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W W W. H I G H E RT H I N G S . O R G
/ SPRING / 2005
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Contents T A B L E
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Four Myths of Evolution By Rev. Michael L. McCoy Spontaneous generation.The missing link. A million-year-old earth. Is the “theory” of evolution fact or fiction?
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I Believe that I Cannot Believe By Rev.Tim Pauls
HigherThings
Can you make a decision for Christ? Or choose to accept Christ as your Savior? Read Rev. Pauls’ examination of Luther’s explanation of the Third Article of the Creed to find out.
Executive Editor REV. TODD PEPERKORN
10 Life in the Blood By Rev. Erik Rottmann Celebrities like Michael J. Fox and the late Christopher Reeve are examples of prominent supporters of embryonic stem cell research. But is there another way to use stem cells without murdering the unborn?
12 The Liturgy: Something to Treasure By Lynnette Fredericksen This Lutheran school teacher shares her thoughts on why she treasures this jewel of the Lutheran Church: our liturgies.
22 Love Songs for Jesus? By Mollie Ziegler Mollie reflects on Contemporary Christian Music and its portrayal of God. Do the lyrics of popular CCM songs convey a Biblical viewpoint?
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Letters to the Editor
14 MINING THE RICHES: The Wisdom of Donkeys By Rev. George F. Borghardt III Yes, God even uses donkeys to proclaim His Word! How much more will He speak through your pastor!
16 The Mind of Christ By Kathy Luder Kathy’s autistic cousin visits for the weekend and Kathy reflects on broken minds, broken bodies, and our hope in Christ.
23 Holy by Contact By Dr. Gene Edward Veith Our God is a consuming fire—but what does this mean? In this issue, Dr. Veith explores the concept of holiness in the book of Leviticus.
26 Pulse: Horror Movies By Rev. Scott Stiegemeyer What good could come from a horror flick? Can Higher Things really slam CCM and praise horror movies in the same issue? Are we daring to be Lutheran or what?
29 Ex Cathedra Issues at issue in this issue: God’s will for my life, a presidential speech, and some cat-itude!
copyright 2005 switchfoot.com.
30 Catechism: God Counts By Rev. David Petersen
Assistant Editor JULIE STIEGEMEYER Editorial Assistant ADRIANE DORR Art Director STEVE BLAKEY
Editorial Associates REV. GEORGE BORGHARDT REV. TIM PAULS REV. DAVID PETERSEN REV. ERIK ROTTMANN
III
Bible Studies Editor REV. TIMOTHY SCHELLENBACH Contributing Editors REV. ERIC ANDRAE PAM KNEPPER KATHY LUDER REV. SCOTT STIEGEMEYER DR. GENE EDWARD VEITH Business Manager LYNN FREDERICKSEN Subscriptions Manager CYNTHIA HALL
Subscriptions Assistant CHRIS HALL
Board of Directors President REV. KLEMET
PREUS
Vice President REV. MARCUS
ZILL
Executive Director REV. DANIEL WOODRING
Secretary SANDRA
OSTAPOWICH
Treasurer LYNN FREDERICKSEN
REV. WILLIAM CWIRLA REV. BRUCE KESEMAN SANDRA OSTAPOWICH SUE PELLEGRINI REV. KLEMET PREUS JEFF SCHWARZ MOLLIE ZIEGLER REV. MARCUS ZILL Higher Things Magazine ISSN 1539-8455 is published quarterly by Higher Things Inc., 2026 22nd Ave., Kenosha, WI 53140. No portion of this publication may be reproduced without the written consent of the executive editor of Higher Things Magazine. Copyright 2005. Printed in the United States. Postage paid at Fort Wayne, Indiana. For subscription information and questions, call 260-357-5094 or email subscriptions@higherthings.org.
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I Believe that I Cannot I was born on April 5, 1967. Having spent the past nine months before conceiving myself in my mother’s womb, I decided the time had come: I delivered myself into the world.
Yeah. Right. I was born just like everybody—I was there, that’s all. My mom went through labor, the doctor stood ready with the net, and my dad…did whatever dads did back then. I wasn’t there to do anything; I was there to be done to. Remember that: I was given life and born. I didn’t bear myself. I couldn’t will myself into being; that’s solely God’s work. However, the Lord did work through means to get me here. He didn’t just snap His fingers and—zap!—there I was. He used my parents to create that peculiar genetic casserole known as me. Pop quiz time: 1. Did you do anything to be born? 2. Did you come into being apart from means? Answers: no and no.You did nothing to be born, and you didn’t just appear out of nowhere.The Lord used means to create you (parents, pods, whatever— I’m not one to judge). Most people get these two questions right when it comes to being born. But a lot of people get it wrong when it comes to salvation. There’s a
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Believe By Rev. Tim Pauls
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big chunk of Christianity that says that you decide to follow Jesus. In other words, you choose to be saved. In John 3, Nicodemus visits Jesus under the cover of darkness (the original Nick-at-Night!). Jesus tells him,“Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God” (Jn. 3:3). Huh? Born again? Nicodemus says,“How can I enter into my mother’s womb a second time?” which, I hasten to add, would not thrill his mother either. See his mistake? He’s looking to do something to be born. So Jesus patiently tells him not to do something, but to be done to—to be born of water and the Spirit. He’s talking Baptism. The Holy Spirit works through water and the Word to beget children of God. Now, what did you do to be baptized? The answer is especially clear if you were a baby at the time: nothing.You might have been sleeping or causing a stink (in more ways than one), but you didn’t do anything. It was done to you, for you. Did God just zap you with grace? No. He worked through means— water connected with God’s Word. Read all about it in the fourth chief part of Luther’s Small Catechism. Speaking of which, look how the explanation to the Third Article of the Creed begins:“I believe that I cannot…believe in Jesus Christ.”That’s your statement of faith: you believe that you cannot believe by your own reason or strength.You cannot believe by your thoughts or efforts. You believe that you cannot believe in Jesus. BUT! “But the Holy Ghost has called me by the Gospel, enlightened me with His gifts, sanctified and kept me in the true faith,” continues the Catechism. You don’t believe by your own reason or strength. You believe by the work of the Spirit. You were born again and you have life in Christ by the Spirit’s work. It’s His doing, not yours, and this is really good news. What if it were up to your reason and strength? How smart would you have to be before God saved you? How much good would you have do before He
adopted you? If you’re saved by your own reason or strength, you could never be sure you’ve gotten reasonable enough or strong enough. (And if your reason and strength play a part, you’re also saying that the Spirit doesn’t get the job done by Himself. To say,“I’ve chosen to follow Jesus” is to insult Him!) But if faith is the work of the Spirit, then you can be sure you’re saved. He doesn’t give partial grace or half-faith; He gives it all as His gift to you, for Jesus’ sake. So it’s good news that the Holy Spirit is doing the work so that you’re born again and alive in Christ. Here’s more—you say exactly how He’s at work in the Third Article’s explanation:“by the Gospel.” In Baptism, He joins you to Jesus’ death and resurrection (Rom. 6:3-4). By the Word, He creates and sustains faith (Rom. 10:17). By the Lord’s Supper, He strengthens and preserves you in the one true faith unto life everlasting (Mt. 26:28). He’s working there for sure.These are the places He has promised to be for your good and for your salvation. I mention this because many will say,“But Jesus says in John 3:8 that the Spirit moves where and when He wishes!”That’s absolutely true, but this doesn’t mean you can pinpoint Him working in bizarre places like a pine tree or a toasted cheese sandwich. What’s true is this: the Spirit moves where and when He wishes but He also tells you exactly where you can always find Him working for your good: in the means of grace. He doesn’t play hide and seek. In Word and Sacrament, He declares,“Here I am.”There He is for our good. There He is, at work in Word and Sacrament, giving you faith to believe and keeping you in the faith and thus you believe what you can’t believe.You believe what God gives.You believe in Jesus.This is also His work, keeping you alive in Christ.There ought to be a word for it like faithing or enfaithening or fidelitizing. Actually, there’s a better word already: sanctifying.To sanctify is to make holy.The Holy Spirit sanctifies you with forgiveness. If your sins are gone, so is your unbelief; therefore, you have faith. And where there is forgiveness of sins, there is also life and salvation (Small Catechism, VI:3). Rev.Tim Pauls is associate pastor and acting school administrator of Good Shepherd Lutheran Church and School in Boise, Idaho and on the editorial board of Higher Things.You can email him at tpauls@goodshepherdboise.org.
Feedback editor
letters to the
Could you help out a struggling “daringto-be-Lutheran?” Thank You, Erin Student, University of Texas Member, St. Mark Lutheran Church, Conroe, TX
Dear Editor, Luther, too, said that Mary is Theotokos in his writing on The Magnificat. It’s a shame that so many Lutherans still believe that anything Rome says is always wrong, and side, instead, with the Reformed / Baptistic Christians in America, that which I call the GAP church - Generic American Protestantism. I will continue to refer to Mary, as do the Scriptures and our tradition, as God-bearer. Thanks for this article and others. A blessed Christmas to you and yours. Dennis Dear Pastor Peperkorn, In the latest issue of Higher Things, I read the article “A Meditation for the Feast of St. Adam and Eve.”The non-orthodox format the article was written in, while interesting, made it hard to understand. I was having a hard time finding Christ in the article. We learned in church “Crux sola est nostra theologia” (Christ alone is our theology).
Dear Erin, I bet your pastor put you up to this. The point of the article is “…we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now.” In the fall, all of creation fell. Satan is cursed (Genesis 3), and all of our life bears the mark of death upon it. But in Christ, all things are made new. In Jesus’ birth and death and resurrection, we see how God is at work restoring creation to what He intended in that first garden. Seems to me like there’s a lotta Jesus in that cat. Pastor Peperkorn Dear Higher Things: I am writing to ask you to stop my daughter’s subscription to your magazine. Could you send it to a needy person instead? Cheyenne says it is boring and doesn’t pertain to her life. Please redirect her subscription to someone who will read it or a Lutheran High School Library. I got her a subscription to Brio from Focus on the Family, which she likes. She says it has more stuff in it that she likes and is interested in. Thank you for your consideration of this request. Jenny Jenny, Certainly we will honor your request to end your daughter’s subscription, although it was a gift from someone else.
However, I would suggest to you that your daughter is very “needy” of Higher Things because we are about Jesus and the forgiveness of sins.There are many youth magazines like Brio and others that try to offer a reflection of young people’s interests. Brio has a veneer of being Christian, but ultimately the message is about behavior and what to do.While the Law may be attractive in some ways, ultimately that is not the message of Christianity. The message of Christianity is that Jesus died for our sins and rose again for our justification. I hope you and your daughter will reconsider. In the pages of Higher Things you will find deep theology, critiques of the culture around us, and a fair amount of just plain silliness. What more could a young Lutheran ask for? Pastor Peperkorn
Higher Things Higher Things Magazine welcomes letters from our readers. Please send your comments to: Higher Things Magazine P.O. Box 580111 Pleasant Prairie, WI 53158-8011 feedback@higherthings.org
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But wait a minute—the stem cells used to astor Russell Salzmann discover this new blood supply did not come from suffers from diabetes. the umbilical cords left behind by the thousands He knows he will not get of babies that are born every day in America. Nor better. He knows other diabetics were they coaxed from the quivering rivers of liposuctioned fat that daily flow out of America’s who have lost toes, then feet, belly and backside.These things get thrown away then entire legs to the disease. Pastor by the gallon while researchers concentrate on something more grisly: embryonic stem cells.The Salzmann has also heard about the stem cells that create this potential new blood dazzling promises of embryonic stem supply are taken from little babies who are still cell research with its potential to find too young to be born. a cure for the illness that will hound The Terrorism of him the rest of his days. Embryonic Stem Cell Research
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The question for Pastor Salzmann, and for all Christians, is this: Does the chance of a cure for a terrible disease like diabetes make it right to sacrifice other people’s lives?
Forget the Fat—Kill the Baby Stem cells can be harvested from a number of sources, including bone marrow, brain tissue, fat, and even the extra-rich blood of umbilical cords and placentas. Oh, by the way—stem cells are also found in unborn babies. Stem cells are the building blocks that formed your body while you were in still your mother’s womb, creating your muscles, bones, cartilage, and blood.These cells hold the potential of creating “replacement” hearts or kidneys or other organs for those who need them. Many scientists also believe that stem cells will lead to cures for such deadly diseases as cancer, Parkinson’s Disease, Lou Gehrig’s Disease, and yes, diabetes. Amazingly enough, these stem cells even have the potential of creating a completely new blood supply. What seemingly great news! This means no more blood shortages, no more blood drives, no more fear of getting AIDS from a transfusion of dirty blood. Stem cells can save the day!
Bloo
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Many times, people do not concern themselves with a certain issue or problem until that problem lands in their own lap.Terrorism is an example. A few years ago, terrorists were someone else’s problem. Car bombs killed someone else’s family in far-away countries and it all went away when we turned off the TV. Now terrorism has come to the United States. We hear about it every day, we go through tighter security at the airport, and we always look twice at someone who might be from the Middle East. Embryonic stem cell research has not yet fallen into the laps of American Christians in the way that terrorism has. Many Christians are morally opposed to it, but they do not yet have a personal stake in it. Most of us can still think of embryonic stem cell research as someone else’s problem—Pastor Salzmann’s problem. An endless blood supply developed from embryonic stem cells promises to change all of that. Most Christians will probably never need a new heart or kidney (thanks be to God). However, there is a pretty good chance that many of us—or someone we dearly love—will someday need a blood transfusion. Blood created from a baby who was purposefully killed.That’s a problem!
in the
Courage in the Face of Temptation So what about Pastor Salzmann’s diabetes? He will not prey upon his neighbor in order to satisfy his personal needs. He would rather lose his body than give up the faith that has been given to him in Christ Jesus. It is not right for big, strong human beings to benefit themselves by preying upon weak, little human beings… just call me gimpy (Forum Letter #28.7, July 1999). Pastor Salzmann is speaking about embryonic stem cell research and its potential for endless blood supplies and amazing cures. He is also saying that love for neighbor is much greater than love for self. But Pastor Salzmann is really speaking about the hope of the resurrection, given to us by Christ.“I am the resurrection and the life,” says Jesus.“He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die” (John 11:25-26).
There is no such thing as an incurable disease for those who are in Christ Jesus.“He took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows” (Isaiah 53:4) and gave us His resurrection in return. We need not rob a new blood supply from our helpless neighbors.The rich blood of Christ has already been poured out for us in endless abundance. In this blood, there is both life and salvation. Rev. Erik Rottman is pastor of Grace Lutheran Church,Versailles, Missouri and a member of the editorial board of Higher Things. His email address is echo-romeo@sbcglobal.net.
By Rev. Erik Rottmann
ood
Does the chance of a cure for a terrible disease like diabetes make it right to sacrifice other people’s lives?
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