A good friend forwarded me an editorial that Chuck Colson recently wrote about the Illinois governor scandal that recently occurred with Rod Blagojevich. Colson's piece is a shining example of how to witness to the world. Rather than bemoan another leader falling and speaking words of direct condemnation, Colson identifies with Blagojevich, shares his failures and flaws, identifies the real enemy, then unashamedly speaks about the only Cure.
What an example for all of us to follow in evangelizing the lost.
You can read Colson's piece on CNN here, but just in case it gets removed soon, I put it below in its entirety:
If anyone knows how Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich feels right now, I do.
On Tuesday, the governor was arrested in a glare of publicity and charged with going on "a corruption crime spree," as U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald described it -- including alleged attempts to sell President-elect Barack Obama's Senate seat.
Some 35 years ago that ugly glare of publicity was focused on me as I was charged with a Watergate-related crime, subsequently convicted and sent to prison. The governor hasn't been convicted and is entitled to the presumption of innocence.
In the wake of Blagojevich's arrest, many Americans are left wondering once again how intelligent people can do such stupid things -- especially when they've achieved the pinnacle of power.
The answer comes down to pride.
At the height of Watergate, a dear friend of mine, Tom Phillips, then CEO of Raytheon, invited me to his home. As we sat in his kitchen, Tom read to me a chapter on pride from a little book by C.S. Lewis titled "Mere Christianity."
Lewis wrote, "There is one vice of which no man in the world is free. ... The vice I am talking about is Pride or Self-conceit. .... Pride leads to every other vice. ... A proud man is always looking down on things and people: and, of course, as long as you are looking down, you cannot see something that is above you. ... Pride is a spiritual cancer: it eats up the very possibility of love, or contentment, or even common sense."
Tom -- who told me about Jesus Christ that night -- didn't know I was in utter despair over Watergate, watching the president I'd worked for flounder in office. I'd learned I might become a target of the investigation. In short, my world was collapsing.
That night I sat in a darkened driveway and in a flood of tears called out to God. I didn't know what to say; I just knew I needed Christ. At that moment God took the White House "hatchet man" and turned me into a new creation.
I went on to serve seven months in prison. As lonely and demeaning as that experience was, I have never regretted it. I can honestly agree with Alexander Solzhenitsyn, who wrote from the gulag, "Bless you, prison, bless you for being in my life, for there, lying on the rotting prison straw, I came to realize that the object of life is not prosperity, as we are made to believe, but the maturing of the human soul."
Which brings me to a second reason for Blagojevich's fall: the culture of self.
Like me, Blagojevich grew up in a culture that taught the great goal of life was material success, power and influence. I grew up during the Great Depression; I thought if a smart guy like me earned a law degree and accumulated academic honors, they would enable me to find power, fulfillment and meaning in life.
I made a lot of money in my law practice and accepted a White House job. But by then, I had became very self-righteous; I was absolutely certain that no one could corrupt me. All my investments went into a blind trust. Whenever someone gave me a gift, I immediately turned it over to my chauffeur. And yet I ended up going to prison.
I now realize that every human being has an infinite capacity for self-rationalization and self-delusion. Those who serve in public life are faced with enormous peer pressure and don't always take time to stop and think carefully about what they're doing.
Sometimes -- absorbed in accumulating political power -- they're not interested in stopping to think. But as I learned firsthand, self-obsession destroys character. It has to.
Tragically, America is continuing to rear its young to become not only self-obsessed, but obsessed with personal power. Quaint-sounding virtues such as courage, honesty and prudence -- historically considered the elements of character -- are no match for a society in which the exaltation and gratification of self becomes the overriding goal of life.
If Blagojevich is guilty, the best thing that could happen to him is to be tried and convicted. He's going to have to reach rock bottom -- just as I did -- before he will be able to escape his own prison of pride, self-delusion and self-righteousness. But that's a transformation we can never accomplish on our own. I can vouch for the fact that human pride is simply too strong.
Lewis was right: Pride is a spiritual cancer. And the only cure, for any of us, is to stop looking down and to look up. The cure can only be brought about in someone who has come to realize that the will and power to do good and not evil comes from God alone.
Monday, December 15, 2008
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Newsweek's Attempt at Pro-Gay Theology
Following on the heels of my last post regarding Prop 8... Newsweek has now decided to enter the mix with their recent issue (Dec 15, 2008) where the a Newsweek author attempts to show how the Bible actually supports homosexuality and homosexual marriage in particular.
To the point: the article is nothing more than a rehash of pro-gay theology positions that have been debunked for years and proven to be false. Reinterpreting the Bible to fit whatever lifestyle you want to live has always been a popular path to hopefully clear the conscience, but it just doesn't work in the end.
For a point-by-point examination of the pro-gay theology positions and a rebuttal against them, you can download my paper on the subject. With respect to homosexual marriage, you can view and download my presentation on the topic from slideshare. Finally, you can read Al Mohler's rebuttal to Newsweek here.
Tuesday, December 02, 2008
Conversations on Prop 8
Recently I had a very quick debate with a few folks on the topic of homosexuality that was fueled by the recent passage of California’s Proposition 8. As you’ve probably seen, California voters wisely chose to not redefine marriage so that, at least for now, it remains one man and one woman in their state. This result has touched off a number of demonstrations from the homosexual community who vow to override what the people of California voted for. On the subject of homosexual marriage, one comedian remarked “Men marrying men…? Cowards!”
In any event, in the exchange I had, one homosexual guy stated to me a few things that are repetitively said on the subject, which I’d like to address. First, he said homosexuality is not a choice and that it is who he is (identity-wise). Second, because this person wishes to have God endorse his behavior, he said to me, “God created me and I don’t believe God creates evil”. His argument in the end, then, is that since his behavior comes to him naturally, he should behave accordingly and thinks that God will smile on his actions. Let me make just a few comments about this.
First, I hate to bring him bad news, but God didn’t create him. God stopped creating on the sixth day and remains in His Sabbath day of rest. He was created by his imperfect parents and not God. In Genesis, we read: "When Adam had lived one hundred and thirty years, he became the father of a son in his own likeness, according to his image, and named him Seth." (Genesis 5:3). Adam was created in God’s image, but not his offspring – they were created in Adam’s sinful likeness and image. And that process continues today. The technical term for this in theology is called the Traducian origin of the soul, which literally means “from a branch”.
In Psalm 51, David writes: "Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, And in sin my mother conceived me." (Psalm 51:5) David wasn’t the product of an adulterous affair or anything similar, but is only referencing the Christian doctrine of the depravity of man. The first line ever printed in America was in the New England Primer (used as the core school text), and it read “In Adam’s fall, we sinned all.”
Each person naturally born of human parents inherits the sin ‘disease’ from Adam (see Romans 5), and is therefore infected from the outset with effects of Adam’s transgression. This is just one reason Christ was born of a virgin – so that He could escape this very problem. Lastly, one would have to lay at God’s door every child born with birth defects and the like, but this isn’t the case – whether external or internal defects, these all come from the sinful parents.
If you doubt this, all you need to do is look at a small child to see sin in full bloom. How many parents had to teach their child to be selfish, to lie, to throw temper tantrums? No, this all comes naturally to them because they have the sin ‘gene’ if you will. I find it hard to believe that anyone could deny the doctrine of human depravity after coming out of the 20th century, which was the bloodiest in all of human history. This takes me to my second point.
My homosexual friend believes his impulses come to him naturally, and therefore that being the case, it is proper for him to act on them.
First, for every study done that says people are born gay, there’s a study that states the contrary, so it’s difficult to achieve a real conclusion from any analysis done on the topic. For example, in the study done by Kinsey in the 1940’s, only nine percent said they were born homosexual, (so 91% said it was their choice), but today, virtually all homosexuals and lesbians say they’re born that way. But let’s grant the argument for a moment – that indeed homosexuals are born with this impulse.
So what?
Using this line of argumentation leads to some pretty tough issues. For example, I wasn’t born a monogamous heterosexual male. My impulses tell me to have sex with as many women as I can, which runs against God’s plan for sex. But since this comes to me ‘naturally’, using their line of reasoning, it’s OK to practice fornication. Instead, however, I choose (choose!) to override my natural inclinations and keep my sexual actions within God’s design, which is marriage.
I’m also naturally quick tempered, but I’m told by God not to get angry, and using rough language can come pretty naturally, but God’s Word says I should only use good and pure words. I could go on and on in this same vein, but instead let’s look at it from a different angle.
Read through the characteristics of love in 1 Corinthians 13: "Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things." (1 Corinthians 13:4-7)
Now look at the fruit of the Spirit from Galatians 5: "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law." (Galatians 5:22-23)
Ask yourself how many of those traits come to you naturally. Patience? Not me. Does not take into account a wrong suffered? Oh I can remember wrongs done to me very easily.
The point is all these qualities are good to have, but they don’t come naturally to us – we have to work on them, and in fact, God has to gift them to us via His Spirit for us to actually get and practice them the way God intends. Norman Geisler writes, “First, there is a difference between inherited physical characteristics (like brown eyes), over which I have no control, and inherited spiritual tendencies (like lust), over which I ought to have control. We cannot avoid the basic size, color, talents, or ethnic group from which we have come. But we do have a choice as to whether to follow spiritual impulses we may have inherited, like impatience, anger, pride, or sexual impurity . . . . Morally speaking, “irresistible urges” are urges that have not been resisted. People have died for lack of water and food, but no one has ever been known to die for lack of sex, alcohol, or other drugs to fulfill his cravings! We have a free choice in all these areas.”
God’s Word clearly condemns homosexual behavior (e.g. Genesis 19, Leviticus 18 and 20, Romans 1, 1 Corinthians 6, 1 Timothy 1, Jude 7), and says release from the practice can be found in Christ (1 Corinthians 6:11). However, some in the homosexual community who want God’s blessings on their actions have tried to redefine these passages to make them fit within their line of vision. But no matter how hard they try, this simply cannot be done and no amount of hermeneutic gymnastics and distortion will make homosexual behavior right in the eyes of God.
So in the end, I’m afraid my friend is wrong that God made him the way he is, that it’s OK to act on natural impulses, and that God applauds the behavior. The sad thing is, folks like my friend want so desperately to have affirmation for their behavior so that their conscience can be quieted. This fact is recorded well by Christian philosopher J. Budziszewski who writes in his book The Revenge of Conscience, “those who rationalize their sins find it to be so much work that they require other people to support them in it.”
Let me hasten to add, however, this goes for all sins, not just those that are homosexual in nature. I can be just as quick to try and rationalize my own sinful behavior and so I have to constantly stay bathed in God's Word so that the thoughts and intentions of my own heart can be properly judged (Hebrews 4:12).
For more information on the topic of gay marriage, you can view a presentation I recently gave on the subject here. I look at the subject from Biblical, evolutionary, and philosophical moral standpoints.
In any event, in the exchange I had, one homosexual guy stated to me a few things that are repetitively said on the subject, which I’d like to address. First, he said homosexuality is not a choice and that it is who he is (identity-wise). Second, because this person wishes to have God endorse his behavior, he said to me, “God created me and I don’t believe God creates evil”. His argument in the end, then, is that since his behavior comes to him naturally, he should behave accordingly and thinks that God will smile on his actions. Let me make just a few comments about this.
First, I hate to bring him bad news, but God didn’t create him. God stopped creating on the sixth day and remains in His Sabbath day of rest. He was created by his imperfect parents and not God. In Genesis, we read: "When Adam had lived one hundred and thirty years, he became the father of a son in his own likeness, according to his image, and named him Seth." (Genesis 5:3). Adam was created in God’s image, but not his offspring – they were created in Adam’s sinful likeness and image. And that process continues today. The technical term for this in theology is called the Traducian origin of the soul, which literally means “from a branch”.
In Psalm 51, David writes: "Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, And in sin my mother conceived me." (Psalm 51:5) David wasn’t the product of an adulterous affair or anything similar, but is only referencing the Christian doctrine of the depravity of man. The first line ever printed in America was in the New England Primer (used as the core school text), and it read “In Adam’s fall, we sinned all.”
Each person naturally born of human parents inherits the sin ‘disease’ from Adam (see Romans 5), and is therefore infected from the outset with effects of Adam’s transgression. This is just one reason Christ was born of a virgin – so that He could escape this very problem. Lastly, one would have to lay at God’s door every child born with birth defects and the like, but this isn’t the case – whether external or internal defects, these all come from the sinful parents.
If you doubt this, all you need to do is look at a small child to see sin in full bloom. How many parents had to teach their child to be selfish, to lie, to throw temper tantrums? No, this all comes naturally to them because they have the sin ‘gene’ if you will. I find it hard to believe that anyone could deny the doctrine of human depravity after coming out of the 20th century, which was the bloodiest in all of human history. This takes me to my second point.
My homosexual friend believes his impulses come to him naturally, and therefore that being the case, it is proper for him to act on them.
First, for every study done that says people are born gay, there’s a study that states the contrary, so it’s difficult to achieve a real conclusion from any analysis done on the topic. For example, in the study done by Kinsey in the 1940’s, only nine percent said they were born homosexual, (so 91% said it was their choice), but today, virtually all homosexuals and lesbians say they’re born that way. But let’s grant the argument for a moment – that indeed homosexuals are born with this impulse.
So what?
Using this line of argumentation leads to some pretty tough issues. For example, I wasn’t born a monogamous heterosexual male. My impulses tell me to have sex with as many women as I can, which runs against God’s plan for sex. But since this comes to me ‘naturally’, using their line of reasoning, it’s OK to practice fornication. Instead, however, I choose (choose!) to override my natural inclinations and keep my sexual actions within God’s design, which is marriage.
I’m also naturally quick tempered, but I’m told by God not to get angry, and using rough language can come pretty naturally, but God’s Word says I should only use good and pure words. I could go on and on in this same vein, but instead let’s look at it from a different angle.
Read through the characteristics of love in 1 Corinthians 13: "Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things." (1 Corinthians 13:4-7)
Now look at the fruit of the Spirit from Galatians 5: "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law." (Galatians 5:22-23)
Ask yourself how many of those traits come to you naturally. Patience? Not me. Does not take into account a wrong suffered? Oh I can remember wrongs done to me very easily.
The point is all these qualities are good to have, but they don’t come naturally to us – we have to work on them, and in fact, God has to gift them to us via His Spirit for us to actually get and practice them the way God intends. Norman Geisler writes, “First, there is a difference between inherited physical characteristics (like brown eyes), over which I have no control, and inherited spiritual tendencies (like lust), over which I ought to have control. We cannot avoid the basic size, color, talents, or ethnic group from which we have come. But we do have a choice as to whether to follow spiritual impulses we may have inherited, like impatience, anger, pride, or sexual impurity . . . . Morally speaking, “irresistible urges” are urges that have not been resisted. People have died for lack of water and food, but no one has ever been known to die for lack of sex, alcohol, or other drugs to fulfill his cravings! We have a free choice in all these areas.”
God’s Word clearly condemns homosexual behavior (e.g. Genesis 19, Leviticus 18 and 20, Romans 1, 1 Corinthians 6, 1 Timothy 1, Jude 7), and says release from the practice can be found in Christ (1 Corinthians 6:11). However, some in the homosexual community who want God’s blessings on their actions have tried to redefine these passages to make them fit within their line of vision. But no matter how hard they try, this simply cannot be done and no amount of hermeneutic gymnastics and distortion will make homosexual behavior right in the eyes of God.
So in the end, I’m afraid my friend is wrong that God made him the way he is, that it’s OK to act on natural impulses, and that God applauds the behavior. The sad thing is, folks like my friend want so desperately to have affirmation for their behavior so that their conscience can be quieted. This fact is recorded well by Christian philosopher J. Budziszewski who writes in his book The Revenge of Conscience, “those who rationalize their sins find it to be so much work that they require other people to support them in it.”
Let me hasten to add, however, this goes for all sins, not just those that are homosexual in nature. I can be just as quick to try and rationalize my own sinful behavior and so I have to constantly stay bathed in God's Word so that the thoughts and intentions of my own heart can be properly judged (Hebrews 4:12).
For more information on the topic of gay marriage, you can view a presentation I recently gave on the subject here. I look at the subject from Biblical, evolutionary, and philosophical moral standpoints.
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