Thoughts of a Servant

Had a good conversation with my roommates about this subject– but it definitely got me thinking.  I heard a pastor start talking about how God is Jealous and he wants us to worship him.  I knew I had this fear, but I couldn’t define it– Consider if someone was jealous on this earth and they wanted us to praise them, we would consider it arrogant and self-praising. . . But for some undefinable reason it is okay for God to say that?  I had to research this, because I know that my perception of the world jealous was skewed and it is really in the realm of zeal that he longs for us.

Russell brought up a good concept, he mentioned the word recognition in his blog–  This is what we all strive for.  Everything in our life was us in our pursuit for greatness, from the garden of Eden, to Babylonia, to Rome, to America.  To us playing sports, to anything that we do.  But why do we seek this greatness?  Because we feel that forgiveness isn’t enough.  We feel as though we have to earn our spot in Heaven.  But when God tells us that his greatness is unparalleled, and that we should praise him, it is because he is pious.  Let me explain a little further…

I was reading Deuteronomy32 today, and my prayers / questions were surely answered.  I saw this verse that completely worded my question:

16 They made him jealous with their foreign gods

and angered him with their detestable idols.

The Holy Bible : New International Version, electronic ed. (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1996). Dt 32:16.

Where God sees us praising false gods and He becomes jealous.  But not soon after that verse he answered:

The LORD will judge his people 
and have compassion on his servants 
when he sees their strength is gone
and no one is left, slave or free. 
37 He will say: “Now where are their gods, 
the rock they took refuge in, 
38 the gods who ate the fat of their sacrifices 
and drank the wine of their drink offerings? 
Let them rise up to help you! 
Let them give you shelter!

39 “See now that I myself am He!
There is no god besides me.
I put to death and I bring to life,
I have wounded and I will heal,
and no one can deliver out of my hand.
40 I lift my hand to heaven and declare:
As surely as I live forever,
41 when I sharpen my flashing sword
and my hand grasps it in judgment,
I will take vengeance on my adversaries
and repay those who hate me.
42 I will make my arrows drunk with blood,
while my sword devours flesh:
the blood of the slain and the captives,
the heads of the enemy leaders.”

43 Rejoice, O nations, with his people,f, g
for he will avenge the blood of his servants;
he will take vengeance on his enemies
and make atonement for his land and people.

The Holy Bible : New International Version, electronic ed. (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1996). Dt 32:36–43.

He makes it clear that we cannot even fathom the Glory he obtains, along the same reason we cannot see Jesus’ face.  And in actuality, if someone here were to give themselves praise, it would have been out of sinful nature as they want acknowledgement to counter their transgressions… But God has no transgressions– only glory.

Jealousy actually stems to different contexts, and in the bible it is more about striving & deep longing than it is to take advantage of:

And even more importantly, the jealousy God has here is more of zeal:

If we were to look at the jealousness of God, it is actually a Jealousy from an individual that has no rival claim to deity and sovereignty.  He alone is God, all else is His creation.

To worship the creature, rather than the Creator, is to rob God of His uniqueness and incomparability (vv. Deut 35, 39; Ac 17:22–28; Rm 1:25). The Hebrew word translated “jealous” (qannaʾ) also means “zealous.” God’s jealousy is an expression of His intense love and care for His people and His demand that they honor His unique and incomparable nature.

Ted Cabal, Chad Owen Brand, E. Ray Clendenen, Paul Copan, J.P. Moreland and Doug Powell, The Apologetics Study Bible: Real Questions, Straight Answers, Stronger Faith (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2007). 273.

 

In the end, we have to remember that our God is in pursuit of us.  He is not waiting for us to come to Him– he is in zealous pursuit for his lost sheep, and should we turn our lives He will celebrate! God doesn’t want to share our devotion (Deuteronomy 4:24).

I took a little mental trip to the Soviet today.  I am currently fascinated with foreign cultures and how they perceive certain events and topics.  So I spent some time observing Russia’s prominent religion: Православие, or Orthodox (announced: Pravoslavije).

I was surprised to see how much pride they take in their church.  Both believers and non-believers hold the church as a symbol for their heritage and development of their country.  Inside of this church you will find several denominations such as Roman Catholics, Armenian Gregorian and various Protestant.

Doing some research on the religions, I found that Christianity is not even a percentage of their population, 70% is orthodox and the others are very minimal ( <6%).  Jehovah’s witnesses appear to be more prominent than Christians.

There was actually an anti-religion movement from 1917 to 1928 where they followed Marxist beliefs and were radical against believers.

The tenth CPSU (Communist Party of the Soviet Union) congress met in 1921 and it passed a resolution calling for ‘widescale organization, leadership, and cooperation in the task of anti-religious agitation and propaganda among the broad masses of the workers, using the mass media, films, books, lectures, and other devices.

David E. Powell, Antireligious Propaganda in the Soviet Union: A Study of Mass Persuasion (Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 1975) p. 34;

The supression of religion was so great, they even had concentration caps strictly for believers.  They executed 95k individuals including clergy and bishops, etc within an individual camp by  a firing squad.

In the period between 1927 and 1940, the number of Orthodox Churches in the Russian Republic fell from 29,584 to less than 500.

…

There was a massive closure of churches (reducing the number from 22,000 to 7,000 by 1965

…

[and so many more]

BUT in all of this repression, there is so much hope!

Riga priest Nikolai Trubetskoi (1907-1978) lived under the Nazi occupation of Latvia, and when the Germans retreated out of Latvia in 1944, he escaped out of a German evacuation boat and hid behind to await the Red Army, but he was arrested by the NKVD and sentenced to ten years of hard labour for collaboration with the enemy. This was because under the occupation he had been a zealous pastor and a had done very successful missionary work. In reference to missionary work in the occupied territory near Leningrad he wrote ‘We opened and re-consecrated closed churches, carried out mass baptisms. It’s hard to imagine how, after years of Soviet domination, people hungered after the Word of God. We married and buried people; we had literally no time for sleep. I think that if such a mission were sent today [1978] to the Urals, Siberia or even the Ukrained, we’d see the same result.’

Dimitry V. Pospielovsky. A History of Soviet Atheism in Theory, and Practice, and the Believer, vol 2: Soviet Antireligious Campaigns and Persecutions, St Martin’s Press, New York (1988) pg 92-93

Maybe the time is now.  A reformation started in the 80′s that openly accepted the Catholic Orthodox Church as an icon for their country.  But there are still levels of the bourgeois that will not be able to understand the “mumbo jumbo”.  Something similar to the Martin Luther reformation.  It could be a large movement that will shape these 100 million individuals into knowing a relationship…

What a picture…   What kind of love.

I was just enjoying a really good song by Kutless, and I got to thinking about the persecution I had been hearing about.  A video release from India not too long ago showed several Christians begin beaten to death so that they would renounce their faith…  There are also things similar to Marzieh and Maryam happening around the globe.

I can sit here and raise my hands openly, because I have not had to endure anything even close to those stories.  But would I be able to endure that kind of torture?  Would I be able to say that Jesus is my savior even after unspeakable things had been done to me?  I’d say yes, and my heart says yes, but it will still be a fear that I wouldn’t hold to that word.  Maybe the fear is a sign that I wouldn’t break.  Fear is often something that strengthens us, so perhaps the fear will prepare us for that day when we will, too, be tested.

A bank is a place that will lend you money if you can prove that you don’t need it.

God made man before woman to give him time to think of an answer for her first question.

“When I die, I want to go peacefully like my Grandfather did, in his sleep — not screaming, like the passengers in his car”

Cheese… milk’s leap toward immortality.

Thats often how we see him right?  Haha, we picture him like this little mischevious devil that hops around with a cute little tail… This might look a little familiar:

How dangerous it is.  But it is true.  But the truth is, this “little fella” lived with God, the Creator of the universe– who is not even subject to time or space…  Then this “little fella” decided that he could be God, so he was a fallen angel of his own doing.  He became the lord of darkness, suffering, pain, anguish, deception, deceit, longing, and utter separation from God.  This “little fella” is the driving force behind any and all deception in our world, he tempts us, attacks us, insults us, gives us lustful thoughts, etc.

I took a few character development classes at the Art Institute and I will never forget the characteristics that make a character lovable and how they apply to this very persona.  You give them big eyes, short, head to body ratio is usually closer to 1:1 (cause we like big heads), and the list goes on and on.  This is the devil like we see above!  They have done a great job making this character lovable, but this very image of love is deliberately weakening our spiritual tolerance.  We begin to think, “oh, he can’t be much worse than that cute little fella…”

When you look at the media: if the devil is shown,  he is usually doing something fun, or in a more real sense he is some cute / sexy / or some Rico Suave that every woman adores — with a tail and some horns.

And on the other side, we see Jesus– he is usually on a cross or praying with some weak person and with some nice “glowy” figure and emphasized pain with holes in his hands and a crown of thorns…  He is dying on the cross–  But more often than not, he is in golden robes and arms wide open–

But when you look at them side by side, being completely honest, which one is more attractive– which one is easier– which one is instant?  I would definitely say the devil– he is having fun!  It is also something that we can relate with.  We see it every day with people around us: the drinking, parties, money, women / men, instant satisfaction etc.    And on the other side we see our option: golden laced white robes… Thats it.

Now, I am not completely disagreeing with that image of Jesus–  I think Jesus deserves his place in our hearts as a Redeemer of the world, because he is just that.  But our media effectively skews the image of Christianity and heavily effects the evangelistic efforts because we first need to overcome that stereotypical persona before we can share the love of Christ.

Even as a Christian, I still battle with the image of the Trinity Broadcast Network (aka TBN).  I drive by their mansion often (in Orange County), and their place is always lit up with millions of lights!!  I couldn’t help but think how many children they could be saving from trafficking if they just shut off their lights at night……………..

I have been reading Screwtape Letters and it has been really defining and eye-opening.  It mentions the above info without ever stating it.  One of the killer quotes I found today is,

“Indeed the safest road to Hell is the gradual is the gradual one- the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts. – Screwtape”

Which is so true.  The way we slip out of faith is through a long period of subtle changes in our life and decisions that we make.  It is never a drastic change that makes our life immediately negative.  It is the repetitive failures, repetitive subtle thoughts we have, etc.

“The more often he feels without acting, the less he will be able ever to act, and, in the long run, the less he will be able to feel.” – Screwtape

So in conclusion– I would like to wrap up with this important scripture that I had to memorize for the Africa trip.  I must tell you, I thought of it alllllll the time, day and night, while I was there and ever since then.  It is a very important thing to acknowledge, because the devil’s best weapon is nullifying his existence.

8 Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 9 Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.

The Holy Bible : New International Version, electronic ed. (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1996). 1 Pe 5:8–9.

 

I ran into this concept– It is very similar to how evangelism works, but from an atheist’s point of view from the book: Athiesm by Julian Baggini.

“The best we can do therefore is to show believers who may think that they have rational grounds for their belief that they are wrong. We can force them to choose, in other words, between taking the risk of faith and restricting their use of reason to apologetics, or giving up theirfaith all together. I think relatively few will take the second path. But as more do so, and religious convictions become less and less likely to be passed on by parents, educators, and the Church, so the force of reason may generally hold more sway. Religion will recede not by athiests shoiting condemnation, but by the quite voice of reason slowly making itself heard.”

The first thing I want to note– I have this quote from Screwtape Letters by CS Lewis,

Indeed the safest road to Hell is the gradual one- the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts. — Screwtape

Doesn’t it seem to run parallel with the final sentences of that statement?  The Devil’s greatest weapon is making himself unknown and nullifying his existence.  So to make Christians renounce our faith is dangerous, but even more subtle, and (I would argue) even more deadly, is allowing them to convince themselves that God is an illusion.

It is an interesting book based on factual evidence and educated thoughtful responses to Atheism and their view of faith–  It talks about the misconception of our understanding of Atheism.  He basically states that Atheists can be moral, theological, and ethical– but the only difference is that they cannot logically come to the conclusion of God’s existence without sufficient evidence that there is in fact a God.

A major argument that is presented is the idea of blind-global-wording… For instance, “No Child Left Behind”, “If you are not with us, you are against us” etc.  These concepts present a call to action to each and every person that hears the statements.  IF you are not with us, presenting that you are neutral or against us, then you are the enemy.  Thats scary right?  Bandwagon propaganda.  But the Atheists believe that Christians use this methodology in their belief system.

Going back to the quote above, you might notice that they are very logical thinkers.  They think in tangible terms, and if something becomes too abstract, then it must not be true in real life but a figure of abstract imagination which explains why it is so difficult to believe in God.

Basically, the entire book is looking at scientific disproof of God with hard, factual evidence.  That doesn’t necessarily mean that they believe in evolution either– but logically, makes more sense.

Atheism is a search on this earth for self-betterment and a journey for yourself…  And often it is perceived as a scary world,  ”[Atheists] have no divine parents who always protect us and who are unquestionably good. The world is instead a big and scary place, but also one where there are opportunities to go out and create lives for ourselves. (Baggini)”

In short, “Unfortunately, you are alone– do the best you can.”  I say this with the utmost respect for Atheists because I understand how difficult it is to believe in something we cannot feel, touch, hear, see, etc.  This is why I say “unfortunately” because they certainly didn’t want it to be this way…

I have some trouble with that statement though, because the only proof I can think of (and it is more than sufficient for me) is how relational human beings are– and Biblically speaking, we were made in the Image of Christ– physically, emotionally and mentally we have similar attributes.  With that said, we were meant to be connected with people, with things, with life.  We were not meant to be alone, and we are not alone.  Christi s also relational, with his Church, with hearts, with people.

There is also a statement I have heard from Atheists that goes, “Life is a bitch, then you die.”  How depressing–  First of all, who would want to believe that?!  I can write a whole separate article on what I think of that statement…  Of course, I am sure some ethical / moral Atheists would not associate themselves with that statement, and it would be incorrect for me to associate every atheist with it–

Something I found interesting, and this is what it comes down to:  Atheists will argue that it takes more belief (blind belief) to believe in a God that has not presented himself in a tangible way?  And Christians would argue that it takes more evidence and effort to disprove the existence of God than it is to believe and receive grace.

With that said, it seems like we are looking at two nonparallel spectrums of observations… Belief and proof.  Atheists’ proof: biology, history, science, existence, etc.  Christians’ proof: experience, belief, testimony, revolving around faith.

So how would you go about having a discussion?

One thing I always come back to– If I am right, then we go to a Heaven where we will live life abundantly for eternity with the One who created us.  If you are right [Atheist], then we have spent a lifetime improving oneself and in the end nothing happens, we cease to exist, etc (um, some cases– some Atheists believe in ghosts and stuff).

But in the end I would like to close, why not give God a try?  Ask him to reveal himself to you in a sincere prayer.  See if he shows himself in a refreshing new light and in a tangible way  The best part is, I feel full confident in that statement because my God is amazing, and prayer works.  He is listening, he just wants you to acknowledge Him!

So there are many times I wish I knew Spanish.  I want to be able to talk with them about their story and whatnot– but instead there is a disconnect.  I was thinking the other day, how awesome would it be to have the Bible teach me Spanish?!  Thats the main thing I want to be able to convey clearly anyway, the rest about weather can be jibberish, and thats fine with me– I don’t eve talk about weather for very long with my English conversations.

So it is my goal to read a chapter in Spanish as often as I can.  And today I went to Barnes and Nobel, found a bunch of books, but ended up reading the Bilingual Bible for a while.  And I must say, I learn so much observing it from another language– its almost like I am hearing it for the first time as a new Christian!  It makes me slow waaaaay down to dissect each word and find the meaning and multiple definitions.

I want to learn Spanish through this method, and then move on to french, farsi, etc.  I love it so much, and its a renewal of how Good and universal God really is.

So I had a post that I wanted to do, but there are so many posts hahaah.  I hadn’t planned on doing a post on this, but it definitely interested me.  I read it in Numbers 21 NIV.  The basic story behind it is that Israel was becoming disobedient towards God (although He had provided food, water, life, etc) and Moses… They were actually complaining that they always have to eat the same thing… Haha- what a minor concern, but we do it now don’t we? So God had Moses put a bronze serpent in the middle of their camp in the desert, and if anyone was bit by a snake– all they would need to do is look at the serpent and they would live.

Kind of interesting right?  I am curious as to why it was a snake / serpent which is a major symbol for the fall of man in the garden…  Its kind of ironic that the people started worshiping this bronze snake after a short period of time– they began burning incense to it…

It is referenced again, but it is mentioned in 2 Kings 18:4

4 He removed the high places, smashed the sacred stones and cut down the Asherah poles. He broke into pieces the bronze snake Moses had made, for up to that time the Israelites had been burning incense to it. (It was calledb Nehushtan.c)

The Holy Bible : New International Version, electronic ed. (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1996). 2 Ki 18:4.

They called it Nehushtan, which is Hebrew for several meanings: bronze, snake, and unclean thing.  According to HIBD, the bronze serpent had a large symbolic meaning to the people:

Archaeological evidence from Mesopotamian and, more importantly, Canaanite sites reveals that the crawling serpent was a symbol of the fertility of the soil. The serpent was often represented associated with the fertility goddesses, the bull, the dove (life of the heavens), and water.

Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2003). 239.

But something so much more is behind this symbolic reference. The snake was a representation of their safety and God’s right hand as he remained with them.  It was also a sign that they must obey, but moreso that God was with them– and each time they were bitten by deadly serpents, they would look to this bronze snake and live.  It became a source of life and a representation of healing.

With that said, the bronze snake is mentioned a third and final time in John 3:14

14 Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, 15 that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.

The Holy Bible : New International Version, electronic ed. (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1996). Jn 3:14–15.

So Jesus then turned another symbol upside down!  He became what that serpent was to the people.  He became the redeemer, the symbol of fertility, life, and healing.  He then became the one person that people would look to when they have been, symbolically, bitten by a serpent.  I also believe it trumped the significance of the snake lifted on a tree in the garden that influenced us to know evil.  He was lifted on the cross as that snake was on the post, and in turn flipped yet another strong symbol in the world.

In Numbers the Israelites were complaining that they always eat the same thing day in and day out.  They didn’t recognize that they had food, water, safety at all times– they only recognized the monotony of their eating patterns.  I just wanted to share something rather funny– God answered their prayers with new meat, quail.  Quail, I take it, wasn’t the best thing to eat, but they definitely had a change of appetite.

In short, God sent almost 1 trillion inidividual quail (about the size of San Antonio) for their consuming complaints:

Be careful for what you ask for?  I think so.

So my cousin asked a question and wanted an intellectual discussion on the subjectivity of morality.  I figured this would be a great chance to read up on some actual contemplative observation of morality.

Um, I think there are different types that you will have to consider when classifying morality rather than just stating that “All Morality” is subjective.  I think that there are three definitive classifications of morality: permissible, obligatory, and supererogatory.

Something that is seen as morally permissible would be subjective to one-self because they would refrain from performing an action because it might incur moral guilt.  Then you have morality that resides within obligation which is subject to the other party because of the fear of failure to fulfill moral obligation would bring moral censure.

The third type, moral supererogatory, can be considered to be subject to a higher power. This type of morality is based off of the concept that these are not duties, but are praiseworthy.  For instance, you save someone’s life– instinctive at heart (not morally driven), but producing good.  Another example would be if I was unable to swim, but saw a child drowning in a river, and tried to save them– then my actions are not within my duty (because I cannot swim) and therefore it is an act of supererogatory morality.

However!  I do not think morality is judged by the outcome of actions.  Consider this analogy:

Are consequences, then, the key for determining the morality of the agent? We think not. Our reasoning is best illustrated as follows. Suppose someone sees a child drowning in a swimming pool and tries to rescue him just because he needs help and because it is right to help. Suppose as well the attempt fails, and the boy drowns. On this theory of what it means to be moral, the would-be rescuer did not act morally, because the child died. Surely that conclusion is unacceptable. Likewise, suppose someone wants to rob a bank, but during the robbery he is apprehended before he gets the money. Because of the attempted robbery, the bank installs a better security system. As a result, everyone who comes to the bank will be safer, and money deposited in the bank will be better protected. On this theory of what it means to be moral when acting, the thief tried to do a harmful act, but because he was unsuccessful, he cannot be considered immoral. In fact, since good came from this incident, one might even say the thief acted morally. Examples like these should convince the reader that what makes an agent moral is not the results of his action.

John S. Feinberg, Paul D. Feinberg and Aldous Huxley, Ethics for a Brave New World (Wheaton, Ill.: Crossway Books, 1996). 21.

So in order to effectively evaluate that an action is morality subject to morality itself, we have to consider a few things: First, they must be acting freely — not under obligation or guilt; and second, what were the motives behind the action?  Own interest, others?

So in a sense, morality is subjective, yes, because morality is based off knowledge of good and bad.  Without knowledge of good or bad there wouldn’t be a standard for morality.  BUT morality has different levels of subjectivity.