A very merry Christmas to all of you — and thanks for your reading and commenting this year. A conversation falls apart if only one side is there, so I want to make sure you know I appreciate your lending me your attention.

Christmastime is here with all of its longing and all the ache of unfulfilled hope. It can be a time of unparalleled joy — a real rip — but for many people I know, the season is a mix of high and low. This is something of a choice, and I want to challenge you and me to focus on the tremendous upside that is Christmas.

I am not talking about a new guitar (ahem), outdoor gear, or any present under the tree. Instead, I challenge us to look beyond the reactive trappings to see the reality that set all of them in motion. Here’s my message to you:

Once upon a time there was no need of Christmas

When the world was very young, our first parents were innocent and free. They had responsibility for the entire world — to rule over it, to enjoy it, and to fill it — under the authority of God. Even better, they had face-to-face fellowship with their loving creator.

God told them they could have food from any tree in the paradise that was their home except for the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. God explained that to eat of this tree would bring death. If you’re familiar with the Old Testament book of Genesis, you know that Adam and Eve did, in fact, eat that forbidden fruit — inviting and deserving the consequences. And such consequences! Lying, cheating, blame-shifting, stealing, killing, and dying, along with every sort of sickness and pain came when humanity fell. My sources say that the expression, “This sucks,” originated soewhere around that time.

But God, even though He would have been right to do it, didn’t give up on His image-bearers. Instead, He set in motion a plan of redemption that unfolded over hundreds of years. He chose a people for Himself and saw them through slavery and deliverance, faithfulness and rebellion. He sent sages, judges, and prophets — along with His divine law — to outline and to underscore man’s futility and inability to save himself and to point him back to God.

And at the point it seemed all was lost, God made good on His word. He fulfilled the long-awaited word of the prophets by invading time and space as a helpless baby — the fullness of deity in human form — ultimately to ransom fallen men and women from their bondage to sin. If you haven’t read it lately, here’s the Biblical account according to Luke that establishes the time and place of the pivotal moment of history, the night Jesus Christ the Messiah was born.

The Birth of Jesus
In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. ² (This was the first census that took place while^[a] Quirinius was governor of Syria.) ³ And everyone went to their own town to register.
⁴ So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. ⁵ He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. ⁶ While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, ⁷ and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.
⁸ And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. ⁹ An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. ¹⁰ But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. ¹¹ Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. ¹² This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
¹³ Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
¹⁴ “Glory to God in the highest heaven,
    and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”
¹⁵ When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”
¹⁶ So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. ¹⁷ When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, ¹⁸ and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. ¹⁹ But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. ²⁰ The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

Luke 2:1-20 (NIV)

The point of it all

So you see — our chaos, our brokenness is why Christmas exists. Let’s let it go to our heads — not because we’re good or we deserve it, but because at our worst God loves us so much that He gave His son Jesus.

In my short life, I have seen the world deliver the message repeatedly that we’re on our own. It isn’t true. Christmas proves it. It can be hard to see underneath the advertising and the desire to strip the season of its spiritual significance, but the substance of it is there if you have eyes to see it.

What if it’s all make-believe after all?

I assure you it isn’t, but consider the following. In C.S. Lewis’s The Silver Chair, Puddleglum the Marshwiggle is fighting off the enchantment of the green witch who has enslaved the prince and taken him and his young charges captive. As he extinguishes the witch’s magic fire with his foot, he delivers the following:

“One word, Ma’am,” he said, coming back from the fire; limping, because of the pain. “One word. All you’ve been saying is quite right, I shouldn’t wonder. I’m a chap who always liked to know the worst and then put the best face I can on it. So I won’t deny any of what you said. But there’s one more thing to be said, even so. Suppose we have only dreamed, or made up, all those things-trees and grass and sun and moon and stars and Aslan himself. Suppose we have. Then all I can say is that, in that case, the made-up things seem a good deal more important than the real ones. Suppose this black pit of a kingdom of yours is the only world. Well, it strikes me as a pretty poor one. And that’s a funny thing, when you come to think of it. We’re just babies making up a game, if you’re right. But four babies playing a game can make a play-world which licks your real world hollow. That’s why I’m going to stand by the play world. I’m on Aslan’s side even if there isn’t any Aslan to lead it. I’m going to live as like a Narnian as I can even if there isn’t any Narnia.”

So let us live like Christmas people and celebrate the God who came to demonstrate His love for us by laying down His life for you and me. Merry Christmas!

So how about you? How do you intend to celebrate this Christmas? Add your comments below.

While we celebrate the incarnation of Christ Jesus, I want to ask you to consider the example of a man who was indispensable to the Christmas story — Joseph the carpenter.

Meet Joseph

When we first meet Joseph in the Bible, he is defined in terms of his relationships — as the son of his father, Jacob, and the husband of Mary, the mother of Christ (Matthew 1:16).  From there we learn that Joseph was engaged to Mary, and that Mary was pregnant by God the Holy Spirit.

Joseph’s choices

Although Joseph could have avenged his honor and had Mary stoned to death for her supposed adultery, instead he made up his mind to break their engagement quietly.  But instead, a messenger of God — an angel — appeared to Joseph and told him not to be afraid to proceed with the marriage, because Mary was carrying God’s son.  So Joseph obeyed God.  The only other narrative mentions of Joseph in the Gospel according to Matthew show him moving his family to safety in Egypt, and later to Nazareth to avoid murderous and corrupt rulers.

Family ties

In the Gospel according to Luke, we see Joseph taking his bride to his ancestral home, Bethlehem, because of a census decree.  Jesus was born there just as it had been prophesied.  Bethlehem was significant because Joseph was descended from King David — the greatest king of Israel — and the prophecies regarding the messiah told that he would be the son of David.

Joseph’s greatness

Despite the slight number of scripture verses in which Joseph appears, his impact is tremendous.  Christmas could not have happened without him.  Here are the lessons I take from the life of Joseph:

• No whining — According to the genealogy of Jesus, Joseph could well have been the rightful heir to the throne of King David.  Instead he was a tradesman –a carpenter.  We do not have any account that suggests Joseph complained about his station in life, or about the circumstances he and his fiancée found themselves in.
• No drama — When it appeared Mary had been unfaithful to him, his love for her caused him not to want to subject her to disgrace.  His plan was to quietly send her away.
• Faithful — Joseph is described as a man of noble character.  Although this is not unheard of in the offspring of kings, it is by no means guaranteed.  Note that Joseph willingly accepted the role of Jesus’ earthly father, even though scripture tells us he did not have marital relations with Mary until after the birth of Jesus.  That is, he took the responsibility without any immediate gratification.
• Devout — We see Joseph hearing from God via angels and dreams, so we must conclude that he was seeking God’s wisdom.  Elsewhere we see him presenting the newborn Jesus to be dedicated at the temple, according to the law.  Certainly Joseph revered God to have ingrained such habits of belief and practice.
• Obedient — When God communicated His will to Joseph, it appears Joseph went straight to it.  Human nature was no different in Joseph’s day than it is in ours, so clearly Joseph must have known he’d have to deal with the whispers and gossip of his neighbors.  Based on the information given us in the Bible, he didn’t let anything deter him.
• Cool as the other side of the pillow — When evil Herod wanted to kill the newborn King of the Jews, Joseph got instructions to take Mary and Jesus into Egypt to escape Herod’s murderous intent.  And he just did it.  When news reached Joseph that Herod had died, God let him know it was safe to move back to Israel.  Again, he simply moved, although he did avoid Herod’s son by settling in Nazareth. (This decision fulfilled another prophecy regarding Jesus – this is why Jesus was considered a Nazarene.)

About the painting:  This is “Saint Joseph and the Infant Christ” painted by Baciccio — also known as Giovanni Battista Gaulli.  I love this portrayal of Joseph — his expression conveys such love, wonder and reverence.  What genuine nobility!  What a man!  

So how about you?  What of Joseph’s example can you put to work in your life?  Add your comments below.

If the crass commercialization of the season has tempted you to hate Christmas like a certain Dr. Seuss character, I’d like to share with you a practice that has helped my family and me get back to the heart of Christmas.

I first heard Pastor Rick McKinley several years ago on a podcast, talking about an initiative he had started at the church he leads — Imago Dei Community in Portland, Oregon.  He called it “The Advent Conspiracy,” and it was designed to be an antidote to the consumerism that had overtaken the original message of Christmas.

Stated simply, The Advent Conspiracy consists of four ideas:

1. Worship fully
2. Spend less
3. Give more
4. Love all

Worship Fully

The true meaning of Christmas — the inescapable origin of the season — is the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ.  Where we’ve gone wrong is that we’ve allowed ourselves to become dull, relegating Jesus to the category of ancient history.

But what if we were to think about the significance of Jesus more deeply?  Consider that God made a perfect world and set humanity at the top of  the created order.  Not long after this, humanity rebelled and rejected God’s authority, bringing about God’s righteous judgment.  Sickness, death and every kind of heartache resulted from this betrayal on our part.

God could have scrapped the whole project, but since his very nature is love, He chose a people for Himself and made them a great nation.  He gave them His law to indicate they were His people, and he sent them prophets, leaders and teachers to communicate His will to them.  And when the time was right, this loving God took on human flesh — leaving the splendor of Heaven — and chose to be born into the world he created as a helpless baby.  The coming near of God and the establishment of His kingdom on earth — the hope for all humanity — is what we celebrate at Christmas.  This is why we worship for all we’re worth.

Spend Less

From the time our sons were babies, we’ve always had a budget for Christmas and stuck to it. Even so, since we’ve adopted the Advent Conspiracy, we’ve sought to spend less for gifts while increasing the value of each one.  Part of this is to designate ten percent of our Christmas budget to benevolence — that is, making it a point to do a kindness to those who have less.  Another part is to manage our expectations and intentionally limit the size of our Christmas budget.

Give more

It seems like an oxymoron to spend less and give more, but there is a way.  McKinley calls it giving presence, rather than presents.  With this idea, our gifts to family members and each other are more thoughtful and involve an experience more than an object.  For example, a few Christmases ago, my younger son gave me a deep-winter backpacking weekend.  What a splendid gift!  We shared a weekend of father-son time and made great memories.

The gift of presence is, more than anything, taking the time to give a gift that says, “I get you.  I know you.”  In this case, it really is the thought that counts.

Love All

In the same way God showed His love for the whole world in sending His son,  we look for ways to make Christmas — and life —  better for others.  Our church helps sponsor a Christmas Village Toy Store that sells new, donated toys at a steep discount to disadvantaged families so they can have the dignity of giving gifts to their own children.  The church also takes up a special Christmas Eve offering to help spread the Good News of Jesus around the world.  If you’re not affiliated with a church, you can contribute to the Salvation Army, or send Christmas cheer to kids via Operation Christmas Child.

The subtitle of the book The Advent Conspiracy is “Can Christmas Still Change The World?” I believe it can — and it starts with you and me.  A joyous Advent to you.

So how about you?  In what ways are you recovering the joy and meaning of Christmas? Add your comments below.

Note: I have taken a sabbatical from writing new posts to enable me to focus on family and work matters, but I am committed to keep this site up and running. Meanwhile, I read and respond to all comments and correspondence. I’ll resume regular publishing of new content in January.

In a recent post, I explained why I’m skeptical of cryptocurrencies — even though I am optimistic about the potential for blockchain technology and its offshoots to create genuine value. This time, I’d like to provide a brief overview of the Bible’s teaching about money.

My pastor likes to explain that Jesus spoke more about money than he did about Heaven and Hell combined. If God came down in the flesh and told you how to regard money properly, you’d listen, right? Well He did. So in the spirit of news you can use, here are ten scriptural principles to help you view money the way God does:

• Money follows faithfulness – In the gospel of Matthew, Jesus wraps up the Sermon on the Mount by reminding his followers that God is a good Father who knows how to take care of His creation. He instructs us not to live and die by what we own, what we eat, or what we wear, instead He tells us to seek God’s kingdom and righteousness. Then, He says, all the things we need will follow (Matthew 6:33).
• Put God first – The Old Testament prophet Malachi chastised the people of God for keeping the finest of their produce for themselves while bringing God their leftovers. The principle and practice of the tithe — giving the first tenth of one’s increase to God — has always been an acid test of one’s faith and devotion. Malachi delivered God’s challenge to his people to test Him by bringing the full tenth and see whether He would, in return, bless them beyond their faithfulness. This challenge remains for us as well. Jesus commended the tithe in the New Testament, even as He corrected the Pharisees for their hard hearts.
• God is God — money is… not – Jesus taught that only God was worthy of our worship. Although we can use money in powerful ways, it has no power of its own. People can and do get confused about this, though. Jesus taught that a man can’t serve two masters, because He’ll end up loving one and hating the other. If money is the rival master, the one who loves it can end up hating God (Luke 16:13).
• It’s not wrong to be smart about money – Jesus told the parable of shrewd manager — a story about a soon-to-be-fired employee who offered to settle his friends’ debts at a discount. In doing this, he delivered a benefit to his soon-to-be-former boss, but he also earned the favor of his friends, and the admiration of Jesus. Look what Jesus said about this man’s  actions:
  The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly. For the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the people of the light. I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.” Luke 16:8-9 (NIV)
  
• Money is morally neutral – Money is neither good nor bad in itself. It’s simply a tool — an efficient means of exchange that one can use to accomplish good or evil ends. Ah, but what about that “money is the root of all evil” thing? Isn’t that in the Bible? No, it isn’t. What the Apostle Paul wrote is this: “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.” – 1 Timothy 6:10 (NIV)
• Invest in the Kingdom of God – When he teaches on stewardship and giving, my pastor likes to quote the old saying, “You can’t take it with you.” But he adds, “You can send it ahead.” Jesus said we shouldn’t be as concerned about amassing a fortune here on earth. Instead He instructed us to “lay up treasures in Heaven.” He wouldn’t tell us to if were impossible.
  Here’s a thought on how that works: The Bible teaches that faith, hope, and love are the things that endure beyond the grave. Each of these has a relational element since each one must have an object. If so, it follows that we can use our worldly wealth to share faith, hope, and love with those who need them so desperately. In the passage from Luke above, Jesus essentially told His followers to use the resources of this world to take the maximum number of friends to Heaven with us.
• You’re meant to be generous, you know — I often quote King Solomon here. In Proverbs 16:19, the wise king says this: “Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will reward them for what they have done.” Elsewhere, in chapter 3, he says, “Do not say to your neighbor, ‘Go, and come again, tomorrow I will give it’—when you have it with you.” And in 2 Corinthians 9, the Apostle Paul wrote, “The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” – 2 Corinthians 9:6-7 (ESV)
• Debt is OK only if you’re into being a slave — I realize some financial advisers will talk to you about what they call “good debt.” I’m here to tell you there is only debt and you should avoid it. Consider that Americans owe $830 Billion in credit card debt, and nearly $1.5 Trillion in student loan debt, and then consider that nobody can force you to take out a loan. But once you agree to their terms, your creditors can force you to pay — and at rates that can cripple you. When someone else is telling you what you must do with your own money, you aren’t free. Quoting King Solomon again: “The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is slave to the lender.” Proverbs 22:7 (NIV). I’ve been there and done that, and I plan to live within my means from now on. If you’re among the millions who owe billions and trillions, check out Dave Ramsey. He’s helped lots of people change their habits and become debt-free.
  
• Prosperity and poverty aren’t measures of your status before God – Righteous people fall on hard times. Wicked people sometimes prosper. You’ll drive yourself mad trying to ferret out what you must have done wrong every time the stock market goes down. That’s a little like saying God is displeased when the tide goes out or the moon wanes. Jesus said, “For (God) makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.” – Matthew 5:45b (ESV) And we haven’t discussed the Old Testament stories of Joseph and Job, or all the hardships the Apostle Paul endured for the sake of the Gospel of Jesus. Try imprisoned, beaten, stoned, shipwrecked, slandered, and snake-bit as a sample — and then tell me he lacked faith or faithfulness to unleash God’s fountain of prosperity.
• It all belongs to God – God, as creator of the cosmos, is its sovereign ruler. As Dutch theologian and statesman Abraham Kuyper said, “There is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry, Mine!” That includes your wallet, dude — and mine. If I have money, assets, talents, or connections, I am to hold them as a steward, and use them profitably to honor and glorify God.

I like what the Methodists used to teach about money: earn all you can, save all you can, give all you can. That’s your takeaway from my post. A last thought from Luke 16. Jesus says,

“Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. ¹¹ So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? ¹² And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else’s property, who will give you property of your own?” Luke 16: 10-11 (NIV).

So how about you? In what ways do you need to adjust your thinking about money? How can you use the resources you have to expand God’s kingdom? Add your comments below.

“Marriage is the graduate school of service.” – Pastor David Chadwick

I’ve made no secret of my belief in marriage. Mrs. Booth and I have been married for nearly 32 years, with the struggles and joys that come with being married that long. It has been and is a great thing and I love being married to my wife.

And I admit that the climate for marriage in the west is hostile in many ways. From taxes that penalize marriage economically, to family courts that incentivize women to file for divorce from their husbands, to cultural Marxist feminism that seeks to destroy “the patriarchy” by destroying men, there is plenty of evidence to support a man’s decision not to marry. But let’s revisit one of my favorite axioms:

Abuse doesn’t invalidate use.

Marriage is to be kept pure…

The occasions when men commit murder with hammers doesn’t justify banning hammers or outlawing carpentry. The widespread misuse of the institution of marriage — from cohabitation and out-of-wedlock births, through frivolous no-fault divorce — doesn’t mean that marriage has forfeited its divine purpose.

Back to the beginning

If we look to the creation narrative in the second chapter of the Old Testament book of Genesis, we see that God had created the universe, placing man, whom he had made in his own image, at the top of the created order. God pronounced it good. But when he saw that he had made suitable mates for all the other creatures except man, God said, “it is not good that man should be alone.”

After evaluating every other type of creature and not finding a mate, a companion, a wife for the man, Adam, God did something remarkable. He put Adam to sleep and took flesh and bone from his side, making from them a woman, whom Adam called Eve. Note that up to this point, Adam was the bearer of the full imago dei — the image of God. In this, Adam reflected masculinity and femininity as God does. But when God created Eve to be Adam’s helper, his (in Hebrew) ezer kenegdo — literally his “life saver” — God split into two parts the imago dei, investing maleness and masculine strength in the man and investing femaleness and feminine beauty and tenderness in the woman. This is important, because Genesis 2:24-25 says this:

Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.

This one-flesh union, this intimate knowing, free of guilt and shame is the heart of marriage.

Breaking it down

Note the lack of self-consciousness and self-regard in this first marriage. Their nakedness and vulnerability was not something to exploit for advantage, rather it was open and generous. It cannot have been otherwise, as the one-flesh union would not have existed if Adam had not given himself to Eve, and Eve had not given herself to her husband.

Now it’s broken down

Have you noticed in our culture’s stories how marital sex is nearly always portrayed as a chore to be avoided, while affairs and other forms of sexual behavior appear exciting?  If I say the word monogamy, do you regard the concept as a positive or a negative one? Why? If you’re married, did your friends try to talk you out of it, citing the endless novelty of hookups compared to loving one woman for life? Part of this inversion is the distortion of our world through sin. So a loyal wife seems boring to her husband, compared to the women at his office, and an aloof cad is seemingly irresistible compared to a wife’s dependable husband.  This is why King Solomon wrote in Proverbs 9:16, “Stolen water is sweet, and bread eaten in secret is pleasant.” But note this: Just because a forbidden thing is appealing doesn’t mean you shouldn’t avoid it. (See also poison mushrooms.)

Reacquiring the trail

If you dread the idea of marriage, in the present or the future, I want to encourage you to re-establish a biblical view of marriage. First, note that biblical marriage is a covenant rather than a contract. This is not a legal instrument between two consenting parties that can be broken at will. Among God’s people, a covenant is a binding, irrevocable joining between God and his people. There are obligations, but failure to perform doesn’t justify an exit.

It is true that you have the duty of spiritual headship, and the responsibility to shepherd, protect, and provide for your wife and children, and those obligations demand lifelong faithfulness. It is also true that you can expect to enjoy the marriage bed — sex — with your wife and the two of you have a responsibility to maintain this aspect of your marriage — especially when kiddos enter the picture. Check out Proverbs 5:15-19 for just one biblical encouragement in this area.

The ratio

Before Mrs. Booth and I married, an older friend took me aside and said, “I know you think marriage is a 50/50 proposition. It isn’t. It’s 100/100. It takes both of you giving it 100% for it to work.” I have learned that friend was 100% correct. And this brings us to service.

A generous spirit requires bravery

An unpleasant aspect of our times is the wariness that leads to near-constant score-keeping. We are willing to give, as long as we get, but heaven help the one who takes and never gives. Does that sound familiar? In marriage, we have to overcome the fear and serve each other generously. Even if you’re afraid you won’t get anything out of it, serve.

In Paul’s letter to the church at Ephesus, the apostle instructed wives to submit to their husbands, but he instructed husbands to love their wives the way Christ loved the church. In case you’re unfamiliar with the story, he died for her. Obviously, marriage is one of those things where you must be present to win, so what does this sacrificial service look like in the realm of mortals?

Here’s an example

In the fewest words, it means put others first. If you do this, God notices. And He is able to reward you. But I promised you an example.

If you haven’t seen the video for Andra Day’s song Rise Up, it’s a great portrayal of loving service in the context of marriage. Please watch this now. I’ll wait

This video, directed by M. Night Shyamalan, conveys so much truth, and Andra Day’s vocal performance drives it home. Note the wife pouring out her life for the husband who can no longer hold her. Though her reward would seem slight compared to what she — and he — expected when they first married, this is a shining example of loving and giving 100%.

And notice, also, how the husband doesn’t quit, either. He gives the strength he has, and she appreciates it. Good art with a true message!

Not just true in stories

You may argue that Shyamalan could tell the story any way he wants, and that the video is a made-up story. Fair enough, but I have a pastor friend whose wife has Multiple Sclerosis and he serves his wife in the same manner. He cares for her and loves her like Christ loves the church — the way he promised to when they wed. And he’s not the only man I know who has cared for his wife this way. I have written before about old-school wedding vows, and this is where they prove their worth.

I know there is great risk in getting married these days. The statistics, as we’ve noted, are grim. But it is also possible to find godly, virtuous women who want to be married to godly and masculine spiritual leaders. So for God’s sake (literally), lead, love, and serve. Your children need the stability that only a covenant marriage can provide them.

God would not have commanded this of husbands if men weren’t capable of doing it. If you aren’t that sort of man yet, stick around and learn how to be one. Or message me and let’s start a discussion.

It is not good for the man to be alone, but it also important to marry the kind of woman who will stick by you — and by whom you’ll stick — when the storms come. It can be done!

So how about you? How are you leading and serving in your marriage, or preparing to lead and serve in your marriage? Add your comments below.

“Don’t be flip with the sacred. Banter and silliness give no honor to God. Don’t reduce holy mysteries to slogans. In trying to be relevant, you’re only being cute and inviting sacrilege.” – Jesus in Matthew 7:6 (MSG)

In Part 1, I presented an unintentional review of NBC’s live performance of Jesus Christ Superstar (I liked it), but faulted the original play for its failure to portray the resurrection of Jesus — his physical death and his rising form the grave on the third day. Look, I appreciate Andrew Lloyd Weber’s emphasizing the humanness of Jesus. Orthodox Christians have often glossed over His humanity and unwittingly fallen into error. At the same time, Weber over-emphasizes Jesus’ humanity, as it seems the story concludes that Jesus was a charismatic leader whom the zeitgeist promoted beyond any promise a man could keep — hence the designation, Superstar.

Horses for courses, toys for tots

If you want to learn about the nature of God and the nature of man, I submit that there are better sources of information than NBC’s Jesus Christ Superstar or ABC’s airing of The Ten Commandments. I commend both works  and both networks for at least portraying these events. The shows are well-told with high production values and top-tier actors. They are by far better than the anything-for-a-buck Passover Bag of Plagues pictured here. But like these stupid so-called toys,  once you know the story in its fullness, these programs seem trivial.

In this post, I’d like to lay out just a few reasons why I believe in the resurrection of Jesus and why i believe you should too.

The evidence for the resurrection

Excuse me, but who thought this was a good idea?

Let’s start with the relevant passage from the Bible. Here’s Matthew’s gospel following his account of Jesus’ death on the cross:

When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who also was a disciple of Jesus. ⁵⁸ He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate ordered it to be given to him. ⁵⁹ And Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen shroud ⁶⁰ and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had cut in the rock. And he rolled a great stone to the entrance of the tomb and went away. ⁶¹ Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were there, sitting opposite the tomb.

⁶² The next day, that is, after the day of Preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered before Pilate ⁶³ and said, “Sir, we remember how that impostor said, while he was still alive, ‘After three days I will rise.’ ⁶⁴ Therefore order the tomb to be made secure until the third day, lest his disciples go and steal him away and tell the people, ‘He has risen from the dead,’ and the last fraud will be worse than the first.” ⁶⁵ Pilate said to them, “You have a guard^[j] of soldiers. Go, make it as secure as you can.” ⁶⁶ So they went and made the tomb secure by sealing the stone and setting a guard.

Now after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. ² And behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. ³ His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. ⁴ And for fear of him the guards trembled and became like dead men. ⁵ But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. ⁶ He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he^[lay. ⁷ Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and behold, he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him. See, I have told you.” ⁸ So they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. ⁹ And behold, Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” And they came up and took hold of his feet and worshiped him. ¹⁰ Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.”

¹¹ While they were going, behold, some of the guard went into the city and told the chief priests all that had taken place. ¹² And when they had assembled with the elders and taken counsel, they gave a sufficient sum of money to the soldiers ¹³ and said, “Tell people, ‘His disciples came by night and stole him away while we were asleep.’ ¹⁴ And if this comes to the governor’s ears, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.” ¹⁵ So they took the money and did as they were directed. And this story has been spread among the Jews to this day.” – Matthew 27:57-66; 28:1-15 (NIV)

Let’s start where I left off in Part 1: Despite the Jewish authorities and Roman government’s shared interest in snuffing this upstart sect, Jesus’ enemies couldn’t produce his remains. Note that the officials stationed guards — Roman soldiers — to seal and guard the tomb to prevent the disciples from stealing Jesus’ body.

Note also the rich detail we have surrounding the story. We have the name of the man who prepared Jesus’ body for burial and who placed the body in his unused tomb. And there’s more. We have the cover-up for the failure of the guards and the harsh description in the mouths of the Pharisees, calling Jesus “that impostor.” Most people seeking to burnish the reputation of a revered figure don’t include disparaging information.

Eyewitnesses to history

Elsewhere in the Bible we learn that the risen Jesus appeared to many people on multiple occasions. In 1 Corinthians 15:6 Paul the Apostle writes that Jesus appeared to over 500 people at one time. He explained that many of them were still living a the time he wrote his account, so if he were misleading or mistaken, there were people who could have –and certainly would have — contradicted him. Don’t forget that Rome actively pursued and sought to exterminate Christians in the first century and beyond. Contradictory testimony would have been valuable and would have been promoted.

Historic recency

In his book History and Christianity, John W. Montgomery explains that the gospel writers’ earliest manuscripts appeared no later than 100 AD — well within the lifetimes of eyewitnesses to the resurrection. As I mentioned, the appearance of manuscripts contemporaneous to eyewitnesses would have allowed for correction or condemnation if these manuscripts had been incorrect.

This comparatively short interval is noteworthy among ancient writings. Montgomery says that the shortest interval between the death and the appearance of the earliest manuscripts attributed to an author are those of Plato. No serious historian doubts the accuracy or authenticity of the words attributed to Plato — and the earliest manuscripts appeared approximately 800 years after his death.

You bet your life

And last, we have the eyewitnesses to the resurrection who were executed for asserting the truth of the resurrection. Sincere people will die for something they erroneously believe to be true, but no one would willingly die for something he knows is false. Consider the logic: If the resurrection were a fraud and the afterlife a hollow promise, what would be the incentive to die thereby wasting one’s one and only life?

Here’s where it gets personal

This is why it matters that Jesus died and rose again: without the Grace and pardon of God, you and I are doomed to an eternity separated from God. Each one of us was born infected with the corruption of this fallen world. God is love and He loves us, but God is also just, so He must punish sin. That’s where Jesus comes in. The sinless son of God came into the world, fully God and fully human, and lived a life of perfect obedience to the law of God. Then He took the sins of the world on Himself and allowed Himself to be nailed to the cross — an innocent man dying a criminal’s death. This is the fulfillment of the ceremonial law of Moses, the once and forever fulfillment of the Passover, and the satisfaction of the law’s legitimate claim on blood for the covering and propitiation of sin. God’s love was so great, that He allowed His son Jesus to die for you and me, to take our punishment. But it’s even better than this.

If Jesus had simply died a martyr’s death as a human sacrifice, the benefit would have had an expiration date. Instead, since the wages of sin is death, Jesus proved He had mastered and broken death forever by staying in the grave until the third day and then rising — alive. This is why the resurrection of Jesus Christ is such a big deal. We need it.

So how about you — In what ways do you agree or disagree about the importance of the resurrection? Did you believe it before? Do you believe it now? Add your comments below.

“In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace.” – Ephesians 1:17 (NIV)

Like millions of my countrymen, I spent part of Easter Sunday watching NBC’s live performance of Jesus Christ Superstar — the rock opera that tells the story of the last week of the life of Jesus. Although as a child I had listened to and had sung along with the soundtrack album enough to know the songs by heart, I hadn’t really thought about the play in a good 30+ years. Yet there I was in front of the television watching it in high definition.

What surprised me was how well it had held up musically. I was impressed with the casting choices and with the size and tightness of the band. The high point for me was the voices — kudos in particular to John Legend, Brandon Dixon, and Sara Bareilles –  and Alice Cooper as King Herod was the main reason I decided to tune in.

You knew there was a “but” coming…

It’s not a Legend: Peter and John ran to the empty tomb

(Spoiler alert: I’m going to divulge plot points and specific staging decisions for this production. Don’t get mad at me: the play has been around since the 1970’s.) But at the end, I remembered why as impressive as it was and is, “Jesus Christ Superstar” feels like a letdown: there’s no resurrection. In fact it’s worse than that. At the climax of the show, Judas, the betrayer, commits suicide offstage. We then have the scourging of Jesus and the crucifixion, followed by the truly bizarre decision to have Jesus fly into the distance while still on the cross. This is followed by the reappearance of the apparently resurrected Judas who sings the title song and the show ends.

There must be a pony in there somewhere

Because I’m an optimist, I tend to look for the pony responsible for the pile of manure. In this production, we do see Jesus again — at the curtain call. It is part of the show, but it is not part of the play. I know, I know: what’s next? Will I start yelling at kids to get off my lawn? Not for many years.

Let me explain that I defend Andrew Lloyd Weber’s artistic decision to write what he wrote about Jesus. I hope it’s clear I’m praising (see what I did there?) the artistic merit of the production at every level. And, as a social media acquaintance pointed out, we should note that NBC spent a lot of money to hire top talent to present the story of Jesus — however imperfectly — in prime time on Easter. I’m concerned about the lack of a resurrection portrayal for a different reason.

Back in my day…

In the 1970’s Americans of every faith knew the outlines of Jesus’ story — the virgin birth, the visiting shepherds and wise men, the genocidal rage of Herod, the healing miracles, the Sermon on the Mount, Palm Sunday, the crucifixion, and the resurrection. These days we can no longer assume this knowledge is a given. Let me offer one example.

NPR: Not Particularly Religious

You may have read or heard that taxpayer-funded and listener-supported NPR offered this description of Easter during a report on Good Friday:

Easter — the day celebrating the idea that Jesus did not die and go to hell or purgatory or anywhere like that, but rather arose into heaven — is on Sunday.”

If this represents the national media’s level of what Dr. E.D. Hirsch called cultural literacy, you can forgive me for being concerned about a telling of Jesus’s story that doesn’t include His physical death and a bodily resurrection.

What difference does it make?

The resurrection of Jesus is the proof that Jesus was fully God and fully man, and more — that he satisfied the claims of divine justice permanently. Without a resurrected Jesus, there’s no good news, no new covenant, no pardon for sins, and no eternal hope. So for my skeptical or hard-core atheist friends, if you want to undo Christianity, present the bones of Jesus of Nazareth and your job is done. Theories and suppositions won’t cut it.

In Part 2, I’ll elaborate on why the resurrection is so important, and I’ll outline some of the evidence for the resurrection of Jesus.

So how about you — What do you think about the resurrection of Jesus? How did you come to your conclusions? Add your comments below.

“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” – Romans 8:28 (ESV)

I owe a number of debts to author John Eldredge. His collaboration with the late Brent Curtis, The Sacred Romance, revolutionized my perception of the character and the heart of God. His Wild At Heart came at just the right time in my life — and my sons’ lives — and altered the course of our lives in wonderful ways. This was what led me to initiate my sons into manhood, and what led ultimately to the creation of this blog.

In his latest book, All Things New, John unpacks the basis of our life’s hope — God’s promise to renew all things.

Is that a promise?

We have so much to look forward to at the end of the road!
(Photo by M. Booth)

The text that informs the book is from the Revelation to John (the last book of the Bible). Here’s the vision as John the apostle reports it:

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.

^“And he who was seated on the throne said, ‘Behold, I am making all things new.’ Also he said, ‘Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.’”

A new heaven

Notice that the promise is for a new heaven and a new earth — and they are going to be joined in a way the current heaven and earth are not. My pastor explains that in the current heaven, Satan retains access to the presence of God, since he appears before the Lord in the first chapter of the book of Job. A new heaven is necessary to remove every trace of the evil one’s rebelliousness and deception.

A new earth

Recall that our original parents Adam and Eve lived in a paradise here on this earth. Their fall into sin marred this world irreparably, so a new earth is necessary to restore what was lost to its original splendor. I have to tell you, this is beyond exciting — way more interesting than a cloudy, harp-strewn wasteland with nothing but endless church services. And I like church. But imagine intimacy with God every moment as we explore and appreciate, and yes, worship Him while we scale mountains, sail oceans, and bask in absolute and unlimited beauty.

All things new

Jesus didn’t say, “I’m making all new things.” Our new and eternal home will be like earth, but with all the murder, hatred, greed, pollution, terrorism, disease, poverty, injustice, and corruption scrubbed away. It’s even better than that, because so many things we have and use now — including our careers — are compensations for what was damaged due to sin. Everything from sunscreen and insect repellent to fire engines to courtrooms, all these are intended to overcome the limitations sin imposes. It all goes away! And we get to be free for the first time. Imagine it!

Better still, as Eldredge explains, all our losses will be restored. Every injustice will be made right. Every wrong we suffered will receive divine vindication. God will do this out of His generous love.

Why I’m telling you

This reminder that God will make it all right has helped me enormously over the past several months. When I began thinking actively that God would make me whole in every way in His time, I felt myself began to relax and quit being so driven. As I meditated on His willingness and His ability to repair and restore anything broken, anything lost, I let go of these nagging doubts and fears. And when our family faced the devastating loss of my mother-in-law, I was able to see through the pain to the hope of an eternal reunion that was brighter than the grief we feel.

Use as directed

This is so different from the hackneyed idea of “pie in the sky, by and by,” because it doesn’t ignore the scars that sin leaves, and it doesn’t demand that we not grieve real loss, real pain. Instead, it places those wounds in a holy context, and into the hands of a loving God who gave His Son to redeem us and restore us.

This one’s for you

Please check out these scripture verses in-depth and see if what I’m saying is true. God Himself told John to write it down because He meant it. And if you agree with me, then ask yourself how much more audacious would you be for the Kingdom’s sake if you knew that ultimately, you couldn’t lose. What career decisions wold you take? What relationships would you pursue? What evil would you challenge? And would idols and seductions would you refuse?

My own experience has been that my greatest compromises have come when I doubted that God would come through for me. I repent of that slander against God’s heart, and I put myself in His hands.  I trust that what happens to me in this life will come through His hands, and I trust Him to lead me and to guide the outcomes. All I want to do is to be faithful.

So how about you? What hope does this idea stir in you? What do you look forward to in the new earth? Add your comments below.

P.S. I am providing the links to outside sites as a convenience to my readers. I do not receive any form of compensation or consideration if you choose to make a purchase.

“Whoever increases wealth by taking interest or profit from the poor amasses it for another, who will be kind to the poor.” – Proverbs 28:8 (NIV)

In a recent post, I explained why I’m skeptical of cryptocurrencies — even though I am optimistic about the potential for blockchain technology and its offshoots to create genuine value. This time, I’d like to provide a brief overview of the Bible’s teaching about money.

My pastor likes to explain that Jesus spoke more about money than he did about Heaven and Hell combined. If God came down in the flesh and told you how to regard money properly, you’d listen, right? Well He did. So in the spirit of news you can use, here are nine scriptural principles to help you view money the way God does:

Time for a higher perspective on money

• Money follows faithfulness – I the gospel of Matthew, Jesus wraps up the Sermon on the Mount by reminding his followers that God is a good Father who knows how to take care of His creation. He instructs us not to live and die by what we own, what we eat, or what we wear, instead He tells us to seek God’s kingdom and righteousness. Then, He says, all the things we need will follow (Matthew 6:33).
• Put God first – The Old Testament prophet Malachi chastised the people of God for keeping the finest of their produce for themselves while bringing God their leftovers. The principle and practice of the tithe — giving the first tenth of one’s increase to God — has always been an acid test of one’s faith and devotion. Malachi delivered God’s challenge to his people to test Him by bringing the full tenth and see whether He would, in return, bless them beyond their faithfulness. This challenge remains for us as well. Jesus commended the tithe in the New Testament, even as He corrected the Pharisees for their hard hearts.
• God is God — money is… not – Jesus taught that only God was worthy of our worship. Although we can use money in powerful ways, it has no power of its own. People can and do get confused about this, though. Jesus taught that a man can’t serve two masters, because He’ll end up loving one and hating the other. If money is the rival master, the one who loves it can end up hating God (Luke 16:13).
• It’s not wrong to be smart about money – Jesus told the parable of shrewd manager — a story about a soon-to-be-fired employee who offered to settle his friends’ debts at a discount. In doing this, he delivered a benefit to his soon-to-be-former boss, but he also earned the favor of his friends, and the admiration of Jesus. Look what Jesus said about this man’s  actions:
  The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly. For the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the people of the light. I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.” Luke 16:8-9 (NIV)
  
• Money is morally neutral – Money is neither good nor bad in itself. It’s simply a tool — an efficient means of exchange that one can use to accomplish good or evil ends. Ah, but what about that “money is the root of all evil” thing? Isn’t that in the Bible? No, it isn’t. What the Apostle Paul wrote is this: “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.” – 1 Timothy 6:10 (NIV)
• Invest in the Kingdom of God – When he teaches on stewardship and giving, my pastor likes to quote the old saying, “You can’t take it with you.” But he adds, “You can send it ahead.” Jesus said we shouldn’t be as concerned about amassing a fortune here on earth. Instead He instructed us to “lay up treasures in Heaven.” He wouldn’t tell us to if were impossible.
  Here’s a thought on how that works: The Bible teaches that faith, hope, and love are the things that endure beyond the grave. Each of these has a relational element since each one must have an object. If so, it follows that we can use our worldly wealth to share faith, hope, and love with those who need them so desperately. In the passage from Luke above, Jesus essentially told His followers to use the resources of this world to take the maximum number of friends to Heaven with us.
• You’re meant to be generous, you know — I often quote King Solomon here. In Proverbs 16:19, the wise king says this: “Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will reward them for what they have done.” Elsewhere, in chapter 3, he says, “Do not say to your neighbor, ‘Go, and come again, tomorrow I will give it’—when you have it with you.” And in 2 Corinthians 9, the Apostle Paul wrote, “The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” – 2 Corinthians 9:6-7 (ESV)
• Prosperity and poverty aren’t measures of your status before God – Righteous people fall on hard times. Wicked people sometimes prosper. You’ll drive yourself mad trying to ferret out what you must have done wrong every time the stock market goes down. That’s a little like saying God is displeased when the tide goes out or the moon wanes. Jesus said, “For (God) makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.” – Matthew 5:45b (ESV) And we haven’t discussed the Old Testament stories of Joseph and Job, or all the hardships the Apostle Paul endured for the sake of the Gospel of Jesus. Try imprisoned, beaten, stoned, shipwrecked, slandered, and snake-bit as a sample — and then tell me he lacked faith or faithfulness to unleash God’s fountain of prosperity.
• It all belongs to God – God, as creator of the cosmos, is its sovereign ruler. As Dutch theologian and statesman Abraham Kuyper said, “There is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry, Mine!” That includes your wallet, dude — and mine. If I have money, assets, talents, or connections, I am to hold them as a steward, and use them profitably to honor and glorify God.

I like what the Methodists used to teach about money: earn all you can, save all you can, give all you can. That’s your takeaway from my post. A last thought from Luke 16. Jesus says,

“Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. ¹¹ So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? ¹² And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else’s property, who will give you property of your own?” Luke 16: 10-11 (NIV).

So how about you? In what ways do you need to adjust your thinking about money? How can you use the resources you have to expand God’s kingdom? Add your comments below.

Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” – John 8:31 – 32

I have noticed that our society has an obsession with “truth.” I don’t believe it started with politics, but this is the arena — thank you , social media — where it has seemed to come into full blossom. One would expect that a large number of people seeking truth would be a good thing. In this case I have my doubts. What do I mean by an obsession with “truth” — and why do I feature it in scare quotes? Let me elaborate.

What we want to see may obscure what is right in front of our eyes

Truth as a fetish

First, every major newspaper and nearly every news network has a person or thing called a Fact-checker. The Fact-checker’s mission is to submit the statements and claims of politicians and other public figures to scrutiny and to determine the veracity of those statements, awarding them cute tokens according to how well they measure up. As far as journalism goes, fact checking seems questionable and far less clear-cut than claimed, with many weak appeals to authority, such as other journalists, or worse, “sources say.”

Next consider the whole “Fake news” topic. Undoubtedly, there is such a thing, as anyone who has fallen for a clickbait headline can attest, but what gets labeled Fake news is often nothing more than something with which the labeler disagrees.

We have made truth into a fetish — a word whose original definition meant the impartation or attribution of spiritual or religious qualities into a lifeless object. This is nothing more or less than the definition of an idol. If you read my previous post, you saw that idols scratch a particular itch, but do not have the power and authority of the Living God. They are, therefore inadequate. “Truth” — in its fetishized form — is similarly inadequate compared to the genuine article.

Is it literally true?

The truth-obsessed are often enormously subjective in their thinking. They cling most vociferously to what they refer to as “my truth,” as if truth were a private thing, dispensed like Kraft cheese singles. As you might expect, those who are ideologically invested their subjective view of reality tend also to be less charitable to those with a different personal truth, and especially hostile toward those who view Truth as a universal absolute. This is where the epithets such as judgmental, narrow-minded, bigoted, etc., come in.

In my experience, the most common form of truth-obsession is a mistaken literalism applied to the words and statements of others. Figurative language and nuance do not exist to these seemingly educated people. They seize on one context of a word or phrase — the literal one — and ignore all other possible interpretations.

We saw this throughout the US presidential campaign, where then-candidate Trump’s critics ridiculed him for his word choices, often by taking him literally. A more recent example of this is the kerfuffle over the word “wiretapping.” In this era of near-universal cellphone use, I have trouble imagining there is even such a thing as a literal wiretap — no wire, no tap, right? But do we doubt there is such a thing as surveillance? Wouldn’t wiretapping serve as an inexact, but emotionally powerful, synonym for snooping? Even the New York Times who now questions the president’s allegations of “wiretapping,” published a story in January saying that a warrant had been issued for the very surveillance they now deny, based on this narrow parsing of words.

During the campaign, CNN’s Brad Todd famously said*,”…voters take Donald Trump seriously but not literally, while journalists take him literally, but not seriously.” Those in the latter category did not anticipate the durability of the Trump candidacy, nor his electoral victory.

Confirmation bias

This interpreting of information in favor of one’s pet theories is called confirmation bias — It’s a common malady for people of the left, the right, and the center. It shows up among the religious and the non-religious. In short, it’s a human thing. I used president Trump and his critics as an example, since it’s such a vivid illustration.

Nothing new under the sun

This was not, however, the first or only time a popular figure confounded the powers that be by thwarting their confirmation bias. In Jesus’ day, he encountered his own group of fact-checkers — the Pharisees. These religious leaders were devout, but like today’s truth-obsessives, they had a tendency to read the book and miss the lesson — even when it, I mean He, was standing right in front of them.

My pastor has taught that the Pharisees’ scrupulous keeping of the law was their way of summoning the Messiah. Whether it was correlation or causation, he came to them, and they rejected him outright. He taught, and they questioned His credentials. He performed miracles, and they attributed them to the devil. He healed the sick, and they flagged him for violating the sabbath. He went to the homes of the broken, and they accused him of being a glutton and a drunk. Here was their long-awaited Messiah — and He was completely different than the one they had in mind. Take a bow, confirmation bias!

And they fell into the trap of literalism. Jesus said if they destroyed the temple (meaning His body),  He’d rebuild it in three days. Although Jesus was foreshadowing His resurrection, this became part of the Pharisees’ indictment of Jesus — He threatened to destroy the Temple. So they handed Him over to Rome as a blasphemer, an insurrectionist, and an enemy of Caesar, styling Himself King of the Jews.

Just in case you think this was tied to some sort of internecine rivalry among ancient rabbis, consider what happened when Jesus stood before the Roman governor, Pontius Pilate. Chapter 18 of John’s gospel tells it this way:

²⁸ Then they led Jesus from the house of Caiaphas to the governor’s headquarters. It was early morning. They themselves did not enter the governor’s headquarters, so that they would not be defiled, but could eat the Passover. ²⁹ So Pilate went outside to them and said, “What accusation do you bring against this man?” ³⁰ They answered him, “If this man were not doing evil, we would not have delivered him over to you.” ³¹ Pilate said to them, “Take him yourselves and judge him by your own law.” The Jews said to him, “It is not lawful for us to put anyone to death.” ³² This was to fulfill the word that Jesus had spoken to show by what kind of death he was going to die.

³³ So Pilate entered his headquarters again and called Jesus and said to him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” ³⁴ Jesus answered, “Do you say this of your own accord, or did others say it to you about me?” ³⁵ Pilate answered, “Am I a Jew? Your own nation and the chief priests have delivered you over to me. What have you done?” ³⁶ Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world.” ³⁷ Then Pilate said to him, “So you are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world—to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.” ³⁸ Pilate said to him, “What is truth?”

Pontius Pilate: Patron Saint of Postmodernism

It should be clear to you that Pilate’s question was not a sincere one. How do we know? Because if He had genuinely wanted to know Truth, Jesus would have revealed it to Him. As it is, the Bible does not record Jesus’ speaking one more word to Pilate. And I submit to you that today’s truth-obsessives are Pilate’s spiritual heirs.

If you attended or are attending college, you have received an exposure, if not an indoctrination, to postmodernism. It’s primary characteristic is the elevation of the subjective above all. Humorously, it’s only absolute is that there are no absolutes — a self-refuting argument. But if one is obsessed with the fetishized version of “truth” rather than the more unyielding transcendent, true-for-all-people-at-all-times Truth, it’s easy to overlook such things.

A thought experiment

Humor me for a minute. I’d like to give you a couple of mental pictures. First, let’s picture Truth as a wild stallion — powerful, free, and elusive. You might be able to catch a glimpse of him, if you’re stealthy, perhaps you can throw a lasso around his neck, and even mount and ride him. But if you do anything the least bit wrong, you’ll be thrown and maybe even trampled. There’s a real risk of injury or death if you cross Truth.

Now let’s picture “truth” as the coin operated mechanical horse in front of the grocery store. You can walk right up to it, sit in the conveniently provided saddle, and even get bounced for a few minutes if you have a quarter. There’s no real risk — a toddler can ride it, for crying out loud! But there’s no real adventure, no life in it either.

The roots of triggering

Psychologist Leon Festinger coined the term cognitive dissonance in the late 1950’s to describe the discomfort one experiences when he attempts to hold two contradictory ideas at the same time. The more profound examples of this discomfort occur at the levels of identity, stimulation, and security — remember those? — and at the level of worldview.

If one is an ardent disciple of postmodernism and one has a deeply-held belief that reality is subjective, and if one runs head-on into objective reality, cognitive dissonance will shake that one like a rag doll in a playful puppy’s mouth. What therapists call being triggered is actually acute cognitive dissonance — X can’t possibly happen. X happens. Voila: “I’m literally shaking.” Not a good look for a man.

The Truth will set you free

I quoted Jesus at the top of this post, and this is where we’ll end it. Keep in mind that it was Jesus who said of Himself, “I am the way, the truth, the life — no one comes to the Father except by me.” (John 14:6). If embracing transcendent truth seems intimidating, that’s only natural. The Lion of Judah is not a tame lion, after all. But Jesus, truth personified, is also God in human flesh — and God is love. You have nothing to fear from embracing truth, even if it costs you everything. God is faithful and will never abandon His own. You can fact check that if you like.

So how about you? How are you seeking to embrace truth and avoid the trap of confirmation bias? Add your comments below.

*Salena Zito receives attribution for this statement, based on her article in the Atlantic, but Brad Todd spoke it into being.