There’s More to Worship Music Than Propositions

Posted on 9 March 2014 by Seth Meyers

Saved in my digital library are a collection of about 10 songs that I formed into a playlist for running in the background as I am working at my desk. Now, I think the whole idea of running songs in the background needs to be examined (especially playing Christian songs since I do not want to break the third commandment). But this is not the night for that work of meditation.

The last song on that list is a contemporary worship song whose propositions are great. If that were all that a work of art could communicate then this would be a very different and much shorter post. And if that were all that a work of art could communicate the human race would be lamentably poorer.

The song begins mildly—don’t they all?—and builds until the last verse when we have reached the climax of the piece. The song nicely summarizes the doctrines of grace with a few memorable metaphors, and the melody is refreshing. Carrying the potential to communicate truth and beauty, I expect this song to serve our assembly in the near future when we publish a new booklet of songs for our church.

But this particular recording includes some features that I think are common to many songs—a whole genre even. So, let me describe it a little. First, it is intended to be a worship song, and the recording was made at a gathering of Christians. Following the last verse are two minutes (about 33% of the total track length) where the worship team repeats the two-line chorus. Somewhere around the half way mark, the lead singer shouts out one of the lines before it is about to be sung. This is not his only venture into the arena of shout; he’ll do it again in the chorus, but certainly not the whole way through the song as if he were trying to feed the audience the lyrics. (And who doesn’t use a screen anyway?) Once while speaking over the singers, he adds in some words to the text. Right at 3:56, he erupts with a spoken statement of the line about to be sung, and the effect is certainly attention getting. In one verse the ladies voices are especially clear, and their singing fits hand in glove with the rest of the picture.

Trying to determine where the drums and electric guitars started is difficult since they grew into the song like a thermostat being slowly increased in a cold house. And as we might have guessed, they certainly affected the temperature until they were driving the atmosphere on the last few runs of the chorus.

Overall some of the paint colors used on this canvas created an image that everyone is familiar with. The use of repetition, leader talking or shouting, female vocal techniques, and drums most definitely communicated. Whether you liked this song or not, or whether you liked this style or not, no one would act as if those gears did not fit in that machine. They fit like clockwork. Everything worked together in that recording to send a unified message.

And wouldn’t it be nice to get a group of evangelicals who could talk about what that message is? It is wearying and juvenile to act as if that set of ingredients did not have its own flavor. What should be discussed is what kinds of loves are being endorsed. What emotions are being raised? What sensibilities are being formed? What habits are being crowded out until they are forgotten altogether?

Just today I was with one of the young men in our church while we were building on our church stand. In Tsonga, I asked him if we could use the lyrics of “How Deep the Father’s Love” (which we have translated) and play it with house music in order to attract more people to our church. He laughed awkwardly and said, “No, they will not think about the words. They just want the music.” I asked him why they liked that music, and he said it makes them feel good and they want to dance. I don’t think anyone would deny his conclusion, but really, was that so hard?

There is something in all of us akin to our olfactory nerve which tells us immediately the mood of a piece of music. Certainly, there are complexities in interpreting the message of music, but let’s at least drop the notion that music doesn’t communicate. Or, its inverse, that if all the propositions are true, then the whole song honors God. Can’t we all admit—what should really be as basic as ABC’s—that music itself apart from lyrics speaks?

Musical styles send messages that are often louder and clearer than the propositions, but I commonly hear evangelicals talk about lyrics alone as if the only issue with the style is how to get the few remaining musical conservatives to shut up about it.

Could we do this in every aesthetic area? Try building a large corrugated iron shack with dirt floors and no lights for worship in America, and tell everyone that the only thing that matters is whether we hear true propositions when we’re packed in.

“That’s an easy one, Seth.” Replies the guy across the way from me, “We’re supposed to give our very best to God because all of life is worship. So I give the very best rap [as just one example] to God. You should read a little Abe Kuyper.”

To that anticipated objection, I would ask two questions. First, will you give the very best death metal to God? Will you build the very best mosh pits for Sunday worship? If you say, “yes,” then the gap is probably so wide, that further discussion would be a waste of time. If you say, “no,” then I’d like to see your criteria for cutting out death metal as a valid cultural pursuit for a Christian. Maybe those same standards would keep on cutting right past that particular style.

Second, before we can determine what the very best rap music is, we have to determine what the very best music is. What is the best music? And now we are right back where we should be, we have to ask aesthetic questions about the nature of communication within the arts. It may be that if we answer what is the best music we might find that some music is actually less than the best. Is it possible that somewhere in this post-modern world of ours some music might even be classified as bad?

One thing is for sure, we hear a lot more when we listen to worship music than just the propositions.

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What Could Make Him Say This About Rock?

Posted on 6 March 2014 by Seth Meyers

Writing about 20 years ago, cultural analyst and philosopher Allan Bloom held a negative view of the musical style of popular rock music.

Young people know that rock has the beat of sexual intercourse. … But rock music has one appeal only, a barbaric appeal to sexual desire–not love, not eros, but sexual desire undeveloped and untutored.

The Closing of the American Mind

We know he wasn’t mastered by his love for Christian hymnody when he offered this judgment. Why would he say this? And why would contemporary Christians doubt it?

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Ethical Dilemmas of a Missionary

Posted on 3 March 2014 by Seth Meyers

Since arriving in South Africa, I have been stretched in ways that I didn’t expect. Probably the most unexpected was the swirl of ethical decisions that I found confronting me at one time or another. So here is a top ten list of situations that I have had to face as a missionary. This list is calculated to motivate you to pray for us as well as other missionaries that we would be discerning, reflective, and Scriptural at all times for the sake of the Gospel.

1.    Should I give people a lift if I know they are going to a false church?
When driving the roads in SA, it is common to see people asking for a ride. We have a pickup truck that could easily take them. But many of the churches here love money and are therefore enemies of the gospel. They also encourage their members to wear uniforms so I can often tell which hitchhiker goes to which church. If I give them a lift, will they think I am endorsing their idolatrous religion, or will they see my love and know that my church is different?

2.    Should I evangelize a woman if she is the only adult home?
Now, rarely do I do Bible studies inside homes. Typically, we sit outside the home in the yard area. But my regular pattern of evangelism is 4-8 weeks of Bible studies in Romans. Does it send a bad message to people passing by if they see the pastor return multiple weeks to sit outside if there’s only a woman and her two children listening? Or, should I merely invite the woman to church if I see there is no one else there?

3.    Should I give a generous offering of my salary to our churchplant?
Like most churches we want to meet in a building with musical instruments and multiple rooms. Yet I am not a permanent fixture in our church because I am hoping to move on to the next churchplant. Would my offerings to our church create dependency and irresponsibility or would it be a tool for evangelism as well as a good example?

4.    Should I baptize a young person who has given a testimony of salvation, but has not shown Christian maturity?
We often have youth and children with unsaved family members visit our church. Once they profess Christ, should they be immediately baptized in hopes that their baptism would encourage them to grow, or should they wait lest they quit their new church and give the name of Christ a bad testimony in the community?

5.    May I spend money on my family and personal standard of living even if it is above those in my village? What if it is very above? How much do I let them see?
When coming from America, it is difficult not to have more discretionary spending than the average person in our village. If I have a higher standard of living does that make them marvel at the power of the Christian worldview to create wealth or does that make them greedy of western money and afraid to approach me about the gospel? At what point, if ever, could my family’s western lifestyle hinder people from being converted?

6.    How harshly should I handle believers who fall into sin?
No one in our church has a heritage of Christianity. Everyone is a first generation Christian. None of them went to a Christian school or college. Should I be more patient with them than I would be with a US church member when they fall into sin, or should church discipline be equally strict in all cultures?

7.    Should I address cultural issues that are not clearly sin, but may not be consistent with a Christian worldview?
Littering. Receiving handouts from the government. Families not eating together. The Bible does not explicitly say these are sin, but a consistently Christian perspective will avoid them. If they are common in a culture should a pastor address them?

8.    Should I give jobs to church members?
In a country with vast unemployment living in a village where nearly every adult would like a job, should “rich” missionaries employ church members? Will it communicate love or hamper the church’s ability to stand on its own? More importantly, will jobs attract unconverted people who would be glad to act Christian for a salary?

9.    Should I keep doing Bible studies at a person’s home if they have showed very little initiative?
Jesus told his disciples to shake the dust of their feet if the village would not hear them. If the family isn’t saved after my 4-8 weeks of Romans Bible studies should I leave and go somewhere else or should I stay if there’s even a little interest? How can you tell when to move on?

10.    Should I use expensive books, computers, and handouts to make my sermons as good as possible if I know that the next national pastor will not be able to keep the same standard?
Our people have greatly benefited from my library as it has wormed its way into my teaching and preaching. Will the people develop a taste for a style of preaching that the next pastor may not be able to give simply because he can’t afford Harold Hoehner on Ephesians?

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Does Deputation Deserve a Good Attitude?

Posted on 28 February 2014 by Seth Meyers

I have a bad attitude about deputation. Not the kind of bad attitude that would break Paul’s command to “Rejoice at all times.” More like the frustrated discontent we conservatives have when we think about the bloated US federal government.

Missionaries who do not have a denomination paying for them commonly take 2, 3, and sometimes 4 years to raise their needed support for service in another culture. That’s 24-48 months of US living, English speaking, and dollar spending. For the sake of discussion, let’s put the average amount of time on deputation at 3 years—36 months or 1,095 days. Again for the sake of discussion, let’s put the average tenure of missionary service at 20 years though my personal experience and private conversations tell me that number is way too high. In my own field of ministry, I only know one missionary who has served for 20 or more trips around the sun. I know of three who returned to the US before 5 years were finished.

Yet for the sake of being gracious to the opposing view, let’s assume the average missionary will get two decades. If he spends 3 years on deputation, that is 15% of his overall missionary career. For those who serve for a decade that’s like a 30% tax on life and ministry. That is a significant enough number that it at least deserves sustained discussion. Wouldn’t we all like to gain a 15-30% discount on our next purchase? What entrepreneur would not want a few more years in the prime of his life?

First the positive side: maybe it is worth it. Maybe the benefits of deputation are so great that they overpower these few years and actually serve to make missionary activity better. After all, I have talked to mission board directors and even missionaries who have a Pollyanna, can-do optimism about raising support. Typically, the reasons I have heard fall into two categories: the spiritual benefits and the economic.

Deputation can be seen as spiritually beneficial.
Variations of this line include:
•    “We met so many wonderful and encouraging people.”
•    “Our prayer support base is so broad now.”
•    “I learned so much during that time. God taught us to trust Him.”
•    “I wasn’t ready to be a missionary before deputation, but now I am ready.”

Dealing with them in order, we start with the numerous friendships made. While we may meet many people by traveling around to scores of churches, what is the nature of those kinds of friendships? They may be encouraging in a sense, but they are also superficial. You can’t know each of those people. Even if one out of ten of them wanted to correspond with you on a semi-regular basis it would be overwhelming. Friendship with godly believers is a great blessing, but do we really need 3 years to do that?

The second entry in this category has to do with prayer support. Deputation provides so many prayer warriors for the new missionary. Really? With the average church having dozens of missionaries, what makes you think they will latch onto you and intercede for you, your family, and the spiritual battles in your culture? How many members of the supporting churches could even match up three factors for their missionaries: husband, wife, and country of service? My hunch is very few. I’m not berating those “wicked” American Christians, they’ve been given a superfluity of families that they have to keep straight. But I am raising the objection that it strains the credulity of the non-gullible to think that the average church member is consistently interceding for a missionary whom he only met on a brief deputation meeting.

Now, if you want to argue that you learned a lot on deputation, I would agree (at least I hope that is true). By traveling to churches for several years, a missionary could gain cart loads of wisdom on preaching, church ministry, counseling, people skills, family dynamics, communication, and walking in the Spirit. So why do I still have a bad attitude in the face of these spiritual riches? Because they come at too high a price when a shop down the road sells similar or higher quality goods at a cheaper price. Would you not learn all of those skills and more while serving in your country of service? If maintaining numerous meetings week after week builds patience, what will living in a culture that has very little common or special grace do for your chances to grow in the Spirit? And if deputation is so much better for you spiritually than living overseas, then why not stay on deputation even after your support is raised. Just tell pastors, “Its for our own spiritual good that we have been on deputation for 7 years.” If 3 is good, why not 6?

On the chance that someone says they were not ready for the mission field before deputation, the answer seems to be shouting: Why did your church agree that you should be missionaries if you did not yet meet the qualifications? If you did, then what further preparation did you need? Mental maturity and people skills still have their spiritual dimensions which if the leaders of your church thought you had, they should send you out. If they were concerned about your lack, they should have withheld their recommendation, not sent you out on deputation to “patch up a few weak spots.”

Deputation can be seen as economically safe.
A common response to the model being proposed is that modern deputation is safer than other options because if you lose one or two churches supporting you, at least 30 or 40 or more still remain. This argument rests on the superstructure of the tenets of modern deputation including high missionary salaries, many supporting churches at small amounts, short times at each church, and a low-level of intimacy between supporters and missionary.

So where should the discussion begin? Previously, I have argued for missionary salary caps, and now I would like to muster the troops against the idea that missionaries need many churches. Why would we think a missionary needs many supporting churches? Because a few churches can’t afford to give him all the money he needs. Because the relationship between most churches and most missionaries might prove so volatile that the missionary would be afraid to go down into the hole if only a few untrustworthy promises held him up. Because the missionary wants more prayer support.

Treating the last argument first, we’ve dealt with this above. Greater prayer support comes with a stronger relational bond. Those bonds cannot be built over 30+ churches. A spider must manage one web—what world would have him manager of 30 at the same time? Find a way to make close friends with your supporters and they will carry your name to the Throne of Grace. Even if that inner circle is just three, better to have them in consistent knowledgeable prayer than 300 general prayers from a Wednesday night list. Many churches do not necessarily mean more prayer anymore than many Twitter followers represent deep relationships.

Moving more toward the heart of this concern is the pragmatic tentativeness that missionaries often feel toward churches. In the wake of hyper-separatism that draws lines in the sand over whether or not you have a mission board, whether or not you preached at a church with a tie to the SBC, whether or not you have ministered with a man who holds to the mid-tribulation position, whether or not you use the KJV, and whether or not you believe that God alone determines who will be in Heaven, people whose paycheck depends on congregations who may have a stated position different from theirs are afraid. They are afraid that if their real beliefs come out, they will be axed. Although this is real (I’ve felt the cold blade myself more than once), I don’t have much sympathy for doctrinal chameleons. And especially not the leaders of mission boards who counsel missionaries to keep quiet about personal convictions.

Now no one is arguing that we should force our conclusions on others, try to make tension as a mark of spiritual boldness, or parade our beliefs for the prideful pleasure of looking more educated (or liberated) than some pastor or church. Neither should we intentionally hide our positions on the great doctrines of the faith or the battle grounds of the present. A man who has an open relationship with his supporters so that—whether they agree or not—they all know what each other believes will be in a much better position for friendship with them. How can a satisfying relationship be built on ignorance? And if they know each other, then they can decide to rationally overlook some differences for the sake of the gospel. If they know up front, they are highly unlikely to drop the man’s support.

So to summarize, the great fear of being cut will be largely alleviated by open communication, and something like David-and-Jonathan friendships between the missionary and the supporters.

One Goliath still stands between David and Jonathan. How could a few churches support a single missionary? I’ll toil in this soil longer at another time, but here I only want to say one thing. It would be nice if that was possible. We can discuss if it is possible, but let us all set our affections on this option as the best. If a missionary could be supported by 3, 5, or 10 churches representing a total 1,000-2,000 members, that would be much better for forming relationships, accountability, keeping furloughs short, and restructuring furlough. If we may see this as the best option, we can overcome the relatively minor logistical concern about how to actually raise the funds.

“There is no other way.”
Possibly this whisper could be heard from the heart of many faithful servants of God. Since no other option is known other than the status quo of 3 years confinement to a minivan, we might as well put a brave face on it. After all, the Bible says, “In everything give thanks.” Christians must thank God for all His good gifts, for grace seen even in the midst of sin. But nowhere do I read in the Bible that Christians must be grateful for the presence of sinful practices and foolish traditions. And that is just what is under question here: Is modern deputation a foolish tradition or a valid application of the Word of God to contemporary life?

Even if a missionary thought there were no other options, he may still have a justified and holy discontent as he covets earnestly the best methods. Without a holy dissatisfaction, how would we ever advance? It is not spiritual to be satisfied with silliness.

The way out is however a complex system as has been referred to earlier. All the spokes have to be in place in order for the machine to work, and choosing which spoke to discuss first is cause for pause.
1.    Missionary salaries
2.    Missionary willingness to serve and form friendships
3.    Missionary preparation and qualifications
4.    Pastoral mindset toward support amounts
5.    Pastoral mindset toward missionary accountability
6.    Pastoral mindset toward helping the missionary
7.    Purpose and length of furloughs
8.    Moving forward

Over the next few months, I aim to work through some of these issues, or at least to raise them for discussion. You are welcome to follow along if you are not already put off by my bad attitude.

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A “Gospel” that Almost Killed Me | 9Marks

Posted on 28 February 2014 by Seth Meyers

Here’s a testimony from Sean DeMars about the prosperity gospel. Like spiritual dessert.

Journal : A “Gospel” that Almost Killed Me | 9Marks.

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Evaluating Affections

Posted on 27 February 2014 by Seth Meyers

What a reproach it is to the profession of the gospel to see a Christian just come from church and holy ordinances where his devout affections have been raised, and immediately to find him breaking out in vain, earthly merriment and carried away with idle and sensual discourse.

And again:

Whenever you find a tempting creature taking too fast a hold of your passions, set a guard of sacred jealousy upon it, keep your heart at a holy distance from that creature, lest it twine about your inward powers, and draw them off from their allegiance and duty to God your creator.

Isaac Watts, The Love of God

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An Apologetic for Evangelizing Children

Posted on 27 February 2014 by Seth Meyers

IMG_1655In the business of pastoral ministry, how many pastors invest time in child evangelism? Probably, the majority of pastors would count on their Sunday School and children’s ministries to evangelize their children. After all, most churches have numerous services, programs, and members to care for, and the pastor and elders could not take first hand concern for every category of ministry. Nor should they since Ephesians 4 directs the leaders to equip the members to take active roles in the life of the church.

Yet possibly pastors should think about children more than they do. Consider that John Newton taught children in his church. Though he was a well-known pastor, he made time weekly at least for several years to instruct the young ones in his church. Isaac Watts wrote a book of hymns, a book of prayers, and a catechism all for children. Each of these gained a wide circulation, but they were originally written for the members of the church. No one could argue that Spurgeon had a light administrative load, yet he too wrote and edited a catechism for his church’s use.

It is common to hear people refer to children as the easiest mission field to reach since their natural state receives instruction more readily before they have been calloused by years. This is true, but many times children grow up and leave the faith raising questions about whether an adequate foundation was laid when they were still saplings. Of course, the church can place the responsibility squarely on the parents where it belongs, but do all the children have Christian parents? Even for those who do (like my children), I want them to receive as much clear, accurate, persuasive instruction about the gospel as can be mustered between church and home.

In January 2014, owing to the example of four different African men in four different villages (all graduates of our college) as well as a comment by John Piper in one his annual biographies, I began a weekly children’s evangelism class in our village. For the first 7 weeks we have averaged about 15 children from 6-13 years old who come for about 45 minutes of Scripture memory and catechisms. Last week I drew the picture below (which is becoming a favorite evangelistic tool) and 4 of them responded thoughtfully that they were at position 2, near conversion.

In the context of a churchplant, child evangelism provides a plethora of seeds that can grow into future trees. Furthermore, if the church is being planted among a poorer culture, it may be a long term project taking a decade or more in which time 12 year olds can become young adults. My experience has been that so few adults have been interested, that children are our best hope for a Bible-centered church.

Pastors who involve themselves in children’s evangelism may also find the blessing of humility since it is not a very prestigious position to instruct the youngest. Those who are in authority in the church must be clothed with humility, and most of us need every tool possible to reap a good crop of that fruit of the Spirit.

Finally, as in the case of the three men referenced earlier, pastors are usually the most skilled members of the congregation in theology and evangelism. Is your church’s curriculum and method strong in presenting the doctrinal glory of Christianity? Does it ground the children in the gospel or in the bare facts of the Old Testament?

The Baptists are right regarding the mode and subjects of baptism. Yet the paedobaptists have taught me one thing: When we evangelize our children, let us use long term methods that are saturated with doctrine so that the little ones will be grounded in the gospel without being either unduly coerced into superficial professions.

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Economic Principles for Children

Posted on 24 February 2014 by Seth Meyers

As I have grappled with how to minister with poverty all around me, here are some principles that I have compiled from many different sources. Our college graduates have received them as well as the young people in our youth group. The earthy wording–both loose enough to use and solid enough to convey the truth–is not intended for critical review, but it should put the economic cookies on a lower shelf.

1.    God gave us money to show that money is not our god, God is our God.
2.    Wealth can be created.
3.    The government cannot create wealth; only businesses can create wealth.
4.    The earth has enough wealth for everyone if people want to work to create it.
5.    Wealth grows slowly. It takes several generations for a nation to become wealthy.
6.    Work is good.
7.    Men have to learn how to work because we are all naturally lazy.
8.    If fathers teach their children to work hard, the country can be rich.
9.    The gospel of Jesus Christ should make us hard workers.
10.    Christians should never waste time, effort, money, tools, or knowledge.
11.    We can create wealth more quickly if we learn and use logic.
12.    Prices are set by all the businesses trying to sell more than the other businesses.
13.    When government controls prices, it makes other things more expensive.
14.    A smaller government is better for the economy than a larger one.
15.    Poverty comes from sin, lack of tools, and natural disasters.
16.    Sin is the greatest cause of poverty.
17.    Of all the sins, laziness creates poverty the most quickly.
18.    Tools can create wealth quickly.
19.    Since man is sinful, the government should not give money to poor people.
20.    If a sinner gets money from the government, he will learn to avoid work.
21.    God owns everything, but He loans it to man for a little while.
22.    Christian men provide for the needs of their wives and children.
23.    Biblical fatherhood has an immediate and powerful impact on the economy.
24.    Christians should give their money generously, happily, and wisely.
25.    Every church should provide for its own pastor, missionaries, and widows.
26.    Self-control is the greatest key to handling finances.
27.    Saving a little money for a long time is the best way to get what you want.
28.    Don’t spend money if you don’t have it.
29.    Many companies tempt Christians to break the 10th commandment.
30.    Money can make us happier in eternity, if we spend it well.

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Shifting the Standard for Fathers

Posted on 21 February 2014 by Seth Meyers

One of the central qualifications for a father in a congregation is that he be able to demonstrate for the people what a godly, effective father can do in the home. Instead of this, we have decided to substitute three years of graduate study.

Doug Wilson, Father Hunger

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What Ken Ham Should Have Said to Bill Nye

Posted on 8 February 2014 by Seth Meyers

In one of his rebuttals or his closing statement, it would have been refreshing to hear an Elijah mock the prophets of Baal.

____________________

Mr. Nye, I’ve heard you reference Creationism with words like “extraordinary” and even faux surprise as if you could not fathom the foolishness of a mind that would hold to a literal, six day Creation by an omnipotent God as is recorded in the Bible.

Yet textbooks across our nation commonly teach that the Big Bang happened 14 billion years ago followed by a rock forming over the next 10 billion years or so. Life then sprang from this rock when water from some fantastic source chanced to fall upon it.

So, all life that we see today came from a rock. Consciousness, personality, spiritual entities like the laws of logic, morality, and science, maternal love, the pleasure we feel when we do good, information in cells—and we have not even mentioned irreducibly complex systems like blood clotting, the nervous system, and reproduction—all of these immaterial realities of life came from a rock.

That is what you believe. We came from a rock. Everything we see in this room from the people to the live streaming internet to our own eyeballs, came from a rock. Now, I like you as a person, and I would be glad to have you as a neighbor, but that particular belief can only be looked at honestly as a kind of insanity.

And you have the boldness to call the view extraordinary that says that an all-powerful, infinite Person could create a complex world? Again, I like you, and I want to be gracious toward you, but that conclusion is ridiculous.

The only possible way I can explain obviously intelligent people holding to that view is that they must really hate the God who makes my view both possible and necessary. And interestingly enough, that is exactly what John 7:7 says, “The world hates me [Jesus Christ].” Paul and Peter make some similar comments in their writings, so it would appear that the real divide between us is something in the heart rather than the head.

I mean, a rock over an infinite Person? Mr. Nye, you’ve got to rethink this one.

_____________________

I know in a dialogue you have to think on your feet, but he could have prepared a few slides on that theme and had them waiting for the finale or something. As far as the potential complaint that this little speech is not “nice,” let’s not forget that it is true, it could be said graciously, and we are in far greater danger of trying to be too nice, than too bold. What would a John Knox have said?

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