Change

I face an interesting juxtaposition this morning.

Side 1: Reading reviews of Brian McLaren's new book: Everything must change. He argues that traditional, protestant teaching and theology is deeply flawed and the cross badly misunderstood.

Side 2: Reading Jeremiah 6:

"Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths,
ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls.
     But you said, 'We will not walk in it.' Jer 6:16 (NIV)

How can a person connect with God? Is it through new understandings, new paradigms or is it the same old way it has always been? That would seem to be the most important question a person can ask or answer.

In reality, there is a little bit of both. McLaren himself calls for reinterpretation of the New Testament, yet he is still going back to that source. On the other hand, even the most traditionally minded reader of Jeremiah is usually not reading it in the original Hebrew—most often they are reading a translation.

It seems to me that while there is a need to stay relevant and to communicate Christ in ways people can understand and appreciate, the greater danger in our time is changing so quickly and so profoundly that we lose connection with the good way. The greater danger is the warning: the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. 2 Tim 4:3 (NIV)

As I read McLaren and Jeremiah, my fear is that the former is a living example of the warning of the latter—that those miss God because they look at the ancient path and say, "we will not walk in it."

90% Correct

Though I have four sons, it is still hard to get my head around the grading scales in their schools. When I went to school—back in the last century—90% to 100% was an "A." For my sons, an A today takes 93% or 94%. Either way, sometimes even scores that high simply are not good enough.

Back when I learned EE many years ago, they used the story of an omelet made with many good eggs and a single bad one. The one bad egg is not counteracted by a single good one, nor is it outweighed by 2, 4, or 8 good eggs. One bad egg spoils the whole omelet.

In a similar way, our understanding of biblical truth needs to be way better than 90% accurate. Currently, I am reading through Job in my daily devotions. Job is a man who suffers in incredible ways. Adding insult to injury, three of his friends come to mourn with him. After sitting silently with him for seven days, they take turns trying to get him to see things their ways. Each in his own way is convinced that Job has sinned and if he would repent, God would deliver him from his sufferings and sickness.

What I am seeing as I read Job this time is that much of what three friends share with Job is—in fact—correct. I'm not keeping the statistics, but if much of what they say would fit well into Proverbs or other wisdom literature.

All of this is a reminder that as we seek to learn from the Word of God, we need to learn it very well—to see to understand as accurately as possible. Job's friends were 90% right but altogether wrong.

Quran Burning

I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves. Jesus in Matthew 10:16

I've never seen a sheep interviewed about its feeling on wolves, but I would understand if the time came when the sheep would dream of revenge. Yet Jesus told His followers that He was sending them out as sheep among wolves.

This is certainly counter-cultural. There is a saying, "never bring a knife to a gunfight." Jesus sent us out into the gunfight without a gun or a knife. We are sent as sheep among wolves. The Florida pastor has expressed a desire to respond to the provocation of 9/11—but Jesus warned us that His people would not have a level playing field—we are sheep among wolves.

This sheep among wolves principle speaks against the actions of the pastor and church in Florida as they plan to burn copies of the Quran this weekend. They are marking the anniversary of 9/11 in a way that has garnered attention from around the world.

Actually, it's the entire verse that speaks against this burning. Stirring up the indignation of Muslims hardly seems to be shrewd as snakes. Stoking a fire and throwing the Quran into the flames is not acting as innocent as doves.

The big media story last month was the proposed Muslim mosque near Ground Zero. Few American deny their right to build it, but most who oppose the idea want those planning it to understand their responsibility to take into account the feelings of people who do not share their religious beliefs. This month the media has flocked to a small church which likewise has the right to do something inflammatory, but it needs to recognize its responsibility to be both shrewd and innocent.