A little humour

Just to let you know I can have a sense of humour about my faith, I made this sign for you guys (and yes: I came up with this all on my own).

IHOP theology

These were taken from www.ihop.org, the homepage of the International House of Prayer. The International House of Prayer is a non-denominational ministry which was (loosely) founded by a man named Mike Bickle. You can learn more about it by visiting the website I gave above, but I was recently reading their beliefs and was struck by how unbiblical some of them are.

I do not have the time presently to comment on each belief; I will try to do that over the next few weeks. For now, anyone so inclined may read them and think about them.

Mike Bickle once referred to one of the core beliefs of my church as a "doctrine of demons", and so it seemed only fair of me to read what HIS doctrines "of the Lord's" are.

These first three I would classify as "misunderstandings" of the scriptures:

Belief #1: "WE BELIEVE in the literal Second Coming of Christ at the end of the age when He will return to Earth personally and visibly to consummate His Kingdom. We believe that the Church will go through the Great Tribulation in great power and victory. We believe the Church will be raptured at the end of the Great Tribulation. We also believe in and are praying for a great end–time harvest of souls and the emergence of a victorious Church that will experience an unprecedented unity, purity and power in the Holy Spirit. [Psalms 2:7–9 and 22:27–28; John 14:12 and 17:20–26; Romans 11:25–32; 1 Corinthians 15:20–28, 50–58; Ephesians 4:11–16; Philippians 3:20–21; 1 Thessalonians 4:13–5:11; 2 Thessalonians 1:3–12; Revelation 7:9–14]

Belief #2: We study the End Times because the generation in which the Lord returns is the most written about generation in Scripture. Over 100 chapters in the Bible have the End Times as their main theme. Scripture gives significant divine info about the End Times. Jesus spoke more about the last generation of natural history than the generation that He was born in. Why? To prepare the Bride to be victorious in love and power during the most dramatic time in world history.

Belief #3: We believe the Lord may return within the lifetime of some people who are alive now. We do not know if the events leading to His return will begin in five years or fifty years. We assume that it is closer to fifty years than five years. We do not know because Jesus said that no one knows the day or the hour. However, Scripture requires those in the generation the Lord returns, to know the prophetic signs and to respond appropriately.

Now learn this parable from the fig tree: When its branch has already become tender and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near. So you also, when you see all these things, know that it is near––at the doors! (Matthew 24:32–33)

These next beliefs I would call not only a misunderstanding of the scriptures, but a demonic deception. Why do I say this? Because the first three are partially, but they don't seem to do an incredible disservice to the scriptures either. They could easily be corrected by a bit of history.

These beliefs, on the other hand, render certain portions of scripture as unreadable or incomprehensible. These beliefs are demonstrably unbiblical. Particularly troubling portions are italicized:

Belief #4: WE BELIEVE that salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. No ordinance, ritual, work or any other activity on the part of man is required or accepted in order to be saved. This saving grace of God, through the power of the Holy Spirit, also sanctifies us by enabling us to do what is pleasing in God's sight in order that we might be progressively conformed to the image of Christ. [John 1:12–13, 6:37–44 and 10:25–30; Acts 16:30–31; Romans 3–4 and 8:1–17, 31–39 and 10:8–10; Ephesians 2:8–10; Philippians 2:12–13; Titus 3:3–7; 1 John 1:7, 9] 

Belief #5: WE BELIEVE that water baptism and the Lord's Supper are the two ordinances of the Church to be observed until the time of Christ's return. They are not a means of salvation, but are channels of God's sanctifying grace and blessing to the faithful in Christ Jesus.

The following beliefs show not only a misunderstanding of scriptures but a fundamental misunderstanding of all of salvation history. They seem to me to miss the entire point of everything from Adam to Christ. If that is not demonic deception, then I'm not sure what is. Particularly offensive portions are italicized.

Belief #6: WE AFFIRM that God’s purpose is for Jesus to come back to fully establish His Kingdom rule over all the Earth. After the Second Coming, the saints will rule the Earth under the leadership of Jesus Christ when He sets up His government on the Earth in the Millennial Kingdom (1 Corinthians 6:2; Revelation 5:10 and 20:3–6). We believe that believers in this age are called to serve Jesus in politics and to help establish righteousness and justice in legislation. We do NOT have the assurance that ALL laws and governments will be changed until after the Second Coming of Jesus to establish His Millennial Kingdom.

Belief #7: ...This period of worldwide blessing is initiated by the Second coming of Jesus. During this time God has Satan bound and incarcerated in the “Bottomless pit” (Revelation 1:1–3). The result of this action will produce a 1,000-year period of unprecedented peace, righteousness, prosperity, and profound blessing for the entire earth. Jesus’ righteous leadership will produce conditions not seen on earth since the Garden of Eden (Ezekiel 36:35). Jesus will rule and govern a worldwide Kingdom (Revelation 1:5–6) from the geographic center of the earth, the City of Jerusalem (Isaiah 2:3). ( http://www.ihop.org/Publisher/Article.aspx?id=1000009567 )

Belief #8: The nation of Israel has always been the primary timing indicator for God’s prophetic calendar. The entire End Times scenario in Scripture is given in context to events related to Israel. Daniel 9:24–27 is the most significant prophesy about nations in the End Times. It speaks of Israel being in the Land, with a functioning Temple in Jerusalem and in covenant with the Antichrist. Isaiah graphically calls this treaty a “covenant with death.” “We have made a covenant with death” (Isaiah 28:15). There are numerous prophetic events that are related specifically to Israel and will unfold in the generation to which the Lord returns. Many of these circumstances are interdependent and closely linked with each other. ( http://www.ihop.org/Publisher/Article.aspx?id=1000009567 )

As I said, I will comment on these and explain why I believe they are incorrect.

Covenants and salvation history

I have started my second year here at school, and with it have come some changes. For starters, I am no longer a theology major; I am a mental health major minoring in theology. Secondly, I dropped my philosophy altogether and plan on only taking philosophy courses as electives.

I am currently in Principles of Biblical Studies 1, which teaches one how to properly read the Old Testament. What we are focusing on is God's working with people in the divine economy (that is, Savlation History). What I am learning is that God deals with his people by forming covenants with them. Walk with me, then, as I share with you what I learn as I learn it.

First things first: we must define a covenant. Most Protestants would probably define a covenant as a form of "contract". In other words, a covenant is something people are legally bound to uphold. I've heard our salvation described in this way: our justification is a legal act on God's part.

A covenant is actually "the extension of kinship by the swearing of an oath". In other words, when you make a Covenant with someone you offer to make them a part of your family; a blood-relative. Marriage is a great example of what I am talking about: hopefully no one reading this would describe marriage as a legal obligation. Instead, a man and his wife become "one flesh" in marriage (Genesis 2:24). They become family!

In truth, a contract is to a covenant what prostitution is to marriage: one involves the exchange of goods, the other the extension of kinship.

There are five major covenants God has made with his people throughout salvation history. We will examine one at a time, starting with the Adamic covenant:

In the beginning man was created in the "image and likeness of God" (Genesis 1:28). Some people think this means that God has a "human" body, but this is an extremely shallow way to understand this. We need only turn to Genesis 5:3 to learn what this expression truly means. In Genesis 5:3, Seth is described as being made "in the image and likeness of Adam". What this means, then, is that to be made in one's "image and likeness" is to be their son.

This is also made evident in Luke 3:38, where Adam is referred to as the "Son of God".

The promise of sonship, then, is one of the promises made in the Adamic covenant. Adam and all his descendants were to be counted as God's children, his family, his people!

Adam (and Eve) broke their covenant with God and were banished from the garden of Eden. While scholars disagree over to what extent sonship was lost, it is obvious that it was lost to a degree (otherwise, why would Jesus have to bother dying in order for us to be counted as "God's children"?)

That is as far as I'll go for now. However, I want you to consider a few things, and if you would like give me your thoughts on them:

-The covenant between God and Adam was made in Eden, which scripture tells us was on top of a mountain (Ezekiel 31:18). Can you think of any other covenants that were ratified on top of a mountain?

-The Adamic covenant was between God and two people.

-Adam and Eve broke their covenant, which shows that a covenant can be broken by one of the people who made it. What, if any, relation does this have to our salvation?

I love it when you call me Big Papa....

I really like this picture. For anyone who may feel all the Pope does is sit in the Vatican and Lord it over us, I think you may find this refreshing as well. God Bless!

A book review

Here is a book review I wrote on Seeing and Savoring Jesus Christ by the reformist pastor and writer John Piper. You can check the book out here: http://www.amazon.com/Seeing-Savoring-Jesus-Christ-Piper/dp/1581346239/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/104-6637777-1625535?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1176850745&sr=8-1

Here is my review. It is actually pretty short. Enjoy:

Seeing and Savoring Jesus Christ is a diminutive book, but its size betrays the depth of theology it aspires to contain. Written by John Piper, a renowned reformist pastor, speaker, and writer, this piece of literature could very well be considered a sort of “catechism” of Calvinist Christology. Indeed, Piper himself says in the opening sentence of the foreword, “Who was Jesus Christ? That’s the question I will try to answer [in this book]” (p.9)

John Piper is an energetic writer. His trademark-and controversial- theology of “Christian Hedonism” stresses nothing less than a believer’s duty to find complete joy and contentment in Jesus Christ. In Piper’s own words, “God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him." The passion that drove him to embrace this philosophy is very clearly seen in this book.

Seeing and Savoring Jesus Christ contains thirteen chapters, each one no more than five or six pages in length, which tell of a different “attribute” of Christ’s. Like a painter using different shades of color to create the likeness of his subject, Piper attempts to paint a complete portrait of Christ by blending his attributes into one distinct representation.

For example, in chapter one he discusses the “Ultimate Aim of Jesus Christ”, in which he says that the universe was created for Christ’s glory rather than for man’s benefit. Chapter two discusses the deity of Jesus Christ, chapter three focuses on his excellence. He concludes with a brief piece on Christ’s second coming.

Armed with an arsenal of verses from Sacred Scripture, Piper seems set on not only sharing his thoughts on Jesus Christ, but also on showing that anyone who disagrees with him is actually disagreeing with the words of Sacred Scripture itself. Indeed, only once in the entire book does Piper use language which implies he’s sharing his opinion. (p. 54). This then is not merely to be seen one man’s meditations upon Christ, but rather a book which strives to be the authoritative biography of Jesus of Nazareth.

In fairness, there are many times when Piper gets it right. In his second chapter, in discussing Christ’s deity, he says: “[he] was begotten, not made-and not at any point in time, but eternally… the son begotten from the father, one essential deity” (p.24).

He readily affirms and praises the excellence of Christ Jesus, calling him a “lamb-like lion and a lion-like lamb” (p.31) in order to illustrate the complexity and diversity of his nature. Indeed, his section on the wisdom of Jesus Christ (ch.6) gave me a fuller understanding of the reason behind Christ’s many displays of omniscience: in order that we may believe “I AM” (p.53).

But those things that Piper gets right do not excuse those which he gets wrong. Indeed, the entire scope of this work seems to have been done through the lens of an error: the presupposition that everything- including human beings-is inherently worthless.

Take, for example, this statement: “Indeed, what could be more ludicrous in a vast and glorious universe…than a human being, on the speck called earth, standing in front of a mirror trying to find significance in his own self-image? It is a great sadness that this is the gospel of the modern world…but it is not the Christian gospel” (p.15)

He then says that the Christian gospel is “the gospel of the glory of Christ”. In other words, the gospel has nothing to do with us; it is all about Christ and his glory. When it does have something to do with us, it is “…not about my being made much of by God, but about God mercifully enabling me to enjoy making much of him forever.” (p. 16)     

One can hardly miss the implication here: we human beings have no inherent worth; it is only when Christ mercifully deems us worthy of attention do we attain any sort of value. Christ, then, is seen as a God who loves us in spite of our total depravity and dissimilarity from him, rather than a savior who sees our sinfulness as a perversion which keeps us from being who we truly are: persons who are “very good”. 

His philosophy that nothing possesses worth except God shines through in other portions of the book as well. In chapter 8, for example, Piper attempts to explain why Jesus does not destroy Satan and all the demons. His answer is simple: “the reason he refrains from destroying or disabling them altogether is to more clearly manifest his superior beauty and worth… [which can’t] shine as brightly as when we renounce the promises of Satan and take pleasure in the greater glory of Christ” (p.75)

This is true as far as it goes, but Piper doesn’t take it far enough. Yes, the demons and devils serve to show the superiority of God; that is their function. Indeed, everything God created must serve a function in the natural world or else it becomes useless, and nothing God creates is useless. What Piper fails to see is that all things, insofar as they participate in God for their existence, are “very good” by nature. Not even fallen angels escape this. This is a point that his theology simply does not allow him to consider.

There are also times in the book where Piper seems to dabble in subordinationism. In discussing Christ’s excellence for example, he says “…we admire Christ for his transcendence, but even more because the transcendence of his greatness is mixed with submission to God…in his equality with God; he has a deep reverence for God…” (p.29)

It is unlikely that a man so thoroughly Calvinist as Piper truly believes that the Son is second-in-command within the godhead, and he is probably referring to the human nature of Christ. However, he doesn’t make this particular point clear, and the uninformed reader could quite easily be left with the impression that there is a hierarchy within the trinity.

Piper also makes an error which nearly all protestant writers seem to fall into: time and time again he stresses the belief that our works play no role in our salvation. For instance, he says “from start to finish, God saves us ‘not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began’ (2 Timothy 1:9).” (p. 86)

In this same section he also quotes Romans 9:14-16 as evidence for this belief. His problem is not that he doesn’t know the Sacred Scriptures, but rather that he misunderstands them. His soteriology once again reflects his assumption that man is worthless: he firmly believes that nothing we do can increase or lessen our “worth” in the eyes of Christ.

Piper would have his readers believe that Jesus Christ-despite man’s complete worthlessness-so desires for us to be saved that he freely offers us the gift of salvation, which we can receive simply by believing that he died for us. Once this gift is given, we are instantly transformed into creatures that have worth, but only because we have Christ dwelling within us. Once this transformation occurs, we are guaranteed a spot in Heaven, and nothing can alter this (p. 78-79)

This is an unfortunate error, because it paints a picture of Christ as a God whose justice is all but nonexistent: he does not see fit to reward us for any good deed we do or to punish us for any sin we commit, because these things were already accounted for when he died on the cross. We are left with a Jesus who literally does not notice anything that we do; all he sees is him dwelling within our hearts.

Having been raised in this school of thought, I am sympathetic toward Piper for believing this. His reasoning is not illogical; it is simply that his premises are invalid. Had he simply stuck with the facts about Christ rather than try to subtly push his soteriology at his audience, the book would have been fine.

Ultimately though, Seeing and Savoring Jesus Christ leaves its readers with a very odd message: you are utterly worthless, but you should rejoice in that fact. Jesus lives within you and so you now possess worth. Your duty from now until death is simply to glorify Christ by delighting in him. Any feelings of self-worth or attempts to please God by your actions are exercises in futility, as are any worries about sins you commit. You are sealed with the Holy Spirit-praise be to God!

This message is too nice, too shallow, too protestant to be believed by any Catholic. John Piper-for all his gifts and charisma-has tipped his hand in this book and shown himself for what he truly is: a child of the reformation whose soteriology affects his Christology to the extent that he cannot even discuss our Lord without bringing up his view of man.