“Happiness” by Guilherme Oliveira

As a bit of background, i first encountered the idea that Christians are happier back in the early 00s when i was first starting out as a Christian. I ran a moderately-successful message board called The Fellowship Hall, and a user by the name of MikeR, whom i’m still in contact with via Facebook, mentioned that i surely had a shine or a glow in my eyes. I forget the exactly way he phrased it, but he spoke of it as an actual physical difference between Christians & non-Christians.

As time went on, i received a lot of comments from folks i worked with as well about how happy i always seemed, that i never seemed to have a bad day. During the earliest couple of years, i often wore a wooden cross pin on my work uniform as well, and it was obvious from the comments i received that folks associated my positive attitude with my religion.

When i was a Christian, i believed that i shouldn’t complain. I took to heart what Philippians 4:11 taught: to be content in all things. Whatever trouble i may have been facing, whatever stress i may have had in my life, i did my best not to allow that to effect me. I believed there were big problems in the world than my own personal issues, and so i wore a smile, perfectly content. I won’t lie: the belief that my smallest cares fell into the providence of a loving God certainly made me feel good and added to my happiness.

One thing i noticed, though, is that most other Christians i knew didn’t seem anywhere nearly as content or happy as i was. I know that’s entirely subjective and doesn’t mean anything to anybody else but me, yet it was an observation of mine over several years.

To the point of Stephanie’s question, though, if it does seem as though Christian men are happier than non-Christian men, why would that be so?

I offer the following suggestions:

“Hope” by DieselDemon

Christianity, like most religions, offers hope in that area. Christians need not think about depressing things like that: For them, all of the worst aspects of life on the planet are handled happily by a loving God. That’s a load off of their shoulders and certainly could make them seem happier.**

“Innocence/Guilt” by ~fyrfli~

“Christian Student Fellowship” by Jeremy Wilburn

All of that said, i don’t believe that the happiness level of Christians is any sort of proof that Christianity has any sort of merit. If happiness was proof of merit, then why are a variety of recreational drugs still illegal? What about adherents of other religions who find joy? What about the happiness, peace, and joy i’ve found since freeing myself from the yoke of Christianity?

Today, i have friends who are happy. I have friends who are unhappy. I have friends who seek to uplift those around them. I have friends who spend their time focused on negativity, especially in regards to politics.

And what i’ve noticed is that it doesn’t matter whether these people are Christian or atheist, guy or girl, gay or straight, which leads me to believe that there isn’t one right way to find fulfillment or happiness in life. Everyone’s path is going to be different. Obviously, i encourage others to give up the false hope of religion in favor of intellectual freedom, but at the end of the day, so long as their superstitions aren’t being turned into laws to govern me, they are free to believe what they want.

I wish we could all be a little better about giving the world a smile, though. We need more joy. Perhaps desperately.

* My opinions of religion notwithstanding, i think every pastor should take pottery classes, if only to fully appreciate the potter/clay symbolism used in the Bible on an experiential level.

** It is my opinion that honest Christians ought to be most miserable: How can the live joyfully at all with the thought that the majority of folks whom they know and love are going to die and burn for an eternity in Hell? In one book i read which dealt specifically with how folks would be able to find joy at all in Heaven in light of that, the author suggested that in Heaven, there will be no memory of those in Hell! What a farce!

“Those who will not be governed by God will be ruled by tyrants.” – William Penn, 1966

This image has been floating around Facebook lately. A few of my friends have posted the image to their walls, and i’ve been a good boy… I’ve kept my opinions to myself, for the most part. The extent of my comments on Facebook are limited to a few i made to a post made by a more trustworthy friend, one whom i can usually expect intelligent discussion with rather than heated arguments.

On Facebook, i simply pointed out that democracy, godlessness, quality of education, and perhaps even IQ all seem to be somewhat related — or at the very least, certain highly godless nations seem to be not only incredibly democratic & free of tyranny, but they are better educated as well.

But beyond pointing out that feasible, effective government can be achieved even by the godless, i want to point out that the false dilemma of the quote (“Those who will not be governed by God will be ruled by tyrants.”) works both ways:

Not only is the opposite of being ruled by God not being ruled by tyrants, but being ruled by tyrants is not all that dissimilar to being ruled by God.

I’ll explain what i mean by taking a look at the definitions of tyrant, courtesy of Answers.com:

1) “An absolute ruler who governs without restrictions.”

Many Christians will agree that God is sovereign. I consider Calvinism to be the best theological framework for understanding a variety of aspects of the Bible & the god described therein, and so i find the Calvinist description of God’s sovereignty especially useful here:

Fortunately, the scriptures are very clear on this matter. The bible depicts God as the only and absolute King of the universe, who rules over all, and does everything he pleases (Exo 15:18; 1Ch 29:11-12; 2Ch 20:6; Psa 22:28). And not only is he sovereign in some abstract way, in that he retains the right to govern all events actively according to his will, but chooses not to do so; but he actually and actively ordains and brings to pass everything that takes place on the earth (Deu 32:39; 1Sa 2:6-8; Job 9:12; 12:6-10; Psa 33:11; 115:3; 135:6; Isa 14:24; Isa 45:7; Act 15:17-18; Eph 1:11). From the smallest matters of “chance,” such as the casting of a lot into the lap (Pro 16:33), to the greatest events of the earth’s mighty kingdoms (e.g. Isa 45:1-4), God is bringing all things to pass according to his will. He governs and superintends “coincidental” happenings (1Ki 22:20, 34, 37), the wicked actions of men (Gen 45:5; 50:20; Exo 4:21; Jdg 14:1-4; Psa 76:10; Pro 16:4; 21:1; Isa 44:28; Amo 3:6; Act 2:22-23; 4:27-28), the good deeds of men (Joh 15:16; Eph 2:10; Phi 2:12-13), the actions of both evil spirits and good angels (1Sa 16:14-16; 1Ki 22:19-23; 1Ch 21:1/2Sa 24:1; Psa 103:20-21; 104:4), the habits of animals (Num 22:28; 1Ki 17:4; Psa 29:9; Jer 8:7; Eze 32:4; Dan 6:22), and the operations of all creation (Gen 8:22; Psa 104:5-10, 13-14, 19-20; Mar 4:39).

Monergism.com

That’s a long quote, but it illustrates the point well: God is an absolute ruler who rules without restriction.

According to the first definition of tyrant, God is a tyrant.

2) “A ruler who exercises power in a harsh, cruel manner.”

The question here is whether God exercises his power in a harsh and cruel manner. If he does, he meets yet another definition of tyrant. Harsh is defined as “severe, cruel, or exacting.” I could go through the seven definitions given for just “severe,” listing biblical examples of each, but for brevity’s sake, here are just a few considerations:

When two priests worshipped God by offering up fire to him which wasn’t commanded of them, God struck them dead (Leviticus 10:1).

When Jesus sought some figs from an out-of-season tree, he didn’t humbly admit his mistake in timing but cursed the tree out of frustration, resulting in the tree shriveling up (Matthew 21:18–22).

Adultery? Death for both parties (Deuteronomy 22:22)!

Rape a woman? Pay her dad 50 shekels then marry her! … Actually, that one’s not very severe at all. Consensual adultery has a more severe punishment than rape? And they say that atheists are the ones with moral difficulties…

And let’s not forget the most striking evidence of God’s harshness: commit just one sin — just one! — and you will be punished with eternal hellfire, and it doesn’t matter if that sin is wearing polyester. Burn, baby, burn!

3) “An oppressive, harsh, arbitrary person.”

Is God oppressive? If a human ruler demanded your absolute obedience under penalty of eternal damnation, would you consider that ruler to be oppressive? What about one that does not shy away from referring to his citizens as “slaves”? God does both… unashamedly.

Is God harsh? Yes (see above).

Is God arbitrary? To be arbitrary is to do things according to your own desires rather than according to reason, and it comes as no surprise that Christians speak so often of “the will of God.” All of the crazy laws of God, all of the random punishments (why some folks are instantly killed for minor offenses [Nadab & Abihu] while others are allowed to perpetuated thousands upon thousands of heinous sins [Hitler] can only be explained by believers as being part of “the will of God”)… If anyone is arbitrary, God is.

God is a tyrant, meeting every criterion of being a tyrant… Whatever facets of love, mercy, or grace that Jesus or the disciples would go on to laud, it is impossible to escape the fact that for the majority of the Bible, God is portrayed very simply as a cruel, vindictive, arbitrary tyrant…

…and those attitudes run throughout the New Testament as well, from Jesus’ “if you’re not with me, you’re against me” speech to the violent inauguration of the kingdom of Heaven in Revelation.

I asked Cleverbot, the popular artificial intelligence chat bot, whether it liked “Twilight.” It responded in the best way I could have imagined: “I don’t like robots.”

As a long time science-fiction fan, however, I have to stick up for robots: Most of them have far more personality than the character of Bella Swan.

Incidentally, I then went on to ask whether Cleverbot liked “Star Trek.” When Cleverbot responded negatively, I asked why.

“Because I don’t believe in Jesus.”

Fascinating.

Seen on Facebook moments ago, this kind of stuff really annoys me.

I don’t care how devout a Christian you are, nobody is ever raised to “walk with Jesus,” at least not in American Christianity.

What we know of the Jesus of the Bible is that he didn’t spend his Sundays in a church with folks just like him. He didn’t expect his followers to do that either.

He didn’t live at home, he all but ignored his family in deference to his religious work, he got pissy when an out-of-season tree wasn’t bearing fruit for him, he hung out with the most questionable crowds, and he added more booze to a party that has already drank til the last drop once.

Raised to “walk with Jesus”? Hardly. Raised to “walk with Paul”? That’s a little more probable, but even he suffered hallucinations and was so in-your-face with what he taught that he was chased out of towns with stones.

I wonder if either Jesus or Paul would have traded how they lived for a life in America, where six days a week nobody gives a flying duck whether or not you’re a Christian, so long as you’re in a cushioned, air-conditioned, finely tuned worship service on Sunday morning.

Image transcription:

User 1: Jill is getting baptized this morning…so proud of the young lady she is becoming. Looking forward to services today.
User 2: Have a wonderful day!
User 3: I’m sure you have much to be proud of! You’ve raised four girls to walk with Jesus!!

I know there are many ministries out there that seek to take care of the persecuted Christians abroad, but I wonder, are there any out there who encourage, enable, and even participate in blessing & loving those who are doing the persecution? They kill a Christian… we build them a clean water well. I wonder what kind of difference that would make. Jesus seemed to think it was a good idea.

The theology of Christianity has needed fine tuning on numerous occasions. The Thessalonians, for example, believed that they had missed the Second Coming, resulting in a correction from Paul. The early churches dealt with fine-tuning issues such as whether or not Jesus was divine, who the Holy Spirit was, and even which documents were to biblical canon and which were not.

Perhaps most famous, though, is the period of history which is itself called the Reformation, during which a variety of men stood against the Roman Catholic Church by declaring such things as salvation by grace through faith alone.

This process has not ceased.

Churches today are just as they have always been: Filled with generally well-intentioned folks who, rather than applying the time-tested, God-blessed activity of the Bereans, accept what their church leaders tell them without much questioning at all.

Yet all the while, anyone from without their gathering is fair game for criticism & rebuke, especially if such a person’s home church bears a label even slightly different than theirs.

We need to start testing things. We need to stoke the fires of reformation, purging what is wrong from the church so that what is right may shine ever brighter.

Are you saying you know how to make a church perfect?

No, but I wish I could say that. I wish I knew what it would look like to live in true orthodoxy & orthopraxis. But I don’t.

What I intend to offer here are different areas of reformation which I believe need to occur. Some of them may not apply to your church; perhaps you’ve already embraced the right beliefs or practices, and if that’s the case, keep it up!

There’s always room for reformation toward biblical correctness, and I trust that together we can progress toward that goal.

Around 2,000 years ago, the Old Serpent made an offer to a hungry, weakened Nazarene — an offer that for many would have been irresistible.

I’m sure you’re familiar with the account, but just in case: “Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor; ⁹and he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” ¹⁰Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! for it is written, ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him’” (Matthew 4:8–10, NRSV).

The primary purpose of that brief passage is clear, and Jesus states it about as succinctly as anyone could: “Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.” Keep that in mind.

One of the incidental details, though, may be easy to miss to someone reading quickly.

Satan offers Jesus all of the world’s kingdoms.

You cannot offer someone something if you do not have claim to what you’re offering. Well, while I may get away with selling you some oceanfront buffalo ranch property, that sort of scam would never work against one who is all-knowing.

So it’s notable that when Satan lays claim to all the world’s kingdoms, Jesus does not rebuke him. There is no correction of that matter. There is no, “And besides, you can’t make that offer anyway.”

Satan lays claim to the world’s kingdoms. From Babylon to the United States, the kingdoms belong to the Old Serpent.

And lest we make the claim that all this changed with the crucifixion, the resurrection, or even Pentecost, Paul makes sure we don’t forget that Satan is “the god of this world” (2 Corinthians 4:4).

Now, given that, what sense does it make for Christians to support, join, or otherwise endorse the militaries of these kingdoms of flesh & blood? Are we not instead citizens of a kingdom not of this world (John 18:36)? Do we not boldly bow before another throne (Ricky Skaggs, “The Joshua Generation”)? Can you “serve only” God while serving a flesh & blood king, president, or parliament?

Why then would we as Christians voluntarily submit to the service of nations whose values & principles are contrary to our true kingdom’s?

Why serve in an army where weapons are used to kill? Your kingdom carries the promise that weapons of war would be recycled into instruments of agriculture.

Of sustainability.

Of peace.

Why serve for a kingdom where conflicts are resolved through war? Your kingdom promises blessing upon the peacemaker.

Upon those who would be willing to forgive seventy times seven times.

Upon those who would not bear grudges.

And who would turn the other cheek.

I contend that not only should a Christian not join the armed forces of this world’s kingdoms, but that to do so is an insult to your Christian heritage.

I am not so naive as to think I won’t catch some flak for this, but I had to put this out there. “Christian America” is held as sacred by some

Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ. 1 Corinthians 11:1

I have been guilty repeatedly online of encouraging people to follow me… on Twitter, on Facebook, on my blog(s)… on numerous other places.

And certainly, asking people to be followers of you is biblical, provided they are following only as you are of Christ.

I appreciate the audience the Internet affords, but it must seriously be considered whether I am using the Internet to become a part of a micro-celebrity culture or in order to encourage others to walk in Jesus’ humble footsteps by means of my own example.

We all, as Christians, must address that in our own lives.

If we have followers, then they must be encouraged to follow us only as we walk in Jesus’ example. Conversely, if we are not walking in His shoes, so to speak, then we are unworthy of being followed… and we are instead the blind leading the blind to a pit of destruction.

Even the famous Pharisee Paul — an educated man who was likely from a well-to-do family — declared his own example worthless if it is not the example of Jesus Christ.

May your followers be followers of Jesus-in-you, and may Jesus-in-you be shown forth brightly by your actions, that others may follow Him through you.

I’ve been reading a lot lately. More than usual. Perhaps even more than ever, except perhaps the month or two after I received the canon of James W. Knox.

Notable, though, is that more than ever in the past nine years of faith, I am reading books not because I know I’m going to agree with just about every word and simply want to reinforce what I already know.

Rather, I am pouring over books which are challenging aspects of my faith which at one point I thought were unshakable, aspects of my faith which I have at times zealously defended against the types of people who would read the books I’m now devouring.

I guess you could call this personal growth. Perhaps “reformation” would be a better word. Some may say “revolution.”

All I know is that my reading list keeps growing, and it seems I can’t read some of these things quickly enough.

This past weekend, I finished up Pagan Christianity by Frank Viola & George Barna, a book recommended to me by Glen. Pagan Christianity is one of several books I ordered a couple of weeks ago.

It’s the first of that batch which I’ve finished, but that didn’t stop an impromptu trip to a bookstore today netting me yet another stack of books, and this stack sees me breaking out a bit further from my comfort zone.

For the curious, the books are

• Velvet Elvis: Repainting the Christian Faith by Rob Bell, which I started reading today. I can already tell that this little volume will challenge my perceptions of just what Christianity is all about. Well, I hope it does, anyway! Thanks, Lorene, for the suggestion!
• The Abolition of Man by C. S. Lewis, which the back of the book declares to be “a defense of universal values.” The existence of universal meaning & values, perhaps more than anything else, is proof to me that God exists; if I were an atheist, I would be forced by logic to argue that nothing matters, that nothing holds intrinsic value. I’m curious what Lewis can add to my understanding and approach to this topic.
• The Irresistible Revolution: Living as an Ordinary Radical by Shane Claiborne. As a point of fact, I loved Claiborne’s Jesus for President. When I saw The Irresistible Revolution on the store shelf, I knew I had to read it. I’m also curious how one can be an “ordinary radical”; perhaps it is yet another one of Christianity’s innumerable paradoxes?
• Finally, and most surprisingly to me: The Green Bible: Understand the Bible’s Powerful Message for the Earth (in a translation I ordinarily would never give a second thought to, the NRSV). Essentially, this is little more than your standard Bible, except instead of highlighting the words of Christ in red, verses & passages throughout the book which deal with the earth are highlighted in green. There’s also a “trail guide” after Revelation to allow readers to walk through what the Scriptures teach regarding the earth.

I’m unsure what order I’ll end up reading these in — I still have plenty from my previous recent purchase as well, not to mention shelves full of books that I should sometime read.

If you’ve read any of these books, I’d be interested in your commendations & condemnations thereof; is there one I should give a higher priority to than others?

And given the above books, what are some others that I should look for in the future when I’m ready for more?

Why did Jesus so often in His dealings with those who would come to Him simply tell them to go, repenting of their sins? Why, with rare exception, did He not invite people to follow Him, joining His assembly?

Why did the apostles, in their dealings with the people they encountered, not spend time inviting people to particular churches, even after they believe?

Why did Phillip, after baptizing the Ethiopian, send the man on his way? Isn’t baptism supposed to be the entry ritual to organized churches?

Why are today’s evangelistic tactics so often formulated in such a way as to not share Jesus Christ but to instead share an invitation to an organized church?

Why are we content to let evangelism completely miss the point? Why do we introduce ourselves as representing the First Baptist Missionary Church of the Lutheran Assemblies of the Church of God in America rather than introducing ourselves for what we are, ambassadors of Jesus Christ. Is it that we are more comfortable representing a brick and mortar organization that people can see, touch, and participate in rather than representing Jesus, whom most consider either “the invisible man in the clouds” or simply a long deceased Nazarene?

Why do we organize gimmicky promotions within organized churches which reward putting butts in the pews rather than encouraging true evangelism and godly living so that treasures may be heaped up in Heaven?

Why do we expend so much time, effort, and money in organizing, building, and promoting organizations (churches, falsely so called) rather than living and experiencing an organic, spontaneous faith that results in communion among saints wherever they may be? Remember that it was something like three centuries before Christians started building churches and the like; it was around that same time that the church ceased to be an organic, living organism and became an institution, not all that dissimilar from the world’s businesses or governments. The Roman Catholic Church evolved out of that shift, and while the Reformation saw the rescue of many precious teachings, our churches are still brick and mortar, and we still endow those buildings with entirely too much reverence and respect. We treat them as “holy places.”

For all the emphasis today’s Christians place upon buildings, attendance, and formal membership, not a jot of Scripture is wasted on such things. Christian community goes beyond to what it is usually constrained. It must go beyond it.