The Road To Passion

In my entire life I’ve never had a more difficult year than 2012. Let me begin where it all came to a climax. Towards the end of last summer my grandmother fell ill and was hospitalized. She grew progressively worse while her doctors were at a loss, not knowing what the issue could be. The news that she had been admitted into the ICU came on a Wednesday, the evening of which I was meant to preach to our youth group at Towne. I had written a sermon about the power of the Holy Spirit in the lives of believers. As I sat at my desk reviewing the notes of my sermon, I couldn’t help but struggle with the truth that I was empty inside. I felt completely weak, not at all empowered. At several points I lifted the phone to call Steve, expecting to tell him I wasn’t fit to preach. Something stopped me each time, though. That evening God showed up, and carried me through that message. It was the most difficult sermon I’ve ever preached. Once it was over, I was exhausted, emotionally.

Over the next several days my grandmother’s life hung in the balance. It was finally found that she was suffering from West Nile Virus. The doctors remorsefully concluded that there was nothing that they could do for her. I was heart broken. I had been praying so hard for her, and it didn’t seem like those prayers were being answered. I went through a sort of preemptive grieving process and prepared my heart for the fact that we were probably going to lose her. And then, she started pulling through, and day by day she showed signs of improvement. Our family knew that we had witnessed a miracle, we had no doubt about it. 

Then, just when my hopes were lifted, believing that God was at work in the midst of the chaos, our uncle died. He had been battling cancer for about the past year. I was crushed. I couldn’t reconcile the dichotomy that I was facing. On the one hand it seemed like God had been working so powerfully, and then on the other, that God seemed to be absent. I believed, and yet didn't believe, somehow. I was broken. 

For the next several months I drifted in my relationship with God. I knew objectively that God wasn’t responsible for any of the things that I had faced. But I wasn’t so sure anymore that he really cared about my heart, what I felt inside. None of my extensive theological understandings were of any comfort to me. Subjectively, I didn’t feel like God cared whether I was close to him or not. I felt forgotten. So I drifted as the condition of my heart worsened. It produced within me all sorts of sinful emotions. 

Even after the chaos had settled, and the trials had finally passed, the greatest trial that I still faced existed within my heart. I was numb and didn’t much care anymore. All the while Passion 2013 neared.

When January 1 came I didn’t know what to expect. I worried how I would cover up my broken heart. The trip down to Atlanta was tense for this reason. My mind raced. I kept thinking to myself that Passion would be my last hope, and that if God didn’t show up and speak to me, I wouldn’t know how I could face another year of disappointment and confusion. 

At some point in the morning, as I piloted a van full of tired young adults down I-75, Israel was passing the time by chatting with the people around him. He personally interviewed Brooke, asking various questions about everything. When he had finished with her, he turned to me.

“What is your favorite Bible verse, Mark?”

I was taken aback. I was not prepared for that question. I struggled to come up with something but I couldn’t.

“I don’t know, man. There’s so many, I just don’t know if I can choose.” It was an obvious cover up.

He turned and chatted amongst some of the passengers. I thought for several moments about why I couldn’t answer that question. Nothing came to mind. 

Then, from behind, Israel started again. “Mark, I’m still waiting to hear about what your favorite Bible verse is...” 

I began to panic inside, for some reason. I didn’t know what was going on inside of me. My mind raced. And then, out of nowhere, a passage came to mind which I have always found very powerful.

“You know, I’ve always really loved Mark 9, the story where the father brings his son to Jesus to be healed, and he isn’t quite sure if Jesus can even help him. His words, ‘I believe, Help my unbelief’ are so powerful to me.” I was no longer covering up. I gushed about how much I have always identified with the father's response. Israel was satisfied and began interviewing someone else in the back of the van.

Later in the day our caravan stopped for a restroom break. Steve led a short meeting, during which he asked that each of us meditate upon what we hoped to gain from Passion, and that at lunch we would share about our expectations. I knew already what I wanted, but I wasn’t sure what to expect.

I downgraded to a passenger when Ashley offered to take over driving. I read through Philippians, prayed for a while, then thought more about Mark 9. At lunch I sat anxiously as people shared what they hoped to get out of Passion. When my turn came I told about the conversation that I had had with Israel and explained Mark 9 and why it has been so special to me. I then concluded, “But, honestly, what I’m really looking for in all of this is hope. I don’t have much hope anymore.” 

When evening came, and the first service began, the tension mounted. But then my heart opened unexpectedly. The worship was too powerful to simply spectate. I then, once and for all, resolved that even if I didn’t feel like it, I would give glory to God, because I knew that he deserved it. Tears nearly came several different times. I felt that God was very close in those moments.

Then Louie Giglio began to preach from Ezekiel 37, the passage about the valley of dry bones. I tried to remember when I had last heard a sermon from this portion of Scripture. My thoughts drifted to other things. But then, after several minutes, my attention was suddenly demanded. Giglio mentioned briefly that he wanted to turn to another passage, a certain one in the Gospel of Mark. My heart leapt within me. My mind raced for several seconds. I immediately thought to myself, that there was no way that he would preach from Mark 9. Cynicism quelled the hope that was trying to rise up in my heart.  

And then I was astonished. 

He began explaining the passage about the father who struggled with faith before Jesus. I desperately wanted to cry, but the tears wouldn’t come. I couldn't believe what was happening. I sat in silence and internally reveled in the fact that God was speaking to me somehow, even though I didn't know what he was saying. Right then my heart began to heal. I cannot tell you why it meant so much to me, but God certainly did. He knew. 

For the remainder of the conference I was in awe. I knew God was working, I could feel it. I was somehow challenged by each of the speakers in some way. Then, the final night, John Piper spoke. In that message he reaffirmed the notion that led me into worship the first night, that God was objectively deserving of praise. At that point, I wasn’t surprised anymore. I just simply smiled, and thanked God for showing up and healing my heart.

If you are looking for hope in life, I invite you to pray a simple prayer. It’s the most powerful prayer I know. “Lord, I believe; Help my unbelief!”

Don’t ever stop praying it.

Why I Believe, pt. 6: He Changed My Life

In wrapping up this series called "Why I believe" I just want to say up front that I recognize this final post is much more subjective. All of the previous posts Mark and I have contributed to this series were not based on our own experiences. Rather, they could be read, weighed, and understood by anyone (regardless if you agree or not). But to really understand this last post, you too would have to experience the life transforming power of a relationship with Jesus.

Here's the deal. If what the Bible says about Jesus is true, then he's not some memorialized historical figure. He rose from the grave, is still alive today, and can be known by those who seek Him. I began seeking Him my last semester in college when my mind first opened up to the possibility that God really existed. I knew that in my heart I wasn't the type of person I wanted to be so I was ready to look outside myself for answers, wherever that would lead.

On June 1, 2003, I gave my life to Christ. I haven't been the same since. My conversion/transformation was immediate. All of the sudden, all of my affections shifted to desire that which is pure and holy. I wouldn't have used this phraseology at the time, but I was "born again," and began to "hunger and thirst for righteousness." Instead of being boring, I realized that following Christ was an adventure. My journey began that day. I also realized how few people who claim to be Christian actually follow Christ or even know what that means. Over the past 9 and a half years, I've come to the conclusion that people don't experience Him in a profound and transforming way because they attempt to come to Him on their own terms. Not His.

So yea. The last and most important reason I believe is because I know Him. He changed my life. And now... it is hidden in Him. 

Why I Believe, pt. 5: The Resurrection of Jesus

For the Christian, there is nothing more important than the Resurrection of Jesus. The Apostle Paul put it simply and powerfully, “if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain” (1 Corinthians 15:14). Paul was, note carefully, one of many who had dedicated his life to preaching the Gospel of Jesus. And he was also one of many who died defending the claim that Jesus had in fact risen.

For those who do not believe, the claim that Jesus rose from the dead is simply foolish. But, to be fair, it is no more foolish than the claim that any other person would simply rise from the dead. It is, after all, a scientific fact that once a person has passed from life to death, one cannot spontaneously regain their vain spark of being. That’s all she wrote, as they say.

To my own knowledge, I do not know anyone, christian or atheist, who would argue against this. The difference, however, comes when you understand that, while there are reliable laws functioning in our universe, there is a law giver whose will is not bound by those laws. So, if God exists, and he created the laws that govern our universe, it would not be foolish to think that, if He so desires, he can suspend or manipulate the laws that He himself created. (The distinction here between suspend and manipulate is rather arbitrary; the point is that God can bring about things that wouldn’t occur apart from His intervention; bringing the dead back to life is just one example). To put it simply, He is not bound by His own creation. If God created life, He would be sovereign of it as well. 

If we look at the history surrounding the events that take place in the Gospels, we are faced with some compelling facts that we must find a rational explanation for. That Jesus was executed is a fact. The ancient, secular historian Cornelius Tacitus is one source that verifies this, in which Pontius Pilot himself is named as His prosecutor (cf. Annals XV, 44). To put it lightly, we know that the Romans were very good at making people dead. But what is most compelling of all is the fact that many of the people who knew Jesus, and saw Him crucified and buried, died defending the claim that He had risen. What, then, are we to make of this?

That Jesus’ followers had experienced some sort of hallucination doesn’t explain it. People can’t share hallucinations. That they were misinformed is flawed; they were there, they knew what actually happened. And that Jesus’ followers were lying doesn’t explain it either. Why would they knowingly die for what they knew wasn’t true? They had absolutely nothing to gain from such a lie. They would gain no money, no power, no respect. They were prosecuted, tortured, martyred. Consider Paul’s own words once more: “if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain.” Ask yourself this: why would they preach a worthless Gospel?

Further Reading:

The Case For Christ written by Lee Strobel. The entire third part of this book is dedicated to research surrounding Jesus’ death and resurrection. It is a fantastic primer for understanding the resurrection better. Start here if you are just getting aquatinted with this topic.  

The New Evidence That Demands a Verdict by Josh McDowell. McDowell offers a compendium of research concerning many biblical topics, specifically a chapter of research concerning the historicity of Jesus’ existence and death.

God is Great, God is Good edited by William Lane Craig and Chad Meister. This is a collection of essays apologetic in nature spanning many of the topics addressed in this blog series. The essay written by Gary Habermas is particularly helpful, which concerns the proximity of biblical witnesses to Jesus’ crucifixion. 

The Case For The Real Jesus by Lee Strobel. This book is primarily concerned with the reliability of the Gnostic Gospels, which have recently gained a great amount of attention for the alternative views of Jesus they ostensibly legitimate. 

Why I Believe, pt. 4: DNA

On June 26, 2000, President Bill Clinton stood in the East Room of the White House and made the announcement to the world, "Today, we are learning the language in which God created life. We are gaining ever more awe for the complexity, the beauty, and the wonder of God's most divine and sacred gift." The language he was talking about was the human genome. And the announcement came on the heels of more than a decade of work by geneticists all over the globe.

In my original post back in August, titled "Why I believe," I briefly mentioned Francis Collins' book "The Language of God." Francis Collins, pictured below, was the Director of the Human Genome Project. He entered the East Room alongside President Clinton back in 2000.  He is one of the country's leading geneticists, and was the one who coordinated the efforts of thousands of other geneticists in 6 countries. (In other words, the man is no dummy).

In writing about the project he states, "For me the experience of sequencing the human genome, and uncovering this most remarkable of all texts, was both a stunning scientific achievement and an occasion for worship." Hmm.

In the introduction to his book he writes, "The human genome consists of all the DNA of our species, the hereditary code of life. This newly revealed text was 3 billion letters long, and written in a strange and cryptographic four-letter code. Such is the amazing complexity of the information carried within each cell of the human body, that a live reading of the code at a rate of one letter per second would take thirty-one years, even if reading continued day and night." The sheer volume of information is truly remarkable and incomparable to anything man has created.

Notice I underlined the word information. That's what DNA is: information. So, we'll keep this post short and sum it up with these words by Stephen C. Meyer, "Information is not something derived from material properties; in a sense, it transcends matter and energy. Naturalistic theories that rely solely on matter and energy are not going to be able to account for information. Only intelligence can."

Why I Believe, pt 3: Fine Tuning

One can hardly look at the night sky, or at any aspect of our planet, without getting the distinct impression that there is something at work in it all. The argument for God that takes its cue from the sense of design inherent within our universe is known as the Teleological Argument. Thomas Aquinas who developed one of the first forms of this argument in the 13th century could never have fathomed what we would eventually come to find. In the past century scientific discoveries have revealed that our universe seems to be fine-tuned in such a way that not only permits, but privileges life. 

Scientists whether they be atheists or theists have come to recognize that there is something peculiar about the state of our universe. Stephen Hawking has stated that "The laws of science, as we know them at present, contain many fundamental numbers, like the size of the electric charge of the electron and the ratio of the masses of the proton and the electron. ... The remarkable fact is that the values of these numbers seem to have been very finely adjusted to make possible the development of life." Theoretical physicist and mathematician Freeman Dyson admits "The more I examine the universe and study the details of its architecture, the more evidence I find that the universe in some sense knew we were coming." Many scientists have come to recognize that if the physical laws of our universe were different by any degree, however infinitesimally small the change, the universe as we know it would not exist; life would not be possible. The reality that we must then be reconciled with is that the odds of these values being set by chance, and thus bringing about life, is a statistical impossibility.

The late Antony Flew, one of the 20th century's most compelling and ardent atheists, could not help but take notice of these discoveries and carry them to their logical end. In his book There is a God, Flew recounts his journey from atheism to belief in a Designer-God, summarizing his position concisely: "I now believe that the universe was brought into existence by an infinite Intelligence. ...Why do I believe this, given that I expounded and defended atheism for more than a half century? The short answer is this: this is the world picture, as I see it, that has emerged from modern science." Flew goes on to defend the Teleological Argument for God, which he describes as "an argument to design from order" which thus implies "a Designer."

One of the most vocal critics of the argument for a designer, as well as anything else not atheistic, is Richard Dawkins. Dawkins cannot help but wonder if there were a designer of our universe, then who designed the designer? A rather childish question, to be fair. Philosopher and Theologian William Lane Craig quite eloquently illustrates the fallacy of the question by giving us the following example:"If archaeologists digging in the earth were to discover things looking like arrowheads and pottery shards, they would be justified in inferring that these artifacts are not the chance result of sedimentation and metamorphosis but products of some unknown group of people―even if they had no explanation of who these people were or where they came from." Craig goes on to elaborate that requiring an explanation for an explanation inevitably leads to an infinite regress. Such a requirement would lead to a place where "nothing could be explained and science would be destroyed."

Dawkins is also convinced that God is rather too complex an explanation to account for the apparent design of our improbable universe. However, Flew quite rightly points out that by Dawkins' own definition, God is quite simple, rather than complex, on account of his being an immaterial spirit lacking parts. Craig picks up on the error, as well, stating that "Dawkins has evidently confused a mind's ideas and effects, which may indeed be complex, with a mind itself, which―having no parts―is an incredibly simple entity." That a mind can think complex thoughts is not the same as saying that the nature of the mind itself is complex.

In place of a designer, Dawkins and many other atheists have sought to explain the ostensible design of our universe by postulating the existence of possibly an infinite number of universes, often referred to as Multiverse Theory. It is thought that if there were many universes, each with a different set of physical laws and parameters, then one of them would just have to have what is needed to support the existence of carbon based life forms, such as ourselves. The whole theory is a desperate attempt to explain away the apparent fine-tuning that our universe is riddled with. The problem though is that there is no scientific evidence that such universes even exist. The entire explanation is based upon the desperate need to get rid of a designer. A further problem, of course, is that the theory serverly violates Ockham's razor to an infinite degree, or as Craig puts it "Appealing to a world ensemble is like using a sledge hammer to crack a peanut." Remarkably of all, though, Dawkins and others conveniently have no desire to wonder who designed the Multiverse, infinite in its complexity.

Further Reading: 

There Is A God, by Antony Flew 

God is Good, God is Great, by William Lane Craig & Chad Meister 

The Case For A Creator, By Lee Strobel 

The Devil’s Delusion, By David Berlinski

Why I believe...part 2 - Origins

Ok, so I started to blog on "why I believe" way back in August after attending Faith Day at a Reds game (who btw- deserve our congrats on winning the NL Central pennant). Now I sort of lament the fact that I kind of locked us into a series. Not that I don't think the topic of "why I believe" is important, but rather because I think it is immensely important and need to choose my words carefully. Couple that with a busy schedule and you see why I haven't posted in a while. You should also know that each of the 5 reasons I tossed out in that earlier post are deserving of much more than I can offer here. In fact, volumes have been written on them all (with the exception of my personal story). Therefore, my hope is that the few paragraphs I offer for each can serve as an introduction into your own investigation of what I think is the most important quest of our lives: the pursuit of God.

The first reason I said I "believed" in God was the fact that this universe exists and life does as well. Unless I'm just imagining it all somehow without existing myself. (Sorry, couldn't resist). This shouldn't be a surprising argument for believers. The Bible says, "The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork" (Psalm 19:1). It also says we should have no excuse for not believing because, "what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse" (Romans 1:19-20).

The twentieth century discovery that the universe is not an unchanging, eternal entity revolutionized modern study of origins. We can thank Albert Einstein and his theory of relativity for this. The secular mind assumed the universe was static until Einstein's general theory proved otherwise. Believers have always claimed that the universe had a beginning but the argument from biblical revelation doesn't hold much weight in the secular world. Why would it if you don't believe in God?

The basic argument is this: 1. Whatever begins to exist has a cause. 2. The universe began to exist. 3. Therefore, the universe has a cause. Now, I'm completely aware that this does not present concrete proof for the existence of God. However, it does leave open the possibility. Could there be another cause? Many have speculated about false vacuums, vacuum energy, etc, but I agree with the Stanford Professor who said, "these are very close to religious questions." In fact, I'd go a step further to argue that the question of the origin of the universe lies beyond the scope of science. For scientific law states that "matter cannot be created or destroyed." Yet, it exists. And we know that it began to exist at some point in history.

With regard to the origin of life, we've all been taught about the primordial soup that was struck by lightning and voila, "life began." Was it that easy? Early conditions of water, carbon dioxide, and nitrogen make it highly unlikely. Lots of money and research have been dumped into failed experiments trying to recreate and confirm this possibility as an origin.

I argue this point because I have been convinced by the mathematical improbabilities of non-living matter becoming living matter and then somehow arranging themselves to evolve into the complex organisms we see today. This is not a denial that variations occur within species. I'm not a fool. Nor again is this concrete proof. However, it does make the argument for the existence of God more probable. I'd say highly probable. And when you pile on other arguments at some point you just believe.

Here's just a sample of what I'm talking about from Walter Bradley, PH.D, author of "The Mystery of Life's Origin." Bradley was interviewed by Lee Strobel who was doing research for his book "The Case for Faith." He was asked, "what would go into building a living organism?" Try to stick with these snippets of his reply to grasp the enormity of the challenge.

"Essentially, you start with amino acids. They come in eighty different types, but only twenty of them are found in living organisms. The trick, then, is to isolate only the correct amino acids. Then the right amino acids have to be linked together in the right sequence in order to produce protein molecules." Sound pretty simple so far? It's not too complex if an intelligent being is guiding the process. But left unguided there are a lot of complicating factors. "For instance, other molecules tend to react more readily with amino acids than amino acids react with each other. Now you have the problem of how to eliminate these extraneous molecules. . . Then, there's another complication: there are an equal number of amino acids that are right- and left-handed, and only left handed ones work in living matter. Now you've got to get these select ones to link together in the right sequence. And you also need the correct kind of chemical bonds-namely, peptide bonds- in the correct places in order for the protein to be able to fold in a specific three dimensional way. Otherwise, it won't function."

"It's sort of like a printer taking letters out of a basket and setting the type the way they used to do it by hand. If you guide it with your intelligence, it's no problem. But if you choose letters at random and put them together haphazardly-including upside down and backwards- then what are the chances you'd get words, sentences, and paragraphs that would make sense?  . . . In the same way, perhaps one hundred amino acids have to be put together in just the right manner to make a protein molecule. And, remember, that's just the first step. Creating one protein molecule doesn't mean you've created life. Now you have to bring together a collection of protein molecules-maybe two hundred of them-with just the right functions to get a typical living cell." 

Wow. And Darwin thought it was no small leap from non-living chemicals to a living cell.

Oh yea, in case you forgot, even if the age of the universe continues to be conveniently extended, perhaps into the trillions, the chemical conditions would still be unfavorable.

Why I Believe . . .

Here are several "Towne Crossings"
grabbing a bite to eat before the game. 

On Sunday Lisa and I, along with several young adults from Towne Crossings, went to Great American Ball Park for a Reds game followed by a Mercy Me concert.

It was "Faith Day" @GABP. Some might take offense at such a label, but no one can deny the marketing power behind the Reds promo team's decision. After all, I love baseball. I love the Reds. I think Mercy Me is great. I have faith. Therefore, I'm in. That's how it works.

But why do I have "faith"? Didn't Ben Franklin say, "The way to see by faith is to shut the eye of reason"? I think I'm pretty reasonable. Hmm.

I didn't always believe. Actually, one of the most awkward moments of my life was when a lady named Suzie Lovelace leaned over the table during a pre-marital counseling session and said, "Steve, why don't you believe in God"? Oddly enough, I replied something like, "I'm studying accounting if that tells you anything. I like facts, figures, reason. I ask Christians why they believe what they believe and they tell me, 'You just gotta have faith.' Well, I don't just have faith. Faith doesn't make sense to me." She asked me if I would consider reading a book by C.S. Lewis titled "Mere Christianity." Little did I know my life would be changed forever as a result of that conversation.

The Bible says, "Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen"
(Hebrews 11:1). I think some people think "the conviction of things not seen" = unreasonable. This leads to the belief that faith is not compatible with reason. On the contrary, I think that perhaps the only way you can have "assurance of things hoped for," is by reasoning that way based on what you know from the past. In 5th grade they call this, "making an educated guess."

But doesn't the word "guess" implicate an absence of assurance? Well...that's where faith steps in. And conviction.

Here are 5 reasons I have faith (We'll develop these more. Consider this part 1 of a series on each):

1. Origin of the universe/life: I was always taught that "matter cannot be created or destroyed" (laws of thermodynamics). Yet, matter exists. And science has confirmed it has a beginning (therefore not eternal). And btw - how does evolution get from non-living matter to living matter?

2. A finely-tuned universe: Not only does matter exist, but it is organized in a very specific way. Some might reason that it is "fine-tuned" for life. "The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork" (Psalm 19:1).

3. The existence of information (i.e, DNA): The Human Genome project was incredible in many ways. Not the least of which was the revelation of how incredibly hard-wired with information we are as human beings. It has been said that there is enough information in one strand of human DNA to fill 400 volumes of a standard sized Encyclopedia. And it's not just information. Scientists speak of it as a "language." Information & language reasonably have a "mind" as their origin. The Director of the project (Francis Collins) has written a book about his findings. The title of the book is "The Language of God."

4. The Resurrection of Jesus Christ: Christianity is unique in that its entire message hangs on whether or not the resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth is a historical truth. The Bible even says, "if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain" (1 Corinthians 15:14). Bottom line here: I believe it happened. I'll tell you why later.

5. He changed my life: I realize that this is much more subjective. Nevertheless, I'm different now. And so are countless others that have given their "whole" selves to Christ. "For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it" (Luke 9:24).