Book Review: What if Jesus Had Never Been Born? by D. James Kennedy and Jerry Newcombe

 In considerable depth, the authors present historical evidence that many basic aspects of life in the modern world exist only as a result of Jesus and His followers’ actions.

•      The value we place on human life (that we take as a given in western culture) comes directly from the value that God places on us, so much so that He came in Human form to rescue us from the power and consequences of sin. Jesus did this both through His teachings and His death. It is manifested in the changes over centuries of history in our view of the value of children, women, and the elderly, and the abolition of slavery. We take these for granted, but it was not so before Christ.

•      Compassion and mercy for the poor have roots in the Old Testament, but were not widely practiced in the rest of the world until the spread of Christianity to the gentiles. The history of charity over the past 2,000 years traces the gradual broad acceptance of this as a norm, but it was not so before Christ.

•      Government of, by, and for the people, and civil liberties, all are closely linked to the worldview of the Founding Fathers of the U.S. Their views go back further to the Mayflower Compact, and the faith of the early settlers, but ultimately were all based on the Biblical view of human worth, as described above.

And the book continues with discussion of the roots of what we take for granted in science, economics, sexuality, medicine, morality, and art. The bulk of the text is a detailed review of the development of modern views on these topics.

 The challenge this book addresses is that many believe Christianity is opposed to modern views on these topics. So, there is a chapter devoted to the sins of the church, its failures over the centuries to live up to the standards of Christ. This includes the Crusades, anti-Semitism, religious wars, and the Inquisition, to name a few. The authors draw a distinction between Christianity and Christendom, with the latter (the visible manifestation of those naming Christ) sometimes using the former as a pretext for sins inconsistent with submission to Christ. The sins of prominent modern evangelists and preachers demonstrate that we are a fallen people, prone to violating the third commandment (Exodus 20:7), using God’s name to justify personal agendas.

 For those who prefer to live without the constraints of Christian morality, rejecting Jesus and His teachings, the authors point out modern examples of a few who have done so. With Nietzsche at the philosophical root, Stalin, Hitler, and Mao vie for the title of avowed atheists who have brutally murdered the most people. The numbers killed in the Crusades and the Inquisition are a small fraction of these 20th century slaughters.

 And what of the future? Cotton Mather (17th century Puritan) is quoted: “Religion begat prosperity, but the daughter hath consumed the mother.” The history of ancient Israel would likely be repeated in modern times, and may be, but for two factors. The Holy Spirit empowers believers to live in the world but not of the world, if they are willing. And … Jesus has plans to bring His story to a climax. We do not know the day or the hour, only the outline of what He will do, because of His love for us. Regardless, we can see the undeniable fruit of all that He has given us in the modern world, even more than was apparent two thousand years ago. How would our view of life change if we recognize Jesus in every one of these aspects of life?

Book Review: Sermon on the Mount, by R. T. Kendall

R. T. Kendall provides a verse-by-verse commentary on one of the seminal teachings by Jesus.(Matthew 5-7) He challenges us to actually live the way Jesus told us to. One example: he recapitulates the essence of his earlier book on total forgiveness in the passage where Jesus commanded it. Jesus followed teaching of the Lord’s Prayer with the warning that if we do not forgive those who have wronged or hurt us, we will not be forgiven. (Matthew 6:14-15) Kendall takes the position that this does not mean loss of salvation for the believer, but a life wracked by bitterness and its fruit. If we do not let them totally off the hook and sincerely bless them, we will not, cannot receive God’s blessing in this life.  Praying for God to bless that reckless driver who tailgates and cuts in and out of traffic, endangering everyone nearby, is just the tip of the iceberg. What about those who wounded us as children, or wounded our children, or stole our money, or ruined our reputation? Jesus offered no exceptions. 

Other passages are equally challenging. In Matthew 7:1-5, Jesus warns against judging others with a similar consequence - that in this life we will be judged by the same standard. Jesus uses the hyperbole of specks of dust contrasted with beams of wood in our eyes to emphasize just how distorted and self-centered our judgment is. But He concludes this section with instructions on how to see clearly enough to help a brother remove a speck. How do we get there, and how do we know we have reached a point where we are allowed to help others with motes in their eyes? You have to read for yourself to understand the nuances of when our judging others leads to us being judged, and when we are able to help another.

Treasures on earth and in heaven? (Matthew 6:19-21) Jesus did not say one word about tithing. He focused on our heart’s ultimate values. It is so easy to give money. What really matters to us? Do we truly believe that we can store up treasure for heaven by what we do now? Do we act on these beliefs? Is our heart focused on heavenly outcomes? Do our deeds line up with our profession? Is tithing a way to draw a line on how much of our life we let God claim, and implicitly get earthly treasure for ourselves?

False prophets (Matthew 7:15-20): Jesus gives a sure-fire test to identify them - their fruit. Social media have introduced a megaphone for literally anyone with a computer to claim God told them something. But even before Facebook and Twitter existed, churches and lives were ravaged by some claiming a gift of prophecy, a word from the Lord, when they were either entirely self-serving, or deceived by or in league with the devil. But Kendall does not disparage all prophecy on this account. Despite abuses, he encourages us to apply Christ’s litmus test - examining their fruit - to sift out the false prophets. This does not mean that we become a fruit inspector to pass judgment on every person we talk to. (See above discussion on Matthew 7:1-5). But if someone claims to have a word from the Lord, the shoe is on the other foot. 

It took me a year to read through the 91 chapters. But for anyone taking Jesus’ teachings seriously, this is an illuminating tome. Not hard to read, but hard to put into practice. One of Kendall’s strengths is explaining subtle distinctions that Jesus made in example situations that we can relate to. What will the world look like after we obey Jesus? Read this and weep over the way we currently live. Then apply it.

Book Review: The Reason For God, by Timothy Keller

Tim Keller did not stop with answering fundamental objections to Christianity and providing solid explanations of basic Christian beliefs and practices. In the end, he wove a narrative of the eternal dance of love and gives some real examples of changed hearts and what a decision for Christ looks like in practice. He had first-hand experience in New York City dealing with people of great intelligence dealing with honest questions and doubts, and with people whose lives were marred by tragedy, and doubted God’s goodness or His power.

Part I has seven chapters dealing with objections: Christianity’s claim of exclusivity; the problem of pain; legalism and genuine righteousness; wrongs committed in the name of Jesus; reconciling a God of love with a God of justice; apparent conflict between faith and science; and the challenge of Bible interpretation. Part 2 has seven chapters offering positive reasons to believe in Christ, and to trust Him, and to make a decision to identify with Him. 

The unusual part of this theological book on apologetics is the description of the divine dance (chapter 14). The Trinity - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit - eternally live to love, glorify, and and give to and bless each other. Loving relationships are thus at the very heart of reality. “God did not create us to get the cosmic, infinite joy of mutual love and glorification, but to share it.” But we lost the dance, beginning with Adam and Eve. Jesus died on the cross to return us to that loving relationship with His unlimited love. What does it mean to rejoin God’s dance of love, to become God-centered rather than self-centered? We share the joy He has in serving others as we glorify Him by doing so, and therein  worship Him. We join with creation in singing the praise of His glory. We encourage others to join us in His dance. 

How many will be persuaded? Only God knows that, but every reader will end reading this book with far fewer excuses to reject Christ. In every sense, this tests our hearts - whether we will come to Him when our questions are answered, or reject Him on the fundamental personal level of not wanting to submit, of wanting our own way rather than His. 

Timothy Keller went to his eternal reward on May 19, 2023.

Two dimensional time and God's Glory

According to basic physics, time is a linear dimension whose passage is directed by the second law of thermodynamics. Entropy always increases. Metric time is defined by standards such as  the time that elapses during 9,192,631,770 cycles of the radiation produced by the transition between two levels of the cesium-133 atom. The special and general theories of relativity allow for time dilation under the influence of extreme velocity or exceptionally strong gravitation. In all of these cases, time is still a single dimension of existence. Modern physics (string theory) attempts to use 10 or 11 dimensions to describe modern physics’ understanding of the interaction of space-time with various dimensions, but the additional dimensions are ‘compact’, meaning their extent is subfemtoscopic. But the phenomena of all of these modern physics theories describe are only accessible by extremely sophisticated scientific instruments, well outside the experience of daily life.

It is not uncommon for us to reference both ideas and experiences which are tangible in which time does not flow uniformly. “Time stood still” refers to experiences that are so focused and intense that the passage of outside events and time seem to be put on pause, yet seem to elapse for the individual uttering these words. (see, for example, Joshua 10:13) Time travel is the stuff of science fiction, but Bible prophecy indicates that select individuals were enabled to see events of the future. In near death experiences, some will say that their life flashed before their eyes. We might say that all of these experiences are mental, or perhaps spiritual, but my point is that tying time to a physical phenomenon such as the frequency of radiation from an atom may not be the only means to perceive time. 

The concept here is that from a human perspective of  body, soul, and spirit, space an time may have one (or more) additional dimension(s). Not just compact dimensions, but unlimited in extent. When we read in the Bible of eternity, a new heaven and a new earth, how can this be reconciled with the “heat death of the universe”? Perhaps when time seems to stand still, we are traveling (briefly) in that other time dimension, which is orthogonal to the one we normally live in. Where is heaven anyway? Above us in physical space, we have mapped out the atmosphere and the nearer parts of outer space to varying degrees -  heaven has not been found in this solar system. Perhaps it is on some distant planet circling another star that astronomers are slowly detecting?

Jesus indicated that heaven is at hand. This suggests to me that it is in a dimension or dimensions that are perpendicular (both in space and time) to ours. Not far away in those dimensions, but inaccessible in our current state most of the time. Perhaps our physical bodies are tied to the dimensions of space and time we experience, and when they die our soul and spirit are freed to travel in those additional dimensions, where spiritual realities are manifest. 

Turning now to a seemingly unrelated topic, what is glory? We have human understanding of it being fame and good report of heroic actions for good causes. But there are Biblical descriptions of God’s glory that indicate it is visible, transcendent, and terrifying. (Exodus 33:18-23, 40:35, Numbers 16:42-49, 1 Kings 8:10-11, 2 Chronicles  5:15, Isaiah 6:1-5) What is God’s glory? I believe it is the result of the combination of His eternal love and perfect holiness, manifested in the eternal dimensions, but only occasionally seen on earth. Jesus’ hidden qualities were thus manifested on the Mount of Transfiguration. (Luke 9:29-36) When Ezekiel and John saw the throne of God in heaven, this glory was visible. (Ezekiel 1:26-28,  Revelation 1:13-17)

How do love and holiness become visible (apart from the actions they produce)? This is pure speculation on my part, but perhaps they are so intrinsically tied to the dimensions of eternity that they yield emanations, in a vague way similar to the way gravity warps space and time as described by the general theory of relativity. Maybe it is like Cherenkov radiation manifesting light as bright as the sun when the nature and character of the Son of God are unveiled in our space-time continuum. 

The final challenge is this. Jesus invites us to become like Him, to receive His nature and character of agape love and unblemished holiness. [Achieving this is a separate topic.] But perhaps  this means when we arrive at that state of eternal identification with Him, we will share His glory, just as Moses and Elijah did when Jesus spoke with them just before His passion. (Luke 9:31) This goes beyond merely receiving God’s approval, as C. S. Lewis described in his essay on the Weight of Glory. God’s glory goes beyond His approval, to Him causing us to actually receive and live out His nature and character. Let us humbly engage on responding to this challenge.

Book Review - Ten Philosophical Mistakes by Mortimer J. Adler.

At first I was puzzled by Peter Kreeft’s inclusion of this philosophical treatise in his list of must-read books. The first four chapters deal with metaphysics and epistemology - the foundation of philosophy that deals with existence, knowledge, language: how it is possible to know anything, what it means to know something, and how we derive knowledge from our senses and reasoning and communicate with each other about such things. These topics seem esoteric and not readily digestible by the Everyman that Adler wrote for. 

However, having laid the foundation, the author proceeds into areas of human existence and behavior. This includes moral values, happiness, freedom of choice, human nature, society, and ultimately what being human means. 

A foundational question: what is the basis for moral values? Is there any way to establish objective and absolute values, or must they be (are they) subjective and relative? Adler summarizes several philosophers’ attempts to define ‘good’ and their approaches to trying to establish a basis for such judgments. And he points out the error of each. It is these subtle but foundational errors that have led to such disaster in modern thought and hence in society. (This was published in 1985, before modern political correctness had become the norm.) The fundamental prescriptive statement depends on the definition of ‘good’. We ought to desire what is truly good. What is the basis for final ends? We must not confuse means with ends, but we must also not confuse moral virtue with a happy life.  Striving to eliminate social or political evil depends on your definition of evil. Working to bring the greatest good for the greatest number still begs the question of what is ‘good’.

What is not addressed in this book (being a philosophy treatise and not a theology textbook), is discussion of divine revelation, of absolute truths as ordained by God and given to man. The Ten Commandments, the Sermon on the Mount, do not define good based on an appeal to our conscience, but because God who created all things says so, and because He knows and reveals what is best for us. While the external evidence of creation cries out God’s glory, linking that to prescriptive judgments for human behavior requires a separate revelation. We have that revelation both in Scripture and in God speaking directly to us in our conscience. (Romans 1) Intellectual sparring with unbelievers who call themselves philosophers will not convince them because of the Fall, and the sin nature of man. Much less will intellectuals in rebellion against God believe that the atoning death of Jesus Christ on the cross can redeem individuals from the power and consequences of sin. This theological reality is absent from philosophy. That, in my view, is the overarching philosophical mistake. But this book makes you think about these questions.

Love and Tithing

What does love have to do with tithing? For decades, reconciling God’s love with His holiness puzzled me. In raising children, we love them but we also must discipline them, sometimes sternly, in order to teach them right living. (Proverbs 13:24, among 35 total references in Proverbs; Hebrews 12:4-11) It pains us to inflict pain on the children we love. But God is perfect in His love and holiness. How is that possible?

As I came to understand love, it occurred to me (probably with a nudge from the Holy Spirit), that the focus of love being on the best possible outcome for the beloved means that I will forego any action (thought, word, or deed) that would in any way harm or result in less than that outcome. Cause and effect being what define the universe we live in, teaching the beloved by whatever means necessary is doing everything within our power to bring about their best outcome, even when it causes us pain. And since God loves every person, He foregoes anything and everything to bring about that result. Hence Christ laid down His life to atone for their (our) sin. The prohibitions and rules laid down in the Pentateuch define how to live that kind of life, with God’s kind of love for our family, our friends, our neighbors, and everyone else we encounter.

God’s power rests in part on His holiness and love. That is, His power to create and sustain a community of love depends on Him getting His people to voluntarily take on His nature and character. His authority over nature, time and space, human events is simply a tool for this greater outcome. 

What does this have to do with tithing? The command of the Mosaic law for tithing must be interpreted in the context of His love for His people. Simply that we learn and practice trust in God’s heart; that He can take care of the small stuff. He commanded tithing of the first fruits as an act of faith by obedience. Not that we are saved by tithing any more than by keeping other parts of the Mosaic law, but only by faith in the blood of Jesus to forgive our sin. Moving forward, to live for Jesus, in the New Testament we have giving: the story of the widow’s mite (Mark 12:43, Luke 21:3), various collections taken up in one city for relief in another city, and Paul’s words about a pleasing sacrifice (Philippians 4:18). It is not that God needs our money, or that we buy His favor by giving. The underlying principle is that God, in His love and holiness, can take care of the small stuff if we demonstrate that we truly trust Him. (Malachi 3:10) He withheld nothing in His love for us. We can trust His nature  and character, and our goal should be, in all the dimensions of life, to receive this essence of His being into our own lives.

Psalm 128:1 allows two interpretations

How blessed is everyone who fears Yahweh,
Who walks in His ways. (Legacy Standard Bible)

•      One blessing of fearing the Lord enough to heed His teachings and walk in His ways is that we will be far more successful in our earthly life. It is obvious that God places great importance on giving us wisdom in His written word. The Mosaic law, the Proverbs of Solomon, the gospels, and the epistles all contain God’s explanation of how the world works. This is because He understands cause and effect far better than us, because He created the universe. He shares this understanding with His children.

•      God’s blessing takes another form, when we walk in His ways. We take on parts of His nature and character, becoming more like Him, when we do the things He calls us to. Hungering for righteousness, being pure in heart, receiving persecution for His names’ sake, loving with a pure heart, giving freely to those in need, practicing goodness in secret, forgiving others, loving our enemies, focusing our life on God’s kingdom are all examples. This goes beyond the growth in faith that comes from seeing Him fulfill His promises. Malachi 3:10 is the only place that I know of where God invites us to test Him. Once we have seen His faithfulness in blessing our finances after we have given a full ten percent, our faith and trust in Him is established. But He invites to a deeper blessing: being co-participants in His activity to establish the reign of agape love in the lives of those around us.   If we settle for the material blessings He pours out when we tithe, we stop on the first step of that walk with Him, which He invites us to continue.

The Wisdom of Mixing Oil and Water

 With thousands of years of accumulated wisdom in Chinese culture, why does the current government of mainland China implement foolish and self-destructive policies? In one sentence, it is because although this ancient tradition of wisdom points put the folly of sin, it does not have the power to address the root cause of sin; only Jesus can do that. Missionary work of the last two centuries led to the conversion of millions in China, but the current government rejects Christianity, believing instead that the rule of man can bring utopia on earth, in a tradition traced back to Karl Marx. 

It is a maxim of ancient origin that oil and water do not mix. We can observe this physically in the kitchen when we make salad dressing, or when we see an oil slick in the ocean. The reason for this physical non-mixing has been described in multiple ways:

• Water molecules are polar but oils are not; there is no attraction between dissimilar molecule types. Oil molecules do not have a polar part they would need to dissolve in water.
• Water molecules have stronger attraction to each other than to other types of molecules, ditto for oils.
• Water molecules pack differently, much more densely than oil molecules.

Water and oil are both used as metaphors in Scripture for the work of God. We are washed in baptism, sacramentally and symbolically, for the regeneration and new birth of salvation. We are washed by the water of the Word, Scripture being God’s message to us to give us knowledge of Him and His ways, which includes law, prophecy, and wisdom. (Ephesians 5:26) God also gifts us the Holy Spirit, represented by anointing with oil, which denotes His very presence within us, empowering us with both gifts and fruit, to do what He calls us to. (1 Samuel 16:13) We often see  difficulty between believers who follow one or the other of these threads of faith exclusively, either totally devoted to study of Scripture or completely focused on the activity of the Holy Spirit. The reconciliation of these can only be found in the blood of Christ which, when we receive Him, breaks down the barrier between the law and our lives. There is wisdom in the written word, and wisdom is one of the gifts of the Spirit, but its pedagogical and life-experience dimensions are only reconciled through Jesus’ presence in our lives. The right-wrong polarity of the Law mixes with the daily activities of life producing a practical holiness born of God’s love and empowerment when the Holy Spirit uses the word in our immediate situation. 

Returning to the failure of worldly wisdom, the shortcoming of wisdom apart from Jesus is that it lacks power to overcome sin. The nature of man, and the universe that we live in, is that sin is the result of yielding to temptation; temptation is the lure of selfish fulfillment at the expense of true love (seeking the good of the other); temptation is the tool of Satan to destroy us by luring us away from God and His ways. Only Jesus paid the price for our sin and then empowers those who receive Him to live in His power. All worldly traditions of wisdom (not just Chinese culture) lack this power, and ultimately fail to bring about the rule of good. Wisdom and life fail to mix like water and oil, unless the Lord Jesus reconciles them through redemption. We need to personally receive this mixing of wisdom and life through the blood of Christ in order to avoid disaster ourselves.