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Higher Things
Inside this issue:
• A Purpose Driven Death • How to Defend Infant Baptism and Have Fun Doing It • Is America Obsessed with Sports?
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Contents T A B L E
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FEATURES 4
America’s Sports Obsession
By Rev. Tom Chryst During a recent Packers’game last year,the camera zoomed in on a young girl holding a sign that read, “My mom thinks I’m in church.”Yikes! Are Americans really that sports-oriented? Pastor Chryst,a Packers fan himself,clears up the confusion.
6 A Purpose Driven Death
By Mr. Caleb Kuddes Bookstores are full of books on self-help and Christian living, but what does all this mean in the big scheme of things? Mr. Kuddes takes us back to the apostles’ lives and Christ’s words to remind us that our life begins in one death.
8 Higher Than Feelings
By Rev. Kenneth Wieting You’ve been there. It’s Sunday morning, and you just don’t feel like going to church, much less taking the Lord’s Supper. After all, you just received it last Sunday. Do you really need it again so soon? Pastor Wieting will fill you in on why you just might.
10 Correspondence Courses
By You Ever wished you could shoot off a letter to the editor of Higher Things Magazine, telling him how you really feel about that ridiculous article on ballroom dancing or the absurdity of hearing about antiquated movies? Now you can. We’re here to help you pen the most prolific and wellthought out response you’ve ever had.
12 The Sacraments Flow from the Wounds of Christ
By Rev. Greg Alms Is the picture with this article gruesome and gory? Or is it comforting and compassionate? If you’re interested in articulating what the Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper really is, Pastor Alms’ article will help you do it.
16 Is Your Mind Open or Closed?
By Rev. Bruce Scarbeary Christians sometimes get labeled “close-minded” and “intolerant.” But are we really? Or are we just interested in getting at the truth, no matter how hard it might be? Pastor Scarbeary has been told to be more open-minded, and he’ll recount his experience first-hand.
22 Are Animals People Too?
By Dr. Scott Yenor Does your dachshund have more jackets than you do? Or do you kick your grandma’s poodle because it’s just so annoying? What’s the line between treating animals like people and using them as if they’re indispensable? Read Dr.Yenor’s commentary to discover a happy medium between the two.
Volume 8/Number 1 • Spring 2008
24 Be a Blessing
By Julie Beckwith Have you ever considered helping out at church? It’s shocking, I know. After all, isn’t it Pastor’s job to make the coffee, straighten the chairs, and pass out the Bibles? It’s not like he does much during the week anyway! But think on this (and we realize it’s earth-shattering), you just might have a unique gift to share with the Church.
26 How to Defend Infant Baptism and Have Fun Doing It
By Rev. Tim Pauls It’s lonely being a Lutheran. Sometimes it seems like you’re all alone in a sea of baby Baptismbashing Evangelicals. So what’s a person to do when friends and even family raise a questioning eyebrow at your baptismal beliefs? Check out Pastor Pauls’ article, that’s what!
28 The Golden Compass and Other Dark Materials
By Mr. Andrew Wurdeman Fighting bears, treacherous journeys, and witch clans all join up to make the much-contested The Golden Compass movie. It’s clearly an antiChristian movie, so should you go see it or not? Ask Mr.Wurdeman, and he’ll give you his opinion.
COLUMNS
14 Christ on Campus: Myths about Relationships
By Rev. W. Max Mons Relationships are hard work. It’s difficult to find the right person, tough to decide if he or she is the right one, and equally tricky to keep the romance alive. If you think you’ve found true love (and it’s not with a quart of ice cream and Sleepless in Seattle on a Friday night) or if you just have some questions, Pastor Mons will debunk all your relationship myths.
19 Why My Mom Is the Best
By Kathy Luder It’s getting close to Mother’s Day, and Kathy has no idea what to get her mom.Then she saw it in the paper: a contest where the prize was a year’s worth of free flowers for Mom.That should be easy enough, she decides. But how can she describe just how much her mom means to her in one thousand words or less?
30 Guilt and Shame Removed
By Rev. David Petersen It’s an all too familiar feeling.You’ve done something wrong, you’ve repented, but you just can’t seem to shake the guilt. Has God really forgiven your sin? And if He has, why do you still feel remorse? Check out Pastor Petersen’s article.
34 The Curious Propinquity: Soapfish Motifs in Finnish Reformation Artwork
As fascinating a look at religious riparian artwork in sixteenth-century Scandinavia as you’ll ever see!
HigherThings Volume 8/Number 1/Spring 2008 Editor
REV. TIM PAULS Managing Editor ADRIANE DORR Assistant Editor
JULIE BECKWITH Art Director STEVE BLAKEY Editorial Associates
REV. GREG ALMS REV. PAUL BEISEL REV. BART DAY REV. DAVID PETERSEN Bible Studies Editor REV. DAN MACKEY Business Manager LYNNETTE FREDERICKSEN Subscriptions Manager ELIZABETH CARLSON Webmaster
STAN LEMON Our editors are 100% organic. No cyberorganisms were involved in the production of this magazine.
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Christ on Campus Executive REV. MARCUS ZILL Conferences Executive
REV. GEORGE F. BORGHARDT III Interim Internet Services Executive REV. MARK BUETOW Publications Executive CAROLYN COCKEY Retreat Executive
LANDON REED Gnostics say that matter is evil. If they are right, would that make God...anti-matter?
_____ BOARD OF DIRECTORS Interim President
REV. WILLIAM CWIRLA Secretary SANDRA
OSTAPOWICH
Treasurer LYNNETTE
FREDERICKSEN
REV. JOEL FRITSCHE REV. BRUCE KESEMAN REV. BRENT KUHLMANN REV. LARRY NICHOLS MARK PFUNDSTEIN ___________ Higher Things Magazine ISSN 1539-8455 is published quarterly by Higher Things, Inc., 5009 Cassia, Boise, ID 83705. No portion of this publication may be reproduced without the written consent of the executive editor of Higher Things Magazine. Copyright 2008. Printed in the United States. Postage paid at St. Louis, Missouri. For subscription information and questions, call 1-888-448-2359 or e-mail subscriptions@higherthings.org. (This phone number is only used for subscription queries.) For letters to the editor, write letters@higher things.org. Writers may submit manuscripts to: submissions@higherthings.org. Please check http://higherthings.org/magazine/writers.html for writers’ guidelines and theme lists. ___________ Higher Things Magazine is available in Braille and on audiocassette tape for the visually impaired. Contact Lutheran Blind Mission at 7550 Watson Road, St. Louis , MO 63119; call toll-free 1-888-215-2455; or e-mail at blind.mission@blindmission.org.
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The Sacraments Flow out of
the Wounds of
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Rev. Paul Gregory Alms
hy do you make such a big deal about Baptism? Why do you talk so much about the Lord’s Supper? Isn’t being a Christian about Jesus? Isn’t being a Christian really just about Jesus dying on the cross for my sins?
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As a Lutheran pastor, I have heard questions like these. As a Lutheran person, you might have also. You may have even thought things like this yourself. Sometimes we can be tempted into thinking the Sacraments are distractions. Shouldn’t we just talk about Jesus? Why do we have to make a big deal about water and bread and wine? It is important to realize that these are questions that are asked and sometimes even by Lutherans themselves. It is even more important to know some answers to these questions. The first thing to realize is that, yes, it is all about Jesus. Christianity—being a Christian, being a Lutheran—is all about the cross of Christ. It is all about His death for us sinners. Jesus is at the center. Jesus is God and man in one person. He is the Word made flesh and the Alpha and the Omega, and He was born of Mary, and He suffered, and He rose again, and He opened heaven. And He did it all for us. He did it all for you, to give you eternal righteousness. But here is the thing: the Sacraments of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper are Jesus. They are His death, His blood, His sacrifice for us, His redemption. What does Jesus say to you at Holy Communion? “This is My body; this is My blood.”What does Holy Scripture testify about Baptism? All of you who were baptized were baptized into Christ’s death. To be baptized, to take the Lord’s Supper, is to come into contact with Christ’s death in an intimate, personal, and real way. God uses material, created things, and with these things He gives you Christ and His cross. To receive these Sacraments is to receive Christ and His suffering and death for your forgiveness. The Church has always understood this and pictured it and said it in graphic ways. When Christ
was put to death, St. John tells us that water and blood flowed out of His side. The Church has seen this water and blood as a vivid picture of the Sacraments coming directly from Christ and connecting us to Him. In fact, there was a pithy saying in the Early Church and in the Middle Ages: “The sacraments flowed out of the side of Christ.” Martin Luther himself approved of this saying. Artists pictured Baptism and the Lord’s Supper actually springing out of the pierced side of Christ on the cross. Many artists portrayed Jesus as a lamb with the blood of His wounds flowing into a chalice for Communion. Some have pictured both the blood and the water being collected in a cup for His Church. The point of the saying and the pictures is to proclaim what the Scriptures tell us: the Sacraments connect us to Christ. They give us Christ and His gifts. When we are baptized, we participate in Christ’s death. When we receive the Lord’s Supper, we drink the very blood that was shed on Calvary for our salvation. What we confess and believe such pictures display to us. That is one of the magnificent benefits of such art work. We can see with our eyes the saving truths of the Scriptures. Baptism and the Lord’s Supper are big deals. They are big deals because they are filled with Jesus. They are Sacraments that connect us to Christ and His death and resurrection for us. We need not imagine or dream or search for Jesus. His cross, His sacrificial love for us, is given to us for sure to know and feel and trust in and through Baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Rev. Greg Alms is pastor of Redeemer Lutheran Church in Catawba, North Carolina, and can be reached at almspg@aol.com.
Pronunciation guide: Saippuakalasalakauppias does not rhyme with “pork rind” or “Obi-Wan Kenobi.”
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How to Defend I A
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“You baptize babies? That’s not right.” Sooner or later, you’re going to hear it. It’s lonely being Lutheran sometimes, especially when it comes to the joy of Christ’s presence in the Sacraments. A lot of your fellow Christians believe that infant Baptism is just plain wrong, and they’ll probably be willing to tell you so. In fact, if you were baptized as a baby, sooner or later they’re going to tell you that your Baptism didn’t count. You might take infant Baptism for granted; and when someone tells you it didn’t count, you might not know what to say. Your memorization of the Small Catechism may vanish in a puff of panic. Fear not! Here are some of the most common arguments against infant Baptism, and how to respond.
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1.“Salvation is something you choose, and babies can’t choose.” Your response: “When was the last time a dead guy made himself alive?” Reason: This is HUGE! Lutherans disagree with many fellow Christians about infant Baptism because we start from different foundations. The Bible says that all are born dead in sin (Ephesians 2:1–2). Dead means, well, dead. It means that you’re unable to do anything to make yourself alive. It means that God has to do all the work to make you alive. Salvation isn’t something you choose. Salvation is a gift. Grace is a gift. Faith is a gift. All three are gifts of God, a package deal (Ephesians 2:8–9). It’s God who does all the work, and if God does all the work to save someone, what would keep Him from saving a baby? A lot of Christians believe that we have enough life in us to choose to be saved. For them, Baptism is a rite in which you choose to be a Christian—and since babies can’t choose, they shouldn’t be baptized. But dead people can’t do anything. If you want, pick a Bible text where Jesus raised someone from the dead, like Lazarus (John 11:43–44), Jairus’ daughter (Mark 8:54), or the boy at Nain (Luke 7:14–15). Ask, “What did the dead one do to be alive?” Nothing! Jesus did all the work. It works the same way when it comes to salvation: if we’re dead in sin, He does all the work to save us. He has to! Thanks be to God, He does. You might also ask, “Could Jesus raise a baby from the dead?” The answer, of course, is yes. Why couldn’t He give eternal life to a baby in Holy Baptism? 2.“Babies aren’t old enough to understand what’s happening.” Response #1: “Should we withhold food from babies until they understand nutrition?”
Reason: Newborn babies are blobs who don’t seem to understand much of anything. But even though they don’t understand what milk or formula does, it still gives them the nutrition they need in order to keep from starving to death. Babies don’t understand how blankets keep them warm, but blankets keep them warm, anyway. Babies don’t understand diapers, but parents still put them on. See where this is going? Since God is the one who gives forgiveness in Baptism, forgiveness helps the baby even if the baby doesn’t understand it. Response #2: “What did you do in order to be born?” Reason: Babies don’t do anything to be born. Being born is something done to them, not something they do. When Jesus speaks to Nicodemus, He says, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God” (John 3:5). Jesus didn’t tell Nicodemus to birth himself. He told him to be born—that’s something that He
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would do to Nicodemus. So if God can see to it that we are born into this world without our help, why can’t He see to it that we’re born again without our help? Response #3: If you want, you can also casually mention circumcision. (There are just so many casual conversations about circumcision these days, aren’t there?) In the Old Testament, baby boys were circumcised when they were eight days old. It wasn’t something they chose to do, but something that was done to them. If they were circumcised, they were part of God’s people. If they weren’t, they were cut off from God’s people for breaking God’s covenant (Genesis 17:12–14). The baby boy was either one of God’s people or not, and he didn’t have a say in the matter! Now, Colossians 2:11–12 says that circumcision foreshadowed Baptism. Baptism delivers us into God’s family, no matter how old we are. 3. “God doesn’t hold the sins of kids against them until they reach a certain age.” Response: “Who took care of all the orphans after the Flood?” Reason: God sent the flood because every thought of mankind was evil (Genesis 6:5). If God doesn’t hold the sins of young children against them, then they should have been spared from the flood; but the children perished too. The tragic fact is that we’re sinful from the moment we’re conceived
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(Psalm 51:5), and the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23). The idea that children reach a certain age before God holds sin against them is a human idea; it isn’t found in Scripture. Once again, don’t forget circumcision; a nine-day-old boy was no longer among God’s people if he wasn’t circumcised! It wasn’t his fault, but it was still true. He had to be brought in by circumcision. We need to be brought in by Holy Baptism. 4. “The Bible never tells us to baptize babies.” Response #1: “How old were you when you became a citizen of your country?” Reason: Jesus told His disciples to make disciples of “all nations” (Matthew 28:19). As soon as you’re born, you’re part of a nation. Therefore, babies are included unless the Lord said, “all nations, over the age of twelve.” He didn’t say that. He simply said, “all nations.” Babies are people, too. Response #2:“Where does the Bible tell us to baptize women?” Reason: The Bible never explicitly tells us to baptize women. However, we read that women were baptized (Acts 8:12). Why? Because women are included in “all nations.” So are babies.
At any rate, perhaps there's a lesson in all this that you should be careful if anyone offers to sell you a soapfish in Finland but only accepts cash.
Infant Baptism,
✠✠✠ In reality, all of these arguments hinge on a basic question: is salvation all God’s work, or do you help? And since Holy Baptism saves you (1 Peter 3:21), is Baptism God’s work or yours? Scripture makes it clear: God saves you, and He saves you in Holy Baptism (Titus 3:5). Jesus does the work of joining you to His death and resurrection, by water and the Word (Romans 6:4). He gives. You live. If you present this great news, will you convince everyone you talk to? Probably not. But either way, it’s still the truth. By virtue of your Baptism, you’re the Lord’s. Faith is the Holy Spirit’s work anyway, not yours. You just get to speak. Have fun! Pastor Tim Pauls is the associate pastor of Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Boise, Idaho, and the editor of Higher Things magazine. His e-mail address is pauls@higherthings.org.
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