What if they found the bones of Jesus?

Recently there has been a claim that the bones of Jesus and his family have been found. Sounds crazy, but I wonder if our response to this kind of news is appropriate. If you want to read more about the claims being made, click here. My purpose is to consider what would be an appropriate response.

So often when I hear things like this I immediately write them off. I ignore them and pretend they don't exist. Those things sound so completely ridiculous to me that I have a hard time giving them any credence at all. What if those bones really belonged to Jesus? How would we respond? Some of you probably don't want to read on at this point, but I promise I will make it worth your while if you hang in there. If those bones belonged to Jesus wouldn't we be intellectually obligated to renounce our faith in Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 15)?

As Christians who believe in the Bible we ask those who do not believe in Jesus to consider the possibility that he is the God-Man, that he lived a perfect life, died on the cross for our sins, and rose from the dead. We ask people to consider truths outside of what they would normally even consider yet we are not willing to do the same.

I ask the question again, what if the bones of Jesus were found? If this claim could be substantiated would we not be compelled to give up our faith? Certainly we would be compelled to do that very thing. We must consider the evidence for this kind of claim. We must not simply disregard it or ignore it. We should take at least a few minutes to examine the evidence. In the spirit of intellectual integrity.

This does not mean we must accept these claims. We should consider them honestly if we expect others to consider our truth claims honestly. When we consider them we should be careful not to do so looking for a reason to dismiss them.

Fortunately these kinds of claims usually have significant faults and can be dismissed after careful consideration. If you want to read a short response to these particular claims click here.

Evangelism Doesn't Work Anymore

About a year ago I was asked to do a seminar for students dealing with evangelism. The tile of the seminar was "How to Share Jesus Without Freaking Out!" There has been a natural and understandable desire to make sharing the gospel easy; unfortunately it is the desire to make it easy that has lead to a lack of proclamation of the gospel by "Christians."

This may sound weird and unnatural, but so often when we try to make things easy and safe we simply make it so those things don't happen. Bike helmets for example. If we tell our kids they need to wear body armor in order to ride their bikes one block down the road to hang out with their friend we are telling them, in effect, they are going to crash or get hurt. Sure, they might, but they probably won't. Don't get me wrong I am all for safety but not at the expense of living in fear. God has not given us a spirit of fear (2 Timothy 1:7; 1 John 4:18; Heb. 13:5-6).

The truth is, no matter how hard we try to make evangelism easy, it isn't. It does get easier after a while, but you might just have to freak out a little bit. The gospel message is offensive to those who are not open to it or don't understand it fully. That is just the way it is. You might offend someone but so what. Get a backbone and go for it. Borrow a friend's backbone (I am sure Jesus will let you use his John 15:20) if you have to!

When I lived in Colorado I was pulled over for speeding (More than once. Actually one more ticket and I would have lost my license.). I decided to share the gospel with the police officer. I decided to use a diagnostic question that would help me determine the spiritual condition of the police officer. As he was examining my license I said, "Officer, if you were to die tonight do you know for sure that you would go to heaven?"(surely this question would be relevant for someone who was sworn to protect and serve. The guy had to cary a gun for his job. Of course that was something I failed to consider) Of course the answer to this question would help me know how to move forward in my effort to evangelize one of Colorado's finest. To my amazement this brought about a somewhat unexpected reaction by the officer. Let's just say I quickly realized that he might be interested in the location of my hands so I quickly positioned them at ten and two on the steering wheel so there would be no confusion as to my intent.

Perhaps I didn't make all the right decisions in regards to this particular evangelistic encounter. It may not have been effective because I was young and stupid, but I over came any fear I had because I understood the importance of evangelism. In all my evangelistic conversations I have become a little smoother in my approach and hopefully a little more effective, but the point is I have the conversation. Are you willing to have the conversation? That is the question. Jesus was persecuted for what he said, are you willing to be persecuted as well?

Evangelism doesn't work because we don't do it. Maybe there are times it doesn't work because we are arrogant jerks, but even then we can at least say we are trying. What's your excuse?

(This blog entry was motivated and inspired by an article written by Greg Stier. You can click the title of this blog to read Greg's article.)

It turns out most holidays are stupid

I want to make this short and I want it to go away fast so my wife doesn't see it. I wrote a blog a while back called "Christmas Is Stupid." Upon further reflection, so is Valentines and probably a few other holidays.

It is obvious that some evil female executive of a major retailer that sold flowers invented Valentines Day to torture all men who have a significant other. It is bad enough that when we decide to date or marry someone that we have to remember every anniversary under the sun (by the way it is also clear that most women do not understand the word "anniversary." Anniversaries cannot be celebrated on weekly or monthly basis. They can only be celebrated yearly!!!!! This obvious fact seems to have escaped all things female.)

I must say Valentines was a brilliant invention by that female executive!! She probably deserved a raise. She understands men better then most women. Really the point for her was to sell stuff, probably chocolate, and definitely flowers. She realized that men can't remember anything related to a calendar and are prone to forgetting birthdays, anniversaries, and meaningless holidays. It was brilliant because if men remember she sells lots of chocolate and flowers. The brilliant part is if men forget this meaningless holiday she sells even more chocolate and flowers. This woman who invented Valentines probably had her husband waiting on her hand and foot after one week of marriage.

If I have any female readers left you are probably mad because I have called this a meaningless holiday. Don't be, it is meaningless because if it is the only day of the year you are loved by your spouse you don't need flowers and chocolate, you need marriage counseling.

Well, I have to go and buy my wife some chocolate and flowers. I might need to do it again next week if she reads this post, but then again she is used to me being an idiot in the are of romance after all I am a man.

God is Love, God is Angry?

One of the most famous sermons ever delivered was delivered by Jonathan Edwards. It was called "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God." In today's world, and in toady's culture would this sermon be effective? Maybe we should preach a loving god one who will accept us as we are. What does our culture need?

Being sensitive to our culture and ministering to it is vitally important for effective ministry. There are some things that are relevant to human nature no matter what the cultural context. The gospel is one of those things. The problem is simple, some times people don't know what they need. Some pastors and preachers believe the god we present must be a god of love and acceptance; a god we already find in our culture the difference of course being that the God is named Yahweh instead of something else.

Honestly that is a bunch of crap (can I say that? I wanted to say something else, but I think my wife would let me have it and I would become a sinner in the hands of an angry wife..........thinking.......... yep, I am slightly more fearful of an angry God). If the message being given by secular humanism in the form of pop psychology is one of love and acceptance then how is the Christian message any different? If we preach a god that "accepts you as you are" then why change? What is the point of a god that is all love, gentleness and kindness? Some of you sensitive types are already thinking about the tongue lashing you are going to give me in the comments (go ahead, they make great blogging and I will publish them). I am not saying anything meaningful here because I want it to simmer a little bit.

If we preach that kind of a wussy god we would find a bunch of wussy people who aren't capable of looking in the mirror and seeing themselves for what they are, sinners who need to be rescued. If we preach kindness, love, and acceptance without righteousness, justice, and judgement then we are preaching a worthless message. Talk about a license to sin!!

I am sick of wimpy pastors who are scared to offend the people in their congregation because they might leave the church. I am all for being seeker sensitive, we should put Kleenex boxes under every chair and give hugs after we preach truth. We should smile when we tell people they are going to go to hell if they do not repent and turn to Christ (smile to make it easier for them to take, not to rub it in). We should use movie clips, do interpretive dancing, and have cool tear jerking art in our churches to make people feel comfortable in their nice cushioned chairs before we preach a little fire and brimstone driving them to their knees. Of course we could give them knee pads to comfort their knees, but I prefer to bandage their knees up after the service. There is nothing like a little scar to remind them of what happened.

Do we serve a loving God? Yes! He has saved us from sin and satisfied His own righteous rage through His son Jesus Christ, but there is still judgement for those who do not repent and believe. Is He willing to accept us as we are? No! We must become righteous through the person of Jesus Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit. Should we scratch where people Itch when it comes to what sermons we preach? Maybe, it depends on where people Itch. There are just some places we should never scratch and some that should be scratched regularly. Don't we want people to feel good about themselves? Hmmmm, sometimes and in some ways. We should feel privileged to have a God who loved us so much He was willing to make the sacrifice He made. If people who are not Christians feel too good about themselves, what do they need God for? People who comfortable in their sin need to be shown the consequences that will be placed on them by an angry God so they will become uncomfortable and repent.

Christians shouldn't be wimpy pansies who live in fear of the unbeliever being offended. Jesus wasn't. He offended everyone He could find whether they were following Him or not. We certainly shouldn't be afraid of believers being offended, they should know the drill.

Preach truth and let the chips fall where they may.

Conversations with a Pro-Gay Pastor: Good Techniques

Homosexuality brings us such difficult emotions, it can quickly be fruitless to try and have a conversation with someone you disagree with. Hopefully this post will be helpful. Here are a few suggestions:

• Start by making sure you are not becoming too emotion with this issue.

Some times we get so wrapped up in the emotion of it we cannot practice good self control. We become the people who are responding poorly. Though I was not really nervous about this being the situation for me when I had a conversation with the gay pastor, I was a little concerned about this being the case for the people in my congregation and possibly for the gay pastor himself. As it turned out everyone was pretty controlled and did a good job in this area.

• Be very careful with the words you use and the tone you use them in.

Most kids struggle with this very issue. They may say the right thing in the wrong way or with the wrong tone. Their parents need to teach them to be careful about the non-verbal signals or the verbal ones they don't even realize they are sending. We should not teach them to lie, but definitely to be careful and control the signals they send. Adults struggle with the same things, the signals are often more subtle, but they are there.

• Listen!!

Listen intently to what they say. We should be very interested in the argument or statement that person is saying. If it is at all possible, we don't want to group them with everyone else.

• Ask questions at least as often as you make statements.

In my conversation with the gay pastor I would often look at scripture and make a statement. After making that statement I would ask a question and allow him to respond. This did two things. It allowed me to make my argument whithout being over bearing or even unfair. It showed I was truly interested in what he had to say (I was) and it caused him to have to think about the argument I brought up.

• Don't try to win the argument, try to win the heart.
  

If your goal is to win, schedule a debate with rules and all of that. Proving you are right will probably not be very effective in changing a persons mind. It will make you look like a "know it all." The goal is to plant doubt about the pro-gay position and lend credibility to a Biblical understanding. If you can accomplish that you are on your way.

The Intolerance Of Inclusiveness

The amazing thing about tolerance and pluralism is that the intended effect is the opposite of what actually happens. The problem with tolerance is it becomes its own god. In other words if you don't worship at the alter of tolerance, inclusiveness, and pluralism, then there is no tolerance for you.

Being inclusive sounds good, but what does it actually accomplish? Tolerance is touted as "the" way as much as Christianity, Islam, or any other religious order. What we have is a self defeating practice. Most of those who value tolerance and acceptance above all else are not tolerant and accepting of those who value truth or think what a person believes is important.

For those who believe inclusiveness is the highest value I simply ask that you include me and my belief that Jesus is the only way.

My Daughter's First Quiet Time

Today was a landmark day for my daughter. She had her first quiet time. Since she was little we have been reading Bible stories to her. We have memorized scripture with her. We have been priming her and preparing her for a relationship with Christ since she was born. She put her faith in Christ at the age of 3. She loves God and she prays often. She has a pretty good understanding of who Jesus is and what the significance of his life and death is. Still, she cannot continue with a child's faith forever.

My goal as a parent is to prepare her to have a faith in Christ that is her own, a faith that is not dependant on her parents. She has a long ways to go and at the age of 8 she has a long time to get there.

I am not in a hurry, but today I gave her an "adult" Bible. In this Bible were some instructions about having a quiet time. She decided it was time for her to have her first quiet time. After about ten minutes I went to see how she was doing. I was promptly told to leave her alone. I guess Daddies little girl isn't as little as she used to be. I am not needed as much as I once was.

It was a proud day for this dad. I hope there will be many more!!

Is Christianity Useful?

Is this the question we must answer? The goal of the church is to reach the world, to make disciples. How the church answers this question might well determine what road we travel and if that road leads to a dead end.

It seems like this is the question the church has focused on. The church growth people of the 80's and 90's tell us we must find out what peoples "felt needs" are and meet them. When we do that we will grow. They are undoubtedly right, but is this kind of growth the problem or the solution? I honestly don't know for sure. The emerging church gives us a very similar message focusing on a more social gospel. Again, I don't know if this is all bad as long as we don't lose sight of the gospel story and man's need to be saved. That said, the question "is Christianity Useful?" has at its center a poor premise. The idea that God is either useful to me or He is irrelevant is a very dangerous idea. This concept will lead us to either a name it and claim it theology or perhaps a moralistic view of Christianity (Live Your Best Life Now).

We should expect non-Christians (I am not sure if it is PC to say "non-Christian" perhaps I should say "eternally challenged" or "friends of fire") to have that kind of perspective. The problem is many "Christians" have this very perspective. They want to know what their church can do for them without ever asking what they can do for their church. It is all about God serving my needs without ever asking how I might express love and gratitude to my savior (Obedience John 14).

I wonder if this is the same question Israel asked when they turned their back on Yahweh and toward Baal. Baal was useful, he could be manipulated and contorted to take on the form any individual wanted.

Perhaps the answer to the question is Christianity is not useful. Sometimes it is a burden, but it it true and right. It is much more cumbersome and difficult to approach life with concern for God and others then it is to simply ask what is best for us.

I will be back to the gay theology on my next post. Sorry I haven't posted in a while, I have been out of town.