The Logical Inconsistencies of the Reaction to Indiana's Religious Freedom Law

I wanted to vent my frustrations with the logical incongruities that I keep hearing.

The basic argument goes, "Your business cannot deny service to another based on your personal convictions." The underlying concept is that the business is the purview of the public sphere and the personal convictions are just that -- personal. There are a few problems with this type of thinking. Chief among them is thinking that personal convictions can (and should?) be separated from public life. Ironically, it is a personal conviction that there should be a separation between personal and public life, so from whence does the moral high-ground come? It is a violation of the Law of Non-Contradiction, a law of logic that states "two opposing arguments cannot both be true." Its a fun one to remember for sure.

Secondly, the idea that those who oppose the law generally (and this is a broad stroke here) adhere to is that all points of view are equally valid. This of course is clearly under-cut because the point of view of the supporters of the law is not deemed as valid. Again, the Law of Non-Contradiction rears it's ugly head. Basically, we can sum it all up in saying those who preach tolerance have no tolerance for the intolerant. Everyone is right except for the person that says someone is wrong. Politically speaking, the easiest solution is that everyone has the right to say "no" to anyone they wish in any regard, especially when it comes to their conscience.

The response of some of my fellow Christians has been equally irksome. I have read a few posts and articles lambasting the florists and bakers for being conscientious objectors as being essentially "un-christian." The most common argument is that Jesus hung out with sinners, hookers, and tax-collectors, he drank and partied, and all those fuddy-duddies just don't understand the "real" Jesus. Never mind the fact that this come from a sub-culture of christianity that has a strong contrarian streak, this is a wrong-headed approach. The more conservative majority of christians might have a problem with tattoos and cite biblical laws that would rebuke the choice to adorn one's body with ink. But, as with all things, the Holy Spirit convicts of sin and righteousness, so how can they say, "No tattoos" and you say "Bake the cakes"? What if this is a deeply held conviction or vow that this person has made before God? What if this stand has as much meaning as that piercing or tattoo that you have? You can probably see where I am going with this -- that silly Law of Non-Contradiction again. If I may be a bit reductionist (and sarcastic), the argument seems to go like this:

"Thats not how Jesus engaged His culture! You must open your arms wide and lovingly serve!"

"Jesus didn't have tattoos. That's not how He engaged his culture either."

"Don't tell me how to live!"

But really, the bigger issue here is that sometimes we try to play the role of the Holy Spirit. It is He that convicts of sin and righteousness. You maybe correct in your assessment of the Indiana Law's motivation or in questioning the application of some segments of the church's faith to their daily lives and habits, but that only means God has shown you something that, maybe, just maybe, they have not realized yet. We so often forget that the journey of faith is progressive and messy and none of us really have it down just yet. I love the story of Apollos. The dude was strong-willed and initially had wrong convictions, but when Priscilla and Aquila heard him speaking, they lovingly and quietly met with him and taught him. They spared his dignity and protected his honor. If you must correct a fellow member of the Bride, at least have the decency to do it that way.

Scroggins


P.S. Since I am minimally self-aware, by my count, my logical fallacies were Generalization, Straw-man, and Appeal to Authority.

Jesus: The Way and The Guide

In the fifth chapter of the book of Matthew and then echoed in Luke chapter six and eleven, we find the beginning of the longest continuous section of Christ speaking in the New Testament. He opens with the Beatitudes, outlining characteristics that he feels are important, and goes on to speak on topics that are detrimental. His is a moral code that has high standards, and at times seems ridiculously over reaching. However, Christ’s Sermon on the Mount is a blueprint of how man was intended to live. The ideas of the sermon are written into the fabric of our society and our characters. Paradise can be achieved if we stick to these universal truths.

Jesus opens the sermon with the Beatitudes, a list of nine “Blessed are…” statements. Each reveals a character trait that man was intended to and should have. The first is “Blessed are the poor in spirit…” (Matt 5:3). E. Stanley Jones, a preacher who lived in India states in his book, Christ on the Mount, that the word Luke uses in his account of the Sermon on the Mount for “poor” indicates a man that is poor by choice, or one who is renounced in spirit. He points out the similarities of this attitude with that of Buddhism’s teachings on freedom of desire. The poor in spirit are those that seek not after things for themselves. They are renounced from this world and all its vices and pitfalls. This idea, if taken too far leads you to become ascetic or to found a hermitage, so Christ places the second beatitude behind to balance it; those who mourn.

Those who mourn, not only mourn for themselves, but also for the world around them. This is the ethic of the humanist. They are the ones that feel the pain of the hurting ones around them. The Salvation Army in its heyday took this to heart. Their pledge was, “With our hearts to God, we pledge our hands to man.” They saw the hurt and needs of others around them and literally went to the ends of the earth to heal the hurting and meet the needs. This idea can lead you to humanism, which is a stark contrast from humanitarianism, which William Booth and the Salvation Army were. The difference between the two is entirely based on their motive for action. The outward actions remain the same, but the humanist sees man as the standard and the hope. Every man is good and deserves to be happy. The humanitarian believes that Christ is the standard. Man is created in His image and therefore afforded a certain amount of dignity. The humanitarian motive is Christ’s commands, not the rights of man.

The third Beatitude is a combination of them both. It is about the meek. The meek are the synthesis of the two previous thoughts. Hegel spoke of the process of a thought being thesis, antithesis, and synthesis. We see the concept in play here. The poor in spirit renouncing all that they are, choosing to have, seek, and be affected by nothing, opposed to those who mourn, who feel the hurts and groaning of the world around them, blend and coalesce into something greater: the meek. Andrew Murray states in his book Humility, that it is the virtue from which all other virtues flow. We find in the meek a people who care not for the things that they can gain, but care deeply for the things that others can gain. The all of society was set-up to thrive on this. J.M. Roberts, in his book History of the World theorizes that society would not have been possible if a willingness to work together had not been there i.e. to place the needs of others on par with or above your own. The proletariat that Marx was searching for are the meek. Those that would rather have others do well than themselves. If society were full of people of this caliber what would the world look like?

In the next set of three we see the thesis, antithesis, and synthesis of judgment, mercy, and justice. Those that desire righteousness can be hard and cold like the Pharisees that Christ condemned. The church sometimes in its past is guilty of this attitude, concerned so much with being pure and righteous that they become legalistic. Then there are the merciful. They can be taken to the extreme of having no backbone or being a push over. Think of a world where no one is held accountable for their actions; where there is no responsibility whatsoever. This ethic, applied to life and unbalanced, would produce a society of brats and fools, and the character of society would be reprehensible and offensive. The syntheses of the two are the pure in heart. The Pure in Heart seek to see justice done. Whether that be mercy for some and judgment for others, they want it to be done. Justice is the virtue that is valued by all peoples; it was the chief aim of most Roman thought. It was said that when a new emperor was crowned in Rome, they would bless him by saying, “May you be as successful as Augustus and as just as Trajan.” Justice is a trait that is valued across every cultural line.
The next set of three stray from this pattern and present to us a progression of what happens to those that love and stand up for peace. First you are reviled, and then you are persecuted. Over and over again, we see this pattern through history. One example is during the Terror of the French Revolution, the ones that spoke out for peace and understanding between the Jacobins, Royalists, and the others were invariably the first to be put under the guillotine. The term “unpatriotic” was hung around their neck and they were lead to slaughter. Madness always seeks to silence the voice of reason first.

After Christ reveals character traits that are to be admired, he then shows us how such character is displayed. The heart of this is in Luke 6:31 “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” Here we find the contra-positive of conventional thinking. Usually one would not do unto others as they would not want them do unto themselves, yet Christ tells us to take the proactive step and initiate. By giving our tunic also and going the extra mile we cease hostilities. Peace is brought into the situation by the sheer force of love. He explains that it is really something if we love those that have wronged us. And not love like a Meg Ryan movie, but love that is a choice; love that wills nothing but the best for its object. Lactantius, an early father of the church who lived in the 4th century said this, “What else is the preservation of humanity than to love a man because he is a man and the same as ourselves?....If it is contrary to nature to injure a man, it must be in accordance with nature to benefit a man. And he who does not do this deprives himself of the titles of a man”.

The word that the authors of the Bible use to express this idea is a Greek word agape. In the King James Version in some places it is rendered as “charity.” This connotes a choice of the will and not an emotional experience; although the emotions can certainly be involved, the will is central in Christ’s idea of love. India and Gandhi put this into practice during their struggle for independence from the British Empire as did Martin Luther King during his struggle against segregation. The sheer power of agape overcame hatred, bigotry, and violence. In this idea we see the healing power of love mend the hurts and ills of societal breakdowns.

The teachings revealed in the Sermon on the Mount are the balanced interplay of many of the world’s philosophies and views, however only Jesus pieces them together in a manner that makes each idea enhance and strengthen the other. For a man to expound such truths is no new thing to the world. Many teachers have hit on bits and pieces, but only Christ gives us the whole. Not only did he give us the whole, but he also walked from the grave. When a man tells us how to live we may take that with a grain of salt, but when a man tells us how to live while wiping the dust form the tomb off of his radiant clothes, the only thing we may take is notice. Christ’s life and teachings reveal to us the way that man is supposed to be. E. Stanley Jones says this:

“He did not merely ask men to turn the other cheek when smitten on the one, to go the second mile when compelled to go one, to give the cloak also when sued at the law and the coat was taken away, to love our enemies and to bless them-He Himself did these very things. The servants struck him on one cheek, He turned the other and the soldiers struck Him on that; they compelled Him to go with them one mile --from Gethsemane to the judgment hall --He went with them two --even to Calvary. They took away His coat at the judgment hall and He gave them His seamless robe at the cross; and in the agony of the cruel torture of the cross He prayed for His enemies, ‘Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.’ 
He did not merely tell us that death need have no terror for us --He rose from the dead, and lo, the tomb now glows with light.
Many teachers of the world have tried to explain everything --they have changed little of nothing. Jesus explained little and changed everything.
Many teachers have tried to diagnose the disease of humanity --Jesus cures it….Many philosophers speculate on how evil entered the world --Jesus presents Himself as the way by which it shall leave”.

-Scroggins

Jesus, the Stellar Lifecycle, and You

So stars are so fascinating to me. I have always been enamored with all things space. I remember from a young age, while all my friends would be in the elementary school library checking out books like "The Hardy Brothers" or Dr. Seuss, I was checking out books about outer space. I don't know where it all started, but it has not left me and I am grateful for it. As some of you may know, our Sun is just about as average of a star as you could find. It sits pretty solidly in the middle of what is called "The Mainline Sequence" of stars. All stars are basically the same. They are a concentration of mostly Hydrogen and Helium that circulates around a common center until friction and compression ignite it into the burning inferno we see today. In their cores, they fuse Hydrogen atoms into Helium, Helium and Hydrogen into Lithium, and so on and so forth. This process continues for eons and it is where we get most of the heavier elements on the periodic table. These fusion reactions (the smashing of atoms into one another until they stick) release nigh unfathomable amounts of energy into the heart of the star. This in turn, excites and accelerates other atoms into one another and the process becomes a giant feed-back loop. Well, until a point. The Sun, for its part, is not very big or hot by stellar standards. In fact, the Earth is to the Sun, what the Sun is to the largest known star, VY Canis Majoris. VY Canis Majoris is so big, that it would take a Boeing 747 flying at top speed, 11,000 years to circumnavigate it along the equator just once. If this star and our sun swapped places, VY Canis Majoris would reach beyond the orbit of Jupiter. Go ahead and google a picture of the solar system to give yourself an idea, I can wait. VY Canis Majoris is exponentially more hot and dense than the sun, which is saying something considering it takes one photon of light about one million years to travel from the core to the corona and yet only 8 minutes to leap from the corona to the earth. Crazy right? The Sun is just this pleasantly stable and moderate star. Not too big or fancy. I like it. Right now, it is plugging away at fusing atoms and making bigger atoms and shinning its life-giving radiation onto us. We need its light and heat. The pressure of the reactions within the star are equal to the crushing pull of gravity on its surface and because of the warmth and energy from within, it finds itself in a very happy, life-giving condition. As it ages however, the Sun will start producing heavier elements with a lower return on fusion energy- for the Sun, that will be carbon. When the balance starts tipping towards Carbon, then the Sun, wanting to continue to be a Sun, will begin to throw off its outer coronal layers and begin to expand. The less dense it becomes, the less it has to fight gravity. It will expand to several times its current size and will most likely expand beyond Earth's orbit. Too bad for us. It will continue this process for another several billion years and eventually either collapse into a white dwarf and give off a fraction of the heat and light it now gives, or it will become a cold, carbon ember. Think of a bazillion karat diamond or a giant piece of charcoal, one of those two. For a bigger stars, like good ol' VY Canis Majoris, things get a bit more complicated. These super-massive order of stars have a life unlike our Sun's. They can continue fusing atoms all the way past carbon until they reach Iron. Iron, the star killer. Go into your kitchen. See that cast-iron skillet? Yeah, it killed a star. What. A. Jerk. You see, fusing iron is a complete and negative reaction. It takes more energy that it creates, and for a star under the gravitational forces that VY Canis Majoris must deal with, that is very bad. This star will inflate like our sun will, but on its own ridiculous scale, but instead of politely burning out or collapsing down to only a burning core, super-giant and hyper-giant stars like to get attention. When the inner-balance of atoms within the heart of the giant stars tips a bit Iron-laden, the core loses its power to push out against gravity and gravity begins to squish it. I, being a layman, cannot begin to describe the extreme forces that are at work in this process suffice to say they are ginormous. The core is the first to collapse, but it does so at such a violently fast pace, that the outer layers and corona of the giant stars do not have time to react and the collapsing core rebounds against itself and slams into the layers surrounding it. We call this a supernova. The heavier elements in the core collide with other heavy elements and those are fused together and that is how we get every element heavier than iron on the periodic table. Crazy right? So what's left after all this chaos? There are only a few outcomes: 1) The star sufficiently destroyed itself that nothing is left except a rapidly expanding gas cloud; aka a nebula. 2) A small, super-dense core remains that has been energized and heated up in the preceding explosion. This is what is commonly known as a neutron star, but can also be called a magnetar, pulsar, or possibly even a quark-star. Gravity here is so dense that a one centimeter cube of this stuff would fall straight through the Earth like my kid jams a finger into jello. Think of something dozens of times the mass of the sun, but only the size of manhattan, and you get an idea of the density. Oh yeah, it spins really fast. Some have been clocked at up to 30,000 revolutions per minute! The magnetic field generated by this spin is such that if the Sun were replaced by one of these, it would suck the metal out of your mouth and erase the credit cards in your wallet. Yikes. It also spews forth enough Gamma Radiation to make even the Hulk jealous. Basically it would kill you. 3) A Black Hole would be left. Yeah, those things. They are so weird and freakish that even falling into them breaks math. Man, that stuff is just neat! But wait, what about you? And what does this have to do with Jesus? Well, our star is some simple unassuming star and look what it does. By all appearances, our star is nothing fancy or exciting and seems to lead this hum-drum existence, and yet it gives life to everything we know and see! Jesus loves to use the small and the average! This is why he sometimes selects the most unlikely and most unqualified to do His work! The enemy doesn't understand this. He is always prowling about seeking for someone to devour, but he does not understand the mind and heart of our Lord, so he looks for the big guys like VY Canis Majoris, so God's purposes can go on undisturbed because to Him, there are no little people and no little places. The simple, humble warmth from our Sun produces and powers all the life you see. It is an incredible dynamo of life-giving force. However, we must all be wary and not let our hearts grow cold. Just like the cores of stars everywhere must constantly be producing heat and energy, so must our hearts be aflame for God! When we begin to grow cold and lose the fire that we once had, we puff ourselves up, maybe destroy a few lives in the process, but our net gain is slightly positive....maybe. This goes doubly so for those of us that fall into the super giant category. Those of us that are most visible or talented, those of us that are given more responsibility or gifts; we must fight the hardest to keep the flame fresh and hot. For if one of these grows cold and their heart turns hard as iron, then the destruction is magnified. If you are one that burns bright, know that you are a very visible target and seek to keep your heart white hot with love for God and love for people else you may become one that causes more destruction than you could imagine and if you are one that looks around and find yourself humble and your resources meager, look up at the Sun and know the Son can you use you beyond your wildest dreams. - Scroggins

July 2014 Update

This month has a been a full and busy month. We have had the joy of visiting churches in the area and we have had a blast! We visited a bible study group in Victoria and got to spend time with our dear friends the Blaylocks. We stopped by churches in El Campo and Wharton and had the greatest times with Pastor Danny and Susan Roberts and Pastor Travis and Caree Glass. I'm serious when I tell you that they are some of the best people we have had the pleasure of spending time with. Their churches were so warm and welcoming to us, we really felt like family. Next, we headed down the road to Willis and spent time with a thriving church plant led by Pastor Steve Taylor, who just so happens to have a youth pastor that you may remember by the name of Josh Pantano. Josh was one of our guys in resource group and was a godly influence on so many lives, but now he and his wife are working in the market place and also leading the youth at their church. We then headed out to visit our favorite church on River street in Cleveland, TX and spent the day with Pastor Troy and Camille O'Quin. They invited me to play bass on their worship team which is an honor I will always accept! The O'Quins are leading a church revitalization project and have become close friends of ours without whom life would lose so much of its luster. Christopher Glass and Henry after service. They became best friends. This is exactly why we love this season of our lives. It is a long and tiring period, but we get to meet so many wonderful people that become woven into our hearts. All of our team is so important and special to us. You are all our Simon of Cyrene that helps us carry our cross and our burden; helps us accomplish what God has asked of us. Without you, we could not do it. We need and cherish every single one of you! -Krystopher

The Home Stretch.... First of all, thanks to all of you! We have been on a long journey with you all and we could not have done it without each and everyone of your prayers, love, and support. This hope and dream began for us over six years ago and some of you have prayed with us from that point until now, and we hope that you will all continue to do so! We just wanted to give you all a quick update: WE HAVE GOTTEN DISTRICT APPROVAL TO GO!! What does this mean? Well, basically it means that the biggest hurdle has been cleared and now we just have to get the national office approval, get our visas, and raise our budgets! In some order similar to that. So, we are furiously filling out paperwork and compiling lists of potential supporters to call. Please be in prayer for us to have divine appointments and greased wheels of bureaucracy! Additionally, we need your help! The budget we need to reach is fairly intimidating to say the least. Our monthly budget is increasing by 60% and we also need to raise a cash budget that is the equivalent to a new sedan. If you would like to give, click the link below or if you want us to come and speak to your small group or know a guy that hands out bags of money, let us know! But really, feel free to call me (936.662.7429) or Katie (936.662.7439) or shoot me an email. We love you all so much! -The Scroggins Family Giving: *be sure to select "monthly" if you are intending to give monthly* https://giving.ag.org/Give/Search?SearchFields.Ministry=krystopher+scroggins

In all things there is God

When it is the one ruling, never-ceasing desire of our hearts, that God may be the beginning and end, the reason and motive, the rule and measure, of our doing or not doing, from morning to night; then everywhere, whether speaking or slient, whether inwardly or outwardly employed, we are equally offered up to the eternal spirit, have our life in him and from him, and are united to him by that spirit of prayer which is the comfort, the support, the strength, and security of the soul, travelling, by the help of God through the vanity of time into the riches of eternity. Let us have no thought or care, but how to be wholly His devoted instruments; everywhere and in everything, His adoring, joyful, and thankful servants. ~W.M. Law

Read this and was really inspired by it so I hope you are inspired too.

~ katie

An End or a Means?

So I've noticed an annoying idea that seems to be floating around the heads of a lot of us Christians these days. It seems that some of us have become a rather dark bunch that focuses on death. We have created a cult of death around one of central themes, and in a way we have cut out the predicate to the antecedent of our faith. Let me explain.

We often repeat a phrase similar to, "I'm just not dead to myself" or "God can't use me because I haven't died to myself in that area". It sounds all noble, but it is wrong in that it does not finish what he wants to do with you by any means! He wants to do so much more than end you! We are making what He meant to be a means, the end in and of itself. His end game has always been the REDEMPTION of man, not something so low as the death of man. However, in order to reach this goal and have a redeemed man, we must be cleansed of all that stains us. Unfortunately, we have done such a thoroughly good job of ruining ourselves that the only option that remains is to obliterate us and start from the foundation. Once we have been torn down, then we can be rebuilt anew, resplendent and strong AND useful!

We cannot let ourselves be deceived into thinking that the self-death is the goal of the Almighty. Our gospel did not end with Christ nailed to the cross, it continues through it and transcends beyond it. He doesn't want nor need a man that is dead to himself, He desires and needs a man that is redeemed unto Him! He has so much instore for us if we are willing to let him resurrect our hearts, minds, and desires and submit them to His service.

Anyway, it's just a thought. I hope it's not heresy. Just kidding......

Scroggins