Why is the Catholic Church under Attack?

As I follow Christ I seek to encourage and teach fellow believers to speak about their faith in Jesus. To achieve that end I provide training in witnessing and evangelism and constantly challenge others to boldly talk the walk.  

But there is another way of understanding, “talking the walk.”  In my view Christians have the duty and responsibility to confidently enter the public square with the truth of Christianity. Of the many faith groups that I know of, there is one in particular who seems to understand this calling better than others.  I speak of the Catholic Church.  Many who follow her teaching are people who speak up for Christian values in the public square.  As a result they are often maligned for their efforts.

The following is a letter published today in a local Guelph newspaper defending the Catholics for their willingness to speak the truth.

Dear Editor,

Re: Letter to the editor, “Solid argument lost in translation” (Tribune, June 21, 2012).

Letter writer Cory Houghton wants everybody to be certain that Alan Pickersgill did not attack the Catholic Church in one of his recent columns.   So, in a fairly nuanced way he tries to defend Pickersgill, and at the same time scorns the idea that Catholic Christian, Betty Karl, has any right to feel attacked.

It amazes me that Houghton has the audacity to say to someone in a faith tradition that they have no right to their feelings. Who does he think he is? Then in a surprising turn he, himself, proceeds in the last half of his letter to specifically attack the Catholic Church for some of her public stands on morality, and her persecution of various groups some 500 years ago.

Frankly, I too, grow tired of the almost constant drum beat of attack against Catholics. And no I don’t agree with every Catholic position. In fact I am an Evangelical Christian with a different faith tradition. But I recognize that the Catholic Church is one of the last bulwarks of defence against the rampant tide of immorality sweeping the West.   

Among other charges, Houghton claims that the Catholic Church is linked with homophobia. I’m of the strong opinion that there is a much more sinister phobia on the loose.  There is a growing animosity toward Christian values found in virtually every level of society.

Yes, I speak of Christophobia. It is very much present, and is growing.  I long for the day when the media will begin to report on it.  

Royal Hamel

Follow me, let's change the world together!

Anti-Semitism in Germany

 A regional court in Germany decided that parents can be brought before a judge for causing bodily injury if they have their child circumcised. According to reports neither religious reasons, nor the rights of the parents can be used to justify the procedure.  

This does not look good. It especially looks bad that this decision against Jewish people has been undertaken by a German court.  Who does not know that for thousands of years circumcision has been a fundamental rite of the Jewish faith? Indeed, some might argue that it is the most basic rite, and therefore the most basic religious right of this oft persecuted people.

What would Christians say if a court all of a sudden concluded that baptizing people was now considered to be against the law?  Yes, you can be certain millions of generally passive Christians would sit up and take notice.  Such a decision would be an attack on the heart of Christian faith and practise.  It is exactly the same with this decision respecting the Jews in Germany.   

There will be some who say that this is not persecution, it is merely a decision taken on the basis of the health of the child.  What rubbish! Let’s be realistic, circumcision has not been happening in a corner for the last few thousand years. Don’t you think if this was a serious health matter it would have been dealt with hundreds of years ago?

It is well documented that presently we are living in a time of heightened anti-Semitism, the like of which has not been seen since the time of World War II. 

This unprecedented act by a German judge is simply another manifestation of that age old scourge of Jew hatred that the world simply cannot seem to shake.

I implore my fellow Christians to shake off passivity; I implore you to speak and to act on behalf of Jews wherever they are found 

Blankenhorn Abandons Traditional Marriage

Marriage=One Man + One Woman

We live in a time when simply speaking truth is controversial. For a long period of time the general cultural values of the west were more or less comparable to the values of Christianity. That is no longer the case. To define marriage today, for instance, as a union between one man and one woman can easily land you in hot water.

The Southern Baptists in the USA recently affirmed their strong commitment to traditional marriage. I applaud them for making such a statement. I share their understanding that God created and defined marriage to be a union of one man and one woman. See their excellent article here. I believe marriage can no more be re-defined than a square can be redefined as having only three sides.

David Blankenhorn formerly defended traditional marriage. However, in a recent New York Times article he has now come out in favour of same-sex marriage. In the article he puts forth three reasons for the change in his position. He thinks that to oppose such marriage is to somehow stigmatize homosexual love as being less than its heterosexual counterpart. He also feels that the more important issue, now, is comity and mutual acceptance—that we must put aside our differences for the sake of being reconciled, and avoid more of the so called, “culture wars.” In his final argument he points out that both the national elites and the younger generation favour same-sex marriage. He thinks that this emerging consensus should be respected.

I view the above arguments as spurious and shallow. If truth and morality mean anything it is precisely because they don’t change with the changing times. Dare I say it—even God cannot make a four sided figure into a triangle. Blankenhorn wants there to be mutual acceptance and reconciliation. This is always a worthy goal to pursue, but it must not be pursued at the expense of truth and reality. It certainly did not work in the USA in the civil war era when some states wanted the right to keep slaves while other states saw slavery itself as an abomination. As for the argument that we must respect the emerging consensus of the elites and the youth—please don’t insult our intelligence. I can easily imagine that in ancient Roman society the leading elites and the youth my have favoured the continuation of slavery. These same elites may have also favoured the vicious gladiatorial combat in the coliseum. So what! No society should decide questions of morality on the basis of straw polls and preferences.

I am deeply disappointed with Blankenhorn and his faux reasons for changing his mind. How wonderful that God will not and cannot change his mind on the definition of true marriage. He has clearly spoken on this issue (Genesis 2:20-25 and Matthew 19:4-6).

Both passages clearly teach just one definition of marriage—one man + one woman—there is no other possible interpretation.

Nik Wallenda Walked and Talked his Faith in God

On June 15, 2012 Nik Wallenda made history by walking directly over Niagara Falls on a 500 metre tightrope. A day or two after the event I watched a short video clip from ABC news. It was a beautiful sight seeing Nik, resplendent in his red track suit, walking slowly but calmly while defying the roaring monster far below. But as I watched I heard something amazing. In a brief lull from the flood of words pouring from the newscaster, I heard clearly and plainly the words, “Praise be to you Jesus, praise  to the Father.” I was stunned. Where, I asked, did those words come from?  Almost immediately I guessed Nik had been wired for sound, and this praise was issuing from him as he made the dangerous crossing. Later that day I confirmed my theory and also learned that Nik is a follower of Christ and fearlessly speaks of his faith in Jesus.

I have met a number of people who believe that verbally sharing the faith is not necessary. They have told me that instead of speaking about Christ, they witness by living a godly life in front of their neighbours and friends.  They have commented, “I’ll show my faith by my lifestyle; then if people are interested they will ask me questions.”

Now, this idea that we can be “silent” witnesses for Christ is not new.  I clearly remember having a personal conversation on this topic many years ago with a girl I was dating. Jacqueline (not her real name) was raised in a pastor’s family and was seeking to live a godly Christian life.  However, she had accepted this notion that speaking of Christ was not necessary.   Her viewpoint was all the more surprising for she was part of a denomination that practised bold witnessing.  I was convinced she had not learned her silent concept of witness either at home, or in her church.  Nevertheless, she had picked up the idea somewhere and it strongly appealed to her.

Recently I had almost an identical conversation with another follower of Christ. This idea that Christians are not called to, “talk the walk” is perennial, and I seriously doubt it will ever completely go away.

 I don’t want anyone to misunderstand.  People who think like this are half-right, but they are also half-wrong. It is indeed crucial that we who believe should, “walk the talk.” Nothing is more necessary. Our actions must back up our words (Matthew 5:16).  Actions alone, however, will never be enough.  For we are called over and over again to be a people who speak and confess, called to be a people who, “proclaim the excellencies of Christ” (I Peter 2:9).

I think many people who think like this have the idea that only super-smooth, courageous, natural talkers have responsibility to verbally share their faith. They might reason that shy people should not be expected to step out of their comfort zone.  It appears they have developed a defense for quiet and introverted people, giving them a basis for keeping quiet and “witnessing” only with their “lived out truth.”

But scripture does not back the claim that we only have to “live it” (Acts 1:8, John 20:21-22, Romans 10: 14-15). Walking the Christian faith and talking about it should never be separated. They certainly should never be put in opposition to one another.  

We’ve all heard the expression that Christians must, “walk the talk.”  No truer statement could be made. But I suspect that far fewer people know that believers are also called to, “talk the walk.”

 Nik Wallenda crossed the Niagara Falls walking and talking at the same time. He walked a narrow, dangerous pathway, in faith,  that God would keep him on the wire.  But at exactly the same time, he talked—talked to God and 13 million listeners, publicly giving thanks and praise to his savior and creator.

Nik witnessed both by actions and words. Let all who believe in Jesus go and do likewise.

Are Europe and the West the New "Dark" Continents?

In an earlier age Christian cross cultural workers went by the thousands from Europe and North America to the continent of Africa. They took with them the message of truth and love found in Jesus Christ. By unswerving commitment to their message and love for the African people they planted the church in a most difficult place. 

As a new paganism sweeps Europe and the West it is fascinating to see how missionaries from Africa are bringing light to the new "dark" places of the world.  Wallace Henley writes about this irony in an interesting piece entitled, Reverse Missions to the "Dark" Continent (Part I). See the full article here.

Can Even a Christian be Sure of Eternal Life?

Shouldn’t religion provide assurance of life after death?

A good many people are concerned about what comes after this life. They have deep uneasiness about where they are going after death.

I don’t blame them. Death comes knocking for all. Some day each one of us will have a little obituary in the local paper.

Where does religious faith play into this? Shouldn’t religion, above all else, be concerned with life after death? Now don’t get me wrong, belief in God should encourage the doing of good to other people. But, what if we really are creatures who shall live forever? Should not our religious worldview give us certainty as to our future state after we’ve been planted in the earth?

But, no, surprisingly enough the major religions of our day do not give such assurance. Ask any follower of the major Eastern religions if they have assurance. I have personally asked this question of many. They will say, more or less, all we can know for certain is that the soul does not die with the body. It shall live on and come back as another life form. This new life may be better or worse than the former—they just don’t know. But do they have a definite assurance of going to heaven? No, they make no such claim.

Another major religion, a very large one, also has not the tiniest shred of assurance. I have personally spoken to a number of its followers. The response has been the same: We can’t know for sure until we are judged on the basis of our actions. If we have done more good than evil then, yes, we will go to heaven. If not then we will go to the other place.

Now to be fair, many of those who claim allegiance to the Christian faith also have no certain hope of eternal life after death. They were taught their good deeds must outweigh the bad before God will reward them with eternal life.

But what if this teaching is fundamentally flawed? What if Jesus actually taught a person can have certainty about eternal life, right now, in this life? Wouldn’t that be something quite amazing?

Some time ago I had an amazing conversation with a cashier while paying for my gas. I had asked him if his belief system gave him any assurance of heaven upon his death. Not surprisingly, he said it doesn’t. Then, when I told him that as a Christian I had absolute assurance that when I died God would accept me, and usher me into heaven, he was astounded. He asked how you would know that you have done enough good deeds so that you deserve to go to heaven?

It was a great question, and perfectly logical if you believe that good deeds will buy your way into heaven. But what if the premise is wrong? What if our nature is so corrupted and so far from God that no quantity of good deeds could ever buy our way into heaven? Not even the best of us is good enough to be acceptable to God by our good deeds. But we must not despair.

Historic Christianity has always believed in grace. Grace simply means, “undeserved favour.” It means that Jesus shows mercy to people who don’t deserve it.

Christian teaching is unique—it points to a person, Jesus Christ, as being the basis for our finding acceptance and favour with God. Personal faith and trust in him are paramount in the Christian way of thinking. Yes, good deeds are still important. But, if eternal life was granted to me and you on the basis of our good deeds, we could never, never have any kind of assurance. We would always have a niggling anxiety about the future.

But God set up a different and wonderful plan. The Bible says, “And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son…I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.”

Published in The Guelph Mercury, June 8, 2012