On Divisions Within the Church

This one is bound to create a stir...

In my opinion, one of the greatest travesties of the modern church is the endless proliferation of denominational differences. Richard Baxter once said “In necessary things unity, in doubtful things liberty, and in all things charity.” I truly believe this summarizes biblical truth regarding differences of opinion within the church. The scripture teaches the preeminence of unity within the body of Christ.

Rom 15:5 - May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus.
1 Cor 1:10 - I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought.
Eph 4:3 - Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.
James 4:1 - What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don't they come from your desires that battle within you?

Unfortunately, the modern Christian community has not really learned to live by biblical truth in this area. I can certainly understand wanting to worship with those who are like minded with yourself, but often we disagree to the point of dissention rather than just preference. My personal opinion is that unless we disagree about the core of the gospel – the “necessary things” – that we really shouldn’t divide ourselves. Of course we then have to come to an agreement as to exactly what “the core of the gospel” means - and there’s the rub.

The problem is not our differences. Differences are important…

1 Cor 11:19 - No doubt there have to be differences among you to show which of you have God's approval.

We need differences to be able to test the spirit and make sure the “core of the gospel” maintains its integrity. Our problem is that our differences divide us. Division is anti-Christian and unfortunately, our history since the Reformation has been full of it. In the early part of the reformation, the two greatest divisors were the nature of the Eucharist (transubstantiation vs. consubstantiation) and Baptism (infant vs. believer’s). Then it became whether or not the Eucharist and Baptism were sacraments – or just symbols. Later it became the type of Baptism (emersion vs. sprinkling vs. pouring). Another great divisor in the early part of the reformation was the style of worship. Should we eliminate everything contrary to scripture (Zwingli) or eliminate everything not specifically required by scripture (Luther) or completely restructure based upon the early NT church (Anabaptists). Now it is all about the type of music and the liturgy (contemporary or traditional). What about glossolalia (i.e. speaking in tongues)? What about the baptism of the Holy Spirit? Then of course, we all know the grand-daddy of all divisors – Arminianism vs. Calvinism.

As a Southern Baptist, I’m afraid this last controversy will absolutely shatter the Southern Baptist Convention before it is over. I know many “non-Calvinist” Baptists who are beginning to drift towards Methodist churches because of the “emergence” of Calvinists in the convention. Likewise, I know quite a few Calvinists who – if it were not for infant baptism – would have long since drifted to the Presbyterian churches. I even know a few – including one of my closest friends - who have started their own home church because of this one issue. I see no benefit to this division! Does it really matter whether I was actively and specifically chosen by God or simply predestined according to the foreknowledge of God? Does it matter whether He chose me or I chose him – so long as the gospel is presented to the lost and they are given the opportunity to repent and believe? Some say it matters (and will criticize me for saying otherwise), but I’m not so sure it really does matter. Maybe the truth is that it is not mutually exclusive after all – maybe both happened simultaneously in a way that is a mystery that our finite minds cannot understand (which is what I believe just for the record)! I don’t think it is exclusively Calvinist to say that I could not believe unless God so enabled me, and I likewise do not think it is exclusively Arminian (or Pelagian) to say that I chose to receive God’s grace by my faith (i.e. I actively accepted it). What is of importance is that Christ has saved me by grace through faith!

Where will it all go? I see two giant steps that Southern Baptists (or really all of us who call ourselves "Christian") can take right now in this regard. The first is to prove to the rest of the Christian (and pagan) world that we can live in unity amidst our differences. I think we’ve already begun to calm the storms surrounding the worship style controversy. We must find a way to do the same with respect to the Arminianism vs. Calvinism controversy and show that both views can live in harmony with each other. It is truly one of Baxter’s “doubtful” things (i.e. both views have merit). Then, we need to reach out to other denominations in a show of unity and find ways to fellowship jointly with them to demonstrate that we are all part of the body of Christ – despite our organizational and doctrinal differences. I recently heard Dr. James MacDonald (Walk in the Word) speak about this and his words from Philippians 1:15-18 were true – if they are preaching Jesus Christ as the only gospel, then Hooray for them! In Christ, we are all one. I’m not speaking of compromise – just unity with respect to “necessary things.” Focus on our similarities – namely the gospel – and not on our differences. By the way, I think we Baptists are as guilty as everyone else. By trying so hard to show our Baptist distinctiveness, we are doing exactly what (I believe) scripture teaches against – distinguishing ourselves. I know; I get it… we want to find some reason for people to come to our church instead of the one across the street. How selfish we are – we should be ashamed.

At this point in history, I do not believe we will ever be able to do away with denominational separations, but we can certainly work towards making them so meaningless that the unsaved world will wonder why they exist in the first place.

Last Sunday's Sermon

For those (few) of you who may be looking for last Sunday's sermon, I have an interesting story...

First of all, I prepared what I believe to be a fairly decent message on Godly Love. Unfortunately, Saturday night God impressed upon me that he did not really want me preaching that sermon - at least not the next day. Instead, he wanted me to give my personal testimony as it relates to Love - something I did not want to do. I wrestled with it all night, getting very little sleep. However, by morning I was convinced it was the right thing to do.

I'm pretty sure the message went well. Unfortunately, my voice recorder didn't, so I have no record of it. Lot's of coincidences if you believe in coincidences... Maybe I'll get a chance to recreate it in written word.

Movie Review - Prince Caspian

This past weekend, my wife, younger son, and I went to see the new Chronicles of Narnia film based upon the C.S. Lewis book, “Prince Caspian” (directed by Andrew Adamson and released by Walt Disney Pictures). It has been nearly (maybe more than) 25 years since I read the 7-book series by C.S. Lewis. I was in Jr. High at the time and honestly remember very little about the books. Prior to the release of “The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe” (“The Lion”), I specifically took time to re-read the book to refresh myself on the story line. I was pleased at how well the movie followed the book. This time, though I intentionally did not read the book before going to see the movie. I remembered almost nothing about the book, and I wanted to simply enjoy the film as the producers intended. To my shock, it took less than 10 minutes into the film before my brain was flooded with memories from the book. I couldn’t remember every detail about the book, but all the main plot points were there. It is funny how that works.

Of course, the plot to “Prince Caspian” is fairly simple – save Narnia. After the 4 Kings and Queens of Narnia left abruptly at the end of “The Lion,” Narnia was taken over by the evil Telmarines. Only one year passes in London before the children return to Narnia, but hundreds of years have passed in Narnia. During that time, Narnians have been all but eliminated by the Telmarines and are even thought to be extinct, but a small band of Narnians still thrive secretly in the deepest part of the woods.

Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy are transported from a railway station to Narnia when Prince Caspian X – who is running from his uncle, King Miraz, because he is trying to assassinate Caspian and solidify his control over the kingdom - blows Susan’s magical horn. When Prince Caspian learns of the surviving Narnians, he decides to lead them into battle to regain his throne and promises to return Narnia back to its rightful inhabitants. Enter now the Kings and Queens of old. After a very brief encounter between Peter and Caspian, all the “good guys” join forces against the evil King Miraz. Unfortunately, mistakes are made, lots of animals die, the Narnians are besieged, and only Asland can save the day – well not directly, but I don’t want to spoil everything! It is a great story that is extremely well produced with spectacular special effects. Since I haven't gone back yet and re-read “Prince Caspian,” I really can’t say how closely it follows the story. I’m sure the book is much more in depth and contained additional allegory, but honestly I really didn’t mind, because I enjoyed the movie regardless. It was overall a better produced, better filmed, and better acted sequel – and I loved the first movie so much that I bought it when it was released on DVD (technically we bought it for our kids, but we all know better, right). I'm pretty sure Prince Caspian will also be on my DVD shelf before long. Maybe now I will go back and read the book again…

As with “The Lion,” religious and philosophical themes abound in this theatrical adaptation of the great philosopher’s fictional masterpiece. It should be no surprise that Christian allegories abound throughout the film. Here are a few of the major ones:

• Many of the Narnian animals have become dumb brutes – even dangerous wild beasts, because they have been treated as such by the Telmarines – raising questions about the way in which Christians treat each other and the world in general.
• Many of the creatures – and even King Peter himself - have difficulty maintaining faith in Asland because he has been absent so long and has done nothing to ease the pain and suffering of the Narnians, raising questions about our own faith in God given the wicked state in which the world exists today.
• The failures experienced by the Narnian army came as a direct result of their self-dependence, rather than their dependence upon Alsand.
• The manner in which Asland works to ultimately save Narnia is completely unexpected by all parties, and in reality most of the characters in the movie never see the work he performs, reminding us that God always works in his own time, in his own way, and that we do not always recognize or understand his actions. This theme was emphasized in a dream sequence in which Lucy, who is really the only one who truly remained unswervingly faithful to Asland, is told by the great lion that “things never happen the same way twice.”
• During that same encounter, Lucy comments at how Asland has grown, but Asland responds that he grows as she grows, reminding us how our knowledge and understanding of who God is grows as we grow spiritually.
• At the end of the movie, when Asland is giving the kingdom of Narnia to Prince Caspian, Prince Caspian declares his inadequacy to fill the role, but Asland sees this humility as proof of his qualification to serve. This reminds us that we truly can do nothing on our own and that we are also inadequate in our own strength, but that God is looking for our availability and he will enable us as he wills.

To me, though, the greatest religious and philosophical theme was the one that was perhaps the most simple. It occurred near the beginning of the movie when Lucy claims to have seen Asland across a great ravine. She believes that Asland wants them to cross there, but no one else saw him and no one believes she really saw him. After a long detour that ultimately brings them back to the exact same spot to cross the ravine, the others begin to question why they did not see Asland. Her response is so simple, and yet so full of truth – “you did not see him because you were not looking for him.” How often do we miss God simply because we were not looking for him?

Prince Caspian is a fabulous move. Yes it is full of action scenes, war scenes, and violence, but such was the nature of the book. It is still a great family film worth seeing – and probably worth owning.

Movie Review-The Golden Compass

After months of procrastination, I finally broke down and watched the controversial “family” movie, The Golden Compass. As I am sure you are well aware, this movie spawned a tremendous amount of controversy when it was first released and a significant portion of the religious community boycotted the movie due to its supposed anti-religious content. The movie itself is based upon the trilogy by Philip Pullman titled “His Dark Materials” and is supposed to be a fanciful tale of atheistic indoctrination. I have not read these books so I cannot give an opinion on them. Nevertheless, the hype and controversy clearly influenced my opinion of the movie before I ever saw the first introductory credit. If you combine that with the fact that because I only recently completed a seminary-level course on Philosophy of Religion I am acutely aware of the philosophical influences – religious and otherwise – on our culture, then it is no wonder that I decided to watch with an equally acute sense of expectation. With that predisposed bias (I’m trying to be as honest as possible here), I watched the movie and make the following review.

On its surface, the movie appears to be exactly what is proponents claimed it to be - a fanciful epic adventure on the order of “The Chronicles of Narnia” and “The Lord of the Rings”. It is a story of a young girl, Lyra, who lives in a world where a person’s soul lives in an animal creature called a “daemon” that is bound to them for life. The two are intricately intertwined and their survival is co-dependent. To be honest, I thought the high-level plot of the movie was fairly weak. The oppressive, thought-controlling, magistrate has focused all of its formidable power into crushing all views of “truth” except their own. At the same time, the magistrate has decided that all of the evil within the world is the result of the fact that mystical cosmic “dust” – the source of evil – comes to rest on each person’s daemon. Therefore, the only way to rid the world of evil is to devise a means of separating people from their daemons. The magistrate has been stealing children and experimenting on them to perfect this process. Unknown to the magistrate, however, Lyra has come into possession of a golden compass that enables her to see “the truth” that others attempt to hide. While trying to find a friend who had been abducted, Lyra becomes aware of this plot and Lyra’s must do all she can to put an end to the magistrate’s evil plan.

Is it a fanciful story or is it a masterpiece of atheistic indoctrination? Before I answer that question, you should know that I generally approach these types of controversies from the perspective that it should be viewed first as a fictional story before passing any other kind of judgment. In fact, I’ve seen all of the Harry Potter movies and enjoyed them for the stories that they were (although I admit that I didn’t read the books either). Yes, I know, it is fairly liberal for an otherwise ultra-conservative person, but I think sometimes Christians look too hard for things to judge. If I shouldn’t watch Harry Potter, then I shouldn’t watch Indiana Jones, or Iron Man, or Hitch, or any other fanciful story put out by Hollywood. They all represent worldly entertainment produced by worldly individuals. So if I must be judged, I should be judged at the macro level and not at the micro level… So, what do I look for to determine if a movie is appropriate or inappropriate to view? Obviously, I try to steer away from overt sexual immorality. I also try to steer away from gratuitous graphic language (although this is sometimes hard to predict and I must say I have had to walk out of a movie from time to time because of the language). To my own detriment, I must admit that I have a fairly high tolerance for violence – I love war movies of any kind – although too much blood and gore is totally unnecessary. Finally, I try to steer away from movies that are overtly anti-God or anti-religious unless I am watching them strictly for educational purposes… which is why-because of the hype-that I have waited so long to watch The Golden Compass.

With that background, I believe I can answer the question – is it a fanciful story or is it a masterpiece of atheistic indoctrination? My answer is this… It is most definitely the latter, although I suspect all of the target audience will see it as nothing more than the former. Allow me to explain. If the pre-release hype had not been present and if, because of my recent seminary work, I did not have an acute sensitivity to the issue at hand, I doubt I would have made any anti-theistic or anti-religious connections. Despite the really great special effects, I think the story was just plain bad, and the indoctrinating themes were so subtle that most people probably would not see them without being specifically told they were there. But they were there, and perhaps that is what makes the movie so dangerous. The movie is filled with subtle humanist themes. Lyra, the young child who is the hero of the movie, lies multiple times, justifying the dishonest means by the noble ends. The most anti-religious theme is the movie is probably the most subtle. Because the magistrate has determined that evil enters the world through a person’s daemon, they likewise determine the only way to rid the world of evil is to separate mankind from its daemons. The hero must stop this plot, because we are only complete in our humanity when we are fully integrated with our daemons. Think about it.

Personally, I would not recommend this movie because I didn’t like the story. However, I would also not recommend this movie for young children simply because you really don’t know the long-term impact these subtle themes will have on them. Will they see them for what they are? No, but they are getting indoctrinated from so many other areas that we as parents cannot control, why would we voluntarily introduce another one?

GUATEMALA PICTURES ARE HERE!

I think I finally got my Guatemala pictures uploaded so that you all can see them. I have them at WalMart.com, but you should be able to see them by clicking on the link below. I hope that you enjoy them.


http://photos.walmart.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=30614783/a=17970053/t_=17970053