Atheists Affirm the Superiority of Christianity

I recently read an atheist cartoon—yes, there are such things. It was mocking the worship of an “invisible, inscrutable, and vindictive deity.”

Rather than be offended, I actually thought, “Hmm, an atheist affirms the superiority of Christianity!”

I’m sure the atheist would be put off, to say the least, by my interpretation.

And I’m sure many Christians are wondering what in the world I’m getting at.

Consider this. As a Christian, I think there are religions that worship an invisible, inscrutable, and vindictive deity. However, that’s not the God I worship in Christ.

From Invisible to Incarnate

Now, I’m sure that by “invisible,” the typical atheist is mocking all theists as believers in a myth—something or someone that is unseen because he does not exist.

From a Christian perspective, our God is “invisible” if by that one means “spiritual” and “immaterial.” However, as Francis Schaeffer said decades ago, “He is there and He is not silent.” For the Christian, “invisible” does not mean non-existent or inactive.

In Isaiah 46, Isaiah exposes those who do indeed worship a non-existent being. So, ironically, the atheist and Isaiah find some common ground!

But there’s more, so much more. Our invisible God is our incarnate God in Christ. As John reminds us:

“The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14).

The very Creator of all things visible and invisible not only became visible in the incarnation of Christ, He dwelt among us—pitched His tent, made His abode—with us. Immanuel—God with us!    Continue at BOB

Overcoming Spiritual Stagnation

A dark room that reeks of the musty smell that accompanies rot. Alone here, your mind wanders nowhere yet everywhere at the same time. A feeling of dread, loneliness or something wriggles through your bones. A sucking feeling in your gut tips you off that you are hungry but you are not sure. It might just be anxiety. All of this happened because of a keen experience of separation from God. A sort of spiritual anxiety. The Puritans described this feeling with the phrase, “the dark night of the soul.” They knew well about the malady of spiritual depression.

Spiritual stagnation is a problem that will bombard everyone at one point or another. Depression, fears and anxiety gush out, because we feel “separated” from God, from grace. We feel alone, sinful, dirty and unloved—or perhaps unloving.

Part of reason spiritual depression occurs, I am convinced, is because we have a wrong view of Biblical Change. We go to God and ask for ways to overcome our problems, our worries. We look to ourselves and our problems and then to God’s word for helps to our problems. Being lost in our issues, we seek help from God.

Not to throw out the baby with the bath water, one should admit a mixture of good and bad rises in this recipe. The good comes when we seek God in our distress. The bad comes about when we try to find the right “trick” to overcome spiritual depression. These tricks are sometimes hidden under the guise of “practicality” or “practical helps” in Scripture.

Sometimes, however, reading the Bible in order to attain “practical” helps or seeking only what is “practical” (a very popular word these days) becomes an Achilles heal for spiritual athletes. That which promises hope results in further disappointment. These aids crush the runner’s sternum causing a desperate gasps for air instead of the promised jolt of energy so-called practicality promises.   Continue at Wyatt Graham

Spiritual Dyslexia

Chapter 19 of my new book “Twelve What Abouts…”

Dyslexia warps reality; the consequences of which can be catastrophic. It is something that causes great hardship to multitudes in our day. People with normal, or even above normal, intelligence suffer from dyslexia as the brain reverses numbers, letters or words. It is a huge learning handicap and, in severe cases, can greatly limit education and employment opportunities. 

For those unfamiliar with the problem, imagine having the word “GOD” written clearly in front of you and yet your brain interprets the information as “DOG,” as the first and last letters of the word are transposed. I am sure you will agree that there is a vast chasm of difference inherent in this misinterpretation. My heart truly goes out to those who have to go through life having to combat dyslexia.

Moving from the physical to the spiritual realm, I believe multitudes of Christians suffer from what I would call “spiritual dyslexia.” It’s a phrase I heard some years ago and found it to be a striking one. Theologians don’t use this language of course. They would be much more comfortable describing this concept as “the noetic effects of sin,” which is the simple recognition that since the Fall of Adam, all of mankind’s faculties have been negatively affected, including his mind. In simple terms, we just don’t think now as clearly and precisely as we would have done if there had been no Fall. 

According to 1 Corinthians 13, this side of glory, we only see through a glass darkly. One day, we will all comprehend things exactly (as much as finite minds can grasp the infinite). Yet right now, we all have our traditions and blind spots. If we knew exactly where we were wrong, we would change our viewpoint immediately. But the point is that we do not see these things until God the Holy Spirit enlightens us and overcomes the effects of our depravity.  Continue at John Samson

8 Elements in True Worship

“God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.” —John 4:24

This is by no means a detailed or exhaustive list of that contained in true worship; nevertheless, as a brief exposition of what the Lord Jesus Christ has presented as true spiritual worship during His encounter with the Samaritan woman at the well, I suggest that the following elements would most certainly exist.

TRUE WORSHIP is centered in the holiness of the Word of God. Jesus prayed unto the Father in the garden on the night He was betrayed, “Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth” (John 17:17; cf. John 4:24). If it is true worship, it will be centered in the truth of God’s Word.

TRUE WORSHIP is spiritual, and therefore, its truth must be spiritually discerned among redeemed believers. Scripture tells us, “But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned” (1 Corinthians 2:14; cf. John 4:24).

TRUE WORSHIP reveals our mortality from God’s Word against God’s everlasting truth in Christ, providing a perspective of the eternal. At the well, Jesus told the Samaritan woman, “Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life” (John 4:13-14).

TRUE WORSHIP confronts our sinful nature head-on from God’s Word.  Jesus told the woman, “Go, call thy husband, and come hither” (John 4:16). It doesn’t mealy-mouth; neither does it sidestep the issue. We should take note that it is also a direct confrontation by the Spirit’s work. One who did not know this woman would not recognize that the Lord’s statement itself pricked her heart with conviction (cf. John 16:8-11), except for her response that followed.  Continue at Jon J. Cardwell

Why “Let Go and Let God” Is a Bad Idea

What is “let-go-and-let-God” theology? It’s called Keswick theology, and it’s one of the most significant strands of second-blessing theology. It assumes that Christians experience two “blessings.” The first is getting “saved,” and the second is getting serious. The change is dramatic: from a defeated life to a victorious life; from a lower life to a higher life; from a shallow life to a deeper life; from a fruitless life to a more abundant life; from being “carnal” to being “spiritual”; and from merely having Jesus as your Savior to making Jesus your Master. People experience this second blessing through surrender and faith: “Let go and let God.”

Keswick theology comes from the early Keswick movement. Keswick (pronounced KE H-zick) is a small town in the scenic Lake District of northwest England. Since 1875, it has hosted a weeklong meeting in July for the Keswick Convention. The movement’s first generation (about 1875– 1920) epitomized what we still call “Keswick theology” today.

People who influenced Keswick theology include John Wesley, Charles Finney, and Hannah Whitall Smith. Significant proponents of Keswick theology include Evan H. Hopkins (Keswick’s formative theologian), H. Moule (Keswick’s scholar and best theologian), F. B. Meyer (Keswick’s international ambassador), Andrew Murray (Keswick’s foremost devotional author), J. Hudson Taylor and Amy Carmichael (Keswick’s foremost missionaries), Frances Havergal (Keswick’s hymnist), and W. H. Griffith Thomas, and Robert C. McQuilkin (leaders of the victorious life movement). People who were influenced by Keswick theology include leaders of the Christian and Missionary Alliance (A. B. Simpson), Moody Bible Institute (D. L. Moody and R. A. Torrey), and Dallas Seminary (Lewis Chafer and Charles Ryrie).    Keep Reading...

See Also: Let Go and Let God? A Survey and Analysis of Keswick Theology

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Spiritual Depression and Work