It Seemed Like a Good Idea

November 15, 2013 in Bible - OT - Isaiah, Coeur d'Alene Issues, Eschatology, King Jesus, Meditations, Politics, Postmillennialism
Isaiah 42:4 (NKJV)
4 He will not fail nor be discouraged, Till He has established justice in the earth; And the coastlands shall wait for His law.”
When we are tempted to grow discouraged with the state of the world and the current condition of Christianity in Western Society, it is helpful to remember the Servant Songs of Isaiah. Here in these songs, God revealed millennia ago the calling of our Lord Jesus Christ – a calling which Jesus self-consciously fulfilled in his earthly ministry. Having fulfilled the calling of the songs to suffer, Jesus is now, as the Ascended and Exalted Messiah, fulfilling their call to rule and reign.
So what shall be the nature of His reign? As Jesus spreads His influence throughout the world, what will be the result? The result will be, according to our text, the spread of true justice and liberating law. Jesus as the Word of God made flesh will cause His Word to prevail in the earth and for justice founded on His law to triumph.
So what are we to think when we witness times of setback? What are we to think when the cause of justice, so strenuously established over hundreds of years, is in the course of just a few decades undermined and in many cases destroyed? Is this cause for despair? Should we perhaps rethink whether our Lord and Savior Jesus means to establish justice in the earth?
Here the Servant Songs come again to our aid. Notice the promise in our text: He will not fail nor grow discouraged until he has established justice in the earth and the coastlands shall wait for His law. Jesus is not discouraged. God is not looking down at the world and declaring, Well it sure seemed like a good idea at the time. God is in control; He has seated Jesus at His right hand where He rules and reigns over the earth. No one can thwart Him or say to Him, “What have you done?” For he does according to His will in the host of heaven and among the nations of the earth.
Isaiah’s promise reminds us of the lessons Jesus endeavored to teach during his lifetime. What is the nature of the kingdom of God? It is like a mustard seed which starts as the smallest of all seeds but when it is planted gradually grows until it becomes a great tree in which the birds of the air make their nests. To what shall we compare the kingdom of God? It is like leaven which a woman hid in a lump of dough until the entire lump was leavened.
The task of preaching and spreading the kingdom of God is not an easy task; throughout church history there have been times of great success and there have been times of abysmal failure. At the moment in Western society we are in the midst of a largescale apostasy. But Jesus is not discouraged; He knows precisely what He is doing and His calling to us is to be faithful to Him – to preach the Gospel, to teach the Word of God, and to worship the Living God.

So reminded that we are not to grow discouraged but instead to trust in the Sovereign pleasure of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, let us kneel and confess that we have often failed to look to Him in faith.

The Flamingo Moral

September 26, 2013 in Coeur d'Alene Issues, Creation, Education, Evolution, Fabulosities, Politics
Well my cynical side got the better of me when I read the article in the Coeur d’Alene Press today (see here) about bullying alongside the announcement that former president H.W. Bush had witnessed a faux marriage of two women in Maine. So I penned an unsubmitted letter to the editor on the “bullying” issue that is all the rage in our media right now:

In Praise of Bullies
It seems the Coeur d’Alene School District is concerned about the presence of bullying in the schools. But I’ve been thinking that we should be more sympathetic toward bullies – that perhaps we should even praise them.
Now lest you dismiss me as a kook, just consider my argument for a moment. Last night my children and I watched an astounding documentary on the types and habits of eagles. We watched with amazement as a fish eagle swooped down on a flamingo, bore it to the ground, stood on its neck and killed it. Survival of the fittest on display. But then an interesting thing happened – a pair of much larger and stronger golden eagles swooped in and drove off the fish eagle, stealing his kill. It seems the golden eagles hadn’t attended the workshops on bullying offered by the school district.
So here we were watching this documentary on eagles when suddenly the thought struck me – hey, I’m just a distant cousin of the eagle! According to the official curriculum of our government educational system, as a human being I am not fundamentally different than an eagle. I too have evolved from that first bit of protoplasm by random processes and natural selection. I’ve gotten to where I am by natural selection and the survival of the fittest. So why shouldn’t stronger humans simply use their strength to take what weaker humans have obtained? Why not imitate the golden eagles?
After all, consider those golden eagles. Big, majestic, strong: they are clearly the evolutionary superiors of the fish eagles; no fish eagle measures up. And with bullies – maybe it’s the same. They’re usually bigger and stronger – okay maybe the majestic part is missing. But, hey, you can’t have everything in one package.
But if it’s true, as the schools teach our kids, that human beings are simply very sophisticated animals, then why not imitate the golden eagles? After all, the macro-evolutionary myth is used to reinforce various other morals. We’re supposed to care for the planet because she’s given us birth. We’re supposed to treat animals nice because they and we are cut of the same cloth. So why choose just these morals? Why not the “bully moral” as well? Bullying is okay because golden eagles push fish eagles out of the way and eat their flamingos. Perhaps we could call it the flamingo moral to avoid the “b” word. After all, if there is no moral standard that stands over and above our eco-system, then it seems that we should be willing to speak in praise of bullies.

Human Rights and Wrongs

September 25, 2013 in Coeur d'Alene Issues, Homosexuality, King Jesus, Law and Gospel, Politics, Sexuality, Ten Commandments

I submitted a My Turn article to the Coeur d’Alene Press yesterday in response to Tony Stewart’s article in the paper last week. My article was published today and is available online here. It is imperative both for the good of our city and the preservation of our integrity, to speak clearly and frankly about the issue of homosexuality and the attempt by the LGBT community to co-opt the language of human rights to sanction their perversion.

If you think that my questions about pedophilia, incest, bestiality, etc. are unnecessary, then please consult the excellent article in The New American by Selwyn Duke. It is entitled, “The Slippery Slope to Pedophilia.” He hits the nail on the head. May God have mercy upon our nation and turn us from our folly and from the trajectory on which we are currently headed. I tried to outline that trajectory in my sermon last Sunday entitled, “Saving the World from Suicide.” It should be up on the website soon.

For those who prefer, my article is printed below.
______________

During this local political season, it is important that our communication with one another be characterized by a firm allegiance to honesty, integrity, and truth. As a local pastor, I decry sins of the tongue – slander, gossip, lies, outbursts of wrath, false accusations – all dishonor our Creator and defame others who are made in the image of God. It is my desire to speak the truth in love.
To that end I wish to address the misleading way in which the agenda of the lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, and transgendered (LGBT) community has been linked by some, including Mayoral candidate Steve Widmeyer and homosexual activist Tony Stewart, to the idea of human rights. We need to preserve the “human rights” of those in the LGBT community and not discriminate against them.
It is important that members of our community understand that this linking of the ordinance with human rights is false and destructive. First, it is false. The ordinance is not about the preservation of human rights but about the public sanctioning of immoral and destructive sexual behaviors. Our forefathers never taught that “human rights” include the “right” to do what is wrong. And this ordinance is not about the preservation of human rights but human wrongs. It is the equivalent of passing a law forbidding discrimination against thieves and adulterers – granting public protections to those who engage in particular immoral actions.
Second, it is destructive. It leaves human rights in the hands of human beings. The founders of our great nation were careful to maintain that our rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness were given to us by the Creator, not by any human agency, whether a vote of the people or a decision of the king. Governments are created to protect and preserve these rights; but the rights exist independent of any government. On this matter, Mr. Stewart is exactly right: every decision of the majority is subject to the moral law.
So where do we find the moral law? Clearly Mr. Stewart believes in it; he appeals to our “moral compass” to oppose discrimination against those in the LGBT community. So how does he identify what is moral or immoral? Shall we soon find him defending the “right” of citizens to practice polygamy, bestiality, incest, or pedophilia? Perhaps murder, rape, thievery? No doubt he opposes such things. But on what basis? Public opinion? Then he undermines his claim that these things exist independent of government decisions and leaves us in the hands of the people. The Creator? Then he needs to explain how we understand and know the mind of the Creator. And if we can only know the mind of God through individual human opinion then we’re back to our first dilemma – we have to take a vote. Vox populi, vox dei: the voice of the people is the voice of God. And in that case whatever the people decide becomes “moral” – it becomes two wolves and a sheep trying to decide what to eat. It leaves us in the hands of the people.
Christianity resolves this dilemma by appealing to an objective moral standard that stands over and above every human society – Christian or non-Christian. We know what is good and right and honorable through the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments. Here God has revealed the moral law – it is summarized in the Ten Commandments and lived out in the life of Jesus Christ. And this law clearly identifies the LGBT lifestyles as perverse and destructive both individually and societally. This law leaves us not in the hands of human beings but in the hands of God. As historian Arnold J. Toynbee remarked, “Sooner or later, man has always had to decide whether he worships his own power or the power of God.” There is no third option.
Contrary to Mr. Stewart’s claim, love and discrimination always go hand in hand. It is the father who loves his daughter who teaches her to discriminate among suitors. It is the mother who loves her son who teaches him to discriminate and choose his friends carefully. It is Jesus who loves the poor who discriminated against the moneychangers and overthrew their tables (see Matthew 21:12-17).
And so I would urge the citizens of our community to use proper discrimination as you approach the polls. Always defend human rights while ardently opposing human wrongs. “Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people” (Proverbs 14:34).
Pastor Stuart Bryan

Trinity Church

Homosexual Christians?

June 28, 2013 in Baptism, Coeur d'Alene Issues, Homosexuality, Politics, Sexuality

One of the editors of Touchstone Magazine wrote an excellent article on homosexuality and the Church. Go here to read his thoughts. It is critical that we saturate ourselves in the Word of God and the testimony of the sacraments in the midst of a culture askew.

The Coeur d’Alene Press covered the SCOTUS overthrow of the Defense of Marriage Act earlier this week. One of the things that struck my wife and me after reading the “word on the street” section of the paper was that most people’s opposition to homosexuality has been simply a matter of bigotry and tradition – not conviction based on Scripture and the way the Creator has hard-wired the universe. Those quoted simply didn’t express any measurable conviction other than, “Hey, whatever they want to do is fine. If the Supreme Court said so it must be okay.” As though the Supreme Court is the deity and the things others do have no measurable affect on the rest of society. The doom this spells for us as a people is sobering.

Sexuality and “Is” vs. “Ought”

June 23, 2013 in Bible - OT - Leviticus, Coeur d'Alene Issues, Homosexuality, Law and Gospel, Mosaic Law, Politics, Sexuality

Leviticus 18:3 (NKJV)
3 According to the doings [the sexual practices] of the land of Egypt, where you dwelt, you shall not do; and according to the doings of the land of Canaan, where I am bringing you, you shall not do; nor shall you walk in their ordinances.
One of the key distinctions that philosphers make in the realm of ethics is between “is” and “ought.” Merely because something “is” the case does not mean that it “ought” to be the case. ‘Is” is merely descriptive not prescriptive; it describes the way things are but not necessarily the way things ought to be.
In recent debates over the matter of sexuality there has been a decided failure to maintain this basic distinction – a distinction which is eminently biblical. We see it reflected in our text today – the Egyptians and Canaanites behaved in certain ways sexually; had sociologists written about their society, they would have describedthe practices of incest, homosexuality, bestiality, ritual prostitution, etc. All these things were the case. But simply because they were the case doesn’t mean that those practices were right or proper, that they ought to have been. Scripture declares on nearly every page that that which we observe about us in the history of humanity is not necessarily that which oughtto be. Jealousy, immorality, theft, murder, covetousness, pride, deceit, self-righteousness, slander – all these things are the case but ought not to be the case – for God created us to be different.
So notice how the argumentation goes – homosexuals find individuals of the same gender attractive; many testify that they experienced this attraction unwillingly, it was simply there. Notice that thus far we’re dealing with what is the case, with description. But suddenly the ground shifts and the homosexual advocate begins to defend something quite different – he begins to reason from is to ought, from description to prescription.Because homosexual attraction is the case, therefore we ought to consider it acceptable behavior.
But this is folly. We do not determine what ought to be the case from what is the case. For example, we take it as a given in Western culture that cannibalism is perverse and unnatural. Thanks to generations of biblical wisdom and common grace, we find the smell of burning human flesh repulsive. What may come as a surprise, however, is that in cannibalistic cultures the shape of the brain changes over time so that the smell of human flesh is actually perceivedas pleasant. That which is naturally repulsive comes to be perceived as pleasant. Do we conclude from this that cannibalism is morally acceptable? Absolutely not! Their cultural perversion distorts their very physicality.
The sobering reality of our corruption is this: just as we can become accustomed to the roaring of a train outside our window if we’ve lived beside it long enough, so we can become accustomed to perverse behavior and our sensory faculties can adjust to make such behavior seem acceptable.
So how can we escape? Only by the grace of God and the Word of God. God must give us a new longing to understand what ought to be, a desire to study His Word so that we can learn what ought to be, and then the willingness to change what isso that it conforms to what ought to be. And praise God that by His grace our God-given repulsion to that which is unnatural can return.
So what of us? What of you? What things are the case in your life that you have merely come to accept as normal – not because they ought to be the case, but merely because they are the case? Are there outbursts of anger and wrath? Undercurrents of bitterness and resentment? Displays of disrespect or disobedience? Beware becoming alienated from that which oughtto be the case by the ever-presence of what isthe case.
Reminded of the depth of our sinfulness and the way we excuse what we do wrong, let us kneel and confess our sin to God.

The “Secular” State

June 17, 2013 in Coeur d'Alene Issues, Homosexuality, King Jesus, Mosaic Law, Politics, Sexuality

I penned a response to the Spokesman’s criticisms of my stance against the recent legislation in Coeur d’Alene that publicly legitimizes various abnormal sexual practices and penalizes those who oppose them. You can find the response here.


The point that I’ve endeavored to make is that if “anti-discrimination” is really what the law is about, then certainly the boundaries of the law should be expanded. The testimony from the LGBT community typically states, “I’ve felt so ostracized within the community; I’ve had to endure the stigma of being engaged in unacceptable behavior; this shouldn’t be the case.” It is routinely an appeal to pity. But that same type of argumentation can be used for those who practice other sexual abnormalities.

My point in all this is that there is no such thing as the “secular” state. All states enforce and sanction morality – law by its very nature is enforced morality. The only question is which morality will be enforced. But because so many, even so many Christians, have bought into the lie of the “secular” state, when these moral questions arise for consideration they have no framework within which to address the issue. How can I enforce my personal moral convictions on others?

There are a couple things to keep in mind when asking this question: first, these are not “personal moral convictions” but the moral law of the universe woven into the fabric of the world and of humans in particular by our Creator. We can spurn these laws but we do so at our peril. Second, it is important to distinguish, as Scripture does, between sins and crimes. Not all sinful actions are criminal actions. Hence, “enforcing morality” does not mean that police would be perusing the neighborhood looking for all those who call their brother, “Raca!” (Mt 5:21ff) As Christians we should be quite comfortable leaving the judgment of sins to God while upholding the necessity of a society that criminalizes behavior God Himself judges to be such. Some sins are criminal: murder, theft, adultery, perjury, kidnapping, etc. They destroy the very fabric of society and invite God’s judgment.

The “F” Word and Homosexuality

June 10, 2013 in Coeur d'Alene Issues, Homosexuality, Politics, Sexuality

Seems the Associate Editor of the Spokesman Review has taken umbrage with my opposition to homosexuality. He’s even issued the low-blow of labeling me (gasp!) a “fundamentalist”. Wow – didn’t see that one coming. “Great is Diana of the Ephesians!”

For those seeking a refreshing, winsome, biblically grounded and compassionate look at homosexuality, let me encourage you to read Rosaria Champagne Butterfield’s The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert: An English Professor’s Journey into the Christian Faith. Mrs. Butterfield was a tenured professor at Syracuse University and a public spokesman for the LBGT community – until she was converted to the Christian faith. 

A Plea for Adulterers

June 7, 2013 in Coeur d'Alene Issues, Homosexuality, Politics, Sexuality

My letter to the editor appeared in today’s Coeur d’Alene Press if you’re interested. If you’d like to read it on their webpage you can go here. I’ve also pasted it below:
 
Letter to the Editor
June 7, 2013
A Plea for the Adulterer
Tuesday night the Coeur d’Alene City Council passed by a vote of 5 to 1 legislation that prohibits discrimination against individuals who are gay, lesbian, bi-sexual, or transgendered in the matters of employment, housing, and pubic accommodations. I am disappointed that this legislation just doesn’t go far enough. I write a plea for the adulterer.
It seems hard that in this day and age of sexual freedom and liberation that the adulterer is still castigated with some public stigma. After all, we all know how challenging marriage is and particularly how challenging it is for men to remain sexually committed to just one woman. Currently there is no legislation that forbids employers from discriminating against the adulterer or guarantees hotel rooms for late night liaisons.
Just imagine the personal trauma faced by the adulterer when he enters the hotel with his hot new babe in tow. There at the welcome desk is the owner of the hotel – a next-door neighbor of the adulterer who happens to have a conscience. The neighbor gazes at the man and his babe and, recognizing neither wife nor daughter, summarily refuses to give them a room for the night. What’s more, he gives the adulterer a sound verbal lashing. So what’s the adulterer to do? There aren’t any laws that protect him from such humiliation and injury. This just isn’t fair.
After all, he and his hot mama are consenting adults; what right does this hotel owner have to refuse to give them a room? Perhaps the Coeur d’Alene City Council will come to the rescue on their white horses. In one fell swoop they can rescue the world from discrimination by championing the cause of the adulterer. After all, if there is nothing natural or honorable in the arena of sexuality, then why not take up my plea?
Stuart W. Bryan
Pastor
Trinity Church