Ex Nihilo and the LGBT+ Charade: Part 2 Of 2
It is God who opens and closes wombs. It is God who blesses those of us with children, and the withholding of offspring is not a sign of His cursing. It is not for us to covet God’s decree at which women are given children and which ones He said “no” to for the time being. This is a painful topic and one that needs to be addressed with sincerity and tears. Weep with those who weep! But do not call sin by any other name or act as if Christians don’t have any biblical categories by which we can navigate this discussion.
Oh, you returned! If you haven’t already read part 1, I encourage you to do so, as this recap will be enough to get you pointed in the right direction, but can’t replace the sort of context you would get by just reading the earlier post. I set the stage by pointing out that creation is God’s purview, not man’s. We can procreate and we can take preexisting matter and fashion it into this or that, but creation belongs to God. This is a fact that both human and demonic forces have sought to overcome from the beginning as they coveted the rights of God for themselves. We ended up with me starting to weave a potential narrative of the “daughters of man” from Genesis 6 participating in the evil, coveting God’s rights for themselves, and resulting in the Nephilim, the last straw before the worldwide flood.
You are now caught up.
The symbolism of religion isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
All of religion is, by nature, symbolic. In a church service, we symbolically worship before the very throne of God. The Lord’s Supper is symbolic of His body and blood, as we remember his death and as He nurtures us until He returns. Baptism is symbolic of the life, death, and resurrection so that the one being baptized can say that they have participated in the very gospel and their standing before God is based on the work of Jesus rather than the failings of Adam and self. Baptism is literally the announcement that you are represented by the last Adam now, and not the first.
Pagan worship is also symbolic. And in the Bible, there are many examples of how the people of the time worshiped pagan deities through their symbolism. Perhaps it was by crafting and worshipping an idol. Maybe it was through a pinch of incense to Caeser. Sometimes it was feasting upon meat that had been sacrificed to demons. And sometimes worship occurred as one engaged in sexual acts with a temple prostitute. The random man would pay money to the priestess and then would have sex with her. That was his worship. The priestess would accept the money and apply it in the service of her god and then engage in the sexual act. That was her worship. I know there were variations of this in the Roman world that even a pervert of today would find to be disgusting, but that’s all I have to say about that.
Was this activity restricted to the Post-Flood years though? I have no reason to think that it was. I believe it is entirely possible that the same manner of temple prostitution was going on in the days of Noah just as it happened in the days of Moses (Rev 2:14), the days of Elijah, the days of Paul, and if we’re going to hit home, the days of today’s porn saturation. Temple prostitution has been a thriving business for the enemies of God from the earliest days. After all, hasn’t prostitution been defined as the oldest profession? And what is porn but prostitution that has been recorded for a wider audience?
So imagine with me a young prostitute whose intent has been nothing but evil (Gen 6:5). Oh, she thinks that she is doing a service to the men who frequent her but they have been layering condemnation upon themselves with every visit. Still, she is a pillar of the community! And she knows that the services that she has been providing have all been symbolic. The men have been engaging with her and she has been engaging with them as both parties have sought the approval of the benevolent demon behind it all.
Then one day the demon appears.
Oh, he isn’t red and he doesn’t have horns. As a matter of fact, he looks pretty good. He’s healthy, strong, well-spoken. He introduces himself and convinces her of who he truly is. He is everything she ever wanted. He is who she has been opening herself up to, both figuratively and literally. Then he has a proposition. She could bear him a son. This thing could go from the symbolic to reality in a flash. She knows this isn’t how things are really supposed to go, but this is an opportunity beyond anything she had imagined!
When I hear about the sons of God taking the daughters of man, this is the storyline that comes to mind. I don’t picture rapes or spiritual overshadowings such as how the Holy Spirit came upon Mary. Demons are limited in how they are able to interact with the world, and their attempts to simulate creation would surely require participation from an image-bearer of God. And that participation would make it all the sweeter to one destined for Hell.
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Reweave Shalom by Following Daniel’s Example
We work not to prove ourselves to God or attempt to earn our salvation. Our motivation to obey God is out of love for him and in gratitude for what he has done for us in Jesus Christ. Faithfulness is the key to living the Christian life, and nowhere is that more important than in the work we do.
The Bible gives us many rich resources to help us understand how to reweave shalom. One is found in the book of Daniel as four young Hebrew exiles, Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah follow Jeremiah’s call to “work for the peace and prosperity (shalom) of the city” (Jer. 29:7, NLT)
Daniel 1 introduces us to a type of Christian activism demonstrated through cultural resistance. Daniel provides a model of how to reweave shalom as an exile. This idea is repeated throughout the book of Daniel, which is written for the people of God living in a world opposed to them. Daniel refused to succumb and take a first step toward the abandonment of his faith. At the same time, he works in the culture with a high level of competence.
Daniel was determined not to assimilate into the Babylonian culture when it was possible for him to actively resist. J. Ligon Duncan notes that Daniel’s resistance illustrates three principles that apply to all of God’s people who are struggling to be faithful in the midst of a godless culture:Daniel “purposes in his heart” (Dan. 1:8) to be holy and not be absorbed into the idolatry of the Babylonian culture.
Daniel does not carry out his resistance in an arrogant way but exercises his opposition with genuine humility and grace.
Daniel exhibits faith, trusting in the power and promises of God and expecting God to respond to his faithful obedience.Daniel’s story can significantly help us in our struggles as believers in our current post-Christian culture. It provides the model for faithfulness to God’s call on our lives—no matter what the environment. How do we imagine reweaving shalom through the work of our hands in a culture that is becoming more and more hostile to Christianity? Like Daniel and his friends, how do we reweave shalom and persevere with excellence and faithful obedience?
Perseverance with Excellence
Daniel’s example first calls us to perseverance. His message is: Don’t give up, continue to resist the temptations of the culture while being obedient to what you know God has called you to do, to the best of your ability. There are two critical issues for us to consider as we strive to persevere: Everything is important to God, and we are called to excellence. Let us look at these two issues in more detail.
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“If You had One Shot . . .” OR: Polemics About Confessions…
Among the Reformed confessions, however, particularly within what have been called “The Three Forms of Unity,” (The Belgic Confession, the Heidelberg Catechism, and the Canons of Dort), we can find carefully reasoned articulations of biblical truth pastorally aimed at the heart in ways that still speak to the masses.
If you’re a Protestant Christian, imagine that someone you don’t know asks you to explain in one sentence (no run-ons!) why your church doesn’t pray to Mary or the saints. How would you respond? As you think it over, let’s think about the historical, theological, and present-day significance of what just happened, and what an opportunity you’ve been given.
This person has invited you to engage in polemics, the advancing of biblical doctrine against unbiblical distortions of it. And although you’d be doing it here informally, the effort to persuade someone of our Lord’s teaching is always a serious undertaking. In our radically post-Christian culture, and amidst so many revelations of abuse in the church, it’s also an extremely sensitive one. Today, the way eternal truth is presented is especially consequential, and we in Reformed circles need to be especially careful.
There can be a tendency among confessional, Reformed, orthodox Protestants to be attracted to the spirited, occasionally aggressive, sometimes personally insulting words the original Reformers launched against their Roman Catholic counterparts. But when we view the Reformers’ explosive rhetoric as justification for us to “go and do likewise” in our teaching, preaching, and online posting – whatever the topic and whomever the target – we tend to ignore the crucial differences between their circumstances and ours. Theirs was a literally life and death struggle to proclaim the gospel; those whom they opposed in writing represented an organization that condemned them to hell in official church declarations and commissioned the torture and assassination of their ministers. We should blush at imitating the Reformers’ heated polemics if we haven’t passed through such flames ourselves. And it’s not just the temperature of their historically conditioned language that should give us pause.
In our present-day efforts at theological persuasion, we should hesitate to use antiquated language and technical terminology that does not translate to our times. However much we rightly admire the linguistic styles and structures of Reformed writings from centuries past, the effort to rhetorically recreate conditions long gone actually runs afoul of the principles and practice of Reformed confessionalism. Repristination is not Reformed.
The Reformed confessions were written to carry old truth into contemporary times. They spoke with relatable language to situations the church was presently enduring.
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10 Essential Lessons about Money from the Book of Proverbs
Diligent, thoughtful planning leads to “abundance” (21:5). Planning involves being realistic about your financial situation. Idle talk (14:23) and wishful thinking (28:19) lead only to poverty and want. The wise plan ahead to avoid dangers into which the simple keep going (22:3). Since “riches do not last forever,” careful thought and attention are required to provide for yourself and your family (27:23-27).
Money. We all deal with it, but few know what to think about it. Our culture and even our friends and family can give us conflicting messages: money is power; money is a curse; money corrupts; money means you’ve made it.
Unfortunately, many Christians feel just as conflicted. Some fear wealth, feeling that the way to godliness is cutting oneself off from worldly concerns, especially financial ones. Some fear wealth is only an illusion; only the immaterial matters. Others, taking a cue from prosperity preachers, feel that riches much be a sign of favor and blessing from God. And if they aren’t rich, either they don’t have enough faith or God is cruelly withholding what is good. Many find themselves caught between these two extremes.
How are Christians to view money? Does God care how we use our financial resources, and if so, what should we do?
The book of Proverbs gives us a treasure trove of insights into how Christians should view and use wealth. Here are ten essential lessons:
1. Money has some value.A rich man’s wealth is his strong city; the poverty of the poor is their ruin. (Prov. 10:15)
Proverbs takes an incredibly practical, realistic view of wealth. It hardly needs to be said that money is a powerful tool. Wealth is a “strong city” (10:15) that protects the rich. Money gives favor and “many friends” (14:20, 19:4). While money used well can be a blessing, it can also be used corruptly. The rich abuse wealth to rule over the poor (22:7) and pervert justice through bribery (17:8, 17:23). Although wealth is valuable, it is limited. While the rich may perceive it to be “a high wall” (18:11), some may not realize that “those who trust in riches will fall” (11:28).
2. If you want money, you must work for it.A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest, and poverty will come on you like a robber and want like an armed man. (Prov. 6:10-11, see also Prov. 24:33-34)
Money doesn’t come easily. While many dream of winning the lottery or receiving a large inheritance, that is the exception, not the rule. Economics teaches us the principle of scarcity: there are limited resources, and so everything comes at a cost. Growing money requires faithful, diligent, patient work. Proverbs teaches that “the hand of the diligent makes rich” (10:4) and “in all toil there is profit” (14:23). It requires patience to gather wealth slowly, “little by little” (13:11). On the other hand, those who are lazy (6:10-11, 12:24) and eager to get rich (28:20) cheat themselves. The one who procrastinates “is a brother to him who destroys” (18:9), with his own desires killing him (21:25).
3. Don’t fall for a “get-rich-quick” scheme; ill-gotten gain always comes back to bite.Such are the ways of everyone who is greedy for unjust gain; it takes away the life of its possessors. (Prov. 1:19)
Bribery, theft, dishonest business practices, fraud, lies—the media provides example after example of dishonest means to get ahead. And it isn’t just “out there”; most of us face the danger of being defrauded or temptation to cut corners at work. And yet, wealth gained in such a way will become a curse. It does “not profit” (10:2), “will dwindle” (13:11), “brings troubles” (15:27), is a “fleeting vapor and a snare of death” (21:6) and leads to poverty (28:22). Our righteous God “will by no means clear the guilty” (Exod. 34:7), including those guilty of financial crimes.
4. Plan ahead, plan ahead, plan ahead.Ponder the path of your feet; then all your ways will be sure. (Prov. 4:26)
Planning ahead for your finances cannot be overstated. The wise save to take care of needs down the road (21:20). Diligent, thoughtful planning leads to “abundance” (21:5). Planning involves being realistic about your financial situation. Idle talk (14:23) and wishful thinking (28:19) lead only to poverty and want. The wise plan ahead to avoid dangers into which the simple keep going (22:3).
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