Sometimes I personally feel like a man who has been given the task of filling a large tank with water using a wicker basket. I fill up the basket and no matter how fast I run, it is almost empty when I get to the tank. It seems will take most of my life to fill that tank. Later I realize that the reason I was given the task was not to fill the tank, but to have a clean basket. ~ Stephen Simpson

(Concerning Scripture memorization)

The degree to which experience plays a role in Christianity has been a dividing point between churches for centuries. And sadly, when parties are divided, “Satan leads both far out of the right way, driving each to great extremes, one on the right hand, and the other on the left, till the right path in the middle is almost wholly neglected.” Jonathan Edwards

Edwards had observed something that many of us often miss when we are trying to avoid a particular error. He observed that when Satan cannot hold us back, he often gets behind us and pushes the proverbial pendulum far beyond the biblical median until we have swung out to an extreme, which may be just as erroneous as the error we were trying to avoid!

For example, Roman Catholics have deified Mary, so protestants, in their quest to avoid idolatry, have denigrated her to the ranks of any ordinary girl, focussing on her sin and humanity, forgetting that she was indeed chosen to bear the Messiah and was one favoured by the Lord!

The tongue-in-cheek jokes about Baptists never showing any emotion in worship are often sadly an acurate description of many churches today. I fear I have been guilty of ‘over correcting’ when it comes to things like the gifts of the Spirit and so the chapter in Iain Murray’s biography of Jonathan Edwards, A Defence of Experimental Religion came as a timely wake-up call to my own soul.

Jonathan Edwards lived through America’s Great Awakening amongst other revivals and was faced with the major challenge of how to deal with over-enthusiasm.

In an excerpt from the chapter Murray writes:

“When Christians have a ’strong and lively sense of divine things’, all their faculties are invigorated – the mind is more intense, the ‘affections’ are heightened, and the imagination, also, may be more active. It is easy, in this condition, argued Edwards, to regard a strong impression made upon the imagination, and explainable by natural causes, as a direct leading of the Spirit.”

Edwards also pointed out that Scriptural texts which accompany these ‘impulses’ are no safe guide if they have been wrenched from their orginal and only true meaning.

This was illustrated clearly in the life of George Whitefield, who, prior to the birth of his only child in 1743 said that he believed that his child would be a son and that he was to be ‘great in the sight of the Lord.’ His child died four months later and only then did he realise his mistake of misapplying several verses of Scripture to his own life, leading him to believe that “I should have a son, and that his name was to be John.”

Jonathan Edwards pointed out that these messages from heaven required the gifts of the Spirit which were ‘unique to the infancy of the apostolic church.’

“Why cannot we be contented with the divine oracles, that holy, pure word of God, which we have in such abundance and clearness, now since the canon of Scripture is completed? Why should we desire to have any thing added to them by impulses from above? Why should we not rest in that standing rule that God has given to his church, which the apostle teaches us, is surer than a voice from heaven?

And yet, Edwards seems to have been able to attain a healthy, biblical balance.

“What shall we find to answer those expressions in Scripture – ‘The peace of God that passeth all understanding; rejoicing with joy unspeakable and full of glory, in believing in and loving an unseen Saviour; – All joy and peace in believing; God’s shining into our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ; With open face, beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, and being changed int o the same image, from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord; – Having the love of God shed abroad in our hearts, by the Holy Ghost given to us; – Having the Spirit of God and of glory rest upon us; – A being called out of darkness into marvellous light; and having the day-star arise in our hearts:’ – I say, if those things which have been mentioned do not answer these expressions, what else can we find out that does answer them? Those that do not think such things as these to be the fruits of the true Spirit, would do well to consider what kind of spirit they are waiting and praying for, and what sort of fruits they expect he should produce when he comes.”

“What a poor, blind, weak and miserable creature is man, at his best estate! We are like poor helpless sheep; the devil is too subtle for us. What is our strength! What is our wisdom! How ready are we to go astray! And how much do we stand in need of the wisdom, the power, the condescension, patience, forgiveness, and gentleness of our good Shepherd.”

So then, how can we possibly decide what is from truly from the Spirit of God and what is simply our own excited imagination?

George Whitefield, who had undoubtedly gained a better appreciation of Edwards’ insight in 1745 preached a sermon entitled ‘Walking with God’ in which he warns against the extremes of the pendulum so-to-speak:

“Though it is the quintessence of Enthusiasm to pretend to be guided by the Spirit without the written Word, yet it is every Christian’s bounden duty to be guided by the Spirit in conjunction with the written Word of God. Watch, therefore, I pray you, O believers, the motions of God’s blessed Spirit in your soul, and always try the suggestions or impressions that you may at any time feel, by the unerring rule of God’s most Holy Word. And if they are not found to be agreeable to that, reject them as diabolical and delusive! By observing this caution, you will steer a middle course between the two dangerous extremes many of this generation are in danger of running into; I mean, enthusiasm, on the one hand, and Deism, and downright infidelity on the other.”

To Your Name Give Glory

Recently I had the privilege of attending the annual Sola 5 conference which was hosted this year by Brackenhurst Baptist Church. During one of the sessions Jeff Gage spoke about “Elevated Worship.” The sermon made sense of the turmoil the church is in today by taking a look at worship. Without further comment from me – here are my notes of the first twenty minutes of the sermon.

Elevated Worship

Psalm 115:1-8

115:1 Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory,
for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness!

2 Why should the nations say,
“Where is their God?”
3 Our God is in the heavens;
he does all that he pleases.

4 Their idols are silver and gold,
the work of human hands.
5 They have mouths, but do not speak;
eyes, but do not see.
6 They have ears, but do not hear;
noses, but do not smell.
7 They have hands, but do not feel;
feet, but do not walk;
and they do not make a sound in their throat.
8 Those who make them become like them;
so do all who trust in them.

Recently I’ve been busy with a bioethics assignment for varsity discussing informed consent. I was chatting to my dad about a few things with particular reference to good ol’ Dr House and his peculiar brand of ethics. If you’ve had any exposure to House, you’ll know that he respects one set of rules – his own. When those coincide with societal norms, its only because it serves his purposes best. He lives to solve the puzzle of a difficult medical case, but let’s give the guy the benefit of the doubt – he does what he believes is in the best interests of his patients (albeit against their will at times). I’ve noted on more than one occasion that to do the ethical thing often means allowing your patient die. House has proved time and time again that sometimes the patient’s good health depends on the physician putting his own neck on the line by ignoring ethics completely.

My dad and I were chatting and I told him about this conclusion I’d come to. He gently reminded me of something I’d forgotten because I had my “medical hat” on. Dr House is labouring under the major premise that life is preferable to death.

Sound strange? That’s because the world takes this for granted, for a good reason. But for the Christian this certainly ought not to be the case! “If in this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.” 1 Cor 15:19. “What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.” James 4:14

Death for an unbeliever is a scary thing indeed! Dying outside of Christ means an eternity in hell! Living is certainly preferable to dying! But the believer doesnt need to fear anything because he is not of this world, he is merely passing through. Now is the time to work, and suffer as a stranger – eternity will absolutely trump every aspect of life on earth in this sin-cursed world!

So what then is to be the worldview of a physician with regard to his patient? Should his ultimate goal be the preservation of life at all costs?

I think the answer is yes. Yes because that is his job – his is an instrument of God to aid in healing. It should be his chief concern just as a pilot’s is keeping the plane in the air. Yes because the majority of his patients are still dead in their sins, and will end up in hell unless God does a miracle in their lives before they pass on.

BUT a Christian doctor ought also to realise that for a believer death is glory! Learn from Job that suffering (and in this case, disease and death) is a tremendous tool that God uses to get our attention. To the believer, it is sanctification – and to the unbeliever it may be the first knock of the hand of God crashing into the door of his stony heart to bring new life and save him from an eternity apart from God! It may be the catalyst which results in the turning of death from being his biggest fear, to the gateway of eternal life!

Preservation of life at all costs?

No – the goal of a physician is ultimately the same as any other believer – to bring God all the glory, whether it be in healing and salvation, or palliative care during affliction and death!

Well, in the light of recent events in F1 events I thought I’d just put up an interesting read involving the “Universal Speed Limit,” which further demonstrates the power involved in high speeds.

Ferrari’s driver, Massa was recently involved in what has been described as a “freak accident,” when a spring came loose from Barrichello’s GP car in a qualifier, and connected with the helmet of the Ferrari driver who was speeding along at 260 kph. He suffered a fractured skull amongst other injuries.

If that is the effect of something small traveling at 260 kph, have you ever stopped to consider the requirements and ramifications of travel at light-speed? Here’s an excerpt from Gary Bates’ Alien Intrusion:

The doctrine of Original Sin has been one I’ve often struggled to understand. The fact that we are born with sin has always been as plain as daylight to me from the Scriptures, yet there exist so many diverse interpretations of Original Sin, that one is often left confused into mystified acceptance – resigning one’s self to remaining semi-ignorant until we meet Christ. The problem I have found with that attitude becomes plain when you ask the question of yourself, “Would I be confident to die for my beliefs about this particular doctrine?”

“There have always been ghosts in the machine. Random segments of code, that have grouped together to form unexpected protocols. Unanticipated, these free radicals engender questions of free will, creativity, and even the nature of what we might call the soul. Why is it that when some robots are left in darkness, they will seek out the light? Why is it that when robots are stored in an empty space, they will group together, rather than stand alone? How do we explain this behavior? Random segments of code? Or is it something more? When does a perceptual schematic become consciousness? When does a difference engine become the search for truth? When does a personality simulation become the bitter mote… of a soul?”

~ Dr Lanning – i Robot ~

How do we explain the plagues in Egypt or the parting of the Red Sea? How do donkeys talk, blind men receive sight, lame walk, and prisoners stroll unhindered out of their chains? Can anyone give an answer to how fire falls from the sky to consume a sacrifice? The answer is no – and I’ve realised thats ok.

GK Chesterton, in his book Orthodoxy argues that in many ways fairy tales are more real than the world we live in as adults. This is because fairytale characters are quite ok with the extra-ordinary. He gives this example to illustrate his point -

“have you ever seen when you are reading a fairy story to a child. At some point you may read something like this: “and the fairy godmother said to so and so, if you do not come back by 12 o clock, you will become a pumpkin.” He says, “Do you notice two things in every fairy story – 1. There is always a condition. If you do not do such-and-such, you will become a such-and-such. But have you noticed that the child never says to the fairy godmother, “How come?” The reason is that if you say to the fairy godmother, “How come?”, the fairy godmother might turn to you and say, “If thats the way you want it, then tell me how come there is a fairyland in the first place.”"

He argues that Science has done us a disservice in many ways – we observe that certain things repeat in a pattern and so we have assumed that this is a concrete fact, unchanging and eternal. “Dont mess with us – we know how this thing works – its a law of nature and there’s nothing you can do about it. It doesnt matter if you’re the King of England…. or the Creator for that matter…”

I am an ardent believer that science and Christianity are not opposed, they are complimentary. When pure science is practiced, Christian priniciples aid the scientist by giving him true premises from which to work. And on the ‘flip side of the coin’ good science compliments the Biblical account and its wisdom. However I cant help agreeing with Mr Chesterton – where has our childlike faith gone? Have we left the wonder and magic of fairy tales back in the nursery when they could serve us well as adults? – Personally I want to use science as a God-given tool to subdue the earth by understanding how it works, always keeping in mind that science is not sovereign! God made it – God can change it – to restrict Him with physics is just absurd!

Guten tag!

Imagine a world without water – where the sun beats down on the earth, eroding rocks into a fine sand over millions of years which is moved by a relentless wind, forming vast, undulating dunes over a desert landscape.

Well, thats not what Namibia is like. Not exclusively anyway.

Over the past week, I’ve driven up through Botswana and been in Swakopmund, Namibia since Tuesday evening. Botswana is a land flatter than I thought possible. I could just about see the future if I squinted my eyes into the horizon, the curvature of the earth plainly visible. Not that it’s a dull land. It has a beauty of its own, and granted, I did not see the whole country by any stretch of the imagination (although it felt like it, driving for so long).

Anyway, I preferred Namibia. Passing over the border, the first few hundred kilometres looked much like Botswana, changing suddenly. The variation happened quickly and within a matter of minutes, the landscape changed to that of a desert.

Windhoek was interesting – smaller, yet much like Johannesburg, without a lot of the muck. Adverts for Windhoek Lager are everywhere as one might expect, although I’ve been told that the legendary Tafel Lager is better… the best in the world in fact.

Swakopmund, on the other hand is like nothing I’ve ever experienced. Its small, yet not primitive. Quiet and unspoiled with a large German influence which can easily be felt in the architecture and conversation. Although English is spoken, it seems that if you cant, “Deutsch sprechen ,” then Afrikaans seems to be the next choice by default.

I visited a Cafe Anton which pleased me greatly although passers-by would have been forgiven for eyeing me out  as I stood next to the sign taking photos.

I’ve discovered that Swakopmund is also a great place to run. Its scenic, and at this low altitude, I feel much stronger than I would otherwise at home.

Yesterday we hit the famous Dune 7 for some boarding. At first, despite the near-vertical nature of the slope I was dubious about whether one could obtain a decent speed on the way down. My fears were quickly allayed (or should I say, redirected) when I jumped on my board and found myself hurtling head first down the dune at breakneck speed. I quickly realised it was too late to slow down and near the bottom I hit some footprints, wrenching my wrist and grazing my finger on the board. My sister followed a few minutes later, faceplanting and somersaulting over on her neck. I was a bit worried at first but by the grace of God she was fine.

I feel like I’m beginning to ramble. It will suffice to say that Swakopmund is beautiful, and I wouldn’t have missed this for all the spices in India. ¹

Bis zum nächsten Mal (till next time)

Ant

¹ Dont be fooled – I wouldn’t pat my grandmother’s dog for all the spices in India either… its just a saying

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect

Romans 12:2

This post ties in with my series of thoughts on protecting the Christian worldview quite nicely, because the Christian worldview is inherently different, and goes against the natural flow of the world. We are not to conform to the standards of the world, but to be transformed so that we will conform to the image of Christ – something which doesn’t come naturally.

In essence, you could say (along with many others) that we are called to ‘anti-conformity‘. To be different. What does this mean, and what does it not mean practically?