the course of human events

The founders of the United States of America were brilliant thinkers. Although this has typically been overlooked and understated, especially in the recent "history" books and school texts, it nevertheless is true when one explores the richness of their writings and ideas. What is more is that their intelligence gave directly to their wisdom, which they believed came from their Creator.

No, by and large, the founders were not Deists in their religion. They were distinctly Christian, though perhaps of a certain type of prayerful and awe-struck faith which is unrecognizable to much of our current shallow religiosity. Regardless of how they are regarded by modern historians, these were men who held the firm belief that what was happening on the American soil was directed by the Divine, and saw it as the outworking of his desire for freedom.

Thus, they famously penned:

"When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation."

And so the Declaration of Independence begins, looking up to the Divine Giver of Life for the source and sustenance of liberty. This liberty, however, is not bound to political ideology, but rather encompasses the entirety of a person's being. It is not simply the absence of conflict, but the reigning presence of peace. These objectives cannot be wholly accomplished without Sovereign intervention, and these founders had such a concept at their very core.

The course of human events implies a purpose and a reason for the activities under heaven. Far from implying Deism, this echoes the words of Qoheleth and asserts the universal Lordship of Christ, which has accomplished such an expanse of freedom. It appears that this particular course of human events still resonates today, for we live in a world which has greatly benefited from the faithful commitment of these Founding Fathers - such that we have seen more progress and accomplishment in every aspect of life in these past 234 years than the world witnessed in the previous 5000 of human record.

We do not affirm any sort of exceptionalism that says one nation or society is more special to God than another, or that he has somehow chosen one nation to lead the world to heaven. Rather, we affirm an American exceptionalism that says any society which is founded upon and retains those truths which are self-evident and endowed by their Creator is a nation that is blessed. In other words, if we live by his precepts we will reap his blessing - this is biblical and foundational . . . but sadly lost on many.

The course of human events marches on under the watchful eye of its Sovereign.

neron caesar: still unconvinced

I'm reading through David deSilva's Seeing Things John's Way (Louisville: WJK, 2009) - which I will offer a full review of later - when I once again came to the heavily debated 666 of Revelation. (Cf. 106 & surrounding.)

deSilva's reading is "rhetorically" based and places much emphasis on ancient literary technique and context. In many ways this is helpful, but a few times I wonder if he is missing the forest in examining the trees. He comes to 666 and is quick to attribute it to Nero, which is a common reading and perception of the text. This, of course is the gematria technique of reading 666 as Neron Caesar as the "wisdom" required to understand Revelation 13:18.

My most immediate difficulty with this is not unique, but it does seem to continue to hold up a good level of concern. Taking the gematria of 666 as Neron Caesar is to use Hebrew techniques to decipher the defective spelling of a Latin name, all bound within a Greek text. That, to some, appears to stretch it a bit.

However, deSilva does connect this well to the Nero redivivus legend that is present both culturally and perhaps somewhat in the preceding chapters of Revelation. Thus, I think that here is a more thoughtful presentation of this possibility. If John was intending us to see the 666 as Nero, then perhaps he is making the connection to the 666 gematria which also make up the Hebrew word for 'beast.' This might be a strong indicator, but doesn't necessarily give any additional information than John has already shown in his narrative.

In the end, I think that the identification of 666 as Nero falls short. In addition to the stretch of reading that I outlined above, the reading of Nero appears to be quite limited in the scope of Revelation's overall storyline. Revelation 12-13 gives us a trio of grotesque figures which are fairly obvious parodies of the Godhead. This section of Revelation reaches a bit of a climax in 13:18, which would indicate that John is wanting the reader/hearer to connect his call for wisdom to the attached scene.

The Dragon is identified for us as Satan (12:9), and the two beasts which rise from the land and sea (Revelation 13) have characteristics which parody both Christ and the Holy Spirit. The beast from the sea appears to be invincible and looks as though it has survived a fatal blow (at least, one of its heads). Rather than connecting this to the caesars, one should perhaps see that this is a messianic parody, especially in light of Revelation's other imagery and the context of chapters 12-13. The beast from the land goes forth in prophet-like fashion to summon the people of the earth to come and worship the sea beast, just like the Holy Spirit calls for worship of Messiah. And, as the Son and Spirit fulfill the will of the Father, these two beasts work on behalf of the Dragon.

Thus, deSilva's reading might make some good observations but ultimately falls short of the context of Revelation 12-13. Symbolically, 7 is the number of perfection - 6 is imperfect and incomplete. A trio of 7 would be an appropriate number for the developing trinitarian thought which permeates John's apocalypse. Those who use the wisdom which he calls for will see the powers of earth as the gruesome evil that they really are; the people of God will not marvel and wonder at this power.

If 777 is trinitarian perfection, then 666 would be a parody - something which looks legitimate at first glance or naive interaction, but which, upon good and godly reflection, falls short of his glory. This remains, in my estimation, the better answer.

building walls

In his classic book on leadership, Hand Me Another Brick, Dr. Charles Swindoll examines the recorded events of the life of Nehemiah which are given in Scripture. As he provides an evaluation of this biblical figure, Swindoll interweaves lessons on leadership which are as applicable to modern life as they were to Nehemiah. (They are also principles which have been studied by leaders in areas both sacred and secular.)

The final pages of the book give insight into the significant problems which Nehemiah faced upon his return from a period away from the newly rebuilt Jerusalem. Swindoll investigates four primary issues which I believe are as prevalent in modern Christianity. While the four problems listed are in his words, the additional commentary is mine.

1. the problem of a compromising companionship

Nehemiah faced a situation where his own leadership was distracted from the task at hand, thus moving away from the calling of God upon them. For Nehemiah, this meant a head-on confrontation and challenge with one of his leaders which lead to a very unpopular and uncomfortable confrontation. This happens often in our own churches, where the leadership becomes focussed on things which are not part of God's kingdom, but which are more concerned with the happiness and contentment of others - in other words, the stress of appeasement pushes hard on the will of God. Christians need to be wholly committed to truth, and unafraid to live it out regardless of the public consequence.

2. the problem of a financial fiasco

Every church in every age is going to, at some point, run into the problem of finance. Not so much whether or not there is enough money to keep the ministry afloat, but what is being done with the money of the church and how responsible we are in using it for the kingdom. Often the biggest issue with church finance is that we simply don't use enough money for the work of the kingdom. Building cushions can easily amount to burying treasures, and quickly leads to all sorts of panic when said cushioning begins to deplete (which was the whole point of having the saved cushion in the first place!). Issues surrounding money abound, and one of the most common is the ongoing threat of the so-called 'large donors' who will leave the church in a lurch if they are not happy with every tiny decision. Yet, time and again Scripture shows us that it never ends well when people use money to hijack God's will or his people.

3. the problem of the secularized Sabbath

One of the problems with the anti-legalistic reading of the sabbath is that we've officially swung the pendulum too far the other way - we are completely lax about sabbath observation to the point where it is difficult/impossible to distinguish between Christians and non-Christians. Recently I reviewed The Lost World of Genesis One, which gave a better definition of the sabbath than most commentators. It is not so much our chance to 'rest' in that we are going to have quiet time and afternoon naps (though I find that I appreciate them more as I grow older), as it is our opportunity to celebrate God's ascension in the cosmos. When God "rested" on the seventh day of creation he did so in a royal sense, not an energy sort of way. He rose to his rest upon the throne of this world in order to rule it, and now summons us to celebrate his reign by how we spend our seventh day - which should not be anything 'ordinary.'

The point is this: we might not need the physical rest on a seventh day, but we do need to be reminded of God's supremacy in creation - thus the sabbath was made for humanity, humanity was not made for the sabbath.

4. the problem of domestic disobedience

Upon taking a quick glance around our world, it becomes quite evident that 'domestic disturbance' is the norm for our culture. Our families are crumbling from within, our relationships are not healthy, our neighborhoods unfriendly, our faith undemonstrated. We have sought to be so 'politically-correct' and 'diplomatic' that we've sacrificed the values that ought to make us kingdom-people, both in word and deed. A renewed commitment to ourselves, our families, our churches and our God is necessary for this trend to reverse.

Although the power of the darkness is strong, the light is all the more effective. A list like this demonstrates how much work is ahead of us as the people of God. But his Spirit is also at work in giving us the means to accomplish his tasks.

environmentalists and religious devotion

As of this writing the world is watching Day 52 of the BP oil spill somewhere in the Gulf of Mexico. Although some of the impact is being driven out-of-porportion, it nevertheless is a catastrophe that should have been handled by now. The current administration is showing all the marks of ineptitude, incompetence and ignorance on how to handle the crisis. A number of attempts have been made to solve the problem . . . to no avail. Although I am not interested here in making a statement regarding the oil spill, assigning blame, or proposing a solution, there is one aspect of the political situation which has caught my attention.

When the President was elected in 2008, it was on the shallow and repetitive mantra of hope and change which seemed to inspire people to warm and fuzzy feelings. This guy was put out there as some type of messianic figure for the nations, often with Christians leading the charge of using language once reserved for Jesus alone to describe their etherial feelings toward this new administration (see my prior thoughts on this phenomenon here). This man, of course, is not messianic in any sense, even when people are enthralled with definition-less words like hope and change.

One of his leftist policies was/is the commitment to environmentalism. Not simply the responsible actions of industrialized nations to care for creation, but the liberal over-stepping of agenda which ultimately leads to humanity's subjection to nature. It doesn't take very long to see that this level of environmentalism becomes its own divinity, often being held by people who otherwise have no use for a god - being atheist toward a creator but showing great religious devotion to their cause (cf. "replacing god"). Now, this might appear to be too harsh a critique of those who focus on naturalist care and cause. But before judgment is passed, look for a moment on the current crisis.

The President is now being aligned by all sides for his inept response to the oil spill, not just by the conservative right wing but also by the liberal left. Why? Mostly because they have made their god the environment and they are presently unwilling to sacrifice their sentiment for a would-be messiah that was supposed to advance their agenda . . . not regress it. But that is precisely what is happening with the incompetence-on-display, and those who have made earth their divinity are more devoted to Mother Nature than they are to nature's supposed messianic figure. Remember, this was the guy who promised that the oceans would recede because of his presence and leadership in the world.

Reality demonstrates that the oceans will not bow to his command either.

Interestingly, there is a lesson to be learned in all of this - especially for the church. For the past couple of years I have sat and listened to the rhetoric of hope and change ramble through the religious communities, being given credence by flimsy Christian voices of supposed leadership as they promptly ceased their critical thought processes and drank the Kool-Aid of this propaganda machine. This was a terrible sight, no doubt.

But what makes things infinitely worse is that while some factions of people who were on this bandwagon have refused to allow this now-uncovered-deception to go unnoticed, many in the church are still thinking that this could be the one - as though Jesus is nothing more than a Morpheus in need of a Neo in these last days to make God's will happen. While the environmentalists are willing to put their devotion to creation above anyone who would stand in its way, a good section of the church is unwilling to put their devotion to the Creator above those who do not seek to promote life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. We should. For, after all, it was the Creator who gave these inalienable rights which some in this nation still remember properly.

transforming fear

I have always loved the narrative of Jonah, and regard it as one of the finest literary pieces of the ancient world. Jonah is one of the masterpieces of Hebrew storytelling and literature, even though it is typically not allowed out of the Sunday School wing of the church. But this should not be the case, for this is not a simple child's tale about trusting God and doing what he asks. Rather, Jonah is a strong challenge with many layers.

It is not about a fish.

It is all about YHWH.

The opening chapter of Jonah is straightforward, but it also includes strong storytelling and interesting narrative devices. (Granted, most of these become lost in English translations . . . but there still remains good theological discussion within the story.)

One particular thought which jumped out at me today regards the nature of fear among the sailors. Already, the story has demonstrated that Jonah is going to be God's instrument of salvation even if he is heading in the completely opposite direction. This will be a theme throughout, and this opening scene foreshadows the much larger repentance which will come at Nineveh. When the storm rises up, the sailors are afraid for their lives (1:5), even though Jonah is sleeping in the bottom part of the ship. Once he confesses that this is YHWH's response to his disobedience, then the (pagan) sailors are more afraid because of an angry deity - one who is obviously powerful (1:10). They are gripped by fear, which is understandable and expected.

However, once the sailors comply with Jonah and throw him overboard, the sailors retain their fear - now transformed. They now consider YHWH differently and offer sacrifices to him (1:16). This sounds quite good, but does not possibly end the discussion on the topic. We must remember that these are pagan sailors from the Ancient Near East, and probably do not turn-and-convert to YHWH like they were at a Billy Graham crusade. Most of these men probably continued on in their polytheistic worldview, now adding YHWH to the mix. At best they might have considered that this God of Jonah was among the most powerful deities, but it is difficult to assume that they turned away from other gods.

So why then does the text mention their sacrifice? This is a Jewish story with a Jewish audience who would have understood proper sacrifice to YHWH as a very Jewish one. Would the storytellers have any reason to assume one way or another about this conversion? Or is it the opportunity for YHWH to make a powerful statement into the lives of these men, to the life-changing acceptance of him while others continue on as though nothing happened?

I suppose that if I were pressed on this, I would say that it is YHWH dealing with his prophet in full view of these sailors. Some of these men will concede their lives over to him, while others will not. It would be foolish to think that this was God's only way of working in the lives of these sailors, but this was not particularly about them. So it become collateral - not negatively but positively. The collateral damage here is their fear - once a fear of death, but now a fear of YHWH. And if he is the giver of life, it is not so much that they are afraid of life more than death . . . but of the one who stands behind it.

And there is no healthier fear in all of the world. For it is to these that YHWH himself promises no need to fear. It proves out that, as Brennan Manning has once said, "If you don't have to be afraid of God, you don't have to be afraid of anything."

the lost world of genesis one

John H. Walton, The Lost World of Genesis One (Downers Grove: IVP, 2009).

I have been acquainted with John Walton's work for a few years, though understandably not to a great degree since I am primarily a student of the New Testament. A couple of years back, however, I watched his video work for the curriculum of The Bible in 90 Days and was quite impressed with his ability to teach, synthesize and present the Old Testament story as well as he did. After having a few brief follow-up conversations with him at SBLs since, I have become a fan of John Walton.

This book was given a much fuller review and discussion on J:C, and I have wanted to read through it since its release. Having finally read through it, I can now say up-front that this is an outstanding work based on Genesis One. The book is set forth in 18 Propositions which take the reader through Walton's perspective and case for properly approaching and interpreting Genesis One.

Perhaps one of the most important pieces to understand for this perspective is that the Hebrew concept for create (bara) is not concerned with material origins, but with function - giving something a purpose rather than giving something an ontological existence ex nihilo. (This, of course, should not be seen as denying ex nihilo since God would have necessarily been a first-cause by definition. Rather, this is to say that ex nihilo is not what is being discussed in Genesis One.) While most biblical scholars agree that Verse 1 in Genesis is more of a title of the book rather than the opening line of events, Walton builds on this and says that Verse 2 is a focus on functions rather than with raw material. It is God who gives purpose to that which he has made, and therein lies the biblical concept of YHWH as creator . . . and what makes his ongoing work of creator still at work today.

From here Walton sees the first three days as pertaining to the three major functions of life: time, weather and food. It is within these specified areas that God then places the functionaries within their proper place. Once that God declares it to be "good" he is not speaking morally, nor is he indicating that it is perfect (an entirely different concept indeed), but rather it has a good functionality within the place he has set it.

After all of this YHWH comes to rest in his creation, a concept which Walton takes as a reference to temple activity - where the divinity climaxes his work by resting in the temple. This should be taken as a rise to one's rest as a seating of royalty rather than rest in the concept of sleep or relaxation. The language here involves the kingship of YHWH in the cosmos he has set forth. YHWH rests here because he has made this for his enjoyment, and because he is the only king of it. Thus, Day Seven is a proper climax rather than an anticlimax of creative activity.

The implications of this type of an approach abound, and Walton explores many of them. Still, there is great benefit from reading through this book as concepts of creation inevitably serve as foundational to the entirety of life and theology. The questions of purpose and eschatology are bound to the question of origin. And this is a good move in that direction.

Coming from the field of biblical studies, it is refreshing to see an approach to the text which does not begin at modern debates, but instead goes to the heart of the narrative and begins with the appropriate context. Perhaps the greatest obstacle in understanding Genesis One is that most people simply do not consider the purpose of the literature - that it is not concerned with being anti-Darwinian, or proving the existence of God, the Trinity, UFOs, dinosaurs, Elvis, or any other such thing. It is about the functionality of creation given by the creator - and his right to rule all the cosmos.