Stopping by the Woods on a Screaming Evening

I was recently asked the question, “How do you get someone involved in the pro-life cause when they do not see any reason to get involved?” Don’t think I did too great a job answering at the time, but, on reflection and with much thought, here is the answer I now have for that question.

First of all, this was asked in the context of pro-life training based on the outstanding DVD training material, Making Abortion Unthinkable: The Art of Pro-Life Persuasion, authored by Greg Koukl (Stand to Reason) and Scott Klusendorf (Life Training Institute). Mastering this material gives you both the scientific and the philosophical legs to stand against the pro-abortion position. One of the things it teaches is to simplify and focus the issue to the question, “What is the unborn?” If the unborn is just a blob of tissue then no reason at all is needed to kill it, BUT if it is a human being, then no reason for killing it is justifiable (with the exception where it is a clear medical choice between mother and baby dying or only aborting the baby will save the mother’s life).

One of my favorite tactics is to paint a word picture. Get the other person involved intellectually and emotionally. Get them to see the issue in their mind’s eye. You know the ending of the story – it must lead to the central issue, “What is the unborn?” and it must arrive there with both emotional and intellectual impact. So, this is an exercise of working backwards from the conclusion.

Here is my story. It is not the only one. You can construct your own.


You’re walking on a path through the woods when you are startled to hear what sounds like human screams. Instinctively, you turn to the direction of the screams, but you cannot see anything through the dense foliage. The screams continue.

What should you do? Investigate or just continue your casual walk admiring the beauty all around while ignoring the continuing screams?  Wait for an answer here.

So, you softly make your way to the sound, until parting some leaves you see an adult brutally abusing a small toddler.

What do you do now? Try to intervene, call for help on your cell phone, run for help, or refuse to get involved?  Again, wait for an answer.

What would you think of a person who simply said, “I don’t want to get involved,” turned back to the path, and continued their pleasant stroll through the beautiful woods – all the while ignoring the screams?

Is not some form of action to help the human response to this situation? Don’t we have a natural revulsion for the moral integrity of the person who does nothing?

That is the picture of the abortion holocaust happening in this country and around the world.

I’m not sure there’s much more to do for the person whose response remains, “I don’t want to get involved.” But, if the story seems to hit home, and they try to make a point of the difference between the toddler being abused and a fetus being killed in abortion, then, you’ve got your opening to say, “but that’s the real issue isn’t it? What is the unborn?”

That’s where the training kicks in. You now have the open door for the scientific and the moral case ready. And, you’re ready for the other common objections.

Death Defying Acts - Let Go, Let God

Some people are so terrified of roller coasters they don't even want to watch others ride them. Then, some are so brave and death-defying they release their grip on restraints locking them in and fling their arms skyward as the coaster crests the peak and accelerates through weightlessness down the steep track.

Actually, the brave are only acknowledging the truth that their death grip on the restraint wasn't going to hold them securely in the coaster through all the twists, turns, accelerations, and stomach heaving drops anyway. It's the shoulder harness and lap restraints holding them in. The strength of their grip on the restraint adds absolutely nothing - but a false sense of doing something and a diversion from enjoying the ride.

For years I was what I call a white-knuckled Christian holding fast to the hem of Christ's robe with all my strength. I wanted to be a faithful Christian, but, at the time, I thought it was by my will and my strength that I exercised faith over my mind's uncertainties. And it took a great deal of my attention and focus to hold fast.

I had a totally unscriptural (worldly) idea of faith as something your heart willed and forced on your mind to cover over doubts.

I knew there was a God - no question whatsoever about that - but it still seemed I had to hold on with all my strength. Then God brought Ravi Zacharias and his books into my life. I saw the Christian life of the mind and that there were reasons to believe what I believed. The faith I previously saw as an act of will became more an act of reasonable response to the evidence. My heart and mind were no longer schizophrenic but united into a whole being.

Just as God brought this into my life, it also dawned on me that it never was my strength holding God but His strength holding me fast - "and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand." Jn 10:28

Realizing and acting on the truth is a very brave thing to do whether it's letting go on the roller coaster or letting go of God and letting (trusting, faith) His strength hold you.

Feed Me!

Our stomach growls and aches when it's hungry ... and we generally give it the attention it demands. But what about our soul?

Our soul doesn't growl, but it does ache for true spiritual food. True spiritual food - God's Word; the fellowship of praise between us and the Father facilitated by the Holy Spirit; the fellowship of suffering; corporate and private worship; that abba, daddy, relationship; the magnificent wonder of revelation - brings a wholeness and fulfillment found nowhere else this side of heaven.

Yet, paradoxically, for all the "high" of soul food, we are "prone to wander, prone to leave the God we love." Prone to let the empty allurements and enticements of the flesh draw us to the worldly for satisfaction by that which never can. Like a child testing its independence, we wander away from our Father until the soulish ache-pangs of depression, despair, and disillusionment cause us to cry out as Paul, "O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from this body of death?" (Rom 7:24)

I must confess: I'm a professional wanderer (as I suspect many of us are). But how do we stop the unending replays of our role as prodigal son?

The solution to every problem starts with the first step of acknowledging the problem is us. God already knows. We need to come into agreement with God.

We ask God to help us where we are weak.

Then we intentionally set out to routinely feed our soul with what it craves.

"Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God." (Mat 4:4)

"And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, 'Take, eat; this is my body.'" (Mat 26:26)

"O taste and see that the LORD is good." (Psa 34:8)

Feed your soul.

Another Co (God and me) Incident

One of the ministries I contribute to regularly is Ravi Zacharias International Ministries (http://www.rzim.org/), and every other month or so they send an audio CD with updates on the ministry or one of their many excellent speakers delivering a message.

About a month ago, I received a CD with Dr John Lennox giving his comments on the fatal logic errors in Dr. Stephen Hawking's recent book, The Grand Design, where Hawking purports to show that the existence of physical laws like the Law of Gravity are sufficient to ensure the universe would come into existence without any aid from outside influence or intelligence (God).

I loved that CD playing it at least 20 times in my daily 40 min commutes to/from work. Dr Lennox' insights and comments revealed simple truths that somehow had escaped me even after all my study in philosophy, religion, and apologetics. I shared the CD with many people. I kept telling myself I needed to listen to it at my computer where I could easily pause/rewind, so I could capture the many thoughts/ideas and names Dr Lennox mentioned ... but I just never got it done.

In addition to the occasional CD's, RZIM also mails periodic ministry updates in a small pamphlet, "Just Thinking". On a recent morning I happened to notice one lying on the desk near my keyboard that I had not opened, so I decided to take it as I left for work with the intention of reading it during lunch.

That morning while driving to work, a still small inner voice reminded me I had not transcribed the Lennox CD, yet.

At lunch I broke the seals on the pamphlet and opened to the first article, "Stephen Hawking and God" by John Lennox. Though this was not the identical presentation as the CD, it had all the important points - and it had a bibliography!

Purpose of Life is NOT Death

Many non-Christians, but surprisingly many Christians too, make an assumption I think is false: God's purpose in giving life is just about people getting to heaven. In other words, God is just trying to get back as many of the souls He gave out as He can. Already starting to sound a little strange, isn't it? I think saving souls is certainly important, but that is NOT the most important thing. Simply put, the purpose of life is not death. The purpose of life is to glorify God and we do so both by making wise choices to acknowledge Him and obey Him. Those who make bad choices end up glorifying God and showing His wisdom and His judgment. Look at Pharaoh. Here is a sample pro-abortion argument where this misunderstanding comes into play.

The Greatest Adventure

No great adventurer knows what he shall find at the end of his journey, but he counts on adventure with each step. So it is when God calls. Do not expect to see from beginning to end but only His illumination from step to step for God's call is not to a destination but to the great adventure of discovering Him.

Virus In the Garden

I have started "debating" atheists and others on Facebook. It is taxing, emotionally and intellectually, but I enjoy the fact that it forces me to think and organize my thoughts much better. Recently, I responded to a post of this quote by Ron Patterson - "In the Bible we are asked to believe that the entire human race was plunged into sin because one woman took the advice of a talking snake... before she had any knowledge of good and evil." I want to share part of my answers to this issue.

 Adam and Eve's sin was disobedience. Lacking knowledge of good and evil has nothing to do with it. In fact, they already had knowledge of good from walking with God and having all good things provided for them. 

They also knew, again from walking with God, that they were not God - that there was a significant difference between their abilities and His. For example, God created; Adam got to name. 

The temptation to be as God was an obvious falsehood they would have known to reject. 

 God knows the highest expression of Good - Himself - and the absolute pit of evil that exists where He is not, but God also has the ability to know all these things without being corrupted by the knowledge in any way. He has the omnipotence and omniscience to ensure His plan always works out in the way that brings the greatest good (His Glory) before mankind. 

 Adam and Eve were created as moral creatures - similar to God's moral nature - else they could not have known God as Good, but they did not have God's power to not be corrupted by this knowledge. For them, the fruit of the forbidden tree was a virus. 

Squirrels get all the peaches off the trees at my lake house. If a squirrel had eaten the forbidden fruit in the Garden, God would not have cared.  They have no thought of being God.

The Tomb is Empty!

The screams of a baby in the woods so compels us to its aid that we would rightfully judge one who walks away as inhuman. Likewise, the rumor of a man dying and rising from the grave, defeating every man's enemy, should so command our attention that failing to sincerely, thoroughly, and individually investigate the claim is the highest betrayal of our humanness. He made us to turn and respond to the way He calls - whether to the cries of a child or an empty tomb. Life or death. Will you turn aside? http://thegoodnews.org/

Standing for Truth

"Thank you for encouraging me to stand up for my faith." This was a young Christian lady's commendation to a national Christian radio network. I'm not sure this Christian radio network explicitly teaches Christians to stand for their faith or this is just the young lady's summarization. Still, I think there is a much more effective way of communicating this idea. Rather than teaching to "stand for our faith", I think we should be explicitly teaching to "stand for Truth". 

Here are several reasons this is a better way to express our Biblical mandate to be salt and light both inside the Church and to the unbelieving culture. Faith, when Biblically understood, is a perfectly good word, but, we (the Church) have allowed the word to be misunderstood and marginalized by our culture. 

The first or "common" definition most people think of is the ability to believe in something that has no proof, or, perhaps, even to cling to a belief in spite of apparent contradictory proof. Blind faith. Is this Biblical faith? Absolutely not! Using the word, faith, just tells the world you are part of a marginalized minority and should be ignored.

 Another common perception of faith is that it's more like flavors of ice cream than insulin. Our relativistic society sees faith as a personal preference, not a truth claim. You can have your faith and I can have my faith ... whatever works for you. To claim to "stand for your faith" is to start off swimming upstream against public perception. 

Truth has been relativized, too, but nowhere near the degree of misperception of faith. Everyone, even the relativist, lives as if there are some moral absolutes - i.e. truths - and it's much easier to tackle this with logic and reason than to set everyone straight on faith. 

Claiming to "stand for truth" has a much greater potential for starting out on more common ground without having to fight the battle first over misunderstanding of the word, faith. 

Ultimately, you have to talk about Truth, anyway, so why not just start there. 

" I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life; no one comes to the Father, but by Me." John 14:6 (NASB)  

I would even go so far as to say there is just as much confusion over faith inside the church as out. Using words like truth and trust can enable us to bring clarity to the murky waters.

Tempted to Do It Your Way

Saw the connection last Sunday between the insults hurled at Christ on the cross

Mark 29 And they that passed by railed on him, wagging their heads, and saying, Ah, thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days, 30 Save thyself, and come down from the cross. 31 Likewise also the chief priests mocking said among themselves with the scribes, He saved others; himself he cannot save. 32 Let Christ the King of Israel descend now from the cross, that we may see and believe. And they that were crucified with him reviled him. (KJV) 

and those hurled during His wilderness temptation by the devil

Matt 3 And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. 5 Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple, 6 And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. 8 Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; 9 And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me. (KJV) 

 Even on the cross, the devil tempted Jesus to accomplish the mission of salvation in his own way rather than according to God's plan. Jesus refused. So should we. When human understanding is lacking, stand on the certainty of God's Word.

Peace on Earth

Our dreams can be no higher than our language. How often we take beautiful God-filled words and make them so banal and so far short of the wonderful pictures God has painted for us.

Even many secularists will exchange Christmas cards carrying the phrase "Peace on Earth, Good Will to Men" - the Christmas angelic proclamation to the shepherds. It should be enough of a clue that if secularists would use the word "peace" then something (the meat) of the depth of meaning God intended is missing. Yet, could there still be a hint or clue there?

Most people first think of the lack of war or an unconflicted state of mind as the meaning of "peace", yet we are confronted with perpetual war and almost constant conflict - unless we find internal escape from the world with the Buddhists or accept the unreality of reality with the Hindus. We are all painfully aware there is a problem, we only differ on where the real problem resides.

The unbelieving world sees the problem as a correctable, superficial human problem (obviously, with other people) that will yield to liberal doses of education, law, and "I'm OK, You're OK" psychotherapy. But God has defined the problem as a hereditary illness and brokenness within called rebellion against God that we all have willfully embraced. We have estranged ourselves from home, and, like the prodigal son in a far country, we all long for home and the missing relationship - even when we don't know where home is, we simply know there ought to be a home.

The external wars and conflicts are just extensions of the sickness and longings from within. For those willing to admit this source of the problem - me - God sent a Son to be born in a manger to make the only way to restore the wholeness between the Father and us, His children.

And so the angels proclaimed at the birth of Jesus, "Wholeness and restored relationship with the Father is available to all who will acknowledge the Giver and accept the Gift." Now, there can be Peace even when there is no external peace. In fact, without this internal "Peace on Earth", there is no hope of external "peace on earth" at all.

Savor the full beauty and wonder of that night long ago. See the Glorious picture of when our Peace came.

p.s. - Just viewed a video post by Greg Koukl (Stand to Reason) on this verse from Luke 2:14. He added one additional perspective - horizontal vs vertical. Secular application of "Peace" in this passage is horizontal, man to man, but the Biblical application is vertical, God to man. This is very similar to the common distortion of Mt 22:36-39 - "Love your neighbor as yourself." It appears the vertical relationship always precedes and informs the horizontal.

Evolving to God's Image?

Which is the correct interpretation of Gen 1:26 - "Let us make/create man in our image" or "Let us evolve this goo so that it will eventually come to our image"? If the later, does evolution make us "better" and more God-like? Have we arrived there yet? Do we finally just evolve into pure immaterial soul and out of time into eternity? I think the jury has already condemned us.

Love Your Neighbor or Hate Your Neighbor?

"Master, which is the great commandment in the law?  Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. " Mt 22:36-39 (KJV). 

 Many are familiar with this passage. The latter half of Jesus' saying, "Love thy neighbor," is so non-threatening you find parallels in other religions and even secularists can nod in agreement. However, this completely misunderstands, trivializes, and tramples the meaning and impact of what is intended. 

I don't know of a higher or more exacting standard of love for our neighbor than in the Bible, but this high standard can't be understood apart from the whole of Jesus' statement. 

 First, there is a clear precedence, first and second, 1) Love God with your whole being and then 2) love your neighbor. This implies you cannot really do #2 without doing #1 first, just as you can't stretch a single into a double in baseball by running from home plate across the pitcher's mound to second base bypassing first base. 

 Then Jesus says the second is "like" the first. How are the first and second alike? Both use the same Greek word for love - agape. The highest example of agape is Jesus' giving Himself to die in our place on a cross that we might obtain God's mercy rather than the judgment we all deserve.  Agape is a love that sacrifices itself unto death.

That's the kind of "love" we are commanded to love our neighbor with. A high love indeed. Imagine what that would be like. But, unless we know that kind of agape love first expressed by God toward us, what example of love have we to share with our brothers?

 I have used the following to try to convey what I believe to be the enormous contrast between agape and the kind of love we settle for when we jump to #2 without knowing the love of #1: "Compared to God's love shown to us through the cross, the highest love of natural man is but a better hate" 

Without the high Biblical standard and with the dumbing down of love, there's little wonder there is real "hate" expressed in this world - even by some who can quote Mt 22:36-39. 

 Taking loving God FIRST out of the picture leaves a pathetic, cheap, imitation love. 

Do you love your neighbor or merely like/hate him?

In Need of Mercy

Some thoughts on John 8:1-11, the passage on the woman caught in adultery and brought to Jesus by the ruling religious leaders. 

The woman was guilty of breaking the law and deserved punishment as the religious leaders claimed. As events unfolded, it appears Jesus convicted these leaders of their sins, yet, instead of staying and receiving mercy as the woman did, they left with their deserved punishment still hanging over their heads. 

 Jesus was the only one who could grant mercy. The just penalty of God's justice must be paid, and He alone could and did pay it for us  on the cross. He could grant this woman mercy because of what He knew He would do in fulfilling His mission on the earth. 

The religious rulers missed out because they desired justice over mercy and ended up condemning themselves.

They Have Names, Too

(Below was submitted for publication in a local newspaper.) 

The counter silently clicks over as 165 babies are aborted every hour: 50,844,537 50,844,538 50,844,539 50,844,540 50,844,541 50,844,542 50,844,543 50,844,544 50,844,545 50,844,546 50,844,547 50,844,548 50,844,549 50,844,550 50,844,551 50,844,552 50,844,553 50,844,554 50,844,555 50,844,556 50,844,557 50,844,558 50,844,559 50,844,560 50,844,561 50,844,562 50,844,563 50,844,564 50,844,565 50,844,566 50,844,567 50,844,568 50,844,569 50,844,570 50,844,571 50,844,572 50,844,573 50,844,574 50,844,575 50,844,576 50,844,577 50,844,578 50,844,579 50,844,580 50,844,581 50,844,582 50,844,583 50,844,584 50,844,585 50,844,586 50,844,587 50,844,588 50,844,589 50,844,590 50,844,591 50,844,592 50,844,593 50,844,594 50,844,595 50,844,596 50,844,597 50,844,598 50,844,599 50,844,600 50,844,601 50,844,602 50,844,603 50,844,604 50,844,605 50,844,606 50,844,607 50,844,608 50,844,609 50,844,610 50,844,611 50,844,612 50,844,613 50,844,614 50,844,615 50,844,616 … 

In one hour on Sunday, May 31,2009, another senseless killing surfaces a name - George Tiller. Every life is a precious life – even that of an abortionist. Maybe one name will help us remember that while the killing counter continues to roll, the millions that have already died and are represented by sterile numbers had names, too:

Shamika Abbey James Theodore Juan Becky Sara William Rose Jose Thomas Nathan Lydia Lee Mary Kyle Nancy Julie Yevette Iola Rusty Chuck Audrey Vicky Orem Jimmy Delissa Catherine Harry Kenny Glissen Julio Pam Lisa Terence Sergio Jason Paul Amy Tiffany Jermaine Avery Shayla Jason Britt Gabriel Alwonda …

Legalizing Wrong as Right Sends More to Hell

Pain has a purpose - to let us know something is wrong and give us a chance to do something about it. 

The social pain of disapproval serves the same purpose. When social disapproval is inline with God's Word, that pain has a greater possibility of leading people to examine their contrary beliefs/behavior and turn back to the right path - repent. 

Giving the legal permission to do what is wrong salves over the conscience and allows the lost a greater comfort in their wrong doing. Whether it is legalization of abortion, sexual deviancy, or any other of a myriad of things the Bible is abundantly clear is wrong, legalization has the effect of sending more people to hell. Or, at the very least, prolonging their self-deception until they finally come to the end of themselves and reach out for God but still suffer the natural consequences of the much deeper hole they are in because of the comfort of legalization. 

 This is not a trivial matter - it is grave, immediate, and important. We should be saying to those we've elected, "How dare you vote contrary to God's Word!"

Can Atheists be Good?

This is a perennial question - can an atheist be good? 

 My answer: they can only appear to do good things if we lower the standard for what we call "good." 

 Atheist, Christopher Hitchens, taunts Christians with the question, "Name one good thing a Christian can do that an atheist cannot." Atheists can commit their lives to helping the poor, needy, and downtrodden, even "surrender their body to be burned" for their fellow man (i.e. "be good"), but they cannot fulfill the highest moral imperative - worship God. Apart from the Agape love of the cross, the highest love of man is but a better hate - and not really "good" at all.

Waiting Wasting Time?

Stuck in line, 

Just wasting time? 

 He seeks, inviting, 

With you to share, 

"Be still and know I am God." 

Now, you're waiting, 

Halfway there. 

 To worship His Glory, 

Time's ripeness gain, 

Or Frustrated and angry, 

Blessing disdain. 

 Your choice.

Imagine

Imagine students walking into the science classroom saying, "Blinders ON," as they walk through the door.  Tucked under their arms is a science book with a "Blinders ON" book cover with "Blinders OFF" on the back. 

 Sitting at their desk, they pull out their "Blinders ON" notebooks. On the notebook cover is the message: "Know the worldview you are being taught - who is holding the reins? Is investigation of ALL the evidence encouraged? Are you being taught what to think or how to think?" And not just science - history, social studies, literature, economics, ... 

 Imagine churches inoculating their children and youth to understand what is actually going on here.

Blinders on! Blinders off!

A 250 word article I submitted to my local newspapers. There will be more on this subject.


You’ve seen pictures of New York city carriage horses wearing blinders. This is a good thing; otherwise, the horse may get distracted and frightened by cars whizzing past.

When students walk into a science classroom with “nature’s all there is” as the underlying truth assumption for all “facts”, they’re being asked to don blinders, too. This is not a good thing – unless the students understand they are being asked to put the blinders on, and they remember to take them off leaving the classroom and entering back into a real world that cannot be adequately explained or lived in by “nature’s all there is.”

Look for the blinders preeminent Harvard biologist, Richard Lewontin, acknowledges: “It’s not that the methods and institutions of science somehow compel us to accept a material explanation (nature’s all there is) of the phenomenal world, but … we are forced by our a priori (before any evidence is considered) adherence to material causes to … produce material explanations, no matter how counter-intuitive, no matter how mystifying to the uninitiated. Moreover, that materialism is absolute, for we cannot allow a Divine Foot in the door.”

Lewontin candidly admits science’s primo principle, “nature’s all there is”, is a philosophical assumption that will make up and believe anything to NOT see the Divine. Science has made its little box and pulled its head inside.

Are we teaching horses or students? “Nature’s all there is” (Blinders ON) or “follow ALL evidence wherever it leads” (Blinders OFF)?