The Devil loves secrecy

That gem was a throwaway comment from Archie.

When I'm really struggling with some sin or nurturing some unhealthy attachment, its hold is loosed when I just name it with a Christian friend. Isn't it funny?

The Lord your God will rejoice over you with singing

Went to a cool music conference over the weekend. Amongst all the Bible's songs about our singing to God and each other, here's a little gem from Zephaniah 3: 14-17:

Sing, O Daughter of Zion;
shout aloud, O Israel!
Be glad and rejoice with all your heart,
O Daughter of Jerusalem!

The LORD has taken away your punishment,
he has turned back your enemy.
The LORD, the King of Israel, is with you;
never again will you fear any harm.

On that day they will say to Jerusalem,
"Do not fear, O Zion;
do not let your hands hang limp.

The LORD your God is with you,
he is mighty to save.
He will take great delight in you,
he will quiet you with his love,
he will rejoice over you with singing."

God will sing over us! How lovely.

A friend commented, "I bet he has a great voice".

Changing Platforms Hazard

As the train pulled away, I ambled down the stairs to cross to the next platform. Click-click click-click tapped my new boots. There was a young man at the bottom step, looking back fondly on the steps. Our eyes met and he looked away.

I slowed my pace to allow him to go forward, but he dawdled so much that I unavoidably caught up with him. So I hastened to overtake him. Click-click click-click. But when we were level I heard him say "Hey, do you wanna get a pie or something?"

I tossed back casually "Oh, no thanks."

The young man turns to me, clutching a mobile phone to his ear and scowled "I wasn't talking to you!"

Why is talking about Women's Ministry so hard?

That question kicked off our mixed chaplaincy group discussion.* Forty-five minutes later, we were still giving reasons for why Women's ministry is such a thorny issue... there's little consensus even among faithful theologians, what chance have I got to resolve it... it's so personal... it's integrally linked with identity... the terms and concepts are loaded... there's lots of painful history (in church, in society, often with abuse and oppression)... it's tacitly considered something for the women to work out... even if you work out the theology, the application is tricky... politics and cultural norms exacerbates problems... we don't bring it up for fear of causing offense and ruining a pleasant lunch.

There was something that was lurking in the background. Rarely is a topic so divisive and guaranteed to cause upset as Women's ministry. We could say the above for a range of theological topics. Who agrees on the nature of the Trinity? How do you do church meetings? Other topics affect us personally and deeply. As we disagree about other topics, we still walk side-by-side, negotiating the way forward together.

But for women's ministry, men and women assume opposite sides. Backs go up. Our words betray our thinly veiled accusations "I don't have a problem with...". That is, YOU have the problem. Touchy, touchy...

Why so belligerent? This is THE topic that is inextricably linked with the curses in Gen 3:16. It is the only curse which involves men and women ~ and they are locking horns. Like it or not, we are more likely to sin with this one.

*Should say that this precursor discussion wasn't the least bit upsetting for anyone. It was a nice way to acknowledging the 'elephant in the room'. We didn't get much further than this beginning, but it was a very good beginning.

Christian community is a wonderful gift from God.

Later that night, I had a wonderful opportunity to "run around the paddock", chase all the questions, air heresies to see how far we could take them and bounce off each other without hurting other kids. Some beautiful women training for a lifetime of ministry and I were exploring the territory together. One had the very tricky situation of being hardwired for academia. All in all, I felt like we got somewhere.

Wise Women

I attended an excellent seminar on Suffering at Equip over the weekend. The cuds are still tasty after two days of rumination. Judith Nichols was a vessel of sympathy, Biblical wisdom, real-life-experience and practical advice without nonsense. She handled the topic with a firm and warm hand, masterfully waded through the ethical and spiritual landmines.

Couldn't help being struck by how important it is to be an older woman to carry that off.* Yes, being old doesn't equate to having wisdom gleaned from life experience, nor even to godliness (I've added it to the list)! But there was something about Judith's graceful age that contributed to the gravitas and richness of the seminar. The deep pitch of her voice testifying to her years of living, the lines testifying to the ranges of expressions that have adorned her face and her stillness stripped of youth's fidgeting. They say: this woman has lived and she knows what she's talking about.

I've been writing a sermon on Job and I have somethings to say about suffering which are quite tough to hear. But I'm anticipating that those hard truths will sound trite, unfounded and unsympathetic if they are delivered by someone who is young and looks like a teenager. This is the criticism of Elihu. (Sometimes Asian genes aren't a help!)

Titus 2 gives a teaching model that is often neglected by a society which greatly values youth and qualifications. It is distinct from the peer-mentoring and the profession-lay models. The ideal is that the older women shall teach the younger.

Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. Then they can train the younger women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God.

~ Titus 2:3-5 (NIV)

Older women's prior experience and a life worthy of imitation are assumed. God gives a growth model that prizes goodness, relationships, personal conduct and practicalities. These things are to be taught by older women so that no one will malign the word of God. Is this not a lovely collision of love and truth in the practice of Christian community?

Perhaps we place too much emphasis on the qualifications and activities of the "senior" woman of the ministry to the programs. Meanwhile, we often overlook the value of older women of the group, whose wisdom and experience can encourage godly living which testifies to the goodness of God's word.

*I sincerely hope she doesn't mind this post!

The Ultimate Horror of God's Universe

Certainly, hell is the ultimate horror of God’s universe. The other difficulties of the Bible and of Providence are real enough, but however appalling they may be, their seeming harshnesses and injustices are only temporary, cut short at death. The terrors of hell, on the other hand, belong to the world which lies beyond death.

Wenham’s quote [1] captures how the notions of hell and eternal punishment are the ultimate case study in the goodness of God in light of human suffering. For some, if God “satisfied his thirst for revenge so implacably” as to punish the unsaved eternally, he would be “insatiably cruel” and a “bloodthirsty monster”. This an idea is “morally repugnant” they claim. [2]

This abhorrence of the horrors of hell betrays the degree of distortion in our views on anthropology. We live in an age where human rights are paramount. Societies claim humans have a right to life, free from suffering. We may not explicitly state that God is obligated to show us kindness and mercy, but tacitly humans generally expect to be comfortable and often blame God when we are not. Our rights to comfort has eclipsed God's right to judge.

However, Scripture critiques our views and shows us the reverse is true. The offense of sin deserves the penalty of death (Roman 6:23). We all sin. And our sinfulness earns us a place in hell. We are on death row. As those deserving of the ultimate penalty, we have no rights to life, comfort or blessing. We have no claims! And God is not bound to show mercy.

Scripture asserts God’s right to judge, vindicate his name, to seek retribution for sins committed against him. He is just in bringing humanity under condemnation. God is exercising his right as the just judge by sending sinful humans to hell.

Since God is under no obligation to give blessings, we ought to be stunned that he restrains his wrath, choosing instead to bestow kindness on us. Prisoners on God's death row may live a luxurious life on earth, enjoying good health and relationship. And to some, God even extends a pardon from condemnation, eternal life and a place in his family! In doing all this, God shows himself to be lavishly gracious and unspeakably merciful.

It is preposterous and obtuse then to accuse God of being unjust or lacking mercy when he has already granted condemned sinners earthly life and delayed punishment. It shows the depths of human ingratitude, especially in the light of the fact that God has sent his Jesus Christ to take the punishment in our place, gives us repeated warnings of the impending judgment and grants extra time to turn back to him.

The accusation that God is unfair in sending people to hell reveals how warped our thinking is. We cannot see what is really detestable. What's worse: the murder or the life sentence? What does God find abhorrent? It is sin, not hell, that is the ultimate horror of God’s universe. [3] The severity of the penalty ought to impress upon us the severity of the offense.

[1] John W Wenham, The Enigma of Evil, Surrey: Eagle, 1994, p 68.
[2] Clark H. Pinnock, 'The Nature of Hell', Ex Audity 20 (2004), 55.
[3] Christopher W. Morgan, 'Annihilationism: Will the Unsaved be Punished Forever', in Hell Under Fire, eds. C.W. Morgan and R.A. Peterson. Michigan: Grand Rapids, 2004, p 210.

Black Music

What should I do with Black Music? T Pain, feat. Francisco's "Apple Bottom Jeans" brought this question to the fore again.

I have to hop out of the hiphop closet.

Musically, Black Music can be passionate, cheeky and infectious. Watch people walking by a shop pumping out R&B and note the involuntary shoulder thrust, the disguised booty-slap and the slowing of walking pace to the tempo. Anyone can be a dawg.

I've always taken it as OTT, clever satire. It's fun and funny. I give you Exhibit A:

You got me trippin', stumblin', flippin', fumblin'
Clumsy cuz I'm fallin in love, in love
You got me slippin', tumblin', sinkin', fumblin'
Clumsy cuz I'm fallin in love, in love
So in love with you

~ Fergie

You can let out your inner drama queen (oh, don't go there gf!). I defy you to "shake it like a Polaroid picture" (Outkast) without giggling. But aren't the artists taking themselves seriously? Would they be insulted if I wrote them off as parody?

The lyrics can be more than a little bit naughty and uber-sexualized. I'd be irresponsible for introducing it to under-aged people. A friend repeated the rapidly rapped sections of ABJ to me and I was shocked (and I've worked with engineers!).

So, can I take it as just frivolous fun? And label it "parody" in iTunes?

Or do I give it up? How much of it is soaking through my skin into my brain?

At which level am I participating? (this question can be asked of movies, social activities...)


I'd like to pay tribute to musicians who write funny songs (most of whom are clean).

Respect.

• P.D.Q. Bach
• The Lucksmiths
  
• Hugh Laurie (clip)
  
• Flight of the Conchords (aka the Hiphopoptamus and the Rhymenoceros)
• The Idea of North
• Weird Al Yankovic (clip)
  
• Cake (clip)
• Ben Beilharz
• Robert Martin
• and Ebb and Kander, writers of the musical 'Chicago' which has the honor of being both comedy and 'noir'.