THE RETURN OF “VIRTUE”

Few believe that psychotherapy has become the vehicle to the well-lived life. Therefore, in the West there has been a return to the ancient universal principles including the belief that the good life is the virtuous life. Virtue includes the practices of love, kindness, forgiveness, showing appreciation, and patience.

However, virtue is being practiced apart from a faith in a virtuous God. Stoics in NYC do not want to hear about God. Nor do “Objectivists” and adherents to “Positive Psychology.” Even many AA meetings discourage any mention of God. However, the mention of my own higher power is tolerated.

How then do they justify the practice of virtue? Pragmatically! It’s a matter of what confers benefits in terms of improved relationships and feelings about oneself as a good person.

While there is nothing wrong with these benefits, and I appreciate many of the insights of Stoicism and other groups that promote virtue, they are destined to once again slide into oblivion. Without God, the practice of “virtue” can only be sustained pragmatically, in terms of the benefits. However, once the stoic realizes that this practice is not really about virtue but self-interest – the personal benefits – he will eventually conclude that his immediate interests are better served elsewhere.

Pragmatism has defined the history of humanity. Our lives are based upon a cost/benefit analysis of what we do – how to maximize our returns. Often, pragmatism has produced good results. However, pursuing self-interest often has not. Every war and revolution has involved a pragmatic assessment. Perhaps every rape has also entailed an evaluation, however crude, of what the rapist will derive.

Besides, if we are practicing virtue for strictly self-enhancement, it is no longer virtue. Virtue is other-centered, not self-centered. It should not depend upon what we get out of it but what is objectively right and unchanging. However, only a good, all-wise, and loving God can provide the necessary foundation for the objectively virtuous and unchanging. Without God, we are merely chasing after the latest fads, good feelings, and a heightened self-esteem. When the fads change, and they do, so too will our concept of “virtue.” Following the fashions can only breed cynicism.

Jonathon Van Maren has written about the philosophical transformation of a number of militant atheists, including Richard Dawkins, who now recognize that a Christ-less world is a dangerous world:

·       Dawkins discusses these ideas further in his latest book, Outgrowing God. “Whether irrational or not, it does, unfortunately, seem plausible that, if somebody sincerely believes God is watching his every move, he might be more likely to be good,” he confessed begrudgingly. “I must say that I hate that idea. I want to believe that humans are better than that. I’d like to believe I’m honest whether anyone is watching or not.” While this realization is not a good enough reason for him to believe in God, Dawkins says, he now realizes that the affirmation of God’s existence does benefit society. For example, Dawkins admitted, “It might bring the crime right down.” https://www.lifesitenews.com/blogs/atheists-sound-the-alarm-decline-of-christianity-is-seriously-hurting-society?fbclid=IwAR0gyqb-88buiXX4p4XD2GRV3dyp_Ql8x8892PGW2w9zYZgAyDASml4oiFM

As many studies have demonstrated, Dawkins is correct about people who “sincerely believe…God is watching.” I think that he recognizes that we cannot merely play “God” for the benefits it will bestow upon society. Nor can we play “virtue.” Instead, we have to embrace virtue as a reality to which we must conform, rather than as a tool for self-improvement.

ACCORDING TO MANY MUSLIMS, JESUS WAS AN ISLAMIC MARTYR

Truth always takes a backseat to Islam’s political agenda. A recent example of this is the oft repeated claim that Jesus was Palestinian and an Islamic Martyr.

Tawfiq Tirawi, senior Palestinian leader and Fatah Central Committee member posted on his personal Facebook page:

·       “This is blessed Christmas, The birthday of our lord Jesus the Messiah, the first Palestinian and the first Shahid (Islamic Martyr).” (Tawfiq Tirawi Facebook page, Dec. 24, 2019)

For one thing, Islam had been based upon “revelations” allegedly given to Mohammad more than 600 years after the birth of the Messiah. What do the Hebrew Scriptures claim regarding the identity of the Messiah? He would be a Hebrew and would descend from the lineage of King David. Moses had revealed to the Israelites that the next “Moses,” the Messiah, would be an Israelite:

·       “The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers—it is to him you shall listen—just as you desired of the LORD your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly, when you said, ‘Let me not hear again the voice of the LORD my God or see this great fire any more, lest I die.’” (Deuteronomy 18:15-16)

Peter and Stephen later claimed that this promise had been fulfilled by Jesus (Acts 3:22; 7:3)

The Messiah would be a descendant of the tribe of Judah:

·       But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days. (Micah 5:2; Genesis 49:10)

King David’s Father, Jesse, an Israelite, would be His forefather:

·       There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit. And the Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD…In that day the root of Jesse, who shall stand as a signal for the peoples—of him shall the nations inquire, and his resting place shall be glorious. (Isaiah 11:1-2, 10)

King David would be his forefather:

·       For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this. (Isaiah 9:6-7)

·       You have said, “I have made a covenant with my chosen one; I have sworn to David my servant: ‘I will establish your offspring forever, and build your throne for all generations.’” (Psalm 89:3-4; Psalm 132:11)

·       “Thus says the LORD of hosts, I took you [David] from the pasture, from following the sheep, that you should be prince over my people Israel…He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.” (2 Samuel 7:8,13; 1 Chronicles 7)

·       “Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. In his days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely. And this is the name by which he will be called: ‘The LORD is our righteousness.’” (Jeremiah 23:5-6)

There is not a single hint anywhere in the Bible that the Messiah would be anything but a Jew, let alone a “Shahid,” a Muslim martyr or a Palestinian Arab. On the basis of what do Muslims make this claim? They have not the slightest piece of evidence. Why then do they make this claim? Because Israel and Christianity are regarded as their enemies, and they have a right and a duty to deceive their enemies for the sake of Allah:

·       "Let believers not take for friends and allies infidels instead of believers. Whoever does this shall have no relationship left with Allah – unless you but guard yourselves against them, taking precautions." (Quran 3:28; see also 2:173; 2:185; 4:29; 22:78; 40:28.)

·       Al-Tabari's (838-923 AD) Tafsir, or Quranic exegeses, is essentially a standard reference in the entire Muslim world. Regarding 3:28, he wrote: "If you [Muslims] are under their [infidels'] authority, fearing for yourselves, behave loyally to them, with your tongue, while harbouring inner animosity for them... Allah has forbidden believers from being friendly or on intimate terms with the infidels in place of believers – except when infidels are above them [in authority]. In such a scenario, let them act friendly towards them."

·       Ibn Kathir (1301-1373) wrote: "Whoever at any time or place fears their [infidels'] evil, may protect himself through outward show [deception]."

·       As proof of this, he quotes Muhammad's companions. Abu Darda said: "Let us smile to the face of some people while our hearts curse them." Al-Hassan said: "Doing taqiyya [deception] is acceptable till the day of judgment [in perpetuity]." https://www.meforum.org/2095/islams-doctrines-of-deception

HOW DO WE KNOW THAT WE ARE BEING LED BY THE SPIRIT?

I want to reassure you that if you truly want Him, you’ve got Him:

·       For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” (Romans 10:12-13; quoting Joel 2:32)

  Scripture directs us to walk by faith and not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7). Consequently, we shouldn't expect to have a Holy Spirit feeling abiding with us. Instead, the Scriptures give us various signposts to reassure us that we are heading in the right direction:

 

·       Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. (1 John 4:15)

However, for those with a tender and vulnerable conscience (like myself), there are many doubt-provoking verses like:

·       The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. (Psalm 23:1-3)

You might think, “I’ve never felt that I was being guided by the Spirit.” However, Scripture wisely gives us ways to tell if we are being led by the Spirit:

·       [The works of the flesh consist of] idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. (Galatians 5:20-23)

The tests of the indwelling of the Spirit are the fruits of the Spirit. If we are walking in obedience to the Spirit, our behavior will reflect His presence. This doesn’t mean that we always will enjoy performing acts of love. These acts are often contrary to our sinful and selfish inclinations lodged in our flesh. Instead, our love is measured, not by hearing voices or by having certain Holy Spirit feelings or experiences, but by our willingness to follow His teachings (John 14:21-24; 1 John 2:3-5; 5:2-3). This willingness is the fruit of the Spirit, who is directing us:

·       for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure. (Philippians 2:13)

The Spirit grants us doubters the assurance of our salvation as we follow Him in obedience:

·       By this we shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our heart before him; for whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and he knows everything. Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God; and whatever we ask we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him. And this is his commandment, that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us. Whoever keeps his commandments abides in God, and God in him. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit whom he has given us. (1 John 3:19-24)

I have found these verses to be very reassuring. My conscience condemned me with the rapidity of an AK47. However, Scripture warned me that this was normal for a Christian. I was also given the ammunition to fight back. The Word of God told me that God, and not my conscience or my feelings, was the final Judge. Besides, I could reassure myself before Him that I was bearing the fruits of the Spirit – faith and obedience, even though reaping was small. However, seeing these fruits gave me the confidence to cast out any fear of judgment (1 John 4:16-18).

There are many other ways that we can know that we have the Spirit. If we desire the light of the Truth, the Word of God, this too is a fruit of the Spirit (John 3:19-21). Jesus taught:

·       “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.” (John 10:27)

If we have the Spirit, we will be attracted to the Scriptures:

·       “When he [Jesus] has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him for they do not know the voice of strangers.” (John 10:4-5)

·       We [the Apostles] are from God. Whoever knows God listens to us; whoever is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of error. (1 John 4:6)

This is because the Author of the Scriptures is the Holy Spirit:

·       For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. (2 Peter 1:21; Hebrew 1:5-7, 13; 10:5-9)

The Spirit not only guided the teaching and understanding of the Apostles, He also implanted the Word in our conscience and mind:

·       And you show that you are a letter from Christ delivered by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts. (2 Corinthians 3:3)

In contrast, the natural man, lacking the Spirit, is not interested in the things of the Spirit (1 Corinthians 2:14; 1 John 2:19-20), the Word of God. This means that if we are drawn to the Word, we are being led by the Spirit.

Now to the second question: “How can we discern His leading?” This too is an anxiety-laden topic. Most of us would answer that He guides us through the Word:

·       Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will. (Romans 12:2)

To know God’s will is to know His Word and to submit to it:

·       But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil. (Hebrews 5:14)

To not use it is to lose it. To use it is to be trained to know God’s ways. However, there are many decisions that Scripture does not fully address:

·       What career or job should I pursue?

·       What ministry should I get involved in?

·       Who should I marry?

The list is endless and also stress-producing. It should not be surprising that views vary. Here are three:

1.    POPULAR: This view emphasizes that God has a plan for our lives, and we need to discover it through Bible study, circumstances, Spirit promptings, and sage advice. However, this view still leaves us with the uncertainty that perhaps we haven’t heart the Spirit correctly and are taking ourselves out of His will.

2.    CHARISMATIC/PENTECOSTAL: This view is very similar to the first. However, it also includes seeking the Spirit’s leading through supernatural events, gifts of the Spirit, words of knowledge, and even dream analysis.

3.    PROVIDENTIAL: This view is substantially different from the first two, although it makes use of many of the same resources. However, it emphasizes the fact that God reigns supreme and has a detailed plan for our lives:

·       Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. (Matthew 10:28-30)

Jesus not only claimed that God knows the number of hairs on our head; He has even ordained them, along with the number of days we will live (Psalm 139:16). Consequently, even the deeds that we are to perform have been pre-ordained:

·       For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. (Eph. 2:10)

This Providential View also stresses the fact that we don’t have to discover God’s plan for our lives – His leading – since He seldom reveals it to us. Instead, we can have confidence that God is still able to guide us infallibly by His Spirit.

Admittedly, this doesn’t make complete sense. After all, how could God possibly be guiding us as we are making our freewill decisions! It seems impossible that the two could ever go together. However, they do! God guides our footsteps all the time, even when we are unaware of it:

·       In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps. (Proverbs 16:9)

·       A man's steps are directed by the LORD. How then can anyone understand his own way? (Proverbs 20:24)

Here is something even more amazing about our God. He is able to infallibly direct those who don’t even want His guidance:

·       The king's heart is in the hand of the LORD; he directs it like a watercourse wherever he pleases. (Proverbs 21:1)

There are just so many examples of our Lord bringing heathen nations to just the right place and in just the right time to accomplish His will. If He can do this with those who don’t want Him, how much more can He guide those who are His friends and are seeking His guidance!

This is not only Biblical, but this understanding also enables us to trust God who has promised to somehow work all things together for our good (Romans 8:28). Consequently, we are safe, protected, and can rest in Him! Therefore, we can now get our attention off of our inadequate selves and our doubts about discerning the Spirit’s leading. Knowing that God is fully able to lead us gives us peace, even though we fail to understand how. To Him be the glory!

EVIDENCE vs. OUR PHILOSOPHICAL COMMITMENTS

 

I have presented the evidence for Jesus’ miracles and His resurrection to many thousands of skeptics. Not a single one has ever responded, “That’s interesting. I’d like to examine this evidence further.”

Why the resistance to this all-important question: “Does God exist, and who is he?” It is apparent that the evidence cannot compete against our commitments to our beliefs or presuppositions. C.S. Lewis correctly observed:

·       …our historical inquiries thus depend on the philosophical views which we have been holding before we even began to look at the evidence. The philosophical question must therefore come first. (The Joyful Christian, 9)

However, even before the philosophical question, the question of what we want to believe must first be considered. Jesus claimed that it is always a matter of what we love and hate:

·       “And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed.” (John 3:19-20 ESV)

Because of our love of the darkness, we must first be born from above (Ezekiel 36:25-27). Until this happens, we will remain impervious to the evidence, even to the miraculous. No evidence by itself will avail. Lewis, therefore, wrote:

·       If anything extraordinary seems to have happened, we can always say that we have been victims of an illusion. If we hold a philosophy which excludes the supernatural, this is what we shall always say. What we learn from experience depends on the kind of philosophy we bring to experience. (8)

Israel’s religious leadership had witnessed many of Jesus’ miracles. They had even been present when Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead after four days. While some believed, others plotted to kill both Jesus and Lazarus (John 11)

However, we must not abandon the use of reason and evidence. It is clear that God often uses the evidences as He regenerates dead hearts. We find many examples of this in the Scriptures, for instance:

·       And Paul went in, as was his custom, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, explaining and proving that it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead, and saying, “This Jesus, whom I proclaim to you, is the Christ.” And some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a great many of the devout Greeks and not a few of the leading women. (Acts 17:2-4)