Uri Brito

On June 22, 2020 By Uri Brito In Music Like

Bonhoeffer and the Role of Singing in Tumultuous Times

Bonhoeffer’s wisdom is needed in these tumultuous times. There is certainly a rise in interest in what the Lutheran martyr would say in our our own day. I will be delivering a talk at the Psalm Tap Colloquium this Wednesday on what Bonhoeffer would say to evangelicals today about singing.

My current doctoral project spends half of a chapter thinking through Bonhoeffer’s understanding of friendship and how the role of community shapes relationships. Of course, when you read hundreds of pages of an author’s words and interpreters of said author, you end up exposing yourself to a host of topics which I kindly tuck in a folder and reserve the right to peruse at a future date. Bonhoeffer’s Ethics, for instance, has always been one of those enchanting works that I had the opportunity to read through, but not with the intensity it deserves.

Alas, I delved deeply into his letters and the tenderness of his notes to family members and friends. Beyond the books, there is an entire array of technical works hidden from the public eye written by capable scholars who engage at a more profound level with Bonhoeffer. Robert Smith’s essay Bonhoeffer and Music Metaphor was one of those happy discoveries. Smith brings together Bonhoeffer’s hermeneutic with his music, thus providing a sample of the musical theology of the German theologian.

Smith offers a sample of how music shaped Bonhoeffer. His home was filled with what he called the “Grundton of joy.” Grundton speaks to the first degree of a major or minor scale in music, so that Bonhoeffer speaks of the prominence of music in the home as that which stimulated and promoted joy. Indeed, the later Bonhoeffer would contemplate those early days as preparatory for his latter days in a prison cell, which eventually led to his execution right before the end of the war.

Bonhoeffer notes that the greatest gifts that children can receive are “spiritual values” and “intellectual stimulation.” But he also notes that music is what will bring you to clarity in times of confusion. It is the practice that will sustain you in times of sadness. Bonhoeffer lived that out in his prison cell as he bathed himself in hymns from his Lutheran tradition and his favorite Psalm settings from Heinrich Schütz. He sang not just as a pastime but as an objective of way of remembering God’s promises amidst uncertainty.

Bonhoeffer’s legacy to our uncertain times is not some mystical mantra, but the concrete singing of psalms and hymns. It’s how we “point the Christian to his foundation.” For his Lutheran theology, that meant God as a suffering God would take our song and minister to us in our suffering. Thus, singing took us to the cross where the note of greatest joy sounded on Good Friday.

On June 19, 2020 By Uri Brito In Culture 1

Thoughts on Social and Protest Movements

Social/protest movements will always promise you more than what they can deliver. Whether the left or the right, if you embrace it wholly they will entice you with religious language only to leave you disappointed in the end. They will often articulate ideals that sound good, but in practice are often contradictory. For the Christian, some movements will be so explicitly un-christian that it justifies an immediate refusal. While other movements will seek to persuade you on the basis of their compassion and desire for unity which are certainly Christian virtues.

What I have seen is a steady passion among advocates of social movements to view them as the sine qua non of existence. This can happen with sports, but it’s much more visible at a social movement level. Social movements encompass not only the existential but also the intellectual which make them more compelling.

When Christians embrace such social movements their energies are drained quickly because they demand religion-like stamina. What is left of the strength after engaging the itinerary of these movements through the week is nothing more than left-over enthusiasm for foundational habits like worship and worldview thinking.

Very often social movements suck the life out of true religion and diminish any attempt to see life through Christian lenses. Social movements too often make you more passionate about “causes” than “Christ.” A quick tour through the dangerous world of twitter will reveal that rapidly. And here is the great danger: one can view their social movement as an extension of their faith, but most likely it is an extension of their social self, which often puts the individual at risk of embracing other like-minded movements that may not be as careful to delineate ideas than the first.

Protest movements are generally absorbed into an ethos that does not provide sensitivity to kingdom ideals or people, but sensitivity and proclivity to be around people who share only those ideas. I would argue that this is the beginning of racist formulations which as we have seen is found in every skin color. Further, social or protest movements when embraced as sole forms of expression lead to the vast politicization of churches who view their role to affirm such movements and never to challenge them for fear of backlash.

But Christendom is not dependent on social or protest movements, and if we do embrace or enter such movements, we need to attach ourselves temporarily to them lest we begin to trust in ideological horses and chariots over the Lord our God. All our movements need to come under the Lordship of Jesus, and must begin with that reality; any other other foundation is sinking sand.

On June 18, 2020 By Uri Brito In Family and Children Like

America’s Young Adults and How They Were Formed

Parents born in the 70’s are now seeing their young adult children enjoy the benefits of “autonomous zones” and self-made victimization. It must be rewarding to such fathers who spent most of their days working long hours in the office away from the family, spending a lot of time with their pals drinking beer and watching football while their new wives were home caring for newborns and keeping the house in some form of stability, establishing himself in his royal throne at home after a long day and keeping the children content with their tablets and unending cycle of entertainment, demanding and protesting when dinner was not served at the right time or the children would not respond politely. How did that work out for you?

Your children have become you! Except, now they have the entire vocabulary of a nation plunged into wokedom, catechized under political correctness, politicized under cool categories like “socialism” and “feel the bern.” Those young adults are the direct descendants of inattentive fathers who chose their own pleasures above the needs of their children and the regular inconveniences they offer us.

A friend of mine was once told: “I would die to have children like yours,” to which he replied, “That’s exactly what I do daily…die.”

God will not judge us, fathers, for the rest we take, the games we watch, or even the late hours we may take occasionally. He will judge us, however, for seeing all these things as noble substitutes for parenting well and faithfully.

So, to those far off, I urge you fathers to grab that prodigal son by the hairs of his baptism and tell him that you love him, pray for him, and confess your failures. Perhaps, and just perhaps, that might be the beginning of a new relationship.

As for the dads dying daily, don’t grow weary in well doing. And never believe for a moment that your children are first and foremost proud of your professionalism; they are proud of a father who kisses them and makes them feel possessed by love.

On June 16, 2020 By Uri Brito In Culture Like

When SCOTUS Scoffs at God

The Supreme Court handed over its keys to the LGBTQ community. The vocal minority of intoleristas are now in charge. The presumptive Democratic nominee, Joe Biden, stated that the SCOTUS affirmed a “profoundly American idea” that discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity is prohibited.

Now, let’s consider that we are now comparing the rights of voting, public accommodation, and basic human rights of a black individual to the rights of individuals who through a variety of circumstances embody sexual rationales that are inevitably contrary to the very core of human existence. SCOTUS affirmed that the color of the skin which cannot be naturally changed is the equivalent to the changes made by many in the LGBTQ community to live a certain way that violates basic human norms, to consume certain medications that change the natural dispositions of the body, who chose to adhere to principles of sexuality that unmistakably damage the human soul.

Let’s also take a step further and consider the language of “discrimination” in this case, which is diametrically different than what occurred some decades ago in this country during the Civil Rights Movement. We are now dealing with distinct facts and cases. For instance, if a Christian man chose to discriminate against me because of my brown skin, I would find him reprehensible; a secularized scoundrel unworthy to carry the name of Jesus. The very fabric of the Christian story entails a reconciling Lord who broke down racial barriers and calls us to see beyond our nationality and skin color.

Yet, in biblical categories, there are harsh implications for those who choose to satiate their thirst in unnatural desires (Rom. 1). If a Christian is compelled to do that which is contrary to his conscience, thus violating the very essence of his faith, he is thereby giving to Caesar what does not belong to Caesar: his religious convictions. If a boss discovers that one of his employees at his Christian bookstore is now transgender and will henceforth dress like a man starting Monday, what shall he do?

The only way these ideologies can be accepted today is when the Church affirms that we can separate our identity from what we believe and practice. If that happens, and all signs point to that reality, we live an impotent Gospel. God is no respecter of persons; he discriminates based on choices. Some choose to call good evil and evil good. We are living in the days when all distinctions are forgotten and we are walking towards the precipice of unprincipled pluralism. SCOTUS embodies the scoffing of the principles of heaven.

But it’s not all bad news. The good news is that we can return more fervently to that one duty that we all know to be true and good–the duty of worship, where God takes our humanity and forms us anew. I remain committed to that reality and encourage us to that greater call which can never be erased by an earthly court.

On June 13, 2020 By Uri Brito In Church, Culture, Politics Like

The Priorities of Priests and Protests

It is a remarkable thing, you know, this thing called priority. Just a few weeks ago religious leaders were boldly asserting in their high-dollar on-line videos that it was too dangerous to return to worship and that we needed to listen to our political and health leaders. “They are the experts,” they told us. And so a vast amount of compliant people stayed home following the orders of their health czars and most religious leaders quickly concurred. For some now, it has been 1/3 of the year away from church; that’s approximately 121 days without the church “out of which there is no ordinary possibility of salvation.” (WCF 25.2)

The shocking reality, as Barna pointed out recently, most evangelicals quit the virtual worship experience after four weeks. The hype and enthusiasm of pajamas and brewed coffee in front of a screen lasted no more than 30 days. As if we needed more proof, the reality of virtual worship became virtually unknown shortly after the quarantine.

Then, the tragic death of George Floyd, propelled by other sociological events, urged religious leaders to come out of their basements, put on their clerical garbs and take a stand. Letters were sent out urging pastors to speak up. Many needed practice since it had been a long rhetorical hiatus. Of course, by that time, thousands of protesters were flooding the streets everywhere. The public square was filled again. Then, and only then, did the religious leaders say, “Come, let us go do the work of the Lord!” Yes, even Michigan and New Jersey governors known for their vociferous opposition to that thing called “gathered assembly” now joined the festivities with dance and song. The media which condemned the little children from playing in the streets and prophesied doom to any who would dare take off their masks or gather in greater than the magnanimous number of 10 quickly raised the banner for the protesters.

“Thou shalt worship at home with no more than 10, but thou shalt protest with no less than thousands,” saith the media.

The Christian should and must seek the peace of the city, the welfare of its brothers and sisters, justice and mercy must kiss at the call of righteousness. To protest is the inherent right of human beings, but do you know what else is an inherent right of image-bearers? psalms, and hymns and spiritual songs, the wine and the bread, the word of God preached, the fellowship of the saints, hugs and handshakes.

That remarkable thing called priority has a way of showing us our true loves. Would that the zeal of pastors and priests be as elevated for the death of God’s Son as much as the death of one of God’s children. Perhaps one reason many of the protests have turned into a spectacle of shame and destruction is because they failed to be grounded first in the compassion of Jesus which we receive most clearly when God’s people enter his courts with praise and thanksgiving.

On June 10, 2020 By Uri Brito In Culture 1

Liberating Ourselves From Liberationist Movements

The laws of a culture establish the culture’s god(s). In similar fashion, the presuppositions of a culture shape their understanding of the purpose of a society. So, let’s consider two of the most classic assumptions that have guided liberal movements in the last 100 years and that are seeing a resurgence in our day:

Assumption #1: God has a preferential option for the poor, oppressed, and the marginalized.
Assumption #2: God is working towards the political liberation of such people from their subjugators.

Now, in this corner we put men like Gutierrez, Cone, Romero, and others. Their starting assumptions seem good and noble. After all, the prophets are filled with exhortations to love the poor and oppressed; and, we should add that the Exodus motif also provides at least some rationale for a form of liberation. But you should note that these assumptions stem from a fairly limited sense of biblical history. It fails to connect the Israelite Exodus–for example–to the re-establishment of a new Israel who will never be enslaved again and subjugate themselves to Pharaoh. The remarkable thing about redemptive history is that it never ceases to move.

One of the distinctions I use is the difference between biblical literacy and biblical sense. Biblical literacy means you’ve read the Bible and are self-aware of general themes (creation, John 3:16, etc.). Biblical sense means you’ve read the Bible, but are also capable of connecting the dots of the Bible and forming a coherent view of redemptive history. I argue that theologies of liberation glue themselves to one big theme (let’s say the Exodus as an example) while forgetting to connect that theme to the rest of sacred history.

If we assume that God has a preference for a particular group or color, we are pouring our limitations on God’s affections, thereby freezing God’s free acts. God is, of course, no respecter of persons (Rom. 2:11) but all persons are called to respect God. Ideologies that begin with the premise that God offers the preferential treatment is most likely to look down upon others for whom they perceive God to be blessing. It’s no wonder that these ideologies inhabit largely liberal Catholic locations or word-of-faith environments. Both which trade God’s sovereignty for a sort of welfarism divinity which can be summoned by cheap tricks or sacerdotal acts.

We are to desire to see God liberate all the oppressed and all the poor, but also all the comfortable and all the adulterers in Wall Street. Christians do not begin under condemnation, but under a cosmic liberation from sin and the tyranny of the devil and all his works.

The liberation many seek in our day will leave them just as helpless as before. Even if their earthly subjugators (as they see them) leave them alone, they will still find themselves shackled to false narratives which in the end will make them even poorer.

On June 9, 2020 By Uri Brito In Culture Like

The Allure of Social Movements

To my theologically conservative friends, I beseech you to not let your guard down in such a time as this. You are loving your neighbor, showing hospitality to strangers, suffering well, but then some are offering you a chance to do something remarkable for a cause. They are asking you to globalize your concerns instead of continuing to do those local things that God has clearly called you to do. They are saying that you should show care for this cause, otherwise you are an imbecile worthy of condemnation and to be treated as a denier of “progressiveness,” or good ol’ fashion, “social justice.” But, I say, resist the niceties of liberal agendas.

Remember C.S. Lewis’ exhortation against a theology of niceness. Many will guilt us into causes that are so far detached to the umbilical cord of truth, but they will present it as the “cause of the century,” or “the real battle.” “It’s just nice,” they say, to care about this or that movement. Lewis repudiated such absurdity when he wrote that nice people are difficult to save, and I might add, God is not nice or safe, but He is good.

This is a particular time in history when you are not to forsake your duties to your neighbor to join global causes; this is our time to be even more diligent loving our brother and sister, and serving and caring and committing to those tested and tried Christian duties. Naturally, you will feel a pull to take these causes in the name of making a mark or building your “I care” brand, but don’t be deceived, many of the ideologies of our day come with strings attached. They come right next to unholy agendas of sexual promiscuity and the acceptance of lifestyles far from the kingdom. Remember that the “who” is just as important as the “what” and “how.” Those who perpetuate concepts of reconciliation–from whatever tribe–may very easily wish that you follow your charity by kneeling before dangerous philosophies that do not lead to the cross of the crucified Messiah.

Keep your guard up! Don’t feel the compulsion to enter into the first cause that seems noble. Test the spirits and see if they are of faith for sometimes they dress up as angels of light to deceive you into a nice Christianity devoid of godly conviction and before you know it, the cause you are fighting for has no Gospel at all. God forbid!

On June 4, 2020 By Uri Brito In Culture, Theology Like

Race and the Two Israels: A Primer

We all share a common lineage. Our first earthly father, Adam, thought too highly of his status and overlooked his neighbor, Eve. He neglected the one he was called to love when he failed to protect her. Adam chose selfish ambition over his beloved, and biblical history followed that trajectory closely.

After Babel, God scattered the peoples and gave us tribes and tongues with its cultural norms and values. But this scattered humanity, composed of various expressions, did not have intrinsic goodness in them; therefore, they were not entitled to receive special blessings because they are distinct or superior or unique in any way. Every tribe and tongue must submit to the One who speaks a thousand tongues and for whom the nations sing with a thousand tongues.

A Tale of Two Israels

In the end, the descendants of such cultural milieu must ultimately come under the covenant with Old Israel or the New Israel. Old Israel is filled with ethnic superiority by priding themselves in their lineage as Adam prided himself in his status. They cherished their special relationship with Abraham, and the history of such hubris is the perpetuation of a continual wall of hostility. The religious leaders of the first century chose to be with old Israel because old Israel offered security and heritage and glory. It was familiar and common. But we, like the first-century Jews, can also be comfortable with our familiarity and our ways that we end up despising our brother or sister for whom Christ died who may be from another tribe or tongue.

We can be grateful for where we came from, but once pride becomes the central motif of our heritage, we are no better than the Pharisees. We will tend to belittle or bemoan other tribes and tongues. When we make our central identity our skin color, we fall into the adamic pride which bears no godly fruit. It will cause us to end up looking upon our brother like Cain viewed Abel, angrily and greedily.

It is essential that we then acknowledge that we are part of a new Israel, not the old one with its titles and prizes for the best teacher and most outstanding representative of the Abrahamic religion. In the New Israel, we are all formed into one people, and every tribe and tongue enter into the one narrow gate that leads to Father Abraham and the One to whom Abraham sought, Jesus Christ (Jn. 8). He is the mediator of the New Covenant, and highly exalted as the Alpha and Omega of our faith. Every time we look down on another tribe or tongue, we are behaving as citizens of the Old Creation.

In our day, some parade their heritage—on all sides of the debate, by the way– by lording over others, committing violence upon others, and mistreating others with their speech. The solution to this prideful way of life, which mimics the ethics of the Old Creation, is not to borrow the logic of pagans who offer us diversity classes in gender studies. Diversity, according to unbelieving thought, means we forget all our religious commitment and sing kumbaya to whatever tune those in power demand of us. But the New Creation does not function like that. Diversity for the Christian is not open-handedly accepting every cultural nuance and norm but challenging every philosophy that dare disobey the authority of King Jesus.

The Way Forward

We do not make our communities a better place by accepting the demands of Hollywood Instagram stars; we make our communities a better place when we seek the peace of the city, correcting someone who speaks poorly of another, and not tolerating anger towards another tribe to prevail.

Let’s be honest: we all fail at some time in this respect. We all view ourselves much too highly like the Pharisees of old. We are in an identity crisis in this country because we treasure too much tribal identities and put too little interest in our New Covenant identity. If the Spirit abides with New Covenant believers, then any form of ethnic pride needs to die because in the New Covenant every knee shall bow and every tongue must confess that He is Lord to the glory of the Father, and we can be certain that earthly strategies to reconcile humanity will all fail unless they look first to the second Adam, the new and righteous human who broke down the walls of partition and grafted us into a new creation.

On June 3, 2020 By Uri Brito In Culture, Family and Children 1

Father Famine and Rioting

When I wrote the Trinitarian Father some years ago, I did not imagine at that time how the force of fatherhood impacts the home. Now, with almost 12 years of parenting under my belt, some gray hair, and enough anecdotal evidence to fill a few encyclopedias, it is safe to say fatherhood is the critical battle of our day.

In these last few weeks, I have poured over articles and re-read a few portions from books on race, listened to podcasts on the way to my study, and safely concluded that the real danger lies in the unspoken answers to our woes. Indeed, the modern complexities touch on matters of how we relate to our fellow image-bearers, but also as it relates to our discomfort to talk about the heart of many of these issues. And the heart of many of our societal disorientations go directly back to the household, the birth place of ideologies.

Dr. Anthony Bradley, professor at King’s College in New York City, recently observed that fathers “are essential to the child’s development, not peripherally, like in TV sitcoms and movies, but vitally essential.” The recent clip of a mother castigating her son for rioting made national news, rightly so. What is rare, however, are fathers assuming a positive role in the discipline of their children. It is much more common for mothers (even in a two-parent home) to assume the role of mentor and guide than a husband to do so. We live in a father famine age, and our current chaos has much to do with satisfying this hunger.

There is sufficient evidence that what we are seeing are men and women taking to the streets to destroy because their very lives have also been destroyed in their homes emotionally and physically. The rioting is part and parcel the result of a fatherless generation. The Bible places headship at the feet of men not to abuse but to build fruitfulness in the home. But fathers are by and large consumers, and not nurturers. Teenagers in the streets setting things on fire are giving society a taste of their home lives. The male figure is now de-masculinized, and authority and respect are forgotten virtues of a bygone era.

Dads, where are your sons at one in the morning? Why don’t you know where they are? What are their habits? Why don’t you know what they treasure? Why don’t you pour into the new generation of men instead of comfortable sins?

The famine is great, and our fatherly guilt is also great. If revivals and reconciliations are to take place in our generation, we need godly men to raise the banner of hope and satisfy the cravings of their young warriors at home. Otherwise, they will take that ire and show up in a video clip in the evening news next to a burning building.

On June 2, 2020 By Uri Brito In Politics, Pro-Life, Theology Like

The First Principle of Warfare

There is a fundamental principle for understanding a war, and that is to ask, “who” is proposing what and how? I wish to focus only on the conveyor of the message for this post. The “who” is to receive attention before the “what” and “how.” Why? because we can be easily deceived into accepting ideologies of the “who” on the basis of emotional connection to particular causes. We are, after all, humans. But it is essential, nay, necessary, nay, crucial and essential and necessary put together, that we grasp what the underlying agenda of the “who” is. Of course, I am not suggesting we outright reject all ideas coming from the unbelieving mind but anytime a celebrated “who” of our culture or D.C. proposes only two options to solve gigantic matters, we ought to be looking for third.

Abraham Kuyper proposed a solution based on the Gospels called “common grace” which offers a dose of reality to unbelievers on a sunny day and occasionally on a rainy one. Sometimes unbelievers get electrified with common grace from their daily dispensary. I will be that guy in the corner cheering him on when his compatriots turn against him.

But we are poor interpreters of culture when we assume that some sexy Instagram star with 5 trillion followers who daily exposes her body to the virtual vultures is not trying to use her platform to propagate an agenda of dishonesty and disrepute. I am no longer amused by God-haters in Hollywood or in the woods of social media. As far as I can tell, they are all lost looking for meaning in nihilism and trying to find hope where hope is never to be found.

Again, there is truth to be found in all places, but it is fairly clear that even if a little ounce of truth is found in these simpatico characters from my favorite TV shows, by the time I get done with my analysis there will be little meat left in that ideological bone.

In more ways than one, we are imbibers of cultural norms. “We don’t want to be in the world,” we declare; but the first great cause propagated by our beloved artista seems good when it first meets the eye. So, we pour our wholehearted congratulations and kudos into their bucket, thus legitimizing their claim and clause. But, it’s the “who” that matters. The guy who says he loves life can also be the same guy who says you can kill a baby right to the point before he enters the world. The “who” matters, and we better be very confident that before we engage the “what” and “how” we consider from whence comes the “who.”