“A merry heart doeth good like a medicine” - Proverbs 17:22
There was a woman who went to see a lawyer about getting a divorce. The lawyer started to ask her some routine questions. “What are your grounds?” “Well, we have this big farm,” she replied. “Do you have some sort of grudge?” “No, my husband’s never built one, and we have to park outside.” “Well, does he beat you up?” “Are you kidding? I get up two hours before he ever does.” “Look, Lady. Why do you want to divorce him?” “Because I have never been able to carry on an intelligent conversation with that man!”
Humor: the ability to see that something is funny. It is a marvelous human trait that almost defies definition yet so distinctly separates us from the animal kingdom. A car drove up next to me at a stoplight the other day and two young ladies suddenly erupted in laughter that carried through two, rolled up windows. It hit me squarely. Not only do we as humans feel guilt so keenly as apart from apes, we also laugh; often, communally, contagiously, and at the slightest pretext. Someone makes a joke and the next thing we hear this unique and totally unintelligible sound emanating from one another that is somewhere between a sneeze, a cough, and a wheeze yet wholly different. And everyone’s laugh is just a bit different from the high pitched squeakers to the muffled snorters to the gasping gaffawers. Record, freeze, and separate out these sounds from a person’s normal speech, play them back, and it is almost as embarrassing as appearing in public in one’s underwear.
We find humor in such incredibly different situations. We see humor in the ironic. “I signed up for an exercise class and was told to wear loose-fitting clothing. If I HAD any loose-fitting clothing, I wouldn’t have signed up in the first place!” We see humor in the unintended. “Customers who find our waitresses rude ought to see the manager” (sign in a Nairobi restaurant). “Feeding animals picking plants prohibited” (sign in the Smokies). We find humor in exaggeration. Here are three exercises to help prepare you for a hospital experience: (a) drink a quart of Sherwin-Williams Eggshell One-coat Coverage Interior Flat White #2. Then have your child stuff his slinky down your throat. (b) Put a real estate agent’s ‘Open House’ sign on your front yard and lie on your bed dressed in a paper napkin with straws stuck up your nose. (c) Put your hand down the garbage disposal while practicing your smile and repeating: “mild discomfort”.
And who doesn’t love those misprints in church bulletins? “Don’t let worry kill you. Let the church help.” “Remember in prayer the many who are sick of our church and community.” We love to laugh at ourselves when words come out of our mouths that make no sense. “If we don’t succeed, we run the risk of failure” (Bill Clinton). “Smoking kills. If you’re killed, you’ve lost a very important part of your life” (Brooke Shields, during an interview to become Spokesperson for federal anti-smoking campaign). We even laugh at the obvious. “Why are men just happier people? Your last name stays put. The garage is all yours. Wedding plans take care of themselves. Phone conversations are over in 30 seconds flat.” And we laugh at the mistakes of one another. Here are some notes from parents sent to school after children were absent. “Please excuse Ray Friday from school. He has very loose vowels.” “Please excuse Lisa for being absent she was sick and I had her shot.” “Please excuse Roland from P.E. for a few days. Yesterday he fell out of a tree and misplaced his hip.” Don’t laugh too hard. We are saving yours for future publication.
And then there are the things your kids say and do. A K5 student recently announced to her class that her family had cooked their cat in a pot. It turns out the cat was cremated, but not at home. And another was on a trip and declared his desperate need to use the bathroom while mom was pumping gas at a stop. She said, “Well let’s go, now!” And so he did.
Laughter is the delightful proof of our unique humanity; and good medicine to the bones. Practice daily.
Sunday, March 11, 2012
Sunday, March 04, 2012
Graveyard Exam
“Remember the former things long past, for I am God, and there is no other.” –Isa. 46:9
Last Friday some 22 of us, students and adults, stood in the graveyard of the First Presbyterian Church. And it posed all sorts of questions to us; sort of a well-stocked pantry in sod and stone of questions and queries that spoke to us from the ground. History has a way of doing that, placing us back in time and confronting us with difficulties and deep matters that are, in their particulars, largely unknown to us but yet entirely within the pale of possibility for us to experience once again in some form or another. This grave yard held a host of stories that ghosted our imaginations with things that go bump in the middle of the night of our comfortable lives.
There were tombs of the rich and famous, William Blount plus three Tennessee senators lying alongside common folk and at least one murderer. We have little choice with the company we keep once we are passed and are certain only that rich and poor, the famous and the infamous, will one day lay down their bones in the dust together having faced the great leveler, death. How do we then continue to look at questions of fame and status, achievement or anonymity, wealth or poverty in light of this common end?
We saw the graves of a common family, uncommon in only one respect. They had lost and buried six children over time, some just days old, others somewhat mature in years. How would I have done under such a burden as that? Would I have kept faith with my Lord, the woman I had married, and with life itself and the promise of fruitfulness? Where would I find the strength to continue on to bear forth those final two babies after the first four were gone?
We saw the concrete evidence of the plague of civil war that swept Knoxville in its train. We have little feeling for the depth of hostility that was wreaked across a once stable community. We heard how soldiers once grazed their horses in this sacred space, knocking headstones all about with careless indifference. Would we ever be so situated where the demands of blunt practicalities would compel us to sacrifice and trash our otherwise treasured traditions? How then would we do? We learned that when the Union Army finally “liberated” Knoxville, all of the local pastors except one were run out of town for their days of Confederate sympathizing. Will we ever be placed in time where ungodly causes are being championed by godly, theologically astute, men of position operating in the majority? How closely then would we cling to Truth and stand accordingly?
The tomb of Abner Baker tells a tragic story of politics, hate, and revenge. Abner’s father, Dr. Harvey Baker, was a physician who was known to treat Confederate and Union soldiers alike. One day a small band of Union bushwackers or renegades broke into his home and shot him through a closet door behind which he had hidden. After the war, Abner, who was a Confederate soldier, returned home and sought out his father’s killers. He found one downtown in the courthouse and killed him there. Confined to jail, Union sympathizers broke him out soon after and hung him. He is buried in this graveyard with the tallest of all the grave markers standing proudly over his resting place. On it is written, “A martyr for manliness and personal rights. His death was an honor to himself but an everlasting disgrace to his enemies.” A whole host of questions flew up at me. Would I, like Dr. Baker, receive friend or foe at my door in the middle of a deadly fight and be willing to bind up their wounds alike? Would I ever be so possessed of hate so as to take personal revenge for a great injustice? Would I ever be sympathetic to vigilante justice that would take the law into its own hands? And could I ever become complicit in crime by lionizing a killer in the name of “manliness and personal rights”?
History has a way of confronting us with ourselves. And so we go there to ponder our future.
Last Friday some 22 of us, students and adults, stood in the graveyard of the First Presbyterian Church. And it posed all sorts of questions to us; sort of a well-stocked pantry in sod and stone of questions and queries that spoke to us from the ground. History has a way of doing that, placing us back in time and confronting us with difficulties and deep matters that are, in their particulars, largely unknown to us but yet entirely within the pale of possibility for us to experience once again in some form or another. This grave yard held a host of stories that ghosted our imaginations with things that go bump in the middle of the night of our comfortable lives.
There were tombs of the rich and famous, William Blount plus three Tennessee senators lying alongside common folk and at least one murderer. We have little choice with the company we keep once we are passed and are certain only that rich and poor, the famous and the infamous, will one day lay down their bones in the dust together having faced the great leveler, death. How do we then continue to look at questions of fame and status, achievement or anonymity, wealth or poverty in light of this common end?
We saw the graves of a common family, uncommon in only one respect. They had lost and buried six children over time, some just days old, others somewhat mature in years. How would I have done under such a burden as that? Would I have kept faith with my Lord, the woman I had married, and with life itself and the promise of fruitfulness? Where would I find the strength to continue on to bear forth those final two babies after the first four were gone?
We saw the concrete evidence of the plague of civil war that swept Knoxville in its train. We have little feeling for the depth of hostility that was wreaked across a once stable community. We heard how soldiers once grazed their horses in this sacred space, knocking headstones all about with careless indifference. Would we ever be so situated where the demands of blunt practicalities would compel us to sacrifice and trash our otherwise treasured traditions? How then would we do? We learned that when the Union Army finally “liberated” Knoxville, all of the local pastors except one were run out of town for their days of Confederate sympathizing. Will we ever be placed in time where ungodly causes are being championed by godly, theologically astute, men of position operating in the majority? How closely then would we cling to Truth and stand accordingly?
The tomb of Abner Baker tells a tragic story of politics, hate, and revenge. Abner’s father, Dr. Harvey Baker, was a physician who was known to treat Confederate and Union soldiers alike. One day a small band of Union bushwackers or renegades broke into his home and shot him through a closet door behind which he had hidden. After the war, Abner, who was a Confederate soldier, returned home and sought out his father’s killers. He found one downtown in the courthouse and killed him there. Confined to jail, Union sympathizers broke him out soon after and hung him. He is buried in this graveyard with the tallest of all the grave markers standing proudly over his resting place. On it is written, “A martyr for manliness and personal rights. His death was an honor to himself but an everlasting disgrace to his enemies.” A whole host of questions flew up at me. Would I, like Dr. Baker, receive friend or foe at my door in the middle of a deadly fight and be willing to bind up their wounds alike? Would I ever be so possessed of hate so as to take personal revenge for a great injustice? Would I ever be sympathetic to vigilante justice that would take the law into its own hands? And could I ever become complicit in crime by lionizing a killer in the name of “manliness and personal rights”?
History has a way of confronting us with ourselves. And so we go there to ponder our future.
Saturday, February 25, 2012
Primates and Primary Differences
“For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;” -Romans 3:22-24
One of my most memorable moments of young children was at the home of a friend where we had gathered for a birthday party. Our friend’s youngest child, at one point, came running out of the house amidst great tears announcing to the world his moral outrage, “It’s not fair! It’s not fair!” The child could not have been much more than 2 years old. So how did this child develop such a keen and dreadful sense of “fairness” at such a young age? Could it be that we are created with a God given conscience that early on raises its head in absolute indignation at perceived wrongs? Is there a universal sense of rightness and wrongness stamped on our image? And where did that come from?
Dr. Frans de Waal, an Emory University primatologist, spoke recently and demonstrated how primates share with us traits of fairness and moral outrage in some very unique experiments. His point was to show how a sense of morality could evolve without religion or God. It was troubling at first to witness this clear and undeniable demonstration. As Christians, we believe man is uniquely different from the animal kingdom especially when it comes to morality. Mankind has generally prided itself on its finely developed moral code embedded in law and government that sets us apart from the laws of the jungle. Dr. de Waal suggested we were just sitting a little higher up the evolutionary ladder from our ancestors and aren’t all that different.
Troubled, I began to reflect on just how different we are from the animals. One can surely see that there are many human emotions that are mimicked in the animal kingdom. Playfulness, anger, loyalty, loneliness, empathy, and even sorrow are to be found among our animal friends. Dr. de Waal has now demonstrated that chimps can exhibit a sense of fairness and moral outrage when suffering unequal treatment.
As much as our very concepts of “right” and “wrong” are still, in themselves, indicators of the existence of a moral universe, especially when they are so universally similar around the world, this is not the key factor that marks us as uniquely different. Everyone knows not to mess with a dog’s dish while he is eating. What truly marks us as unique is our sense of guilt; a lingering remorse over wrongful doing. It is real and it is painful. While we can see examples of empathetic sorrow in the animal kingdom, what we don’t see are examples of animals driven to suicide through their complicity in evil. But we as humans do it all the time; every day, in fact. While we can get some relief from the pain of guilt through the forgiveness of others, there is a very real sense of guilt for the very self-centered nature we share with Adam. That sense of guilt finds no solution on earth. It is an offense against God our creator that cannot be muted, forgotten, or easily erased as much as we might try. Freud says it is a societal construct imposed by others. Marx says it was invented as a means of control by the upper classes. Dawkins would say it is just silly; a waste of time. Just maybe it is real, and it cries out from the ground of our being every bit as much as Abel’s blood cried out from the ground to God.
I had to remove a student from a kindergarten class not too long ago for not cooperating with her teacher. It was a first for me. She sat the rest of the day with a sour and painful expression on her face. After an earnest meeting with her father that night, the young student came to school the next day along with a big shiny apple she insisted on giving to her teacher. Suitable apologies were made and reconciliation was achieved. Following school, she ran down to her mother and with a beaming expression she cried out, “I’m forgiven! I’m forgiven!” No primate will ever know such joy. And such should be ours day after day as we walk in God’s forgiveness. Such is the privilege of being fully human and fully a child of His.
Mercy and Truth, Mr. Moe
One of my most memorable moments of young children was at the home of a friend where we had gathered for a birthday party. Our friend’s youngest child, at one point, came running out of the house amidst great tears announcing to the world his moral outrage, “It’s not fair! It’s not fair!” The child could not have been much more than 2 years old. So how did this child develop such a keen and dreadful sense of “fairness” at such a young age? Could it be that we are created with a God given conscience that early on raises its head in absolute indignation at perceived wrongs? Is there a universal sense of rightness and wrongness stamped on our image? And where did that come from?
Dr. Frans de Waal, an Emory University primatologist, spoke recently and demonstrated how primates share with us traits of fairness and moral outrage in some very unique experiments. His point was to show how a sense of morality could evolve without religion or God. It was troubling at first to witness this clear and undeniable demonstration. As Christians, we believe man is uniquely different from the animal kingdom especially when it comes to morality. Mankind has generally prided itself on its finely developed moral code embedded in law and government that sets us apart from the laws of the jungle. Dr. de Waal suggested we were just sitting a little higher up the evolutionary ladder from our ancestors and aren’t all that different.
Troubled, I began to reflect on just how different we are from the animals. One can surely see that there are many human emotions that are mimicked in the animal kingdom. Playfulness, anger, loyalty, loneliness, empathy, and even sorrow are to be found among our animal friends. Dr. de Waal has now demonstrated that chimps can exhibit a sense of fairness and moral outrage when suffering unequal treatment.
As much as our very concepts of “right” and “wrong” are still, in themselves, indicators of the existence of a moral universe, especially when they are so universally similar around the world, this is not the key factor that marks us as uniquely different. Everyone knows not to mess with a dog’s dish while he is eating. What truly marks us as unique is our sense of guilt; a lingering remorse over wrongful doing. It is real and it is painful. While we can see examples of empathetic sorrow in the animal kingdom, what we don’t see are examples of animals driven to suicide through their complicity in evil. But we as humans do it all the time; every day, in fact. While we can get some relief from the pain of guilt through the forgiveness of others, there is a very real sense of guilt for the very self-centered nature we share with Adam. That sense of guilt finds no solution on earth. It is an offense against God our creator that cannot be muted, forgotten, or easily erased as much as we might try. Freud says it is a societal construct imposed by others. Marx says it was invented as a means of control by the upper classes. Dawkins would say it is just silly; a waste of time. Just maybe it is real, and it cries out from the ground of our being every bit as much as Abel’s blood cried out from the ground to God.
I had to remove a student from a kindergarten class not too long ago for not cooperating with her teacher. It was a first for me. She sat the rest of the day with a sour and painful expression on her face. After an earnest meeting with her father that night, the young student came to school the next day along with a big shiny apple she insisted on giving to her teacher. Suitable apologies were made and reconciliation was achieved. Following school, she ran down to her mother and with a beaming expression she cried out, “I’m forgiven! I’m forgiven!” No primate will ever know such joy. And such should be ours day after day as we walk in God’s forgiveness. Such is the privilege of being fully human and fully a child of His.
Mercy and Truth, Mr. Moe
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Clear Light of Day
You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again?-Matt. 5:13
In 1933, Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote to his grandmother, “The question is really: Christianity or Germanism? And the sooner the conflict is revealed in the clear light of day the better.” Bonhoeffer was able to see in those very early days prior to the maelstrom of the Third Reich that there was a creeping effort afoot to co-opt the German church to serve the rabid purposes of Nazi ideology. Later that same year, over 80% of the audience that turned up for a key church conference wore the brown shirts of the Nazi party. From then on, true Christians were forced underground. The church was thus effectively silenced through intimidation, pressure tactics, and overt political action and made to further the ideology of Hitler’s perverse dreams.
We have witnessed this again and again when oppressive forces seek to make religion subservient to the wishes of a secular state. During the French Revolution, church leaders were at one point forced to take an oath to the Constitution under penalty of losing their positions and were to be prosecuted as disturbers of the public peace if they continued to lead worship in any way. This new Constitution had completely destroyed the role of the church in public life and was opposed by the overwhelming majority of church leaders. On 5 February 1791, all priests who had not taken the oath were banned from preaching in public. Thousands of priests, nuns, and bishops suffered dismissal, deportation, and death as a result.
In the wake of the Communist revolution in Russia, “believers were never officially attacked for being believers, but they were officially attacked for perceived or invented resistance to the state and its policies.” We can read in a document entitled Separation of the Church from the State and the Schools from the Church: Decree of the Soviet of People's Commissars, 12 January 1918, “the free performance of religious rites is granted as long as it does not disturb public order.” In China today the government has a policy for religious management that requires Christians to join the strongly politically-charged National Committee of Three-Self Patriotic Movement or else their various religious activities (including congregation, worship, ceremony, formation of church, construction of church buildings, and evangelism) will be severely restricted and suppressed by various governmental management departments. Totalitarianism always seeks to silence any opposing voice and does so in the name of preserving the public order and the public peace. Despotism never likes to be disturbed.
At the risk of being alarmist, I am seeing some very uncomfortable developments here at home. Christian organizations on university campuses across our land are under attack. At stake is their right to conduct their fellowships according to historic Christian doctrine. Forty one different universities are contemplating challenges to student organizations according to the latest prayer letter from Intervarsity. The Obama administration is in the midst of a serious fight to impose birth control and abortifacient provisions on Catholic schools and charities under the name of health care. Protestants and Catholics alike are rallying to challenge this serious threat to religious freedom of conscience. Presently, our courts are intense battlegrounds arbitrating the rights of Christians to resist the imposition of politically-correct definitions of diversity and marriage.
What I think we are witnessing is an effort to bend Christian doctrine to serve the interests of secular dogma or to silence it altogether. Strident voices are coming out of various closets which have never been heard in public before. Unfortunately, Christian doctrine is proving to be disturbing to the public order. I agree with G.K. Chesterton that, “We do not need a church that is right when we are right. We need a church that is right when we are wrong. We do not need a church that moves with the world. We need a church that moves the world.” Maybe we should be saying, the sooner the conflict is revealed in the clear light of day the better.
In 1933, Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote to his grandmother, “The question is really: Christianity or Germanism? And the sooner the conflict is revealed in the clear light of day the better.” Bonhoeffer was able to see in those very early days prior to the maelstrom of the Third Reich that there was a creeping effort afoot to co-opt the German church to serve the rabid purposes of Nazi ideology. Later that same year, over 80% of the audience that turned up for a key church conference wore the brown shirts of the Nazi party. From then on, true Christians were forced underground. The church was thus effectively silenced through intimidation, pressure tactics, and overt political action and made to further the ideology of Hitler’s perverse dreams.
We have witnessed this again and again when oppressive forces seek to make religion subservient to the wishes of a secular state. During the French Revolution, church leaders were at one point forced to take an oath to the Constitution under penalty of losing their positions and were to be prosecuted as disturbers of the public peace if they continued to lead worship in any way. This new Constitution had completely destroyed the role of the church in public life and was opposed by the overwhelming majority of church leaders. On 5 February 1791, all priests who had not taken the oath were banned from preaching in public. Thousands of priests, nuns, and bishops suffered dismissal, deportation, and death as a result.
In the wake of the Communist revolution in Russia, “believers were never officially attacked for being believers, but they were officially attacked for perceived or invented resistance to the state and its policies.” We can read in a document entitled Separation of the Church from the State and the Schools from the Church: Decree of the Soviet of People's Commissars, 12 January 1918, “the free performance of religious rites is granted as long as it does not disturb public order.” In China today the government has a policy for religious management that requires Christians to join the strongly politically-charged National Committee of Three-Self Patriotic Movement or else their various religious activities (including congregation, worship, ceremony, formation of church, construction of church buildings, and evangelism) will be severely restricted and suppressed by various governmental management departments. Totalitarianism always seeks to silence any opposing voice and does so in the name of preserving the public order and the public peace. Despotism never likes to be disturbed.
At the risk of being alarmist, I am seeing some very uncomfortable developments here at home. Christian organizations on university campuses across our land are under attack. At stake is their right to conduct their fellowships according to historic Christian doctrine. Forty one different universities are contemplating challenges to student organizations according to the latest prayer letter from Intervarsity. The Obama administration is in the midst of a serious fight to impose birth control and abortifacient provisions on Catholic schools and charities under the name of health care. Protestants and Catholics alike are rallying to challenge this serious threat to religious freedom of conscience. Presently, our courts are intense battlegrounds arbitrating the rights of Christians to resist the imposition of politically-correct definitions of diversity and marriage.
What I think we are witnessing is an effort to bend Christian doctrine to serve the interests of secular dogma or to silence it altogether. Strident voices are coming out of various closets which have never been heard in public before. Unfortunately, Christian doctrine is proving to be disturbing to the public order. I agree with G.K. Chesterton that, “We do not need a church that is right when we are right. We need a church that is right when we are wrong. We do not need a church that moves with the world. We need a church that moves the world.” Maybe we should be saying, the sooner the conflict is revealed in the clear light of day the better.
Monday, February 13, 2012
Final Exam
“You shall teach them to your sons, talking of them when you sit in your house and when you walk along the road and when you lie down and when you rise up.” -Deuteronomy 11:19
This is ancient history to most of you and to the general college scene of today. But back in the 1960’s, Mrs. Moe and I faced our final hurdle in our senior year at Wheaton College in a much dreaded ritual known as Senior Comprehensives. The very words of “Senior Comps” struck fear and trembling into student hearts. For three years we pretended that they were afar off and not to be contemplated. But in that last year, we had to run the gauntlet of a 4 hour exam that covered both general knowledge and our major field. Rumors abounded of students who didn’t pass and had to repeat in order to graduate. There was also no real way to study for it. You either knew it or you didn’t. We never saw a score. You either passed or failed. Fortunately, we both survived.
I have no intention of subjecting our high school students to such an ordeal, but the thought is tempting at times. And if I did, the subjects I shared in last Thursday evening’s Parent In-Service would be the heart and soul of it. A number of you were interested enough in them to ask for a copy. I share them with you here and will also send out an electronic copy as well. What I do hope to do is to weave these issues into our high school studies so that as one point or another all students will be able to understand the questions and be able to speak to them from a Christian world view by the time they graduate. I believe that in doing so they will be prepared to be salt and light in our dying culture. It is imperative that we understand what we are up against in the increasingly hostile world in which we live. In disseminating these questions, I covet your eagerness to learn as well by listening, reading, and even researching these topics yourself so that your dinner table conversation can be sprinkled with lively discussion of the issues that matter to our life and times. I will also be sending out a power point presentation for you to help you understand why a Christian world-view is so important and how we are communicating a world-view whether we realize it or not. My simple proposition is this; that all students graduating from RECA should be able to demonstrate the following:
• The ability to make a rational argument concerning the dangers and threats of relativism as opposed to objective truth.
• The ability to articulate an argument for “original intent” as a method of interpreting our Constitution versus the idea of “a living document” and how that will shape our future.
• A full understanding of the effects of evolutionary thinking upon culture, law, medicine, and the rights of man.
• The ability to define what it means to be fully human and what distinguishes us from the animal kingdom.
• A full understanding of what separation of church and state meant to our forefathers (civil and religious) versus today.
• A knowledge of what is at stake in the debate over diversity and multi-culturalism.
• An ability to argue a defense of traditional marriage.
• An ability to articulate the right of religious people to speak to moral issues in the public square from their religious base.
• An understanding of a Christian view towards the environment.
• A demonstrated understanding of reasons for the reliability of the Scriptures.
As I see it, this is where the battle lines are being drawn within our nation for this next generation. Let’s help equip them for the fight. And it is never too early to start. I would hope that bits and pieces of this conversation would be taking place well before high school. We are making disciples for spiritual warfare. Preparing them for college is just a side show.
Mercy and Truth, Mr. Moe
This is ancient history to most of you and to the general college scene of today. But back in the 1960’s, Mrs. Moe and I faced our final hurdle in our senior year at Wheaton College in a much dreaded ritual known as Senior Comprehensives. The very words of “Senior Comps” struck fear and trembling into student hearts. For three years we pretended that they were afar off and not to be contemplated. But in that last year, we had to run the gauntlet of a 4 hour exam that covered both general knowledge and our major field. Rumors abounded of students who didn’t pass and had to repeat in order to graduate. There was also no real way to study for it. You either knew it or you didn’t. We never saw a score. You either passed or failed. Fortunately, we both survived.
I have no intention of subjecting our high school students to such an ordeal, but the thought is tempting at times. And if I did, the subjects I shared in last Thursday evening’s Parent In-Service would be the heart and soul of it. A number of you were interested enough in them to ask for a copy. I share them with you here and will also send out an electronic copy as well. What I do hope to do is to weave these issues into our high school studies so that as one point or another all students will be able to understand the questions and be able to speak to them from a Christian world view by the time they graduate. I believe that in doing so they will be prepared to be salt and light in our dying culture. It is imperative that we understand what we are up against in the increasingly hostile world in which we live. In disseminating these questions, I covet your eagerness to learn as well by listening, reading, and even researching these topics yourself so that your dinner table conversation can be sprinkled with lively discussion of the issues that matter to our life and times. I will also be sending out a power point presentation for you to help you understand why a Christian world-view is so important and how we are communicating a world-view whether we realize it or not. My simple proposition is this; that all students graduating from RECA should be able to demonstrate the following:
• The ability to make a rational argument concerning the dangers and threats of relativism as opposed to objective truth.
• The ability to articulate an argument for “original intent” as a method of interpreting our Constitution versus the idea of “a living document” and how that will shape our future.
• A full understanding of the effects of evolutionary thinking upon culture, law, medicine, and the rights of man.
• The ability to define what it means to be fully human and what distinguishes us from the animal kingdom.
• A full understanding of what separation of church and state meant to our forefathers (civil and religious) versus today.
• A knowledge of what is at stake in the debate over diversity and multi-culturalism.
• An ability to argue a defense of traditional marriage.
• An ability to articulate the right of religious people to speak to moral issues in the public square from their religious base.
• An understanding of a Christian view towards the environment.
• A demonstrated understanding of reasons for the reliability of the Scriptures.
As I see it, this is where the battle lines are being drawn within our nation for this next generation. Let’s help equip them for the fight. And it is never too early to start. I would hope that bits and pieces of this conversation would be taking place well before high school. We are making disciples for spiritual warfare. Preparing them for college is just a side show.
Mercy and Truth, Mr. Moe
Sunday, January 22, 2012
The Least of These
“The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’
Matthew 25:40
In the early 1800’s, the driving social issue of the day was the abolition of slavery which we can trace from the intractable campaign of William Wilberforce in England to our own cataclysmic years of the Civil War. Today’s defining issue is that of abortion on demand with all of its related value of life issues including assisted suicide, cloning, and embryonic stem cell research. Anyone familiar with our own history of the pre-civil war era knows of the vitriolic rhetoric regarding slavery that rocked the public square and ultimately divided a nation. Nor could the Supreme Court settle this issue but, instead, heaped fuel to the fire with its infamous Dred-Scott decision which would forever be a stain upon the high court.
In 1973, our Supreme Court opened the floodgates to abortion on demand with its own infamous decision and overturned hundreds of laws across our land. What they thought would be a means of settling a social debate once and for all has not gone away but instead grown to massive proportions. The bleed-over that many visionaries feared is now with us and has also mushroomed the stakes. Not only are we seeing more women suffering from unscrupulous practitioners than ever before, we are seeing a devaluing of all human life especially at the fringes of the social family. This ranges from sex selection abortion to special needs children to the elderly. It also tears at the fabric of our national identity in our ability to defend the rights of all to threatening the health and well being of long standing programs like social security which depend on young workers supporting the old. Immigration is the only way that our present population can preserve its numbers.
I would like every student going through River’s Edge to be knowledgeable about our present and ongoing cultural war and what it means to our country, our health care system, our legal system, our neighborhoods, and our families. The ramifications of this debate are hugely practical all across our society. There is what many are calling a culture of death at work here that seeks to change the way we look at human life at every level. This country has always valued life in any and all situations. It is what has made us great. We can all affirm that America has been great because it has been good, but when it ceases to be good it will cease to be great.
The good news is that we are witnessing a groundswell movement today that prizes a culture of life. For the first time since 1973, more American youth are identifying themselves as pro-life rather than pro-choice. The annual pro-life march in Washington is a remarkable display of youth turning out in overwhelming numbers. When are children too young to understand what is at stake? Lila Rose, one of the leading Christian young crusaders against abortion, was first exposed to the horror of this plague at the age of 9 when she picked up a book in her home. Her course has been set ever since.
This Sunday is the annual March for Life here in Knoxville beginning with a rally at Calvary Baptist Church on Kingston Pike, 2:00 pm (http://trlknox.org/). I would urge you to consider attending this rally with your family to hear our County Mayor Tim Burchett speak up for life. The musical group, Wild Blue Yonder, will be there as well, and I hope they will perform their song that says to “lift up the truth and lift it high; wave it proudly in the face of lies.” It is powerful. This is a chance for your children to see hundreds of other families across our city gathering together to take a stand in the name of Jesus proclaiming that all human life is inviolate. It has always been an inspiring service. Our children need to know that merely being little is not safe anymore.
Mercy and Truth,
Mr. Moe
Matthew 25:40
In the early 1800’s, the driving social issue of the day was the abolition of slavery which we can trace from the intractable campaign of William Wilberforce in England to our own cataclysmic years of the Civil War. Today’s defining issue is that of abortion on demand with all of its related value of life issues including assisted suicide, cloning, and embryonic stem cell research. Anyone familiar with our own history of the pre-civil war era knows of the vitriolic rhetoric regarding slavery that rocked the public square and ultimately divided a nation. Nor could the Supreme Court settle this issue but, instead, heaped fuel to the fire with its infamous Dred-Scott decision which would forever be a stain upon the high court.
In 1973, our Supreme Court opened the floodgates to abortion on demand with its own infamous decision and overturned hundreds of laws across our land. What they thought would be a means of settling a social debate once and for all has not gone away but instead grown to massive proportions. The bleed-over that many visionaries feared is now with us and has also mushroomed the stakes. Not only are we seeing more women suffering from unscrupulous practitioners than ever before, we are seeing a devaluing of all human life especially at the fringes of the social family. This ranges from sex selection abortion to special needs children to the elderly. It also tears at the fabric of our national identity in our ability to defend the rights of all to threatening the health and well being of long standing programs like social security which depend on young workers supporting the old. Immigration is the only way that our present population can preserve its numbers.
I would like every student going through River’s Edge to be knowledgeable about our present and ongoing cultural war and what it means to our country, our health care system, our legal system, our neighborhoods, and our families. The ramifications of this debate are hugely practical all across our society. There is what many are calling a culture of death at work here that seeks to change the way we look at human life at every level. This country has always valued life in any and all situations. It is what has made us great. We can all affirm that America has been great because it has been good, but when it ceases to be good it will cease to be great.
The good news is that we are witnessing a groundswell movement today that prizes a culture of life. For the first time since 1973, more American youth are identifying themselves as pro-life rather than pro-choice. The annual pro-life march in Washington is a remarkable display of youth turning out in overwhelming numbers. When are children too young to understand what is at stake? Lila Rose, one of the leading Christian young crusaders against abortion, was first exposed to the horror of this plague at the age of 9 when she picked up a book in her home. Her course has been set ever since.
This Sunday is the annual March for Life here in Knoxville beginning with a rally at Calvary Baptist Church on Kingston Pike, 2:00 pm (http://trlknox.org/). I would urge you to consider attending this rally with your family to hear our County Mayor Tim Burchett speak up for life. The musical group, Wild Blue Yonder, will be there as well, and I hope they will perform their song that says to “lift up the truth and lift it high; wave it proudly in the face of lies.” It is powerful. This is a chance for your children to see hundreds of other families across our city gathering together to take a stand in the name of Jesus proclaiming that all human life is inviolate. It has always been an inspiring service. Our children need to know that merely being little is not safe anymore.
Mercy and Truth,
Mr. Moe
Sunday, December 18, 2011
December Dandelions
“They will still yield fruit in old age; They shall be full of sap and very green,” -Ps. 92:14
While retrieving the school sign out front at the end of another school day, my eye was arrested by a yellow flash on the ground in the midst of an otherwise colorless lawn-scape. It was a dandelion stubbornly blooming in the heart of December. I have been thinking about December dandelions ever since. There certainly are not many of them still intent upon lighting up a lawn. This one hugged the earth closely, just barely raising its yellow hand up towards the sky. But there it was, a holdout against winter, a defiant flash of life amidst winter’s grey. Did it not get the word? Such blooms are supposed to go quietly into oblivion this time of year.
I read just last week of an 80 year old woman who also refused to go quietly into the sunset. Another December dandelion. She apparently also did not get the word that old folks are past their prime and need to retire to the sidelines like most sensible persons do. And certainly, she, who knew nothing of Facebook, You-Tube, texting, tweeting, or smart-phones, was obviously a world removed from today’s modern college student. Yet she took it upon herself to begin a letter writing ministry to her church’s college freshmen, away from home for the first time and awash in untold distractions and temptations. She not only wrote them, she wrote them every week. And she prayed. She prayed God’s best for them and that they would find a good church home in their new environment. She looked forward to seeing them at Thanksgiving and Christmas. The result? Church members reported that the “students sought her out and rushed to give her hugs and to say, ‘Thank you,” whenever they came home.” So much for the much ballyhooed generation gap. So much for our constant efforts to shuttle off our church members into age-segregated settings where they can safely relate to their own.
Serious study has shown and demonstrated that this cross generational cross pollination of faith is incredibly important in transferring our beliefs to the second and third generations that follow after us. If our youth do not see faith in action in our lives, woven into the events and values of everyday life, they are much more likely to forsake the faith of their fathers. Putting on a show of faith, going through the motions, does not make a very deep impression. The young usually see through it. But a faith that colors everyday decisions, that confesses mistakes and shortcomings, that deals with temptation and forgiveness in very real terms is a faith that impacts our children and grandchildren in deep and permanent ways.
In this respect, there is always work to be done and a reason for every person, regardless of age, to be on task and mission for God. It is a mission that does not require mobility, financial support, or technological savvy. It simply requires an openness and concern for others, an honesty and transparency to share the important things in life, and the confidence in God that He is still the same today, yesterday, and forever. Our story today is of a grandmother who knew we are all just people in need of God’s touch, regardless of age. It is the story of one who knew there was still work to be done and was willing to do it; willing to be intentionally used by God to touch others.
I remember those days when as a young and lonely freshman, I would eagerly check my college mailbox everyday looking for some connection from home. There were many grey days and weeks when the only mail I found was the college generated junk mail. What would I have given for a touch from a godly grandmother who knew my name and lifted it up in weekly prayer? How much would it have meant to have a December dandelion in my life? A lot. A whole lot. And now that I am entering the December of my life, I pray I do not go quietly. May others still see a flash of yellow amidst the grey. Resolve with me to do likewise.
May the message of God’s mercy and truth be born afresh in us this Christmas,
Mr. Moe
While retrieving the school sign out front at the end of another school day, my eye was arrested by a yellow flash on the ground in the midst of an otherwise colorless lawn-scape. It was a dandelion stubbornly blooming in the heart of December. I have been thinking about December dandelions ever since. There certainly are not many of them still intent upon lighting up a lawn. This one hugged the earth closely, just barely raising its yellow hand up towards the sky. But there it was, a holdout against winter, a defiant flash of life amidst winter’s grey. Did it not get the word? Such blooms are supposed to go quietly into oblivion this time of year.
I read just last week of an 80 year old woman who also refused to go quietly into the sunset. Another December dandelion. She apparently also did not get the word that old folks are past their prime and need to retire to the sidelines like most sensible persons do. And certainly, she, who knew nothing of Facebook, You-Tube, texting, tweeting, or smart-phones, was obviously a world removed from today’s modern college student. Yet she took it upon herself to begin a letter writing ministry to her church’s college freshmen, away from home for the first time and awash in untold distractions and temptations. She not only wrote them, she wrote them every week. And she prayed. She prayed God’s best for them and that they would find a good church home in their new environment. She looked forward to seeing them at Thanksgiving and Christmas. The result? Church members reported that the “students sought her out and rushed to give her hugs and to say, ‘Thank you,” whenever they came home.” So much for the much ballyhooed generation gap. So much for our constant efforts to shuttle off our church members into age-segregated settings where they can safely relate to their own.
Serious study has shown and demonstrated that this cross generational cross pollination of faith is incredibly important in transferring our beliefs to the second and third generations that follow after us. If our youth do not see faith in action in our lives, woven into the events and values of everyday life, they are much more likely to forsake the faith of their fathers. Putting on a show of faith, going through the motions, does not make a very deep impression. The young usually see through it. But a faith that colors everyday decisions, that confesses mistakes and shortcomings, that deals with temptation and forgiveness in very real terms is a faith that impacts our children and grandchildren in deep and permanent ways.
In this respect, there is always work to be done and a reason for every person, regardless of age, to be on task and mission for God. It is a mission that does not require mobility, financial support, or technological savvy. It simply requires an openness and concern for others, an honesty and transparency to share the important things in life, and the confidence in God that He is still the same today, yesterday, and forever. Our story today is of a grandmother who knew we are all just people in need of God’s touch, regardless of age. It is the story of one who knew there was still work to be done and was willing to do it; willing to be intentionally used by God to touch others.
I remember those days when as a young and lonely freshman, I would eagerly check my college mailbox everyday looking for some connection from home. There were many grey days and weeks when the only mail I found was the college generated junk mail. What would I have given for a touch from a godly grandmother who knew my name and lifted it up in weekly prayer? How much would it have meant to have a December dandelion in my life? A lot. A whole lot. And now that I am entering the December of my life, I pray I do not go quietly. May others still see a flash of yellow amidst the grey. Resolve with me to do likewise.
May the message of God’s mercy and truth be born afresh in us this Christmas,
Mr. Moe
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