Christianity 101

Does the Bible bore you?

Christianity 101 — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 23:04:58 -0800

The Bible is the most remarkable book ever written, read by more people than any other book by a mile, and yet if you're completely honest, you'd have to admit that at times the Bible bores you. We'll admit it. There are times when we read the Bible out of obligation rather than from a heart of expectation. Why is that? Why do we sometimes get bored when we read the Bible?

We've thought about this and have a theory. See what you think. Our theory starts with the fact that we humans are a self-centered bunch. We're always looking for our own best interests, doing things that make us feel better, and basically orienting everything we do around us, including the Bible. Even as followers of Christ, we live as if we're the center of the universe, and so the Bible becomes just one more thing to add to our lives, like a self-help book.

But God is the center of the universe, not us, and the Bible is His personal message to us. By reading it, we can find out what God has said throughout history and what He is saying to us right now so we can orient our lives--our habits, behaviors, morality, and our beliefs--around the Bible.

Approaching the Bible this way does have a downside. It puts you in direct conflict with the story of the world. You see, the story of the Bible features an immortal, immaterial, eternal, and perfectly just and holy God who has reached out to a fallen humanity through the person and work of Jesus Christ.

By contrast, the story of the world is self-focused and human centered. Meaning and fulfillment is found in individal effort and achievement. Salvation isn't needed because we aren't that bad off. The meaning of life hinges on the meaning you bringto it through your own deeds.

Because this way of thinking has so permeated the mindset of humanity, including many Christians, our default setting is to bring all of our interests, passions, and skills to our relationship with God and our reading of the Bible. We are so caught up in what we want to achieve and become that we hope God will bless what we are doing. But again, this is backward. Mike Erre explains the right way of approaching our relationship with God:

We exist to discover how to get on board with God's program, not the other way around. your life will never be a success if you spend all of your time and energy trying to figure out how Christianity can help you (Why the Bible Matters, 133).

If you have found the Bible to be boring and irrelevant to your life, it's likely that you have been trying to fit the grand story of the Bible into your own world. Don't get us wrong. Your world is meaningful and important, and it's important to God. But rather than wondering why God doesn't pay more attention to you, try taking on the attitude of King David, who had every reason to brag about his accomplishments, but instead saw himself correctly in comparison to the great creator God.

When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is humankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them? (Psalm 8:3-4).

Just as the universe is not about you, the Bible is not about you. The Bible is about God. But it was written by God for you, that you may understand who God is, believe that He wants to have a relationship with you, and trust Him with your life--both now and forever.

There's nothing boring about that. Just the opposite. When you fit your story into God's story, the Bible can become the most interesting, fascinating, utterly fulfilling book you can ever read. Ever.

What Hell Is Not

Christianity 101 — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 12:20:55 -0800

There's no hotter topic right now than hell, thanks to a firestorm ignited by a book that hasn't even been published yet. First came a video and some marketing copy produced by HarperCollins about Love Wins, a new book about "Heaven, Hell, and the Fate of Every Person Who Every Lived," coming from Rob Bell at the end of the month.

Then came a blog by Justin Taylor about the video and the marketing copy. Taylor, who is VP of Editorial at Crossway Publishers, pretty much concluded that Rob Bell is a "universalist" when it comes to salvation (in other words, everybody's going to heaven).Well, that got a lot of people talking, some defending Rob Bell, and others decrying him. (There's a good recap of the activity swirling around this topic at ChristianityToday.com.)

There's no question this is a controversial topic, one that North Park University Professor Scot McKnight says "is the biggest issue facing evangelicalism today." So what is the issue? Basically, it's whether or not a loving God is going to send people to hell.

Of course, at the heart of this issue is the perception by most people that hell is lake of fire where people who have not accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior will burn for eternity. And many people can't imagine God being that cruel. But what if that's not what hell is? What if hell is something much different than what many of us have been taught?

However we understand hell--and let's face it, since none of us has been there, nobody really knows what it will be like--we need to acknowledge that the topic is fairly prominent in the Scriptures, and the person who talks about it the most is Jesus. In his parables, Jesus uses various terms to describe what seems to be hell: a place of outer darkness (Matt. 8:12); a fiery furnace where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth (Matt. 25:41); and eternal punishment (Matt. 25:46).

And then you have these graphic descriptions by John in Revelation: the bottomless pit (9:1); a huge furnace (9:2); fire and burning sulfur (14:10); no relief day or night (14:11); the fiery lake of burning sulfur (21:8); and the second death (21:8).

Sounds pretty grim. Can you blame people for shying away from the topic of hell, especially people who struggle with a God who seems to allow suffering and evil in this life? That's bad enough, but it pales in comparison to a God who is evidently (if we take this stuff literally) going to torture people in hell forever in the next life.

We think what's needed is a truly biblical perspective (not one offered by those classic "fire and brimstone" preachers who used to scare sinners into buying an eternal fire insurance policy). Thanks to the current conversations going on, there are some timely resources you can check out right now, including a piece by Tim Keller, author of A Reason for God, called "The Importance of Hell," along with another perspective offered by author and blogger Jason Boyett.

A couple of years ago we wrote a book called Evidence for Faith, and one of the chapters was on Heaven and Hell. We drew a lot of content from the thinking of the eminent philosopher J.P. Moreland, who teaches philosophy at Talbot School of Theology. Dr. Moreland has done a lot of thinking on the subject of hell. We like his thoughts on what hell is not.

Hell is not a torture chamber. Moreland maintains that hell is a punishment, not a place of punishing. It's not torture. The punishment of hell is separation from God, bringing shame, anguish, and terrible regret. Because we will have both body and soul in the resurrected state, the misery people will experience in hell will be both mental and physical. Moreland says: "The pain that's suffered will be due to the sorrow from the final, ultimate, unending banishment from God, his kingdom, and the good life for which we were created in the first place. People in hell will deeply grieve for all they've lost."

Hell is not a place of fire. No doubt this is a controversial statement for some, and while no one can know for sure, Moreland does make a pretty good case. Clearly Jesus and John used fire to describe hell. But how could hell be both a place of "outer darkness" and "eternal fire"? Fire would light things up! Okay, if the fire isn't literal, then what does it symbolize? In Scripture, fire and flames are an image for God's judgment. In Revelation, John writes of the "Word of God," who will come with eyes like "flames of fire" and a sharp sword coming out of his mouth (Rev. 19:11-15). The flames stand for Christ coming in judgment. In Hebrews 12:29, God is called a "devouring fire," but that doesn't mean he is literally made of fire (come to think of it, God isn't made of anything physical). The fire is an image for God's judgment.

So if hell isn't a place of torture or a place of fire, then what is it? Well, even if you take away these descriptions that people have used through the ages to portray hell, you still have a terrible place. Maybe not a place like a dungeon or a lake of fire, but a place in the sense that it will be a part of the universe where people will be cut off from that glorious place where God and his people will be in blissful harmony. Moreland believes that the reason Jesus used the image of people gnashing their teeth in hell is that people will be in a state of anger and anguish, realizing what a great loss they are suffering.

Before we get angry at God for creating a place like hell--regardless of how you view it--we need to keep in mind that hell was not part of God's original creation. Hell was something God had to create because people chose to rebel against him, and it saddens him. There are two places in Scripture where we see this. The first occurs before Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem, where Jesus weeps even as he is pronouncing judgment because the city did not accept its opportunity for salvation (Luke 19:44). Another place where we see God's heart for the lost is in Peter's letter to the persecuted church.

Peter writes that God is being patient with us because he doesn't want anyone to perish (2 Peter 3:9). But someday, Peter continues, God's patience will run out, and the "day of the Lord will come as unexpectedly as a thief."

What are your thoughts about the subject? What have you been taught about hell? What do you believe now? Do you agree with Scot McKnight that this is the biggest issue facing evangelicalism today? What questions do you have about hell...or heaven for that matter?

Is "Cult" a Four-Letter Word?

Christianity 101 — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 16:54:52 -0700

Mormonism is in the news these days, thanks to Glenn Beck, the highest profile Mormon since American Idol runner-up David Archuleta. Beck's rise to fame has come as a conservative radio and television talk show host and best-selling author, and most recently as a speechmaker for the Tea Party.

His call at a rally on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial for America to turn to God has conservatives and Christians in a lather. Does Glenn Beck speak for America? More crucially, does Glenn Beck speak for God and Christians?

In the interest of bringing clarity to the conversation, we thought it would be useful to do a couple of things. First, since Mormonism is often referred to as a "cult" (a word that sounds pejorative and mean-spirited), we want to explore with you just exactly what a cult is. In a subsequent post, we will outline some of the distinctives of Mormonism so you can answer the "Is Mormonism a cult?" question for yourself.

The word cult comes from the Latin word cultus. Its original definition referred to members of an organization who cared about the same things. The English word culture is derived from the same Latin word.

When used in a religious context, cult defines a group that holds certain ideas and practices in common, but the specifics of its beliefs are either so new or so different that they take it beyond the religion from which it started.

Theologians R.C. Sproul and Tim Couch have identified ten characteristics that typically distinguish groups that fit into the category of a cult. Here is their list, along with our brief explanations.

1. An abrupt break with historic Christianity and its confessions. Cults usually view historical Christianity as being off base until their founder came along to straighten things out.

2. Autosotericism. This is theological lingo for "self-salvation." Cults usually specify that salvation is obtained by following certain rules and regulations specified by the cult.

3. A deficient Christiantiy. Christianity is premised on the belief that Jesus is God; if he is something less than God, then salvation by his death on the cross wouldn't work. Cults, however, take a lesser view of Christ. They might admire Jesus and view him as greater than a human, but they don't consider him as the one true God.

4. Syncretism. This is more theological jargon that simply means the blending of different elements from several religions into one synthiesized belief system.

5. An emphasis on their own distinctives. Rather than stressing the major doctrinal points of Christianity, a cult will put disproportionate emphasis on its distinguishing doctrines. Those beliefs that orthodox Christianity considers to be essential take a backseat to the cult's unique characteristics.

6. Perfectionism. Most cults teach that it is possible for a human to be perfect, a doctrine that flies in the face of Christianity's view that humans are sinful and can never achieve God's standard of perfection. Moral perfection is usually attainable by following the cult's prescribed conduct (doing some things and abstaining from others), and by adhering to the teachings of the cult's fonder and leaders.

7. An extrabiblical source of authority. While many cults recognize the Bible as a sacred piece of literature, they have additional holy books. The other writings usually take precedence over the Bible (or at least they give the authoritative interpretation of the Bible). If there is a conflict between the two, the Bible comes in second place.

8. A belief in exclusive community salvation. A cult teaches that it is the only true church. Unless you believe all of its teachings, you won't be saved. In contrast, a sect of traditional Christianity won't claim exclusive rights to salvation. Most denominational differences don't pertain to the qualifications for salvation. According to the prevailing Christian viewpoint, joining a particular denomination is not a prerequisite to get to heaven. For most cults, however, you won't make it unless you are one of their members.

9. A preoccupation with eschatology. Eschatology is the study of the end of the world. In the perspective of the timeline of Christiantiy, most of the popular cults are fairly new, having been founded in the last 200 years or so. Cults often explain that their founder brought the last word from God to prepare mankind for the end of the world. With this perspective, cults often emphasize urgency concerning the end times.

10. Esotericism. Something is esoteric if it is beyond the knowledge of most people and understood by only a select group of individuals. This is what separates cults from traditional Christianity. Each cult claims that its founder and/or leaders have access to special truth that was previously hidden and is unavailable to everyone else.

In our next post, we will list the distinctives of Mormonism.

Can things get any worse?

Christianity 101 — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 11:42:14 -0700

These are tough days for optimists and humanists. For optimists, it's tough to stay positive because of all the junk going on in the world: there's trouble in the Middle East, our economy continues to teeter precariously, the Gulf oil disaster is out of control, and Al and Tipper Gore are separating after 40 years of marriage. If this can happen, is there any hope for the rest of us?

For the humanist, it's discouraging for many of the same reasons, but the frustration comes not so much from the problems in the world as it does from our inability to solve them. The worse things seem to get, the more it seems we are not in control, and that just frustrates the heck out of anyone who puts their trust in humankind.

Even our technology, which is supposed to be the savior of the world (okay, maybe only Steve Jobs thinks that, but you get the idea), has us spooked. Nevermind that we can't fix the Gulf oil leak. What about Facebook? Talk about losing control. Even though Facebook has tried to assure its nearly half a billion users that they have nothing to fear, a lot of people are concerned that the social media giant knows way too much about us. "People actually use Facebook like it's crack," said one 24-year old social-media savvy user. "So I don't see what the next step is aside from world domination."

Ah yes, world domination, that age old scenario involving a man or entity or country dominating the world is once again raising its ugly head. Forty years ago, when Hal Lindsey was selling a bajillion copies of The Late Great Planet Earth, a lot of Christians were convinced that the Soviet Union (later dubbed the "evil empire" by President Ronald Reagan) was going to take over the world, attack Israel, and bring about Armageddon.

Now, forty years later, a new generation of Christian doomsdayers are proclaiming Islam as the new global menace intent on doing exactly what the Soviets were supposedly going to do--take over the world, attack Israel, and bring about Armageddon.

So where does that leave the rest of us who try are trying live calmly and productively somewhere in the realm between hysteria and bliss, trusting God, following Christ, and just trying to do what the Bible says? In the words of Francis Shaeffer, "How should we then live?"

Fortunately, none other than Jesus himself has given us some guidelines, and they're pretty basic. They fall into three categories: Be ready, be wise, and be watchful.

Be ready. You never know what's going to happen to the world. All it takes is a lunatic dictator with a nuclear weapon and--voila--World War III. And even if this lunatic doesn't push the Big Button, we need to be ready on a personal level. You never know when you're going to step off the curb and be run over by the proverbial beer truck. As the Bible says:

How do you know what will happen tomorrow? For your life is like the morning fog--it's here a little while, then it's gone (James 4:14).

Be wise. Don't fear tomorrow, but be aware of what God has planned for the future. His future plans might be a little fuzzy in the details, but the big picture is pretty clear. At the same time, don't spend your time trying to make predictions. Do what the apostle Paul advises and focus on what God wants you to do:

So be careful how you live, not as fools, but as those who are wise. Make the most of every opportunity for doing good in these evil days. Don't act thoughtlessly, but try to understand what the Lord wants you to do (Ephesians 5:15-17).

Be watchful. Keeping watch over something means guarding it against intruders. This applies to your house and your heart. Just as you wouldn't want a thief to sneak into your house when you're sleeping, you don't want the world to end when (and make no mistake, it will end) when you're spiritually sleeping. Jesus was very specific on this subject:

Watch out! Don't let me find you living in careless ease and drunkenness, and filled with the worries of this life. Don't let that day catch you unaware, as in a trap. For that day will come upon everyone living on the earth. Keep constant watch. And pray that, if possible, you may escape these horrors and stand before the Son of Man (Luke 21:43-36).

If that sounds kind of serious, well, it is. But Jesus doesn't intend for us to panic. He wants us to trust him. We may not be in control, but God is. He knows the future (in fact, he's the only one who knows the future), and he knows what we need to get there. All God asks is that we make him our top priority. Jesus summarizes it perfectly:

Your heavenly Father already knows all your needs, and he will give you all you need from day to day if you live for him and make the Kingdom of God your primary concern (Matthew 6:32,33).

So even if things do get worse (and they probably will), it's not panic time. It's trusting time, and it's time to be ready, wise, and watchful.

Tiger's Opportunity

Christianity 101 — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 20:29:11 -0800

Ever wonder how to start a conversation about God with someone who, you know, doesn't believe? It used to be known as "witnessing" or "sharing your faith." These activities seem so 20th century, so Campus Crusade-ish. Nowadays most Christians prefer to talk about God in a way that is more about water cool conversation than door-to-door proselytizing.

We're fine with that. In fact, we think it's a much better way to go. Sure worked for Jesus. When people like Nicodemus, the woman at the well, and the rich young ruler asked him questions, Jesus didn't twist any arms. He conversed, asked questions, left them wanting more.

The thing with this preferred method is to find those cultural touch points that most people can identify with or at least know about, and then develop the art of asking really good questions with the intention of engaging in conversations about the bigger spiritual issues at stake.

For example, when the Haiti earthquake struck, it didn't take long for one of the biggest spiritual questions of all to surface: How could a loving God allow such a horrible tragedy? To be sure, it's a tough question with no easy answer, but it is a terrific way to start a conversation about God.

On a much different scale, but strangely enough with almost as much media attention, we now have another cultural touch point that presents a wonderful oppportunity to talk about some pretty important spiritual issues. Of course, we're talking about the Tiger Woods mea culpa.

Whether the 13-minute statement was contrived or genuine really doesn't matter. Tiger's confession, no matter who wrote it, contained three of the grandest themes in all of Christendom: repentance, forgiveness, and redemption. How these themes play out on a human level in Tiger's life is probably none of our business. But on the grander cosmic stage, these theological concepts--and make no mistake, that's what they are--have enormous significance for all people, no matter who they are or where they are in life.

Under normal circumstances, it would be difficult and perhaps even awkward to bring them up in a casual conversation:

So, Joe, have you ever thought about what it means to repent of your sins and ask forgiveness so you can be redeemed?

That just doesn't fly with Joe, not unless you're a street preacher, and then you'd just be confirming in Joe's mind that Christians are nut jobs. No, it's much easier to start a conversation in the context of a familiar cultural event such as the one now before us:

So, Joe, what did you think of Tiger's confession? Do you think he deserves forgiveness? What are his chances to get back in the good graces of the public and, more importantly, his wife and kids?

If Joe is a thoughtful person, he will gladly give you a response. in fact, it's likely Joe has already been thinking about what it all means.

Even as we pray for Tiger (something we should be doing), we need to thank him for this opportunity to openly and rather effortlessly talk about some things that really matter to God.

God's Gift-love

Christianity 101 — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 18:57:56 -0800

The love of a man for a woman (or a woman for a man) can be of the noblest sort, and to those two people it may be the greatest thing of all. But what about the love of a man for a dog, a car, or a sandwich? Are those noble loves? Of course not. Those are what C.S. Lewis describes as "Need-loves," as in "I don't have any friends, so I need a dog," or "I need to be seen in this car," or "Right now I need a sandwich."

There's nothing wrong with loving something you need. Most close relationships are based on Need-love. We need the companionship, the warmth, and the love of other people, so we reach out in love. "Our whole being by its very nature is one of vast need," Lewis writes. Even our love for God is based on our need to be connected with the Creator of the universe, who himself is love.

And what about God? What about God's love? Does he need us to love him? No, God's love is of a different sort. It's what Lewis describes as "Gift-love." Because God is love, he can't help but give his love to us, his created beings. He isn't motivated by our lovable natures or our lovable acts (thank goodness). Rather, God is compelled by his own nature. It's always there, even when we don't recognize or acknowledge God's love gift.

God has given us many things that demonstrate his love. We have an incredible world to enjoy. We have life and bodies that function in amazing ways. We have beauty, goodness, and grace. And we have the gift of love itself, enabling us to engage in meaningful relationships. All of these things come from God's love, but none of them can match his greatest love gift of all: Jesus.

Jesus is the literal embodiment of love. For thirty-three years, he lived a life of love that is unsurpassed in human history. Before Jesus came to earth, no one had ever talked about love the way Jesus did. The Greek philosophers held up the virtures of ideal love, but Jesus talked about the value of practical love. We aren't just to love our friends. Jesus said we should love our enemies. The culture of the day taught a love of convenience and self-interest, but Jesus said we should go out of our way to love the unloveable and those in need.

Over and over Jesus expressed his love for people, and all he asked in return is that we love God and love one another. His actions and his words should have been enough to convince everyone that love is all you need. But Jesus had to take one more step to demonstrate the full extent and effect of his love for the world. Jesus had to give himself.

Jesus is where humanity's Need-love and God's Gift-love come together. Without Jesus, we can love, but our love is incomplete because it comes from us. With Jesus, we can love, and our love is complete because it comes from God.

Does God have a purpose for evil and suffering?

Christianity 101 — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 14:56:42 -0800

We will be the first to admit that we don't have some kind of special insight into the mind of God and know why he allows evil and suffering. We just believe that as a holy, loving, all-powerful, all-good, all-knowing God, he does have his reasons for allowing evil--both human and natural evil--to exist in our world and inflict the suffering it does. Here are some possible purposes God may have for allowing evil and the suffering it produces. See if you identify with one of more of these.

Suffering Can Make Us Stronger

You've no doubt heard the expression, "No pain, no gain." We're not trying to trivialize the nature of pain and suffering, but there's truth in that slogan. Something about hardship, difficulty and pain can sometimes strengthen us. Suffering and setbacks can also bring us closer as families, friend and communities. Dare we say, in the wake of the earthquake in Haite and its horrible aftermath, the global community has come together in extraordianary ways to provide relief on a massive scale. There's an incredible amount of work yet to do, but there is hope that Haiti and its people will one day be stronger.

Some Evil Helps Bring About Greater Good

There are many examples of this principle at work in Scripture. In one of his letters to the Corinthian church, the apostle Paul recounts the pain and suffering in his life, including a nagging "thorn" in his flesh, yet he knows that his troubles have made him stronger.

That's why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong (2 Cor. 12:10).

Joseph was sold into slavery by his own brothers and then suffered in prison after being falsely accused. But eventually he was elevated to a position of power and influence, and when he was finally reunited with his brothers, he uttered these immortal words:

You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good. He brought me to this position so I could save the lives of many people (Gen. 50:20).

And in the greatest example of pain and suffering bringing about greater good, Jesus suffered on the cross and died so that all who believe in him can have eternal life (John 3:16).

Suffering Can Point Us to God

Have you ever noticed that when things are going well, you have a tendency to drift away from God, and when things are going badly, you get closer to God? You would think that pain and suffering would drive us away from God--and for some people this happens. But most people, even hardened cynics, seem to seek God like never before when they are going through terrible suffering and unbearable grief. C.S. Lewis expresses this concept eloquently when he writes, "God whispters to us in our pleasures...but shouts in our pains: it is his megaphone to rouse a deaf world."

God Knows What It's Like to Suffer

We may feel like shaking our fists at God when something extraordinarily painful happens to the world or to us. The most natural question to ask is, where is God in all of it? On a global level, you want to know where God is in the Haiti earthquake. On a very personal level, you want to know where God is in your cancer, or your father's stroke, or your baby's birth defect. Or maybe you're going through a painful divorce, or you are at the end of your financial rope. Where is God when it hurts? Does God even care?

Yes, God cares, and he demonstrated just how much he cares when he sent Jesus to enter our world in the form of a human. Here is the text of a hymn sung by the early church that tells why Jesus came:

Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal's death on a cross (Phil. 2:6-8).

When we ask, Where is God when we suffer? we need only look to Christ, who suffered for us so that ultimately, in the life that follows this temporal existence, we won't have to suffer. Meanwhile, we live imperfectly in an imperfect and sometimes cruel world. And when we suffer, we can take comfort in knowing that we are "partners with Christ" in his suffering (1 Peter 4:13).

--Bruce & Stan

God With Us

Christianity 101 — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 16:20:42 -0800

"Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel (which means 'God is with us')."

One of the most important--if not the most important--question anyone can ask is this: "How does God relate to the world?" If you were to ask that question yo a random group of people, say at a mall or a public gathering of some kind, you would get all kinds of answers.

Some would say that God created the world, then withdrew--and isn't all that interested in what's going on. Others would say that God may have been powerful enough to make everything, but he certainly isn't strong enough to stop all the suffering and evil in the world. Still others would say that the question is irrelevant, because there's really no God anyway, although it's okay to believe in some sort of "cosmic power" if it helps you sleep at night.

If by chance there were someone in the crowd who really understood what the Bible says about God, and if this person were confident enough to give an answer that isn't all that popular these days, here's what you would hear: Jesus Christ.

Jesus is both the Christian answer and also the Christmas answer to the question, "How does God relate to the world?", because Jesus is God in human form. He is "the visible image of the invisible God" (Colossians 1:15). The theological term for the process of God taking on human form is incarnation, which comes from a Latin word meaning "taking" or "being flesh." In the Bible the concept of the incarnation is best expressed in John 1:14: "So the Word became human and made his home among us."

This verse, where Jesus is referred to as the living Word of God, also conveys the idea that God became a human so he could come to earth and live among us. That's the essence of the name give to Jesus by the prophet Isaiah: Immanuel, which means "God with us." What powerful words! John MacArthur has said, "If we condense all the truths of Christmas into only three words, these would be the words."

Imagine the Creator of the universe taking on human form--the form of a baby--so that he could be with us? It's not that we're all that great to be around. We make mistakes and say the wrong things. Some of us say nasty things about God, while others prefer to think he doesn't exist. As humans, we can be an unsavory bunch, yet the all-powerful, all-knowing, completely holy and faithful Creator willingly came in the form of a frail baby to hang out with us--literally to "pitch his tent" among us--so he could show us a better way to live.

Because of Jesus, we know that God is with us. We also know that God loves us and that God is for us. Even more, because Jesus is God, we have someone who can save us--because he lived a perfect life and became the perfect sacrifice for our sins.

Because Jesus is human, he can identify with our weaknesses. We don't have to worry that God is detached from our world, not caring about us. He knows what we are going through, and he is able to help us in our distress.

Excerpt from God Is in the Small Stuff at Christmas by Bruce Bickel and Stan Jantz

Made for another world

Christianity 101 — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 17:49:05 -0800

If you believe in an immortal and immaterial being beyond our ability to measure, it's not such a stretch to believe there is such a thing as immortaity. To put it another way, if you have good reasons to believe that an immortal God exists, then you also have good reasons to believe that immortality exists.

The arguments from God's existence (which we considered in our last column) are great if you already believe in God. But what if you don't buy into Christian theism? Or what if you just have doubts about an eternal life with God in heaven beyond this mortal life? Is there any empirical evidence for such a belief?

In their book, Beyond Death, J.P. Moreland and Gary Habermas consider several pieces of evidence, moving from experiential to philosophical to empirical evidence. In the category of experiential evidence for immortality, Moreland and Habermas cite documented cases of near death experiences (NDEs), such as the vivid description offered by Don Piper in his book, 90 Minutes in Heaven. Honestly, we're not big fans of this category of evidence because it's based on the experience of the person having the NDE.

Unlike the experiential evidence, the philosophical evidence offered by Moreland and Habermas is very compelling. It's called the argument from desire, and one of its greatest advocates is C.S. Lewis. According to Lewis, every person desires heaven, although that desire can be hidden.

If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world. if none of my earthly pleasures satisfy it, that does not prove that the universe is a fraud. Probably earthly pleasures were never meant to satisfy it, but only to arouse it, to suggest the real thing. If that is so, I must take care, on the one hand, never to despise, or be unthankful for, these earthly blessings, and on the other, never to mistake them for the something else of which they are only a copy, or echo, or mirage. I must keep alive in myself the desire for my true country, which I shall not find till after death; I must never let it get snowed under or turned aside; I must make it the main objective of life to press on to that other country and to help others do the same.

Moreland and Habermas add, "Sometimes we desire lesser, finite goods (such as beauty), but these are symbols of and pointers to the transtemporal, transfinite good that is our real destiny. The desire for heaven is a desire that no natural happiness will satisfy."

So far we've presented evidence for a life beyond this life based on God's existence, personal experience, and human longing. All of that together makes a pretty good case for immortality, but what if we had empirical evidence as well? Moreland and Habermas pose the question like this:

What if we had evidence based on historical and scientific research that verified what philosophy showed was rational? What if we could find events that have occurred in our world that show that life beyond the grave is true? In fact, what if we could find at least one person who survived death and returned to tell us and show us what immortality is really like?

Next time we will consider these questions and propose an answer (although we're pretty sure you've already figured that out).

Evidence for Immortality?

Christianity 101 — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 11:17:57 -0800

Immortality is in the news this week with the release of Dinesh D'Souza's newest book, Life After Death: The Evidence. Everyone from Rick Warren to Dallas Willard is endorsing the book, which attempts to build a case on empirical grounds for life after death. Even the atheist Christopher Hitchens, who has debated D'Souza, calls him a "formidable opponent."

D'Souza directs his arguments to the skeptic, who generally has trouble believing that God exists. Discounting the existence of God pretty much gets you off the hook in terms of immortality, because if God doesn't exist, then there's no such things as life after death.

But if immortality doesn't exist, then why do we think about it so much? Why do even the most skeptical people like to think there's a heaven, especially when someone they love bites the dust? Christians have a fairly straightforward explanation for this preoccupation, and it's found in the book of Ecclesiastes: "I have seen the burden God has laid on men," the writer of Ecclesiastes observes. "He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men" (Eccl. 3:10-11).

If the Bible is to be believed, what this simply means is that people think about eternity and immortality because God, their creator, put the thought in their hearts. Fair enough. But does this constitute evidence, or is there something else we can go on to prove something that is immaterial and beyond our ability to measure?

There are at least three more components to an argument for immortality, assuming we can start with the premise that God exists. If you're a skeptic reading this, you may as well go directly to D'Souza's book. Or check back in a week or so when we will present some evidence for immortality that stands apart from evidence for God. For now, let's take a look at three pieces of evidence for immortality that assume the existence of a supernatural, immortal God. After all, if you already have good reason to believe than an immortal God exists, then you also have good reason to believe that immortality exists. In fact, immortality for created beings is what you would expect from an immortal Creator.

In their book, Beyond Death, J.P. Moreland and Gary Habermas list several arguments based on God's existence that help make the case for immortality. We're going to look at three of them.

The first argument is based on divine imprint. The Bible tells us that God created humans in his image. Obviously, this doesn't mean we look like God (which would be impossible since God is spirit), but we do share some of his qualities. One of these qualities has to do with God's dwelling place. "Heaven is a suitable place for a being like God," write Moreland and Habermas. "Perhaps we are like God in this respect. We were meant to live a type of life suited for a heavenly mode of existence."

The second argument is based on divine justice. Whether they always act on it or not, all humans have a sense of justice. We want justice to be done when someone has wronged someone else (especially when that someone else is us). Yet on this earth, we see a great deal of injustice and inequality. Justice isn't always done. If God is completely and infinitely just, he must deal with injustice. We know he isn't dealing with all injustice in this mortal life, so we can reasonably believe he will take care of injustice in the life to come.

The third argument for immortality is based on divine revelation. This argument simply says that if God exists, and the Bible is his trustworthy message to humanity, and if the Bible contains God's revelation that all people will live forever, then we can take God at his word. Immortality and the afterlife exist.

Next time we will consider some evidence for immortality apart from the worldview that says God exists.