Miscellaneous Missionary

When I was growing up (I'm still young, but not growing) (not growing "up," anyway), I heard about the 1960's, and all the evils that they brought to the modern American society: increased divorce, sexual impurity, drugs, abortion, rock and roll, escalation in crime, publicly staged violence, and hatred of all things good. I figured that must have been a bad time. I was not there to experience it, but it does seem to have been rather rough. It has been most often tied by Christians to the federal courts rulings of note with respect to abortion and prayer in schools. It was clear that there was a culture war under way. People were attacking the institutions of Christianity: morality, Christian values, and the place of Christians in society. Today, it seems that the pendulum is swinging in the opposite direction, with the rise of the values vote and the Christian right.

However, the real tragedy is that the battle may be swinging in one way or another, but the major ideas have already been won. Christianity has made some much more crucial mistakes that led up to that time (1960's), and that will continue to cause problems.

I read a blog last week in which the writer said that the Scopes Monkey trial settled the issue of creation for him for all time. Needless to say, he has a blog about how evil Creationism is. He is still being deluded by the mistakes made back then. The mistakes in this case were multiple: the lawyer failed to submit a sound defense, but spent most of his time trying to emote the jury; the case for evolution was so fraudulent, but so left alone; the actual issues at stake were never given enough time; and finally, when are we to give a judge so much authority as to render a verdict on the truthfulness of Christianity and hope that we get the right lawyer? The battle actually began before that, when Christians decided to let the state run their educational system, placing the government in the position to pass judgment on Christianity at a later date.

The battle was even more problematic than that. The Christian world had lost its proper view of the Bible and deep respect for it. After Luther's sola fide, sola scriptura, it took not very long for things to return to a mixed up message, and that is why there was so much theological turmoil, confusion, even chaos in the 18th and 19th centuries.

I hate to beat a dead horse, but the fact of the matter is that Christians lost their relevancy because they lost their message. They lost their message because they lost their paramount view of Scripture. I bring this up because I really do not want to leave Genesis chapter one behind without realizing its utmost importance. We often do not see the problems generations down the road resulting from a loss of respect for the Genesis record.

Moses was not just writing the history down as God had revealed it. Moses was arguing for something very important. He was arguing for a radical theological position, and he was using history to do it. God Almighty is above all other things. He made them all by His power. He made them as He wanted them to be. He did not create out of a battle or mistake (as some pagan traditions claim). It is common for men to seek common points with one another, and the world of Christian apologetics is littered with people seeking to do this. However, Moses argument is clear, that there is one God above all, and He is perfect, all powerful, and righteous, and that this the One, true God was being revealed different from all other conceptions of deity. He was not seeking common ground on this one at all. When we take a lackadaisical approach to this point of the beginning of history, we lose the power of this argument by Moses. When Moses' argument loses its power, all of the rest of Scripture falls under the loss of the foundational principles set by Moses. Solomon summed it up: "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge" (Proverbs 1:7 italics mine).

I had a great day Sunday. I was able to play basketball at a nearby park with some of my classmates and some other people who were at the park as well. We had two from China, two from Macao, three from Portugal, one from France, one from Northern Ireland, and one from the USA. It was a real international event. We all decided to make it a regularly scheduled event. I really enjoyed it because it was my first real chance to play in a long time and my first really good exercise since I arrived in Portugal. It was also important for another reason. In order for me to be involved in missionary work, I have to have a missionary visa. In order to study Portuguese at the university, I have to have a student visa. These two do not mix easily. My main purpose for being here is to study Portuguese. However, all of these people have been placed here with me, and I want to be able to have a positive impact on their lives. This is one opportunity, and I want it to be used for God's glory. Please pray for me to have a good testimony.

This is probably just a little off topic, but the Ivory Coast soccer team has successfully advanced to the next round in the African Cup of nations. The semi-finals are today. Their civil war goes on hold during each game. Liberia has begun to receive special training and help in the wake of their successful elections. Liberia was a mess for years, tough for missionaries (like my parents) to even enter at times. This looks like good news.

My exams have come and gone, but I will not know the results until after the next semester begins. Please pray that I God would increase my ability in and dedication to Portuguese study.

I think I am dealing with my annual cold right now. It is not bad. I did not have it until classes were over, and it is almost gone now. Praise the Lord for the perfect timing and overall good health.