G.K. Chesterton once noted that true soldiers fight not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him. If there is one thing that characterizes the hearts of evil men is opportunism: man who fights for nothing noble and who seeks only selfish ambition. There are human beings of every tribe who share this distinct fallen feature. If we allow the vices of the world to form us, we quickly find ourselves seeking opportunities to set a snare for others (Prov. 26:27). Human beings look for a pretext in alleged contexts to act out their dangerous human fantasies. We assume ourselves too clever to be caught in our own schemes, but as Solomon says, we eventually find ourselves crushed under the weight of our self-deception.
The riots are not the result of an angry mob of diverse tribes seeking justice for a fallen friend who represents their woes. We can assert that destroying property, setting ablaze the few belongings of the homeless, beating defenseless women, attacking the very communities these individuals claim to cherish, is definitively not about race or injustice! What we are witnessing is a generation trained to have, prepared to take, and eager to steal: the objective violation of the 5th-10th commandments. The death of an innocent man is not the context, the barbarism of the human heart is.
We have quickly turned from the theme of “loving our neighbor” during COVID-19 to “destroying our neighbor” in a matter of seconds. Those rioting claimed to love their neighbors last week, but what they were doing was simply building up stamina to hate them as soon as the doors of opportunity were opened.
We are not experiencing the breakdown of human laws, we are witnessing the logic of disobeying the eternal law of God. We prefer a generic god who demands nothing, a private religion which changes nothing, and an education pre-shaped to satisfy our wants. We are now seeing the fruits of our indifference. The godless wish to take the kingdom by force, and the kingdom suffers violence. If we are looking for logical ways to explain this, we won’t find it, unless we are willing to understand that out of the heart the mouth and body speak.
The Context of Rioting
On Racism and Rioting
Racism and rioting have long been part of our history. Our descent into unrighteous acts by those in authority and those who perpetrate pain by destructive acts is an indication of the times. We prefer revolution before regeneration, and as a result we suffer societal decay. It is easier and expedient to take on the eschaton now than to wait for justice to flow in due time. Our instincts are to enact our kingdoms at this very moment, and thus we advance our agendas with no recourse to dialogue.
We should cry our for justice as the Psalmist, but even when we claim we have not been heard, the solution must not be to enact on unscrupulous anger. If we do, we perpetuate the instrumentation of evil and nothing changes. We are all aware that brutality and racism exists in all spheres of society, and our assessment confirms these things again and again. It’s our human reaction to find fault and to indict an entire group of human beings before justice is fully executed. But when we interfere with the process through unethical means, civility suffers and progress in dialogue is stifled.
Excursus on Bonhoeffer
The name of Dietrich Bonhoeffer immediately comes to the front of such conversations. For Bonhoeffer, in his work Ethics, he notes the importance of the community habits as formative in society and to do right was a prerequisite for public life. It’s imperative to note that it wasn’t until 1943a that Bonhoeffer was arrested due to documents linking him to a conspiracy to kill Hitler. Hitler came into power 10 years earlier. Bonhoeffer did not seek to interfere in a physical way until all other options were exhausted. For the Lutheran pastor, civil disobedience was an option but not the first option.
In our day, we have descended into ethical immorality and are poorer as a result. We have made revolution the excuse of the masses. We should be grateful that we are already experiencing some justice in modern cases of abuse of power. No king or police officer is above the law.
Root of Racism
Racism exists because certain humans are content in their towers of Babels. They are satisfied investing in their kingdoms with one speech and one way of doing things. When the outsider begs for entrance, the racist exerts his ideological muscles and fights for his land and language. He argues that any other culture is forbidden and to show off his prowess he may use violence. The Gospel is contrary to this in millions of ways, but central to the Gospel’s thesis is the promise of reconciliation in Jesus Christ.
The Church is called to forsake the tower of Babel and scatter themselves among every tribe, language and people. Racism and riots are byproducts of people who failed to heed the call to be ambassadors of peace. Again, revolution is easier than regeneration; desperate acts are more visible than dialogical ones.
The Church’s role is a long-term strategy. She must embody habits that diminish the very possibility of incivility in her midst. She cannot stand for the voice that diminishes the humanity of others, and she cannot act as the avenger. Vengeance belongs to the Lord. We cannot fall prey to the temptation to disrupt justice by injustices. When we claim that injustice was done, however heinous, our response is to settle our hearts in the sovereign benediction of the Spirit of Pentecost who does all things well, and begin the long and arduous task of petitioning the justice of God through his magistrates and offer the world acts of charity and words of life.
- In October 1940, Dietrich Bonhoeffer began work as an agent for Military Intelligence, supposedly using his ecumenical contacts to help the cause of the Reich. In reality, he used his contacts to spread information about the resistance movement. (back)
Episode 79, A Psalter Kickstarter Project with Dan Kreider
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There are songs written for the church everyday. Entire industries rally around famous Christian artists who produce albums and songs for churches. What do they have in common? They do not endure. They are not generational in nature. On the other hand, the Psalter endures not only because they are God’s songs, but because they are intrinsically generational.
We, at Kuyperian, wish to support great church music and on this episode we speak with Dan Kreider. Dan has a kickstarter project where he seeks to raise support to provide a new Psalter comprised of several hundred psalm settings and representing all 150 psalms, in a variety of musical styles, intended for congregational singing.
On this interview we discuss some of Dan’s background as well as the project itself. This is a worthwhile project!
We encourage you to support their work at kickstarter!
Intro and outro music by Dan Kreider
Follow Dan on Twitter
Memorial Day: The Virtue of Remembering
I grew up in a country whose last war was in 1828. It was nobly entitled, “The Cisplatine War, Mutiny of the Mercenaries.” When Hillary Clinton went to Brazil asking our then president to join American policies against Iran, Lula replied that America (then led by Obama) was too eager to get into war with Iran. I think he was right, but again, Lula was too eager to ally himself with dictators. They were both ultimately wrong in my estimation. Neo-conservative politics never did attract me from the left or the right and socialism never attracted me. Period.
When I came to the U.S. nearing three decades ago, I was exposed to a world comfortable with the language of war. There was honor and service and respect for those in the military. Police officers, many of them who had served in some capacity, were respected. It was quite a change of view for me, and I found it a delightful one.
I pastor in a community replete with men and women who serve or have served in the military. The military families and individuals who have come through our congregation were/are some of the finest I’ve ever met and when they left, they left a deep void in our body. Once in a while we are even overwhelmed with joy to see that they desire to come back and be among us.
I’ve also had the privilege of meeting widows whose husbands fought valiantly for their country. We honor those faithful laborers and we especially pray for those who mourn them today. Memorial Day should not be a day for intellectual patriotic affirmation. We should remember the dead who fought for our country and even those who fought for wars led by political ambition.
Patriotism is noble; the kind of patriotism that serves the country with eyes wide open. There is a blind patriotism that pervades everything, even church life; the form of patriotic fervor that is too eager to trust in horses and chariots. I despise that form of patriotism. The prophet Jonah was the wrong kind of patriot. He cherished his land above loyalty to God. Any patriotism that speaks of God generically is bound to error. The healthy patriot serves only the Triune God and cherishes his country but is lucid enough to point out its ethical flaws.
From the days of the Israelite wanderings to our own day, the great sin of history is the sin of forgetfulness. Remembering, then, becomes a biblical virtue. Remembering fallen heroes is a way of remembering the nature of sacrifice.
In this post-adamic world, death becomes the pre-requisite to life. We should remember the fallen. Remember the pain of death. Remember the life that comes from those who have died, and then rejoice in freedoms new and freedoms to come.
The Anti-Trumpers and the Re-Opening of Churches
President Trump’s forceful rhetoric on the re-opening of places of worship was met with joyful responses by many in the evangelical community. “In America, we need more prayer, not less,” the president ended.
The question of whether he can override states’ leaders if they refuse to follow his directive is another question altogether. Rhode Island and Chicago (which someone referred to as its own state) are already refusing to re-open churches in light of Trump’s statements. It would seem clear, however, that the “essential” right to freedom of religion ought to be upheld. In this case, Trump would be on safer grounds constitutionally than if he were to force states to re-open salons. Either way, a clash over the role of government on matters pertaining to religion is inevitable and I welcome such dialogue. If politicians are going to war over one thing, let it be over the right thing.
Yet, the response of many in the church shocked me. Many who claim Christ are responding vehemently against the president’s orders. It would almost seem that the anti-Trumpers on the right are glad to keep churches closed simply as a way to oppose the president.
Any right-minded individual can find fault in Trump and his policies at times and certainly his rhetoric. As Ben Shapiro observes, we should be “Sometimes-Trump,” not anti-Trump. As Christians, I fail to see, however, the logic behind opposing and condemning the president’s orders unless it stems from a deep hatred of our president.
Before Trump was nominated I argued that one of the sole reasons to elect Trump was that the church would have four more years to freely worship and freely duplicate itself without the antagonism of anti-religious zealotry. I was right and the church was right to elect him in the general elections. Yet now, we find ourselves in a position where re-opening churches seem like the hardest decision to make, even assuming all the necessary protocols to protect our most vulnerable.
Do we really want the church to re-open?
My argument has been from the beginning that the Church has been de-ritualized in this season and the ones who most suffer are those whose rituals are established as necessary story-markers in their calendar. Those whose rituals are scattered and spontaneous do not understand the necessity of their re-establishment which may answer in some cases the rejection of some to re-open.
The piety of broad evangelicalism is not in the acts of meeting and eating and hearing together on Sunday, it is centered around personalities, which is why when personalities are removed the entire structure crumbles. Evangelical traditions are too accustomed to social distancing even before it became cool. Even back then, they already wore masks to avoid smelling the bread and gloves to keep them from touching one another. We have been non-essential before non-essential became the norm.
I am grateful to a president who can distinguish between a marijuana shop and a place of worship. I am grateful to a president who can see that a parking lot service is not different than parking at a Wal-Mart. I confess, however, I am disappointed in the evangelical voices who made opposition to Trump the starting point for all political discourse.
Tomorrow, churches who have not re-opened should return–if they are logistically capable–with high thanksgiving to worship together and avoid the narcotic of public acclaim that persecutes our ecclesiastical leaders who would rather oppose the president to make a point. We should all remember that if we fail to affirm who we are as the Church now, the next virus will simply infect our identity with no cure in sight.
The Over-Sexualization of Friendship
Why are we so lonely? One can begin to articulate indefinitely. But I believe that one of the major reasons is that we have over-sexualized everything. A simple joke can turn into an obscene narrative. Two men hugging one another can send out mixed messages. Why? Because long ago (enter whatever year you like), we decided to accept the premise that intimacy and tenderness are erotic categories reserved for the married or the immoral. We are poorer because we allowed this to become the prevailing ethos of our culture.
I remember well growing up in South America and seeing female friends walking around holding hands, sisters and brothers held hands in public also; men greeted women with a kiss, and men gave one another big monstrous hugs as a public sign of affection. I did not think twice about their masculinity or femininity. It was natural. Even now, when I return to my home country, it takes me a day or two to adjust because I, too, have accepted the strange assertion that intimacy and tenderness belong only in particular categories. And I am of the hugging-party, so imagine someone who is not.
The side-effects of an oversexualized society that it is more alone than ever is that are the most connected society that has ever existed, and yet we are the most drugged, the loneliest, and the most comfortable with being drugged and lonely. If you read letters only 100 years ago between friends, let’s say Bonhoeffer’s exchanges with Eberhard you very quickly get a sense that we don’t live in those times anymore. We are far removed from the words of affection of those two men men because we do not treasure intimacy. In fact, we fear it. It is rare thing for a man to say to another man, “I love you.” Social distancing only confirms our love for the self. In this season, we have decided that relational poverty is our mode of operation.
There is much to say, but I leave only with the earnest desire that you will pursue friendship; that you will seek out the other without the fears that so often accompany our erotic-driven world. Love abundantly by not taking people for granted and by not despising their presence. C.S. Lewis once said that if we could recognize who we were, we would realize that we were walking with possible gods and goddesses, whom if we could see them in all their eternal dignity and glory, we would be tempted to fall and worship.If anything, let the call of charity and care drive your view of others. Let the world misunderstand us. In some ways, our call as Christians is to be misunderstood by the world because they reject our communion with the friend of sinners.
The Quarantine as the Great Divide
This season is challenging the role of expertise in our communities profoundly. Charts are not dogma. If anything, they will be souvenirs of an era of abundant speculation. We have also become keenly aware that experience and presuppositions play an enormous role in our conclusions about current events.
For instance, the people who are generally predisposed to doubting governmental regulations and interventions have upheld a consistent record of doubt on pandemic demands on our freedoms. And those who are usually predisposed to accepting government premises on all sorts of issues and not bothered much by the regulatory system as a basic structure in society find the state’s policies during this season to be another reminder of just how sober the government is. Of course, there are exceptions to all these cases, but a quick look at the media and their particular advocates makes the basic case pretty plain.
The divide is clear: Hollywood cheers on the lockdown from their sophisticated castles while the rest of the country is quarantine fatigued. And the pandemic- panic-party is still advocating for more strict measures. In my own town, there is a lawyer dressed up as a grim reaper going to our local beaches and warning everyone of the deadly consequences of re-assembling at 80+ degree weather. On the other hand, several pastors I know are eager to return to worship but cannot because they rent buildings from mainline churches that have shut down indefinitely.
Think for a moment. Forty million Americans are applying for unemployment, and there are still governors not satisfied with a phased re-opening. “We need to be cautious about our cautiousness,” they say proudly. Young entrepreneurs who moved to places like Seattle to find the burgeoning town the future of tech companies are now thinking twice about remaining there after this season. They longed to engage the outdoors of the Northwest and the vibrant social life as the impetus to a healthy lifestyle in a physically demanding market.
The result of this entire phenomenon? Calls to suicide and domestic abuse hotlines have increased by almost 1,000 percent with unemployment numbers adding to the chaos of households hit by financial woes. Cities, once known for their particular gifts to societies, now offer no appeal to newer generations. The young entrepreneur will look at Elon Musk and agree that the best place for prosperity and innovativeness is where liberty can flourish and not where overreach is typical.
There will be a complete re-thinking of the role of work and wealth. Every crisis changes the philosophy of a people. This country will be re-arranged as many will move to places safer from maniacal politicians. The good news is that we will grow more suspicious of leadership far from us and hopefully grow more enthusiastic to receive exhortation and wisdom from leaders nearer to us. People will move. States will change. We will see a more objective divide in the way we look at the world. I think common sense will prevail and we will be better for it.
Shutting the Church Doors for Years?
Worship is a super-spreader event that “should be avoided for years.” That is a conclusion from a Business Insider author. Lest I feel overly hurt by those sentiments, I should note that birthday parties should also be canceled.
It’s these titanic assertions from reputable sources that make me just a bit more certain that I am not over-reacting to current events. From the beginning I have argued vociferously that the loss of church rituals entail a loss of church identity. It opens our doors to exaggerated speculations about our corporate death. Indoor gatherings may extend contact which may perhaps lead to positive cases of the virus. But what such authors don’t grasp is that these indoor gatherings are the responsible voices in establishing the direction of societies. We don’t gather on Sundays because it is safe, we gather on Sundays because we are intentionally seeking danger by confronting principalities and powers.
It is evident that the only thing that super-spreads these days is the antagonism towards the Church and her faith. That is the deeper virus that infects the human soul.
Of course, one would charge me and say, “But he is also calling for the end of birthday parties. He is not singling out churches.” The point is precisely that: that the worship of the Triune God would be neatly tucked in a list with cakes and clowns. Peace be upon birthday parties! If birthday parties were to be cancelled for years to come there would be a revolution in every street in America filled with little people shooting their Lego weapons at civic leaders. So, count me in to voluntarily drive my share of little Ninjago-dressed characters to protest.
But the point is that the Church is a target because of what it upholds and what it communicates with its open doors to the peoples. She spreads boldly with singing and confessing and preaching and eating: “Jesus is Lord!” He is the ancient of days whose years have no end. To quiet the Church is to quiet her Lord. So, no; we will not suspend our gatherings for years. We may have given you a week or four, but you can’t expect us to give you our souls as well.
Episode 78, Producing with Purpose: A Conversation with Douglas Wilson
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Welcome to episode 78 of Kuyperian Commentary. On this episode, Pastor Brito welcomes Pastor and Author, Douglas Wilson. Doug is the author of numerous books.
Doug is likely one of the more productive Christians in these last 50 years. He engages a host of topics with ease and does it eloquently and with a serrated edge. In this book, the reader has the joy of reading a bit of his daily work habits in a delightful little volume entitled, Ploductivity: A Theology of Work and Wealth.
“Ploductivity is productivity over time,” Doug says. We can be productive for a season, but ploductivity properly distributes time; a little 15 minutes here and a little 15 minutes there and suddenly you have something significant produced over time.
This little work will benefit anyone who struggles with meeting deadlines or who subscribe to that dangerous vocation of procrastination.
Resources:
Productivity Without Purpose
Someone once asked R.C. Sproul–author of over 40 books and thousands of lectures–what he most regretted in his ministry. Sproul replied: “How much time I wasted!” When I heard him say that, I did not know how to relate to it at any level. Here is the world’s premier defender of Reformed orthodoxy who up to his last years of life was being productive and fruitful in the kingdom saying that he was ashamed of how much time he wasted.
Now, Sproul was no gnostic. He understood the importance of rest and relaxation. He was an avid movie watcher, golfer and a fanatical Steelers’ fan. In fact, the few memories I have of talking with him in a larger group was hearing his detailed analysis of the Steelers’ chances for the next NFL season. As a soccer fan, I did my best to act interested in the conversation because it was after all R.C. Sproul. I relate those facts because R.C. still believed he wasted time though his labors will probably live on for centuries.
As an adult Christian I have read a myriad of books on productivity. I consider myself someone who is always looking for the next project. There are things I am currently working on that folks will never know until it is completed. I have a goal to write around 500 words a day whether on an FB post or an article or a dissertation. It’s a habit I’ve had for years. Some of these things will never see the light of day, but it’s a fruitful activity nevertheless.
I have familial goals; husbandry goals and even keep a journal of my comings and goings to keep myself in check. On most days I try to get up before everyone else so I can get ahead of the world. It’s an annoying aspect of my personality that my family is grown accustomed. Yet, what I discover about myself daily is that I do not have a healthy theology of work.
What I mean is that often I don’t view work as the Bible views it. In Douglas Wilson‘s new book, “Ploductivity,” he elaborates on the nature of doing work. Quoting Peter Drucker, Wilson observes that there is a distinction between “efficiency” which is doing things right and “effectiveness” which is doing the right things. The efficient person has a mechanical dimension to him. He produces like a printing machine designed to print words on paper all day long. It does its job efficiently. But the Christian is called to a higher calling. As Psalm 1 says, he is like a tree planted by streams of living waters. We are to be effective. Work and productivity serve the purpose of fruitfulness. We work not merely to produce like machines, but we work to bear good fruit which serves as a benediction to others.
In many ways, the missing element of productivity ought to be its accompanying thankfulness. When productiveness is divorced from gratitude, we are no better than the pagans. If we are given the ability and capacity to produce, but yet treat our labors as a manufactured side-effect of our productivity we have missed the point altogether. But if our work is the acceptance of wealth as a gift; if, as Wilson notes, we treat the blessings of technology with fullness (technofulness), we are better prepared to view our labors unto the Lord.
Too often we work without purpose. It is too common to labor and produce without bathing our typing and accounting in thankfulness. I too regret and repent wasting time. Ultimately, I repent of being productive without God, which ultimately bears no fruit.
