World Impact Ministries / Peter Youngren

Critics of religion often point to the many wars, killing and strife caused in the name of religion both today and throughout history to deride its very essence and purpose. Much has been made of this point. If you haven’t heard these arguments make your way to a local bookstore and go to the religious section. And, yes, the blame goes in many directions. No religion is off the hook.
That criticism has also been pointed closer to home, within the ranks of our “Christian” community. How about the fact that we kill our own. No, maybe not physically, but in every other way. When a believer sins, or God forbid a minister, they are publically humiliated in the name of Christianity. Often the hands of those who do this sacred spiritual exercise are more soiled than the hands of those they are “purifying” to ease their self righteous piety.

“Look at the mess the world is in. If there is a God of love he sure didn’t do a very good job”, is a frequent comment. Believers may respond, “Well God gave us a free will, we make our own choices”, and from there the discussion goes back and forth. Consider for a moment, what the world and we, the humans, who inhabit this planet, might be like if we were created without the ability to cause harm, evil and destruction. Who would we be? Would such a world even be possible? Are there limits to the power of an Omnipotent God?

In any business, you need a customer, and a product that meets the actual or imagined need of that customer. The business of religion is not all that different. The need of the adherent to a religion is fueled by two vital ingredients; a guilty conscience and a displeased deity. Skilled practitioners of religion, any religion, know how to nourish both concepts, on a weekly, or at times even daily basis.

The idea of a guilty conscience is perpetuated by a continual focus on how we must do better; pray more, study harder and be more active in our religion. God may be described as loving, merciful, almighty, and all-knowing, but he (or she) must always be at least slightly displeased. There must be the sense that we are not quite measuring up to the standards set by the Divine.

I was recently having my coffee and multigrain cereal, when I turned on the TV to catch the morning news. Talk show hosts Michael Reagan, son of late president Ronald Reagan and Stephanie Miller were on CNN’s early morning show discussing gay marriage. The segment was triggered by a beauty pageant where the American contestant was asked by one of the judges concerning her view of marriage, to which she replied that it is the union between one man and one woman. They showed the video clip and I thought the American beauty queen expressed herself rather well. Her statement had however received a furious and, in my opinion, degrading response from one of the judges.

March 16, 2009
After three wonderful services at the Celebration Church yesterday, I left for Africa at midnight. Now I have a seven hour layover in London, and, I must admit, I don’t think I will ever get fully adjusted to air-travel, security checks, lineups and your biological time-clock being turned upside down. I’ve found a quiet spot in a corner of Heathrow airport to try to sleep sitting in a chair: it’s not working very well. You can see the effect of the financial situation—-a lot less travelers than normal.

Phil is back again. No, not Dr Phil, our local church Phil. He has a lot of good thoughts, this time about fig leaves. So, here is Phil…

I know you all have heard of Dr. Phil. He has a lot of insights into human relationships and he gives helpful advice. I’m sure many are able to enjoy self-improvements as a result of listening to Oprah’s favorite doctor.

Seeing, but not seeing, is a common problem. Christians see that Jesus carried their sins, but they still don’t see themselves righteous; Jesus bore their sickness, but they have a difficult time to see themselves healed. We see that Jesus has become our righteousness, redemption, wisdom and sanctification, but somehow we still look for all of the above. Out of one side of the mouth we say, “God has given us everything in Christ,” and out of the other side we claim to be a very “needy people”. On the one hand we agree with Jesus that if we drink the water He gives we’ll never thirst again, while on the other we say, “Lord, I’m so thirsty for you”. Do you see the contradictions? Is this schizophrenic life normal Christianity?

If the current Christian scene were a football game, I’d say we are in the fourth quarter and if you look at the scoreboard legalism has an insurmountable lead over grace. This has been an ongoing battle for 2000 years; the legalism of the Pharisees vs. the unmerited, undeserved, unearned favor of God presented by Jesus. There is a line between those who uphold the traditions of men based on merits versus Jesus the friend and transformer of sinners. The Council in Jerusalem (Acts 15) dealt with this ongoing conflict where certain “Judaizers” wanted to lay more “burdens” on the new believers.  That time the truth prevailed, and it was agreed that we are all children of God through faith in Jesus Christ.  In Antioch, the same battle continued as Paul had to publicly rebuke Simon Peter and his spiritual mentor Barnabus because they were slipping into legalism instead of standing by the message of Christ alone and grace alone (Galatians 2).