Daily Post 56

Posters in Texas Schools: See the image below. What is gained by making schools post such a motto on walls? It is not going to convert anyone. I doubt that Jesus cares much about something written on a wall as opposed to that which is written on our hearts. I also think that this is something that mainly Baby Boomers care about. I don’t mean this in a disrespectful way, but I do want to say that this should NOT be interpreted as a victory for Christians. I would rather us fight other battles. I would rather us find ways to serve and declare Christ in other ways rather than piss off the people that don’t know Christ. This on walls, American flags in churches, and the like are just not my style. Is it really biblical?

Local Church: My son and I visited a Presbyterian church yesterday because it is close by. Oh my, it was like drinking from a fresh stream. While it is clearly Reformed and I am not so much—although I so appreciate the Reformed tradition and read several Reformed thinkers—I find it interesting and amusing that when the Gospel is preached, nothing explicitly Reformed comes out. Here are a few highlights as my family looks for a local church to call home:

• Ezra loved it (our son of eight), and this is important to us
• The preacher started with a quote by C.S. Lewis (the one that happens to be inscribed on his marker at Westminster Abbey)—Score!
• Behind the preacher were windows that allows us to see trees while he preached; aesthetically, I found this really pleasing and peaceful
• The pastor wasn’t too young which I appreciate personally
• The pastor preached from Acts 17, focusing on how the Scripture was the ultimate standard that the Bereans returned to time and time against after hearing someone speak—a true message against the idea that truth is relative
• The pastor took time to talk to us after the service—refreshing and enjoyable
• A man around 40 with a family of small kids came over and invited us to sit at his table with his family for the after-service meal . . . Jesus’ love in a practical way
• There is a huge homeschool community that is active and vibrant in this local church—so exciting
• Unlike all churches that I have attended in the past, there is a nice dose of liturgy—I fell in love with it
• People were kind
• I can tell that holiness is important in this church

That is enough for now. We are excited. Jesus loves His universal church (all believers everywhere). Period. And this includes every imperfect expression at the local level.

In My Ethics Textbook: Today I begin teaching Ethics online at a community college in Kansas. This is in the reading and I am thrilled to see it: We cannot move from the fact that people disagree to the conclusion that there is no answer. Now consider a parallel argument that we hear far too often. Imagine that you and your friends are discussing whether euthanasia is morally acceptable. Some say yes, the others say no. Each of you cite how different cultures have different views on euthanasia. Does this fact — that there is disagreement — mean that there is no answer to the question of whether euthanasia is morally acceptable? Again, the answer is no. That answer did not follow in the Olympic case, and it does not follow in the moral one either. So just because different cultures have different moral views, this does not show, by itself, that there is no moral truth and no answer to the question. Good stuff!