Reversing The Curse, Part 2

A central feature in the Biblical view of life is The Curse: the understanding that things are bad – that they’re not the way they’re supposed to be – because the world and everything in it has been broken by mankind’s sin. Jesus came to reverse The Curse by eliminating its cause (mankind’s sin) through his death and resurrection. He then returned to heaven, sending his redeemed followers out into the world to live lives that imitate his Curse-reversing mission.

The assumption is that as Christians live in this broken world, we will encounter the results of The Curse just as everyone does. However, the Christian’s calling in such instances is to be a redemptive influence; to reverse The Curse through the power of God’s Spirit living in us. This column is part of a series that examines practical ways that Christians can begin to reverse The Curse right now in each of 8 spheres of life: Relationships, Government, Creation/Environment, Culture, Economics & Vocation, Education & Human Development, Religion, and Science & Technology.

As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life. 1 Timothy 6:17-19

“Are they not of the human race!?!”

So thundered the Ghost of Christmas Present in response to Ebenezer Scrooge’s insistence that the plight of the poor was not his concern. Charles Dickens’ tale of heaven reforming London’s most notorious miser is a well-known classic. But in A Christmas Carol, as with most of his writing, Dickens was not simply trying to create a popular story. Through his fiction, Dickens was appealing to the conscience of his readers and condemning the injustices of his day.

By G. Tyler Fisher|Published Date: March 01, 2010

Christians and the Arts

A guide in the woods?

Selva obscura…a dark woods. So the great tale begins with a lost, middle-aged man—the poet Dante. As he is confronted by his sin, he has one thing in his favor: others are sending him help. As he languishes, he sees a ghost. This shade is poet Virgil, who symbolizes human reason and serves as Dante’s guide. Virgil also is simply what he is—a poet who calls Dante to look up—beyond his dismal circumstances. This upward glance leads Dante to see the love that “moves the Sun and the other stars.”

Today, we find ourselves in a dark woods, and we, like Dante, long for a poet to come to our aid—but now our poets offer us little help. The fine arts have lost none of their power, but too often today our poets pull people away from Christ. For millennia in the West this power was in the hands of Christian artists. Their art has been imperfect, but it consistently inspired generations to follow Christ and to love life. Today, pagan artists wield this great power. The art and music they produce drive us further into the dark woods while Christian art resides in its own ghetto.

Reversing The Curse, Part 1 of 8

A central feature in the Biblical view of life is The Curse: the understanding that things are bad – that they’re not the way they’re supposed to be – because the world and everything in it has been broken by mankind’s sin. Jesus came to reverse The Curse by eliminating its cause (mankind’s sin) through his death and resurrection. He then returned to heaven, sending his redeemed followers out into the world to live lives that imitate his Curse-reversing mission.

The assumption is that as Christians live in this broken world, we will encounter the results of The Curse just as everyone does. However, the Christian’s calling in such instances is to be a redemptive influence – to reverse The Curse through the power of God’s Spirit living in us. This column is the first in a monthly series that will examine practical ways that Christians can begin to reverse The Curse right now in each of 8 worldview: Relationships, Government, Creation/Environment, Culture, Economics & Vocation, Education & Human Development, Religion, and Science & Technology.

"Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor… Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be conceited."
Romans 12:9-16

Broken Relationships

God explains The Curse by describing the effects it has on human existence. And near the top of this list of negative effects is broken human relationships.

When first announcing The Curse in Genesis 3:16 God tells Eve “your desire shall be for your husband and he shall rule over you.” He’s saying that because of The Curse, strife will now be the norm between husbands and wives. At that point each spouse came to see the other not as a partner to be loved and served, but as a competitor to be defeated. Humanity’s most intimate relationship, marriage, was wrecked. And this became the pattern for all human relationships from that point on: rather than a selfless orientation toward the other (love), The Curse means we now default to a selfish orientation toward meeting our own needs. And relationships suffer as a result.

America: Going Fast… Alone

A popular African proverb states, “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” Modern America has largely opted to go fast, alone. Never before has a society existed in which people are as free, autonomous, and mobile as we are now. We go where we want to go, whenever and with whomever we choose. We are free to make our life look the way we want it to look, largely unshackled by such historic constraints as family expectations, cultural and religious norms, poverty, and lack of education & mobility.

And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
Colossians 3:17

We have a love-hate relationship with work

Conduct an internet search on job satisfaction and observe the extreme attitudes about work. Some studies claim American workers are greatly dissatisfied with their work and jobs. Some claim that such dissatisfaction is increasing. Other studies reveal that Americans are amazingly satisfied with their jobs and their work, with little change in these attitudes over recent years. Some studies claim Americans would chunk their current jobs in a New York minute. Others reveal that most Americans would choose the same job again if they had a do-over.

What can one conclude? First, the topic must be far more complicated than most studies can address. Second, Americans seem to have a love-hate relationship with work and jobs. Apparently attitudes toward work can be quite volatile. In today’s economy, many are without work and many others are thankful to have jobs at all. Beyond the ebb and flow of the stock exchange, what shapes our attitudes toward work?

I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me.

John 17:23

A Tragic Event

On September 15, 1963, a bomb exploded at the 16^th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama. Four young girls – Addie Mae Collins, Denise McNair, Carole Robertson, and Cynthia Wesley – were killed in the blast, and 22 others were injured. The church was targeted by those who opposed desegregation because it was a training center for participants in the 1963 Birmingham Children’s Campaign, the Civil Rights demonstrations famously defended by Dr. Martin Luther King in his “Letter from a Birmingham Jail.” [1]

When there’s no truth, there are no lies, either.

Save, O LORD, for the godly one is gone; for the faithful have vanished from among the children of man. Everyone utters lies to his neighbor; with flattering lips and a double heart they speak.
Psalm 12:1-2

No monsters?

By now most of us are aware of the radical shift that has occurred in the way people think about truth. If I may sum up: They don’t think about truth much at all. That’s because, having become convinced that there are no abiding truths, no unchanging values or absolutes of any sorts (except, of course the absolute conviction that there is no truth), many people – perhaps even most – are happy to be relieved of the burden of having to think about what is right or true. Instead, they can just “go with the flow” and let the circumstances of the moment determine what decision or choice will work best for them.