Moral code is like bedrock

Yaron Brook and Onkar Ghate have published an article on cnn.com called, "Our moral code is out of date". This is one of the first times that I have seen someone propose a basis of morality that is not ultimately rooted in the Bible and Christianity.

The article begins by pointing out that modern science has changed our world. Interestingly the authors point to 4 scientist as some of the great minds that ushered in our modern world. Apparently our authors do not know their history. They applaud Galileo, Sir Isaac Newton, Louis Pasteur and Charles Darwin. Sir Isaac Newton and Louis Pasteur were both committed Christians. It could be rightly argued that Charles Darwin's hypothesis of evolution has yet to be formally proven and was the engine upon which the genocides of Hitler were built. It could be argued that modern science would not exist if it were not for Christians who were influenced to explore their world so that they might discover more about it and thus know their God better. A great list of these Christians in science can be found on the, "Christian influences in Science" page.

The second thing they point out in the article is that the "rights of men" was the next great development. They point to the industrialist and all the commercial advancements that they have made that have revolutionized our lives. Arguably none of us would want to live without cars, refrigeration, air conditioning, etc..

Then the authors make an irrational leap. They say:

"But as far as we've come because of these two ideas, human progress demands implementation of a third idea to complete the scientific and political revolutions. We're still beholden to the past in ethics."

They argue that we turn to the Bible, the Quran or secular copies of these as authorities on morality. I would argue that we turn to the Bible predominantly. They argue that seeing the Bible as a moral authority distorts our conception of moral ideals. They go on to argue that instead of seeing Jesus Christ or Mother Teresa as moral heros we should extol the virtues of Galileo, Darwin, Thomas Edison or John D. Rockefeller. They declare that we should strive to be like these guys not the Mother Teresa's of the world.

Why is this an irrational leap? First science is always changing based on discoveries. Second the rights of men which are in flux based on whose political philosophy is controlling the country or region where one lives. But science and the rights of men does not imply by extension that moralities basis needs to change. It is an irrational inference because the one does not imply the other. Quite the opposite. I would argue that the morality falls in the category of transcendent universals that are at their core the same around the world. Other transcendent universals are logic and mathematics. Rather than being in flux they are more of a reference point we use to establish a basis for argument, commerce and from morality comes law.

To get back to what they say. We see them point out that the world applauds Bill Gates and Warren Buffet when they give their money away but that they should be applauding them for making it to begin with. Continuing they say that, "...morality should be about the pursuit of our own success and happiness". They then follow that, "...giving money away to strangers is, in comparison not a morally significant act." These writers see the pursuit of our own happiness as the highest ethical goal. The problem with this should be speak for itself.

The reason that the world applauds Bill Gates and Warren Buffet when they give their money away is that it resonates with the moral code of God that is written on the hearts of men. It is completely irrational to suppose that we can construct a new moral code and dispense with the Bible. The government can make laws against adultery but they cannot keep a person from lusting. They can make you swear to tell the truth but they cannot keep you from lying. All governments and societies can do is enforce external actions. The only way to truly deal with the corruption in a man's heart is to introduce them to Jesus. In doing this we turn to what is essentially as solid and unmovable as bedrock, the moral law of God.

The irony here is that they see the pursuit of our own happiness as the highest goal. Generally the happiest people I have ever met in my life have been those who have come to know and worship Jesus Christ as their Lord. The rejoinders in the Bible that speak to the joy we can have in Jesus are throughout  God's word. David finds God's law as sweeter than honey and more precious than gold (Psalm 19:10). Paul charges the Philippians to rejoice in the Lord always (Phil. 3:1, 4:4).

These guys have not borrowed from the Christian faith in order to make their moral claims. They have instead postulated the antithesis of the servanthood held up in scripture, that we should pursue our own benefit in everything. I can't begin to imagine a world where everyones highest value is their own advancement. This ends up being close to if it feels good do it. That would ultimately be a cut-throat and evil environment to live in. No, I will continue to pursue living a God focused life. It brings true joy to my heart. It seeks to care for the fatherless and the widows. It seeks to be a servant to those it encounters. This creates an environment where peace prospers and God is glorified.

Man can't even understand himself

Sometimes I file articles away and stew on them for a while. In the middle of July CNN posted an article titled, "How can a smart species be so dumb?". Richard Galant reflects on a couple of questions asked by Laurie Santos in Oxford, England.

Was last year's financial crisis a chance event? Or was it the product of 35 million years of evolution?

These questions are posed in an either or type of presentation. Yet the answer to both of these questions from the perspective of a Christian would be decidedly different from the author of the article. First of all, "Was last year's financial crisis a chance event?" No, it was brought about by God for the sake of His glory.

Was it the product of 35 million years of evolution? No, it was part of God's plan and we have yet to see how it will play out entirely. You see man makes bad decisions because man has a fallen nature. He is prone to do evil (Genesis 6:5). Secondly there is no 35 million years of evolution Genesis 1:1 clearly tells us that in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. We serve a God who has the entire world in His hands. He has made plans that will bring about the establishment of His kingdom and the glorification of Jesus. Because these plans are certain, the things leading up to these plans are orchestrated and certain as well. The financial crisis should not shake a God fearing God focused Christian. Why? Because the God focused Christian will see the financial crisis as a means of depending on God more and as one more step toward the final revealing of Jesus Christ. For the questions raised by CNN there really ought to be one more, "Was last years financial crisis an act of God?" If they asked this they might be getting a little closer to the truth.

How does a God focus affect tithing? Is it for today?

Is tithing for today? Have you ever wondered how it works now that we are under grace? Do we still have a legalistic requirement to give a tenth?

People go back and forth arguing about the issue of tithing. On the one side you hear people proclaiming that we should give 10% of our gross income. Someone else says you should give 10% of your net. Another guy comes along and says you don't have any requirement at all. What is it? Does the Bible give us a clue? I think that there is real clarity on this issue in the Bible. Without any question the Bible can be taken out of context and often twisted to make it say whatever we like. However the goal of this site is to look at relevant cultural issues through the lens of scripture and see if a God focus brings us greater understanding. So we will let God be God and submit to his clarity.


To begin with lets consider the issue of the ten commandments. Paul tells us in Galatians that the ten commandments are a school master to bring us to Christ. What he is saying is that the ten commandments were there to show us that we needed a Savior because we were insufficient to accomplish the task ourselves. Because of the ten commandments and our inability to keep them it becomes apparent that we need help of some sort to achieve communion with God. That help comes from the Holy Spirit and it manifest itself in the fruit of the spirit. One of the results of the Spirits work in our hearts will be a desire to know God better. So how can we know God better? Lets start with the ten commandments. Well how can we follow the ten commandments without being a legalist? First of all I would define legalism as any act done for the sake of making myself more spiritual in comparison to others. Legalism always carries with it the idea of comparison, i.e. how can I become more spiritual than someone else or how can I achieve the same perceived level of spirituality I observe in someone else. This is a very horizontal man-focused type of achievement. God's law is God centered it shows us what is pleasing to God. If we pursue the following of God's law in full awareness of our falleness and unworthiness with the idea of perhaps coming to know God better in this pursuit then we avoid the monster of legalism. So in this way the ten commandments truly teach us how to bend our will to bring it into subjection to the desire of God and the things that please Him. It really is a schoolmaster.


So what does all of this have to do with tithing. Tithing in the old testament was always a starting point. There were multiple opportunities for people to give more than a tithe. Some argue that this was also the de-facto tax levied on the Israelites to pay for their infrastructure. That may have been the case but tithing continued even when the Jews were under rulership in which they were taxed. Jesus lived in such a time and His words are instructive here. Matthew 23:23 and Luke 11:42 record Christ's words on tithing. He tells the Scribes and the Pharisees here that they tithe down to the very herbs they grow in their garden but they neglect justice, the love of God, mercy and faithfulness. He goes on to say that they should tithe without neglecting these other issues. In Christ eyes tithing was not just acceptable but something that should be practiced as a normal matter of pursuing God. Why? You see tithing gives us an objective standard much like God's law that we can easily follow. It gives us a standard of 10% that we can take off of the top. As a starting point it is often just enough to cause us to have to adjust our standard of living down. It means we have to give up some things. You see when we tithe out of a desire to know God better we end up giving up some things for the sake of pursuing that relationship. It means that there are a few less things to get in the way of our pursuit of God. Tithing puts us in a place where we are trusting that God knows better than us what we need. It is in a sense abandoning ourselves to the hand of God in the area of our finances. When we do it with the express goal of knowing God better it becomes a pure joy to us to take part in building God's kingdom. We know that investment will last more than anything else we could buy. There literally becomes no better thing we could do with the money God entrust to us. On top of all that the people in the old testament tithed and they had not yet seen the full magnificence and glory of God's grace given at the cross. How could any of us on this side of the cross knowing the full weight of what has already been done give less then those who never knew. Giving a tenth is a requirement for us just like God's law for the sake of our hearts being brought into subjection to God so that we might know Him better. Who would not want that?

Taking God for granted

I am sitting here in my living room with my wife. We had twins a little over three weeks ago. It's late and as I sit here it suddenly struck me how much of God's grace has been poured out on us that we take for granted. We are not wealthy by the world's standards but we have a comfrotable couch and a recliner that would have been the envy of the wealthy 100 years ago. A color TV hangs on my wall and 100 years ago that sort of thing was not even thought of. Electricity powers lights that let me see what I type. A fish aquarium churnes away in the corner maintaining a fish habitat for our viewing pleasure. Color photographs in frames crowd the top of our piano. Some of them were captured with a digital camera. Our newborn daughters rest comfortably in warm clothes that were acquired from virtually limitless choices at an abundance of stores. What we experience is truly amazing, and especially so when we remember John 1:3, "All things were made by Him (Jesus...God)." That puts an amazing perspective on it all. There is not one thing that we have that is not derived from something that God made. The life that we experience comes from God and all that we have comes from God. All the things that I see in my home exist because God allowed someone somewhere to have the mental capacity to figure out how to make it. 1 Corinthians 8:6 reminds us that all things are God's. All the things we take for granted are actually little signpost that should cause our hearts to cry out to God in wonder at His mercy and grace. We really deserve God's wrath because of our corruption and sinfulness. What we have received even in the common things of life is truly astounding. Because of Jesus one day I will dwell in Heaven with my God. But on the journey to that celestial city God has surrounded me and you with signpost to point out His abundant mercy and grace. So whether we eat or drink or whatsoever we do we could do all to the glory of God (1 Corinthians 10:31). May God grant us the grace to not take Him for granted but to live a more God focused life than ever.

How a God focused life can save a marriage

The news has had several articles about the Al and Tipper Gore's separation. If you have not heard you can find out more in an article on Foxnews called "What Hasn't Been Said About the Gores' Split". There is a lot of speculation about the changes that have entered their lives since 2000 and the loss of the election. Al has made a lot of money since then and has become very popular especially with the environmental crowd. Most people conclude that the success and money has put a huge amount of stress on the marriage. Whether it has or not the reality is that God calls men to love their wives as Christ loved the church (Ephesians 5:25). This should be the second priority for any man who claims to know Jesus as his Lord. The first should be to love God (Matthew 22:37). If these things are in place then any money earned is a blessing and gift from God. Any success in life that is granted to us becomes a position that God has placed us in for the sake of advancing His kingdom. The way that fame and money destroys marriages is evidence that man centered solutions do not work. Even Tony Robbins the secular guru of personal achievement has not been able to make marriage work. In a day and age when everyone is looking for the quick fix and the perfect solution. There is no better time to turn to and follow the direction and calling of God. After all He designed marriage it would seem that following His advice would be the best thing we could do.

Money Matters?

I have been preparing to speak to a church men's group this Saturday. They have been going through a book by Timothy Keller called Counterfeit Gods: The Empty Promises of Money, Sex, and Power, and the Only Hope that Matters. I have the chapter on money. This has been incredibly relevant for me. I have been without work since the end of December. God in His grace has been supplying our needs, as I pick up side jobs and continue to look for work. It is easy in a situation like this or any situation where money is tight to begin to become fixated on money. But the real question at the end of the day is, "Who is it that supplies our needs?" is it us or is it God. If we believe that it is us then we have cause for feelings of desperation and fear. Not only that but we begin to watch every little penny. I don't think that is why God put us on this earth. Our battle should not be for financial security our battle should be to keep finances from drawing our hearts and our focus away from God. Paul talks at length about God's provision in Philippians 4:10-20. Most people quote Philippians 4:13 “I can do all things through him who strengthens me.” usually they mean that God will allow them to be successful and an overcomer, but that is out of context. Paul talks in verses 11-12 about how he has learned “...in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need.” What Paul is saying here as he wraps it up in verses 19-20 is that God is the one that supplies his needs. So no matter what comes our way we must remember that it is God who brings us our work. It is God who grants us favor and sees to it that we receive a raise. It is God who provides the good deal on a house or a car that you bought. Truly in our lives we have seen God supply time and again. Even though I have seen it often it is good to be reminded that our flesh will long for the securities of this world and we must fight to put our hope and trust in God. We need to see Jesus as our greatest hope and treasure. We must never allow our hearts to be distracted from living a God focused life.