Help, Please

Update: As of Monday night, we have received more than $900 in donations for the Palmers. Thus we are more than halfway toward getting a new laptop to replace the one stolen from Adam Friday night. I want to thank each of you for your generosity, both in money and in praying for the Palmers. Keep it up.

Sigh…

We live in a broken world. I was reminded of that yesterday when I received word that Adam Palmer, one of our iMonk writers, was robbed at gunpoint in his own home. Adam and wife Michelle and their five children are ok. Their lives were spared, and that is, of course, the most important thing.

I’m not sure of all that the thieves took, but Adam told me this morning they stole his laptop computer that had a script he was writing for a pastor. It was three months worth of writing, he was almost done with the project, and now it’s gone. This is how Adam makes his living, and now he has to start over—after he can somehow get a new computer, that is.

And that is where you come in. We do not often ask you to give money, but I am today. I would like to ask you to donate through our PayPal link on this page. All monies received will go to purchase a new MacBook Pro plus software for Adam to get back to work as soon as possible. (That will cost about $1500.) Any additional money that comes in will go to replace other things that have been stolen from them.

The one thing that was taken that money cannot buy is their peace. They immediately moved from that neighborhood to another location. For how long, however, will they continue to look over their shoulders, wondering if that person they don’t know has a gun and means them harm? We do live in a broken world.

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Ask Chaplain Mike: Considering Miracles

By Chaplain Mike

Today we return to our “Ask Chaplain Mike” posts.

This afternoon’s inquiry comes from a friend who sets forth a question many are asking in our day. He wants to know how people in this scientific age can continue to believe in miracles. By and large, we have become people for whom the very idea of the miraculous seems strange. Why?

It is not simply that we have been brainwashed by the promoters of evil ideas or false “worldviews” to suspect miracles. Sorry, Ken Ham, but it is not just because evolution is being taught in the schools. It is not just the insidious influence of “secular humanist” philosophies or the doctrine of scientific naturalism undergirding the new atheism that has led people to distrust the miraculous. On the popular level at least, as some have argued, secularization may have more to do with this than secularism.

That is, the simple fact of living in an ever more sophisticated technological world subconsciously secularizes the way we view life. It shrinks and “flattens” the universe and makes anything seem possible under heaven. It puts our focus on what we can do and on overcoming what remains to be done. At the same time, it encourages us to think we need no longer rely upon a transcendent “god” to intervene for us. When you combine our tech know-how with affluence like the world has never known, what need do we have for miracles?

These are the days of miracle and wonder
This is the long distance call
The way the camera follows us in slo-mo
The way we look to us all
The way we look to a distant constellation
That’s dying in a corner of the sky
These are the days of miracle and wonder
And don’t cry baby, don’t cry, don’t cry

• Paul Simon, “The Boy in the Bubble”

Of course, this also affects the way we read the Bible. We are tempted to interpret its miracle accounts as remnants of a bygone age, before people had our sophisticated scientific sense. Either that, or we suspect that the authors had an agenda to advance that led them to make up or at least exaggerate their claims. Their accounts of miracles were either naive or strictly for recruiting purposes. When you add to this the fact that we can now explain so much more about nature and its processes than folks in those days understood, it all adds up to a general suspicion of the “miraculous.”

With this general background in mind, let’s look at our friend’s question now.

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Pentecost

By Chaplain Mike

Today’s Gospel: John 20:19-23

enclosed in a dark house
alone with my own fear
reluctant to go out, to deal with life
to exert the energy it takes
to listen to my tiresome neighbor
complain about his cable service
and the jerks who let their dogs
crap on his lawn
too spent to bring in the trash cans
that lie like fallen soldiers
sprawled along the curb
to go out and get my groceries
for heaven’s sake
i catch a glimpse of the clock
it’s time for bed i guess

the night passes
and with it a thunderstorm
unstable spring air rushing through
with sound and light show
like waves crashing the quarterdeck
the spray slaps the screen hard
i throw off the sheets
and still the flapping curtains
with a tug on the window
then fall back on my mattress
to twist and turn ’til dawn

morning brings peace
the air is distinctly cooler
remnant drops of night showers
shimmer on thirsting, greening grass
i poke my head out the screen door
and find that i can breathe
careful not to spill my coffee
i step out on the glistening deck
a bit like monet, i think
as i look around the neighborhood

i’ll have some breakfast
maybe even venture out today
haven’t felt like this for awhile
come to think of it, i wouldn’t mind
seeing frank down at the store
i heard he lost his wife
probably could use a lift, a friend
i’ll offer to buy him lunch
we can talk about the storm
and the morning

iMonk Classic: The Preeminent Question

Jesus, Doré

Classic iMonk Post
by Michael Spencer
From June 2, 2005

Today’s classic post features some always pertinent, always applicable words of wisdom from Michael Spencer.

While discussing the doctrine of election the other day, I asked BHT fellow Bill a version of the following question: “If you were able to follow Jesus for the three years (or whatever) of his ministry, life, death and resurrection, do you believe you would conclude that Jesus believed the same version of the doctrine of election as you do today?”

That question applies to all of theology. In fact, it is the preeminent question of the Christian Life. I do not say the preeminent question of Christian theology, but of the Christian life, because in the end, theology must lead to the lives that we live. Theology must be a description of REALITY. Of real life. Just as mathematical propositions must eventually let the space shuttle fly or a heart monitor give accurate readings, so our theology must prepare us for death, and for the lives we lead before death. Our theology must make us human beings, husbands, fathers, teachers, neighbors, members of a community, and so on.

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Saturday Ramblings 6.11.11

A hearty Rambler thanks to Adam Palmer for filling in last week in a great way. I was “on assignment,” watching my niece graduate from high school, visiting family, and spending a great day with some of my fellow iMonks. First Lady Denise Spencer, Chaplain Mike and his wife Gail, and Lisa Dye all gathered with me in Ohio to attend the Reds game and eat incredible ribs. The Reds lost, but the ribs were great. No, sorry, there were no leftovers. Well, I still have some peanuts left from the game. Before we dig into those, shall we ramble?

Let’s start with some medical news, shall we? Apparently there are those in San Francisco who are opposed to circumcision. By “those” I mean one Matthew Hess, the author of the series of Foreskin Man comic books. The National Association of Evangelicals is taking the side of Jews and Muslims, as well as Christians, in opposing this opposition. So, what will their cartoon superhero be? And who should star in the movie version of Foreskin Man?

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The Skinny on Science and Creation

Creation of Man, Chagall

By Chaplain Mike

We Christians continue to have quite a discussion on the early chapters of Genesis and how they relate to the scientific findings of the past couple hundred years. The heat of the current debate was turned up a notch in the past few days with the release of Christianity Today’s cover story on the historical Adam.

Here at Internet Monk this week, we have brought out some old and new posts to address the issue, and today we will conclude our focus on the subject for awhile.

Despite the passion many feel regarding this matter, apparently younger generations are yawning. Matt Rossano’s article, “The (Lack of) Conflict between Science and Religion in College Students” cites a Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion study that surveyed 10,000 students from 200 colleges and universities across America and yielded some surprising results. Students were questioned during both their freshman and junior years so that changes in their attitudes could be tracked. Here is what those doing the study found:

Results showed that nearly 70 percent of college freshman saw the science/religion relationship as one of either independence or collaboration. The minority who saw science and religion in conflict were roughly evenly split between those who sided with religion (17 percent) and those who sided with science (14 percent). Even more interesting was the fact that when students changed their opinion over time, the most likely change was moving from a conflict position to one of non-conflict (either independence or collaboration). For example, 70 percent of those who as freshmen said they were on “religion’s side” had changed to a non-conflict position by the time they were juniors. Similarly, 46 percent of freshmen who said they were on “science’s side” had adopted a non-conflict position by the time they were juniors. By contrast, only 13 percent of freshman who took a non-conflict position changed to one of conflict by their junior year (5 percent to religion’s side, 8 percent to the side of science). For most students, more education means less science/religion conflict, not more.

Perhaps young people are tired of the fight. Perhaps they are finding ways to synthesize their understanding. Some might warn that this is a sign we are losing are youth to “secular humanism” and ungodliness. Others might bemoan that our young don’t seem to care anymore. At any rate, even with these findings, I don’t think the issue is going away any time soon.

Today, I will set forth my “State of the Union”—an overview and summary of my position. This will draw together a number of different thoughts that have been expressed separately since I’ve been blogging here and at other sites. I won’t do a lot of explanation or present detailed arguments, but simply state and summarize each point.

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IM Review: Ghost Rider

So there I was in New York City for a book convention, staying in a hotel in Times Square. The first night I walked down the street and found a Virgin Music Store. In the lower level of this store were several shelves of books, including one by Neil Peart, the drummer for the Canadian rock group Rush.

I thought, I never knew drummers could read, let alone write. I stood and read a few pages of this book and knew I needed to buy it. Then I stayed up until about 2:30 a.m. reading it. I read it on the plane ride back to Oklahoma. I read it when I got home. And the more I read it, the more astounded I became.

“It” is the book Ghost Rider by Peart. Let me make it clear up front that this is not a “Christian” book, if by that you mean a book filled with Christian words and phrases, with answers to every question, with solutions to every problem. And yet if by “Christian book” you mean one that deals with life honestly, that tells stories that sound suspiciously like what Jesus would do, that watches as someone looks for his soul—well, then I guess this could be considered a Christian book.

Nevertheless, Peart is not a Christian when the book starts, and he is not a Christian when the book ends. As far as I know, he is not a Christian today. He deals with the pain that comes to him by self-medicating, primarily with The Macallan scotch whisky. In his anger he uses a good deal of profanity and wants to kill people. So if you can’t deal with that, then you ought not read this book, or even any more of this review.

But if you find that real life is the place to meet with God, by all means read on.

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Who Are You?

One of the most powerful things a culture does is to form people’s view of who they are.

It passes on assumptions about the obvious elements of identity — nationality, gender, age, and class, for example, and what these mean and how people are to act given them.  But people absorb from culture something even more important.  Who are we?  As humankind, I mean.  What motivates us, and what is our purpose?

Mostly people don’t think very deeply about who we are. They take for granted that what they absorbed from their culture is correct and obvious.  But their unconscious preconceptions direct all their choices in public and private spheres.  Education, governance, family, vocation, even clothes and architecture are based on what people believe about themselves.

Our Western American culture doesn’t have just one preconception of humankind.  There are several metaphors concerning what human beings are like; I’ve listed six.  These six may seem to be contradictory or even mutually exclusive; however, since they are held subconsciously, an illogical mixture of several or all metaphors sways many people.  Each view has some truth to it, but do any of them completely encompass what we are?  Do they reflect God’s view of us?

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Paul, Christ, and Adam

Paradise I, Chagall

By Chaplain Mike

Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned–

To be sure, sin was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not charged against anyone’s account where there is no law. Nevertheless, death reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, even over those who did not sin by breaking a command, as did Adam, who is a pattern of the one to come.

• Romans 5:12-14, NIV

Background
As we begin our study today, let me first mention a few observations about the Genesis narratives that Paul uses in the NT passages in which he refers to Adam and the story of the fall. Supporting quotes are from Peter C. Bouteneff’s book, Beginnings: Ancient Christian Readings of the Biblical Creation Narratives.

One of the more interesting facts about the “Adam” narratives in Genesis 2-3 is that, in and of itself, the transgression portrayed within “is not portrayed as an anomalous infraction that uniquely and permanently sullies a theretofore perfect humanity” (Bouteneff, Beginnings, p. 7). Instead, it serves as one of a series of “fall” narratives that lead to God’s climactic judgment in Genesis 6-9 (the flood), then begin again with another “garden” fall narrative in which Noah and his sons are the main characters. Ultimately, all humankind is scattered from Babylon, from whence God chooses Abram to once again begin anew.

All the stories in Genesis 1-11 follow the pattern set by the Garden narratives. God relates to his chosen people, they disobey, and judgment and salvation follow.

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