In Paul’s letter to the Colossians, he describes what Jesus has done for us. Those who have been buried with him in baptism and raised with him, have been given full life in him. While we were dead in our sin and controlled by our sinful nature, he did the following for us.
(Colossians 2:13-15).
In an article called Will Loss of Religious Liberty Doom Evangelicalism? George Yancy has some interesting comments.
Evangelicals have gotten used to being the most powerful religious group in our society. That is not going to be the case for the foreseeable future, if ever again...
So beyond politics, it is also important that we think about protecting ourselves by building up our community. If there are fewer of us, but those of us who are left are more committed, then we can make demands on each other that will strengthen our larger community. Groups that do not have majority group power do well to have a strong notion of community so that their subculture can thrive.
What are some of the implications of building up our vision of being a Christian community inside a larger secular society? We can develop a powerful in-group loyalty that allows us to help each other. We can develop supportive economic structures that serve our subculture. We can focus on socializing our children to be ready for the struggles of a post-Christian world. These are only some of the important ways having a community mindset can provide us with the social means to persist in a society that wants to remove us from the public square.
It can be as a community that we can renew a focus on reaching out to the marginalized. A powerful group tends to ignore those who struggle in our society. In a society where we no longer have majority group power, we can humbly use our in-group loyalty to work together so that we can better minister to those society left behind. Such efforts not only enlarge our community by bringing some of the marginalized into our community but also provides a powerful witness of love for the least of these.
Ultimately, it is going to be these acts of love and a true demonstration of the values we say we hold to help us deal with the threat to our religious liberty. Since the threat comes from a change of cultural values, we can begin to neutralize it by impacting the culture. And the best way to impact the culture is to have a Christian community where we are encouraged to live with integrity, transparency and to love those around us. Building the right type of Christian community is vital for what we need today.
In Debunking Economics, Steve Keen gives two reasons why mainstream economists did not see the global financial crisis coming. The economic models of these economists assume that economies always move towards equilibrium. External shocks may push an economy away from equilibrium for a short time, but it will quickly adjust back towards equilibrium. A long-term economic depression cannot exist in these models, because they are always trending back to equilibrium. Keen quotes Robert Solow.
I start from the presumption that we want macroeconomics to account for the occasional aggregative pathologies that beset modern capitalist economies, like recession, intervals of stagnation, inflation, ‘stagflation’... A model that rules out pathologies by definition is unlikely to help (p. 259).
Keen also quotes Minsky
Can ‘It’—a great Depression—happen again: And if ‘It’ can happen, why didn’t it occur in the years since World War II? These are questions that naturally follow from both the historical record and the comparative success of the past thirty-five years. To answer these question, it is necessary to have an economic theory, which makes a great depression one of the possible states in which our type of capitalist economy can find itself (p. 381).
Mainstream economists could not foresee the global financial crisis because their models could not forecast a crisis.
The models of the mainstream economists did not include debt. They assume that money is neutral and does not affect the real economy. Likewise, debt is left out of their models, because they assume that it just shifts purchasing power from one person to another. They assume that debt does not affect the real economy.
Keen quotes Paul Krugman as confirmation.Given both the prominence of debt in popular discussion of economic difficulties and the long tradition of invoking debt as a key factor in major economic contractions, one might have expected debt to be at the heart of most mainstream macroeconomic models—especially the analysis at the hear of monetary and fiscal policy. Perhaps somewhat surprisingly, however it is quite common to abstract altogether from this feature of the economy (p.321).Unfortunately, by leaving debt out of their models, they could not explain or foresee the effects of debt deflation.
Brian Zahnd writes that we need to understand how the preacher of the Sermon on the Mount ends up condemned by the Sanhedrin and executed by the Roman Empire.
Jesus was not preaching his sermons and working his miracles as “random acts of kindness” but as announcements and enactments of the arrival of the kingdom of God. By the kingdom of God we mean the government of God, the politics of God, the alternative arrangement of the world that comes from God. In his practice of radical hospitality Jesus was announcing the arrival of a new way of arranging human society. Jesus was proclaiming to the principalities and powers (the very rich, the very powerful, the very religious, the institutions they represent, and the malevolent spirits that energize it all) that their time was up because the alternative from heaven was now within reach.
Jesus called upon all who heard him to rethink everything (repent) and believe that a radical rearrangement of the world was good news. But...
The empire always strikes back.
The principalities and powers had a vested interest in keeping the world as it had always been arranged — an arrangement that benefits the elite. So Caiaphas (the very religious), Herod (the very rich), and Pilate (the very powerful) colluded together to execute this Galilean disrupter who threatened their preferred social order. A mere five days after arriving in Jerusalem, Jesus is betrayed, arrested, tried, condemned, spit upon, beaten, scourged, and crucified.
When prophets become puppets of political power and war,
lies justify murder and violence.
If a ruler listens to lies,
When the prophets of a nation believe a lie,
all his officials become wicked (Prov 29:12).
evil is at the door.
A prophet can be a trumpet that sounds a clear call to a nation (1 Cor 14:8).
A prophet who is a trump-pet leads the people astray.
Bullies rarely generate peace.
Too many prophets trust the power of a gun more than the power of the Holy Spirit.
A prophet carrying a gun will corrupt God's word with violence and war.
I have just read Debunking Economics by Steve Keen, an Australian economist. He is no slug, because he is one of the few economists who warned of the GFC before it happened.
In this book, he goes through the development of economics and exposes all the false assumptions and illogical foundations that plague neoclassical economics.
It is many years since I formally studied economics, so I had forgotten how bad the experience was. Reading this book reminded of how frustrating it is working with assumptions about economic and personal behaviour that are totally unrealistic. No wonder economic predictions are usually wrong and that policy recommendations fail to achieve the results they promised.
Everyone studying economics formally should read this book.
When we get a vision of our future, we must be careful. God can show his plans for the future, but we must not just assume that it is from him. The enemy sometimes shows us his plan for our future. If we agree with it, then he has permission to fulfil it. So the evil plan becomes self-fulling. Therefore, we need to discern whether what we have seen laid out is from God or the enemy, before we agree to it.
Both good and evil are present in the spiritual realms. If we are open to those realms, then we will almost certainly experience both. We should ask the Holy Spirit for the gift of discernment so that you can discern which experiences are good and which are evil.
A well-known theologian recently gave this justification for the power of the state.
God wants the world to be ordered not chaotic. There is a role for civil authorities, and sooner or later, faced with wicked angry, violent bullying people, they have to do restrain them, and restraint involves violence.
Chaos is worse than tyranny.
Anarchy does not solve anything.This is a common view, but there are two problems with his statement.
Throughout history, most of the violence and bullying has been done by civil authorities. If they are given authority to use violence, who will restrain them. This model does not protect people from wicked and bullying governments. Tyranny is often terrible.
More importantly, this statement cannot be justified from the scriptures. God did not establish governments and kings to establish order in the world. Kings were an ideal stolen from the surrounding nations.
Law is good if it is used in the right way. We also know that the law is made not for the righteous but for lawbreakers and rebels, the ungodly and sinful (1 Tim 1:8-9).Law is good when used for the right purpose. God gave his law to restrain law-breakers and rebels. Yet his people ignore his law, and choose to live under civil authorities, who claim a monopoly on violence and yet fail to protect their people.
My book Government of God explains how God's law applied by local judges in a community of love brings the order to society that people want.
The New Testament does not teach us to worship with one other.
Instead, it tells us to do all these "One Anothers".
The Books of Moses (Torah) were not a set of rules for earning salvation. God had already rescued the Israelites from slavery in Egypt by grace when he gave them. He had given them a new land by grace, too.
The Torah was not a system of salvation by works. It was a way to preserve the deliverance and salvation that they had already received by grace. They needed protection from three things.
Paul was responding to Jews living under the domination of the Roman empire. This made it impossible to apply the justice laws and the Instructions for Economic Life. In this environment, it was easy to focus on the laws about food and the Sabbath that distinguished them from the Romans.
While living under Roman rule, they did not feel like that had been delivered by race, so it was easy to slip into trying to earn God’s blessing. Without a sense of God grace, it was easy to fall into the trap of turning Sabbath and food laws into works of law.
The tabernacle sacrifices were effective for dealing with the spiritual powers of evil, but they pointed to Jesus. It was because they foreshadowed Jesus perfect sacrifice that they spiritual powers of evil had to accept them. Once Jesus died and rose again the temple sacrifices became redundant, because Jesus sacrifice did every that they tried to do, but more completely. That is why God shut them down in AD 70. When the Jewish leaders rejected Jesus, the temple sacrifices lost their efficaciousness, and the spiritual protection of the people and the temple was lifted.
If the leaders of modern Israel rebuild the temple and start the sacrifices, they will not be effective for dealing with the spiritual powers of evil, because they would not point to Jesus.
The Torah also needed the Holy Spirit to be fulfilled. Without the fruit of the Spirit, loving your neighbour as yourself was almost impossible. Jesus death, resurrection and ascension opened the way for the Holy Spirit to be poured out. The Spirit was able to the Torah on the hearts of those who choose to serve Jesus.
Jesus confirmed the Instructions for Economic Life and used them to restore village life. When he sent his disciples out on a mission, he told them to go to a village and stay with a person of peace. Their aim was not just to get converts, but to invigorate the Instructions for Economic Life to restore village communities to God’s model for economic life. The disciples took no money with them, so they would be dependent on giving and sharing for their survival. They would give healing and deliverance from evil spirits. The people of the village would give them food and shelter. The experience would jolt them into implementing the Instructions for Economic Life.
Jesus tightened the law for his followers by changing “love your neighbour” into “love one another”.
The Torah is a big box. It contains the following.
The Torah was not intended to make people righteous. That could only happen after the cross and the Spirit. The tabernacle sacrifices were given so that unrighteous people could have spiritual protection and be at peace with God.
Although the Torah is grace, not works, Judaism at the time of Jesus and Paul was not really Torah-observant. Being controlled by the Romans, they could not apply the system of justice and defence that God gave in the Torah. They were also neglecting the Instructions for Economic Life. As Jesus pointed out, they were ignoring the weighty parts of the law like justice and economics. Instead, they were obsessed with the less important parts of the law, that distinguished them from the surrounding culture:
Note: Circumcision was not part of the law. It had been given to Abraham as a way of distinguishing his physical descendants.
Judaism had given up some important parts of the Torah as it accommodated with Roman and Greek culture. The point of the laws of separation was to provide spiritual protection from the evil spirits that surrounding nations carried. Once Jews had moved to living amongst the Romans and Greeks, refusing to eat with them was pointless, because they had already given up the spiritual protection that the Torah provided.
Paul taught the Gentiles to obey the weightier parts of the Torah.
Paul taught gentile Christians to apply the Instructions for Economic Life. He supported giving and sharing within communities and between communities (2 Cor 8,9; Phil 4:10-19).)
Paul taught gentile Christians how to implement the justice and protection laws in their communities (1 Cor 5, 6:1-8; Rom 13:1).
He encouraged the application of laws about adultery and sexual immorality (1 Cor 6:9-19).
Paul encouraged children to honour their parents (Eph 6:1-3).
Paul encouraged a day of rest on the Lord’s day.
With regard to food, Paul focussed on meat that had been offered to idols. He explained that this was fine if Christians gave thanks to the Lord. Interestingly, the Torah did not forbid eating meat that had been offered to idols.
Nationalism substituted the nation for the deity, the citizen body for the church and the political kingdom for the Kingdom of God, but in every other respect replicated the forms and qualities of traditional religions.
AD Smith in Nationalism and Modernism.
Daniel prophesied a terrible political power (beast) that would trample the earth. Its demise will bring a great victory for the Kingdom of God (Dan 7:27). (If this prophecy is to be fulfilled in our time, then there is only one nation powerful enough to fit).
Daniel says that when it rises to power.
It prospered in everything it did, and truth was thrown to the ground (Dan 8:12).
He will cause deceit to prosper, and he will consider himself superior (Dan 8:25).Lies and deceit seem to be thriving in the current season.
More at Times and Seasons
The Instructions for Economic Life provide guidance to God’s people for living together in a new land. His main goal was that they learn to love their neighbours (Love 19:18).
God is not a control freak. He wants his people to be free, so he did not give detailed regulations spelt out in black and white, but gave general principles and left the people to work out how to apply them by thinking about how they could love their neighbour.
The Pharisees wanted detailed rules, down to the level of which herbs to tithe on (Matt 23:23). But God is not interested in rules-based behaviour, he wants love motivated behaviour. Following detailed rules is often easier because it does not require thinking, but that was not what God wanted. He gave general instructions for economic behaviour and left his people to work out want they meant while loving their neighbours.
The principle applies even more in the age of the Spirit. The Instructions for Economic Life are not detailed rules. They provide general boundaries, but our daily actions must be shaped by loving one another within their guidance (Rom 13:10). Likewise, the Holy Spirit does not give us detailed minute-by-minute instructions on what to do each day. He teaches us how to apply God’s general Instructions for Economic Life while living one another by prompting and questioning.
I find it rather bizarre when a competition between individual athletes is turned into a competition between nations. I suppose that it is better than fighting wars to decide who is best, but why do nations need to prove that they are better than other nations.
I also feel sorry for the athletes. They do all the hard training, but their nation takes much of the credit.
The concept of an individual athlete representing their country is quite odd. An elected politician cannot represent me, so how can an unelected athlete be my representative.
I am sure that many Christian are really stirred up about their nation's sports performance. I just wish they would be as stirred up about the Kingdom of God.
I am very wary of cheering for a national team. It is odd to say "We won" when all we did was sit on a couch, and perhaps cheer.
The Commonwealth Games are nearly over. Here in NZ we have had wall-to-wall television coverage, but I presume the people in the United States and Europe hardly knew they were on.
The so-called commonwealth is a purposeless group of nations connected to Britain as a residue of the British Empire. Originally, the games were called the Empire Games. The games were a way for the British to bring their colonies together and show their prowess off to the world.
The British Empire was renamed to the British Commonwealth when it colonies were given political freedom, while economic domination by Britain continued out of sight. Following the demise of British power post-World War 2, it is no longer called the British Commonwealth, but simply the Commonwealth. Although there is not much common wealth.
The wealthy nations of the commonwealth like Australia, Canada, and England like these games because their elite sports people can go for gold medals with some of the best competitors in their sport excluded and minor competition provided from some of the poorer or smaller countries of the world.
I am not sure what is the point of an international competition where three-quarters of the nations of the world are excluded. It is not really an international competition.
Gathering in one place for a big competition might have made sense back in the 1950s, when international travel was limited. Air travel has changed that. Now most sports have regular frequent international competitions, and most top athletes compete regularly with the best in the world, so getting a group of nations together for a pretend international competition does not make sense.
International hypocrisy has struck again in Syria.
Donald Trump (a man of great moral wisdom 😊) with support from the leaders of the UK and France have decided that Bashar al-Assad is evil and must be punished, without waiting for the official OPCW investigation to be completed. (The same intelligence agencies who were sure about WMD in Iraq are sure that they know what happened).
Meanwhile, Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia is continuing his unprovoked war in Yemen without restraint. With US logistical support, the Saudi air force has bombed schools, hospitals and other infrastructure. Save the Children estimate that 5000 children have been killed. A Saudi blockade of Yemeni ports is shutting out imports of food, with the result that 400,000 of children are on the verge of starvation.
Yet Prince Salman is rewarded for his evil with a visit to the US Whitehouse. The leaders of the UK and France are falling over themselves to sell billions of dollars’ worth of weapons to the Saudi.
Evil seems to look better when it is accompanied by oil wealth.
Some Christians seem to be embarrassed by the blood of Jesus. This is sad because the blood is at the heart of the gospel.
We need to distinguish three things with regard to the blood.
2. The only way it can be offered is by a death (of the animal or Jesus) if you exclude the other possibilities of the bloodletting by physicians in the 19th century, cannulation at a blood bank, or self-harming. I presume that the Bible has none of the latter in mind, so death is necessary for blood to be shared.
3. What blood achieves can only be discovered through revelation. 1) can only partially inform 3).
The translation of Hebrews 9:22 is misleading. Saying that blood produces “forgiveness”, makes it sound like the blood changes God’s attitude to us, ie God is changed. The word translated as forgiveness is “aphesis” which also means freedom. “Without blood there is no freedom”. This makes it clear that it is our situation that is changed by the blood, not God.
We are redeemed by the blood, ie bought back (Eph 1:7). If blood changes our situation and sets us free, the big question is who we are set free from. God does not enslave, so it must be the spiritual powers of evil that we are set free from.
More at Propititation and Redemption.
The Kindle version of my book Being Church Where We Live is available free for two days beginning Saturday 7 April 2018 at 12:00 AM PDT.
Key Themes for Radical Christians
The resurrection was a huge victory for Jesus. The resurrection took nothing away from the crucifixion. The pains and suffering of Jesus was not reversed. The penalty for sin was still paid. Redemption was available for all who would trust in Jesus. The resurrection was a huge defeat for the devil, who thought that he had killed the only real threat to his power. By rising from the dead, Jesus exposed the Devil’s weakness. He could not get Jesus to sin and he could not kill him, so he now was powerless against him. Jesus could go on and complete his mission and the devil was powerless against him. He could ascend into heaven beyond the reach of evil. The resurrection was a massive defeat for the principalities and powers that carry out the devil’s purposes. God used the resurrection to destroy their power.He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power and might and dominion (Eph 1:20.21).
The principalities and powers had worked through the Roman empire and the Jewish religious to destroy Jesus. The resurrection turned their best efforts into failure.
The resurrection proved that Jesus is the Messiah foretold by the Jewish prophets. David had prophesied that body of the Messiah would decay or be buried in a tomb.
Seeing what was ahead, he spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to the grave, nor did his body see decay (Acts 2:31).The world has had many would-be messiahs. Jesus is the only one who has risen from the dead. The resurrection confirmed that he is the saviour of the world.
The resurrection was writing on the wall for human political powers. The resurrection proved that Jesus was Lord of all the earth.
God has made this Jesus… both Lord and Christ (Acts 2:26).If Jesus is Lord, the Caesar is not. If Jesus is Lord, Obama is not. When Jesus was raised from the dead, God established him as the true king of earth. Human empires and powers that do not surrender to him will be swept eventually be swept away.
When Jesus appeared to his disciples after his resurrection, he made this declaration.
All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me (Matt 28:18).This was after the resurrection, but before the ascension. All authority in heaven and earth had been given to Jesus. This was the consequence of the resurrection. Jesus had promised that the Kingdom of God was close. He had called for people to get ready for its coming. The resurrection marked the coming of the Kingdom of God, because the reward for his life and death struggle with the devil was authority over all the earth. The resurrection enthroned Jesus as King of Kings and brought in the Kingdom of God.
The resurrection made it possible for Jesus to ascend into heaven and sit down at the right hand of God. His ascension was the final working out of his resurrection in fulfilment of Daniel's vision.
In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all peoples, nations and men of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed (Dan 7:13-14).The dominion that had been given to Adam and Eve, but was lost by them was restored to Jesus. Because he is at the right hand of the father, it can never be taken away, so his kingdom can never be destroyed. The kingdom established on the day of the resurrection can never pass away.
