Simple Church Bloggers and Their Murky Theology

It's an odd thing that so many simple church bloggers have murky, soupy, grayish, ill-defined theology. It's odd because most Christians who blog about simple church life do so out of biblical conviction. They read what the bible says about church life and then say, "This is the way it should be now." They, myself included, then look to the institution and say, "No thanks!"

Now to the odd part. A significant number of bloggers who espouse simple church principles at the same time call into question numerous points of theology that the church as a whole is in general agreement upon (or at least used to be). It's weird. Many of the same simple church people who point to the bible for church life then ignore the plain teachings of the bible when it comes to theology, salvation, cultural issues, etc. It is a strange situation indeed.

My biggest concern is the simple church bloggers who call into question Jesus Christ's atoning work on the cross. It appears to embarrass them just as it does the liberal "Christians." This is extremely problematic because the atonement is at the heart of salvation. Simply put, if there is no atonement there is no salvation - period. Jesus certainly did more for his people than just die on the cross in their place, but he did die in their place. It was a substitutionary, penal atonement. Those who call this into question are left with an empty theology of salvation.

Speaking of salvation, a good number of simple church bloggers don't hold to a literal existence of Hell. Now, I'll say that I myself am not sure of Hell's specifics. However, I'm certain that it is an eternal place of torment; whether or not that is physical or emotional in nature I do not know. I do know that it is a spiritual Hell that will last forever. Some in simple church prefer annihilationism; this apparently squares with their understanding of a loving God. Apparently they conveniently ignore the holiness of God in coming to this conclusion.

Delving deeper into the issue of salvation, I've found that most simple church bloggers detest the doctrine of predestination. That's unfortunate since the bible tells us that some are, in fact, predestined. Some bloggers go far beyond rejecting predestination and instead hold to a near universalism. Yuck. As for the process of sanctification, I've read bloggers who basically say that since God saves and loves, it's O.K. to go right on sinning. Yet again, it requires a great deal of ignoring the bible to make a claim like this. God expects increasing holiness post-salvation.

What other issues are there? Well, some simple church bloggers have completely accepted homosexuality; others seem dazed and confused about the whole thing. Many just want everybody to get along. As for women's roles, it appears that the vast majority favor an egalitarian approach to church life (that complementarian thing is just too old-fashioned apparently). Regarding spiritual gifts, nearly anything is acceptable.

What is going on here? I see three major factors at play. First, these simple church bloggers are not being fair or consistent in how they interpret scripture. While they demand a literal understanding of the text when it comes to the N.T. model for church life, when it comes to these other issues they think of the bible as a sort of play thing. Second, these bloggers are clearly questioning both the infallibility and authority of the bible (at least when it is convenient). Third, and possibly the largest factor, these bloggers are bowing to secular cultural norms in a variety of areas.

I admit that at times I'm not consistent while interpreting scripture. Everybody makes mistakes. However, we ought to all try to understand the bible in as consistent a manner as possible. Either it is infallible or it isn't. Either it is authoritative or it is not. As we do this, we must keep factors such as historical context and genre in mind. We should also take a long look at the church's understanding of the issue throughout its history.

The simple church bloggers I'm referring to in this post need to start being honest. They cannot pick-and-choose how they are going to approach the bible. If the New Testament in particular shows us how the church should function, then it also shows us what we need to know about these other issues. To all you murky blogging types, you cannot cling to some scripture and ignore the rest. Either take the whole bible or leave it all.

You Might Want to Turn Off That Phone...

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On my blog sidebar I have a widget from Joshua Project that shows an Unreached People of the Day. The man in the photo to the left represents the Shaikh of Bangladesh - today's unreached people group.

The Shaikh are a predominantly Islamic people who speak Bengali. They are also a large group: almost 133,000,000 people. Most distressingly, according to Joshua Project, the Shaikh are 0.00% evangelical Christian.

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I hope we take some time to think about this. This people group, which is well over 1/3 as populous as the entire USA, has no significant Christian population whatsoever. If we believe in a real place called Hell, then statistics like this ought to be chilling to us.

I don't write this post to guilt anyone. Rather, I hope simply to help everyone remember just how serious the need for international missionaries is. For people groups like the Shaikh, if they have no significant Christian population among them, then who is sharing the gospel? How can they hear the good news?

Let us do all we can to support international missionaries. Let's work beyond the confines of denominational lines to get the gospel message to all the nations. Let's remember that many peoples still haven't heard the news that so many of us deeply cherish.

For more specific information on the Shaikh, click here.

Thinking About September 11th

I am writing this post to elect exiles and citizens of the kingdom of heaven who also happen to be citizens of the United States of America.

We need to think about how we think about September 11th. Do we think primarily as Americans or primarily as Christians?

If we think about September 11th primarily as Americans, then we are thinking mainly patriotically and politically. What we probably remember most from that terrible day is Muslim extremists high jacking multiple airplanes, flying them into buildings, and killing thousands of people. Our emotional response is likely still one of anger. Our desire may still be what it was nine years ago: payback.

If we think about September 11th primarily as citizens of heaven, then our thinking should be much different. It ought to be theological instead of political. Our focus should be from God's perspective instead of from the American perspective. In thinking this way, what did we see that day? We saw a great deal of sin and death. We saw much killing, like the world has seen for thousands and thousands of years. We saw people (the killers and many who were simply going to work) go directly to eternal Hell. We saw a great tragedy of eternal significance because those who died have no more opportunity to hear and respond to the gospel of Jesus Christ. Our emotional response when we think of September 11th should be sadness. Our desire in light of that day ought to be one of increased fervor in sharing the gospel with all peoples.

September 11th is one of the defining days in all of our lives. That day is imprinted on my mind. I was working as a school psychologist in a public school system at the time. I'll never forget standing in the school office and watching on T.V. when the first tower collapsed.

We all remember it well. The questions now for us Christians are: How will we think about September 11th? How do we feel about it? And, most importantly, what are we going to do about it?

Let's think and respond as citizens of heaven.

"Fear Not!"

In our pluralistic society there are many, many different views on what happens when we die. In part because of this diversity (and in part because of biblical ignorance), Christians hold wide-ranging views on what we can expect in death and the life after. Ligon Duncan has written a short book to help clear up this mess of beliefs.

In Fear Not! Death and the Afterlife from a Christian Perspective, Duncan addresses five key questions related to death and eternal life. He deals with these in chapters entitled:

1. What is Death?

2. What Happens After Death?

3. What Happens When Christ Returns?

4. What is the Final Judgment?

5. What is Heaven?

This book is ideal for folks who are confused about what the bible has to say about these issues. Duncan deals strictly with what we can know from scripture. He does not delve into more speculative issues such as the timing of the rapture, the meaning of the 1,000 years, etc. Because of this, Fear Not! is easy to understand for all Christians.

I recommend this book. It is excellent for anyone to read to make sure that what he believes lines up with what scripture teaches. If, however, you are looking for an in-depth study of eschatology, this is not the book for you.

Jonathan Edwards on Heaven and Hell

In our modern age, few people give much thought to heaven and hell. Even most Christians (myself ashamedly included) do not spend significant time pondering what lies ahead after death. We are probably guilty of this because our lives are so posh in the West. My guess is that followers of Christ in places like North Korea, China, and the Arab world actually do give much time to looking forward to heaven with Christ.

Jonathan Edwards, the greatest American theologian, gave much thought to the realities of both heaven and hell. Fortunately for us, Edwards put much of this down on paper.

In Heaven and Hell, Owen Strachan and Doug Sweeney have taken Edwards' writings and put them in a form that is easy to understand for us modern readers. They have not "dumbed-down" the text, but rather have added explanatory notes to assist in comprehension.

Here is a sample of what Edwards wrote about the prospect of hell, "The bow of God's wrath is bent, and the arrow made ready on the string, and Justice bends the arrow at your heart, and strains the bow, and it is nothing but the mere pleasure of God, and that of an angry God, without any promise of obligation at all, that keeps the arrow one moment from being made drunk with your blood." (Works 22, 411).

As for heaven, Edwards wrote, "And when Christ shall bring his church into his Father's house in heaven after the judgment, he shall bring her there as his bride, having there presented her whom he loved and gave himself for to himself, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing. The bridegroom and the bride shall then enter into heaven, both having on their wedding robes, attended with all the glorious angels. And there they enter on the feast and joys of their marriage before the Father; they shall then begin an everlasting wedding day. (Works 9, 508).

Heaven and Hell is a relatively short book (about 140 pages) that is also very readable. If you are new to Edwards, this is a great place to begin. He speaks with a clarity that far surpasses most theologians.

May we all spend increasing time pondering eternity with Christ in heaven. May we also be inspired by the reality of hell to more faithfully share Christ with others.