The right’s answer to Bill Maher, the lovely, the talented, Ann Coulter seems to have touched a nerve with her post about Dr. Kent Brantly, the physician who contracted Ebola in Liberia and is now (after being evacuated) receiving treatment in Atlanta.
Ann thinks the $2 million spent on the Dr.’s medically air-tight flight will wind up hurting Samaritan’s Purse, the Christian charity that sent him, more than any good Brantly might have done in Africa. That seems fairly commonsensical. The missions committee of my communion needs to live within its budget. Its officers can’t simply flash an OPC Mastercard when a special opportunity arises or when the Spirit is supposed to have moved. For Presbyterians, everything must be decent and in order, which means within budget. I don’t know what Samaritan’s Purse’s reserves are like, but $2 million, if that is the correct figure, does sound like it could put a dent into good-doing in other parts of the world.
But Collin Garbarino believes the example of Jesus may teach a different lesson about Brantly’s situation:
Christianity has always been a little topsy-turvy. The mightiest king in the universe was born in a lowly stable. The second person of the Godhead “emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant.” “He had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him.” He had “no place to lay his head,” and he surrounded himself with a rag-tag group of fishermen and tax collectors. Jesus could stand as a righteous judge, but he allowed himself to die a sinner’s death. Through sacrifice God saved his people. Through death death is conquered. What’s more foolish than dying in order to live? Christ calls his people to do just that. Take up your cross and follow him.
The thing is, Jesus was born in the stable precisely because his parents didn’t have lots of cash to afford anything better. So doesn’t the humble birth of Jesus in some way back up Ann’s point? Doing good doesn’t allow you to escape creditors. And if Garbarino had gone to Satan’s temptation of Jesus, imagine the conundrum in which he would have found himself. For Jesus could have done a lot more good for planet earth (from one perspective) had yielded to the temptation to bow down to Satan and rule over all the earth’s kingdoms.
But Ann’s post went beyond finances to the motives of missionaries like Brantly — how this became a debate about missions when Samaritan’s Purse is a relief agency is an odd twist.
Of course, if Brantly had evangelized in New York City or Los Angeles, The New York Times would get upset and accuse him of anti-Semitism, until he swore — as the pope did — that you don’t have to be a Christian to go to heaven. Evangelize in Liberia, and the Times’ Nicholas Kristof will be totally impressed.
Which explains why American Christians go on “mission trips” to disease-ridden cesspools. They’re tired of fighting the culture war in the U.S., tired of being called homophobes, racists, sexists and bigots. So they slink off to Third World countries, away from American culture to do good works, forgetting that the first rule of life on a riverbank is that any good that one attempts downstream is quickly overtaken by what happens upstream.
America is the most consequential nation on Earth, and in desperate need of God at the moment. If America falls, it will be a thousand years of darkness for the entire planet.
Ann has drunk a little too deeply at the font of American exceptionalism, but Al Mohler is not happy with Coulter’s raising questions about missionaries motives:
These two missionaries and all the others who have gone as authentic missionaries in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ have not been driven by a mere humanitarian impulse. They have not just gone to help those who are victims and patients. They have gone because they believe that every single human being on the planet is an individual made in God’s image. And they also believe that every single individual on the planet is a sinner in desperate need of salvation. They believe that every single human being on the planet, whether in West Africa or in the advanced Western nations including the US, are in great need of the gospel of Jesus Christ–and that what hangs in the balance is not just the outbreak of a contagion or the future of health but indeed the eternal realities of heaven and hell.
For Mohler, humanitarianism isn’t good enough. A missionary’s motives must be spiritual. They must be pure.
How do you disagree with that, except that most Christians if they are honest know that their motives are mixed (which is why it is so hard to follow the Obedience Boys). Even if I am performing a good work with the intention of being good, aren’t I really guilty of denying the sinfulness that clings to me as a child (though redeemed) of Adam? We are not perfectionists. And this is what makes a show like The Wire so valuable. I put my finger on this last night while watching Brotherhood, a series that comes as close to the feel and sensibility of The Wire without being a mere imitation. In both series we watch characters who are both ambitious (read selfish) and loving. Their ambition takes them to places they should not go — whether they play for the legal or illegal team. At the same time, they belong to families and neighborhoods and that membership sometimes motivates them to use their selfishness in selfless ways. The characters are a mix of vice and virtue.
Well, some might ask, are these shows about Christians? Aren’t Christians different or supposed to be? Well, Brotherhood features an Irish-American family for which the Roman Catholic Church is more than merely a backdrop. But even on Protestant grounds, I’m not sure that the Christian experience is decidedly different from the way these shows present the human experience. We are a mix of holy and wicked. What may make Christians different from the non-Christians of these series (and the real world) — to play by the confessional Presbyterian rule book — is that the latter don’t have holy motives but merely exhibit civic virtue. As the Confession explains — always steering us away from the temptation to invoke “human flourishing”:
Works done by unregenerate men, although for the matter of them they may be things which God commands; and of good use both to themselves and others: yet, because they proceed not from an heart purified by faith; nor are done in a right manner, according to the Word; nor to a right end, the glory of God, they are therefore sinful, and cannot please God, or make a man meet to receive grace from God: and yet, their neglect of them is more sinful and displeasing unto God. (16.7)
But it is also important to remember that the Confession says our good works “are defiled, and mixed with so much weakness and imperfection, that they cannot endure the severity of God’s judgment.” Perhaps this is granting more charity to Ann Coulter than she deserves, but her reservations about Dr. Brantly and other evangelical “missionaries” may be closer to the way that Christians should question themselves (and their good works) than the kind of blanket endorsement that Al apparently renders.
Old Life 
Which of the brothers on the Brotherhood do you like the most? With which do you “empathize”? Are you old enough to “relate to” King Lear yet?
what is the difference between the Irish Mafia and the Rhode Island legislature?
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John 12 Six days before the Passover, Jesus therefore came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. 2 So they gave a dinner for him there. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those reclining with him at table. 3 Mary therefore took a pound of expensive ointment made from pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.
But Anne Coulter asked, why could this money not be spent to buy NY times bestsellers (some written by A C)
I can relate, not because I care anymore about poor people than Anne Coulter does, but because I was raised by puritan parents who always asked us if we could “make do without” because there really really was not enough money to buy beautiful and extra commodities.
But since you will always have the poor with you, there will always be a need and a duty to “make do without”, and spend what money you have wisely and efficiently
Matthew 12—“but you do not always have me”
Luke 5: 33 And they said to him, “The disciples of John fast often and offer prayers, and so do the disciples of the Pharisees, but yours eat and drink.” 34 And Jesus said to them, “Can you make wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them? 35 The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast in those days.”.
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Dreher also wonders and it’s a point worth considering.
http://www.theamericanconservative.com/dreher/ann-coulter-kent-brantly-telescopic-philanthropy/
Still, if Coulter wants to discern motives, isn’t it clear that what drives her as a politainer is attention? It’s all around bad form her words. Some might wonder if the national conversation wouldn’t be better served if she’d drop out and contribute to society instead by marrying and mothering.
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Zrim, your prescription might be good for the nation but imagine the horror for Mr. Coulter.
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This is Ann Coulter at her strident, unsexy worst. Christian missions has always involved going to cesspools. That is, before missions got focused on reaching cities and upper middle class “influencers.” Those who are willing to go to the cesspools and put their lives at risk, even if their motives are (like ours) mixed, should be admired. The specifics of this case are that the missionaries did not know they were going to contract Ebola, any more than David Livingstone knew he was going to die in Africa, and that we live in an era when the money and means were there to bring them home. Most missions agencies, when they send someone to areas where there is poor medical care and the missionary falls seriously ill, are going to Medivac missionaires out, if the means (planes, airport access, etc) are available to do so. We no longer leave soldiers to the care available in field hospitals, nor do we bury soldiers in countries where they die on the battlefield. Nor do we bury missionaries in the jungle or leave sick ones to die, if we can save them by getting them to better care. In the case of Samaritan’s Purse I expect they will have no trouble rasing 2 mil to replenish their reserves. Ann Coulter ain’t no WFB. She is loud, brassy and bitchy at the same time, rigid, and hurts conservatism. And she needs a haircut.
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One thing I find intriguing about Ms. Coulter is that she’s one of those personalities who serves as a kind of Rorschach test… Reagan was another. Bill Maher, another (interestingly, a friend of Ann).
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One thing Ann’s post made me think of was something Barbara Duguid said in a recent interview with Michael Horton. She observed how so many Christians want to go out and do great things for God – go out and change the world – and yet not consider that God might be calling them to a common “small” vocation right where they live, to be about doing the small things for God.
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No one has commented yet on the fact that the Time magazine article that featured Ann years ago as a cover story had her attending Redeemer Presbyterian Church.
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Well, actually, missionaries in the past went out to evangelise, to save souls; not to cure diseases. So Ann is absolutely right. It’s glamorous to go to Africa and cure diseases; it’s not glamorous to help the down and out in the slums in your own city.
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So, if you and Ann are right, then we should stop supporting World Wide Outreach, and call our people home. Especially from Uganda and Haiti.
No need to send medical missionaries to Eritrea, Uganda or Ethiopia either.
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@Jack – It’s similar to the way that folks who “channel” (they still do things like that nowadays, don’t they?) were always great warriors, or famous mystics or grand poobahs of one sort or another, never just a garden variety plebe, a Pompeiian nobody swallowed by the detritus of time and volcanic dust. It’s a neverending chorus of “I AM/WAS…Somebody(tm)!”
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Yeah cause that’s what I said. I think my point was that it’s not the church’s job to cure disease. Ann’s point was that as a Christian, operating as a Christian, this doctor would achieve significantly more by working to bring about the conversion of lost souls and the effect of the conversion of a cultural power broker would be significant.
Geez, I thought this was a 2k site…
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@ Alexander: Didn’t know there was a straight 2K line on Ann Coulter and her column. That said, I would think this site is rather about thinking.
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Bill – This is Ann Coulter at her strident, unsexy worst. Christian missions has always involved going to cesspools. That is, before missions got focused on reaching cities and upper middle class “influencers.”
Erik – Good point. What were these people thinking trying to do missions in a place without Starbucks and skinny jeans? They may have cities over there, but they’re not the right kind of cities.
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Not a fan of Ms. Coulter; read about her post on Rod Dreher’s blog on TAC. Still, I appreciate this posts realistic perspective on fallen human nature. A line that sticks in my mind from Cornelius Plantinga’s book on sin goes something like this, “We bring dirty weapons to holy wars.” Part of me admires Nancy and David Writebol and Kent Brantley. I could not do what they do. But several missionary types I have met over the years seemingly like to bring attention to the sacrifices they make; they seem to desire your pity. Then again, maybe I am just being cynical or reading too much Blaise Pascal.
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Alexander,
You would enjoy reading Meredith Kline’s minority report on medical missions from the early 1960s. It’s in the OPC archives and on my blog.
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“Sphere sovereignty” is not quite the same as being a citizen of two kingdoms at the same time and having two masters, the Bible for church and natural law for everything else….
Click to access Klinean_Minority.pdf
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D.G. Hart,
I think you misspoke when you wrote the following:
We are not perfectionists.
We are perfectionists, especially with others. We’re just not perfect. Have me illustrated my point?
If Coulter was writing to us nonmissionaries about ministering here, she would have a valid point. But she didn’t. Rather, a quote of hers which is missing from this post explains much of her logic:
Not only that, but it’s our country. Your country is like your family. We’re supposed to take care of our own first. The same Bible that commands us to “go ye into all the world and preach the Gospel” also says: “For there will never cease to be poor in the land. Therefore I command you, ‘You shall open wide your hand to your brother, to the needy and to the poor, in your land.'”
Never mind that the historical context of her biblical citation was when God’s people were becoming a nation, what we have today is both the Great Commission and a verse from Hebrews which should direct our thinking:
For here we do not have an enduring city, but we are looking for the city that is to come.
See Hebrews 13:14 for the verse (https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Hebrews+13%3A14&version=NIV). But rather than paying attention to our homeless predicament, that is living as exiles, on earth, Coulter gets all tribal on us in saying your country is like your family. According to who, Ann?
Still, the challenge she gives missionaries should be redirected to the rest of us. And we should note that, according to the missionaries I’ve spoken with, a selfish reason for them continuing their work is to escape American materialism.
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DGH,
I completely agree with your point. But apparently Coulter also said, “If Dr. Brantly had practiced at Cedars-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles and turned one single Hollywood powerbroker to Christ, he would have done more good for the entire world than anything you could accomplish in a century spent in Liberia.” That disgusts me. Networks and coalitions and evangelicals can have their myth of influence. I would rather stick with SC 88, Rom. 10:17 and 1 Peter 1:23-25.
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McMark, I like both Michael and Tommy, like Stringer and Avon.
The difference is that the RI legislature is Italian-American.
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Richard, well, I’ll be darned. Here’s one reaction:
Discipline at Redeemer NYC?
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Roy M., you do know the OPC has debated this matter:
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McMark and EC, I now see you beat me to it.
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Good discussion; and to be reminded that our works are mixed with our own sinfulness and imperfection. I spent years trying to do things with a perfect heart and attitude, and never felt that I was able to be that ‘holy’ or ‘perfect’ in the adverb sense (especially when I was trying to do it in my own strength).
Also, – Zrim, Chortles, and anyone else who is interested:
I posted comments once more under Tim Asks, I Respond – regarding Rev. Harry Reeder and some additional observations on his Embers/Fanning The Flame ministry and his emphasis on ‘committment’ (all this and we will do) and ‘what leaders should look like’.
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Curt, actually, Paul in 1 Tim 5 does talk about the import of care for natives — i.e., family. That’s not the only point. The Good Samaritan is another.
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Chris, that’s why Ann has only a point, not the point.
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C-dubs, but we need more soccer moms and she’s not lifting one manicured finger to help the cause.
Alexander, you’re confused. If it’s not the church’s job to cure diseases then how is it her job “to effect of the conversion of a cultural power broker” in order to win the so-called culture war? Coulter isn’t making anything close to a 2k friendly point. The actual point is to be an all-about-me-lightning-rod, of course, but if you want to be duped into taking her argument seriously then making a case for the non-glamorous work of fighting culture war isn’t 2k because 2k thinks culture war is fubar. It’s what people who can’t stand African heat and poverty do.
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Zrim-
For crying out loud, this is Ann Coulter we’re talking about! She’s a polemicist. If she were the newly appointed moderator of the OPC GA (who knows with you guys) or taking over as Chancellor of WTS then maybe this would be of more concern. But she’s not. It’s not her job to make a 2k argument; it’s not her job to keep to the finer points of Reformed doctrine. She’s making a general point about Christians who talk as if it’s their duty, as Christians, as part of the church, to cure diseases. It’s not. That’s what we have doctors for! And yes this man is a doctor, so if he wants to go over on his own dime- or the dime of some hospital- to cure ebola then good for him. But he’s going over in a “missionary” capacity, which is something else altogether.
The point Ann was making was that if Christians have a duty to the world it’s to evangelise. Not necessarily on the street, or on mission, but at least to bear witness to their saviour in their walk and conversation. But for those who do feel called to take a more proactive approach then why not start at home? Are there no souls to be saved in America? And the witness that would result from one of the filth peddlers in Hollywood being converted would be huge. That’s her point. Are you against people being converted? Are you against people turning away from their worhtless and destructive lives to living lives which are godly and glorifying to God? Apparently, such a thing “disgusts” Chris. Why a Christian would find it disgusting for someone to be saved and to turn from their life of open and unrepentant sin I do not know. Does it disgust you?
And she’s not making a case for American exceptionalism from a Christian perspective. Maybe she has in the past, but not in this article. She was making the rather obvious geopolitical point that America is the only free and democratic nation on earth with the ability and military might- and resolve- to go to the aid of other nations or to go up against the rogue nations of the world. That is a fact. You may not like it, but it is true. Whether America should is a foreign policy argument, but that’s all she’s saying. Without America the world would be in a pretty bad state- geopolitically speaking; it already is spiritually. And yes she makes her point in her own unique, hyperbolic way.
But she does make two clear 2k points which have been made on this site again and again and again: it’s not the job of the church to cure the world’s problems and if Christians want to transform society they should do it on a personal level, not using the church. So what’s your beef? Is it because she’s patriotic? I’ve never heard a reason on this website why a Christian can’t be patriotic. I’ve heard lots of bleeting about patriotic Christians, but what’s wrong with a Christian having a love for his country? Sure, it’s not the new Israel or whatever, but patriotism doesn’t have to have those overtones.
Dr. Hart goes on and on about Christians being good citizens. But how can you be a good citizen if you’re indifferent towards the country you live in, or you’re not interested in its wellbeing? Surely it would be a wonderful thing for a revival to break out in America? Don’t you want to see your neighbours converted?
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D.G. Hart,
And how does I Tim 5 identify the natives in our lives outside of family?
Also, note in the Good Samaritan parable, the neighbor isn’t confined to living proximity but to anyone who crosses our way. And in the age of the internet, we have far more neighbors than we would care to admit.
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Non neutrality disclaimer: I served for 2 years at precisely the mission compound in Liberia where Dr Brantley and Mrs Writebol worked. Has this outbreak occurred 30 years ago, my wife’s cousin would have been the physician in question.
From the OPC report:
If, for example, a group of covenant people form a society to maintain a hospital as a ministry of mercy in the name of Christ, there is none among us but would rejoice in it as an eminently proper kingdom enterprise.
Isn’t that exactly what SIM and Samaritans Purse are doing? They are not a church, but societies of Christians. Apparently there are some among us who don’t rejoice in such things.
Second, while I grant that missionaries inevitably have mixed motives (I know that mine certainly were, and living in a house 40 feet from the ocean’s edge next to the best beach in West Africa was not a hardship posting in those days), I can tell you that there is generally little glory to be found in such service. It is much more like faithfully pastoring a little country church than transforming the culture in Manhattan. If the only way to make the headlines is to contract Ebola, then it’s hardly an easy pathway to glory. I got malaria in spite of faithfully taking prophylactics, which wasn’t much fun. Nobody thought I was hot stuff when I returned (nor should they have). I did my work as an engineer, supported by Christians who believed that I would be helpful there, served the church there in a variety of lay capacities and then came home. I was much more enriched by the experience than anything I contributed there, but (I would argue) that too was a kingdom investment on the part of those individuals who supported me.
Third, the assumption that the $2m came from Samaritan’s Purse directly may be flawed. I’d be surprised if a mission that size didn’t have medical evacuation insurance coverage for all of their missionaries. These days it’s usually required even for short term trips.
Fourth, if Christians are free to spend their money on a variety of legitimate things, why can’t they spend their lives on a variety of legitimate things? To say they should have chosen to work in this country because there are needs here is a crass restriction on their Christian liberty. There are plenty of needs in my own home country (Britain), but I think I’m free to pursue my (parachurch) calling here in the States, aren’t I?
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Alexander, if the point is to keep Christian witness at home then I’ll see it and raise you by putting the emphasis where confessionalists versus evangelicals do, namely on Christian homes–as in believing mothers and fathers raising children to fear God. That’s also good for avoiding the glam-bug. You and Coulter are ironically agitating for another side of the skewed glamour coin, reevivahl and cultural impact.
So if Coulter is serious about keeping things at home, let’s see her get her hands dirty, join a Reformed church, refuse the glamour of politainment, get married and raise children to fear God. I mean, why worry about the soul of nation when they don’t even have one? They have cornerstones and it’s the family. Where is Coulter when she’s really needed? I’d even be willing to forgo the religious aspect of this prescription for her, since even true religion isn’t needed to help build and maintain civil society where it counts.
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Curt, how exactly does “crossing our way” not mean proximity? You lefties always want to go global, just like the capitalists.
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Iain, “Apparently there are some among us who don’t rejoice in such things.”
Can’t I be free not to rejoice? But if Samaritan’s Purse is merely a parachurch agency, why are Coulter and Mohler arguing about missionaries (who preach the word)?
Since the point of the piece was about motivation and the tendency of Christians to go overboard in justifying their actions, we agree.
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I am a bit leery of commenting but since most people are aware of my battle with substance abuse and addictive behaviors at this site I will try to make some contributions to the discussion. I have been in and out of rehabs, 12-step programs, shelters, salvation armies, tents in the woods and even spent some limited time in the fine correctional facilities found in the Chicago area and Savannah, Georgia, since about 2002 (my substance abuse did not get out of control until after my divorce in 1995, and I think part of my substance abuse was related to an addiction to a mix of Arminian, charismatic and reconstructionist theology). My point being is that there is plenty for those who sense a calling for missionary work to do just among those programs and institutions in this country. They all are in need of reform, re-thinking and a shot of new people who really know what the Gospel is and have had their characters formed through well catechized families and churches. It certainly is not glamorous work but I bet it could be rewarding and there is a huge need. The philosophies and theological thinking which dominant these programs, charities, institutions, are not cut from the reformational cookie cutter. And there is a lot of mismanagement, ignorance in how to deal with the problems, and corruption in the institutions that cater to those who are dealing with similar issues as myself (lots of the money does not go where it should go). I did not realize how many people are involved in these institutions and that it is a world that most middle class citizens know almost nothing about. I know I was not aware of it until I had to start dealing with it. Getting these people (like me) back into the work force would solve a lot of problems for our debt ridden national government. However, that is not an easy thing to do when you have a record of having been in these institutions. The staffing agencies that help people like me find jobs are terrible. They get their money from the companies that hire them to find people and nobody wants to hire an ex-substance abuser or someone who spent time in jail. Back-round checks, etc. are an internet click away,so, they just stay on government assistance programs. A big problem, that it seems to me, could be solved pretty easily if some people put their minds to it with authority and know how to make it better.
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D.G. Hart,
When the good samaritan was being a neighbor to the man robbed and beaten on the road, the Scriptures were not talking living proximity. Rather, the good samaritan’s proximity had to do with ability to help travel proximity.
In the age of the internet, that travel proximity becomes negligible because of internet technology. And the way societies are structured gives us more ability to help.
BTW, there are several ways of going global. One is ownership and control of capital, as you see with the neoliberal capitalists. Another is being or supporting a foreign missionary–that is global. Another way is to unite workers just as Capitalists have united business elites. Another way of going global is sharing in the arts. And there are other ways. So just because us Leftists go global doesn’t mean we are like the Capitalists. More nuance is needed than being global.
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Zrim-
Are you saying you don’t want there to be a revival? You don’t want an outpouring of the Holy Spirit? Forget revivalism; forget manufacturing revivals. Are you honestly saying you don’t want and don’t believe in revivals at all?
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As a former (I like how you put it, John) Arminian, charismatic,
(I don’t know if I was a reconstructionist),
– I am now fully convinced that the reformed emphasis is the sane and balanced perspective – regarding missions ‘beginning/focusing’ in/on the home/vocation. I still believe that the church should support church planting teams (where there is a pastor and a team whose ‘mission’ is to establish a church) beyond our locality, generally speaking, but I am so very skeptical about the missionary rhetoric I’ve been so bowled-over with – and the guilt – not conviction – but the guilt that comes with all the rhetoric for ‘just being born as an American’, in the land flowing with milk and honey. David Wilkerson, one of my past heroes (not anymore) was a major contributor……”America has sinned against the greatest light”……..and he also told Charisma Magazine in the early 80’s that he went off on a retreat and ‘heard from God’ about how to minister in his street revivals and that he only had around 10 years or less to live (my paraphrase). This was all toxic to me then. And yet, I see very little difference, though, (sans the prophetic gifts, largely) between influences like that and the pietistic presence in the PCA, including Reeder, Phillips, and others of a similar persuasion in their quest for the same end results through the PCA-seal of approval/cleaned & pressed Jonathan Edwards, and maybe Samuel Rutherford. I understand that Briarwood church now has a ‘charismatic- contemporary feeling/nuance’ in their worship service. As a former charismatic, I’m now starting to wonder if there are not some ‘rabid’ daylight-charismatics in the PCA of our time, but bearing more of a Wesleyan-Edwardsian stamp in appearance. Reeder has spoken of his background/growing up as ‘Missionary Alliance’, whose hero/church icon is A.B. Simpson, who had something to do with the origin of the enigmatic and confusing/guilt-stigmatized Faith Promise (according to an audio where Reeder mentioned the connection). Check out the Christian-Missionary Alliance website where you will find the same terms Reeder uses in his Embers/FTF materials (‘spiritual DNA’ and ‘healthy churches’). I’m not saying that these are Alliance-copyrighted terms, but it was noteworthy to me. I don’t know how many of you out there in cyberspace-land were under/maybe still-are-under the Faith Promise fundraising system, where you felt guilty for taking a vacation, doing something for your wife/spouse, or buying a toy for your child, etc. I’m very sure that there were authentic missionaries in our sphere, but I still had my suspicions about some, and still do. The people on the homefront were suggested to be ‘second class citizens’ of the kingdom, to be sure, and, at times, even outright declared as such. Higher rewards were going to be awarded to those ‘in the pulpit’ or ‘on the field’ (front lines) for sure.
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Curt, the internet and proximity? Hooey!
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Dr. Hart,
I mean this as the highest complement, but Old Life is kind of like ‘The McLaughlin Group’, one of my favorites. I think it is – and they were the ‘original’.
Issue Four!……..what do you say to that Pat Buchanan?
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D.G. Hart,
That’s not the strongest argument I have read and one of the courses I use to teach included logic.
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Alexander: Geez, I thought this was a 2k site…
That’s taking the Lord’s name in vain through that word…
Get with your own program of being a nitpicking jerk against everyone else, huh???
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I am tempted to say a lot more but will try to keep my comments brief and to the point. I appreciate your remarks, “Semp” and I did spend time at a David Wilkerson Teen Challenge rehab in Chicago. I could handle about 1 month of patiently and politely listening to what they had to say and then I started injecting some Reformed theology into the “reprogramming your thinking” daily indoctrination sessions. I did the same thing at a dispy rehab in Whiting, New Jersey too. In both places I found that a good number of the people there end up being very drawn to Reformation theology (they know they are sinners and like the good news of the Gospel) but the staff ends up not liking the dissension and controversy it creates and they come to realize that perhaps their indoctrination sessions may need to be re-thought through and reformed. The heat does rise and they end up trying to put a stop to it.
I have also found that many reformed folk think rehabs should be eliminated. I am not sure what their reasoning is behind that but I think it has something to do that if you were really in the kingdom addictive issues would not be a problem in your life. I think that goes against the grain of medical research into the issue but I certainly am no expert- although I have read many books and spent lots of time thinking about and dealing with the issues involved. So, I am not so sure if proper catechizing in families and churches would solve all the sin, ie., addictive related social issues. I promised to stay brief but hoping to generate more discussion about what can be done to better the institutions dealing with these social sin issues. Or, if reformational churches should just concentrate on their families and local churches. What are the best ways and means of gathering the elect by proper and accurate proclamation of the Gospel? Do you just stay within the confines of the local churches or go out and find them in cultural institutions too?
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Alexander, I’m all for the outpouring of the Spirit but rather see reformation. Ecclesial, that is, not cultural.
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One can certainly quibble with Ann’s harshness, but I tend to agree with her more than not.
First, too many American missionaries are on nothing more than extended vacations. I lived in Japan for three years. Many of the missionaries there lived in luxurious Western-style houses that only the wealthiest 2-3% of Japanese could afford. They spent their entire summers at a resort in the Japan Alps. And they lived off of expensive Western-style food, instead of daikon radishes, cabbage, and grilled fish. It was rather gauche. I observed two exceptions in my three years: two OPC families.
Second, evangelicals don’t like complexity. Pietism has led evangelicals to believe that the clear answer is always the right answer. In the US, they know too much about their culture to free themselves from life’s inherent ambiguity. So, they go abroad, where the virtue of their actions can’t be assailed. Their conduct there is also fraught with ambiguity. But because they’re oblivious to it, they can sleep at night.
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John,
Really appreciate your insights and thoughts. This stuff (Arminian/charismatic/Wilkerson/prophecy) nearly made me crazy. There are still people from my former church background with whom I stay in touch with, but at arms length, because of their theology, and they don’t appear to be open to have a 2-way discussion so much. I myself am on medication, but Jay Adams, Lou Priolo, and others of similar nouthetic persuasion would say that I am in sin/sinning because I am on medication……..
…..that is, they would suggest – highly suggest/stopping short of declaring (by an 1/8 of an inch from the face of the letters of the word ‘declare’ ) that I have unconfessed sin in my life or some kind of disobedience that is my real underlying problem. The latest issue of Modern Reformation addressed these issues (medication) and it was so hopeful even at a glance and quick-read. Also, we must not forget Luther’s struggle with depression, and other saints, like William Cowper, the great hymn writer. Cowper’s story has been a great encouragement to me, and one that you will hardly ever hear the pietists share or speak to, with the exception of John Piper, and I’m behind in reading his view on Cowper’s life. ( I will read it at some point). I’m all for Rehabs, and see them as part of God’s good grace and sovereignty, in the same way that I am helped with the Diabetes assistance service through our local hospital.
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semper fi, I take that as a compliment since I was a big fan of that show. Is it still on? I don’t see it on Netflix.
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Curt, okay. Double hooey. I wonder about your powers of wisdom if you think the internet breeds proximity. What’s next, on-line sex?
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Dr. Hart,
So welcome – and it sure is
http://www.mclaughlin.com/
Probably on your local PBS station, also, if your state PBS office have been able to fund it.
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D.G. Hart,
Internet breeds awareness, the crossing of paths, that the proximity of location brought back then and it even brings some limited capability to help. Democracy breeds the ability to reach out beyond the borders of both our neighborhood/town/city/state/nation and the policies of one’s government.
Remember that Jesus reversed matters. The man who was robbed did not live in proximity to the good samaritan. But once they crossed paths, the good samaritan was a neighbor to the man who was robbed rather than the man who was robbed was a neighbor of the Good Samaritan.
Martin Luther King said it this way when he went up to Memphis to work for the sanitation workers. The people who passed by the man who was robbed did so possibly because they asked, “what would happen to me if I stopped to help this man.” But the Good Samaritan reversed the question. Rather than asking that, he asked, “what will happen to this man if I don’t stop to help?” Now which person reflected the love of God shown when He sent His Son to die for us by the question they asked?
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Semper,
I never read any Adams and am not conversant on nouthetic counseling but I did come across a book that I found helpful while in Savannah, Ga. last year- it was written by Ed Welch and entitled, ADDICTION A BANQUENT IN THE GRAVE, Finding hope in the power of the Gospel. I believe he still teaches practical theology at Westminster Philadelphia. His book is pretty persuasive in linking addictive behaviors with idolatry but tempers it with medical studies on the seeming “disease” nature of addiction. Once the addiction sets into the brain chemistry of an individual it is very difficult to root out. It takes time for the brain chemistry to stabilize again and certain treatments can be very helpful during the time it takes for the brain to heal itself. The pull to return to the addictive substances and behaviors can be very powerful during this time because the brain still craves the chemical changes that the addiction generates. The conclusion that Welch came to about addiction is that there is a mixture of sin and disease in the nature of the problem. He quoted a lot of the prophets in the Old Testament while making his case:
2 “Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth; for the LORD has spoken: “Children have I reared and brought up, but they have rebelled against me. 3 The ox knows its owner, and the donkey its master’s crib, but Israel does not know, my people do not understand.” 4 Ah, sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, offspring of evildoers, children who deal corruptly! They have forsaken the LORD, they have despised the Holy One of Israel, they are utterly estranged. 5 Why will you still be struck down? Why will you continue to rebel? The whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint. 6 From the sole of the foot even to the head, there is no soundness in it, but bruises and sores and raw wounds; they are not pressed out or bound up or softened with oil”
He claims that sin and sickness in this passage need to be pressed out, bound up and softened with oil- obvious imagery to the Gospel. So, the Gospel is what produces the soundness in us habitual sinners and rebels. And the pull of the idol needs to be strongly resisted and not turned to. But without the pressing out, bounding up and softening of the Gospel the pull of the idol will return. I found those to be helpful insights while continuing to struggle with what ails us all.
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Overseas medical missionary = Glamour Profession.
Meanwhile, has anyone noticed how many doctors practicing in the U.S., especially specialists, come in from Third World countries?
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The doctor who contracted Ebola has become a Third World Man.
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Curt – And in the age of the internet, we have far more neighbors than we would care to admit.
Erik – Lord help me if I live even remotely close to so many of these people.
I’m still waiting for Greg the Terrible to pull up in my driveway.
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John – and I think part of my substance abuse was related to an addiction to a mix of Arminian, charismatic and reconstructionist theology
Erik – That stuff can do even the most stout-hearted teetotaler in…
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Bobby – First, too many American missionaries are on nothing more than extended vacations. I lived in Japan for three years. Many of the missionaries there lived in luxurious Western-style houses that only the wealthiest 2-3% of Japanese could afford. They spent their entire summers at a resort in the Japan Alps. And they lived off of expensive Western-style food, instead of daikon radishes, cabbage, and grilled fish. It was rather gauche. I observed two exceptions in my three years: two OPC families.
Erik – Well, how else can we expect them to win the movers and shakers for Christ? What, did we think they were there to reach poor people? Phooey on that!
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McLaughlin’s still on. Average age of panelist? 96
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Curt, speaking of matters reversed, what if contrary to glamorous and popular opinion the Good Samaritan isn’t at all about social justice?
http://confessionalouthouse.wordpress.com/2010/11/01/the-good-samaritan/
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John,
Thanks for your reply ~ and if you are interested, here is the link to the current issue of Modern Reformation magazine I was talking about
http://www.modernreformation.org/default.php?page=main&var1=Home
We got hit with the idolatry thing by virtue (non-virtue?) of the influence of Jay Adams and Lou Priolo. Priolo was very proud of his cockroach doctrine concerning conscience – based on a former counselee of his who said that it bothered her conscience to step on a cockroach. From this monumental counseling moment of experience, Priolo developed this sage advice for his seminars for the help of treating overactive consciences by emphasizing that if anyone violates their conscience for any reason, even to step on a cockroach, they are surely sinning against God. This was both maddening and insane. I think ministers of the gospel should be also versed on I John 3:20 (which is helpful for someone who needs to kill a cockroach, or shoot a cornered rattlesnake in their garage), even though they feel they are murdering one of God’s innocent creatures.
The thought with this genre is that it’s only a matter of diagnosing the sin problem, confessing it, and then you will be cured by replacing it with scripture. And the cure consisted of doing ‘homework’ – which was Law-based. That’s why Jay Adams is wroth with the ‘Gospel Sanctifiers’. and guess who likes Adams and Priolo a lot?……………did I mention accountability is a big part of the cure? or super-accountability, would be more like it…….
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Erik,
I agree!
Zrim,
I agree but it does include social justice. Depends on the kind of help needed
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Erik,
It was the condemnation of the theonomist sanctification by the Law that did a number on me that I could not get out from under- especially as my marriage was dissolving And the enabled and empowered will by the Spirit was not a powerful enough source to relieve the suppressed guilt and condemnation which drives you to idols for temporary relief. But the relief is a false relief and a “banquet in the grave” as Welch says. Only the power of the Gospel, true forgiveness from guilt and condemnation, can overcome the false lure of our idols. They do not apply the salve and balm of the Gospel on the deep wounds that we often are unaware of and do not realize how they influence what we do and why. So, it is the Gospel that has to be continually proclaimed and more deeply understood in order to grow in the grace and knowledge of Christ. The Shephards of Israel were not feeding their flocks the Gospel on a continual basis and as a result the flock was rebelling and scattering. As Isaiah states a few verses later they would have become as Sodom and Gomorra if God had not intervened.
Semper,
Not sure if you were disagreeing with what I said about the Welch book. Was my description similar to the nouthetic counseling approach? I have found that most Christian literature tries to confront the pollution of sin through the Spirit’s work in providing power over our sin. I don’t think that works nor am I sure that the ministry of the Spirit is involved in that at all. When the guilt and condemnation of sin is not dealt with then the sin still has power over us. And our assurance that that is what Christ did for us (and what the Scriptures actually teach) wanes easily when we drift away from feeding on the Gospel and coming into a deeper understanding of it.
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Semper,
I did check out that link to Modern Reformation and noticed that Ed Welch had an archived article featured. I have listened to a few interviews with Barbara Duguid and like what she has to say- although Mark Jones of the obedience boys has spoken out against some of the issues written in her book. I noticed too that Jed Paschal had a article in the magazine. I was a regular subscriber to the magazine since its early days but have not renewed my subscription since leaving Chicago about two years ago.
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John,
You were fine in your description, and I wasn’t thinking of Ed Welch when I was writing. I am still getting to know him as a contributor. What I have seen of him, I like and appreciate.
Also, I just now remember the reference to Calvin’s assertion ‘that our hearts are/can be idol-factories’, and somehow, that assertion didn’t bother me. I think what I am still raw from is others asserting that most of the things I enjoy are idolatrous, such as college football in the Fall, enjoying a certain food, favorite actor/film, or even my vocational interests. I really don’t watch other sports, and I don’t hunt or fish, or have a boat. I know people who do, and they have been accused of their enjoyment being idolatrous by others, even in serious jest, which makes one off-balance. Actually, this (serious jesting) is more frequent, and you don’t know how the leadership meant it. The ones with hobbies/enjoyments that I am thinking of here were not/are not neglecting family for being outdoors, or enjoying a hobby, but thanks to the cadre of the Adams-Priolo influence, they got picked-on about it. That’s what I was speaking to earlier. It’s not the first time I’ve encountered it, but when a whole church buys into a philosophy/theological system like that, and elders are in the ready to admonish you for resisting correction, it’s awfully hard. That’s my concern about the PCA at present – there’s too much of this type of extremism.
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Semper,
Your comments make me laugh- paranoia permeates many a church congregation
Issue #5- what are your thoughts obedience boys?
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John,
Makes me glad! – Indeed, paranoia can be part of the fabric of the local church. I think it happens ‘by creep’, like many other influences.
We do have our own reformed ‘McLaughlin Group’ here, thanks to Dr. Hart!
Issue One! …………I ask you, Mort Kondracke!……..
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PCA house organ bravely chooses sides.
byfaithonline.com/are-christian-missionaries-narcissistic-idiots-a-response-to-ann-coulter/
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Kent- After doing some quick research on Google I realise that “Geez” is a form of Jesus. I had never associated the two words before. Thank you for bringing this to my attention. We must always be helping one another to live more godly lives, lovingly rebuking one another if needs be. Thank you.
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A, but gee-whiz is OK.
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David Simon was asked to write Homocide’s pilot episode but declined, feeling he did not have the necessary expertise. He collaborated with his old college friend David Mills to write the season two premiere “Bop Gun” The episode was based on a story by executive producer Tom Fontana and featured Robin Williams in a guest starring role that garnered the actor an Emmy nomination. Simon and Mills won the WGA Award for Best Writing in a Drama for the episode.
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