Isaiah 2

In the symbolic logic of Hebrew language and culture, the fundamental viewpoint of Scripture itself, there is no one-to-one relationship between symbols and things symbolized. That would be mere typology or allegory, common to Western cultures. Rather, the spiritual logic of Scripture is far more flexible, something with which we are often uncomfortable. Yet this is not to say you can make of Isaiah's words willy-nilly what you wish to see, but that you can't simply put a straight jacket around truth and confine it to boundaries of mere human logic. Insofar as we cannot confine God to our limited understanding, so His truth is somewhat above simple rational definition.

The first paragraph here cannot be taken literally. That would be to commit ourselves to the basic error of Judaism, a Hellenized corruption of Hebrew faith and religion. False Messianic Expectations were loaded with literal renderings of this passage. Rather, Isaiah sees a vision of God's Kingdom, a reality from above. As such, symbolic visions as parables are the only way to convey the content. The Nation of Israel was never meant to hoard the revelation of God to themselves, but share it with all nations. They failed this miserably, replacing an evangelistic zeal with racism and smug superiority. Judaism saw in this passage the promise all the world of Gentiles would willingly become slaves of Israel.

In the broader context of Scripture, within a pure Hebraic culture, we see rather the original plan of God to make Himself known to all His Creation. This is not simply some vision of a Millennium, for that, too, is too literal. Rather, this is how God thinks and acts. Such truth will, indeed, find a manifestation within this world, but we can hardly imagine how it would look. Rather, we are called to a higher place, not the mere pedestrian list of features, but something much more. His revelation will take prominence in all the world. Nothing else will matter by comparison. No race or ethnic group will resist the call of truth, but the Kingdom of Heaven will be drawn from the full scope of humanity. Their whole focus in life will be more and better understanding of God's ways. People who once served as weapons of the will of human governments will become implements of the harvest of souls and spiritual fruit. In His presence, violence has no place. Isaiah pointedly invites his nation to participate, to commit themselves now, before it's too late.

God has forsaken Israel already. They have bought into the groundless silly mysticism of the Far East. They are infatuated with exotic women. Everybody chases worldly wealth and worldly military might. They bow down to things they have made with their own hands. God rightly does not forgive such foolishness. When judgment comes, there will be no place to hide. Offering a glimpse of the peculiar Hebraic sense of humor, Isaiah notes they have spent so long trumpeting their worldly greatness from the tops of the mountains, they won't be able to find a way down to hide from God's wrath. They'll still be stuck on top, exposed to the fullness of His fury. They've stolen His throne, and will be crushed when He comes to take His seat.

The fleshly way of things, admiring tall trees, trusting in oak beams and fortresses unapproachable, or ships which are fitted to cross open seas (instead of hugging the shore as most sailors did) -- everything man thinks really matters will be nothing. Human reckoning invariably gets things backwards. By the time Israel figures this out, it will be too late. Their faces will shine with shame as they try to hide their idols. There will be no place to hide. It would be better for such people if God simply ignored them and destroyed them along with the fallen world.

Just Circumstances

We Calvinists believe in God's sovereignty. What is not in our hands is in His, which means an awful lot of events in our lives are controlled by God. Perhaps a few understand this is not so much a statement about literal reality, but a matter of how we trust God for things we can't control. Frankly, how God operates will remain a mystery for so long as mankind remains fallen, redeemed or otherwise.

Still, far, far too many of us act as if God's control of circumstances means we are supposed to read His will from them. Wrong. We read His will from convictions as understood best we can in light of His Word. A change in circumstances does not signal a change in God's will. It will, at most, signal a difference in what God wants to put you through on the way to greater sanctification.

If we allow circumstances any part in steering our choices, we understand far too little how the Kingdom operates. It is about spirit, not about this world. Are you "trapped" in a bad marriage? Don't pray to get out of it; pray to live righteously within it. Pray for the power to walk by your convictions regardless of the terror and torment such obedience provokes. What happens after that is just circumstance, regardless of what the other half does.

In the Kingdom of Heaven, all your dreams and desires for a happy life are nailed to the Cross. Since death itself is but a circumstance, we dare not allow anything on this earth to steer our choices in Christ. The things we do will often make no sense at all to this world. So, for example, I have all this management experience plus my education in organizational theory. Is it going to waste because I don't work in some corporate or government office and make big bucks? Maybe it is by a human standard, but by the Kingdom standard it simply ensures I'll never be deceived by marketing lies. It ensures I'll never surrender to the siren call of corporate church structure because I know God is not in that.

Don't let "fate" steer your life. Press ahead into the face of sheer impossibility on the basis of faith which will not let you go. Walk by the spirit, not by the flesh.

Memorial Day 2008

I suppose if anybody has "earned the right to speak," I am one of them. While hardly a hero, I am a disabled veteran, losing a part of my body's functions as a direct result of my military service. For now, the rating stands at 50%.

But if you have ever paid a single dime of taxes to the federal government, you have a right to speak. If you have blood or marriage relations to anyone who has ever served, you have paid a price. If you live in the same town with anyone who has died in military service, you have paid a price.

Speak.

Here's mine: Thousands die every year -- thousands of our own people -- for a hideous lie. The people of Iraq and Afghanistan never did anything to us before we attacked. There were all more dangerous to themselves than to anyone else. Now we are spilling our blood in those places for nothing. Worse, we are spilling the blood of countless innocent civilians in the process. We sin.

You see, for the reasons you should speak, you are also sharing in the guilt for the sin of unjust invasions of other countries. Maybe you didn't speak enough. Will you remain silent when we invade Iran, too?

Sometimes It's Too Hard

I'm torn.

Chasing the philosophical framework of Scripture, the peculiar mental ground of the Bible itself, I find I am quickly drawing farther and farther away from the people around me. I am moved to a greater compassion and motivation to be involved. That in itself makes me foreign, but I find explaining the truth puts me in danger of being utterly discounted for being so different.

I do not fear the infamy of fallen men; I rather expect it. Jesus warned us the world hated Him before it hated any of us seeking to follow Him. I'm torn because I know something I want to write may come too soon for some, as they consider whether my witness is true. I don't want to drive them away by demands too high for them.

Our common cultural assumptions are miles and miles away from those of the Bible. The very path of reasoning we use often brings us to the wrong place. This is one of Satan's greatest victories. We read the Bible through Western eye-glasses, and cannot see the truth because we cannot step outside the mental assumptions we have about what makes something "true."

So, we might understand child molestation as a horrific sin, but we hardly understand the spiritual dynamics of why it matters so much. It's not a matter of innocence stolen, the exercise of dominance, nor even perverted lust. It's about taking a mental path, adopting an assumption about the world itself, an assumption which plays into Satan's hands. It's not about the children, but about the idolatry of something which doesn't exist. God can certainly heal the children who are victims of such, but we don't even talk about that, because we fear it will excuse somewhat the lust to use them. We become distracted from the real danger, the danger of seeing in this sickness anything except what God sees.

Sex is about a oneness otherwise impossible in this fallen world. That brief moment when the fallen ego boundaries are cast aside, we have a symbol of what God can do when the Redeemed come together in His love. Instead, we make a deity of that moment when the ego boundaries are dropped. We even have a clinical term for it: cathexis.

In Scripture, the idea there is only One God was quite revolutionary when Moses said it. The Nation of Israel never took to that notion very well, until after the Exile in Babylon. Of course, by then, they didn't know their One True God, so they still had a false god. In Scripture, there is only one person granted by God as your mate (so long as that one lives); the only exception is when you are called to no mate at all. This does not excuse the silly notion of a quest to find that one true love of your life. You can build that love by a conscious choice, provided you are sensible in choosing a mate. Since we seldom are, it works out quite well when people who know us and love us choose a mate for us. Once chosen, the path of spiritual truth is to build a home of the united souls, of a united and single path of serving the Kingdom. The two become one, and the marriage bed is undefiled, just as the union with Christ can't be shared with other gods.

So we make of this some great crime against persons and against society, but we ignore the sin element of idolatry. We allow the fallen world to define what sin is, and make it a measure of spirituality. Chasing cathexis is addictive. Addiction is just another word for spiritual adultery, idolatry. It matters not a whit which path you prefer for false cathexis -- paedophilia, homosexuality, adultery, pornography. Each is wrong, but are merely flavors of the same basic sin: idolatry. God says there's only one way to get your cathexis, and that's His way. Even then, it's not about the means and methods, but about following Him and His choice for you.

Life of Christ: Mark 16

Mark doesn't bother to offer extensive proofs of our Lord's resurrection. He explains simply how the news got back to the men Jesus chose as His closest disciples, and how everyone was so slow to believe. More so, they were slow to grasp something He had explained repeatedly.

The same three women mentioned before as viewing the execution and the burial, are now on their way back to the tomb. They arise before dawn bringing highly scented anointing oils to pour on Jesus' body. By the time they got there, the sun had just risen. They could see clearly. On they way they had been wondering how they would access the body, since the tomb had been sealed with a very large stone. Upon seeing the stone already gone, they stepped inside. Mark describes what they saw. Everyone knows this was an angel, but the Romans lacked the Jewish heritage of having dealt with angels so often.

The women were stunned. The angel announces Jesus is risen, and points out the linen casing, now empty and collapsed in upon itself, in which Jesus' body had been wrapped. He commissions them to tell the other disciples, pointedly naming Peter. By ancient tradition, Peter's denial three times was sufficient to exclude him from any further service, but the Spirit Realm operates by God's Law. Even the soldiers who had crucified Jesus could be forgiven, so the senior man of the Twelve was still included, in spite of himself. The angel noted they would all meet Jesus again -- alive -- in Galilee, as He had promised. The women fled the tomb, as much out of sheer agitation as in obedience. They ran to the place where they had been staying, too dumbstruck to say anything to anyone.

At this point, Mark shifts to a different mode, offering a summary of the well known narrative. His point is to show the process of how the disciples went from completely dejected and fearful, to the bold teachers of the gospel message. The first person to see His resurrected body was Mary Magdalene. It was she who brought word to the disciples. Being as yet men without the Spirit, they didn't believe her. Two others reported that evening they had seen Jesus as they were traveling away from Jerusalem. Eventually Jesus Himself came to His disciples during a meal. Among other things, He addressed the issue of their unbelief. Had He not told them repeatedly how this was all going to work out?

Then Jesus gave them the commission to carry on the ministry they had during His previous days on earth. Mark pointedly mentions this has changed to a message for the whole world, not just Jews. People who are changed by this message and immerse themselves in it will be saved. Mark records this in Greek, using the word equivalent to a sinking ship. The one who drowns will be saved, but the one who draws back is doomed.

Those who are saved will be marked by a spiritual power, a power which passes through every attempt to stop the message they carry. Demons will be driven out. Whatever is necessary to speak the message to every ear will be given them, including new tongues. Should they be bitten by poisonous serpents, they would be safe. Even drinking poison will not stop them. Instead, their miraculous health will be contagious, and others will be healed. These signs and wonders would be native to the Spiritual Kingdom, which carries a far higher authority than anything based on earth.

Finally, Jesus visibly rose into Heaven, the place where His Kingdom was based. There, He took His place at the Father's right hand. The symbol was not lost on anyone reading this. Jesus lives to execute the will of the Father, His Right-hand Man. Thus, these remaining eleven men went out, along with others, and began spreading the message of this Kingdom all over the world. When necessary for the purpose of the Kingdom and message, all manner of miracles took place.

Throughout his Gospel, Mark emphasizes Jesus was a worthy King. Indeed, more worthy than any ruler among humans, for His Kingdom was of the Spirit. All this world and its sorrows are just a circumstance, the background against which the authority and purpose of the Kingdom of Heaven demonstrates its power, its call, and its unique spiritual nature. Mark took pains to emphasize how very different this was from what everyone expected, most certainly the disciples. In the end, they finally got it. They finally understood the thing which held them, and their teaching was trustworthy, for they had been chosen by the King Himself.

Trouble in Computer Paradise

It's no doubt in part due to my constant tweaking and experimenting, but yesterday I had some pretty serious trouble with my FreeBSD installation. At a time like this when I really need to have reliable encryption available for some rather private communication, I couldn't get GNUPG (an Open Source implementation of PGP) to work. I had even gone to the trouble of creating a fresh pair of encryption keys, and it still failed to recognize them.

There are times when I just can't afford the effort to dig through the various bug reports and technical details to find out what to do about it. This was one of them. I suppose it says something of importance to note there was a fallback plan which did not fail: installing openSUSE again.

Yes, it found the imported keys immediately and promptly used them. Everything is a trade-off in the computer world. Perhaps not as radically secure as FreeBSD, SuSE is far more convenient to run from a user standpoint. I'm confident the firewall and so forth are adequate.

Warning to Readers: Be Aware of Surveillance

This is not meant to be melodramatic and improve my "oppressed Christian" profile. It's real, it's pretty common these days, has already affected many of us without our knowledge. I just happen to be in a position to detect it, sometimes. I believe I've already mentioned I've been under federal surveillance before. It's rather odd, since they are so poor at hiding it. You know, really obvious stuff, like clean cut young men, entirely too well dressed, asking about me in a hick town in South Central Texas. Those questions got me kicked out of my job as church music director there. Real subtle, no?

After my rant regarding child welfare agencies, it started again. Since I live in an urban setting, some of it might be a little harder to detect. However, this time I noticed a sudden change in my email services. Yeah, all of them except one, a service based in Europe. For the rest of my addresses, all my email took at least a half-day to deliver in or out. Bear in mind, I'm connected via AT&T with some of the fattest pipes just on the other end of my phone line, and a major server farm inside the Metro area where I live. I typically get messages between my various boxes in seconds.

Yeah, there are times when this or that network is gonna hiccup. I allowed for that. Several messages to me from key individuals were delayed at different addresses by a half-day. Several messages I sent to key recipients were delayed the same way. These different correspondents are all over the world. The pattern was quite distinct and noticeable. My mail is being heavily filtered right now, so be aware of that. I can only assume that means my posts here are now being heavily monitored, most likely automated. Chances are good your visit to this blog is being logged.

Now, since I rather expect that sort of harassment, I simply deal with it. There are ways when it really matters, and geeks know them. For example, I run FreeBSD, which is notoriously hard to crack, even by government spooks. Not impossible, but hard. For yourself, you may simply not care. That's your choice. However, I felt it was my moral responsibility to let you know.