alternative to the imposition of religious values or the passive acceptance of majority opinion, a principle that pays both pluralism and conscience their due. Christian politicians must do all in their power to make clear, public arguments on issue of moral and political importance, to persuade rather than coerce.

Separation of church and state - each operating in its own sovereign sphere without encroaching on the other - can restore much needed biblical balance to life in the public square.

How to Measure a Proposition

California has a dozen propositions on the November 2008 ballot. It doesn't take a brain surgeon to figure out that a biblical worldview soundly supports the preservation of natural marriage and notifying parents before their minor daughter has an abortion. But, what about all those other measures? Take Proposition 7 for example. It has to define ESP, IOU, PUC, and RPS before the 3,864 word (I counted) analysis even begins. I thought I knew what ESP and IOU meant, but apparently, I need more schoolin' to get it. How in the world does one use a biblical worldview to arrive and thumbs up or down for gibberish like that? Let me try to make some sense of it.

Let's take the example of the three propositions, 5, 6, and 9, which address issues in our criminal justice system. First, let's take a look at what we've got now:

• 1 out of every 142 Americans is behind bars
• 1 out of every 44 is on probation or parole
• Government at all levels spends $147 billion on crime related expenses
• Each prison cell costs $100,000 to build
• Each prisoner costs $20,000 per year to house
• Prisoners are exposed to years of separation from family, violence, homosexual rape
• For the last 30 years the rate of rearrest has stayed at 67% - that’s through Democrat and Republican administrations and legislative control

Conservatives tout a tough on crime agenda and liberals hope to rehabilitate offenders through the system. Both have failed - but why? Because they fail to acknowledge the truth of the matter - what the real problems are and what will really solve them.

God is the beginning and end of true justice and because God is a personal being, justice itself is personal. From God's point of view, it's more about restoring relationships that it is about getting what you deserve. In the cross, justice and love are united. It is there that God demonstrates his overwhelming love for us, those who were dead in our trespasses and sin and united in rebellion against him. And, it is there that justice is perfectly satisfied. The result is the restoration of our relationship with God.

When offenders commit crimes, they are not against the State of California as the District Attorney's complain reads. They are against victims and communities and they breach shalom (wholeness - the way things are supposed to be). Looking through the lenses of a biblical worldview, our response to this disruption ought to include an opportunity for the victims and communities to participate in restoring shalom. Our efforts should focus on restitution which recognizes the victim and the harm done and creates an opportunity to mend the breach in the relationship between the offender and victim and community. If we move in that direction, we can hope that the offender can engage in confession, repentance, making amends, and later transformation. The victim gains an opportunity to forgive and let go of a hurt will only grow into hate if left untouched.

This gives us a yardstick to measure these three propositions. Let's use Proposition 9 as an example. According to the official summary, Prop. 9 "requires notification to victim and opportunity for input during phases of criminal justice process, including bail, pleas, sentencing and parole." Based on our discussion above, this sounds pretty good. The current system relegates victims to prosecutor props with very few rights. Even though I like it, this proposition possesses a tone that misses the mark by focusing on individual rights. Rather than pointing us towards true justice - the restoration of relationships - victims need to be involved in the system because they have rights that the system ignores.

Does that cause Proposition 9 to fail the biblical worldview measuring test? I don't think so. The proposition promotes a sound policy even if a bit off base. It does not reflect perfect justice, but it moves us that much closer to it.

Measuring propositions takes some work, but if we want expand the borders of the Kingdom of God among us - the place where what God prefers actually happens - we need to keep at it.

We the People...

In California, representative government extends a step further - citizens directly access lawmaking through ballot initiatives or propositions. This makes the application of Romans chapter 13 a little more personal: "Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God . . .For he is God's servant to do you good." Romans 13:1, 4 In the Romans 13 sense, God delegates to each of us the authority to do good in the political process. If we fail to faithfully participate, we fail as stewards of our delegated authority - we fall short or miss the mark of God's intentions for us - we sin.

To hit the God's mark, we must first participate - go to the polls and vote. Second we must apply faithfulness to our participation. This means spending a little time figuring out how we can vote to do good by God standards. Voting alone will not cut it.

To keep pounding a point, that's worldview in action. Each of us possesses a worldview - a core set a beliefs about God, man, and the world which determine how we live our lives. As Christians, God's revelation of Himself in Scripture ought to significantly form our worldview. If my worldview is Theo-centric or biblical or Christian, when I vote for propositions, I will determine my yeses and nos by the standards God reveals in Scripture.

Sounds simple enough, but the application can get a bit messy. Stay tuned for more info on how to put a biblical worldview into action at the voting booth.

Creational Theology: God in the Stars

God reveals Himself to us in a variety of ways.

First, He spoke directly in Scripture - through history, poetry, prophecy, songs, proverbs, letters, and sermons He tells us in no uncertain terms about His attributes, character, and purposes.

Second, God reveals Himself in the person of Jesus. “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.” Colossians 1:15-20.

Third, God reveals Himself in creation, our consciences, and culture. “For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.” Romans 1:20.

Most of us get the first two – we read and meditate upon Scripture and understand and are moved by the revelation of God in Christ. But how often do we see God in the stars? When you see a sunset so beautiful it causes you to gasp, do you wonder of the untold beauty of God? When look up on a moonless night and see so many stars that you imagine the sky has been stroked with a brush filled with glitter, do you think of how big God really is? When you see a bird in flight or a lizard sunning itself, do you marvel at the creativity of our God who’s only pattern for work is His own imagination?

According the Romans 1, this should be our first encounter with God – gazing upon creation ought to prompt the original thought that a being of diving nature, eternal power, and invisible qualities exists somewhere behind the curtain. For those of us who “know the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations” (Colossians 1:26) - that Christ dwells in us - gazing on creation ought to bring us eye-to-eye with the face of God.

A Pseudo-Gospel: Everything Must Change

Article by Peter Jones

This is the first version of a NewsCWiPP under the new title InsideOut. Our ministry has changed its name to truthxchange. Our website, truthxchange.com, has a new look, new content, including audio and a blog. Now you can all react and interact. InsideOut seeks to examine what is happening on the inside (or underside) of events, just below the surface of the culture, and bring out their real religious and cultural significance.

Emergent leader Brian McClaren says "everything must change," not only websites and titles. Our political candidates seem to agree. I too am witness to enormous changes over my adult life.
I was raised in the heyday of European rationalistic secular humanism, and came as a student to America in 1964 to discover a culture so impregnated with Christianity that I thought I had died and gone to heaven. Well, not quite, but the "sacred canopy" over the culture was basically a biblical, Judeo-Christian worldview.

From the Sixties on, two major religious trends began to define society.

1. Simplistic Christianity

After the solid theological days of early 20th century Evangelicalism, which defined itself according to the great fundamentals of the faith, much of Christianity turned to a more sensational, experience-oriented "fundamentalism" that got caught up in the power of television (with its inevitable scandals), mega-church commercialism and cheap shot religion evidenced in such expressions as "God-hates-fags." The culture began to see Evangelicalism as a mindless, even dangerous religion. Was D. James Kennedy overly optimistic when he said in 2004 that "if the trend [the growth in the number of Evangelicals] continues, and I believe it will, American Christians will be in the majority sometime in the next decade"? Perhaps he did not count on "Evangelicalism" changing.

2. The Cultural Revolution

Appearing at first to be another generational round of student dissent, the Sixties movement actually redefined the nature of the world.

Authority: The social rebellion against university senates, the police and the Vietnam War stemmed from a principial rejection of all authority and hierarchy. In the place of authority, egalitarianism reigned, aided by postmodern deconstruction. Now, all truth is relative.

Sexuality: "Free sex" became resistance to normative heterosexual gender roles, and has morphed into a utopian vision for a pan-sexual/omni-gendered society.

Spirituality: The culture of love-not-war, of LSD trips and Eastern meditation, of diversity and tolerance has become the gateway for "can't-we-all-get-along" interfaith neo-paganism, with its techniques of yoga, mysticism and meditation.

The marginal Sixties revolution has become the dominant worldview of contemporary culture, appealing to the social and intellectual elite, in whose hands are the levers of social control (media, politics, business). These opinion-shapers, with little opposition, are now articulating a religiously pagan worldview for the life of the planetary community. These cultural progressives see no problem with mixing "church" (pagan religion) and "state" (electoral politics).
Two other important events have subsequently taken place following the social decline of Christianity, and the social rise of neo-paganism.

Good-bye Secular Humanism

Secular humanism is no longer the dominant non-Christian worldview. Philosophically, it has been radically undermined by the postmodern rejection of the objectivity of human reason. In addition, according to neo-pagans, Secular "inhumanism" has "disenchanted" the world, leaving us spiritually bankrupt.

Good-bye Simplistic Fundamentalism

Young evangelicals are rightfully in reaction against the over-simplified Christian Fundamentalism. Some have discovered a more biblically-based traditional theology and practice. Others, calling themselves Emergent or "Progressive" have refused the route of past historic Christian wisdom, and have gone in the only other possible intellectual direction, "Christian" liberalism, With Liberal apostasy, they change everything about orthodoxy, denying the the atoning death of Christ for sinners and the great solas of the Reformation, and adopting elements of pagan spirituality-global interfaith and subjective mysticism.

While having precious little to do with the Gospel, this so-called "Great Emergence" fits with looming Globalism and the re-emergence of ALL IS ONE pagan monism.

Things are indeed changing. While Christians were in the majority, all kinds of "fundie" weaknesses and superficialities could be tolerated. With Christianity now seriously marginalized, many younger Christians are seeking social acceptance and popularity with the dominant post Christian culture via an atonement-less, syncretistic social gospel. The world's rejection of Christianity is cleverly blamed on narrow old-fashioned traditions, not the scandal of the Cross.

The seduction of this pseudo-gospel, promoted by major Christian leaders and Christian publishing houses, is powerful. The sleeping Church needs to wake up-for at least two reasons: to be wise citizens and to be discerning, genuinely "missional" believers.

But one thing will never change: JESUS REIGNS. His death for sinners remains forever efficacious. He is building his truly global church, and, as Martin Luther knew, "he will win the battle." The serious question now is, as another hymn asks: "Who is on the Lord's side?"

Christos Kurios: Christ is Lord
Peter Jones
truthxchange

Who Cares About a Worldview?

Really, what difference does a worldview make? Once you understand how a worldview works, you'll realize it makes all the difference in the world. Your worldview is at the core of who you are - it affects every dimension of your life. Your worldview, the set of beliefs you hold about what is really real, answers the question of whether God exists and if he exists, if he has spoken. It determines the nature and origin of man. It identifies what is wrong with the world and what we can do to fix it.

Your beliefs about these "ultimate" issues determines what you hold to be true in life. That in turn determines what you value as good. Finally, your values translate into behavior - how you live your life, and it all starts with your worldview. If we get the worldview story wrong our beliefs, values, and behavior will be off-kilter.

Comedian Bill Engval performed in a comedy special entitled "15 Degrees Off Cool." In the course of the performance, he shares a story about one of his birthdays. Bill had always wanted a motorcycle and his wife said she would buy him one for his birthday. Expecting the best, he purchased all the appropriate gear - a leather jacket, leather pants, a new helmet, gloves - he got it all. When the big day arrived Bill went to the garage to collect his prize and there he found a Vespa motor scooter with a big bow on it. Almost, but not quite - 15 degrees off cool.

Check out your own worldview. Have you got it right? Or are you trying to impress your friends with a motorscooter. More on how to answer that question later.

The Kingdom of God Among Us

Citing the findings from a just-completed national survey of 2033 adults that showed only 4% of adults have a biblical worldview as the basis of their decision-making, researcher George Barna described the outcome. "If Jesus Christ came to this planet as a model of how we ought to live, then our goal should be to act like Jesus. Sadly, few people consistently demonstrate the love, obedience and priorities of Jesus. The primary reason that people do not act like Jesus is because they do not think like Jesus. Behavior stems from what we think - our attitudes, beliefs, values and opinions. Although most people own a Bible and know some of its content, our research found that most Americans have little idea how to integrate core biblical principles to form a unified and meaningful response to the challenges and opportunities of life. We're often more concerned with survival amidst chaos than with experiencing truth and significance."

The research indicated that everyone has a worldview, but relatively few people have a biblical worldview - even among devoutly religious people. The survey discovered that only 9% of born again Christians have such a perspective on life. In his words, “Although most people own a Bible and know some of its content, our research found that most Americans have little idea how to integrate the core biblical principles to form a unified and meaningful response to the challenges and opportunities of life. We’re often more concerned with survival amidst chaos than experiencing truth and significance.”

By understanding that Christianity is a worldview – that it proclaims what is really real and reveals to us the truth about God, man, and the world we live in – our beliefs and values will begin to form the “unified and meaningful response” to life that our hearts long for and God intends for us. Transformed beliefs and values will naturally produce transformed living. this transformation will in turn make us agents of God’s continuing redemption in the world around us. We have the opportunity to bring the Kingdom of God among us everywhere we go. If we choose, we can stretch its borders to include our neighborhood, school, workplace, and beyond. In this way we expand the borders of God’s Kingdom – the domain where what God prefers is actually what happens – on earth.

Welcome to the Culture & Bible Institute of Skyline Church, La Mesa, CA

Culture & Bible Institute (CBI) has been a ministry of Skyline for a decade and is the launch point for most of our social action teaching and alerts. Bill Trask, a church Connect teacher, will post information and commentary on this site. Please post your comments, feedback and additional information that will illuminate Skyline members about current cultural situations that inform our worldview.

The mission of CBI is to “raise up a generation of Bible thinker-appliers who will engage our culture and expand the boundaries of the Kingdom of God among us.”