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Catechesis

Christianity’s Answer to the Problem of Evil

Rev. Ian Pacey

So what about evil? If God is good, why does He allow evil? If He is all-powerful, why doesn’t he prevent evil? Pastor Ian Pacey addresses the “problem” of evil and the Christian faith in this week’s Article Spotlight from the 2012 Spring Apologetics Issue of Higher Things magazine.

Introduction
Of all the questions Christians encounter as challenges to our fundamental beliefs, the problem of evil is without a doubt one of the most popular. Why do we suffer? Why do terrible things happen to my family and friends? Why do horrors like 9/11 or Auschwitz take place? Why are “natural” disasters allowed to bring forth death and destruction? If there is a God, why do these things happen?

The Question or “Problem” of Evil
Formally, the question or the problem of evil (the typical term) goes something like this: Christians, on the basis of Scripture, believe God is omniscient (all knowing), omnipotent (all powerful), and omnibenevolent (all good). If God is omnipotent, He can do all things. If God is omniscient, He knows all things. If God is omnibenevolent, He desires to prevent all things that would frustrate or corrupt good. In other words, He would eliminate the very possibility of evil.

Let’s put this together: If God is who the Christians say He is, evil should not exist. Nevertheless, evil does exist. Therefore, as the argument goes, the God of Christianity does not. If there is any “deity” out there, because evil exists, he is not all powerful, or he does not know, or he does not care. In any case, He is not god as Christianity declares and He is not worthy of our concern.

Answer the Question!
As we begin, it is necessary to remember some ground rules. Too often, when we Christians are faced with this question and others like it, we often respond with nothing more than a challenge of whether those asking the question can even know good from evil. If the questioners cannot know good from evil, then they are in no position to ask the question. It is true that, without objective standards, the knowledge of good and evil is an utter impossibility. Nonetheless, this is not an acceptable answer. In fact, it is not an answer at all. What we need here is a real, truthful response to the problem of evil.

Defining Good and Evil
For Christians, the first part of our response is establishing basic, Biblical definitions. The claim we are countering is: The Christian view of God and evil cannot coexist. For this reason, we must first define what we mean by God and evil. Establishing the Christian view of God is fairly simple. For brevity’s sake, let’s go with something like the “supreme being.” When it comes to evil, things are a bit trickier. This is because evil is all too often identified as anything that causes pain. When it comes to evil, Christians do not narrowly define evil as what causes pain, but as any thought, word, and/or deed that is not in accord with God’s moral will.

Philosophical and Existential Problem of Evil
With God and evil defined, an answer can now be worked out. At the core, there are three basic points the Christian must make: 1. God is not the author of evil. He cannot go against His own will; 2. Evil exists because of human sin, or human desire to reject God’s will; and 3. The existence of evil does not necessarily preclude the existence of God. Man, not God, is responsible for evil. God could or does have reasons for allowing evil to happen.

Again, the charge skeptics make here is that it isn’t logical for God and evil to coexist. These three factors, taken as a whole, dismiss the logical problem of evil. The problem we now have is many who struggle with evil are not addressing it logically. Instead, they are working on the emotional or existential problem of evil. People in this situation see evil in the world and their gut level response is: “This cannot be right!”

The True Answer to Evil: Jesus
For those struggling for an answer at the gut level, the one answer, the best answer the Christian has to offer, is Jesus! Jesus as revealed in His life, His death, His resurrection, and His eternal promises. Jesus as summarized by what we call the Gospel. It may sound trite. It may sound cliché. But, overuse and abuse notwithstanding, Jesus is the best answer; He is the ultimate answer to our struggle with evil.

With the coming of Jesus in the flesh, what we have is nothing less than God coming into our world and declaring His war against sin, death, and the devil; against all evil. Follow this up with our Lord’s life, death, and His resurrection, by which He paid the debt for sin, and the reality is an actual, true overcoming of evil in this world and in the world to come. Does this mean evil will cease to exist in this life? No, it is not quite that simple. Scripture is clear on that point. What we learn in Christ is the fact that God is not indifferent to our troubles. By becoming man, Jesus has entered into our suffering, and in His death and resurrection, He has removed both the power and the problem of evil forever.

Rev. Ian Pacey is an LCMS Campus Chaplain at the University of Arizona. He can be reached at revpacey@yahoo.com

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Catechesis

Text, Typos and Transmission: Why You Can Trust the New Testament

More than any other ancient writing, the New Testament has tons of evidence that show that it has been faithfully and accurately copied and transmitted down through the ages. Check out this week’s article spotlight from the The Apologetics Issue of Higher Things Magazine where Pastor Mark Pierson highlights the amazing way in which the New Testament has been preserved and gives you the facts for reminding those who doubt, that the New Testament is a book as reliable as they come! Click here for a PDF copy of the article. You can also download a bible study and accompanying Leaders’ Guide.

Rev. Mark Pierson

I remember when it first dawned on me that there might be “problems” with the New Testament. As I casually flipped through the red-lettered words of Jesus in my parents’ study Bible, something surprising caught my eye. There, in the Gospel of John, I noticed a particularly strange footnote. It said something like, “This part is not the same in all ancient manuscripts.” This struck me as rather odd and out of place. Why would a note like that be in the New Testament? Does this mean we don’t know the whole truth about Jesus? Can a book that contains typos really be God’s holy Word?

Not all of these questions were at the forefront of my mind that day, but years later they popped up. In fact, one of the most common misconceptions about the New Testament (NT) is that it has been copied, translated, and altered so many times that it no longer resembles what the original authors wrote. Thankfully, an apologist—a defender of the faith—explained to me why the NT is actually the most trustworthy collection of texts from the entire ancient world.

The Older the Better: The Earliest NT Manuscripts
Have you heard those radio ads telling you to back up your computer before it crashes and all your data is erased? Well, as far as we know, the original writings of the NT have been erased from existence. Copies were made, but since neither computers nor the printing press existed back then, everything was preserved by hand for centuries. So how do we know some drunken monks from the Middle Ages didn’t change the text? Maybe somewhere along the line people put words into the mouth of Jesus, having Him claim to be God, or that His death would pay for our sins, when He himself never said such things. Could it be that the text was tampered with and we just don’t know it? The answer is NO, for at least two reasons.

First, the oldest surviving parts of the NT date all the way back to the beginning of the second century. This may seem like it’s still not early enough, since Jesus and the apostles lived in the first century. But keep in mind that most of the NT was written in the latter half of that century, such that only a couple of decades separate the last living apostle from our earliest copies. (In fact, even as I write this article, scholars are claiming a new discovery—a portion of Mark’s Gospel from the first century. The official report will come out next year, but this new find could make any time gap completely negligible.) Second, since discovering the Dead Sea Scrolls we have learned that texts could be used for a hundred years before they wore out and disintegrated. This means our oldest copies of the NT were likely made when the originals were still being read in the churches. Thus, it is far-fetched to think significant changes crept into the NT so soon after the apostles died while their original writings remained in circulation. Plenty of people who knew the apostles firsthand lived into the second century and could have prevented this from happening.

Too Much of a Good Thing? The Number of NT Manuscripts
“Thou shalt commit adultery.” How’s that for a commandment? This is what one version of the Bible actually said, due to a printer’s error. But what if this was our only copy of the Ten Commandments? Or what if we only had one other copy, which said “Thou shalt not commit adultery?” The fewer the manuscripts, the harder it is to know what the text initially said. On the other hand, if there are lots of copies to compare with each other, reconstructing the original is much easier. So how many NT manuscripts are there, and how well do they match?

Currently, there are 5,700 NT manuscripts in ancient Koine Greek (its original language). Add to that all the early translations into other languages, as well as quotations made by early Christians, and we have around 25,000 sources for the NT text. In fact, if all Greek copies were permanently destroyed, almost the entire NT could be reconstructed from these other sources alone. Scholars have even admitted that they are embarrassed by such a large quantity of manuscripts. After comparing them, altogether 99 percent of the NT has been established with confidence.

Quantity vs. Quality: The Variants in the NT Manuscripts
Returning to that footnote from the Gospel of John, I later learned that it was called a “variant.” Variants occur whenever there is not a letter-for-letter or word-for-word match between copies. Such discrepancies are actually quite common in the NT—a fact which some skeptics have pounced on and made into a big deal. “There are more variants in the New Testament,” they’ll say dramatically, “than there are words in the New Testament!” This is true, but also entirely misleading. The reason for so many variants has to do with the vast number of copies, not with a vast number of errors in the text.

For example, this article contains over 1,000 words. If someone were to copy it by hand and make only one mistake, that copy would be 99.9 percent accurate. Then let’s say 2,000 people copied this article, with each of them making one mistake. This would create twice as many variants as words, but each copy would remain 99.9 percent accurate. So the real question is not how many variants there are, but how significant the variants are.

Almost all variants in the NT have absolutely no bearing on what the text means. The most common of these are spelling mistakes and changes in word order. (In Greek, you can speak like Yoda and still make perfect sense). So can you tell what this verse is saying? “God gave his only Son, for love the world so much he did that whosever beleives in him will have life etneral and perish not.” Though this is an exaggerated example of a variant, you probably had no trouble figuring out what it means (“typos” and all). And of those few variants where scholars remain divided on what the original text said, none of them brings into question anything Christians believe about Jesus. You could literally 
cut out each of these variants from your Bible and your understanding of Jesus would remain the same.

Putting it into Perspective
To realize how well preserved the NT is, it should be compared with other ancient manuscripts from about the same time. Three historians who lived in the first century, Josephus, Suetonius, and Tacitus, make for helpful examples here. The time gap between them and the oldest surviving copies of their works is 800 to 1,000 years. For the number of manuscripts, there are 133 of Josephus’ writings, 200 for Suetonius, and only three for Tacitus. Reconstruction of Suetonius’ text often rests on speculation, and too few copies of Tacitus remain for comparison. Josephus is the best preserved of these, but that is largely due to the efforts of Christian copyists. Professional historians accept these texts as generally reliable sources, and yet the NT clearly has much stronger credentials.

It is evident that the New Testament has been preserved with remarkable accuracy. There is simply no reason to think we cannot know what the original texts said. The Jesus we find in our modern Bibles is the same Jesus who once walked this earth, who has taken away the sins of the world, and who is present in the midst of His church for you today. The Word who became flesh among us for our salvation has preserved His Word in the pages of the Bible to make sure that salvation is delivered to you!

Rev. Mark Pierson is currently working toward a Ph.D. in New Testament studies. He also has a passion for evangelism and apologetics. You can email him at markapierson@gmail.com.

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Catechesis

Lutheran Apologetics, Augsburg Style

“Apologetics” is about defending the faith. When you have the truth, how can you not stand and speak it? Our series of Apologetics articles begins with Pastor George Borghardt’s article reminding us that doing apologetics is just another part of daring to be Lutheran! Remember, you can access all the articles in the Apologetics Spring Issue of Higher Things Magazine here! Stay tuned for more article spotlights from this awesome-packed issue!

Rev. George F. Borghardt

After the Gospel became clear to Dr. Luther, the Lutherans presented a statement to Emperor Charles V on June 25, 1530. They confessed that salvation was by Jesus alone, that it is by grace alone, and is received by faith alone. Although they quoted the Fathers of the Church, their arguments were based solely on Scripture.

The Emperor was not impressed. His reply, written by the Roman Catholic theologians at Augsburg, was read to them on August 3, 1530. It was supposed to be the final statement on the matter. No written copy was even given to the Lutherans! Thus, says the Church and the Emperor, “You are done. The end.”

Would you be done? Would you back down? If you knew you were right, if you believed that you were right, if every time you looked at the Scriptures, all you could see was that salvation is freely won by Jesus’ death on the cross and freely delivered in the Word, would you tuck your tail and run back home just because some theologians and the Emperor said you were wrong? The Lutherans didn’t. A layman, Philip Melanchthon, who taught at the University at Wittenberg, prepared an Apology to the Augsburg Confession. The Lutherans weren’t saying they were sorry for anything they had confessed. They were defending it! An apology, (in Greek ἀπολογία), is “to speak in defense of something.”

Lutherans historically have always engaged in apologetics. We have defended the Christian faith—even when it might mean certain death. When you know you are right, when you can’t see anything other than the Truth, you defend it.

Apologetics is all about defending your faith. When you defend your faith, when you defend what you believe in Christ, you are doing apologetics. You are doing apologetics when you talk to your friends about why you believe what you believe as a Lutheran. You are doing apologetics when you stand up (respectfully!) to your teachers and professors about how God made you and all creatures. The question is not whether to do apologetics, but when you do them, what’s the best way?

“What does this mean?” in our catechism is followed by, “Why does this mean what it means?” The why always comes from Jesus’ death and resurrection. The answers flow from the Scriptures with sound reasoning to a world around you that thinks everything you believe is just plain foolishness.

But Christ’s death and resurrection is anything but foolishness to you. His death and resurrection is the basis for all that we believe in (1 Corinthians 15). The faith of Christ flows from the death and the resurrection of Christ. If Christ rose, then everything we believe in really is possible—
a seven day creation, Noah’s flood, Jonah and the big fish, Jesus’ birth from a Virgin, eternal life…even heaven itself. And for Lutherans, that especially includes the belief that salvation is by grace alone received by faith alone.

What was published as “Melanchthon’s Apology to the Roman Confutation to the Augsburg Confession,” became the official Lutheran Confession of faith. Since that time, it has been included in the list of our doctrinal confessions. Apologetics has been, still is, and should always be what we continue to do as Lutherans. We confess and we defend because who Jesus is and what He has done is the unchanging Truth.

Rev. George F. Borghardt is the senior pastor at Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church in McHenry, Illinois, and serves as the Deputy and Conference Executive of Higher Things. His email address is revborghardt@higherthings.org.

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Christ on Campus

Christ on Campus: Evangel-less Christianity on Campus

Article PDF | Bible Study PDF | Leader’s Guide PDF

Craig A. Parton

The modern American university campus is a product of three centuries of secular culture. The roots of that secular culture are found in the earliest attempts within the university to engage in what was thought to be a “safe” biblical criticism aimed at the first books of the Old Testament. Radical surgery on the Old Testament was soon performed within the university on the New Testament, and the untethered campus man concluded that he did not need any word from God to give him either morals (found so obviously in nature and her laws) or an explanation for the origin of the species. The Bible was dead. God was dead. Man was free and had in hand a self-diagnosis of perfect health. This brief moment of delusional peace came to a decisive end with World War I. Man was now dead, too.

Culture and university life went from a total optimism in man’s ability to create his own meaning and to save himself, to utter pessimism and a retreat into despair. Painting, music, and literature, unleashed from any concept of being entrusted with gifts from God, degenerated into narcissistic efforts to shock the conscience. Good or bad did not matter because it was all about accepting the mantra on the university campus that all views (save for biblical Christianity) are equally valuable. Rushing into the vacuum came Eastern religious positions like Buddhism and Hinduism, pointing out that Christianity in particular had kept man from discovering inner divinity and his essential oneness with the cosmos.

Christians on campus were defenseless against the inroads of Eastern and New Age religious positions. Why? Instead of proclaiming the faith once delivered to the saints and defending it with the factual arguments honed over the centuries by apologists from Cyprian to Chesterton, Christians defaulted from defending the Gospel to being the Gospel. The casualties on campus have been the loss of apologetics, evangelism, and the Gospel itself.

Ignore Apologetics on Campus and You Get a Defense-less Christianity
The word “apologetics” comes from the Greek text of I Peter 3:15– “be ready always to give a defense (apologia) for the hope that is within you, yet with gentleness and reverence.” Two broadsides are delivered from this passage.

First, apologetics, or defending the faith, is biblically commanded. It is not optional to give a reason for the hope that is within us, nor is it relegated to the pastoral office or to a special class of “intellectual” Christians with a university degree. Second, sharing you (whether it is your heart or your testimony) is not biblical, let alone apostolic, apologetics. Instead, we are to give reasons for believing in Jesus’ perfect life, atoning death, and resurrection from the dead, and are to persuasively present the evidence that demands a verdict. We can see how Paul brilliantly did this before Herod Agrippa in Acts 26:26-28.

Apologetics is about giving reasons. It is not, therefore, simply a form of philosophy, nor is it a species of systematic theology, nor is it simply a subset of preaching, as if defending the faith is something only pastors do!

Apologetics is not only biblically commanded, it has a long and noble history. There was even a so-called “Age of the Apologists” in the 2nd, 3rd and 4th centuries that developed a Hall of Fame of defenders of the faith (Cyprian, Irenaeus, Tertullian, and Augustine to name but a few). Today, there is an impressive pedigree of trial lawyers that have investigated the truth claims of Christianity and found them utterly compelling. The Canadian Institute (www.ciltpp.com) has the finest array of resources for the college student on the defense of the faith today.

There is something to learn from the fact that the most effective apologists in the last century were not trained in formal theology at all (C.S. Lewis, G.K. Chesterton, Dorothy Sayers, Charles Williams, and J.R.R. Tolkien). One need not have a seminary education to be effective in the defense of the faith on the modern secular campus. In fact, an insulated theological education may end up impeding one in the apologetical task since theologians tend to maximize the assumptions that are to be accepted and minimize the evidence to be marshaled.

Lose Apologetics on Campus and You Get A Christ-less Christianity
We ignored apologetics on campus and lost what apologetics was defending. Well, what is it we are defending in apologetics? The Gospel, of course! Or, to be more specific, what C.S. Lewis of Oxford University called “Mere Christianity.” Think of the central propositions of the Apostles’ Creed, most especially that Jesus Christ, true God and man, died for the sins of the world and rose again to life.

But this is exactly where so many well-meaning Christians on campus miss the 3:10 train to Yuma. Because the Gospel is not the center and circumference of their theology (it is just one of many equally important doctrines), they end up with what is secondary in Scripture becoming primary while what is primary becomes secondary. Arguments are centered on, for example, what went on before time, or at the beginning of time, or what happens at the end of time. Speculation has the front seat, and facts get stuck in the back seat if they are there at all.

So apologetics is about the defense of the faith, and specifically of the Gospel. What then is the Gospel? Just this: Christ died for sinners and you qualify. The Gospel is all about what was done for you and in spite of you. We are the problem, not the solution. Any “apologetic” that is about your anything (except your sin) is decidedly not defending the Gospel.

In summary, when defending the faith in the dorm or in the classroom, every once in a while stop and ask: Is what I just talked about in the Apostles’ Creed or not? If not, a flare should go up that you are very likely headed in the wrong direction.

Christians on campus thought they could ignore apologetics with no harm to evangelism or the Gospel. Christians in the college square stopped contending, then stopped evangelizing, then stopped believing there was anything worth contending for or evangelizing about.

Defense-less Lutherans and Christ-less Liberals: A Campus Trainwreck
Our situation today on campus? A multiplicity of religious options are being presented, essentially all claiming to change one’s life, and none of them offer anything resembling persuasive factual evidence. The Christian at the modern university has the answers. In fact, offering evidence for belief is unique to Christian truth claims.1 Apologetics that focuses on the case for Christ is not antithetical to evangelism. In fact, such a defense of the faith is evangelism.

Instead of providing historical, scientific, and legal evidences on behalf of the Christian position, Christians on campus have jettisoned the apostolic admonition. Instead of learning the many convincing proofs referred to by Dr. Luke, they are way too busy learning the purpose-driven life while buying work out programs so that they can exercise like Jesus did.

Apologetics as Evangelism on Campus
It is not apologetics instead of evangelism. It is not apologetics versus evangelism. It is not apologetics without evangelism.

Apologetics on campus that centers on the authenticity and centrality of the death and resurrection of our Lord for the forgiveness of sins is apologetics as evangelism. It is the tool of apologetics that helps Christians to boldly give to others those reasons for the hope that is in them.

  • 1* For a superb summary of those evidences, see John Warwick Montgomery’s Tractatus Logico-Theologicus, 4th ed. (Bonn: Culture & Science Publ., 2009, available through the Canadian Institute for Law, Theology, and Public Policy), esp. Proposition 3 (“Historical, jurisprudential, and scientific standards of evidence offer the touchstone for resolving the religious 

predicament by establishing the truth claims of Christian proclamation.”), pp. 65-128. See also, R.C. Sproul, Reasons to Believe (Dallas: Regal Books, 1978), which deals with the ten most common objections raised on campus by unbelievers.

Craig Parton is a trial lawyer and partner in a law firm in Santa Barbara, California. He is the author of three books on the defense of the Christian position and is the United States Director of 
the International Academy of Apologetics, Evangelism and Human Rights 
(www.apologeticsacademy.eu) which conducts its annual summer study sessions in Strasbourg, France. He can be reached at cap@ppplaw.com.

Categories
Christ on Campus

Christianity’s Answer to the Problem of Evil

Article PDF | Bible Study PDF | Leader’s Guide PDF

Rev. Ian Pacey

Introduction
Of all the questions Christians encounter as challenges to our fundamental beliefs, the problem of evil is without a doubt one of the most popular. Why do we suffer? Why do terrible things happen to my family and friends? Why do horrors like 9/11 or Auschwitz take place? Why are “natural” disasters allowed to bring forth death and destruction? If there is a God, why do these things happen?

The Question or “Problem” of Evil
Formally, the question or the problem of evil (the typical term) goes something like this: Christians, on the basis of Scripture, believe God is omniscient (all knowing), omnipotent (all powerful), and omnibenevolent (all good). If God is omnipotent, He can do all things. If God is omniscient, He knows all things. If God is omnibenevolent, He desires to prevent all things that would frustrate or corrupt good. In other words, He would eliminate the very possibility of evil.

Let’s put this together: If God is who the Christians say He is, evil should not exist. Nevertheless, evil does exist. Therefore, as the argument goes, the God of Christianity does not. If there is any “deity” out there, because evil exists, he is not all powerful, or he does not know, or he does not care. In any case, He is not god as Christianity declares and He is not worthy of our concern.

Answer the Question!
As we begin, it is necessary to remember some ground rules. Too often, when we Christians are faced with this question and others like it, we often respond with nothing more than a challenge of whether those asking the question can even know good from evil. If the questioners cannot know good from evil, then they are in no position to ask the question. It is true that, without objective standards, the knowledge of good and evil is an utter impossibility. Nonetheless, this is not an acceptable answer. In fact, it is not an answer at all. What we need here is a real, truthful response to the problem of evil.

Defining Good and Evil
For Christians, the first part of our response is establishing basic, Biblical definitions. The claim we are countering is: The Christian view of God and evil cannot coexist. For this reason, we must first define what we mean by God and evil. Establishing the Christian view of God is fairly simple. For brevity’s sake, let’s go with something like the “supreme being.” When it comes to evil, things are a bit trickier. This is because evil is all too often identified as anything that causes pain. When it comes to evil, Christians do not narrowly define evil as what causes pain, but as any thought, word, and/or deed that is not in accord with God’s moral will.

Philosophical and Existential Problem of Evil
With God and evil defined, an answer can now be worked out. At the core, there are three basic points the Christian must make: 1. God is not the author of evil. He cannot go against His own will; 2. Evil exists because of human sin, or human desire to reject God’s will; and 3. The existence of evil does not necessarily preclude the existence of God. Man, not God, is responsible for evil. God could or does have reasons for allowing evil to happen.

Again, the charge skeptics make here is that it isn’t logical for God and evil to coexist. These three factors, taken as a whole, dismiss the logical problem of evil. The problem we now have is many who struggle with evil are not addressing it logically. Instead, they are working on the emotional or existential problem of evil. People in this situation see evil in the world and their gut level response is: “This cannot be right!”

The True Answer to Evil: Jesus
For those struggling for an answer at the gut level, the one answer, the best answer the Christian has to offer, is Jesus! Jesus as revealed in His life, His death, His resurrection, and His eternal promises. Jesus as summarized by what we call the Gospel. It may sound trite. It may sound cliché. But, overuse and abuse notwithstanding, Jesus is the best answer; He is the ultimate answer to our struggle with evil.

With the coming of Jesus in the flesh, what we have is nothing less than God coming into our world and declaring His war against sin, death, and the devil; against all evil. Follow this up with our Lord’s life, death, and His resurrection, by which He paid the debt for sin, and the reality is an actual, true overcoming of evil in this world and in the world to come. Does this mean evil will cease to exist in this life? No, it is not quite that simple. Scripture is clear on that point. What we learn in Christ is the fact that God is not indifferent to our troubles. By becoming man, Jesus has entered into our suffering, and in His death and resurrection, He has removed both the power and the problem of evil forever.

Rev. Ian Pacey is an LCMS Campus Chaplain at the University of Arizona. He can be reached at revpacey@yahoo.com

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Christ on Campus

Rev. Mark Jasa: Getting to the Heart of the Matter

Article PDF

Katie Micilcavage

For 47 years the University Lutheran Chapel has faithfully ministered to students at UCLA—from those who need their faith nourished to those who have no faith at all. And since August 2005, Rev. Mark Jasa has served as pastor there, bringing his unique life experience and apologetics skills to the table, sometimes literally.

In the beginning
Pastor Jasa was born into a Lutheran household and has fond memories of going through Little Visits With God with his parents. However, he was a skeptic at a young age. He recalls believing that everything was finite, that there was no infinite God and he feared, therefore, that perhaps he himself didn’t even truly exist.

In junior high Jasa came to the conclusion that all religions were basically the same, or as he put it, “You need to be good to get the good stuff.” He reasoned, why choose one? So, he chose nothing. By the time high school rolled around, he had developed a keen interest in biology. He felt his teachers clearly cared for him and invested time in him, so he had no reason to doubt what they said. Jasa operated under the assumption that evolution was true and God really wasn’t necessary.

In the back of his mind he recalled hearing a sermon wherein the pastor said, “God loves you in spite of yourself.” And he remembered the words in the liturgy, “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves…” (1 John 1:8). But he shoved those things aside and left the church for a time. No one seemed to have any good answers. It wasn’t personal. Not yet.

The turning point
In college at UCLA, this thinking was reinforced. Evolution=fact. Bible=lie. But a fear of death had begun to creep in and take hold. One day he was asked a question by a man named Cliff Knechtle, a Christian apologist who travels from college campus to college campus conversing with skeptics. “Is Hitler bad?” The question haunted Jasa. It dawned on him that of course he would have to say yes, but then that meant, logically, that there had to be a standard—a law. It was a watershed moment for Jasa, who vividly recalls that day when he said aloud, “I believe in God.”

However, it would be some time before the full impact of that truth settled in. He continued to grapple with these matters. There are things that are true. Right and wrong do exist. But how could he prove it? He was on a quest for truth, but not salvation yet.

During his investigations he began to see that Jesus as a Savior was unique. Reading through Isaiah 53, he saw that claim of the Bible began to take shape. Another benchmark: Jesus is God, but not necessarily my savior. In fact, for Jasa it all boiled down to: “Jesus is the one sending me to hell.” Clearly it was not good news yet.

Now it’s personal
Two Lutheran friends of Jasa would often take the time to engage him in many discussions and while he loved the interaction he was not personally convinced. His fear of death had continued to grow over the years. So one fateful day, these two friends took him to Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Hacienda Heights, California, where Jasa heard the words that he says changed the course of his life: “The good news is outrageous forgiveness for undeserving sinners.” Jesus’ promises were coming from the mouth of Rev. William Cwirla. “He has an amazing way of telling you that the Gospel is for you,” Jasa explains. Now it was personal. Now it was for Mark Jasa.

At this point Jasa knew that he wanted to be a pastor but he still lacked direction. At the urging of Rev. Cwirla and another pastor, he spent time as a missionary in Japan. He started putting more apologetics pieces together, reading Francis Pieper’s Christian Dogmatics and Josh McDowell’s Evidence that Demands a Verdict. He wanted to know how to be an effective apologist. He wanted to get to the heart of the matter.

What he began to notice was that in all of the world’s religions, there aren’t promises—only demands. Joseph Smith doesn’t make promises. Mary Eddy Baker doesn’t make promises. Mohammed definitely doesn’t make promises. But Jesus does…over and over and over again.

After Japan, Jasa went to Concordia seminary in St. Louis and served his vicarage at Humboldt State University in California. He recalls an incident after working with a student there, who claimed, “Mark Jasa has convinced me that God exists.” Jasa could only think, “I have failed!” Of course it was gratifying to lead someone to that point but he wanted to be able to clearly communicate the truth of the Good News—the promises. Lutheran attorney Craig Parton explained to him that the Lutheran doctrine of Law and Gospel, as well as Christ’s resurrection, are the keys to effective apologetics. Jasa took this and ran with it.

The harvest is ripe
In August of 2005, Jasa was installed as the pastor at the University Lutheran Chapel at UCLA. It was here where all of those pieces he had been gathering together formed a wonderful portfolio that would be utilized and tested in the most satisfying ways. His ministry there involves two worship services a week, Bible studies, fellowship and three days of evangelism on campus. He also gives lectures on various apologetic-oriented topics. Jasa has gained a reputation for posting unique and sometimes provocative signs, e.g. “Religion is for the weak,” in plain view on his ministry table that prompt people to stop and ask questions…all part of the plan, of course.

Jasa says that his preferred apologetics methods are ones anyone can use. He explains that, for the most part, we can approach apologetics with intellectual arguments or existential arguments (someone’s experiences). He likes to employ either or both, on a case by case basis. For example, talking to someone who feels guilty (existential) may drive that person to know the truth (intellectual). Jasa says we often try to include information/facts that aren’t necessary. He makes it a point to ask himself, “What does he or she need?” Then he leads them to the truth. This is an application of God’s Law and Gospel. He encourages anyone defending the faith not to focus on the existence of God, although it is okay to talk about that with someone if they bring it up. Also, he advises you not to spend hours trying to prove evolution is false. This will take you away from the heart of the matter. Instead, make sure you have your facts straight on the resurrection. He notes that the Josh McDowell book mentioned earlier, as well as John Warwick Montgomery’s book History, Law and Christianity are must reads in this regard.

Jasa says to keep in mind that there are certain things nearly everyone can accept. One of them is, “I have chosen to hurt others and have contributed to the way the world is.” Also, most people are afraid of death, so it is important to bring them back to that point. Finally, it’s okay to concede a point with someone, particularly if it is taking you away from the truth you are leading them toward. For example, if someone tells you the Trinity is a crazy idea, tell them they’re right, but on judgment day what do they think will happen?

“It’s a delight to be able to do what I do—whether I’m in the pulpit proclaiming Christ to our members or talking to atheists and telling them that Jesus is really free. Being a Lutheran is the easiest thing in the whole world because all you have to do is tell people what is true.”

Rev. Mark Jasa can be reached at markjasa@gmail.com You can read more about the LCMS ministry at UCLA at www.ulcbruins.org.

Katie Micilcavage is the editor of Higher Things Magazine and the mother of two active teens in Gilbert, Arizona. In her spare time she is an elementary teacher. She can be reached at katie.micilcavage@higherthings.org

Categories
Life Issues

Really Receiving

Another great article from HT’s Sandra Ostapowich where she lays out the Good News of who women are in Christ. This article originally appeared in the Fall 2009 Issue of Higher Things Magazine.

by Sandra Ostapowich

I’d have made an awesome pastor.

At least, that’s what I once thought. It was pretty much the only thing I could think of becoming when I grew up. It totally made sense. After all, I was a huge church nerd. It wasn’t even enough for me to go to and do everything I possibly could at my own church. I went to my friend’s church youth group and Bible studies before school too. Naturally, I believed that the Lord was calling me to be a pastor.

Boy, was I wrong!

God making me female should’ve been my first clue. It may be an astonishingly obvious statement, but men and women are very different. Not only is there the whole anatomy thing, but there are a plethora of vocations that go along with being one or the other. For example, a man can’t ever be a mother. God has set it up for men to be fathers instead. And He only calls men to be pastors.

It’s not because men are somehow better than women. Scripture actually teaches that to illustrate Christ’s love for the Church, women were created for men to take care of and serve. And the vocation of pastor is perhaps the most servant-oriented in the Church.

When we walk into a room, we tend to think of the person standing up front wearing the fancy clothes as the one in charge. That’s where the buck stops. He talks, and people listen. Not so when it comes to the Church. The guy up front, the pastor, doesn’t get to say or do anything simply because he wants to. The only true authority a pastor has is the Lord’s. He says as much in the Absolution: “As a called and ordained servant of the Word.” It’s not like he’s the lead singer of a band or the lecturer at a personal growth seminar while we in the audience sit in awe of him and his glinty-toothed, dynamic amazingness. Remember, we’re at church on Sunday mornings to be served by God through His Word and Sacraments. That’s why it’s called the Divine Service. The Lord Himself instituted the vocation of pastor to deliver His gifts of forgiveness, life, and salvation in Christ to us. It’s kind of like a pizza delivery guy, only with Word and Sacraments instead of the pizza.

My mistake was that I thought being a pastor was just about being that person up front and center, leading a service, preaching a sermon, communing, and teaching people about Jesus. But I was looking only at the outward aspects of being a pastor, as though it was like any other job. I liked doing all those things and figured that with enough education and practice I could do them well enough to be a professional pastor.

But vocations don’t work that way. The Lord gives us people to serve in all sorts of ways whether or not we think we’re good at it, have the training, or even want to do it, but because His Gospel will be proclaimed through us to those our vocations serve. Being a decent speaker, educated in theology, and reasonably able-bodied doesn’t mean anyone should be a pastor—male or female—but being a man to whom the Lord has called and given the vocation of pastor does. God has set them up to be the providers, the protectors, the sacrificers. The rest of us receive.

No doubt you’ve heard the saying, “It’s better to give than to receive.” It’s generally a good idea to put someone else before ourselves, considering others’ needs more important than our desires. But when we’re dealing with God, there’s nothing we can possibly give Him that He needs. He really is the One it’s impossible to find a gift for because He already has everything. He is the One who has the gifts for us.

The Church is the Bride of Christ; she is the one the gifts are for. She perfectly and faithfully receives all that Jesus has to give her, and she knows without a doubt that she is the most beautiful, perfect, sinless, blemish-free, beloved woman in His whole entire universe. His Word and Sacraments make it so! She trusts her Bridegroom, Jesus, to always do what is best for her, even giving His own life in the process.

Not only are we women part of the Church, but the Bride of Christ is the perfect icon of Christian femininity as well. Yes, we have ways that we serve others through our other vocations. We are daughters, sisters, classmates, teammates, friends, girlfriends, citizens, neighbors, babysitters—and maybe even one day, wives and mothers and grandmothers and great-grandmothers. We even serve others at church in all sorts of ways. But first, and most importantly, we receive.

Receiving means trusting that what you’re receiving is ultimately for your good and to bring you to Christ. It means knowing that the Lord takes care of you through the men He’s given to serve you and sacrifice for you. There’s no way we can do any of that on our own, no matter how much we try. In fact, Luther tells us that faith is really nothing more than receiving gifts from God.

The life of faith is all about receiving. So it makes sense that the Lord would, in His infinite wisdom, create woman to receive all the gifts He has for her in His Word and Sacraments and from the men He sets apart to stand in the place of His Son and deliver them not just to her but to the whole Christian Church: His Bride.

So while the world might argue that women would make awesome pastors, we’re so much better off being women.

Categories
Life Issues

Knitted Women

With all the recent chatter across the social media regarding the role of women and the topic of women as pastors, we’ll help the discussion with these great articles by Ms. Sandra Ostapowich. Here we learn the God-Given differences between men and women and why they’re important and how they relate to the Gospel! This article orginally appeared in the Summer 2009 issue of Higher Things Magazine.

by Sandra Ostapowich

“It’s a girl!”

That was possibly the first stitch God made when He began to knit you together in your mother’s womb. (Check out Psalm 139.) By making you you, God placed you into a lifetime of circumstances and opportunities different from those He designed for those XY types.

God intended humanity to be in relationships with Himself and with other people. After all, man by himself wasn’t good, so the Lord created a woman. He could have whipped up another batch of His Adam recipe, but that just would have made more of what wasn’t good already. Instead, God specifically created woman to be in relationship with man to solve the problem of being alone. Neither man nor woman is created to be independent of the other.

They both had roles to fill as man and woman, loving and serving each other. Woman was created for a specific purpose—to love and trust the man the Lord gave her. Man was given the opportunity to love and authority to care for the beautiful, perfect creature God made just for him.

And then… you know the story: serpent, forbidden fruit, nakedness, fig leaves, sin. Sin messes up everything.

Every individual is corrupted by sin. All relationships are now corrupted too. We do whatever is necessary to protect ourselves. We pick at flaws and do and say hurtful things to others. What the Lord created to be a relationship of serving the other has deteriorated into selfishness.

The inherent desire of women to be in a relationship with a man now has been corrupted by sin so much that we make unwise decisions. Among other things, we’re tempted to compromise our values in dangerous ways to get or keep a man— eating disorders, giving in to go all the way (or most of the way), putting up with mistreatment. As if that wasn’t enough, we’re also tempted to manipulate, compete, and generally do whatever we can to prove that we’re better than men, don’t need men, or don’t want men.

Men are sinners too. Serving and providing for the women God gave them was supposed to be a joyous privilege. Now, with sin, they’re tempted to use women for their own wishes, take advantage of them, and prey on their sin-corrupted desires. Relationships can be dangerous. Caution is a necessity.

But Scripture tells us that this arrangement of woman trusting man and man loving woman still holds. (Of course, this takes place within vocation; in other words, daughters submit to fathers and wives to husbands, not to the stranger at the bus stop or the loudmouth in the school hallway.) It is still His perfect design for us today because we have another example of it after the Fall: Christ and His Bride, the Church.

“Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, His body, and is Himself its Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands” (Ephesians 5:21–23).

Did that make you bristle a bit? “No way! Does that mean she’s just a slave to him, to do whatever he wants whenever he wants? That’s not fair. And worse, that just sets her up to be mistreated! God couldn’t have meant that.”

That’s all sin-talk. Repent. Along with that, maybe we should find out what submission is.

God the Son became man, taking on all our sins and dying for us. Through Baptism, we are holy and sinless in His eyes. Jesus considered us more important than Himself and gave everything He had to serve us and look out for our good. God calls us, as women, to submit to certain men. We don’t have a problem submitting to the Lord, so why would we doubt that our earthly husbands would do anything less for us? That doesn’t mean we’re commanded to slavishly cater to their every whim while they order us around and threaten punishment for disobedience.That’s not how Christ husbands His Bride. Remember, it says to “submit to your husbands as to the Lord.” The Lord looks out for us. We trust Him to do just that as husbands do for their wives. Submission is really just serving someone as you trust them to do their vocation for you.

But you don’t have a husband to whom you are to submit. Now what? The Lord has still provided men in your life to care for you and look after your best interests— especially at church. Your father, pastor, and elders have been given authority from God, not to wield it like a weapon but to serve you. Trust them to do that as you trust the Lord to care for you.

God says in Scripture that being a woman is important and wonderful. The universe was not perfectly perfect until God made woman. God knit you together to be a woman, and so you are. He made you His own child in Christ through Baptism, and so you are. You are who you are because He did what He has done for you.

It’s an amazing thing to be specially created just to be loved and cherished, not just by God but by the men to whom we submit because they are gifts from God to us as well. We are truly blessed!

Categories
Catechesis

Praise the Lord! Lent Ain’t About YOU!

Rev. Mark Buetow

Moreover, when you fast, do not be like the hypocrites, with a sad countenance. For they disfigure their faces that they may appear to men to be fasting. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.” – Matthew 6:16

What are you going to give up for Lent? Why do you have ashes on your head? How come you aren’t singing any “alleluias?” The holy season of Lent is upon us and brings with it a whole host of traditions and practices. But there’s Good News in Lent. The Good News is that Lent isn’t about YOU. It’s about Jesus. More specifically, it’s about Jesus going to Jerusalem to be handed over to the Gentiles, mocked, insulted, spit upon, scourged and killed and to rise again. (Luke 18:32-33). For you.

Lent isn’t about you. But it is FOR you. Because Lent is about Jesus. Jesus going to His suffering and death to fulfill the will of the Father to save sinners. Jesus taking your sins and being crushed by them until they kill Him. Jesus shedding His blood for you so that those sins which killed Him won’t kill you eternally. Jesus being pierced with nails as the offering and sacrifice which takes away the sin of the whole world. And then, on Easter, Jesus rising again triumphant over death, having taken care of your sins and leaving them buried in His empty tomb.

Historically, Lent has often morphed into a season that’s more about US and what WE do or give up than it is a season where we are immersed in the suffering and death of Jesus as Good News. Long ago, Lent was the time when those who had really pulled off some whopper sins did acts of penance as part of their discipline to show they should be let back into the church. More recently, fasting (not eating certain things or giving certain things up for a time), almsgiving (giving money to the poor), and works of charity (doing things to help others) have been the works seen as central to the celebration of Lent.

Now it’s true that in Lent, as at any time, there’s repentance for us. We can always shine the light of the Ten Commandments on our lives and see the sins in which we’ve robbed God of His glory and blown off our neighbor as unimportant. To that end, giving something up in order to use that money or time for prayer, and doing things to help others are always noble pursuits. Lent is a good time to remember that its a good thing to curb our selfishness and put others first. But shouldn’t you be doing that anyway? Now do you see? It’s too easy to make Lent into a season about YOU. Here’s YOUR problem and here’s YOUR 40 day plan to get over it. That’s a YOU Lent and doesn’t have anything to do with Jesus.

True repentance isn’t wallowing in the fact that we eat too much chocolate or drink too much soda or don’t read our Bibles enough. True repentance beholds what price sin truly costs. Your sin is so much worse than too many sweets. Your sin is unbelief and self-worship that killed God! But God dies to take away all of that! Now do you see? Lent can only be about Jesus. In hearing of his sufferings, we are reminded what our sins cost. That surely leads us to some sorrow. But that’s not yet repentance and faith. Just getting sad because they beat up on Jesus doesn’t save you. That’s just more of YOU.

No, true repentance is learned when we hear that the suffering and death of Jesus was done to take away our sin. All of it. Every last wicked thought, word and deed. Every last drop of selfishness and self-worship. All of it. Bled away by the Lamb on the cross for you. THAT is what Lent is about: The Savior who rescues you from your sins. Who rescues you from false works that you want to do just for forty days. Who rescues you even from a false repentance which pretends it’s sorry just because it feels bad that Jesus got some nasty boo-boos. Jesus’ death takes care of all of that. Every last bit of it.

So what about fasting, giving things up, and all that? Go for it. But not to make yourself feel bad. Not to make yourself suffer because, you know, Jesus suffered. Not to show others you got some religion for a month or so. You can do them because those practices can be helpful in reminding you that your sinful flesh is no longer ruling the roost. But more than that, the best Lenten practice, discipline and activity is to have more Jesus. More preaching of Jesus, that He died and rose for you. More remembering your Baptism by which you’ve been made a Son of God. More Absolution which releases the devil’s claim on you because your sins are gone. More body and blood of Jesus so that you are filled with the one who lives in and through you and will raise you up on the Last Day.

Lent just means more Jesus. You can never have enough of HIM because you’re always trying to have too much of YOU. Which is why HE is for YOU. A happy and blessed Lent to you in Jesus! Happy and blessed because it ain’t about you but all about Him!

Categories
Life Issues

Growing Up? You Need Your Pastor More Than Ever!

Rev. Mark Buetow

As you move up out of middle school and into high school and from high school into college, the Lord has given you, beside your parents, teachers, and other adults to help you, a very important person: your pastor. This week, the church celebrates the festivals of three pastors (St. Timothy on January 24 and St. Titus on January 26, with St. Paul’s Conversion in between). It’s a good time to stop and remember why you need a pastor more than ever as you face the challenges of going from youth to adult.

Let’s start with your Baptism. The pastor you have now may or may not be the one who baptized you. But the pastor whom the Lord has given you now has the job of reminding you whose child you are even when it seems like you’re a wandering orphan. Your pastor will remind you that when you were washed with water and the Word, you were made a child of God. Right now, there are a lot of influences around that want to force their identity on you. Be cool. Be bad. Be yourself. Be whatever you want. When all those confusing voices make you uncertain, your pastor will remind you who you are and to whom you belong. In Jesus, by your Baptism, you are a child of God. You are His dear and precious child because His dear and precious Son died and rose for you. When you doubt your identity, ask your pastor. He’ll tell you!

Holy Absolution. Your pastor knows you. He knows what you do even if you don’t tell him. He was a kid once. He was in high school. He went to college. He knows the temptations that are out there. And so it is that your pastor may gently take you aside and remind you that you might not be acting like a child of God. That there might be some repentance needed there. Yet your pastor would only do that so that He can absolve you. Forgive you! Declare to you the Good News that even though you’ve messed up, pulled a whopper, done something stupid, in short, you sinned–for Jesus’ sake those sins are gone. Wiped out. Bled for by Jesus. Died for by Jesus. Left in the empty tomb by Jesus. Forgiven. Forgotten by God. Your pastor’s job is to remind you of that. When you are burdened in a way that you can share with no one else, go see your pastor. He’ll lead you to the cross and the font and the altar and pronounce forgiveness so that you can go in peace!

The Word. Your pastor is there to help you face the challenges to your faith that the devil, world and your own sinful nature throw at it. Especially in high school and college, those around you are good at challenging what you believe, calling it into question, trying to prove to you that it’s wrong and foolish. Sometimes even your close friends who belong to other denominations and religions will try to show you that what you believe is wrong. Your pastor is ready to strengthen you with God’s Word. With the comfort of the scriptures. With the Good News of Jesus. Along with reminding you of God’s promises, your pastor can help you sort out the arguments and issues you have to deal with and understand them with the wisdom of God’s holy Word at your disposal. Your pastor is trained to help you give a ready defense of your faith and confess Jesus boldly in a world that wants to ridicule and laugh at your believing in Jesus. When you have questions you can’t answer, go see your pastor. He’ll help you sort them out and answer them with God’s unfailing Word!

Holy Communion. Your parents try to keep up with your appetite by keeping the fridge full. Your health teacher tells you to watch what you eat so you stay healthy. And there’s always the appeal of grabbing some fast food with your friends. The Lord has given you a pastor to make sure you also eat regularly the food that gives eternal life. Your pastor wants to make sure you don’t miss out on the gift of eating and drinking Christ’s body and blood. Even when you’re young you can experience death. It might be a grandparent or younger family member. A friend dies from cancer or is killed in a car accident. Even if you think you are invincible you know that death is out there. And only one thing can overcome it, beat it, and defeat it. That’s Jesus who rose from the dead and who promises that in eating His body and blood He will live in you and you in Him and He will raise you up from the Last Day. In an uncertain world where anything can happen, when you worry about what your future holds, go see your pastor! He’ll give you the body and blood of Jesus as God’s own promise that you are taken care of now and forever.

There’s too many attacks on you from the devil, the world and your sinful nature for you not to need your pastor! He’s the one guy out there who isn’t there to judge you or condemn you but help and comfort you. He doesn’t do it with worldly wisdom or cheap psychology aimed at teenagers. No, he’s got something much better to help you. He’s got God’s Word. As a steward of Jesus’ gifts, your pastor is Jesus’ connection to you your whole life long and right now, too. So go and put your pastor to work. He’ll be glad you did. For after all, the Lord has called him to be a pastor for you!

Rev. Mark Buetow is pastor at Bethel Lutheran Church in Du Quoin, IL. He is also the Media Executive of Higher things.