Recently, I have had interesting conversations and/or encounters with all of these topics and they've weighed heavily on my mind. As Christians, we find ourselves challenged on all of these things, is one sin greater than another, how does the Trinity really work, and, did God really create the Earth or did we stem from ancestors who were monkeys? This is especially important to our faith walk, learning to trust in God as we do not understand things, and will never understand these things fully and completely. A friend not long ago revealed to me after 5 years that they believed God did not create the Earth, and in fact, we were descendants of apes. The claim that my friend made was that God told Moses to write down the first 5 books in the Bible, however, they were simply stories that had no truth.
This reasoning is implausible for several reasons. Let me begin by saying this, GOD DOESN'T LIE. If God were to have made these stories up, he would be a liar, in essence, the Devil. And if there is one thing which has never been disputed by any Christian circles or faiths I am aware of, it is that God (by whatever name you call him) is not likened in any way to the Devil. Secondly, let me pose several questions and make some remarks for us to meditate on:
1. What is our purpose on Earth? It is to worship the Lord, and we are made in His image, so unless God is actually an ape, this theory of being descended from them is definitely false.
2. Why, if God used evolution, would He care s much more about humans, who only evolved?
3. How would humans evolve from soulless to soul-filled? Because, if someone argues that monkeys have souls, Christ came in human flesh to sacrifice himself to human forgiveness, not monkey forgiveness. A like-sacrifice was needed and there is a massive different between us and apes that the theory of evolution could and never will be able to formulate.
4. No one part of the body can function by itself. That is why in the New Testament, God uses the analogy that we are all different parts of the body, and one cannot function without the other. Also, animals act out of instinct, not philosophical thought. One cell cannot decide that it needed a brain to govern itself, it would have needed a brain to decide that.
5. Please read this book: The Case for A Creator by Lee Strobel. He takes an in depth scientific view on the Creation Story and how is it the only way that we could have been formed.
Now that I have left us with something to ponder on, I would like to address another issue at hand within our Christian community, the Trinity. This, of course, is not a new issue, but an old one, debated on for centuries by Christian theologians and non-Christian philosophers alike. A recent revelation I stumbled upon was that in the college and university Christian communities, we often focus so very much on experience that the Holy Spirit comes first and foremost before Jesus, His LIVING Word, and His teachings. Throughout my experience with the Christian organization I was affiliated with throughout college, I noticed this one blaring concern out of all others: division due to differences in spirit theology. Now, I believe that it is very important that we Christians address the MAJOR issue of division within the church or we are not loving one another as we should be, so I am addressing it. Division itself is caused by a myriad of things, but more often than not, a difference in theology, on a college level, mostly spirit theology.
When I refer to Spirit Theology, I am referring to the emphasis put on what most people would call, the Charismatic gifts, i.e. prophecy, healing, speaking in tongues, those things which are visible to the naked eye. Teaching, evangelism, administration, leadership, giving, wisdom, faith, prophecy, servitude, healing, discernment, compassion, shepherding, miracles, exhortation, interpretation and tongues, apostleship, helping, knowledge, these are the 20 gifts mentioned in the New Testament. They are given to strengthen and build the community, and he has empowered us to serve our entire nation and world through them. These charismatic gifts are empowered above all others in this liberal environment called college. You know, it's funny because in college we seek these new experiences, whether it be drugs and alcohol, sex, and for some christians, charismatic gifts. I am not saying that they are bad, however, when we become more captivated by these things than the Word, His Living Word and the Jesus who died for us, then it becomes a problem.
As a student, I repeatedly saw this fixation on gifts become an issue of pride, or division where one part of the church set themselves apart from the others, have no doubt in your mind brothers and sisters, THIS IS WRONG. At no time are we to set ourselves above others, in fact, Jesus tells us to sit at the end of the table and consider ourselves in a lower position than anyone we see. The division that this newfound 20th century movement of pentecostalism and charismaticism is quickly becoming a danger to the church, in more ways than one. It is our unity and our community that are at stake, when we find ourselves being more captivated with the experience than with the relationship we find with our Father through the wisdom and love he left to us in his Word. By NO means am I putting the Spirit or the Lord our God in a box, it is simply that I wish to maintain the hierarchy of the Trinity. No son (as it is said in the NT) is greater than his Father, and thus, the Spirit is no greater than it's master, Jesus Christ. We Christians generally say the Trinity in order of Father, Son, Holy Spirit, and while they are one, these three are not equal by any means.
It is this conviction which leads me to worry for my generation and the experience that we seek out so earnestly. My prayer is that God will speak into their hearts and minds and make them sound in their faith in the Word that they are not on shaky ground with whether or not someone prophecy's something over them that very week or day. It is my prayer and my heart for them to know God in a way that is secure and unyielding and is not shaped by their charismatic experiences, but enhanced by them and through them whenever the Lord wishes to bless us with something more.
Finally, I would like to address how we hold one sin up unequally over the other. In America, I think that everyone can agree that two of the most important issues today in the political spectrum are gay rights and abortion. These two issues have been plastered all over the news, portrayed by even Christians as the mother and father of all sins. However, this is not the case. No one sin is greater than the other. Each sin is equally yoked in the eyes of God. Also, let me say this, we are all sinners, no matter how great or how small the sin is perceived to be, thus, we ALL benefit from the grace and love given us from the Father who sent His ONLY Son to die on a cross for the wretched humans that He originally created and eventually fell from grace. For those of you who have been persecuted because of decisions you have made, I apologize, sincerely, because you are no worse than any of those around us. I am so sorry and my prayer is that you will forgive those who have hurt you in the church and in your community and that you would forgive those of us who, while we did not condone what others have done, sat back and silently watched, for we are guilty as well. It is my belief that God never wished us to hate another human being, but rather, to hate the sin we find in our lives, to abhor it and to find a peace that He alone can give. Jesus called Himself Abba Shalom, meaning Father of Peace. We can find a peace in Jesus, as well as the identity that so many people search for in this life and never fully find. I find my identity in Christ, fully and completely, and much of this requires faith, and there is good news for us all. God made us to be reconciled not only to Himself, but to one another. The bad news is if we are living a life dictated by only one of these truths, then we are denying ourselves a true identity in Christ, as one body, one community of believers bound by a faith and love so deep that no one can touch.
Yet there is hope. There is a grace given beyond our comprehension, not that we might live as we please, but that there is hope for change. We are given second chances, and as we accept Jesus Christ as both Lord and Savior of our lives, we also will begin to change. Lifestyles will begin to change as will attitudes, thoughts, and actions. Works are not proof, as so many would lead you to believe, but the fruit of a life touched by God, of one who KNOWS Jesus intimately and has decided to pursue relationship with Him. Jesus never said that following Him would be easy, in fact, He said that it would be difficult and that we would be rejected by many. It is not an easy road to travel, however, I can fully assure you that it is the most fulfilling relationship you will ever find in this life or the next. Jesus creates in me something that no one else ever has and ever will. He is everything, and more than anything in my heart I wish for you to know that, if you don't already. If you do know Him, PRAISE THE LORD, PRAISE GOD that you KNOW Him and what has been done for you, the sacrifice that was laid down for you. Jesus wants to know you, because we were created to be not only in relationship to the Father, but in relationship with one another. Thank God that he has reconciled us to one another that we may share Him and be encouraged.
I would like to finish by leaving you with this. If you know the Lord and there are struggles, be encouraged that the Lord has plans for you far beyond your wildest dreams and wishes. He loves you beyond compare, more than the flowers of the fields or the birds of the sky, and NOTHING delights Him more than you. If you don't yet know the Lord, I pray that you would seek Him out and take time to read the Living Word, and that you would find peace, hope, and love that surpasses all understanding and earthly knowledge, and that your eyes would be opened to the miracles of God and of His creation. And if you read this blog and take nothing else from it, take with you the knowledge that He wants to know you deeply and intimately as His creation. And, that He misses you and longs to hear your voice again, not that He couldn't call you if He wanted, but that the Lord wants to hear you call for Him in the darkness.
With all my love an affection and unyielding urgency,
Merrill
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