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I Guess I’ll Write About COVID-19

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Waking up and watching the latest news online and on TV on the 11th of September 2001, many of us knew that the world would be drastically different in the years ahead. An airplane crashing into a building truly sent shock waves around the world.

Updating news report from CNN on the 11th of September 2001

It may be a slower wake-up with COVID-19, but for better or for worse, the same kind of tectonic shift is happening again.

We don’t know exactly what that shift will look like yet, but it will go far beyond just learning how to deal with future pandemics. Of course, due to the general praise of the media of countries that are cracking down hard, it’s likely that we’ll continue to see governments giving themselves more top-down control in general.

But the effect will also be great on the economy. Small business which struggle from month to month may eventually have to close, even if they survive in the short term. But not only that, there will certainly be those who will use the opportunity to make more money, and to gain more power – though, sadly, it will often be at the expense of others.

(By the way, I will try to write more specifically about the situation here in Mexico shortly.)

The effects of COVID-19 will no doubt be good and bad. Hopefully we will gain more knowledge, allowing us to better fight future diseases. Hopefully Christians will lead the way in self-sacrifice as we help our brothers and sisters, and our communities. Hopefully more people will be faced with realities and questions that are critically important, but often ignored.

Of course, the non-Christian point of view is quite different. From a random evolutionary point of view, the weak are culled and the strong remain – giving the species a better chance of survival in the future. And that’s exactly what COVID-19 is doing – culling the weak.

Many people who are thinking this very thing are too tactful to say it. And thanks to God’s common grace, many people are realizing that it’s someone they love who is at high risk. And so even in a world that seemingly is more and more rebellious against God, there is still talk of protecting the weak.

But every once in a while, someone slips and says something in keeping with the present age. Take for example, Ed Conway in the Times*:

Don’t take this the wrong way but if you were a young, hardline environmentalist looking for the ultimate weapon against climate change, you could hardly design anything better than coronavirus.

Ed Conway

I’m not sure what the “right way” is to take this, but Conway points out that older people are more likely to be “climate change sceptics” (or, at least opposed to the political economic response to climate change that many are recommending – follow the money!). How convenient to get some of those old people out of the way.

The Christian world view, of course, greatly values the wisdom of the elderly (Deuteronomy 32:7; Proverbs 16:31). The non-Christian world view longs to escape from that wisdom and re-write society into an even more rebellious culture, building a tower that will reach to heaven (Genesis 11:4).

We can thank God for the common grace that at least pushes on the brakes a little as the world rushes toward the precipice. But many people are anxious to dismantle the brakes.

And after all, more and more people are calling for the human race to be drastically diminished anyway. Humans are the real plague on the planet, they say. The only solution is to drastically decrease the population.

Once again, it’s the opposite of the biblical world view, that recognizes the God-given value of every human being – a unique value not shared by the rest of the life on the planet. Christians call on people to take care of the planet – but to care for it through people who have an eternal value.

So let’s act as Christians and value the weak and live lives of love and self-sacrifice. Why? Because we’re more than bags of chemicals which came about by chance. We’re not just concerned about the economy and “progress” and temporary comfort and happiness. We are beings who are on an eternal journey, who have a relationship with a Creator. And that view is much more radical than you may think.

* I was pointed to this article by an article in the National Post – Rex Murphy – Even in the midst of a health crisis, climate fanatics never miss an opportunity

Mexico Groans

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Last night we went to a movie, and I was reminded once again how much the people of Mexico need the Lord – as we all do.

Hand sanitzer

Of course, everyone is talking about COVID-19. When we purchased some water before the movie, the cashier pointed out that they had not one but two large bottles of anti-bacterial gel on the counter for our convenience.

We remember well the H1N1 pandemic back in 2009. For a while, meetings were greatly discouraged, and we started talking about the role of the church in times of crisis, and when and how that precious Sunday morning service should be cancelled. Of course, the bigger role that the church has played in times of major sickness in the past was to care for the sick, especially when the number of cases overwhelmed the current system.

Only a handful of cases have been confirmed in Mexico (not as many as in the rest of North America), but apparently face masks and hand sanitizer is already in short supply in our state!

Anyway, this isn’t a discussion of the virus (I bet you have opinions, right?), it’s just a discussion of the anxiety that people must have, people who have no hope in God.

Back to the movie theatre. Once the previews started – oh, I won’t get into those, but — no, I really won’t. But a special cartoon was played at one point, reminding kids that they have a superpower – they can say “NO!” to strangers.

Recently there was a high profile case of a seven year old girl who was kidnapped from her elementary school. She was apparently taken by someone she knew, and she was murdered. How many people are crying out to God? They certainly are angry at the school, and at the government. Once in a while there’s a shout at the murderer.

Another of the previews went through movie theatre security. I suppose if there’s an earthquake, a fire, a shooting – whatever there may be – we are to listen to those in charge and stay calm.

Three reminders in a few minutes (actually, more than three – but let’s keep this short!) that Mexico – is groaning.

In some ways, I don’t want to paint too bleak a picture. Most people here are carrying on with life as normal (though perhaps washing their hands a little more often!). But there must be a lot of anxiety and anger in those who have no hope of God’s justice, no hope of God’s care, no hope of God’s sovereignty.

So we provide hope, because God has given it to us to give away – the gospel.

Let’s just say we’re having meetings while we still can! Tonight we’re starting a new hermeneutics study (a study on how to read and understand Scripture). On Thursday we’re meeting with our team of missionaries. On Sunday we continue various studies, including our study of Daniel – which continues to speak to us of God’s sovereign control of our world.

And the kingdom and the dominion and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High; his kingdom shall be an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him.

Daniel 7:27

Some Books Read Recently

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It’s been a while since I posted about some of the books I’ve been reading, so here are a few of the most notable from the last few months. A rather eclectic mix! Devotional, self-help, novel, history . . .

books and more books

The Other Worldview: Exposing Christianity’s Greatest Threat (Peter Jones)

If you want to understand the world in which we live, and the opposition to Christianity that characterizes so much of society, this is a must-read. I’ve probably recommended books by Peter Jones more than any other author. Although written somewhat from the perspective of the USA, Jones was a missionary and so has a global view that many authors lack.

Keeping the Heart (John Flavel)

This one is from the 17th century. Flavel was a pastor in England. These meditations on the condition of your heart are a tremendous blessing. “As God did not at first choose you because you were high, so he will not forsake you because you are low”.

Steal Away Home: Charles Spurgeon and Thomas Johnson, Unlikely Friends on the Passage to Freedom (Matt Carter and Aaron Ivey)

This is a novel, but it’s based on careful historical research into the real life relationship between Spurgeon, the famous preacher, and Johnson, a slave in the USA. An incredible and often unexpected story.

Unlimited Memory: How to Use Advanced Learning Strategies to Learn Faster, Remember More and be More Productive (Kevin Horsley)

And now for something completely different! Yes, this book is just what it sounds like. But I would consider it one of the better books on the topic.

I’ve often wondered about the different methods out there for “learning” the Bible – not just memorization techniques, but key words, learning outlines, when and why to memorize verse numbers, etc. This book is not written from a Christian perspective, but it has been part of a stream of thoughts I’ve been entertaining about how we can better learn as Christians. Maybe that should be the topic of a future post!

The Trojan Mouse: How Disney Is Winning the Culture War (Samuel Lively)

I really wasn’t sure what to expect when I started this one. Would it be one of those “conspiracy” books about how evil Disney is, without any solid evidence?

Well, it wasn’t that at all. In fact, the author seems to quite like some Disney movies.

In some ways, this book focuses on a long line of brief movie reviews (from the earliest years of Disney to almost the present – actually, even mentioning some movies not out yet), but that is connected to the corporate history of Disney (and also the public’s reaction, or the “Christian” response), and the ebb and flow of ideas, whether intentional or not. I wish he had talked more about Marvel and Star Wars (he did mention them briefly), but the range of movies you’ll probably know well is quite wide.

Agree or disagree with various opinions, this will make you think about one of the most powerful communicators in our culture (and likely in your life). And you probably should take some time to do so!

Enjoying the Old Testament

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The other day I was listening to part of an apologetics panel from a conference that took place in May (I didn’t listen to the whole thing, but it’s here). One of the participants said something that caught my attention.

Michael Licona at the Panel Discussion

The question basically was, how do you react or respond when someone asks you a question that stumps you? In other words, what goes through your mind, or how do you deal with it when someone asks you a question about Christianity that you can’t answer.

One of the members of the panel was Michael Licona. Now I don’t know much about Licona . . . I know I’ve heard the name before. But apparently he is a professor at a Baptist university, and a well known apologist.

So anyway, Licona began to answer, pointing out that he had a lot of unanswered questions (don’t we all!). Then he said basically that since he’s convinced that Jesus rose from the dead, some of the less important details don’t matter so much.

Ok, I agree to a point. In other words, if you have a mountain of evidence that God’s Word is true, just because there’s one question you can’t answer at the moment doesn’t mean you should instantly throw out everything. That’s not the way knowledge works in any field.

Of course, there could be a bit of a problem here, as we’ll see in a moment.

Here’s what he said next:

So yes I have a lot of unanswered questions. Yes, there are some things in the Bible that trouble me, honestly. I don’t like to read the Old Testament. But I’ve learned to put things into perspective. If Jesus rose from the dead, Christianity is true. Period. That helps me keep the main thing the main thing. So I don’t worry about a lot of those things anymore. They don’t really bother me nearly as much because it’s all in perspective. Now, I’ve studied the historical evidence for the resurrection of Jesus, and I’m thoroughly convinced that it happened. So these other things just don’t bother me.

Michael Licona [source]

Wait a second here. “I don’t worry about a lot of those things…” “These other things just don’t bother me.” What “other things” is he talking about? Really – the only thing that matters is that Jesus rose from the dead?

So – how do we know He rose? How do we know what that means? Well, it’s the Word of God – the Bible – of course. So if Jesus rose from the dead, and all the rest of the Bible is in doubt – can’t I just say,“Wow, weird things happen!” Why does the resurrection have any meaning at all?

In fact, he also said,“Christianity is true even if it were to be the case that some things in the Bible aren’t.” Really? Which things? And how do I decide which things are true? What if the things about the Hittites are true, but the statements about justification are not?

Of course, he didn’t say that some things weren’t true. But it makes you wonder – if God did not communicate some things properly, how do we know which things we should believe?

But that’s not what caught my attention – it was this phrase – “I don’t like to read the Old Testament.”

This is a Bible scholar, teacher, and apologist. Any warning lights going off here for anyone?

I understand that there are challenging things in the Old Testament – and have you read the New Testament? If you think the OT is challenging, maybe you should really start thinking about what the NT is saying! But that being said, to say that you don’t like reading it, in general, is a huge problem.

Jesus said,“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me” (John 10:27) The sheep recognize the voice of the Shepherd. That’s why David said things like “Oh how I love your law! It is my meditation all the day” (Psalm 119:197).

The whole Bible is God’s Word to us, and it is incredible. If someone has questions, fine, let’s talk about them. But if a Christian is saying that they don’t like to read the Old Testament, I would recommend that they cut down on their activities for a while and spend some serious time in repentance and prayer.

I don’t know why Michael Licona said this. It could be that he’s throwing a bone to those who criticize Christianity based on their understanding of the OT – “See, I agree with you – but I’m still a Christian!” I don’t know. But all of God’s Word is breathed out by His Spirit. It’s all true, and it’s all – oh well, let’s just quote the verse we’re all thinking about…

All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

2 Timothy 3:16-17

I’ve spent a lot of time in the Old Testament this year. Do I have questions still? Of course! Anything given by God is liable to raise some questions in our puny minds. But I have also seen how beautiful and life-changing the Word of God is, in every one of the 66 books.

Yes, sometimes you will need to find tools to help you understand things – studying the Bible can take some work. But it’s worth it. It’s the voice of God, calling to his sheep. Don’t miss out on the treasure of God’s Word – all of it.

I hope that there’s a turn around in Licona’s life, and that he’s given the time to let God do the work. And may God give us all grace that we may be transformed to love His Word – all of His Word – more and more every day.

Patterns of Evidence: The Moses Controversy

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The other night we watched the new documentary in the “Patterns of Evidence” series – The Moses Controversy. We enjoyed it, and I would recommend it, but with some caveats.

Patterns of Evidence: The Moses Controversy

One warning – Patterns of Evidence is a film series, and so I don’t think we’re done with Moses yet. The early teasers in the film are not really covered (including the myth of “chariot wheels” in the Red Sea). Instead, the movie really sticks to one topic – is it possible that Moses wrote the Pentateuch?

You may wonder if tales about alphabets and scribes would really make an interesting movie. Kind of like making a movie about writing a dictionary. But it’s actually quite interesting, and very well made.

(Before I continue, another note – you would be wise to watch the first movie first, otherwise you will be lost when it comes to the important question of Egyptian chronology.)

So here are two things that concerned me about the movie. First, part of the drama is the investigation of the film maker, who grew up in a Christian atmosphere, and yet is now wondering if there really is evidence for his faith.

So you’re left with the impression that if there isn’t currently evidence that is accepted by scholars, then the Bible isn’t true. Well, of course there are a lot of things that are true that at one time or another weren’t accepted by scholars. The truth of the Bible does not depend on this kind of evidence.

Of course, all truth is consistent with God’s Word. But what we can “prove” by the “evidence” at this point in history is a different matter.

As you may imagine, the film makes the argument that there is good evidence that Moses could have written the Pentateuch. And this drama is part of what makes the movie interesting. But I did appreciate the response of one scholar that was interviewed – “Moses did write the Pentateuch”. Period. Way to tell it like it is!

My other concern is a positive and a negative, actually. The movie did get into a lot of speculation. Now, actually, I don’t have a problem with speculation to a certain extent. Wondering about what Bible characters were actually thinking when they chose to do something is fascinating, and it brings the Bible alive (although you wouldn’t want to base your theology on that kind of speculation – seriously, I’ve heard whole sermons based on what the pastor thinks someone in the Bible was thinking! FAIL.).

So the speculation about who invented the alphabet is fascinating – might be true – but it’s in no way needed to show that Moses could have written – what he did write.

In fact, there are a few basic facts which show clearly that Moses could have written what he wrote. You could discount half the movie, and still come to that conclusion.

With those caveats, I still recommend you watch the movie. It’s an interesting look at the academic world, and how people come to such different conclusions. It’s a look at the world in which Moses lived, and how God sent His Word at just the right time. And it’s certainly fascinating to learn about the development of the alphabet. (As Nathanael pointed out, once you’ve seen the origins of the letter A, you can never un-see it!)

When we start with God’s Word, and use it rightly, it makes science and history come alive, and start to make sense. In fact, science and history are impossible without that starting point. Joseph and Moses were real people, who are remarkable because God chose them. Why not go and read about them, in the Pentateuch, today?

And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, [Jesus] interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.

Luke 24:27

I noticed that Creation.com also did a review, and the authors came to a very similar conclusion as mine. Check it out: New Patterns of Evidence film tackles tough questions

A Pipeline Explosion, and a Reminder…

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Bad news loves to travel, but good news stays at home.

In spite of any good news that there may be about Mexico, once again it’s the bad that makes international headlines, including the recent pipeline explosion north of Mexico City.

We may never know all the details of the explosion, but here’s the short story. The pipeline began spewing gasoline into the air – perhaps due to a theft (very, very common – let’s just say gas is stolen from pipelines daily in Mexico) or a flaw in the pipeline. People who lived nearby started arriving with gas cans or even just plastic buckets to get some free gas.

Soldiers arrived to secure the area, telling people not to steal the gas, but they were soon outnumbered by locals, some of whom apparently became a little aggressive. So the authorities backed off. And then the pipeline exploded.

Imagine, people just out for a stroll, kids, young moms with buckets, men with gas cans – gas spewing metres into the air – the results were horrific.

What caused it? A cigarette? Metal on metal? Static electricity? We may never know for sure. But so far the death toll is over 90, with dozens more injured.

I wrote earlier about gas shortages in Mexico – a situation that has greatly improved since I wrote. But Mexico’s president is trying to walk a fine line by focusing blame on more organized, high level crime rather than the thefts of individuals. And Mexicans are debating who is to blame and why.

But without getting involved in the politics or assigning blame in this instance, the whole sad story has reminded me of the insidious nature of sin. The law can restrain sin to a certain extent (Romans 13:1-7). But when a society attempts to “remove God” from their midst, sin soon becomes a cancer that has infiltrated everything.

Some people go full-in — filling up their lives with sin. Others are much more innocent, justifying their “small sins” that “don’t hurt anyone”. And some are just standing around – and then sin explodes, and unexpected death is the result.

The land of Mexico and its people have some wonderful strengths, and it’s an honour to live here. But like any country, there is an often hidden dark side. And a change in the economy, or tips for good living, or preaching values, or new leadership, can never cut sin out of a culture. Hearts must be changed.

And it was encouraging to hear, as we talked with fellow believers here, that we weren’t the only ones thinking the same thing. Forget pipelines and policies – there is a sin problem in this world that is destroying lives and leading to slavery and overdoses and hatred and murder. And only a change of heart by the Holy Spirit can really address the root issues.

And so we and our fellow believers here are humbled, and yet reminded – that God wants to use us to bring that deep change. And maybe He wants to use you.

Have you ever considered serving in Mexico? Short term, or long term? If so, let’s talk.

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