"Take up their cross"

In this reading from Matthew 16:21-28 Jesus states that his followers must "take up their cross" in order to follow him. Since he had not yet been condemned to crucifixion, I have to wonder if he told his disciples details about how he would be killed.

From that time on, Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and undergo great suffering at the hands of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, ‘God forbid it, Lord! This must never happen to you.’ But he turned and said to Peter, ‘Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling-block to me; for you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.’Then Jesus told his disciples, ‘If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit them if they gain the whole world but forfeit their life? Or what will they give in return for their life?
‘For the Son of Man is to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay everyone for what has been done. Truly I tell you, there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.’

Just wondering. 

Euthanasia: “With every limit we set ourselves, there is the possibility to cross it."

The quotation in the title to this post comes from the Netherlands top euthanasia doctor. I think it is applicable to any number of progressive ideologies, and it gives you a good idea of how they worm their way into the mainstream of modern culture. It should also give you an indication of the limitless nature of such ideologies.

From Mercator comes the witness of Dr. Keizer who runs an euthanasia clinic in the Netherlands where, 

"...one out of 25 people are killed by doctors in the Netherlands. And those are just the official figures."

Per Dr Keizer,

“With every limit we set ourselves, there is the possibility to cross it. This also applies in the peripheral areas of ethical conduct. Abortion was once not allowed, then hardly, then until 12 weeks and now even up to 20 weeks. That ‘even’ says it all. Something similar is now underway in the field of human embryo research, where we are starting to leave the ‘never’ stage.”

Well, the abortion limit of 20 weeks has certainly been crossed in the minds of many of our politicians who reject any limits on abortion.

“And so it was with euthanasia. Every time a line was drawn, it was also pushed back. We started with the terminally ill, but also among the chronically ill it turned out to be hopeless and unbearable suffering. Subsequently, people with incipient dementia, psychiatric patients, people with advanced dementia, (high) elderly who struggled with an accumulation of old-age complaints and finally (high) elderly who, although not suffering from a disabling or limiting disease, still find that their life no longer has content. The unfortunate term ‘completed life’ was used for the problem of the latter group.”

Remind your physician to not tell his/her depressed patients to take a trip to the Netherlands to see the tulips or they'll be pushing up the daisies..

“In retrospect, it is true that we now provide euthanasia to people to whom we had said, a little indignantly, 20 years ago, ‘Come on, that is really impossible’. And looking ahead, there is no reason to believe that this process will stop in case of incapacitated dementia. What about the prisoner who has a life sentence and desperately longs for death? Or doubly disabled children who, although institutionalized, suffer unbearably and hopelessly according to their parents as a result of self-harm? I don’t believe we are on a slippery slope, in the sense of heading for disaster. Rather, it is a shift that is not catastrophic, but it does require that we continue to get involved as a community.”

To Dr. Keizer, the faster one rides the slippery slope, the better.

The road to Hell has no speed limits. 

The Gates of Hades

In this Sunday's reading from Matthew 16:13-20, Jesus lays the foundation for his Church.

Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, ‘Who do people say that the Son of Man is?’ And they said, ‘Some say John the Baptist, but others Elijah, and still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.’ He said to them, ‘But who do you say that I am?’ Simon Peter answered, ‘You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.’ And Jesus answered him, ‘Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.’ Then he sternly ordered the disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.

 While the Church as a whole has prevailed, some churches and denominations have fallen. Was it the gates of Hades that did it?

The Church has always been and will always be Satan's top target. He has picked off a few branches, and he will continue to work to poison the tree.

He will not prevail.

American Christians and Their Problematic Beliefs

The American Worldview Inventory 2020 (AWVI) is an annual survey that estimates how many adults have a biblical worldview. This year's results are depressing. 

 "A majority of people who describe themselves as Christian (52%) accept a “works-oriented” means to God’s acceptance. More shocking, huge proportions of people associated with churches whose official doctrine says eternal salvation comes only from embracing Jesus Christ as savior believe that a person can qualify for Heaven by being or doing good. That includes close to half of all adults associated with Pentecostal (46%), mainline Protestant (44%), and evangelical (41%) churches. A much larger share of Catholics (70%) embrace that point of view.The research also shows that the relevance of sin is on the wane..." 

  there is no absolute moral truth (58%);• basis of truth are factors or sources other than God (58%);• right and wrong is determined by factors other than the Bible (77%);• the Bible is not the authoritative and true word of God (59%);• people are basically good (69%);• and the personal definition of success is not based on consistent obedience to God (79%) 

“If you look at some of the dominant elements in the American mind and heart today, as illuminated by the Inventory, we find that most people say that the objective of life is feeling good about yourself; that all faiths are of equal value; that entry into God’s eternal presence is determined by one’s personal means of choice; and that there are no absolutes to guide or grow us morally,” explained the author of numerous books about cultural conditions and development." 

“'That philosophy of life contradicts a fundamental basis of what may be the two most significant documents to the longevity and success of America – the Bible and the Constitution of the United States. Those documents agree that this nation will only be healthy and fruitful if it is populated by moral people,' Barna concluded.By abandoning our moral standards and traditions, and replacing them with inclusive and conditional preferences, we are losing the foundations that have enabled the ‘American experiment’ to succeed for more than two centuries. We can only hope that our critical moral institutions – particularly the family and churches – will wake up and help the nation to get back on track.”

I usually don't give much credence to surveys, but this one seems to agree with what I see around me.

We have been perhaps too reliant on our priests, ministers, pastors to keep us and our families on the right path.

We need to find friends, resources, and leaders who have not lost their way as many must have given the results of this survey.

You may look at these times as depressing or you can see them as a a time of golden opportunities to take the Gospel to the streets.     

"Has God rejected his people?" The Sunday Lectionary Guts Paul's Answer

For those who are trying to better understand Romans 11, you would be better off skipping church today if your church uses the Revised Common Lectionary which leaves out a huge chunk by limiting you to Romans 11:1-2, 29-32. 

I ask, then, has God rejected his people? By no means! I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, a member of the tribe of Benjamin. 2 God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew. Do you not know what the scripture says of Elijah, how he pleads with God against Israel?  

29 for the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. 30 Just as you were once disobedient to God but have now received mercy because of their disobedience, 31 so they have now been disobedient in order that, by the mercy shown to you, they too may now receive mercy. 32 For God has imprisoned all in disobedience so that he may be merciful to all.

When I read that, I get the impression that if the Jews acted kindly to the early Christians, then they would be saved, that is they could continue in their rejection of Jesus as Lord and Savior.

If you read the omitted material which I will print below, you see that in verses 15 and 23 Paul makes it clear that in order to be saved, all must accept the Lordship of Christ.

(The words of Elijah) 3 ‘Lord, they have killed your prophets, they have demolished your altars; I alone am left, and they are seeking my life.’ 4 But what is the divine reply to him? ‘I have kept for myself seven thousand who have not bowed the knee to Baal.’ 5 So too at the present time there is a remnant, chosen by grace. 6 But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works, otherwise grace would no longer be grace.
7 What then? Israel failed to obtain what it was seeking. The elect obtained it, but the rest were hardened, 8 as it is written, 

‘God gave them a sluggish spirit,   eyes that would not see   and ears that would not hear,down to this very day.’9 And David says,‘Let their table become a snare and a trap,   a stumbling-block and a retribution for them;10 let their eyes be darkened so that they cannot see,   and keep their backs for ever bent.’ 

11 So I ask, have they stumbled so as to fall? By no means! But through their stumbling (transgression) salvation has come to the Gentiles, so as to make Israel jealous. 12 Now if their stumbling (transgression) means riches for the world, and if their defeat means riches for Gentiles, how much more will their full inclusion mean!
13 Now I am speaking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch then as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I glorify my ministry 14 in order to make my own people jealous, and thus save some of them. 15 For if their rejection is the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead! 16 If the part of the dough offered as first fruits is holy, then the whole batch is holy; and if the root is holy, then the branches also are holy.
17 But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, a wild olive shoot, were grafted in their place to share the rich root of the olive tree, 18 do not vaunt yourselves over the branches. If you do vaunt yourselves, remember that it is not you that support the root, but the root that supports you. 19 You will say, ‘Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.’ 20 That is true. They were broken off because of their unbelief, but you stand only through faith. So do not become proud, but stand in awe. 21 For if God did not spare the natural branches, perhaps he will not spare you. 22 Note then the kindness and the severity of God: severity towards those who have fallen, but God’s kindness towards you, provided you continue in his kindness; otherwise you also will be cut off. 23 And even those of Israel, if they do not persist in unbelief, will be grafted in, for God has the power to graft them in again. 24 For if you have been cut from what is by nature a wild olive tree and grafted, contrary to nature, into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these natural branches be grafted back into their own olive tree.25 So that you may not claim to be wiser than you are, brothers and sisters, I want you to understand this mystery: a hardening has come upon part of Israel, until the full number of the Gentiles has come in. 26 And so all Israel will be saved; as it is written,‘Out of Zion will come the Deliverer;   he will banish ungodliness from Jacob.’27 ‘And this is my covenant with them,   when I take away their sins.’28 As regards the gospel they are enemies of God for your sake; but as regards election they are beloved, for the sake of their ancestors

I think the lectionary overly simplifies Paul's logic, and our simple pewsitters will miss his point that his ministry to the Gentiles to make them Christian will make them the equal of those Jews who come to follow Jesus.

Who knows what a revisionist preacher will make of the expurgated version of Romans 11?  I suspect they will probably ignore it and talk about the Gospel reading instead and tell their pewsitters that the  Canaanite woman changed Jesus' racist views. 

The Ring = Pride

I never was much of a fan of "The Ring" series by Tolkien, but I found this article at The Imaginative Conservative on "Are We Becoming a Nation of Gollums?" by Joseph Pearce to contain some useful truths without forcing me to read all of Tolkien.

"Those who possess the Ring become possessed by it. The Ring promises empowerment but delivers overpowerment, subduing the will of the wearer. The Ring can be seen to symbolize Pride, the one sin to rule them all and in the darkness bind them. If we succumb to its power and its promises, we begin to live the lie with which it overshadows us. We become slaves to our addiction to Pride and its narcissistic self-centredness. We become Pride’s prisoners, unable to escape from the confines of the ego. We cannot sacrifice ourselves for others, which means that we cannot love. In such a state of self-imposed self-isolation, we begin to shrivel into a pathetic shadow of who we are meant to be. We gollumize ourselves... 

 ...As we watch our culture succumb to the power of Pride, we are witnessing the gollumizing of our brothers and sisters. Demanding the right to self-destructive addiction, they are shriveling into pathetic wrecks of the people they are meant to be, while simultaneously making a wreckage of the society in which they are living the wreckage of their lives. Paradoxically, their only hope is to be found in the enemies whom they refuse to love. It is those who are striving to become more than halflings who are the only hope for those who have become less than halflings. As the gollumized souls are killing themselves with Pride, humble souls must lay down their own lives for their gollumized friends. As Bilbo, Frodo, and Sam learned to love and pity Gollum, and as Christ laid down His life for his friends who were determined to be His enemies, so must we do likewise. 

The only antidote to the poison of Pride is the healing power of humility. The only escape from the hell of hatred is heavenly love."

Today's Gollums do no realize what they are. What they see in the mirror is more likely a good looking, easily offended, progressive, non binary, anti-racist who is always right and never wrong.

That is the person we must love.

Just remember that to show someone the truth is to love them. 

Could Jesus Walk on Water?

This Sunday's reading from Matthew 14:22-33 relates the story of Jesus walking on the water, a miracle that many people find hard to believe, 

Immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, but by this time the boat, battered by the waves, was far from the land, for the wind was against them. And early in the morning he came walking towards them on the lake. But when the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified, saying, ‘It is a ghost!’ And they cried out in fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them and said, ‘Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid.’
 Peter answered him, ‘Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.’ He said, ‘Come.’ So Peter got out of the boat, started walking on the water, and came towards Jesus. But when he noticed the strong wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, ‘Lord, save me!’ Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught him, saying to him, ‘You of little faith, why did you doubt?’ When they got into the boat, the wind ceased. And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, ‘Truly you are the Son of God.’

 In order to believe that Jesus walked on the water, one must first believe in God. Not only that, but a God who can step into our world and do some pretty amazing things.

Doubters say, "Science can prove that a man cannot walk on water."

Believers answer, "God can."

Doubters must then counter with either, "Not my God" or "There is no God."

I get the sinking feeling that more and more people fall in the "Doubter" category.

The False Prophet

Over at the Archbishop Cranmer blog there is a story about an outspoken Christian teacher of Mathematics at a Catholic school in England who was fired after posting a YouTube video in which he explained why Mohammed was a false prophet.

It is a fact that orthodox Christian teaching is that Mohammed was a false prophet, but it is also a fact that when you say it in the public square these days you are likely to be "cancelled" or worse.

If he lived in an Islamic nation, he would have received the worse.

Here in the "civilized" West, the unspoken rule is, "Oh we mustn't offend the Muslims."

Why? Because they are likely to riot? Because they might issue a death sentence on someone?

Perhaps, but no one dares to tempt fate by admitting it publicly.

When you speak truth to power, power usually lashes back, so you had better be prepared to turn the other cheek for your Christian beliefs, and to not respond by taking an eye for an eye.

Yes, Mohammed was a false prophet of the heresy that Jesus is not the Son of God, and the rest of Islam is poisoned by this heresy. The Math teacher was right, and he got smacked down for it.

Lord have mercy upon us.

How To Handle a Mob

In this Sunday's reading from Matthew 14:13-21, Jesus demonstrates how to keep a crowd from turning into a mob by feeding them,

"Now when Jesus heard this, he withdrew from there in a boat to a deserted place by himself. But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns. When he went ashore, he saw a great crowd; and he had compassion for them and cured their sick. When it was evening, the disciples came to him and said, ‘This is a deserted place, and the hour is now late; send the crowds away so that they may go into the villages and buy food for themselves.’ Jesus said to them, ‘They need not go away; you give them something to eat.’ They replied, ‘We have nothing here but five loaves and two fish.’ And he said, ‘Bring them here to me.’ Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven, and blessed and broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. And all ate and were filled; and they took up what was left over of the broken pieces, twelve baskets full. And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children."

The feeding of the five thousand is related in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, a fact which tells us that this event was of deep significance to the people of Jesus' time.

If Jesus had been a rabble-rouser, this would have been a perfect time to turn a crowd into a mob. John had just been beheaded, the crowd followed Jesus away from Herod, they were hungry, and we know that hungry people tend to get irritable.

But what did Jesus do? He fed them.

Genius!

Maybe we need to send in the food truck army to handle the rioters in our major cities, but only after they have heard the Gospel would we feed them food!