D A R E
T O
B E
L U T H E R A N
igher Things
Inside this issue:
• Is
Christianity a Disease?
• Are Lutherans “Left Behind”? • Being a Lutheran on a Non-Christian Campus
W W W. H I G H E RT H I N G S . O R G
/ SPRING / 2007
We’ve compiled a sampling of some notable blurbs from the Higher Things blogs. Check them out and read more online at http://blog.higherthings.org/.
t h , no wn t— ho e gry ric our o uc w s s H n e s r u s we r do ou ond one ha ur ng , h e wa fo im c o r t i h e H h is s te t d th or H ut od Pe wi goo o t Chr t i w I t e —po en. , b in h go e t d o a t t a t n m r e d n h u . s h e a l e e s k t t T B h an us st l h h a v Hi t g al bles by hea o t ern h t e s hri ns. , I ken nno ” f t d t n o s et it th i i w e f n C i is qu fer poi s: r s nner ta u ca ry. kno t to s s as evil s o oor th d w at and He s t u a f i i u n he h o a s e i p e r e e , e g l w h su he th r o a s s h o y you we th b J ri g, ic me h il in ht lf ev d t o o . , s o s u sc nin e r eca ric s f sitt rig imse ing oye ur ed no ble d f am Jes nd uch w d r t — e z a b d ur th i 1 e o o , j a e s H I e a m w e t en fer . “ ist e, ow ? H nsw 3:2 apt ! He com He en, th ed refu e en for ows wep in, mo th e b a s f i r e t m v h e s i s a r r i H t a pt , b s. ea w ke p r e su ens Ch om er th he te am fen h le em us d. ye So H ur f a ht re e T f t r t s e P I w . a b f u g d e o “ f de bu y f mat no n? 1 mi eas s o ta He for bre ven, n o ring ed eli t! w k , ur r , a to r ng ly ut y uc b r a e a o am aw no we s o in is s o ou t d e e n s u M f e t r B n i n m u a d i f e h d n n o e s i th ave r. ung i f the su en nd e w ca th si m m do re h foun fens AT t i our d c e et a H e r he the e h nes s o e o r how a s a H e o a h T ou , H in y. . H d y le for a am to oy am e h T is g i r d ” e / F f n s r t f c w h j s t c e n i e l n be wit rie he ani me , a peop Yet th a Bu at ion Ou ’s. ope! hat our be rn al a s sch f i y m t t g T . e t m h f n u d t o h d / b H ed f t es sm is t er . re me nd n n hu r ! hu doe rg os y qu pti Chr our ion e a et kes int s o ove ur led e l s ow Him ndu eca d a s.o it ery ow g l c i o t r a a a o y e b h a d i v b am is ca en r thin s qu ea ed d re ev e. H re e t . H cte He He by G d b t rn ge c I at ifi sci che her e a r e v e m d a u w r l e th fo wher nfu Do Th nct con Fis .hig ou mo rav an sa Hi rej Him, ame. ted ept ? c c h us curs ery pai h? a die sa od an blog tml He at ted to ted We re e ac s e v t go ath p:// 6.h th jec and jec m. fo ts rej be or t oc , e ten dea ake we e i i e f e , b o m —N htt /250 H r r ek / t n. e t g be I ime of al o ore e rla se rld ted set nin tre migh si icl wi et n ve ath. y t his ntu n t bef t c r g r c o a r w a w je oy co at e ou h e an t ve ca d ve l a rg/ re e j , s th t w f We us d at ith f e we orl is. e’l ? E a and e rl gs.o o i a n s w h h h w w o s o th e t os t w Cw hin rs , th he l ug nt k t al ve ing eal ion d a the nk eho eno wa pic om cr rse so pit am hert i r d t e n s i r b e f ve ’s cu n, n we ll za ha in th om d ll .hig on ali as ce ts at s goo Do wi ext ? E It ma d i Wi log ml s re rk ren ei th re s. and ont ter is. Go ev. p://b 0.ht at wh wo ffe ath pe we’ thi , f c bet th —R htt /248 h o l nk h, ho if nk rt di en t cle n e i rti ar Ev we n, thi ea out fe thi out a e e c on es us es ab Do ave ms is en he sli ise ers ke ess ll ut. or our eri een any Mu rad e v ma itn d a l o nat nd exp r b in e pa oos to s W an hel omi , a no eve le o b t . ch ble ah’ ve, s den th ve e n nab d t it no He wi ha ’v ai goo Bi hov cti can on s r l e r W xp o Je bje we omm ia We fo oe n. o g d d tio a su at e c mil s. rs. y e e t n s n a i l b wh Th fa ing fai re go , a alv e i t a f d e H m s s t . s b a o ve t u ’r un ro . we rro nly t’s t m isn’ a l sa eved eer the t f o su ave . I . I t no d t as ho hi ers es a he ere age t i y h od w ac ov se st, ate w h ac Ho th ngu Bu nit G lly an He hri don e . a t a H a . a y a C y l ue ti s on ot h. e I we log to tr ris t i ers , n coac in th o , e r d G p s d Ch ris t io a he es an th me H Ch pec sav ot lot tim er ne lai h o c E t ex a , n s c of Lu al ro R is dge eou er e/ s ist- g p a ele n r ju ght umb h , i h c y T a ri e n ty. inl , C be g/r H n s.or th ari rta ich age e I ch Ce l-r ess d? ets thing m rl br er N e e o h sp e G Go th l w Eng g.hig tml S is nfu el /blo 75.h __ si ach ttp:/ e/24 —R h rticl 2 a
T A B L E
O F
Contents
Volume 7/Number 1 • Spring 2007
HigherThings Volume 7/Number 1/Spring 2007
FEATURES
COLUMNS
4
16 Christ on Campus: The Strange Land
Is Christianity a Disease? By Rev. Tim Pauls A well-known celebrity has claimed that Christianity is a dangerous disease. Is it true? What’s his proof? And are you in danger of being infected? Check out Pastor Pauls’ article for all the answers.
6
God’s Will and Me By Rev. George F. Borghardt III Thinking about the future can be a little overwhelming—even scary—at times.You may be unsure, and there may not seem to be many answers. But take heart.Your Savior has a plan for you. He’ll work it all for your good.
8
On Being Lutheran: Common Culture or Common Confession By Betsy Schroeder Have you ever wondered what it really means to be Lutheran? Are we defined by our beliefs or just our infamous potlucks and Jell-O? To get a more detailed study on the matter, look at Betsy Schroeder’s article.
10 Mind Out of Control By Seminarian Dustin Anderson Because of sin, no one was created with a perfect mind and body. But we know that they will be just right one day in heaven. Until then, what’s the best way to deal with mental illnesses like ADD? Read this article to learn more.
12 Dare to Be Boring By Aaron Wolf Aaron Wolf reminds us of the Left Behind books and the trend they started. What do Lutherans believe about the end times? And how do we respond to Christians who disagree with us? This article explains it all.
By Rev. David Kind You’ve gone to church your whole life.You know your Bible and catechism. But now you’re in college, and teachers are telling you that Christianity isn’t true, the Bible is a sham, and Jesus is no better than Ghandi. Are you ready for this? How do you react? Read this article, and be better prepared.
20 Mining the Riches: Take, Eat! By Rev. J. Bart Day Is there a right or wrong way to receive the Lord’s body into your mouth at Communion? Should you be given it from your pastor’s hand or take it from your own? Is one way more Lutheran? Pastor Day explains the importance of reverence during Communion, what the Church has said about it through the ages, and the gifts we are given by receiving it.
22 Pride and Prejudice By Kathy Luder Kathy’s got herself in a bind. She’s told a lie, the cops are involved, and now her guilty conscience is getting the best of her. Read more to find out how it all ends.
26 Pulse: Pray . . . And Pass the Ammunition By Seminarian Doug Taylor Many adults say video games aren’t healthy because they’re so violent. But what about Christian video games that aren’t healthy because they’re so non-Christian? If technology is your thing, this article by Seminarian Doug Taylor is for you.
28 Dare to Be Lutheran: Pentecostalism By Zelwyn Heide Do you have Pentecostal friends who speak in tongues? What do they really believe about the Holy Spirit? They’re both important things to know more about, and Zelwyn Heide’s done all the research for you.
30 The Goodness of the Law By Rev. David Petersen We’re always hearing about the Gospel, but what about the Law? Is it good for us? Why should we pay attention to it? Wouldn’t we be better off without it? If you’re interested in the benefits of the Law, read Pastor Petersen’s column to learn more.
Also in this issue: 2 Blurbs from the Blogs 9 TalkBack 25 News and Notes
Executive Editor
REV. TIM PAULS Managing Editor ADRIANE DORR Assistant Editor
JULIE BECKWITH Art Director
STEVE BLAKEY Editorial Associates
REV. PAUL BEISEL REV. DAVID PETERSEN REV. ERIK ROTTMANN Bible Studies Editor REV. DAN MACKEY Business Manager LYNNETTE FREDERICKSEN Coolest Name in This Issue:
PHILOXENUS OF MABBUG ____ Christ on Campus Executive REV. MARCUS ZILL Conferences Executive REV. BRUCE KESEMAN Internet Services Executive REV. GEORGE F. BORGHARDT
III
Retreat Executive LANDON REED
_____ Board of Directors President REV. KLEMET
PREUS
Vice President REV. WILLIAM Secretary SANDRA
CWIRLA
OSTAPOWICH
Treasurer LYNN FREDERICKSEN Fiesta Bowl Final
BOISE STATE: 43 OKLAHOMA: 42 REV. BRENT KUHLMANN MARK PFUNDSTEIN BRUCE PARADIS REV. RICHARD RESCH DR. BEVERLY YAHNKE ___________ Higher Things Magazine ISSN 1539-8455 is published quarterly by Higher Things, Inc., 5009 Cassia, Boise, ID 83705. No portion of this publication may be reproduced without the written consent of the executive editor of Higher Things Magazine. Copyright 2007. Printed in the United States. Postage paid at St. Louis, Missouri. For subscription information and questions, call 1-888-448-2359 or e-mail subscriptions@higherthings.org. (This phone number is only used for subscription queries.) For letters to the editor, write letters@ higherthings.org. Writers may submit manuscripts to: submissions@higherthings.org. Please check http://higherthings.org/ magazine/writers.html for writers’ guidelines and theme lists.
___________
Higher Things Magazine is available in Braille and on audiocassette tape for the visually impaired. Contact Lutheran Blind Mission at 7550 Watson Road, St. Louis , MO 63119; call toll-free 1-888-215-2455; or e-mail at blind.mission@blindmission.org.
S P R I N G 2 0 0 7 __ 3
Is Christianity a Disease D
H I G H E R T H I N G S __ 4
By Rev.Tim Pauls
r. Richard Dawkins says you’re sick, and he ought to know. He holds two doctorates and a prestigious chair at Oxford University. He says you’re sick with a disorder that often leads to intolerance, ignorance, and violence.
But before you get too worried, consider that Bill Maher and Elton John agree with him. If Bill and Elton think you’re sick, maybe you’re not doing so badly after all. Of the three, Dawkins is by far the most formidable. He’s been labeled “Darwin’s Rottweiler” for his defense of evolution and is perhaps the world’s most prominent “professional
atheist” of our time. Bill Maher, a talk show host who believes in some sort of “higher power,” makes up for his lack of credentials with plenty of face time on TV. And Elton John . . . well, he plays a really mean piano. It’s a diverse trio. I somehow doubt you’ll find them spending time together, munching Tostitos and playing on an X-Box 360. But they’re in solid agreement about your sad state. According to all three, you’re infected with a terrible disease called “religion,” and your particular viral strain is “Christianity.” As Maher puts it, religion is a disease—a “neurological disorder.” It leads to violence, since so many wars have been fought for religious reasons; and Dawkins holds that nonviolent religions are no better, because they pave the way for violent religion. Further, religion leads to intolerance, since religions have laws that say what people can and can’t do. Finally, it leads to ignorance, because it seeks to stifle scientific inquiry and exploration. You violent, ignorant sicko, you. At face value, these guys sound like we should be worried. No one, after all, wants to suffer a neurological sickness that leads to ignorance, intolerance, and violence. But let’s examine these arguments a little closer. And since all three men would reject Scripture as an authority, we’ll use the common ground of logic. Does religion lead to violence? It certainly can. The Middle East is on fire right now, and the rest of the world threatened by terror, largely because of one religious group. But does that mean that all religions lead to violence? Not at all! That’s hardly a rational argument. It would be like saying, “Since science brought us the nuclear bomb, all scientific experiments lead to the annihilation of mankind.” Is religion responsible for violence more than atheism? In our local paper, a self-proclaimed atheist has written that all religion should be abolished because religion is responsible for so much death and destruction. On the one hand, consider that it’s usually religious groups that provide vast amounts of aid to those who suffer from war or natural disaster. On the other hand, consider twentieth-century history: over one hundred million people died at the hands of Communist and Fascist governments, regimes that sought either to abolish religion or change it to serve their cause. The argument that abolishing religion would lead to peace is nonsense. Does religion lead to intolerance? This is where Elton John makes noise. In late 2006, he declared that all organized religion should be abolished because religion promotes hatred against homosexuals. The irony is laughable: those who want to ban intolerant people should therefore ban themselves, since they don’t tolerate people who want to ban things. Still, religion—and especially, it seems, Christianity—is chastised for intolerance. The argument’s flaw is obvious: at some point, everyone is intolerant. Everyone believes that some behaviors are acceptable and others are not. Elton John has one opinion of homosexuality, one that disagrees with Scripture. He’s
?
operating by a different set of rules, which he believes to be better than God’s. Does religion lead to ignorance? Critics say yes, and one example they use is stem cell research. Stem cell research holds immense possibilities for improving health and lengthening life, but Christians object to it. Right? Wrong. Many Christian groups oppose embryonic stem cell research; they oppose the killing of unborn children for the purposes of research. Stem cells are available from other sources like umbilical cords and fat cells.There’s little need to take human life for the research, and even if there is potential there, it’s still wrong.This isn’t an attempt by religion to stop progress or cast a veil of ignorance on the masses; rather, it’s defending the belief that life begins at conception, that unborn children should be protected. So do you have a neurological disorder called Christianity? No. By the work of the Holy Spirit, you have a confession of faith.You believe that God is the Creator of all things.You believe that He has given us His Law that stipulates right and wrong.You believe that He is the Author of life.You believe He sent His only Son to save you from sin. Dawkins, Maher, and Elton John each have a confession of faith. Dawkins believes that there is no God; therefore, religion is useless—except for his atheism, which is a religion whether he admits it or not. Maher believes in a “higher power” who doesn’t communicate with us; therefore, God doesn’t tell us what is right or wrong. And Elton John . . . well, I don’t know what he believes, other than that his god believes that homosexuality is a good thing.The point is that each one has a faith, and their faiths disagree with yours.That doesn’t make them right; it means they don’t believe what God’s Word says. It doesn’t make you diseased; it means you’re a Christian who walks by faith, and you can expect the world not to like that very much. Criticism of Christianity is nothing new. When I was in high school, we Christians were accused of being narrow-minded, shutting ourselves into a tiny box instead of opening our minds to great possibilities. In our tiny box, however, is the God who created all things and still preserves them. With us also is His Son, who died and rose again so that we might be forgiven. In our tiny box, the living Lord still comes to us in His Word and Sacraments, keeping us in the faith until He raises us up for eternal life. You tell me. Is that narrow minded, especially when compared to those who deny a personal God and say that this accidental life is all there is? Hardly. Our tiny box is infinitely bigger than the world’s open minds. Rev.Tim Pauls is associate pastor and acting school administrator at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church and School in Boise, Idaho. He is also the Higher Things Executive Editor. His e-mail address is tpauls@goodshepherdboise.org.
S P R I N G 2 0 0 7 __ 5
Lutherans and the
Dare to n my day, as we over-the-hill thirty-somethings like to say, video games were simple. As a kid, I loved to shoot those chugging, descending rows of square aliens in Space Invaders in the big stand-up machine next to Pac-Man and Donkey Kong at the laundromat. Today, there’s splattering blood, death, and mayhem on your computer or TV at home. The deep darkness that brooded inside the Columbine killers Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris was at least amplified, if not inspired, by DOOM, the first first-person shooter game.
I
H I G H E R T H I N G S __ 12
The good news about Left Behind: Eternal Forces, released a few months ago, is that killing (one of the objectives of the game along with converting) is not without cost. Every time you, a member of the Tribulation Force, blast a member of the Antichrist’s evil minions (the Global Community Peacekeepers), you lose Spirit Points. So, you have to maintain a balance of converting (through streetcorner preaching) and killing. Thankfully, the Spirit Warriors (Christian rock singers) are around, and one dose of praise and worship will boost your Spirit Points. The media thinks that this “Christian” game promotes intolerance, bigotry, and a “Crusader mentality.” Newspapers from the Los Angeles Times to the New York Times have blasted the game for teaching kids that Christianity means “Convert, or else!” rather than the love-and-snuggles message of the Unitarian “Jesus.” What’s really wrong with this game, other than the fact that the game itself is just plain lame, is what’s really wrong with the entire Left Behind series, which includes several best-selling books, a handful of movies, and a host of knickknacks: they promote a view of the End Times that is contrary to Scripture—disguised as a “literal” interpretation of Scripture. And this false and misleading view of the end times takes such great pains to notice every detail of the Book of Revelation that, well, you can make a video game out of it. You may find it difficult to take some of these overly silly manifestations of premillennial dispensationalism (the theology behind Left Behind) seriously. On the other hand, it can be equally difficult to deal with questions raised by our evangelical friends when they quote chapter and verse and then accuse us of not taking the Bible seriously. Lutherans, you may have noticed, are very narrow-minded, but sometimes this is a good thing, as in the way we look at the Bible. For when we open up its pages, the first thing we look for is Christ. “Christ before me, Christ behind me, Christ beside me,” as St. Patrick liked to say, or “Christ on every page,” as Martin Luther liked to say. When Jesus met those bewildered disciples on the Road to Emmaus (Luke 24), He began with Moses (as in Genesis) and showed them all “the things concerning Himself.” Then, they looked at the prophets and the psalms and found Jesus there too.
End Times:
Be Boring by Aaron Wolf
In John 5, our Lord tells the Jews that the Scriptures “testify of me,” and in Luke 4:21, He says,“Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”This seems kind of simple and obvious—that Christians should see Christ as the center of everything, including God’s Word (He is the Word made flesh, after all), but in practice, it isn’t. In order to do this, we have to come to the Bible with a certain understanding of who Jesus is (not just God but specifically Jesus) and what He did. Our Catholic and Orthodox friends would sum it up in the word incarnate—Christ in the flesh. And truly, that God became man is a great mystery to ponder. But we Lutherans don’t stop there. We know with St. Paul that it is the Christ incarnate and crucified who is on every page of Scripture, even those tedious genealogies and rules about sacrificing animals, the blood-and-guts battle stories of the Jews, and the poetic prophecies about a Lamb brought to slaughter. That’s where we start with when we approach the Bible: the Gospel, from the first promise of Christ in Eden to the Last Day, when Jesus raises us from the dead. We read through the creed. We know that Jesus is the subject of all prophecy, Old Testament or New. And when we say “Jesus,” we mean “Christ crucified.” All roads lead to the Gospel. Our left behind friends may not realize it, but their approach to the Bible is very different. For them, Christ incarnate and crucified is not the focus of all Scripture. Before me is a musty-smelling copy of Dispensational Truth by Clarence Larkin (1918), one of the foundational books that established the left behind mentality among evangelicals in America. On page 13, we find, with lots of capital letters, that “The Second and Premillennial Coming of Christ is the ‘Key’ to the Scriptures.” And a few lines later, Larkin continues,“The moment we grasp this idea of prophecy . . . the Bible becomes a new book, and doctrinal and prophetical truths at once fall into their proper place, and our theological system is no longer a chaos but an orderly plan.” So, according to Larkin, the main message of the Bible is to prophesy the second coming of Christ. For the Dispensationalists, Christ incarnate and crucified for sinners is not the center of the Bible, so they are able to chop up the Bible into different parts aimed at different audiences. Are you studying the Sermon on the Mount? Stop! That was written for the Jews in the thousand-year Kingdom, not for Christians! And the Book of Revelation? Hey, just because S it was P
addressed to seven firstcentury churches in Asia Minor (modern Turkey) doesn’t mean that all of those details were really meant for them. No, it is a manual for those who become Christians after the rapture, during the
R I N G 2 0 0 7 __ 13