It is said there is an anonymous inscription on an old slab in the ancient cathedral in Lübeck, Germany, which reads:
Thus Speaketh Christ our Lord:
You call me Master and Obey me not
You call me Light and See me not
You call me Way and Walk me not
You call me Life and Desire me not
You call me Wise and Follow me not
You call me Fair and Love me not
You call me Rich and Ask me not
You call me Eternal and Seek me not
You call me Gracious and Trust me not
You call me Just and Fear me not
If I condemn you, Blame me not.
That is convicting to me, but even more that that, in Matthew 5:20 Jesus said "For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven." There are two ways of interpreting this, one easy and one difficult. Jesus could simply be alluding to his righteousness which is imputed to us. This is the easy way. But Jesus could be saying what we may all fear he is really saying: that unless we live more righteously than the scribes and pharisees lived, we will in no way enter the kingdom of God. This is the difficult way, and I'm troubled that it may be the correct one. This only points to the absolute connection Scripture makes between being redeemed and then as a result living a redeemed life, something easily overlooked today.
What is even more troubling though is that I often have difficulty explaining this necessary connection, as much as I know it to be true in my heart and mind. This disconnect is most obvious in my evangelism. Sure, I try to explain the necessity of the new birth. I try to explain how we should be grateful for to Christ for what he has done for us, and how good trees produce good fruit...but I can't shake the feeling that there is something deficient about my understanding. Just one evidence of my deficiency is that I have yet to work into a gospel presentation how we have been purchased by God like a slave, and how we must surrender everything to him for the righteousness he has. Maybe it is just as simple as that.
So how will I come to a fuller understanding? By much prayer and scripture, primarily. The Holy Spirit has also gifted many members of our body as teachers, both living and deceased. I'm grateful for the rich Christian heritage that we have, men like Martin Luther who stood against the forces of darkness in his own day proclaiming that "justification is by faith alone, but not a faith that is alone." So short, so elegant, so powerful. Let us all prayerfully search the Word of God, pray, and consult the collective wisdom of Christ's Church to aid in our understanding!
Saturday, March 22, 2008
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
How Should We Then Live: The Decline of Western Thought and Culture
#27 on Jessica's list of 30 things to do by age 30 is to read one book a year of my choosing. I have enjoyed reading a number of books over the last several years, but she may not necessarily enjoy the same things. I want this book to be one that she will learn a lot from and be excited to read. Should it be a historical book? An exposition of Scripture? Perhaps a philosophical/theological work? For 2008, the choice of book is easy.
I've recently finished reading "How Should We Then Live? The Rise and Decline of Western Thought and Culture" by Francis A. Schaeffer. Available as a video series (which I gave to my Dad for Christmas) or a more extensive and thorough book, Schaeffer chronicles the changes in philosophy, art, and science from the Roman times until the recent past (1970's), and how each of those fields influences the others. Well written and enjoyable, I have learned a great deal from it and look forward to one day rereading it as well as reading other Schaeffer books.
Christian thought, grounded in the belief that there is one God who is both rational and knowable, who created and governs the universe, provides the basis for true scientific investigation. Both the Chinese and the Persians made short term advances in science, but did not continue their investigations. The Chinese animists were not convinced that the universe was rational, as they believed in various competing deities who changed the rules governing the universe. The same can be said of the Arab/Persian world, with their commitment to belief in Allah, who they believe is completely unknowable, and is even said to deceive people. Christian men like Sir Isaac Newton were convinced that the God of the Bible, who is rational, made a rational world. Such a commitment provides the incentive to invest energy and thought into understanding the world. Not all men who have made scientific advances are Christians, but Christian thought provides the foundation for those advances. The Reformation saw great advances in architecture(and other art), philosophy, and science.
With the Enlightenment and Rationalism, man saw himself as the measure of truth, and thought that by unaided human reason, man was capable of figuring out ultimate reality. For an example in art, Michelangelo's "David" eschewes this philosophical commitment. "David" is not the David of the Bible, as the statue shows an uncircumcises male. No, this David represents how enlightened thinkers saw themselves: "David"'s overly large hands capable of doing anything, capable of achieving physical and mental perfection.
But over time unaided human reason resulted in pessimism that anything was knowable, and the loss for many of the concept of absolute truth. Life, and everything else in existence, becomes meaningless without reference to absolute, universal truth. In the place of absolute truth is relative truth by consensus, and arbitrary absolutes. Think of Supreme Court arbitrary absolutes on the subject of abortion, and countless other relative "truths" which daily affect us.
The philosophical meaninglessness and absurdity to existence was also carried into art, as can be seen in most modern art, and then to books, plays, TV, and cinema. Art, then, is the vehicle to carry ivory tower philosophies to the average joe on the street. Think of the TV show Seinfeld, and the meaninglessness of relationships, sex, or even having a cogent plot. The movies and television shows we watch all carry some sort of philosophical baggage, but we unknowingly ingest these messages. This aspect of the book really opened my eyes to the fact that I really know very little about the meaning of art and how effective it is in molding society.
There are vast area's of the book I have not touched on, that have greatly aided my understanding of the world in which we live. Ideas have power, and we owe it to ourselves and others to know what those ideas are and how they are continuing to affect every area of our lives and society, and "how we should then live". I hope you all will take my recommendation to read this book.
I've recently finished reading "How Should We Then Live? The Rise and Decline of Western Thought and Culture" by Francis A. Schaeffer. Available as a video series (which I gave to my Dad for Christmas) or a more extensive and thorough book, Schaeffer chronicles the changes in philosophy, art, and science from the Roman times until the recent past (1970's), and how each of those fields influences the others. Well written and enjoyable, I have learned a great deal from it and look forward to one day rereading it as well as reading other Schaeffer books.
Christian thought, grounded in the belief that there is one God who is both rational and knowable, who created and governs the universe, provides the basis for true scientific investigation. Both the Chinese and the Persians made short term advances in science, but did not continue their investigations. The Chinese animists were not convinced that the universe was rational, as they believed in various competing deities who changed the rules governing the universe. The same can be said of the Arab/Persian world, with their commitment to belief in Allah, who they believe is completely unknowable, and is even said to deceive people. Christian men like Sir Isaac Newton were convinced that the God of the Bible, who is rational, made a rational world. Such a commitment provides the incentive to invest energy and thought into understanding the world. Not all men who have made scientific advances are Christians, but Christian thought provides the foundation for those advances. The Reformation saw great advances in architecture(and other art), philosophy, and science.
With the Enlightenment and Rationalism, man saw himself as the measure of truth, and thought that by unaided human reason, man was capable of figuring out ultimate reality. For an example in art, Michelangelo's "David" eschewes this philosophical commitment. "David" is not the David of the Bible, as the statue shows an uncircumcises male. No, this David represents how enlightened thinkers saw themselves: "David"'s overly large hands capable of doing anything, capable of achieving physical and mental perfection.
But over time unaided human reason resulted in pessimism that anything was knowable, and the loss for many of the concept of absolute truth. Life, and everything else in existence, becomes meaningless without reference to absolute, universal truth. In the place of absolute truth is relative truth by consensus, and arbitrary absolutes. Think of Supreme Court arbitrary absolutes on the subject of abortion, and countless other relative "truths" which daily affect us.
The philosophical meaninglessness and absurdity to existence was also carried into art, as can be seen in most modern art, and then to books, plays, TV, and cinema. Art, then, is the vehicle to carry ivory tower philosophies to the average joe on the street. Think of the TV show Seinfeld, and the meaninglessness of relationships, sex, or even having a cogent plot. The movies and television shows we watch all carry some sort of philosophical baggage, but we unknowingly ingest these messages. This aspect of the book really opened my eyes to the fact that I really know very little about the meaning of art and how effective it is in molding society.
There are vast area's of the book I have not touched on, that have greatly aided my understanding of the world in which we live. Ideas have power, and we owe it to ourselves and others to know what those ideas are and how they are continuing to affect every area of our lives and society, and "how we should then live". I hope you all will take my recommendation to read this book.
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