Reflections at Christmas time

Christmas is going to become more and more important as the years go by, as the Emerging church gets more popular (Or is it dead? Sorry, just touching some nerves :P), and similar liberal view of Christian spirituality permeate our culture.
As things like the virgin birth get called into question, the deity of Christ, the authority of the Bible, the historicity of the Bible, Christmas will become a time where the two views, that of Biblical Christianity and of extreme liberal christianity, will need to ask again and again these questions.

While the whole world looks on.

It will become a time where we can speak of Christ the way the Bible speaks of Christ, and where we can share with those who think they know the Gospel the real truth and weight of what it means to believe in a humble Saviour, divine yet human, took sin for us yet exalted, gave us the gift of new life by faith yet deserves all our praise by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Christ, born The King of our lives.

Some helpful things I just read:
C. J. Mahaney looks at the disturbing nature of the Birth of Christ, and why it's important to see it this way here

Albert Mohler revisits why the virgin birth is important to Christian belief here

The Christian/Atheist debate

I am becoming increasingly tired of the Christian/Atheist debate.
Below I made mention of the Dawkins-Lennox debate, but I'm not just thinking of that, I'm thinking closer to home.
Recently I have been having a few discussions with Atheists via facebook. Mainly I have been acting as an arbiter, or simply discussing the Bible on it's own terms. I'm not into the Philosophy, and neither am I qualified to answer. Plus it can be a little dry.

But all this makes me wonder.
Is Christianity engaging the Atheistic community helping, or is it increasing the problem?
Are we simply giving tools of rejection to those who might otherwise accept the Gospel?
It seems the more we defend, the more voices that become educated in atheistic thought and come against us.

I'm also finding that in discussion, when coming back to the Bible, so much more gets discussed and considered. I don't think I'll become an apologist. I just want to preach the Gospel man.

"he will simpy be remembered as wrong"

I was having a conversation with my Dad today, about the Dawkins-Lennox debate. (Thanks Jolly) My Dad and I have a lot of interesting discussions, as he is a self titled Christian evolutionist, as he's a background in extensive but incomplete education in most areas of tertiary science and medicine. (I don't feel that puts him in a box) And I'm a Creationist as far as the bible takes me into the scientific discussion. (Neither, I feel does this put me in a box) and we differ on things that are not Gospel issues.

My Dad has a lot of Dawkins' books, and as I spoke to my Dad today, he was telling me that it is apparent to him that Dawkins wants to be remembered as much as Darwin:

"But I feel he will simply be remembered as wrong,"
He went on, after a pause that is so Characteristic of my Dad's conversation style,
"not in the Christian/Darwinism debate, but purely in evolutionary science."

Losing freedom..

"Christianity's claim to being the truth takes away my freedom.. all truth is relative"

"Post-modernism's claim to relativism takes away my freedom.. to believe the Gospel"

Imagine..?

"Imagine there's no Heaven
It's easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us only sky
Imagine all the people
Living for today"

This is the reality of so many people, living life for a 'heaven' in which Jesus doesn't exist.
Where Christ's atoning death counts for nothing as we live our daily lives pretending the biggest moment in recorded history was simply an unfortunate event for a man and his family.
Lennon describes the Atheist's heaven, which becomes the ultimate Hell. Separation from God.

I don't need to imagine John, I can see the people living for today all around me.. and it makes me sad.

Lennon's song was supposed to be one of hope.
The reality is probably better reflected in the cover by A Perfect Circle.

Gospel according to..

Second hand information can be good.. but sometimes it's really helpful to get back to the source.

This has never been more true than with the Gospel.
In the big bad world of evangelism so many people have their own idea of the Gospel, and preach it daily..:

• "Jesus was just a man"
• "The Gospels of Mark, Mark 2.0 (Luke), Mark 2.1 (Matthew), and John are all literalist revisioning of a Pagan Mystery religion."
• "There was no literal Jesus."
• "The Good News is there's a sale on Mormon ties and hoodies"

In our present post-christian society (anyone got a technical term for this?), we have the challenge of preaching and ministering the Gospel to those who have already "heard it" today..
They'll accept anything as Gospel..


..without reading it themselves.

How can we be challenging the secular world to be opening the Bible before creating their own version of the Gospel?