Christians’ Choice: Witness for Christ or Condemn for Self

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Many Christians in the U.S. today are preoccupied with fixing: fixing the country; fixing the culture; fixing individuals who identify in various ways.  Is this what the Bible calls for?  And is this a worldwide phenomenon for Christians?

To some extent this is a phenomenon pretty much found in the United States alone.  Behind this preoccupation is the belief that the United States was founded as a Christian nation based on Christian values, and that if the United States abandons those values, the nation will experience a significant decline from its greatness.  Those at the forefront of this movement will point to evidence that in some ways the United States is already experiencing the beginnings of decline including a corresponding moral decline, and that the evidence parallels both the growing trend to remove God (and especially in the person of Jesus Christ) from the public square.

Regarding their premise, there is a great deal of evidence that the United States was founded on Christian principles and by mostly Christian political leaders.  We can see it in everything from numerous laws, to the theological content of the early McGuffey Readers, to the foundation of colleges and hospitals, to oaths of office and swearing in of witnesses on a Bible, to public statements by political leaders at their inauguration in office, their farewell addresses and speeches at times of national crisis.

But were these the only principles upon which the United States was founded?  We might accurately say with a touch of humor that the Founding Fathers relied on both Calvin and Hobbes.  Indeed, they were influenced by the political philosophies of Thomas Hobbes, Montesquieu, Rene Descartes, John Locke, Cesare Beccaria, David Hume, Adam Smith, Voltaire, Rousseau and Plato: all known for varying degrees of secularism in their major writings and some not Christian at all.

Therefore, while we were seen as being endowed with unalienable rights by a creator God, the United States also greatly expanded the rights of a free people to both participate in the political process of the new republic and to enjoy life and liberty and pursue happiness as they saw fit, provided it did not interfere with those same rights in others.  So even though these rights come from God, each citizen could choose how to worship God or not worship at all, or even refuse to believe in the existence of God.  Certainly many political leaders of that time would have believed in the superiority of Christianity in the marketplace of ideas and therefore would have had little concern about the United States ever abandoning Christianity to any great degree.  One of the ways to ensure that, they believed, was to have a well-educated public in at least the basics, what became known as “the three R’s”.  From such was spawned an emphasis on the importance of a public school education for all children who reached a certain age and the establishment of most of the early collegiate institutions of the country.  (Ironically, most of these colleges are today liberal bastions and harbors of negativity towards Christianity.)

Regardless of the origins of the political system and the prevailing culture in the United States, we’ve come a long way and seen many changes in the 450+ years since the first permanent colony by Europeans was established in St. Augustine, the 400+ years since settlers from England founded Jamestown and the 240+ years since the First Continental Congress of the American colonies met, leading to the 13 colonies declaring their independence from Great Britain less than two years later.  In particular during the past fifty years, Americans have moved away from mainline Protestant denominations in general and from organized religion in particular.  Many also continue to nominally identify as Protestants or Catholics, but have turned away from strict adherence to Papal authority in the case of Roman Catholics, and local ecclesiastic authority in the case of Protestants, many of whom retain the identity but are essentially unchurched.

At the same time, there has been growth or at least continued strength in various denominations of Baptists as well as in independent evangelical Christian churches (some in small splinter denominations) which include a number of megachurches.  It is from these denominations and churches that the greatest hue and cry comes to see the United States either continue to be or return to be a “Christian nation”.  But the question is, how should this occur, through politics or evangelism?  And if through evangelism or both ways, what should the evangelical part of the message be?

First and foremost, let me state unequivocally that there is nothing in either the Bible or the Constitution of the United States that prohibits Christians (including clergy) from participating in the political process, whether voting, voicing public opinion, running for office at any level, and serving in either appointed or elective offices in any of the branches of government at any level.  And certainly the positions and actions of those who serve in government can and must be influenced by their moral beliefs and convictions as shaped by their spirituality.  But it must also be consistent with the laws under which they serve and swear or affirm in some way their fealty to.  And if those same moral beliefs and convictions cause them to have sharp and deep disagreement with any of those laws, their attempts to change those laws must also be within the framework of the law.  Furthermore, if they can no longer abide by the framework of the law, they must be willing to accept the consequences if found guilty of violating the law in a fair and just hearing or trial.

There is, and should be, far less restriction on what is preached or taught within churches and in general the free exchange of ideas in the public square.  This is also part of the “American experiment” in freedom, including protections within the Bill of Rights regarding the free exercise of religion.  And that free exercise extends beyond mere worship.

But freedom, to be used wisely, demands a high level of responsibility.  In his letter to the Romans and two letters to the church at Corinth, the Apostle Paul writes in detail about the balance between Christian liberty and responsibility.  Those responsibilities extend to dealings with both fellow Christians and non-Christians, and include a general requirement to obey the laws of the land unless such laws require (not permit) Christians to disobey God’s commandments: in particular, only those commandments that apply when part of a country that is not a theocracy (which is every country other than Israel and Judah from the time of Moses until the diaspora).

Christians ought to take notice that Paul was writing these words from locations and to Christians in locations that were far harsher in their treatment of Christians than anything close to what Christians in the United States experience today.  He was writing these tenets that became part of the Biblical canon of the New Testament at a time when he and eleven of the first twelve post-ascension Apostles would be martyred for being Christian (the twelfth, John, sentenced to exile on the island of Patmos for the final decades of his 94 years on Earth).  While persecution of Christians in the world is at historically high levels, there is nothing in the United States that even remotely compares to what was experienced by the early Church until the conversion of Emperor Constantine around 312 AD.

So what choice do Christians face?  In terms of Christian witness, it is the choice between legalism and love.  Love doesn’t mean anything goes and all Biblical standards are thrown out the window.  Agape love means primarily caring about others, Christian or non-Christian, looking to lift up and edify other Christians while drawing non-Christians to the love and light of Christ.  It means remembering who we were before we were saved and that we still fall short of the glory of God even after becoming new creatures in Christ.  And it means remembering how powerful God’s love is; how strong God’s grace is.  1^st Corinthians 13 is one of the best known chapters of the New Testament, and one of the best testimonies to the power of God’s agape love (translated as charity in the KJV).  The strength of God’s grace is not as well known.

Thou therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. – 2^nd Timothy 2:1

So I choose agape love over legalism.  Here are some examples of agape love in action.  One is someone famous in the 20^th century, one is someone unknown to all but a handful of people, and one is direct from the Bible.  There will be a follow up to this post, a part two, that will deal mostly with a fourth example whose example is especially interesting to me in comparison with my life.

Anyone who watched the movie, “Chariots of Fire”, knows the story of Eric Liddell.  His refusal to compete in his specialty, the 100 meter dash because the heats for the race in the 1924 Olympics in Paris were held on a Sunday is a key element of the story portrayed in the movie.  It certainly smacks of legalism.  But while it might have hurt the chances of his country’s team in one event, it was basically something he imposed on himself.  He did not require it of any of his teammates.  And it was potentially less detrimental to his team than the refusal of Hank Greenberg and Sandy Koufax to play on Yom Kippur during key games in a pennant race or the World Series.  As it turned out, Greenberg’s Detroit Tigers would win the American League pennant in 1934, Koufax’s Los Angeles Dodgers would win the World Series in 1965 and Great Britain would win the gold and bronze medals in the 100 meter dash at the 1924 Olympics, the race that Liddell refused to run.  As for Liddell, he had time to adjust his training to a longer sprint race: the 400 meters.  He won the gold medal in Olympic record time, and also captured a bronze medal in the 200 meter run.

The movie also showed how Liddell, born in China, was from a family of missionaries.  What is somewhat less well known is what he did after his Olympic triumph in 1924.  In 1925, he returned to China as a missionary, first in Tianjin (Tientsin) and was transferred to a poor rural area of Xiaozhang in 1941.  The area was so dangerous due to attacks by the Japanese Army that he sent his pregnant wife and two older daughters to Canada to live with his wife’s parents.

In 1943, Liddell was captured by the Japanese with other members of the mission and was interned in a camp.  While others, even many of the missionaries, became selfish and cliquish, Liddell’s exemplary character stood out in the worst of times as he tirelessly helped others, especially the elderly and the children.

Many stories of his selflessness survived Liddell and the camp.  The one that stands out to me involves him serving as a referee for the boys team sports games like soccer, rugby and field hockey.  Originally, consistent with the stand he took at the 1924 Olympics, he refused to referee any games on Sunday in hopes that the boys would spend their Sundays in church and devotions that day.  Instead, the boys formed their own informal matches.  Reasonably well-behaved when their hero was refereeing, fights broke out among the boys during the Sunday games.  When Liddell learned of this, did he punish the boys?  No.  Understanding that they were boys, not men, and concerned for their safety, he relaxed his strict position about activities on the Sabbath and began to referee their Sunday contests as well.

From an internment camp in China during World War II, we go to a small town in south-central Pennsylvania.  The year was 2016.

Mercersburg is a small town of about 1500 people, but some famous people were born there or have lived there.  A private prep school, Mercersburg Academy, has educated seven Rhodes scholars, a Nobel laureate, two Academy Award winners and 54 Olympians (12 who have won gold medals).  I met one of those gold medalists.  Charles Moore Jr., who won a gold medal in the 1952 Olympics at Helsinki in the 400 meter hurdles and a silver medal running one of the legs on the 4 x 400 meter relay team, went from Mercersburg to my alma mater of Cornell, graduating in 1952 with a degree in Mechanical Engineering.  He is also a member of the Quill & Dagger Society, a senior honorary to which I was selected in 1974.  But I’ve already talked about an Olympic gold medalist.

Instead, this story primarily involves the public high school which is named for perhaps its most famous native son, President James Buchanan.  And it involves a student there who will never receive world recognition.  But I believe she will receive many crowns in heaven.

It began in early March with a local Youth Pastor hearing about The Life Book, which contains the complete Gospel of John.  Students are using it to witness to their peers.  The pastor was so excited by this that he ordered six cases and shared the information about it at their next youth group meeting.  The students eagerly began to make plans to distribute the books to their classmates at James Buchanan High School.  But the most eager was Violet Clark.  One of the most popular students in school, she asked the Youth Pastor for a full case: 100 books.

Did Violet distribute those books of witness to her fellow students by preaching fire and brimstone and telling them what horrible sinners they are?  No!  With a big smile and joy in her step, she went from student to student, those she knew and those she didn’t, to hand them a book and share Christ’s message of hope with them.  It took her a little over six weeks to share the entire case, sharing the last three just before her 18^th birthday.

The day after her birthday, Violet was involved in a serious car accident as she left school.  Although the school is not one where prayer is normally promoted, students and teachers spontaneously began a prayer vigil on behalf of Violet.  But three days later, God chose to call her home.

In the immediate aftermath of Violet’s death, the school community turned to the word of God that was now readily available, not only to deal with her death, but to find out how to receive the kind of joyful life that Violet lived while she was among them.  Many students are coming to Christ, not in response to rebuke, but because Violet and some of her fellow youth group members radiated the love of Christ among them.

From modern day Pennsylvania, we go back nearly two thousand years to eastern Macedonia, in particular to the city of Philippi.  Here we look upon two men who have gotten themselves into a peck of trouble.  We know them today as the Apostle Paul and Silas, but it was Paul who was the leader.

It is Paul who we will focus on.  God could not have picked a more interesting and well-suited person to be both his chief missionary of the Gospel and author of a major part of the New Testament through the letters he wrote to the churches he planted, clarifying some of the finer points of Christian theology and contending with heretical positions that were already creeping into the early Church.  As the Church spread into Asia Minor, Macedonia, Greece and points west, the early Church membership went from being entirely Jewish to a not always comfortable mixture of Jew and Gentile.

But who better to deal with contentions and heresies than a Jewish scholar who at one time thought that believing that Jesus was the Messiah and the Son of God was the very epitome of heresy.  Saul of Tarsus, who would later be better known by his Roman name, was perhaps the foremost persecutor of these Jewish followers of Jesus.  It fact, it was when he was on the road to Damascus to apprehend these followers of Jesus (the name “Christian” was not even being used yet), that Paul had his direct encounter with Christ that led to his 180º change of position on the legitimacy of belief in Jesus as the Messiah and Son of God.  It was such a major change that many of the leaders of the early Church were highly suspicious that it was a trick to enable Paul to destroy the Church by cutting off the head.  It would be like Ted Cruz suddenly speaking out as the most ardent advocate of pro-LGBT issues.

But Paul was far more than a zealot.  He was a scholar who studied at the feet of the best teachers of the Law that Judaism had to offer in his day.  In fact, he was a member of the sect whose name is now synonymous with legalism.  He was a Pharisee.  And while he preached in the synagogue of Damascus immediately after his sight was restored following his Damascus road experience, he also studied the Tanakh long and hard to make sure that his interpretation of the experience was accurate.

Although the Bible tells us that Paul did not preach with eloquence, by adding a solid scriptural foundation to a compelling testimony of a changed life, he was able to win many converts, both Jew and Gentile, to the early church.  As such, he often drew the ire of those who had a vested interest in maintaining the status quo, whether Jew or Gentile.  In Philippi, it was wealthy Gentiles he angered.  They incited a mob that brought Paul and Silas to the magistrates who in turn had them beaten and thrown into prison.  At this point, we’ll let the Bible tell the story, starting with Acts 16:23.

And when they had laid many stripes upon them, they cast them into prison, charging the jailor to keep them safely: Who, having received such a charge, thrust them into the inner prison, and made their feet fast in the stocks. And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them. And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one’s bands were loosed. And the keeper of the prison awaking out of his sleep, and seeing the prison doors open, he drew out his sword, and would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had been fled. But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm: for we are all here. Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas, And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. And they spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house. And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes; and was baptized, he and all his, straightway. And when he had brought them into his house, he set meat before them, and rejoiced, believing in God with all his house. (Acts 16:23-34)

What brought salvation to the jailor and his family?  Was it angry rhetoric directed against the jailor, the magistrates and his accusers?  Was it the formation of a protest committee, marching around the jail and shouting slogans?  Did a commando raid break Paul and Silas out of prison, taking the jailor and his family with them?  No!  It was because he saw their concern for him.  Not only had they been cheerfully praising God in a situation where most would be surly and grumbling, they did not avail themselves of the perfect opportunity to escape.  But Paul, who wrote about sacrificing his Christian liberty for a weaker believer, sacrificed his physical liberty for someone who didn’t even believe in Christ.  Yet led by the Holy Spirit to demonstrate humble obedience, Paul won this man and his family to Christ.

Even some conservative Christian websites are talking about the need to return to the primary Gospel message for our witness to the world.  Although I don’t agree with every idea stated in the article, I am providing a link to one such discourse.  And then the next blog post will look at the fourth and final person in the list I promised, a person some of my transgender friends may be surprised that I am including.  But his message fits this theme perfectly.

https://scottsauls.com/2016/10/31/politically_anxious/

And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness.  And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful. – Colossians 3:14-15

It’s good to be “back”!

God bless,

Lois

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I don’t want men in the women’s bathroom either …

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I don’t want men in the women’s bathroom either …

… but as always, the devil’s in the details … and in the definitions.

So this is the new rallying cry, is it?  “No men in women’s bathrooms.”

Well I happen to agree.  A man has no right in a public women’s bathroom.  What I disagree on is their definition of man and woman, male and female.

It continues to sadden me that certain segments of the Christian population are spearheading this attack on the safety of transgender people.  But what saddens me particularly today is the blatant disregard for truth by these Christians.  Love of the truth should be one of the hallmarks of a Christian.

The word “truth” occurs 117 times in the Old Testament and 118 times in the considerably shorter New Testament.  It is a major theme in the Gospel of John and John’s epistles.

For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. – John 1:17

God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. – John 4:24

And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. – John 8:32

Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. – John 14:6

Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. – John 14:17

Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. – John 16:13

Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth. – John 17:17

I have not written unto you because ye know not the truth, but because ye know it, and that no lie is of the truth. – 1^st John 2:21

My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.  And hereby we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before him. – 1^st John 3:18-19

John was not the only New Testament writer to deal with truth.  Here are some verses from Paul’s epistles.

[Charity] Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; – 1^st Corinthians 13:6

But [we] have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully; but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God. – 2^nd Corinthians 4:2

For we can do nothing against the truth, but for the truth. – 2^nd Corinthians 13:8

Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another. – Ephesians 4:25

(For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;) – Ephesians 5:9

And still more verses from the New Testament:

Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures. – James 1:18

But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth. – James 3:14

Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently: – 1^st Peter 1:22

Now what truth does this segment of Christianity ignore, deny and dispute?

• They dispute our personal testimony. Even with conservative estimates of the frequency of transgenderism, hundreds of thousands of people in the United States and millions around the world claim that this is our story, our experience, our reality.  It is the testimony of little children whose lives are improved when they are allowed to live in their true gender identity.  It is the testimony of people of my generation, baby boomers, who tried to repress and deny the truth about ourselves even more than our opponents do.  But our identities persisted despite everything we did.  It is the testimony of many fine, upstanding citizens and many whose potential is untapped because of discrimination.  It is the testimony of Christians like me who have and continue to proclaim Christ, tenaciously holding onto our faith in the face of every attack we have received from those who claim to speak for the church and for Christ.
• The ignore the danger that transgender people face every day because of bigotry and hatred against us. They ignore the horrific murder rate against transgender people, a rate that is most likely even higher than reported in a world where many murders are reported with the transgender identity of the victim hidden behind rejected name and gender; where there are many countries (e.g. Russia and China) where our very existence is denied.  They ignore the even greater danger we would face if forced to use spaces based on our gender assigned at birth rather than our true gender.
• They outright lie about transgender people being a danger. Earlier this month, a sheriff with 41 years of law enforcement experience unequivocally gave testimony to the legislature of his state that he has “never heard of a transgender person attacking or otherwise bothering someone in a restroom. This is a non-issue.”  This is not a sheriff in the liberal Northeast or California.  This is Leon Lott, Richland County (SC) Sheriff since 1996.  His county includes the state capital, Columbia, so he serves in a populated area.  In addition, any law enforcement official at his level is going to keep up-to-date on crime trends and issues outside of his own area, especially once the issue rises to the be on the front burner in his state and around the country.  The plain truth is that of the jurisdictions that have passed laws protecting the right of transgender people to use bathrooms consistent with their innate gender, laws that have been in place for many years in some cases, there have been ZERO problems.  In addition, when transgender people are in public, we have to use restrooms.  So even in locales where such protections don’t exist, we fearfully use the restroom that corresponds to our identity.  Again there have been ZERO problems.
• They dispute the preponderance of learned opinion of the medical community, in the American Medical Association, the American Psychiatric Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics. They were very willing to accept their findings decades ago when these groups had little to go on in the way of research and real life experience.  But with nearly three full generations of evidence at hand (and more being gathered), these respected organizations have updated their opinions and protocols based on the enlightenment gathered from their findings.  Somehow in our opponents mind, without evidence, this is all a plot.  Instead, they lean on discredited studies, discredited psychiatrists, rogue organizations and misrepresentation of valid studies.  (I’m old enough to have lived through this before.  I can remember when rock ‘n roll was supposedly a communist plot.)
• They often lie and hide their true motive for waging this battle. But not always.  With a debate version of three-card monte, they deftly shift from reason to reason behind their legislation and umbrage.  When the moral/Biblical argument is rejected, they shift to the need to protect women as the purpose.  When that argument is countered, then it becomes a matter of a right to privacy: balancing the rights of transgender people against that of cisgender women.
  • As far as the moral/Biblical argument, I will touch upon that in the next bullet point. As far as the protection argument, I have already shown that to be a canard.  But I will take it one step further.  There is a group known to be a danger primarily to women and children.  They are the people on the sex offender list.  Where is their hue and cry about such people being allowed to use public bathrooms?  And as far as transgender protection laws opening the door for perverts to take advantage of it (recently parroted by Curt Schilling, among others), not only doesn’t it happen, they (many of whom are staunch 2^nd Amendment defenders) would never apply the same rationale to strict gun control measures just because a small minority of people in our society actually do carry out horrific violence using firearms.
  • As far as the privacy argument, the only bathrooms I have ever seen where the stalls had no doors was in men’s locker rooms. (I hated them.  I avoided using them whenever I could.)  A naked cisgender woman in a public women’s bathroom would likely receive a negative response unless it was a clear case of a medical problem.  I have never seen someone in a public bathroom whose genitals were in plain sight unless they were on the changing table.  In spaces where nudity is more likely to be involved, the topic is more sensitive.  (I never totally disrobe when I go to my gym, and there are private changing stalls if I ever would need to.) But even here, social custom is changing for reasons other than transgender.  When I went to my 40^th college reunion two years ago (Cornell), the dorm where my class was housed is a coed dorm.  Most of the student rooms do not have private bathrooms.  The common bathrooms (including showers) are also coed.  This is a growing trend according to what I have read.
• They distort or err on what the Bible says on the topic of transgender. I have written many blog posts countering their arguments (in conjunction with all the medical evidence that has been gathered on the nature of transgenderism).  The short version is that very little can be found in the Bible on the topic and the term is not found in the Holy Scriptures.  Of course, there are many modern terms (e.g. democracy and republic) that are not found there, either.  The closest we can come is when Jesus describes three types of eunuchs in Matthew 19:12.  The person who is born a eunuch could describe a number of situations, including someone who is transgender.  Most importantly, Jesus does not condemn any of the three examples, consistent with many instances in which the new and better covenant is more inclusive than the old.  And as to whether God defines us by our mind/spirit or our body parts, I have shown by many verses the preponderance of evidence that He identifies us by our mind/spirit.

Please understand that this is not a transgender vs Christianity issue, nor should it be.  I and a number of friends are evidence that a person can be both.  And I have many devout conservative Christians in my life who are accepting and supportive.

I know full well that there are a number of topics on which Christians are in disagreement.  And there is always room for honest disagreement.  But what hurts the most is the vitriol directed by this segment of the Christian population at the transgender community.  And even if Christianity has come under attack from some segments of the transgender community (and I will not descend into a “who started it” black hole), Christians are not supposed to return evil for evil.  We are called to a higher purpose.

Give none offence, neither to the Jews, nor to the Gentiles, nor to the church of God: Even as I please all men in all things, not seeking mine own profit, but the profit of many, that they may be saved. – 1^st Corinthians 10:32-33

When you read the many verses earlier in my post, you may have noticed a connection between truth and a loving attitude.  (If not, look again.)  Even if the segment of Christians who I have called out in this post earnestly believe what they are preaching about transgender people, all Christians are admonished to be “… speaking the truth in love …” (Ephesians 4:15).

God bless,

Lois

Christian Mom Encounters Transgender Woman In Bathroom: These ‘Ghastly Things’ Happened Next

A Dream Deferred … or Worse

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This is my 100^th post.  Thank you for your encouragement.

This is a story that begins about fifty years ago, jumps to the present and finishes with events many centuries ago.

When I was in college, majoring in government, it was a few years after the Watts riots.  As a 12 year old in 1965, all I knew about the riots was that black people had begun to react to the discrimination they experienced with violence: looting and burning commercial buildings, shooting at firemen trying to put out the flames.  And I knew that there were times when the smoke was visible about 8 miles due north at Dodger Stadium.  At times, the smoke moved over the stadium and the smell hung over the ballpark.  When the games were played during the riots, attendance suffered in the midst of a tight pennant race.  Fans were offered rain checks in case they were too afraid to attend the home games that week.

It was an event that took away some of the luster of the Dodgers World Championship season, although when you are 12, you try to focus on the game and team you love.  These players were my heroes.  It didn’t matter what color they were.  After Duke Snider was sold to the Mets and then retired, my favorite player was Maury Wills.  I was prejudiced … in favor of the “little” players.  (Wills is black.)

It affected the team directly as well.  Willie Crawford, still a teenager, was a young black player from the curfew area who had signed for a $100,000 bonus the previous year when he graduated from high school.  He was mistakenly arrested, one of the 4000 people arrested during the week-long rioting.  Catcher John Roseboro spent a night sitting on the front stoop of his house with a gun, when protestors marched past his house.  Although very few residences were targeted, it was a tense and volatile time and no one could be sure what would happen.

Some black players drove to and from the park in their uniforms, hoping it would spare them problems from rioters and police.  Some had routes to the park that took them through the affected area.  Some white team members watched National Guardsmen patrolling in their neighborhood.

Former Dodger Jackie Robinson offered this assessment of the cause of the riots:

“Riots do not happen because … a crowd seeks to restrain an officer from making an arrest.  Riots begin with the hopelessness which lives in the hearts of a people who, from childhood, expect to live in rundown houses, to be raised by one parent, to be denied proper recreation, to attend an inferior school, to experience police brutality, to be turned down when seeking a decent job.”

By the time Robinson passed away in October 1972, social scientists had refined their understanding of the riots.  While the riots started in Watts and its name was attached to them, they spread beyond the 4 square miles of Watts into other black impoverished neighborhoods, about 50 square miles in all.  Researchers expected that the instigation of the riots came from the very worst areas.  They were wrong. The primary fomenters of the riots came from the edge of the black ghetto.  The explanation offered was that those in the very worst areas were so affected with hopelessness, there was no incentive to initiate action.  (This does not mean that they didn’t participate once the riots started.)

The neighborhoods along the edge were somewhat better.  But they were still inside and that last leap out of the ghetto to the more affluent white neighborhoods a short distance away seemed to be always just out of reach.  Looking back at riots two months later, the Los Angeles Times interviewed a 46-year-old black father of six, and quoted him saying, “If I ever made enough money, I would move out of Watts like all the other big shots. So I’m here, so what the hell. Los Angeles isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Wherever you go, you’re black – that’s all there is to it.”

Over forty years since college, I still remember that lesson learned about riots being fueled by a combination of hopelessness and the prize always just out of reach.  It was a lesson that came back to me when I heard the 300 names read at TDOR last month.  Something different caught my eye.  Acknowledging that it is too soon to show a trend, I still searched for an explanation.  It was the lesson of Watts that came back to me.

At the TDOR where I spoke in November, the program committee has adopted a broad definition as to which transgender people and allies to honor and remember as “victims of hate, intolerance, ignorance and prejudice during the past year.”  Therefore, we have been including the names of those who were bullied and harassed into committing suicide.  This year, the number of suicides, the majority of which occurred in the United States, seemed higher this year.  Especially notable was the number of trans masculine teens who committed suicide.  What had previous appeared to be nonexistent was now significant.  I was at once intrigued, saddened and puzzled by this development at a time we appear to be making solid progress in helping trans youth.

The next day at another TDOR event, I watched the video “Growing Up Trans” (originally aired 6 months ago on PBS’s Frontline).  While the vast majority of the parents were supportive (albeit with reasonable questions and concerns about the appropriate way to be supportive of their child), one father was resistant to helping his child transition out of sincere concern for his child’s future welfare.  This trans masculine teen was already punching holes in walls at times out of frustration.  It appeared that the documentary would end with the impasse unresolved.

But then, an unfilmed postscript was added.  A voiceover noted that this teen had been suspended from school for starting a fight.  The student he attacked had just begun taking prescription testosterone.  It was at that point that the father agreed to the let his child begin to take cross-gender hormones.

It’s not my purpose to address whether or not the father did the right thing.  I am shining a light on a level of frustration so great that it would cause an attack on one of the very people this teen should have related to the most.

This 85 minute film is still available online: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/film/growing-up-trans/

The pieces were coming together.  One more bit of evidence that came my way soon afterwards would make things crystal clear.  There was a study done in 2012 of 433 trans youth 16-24 years old who live in Ontario, Canada.  The parents of these trans youth were categorized as either very supportive (34%), somewhat supportive (25%), or either not very or not at all supportive (42%).  By many measures of mental health and life conditions, those trans youth who saw their parents as very supportive were statistically significantly better off than those trans youth whose parents were only somewhat supportive, not very supportive or not at all supportive.

For those who prefer text to charts, the well supported trans youth were more than twice as likely to be satisfied with life (72% to 33%), approaching five times more likely to have very good or excellent mental health (70% to 15%), more than twice as likely to have very good or excellent physical health (66% to 31%), about five times as likely to have high self-esteem (64% to 13%), more than three times less likely to have symptoms of depression (23% vs 75%), about half as likely to have considered suicide in the past year (34% vs 70%) and over 14 times less likely to have attempted suicide in the past year (4% vs 57%).

Perhaps the saddest statistic of all for those whose parents offer lukewarm to no support is the finding that well supported trans youth were more than twice as likely to be living in adequate housing (100% vs 45%).  There may be no clearer statistic to show that while a young person’s view of parental support may appear subjective, adequate housing is a very objective measure of how parental support is demonstrated.  Truly supportive parents either allow their trans children to remain at home or they provide continued support for their trans children to make it through the educational system until they can begin their career and find adequate housing of their own.   Parents who provide either lukewarm or no support at all appear to be either kicking their children out of the house or driving them out with abuse (including verbal), bullying and harassment.

For those who prefer charts, I have provided them here.  (There is also some additional information in them.  It appears that those who considered suicide in the past year should also be listed as having a statistically significant difference.)

For those who want to see the full report, here is the link:

http://transpulseproject.ca/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Impacts-of-Strong-Parental-Support-for-Trans-Youth-vFINAL.pdf

The survey results are part of the light that exposes the lies of Dr. Paul McHugh and others who claim that transition is ineffective in dealing with gender dysphoria and transgenderism in general.  It is diametrically opposed to their claims that the lives of those who transition are not improved by doing so.  This shows that the level of support for the transition is as significant as transition itself.

But what about the 2/3 whose parents are not strong in their support?  How do they react when they see transgender peers progressing towards life in their target gender, but their progress appears to be denied?

Hope deferred maketh the heart sick: but when the desire cometh, it is a tree of life. – Proverbs 13:12

Hope deferred is not hope denied, but when a person reaches the point where it appears that one’s desires will never come, heart sickness can and has become fatal.  Impatience is typical of most youth, and it magnifies hopelessness.

Many trans youth will draw hope from the success of their peers that someday it will be their turn.  Any meaningful progress will stir the fires of the optimism of youth.  But when progress is not only stalled but crushed, it is more than a dream deferred.  It becomes a dream denied.  Many years ago, mindful of his first-hand experience in a different marginalized group, Langston Hughes wrote the poem that inspired the title of this blog post, and was in turn inspired in part by Proverbs 13:12.

A Dream Deferred

What happens to a dream deferred?

Does it dry up
like a raisin in the sun?
Or fester like a sore–
And then run?
Does it stink like rotten meat?
Or crust and sugar over–
like a syrupy sweet?

Maybe it just sags
like a heavy load.

Or does it explode?

To avoid these results, especially dreams exploding inward, we need to find a way to reach those trans youth whose parents are found wanting in support.  We need to keep their hopes and dreams alive, not crushed or dried up by hate and ignorance, not rotten and diseased by those who would prey on them and steal their dream, not covered over by vacant smiles hiding a time bomb.  If necessary, each one reach one.

We leapt from fifty years ago to today.  While keeping our finger in today, we leap back in time many centuries to the prophet Isaiah.

The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined. For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this. – Isaiah 9:2,7-8

There is a group of people who have persevered for over 2700 years to keep that hope alive through many trials, tribulations, hardships, heartaches and tears.  I am one of the members of a different group: a group whose people have hope because we believe that this prophesy was fulfilled two thousand years ago by the birth, ministry, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  My relationship with God, the love of Christ and the guidance of the Holy Spirit was the number one reason for the success of my transition, especially during those times when I was pretty much going it alone as far as people from my former life being supportive.

And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. – Luke 2:8-14

And that’s why people find hope in Christmas, Charlie Brown!

God bless,

Lois

Importance of Christian Unity

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1st John 4, Christ, Christians, Civil Unrest, Civil War, destruction, emigration, freedom, game plan, Gospel of John, Hungary, Jesus prayer for the church, John 15, John 17, Love, Middle East, Muslim, patriotic pride, refugee, salvation, Shiite, Sunni, Syria, Turkey, United States, unity, witness

Tax Season is beginning to take up more and more of my time.  Some problems dealing with New York State over my Obamacare application is adding to the demands on my time.  So my blog posts will continue to be less frequent and shorter.  I also will be using some outside sources and things that I wrote during my transition journey instead of fresh material.  Hopefully, it will still be of growing interest to my current and new readers.  And now, here’s today’s blog post.

There are times when I have concerns about the future of the United States.  There are also times when I am very proud of my country and the ideals for which it stands and upon which it was founded.  Yesterday was one of those days for patriotic pride.

It started when I met with a Christian friend to discuss her income tax situation.  She will be a new client this year.  She also does not know about my past or this blog, so I will not give her name.

After the meeting, we went out to lunch at a nearby Friendly’s restaurant.  We arrived during the gap between the lunch and dinner hours, so we were able to talk with our waiter a bit more than we could if it was at a busier time.

My friend was born in Iran.  She came here at age four, but her English is still somewhat accented.  Perhaps this was why she did not comment on our waiter’s accent.  Or perhaps I merely asked first.  I definitely detected a Middle Eastern accent.  His real first name was on his name tag, but to protect his privacy, I will call him “Salaam”.

Did he mind if I asked him where he was from?  He cheerfully replied, Syria.  He was a friendly, engaging young man.  And in between his need to come and go to take care of our order and other customers, an interesting story unfolded.

This man was not your ordinary waiter.  In Syria, he was a dentist.  This in itself was intriguing.  How does a Syrian dentist end up as a waiter in the New York City suburbs?

He began by asking us if we were familiar with what is going on in Syria as far as the fighting.  My friend and I nodded yes.  He replied that you can get killed there.  People are being shot.  The implication was that it is happening with great frequency there, far more than in the United States.

I thought that perhaps he had been part of the Syrian Christian minority and that was what put his life in danger.  My friend may have had the same thought because at this point, she asked him what religion he followed.  He replied, “Muslim.”

He went on to explain that Muslims are killing Muslims in Syria.  It is the government versus the rebels, moderates versus extremists, Shiites versus Sunnis.  People trying to live their daily lives are caught in between: homes and businesses destroyed; many have lost their lives.

Salaam told us that he walked away from the dental clinic he established and all his equipment.  He has since learned that it has all been destroyed.  He didn’t say which side did it.  It really doesn’t matter at this point.

My friend asked him if he brought family with him.  He shook his head.  He came alone.  Apparently he knew another Syrian dentist who had preceded him coming to the United States.

My friend was surprised that he would come here not really knowing anyone.  Her family came here while the Shah was still firmly in power.  She was not one whose family fled when the Shah was deposed or some in response to some other crackdown on Christians.

I, on the other hand, remember three of my Hungarian cousins coming here in 1957.  I was four years old at the time, but I remember picking up one of them at Camp Kilmer, and the other two showing up at our house in Queens.  It is a vivid memory for me, even though I was only four years old at the time.  After the unsuccessful attempt in Hungary to get rid of the yoke of oppressive Soviet Communism, my cousins managed to become part of the roughly 200,000 Hungarians able to escape.  They arrived with little more than the clothes on their back and a smile, knowing almost no English.  (My mother’s parents came from Hungary at the turn of the century and she was able to communicate with them in Hungarian.)  Learning English, they worked hard and became part of the American middle class.  So I understood the desperation that would cause Salaam to leave his homeland.

My friend questioned him further.  She wanted to know if he left behind family in Syria.  “No,” he replied, adding that they emigrated to Turkey.  Why didn’t he go to Turkey as well, my friend wanted to know.

His answer was enlightening.  He shared that throughout the Middle East and that part of the Muslim world, many of the countries are facing serious problems.  He cited Libya, Egypt, Yemen, Palestine (Jordan), Syria, Lebanon, Iran and Iraq as examples.  And he added that Turkey was in a similar situation.  When I asked if he meant that these countries were unstable, he agreed.  The potential was too high that the destructive events that happened to him in Syria might repeat themselves in Turkey.

He elaborated.  In Syria, you never know when someone might approach you on the street and demand to know your background.  Being a Muslim does not protect, as the battles are between various Muslim factions.  Giving the wrong answer can be hazardous to one’s freedom and even one’s life.

In the United States, in contrast, he explained that no one ever demands to know what he believes.  He has freedom to live his life pretty much as he pleases.  He mentioned that here he has become friends with those who are Muslim, Christian, Jewish, and atheists.  I replied that was also an accurate description of my list of clients.

He mentioned that it would take some time, but he was working on getting licensed as a dentist in this country.  I told him that he had taken an important first step in learning the English language as well as he had.  He was a bit surprised, but pleased at the compliment.

We finished our meal, paid our bill, and gave Salaam a generous tip in recognition of the great service he provided us.  I can see this bright, personable young man going far.  Wherever he ends up, he will make a good neighbor and friend to many.  My pride in my country stems from the hope and second chance that the United States has provided this worthy person.

So what does this have to do with the title of my post?  This is roundabout, even for me!

After I returned home, I meditated on the life of this young man and our conversation with him in the restaurant.  As I did so, I sensed a grieving of the Spirit.  If the body of Christ was truly united, what a testimony it would be to the many people like Salaam whose lives are torn apart by division, including warring within their own religion.  In other places it might be tribal factions or class warfare.

How much more attractive would the Gospel be to the world if they saw a Christian body marked by love and unity?  What a real alternative it would present.  What a solace and refuge it would provide.  Best of all, it is what Christ preached and prayed for us to be: brothers and sisters united in love for one another.  Concentrating on what we have in common rather than where we differ.

If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?  And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also. – 1^st John 4:20-21

We sing that they’ll know we are Christians by our love.  Do we live it?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xyHvO4xoEh4

Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.  As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love.  If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love.  These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.  This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.  Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.  Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.  Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.  Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.  These things I command you, that ye love one another. – John 15:8-17

As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world.  And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth.  Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. – John 17:18-21

“That the world may believe” … isn’t that what we Christians should want more than anything else in the world?  It is so simple the way Jesus spells it out for us.  But history has shown that it isn’t easy.

Nevertheless, let’s summarize it in simple language.  The world will believe in the Father and in His Son, Jesus Christ, if they see our unity.  We will achieve unity if we love one another within the body of Christ.

That’s the game plan from our Salvation Captain.  Let’s practice it so we can execute it, even under difficult circumstances.  If you watched the Super Bowl, you witnessed that the team able to do a better job of executing their game plan won the prize.

God bless,

Lois

Special Types of Witnesses

Tags

1st Corinthians 15, Apostle John, Apostle Paul, ascension of Jesus, baptism of Jesus, beloved Son, book of Acts, Christ, Christianity, Christians, empty tomb, evidence, eyewitness, followers, Gospels, hostile witness, Jerusalem, Jesus, Jews, John the Baptist, Josh McDowell, martyr, Messiah, persecution, Peter, resurrection, road to Damascus, Roman Empire, Roman guard, statement against interest, transfiguration

In a future post, I will be describing some of my favorite sports moments. But I am going to include one of them in this post because it fits the topic.  It was actually an accomplishment that I did.  It happened in basketball, which is ironic because it is probably my worst sport.  I am short (about 5’4½”), don’t handle the ball particularly well, and I don’t have a sense of the field of play the way I do in football or soccer.  But there is one very important fact about this event: I didn’t see it happen.

My friends must have been desperate for an extra player when they asked me to join them for a half court pickup game in the Teagle gym.  During the game, one of my teammates was the last person to touch the ball as it was heading out of bounds in the corner to the left of the basket.  I was the closest to the ball and unchallenged for it.

I have the quick reflexes of a hockey goalie, and they kicked in as I closed in on the ball.  At the last possible second before it or I would be out of bounds, I dove and got my hands under the ball.  The only way I could save it was to fling it upwards in the general direction of the court, hoping one of my taller and stronger teammates could get to it first.  Then I hit the floor and skidded, coming to rest out of bounds against the curtain that separated our court from the next one.

As I shook off the impact of hitting the floor and got to my feet, it was strangely quiet.  The first thing I saw was that everyone was standing around.  I assumed the ball went out of bounds again, and they were waiting for me to get back onto the court before the inbounds play.  They stood there with dumbfounded expressions.  One of my teammates told me, “You swished it.”

I accused them of kidding me, but they all insisted it was true.  Even the guys on the other team agreed that it went in.  And the game resumed with us having one more basket than before.

I eventually believed them for three reasons.  First, they didn’t have enough time to get their stories straight.  Second, a group of guys that age are not good enough actors to keep a straight face under those circumstances.  But the most important was that the guys on the other team were hostile witnesses.  And they were making statements against interest.  Confirming that it went in hurt their chances of winning.  So I am firmly convinced it happened, even if I didn’t see it.

Now we will go to a different kind of court, one where witnesses are examined and evidence is weighed.

Here is a summary of the story of Jesus’s resurrection and the empty tomb He left behind.  First, Joseph of Arimathaea persuades Pilate to release His body to him.  He wraps His body in linen cloth and puts it in a new tomb he had recently created by hollowing out a cave into rock.  Nicodemus put certain spices on the linen cloths according to their burial customs.  They are followed to the tomb by some of the women who had been ministering to Jesus and His disciples.

The disciples of Jesus are disheartened, fearful and in hiding.  They are supposed to stay in Jerusalem for the Passover.  But they expect the authorities to find them and arrest them at any time.

Meanwhile, the Jewish authorities remember (far better than His disciples did) that Jesus had said He would rise from the dead.  They go to Pilate and ask him to give them a Roman guard.  A Roman military guard was made up of 4 to 16 men, deployed in a square formation, and were known for their ability to hold off a far larger force.  Pilate grants their request.  The guard goes to the tomb, puts a Roman seal on it and position themselves in front of it.

The day after the Sabbath, some of the women go to the tomb to anoint the body of Jesus with more spices.  As they walk there they wonder who will be able to roll the large stone away from the tomb so they can do this work.  When they arrive, they find that the stone has been moved away and they encounter an angel who tells them that Jesus is risen and is not there.  Eventually Peter and John arrive and find that there is no body in the cave, but the linen burial cloths have been left there.

Then Jesus appears to many people during this time.  The Apostle Paul, in his first letter to the church in Corinth, gives an excellent summary of these events.

For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures: And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve: After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep.  After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles.  And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time. – 1^st Corinthians 15:3-8  [Note: Cephas is the Greek name for the Apostle Peter.]

At this point a number of questions might come to mind.  For instance, what revived the spirits of a disheartened group of disciples who had good reason to believe their cause was defeated with the death of their leader?  When He was arrested and crucified, they were still struggling to understand much of His teaching, especially His purpose and objective.  What enabled them to turn a movement in a small area of a conquered region, into a force that swept through the whole world, despite its initial leaders being a small group of men with relatively little education (except for Paul), influence, power or funds?  Furthermore, how do we know that Paul’s statements are true?

If we recall the evidence regarding my amazing basketball shot, some of it applies here as well.  The followers of Christ, in spreading their witness about Jesus, were speaking statements against their own personal interest.  While many Jews became added to the number of followers in the early years after the ascension of Jesus, the Jewish leadership never accepted that Jesus was the Messiah.  They vigorously persecuted their Jewish brothers and sisters who followed Jesus.  Indeed, it was as part of that mission that Paul (at that time called Saul of Tarsus) was heading to Damascus.  Until the vision and message from Christ on that road to Damascus led him to convert, Paul’s actions against the followers of Christ included imprisonment, voting for their death at trials, subjecting them to whatever punishments were allowed under the Law in synagogues throughout the region, even in areas distant from Jerusalem, and forcing some to recant their beliefs.

And while the Romans at first may have seen this situation as an internal dispute between the Jews which did not concern them unless it threatened the peace, that changed as the number of followers continued to grow, especially when non-Jews, even Romans, began to convert in significant numbers.  Teaching and witnessing about a king named Jesus who is the son of the one true God, threatened the religious customs of the Roman Empire and the authority of Caesar.

Thus the persecution of Christ’s followers multiplied greatly.  The book of Acts records the martyrdom of Stephan and the Apostle James.  The historical record shows that all of the Apostles except John (who died of old age in exile) died a martyr’s death.  That record further shows that Christians were routinely sent to death in the Coliseum and that Nero blamed the Christians for the fire he set that burned Rome.  It took three centuries before Christianity was officially accepted by Roman authorities.  Until then, it wasn’t very safe to be found proclaiming the Gospel.

The following is a link to an article by Josh McDowell that gives an extensive list of evidence, facts, proofs, counter-arguments to the claims of skeptics, and evaluations by historians on the validity of the testimony which supports the existence of Jesus and His historical resurrection after His crucifixion.  Historical accounts by Jews and Romans who opposed Christianity (i.e., hostile witnesses) are included in the article with explanation why it is strong evidence.  There is also archeological evidence that shows that Paul’s letter quoted above was circulated at a time when it can be expected that many of the people who saw Christ after His resurrection were indeed alive.  And many other points are made, and made better than I could hope to do.  And yes, at the end of his article, a challenge is made as to what you believe.

http://www.leaderu.com/everystudent/easter/articles/josh2.html

Why is all of this so important?  A little further in 1^st Corinthians, Paul explains it: And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain.  (1^st Corinthians 15:14)

Jews and Christians agree that God has promised a Messiah for His people.  The disagreement that divides is over the identity of the Messiah.  Paul, a most learned Pharisee before following Christ, has stated it clearly: if Jesus is not risen from the dead, then He is not the Messiah; He is not the Christ.  He is just another false claimant to the title.  There would be no need to continue to follow His teachings. Instead, all should pray that the Messiah would come soon.

Confronted by such an important spiritual question, I must conclude based on all that has been set forth in this series of posts, that we have reliable eyewitness accounts of people who have seen God.  In times of His choosing, God reveals Himself in physical form to people.  At other times, the effects of God’s presence in the world are evident.

I have left the most important witness for last: God Himself on two occasions.  In three of the four Gospels, Jesus takes only Peter, James and John with Him to a hilltop where His appearance is transfigured and He converses with Moses and Elijah.  At the end of that event, a voice comes out of a cloud and calls Jesus His “beloved Son”.  Also, those same three Gospels testify that when Jesus is baptized, a voice comes out of heaven with that same description of Jesus, and the Holy Spirit also comes upon Jesus at that time.  (In John’s Gospel, it is also mentioned that the Holy Spirit descended upon Jesus when He was baptized.  This Gospel quotes John the Baptist bearing witness at this time that Jesus is the Son of God.)

On the first occasion, three people witnessed.  On the second occasion, an untold number of witnesses were there, whoever had come to be baptized at that time.  And many people from all around were coming to be baptized.  They heard a disembodied voice that could not be manufactured with the technology of that time.

Will you follow God?  If so, then understand that to truly follow, it matters little that God is on your side; it is far more important that you endeavor to be on God’s side.  What other way is there to follow?

God bless,

Lois

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