The Golden Compass -- A Briefing for Concerned Christians

By Albert Mohler @ http://www.albertmohler.com

The release of The Golden Compass as a major motion picture represents a new challenge for Christians -- especially parents. The release of a popular film with major actors that presents a message directly subversive of Christianity is something new. It is not likely to be the last.

Having seen the movie at an advance viewing and having read all three books of His Dark Materials, I can assure Christians that we face a real challenge -- one that will require careful thinking and intellectual engagement.

Why is this movie such a challenge?

First of all, The Golden Compass is an extremely attractive movie. Like the book on which it is based, the movie is a very sophisticated story that is very well told. The casting was excellent. Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig (the latest James Bond actor) are joined by others including Sam Elliott and newcomer Dakota Blue Richards, who plays the central role of 11-year-old Lyra Belacqua. Kidman is chilling as the beautiful but evil Marisa Coulter and Craig is perfect as Lord Asriel. Actor Ian McKellen (Gandalf in the Lord of the Rings trilogy) is the voice of Iorek Byrnison, the armoured bear.

The movie is very well done and will be very attractive to audiences of all ages. The special effects are superior to any previous movie of the type, including the Lord of the Rings trilogy (also released by New Line Cinema). Everything is in place for this to be a blockbuster at the box office.

Second, the movie is based in a story that is captivating, sophisticated, and truly interesting. Philip Pullman is a skilled writer and teller of tales. His invented worlds of The Golden Compass and the entire His Dark Materials trilogy are about as good as the fantasy genre can offer. His characters are believable and the dialogue is constant -- largely due to Pullman's brilliant invention of a companion for each character -- a "daemon."

The bottom line is that these books and this movie will attract a lot of attention and will captivate many readers and viewers.

So, what's the problem?

This is not just any fantasy trilogy or film project. Philip Pullman has an agenda -- an agenda about as subtle as an army tank. His agenda is nothing less than to expose what he believes is the tyranny of the Christian faith and the Christian church. His hatred of the biblical storyline is clear. He is an atheist whose most important literary project is intended to offer a moral narrative that will reverse the biblical account of the fall and provide a liberating mythology for a new secular age.

The great enemy of humanity in the three books, The Golden Compass, The Subtle Knife, and The Amber Spyglass (together known as His Dark Materials) is the Christian church, identified as the evil Magisterium. The Magisterium, representing church authority, is afraid of human freedom and seeks to repress human sexuality.

The Magisterium uses the biblical narrative of the Fall and the doctrine of original sin to repress humanity. It is both violent and vile and it will stop at nothing to protect its own interests and to preserve its power.

Pullman's attack on biblical Christianity is direct and undeniable. He once questioned why his books attracted little controversy even as the Harry Potter books attracted so much. He told an Australian newspaper that what he is "saying things that are far more subversive than anything poor old Harry has said. My books are about killing God."

Will viewers of the movie see all this?

The direct attack on Christianity and God is toned down in the movie. But any informed person will recognize the Magisterium as representing the Church and Christianity. Of course, in our world the Magisterium is the authoritative leadership of the Roman Catholic Church. In Pullman's world it represents Christianity as a whole.

Indeed, Pullman's tale tells of John Calvin assuming the papacy and moving the headquarters to Geneva, thus combining the Catholic and Reformation traditions into one. In the movie, the Magisterium appears to be located in London. In any event, the point is not subtle.

The most direct attacks upon Christianity and God do not appear until the last book, The Amber Spyglass, in which Lyra and Will (a boy her age who first appears in the second book) eventually kill God, who turns out to be a decrepit and feeble old imposter who was hardly worth the killing.

Is Pullman's attack on Christianity exaggerated by his critics?

No -- his attack is neither hidden nor subtle. The entire premise of the trilogy is that Lyra is the child foretold by prophecy who will reverse the curse of the Fall and free humanity from the lie of original sin. Whereas in Christian theology it is Jesus Christ who reverses the curse through His work of atonement on the Cross, Pullman presents his own theology of sorts in which the Fall is reversed through the defiance of these children. As Pullman insists, Eve and Adam were right to eat the forbidden fruit and God was a tyrant to forbid them the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.

The supernatural element of Pullman's story is "Dust," which is seen by the Magisterium as original sin but is presented by Pullman as the essence of life itself. In The Golden Compass, Lyra is given an "alethiometer" or "golden compass" which is filled with Dust and tells the truth to one qualified to operate it. Readers are told that a great battle is coming in which forces fighting for human freedom and happiness will confront (and destroy) the Magisterium and God.

In the last volume of the trilogy, a character known as Dr. Mary Malone explains her discovery to Lyra and Will: "I used to be a nun, you see. I thought physics could be done to the glory of God, till I saw there wasn't any God at all and that physics was more interesting anyway. The Christian religion is a very powerful and convincing mistake, that's all."

Is there more to the larger story?

Yes, and it has to do with sex. Surprisingly graphic and explicit sex. Pullman believes that the Christian church is horribly repressive about sex and that this is rooted in the idea of the Fall. As he told Hanna Rosin of the Atlantic Monthly, "Why the Christian Church has spent 2,000 years condemning this glorious moment, well, that's a mystery. I want to confront that, I suppose, by telling a story that the so-called original sin is anything but. It's the thing that makes us fully human."

Puberty is a big part of Pullman's concern. Coming-of-age stories are one of the most common forms of fiction, but Pullman's packs a punch that readers cannot miss. He wants to celebrate the adolescent's arrival at sexual awareness. Remember that the child's daemon can change forms until puberty. At that point it is fixed as a single creature that reflects the personality and character of the young adult.

Puberty means the coming of sexual feelings. The Magisterium would prefer that children grow up without experiencing sexual temptation, so it is conducting an experiment in order to separate children from their daemons before puberty, when their daemon can no longer change. This procedure, known as "intercision" makes the child a "severed child" who has no daemon -- and thus no soul. The Magisterium has assigned Mrs. Coulter the job of abducting the children and taking them to the North for this experiment.

As Mrs. Coulter explains to Lyra (who is revealed to be her own daughter) in the first book: "All that happens is a little cut, and then everything's peaceful. Forever! You see, your daemon's a wonderful friend and companion when you are young, but at the age we call puberty, the age you're coming to very soon, darling, daemons bring all sorts of troublesome thoughts and feelings, and that's what lets Dust in. A quick little operation before that, and you're never troubled again."

In The Golden Compass, Lyra and her companions free the children held at this experimental station in the North and destroy it. In The Amber Spyglass, Lyra and Will reverse the story of the Edenic Fall by consummating a sexual act in the garden.

Again, Pullman is not subtle. Keep in mind that this is a series of books marketed to children and adolescents. Lyra puts a red fruit to Will's lips and Will "knew at once what she meant, and that he was too joyful to speak." Within moments, the 13-year olds are involved in some kind of unspecified sexual act.

"The word love set his nerves ablaze," Pullman writes of Will. "All his body thrilled with it, and he answered her in the same words, kissing her hot face over and over again, drinking in with adoration the scent of her body and her warm, honey-fragrant hair and her sweet, moist mouth that tasted of the little red fruit."

Just a few pages later, Will and Lyra will dare to touch each other's daemon. That passage is even more sexually charged and explicit than the first. The adolescents now know "that neither daemon would change now, having felt a lover's hands on them. These were their shapes for life: they would want no other."

What is it about Pullman and C. S. Lewis?

Put simply, Pullman hates C. S. Lewis's work The Chronicles of Narnia. He told Hannah Rosin that Lewis's famous work is "morally loathsome" and "one of the most ugly and poisonous things I ever read." Narnia, he said, "is the Christian one . . . . And mine is the non-Christian."

When the first Narnia film was released in 2005, Pullman described the books as "a peevish blend of racist, misogynistic and reactionary prejudice."

Indeed, Pullman's His Dark Materials is intended as an answer to Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia. What Lewis (and J. R. R. Tolkein) did for Christianity, Pullman wants to do for atheism.

So, what should Christians do?

A good first step would be to take a deep breath. The Christian faith is not about to be toppled by a film, nor by a series of fantasy books. Pullman has an agenda that is clear, and Christians need to inform themselves of what this agenda is and what it means. At the same time, nothing would serve his agenda better than to have Christians speaking recklessly or unintelligently about the film or the books.

This is about the battle of ideas and worldviews. While Christians will not celebrate the release of this film, we should recognize the mixture of challenge and opportunity that comes with millions of persons watching this film and talking about the issues it raises. When the movie is mentioned in the workplace, in school, on the playground, or in the college campus, this is a great opportunity to show that Christians are not afraid of the battle of ideas.

We should recognize that the Christian Church has some very embarrassing moments in its history - moments when it has failed to represent the truth of the Gospel and the love of Christ. Authors like Philip Pullman take advantage of these failures in order to paint the entire Christian Church as a conspiracy against human happiness and freedom. Of course, that charge will not stand close scrutiny, and we can face it head-on with a thoughtful response.

Some Christians have also held very unhelpful views of human sexuality. These, we must admit, would include figures as great and influential as Augustine and, alas, C. S. Lewis. But these figures, rightly influential in other areas of the faith, are not representative in this case of biblical sexuality. We can set the record straight.

Should we be concerned that people, young and old, will be confused by this movie? Of course. But I do not believe that a boycott will dissuade the general public from seeing the film. I am very concerned when I think of so many people being entertained by such a subversive message delivered by such a seductive medium. We are responsible to show them, in so far as we are able, that the Magisterium of The Golden Compass is not a fair or accurate representation of the Christian Church.

I can only wonder how many parents and grandparents will allow children and young people to see the movie and then buy them the books -- blissfully unaware of what is coming in books two and three.

The Gospel of Jesus Christ has enemies; this we know. Christian parents must be informed about His Dark Materials and inform others. We must take the responsibility to use interest in this film to teach our own children to think biblically and to be discerning in their engagement with the media in all forms. We should arm our children to be able to talk about this project with their classmates without fear or rancor.

Philip Pullman has an agenda, but so do we. Our agenda is the Gospel of Christ -- a message infinitely more powerful than that of The Golden Compass. Pullman's worldview of unrestricted human autonomy would be nightmarish if ever achieved. His story promises liberation but would enslave human beings to themselves and destroy all transcendent value.

The biblical story of the Fall is true, after all, and our only rescue is through the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The curse of sin was not reversed by adolescents playing at sex in a garden, but by the Son of God shedding His blood on a cross.

So let's get our bearings straight as we think and talk about The Golden Compass. This movie does represent a great challenge, but a challenge that Christians should always be ready to meet.

__________________

We discussed The Golden Compass on Monday's edition of The Albert Mohler Program [listen here]. We will continue the discussion on today. Listen and call with your questions or comments.

A Church-Based Hope for 'Adultolescents'

By John Piper @ www.desiringgod.org

Christian Smith, professor of sociology at Notre Dame, wrote in the most recent Books and Culture a review of six books that deal with the new phenomenon of "adultolescence"--that is, the postponement of adulthood into the thirties. I want to relate this phenomenon to the church. But first here is a summary from Smith's article of what it is and how it came about.

What is Adultolescence?

Smith writes,

"Teenager" and "adolescence" as representing a distinct stage of life were very much 20th-century inventions, brought into being by changes in mass education, child labor laws, urbanization and suburbanization, mass consumerism, and the media. Similarly, a new, distinct, and important stage in life, situated between the teenage years and full-fledged adulthood, has emerged in our culture in recent decades--reshaping the meaning of self, youth, relationships, and life commitments as well as a variety of behaviors and dispositions among the young.

What has emerged from this new situation has been variously labeled "extended adolescence," "youthhood," "adultolescence," "young adulthood," the "twenty-somethings," and "emerging adulthood."

One way of describing this group is to highlight the tendency to delay adulthood or stay in the youth mindset longer than we used to. Smith suggests the following causes for this delay in arriving at mature, responsible adulthood.

First is the growth of higher education. The GI Bill, changes in the American economy, and government subsidizing of community colleges and state universities led in the second half of the last century to a dramatic rise in the number of high school graduates going on to college and university. More recently, many feel pressured--in pursuit of the American dream--to add years of graduate school education on top of their bachelor's degree. As a result, a huge proportion of American youth are no longer stopping school and beginning stable careers at age 18 but are extending their formal schooling well into their twenties. And those who are aiming to join America's professional and knowledge classes--those who most powerfully shape our culture and society--are continuing in graduate and professional school programs often up until their thirties.

A second and related social change crucial to the rise of emerging adulthood is the delay of marriage by American youth over the last decades. Between 1950 and 2000, the median age of first marriage for women rose from 20 to 25 years old. For men during that same time the median age rose from 22 to 27 years old. The sharpest increase for both took place after 1970. Half a century ago, many young people were anxious to get out of high school, marry, settle down, have children, and start a long-term career. But many youth today, especially but not exclusively men, face almost a decade between high school graduation and marriage to spend exploring life's many options in unprecedented freedom.

A third major social transformation contributing to the rise of emerging adulthood as a distinct life phase concerns changes in the American and global economy that undermine stable, lifelong careers and replace them instead with careers of lower security, more frequent job changes, and an ongoing need for new training and education. Most young people today know they need to approach their careers with a variety of skills, maximal flexibility, and readiness to re tool as needed. That itself pushes youth toward extended schooling, delay of marriage, and, arguably, a general psychological orientation of maximizing options and postponing commitments.

Finally, and in part as a response to all of the above, parents of today's youth, aware of the resources often required to succeed, seem increasingly willing to extend financial and other support to their children, well into their twenties and even into their early thirties.

The characteristics of the 18-30 year-olds that these four factors produce include:

(1) identity exploration, (2) instability, (3) focus on self, (4) feeling in limbo, in transition, in-between, and (5) sense of possibilities, opportunities, and unparalleled hope. These, of course, are also often accompanied by big doses of transience, confusion, anxiety, self-obsession, melodrama, conflict, and disappointment.

How Should the Church Respond?

How might the church respond to this phenomenon in our culture? Here are my suggestions.

1. The church will encourage maturity, not the opposite. "Do not be children in your thinking. Be infants in evil, but in your thinking be mature" (1 Corinthians 14:20).

2. The church will press the fact that maturity is not a function of being out of school but is possible to develop while in school.

3. While celebrating the call to life long singleness, the church will not encourage those who don't have the cal to wait till late in their twenties or thirties to marry, even if it means marrying while in school.

4. The church will foster flexibility in life through living by faith and resist the notion that learning to be professionally flexible must happen through a decade of experimentation.

5. The church will help parents prepare their youth for independent financial living by age 22 or sooner, where disabilities do not prevent.

6. The church will provide a stability and steadiness in life for young adults who find a significant identity there.

7. The church will provide inspiring, worldview-forming teaching week in and week out that will deepen the mature mind.

8. The church will provide a web of serious, maturing relationships.

9. The church will be a corporate communion of believers with God in his word and his ordinances that provide a regular experience of universal significance.

10. The church will be a beacon of truth that helps young adults keep their bearings in the uncertainties of cultural fog and riptides.

11. The church will regularly sound the trumpet for young adults that Christ is Lord of their lives and that they are not dependent on mom and dad for ultimate guidance.

12. The church will provide leadership and service roles that call for the responsibility of maturity in the young adults who fill them.

13. The church will continually clarify and encourage a God-centered perspective on college and grad school and career development.

14. The church will lift up the incentives and values of chaste and holy singleness, as well as faithful and holy marriage.

15. The church will relentlessly extol the maturing and strengthening effects of the only infallible life charter for young adults, the Bible.

In these ways, I pray that the Lord Jesus, through his church, will nurture a provocative and compelling cultural alternative among our "emerging adults." This counter-cultural band will have more stability, clearer identity, deeper wisdom, Christ-dependent flexibility, an orientation on the good of others not just themselves, a readiness to bear responsibility and not just demand rights, an expectation that they will suffer without returning evil for evil, an awareness that life is short and after that comes judgment, and a bent to defer gratification till heaven if necessary so as to do maximum good and not forfeit final joy in God.

Manifesto on Evangelism

From Justin Taylor @http://theologica.blogspot.com/

Based on Romans 10-11, John Stott, in his commentary on Romans, delineates an eight-point evangelism manifesto, which is summarized as follows:

1. The need for evangelism: evangelism is necessary because until people hear and receive the gospel they are lost.

2. The scope of evangelism: the whole human race must be given teh chance to hear the gospel.

3. The incentive to evangelism: evangelism arises from the love and longing of the heart.

4. The nature of evangelism: evangelism is sharing with others the good news of Christ crucified and risen.

5. The logic of evangelism: evangelism demands the sending out of evangelists, so that people may call on Christ for salvation.

6. The result of evangelism: evangelism brings such blessings to those who believe, that it arouses the envy of others.

7. The hope for evangelism: evangelism has hope of success only if it rests on the election of God.

8. The goal of evangelism: evangelism introduces converts into the people of God, and so brings glory to God.

Have a Martin Luther Christmas

By Philip Ryken @http://www.reformation21.org

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Somehow the legend persists that Martin Luther wrote the famous Christmas carol “Away in a Manger.” The truth of the matter is that the carol was not written in German but in English, and that it did not make its first appearance—right here in Philadelphia—until the 1880’s. However, according to the famous Luther scholar Roland Bainton, “Away in a Manger” may have been written in 1884 to honor the German Reformer on the 400^th anniversary of his birth. And in a way the legend is appropriate, because as much as any other theologian, Luther had a passion for celebrating the true meaning of Christmas [see Bainton’s introduction to Martin Luther’s Christmas Book (1948; repr. Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg, 1997), p. 7].

Over the course of more than thirty years in ministry, Luther often preached from the Christmas narratives in the Gospels, and from other passages related to the incarnation of God the Son. Typically he would preach on Christmas several times a week throughout Advent, carefully working through each passage verse-by-verse. He also wrote at least five Christmas carols, composing the music as well as coming up with the lyrics.

What were some of the main themes in Luther’s theology of Christmas and the cross? The famous Reformer often emphasized the humble circumstances of the people who witnessed the Savior’s birth. He characterized Mary as “a lowly maid from a mean town,” and said that among “the downtrodden people she was one of the lowliest, not a maid of high station in the capital city, but a daughter of a plain man in a small town” [pp. 12-13]. Of the shepherds he said, “That was a mean job, watching flocks by night. Common sense calls it low-down work, and the men who do it are regarded as trash” [p.35].

Luther used similar language to describe the earthiness of our Savior’s birth. “Bad enough,” he wrote, “that a young bride married only a year could not have had her baby at Nazareth in her own house instead of making all that journey of three days when heavy with child. The inn was full. No one would release a room to this pregnant woman. She had to go to a cow stall and there bring forth the Maker of all creatures because nobody would give way” [p. 30]. So it was that when the wise man came to worship the newborn King, “they saw but a tumbled down shack and a poor young mother with a poor little babe, not like a king at all” [p. 58].

These sufferings were all part of God’s saving plan. In order for God the Son to do the work of redemption—and to save ordinary sinners like Mary and the shepherds—he had to become a man and endure all the difficulties and degradations of our human situation.

We might be tempted to think that if we had been in Bethlehem, we would have given the baby Jesus the welcome he deserved. “If only I had been there!” Luther imagines us saying. “How quick I would have been to help the Baby.” And yet, said Luther, “You only say that because you know how great Christ is, but if you had been there at that time you would have done no better than the people of Bethlehem. Why don’t you do it now? You have Christ in your neighbor. You ought to serve him, for what you do to your neighbor in need you do to the Lord Christ himself” [p. 31]. Spoken like a true pastor, always trying to encourage his congregation to put their faith into practice.

Throughout his preaching on the incarnation, Martin Luther had a pressing concern for Christmas to make its way into our hearts. “We must both read and meditate upon the Nativity,” he preached. “If the meditation does not reach the heart, we shall sense no sweetness, nor shall we know what solace for humankind lies in this contemplation. The heart will not laugh nor be merry” [p. 15].

The true believer’s response to the true meaning of Christmas is beautifully expressed in a carol that Luther wrote for his young children—a carol commonly known by its opening words: “From Heaven High.” The carol seems to have been written for a Christmas pageant to be performed in Luther’s church. First an angel sings, announcing the Savior’s birth. The final stanza of the angel’s song goes like this:

Look now, you children, at the sign,
A manger cradle far from fine.
A tiny baby you will see.
Upholder of the world is he.

These words serve as the cue for the church’s children to come forward and worship the Christ. With reverent wonder they sing:

How glad we’ll be if it is so!
With all the shepherds let us go
To see what God for us has done
In sending us his own dear Son.
Look, look, my heart, and let me peek.
Whom in the manger do you seek?
Who is that lovely little one?
The Baby Jesus, God’s own Son.
Be welcome, Lord; be now our guest.
By you poor sinners have been blessed.
In nakedness and cold you lie.
How can I thank you—how can I?
O dear Lord Jesus, for your head
Now will I make the softest bed.
The chamber where this bed shall be
Is in my heart, inside of me.

Then the whole congregation joins the song, celebrating Christmas the Martin Luther way, and the way of every true believer in the Christ of Christmas:

To God who sent his only Son
Be glory, laud, and honor done.
Let all the choir of heaven rejoice,
The new ring in with heart and voice [pp. 71-72].

"My King" by S.M. Lockridge

The Obstacles of Advent

By Bryan Wilkerson @ http://blog.christianitytoday.com

How is your church combating the busyness and materialism of the season?

Last week my wife and I got all of our Christmas shopping done—in one day. This blitzkrieg approach has become a tradition for us. It’s like pulling a tooth; better to have the whole thing out at once. In the evening we treated ourselves to a victory dinner at a restaurant. While savoring my accomplishment and my meal, I watched A Charlie Brown Christmas on the television above the bar. Ah, Christmas in America—spend all day battling the crowds at the mall and have Luke chapter 2 recited to you by a cartoon character at night.

Many have lamented the way our culture has “taken Christ out of Christmas,” and in recent years we’ve heard conservative pundits freak out when retailers wish customers a “Happy Holiday” rather than “Merry Christmas.” But even for those of us in the church, aware of the season’s spiritual significance, and determined to celebrate the advent of the Messiah, this month still poses many challenges. Let’s face it, focusing on God in our society is always difficult and the added stress of the holidays only makes things harder.

Four years ago we decided to shift the way our church engaged Advent. We came to see that December posed unique challenges for our people, and if these obstacles were left unchecked they would significantly interrupt our mission to be formed into the image of Christ. For this reason our church is taking some intentional steps to help people commune with God this Christmas in a counter-cultural way.

The first obstacle we identified was busyness. Ask anyone in my church, on any day, what keeps them from communing with God and chances are they’ll say busyness. But during December it really gets out of control. Beyond ordinary obligations schedules also fill up with numerous parties, school holiday programs, shopping excursions, vacations, and family gatherings with Cousin Eddie. During a season when we are supposed to slow down and commune deeply with Christ and family we can hardly find time to breathe.

We decided the church should combat this tendency rather than contribute to it. So, instead of adding programs and activities during December we’ve actually reduced them. For example, we’ve stayed away from large Christmas productions for children or adults. These events, while beautiful and worshipful, often take weeks of preparation that fill up the calendar with practices which separate families. We also suspend most adult and children’s classes on Sunday so families can worship together, and we provide at-home Advent family devotionals and encourage heads of households to gather their clan weekly.

In addition, beginning in late October we start encouraging everyone to complete their Christmas shopping before December 1. This frees up time during Advent to connect with others, and hours that would otherwise be spent at the mall can now be used to serve someone in the name of Christ. It seems so simple, but I can’t tell you how many people have been blessed by this suggestion.

The second obstacle we identified was materialism. You know consumption is a problem in society when the first day of the Christmas shopping season is known as “Black Friday.” It is so called because it’s the day most retailers discover if they will make a profit for the year (be in the black). Our entire economy hinges on whether or not people celebrate Christmas by purchasing ChiaPets and little dancing Santas. But all of the focus on “stuff” distracts us from focusing on Christ. (If you haven’t heard about it already, check out the site for What Would Jesus Buy?—a new film debuting this month.)

To address this obstacle we encourage our community to reduce their shopping expenses and match whatever they spend by giving to a compassion or missions project. This year we’re highlighting two projects in particular. The first is in partnership with our missionaries in Cambodia working with AIDS patients. The other is an urban ministry in Chicago we’ve been connected with for years. There are other projects available, and a number involve more than giving money. Many small groups, for example, take time to engage a local service project together and children are encouraged to participate as well.

To be honest, not everyone has appreciated this approach. Some come to our church with expectations of an elaborate Christmas pageant, and others don’t want to be challenged every week to shop earlier and spend less. But our desire is simple—to release time for communion with God and service to others, and to refocus our attention away from the kitsch and onto Christ.

10 Easy Steps to STOP Shopping Addiction and Compulsive Spending (Shopaholism)

From http://personal-finance-management.blogspot.com

Do you own every gadget known to man (or woman)? Does your closet contain lots of shoes or clothes that you almost never wear? Are you feeling lost without credit cards? Do you come home with things you didn't specifically go to buy? Do you use shopping as a quick fix for the blues? Do you spend more than you can afford? Are neighborhood malls and Internet shopping sites possess a mesmerizing magnetic appeal for you?

If you answered yes to several questions above, you are probably shopping as a recreational activity. You have a condition called Oniomania. It is also known as shopping addiction or shopaholism, is the compulsive desire to shop. People who shop or spend compulsively get a feeling of being "high" from the experience. This translates into endorphins and dopamine, natural receptor sites in the brain, getting turned on, creating a "good feeling" and reinforcing the desire to shop or spend.

Credit cards facilitate the spending of money as well as mail orders via catalogues or the Internet. In America, shopping is embedded in our culture; so often, the impulsiveness comes out as shopping addiction or compulsive spending. Shopping addiction and compulsive spending can put a strain on both your finances and your relationships. In other words, shopping addicts buy more than they need and spend more money than they can afford, in an effort to make themselves feel better. It can wreak havoc on a person's life, family, and finances.

Here are the 10 simple steps to stop the cycle of shopping addiction and compulsive spending:

1. Identify a “need” from a “want.” Learn to recognize wants from needs, and practice controlling your impulses to spend your money on things you don't really need, and you'll be able to change your spending habits and end up far ahead financially. Before buying anything, ask yourself if it is a need or a want. If it is a want, let go of the item.

A need is something you have to buy, such as groceries. It may also be a new pair of shoes to wear to the office if your present pair is no longer in good condition. A want, on the other hand, is something you just desire but can do without. Examples are a new CD or DVD, a nice-looking hand bag when you have a dozen other hand bags at home, and a cellphone that’s loaded with so many features.

2. If you know you have a problem, try to avoid discount warehouses, malls and shopping districts. Avoid going to the mall if you don’t have to buy something you absolutely need. Even if you have to get a ride from the mall on the way home from work, don’t go inside the mall. Go around the perimeter of the mall instead to get to the bus stop. If you need to go to the bank, go to one that’s not located in the mall. Do the same for other establishments you patronize for other services (e.g., clothes alteration, key duplication, etc.). If you have to meet friends, pick venues that are far from the nearest mall. Avoid temptation.

3. Do not be sucked in by “good deals.” Avoid the sales unless absolutely necessary. Even if your favorite shop is on sale, don’t go there “just to look.” Make your shopping purposeful: think beforehand what you need to buy, make the purchase, then leave.

4. Set a spending budget and stick to it. List down your monthly income, set aside at least 10 percent for savings, then list down all your regular expenses (transportation, food, etc.). Make sure you set aside money for your regular expenses first before even thinking of going to the mall. Be disciplined.

5. When buying gifts; ask, find out whether your friend or loveones have a registry or wish list, or simply inquire what they'd like. This will help you to not only get the gift they really want; it will also help you to zero in on what you need to buy. Your gift won't be original, or a big surprise, but it will not be the one that gathers dust afterward, either.

6. Start writing things down. Tally your actual expenses every month. This will help you determine where your money goes. You can see too how much you can save on some items and where you’ve spent more than you should. It’s also wise to write down your financial goals so you stay focused on what’s important.

7. Carry a shopping list. Try to plan your shopping. If you’re going to shop for groceries, make a list before going to the supermarket. Then stick to your list. Don’t buy anything else. Remember: If it’s not on your list, then you don’t need it. Try leaving your credit cards at home. Pay with cash, check, or a debit card.

8. Find healthy alternatives. Make yourself busy with other activities. Take a walk or exercise when the urge to shop comes on. After work, go home straight then just relax by reading a book or educational TV shows. In this way, you won’t have to unwind in the mall after a long day’s work.

9. Seek support. Ask a friend or family member to keep you accountable. You need someone’s help to make sure you’re taking steps to curb your impulse buying. If you must go shopping at a place that’s especially tempting for you, bring along a trusted friend who knows how much you’re struggling, and ask your friend to help you stick to your shopping list when shopping.

10. Give yourself a simple reward but don’t over indulge. If you have followed these tips after a month or two, reward yourself with something to make you feel good. It doesn’t have to be expensive (remember: you have a budget to follow!). It can be as simple as a trip to the spa or a movie date with a good friend. It doesn’t even have to be a purchase at the nearest mall.

Remember that shopping addiction or compulsive spending can be stopped or minimize. The despair can be ended through successful treatment and people can be restored to normal life. As with other addictions, success follows an honest admission of the problem and the seeking of help from others.

Revising the Revisionists -- New Controversy over "The Gospel of Judas"

By Albert Mohler@ http://www.albertmohler.com

Just last year, the National Geographic Society announced the discovery of a third-century Gnostic text called "The Gospel of Judas." The Society timed its announcement to support the commercial success and maximize the media impact of a book and television program dedicated to the text.

There was a great deal of misrepresentation about the discovery in the press, with some academics suggesting that the text had been suppressed by the church because of its supposedly explosive contents. Others went so far as to argue that the "Gospel of Judas" would require a comprehensive revision of the Christian faith.

That was nonsense, of course, but it was the kind of nonsense that garners a great deal of media attention.

The most controversial aspect of this text, at least as claimed by the National Geographic Society and its associates, was the claim that it denied that Judas had betrayed Jesus and instead presented him as a hero.

Now, it is these claims about the text that must be revised. Writing in The New York Times, Professor April D. DeConick argues that the official story last year was based in serious flaws in translation -- an inexcusable mistake. In her words:

Amid much publicity last year, the National Geographic Society announced that a lost 3rd-century religious text had been found, the Gospel of Judas Iscariot. The shocker: Judas didn't betray Jesus. Instead, Jesus asked Judas, his most trusted and beloved disciple, to hand him over to be killed. Judas's reward? Ascent to heaven and exaltation above the other disciples.

It was a great story. Unfortunately, after re-translating the society's transcription of the Coptic text, I have found that the actual meaning is vastly different. While National Geographic's translation supported the provocative interpretation of Judas as a hero, a more careful reading makes clear that Judas is not only no hero, he is a demon.

Well, so much for the headlines of last year. DeConick's new book, The Thirteenth Apostle: What the Gospel of Judas Really Says, deals with these charges at length. The evidence she presents should embarrass those who made such audacious claims just a year ago.

More from her article in The New York Times:

Several of the translation choices made by the society's scholars fall well outside the commonly accepted practices in the field. For example, in one instance the National Geographic transcription refers to Judas as a "daimon," which the society's experts have translated as "spirit." Actually, the universally accepted word for "spirit" is "pneuma " -- in Gnostic literature "daimon" is always taken to mean "demon."

Likewise, Judas is not set apart "for" the holy generation, as the National Geographic translation says, he is separated "from" it. He does not receive the mysteries of the kingdom because "it is possible for him to go there." He receives them because Jesus tells him that he can't go there, and Jesus doesn't want Judas to betray him out of ignorance. Jesus wants him informed, so that the demonic Judas can suffer all that he deserves.

Perhaps the most egregious mistake I found was a single alteration made to the original Coptic. According to the National Geographic translation, Judas's ascent to the holy generation would be cursed. But it's clear from the transcription that the scholars altered the Coptic original, which eliminated a negative from the original sentence. In fact, the original states that Judas will "not ascend to the holy generation." To its credit, National Geographic has acknowledged this mistake, albeit far too late to change the public misconception.

In the end, even after DeConick's research it will be clear that "The Gospel of Judas" is a Gnostic text that is opposed to Christian orthodoxy. As DeConick remarked, "Whoever wrote the Gospel of Judas was a harsh critic of mainstream Christianity and its rituals." But the fact that Judas is actually presented as a demon -- not as a heroic figure -- is no small matter.

One additional issue cannot be dodged. Why did the National Geographic Society allow this? DeConick congratulates the Society on finding and preserving the document, but then makes her case:

. . . I think the big problem is that National Geographic wanted an exclusive. So it required its scholars to sign nondisclosure statements, to not discuss the text with other experts before publication. The best scholarship is done when life-sized photos of each page of a new manuscript are published before a translation, allowing experts worldwide to share information as they independently work through the text.

This controversy should serve as a sober reminder that media reports about supposed discoveries may not be at all what is claimed. Indeed, the bigger the claim of a blockbuster discovery, the more care and oversight is required. The impression of this story left in the pubic mind is based in a series of mistranslations. Most people will never know the real story.

________________

Gregory Tomlin of Baptist Press provided a good analysis of this story on November 6 [see here.]

8 Ways to Get More out of Your Bible

By Mark Altrogge @http://blazingcenter.blogspot.com

Are you discouraged with your Bible reading? Find it hard to be consistent? Want to get more out of the Word? Here are a few tips that have helped me to be more consistent and enjoy my devotions more over the years.

1. Prepare the night before

Every night before going to bed, I grind some coffee, put a filter in my Aeropress coffee maker, put my coffee cup on the counter and fill my Hot Shot with water, so all I need to do is push a button to heat the water for my morning cup o’ joe. I make sure everything I need – Bible, marker, journal, Kleenex - is on the stand next to the couch in the den. This saves me having to scramble around wasting time in the morning and I can get reading more quickly.

2. Pray

I usually spend a couple minutes praying before I read. I thank my Father for his love and the gift of sleep, and for protecting my family and me during the night. I also thank him for his gracious invitation for me to enter boldly into his presence through the merits and blood of Jesus. Then I often pray John Piper’s I-O-U'S: “Incline my heart to your testimonies”, “Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law,” “Unite my heart to fear your name,” and “Satisfy me with your love."

3. Same time, same place every day.

Find your best time, when you can concentrate and have the least number of distractions. For me, it’s first thing in the morning. The house is quiet and no one else is up. If I start in on projects or reading the news, I never get to reading the Bible. In the evening I’m too distracted and tired. For some, evening is their best time. The important thing is to find a time when you are least distracted and can concentrate.

I read in the same place every day. As I said earlier, I keep my Bible, marker, journal and prayer notebook on the end-table next to the couch in the den. That way I don’t have to waste time searching through the house for things before I read.

4. Keep track of what you read

After reading, in the back of my journal I write the day, date and the passage I read. That way I don’t have to try to remember where I left off the day before. You can use a bookmark as long as it doesn’t fall out and you lose your place.

5. Write in your Bible

Don’t hesitate to underline, write in the margins, or circle words. Underlining and writing helps us concentrate more on what we’re reading. My favorite marker is a light blue Sanford China Marker. You can underline lightly or darker and it never bleeds through the page.

6. Read consecutively

Don’t skip around or play Bible Roulette. Finish one book before going to another. One way to consistently read through the Bible is to read through Matthew, then Genesis. Then Mark, then Exodus and so on. If you are keeping track of what you’ve read, you’ll eventually work through the whole Bible. Nothing is more discouraging than picking up the Bible and reading at random every day.

7. Use a journal

I’ve used journals for years in my devotions. I like Moleskine lined journals. As you read, write down any verses that stand out to you or any thoughts you have about the passage. Writing slows you down and helps you focus. I usually try to look for one key verse or passage that stands out to me from that day’s reading to record in my journal.

8. Respond to what you’ve read

After recording one key verse or passage in my journal, I usually write a prayer in response. This prayer will sometimes be worship and praise to God for the truth I’ve just read about him or it may be supplication for him to change me to conform with his word. I keep the prayer to one, maybe two pages at the most. It takes me about ten minutes and propels me into my prayer time.

Whether you use these approaches or you have your own, try to build consistent habits of reading the Bible. There’s no better way to fellowship with Jesus and delight in him.

Apologetics on the Mission Field

by Roger @http://ateam.blogware.com

Seven years ago Paul Carden wrote an important article about the need for apologetics around the world. "CONFRONTING CULTS ON WORLD MISSION FIELDS: Will We Rise to the Challenge?" demonstrates the dire need for Christians to take seriously the influence cults are having beyond our local neighborhoods...

"Around the world, cults and controversial new religions are multiplying as they gain cross-cultural sophistication, increase their missionary forces, and step up their translation capabilities. They appear at disaster sites to distribute relief supplies and counsel refugees, and they're going toe-to-toe with evangelical missionaries in the most unexpected places. Their proliferation points to the need for greater awareness among missions strategists and a wider, more effective response on the field."

One example of this happening is the growth of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia: (other examples can be found in the article)

"Cults lost no time in entering the former Soviet Union, where Jehovah's Witnesses grew at the amazing rate of about 30% per year between 991 and 997, tripling in size. If they continue at this pace for the next six years, there will be half a million active Witnesses there, spending 50 million hours per year spreading the Watchtower message. The Witnesses already boast of being the "fifth-largest Christian group in Russia," and the damage from the cult's efforts extends well beyond its own membership: Jehovah's Witnesses distribute nearly 5,000 tons of literature per year in Russia alone - material which undermines trust in the Trinity, the biblical Jesus, and a host of core Christian doctrines, thus inoculating untold numbers of people against the Gospel message, even if they don't fully commit to joining the sect."

In less "modernized" areas it is not uncommon for Christian missionaries to convert members of a group of people, set up a church, and leave, only to find out that a cult came in afterward and gave the converts "further revelation." The gospel does need to go forth throughout the nations, Christians should be interested in caring for the sick and the poor, but we must also be concerned with protecting people from the dangerous errors the enemy is spreading.

It is for these reasons that I'd like to draw your attention to a new branch of Carden's ministry opening in Africa: the Africa Center for Apologetics Research, which will be headed up by our friend John Divito. For those who don't remember, John joined our blog during the celebrations of Joseph Smith's 200th birthday to help us discuss Mormonism. He since launched his own blog (The Reformed Baptist Thinker) and once enough money is raised, he will be moving his family to Uganda.

As a college student I don't have much money to shell out to ministries, but John's is one of the few I've endeavored to help out because of the urgent need for such learned men to confront these issues in such a localized and constructive manner. Of course I like John because he's a Reformed Baptist, but I also believe he's uniquely equipped to handle this ministry with great effectiveness for the Kingdom of God.

For more information about his ministry, check out the links below:

The Challenge
The Vision
Endorsements
Blog
How You Can Help!

A Good Soldier

By John MacArthur @

On June 12, 1944, just six days after D-Day in World War II, a young lieutenant named Richard Winters led his men to the outskirts of Carentan. As the officer in charge of Easy Company, of the 101st Airborne, he was tasked to clear the large French town of its German defenders. It would be a small battle, but it played a significant role in the massive effort to rid the world of Adolf Hitler and the Nazis.

As Winters led his company up the road toward town, the company started taking machine gun fire from a German MG42. The men instinctively dived for cover into ditches on either side of the road, and stayed there — they froze. Not only was the success of the mission in jeopardy, but the men were easy targets for enemy machine gun and sniper fire.

What happened next proved to be the turning point in the battle for Carentan — it’s the stuff legends are made of. Lt. Winters went into the middle of the road and, with bullets hissing past him, started yelling at his troops to get up out of the ditches and engage the enemy. His words, coupled with his heroic action, motivated the men to get up, get in the fight, and gain a decisive victory over the Germans.

Winters’ disregard for personal safety in his effort to save his men from certain death didn’t just earn him a medal; his actions earned him the love, respect, and admiration of his men. They followed him faithfully from Carentan, through the nightmarish Battle of the Bulge, and on to triumph at Hitler’s Eagle’s Nest.

Soldiers willingly follow men like that, men who demonstrate acts of self-sacrifice in the most harrowing of circumstances. How much more should we, as Christians, follow the One who endured suffering and death to rescue us from the most terrifying fate of all, an eternity in hell?

That was the idea that entered Paul’s mind when, at the end of his own ministry, having been imprisoned by the emperor Nero, he wrote to encourage the young pastor Timothy. Timothy was facing severe conflict in his ministry at Ephesus, and the relentless opposition from heretics, apostates, and persecutors was weakening him. And just like any Christian who experiences difficulty because of following Christ, he needed to be reminded again of his task — to suffer hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.

Paul wrote in 2 Timothy 2:3-4, “Suffer hardship with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No soldier in active service entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life, so that he may please the one who enlisted him as a soldier.” A good soldier is one who does not simply do minimum duty for his Lord, but rather is one who serves Him with everything he is and has. As a Christian, that’s what you are called to. Paul’s words to Timothy are your marching orders, too, as you strive to be a good soldier of Christ Jesus.

The first mark of a good soldier is the willingness to suffer hardship with the rest of the soldiers. “Suffer hardship” literally means to suffer evil or pain along with someone else. By adding “with me,” Paul assures Timothy that he hasn’t asked anything of him that he wasn’t willing to do. In fact, Paul was writing from a prison cell.

As a Christian in the Western world, I’d bet it is sometimes difficult for you to understand what serious spiritual warfare and suffering for Christ mean. Even though the secular environment in our society is increasingly hostile to Christianity, you are not faced with loss of job, imprisonment, or execution because of your faith. With few exceptions, being a Christian won’t keep you out of college or from getting a good job. But the more faithful you are as a Christian, the more Satan will put roadblocks, hardships, and rejection in the way, the more evident the spiritual warfare will become, and the more frequent and obvious the hardship will become.

You have been called to endure hardship, and every Christian who has gone before you has had his share. And although you haven’t yet shed blood for your faith (Hebrews 12:4), you will experience hardship as a Christian for your faithfulness–count on it. Jesus said, “If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you” (John 15:20). But be encouraged for He also said, “In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). Jesus is the perfect Commander who leads by example and will bring you to certain victory in the end.

Secondly, a good soldier is marked by his separation from the “normal” life. A “soldier in active service” does not have a 9 to 5 job, or even a long 60- to 70-hour work week. He is a soldier 24 hours a day, every day of the year. His body, his health, his skills, his time–all that he is–belongs to the military. Even when on leave, he is subject to recall at any time, without notice and for any reason. And whenever ordered into dangerous duty, he is expected to put his very life on the line without question or hesitation.

Consequently, he is separated from his normal environment, so that he will not “entangle himself in the affairs of everyday life.” Paul is not speaking about things that necessarily are wrong in themselves. It is not that you, as a Christian, should have no contact at all with your former friends and surroundings, but that you should never be caught up and enmeshed in them. Those things are irrelevant to your soldiering and are always subject to being relinquished.

You should never allow earthly matters to interfere with the fulfillment of your duty to the Lord. Temporal concerns and activities, innocent in themselves, have neutralized the effectiveness of many pastors, special ministries, and doctrinally sound churches. Though they once labored faithfully in the primary purpose of serving Jesus Christ to advance His kingdom against the forces of darkness, they have unwittingly taken themselves out of the battle.

Just as the dutiful soldier places his life willingly on the line in the service of his commander, so also will you, as a faithful Christian, willingly deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow Christ (Luke 9:23). And you will find yourself echoing Paul’s words: “I do not consider my life of any account as dear to myself, in order that I may finish my course, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus” (Acts 20:24).

The final mark of a good soldier is a genuine desire to “please the one who enlisted him as a soldier.” The men who followed Lt. Winters through terrible conditions and battles in Europe did so willingly–he had earned their respect and affections. In an even greater way, the Lord deserves your honor, your affection, and your obedience for all He has done for you. His own courage on the battlefield is unparalleled. He stayed the course and went before you to win your freedom and eternal life. And now He seeks your loyal service in His army.

The Christian’s greatest desire is to please Christ, and his fondest hope is to be rewarded for faithful service, to hear his Master say, “Well done, good and faithful slave; you were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things, enter into the joy of your master” (Matthew 25:21).

With that hope in the forefront of your mind, let your life be animated and driven forward by your love for Jesus Christ. And make it your ambition, “whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him” (2 Corinthians 5:9)–He is your spiritual Commander-in-Chief.

Sermon Outline: Do Not Be Anxious about the Threats of Man: Matthew 10:24-31

1) A Disciple Emulates His Master (Matthew 10:24-25)

Luke 6:40

1 John 2:6; 3:2

Philippians 3:10

Matthew 28:20a

John 15:18-19; 16:2-3

2) A Disciple Does Not Fear the World (Matthew 10:26-31)

Proverbs 29:25

We are not to be anxious and afraid for our:

A) Vindication by God (Matthew 10:26-27)

1 Corinthians 4:5

B) Veneration of God (Matthew 10:28)

Matthew 25:46

2 Thessalonians 1:9

Proverbs 9:10

C) Valuation by God (Matthew 10:29-31)

Matthew 6:26

'Seekers' Are Poor Judges of Their Own Needs

From http://www.oldtruth.com

Quoting Ichabod Spencer . . .

	During a time of a revival, a pastor that I had not known very well called upon me, and by invitation preached for me at my regular weekly evening service. I had mentioned to him the existing seriousness among the people. His sermon did not suit me. He made careless statements; seemed to me to rely on impressions more than on truth; seemed to value his own powers, and to desire other people to rely on theirs. I perceived that he highly esteemed himself, as "a revival preacher", and I thought he preached "revival" and prayed "revival", rather than Christianity. After we arrived home, and my pastor friend had retired for the night, a good friend came in to see me, and inquired how I liked his sermon. I criticized it strongly. My friend then told me, that as she left the church she crossed paths with one of our young ladies, who had been serious for some weeks, and who said to her, "oh that sermon will do me good. It was just what I wanted. I wish our pastor would preach like that". I felt humbled and sad. And as my pastor friend was much older than myself, I thought it became me to consider more carefully what he had preached, and what I had been saying. But I noticed that, from that time, the serious impressions of this young lady, who thought "the sermon would do her good", began evidently to diminish. I saw her often, and aimed to bring back the depth and solemnity of her former seriousness. It was all in vain. She grew more and more indifferent, till finally she went back to the world entirely. There she remains. Years have rolled on; but she remains a stranger to Christ. Convicted sinners are very poor judges of what "will do them good". The very things which they think they need, are often the very things that are snares to their souls. How is it possible for "natural man, who discerneth not the things of the Spirit of God", to tell what will do him good? He has no sincere liking for God, or the truth of God. And if likings are to be consulted, the truth must often be sacrificed. It is better to trouble his conscience, than to please his heart. A convicted sinner is the last person in the world to judge justly, in regard to the kind of instruction he needs. He will seize error more readily than truth, and if his tastes are consulted, his soul will be endangered. In consulting such tastes lies the cunning art deceivers, who lead crowds to admire them, and run after them, and talk of them, while they care not for the truth, "deceiving and being deceived".
From:	A Pastor's Sketches, (year 1850)

Four Ways Instrumentalists Can Raise the Bar

by Greg Howlett @http://www.sharperiron.org

Music is a lightning rod for controversy on SharperIron, and I am hopeful that this article will lead to some thoughtful discussion and introspection. However, I have challenged myself to write about music in a way that is relevant to the average fundamentalist church while avoiding the normal debates about CCM and stylistic preferences.

As a church musician, arranger, and recording artist, I have been involved in church music for almost 30 years and have ministered in hundreds of fundamentalist churches. That track record hardly qualifies me as an expert, but I do have some strong opinions about what I perceive to be some of the weaknesses in our music.

This article is largely directed toward church instrumentalists though there are many applications for anyone else serving in music ministries. Specifically, I want to address four ways I believe instrumentalists can improve the music in their churches.

1. Beauty is a priority.

It is impossible to deny that God values beauty. Positive references to it are scattered throughout the Bible. We see incredible beauty in creation, and heaven is described to be a very beautiful place.

I do not believe that it is a stretch to say that beauty is a quality we should strive for in our music. However, church instrumentalists often sacrifice beauty for either technical impressiveness or stylistic contrast in an arrangement. Both of these are a lousy trade.

Brilliant technique affects the intellect, but beauty affects the heart. Technique draws attention to the performer, but beauty draws attention to God. Most church instrumentalists are simply not skilled enough to put both brilliant technique and beauty in their music. In those cases, they should play simpler music and focus on making it as beautiful as possible.

Stylistic contrast within arrangements is overrated, and it should never be introduced at the expense of the original beauty of the song. When arrangers start looking at arrangements as a theme and variations, unnatural things start happening (my personal pet peeve is inappropriate minor key variations). If you find yourself playing things that don’t sound good just for the sake of contrast, reconsider what you are doing. There are few exceptions to the principle that beauty should overrule stylistic contrast.

2. Humility is a necessity.

Interestingly enough, while there have been numerous discussions on SI over CCM and stylistic preferences, I have never read anything about what I consider to be the biggest problem we face in our church music—the sin of pride. Pride within the music ministry is one of those ugly secrets in our churches, and it shows itself in several different ways.

If you are a musician in your church, I challenge you to go to your music pastor and ask him if he thinks you are the right person to be playing that instrument. Let him know that you will step aside if he thinks the ministry would be served better without your playing. If he says he wants you to keep playing, ask him how you can do a better job and then implement his suggestions. Don’t be one of the many musicians in our churches who refuse to defer to the better musicians and in the process hold back the overall quality of the music.

Another way pride hinders the music ministry of a church is when musicians attempt to play music that is too hard for them just so they can show off their technical expertise. As I mentioned earlier, technical expertise can interfere with the beauty of the music and also curtails the ability of the music to communicate effectively. Many of us should choose to play simpler music than we do.

With the overly healthy egos most of us possess, it is a wonder God can use us at all. Realistically, we are not nearly as good as we think we are. I have been privileged to take occasional piano lessons from John Innes for the past few years. John Innes played for the Billy Graham crusades for many decades and is a remarkable musician. When I start thinking I am a pretty good pianist, I only need a lesson with John to be reminded of how far I have to go. When I really need a dose of reality, I need only listen to the brilliant secular pianists around today that put all of us to shame.

3. Inducing emotion is a noble goal.

Good music should make people feel something—hopefully more than just an admiration for the performer. A study of music in Psalms reveals that music should inspire and be inspired by passionate emotions of praise toward God. Performing church music without that goal in mind is aiming too low.

I once heard a well-known country musician tell a younger singer that it was not his job to impress people—it was his job to make them cry. If country music can inspire that level of emotion, our music should be even more powerful.

Our fear of the hyper emotion demonstrated by others in Christianity should not drive us toward music that is empty of emotion. Unfortunately, I think that is our tendency in many cases.

Obviously, your music should glorify God. But after that, what is your primary goal for the music you play publicly? In my opinion, it should not be to impress people or even to communicate with them. Your primary goal should be to affect them at a deep level and to nudge them toward a greater love and knowledge of God. Emotion is an important component of achieving that goal.

4. Staying current is not compromise.

While it may have been wise and even necessary, the church in general and fundamentalists in particular have paid a heavy price for their decision several decades ago to separate from popular genres of music such as jazz. In a nutshell, the quality of our music is now far behind other genres.

That is not to say that we are not improving. The music written both in fundamentalist circles and Christianity in general is far superior to what was being written fifty years ago (I am speaking about the musical form rather than the words). However, we still have a long way to go.

Our strategy of musical separation should consist of more than just trailing the world’s music by twenty or thirty years. It would be nice if the church was leading by example as it did in past centuries. If we are going to do that, we first need to catch up with the musical development of the last century. In particular, we need a harmonization facelift.

So if you are an instrumentalist, take time to study theory and make yourself current. There is a lot you can learn outside fundamentalist circles about music that you can apply to church music without any kind of compromise. Frankly, we need a lot of that exploration going on.

I am sensitive to the fact that people have different opinions about music, and I am in no way implying that my thoughts are biblical mandates. But I do think that regardless of our personal stylistic preferences, we instrumentalists can improve our music by a renewed focus on these four areas.

<sup>Greg Howlett lives with his wife, Marla, and four children in Monroe, Georgia. He is a Christian recording artist and is involved in the music ministry at Grace Baptist Church in Dacula, Georgia.

You can hear his music at www.greghowlett.com. He also regularly posts free Christian piano lessons to help church pianists learn skills such as arranging, playing by ear, and altering chords.</sup>

Fads Fade, but the Word Stands Forever

By Phil Johnson @ http://www.sfpulpit.com/

This concludes Phil’s series on the fad-driven church. For those who missed any of the earlier portions of this series, here are links to the previous posts: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, and Part 6.

As we have seen in the last two posts, the Word of God is both powerful and penetrating. Third—

3. The Word of God is precise.

Notice how this verse describes the ministry of the Word of God as precision surgery, not wanton destruction: “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”

Now, obviously, surgery is ordinarily done with a scalpel, not a sword. Scalpels are small and precise, and razor sharp—just like the Word of God: “sharper than any twoedged sword.” The surgeon uses a scalpel with great care to cut precisely, sometimes dividing fine layers of tissue with remarkable precision.

That is exactly what is described here. The Word of God divides soul and spirit, joints and marrow, and it is capable of great discrimination. It discerns “the thoughts and intents of the heart”—something that is not even visible to the human eye.

We cannot look upon the heart—the innermost part of the human soul. First Samuel 16:7: “Man looketh on the outward appearance, but [only] the LORD looketh on the heart.”

We can’t even correctly discern the thoughts and intents of our own hearts. Jeremiah 17:9: “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” We are all subject to self-deception and blindness when it comes to judging our own hearts. But the Word of God reveals what is really in our hearts, and it correctly assesses our thoughts and intentions. It shows our motives and our imaginations for what they really are. And that is why it is capable of such precision surgery—even in the deepest recesses of our souls.

Some people misread this phrase “the dividing asunder of soul and spirit” and imagine that this describes two completely separate parts of the immaterial makeup of our beings. I don’t believe that’s what it is teaching. I realize there are good Bible teachers who teach that man is a tripartite creature, consisting of body, soul, and spirit. But I don’t think that’s the point of this verse. Scripture often uses the expressions “soul” and “spirit” interchangeably. It is difficult to make any meaningful division between soul and spirit, and that is the whole point.

Just like the “joints and marrow” of your bones and the “thoughts and intentions” of your heart, these things are so inextricably linked that it’s impossible to separate them without destroying one or the other. They aren’t separate entities that exist apart from each other. They aren’t distinct human faculties. There is overlap and interdependence. But the Word of God is precise and exact, and it cuts with painstaking accuracy. It divides what cannot otherwise be divided. It is sharper than any two-edged sword, and yet more precise than any surgeon’s scalpel.

Here’s the point: We ought to make better use of the Word of God in our ministry, and ignore all the evangelical fads that come and go. After all, only the Word of God has the powerful, penetrating precision that is necessary to reach and revitalize hearts that are cold and dead because of sin. And this is also our clear biblical mandate: “Preach the word . . . in season, out of season”—no matter which way the winds of doctrine are blowing and no matter how many fads and fashions come and go.

Obey that mandate, and God will bless your ministry. Chase every bandwagon that comes down the road, and you will regret it on that day when you give account for your ministry.

How's This for a Church Covenant?!

From Jason @ http://fide-o.blogspot.com

David Fairchild is a church planter in San Diego. His church Kaleo is a great example of a church that understands the mission of God's people in this world. Recently he preached a sermon entitled "One Anothering" and spoke of Kaleo's Community Covenant.

It is based on:
John 15:12 - Love one another
Romans 5:13 - Don't pass judgment on one another
Romans 12:5 - Be members of one another
Romans 12:10 - Honor one another
Romans 12:16 - Live in harmony with one another
Romans 14:19 - Build up one another
Romans 15:5 - Be like-minded toward one another
Romans 15:7 - Accept one another
1 Corinthians 12:25 - Care for one another
Galatians 5:13 - Serve one another in love
Galatians 5:26 - Don't provoke or envy one another
Galatians 6:2 - Bear one another's burdens
Ephesians 4:32 - Be kind to one another
Colossians 3:13 - Bear with each other and forgive one another
1 Thessalonians 3:12 - Abound in love toward one another
1 Thessalonians 4:18 - Comfort one another
Titus 3:3 - Don't hate one another
Hebrews 3:13 - Encourage one another
Hebrews 10:24 - Stir up one another to love and good deeds
James 4:11 - Don't slander one another
James 5:9 - Don't bear grudges against one another
James 5:16 - Confess your sins to one another
1 Peter 4:9 - Offer hospitality to one another
1 Peter 5:14 - Greet one another
1 John 1:7 - Fellowship with one another
1 John 3:11 - Love one another
Ephesians 5:21- submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.

Consider this Church Community Covenant :

Because of Christ's great love and commitment to me, I covenant to love His bride and to show the same commitment to one another in His church.

I promise to be members of one another, to honor one another, to live in harmony with one another, to build one another up, to be like-minded toward one another, to accept one another, to care for one another, to serve one another, to bear one another's burdens, to be kind to one another, to forgive one another, to abound in love, to comfort one another, to encourage one another, to stir one another up to love and good deeds, to confess my sins to one another, to be hospitable to one another, to greet one another, to fellowship with one another, to submit to one another while not passing judgment on one another, not provoking one another, not envying one another, not to hate one another, not to slander one another, and not to bear grudges against one another.

I do all this because Christ has loved me in each of these ways and this frees my heart to love one another as Christ has loved me (John 13:34).

Nehemiah's Wall Found

From http://str.typepad.com

Jerusalem:

A wall mentioned in the Bible's Book of Nehemiah and long sought by archaeologists apparently has been found, an Israeli archaeologist says.

A team of archaeologists discovered the wall in Jerusalem's ancient City of David during a rescue attempt on a tower that was in danger of collapse, said Eilat Mazar, head of the Institute of Archaeology at the Shalem Center, a Jerusalem-based research and educational institute, and leader of the dig.

Artifacts including pottery shards and arrowheads found under the tower suggested that both the tower and the nearby wall are from the 5th century B.C., the time of Nehemiah, Mazar said this week. Scholars previously thought the wall dated to the Hasmonean period from about 142 B.C. to 37 B.C.

The findings suggest that the structure was actually part of the same city wall the Bible says Nehemiah rebuilt, Mazar said. The Book of Nehemiah gives a detailed description of construction of the walls, destroyed earlier by the Babylonians.

"We were amazed," she said, noting that the discovery was made at a time when many scholars argued that the wall did not exist."

Ben Witherington reviews: Beowulf

Ben Witherington reviews: Beowulf

Robert Zemeckis is a fine director of films, but even he must have thought he had bitten off more than he could chew by attempting to do a 3-D film which is mostly CG and part real actors blended together, using a dark Scandanavian legend as its script.

'Beowulf' is an olde Englishe heroic poem that dates probably around the 8th or 9th century dealing with 6th century events, legends, myths, though the oldest manuscript dates to about 1010. Many of those of us who were college English majors had to read this thing in the ancient script. Here is the first page of the oldest copy of the poem to the left here. Good luck, as it looks like the runes from a Tolkien manuscript. Which brings up an important point. A good deal of Tolkien's ideas for his enormous brooding myth came from Norse and Swedish mythology. Both Tolkien and Lewis were profoundly interested in that material, and discussed it at Inkling's meetings in the Bird and Babe pub in Oxford. After having an impressive version of Tolkien's masterpiece, could Beowulf also be translated effectively to the big screen?
Well the answer is both yes---- and no, as we shall see in a moment.

But for those of you who didn't have the pleasure of deciphering olde Englishe, here is a brief plot summary. Beowulf is a hero of a tribe called the Geats (Scandanavians who migrated to eastern England), and he shows up in Denmark to slay the monsters plaguing a group of lusty Danes who have been terrorized by a monster named Grendel (not to be confused with Gretel). Grendel it seems attacks a Danish meade hall named Heorot, killing a few people and otherwise putting a damper on celebrating in the meade hall (not a good thing during those long gray winter months in Dane land). Along comes Beowulf, slays Grendel, but the problem doesn't stop because there is Grendel's mother, and she is right royally ticked off. (Did I mention she's a seductive water demon played by Angelina Jolie). He has to deal with her, and then finally with a dragon in which battle he is mortally wounded.

No happy ending here, but then remember 'Hamlet' was also a play about brooding and troublesome Danes, some of whom have death wishes. It does appear that some of the characters in this story were real historical Scandanavian persons (for instance the Danish king, played by Anthony Hopkins, whom Beowulf comes to help), but one must remember this is a drinking song poem, and is surely mostly fiction.

But what about the movie itself. Surprisingly, since there is considerable violence in this film, it still gets a PG 13 rating. And though the movie aspires to be like an epic telling of a tale, it clocks in at a mere 1 hour and and 54 minutes-- think Beowulf Lite, less filling, tastes great. Let me say firstly that the 3D effect is indeed eye-popping. One finds one's self ducking swords and other flying objects from time to time that keep leaping off the screen at you. And in the acting department, Hopkins is still Hopkins, but this is not Oscar material here. Ray Winstone plays Beowulf, though only from the neck up. And the rest of the cast can only be called less than great Danes. This movie tends to show why the Dark Ages were labeled that-- the sky is dark, people and monsters can be brutal, and what could be worse than running out of meade and not being able to party? The meade hall scenes seem like something straight out of a frat movie, and the singing is just as bad. If Zemeckis is trying to convince us of the barbaric character of the age, he succeeded.

But what is interesting in this film is the distinction made between a hero, like Beowulf and 'the God Jesus Christ'. At one juncture in the film the Danish king is ask, after a raid by Grendel, if they should pray to and invoke 'the new Roman god Christ'. No, says the king, we don't need a savior god, we need a hero. There is one other slam at Christianity in this film. Looking back wistfully at the deeds of Beowulf as now past, one character bemoans that all the heroes are dead, and we are left only with the weeping martyrs of Christendom, which are seen as no substitute for heroes.

Now what is interesting about these observations, is while it is indeed based in some things going on in the original poem, they play very well today in western culture, a culture which exults heroes in the form of National Guard ads before the movie about service at home and abroad, has TV shows about 'Heroes', makes Marvel comic movies about heroes, and so on. Heroes with strength and courage, but also feet of clay are much preferred to a sinless savior who dies so that we might live differently than we do. We don't want to live differently. We want to party down, and then have a hero rescue us when we go too far.

But as Zemeckis so aptly portrays things-- Beowulf, hero though he may be, becomes an ongoing part of the problem, when he is seduced by Grendel's mom, and produces yet another monster which plagues the land. Heroes, as it turns out, cannot escape their fallen desires and lusts, and so while they can stop the bleeding for a while, they cannot save us from our darker natures and worst selves and are no final solution to the things that bewitch, bother, and bewilder us. This portrayal of Beowulf makes Oedipus Rex look appealing, almost.

As you will have gathered, I don't think this is a great film, but it is in small ways thought provoking, and certainly it makes for remarkable viewing with the 3 D effect. I certainly wouldn't take my children to this movie. It is too dark, and violent, and disturbing in various ways. But Zemeckis is to be applauded for the attempt to make a film in which hero worship is both portrayed, and unmasked in various ways. This is a film with which Freud and Jung would have had a field day.

Pray Global Prayers

By: John Piper @ http://www.desiringgod.org

To help you stay encouraged to pray for huge Christ-exalting movements of God, here’s what we read this morning. Each day, as part of our family devotions, Noël and Talitha and I read the daily reading from the Global Prayer Digest. Today we read this:

"David, what do you think about this quote from Ahmad Al Qataani which was posted on the Al Jazeera web site regarding Africa? It says, 'In every hour, 667 Muslims convert to Christianity. Every day, 16,000 Muslims convert to Christianity. Ever year, six million Muslims convert to Christianity.'" Paul, a Christian worker among Muslims, was asking a fellow worker about the report. David replied, "It is true that there are more Muslims coming to Christ now than any other time in history, but these statements have not been verified." Even if exaggerated, such reports may not be contradicted, because "Sometimes clerics and imams try to put fear into Muslims with exaggerated statistics to stir up Muslims against Christians. Reports like this one from the Egyptian Bible Society are encouraging. They have distributed over 600,000 copies of the JESUS Film last year and Egyptians are more eager to have Arabic Bibles than ever before."

There have been incredible testimonies from Muslim converts from many Islamic countries, despite intense persecution, arrests, assassinations, and widespread church bombings. They come from all walks of life. Some Muslims are reached when they hear the words that Jesus spoke, such as, "Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart, and ye shall find rest unto your souls." (Matt. 11:29, KJV).

Would you join me in praying sweeping, global prayers that God would glorify Jesus by opening the eyes of millions of Muslims to see and savor the truth and beauty of the God-Man, Jesus Christ, cruci