I've Been Shot!

 It’s been a LONG time since I last wrote a blog post.  In fact, just a few days over ten years.  TEN years.  What all has happened in that ten years?  Lots of stuff.  The birth of my third child.  Graduation from seminary.

But for the past year, the big news has been COVID.  It has impacted so much - church, school, going out to eat, going to the grocery store.  For a little while we were using disinfecting wipes to pump our gas.

There is probably lots I could say about this pandemic.  And I may come back and say some of that.  But I’ll start off with this:  one week ago I got my shot.

My reaction was pretty mild.  That night I had chills, and the next day I had a bit of a headache and body aches, and was pretty exhausted.  But that was about it.  I’ve been a little extra tired all week, but I’m not sure I can blame that on the shot.

I thought a bit about the shot before getting it.  I wasn’t in any particular rush to get it, but at the same time, I wasn’t particularly afraid of getting it.

I don't consider myself very high risk.  I'm not around a lot of people most of the time.  And I'm in pretty good health - although COVID doesn't always make sense, occasionally sending young and healthy people to the hospital or worse, and occasionally having only the mildest of symptoms to those who don’t fall into the “young and healthy” category.   But thinking in terms of obvious risk, there are others who I would have loved to give my place in line because they are obviously more at risk than I am.  But it doesn't work that way.  So I took my place and got my shot.

I’m not concerned about the shot’s safety.  There was concern about how quickly the vaccines were developed.  But what we have is not just a result of one year's work, but of many years of studying similar viruses.  Also, Operation Warp Speed provided a lot of money to work with that is normally not available for this kind of thing, which allowed among other things more testing to be done simultaneously.  There is no reason to believe there is any sort of microchip in the vaccine shots.  Finally, based on what I've read, I had no reason to expect to have an allergic reaction to the vaccine, although some might need to be concerned about that.  In short, I think the shot is reasonably safe.

I'm not concerned about the shot ethically.  This gets sticky, and all the more so with the Johnson & Johnson shot that I had.  The main issue here is in the use of embryotic cells from aborted babies to develop and test the various vaccines.  It is frustrating that this kind of ethical question has to be raised at all, because there are options that do not involve the same ethical dilemma.  But all three of the current vaccines did use embryotic cells to various degrees.  Therefore, we have to concern ourselves with the question of is it morally right to utilize something that was created by the death of a baby?  This article can deal with the whole issue better than I can (ERLC | Explainer: COVID-19 raises concern about abortive fetal cells in medicine), but the TL;DR (that stands for “too long; didn’t read”) answer is that it is similar to receiving an organ donation from someone who was murdered.  Morally, we are not complicit in that murder.

I'm not concerned about the shot as a Christian.  I don't think getting the shot makes me a better Christian or more loving than someone who may choose not to get the shot.  Nor do I think it makes me a worse Christian, one who doesn't trust God enough (that would actually be presumption, along the lines of Jesus throwing Himself off the pinnacle of the temple because He trusts God to take care of Him).  And, I need to say this because I have seen it too many times, the shot is NOT the Mark of the Beast.  Nothing about this shot is preventing anyone from buying or selling.  But even if that comes up, if some crazy law comes along that you can’t enter Walmart without showing your vaccination card, that still does not make this the Mark of the Beast, because there is nothing about anyone or anything being worshipped involved with getting this shot.  You can get the shot and say, “Praise Jesus.”  

I do think the shot will allow me to see some things return to a more normal way sooner.  Things like seeing extended family, hugging folks at church, and grabbing lunch with someone.  Those days can’t come soon enough.

I Just Had to Write

Wow. It has been about two and a half years since I have written anything on my blog. It's been so long, I had forgotten how to log in. Well, there is a reason for that. I'll have to explain sometime. But right now I have a fire lit under me and I just have to blog.

I am a relatively active user of Facebook. Although I try to be careful of the things I post, I enjoy making a witty comment about my world or the world, for all the world to see. And I have Facebook friends of all stripes, and I don't think I have ever defriended anyone, even when I found some of their postings to be personally offensive.

I saw a link to an article with a purposefully provocative title, "Why Evangelicals Hate Jesus". So I just had to read it. And after reading it, I just had to write. I would normally labor over my blog post a little more than I am this one. I may come back to it later for that. Right now, I just want to get it out there. Here is my response to this article.

Wow - I don't know where to start with this article. As an overarching comment, I would say that Jesus' teachings applied to individuals, not governments. Governments have responsibilities and capabilities that individuals do not, and vice versa.

The first accusation this article levels against evangelical Christians has to do with Jesus' teachings about mercy. It is not the government's job to show mercy, but to bear the sword, as Paul states (as he gives the principle of Jesus' pronouncement that Pilate had the power to crucify Him because God gave him that power). It is in the context of a government that shows some semblance of justice that the mercy of an individual can be demonstrated. Biblical Christians must demand justice for evil from their government (i.e. Amos 5:15), even as they show love and mercy and forgiveness to evildoers.

The second accusation has to do with Jesus' teachings about peace. Again, there is the intertwining of government and individual responsibilities. But there is also a misunderstanding about peace. But Jesus said there would be. He said, "My peace is not like the world's peace" and "Don't think that I have come to bring peace into the world. I have not come to bring peace but a sword." Jesus did come to bring peace, but it is a peace between a sinful individual and the Holy God. As for Jesus being completely non-violent, take a look at Luke 22:36 - he instructs us to buy a sword. Our Founding Fathers knew it was important to be able to be armed, and codified it as the Second Amendment. And as for the government, it has a responsibility to protect us from those who would kill us. We can't just say "Let's not fight" if the other side isn't willing to say the same thing. This is not war-mongering, this is protecting the people under its care.

The third accusation has to do with Jesus' teachings about money. In this section, there is an outright lie that Jesus condemned the rich. He did warn in very strong terms that riches have a way of making us not dependent on God, and thus it is very hard for a rich man to put his trust in God and thus go to Heaven. But keep in mind, Abraham, Job, David, and Solomon were all blessed by God with riches (among other things). This is the same God in both testaments. And God did not give governments the responsibility to be generous as he did individuals. If I give my money to the poor, it is charity. If the government takes my money and gives it to the poor, it is theft. By taking my money from me, the government robs me of an opportunity to be generous. And remember that the Bible also says he that doesn't work doesn't eat.

But even though this article completely misunderstands Christianity and the teachings of Jesus, there is a point that Biblical Christians are not perfect followers of God's commands. But they are not complete failures either. Southern Baptists were one of the biggest groups giving help of all sorts (clearing debris, feeding, providing showers, etc.) after Hurricane Katrina. We have been responding in very significant ways to some of the world's biggest crises, like the earthquakes in Haiti and Japan.

So social scientists say evangelical Christians are failing, but they are looking at our results with the wrong answer sheet. And that's to be expected. If they really understood what Christianity was all about, they would be one.

Lessons on a Train

10/27/2008

Son,

I'm missing you while I'm out of town for a few days for the Missouri Baptist Convention. I got up early this morning so I could ride a train to St. Louis. I know you would have really liked to have been on the train with me. It seems like you have always liked trains. I was reminded of a few things, a few life lessons, while making my trip.

First of all, I was amazed by how cheap I was able to travel by train from Lee’s Summit to St. Louis. It was definitely cheaper than if I had driven, even with the cheaper gas prices. How is possible for it to be so cheap? Because there are many people on the train. It makes me think about how God wants us to work together, like when He says that “Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their labor” (Ecclesiastes 4:9-12). And then when He talks about how we’re all supposed to work together in the church, when He compares the church to the body: “For as the body is one and has many parts, and all the parts of that body, though many, are one body – so also is Christ” (I Corinthians 12:12-31). God can accomplish much through the church. But that only works if they are all Christians and there is unity. If we were all trying to go different directions on the train, it really wouldn’t have worked very well.

It is a chilly fall day today, but we rode past a golf course, and sure enough there were some golfers out there (some in stocking hats). You know I don’t do much golfing, but when I do, I prefer it to be a nice sunny day, not too hot and not too cold. I guess golfing must be important to these folks out there on the fairway today. If it’s important, you stick with it no matter what the weather. That’s why Paul said to Timothy, “Preach the Word! Be ready in season and out of season” (II Timothy 4:2). God’s Word is the important thing. Don’t ever forget or minimize how important God’s Word is.

Along the way, we had to stop from time to time to let a freight train go by. I think there were also times when a freight train had to wait for us to get by. Everybody has to wait. Sometimes it’s hard to wait. But if nobody waited, we would have crashed into the freight train. And then we would definitely be waiting. Jesus says the ones who want to be first will end up being last (Mark 10:31) and Paul reminds us to put others ahead of ourselves (Philippians 2:3).

There was a lot of pretty scenery today. There were wonderful woods with creeks winding through them. There were fields of recently harvested corn and what looked to me like ready to be harvested beans. And there were several towns that we rode past, some of which I would describe as “struggling.” But I would imagine that they have been that way, doing what they’re doing, for so long that they don’t think of it as struggling anymore. It’s just the way life is. And maybe they’ve grown to be content with what they have. There’s a lot of financial worries out there these days, but God wants us to be content with whatever He gives us, like Paul learned to be (Philippians 4:11-13).

One thing I noticed that struck my attention was a basketball court, a slab of concrete and goals at either end. From the brief and distant look I got of it, it looked like it was probably built 30 or 40 years ago, and was suffering from neglect. It was set off a little ways from a row of houses. I’m sure some of those houses must have been homes to families with children old enough to enjoy a good game of basketball. But no one was taking care of this place. I’ve not been very good at teaching you to take care of your stuff. But God has given you some very important stuff, too (and I believe He is going to give you other very important stuff in the future as well). And I hope you will not let those things become neglected and forgotten. Paul reminded Timothy to “do not neglect the gift that is in you” but encouraged him to focus on this gift from God and use it (I Timothy 4:14-16).

The scenery was nice, but I was really hoping for some pretty fall foliage. I didn’t notice much for quite a while. There were various shades of green, and then some dull oranges and browns, but no vibrant reds and oranges and yellows. And then, very late in the trip, this glorious clifftop full of reds appeared. So be patient; wait for God’s beauty. If you settle for what comes along at the first, you may miss what God has coming up. God “is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think” (Ephesians 3:20-21).

There were all sorts of people on this train ride with me to St. Louis. There were young people, old people, families, people like me traveling alone. There were young men who should have been old enough to know that the seat of their pants belongs on the part of the body that hits the seat. Sometimes, people that are different can make us uncomfortable, for no other reason than just because they are different. When we all get to Heaven, the Bible tells us that there will be people from every group there (Revelation 7:9). So I guess we need to get started now trying to move past that uncomfortableness to getting to know more about these different people.

At one station that we pulled into to let people off, I noticed families reunited – adult children helping their parents with their things, grandchildren rushing to give their grandparents a hug. The joy of those reunions displayed on their faces makes me think about how exciting it is going to be when we are reunited with those who have gone to Heaven before us, that we have been missing while we were still on earth (I Thessalonians 4:13-18).

There was one little boy, maybe three years old, who was so excited to be riding on a train. He made me think of you, of how excited you used to be about trains when you were younger like him, and how you are a little less interested in them now that you are older. I know you are not saved yet, but I pray that someday you will be. And it is quite likely that sometime after you become a Christian, that being a Christian will not seem like such an exciting thing to you. People often tend to grow in their relationship to God in spurts – there is a time of drifting away from God that reaches a point where we are pulled back to Him. I wish you would always have a very close relationship with God, or that you would always have a relationship with God that was growing closer. But that probably won’t be the case. Like you have drifted from your interest in trains, you will probably drift away from God some. When that happens, I hope you will be able to quickly recognize it, and pray as David did for God to “restore to me the joy of Your salvation” (Psalm 51:12).

The train was way too bouncy to do any reading, and I couldn’t find a comfortable position to sleep in. Sometimes when God won’t let you sleep, and works to keep you from getting distracted, He may be trying to teach you a lesson. Or reminding you of a few.

I love you, Son.

-Dad

P.S. Whenever someone tells you that it should just be about a mile and it should be an easy walk, don’t believe them. "For many deceivers have gone out into the world..." (II John 1:7)

Joseph, Part 4: One Missing Character

Tonight is opening night, and this is my last post concerning the musical "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor® Dreamcoat." I think I have saved the most stunning criticism for last.

There is one prominent character from the story of Joseph that is missing from this musical adaptation. Obviously, Joseph is there, his eleven brothers, and his father Jacob. There is Potiphar and his wife, the butler and baker Joseph met in prison, and the mighty Pharaoh. That's everybody, isn't it? No, there is one other character that is mentioned more than 30 times in the Bible between Genesis chapters 37 and 50. But who this one could be...

Amazingly, all mention of God is completely extracted from this telling of the story of Joseph. It wasn't God who gave Joseph the dreams, it was Joseph who dreamed big. It wasn't God who interpreted his cellmates' dreams (Genesis 40:8) or Pharaoh's dream (Genesis 41:16), it was a knack that Joseph had. It wasn't God who put Joseph in Second-in-Command in Egypt (Genesis 45:9), Joseph got a "lucky break." It wasn't God who was working all these things for good (Genesis 50:20), it was Joseph thinking it wanting it feeling it.

Who would have thought it was possible to tell the story of Joseph without any mention of God? But when you do, it changes the nature and moral of the story. Instead of a story of God's providence and protection through even the most difficult of times, it becomes a story of personal perseverance focused on a dream. You see, it is not the same story.

We see this happening at Christmas, with anything having to do with Christianity forcibly removed from schools, stores, television, etc. I know, it's the opposite end of the calendar to bring up Christmas, but it is important to tie many events together to see the pattern of what is going on around us. You remember the stores that tried to ban "Merry Christmas" from their greetings and the word "Christmas" from their advertisements. It's all right to say "Happy Holidays" and talk about Santa Claus and giving gifts. That's all good stuff, but it is not the same story as God sending His Son as a gift to us.

There are also lots of things going on to strip this country of any ties not just to Christianity, but to the Judeo-Christian God. Atheist Michael Newdow continues to pursue removing "under God" from the Pledge of Allegiance and removing "In God We Trust" from our money. Last year, for the celebration of the 400th anniversary of the first settlement in America at Jamestown, Virginia, the guides were instructed to leave out all references to Christianity as a part of their description of the site's history. Obviously, there are many more stories like this I could bring up, but that should be enough to make the point.

It is very sad that the mention of God is being systematically removed from all around us. And I think we should work to stop attempts like those of Michael Newdow. But we need to remember, the job of passing on the notion of God is not the government's, it is not Wal-Mart's, it is not Jamestown's. It is yours and mine. We need to be reminding each other and our children of God's role in the Bible stories, of His role in our country's history, and of His role in our lives.

May it never be a crime for anyone to say, "God bless America!"

Joseph, Part 3: Not Just Any Will Do

Preparing for a community theatre production takes a lot of time, so it's hard to do that, keep up with work and home, and still blog every once in a while. But there are several things about the musical "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor® Dreamcoat" that have been bugging me that I just have to write about. This is the third issue I am taking up. I think there will just be one more after this.

One of the songs from the show is called "Any Dream Will Do." I've been trying to figure out what it means, particularly by its title line that is repeated many times throughout the song. The best I can figure is that the authors are trying to say that it doesn't really matter what your motivation is, what is important is that you are moving forward. Another song, called "Go Go Go Joseph," encourages Joseph as he goes through his many difficulties to hang in there and not give up.

I think these two songs really represent the message of the show. And that message is, it doesn't really matter what drives you, it just matters that you are driven and don't give up. So, assuming that Joseph was driven to keep going based on these dreams of stars and golden sheaves, it didn't matter, according to the musical, that the dreams were from God, or if they were pagan words of encouragement.

So what we see is that there are two related philosophies being promoted. First of all, "Any Dream Will Do" in particular pushes the idea of pluralism, that Christianity, Eastern philosophy, New Age religion, Islam, etc., are all equally valid. It doesn't really matter which one you pick, just take one. For instance, this article points out the the Hebrew Scriptures, the New Testament, and the Qur'an all share the same principles of loving one God and loving our neighbors. The differences, they go on to say, are theological, as if to imply that somehow theology is to some degree insignificant. And that thought establishes the close relationship between pluralism and this next idea.

The second philosophy that lurks around in these songs is that of pragmatism, that the important thing is not how you get to the end, the important thing is getting to a good end. Within the larger context, we see pragmatism stressed when people compare religions. As in the previous article, they will say there is no difference between the peace-loving devout Muslim and the peace-loving devout Christian. But even within the smaller context of Protestant Christianity, we see how doctrine, how truth, is being cast aside go with what "works." Here is a web site with several resources that point out some of the things churches are doing and what the problem might be with those things. John MacArthur in particular has some important things to say about pragmatism.

The Biblical story of Joseph is really not a story about Joseph following his dreams through rough times to eventual glory, but about Joseph following God. It mattered where the dreams came from; not just any dream would do. Joseph's story is an inspiration not because of all the wealth, fame, power, etc., he gained at the end, but because of how he followed God throughout and didn't abandon God when it didn't seem like God was "working." Joseph is a story of well-placed and consistent faith. I certainly don't wish for the trials of Joseph, but whatever comes, may I live a life of faith like Joseph's.

Joseph, Part 2: Wrong Wing

Happy Independence Day!

We've got several months before we get to the presidential election, but less than a week before opening night of "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor® Dreamcoat."

I don't know if it is just me, but election cycles seem to get longer and longer. Now that we are finally down to the two party candidates (no offense to those running for president but not in the two major political parties), I would kind of hope for a lull. But we still hear about them every day, things like how left-wing Barack H. Obama is (or may not be according to this article or this one, or this interview discussing whether Obama and Hillary represent two left wings of the liberal party), and how (disappointingly) not right-wing John McCain is (as evidenced by this reluctant show of support or this article from early this year and even a surprising quote from his own mother found in this article).

Left-wing and right-wing get used a lot as synonyms for liberal and conservative. But do they mean the same thing? What do left-wing and right-wing mean?

My answer right now is, I don't completely know (I've noticed that others have tried to think about this as well). The dictionary I checked said that left-wing means something along the lines of "being of the liberal party, or of the liberal portion of a party," and likewise for right-wing. So that makes them sound like synonyms. But others, like this article that is only partially available for free on the Internet, make the case that there is a distinct difference between "liberal" and "left wing".

So what does this have to do with the musical "Joseph?" In the beginning of the second act, while Joseph is in a prison cell in Egypt, a new character comes to the stage. It is Pharaoh, the King, and presented as the Egyptian Elvis. The Narrator describes Pharaoh as "a powerful man with the ancient world in the palm of his hand." Further, "No one had rights or a vote but the King. In fact you might say he was fairly right wing."

Wait a minute. Think about some of the totalitarian governments in recent history. Lenin, Stalin, Mao, Castro. All of these are socialistic, the liberal economic policy. So would it not be at least as accurate to say Pharaoh was "fairly left wing?"

I'm not at all happy that my children are merrily getting it hammered into their heads that "right wing" equals dictatorial. I suggested to the director that we sing "right wing" half the nights and "left wing" the other half. That way we could be equal opportunity offenders. I was overruled.

Joseph, Part 1: You Can Believe What You Read

I don't think I've gotten very personal in any of my posts yet, meaning I haven't said much about myself beyond what I think about a particular issue. So this post will be a little different in that regard.

I have two great children, a ten-year-old daughter and a seven-year-old son, and the three of us are all preparing for a community theatre production of "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor® Dreamcoat." As a preacher (and the dad of an actor or two) as well as an actor, I try to consider not just how "fun" a show is, but what messages it sends. "Joseph" is definitely a fun show that tells the events of Joseph's life reasonably close to what is recorded in the Bible. But I do have some areas of contention, which I am going to write about as a series of posts.

This first concern is a line that is not in our musical score, so our production won't be including it. But it was in the 1992 Canadian Cast Recording soundtrack featuring Donny Osmond as Joseph. The line is spoken by Potiphar as an aside as the Narrator and he describe himself and his wife. The Narrator sings, "Potiphar was cool and so fine," and Potiphar continues, "But my wife would never toe the line." The Narrator points out that, "It's all there in chapter thirty-nine of Genesis," to which Potiphar speaks, "Don't believe everything you read, dear."

So, obviously, as one who believes that the Bible is what it claims to be - the Word of God and truthful throughout - I have a little problem with this statement. Some would argue that the Bible contains the Word of God, and thus Potiphar's statement would be valid. Others would contend that the Bible is just a book written by people trying to understand God or their world and no different, no more accurate, than any other book ever written, and from their perspective Potiphar's statement would also be correct. But that is not what the Bible says about itself. Even as the Bible grows from the first five books of Moses to including the prophets, the books of wisdom, etc., it is consistently referred to as the Word of God, with all the unquestionable authority that implies. This web page does a pretty good job of defending whether the Bible lives up to that description of being the Word of God, saying many of the things I would bring out plus others I didn't know.

I understand that this little aside by Potiphar may be a reflection of Potiphar's character more than an attempt to make a statement. But I think it very much does make a statement, very lightly so it will not immediately offend. And that is just the kind of statement we have to watch out for - lightly, even humorously made, stuck innocently in the middle of a fun little song our children enjoy singing.