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What Can We Do?

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The community where I am called to serve has had a devastating 2016. I say this due to the fact that since the beginning of the year five teens have chosen to end their lives. This has both rocked the community as well as brought the issue of teen suicide to the collective attention of my city. Naturally, when tragedy such as this happens we begin to ask questions… “Why did this happen? What can we do to prevent this? How can I help?” These questions are natural and necessary, and can pop up in conversations when you least expect them.

Take for example the monthly radio interview I do with our local Christian radio station. Every month I come in and give a brief 10 minute description of all the upcoming events at our church. We typically begin with pleasantries and idle chitchat before I move on to my list of events. This time I was hit with a more serious question about the issue of teen suicide. I took some time to speak to the topic, and then moved on to my list. I didn’t give the interview much thought until a local pastor called me and explained how thankful he was for everything that I had said. I can only assume that my response helped – at least for him – answer those natural and necessary questions everyone has been asking. You can find the audio for that interview at the bottom of this post.

Before you give the audio a listen, please understand that I generalized my comments. Although I understand there can be chemical and biological factors that cause depression, I did not specifically address those. Nor did I address the need for support programs or seeking the help of trained professionals. What I did do was give an answer for what the church can do. Can the church create programs, train counsellors and engage in community youth events? Yes and amen it can. However, as the unique body of Christ, the primary thing we can do is utilize the spiritual gifts and tools Christ has given us to use.  We can pray, and we can share the hope of His calling and the riches of His glorious inheritance. Feel free to listen and maybe place your comments below.

When Absurd is No Longer Absurd

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I have learned something very important about trying to be funny in today’s culture. However, before I share with you my well-learned lesson, I should take time to set the stage. Bring you in on my lesson, so to speak.

A friend of mine invited me to carpool to an upcoming event with a group of fellow ministers. Today, I happened to receive an email from one of those ministers asking if I would be willing to share in the driving duties. I was more than willing to help, so I planned to respond in the affirmative. However, being the way that I am, I also thought it would be fun to add a little humour to my response. In crafting the email I figured that I had to add just enough absurdity so that it would be both funny and obvious to the reader that I was joking. Here is what I wrote:

Hi Bob, (Name changed to protect the innocent)

Before I commit to driving I must disclose some minor quirks you might find in my personality. I will totally understand if after hearing what they are you choose to pick someone else to assist you in driving. Here we go:

1) When driving I must have COMPLETE control of the radio. Because of my short attention span I will switch stations every 30 seconds. I hope this will not be a problem.
2) I don’t like to use cruise control. Instead I pulse the gas pedal as I drive. Anyone who is prone to seasickness should likely bring medication.
3) I am attracted to shiny moving objects, which means I tend to swerve into oncoming traffic. Therefore, it is likely best if we take deserted/secluded dirt roads, or at the very least do so when I am driving.
4) I suffer from night terrors, which strangely enough only manifest when I am awake. Don’t worry, most of my passengers have told me they quickly become accustomed to the shrieks of terror. I only warn you, as the first dozen or so times this happens can be a little disconcerting for the uninitiated.
5) I suffer from OCD.
5) I suffer from OCD.
5) I suffer from OCD.

I am more than willing to help drive if you are still willing to have me – even after having disclosed all my minor quirks. As the day gets closer please be sure to remind me about our 10am appointment at Enterprise.

In Him
Jason

Well, it was obvious from his response I had failed miserably. He totally thought I was serious, and graciously offered to find someone else to drive. I quickly crafted a follow up email explaining my failed attempt at humour and reiterated my willingness to help drive. He admitted I had totally ‘got him’. So how in the world could that happen? How could I get a person as intelligent as him to believe something so completely absurd? Well, he summed up his apparent gullibility by saying, “these days you never know.”

He has a valid point. No matter how absurd I could have made my letter, nor how ‘out there’ I could have made my quirks and demands, there was always the chance it was true. We live in a day where the absurd is no longer absurd. What once was unheard of or ridiculous is quickly becoming commonplace. Just check out your favourite source for news and see if I am wrong. You will be hard pressed to argue with his statement, “these days you never know.”

So there you have it, I have learned that life has just become a little bit harder. No longer can I rely on people’s ability to identify the absurd. No more can I expect something to be thought of as ridiculously unreasonable. No longer can I depend upon people having categories for the nonsensical, ludicrous or insane. However, here is the thing that hurts the most, no more can I use reductio ad absurdum and expect it to be understood. And that’s not funny.

 

 

Sin Is Why

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If you live in my neck of the woods – Ontario Canada – you are likely familiar with the disappearance and murder of Tim Bosma. In the two weeks since the tragedy suspects have been arrested, details have been released and the grieving process has begun. In tragedies like this I have discovered part of the grieving process involves attempting to answer the question of “why”. In the midst of grief there is never a satisfying answer to the “why” question, but we try to answer it all the same.

The added difficulty in dealing with the “why” of the Bosma case is the complete absurdity of the crime. Tim was murdered so that they could steal the truck he had listed for sale. One might conclude it was a crime of need or greed had the main individual accused not been a multimillionaire. A life was taken, freedom was forfeit and families were devastated over an object the accused could have easily purchased for himself many times over.

Although the people God has called me to serve do not know Tim personally, many of them are compelled to try and make sense of this senseless act. The confusing nature of the crime has not been lost on them as they attempt to reason out the why. When they have come to me with their questions, rhetorical or otherwise, I have explained that sin is the ultimate answer to their question. Sin is the reason this crime was committed and sin is the reason why it is so senseless and confusing. When it comes right down to it sin is the answer to the “why” of many of life’s problems. Here, then, are three truths from the Bible one can discover about sin. To some they were costly to learn, but to you and I the lessons, if we choose, are free. I hope you profit by them.

1) Sin does NOT make sense. This is probably the most difficult truth for people to wrap their minds around. Deep down we would all like to think some form of discernable logic fine-tunes the mechanics of our choices. However, with sin logic does not enter into it. It is at best illogical, irrational, deceptive and crazy. That is not to say we are incapable of rationalizing our sin. Far from it. There is not one person – dead or alive – who wasn’t able to defend or justify their sin. However, their rationalizations ultimately only makes sense to the sinner themselves and those who are likewise deceived by sin. Therefore, you should not be surprised when sinful actions run counter to common sense.  Rom 1:19-31  Eph 4:17-19

2) Sin is false advertising at its worst. Its packaging is misleading, and the sales pitch is laced with lies. We buy the product simply because everything about it is designed to be enticing. However, when we get it home we discover the product to be both defective and dangerous. Sin ALWAYS destroys, ruins and kills. It can do nothing else. It may start out small and seemingly insignificant, but in short order it grows and evolves into something unmanageable. Do not be fooled, the pleasure of sin is eclipsed by its cost. No wonder we feel duped and cheated by sin. If only we hadn’t lost the receipt maybe we could return it. When we buy into sin we get what we paid for. Prov 5:22  Prov 14:12  Rom 6:23  James 1:13-15

3) With sin there are always casualties. Hear me well; there is no such thing as a victimless sin. Did you catch that? We tend to fool ourselves into believing that if the sin is small enough, and no one knows or is targeted by it, then nobody gets hurt. This is absolutely false. Forget for a moment the impact of sin upon the sinner. Ignore the fact sin will kill, ruin and destroy the sinner’s life. There are most assuredly casualties in this game. Casualties you do not consider nor recognize in the moment, but are eventually revealed in the fullness of time. The Bible is replete with examples of men and women ignorant of the domino effect their sin will have. We need not be ignorant of this fact. Family, friends and strangers are all casualties in the fallout of our sin. However, lest we forget, the one most offended by our sin is the one toward whom all our sin is directed. God himself. Never forget there is no such thing as a victimless sin. Psalm 51:4  1 Cor 8:12

So Where Do We Go From Here?

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As I have mention in previous posts, half the battle in any argument comes in the defining of the issue.  Nowhere is this more evident than in the pro-life/pro-choice debate.  Essentially each side has chosen their name in hopes of defining what they feel is the heart of the issue.

For example, in the pro-choice camp, the issue of abortion is really all about choice, specifically the woman’s choice.  The matter at hand is no longer abortion, but rather freedom of choice.  To oppose abortion is to fundamentally oppose one’s freedom to choose.  In contrast, for the pro-life camp, the issue of abortion is really all about life, specifically the life of the child.  In essence promoting abortion would ultimately be antithetical to life.  It is on these two defining views that each camp has chosen to plant and defend their flag.

Therefore, in order to secure their respective positions, considerable energy has gone into arguing the nuances of both life and choice.  For the most part their arguments center on when life begins, and if a woman’s right to choose should take precedence over the “potential” life of another.  Let’s be honest, the goal of both camps is to take the high moral ground on the issue.  When you narrow the question down to freedom of choice verses right to life, the scales tend to tip in favour of life.  Therefore, the pro-choice advocates have historically and stanchly opposed the idea of life beginning at conception.  To do any less would be akin to conceding they believe the life of the most vulnerable is not as valuable and subservient to the choice of the woman.

Both sides recognize this fact and therefore spend a lot of time duking out this fine point.  For those in favor of abortion, in conceding this point there would be the very real possibility that they would come off looking selfish, or apathetic to the life of a child, and nobody wants that.  Well, at least that is what I used to think.

With one simple article Mary Elizabeth Williams has absolutely overturned the applecart of my understanding when it comes to the pro-choice point of view.  In her recent piece, “So what if abortion ends life?” she outright accepts the pro-life’s position that we are indeed dealing with a baby and not simply a glob of tissue.  Her candor is both surprising and refreshing.  Although she agrees we are talking about a human life, her response is simply to say, “So what?”  She concedes that abortion does terminate a life, but it is a “life worth sacrificing.”  In essence she is saying a baby’s life is worth sacrificing on the altar of choice.  Wow!

So where do we go from here?  Seriously, how do you debate the ‘So What’ argument?  “We know it is a baby, and we know we are killing it. So what?”  Have we moved so far from home that the value and sanctity of human life has become a secondary issue?  Is freedom of choice the greatest of all human rights, and to be protected at all cost?  Should the cost include the lives of those whom, by their nature and situation, are unable to exercise their own right to choose?  So where do we go from here?  I would love to hear your thoughts.  Email me or post your comments below.

Just in case you missed the links above you can find the Williams’ article here: “So what if abortion ends life?”

 

Choice

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For those of you wondering when the next  “What’s It Worth?” article will be posted, do not fear, I have not forgotten about the series.  By request I deviated from my Monday plan in order to address the issues raised during our  latest young adults’ Bible study.  However, today I am deviating from my regularly scheduled series by choice.  Over the last couple of weeks I have encountered some videos which caused me to give pause.  If you would indulge me I would like to share them with you.  Both videos are related to the issue of abortion, so be warned.

This first video shows the fallacy in logic of those who call themselves “Pro Choice”. It is a moniker that was adopted because it is softer and gentler than what they really are, and that is “Pro Abortion”. Half the battle is giving your movement the proper name. Your name defines the issue. If you can make the issue about choice instead of life you are well on the way to winning your argument. Case in point, you are hard pressed to find people who would stand in opposition to choice, while the idea of terminating a life would definitely encounter more resistance. However, if I am to be totally honest the other side does the same thing. They adopted the moniker “Pro Life” as apposed to “Anti Abortion” simply because people would rather be “for” instead of “against” something. Watch this video and see if they really are “Pro Choice”, or simply “Pro Some Choices”.

 

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This second video is an excerpt of testimony given to the U.S. House subcommittee earlier this year. Based upon his expertise, Dr. Anthony Levatino was asked to address the validity of the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act. This Act would propose the banning of abortions after 20 weeks based upon the fact that unborn babies can experience pain at that stage of pregnancy. As you watch the video, keep in mind this is what people mean when they say “Pro Choice”. Be warned, Dr. Levatino’s testimony is quite graphic.

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