God's Regrets

Ben over at Arminian Perspectives has an interesting post on struggling with regrets.

Regretting is part of the human experience. However, it's interesting to note that God also has regrets. For example in Gen 6:6 God regrets creating man, and in 1 Samuel 15:10,35 he regrets that he made Saul king.

I am curious how the Calvinist would address the issue of God's regrets? The Calvinist believes that everything that takes place is exactly how God intended it. How could God possibly regret anything under that system?

This idea of God regretting also presents an interesting dilemma for the Arminian view of God. Open Theists point to regret as evidence that God does not have exhaustive foreknowledge.

I think that God's regrets are not due to a limitation of foreknowledge, but instead are a natural result of his consistent character. For God, the ends do not justify the means. He does not turn stones into bread for his convenience. He does what is most consistent with his character, even if it's not easy, and even if he knows it that it will not work out down the road. This is particularly evident in the case of King Saul.

New Job!

I've recently been seeking employment due to uncertainty with my current employer (details in this post). I have been offered a new position with another company - doing exactly what I do now. I'll be working for HAPO Community Credit Union, based in Richland, Washington

The drawback is that the family has to move, and in the middle of the school year. It will be hard to move away from our church and friends. It will be particularly hard for my oldest daughter Maggie.

The good news is that we'll be much closer to family! My folks and sister's family both live within a 30 minute drive. An added benefit is that this position should have more stability (I've never heard of big layoffs occurring at credit unions) :)

So...we have much to do. The most daunting task is to sell the house. It must be put on the market, and sold during a market downturn. God's providence has been very apparent to us in throughout this process. I'm confident that he will bring us the right buyers in His time. He has been opening doors, and this move is in His hands.

Calvinism Distorts God's Character

Roger Olson (Author of Arminian Theology: Myths and Realities) has written an editorial about the recent bridge collapse in MN, and how it presents problems for Calvinists. It's an excellent read, and Olson is less irenic than ususal:

The God of Calvinism scares me; I'm not sure how to distinguish him from the devil. If you've come under the influence of Calvinism, think about its ramifications for the character of God. God is great but also good. In light of all the evil and innocent suffering in the world, he must have limited himself.

[updated spelling of Olson 6-3-08, oops]
Calvinist view of bridge collapse distorts God's character

In Defense of the Invitation / Altar Call

I've read a number of Christian blogs where the tradition of the "invitation" or "altar call" has been criticized. The typical arguments are that this is a new practice, that it is not supported by scripture, and that the tradition is abused by evangelistic preachers - causing them to guilt non-believers into making a non-genuine decision for Christ.

History: Invitations to accept Christ are not new, but the specific form of invitation known as an "altar call" is a relatively new practice. It started with the evangelist Charles Finney, back in the 1830's. Other well known evangelists who have popularized the practice include D.L Moody, Billy Sunday, Corrie ten Boom, and Billy Graham.

Should we discontinue the practice of the altar call because it is new? No! Innovations in worship are often helpful, and should be welcomed if they conform to scripture. In fact Isaiah 43 says to not dwell on the past, because God is doing a new thing. To reject something simply because it is new is legalistic. Church today should not be identical to the way it was in 1829. In 1829 no church had electric lighting or indoor plumbing, but you don't hear Christians complaining about those innovations!

Altar calls are really a new type of liturgy – something instituted as a tradition in some evangelical circles. Liturgies in and of themselves are neutral. They can be used by the Spirit, or they can be empty. It depends how we use the liturgy.

Scriptural Support: Another complaint about the altar call is that the practice is not mentioned in scripture. While altar calls are not specifically mentioned, public invitations to accept Christ were frequently made by many of the disciples including Peter and Paul. That's what an altar call is, a public invitation to accept Christ. The altar call is used in a manner that strongly affirms scripture.

Altar calls are used to proclaim the good news of Jesus. In Mark 16:15 Jesus said to "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation."

Altar calls are used by preachers to exhort repentance. In Acts 17 Paul makes a public invitation to the Athenians to accept Christ. In Acts 17:30 Paul said that "...(God) commands all people everywhere to repent."

Altar calls are used by new believers to publicly acknowledge God. Jesus called for his disciples to follow him publicly. Matthew 10:32-33 states that "Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven."

Altar calls are used for confession. An altar is a place where we can confess our sins. 1 John 1:9 states that "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness."

Altars calls are used for the laying on of hands, for healing, for anointing by the elders of the church, and for the forgiveness of sins. James 5:13-16 states: "Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise. Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective."

Altars are a place where the non-believer can be overwhelmed, convicted of sin, and worship God. 1 Corinthians 14:24-25 states that: "...if an unbeliever or someone who does not understand comes in while everybody is prophesying, he will be convinced by all that he is a sinner and will be judged by all, and the secrets of his heart will be laid bare. So he will fall down and worship God, exclaiming, "God is really among you!"

Even though altar calls are not specifically mentioned in scripture, invitations are, and altar calls are a type of invitation. They are clearly used in a way that is at the heart of scripture.

Decisional Regeneration: Does God "save" someone who makes a trip to the altar? He certainly desires to, but justification is dependent first on the grace of God and then on the heart of person at the altar. In Luke 18:9-15 Jesus describes two types of people who went to the temple to pray. One was a Pharisee, and one was a tax collector. The Pharisee prayed “thanks that I’m not like this tax collector.” The tax collector prayed “God have mercy on me a sinner.” Jesus said that the tax collector was the one who went home justified. So it is with going to the altar. Some will be justified, some will not be. It depends if the person has the heart of a Pharisee or a tax collector.

Abusive Practice? Can evangelists and preachers abuse the practice of altar calls? Certainly they can. Altar calls can be coercive, they can appeal to emotion instead of scripture, they can be overused. I have been to such services and revivals. But many church practices can be abused - including tithing, exorcism, baptism, confession, and others. Abuse in and of itself is not a legitimate reason to discard a practice. We should instead use altar calls only in ways that affirm scripture.

The bottom line is that there is a need for the good news of Jesus to be preached. Altar calls are used for that purpose.

Conclusion: By their fruit you will recognize them. Who can deny that God has used men such as Billy Graham to preach the gospel and call men to repentance? The altar call has definitely been used by the Spirit. It has been used by men of God in Godly ways. It has been used in ways that conform to scripture. Many of those who have gone to the altar have become believers, and lives have been changed.

Losing my job to outsourcing?

I've been working at the same company (Micron Technology) for 11 years, but that may soon be coming to an end. Management has made it clear that their goal is to reduce the workforce, and to replace it with cheaper outsourced (foreign?) labor. Over the last month my company has laid off about 1,000 people in the local area, and it's my understanding that there is more to come.

I have been involved in setting up a facility in China over the last year. As we were setting up the Chinese plant, we were told that it was an expansion of capacity, and that the USA jobs would not be going away. It looks like in reality I may have helped to work myself out of a job.

It's my goal to do the best for my employer, no matter what the circumstances. It's my prayer that I'm able to keep my job if that's within God's will for my life. But if not, that's okay too. I'm trusting that if God closes this chapter in my life, he has another more exciting one to open up.


(Terra-Cotta Warriors - Xi'an, China)

Greek Poetry and the Emerging Church

From ZEUS let us begin.
Him do we mortals never leave unnamed:
full of Zeus are all the streets
and all the market-places of men
full is the sea and the havens thereof.
Always we all have need of Zeus
for we are also his offspring
and he in his kindness unto men
gives favorable signs
and wakens people to work.
-- Aratus (270 BC),

The goal of the Emerging Church is to reach the post modern generation. The movement has attempted to do this by making Christianity relevant to the culture - that is by preaching and teaching truth in a way that is native to the understanding of the new generation.

Some traditional Christians have criticized this movement as misguided, unscriptural, and of man. I believe, however, that the goals and methods of the movement are both legitimate and scriptural.

When Paul preached in Athens (Acts 17:22-31) he modeled how to preach to pagans. He did it by being relevant - by finding common ground and understanding with his audience. Paul presented Christ in a way that was familiar to the culture of the Greeks.

Acts 17:22 Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: "Men of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious."

Paul went to the Areopagus (their center of learning in Athens), and engaged the Greeks in their environment. He didn't demand that they go learn about God in the synagogue (and there was one in Athens). He didn't complain that they ignored Jewish law. He didn't insult their religion.

23: For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. Now what you worship as something unknown I am going to proclaim to you.

Paul understood his audience. He took an aspect of their pagan culture (the unknown god), and used it as a way to proclaim Jesus Christ to them.

24-27: The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands. And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else. From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us.

Wham! Now that the ground was laid, Paul hit them with 100% Gospel. The truth was not watered down. He explained who God is. He explained how God is real, and how God is not honored with idols made by human hands.

28:For in him we live and move and have our being. As some of your own poets have said, 'We are his offspring.'

Look at that little phrase "We are his offspring." It's easy to overlook, but it is SO important to understand the context of how Paul preached to the Athenians. This quote was NOT from the Bible. It was Greek poetry, and it in fact referred to Zeus. Paul taught the Greeks about Jesus by quoting a pagan poem about Zeus!

29-31: Therefore since we are God's offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone—an image made by man's design and skill. In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead.

Now Paul shows how the nugget of truth contained in their poetry ("We are God's offspring.") differs from what they are actually practicing (worshiping man made images). After showing them their error, he tells them that they must repent. And he explains that they will be held accountable before God.

Every culture (including ours) has nuggets of God 's truth in it, just like Greek culture did. These nuggets can be surrounded by paganism but they can still point to the real God of the Bible. We must find these aspects of our culture that make God understandable. If the Church is losing ground in our culture (and it seems to be), maybe part of the reason why is that we are not making the Gospel real. We are not connecting.

It is the goal of the Emerging church to close this cultural understanding gap, and to make a connection.

Does the movement have weaknesses it must confront? Certainly it does. Its theology is weak. The movement must learn to not ever water down or compromise the truth. We dare not compromise God's truth. But we must learn present timeless truth in a way that can be understood by the culture in which we live.

It's time to break out the Greek poetry.

Somewhere Over the Rainbow II

Alex (age two) has been listening to his sister sing, and learning on his own. Here I catch him singing "Somewhere Over the Rainbow". He gives it a pretty good try. :)