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Link Happy [Favorite Posts before 5.1.10]
I’m breaking two laws today.
One spoken. The other unspoken.
The spoken law I am breaking has to do with a vow not to post on Saturday.
I’m making an exception since I’ve been posting only four times a week instead of five.
The unspoken law is about a personal pledge not to do posts devoted to sharing articles I like.
I reserved Twitter and Facebook for that.
But since I’ve abandoned Twitter and Facebook until May 23, my main source for sharing favorite articles is gone. So I’m sharing here.
Enjoy.
Survey: 72% of Millenials ‘More Spiritual Than Religious’
Little here to encourage you. Most notable: “Many are unsure Jesus is the only path to heaven: Half say yes, half no.”
Confession of Faith Guanabara
Brazilian blogger Jorge Bessa says it’s one of the oldest confessions of faith of Reformation era–written by four missionaries sent by John Calvin to the newly-founded Rio de Janeiro. [Click on the American flag to translate to English.]
Grilled Squid
Drawn to this article by the headline and sub-headline. That’s the headline up there. Here’s the sub: “A ghastly day on Capitol Hill for Goldman Sachs’s top brass.” Why I like the Economist.
Mind Over Money
Darling little 60-minute show by PBS on the battle between behavioral scientists and rational economists over this question: Can markets be rational when humans aren’t? Great sidebar resources, too.
Breaking Things Down to Particles Blinds Scientists to the Big Picture
I quote: “We want to believe we will understand nature if we find the exact right tool to cut its joints. But that approach is doomed to failure. We live in a universe not of clocks but of clouds.”
The Challenge of Writing about David Foster Wallace
I was immediately charmed when I learned DRW wrote a 1,300 page, heavily annotated, footnote dense novel. Then I read it. Thinking writing about him is hard? Try reading him.
By the way, do you mind if I do more posts like this? Yes or no? Give me your opinion. I’m thinking of doing more.
Why You Should Master the Old Testament
If you think the Old Testament is a boring book and not worth your time or attention, let me give you one very good reason why you should master it: Jesus did.
In fact, he coped with Satan’s desert temptations by quoting from Deuteronomy…
He also used the Old Testament to teach his disciples and ridicule his critics…
He confirmed historical events like the destruction of Sodom, the murder of Abel and the calling of Moses–events found in the OT.
Jesus even confirmed the often-rejected OT accounts: the creation of Adam and Eve, Noah and the flood and the three days Jonah spend in a whale’s belly.
[Thanks to The BeAttitudes' article Jesus Quoted Old Testament Scripture: How Can Christians Deny It's Validity? for help on the previous portion of this post.]
But there’s another reason why we should master the Old Testament: neglecting it can rob you of a rich understanding of the teachings and narratives found in the New Testament.
Let’s look at the books of Samuel for instance.
The books of Samuel lay the foundation for the all-important doctrine of the Messiah. In particular 2 Samuel 7 tells us how these promises of the Messiah created hope and expectations that New Testament authors understood to be fulfilled by Jesus.
The Lord promised David he would:
Establish the kingdom of one of David’s Descendants
The New Testament identified Jesus as that descendant who brought the kingdom of God to humanity. [Matthew 12:28]
Build a House for God’s Name
The NT writers viewed Jesus as the one who built the ultimate temple of God in three days. [Matthew 26:61]
Sit on a Throne That Would Last Forever
Hebrews declared Jesus had just that. [Hebrews 1:8]
Live as a Son to God
Jesus was the ultimate Son of God. [Matthew 16:16]
Listen: One of the easiest ways to master the Old Testament is to simply get in the habit of reading through it every year.
Another helpful way to learn more about the OT is read a book like Vanhoozer’s book-by-book survey of the Old Testament
You could also use the Seven Births method [this has nothing to do with contraceptives, by the way].
Or if you’re a sucker for a challenge, throw yourself into a fake masters program on the OT.
How ever you do it, the point is to absorb the entire Bible [both Old and New Testament], because there is nothing worse than a biblically illiterate Christian.
Smart Christians: 7 Ways to Grow a Mature Mind
“Smart Christian.”
Sounds like an oxymoron, right?
Ask some people and they’d tell you it isn’t merely an oxymoron…
But an impossibility…
Using charged language like “gullible, closed-minded and stupid” to describe Christians.
But we have a rich history of smart people.
People like Augustine, Boethius, Aquinas, Anselm, Calvin, Luther and Jonathan Edwards.
Christians who struggled with and fought for the faith by using their God-given powers of the mind.
But there’s another reason why being a smart Christian is important: When we grow a mature mind, it helps us fight against the corruption of this world.
This is what Paul said about the topic:
Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. Romans 12:2
And what’s the best way to renew your mind? Here are seven suggestions.
Memorize Scripture
This is a perennial favorite. In fact, I can’t think of a better way to re-wire our minds than systematically filling it with the Word of God. Devour entire chapters. Even books. Here are 18 tricks to help you.
Read Through Your Bible Every Year
Next to memorizing scripture, reading through the Bible once a year is another good way to grow a mature Christian mind. Wanna go extreme? Read the Bible in 76 hours.
Earn a Fake Masters with Other Believers
Me, Don and a handful of others are going to master the Old Testament. We’re using Wave to communicate, online resources and a host of books. Lot of work ahead of us, but with this many guys holding each other accountable, we’ll be a whole lot more biblically smart than we were before we started.
Start a Secret Church
David Platt wondered: “If overseas believers are hungry enough for the Word to sit for 10-hour stretches studying it, would his own congregation?” Indeed, it was. How can you host your own secret church? Find a teacher, pick a topic, hustle together a group of believers and pour over the Word for hours on end.
Throw Yourself into Wild Evangelism
I don’t think we can ever seriously suggest that we have mature minds until we actually take what we learn into the dirty business of life. It’s not until our nice theologies collide with real life do we enter a new level of maturity. My 5-day trip to Mardi Gras opened up my eyes to serious flaws in my own mind. I re-negotiated a lot.
Invite an Atheist to Lunch
On the same vein with the above, sit down and talk to a non-believer. Make friends with them. Get to know them. And get to know yourself and what you believe. Heck, take some time and interview 10 atheists. Revelations are ample when you interact with non-believers. It forces you to go back to the Bible and evaluate what you know and what they know. A healthy event for your mind and heart.
Pray Every Morning for Thirty Minutes
We can’t grow mature minds unless we interact with the creator of that mind. Pray for wisdom like Solomon did. Pray for humility. Illumination.
Listen, we’re not after a wisdom of this age. No. We’re after the mind of Christ. We’re after that knowledge that transforms our new self into the image of our Creator.
That’s a smart Christian.
And here’s the trap I don’t want to fall into: Thinking our intellect is the end all be all.
Our minds are just as corrupted by the Fall as our emotions and will. Thus, in the end, the goal of suggestions like these is to bring our mind, emotions and will into obedience to the Word of God.
Your Turn: How do you renew your mind? Do you agree with all of my suggestions? Is there any you’d add? Or does this whole topic of “smart” Christians make your skin crawl? I look forward to hearing from you.
What’s Your Morning Routine Look Like? Here’s Mine
Three chapters from the Old Testament.
Small bit of commentary on these chapters.
And three pages from Augustine’s City of God.
That’s what my early morning routine looks like.
What does your morning routine look like? Please share. I’m curious.
Why Did I Change My Routine?
Anyone who’s been around Fallen and Flawed for a while knows I’m a big fan of the right-brain thinker’s guide to Bible study.
But to be frank, after two years of that routine (which basically amounted to reading the same eight chapters from the New Testament for 30 days straight) I hit a point where the monotony got to me.
I needed to break the mold and do something differently.
So, to start the year off fresh, the first thing I did was read the New Testament straight through in January.
Then I figured out how many chapters I need to read a day so I can finish the Old Testament in a year.
I did the same thing with City of God. And that’s where I’m at now.
Where I Got This Idea
I borrowed the idea of reading a church father from William Lane Craig who’s been working through the ante-Nicene fathers every morning for the past decade.
It’s amazing how much ground you can cover if you commit to doing just a little a day.
So what about you: What’s your morning routine look like? What devotions are you using? Praying through the newspaper? Reading the Intellectual Devotional?
Furthermore, how do you do it: In your favorite chair? Lying on your stomach on the floor [my favorite]? Outside on the patio? In bed and beneath your covers?
By the way, I’m successful about four out seven days. The other three days I’m scrambling before bed time or using a Saturday to catch up. How successful are you? Got any tricks that keep you on track for your morning routine?
Let me know. Curious to see your habits!
Why I Didn’t Defend a Six-Day Creation
You may think less of me after this post.
Then again, maybe not.
I guess it just depends on where you land on this debate.
Let’s lay the groundwork first.
Groundwork Ahead
Last Friday I got an email from Daniel Wilson of Desire Spiritual Growth blog.
He asked a simple question. But very penetrating.
The kind of question that, in a sense, “calls you out.” That makes you pause and–well, think.
I knew exactly what he was referring to.
And I had a great reason for doing what I did. Indeed, my motives were good…
Just in the dark, ergo, Daniel’s question. What was THIS question? Here’s Daniel’s email:
There’s a question I’ve seen you avoid twice on your blog. I can understand why, but I am still very curious.
Do you believe in a literal, 6-day creation by God of the various kinds of living things?
Tough question. Let’s run through my thought process on how I answered it. I think you’ll benefit.
How Important Is Creation to Me?
To begin, let’s deal with why I avoided this topic twice on my blog.
Really, it’s pretty simple: I’ve never had a firm opinion on this topic. I’ve never made a firm stand.
Why? I actually haven’t put enough gray matter to it.
Sure, I did listen to MacArthur explain his reasons for 6-day creation and agree but walked away with a tad bit of uncertainty.
But why? If the Bible IS the inspired word of God–which I believe–then indeed those days mentioned in Genesis were in fact each 24-hours long as stated.
Hence, I affirm a 6-day creation.
Here’s Where I Started to Sweat
Part of me finds that answer insufficient though. I feel very uncomfortable claiming to be a 6-day creationist.
Why? Science’s domination on this topic. Assert yourself as a 6-day creationist and you’ll get scoffed. Ridiculed. Dismissed.
Scientific opposition 101.
What is that opposition really, though? Evolution and it’s suggestion that macro-evolution [non-observable event] is extrapolated from micro-evolution [observable event] plus time ad infinitum.
Personally, I don’t want to look like a fool because I’m hooked on the approval of man. But do I really have a case?
If I truly believe God to be omnipotent, then I could easily believe he created the world in six days.
Heck, I could believe he created the world in six hours. Standing on one arm. Singing opera. [Note: I don't believe God has a body. Just saying.]
But that’s not the way it’s described. The writer of Genesis stated six days. So I affirm a six-day creation. In opposition to science.
To those who will complain that such a view is credulous and unsophisticated, here’s MacArthur:
“It is certainly superior to the irrational notion that an ordered and incomprehensibly complex universe sprung by accident from nothingness and emerged by chance into the marvel that it is.”
I agree.
Where I Don’t See Eye-to-Eye with MacArthur
There is one point I might disagree with MacArthur: I don’t think defending a six-day creation matters. Let me qualify that statement.
I don’t think it’s worth emotional or intellectual equity defending a six-day creation…especially with a non-believer…when we’ve got bigger fish to fry, namely new birth.
It’d be like me bickering with my wife over the placement of patio furniture on a deck attached to a house that we were losing to foreclosure.
Thus my tendency to avoid the issue and change the topic.
What’s paramount in the creation account is The Fall. The creation narrative is the setting. The Fall and subsequent redemption, the plot.
Don’t get me wrong. We need Genesis 1:1-3 in it’s entirety. Here’s MacArthur again on how important it is:
If Genesis 1-3 doesn’t tell us the truth, why should we believe anything else in the Bible? Without a right understanding of our origin, we have no way to understand anything about our spiritual existence. We cannot know our purpose, and we cannot be certain of our destiny. After all, if God is not the Creator, then maybe He’s not the Redeemer either. If we cannot believe the opening chapters of Scripture, how can we be certain of anything the Bible says?
It’s the WHY in my mind that trumps the HOW.
One Final Thought
Funny thing is, a six-day creation event is small beans when compared to some bigger beliefs we Christians share.
Take the Incarnation, for instance. God invaded his universe as a human. What?
Or what about the new birth–the belief that God raises us from spiritual death? Hell? The Second Coming?
Those, my friend, are tough nuts to swallow.
We are fortunate to live in a region of the world where apologetic materials are abundant. Answers to objections are everywhere.
Not so with those in restricted or persecuted countries. But this shouldn’t bother us. Or them.
While I respect science and what it says, in the end I need to go with God–and so do they–and his purposes revealed in the Scripture.
Listen: This is sometimes very hard for someone who unapologetically embraces the title intellectual snob–but persecution and hardship are the name of the game. Opposition is real.
And sometimes all we have is the Holy Ghost and a Bible. Fortunately, we have more.
Final, Final Thought
Here’s what I learned from Daniel’s email: We worship a creative God who demands singularity in our affections and dismisses all competitors…
And neglecting allegiance to him is simple blasphemy–even if that means rejection from our peers.
Therefore, I’d rather be at odds with the establishment than the God who created and sustains the people in that very establishment.
Christianity is a thinking man’s religion. Jesus said, “You shall love the Lord God with all your heart and all your soul and all your mind.”
This means we need to exercise all spheres of our beings–body and soul–if we want to honor God. This means beefing up in areas we are weak in. [For me, that would be the creation account. What about you?]
This also means answering challenging questions–questions that may challenge our very allegiance…questions that come from both outside our camp–and sometimes from inside.
It’s not always easy. But it’s necessary. Especially if we want to develop a mature Christian mind–a mandate no Christian can avoid.
So tell me: You still love me? Give me your thoughts. Brutal and all.
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