Why this matters and what it means for faith

As every schoolchild knows, there are eight planets in our solar system. (I was taught that Pluto was the ninth planet, but alas, it was reclassified as a “dwarf planet” in 2006 because it shares its orbital space with other large objects in its vicinity.)

Later this month, those of us on the third planet from the Sun can see the other seven in the night sky. Known as a “planetary alignment,” this is what happens when the planets align on the same side of the Sun. You can click here for a guide to seeing them; Uranus and Neptune will require a pair of binoculars or a small telescope.

This planetary alignment makes no practical difference to us since there is no significant gravitational force between the planets. Some hypothesize that planetary alignments might impact solar activity, but much more research is needed.

However, such alignments can be very practical for interplanetary spacecraft, which use the specific positioning of planets to perform gravity assists that slingshot them with a speed boost toward their final destination. Voyagers 1 and 2 took advantage of an alignment of the large planets, for example, with Voyager 2 getting boosts from Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune.

Here’s the part of the story that interests me: while planetary alignments have no practical impact on our physical planet, they were highly significant for ancient cultures that tried to use them to forecast the future. Here we see the difference between astronomy (the scientific study of celestial objects) and astrology (a non-scientific belief system that uses celestial bodies to predict future events or personality traits).

People who read their horoscopes practice astrology. People who study the stars and planets using the scientific method practicice astronomy.

The chasm between the two suggests significant principles for faith in our post-Christian culture.

Walking the altar-lined streets of Ephesus

When Paul made his way to Athens as part of his second missionary journey, he had a right to expect highly reasoned conversations with some of the intellectual elites of his day. And in fact he encountered Epicurean and Stoic philosophers and “conversed” with them (Acts 17:18)—the Greek word means to dialogue, debate, ponder together.

But he also discovered that “the city was full of idols” (v. 16). In fact, he used their altar to “the unknown god” as a springboard to preach the gospel: “What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you” (v. 23).

Why would such brilliant people be so susceptible to the mythologies and traditions of their polytheistic religion?

From Cain to today, humans have sought to use religion to leverage the blessing of God or the gods (cf. Genesis 4:4–7). This is an expression of our “will to power” that seeks to be our own god (Genesis 3:5). Paradoxically, we use God to replace him as god, engaging in transactional religious practices by which we do what he wants so he will do what we want.

We see this across the ancient Roman Empire. I have walked the streets of Ephesus lined with altars to the various gods of their day, witnessed vast temples in Corinth and Rome dedicated to the same purpose, and visited what we would call “pagan” temples across modern-day Turkey that were similarly transactional in nature.

Christians are by no means immune. When we begin the day with Bible study and prayer in the hope that God will then bless our day, when we pray to get what we want from the Lord, and when we serve him and donate to his causes so he will serve us, we are engaging in transactional religion.

Like astrologers of old and today, we are seeking power over our surroundings and our future. To predict the future through a horoscope is to gain a measure of control over it. To sacrifice to a God, known or unknown, as a means to our ends is to do the same.

“The greatest day that a Christian can ever experience”

The paradox is that the God who created the planets of our solar system and the rest of our vast universe is much more of a blessing to us in a transformational relationship than in a transactional religion. The best gift he can give us is the privilege of being a “new creation” (2 Corinthians 5:17) who manifests the character of Jesus (Romans 8:29) by demonstrating the “fruit” of his Spirit (Galatians 5:22–23).

When we worship God because he loves us rather than so he will, we experience him in intimate ways that draw us closer to the people we are created to be. When we serve him because he has served us rather than so he will, we offer gratitude for grace that transforms us and those we influence.

The Creator who measures the entire universe with the palm of his hand (Isaiah 40:12) now holds his children in that same hand (John 10:29). The gift of all gifts is that he wants a personal relationship with us. Not because we deserve such mercy, but because he “is” love (1 John 4:8).

Then, one day, we will step from this fallen world filled with transactional religion and works-driven righteousness into a perfect world filled with transformational relationship and worship-driven joy. RC Sproul noted:

The day of one’s birth is a good day for the believer, but the day of death is the greatest day that a Christian can ever experience in this world, because that is the day he goes home, the day he walks across the threshold, the day he enters the Father’s house.

In the meantime, our calling is to embrace the grace of Christ and to share it with everyone we can. In Simply Good News: Why The Gospel Is News and What Makes It Good, the brilliant theologian NT Wright assures us:

Many people today assume that Christianity is one or more of these things—a religion, a moral system, a philosophy. In other words, they assume that Christianity is about advice. But it wasn’t and isn’t. Christianity is, simply, good news. It is the news that something has happened as a result of which the world is a different place.

How will this news make your “world” a “different place” today?

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Wicked star Cynthia Erivo will play Jesus in Jesus Christ Superstar at the Hollywood Bowl this summer. The musical is already offensive to many Christians as it suggests a romantic relationship between Christ and Mary Magdalene and puts Judas in a more sympathetic light than Scripture portrays.

Now our Savior will be played by a woman who came out as “queer” a few years ago. One fan called the decision for a female to play Christ “downright disrespectful,” adding that her opinion “has nothing to do with color, [it] has to do with the fact that the Son of God is a man.” The fan also stated, “If this was another religion, you would not do it out of respect.”

In news closer to home for me, the United Church of Christ Cathedral of Hope in Dallas hosted a service last Sunday dedicated to celebrating drag performers and transgender individuals. A “drag king”—a woman wearing a bedazzled beard and religious garments—was among the performers.

A “drag queen”—a man dressed to appear as a woman—performed at a fundraiser following the service. He proceeded to criticize Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, a paraplegic, for approving conservative laws and recommended stopping him by taking away wheelchair ramps.

If Dallas is “the Buckle of the Bible belt,” the belt seems to be in disrepair.

People want hope from their leaders

One reason such stories are discouraging is that we’re not sure what, if anything, we can do in response. And we instinctually want answers to our questions and solutions for our problems.

This is because our culture rewards those who try harder and work longer, “refusing to take no for an answer” and striving for perfection. There’s even a name for this: the “Nirvana fallacy” assumes that all problems can be solved perfectly.

As a result, when we read frightening stories about a potential bird flu pandemic or asteroid strike, we keep reading to see if authorities have prepared vaccines or taken steps to keep the asteroid from killing us. When we learn that psychological distress among youth globally accelerated during the COVID-19 pandemic, we are not surprised but we want to know what is being done in response.

It is basic human nature to seek hope in hard times. When Gallup asked people what they wanted from their leaders, they ranked “hope” far above all other responses.

So, where do we find the hope our hearts need today? The answer is not where many in our self-reliant culture are looking.

How to build an unshakable house

Jesus said, “A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone when he is fully trained will be like his teacher” (Luke 6:40). Let’s consider each Greek word in turn:

• Disciple means “pupil, apprentice.”
• Not above means “not superior to.”
• His teacher refers to the master of his school, the instructor guiding the student.
• Everyone allows for no exceptions.
• When he is fully trained could be translated, “when he is thoroughly taught and qualified.”
• Will be like his teacher could be rendered, “will think, act, and live in the same manner as his teacher.”

As a result, our lives produce words and works that glorify God and bless others. Jesus promised: “The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good . . . for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks” (v. 45).

In addition, our obedience prepares us to triumph amid the storms of life. Jesus stated that everyone who “hears my words and does them” is “like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when a flood arose, the stream broke against the house and could not shake it, because it had been well built” (vv. 47–48).

Conversely, “The one who hears and does not do them is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the stream broke against it, immediately it fell, and the ruin of that house was great” (v. 49).

“You are much stronger than you think you are”

It only makes sense that people who emulate and are empowered by the perfect Son of an omnipotent Father would have the resources necessary to withstand the storms of life.

Paul Powell writes that after Martin Niemöller was imprisoned by the Nazis for three years in solitary confinement in Dachau, an interviewer asked him, “How could you stand it without losing your sanity?” Niemöller answered: “You can stand far more than you think you can. You are much stronger than you think you are . . . if God is dwelling in your life.”

This, in fact, is how we were designed by our Creator.

In Mere Christianity, CS Lewis explained:

God made us: invented us as a man invents an engine. A car is made to run on petrol, and it would not run properly on anything else. Now God designed the human engine to run on himself. He himself is the fuel our spirits were designed to burn, or the food our spirits were designed to feed on. There is no other. That is why it is just no good asking God to make us happy in our own way without bothering about religion. God cannot give us a happiness and peace apart from himself, because it is not there. There is no such thing.

That is the key to history. Terrific energy is expended—civilizations are built up—excellent institutions devised; but each time something goes wrong. Some fatal flaw always brings the selfish and cruel people to the top and it all slides back into misery and ruin. In fact, the machine conks. It seems to start up all right and runs a few yards, and then it breaks down. They are trying to run it on the wrong juice. That is what Satan has done to us humans.

What “fuel” will your spirit “burn” today?

Quote for the day:

“Those who understand God’s sovereignty have joy even in the midst of suffering, a joy reflected on their very faces, for they see that their suffering is not without purpose.” —R. C. Sproul

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Why changing our intentions can change the world

“We were upside down hanging like bats.” This is how one passenger described what happened when a Delta flight made a hard landing Monday afternoon in Toronto, lost a wing, burst into flames, and flipped onto its roof. Delta said twenty-one injured people were taken to local hospitals; nineteen were released by the next morning. Three had critical but non-life-threatening injuries, one of whom was a child. However, there were no fatalities.

If you’re like me, the last sentence changes how you read the rest of the paragraph.

In other news, a supercomputer simulation has predicted when humanity will go extinct. It foresees a day when rising temperatures, volcanic chaos, and an unrecognizable climate will make most of our planet uninhabitable for mammals. However, this cataclysmic apocalypse will not occur for another two hundred and fifty million years.

Again, if you’re like me, the last sentence changes how you read the rest of the paragraph.

One more example: US shoppers are dumping favorite brands over their political stances. According to a new poll, four in ten Americans have shifted their spending in recent months to align with their moral views. Unsurprisingly, boycotts usually come from the consumer base whose party is not in power in Washington.

Customers are therefore evaluating products through the lens of personal ideology rather than the product itself. For example, the backlash against Bud Light when it partnered with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney cost the parent company $395 million but had nothing to do with the taste of its beer.

“This is the hope of our calling”

It is human nature to focus on those parts of nature that affect us as humans. Evolutionary psychology would explain this as a manifestation of our instinct for survival. Pragmatists would encourage our focus on the parts of the world that work for us personally. Postmodern existentialists would say that the only dimension of the universe we can experience is that which directly affects us, so we naturally experience it on a more visceral level.

However, I think there’s another way to see the way we organize and manage our engagement with the larger world.

Jesus told his disciples, “I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit” (John 15:16). God intends us to be “a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work” (2 Timothy 2:21, my emphasis).

We know that our salvation is by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8) and “not a result of works, so that no one may boast” (v. 9). However, the next verse states, “We are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them” (v. 10, my emphasis).

“For good works” could be translated as, “for the purpose of accomplishing the works for which we are intended.” One scholar comments, “God marks out for each in his purposes beforehand the particular good works and the time which he sees best. God both makes ready by his providence the opportunities for the works, and makes us ready for their performance.”

In addition, “that we should walk in them” could be rendered, “that we should continue to accomplish them until they are completely fulfilled.” John Chrysostom (died AD 407) noted:

We need a virtue which shall last throughout and be extended on to our dying day. If we had to travel a road leading to a royal city, and then when we had passed over the greater part of it, were to flag and sit down near the very close, it were of no use to us. This is the hope of our calling . . . Otherwise it would profit us nothing.

All actions derive from a prior intention

God created you and me for “good works” specific to our personal lives and our place and time in the world. It is therefore only logical that we would focus more specifically on those events and circumstances which not only affect us but which we can affect.

Jesus was always present in the moment, wherever he went. The One who came to save the world ministered to one broken body and sinful soul at a time.

Here’s the problem: You and I are inundated every day with news from literally around the world. And fear-based programming is proven to attract attention and generate profits, in large part because our “negativity bias” instinctually looks for risks so we can avoid them. All of this in a time when we see more news in a day than our ancestors confronted in a lifetime.

Here’s why this matters.

John Locke, the famed British philosopher, argued that all actions derive from a prior intention. Unless external obstacles prevent us, he observed, “What follows after that follows in a chain of circumstances, linked one to another, all depending on the last determination of the will” (his emphasis).

However, when our intention is to better the world, the actions that are required feel as overwhelming as the task itself.

If the devil can’t make you bad

This is one way Satan uses our faith-driven compassion for the world against us. As the saying goes, if the devil can’t make you bad, he’ll make you busy. If he can use the cacophony of bad news that swirls around us to distract us from the “good works” our Lord intends for us today, he’ll keep us from impacting our culture for Christ.

And, over time, he may convince us to abandon the effort of cultural transformation altogether.

When the entire universe feels dark, your light may seem inconsequential. If you then “put it under a basket,” everyone in your “house” loses (Matthew 5:15). Including you.

So, to employ Locke’s assertion, let’s begin the day by reframing our “intention.” Leo Tolstoy observed:

“Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself.”

If our intention is to be more like Jesus today, and if we then ask God’s Spirit to transform us into the character of his Son, we can never be the same. Over time, the actions that derive from our intentions will impact the people we influence. And they will touch the people we cannot until a movement of culture-changing Christians multiplies around the world.

If you’re thinking God could never use your life in such a transformative way, that you’re too busy and the world is too broken to make a difference that matters, guess where that thought is coming from.

Quote for the day:

“Preachers are not salesmen, for they have nothing to sell. They are bearers of Good News.” —Billy Graham

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