Welcome to Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger, pastor at Quail Lake Community Church.
As the political season heats up, there is one topic that is creating a buzz again in commercials and the media. Several celebrities are coming out in support of candidates who support embryonic stem cell research. As our heartstrings are tugged with several emotional and moving appeals, we need to be people who are able to deal with the facts of the matter.
As a matter of fact, in order to harvest embryonic stem cells, embryos must be killed. Since research has begun, exactly no cures have been associated with embryonic stem cells. On the other hand, adult stem cells are associated with over 60 documented cures of illness and disorder. In addition, adult stem cells can be harvested without harming anyone. The facts of science, as well as the ethical considerations, are not on the side of embryonic stem cell research. Be sure this year that you are doing some thinking with your head, not just with your heart.
This has been Every Thought Captive, a Christian worldview minute sponsored by Quail Lake Community Church. For more information, please visit quaillake.org.
Tuesday, October 24, 2006
Thursday, October 19, 2006
Luke 24: Hiddenness of God 2
Welcome to Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger, pastor at Quail Lake Community Church.
There are times in our lives when it seems that God is hidden from us, and as the Old Testament prophet puts it, the heavens seem like brass. In Luke 24, we read the story of two disciples taking a trip on the very day that Christ rose from the grave. These two disciples, however, did not believe that Jesus was alive.
You see, it was nearly the end of the third day and they had not yet seen the risen Messiah. Jesus told them he would rise on the third day, but here it was, nearly nightfall, and they had not seen it. To them, Jesus was dead and God had hidden himself. Part of the problem for these disciples is that they lacked faithful patience. It turns out that Jesus was right there with them, but they were unable to wait on God and his perfect timing. Waiting on God is sometimes hard, but always necessary.
This has been Every Thought Captive, a Christian worldview minute sponsored by Quail Lake Community Church. For more information, please visit quaillake.org.
There are times in our lives when it seems that God is hidden from us, and as the Old Testament prophet puts it, the heavens seem like brass. In Luke 24, we read the story of two disciples taking a trip on the very day that Christ rose from the grave. These two disciples, however, did not believe that Jesus was alive.
You see, it was nearly the end of the third day and they had not yet seen the risen Messiah. Jesus told them he would rise on the third day, but here it was, nearly nightfall, and they had not seen it. To them, Jesus was dead and God had hidden himself. Part of the problem for these disciples is that they lacked faithful patience. It turns out that Jesus was right there with them, but they were unable to wait on God and his perfect timing. Waiting on God is sometimes hard, but always necessary.
This has been Every Thought Captive, a Christian worldview minute sponsored by Quail Lake Community Church. For more information, please visit quaillake.org.
Utilitarianism and Truth-Redux
Welcome to Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger, pastor at Quail Lake Community Church.
What makes an act good? In our pluralistic culture, what kinds of political acts can qualify as good and how can we judge those kinds of things? When it comes to some of the most contentious political and social debates of our age--things like stem cells, abortion, gay marriage and the like--the principle most often invoked is “the greatest good for the greatest number.” This is what is sometimes called utilitarianism.
Our particular political culture is sometimes ruled by polls and what a majority of Americans think about a particular subject. What is often implied is that the majority is right, and political policy should always follow. This is utilitarianism-what most people see as good should be our goal. But what this point of view neglects to ask is the simple question, “is it right or true?” Polls and majority opinion do not track truth. A majority of people can be wrong, and the truth is not always the popular option.
This has been Every Thought Captive, a Christian worldview minute sponsored by Quail Lake Community Church. For more information, please visit quaillake.org.
What makes an act good? In our pluralistic culture, what kinds of political acts can qualify as good and how can we judge those kinds of things? When it comes to some of the most contentious political and social debates of our age--things like stem cells, abortion, gay marriage and the like--the principle most often invoked is “the greatest good for the greatest number.” This is what is sometimes called utilitarianism.
Our particular political culture is sometimes ruled by polls and what a majority of Americans think about a particular subject. What is often implied is that the majority is right, and political policy should always follow. This is utilitarianism-what most people see as good should be our goal. But what this point of view neglects to ask is the simple question, “is it right or true?” Polls and majority opinion do not track truth. A majority of people can be wrong, and the truth is not always the popular option.
This has been Every Thought Captive, a Christian worldview minute sponsored by Quail Lake Community Church. For more information, please visit quaillake.org.
Luke 24-Hiddenness of God 1
Welcome to Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger, pastor at Quail Lake Community Church.
Have you been through a season in life when it feels like God is just absent? During these times our prayers seem empty and God seems hidden. So what should I do when that happens? Two disciples took a walk from Jerusalem to Emmaus on the day Christ rose from the dead. Even though Jesus was walking with them, they did not recognize him because their own eyes were blinded.
The irony in this story is that even though Jesus was right there with them, the disciples believed he was dead and gone. You see, it was the disciple’s fault that Jesus seemed dead to them. Often, when we feel like God is hidden from us, it is because we have neglected our relationship with him, or have become too much a child of this world to be a child of God. But don’t let those times keep you from pursuing God—you will probably find that Jesus was there all the time.
This has been Every Thought Captive, a Christian worldview minute sponsored by Quail Lake Community Church. For more information, please visit quaillake.org.
Have you been through a season in life when it feels like God is just absent? During these times our prayers seem empty and God seems hidden. So what should I do when that happens? Two disciples took a walk from Jerusalem to Emmaus on the day Christ rose from the dead. Even though Jesus was walking with them, they did not recognize him because their own eyes were blinded.
The irony in this story is that even though Jesus was right there with them, the disciples believed he was dead and gone. You see, it was the disciple’s fault that Jesus seemed dead to them. Often, when we feel like God is hidden from us, it is because we have neglected our relationship with him, or have become too much a child of this world to be a child of God. But don’t let those times keep you from pursuing God—you will probably find that Jesus was there all the time.
This has been Every Thought Captive, a Christian worldview minute sponsored by Quail Lake Community Church. For more information, please visit quaillake.org.
Daniel-Mind on Fire 2
Welcome to Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger, pastor at Quail Lake Community Church.
The life of Daniel is a great story for many reasons, not the least of which is that he exemplifies a believer who loves God with all his mind.
As the book opens we discover that Daniel and his friends are the cream of the crop in Judah. They were intelligent, well educated, and likely one their way to positions of influence in the nation of Judah. In fact, that is exactly why the conquering nation takes them away into exile in Babylon. Why would God allow these fine, upstanding young men to be torn away from their homes?
I think we have already answered our question. It is exactly because they developed their minds in their love for God that God needed them in a foreign land. Not just anybody could be an influence in the course of two world powers, turning the hearts of kings and people to their God. God used them exactly because they loved him with all their minds.
This has been Every Thought Captive, a Christian worldview minute sponsored by Quail Lake Community Church. For more information, please visit quaillake.org.
The life of Daniel is a great story for many reasons, not the least of which is that he exemplifies a believer who loves God with all his mind.
As the book opens we discover that Daniel and his friends are the cream of the crop in Judah. They were intelligent, well educated, and likely one their way to positions of influence in the nation of Judah. In fact, that is exactly why the conquering nation takes them away into exile in Babylon. Why would God allow these fine, upstanding young men to be torn away from their homes?
I think we have already answered our question. It is exactly because they developed their minds in their love for God that God needed them in a foreign land. Not just anybody could be an influence in the course of two world powers, turning the hearts of kings and people to their God. God used them exactly because they loved him with all their minds.
This has been Every Thought Captive, a Christian worldview minute sponsored by Quail Lake Community Church. For more information, please visit quaillake.org.
Wednesday, October 18, 2006
Gender Variance
Welcome to Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger, pastor at Quail Lake Community Church.
Recently in a school in Florida, a child was enrolled in kindergarten as a girl when he is actually and genetically a boy. In a school in California teachers are no longer lining elementary children up as boys and girls. These stories illustrate a trend among educators of young children sometimes called “gender variance.” According to this view, gender is constructed by a child, not given to a child before birth.
This represents a dramatic shift in worldview. According to a Christian understanding of humanity, our personhood—including our gender—is a given and is something we grow to know and understand through life. According to gender variance, a postmodern view, our personhood is fluid and can be constructed any way we please. This second view results from the rampant individualism and moral relativism in our culture and only enslaves and confuses us. We should understand, however, that being made in the image of God frees us to be who we were made to be.
This has been Every Thought Captive, a Christian worldview minute sponsored by Quail Lake Community Church. For more information, please visit quaillake.org.
Recently in a school in Florida, a child was enrolled in kindergarten as a girl when he is actually and genetically a boy. In a school in California teachers are no longer lining elementary children up as boys and girls. These stories illustrate a trend among educators of young children sometimes called “gender variance.” According to this view, gender is constructed by a child, not given to a child before birth.
This represents a dramatic shift in worldview. According to a Christian understanding of humanity, our personhood—including our gender—is a given and is something we grow to know and understand through life. According to gender variance, a postmodern view, our personhood is fluid and can be constructed any way we please. This second view results from the rampant individualism and moral relativism in our culture and only enslaves and confuses us. We should understand, however, that being made in the image of God frees us to be who we were made to be.
This has been Every Thought Captive, a Christian worldview minute sponsored by Quail Lake Community Church. For more information, please visit quaillake.org.
Thinking Beings 1
Welcome to Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger, pastor at Quail Lake Community Church.
Did you know that the scientific classification for humans, homo sapiens, means “thinking beings”? This is not only a scientific classification, but for the Christian, it is a spiritual reality as well. As we were made in the image of God, we were given minds and the ability to think and reason. God himself says through Isaiah, “Come, let us reason together.”
In fact, the use of our minds in worship is something that was important to Christ and Paul as well. Christ sums up the Law by saying we should love God with all our minds. And Paul, while telling us how to grow in our relationship with Christ, says we need to be careful about how our minds are being formed. It is all too possible to be conformed to this world without even working on it. Having a mind that is formed in the image of Christ, however, will require effort. But don’t worry, God will reward that kind of work.
This has been Every Thought Captive, a Christian worldview minute sponsored by Quail Lake Community Church. For more information, please visit quaillake.org.
Did you know that the scientific classification for humans, homo sapiens, means “thinking beings”? This is not only a scientific classification, but for the Christian, it is a spiritual reality as well. As we were made in the image of God, we were given minds and the ability to think and reason. God himself says through Isaiah, “Come, let us reason together.”
In fact, the use of our minds in worship is something that was important to Christ and Paul as well. Christ sums up the Law by saying we should love God with all our minds. And Paul, while telling us how to grow in our relationship with Christ, says we need to be careful about how our minds are being formed. It is all too possible to be conformed to this world without even working on it. Having a mind that is formed in the image of Christ, however, will require effort. But don’t worry, God will reward that kind of work.
This has been Every Thought Captive, a Christian worldview minute sponsored by Quail Lake Community Church. For more information, please visit quaillake.org.
Thursday, October 05, 2006
Daniel 1: Mind on Fire
Welcome to Every Thought Captive, I’m Phil Steiger.
The life of Daniel in the Old Testament is a great story for many reasons, not the least of which is the fact that he exemplifies a believer who loves God with all his mind.
At one crucial point early in the book, Daniel refused to take the king’s diet and requested nothing but vegetables and water. And as it turns out, Daniel’s faithfulness to his kosher diet won the day when he was discovered to be more healthy and intelligent than his Babylonian comrades.
Daniel’s brave and faithful decision was a direct result of a mind that loved God. Not only did he want to be faithful to God, but he knew exactly how to do it. Because his mind was devoted to the knowledge of his God—to the details of the OT diet--he knew exactly what steps to take when it came time to make a decision. Loving God with all his mind enabled him to be faithful to God.
This has been Every Thought Captive, a Christian worldview minute sponsored by Quail Lake Community Church. For more information, please visit quaillake.org.
The life of Daniel in the Old Testament is a great story for many reasons, not the least of which is the fact that he exemplifies a believer who loves God with all his mind.
At one crucial point early in the book, Daniel refused to take the king’s diet and requested nothing but vegetables and water. And as it turns out, Daniel’s faithfulness to his kosher diet won the day when he was discovered to be more healthy and intelligent than his Babylonian comrades.
Daniel’s brave and faithful decision was a direct result of a mind that loved God. Not only did he want to be faithful to God, but he knew exactly how to do it. Because his mind was devoted to the knowledge of his God—to the details of the OT diet--he knew exactly what steps to take when it came time to make a decision. Loving God with all his mind enabled him to be faithful to God.
This has been Every Thought Captive, a Christian worldview minute sponsored by Quail Lake Community Church. For more information, please visit quaillake.org.
Apes and Men: Nothing-But-ery
Welcome to Every Thought Captive, I’m Phil Steiger.
A recent cover article in Time magazine proclaims that there is not much at all separating you from the primate world. The piece details how close your genetic make up is to an ape’s and then concludes that the differences between the two are entirely wrapped up in those few genes. You are intended to believe, with all the convenient pictures of babies next to chimps and humans morphing from apes, that you are nothing but an ape with a few more genes attached.
But there is a flaw in this point of view. It is what C.S. Lewis called “nothing-but-ery,” or the view that humans are nothing but a sack of chemicals or a bunch of genes. Lewis, like many others, contends that genetic material cannot account for our souls or our minds. Humans stand out from the pack not because we drew the lucky card from the evolutionary deck, but because we have been endowed with those things that make us in the image of God.
This has been Every Thought Captive, a Christian worldview minute sponsored by Quail Lake Community Church. For more information, please visit quaillake.org.
A recent cover article in Time magazine proclaims that there is not much at all separating you from the primate world. The piece details how close your genetic make up is to an ape’s and then concludes that the differences between the two are entirely wrapped up in those few genes. You are intended to believe, with all the convenient pictures of babies next to chimps and humans morphing from apes, that you are nothing but an ape with a few more genes attached.
But there is a flaw in this point of view. It is what C.S. Lewis called “nothing-but-ery,” or the view that humans are nothing but a sack of chemicals or a bunch of genes. Lewis, like many others, contends that genetic material cannot account for our souls or our minds. Humans stand out from the pack not because we drew the lucky card from the evolutionary deck, but because we have been endowed with those things that make us in the image of God.
This has been Every Thought Captive, a Christian worldview minute sponsored by Quail Lake Community Church. For more information, please visit quaillake.org.
Belief and Behavior--Absolute Truth
Welcome to Every Thought Captive, I’m Phil Steiger.
In the latest edition of Time, columnist Andrew Sullivan writes on faith and belief in an article titled, “When not seeing is believing.” Part of what he asserts is that a superior religious belief is not about doctrines or creeds, but just behavior. He says, “practice is more important than theory,” and, “love is more important than law.” Now don’t get me wrong, a mature Christian life will reflect the kinds of behavior that are pleasing to God. We are saved to do His good works.
But upon further reflection, we discover that St. Paul and Sullivan have a sharp disagreement. Paul, in several places, stressed the importance of teaching true and sound doctrine and that those who did not needed to be corrected. Paul gave no room in the church of Jesus Christ for just any old, feel-good religious belief. For Paul, it was the theory of Christianity that gave rise to the right practice and the law of God that gave rise to the love of God.
This has been Every Thought Captive, a Christian worldview minute sponsored by Quail Lake Community Church. For more information, please visit quaillake.org.
In the latest edition of Time, columnist Andrew Sullivan writes on faith and belief in an article titled, “When not seeing is believing.” Part of what he asserts is that a superior religious belief is not about doctrines or creeds, but just behavior. He says, “practice is more important than theory,” and, “love is more important than law.” Now don’t get me wrong, a mature Christian life will reflect the kinds of behavior that are pleasing to God. We are saved to do His good works.
But upon further reflection, we discover that St. Paul and Sullivan have a sharp disagreement. Paul, in several places, stressed the importance of teaching true and sound doctrine and that those who did not needed to be corrected. Paul gave no room in the church of Jesus Christ for just any old, feel-good religious belief. For Paul, it was the theory of Christianity that gave rise to the right practice and the law of God that gave rise to the love of God.
This has been Every Thought Captive, a Christian worldview minute sponsored by Quail Lake Community Church. For more information, please visit quaillake.org.
Belief and Absolute Truth 2
Welcome to Every Thought Captive, I’m Phil Steiger.
In the latest edition of Time, columnist Andrew Sullivan writes on faith and belief in an article titled, “When not seeing is believing.” His point is that the root problems in our world are a result of people taking religion seriously and actually believing in absolute truth. His solution is that believers need to take a different approach to their faith—namely, a more humble approach. As a result no religious believer will have the audacity to believe their religion is true.
For Sullivan, “humble” is a code word for relativism. For him, and many others, to hold a belief humbly is to not really hold it at all. But that is certainly not what he means. His article proposes a very specific form of religion, and asserts that it should be true for everyone. According to his definition of “humble,” he has been rather arrogant. In reality, it is not hard to hold to the truth of Christianity and be truly humble.
This has been Every Thought Captive, a Christian worldview minute sponsored by Quail Lake Community Church. For more information, please visit quaillake.org.
In the latest edition of Time, columnist Andrew Sullivan writes on faith and belief in an article titled, “When not seeing is believing.” His point is that the root problems in our world are a result of people taking religion seriously and actually believing in absolute truth. His solution is that believers need to take a different approach to their faith—namely, a more humble approach. As a result no religious believer will have the audacity to believe their religion is true.
For Sullivan, “humble” is a code word for relativism. For him, and many others, to hold a belief humbly is to not really hold it at all. But that is certainly not what he means. His article proposes a very specific form of religion, and asserts that it should be true for everyone. According to his definition of “humble,” he has been rather arrogant. In reality, it is not hard to hold to the truth of Christianity and be truly humble.
This has been Every Thought Captive, a Christian worldview minute sponsored by Quail Lake Community Church. For more information, please visit quaillake.org.
Belief, Doubt, and Absolute Truth
Welcome to Every Thought Captive, I’m Phil Steiger.
In the latest edition of Time magazine, columnist Andrew Sullivan writes on faith and belief in an article titled, “When not seeing is believing.” Part of what he contends in this piece is that adherence to absolute truth is on the rise in our world because of fear. His argument is that when we are afraid and unsettled in this world we cling to the next for security.
His goal is to put across the idea that it is weak minded to believe in absolute truth, especially when the motivation is nothing but uncertainty. Sullivan gets a lot wrong in his article, not the least of which is his relativistic solution to uncertainty. If this world can be a fearful place, how does even more doubt and uncertainty solve anything? In fact, Christians see clearly the hollowness of trusting in this world to save our souls, so we put our trust in something much more stable and secure. There is nothing weak minded about that.
This has been Every Thought Captive, a Christian worldview minute sponsored by Quail Lake Community Church. For more information, please visit quaillake.org.
In the latest edition of Time magazine, columnist Andrew Sullivan writes on faith and belief in an article titled, “When not seeing is believing.” Part of what he contends in this piece is that adherence to absolute truth is on the rise in our world because of fear. His argument is that when we are afraid and unsettled in this world we cling to the next for security.
His goal is to put across the idea that it is weak minded to believe in absolute truth, especially when the motivation is nothing but uncertainty. Sullivan gets a lot wrong in his article, not the least of which is his relativistic solution to uncertainty. If this world can be a fearful place, how does even more doubt and uncertainty solve anything? In fact, Christians see clearly the hollowness of trusting in this world to save our souls, so we put our trust in something much more stable and secure. There is nothing weak minded about that.
This has been Every Thought Captive, a Christian worldview minute sponsored by Quail Lake Community Church. For more information, please visit quaillake.org.
Tuesday, October 03, 2006
A Mind on Fire 1
Welcome to Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger.
Christ was once asked what the greatest commandment was. He responded that all the law and the prophets are summarized in two commandments—one of which included the directive to love God with all our minds. We are often quick to agree that we can love God with all our feelings during worship service, but we don’t always consider what it means to love God with all our minds.
First of all, a mind given to God is one that is ready to be all that it can be for God. God is not calling us all to be geniuses or nobodies—he is calling us to use the minds he gave us to be effective disciples. Each one of us has the ability to apply our minds to God and to life around us and become more effective as salt and light. Minds on fire for God change things. When our minds come alive in the light of God, we see him and our world more clearly.
This has been Every Thought Captive, a Christian worldview minute sponsored by Quail Lake Community Church. For more information, please visit quaillake.org.
Christ was once asked what the greatest commandment was. He responded that all the law and the prophets are summarized in two commandments—one of which included the directive to love God with all our minds. We are often quick to agree that we can love God with all our feelings during worship service, but we don’t always consider what it means to love God with all our minds.
First of all, a mind given to God is one that is ready to be all that it can be for God. God is not calling us all to be geniuses or nobodies—he is calling us to use the minds he gave us to be effective disciples. Each one of us has the ability to apply our minds to God and to life around us and become more effective as salt and light. Minds on fire for God change things. When our minds come alive in the light of God, we see him and our world more clearly.
This has been Every Thought Captive, a Christian worldview minute sponsored by Quail Lake Community Church. For more information, please visit quaillake.org.
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