Mohler - Spirituality in contrast to Christian Faith

Our wonderful, and o so faithful Administrative Assistant here at X1 has the wonderful knack of purchasing books for me as gifts that often really speak to me significantly. She has done it again with a book I'm reading now, 'Culture Shift: Engaging Current Issues with Timeless Truth' by R. Albert Mohler.
It is a short, extremely incisive Biblical, unadulteratedly Christian insight into current cultural issues.

I was struck this morning by these words written as part of a reflection of living in a post 9/11 Terrorist Attack world:

"We learn[ed] that spirituality is no substitute for Christian faith. Churches were filled to capacity in the weeks following September 11. Some observers predicted a period of national revival and openess to the gospel. That did not happen. Within just a few months, church attendance had fallen to pre 9/11 levels. The national trauma produces flutterings of spirituality but little evidence of renewed Christian conviction.
Spirituality is what is left when authentic Christianity is evacuated from the public square. It is the refuge of the faithless seeking the trappings of faith without the demands of revealed truth. Spirituality affirms us in our self-centeredness and soothingly tells us all is well. Authentic faith in Christ calls us out of ourselves, points us to the Cross, and summons us to follow Christ."

My o my, clear incisive insight to the way things actually are. It is demanding for me as a church leader because i can never rest content that the 'spiritual' are amongst us - they must be called to 'Authentic faith in Christ.'

Simon

Michael Horton on our identity and calling

As I said, I'm reading tons of books on grace and just started. "Putting Amazing back into Grace" by Michael Horton. Great start I assure you.
While introducing the book and after stating clearly, "Grace is the gospel." He wrote these words on our identity and calling as followers of Jesus Christ. I liked it a lot so I thought I'd share it.

"Our sense of purpose, as individuals and as a church, depends largely on how clearly we grasp certain truths about who God is, who we are, and what God's plan for history involves. Christians form a new humanity, a spiritual race. Just as a rib was taken from Adam's side to create Eve, God has taken people 'from every tribe and language and people and nation. You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God (Rev. 5: 9 1- 10). This new race exists for a purpose, a definite reason. It exists to make God's glory felt in a dark and drab world; the new race is to be found in every imaginable ethnic, cultural, social, economic, and national grouping. It is seen dispersed throughout every stratum: In hospitals and schools, in homes and offices, from the coastal beaches to the city skyscrapers."

Blessings

Simon

Grace - what a ring in that word.

As I tweeted earlier in the week I've got the great privilege as a teaching pastor here at X1 Watford to spend time studying the thoughts, arguments, and stunning expositions on God's word as I prepare to share with our people here. I mentioned that we are to enter into a series on 'Grace' as of Sept 19th and so I'm doing a lot of reading on that subject.
I hope to deposit several jewels from that reading over the next few weeks to enable others to enter into reading they may not have the time or motivation to do themselves. I'll start with something from Charles Spurgeon (not a bad place to start many would say) which is clear and concise on the beauty of God's grace:

"What a ring there is in that word grace. Why it does one good to speak it and to hear it; it is, indeed, a charming sound, harmonious to the ear. When one feels the power of it, it is enough to make the soul leap out of the body for joy.

Grace how good, how cheap, how free,
Grace, how easy to be found!
Only let your misery
In the Saviour's blood be drowned!

Grace, how it suits a sinner! How it cheers a poor forlorn wanderer from God!"

Sweet, and simple.

Simon

The 's' word!

About 25 minutes ago while making a juice for my gorgeous little girl (it is baking hot here in Watford) I heard the words that I hear far too often and which disgust me to put it mildly. Through our lounge windows which open on to the road to a kids' school a mother said to her little girl, "Well you're stupid..."

Parents, any of you, and my word even more so if you're believing parents, may I just make something overtly obvious to you: In the above equation there is only one person exposing their blatant stupidity and that is the parent.
To call a child stupid as part of the 'parenting package' exposes incivility, lack of grace, lack of wisdom, immaturity, impatience, and a form of barbaric nastiness.

It brings to my mind a marvelous little section of a superb book by C.S. Lewis called The Four Loves where I think Lewis expresses a similar incredulity at parenting of such a nature. Let him speak to us...

"We hear a great deal about the rudeness of the rising generation. I am an oldster myself and might be expected to take the oldsters' side, but in fact I have been far more impressed by the bad manners of parents to children than by those of children to parents. Who has not been the embarrassed guest at family meals where the father or mother treated their grown-up offspring with an incivility which, offered to any other young people, would simply have terminated the acquaintance? Dogmatic assertions on matters which the children understand and their elders don't, ruthless interruptions, flat contradictions, ridicule of things the young take seriously sometimes of their religion insulting references to their friends, all provide an easy answer to the question "Why are they always out? Why do they like every house better than their home?" Who does not prefer civility to barbarism?"

Let's love our little ones, and be so aware that 'Sticks and stones may break my bones but words... break my heart."

Simon

Keller on Alienation from God

It's been... ages I know... sorry no excuses.
Well I'll jump straight back in then with the fantastic input of Tim Keller (Redeemer Presby New York) on our 'alienation from God' as humanity. Here goes:

"One way to understand our alienation from God is to consider the solar system. There is harmony between the planets because they all agree on the center - the sun. But if each planet were to have a different center for its orbit, there would be cataclysmic collisions. God's 'center' is His own glory; he does everything because it is consistent with his own righteous, holy perfect nature. We, however, 'center' on our own comfort and happiness; we live for our own glory. Therefore, there is an inevitable collision between God and man. Man is traumatized by and and is hostile to the holy presence of God. Yet we are built for fellowship with God. We cannot live with God and we cannot live without God. This is the essence of man's condition [without Christ; see Gen 3]."

Good stuff hey? Helpful way to explain it and think it all through.

Simon

Joshua's Gilgal and Calvary

A true joy of being called to 'feed' the flock God has enabled us to lead as an Eldership here at X1 is that of searching deeply multiple resources to provide the most beneficial sustenance possible. I love this, even when it is a chore (as it can be demanding spending 10 - 15 hours a week preparing a sermon) as the input it gives to me personally is great - I only pray it will have the same effect on those who hear the sermon weekly.
With that said I want to highlight a brilliant quote from one of the commentaries I am using for the "Living Life without the Fear" series here at X1 in relation to the camp of Gilgal as a 'Spiritual Home Base' for the Israelites. The quote is from the British Expositor Alan Redpath and it gives a 'fascinating parallel between Gilgal and Calvary:

"May I remind you of the great words of NT truth and salvation which have their roots deeply imbedded in Gilgal. Here they are; refresh your memory. It was a place of rememberance, where all of God's people together went down unto death; it was a place of resurrection, where together they came up with their leader into life. It was a place of renunciation, where they cast off the carnal existence of the wilderness; it was a place of restoration, where they came again into fellowship with the lord. It was a place of realization, where they began to taste of the strong food of the land; it was the place of revelation, where they met their captain with a drawn sword.
The Christian life has its own roots firmly imbedded in Calvary, the place where we died with Jesus and rose with Him, where we have deliberately renounced carnality and have entered into a living fellowship with our Lord, where we have begun to take the strong food of His Word and to realize every moment of our lives that the Captain of the Lord's hosts is with us."

Yes o Yes - the great victory of Calvary!

Simon

'Saved' as a Whole - there's no other salvation

I am currently taking a journey through the scriptures that I have wanted to for some time now. For upwards of two years I have wanted to do an in depth theological/devotional study through Paul's epistles to the Corinthian church. Thanks to the love and generosity of a dear member of X1 I am now the very delighted user of Logos 4 (WOW!) and this bible program is the wonderful vehicle through which I am partaking of this journey.

I read something today in relation to Paul's writing on Sexual Immorality within the church (cf. I Cor. 6) and found that this quote really stood out. Why? Well I fear too often we do not realize that we are 'saved'/made new/'born again' as a complete whole and this false understanding can lead to destructive practice and seriously jilted theology (some of which I encounter repeatedly as a pastor). Often, even today, we are affected/infected by a form of gnosticism that seems to elevate the activities of our 'spirit' as followers of Christ over and above the activities of our 'body.' This is not NT theology... okay enough of me, I hope this helps you:

Humans do not have a soul; they are a soul (cf. Gen. 2:7). Related to this is Paul’s understanding that believers do not have a body; they are a body. This is possibly a theological development from Genesis and against Greek thought that depreciated the physical body as evil. The OT and the NT affirm a physical resurrection which is a way of affirming the goodness and eternality of human corporal existence. Later gnostic libertine or antinomian teachers would separate the physical aspects from the mental aspects, thereby affirming salvation as knowledge instead of godliness or righteousness. Paul affirms that the gospel is
1. a person to welcome
2. a truth about that person to believe
3. a life of that person to emulate
These cannot be separated! Humans are a unity! Salvation is comprehensive. The kingdom has arrived. There is an unbreakable bond between faith and obedience. Initial sanctification must lead to progressive sanctification. Righteousness is both a gift (INDICATIVE) and a command (IMPERATIVE).

(Utley, R. J. D. (2002). Vol. Volume 6: Paul's Letters to a Troubled Church: I and II Corinthians. Study Guide Commentary Series (76). Marshall, Texas: Bible Lessons International.)

Blessings
Simon

Behaviour in Leadership

Far too many people, sadly many of these are believers with an aspiration for leadership, seem to think that behaviour has no part to play in their leadership 'calling.' They seem to refer primarily to the role of motives (now in one sense this is true, but in another it is so far from the truth - as I said recently to our men, "DON'T BE GODLY DO GODLY!") in Christian leadership. Today I found these excellent, convicting, inspiring words from Andy Stanley in his brilliant book Visioneering.

"Every great leader, every successful father and mother, anybody who has ever received and followed through successfully with a God-given vision has possessed a form of authority that rests not on position or accomplishment, but on an inner conviction and the willingness to bring his or her life into alignment with that conviction. It is the alignment between a person's convictions and his behaviour that makes his life persuasive. Herein is the key to sustained influence.

The phrase that best captures this dynamic is moral authority... Moral authority is the critical, nonnegotiable, can't-be-without ingredient of sustained influence...
Moral authority is the credibility you earn by walking your talk. It is the relationship other people see between what you say and what you do, between what you claim to be and that you are. A person with moral authority is beyond reproach. That is when you look for a discrepancy between what he says he believes and what he does, you come up empty. There is alignment between conviction and action, belief and behaviour.

Nothing compensates for a lack of moral authority."

What does your life say about what you believe. How do your actions, your behaviour, portray your leadership 'calling.'

Simon

Eugene Peterson on 'Training a Pastor for the modern Christian Consumer'

As mentioned in my last post, I am sharing a quote read by Matt Chandler in a sermon I have listened to this morning (the context of the quote was to rebuke modern pastors who tend to just pursue technique to try and grow church rather than pursuing substance and being like the heroes of Hebrews 11).
The challenge of this quote is laid squarely at us as Pastors - how easily we can mislead and 'grow' church in the wrong way - but also quite definitely at the feet of the modern Christian with their expectations of a leader - how low they can be with regards to the things that TRULY count rather than the often-overemphasis on minor things that really don't.

Here's the quote from a book entitled Working the Angles: The Shape of Pastoral Integrity

For a long time, I have been convinced that I could take a person with a high school education, give him or her a six-month trade school training, and provide a pastor who would be satisfactory to any discriminating American congregation. The curriculum would consist of four courses.

Course
I: Creative Plagiarism.
I would put you in touch with a wide range of excellent and inspirational talks, show you how to alter them just enough to obscure their origins, and get you a reputation for wit and wisdom.

Course
II: Voice Control for Prayer and Counseling.
We would develop your own distinct style of Holy Joe intonation, acquiring the skill in resonance and modulation that conveys and unmistakable aura of sanctity.

Course
III: Efficient Office Management.
There is nothing that parishioners admire more in their pastors than the capacity to run a tight ship administratively. If we return all phone calls within twenty-four hours, answer all the letters within a week, distributing enough carbons to key people so that they know we are on top of things, and have just the right amount of clutter on our desk—not too much, or we appear
inefficient, not too little or we appear underemployed—we quickly get the reputation for efficiency that is far more important than anything that we actually do.

Course
IV: Image Projection.
Here we would master the half-dozen well-known and easily implemented devices that that create the impression that we are terrifically busy and widely sought after for counsel by influential people in the community. A one-week refresher course each year would introduce new phrases that would convince our parishioners that we are bold innovators on the cutting edge of the megatrends and at the same time solidly rooted in all the traditional values of our sainted ancestors.

(I have been laughing for several years over this trade school training with which I plan to make my fortune. Recently, though, the joke has backfired on me. I keep seeing advertisements for institutes and workshops all over the country that invite pastors to sign up for this exact curriculum. The advertised course offerings are not quite as honestly labeled as mine, but the content appears to be identical—a curriculum that trains pastors to satisfy the current consumer
tastes in religion. I’m not laughing anymore.)

Let us pursue, and expect, ministry that pleases the Lord and is built off of character and devotion to the Lord and not that which pleases man built off of modern style-based initiatives.

In Him
Simon

Revival Thoughts from Finney - Breaking the 'fallow ground' or confession of sin

Ok now Finney is starting to get just a little inappropriate, highly un-PC should I say for our contemporary-Christian liking. O I'll just write what he states regarding confession of sin:

"You must honestly look at yourself, using your bible as your checkpoint. Do not expect God to miraculously break up your fallow ground [remove sin from your heart] for you. You must actively participate, and you must submit your will. If you look at yourself accurately, taking note of your sins, you will definitely feel something. You cannot see your sins for what they are without feeling something...

... Start your work now. Resolve that you will not stop until you find you can pray. You will never have access to the full power of the Holy Spirit dwelling within you unless you completely confess your sins. Let there be this deep work of repentance and full confession, this breaking down before God.
Then YOU WILL HAVE AS MUCH OF THE SPIRIT OF PRAYER AS YOU CAN TOLERATE!"

My my my, Lord Jesus what has been my experience of 'the spirit of prayer' up till now as I feel I am barely tasting such?

Are we hungry for revival?

Simon

Revival Thoughts from Finney - The Role of the Church & it's 'Minister'

Yesterday, one of the zealous young men that God has blessed X1 with recently came to my home for breakfast, giving a book to me that he noted was just 'burning him up.' I promised to read the copy he was giving me and set to it this morning. The book is 'Experiencing Revival' by Charles Finney (an updated, abridged version thus easier for us all to read). Finney was an alarmingly gifted evangelist but also a theologian and a man of the word, so a good read indeed.

On the early pages he states the demands upon the people of the church and the 'minister' of the church in expecting/allowing revival within the church. A taster:

"A revival is when Christians begin to confess their sins to one another. Usually they confess in a general, halfhearted manner. They may do it in eloquent language, but it means nothing. But when there is an honest breaking down and a pouring out of the heart in confession of sin, the floodgates will soon burst open, and salvation will flow everywhere [O please precious Lord!].

A revival can be expected when Christians are willing to make the sacrifices necessary to carry it on. They must be willing to sacrifice their feelings, business and time to help the work. Ministers must be willing to expend their energy. They must be willing to offend the impenitent [proud, self-righteous, 'sinless' members of your congregation] by plain and faithful speech and perhaps offend many members of the church who will not repent. They must take a stand regarding the revival, whatever the consequences. They must be prepared to go on with the work even though they risk losing the affection of the impenitent cold members of the church."

I know Terry Virgo has urged the leaders and people of Newfrontiers to start praying deliberately and passionately for revival. I guess I better get down to it, more importantly better prepare myself/us for what it may require!

Simon

Sovereignty of God

2 Weeks ago I had the pleasure of teaching at the Watford School of Leadership on the topic of Evangelism. I chose to speak on Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God for two reasons primarily:
1) My deep rooted belief in the stunning elements of reformed theology with regards to God's sovereign grace in the salvation of men,
2) The lasting impact of a book by J. I Packer I read in University with the same title (see here).

Packer's thesis is marvelous and rooted in the mysterious antinomy of God's sovereign grace in salvation coupled with the moral responsibility of man to propagate and respond to the gospel. Give it a read if you do get an opportunity. As an opener to the discussion though I shared an inspirational quote to alert us to this 'large' doctrine of the sovereignty of God, and I share it with you now:

“The Sovereignty of God. What do we mean by this expression? We mean the supremacy of God, the kingship of God, the god-hood of God. To say that God is Sovereign is to declare that God is God. To say that God is Sovereign is to declare that He is the Most High, doing according to His will in the army of Heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth, so that none can stay His hand or say unto Him what doest Thou? (Dan. 4:35). To say that God is Sovereign is to declare that He is the Almighty, the Possessor of all power in Heaven and earth, so that none can defeat His counsels, thwart His purpose, or resist His will (Psa. 115:3). To say that God is Sovereign is to declare that He is "The Governor among the nations" (Psa. 22:28), setting up kingdoms, overthrowing empires, and determining the course of dynasties as pleaseth Him best. To say that God is Sovereign is to declare that He is the "Only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords" (1 Tim. 6:15). Such is the God of the Bible.” – A.W. Pink

Feast on that, and may it lead you from Orthodoxy (right belief) to Orthopraxy (right living from right belief).

Simon

Crying out to Christ

Reading a book called The Rise and Progress of Religion in the Soul by Philip Doddridge. At the end of the 10th chapter where he has entreated people to turn to Christ he finishes with this prayer to be made by that one who would respond to his call to salvation. Found it real powerful and vastly different the prayer of repentance we use today to convince ourselves we are turning to Christ.' Here it is.

"Blessed Lord, it is enough! It is too much! Surely there needs not this variety of arguments this importunity of persuasion, to court me to be happy, to prevail on me to accept of pardon, of life, of eternal glory. Compassionate Savior, my soul is subdued; so that I trust the language of thy grief is become that of my penitence, and I may say, `my heart is melted like wax in the midst of my bowels.' (Psa. 22:14)
"O gracious Redeemer! I have already neglected thee too long. I have too often injured thee: have crucified thee afresh by my guilt and impenitence, as if I had taken pleasure in `putting thee to an open shame.' (Heb. 6:6) But my heart now bows itself before thee in humble, unfeigned submission. I desire to make no terms with thee but these--that I may be entirely thine. I cheerfully present thee with a blank, entreating thee that thou will do me the honor to signify upon it what is thy pleasure. Teach me, O Lord, what thou wouldst have me to do; for I desire to learn the lesson, and to learn it that I may practice it. If it be more than my feeble powers can answer, thou wilt, I hope, give me more strength; and in that strength I will serve thee. O receive a soul which thou hast made willing to be thine!
"No more, O blessed Jesus, no more is it necessary to beseech and entreat me. Permit me rather to address myself to thee with all the importunity of a perishing sinner, that at length sees and knows `there is salvation in no other' (Acts 4:12) Permit me now, Lord, to come and throw myself at thy feet like a helpless outcast that has no shelter but in thy gracious compassion! like one `pursued by the avenger of blood,' and seeking earnestly an admittance `into the city of refuge!' (Josh. 20:2,3)
"'I wait for the Lord; my soul doth wait; and in thy word do I hope,' (Psa. 130:5) that thou wilt `receive me graciously.' (Hos. 14:2) My soul confides in thy goodness, and adores it. I adore the patience which has borne with me so long; and the grace that now makes me heartily willing to be thine: to be thine on thine own terms, thine on any terms. O secure this treacherous heart to thyself! O unite me to thee in such inseparable bonds, that none of the allurements of flesh and blood, none of the vanities of an ensnaring world, none of the solicitations of sinful companions, may draw me back from thee, and plunge me into new guilt and ruin! `Be surety, O Lord, for thy servant for good,' (Psa. 119:122) that I may stilt keep my hold on thee, and so on eternal life; till at length I know more fully, by joyful and everlasting experience, how complete a Savior thou art. Amen."

Wow...
Simon

Helpful Book - Master Leaders

Over the Christmas season one of our friends visiting from the States mentioned a leadership book he was reading that he found really helpful. It is a book by George Barna who is not an author I read typically; but it was the idea of the book that initially caught my intention.
This book MASTER LEADERS is basically the gleanings of Barna in conversation with 30 excellent, Godly leaders all located in one fairly small book.
I am currently reading it, actually have just finished a fantastic chapter on Confrontation and Challenge, and would recommend it to people on a journey of leadership wanting some helpful insights. Unfortunately you will need to look quite a few Americanisms and the fact that American Christian authors seem to write in a style that us British folk would accuse of being far too corny - but the content is so helpful, and as stated earlier it is the insights and interactions of many gifted leaders on important topics in leadership in one location.

Give it a read if you'd like.

Blessings
Simon

15th Century Thoughts on 'Confirming Faith with Experience'

Juan De Valdes was a 15th century Italian reformer, coming to the revelation of Justification by faith through the grace of God in Christ alone without any knowledge of Luther and his ongoing revelations elsewhere in Europe. I am just getting caught up in some of his writings so share some here with you.

These regard the importance of confirming our faith with experience;

"Supposing someone asks me, 'How shall I, a believer, confirm my faith by experience?' I would reply with two things.
First of all, let him divest himself of all Christless modes of justification, both of those that are negative and those that are positive. Let him only embrace the justification that is in Christ, which consists in believing. Let him strive in prayer to God ans ask that He would cause him to feel peace of conscience, that He would mortify him, and that He would quicken him.
In the second place, let him keep the strictest reckoning with himself as to his works, words, and thoughts. He will know by these means what progress he has made in mortification and quickening. Let his purpose be to increase every day in his experience of mortification and quickening so that he strives to acquire that Christian experience by which faith is established."

Basically die to self daily and seek only to pursue all Christian works with your righteousness in Christ as the only basis. Not easy, but no one ever said truly living this faith was.

Simon

The Cross of Christ in daily life

Been drawn back into reading 'True Spirituality' by Schaeffer as it is so very rich. He has spoken to me once again this afternoon.

So many of us as modern Christians are drawn into an understanding of our journey of following Jesus as STARTING with a 'death to self' and being made new in Christ. We tend to leave it there though. In one sense we think that may be the last time we have to face that horrific Cross of Jesus Christ, that is so far from the truth, and here is a brief thought from Mr. Schaeffer to remind us of that

"I am to face the cross of Christ in every part of life and with my whole man. The cross of Christ is to be a reality to me not only once for all at my conversion, but all through my life as a Christian."

Pick it up daily, die to self and live the Christ life!

Simon

The Glory of Christ

John Owen was one of the most incisive writers of his generation. His generation was that of the Puritans so that is saying a lot. I love returning to his words when I am needing to be pushed deeper in my understanding of Christ and I did so today as part of some preparation. Here is some words he has to say regarding The Glory of Christ

"In Christ we behold the wisdom, goodness, love, grace, mercy and power of God all working together for the great work of our redemption and salvation. The wisdom and love of God are in themselves infinitely glorious. But we cannot see how glorious they are except in the redemptions and salvation of the church which is achieved only in and by Christ. Then the beams of their glory shine on us with unspeakable comfort and joy...
...We believe in God only in and through Christ. This is the life of our souls. God Himself, whose nature is infinitely perfect, is the highest object of our faith. But we cannot come directly to God by faith. We must come by the way and by the helps he has appointed for us. This is the way by which he has revealed His infinite perfections to us, which is Jesus Christ who said, 'I am the way... No one comes to the Father except through me.' By our faith in Christ we come to put our faith in God Himself. And we cannot do this in any other way but by beholding the glory of God in Christ..."

Deep stuff hey.

Simon

Thinking His Thoughts, Seeing His Way

It is still very early days as a pastor here in Watford; seems I have had to learn so much in such a short space of time. One pivotal area of learning is that of Pastoral Counseling. Many, many people are overwhelmed with problems no matter into which Pastoral context God places you, so it is good to seek His wisdom and insight as to how to best go about this. I have been led to a book (mentioned by several individuals actually) and early on am struck by what the author (David Powlinson) has to say regarding how knowing God changes your awareness and understanding of Humanity, allowing you to search far deeper than others who 'lock' His views regarding human nature out of their process.(Both the nature of others and your own)

Here are some brilliant words from the opening pages:

"To think Christianly is 'to think God's thoughts after him.' Of course, our thinking is both finite and distorted. We never see it all; and we often misconstrue what we do see. We see in a glass darkly, skewed reflections in a battered bronze mirror - but we do see. God, who sees all things directly in full daylight, enlightens the eyes of our hearts. We see surfaces, catching glimpses of interiors; God sees into the inky or radiant depth of every heart, all the way down to the fundamental hate or fundamental love. Our glasses are sometimes rosy, sometimes jaundiced, sometimes bluesy, sometimes mirrored on the inside of the lens (so that all we can see are the turbulent contents of our own interiors). The madness of our hearts generates warped spectra. But God sees all things in bright, clear light - and this God is the straightener of crooked thoughts."

Seek His thoughts...

Simon

The Vital Link

The Cross without the Resurrection is an incomplete gospel, the two are vitally linked:

"The cross and the resurrection of Jesus belong together. They should never have been divorced into separate and all but hermetically-sealed components of dogmatic theology. It is not the cross which saves. It is Jesus, crucified and risen. 'Jesus was put to death for our offences and raised for our justification' (Rom 4: 25). And because this link has been so often lost sight of, our grasp on both cross and resurrection has been weakened. How could the death of a self-styled messianic figure avail for anyone - if God had not raised Him from the dead. And what is the resurrection but god's vindication of that suffering figure who dies in ignominy on the public gallows... they belong together."

- Michael Green

Simon

Exquisite Breakdown of Anti-Theological Mindset

Christianity is attacked from within and without in one area most certainly. It is the area of Theology. Bring it up and almost everyone has some presupposed reaction to it. It tends to lead to a very airy-fairy faith within the church and a blatant, "This is anti-tolerance" (the God of the Age) response from outside.

Michael Green in the book I am reading (The Empty Cross) gives a fantastic breakdown of this cultural milieu (in the context of Theological Study) and I thought I'd share it

"The modern theologian is not exempt from the pressures of ordinary modern society. There is a great tendency towards universalism in a world that makes God in its own tolerant image. There is a tendency towards syncretism in a world that has shrunk to a global multi-faith village. There is a tendency towards secularism: with both the historic faith and future hope soft-pedaled in so much modern theology, Christianity is frequently presented in terms of love alone. And finally, there is an ever growing tendency towards indifferentism.
Alongside a shrinking world, a shrinking hold on biblical revelation, a growing ecumenism, goes a declining interest in doctrine. It derives, as we have seen, from the philosophical question of the absolute and contradiction. Truth is relative. The black I see and the white you see are no longer contradictory: they are complementary. Heaven and hell are all one, for truth is no longer objective. Doctrine is arrived at, both in politics and religion, largely by head counts: norms have degenerated into what most people of good sense and good will approve."

Simon