Welcome to Every Thought Captive, I’m Phil Steiger.
Is Christian theology an adversary or friend of modern science? In the last few decades evangelicals have tended to answer in terms of adversary, but when we take a look at the history of modern science much of it was birthed from the hearts and minds of deeply committed Christians. In his recent book, Full Gospel, Fractured Minds?, Rick Nanez writes convincingly that science is not only beholden to a Christian worldview, but that we need to begin seeing modern science as a legitimate avenue for the Christian mind.
I agree with Nanez when he argues that we need to contribute to the world of modern science and add our worldview to fields that are changing the world. He writes that we must, “find our voice and let that voice be heard on the issues that, with or without our involvement, are affecting and will continue to affect the lives of billions.” So be it.
This has been Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger, pastor of Quail Lake Community Church and Director of Dayspring Center for Christian Studies. For more information please visit everythoughtcaptive.org.
Thursday, July 13, 2006
Naturalism and Ethics
Welcome to Every Thought Captive, I’m Phil Steiger.
What happens when we remove God from ethical reflection? If God does not exist, what happens to morality? In his recent book, The Right Darwin, Carson Holloway argues that it is hard, if not impossible, to judge ethical behavior or set ethical standards if God does not exist. In a system like Darwinistic Naturalism, all measures of ethical behavior are reduced to individuals and what comes naturally. As a result, we cannot necessarily judge individual humans for their behavior by pointing to a moral law or a moral gauge, and therefore it is hard to judge right from wrong behavior.
In essence when a Moral Lawgiver is removed from the system, moral laws that apply to all people disappear as well. But this is not our inherent sense of ethics and responsibility. We rightly believe we are responsible to an ethical system higher than ourselves, and that points us toward the existence of a Moral Law giver.
This has been Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger, pastor of Quail Lake Community Church and Director of Dayspring Center for Christian Studies. For more information please visit everythoughtcaptive.org.
What happens when we remove God from ethical reflection? If God does not exist, what happens to morality? In his recent book, The Right Darwin, Carson Holloway argues that it is hard, if not impossible, to judge ethical behavior or set ethical standards if God does not exist. In a system like Darwinistic Naturalism, all measures of ethical behavior are reduced to individuals and what comes naturally. As a result, we cannot necessarily judge individual humans for their behavior by pointing to a moral law or a moral gauge, and therefore it is hard to judge right from wrong behavior.
In essence when a Moral Lawgiver is removed from the system, moral laws that apply to all people disappear as well. But this is not our inherent sense of ethics and responsibility. We rightly believe we are responsible to an ethical system higher than ourselves, and that points us toward the existence of a Moral Law giver.
This has been Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger, pastor of Quail Lake Community Church and Director of Dayspring Center for Christian Studies. For more information please visit everythoughtcaptive.org.
Wednesday, July 12, 2006
Oswald Chambers1
Welcome to Every Thought Captive, I’m Phil Steiger.
In his book, Abandoned to God, David McCasland details the life of Oswald Chambers, the well-known author of the devotional classic, My Utmost For His Highest. Well written biographies are always a wealth of information and inspiration, and this one is no exception. Oswald Chamber’s life was full of unforeseen twists and turns, and through it all he remained focused on God. This was especially true during an especially dark time in his life when he went through what he called his dark night of the soul.
It turns out it is fairly common for many Christians to go through an especially difficult time spiritually as they strive to draw closer to God. Through his dark night Chambers struggled with his own shortcoming and sin and wondered if God would actually use a person like him. But as we all know, because of his faithfulness and God’s extreme grace, God continues to use Chambers to enrich and change lives today.
This has been Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger, pastor at Quail Lake Community Church, and Director of Dayspring Center for Christian Studies. For more information, please visit everythoughtcaptive.org.
In his book, Abandoned to God, David McCasland details the life of Oswald Chambers, the well-known author of the devotional classic, My Utmost For His Highest. Well written biographies are always a wealth of information and inspiration, and this one is no exception. Oswald Chamber’s life was full of unforeseen twists and turns, and through it all he remained focused on God. This was especially true during an especially dark time in his life when he went through what he called his dark night of the soul.
It turns out it is fairly common for many Christians to go through an especially difficult time spiritually as they strive to draw closer to God. Through his dark night Chambers struggled with his own shortcoming and sin and wondered if God would actually use a person like him. But as we all know, because of his faithfulness and God’s extreme grace, God continues to use Chambers to enrich and change lives today.
This has been Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger, pastor at Quail Lake Community Church, and Director of Dayspring Center for Christian Studies. For more information, please visit everythoughtcaptive.org.
Patriarchal Trinity
Welcome to Every Thought Captive, I’m Phil Steiger.
There have been times in the life of the Church when popular opinion has driven doctrinal choices and when the latest cultural fads have become the foundations for how and why we do church. Each time that happened in our past, the branch of the church that swallowed the pill whole faded significantly within a couple of generations.
Enter a recent proclamation from a major American denomination regarding the labels we put on the Trinity. Instead of “Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,” the proposal wanted to add descriptors such as, “Compassionate Mother, Beloved Child, and Life-Giving Womb.” Why do we need to expand the way we talk about the Trinity? Because, according to the document, the traditional language is patriarchal.
This is a text book case of a segment of the Church giving into bad theology dictated by the masses and not the Master. May we ever have the courage to listen to His voice above the din of theirs.
This has been Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger, pastor at Quail Lake Community Church, and Director of Dayspring Center for Christian Studies. For more information, please visit everythoughtcaptive.org.
There have been times in the life of the Church when popular opinion has driven doctrinal choices and when the latest cultural fads have become the foundations for how and why we do church. Each time that happened in our past, the branch of the church that swallowed the pill whole faded significantly within a couple of generations.
Enter a recent proclamation from a major American denomination regarding the labels we put on the Trinity. Instead of “Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,” the proposal wanted to add descriptors such as, “Compassionate Mother, Beloved Child, and Life-Giving Womb.” Why do we need to expand the way we talk about the Trinity? Because, according to the document, the traditional language is patriarchal.
This is a text book case of a segment of the Church giving into bad theology dictated by the masses and not the Master. May we ever have the courage to listen to His voice above the din of theirs.
This has been Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger, pastor at Quail Lake Community Church, and Director of Dayspring Center for Christian Studies. For more information, please visit everythoughtcaptive.org.
Stem Cells and Mice
Welcome to Every Thought Captive, I’m Phil Steiger.
The world of stem cell science continues to spin. Scientists in Europe have given birth to a generation of lab mice created from embryonic stem cells. This is an especially ironic twist of scientific fate. In order to retrieve embryonic stem cells from mice, fetal mice need to be destroyed. But no matter-in what is heralded as a leap in the technology, scientists gave birth to brand new mice. Baby mice were destroyed so we could learn we could create new ones.
This is the kind of sloppy reasoning that takes place when ethical thought does not precede technological advance. The ability to utilize embryonic stem cells to create new life does not justify taking lives to harvest the cells. And it is a good reason to argue that more Christians need to be involved in the turbulent currents of bioethics. Instead of leaving this field to its own devices, we need to be an informed and influential voice in the debate.
This has been Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger, pastor at Quail Lake Community Church, and Director of Dayspring Center for Christian Studies. For more information, please visit everythoughtcaptive.org.
The world of stem cell science continues to spin. Scientists in Europe have given birth to a generation of lab mice created from embryonic stem cells. This is an especially ironic twist of scientific fate. In order to retrieve embryonic stem cells from mice, fetal mice need to be destroyed. But no matter-in what is heralded as a leap in the technology, scientists gave birth to brand new mice. Baby mice were destroyed so we could learn we could create new ones.
This is the kind of sloppy reasoning that takes place when ethical thought does not precede technological advance. The ability to utilize embryonic stem cells to create new life does not justify taking lives to harvest the cells. And it is a good reason to argue that more Christians need to be involved in the turbulent currents of bioethics. Instead of leaving this field to its own devices, we need to be an informed and influential voice in the debate.
This has been Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger, pastor at Quail Lake Community Church, and Director of Dayspring Center for Christian Studies. For more information, please visit everythoughtcaptive.org.
Thursday, June 29, 2006
Jude 5-7 Consequences
Welcome to Every Thought Captive, I’m Phil Steiger.
Reading the book if Jude is sometimes a little like arriving early to the symphony when all the musicians are warming up. What we hear is a cacophony of sound until the conductor arrives on stage and raises his baton-then we have symphony. In verses 5-7, Jude lists a few familiar and not so familiar examples of those who have suffered for their sins. We often get hung up on the strange references in the passage and then we miss the symphony.
Despite some of its novelty, the point in this passage is rather straight-forward. We know that false teachers had entered the church and were preaching a life of license without the need for repentance. Jude’s point is that rebellion against God has its consequences. God’s loving act of forgiveness does not allow us to be shielded from the results of our behavior. He loves us enough to let us learn that our actions sometimes have rotten consequences.
This has been Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger pastor at Quail Lake Community Church and Director of Dayspring Center for Christian Studies. For more information, please visit everythoughtcaptive.org.
Reading the book if Jude is sometimes a little like arriving early to the symphony when all the musicians are warming up. What we hear is a cacophony of sound until the conductor arrives on stage and raises his baton-then we have symphony. In verses 5-7, Jude lists a few familiar and not so familiar examples of those who have suffered for their sins. We often get hung up on the strange references in the passage and then we miss the symphony.
Despite some of its novelty, the point in this passage is rather straight-forward. We know that false teachers had entered the church and were preaching a life of license without the need for repentance. Jude’s point is that rebellion against God has its consequences. God’s loving act of forgiveness does not allow us to be shielded from the results of our behavior. He loves us enough to let us learn that our actions sometimes have rotten consequences.
This has been Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger pastor at Quail Lake Community Church and Director of Dayspring Center for Christian Studies. For more information, please visit everythoughtcaptive.org.
Individualized Spirituality
Welcome to Every Thought Captive, I’m Phil Steiger.
Spirituality without religion is popular in our American culture. We like the idea of having a grasp on eternal life and ultimate reality without being told what to believe by some institution. The researcher Barna recently noted how popular it is to believe in our own, individualized forms of god, and as a recent example the LA Times columnist Anne Lamott described herself as a Christian and promptly betrayed a very non Christian view of life and death.
Why are we tempted to believe that our own visions of god are superior to His revelation of Himself? Would I let my children get away with their own mathematical machinations and call them correct? Do I think my own imagination about quantum physics is deeper than Einstein’s? Of course not, but when it comes to religion, the concept of God touches our souls in deep ways and we want to devise ways to tell him what to do instead of the other way around.
This has been Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger pastor at Quail Lake Community Church and Director of Dayspring Center for Christian Studies. For more information, please visit everythoughtcaptive.org.
Spirituality without religion is popular in our American culture. We like the idea of having a grasp on eternal life and ultimate reality without being told what to believe by some institution. The researcher Barna recently noted how popular it is to believe in our own, individualized forms of god, and as a recent example the LA Times columnist Anne Lamott described herself as a Christian and promptly betrayed a very non Christian view of life and death.
Why are we tempted to believe that our own visions of god are superior to His revelation of Himself? Would I let my children get away with their own mathematical machinations and call them correct? Do I think my own imagination about quantum physics is deeper than Einstein’s? Of course not, but when it comes to religion, the concept of God touches our souls in deep ways and we want to devise ways to tell him what to do instead of the other way around.
This has been Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger pastor at Quail Lake Community Church and Director of Dayspring Center for Christian Studies. For more information, please visit everythoughtcaptive.org.
Friend Assisted Suicide 3
Welcome to Every Thought Captive, I’m Phil Steiger.
The LA Times columnist, Anne Lamott killed a man. She admitted as much in her article, “At Death’s Window.” The man was a friend dying of cancer who wanted a way out. Lamott concocted a cocktail of prescription drugs and fed it to him in a bowl of applesauce. Her justification for this action should not surprise us if we have been paying attention to culture.
Lamott argued that life was nothing more than Earth school, and we were in control of whether we wanted to leave the term early: in other words, we are in control and possession of our own bodies and lives. The Supreme Court ruled the same way in 1992 by arguing that a fundamental liberty was the right to define our own concept of existence.
As a Christ-follower, my perspective is just the opposite. My life with all its twists and turns is in the hands of an all-knowing and loving God.
This has been Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger pastor at Quail Lake Community Church and Director of Dayspring Center for Christian Studies. For more information, please visit everythoughtcaptive.org.
The LA Times columnist, Anne Lamott killed a man. She admitted as much in her article, “At Death’s Window.” The man was a friend dying of cancer who wanted a way out. Lamott concocted a cocktail of prescription drugs and fed it to him in a bowl of applesauce. Her justification for this action should not surprise us if we have been paying attention to culture.
Lamott argued that life was nothing more than Earth school, and we were in control of whether we wanted to leave the term early: in other words, we are in control and possession of our own bodies and lives. The Supreme Court ruled the same way in 1992 by arguing that a fundamental liberty was the right to define our own concept of existence.
As a Christ-follower, my perspective is just the opposite. My life with all its twists and turns is in the hands of an all-knowing and loving God.
This has been Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger pastor at Quail Lake Community Church and Director of Dayspring Center for Christian Studies. For more information, please visit everythoughtcaptive.org.
Wednesday, June 28, 2006
Naturalism and Consciousness
Welcome to Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger.
Much is often made of the worldview conflict between Christianity and Naturalism. From time to time people try to downplay the importance of worldviews and their consequences, but this quote from a new book written by Naturalists confronting the idea of Intelligent Design should highlight the crucial nature of their differences: Our starting assumption as scientists ought to be that…consciousness has to be an illusion. In case you missed it, this leading scientist is claiming that his awareness of his own consciousness is an illusion.
An absolutely absurd conclusion to be sure, but one logically necessitated by Naturalism. If Naturalism is true, then not only does God not exist, but your mind doesn’t either and your own awareness of reality is an illusion. Simple logic and the Christian worldview say differently. If you can say, “I am not conscious,” then it follows that you are conscious.
This has been Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger pastor at Quail Lake Community Church and Director for Dayspring Center for Christian Studies. For more information, please visit everythoughtcaptive.org.
Much is often made of the worldview conflict between Christianity and Naturalism. From time to time people try to downplay the importance of worldviews and their consequences, but this quote from a new book written by Naturalists confronting the idea of Intelligent Design should highlight the crucial nature of their differences: Our starting assumption as scientists ought to be that…consciousness has to be an illusion. In case you missed it, this leading scientist is claiming that his awareness of his own consciousness is an illusion.
An absolutely absurd conclusion to be sure, but one logically necessitated by Naturalism. If Naturalism is true, then not only does God not exist, but your mind doesn’t either and your own awareness of reality is an illusion. Simple logic and the Christian worldview say differently. If you can say, “I am not conscious,” then it follows that you are conscious.
This has been Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger pastor at Quail Lake Community Church and Director for Dayspring Center for Christian Studies. For more information, please visit everythoughtcaptive.org.
Friend Assisted Suicide2
Welcome to Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger.
Anne Lamott, a columnist for the LA Times, opened a recent piece like this, “The man I killed did not want to die, but he no longer felt he had much of a choice.” That phrase, “The man I killed” should be shocking for the reader. The article is a recounting of her actions helping a friend commit suicide. What is more, later on in the piece Lamott tells us the man she killed was surprised to find out she considered herself a Christian and simultaneously whole-heartedly supported this plan of hers to help him die.
Her friend was right to be shocked by that revelation. Lamott’s view is that our lives are our own to dispose of when we see fit. The view of Scripture is that the believer’s life belongs to God and is surrendered to His perfect will. Suicide is no small matter, but neither is God’s love and sovereignty.
This has been Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger pastor at Quail Lake Community Church and Director for Dayspring Center for Christian Studies. For more information, please visit everythoughtcaptive.org.
Anne Lamott, a columnist for the LA Times, opened a recent piece like this, “The man I killed did not want to die, but he no longer felt he had much of a choice.” That phrase, “The man I killed” should be shocking for the reader. The article is a recounting of her actions helping a friend commit suicide. What is more, later on in the piece Lamott tells us the man she killed was surprised to find out she considered herself a Christian and simultaneously whole-heartedly supported this plan of hers to help him die.
Her friend was right to be shocked by that revelation. Lamott’s view is that our lives are our own to dispose of when we see fit. The view of Scripture is that the believer’s life belongs to God and is surrendered to His perfect will. Suicide is no small matter, but neither is God’s love and sovereignty.
This has been Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger pastor at Quail Lake Community Church and Director for Dayspring Center for Christian Studies. For more information, please visit everythoughtcaptive.org.
Tuesday, June 27, 2006
Friend Assisted Suicide
Welcome to Every Thought Captive, I’m Phil Steiger.
In a recent article in the LA Times, self-proclaimed Christian Anne Lamott tells the tragic tale of the death of a friend suffering from cancer. Part of what makes the tale so tragic is that she and another friend assist in his suicide. In her piece, “At Death’s Window,” Lamott not only tells the story, she heartily supports her actions in what she calls “friend assisted suicide.”
Lamott’s so-called Christian view on death and suffering is more influenced by our American culture than by the life of Christ himself. In our past, long before medical technology could alleviate most pain and suffering, our Christian forefathers referred to Christianity as “the way of the cross.” They meant to convey the fact that believers, from time to time, may need to follow Christ into the garden and utter His words, “not my will but thine be done.”
This has been Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger, pastor at Quail Lake Community Church and Director for Dayspring Center for Christian Studies. For more information please visit everythoughtcaptive.org.
In a recent article in the LA Times, self-proclaimed Christian Anne Lamott tells the tragic tale of the death of a friend suffering from cancer. Part of what makes the tale so tragic is that she and another friend assist in his suicide. In her piece, “At Death’s Window,” Lamott not only tells the story, she heartily supports her actions in what she calls “friend assisted suicide.”
Lamott’s so-called Christian view on death and suffering is more influenced by our American culture than by the life of Christ himself. In our past, long before medical technology could alleviate most pain and suffering, our Christian forefathers referred to Christianity as “the way of the cross.” They meant to convey the fact that believers, from time to time, may need to follow Christ into the garden and utter His words, “not my will but thine be done.”
This has been Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger, pastor at Quail Lake Community Church and Director for Dayspring Center for Christian Studies. For more information please visit everythoughtcaptive.org.
Thursday, June 15, 2006
Parenthood Scorn
Welcome to Every Thought Captive, I’m Phil Steiger.
An advice columnist on Slate.com recently advised a reader who was in her 30s and recently married that she may want to reconsider her position on having children. Before she was married she didn’t want any, and now she and her husband were considering it. The backlash to that advice was vitriolic. Angry readers wrote the advice columnist and, “expressed contempt for those deluded enough to want to reproduce.”
This is one of those worldview moments when we clearly see the differences between a self-absorbed point of view informed by Darwinistic Naturalism, and one influenced by a Christian ethic and view of human nature. The angry childless readers were happy with their lives full of self-indulgent pleasures. The columnist wrote that though they saw parenthood has a mountain of diapers, they would never understand the daily and overwhelming joy of being a parent. Following Christ means we appreciate the value of all human life, even ones that may vomit on the carpet.
This has been Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger pastor at Quail Lake Community Church and Director of Dayspring Center for Christian Studies. For more information, please visit everythoughtcaptive.org.
An advice columnist on Slate.com recently advised a reader who was in her 30s and recently married that she may want to reconsider her position on having children. Before she was married she didn’t want any, and now she and her husband were considering it. The backlash to that advice was vitriolic. Angry readers wrote the advice columnist and, “expressed contempt for those deluded enough to want to reproduce.”
This is one of those worldview moments when we clearly see the differences between a self-absorbed point of view informed by Darwinistic Naturalism, and one influenced by a Christian ethic and view of human nature. The angry childless readers were happy with their lives full of self-indulgent pleasures. The columnist wrote that though they saw parenthood has a mountain of diapers, they would never understand the daily and overwhelming joy of being a parent. Following Christ means we appreciate the value of all human life, even ones that may vomit on the carpet.
This has been Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger pastor at Quail Lake Community Church and Director of Dayspring Center for Christian Studies. For more information, please visit everythoughtcaptive.org.
Jer 28-Repentance and Reconciliation
Welcome to Every Thought Captive, I’m Phil Steiger.
In Jeremiah 28 we have front-row seats to a confrontation between Jeremiah the prophet of God and the false prophet, Hananiah. It had to be an interesting scene there in the Temple as one very unpopular and disliked man, Jeremiah, was given a talking-to by a religious leader very popular with the people. Hananiah’s message was simple-God will bless and he will do it quickly. Jeremiah’s message was different in one very significant way-God will richly bless us after we repent, spend 70 years in exile, and turn our hearts back to God.
The vital difference between the true and false prophets was repentance. Hananiah spoke a message of blessing without responsibility, of reconciliation without repentance. His opinion, very popular with the people, was that God would bless now without repentance. But in the end, it was Jeremiah who was right about the process-God did bless, but only on the other side of a deep and profound process of repentance and reconciliation.
This has been Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger pastor at Quail Lake Community Church and Director of Dayspring Center for Christian Studies. For more information, please visit everythoughtcaptive.org.
In Jeremiah 28 we have front-row seats to a confrontation between Jeremiah the prophet of God and the false prophet, Hananiah. It had to be an interesting scene there in the Temple as one very unpopular and disliked man, Jeremiah, was given a talking-to by a religious leader very popular with the people. Hananiah’s message was simple-God will bless and he will do it quickly. Jeremiah’s message was different in one very significant way-God will richly bless us after we repent, spend 70 years in exile, and turn our hearts back to God.
The vital difference between the true and false prophets was repentance. Hananiah spoke a message of blessing without responsibility, of reconciliation without repentance. His opinion, very popular with the people, was that God would bless now without repentance. But in the end, it was Jeremiah who was right about the process-God did bless, but only on the other side of a deep and profound process of repentance and reconciliation.
This has been Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger pastor at Quail Lake Community Church and Director of Dayspring Center for Christian Studies. For more information, please visit everythoughtcaptive.org.
Truth and Ice Cream
Welcome to Every Thought Captive, I’m Phil Steiger.
A Christian apologist today gives a lecture called, “Christianity is not Ice Cream.” It is a talk about truth, relativism, and what we mean when we say that Christianity is true. You see, you and a friend can argue about the best flavor of ice cream all day, your opinions can conflict, you may never convince your friend that mint chocolate chip is superior to cookie dough, but you both walk away from the discussion realizing that ice cream flavor is a matter of opinion.
Not so with Christianity. People may have different preferences about religion, and they may be deeply sincere about their tastes, but at the end of the day it is false that religion is a matter of opinion. When we say Christianity is true, we are affirming the same kind of truth when we say that 2+2=4. Christ is the way and the truth for all of us, in spite of what our opinions on the matter may be.
This has been Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger pastor at Quail Lake Community Church and Director of Dayspring Center for Christian Studies. For more information, please visit everythoughtcaptive.org.
A Christian apologist today gives a lecture called, “Christianity is not Ice Cream.” It is a talk about truth, relativism, and what we mean when we say that Christianity is true. You see, you and a friend can argue about the best flavor of ice cream all day, your opinions can conflict, you may never convince your friend that mint chocolate chip is superior to cookie dough, but you both walk away from the discussion realizing that ice cream flavor is a matter of opinion.
Not so with Christianity. People may have different preferences about religion, and they may be deeply sincere about their tastes, but at the end of the day it is false that religion is a matter of opinion. When we say Christianity is true, we are affirming the same kind of truth when we say that 2+2=4. Christ is the way and the truth for all of us, in spite of what our opinions on the matter may be.
This has been Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger pastor at Quail Lake Community Church and Director of Dayspring Center for Christian Studies. For more information, please visit everythoughtcaptive.org.
Utilitarianism and Truth
Welcome to Every Thought Captive, I’m Phil Steiger.
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, spending bills 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 inferred is that the majority are 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 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. I’m Phil Steiger pastor at Quail Lake Community Church and Director of Dayspring Center for Christian Studies. For more information, please visit everythoughtcaptive.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, spending bills 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 inferred is that the majority are 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 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. I’m Phil Steiger pastor at Quail Lake Community Church and Director of Dayspring Center for Christian Studies. For more information, please visit everythoughtcaptive.org.
Wednesday, June 14, 2006
Barna-Commitment to Christ
Welcome to Every Thought Captive, I’m Phil Steiger.
Barna recently performed a survey that measured people’s commitment to church and to developing one’s commitment to Christ. To the issue of developing a deeper relationship with God and doing whatever it took to maintain that relationship, just over 50% of all people agreed, and of those under the age of 40 only 44% agreed.
Pursuing a relationship with Christ is the primary thing. I can rarely control or manipulate the tides of my life and make them go the way I want them to, but I do have direct access to my own decision to deepen my relationship with Christ. Jesus did not lightly say, “seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and these things will be given to you as well.” A kingdom mindset is preoccupied with building an almost conversational relationship with Christ, and it creates a foundation upon which I am better able to interact with the tides of life the way Christ would if he were living my life.
This has been Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger pastor at Quail Lake Community Church and Director of Dayspring Center for Christian Studies.
Barna recently performed a survey that measured people’s commitment to church and to developing one’s commitment to Christ. To the issue of developing a deeper relationship with God and doing whatever it took to maintain that relationship, just over 50% of all people agreed, and of those under the age of 40 only 44% agreed.
Pursuing a relationship with Christ is the primary thing. I can rarely control or manipulate the tides of my life and make them go the way I want them to, but I do have direct access to my own decision to deepen my relationship with Christ. Jesus did not lightly say, “seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and these things will be given to you as well.” A kingdom mindset is preoccupied with building an almost conversational relationship with Christ, and it creates a foundation upon which I am better able to interact with the tides of life the way Christ would if he were living my life.
This has been Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger pastor at Quail Lake Community Church and Director of Dayspring Center for Christian Studies.
Barna-Church Commmitment
Welcome to Every Thought Captive, I’m Phil Steiger.
A recent Barna study showed some alarming trends in the commitment levels of many who consider themselves Christian. About one out of five considered church attendance to be important to their spiritual maturity, and of those who held a biblical worldview, only 25% thought a community of faith was important to their spiritual development.
We Americans cling very tightly to our personal independence. We like to be our own bosses, and we like to be self-sufficient in just about every way possible. But we are Christians as well, and it seems we need to learn the importance of being a real and genuine part of the body of Christ.
Don’t think of it in terms of the church needs your attendance, but in terms of other believers need your presence, support, input and help. Your presence at church this weekend can be uplifting and encouraging to your fellow believers, and can help encourage them in their walk with Christ. Seems like a good reason to go to me.
This has been Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger pastor at Quail Lake Community Church and Director of Dayspring Center for Christian Studies.
A recent Barna study showed some alarming trends in the commitment levels of many who consider themselves Christian. About one out of five considered church attendance to be important to their spiritual maturity, and of those who held a biblical worldview, only 25% thought a community of faith was important to their spiritual development.
We Americans cling very tightly to our personal independence. We like to be our own bosses, and we like to be self-sufficient in just about every way possible. But we are Christians as well, and it seems we need to learn the importance of being a real and genuine part of the body of Christ.
Don’t think of it in terms of the church needs your attendance, but in terms of other believers need your presence, support, input and help. Your presence at church this weekend can be uplifting and encouraging to your fellow believers, and can help encourage them in their walk with Christ. Seems like a good reason to go to me.
This has been Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger pastor at Quail Lake Community Church and Director of Dayspring Center for Christian Studies.
Friday, June 02, 2006
Heroic Leadership
Welcome to Every Thought Captive, I’m Phil Steiger.
I always deeply appreciate a book or a speaker who is able to connect the Christian worldview with the world we live in. When it comes to leadership theory, that does not always happen. But with the book, Heroic Leadership, Mark Lowney has shown how the practices of the Jesuits, a 450 year old company in his terms, lead them to great success both corporately and individually.
In many ways the book reads like one you might pick up that was written from a corporate point of view, but this book focuses on the spiritual disciplines and lifestyles of the Jesuits as they expanded across the globe. It underscores the truth that a life wholly dedicated to God and deliberately focused on Him can make a profound difference in this world. Long before the benefits of modern technology or travel, these dedicated and faithful people turned the world upside down. What might we do today if we reengaged life with their kinds of priorities?
This has been Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger pastor at Quail Lake Community Church and director for Dayspring Center for Christian Studies. For more information, please visit everythoughtcaptive.org.
I always deeply appreciate a book or a speaker who is able to connect the Christian worldview with the world we live in. When it comes to leadership theory, that does not always happen. But with the book, Heroic Leadership, Mark Lowney has shown how the practices of the Jesuits, a 450 year old company in his terms, lead them to great success both corporately and individually.
In many ways the book reads like one you might pick up that was written from a corporate point of view, but this book focuses on the spiritual disciplines and lifestyles of the Jesuits as they expanded across the globe. It underscores the truth that a life wholly dedicated to God and deliberately focused on Him can make a profound difference in this world. Long before the benefits of modern technology or travel, these dedicated and faithful people turned the world upside down. What might we do today if we reengaged life with their kinds of priorities?
This has been Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger pastor at Quail Lake Community Church and director for Dayspring Center for Christian Studies. For more information, please visit everythoughtcaptive.org.
Happiness-In A Classical Sense
Welcome to Every Thought Captive, I’m Phil Steiger.
In their wonderful book, The Lost Virtue of Happiness, J.P. Moreland and Klaus Issler want to reengage Christians with a biblical and classical notion o happiness and provide practical ways of attaining it. Early in the book they clarify the difference between what we typically take for happiness today from what Scripture and the great thinkers of history took for happiness.
It is typical today to see happiness as a sense of pleasurable satisfaction. In that case it is all about us and our own needs. In an ironic reality, the more turned inward we become, the more empty our lives become.
On the other hand, happiness as described in Scripture is more about a life well-lived; a full life of character and virtue, one that displays wisdom, kindness and goodness. Happiness in this sense is a life-long pursuit that fills us with the life and light of Christ, and as we pursue it and Him, our own lives will become filled with meaning and purpose.
This has been Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger pastor at Quail Lake Community Church and director for Dayspring Center for Christian Studies. For more information, please visit everythoughtcaptive.org.
In their wonderful book, The Lost Virtue of Happiness, J.P. Moreland and Klaus Issler want to reengage Christians with a biblical and classical notion o happiness and provide practical ways of attaining it. Early in the book they clarify the difference between what we typically take for happiness today from what Scripture and the great thinkers of history took for happiness.
It is typical today to see happiness as a sense of pleasurable satisfaction. In that case it is all about us and our own needs. In an ironic reality, the more turned inward we become, the more empty our lives become.
On the other hand, happiness as described in Scripture is more about a life well-lived; a full life of character and virtue, one that displays wisdom, kindness and goodness. Happiness in this sense is a life-long pursuit that fills us with the life and light of Christ, and as we pursue it and Him, our own lives will become filled with meaning and purpose.
This has been Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger pastor at Quail Lake Community Church and director for Dayspring Center for Christian Studies. For more information, please visit everythoughtcaptive.org.
Thursday, June 01, 2006
Jer 27-The Yoke of Christ
Welcome to Every Thought Captive, I’m Phil Steiger.
In Jeremiah chapter 27, God has his prophet do something a little uncomfortable. Jeremiah shows up in the king’s court with a yoke built for two oxen around his neck. His message is guaranteed to be unpopular as he tells the king and the assembled nobility to surrender to the Babylonians because God has given them the region. Rebellion will spell disaster, and surrender to God’s plan will mean security.
Jeremiah gives the king an option between two yokes-one of rebellion and one of surrender to God’s plan. Not surprisingly, the king doesn’t want any yoke. But there is no third option given. Paul tells us about this truth in Romans 6 where he says we are either slaves to Christ or slaves to our own sins and shortcomings. We want, like the king of Judah, to be autonomous, but that choice is disastrous as we enslave ourselves to our own flesh. Take on the yoke of Christ-He is gentle and His yoke is light.
This has been Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger pastor at Quail Lake Community Church and director for Dayspring Center for Christian Studies. For more information, please visit everythoughtcaptive.org.
In Jeremiah chapter 27, God has his prophet do something a little uncomfortable. Jeremiah shows up in the king’s court with a yoke built for two oxen around his neck. His message is guaranteed to be unpopular as he tells the king and the assembled nobility to surrender to the Babylonians because God has given them the region. Rebellion will spell disaster, and surrender to God’s plan will mean security.
Jeremiah gives the king an option between two yokes-one of rebellion and one of surrender to God’s plan. Not surprisingly, the king doesn’t want any yoke. But there is no third option given. Paul tells us about this truth in Romans 6 where he says we are either slaves to Christ or slaves to our own sins and shortcomings. We want, like the king of Judah, to be autonomous, but that choice is disastrous as we enslave ourselves to our own flesh. Take on the yoke of Christ-He is gentle and His yoke is light.
This has been Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger pastor at Quail Lake Community Church and director for Dayspring Center for Christian Studies. For more information, please visit everythoughtcaptive.org.
Risking for God
Welcome to Every Thought Captive, I’m Phil Steiger.
In their book, The Lost Virtue of Happiness, J.P. Moreland and Klaus Issler make the case in one of their chapters for forming the kind of trust in God that chooses to takes risks with Him. At one point they note that pondering the reality of God’s future and ultimate victory and our eternity with Him encourages faithful living in this world today.
The say, “Because God’s victory is certain, so is our future….Maintaining a future focus is essential for living now.” A healthy and faithful outlook on this life includes an accurate outlook on the next. Because God will welcome his followers into His hands at the end of our lives, the rest of our lives are free to be given to Him in every way possible. I don’t need to hang onto things in this life. As Paul said, we should not consider the things of this life to be comparable with the glory that waits for us in the next.
This has been Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger pastor at Quail Lake Community Church and director of Dayspring Center for Christian Studies. For more information please visit everythoughtcaptive.org.
In their book, The Lost Virtue of Happiness, J.P. Moreland and Klaus Issler make the case in one of their chapters for forming the kind of trust in God that chooses to takes risks with Him. At one point they note that pondering the reality of God’s future and ultimate victory and our eternity with Him encourages faithful living in this world today.
The say, “Because God’s victory is certain, so is our future….Maintaining a future focus is essential for living now.” A healthy and faithful outlook on this life includes an accurate outlook on the next. Because God will welcome his followers into His hands at the end of our lives, the rest of our lives are free to be given to Him in every way possible. I don’t need to hang onto things in this life. As Paul said, we should not consider the things of this life to be comparable with the glory that waits for us in the next.
This has been Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger pastor at Quail Lake Community Church and director of Dayspring Center for Christian Studies. For more information please visit everythoughtcaptive.org.
Rockies and Tolerance
Welcome to Every Thought Captive, I’m Phil Steiger.
USA Today recently ran an article about the Christian influence in the ranks of the Colorado Rockies. As a fan, it was encouraging to hear of the open and honest faith expressed by many of the players and the management. But there was a tone in the article that made it sound like the Rockies needed to be on the defensive because of their beliefs; because they were Christians they were in danger of becoming intolerant and small-minded toward other non-Christian players.
One of the remaining politically correct prejudices in our culture today is directed against Christians and Christianity. It is assumed that followers of Christ are unable to live with other points of view in a pluralistic culture. What seems to be lost, however, is that it was good Christian theology that erected the system of political pluralism and religious tolerance we enjoy today. It is exactly because of Christian virtue that other beliefs enjoy the toleration and respect they do today.
This has been Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger, pastor at Quail Lake Community Church and director of Dayspring Center for Christian Studies. For more information, please visit everythoughtcaptive.org.
USA Today recently ran an article about the Christian influence in the ranks of the Colorado Rockies. As a fan, it was encouraging to hear of the open and honest faith expressed by many of the players and the management. But there was a tone in the article that made it sound like the Rockies needed to be on the defensive because of their beliefs; because they were Christians they were in danger of becoming intolerant and small-minded toward other non-Christian players.
One of the remaining politically correct prejudices in our culture today is directed against Christians and Christianity. It is assumed that followers of Christ are unable to live with other points of view in a pluralistic culture. What seems to be lost, however, is that it was good Christian theology that erected the system of political pluralism and religious tolerance we enjoy today. It is exactly because of Christian virtue that other beliefs enjoy the toleration and respect they do today.
This has been Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger, pastor at Quail Lake Community Church and director of Dayspring Center for Christian Studies. For more information, please visit everythoughtcaptive.org.
Colorado Rockies, Character and Baseball
Welcome to Every Thought Captive, I’m Phil Steiger.
In a recent article in USA Today, the Colorado Rockies were exposed, so to speak, as a team full of Christian players and management. It was encouraging to read of a group of professional athletes and administration who were not only open about their beliefs, but who were also honest about how those beliefs were effecting their professional decisions. For example, the manager, Dan O’Dowd, said, “We go after players of character.”
That is a refreshing piece of Christian thinking in a professional sport world that places little to no emphasis upon the personal integrity of their players. Other players are famous for how infantile they are, for how often they disrupt their teammates, and for the teams that are willing to put up with them just to win championships.
A Christian ethic is willing to put first things first, and even in a world as competitive as professional baseball, it is willing to put the character of the player and the team ahead of other concerns.
This has been Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger, pastor at Quail Lake Community Church and director of Dayspring Center for Christian Studies. For more information, please visit everythoughtcaptive.org.
In a recent article in USA Today, the Colorado Rockies were exposed, so to speak, as a team full of Christian players and management. It was encouraging to read of a group of professional athletes and administration who were not only open about their beliefs, but who were also honest about how those beliefs were effecting their professional decisions. For example, the manager, Dan O’Dowd, said, “We go after players of character.”
That is a refreshing piece of Christian thinking in a professional sport world that places little to no emphasis upon the personal integrity of their players. Other players are famous for how infantile they are, for how often they disrupt their teammates, and for the teams that are willing to put up with them just to win championships.
A Christian ethic is willing to put first things first, and even in a world as competitive as professional baseball, it is willing to put the character of the player and the team ahead of other concerns.
This has been Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger, pastor at Quail Lake Community Church and director of Dayspring Center for Christian Studies. For more information, please visit everythoughtcaptive.org.
Thursday, May 18, 2006
Stem Cells-Darwinism
Welcome to Every Thought Captive, I’m Phil Steiger.
Recently I mentioned a bill up for debate before the Senate that would allow the destruction of 400,000 human embryos for the harvesting of their stem cells. And what we talked about then was the exploitation of an ethic of “the ends justify the means.” There is another important angle at work here-the fact that naturalistic Darwinism has sunk deeply into our culture.
The Darwinistic contribution to innocent and helpless people, as is the case with embryos, is that they lack the value the rest of us have. They quickly become dispensable for the ends of science, politics, and the furtherance of the human species. Without a deep sense of human nature such as we find in Christianity, human embryos become nothing but another variable in the grizzly calculation for survival. A Christian worldview teaches us that each human is of inestimable worth-and that includes each and every embryo. They can’t simply be treated as political or scientific fodder for our future benefit.
This has been Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger, pastor at Quail Lake Community Church and Director for Dayspring Center for Christian Studies. For more information please visit, everythoughtcaptive.org.
Recently I mentioned a bill up for debate before the Senate that would allow the destruction of 400,000 human embryos for the harvesting of their stem cells. And what we talked about then was the exploitation of an ethic of “the ends justify the means.” There is another important angle at work here-the fact that naturalistic Darwinism has sunk deeply into our culture.
The Darwinistic contribution to innocent and helpless people, as is the case with embryos, is that they lack the value the rest of us have. They quickly become dispensable for the ends of science, politics, and the furtherance of the human species. Without a deep sense of human nature such as we find in Christianity, human embryos become nothing but another variable in the grizzly calculation for survival. A Christian worldview teaches us that each human is of inestimable worth-and that includes each and every embryo. They can’t simply be treated as political or scientific fodder for our future benefit.
This has been Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger, pastor at Quail Lake Community Church and Director for Dayspring Center for Christian Studies. For more information please visit, everythoughtcaptive.org.
Jeremiah-Ahikim and Influence
Welcome to Every Thought Captive, I’m Phil Steiger.
At the very end of Jeremiah chapter 26 we read this innocuous verse, “But the hand of Ahikam the son of Shaphan was with Jeremiah so that he was not given over to the people to be put to death.” This comes as the resolution to a court case in which the priests and prophets wanted to kill Jeremiah. The man Ahikam steps in and helps save his life.
This verse would be unexceptional if it were not for the phrase, “son of Shaphan.” It turns out Shaphan was a religious reformer a generation earlier. We also learn later in Jeremiah that two more sons of Shaphan stand up for Jeremiah, save his writing and save his life a second time. This little “throw-away” verse is about influence-the influence of a godly father that literally saves Jeremiah’s life at least twice through the actions of his sons. It causes me to reflect on my influence-will it have those kinds of long term results?
This has been Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger, pastor at Quail Lake Community Church and Director for Dayspring Center for Christian Studies. For more information please visit, everythoughtcaptive.org.
At the very end of Jeremiah chapter 26 we read this innocuous verse, “But the hand of Ahikam the son of Shaphan was with Jeremiah so that he was not given over to the people to be put to death.” This comes as the resolution to a court case in which the priests and prophets wanted to kill Jeremiah. The man Ahikam steps in and helps save his life.
This verse would be unexceptional if it were not for the phrase, “son of Shaphan.” It turns out Shaphan was a religious reformer a generation earlier. We also learn later in Jeremiah that two more sons of Shaphan stand up for Jeremiah, save his writing and save his life a second time. This little “throw-away” verse is about influence-the influence of a godly father that literally saves Jeremiah’s life at least twice through the actions of his sons. It causes me to reflect on my influence-will it have those kinds of long term results?
This has been Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger, pastor at Quail Lake Community Church and Director for Dayspring Center for Christian Studies. For more information please visit, everythoughtcaptive.org.
Stem Cells-Utilitarianism
Welcome to Every Thought Captive, I’m Phil Steiger.
There is a bill before the Senate that if passed would allow the destruction of 400,000 human embryos in order to harvest their stem cells. The medical promise of stem cells from embryos is just that-a promise. No viable treatment has resulted from their use to date, but the scientific community continues to promise great things.
Part of what is being exploited by this bill and its supporters is the idea that we can affect the greatest good for the greatest number if we kill a few embryos and use them for research. A few will die, but at least we have a shot at helping so many.
There is a lot wrong with this mindset, not the least of which is it ignores the virtue or value of our actions. The act of killing an innocent human for possible gain is always wrong. We certainly thought so when we condemned Nazi doctors at Nuremberg, and we should think it is morally wrong now.
This has been Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger, pastor at Quail Lake Community Church and Director for Dayspring Center for Christian Studies. For more information please visit, everythoughtcaptive.org.
There is a bill before the Senate that if passed would allow the destruction of 400,000 human embryos in order to harvest their stem cells. The medical promise of stem cells from embryos is just that-a promise. No viable treatment has resulted from their use to date, but the scientific community continues to promise great things.
Part of what is being exploited by this bill and its supporters is the idea that we can affect the greatest good for the greatest number if we kill a few embryos and use them for research. A few will die, but at least we have a shot at helping so many.
There is a lot wrong with this mindset, not the least of which is it ignores the virtue or value of our actions. The act of killing an innocent human for possible gain is always wrong. We certainly thought so when we condemned Nazi doctors at Nuremberg, and we should think it is morally wrong now.
This has been Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger, pastor at Quail Lake Community Church and Director for Dayspring Center for Christian Studies. For more information please visit, everythoughtcaptive.org.
Peterson-Worship
Welcome to Every Thought Captive, I’m Phil Steiger.
In his book, Run With The Horses, Eugene Peterson says this about worship and life, “Worship defines life. If worship is corrupt, life will be corrupt.” This statement is based on example after example of the life of God’s people in the Old Testament. Every time they allowed corruption into their temple and their places of worship, their lives degraded and moved further away from God.
What is it I worship? Not just on the weekends when I sing songs and take communion, but what are the principles that guide my life? Those are the things I worship, and those are the things that have a place of reverence in my heart and mind. If I value leisure, my time, my work, my family will be all about my leisure. If I worship self or money they will all be about me or my money. If I worship God, everything fits into its proper place, and everything becomes about Him.
This has been Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger, pastor at Quail Lake Community Church and Director for Dayspring Center for Christian Studies. For more information please visit, everythoughtcaptive.org.
In his book, Run With The Horses, Eugene Peterson says this about worship and life, “Worship defines life. If worship is corrupt, life will be corrupt.” This statement is based on example after example of the life of God’s people in the Old Testament. Every time they allowed corruption into their temple and their places of worship, their lives degraded and moved further away from God.
What is it I worship? Not just on the weekends when I sing songs and take communion, but what are the principles that guide my life? Those are the things I worship, and those are the things that have a place of reverence in my heart and mind. If I value leisure, my time, my work, my family will be all about my leisure. If I worship self or money they will all be about me or my money. If I worship God, everything fits into its proper place, and everything becomes about Him.
This has been Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger, pastor at Quail Lake Community Church and Director for Dayspring Center for Christian Studies. For more information please visit, everythoughtcaptive.org.
Oprah and Spiritual Leaders
Welcome to Every Thought Captive, I’m Phil Steiger.
If I asked you for a short list of important spiritual leaders in your life, who would make the grade? According to several recent polls, Oprah would make the top of that list for a lot of people. One author referred to her influence by saying she is “today’s Billy Graham.”
Though Oprah does many wonderful things for people with her wealth and influence, we need to be discerning enough to know that does not qualify anyone as a spiritual leader.
So for the Christian, what does qualify someone as a spiritual leader? First that person needs a deep and enduring relationship with Jesus Christ. It does not count if they just have a fuzzy sense of their own spirituality. And secondly they need to be able to speak into my life in harmony with the words and wisdom of Jesus Christ. What I need is not someone nice who tells me what they think; I need someone wise to lead me to Christ.
This has been Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger, pastor at Quail Lake Community Church and Director for Dayspring Center for Christian Studies. For more information please visit, everythoughtcaptive.org.
If I asked you for a short list of important spiritual leaders in your life, who would make the grade? According to several recent polls, Oprah would make the top of that list for a lot of people. One author referred to her influence by saying she is “today’s Billy Graham.”
Though Oprah does many wonderful things for people with her wealth and influence, we need to be discerning enough to know that does not qualify anyone as a spiritual leader.
So for the Christian, what does qualify someone as a spiritual leader? First that person needs a deep and enduring relationship with Jesus Christ. It does not count if they just have a fuzzy sense of their own spirituality. And secondly they need to be able to speak into my life in harmony with the words and wisdom of Jesus Christ. What I need is not someone nice who tells me what they think; I need someone wise to lead me to Christ.
This has been Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger, pastor at Quail Lake Community Church and Director for Dayspring Center for Christian Studies. For more information please visit, everythoughtcaptive.org.
Tuesday, May 16, 2006
Oprah-Spiritual Guru
Welcome to Every Thought Captive, I’m Phil Steiger.
A recent article in USA Today notes the popularity of Oprah Winfrey as one of our culture’s top spiritual leaders. One writer called her a “hip and materialistic Mother Theresa” and our “symbolic figurehead of spirituality.”
Now, it is true that Oprah has done with her wealth and influence what few do; she has worked to better the lives of a lot of people, many of whom absolutely need her kind of help. But we need to be careful and discerning about who qualifies as a spiritual leader.
As Christians we need to note that Oprah believes there are many paths to God. That means it doesn’t matter which religion you believe to be true-they all get you to God. We also need to note that a spiritual leader needs to be in touch with the truth of the God of the Bible, not just some amorphous form of personal spirituality. We should choose our spiritual leaders through the lens of Scripture, not through popularity polls.
This has been Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger, pastor at Quail Lake Community Church and Director of Dayspring Center for Christian Studies. For more information please visit everythoughtcaptive.org.
A recent article in USA Today notes the popularity of Oprah Winfrey as one of our culture’s top spiritual leaders. One writer called her a “hip and materialistic Mother Theresa” and our “symbolic figurehead of spirituality.”
Now, it is true that Oprah has done with her wealth and influence what few do; she has worked to better the lives of a lot of people, many of whom absolutely need her kind of help. But we need to be careful and discerning about who qualifies as a spiritual leader.
As Christians we need to note that Oprah believes there are many paths to God. That means it doesn’t matter which religion you believe to be true-they all get you to God. We also need to note that a spiritual leader needs to be in touch with the truth of the God of the Bible, not just some amorphous form of personal spirituality. We should choose our spiritual leaders through the lens of Scripture, not through popularity polls.
This has been Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger, pastor at Quail Lake Community Church and Director of Dayspring Center for Christian Studies. For more information please visit everythoughtcaptive.org.
Thursday, May 04, 2006
Cloning
Welcome to Every Thought Captive, I’m Phil Steiger.
When we think of human cloning, it is unfortunate that we hold in our minds images given to us by science fiction of whole bodies of 30-year olds stacked in freezers somewhere. It is an unfortunate image because it leaves us with an almost humorous reaction to the science of cloning and we may fail to take its reality seriously. In fact the science of cloning human embryos is already so far along that most Western nations have adopted legislation regarding it.
For instance, the UN has encouraged all member nations to ban cloning entirely. The Council of Europe has adopted proposals forbidding the cloning of embryos for any reason. And several European nations also forbid this kind of research in no uncertain terms. Currently the US position allows cloning for medical research reasons. In other words, we might be the only Western nation that allows the cloning of human embryos for their destruction. This is not that humorous.
This has been Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger, pastor at Quail Lake Community Church and Director of Dayspring Center for Christian Studies. For more information, please visit everythoughtcaptive.org.
When we think of human cloning, it is unfortunate that we hold in our minds images given to us by science fiction of whole bodies of 30-year olds stacked in freezers somewhere. It is an unfortunate image because it leaves us with an almost humorous reaction to the science of cloning and we may fail to take its reality seriously. In fact the science of cloning human embryos is already so far along that most Western nations have adopted legislation regarding it.
For instance, the UN has encouraged all member nations to ban cloning entirely. The Council of Europe has adopted proposals forbidding the cloning of embryos for any reason. And several European nations also forbid this kind of research in no uncertain terms. Currently the US position allows cloning for medical research reasons. In other words, we might be the only Western nation that allows the cloning of human embryos for their destruction. This is not that humorous.
This has been Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger, pastor at Quail Lake Community Church and Director of Dayspring Center for Christian Studies. For more information, please visit everythoughtcaptive.org.
Sheilaism
Who needs the God of the Bible if I can be the source of my own religion? In a famous study, the sociologist Peter Berger tells the story of Sheila. Sheila is a young woman who describes her faith as ‘Sheilaism’. She says, “I believe in God. I can’t remember the last time I went to church. My faith has carried me a long way. It’s…just my own little voice.” She goes on to tell how Sheilaism is really about being good to yourself and to others and concludes that that is all God really wants.
There is obviously nothing wrong with trying to be nice to yourself and others, but I am not so sure how far Sheila’s little voice is going to get her. Ultimately, we are pretty small and limited creatures. I would much rather be a disciple of someone much bigger and wiser than myself. Who needs their own little voice when we can hear the one that called the universe into being?
There is obviously nothing wrong with trying to be nice to yourself and others, but I am not so sure how far Sheila’s little voice is going to get her. Ultimately, we are pretty small and limited creatures. I would much rather be a disciple of someone much bigger and wiser than myself. Who needs their own little voice when we can hear the one that called the universe into being?
Chesterton-White is a Color
In a great little essay titled, “A Piece of Chalk,” G.K. Chesterton tells of a time as a young man when could not find his white piece of chalk. It dawned on him while reflecting on the episode that white is a color-not the absence of color-and that it is the same with the Christian life. Being a disciple of Christ, being virtuous, is not the absence of character but it is the completion of character. As he says, “Virtue is not the absence of vices or the avoidance of moral dangers, virtue is a vivid and separate thing.” Mercy is not the absence of cruelty, it is the active application of Christ-like wisdom and kindness.
It is unfortunately popular in our culture to view virtue as dull. That is certainly a deep misunderstanding of what it means to be a person of character. The more we develop virtue the more like the Creator of the universe we become. To me that seems far from dull.
It is unfortunately popular in our culture to view virtue as dull. That is certainly a deep misunderstanding of what it means to be a person of character. The more we develop virtue the more like the Creator of the universe we become. To me that seems far from dull.
Jer 26-Knowing Your Bible
What do I need from God to know what He wants from me today? In Jeremiah 26, we read an episode in Jeremiah’s life in which he is on trial for blasphemy, and the prosecution wants death. After the priests present the case against him, the officials stand up in his defense. In order to show that Jeremiah should not be put to death, they cite precedent-they tell the story of Micah the prophet and Hezekiah the king.
I find it fascinating it was the common man-not the priest-who was able to tell a story from Scripture, quote a verse, know what it meant, and apply it to their current situation. At a pivotal moment in Jeremiah’s career, his life was spared because someone from the pews, if you will, knew their Bible. Those officials didn’t need a crack of thunder or an audible voice from God. They knew their Bible well and therefore, they knew what God wanted them to do that day.
I find it fascinating it was the common man-not the priest-who was able to tell a story from Scripture, quote a verse, know what it meant, and apply it to their current situation. At a pivotal moment in Jeremiah’s career, his life was spared because someone from the pews, if you will, knew their Bible. Those officials didn’t need a crack of thunder or an audible voice from God. They knew their Bible well and therefore, they knew what God wanted them to do that day.
Wednesday, May 03, 2006
Making Jesus Look Bad
In his recent book, “Damage Control: How To Stop Making Jesus Look Bad,” Dean Merrill makes the point that though all believers are ambassadors for Christ, there may be no real enforcement mechanism when it comes to claiming Christ. In other words, literally anyone can claim, “I’m a Christian,” and get away with it. This of course leads to a multitude of problems as people who claim to be followers Christ do plenty of un-Christlike things in His name.
This should raise a question we need to ask ourselves from time to time-am I part of that problem or part of the solution? We are all profoundly imperfect, but on the whole, do we make Jesus look good? If I claim to follow Christ, there need to be important ways in which my life is more like His than not. If there are plenty of people out there making Jesus look bad, what can I do to counter that trend?
This should raise a question we need to ask ourselves from time to time-am I part of that problem or part of the solution? We are all profoundly imperfect, but on the whole, do we make Jesus look good? If I claim to follow Christ, there need to be important ways in which my life is more like His than not. If there are plenty of people out there making Jesus look bad, what can I do to counter that trend?
Harvard Evangelicals
Welcome to Every Thought Captive, I’m Phil Steiger.
According to a recent report in the Harvard Crimson, a Harvard campus paper, the number of evangelical students there is on the rise. According to the University President, the number of students who identify themselves as evangelical Christians on the campus has doubled in the last decade. In addition in the last 30 or so years, the number of official chaplains connected with Harvard who identify themselves as evangelical has grown from zero to about half a dozen.
I find this to be an encouraging sign. I know there are those who would say that Christian students don’t belong in a place like Harvard, but it seems to me that the more of them there are thriving on campuses like Harvard, the better chance our culture has at redemption. Places like Harvard are where our future politicians, lawyers, doctors and influential businessmen come from, and the more of them there are who are wholly devoted to Christ, the better we will all be.
This has been Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger pastor at Quail Lake Community Church, and Director of Dayspring Center for Christian Studies. For more information, please visit everythoughtcaptive.org.
According to a recent report in the Harvard Crimson, a Harvard campus paper, the number of evangelical students there is on the rise. According to the University President, the number of students who identify themselves as evangelical Christians on the campus has doubled in the last decade. In addition in the last 30 or so years, the number of official chaplains connected with Harvard who identify themselves as evangelical has grown from zero to about half a dozen.
I find this to be an encouraging sign. I know there are those who would say that Christian students don’t belong in a place like Harvard, but it seems to me that the more of them there are thriving on campuses like Harvard, the better chance our culture has at redemption. Places like Harvard are where our future politicians, lawyers, doctors and influential businessmen come from, and the more of them there are who are wholly devoted to Christ, the better we will all be.
This has been Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger pastor at Quail Lake Community Church, and Director of Dayspring Center for Christian Studies. For more information, please visit everythoughtcaptive.org.
Tuesday, April 25, 2006
Friday, April 21, 2006
The Consequences of Hope
Welcome to Every Thought Captive, I’m Phil Steiger.
Hope is essentially a moral virtue. We hope that the future is better than the past, we hope for better things to come. Hope is a moral fingerprint of God in the hearts of human beings: we have within us the sense that God did not create the world this way, and that there is something better waiting for His children. As Christ-followers, that hope is magnified as we look to Christ.
In 1 John 3, the apostle tells the believers that one day we will see Jesus and be like him. He then adds, “And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.” In other words, because of our hope in Christ, we try now to live like Christ.
Christian hope is not just for that moment of death when we will be like Christ and see him as he is. It is also for here and now: that I have the life of Christ living in me today.
This has been Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger, pastor at Quail Lake Community Church and Director of Dayspring Center for Christian Studies. For more information, please visit everythoughtcaptive.org.
Hope is essentially a moral virtue. We hope that the future is better than the past, we hope for better things to come. Hope is a moral fingerprint of God in the hearts of human beings: we have within us the sense that God did not create the world this way, and that there is something better waiting for His children. As Christ-followers, that hope is magnified as we look to Christ.
In 1 John 3, the apostle tells the believers that one day we will see Jesus and be like him. He then adds, “And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.” In other words, because of our hope in Christ, we try now to live like Christ.
Christian hope is not just for that moment of death when we will be like Christ and see him as he is. It is also for here and now: that I have the life of Christ living in me today.
This has been Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger, pastor at Quail Lake Community Church and Director of Dayspring Center for Christian Studies. For more information, please visit everythoughtcaptive.org.
Thursday, April 20, 2006
Jeremiah 24-God's Grace
Welcome to Every Thought Captive, I’m Phil Steiger.
In the 24th chapter of Jeremiah, we read this good news concerning God’s attitude toward His people: “Like these good figs, so I will regard as good the exiles from Judah, whom I have sent away from this place to the land of the Chaldeans. I will set my eyes on them for good, and I will bring them back to this land. I will build them up, and not tear them down…”
This is good news. God will look upon his people as good and grant them grace. The catch is that up to this point in Jeremiah, these people have not been good, and they have been rebellious against God. So what makes them good in God’s eyes?
Quite simply, God gives grace. These people, like you and me, have done nothing to deserve God’s favor, but they receive it and I receive it because God has decided to give it. Relationship with God begins when He extends love to the unloveable.
This has been Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger, pastor at Quail Lake Community Church and Director of Dayspring Center for Christian Studies. For more information please visit everythoughtcaptive.org.
In the 24th chapter of Jeremiah, we read this good news concerning God’s attitude toward His people: “Like these good figs, so I will regard as good the exiles from Judah, whom I have sent away from this place to the land of the Chaldeans. I will set my eyes on them for good, and I will bring them back to this land. I will build them up, and not tear them down…”
This is good news. God will look upon his people as good and grant them grace. The catch is that up to this point in Jeremiah, these people have not been good, and they have been rebellious against God. So what makes them good in God’s eyes?
Quite simply, God gives grace. These people, like you and me, have done nothing to deserve God’s favor, but they receive it and I receive it because God has decided to give it. Relationship with God begins when He extends love to the unloveable.
This has been Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger, pastor at Quail Lake Community Church and Director of Dayspring Center for Christian Studies. For more information please visit everythoughtcaptive.org.
Da Vinci Code-Gnosticism
Welcome to Every Thought Captive, I’m Phil Steiger.
One of the earliest challengers to Christianity was a religious off-shoot called Gnosticism. While Gnosticism is complicated, one of its core tenants is that Jesus was divine, but was never human-he was spirit but not flesh.
You may not know it, but Gnostic writings are experiencing a resurgence in popularity thanks in large part to the book and movie, The Da Vinci Code. The author, Dan Brown, claims that several accounts of Christ’s life that were suppressed by the church have now been discovered and they paint a very human Jesus who never claimed to be God.
In an unfortunate and ironic twist, in order to argue that Jesus was only a man, The Da Vinci Code relies on Gnostic writings. You see, those writings actually agree that Jesus was divine-what they don’t believe is that Jesus was only a man. Brown might have missed that day in history class.
This has been Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger, pastor at Quail Lake Community Church and Director of Dayspring Center for Christian Studies. For more information please visit everythoughtcaptive.org.
One of the earliest challengers to Christianity was a religious off-shoot called Gnosticism. While Gnosticism is complicated, one of its core tenants is that Jesus was divine, but was never human-he was spirit but not flesh.
You may not know it, but Gnostic writings are experiencing a resurgence in popularity thanks in large part to the book and movie, The Da Vinci Code. The author, Dan Brown, claims that several accounts of Christ’s life that were suppressed by the church have now been discovered and they paint a very human Jesus who never claimed to be God.
In an unfortunate and ironic twist, in order to argue that Jesus was only a man, The Da Vinci Code relies on Gnostic writings. You see, those writings actually agree that Jesus was divine-what they don’t believe is that Jesus was only a man. Brown might have missed that day in history class.
This has been Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger, pastor at Quail Lake Community Church and Director of Dayspring Center for Christian Studies. For more information please visit everythoughtcaptive.org.
Da Vinci Code-Jesus Is God
Welcome to Every Thought Captive, I’m Phil Steiger.
One of the historical revisions pivotal to the plot of Dan Brown’s book The Da Vinci Code is what happened at an early church council in Nicea. In 325 AD the Roman emperor Constantine called together the church leaders of the day to settle a set of serious questions, including whether Jesus was God. The reason the church leaders gathered was because false teachers were spreading the idea that Jesus was not God.
According to Brown’s book, however, the reason Constantine called the council was to manufacture the idea that Jesus was God. Unfortunately, none of the attendees of the council at Nicea agreed. Even the dissenters of the vote that declared Jesus to be very God of very God, agreed that Jesus and the disciples all taught that very thing.
So why is Dan Brown’s version so convincing when it is so clearly incorrect? Good question. But I do know that the New Testament record can and should be trusted-Jesus is God.
This has been Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger, pastor at Quail Lake Community Church and Director of Dayspring Center for Christian Studies. For more information please visit everythoughtcaptive.org.
One of the historical revisions pivotal to the plot of Dan Brown’s book The Da Vinci Code is what happened at an early church council in Nicea. In 325 AD the Roman emperor Constantine called together the church leaders of the day to settle a set of serious questions, including whether Jesus was God. The reason the church leaders gathered was because false teachers were spreading the idea that Jesus was not God.
According to Brown’s book, however, the reason Constantine called the council was to manufacture the idea that Jesus was God. Unfortunately, none of the attendees of the council at Nicea agreed. Even the dissenters of the vote that declared Jesus to be very God of very God, agreed that Jesus and the disciples all taught that very thing.
So why is Dan Brown’s version so convincing when it is so clearly incorrect? Good question. But I do know that the New Testament record can and should be trusted-Jesus is God.
This has been Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger, pastor at Quail Lake Community Church and Director of Dayspring Center for Christian Studies. For more information please visit everythoughtcaptive.org.
Da Vinci Code-Dead Sea Scrolls
Welcome to Every Thought Captive, I’m Phil Steiger.
With the popularity of The Da Vinci Code book and the coming movie, it is not too shocking how seriously many people take the historical claims Dan Brown makes regarding the early church, the Bible and the life of Christ.
I know it is a piece of fiction, but the problem is that many Christians have been thrown off their guard by his claims about the origin of the Bible among other things. What we need to keep in mind as the movie hits the streets is that Dan Brown’s allegations regarding Christianity are some of the most easily exposed frauds in recent history.
To begin with, Brown claims that the Dead Sea Scrolls, which were discovered in the 1940s, revealed hidden secrets about the life of Christ that were suppressed by the early church. The only problem with that one is that the Dead Sea Scrolls say absolutely nothing about the life of Christ.
This has been Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger, pastor at Quail Lake Community Church and Director of Dayspring Center for Christian Studies. For more information please visit everythoughtcaptive.org.
With the popularity of The Da Vinci Code book and the coming movie, it is not too shocking how seriously many people take the historical claims Dan Brown makes regarding the early church, the Bible and the life of Christ.
I know it is a piece of fiction, but the problem is that many Christians have been thrown off their guard by his claims about the origin of the Bible among other things. What we need to keep in mind as the movie hits the streets is that Dan Brown’s allegations regarding Christianity are some of the most easily exposed frauds in recent history.
To begin with, Brown claims that the Dead Sea Scrolls, which were discovered in the 1940s, revealed hidden secrets about the life of Christ that were suppressed by the early church. The only problem with that one is that the Dead Sea Scrolls say absolutely nothing about the life of Christ.
This has been Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger, pastor at Quail Lake Community Church and Director of Dayspring Center for Christian Studies. For more information please visit everythoughtcaptive.org.
Wednesday, April 19, 2006
Gospel of Judas
Welcome to Every Thought Captive, I’m Phil Steiger.
Imagine that after you die your child writes your biography. Then imagine that 300 years after your death, someone else entirely disconnected from your life writes another biography, this time with an agenda in mind. Whose biography would you take to be the most accurate portrayal of your life? The answer seems clear, doesn’t it?
But for some reason, it is not to many people. The recent publishing of the so-called gospel of Judas has stirred controversy over the life and death of Jesus Christ. The primary problem, though, is that it was written about 200 years after Christ’s death by a group of people determined to alter the Christian message.
You see, we have the biographies written by the children, the four Gospels in your New Testament and all of them date to within one generation of Christ’s life. So which are you going to believe-the testimony of eye witnesses or the ramblings of a heretical splinter group?
This has been Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger, pastor of Quail Lake Community Church and Director of Dayspring Center for Christian Studies. For more information, please visit everythoughtcaptive.org.
Imagine that after you die your child writes your biography. Then imagine that 300 years after your death, someone else entirely disconnected from your life writes another biography, this time with an agenda in mind. Whose biography would you take to be the most accurate portrayal of your life? The answer seems clear, doesn’t it?
But for some reason, it is not to many people. The recent publishing of the so-called gospel of Judas has stirred controversy over the life and death of Jesus Christ. The primary problem, though, is that it was written about 200 years after Christ’s death by a group of people determined to alter the Christian message.
You see, we have the biographies written by the children, the four Gospels in your New Testament and all of them date to within one generation of Christ’s life. So which are you going to believe-the testimony of eye witnesses or the ramblings of a heretical splinter group?
This has been Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger, pastor of Quail Lake Community Church and Director of Dayspring Center for Christian Studies. For more information, please visit everythoughtcaptive.org.
Thursday, April 06, 2006
1 John-Spirit as Preserver
Welcome to Every Thought Captive, I’m Phil Steiger.
What is the role of the Holy Spirit supposed to be in the life of the believer? What exactly is it that the Spirit does? These are couple of the questions that the apostle John answers for his readers in his Gospel and Epistles.
I think for many of us the answers are shrouded in mystery, and we are not exactly sure what good answers to those questions would be. John, however, provides a couple of straightforward answers. In his Epistles especially, the Holy Spirit is a preserver of truth and a pointer toward Jesus Christ. Christ himself said in John’s gospel that when the Spirit comes, He will guide us into all truth and teach us the things Christ would have taught us Himself. A primary role of the Spirit is as preserver and pointer, not as a source of new and sensational information.
The Spirit wants to show me Jesus today-will I take the time to let that happen?
This has been Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger, pastor at Quail Lake Community Church and Director of Dayspring Center for Christian Studies. For more information, please visit everythoughtcaptive.org.
What is the role of the Holy Spirit supposed to be in the life of the believer? What exactly is it that the Spirit does? These are couple of the questions that the apostle John answers for his readers in his Gospel and Epistles.
I think for many of us the answers are shrouded in mystery, and we are not exactly sure what good answers to those questions would be. John, however, provides a couple of straightforward answers. In his Epistles especially, the Holy Spirit is a preserver of truth and a pointer toward Jesus Christ. Christ himself said in John’s gospel that when the Spirit comes, He will guide us into all truth and teach us the things Christ would have taught us Himself. A primary role of the Spirit is as preserver and pointer, not as a source of new and sensational information.
The Spirit wants to show me Jesus today-will I take the time to let that happen?
This has been Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger, pastor at Quail Lake Community Church and Director of Dayspring Center for Christian Studies. For more information, please visit everythoughtcaptive.org.
Roe for Men
Welcome to Every Thought Captive, I’m Phil Steiger.
Ideas have a way of sinking into our subconscious in ways we don’t always recognize. Bad ideas do the same, and can have disastrous results. In Michigan there is a law suit filed on behalf of a father who wants the right to choose to abort the child his former girlfriend is carrying.
Living in a culture shaped by Roe v. Wade and the language of “choice,” we have started to believe that the ability to choose is more important than a precious human life. Instead of seeing that unborn baby as something of invaluable worth, the father sees it as a burden and nothing more than a choice he should be allowed to make-even if that choice is death.
Choice is not an unqualified good. There are times when the right thing to do is lay aside any rights we think we have and do the right thing. In this unfortunate case, however, choice may win the day and destroy another human life.
This has been Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger, pastor at Quail Lake Community Church and Director of Dayspring Center for Christian Studies. For more information, please visit everythoughtcaptive.org.
Ideas have a way of sinking into our subconscious in ways we don’t always recognize. Bad ideas do the same, and can have disastrous results. In Michigan there is a law suit filed on behalf of a father who wants the right to choose to abort the child his former girlfriend is carrying.
Living in a culture shaped by Roe v. Wade and the language of “choice,” we have started to believe that the ability to choose is more important than a precious human life. Instead of seeing that unborn baby as something of invaluable worth, the father sees it as a burden and nothing more than a choice he should be allowed to make-even if that choice is death.
Choice is not an unqualified good. There are times when the right thing to do is lay aside any rights we think we have and do the right thing. In this unfortunate case, however, choice may win the day and destroy another human life.
This has been Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger, pastor at Quail Lake Community Church and Director of Dayspring Center for Christian Studies. For more information, please visit everythoughtcaptive.org.
1 John 4-Who Is Jesus?
Welcome to Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger.
As 1 John 4 opens, John encourages his readers to test the spirits and see if they come from God. John’s basic concern is with the tumult being caused by the false prophets and the confusion that resulted in the life of the church. So when John gets to where he is ready to lay out the one guideline he needs the believers to follow, he says that every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ was God in flesh is from God.
For John, there is only one good answer to the question, Who is Jesus? Today, there are many different answers to that question, but for the Church, there can be only one answer.
John goes on to say that any spirit that does not confess Christ in this way is not from God. Any movement, book, individual, etc. that supposes to speak to spiritual matters and yet gets this wrong, simply cannot be and should not be trusted.
This has been Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger, pastor at Quail Lake Community Church and Director of Dayspring Center for Christian Studies. For more information, please visit everythoughtcaptive.org.
As 1 John 4 opens, John encourages his readers to test the spirits and see if they come from God. John’s basic concern is with the tumult being caused by the false prophets and the confusion that resulted in the life of the church. So when John gets to where he is ready to lay out the one guideline he needs the believers to follow, he says that every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ was God in flesh is from God.
For John, there is only one good answer to the question, Who is Jesus? Today, there are many different answers to that question, but for the Church, there can be only one answer.
John goes on to say that any spirit that does not confess Christ in this way is not from God. Any movement, book, individual, etc. that supposes to speak to spiritual matters and yet gets this wrong, simply cannot be and should not be trusted.
This has been Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger, pastor at Quail Lake Community Church and Director of Dayspring Center for Christian Studies. For more information, please visit everythoughtcaptive.org.
Spiritual but not Religious
Welcome to Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger.
The Barna Group recently did a study on the growing trend of people who consider themselves spiritual but not religious. These are folks who consider spirituality to be important to their lives, but do not attend Church. Of all unchurched adults, Barna noted that 62% of them consider themselves Christian, but only 4% of them have a biblical worldview.
What this means is that a great deal of Americans consider their Christianity a private matter, and take themselves to be the final authority on what it means to be a Christian.
This highlights a growing trend in today’s society in which people reject the idea of absolute truth and replace it with the much more comfortable belief that they can make things up as they go along. Unfortunately, that brand of relativism breaks down quickly and only leads people further away from the grace and love of Jesus Christ. May the church learn quickly how to make spiritual people a part of the church again.
This has been Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger, pastor at Quail Lake Community Church and Director of Dayspring Center for Christian Studies. For more information, please visit everythoughtcaptive.org.
The Barna Group recently did a study on the growing trend of people who consider themselves spiritual but not religious. These are folks who consider spirituality to be important to their lives, but do not attend Church. Of all unchurched adults, Barna noted that 62% of them consider themselves Christian, but only 4% of them have a biblical worldview.
What this means is that a great deal of Americans consider their Christianity a private matter, and take themselves to be the final authority on what it means to be a Christian.
This highlights a growing trend in today’s society in which people reject the idea of absolute truth and replace it with the much more comfortable belief that they can make things up as they go along. Unfortunately, that brand of relativism breaks down quickly and only leads people further away from the grace and love of Jesus Christ. May the church learn quickly how to make spiritual people a part of the church again.
This has been Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger, pastor at Quail Lake Community Church and Director of Dayspring Center for Christian Studies. For more information, please visit everythoughtcaptive.org.
Vice and Worldview Consequences
Welcome to Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger.
Recently in San Francisco a large group of teenagers gathered to protest against the corrupting influences of popular culture. That’s right-it was organized by Christian youth leaders and was intended to counter the sin so common in our culture.
Some in civic leadership in San Francisco met the Christian youth with less than open arms. One city official called it a “fascist mega pep-rally.” A city assemblymen said, “they're obnoxious, disgusting, and should get out.” Now, obviously not everyone in San Francisco would agree, but I think it is clear what holding to a worldview that celebrates so much vice will do for a person’s moral sensibilities.
When we reject a Christian view of the world and embrace some form of sin and rebellion, righteousness becomes disgusting to us. The prophet Isaiah said there were those who called good evil and evil good, and Jeremiah tells us there are some who are so adept at evil, they can’t even recognize the good.
This has been Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger, pastor at Quail Lake Community Church and Director of Dayspring Center for Christian Studies. For more information, please visit everythoughtcaptive.org.
Recently in San Francisco a large group of teenagers gathered to protest against the corrupting influences of popular culture. That’s right-it was organized by Christian youth leaders and was intended to counter the sin so common in our culture.
Some in civic leadership in San Francisco met the Christian youth with less than open arms. One city official called it a “fascist mega pep-rally.” A city assemblymen said, “they're obnoxious, disgusting, and should get out.” Now, obviously not everyone in San Francisco would agree, but I think it is clear what holding to a worldview that celebrates so much vice will do for a person’s moral sensibilities.
When we reject a Christian view of the world and embrace some form of sin and rebellion, righteousness becomes disgusting to us. The prophet Isaiah said there were those who called good evil and evil good, and Jeremiah tells us there are some who are so adept at evil, they can’t even recognize the good.
This has been Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger, pastor at Quail Lake Community Church and Director of Dayspring Center for Christian Studies. For more information, please visit everythoughtcaptive.org.
Music and Worldview
Welcome to Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger.
Have you ever heard anyone say, “It’s just music”? Many people are convinced that music is nothing more than a matter of taste, and there is no real way to judge between good and bad music.
Recently two towns in the UK have discovered that playing Classical music over their PA systems either calms down the rowdier element, or convinces them to leave the property altogether. Why is does this happen? I think it is far more than just that some young people find Classical music boring. I would argue that it is because good music discourages bad behavior, and bad music encourages bad behavior.
A lot of what passes for music these days caters to the lowest parts of our humanity. Much of it encourages destructive social behavior and vice in general, and discourages virtue. In the process of worldview formation, music is not an innocent bystander.
This has been Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger, pastor at Quail Lake Community Church and Director of Dayspring Center for Christian Studies. For more information, please visit everythoughtcaptive.org.
Have you ever heard anyone say, “It’s just music”? Many people are convinced that music is nothing more than a matter of taste, and there is no real way to judge between good and bad music.
Recently two towns in the UK have discovered that playing Classical music over their PA systems either calms down the rowdier element, or convinces them to leave the property altogether. Why is does this happen? I think it is far more than just that some young people find Classical music boring. I would argue that it is because good music discourages bad behavior, and bad music encourages bad behavior.
A lot of what passes for music these days caters to the lowest parts of our humanity. Much of it encourages destructive social behavior and vice in general, and discourages virtue. In the process of worldview formation, music is not an innocent bystander.
This has been Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger, pastor at Quail Lake Community Church and Director of Dayspring Center for Christian Studies. For more information, please visit everythoughtcaptive.org.
Thursday, March 23, 2006
Jer 23-Love Without Truth is License
Welcome to Every Thought Captive, I’m Phil Steiger.
It would be easy to teach that God is not bothered by our sinfulness. It would make us all feel better about our lives, and it would help us avoid those nagging feelings of conviction. Jeremiah is often called the weeping prophet in large part because his message was one of repentance to a rebellious nation who refused to repent.
In chapter 23, Jeremiah complains about the false prophets. In verse 17 he says, “They preach their "Everything Will Turn Out Fine' sermon to congregations with no taste for God, Their ‘Nothing Bad Will Ever Happen to You' sermon to people who are set in their own ways.” The false teachers had violated one of the clearest Scriptural injunctions when it comes to presenting doctrine-speak the truth in love. They were attempting to be loving-or at least feel-good-without being truthful. But the result was not love. Love without truth is license, and only moves us further away from a relationship with God.
This has been Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger pastor at Quail Lake Community Church and Director of Dayspring Center for Christian Studies. For more information please visit everythoughtcaptive.org.
It would be easy to teach that God is not bothered by our sinfulness. It would make us all feel better about our lives, and it would help us avoid those nagging feelings of conviction. Jeremiah is often called the weeping prophet in large part because his message was one of repentance to a rebellious nation who refused to repent.
In chapter 23, Jeremiah complains about the false prophets. In verse 17 he says, “They preach their "Everything Will Turn Out Fine' sermon to congregations with no taste for God, Their ‘Nothing Bad Will Ever Happen to You' sermon to people who are set in their own ways.” The false teachers had violated one of the clearest Scriptural injunctions when it comes to presenting doctrine-speak the truth in love. They were attempting to be loving-or at least feel-good-without being truthful. But the result was not love. Love without truth is license, and only moves us further away from a relationship with God.
This has been Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger pastor at Quail Lake Community Church and Director of Dayspring Center for Christian Studies. For more information please visit everythoughtcaptive.org.
Resurrection-Paul's Conversion
Welcome to Every Thought Captive, I’m Phil Steiger.
When lives change for the better, it is usually for good reason. Many of us know stories of those who have had an experience with Christ and their lives have been drastically rearranged. The story of Paul’s conversion in Acts 9 is maybe the best known of those stories.
In it, Paul is on his way to persecute Christians, but ends up becoming one because God dramatically interrupted his life. Paul turns from one of the most zealous enemies of the faith to its most public proponent. What is significant for us in this story during the Easter season is that Paul clearly had an encounter with the resurrected Christ. The voice he heard said, “I am Jesus.” And Paul, being such a well-educated zealot, knew exactly who Jesus was and what had happened to him. Can you imagine how you would react if someone who knew to be dead appeared and called you by name?
Paul’s conversion could only have happened if Jesus really did rise from the dead.
This has been Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger pastor at Quail Lake Community Church and Director of Dayspring Center for Christian Studies. For more information please visit everythoughtcaptive.org.
When lives change for the better, it is usually for good reason. Many of us know stories of those who have had an experience with Christ and their lives have been drastically rearranged. The story of Paul’s conversion in Acts 9 is maybe the best known of those stories.
In it, Paul is on his way to persecute Christians, but ends up becoming one because God dramatically interrupted his life. Paul turns from one of the most zealous enemies of the faith to its most public proponent. What is significant for us in this story during the Easter season is that Paul clearly had an encounter with the resurrected Christ. The voice he heard said, “I am Jesus.” And Paul, being such a well-educated zealot, knew exactly who Jesus was and what had happened to him. Can you imagine how you would react if someone who knew to be dead appeared and called you by name?
Paul’s conversion could only have happened if Jesus really did rise from the dead.
This has been Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger pastor at Quail Lake Community Church and Director of Dayspring Center for Christian Studies. For more information please visit everythoughtcaptive.org.
Resurrection-Miracles Do Happen
Welcome to Every Thought Captive, I’m Phil Steiger.
Have you ever heard someone who doesn’t believe in the resurrection of Christ say something like, “We never see people rising from the dead, so it seems ridiculous that Jesus rose from the dead”? If you have, you have encountered one of the oldest and most-used arguments against the truth of the resurrection.
There is a lot to be said in response, but let us focus in on one detail. Most people who make that argument begin by believing that miracles don’t happen. Then they argue that they never see miracles, therefore, the miracle of the resurrection never occured. This is called reasoning in a circle, and it proves nothing. They first believe miracles don’t happen, then they argue they have never seen a miracle, then they conclude miracles never happened.
In fact, because God exists, miracles can and do occur. One of the most significant and provable of which is the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ.
This has been Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger pastor at Quail Lake Community Church and Director of Dayspring Center for Christian Studies. For more information please visit everythoughtcaptive.org.
Have you ever heard someone who doesn’t believe in the resurrection of Christ say something like, “We never see people rising from the dead, so it seems ridiculous that Jesus rose from the dead”? If you have, you have encountered one of the oldest and most-used arguments against the truth of the resurrection.
There is a lot to be said in response, but let us focus in on one detail. Most people who make that argument begin by believing that miracles don’t happen. Then they argue that they never see miracles, therefore, the miracle of the resurrection never occured. This is called reasoning in a circle, and it proves nothing. They first believe miracles don’t happen, then they argue they have never seen a miracle, then they conclude miracles never happened.
In fact, because God exists, miracles can and do occur. One of the most significant and provable of which is the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ.
This has been Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger pastor at Quail Lake Community Church and Director of Dayspring Center for Christian Studies. For more information please visit everythoughtcaptive.org.
Resurrection-Martyrs
Welcome to Every Thought Captive, I’m Phil Steiger.
Would you die for something you knew to be false? What’s more, would you dedicate every waking hour to promoting a cause you knew was not true? If Christ did not rise from the dead, the answers to these two questions for the disciples would have to be yes.
Martyrs die nearly every day for causes they are convinced are true. Eleven of the twelve disciples did the same. They were all eye-witnesses to the life, death and resurrection of Christ, they spent their lives dedicated to the truth of the resurrection and they all died for preaching the same. There is no doubt that each of the disciples, and Paul as well, were completely convinced that Jesus rose from the grave, and that He gives us all hope of life beyond death.
The first Easter morning changed the world-and it did so by changing the lives of eleven frightened individuals. What effect will Easter have on you this year?
This has been Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger pastor at Quail Lake Community Church and Director of Dayspring Center for Christian Studies. For more information please visit everythoughtcaptive.org.
Would you die for something you knew to be false? What’s more, would you dedicate every waking hour to promoting a cause you knew was not true? If Christ did not rise from the dead, the answers to these two questions for the disciples would have to be yes.
Martyrs die nearly every day for causes they are convinced are true. Eleven of the twelve disciples did the same. They were all eye-witnesses to the life, death and resurrection of Christ, they spent their lives dedicated to the truth of the resurrection and they all died for preaching the same. There is no doubt that each of the disciples, and Paul as well, were completely convinced that Jesus rose from the grave, and that He gives us all hope of life beyond death.
The first Easter morning changed the world-and it did so by changing the lives of eleven frightened individuals. What effect will Easter have on you this year?
This has been Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger pastor at Quail Lake Community Church and Director of Dayspring Center for Christian Studies. For more information please visit everythoughtcaptive.org.
Resurrection-Conspiracy Theory
Welcome to Every Thought Captive, I’m Phil Steiger.
Approaching Easter, it is good to remind ourselves that the resurrection is not just a great story for our faith, it is an event that really took place. One of the interesting ways in which we can tell the tomb was empty has to do with what the enemies of Christ did once the story of His resurrection got out.
In Matthew 28:13, the chief priests told the soldiers who were guarding the tomb to tell a lie-to say that the disciples had come and stolen the body. This is powerful evidence not only because we see Jesus’ enemies beginning a conspiracy theory to cover their tracks, but because they acknowledge that the tomb was empty. Think about it-if those opposed to Christianity heard of an empty tomb, and they knew exactly where the tomb was, wouldn’t they simply produce an occupied tomb? Wouldn’t they just exhume the body and put an end to it all?
They couldn’t do that simply because Jesus had risen from the dead.
This has been Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger pastor at Quail Lake Community Church and Director of Dayspring Center for Christian Studies. For more information please visit everythoughtcaptive.org.
Approaching Easter, it is good to remind ourselves that the resurrection is not just a great story for our faith, it is an event that really took place. One of the interesting ways in which we can tell the tomb was empty has to do with what the enemies of Christ did once the story of His resurrection got out.
In Matthew 28:13, the chief priests told the soldiers who were guarding the tomb to tell a lie-to say that the disciples had come and stolen the body. This is powerful evidence not only because we see Jesus’ enemies beginning a conspiracy theory to cover their tracks, but because they acknowledge that the tomb was empty. Think about it-if those opposed to Christianity heard of an empty tomb, and they knew exactly where the tomb was, wouldn’t they simply produce an occupied tomb? Wouldn’t they just exhume the body and put an end to it all?
They couldn’t do that simply because Jesus had risen from the dead.
This has been Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger pastor at Quail Lake Community Church and Director of Dayspring Center for Christian Studies. For more information please visit everythoughtcaptive.org.
Wednesday, March 22, 2006
Resurrection-The Empty Tomb
Welcome to Every Though Captive, I’m Phil Steiger.
As we approach the Easter season, scores of articles and TV documentaries will inevitably be written and aired which will call into question the reliability of the resurrection account of Jesus Christ. What is exciting for the Christian, however, is that Christ’s resurrection is one of the easiest events in the Gospels to defend.
Take the case for the empty tomb. All the good evidence points to Jesus’ tomb actually being empty. If his body was still in the tomb, the disciples would not have seriously believed in his physical resurrection. And they could not have preached the resurrection in Jerusalem where their enemies could have easily produced Christ’s body and proven them wrong. The disciples took the resurrection seriously, nobody in Jerusalem denied the tomb was empty, and none of Christ’s enemies could produce the body to squelch the early Church. It seems clear-the tomb really was empty.
This has been Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger, pastor at Quail Lake Community Church, and Director of Dayspring Center for Christian Studies. For more information, please visit, everythoughtcaptive.org.
As we approach the Easter season, scores of articles and TV documentaries will inevitably be written and aired which will call into question the reliability of the resurrection account of Jesus Christ. What is exciting for the Christian, however, is that Christ’s resurrection is one of the easiest events in the Gospels to defend.
Take the case for the empty tomb. All the good evidence points to Jesus’ tomb actually being empty. If his body was still in the tomb, the disciples would not have seriously believed in his physical resurrection. And they could not have preached the resurrection in Jerusalem where their enemies could have easily produced Christ’s body and proven them wrong. The disciples took the resurrection seriously, nobody in Jerusalem denied the tomb was empty, and none of Christ’s enemies could produce the body to squelch the early Church. It seems clear-the tomb really was empty.
This has been Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger, pastor at Quail Lake Community Church, and Director of Dayspring Center for Christian Studies. For more information, please visit, everythoughtcaptive.org.
Thursday, March 09, 2006
1 John-From The Beginning
Welcome to Every Thought Captive, I’m Phil Steiger.
In the epistle of 1 John, the apostle wrestles with some pretty thorny issues including the appearance of false teachers who have been twisting and manipulating the Gospel. They have been successful in creating confusion and a rupture in the church, and John’s difficult task is to remind the young believers of their foundation.
At least four times in this short epistle, John reminds his readers of what they learned from him in the beginning. The fix for heretical teaching was to reestablish the foundational teachings of Christ.
New teachers come along every day with novel and slick ideas that draw many away from the truth of the Gospel. What we need to do from time to time is remind ourselves of the very foundations of our faith and make sure our lives are oriented on those and on nothing else.
This has been Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger, pastor of Quail Lake Community Church, and Director of Dayspring Center for Christian Studies. For more information please visit everythoughtcaptive.org.
In the epistle of 1 John, the apostle wrestles with some pretty thorny issues including the appearance of false teachers who have been twisting and manipulating the Gospel. They have been successful in creating confusion and a rupture in the church, and John’s difficult task is to remind the young believers of their foundation.
At least four times in this short epistle, John reminds his readers of what they learned from him in the beginning. The fix for heretical teaching was to reestablish the foundational teachings of Christ.
New teachers come along every day with novel and slick ideas that draw many away from the truth of the Gospel. What we need to do from time to time is remind ourselves of the very foundations of our faith and make sure our lives are oriented on those and on nothing else.
This has been Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger, pastor of Quail Lake Community Church, and Director of Dayspring Center for Christian Studies. For more information please visit everythoughtcaptive.org.
Ruth 4-Bitterness to Restoration
Welcome to Every Thought Captive, I’m Phil Steiger.
It is hard to watch someone we love grow bitter against God. Sometimes circumstances in life cause people to believe that God has become their enemy, and they begin to grow distant from God and fellow believers. In the book of Ruth we observe such a story, but this story of bitterness has a happy ending.
As the book opens, Naomi, Ruth’s mother-in-law, loses her homeland and family to famine. Her response is very human-she believed God despised her. But as the book closes, we find Naomi with a child on her lap letting God be blessed for His kindness to her.
What happened? As the story progresses we discover that the amazing kindness of Ruth and Boaz restored Naomi’s relationship with God. This little book tells me that my kindness and compassion may be the path back to God for someone else.
This has been Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger, pastor of Quail Lake Community Church, and Director of Dayspring Center for Christian Studies. For more information please visit everythoughtcaptive.org.
It is hard to watch someone we love grow bitter against God. Sometimes circumstances in life cause people to believe that God has become their enemy, and they begin to grow distant from God and fellow believers. In the book of Ruth we observe such a story, but this story of bitterness has a happy ending.
As the book opens, Naomi, Ruth’s mother-in-law, loses her homeland and family to famine. Her response is very human-she believed God despised her. But as the book closes, we find Naomi with a child on her lap letting God be blessed for His kindness to her.
What happened? As the story progresses we discover that the amazing kindness of Ruth and Boaz restored Naomi’s relationship with God. This little book tells me that my kindness and compassion may be the path back to God for someone else.
This has been Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger, pastor of Quail Lake Community Church, and Director of Dayspring Center for Christian Studies. For more information please visit everythoughtcaptive.org.
Wednesday, March 08, 2006
Resurrection-The Women
Welcome to Every Thought Captive, I’m Phil Steiger.
The resurrection of Christ from the dead-can we know that it actually happened? First, we should know that it is crucial that it did happen, and second, that we have good reasons to believe that it really did.
One good reason to believe the Gospel record of the resurrection is the pivotal role women play. The fact that women were the first to find the empty tomb is telling for at least two reasons. First, in the culture of the day women were not considered viable legal witnesses-their word could not be trusted. Second, they were second-class citizens in almost every way.
But women were the first to bear witness to the empty tomb. If the story had been fabricated to convince a male-dominated society, do you think women would be written in as the crucial witnesses? Certainly not. The account of the resurrection bears the marks of a true account of real events.
This has been Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger, pastor of Quail Lake Community Church, and Director of Dayspring Center for Christian Studies. For more information please visit everythoughtcaptive.org.
The resurrection of Christ from the dead-can we know that it actually happened? First, we should know that it is crucial that it did happen, and second, that we have good reasons to believe that it really did.
One good reason to believe the Gospel record of the resurrection is the pivotal role women play. The fact that women were the first to find the empty tomb is telling for at least two reasons. First, in the culture of the day women were not considered viable legal witnesses-their word could not be trusted. Second, they were second-class citizens in almost every way.
But women were the first to bear witness to the empty tomb. If the story had been fabricated to convince a male-dominated society, do you think women would be written in as the crucial witnesses? Certainly not. The account of the resurrection bears the marks of a true account of real events.
This has been Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger, pastor of Quail Lake Community Church, and Director of Dayspring Center for Christian Studies. For more information please visit everythoughtcaptive.org.
Resurrection 1
Welcome to Every Thought Captive, I’m Phil Steiger.
Have you ever wondered what doctrines in the Christian faith are absolutely essential? One of those is nearly upon us as we approach the Easter season. At Easter we recognize one of the central truths of the Christian faith-that Christ rose from the dead.
It may seem to some that a physical resurrection is fantastical and should be either ignored or pushed to the shadows if we are to be taken seriously in a modern world. But the apostle Paul saw it differently. According to him, if Christ did not actually rise from the dead, he and the rest of the apostles are all liars and our faith is empty. We cannot, according to Paul, have a serious Christian faith without the resurrection of Christ.
But if Christ did rise from the dead, there is a hope to be found in Him that is absent literally everywhere else-there is the hope of life eternal for each and every one of us.
This has been Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger, pastor of Quail Lake Community Church, and Director of Dayspring Center for Christian Studies. For more information please visit everythoughtcaptive.org.
Have you ever wondered what doctrines in the Christian faith are absolutely essential? One of those is nearly upon us as we approach the Easter season. At Easter we recognize one of the central truths of the Christian faith-that Christ rose from the dead.
It may seem to some that a physical resurrection is fantastical and should be either ignored or pushed to the shadows if we are to be taken seriously in a modern world. But the apostle Paul saw it differently. According to him, if Christ did not actually rise from the dead, he and the rest of the apostles are all liars and our faith is empty. We cannot, according to Paul, have a serious Christian faith without the resurrection of Christ.
But if Christ did rise from the dead, there is a hope to be found in Him that is absent literally everywhere else-there is the hope of life eternal for each and every one of us.
This has been Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger, pastor of Quail Lake Community Church, and Director of Dayspring Center for Christian Studies. For more information please visit everythoughtcaptive.org.
Living the Chtn Worldview-Thinking
Welcome to Every Thought Captive, I’m Phil Steiger.
We live in a world and in a culture in which it is sometimes hard to separate the wheat from the chaff when it comes to worldview issues. As Christians, we should often ask ourselves if activities, movies, music, entertainment, and so many other things are coherent with a Christ-centered life. Even though that is a difficult task sometimes, it is something we are called to do living as Christians in our world.
In 2 Corinthians 10:5, Paul says that we all should “[tear] down barriers erected against the truth of God.” He doesn’t say that just the apostles do that or that just the leaders do that-he says “we.”
God gave us all minds and the ability to think. You don’t need to be a genius to think about the world critically, you just need to be willing. One of the greatest tools you have that can help you live your Christian worldview is your mind-don’t be afraid to think.
This has been Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger, pastor of Quail Lake Community Church, and Director of Dayspring Center for Christian Studies. For more information please visit everythoughtcaptive.org.
We live in a world and in a culture in which it is sometimes hard to separate the wheat from the chaff when it comes to worldview issues. As Christians, we should often ask ourselves if activities, movies, music, entertainment, and so many other things are coherent with a Christ-centered life. Even though that is a difficult task sometimes, it is something we are called to do living as Christians in our world.
In 2 Corinthians 10:5, Paul says that we all should “[tear] down barriers erected against the truth of God.” He doesn’t say that just the apostles do that or that just the leaders do that-he says “we.”
God gave us all minds and the ability to think. You don’t need to be a genius to think about the world critically, you just need to be willing. One of the greatest tools you have that can help you live your Christian worldview is your mind-don’t be afraid to think.
This has been Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger, pastor of Quail Lake Community Church, and Director of Dayspring Center for Christian Studies. For more information please visit everythoughtcaptive.org.
Da Vinci Code 1
Welcome to Every Thought Captive, I’m Phil Steiger.
With the upcoming release of The Da Vinci Code movie, there is sure to be another swarm of attention around the supposed historical claims the book makes about the Church, the development of Christianity, and Christ Himself.
First, as thinking Christians and discriminating readers, we need to remind ourselves that it is a piece of fiction. We could leave it there if it were not for the fact that the author asserts that every detail in his book was rigorously researched and historically true. What that kind of claim seems to do is lead people down a path they seem all too willing to follow.
There are several good books and online articles available that tackle those supposed historical facts and expose them as falsehoods. If you are of two minds about the history and intent of the early Christian church, I encourage you to read some of them
If you want to, enjoy this piece of fiction-but do so with your mind turned on.
This has been Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger, pastor of Quail Lake Community Church, and Director of Dayspring Center for Christian Studies. For more information please visit everythoughtcaptive.org.
With the upcoming release of The Da Vinci Code movie, there is sure to be another swarm of attention around the supposed historical claims the book makes about the Church, the development of Christianity, and Christ Himself.
First, as thinking Christians and discriminating readers, we need to remind ourselves that it is a piece of fiction. We could leave it there if it were not for the fact that the author asserts that every detail in his book was rigorously researched and historically true. What that kind of claim seems to do is lead people down a path they seem all too willing to follow.
There are several good books and online articles available that tackle those supposed historical facts and expose them as falsehoods. If you are of two minds about the history and intent of the early Christian church, I encourage you to read some of them
If you want to, enjoy this piece of fiction-but do so with your mind turned on.
This has been Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger, pastor of Quail Lake Community Church, and Director of Dayspring Center for Christian Studies. For more information please visit everythoughtcaptive.org.
Thursday, February 23, 2006
John 20-Whose Story Will You Believe?
Welcome to Every Thought Captive, I’m Phil Steiger.
How easy is it to believe the story of the resurrection? You may think it is hard for people in the 21st century, but that it must have been easier for the disciples of Christ. In John 20, Mary and two disciples encounter the empty tomb. Now we know why the tomb was empty, and they had been told at least three times why the tomb would be empty. So what did they believe?
Mary told the disciples that the body was stolen. And in verse 8, it says John saw the empty tomb and believed-believed what? That the body was stolen.
Why did Jesus allow them to encounter the empty tomb before they saw him? I think it was to give them a chance to believe his story instead of the comfortable version they did believe at first. As we prepare for Easter, whose story will you believe? The easy, politically correct version of the resurrection, or the version he has been trying to tell us for centuries?
This has been Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger pastor at Quail Lake Community Church, and Director of Dayspring Center for Christian Studies. For more information, please visit everythoughtcaptive.org.
How easy is it to believe the story of the resurrection? You may think it is hard for people in the 21st century, but that it must have been easier for the disciples of Christ. In John 20, Mary and two disciples encounter the empty tomb. Now we know why the tomb was empty, and they had been told at least three times why the tomb would be empty. So what did they believe?
Mary told the disciples that the body was stolen. And in verse 8, it says John saw the empty tomb and believed-believed what? That the body was stolen.
Why did Jesus allow them to encounter the empty tomb before they saw him? I think it was to give them a chance to believe his story instead of the comfortable version they did believe at first. As we prepare for Easter, whose story will you believe? The easy, politically correct version of the resurrection, or the version he has been trying to tell us for centuries?
This has been Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger pastor at Quail Lake Community Church, and Director of Dayspring Center for Christian Studies. For more information, please visit everythoughtcaptive.org.
Wednesday, February 22, 2006
Jeremiah 20-God Is Always Worthy of Praise
Welcome to Every Thought Captive, I’m Phil Steiger.
In Jeremiah chapter 20, we get a glimpse into the heart of a very human prophet. Jeremiah was thrown into prison for proclaiming the word of God, and upon his release expresses his frustration at being persecuted just for doing what God asked him to do. The passage is hard to read in many ways, but there is one small verse in the middle of his speech that we should learn from, “Sing to the Lord, praise the Lord! For he has delivered the life of the needy from the hand of evildoers.”
Jeremiah teaches us that God is always worthy of our praise-even when we don’t feel like he is. In fact, there is a great deal of spiritual growth in praising God when we don’t feel like it. God is always good, and when we say so when we don’t want to, we bend our wills toward reality-toward God himself. We train ourselves to recognize the unchanging nature of God amidst our always changing lives.
This has been Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger, pastor at Quail Lake Community Church, and Director of Dayspring Center for Christian Studies. For more information, please visit everythoughtcaptive.org.
In Jeremiah chapter 20, we get a glimpse into the heart of a very human prophet. Jeremiah was thrown into prison for proclaiming the word of God, and upon his release expresses his frustration at being persecuted just for doing what God asked him to do. The passage is hard to read in many ways, but there is one small verse in the middle of his speech that we should learn from, “Sing to the Lord, praise the Lord! For he has delivered the life of the needy from the hand of evildoers.”
Jeremiah teaches us that God is always worthy of our praise-even when we don’t feel like he is. In fact, there is a great deal of spiritual growth in praising God when we don’t feel like it. God is always good, and when we say so when we don’t want to, we bend our wills toward reality-toward God himself. We train ourselves to recognize the unchanging nature of God amidst our always changing lives.
This has been Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger, pastor at Quail Lake Community Church, and Director of Dayspring Center for Christian Studies. For more information, please visit everythoughtcaptive.org.
Living the Chtn Worldview-Community
Welcome to Every Thought Captive, I’m Phil Steiger.
When we struggle to learn how to live out a Christian worldview, one discipline can be of great help to us, but is often neglected. The community of the Church-the body of Christ-can be an invaluable tool in shaping us into disciples.
In the fellowship of believers we can be sharpened, as the Proverb states, “as iron sharpens iron.” Another believer can help me see things in a way I have not yet considered, or they can help correct a problem with my take on Scripture. Hearing God’s word preached each week is an encouragement to me and can help me see things the way God sees things.
According to Scripture, it is very good when the church dwells together in unity; the early church devoted themselves to teaching and fellowship; we build each other up as we are healthy members of the body; and we should not neglect gathering together.
This has been Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger, pastor at Quail Lake Community Church, and Director of Dayspring Center for Christian Studies. For more information, please visit everythoughtcaptive.org.
When we struggle to learn how to live out a Christian worldview, one discipline can be of great help to us, but is often neglected. The community of the Church-the body of Christ-can be an invaluable tool in shaping us into disciples.
In the fellowship of believers we can be sharpened, as the Proverb states, “as iron sharpens iron.” Another believer can help me see things in a way I have not yet considered, or they can help correct a problem with my take on Scripture. Hearing God’s word preached each week is an encouragement to me and can help me see things the way God sees things.
According to Scripture, it is very good when the church dwells together in unity; the early church devoted themselves to teaching and fellowship; we build each other up as we are healthy members of the body; and we should not neglect gathering together.
This has been Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger, pastor at Quail Lake Community Church, and Director of Dayspring Center for Christian Studies. For more information, please visit everythoughtcaptive.org.
Living the Chtn Worldview-Worship
Welcome to Every Thought Captive, I’m Phil Steiger.
One crucial component to living out a Christian worldview is having a good grasp of who God is, and who we are. When we worship, we have an opportunity to come to grips with God and His place in the universe. Isaiah experienced this in a profound way when he came face to face with God. In chapter 6 of his book, his reaction to the presence of God is twofold. First, he felt utterly overwhelmed-he realized how great and holy God was and how broken he was. And secondly, he asked God to send him into the world as a messenger-he recognized the world’s need for God.
When you worship this weekend, how likely is it that you will truly interact with God? I encourage you to go to church this weekend with your mind set on Christ and set on interacting with Him through song, fellowship, and the Word. It may change the way you live your life on Monday morning.
This has been Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger, pastor at Quail Lake Community Church, and Director of Dayspring Center for Christian Studies. For more information, please visit everythoughtcaptive.org.
One crucial component to living out a Christian worldview is having a good grasp of who God is, and who we are. When we worship, we have an opportunity to come to grips with God and His place in the universe. Isaiah experienced this in a profound way when he came face to face with God. In chapter 6 of his book, his reaction to the presence of God is twofold. First, he felt utterly overwhelmed-he realized how great and holy God was and how broken he was. And secondly, he asked God to send him into the world as a messenger-he recognized the world’s need for God.
When you worship this weekend, how likely is it that you will truly interact with God? I encourage you to go to church this weekend with your mind set on Christ and set on interacting with Him through song, fellowship, and the Word. It may change the way you live your life on Monday morning.
This has been Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger, pastor at Quail Lake Community Church, and Director of Dayspring Center for Christian Studies. For more information, please visit everythoughtcaptive.org.
Living the Chtn Worldview-Know the Bible
Welcome to Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger.
Today I want to begin a short series on answering the question, “how do I live a Christian worldview?” It is one thing to discuss what a Christian worldview is-it is another thing altogether to apply it.
The first step I want to recommend sounds simplistic, but it certainly is not. Know the Bible. According to Barna, 62% of people believe the Bible is accurate in all it teaches. At the same time, 61% believe all good people go to heaven, and 83% of students believe truth is relative. In reality, the Bible does not teach either one of those things. So there are a lot of people who claim to believe what the Bible teaches, but who don’t know what those things are.
If we are to live a Christ-lead life, we need to be instep with God’s clearest revelation to us-His Word. I would encourage you to reengage with Scripture, and don’t be afraid to honestly listen to what it has to say.
This has been Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger, pastor at Quail Lake Community Church, and Director of Dayspring Center for Christian Studies. For more information, please visit everythoughtcaptive.org.
Today I want to begin a short series on answering the question, “how do I live a Christian worldview?” It is one thing to discuss what a Christian worldview is-it is another thing altogether to apply it.
The first step I want to recommend sounds simplistic, but it certainly is not. Know the Bible. According to Barna, 62% of people believe the Bible is accurate in all it teaches. At the same time, 61% believe all good people go to heaven, and 83% of students believe truth is relative. In reality, the Bible does not teach either one of those things. So there are a lot of people who claim to believe what the Bible teaches, but who don’t know what those things are.
If we are to live a Christ-lead life, we need to be instep with God’s clearest revelation to us-His Word. I would encourage you to reengage with Scripture, and don’t be afraid to honestly listen to what it has to say.
This has been Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger, pastor at Quail Lake Community Church, and Director of Dayspring Center for Christian Studies. For more information, please visit everythoughtcaptive.org.
Wednesday, February 15, 2006
60 Minutes and Stem Cells
Welcome to Every Thought Captive, I’m Phil Steiger.
60 Minutes recently ran a report on embryonic stem cell research and the possibilities of medical therapy. One of the scientists quoted in favor of that kind of research said that there are too many people in wheelchairs and sick to not clone and do research on embryos.
This appeal to our sense of pity sounds good on the surface, but as Christians there are other, deeper concerns. It is certainly a good thing to do what we can to help those in need, but are we allowed to pay any price for it? Embryos are humans. Humans should not be destroyed or mutilated for research, no matter how promising the possible results. Therefore, embryos should not be cloned and destroyed for their stem cells.
Worldviews are clashing over the rights and status of embryos. If we are to be the right kind of salt and light, we should learn to think as Christians.
This has been Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger, pastor at Quail Lake Community Church, and Director of Dayspring Center for Christian Studies. For more information please visit everythoughtcaptive.org.
60 Minutes recently ran a report on embryonic stem cell research and the possibilities of medical therapy. One of the scientists quoted in favor of that kind of research said that there are too many people in wheelchairs and sick to not clone and do research on embryos.
This appeal to our sense of pity sounds good on the surface, but as Christians there are other, deeper concerns. It is certainly a good thing to do what we can to help those in need, but are we allowed to pay any price for it? Embryos are humans. Humans should not be destroyed or mutilated for research, no matter how promising the possible results. Therefore, embryos should not be cloned and destroyed for their stem cells.
Worldviews are clashing over the rights and status of embryos. If we are to be the right kind of salt and light, we should learn to think as Christians.
This has been Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger, pastor at Quail Lake Community Church, and Director of Dayspring Center for Christian Studies. For more information please visit everythoughtcaptive.org.
Thursday, February 09, 2006
Spiritual Disciplines-Silence
Welcome to Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger.
The spiritual disciplines are a way of orienting our life so that we can better interact with God on a daily basis. Many of us may pray or read Scripture on a fairly regular basis, but have we applied some effort to developing more habits in our lives that open us up to communication with God?
Take for instance the discipline of silence and solitude. We live in a crowded and noisy world, and that chaos can often drown out the still small voice of God. Without even thinking about it, we often fill the gaps in our time with noise and distraction, when those times would be a great opportunity to stop and listen for God. I know silence is a hard habit to fit into a life that is already full of things to do, but it is the kind of thing that can not only restore a bit of sanity, but can enrich our lives with God.
This has been Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger, pastor at Quail Lake Community Church, and Director of Dayspring Center for Christian Studies. For more information, please visit everythoughtcaptive.org.
The spiritual disciplines are a way of orienting our life so that we can better interact with God on a daily basis. Many of us may pray or read Scripture on a fairly regular basis, but have we applied some effort to developing more habits in our lives that open us up to communication with God?
Take for instance the discipline of silence and solitude. We live in a crowded and noisy world, and that chaos can often drown out the still small voice of God. Without even thinking about it, we often fill the gaps in our time with noise and distraction, when those times would be a great opportunity to stop and listen for God. I know silence is a hard habit to fit into a life that is already full of things to do, but it is the kind of thing that can not only restore a bit of sanity, but can enrich our lives with God.
This has been Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger, pastor at Quail Lake Community Church, and Director of Dayspring Center for Christian Studies. For more information, please visit everythoughtcaptive.org.
1 John 1-I Touched Him
Welcome to Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger.
If I were to ask you to describe a person you have known that has had a great impact on your life, where would you begin? Many of us might describe the first meeting, significant life events involving the person, or a slew of other details. When the apostle John opens his first epistle, he does much of the same thing in describing Christ.
The first four verses of 1 John 1 are full of sensory language. John saw, touched, perceived, and heard Christ, and that was the Christ he wanted to communicate to others. When John describes Christ to his readers he begins with, “I touched him!” To John, Jesus was a real person in real time touching the lives of real people.
Our discipleship should be filled with the kinds of personal experiences that result in the same tangible sense of reality-may we be able to tell others, “I touched him!”
This has been Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger, pastor at Quail Lake Community Church, and Director of Dayspring Center for Christian Studies. For more information, please visit everythoughtcaptive.org.
If I were to ask you to describe a person you have known that has had a great impact on your life, where would you begin? Many of us might describe the first meeting, significant life events involving the person, or a slew of other details. When the apostle John opens his first epistle, he does much of the same thing in describing Christ.
The first four verses of 1 John 1 are full of sensory language. John saw, touched, perceived, and heard Christ, and that was the Christ he wanted to communicate to others. When John describes Christ to his readers he begins with, “I touched him!” To John, Jesus was a real person in real time touching the lives of real people.
Our discipleship should be filled with the kinds of personal experiences that result in the same tangible sense of reality-may we be able to tell others, “I touched him!”
This has been Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger, pastor at Quail Lake Community Church, and Director of Dayspring Center for Christian Studies. For more information, please visit everythoughtcaptive.org.
Wednesday, February 08, 2006
ID 1-Analogy of Design
Welcome to Every Thought Captive, I’m Phil Steiger.
One of the more contentious items in the news recently has been the subject of Intelligent Design. For the uninitiated, Intelligent Design is basically the theory that the universe displays evidence of design-the kind of design that could only be brought about by some sort of intelligence.
While there is a lot of science behind Intelligent Design, there is a basic philosophical point behind it as well. In the normal course of life, when we encounter something that looks like it was made on purpose for a purpose, like a watch or a car, we rightly assume someone made it. And so the argument goes for the existence of God. If the universe looks like it was made on purpose for a purpose, we are justified in thinking it was created by an intelligence, and not by random chance.
This has been Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger, pastor at Quail Lake Community Church, and Director of Dayspring Center for Christian Studies. For more information, please visit everythoughtcaptive.org.
One of the more contentious items in the news recently has been the subject of Intelligent Design. For the uninitiated, Intelligent Design is basically the theory that the universe displays evidence of design-the kind of design that could only be brought about by some sort of intelligence.
While there is a lot of science behind Intelligent Design, there is a basic philosophical point behind it as well. In the normal course of life, when we encounter something that looks like it was made on purpose for a purpose, like a watch or a car, we rightly assume someone made it. And so the argument goes for the existence of God. If the universe looks like it was made on purpose for a purpose, we are justified in thinking it was created by an intelligence, and not by random chance.
This has been Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger, pastor at Quail Lake Community Church, and Director of Dayspring Center for Christian Studies. For more information, please visit everythoughtcaptive.org.
1 Thess 1-Thankfulness
Welcome to Every Thought Captive, I’m Phil Steiger.
In 1 Thess we read a familiar phrase as Paul opens his letter. He remarks that he is always giving thanks for the young believers. I think that from time to time we overlook the power of being thankful.
Paul is talking to a young church, and one that is undergoing pretty severe persecution. Yet they were remaining faithful to Christ, and Paul makes sure to let them know he is thankful for that. Letting someone know how thankful you are for them is a potent form of encouragement.
Being thankful is a practice that makes us more like Christ in some fascinating ways. It takes our eyes off of our selves and puts them on God and on others-it makes us more humble. And expressing that thankfulness is a way of letting Christ love and lift up others through us. Be thankful for someone today-and let them know it.
This has been Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger, pastor at Quail Lake Community Church, and Director of Dayspring Center for Christian Studies. For more information, please visit everythoughtcaptive.org.
In 1 Thess we read a familiar phrase as Paul opens his letter. He remarks that he is always giving thanks for the young believers. I think that from time to time we overlook the power of being thankful.
Paul is talking to a young church, and one that is undergoing pretty severe persecution. Yet they were remaining faithful to Christ, and Paul makes sure to let them know he is thankful for that. Letting someone know how thankful you are for them is a potent form of encouragement.
Being thankful is a practice that makes us more like Christ in some fascinating ways. It takes our eyes off of our selves and puts them on God and on others-it makes us more humble. And expressing that thankfulness is a way of letting Christ love and lift up others through us. Be thankful for someone today-and let them know it.
This has been Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger, pastor at Quail Lake Community Church, and Director of Dayspring Center for Christian Studies. For more information, please visit everythoughtcaptive.org.
Tuesday, February 07, 2006
Bioethics-Name Calling
Welcome to Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger.
One way to win an argument is to label your opponent as something undesirable and then declare yourself the winner by virtue of the fact that you are not undesirable. This happens a lot in our culture, and it is happening right now with the cloning debate. Several European countries have banned cloning and the U.N. has recently done the same. But in the U.S., we have not.
We haven’t banned cloning primarily because of the way the debate is framed. People opposed to cloning are labeled as radically religious pro-life supporters who do not belong in public. In this way, the real issues of human personhood and human rights are obscured by simple name-calling. In engaging our culture on these issues, we cannot be dissuaded by this kind of thing. We must press through to the real issues at hand, and be willing to be labeled as undesirable from time to time.
This has been Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger, pastor at Quail Lake Community Church, and Director for Dayspring Center for Christian Studies. For more information, please visit everythoughtcaptive.org.
One way to win an argument is to label your opponent as something undesirable and then declare yourself the winner by virtue of the fact that you are not undesirable. This happens a lot in our culture, and it is happening right now with the cloning debate. Several European countries have banned cloning and the U.N. has recently done the same. But in the U.S., we have not.
We haven’t banned cloning primarily because of the way the debate is framed. People opposed to cloning are labeled as radically religious pro-life supporters who do not belong in public. In this way, the real issues of human personhood and human rights are obscured by simple name-calling. In engaging our culture on these issues, we cannot be dissuaded by this kind of thing. We must press through to the real issues at hand, and be willing to be labeled as undesirable from time to time.
This has been Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger, pastor at Quail Lake Community Church, and Director for Dayspring Center for Christian Studies. For more information, please visit everythoughtcaptive.org.
Bioethics-Ban on Clones and Hybrids
Welcome to Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger.
In his state of the union address, President Bush proposed a ban on all human cloning and the creation of human animal hybrids. The reaction of some has been to mock such a ban, believing that cloning or hybrids are things of fiction and not reality. They could not be more wrong.
As one example, there is a scientist at Stanford who regularly creates and destroys lab mice with enough human DNA to make their brains similar to human brains.
When it comes to scientific progress, the old adage is true, if it can be done it will be done. Our job as Christians as salt and light is to stand in the way of so-called progress that is unguided by ethical and theological concerns and do some serious thinking for our culture. Bans on such technology are an ethical requirement if we want to avoid moral briar patches before we are stuck in them.
This has been Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger, pastor at Quail Lake Community Church, and Director for Dayspring Center for Christian Studies. For more information, please visit everythoughtcaptive.org.
In his state of the union address, President Bush proposed a ban on all human cloning and the creation of human animal hybrids. The reaction of some has been to mock such a ban, believing that cloning or hybrids are things of fiction and not reality. They could not be more wrong.
As one example, there is a scientist at Stanford who regularly creates and destroys lab mice with enough human DNA to make their brains similar to human brains.
When it comes to scientific progress, the old adage is true, if it can be done it will be done. Our job as Christians as salt and light is to stand in the way of so-called progress that is unguided by ethical and theological concerns and do some serious thinking for our culture. Bans on such technology are an ethical requirement if we want to avoid moral briar patches before we are stuck in them.
This has been Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger, pastor at Quail Lake Community Church, and Director for Dayspring Center for Christian Studies. For more information, please visit everythoughtcaptive.org.
Thursday, January 26, 2006
Chesterton-Hope1
Welcome to Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger.
Hope is a neglected virtue. When is the last time you reflected on hope or took steps to build the virtue of hope in your life? We hear a lot about faith and love, but not much about hope.
As a virtue, it is an interesting character trait in that we need it the most when it seems the most unreasonable to have it. It is easy to be hopeful when all is good and the future is bright, but hope is built into our hearts and minds when times are tough and the future is uncertain. G.K. Chesterton said, “For practical purposes it is at the hopeless moment that we require the hopeful man, and the virtue either does not exist at all, or it begins to exist at that moment. Exactly at the instant hope ceases to be reasonable it begins to be useful.”
This has been Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger pastor at Quail Lake Community Church and Director of Dayspring Center for Christian Studies. For more information, please visit everythoughtcaptive.org.
Hope is a neglected virtue. When is the last time you reflected on hope or took steps to build the virtue of hope in your life? We hear a lot about faith and love, but not much about hope.
As a virtue, it is an interesting character trait in that we need it the most when it seems the most unreasonable to have it. It is easy to be hopeful when all is good and the future is bright, but hope is built into our hearts and minds when times are tough and the future is uncertain. G.K. Chesterton said, “For practical purposes it is at the hopeless moment that we require the hopeful man, and the virtue either does not exist at all, or it begins to exist at that moment. Exactly at the instant hope ceases to be reasonable it begins to be useful.”
This has been Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger pastor at Quail Lake Community Church and Director of Dayspring Center for Christian Studies. For more information, please visit everythoughtcaptive.org.
Wednesday, January 25, 2006
Universanity1-Worldview
Welcome to Every Thought Captive, I’m Phil Steiger.
The idea of a Christian worldview is a hot topic right now, and rightfully so. It is a concept that covers more than just what we believe about the world, but how we behave as a result of what we believe. Unfortunately, as Christians, we often do not put enough time into constructing a biblical worldview, and at times we struggle with our interaction with culture.
Dayspring Center for Christian Studies is sponsoring a weekend conference on Feb 10-11 called Univerasnity to help students develop a deep enough worldview to thrive through their University years. The statistics on students who let their faith grow cold during that time are staggering, and we want to help them develop a deep and lasting faith. You can find details at dayspringcenter.org.
This has been Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger pastor at Quail Lake Community Church and Director for Dayspring Center for Christian Studies. For more information please visit everythoughtcaptive.org.
The idea of a Christian worldview is a hot topic right now, and rightfully so. It is a concept that covers more than just what we believe about the world, but how we behave as a result of what we believe. Unfortunately, as Christians, we often do not put enough time into constructing a biblical worldview, and at times we struggle with our interaction with culture.
Dayspring Center for Christian Studies is sponsoring a weekend conference on Feb 10-11 called Univerasnity to help students develop a deep enough worldview to thrive through their University years. The statistics on students who let their faith grow cold during that time are staggering, and we want to help them develop a deep and lasting faith. You can find details at dayspringcenter.org.
This has been Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger pastor at Quail Lake Community Church and Director for Dayspring Center for Christian Studies. For more information please visit everythoughtcaptive.org.
Evil Religion? Richard Dawkins
Welcome to ETC, I’m Phil Steiger.
Is religion evil? Richard Dawkins thinks so. He is the Professor of the Public Understanding of Science at Oxford University, and recently has gone to some length to argue that religion is evil. His point is that even though Christianity claims to teach morality, nothing but moral evil and ignorance comes from it. As a believer, at least a couple of things could be said.
First, Dawkins makes the mistake of picking bad examples of Christianity to define it. Certainly there have been evils in the history of the Church, but those do not change the moral perfection of Christ, or the potential goodness of believers. Secondly, given Dawkins’ strident naturalism, he is unable to defend a serious distinction between good and evil anyway.
Ironically, he borrows his sense of good and evil from the very religion he claims to debunk.
This has been Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger pastor at Quail Lake Community Church and director of dayspring center for Christian studies. For more information please visit www.everythoughtcaptive.org.
Is religion evil? Richard Dawkins thinks so. He is the Professor of the Public Understanding of Science at Oxford University, and recently has gone to some length to argue that religion is evil. His point is that even though Christianity claims to teach morality, nothing but moral evil and ignorance comes from it. As a believer, at least a couple of things could be said.
First, Dawkins makes the mistake of picking bad examples of Christianity to define it. Certainly there have been evils in the history of the Church, but those do not change the moral perfection of Christ, or the potential goodness of believers. Secondly, given Dawkins’ strident naturalism, he is unable to defend a serious distinction between good and evil anyway.
Ironically, he borrows his sense of good and evil from the very religion he claims to debunk.
This has been Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger pastor at Quail Lake Community Church and director of dayspring center for Christian studies. For more information please visit www.everythoughtcaptive.org.
Tuesday, January 24, 2006
1 Thess 5-Always Praying
Welcome to Every Thought Captive, I’m Phil Steiger.
It is hard to always pray, but that is what Paul asks of us in 1 Thessalonians 5. In fact, in verses 16-18, Paul asks Christians to be joyful always, to pray always, and to give thanks always. It is hard to do those things from time to time, much less all the time. Is there a way to get there?
Maybe the most practical way to do these things is to change the way we see the world and put God at the center of it all. The monk Brother Lawrence once said that he determined to make God the aim of all his thoughts and the end of all his actions. He wanted to do and think nothing that did not end up with and in God. Have we reflected yet today on God’s presence with us?
This has been Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger, pastor at Quail Lake Community Church and Director at Dayspring Center for Christian Studies. For more information, please visit www.everythoughtcaptive.org.
It is hard to always pray, but that is what Paul asks of us in 1 Thessalonians 5. In fact, in verses 16-18, Paul asks Christians to be joyful always, to pray always, and to give thanks always. It is hard to do those things from time to time, much less all the time. Is there a way to get there?
Maybe the most practical way to do these things is to change the way we see the world and put God at the center of it all. The monk Brother Lawrence once said that he determined to make God the aim of all his thoughts and the end of all his actions. He wanted to do and think nothing that did not end up with and in God. Have we reflected yet today on God’s presence with us?
This has been Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger, pastor at Quail Lake Community Church and Director at Dayspring Center for Christian Studies. For more information, please visit www.everythoughtcaptive.org.
Ruth 2-Answer to Prayer
Welcome to Every Thought Captive, I’m Phil Steiger.
How does God answer prayer? Well, in the life of Ruth, we read Naomi's prayer over her that God would help her find a homeland. We also read Boaz's prayer over Ruth that God would repay her for her kindness to his relative Naomi.
Ruth did find a home-it was Naomi’s. And Ruth was repaid for her kindness-when she married Boaz. In both cases, God used Naomi and Boaz to answer their own prayers.
From time to time we fall into a rut when we think God will work something out for the people we pray for by some other means we do not know or see. But as we see with Naomi and Boaz, God will often use us as His way of answering our prayers. Be alert-God may be answering prayer through you and your faithfulness.
This has been Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger, pastor at Quail Lake Community Church and Director at Dayspring Center for Christian Studies. For more information, please visit www.everythoughtcaptive.org.
How does God answer prayer? Well, in the life of Ruth, we read Naomi's prayer over her that God would help her find a homeland. We also read Boaz's prayer over Ruth that God would repay her for her kindness to his relative Naomi.
Ruth did find a home-it was Naomi’s. And Ruth was repaid for her kindness-when she married Boaz. In both cases, God used Naomi and Boaz to answer their own prayers.
From time to time we fall into a rut when we think God will work something out for the people we pray for by some other means we do not know or see. But as we see with Naomi and Boaz, God will often use us as His way of answering our prayers. Be alert-God may be answering prayer through you and your faithfulness.
This has been Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger, pastor at Quail Lake Community Church and Director at Dayspring Center for Christian Studies. For more information, please visit www.everythoughtcaptive.org.
Stem Cells 1
Welcome to Every Thought Captive, I’m Phil Steiger.
One of the more pressing issues facing our culture today is stem cell research. Emotions run high as miracle cures are promised if we are only allowed to have access to embryonic stem cells or even the legal right to clone embryos for their stem cells.
Through all the science, one ethical question needs to be asked, what is the human status of the embryo? If life begins at conception, and I believe it does, an embryo is a human with the same rights as any child or adult. Harvesting stem cells requires that the embryo be destroyed, thus destroying a human life. We do not find that acceptable in any case that involves the killing of an adult for the potential aid of others. And we should not find it acceptable in the case of harvesting stem cells from embryos.
This has been Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger, pastor at Quail Lake Community Church and Director at Dayspring Center for Christian Studies. For more information, please visit www.everythoughtcaptive.org.
One of the more pressing issues facing our culture today is stem cell research. Emotions run high as miracle cures are promised if we are only allowed to have access to embryonic stem cells or even the legal right to clone embryos for their stem cells.
Through all the science, one ethical question needs to be asked, what is the human status of the embryo? If life begins at conception, and I believe it does, an embryo is a human with the same rights as any child or adult. Harvesting stem cells requires that the embryo be destroyed, thus destroying a human life. We do not find that acceptable in any case that involves the killing of an adult for the potential aid of others. And we should not find it acceptable in the case of harvesting stem cells from embryos.
This has been Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger, pastor at Quail Lake Community Church and Director at Dayspring Center for Christian Studies. For more information, please visit www.everythoughtcaptive.org.
Wednesday, January 11, 2006
Worldview 2-Engaging Culture
Welcome to Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger.
The need for worldview education is becoming more and more acute everyday. In their recent book, Smart Faith, J.P. Moreland and Mark Matlock make the case that the more we are able to think through our faith, the better off we will all be. This does not mean we all need to be geniuses, but we all need to learn how to love our God with all our minds.
In doing so, we will not only strengthen and deepen our own faith, but we will have a greater impact on the world as well. A few decades ago, parts of the church withdrew from the rest of culture, and the result is that culture has lost its sense of a Christian perspective. Reengagement will take work, but it is the kind of work to which God has called us all.
This has been Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger, pastor at Quail Lake Community Church, and Director for Dayspring Center for Christian Studies.
For more information, please visit www.everythoughtcaptive.org.
The need for worldview education is becoming more and more acute everyday. In their recent book, Smart Faith, J.P. Moreland and Mark Matlock make the case that the more we are able to think through our faith, the better off we will all be. This does not mean we all need to be geniuses, but we all need to learn how to love our God with all our minds.
In doing so, we will not only strengthen and deepen our own faith, but we will have a greater impact on the world as well. A few decades ago, parts of the church withdrew from the rest of culture, and the result is that culture has lost its sense of a Christian perspective. Reengagement will take work, but it is the kind of work to which God has called us all.
This has been Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger, pastor at Quail Lake Community Church, and Director for Dayspring Center for Christian Studies.
For more information, please visit www.everythoughtcaptive.org.
Ruth 1-God In The Ordinary
Part of the power in the book of Ruth is its unassuming nature. In this book, God works through the ordinary lives of ordinary people. There are no miraculous events-no parting seas, floating axe heads, no thunderous voices from heaven. In fact, if we read the book of Ruth looking for God in the spectacular, we will miss Him altogether.
This feels a lot like my life. In reading through this book, it has been impressed upon me that it is about God’s handiwork, not in spite of the simple pastoral setting, but because of it. Understanding Ruth will help correct something in our lives-we cannot equate the ordinary with the unimportant. Your ordinary life today is a potential avenue for the amazing grace and strength of God.
This has been Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger, pastor at Quail Lake Community Church, and Director of Dayspring Center for Christian Studies.For more information, please visit www.everythoughtcaptive.org.
This feels a lot like my life. In reading through this book, it has been impressed upon me that it is about God’s handiwork, not in spite of the simple pastoral setting, but because of it. Understanding Ruth will help correct something in our lives-we cannot equate the ordinary with the unimportant. Your ordinary life today is a potential avenue for the amazing grace and strength of God.
This has been Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger, pastor at Quail Lake Community Church, and Director of Dayspring Center for Christian Studies.For more information, please visit www.everythoughtcaptive.org.
Monday, January 09, 2006
Lewis-Screwtape and Apathy
It has been said that the greatest threat to the Christian faith in our culture today is not overt persecution, but apathy and slothfulness among Christians. C.S. Lewis highlights this reality in a winsome way with his book, The Screwtape Letters. In it, Lewis takes the point of view of a senior demon advising his nephew on how to separate a man from his church and his faith. More than once, Screwtape’s advice is to allow the man to think he is Christian as he attends church and goes through the motions, while in fact, the man’s true and deep faith has long since grown cold and stale.
From time to time we should reflect on whether we are in that believer’s position. Have we begun to rely on repetition and comfort for our relationship with God, and if so, have we slipped that much further from the depth God wants in our lives?
This has been Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger, pastor at Quail Lake Community Church, and Director of Dayspring Center for Christian Studies.
For more information, please visit www.everythoughtcaptive.org.
From time to time we should reflect on whether we are in that believer’s position. Have we begun to rely on repetition and comfort for our relationship with God, and if so, have we slipped that much further from the depth God wants in our lives?
This has been Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger, pastor at Quail Lake Community Church, and Director of Dayspring Center for Christian Studies.
For more information, please visit www.everythoughtcaptive.org.
Jeremiah 17-Contagious Worship
Our worship as Christians is intended to be contagious. In Jeremiah 17:26-27, God is explaining to His people what their world would be like if they kept the Sabbath and worshiped Him with their whole being. God says:
And people shall come from the cities of Judah and the places around Jerusalem… bringing burnt offerings and sacrifices,… and bringing thank offerings to the house of the LORD.
Part of Judah’s problem at this point in history was their failure to worship God with the rhythm of their daily lives. If they had kept the Sabbath, notice the promised result-the attraction of surrounding nations.
Our worship should be no different. May we be an attraction to the rest of the world through lives dedicated to the worship of God.
This has been Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger, pastor at Quail Lake Community Church, and Director of Dayspring Center for Christian Studies.
For more information, please visit www.everythoughtcaptive.org.
And people shall come from the cities of Judah and the places around Jerusalem… bringing burnt offerings and sacrifices,… and bringing thank offerings to the house of the LORD.
Part of Judah’s problem at this point in history was their failure to worship God with the rhythm of their daily lives. If they had kept the Sabbath, notice the promised result-the attraction of surrounding nations.
Our worship should be no different. May we be an attraction to the rest of the world through lives dedicated to the worship of God.
This has been Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger, pastor at Quail Lake Community Church, and Director of Dayspring Center for Christian Studies.
For more information, please visit www.everythoughtcaptive.org.
Worldview 1-Teenagers and Faith
A recent study by the Barna Group noted that of the teenagers who are currently in evangelical youth groups, 58% of them will not be attending church by the time they are 30. That means that over half of the teenagers in the average youth group today will not think their faith is crucial to their lives within fifteen years.
Why do these kinds of things happen? I think the answer to that question begins with the concept of worldview. Many of us have been socialized into our faith-our faith is based on our social structures. To deepen our faith, we need to learn how to think and interact with the world from the standpoint of a well-developed Christian worldview. That way, when we move on from social structures like youth groups, we have the tools we need to apply the mind and life of Christ.
This has been Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger, pastor at Quail Lake Community Church, and Director of Dayspring Center for Christian Studies.
For more information, please visit www.everythoughtcaptive.org.
Why do these kinds of things happen? I think the answer to that question begins with the concept of worldview. Many of us have been socialized into our faith-our faith is based on our social structures. To deepen our faith, we need to learn how to think and interact with the world from the standpoint of a well-developed Christian worldview. That way, when we move on from social structures like youth groups, we have the tools we need to apply the mind and life of Christ.
This has been Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger, pastor at Quail Lake Community Church, and Director of Dayspring Center for Christian Studies.
For more information, please visit www.everythoughtcaptive.org.
Lewis 1-Abolition of Man
With the recent surge in C.S. Lewis’s popularity, it is good for us to remind ourselves that Lewis was not just a wonderful popular author, but a solid Christian thinker and apologist as well. One of his many enduring works is the short book, The Abolition of Man.
In much of the book, including in his wonderful appendix, Lewis argues that there is an objective moral structure in all humans in all cultures in all times. This is a lesson we sometimes need to remind ourselves of in our relativistic world. God built us in a certain way to work in particular moral fashions. It is simply destructive to believe that anything goes, and that there is no such thing as a moral law to human nature.
This has been Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger, pastor at Quail Lake Community Church, and Director of Dayspring Center for Christian Studies.
For more information, please visit www.everythoughtcaptive.org.
In much of the book, including in his wonderful appendix, Lewis argues that there is an objective moral structure in all humans in all cultures in all times. This is a lesson we sometimes need to remind ourselves of in our relativistic world. God built us in a certain way to work in particular moral fashions. It is simply destructive to believe that anything goes, and that there is no such thing as a moral law to human nature.
This has been Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger, pastor at Quail Lake Community Church, and Director of Dayspring Center for Christian Studies.
For more information, please visit www.everythoughtcaptive.org.
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