Lynn Green

Tag: England

  • Nebuchadnezzar Alive and Well?

    Nebuchadnezzar Alive and Well?

     

    **This is a personal website and reflects my thoughts and convictions. It does not represent any official position held by Youth With A Mission.**

    Have you been following the rise of Xi Jinping?  He is the General Secretary of the Communist Party of China, President of the People’s Republic of China and Chairman of the Central Military Commission.  He is also known as the Paramount Leader, or the Core Leader of China.  As has been said many times, he is the most powerful leader of China since Chairman Mao.

    The New Zealand Herald explained, “China’s Communist Party doesn’t like difference. So it has set about eradicating any trace of it among its 1.38 billion population.

    “First they moved on Tibet. Its ancient spirituality and unique identity has been suppressed for decades. Its remaining leadership has long since been co-opted by the Party.

    “China’s Christian community has also long been a source of embarrassment. The Bible has been banned. Crosses must not be displayed in public. Its leadership must be approved by the Communist Party. Its teachings must now conform to Party ideals, news.com.au reports.

    “ But, for the moment, Beijing has another ancient community in its sights: the Uighurs. China invaded the East Turkestan Republic in 1949. It’s now named Xinjiang province, bordering Pakistan and Afghanistan.”

    Several other media outlets have reported that up to a million Uighurs are in prison camps, primarily because they practice Islam.

    Sometimes we think Christians are the only ones being persecuted for their faith, but the Chinese Communist Party does not limit its restrictions to Christians.  They are out to eradicate all faith.  President Xi has made it very clear that no Communist Party member can practice any religion.

    I have had the opportunity recently to ask several Chinese citizens about these developments and it seems clear to them that their President wants absolute loyalty to himself.  Shades of Caesar, or Kim Jong-un!

    What do we make of this aspiration to be venerated as a God?  For ordinary people like me—or you, I assume—the idea of wanting to be worshipped is preposterous.  But I suppose that is because we have never been even close to enough power to awaken that ambition.  But a quick over-view of history confirms that powerful men (not usually women) often want more and more loyalty, then adulation, then worship.  It illustrates that human pride knows no bounds.

    Or perhaps it illustrates that recognition by others or even their worship can never satisfy the hunger for assurance that we are significant.  We could call it the Nebuchadnezzar syndrome.

    You can read the first 6 chapters of the book of Daniel, in the Bible, in less than 30 minutes and it provides a fascinating study into the search for power and then worship.  Variations on the theme have been played out countless times in human history.  In some cases, the stage has been huge—as with Caesar, or Nebuchadnezzar, but it happens in smaller circles as well.  It takes the form of leaders who will not stand for any criticism or variance from their views.

    In the end though, the over-riding truth was declared by Nebuchadnezzar himself in Daniel 4:37.  He had just recovered from God’s judgment on his pride: seven years of insanity, living as an animal.  What had he learned?

    “Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and glorify and honour the King of Heaven.  All his acts are just and true, and he is able to humble the proud.”

    May all who exercise any authority over others TAKE NOTE!

    Lynn Green.

  • What is the “Fakest” Fake News?

    What is the “Fakest” Fake News?

     

    **This is a personal website and reflects my thoughts and convictions. It does not represent any official position held by Youth With A Mission.**

    Here in the United Kingdom and all across Europe we regularly read news articles about the death of Christianity. More than once, I have read the headline, “Will the Last Christian to Leave Please Turn Off the Lights!”

    What is the truth? They have misrepresented it terribly!  So we might ask, how and why? Firstly, we have to ask how they measure. If a journalist contacts the HQ of major, traditional denominations, they will get statistics about the number of church buildings being closed and sold for use as community centres, coffee shops or even mosques.

    Is that a good measure of the state of Christianity or just really lazy journalism?

    If you poll people widely and ask them what faith they are, this is what you will find:

    In Europe, 77% of the population self-identify as Christians.

    In North America, 76% of the population self-identify as Christians.

    In Africa, 45% of the population self-identify as Christians.

    In Latin America, 92% of the population self-identify as Christians!

    In Oceania, 71% of the population self-identify as Christians.

    In Asia, only 9% of the population self-identify as Christians. But that still amounts to nearly 400 million people and the fastest growing Church in the world is there – the Chinese Church, which has added about 10 million people in the last 5 years!

    Keep in mind, this is based upon how many people, when asked, would tick the box that they are Christian.  When you think about it, that is the only way to conduct a poll.  How many of them have an active faith?  Well, that’s much harder to say, but we know the number is growing because there are more and more people becoming Christians by conversions than ever before.

    I don’t know how you feel, but I am sick and tired of this fake news coming from lazy journalists who live in their own little bubble of secularism. Yes, the practices of Christians in Europe are harder to track because they are not drawn to the outdated forms and practices of the traditional churches. But millions meet in homes, community halls, work places, schools and even pubs, bars and nightclubs.

    If you are shocked by the statistics above, go to the following site from the highly reputable CENTRE FOR THE STUDY OF GLOBAL CHRISTIANITY at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary.

    http://www.gordonconwell.edu/ockenga/research/documents/GlobalChristianityinfographic.pdfPg1.pdf

    Let’s counter the fakest of fake news with facts—at every opportunity!

    Lynn Green.

  • What does the Gospel say About Acid Attacks?

    What does the Gospel say About Acid Attacks?

     

    **This is a personal website and reflects my thoughts and convictions. It does not represent any official position held by Youth With A Mission.**

    As I write, this morning’s newspapers are headlining with a crime that is particularly horrifying and I think it is good to reflect on why we are horrified—as I think everyone is, or will be, when they read it.

    A three-year-old toddler, sitting in his pushchair in a shop, had acid thrown over his face as his mother, helpless to stop the attack, screamed for her child. There would have been many tragedies this past weekend, as there are each and every day in this suffering world, so why is our attention drawn to the little boy?

    I suppose it is because we can’t imagine how grown men could do that to a child. Four men have been arrested in connection with the crime. (No motives have been established and the toddler is now recovering at home after initial hospitalisation.) I wouldn’t be surprised if the police discover that it was vengeance attack on the father or another member of the family.

    When vengeance is allowed to grow and find expression, we are capable of almost anything. Human history overwhelmingly illustrates that vengeance knows no bounds. Even Biblical history confirms the terrifying human capacity for inhuman behaviour when vengeance grows. A Hebrew poet exiled in cruel Babylon penned Psalm 37, which states:

    “Happy is he who repays you for what you have done to us—he who seizes your infants and dashes them against the rocks.”

    (Yes, Judaism as practiced in the OT era was vengeance-based and much of it still is today. So is Islam. No wonder we have an endless cycle of violence. Those who think it can be solved in a generation or less don’t understand the power of worldviews, which are usually generated by religion.)

    Vengeance is at its worst when the powerful prey on the less powerful. That is why men in government are the most prolific murderers in history. Think of Stalin and Mao and Hitler; between them they killed vast numbers of the citizens of their own nations, with estimates running at over 100 million!

    Looking at that, some people would say that the hierarchy of power is to blame and we need governments who believe in equality to do away with all hierarchy. But just a few seconds reflection on that conclusion reveals the inbuilt contradiction: you can’t do away with power by giving greater power to elite leaders.

    That doesn’t mean that there is no solution. When the disciples of Jesus argued with one another about who was greater, they were jockeying for position in what they imagined would be the government that would soon emerge under Jesus, the King. In his response, Jesus did not say there would be no greater and lesser positions for people to fill, because their existence is an ineradicable fact of human nature. (Whether or not it was created to be that way or was a result of sin’s entrance into the world is another discussion.)

    What Jesus said, in effect, confirmed the existence of power hierarchies, but prescribed how power should be used. “He who would be greatest among you must be the servant of all.” Elsewhere he said the humble would be exalted. Jesus did not come to do away with power and the idea of “greater and lesser”, although they will probably not exist in the new heaven and new earth. He commanded us to use whatever power we have to serve others and he said he would promote those who live humbly. The humble do not exploit the weak.

    The gospel is both revolutionary and completely workable—although VERY demanding!

    We react in horror when we learn that men threw acid on a toddler because the teachings of Jesus have saturated our culture for several centuries. In other cultures, that act could be accepted as necessary as long as one family or clan was “evening the score” on another. Not all cultures are equal!

    This subject is another strong argument for missions and missionaries. The Good News about Jesus can transform the quality of life of any community—and illustrations abound!
    But for now, evil men still visit violence on those who are lower down the power hierarchy.   Maranatha! Come Lord Jesus!

    Lynn Green

  • What a Royal Wedding!

    What a Royal Wedding!

     

    **This is a personal website and reflects my thoughts and convictions. It does not represent any official position held by Youth With A Mission.**

    What a Royal Wedding!
    (From Pippa Middleton’s butt to Rev. Michael Curry’s sermon.)

    Maybe—just maybe—we have turned a corner and the world of Western Culture is swinging back towards good values and thinking highly of virtues.

    On May 19th much of the world celebrated the idea of marriage as a covenant with one another before God.  That well-established foundation stone of our societies had almost become an out-dated oddity in the eyes of the media.  But today we watched it demonstrated and heard it explained with clarity.  What a good sign!

    After the wedding of Kate Middleton and Prince William, the press focussed on the fact the Kate’s sister, Pippa, had well-proportioned gluteus maximus muscles, or something like that.

    Now all the talk is about the rousing sermon of Rev Curry, who when he was asked how he had prepared for the huge, global event said was “just going to show up”.  I loved that!  He preached what he believes and what he lives, so living daily life is the essential preparation.  I won’t try to write what he said, but you really ought to hear it, so:

    I have not quoted the New York Times in my blog before today, neither have I quoted the BBC, but I will break with tradition and suggest, especially if you missed the wedding ceremony, that you have a look at both:

    https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/19/style/bishop-michael-curry-royal-wedding.html?smid=fb-nytimes&smtyp=cur

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-44180777?ns_source=facebook&ns_mchannel=social&ocid=socialflow_facebook&ns_campaign=bbcnews

    I have been searching for signs of our popular culture discovering that the idolatry of sexual adventure will end up destroying us and that our focus on material and physical values leads to shallow living.  So, this is a day for encouragement!

    Enjoy it if you can find the time!

    Lynn Green.