Conservatives More Charitable than Liberals

I couldn't pass up pointing out this article by a favorite of mine, George Will. It turns out that studies indicate that conservatives actually PRACTICE charity more than they talk about it while liberals TALK about it more than they practice it. The study makes the salient and encouraging observation (based upon the data) that it is the conservative religious roots of the party coupled with the Republican ideal that charity is not the business of government that make this so. Read Will and be encouraged.

Friday's Fantastic Flying Footage

Is it Friday already?! This week's footage was chosen for several reasons. First, this is the Turkish Air Force's version of the Blue Angels or the Thunderbirds. I thought it would be interesting to see another country's take on these things. Second, although most of the maneuvers are quickly recognized, there is one a little over halfway through that I really like. One a/c flies straight through from right to left trailing smoke while a second a/c does barrel rolls around the smoke of the first. Third, this a/c is the F-5 Freedom Fighter, which has always been a favorite airframe of mine ever since we lived in San Antonio, Texas. It's the same airframe used by the T-38 which is flown at Randolph AFB for flight training (is it instructor training? Not sure...). It's the closest thing to a flying dart I think the USAF has ever had. Great looking plane.

A bit of trivia, this is also the airframe (in black paint scheme with red stars) that was used in Top Gun as a Mig in several scenes. There was also an attempt in the 80's to sell this a/c to the USAF in an upgraded version designated the F-20 Tigershark.

Enjoy!

Christ is Risen! He is Risen, Indeed!

If any person is devout and loves God, let him come to this radiant triumphant feast.
If any person is a wise follower, let him enter into the joy of his Lord, rejoicing.
If any have fasted long, let him now receive refreshment.
If any have labored from the first hour, let him today receive his just reward.
If any came at the third hour, let him keep the feast with thankfulness.
If any arrived at the sixth hour, let him have no misgivings for he shall not be deprived.
If any delayed to the ninth hour, let him draw near, fearing nothing.
If any have waited, even until the eleventh hour, let him not be alarmed at this tardiness.
For the Lord will accept the last even as the first.
Therefore, all of you, enter into the joy of your Lord.
Rich and poor together, hold high festival.
Diligent and heedless, honor this day.
Both you who have fasted, and you who did not fast, rejoice together today.
The table is full; all of you, feast sumptuously.
The calf is fatted; let no one go away hungry.
Enjoy the feast of faith; receive the riches of God's mercy.
Let no one bewail his poverty, for the fullness of the kingdom is revealed.
Let no one weep for his iniquities, for forgiveness shines forth from the grave.
Let no one fear death, for the Savior's death has set us free.
He who was held prisoner by death has annihilated it.
By descending into death, he made death captive.
He angered it when it tasted of his flesh.
Isaiah saw this, and he cried:
"Death was angered when it encountered you in the lower regions."
It was angered, for it was defeated.
It was angered, for it was mocked.
It was angered, for it was abolished.
It was angered, for it was overthrown.
It was angered, for it was bound in chains.
It received a body and it met God face to face.
It took earth and encountered heaven.
It took that which is seen and fell upon the unseen.
O Death, where is your sting?
O Grave, where is your victory?
Christ is risen and you are overthrown.
Christ is risen and the devils have fallen.
Christ is risen and the angels rejoice.
Christ is risen and life reigns.
Christ is risen and not one dead remains in the grave.

For Christ, being risen from the dead, is become the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep, and to Him be glory and honor, even to eternity. Amen.

The Paschal Sermon
St. John Chrysostom

(as printed in the PCPC order of worship on Resurrection Sunday, 2008)

Berkhof on The Essential Character of Sin

Among the many systematic theologians out there and the systematic theologies they produce, Berkhof is among the standards for those of us in the reformed and Presbyterian camp. On page 227 of his Systematic Theology he says this about sin:

"Sin is one of the saddest but also one of the most common phenomena of human life. It is a part of the common experience of mankind, and therefore forces itself upon the attention of all those who do not deliberately close their eyes to the realities of human life. Some may for a time dream of the essential goodness of man and speak indulgently of those separate words and actions that do not measure up to the ethical standards of good society as mere foibles and weaknesses, for which man is not responsible, and which readily yield to corrective measures; but as time goes on, and all measures of external reform fail, and the suppression of one evil merely serves to release another, such persons are inevitably disillusioned. They become conscious of the fact they that they have merely been fighting the symptoms of some deep-seated malady, and that they are confronted, not merely with the problem of sins, that is, of separate sinful deeds, but with the much greater and deeper problem of sin, of an evil that is inherent in human nature."

This statement sums up nicely the reason that a proper understanding and appreciation for the devastating depths and penetration of sin in ourselves is so important in our proclamation of the gospel, both to ourselves and to those not yet found. If sin is merely an annoying illness from which we suffer, then the gospel is frankly to be rejected as too sober and in the final analysis an absurd response to sin on the part of God. When, to the contrary, we recognize that sin, as an aspect of our very nature, has brought death, the required remedy of which is life, then the gospel becomes the only satisfactory means of hope.

Palm Sunday Anticipation

This Sunday is Palm Sunday. It is the Sunday during which we recall the entry of Christ into Jerusalem for his final week of earthly ministry leading up to and including his death, burial, and resurrection. Despite the habit of some traditions of making much of the last several weeks, such as Ash Wednesday and Lent, the coming week is one in which our sobriety grows deeper. Our sense of awe becomes keener. And with Job we are compelled to "lay mine hand upon my mouth." If you have not begun the process of slowing down and turning your thoughts to the passion narrative of our Lord, begin now even as you prepare for worship on Palm Sunday. This Sunday, although often celebrated in such a way that we seem to miss the irony, is a Sunday in which we recognize our complicity in Christ's death, even as we cry out, "Hosanna!" Laurence Hull Stookey captures this thought well in his work, Calendar: Christ's Time for the Church (pg 88-89):

"To separate out the narratives of the entry of Jesus into the city and interpret the occasion behind them as utterly joyous and victorious is to misread the Gospels. The label 'triumphal entry' is a misnomer and a source of much misinterpretation. The New Testament writers know fully well that the 'Hosanna!' cries of Sunday will by Friday turn into calls for crucifixion. The entry into the city is charged with irony, and it is about us as fully as it is about the people of ancient Jerusalem: Our faith, too, is fickle; we are the crucifiers of the One whose coming we have called 'blessed.'"

And yet, as we read in Matthew 23:39, a day will come when we do finally cry out, "Blessed is He Who comes in the name of the Lord!" That time is now, as we agree with John the Revelator in his "Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus." And it is future, as we will one day cry out at His very coming. It's hard to imagine Paul writing 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 without the "triumphal" entry in mind [1]. Speaking of the Second Coming of Christ, Paul says:

“For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.”

The word here for "meet" was sometimes used in extra-biblical literature of the period to describe the people of a walled city pouring out of that city to meet a returning King and escort him back into the city. What a wonderful image of God's people being gathered to their Lord, shouting finally and with full effect, "Blessed is He Who comes in the name of the Lord!"

This Palm Sunday, do not miss the irony. Do not dismiss the tension. But do not forget that we look forward to a day in which our covenant-keeping King redeems all creation to the shouts of His people.
____________________

[1] The Greek word used by Paul in 1 Thes. 4:17 is a verb, ἀπάντησις (apantesis). John uses a cognate in his description of the people coming to meet Christ outside Jerusalem, the noun ὑπάντησις (hypantesis).

Want more flying videos?

My cousin Hal sits in the right seat of the Navy's EA-6B (at least he has in previous assignments) and he has begun posting footage of his own, shot from the cockpit. Slide over to Paradise, Written... to see his footage. He posted this past Tuesday as well as today (Friday).

Hal is my cousin through my wife, Leslie. One of the first times we spent time together we went out to the local airport and rented a little Cessna 150 and flew down the Altantic coast of Florida from Jacksonville to St. Augustine. We circled the lighthouse and did some touch and goes there at the St. Augustine airport (I think Patty Wagstaff, famous areobatic pilot, is based there). We flew back up the beach low level, had a close call with a naval aircraft departing NAS Jax (our separation was probably less than a mile, but anytime you're in a C-150 and you don't see the multi-engine military aircraft until after it has passed you closer than is usual, that's a "close call" in my book!) and landed into the setting sun at Craig. If I'd had any doubts (which I hadn't) about whether or not Hal and I would get along, they were gone after that flight. But the story wasn't over quite yet.

There is little so personally affirming as going, on a whim, and renting an airplane and flying around just for fun; doing it well; and returning safe. It's easy to get a little cocky about it. I don't think I was "in form" that day, but I was feeling pretty self-assured. We filled out the logbook, turned in the key, and walked out to the van we had borrowed from Leslie's folks only to realize I had locked the keys in the van. Way to go hotshot! Tim (Leslie's dad) had to drive all the way across Jax to bring us another set of keys. The pic above is from that 1999 flight. Great memory...thanks Hal!

Friday's Fantastic Flying Footage

This nod to our rotorhead brethren starts out slow, but picks up before too long. I think the pilot is German and the footage is shot in Germany. Not sure what's up with the funkadelic music.

Next week we will not have "Friday's Fantastic Flying Footage". For those of you that may not be aware, we are entering Holy Week. Next Friday will be Good Friday. All of my posts (if there are any) beginning this Sunday (Palm Sunday) will be reflections on the season.

The Beauty of Federal Theology

In answering an email this evening and discussing the question with another friend, I was reminded of the wonderful symmetry afforded to those of us who are reformed in our understanding of imputation. Have you ever wondered how sin is passed from generation to generation? The orthodox generally agree that we are all sinners without exception. But the question is how does that come to be? Why are we all sinners? We begin with the fact that Adam sinned. This much is clear in Genesis 3. To be sure, Eve sinned first, but notice that you don't hear much about her action throughout the rest of Scripture. Instead, the focus is on Adam's sin. Paul teaches us in Romans 5 that "sin came into the world through one man," and "one trespass led to condemnation for all men," and "by the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners." Do you see the relationship here? Adam was our representative. He was our federal head. When Adam sinned, he did so on our behalf, bringing guilt (and therefore condemnation) to all. "Where is the beauty?" you may be asking. It lies in the other half of Paul's equation in Romans 5. You see, "just as" Adam was our representative or federal head, so Christ is the new federal head of all those who are in Him. Christ's "one act of righteousness leads to justification for all men," and "by [Christ's] obedience the many will be made righteous." You see, the virgin birth of Christ means that his federal head was not Adam (because he was not the son of any man), but in a sense it was God the Father. Sinless, then, Christ in his perfect obedience became a Second Adam. Another "first" in humanity from which "all" will not receive the guilt of sin, but the righteousness of Christ. And so Paul can assert in Romans 8:29 that Christ is the firstborn among many brothers. Do you see the beautiful symmetry here? While the sin of Adam was imputed to me because I was a son of Adam, the righteousness of Christ has been imputed to me because I am a son of God.

Next: The implications of this doctrine on the question of Calvinism vs. Arminianism
And then: The emptiness of the contrasting view to Federalism: Traducianism

Sunday Response

Tim Tinsley preached from Acts 3 yesterday (sorry...posting this a day late). The bit of Tim's sermon that stuck with me was the observation that we must seek to bring to bear the greatest resource that we have in our ministry, which is the gospel itself. Peter and John didn't have the money the lame beggar was asking for, but they had something greater. I also noticed that the beggar was really asking for the wrong thing. The lost to whom we minister the gospel do not even know what to ask for and are seeking anything and everything but the right thing in order to be made whole. We, as those who have the principle of life, should be always vigilant and ready to speak the words of life to those who are dead.

Form vs Substance

It has been popular in certain venues, particularly with regard to worship, to argue that what matters is only the substance of the worship, and not its form. I would like to submit the above video as an exhibit to the contrary. The substance is Mary Poppins. Only the form has changed. And yet, what is communicated? I'll leave it at that for now...

(HT Will Nielson/Nielson's Nook)

Friday's Fantastic Flying Footage

Today's footage comes courtesy of one of our three faithful readers. Gunny pointed this out in a comment thread below and I thought it was so outstanding that it must serve as this week's video. What you will see occurred only a few days ago. This is a Lufthansa flight in Germany landing in an extreme crosswind. The pilot appears to do everything correctly (although the decision to make a landing attempt on this runway in these conditions might be questioned). Reports that I've tracked down on this say that the gust responsible was in excess of 100 mph. They also say the co-pilot was at the stick...a 24 year old female. Now all joking aside, the recovery here is fantastic and the decision to go around impeccable. The long and the short of it is that the left wing tip does strike the runway. It's damaged and has to be replaced. The plane did a go-round and was put safely down on another runway by the captain. The "smoke" you see after the wing strike is the water on the runway and the grass being atomized by the engines being immediately pushed into full forward for maximum power. The perspective for this video is perfect and gives an outstanding view of what is otherwise a solid crosswind landing. Enjoy!

(HT: Gunny/Semper Reformanda)

A Hard Day

Xavier, our youngest at 3 years old tomorrow, announced at the table tonight that he was tired and wanted to go to bed. This couldn't be more out of character for him, and in fact we suspected he was just playing. He proceeded to lay down his head on the table and pretend to be asleep. I played with him for a minute while he peeked and tried not to smile. But after a few minutes of conversation between Leslie and me, we realized he had indeed fallen asleep (and he is still in there sleeping as I type). I poked and prodded and took these photos and still he was breathing deeply. Now that's some serious tired.

The Age of Reason

This past Sunday I had a conversation that seriously provoked my spirit. Now, I don't use phrases like "provoked my spirit" very often, nor do I use them lightly. A student approached me after my lesson and challenged something I had said. Working through 1 John 2:18-27, I had taught essentially that our faith is a revealed religion. While it is reasonable, you cannot attain faith through reason alone. It requires a work of the Spirit. This student insisted that it can be attained by reason alone, and that he had done so. He has arrived at this view by studying, among other things, Aquinas' Summa Theologica and the five proofs for God contained therein. His simple logic was this: If it is reasonable, then reason can get us there. I tried to respond with logic and point out the many consequences of such a view. I pointed to church history and the essential semi-pelagian quality of his view. I opened the Word and showed him 1 Corinthians 1:17-2:16 [Read this now by clicking on it if you are not familiar with it]. It turns out, he doesn't think much of the Word. How ironic! In his zeal to defend the reasonableness of the gospel, he has essentially lost the message of the gospel.

Christian, do not ever for a moment become so full of hubris, so enamored of your own mind, that you lose sight of the fact that you have been graciously saved by a God who condescended into His creation and revealed Himself supernaturally to us, "while we were yet sinners." Our faith is reasonable. But reason cannot generate faith. Understanding? Yes. Assent? Certainly. But personal trust? Never. Salvation is a work of God alone.

Whose Child Are You?: The Seven Woes of Matthew 23

In my study of Matthew 23 for a recent ladies Bible study, I noticed an interesting pattern that became the central thrust of my lesson. In contrasting the actions and attitudes of the religious leaders to what is proper for a child of God, Jesus speaks of the crowd and disciples as having only one Father, God. This comes into contrast in the seven woes when Christ, speaking of the religious leaders says they make their proselytes twice a child of hell as themselves. The contrast is then set up...Children of God do not behave as children of hell, or Satan. The image is driven home in the final woe when Christ calls the religious leaders "serpents, you brood of vipers," in 23:33. This allusion to the offspring of the serpent takes us all the way back to Gen 3:15 and the proto-evangelium. Thus, the woes serve to show the selfish, self-centered, unloving way in which a child of Satan behaves in contrast to the selfless and loving manner of the child of God. The woes describe a people that reject the gospel (woes one and two); seek to circumvent the spirit of the law by parsing the letter of it (woe three); have misunderstood the underlying principles of justice and mercy that are explicit in the gospel (woe four); and seek to hide their sin not under the white shining robes of Christ's righteousness, but behind their own works of "righteousness" (woes five and six). In the final woe, they are shown to be sons of their fathers, those who killed the prophets.

So in light of this, whose child are you?

Sunday Response

In worship at PCPC yesterday we welcomed the new communicants by celebrating their first communion with our church body. Tim Tinsley preached from Acts 2:42-47. What a wonderful reminder of the fellowship we have in Christ! What a powerful image of the church as it should be - dedicated to the teaching of the gospel and sharing all things in common! I left both encouraged by what the church can and should be and challenged to serve the church with every one of my words, thoughts, and deeds by pointing others to Christ, promoting unity, and living selflessly among my brothers and sisters in Christ.