Stewards of Democracy

Coming soon!

Stewards of Influence: Pt. 1

Wow! Last week GW Bush and the Republicans won a pretty clean sweep and now they are faced with the responsibility to govern ALL of those who voted. So, what will it be...a narrowly focused fiscal program and Strict Constructionist appointees? I hope that at the very least our friends who control ALL THREE branches of government will be thoughtful in the way they wield their power.

No where have I seen more clearly the arrogance of power than in an interview between Focus on the Family Founder, James Dobson and George Stephanopoulos this Sunday. In the interview, the self proclaimed leader of the Christian Right scolded GS for asking a hard and important question. The dialogue follows:

George Stephanopoulos:" Dr. Dobson, you also have a problem with the ranking Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, Sen. Patrick Leahy. I want to show something that was reported in the Daily Oklahoman during the campaign.

In the Daily Oklahoman, it quoted you saying, "Patrick Leahy is a God's people hater. I don't know if he hates God, but he hates God's people."

Now, Dr. Dobson, that doesn't sound like a particularly Christian thing to say. Do you think you owe Sen. Leahy an apology?

James Dobson: George, you think you ought to lecture me on what a Christian is all about? You know, I think -- I think I'll stand by the things I have said. Patrick Leahy has been in opposition to most of the things that I believe. He is the one that took the reference to God out of the oath.

Stephanopoulos: But Dr. Dobson, excuse me for a second. You use the word "hate." You said that he's a "God's people hater." How do you back that up?

Dobson: Well, there's been an awful lot of hate expressed in this election. And most of it has been aimed at those who hold to conservative Christian views. He is certainly not the only one to take a position like that. But I think that that is -- that's where he's coming from. He has certainly opposed most of the things that conservative Christians stand for.

Stephanopoulos: So no apology?

Dobson: No apology." With a smart smile and unapologetic defiance on his face.

No apology! Oh my goodness! I'm a fallen, struggling, born again, conservative evangelical, who has spent my life serving the church, ministering to the poorest of the poor, and spreading the gospel through word and deed and ARROGANT James Dobson tears years of testimony down - in front of the entire watching world in two minutes! Ouch!

No wonder the world has such disdain for the conservative church ...if this is who we are I can't really blame them. Has Jim Dobson served the church, built it up and done a ton of good? Yes he has. However, I will not stand by and see arrogance in its rawest form and not speak out in some way.

Does this man have no one in his life to tell him when he is an arrogant foolish person? Actually, I have been told by friends who have worked with Dobson for years that he doesn't "suffer" this type of fool. He truly believes Leahy and Kouric are THE enemy. Goodness! His anger and pridefulness were the enemy in this case. Steph, who is indeed no friend to the church, if he had any predisposition to become one was just SLAPPED away by one of its most recognized statesmen.

This is one example of a poor Steward of Influence. There is plenty of room for repentence for all of us frail and often foolish sinners - leaders included!

First step for Dobson is a personal apology and ask for forgiveness to Steph...that's what I would do to my "strong willed" eight year old. Where did I learn to do that? Jim Dobson of course. It's hard to take our own medicine - I am testimony to this truth. Rant over...

Thoughts

Stewarding Liberty

Well, today is the day in which We the People decide who will lead us for the next four years. Though we are a deeply divided nation, at least ideologically, it has been extremely encouraging to see the electorate come out in large numbers. I only hope We the People get to make this decision and not Them the Lawyers!

Stewards of the Halloween - A Commentary

My friend William sent me this "Exercise" by email. Read... enjoy... and save the hate mail. However, constructive criticism and comments are invited and welcome.

Halloween: A Distinctly Christian Holiday
“He who sits in the heavens laughs; Yahweh ridicules them” says Psalm 2. Let us join in His holy laughter and mock the enemies of Christ on October 31.

A Discernment Exercise by James B. Jordan

It has become routine in October for some Christian schools to send out letters warning parents about the evils of Halloween, and it has become equally routine for me to be asked questions about this matter.

“Halloween” is simply a contraction for All Hallow’s Eve (Hallow-Even—Hallow-E’n—Halloween). The word “hallow” means “saint,” in that “hallow” is just an alternative form of the word “holy” (“hallowed be Thy name”). All Saints’ Day is November 1. It is the celebration of the victory of the saints in union with Christ. The observance of various celebrations of All Saints arose in the late 300s, and these were united and fixed on Novemeber 1 in the late 700s. The origin of All Saints Day and All Saints Eve in Mediterranean Christianity had nothing to do with Celtic Druidism or the Church’s fight against Druidism (assuming there ever was any such thing as Druidism, which is actually a myth concocted in the 19th century by neo-pagans).

In the First Covenant, the war between God’s people and God’s enemies was fought on the human level against Egyptians, Assyrians, etc. With the coming of the New Covenant, however, we are told that our primary battle is against principalities and powers, against fallen angels who bind the hearts and minds of men in ignorance and fear. We are assured that through faith, prayer, and obedience, the saints will be victorious in our battle against these demonic forces. The Spirit assures us: “The God of peace will crush Satan under your feet shortly” (Romans 16:20).

The Festival of All Saints reminds us that though Jesus has finished His work, we have not finished ours. He has struck the decisive blow, but we have the privilege of working in the mopping up operation. Thus, century by century the Christian faith has rolled back the demonic realm of ignorance, fear, and superstition. Though things look bad in the Western world today, this work continues to make progress in Asia and Africa and Latin America.

The Biblical day begins in the preceding evening, and thus in the Church calendar, the eve of a day is the actual beginning of the festive day. Christmas Eve is most familiar to us, but there is also the Vigil of Holy Saturday that preceeds Easter Morn. Similarly, All Saints’ Eve precedes All Saints’ Day.

The concept, as dramatized in Christian custom, is quite simple: on October 31, the demonic realm tries one last time to achieve victory, but is banished by the joy of the Kingdom.

What is the means by which the demonic realm is vanquished? In a word: mockery. Satan’s great sin (and our great sin) is pride. Thus, to drive Satan from us, we ridicule him. This is why the custom arose of portraying Satan in a ridiculous red suit with horns and a tail. Nobody thinks the devil really looks like this; the Bible teaches that he is the fallen Arch-Cherub. Rather, the idea is to ridicule him because he has lost the battle with Jesus and he no longer has power over us.

(The tradition of mocking Satan and defeating him through joy and laughter plays a large role in Ray Bradbury’s classic novel, Something Wicked This Way Comes, which is a Halloween novel.)

The gargoyles that were placed on the churches of old had the same meaning. They symbolized the Church ridiculing the enemy—they stick out their tongues and make faces at those who would assault the Church. Gargoyles are not demonic; they are believers ridiculing the defeated demonic army.

Thus, the defeat of evil and of demonic powers is associated with Halloween. For this reason, Martin Luther posted his 95 challenges to the wicked practices of the Church on the door of the Wittenberg chapel on Halloween. He picked his day with care, and ever since, Halloween has also been Reformation Day.

Similarly, on All Hallows’ Eve, the custom arose of mocking the demonic realm by dressing children in costumes. Because the power of Satan has been broken once and for all, our children can mock him by dressing up like ghosts, goblins, and witches. The fact that we can dress our children this way shows our supreme confidence in the utter defeat of Satan by Jesus Christ—we have NO FEAR!

I don’t have the resources to check the historical origins of all Halloween customs, and doubtless they have varied from time to time and from Christian land to Christian land. “Trick or treat” doubtless originated simply enough: something fun for kids to do. Like anything else, this custom can be perverted, and there have been times when “tricking” involved really mean actions by teenagers and was banned from some localities.

We can hardly object, however, to children collecting candy from friends and neighbors. This might not mean much to us today, because we are so prosperous that we have candy whenever we want, but in earlier generations people were not so well off, and obtaining some candy or other treats was special. There is no reason to pour cold water on an innocent custom like this.

Similarly, the jack-o’-lantern’s origins are unknown. Hollowing out a gourd or some other vegetable, carving a face, and putting a lamp inside it is something that no doubt has occured quite independently to tens of thousands of ordinary people in hundreds of cultures worldwide over the centuries. Since people lit their homes with candles, decorating the candles and the candle-holders was a routine part of life designed to make the home attractive or interesting. Potatoes, turnips, beets, and any number of other items were used.

Wynn Parks writes of an incident he observed: “An English friend had managed to remove the skin of a tangerine in two intact halves. After carving eyes and nose in one hemisphere and a mouth in the other, he poured cooking oil over the pith sticking up in the lower half and lit the readymade wick. With its upper half on, the tangerine skin formed a miniature jack-o’-lantern. But my friend seemed puzzled that I should call it by that name. ‘What should I call it? Why a tangerine head, I suppose.’” (Parks, “The Head of the Dead,” The World & I, November 1994, p. 270.)

In the New World, people soon learned that pumpkins were admirably suited for this purpose. The jack-o’-lantern is nothing but a decoration; and the leftover pumpkins can be scraped again, roasted, and turned into pies and muffins.

In some cultures, what we call a jack-o’-lantern represented the face of a dead person, whose soul continued to have a presence in the fruit or vegetable used. But this has no particular relevance to Halloween customs. Did your mother tell you, while she carved the pumpkin, that this represented the head of a dead person with his soul trapped inside? Of course not. Symbols and decorations, like words, mean different things in different cultures, in different languages, and in different periods of history. The only relevant question is what does it mean now—and nowadays it is only a decoration.

And even if some earlier generation did associate the jack-o’-lantern with a soul in a head, so what? They did not take it seriously. It was just part of the joking mockery of heathendom by Christian people.

This is a good place to note that many articles in books, magazines, and encyclopedias are written by secular humanists or even the pop-pagans of the so-called “New Age” movement. (An example is the article by Wynn Parks cited above.) These people actively suppress the Christian associations of historic customs, and try to magnify the pagan associations. They do this to try to make paganism acceptable and downplay Christianity. Thus, Halloween, Christmas, Easter, etc., are said to have pagan origins. Not true.

Oddly, some fundamentalists have been influenced by these slanted views of history. These fundamentalists do not accept the humanist and pagan rewriting of Western history, American history, and science, but sometimes they do accept the humanist and pagan rewriting of the origins of Halloween and Christmas, the Christmas tree, etc. We can hope that in time these brethren will reexamine these matters as well. We ought not to let the pagans do our thinking for us.

Nowadays, children often dress up as superheroes, and the original Christian meaning of Halloween has been absorbed into popular culture. Also, with the present fad of “designer paganism” in the so-called New Age movement, some Christians are uneasy with dressing their children as spooks. So be it. But we should not forget that originally Halloween was a Christian custom, and there is is no solid reason why Christians cannot enjoy it as such even today.

“He who sits in the heavens laughs; Yahweh ridicules them” says Psalm 2. Let us join in His holy laughter and mock the enemies of Christ on October 31.

Copyright © 1996 Biblical Horizons. Used by permission. James Jordan’s essay was originally published as “Concerning Halloween” in Open Book: Views and Reviews, an occasional newsletter published by Biblical Horizons, P. O. Box 1096, Niceville, FL 32588. This discernment exercise originally appeared in Critique #1 - 2000. If you’d like to receive articles like this on a regular basis, find out more about our publication.

Questions for Reflection and Discussion

1. What is your first reaction to Rev. Jordan’s essay? Why did you respond this way?
2. What explanation(s) concerning Halloween—its origins and practices—have you heard in the past? To the extent they are different than Jordan’s, how will you resolve the conflict?
3. If you disagree with Jordan, show wherein he is uninformed, misinformed, illogical or incomplete in his argument.
4. To many believers, the notion of mocking or ridiculing the enemies of Christ might be a novel idea. What do you think about it now? Why?

Wealthy Stewards?

John Kerry says he wants to tax the rich so they pay their fair share. For a little perspective on whether you are rich or poor click the following link and see where you stand among the global wealth www.globalrichlist.com

Stewards of Beauty?

As evangelical Christians we have tended to relegate art to the very fringe of life. The rest of human life we feel is more important... We have misunderstood the concept of the Lordship of Christ over the whole of man and the whole of the universe and have not taken to us the riches that the Bible gives us for ourselves, for our lives and for our culture. ~Francis Schaeffer

“Contrary to what our tradition may have taught us,” William Dyrness writes, “I believe that making beautiful forms is theologically connected to our call both to listen and respond to God in prayer, praise, and sacrament.”

“The best art,” Steve Turner argues, “doesn’t tell people what to believe but enables them, for a short time, to see things differently, and the Christian can enable people to momentarily glimpse the world through eyes that have been touched by Christ.”
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What has happened to beauty? Buildings, homes, schools, churches all built strictly for utilitarian purposes with little or no thought for the impact on the culture or society SHOULD matter shouldn't they? When in Washington DC I always spend time nourishing my soul at the National Cathedral's Bishop's Garden or at the National Museum of Art. When in London I relish the walks in Hyde Park or the pond's at St. Georges Park. The British National Poitrait Gallery has memorialized their leaders with majestic and, at times, true to life poitraits of the men, women and children who have ruled and led England for thousands of years. Are we preserving OUR history for those who will come behind us in a palatable way? Are we stewards of beauty or have we been overrun by box shaped Wal-Marts and churches that look more like prisons than havens/sanctuaries for contemplation of the divine? How will we be remembered as stewards of beauty in the time we have been given? Do aesthetics matter? Where do you get your fuel for contemplation? What are the truly beautiful things that remind us of that True Beauty? I welcome a discussion on beauty inclusive of: art, architecture, music, cities, towns, preservation, etc. This discussion has no bounds and is long overdue. Till next time...the floor is yours

A Generous God

Ok, this is post number one of many to come. Welcome. If you came to this sight because your primary definition of stewardship is in line with those who want to save the Earth you will probably be disappointed here. That's not because I don't want to save the Earth - What a noble cause - however, because I also want to grow in OTHER areas of stewardship. I am convinced that we have a desire to be stewards and generous towards others because it is a reflection of the character of the God who created the world we all want to see preserved. From the beginning God gave the whole Earth to us as His stewards , and this is a privilege and holy calling. So, let's begin to have a look see at what men and women down through the ages have thought about this issue of stewardship and begin to grow in our own understanding of how WE will steward what He has entrusted to us. Sounds like fun to me! Until next time...I'll leave you with a quote - "There is not one square inch of the entire creation of which Jesus Christ does not cry out, 'This is mine! This belongs to me'." A. Kuyper