The New Atheism and Spiritual Delusion by Chris White

“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.  For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them.  For his invisible attributes, namely his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world in the things that have been made. So that they are without excuse.”

                                                                                      ( Romans 1:18-20)

There is a new militant atheism afoot today, but I predict (without any sort of prophetic insight whatsoever) it will be a short-lived movement.  Why so?  Because man instinctively knows all attempts to explain his existence in this world as a meaningless, happy coincidence in a chaotic cosmos, is more an excuse than an explanation.  Perhaps this is why idolatry has always been much more prevalent as a belief system.  Even though faith is being placed in the creation (sun, moon, stars, rocks, animals, spirits) and not the Creator, at least it is looking to something greater than itself.  Theologian Alistair McGrath points out in a recent work that the Genesis account of creation taken in context is a statement against idolatry not atheism.  The ancient world was not without faith, but had divinized all they saw.  The Genesis account points that God stands apart from what He has made and all that is created is not intrinsically divine.  The new Atheism speaks with great authority.  It states that science speaks with a unified voice that all is just nature and all meaning we ascribe to it is merely illusory or sentimentality and the sooner we as a species can dispense with all this religious nonsense, the happier we all will be on this planet.  The subtext though is as old as the serpent in the Garden of Eden, with knowledge and complete freedom, you will become gods.  Go for it!  Man is no god and deep down he knows it.  He can’t live without God.  As Pascal said centuries ago, man has a God-shaped void in his heart and will not be happy until it is properly filled.  I say the sooner we dispense with all this atheistic nonsense, the quicker man will be living in reality!

The Life the Lord Commends by Chris White

 When he returned, after receiving the kingdom, he ordered that these slaves, to whom he had given the money, be called to him so that he might know what business they had done.  The first appeared, saying, ‘Master, your mina has made ten minas more.’  And he said to him, ‘Well done, good slave, because you have been faithful in a very little thing, you are to be in authority over ten cities.’

--Luke 19:15-17

     When Jesus told the parable of the Minas He was preparing his disciples for what lay ahead of Him in Jerusalem.  They were expecting that Jesus would inaugurate his messianic kingdom very soon.  Jesus knew he would be betrayed, rejected, killed, and rise on the third day.  He would be ushering in his kingdom not immediately but after a long period of time.  The main point of the parable is that while we wait for the day of his return we are faithfully seek through our stewardship an increase for the Lord.  Unlike the parable of the Talents, the distribution to the servants in this parable is equal.  All are given the same amount by the Lord at the start and only the servants who made a great increase received the Lord’s commendation.  When I think of what the Lord gives to his disciples that is completely equal the only thing it could be is life.  Money, intellect, faith, and spiritual giftings have a more uneven distribution.  So how do I steward my life to seek an increase for the Lord?  Am I growing in my intellect and abilities?  Am I using my energy and resources to expand the reach of the gospel and the kingdom?  Am I increasing in my love of God and my neighbor?  This life is not a waiting room for heaven but a preparation ground for coming kingdom.  The Lord commends our growth in this life by offering even greater responsibility and stewardship in the life after.  How is it with your stewardship?

What Is Assumed Is Healed by Chris White

“For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form, and in Him you have been made complete..” Col. 2:9-10

Gregory of Nazianzus, a theologian from the early Church era, wrote “that which is not assumed is not healed.”  In this he was talking about the importance of Jesus being fully human as our redeemer.  It’s funny to say it that way because usually we place our emphasis on the divinity of Jesus and how he was far more than just a great man.  But the humanity of Jesus is of equal importance to God’s redemptive work.  To fulfill God’s justice, a real man must take our place and our penalty.  Because Jesus is fully God His sacrifice is of infinite value and able to more than cover the sins of humanity.  But there is another dimension to consider here as well.  Christ came to redeem us as whole human beings.  It is more than your spirit He intends to save.  Jesus assumed a body, an intellect, a personality and every other human characteristic except sin.  In other words, all was assumed and therefore all is healed.  The question is then when will I realize this?  Obviously the fullness of Christ’s healing will be realized in the resurrection but that does not preclude a significant healing in this life.  How much we receive is largely dependent on how open we are to being healed (spell that C-H-A-N-G-E-D).  Jesus Christ is ready and willing.  Are you?

The Real Stress That Kills Us by Chris White

“Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.  For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.” (Col. 3:2-3)

“We use selective inattention and forgetting to get through life; we assume it is the crazy pace of our lives that is killing us when really it’s our inattention to our deepest desire, the desire for God.”  --Marshall Jenkins

One of the oddities about life in America is that we are one of the wealthiest nations of earth and yet it seems we are being killed by our wealth.  Not a day goes by where I don’t read of or hear of some new way in which abundance is causing great stress in some way to the body and mind.  I’ve had a few days recently where I’ve been more stressed about worrying about my stress level than the actual stress I was enduring.  Technically I think this is called recursive anxiety: being stressed about the possibility that I might have too much stress.  Don’t think I’m joking here.  The only thing funny about this is that I’m confessing the truth about how my mind sometimes works.  I will tell you that I have had to deliberately tell myself to trust God and quit this faithless worry.  Quite a few days now and counting!  Here is the heart of the matter: most of the stresses we are feeling come from a fear and dread of loss.  It might be a fear that you are going to lose a spouse through an illness, a job you’ve worked your whole life, a home you’ve enjoyed for many years, maybe even your own dreams for a better financial life for your family.  But can I tell you something as a fellow worrier?  The truth is the only thing we can really hang on to in this life is God Himself.  We hunger for things that are permanent and then reach for and try to hang on to things that are transitory by nature.  This is why our attention must be drawn towards heaven.  It is only with God that we will find our hearts at peace and fully satisfied.  And in the end, only God can calm the storms of fear we all have.