Anne Rice says "I'm out."

"Today I quit being a Christian. I'm out. I remain committed to Christ as always but not to being 'Christian' or to being part of Christianity."

Check out the full text of her Facebook comments here at the Mockingbird blog.

Additional Resources
Anne Rice hasn't betrayed you - by Russell Moore

No Vacancy

It has struck me freshly again today that being created has profound implications. We are not supreme, so we will worship. We are not sovereign, so we will obey. We are not alone, so we will love... something.

It is not enough to chase the destructive, proud, God-belittling attitudes (sin) from our hearts. We can't simply "die to self" or "do the right thing." With regard to affection, our heart is never vacant.

From Chalmer's "Expulsive Power of a New Affection":

It is Not Enough to Understand the Worthlessness of the World; One Must Value the Worth of the Things of God

The love of the world cannot be expunged by a mere demonstration of the world's worthlessness. But may it not be supplanted by the love of that which is more worthy than itself? The heart cannot be prevailed upon to part with the world, by a simple act of resignation. But may not the heart be prevailed upon to admit into its preference another, who shall subordinate the world, and bring it down from its wonted ascendancy?
...
In a word, if the way to disengage the heart from the positive love of one great ascendant object, is to fasten it in positive love to another, then it is not by exposing the worthlessness of the former, but by addressing to the mental eye the worth and excellence of the latter, that all old things are to be done away and all things are to become new. To obliterate all our present affections by simply expunging them, and so as to leave the seat of them unoccupied, would be to destroy the old character, and to substitute no new character in its place.

Additional Resources
How Christ wins the life or death war for our affections
The Expulsive Power of a New Affection

"...the way to avoid Jesus was to avoid sin"

From The Prodigal God by Tim Keller:

In her novel Wise Blood, Flannery O'Connor says of her character Hazel Motes that "there was a deep, black, wordless conviction in him that the way to avoid Jesus was to avoid sin." This is a profound insight. You can avoid Jesus as Savior by keeping all the moral laws. If you do that, then you have "rights." God owes you answered prayers, and a good life, and a ticket to heaven when you die. You don't need a Savior who pardons you by free grace, for you are your own Savior.

Additional Resources
Lyndsey Jacobellis, the Olympics and Religion

Nailing yourself to a cross will do nothing

Boston.com posted this piece about a small group of Filipinos who nail themselves to a cross in an annual rite celebrating Good Friday. The image and the story were so troubling that I needed some time to let it all sink in.

After some reflection two things remain clear:

1) Religion has no bounds. People will do anything to earn the favor of God.

2) Religion is useless in changing the human heart. Consider this statement from one of the devotees:

Mary Jane Mamangon, a 34-year-old rice cake vendor, was the lone female devotee to be nailed to a cross this year in San Juan village. It was her 14th time.

She said she started when she was 18 and has taken part in the annual rites on and off to seek God's help in saving her ill grandmother and now her younger sister, who is suffering from cancer.

"I do it because I have seen that it works," she told The Associated Press. "I saw how my grandmother recovered from her illness."

Mamangon said she has faith that God will take care of her and her family.

"I do it because I have seen that it works." Works? For what? "I saw how my grandmother recovered from her illness." What place does God truly have in her heart? His only place is as a provider of what she truly values. This is the religious heart and it is a heart unchanged - still consumed with the created things rather than the Creator (Romans 1:25).

The Gospel is different.

I have blotted out your transgressions like a cloud and your sins like mist; return to me, for I have redeemed you. (Isaiah 44.22, emphasis mine)

For on the one hand, a former commandment is set aside because of its weakness and uselessness (for the law made nothing perfect); but on the other hand, a better hope is introduced, through which we draw near to God. (Hebrews 7.18–19)

Additional Resources
No One Thanks a Vending Machine

Lyndsey Jacobellis, the Olympics and religion

For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them. (Galatians 3.10–11)

For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it. (James 2.10)

Religion is a deadly trap. Religious people rely on their adherence to some legal code to obtain justification or righteousness. Anyone who truly considers their life for very long realizes the futility in this arrangement. There may be no better display of the strict requirements of the living by a legal code than the Olympics. Even the New York Times uses religious language to describe it ("Redemption, But not for Jacobellis" - 2/17/10).

Consider Lyndsey Jacobellis. Lyndsey has spent the last 4 years of her life working for her own redemption. In the Torino Olympics in 2006 she lost the gold medal in the snowboard cross; falling down after a premature celebration with some "method air" on the last jump of the race. It was the most bitter silver medal of the 2006 Winter Games. Yesterday, the rigid legal code of the Olympics erased that 4 year pursuit with one fall. The favorite Jacobellis will not visit the podium in Vancouver. One sin disqualified her.

It is a bitter lesson for any of us tempted to find justification (or redemption) by adherence to any code be it environmentalism, corporate-ladder-climbing-ism, I'm-a-good-parent-ism or religion of any form. We cannot justify ourselves. Everyone of us has fallen down in the semis of the snowboard cross or in the skating short program and there will be a day where we fall again. We need something more. If God doesn't provide our righteousnes (or if we don't accept what He provides), we are forever cursed. The Good News is... He has!

But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. (Romans 3.21–25)

May Lyndsey find redemption and justification not through her own efforts but in the efforts and perfect righteousness of the Savior.

"Handling Criticism" thoughts from Tim Keller

Convicting thoughts from Tim Keller on handling criticism:

The biggest danger of receiving criticism is not to your reputation, but to your heart. You feel the injustice of it and feel sorry for yourself, and it tempts you to despise not only the critic, but the entire group of people from which they come. "Those people..." you mutter under your breath. All this can make you prouder over time
...
So how can you avoid this temptation? First, you should look to see if there is a kernel of truth in even the most exaggerated and unfair broadsides. There is usually such a kernel when the criticism comes from friends, and there is often such truth when the disapproval comes from people who actually know you. So even if the censure is partly or even largely mistaken, look for what you may indeed have done wrong. Perhaps you simply acted or spoke in a way that was not circumspect. Maybe the critic is partly right for the wrong reasons. Nevertheless, identify your own short-comings, repent in your own heart before the Lord for what you can, and let that humble you. It will then be possible to learn from the criticism and stay gracious to the critic even if you have to disagree with what he or she has said.

If the criticism comes from someone who doesn't know you at all (and often this is the case on the internet) it is possible that the criticism is completely unwarranted and profoundly mistaken. I am often pilloried not only for views I do have, but also even more often for views (and motives) that I do not hold at all. When that happens it is even easier to fall into a smugness and perhaps be tempted to laugh at how mistaken your critics are. "Pathetic..." you may be tempted to say. Don't do it. Even if there is not the slightest kernel of truth in what the critic says, you should not mock them in your thoughts.

read more

(By the way, I repent)

Additional Resources
Fools Rush In Where Monkeys Fear to Tread - by Carl Trueman (A essay on self-promotion & pride in the blogosphere)

"Real, Gritty Joy: All Things Rubbish" - Week 7

Week 7 in our series on Paul's letter to the Philippians.

"If I find that my joy is dependent upon anything which can be taken from me, I must correct it." -Martyn Lloyd Jones, The Life of Joy and Peace

Summary: "All Things Rubbish"

"So... what do you do?"

In America, that's the follow-up question to "What is your name?" We are defined by what we do. I'm a pastor. Shelli is a "stay-at-home" mom. You are a _____. These are our qualifications as individuals.

Cultures throughout the world all have their qualifications - standards for acceptance and stature which are nothing more than sewing patterns for fig leaves (Genesis 3:7). The patterns aren't hard to find. Just listen for the question that follows "What is your name?" A friend of mine, who lived in Northern Ireland for a few years, shared a great example of this "pattern revealing" question. There, question #2 was simply "So, which are you then?" (Catholic or Protestant).

Since the Garden, comparative leaf sewing is where the world finds its identity. We restlessly sew according to our various patterns to find security and affirmation. This is a futile and miserable way to live often coming at the expense of others. Just this week the world was gripped by the news of "balloon boy" and, as it turns out, the entire episode may have been intentional - fueled by Richard Heene's desire for fame... for identity.

After holding up Timothy and Epaphroditus as examples of joyful, Christ-following, Trinity-exalting self-sacrifice in Phil. 2:19-30 (listen to the message from week 6 here), Paul now turns to himself and what enabled him to be an example to these men. As one rescued from death through the death of Christ, Paul refused to boast in anything but Christ. He abandoned all his sources of human affirmation and sought fellowship with Christ with a singular focus.

"All Things Rubbish" is a call to drop our sewing needles to find a clear conscience, perfect acceptance, the highest status, the best commendation, a secure future, and, of course, joy in Christ and His righteousness alone. Listen to "All Things Rubbish" here.

Additional Resources

Discussion Questions

The Divine Accolade - an excerpt from C.S. Lewis' sermon "The Weight of Glory"

How does a self-righteous spouse hurt the addict?

From Tim Keller's Prodigal God, a thorough treatment of Luke 15:11-32:

"This elder brother cannot pardon his younger brother for the way he has weakened the family's place in society, disgraced their name, and diminished their wealth. He highlights the fact that the younger brother has been with "prostitutes," while he has been living a chaste life at home. "I would never do anything as bad as that!" he is saying in his heart. Because he does not see himself as being a part of a common community of sinners, he is trapped by his own bitterness. It is impossible to forgive someone if you feel superior to him or her.

If you can't control your temper, and you see someone else losing theirs is exactly the same way that you do, you tend to forgive them, because you know you are no better person than they. How can I hold this against them when I am just as bad? you think. However, because elder brothers' sin and antipathy to God is hidden deep beneath layers of self-control and moral behavior, they have no trouble feeling superior to just about anyone. If they see people who lie, or cheat on their wives, or don't pray to God - they look down on them. If such people wrong them, elder brothers feel their spotless record gives them the right to be highly offended and to perpetually remind the wrongdoer of his or her failure.

A classic example of this is the marriage of an alcoholic. The alcoholic repeatedly lets down his family in dramatic ways. As a result of her suffering, the addict's wife often

develops an enormous amount of self-pity and self-righteousness. The spouse bails him out and yet holds the record of his sins constantly over his head. This leads to more self-loathing on the part of the alcoholic, which is part of why he drinks. It is a seductive, destructive cycle. It may be that the elder brother, to bolster his own image of himself, needed a chronically wayward sibling to criticize, and the smug older brother only made it harder for the younger to admit his problems and change his life. When the younger son comes out of his denial, and the father welcomes him, the elder brother realizes that the pattern is being broken, and his fury is white-hot.

If the elder brother had known his own heart, he would have said, "I am just as self-centered and a grief to my father in my own way as my brother is in his. I have no right to feel superior." Then he would have had the freedom to give his brother the same forgiveness that his father did. But elder brothers do not see themselves this way. Their anger is a prison of their own making."