Privilege and Disadvantage

Privilege and Disadvantage

It is wrong for a person to be disadvantaged due to the color of their skin. This is the cry of the Critical Race people on the injustice of white privilege. Does it exist? Yes, in court sentencing until recently (amazingly Trump acted to right this), in how police treat black young men in comparison to whites, in educational opportunity, and more. However, there are circumstances where blacks may be more privileged as when a black is accepted to a top-flight university instead of a higher-performing Asian, or in being raised in a sports culture, especially basketball. The well-known player in his day, Enos Country Slaughter, was amazed that he could lead a life making a salary at a game he loved, baseball. In Basketball the pro-players all would be rich with the right financial discipline and investment. That is a great privilege. However, having said all that, I do believe that black skin is generally a disadvantage and white skin an advantage. But it is overly stressed since it is not determinative. Dark Indian immigrants do very well. It is not as in the days of Jim Crow a barrier that cannot be overcome. Those some whites will hire those who “look like and act like me” others really seek diversity. I don’t think there are clear stats to know how this is breaking down. However, I want to talk about another issue of advantages and disadvantages through the lens of my life and then speak of some applications.

My Jewish father died before I was 9 years old. That was a terrible disadvantage. I watched my mother who cried and grieved daily for years. That also was a disadvantage. However, my father left my mother a good sum in inheritance. He was a successful Wall Street broker. That was a great advantage. We never lacked food or clothing and grew up living in a large lovely home without a mortgage. We all went to very good public schools in Northern New Jersey. That was an advantage, a great privilege. I became amazingly fat and was greatly rejected in elementary school to high school until I was 15. I had few friends. It was a terrible disadvantage. Normal-looking thin people were so much more privileged. Yet when I was 12 ½ I was drawn to God and went to Church. This was connected to my Norwegian roots. My Uncle was on the board of Billy Graham’s organization and an elder in the church where I attended. I prayed to accept Jesus. Then I went to summer camp and dedicated my life to Jesus. I also had friends at camp that accepted me. After this, though at times my weight, connected to thyroid issues, gave me depression, I was yet mostly optimistic. I had this deep conviction or certainty that my life would be good, and I would succeed because God was with me. I did lose weight when I was 15. Acceptance was not a big issue anymore though I was not cool. I had two strong friends in the secular school and a few in the church youth group. The family funds were enough to pay for Wheaton College and graduate school. What a privilege this was! I look back on the anti-Semitism of my grandparent’s era, living in the poor area of the Lower East Side of New York, but somehow, they made it financially, and I am so privileged that they did. After a time of depression and doubt, God provided a spiritual father, an amazing man who nurtured me back to faith. What a privilege to be loved and mentored by Wheaton’s Chaplain Evan Welsh.

God has a good calling intended for all, but these callings are not equal. To prevent a good destiny is a central meaning of injustice. (Destiny prevention) However, I have other thoughts. This is for believers. Paul notes that in the Body we should take care of those members who are especially not as beautiful or seemingly important just as we take care of the less presentable parts of our bodies. Do note the many issues of disadvantage, not just black skin. Those who are beautiful in form are given preferences in hiring, marriage prospects, and social advantages. Ever notice how the women look on Fox news? Yet, this can come with challenges. I sometimes think the middling people, not greatly beautiful or ugly but middling, not rich but not poor but well supplied, maybe more well-adjusted. Each of us is called by God to make the most of what God has provided, for we all have advantages and privileges and disadvantages. Those who were raised in loving two-parent families with a father and mother who loved each other show amazing privilege. This may be the number one predictor of success. Lastly, I mention the disadvantages of mental and physical handicaps, autism, genetic deformities, crippling from accidents or even from birth.

The job of the Body of Messiah is to provide communities of love where those who are disadvantaged are well-loved and from that love, and healing can go on to succeed in life as God has called them. The emphasis of the Gospel is toward the disadvantaged; those who are marginalized. With the power of the Spirit, all can come into the most amazing privilege and success. All have a purpose in Him.

What is God Like

In our last article, we argued that life on earth including human life can only be explained by intelligent design or that there is a designer who brought about our world. This is the overwhelming conclusion of most cultures. Ancient China had the concept of the will of heaven and living in accord with the order of heaven. Other cultures describe the gods in the plural as being the source of life on earth. Maybe gods are eternal or maybe not. The gods usually have one at the head of their company. India posited Brahmin as the ultimate god idea but one that is left vague with lesser gods having great sway on earth. Native Americans speak of the Great Spirit and a happy life after death for good people. Africans worship many gods but sometimes perceive an ultimate god above all but only a few tribes seek to relate to him and not only the lesser gods. Judaism and Christianity see God as ultimately good and loving.

The dilemma is, what can be known about God or the realm of divinity without God revealing himself in acts and speech? We now want to look at what can be known about God or the Divine realm without the revelation that is in the Bible. In Acts 17 in Paul’s preaching, we are told that from one original human couple all peoples were created and given boundaries that they might grope after God and perhaps find him. Indeed, this groping after seems universal. In addition, some cultures seem to fall into worshipping dark powers, sacrifice human beings on altars, eat other human beings, and do evil that is hard to comprehend, though in our own recent past terrible evil has been done, such as by the Nazis in killing six million Jews or Stalin in Russia starving from ten to thirty million. Part of the motive was evil religious ideas. We return to our original question.

Human beings find themselves in a world of great beauty and wonderful experiences. Human love between men and women, the birth of children, the joy of nature, animals both pets and wild animals, flowers, sports, art, music, friendship shout that God or the divine is good and loving and pours out good gifts on us. On the other hand, human beings know terrible pain, disease, suffering, death, war, terrible evil done by some against others, natural disasters, floods, earthquakes, tornados, hurricanes, droughts, accidents, and more. This mixture of the wonderful and the terrible has led to three main theories or responses from those who believe that our universe is designed. The first is Deism. Yes, there is God, and He created the universe. It was something He was interested in doing. But He does not care about people and is uninvolved. He created our capacities but left them all up to us and the forces of nature. It is as if God created a clock wound it up and then released it to run on its own. The other theory is dualism, that there are really two gods, the good and the evil god. The ancient religious philosopher Manni in Persia put forth this view, hence called Manichaeanism. The good comes from the good god and the evil from the evil god. The great science fiction series Star Wars gets close to this idea, the good side of the Force and the dark side. When they say they can experience the empowerment of the Force, it is the good side of the Force and they say, “May the Force be with you.” But one can go over to the dark side of the Force. The third response is to say it is too mysterious. Yes, we see the Divine, but we see such good and such evil, that it is an ultimate mystery. We cannot know, but this existence is an illusion (Buddhism). Hindus believe that the good and evil experienced in this life are a matter of just deserts due to our past lives and sins. If we pursue goodness, eventually we escape the wheel of reincarnation birth and death and enter the eternal realm of bliss with no more suffering.

So, where does this leave us? I think a few more comments are in order. First, the idea of one ultimate God is a more credible idea than two gods or many. This is because we experience one universe. The universe is an integrated whole and does not look like a multiverse with many different not integrated parts running on its own. We are not a multiverse, but a universe. Science discovers scientific laws that apply to the whole universe, from Mars to the farthest galaxy. The basic elements are the same on that famous chart of the elements and the discoveries of physics not only of the atom but sub-atomic realities apply to the whole universe. So the designer behind the universe would be an ultimate unity.

So, we conclude that there is one ultimate God. However, does God love us and is He good? There is so much astonishing beauty and joy in living that it seems He is good when we focus on that. But there is so much evil, pain and suffering that it seems He is not. This is called the problem of evil. Those who deny God’s goodness or even his existence due to evil and suffering (a truly foolish idea to deny design) have to deal with the problem of good. How can there be no God of goodness with all the wonderful experiences in this life, all the good things in life?

C. S. Lewis was one of the greatest thinkers of the 20^th century. Children know of him through his children’s series, The Narnia Chronicles. Lewis put forth one more argument in his book Mere Christianity. It was that our conscience that justifies us for good actions and condemns us for evil actions. This is an important hint concerning the nature of the universe. This is similar to Paul’s argument in Romans 1, 2. Conscience is not a perfect guide, but it tells us that we are condemned or affirmed by a judge that is above us. The judge is the Creator of the Universe. This is strong evidence that God is good and cares about good and evil behavior. However, is there an ultimate judgment beyond this life. Many cultures have come to that conclusion.

However, without biblical revelation, we just do not have enough information.

Sukkot | Tabernacles

The first day of Sukkot/Tabernacles begins with a sabbath rest and then will celebrate the next six days as well but not as sabbath day rest days until the 8^th day of rest, Shmini Atzeret.

Messianic Jews and Christians who are zealous for a Jewish-rooted (original context) understanding of their faith are familiar with the major Feasts and Holy Days. Most know their historical meaning to ancient Israel, fulfillment in Yeshua, and last days and Age to Come symbolism. I will not belabor this, but no doubt many of you see site after site and blog after blog teaching on this. Here is a very brief review and then some new comments on what is not usually taught.

The Fall Feasts come on the seventh month of the biblical calendar. It is the month of making perfect (as symbolized in the number 7). The month begins with the sound of the Shofar. It is called Rosh Hoshana due to the Rabbinic teaching that the universe began on this day. It is taught in Judaism, and I think it is likely, that the blowing of the Shofar is a clarion call to get ready and fully engage and prepare for the whole month. We do see a foreshadowing of the trumpets of the judgments in the book of Revelation. On the 10^th day, Yom Kippur is observed. Confession of sin takes place, sin is forgiven and covered (kippur). Of course, Yeshua, our High Priest, fulfilled the meanings and brought His own blood into the most Holy Place. The day looks forward to the general repentance of Israel and the nations where repentance will take place and His Yom Kippur/Passover atonement will be applied more fully to the whole world.

Sukkot is a festival of the final harvest of the year. It is also the largest harvest. We are to dwell in makeshift dwellings and remember our time in the desert before entering the promised Land. This is to remind us that God provided in the desert and that our provision comes from Him. However, it also looks forward to the Kingdom of God being in full manifestation on Earth. After the last wars, the nations will enter the Kingdom of God and send representatives to the Feast, including all who battled against Israel and survived. We are therefore commanded to rejoice during the week of the Feast. This was the Feast in which Yeshua proclaimed himself the Light of the World. The context may have been the candle-lighting ceremonies in the Temple. Also, he proclaimed himself the Water of Life. “If any man thirsts let him come to me and drink.”

The rejoicing on Sukkot would have especially been an enhanced rejoicing every seventh year, the Sabbatical Year, and the 50^th year, the Jubilee Year. First, on the Sabbatical year, all debts were canceled. All who were indebted were given a new start. This is an amazing law. It influenced American law so that one can declare bankruptcy and be released from debt every seventh year. All who fell into need and debt would have a new start, a clean slate. Also, the land was to lie fallow and be renewed. God promised that if Israel acted in faith, the sixth-year harvest and what grew naturally would be so abundant, there would be no lack. Such a law could only be possible by supernatural provision by faith obedience. As a principle of agriculture, we know that land renewal is so important and fields must have fallow years. The Feast of Sukkot therefore would produce much greater rejoicing in the sabbatical year.

The Jubilee Year was much greater than the Sabbatical Year. Not only was debt canceled. That happened in the 7^th Sabbatical year in the cycle, the 49^th year, but the 49^th year led to the 50^th where land was redistributed. All who had to sell their land now received it back. The land returns to the family owners, even if the leader of the family who lost it had died. Since in an agricultural society great wealth is in the Land, the restoration of the Land in this way precluded an ensconced class of the very rich and those who would live on the land as serfs.

Yeshua proclaimed his ministry as a time of Jubilee and his announcement in Luke 4, that his ministry would reverse circumstances for the poor, the sick, the demonized, the grieving, the imprisoned, and the abused, was an amazing announcement. It proclaimed liberty as the announcement on Yom Kippur on the Jubilee year. “Proclaim Liberty throughout the Land” became the cry of the patriots in the American Revolutionary War and is inscribed on the Liberty Bell. The goal of the Torah is amazing, to see that all had provision and a store of wealth.

Alas, we are told in Jeremiah that Israel did not have faith to keep the Jubilee year. This raises other questions about economics. The Bible allows for rich and poor in society, and gaining wealth in trade, production and more. It is not re-distributed. But a part of the wealth is, that is the land. The great debate between the most libertarian, the progressive Democrats and the Socialists is a great debate with a huge gap of the divide. For Libertarians, income taxes are a type of stealing. The Democrats say that the rich need to pay their fair share (which percentage is never defined and then the higher taxes end up being charged to the consumer in higher prices). The socialists want to level wealth and income. What a great gulf! There is a middle ground, that the wealthy would pay for lifting the poor by providing job training, real education, and police protection so that the young would not turn to criminals for their advance. Rather than the government doing so, I would like to see the incentives for taxes such that the rich have to give a percentage that they choose to private programs that they believe are doing the best job with real results. Corporations can do job training and then hire. This is more productive than paying for often worthless college experiences.

At any rate, let us rejoice this Sukkot.

Image source bit.ly/2ZcL89H

The Cults of Human Rights

The fountainhead, the roots of all human rights progress in the West can be traced to biblical influence. Only nations that have these biblical roots have embraced the quest for human rights and outside of this influence, it is unknown. So, historian Tom Holland, an atheist, in England argues. The magnificent writings of the great scholar Rodney Stark shows this in several books. See his, For the Glory of God, How Monotheism led to Reformation, Science, Witch Hunts, and the End of Slavery. Fighters for human rights on a biblical basis have been the key to real progress. Of course, not all professors of faith had any real commitment to human rights, but those who were motivated by God and biblical teaching to fight for progress were greatly influential. Here are two examples of the kind of biblical teaching that got seeded into the world through the spread of Christianity,

“From one he made every nation of men to live on the face of the earth, having set appointed times and the boundaries of their territory. They were to search for Him, and perhaps grope around for Him and find Him. Yet He is not far from each of us.” Acts 17:26,27 TLV

“With it (the tongue) we bless our ADONAI and curse people, who are made in the image of God (Gen. 1:26, 27 ref.) . . . these things should not be so. James 3:9,10. TLV

Search as you will the ancient traditions and literature of the world and you will not find the idea that every individual is of special importance as crated in the image of God. We can not make progress by persecuting and mistreating others!

Christian rooted cultures (those who were historically Christian influenced) produced two kinds of movements for human rights. First are the movements whose vision and values are in accord with Scripture. They are best led by committed Christians like Martin Luther King. Sometimes people in these movements are not Christians but so influenced by the Bible that their movement has a biblical character. (Gandhi). Others have a vision for a society and how they want the world to be. However, there are often strong departures from biblical norms and values. These movements become very destructive. They are like cults from Christianity.

The greatest example of the destructive cult movement for equality, Marxism, has done untold damage. Whenever a society goes Marxist it must enforce its authoritarian order by oppression and violence. The great adversarial relationship with China is due to its Marxist leaders from the early days of the Communist state, though China today is hardly true to Marxism though it is brutally authoritarian and oppressive. Tens of millions have been slaughtered in the quest for equality in human rights. The idea of equality in regard to equal outcomes in income, wealth accumulation, and more as a state policy leads to terrible destruction, though of course as Messiah’s followers may voluntarily give up wealth for higher callings. We think of the revolutions. Whether or not we think the United States revolution was justified, Christian or Judeo Christian values dominated the leaders. In the French Revolution, a wholesale rebellion against God and biblical values were ensconced. The slaughter for equality is terrible. Sometimes you can tell the difference easily. More biblically rooted movements value human life and eschew violence and oppression as a way to a more just society. However, for Marxist and other evil supposed equality movements, violence and death for those in the way is accepted. For Marxist equality, millions can be slaughtered. Marxism always leads to great oppression and more poverty in Cuba, Venezuela, N. Korea, China, and Russia. China now moves away from Communist equality toward enterprise and wealth disparities but they maintain the authoritarianism. (See my book Social Justice. Justice is not equality generally but only in biblically defined contexts)

One other key to biblical human rights is that they are based on biblical norms of morality. Fostering destructive patterns of life cannot be fostered as human rights. Today so-called human rights are toward destructive behaviors being celebrated and an enforced affirmation of these behaviors. These behaviors will lead to family destruction and greater poverty. Yet, we are to treat people who hold to such wrong ideas and foster such destructive movements with love and dignity since they are created in God’s image. The battle is fought on the basis of ideas and not on the basis of their oppression and persecution.

Paul David Yonggi Cho and our Marriage

I recently got a message that Paul David Yonggi Cho, the former pastor of the World’s largest church died.

In 1986 I was part of a committee of leaders that sponsored a church growth conference with Dr. Cho. Several hundred pastors came, some noted, including Dr. Richard C. Halvorson, before he became the Chaplain to the U. S. Senate. Cho spoke about how God had spoken to him when he was pastor of a little church that he would pastor the largest congregation in the World. What an outlandish word to receive. Yet the proof of the pudding is in the eating. In his presentations, Cho asserted that God gave him this huge church and ministry to convey two messages. The first was that all churches were to grow through cell groups that were both pastoral to the people in them, and evangelistic. The second was the importance of prayer. Early morning corporate prayer was central. Cho joked that one time he was so tired but left for prayer just the same and did not realize he was in his pajamas. They also created prayer mountains for prayer retreats. We were privileged to minister many times in Korea and experience Korean prayer. However, I think there was a third message. It was supernatural signs and wonders flowing from prayer that is a key to evangelism. Cho told many stories. He was unassuming and delightful. Those of us who applied his teaching were very blessed.

However, I have one personal story, an amazing one. Patty was nursing our youngest son, Samuel. We came to the restaurant where the committee was to meet and have lunch with Pastor Cho. Somehow, Patty and I were the first in the room, so we thought we would just wait for the rest of the committee. At that moment, Patty was overwhelmed with thirst and just had to have a drink of water. She decided to sit down at the table and drink the water which had been poured into the glasses. As she was drinking, Dr. Cho walked in but there were still no others. He decided to sit down opposite to us. We introduced ourselves and I explained our Jewish ministry. Dr. Cho remarked that in some ways, Israel is like Korea, between Empires that want to take them over, China and Japan with Korea, like Israel with Egypt and Assyria and fighting for their independence.

Then out of the blue (I think the Spirit of prophecy came on him), he pointed his finger at Patty and said, “You must praise your husband.” This was a shock. Patty asked, “What do you mean.” He said, again, “You must praise your husband.” Then Patty, of good English stock with stiff upper lip said she was taught, “If I praise him too much he will get a swelled head.” Cho responded that she should not worry about that, for “Other people will pop his bubble, but you must praise your husband.” Needless to say, I was not unhappy about the pastor of the largest church in the world giving Patty this prophetic word.

In December 1971 we were married just less than six months. We were having a great struggle. The fault was mine. I was trying to criticize my dear bride that she might conform to some of my ideals (not from God but what I wanted). She was wounded deeply, and we were alienated. I went for a walk and got a big rebuke from the Spirit. He spoke to me and said that I was destroying my marriage. I was commanded to not focus on what displeased me but on all the good that Patty was and did and ignore the other. I was told to praise her and that paise was the soil in which she would grow. Some years later at a leadership conference with Myles Monroe, the famous late pastor from Nassau, Bahamas, he taught this as a principle for husbands and laid the primary responsibility on them for the success of their marriage. But now, in 1986, almost 15 years later, Patty was given this message.

When I received this word from the Spirit in 1971 (and I claimed to not be charismatic!) it turned our marriage around dramatically. I deeply repented to Patty. Then Patty received her word from Cho. It does not mean that we do not discuss issues, or problems in ways that we behave that are not helpful, but the soil of our marriage is mutual praise and growing in gratitude. As we did this, year by year we grew in perceiving the treasure of the other. We learned to serve the other first and not ask how well we were being served. Some of you read that after 50 years of marriage, the passion of our love is sometimes like infatuated young lovers, but with a stability of life experience and appreciation and depth that young love can not know.

Thank you Dr. Paul David Yonggi Cho for giving a push in this direction of praise toward the joy of love. We are thankful for your life.

Rosh HaShana | Yom Teruah

I am sitting in my study. This morning during devotions, I was reflecting on Rosh Hoshana. Once again, this year is not the normal Rosh Hoshana where were we go to services, sing liturgy and hear the sound of the shofar. The Delta COVID spike has changed that for us. I loved our gatherings when I was leading our congregation in Maryland. We had such wonderful times of worship with a Yeshua-centered liturgy. The presence of the Spirit was so precious.

Today’s reflections were on the meaning of this day. Biblically, I think that the meaning of the day was just to bring an exclamation point that on the Jewish biblical calendar, this month was of crucial importance. The first month, Passover, and now the seventh month are most important times on the calendar. In seventh month, we were to experience forgiveness on the Day of Atonement and all that is connected to it. (Lev. 16, 23) The 15^th to 23^rd centered on the great harvest festival, Sukkot, and its concluding time of the 8^th day sabbath celebration, Shemini Atzeret. Rosh Hoshana, (not the biblical name) is the wake up call of preparation and accentuates the whole month. Maimonides noted this wake up call for sleepers, a key meaning of the sound of the Shofar. The actual biblical name is the day of the blowing of the Shofar, Yom Teruah.

Yet, I am not averse to the Rabbinic meaning given to the day, the memorial of the first day of creation. There is no proof that the first day of creation was on Tishri 1. The Sabbath is a memorial of the 7 days of the Genesis account of God creating the heavens and the earth. However, it does not commemorate first moments of creation, “In the beginning, God created.”

The Genesis account now has an agreement with scientists. Orthodox Jewish scientists and conservative Christian scientists and other theists are happy about this agreement. Atheist scientists, not so much. I want to write about the Genesis 1:1. The Universe had a beginning. The famous astronomer, Frederick Hoyle, posited the steady-state theory of the universe. It was the preferred view of atheists and agnostics. The universe always just was, is and will be as it is now, everlasting cycles as in Hinduism. Galaxies, stars and solar systems come into being and pass away in an everlasting process with no beginning or end. Today, no one holds this view. The scientific evidence is so very strong against it. The Universe had a beginning. Some have called it the big bang theory since the universe constantly expands from a tiny point beginning smaller than the ballpoint on a pen. From that concentration of matter, all has come. There really was no bang, though the idea of an explosion fits the expansion. It is rather a singularity event of beginning. It fits Genesis 1:1 perfectly. This is so upsetting to some! They even posit multiple universes and many such singular beginnings in some other unmeasured or undetectable dimension (It can never be discovered since it is beyond our universe to which we are limited.) They will appeal to it for their defense of evolution. It is special pleading with no evidence at all.

The argument for the existence of God from design is the second part of my article today. Not only is there a beginning, but there is simply no way to account for the universe and life on planet earth including human life without positing an intelligent designer. The idea of chance evolution is not new. It was posited by the Greek philosopher Anaxagoras. A chance evolution view was put forth as well by Epicurious, the Greek, and by Lucretius in Latin. For the latter two, chance assembled all that exists by tiny particles colliding and joining. Darwin sought to give chance more sophistication but it really was the same argument ultimately as these ancients. He posited the idea of survival of the fittest once life came into being to explain the upward line of development ending in human intelligence. Of course, this did not fit the fact that on a survival and adaptive basis simple celled animals have greater survival capability. Today, Darwin’s simplistic view and all other iterations over the years have now been found to be bankrupt since the simplest cell is as organized as New York city. That the organization of the cell is a most complex integrated reality that cannot evolve from simpler forms shows the impossibility of evolution. There is no simpler form that a cell can evolve from.

However, there has not been a catch up in the culture to what some know for sure, a paradigm shift. You can read about the impossibility of naturalistic evolution and the irreducible complexity (Michael Behe’s term) or specified complexity (William Dempski’s term) that show it to be impossible. It is summarized in Orthodox Jewish physicist Gerald Schroeder’s writings. The evidence is so irrefutable that two of the most notable atheists have concluded that naturalistic evolution is impossible. Antony Flew, the leading atheist philosopher in Britain, wrote a book asserting God Exists near the end of his life. This was a bombshell considering Flew’s history. Then Thomas Nagel, whom some consider to be the greatest American philosopher, now emeritus, from New York University, historically an atheist, has argued that naturalistic evolution is impossible in his important book Mind and Cosmos. Read a few of these sources and be amazed!

How can this be answered? Again, only with special pleading speculation. Maybe if our universe is one of an almost infinite number of universes that come into being and pass away, then what is impossible according to chance statistics becomes possible. This does not work, not at all, since the issue is that in an evolutionary view, life had to arise spontaneously from inorganic life. The first cell was so complex that it could not be done. Therefore, the impossibilities of evolution from simpler to complex life based on the possibilities given this world’s beginnings according to the theory of evolution, is again impossible.

Finally, there is the issue of an anthropic universe. Astrophysicists use this term to demonstrate that the whole universe seems specifically designed to support human life on earth. The very forces of basic physics, strong and weak forces in atoms, gravity and the effect of galaxies on this earth, show an exact confluence of mathematical chance impossibilities that occur none the less. Paul Davis, Michael Denton and Gerald Schroeder and many others argue this. The answer of the atheists? The same special pleading of multiple universes. Yes, they will say, it is extraordinarily unlikely that such a universe that is so fine-tuned so as to support human life would exist. However, if many universes exist and come into being and pass away, over infinite time, one would exist that is fine-tuned and really looks designed. Of course, there is no evidence for this at all. Again, on the idea of the complexity of the cell itself it is impossible within the universe that does exist.

So, from the big bang, or the singularity event of the beginning, to the complexity of the cell to the fine tuning of the whole universe, it is certain that the universe exists only by the will of an infinite intelligent designer. Why is this now denied? In the year 2021 the evidence is overwhelming. Is it because these folks do not want to believe in God?

The Bible Will Keep us from Decline in Theological Liberalism

When I was a young leader in Chicago at Adat HaTikvah, we rented from a Presbyterian Church. I was at that time an ordained Presbyterian minister with hopes of influencing the Church to return to a more Evangelical orientation. The Pastor of the church was a homosexual who argued that the Bible was written a long time ago before our more advanced knowledge of psychology and genetics. We would have to adjust our moral stands to take into account this greater understanding. We maintained a friendly relationship. I did not know any details about his personal life. However, in the Presbytery of Chicago, I was part of a vocal contingent that argued against this new re-adjustment. Most of us who so argued had a high view of Scripture, that every text taught the truth when understood according to the claim of the author in context (inerrancy-see my summary in Dan Cohn-Sherbuk, Voices of Messianic Judaism, “Biblical Authority” 19-28). Those who argued against our view had a lower view of Scripture as containing revelation, but an imperfect book. Though we held off the moral revisionists for a season, they eventually prevailed. They controlled 6 of the 7 major seminaries of the denomination. Then I observed the rapid decline of the denomination (I left in 1981 on good terms). From 5.5 million members to under 2 million, but in real terms today, maybe only a million. There was a profession of respect for the Bible, but generally, the idea was that we must negotiate a position that accommodates modern culture. Many other mainstream denominations also took this direction with similar declines, such as the Episcopal Church, from 3 million to under 1 million. It was then that Dean Kelly wrote his monumental study, Why Conservative Churches are Thriving. This is not as much today as conservative churches in America have switched to a feel-good Christianity rather than the radical call to the cross and discipleship. However, we learned from those years of steep decline from 1975 to 2005.

Many of the early leaders in the Messianic Jewish world were trained in the best of Evangelical institutions. They entered their work of evangelism, planting, and pastoring holding to a high view of Scripture with confidence that on the foundational issues of theology and morals Scripture was clear (the two are intertwined) and that the consensus of the Church throughout history on these matters was firmly established. My own professor and mentor on biblical authority was the Dean of Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, Dr. Kenneth Kantzer, whom I consider the finest teacher on these issues in the 20th century. Dr. Walter Kaiser, who later became the President of Gorden Conwell Seminary, was also an influence. Dr. Kaiser was one of the early teachers in our Messianic Jewish yeshivot.

One other book was a seminal influence, Christ and Culture, by H. Richard Niebuhr. Niebuhr argues for respecting cultures but with the centrality of Christ and his teaching being the key for what is discarded and what can be redeemed and transformed. He argued against the liberal orientation where Christ is subsumed under culture so that what is left is not a vibrant biblical orientation.

This all produced a foundation for me and many others where we seek to understand the universal absolutes of Biblical teaching according to its own context of cultural background for interpretation. Then we seek to present those claims, including the claims of the Gospel, in the most relevant way, but without compromising those absolutes. Many who do not believe in the full trustworthiness of Scripture cannot over the long time succeed in this work but will in the end compromise Biblical teaching to accommodate the culture. It is not that there is new evidence in the culture really refutes biblical teaching. Rather the strong cultural push against historic biblical morals is a matter of propaganda.

Today we face a new shaking, and the Messianic Jewish world is not insulated from it. The center of it connects to sexual identity agendas which are being given an enormous propaganda push by the left. It includes such matters as the push back against the traditional teaching of Yeshua that God’s standard was lasting marriage without divorce of one man and one woman for life (Matthew 18); the rejection of pre-marital sex and cohabitation without marriage, and the clear standard of Torah that rejects confusion in regard to the identity of male and female. This also includes a more tolerant acceptance of abortion. Those denominations that have embraced a cultural accommodation in steady decline. No Church stream that is growing in evangelism and discipleship (Kingdom expansion) has embraced the cultural accommodation. This includes Africa, India, China, East Asia, Southeast Asia and South America. For all who are confused or in these wrong orientations, the power of the Gospel offers deliverance though repentance and submission to Yeshua. His word remains, “Repent for the Kingdom of God is at hand.” I just do note that the formation of the new Anglican association, GAFCON, our of African and Asia is now the growing segment of Anglicanism and has totally rejected the liberalizing trends.

This also relates to the Messianic Jewish approach to halakha. I accept the fact that there are new situations presented by today’s society that require thinking about how biblical principles apply to new situations. How do we apply the principles of the Sabbatical year and Jubilee to a modern age when the situation of agriculture is so different and wealth distribution cannot be done by a return to ancestral land? How do we deal with medical issues that were never even considered in ancient days such as artificial insemination, or genetic medicine to produce cures? What about cloning? What about extending life through genetic manipulation? Also, how do we apply biblical injunctions on caring for the environment? What is consistent for Jewish people in keeping the Sabbath today and not working and what is not under the New Covenant consistent with Shabbat observance. But halakha must not come up with adjustments or changes in Biblical absolutes such that spoken by the word of Yeshua that we make void the Word of God through our traditions. Rabbi Lawrence Schiffman in his From Text to Tradition, clarifies that though the Torah has a high place of authority in Rabbinic Judaism, Rabbinic authority superseded biblical authority. This we must not allow. If we do, we will slide into decline just like the mainline denominations. Of course liberal Judaism has made this radical adjustment.

All of this relates to how we approach all the issues of LGBTQ people. Reaching out in compassion is crucial. Accommodation in a way that could be taken as accepting ways of life that violate absolute biblical norms must not be done. Not only would such accommodations lead to our decline, but we would be lending ourselves to the possible damnation of those Yeshua came to save, whose salvation depends on repentance and seeking to live by biblical norms. I am for the accommodations that welcome inquirers into our midst, but our evangelism to these groups will no doubt be much more connected to developing relationships outside of the meeting spaces of our communities.

On a practical note, the fact of aberrant sexual orientations should be understood in a multifaceted way. There are many factors that aid in ministry. Some can be due to just being born after the fall such that design in creation is marred. God has power for us to overcome such handicaps. Secondly, there are environmental factors, upbringing, and the earliest memories. Thirdly, there is demonic power though in a modern world we do not like to realize that there is very powerful demonic forces at work. There are intergenerational negative inheritances. Then there is a too rigid cultural definition of what counts as male and female ways of living. On a ministry-level, there is much needed. I recommend studying the writings of Messianic Jewish Scholar Michael Brown, Albert Moeller (former head of the Southern Baptist Association), and the pastoral writings of Leanne Payne.

What if Luke 4:18 was really the priority of the church?

Imagine the Gospel story if it read like this.

Yeshua called his 12 disciples and brought them to a special retreat in Galilee. The trauma of Roman occupation and hard dealings with zealot terrorists was such that these disciples would not be able to do ministry for some years. After a few years of intense ministry for inner healing and deliverance, he established some communities where others could find the same benefits.

Of course, there were many traumatized in first-century Israel, but those who were called by Yeshua entered the work and were healed as they walked in the power of God and were able to see God work through them as He worked through Yeshua. This level of power in the Gospel is something that in the American Church, we do not know well.

Yeshua’s ministry was primarily and first to those we call marginalized. Early in his ministry, Yeshua announced the character of his work in these terms,

“The Ruach ADONAI (Sprit of the LORD) is on me,

Because He has anointed me

to proclaim Good News to the poor.

He has sent me to proclaim

release to the captives

and recovery of sight to the blind,

to set free the oppressed,

and to proclaim the year of

ADONAI’S favor.

This quote is from Isaiah 61. The context of the Jubilee reset where lands returned to their original owners such that the whole country experienced a new economic reset. Though the ministry of Yeshua invited all, the focus was on the marginalized and He indeed set them free as did the Apostles and the 70 in Luke 9, 10. The Beatitudes of Matthew 5 should be understood in the same way.

The American Church has pursued all kinds of goals but has not generally put the focus where Yeshua placed it. He expected those who ministered with him to find healing in the “As you go,” ministry to others rather than a focus on self. I have often asked the question. What if the American Church was filled with Holy Spirit power and focused its efforts on the marginalized with effectiveness? Would we still have a Black Lives Matter Movement and an increase in neo-Marxist ideas today? I think not. What if the Church was effective in power with those who are bound by drugs, or those with gender dysphoria? What if even the blind would be healed, and the lame would walk? Imagine the credibility of the Church and the progress of the Gospel in American society!

There is a new growing emphasis on Luke 4:18. I was focused on this when I heard that our friend Mike Bickle of International House of Prayer was embracing a prophetic time of focus on Luke 4:18 to be one of the defining foundations of their ministry. Though it is not large at this point, this emphasis is growing and could be part of revival and restoration in the American Church.

Luke 4:18 presented a ministry vision for the marginalized in Israel in the first century. We have so many that are marginalized in Israel today, and some congregations and ministries are giving themselves to a Luke 4:18 focus. I hope that this will be a growing key to the Messianic Jewish movement in Israel.

The Great Loss of the Young Adult Generation to the Body of the Messiah

How is it possible that statistics say that the younger generation has been lost in droves to the Body of the Messiah? I don’t think the answers are difficult to find.

The basic answer is that this generation in the deepest level of soul was formed much more by the secular world than by a culture of radical loyal followers of the Messiah. Most parents allowed this generation to be raised by a public school system that does not respect biblical values in contradistinction to the time period when I was raised in public schools. Teachers impart who they are. Sometimes this includes demonic presence. Our children were given at least 7 hours a day year after year. Then they mostly attended secular higher education if they continued schooling. The whole orientation and atmosphere were anti-biblical. In addition, the young adult generation is the first generation raised on the internet. Many found much anti-biblical content to influence them. However, there is another more insidious and hidden aspect. Focus on the screen hour after hour produces for many an inability to focus and concentrate. Brain physiologists and psychologists note a change in brain function and addictive behavior. This produces an inability to read deeply or to appreciate the depth of truth, beauty, and goodness. Thomas Dubay in his great book, The Evidential Power of Beauty, one of the most profound books I have ever read, and an amazing apologetic for biblical faith, notes that beauty reveals God. However, a jaded generation no longer can appreciate beauty on any deep level. Their minds are dulled. There is a lack of interest even in the beauties of sports, both participatory and spectator. In summary, we did not produce a counterculture, but were blindsided and inadvertently allowed the world to raise our children.

There are other reasons. Did our children see and experience such a reality in God that it was difficult for them to deny it? Did they witness real miracles? Did they see an effective congregational life that brought deliverance to people according to the Luke 4:18 model of Yeshua and his Apostles where the marginalized are healed and freed? Were they impressed with what the Church has done for the poor and marginalized? Were they led into their own encounter with Yeshua and found that it was an unshakable reality?

So where do we begin? First, the generation that seems lost can be awakened in revival. Let us first repent for missing it and giving our children over to the world. Let us pray and believe that Yeshua will reveal himself and awake the slumbering, for such is this generation of young adults, woke to deceptive philosophies of our age, but dead or asleep to the truth and reality of Yeshua.

Secondly, let us now begin with what remains, those who are followers of Yeshua and raising young children. We begin with preschool children. Let us create a true counterculture including alternative schools, both private schools (as we did some 40 years ago) and home school consortiums. Let us turn off the internet and have no unsupervised internet for minor children, and let us limit the time on the screen from none at all (yes, it is not necessary to do internet) to limited time. Then let us create a reading culture in our families by reading great stories to our children, having them read great books, and discussing those books. Let us give our children access to beauty, by trips in nature, camping, learning musical instruments, listening to great music, and seeing great art. Let us center our lives on Bible reading, together and in personal devotions. We can also take our children to venues where they will witness miracles and can see the reality of God’s interventions in amazing ways. Let us lead them into being born again, immersed in the Spirit, and having a passionate relationship with God.

When we speak about creating a counterculture, we are aware that the danger in so protecting our children that they will not be able to cope with the world. We need much wisdom here. Sufficient and guided understanding of the world, its teachings, its influence, and more is needed if our children are to be able to face this world with courage and not fall apart when exposed to it. As children need to play in the dirt to develop their immune system, so sufficient guided exposure is needed if the children when they grow up will be able to face this world with courage and not be overwhelmed by it. Yes, we need to educate our children about the world so they will not be overwhelmed. We can raise a generation that for the most part will not abandon the faith.

The Evidential Power of Beauty

A few years back, our friend Mike Bickle recommended a book that had greatly increased his understanding of the beauty of the LORD and beauty itself. It was by the Catholic Theologian Thomas Dubay. Patty, my wife, first read this book and was very enthusiastic about it. Then I read it. It almost takes your breath away.

In Dubay’s presentation, beauty, truth, and goodness are intertwined. The beautiful is the true. He even notes scientist after scientist who declared that the theory more likely to be true is the most beautiful one. This is also asserted in the very difficult but amazing book by chemist philosopher Michael Polyani, Personal Knowledge.

Dubay presents the evidence of beauty in the world of art including music and presents the nature of beauty as a reflection of our being created in the image of God. He presents the evidence of science. The macrocosmic, that is the universe of galaxies and the amazing order. Yes, it is order and not something random, and all is ordered in a way to support life on earth. He presents the microcosm, each cell an ordered and beautiful complexity that is as complex as New York City. This has prompted America’s most famous philosopher Thomas Nagel in his book, Mind and Cosmos, to declare that the Darwinian theory of evolution is systematically impossible. Then he describes the amazing beauty of the midcosm, creation on the plain of our normal existence, plants, animals, rocks, and trees. By the time he is done, if you are not jaded by a weak life upbringing and disappointments, you are greatly inspired. Great athleticism is also part of this realm of beauty.

However, he leaves the greatest description of beauty to be the life of Yeshua, his amazing death for our sins and his resurrection. It is the beauty of the LORD revealed in fullness.

In our days at Wheaton College, Professor Clyde Kilby, a friend of C. S. Lewis, sought to awaken students to beauty, to open them to wonder, and then to the reality of God perceived in the experience of wonder. The great Rabbi scholar, Abraham Joshua Heschel, spoke of human beings finding themselves in a universe that shows grandeur everywhere. I am well aware of our struggle with the problem of evil and doubt. However, the grandeur and beauty of life is much the greater reality.

One of the very sad aspects of the generation growing up is a jadedness that cannot perceive beauty and the grandeur of creation. They are jaded by hours of brain-deadening screen time and coarse musical entertainment. I wonder how much unbelief is rooted in a culture that cannot perceive beauty. Higher education seems to have lost the quest for truth, beauty, and goodness. This follows along with one of my recent articles. Our calling is to become a counter-culture where our young are educated and trained to recognize beauty and to be moved by it. We have to overcome a culture where nothing wonderful captures the imagination of our young. So many commit suicide because they are just blind to the reality of that which gives joy. For us who follow Yeshua, the greatest revelation of truth, beauty, and goodness is in the Scriptures, brought to their height in the New Covenant Scriptures. As we read them, we should ask, how is it possible that something this wonderful can be written. Amazement at the person of Yeshua, the ideals, the morals and ethics of the text, the power of the Spirit, and more should capture and move us. May it be so. I do recommend to you all this wonderful book. I want to read it once a year.