Car & Driver, Technology & News Media

In spite of our rapidly advancing and increasingly complex technology, at least one principle has proven correct throughout human history.  We humans, as creators and users of technology, must take the responsibility for how it is used.  This article addresses two crucial elements of our technological society--human stewardship of science and technology, and the importance of accurate media research and reporting.

According to Genesis 1 and 2, God created the universe including planet Earth and its amazingly intricate biosphere.  Then, He created humankind in His image (Genesis 1: 26)—i.e. with personality, rationality, creativity, and all other capabilities necessary to exercise dominion as residents of Earth’s biosphere (Genesis 1: 27).  In Genesis 2: 15, we learn that our dominion is not to be exercised by shear force and disregard for creation.  Rather, as stewards, we are to be caring servants of what rightfully belongs to God.

Our stewardship responsibility includes both wise use of what God has created ex nihilo and wise use of the tools and technology we create from the “resources” of God’s creation.  If technology malfunctions causing harm to an animal, to the biosphere, or to an individual human being, the fault lies with the creator or the operator of the machine—not the machine itself.  Therefore, God judges the quality of our stewardship by the choices we make in how we use the technology; and, how news media research and report on science and technology.

Having laid out these time-honored principles, I invite you to listen to a podcast entitled “Blame Game” which was produced by Malcolm Gladwell.  Gladwell takes visitors to his “Revisionist History” website on a “journey through the overlooked and the misunderstood” events of history.  He believes that, at least for the cases he addresses, “the past deserves a second chance.” 

“Blame Game” which is episode #8 of season 1, contains both a 37-minute podcast and additional video and printed information.  All of these relate to the famous 2009 cases of the “suddenly and uncontrollably accelerating” cars manufactured by Toyota.  This case involving numerous deaths and billions in lawsuits as revisited by Malcolm Gladwell will offer you some surprising analyses and results.  As you listen to the podcast and check out the ancillary resources, please keep the following questions in mind:

1.  Should the blame for the “suddenly and uncontrollably accelerating” cars be aimed at human error(s) within Toyota Motor Corporation or at human error by the drivers of those cars?

2.  What does this “second chance” look at a historical event teach us about human stewardship of technology?  …and, about certain people in the media who claim to be authorities?

Relatively simple technology of car floor mats were suspected.

3.  Considering the relationship between technology, human error, and media research and reporting of the news as I have framed it in this blog article, what lessons can you take home from “Blame Game” that may apply to contemporary issues—e.g. calls to ban some or all firearms, violent computer video games, social media, hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”), and coal mining?

4.  Can you name events in this evening’s news, or perhaps under-reported news, the coverage of which may have major repercussions for the future?

5.  For those who wish to take this controversy and its implications a step further by reading a critique of Gladwell's "Blame Game," you may wish to read an online article published by Safety Research & Strategies, Inc., entitled "Tipping Point."

Thanks for reading (and listening). I would love to read your comments and questions.  Please use the “Comment” box below, or e-mail me at silviusj@gmail.com

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My thanks to our son, Bradley Silvius, who referred me to Revisionist History podcasts.  I dedicate this article to him in hopes that he will receive a double blessing—first, the blessing of knowing that we now share in the enjoyment of Malcolm Gladwell’s podcasts; and second, knowing that his dad can occasionally write a much shorter blog article without taking away from its value (I hope).

Valentines and a Better Love

Valentine’s Day is upon us.  Are you ready?

I believe I am.  My valentine, Abby, will be in Florida with her sister over Valentine’s Day, so I’ve already written and sent a card which will be followed by a special gift to encourage her for the holiday.

But, before you think I must be a great husband, you should know two things.  First, this year will mark the 51^st Valentine’s Day I have celebrated with Abby.  Yet I’ve never been noted for being very creative and generous on Valentine’s Day and other special occasions.  Second, I hope we all realize that even the most thoughtful and generous monetary expressions are only a small part of the ongoing expressions of our love that are so important to our spouses and significant others.  (You can ask Abby how well I do in between holidays.)

Expressions of human love are measured in a “currency” much above dollars and cents.  As an indication of how hard it is to maintain good marriages and keep wedding vows, consider the annual monetary expenditures in the “divorce industry” which is estimated at $28 billion.  Interestingly, according to the National Retail Federation, Americans will spend an estimated $19.6 billion on Valentine’s Day, in 2018.  Thankfully, true love builds an enduring “capital” and stability into relationships.  Love is based on a “currency” that is freely and generously given without thought of return.  This is unconditional love, or (in Greek) agape love.   

The word “love” in English can mean many things. The Greek language at the time of Christ was included at least six words that are now translated “love” in modern English. The three most common are phileo (love between friends), eros (erotic or sensual love), and agape as we have defined it above.  All of these are gifts of God and all are essential elements that sustain God’s gift of marriage.  Of the three, agape love is the foundation upon which the others depend.   

As we approach Valentine’s Day, 1 Corinthians 13 has been challenging me as a husband.  For example, I can possess great stores of knowledge but if I am arrogant (v. 4), easily upset, rude, insisting on my rights, and remembering all the wrongs that my beloved commits against me (v. 5), then I’m not agape loving her.  Furthermore, I can have great faith (v. 2), but if I lose hope and stop believing in the person I love (v. 7), then I’m not showing God’s love.  I can even give all my possessions to feed the poor, and deliver my body to be burned (v. 3), but if I am jealous or distrustful of her; or, if I focus on her bad qualities and consider giving up on the one whom I say that I love, then I am surely not showing God’s unconditional love.

When a man and a woman exchange wedding vows, they enter a special relationship God has ordained from the beginning, one that will not reach its potential unless they both continually rely on the bread of God’s Word and His love poured into their hearts by His Holy Spirit (Romans 5: 5).  One Christian leader has said that in creating marriage, God created a relationship which is clearly beyond man’s ability to achieve unless they both respect and heed His loving authority.  When a man and woman cleave to one another and become one flesh in marriage (Genesis 2: 24), they become one in spirit when each one reaches for God’s love, “the glue” for the marriage.

God’s manual for married lovers on Valentine’s Day and throughout the year continues in 1 John 4 where we learn that our ultimate source of agape love is from God (v. 7).  Indeed, God is love (v. 8) and God shows His love to us in that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him (v. 9).  Therefore, the wellspring of my love for my wife must be replenished continually by my willingness to abide in God’s love through the Spirit and the Word (v. 12, 16).  In turn, when I love my wife, His love is perfected in me (v. 12).

When God’s love is active and being perfected in me (1 John 4: 12), then I can experience another truth from John’s “love manual;” namely, there is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear.

When the faith and love of one spouse falters, does this free the Christ-following spouse to react in kind?  No!  Instead, when trouble comes, the real uniqueness of a Christian marriage ought to show.  When one or more of the loveless works of the flesh we just noted show up from one or both spouses, each spouse can either react in kind or obey the Scripture.  Obedience for the husband means love your wife as Christ loves the church (Eph. 5: 25) and love her …even as himself, and the wife must see to it that she respects her husband (Eph. 5: 33).

Christ’s amazing love for us can overcome the loveless works of the flesh that often doom marriages that once were strong.  Specifically, the power of agape love described in 1 Corinthians 13 can help revive troubled marriages when it along with other fruit of the Spirit begins to open the door to good communication between spouses.    Agape love is patient, kind, self-effacing, gracious, doesn’t insist on one’s rights, forgiving and forgetful, enduring, trusting, and truthful.  These love-related traits can bring calmness where there was tension and strife.

Good communication may also require the more spiritually mature spouse to remain silent, even in the face of hurtful, untrue accusations.  In 1 Peter 3, the inspired writer exhorts husbands to live with your wives in an understanding way, as with someone weaker (v. 7), not returning evil for evil or insult for insult (v. 9), for …even if you should suffer for the sake of righteousness, you are blessed (v. 14).

The wife or husband who expresses patient, enduring, unconditional love toward his or her spouse when greeted with unwarranted, unloving or disrespectful words or even abuse may suffer in silence with seemingly no one to turn to for comfort.  But we do have One to Whom we can cling; namely, Jesus Who died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God (1 Peter 3: 18).

From the beginning of His ministry, Jesus was falsely accused, maligned, and abused.  Referring to reports of the virgin birth of Christ, the unbelieving Jewish leaders scoffed, "We were not born of fornication; we have one Father: God" (John 8: 41).  When Jesus professed to be God, His accusers responded, "You have heard the blasphemy…” And they all condemned Him to be deserving of death. Some began to spit at Him, and to blindfold Him, and to beat Him with their fists… (Mark 14: 64-65).   Then, in perhaps the greatest expression of agape love, Jesus Christ allowed Himself to be nailed to a Roman cross to be a spectacle for the world to see.  Yet, He did not open His mouth other than to defend His deity (Isaiah 53: 7).

He was despised, and we did not care.
Yet it was our weaknesses he carried;
it was our sorrows that weighed him down.
And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God,
a punishment for his own sins!
But he was pierced for our rebellion,
crushed for our sins.
He was beaten so we could be whole.
He was whipped so we could be healed.
                                                               -- Isaiah 53: 3b-5 (NLT)

In the world’s greatest misunderstanding, He Who had no sin, became sin for us (2 Corinthians 5: 21); but, His accusers thought He was only getting His just punishment.  Although we are not sinless as Jesus was, He calls us to show His love through sacrifices, too.  Do I love my wife or a significant other person enough to remain silent when love demands it of me--even when my silence may cause others to find fault in me?

Tomorrow is Valentine’s Day.  Are you prepared to celebrate the wonder of love for those who are precious to you?  I’m ready to show my love for Abby.  She may have a surprise for me, but I know for sure that she’s made preparation to show our love to our family.  But, when the holiday is over, the love that binds us in our relationships will not depend on our material gifts, physical health, intelligence, or feelings.  It will depend on our faith relationship with the risen Christ.  He gave His very life because He loves us so much.  Then, He ascended to heaven so He could send us His Spirit to enable husbands to love their wives as Christ loves the church and gave Himself for her (Ephesians 5: 25); and, to enable wives to respect their husbands out of  the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit which is precious in the sight of God (1 Peter 3: 4).   This Valentine’s Day, may our great love for the “Great Lover” of our souls move us to love our spouses and others after the example of Christ.

"EPILOGUE"
Now, it's Valentine's Day, and I will add these additional words from a writer of a much higher caliber.  There seems to be no other explanation for me finding these this morning  than God directing my hands as I leafed through A. W. Tozer's The Knowledge of the Holy.  He seems to have guided my fingers to Chapter 20, "The Love of God."  As I read this chapter, it was as if God was saying,  "It's not about you, as if you are the source of love, or the source of wisdom on the subject of loving relationships.  Rather, it is about My great love for you, My friend, and how much I desire to have your first love in return.  Here are Tozer's closing words to "The Love of God," offered in a forceful prayer of praise to God:

"Thy love is uncaused and undeserved. Thou art Thyself the reason for the love wherewith we are loved. Help us to believe the intensity, the eternity of the love that has found us. Then love will cast out fear; and our troubled hearts will be at peace, trusting not in what we are but in what Thou has declared Thyself to be. Amen"

Where Are You God? -- “I AM”

Sixty years ago, the era of television arrived in our home.  This magic box introduced us to larger-than-life personalities like Wyatt Earp, Matt Dillon, Walter Cronkite, and Fulton J. Sheen.  I was especially impacted by “Deacon Earp” whose deadly aim wounded the bad guys but didn’t kill them.  If that were not enough, Earp’s choice of beverage was milk.

Our TV antenna was supported on a metal tower anchored to our chimney.  When our TV produced a snowy picture, we knew the problem was in our reception, not the broadcast signal from Cleveland.  The problem usually cleared up when we rotated the antenna in the right direction or adjusted the TV.

Broadcast and receiver must work together, hand-in-glove.  The same is true of communication between our modern TV’s.  Each has an internal receiver that is responsive to an accompanying “remote.”  Therefore, both the TV broadcast station and the remote send out signals to the TV, but unless the TV receiver detects these signals, there will be no response.

The relationship between a broadcast signal and a receiver illustrates the relationship between our Creator God and us as His creatures.  Why is it that some men and women, or boys and girls, have a relationship with God, and seek to please Him according to His Word given in the Bible; whereas, others are not responsive to God?  According to the Scriptures, a person can only have a living, dynamic relationship with their Creator if their spirit is attuned to God’s Spirit.  When we yield our will to God through faith in Christ, God’s Spirit assumes residence in our lives and gives us the ability to respond to the “broadcast signal” from God’s Word or from other people.  Also, through God’s Spirit, we can commune with God though prayer and with others of like faith.

In Genesis (meaning “origin”), the first book of the Bible, we have the account of God’s creation of Adam, and the intimate relationship that God established with Adam:

Then the LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground.  He breathed the breath of life into the man's nostrils, and the man became a living person (NLT). – Genesis 2: 7

The Bible gives no record of the first conversation between God and the human He created according to His own image (Genesis 1: 26).  Instead, we learn that God breathed His very own “breath of life” into Adam’s nostrils.  The man’s first “life breath” through his nostrils was through an inspiration—that is, an entry of air into Adam’s lungs--“God-breathed” air from the very breath of God—“and the man became a living person(Genesis 2: 7).”  Although many generations separate us from our father Adam, we should be in awe of the fact God gives us every breath.  In so doing, God sustains each minute of our very lives. 

Can you imagine? God’s Spirit is as near to you as your next breath.  You and I are unique from all other air-breathing animals.  Only humans as God’s image-bearers received the very life-breath of God when He created them.  Imagine that for awhile.  Indeed, the ability to imagine and perform other kinds of abstract thinking and creativity are all expressions of the fact that we bear God’s image.

Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers considers God’s creative work as recorded in Genesis, Chapter 2 as an expression of His wisdom and love:  Here [God] forms, and builds, and plants, and breathes into His work, and [He] is the companion and friend of the creature He has made. It thus sets before us the love and tenderness of Jehovah, who provides for man a home, fashions for him a wife to be his partner and helpmate, rejoices in…[the] intellect [of man, His image-bearer, and then shows honor and respect to Adam’s intellect by bringing]…the lower world to him to see what he will call them….

Adam was given richly and abundantly all that he would need to live and flourish. On top of that, he was commanded to exercise dominion over creation by caring for creation as a steward of all God created and possessed as Owner.

Because we cannot see God, we wonder at times if He is really REAL. To Adam and Eve, there was no doubt.  Genesis 3: 8 records that Adam and Eve were familiar with the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day.  They evidently enjoyed regular opportunities to “walk with God” in the Garden of Eden.  We have no record of their conversation before Eve was tempted by Satan.  However, I would like to suggest one early conversation that Adam might have had with God (in some language other than English):

ADAM: “God, what is Your Name?”
GOD:  “I AM”
ADAM: “I know you exist, but what is Your Name?”
GOD:   “I AM WHO I AM”
ADAM: “I am Adam.”
GOD:   “Indeed, you are.  And notice, you used a similar action word (a verb), “I am” with your name.  Adam, you live and you exist; but, unlike Me, you need a point of reference.  I AM that reference.   When you say “I am Adam,” it means you exist only because I AM created you.”
ADAM: “Do you mean that ‘I am’ because of You, the ultimate ‘I AM?’”
GOD:   “Yes, it is as you say.  You exist because of Me—only in reference to Me.  But, I AM the God Who is.”  I AM Who I AM without any reference to any other--or to time or space.  My Name is an action word (verb) because I AM eternally “being” and “acting” sustaining My creation from the tiniest atom to the expanse of My heavens; allowing your every breath and beat of your heart; and before a word is on your tongue, I know it.”
ADAM: “My soul is warmed within me as I walk with You.  I am filled with Joy when I commune with You.”
GOD:   “That is as it should be.  I love you, Adam, with an everlasting love.  I AM love, joy, and peace.  These are yours when you walk with Me.  And My Spirit communes with the spirit I formed within you.”
ADAM:   “Bless You, I AM!   Bless You, Lord O my soul, and all that is within me, bless Your Holy Name.”

My soul is inspired by composing this conversation as it might have been had I been walking with God.  But, unlike Adam and Eve, I have never walked with God in the garden in the cool of the day.  What’s more, I am a corrupted son of Adam.

According to Genesis 3, Adam and Eve gave in to the temptation of Satan based on the cunning serpent’s distortion of God’s character.  As a son of Adam, …I was born a sinner--yes, from the moment my mother conceived me (Psalm 51: 5 NLT).  But, I am saved through faith in Christ the Great High Priest Who can “sympathize with our weaknesses” because He has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin.  Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need (Hebrews 4: 15-16).

As a sinner, saved by God’s grace, I can now have fellowship with my Heavenly Father through God’s Holy Spirit whom Jesus promised to send to us just before He was betrayed and crucified.  When His disciples were fearful and confused, Jesus spoke these calming words:

These things I have spoken to you while abiding with you. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.  Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful. – John 14: 25-27

My access to daily fellowship with God’s Holy Spirit is made possible as I read and meditate upon God’s Word, the Scriptures.  Just as God breathed into Adam the breath of Life, so the Scriptures say that All Scripture is inspired (God-breathed) and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work (2 Timothy 3: 16-17).

So, I must ask myself; and ask you as well.  How receptive am I to the broadcast of God’s love and truth through His Holy Spirit to my “signal receiver”—my spirit.  If you have never surrendered to the claims of Christ and asked Him to forgive you and be your Savior, I refer you to Steps to Peace with God which will explain how you can become a Christ-follower.  Without Christ, you are dead in sin and are facing eternal separation from God.  Romans 8: 6-7 states that without making peace with God, you remain hostile toward God [and your mind is not "tuned" to the Spirit of God].  In fact, according to Romans 8: 7-8, you are not even able to do so...  

Maybe you have received Christ but your spirit (your "receiver" or "antenna") needs to be tuned again to the voice of God's Spirit speaking to you through His Word, or friends, or circumstances.  Just as I used to turn our old antenna to get a TV signal, perhaps you need to turn again to Christ for forgiveness and cleansing (1 John 1: 9).  Then, as a Christ-follower, when you open your Bible and read, God’s Spirit will go to work to make your spirit and mind receptive to the Scriptures, and to give you understanding of the truth you are reading.  Then, as you are receptive to that truth, God’s Spirit empowers you to respond to the Scripture for reproof, for correction, [and] for training in righteousness.  

How is your spiritual receiver?  Are you receptive to God’s presence through His Holy Spirit who loves you and wants to commune with you each day along your challenging path of life?  If you have questions or comments, I’d love to hear from you.  Just post a “Comment” below or e-mail me at silviusj@cedarville.edu

Fruitful Careers of Former Colleagues

While enjoying my Saturday morning breakfast that ends with some fruit, I am taking time to reflect on the fruitful service of several of my former colleagues at Cedarville University as reported in the Fall, 2017 issue of Cedarville Magazine.  I am thankful for my colleague and friend, Dr. Pamela Johnson who along with her husband, Cliff, and their faithful friend Dee Morris, have been great encouragers and examples to Abby and I for many years.  Pam and Cliff are also a great testimony of a lovingly compatible marriage that seems to have been, as they say, “made in heaven.”

Both Pamela, and another colleague, Lynn Brock, have made effective use of their gift of administration (1 Corinthians 12: 28).  I was privileged to serve with them on several committees and observed the wise contributions of these valued colleagues.  Lynn, his wife Donna, and their children were our neighbors during our first 8 years at Cedarville.  I owe Lynn many thanks for his administration of the Centennial Library which was a valuable contribution to my teaching and research.  I still use my online access to the library.

As I finish my mango and grapes, I reflect on the fruitful life of Jim Cato and how he, Melody, and family have ministered to our family in meaningful worship through their gift of music.  Jim and Melody came to Cedarville as a young, married couple when Abby and I were in our first few years.  It has been a blessing to see them grow spiritually and become such an integral part of both the campus and local community.  Their ministry has grown over the years to reach beyond Cedarville through HeartSong Teams.  We are praying for the Cato family these days while they are in a new chapter of dependence upon God and the wisdom of doctors to bring healing to Jim.

Of the four colleagues featured in the Cedarville Magazine article, I saved Paul Ware, for last.  Paul has served in various capacities on the Cedarville Grounds Department for 40 years.  His leadership and hard work have brought aesthetic beauty and conservation to the Cedarville University campus.  Meanwhile, he has served as a spiritual mentor to many Cedarville students, including our son Brad, when they work as members of the grounds crew.  Paul was a valuable partner in my teaching and research as relates to the establishment of the Cedarville Prairie Restoration Project which began in 1999 on what was an agricultural field that had become a well field for the supply of ground water for the campus.  Paul and I also cooperated with the aid of student workers in the development of the Cedarville University Arboretum which is supported by a database of all of the major trees on campus.   Finally, Abby and I personally thank Paul and Marilyn for their friendship, and for sharing Paul’s dear father and mother, Richard and Dorothy Ware with us for many years.

Finally, as I reflect on my former colleagues, I realize that these whom I recognize herein are only a few among the many who have been such a blessing to serve with during my 32 years at Cedarville University.  I think of Michael DiCuirci, Professor Emeritus of Music who retired in 2016.  Mike and I, along with Dr. Charles Dolph, Professor of Psychology, were in the same “freshman class” of faculty that arrived in 1979.   Both musical Mike and still-teaching, counseling, and conservation-minded Chuck are good stewards of their gifts and abilities, and I hope their best days on Earth are still ahead.

I also think of Dr. Don Bauman who was chair of the Science & Math Department when I was hired, and who served humbly and faithfully along with Dr. Larry Helmick, Professor of Chemistry during the entire time of my tenure at Cedarville.  Both of these man have recently retired as well.  Don’s successor as chair was Dr. Dan Wetzel who served in an exemplary way as our chair before becoming dean of Engineering, Nursing, and Sciences.  Dan had just called me two nights ago and related how blessed he is to still have reasonably good health and the ability to enjoy his family.  Of course, Dan’s successor as chair was Dr. Dennis Flentge, Senior Professor of Chemistry, for whom I also thank God.  Dennis came to Cedarville soon after I did and has been a faithful faculty member, administrator, and friend all these years.

As you can see, I am not at a loss for memory of many fine colleagues.  But I must stop now.   I finished my breakfast fruit hours ago, and I am nearly finished with what I wanted to write.  My thanks and prayers go out to those I have mentioned and to the many others with whom I’ve been blessed to serve. 

Meanwhile, each year, Cedarville is blessed with a new “crop” of “freshman faculty” who bring quality teaching, mentoring, and research to another generation of students.  For those of us who have moved on or will soon move on to another chapter of life after Cedarville (AC?), may we continue to be faithful to God’s calling which doesn’t stop at “retirement.”  I have appreciated the perspective of my former colleague and friend, Dr. Allen Monroe, Professor Emeritus of Social Science.  Known affectionately as “Uncle Al.”  When he “retired” from Cedarville, Dr. Monroe saw his many years as professor as being preparatory for what God had really called him to do in the next chapter of his life.  Indeed, following his “retirement” from Cedarville, he was able to make over 40 trips overseas to teach young pastors.  May each of us pray according to the prayer of the Apostle Paul, that God’s Spirit will empower us to continue to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God… (Colossians 1: 10).

*     *     * 

I dedicate this article to Dr. and Mrs. Paul Dixon.  Paul Dixon’s passion for God and for Cedarville University had a major impact on my profession in biology and profession of my faith in God.  Paul’s leadership and approach toward Christian higher education provided an environment in which I could personally become more spiritually disciplined and effective in the integration of science and faith in my teaching.  It was also my privilege to serve on the Cedarville faculty with Pat Dixon, Professor of English.  In addition to her faithful role beside President Dixon, Pat was to the inside of campus buildings through her influence upon their décor what Paul Ware was to the landscape around the buildings.  (I would imagine the paths of the two frequently crossed in a complementary fashion.)  Thank you, Paul and Pat, and may God bless and keep you.

Hope for a Grieving Community

On this cold winter night, as northeast Ohio endures its latest wintery blast, many homes in Perry Township, Ohio are reeling from another kind of icy stab.  Yesterday’s news reported that a sixth student in Perry Local School District has committed suicide since the beginning of this school year!

Meanwhile, the Perry Local School administration has been taking this “epidemic” seriously by making what they consider a valiant effort to provide counseling and other means of support to grieving students and faculty.  The school district had already begun suicide-awareness training and counseling sessions last autumn after the first suicide occurred.  However, this week’s report of a sixth suicide must have many in the district wondering what they should do next.

Superintendant Scott Beatty who was born and raised in nearby Massillon, spoke to Fox 8 TV saying, “I think it goes around one word:  Hope.  I would tell our kids there is hope, there is hope.”

I cannot imagine how I would react to this news if I were a parent of the latest victim; or, if I were any parent, teacher, or administrator of this Stark County, Ohio school district.  But as a resident of nearby Wayne County, my own reaction is one of grief and concern for those affected by these deaths.  How tragic that six students who had walked the “halls of learning” in Perry Local Schools had reached the point at which they could find no reason to live another day.  At the same time, while I commend superintendent Beatty for offering “Hope” to his students, I am curious as to what he believes is the object of this Hope.  In my experience, hope without a reliable object or basis for possessing it, is unfounded, unreliable, and unsatisfying.

Thankfully, Perry Township residents are beginning to realize that, with suicides continuing to occur, something more is needed than simply encouraging students and parents to call suicide awareness counselors, helpful as that might be.  A phone call this morning to two friends in North Canton, Ohio provided both disturbing and encouraging news.

What my Google search revealed--key words: Perry, God, religion, church

First, the disturbing news:  Officials related to Perry Local Schools have reportedly refused to allow people of faith to come onto school grounds to offer spiritual counseling.  Many readers will not be surprised.  As we have often lamented, America has removed God from her public schools; so, what should we expect?  But in truth, the erosion of strong spiritual leadership in America’s families began long before God’s disinvitation from public schools.  Deterioration of the family unit has coincided with a neglect of the spiritual disciplines of Bible reading, study, and prayer in our homes, the weakening of commitment to the marriage bond, less regular worship and service in a local church, and weakening commitment to exemplary moral living and service to the local community and beyond.

The Bible has been clear in its call for the moral and spiritual disciplines for thousands of years.
Proverbs 29: 18 states: 
Where there is no vision, the people are unrestrained,
But happy is he who keeps the law.
Hosea 4: 6 claims:
My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge:
because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee…
seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God,
I will also forget thy children. 

It is not enough to offer Hope. The Scriptures make clear that there is no hope unless we turn to our Creator and submit to His plan for living.   In his letter to the Romans, the Apostle Paul professes that he is not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ because it is the power of God for salvation to all who believe….(Romans 1:16).  But sadly, Paul continues, explaining how humans throughout the ages have rejected the truth of God, exchanging it for a lie, and suppressing the truth.  Professing to be wise, they became fools (Romans 1: 22).

My previous article in Oikonomia, entitled Resolutions for 2018: Pursuing God --On Purpose, emphasizes the fundamental need of every person to know their purpose for living.  Our schools may do well in teaching the three-R’s along with computers, science, and technology.  But our students are facing many additional challenges outside the classroom, such as learning who they are as developing individuals and finding social acceptance and meaningful relationships.  All the while, individual development in mind, body, and spirit, and self-awareness are challenged by social media, poor family structure, access to drugs, and an ongoing deterioration of morality in our culture—an unbiblical morality that no longer regards the ancient foundations supporting biblical marriage and gender distinctions.  

Good suggestions are meaningless without a moral foundation.

Public school science and social studies undermine student moral and social development when they deny that Judeo-Christian principles have any place in these disciplines.  Instead, students are indoctrinated into atheistic, naturalistic evolution which purports to explain human origins by time and chance movements of molecules, and therefore, offers students a view of reality that is without morality and purpose.

But there is also good news for the Perry community.  A network of people of faith has been forming to assist students and parents who are willing to meet with them.  Rocky Perkson, one of my North Canton friend's former students, has announced on his Facebook page a “Community Come Together” meeting on Monday, January 15, 2018 at 5:00 pm at
Canton Baptist Temple
515 Whipple Ave NW
Canton OH 44708
Enter through Door G please. Opposite side of Whipple Ave
The FREE event is open to all and the speaker is Christopher Milo.

While it is true according to Proverbs 29: 18 that Where there is no vision, the people perish, it is also true that happy is he that keeps the law.  The psalmist David, in Psalm 19: 7-11, expands upon the “happiness” of the law-keeper who turns to God’s Word to find wisdom, joy, forgiveness, and warning:

The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple. The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes. The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. Moreover by them is thy servant warned: and in keeping of them there is great reward.

What the young people and families of northeast Ohio and our nation as a whole need is more exposure to Christ-followers—people who have found Hope in the Eternal God and have responded in faith to the call of His Son Jesus.  Jesus laid down the path of a true Christian with these words:

If anyone would come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow  me.  For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it.  – Luke 9: 23-24

God so loved the world of His creation that He sent His Son to give us the gift of everlasting life (John 3: 16). Christ came to replace our fear and despair with Love and Hope.  But surprisingly, this faith transaction requires a “death”—death to self and sin as we are individually buried with Christ so we can rise to new life in which God’s loving Spirit enables us to yield control of our lives to Jesus Christ.  This “death” to self and resurrection to New Life is symbolized by believer’s baptism.

If you are a Christ-follower, a true Christian by faith in the atoning work of Christ on the cross, and His death and resurrection, you may want to become more knowledgeable of teen and even pre-teen suicide in your community and efforts to prevent it.   For example, you may want to locate a church or community ministry that provides support and spiritual teaching and encouragement for adolescents.  Many communities have so-called “Breakout” programs for adolescents to attend during or after school hours.  Why not Google “Breakout” to find the nearest program in your area?

If you are not a Christ-follower, perhaps you would like to learn more about the Eternal Life of Hope that Christ offers freely in response to your faith in Him.  Check out the website for "Steps to Peace with God” which outlines how you can believe and respond to God’s love, how your sin separates  you from God, what Jesus has done to address your separation, and what you can do by faith to receive God’s righteousness (right standing with a Holy God).  If you have additional questions or comments, I’d love to hear from you.  Just post a “Comment” below or e-mail me at silviusj@cedarville.edu

Resolutions for 2018: Pursuing God --On Purpose

The New Year 2018 has seen the launching of many New Year’s resolutions.  But many well intended resolutions are already falling like leaky balloons.  A sense of failure is enough to keep many of us from ever trying again.   Maybe you can relate to this from your experience.

I’ve been there myself.  But, on this New Year, I’m thinking less about making resolutions and more about my life purpose.   A resolution may express a good intention or aim.  But it seems to me that my resolutions, good intentions, and aims must be based upon my sense of purpose.  I must first define and become committed to my purpose based on what I really value in life.  Then, my resolutions will be "on purpose" and I will become more resolute in my commitment to keep them.

My most recent focus on purpose began on January 1 while I was watching the film, Hugo, with our granddaughter, Della Rose.  This movie, directed by Martin Scorsese, features an orphan named Hugo Cabret who maintains the clocks in a 1931 Paris train station.  The colorful and creatively filmed movie tells the story of Hugo and his friend, Isabelle, who team up to solve the mystery of an automaton.  While attempting to learn more about Hugo’s deceased father, they also discover a mysterious filmmaker who had years before become so discouraged that he stopped applying his great gifts of magic and movie-making.  Hugo’s hideaway in the walls of the train station surrounds him with machines and their gears, springs, and pendulums.  Even the station inspector who seeks to capture Hugo must use a mechanical leg brace to walk.

As Della Rose and I watched Hugo, I began to see an interesting tension emerge—a tension between two contrasting worldviews.  On the one hand, Scorsese could have used his portrayal of early 20^th century machines to underscore a naturalistic philosophy.  Naturalism views the world as if it were a giant machine with interacting parts, all functioning according to laws of physics and chemistry.  Human beings in this world are simply another kind of machine operating predictably according to these same laws.  Accordingly, our behavior is determined by interactions of this evolved anatomical, physiological, and molecular machine we call the human body.  Naturalistic evolution claims that humans and all forms of life were “created” by time and chance collisions of atoms and molecules.  According to the naturalistic worldview, there can be no free will or purpose.

But while Scorsese’s movie has busy machines, unwanted orphans, and an old man who had given up on his purpose for living, it deliberately avoids presenting a purposeless view of life.  Just as the movie appears headed toward endorsing naturalism, a beautiful dialog between Hugo and Isabelle reveals their individual need to know their respective purposes for living.  Let’s pick up the dialog as Hugo tells Isabella about the kindness of a librarian named Monsieur Labisse who has just given him a book to keep.  Isabella replies,

ISABELLE:  He’s always doing that—“sending books to a good home.”  That’s what he calls it.
HUGO [reflecting on what Isabelle has just said]:   He’s got real [pausing again]…purpose.
ISABELLE:  What do you mean? 
HUGO:  Everything has a purpose—even machines.  Clocks tell the time, trains take you places.  They do what they’re meant to do.
ISABELLE:  Like Monsieur Labisse.
HUGO:   [pausing thoughtfully] Maybe that’s why broken machines make me so sad.  They can’t do what they’re meant to do.  Maybe it’s the same with people.  If you lose your purpose, it’s like you’re broken.
ISABELLE:  Is that your purpose, fixing things?
HUGO:  I don’t know.   It’s what my father did.
ISABELLE:  I wonder what my purpose is.
HUGO:  I don’t know.
ISABELLE:   Maybe if I’d known my parents, I would know.

Upon hearing Isabelle’s sad reflection, Hugo pauses to think.  Then he invites her to follow him into the clock tower to look across the grand lighted city of Paris at night through the face of the clock.  After gazing for awhile in silence, Hugo speaks:

Right after my father died, I would come up here a lot. I'd imagine the whole world was one big machine. Machines never come with any extra parts, you know. They always come with the exact amount they need. So I figured if the entire world was one big machine... I couldn't be an extra part. I had to be here for some reason.    And that means you have to be here for some reason, too.

Hugo, Isabella, and automaton

Here, in a tender, thoughtful dialog between two orphans we learn that, while humans are machine-like, they are much more than machines.   Granted, both humans and machines are intelligently designed—“for a purpose.”  But each human being is much more.  Each person is marvelously formed in a mother’s womb and born into a parental relationship.  Seemingly engrained within the DNA and expressed in the soul of everyone is the need to discover and pursue purpose in life.  Isabella wonders if she would already know her purpose if she had known her parents.

After Della Rose and I had finished listening to Isabella’s sobering words, I stopped the movie and replayed the dialog.  Then, I asked,
“Della, can you understand how much Hugo and Isabella wanted to know their purpose for living?”  
She nodded, and I followed with,
“Do you think you will learn what your purpose is as you grow older?” 
She thought awhile and then shared some things she likes to do now as if she already understood how she might learn her purpose from experiences she has enjoyed. 
I continued,
“When you were a little baby, your home and your family was your whole world.  Then, you began to make friends in church, and then in pre-school and kindergarten.  As you continue to grow, learn to love God more, He will help you understand your purpose in life.  For now, God wants you to love Him, obey His commandment to Honor your father and your mother (Exodus 20: 12), and obey your teachers so that you can learn from them.

I thanked God for the opportunity to have this special conversation with our granddaughter.  Then, I realized that she and I had introduced the most important element in any pursuit of meaning and purpose in life—the life and teachings of our Creator.  Martin Scorsese had infused the otherwise cold, purposeless, machine-world of naturalistic philosophy with the warmth and human kindness of a librarian who had given a book to an orphan boy.  Then, God had used the movie to inspire a grandpa and his granddaughter to consider how their Creator is helping them learn who they are and what their purpose is as part of His plan for their lives—through parents, family, church, teachers, and community.

As Della Rose and I watched the rest of Hugo, we saw how two orphans in search of purpose found joy in helping a discouraged film-maker rediscover meaning and purpose.  As I now reflect on our New Year’s Day “movie experience,” I realize that God is our wonderful Counselor and Friend regardless of age.  For both a pre-adolescent girl and her retired grandfather, a sense of purpose in life is important—God desires to be a guide to both the young and old.  If this notion is true, then it is also true that we must subject our search of purpose in life to a much grander pursuit—an all-out pursuit of an intimate relationship with God. 

What does it mean to have an “all-out pursuit of God?”  The daily devotional book, My Utmost for His Highest offers words of wisdom and inspiration from its author, Oswald Chambers.  For January 1, Chambers refers to the Apostle Paul’s writing in Philippians 1: 20 and exclaims:

“My determination is to be my utmost for His Highest.” To get there is a question of will, not of debate nor of reasoning, but a surrender of will, an absolute and irrevocable surrender on that point.  Shut out every other consideration and keep yourself before God for this one thing only — “My Utmost for His Highest.”  I am determined to be absolutely and entirely for Him and for Him alone.

In today’s world, it seems that relatively few people make the pursuit of God their primary purpose. Instead, we seek meaning and purpose in human philosophy, material possessions, prestige, and power.  But, the prophet Jeremiah challenges us,

Thus says the LORD, "Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, and let not the mighty man boast of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches; but let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the LORD who exercises lovingkindness, justice and righteousness on earth; for I delight in these things…" – Jeremiah 9: 23-24

This God, Who wants us to understand and know Him in an intimate way, came seeking us when the Word [Jesus Christ] became flesh and dwelt among us and we saw His glory (John 1: 14).  By reading the Gospel accounts, we can “see” the love of God poured out through the life, ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  Jesus modeled a life marked by an “all-out pursuit of God”—a life that is rich in meaning and purpose.  John 17: 3 records Jesus praying to His Father in Heaven, stating the essence of Life:  This is Eternal Life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. 

Here, we have literally the essence and meaning of life spoken by our Creator, Jesus Christ. The commentator in The Reformation Study Bible (Reformation Trust Publ. 2015) expands upon this truth:

The meaning of our lives is at stake.  Our dignity is on the line. If human beings are considered alone, apart from relationship to God, then they remain alone and insignificant.  Our origin and our destiny are tied to God.  The only ultimate meaning we can have must be theological.

All our vows and resolutions end in denial because we have no power to carry them out. When we have come to the end of ourselves, not in imagination but really, we are able to receive the Holy Spirit. “Receive ye the Holy Ghost” — the idea is that of invasion. prayer of Jesus recorded in John 17: 3-4, we can see how closely Jesus’ ties His definition of “Eternal Life” to His sense of purpose in coming to Earth as Savior of mankind:

This is Eternal Life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.  I glorified You on the earth, having accomplished the work which You have given Me to do.

All---Of course, Jesus continually realized that He could do nothing on His own initiative (John 8: 28).  Oswald Chambers reminds us that we must follow the example of Jesus in our dependence upon God for meaning and purpose:

All our vows and resolutions end in denial because we have no power to carry them out.,  When we have come to the end of ourselves, not in imagination but in reality, we are able to receive the Holy Spirit.  "Receive ye the Holy Ghost" -- the idea is that of invasion.  

Maybe you are still holding forth and determined to keep your New Year’s resolution.  More power to you.  As for me, I am learning that it helps if my resolutions are first grounded upon a clear sense of purpose in my life.  And my effort to be “on purpose” is helped as I pursue the joy of the gift of Eternal Life—walking and working daily in the power of God’s Holy Spirit living in me, fed by the “bread” of His Word. 

America’s Open Season: Spiritual Awakening?

During the past few months, America has been engaged in what appears to be an “open season” of accusations and confessions of past indiscretions.  On a national and historic level, men like Robert E. Lee and Thomas Jefferson have been criticized for their racism and bigotry.  Angry reactions have led to the toppling of time-honored statues that have honored these and other American leaders.  

"Search ME O God...see if there be any wicked way in ME."

On the Hollywood scene, disclosure of the sexual improprieties associated with Harvey Weinstein, Kevin Spacey, and others has exposed a whole culture of immorality with a long history that is strewn with ruined lives.  Then, in recent days, the “open season” has spread to Washington where names Roy Moore, Al Franken, and Bill Clinton are making the news.   It is clear that, not unlike the culture of Hollywood, the “swamp” of Washington has been growing and festering for many years.

On the surface, America’s soul searching appears to be driven by political and ideological motivations, and maneuverings.  However, many Christ-followers are viewing this season as a call to pray that something deeper, more fundamental, and lasting may be possible.  Is it possible that America is beginning to realize the heavy price it has to pay for having rejected God’s moral absolutes?  Will America realize that her foundation has been strong because she has respected the Judeo-Christian moral code that includes loving God above all else and loving our neighbor as ourselves (Luke 10: 27)?  These laws were given by a loving God to promote abundant life and blessing, not boredom and pain.  God has been lovingly saying to us through His Word, “thou shall not, because I love you; and if you do, you and others will be hurt!   If you lie, hate, gossip, steal, commit adultery, and covet, it will separate you from my love, and my Life.  I have given you a choice:  life and blessedness, or death and dispair.”

How should Christ-followers respond to the daily news of the “toppling” of statues and the improprieties of personalities representing in many cases people that we held in high esteem?  Many Christ-followers have been praying that God would bring healing of the great political, moral, ethnic, and socioeconomic divisions in America.  Yet this morning, I am struck by the need for the light of God’s truth to be directed into my own heart, first and foremost.  What is being played out in Hollywood, Washington, and in cities across America is not foreign to my own life experience.  I too have sinned.  I sin daily--sometimes in my private thought life, and sometimes outwardly though ill chosen words or actions toward my wife or others.  I am not who I think I am.  I am who God knows me to be.  And, when I open God’s Word, the Bible, I can see as in a mirror the man that I really am.

The Apostle Paul explains in Romans 7: 7, I would not have come to know sin except through the Law; for I would not have known about coveting if the Law had not said, “Thou shall not covet.”   He goes on to say that, once he realized the Law against coveting, it produced in me coveting of every kind (v. 8).  Paul admits that nothing good dwells in me  because I do the very thing I do not wish to do (Romans 7: 18, 20).”   I can so clearly relate to Paul’s dilemma.  Can’t you? 

We all share the same “flesh” because we are biological and spiritual descendents of fallen Adam (Genesis 3).  But, Romans 8 explains that

Christ came in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit (Romans 8: 3-4).

Based on this truth, it follows that when we “die to the flesh” (i.e. give up on our own attempts to be righteous before God) and accept the offering of Christ’s perfect life, death, and resurrection, that we can be “born again” to walk in newness of life.  Then, as spiritual reborn individuals, we have the power of God’s Spirit within us to direct us along the morally right path in life and to convict us when we tend to go astray in thought or action (2 Timothy 3: 16).

How should I respond to the apparent “open season” on moral transgressors in America?  I must remember that as far as I am concerned, God’s first love and concern is not about Roy Moore or Kevin Spacey, or even about a spiritual reawakening in America.  Rather, God is concerned about my sensitivity to sin and my willingness to confess and turn from my wicked ways. 

Gordon T. Smith, in The Voice of Jesus, Discernment, Prayer, and the Witness of the Spirit, explains that we must “avoid the temptation to look at others rather than yourself.  We cannot know how God is convicting another; we can only know our own hearts.”  We must first examine our own life.  The Spirit of Christ within us calls us to pray with the psalmist David as he prayed (Psalm 139: 23-24),

Search me of God Search me, O God,
and know my heart;
Try me and know my anxious thoughts;
And see if there be any hurtful way in me,
And lead me in the everlasting way.

As we search our hearts in light of God’s Word (Hebrews 4: 12), we realize that, as Smith further notes,

Sin is not merely bad deeds. 

Rather we are wise to be attentive to…how the Spirit might be convicting us with respect to our speech, the attitude of our hearts, our mental propensities as well as what we have actually done [or]…what we have neglected to do…  But the bottom line remains:  “Lord, where are you calling me to turn—not the person next to me in the pew on Sunday, not my colleagues at the office or family members, not anyone else but me?”  We seek the grace to know the convicting ministry of the Spirit that calls us from death to life; that empowers us to embrace the life of God.

Yes, we are in an “open season” of disclosure of the sins of celebrities and political leaders, and of toppling of historical statues.  But, sadly many don’t know the next step.  We can see “the spot” of individual or national sin.  And, like Shakespeare’s Lady Macbeth, we are beginning to cry, “Out, damn spot!”  But we don’t realize that only by turning to God can the spots be removed through repentance and confession of our sin.  It’s not Bill Clinton or Roy Moore, “It’s me first, Lord!  Open season on my heart!  I must open my heart to your loving search for what is not life and peace, but sin and death.  May I humbly confess and turn from that which dishonors you and separates me from walking with You.  With David (Psalm 51: 12-13) I will pray,

Restore to me the joy of Your salvation
And sustain me with a willing spirit.
Then I will teach transgressors Your ways,
And sinners will be converted to You.

Me first!  Then, what next?   Maybe God will bring another “Great Awakening.”