The End of the World

I obviously don’t take the time to write much.  Here it is April and this is the first entry I have for this year!  According to Harold Camping of Family Radio, it may be close to my last. 

Camping is absolutely convinced that Jesus is returning on May 21, 2011 and the the world will end on October 21, 2011.  Thus, on May 21, according to their own tract “THE END OF THE WORLD IS ALMOST HERE!  HOLY GOD WILL BRING JUDGMENT DAY ON MAY 21, 2011”. 

This is phenomenal.  The fact this this man and many of his minions and listeners fully embrace this is absolutely incredible.  If I was certain that Jesus was returning on May 21st, I would probably quit my job and simply go around warning people.  Think about it – if you miss it, you will be lost for all eternity.  As a Christian – which I am – this would be the paramount issue of history, hinged of course, on the core of the Christian faith: the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Now, this is NOT the first time Mr. Camping  - who is wrong about the end of the world and is what we call in the Christian community a false prophet, a heretic, or simply crazy – has done this sort of thing.  Back in 1994 he also predicted the end of the world.  Obviously, he was wrong.  He admits it!  He simply states that he didn’t have all the facts – God had not finished revealing things yet.  Thus, he builds in an escape clause again.  However, this time, there is no excuse.  He is boldly proclaiming that May 21st is it and leading untold thousands to false belief. In the FAQ regarding this date, it states, “THE GREAT AMOUNT OF BIBLICAL SIGNS AND PROOFS ABSOLUTELY GUARANTEE THAT JUDGMENT DAY WILL BEGIN ON MAY 21st THIS YEAR.” (emphasis mine).

 

Camping states the following will occur on May 21st – just a little over one month from now:  (1) a great earthquake such as not since men were upon the earth. (2) ALL graves will open and dead Christians will instantly be raised and their bodies will be transformed into glorified bodies. (3) the world will be thrown into horror and chaos beyond description where people will die every day.   No numbers are given – but I supposed that the daily death rate will be millions as opposed to the current daily death rate of  just under 160 thousand world-wide (from “2010 World Population Data Sheet”)

OK, so Camping and his team are committed.  What then will happen on May 22nd?  Will he be removed from office?  Will his people commit mass suicide?  Will he die from a broken heart?  I have no idea why this 89 year old man is doing this.  Is he possessed by Satan to “deceive even the elect” as Jesus said would happen (Matt 24:24)? 

I am convinced that Jesus will NOT come back on may 21st or October 21st or probably not even in 2011 or 2012 so that mankind will NOT get any credit for knowing anything.  Of course, according to the faith, Jesus could come at any time – even as I write.  Thus, what Christians should be doing is trying to live a godly life, loving others, helping others, encouraging others to find faith, follow God, and do what is right, good, wholesome, and just.  And because we do not know when the end will come, we should be striving to live this way all the time.  I should NOT quit my job and go around warning people.  I should be warning people urgently, but in ways that convince them by honest discussion, the example of my life, and ultimately an expressed faith based on the scriptures. 

So, if you have been deceived by Harold Camping or any other false prophet, please hear me – do not listen to them.  Your hope is in Christ, not peoples ability to perfectly understand the scriptures – especially the more extreme, eccentric, mystical, and mysterious elements of the scriptures.  Stick with the honest plain meaning of the text and you will do well.  The honest and plain meaning teaches us to love others, trust God, love our families, work hard on our jobs, be passionately involved in the community of faith (the church), and yes to share our faith with a fallen world.   If you are a follower of Jesus Christ, doing this authentically, based on what we can easily understand from the Bible, is all that is called for by our Lord.

Complexities of Life and Christmas

I've been thinking.... During the last few days I have been confronted with how selfish I am as well as how selfish most people are. Generally, as human being we tend toward seeking comfort, pleasure and self preservation. My atheist friends would say these tendencies evolved over time through natural selection. As a man of faith, I am convinced that such tendencies are simply there because we are simply selfish.

During Christmas, many adults feel ashamed because they cannot give their children what others give to theirs. Some are depressed because they are alone. Yet, others are dealing with real issues. I am aware of a friend of mine, a former co-worker specifically, who is right now dying - this will probably be his last Christmas. I know of a 7 year little boy who may have his leg amputated. I know of a family of 8 who lost their mother this past fall - a single mother... where multiple fathers are involved, just to add to the complexity. And I'm sure we all know someone who is out of work, looking for job.

Life is complicated and Christmas and other such "holy days" can bring out the pain and the complexity in our lives. The part of this that is most sad to me is how so naturally selfish we are, especially many who claim the name of Christ, who act and feel just like the everyone else regarding some deep internal pain we feel to be valued, to feel useful, to feel important. If you are in Christ, as it is written, you are a new creation. If you belong to Christ, as it is written, then you are heirs according to a promise - heirs of an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. Yet, like a little child, we can't delay gratification because often (and in reality), that delay will take a life time and we simply want it now.

Life is complicated and we are selfish. Even though selfishness is antithetical to the dictates of the faith, we seem to not be able to stop the inner battles. Yet, there is hope. Many selfish people (self included) have learned to deny those tendencies enough to raise children, give to charities, or serve at a soup kitchen. If we deny the deep, internal desire to be selfish, we deceive ourselves but at least we don't have to always give in to the pressure to be self serving all the time. I would add that learning to master much of our internal desires - even those that
are legitimate such as the desire for food or sleep - is a sign of maturity. Just as God told Cain regarding his selfish jealousy that was about to take over, "it desires to have you, but you must rule over it".

In fact, ruling over our desires is necessary for a civil and functional society not to mention the local church. So when you put hundreds of individual selfish people together with an untold number of competing selfish desires, all with different levels of maturity and ability to master their desire, infused with the physical and emotional weaknesses and ailments that are common to man, you get great amounts of complexity. At Christmas I pray that I and others can overcome the tendencies to have our internal selfish desires further complicate and already complex situation.

The Gimmies at Christmas

Christmas is a season where children get all excited about the gifts and toys they will receive. I'm glad my culture has a time when people at least think about giving to others, donating money, helping the less fortunate, etc. It's a bonus (and I guess historically, we can thank the Roman Catholic Church for this) the focus of the season is Jesus Christ - the central figure of my faith. Albeit, most people don't really buy into the faith (see my previous post).

My children are not different than I was as a child... they have a case of the gimmies. For the older one, she wants to be more independent and to be able to escape into her own world, thus she wants a Face Book account, a new phone, and an MP3 player with a the video part. My son, who is only 8, just wants toys - primarily one of those really cool Nerf guns that can shoot like a bazillion little Nerf bullets! (Ok, I think I really want that for myself!)

So, for all who find this blog, we can understand the gimmies, but I want to encourage us to try to teach and practice the art of giving. I really like the Berenstain Bears take on the gimmies. Here's a little Youtube video that help us keep generosity, sharing, and giving in mind! Just click the link below or the picture above.

The Berenstain Bears Get The Gimmies

Why Christianity Is HARD!

Aside from the myriad of theological topics that are very important when it comes to Christianity, the most difficult part of the faith is actually living it when things don't go your way. Most people THINK their issue is theological, but in reality, when people leave churches, it is primarily based on relationships that go sour.

The reason Christianity is so hard is because the core of the faith REQUIRES forgiveness but when you are hurt, angry or scared, it is difficult or may even feel impossible to forgive. Living Christianity in relationship with other people requires two things:

1. Radical forgiveness, coupled with
   
2. Appropriate self-protection

These two ideas seem antithetical but they are the bedrock, Biblical basis for the ONLY WAY Christians can actually love each other. We do this with our families, and it should be done in the church as well.

First Radical Forgiveness.
Jesus Christ and his death on the cross is the model of forgiveness and the Bible actually tells the faithful to love other Christians. Why did he die on the cross? This is the "crux" of the matter, the core of the faith. Ultimately, the only way for a human being to go to heaven is to be forgiven of his or her sins. According to the faith, there is only one way to do this - faith, through the blood of Jesus Christ. Now, we are called to forgive and many scriptures talk about it. I love this video because it epitomizes this kind of forgiveness.

You see, love is supposed to be patient, kind, content, modest, humble, selfless, slow to anger, protects others, is always trusting & hoping in others, and ultimately - regarding our topic - LOVE keeps no record of wrongs. But when feel betrayed, lied to, or otherwise mistreated by a member of the church, it is hard to let it go. Ultimately, if you are ANGRY and leaving a church, ask yourself - is this really about you not being able to forgive some sinful, broken, lying, cheating sinner who happens to be a member, or even worse, a leader, in your church? Guess what, radical forgiveness and true humility means that you also realize that you are also a sinful, broken, lying, cheating sinner! Otherwise, you wouldn't need the blood of Christ in order to be righteous. (See Romans 5:6-11) This is deep theology which Christians can not afford to ignore. There are tons of passages on forgiveness,

Second, Appropriate self-protection
I couldn't think of a good way to describe this accept for self-protection. However, this is not accurate. It's not self-protection, but more about healthy boundaries based on the absolute truth - as best as one can figure it out. For example, a physically abusive father or husband should not be tolerated but FORCED to stop his physical attacks. Bruising and beating children and wife, leaving broken skin or broken bones and black eyes is simply NOT to be accepted. It is not radical forgiveness that tolerates such behavior, it is a major lack of healthy boundaries, mixed with fear, shame, confusion, hopelessness, helplessness, and many other feelings. These feelings are then expressed through a lack of empowerment and a lack of action. In Christ, we have the power - that is, the strength, to leave the house, and take the children.

But another example might be that young girl, Rachael Scott, killed in the 1999 Columbine High incident. No one knows if the exchange between her and the killers actually took place where she is purported to have been shot in the leg and then asked if she still believed in God, to which she responded, "yes" and was then shot in the head. This may be legend or folklore but the principle is clearly communicated. Do not compromise your faith or integrity even if it means you will be hurt, abused, or killed. This same principle is echoed in American culture by movies such as the Silver Surfer who eventually was willing to die to stop the planet destroyer from continuing his heartless annihilation of entire worlds. Of course, soldiers on the battle field live and die by this principle more often than the rest of us. First responders also reflect this ideal.

The scriptures show Jesus living this principle by slipping away a number of times when the crowds were coming to seize or kill him because it was not time for his death. See John 7:30, 44, 8:20, and 10:39. Paul escaped death once by being let down through a window (See 2 Corinthians 11:32-33).


Concluding Remarks
The point here is this: We are called to be radical regarding our love for each other, especially forgiveness. All men will know you are my disciples by the love you have for each other. This love requires constant forgiveness. It is difficult to live this way when we are hurt, feel attacked, feel betrayed, or have experienced some other emotional pain which you perceive is caused by another person. However, I implore anyone who claims the name of Christ - stop fighting over things that ultimately will not matter in eternity. The real enemy is not other church members or church leaders... the real enemies are from Hell, not from earth.

Finally, if anyone I know personally feels hurt, discouraged, or attacked by me, feel free to call. Let's work it out, especially if we are member of the same congregation.

Being Good or Being Bad

How does one actually live a good, wholesome, positive, loving, giving, honest life? As a Christian, the primary motive for doing so is because we SHOULD allow God, his Spirit, his Word, and the spiritually mature in the church – as a Christian we should allow these things to actually change our nature, our heart, our desires. We become, as the scriptures put it, sanctified or set-apart for a godly life and a godly purpose. It has, from a Christian perspective, eternal consequences.

Other faith systems as well as misdirected “Christian” faith systems are motivated by avoiding hell, or avoiding punishment from the Devine being, or strictly by gaining rewards from the All Mighty. However, authentic Biblical Christianity promotes a character change from the inside out because God changes us. As it is written, “I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.” (Heb 8:10 – referring to Jeremiah 31:33-34). For the record, from an atheistic perspective, the motive for being good (and I won’t get into definitions here – just accept the general understanding of good verses evil) is some type of system of mutual benefit. That is, if most people are good, society and mankind will prosper… until the sun burns out… but that’s for another discussion.

The question then is this: how does God actually change us from the inside out so that we become inherently good and not bad by default – the way we are naturally? (By the way, non-Christians would not accept the idea of humans being naturally bad, and indeed, most people don’t like this idea at all!). Spiritually speaking there are only two ways this kind of change takes place: (1) Super Natural Change; and (2) Natural Change.

Supernatural Change is awesome and striking – it is when God literally takes away a bad or sinful behavior instantaneously. This is especially amazing if you know the before and after person on a personal level. For example, after a person believes and is baptized – according to the scriptures, they immediately stop using profanity, end and never look back on an illicit sexual relationship, or stop being angry or hateful or mean spirited, or instantly become brave and confident - no longer a coward. God has done this in the past and will do it again in the future for His own purpose and pleasure. However, blatant supernatural change is not normative or common. Even the scriptures have more natural events than supernatural, albeit, a great deal of supernatural events occurs in the written word – both Old and New Testament…. But most of the events and situations, especially from perspective of the rank-and-file populace referenced in scripture, are natural events.

Thus, Natural Change is what God calls for. I do believe, and the scriptures states, that God’s Spirit helps us even want to change as well as help us along with the changes, but the effort and practices that bring about the change are natural. (Thus, for the record, the only noticeable difference between the Christian and the atheist when it comes to being an inherently good person verses bad is the motive… but I digress.) To change from bad to good, from normal human to godly saint in behavior takes self disciple, hard work, conscious and proactive decisions, wise counsel, and a lot of effort. Yes, we must work in order to change from being bad to being good. Simply check out any of the following passages and see that effort, training, and old-fashioned hard work is required for the Christian to change from being bad to good: Luke 13:24, Romans 14:19, Hebrews 12:14, 2 Peter 1:5-7, 2 Peter 1:10, Philippians 2:12, Gal 5:23, 1 Timothy 3:2-3, Titus 2:2-5, 1 Corinthians 9:24-27, Col 2:5, 2 Timothy 1:7, 2 Timothy 4:7, Eph 6:4, 2 Tim 3:16-17. 2 Time 2:15).

Now, because bad is defined as sin in the scriptures, the things we train ourselves and discipline ourselves to change may not fit in with the broader society. If you fully buy into a Biblical world view, then certain sexual practices would be off-limits no matter what society says. Certain types of entertainment and the overt pursuit of wealth for the sake of being wealthy or hording wealth – i.e. greed – would also be considered off limits.

In addition, the training would look funny or strange to the broader society. If you are in training with a coach for any major skill, the practice sessions and drills will look funny to everyone NOT in that kind of training. The Karate Kids “wax on, wax off” comes to mind. Training and discipline is also individualized because people have different abilities. For example, below is a list of things that I learned (some editing on my part) that many Christians have actually done in order to foster training and self control, specifically dealing with pornography and other sexual sin, but the principles can be used to help us change from any bad behavior or habit into a good behavior or habit:

1. Counseling with pastor
2. Burned all pornographic magazines
3. Called spouse from hotel to ensure avoidance of sin
4. Changed jobs
5. Changed stores they shop, for example, where pornography was not available
6. Confessed to spouse, asked for assistance
7. Cut off all Internet access
8. Cut off relationships that promoted sin
9. Cut up video store rental cards
10. Drove a different route to work to avoid areas of temptation
11. Installed Internet Filter software (such as Safe Eyes) and had override password controlled by some other person.
12. Locked up the VCR and gave the key to a family member
13. Moved out of current residence where sinful, harmful activated was embraced (e.g. Moves out when roommates live a life of drinking, profanity, viewing pornography, using/abusing/taking advantage of women & boasting about it, etc…)
14. Moved the computer from a private to a very public place
15. Moved to a different city
16. Reformatted hard drives
17. Refused to go out of town except with spouse
18. Refused to go where temptation has been strong
19. Refused to take cash or credit cards with them – avoids the ability to buy/pay for sinful things
20. Removed cable TV from home
21. Removed TV from home and/or hotel room
22. Slept with clothes on to help break an addition to masturbation
23. Slept with curtains open in bunkroom to avoid privacy
24. Spent all night in prayer, begging God for grace to overcome
25. Started going to church each week.
26. Started working with an accountability partner
27. Stopped counseling with counselors who don't accept the Biblical definitions of good and bad
    
28. Threw pornographic disks in the lake

No training or discipline should be used forever. Once the skill or ability is mastered, the training wheels can come off. I know of a man who had beat the struggle with pornography and sexual sin. One day years after his own victory, he saw a fellow church member going into an x-rated movie. This man, no longer trapped by such temptation, purchased a ticket, went in, found his fellow congregant, sat next to him, and quietly whispered, “what are we doing in here?”. They left together and he was able to help his brother and friend start to dig out of a damaging and destructive practice.

Once a behavior or skill or practice is mastered due to training and discipline, as Christians, we must continue to exercise. Just like in professional sports, training in the basics is always needed and fitness training days in the weight room are absolutely essential, we can’t simply stop "working out". It takes a lifetime of natural effort to become supernaturally holy, godly, and righteous. As Paul told Timothy regarding being deceived by words or ideas that are myths, “Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives’ tales; rather, train yourself to be godly”. (1 Tim 4:7)

Finally, we are all the same – public and private figures alike, the famous and the unknown all do bad things. This fact is consistent with the Biblical record’s witness regarding humanity. A sampling of the political powerful over the years include:

My own Prince Georges County Executive Jack Johnsons recent arrest for breaking the law due to greed; Congressman Charlie Rangel (D, NY) problems due to hypocritical ethics – not paying taxes; Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky, amongst many others of Mr. Clintons sexual improprieties; Grover Cleveland fathered an illegitimate son with a widow named Maria Halpin – 1884; William Lorimer Senator (R-IL) expelled from the Senate in 1912 for accepting bribes; Rep Wilbur Mills found with a stripper named Annabella Battistella in 1974; Dan Crane (R-Ill.) had sex with a 17 year old congressional page – 1983; Gerry Studds (D-Mass) had sex with a 17 year old male congressional page... Yes, Mr. Studds admitted that he was gay – 1974; Mel Reynolds (D-Ill.) pressured sex from a 16 year old girl and was convicted for solicitation of child pornography among other things – 1994; etc…. there are hundreds more!

Of course, it’s not just the political but there are many financial giants like Jack Abramoff and Bernie Madoff who lie, cheat, and steal for greed and wealth. There are also millions of unknown people who cheat on their wives, are greedy hurtful people who are in small positions of authority. There are those with no authority at all accept over a child whom they damage because of their own "Badness". These folk harm people, they cause pain and suffering because of their own pride and arrogance mixed with human frailty and weakness, and so they sin and they fall and they cause pain. Greed and selfishness, uncontrolled passion, and unfulfilled desires that run out of control cause a great deal of harm. Being human “aint all it’s cracked up to be”! (Of course, I'm leaving out the spiritually deceived who kill and murder people "for God" that's for another time.)

Yet, all of this can be avoided if a person who claims to be a Christian would simply begin to take it seriously and actually start to change from the inside out by working hard and avoiding sin and becoming godly. I simply pray that I never give in to my own base temptations but I too, make every effort to be found spotless and blameless and at peace with God (2 Peter 3:14).

A Day at Home with Superman

One of my children was not doing well this morning - I think it's a 24 hour stomach flu or something like that. Unfortunately, this required that I stay home from work today. In my time off, I was going through some old email notes and ran across the following quote:

Superman isn’t brave. He is indestructible, indestructible people can’t be brave. It’s normal people who know that they can be crushed, but do it anyway, who are truly brave.

— ANGUS

I really like the quote - it captures something that I believe is an absolute truth. Of course, proverbs and pithy statements of truth need qualifiers, but the essence of what is being communicated in many such quotes is really good information.

The quote got me thinking and as a Christian, I wanted to add to one's ability to act even though they know they could be crushed a few additional ingredients, namely (1) true humility; (2) genuine selflessness; (3) authentic faith in God through Jesus Christ; and (4) a general dispostion toward being realistic and yet optimistic. The order is not important but the ideals are. The quote just made me think and as I live, I pray that I can become more and more a man who reflects these ideals. I have a very long way to go - to be sure, I am very much a coward in many areas of life. Yet, the quote made me think and I invite you (if you are reading this) to feel free to ask me how it's going on my own life journey.

Another Fall Opening

I just received a text message (a sign of the technology of the times) from Michelle's cousin who just dropped his daughter off for her senior year at Davis and Elkins College. Yes... it's that time of year again!

Tomorrow is the first day of classes at the University of Maryland, College Park. There is a lot of changes in personnel: New university president, new asst VP in Student Affairs, new director of the Stamp Union, and I'm sure there are similar changes all over the campus in the academic units.

For me - I just want to make sure all the students can use their dining plans in the computer systems I oversee. I'm grateful for IT staff, especially the one programmer who ensures that all of the dining plan data gets downloaded and setup into our system.....

However, the start up of the semester makes me think of the mindset and capabilities of this new group of freshman. They are legally adults, but as my supervisor just mentioned, she was dealing with a letter from a student, but it was really from the students mother! At the counter or on the phone, there are many of these young people who are clearly not as independent as a parent might hope when they drop them off on campus.

Learning to be independent is apparently not that easy. I remember feeling independent but having no way to actually cover my expenses. Even so, I rarely felt incapable of functioning when I was 19 or 20 years. Although I didn't know it at the time, I really had no idea what I was doing.

But I could and did reason about matters of faith. I considered what truth was and what it was not. Yet, I am not sure the students of today can grasp the idea of truth - for many, truth is not achievable, or at best it is up to the individual - that is, truth is relative.

I know that these not-so-independent young people will learn about certain elements of truth - right and wrong on an exam for example. But I hope they can translate this into the realm of ultimate reality - it is either no God, and all that it would mean for that to be TRUE, or one has to choose wisely the universe explained by one of a number of faith systems. They can not all be TRUE. I simply hope that - and will do my best to help - today's college students will be savvy enough to realize that whatever metaphysical reality they choose, that it actually reflects the real world morally, physically, spiritually, and intellectually.