Newtown, Bethlehem, Christmas, Brokenness and Hope

The year was circa 6AD when a detachment of Roman soldiers entered the City of Bethlehem, population approximately 1,500. Not unlike the result of Adam Lanza's killing spree last Friday in Newtown these soldiers came with one purpose: kill all the male children two years of age or under. Biblical historian Paul Maier estimates that there were probably 12-15 male children murdered that day, killed unexpectantly and leaving several families to wrestle with the evil thrusted upon them and the aftermath of getting on with life bearing a wound that can never fully heal this side of heaven. How do we begin to come to grips with the events from last Friday and those atrocities committed in Bethlehem over 2,000 years ago?

We need to remember that the historical events that we celebrate and reflect on during Advent can never be separated from the Easter story. Jesus was born to die. Jesus sole purpose in coming to earth was wrapped up in the meaning of his atoning death for sinful man. So, the birth of the Son of God inaugurated a series of events in a life that led to death. Christmas is inextricably linked to the Passion of the Christ. Christmas is messy. Christmas is about brokenness. Christmas is about the process and eventual mending of "all things" broken. Therefore, Christmas is also about hope.

There are no cliches or pat answers that can assuage the acts of terror inflicted upon Newtown, Bethlehem, Columbine, Auschwitz...and the list goes on. Evil is real. And, until the Son of God completes his work of the restoration of all things we will continue to contend with this horrific reality. So we confess, "God is good, evil is real and one day God will vanquish all evil."

This world is broken. Alongside the existence of evil in the world is the reality of an historical fall from perfection that thrust humanity into a state of brokenness and death. And while God is mending this world his work is not complete. So, our lives are characterized by the intermingling of emotions that are polarized in nature, like sadness and joy. These emotions cause a deep angst in our soul. And by angst I mean the following taken from the Urban Dictionary,

     Angst, often confused with anxiety, is a transcendent emotion in that it combines the   
     unbearable anguish of life with the hopes of overcoming this seemingly impossible  
     situation. Without the important element of hope, then the emotion is anxiety, not angst. 
     Angst denotes the constant struggle one has with the burdens of life that weighs on the  
     dispossessed and not knowing when the salvation will appear.

The "good news" is that we know salvation will one day ultimately appear. This is the message of Advent: we wait. We wait for a certain salvation!

Pray for those in Newtown who are left to wait. Pray that their waiting might be infused with the hope of a Savior born in Bethlehem. Pray for their comfort. And pray that they may know that the God who will one day make all things right lost a child in a senseless act of murder and through that evil brought about the world's greatest good-the salvation of mankind!

Why I Hate Religion, But I Love Jesus Review

Honestly, I have a hard time understanding why certain sectors of the church must be polemical over expressions of genuine faith as expressed in the video Why I Hate Religion But Love Jesus. Really? I mean, really? This young man is articulating a love for the One who came that he might live. I, too, as a pastor have been asked about what I thought about the video. I saw it as an opportunity to affirm the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ over against the myriads of false gospels in our day.

I primarily think that this young man is speaking to an intramural issue in the church in its trans-denominational expression, the church catholic. Catholic meaning universal church, not the Roman Catholic Church. There is a vernacular that is tribal among Evangelical Christians that has become shorthand to communicate theological issues and Biblical observations. My understanding of how this young man is approaching the word “religion” is more from this sense. He has observed in the Christian Church, and rightly so, a moralistic approach to faith that is anti-Gospel and as such anti-Jesus. You can call this what you’d like, but I think “religion” is an appropriate choice of words. Why? This moralistic gospel is no gospel at all and thus can rightly be called a “religion.” This religion is replete with Biblical language and Jesus is even its Patron Saint as the most moral person who ever lived. Jesus is seen as an Example, not as a Savior.

I like the video and will continue to do so. I have a far greater concern for how the church can take something that I believe honors Christ and then dissects it in the lab of “careful theological scrutiny” to the end that people who were deeply encouraged in Christ by it are now confused by the dissenting banter. I hate religion, too. I hate it because of what it does to the souls of people who desperately need Jesus. I love Jesus. Hopefully we can at least all agree on this.   

Brother Baucham in his critique of this video, whom I deeply admire and appreciate, in my opinion wastes a lot of ink in his defense and attempt to redeem the word "religion." He perhaps could have wove into his argument the discipline of etymology. Etymology is the study of the history of words, their origins, and how their form and meaning have changed over time. The key: "how their form and meaning have changed over time." All this young man in this video is attempting to do is highlight a common misunderstanding between Biblical Christianity with its emphasis on the finished work of Christ over against a more"popular," "nuanced" and "cultural" understanding of the word religion. And, by "cultural" I'm speaking of the broadly accepted Evangelical tribal use of the term religion.

It is widely understood in our day, and also true in a technical historical etymological sense, that the majority of religions are in fact man's failed attempts to get to God. There is one true religion. Even the fact that the New Testament Book of James has to qualify the word “religion” with “true” should be an indicator to us that the word “religion” has trouble standing alone. Why? The fact is that there are many religions in the world and properly called so by the general populace. And, if one were to do the helpful exercise to try and determine what all these “religions” have in common apart from Christianity it would not be unhelpful to say that they are expressions of “man’s failed attempt to reach God on his own merits.” 

My conclusion: enjoy the video!