The Face of Evil:

(I posted this over at STTA, but it is one of those that kinda fits both places, so I am posting it here as well.  Maybe somebody else will find it that way.) What does the face of evil look like? We see it all around us, but most often we see it in silhouette, if you will.  In fact, often as we sort through the aftermath of grotesque wickedness, like the law-enforcement investigators in Boston, we see the horrendous aftermath, but we don't see the face that perpetrated the crime.    The fact is, evil wears different masks:  They are found all across the spectrum from the distortion of extreme righteousness, so called, as was the case with evil on that first Good Friday, all the way to the just out-and-out, unadulterated badness, that too often stalks our streets.     The Bible is clear that evil is here.  The Devil is not merely a personification; he is a real, spiritual person, Satan, Lucifer, the Dragon, and he gets around, and gets a lot done.  In the book of Job, he describes the territory he has marked with his foul scent:  "I've been 'roaming about on the earth and walking around on it.'"   (Job 1:7)  In the New Testament he is described as the "Prince of the Power of the Air."  (Ephesians 2:2)--no more localized than the air we breath.  He is not the evil opposite of God.  He lacks, for instance, the omni attributes: omnipresence, omniscience, and omnipotence. He does get around, though, he is cunning and powerful, and he does have help.  His network is so widespread and effective that John says "The whole world lies in the power of the wicked one."  (1 John 5:19)    Not only are these spiritual entities busily spreading evil, you and I, the Bible makes clear, have evil in our core, and in the same way that the physical ecosystems of our world are degraded, the moral spiritual realm is polluted.  (Read Romans 8, and Ephesians 2:1-10 for both description and hope.  An evil tempter, tempting people with a propensity to sin, in a world that is skewed in an evil direction--there is a recipe for a mess.   Carnage, like that in Boston, gets our attention and causes us to cry out for answers:   "Who?" "Why?" "Where is God?" As to the last question, I assert that God is both here, with you, and in Boston.  The Bible teaches that He doesn't take coffee-breaks.  Look here, here, and especially here to see some things I have written after past tragedies. The face of evil is sometimes sanctimonious, at other times on fire with raw hatred.  It often is heavily colored with selfishness.  If you look around the eyes you can detect deception.  Ironically, and in a way that troubles me the mouth on the face of evil is often seen to be grinning.   I guess what troubles me most about thinking of the face of evil is I sometimes see it looking back at me from the mirror.   It's STTA.

Wading into the swamp of Family-Relations and trying to lead others through . . .

April 7, here at Covington Bible Church, Pastor Doug Williams and I started a series on the family.  Doug's message on Husbands Who Love Like Christ can be found here.  My message on Colossians 3:18 is here.
Last night I decided that it would be good to give a chance for folk to ask questions, and attempt to offer some answers, based on these first two message, not that the concept of husbands being given the
responsibility of loving leadership and wives being instructed to "be subject" is controversial or anything.
I am posting this blog to do a couple of things:

1. I want to clear up a possible misconception from the Q&A time, and maybe even apologize.
2. I want to offer some material that is good for further thought, and continuing in this vein,
3. I hope some further discussion will take place here.

 Part of my answers last night (If I'm able to do some editing I may post some of those answers.) were along the line of a person unfamiliar with a particular type of automobile asking,

"How do I start this thing?"

My answer was akin to giving the person a lecture about the combustibility of gasoline and the construction of an internal combustion engine.

What they really wanted to know is, "Where is the place where you insert the key on this particular model?"

A couple of the questions centered around The Question--The 800 pound gorilla question:

Does the concept of husband-leadership, and wife submission in the home require that a woman endure abuse?

If my answer did not indicate a clear and unequivocal "NO!" I apologize.  I give that simple unequivocal answer here.  No.

I do not believe that the teaching of scripture is such that it condones any kind of abuse--in this case the question has to do with that way too prevalent sin of husbands abusing their wives.  I do not believe that kind of  behavior is right or acceptable (I'm glad to say that I don't any responsible preacher or teacher who maintains that such behavior is right for husbands.) and I believe that where it takes place relief should be sought.  Furthermore, I believe the church should be at the top of the list of those who offer assistance.

I was right, to indicate that this question has a great many complexities to it.  If I didn't clearly state that simple answer, I am sorry.

A couple of morning after thoughts on those complexities:

• The maintenance of ethical/moral/behavioral standards is often difficult in extreme situations.
  The position that Doug and I take--which was reflected with our dealing with husbands first--is that wives submitting to their husbands ought to take place in a context of husbands giving themselves for their wives.  So, what is a wife to do in a situation where the "leadership" in the home is not at all Christ-like?
  These quotations from the book Recovering Biblical Manhood & Womanhood, acknowledges  this stress in taking what could be called a "general principle" and applying it homes that are outside the realm of what should be going on. I think the authors point us in the right direction.
  "Submission refers to a wife's divine calling to honor and affirm her husband's leadership . . . it is not an absolute surrender of her will."  (41)  "No submission of one human being to another is absolute." (21)  All of us who struggle with this issue would say "Amen," to "We are not claiming to live without ambiguities." (62)
  Throughout the text, the authors make plain that submission does mean that one should be forced into sin.
  The book gives a helpful word on page 196.  This thought is born-out in other places in the text.  What the authors of the book, what I, and what Scripture writers are talking about is an attitude--"Submission is an inner quality of gentleness that affirms the leadership of the husband."
  (The website of the group that produced this book, The Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood, is referenced below.)
• I hold to an ethical system known as non-conflicting absolutism.  I believe it is possible to respond to the situations life throws at us without sinning, or without becoming the judge of which ethical standard takes hierarchy over another.  Often these judgments are difficult.  One of the maxims that was shared with me back in college is that hard cases make bad ethics.  It is appropriate to work hard to make sure our ethical system covers the extremities, but in doing so, we should not negate the good that a particular standard does in the vast majority of cases.  In this case, the fact that some husbands distort the concept of leadership, and abuse some wives who, perhaps, have a faulty view of submission, should not prevent us from teaching a Biblical principle that is of benefit to countless homes where proper leadership and submission is being practiced.
• We need to exercise caution in "taking sides" when this gets out of the theoretical and into a real home.  Words like "exercising leadership," or "abuse" are notoriously slippery.  What some consider leadership is harsh and abusive.  What other refer to as abuse may be merely an inability to get their own way in a minor matter.  The culture in which we find ourselves has a great impact on how we see these matters.  Our goal should not be to justify our personal preconceptions and cultural prejudices by the use of the scripture, but to bring our behavior into alignment with the teaching of the Word.
• I'll leave further bullet points for commenters. I hope this will bring about a conversation.

In the question-answer last night I referred to two positions on the view of the relationship of men and women in general, and particular on wives and husbands.  You can find out more about these two positions at the websites below:

(If readers know of other website that reflect the two positions more accurately, or clearly, please let me know.)

     

The Egalitarian Position is the represented by those who, by and large, play down male female differences.  It is an over-simplification, but this position is sometimes described as Christian-Feminism.
You can find out about this position from Christians for Biblical Equality.

The Complimentarian Position--the postion to which Doug and I hold--is represented by the book I quoted above and this website: Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood.

Working at getting along:

Like many of you, I've been thinking about the increasing polarization of our culture.  The casualties of the culture war, that has been raging cold and hot for some time now, are relationships.  Often on one side are those who won't give an inch, because it may lead to losing a mile.  They face-off against those who demand not only tolerance, but heart acceptance--or at least a publicly acceptable synthetic version thereof.  I've been doing some reading and thinking about alternatives--are there any? what are they?
Some of you may find these articles thought provoking as well.  I welcome your thoughts.

Here is an article recently posted on Patheos.  I appreciate that the author is trying to sort it out.  I fear that in our zeal to maintain Biblical absolutes, we conservative Evangelicals too quickly allow our positions on issues to harden and then we label them as absolutes.  Maybe, maybe not.  I'm saying there aren't absolutes; I absolutely believe there are; I'm just saying that we shouldn't be so eager to label all our conclusions as such.  Let's think and talk a bit.  When you read this article be sure to click on the links at the beginning to previous articles.  Also, if you are familiar with Andrew Marin, or the Marin Foundation, (much of the article is written by Marin) I'd appreciate hearing your thoughts.

Would Jesus Fight a Legal Battle Against Same Sex Marriage?  Timothy Dalrymple

The statement, below, which has been making the rounds on Facebook, etc., by Rick Warren, reminds me of a recent conversation I had with someone struggling to maintain a relationship across the "Gay Divide."  If one side doesn't require that every conversation has to include a condemnation of homosexuality and the other side does not demand a surrender of honestly held sexual prohibitions, and if both sides will attempt to leave hypocrisy at the door, maybe people who love each other can find ways to get along.  Or maybe me and Pastor Warren are just Naive.

“Our culture has accepted two huge lies. The first is that if you disagree with someone’s lifestyle, you must fear or hate them. The second is that to love someone means you agree with everything they believe or do. Both are nonsense. You don’t have to compromise convictions to be compassionate.”  (Rick Warren)

Steve Cornell is a thinker, a Biblical thinker.  I appreciate his thoughts.  He is not a Johnny-come-lately to this conversation.  His stuff is worth reading.  Here are three recent posts that I have appreciated:

New Pope fails litmus test

Responses to My Sunday Column

The Marriage Debate

Can We All Get Along?

Here is a post I offered on this blog, about a well known preacher's (He is not alone.) public announcement of a change of view on homosexual marriage.
This one reveals that I'm somewhat conflicted on this.  I figure I'm not alone.

Maybe some of this will help generate, or continue, some profitable discussion.

As I say on the other blog, "It's Something To Think About."

Rob Bell, Gay Marriage, and me

The following article contains somewhat of an announcement of Rob Bell's acceptance of Gay marriage.  No surprise, there.  I think the direction of Bell's leaning has been clear for some time.  Brian Orme comments on that in the article.
The article also asks a worthwhile question.  "What does this have to do with me?"
Probably more than I think--or want.
Ironic, when I saw this article I was dealing with this issue.  My world may be small, but it is the world.

http://www.churchleaders.com/pastors/pastor-articles/166294-why-rob-bell-s-view-on-gay-marriage-matters.html?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=clnewsletter&utm_content=CL+Daily+20130319

Church attendance (non-attendance) and Sunday Sports:

I can have a really good conversation with myself on this subject.  All I need to do is record what I say about it one time and then respond to it on another day.  I have made statements similar to this one, just not as well stated:  "And, frankly, it’s a not a bad thing for the Church to stand on its own, apart from cultural props. I don’t want the Church to be dependent on the world to say Church is important."  (Keith Anderson) I have often paraphrased a colleague of mine, Chris Cobb, who pastored in Covington years ago, "When Christianity is no longer tax-deductible, we'll know who the true followers of Christ are."  On the other hand I was a recent visitor in a church where the pastor inserted a strongly worded segment on travel-sports-teams into his sermon.  I found myself saying "Amen!" at least under my breath.

Both from the viewpoint of how we see church and culture, and concerning public-relations, this is a worthwhile article to read and discuss.
I'd rather not have the conversation with myself.  :)

http://www.churchleaders.com/pastors/pastor-articles/164281-keith-anderson-pastors-stop-complaining-about-sunday-morning-sports.html?p=1

Truth we very much need to hear from the Apostle John: An overview of 1 John

Recently I shared my interactions with 1 John.  John gives us answers to the question, "How can I know if I am right with God?"

I encourage you to listen.

TruthCasting - Covington Bible Church - Covington, VA - Overview of 1 John

Planning to be Kind. Be purposeful.

A young, very young, friend of mine is looking forward to a project on her 35th birthday.  Here is a cut-&-paste from her FB page.  If you are a FBer you can go there.  No doubt the list will grow.  Lot's of great ideas for showing kindness.  At least one I plan to plug into my life.

Kristan Brown

So, I am turning 35 in June. How did that happen?? Anyway, on my birthday I am going to try to do 35 random acts of kindness. I have started a list of things to do, like take cookies to fire/ems/police, fill the washers with coins at a laundromat, take a meal to someone in need, pay for someones food in the drivethru, etc. I have got to come up with 35 things that can all be accomplished in one day. I am going to attach a card with some type of scripture on it, to hand out or leave where ever I do my acts. So, I am taking ideas and suggestions! What are some great random acts of kindness I can do on my birthday? Remember, I've got to get 35 done in one day! (How did I get so old, so fast?) :)

Like ·  · January 11 at 8:24am · 

• Amanda Cook and 17 others like this.
• 

  Gail Sizemore Alt Gets some cards and send them to people who need encougement and put a gosple track in them.

  January 11 at 8:29am · Like
• 

  Jordan Massie Thank every veteran that you see for their service  and share with them some Jesus!

  January 11 at 8:36am via mobile · Like
• 

  Laurie Fitzgerald Bag of random snacks and small water, a tract for someone less fortunate or in the hospital..we keep one in our car with a Life Book in it ..( http://thelifebook.com/). ... .left two with street guys in the Roanoke Park downtown recently and when we left, we saw one reading the Book! Amen! I'm sure your actions will encourage others!

  

  The Life Book Movement

  thelifebook.com

  Your Students give free Life Books to their classmates and watch God do His thing through His Word

  January 11 at 8:38am · Like
• 

  Lisa Bailey Marshall push carts to holding racks or back in store where perfectly capable people leave them to hit others cars...help someone load push out or load their groceries. This is one of my fav's to do. I turned 50 this year...and I am doing the one random act of kindness each day. Maybe its buying a co worker a soda or lunch...carts, take someone else

  January 11 at 8:45am · Like
• 

  Lisa Bailey Marshall chore for the day or week...i have a bunch of ideas

  January 11 at 8:45am · Like
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  Chrisi Rice Pay for someone's tank of gas or give them some amount of cash towards filling their tank.

  January 11 at 8:55am via mobile · Like · 1
• 

  Lisa Bailey Marshall pay for the next person purchase...i love doing this one too...it creates a chain reaction

  January 11 at 8:56am · Like · 1
• 

  Lisa Bailey Marshall if you see a neighbor raking leaves or shoveling snow...jump out there and help get it done

  January 11 at 8:59am · Like
• 

  Lisa Bailey Marshall let someone in line ahead of you, hold the door for someone, take someone supper for no reason, visit a nursing home, visit a elderly church member, invite them home for sunday dinner,....

  January 11 at 9:01am · Like
• 

  Amanda Steele Ginter what an awesome idea! love it!!! kind of like rackd at Christmas... heres a site of some ideas. mostly for Christmas but some you could do. lillightomine.com/light-em-up-2011.php

  January 11 at 9:05am via mobile · Like
• 

  Chrisi Rice And by the way... 35 is not old! (Especially to those of us who have already passed it!) LOL! 

  January 11 at 9:08am via mobile · Like
• 

  Kristan Brown Thanks for all of the ideas! They are great. It's going to be such a fun thing to do. And I know 35 isn't old, but goodness it just doesn't seem like I should be that "old"!! 

  January 11 at 9:10am · Like
• 

  Jaimy Broughman Ford What a beatiful idea! How about: Pick up any litter you see (I wish everyone did that!)

  January 11 at 9:12am · Like · 1
• 

  Brenda Jenkins Kristian I think that is a great idea. Good luck with coming up with 35 ideas.

  January 11 at 9:15am · Like
• 

  Cindy Helfrich I remember when you turned 30, I turned 25 and couldn't imagine 30. 

  January 11 at 9:41am via mobile · Like
• 

  Leah Rogin-Roper I guess when we're 70, 35 will look like being 16 does now. It's still hard to believe we're all growed up. If it's any consolation, I still picture you as an adorable, braces-wearing 16-year old.

  January 11 at 9:49am via mobile · Like · 3
• 

  Kimberly R. Harlow Wow what a great idea:) I will be 43 in June( not really sure how that happened either) but I love this!! What about buying diapers for a Mom yousee in a walmart!

  January 11 at 9:56am · Like
• 

  Alanna Lester That's awesome. I'll have to thank on that and get back to you.

  January 11 at 10:09am · Like
• 

  Deborah Kaye Ireson I love this kristian. I did this from thanksgiving to Christmas and wrote notes to random people telling them I was thankful for them. Remember school teachers who sometimes never get thanked.. Your trash man.. Your post man.. A note to your mom handwritten..you can do this with a little preparation what a wonderful way to share your birthday with others

  January 11 at 10:23am · Like · 1
• 

  Bridget Dunaway Hand out gift cards to a fast food place to random people. Our preacher did that for Christmas one year

  January 11 at 10:26am via mobile · Like
• 

  Michael Lomasney Take some food to a food pantry!

  January 11 at 11:00am · Like
• 

  Addison Ballard Pay for Addison's next car payment 

  January 11 at 11:27am via mobile · Like · 1
• 

  Angie Waldron That is an awesome idea. Someone mentioned it being inspirational and I agree. Just reading it has inspired me to do more for others- in Christ's name too. 
  
  You might stick a monetary amount with the note somewhere in a store. In between baby formula cans for instance (saw this on fb recently). Or give people coupons for items they are buying when they obviously don't have one in the checkout line. "Blessing bags" for the homeless. Give someone a coat and/or scarf on a cold day. Give your testimony to a nonbeliever- either in written form or verbally.
  
  I'll keep thinking and what a blessing. 

  January 11 at 11:35am via mobile · Like
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  Alicia Marie Brown Spangler Awesome idea...and what a great example!

  January 11 at 12:02pm · Like
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  Linda Ray Barlow What a great unselfish idea!!

  January 11 at 12:29pm via mobile · Like
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  Terry Patterson Give a bag of M&M's to your child's Sunday School teacher!

  January 11 at 12:49pm · Like · 3
• 

  Mari-Beth Halsey Koonce Very cool!!!

  January 11 at 12:58pm via mobile · Like
• 

  Kristan Brown Good try, Addison Ballard!  These are all very great ideas. I can't wait to do this. I think this will be my most fun birthday ever! I can't take credit for coming up with the idea - I read about someone else doing this somewhere on the internet - a blog or something - so I'm stealing their idea, since it was such a good one!

  January 11 at 1:18pm · Like
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  Lori Cook Come to my house...  your presence will be the best act if kindness for me!!!
  Love you! (Even if you are old! Hahaha)

  January 11 at 6:13pm via mobile · Like
• 

  Tonya Kay Jones What a blessing you will give to others on your special day!

  January 11 at 9:43pm · Like
• 

  Linda L Moore lil light o'mine blog has lots of random acts of kindness ideas in the Dec. section or under lite em up. I found this site linked with encouragement for today from crosswalk.com, a Christian site. the intent of lite 'em up was for families to do kind acts to teach their kids that Christmas is for giving. Have a great 35th! Of course, you could fill a shoebox & send it to Operation Christmas Child in Boone!

  January 12 at 1:19am · Like
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  Allison Roady Hicklin Come to my school and guest teach a math class! 

  January 12 at 11:43am via mobile · Like · 1
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  Kristan Brown Allison, I hope you aren't in school on June 13th! 

  January 12 at 2:15pm · Like · 1
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  J. Michael Palmer You will never be old do not worry about it......just do not try to do 63 random acts of kindness in one day.

  January 12 at 11:27pm · Like
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  Sirena Brown Take your neighbor's trash cans/recycling bins back down their driveway.

  February 1 at 10:53pm · Like
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  Linda L Moore I like Terry's idea-how about mailing a thank you card to your old Sunday School teacher, stick in a balloon or some gum.

  17 minutes ago · Like