Lost coins and lost sheep don't need to repent

This Sunday's Gospel reading is from Luke 15:1-3,11-32 in which, following two other parables, Jesus tells the story of the prodigal son,

Now all the tax-collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to him. 2 And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, ‘This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them.’
3 So he told them this parable:11 Then Jesus said, ‘There was a man who had two sons. 12 The younger of them said to his father, “Father, give me the share of the property that will belong to me.” So he divided his property between them. 13 A few days later the younger son gathered all he had and traveled to a distant country, and there he squandered his property in dissolute living. 14 When he had spent everything, a severe famine took place throughout that country, and he began to be in need. 15 So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed the pigs. 16 He would gladly have filled himself with the pods that the pigs were eating; and no one gave him anything. 17 But when he came to himself he said, “How many of my father’s hired hands have bread enough and to spare, but here I am dying of hunger! 18 I will get up and go to my father, and I will say to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; 19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me like one of your hired hands.’ ” 20 So he set off and went to his father. But while he was still far off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion; he ran and put his arms around him and kissed him. 21 Then the son said to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.” 22 But the father said to his slaves, “Quickly, bring out a robe—the best one—and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. 23 And get the fatted calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate; 24 for this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found!” And they began to celebrate.
25 ‘Now his elder son was in the field; and when he came and approached the house, he heard music and dancing. 26 He called one of the slaves and asked what was going on. 27 He replied, “Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fatted calf, because he has got him back safe and sound.” 28 Then he became angry and refused to go in. His father came out and began to plead with him. 29 But he answered his father, “Listen! For all these years I have been working like a slave for you, and I have never disobeyed your command; yet you have never given me even a young goat so that I might celebrate with my friends. 30 But when this son of yours came back, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fatted calf for him!” 31 Then the father said to him, “Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. 32 But we had to celebrate and rejoice, because this brother of yours was dead and has come to life; he was lost and has been found.” ’

The parables that were left out of this Sunday's reading, the parables of the Lost Sheep and the Lost Coin, build up to the prodigal son by showing us that the way we behave towards things that are precious to us is how God acts towards us. When we are lost, God looks for us, and when we are found, He rejoices. Neither a coin nor a sheep shows repentance for being lost. The story of the prodigal son is there as a reminder that, when the parable is about a lost human, repentance has to be thrown into the mix. I have heard many a sermon that focused on either the father's inconditional love or the oldest son's resentment.

Repentance is a more appropriate topic for Lent.

Forgive me Father for I have sinned.

Prepare To Go Underground

If current trends in Europe are a portent of what is to come for Christians in America, we doomed to be not just marginalized but possibly criminalized. Street preachers in Britain are routinely reported to the police for "hate speech" when they restate Biblical truths about homosexuality. Now, with an increasing Muslim population in Britain one must be careful to not speak the truth about Islam's prophet.  

From LifeSite,

"Sabaditsch-Wolff, a diplomat’s daughter who has lived and worked in the Middle East, was censured for having spoken at a meeting organized by the right-wing Austrian Freedom Party 10 years ago in Vienna. Her intention was to speak about the treatment of women and the practice of jihad (“Holy War”) in countries such as Iran and Libya, on the basis of her own experience.
During her speech aimed at an audience of about 30 people, she spoke freely about the prophet Muhammad and his relationship with Aisha, whom he saw and desired when she was six years old. He married her on the spot, and the union was consummated when she was nine. He “liked to do it with children,” she said, adding that she had argued with her sister about the words she would use to describe the facts.
She insisted on being straightforward: 'A 56-year-old and a six-year-old? What do we call it, if it is not pedophilia?'
A journalist present at the meeting taped her words. His editor-in-chief went on to turn them over to the police, and Sabaditsch-Wolff was indicted for inciting hatred toward Muslims and for having disparaged their prophet as unworthy of veneration.
She was not found guilty of the first violation. But she was condemned for the 'disparagement' in 2011 to a 480-euro fine (about 550 U.S. dollars) or up to 60 days imprisonment."

At least the court didn't pronounce a fatwa on her. Let us hope things don't go that far in Europe.

I had better start saving up my money in order to pay the fines when that form of "justice" comes to America.

In a recent interview with Prophecy Today, Bishop Gavin Ashenden touched on the growing influence of Islam in secular Britain, 

"There are only two ways to deal with Islamic ambition in history - and they're either to convert Muslims from Mohammed to Jesus, or to meet force with force. I'm still puzzling and praying about my own response to these two ways. I obviously prefer the first, and I don't know to what extent the second is accessible. 

I think if Christians want to preserve any kind of safe space to worship Jesus without interference from the state, we need to enter the public arena with more courage than we've found in the recent past and tell as much of the truth about the human heart, the prophet Mohammed and Jesus the Messiah as we can, in the hope that some secularists will listen and that this will buy us a bit more time. 

I think as I look at the history of Islam and the weakness of hedonistic secularism, my own sense is that we have to prepare for a Europe entering a period of darkness in spiritual terms, with the Church having to go underground."

My sense is that a spiritual vacuum has been present in Europe that is being filled by Islam, and the first consequence of this will be to silence Christians, effectively driving the Church underground.

The increasing secularization of America will create the same spiritual vacuum here.

So, be prepared to go underground.

Sexual Immorality: Then and Now

This Sunday's reading from 1 Corinthians 10:1-13 hearkens back to Exodus and the Old Testament failings of the ancient Hebrews,

"I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that our ancestors were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, and all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual rock that followed them, and the rock was Christ. Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them, and they were struck down in the wilderness.
Now these things occurred as examples for us, so that we might not desire evil as they did. Do not become idolaters as some of them did; as it is written, ‘The people sat down to eat and drink, and they rose up to play.’ We must not indulge in sexual immorality as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in a single day. We must not put Christ to the test, as some of them did, and were destroyed by serpents. And do not complain as some of them did, and were destroyed by the destroyer. These things happened to them to serve as an example, and they were written down to instruct us, on whom the ends of the ages have come. So if you think you are standing, watch out that you do not fall. No testing has overtaken you that is not common to everyone. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tested beyond your strength, but with the testing he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it."

The Apostle warns the Corinthians to "not indulge in sexual immorality", and we know that one of the things the Corinthians were indulging in was  tolerating a brother who was having a sexual relationship with his father’s wife (his stepmother).

I have to wonder what modern revisionist or "progressive" ears hear when they listen to Paul's words. After all, many things that were considered immoral by first century Christians are tolerated and even celebrated today. I guess they probably consider a man whose 2000 year old letter to a defunct church has nothing to say to us (except for where he wrote in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8, "Love is patient, love is kind).

I don't think Paul would have held back if he was questioned about the behavior of the late Michael Jackson. He certainly would not respond like Barbara Streisand who, when asked about the abusive behavior alleged in a recent documentary, said,

"His sexual needs were his sexual needs, coming from whatever childhood he has or whatever DNA he has."

The "He was born that way" defense sure sounds lame when applied to pedophilia, but it is a natural progression from the widespread use of the same defense in "normalizing" same sex intercourse.

Should we enlightened 21st century men and women follow Paul's advice as he intended the Corinthians to, or should we bury his letter and live into the present with our new and better understanding of human sexuality?

I think we should try to follow Jesus, and that means we should heed His Apostle's words of wisdom.

The Big Tent Church, or is it a Pup Tent?

H/T Anglican Samizdat for posting on a Canadian Anglican church that has handed its building over to a circus.

From CBC.ca,

"An acrobat dangles from the rafters of a 150-year-old church while a lightshow paints the altar in blue, pink and yellow lights.
Call it a leap of faith.
This was the first show of Le Monastère — the monastery, in English — a circus cabaret show held inside a downtown Montreal church.
Le Monastère has partnered with the Anglican church of St. Jax — and it could be the first agreement of its kind.
'It's been a fantastic joy to see for the first time, we believe, a circus company permanently installed in an active, consecrated church,' said Rev. Graham Singh, incumbent pastor at St. Jax.
With lagging attendance and surging maintenance bills, churches in Quebec and elsewhere have struggled to stay afloat.
Singh's three-year mission with St. Jax has included not only keeping the old, creaky church standing, but also redefining what it is to be a church in a downtown core."

Is this the fate in store for the progressive Church? I am trying to think of worse things that could befall a church, such as selling it to Muslims in order for it to be stripped of its cross and converted into a mosque which is what happened to Matt Kennedy's church back in 2010.

In days gone by, Episcopalians used to claim that they are a "big tent" Church. This was supposed to mean that they embraced a wide variety of theological opinions like those of Bishops Spong and Gene Robinson, and a wide range of practices like solstice worship services, labyrinths, clown eucharists, same sex marriages, and transsexual priests. Their tent was not big enough to accommodate non-revisionists or anyone who opposed the progressive agenda. As a result, the big tent has shrunken to the size of a pup tent as fewer and fewer people are buying tickets for the show.

The Anglican Church of Canada has been in a race to the bottom with the Episcopalians having given up on Biblical norms for many years now.

I may need to make an addition to the Revisionist Dictionary: Revised and Re-visioned Edition.

Church: a place to see clowns and bearded ladies launching untamed theology into empty pews.

So St. Jax hasn't really changed by openly declaring itself to be a circus.

"The ringmaster has altered, but the circus remains the same." -Baron Ashdown

Imitate Paul?

This week's reading from Paul's letter to the Philippians 3:17-4:1 presents the marked contrast between the enemies of the cross of Christ and believers in Jesus,

 "Brothers, join in imitating me, and observe those who live according to the example you have in us. For many live as enemies of the cross of Christ; I have often told you of them, and now I tell you even with tears. Their end is destruction; their god is the belly; and their glory is in their shame; their minds are set on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven, and it is from there that we are expecting a Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ. He will transform the body of our humiliation so that it may be conformed to his glorious body, by the power that also enables him to make all things subject to himself. Therefore, my brothers, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord in this way, my beloved."

Paul first encourages us to imitate him. If we were to do that today, what do you think society would have to say to us? The world today would condemn Paul as a misogynistic, homophobic, right wing religious nut job. In some countries he would be charged with "hate speech" and threatened with jail time, which would be nothing new to him. The world appears to reject Paul, and it stands in marked contrast to his way of life. Are we prepare to stand firm in the Lord like he did? When we refuse to imitate him, are we not standing on the shifting sands of political correctness in opposition to Christ?

It does not pay in the long run to oppose Jesus. Follow Him and you will be transformed as Paul rightfully asserts.

If only the world would listen.

College Classes Today: Sex, Gender, Social Justice, and Zombies

Young America’s Foundation (YAF) has produced a report, Comedy & Tragedy, to “document the intellectual abuse and flat-out indoctrination happening by way of the appalling curriculum at our country’s most (so-called) prestigious institutions of higher education.”

I have selected a few of the courses being offered to our children to illustrate the trouble we are in for.

Ohio State University:
ANTHROP 3334—Zombies: The Anthropology of the Undead
Students will understand how culture and social organization help us define the living, the dead and the undead in the contemporary and archaeological record... 

University of Wisconsin:
GENWS 536—Queering Sexuality Education
Situates sexual health education in historical and contemporary context by tracing its
discursive production and envisioning a queering of both content and practice. An examination of what might it mean to queer sex education and what would a queer sex education look like. Utilizing theoretical interventions from critical education studies, queer theory, and trans/gender studies, this course... 

Swarthmore College:
RELG 032—Queering God: Feminist and Queer Theology
The God of the Bible and later Jewish and Christian literature is distinctively masculine,
definitely male. Or is He? If we can point out places in traditional writings where God is
nurturing, forgiving, and loving, does that mean that God is feminine, or female? This course examines feminist and queer writings about God, explores the tensions between feminist and queer theology, and seeks to stretch the limits of gendering-and sexing-the divine. Key themes include: gender; embodiment; masculinity; liberation; sexuality; feminist and queer theory.
RELG 033—Queering the Bible
This course surveys the queer and trans readings of biblical texts. It introduces students to the complexity of constructions of sex, gender, and identity in one of the most influential literary works produced in ancient times. By reading the Bible with the methods of queer and trans theoretical approaches, this class destabilizes the long held assumptions about the Bible—and religion—says about gender and sexuality. 

Middlebury College
AMST 0269—Beyond Intersectionality: Developing Anti-Racist and Anti-Capitalist
Feminisms
Nearly thirty years ago, Kimberlé Crenshaw published the theory of “intersectionality,” in which she argued that racism and sexism collide to make black women’s marginalization distinct from those of both white women and black men (1989). Today, the terms “intersectionality” and “intersectional feminism” are ubiquitous, utilized by scholars, activists, artists, and our students. In this course, we will consider how discourse of and ideas about intersectionality move between and among spaces of dissent. Starting from the position that it is more epistemologically and politically powerful to state that our feminist is anti-racist and anticapitalist than to say say “intersectional,” we will address the following questions: What are the benefits and limits of the original theory of intersectionality? How are academic and activist
approaches alike both emboldened and limited by intersectionality? What does it mean to be socially and politically conscious, and how do we move from consciousness to action in ways that are not siloed? Texts may include Crenshaw’s “Mapping the Margins: Intersectionality, Identity Politics, and Violence Against Women” (1989) and Ange-Marie Hancocks’s “Intersectionality: An Intellectual History” (2016).
AMST 0325—American Misogyny
In this course we will explore the place of misogyny in U.S. media and politics. Early topics will include film noir, Cold War gender scapegoating, and lesbian pulp fiction. Subsequent topics will include the backlash against second-wave feminism, the rise of “post-feminism,” and the impact of reality TV and social media on feminist and anti-feminist expression. We will conclude by examining how misogyny informs U.S. culture and politics in the Trump era. Throughout the course, we will consider how discourses of misogyny are inflected by white, cisgender, ableist, agist, and class privilege.  

Villanova University:
PHI 2430—Eco-Feminism
Basic positions in eco-feminism as they relate to the philosophical and religious traditions of the West. 

Cornell University:
ENGL 3725—Femininity as Masquerade
“One is not born a woman, but rather becomes one” wrote Simone de Beauvoir. How does such an odd becoming happen? What can literature teach us about it? Does anyone ever achieve “being a women” and how do we (“we”??) survive always falling short of the implicit ideal? We will think about the power afforded by receptivity, passivity, bottoming, emotionality and openness, whether or not these are enacted by people born, designated or living as female. What are some of the dimensions of femininity’s diversity, even in the United States, today? This course is intimately informed by intersectional queer, women of color and trans* perspectives, which will be at the center of our inquiry. It will cover film, literature, personal essays and gender theory.
GOVT 2817—America Confronts the World
Donald Trump and Barack Obama give us two visions of America and of the world: xenophobic nationalism and pragmatic cosmopolitanism. America and the world are thus constituted by great diversity. The first half of the course seeks to understand that diversity in American politics and foreign policy viewed through the prisms of region, ideology, region, race, class and religion. The second half inquires into the U.S. and American engagement of different world regions and civilizations: Europe, Russia, North America, Latin America, China, Japan, India and the Middle East. U.S. hard power and American soft power finds expression in farreaching processes of American-infused globalization and U.S.-centered anti-Americanism reverberating around the world. Advocates of one-size-fits-all solutions to America’s and the world’s variegated politics are in for great disappointments.
FRIT 37.05—Black Queer & Trans Futures: An Experiment
Engaging with the histories and present realities of colonial dispossession, racial violence and cisheteropatriarchy on campus and beyond, we will collaboratively craft visions of alternative futures. Drawing on critical theory and speculative fiction from Haiti, Martinique, Cameroon, US and beyond, our goal will be to challenge our current order, chart how we move past it, and imagine what liberatory futures lie beyond. This experience will culminate in a staged reading directed and performed by professionals.

I could fisk each and every one of these courses, but the overall picture is so depressingly laughable that I think you will find that fisking is not necessary.

And to think that rich celebrities are paying out huge bribes to send their kids to some of these schools.

I think I will develop a course for our University entitled, "Finding the depressingly laughable in your university course catalog".

I bet that class would have to be held in a large auditorium.

Just call me Professor Pewster from now on (a wonderfully gender neutral moniker don't you think?).

The Literal Devil

The reading for the first Sunday in Lent is from Luke 4:1-13 in which Jesus is tempted by the devil,

Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing at all during those days, and when they were over, he was famished. The devil said to him, ‘If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become a loaf of bread.’ Jesus answered him, ‘It is written, “One does not live by bread alone.” ’
Then the devil led him up and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. And the devil said to him, ‘To you I will give their glory and all this authority; for it has been given over to me, and I give it to anyone I please. If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.’ Jesus answered him, ‘It is written,“Worship the Lord your God,   and serve only him.” ’
Then the devil took him to Jerusalem, and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, saying to him, ‘If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, for it is written,“He will command his angels concerning you,   to protect you”, and“On their hands they will bear you up,   so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.” ’ Jesus answered him, ‘It is said, “Do not put the Lord your God to the test.” ’ When the devil had finished every test, he departed from him until an opportune time. 

I once had an Episcopal priest who from the pulpit said, "We don't believe in a literal devil." One of my friends stood up and said, "I do!" and walked out in the middle of the sermon never to return.

The rest of the congregation shook the priest's hand and thanked him as they left after the service was over.

I went out the side door.

Among Christians, belief in a literal Satan or the Devil is waning.

From a Barna survey taken in 2009,

"Four out of ten Christians (40%) strongly agreed that Satan “is not a living being but is a symbol of evil.” An additional two out of ten Christians (19%) said they “agree somewhat” with that perspective. A minority of Christians indicated that they believe Satan is real by disagreeing with the statement: one-quarter (26%) disagreed strongly and about one-tenth (9%) disagreed somewhat. The remaining 8% were not sure what they believe about the existence of Satan."

I suppose many of those Christians who do not believe in the existence of Satan may have come under the influence of a revisionist preacher like mine. They also are probably not studying their Bibles.

From Bible.org's article on Satanology,

"...Satan is not just an evil, impersonal influence, but a very real person, a fallen angel with supernatural powers.

...To reject the reality or existence of Satan is to reject the Bible as God’s inspired and infallible revelation to man. As God’s Word, the Bible is comprehensive in its teaching about the reality of Satan or the devil. His existence is taught from Genesis to Revelation. Seven Old Testament books teach his existence (Genesis, 1 Chronicles, Job, Psalms, Isaiah, Ezekiel, and Zechariah) and every New Testament writer refers to his reality and activity as a personal being. More importantly, Christ also affirmed the fact of Satan and his activity as a personal being.

In twenty-five of the twenty-nine passages in the Gospels which speak of Satan, our Lord is speaking. In some of those passages there can be no question of Christ’s accommodating His teaching to the crowd’s supposed ignorance or faulty concepts of Satan due to Persian dualism. Notice especially passages like Matthew 13:39; Luke 10:18; and 11:18.3...

...The devil and demons are never presented as independent forces in opposition to God, but as beings created by God who fell from their original place of glory." 

I always thought that if the devil was real enough for Jesus, the devil is real enough for me. Ignore Jesus at your own risk.

1 Peter 5:8-9  Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.  Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings.  

Giving Up Cynicism For Lent? Not me!

I grew up in a largely Roman Catholic community, and every year about this time the neighborhood kids would ask me what I was going to give up for Lent. Usually it was something like potato chips or sodas. Whatever I chose typically wound up like a New Year's resolution, a promise never kept. 

As I grew older and wiser, I learned that I was supposed to give up something that was keeping me apart from God. Okay, I thought, I will give up television, or movies, the computer, or some other distraction.

Then I had a priest who said that Lent was all about getting ready for Easter. That gave me a free pass for a couple of years.

Then, one year I fasted instead of eating lunch, closed the office door and spent the time I would ordinarily be spending with my business associates praying. I almost made it the full 40 days that time, but I was a little weak on prayer.

This year, The Archbishop of Canterbury has a suggestion: "Giving up cynicism".

From Premier.org,

The Archbishop of Canterbury's urged fellow leaders in the Church of England to give up cynicism for Lent and to show more love towards those they disagree with.
Speaking at the start of a meeting by General Synod, Most Rev Justin Welby admitted members disagree on issues such as "inclusion".
He said: "As we journey towards Lent some of you may be considering what you might give up during the penitential season.
"I urge you to consider especially as members of General Synod giving up cynicism and renewing love for those with whom you and I differ."

Cynical me thought, "That will never work."

I think I will go back to giving up lunch and try to do a better job of praying.

This Sunday the Transfiguration of Jesus comes around in Luke 9:28-43,

Now about eight days after these sayings Jesus took with him Peter and John and James, and went up on the mountain to pray. And while he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became dazzling white. Suddenly they saw two men, Moses and Elijah, talking to him. They appeared in glory and were speaking of his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. Now Peter and his companions were weighed down with sleep; but since they had stayed awake, they saw his glory and the two men who stood with him. Just as they were leaving him, Peter said to Jesus, ‘Master, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah’—not knowing what he said. While he was saying this, a cloud came and overshadowed them; and they were terrified as they entered the cloud. Then from the cloud came a voice that said, ‘This is my Son, my Chosen;* listen to him!’ When the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. And they kept silent and in those days told no one any of the things they had seen. On the next day, when they had come down from the mountain, a great crowd met him. Just then a man from the crowd shouted, ‘Teacher, I beg you to look at my son; he is my only child. Suddenly a spirit seizes him, and all at once he shrieks. It throws him into convulsions until he foams at the mouth; it mauls him and will scarcely leave him. I begged your disciples to cast it out, but they could not.’ Jesus answered, ‘You faithless and perverse generation, how much longer must I be with you and bear with you? Bring your son here.’ While he was coming, the demon dashed him to the ground in convulsions. But Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, healed the boy, and gave him back to his father. And all were astounded at the greatness of God.

When Moses and Elijah were talking of Jesus' departure, the Greek text uses the word "exodos". This makes me think of the exodus that Moses led out of Egypt. Jesus leads us out of our bondage into the land that he has promised us, "paradise".