Recently, Mark and I had a conference call with a pastor of a large church to pick his brain on some potential writing projects. As he spoke wisdom poured out of his mouth and one of his comments struck me, “God just doesn’t seem real to a lot of people any more.” 

He believed a big reason why is due to our avoidance of suffering.

Okay – I don’t like to suffer and I’m guilty of doing my best to rid it in my life and my family’s life. I want everything to be fun, easy-going and feel-good. However, by doing this, am I missing out on an opportunity to experience God in a new and deeper way?

Perhaps I’m not alone in dodging suffering. Our culture has made it convenient for us. If something hurts, we can numb it with a pill. Our mobile and transient lifestyle allows us to escape stressful relationships. We can change churches, schools, jobs, even marriages instead of dealing with the issue.

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A popular political debate which has been prevalent for centuries revolves around the question of what the future holds for the Jewish people.  For Christians and Jews this is a question that goes beyond politics.  The debate is a matter of theology too.  With the latest political uprisings in the Middle East, the questions of how peace will be accomplished in that part of the world go on, as well as what the future holds for Israel.  Despite all the enemies, hateful messages, and acts that have been brought against Israel throughout their history, God has always preserved for himself what the Bible calls a “remnant”.

A “remnant” is a small part of something that remains after the rest has gone.  In anthropological terms a “remnant” is an isolated group of people surviving from a culture or group. The “remnant” is a significant aspect of God’s relationship with Israel as it is representative of his covenant relationship to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, not on any basis of works done by these patriarchs, but because of God’s gracious election. (Romans 11:28)

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Pardon the blogging delay people.

I've been working hard to get a new website and book project released to you by February 13th.  Yes, the day before February 14th.  Yes, the day before the day better (or worse) known as Valentine's Day.

The book is about many things, some of which include sexuality, beauty, loneliness, hope, singleness, lust and Love.

Keep your eye-out - we're close!

Why is apologetics, the defense of the Christian faith, important?

In one sense, Christianity needs no defense. God, who is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, does not depend for His existence on our belief. However, many people who do not know the living God are separated from Him in part by intellectual obstacles. Removing those obstacles by showing that Christianity indeed makes sense on a rational level is an act of love and care for our neighbor. Defending the faith also builds up a strong foundation for believers. A securely built house has a solid, well-built foundation, so that the vagaries of wind and weather don’t damage it or cause distress to the inhabitants. It’s natural to have questions and doubts - think of the disciples, asking Jesus “increase our faith!” or the man who cries out “Lord, I believe: help my unbelief!” Apologetics helps strengthen the foundations by providing answers to questions and doubts, so that the Christian can grow stronger in his or her faith.

Let’s face it: movies have been pretty underwhelming this year.  There has been an explosion of comic book movies adapted from nearly every angle – from dark and gritty, to lighthearted action.  There have been silly dramas, requisite attempts at an Oscar grab, and a couple of underwhelming features from the giants of filmmaking (“War Horse” and “Hugo” while good, were far from as great as they could have been).

Enter “The Artist.”  It’s the film people are talking about with overwhelming praise, as well as a few angry detractors (which I suspect will only grow as the film gains more and more momentum).  My expectations were high going in after seeing the trailer, which floored me in communicating its emotion and charm.  Added to that is the amount of critical praise the film has received so far, making me excited for what appeared to be a breath of fresh air in the theater.  For the most part, “The Artists” delivers.

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N.D. Wilson’s new “bookumentary” DVD, Notes From the Tilt-a-Whirl, is sort of like the Waking Life of Christian apologetics films. And by that I mean, it’s full of awe, curiosity, philosophizing, and a lot of talking about ideas. Like the contemplative films of Richard Linklater (Waking Life, Before Sunrise, Before Sunset), Wilson’s film–inspired by his 2009 book of the same title–is heavy on heady, talky vignettes. It’s essentially a philosophy/apologetics education condensed into a series of 3-4 minute soliloquies and poetic riffs on huge ideas, packaged amidst images of beauty and a liturgical ambience.

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“Where’s God today?” is one of the most common questions I’m asked after I tell someone that I’m a Christian. The question implies that in a suffering world it’s hard to believe a good God exists. We struggle with this question, but I’m beginning to think that we do so for all the wrong reasons.

The rhetorical question of “Where’s God today?” makes me ask the question “Why isn’t the Church making this clear?” If it’s our duty as Christians to show others who God is by living like Jesus—in love, kindness, and generosity—then the fact that this question is being asked reflects poorly on us, not God. We struggle with answering it because we, as Christian communities, are struggling with our faith.

An example: There is enough wealth in the world to solve world hunger and the water crisis, even in the midst of famines in places like the Horn of Africa.

Kien Lam understands big and small. 

For one year, over 17 countries, he photographed his travel adventures, creating time lapse video of the 6,000 pictures he brought home. To watch it is to experience the incongruity of big and small, to see the breadth of the globe and the tiny human stories within it. It is a montage of God’s vast, breathtaking creation mixed with the microcosms of human life. 

I love Lam’s vision. For some reason, the juxtaposition of big and small reminds me of the world God has given to me. On some days God asks me to meditate on his cosmos, and on other days he wants me mop the church floor at some extraordinarily precise coordinates in Clovis, California. I have no doubt God asks me to think big and small.

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The GOP is dogmatically anti-science. They reject the conclusions of manmade global warming, which has been accepted by virtually all scientists. And they deny the overwhelming evidence of evolution. They are anti-science, anti-knowledge, and anti-progress.  The possibility of an anti-science candidate getting elected to the White House is a terrifying prospect for it would put our economic, environmental, and political state into potential disaster. For the sake of the next generation, please don’t elect such a candidate!

If you believe this rendition, it’s likely you’ve been following the incessant portrayal of the GOP in the media. Consider a few recent headlines:  “Republicans Against Science,” “Why Republicans Deny Science: The Quest for a Scientific Explanation,” and “Rick Santorum is King of the GOP’s Anti-Science Presidential Candidates.” The list could go on. But the message is clear: the Republican Party is full of ignorant science-deniers who are a threat to the future of America (of course, exception is made for John Huntsman, who has tried to cast himself as the pro-science Republican alternative by accepting evolution and manmade global warming).

Genesis 32:28 records the conclusion of the wrestling match between Jacob and the angel of the LORD.  The angel tells Jacob his name will “no longer be Jacob, but Israel because you have struggled with God and with men and you have overcome.”  The name Israel means he struggles with God and the previous two blog entries demonstrated the history of the nation of Israel struggling in their relationship with God, and with men.  Although hermeneutically the text of Genesis 32:28 tells us that Jacob himself did overcome the battle with the angel of the LORD, I do not think it is farfetched to understand this verse as a prophetic utterance about the future of Israel.

Historically Israel has struggled greatly, and this has been going on for millennia.  Though there have been times of great hope, faith, and survival, there have also been times of great hopelessness, faithlessness, and oppression.  Today Israel is threatened repeatedly by Iran.  A nation who openly professes they would like to see Israel wiped off the face of the earth.  The peace and security of Israel is a matter which will not be resolved anytime soon, nor by any current political arrangements.  Whatever kind of peace arrangements accomplished through modern day politicians will be temporary.  This is not to mitigate the importance of striving for peace, for peace benefits many, but rather to understand that the real program for long and lasting peace for Israel and its neighbors is one that will be accomplished by the word and hand of the Lord. The question becomes how will Israel overcome?

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