Every Christian struggles with thinking more of themselves than they ought (or else Romans 12:3 wouldn't have so sternly warned believers on 'opinion sobriety'). It would be harder, while fans scream your name, in church and out of church, to keep a realistic view of yourself as a redeemed sinner. Even so, I cringed a little to hear the words "sacred trust" handed admiringly from one big name to another: John Piper to Rick Warren. http://www.desiringgod.org/blog/posts/john-piper-interviews-rick-warren-on-doctrine
Quite honestly, I found myself pleasantly surprised by Warren's answers on several basic questions. It seems that he came out of a theological hall with more knowledge - and desire to serve - than most institutions give to their students. I began listening in the same way that I shop at major department stores in malls - "how horribly inflated are these prices" - and came away thinking that the $1,500 St. John dress may be quite a bargain at $250. (After looking through racks of goods 'worth' thousands, your judgment gets impaired.) He believes in a literal hell, God as a sovereign, and the necessity of believing in Christ as the only way to truth and life. Well and good.
At the same time, I would not at all be willing to attend Saddleback regularly, knowing that the minister will water down or edge around explanations so that more seekers can go away with a slight interest in cracking open a Bible. If a person is being drawn by the Spirit, they may welcome someone with clear statements about sin, righteousness, and the judgement to come. Otherwise, the polarizing nature of the Scriptures will work, and like Felix, you may be sent away to 'come again and speak another time', while the hearer hopes to bribe you with friendship and human bonding methods, to never again say those horrible words about 'judgment'.
What most bothered me - especially after hearing a rousing discussion on Piper via the "Sinners and Saints" radio program - was how enamored he seemed to be by Warren's success. It set my teeth on edge to see Piper animatedly talking about how "the world needs an authentic testimony from a living voice" - as if Moses and Jesus the final Prophet weren't enough. It also set my teeth on edge to hear Piper reiterating the same sort of fawning accolades that Warren must often get from starry-eyed media acolytes: "you're the most publicly influential pastor...in the world". There were assuring words about the necessity of humility. But it still seemed like the fascination of Harry Potter wand-maker Ollivander, who seemed to be more entranced by Voldemort's power than his evil nature.
There is nothing wrong with men of the true gospel finding large audiences of those who hunger and thirst for righteousness. Crowds clustered around Jesus, and a crowd of 3,000 gladly bent the knee to Christ after Pentecost. There is a great warrant for leaders asking each other hard questions and comparing each others' practical views of Scripture. "I withstood [Peter] to his face", says Paul in Galatians 2:11. But nowhere do I find, in either the Old or New Testament, leaders of the persecuted churches of the Way talking about their influence on the world, and how the world needs them to go forward. In every way, they talked about the reign of Christ, the person of Christ, the power of Christ as effected by the Holy Spirit, the transformation that happens when God calls to man. This sounded more like man justifying himself, for which Job was rebuked by God - and then forgiven after repentance.
Sobriety in thought is necessary for each believer, struggling against the natural desire to have a good opinion of himself. Nehemiah constantly references God's hand in both judgment and restoration, how his success is only due to the good hand of God upon him. It's hard to communicate a message to thousands of people and not miss things, or have our motives misinterpreted. But I came away from watching this interview, thinking that John Piper is just as soft on those who have experienced success, as Rick Warren is soft on unbelievers - so that the Way might appear easy. Jesus never said he'd take away the burden of the yoke, just that it would be easier under Him than under anyone else.
Monday, September 16, 2013
Friday, September 13, 2013
Aggressive Blessing
Being a pessimist makes it easy to whip out Deuteronomy's list of curses if people don't follow God's will.....but what about the dire consequences of actually following it?
“Now it shall come to pass, if you diligently obey the voice of the Lord your God, to observe carefully all His commandments which I command you today, that the Lord your God will set you high above all nations of the earth. 2 And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, because you obey the voice of the Lord your God" (Deut 28: 1-2).
There's those qualifiers, like "diligently obey" and "observe carefully"....but normally, when God says "come upon you", He means some sort of disaster. What He seems to be saying is, if you put time and effort into really paying attention to what He says and how to please Him, you can't help but be blessed.
I'd like blessing to overwhelm me like a flood, and all my crops to come into my barns (working on a herb garden), and my enemies to be defeated before me. That's an attractive thought. So is the dual idea of (a) being holy so that (b) the nations are afraid of us. (It would be great if my country had enough money to lend instead of borrow, but that isn't the case.)
If some of our more flagrantly defiant leaders had justice dealt out to them, I would rejoice. But replacing one wolf with a slightly tamer wolf doesn't really decrease the danger to the sheep, it just makes them more complacent. "Well, that one's gone! Now we can get back to life as usual."
Blessings are wonderful, life-changing events. Nehemiah wasn't afraid to either pray repentance for himself and his people, OR for success in speaking to his employer. Only God could really make a king (a) give up his trusted cupbearer for who-knows-how-long, (b) fund the journey to a beaten kingdom, so that said cupbearer could (c) build a temple to his Lord God and (d) possibly become the king's worst betrayer. And He did. And we have a book about the fastest restoration work of all time - 52 days - prefaced by a lot of tears and broken walls and despair.
Nehemiah is one of my favorite books, because it's about God's blessings. It's not that God made their enemies vanish, or magically restored the burned walls. It's not that people weren't trying to rebuild walls and the temple and their lives in Jerusalem before. But when God's ready to bless you, He'll bless you - even in the midst of people sending sly letters to the king and trying to block your efforts with fear and gossip. Satan never wants God's people to be blessed, He wants them either sinning, complacent, or ready to give up. Holding on to God's promises with both hands, keeping His commandments firmly in mind, won't always mean that blessing is around the corner. But once He decides it's blessing time, you can't get away! I look forward to that.
“Now it shall come to pass, if you diligently obey the voice of the Lord your God, to observe carefully all His commandments which I command you today, that the Lord your God will set you high above all nations of the earth. 2 And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, because you obey the voice of the Lord your God" (Deut 28: 1-2).
There's those qualifiers, like "diligently obey" and "observe carefully"....but normally, when God says "come upon you", He means some sort of disaster. What He seems to be saying is, if you put time and effort into really paying attention to what He says and how to please Him, you can't help but be blessed.
I'd like blessing to overwhelm me like a flood, and all my crops to come into my barns (working on a herb garden), and my enemies to be defeated before me. That's an attractive thought. So is the dual idea of (a) being holy so that (b) the nations are afraid of us. (It would be great if my country had enough money to lend instead of borrow, but that isn't the case.)
If some of our more flagrantly defiant leaders had justice dealt out to them, I would rejoice. But replacing one wolf with a slightly tamer wolf doesn't really decrease the danger to the sheep, it just makes them more complacent. "Well, that one's gone! Now we can get back to life as usual."
Blessings are wonderful, life-changing events. Nehemiah wasn't afraid to either pray repentance for himself and his people, OR for success in speaking to his employer. Only God could really make a king (a) give up his trusted cupbearer for who-knows-how-long, (b) fund the journey to a beaten kingdom, so that said cupbearer could (c) build a temple to his Lord God and (d) possibly become the king's worst betrayer. And He did. And we have a book about the fastest restoration work of all time - 52 days - prefaced by a lot of tears and broken walls and despair.
Nehemiah is one of my favorite books, because it's about God's blessings. It's not that God made their enemies vanish, or magically restored the burned walls. It's not that people weren't trying to rebuild walls and the temple and their lives in Jerusalem before. But when God's ready to bless you, He'll bless you - even in the midst of people sending sly letters to the king and trying to block your efforts with fear and gossip. Satan never wants God's people to be blessed, He wants them either sinning, complacent, or ready to give up. Holding on to God's promises with both hands, keeping His commandments firmly in mind, won't always mean that blessing is around the corner. But once He decides it's blessing time, you can't get away! I look forward to that.
Thursday, August 29, 2013
The Tyranny of More, the Necessity of Rest
It seems impossible to say no to that insistent voice: "...more".
This isn't simply just a marketing tool that's been overused, though we could rage about product placement in films, or the Era of Corporate Greed. It's that odd thing that drives us to eat more than is necessary ("just one more bite"), or play another online game (I'm currently addicted to Trizzle), or land one more business client. Social media merely enhances an already existing mantra in our heads - that 'more is better'.
Toddlers have the same drive toward grabbing and acquisition for its own sake, but I'm thinking about how hard it is to say "no" and feel like a worthwhile person. Being caught in a riptide of your own feelings that reaching for "more" is reaching "up", toward the light, toward expansion and progress and....we don't even know what, there's that reaction you get when you tell yourself (or others) "no". No, I don't need a new skirt on sale (that I'll never wear), I don't need to volunteer more, I don't need to give that person 'just one more chance'. Oh, that reaction. "But .... don't you WANT to do more/be more/help more?!" And the insinuation: "EVERYONE should want to be the best they can be, do until they drop."
When you're ill, you have a ready-made excuse not to do things. The sad part is, that as a fully functioning adult, I still feel that impulse to make up an illness to get out of doing, not just chores, but "things that will help". Good things, even noble things, but too much.
There are times that you do what you must, and we are in a constant spiritual war zone that seems to require everything we have and then some. But even soldiers are given leave from battle, or sent to the infirmary when they are wounded in limbs or organs. There are few legitimately accepted respite points for those in battle against darkness with no face. Somehow, you're supposed to be able to wage war via Tweets while you sleep, and contributions after your death.
There are just as many verses and passages about resting, and being content, as there are for engaging in activity. The same God who says "do not grow weary in doing good", also says "but My grace is sufficient for you". He says not to despise the day of small things, that He is the one who brings the greatness. I can see over 700 references to "rest" in the Word (via BibleGateway) and only 34 for "strive". I could use other words, but I won't. Just say no to the voice that says "but how do you know that you've researched enough?" I'm on to you.
One of my favorite converts in the Bible is Naaman the Syrian (II Kings 5), who was convinced by his wife's maidservant to seek healing for his leprosy in the land of Israel. Highly insulted by Elisha's directions given by messenger, he storms off....only to be asked by his servants to try out the prophet's directives. ("My father, if it were some great thing the prophet asked you, would you not do it?") Perhaps the centurion, asking Jesus to heal his daughter, knew what Naaman's servants did - the power of healing is in the message of the Healer, not its impressive presentation.
There's nothing impressive about rest. Seen wrongly (or done wrongly), it looks like laziness. Resting in the power of Christ looks as ridiculous as holding a Psalm sing in jail, rejoicing in the shame of being beaten for His name (Acts 16). Prayer meetings don't overflow until great disasters happen - there's nothing left to do. Naaman got the same unimpressive deal as God gave His people, in many battles. Dig ditches (II Kings 3), so your beasts will drink and you will win the war. (Really?! Ditches?) Build an altar and pour water on it, Elijah (I Kings 18), and I will bring the fire from heaven. (Prepare an altar by drowning it. Right.) God constantly tells us that He can do great things with less, and we have trouble believing that, like the Disciples. ('You want us to feed 5,000 people with a few loaves and wee fish. Sure.')
We do work as we rest in His sufficiency. We pray, we trust, we hope, we give and keep on giving, we fight against the enemy within and without. There's plenty of work to be done. We plan, and He directs the results (Proverbs 16:9). But He also gives His beloved rest, lays His sheep near a still stream, and says, "I am enough".
Tuesday, August 27, 2013
The Power of Misinterpretation
The problem of interpretation is not an exclusive Bible issue.
This is a human issue, stemming from Satan's primo marketing technique in the Garden of Eden. He markets death as the smart, eternal thing to do, helping the founding parents to drink the Kool-aid with him.
Today's inspiration comes from "The Power of One", a novel set in South Africa. What caught my attention was that the website clearly states a problem of interpretation. People think the title has to do with the power of one person to change the world. The author's intention was to point out the life-changing power of education, and how the whole trajectory of a child's life can turn based on one teacher's influence.
It's hard to fight against the snide, constant insinuation that the Bible is hopelessly flawed, that a vast gulf between its authors' intentions and people's perceptions must be bridged (or not) by human reasoning. The sad fact is that this is half-true - we get messages from God wrong all the time, in our own lives. The lie that exists in the insinuation is that the Bible is merely man's message to man, about a Supreme Being (who may or may not exist).
Can you make up your own interpretation and base it on the Bible? Of course, people do it all the time. Will it be accurate? No.
Another lie that people give in to is the "beauty" of re-interpretation. Somehow, we are supposed to believe that confusion and 20 different meanings that conflict with each other is a 'wonderful' human trait. If you find yourself slogging through an English-teacher approved book that makes you think about broken buildings and failed relationships and the continual drip-drip-drip of grey rain - you're supposed to end the novel gloomily satisfied that the human life is deep and vast and its purposes unknowable. When faced with an obstacle, armed with this depressing knowledge, you can stare at it hollowly and think about how all life leads to chaos and fear.
Variety is surely the spice of life, but if you don't know which spice to use, the sauce you are making will taste like ashes. And that's what Satan wants - ashes out of people's lives. But he constantly tells you that if you just push past this or that barrier, All Glory Will Be Revealed.
God's messages are clear, though hard to understand (it comforts me to know the Apostle Peter found it difficult, too). Swimming through this world's murk and fog isn't glorious, but it's work we've been given - until we get to go Home. Light abounding. Grace eternal. Life unending. No sign of brokenness or failure or sickness anywhere - and a depth of understanding we can't imagine now. What are Satan's promises when compared with that?
This is a human issue, stemming from Satan's primo marketing technique in the Garden of Eden. He markets death as the smart, eternal thing to do, helping the founding parents to drink the Kool-aid with him.
Today's inspiration comes from "The Power of One", a novel set in South Africa. What caught my attention was that the website clearly states a problem of interpretation. People think the title has to do with the power of one person to change the world. The author's intention was to point out the life-changing power of education, and how the whole trajectory of a child's life can turn based on one teacher's influence.
It's hard to fight against the snide, constant insinuation that the Bible is hopelessly flawed, that a vast gulf between its authors' intentions and people's perceptions must be bridged (or not) by human reasoning. The sad fact is that this is half-true - we get messages from God wrong all the time, in our own lives. The lie that exists in the insinuation is that the Bible is merely man's message to man, about a Supreme Being (who may or may not exist).
Can you make up your own interpretation and base it on the Bible? Of course, people do it all the time. Will it be accurate? No.
Another lie that people give in to is the "beauty" of re-interpretation. Somehow, we are supposed to believe that confusion and 20 different meanings that conflict with each other is a 'wonderful' human trait. If you find yourself slogging through an English-teacher approved book that makes you think about broken buildings and failed relationships and the continual drip-drip-drip of grey rain - you're supposed to end the novel gloomily satisfied that the human life is deep and vast and its purposes unknowable. When faced with an obstacle, armed with this depressing knowledge, you can stare at it hollowly and think about how all life leads to chaos and fear.
Variety is surely the spice of life, but if you don't know which spice to use, the sauce you are making will taste like ashes. And that's what Satan wants - ashes out of people's lives. But he constantly tells you that if you just push past this or that barrier, All Glory Will Be Revealed.
God's messages are clear, though hard to understand (it comforts me to know the Apostle Peter found it difficult, too). Swimming through this world's murk and fog isn't glorious, but it's work we've been given - until we get to go Home. Light abounding. Grace eternal. Life unending. No sign of brokenness or failure or sickness anywhere - and a depth of understanding we can't imagine now. What are Satan's promises when compared with that?
Wednesday, December 5, 2012
Colorless - Review of Fifty Shades of Grey
Sin is so boring.
Honestly, sometimes Satan uses all his powers to tempt you and you realize it in time ("aha! I see what you're up to!") but it really draws you. Sometimes, he uses things that a child would see through. ("Honestly, I'm supposed to be lured down a dark alleyway for that?! Get real.")
That's what I think of "Fifty Shades of Grey". Get real.
Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L. James
My rating: 1 of 5 stars
After 2 chapters, I'd rather read "Twilight" - better character and plot development. Temptation, try again!
View all my reviews
Similarity to Twilight
Have I read through the entire book? No, but enough chapters to know that Twilight author Stephanie Meyer surpasses this writer in plot and character development. Google Preview is an amazing tool!
Firstly, there's the Beautiful Alluring....Male. Secondly, there's the appealing Girl Next Door who's a bit clumsy, awkward and unsure of herself. (This one happens to be at university.) She's drawn by some sort of animal attraction she can't explain, he's the hunter and she's the hunted, and she barely escapes from initial contact with her soul intact. It's a downward ski slope from there.
Writing Ability
There are some smut authors who really can write. Take Anne Rice (pre-Christian days) or Francine Rivers (also pre-Christian days) - they produce characters of intrigue and mystery that make you want to turn pages, to find out what happens next. Honore de Balzac would be another - just because you're a classic smut author from days gone by doesn't make the material any better.
"Fifty Shades" is a normal writing ability, not anything out of which New York Times bestsellers should spring - unless their quality has seriously fallen off in recent years. But it's almost as if the author took a tutorial from Writers Digest on romance novel-writing, plugged in various adjectives for "attractive", and decided that the last names ought to really twist things up and yet co mingle perfectly. ("Grey" and "Steele", get it?)
Confusion
By chapter 2, it seems that Ana Steele's inner good sense has been overshadowed by pair of grey eyes. (How on earth can someone have 'bright grey eyes'? Grey is the color of clouds and confusion.) It's obvious she has Daddy Issues - any two-bit psychologist can see that her mother is a serial monogamist with 3 ex-husbands, rather like Bella's mother Rene in Twilight. Ana is all seeming pragmatic stability on the outside, but a seething cauldron of subconscious fight-or-flight responses that would be easy to tap by the right source. It's a build-up to the need for Christian Grey (why did the author pick that first name?) to dominate, and her need to be dominated. Scene set. Lights, camera, action.
There's no more explanation as to why Mr. Grey is so alluring than the eternally overprotective Edward. Sure, he's rich, he's built up a fabulous empire with a great deal of workers at a young age....Business Tycoon meets Secretary Type. It's no more apparent here than in Twilight, why Mr. Grey - with all of his power and influence - is drawn to Ana Steele than why Edward is drawn to Bella. Normalcy? Overcoming her feeble resistance? Who knows.
Temptation, try again.
Honestly, sometimes Satan uses all his powers to tempt you and you realize it in time ("aha! I see what you're up to!") but it really draws you. Sometimes, he uses things that a child would see through. ("Honestly, I'm supposed to be lured down a dark alleyway for that?! Get real.")
That's what I think of "Fifty Shades of Grey". Get real.
Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L. JamesMy rating: 1 of 5 stars
After 2 chapters, I'd rather read "Twilight" - better character and plot development. Temptation, try again!
View all my reviews
Similarity to Twilight
Have I read through the entire book? No, but enough chapters to know that Twilight author Stephanie Meyer surpasses this writer in plot and character development. Google Preview is an amazing tool!
Firstly, there's the Beautiful Alluring....Male. Secondly, there's the appealing Girl Next Door who's a bit clumsy, awkward and unsure of herself. (This one happens to be at university.) She's drawn by some sort of animal attraction she can't explain, he's the hunter and she's the hunted, and she barely escapes from initial contact with her soul intact. It's a downward ski slope from there.
Writing Ability
There are some smut authors who really can write. Take Anne Rice (pre-Christian days) or Francine Rivers (also pre-Christian days) - they produce characters of intrigue and mystery that make you want to turn pages, to find out what happens next. Honore de Balzac would be another - just because you're a classic smut author from days gone by doesn't make the material any better.
"Fifty Shades" is a normal writing ability, not anything out of which New York Times bestsellers should spring - unless their quality has seriously fallen off in recent years. But it's almost as if the author took a tutorial from Writers Digest on romance novel-writing, plugged in various adjectives for "attractive", and decided that the last names ought to really twist things up and yet co mingle perfectly. ("Grey" and "Steele", get it?)
Confusion
By chapter 2, it seems that Ana Steele's inner good sense has been overshadowed by pair of grey eyes. (How on earth can someone have 'bright grey eyes'? Grey is the color of clouds and confusion.) It's obvious she has Daddy Issues - any two-bit psychologist can see that her mother is a serial monogamist with 3 ex-husbands, rather like Bella's mother Rene in Twilight. Ana is all seeming pragmatic stability on the outside, but a seething cauldron of subconscious fight-or-flight responses that would be easy to tap by the right source. It's a build-up to the need for Christian Grey (why did the author pick that first name?) to dominate, and her need to be dominated. Scene set. Lights, camera, action.
There's no more explanation as to why Mr. Grey is so alluring than the eternally overprotective Edward. Sure, he's rich, he's built up a fabulous empire with a great deal of workers at a young age....Business Tycoon meets Secretary Type. It's no more apparent here than in Twilight, why Mr. Grey - with all of his power and influence - is drawn to Ana Steele than why Edward is drawn to Bella. Normalcy? Overcoming her feeble resistance? Who knows.
Temptation, try again.
Tuesday, November 20, 2012
Review: The Saint in New York
So here's my official Goodreads review of Leslie Charteris' novel:
The Saint In New York by Leslie Charteris
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Worth more than a look. No swearing, no 'scenes', historical relevance about the problems of graft and corruption...and how to clean it up.
View all my reviews
Leslie has powers of detachment in description that haven't appeared in fiction for a good many years. There's something quite attractive in a character who's able to describe a bad American cigarette as "a sin against nicotine", whether or not you indulge personally. Historical anachronisms are even more fun, such as gangsters' molls: "it is a curious fact that few of the men who shoot their way through amazing wealth to sophistication in almost all their appetites ever acquire a sophisticated taste in femininity."
Are there too many descriptions of the Saint's amazing powers of mockery and trickery? Yes. Do we get the idea after the third repetition about the dangerous glittering blue eyes, that the Saint is...well....dangerous? Quite so. But every once in a while, the flower of genius blossoms out. This bit on prejudice and the helpless feeling of a good citizen is so currently apt, it shouldn't be glossed over.
(Regarding Mr. Ezekiel Inselheim) "Confronted by that shamelessly Semitic proboscis, no well-trained Nazi could ever have been induced to believe that he was a kindly and honest man, shrewd without duplicity, self-made without arrogance, wealthy without offensive ostentation. It has always been difficult for such wild possibilities to percolate into the atrophied brain-cells of second-rate crusaders, and a thousand years of self-styled civilization have made no more improvements in the Nordic crank than they have in any other type of malignant half-wit."
Can you beat that for clarity? I'm sure no one of Leslie's public were in any suspense as to his scathing views on Nazism.
"Ezekiel Inselheim was wondering, as others no less rich and famous had wondered before him, why it was that in the most materially civilised country in the world an honoured and peaceful citizen had still to pay toll to a clique of organized bandits, like medieval peasants meeting the extortions of a feudal barony...He knew, as all America knew, that with upright legislators, with incorruptible police and judiciary, the gangster would long ago have vanished like the Western bad man. He knew that without the passive co-operation of a resigned and leaderless public, without the inbred cowardice of a terrorised population, the racketeers and the grafting political leaders who protected them could have been wiped off the face of the American landscape at a cost of one hundredth part of the tribute which they exacted annually."
God has many great attributes, but one of my favourites is His absolute justice. It's not enough for Him to exact punishment for a short time - but for eternity. When thinking of corrupt politicians and crooked leaders, it gives me great satisfaction that they shall either be broken on the Rock and repent (therefore becoming entirely new creatures), or just broken. Either way, glory be to Him!
The Saint In New York by Leslie CharterisMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Worth more than a look. No swearing, no 'scenes', historical relevance about the problems of graft and corruption...and how to clean it up.
View all my reviews
Leslie has powers of detachment in description that haven't appeared in fiction for a good many years. There's something quite attractive in a character who's able to describe a bad American cigarette as "a sin against nicotine", whether or not you indulge personally. Historical anachronisms are even more fun, such as gangsters' molls: "it is a curious fact that few of the men who shoot their way through amazing wealth to sophistication in almost all their appetites ever acquire a sophisticated taste in femininity."
Are there too many descriptions of the Saint's amazing powers of mockery and trickery? Yes. Do we get the idea after the third repetition about the dangerous glittering blue eyes, that the Saint is...well....dangerous? Quite so. But every once in a while, the flower of genius blossoms out. This bit on prejudice and the helpless feeling of a good citizen is so currently apt, it shouldn't be glossed over.
(Regarding Mr. Ezekiel Inselheim) "Confronted by that shamelessly Semitic proboscis, no well-trained Nazi could ever have been induced to believe that he was a kindly and honest man, shrewd without duplicity, self-made without arrogance, wealthy without offensive ostentation. It has always been difficult for such wild possibilities to percolate into the atrophied brain-cells of second-rate crusaders, and a thousand years of self-styled civilization have made no more improvements in the Nordic crank than they have in any other type of malignant half-wit."
Can you beat that for clarity? I'm sure no one of Leslie's public were in any suspense as to his scathing views on Nazism.
"Ezekiel Inselheim was wondering, as others no less rich and famous had wondered before him, why it was that in the most materially civilised country in the world an honoured and peaceful citizen had still to pay toll to a clique of organized bandits, like medieval peasants meeting the extortions of a feudal barony...He knew, as all America knew, that with upright legislators, with incorruptible police and judiciary, the gangster would long ago have vanished like the Western bad man. He knew that without the passive co-operation of a resigned and leaderless public, without the inbred cowardice of a terrorised population, the racketeers and the grafting political leaders who protected them could have been wiped off the face of the American landscape at a cost of one hundredth part of the tribute which they exacted annually."
God has many great attributes, but one of my favourites is His absolute justice. It's not enough for Him to exact punishment for a short time - but for eternity. When thinking of corrupt politicians and crooked leaders, it gives me great satisfaction that they shall either be broken on the Rock and repent (therefore becoming entirely new creatures), or just broken. Either way, glory be to Him!
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Communism and Diets
There's a famous book on "100 Books to Read Before Death" that you've probably never heard of: Whittaker Chambers' "Witness". (Not the Harrison Ford movie.)
Chambers was one of those quiet people who see quite clearly, before most people do, that Western civilization is headed for a rough downhill slide. He joined the underground Communist movement in the 1930's, when people thought it was cool - long before Ronald Reagan helped expose the "agrarian reformers" for what they are. A serious atheist, he got shaken by God and repented - became a Quaker. He spent 10 years as a Time editor, then sorrowfully informed on his former comrades. This quote of his always gets me:
"No one knows so well as the ex-Communist the character of the conflict, and of the enemy, or shares so deeply the same power of faith and willingness to stake his life on his beliefs. For no other has seen so deeply into the total nature of the evil with which Communism threatens mankind. Counterrevolution and conservatism have little in common. In the struggle against Communism the conservative is all but helpless. For that struggle cannot be fought, much less won, or even understood, except in terms of total sacrifice. And the conservative is suspicious of sacrifice; he wishes first to conserve, above all what he is and what he has. You cannot fight against revolutions so."
There's a funny truth about change - no matter what you tell yourself, you know when you're all in and when you're still just playing around. (For more clarification on "not playing games", listen to an Andrew Quigley sermon.) You know it's death when you try to compromise: "Well, I'll just listen to the snake for a little bit." Whether it's applying yourself to work or to really shaving off pounds on that diet you've always meant to do, it takes time and frustration and some suffering. Sometimes, a lot of suffering. And nobody wants to hear that.
Diets are horrible. You don't get to eat what you want. You have to go trudge around a hill or a track or get on that exercise bike, whether you feel like it or not - because if you don't, those unwanted pounds hurl themselves at you and latch on. Every once in a while, it's really enjoyable - when you hit a goal, when you fit into those pants, the joy of having a friend say "you've lost some weight! You look good!" SCORE!!! you think. "Every day should be like this!" That's not reality.
Communism got popular, and still is, because people want to refuse to see sin for the horrible, degrading, grimy fact that Adam and Eve landed us in centuries ago. We'd all LIKE to believe that our fellow man is really good inside. We'd LIKE to believe that our neighbors will not lie, cheat, steal, or inform on us - or vice versa - and that we will always be true to our ideals. Weight is the same. A little fudge here, a little lack of exercise there, a donut or three in the mornings - "so shall thy calories come on thee like a robber, and thy want like an armed man".
Okay, so the battle against pounds is not that grim, and there is joy along the way! But it is true that if you "faint in the day of adversity, your strength is small". (Proverbs 24) God is Lord of many small beginnings, it's true - trodging is a learned art. When battling anything - even as earthly as the body - it's good to pray for help at the point of the fridge or the prison gate. But wishing to win and also to conserve comfort is a laughable lie.
Chambers was one of those quiet people who see quite clearly, before most people do, that Western civilization is headed for a rough downhill slide. He joined the underground Communist movement in the 1930's, when people thought it was cool - long before Ronald Reagan helped expose the "agrarian reformers" for what they are. A serious atheist, he got shaken by God and repented - became a Quaker. He spent 10 years as a Time editor, then sorrowfully informed on his former comrades. This quote of his always gets me:
"No one knows so well as the ex-Communist the character of the conflict, and of the enemy, or shares so deeply the same power of faith and willingness to stake his life on his beliefs. For no other has seen so deeply into the total nature of the evil with which Communism threatens mankind. Counterrevolution and conservatism have little in common. In the struggle against Communism the conservative is all but helpless. For that struggle cannot be fought, much less won, or even understood, except in terms of total sacrifice. And the conservative is suspicious of sacrifice; he wishes first to conserve, above all what he is and what he has. You cannot fight against revolutions so."
There's a funny truth about change - no matter what you tell yourself, you know when you're all in and when you're still just playing around. (For more clarification on "not playing games", listen to an Andrew Quigley sermon.) You know it's death when you try to compromise: "Well, I'll just listen to the snake for a little bit." Whether it's applying yourself to work or to really shaving off pounds on that diet you've always meant to do, it takes time and frustration and some suffering. Sometimes, a lot of suffering. And nobody wants to hear that.
Diets are horrible. You don't get to eat what you want. You have to go trudge around a hill or a track or get on that exercise bike, whether you feel like it or not - because if you don't, those unwanted pounds hurl themselves at you and latch on. Every once in a while, it's really enjoyable - when you hit a goal, when you fit into those pants, the joy of having a friend say "you've lost some weight! You look good!" SCORE!!! you think. "Every day should be like this!" That's not reality.
Communism got popular, and still is, because people want to refuse to see sin for the horrible, degrading, grimy fact that Adam and Eve landed us in centuries ago. We'd all LIKE to believe that our fellow man is really good inside. We'd LIKE to believe that our neighbors will not lie, cheat, steal, or inform on us - or vice versa - and that we will always be true to our ideals. Weight is the same. A little fudge here, a little lack of exercise there, a donut or three in the mornings - "so shall thy calories come on thee like a robber, and thy want like an armed man".
Okay, so the battle against pounds is not that grim, and there is joy along the way! But it is true that if you "faint in the day of adversity, your strength is small". (Proverbs 24) God is Lord of many small beginnings, it's true - trodging is a learned art. When battling anything - even as earthly as the body - it's good to pray for help at the point of the fridge or the prison gate. But wishing to win and also to conserve comfort is a laughable lie.
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