The Case for Christ & 23 Minutes in Hell

I've been reading so many good books lately, I wanted to write a few notes so I can remember which book dealt with which topics.

The Case for Christ -- After his wife unpleasantly surprised him by announcing she had become a Christian, but pleasantly surprised him by the good changes in her life, atheist and Chicago Tribune investigative reporter Lee Strobel went on a journey around America to interview scholars concerning the Biblical Jesus Christ. In this book he presents what he found that lead him to believe for himself that Jesus is the Son of God. Lee said although these interviews lead him to believe in Christ, the biggest evidence of Christ's power is the radical change in his own previously immoral life. He said even his very young daughter noticed this positive change in her daddy!

One of my favorite parts is where one scholar talks of how different the apostles were after Jesus' resurrection. Before Christ died, the disciples were often timid and doubtful, but after they saw the resurrected Christ, they proclaimed the salvation story with boldness. They even suffered persecution and most were martyred because of their firm beliefs in Christ. As one noted, many people will die for things they sincerely believe in even if it is not true. However men do not die for a known lie. The disciples knew the resurrection was not a lie -- they saw the risen Lord. Therefore, they boldly witnessed because they knew persecution on earth is nothing compared to the glory of Heaven, and they were not afraid to suffer for the Truth's sake. "When the Son makes you free, you are free indeed."

23 Minutes in Hell -- This book is very sobering and reminds the reader of the realities of hell. Actually hell is so much worse than the human mind can imagine -- and it lasts for eternity! You do not want anyone to go there! Hell was created for the devil and the fallen angels, but we will go there if we refuse to accept God's offer of salvation through His Son. God doesn't send us to hell. Our unbelief does. God will not force you into His presence, His home, Heaven ... so come to Him through His Son.

http://spiritlessons.com/Documents/BillWiese_23MinutesInHell_Text.htm

When I got my composure, at least enough to start forming thoughts, I thought about saying to the Lord, I don't even think I asked Him out loud, I just thought it and He answered me. I said, "Lord why did You send me to this place? Why did you send me here?" He said to me "Because people do not believe that this place exists." He said "Even some of my own people do not believe this place is real." I was shocked at that statement. I thought every Christian has got to believe in Hell. But not everyone believes in a literal burning Hell. I said Lord "why did you pick me?" But He didn't answer me on that question.

I have no idea why He picked me to go there. I'm the least likely to go to this place. My wife and I hate evil movies. We hate anything bad. I don't even like the summer time, much less heat. It's filthy. There's no order. It's all chaos and disorder and disgusting. And I love everything orderly and excellent. He didn't answer me on that question. He said to me, "Go tell them that I hate this place, that it's not my desire for one of my creation to go to this place, not one! I never made this for man. This was made for the devil and his angels. You have to go and tell them! I've given you a mouth, you go and tell them."

I thought to myself, "but Lord, they're not going to believe me. They're going to think I'm crazy or had a bad dream." I mean wouldn't you think that? As I thought this the Lord answered me and He said, "It's not your job to convince them. It's the Holy Spirit�s job! You just go and tell them!" And it was just inside, "Yes Sir!" Absolutely, I have to go and tell them." You can't worry and fear what man is going to think of you, you just have to go and do it and let God do the rest. Amen? And I said, "Lord, why did they hate me so much?" "Why did these creatures hate me?" He said, "Because you're made in my image, and they hate me." You know the devil can't do anything against God. He can't hurt God, per say, but he can hurt His creation. That's why the devil hates mankind, and deceives him into taking him into Hell. And he inflicts diseases upon him, anything he can do to hurt God's creation.

(The Peace of God)
And then God flooded me with His thoughts. He let me touch a piece of His heart, of how much He loves mankind. Unbelievable, I couldn't even take it. It was so overbearing. The love He has for man, you can't take it in this body. You know how much we love our wives and our children? Well the love we have can't even be compared to the love God has for us. His love is infinitely greater than our love and our ability to love. It's just the same as it says in Eph 3:19, �...to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge...� It goes so far past knowledge, you can't even grasp it. I couldn't believe how much He loved mankind, that He would die for just one person to not go to this place. And it hurts Him so much to see one of His creation going to this place. It pains the Lord, He weeps to see one person going. And I felt so bad for the Lord.

I felt His heart, He let me just touch a piece of His heart. He felt such sadness for His creation going there. And I thought "I've got to go out and witness and take every last breath I have and go tell the world about Jesus, How good He is." I mean, we have the gospel. It's good news. It's good news, and the world doesn't know. They have to be told! You know, we have to share this knowledge. People just have a lack of knowledge in this area. God wants us to share with them how good He is, and how He hates this place.

He said to me also, "Tell them I am coming very, very soon." And He said it again, "Tell them I'm coming very, very soon." Now I think, why didn't I say to him, "What do you mean Lord? What's 'soon' to you?" That's how we think. But I didn't ask. You just don't think to ask those things then. You just want to worship Him so much. The peace of God that comes over you being next to Him is unexplainable. I've been in anointed services, but there is no comparison to the love and the peace of God you feel being next to Him.

And then I looked up and I saw those demons on the wall, that were so ferocious, they looked like ants on the wall! They just looked like ants! They were still big, but with the power of God next to you, all of God's creative power, they looked like ants on the wall. I couldn't get over it. I thought, "Lord they're just ants!" And He said, "You just have to bind them and cast them out in my name." I thought "boy, the power He's given the church." These things that were so ferocious, we were no match for a devil without Jesus, none. They're ferocious, but with Him, they are nothing! A boldness rose up in me right then, when I saw these creatures I felt like saying, "you creatures were the ones torturing me, wanting to tear me apart? Come on! Come on now!" Maybe a little bit of my flesh rose up or something, you know, I thought,�Jesus get 'em."

Why I Like the Apostle Paul

Since meeting a Muslim for the first time in my life nearly 3 years ago I have learned many new things. First and foremost were details and teachings about this curious religion of Islam and some of the rituals, rules and cultural traditions associated with it. I've heard quranic recitations and learned bits and pieces of Islamic history. I've seen Muhammad revered and noted Palestine as "The Muslim Cause." (One Muslim lady from the US who spent over twenty years in Bahrain said Muslims she's known hold Muhammad, Palestine and Allah in highest esteem -- in that order.)

I learned that Jews and Christians corrupted their Scriptures and that Muslims are shocked at how fallible the prophets are according to our teachings. Apparently admitting people are sinful creatures is an insult to God's judgment in choosing people through whom to work. Who knew God could only use the almost-perfect crowd?

One thing I learned was how Muslims disliked the apostle Paul and how he was often blamed for corrupting Jesus' teachings. This was eye-opening to me in the beginning, but as I read more and talked more with Muslims I got a better understanding. Still, I have always enjoyed Paul's writings and wanted to make a short case for why I consider his teachings valid and worth reading. In fact as I was thinking of this question Sunday night before bed and jotting down a few notes, I couldn't help but be more convinced of Paul's message than Muhammad's. So if we are going to throw out someone's teachings as being opposite of Christ's, well, I'll be tossing out the latter.

Unlike Jesus whom I consider the only sinless example, Paul even as a follower of Jesus wasn't perfect. I've never seen anyone make a case for this so please don't misunderstand me and think I believe Paul isn't fallible. Like Abraham, David, John the Baptist and every other human who has ever walked on earth, I believe Paul was a sinner just like you and me. He never claimed to be perfect. In fact Paul knew all too well what a sinful man he was! I think this is why he appreciated God's grace more than most of us who don't think of ourselves as too bad as far as sin goes. None of the people in the Bible are made out to be sinless except Jesus.

We first meet Paul as Saul in the book of Acts. He was a religious Pharisee, a very type-A person - a go getter, a driven man. You can tell this by the fact that he set out to purify the religion. He didn't want any of these Jesus People to succeed in corrupting HIS religion so he even asked permission to venture to Damascus in order to round up these followers of The Way. He was known throughout this region as one zealous for his faith even to the extent of actively pursuing those who dared deviate from the Jewish way. In our terms today, I think we'd rightly consider Paul a religious terrorist. Anyone who persecutes others for the sake of their faith falls into this category and Paul was among them.

Imagine everyone's surprise when they heard of this terrorist Saul's behavior and shock of all shocks, he's now teaching about Jesus - the very one he hated so much that he went after Jesus' followers in order to stop "the Jesus movement"! Now my one Muslim friend told me that this was Paul's secret strategy to destroy Christianity from within. Paul was trying to infiltrate the Jesus movement, teach bad things so that the movement would be destroyed somehow. He was that dedicated to HIS religion that he would stoop to this. Yet when said Muslim friend read the New Testament with me several months later and read Paul's message and the life he lead fully sold out to the cause of Jesus Christ, he was forced to reconsider his stance on this. I don't think any man would undergo being beaten, stoned, thrown out of cities, brought before rulers, thrown into jail, being in shipwreck and so forth just for the sake of destroying the Jesus movement!

So what caused this great change in Saul? How could this man who persecuted followers of Jesus suddenly become so fully sold out to the cause of Christ that he simply wanted to tell everyone? Paul traveled much of the then-known world to share the good news of Jesus. Is this how someone who hates and wants to destroy Jesus acts? Also remember as a strict Jew, the oneness of God was ingrained in Paul as much as it is to any Jew or Muslim today who has a hard time associating Jesus as God. I do not think Paul could simply talk himself into something so far from his upbringing unless he was fully convinced. Indeed Paul says as much in Galatians 1 --

" ¹¹I want you to know, brothers, that the gospel I preached is not something that man made up. ¹²I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ."

Acts 9 recounts Paul's conversion. His going to Damascus on a mission to round up the followers of Christ when suddenly Jesus himself appears to question Paul. Visualize this if you want.

¹Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord's disciples. He went to the high priest ²and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem. ³As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. ⁴He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?"

⁵"Who are you, Lord?" Saul asked.

"I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting," he replied. ⁶"Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do."

⁷The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless; they heard the sound but did not see anyone. ⁸Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing. So they led him by the hand into Damascus. ⁹For three days he was blind, and did not eat or drink anything

Notice that even those with Paul heard the sound. I've never heard the testimony of those men, however, it's somewhat proof that Paul was hit by something life-changing. For sure his life changed!

Next we see Ananias ... By the way, it was a great joy for me to visit Old Damascus last year and see much about Paul and Ananias in two chapels. (See my post and pictures from Ananias chapel here. And Paul's here.)

¹⁰In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord called to him in a vision, "Ananias!"
"Yes, Lord," he answered.

¹¹The Lord told him, "Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying. ¹²In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight."

¹³"Lord," Ananias answered, "I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your saints in Jerusalem. ¹⁴And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name."

¹⁵But the Lord said to Ananias, "Go! This man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel. ¹⁶I will show him how much he must suffer for my name."

¹⁷Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, "Brother Saul, the Lord—Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here—has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit." ¹⁸Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul's eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized, ¹⁹and after taking some food, he regained his strength.

So not only did fellow travelers hear something when Paul was confronted by Christ, here the Lord appeared to Ananias with instructions about Paul. So Paul is already more verifiable than Muhammad and his vision since NO ONE that I've heard was there to verify the "Angel Gabriel" giving revelations to Muhammad.

Here is more of the story as told by Luke in the book of Acts.

Saul spent several days with the disciples in Damascus. ²⁰At once he began to preach in the synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God. ²¹All those who heard him were astonished and asked, "Isn't he the man who raised havoc in Jerusalem among those who call on this name? And hasn't he come here to take them as prisoners to the chief priests?" ²²Yet Saul grew more and more powerful and baffled the Jews living in Damascus by proving that Jesus is the Christ.

²³After many days had gone by, the Jews conspired to kill him, ²⁴but Saul learned of their plan. Day and night they kept close watch on the city gates in order to kill him. ²⁵But his followers took him by night and lowered him in a basket through an opening in the wall.

²⁶When he came to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him, not believing that he really was a disciple. ²⁷But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles. He told them how Saul on his journey had seen the Lord and that the Lord had spoken to him, and how in Damascus he had preached fearlessly in the name of Jesus. ²⁸So Saul stayed with them and moved about freely in Jerusalem, speaking boldly in the name of the Lord. ²⁹He talked and debated with the Grecian Jews, but they tried to kill him.

In the second book with his name, Peter warns about false prophets yet when he concludes his letter with a mentioning of Paul he doesn't warn that Paul's message is anti-Christ. Instead he writes:

¹⁵Bear in mind that our Lord's patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him. ¹⁶He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction.

So Paul's changed life was enough to convince followers of the Way who had previously feared this man. It was enough to convince the disciples of Jesus once they learned that Paul was preaching fearlessly in the name of Jesus. And it was enough to convince the Jews who formerly had Paul on their side! You see Paul went from being persecutor of Christians to being one of those hated by the Jews so that they sought to kill him! I don't think any infiltrator would put up with that!

So we see Paul telling others about Jesus. Though during Jesus' life on earth Paul was NOT one of his disciples and, in fact, considered the Jesus people as heretics, Paul was contemporary with Jesus' close followers. In fact he met with them from time to time. It was known to them, it seems, that Paul was being called to take the message of Jesus to the Gentiles. Remember before Jesus went back to heaven, he instructed his followers to share the good news throughout the world. Paul took this to heart and obeyed Christ! Since I am not a Middle Easterner and my ancestors aren't Middle Eastern unless we go wayyyyyyy back, I, for one, am very very happy God sent people like Paul to share the good news of Christ with people like me!

Paul's writings have offered hope, inspiration, lessons on inner joy, peace with God, being content and I love how he loves Jesus! Paul is the ultimate in dying to self and living for Christ. He didn't get rid of Jesus' teachings, but taught them to the churches he founded. He didn't water down the message, but continued to promote feeding your hungry enemies, giving water to thirsting enemies and overcoming evil with good! None of this reverting back to the old natural self's desire to retaliate and keep the cycle of vengeance going for generation after generation. Paul instructed us that pure hearts and lives are the work of God in us...not something we can do ourselves. This goes back to my dirty mechanic illustration the other day. Paul knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that we need a Savior because we cannot clean ourselves. And salvation was a gift freely given by a God who is merciful, compassionate and the epitome of love.

Will I believe that salvation is something I can earn by being good and believing in Muhammad? Or will I believe salvation is given to me by a merciful, grace-filled loving God who is the ONLY Savior?

I am no savior. God is.

And this is Paul's message to me.

Notes on Quran - Sura 47

This one came with a warning. :)


Sura 47 -- Muhammad

OK, I'll admit it: I sometimes don't know how to take these suras! Are the promises for Muslims now? Muslims back then? Or Muslims of the future? Or maybe all three since Islam is said by most Muslims to be timely for all generations. I ask because many verses in this sura made me wonder if these were time/event-specific for back then or something Muslims of today count on. I see quite a case for spreading Islam by sword in this chapter. Yet I know most Muslims today will declare Islam a religion of peace and that only extremists try to spread it by force. Indeed we wouldn't dare call Muhammad "extreme" as he was the ideal Muslim, the example for future generations yet this sura which bears his name conveys the spread-by-fighting method. Granted I'm simply reading the chapter and don't know all the background information, but if Islam is for all time and I were just the average nonMuslim off the street curious to see what Muslims believe I'd take sura 47 as one that is rather harsh on anyone who disbelieves.

I know many in the past have wrongly tried to spread "Christianity" by the sword. I say Christianity in quotes because how does one spread Christ's message by sword and it still remain Christ's message? While Jesus does make reference to not bringing peace, but a sword as I discussed here in this post on Jesus' Divisive Sword, most followers of Christ agree that his message was of loving and serving others, even our enemies. In fact this is what makes Jesus' message so different from Muhammad's. Most followers of Jesus will try to take to heart - or aspire to - Paul's words in his letter to the Romans.

¹⁷Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. ¹⁸If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. ¹⁹Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay,"says the Lord. ²⁰On the contrary:
"If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.
In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head." ²¹Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

See there that quote about vengeance ... it is God's to repay. This is why we can relax as we trust in God to rectify situations and not seek to avenge ourselves.

This sura speaks of the importance of obeying God and Muhammad. The two go hand in hand as I suppose for Muslims one cannot obey God unless she also obeys the prophet of Islam. Sadly, his message differs quite a bit from Jesus' message. I've never seen justification in Jesus' message to spread his teachings by fighting others. This is why those who say they are fighting for Christ are so shameful and wrong! Uh, how exactly does one spread a message of "loving your enemies" by sword? I say people are free to choose whatever they want. God will settle things in His own time, like Judgment Day. We can share our faiths with others, but never try to force the message by threatening "you convert or else" as we brandish our swords.

And if these verses were just for one time, I still don't really like the idea of spreading a religion by sword. I don't like that about any group willing to kill others who won't convert to their faith.

Here are the verses I noted from this chapter.

4. So, when you clash with the unbelievers, smite their necks until you overpower them, then hold them in bondage. Then either free them graciously or after taking a ransom, until war shall have come to end. If God had pleased He could have punished them (Himself), but He wills to test some of you through some others. He will not allow the deeds of those who are killed in the cause of God to go waste.

5. He will show them the way, and better their state, 6. And will admit them into gardens with which he has acquainted them. 7. O you who believe, if you help (in the cause of) God He will surely come to your aid, and firmly plant your feet. 8. As for the unbelievers, they will suffer misfortunes, and their deeds will be rendered ineffective.

I see in verse 4 where God "wills to test some of you through some others." Does this also hold true to Muslim lands who are currently being "tested" by others such as the Palestinians who have suffered quite a lot under the oppressive Zionists? So is this merely something God has allowed as a test for the Palestinians? And the same for Iraqi Muslims who have been suffering for many years now. And when God tests us this way is it OK to fight the testing or do we endure it until His will is accomplished in our lives?

I see in the last part of verse 4 through verse 6 what I call the Martyrs' Creed. I have heard of families who seem overjoyed when their children are killed fighting so they will be considered martyrs. And why not when instant paradise with 72 virgins is promised! If I had a choice between instant heaven vs. waiting around for Judgment Day while lying in a grave to see if I MIGHT make it in, I'd want to be a martyr as well!

And verse 7 ... is this one for people now as well? Because in my opinion, it doesn't seem as if God has come to the aid of the Palestinians. Maybe this is a future promise for them? As they endure their testing from God (vs. 4) they will later be given aid from Him? Is this why most Muslims only given token aid to Gaza? They speak of it on blogs and such, but nothing much is actually done for them despite their numbers being bigger than most countries!

35. So do not become weak-kneed and sue for peace, for you will have the upper hand as God is with you and will not overlook your deeds.

Yeah, we all know peace is something only weak-kneed people can handle. Is this why the Muslim world is often a constant pot of turmoil?

Warning: sura 48 also struck a nerve! I'll post those notes tomorrow, Lord willing.

Spiritual Reflections

Yesterday I was reading through II Corinthians 5 in the New Century Version New Testament that I bought prior to our trip to Syria. These verses made me pause as I read them a few times.

¹⁸ All this is from God. Through Christ, God made peace between us and himself, and God gave us the work of telling everyone about the peace we can have with him.¹⁹ God was in Christ, making peace between the world and himself. In Christ, God did not hold the world guilty of its sins. And he gave us this message of peace.²⁰ So we have been sent to speak for Christ. It is as if God is calling to you through us. We speak for Christ when we beg you to be at peace with God.


I listened recently to a CD of a message my pastor gave while we were out of town. He was challenging us about our role in the world today. How the Church - Body of Christ - was supposed to impact the world. Are we monastery or missionary minded?

According to dictionary.com, a monastery is

1.	a house or place of residence occupied by a community of persons, esp. monks, living in seclusion under religious vows.

In Brian's terms it's a place where God's children go to hide with fellow believers from this nasty world. So maybe Brian's thoughts are not very reverent, but it's pretty safe to say he prefers the missionary-minded outlook. Afterall, our own Lord's words were "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature" before He departed for heaven. We are supposed to be His ambassadors. (Reread those verses mentioned above.) God gave us the job of being ambassadors showing the world how to have peace. Peace with fellow man begins with having peace with God.

Something that has come to mind more and more lately are these words from the Bible: "Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good." It seems too often we fight others with harsh words or fists ... or in the case with nations, with threats of sanctions and wars. I wonder if we tried this Biblical concept of overcoming evil with good, if we could really have a more peaceful planet. To be honest, I'm not holding out much hope for that. We are too selfish, looking out for our own interests and it's not man's default manner to bless those who hurt us and love and pray for our enemies. I know, I'm human, too.

It amazes me sometimes how conservative Christians will focus so hard on keeping rules of good morals even certain standards of dress. However, many of those same people are quick to jump on the bandwagon of fighting evil -- with the same methods the world uses. I don't know when Jesus' teachings about loving others - even our enemies - went out-of-date.

Here is a novel concept: Paul commended the Thessalonians for being a model to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia. What if true followers of Christ today actually acted on what we say we believe. We say we follow Christ, so why not act on that and just see if it makes a difference in this world?

One last thing. I read a church sign the other day about prayer. I can't remember the exact quote, but it said something about prayer wasn't about changing God. It's about changing you. Really made me think. I believe most of the time, I pray as if I have to beg God to see things my way and heal so and so or work out the details of such and such. Maybe my prayers are too "me" centered and I need to make them more about "Your kingdom come, Your will be done on Earth as it is in heaven."

Good grief, I even pray selfishly.

Enough with the spiritual ramblings this morning. Just wanted to write my thoughts. Some of this has been on my mind for days.

I think I'll go for a walk now.

Notes on Quran - Sura 33

Sura 33 - al-Ahzab

I gather from reading this sura that it was revealed sometime after Muhammad became a religious celebrity in the community because it's quite a collection of rules for the people concerning Muhammad's wives and family and also instructions for Muhammad's wives in regard to their conduct, keeping themselves separated from the community at large and also a prohibition from ever remarrying. While remarriage is acceptable in Islam for those who have lost spouses, an exception was given for Muhammad's family. This is not the only exception facing this household as we all know unlike other Muslim men who were limited to only marrying four women, Muhammad was allowed to marry any woman willing to become his wife. And apparently his adopted son's wife desired to marry him. This created quite a stir in the community because they had a set of societal norms that a dad didn't marry his son's wife. Conveniently a revelation was given by God to free Muhammad from any perceived wrongdoing. God declared adoption illegal, therefore, in reality Muhammad's adoption was invalid rendering adopted son as no relative. Adopted son's wife was now merely friend's wife. Therefore, she was OK to marry. Personally I have huge ethical and moral problems with this whole scenario, but who am I to question how God wanted to treat this most-favored man who ever walked the earth?

I wanted to say a few things about adoption and also fathers.

4. God has not provided two hearts in the breast of a man, nor made your wives, whom you pronounce "mothers" (in order to divorce them), your real mothers, nor has He made your adopted sons your real sons. This is only what your lips pronounce. God says what is just, and shows the right way.

5. Call them by the names of their fathers. This is the right course in the sight of God. If you do not know their fathers, they are then your brothers in religion and your friends. It will not be a sin if you make a mistake, unless you do so intentionally; for God is forgiving and kind.

First about fathers. I'd like to make the case that a "father" is not a mere man who impregnates a woman. Any fool can do this. A father is a man who loves, cares for, provides for, nurtures and guides a child. Ideally the same father who biologically-produced a child would do these wonderful things, however, this is not always the case. Men often enjoy the act of creating life, but don't love the act of caring and providing for that same life. Therefore a biological "father" isn't necessarily worthy for his "child" carrying on his name.

And about adoption which relates to the "father" thing somewhat. I have many friends who have adopted children, some from as far away as China, Vietnam, Korea and Guatemala whereas a few have adopted children domestically. I applaud them for opening their hearts and lives and making these non-blood related people their true children. It's not one of these situations where they feel these children are not their own simply because they don't share the same bloodline. One may accidentally become pregnant, but no one is accidentally adopted. Parents lovingly open their lives and hearts to children who need families. It's often a very costly, involved and time-consuming process. It's not something to lightly dismiss. I've heard a little saying about an adopted child asking her mom the difference between being adopted and being born into a family. The mother lovingly and wisely explained in little-child terms that you didn't grow in my tummy; you grew in my heart.

The Bible tells us to care for orphans and many people have taken this to heart by adopting children who have no "forever families" and caring for them as their own. Why is adoption so important to me? Besides the physical side as I've already discussed, the Bible teaches that we are adopted into God's family!


See this:

Romans 8

¹⁴because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. ¹⁵For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, "Abba, Father." ¹⁶The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children.

John 1

¹²Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— ¹³children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God.

Galatians 3

²⁶You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, ²⁷for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. ²⁸There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. ²⁹If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.

Galatians 4

⁴But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, ⁵to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons. ⁶Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, "Abba, Father." ⁷So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir.

I remember a few years back when I was talking to a Muslim friend who insisted that being a "slave of Allah" was better than being a "child of God." Muslim friend said being a slave was more desirable and a better and closer position than being a son or daughter. To that I replied with bemusement, "What planet do you live on?!" All in good fun of course, but in what world does a slave have more rights and privileges and more relationship and love than a child? In what world does a slave, servant, maid or even the person next door have more love and rights bestowed on him than a parent gives his own child? It's an honor and privilege for God to choose us to be not a mere slave, but a child of His whom He can love, protect, provide for and guide. Yes, we should serve God with our lives, however, the relationship is that of Father and daughter or Father and son. Not merely a relationship of Master and slave.



41. O you who believe, remember God a great deal, 42. And sing His praises morning and evening. 43. It is He who sends His blessings on you, as (do) His angels, that He may lead you out of darkness into light, for He is benevolent to the believers.

Loved this! See again singing praises to God is good so Muslims who think singing is haram aren't reading their own Quran! :)

Books I Read in 2008

I checked just this morning. List started in January 1999. This means for ten years now I have kept a list of books I finished throughout the year! Most years I read 99.9% fiction -- usually of the historical, Christian or mystery varieties. But this year I only read 2 fiction books and 35 non-fiction ones! Quite the change! I wrote reviews for each book throughout the year. Some are just short things, others more extensive. Click on the titles below if you are interested. Hopefully I did the links correctly. :-)

List of Books Read in 2008

The Case for Christ by Lee Strobel

23 Minutes in Hell by Bill Wiese

The Destiny of Muslims in the End Times by Faisal Malick

To My Muslim Friends by Anise Behnam

The Crescent Through the Eyes of the Cross by Nabeel Jabbour

The Case for Faith by Lee Strobel

Does My Head Look Too Big in This by Randa Abdel Fattah

Meeting Islam: A Guide for Christians by George Dardess

The Heavenly Man by Brother Yun & Paul Hattaway

The New Answers Book by Ken Ham, general editor

The Shack by William P. Young

Being Arab by Samir Kassir

The Bible Exposition Commentary Vol. I by Warren Weirsbe

Scratch Beginnings: Search for the American Dream by Adam Shepherd

Victory for Us Is to See You Suffer by Philip Winslow

Too Christian Too Pagan by Dick Staub

The Faith by Charles Colson

The Attentive Life by Leighton Ford

Called to Die by Steve Estes

Mary Louise's Opus by Mary Louise Mason

Unshackled & Growing by Nabeel Jabbour

Experiencing God by Henry Blackaby

The Lemon Tree by Sandy Tolan

Daring Chloe by Laura Jensen Walker

Muslims, Christians, Jesus by Carl Medearis

Standing with Israel by David Brog

In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day by Mark Batterson

Once an Arafat Man by Taysir Saada
& Dean Merrill

Epicenter by Joel Rosenberg

The Complete Guide to the Bible by Stephen Miller

Christianity Today study series on Islam

Children of Hope by Vernon Brewer & Noel Brewer Yeatts

Mission Al Jazeera by Josh Rushing

Rethinking Holy Land by Marlin Jeschke

Defining Moments by Vernon Brewer

Paul's Jesus

I know I said this book, Desire of the Everlasting Hills by Thomas Cahill, was about Jesus so you're likely confused about last night's post concerning Paul. I don't blame you!  :)  I think the author is trying to give background to Jesus - the world just before he was born and also people surrounding him or immediately following his life here.  Chapter three was The Cosmic Christ: Paul's Jesus.  I shared what I did yesterday because I often hear people say Paul invented Christianity. Also I literally laughed when the author said what he did about Paul wondering about the Meaning of his hostess asking if he wanted one lump or two.  This guy writes with some subtle humor!

I know a lot of people don't like him, but I do like Paul. To me he is an example of how Jesus can change a person's life. He was a religious man bent on purifying his religion because some new innovation was starting to creep in. He wanted his people to be pure before God and not start having these wrong thoughts about this crazy Jesus person being their Messiah or worse yet - God!  He was a good Jewish man and knew the shema as well as the next Jew!

Anyway, you see how Paul went from this religious terrorist to sharing news about Jesus' offer of free salvation?  He never spread his religion by force - no telling people to convert, die or pay the tax to live as a second-class citizen.  Not that he could anyway seeing how Rome was in control, but again, he never twisted arms to make people convert. Really, how can anyone force another to convert? Does that really "take" in God's eyes if you convert for the sake of not wanting to be killed, taxed or even for the love of a man (for those who convert in order to marry)?

I enjoy authors who draw word pictures for me.  So I liked reading and imagining this:

"Dimly, we can see [Paul] entering a new booth, engaging in conversation whomever he can -- potential customers, their servants, his fellow merchants. We can see him taking a room in the tiny house of some merchant from a neighboring booth, gradually gathering a small community around him, instructing them in the Gospel and watching it take root among them.  Then far into the night, sometimes with the help of a friendly scribe, sometimes alone, he scratches his letters to the church-communities he has had to leave behind, trying to find the right words, the words that will catch fire in their hearts and enable them to keep going.  If nothing else, the overwhelming loneliness of this man -- always beginning again, always 'a stranger in a strange land,' always opening and closing his letters by naming distant friends, always recalling his ties of affection to those he has had to leave behind -- should impress us."   (pg. 127)


The author states that Paul made a case for the equality of women reminding the Corinthian church that although the story of creation claims woman came from man (the rib story), from thereon out men have always come from woman - including the Messiah!  Although Paul never stated that the rich and poor should have the same income, he would have "no part in treating anyone according to income....Within the community of believers everyone was to be treated equally."  (pg. 142)

I especially loved how he summed it up here:

"The cosmic Christ, whose glory knocked Paul from his horse on the road to Damascus, who sums up in himself the whole of the created universe, eventually leads Paul to thoughts that no one has ever had before -- thoughts about the equality of all human beings before God.  In this ancient world of masters and slaves, conquerors and conquered, a world that articulates at every turn, precisely and publicly, who's on top, who's on the bottom, Paul writes the unthinkable to his Galatians..."There is no longer Jew or Greek, slave or free, male or female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus."  (pg. 147)



Another thing of note, the author reminds us that when Jesus appeared to Paul on the road to Damascus, he asked Paul "why are you persecuting me?"  Jesus was in heaven, but the persecution of the believers was felt personally by Jesus and he identified the Church with himself.  Also Paul had these thoughts concerning Jesus setting us free:  "Like Moses leading the People out of Egyptian slavery, Christ the Redeemer has ransomed us all from the slavery of sin.  We must go forward into freedom, not backward into chains."  (pg. 148)  Paul didn't think a gentile had to become a Jew and keep all the Law (which was given to the Israelites not everyone). In his view, this freedom in Christ was meant to free us from "all human rules and conventions."


Next chapter deals with the Gentile (non-Jewish) Luke's Jesus.

November Books

Another month has come and gone. Thanksgiving last week was great!  I love that the weather has been on the warm side.

Here are the books I finished reading this month.  The last one I finished just about an hour ago. I wasn't sure if I'd finish it or not, but I did! 

Hope you all are doing well!


Lipstick Jihad by  Azadeh Moaveni   -- I remembered seeing this review by Muslimah Media Watch back when I used to follow that blog, so when I saw this book in the library,I decided to read it. It's a memoir of a lady who grew up in California and later went to Iran where she found she was too American for some.  Here is an interview you may find interesting.; see previous post for excerpts from this book that I found interesting


The Miracle of Freedom: 7 Tipping Points that Saved the World by Chris and Ted Stewart -- I found this on the new book shelf at my local library and found it rather interesting. The authors claim freedom is not the norm and have chosen 7 historical events that they say were major "what if" moments.  Their choices range from Jerusalem not being destroyed by Assyria to the Mongols and Muslim armies not getting farther into western Europe to the Battle for Britain to the conversion of Constantine.  I enjoyed the history that I learned from this book.


Looking for Lovedu: Days and Nights in Africa by Ann Jones -- another interesting traveling story this one focusing on the author's mission to find Lovedu and the queen who rules her people. Along the way, the reader is informed of problems with the vehicle, border crossings, corrupt officials, cranky co-travelers as well as the depths of mud, mud and more mud in Zaire!  Quite a good book. I really enjoy learning more about other areas of the world through these types of books!




Islam and Democracy: Fear of the Modern World by Fatima Mernissi -- Overall I think I liked this book although some things perplexed me.  This was written soon after the first Gulf War so it was a bit strange reading about Iraq and the Arab world's reaction back then having now gone through this other war concerning Iraq that we are trying to get out of none too soon!  The author scolded the West, the Arabs, the men. She gave me much to consider and at times I wasn't sure if she were writing tongue-in-cheek or if she were serious.  I had more than this to share, but I will refrain. But since I shared this bit on Facebook, I'll just leave it here.


"The supremacy of the West is not so much due to its military hardware as to the fact that its military bases are laboratories and its troops are brains, armies of researchers and engineers. ... The arms industry provides an enormous number of jobs in other sectors, such as electronics and communications. ... The West creates its power through military research, which forces underdeveloped countries to become passive consumers. The weakness of the Arab nations stems from the fact that they buy weapons instead of choosing to do their own research. .. The Arab states prefer to import finished technological products, especially arms, rather than train a powerful corps of scientists, which would risk destabilizing their authority from within."  -- (pgs. 43, 50)



The Case for the Real Jesus by Lee Strobel -- "A Journalist Investigates Current Attacks on the Identity of Christ" - actually the book is a bit old (published in 2007) so it's not current current, but I appreciated it just the same.  The author talked to experts about such things as other ancient documents being found that are just as credible as the four gospels, Christianity borrowing from pagan teachings and myths, the resurrection, the Church tampering with the texts and so forth. See my earlier post for more on this book





The Rapture Exposed by Barbara R. Rossing provides "The Message of Hope in the Book of Revelation" as the author picks apart the theology of dispensationalists and those believing the End Times arrive with an escape plans for all true Christians and a blood bath and utter destruction for planet Earth.  The author makes her case by talking quite a bit about the Left Behind series and the dangerous way it shapes American thinking about the rest of the world and foreign policy.  She ultimately believes in the saving power of the "wonder working blood of the Lamb" which left me remembering Paul's words about overcoming evil with good.  She tells us the true message of Revelation is that God is with us through all life's tribulations and that was personified as Jesus - God in the flesh come down to dwell among humans to be with them through storms and life's trials. 


The Red Tent by Anita Diamant -- this book is like a Jewish Midrash with Dinah, the daughter of Jacob (Israel) telling her story of growing up with four mothers and eleven brothers (she never knew Benjamin in this book until much later).  I remember when Amber posted on this book ages ago and recently when someone else mentioned it,I remembered to look for it that day at the library. (It just so happened I was headed there to get new books!  For the record, Amber, at the library I went to, they had this book in Christian Fiction...haha.) 


Dudes of War by Benjamin Tupper -- curious about what soldiers do when they aren't out on a combat mission?  This book has short chapters featuring people such as Shrapnel, The Greek, Lancelot, Deathwish, Casanova,  Mr. OCD and so forth as the author tells about his experiences in Afghanistan. Read how the digital age has made it possible for our soldiers to enjoy women when there are very few women around (Afghanistan is not like Vietnam with prostitutes waiting for our soldiers' attentions; the author admits how he develops a "foot fetish" of sorts looking for pretty nail polish and high heels in a country where women are completely covered), how the soldiers compete for having the best gear, how alcohol is technically forbidden to them there, yet it's often available anyway. He briefly discusses blogging, humanitarian assistance (in winning the hearts and minds of the Afghans), loving the Hazara (which made the Pashtun interpreters angry), PTSD, religion and so forth.

"The soldier does not operate in a black-and-white world, so to romanticize or demonize both miss the target.  The soldier is the fusion of Christ and Judas, the wolf and the sheep, and the aggressor and the victim. We are capable of altruism and moral failure at any given moment on any given day.   Soldiers recognize this fact perhaps better than anyone, but that doesn't mean they agree on what constitutes altruism and moral failures.  Soldiers who serve in the same army, under the same flag, and in the same uniform, will interpret their actions and justifications in starkly different ways."  (pg. 105)



Eclipse of the Sunnis by Deborah Amos -- see previous post for more information on Iraq refugees in neighboring countries

Also I found this of interest:

"Without waging war, Iran had skillfully expanded its political influence in places that before 2003 had been under Arab sway, including Lebanon, Iraq, and Palestine.  The Arabs - above all the Sunni powers - had lost ground everywhere. Even the radical Sunni movements, Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood, were increasingly dependent on Tehran. Egypt's Hosni Mubarak and Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah were furious about Iran's growing reach into the Arab heartland but what could they do about it? The American invasion that had removed Iraq from the balance-of-power equations on the Sunni side had tilted the region towards Tehran. The Sunni powers shuddered to think of living under the embrace of Shiite mullahs with nuclear arms."   (pg. 178)


Sandstorms: Days and Nights in Arabia by Peter Theroux -- see previous post about Saudi Arabia in the 1980s for excerpts from this book


Fortunate Sons by Liel Leibovitz and Matthew Miller -- see previous post

Interesting fact: After the building of the Transcontinental Railroad groups of Chinese men dug in the Sierra Nevada. They "would come on pilgrimages to search for the graves of their fellow workers. Beneath simple wooden stakes lay bodies buried with wax-sealed bottles holding pieces of cloth inscribed with the deceased's name and native village.  These remains, thus discovered, would be exhumed and shipped back to China; in all, twenty thousand pounds of bones would make this final journey."  (pg. 102)



Tales of a Female Nomad by Rita Golden Gelman -- Faced with a struggling marriage and a trial separation, the author heads to Mexico to live among indigenous people. Rita wasn't content to stay in the touristy spots, but went to the villages where not many - if any - foreigners travel.  She connects with people this way in Mexico and Nicaragua, later travels to Israel hoping to find some connection with "her" people (fellow Jews).  Her travels take her to the Galapagos Islands and Indonesia where she spends parts of 8 years living in Bali and traveling to the Indonesian side of New Guinea.  She also talks about her life in New Zealand, Thailand and the United States. Unlike most of the travel books I've read this year where people talked with natives for short times, this book was different in that the author often lived with native people for weeks, months or years at a time. It was a great way for me to learn more about Balinese culture and other parts of the world.  Learn more about Rita at her website.





The Early Arrival of Dreams by Rosemary Mahoney tells the story of an American woman who lived in China for a year as an English teacher back in the 1980s. It was good reading her impressions of the Chinese people, cities, food, university and so forth. Also I enjoyed reading how they interacted with her.




Naked in Baghdad by Anne Garrels -- This book is about "the Iraq war as seen by NPR's correspondent" and it includes a few months before the war started and the couple of months after. At first I was a bit bored thinking I'd heard most of this before, but I grew to really enjoy the book as the author shared about what happened on the ground once the war started, the people's reactions and such things.  Interesting tidbit:  Russian was useful to her as a second language since she didn't know Arabic and many of the Iraqis she met didn't know English.  I liked that she tried to verify which civilian neighborhoods the US bombs hit and which other reported stories were true (or not).  I was saddened to read how the US troops didn't stop the looting (except for the oil ministry *ahem*) saying they were not a police force.  Yet they had just destroyed things and left the looters to wreak havoc.  The author said the bombs were really accurate for the most part, but the ground war once the troops came to Baghdad showed how ill prepared our military was for the pandemonium of a people recently freed. She said many Iraqis feared themselves and I see why after reading of the looting plus seeing how things have turned out the last several years with the sectarian fighting.  I enjoyed the reporting on how the Iraqi people reacted to Saddam's statue coming down. 

John's Jesus -- Making Jesus God, Jews as Enemies, 'Rigid' Church People

Bear with me while I finish posting my notes from Desire of the Everlasting Hills by Thomas Cahill. Only one more post after this one. 

The author points out that most Jews seemed to be expecting only one Messiah, however the term "Son of God" was often used of both angels and prophets, "indeed of anyone who could be considered God's mouthpiece."  "Son of God" and "Savior" also were used within the Roman world for "whichever Caesar happened to be occupying the imperial throne."  (pg. 255)

The question then becomes is Jesus the unique "son of God" or as some English versions of the Bible put it "the only begotten son" which I've read in the past was the King James-era method of declaring someone as a unique person not necessary begotten of a person in a human birth way.  Oh, I found this which explains it a bit more clearly perhaps.

The phrase "only begotten" translates the Greek word monogenes. This word is variously translated into English as "only," "one and only," and "only begotten." ...

So what does monogenes mean? According to the Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature (BAGD, 3rd Edition), monogenes has two primary definitions. The first definition is "pertaining to being the only one of its kind within a specific relationship." This is the meaning attached to its use in Hebrews 11:17 when the writer refers to Isaac as Abraham's "only begotten son." Abraham had more than one son, but Isaac was the only son he had by Sarah and the only son of the covenant.

The second definition is "pertaining to being the only one of its kind or class, unique in kind." This is the meaning that is implied in John 3:16. In fact, John is the only New Testament writer who uses this word in reference to Jesus (see John 1:14, 18; 3:16, 18; 1 John 4:9). John was primarily concerned with demonstrating that Jesus was the Son of God (John 20:31), and he uses this word to highlight Jesus as uniquely God's Son—sharing the same divine nature as God—as opposed to believers who are God's sons and daughters through faith.      (Source)

While the author makes concession in the book's end notes that there is a case for Paul making Jesus God, the author's view is the opposite.  He said neither Paul nor Mark, Luke nor Matthew thought of Jesus as God. But the writer of the fourth gospel - credited to John - did.  (pg. 257)

Do you agree that John was the only one? 

About the Gospel of John the author writes, "the delightful parables of the Synoptics are nowhere to be found, replaced by dignified but boring speeches that sometimes run to several pages" and "overwhelm us with airless solemnity that leaves us begging for the sinewy, down-to-earth Jesus of the Synoptics.  John's Jesus is always in control." (pg. 271-272)

Bah!  I take it this author likes action better than words!  Perhaps he should be in movies instead of writing books! :-)

It is John's Jesus of "the ancient creeds, of tasteless religious art, of German passion plays and Hollywood movies.  He is the immobile icon loved by ecclesiasts and theologians. It is if John's symbolic reverence has made an icon too awesome to be touched by the soiled and unconsecrated hands of ordinary humans....The weight of human and fleshly, the sweaty and smudged is finally overcome in John by the weightless illumination of the divine."  (pg. 272)

The author states that this process of icon-making is what later lead Mary from being a simple Galilean woman to rising to Mother of God, perpetual virgin status of the Church.


"Many who are comfortable with the Synoptic tradition and even with Paul feel that here at the threshold of John's Gospel they must part company with the New Testament. They may be believers or half-believers, Jews, humanitarians, agnostics -- all of whom may cheer the insights and advances of Paul and the Synoptic evangelists but find themselves abashed and compassless once they come into the field of John's unearthly glow.  The author continues that it's not the deification of the God-man that makes them uncomfortable, but "a spirit of touchy exclusivity" that repeatedly surfaces throughout Western history with "devastating results."  For in John, the author claims, the Jews are often enemies, often "designated with contempt, the lost people who 'have no king but Caesar.'"  This gospel "is still capable of leaving Jewish readers purple with rage and Christians red with embarrassment."  (pg. 273-275)

For about two minutes I wondered if something was wrong with me for never being one of those Christians who found John's gospels embarrassing, but as I kept reading I found out why. 

Cahill points out that the Johannine church developed separately almost like an island cut off from the mainland (which - the "mainland" - grew slowly into "the Great Church of succeeding centuries.")  John's church didn't rely on a central administration of bishops and deacons, but "was wholly dependent on individual, prophetic inspiration - from 'the Spirit' -- and it rejected the notion that anyone but Jesus could be pastor, that is, their shepherd. ... For all its problems, the high Christology of the Johannine community gave its theology a profundity and piercing clarity that other churches lacked; and its Spirit-based social ambience encouraged equal participation by all, especially women, in its common enterprises of charity and prayer."  (pg. 276-277)


"Its insistence on there being but one way of thinking makes uneasy anyone who has ever had an unorthodox thought. It comes as no surprise that John is often the favorite evangelist of the uptight and unrelenting; and his rigidity can call to mind contemporary churchpeople of several unfortunate varieties.  The difficulties of John's Gospel are extreme enough that to this day Christian churches use its passages sparingly in their lectionaries, whereas the other gospels are proclaimed in full."  (pg. 277)

Am I one of those "unfortunate varieties" of church people because I happen to like John?  Maybe.  I am a bit rigid about certain doctrines!  I feel there are some matters too important to be wishy-washy about.   While many I know like John's gospel (not sure if he is their favorite evangelist since we all have different tastes), I must tell you that they don't seem to hate Jews or blame them for crucifying Christ.  I read a book a couple years ago by a Jewish American guy who appealed to his fellow Jews to understand that - although liberal Jews and conservative Christians may not agree on politics in the United States - we conservative Christians were great friends of the Jews in many matters.  He explained that while European Christians of the past were often anti-Jew and blamed Jews for killing Jesus, North Americans were strongly influenced by London-born John Nelson Darby who was very pro-Jewish. Darby made missionary voyages to North America in the 1800s and his beliefs became more popular here.  Therefore, instead of us seeing Jews as Christ killers, we see Jews as the ones who brought us Christ and the Bible we hold dear.  Our Savior was a Jew!  "Our" Paul! "Our" Isaiah!  "Our" David!" How can we hate the Jews?  In fact I grew up hearing that the Jews didn't kill Jesus. In reality, we all did if we believe he died for our sins for all of us are sinners.  I think this is why many of us were puzzled when Mel Gibson's movie The Passion of the Christ came out and Jews were fearful that we would blame them for killing Jesus. Huh? That thought never crossed my mind!

So although "my people" may like John, I wanted to clarify that we are among the Jews' best friends.  This is actually a point that annoys me quite a bit because my people often equate today's Zionist State of Israel with the Jews and thus conservative Christians are one of the most staunch supporters of Israel today despite the country's many war crimes and mistreatment of people.  My Syrian friends know this and is one reason they were quite surprised that Andrew and I were nice people. They figured we all were monsters, apparently. 

Lastly, the author admits to some of John's literature as being "the most beautiful of the New Testament."

On this point, I totally agree with Thomas Cahill.  What from John's Gospel or letters do you find most beautiful?  What do you greatly dislike?  Any favorite stories from John?

Any thoughts on any of this? Please share.

My View on Christian Rules

"Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed."

Sometimes in the course of "religious" discussions I've come across people who express a sense of amazement at how few rules and regulations there are in New Testament Christianity.  I'll say this up front that I am from more of a Protestant background so I can't speak of Tradition that Catholics and perhaps Orthodox Christians adhere to. Maybe the rules are in Tradition.  But for me, I tend to let the Bible be my guide. And while there are many wonderful aspects to the Old Testament - like examples of faithful men and women of God and the glorious promises of God in the Prophets and the Psalms written by David and others - I tend to base much of my life on the life of Jesus as described by his followers in the New Testament.

And, no, there are not a lot of rules.



In fact Jesus summed up all the Law and the Prophets with this: love God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength and love your neighbor as you love yourself.

And when asked who was considered a neighbor, Jesus gave the equivalent of the Israelis and Palestinians today by using a Samaritan man as the hero in a "Jewish story."  So, yes, even your enemy is considered your neighbor and Jesus said you need to love him or her like you love yourself.

Still people want guidelines.  What do we do in the case of divorce? What do we do in regards to inheritance rights for women?  What do we eat? What about this or that or the other situation here?

Most of the people who have expressed surprise - OK all of the ones - have been Muslims who are used to very detailed instructions on things they must do, things they must not do, suggested ways to do things and preferred ways to do things. I know I bring this up on occasion, but it's because I was so shocked when I first began studying more about Islam and saw they even had suggested ways to enter, use and clean yourself after using the bathroom.  Apparently the ahadith is chock full of rules and regulations so a Muslim used to such a way of life is appalled at the lack of direction we Christians must face!

Christ frees us from the weight of rules. We are free to love God and serve others!

You know how I think? 

God gives us principles for living in this world.  Some of us He put in restricted nations like China where in some areas you cannot worship God freely.  Some He put in free countries where we can worship or not worship God such as is the case in my own country.  For whatever reason, God put us in all kinds of countries with different levels of freedom. Do I think He wanted the believers in God who are scattered all over the globe to come together and make a nation called God's Country or Christendom or Islamostan?

Nope.

I think people have tried such things and failed!  Did Christianizing the Roman Empire bring Jesus' qualities of love for enemies and "going the extra mile" and "the greatest among you is the one who serves" to the people en masse?

We wish!

Instead it seems power corrupts. Whether that is "Christian" power or "Islamic" power or atheistic power, we have to guard against corruption.

I believe God wanted us to have His principles for living and then to live those out within the countries in which He placed us.  Society changes for the better when God changes hearts and lives not when we are made to wear certain clothes or not do this or that by legislation or police enforcing good morals. And for certain marching into other lands trying to change people's minds by sword or bombs is not the answer!

I still remember when I read Karen Armstrong's book and she said Muhammad cared about his family and friends in Mecca so he tried getting their attention by raiding their caravans.  This seems so bizarre!  You show you care by stealing from others?


For those from Europe marching into other lands: you try to convert the masses while at the same time you steal their natural resources?

For me, Jesus gave us guidelines on how to live.  He lived at a time when Palestine was occupied by Romans yet he never called for an uprising although a number of the Jewish people were ready for that.  This is one reason Jesus was rejected as Messiah! The Jews thought their Messiah was going to free Palestine from the occupying Romans.

But Jesus came instead with a message of love and turning back to God. It seemed he was more concerned with their spiritual states than the fact they were physically occupied by an infidel nation!

What?!

So no I don't have a list of rules telling me how much I can inherit, how many other wives my husband can take or even my rights in the case of divorce.  I live in the United States and my country has a number of rules covering such issues.  My spiritual role is to live like Jesus within my own country. 

And for you, the same.

One who loves doesn't need rules to tell him how to treat others.

Love God.  Love others.

Whether you are in the United States, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, China, Britain or Venezuela.

If we love God and love others - and treat people like we want to be treated ourselves - just how many rules and regulations do we really need? 



"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law." (Gal 5:22,23)

Thoughts?

PHoC -- chapter 3

This chapter is titled "Ethics: The Love of Neighbor" and deals with four topics in particular. I found this chapter of great interest and, sadly, very far removed from most of American Christianity. I forgot to mention these first three chapters deal with Christianity in the years of "The Way" from 100 to 500 A.D. Here are things I noted from each of the four areas she discussed: hospitality, communalism, peacemaking and strangers and aliens.

Great stuff on hospitality! Instead of thinking in our terms of throwing parties and social gatherings, think more in line with Luke 14:12,13 & Mt. 25:34-36. Welcome "the least of these" into our homes and hearts. "Outsiders -- unlovely, unwanted human beings -- are brought inside the circle of protection and care as usual social relationships are disrupted or reversed. . . . To us hospitality is an industry, not a practice, one that summons Martha Stewart to mind more quickly than Jesus Christ. But to ancient Christians hospitality was a virtue, part of the love of neighbor and fundamental to being a person of the way. While contemporary Christians tend to equate morality with sexual ethics, our ancestors defined morality as welcoming the stranger." (pg. 61,62) As African theologian Tertullian put it: "'Only look,' they say, 'look how they love one another!'" (pg. 65)

Communalism was practiced by early Christians up until the time Christianity was made the official religion of the empire by Constantine. The church/state along with pastors and bishops started accumulating wealth and became wealthy. Around this time they started making Jesus' statement about selling everything you have and giving it to the poor allegorical rather than literal as most believers did the years following Christ's ministry on earth. Early Christian instruction manuals "warned against the evils of loving money and failing to be generous, even condemning 'advocates of the rich' to hell." (pg. 66) One early church father, John Chrysostom, advocated selling all private property and adopting communal living arrangements. He "championed the church's social responsibility toward the poor, the practice of hospitality, and the need for Christians to live in simplicity." (pg. 69)

Peacemaking -- "Before theologians Ambrose and Augustine in later decades made a case for just war, Christians were not allowed to fight. No record exists that Christians served in the Roman army before the year 170. The strong consensus of the early church teachers was that war meant killing, killing was murder, and murder was wrong. . . Justin Marytr, Irenaeus, Hippolytus, Tertullian, and Origen all specifically condemned participation in war. ... While Tertullian emphasized the negative aspects of the military to Christian discipleship, Origen pointed out the positive vision of a life of Christian peacemaking. He criticized the army as a society of 'professional violence,' pointing out that Jesus forbids any kind of violence or vengeance against another. 'We will not raise arms against any other nation, we will not practice the art of war,' he wrote, 'because through Jesus Christ we have become the children of peace.' To him the spiritual life means rejecting all forms of violence, an 'absolute pacifism.'" (pgs. 71,72)

Strangers and Aliens -- "Christianity is neither an ethnicity nor earthly citizenship but a way of life that is somehow at odds with the societies in which the faithful reside. Christians may look like everyone else, but their actions -- including practices of hospitality, charity, and nonviolence -- make them different." (pg. 74-- from early Christian texts) The author points out verses such a John 17:15 & 16 and Hebrews 11:13.

After Christianity was made the official state religion, many things changed. "Indeed, in the next century being a Christian became a requirement for serving in the army. By the end of Constantine's reign, Christianity had been completely transformed. Christians no longer had to be 'resident aliens' or 'settled migrants.' Instead they held dual citizenship in Rome and the heavenly city. Or, as seemed to many, with a Christian emperor and a court of bishops, Rome was God's heavenly city and the kingdom of God had taken up earthly residence. . .. The Christian paradox was lost, and the original vision of Christianity as a way of life yielded to faith as the prerequisite for worldly comfort and success." (pg. 78)

Any thoughts?

July Books

Islam & Christianity: A Revealing Contrast by James F. Gauss -- I recall this being an Amazon.com recommendation.   I ordered it back in 2009, but it didn't really interest me once I received it.  It sat on my bookshelf for a year and a half before I decided I should read the books I'd bought before checking out new ones from the library. Thus, it got read finally.  The author had some good points. I enjoyed many of the biblical passages. But overall the theme of the book was one that didn't encourage me to be more like Jesus.  I felt the author misrepresented Islam on many points and I found myself arguing against what he wrote in defensive of a fuller context.  I even marked a few pages with my arguments!  So I'm glad I finished it and can move on. 



In Ishmael's House: A History of Jews in Muslim Lands by Martin Gilbert -- This was another Amazon.com recommendation which I got for my birthday. I learned quite a lot from this book and it inspired four posts because I really wanted to make notes on some topics discussed. ; see previous posts for more details




The Rise of Christianity by Rodney Stark. -- mentioned it here  and in my post about Christianity in the ancient world




Abraham's Children: Race, Identity, and the DNA of the Chosen People by Jon Entine  -- see some things that took my attention from this book in my Jews, Hispanics, Chosenness, DNA, Lost Tribes, Sheep & More post



Sharing the Love of Christ With Your Muslim Neighbours by Ahmad Aygei -- this guy spoke at our church earlier this year and offered his book for sale. It's actually 2 books in one thus the following book is by him as well. He is from Ghana and grew up in a large Muslim family. He briefly shares how he became a follower of Jesus and then shares the trials of a new convert and God's heart for Muslims. 

One of my favorite parts is from the Introduction:

"It is a sad fact that many Christians are ignorant of God's purposes for the Muslim world. Rather than having God's heart for the Muslims, they feel threatened and become hard-hearted towards them.  Some see Islam as a threat which can only be conquered by military might.  They have forgotten that we do not use the weapons of the world (2 Corinthians 10:4) and we are not fighting against flesh and blood (Ephesians 6:12). ... The fact that a sect or religious group is opposed to our beliefs does not mean we should hate them and wish to see evil befall them.  The spirit of Christ is full of Love.  Loving when we are hated is what makes Christians different."  (pg. 1-2)

My other favorite part was dealing with trials and avoiding self pity while going through them.  He encourages us to deal with trials properly and not allow ourselves to be self pitying or fearful, but realize God is our strength. (see pg. 28)




Ishmael Shall Be Blessed by Ahmad Aygei -- the second part of this 2 in 1 book.  The author shares about Jesus from both the Bible and Quran.  I found the final chapter on the Comforter of great interest.  He shared the Islamic argument of the Comforter being a prophecy of Muhammad and compared it to the Christian belief of the Comforter being the Holy Spirit just as Jesus stated.



A Christian Perspective on Islam by J.L. Williams -- this guy is the one who actually brought Ahmad Aygei from Ghana to our church for the 3 day conference.  I would not have bought this book because I have read so many books of this type already, but Andrew bought it without my knowing  thus I figured I'd go ahead and read it.  And there was some stuff that was different from most books of this type. I enjoyed the discussion of community, culture, the Crusades and colonialism. Some of it turned me off because I feel such people really are fearful of Islam and I just am not. Perhaps I am naive for being this way.

And with that, I have finished all the books on my own bookshelves aside from the few that are Andrew's.  And on July 20, I went to the library and got more books which I shall begin shortly!


After the Apple by Naomi Harris Rosenblatt -- see previous posts for notes


The Geography of Bliss by Eric Weiner -- NPR correspondent decides to travel various parts of the world to determine what makes people happy or unhappy in the case of Moldova. This was a fun way to learn interesting tidbits about several countries like Bhutan, Iceland, Qatar, India and so forth. The subtitle is "one grump's search for the happiest places in the world."  I love the conclusion that he reached about happiness being relational; it's "utterly intertwined with other people" and also, I believe, with our relationship with God.