Men # 3 The Better Destination

Historian Paul Johnson, in his book, “The Quest for God”, states the essential importance of the spiritual questions in life. He says,

The existence or the non-existence of God is the most important question we humans are ever called to answer(emphasis mine).  If God does exist, and if in consequence we are called to another life when this one ends, a momentous set of consequences follows, which should affect every day, every moment almost, of earthly existence.  Our life then becomes a mere preparation for eternity.

If, on the other hand, God does not exist, another momentous set of consequences follows.  This life then becomes the only one we have, we have no duties or obligations except our own interests and pleasures.  There are no commands to follow except what society imposes on us , and even those we may evade if we can get away with it.  In a Godless world, there is no obvious basis for altruism of any kind, moral anarchy takes over and the rule of self prevails.¹

Men #2 Heroic Virtues

The second question Jesus asked the multitudes concerning John the Baptist, points out another characteristic of the type of men we need now.

“What went ye out for to see? A man clothed in soft raiment?

In 1940, as it was becoming obvious that the war that was devastating Europe and Britain was about to draw the United States in as well, Walter Lippmann, Pulitzer Prize winning journalist, spoke to the thirtieth reunion of the Harvard class of 1910.  He began by quoting the words of George Washington written when it appeared that the Constitutional Congress would fail:

If to please the people, we offer what we ourselves disapprove, how can we afterwards defend our work? Let us raise a standard to which the wise and honest can repair.

Men #1- Men and Little Old Ladies

What does this country need? 
When it comes to economic solutions I prefer Marx- Groucho, not Karl- who said what this country needs is a good ten-cent nickel. He said when some one purchased something for a nickel they would get a nickel in change. If taken care of properly a nickel could last a family a life time. But there is one form of deficit we have that can not be dealt with so light-heartedly.  As it seems we are reminded daily, this nation is in desperate need of good men.

Of No Earthly Good

It has been said derogatorily of Christians that they are only interested in “pie in the sky, when they die, by and by”, and that they are “so Heavenly minded they are of no earthly good”.  The idea, supposedly, is that people who have a Christian world view have mentally opted out of dealing with thorny secular problems of the day; that their interests are limited to a few “religious issues”. A study released in April by the Barna group does show that there is a voting group that has an AWOL attitude about world concerns, but it is not the Christians.

Not Just Another Pretty Phrase-The 400th Year of the KJV

    

A culture that does not possess this common store of image and allegory will be a perilously thin one.  To seek relentlessly to update it or make it “relevant” is to miss the point, like yearning for a hip-hop Shakespeare.  ‘Man is born unto trouble as the sparks fly upward’, says the book of Job.  Want to try to improve that for Twitter?                               

This was spoken about the King James Version of the Bible, which celebrates its 400 anniversary this year.  It was spoken by one of the Hitchens men in a recent article in Vanity Fair; not Peter, the returned prodigal, but his brother Christopher, the persistent unrepentant. 

A Modest Proposal for Reasonable Service

It was the old country preacher who said, “A theological bias is harder to remove than a Canadian thistle.”  One survey from the Barna folks seem to bear this out, and the results of a second survey draws some relevent implications.

“Twinkle, Twinkle”

Some years ago two men found themselves waiting together on a park bench.  One was a theologian and the other was an astronomer.  After exchanging greetings the astronomer said, “You know, I have a very simple theology.  God is love.”  To which the theologian replied, ” You know, I have a very simple astronomy.  Twinkle, Twinkle little star.”

This story came to mind this week when I heard of Stephen Hawkings’ pronouncement concerning his thoughts on heaven.

The Other “Prodigal”

Post Audio 5.17.2011 “The Other Prodigal”

Christ’s story of the Prodigal Son is one of the most beloved parables in the Bible.  It tells of the long-suffering love of God through the eyes of a father who has the heartbreak of seeing his son go into a far country of sin. When the impoverished son, bearing the consequences of his own foolish actions, comes back home, his father meets him with robe, ring, and rejoicing.

Peter Hitchens, award-winning journalist, in his book, “The Rage Against God”, tells the story from a different perspective with himself as the returning prodigal. 

The Seventh Notch

Most Christians find it heartbreaking to see the lessening of the impact their faith has on the modern culture.  What’s more disheartening is that we began the retreat without even putting up a fight.

“Victory or Be Crippled”

In his biography of Abraham Lincoln, Michael Burlingame recounts an incident few know about the early life of the sixteenth president  In 1842 Lincoln was challenged to a duel