Is God sovereign? If you truly believe that he is then everything must be understood in the light of His revelation. A Christian should have a well rounded education including a knowledge of history and its relationship to God's revealed word. History seems to be an important concept in the Bible. How you understand history is important to how you react toward culture.
If you look up “remember” in the Strong's Concordance you will find almost a full page of references. God constantly commands His people to set up reminders of His marvelous works. He commanded the Children of Israel to set up the Gilgal stones at the crossing of the Jordan, He set up the passover as a reminder of the Exodus from Egypt, He gave to the Christian the sacraments of Baptism and the Lord's supper as a remembrance of Him.
Isaiah 46:9,10 reads, “Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure”. Passages like this one and Isaiah 25:1 inspired the Augustinian, or Christian, view of history. The Christian sees history moving in a linear direction for the purpose of glorifying God and accomplishing His will.
Another label for the Christian view of history is the providential view of history. Providence is a concept found in the fathers of the church and this country that has almost been lost on today's Christian. Tragically, too many Christians have allowed their view of history to be tainted by philosophies of men. If they will reject these false doctrines and view history as having a definitive purpose, the Christian will begin to act differently toward culture.
The first question in the Westminster shorter catechism asks, “What is the chief end of man?” The answer, “the chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.” This is a marvelous summation of our purpose in light of God's plan in history. God's plan for this world, man and, yes, all of creation, is being accomplished through history and can be seen in passages such as I Peter 4:11: “If any man speak, let him speak as the oracle of God: if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability that God giveth; that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion forever.”
Understanding history as God “declaring the end from the beginning” and as Him “do(ing) all (His) pleasure” helps you see all of history, and everything that is happening today in such a way that motivates you to live for His glory. If history is seen as a purposeful creator directing everything to His glory, life then has purpose. You see, it's all about God. Man, even Christian man, tends to want to view everything in the context of 'what's in it for me'. If it is all about God then you can see history as pointing everything to His glory and you will live out I Cor. 10:31, (“Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.”) with gusto.
Showing posts with label engage the culture. Show all posts
Showing posts with label engage the culture. Show all posts
Saturday, January 30, 2010
The Existential View of History
How one thinks determines his course of action. Therefore it is relevant to discuss some aberrant views of history. Because the Christian of the 21st century has blended existential thinking into his worldview to such a great extent, it is most relevant to understand what existentialism is and how it has become so prevalent in the Christian's thought processes. Then the Christian needs to cast off the existential component of his worldview.
Existentialism is a philosophy that emphasizes the here and now. This philosophy can best be summed up by Ecc. 8:15, “man hath no better thing under the sun, than to eat, and to drink, and to be merry:” The only thing that matters to the adherent of this philosophy is what can be experienced at the moment. The past is irrelevant and the future doesn't matter, live for the moment and 'grab all the gusto that you can'.
Examining the commitment of most Christians to the study of history reveals at least a partial influence of existentialism in their lives. For most it is more of an influence than might initially be thought, as it seems that many have an unbalanced interest in the future. It could be argued though that their understanding of the future is skewed by their lack of knowledge of the past. One cannot really understand the present, much less the future without some knowledge of the past, and this knowledge must be ordered by a correct interpretation of the events of the past. In other words you cannot really understand past, present or future without filtering your knowledge of each through the Christian worldview, and the Christian worldview demands an understanding of history as a study of God's providence.
So how is it that a deficiency of historical knowledge has become so prevalent in the church today? It is partially a vicious cycle that created the downward spiral of historical knowledge, and partially an unbalanced reaction against heresy. First, because of an emphasis on eschatology, Evangelical churchmen have caught rapture fever, and they spend an overabundance of time trying to read 'the signs of the times' in order to predict the future in current events. The interest in the future has overshadowed the study of Christian history. Because of the ignorance of Christian history the average Evangelical Christian has a distorted view of eschatology, or the future. Secondly, Roman Catholics elevate oral tradition to the level of the written revelation of God, and Protestants have reacted against that. Certainly Protestants should reject this practice, but do not throw the baby out with the bath water. Just because oral tradition, or church history, should not be held as on par with scripture does not mean that there is no value in church history. As has already been stated, a Christian worldview demands an understanding of history.
Spurn the influences of existentialism on your thinking. Clutch a thoroughly Christian worldview. Christian Worldview of History and Culture will continue to provide information related to Christian history. It is, after all, in the name. The current culture may be the glamorous part of the mission here, but without a thorough understanding of history it will be difficult to get the culture right.
Existentialism is a philosophy that emphasizes the here and now. This philosophy can best be summed up by Ecc. 8:15, “man hath no better thing under the sun, than to eat, and to drink, and to be merry:” The only thing that matters to the adherent of this philosophy is what can be experienced at the moment. The past is irrelevant and the future doesn't matter, live for the moment and 'grab all the gusto that you can'.
Examining the commitment of most Christians to the study of history reveals at least a partial influence of existentialism in their lives. For most it is more of an influence than might initially be thought, as it seems that many have an unbalanced interest in the future. It could be argued though that their understanding of the future is skewed by their lack of knowledge of the past. One cannot really understand the present, much less the future without some knowledge of the past, and this knowledge must be ordered by a correct interpretation of the events of the past. In other words you cannot really understand past, present or future without filtering your knowledge of each through the Christian worldview, and the Christian worldview demands an understanding of history as a study of God's providence.
So how is it that a deficiency of historical knowledge has become so prevalent in the church today? It is partially a vicious cycle that created the downward spiral of historical knowledge, and partially an unbalanced reaction against heresy. First, because of an emphasis on eschatology, Evangelical churchmen have caught rapture fever, and they spend an overabundance of time trying to read 'the signs of the times' in order to predict the future in current events. The interest in the future has overshadowed the study of Christian history. Because of the ignorance of Christian history the average Evangelical Christian has a distorted view of eschatology, or the future. Secondly, Roman Catholics elevate oral tradition to the level of the written revelation of God, and Protestants have reacted against that. Certainly Protestants should reject this practice, but do not throw the baby out with the bath water. Just because oral tradition, or church history, should not be held as on par with scripture does not mean that there is no value in church history. As has already been stated, a Christian worldview demands an understanding of history.
Spurn the influences of existentialism on your thinking. Clutch a thoroughly Christian worldview. Christian Worldview of History and Culture will continue to provide information related to Christian history. It is, after all, in the name. The current culture may be the glamorous part of the mission here, but without a thorough understanding of history it will be difficult to get the culture right.
The Martyrdom of Telemachus Still Inspires the Christian to Engage the Culture
Do you have a wall that you need to climb over? What is meant by that question? Are you familiar with the story of Telemachus the monk, whose martyrdom ended the Roman games?
According to church historian, Theodoret, Bishop of Cyrrhus, in his Ecclesiastical History, when Telemachus was in Rome he went to the stadium when the Roman games were in progress. Appalled by the spectacle, he jumped the wall and tried to “stop the men who were wielding their weapons against one another. The spectators of the slaughter were indignant, and inspired by the triad fury of the demon who delights in those bloody deeds, stoned the peacemaker to death.” The Emperor Honorius, impressed by the courage of Telemachus, named him among the “victorious martyrs,” and put an end to that impious spectacle.
Telemachus could have stayed secluded in the monastery. When he entered Rome he could have just gone about his business. When he did go see the spectacle in the coliseum he could have silently slipped out during or after the games were over. Instead, Telemachus climbed over the wall and was martyred for his courageous stand.
In America, it is unlikely that a Christian will be martyred for standing against the culture, for truth. You may be persecuted for your stand, you may suffer material loss or emotional pain, but you will probably not be martyred. The sad fact is that some of your worst persecution could come from those who call themselves brothers in Christ, but are not willing to risk being ostracized or losing any of their earthly goods. Some of your Christian friends, out of guilt, are as likely to lash out at you rather than fulfill the call to engage the culture themselves.
Do you have a wall that you need to climb over? Has God given you a heart for ending one of the gross evils that are marking the American culture? Christian, to engage this culture may not even require that you involve yourself in a great controversy. The state has overreached its scriptural authority and taken on responsibilities that rightly belong to the realm of the family and/or the church. Maybe you have a burden to help offer scholarships to help Christian children pay for a Christian education, or maybe you are burdened to help the widow or the orphan, so they do not have to bow at the altar of Caesar for food, heat or other necessities.
Telemachus illustrates that one man can make a difference. Every time one more Christian engages the culture in another arena, or coliseum, America will be one step closer to the righteousness that God calls the nations to. Go ahead Christian, it's up to you, climb over a wall, maybe your courage will be the inspiration necessary to end a spectacle in your culture.
According to church historian, Theodoret, Bishop of Cyrrhus, in his Ecclesiastical History, when Telemachus was in Rome he went to the stadium when the Roman games were in progress. Appalled by the spectacle, he jumped the wall and tried to “stop the men who were wielding their weapons against one another. The spectators of the slaughter were indignant, and inspired by the triad fury of the demon who delights in those bloody deeds, stoned the peacemaker to death.” The Emperor Honorius, impressed by the courage of Telemachus, named him among the “victorious martyrs,” and put an end to that impious spectacle.
Telemachus could have stayed secluded in the monastery. When he entered Rome he could have just gone about his business. When he did go see the spectacle in the coliseum he could have silently slipped out during or after the games were over. Instead, Telemachus climbed over the wall and was martyred for his courageous stand.
In America, it is unlikely that a Christian will be martyred for standing against the culture, for truth. You may be persecuted for your stand, you may suffer material loss or emotional pain, but you will probably not be martyred. The sad fact is that some of your worst persecution could come from those who call themselves brothers in Christ, but are not willing to risk being ostracized or losing any of their earthly goods. Some of your Christian friends, out of guilt, are as likely to lash out at you rather than fulfill the call to engage the culture themselves.
Do you have a wall that you need to climb over? Has God given you a heart for ending one of the gross evils that are marking the American culture? Christian, to engage this culture may not even require that you involve yourself in a great controversy. The state has overreached its scriptural authority and taken on responsibilities that rightly belong to the realm of the family and/or the church. Maybe you have a burden to help offer scholarships to help Christian children pay for a Christian education, or maybe you are burdened to help the widow or the orphan, so they do not have to bow at the altar of Caesar for food, heat or other necessities.
Telemachus illustrates that one man can make a difference. Every time one more Christian engages the culture in another arena, or coliseum, America will be one step closer to the righteousness that God calls the nations to. Go ahead Christian, it's up to you, climb over a wall, maybe your courage will be the inspiration necessary to end a spectacle in your culture.
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