A Modest Proposal for Theological Integrity

A Modest Proposal for Theological Integrity

Many today pray for and believe for the fulfillment of the prayer of Yeshua for the unity of the people of God (John 17:21). We hear of calls for humility, love, repentance form competition, prayer, cooperation, and more. One thing we do not hear is a call for theological integrity. What do I mean by theological integrity? I am not speaking about judging theological integrity by any particular stream of theological commitments. There is a tendency in some streams to dismiss others on the basis of their theological stream and claim that only their stream has integrity. This we must not do if we are to gain John 17 unity. The theological streams include Calvinism, Arminianism, Pentecostalism, new charismatic streams, Methodist, Lutheran, Holiness, Anglican and so many more. These streams all have attained credibility and longevity, and it is time to allow for differences of interpretation within broad orthodoxy. This broad orthodoxy is defined by the historic and more recent confessions of faith that have gained near-universal acceptance as rightly representing a summary of the most important Biblical truths. Theological integrity is first based on the embrace of this broad orthodoxy. This includes the broad orthopraxy of Biblical morals and ethics.

However, some who claim to embrace broad orthodoxy still say very bizarre things. When they say such things, others react and dismiss these people as false teachers and vilify them. Some go on a public crusade against these ministers. I am very accepting of those who do not think like I do. I also came to what was for me a very hard conclusion, that God’s anointing and power are not correlated to accurate precision in theology. As a theologically trained person, I would that it be that anointing and power were correlated to accurate theology. I am sure after years of examination that it is not so. Anointing and power come from the heart of faith and love more than theological precision. God’s work is often through weak theological vessels. If we vilify these people and their work, we could be rejecting the work of the Spirit and in danger. However, accurate theology is still important and can prevent some sad results. Can we hope for a way through this problem? But let me first note just a few of the kings of bizarre things that have been taught and are taught today but some who have large platforms and influence.

In recent times we have heard those with influence teach the following. 1. That there is no judgment during this age, but that this is an age of grace and love without judgment or wrath. Judgment and wrath are Old Testament realities, not New Testament. 2. That the New Testament teaches that we are only to love God and that we are not to think that the fear of God is relevant or proper motivation. 3. That the Old Testament is irrelevant to believers in the New Covenant. Yes, it is the Word of God but is now mostly irrelevant. It is as a past word of God now that we are in the New Covenant. 4. That God expects us to exercise faith in such a way that we can all become very rich. I could go on and note other aberrations You may have your own list. I sometimes wonder if these people carefully read the Bible, and even just the New Testament! Do they really fully accept even the authority of the New Testament, though of course, I argue always for the authority of the whole Bible. Accepting the New requires accepting the authority of the Old since the New Testament directly teaches the continuing authority of the Old which it calls Scripture and does not use the phrase Old Testament. .

It would be very helpful if those who have a large platform of exposure due to their anointing, media, or a large Church would have a theological partner to vet writings and media presentations before launching off into the never-never land of bizarre theology and bizarre proclamations. The theological partner would be one sympathetic to their general orientation. My friend Dr. Craig Keener of Asbury Seminary, who wrote the brilliant book Spirit Hermeneutics, is a top Biblical theologian. His book is a corrective for Pentecostal and Charismatic scholars and applies to all Bible teachers. Professor Keener is a very strong supporter of movements that show the power of the Spirit. A person such as Dr. Keener could be a great aid to the large platform ministers whose presence in media: in television, videos, and writing gains a great following. With such a platform of influence comes greater responsibility.

God desires humility. If the critics would be slower to condemn, this would help unity as well. Let their writings of correction come with humility and pleading on a biblical basis. May those with large platforms and who have power ministries have the humility to have advisors who are well trained and solid in theology. This would be helpful to the quest for greater unity.

Annexation and the Return of the Zealot Party

Under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, it is near certain that Israel will annex 30% of Judea and Samaria (West Bank) including the Jordan Valley. This is in line with the Trump peace plan. What is so important is the realism of the Trump plan. I have noted this in past posts but will repeat. Before the Oslo peace plan, both liberal and conservative governments in Israel supported creating towns in the disputed territories. The main reason was to have more territory controlled by Israel so that Israel’s strategic depth for defense was increased. Yes, the right-wing with P. M. Begin hoped to see a permanent annexation of the territories, but that was not pursued and was politically not feasible. The hope was that the Palestinian areas could be ceded to Jordan or that the Arab residents could be residents in Israel but citizens in Jordan.

With the Oslo peace plan and the idea of a two-state solution being revived (this was the original U. N. plan from 1947) the issue became how to draw the border. Israel’s government, during the time of the hopes of the Oslo plan, was seeking to cede most of the territories for a Palestinian State. In the P. M. Olmert plan, the Palestinian’s would be given 95% of the territories in Judea and Samaria (West Bank) and Israel 5% to preserve the larger settlements. When the Palestinians walked away from this plan, the left as a power in Israeli politics was destroyed. This is why today we have a large rightwing group of parties, and a centrist group of parties but no significant left-wing power (despite Bibi calling the center parties left-wing!)

The Trump plan still holds out hope for a Palestinian State on the 70% of the land plus Gaza. However, if the Palestinians will not come to negotiate, President Trump has made it known that Israel can then go ahead and annex these territories as long as Israel coordinates mapping with the White House. Bibi is very thankful to President Trump and the President is popular in Israel. He has recognized Israel’s annexation of the Golan Heights and moved the embassy to Jerusalem, recognizing Jerusalem as the capital. His peace plan is the only realistic one. Why? Because the other plans require removing some of the towns of the territories. There are over 400,000 Israelis in these towns. Any government that sought to remove even part of them would face stiff resistance, bloodshed, and even civil war! Trump’s plan does not require removing any of the settlements. A Palestinian state is still very unlikely, and quietly some really hope for a return to the Jordanian citizenship idea in the years ahead so as to avoid a Palestinian state and a claim of apartheid. This declaration of annexation, probably in July or August, will probably lead to much world rejection and maybe a new Palestinian uprising (intifada). It may threaten the peace treaties with Jordan and Egypt. It would also risk relationships that were growing with other Arab nations. However, Bibi sees this as a once in a lifetime opportunity with Trump as President, and he will take the risk. He has the votes to do it.

However, the leader of the settlement council and the Jordan Valley communities, David Elhaynai, seeks to thwart the plan for two reasons. First, he and his followers will not countenance the idea of a Palestinian state at all. They want all the territory without full rights for the Palestinians (not by the choice of the Palestinians but by Israel’s fiat). They do not want to even say they accept the Trump plan in theory. Bibi wants the loss of a Palestinian state to be blamed on the Palestinians. He, therefore, accepts the Trump plan. He is a realist and politically very savvy. Secondly, Elhaynai is upset that 15 small settlements, some of which were illegal but have been since legalized, will not be in contiguous connection to the new Israeli 30% territory. For this, he also rejects the plan. Why would he be so extreme and zealous? It is hard to know. He is not part of the super right-wing religious though he has to represent them as part of his constituency. These latter folks believe that taking all the Land is a Messianic mandate that precedes the coming of the Messiah. Whatever his reasons, he has to represent them and is himself a maximalist for other reasons. My concern in all of this is that these zealots are of the same spirit that Yeshua warned about and noted that their direction would lead to the destruction of Jerusalem. He said if only they had known the way for peace. We cannot say that Israel today, mostly not committed to Biblical standards and faith, would have the favor of God to reenact the conquering of Joshua. There is no prophetic voice of leadership for this. We cannot hope for or depend on God’s favor for such radical recommendations. We are not a righteous nation though comparatively more righteous than many. This settler leader has even lambasted Trump as not a friend of Israel. He has drawn the rebuke of Bibi for this and rightly so. I believe that this is the same spirit as the radical zealots of the first century, and they must not be allowed to scuttle the progress that has been made due to President Trump. A way for the Palestinians to find justice while Israel realistically can claim the territory of the settlements is the realistic way forward. Netanyahu is taking a terrible risk. I hope it works out. But the settlers are asking him to go beyond risk toward a probable disaster.

In Politics We Trust

I have been alarmed to see my friends on social media completely absorbed by the present political moment of Donald Trump being President. They are compulsively preoccupied and write incessantly on Trump, both negative and positive. Really, there is Trump derangement syndrome on both sides. Those who are compulsively negative and those who are compulsively defending him both have come to a point that concerns me greatly. I do write on political and social issues, but the solution to many of the most difficult social problems in the culture in the United States will not come by politics. I will make my position clear one more time in a soon to be published post, but I think it is a great mistake to make the Trump arguments our focus. If you read my official page you will note that this is not my focus, but I respond to friends for whom it is primary. But I really am coming to the point of wanting to opt-out of responding. I want to also apply this to the present situation of the riots in America after the terrible injustice of the death of George Floyd.

Over 50 years ago, I read a little book by the famous French thinker, Jacque Ellul, entitled The Political Illusion. Ellul, in my view, was left of center in his politics. However, he decried the tendency in the society to think that salvation would come through politics or that there was some type of utopia to be produced by politics. Justice is something we must learn to practice as disciples in our normal course of life and where we can really affect things; it is in our neighborhood, our workplace, our business, and our neighborhood. People spend their emotional energy in ways that produce no gain in the lives of people at all. All of these social media posts are part of the political illusion. Ellul did believe that Christianity always requires us to identify first of all with the marginalized and dispossessed.

My view of the riots that are now taking place in the United States is that they show blood lust, hatred, the trivialization of human worth, and show the truth of John 10:10 when Yeshua said that Satan “comes not but to rob, kill, and destroy.” So this can tell you the nature of these riots. He came to give life abundant. I have argued that the Gospel is the greatest instrument for justice that can be imagined. It brings a person into deliverance from being a victim and gives supernatural power to overcome and to make a difference in the society by combining the call of love with justice, not hatred, and violence. Our hope is in the Gospel and revival. Sadly, many who are in the Church do not know the power of the Gospel and the supernatural miraculous level of effect that is available; how mighty is prayer and the signs and wonders that follow. How mighty is revival! When black and white (and Hispanic and Asian) join together in the power of Yeshua, a way forward can be found. 50 years of the welfare state has not brought justice and prosperity for all. A trillion dollars spent and we still have failed schools in the poor areas of the cities still have drugs, gangs, killings fatherless homes and the life is cheap orientation. Of course, the corrupt politicians misspent and mishandled and a few more trillions will lead to the same dead end. Where are the Christians marching in the streets with the message of the Gospel and the message of love and reconciliation? Where are the Christian institutions that provide and educate the poor? They are some, but not nearly enough.

Mike Brown’s very good book, Donald Trump is not My Savior, hits the right note on these matters. Whether one is pro-Trump or anti Trump should not be the preoccupation of believers. Yes, we should be responsible for our civic calling. But the more important thing is that both sides should join together for the extension of the Kingdom. We have bigger fish to fry than politics. Revival, love, reconciliation, and truth will have political effects, but it will be through Yeshua. And why should we think un-regenerated men and women will provide the answers and the way out.

Media, Censorship, and Hate Speech

I had friends whose writing and teaching have been shadow banned on Facebook, removed from YouTube, and banned from Twitter. One very egregious example is the removal of the presentations of the famous Jewish commentator, Dennis Praeger. The reason given is hate speech. The material removed or banned was due to conservative viewpoints, and in some cases promoting traditional views of marriage, family, and sexuality, indeed Biblical teaching. The accusation is that traditional values promote homophobia and transphobia. The large media companies are monopolistic and have great control over speech in general. They are given special favor because they claim to be neutral platforms for sharing information, viewpoints, and personal connections among people. They are not neutral platforms.

A more recent commitment was made by a Facebook giant to remove content that goes against COVID 19 recommendations by the World Health Organization. Contrary scientific opinions will not be tolerated. This now makes Facebook an arbiter of what counts as scientific truth. Twitter has now taken to fact-checking President Trump’s tweets, though some say when he speaks contrary fact his Tweet should not be allowed. The President is now furious about this. One humorous situation has now developed. The WHO has now recommended that people no wear masks outside to prevent COVID 19 transmission. The Centers for Disease Control, that bastion of establishment health policy, still recommends wearing makes outside. Now, what will Facebook do? According to their stated policy, they should ban recommendations from the CDC! Being the arbiter of what counts as scientific truth is a dicey business.

Recently President Trump has decreed an end to the special protection for these media giants and has removed their status as neutral platforms. This would then define them as news services with editorial decision making etc. This opens them up to the kind of responsibility and to lawsuits that the press faces. I don’t know that it will do much good. I think the big giants need to be broken up. They are monopolies. There needs to be multiple platforms, many of them. If there is to be a neutral platform, then here is my list of rules.

Only calls for violent actions and lewd pornographic material should be banned. This last would be in coordination with the FCC. This would ban all terrorists and their organizations.
Hate speech will not be a criterion. If people want to claim that traditional morality is hate speech, traditionalists can claim that calling them homophobes and transphobes is hate speech. It is not hate speech to say that if one does not repent of sin the person will go to hell. It is not hate speech to say that all religions but the Biblical faith are false religions. It may not be very tolerant, but it is to be tolerated. The communicator will claim to be acting in love to save a person from hell. All hell, fire, and brimstone preachers in history claimed this. Control freaks want to control all who are not acting in the tolerant way they define.
The answer to wrong speech is more speech. No one should police a neutral platform beyond these two standards. People will have to grow up and learn to check different material, judge which sites are trustworthy, and reject false claims and conspiracy theories. A neutral site must be an arbiter of truth. There are government agencies that deal with false advertising and fraudulent products.
There should be many non-neutral sites that simply set the parameters of what they will or not. One would choose those services according to one’s purposes and agreeing to their standards. They can censor anything they want and promote anything they want, and more or less control the information posted. There could be sites for people of different views. Competing sites and competing information would be a great thing.

Avoiding Foolish Arguments about Donald Trump

As much as possible I want to avoid involvement in foolish arguments about President Donald Trump. I have responded to friends who are very anti-Trump and tried to bring considerations that could moderate their position, but to no avail. I am glad to answer those with sincere questions but at this point this is rare. Here are some reasons why this is so difficult in this. First, I learned as a philosophy student in epistemology (the study of how we come to know, indeed as well to know that something is real or true) that decisions about the truth that are not mundane and trivial and commitments that follow therefrom are not based on the right processing of information in the mind which then comes out with the right conclusion. Rather, the whole person weighs evidence and makes decisions. The person is influenced by deeply held values, orientations to life, and psychological factors. Some of these factors are not conscious. I think voters, including my friends who are followers of Yeshua, break down into five categories. After the first year of the Trump Presidency, the stand of most people in four of these five categories is not likely to change. Those who engage in arguments among people in the different categories go round and round and get nowhere. The reason for the categories is that in the deep consciousness of people, various things are given very different weight. It is almost on a religious level for some. And we know how hard that is!! Only the Spirit can bring conversion. Of course, there are those on the border lines of these categories and there is always a continuum but generally, people fit into one of these five. Though there are some friends who are liberal Evangelicals, conservatives are included in all five of these categories.

The Never Trumpers. For these people, President Trump’s egregious bad behavior outweighs all other considerations. The personal demeaning, the past life of sin, the exaggeration, and lies about some situations, have caused untold damage to the country. He is probably a racist. He is not a true conservative but is acting so for political power. He is probably a sociopath-narcissist. Any professed follower of Yeshua who supports President Trump is discrediting their faith and is a hypocrite. Any good that Trump has done is far surpassed by the evil he does. As their heart weights his tweets and his blatantly sinful language against others, they weigh the stand against the President as a ten and compared almost to a zero for anything good. In addition, Trump has been inconsistent in policy to North Korea, to Russia, and has undercut international trust. Some say he is not concerned about the environment. Those in this category will point to new outlandish statements, but they are really nothing new but just an example of the pattern well established. They are aghast that believers in Yeshua can support him.
The Always Trumpers. All the bad that Trump has done is downplayed by the always Trumpers. The good things he has done and is doing makes the negatives to almost be of no consequence. They wonder why the negatives should be a concern. The negatives may even have a positive effect. Yes, maybe he should not tweet somethings, but so what? He has appointed scores conservative judges and two conservative Supreme Court justices, has moved the embassy to Jerusalem, created enterprise zones in the cities to life the poor, has had judicial reform for the sake of non-violent criminals that mostly affects blacks, is working to make immigration legal, has released states from funding planned parenthood, has removed the pressure from the nations re: U. S. aid to foster homosexual marriage and abortion while supporting the decriminalization of homosexuality, has restored religious liberty that was being eroded, has removed standards for accommodating pregnant men in the men’s barracks in the army (transgender) has confronted North Korea while negotiating, has confronted China, has rebuilt the military, pulled out of the disastrous Iran deal, is shaking up a corrupt bureaucracy, and more. He is bringing jobs back to the United States. To even bring up Trump’s sins is looked at as such hypocritical foolishness and shows that these people are majoring in the minors. Besides, those in this category who believe in the prophetic gift point to amazing prophetic predictions of the Trump presidency and what it would be like. Some of these people even enjoy Trump’s bad-boy behavior. They are the most enthusiastic at his rallies.
The Qualified Trump Supporters. This is a much larger group than most realize. I am in this group. Many of us did not support Trump in the primaries. He was our last choice. Our vote for him was more a vote against Hillary Clinton. Those in this group usually agree with the list of good things that Trump has done, but we are concerned that his bombastic style and gross sin in speech and vilification of others undercut him and loses him support that he would otherwise have. There was much division before Trump, but those of us in this category really believe that he has unnecessarily exacerbated the division in the country and that despite the gains of his presidency, this could be very dangerous to the country. We are concerned that the backlash after Trump could be terrible and would that even if division can’t be overcome, that our President would speak in the most unifying way possible to the nation. We do not believe Trump is a racist but think his sometimes terrible rhetoric gives credibility to people think he is. Of course, Democrats accuse all white Republicans of being racists. Some of us credit the prophecy of those who have this gift at a high level, and this has helped us. We do also see policies that we do not support. Trump speaks of our enemies as ones with whom he has a good relationship. Little Rocket Man is one with whom he now has a good relationship. We pray for Trump to have an encounter with Yeshua so that he might repent of his sins and change. However, when we compare Trump to Hillary Clinton and what she would have done with the courts, religious freedom, and Israel we are still glad she lost to Trump. The greatest writer in this category that I know is Dr. Mike Brown, a very incisive social critic, who says we are not hypocrites if we support what is right but prophetically speak out on the wrong. If we do not speak out when he is wrong then we sell our souls for his defense. His book Donald Trump is not my Savior is an excellent read on this approach. In addition, it is most alarming to us to think about what today’s Democrats would do if they were in power. We might have preferred Nikki Haley or Mike Pence, but we did not have this choice. It seems that this is God’s doing. On a one to ten scale, they give being a supporter on the basis of the good maybe an 8 and the negatives maybe a 4.
Category four is the Trump opponents who credit the good things he has done but believe that the harm from his over the top vilification of others and sinful rhetoric outweighs the good. Some of them think it would have been better to have taken our lumps with Hillary Clinton and at least not to be seen supporting such a vein and vile man. In their view, this has undercut the Gospel. These people are conflicted because they do know that Trump does good things and they generally are alarmed at the thought of a Hillary Clinton presidency. However, they still cannot bring themselves to vote for Trump.
Category five is undecided. These are the people who go back and forth. When Trump is acting bad, they lean to category 4. When he is doing good, they lead to # 3. They are a key to Trump’s approval going between 44% to 49%. They may determine the next election. They are probably about 5%. They keep quiet and do not get into the arguments.

The next election will be determined by who can best bring out their base and the 5% that go back and forth. The category people are in is quite fixed now. It will not be changed by fruitless Facebook arguments back and forth. Mike Brown makes all the right points in my view, but I am not sure if he has convinced anyone who is a Never-Trumper. Maybe some on the edge of being a non-supporter could change his or her view. The deepest inner values and psychology is partly why people come out where they do. It is how things hit people at a visceral level. This is why I want to opt-out of Facebook arguments on this. It is not getting us anywhere. We have repeated ourselves again and again like a broken record. I have tried to argue with my never-Trump friends that the danger of the left to believers is terrible but to no avail.

George Floyd, Identity Politics and the City Riots in America

I wrote a personal Facebook post and now want to expand that post for my personal page and my official page.

“An amazing statement by Jack Brewer who was a star on the Minnesota Vikings on the recent terrible death. He says that the problem is primarily a spiritual one, that racism is a Satanic spiritual thing that has to be dealt with spiritually. He says that identity politics has greatly worsened the situation and that identifying whites as inherently evil or racist or blacks as inferior is a spiritual disease and a huge Satanic problem. So, what about a mass movement of prayer and reconciliation, repentance, and forgiveness. This is not a prayer as part of a superficial cover-up. Let us pray that evil will be rooted out. That racism would be destroyed. That evil actors in the police forces would be rooted out. That the evil responding anarchists like Antifa would be thwarted. Let’s pray first of all that the Gospel will go forth and bring the depth of repentance and reconciliation that is needed. This cannot happen by mere human efforts. We need black churches and white churches and mixed-race churches to come together, to pray, march, witness, etc. O for the Church to rise up.”

I want to expand this post with a few comments. The central issue to me is that the issues are approached apart from a biblical world view. That world view can influence the responses and approaches of people who are not followers of Jesus. The biblical world view tells us that all are created in the image of God. That includes white policemen, the good ones and the criminals, and black criminals and black non-criminals. It tells us that all are deeply sinful, depraved in heart and that civilization is sometimes a mere veneer. That without regeneration and the influence in society from the regenerated, people will seek to dominate others and exercise power to their benefit and at their expense. Sin will lead to racism, ethno-centricity, sadism, hedonism, misogyny. This is why it becomes the work of the Body of the Messiah to bring the prophetic voice into the situation, movements of justice, and reconciliation based on the equal worth of all people. If one particular racial or ethnic group is more unjustly treated, the focus of the prophetic will be to redress that injustice. In the case of the black community, political leaders have practiced neglect (they don’t vote for me), policies that have destroyed the black family, allowed white racists in the police force, created an education system that does not prepare the poor black children to overcome poverty. We have not spent sufficient policing to destroy the drug problem and end the cycles of violence. The lack of the commitment of the Church to these problems and their non-involvement is a root cause issue and shows a need for deep repentance and reconciliation. Now that the Church has left this vacuum, along come those who are anti-biblical in world view and who kill and destroy according to the desire of Satan.

Some want to say that the rioters are spontaneously rioting due to their frustration. This may be true of a few. But why would they destroy minority-owned businesses? We need to understand that in all probability these riots were long-planned, and the planners were just looking for the opportunity; the end of the lockdown for COVID 19 and an occasion to launch the riots. If this is diligently dealt with by the FBI, I think we will find the following.

Anti-biblical and anti-free enterprise anarchists and socialists marching under the banner of Antifa and Black lives matter. Sadly, only the Gospel and right kind of free enterprise can lift the poor black community.
Anti-White blacks who have bought into the identity politics that teaches hatred and that the white people are all guilty, inherently evil, \and deserve to be treated with violence and disdain. Guess what? Whites are also in the image of God and are also deserving of being treated with dignity as much as blacks and Hispanics. All must treat each other as James says, as in the image of God and deserving of mutual reverence. The teaching of hatred is totally opposed to God.
White supremacists have also entered the mix to keep the pot boiling. They desire a civil war.

The organized rioters want to burn down the very businesses in the neighborhoods that are most needed to raise up the poor in the communities where they are established. The anarchists include groups that really should be labeled as domestic terrorists. The white supremacists also include those who should be labeled as domestic terrorists.

In addition, the media has fanned these flames. By claiming that President Trump is a racist (he is not, he is bombastic), and by claiming that those who support him are racists, homophobes, trans-fobes, and more they have fanned the flames of division and fostered conditions that lead to riots. The President’s rhetoric has not helped but by falsely intensifying and magnifying the accusations that media has really been irresponsible. On the right and left it is full speed ahead into the abyss. The media should be putting a lid on the boiling pot. Instead, they have been stoking the fire.

It is time for those who can lead to lead a movement of love, justice, and reconciliation and to address the real injustices with real solutions. We see such people as the football star quoted above, as the descendants of the family of Martin Luther King. There are such voices among blacks and whites, and may they come to lead. And also, let’s see the justice department go after the domestic terrorists of the left and the right.

One more thing. We have spent trillions on COVID 19. We can spend a few billion to rebuild the businesses destroyed by the terrorists and anarchists. Let give this money in grant form, not loans. Let’s rebuild these neighborhoods.

The Problem of Evil in the Contemporary Age

The issue of pain and suffering is an age-old problem for those who defend the truth of the Biblical faith. In my apologetic text, The Biblical World View, an Apologetic, I seek to deal with this comprehensively. The problem is summarized in Archibald McLeish’s JB, a modern take on Job who argues, “If God is God (omnipotent) he is not good. If God is good he is not God (omnipotent). From Augustine, we have the classic free will defense. This is embraced by C. S. Lewis in his classic The Problem of Pain. Basically, the idea is that the choice of our ancestors brought about a fallen world with terrible suffering, but God in his goodness and wisdom beyond our full comprehension uses this for the discipline of the human race and as the context by which he can bring forth a redeemed community for which it will all be worth it in the end. Actually, the intellectual case is quite good.

However, one important matter is beyond the intellectual case. This is a psychological issue. The real issue with the problem of evil is that people are not able or willing to believe in a good and loving God (though He is also a God of judgment for the wicked) if there is so much pain and suffering in the world. Sometimes this response is awakened by a teenager coming into his or her first crushing disappointment. Though Augustine in the 5th century gave us our most accepted defense of the Biblical view, most of history does not show Christians and Jews wrestling with pain and suffering. Generally, they saw themselves in a fallen world and saw their own sins as so glaring that they did not expect to not see pain and suffering. Somehow living with pain and suffering seemed fitting to them. They did not see themselves as having a right to a good life without suffering. What is amazing about this history is that until the mid 19th century this problem was not much of a focus and not a great question of faith struggle. People might struggle with universalism (all will be saved) or Unitarianism (difficulty with the logic of the Trinity) but not the problem of evil. I think it is connected to the theory of evolution and the delusion that there is a credible explanation for creation in atheistic evolutionary naturalism. A great book on the issue of moderns and the problem of pain and suffering was written by Timothy Keller, Walking with God through Pain and Suffering. Keller is brilliant in presenting us with the psychological issues and showing that especially in the more pampered and spoiled West, we respond to pain and suffering with outrage rather than with faith and resignation. C. S. Lewis makes a similar point by noting that surgery was done without anesthesia before chloroform was discovered and people of that time were in an age of faith! Previously it was thought that we did not have the right to avoid pain and suffering. Most people lost the majority of their children as children, and the life expectancy in the West was 45. Those who deal with struggling people dealing with this issue need to deal both with theology and psychology. This was so in my case where I had great mentors who were able to address both and help me through it.

The Plague of Divorce and Marriage Avoidance

One of the greatest failures of the Body of Believers is the divorce rate among those who claim to follow Yeshua. It is similar to the world and shows a great level of worldliness. I grew up in the 1950s and was in high school from 1961-1965. Divorce in the larger society was rare, and in the Church and Synagogue super rare. This did provide a great deal of security, though there were some negatives in dysfunctional families. Then the great rebellion came. The antiwar protestors said, “Make love, not war.” And make love they did! (Not love really but sex.) Eventually, this led to a culture of easy divorce. The culture no longer reinforced lasting marriage. The stigma of divorce was removed. Today divorce is common. There are many who plan to never marry. One survey said that 1/3 of younger unmarried people plan to never marry. That is the world. But what of the communities of faith. Sadly, their profession is better, but their stats are the same. How sad! It shows that the believing community was dependent on the larger culture and its reinforcement. There have been many studies on how greatly divorce affects children and that in a very negative way. One of my greatest points of sadness is to see divorce among the next generation after mine among the children of people we know. Some married professing their faith in Yeshua.

There is a corollary that I truly believe about marriage. If two parties to a marriage are passionately in love with Yeshua and growing more and more into his image then they will grow to love each other more and more. As we grow into his likeness God gives us the capacity to see our spouse with understanding, compassion, and appreciation. Quirks become endearing. Mistakes elicit emotions of love. Forgiveness reigns. In growing to be more like Him we love our spouses more and more. The other way to say this is that two people who are truly becoming more and more discipled will love each other more and more. Discipleship enables us to obey his commands, but that in a context to become more and more like Him. This means that we obey his commands to love our spouses and to not divorce for Yeshua commands us to stay married.

Divorce, therefore, is the manifestation of the following.

Worldliness in the Body of the Messiah.
The plague of pornography that destroys the joy of physical love in marriage and undercuts our passion for our spouses.
The ungodly view of the right to fulfillment in this life, and that if the marriage is not fulfilling at the time, then I can get out.
The loss of the fear of God. God will exact the consequences for those that divorce without biblical grounds.
The lack of discipleship in the principles for a good marriage and how to walk this out.

However, all of these things are summarized in one great matter that I do make part of this list. It is that we are either growing more and more into the likeness of Yeshua or failing in that. In this love for Yeshua, our love for our spouses and our solid commitment is deeper and deeper. If one is kept back from this passion for Yeshua by sin, pornography, greed, and other self-centered orientations, then the person is called to repent and to fully seek his power to overcome Also seek help to be an overcomer.

Sinai and Zion, Covenant, Spirit, and Torah

The day of Shavuot or Pentecost on the Jewish calendar is the date for the celebration of the giving of the Torah, the covenant of the ten words, or the ten commandments. The Jewish calculation that this is the date is reasonable. Often, however, people do not notice that the phenomenon of the Sinai events has very close parallels to the events that took place in Acts 2 on the day of Shavuot/Pentecost. Sinai is actually a foreshadowing of the events of Pentecost/Shavuot. Note the words of the text in Exodus 19:16.

On the third day, there was thundering and lightning, a thick cloud on the mountain, and the blast of an exceedingly loud shofar. . . then in v. 18, “Now the entire Mount Sinai was in smoke, because ADONAI had descended upon it in fire. The smoke ascended like the smoke of a furnace. . . . When the sound of the shofar grew louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him with a thunderous sound. V. 18, All the people witnessed the thundering and the lightning, and the sound of the shofar and the mountain smoking. When the people saw it, they trembled . . .

How do we picture the event on Mt. Zion in the Temple. The notes in the NIV and my own reading is that the Holy Spirit fell upon the 120 on the Temple Mount in the Portico of Solomon. Were the tongues of fire small little tongues? Or were they enveloped in glory? Were the disciples quietly speaking in Tongues almost in a whisper or shouting out (declaring) with a noise that was awesome? Why else would the thousands have gathered to where they were. Then they heard the voice of God in the tongues of the people just as the voice of God was heard by the people at Mt. Sinai. They were declaring, I believe, in loud voices. The wind itself was mighty and probably heard way beyond the 120.

Suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. And tongues like fire spreading out appeared to them and settled on each one of them. Thy were all filled with the Ruach ha Kodesh and began to speak in other tongues as the Ruach enabled them to speak out . . . And when this sound came, the crowd gathered. They were bewildered, because each was hearing them speaking in his own language. And they were amazed and astonished . . . we hear them declaring in our own tongues the mighty deeds of God.

There are amazing parallels in both events. Bible students and scholars have noted the parallels. They were both public dramatic miraculous events. Both are on mountains. Mt. Sinai was a temple of God’s presence as was the Temple in Jerusalem that was its successor.

The days of Moses were not bereft of the Spirit. Moses had the Spirit and the Spirit came upon the 70 elders who prophesied Numbers 11:24-26. Moses seemed to anticipate the New Covenant and said, “If only Adonai would make all the people prophets.”

The Spirit is certainly important in the Mosaic period, but the Torah, the Word, the commandment is much more emphasized. Due to the failure of the nation, the prophets predicted a New Covenant (Jeremiah 31:31ff, Ezekiel 36:24ff) where the Spirit in us would move us to obey God’s word. The New Covenant brings the Age of the Spirit where the two mountains come together, the Torah of God-given on Sinai and the Spirit of God given on Mt. Zion. The giving of the Spirit establishes a better covenant (Heb. 8:7-12). The better covenant empowers through our dying and rising with Yeshua (Romans 6) and being filled with the Spirit. Romans 8:4 summarizes, “So that the requirement of the Torah might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Ruach.”

In the Mosaic order, the Word of Torah is the larger emphasis, in the New Covenant the power of the Spirit is the larger emphasis. The giving of the Spirit in power brings a great harvest. It did in the first century and onward and from every great revival a harvest was gained.

The words of Joel 2:28 ff and Acts 2 show us that that outpouring was not the final fulfillment of Joel 2. It was, as with the Kingdom having come, in an “already not yet” way. Why? Because these texts still envision a greater final outpouring that would lead to the final harvesting and the second coming of Yeshua. This was understood by Puritans and Lutheran Pietists hundreds of years ago and was also the hope of the Pentecostals in their beginnings. It is hard to miss this: The underlines that follow note the parts of the text that show that the great fulfillment of Joel 2 is also not yet and still to be greater than anything that has yet been seen.

And it shall be in the last days, says God, that I will pour out my Ruach on all flesh. Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your young men shall dream dreams. Even on My slaves, male and female, I will pour out my Ruach in those days, and they shall prophesy.

And I will give wonders in the sky above and signs on the earth beneath, blood, fire, and smoky vapor. The sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the great and glorious Day of ADONAI. And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls on the name of ADONAI shall be saved.

All flesh anticipates something more than the few thousand who experienced the Spirit at that time. The events of Joel 2 are to occur just before the final mighty Day of the Lord. This is the Day when God intervenes in final deliverance for his people but judgment on the wicked who will not repent. The phenomena of signs in the heaven, the sun, and the moon were not yet fulfilled. Yes, the first century was a day of the Lord but not the Day of the Lord. The final outpouring leads to a mass harvest so that whoever calls on the name of the ADONAI shall be saved. The images here of the smoke and fire are also Sinai images.

We see an amazing aspect of this end-time revival and outpouring of the Spirit in Isaiah 4:2-6. It is an astonishing passage.

In that day the Branch of ADONAI will be beautiful and glorious . . . whoever is left in Zion and whoever remains in Jerusalem will be called holy—everyone who is recorded among the living in Jerusalem.

After ADOANI has washed away the filth of the Daughters of Zion and has purged the blood of Jerusalem from her midst, by the spirit of judgment and by the spirit of burning, then ADONAI will create over the whole area of Mount Zion and over her convocations, a cloud by day and smoke and shining of a flaming fire by night. For over all, glory will be a canopy.

Note the days of Moses images but also the greater promise of the ultimate presence of the ADONAI in Jerusalem. This day will come when Jerusalem calls on the name of Yeshua.

We, therefore, seek a mighty Shavuot/Pentecost worldwide, in Israel and Jerusalem but until that day we can see revivals that are local and regional. The Disciples were mightily filled a second time in Acts 4:29-31, and Peter’s prayer needs to be ours.

And now, Lord, look at their threats, and grant Your servants to speak your word with utmost courage—while You stretch out Your hand to heal, and signs and wonders take place through the name of Your holy Servant Yeshua.

And when they had prayed, the place where they were gathered was shaken. And they were all filled with the Ruach HaKodesh and began to speak the word of God with boldness.

How do we get Trustworthy Information

The loss of a commitment to objective news reporting and the domination of the media by the left has made it very difficult to know if we are gaining trustworthy news. One could respond by saying they trust conservative media sources like Fox News and News Max. I have been watching this for some time and do not think this is true. What has happened is that Fox news is dominated by partisan shows? Here is my evaluation:

The Wall Street Journal probably is the most balanced news source in America.
The Jerusalem Post and the Times of Israel is a very good source of reporting while seeking to really be non-ideological. Both are Zionist but not strident.
I 24 English news form Israel is international and amazingly objective and non- partisan.
There are news programs on Fox that are seeking to be objective and non-partisan. They are not the dominant programming on the station. I would say that Bret Baier is the best news program on T. V. for objective reporting.

Few have time for this, but one can get a better idea if one listens to mainstream and leftist cable and then listens to Fox and reads Newsmax. What becomes amazing is how one picks and chooses from information to partisan ends on both sides. It is interesting how stories that make Democrats look bad are just suppressed. The larger amount of information that provides context is skewed. Here are some examples.

Some time ago I posted a comprehensive review of the responses to COVID 19. It shows the failures and the right responses of everyone. In partisan news one only picks the information that shows their side to have responded rightly and the other side wrongly.
The reporting on the Centers for Disease Control is a case in point. When the CDC missed it and did not sound the alarm early on, the right makes a big deal of this so as to support Trump. When Trump calls into question CDC information the left makes the CDC an almost infallible source of information and advice. This is the case with Anthony Fauci who has missed it sometimes and gotten it right sometimes. He also did not sound the alarm early on. But you never get the balance form partisan news.
So also with China. They really did unleash this on the world, but the left wants to play this down and even call it racist so they can blame Trump.

Sadly, gaining accuracy requires more time than most people have time to give. For some, the Holy Spirit will have to guide us to know that something is wrong in reporting.