Podcasts about Stephen Prothero

Anchored by Truth from Crystal Sea Books - a 30 minute show exploring the grand Biblical saga of creation, fall, and redempti

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 10, 2022 39:31

QUOTES FOR REFLECTION “You must not imagine that all those who strewed the branches in the way and cried ‘Hosanna' cared about Christ as a spiritual prince. No, they thought that he was to be a temporal deliverer, and when they found out afterwards that they were mistaken, they hated him just as much as they had loved him, and ‘Crucify him, crucify him,' was as loud and vehement a cry as ‘Hosanna, blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.'” ~Charles Spurgeon (1834-1892), famed London preacher “The American Jesus is more a pawn than a king, pushed around in a complex game of cultural (and countercultural) chess, sacrificed here for this cause and there for another.” ~Dr. Stephen Prothero, professor at Boston University Solzhenitsyn believed the Soviets “paid Christianity the ultimate compliment by trying to kill it, while Americans have offered it the ultimate insult by seeking to domesticate it.” ~Ralph Wood in Solzhenitsyn and American Culture “Jesus the King of Kings came first in submission to the Father which required submission that led to a Roman cross. His hands did not come grasping a crown but were stretched out to be pierced with nails by those He came to save.” ~Source Unknown “A man who was completely innocent, offered himself as a sacrifice for the good of others, including his enemies, and became the ransom of the world. It was a perfect act.” ~Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948), Indian lawyer and activist “Lord, be Thou my King this day! Reign more absolutely in me than ever before. Let the increase of Thy government be continual and mighty in me, so that Thy name may be glorified in me now and forever.” ~Frances Ridley Havergal (1836-1879) British author, poet, and hymn writer SERMON PASSAGE John 12:12-26 (ESV) John 12 12 The next day the large crowd that had come to the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. 13 So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, crying out, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!” 14 And Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, just as it is written, 15 “Fear not, daughter of Zion; behold, your king is coming, sitting on a donkey's colt!” 16 His disciples did not understand these things at first, but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things had been written about him and had been done to him. 17 The crowd that had been with him when he called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to bear witness. 18 The reason why the crowd went to meet him was that they heard he had done this sign. 19 So the Pharisees said to one another, “You see that you are gaining nothing. Look, the world has gone after him.” 20 Now among those who went up to worship at the feast were some Greeks. 21 So these came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and asked him, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” 22 Philip went and told Andrew; Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus. 23 And Jesus answered them, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 24 Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. 25 Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 26 If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.” Zechariah 9 9 Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. 10 I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the war horse from Jerusalem; and the battle bow shall be cut off, and he shall speak peace to the nations; his rule shall be from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth.

Why Am I Here – Part 3: Biblical Illiteracy

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 5, 2022 29:58

Episode 154 – Why Am I Here – Part 3: Biblical Illiteracy Welcome to Anchored by Truth brought to you by Crystal Sea Books. In John 14:6, Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” The goal of Anchored by Truth is to encourage everyone to grow in the Christian faith by anchoring themselves to the secure truth found in the inspired, inerrant, and infallible word of God. Script: Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path” (Psalm 119:105); “Your statutes are my heritage forever, they are the joy of my heart” (Psalm 119:111); Psalm 119, verses 105 and 111, New International Version ******** VK: Hello! I’m Victoria K. Welcome to Anchored by Truth brought to you by Crystal Sea Books. We’re very grateful to be with you as today as we continue the series we began last week on Anchored by Truth. We’ve entitled this series “Why am I here?” To help us continue considering a question that has probably occurred to just about every person who has ever lived. The answer to the question is both simple and profound. We’re all here because God made us. That’s a pretty simple statement but it has profound implications. So, to help us explore some of those implications, today we’re fortunate to have Dr. Gregg Alexander back on the show with us. Gregg is a retired Tallahassee physician who has taught an adult Sunday School class for more than 25 years. As such he has seen humanity from all sides and he is definitely a very deep student of the Bible. GREGG would you like to take a couple of minutes and tell us a little about why you have been such a faithful teacher for your church? GREGG OPENING COMMENTS - VK: One of the reasons we wanted to have Gregg back on the show is because several years ago Gregg did a study series for his Sunday school class on Biblical illiteracy. As we have been discussing in our first episodes in this series in order to develop an answer to the question of why we are here we must understand our role in the created order. This, in turn, means we must recognize that we were created by an almighty, loving God and that God has designated man to bear His image within the created order. The only creature that God made who is said to bear God’s image is mankind. That designation is not given to any other earthly creature or even to the angels. But we cannot fully comprehend what bearing God’s image means if we are not familiar with the Bible. So, we wanted to spend at least one show in this series talking about the poor state of Biblical literacy within our current culture. Gregg, when you did your series on Biblical illiteracy why did you feel that it was so important to take that up as a subject? GREGG: The Church competes in the marketplace of ideas and ideologies. Listeners to Anchored by Truth are probably far more Biblically literate than members of our society at large and that’s good. But we need to understand what is going on in the culture around us if we are to minister effectively to it. Groups like Barna, Gallup, and Pew Research try to keep track of trends, and if they are correct in their analysis, the picture is not good. In 2006, Gallup asked people whether the Bible is the inspired Word of God. Only 26% said “yes” – down from 40% in 1980. The number of people who said the Bible is a collection of stories, fables, myths, history, and teachings increased from 10% in 1980 to 19% in 2006. Consider these numbers as you remember that more than 75% of the respondents were professing Christians. VK: Yikes. That’s pretty scary. 75% of the people responding to Gallup self-identified as professing Christians and yet only 26% said that the Bible is the inspired word of God. And that was 15 years ago and we know that the situation quite likely hasn’t gotten any better. That’s one of the reasons we launched Anchored by Truth. We want to reawaken a widespread understanding that the Bible is the inspired, inerrant, and infallible word of God. GREGG: And that’s one of the reasons I wanted to come back on Anchored by Truth – to help sound a wake-up call. Plus, you have a good variety of coffee choices in the studio. But aside from the coffee I want people to begin to rediscover that their lives will be richer and more meaningful if they will take the time to really begin to study and dig into the Bible. I would like to serve as a stimulus toward greater and more regular study of the Bible, and greater trust in its ultimate authority for our lives. God wants us to pray and read our Bible. It’s not about hearing someone talk about the Bible, it’s about digging into it deeply. God wants us to be an instrument in His hand, but He needs His instruments to be sharp. VK: Well, I know that you believe that God’s desire for His children to be informed students of His word which is effectively illustrated from a passage in the book of Acts from chapter 17. What specific passage are you thinking about? GREGG: I think that the way Luke describes the Apostle Paul’s encounter with a group of Bereans illustrates our need for scripture perfectly. Acts described the believers in Berea, which is a region in Greece near Thessalonica, in this way: “As soon as it was night, the brothers sent Paul and Silas away to Berea. On arriving there, they went to the Jewish synagogue. Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true” This is Acts 17:10-11. Note that this part of Acts says that they “examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.” To the Bereans the Scriptures were the test for truth. And, since the time of Christ, the books that have been put together to form our Bible have been revered by Christians as the word of God applicable to all time and all circumstances, and the revelation of the mind and will of God. VK: And frankly there was a time in America when you might have been able to make a similar statement about a large percentage of the population. As the survey information you cited above shows that may no longer be true but at one time it certainly was. GREGG: When this country was founded the Bible was respected by just about everyone, and biblical principles formed the shape and stability of the culture. This was clearly evident in the realm of public education. Children were taught the alphabet using the textbook entitled The New-England Primer, published in 1687. Most, if not all, of the Founding Fathers were taught to read and write using this book which unashamedly taught the Christian worldview. This textbook was gradually replaced by a series of books known as the McGuffey Readers. William McGuffey was a committed Christian who was consumed by two passions: public education and preaching the Gospel. McGuffey presented education from a biblical foundation, and he reinforced biblical principles of life and morality in the lessons. VK: So, it sounds like we started out pretty well in America. In our early history the Bible was not a book that was relegated to church buildings on Sundays as it is so often today. The Bible was a book that was a part of everyday life and not just for adults but for people of all ages. That opens up the question of “what happened?” GREGG: When McGuffey died in 1873 his book underwent a radical transformation. America was changing into a pluralistic society – a melting pot of religions and worldviews. Europe was already reacting to the revolutionary socialism of Karl Marx; the philosophy of Kant followed by Nietzsche; Europe's increased concern with material naturalism disguised as science in general and Darwin in particular; and a general intellectual rebellion against tradition and authority. The revised McGuffey Readers went totally secular to meet the supposed need of national unity and the dream of America as the place of refuge for the world’s oppressed masses. VK: You know we sometimes think that the secularization of America started in the latter part of the 20th century. A lot of people think of the 1970’s as a decade of “free love” and the anti-institution movement. But you’re saying that the roots of secularization started almost 100 years earlier aren’t you? And along with that secularization there was a steadily diminishing regard for the Bible wasn’t there? GREGG: In general, yes. The secularization of America did not start in period following World War II though it certainly accelerated them. In the latter part of the 19th century the biblical doctrines of salvation, righteousness, and piety, and their biblical examples and references, began to be replaced by civil and social values and morality. McGuffey’s Eclectic Primer of 1836 was published as a “Revised Edition” in 1881, and it contained no reference to God, His sovereignty, or man’s accountability to Him – the revised McGuffey Readers were then wholly secular. And, if all that wasn’t bad enough, in the 1920s/1930s American education came under the spell of John Dewey (1859-1952), a psychologist and philosopher who is the person most responsible for how American children are educated today. Dewey changed the priority of education from acquiring knowledge to experiencing knowledge. In the 1920s, he became known for his criticism of traditional teaching with its didactic delivery of facts to be remembered in favor of a dialectic (the use of logical argument or discussion: a “back-and-forth”) experience of “facts.” VK: So, what you’re saying is that this trend toward a loss of a Biblical worldview began to be reflected in a wide variety of ways and by a large number of people. That reminds me of Galatians, chapter 5, verse 9. “This false teaching is like a little yeast that spreads through the whole batch of dough!” That’s from the Good News Translation. The English Standard Version says, “A little leaven leavens the whole lump.” GREGG: So, part of the lump that Dewey’s teaching leavened was author Stephen Prothero who wrote a book in 2007 called Religious Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know -- and Doesn't. Prothero, who was a professor of religious studies and chair of the religion department at Boston University, was initially a follower of Dewey’s progressive educational model. Having been turned off since high school to the study of history as a mindless accumulation of names and dates, he embarked on an enlightened teaching career using a test-free environment of “challenging conversation.” He quickly learned, however, that students can’t discuss what they don’t know – that there had to be some common knowledge in order to understand what the words meant! Can you imagine how things would be dangerously different if engineering, aeronautics, law, or medicine were taught by “dialectic”? VK: Well, I don’t think I would like to fly in a plane by someone who had not been taught that there are certain facts and laws of physics that aren’t subject to your opinion. And I certainly don’t want a doctor who thinks that anatomy is a subject where cultural trends are a substitute for knowing the difference between muscles and bones. GREGG: Prothero tells an interesting story of a conversation with a visiting professor from Austria who offered some observations on American undergraduates. This visiting professor from Austria said American undergraduates are “very religious” compared to their European counterparts, but they know next to nothing about religion. The European students have compulsory religious education, but wouldn’t be caught dead in a church, and are far less likely to believe in heaven and hell. The Americans, in contrast, are simultaneously religious and ignorant of religion – they attend churches and synagogues but religious ignorance is bliss. VK: We don’t think about that very much. In America religious education is almost entirely confined to seminaries or divinity schools where those happen to appear in a broader university setting. But it is common in European nations for there to be mandatory religious education at all grade levels. But the visiting professor’s observation shows that it takes more than intellectual knowledge to be a follower of Jesus. We must trust with our hearts in Jesus’s atoning work for salvation to occur. GREGG: True, but that does not mean that we can neglect the intellectual, informational aspect of our faith. In America, faith without understanding appears to be the standard among college undergraduates. They are Protestants who can’t name the four Gospels, Catholics who can’t name the seven sacraments or the seven deadly sins (“There are six things the Lord hates, seven that are detestable to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, a false witness who pours out lies and a man who stirs up dissension among brothers” [Proverbs 6:16-19]), and Jews that can’t name the five books of Moses. VK: And that lack of religious comprehension in college students pretty much mirrors things in other parts of society, doesn’t it? GREGG: Yes. Things are no better in the society/culture at large. For comedians, there are subjects that are almost too easy – sure things that guarantee a laugh. For Jay Leno one late night, it was the Bible. During the taping of one of his television shows, Leno moved through his audience asking people what they knew about the Bible. "Name one of the Ten Commandments,” he said. "God helps those who help themselves?" someone ventured. "Name one of the apostles," Leno told them. No one could. Finally, he asked them to name the Beatles. Without hesitation, the answer came ringing from throughout the crowd: George, Paul, John and Ringo. Leno wasn't spoofing the Bible that evening. He was spoofing our society, which claims a grounding in Judeo-Christian principles and yet – according to a number of surveys – is increasingly losing touch with the Scriptures. VK: George Barna is one of the pollsters who follows faith trends most closely isn’t he? I’ve often seen citations from surveys that he has conducted and they rarely contain good news if you are interested in how well American Christians grasp the basics of their historic faith. GREGG: That’s correct. Evangelical pollster George Barna says that over the past 20 years we have seen the nation's theological views slowly become less aligned with the Bible. Americans still revere the Bible and like to think of themselves as Bible-believing people, but the evidence suggests otherwise. Christians have been increasingly adopting spiritual views that come from Islam, Wicca, secular humanism, the eastern religions, and other sources. That's because we're not reading and studying the Bible. If we don't know what God says is truth, it makes us vulnerable to believing a lie. VK: So, you would share the perspective that we often express on Anchored by Truth – that is important for Christians to fully engage their minds in practicing their faith. And the centerpiece of that practice must be devoting time and attention to understanding and comprehending the Bible. GREGG: I definitely agree that one of the most serious problems in the church today is one of "Biblical Illiteracy.” And unfortunately this problem is limited to those in the world, but it is also present in the church. Another pollster George Gallup has said “Americans revere the Bible - but, by and large, they don't read it. And because they don't read it, they have become a nation of biblical illiterates." How bad is it? Consider these results from various surveys: • Fewer than half of all adults can name the four gospels. • Many professing Christians cannot identify more than two or three of the disciples. • 60 percent of Americans can't name even five of the Ten Commandments. VK: Wow. That’s pretty startling. I think when I was young just about every kid in my neighborhood would have known those things. GREGG: And it doesn’t stop there. Here are a few more statistics that should stagger anyone who thinks that the Christian faith is important. • 82 percent of Americans believe "God helps those who help themselves" is a Bible verse. • 12 percent of adults believe that Joan of Arc was Noah's wife. • A survey of graduating high school seniors revealed that over 50 percent thought that Sodom and Gomorrah were husband and wife. VK: 12 percent of adults believe that Joan of Arc was Noah’s wife? Ok. I don’t know whether that is funny or sad. GREGG: Well, here is one more for you. According to David Eikenberry, youth pastor at Orchard View Congregational Church in Muskegon, Michigan only two of 10 people participating in a recent Gallup survey correctly identified who delivered the Sermon on the Mount. Most thought. The Sermon on the Mount was preached by Billy Graham and not by Jesus. VK: So, all of this goes back to the purpose of this series. We are trying to help people develop a trustworthy answer to the question of why we are here. Why are human beings present on the earth in the first place? And in our first two episodes we made the point that for us to have a meaningful answer to the question of why we are here we must understand that we were made by an almighty and loving God. But after the creation of our first parents, Adam and Eve, they rebelled against the one prohibition that God gave them and that introduced sin and death into the created order. But God began a plan of redemption and we know live during a unique time in that plan. We live in the period between the first coming of the Messiah and His planned future return. This points out the need for people to become very familiar with the Bible. It is only from the Bible that we can develop a full-orbed understanding of who and what God is. The Bible gives us as comprehensive a picture of God as the human mind is able to form. From the Bible we learn about God’s unrivaled power, unblemished righteousness, immaculate character, and amazing love and grace. This enables us to have a full appreciation of His glory and majesty and then contemplate our own lives and meanings knowing that the sovereign, royal and perfectly holy God has chosen us to bear His image. GREGG: The first step in Christian understanding is the reading and understanding of the Bible. Therein contains all the truth any person can need for an understanding of God (in all Three Persons); forgiveness of sin, salvation, and eternal life; the commandments of God that we are to follows in order to glorify Him and bring blessings on us; and the moral guidelines for living a righteous life. If we don’t understand these basics I don’t see how people can ever truly understand their purpose in this life. The verse that I have used to best describe the theme of this short series is Hosea 4:6. VK: That verse says, “My people are destroyed from lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also reject you as my priests; because you have ignored the law of your God, I also will ignore your children.” GREGG: And here are a couple of other verses that make the same point that without a knowledge of God's Word, a person has no real direction or guidance in life: “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path” (Psalm 119:105); “Your statutes are my heritage forever, they are the joy of my heart” (Psalm 119:111); and: “ Great peace have they who love your law, and nothing can make them stumble. I wait for your salvation, O Lord, and I follow your commands. I obey your statutes, for I love them greatly. I obey your precepts and your statutes, for all my ways are known to you” (Psalm 119:165-169). VK: And, of course, these are just a sampling of verses that we could point to where scripture makes it clear that we must know God’s word if we are to know our purpose in God’s kingdom. But, as we did in our first two episodes, we want to be clear that pursuing meaning for our lives is a journey not necessarily a single destination. We have to meet people where they are so someone in a crisis who is wondering if their life has meaning needs reassurance first. That reassurance comes in the form of knowing there is a God who loves and cares for them and has a plan for their lives. But as the crisis hopefully passes we need to help them move on to a deeper and more sustaining answer. If we don’t, and they don’t, the next crisis will be a question of when not if. GREGG: And those kinds of crises occur more often today than ever before because if they don't know the Bible they can't know the truth about why they are here. If there is a new “religion” in America, it is the religion of “tolerance.” The primary dogma of tolerance comes from religious pluralism, which affirms that all religions are equally valid and deserving of equal respect, and from postmodernism which refuses to commit to any absolute truth. Christianity is clearly out of step with today’s culture. Jesus said this in John14:6, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” It’s easy to see how Jesus’ exclusive claim could be very difficult and embarrassing for a child coming up in the pluralistic soup of the last few decades, or for anyone who has grown up in America in recent decades. The paradox of “tolerance” by today’s definition is that Christians lose in two ways. First, the Christian is labeled intolerant of other religions because of the narrowness of his views. Second, Christianity is the least tolerated of all religions. But the paradox of “tolerance” is that our society also loses. Without a firm anchor to the truth people start drifting in this sea of religious pluralism and like any boat that can’t be secured it may be easily swamped by storms or rough waves. As Anchored by Truth is doing in this series we must master the basics about God, man, and purpose from the Bible to truly understand why we are here. If we don’t gain a firm grasp on those basics we may ask the question “why am I here” until the second coming but we won’t get any closer to finding an answer that will keep our boats afloat. Well, before we close I’d just like to thank you for the opportunity to join you on Anchored by Truth. VK: And we’d certainly like to thank Dr. Gregg Alexander for being our guest today. His service to the church has spanned decades and he is certainly an inspiration for all of those of us who are privileged to know him. So, before we go here is a brief summary of where we are in our series about “why am I here.” To know why we are here we must understand the nature of the created order and a few other basics. Those basics include knowing that God created the universe. We need to know this so we can understand the nature of reality. Next, we need to know that the created order fell when man sinned. But that God began a plan of redemption and the key step in that plan was the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. So, to know why we are here we must know how we are related to Jesus. And to get a firm grasp on those first two point we must study the Bible because if we don’t our knowledge of God, Jesus, reality and redemption is going to be incomplete. As always we want to close with prayer. Today let’s listen to a prayer for the renewal of the church. The church is a great place to begin to know what the Bible is saying so we want strong and healthy churches. But for us to be strong and healthy members of the church we have to study the Bible for ourselves. And as we mentioned today scriptural literacy is one of the greatest challenges of our age. ---- PRAYER FOR RENEWAL OF THE CHURCH VK: Before we close we’d like to remind our audience that a lot of our radio episodes are linked together in series of topics so if they missed any episodes in this series or if they just want to hear one again, all of these episodes are available on your favorite podcast app. To find them just search on “Anchored by Truth by Crystal Sea Books.” If you’d like to hear more, try out crystalseabooks.com where “We’re not perfect but our Boss is!” (Bible Quote from the New International Version) Psalm 119, verses 105 and 111, New International Version

america god jesus christ american children father lord europe bible gospel americans truth christians michigan european christianity acts psalm jewish biblical world war ii boss jews proverbs beatles greece islam galatians scriptures austria thessalonians groups sermon on the mount ten commandments apostle paul hosea book of acts arc catholics boston university john 14 gregg o lord sodom sunday school evangelical gallup founding fathers nietzsche biblically jay leno in john kant karl marx tallahassee florida anchored billy graham gomorrah dewey thessalonica ringo protestants wicca judeo christian american christians barna berea pew research vk bereans john dewey muskegon new international version three persons english standard version george barna revised edition why am i here biblical illiteracy prothero mcguffey stephen prothero george gallup gregg alexander good news translation

Setting the Wheel of Dhamma in Motion

Religion of the Month Club

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 15, 2021 32:28

This month, in the year 2564 of the Buddhist Era, we discuss the Buddha's first sermon in Varanasi, Setting the Wheel of Dhamma in Motion, or the Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta. Questions for consideration: - Have you ever felt like "life is suffering?" - What does "the middle path" mean to you? Translations referenced: - Piyadassi Thera - https://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sn/sn56/sn56.011.harv.html - Thanissaro Bhikkhu - https://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sn/sn56/sn56.011.than.html Books referenced: - God Is Not One by Stephen Prothero - https://www.stephenprothero.com/god-is-not-one

wheel motion buddha translations varanasi dhamma stephen prothero thanissaro bhikkhu dhammacakkappavattana sutta

#65: What Is Religion, Anyway? What Is Politics?

Impolite Conversation: Religion and Politics

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 5, 2021 51:19

After five-plus years of talking about the intersection of religion and politics, this month we step back and actually try to define our terms, with the help of our old friend Courtney Bruntz. And in our year-ending One Last Thing, Dan reaches for a hopeful note and Tim gives up on humanity. Some of the things we talked about this month: Dan and Courtney discussed definitions of religion by Schliermacher, Durkheim, Freud, Ninian Smart, and Stephen Prothero. Dan mentioned this article by Kathryn Loughton. Courtney discussed this new book by Richard Jaffee. Tim's six-word definition of religion comes from this book by Harold Lasswell. Dan's year-ending One Last Thing was the podcast Office Ladies. Tim's year-ending One Last Thing was the film God's Not Dead. Happy New Year! Thanks for listening in 2020. 0:00-1:33: Introduction 1:37-43:00: Conversation with Dr. Bruntz 43:04-47:16: Dan's OLT 47:17-49:57: Tim's OLT 49:58-51:03: Credits 51:07-51:19: Outtake

god conversations politics religion freud not dead outtake durkheim one last thing office ladies stephen prothero

"God is not one" - religion and politics throughout history

I thought about it

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 2, 2020 25:16

"God is Not One: The Eight Rival Religions That Run the World", is the book we discuss in this episode. Its author, the religion scholar Stephen Prothero argues that persistent attempts to portray all religions as different paths to the same God is incorrect. Each religion wants to address different questions and provides different answers. If tolerance rests on the respect for difference, one must first acknowledge difference exists. Also, as history has proven, politics and religion have long been intertwined, so we decided it was worth discussing some historical episodes where religion was particularly influential in world politics.

god history world religion and politics stephen prothero

A Conversation with Stephen Prothero about Religious Literacy

Signposts with Russell Moore

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 5, 2020 33:19

In this episode of Signposts, I am joined by Dr. Stephen Prothero to talk about religious literacy. Dr. Prothero is the C. Allyn and Elizabeth V. Russell Professor of Religion in American at Boston University. He is the author of Why Liberals Win the Culture Wars (HarperOne, 2016), God Is Not One: The Eight Rival Religions that Run the World—and Why Their Differences Matter (HarperOne, 2010), and the New York Times bestseller Religious Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know—and Doesn’t (HarperOne, 2007).I invite you to listen in on our conversation, and be sure to subscribe to receive future episodes of Signposts.===I reviewed Dr. Prothero's book Why Liberals Win the Culture Wars for The Gospel Coalition. You can read that here.

american world religion run boston university culture war gospel coalition signposts harperone prothero stephen prothero religious literacy why liberals win

In the End: Modern Cremation

In the End

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 30, 2020 51:06

So, where do we go from all-day open pyres and dressing up bones? To the modern era of cremation! For the second part of our series, we follow the evolution of modern cremation (mostly in the US) starting in bucolic Pennsylvania, United States. Think it's boring? Well, we kick off with a "dirty old man," a pagan funeral, and a body preserved in arsenic for six months. Buckle up. Want an even more complete history of cremation in America? Check out Purified by Fire: A History of Cremation in America by Stephen Prothero.

united states america pennsylvania modern buckle cremation purified stephen prothero america check

#14: What is True Tolerance?

Your Worldview Minute with Jonathan Morrow

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 26, 2019 1:45

What is true tolerance? True tolerance is where we extend to each other the right to be wrong. False tolerance, on the other hand, naïvely asserts that all ideas are created equal and this must be rejected. Not only is this obviously false, it's unlivable. Unfortunately, as Stephen Prothero has put it, “The ideal of religious tolerance has morphed into the straitjacket of religious agreement.” Contrary to what is commonly believed, the height of intolerance is not disagreement, but rather removing the public space and opportunity for people to disagree. You can still love someone and think they are wrong about important moral and spiritual questions. However, true tolerance is usually not what people have in mind when they say people should be free to believe in whatever God (or no god at all) they want to. Here is the simple, but profound point to grasp—merely believing something doesn't make it true. Put differently, people are entitled to their own beliefs, but not their own truth. Belief is...

god jesus christ culture bible college parents ministry youth belief theology false contrary tolerance worldview apologetics morrow christianly stephen prothero

#14: What is True Tolerance?

Your Worldview Minute with Jonathan Morrow

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 26, 2019 1:45

What is true tolerance? True tolerance is where we extend to each other the right to be wrong. False tolerance, on the other hand, naïvely asserts that all ideas are created equal and this must be rejected. Not only is this obviously false, it’s unlivable. Unfortunately, as Stephen Prothero has put it, “The ideal of religious tolerance has morphed into the straitjacket of religious agreement.” Contrary to what is commonly believed, the height of intolerance is not disagreement, but rather removing the public space and opportunity for people to disagree. You can still love someone and think they are wrong about important moral and spiritual questions. However, true tolerance is usually not what people have in mind when they say people should be free to believe in whatever God (or no god at all) they want to. Here is the simple, but profound point to grasp—merely believing something doesn’t make it true. Put differently, people are entitled to their own beliefs, but not their own truth. Belief is...

god jesus christ culture bible college parents ministry youth belief theology false contrary tolerance worldview apologetics morrow christianly stephen prothero

Gospel Centricity and the World: How the Gospel Transforms our Understanding of Everything

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 3, 2019 40:55

REFLECTION QUOTES “We live in a broken world and we want hope. And we go to movies—we read stories—because we get to see broken people become whole. And that's the message that Jesus gives us.” ~Matthew Luhn, story editor and artist for Pixar and The Simpsons “For all of us have a basic, intuitive feeling that once we were whole and well; at ease, at home in the world, totally united with the grounds of our being; and that then we lost this primal, happy, innocent state, and fell into our present sickness and suffering. We had something of infinite beauty and preciousness – and we lost it; we spend our lives searching for what we have lost; and one day, perhaps, we will suddenly find it.” ~Oliver Sacks, British-American neurologist at NYU School of Medicine, in his 1973 book Awakenings “Behind the debris of our self-styled, sullen supermen, there stands the gigantic figure of one person because of whom, by whom, in whom, and through whom alone mankind might still have hope: the person of Jesus Christ.” ~G.K. Chesterton (1874-1936), English writer “In Jesus Christ the reality of God entered into the reality of this world…. Henceforth one can speak neither of God nor of the world without speaking of Jesus Christ. All concepts of reality which do not take account of Him are abstractions.” ~Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906-1945), German theologian and pastor, executed for his opposition to the Nazis “The American Jesus is more a pawn than a king, pushed around in a complex game of cultural (and countercultural) chess, sacrificed here for this cause and there for another.” ~Dr. Stephen Prothero, professor at Boston University “…no single piece of our…world is to be hermetically sealed off from the rest, and there is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry: ‘Mine!'” ~Abraham Kuyper (1837-1920), Dutch theologian and statesman SERMON PASSAGE Colossians 1:13-23 & 3:23-24 (ESV) Colossians 1 13 He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. 15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16 For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. 17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. 19 For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. 21 And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, 22 he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, 23 if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister. Colossians 3 23 Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, 24 knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.

From Script to Screen: How Content is Made and Why It Matters

religion christianity religious border crossings prothero stephen prothero

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 18, 2018 84:27

Panel 3 of the Symposium on Religious Literacy and Business: Media & Entertainment moderated by Stephen Prothero and featuring panelists CarolAnne Dolan, Geralyn Dreyfous, Amir Hussain, and Gordon Quinn. This symposium brings together media professionals and scholars of media, religion, and business to assess the state of religious literacy in the field and the role of entertainment media in shaping the public understanding of religion. Our aim is to foster critical reflection and collaborative relationships between scholars and media professionals in order to improve the religious literacy of the American public and reduce conflict and antagonism by encouraging more complicated, nuanced, and creative representations of religion on screen. Learn more about Harvard Divinity School and its mission to illuminate, engage, and serve at http://hds.harvard.edu/.

american panel symposium harvard divinity school amir hussain business media script to screen stephen prothero religious literacy gordon quinn

Episode 59: God Is Not One

Let the Bird Fly!

Play Episode Listen Later May 17, 2018 74:29

00:00 - Introduction 02:22 - Free-for-All (Summer Plans) 14:26 - Main Topic (God Is Not One) On episode FIFTY-NINE of Let the Bird Fly! we welcome back Rev. Dr. Mark Braun, this time to talk about why all religions are not the same. The guys use Stephen Prothero's book God Is Not One: The Eight Rival Religions that Run the World a springboard for their conversation. But before discussing world religions, they briefly discuss their plans for the summer (evidently recording during finals week makes college professor want to talk about summer for some reason). If you're interested in any of Prothero's books mention in the episode, here are some links: God Is Not One: The Eight Rival Religions that Run the World Religious Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know-And Doesn't American Jesus: How the Son of God Became a National Icon This was Dr. Braun's sixth time on Let the Bird Fly! as a guest and we are truly thankful for the time he has given us. If you've missed any of the previous episodes we had him on you can catch up right here: Episode 5: The Time Between the Testaments Episode 14: The Tale of Two Synods Episode 29: Black Geneva Piety Episode 43: The Book of Deuteronomy Episode 47: The Book of Judges If you haven't done so yet, make sure to head over to the 1517 Podcast Network (which, after the description above, we should mention we do not speak for....and who may soon be removing us from their network) and check all the other podcasts in the network; you’re sure to find something you’ll enjoy! And as always, if you are enjoying the show, please subscribe, rate, and review us on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, or TuneIn Radio. You can also like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter. And, of course, share us with a friend or two! If you’d like to contact us we can be reached at podcast@LetTheBirdFly.com, or visit our website at www.LetTheBirdFly.com. Thanks for listening! Attributions for Music used in this Episode: “The Last One” by Jahzzar is licensed under an Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 International License. “Gib laut” by Dirk Becker is licensed under an Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives (aka Music Sharing) 3.0 International License. “Whistling Down the Road” by Silent Partner “Not Drunk” by The Joy Drops is licensed under an Attribution 4.0 International License.

music world tale run rev braun attribution podcast network gib international license jahzzar attribution sharealike attribution noncommercial noderivatives attributions music sharing prothero stephen prothero bird fly dirk becker

Religious Border Crossing-What is Religion Anyway? [Podcast #30]

Word for the Week

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 10, 2018 16:48

Pete and Brian talk on how we understand religion. In this podcast you will hear some definitions of religion and some ways to analyze them. At the center is the framework presented by Stephen Prothero in God Is Not One. At its core, we start to understand religions by finding out what they see is the fundamental problem with the world and how their religion proposes to solve this problem. From there we must seek to understand the techniques and ways to get to the solution. As we start a dialogue about other religions this podcast may help you in your effort to understand religions very different from your own. Check out Prothero’s book here.

The Week Ahead: Welcome to the 2018 Strongest Town Contest

The Strong Towns Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 5, 2018 28:42

Chuck Marohn returns to the Week Ahead podcast to report on recent events in Bismarck, North Dakota; West Palm Beach, Florida; and Thomasville, Georgia. Then he and Rachel dish about the 16 towns selected for the 2018 Strongest Town Contest. See the final bracket, read each town's submission and cast your votes here. MENTIONED IN THIS PODCAST: Sioux Falls, SD presentation on March 5 Fishers, IN presentation on March 8 Skin in the Game: Hidden Asymmetries in Daily Life by Nassim Nicholas Taleb Resurrecting Easter: How the West Lost and the East Kept the Original Easter Vision by John Dominic Crossan God Is Not One: The Eight Rival Religions That Run the World by Stephen Prothero

world contest north dakota sd daily life strongest west palm beach bismarck week ahead thomasville chuck marohn stephen prothero west lost game hidden asymmetries east kept

Religious Literacy and Government Symposium: Wrap-up Panel and Closing Remarks

Impolite Conversation: Religion and Politics

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 5, 2017 49:44

Held on December 7–8, 2017, the Religious Literacy and the Professions Initiative (RLPI) seeks to consider how religion is embedded in both constructive and antagonistic approaches to immigration, especially with respect to work undertaken by (or in collaboration with) governmental agencies. This panel and the following remarks will close the symposium. The panelists include Michelle Boorstein, Jack Jenkins, Diane L. Moore, Stephen Prothero, and Amy Sullivan. Learn more about Harvard Divinity School and its mission to illuminate, engage, and serve at http://hds.harvard.edu/.

government wrap panel symposium closing remarks harvard divinity school jack jenkins stephen prothero religious literacy amy sullivan michelle boorstein

#26: Religious Literacy

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 5, 2017 50:01

This month on Impolite Conversation, we talk with Leah Rediger-Schulte, Doane's new Director of Religious and Spiritual Life, about why religious literacy is important for ourselves, our schools, and our society. And in One Last Thing, Leah studies a nontraditional sacred text, Dan reads about the comic book purges of the 1950s, and Tim goes to see a romantic comedy that's about more than just romance and comedy. Some of the things we talked about this month: Stephen Prothero's book Religious Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know--And Doesn't was the inspiration for this episode. Prothero's quiz is in the back of the book, or you can find it online here. Dan mentioned Diana Eck's book Encountering God. Leah mentioned From Bubble to Bridge, by Marion Larson and Sarah Shady. Watch the social capital video produced by the Interfaith Youth Core. Or go to their website for lots of other resources. In One Last Thing, Leah talked about Vanessa Zoltan's podcast Harry Potter and the Sacred Text. Dan's OLT was on The Ten-Cent Plague, by David Hajdu. Finally, Tim's OLT was about The Big Sick. 0:00-1:34 Opening 1:34-36:48 Rediger-Schulte interview 36:53-38:41 Rediger-Schulte OLT 38:42-43:36 Clanton OLT 43:37-47:59 Hill OLT 48:00-49:50 Closing 42-54-50:01 Outtakes

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Week 4: (Mis)Understanding the Elites

Indivisible

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 15, 2017 57:35

At a press conference on Thursday, President Trump was openly dismissive of elites in the media, in politics, and in intelligence circles. At one point he said: “I ran for president to represent the citizens of our country. I am here to change the broken system so it serves their families and their communities well. I am talking — and really talking on this very entrenched power structure, and what we’re doing is we’re talking about the power structure; we’re talking about its entrenchment.” FAKE NEWS media, which makes up stories and "sources," is far more effective than the discredited Democrats - but they are fading fast! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 16, 2017 The anti-establishment/anti-elitism rhetoric worked for him in the campaign and may help him hold on to his supporters after a tumultuous week at the White House. On this episode of Indivisible: What does the coded word “elite” really stand for? Intellectual snob? Rich, out-of-touch, liberal? Fat-cat Wall Street banker? In an age of global populism, all of the above are fair game for politicians trying to connect with angry voters. MPR News host Kerri Miller and her guests dig into why wealth, education and power are at once the hallmarks of the American Dream and the subject of our collective ire. Kerri is joined by Stephen Prothero, Chair of the Department of Religion at Boston University and author of “Why Liberals Win the Culture Wars” and Nancy Isenberg, historian and author of “White Trash: The 400 Year Untold History of Class in America.” Do you think the term "elites" has taken on a negative meaning in today's political climate? #IndivisibleRadio — MPR News (@MPRnews) February 17, 2017 Here are some tweets from this episode: Indivisible Week 4: (Mis)Understanding the Elites

america president donald trump house politics religion rich radio class white house wall street democrats fake news american dream economists fat boston university intellectual lehrer potus culture war elites sykes wnyc realdonaldtrump mpr mpr news stephen prothero kerri miller nancy isenberg year untold history why liberals win

Religious Literacy and Humanitarian Action: Sudan

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 17, 2017 71:44

Alastair Ager, Sahar Ali, Nahuel Arenas, and Manal Omar discuss the humanitarian crisis of resource distribution in Sudan. Stephen Prothero moderated the discussion. Learn more about Harvard Divinity School and its mission to illuminate, engage, and serve at http://hds.harvard.edu/.

sudan harvard divinity school humanitarian action stephen prothero religious literacy manal omar

Religious Literacy and Humanitarian Action: Ebola and HIV/AIDS

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 17, 2017 81:49

Jean Duff, Rudelmar Bueno de Faria, and Katherine Marshall discuss the humanitarian crisis of infectious disease through the lens of Ebola and HIV/AIDS. Stephen Prothero moderated the discussion. Learn more about Harvard Divinity School and its mission to illuminate, engage, and serve at http://hds.harvard.edu/.

hiv aids ebola faria harvard divinity school humanitarian action stephen prothero religious literacy katherine marshall

Religious Literacy and Humanitarian Action: Plenary Panel

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 17, 2017 109:52

The the symposium on Religious Literacy and Humanitarian Action opened on January 19, 2017 with a plenary panel featuring Alastair Ager, Rudelmar Bueno de Faria, and Azza Karam. Opening remarks are offered by HDS Dean David N. Hempton, Diane L. Moore, director of the Religious Literacy Project at HDS, and Stephen Prothero, Professor of Religion at Boston University. Learn more about Harvard Divinity School and its mission to illuminate, engage, and serve at http://hds.harvard.edu/.

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Stephen Prothero

HarperAcademic Calling

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 4, 2017 24:48

Michael Fynan calls Stephen Prothero, author of WHY LIBERALS WIN (EVEN WHEN THEY LOSE ELECTIONS). Learn more: https://www.harperacademic.com/book/9780061571312/why-liberals-win-even-when-they-lose-elections/.

Religious Literacy and Journalism: A Roundtable Discussion

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 7, 2016 67:33

A roundtable discussion with journalists and scholars during a symposium organized by the Religious Literacy Project at Harvard Divinity School in collaboration with Boston University. Panelists were: Diane Moore, Harvard Divinity School; Stephen Prothero, Boston University; and Laurie Goodstein, The New York Times. Learn more about Harvard Divinity School and its mission to illuminate, engage, and serve at http://hds.harvard.edu/.

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Religious Literacy and Journalism: Keynote by Laurie Goodstein

GRCC Diversity Lecture Series Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 7, 2016 84:50

New York Times religion reporter Laurie Goodstein delivers the keynote address during the Religious Literacy and Journalism Symposium at Harvard Divinity School. Opening remarks are offered by HDS Dean David N. Hempton, Diane L. Moore, director of the Religious Literacy Project at HDS, and Stephen Prothero, Professor of Religion at Boston University. Learn more about Harvard Divinity School and its mission to illuminate, engage, and serve at http://hds.harvard.edu/.

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58 Stephen Prothero

Play Episode Listen Later May 16, 2016 80:07

A conversation with Stephen Prothero.

GRCC Diversity Lecture Series Podcast

29 Stephen Prothero

Play Episode Listen Later May 9, 2016 32:26

A conversation with Stephen Prothero.

Christian Humanist Profiles

Ep. 96 - Stephen Prothero, Author of Why Liberals Win the Culture Wars

Friendly Atheist Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 28, 2016 39:25

Stephen Prothero is a professor in the department of religion at Boston University and the author of several books, including Religious Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know -- and Doesn’t. You may have seen him on his appearances on The Daily Show or The Colbert Report. His latest book is called Why Liberals Win the Culture Wars (Even When They Lose Elections). We spoke with him about why conservatives pick losing issues, what issues will get liberals out to vote this November, and what surprised him during his research for the book.

boston university liberals daily show culture war colbert report stephen prothero why liberals win

Christian Humanist Profiles 71: Why Liberals Win the Culture Wars

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 15, 2016 58:33

Nathan Gilmour interviews Stephen Prothero about his recent book "Why the Liberals Win the Culture Wars, Even when They Lose Elections."

art christianity philosophy wars literature liberals culture war profiles humanists stephen prothero

Christian Humanist Profiles 71: Why Liberals Win the Culture Wars

Christian Humanist Profiles

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 15, 2016 1:00

Nathan Gilmour interviews Stephen Prothero about his recent book "Why the Liberals Win the Culture Wars, Even when They Lose Elections."

liberals culture war profiles humanists stephen prothero

Christian Humanist Profiles 71: Why Liberals Win the Culture Wars

Christian Humanist Profiles

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 15, 2016 1:00

Nathan Gilmour interviews Stephen Prothero about his recent book "Why the Liberals Win the Culture Wars, Even when They Lose Elections."

liberals culture war profiles humanists stephen prothero

The Future of Faith

Religion and Conflict

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 28, 2016 68:53

“For the last four decades, Harvey Cox has been the leading trend spotter in American religion.”—Stephen Prothero, author of Religious Literacy Harvey Cox's book The Secular City, first published in 1965, is an international bestseller and widely regarded as one of the most influential books of Protestant theology of the last 50 years. His research and teaching interests focus on the interaction of religion, culture, and politics. Until his retirement in 2009 from Harvard University, Cox taught extensively on the intersection between Christianity and Islam and the rise of fundamentalism in both religions. In his book The Future of Faith (2009) he discussed the rise of fundamentalism in the ever-changing world, and why he thinks it will ultimately fail. "Harvey Cox is the most important liberal theologian of the last half century."—E.J. Dionne, Jr., author of Souled Out, and columnist for The Washington Post "Harvey Cox has been a voice of both reason and faith in our cynical times."—Deepak Chopra, author of Jesus: A Story of Enlightenment

american future christianity washington post islam harvard university enlightenment protestant deepak chopra cox souled out stephen prothero harvey cox

Stephen Prothero: Why Liberals Win the Culture War

Newsworthy with Norsworthy

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 10, 2016 47:58

Dr. Stephen Prothero joins the show to discuss the unholy alliance of Church and politics, Moral Majority, Evangelicals interest in Donald Trump, racism, baptizing a southern way of life, Anabaptists, being a righteous loser, and his new book "Why Liberals Win the Culture War."For more on this month's sponsor, The Pepperdine Bible Lectures, click here.

church donald trump liberals culture war evangelicals anabaptist moral majority stephen prothero why liberals win

Have you believed in God's Son? (The evidence validates the message)

Colin Glen Christian Fellowship

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 23, 2015

Are all religions the same? The Dalai Lama often refers to the ‘oneness’ of all religions, the idea that all religions preach the same message of love, tolerance and compassion. But are all religions essentially the same? They certainly have a common moral standard, more or less, that we ought to live by. But they differ in how to resolve our failure to live up to this standard. According to author Stephen Prothero, to claim that all religions are the same is to misunderstand that each attempts to solve a different human problem. In his book God Is Not One: The Eight Rival Religions That Run the World-and Why Their Differences Matter he shows that religions vary significantly, because they see humanity’s plight as different problems, with different solutions: Confucianism: the problem is chaos / the solution is social order Hinduism: the problem is reincarnation / the solution is spiritual liberation Buddhism: the problem is suffering / the solution is awakening Islam: the problem is pride / the solution is submission to Allah Judaism: the problem is exile / the solution is to return to God Christianity: the problem is sin / the solution is salvation by faith How can we know which one is right? They can’t all be right, because they’re not all addressing the same root problem. Despite some aspects of truth being found in many religions, which one addresses the core issue of mankind’s problem? Is faith always the way of salvation? Christianity says that the problem is rooted in sin, and that salvation is through faith alone. But then, others say that faith is believing the unbelievable! Isn’t faith a leap that is disconnected from reality? Isn’t faith believing without evidence, as some atheists would say? On the contrary, faith is believing the evidence. Faith that is not based in reality is faith in faith, not faith in truth. Faith in faith was very popular after World War II. Mark Pinsky comments in an interview on his book The Gospel According to Disney: Faith, Trust, and Pixie Dust that: Will Herberg’s book Protestant, Catholic, Jew, … was written in 1955. His thesis was that America’s civic religion was faith in faith—that is to say, faith in a nonspecific, non-sectarian faith. Or, as Eisenhower put it, “I don’t care what you believe in as long as you believe in something.” When people say; “Just believe” or “Have faith,” we can’t just believe that faith itself is the solution. It is who or what we are believing in that matters. The faith that produces results But how can we know what to believe in? And how can we know that it is the right belief? This is the question that the Apostle John answers in 1 John 5:1-12. Following on from his teaching in the previous chapter that the evidence of godliness in the lives of believers shows that they are God’s children (see last week’s podcast), John takes a different tack, based on the same evidence. In 1 John 5:1-12, he not only tells us that we ought to accept the testimony of God above that of what people say is true, by pointing to the dual witnesses of Jesus’ baptism and his death to disprove a heresy that was present in his day. He goes further and shows that the faith that overcomes worldliness, the faith that produces evidence of changed lives, the faith that has life from God, is the faith that works in reality. He shows that Jesus is the one we should believe in if we want to see evidence of faith that works, religion that changes lives towards godliness. While John’s argument in 1 John 4:7-21 is that the evidence proves that a believer is a child of God, in 1 John 5:1-12 his argument is that the same evidence validates the message that Jesus Christ is the one we should have faith in. The work of the Holy Spirit in the lives of God’s children is a third testimony to the truth of the gospel. The real and tangible evidence of lives where the life from God can be seen in practice not only validates that believers in Christ are God’s children, but that belief in Christ is what results in life from God: And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. (1 John 5:11–12, NIV84)

Have you believed in God's Son? (The evidence validates the message)

Colin Glen Christian Fellowship

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 23, 2015

Are all religions the same? The Dalai Lama often refers to the ‘oneness’ of all religions, the idea that all religions preach the same message of love, tolerance and compassion. But are all religions essentially the same? They certainly have a common moral standard, more or less, that we ought to live by. But they differ in how to resolve our failure to live up to this standard. According to author Stephen Prothero, to claim that all religions are the same is to misunderstand that each attempts to solve a different human problem. In his book God Is Not One: The Eight Rival Religions That Run the World-and Why Their Differences Matter he shows that religions vary significantly, because they see humanity’s plight as different problems, with different solutions: Confucianism: the problem is chaos / the solution is social order Hinduism: the problem is reincarnation / the solution is spiritual liberation Buddhism: the problem is suffering / the solution is awakening Islam: the problem is pride / the solution is submission to Allah Judaism: the problem is exile / the solution is to return to God Christianity: the problem is sin / the solution is salvation by faith How can we know which one is right? They can’t all be right, because they’re not all addressing the same root problem. Despite some aspects of truth being found in many religions, which one addresses the core issue of mankind’s problem? Is faith always the way of salvation? Christianity says that the problem is rooted in sin, and that salvation is through faith alone. But then, others say that faith is believing the unbelievable! Isn’t faith a leap that is disconnected from reality? Isn’t faith believing without evidence, as some atheists would say? On the contrary, faith is believing the evidence. Faith that is not based in reality is faith in faith, not faith in truth. Faith in faith was very popular after World War II. Mark Pinsky comments in an interview on his book The Gospel According to Disney: Faith, Trust, and Pixie Dust that: Will Herberg’s book Protestant, Catholic, Jew, … was written in 1955. His thesis was that America’s civic religion was faith in faith—that is to say, faith in a nonspecific, non-sectarian faith. Or, as Eisenhower put it, “I don’t care what you believe in as long as you believe in something.” When people say; “Just believe” or “Have faith,” we can’t just believe that faith itself is the solution. It is who or what we are believing in that matters. The faith that produces results But how can we know what to believe in? And how can we know that it is the right belief? This is the question that the Apostle John answers in 1 John 5:1-12. Following on from his teaching in the previous chapter that the evidence of godliness in the lives of believers shows that they are God’s children (see last week’s podcast), John takes a different tack, based on the same evidence. In 1 John 5:1-12, he not only tells us that we ought to accept the testimony of God above that of what people say is true, by pointing to the dual witnesses of Jesus’ baptism and his death to disprove a heresy that was present in his day. He goes further and shows that the faith that overcomes worldliness, the faith that produces evidence of changed lives, the faith that has life from God, is the faith that works in reality. He shows that Jesus is the one we should believe in if we want to see evidence of faith that works, religion that changes lives towards godliness. While John’s argument in 1 John 4:7-21 is that the evidence proves that a believer is a child of God, in 1 John 5:1-12 his argument is that the same evidence validates the message that Jesus Christ is the one we should have faith in. The work of the Holy Spirit in the lives of God’s children is a third testimony to the truth of the gospel. The real and tangible evidence of lives where the life from God can be seen in practice not only validates that believers in Christ are God’s children, but that belief in Christ is what results in life from God: And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. (1 John 5:11–12, NIV84)

Have you believed in God's Son? (The evidence validates the message)

Colin Glen Christian Fellowship

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 23, 2015

Are all religions the same? The Dalai Lama often refers to the ‘oneness’ of all religions, the idea that all religions preach the same message of love, tolerance and compassion. But are all religions essentially the same? They certainly have a common moral standard, more or less, that we ought to live by. But they differ in how to resolve our failure to live up to this standard. According to author Stephen Prothero, to claim that all religions are the same is to misunderstand that each attempts to solve a different human problem. In his book God Is Not One: The Eight Rival Religions That Run the World-and Why Their Differences Matter he shows that religions vary significantly, because they see humanity’s plight as different problems, with different solutions: Confucianism: the problem is chaos / the solution is social order Hinduism: the problem is reincarnation / the solution is spiritual liberation Buddhism: the problem is suffering / the solution is awakening Islam: the problem is pride / the solution is submission to Allah Judaism: the problem is exile / the solution is to return to God Christianity: the problem is sin / the solution is salvation by faith How can we know which one is right? They can’t all be right, because they’re not all addressing the same root problem. Despite some aspects of truth being found in many religions, which one addresses the core issue of mankind’s problem? Is faith always the way of salvation? Christianity says that the problem is rooted in sin, and that salvation is through faith alone. But then, others say that faith is believing the unbelievable! Isn’t faith a leap that is disconnected from reality? Isn’t faith believing without evidence, as some atheists would say? On the contrary, faith is believing the evidence. Faith that is not based in reality is faith in faith, not faith in truth. Faith in faith was very popular after World War II. Mark Pinsky comments in an interview on his book The Gospel According to Disney: Faith, Trust, and Pixie Dust that: Will Herberg’s book Protestant, Catholic, Jew, … was written in 1955. His thesis was that America’s civic religion was faith in faith—that is to say, faith in a nonspecific, non-sectarian faith. Or, as Eisenhower put it, “I don’t care what you believe in as long as you believe in something.” When people say; “Just believe” or “Have faith,” we can’t just believe that faith itself is the solution. It is who or what we are believing in that matters. The faith that produces results But how can we know what to believe in? And how can we know that it is the right belief? This is the question that the Apostle John answers in 1 John 5:1-12. Following on from his teaching in the previous chapter that the evidence of godliness in the lives of believers shows that they are God’s children (see last week’s podcast), John takes a different tack, based on the same evidence. In 1 John 5:1-12, he not only tells us that we ought to accept the testimony of God above that of what people say is true, by pointing to the dual witnesses of Jesus’ baptism and his death to disprove a heresy that was present in his day. He goes further and shows that the faith that overcomes worldliness, the faith that produces evidence of changed lives, the faith that has life from God, is the faith that works in reality. He shows that Jesus is the one we should believe in if we want to see evidence of faith that works, religion that changes lives towards godliness. While John’s argument in 1 John 4:7-21 is that the evidence proves that a believer is a child of God, in 1 John 5:1-12 his argument is that the same evidence validates the message that Jesus Christ is the one we should have faith in. The work of the Holy Spirit in the lives of God’s children is a third testimony to the truth of the gospel. The real and tangible evidence of lives where the life from God can be seen in practice not only validates that believers in Christ are God’s children, but that belief in Christ is what results in life from God: And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. (1 John 5:11–12, NIV84)

What's in a Name?

god jesus christ father lord child holy spirit kings write revelation jerusalem alpha behold omega god himself spurgeon nasb albert schweitzer stephen prothero

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 21, 2014 40:53

REFLECTION QUOTES “God had one son on earth without sin, but never one without suffering.” ~Augustine (354-430), bishop in North Africa “As we acquire more knowledge, things do not become more comprehensible, but more mysterious.” ~Albert Schweitzer (1875-1965), theologian, physician and philosopher “Jesus the King of Kings came first in submission to the Father which required submission that led to a Roman cross. His hands did not come grasping a crown but were stretched out to be pierced with nails by those He came to save. He did not defend Himself with a sword but received the spear of a Roman soldier in His side. He did not come to bring judgment upon guilty sinners but to bear it in their place. He calls those who would be His disciples to follow Him not upon the path of self-promotion and fulfillment but the path of submission and even suffering if necessary for the sake of others and the glory of God.” ~Source Unknown “The American Jesus is more a pawn than a king, pushed around in a complex game of cultural (and counter-cultural) chess, sacrificed here for this cause and there for another.” ~Dr. Stephen Prothero, professor at Boston University “I take it that the highest proof of Christ's power is not that he offers salvation, not that he bids you take it if you will, but that when you reject it, when you hate it, when you despise it, he has a power whereby he can change your mind, make you think differently from your former thoughts, and turn you from the error of your ways.” ~ C.H. Spurgeon (1834-1892) SERMON PASSAGE Matthew 1:18-25 (NASB) 18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: when His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit. 19 And Joseph her husband, being a righteous man and not wanting to disgrace her, planned to send her away secretly. 20 But when he had considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for the Child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. 21 She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” 22 Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet: 23 “Behold, the virgin shall be with child and shall bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which translated means, “God with us.” 24 And Joseph awoke from his sleep and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took Mary as his wife, 25 but kept her a virgin until she gave birth to a Son; and he called His name Jesus. Revelation 21:1-8 (NASB) 1Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. 2And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. 3And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, 4and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.” 5And He who sits on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” And He said, “Write, for these words are faithful and true.” 6Then He said to me, “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life without cost. 7He who overcomes will inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be My son. 8But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”

The Incomparable Christ

Walter H. Capps Center (Audio)

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 20, 2014 38:23

REFLECTION QUOTES “For all of us have a basic, intuitive feeling that once we were whole and well; at ease, at home in the world, totally united with the grounds of our being; and that then we lost this primal, happy, innocent state, and fell into our present sickness and suffering. We had something of infinite beauty and preciousness – and we lost it; we spend our lives searching for what we have lost; and one day, perhaps, we will suddenly find it.” ~Oliver Sacks, British-American neurologist at NYU School of Medicine, in his 1973 book Awakenings “Behind the debris of our self-styled, sullen supermen, there stands the gigantic figure of one person because of whom, by whom, in whom, and through whom alone mankind might still have hope: the person of Jesus Christ.” ~G.K. Chesterton (1874-1936), English writer “In Jesus Christ the reality of God entered into the reality of this world…. Henceforth one can speak neither of God nor of the world without speaking of Jesus Christ. All concepts of reality which do not take account of Him are abstractions.” ~Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906-1945), German theologian and pastor, executed for his opposition to the Nazis “The American Jesus is more a pawn than a king, pushed around in a complex game of cultural (and countercultural) chess, sacrificed here for this cause and there for another.” ~Dr. Stephen Prothero, professor at Boston University “The business of the poet and novelist is to show the sorriness underlying the grandest things, and the grandeur underlying the sorriest things.” ~Thomas Hardy (1840-1928), English novelist, poet, and short-story writer “We live in a broken world and we want hope. And we go to movies—we read stories—because we get to see broken people become whole. And that's the message that Jesus gives us.” ~Matthew Luhn, Pixar Story Editor and Artist SERMON PASSAGE Colossians 1:13-23 13 He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. 15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16 For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. 17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. 19For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. 21 And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, 22 he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, 23 if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister.

god jesus christ english german medicine incomparable chesterton dietrich bonhoeffer british americans oliver sacks thomas hardy henceforth 19for stephen prothero matthew luhn

Stephen Prothero: God Is Not One

Play Episode Listen Later May 12, 2014 58:31

Are all religions simply different ways up the same mountain? Or is the key to religious tolerance found in better understanding differences? In “God is Not One: The Eight Rival Religions That Run the World,” New York Times best-selling author and religion scholar Stephen Prothero argues that persistent attempts to portray all religions as different paths to the same God overlook the distinct problem that each tradition seeks to solve. Delving into the different problems and solutions that Islam, Christianity, Buddhism, Judaism, Confucianism, Yoruba Religion, Daoism and Atheism strive to combat, provides a guide to the questions human beings have asked for millennia—and to the disparate paths we are taking to answer them today. Series: "Ethics, Religion and Public Life: Walter H. Capps Center Series" [Humanities] [Show ID: 28045]

god world new york times religion christianity islam buddhism judaism delving atheism daoism confucianism series ethics stephen prothero history: world religions

Stephen Prothero: God Is Not One

Religion and Spirituality (Audio)

Play Episode Listen Later May 12, 2014 58:31

Are all religions simply different ways up the same mountain? Or is the key to religious tolerance found in better understanding differences? In “God is Not One: The Eight Rival Religions That Run the World,” New York Times best-selling author and religion scholar Stephen Prothero argues that persistent attempts to portray all religions as different paths to the same God overlook the distinct problem that each tradition seeks to solve. Delving into the different problems and solutions that Islam, Christianity, Buddhism, Judaism, Confucianism, Yoruba Religion, Daoism and Atheism strive to combat, provides a guide to the questions human beings have asked for millennia—and to the disparate paths we are taking to answer them today. Series: "Ethics, Religion and Public Life: Walter H. Capps Center Series" [Humanities] [Show ID: 28045]

god world new york times religion christianity islam buddhism judaism delving atheism daoism confucianism series ethics public life walter h stephen prothero walter h capps history: world religions capps center series humanities show id

Stephen Prothero: God Is Not One

Religion and Spirituality (Video)

Play Episode Listen Later May 12, 2014 58:31

Are all religions simply different ways up the same mountain? Or is the key to religious tolerance found in better understanding differences? In “God is Not One: The Eight Rival Religions That Run the World,” New York Times best-selling author and religion scholar Stephen Prothero argues that persistent attempts to portray all religions as different paths to the same God overlook the distinct problem that each tradition seeks to solve. Delving into the different problems and solutions that Islam, Christianity, Buddhism, Judaism, Confucianism, Yoruba Religion, Daoism and Atheism strive to combat, provides a guide to the questions human beings have asked for millennia—and to the disparate paths we are taking to answer them today. Series: "Ethics, Religion and Public Life: Walter H. Capps Center Series" [Humanities] [Show ID: 28045]

god world new york times religion christianity islam buddhism judaism delving atheism daoism confucianism series ethics public life walter h stephen prothero walter h capps history: world religions capps center series humanities show id

Stephen Prothero: God Is Not One

Religion and Spirituality (Audio)

Play Episode Listen Later May 12, 2014 58:31

Are all religions simply different ways up the same mountain? Or is the key to religious tolerance found in better understanding differences? In “God is Not One: The Eight Rival Religions That Run the World,” New York Times best-selling author and religion scholar Stephen Prothero argues that persistent attempts to portray all religions as different paths to the same God overlook the distinct problem that each tradition seeks to solve. Delving into the different problems and solutions that Islam, Christianity, Buddhism, Judaism, Confucianism, Yoruba Religion, Daoism and Atheism strive to combat, provides a guide to the questions human beings have asked for millennia—and to the disparate paths we are taking to answer them today. Series: "Ethics, Religion and Public Life: Walter H. Capps Center Series" [Humanities] [Show ID: 28045]

god world new york times religion christianity islam buddhism judaism delving atheism daoism confucianism series ethics public life walter h stephen prothero walter h capps history: world religions capps center series humanities show id

Christ the Only Savior from the Wrath of God (Galatians Sermon 8 of 26) (Audio)

Two Journeys Sermons

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 5, 2014

Pastor Andy Davis preaches on Galatians 3:11-14, explaining the meaning of God's grace and God's wrath, and that in Christ alone we have salvation. - SERMON TRANSCRIPT - September 11, 2001 is a day that would burn in our memories for as long as we live. Those of us who were alive at that time and were following the events of that day, saw the Twin Towers struck by Boeing 767s and explode in fire, and then eventually come crashing down to earth. We will never forget the terror of those images in our minds, the terror of such a sight. For many of us, the most horrible aspect of that day was the sight of people throwing themselves from the building in order to escape being burned to death, falling, maybe almost 1,000 feet to certain death. They were not suicidal as they went to their jobs that day, they were not depressed, they were not filled with any hatred of life as they walked through the halls of the 105th floor and turned on their lights, and turned on their computers, and looked out the window at the Manhattan skyline, and at the New York Harbor as they had done many times before. Jumping out of that same window 55 minutes later would never have occurred to them. But when the planes crashed into the Twin Towers, and caused their world around them to be engulfed in smoke, in flame, intense searing heat, billowing smoke, they tried to escape, I'm sure, through the hallway. There was no way to get through there, no way to use the elevators, no way to get to the stairs, they went back to their office and looked out of the window, maybe they shattered the window themselves, maybe it was already shattered by the crash. At least 200 people died that day in that way, they made that terrifying bewildering decision, to jump is better than to stay. One particular photo taken by Richard Drew of the Associated Press was entitled "The Falling Man" was run the next day in the New York Times on page seven, but then because of the outcry against it, saying it had somehow desecrated the memories of those that died, the New York Times never ran such a photo again. On the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 tragedy, Susie Linfield, a journalism professor at NYU, published a story in a New York magazine called "Jumpers," she had this to say: "The jumper photographs make clear to us the utter vulnerability of the victims. Those trapped in the Towers had only two choices- To jump to their deaths or to be incinerated- which is to say they had no choice at all. To moralize either 'choice'- to despise one as cowardly and valorize the other as heroic is to misunderstand both. What the 9/11 victims faced was the absence of options." That last comment stuck in my mind with incredible power, it seemed that these tragic people had no choice, there was no way to escape the searing fire that was engulfing their world. Even more tragic, I think, are the videos of people on the highest floors of the World Trade Center that day, leaning out and waving white pieces of cloth desperate for some kind of savior, smoke billowing out of the windows around them. They could see fire below them as they looked down. And they're just looking for some kind of savior and it's actually very difficult to watch, at least it was for me even 12 years later. Now, these tragic people illustrate the central lesson of today's sermon. They give me an understanding of Jesus Christ is the only savior that there is from the wrath of God. I'm going to make three assertions in this sermon and the world hates all three of them. The first is that this world is facing a future raging inferno of immeasurable heat, of infinite power, and eternal duration, this coming inferno is the just wrath of God against sin. It is a fire that will destroy this entire world in judgment and will consume the enemies of God in hell. Secondly, Christ, Jesus Christ is God's only provision for escape from this coming wrath. Christ's death on the cross is the only way that sinners can be saved from this fire. Thirdly, just as those people had no way to save themselves from the raging inferno, we cannot save ourselves from the coming wrath. Our works cannot make us righteous in the sight of God. Just as there was no way for those tragic people to climb down to safety, there is no way for us to use the law of God to climb up to safety. Oh, how the world hates and fights these three assertions, all three of them. The world says, "There is no coming wrath of God" or "God, if He exists, loves everyone and will rescue everyone from hell, would not send anyone to hell, it's unworthy of God to display anger or wrath," those kinds of things. The world says that Christ is not the only way to heaven and that it's arrogant for us as Christians to claim that he is, that he is the only way to heaven. Third, the world says that we actually can pay for our sins by our good works, righteousness in God's sight can be obtained by observing some kind of law or pattern of morality. Now, these assertions that I've made here are hated and opposed by many in the world today, but these assertions that I've made are taught powerfully in the text that we are going to be looking at today, Galatians 2:21 and then Galatians 3:10-14. I kept as my jump off point, as I was meditating on this, Galatians 2:21. It's a text that captivated my mind and my imagination and my thoughts for much longer than I thought it would be. Galatians 2:21 says, "I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, then Christ died for nothing." So I concentrated on the phrase, the grace of God, in Galatians 2:21. We're in the middle here in Galatians, of Paul's train of thought as he's explaining the Gospel of salvation through faith in Christ. The grace of God, then in Galatians 2:21, is the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It is the gracious provision that God has made for us sinners. I meditate on what the grace of God saves us from. It saves us mainly from the curse of God, the wrath of God. I concentrate on the significance of Christ becoming a curse for us in Galatians 3:13. I zero in on the idea of setting aside the grace of God. He says, "I do not set aside the grace of God." The word 'set aside' means to nullify, to render as nothing. I just like the translation 'set aside,' I think it's the best translation. How the human race tries to avoid the cross of Christ in various ways, especially by gaining righteousness through the law. I zero in on the logic of the verse, that righteousness cannot be gained any other way. That if righteousness could be gained in some other way, then Christ died for nothing. This is the doctrine of the exclusivity of Christ and of the Gospel. And I'm going to talk about these themes and I'm going to end with the Spirit-filled life, the promise of the Spirit-filled life, which I will not develop in length because it's developed more, later in Galatians. But it's the answer to all of the things that come up as we contemplate these things. These are the four main points of my sermon. First, why the world needs the grace of God: That is the wrath of God. Why does the world need grace? Because of the coming wrath. Secondly, the only way the grace of God comes to the world is through the cross of Christ. Third, how the world sets aside the grace of God, especially through self-righteousness. And then fourth, how the grace of God makes sinners righteous in his sight, first by justification and second through the Spirit-filled life. Those are the four points of the sermon. I. Why the World Needs the Grace of God: The Wrath of God First, why the world needs the grace of God, and that is the wrath of God, this is the reason why. Look at verse 21, "I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, then Christ died for nothing." We focus here on the grace of God, what is the grace of God? It's not a theme that's unfolded clearly or emphasized in the Old Testament, it seems as though God was reserving full emphasis on the grace of God for the coming of Jesus into the world. And in some of the translations, the word 'grace' doesn't pop up very often in the Old Testament. But then a river of grace is proclaimed in the New Testament. I like to start at John 1:14: "The word became flesh and made his dwelling among us and we have seen His glory. Glory of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth." And then a few verses later in John 1:17, "For the law was given through Moses, grace and truth came through Jesus Christ." With the coming of Jesus into the world, we have a dawning of the grace of God flowing to the world, not that there wasn't grace in the Old Testament, certainly there was. But it is by Christ that grace comes. Now, the word 'grace' especially flows through the pen of the Apostle Paul. No biblical writer wrote more about grace than Paul. 86 times, he mentions 'grace', 86 times. He opens all of his epistles the same way, "Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ." So what is grace? We said it before, but I like this definition. Grace is the subtle determination in the heart of God. That's what it is. It starts in the heart, the mind of God, toward us in Christ. Grace is the determination, the subtle determination in the heart of God to do us good, we who deserved to be punished eternally. So those aspects of grace, determination in the heart of God, a river of goodness flowing to us as sinners, despite the fact we deserved wrath and judgment. I think that's grace. "Grace is the determination, the subtle determination in the heart of God, to do us good, we who deserved to be punished eternally." Now, grace is especially for salvation from his wrath in reference to our sins. That's a home base of grace. We're sinners and we deserve wrath and judgment, and God saves us by his grace. Ephesians 1:7-8 says in Jesus, "In Him, we have redemption through His blood. The forgiveness of sins according to the riches of His grace that He lavished on us." We have redemption from sin through the riches of grace. Grace is especially on display in reference to the wrath of God. Romans 3:23-25: "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God and are justified freely by His grace, through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented Him as a propitiation, through faith in His blood." The word 'propitiation,' if you study it and you understand it in the Greek language, it means the setting aside of the wrath of God by a blood sacrifice. So God's wrath set aside by the sacrifice of Christ, so God's grace is on display in that he does not treat us as our sins deserve. Amen, hallelujah. "He does not treat us as our sins deserve," Psalm 103:10. Now, in Galatians 2:21, the need for grace is seen in the fact that we sinners lack righteousness. Look again at the verse. "I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained by the law, Christ died for nothing." So clearly we lack righteousness. We need to gain righteousness. Unless our righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and teacher of the law, we will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. We lack the necessary righteousness. Why is that? Because we are sinners, we are unrighteous in God's sight. We who lack righteousness, we are, turn it around, unrighteous to God. What is this unrighteousness? It has to do with our sins. We have violated God's laws. We have broken his laws, but friends, it goes infinitely deeper than that. It goes to the very core of our being. I was listening to a John Piper sermon some time ago. He was summarizing all of Romans 1-7, a summarizing of those seven chapters. If I'm not careful, I might lurch off in that direction right now. But he is summarizing and he is zeroing in on this issue of sin. What is sin? And this is what John Piper said: "What makes sin is not first that it hurts people, but that it blasphemes God. This is the ultimate evil and this is the ultimate outrage of the universe. The glory of God is not honored. The holiness of God is not reverenced. The greatness of God is not admired. The power of God is not praised. The truth of God is not sought. The wisdom of God is not esteemed. The beauty of God is not treasured. The goodness of God is not savored. The faithfulness of God is not trusted. The promises of God are not relied upon. The commandments of God are not obeyed. The justice of God is not respected. The wrath of God is not feared. The grace of God is not cherished. The presence of God is not prized. The person of God is not loved. That is sin." The infinite all-glorious Creator of the universe, by whom and for whom all things exist, the one about whom it is said, in him we live and move and have our being, is disregarded, disbelieved, disobeyed and dishonored by everybody in the world apart from Christ. That is the ultimate outrage of the universe. And God is outraged by it. Why? Because God is perfectly holy. He is perfectly holy. It's the most important attribute in the Bible. You could say, "Why would I say that?" Well, it's the only one that's stated three times in a row. There's no other attribute that's stated three times in a row. But in Isaiah 6:3, we have these glorious seraphim and they're calling to one another, "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; The whole earth is full of His glory." The holiness of God, theologians tell us, has to do with his separation. God is infinitely above all creation. He is the Creator and we all are creature. And there's an infinite gap between Creator and creature. That's the holiness. And that's why the holy angels, the burning seraphim who never have committed any sin still are crying "Holy, holy, holy" as they cover their faces. Infinite gap between all creation and God. But it also, especially in the Bible, has to do with God's infinite hatred for sin, his separation from all evil. Habakkuk 1:13: God's eyes are too pure to look on evil, he cannot tolerate wrong. It says in 1 John 1:5, “this is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in Him, there's no darkness at all.” God hates evil. And he's passionate about that. He's a passionate being and we who are created in his image, we have emotions because he had them first. Now his are pure and perfect, ours are not. But God is a passionate being and he hates all forms of evil with a fiery passion. Listen, Isaiah 30:27 and 28. It says there, "Behold, the name of the Lord comes from afar with burning anger and dense clouds of smoke. His lips are full of wrath, His tongue is a consuming fire, His breath is like a rushing torrent, rising up to the neck. He shakes the nations in the sieve of destruction." That's our God. And the Bible asserts the universality of sin. There is no one righteous, not even one. Romans 3:9-12: "There's no one who understands, no one who seeks God. All have turned away. They've together become worthless. There's no one who does good, not even one." The Bible tells us the wages of sin is death, eternal separation from God, not merely physical death but the second death in the lake of fire. The Bible teaches this. "The soul who sins shall die," Ezekiel 18:4. Now, in our text today, the wrath of God is expressed in curse language, that's why we're even talking about wrath today, it has to do with curse. Look at verse 10 of Galatians 3, Galatians 3:10, it says there, "All who rely on observing the law are under a curse. For it is written, 'Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in this book of the Law.'" Now, in the old covenant, the curse of God meant that He was actively opposing you in your life. He was fighting against what you were doing on Earth in the old covenant. That's what the curse meant. God was fighting you, he was opposed to you. He was against your prosperity, he was against your happiness, against your health, against your efforts, what you were trying to do. That's what the curse means. So we have this in Deuteronomy 28:15-19. "If you do not obey the Lord, your God, and if you do not carefully follow all His commands and decrees I am giving you today, all these curses will come upon you and overtake you. You will be cursed in the city and cursed in the country. Your basket and your kneading trough will be cursed. The fruit of your womb will be cursed and the crops of your land. And the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks. You'll be cursed when you come in and cursed when you go out." It actually goes on many verses beyond that. Now, Galatians 3:10 says that the curse comes on those who do not continually obey everything written in the law. So it's all the law, all the time, or you get cursed. That's what the law does. Now, the Old Testament curses, those earthbound curses that I was talking about, they were real curses. They actually happened, things actually occurred physically to the Jews. But they were just symbolic of a far greater curse that's yet to come, far greater curse that's yet to come. The Bible is filled with the doctrine of the wrath of God. The past wrath of God, the present wrath of God, and the future wrath of God. In the past, we have the flood of Noah in which every living thing that had the breath of life in its nostrils perished except what was on the ark. We have Sodom and Gomorrah in which God rained down fiery sulfur, "from the Lord out of the heavens," it specifically says in Genesis 19. And the next day, Abraham looked out over the plains where Sodom and Gomorrah had been just the day before, teeming cities, and there was nothing but dense smoke rising from the plain. These are pictures of the judgment and wrath of God, the past wrath of God. The Bible also asserts the doctrine of God's present wrath. It says in Psalms 7:11: "God is a righteous judge, a God who expresses His wrath every day." Every day. But listen, past and present wrath merely warn of the infinitely more consequential future wrath of God. Any wrath that happens on Earth is just a symbol of the future wrath yet to come. And that wrath is going to be physical. It says in 2 Peter 3:10: "The heavens will disappear with a roar, the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the Earth and everything in it will be laid bare." That's the coming wrath of God. But even more terrifying than what God will do to creation is what he will do to his enemies, both angels and humans. And that is the doctrine of hell, the second death, the wrath of God displayed in hell. No one taught more about hell than Jesus. No one said more about the fire that is to come than Jesus. In the Sermon on the Mount, he said that, if you are angry in your heart with your brother, you're in danger of the fire of hell. If you look lustfully at a woman, you're in danger of the fire of hell. It's better for you to cut off your right hand or gouge out your right eye and escape going to hell than to have all of your physical equipment and be cast into the eternal fire, and he said plainly, "The fire does not go out, the warm never dies." And he says in Matthew 25 "When the Son of Man comes in His glory and all the angels with Him, He will sit on His throne in heavenly glory and all of the nations will be gathered before Him and He will separate the people, one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats." And he's going to put the sheep, the believers on his right and the unregenerate on his left. And then he will say to those on his left, "Depart from me, you who are cursed." So there's that word 'curse.' "Depart from me, you are cursed into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels." This is why the world needs the grace of God and Christ. This is why we need it. But the world sets aside the grace of God. The world sets aside the grace of God concerning this issue of the wrath of God by denying that he has a wrath. Mostly, non-Christians set it aside by not thinking about him and not thinking about it. And they effectively deny that it even exists, that it's coming. Now, picture again those desperate souls leaning out of the upper floors of the World Trade Center on September 11th, and they're waving their white shirts and they're trying desperately for a savior because they can feel the heat, they can smell the smoke. They know it's real. But this fire, they can't see anything. They can't see the flames, they can't smell the smoke, it's as though it's not around, you have to believe or you don't think it's coming. So if you don't have any faith, there's nothing to escape. They don't see the fire, they deny it. Zephaniah 1:12, "They are complacent, thinking the Lord would do nothing either good or bad." Even worse for me though is Christians, so-called. People in the Christian world who deny this doctrine of the wrath of God, who are embarrassed by it, who think it's unworthy of God to have any kind of wrath at all. They think of a higher God, a wrath-free God, an anger-free God. Recently, I was reading about how Keith Getty and Stuart Townend wrote one of the greatest hymns of our time. We're going to close this service by singing it, "In Christ Alone." And then this verse is what they write: "In Christ alone, Who took on flesh, fullness of God in helpless babe" [incarnation.] "This gift of love and righteousness, scorned by the ones he came to save. Till on that cross as Jesus died, the wrath of God was satisfied. For every sin on him was laid, here in the death of Christ I live." Well, a Presbyterian denomination, PCUSA, wanted to use that hymn in their hymnal but they just want to change it a little bit. So they contacted Getty and Townend and then asked if they could adjust the lyrics on that verse a little bit. From "Till on that cross as Jesus died, the wrath of God was satisfied," to "Till on that cross as Jesus died, the love of God was magnified." Why would they want to do that? Well, hymnal committee chair, Mary Louise Bringle said this, "The song has been removed from our contents list with deep regret over losing its otherwise poignant and powerful witness. The view on the committee is that the cross is primarily about God's need to assuage God's anger, that if we have that view, it would have a negative effect on the hymnal's ability to form the faith of coming generations." Well, that's very mild, even worse, is Anglican priest Bosco Peters, what he said, "The understanding is that God the Father was angry at us in our sinfulness and that God took out his rage on Christ instead of on us and this now enables God the Father to love us. This understanding is heresy. God doesn't have anger management issues." No, he doesn't. Our God is slow to anger, he doesn't lash out quickly, he never has to regret anything he does and he will not regret the smoke of their torment rising forever and ever. he's not embarrassed about it, he's warned us about it. No, he doesn't have anger management issues but he has anger, he has wrath, and that's why we need the grace of God and we must not set aside the grace of God by denying the wrath of God. Secondly, the only way the grace of God comes into the world is the cross of Christ. II. The Only Way the Grace of God Comes to the World: The Cross of Christ Look again at 2:21, "I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, then Christ died for nothing." Christ is the only way that the grace of God comes to this world. Trying to save ourselves by law would be to set aside the grace of God. There is no other way for sinners to be made righteous, do you see how foolish the world is in getting angry about Christ being the only way to be saved? Picture again those poor souls on the upper floors of the World Trade Center, picture this time though an incredibly heroic and courageous rescuer descending perhaps from a rope ladder, hanging from a helicopter, they managed to get close enough to reach out to one of these folks that's waving the white shirt and saying, "Here, I've got you, come on" and the guy recoiling in anger and says, "I want multiple options to get off this floor and I'm not going out until there are many ways for me to get off this burning floor." I think that's how this must look to the holy angels in heaven, as they look down amazed that anyone would not believe in Christ, amazed that we would want multiple ways to get off the burning floor; how foolish. Now, the incarnation itself, the coming of God into the world proved right away we could not save ourselves, just the incarnation, that's why he came. Isaiah 59:15-16: "The Lord looked and was displeased that there was no justice," no righteousness. He saw that there was no one. He was appalled that there was no one to intervene so his own arm worked salvation for him and his own righteousness sustained him. God looked at the human race, no saviors there, none. So he entered the world himself. Isaiah 59:15-16. So it's poignant at the birth of Christ, but see, even more poignant at the death of Christ and that's where our verse takes us. "I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, then Christ died for nothing." This is the very issue that Jesus was settling as he wrestled in prayer in Gethsemane, wasn't it? Didn't he go to Gethsemane, fall on his face before God and sweating great drops of blood, he cried out to his Abba Father, he said, "Abba Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me, yet not as I will but as you will?" So Father, is it possible? Is there any other way? The answer is implied, not openly stated because he goes back a second time and says, "My Father, if it is not possible, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may Your will be done." "No, my Son, there is no other way. No other way." Settled by Jesus in Gethsemane, there is no other way. Christ alone is the incarnate Son of God. He alone died under the wrath of God. He alone satisfied the just penalty for our sins, for the wages in his death. And Christ alone rose from the dead, vindicating sinners like you and me. Christ alone is the Savior. Even more plainly, Jesus became a curse for us. Look at verse 13 of Galatians 3: "Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law, by becoming a curse for us. For it is written, 'Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.'" Now, this is amazing, not just Jesus was cursed for us, but Jesus became a curse for us. I meditated on this a long time. "Christ alone is the incarnate Son of God. He alone died under the wrath of God. He alone satisfied the just penalty for our sins, for the wages in His death." It's similar to the grammar that we have in another exclusivity verse, John 14:6: Jesus said, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." Do you hear what Jesus said there? Let's hear it on the middle one. "I am the truth." Not merely "I speak the truth" or "I embrace the truth," or "I exemplify the truth." We should all speak the truth. We should all embrace the truth. We should all exemplify the truth. And we may, by the blood of Jesus and the Holy Spirit, we can. But Jesus is the only one who can say these words, "I am the truth." "I am the truth. I am the distilled essence of all truth there is in the universe. All roads of truth lead to me. I am the truth." Alright, now take that and bring it to Galatians 3:13: "I am the curse. I am the distilled essence of curse. All curse for the people of God, all curse leads to this one place, the curse of the cross." And go even deeper, what does God curse but that which he hates? The curse of God is the hatred of God. It's God's opposition, it's ground zero of the infinite nuclear strike of God's holy wrath. Christ on the cross was the very essence of everything that God has ever hated or ever would hate, while at the same time being his infinitely beloved Son. It's a mystery we will never be able to understand, but this is the mystery of the substitutionary atonement of Jesus. Jesus was the distilled essence of everything God hates. Sin is utterly disgusting, it's repulsive to God. He hates it with all of his heart. Think of the most repulsive sinner you've ever heard of that later came to faith in Christ. Think of their disgusting actions, how repulsive they are to you. Corrie ten Boom talked about how difficult it was for her to shake the hand of an SS guard that she had known in the concentration camp, how hard that was for her. She was repulsed by what this man had done, the way that he tortured, and even killed, innocent people in the concentration camp. She was repulsed, but let me tell you something: her sense of justice and repulsion is like a flickering candle compared to the sun, the raging sun of God's repulsion. God is far more repulsed at what that SS guard did than Corrie ten Boom. I heard another story years ago, and I've never been able to find it since, but it had to do with a man that Charles Spurgeon led to faith in Christ. This man was an alcoholic, he was addicted to gin. He drank all of his family's money, all of it, for food, clothing, everything, including for medicine. It turned out that his young daughter had a serious but treatable illness, and this man drank the money for the medicine, so that she died. The neighbors were outraged at this story. She had nothing but threadbare rags, and they wanted her buried in a beautiful little dress. So they took an offering, and they took up a collection, and they bought a beautiful dress, and they buried... They clothed this little girl and put her... Put this beautiful clothed girl, this dead girl in a casket where she was to be... In which she was to be buried the next day. That night, this man broke into the undertaker's shop, opened the casket, took the dress off the dead body of his daughter, closed the casket, sold the dress for money, and drank it. He later came to faith in Christ. I have a hard time even telling that story. I picture my own kids. I picture just a father acting like that. What do you do with the repulsion, what do you do with the revulsion? Well I'll tell you what God did. He poured it out on Jesus, instead of on that man. So Jesus became in some sense, the kind of cesspool, the toxic waste dump of everything God ever hated in his elect, in his sheep. Everything he's ever hated in you and me, all of it in one place. And then he poured out the wrath, his just wrath on Jesus. Jesus became a curse for me, and for you. I can't... I almost can't put this into words. How could God perfectly hate and perfectly love Jesus at the same time? But this is what's going on at the cross. A parallel verse, we've already heard it, 2 Corinthians 5:21, "God made him who had no sin to be sin for us." Just be sin. He was sin on the cross, so that "in Him, we might become the righteousness of God." Now meditate on this because of this substitution and this exchange, we have become by faith, in Christ, the very essence of everything God loves. We have become the righteousness of God in Christ. That's awesome, that's awesome! And Christ is the only way that that salvation can happen. He is the only way. God did not send his Son into the world to provide one of many paths to heaven. He didn't pour out his wrath on Jesus to provide one of many ways to reach heaven. It's because there was no other way. Now, the world sets aside the grace of God by denying the exclusivity of the cross. We are a weird people. We, post-modern tolerance-loving people, are just weird, and we think weird, especially on this exclusivity issue. "Christ is the only way that salvation can happen. He is the only way. God did not send his son into the world to provide one of many paths to heaven." Stephen Prothero, a professor of religion at Boston University in 2010, wrote a book, God is Not One: The Eight Rival Religions that Run the World- and Why Their Differences Matter. This is what he said in his introduction, "It has been fashionable to affirm that all religions are beautiful and all are true. This claim is as odd as it is intriguing. No one argues that different economic systems or political regimes are one in the same. Capitalism and Socialism are so obviously at odds that their differences barely bear mentioning. The same goes for democracy and monarchy, yet scholars continue to claim that such different religions as Hinduism and Islam, Christianity and Judaism, by some", [I love this,] "some miracle of the imagination are essentially the same. And this view resounds in the echo chamber of popular culture. Not the least in Dan Brown's multi million dollar franchise The DaVinci Code." It's weird, they're not all the same, they can't be all the same. The pastor of Watts Street Baptist Church right in our own town taught a number of years ago that spiritual truth is like an underwater river and Christianity is just one of many wells that we can use to get down to that water. Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, they're all equally valid ways of drinking that spiritual water. These folks say that it is arrogant for us to claim that Christianity is the only way. That makes no sense to me. Do you struggle with that? Arrogant. Listen, if I invented a new rootbeer in my shop and I came out and told you it is the greatest rootbeer that has ever been made. As a matter of fact, it's the greatest drink that's ever been offered to another human being, that would be arrogant. I didn't invent Christianity, I discovered it or actually, it discovered me. Christ discovered me. How is it arrogant for us to go as missionaries to the ends of the world to say there's only one way for humans to be saved? There's no arrogance here. III. How the World Sets Aside the Grace of God: Self-Righteousness Thirdly, how the world sets aside the grace of God and that is through self-righteousness. Look again in Galatians 2:21. "I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing." The number one way that the world sets aside the grace of God is by trying to save ourselves by our good works, by self-righteousness. Self-Righteousness Option #1: Pagan Morality So, the essence of legalism, this Judaizer legalism and all that, is the idea that present or future obedience to the law of God can cover or pay for a past disobedience. The more common way of talking about it is, "My good deeds outweigh my bad." So you've got a bunch of bad deeds, that means you didn't keep the law. Then you have some good deeds, you did keep the law and this can be used to pay for that. That's the basic transaction, the basic idea. So, what is the “law” if righteousness could be gained through the law? Well, Paul means immediately the law of Moses (and we'll get to that), but I want to give you three different levels of law that people use. First is basic pagan morality. The every day life sense of right and wrong. The Greek philosopher mentality. The Aristotle or Plato type of virtue and they define it, that kind of thing. Aristotle said it's the glorious mean, the average... You take outgoing energy, etcetera and the extreme version of that is rashness and the lack of it is cowardice, and the perfect mean right in the middle is courage. And he goes down, Aristotle does this in all these... And the perfect individual goes right down the center in all of these attributes, so he says. The Japanese warrior code used Bushido and they had seven different attributes of virtue. Immanuel Kant had his. Benjamin Franklin, you can look up, he had 13 laws of morality that he tried to follow, 13. Like intemperance, temperance. Eat not to dullness, drink not to elevation. Silence, speak not only what may benefit yourself. Speak only what may benefit yourself or others, avoid trifling conversations. Order, let all your things have their places. Let each part of your business have its time. Etcetera, etcetera, yadda, yadda, yadda. Sorry, Ben Franklin, but there it is. Alright? So this is just common every day pagan morality. So the average every day person that you'll meet in the office tomorrow who says to you, "I'm basically a good person," ask them what they mean by a “good person.” Take the word 'basically' out. I don't know what it means. I think it means, "I'm not a good person." I don't know. Or "I'm kinda a good person." But alright, on what basis? Well, I try... And they're going to lay out some sketch at the law that they've come up with. Okay, but this is setting aside the grace of God. Do you see it? They have invented their own morality, which they try to live up to but don't really. When they do live up to it, they boast about it, when they don't live up to it, they think they can pay for it by the times they do live up to their own moral schemes. And they're forgetting the central and most important command of God. "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, will all your soul, with all your mind and with all your strength." And they never keep it anyway. The second level of morality is religious morality. And again, that's man-originated as well, with some demonic help. And so the world has set up pagan religions, and they have their own rules and regulations, their own laws that they follow, and people feel good or don't feel good based on whether they keep their religious laws. Followers of Dagon had to avoid stepping on the threshold. Which was one of the funniest laws ever because the reason... Never mind, that's another story, another time. Followers of Moloch had to offer their children as a burnt offering to that demonic god. Followers of Buddha have to seek out enlightenment by following the Noble Eightfold Path. Followers of Allah and Mohammad have to embrace the five pillars of Islam. All of these false religions have their own laws, their own moral systems, but none of them come from God. So they have set aside the grace of God to establish these man-made religions. Concerning Moloch, God said through Jeremiah 7:31: "They have built the high places of Topheth in the valley of Ben Hinnom to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire- Something I did not command nor did it enter my mind." I didn't tell you to do these things. And so you can't use these laws to become righteous in my sight. Actually repugnant. Now, some of the religious laws are the same as the Ten Commandments. They have to do with basic morality that Romans 2 says is written on their hearts anyway. But their consciences sometimes accuse them, sometimes defend them. They don't keep those moral laws. The highest level of laws, the one that I think Paul means here, and that's the law of God. "I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, then Christ died for nothing." This is talking about the perfect law of God that came down from Mt. Sinai, from God himself. This is God's perfect standard of morality. And so it says in Roman 7:12: "So then the law is holy and the commandment is holy and righteous and good." But again, Galatians 3:10: "All who rely on observing the law are under a curse, for it is written, 'Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the book of the Law.'" All the law, all the time or you get cursed. And by the way, if you understand the sentence I'm speaking to you it's already too late. We've already violated it already. And so, therefore, Romans 4:15: "The law brings wrath." That's all. Not salvation. The death of Christ, therefore, settles forever that no one could be made righteous in God's sight by the law. "I do not set aside the grace of God for if righteousness could be gained by the law, then Christ died for nothing." Now listen, if righteousness could've been gained by the law of God by keeping it, what God would've done from heaven is pointed to the law and said, "Human race, do this. Do this." And not send Jesus. And what would've happened if righteousness could be gained by the law? Some would gain it. They would be spiritual athletes who'd be climbing hand over hand, foot over foot, like this, making it to heaven by their own efforts. And God would have to listen to them for eternity, boasting on their achievements. And so God set it up that we would be saved only by grace. For it says in Ephesians 2:8-9: "For by grace are you saved through faith and this not out of or from yourself. It is the gift of God, not by works so that no one can boast." IV. How the Grace of God Makes Sinners Righteous: Justification and the Spirit-Filled Life Fourth. How the grace of God makes sinners righteous. Justification leading to the Spirit-filled life. Justification is plain. It's the gift of righteousness simply because God says so, simply because he declares you to be righteous in Jesus. All you have to do is hear this Gospel, repent, believe, and the full righteousness of Christ will be imputed, credited to you and you will be in God's sight as righteous as Jesus was in God's sight cursed on the cross. How beautiful is that? Oh, Thank God for his grace. Thank God for his grace. Thank God that you can stand before him and say, "Though I was and still am a sinner, I am righteous in your sight through faith in Jesus. Thank you." So look at Galatian 2:16. It said very plainly how sinners are justified. “We know that a man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we too had put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by observing the law, because by observing the law, no one will be justified.” So justification by faith makes sinners positionally righteous in the sight of God. We have become the righteousness of God in Christ. That leads to the promise of the Spirit. The Spirit was promised in the Old Testament. The Spirit himself is a promise of future perfection. And so if you believe in Jesus, you're instantly given the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit. The Spirit comes and lives in you. Look at verse 14. "He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham"... Notice that word blessing. Not cursed now, blessing. "The blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit." And then the Spirit living inside us leads us to follow the perfect law of God, to love God with all our heart and love our neighbors ourselves, and all of the other commands he wants us to follow. He says, "This is the way. Walk in it." But we're not justified by that walk, we're justified by faith in Christ. The Spirit lives within us and by faith, we step, day after day, later it's going to say in Galatians 5, "Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit." Galatians 5:16, "Walk by the Spirit and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh." Galatians 5:18, "If you're led by the Spirit, you're not under law." We'll talk much more in the future, God-willing, about the Spirit-filled life. V. Application What applications can we take from this? Well, I want to zero in on this one phrase, "Do not set aside the grace of God." Do not set it aside. First, if you are an unbeliever, you're a non-Christian, you came here today and God brought you here by his sovereign grace. I'm pleading with you, do not set aside the grace of God. There will be no other Savior. No one else has descended from heaven and is sticking out his hand to grab you and pull you off the burning floor. There is going to be no other Savior. He's the only one. Do not set aside the grace of God by thinking you can save yourself by your own works. Your good deeds do not outweigh your bad, they cannot pay for your bad, and they aren't even good. Come to Christ. Trust in him and every day, say to Jesus, "Christ, you are my righteousness. You are my righteousness." Every day, say that him. Secondly, embrace and tremble at the idea of the coming wrath of God. It is coming. We don't smell the smoke, we don't see the flames or feel the heat of the flames, but if you believe the Word of God, there is a coming wrath. Jesus rescues us from the coming wrath. 1 Thessalonians 1:10. The universe is going to be incinerated. The elements will melt in the heat, it is coming. Worse than that, the enemies of God will be consumed forever and ever in fire. Fear, trembling, tremble at it, understand you were rescued from it if you're a Christian. If you're not yet a Christian, danger is hanging over you right now. For us as evangelists, let us be faithful to share in light of that coming wrath. Thirdly, embrace and celebrate in the exclusivity of Christ. This is going to be assaulted over the next part of the century if the Lord doesn't tarry. It's just going to get hotter and hotter in the United States of America. We have to stand firm and not burn pinches of incense to other gods, as though Jesus is just one of many gods. We need to stand firm and say, "He is the only God. He is the only Savior. We worship Christ alone." We need to stand firm on that. We need to preach that salvation is found in no one else, "For there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved," Acts 4:12. And then let's preach that Gospel. There is no other Savior. And when people bring up Buddhism, Hinduism, and all that, think of the things we've talked about here in this message. Fourthly, meditate on the concept that Christ became a curse for you. If you've been redeemed through faith in Christ, nothing you face in your life now or will ever face for the rest of eternity can be classified as curse. Nothing. Could be cancer, could be unemployment, could be severe pain, it could be all kinds of things but none of it is curse. Christ sucked curse out of your case and took it on himself. God may discipline you for sin because he loves you. But there's an infinite difference between the discipline of a loving father and a curse of a wrath-filled God. Those are two different things. Don't wait for the other shoe to drop. God has been good to you. He's going to keep being good to you. Nothing but good to you. Some Christians are like, "God's going to get me. I have been so blessed up to now but he's going to get me. He's going to get... " What do you mean by "get you?" "I know I'm not going to hell, but, yeah, this might happen." Look, anything that happens to you is a display of God's love. There is no curse coming for you if you're in Christ. We're done. And fifth and finally, understand that there are two ways to live. You can live by trusting in your own morality through the law or you can live by faith in Christ's shed blood and the power of the Holy Spirit. Two ways to live, law versus grace. Flesh versus spirit, Holy Spirit. Okay, walk by the power of the Spirit and you will not gratify the deeds of the flesh. Close with me in prayer. Father, we thank You for the things that we've learned in this very rich text. I pray that You would please strengthen each of us to understand the Word of God. We pray in Jesus' name, Amen.

united states america god love jesus christ new york fear world trust father lord earth bible spirit man law gospel new york times walk christians holy spirit creator christianity japanese romans speak holy acts psalm sin silence salvation greek corinthians biblical ephesians jews human savior run sermon manhattan boom old testament picture psalms mt islam galatians new testament worse followers eat flesh thessalonians iv deuteronomy behold pharisees amen capitalism gentiles infinite nyu jumping sermon on the mount buddhism boeing judaism ten commandments buddha apostle paul habakkuk thank god faith in jesus socialism justification boston university plato allah aristotle sodom associated press gethsemane ss sinai zephaniah world trade center benjamin franklin in christ hinduism my father towers world needs faith in jesus christ presbyterian because god gomorrah anglican arrogant depart wrath of god ben franklin dan brown twin towers john piper charles spurgeon getty da vinci code immanuel kant abba father bushido lord almighty dagon moloch jumpers only way galatian doctrine of god god galatians new york harbor in christ alone etcetera fourthly keith getty pcusa andy davis noble eightfold path townend stuart townend falling man two journeys stephen prothero judaizer richard drew

God is Not One: Religious Tolerance in an Age of Extremism

Religion and Conflict

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 21, 2013 75:19

Though America is deeply religious, Americans know shockingly little about religion. Without a grasp of religions, we are ill-equipped to understand world affairs or the motivations of our political leaders. Stephen Prothero—“a world religions scholar with the soul of a late night comic” (Newsweek)–offers an illuminating corrective. In his latest book, The American Bible: How Our Words Unite, Divide, and Define a Nation, Stephen Prothero considers lesser known texts that have sparked our war of words and informed our national identity. In his provocative book, Religious Literacy, Prothero addresses a national crisis—that religious ignorance is not bliss—and offers solutions. One of them is mandatory academic study of world religions in public schools. In his book, God is Not One, Prothero looks at the differences between religions and how they have shaped the world. Prothero argues that Religious plurality, or the idea that each religion is just a "different way up the same mountain", is a dangerous belief. Prothero provides a timely and indispensable guide to understanding the great religions, from Islam to Daoism. What makes each tick? What are the similarities between them? But more importantly, what are the differences? It's on this last point -- the differences -- that Prothero offers the greatest illumination. He is convinced that the way to real and enduring interreligious understanding, especially after 9/11, lies not with "pretend pluralism," but with a clear-eyed knowledge of religious difference. The sooner we can understand the differences between religions, the more we can figure out how to achieve religious tolerance and co-existence. Can citizens understand the War in Iraq without knowledge of Islam? Can they debate gay marriage or stem-cells without knowledge of the Bible? In his talks, Prothero shows us that Americans don't know much about their own religions—much less those of others. He then makes an argument for why religion must become the "fourth R" of education. Only by teaching students in high school and in colleges about the Bible and the world's religions (in an academic sense), can we equip them to understand American politics and world affairs. Prothero is a Professor of Religion at Boston University. He earned his PhD in Religion from Harvard, and is a specialist in Asian religious traditions in the United States. He is also a Senior Fellow at the Smithsonian Institute's Museum of American History. His bestselling books have inspired a Time cover story and landed him on Oprah, The Daily Show, The Today Show, The Colbert Report, The O'Reilly Factor, and at the White House as a speaker on religious literacy. He is a regular contributor to CNN.com's Belief Blog, a frequent guest on NPR, and has written for Salon.com and The New York Times. Selected Bibliography Prothero, Stephen. The American Bible: How Our Words Unite, Divide, and Define a Nation. HarperOne, 2012. Prothero, Stephen. God is Not One: The Eight Rival Religions That Run the World--and Why Their Differences Matter. HarperOne, 2010. Prothero, Stephen. Religious Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know-And Doesn't. HarperOne, 2007.

Competing Texts and Changing Terrain: A Conversation with Stephen Prothero About Religion in America

Thinking in Public - AlbertMohler.com

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 4, 2012 47:28

Podcast Transcript... The post Competing Texts and Changing Terrain: A Conversation with Stephen Prothero About Religion in America appeared first on AlbertMohler.com.

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American Jesus: From Thomas Jefferson to Barack Obama - Stephen Prothero - 9-13-2011

CHSBS Presentations

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 13, 2011 79:30

jesus christ barack obama thomas jefferson american jesus stephen prothero

American Jesus: From Thomas Jefferson to Barack Obama - Stephen Prothero - 9-13-2011

CHSBS Presentations

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 13, 2011 79:30

jesus christ barack obama thomas jefferson american jesus stephen prothero

(2010/07/27) Religious Justice League (Religion)

Best of the Left - Leftist Perspectives on Progressive Politics, News, Culture, Economics and Democracy

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 27, 2010 71:01

Edition #389 Religious Justice League Act 1: Banning haircuts - Wait wait don't tell me Song 1: Painted by numbers - The Sounds Act 2: Political fashion news - The Bugle Song 2: Lebanese Blonde - Thievery Corporation Act 3: Pope whipped himself - Young Turks Song 3: Hey, Soul Sister - Train Act 4: Bible more violent than Quran - NPR Song 4: Monster Hospital - Metric Act 5: God cites 'moving in mysterious ways' - The Onion Song 5: Master Plan - My Morning Jacket Act 6: News of the godly Part 1 - Le Show Song 6: (Why Is Your) Heaven So Small - Susan Werner Act 7: Stephen Prothero on the 8 religions - Colbert Report Song 7: Jesus Doesn't Want Me For A Sunbeam - Nirvana Act 8: Study says abstinence-only works - Young Turks Song 8: Boasdicea - Enya Act 9: Heaven to return 3.6 billion souls for rejudging - The Onion Song 9: Knockin' On Heaven's Door - Guns N' Roses Act 10: News of the godly Part 2 - Le Show Song 9: Kids - MGMT Act 10: Glenn Beck, Ignore Jesus, be selfish - Young Turks Bonus iPhone/iPod Touch App Content: Modest-Con 2010 - Colbert Report Produced by: Jay! Thanks for listening! Check out the Best of the Left iPhone/iPod Touch App in the App Store! Visit us at www.BestOfTheLeft.com Contact me directly at Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com Vote for us and leave comments at www.PodcastAlley.com or Review the show on iTunes.

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Stephen Prothero: God Is Not One

Religion

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 16, 2010 52:37