The Harm of Hedonism

In Set Apart, R. Kent Hughes explains several different ways how the Western church has become worldly and then gives biblical guidance to fight worldliness.  Chapter three is about hedonism (he opens the chapter with Ecclesiastes 2:1-11).  Hedonism is the attitude that the most important thing in life is pleasure and its pursuit.  (I suppose this term might make some people think about Christian hedonism.  I won’t go too far off track here, but I’m not convinced Christian hedonism is all that helpful.  I’ve read some of the discussions and I still remain skeptical based on the subjectivity of it.  I think we should leave “and” in the 1st Q/A of the Westminster Shorter Catechism.  Anyway, I’m getting off track.)  Here’s what Hughes says about sinful worldly pleasure (hedonism):

“The harm of hedonism is a matter of empirical record.  When pleasure-seeking characterizes a person’s life, it invariably means an inversion of priorities.  Giving pleasure first place demeans and reorders every other priority.  The enthronement of a pleasurable pursuit, be it a hobby like fishing or antiquing, or an intellectual pleasure or an aesthetic pursuit, puts everything else in life second and third and fourth place – your spouse, your children, your parents, your friends, your church.  You may now be the best tennis player in Chicago or the best quilter or the best bass fisherman in the country or the most knowledgeable history buff in five states.  And when you die that’s what you’ll be – and little else.  “Wow! What a great largemouth fisherman Dad was!”  “Mom looks peaceful in her buried quilt.  Wish I had known her.”

“And there’s more.  The inversion of priorities diminishes the enjoyment of the good pleasures of God that are so freely strewn around us.  An obsessive pursuit of pleasure leaves no time for the pleasures of creation and family and feasting and conversation and the worship of God.”

“The pathology goes deeper.  Pleasure-seeking is by definition an avoidance of pain.  But pain and suffering are essential to the Christian for growth, maturity, and usefulness.  No pain, no gain.  Hedonism shrinks the self to a tiny self-focus that diminishes your usability not only to God, but to those you love most.  Pleasure-seeking instills a retreat from ministry.  Pleasure-seekers have nothing to say in the world.  Pleasure-seekers don’t care.”

“Lastly, pleasure-seeking anesthetizes the seeker to his or her need.  The intermittent rushes of pleasure that come from their pursuits dull pleasure-seekers to their own spiritual need.  The inordinate pursuit of pleasures, be they stock car races, the city’s best eateries, shopping, golfing, gardening, film, astronomy – all good things in themselves - can supply enough distraction to keep you from reflecting on what is really important.”

That last paragraph reminds me of a few Pensees Pascal Wrote (which I noted here last month).  Certainly these are things Christians – and Christian churches – need to consider and fight against as we deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow Jesus through suffering to glory.

The above quote from Hughes was taken from page 46 of Set Apart: Calling a Worldly Church to a Godly Life.

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“This Candidate Will Ruin America” (Or Something Like That)

As I mentioned on this blog before, I always chuckle when some radio talk show host says that such and such a candidate will ruin America and plunge it into a condition like Nazi Germany (or something like that).  I try to avoid political talk shows because I can’t stand the lack of logic many of the hosts exhibit; I also have a tough time separating the entertainment factor from serious politics.  Anyway, in light of the political rhetoric this election season, I thought historian Gregory Camp had a helpful – and historical – way to view this topic.  He’s specifically talking about conspiracy theories, but it has broader application as well.

“When Thomas Jefferson was elected as our nation’s third president, there were many who feared that it would mean the end of the republic.  Jefferson’s deistic beliefs, his intellectual abilities, even his ‘Jeffersonian Bible’ all were looked on as proof that the country could not possibly be in worse hands.  In the minds of Jefferson’s foes, the Virginian was sworn to dismantle the entire government structure since the adoption of the Constitution.  What was galling to Federalists was what they considered Jefferson’s rank hypocrisy.  Here was a man, an aristocratic slaveholder no less, claiming to be on the side of the ‘little guy.’  Today he would be called a mink-coat liberal, I suppose.  There were other fears about the administration of Jefferson: Religion, it was said, would be assailed; war with Britain likely; close relations with France solidified; and most dreadful, a Jeffersonian-run American ‘Reign of Terror’ instituted.”

“Despite the criticism, Jefferson performed his duties well: and, though not remembered in his own day as a particularly good president, he has since come to be regarded as one of our best.  None of the terrible things the Federalists feared came about, and Jefferson’s own revolutionary zeal for France waned.  Democratic-Republicans instead saw their rise to power as something of a mellow revolution in its own right, a correction of the ship of state.  As is often the case, especially in American politics, rhetoric and reality are usually spaced far apart.  LIke the Federalists before him, Jefferson had to face the problems of constant war between Britain and France and the lack of respect the Untied States received at the hands of both.  He acted, frankly, as probably any other Federalist would have done in similar circumstances.  The [conspiratorial] fears that he was a Jocobin, an ‘Illuminist,’ were unfounded.”

This quote is taken from page 34 of Selling Fear by Gregory Camp.  Also, if you’re interested, he referenced Morton Bordon’s study of American politics 1789-1815.

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Be Not Afraid

In this great book J. M. Boice edited back in 1977, Our Sovereign God, John Stott’s contribution was on the theme of Christ’s sovereignty (specifically the phrase “Jesus is Lord).  Here’s a great section of it (pages 18-19).

“…It is impossible to affirm Jesus as Lord without thereby affirming that Jesus is Savior.  The title ‘Lord’ is a symbol of Christ’s victory over the forces of evil.  If Jesus had been exalted over all the principalities and powers of evil, as indeed he has, this is the reason why he has been called Lord.  If Jesus has been proclaimed Lord, as he has, it is because these powers are under his feet.  He has conquered them on the cross, and therefore our salvation – that is to say, our rescue from sin, Satan, fear, and death – is due to that victory.”

“How then can we listen to the false accusations of our conscience if Satan, the slanderer, has been dethroned and disarmed by the Lord?  If Jesus has conquered this slanderer, why do we listen to the false accusations of conscience?  Of course, our conscience sometimes truly accuses us – I am not writing of that – but Satan often tries to get our consciences to accuse us falsely.  Why listen if Jesus as the Lord has conquered him?  Why do we remain in the bondage of evil if Jesus the Lord has broken its power?  Why should we be paralyzed by fear?”

“Many Christians are paralyzed by fear: fear of the unknown, the occult, circumstances, people, demons, the number 13.  For example, many high-rise hotels in America do not have a thirteenth floor.  The floors are numbered 10-11-12-14-14-15, because citizens are too superstitious to sleep on the thirteenth floor.  They do not seem to have the intelligence to realize that it is still the thirteenth even if you call it the fourteenth.  How can we be paralyzed by fear if the very things of which we are afraid are under the feet of Jesus?  Jesus is Lord.  What are you afraid of?  It is under his feet.  How can we dread death?  How can we think of death as anything but a trivial episode, a transit lounge between life here and life in its fullness, if Jesus the Lord has destroyed death and him who has the power of death, that is, the devil?  It is because of the supreme lordship of Jesus over sin and death that we ourselves can be saved from death.”

Stott makes some great points here.  It is funny that people have such odd superstitions; it is sad that fear grips them in such ways.  The fact that Jesus is Lord is why Christians need not worry about superstitions, whether they have to do with black cats, mirrors, the number 13, or sidewalk cracks.  Jesus is Lord of all.  He is sovereign.  No wonder why God continually tells his people “do not be afraid!” in the Bible.  Speaking of fear, if you do a word study on phrases like “fear not,” “do not be afraid,” and “do not fear,” you’ll find over 100 texts upon which to meditate.  Jesus is Lord!  Do not be afraid.

The above mentioned book, Our Sovereign God, also contains essays (based upon lectures) by Packer, Sproul, Boice, and Nicole, among others.  It’s a great little book, one of those “sleepers” that is often overlooked.

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Holding Fast to Justification Sola Fide

Walter Marshall’s (d. 1680) The Gospel Mystery of Sanctification is one of the best discussions on the law/gospel distinction, the differences between the covenant of works and covenant of grace, and the distinction between justification and sanctification.  Near the very end Marshall talks about the usus practicus (practical use/application) of the truths of justification sola fide.  Here’s number four:

“Hold fast this way of justification, nonwithstanding all the noise that is made in the world against it.  For the devil will strive to scare you out of it, or to steal it from you; as he did from the Jews, from the Galatians (Gal 1:6), the Papists, and many Protestants.  And the apostle reckons it by a spiritual bewitchery.  He [Satan] will strive to get you to trust on works, and tell you it is for the promoting of holiness; and to trust on works to get to Christ, and to lay works lowest in the foundation.  If you lose this righteousness of Christ, under any color or pretence whatever, you lose all (Gal 5:2, 3).”

“Do not so dishonor Christ, as to think of procuring that by works which you have fully in Christ.  Think not that the gospel requires another justification to gain this; for, the gospel is no legal covenant, but a declaration of the righteousness by faith.  And we, being justified, are heirs by adoption and promise (Gal 3:24-6, 4:7).  This is the doctrine which glorifies God and abases the creature, which is a great mark of its truth.  Beware, therefore, of carnal reason, which will go quite contrary, and make Christ’s righteousness a stumbling stone to you (1 Pet 2:8, Rom 9:32-33).”

Though the older version does have some tough English, the book is full of gospel-saturated, biblical wisdom.  If you haven’t read it, do it sooner than later!  I noticed, by the way, that the Kindle version is just 99 cents.  The older version (hardcover) is here on Amazon and an updated version one is here at WTS books.

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Prophecy and American Religion

Almost all Christians in the United States are familiar with a multitude of end times speculations and prophecies.  The terms “Armageddon” and “Judgment Day” are even part of regular American vocabulary.  Last year, as is so common in American history, yet another religious person wrongly predicted Jesus’ return (twice!).  American religion is – and always has been – a conglomeration of fantastic millennial beliefs, prophecies, and predictions.  From Christian dispensational and premillennial circles to Adventist sects to cults like Mormonism and Jehovah’s Witnesses, we Americans have seen our share of prophetic speculation.

I’m currently reading through a sociological and historical summary of American religious prophetic teachings: When Time Shall Be No More by Paul Boyer.  Boyer, a former college professor and historian, basically traces the prophetic side of American religion from the founding years to the end of the 20th century.  He also shows how prophecy belief shapes the thought and culture of Americans.  In a most fascinating manner, Boyer describes the early American thought that certain OT prophecies involved the nation of America.  He then makes a trek through history to show how dispensational and premillennial teaching has shaped American views of Israel and war.  Yes, millennial beliefs are part of our government’s thought and conduct.

The bulk of the book is devoted to the 1950′s-1980′s, a time in America where many prophecy teachers were equating the OT eschatological arrows to ICBMs and the fiery judgments in the OT prophets to nuclear holocaust.  If you’ve heard how the locusts in Revelation had something to do with the helicopters in Iraq during the first Gulf War, you know what this is all about!

Here is the table of contents: Part 1 – the prophetic genre and its early interpreters (from early apocalyptic teaching to modern-day premillennialism), Part 2 – key prophetic themes in the U.S. after WWII (including the Atomic bomb, the cold war, the chosen, and the mark of the beast), and Part 3 – the enduring prophetic vision (prophetic beliefs in the 1990′s and some implications of them).  There are also a few illustrations in the book that show things like magazine ads of “The Rapture Wrist Watch” and charts of how UPC symbols apparently fulfill the 666 prophetic teaching, and other such items.

I strongly recommend this book to those of you who are interested in American religious history as well as eschatology in general.  Though Boyer doesn’t necessary write from a Christian perspective, there are many implications for us to learn through this historical survey.  There is too much to discuss here, but I’m fascinated by how Americans are prone to interpret Scripture from a nationalistic point of view (i.e. America is the New Israel of the OT prophets).  I’m also fascinated how dispensationalism’s focus on Israel drives much of their theology and outlook on national events.  It also amazes me how the cults that arose in the apocalyptic fervor of the 1800′s are very nationalistic (i.e. American centered) as well.  And the list goes on.

This book, When Time Shall Be No More is very similar to Nathan Hatch’s The Democratization of American Christianity - the two books should be studied in conjunction.  In my opinion, these books show that and how the Christian faith in America has degenerated to the level it is at today.  The question for historians – and for us – is this: can we blame this degeneration on patriotism and nationalism (at least to some extent)?  These kinds of books help us wrestle with that and similar questions.  By the way, when you’re done with Boyer’s monograph, your head will be spinning.  You’ll need to get Kim Riddlebarger’s book to get you back on the biblical track!

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