Says Who?

All of us have some source of authority for our thoughts about God.

One man says, “Allah is God.”

Another says, “Jesus is God.”

Still another says, “There is no God.”

I met a young man named Gautam early in my time in India. He would visit us and we’d exchange our ideas about God. He worshiped Krishna from whom we get the Hare Krishna group. If I said, “Jesus can heal the blind,” Gautam would say, “So can Krishna.” Whatever Jesus could do, Krishna could do. It was like the old Broadway song, “Anything you can do I can do better.”

What was Gautam’s source of authority in believing in Krishna? It was the religion of his family. He was born into it and that’s what he knew. Why question that?

Most of us are like that.

Everyone has an ultimate source of authority for their “God statements.”

I remember my brother once saying to me, “I have my own ideas about God.” I got the impression that he’d thought about it. My guess is that he based his ideas on his experience in life to that point. His own thoughts were his source of authority. Many of us do that too.

For those who say “Allah is God,” that statement is usually based on the weight of societal opinion and on parental teachings. The Qur'an reinforces the belief.

For the atheist, his authority might be his own opinion, based on experience and what he considers scientific evidence. Certainly the agreement of many in academia is a reinforcement.

When a Christian says, “I believe in Jesus,” it may be from the same set of “authorities,” namely, culture, family, experience, etc. These can help, but is there more?

For many, myself included, there is the person, Jesus Christ. His life is recorded in the four Gospels of the New Testament. The testimony of who Jesus was and is, is an objective source of authority. If Jesus is truly God who came into the world as a man, then the Bible is a very compelling basis for a belief system.

What is your source of authority for your God statements? Is it your upbringing or traditional beliefs? Is it whatever is popular in our culture today? Maybe it’s your own opinion or proceeds from some hurtful experience?

The truth about God is out there. It’s either this or that. It’s either what you believe or it isn’t.

You remember my friend Gautam who was so stubborn about his belief in Krishna? Eventually, Gautam trusted in Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior. Something about Christ sank in. He still actively promotes Jesus today, more than 30 years later. 

I recommend that you read about Jesus Christ in the Bible today. Jesus said, “The one who asks will always receive; the one who is searching will always find, and the door is opened to the man who knocks.” (Matt 7:8)

A Meeting of the Minds?

Last Saturday I was helping to teach an English class along with a friend of mine. Although there are 40 or 50 students divided into four classes, our class had only two women in it. They were both Hindus from Nepal. One married and one single. 

We were two Christian men from the United States, one single and the other married.

One of the exercises to stretch them in their English ability was to answer the following question. “What are five of the most important decisions you will make in your life?”

We began by throwing out ideas and making one master list of the responses.

The married lady chimed in the first response, “Tell the truth.” This was followed quickly by, “Be peaceful.” The younger single girl who is interested in citizenship in the United States then said, “Be loyal to your new country” and “Be disciplined.”  This was good stuff. But I must say, it wasn’t what I expected. They were talking about values and morals. I counted those as things foundational to making the bigger decisions.

The single guy and I began to make our suggestions. “What career you will choose.”

“Who you will marry.”

To this the married Nepali lady said, “That only applies to you, I am already married,” as if outside of her experience the question didn’t really matter.

“If you should get married,” the single American man chimed in.

“How many children you should have,” I said to blank stares.

We two American Christians were talking about major events, - not values. I started to see how different our two sets of worldviews were. What I counted as important wasn’t necessarily to them.

The topic turned to religion.

“Do not believe in superstition, that the old people are believing,” said the single girl. She used the illustration of a black cat crossing your path.

The married lady said, “Pray to God. All gods are the same, names different but one god.”

Feeling the need to speak up for my faith, I said, “For me as a Christian, having a relationship with Jesus Christ is the most important decision I can make in my life.”

Both the ladies smiled and said, “Yes, you’re a Christian.” They laughed as if to say, “We knew that was coming.” The married one repeated, “Many names but the same God.” The single man tried to explain that there is only one God and He is Jesus, but somehow that got waylaid and didn’t go anywhere.

After making a list of 17 items, we decided to vote. Each one of us voted for five. Then we listed the five with the most votes. This is our list. (Not listed in order of importance, just the highest vote getters.)

The five most important decisions a person can make in their lifetime:

- Tell the truth (3 votes)

- Respect everyone (3 votes) 

- Who you will marry (3 votes)

- What you believe. Your worldview. (3 votes)

- To follow Jesus Christ. (2 votes J)

I think the young single girl who was dead set against superstition ended up agreeing that what we believe is an important decision.

Who Makes the Rules Around Here?

The Apostle Paul wrote to Christians, “let us keep living by that same standard to which we have attained.”(1)

Paul is talking about a “rule” that Christians are to live by. For Christians, there is a “rule” of life or a standard. Not everyone likes the Christian standard. But we do have a standard. 

Having a standard does some cool things. For one, it judges our behavior. Can you imagine the injuries if there was no pass interference rule in the NFL? Receivers would be helpless. Secondly, a common set of rules brings a kind of general agreement about how we should live. Generally everyone agrees murder is not acceptable. Thirdly, acceptance of a standard means recognition of some kind of authority, such as the NFL or the American judicial system.

Some say Christians can’t even agree as to what their standard is. Probably true, to some extent. But in the wider society of all types of people, the divergence of standard is far greater.

Christians often get accused of trying to force our standard on everyone. Again, true in some cases. This is rooted in a Christian’s belief that our standard is the best one. Remember the hullabaloo over the replacement NFL officials earlier this season? Most everyone agreed the authority of the old, experienced officials was best.

What hurts my claim that our Christian standard is the best is when we Christians talk but don’t live up to it. Sadly, I’ve done that at times. Not good.

As I said, everyone has a standard. The thief has a standard, the Muslim has a standard, Christians have a standard. They differ and this causes friction in society. Since each standard implies recognition of some kind of authority, the issue goes to those authorities or worldviews. We march to different drummers. The gay activist and the evangelical Christian have different standards under different authorities. The issue is who or what is the standard setter? Is it the Bible? The Quran? My self? Popular opinion? Tribal traditions? A supreme court justice?

My point is everyone has a standard. It’s interesting. No one lives without some set of rules or guidelines, determined by some authority.

What we see in real life lines up with the biblical account of origins. The Bible says God made us and established the first standard when He told Adam and Eve not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. God was the authority. It was up to the first couple as to whose authority they would recognize.

Have you asked yourself, “Who makes the rules around here?”





(1) - Philippians 3:16 (New American Standard Bible)

Multiculturalism & Belief

Not all values, beliefs, and lifestyles are equal.

Does this sound contrary to “All men are created equal?“ It is true that all men and women are created equal. But all cultural values and lifestyles are not equal.

The Bible backs this view. The message from God to Pharoah in the midst of the Old Testament plagues was, “I will make a distinction between my people and your people.” (Ex 8:23) God Himself declares a difference between my and your.

Christian leader Josh McDowell writes, “The basic belief of multiculturalism … is that all cultural values, beliefs, lifestyles, and truth claims are equal; there is no standard by which one can judge one cultural value as “better” or “worse” than that which exists in another culture.”1

German Chancellor Angela Merkel recently said multiculturalism has failed in Germany. She challenged Turkish immigrants in Germany to embrace her countries ‘Christian’ values. Not to become Christians, but to adapt to the cultural values, lifestyle, and language of Germany rooted in a Judeo-Christian worldview.

In the New Testament Paul draws a distinction between the believers and the worldly. “All of us also lived among them at one time … like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath… But … God … made us alive…” (Eph 2:3-4) Us and them. In another place he writes, “Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers.” (2 Cor 6:14)

Today, many tell us that all beliefs and lifestyles are equal. If that is true, then the Ku Klux Klan lifestyle is equal to our current pop culture lifestyle.

As Christians we’re called to love all people and to hold what is true. We are not to give equal value to every belief.

How do we do this? We can begin by heeding the advice of Paul: “… speaking the truth in love” (Eph 4:15) Not just speaking truth – and not just “love” that compromises our convictions. McDowell says, “strike the biblical balance of aggressively living in love while humbly standing for truth.”2 Aggressive in love… humble in truth!

1 - Josh McDowell and Bob Hostetler, The New Tolerance (Carol Stream, Ill: Tyndale House Publishers) 63
2 - Ibid, 97