Hello friends, today is a very special day! I am so excited to finally be sharing the wonderful news that in mid-August 2012, Ike and I will be expanding our family by ONE!

That’s right,

I’m pregnant!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am currently 12 weeks along which means the end of the first trimester is in sight! Hip hip hooray! As far as morning sickness goes, I have been more fortunate than a lot of women but that hasn’t stopped me from being a big wimp about the nausea and fatigue!

(Related note: say a prayer for my classmates who have been the unfortunate casualties of my exhausted crankiness. At the end of each school day when I just wanna go home and sleep and everything makes me grumpy, I need extra patience from them!)

For those of you who are interested, this baby was not a surprise. I know some of you are curious because Ike and I have been practicing Natural Family Planning throughout the entire course of our marriage, and we still love it! In fact, it helped us to get pregnant very quickly, which was an added benefit.

Some of you might also be curious about what this means for my PhD. For the last year I really agonized over honoring my calling to be a student but wanting to start a family, and after much prayer and conversation Ike and I decided to take the plunge. I know it will be challenging to manage school and family (again, your prayers are SO welcome!) but I am blessed to have the full support of my husband and my parents (let’s be honest, my mom doesn’t need an excuse to fly up here and dote on her grandchild!). It’s going to be an adventure, but I have a feeling I will come to value my family even more than I already do as we walk through these next few years together.

Finally, I am so thrilled to be sharing this news because God has been teaching me SO much through this pregnancy. We learned I was pregnant a couple weeks before Christmas, so I had an entirely new perspective on Mary and her pregnancy as I prepared my heart for the season. I have also been reflecting a lot on what it means to lay yourself down to bring new life into the world, which has given me a new understanding of Jesus’ sacrifice for us. But those are topics for another day. Just know that I will be writing more pregnancy inspired blogs in the months to come!

Wahoooo!!!!!!

One of my favorite shows on NPR is the Canadian based “WireTap” hosted by Jonathan Goldstein. If you’re unfamiliar with the show it’s a bit hard to explain, but it’s a combination of fiction and non-fiction monologues, stories, interviews, and conversations that range between comical and informational. I recently listened to a podcast that kicked off a series on the Seven Deadly Sins, and they chose to begin the series with Gluttony.

This particular episode opened with an interview with Professor William Miller. He is a professor of Law at the University of Michigan but he also has a personal interest in Medieval history and has written numerous books on the topic. Some of what he shared about the history of gluttony was new information to me, so I wanted to share an excerpt from the interview with you today:

Miller: When the 7 deadly sins first got listed in the 4^th century—around the 300’s—gluttony was number one. People actually understood the sin of Eve in the Garden to be eating. She was eating when she shouldn’t have, and that was chalked up to gluttony. And the Medieval people who thought about these sins, they understood that gluttony just generates spiritual shallowness to take that much concern with your mouth and your gut.

Goldstein: Why was it considered such a sin?

Miller: There’s another aspect to the sin of gluttony in Medieval times. Any time you saw a big fat person or somebody gorging themselves, you could in fact accuse them of homicide. We would call it suicide now: You’re eating yourself to death, you’re fat, you’re going to get a heart attack. In the Middle Ages there was a scarcity of calories—there just was not enough to go around—so if you see somebody gorging themselves and feasting daily, they’re taking food out of the mouths of the poor. Where in our culture it’s the poor who are fat.

Goldstein interjects: –Because of unhealthy eating–

Miller: No more than a hundred years ago, portliness was a sign of being upper class because you had enough to eat. So there’s a kind of perverse kind of thing where the poor actually determine the body type that will be considered the desired body type. So if the poor are fat, then the rich starve themselves. If the poor are skinny because they’re starving, then the rich pork up.

You know even in the Middle Ages they were aware that gluttony isn’t just over-eating.  It’s about over-doing sensations. So I would say a kind of prissy foodie type nowadays would qualify as a glutton in the Middle Ages because they are just excessively concerned with what goes into their mouth…. [It's about] spending our lives devoted to the wrong ends.”

A couple things stood out to me about this interview. The first is the lens through which Eve’s sin was interpreted given the historical moment. This is not an unusual trend in the church’s history. Eve’s sin has been interpreted as everything from polytheism (Theophilus was making a larger argument against polytheism, and used this Biblical passage as an example) to more modern beliefs that women are more easily deceived than men (a belief that is arguably borne up by the fact that, historically, women have received less education than men).

All of that to say, Miller’s point about gluttony is an example that our culture not only provides different insights into our interpretations of Scripture, but it can also skew our interpretations.

This leads me to the second thing I liked about this interview. While I am not convinced that Eve’s sin was that of gluttony, I believe we can learn from those Christians in the Middle Ages who emphasized its danger. Aside from anti-obesity campaigns today, this is not a topic Christians discuss very often. If anything, Christians like myself are more concerned about women who are starving themselves, not eating too much.  Yet I was challenged by Miller’s statement that gluttony produces a kind of “spiritual shallowness.” The implication here is that gluttony or excessiveness of any kind stands between us and spiritual depth.

This of course leaves me wondering: What practice do I engage in so excessively that it takes time, thought, and energy away from God? What do I depend on for that deep gut satisfaction more than Christ? Is it food? Shopping? Seeking the praises of others? Being a good wife?

Not all of us struggle with food, although it is certainly an ever-present temptation in a prosperous country like ours. But regardless of the object of our struggle, we all have the same broken wiring. The soul that replaces God with food can replace God with just about anything. In the United States where we are surrounded by abundance and the world is at our finger tips, I think we do well to remember the danger of gluttony. As the saying goes, those who are rich do not know they are rich, but those who are not rich know.

I wonder if we don’t know we are gluttons. I wonder if we don’t realize just how much we have replaced genuine dependence on God with something else.

Food for thought.

When I was single it used to bug me when married people would say stuff like, “I never understood how sinful I am until I got married!” As if marriage alone can truly refine people. Well in case you’re single and you’ve ever felt that way, let me tell you about another means of sanctification that I have newly discovered this week, and it is no respecter of marital status:

Moving cross-country.

The drive itself was not that bad. In fact, I really enjoyed traveling across numerous states and seeing the different types of beauty that our country possesses. But once we arrived, that’s when the baptism by fire began.

Of course we had the normal, moving-in obstacles, such as an AC unit that apparently hasn’t been used in awhile and had trouble achieving a temperature below 80 degrees–no biggie. But the sheer enormity of the task, that’s what has gotten to me. For instance, our books seem to be multiplying like rabbits! It doesn’t matter how many I put on a shelf, I just keep finding more!

And then there’s the mess. I am a Type A personality who likes to have everything in its place, nice and neat and pretty. In fact, it’s hard for me to concentrate on a task when anything in our apartment is our of place. Well right now our apartment looks like a tornado swept through it and dumped the entire town’s population of cardboard boxes into our living room.

We’ve been going non-stop with little to show for it, and after awhile it takes a toll. Yesterday my husband and I took a break to try out one of the many cute restaurants on our street. We walked into a pizza joint called “Buffo’s” with a giant jester sitting over the doorway. The pizza was delicious and the atmosphere was really down-home, but Ike and I just sat there like grumpy old men. We had crossed into that stage where you’re so exhausted that everything anyone says to you is annoying and/or offensive, so we left as soon as we were done eating and rode home in silence. Good times.

All of that to say, I apologize for the lack of blog posts this week but my brain is mush. Moving is exhausting and I’m glad I don’t have to do it very often. However, we are really excited about the area and we’ve been blessed by how friendly everyone here has been. Southerners have certainly got some competition in the hospitality department! We’ve also enjoyed sweet time with our friends who accompanied us up here, and it’s been a blast experiencing this new area with them.

Thanks so much for the many prayers and words of encouragement. We’re still looking for church suggestions, so any ideas for the north Chicago area are greatly appreciated. Hopefully I’ll be back to my regular blogging self soon, but in the mean time I’m calling it a day and going to bed!

Tomorrow (Monday) we will be on the road for 13 hours driving to our new home in Illinois! I can’t believe the day is finally here! If you think about it, please say a prayer for our drive!

These past few months have been a mixture of excitement and sadness as we embark on this new chapter in our lives. And my husband and I have responded to the transition in TOTALLY different ways–he possesses an unflappable spirit of adventure, and I’ve been crying a lot. Don’t get me wrong, I am completely at peace about the move and I know with absolute certainty that God has led us to this next stage, but like any major life event, there are a LOT of emotions, and sometimes the only way I can express them all is with tears.

The last week has been packed with lunches, dinners, and coffees with close friends as I have tried to say goodbye to as many people face-to-face as possible. And let me tell you, at a time like this when life is stressful and change is looming, I have never been SO grateful for the gift of the church. That’s why I felt it would be only fitting to dedicate a blog post to my church community–the Summit Church. If you’re a brother or sister of mine from this wonderful community, this post is just for you.

It’s hard to know where to begin when I think about how grateful I am to my friends here in Durham. You all have been a blessing to me in ways that I cannot even begin to count. I have friends who have seen me through tragedies, broken hearts, challenging ministry situations, and theological uncertainty, as well as friends who have supported and rejoiced with me when I graduated from seminary, kick-started my writing career, and met and married my husband. I have so many precious memories with so many of you, and my years in Durham are TRULY a treasure to me.

My pastor is fond of saying that in a marriage relationship, a husband and a wife must both be fully known and fully loved. One without the other is not true intimacy but a superficial imitation–to be fully known without being fully loved is rejection. To be fully loved without being fully known is nothing more than shallow infatuation. Well I think that statement should be true of Christian community as well, and I am blessed to have been a part of such a group of friends. Those of you who know me well are aware of my many faults and short-comings (they tend to be rather visible ones, I’m afraid!), but you have loved me anyway. You also understood my heart, you “got” me, so to speak, and you have loved me accordingly. What a tremendous gift to have friends who know you, understand you, and love you all the same!

All of that to say, thank you for being a means of God’s grace in my life. God has used each one of you as a vessel of his mercy, encouragement, and wisdom. I am the woman that I am today in part because of you, so I thank each one of you who has invested in my life. I will miss my church home more than words can express, but I am comforted by the knowledge that the intimate friendship I experienced in Durham are only one small part of a much larger church that exists throughout the world.

So THANK YOU to each man and woman who has loved me, pushed me, and supported me over the last 10 years. I will never be the same, and I am so grateful that leaving is this hard–it means I have a wonderful community to miss. I hope to see you all soon, and I pray you will continue to encourage one another in the grace and peace of the Gospel as you have so powerfully done for me.

Before I get to the exciting news, here is the audio from Cas’ message on Wednesday at Women’s Bible study. If you missed it, she spoke on contentment and shared a pretty crazy story about hair dye as well! If you missed this week, definitely check it out!

Now on to the news. First, we are NOT pregnant! Haha, sorry to disappoint those of you who were getting excited! We are, however, still doing Natural Family Planning, loving it, and planning to continue it as we enter into this next life stage, which is….

WE’RE MOVING TO CHICAGO!!

Both Ike and I were accepted into the Doctoral program at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School! He will be studying Systematic Theology and I will be in the Educational Studies program with a focus on Women’s Ministry.

I’m very excited about the chance to study Women’s Ministry on a doctoral level because not much academic research has been done. In the past, Women’s Ministry has frequently been delegated to the realm of “programs” because it often consisted of just that–Women’s Ministry tends to be event driven, and the types of events have become rapidly out-dated at that.

Women’s Ministry should, however, belong to the category of discipleship. During the next few years I will be studying how women learn, the ways in which it is different from men, and what that means for the church’s ministry to women. I hope my studies will also contribute to the direction of the larger church community as the face of the average women changes, and the church seeks to be relevant to her. Some women are already doing this work–I only hope to be one more voice, echoing the undeniable movement of the Holy Spirit in this area.

I have lived in Durham for 10 years, and I’ve served at my church for 6 of those years, so this is a bittersweet time. I have been grieving as much as I’ve been rejoicing. I have friends here in North Carolina who I expect will be my friends for life. I will miss them. But God’s calling on our lives could not be more clear–for whatever reason, He has set this opportunity in our laps and we aim to be good stewards of it. It should be challenging, but I also expect it will be the adventure of a lifetime!

We don’t move until August, so I’m sure I will give more info before then. In the mean time, I am excited about the prospect of learning more about Women’s Ministry, and sharing those insights here!

The last couple of weeks I’ve been reflecting a lot on Proverbs 19:13 which says, “A quarrelsome wife is like a constant dripping.” Before getting married my husband and I used to joke about these “bad wife” proverbs and how I hoped to avoid becoming a “constant dripping.” (I also hope I never make him want to “hide in the corner of the attic,” Prov. 21:9)

Well now that I’m married, I’m not really laughing anymore. I think I may have become one.

No woman ever gets married with the intention of becoming a nag. In fact that’s really the last thing a woman wants to be. But it somehow manages to creep in ever so subtly! Like a slowly dripping faucet, you don’t even notice it at first. That is, until you get your water bill. That’s when you realize that that tiny little drip that didn’t seem like much has actually cost you quite a bit. And while a constant dripping costs you money, constant nagging can cost you a healthy marriage.

In just 5 and a half short months of marriage I’ve seen this happen to us. What began as the occasional “question of concern” gradually morphed into full blown nagging. And I didn’t realize it until one day when I noticed the look on my husband’s face. I’d ask him an “innocent” question about why he chose to drive a certain route or why he left a light on in the apartment, and he’d get this prisoner of war look on his face, like a hostage in an unfriendly territory from which he can’t escape. That’s when I knew.

But how did I get to this point? How did I turn into a nag?

Well in order to answer this question I decided to do a little bit of research into Proverbs 19:13. More specifically, I wanted to find out what causes a faucet to drip. Some of you handier people out there probably know the answer to that question but I had no idea. It made no sense to me why a perfectly good faucet would suddenly begin to drip.

So if you’re like me and you don’t know anything about the principles of faucets, let me fill you in. Consider this “Leaky Faucets for Dummies.”

To begin, faucets are built upon the physics of water pressure. Water pressure is what causes the water to flow through your pipes and out of your faucet. That said, when you turn your faucet off, you aren’t turning off the water pressure but simply blocking it. By moving the faucet into the off position, you seal off the water flow with a washer.

Now the reason that faucets sometimes drip is that the washer can get damaged or worn down by all the pressure of the water flowing past it. If the washer sustains some wear and tear, it can’t make a perfect seal. As a result, water is able to seep through, thereby causing a leaky faucet. The only way to fix it is to replace the washer with one that will properly seal the pipe.

So what does this have to do with nagging? Well as I reflected on my own life and my personal patterns of nagging, I noticed a common denominator–my time with the Lord. If I am slacking on my time with God, not making time for the Word or for prayer, not beginning each day centered on Him, that’s when the nagging flares up. There is a direct correlation between my spiritual health and the degree to which I am bugging my husband. Like the faucet washer that allows water to drip through when it gets worn down, I essentially do the same. If I’m not taking care of myself and I get worn down, then the nagging increases. Like a constant drip.

This is a perfect example of the reality that the way you treat your husband, and other people, is usually a reflection of your relationship with God. Those who rest in Him have no reason to nag or control others because God is their peace and He is in control. While a seemingly innocent question about why he’s wearing that outfit or why he left the toilet seat up might seem small at the time, the constant nagging can really add up to a difficult married life.

This week has been a sad one for my family. On Sunday morning my grandfather passed away at the age of 87. Two weeks ago I would have never guessed I’d be writing this. Grandaddy was very frail but overall his health was strong. Unfortunately last week he had a mild heart attack which led to congestive heart failure, and he ended up contracting pneumonia. After that, we knew God was ready to take him.

Though very sad, a loss like this is not a tragedy. Not only was Grandaddy a great man who lived a long, happy life, but he was a believer. He used to say the most beautiful blessings I’ve ever heard. I wish I had a recording of them. He loved Jesus so there is hope and joy in this loss, knowing that he is now with his loving Father.

The hardest part about the last week was not his death, but watching him die. He was kept alive by a breathing apparatus that he absolutely hated, and it was a fight for him to breathe. Even though we knew it was God’s time for him to go, dying is ugly. There is nothing beautiful or glamorous about it.

As I sat next to Grandaddy’s bed holding his hand and watching his labored breathing, I was reminded of Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 15: “Death has been swallowed up in victory. Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” These words provided little comfort in the face of his suffering. That’s when I realized what the verse didn’t say. Paul didn’t proclaim, “Dying, where is your sting? Sickness, where is your victory?” That’s because there really is no goodness in that part of the process. The victory, the peace and the joy all come, ironically, in death. Dying is wretched; death is release. While we often commend people for their fight to live, the greatest glory of a believer comes in their death.

I guess I’m writing all of this to say that as much as I talk about life, as much as I want us to value the divine image in every human being, life is not an end in itself. The preservation of life is not my ultimate purpose. I recently read an article on the BBC about a study in which Christians were found to fight the hardest to stay alive in hospitals. They were the most likely to engage in extraordinary means to live as long as they could. This statistic is ironic, and may reveal a secret idolatry in our hearts. Though we have the greatest reason to embrace death, we fight it the hardest.

While we should value life on earth, we should never make it our idol. Life on earth compared to life with God is but a pale shadow. It is flawed and hard and painful. There is suffering and despair. But because of the Gospel, because of Christ’s sacrifice, death is now our servant. It frees us from our fallible bodies and brings us into everlasting joy in perfect union with God. Though we should never consider taking our own lives to achieve such bliss, nor should we throw up our hands and go to Jesus when the prognosis is grim (perhaps He intends a miracle!), should we fight God so hard when He is clearly calling us home? This is a question that many Christians, including myself, are not prepared to answer.

I miss Grandaddy a lot. He was quite a character. Yesterday my grandmother told me that he’d already planned to get my great uncle an earring as a gag-gift for Christmas. He was a really funny guy, and a light has truly gone out in this world. But over the years his body couldn’t keep up with his mind. Now it can. So I grieve for my family and the loss that we feel, but I do not mourn for him. He is with his Father in Heaven, and I rejoice in that.

As some of you may have heard in the news, former Miss California, Carrie Prejean, has decided to file a lawsuit against the Miss California organization, accusing them of libel and religious discrimination. Now without weighing in on the rightness or wrongness of her decision, I do think there is an irony inherent in her claim, given that Jesus told us to expect religious discrimination. In Luke 21 Jesus prepares the disciples for such treatment, but his response is to “make up your mind not to worry beforehand how you will defend yourselves” because “this will result in your being witnesses to them.” (vv. 13-14)

I’m just saying…

But this whole situation brings up the very relevant issue of whether or not it’s right for Christians to sue people. I wrote a post on this topic a couple years ago, so I have decided to re-post it today as a little food for thought. I would be interested to hear your feedback as well.

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Lately I’ve noticed an interesting pattern in the news. Again and again, at the tail end of any news report in which a person suffers any kind of loss, we are informed that the victim is suing for damages. I almost expect to hear these words because I hear them so often. And that is how rampant the practice of lawsuits has become. If someone wrongs a person in any sort of way, whether it be legal, medical, spiritual, or emotional negligence, then a lawsuit is sure to come. Granted, there are times when lawsuits are reasonable, but sometimes they are downright absurd. Check out some of these insane lawsuits that I found…

A woman in Israel sued a TV station and its weatherman for $1,000 after he predicted a sunny day and it rained. The woman claims the forecast caused her to leave home lightly dressed. As a result, she caught the flu, missed 4 days of work, spent $38 on medication and suffered stress. She won!(Source: CALA)

A surfer recently sued another surfer for “taking his wave.” The case was ultimately dismissed because they were unable to put a price on “pain and suffering” endured by watching someone ride the wave that was “intended for you.” (Source: CALA)

A college student in Idaho decided to “moon” someone from his 4th story dorm room window. He lost his balance, fell out of his window, and injured himself in the fall. Now the student expects the University to take the fall; he is suing them for “not warning him of the dangers of living on the 4th floor”.(Source: CALA)

Now these examples are definitely extreme, but let them not undermine the reality that we live in a lawsuit culture. Lawsuits are are being filed for every possible reason, and there are a number of things that disturb me about this trend. What follows are the theological pitfalls of this culture, because we as Christians must not fall prey to the secular worldview that this pattern reflects:

1. It stems from the belief that suffering, or even discomfort, is unnatural and always bad. We live in a fallen world, which means that suffering is an unavoidable reality for us. Until Christ returns, there will never come a time at which we are not painfully aware of the ways in which sin mars the world. However, this is not always a bad thing. We serve a Redeemer God who takes that suffering and uses it to strengthen us. What man intends for evil, God uses for good. What’s more, being a Christian means we are called to a road of suffering. It’s a part of the deal, so rather than find someone to blame and punish for it, we should look to the ways in which God desires to redeem it, and how we can be a part of that redemption. Lawsuits are not the solution to sin–God’s grace and forgiveness are, and we should be reflecting that truth in our own lives.

2. It puts a cheap price tag on human suffering. Before I explain what I mean by this, let me first say that there are certainly times when a person or organization’s negligence results in such financial hardship that a person is unable to support themselves or their family, thereby making lawsuits permissible, if not necessary. (Thought I would encourage one to seek the wise counsel of their church community before making such a decision. Not only can they hold you accountable so that you are not suing out of incorrect motives, but they might also provide you with exactly the resources you need, thereby making the lawsuit unnecessary)

However, in addition to acting as a form of punishment or vengeance, lawsuits often imply that we can financially quantify what we have lost. If a doctor leaves you with an unexpected scar, you get money. If someone slanders your reputation, you get money. If you lose a loved one, you get money. The implication here is that money makes everything better. Money serves as a band aid for the wound. Unfortunately, this is an illusion. Money does not dissolve bitterness. Money does not bring that loved one back, or restore your reputation. It only enables you to buy more things in an attempt to fill the void in your heart. We turn to lawsuits to provide us with the healing that only forgiveness can bring. No matter how much money a person gets, it is a shockingly cheap payment. The only gift large enough to heal our brokenness is God’s Son.

3. It make everyone a victim. As I mentioned earlier, we live in a fallen world, which not only means that bad things happen, but that we, personally, are to blame for many of those bad things. Yes, some people are blatantly irresponsible or greedy and should be held accountable, but a lot of lawsuits are filed against people who simply made mistakes. None of us are perfect, but we expect everyone else to be. If they fall short of our standards of perfection, then we punish them. I’m fairly certain none of us would want to be held fully accountable for every mistake we’ve made, so why do we have to be so harsh on others? The reality is that every person is a sinner, which means that every person is bound to make a mistake sooner or later. The question is how we will respond. Will we judge them, or show them the grace that has been shown to us?

As I said, there is a time and a place for lawsuits. Even Paul used the government’s laws to his advantage when he was being denied his rights. However, what’s often at stake is our witness. If we consider engaging in a lawsuit, we must carefully consider what it says about our dependence on God. Do we really need the money, or are we seeking it out of a need to be vindicated?

In Matthew 5:39-41, Jesus teaches us, “But I tell you, Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles.” Ultimately, it would be better to be mistreated in the name of Christ, proclaiming that our satisfaction comes from him alone and nothing else, than to push people away from him due to our need for vengeance or personal justice. God tells us, “It is mine to avenge,” (Rom. 12:19) so we can leave that in His hands to a certain extent. Instead, we must do the hard work of forgiveness. Forgiveness is far more difficult than all the legal complexities of lawsuits, but it is worth the effort, and reaps a treasure that cannot be destroyed by moth or rust.

This week the Lutheran Church figured prominently in the news as it took a giant step forward in affirming homosexual lifestyles. While the denomination stopped short of out-right supporting homosexual lifestyles with Scripture, it did affirm those who are “bound by their conscience” in their reading of Scripture. As the ELCA (Evangelical Lutheran Church in America) put it,

“In our Christian freedom, we therefore seek responsible actions that serve others and do so with humility and deep respect for the conscience-bound beliefs of others. We understand that, in this discernment about ethics and church practice, faithful people can and will come to different conclusions about the meaning of Scripture and about what constitutes responsible action. We further believe that this church, on the basis of “the bound conscience,” will include these different understandings and practices within its life as it seeks to live out its mission and ministry in the world.”

They later go on to state that in matters of salvation it is important to be dogmatic, but in matters of morality and lifestyle Scripture allows a little more wiggle room:

“When the clear word of God’s saving action by grace through faith is at stake, Christian conscience becomes as adamant as Paul, who opposed those who insisted upon circumcision. … However, when the question is about morality or church practice, the Pauline and Lutheran witness is less adamant and believes we may be called to respect the bound conscience of the neighbor. That is, if salvation is not at stake in a particular question, Christians are free to give priority to the neighbor’s well-being and will protect the conscience of the neighbor who may well view the same question in such a way as to affect faith itself. For example, Paul was confident that Christian freedom meant the Gospel of Jesus Christ was not at stake in questions of meat sacrificed to idols or the rituals of holy days. Yet he insisted that, if a brother or sister did not understand this freedom and saw eating this meat as idolatry to a pagan god, the Christian was obligated to “walk in love” by eating just vegetables for the neighbor’s sake!”

What really stands out to me in all this rhetoric is the consistent use of the word “conscience.” This word and this logic is popular in both liberal and conservative circles alike. You may also have heard it referred to as “natural theology.” Yet in both instances, denominations are appealing to the idea that within every human being there is an inclination to know and recognize truth. C.S. Lewis himself makes this argument in his apologetics:”

Whenever you find a man who says he does not believe in a real Right and Wrong, you will find the same man going back on this a moment later. He may break his promise to you, but if you try breaking one to him he will be complaining “It’s not fair” before you can say Jack Robinson….This law was called the Law of Nature because people thought that every one knew it by nature and did not need to be taught it. They did not mean, of course, that you might not find an odd individual here and there who did not know it, just as you find a few people who are colour-blind or have no ear for a tune. But taking the race as a whole they thought that the human idea of decent behaviour was obvious to everyone. And I believe they were right.” (Mere Christianity)

While I love C.S. Lewis and find great encouragement and teaching in his writings, I am wary of his conclusion, as well as that of other Christians today. It sounds worryingly similar to a liberal philosopher by the name of Immanuel Kant. Kant believed in the “categorical imperative,” a philosophical idea that our systems of morality must be based upon the inherent good-will possessed by every human being. He taught that there is an ingrained knowledge of right and wrong inside every person. A conscience.

Kant’s influence was so sweeping that he subsequently defined the grounds by which much of the philosophical AND theological discussions have been conducted ever since. Whenever you hear a Christian apologist argue on the grounds of conscience or objective experience, you are hearing the echoes of Kant.

But here is where Kant, C.S. Lewis, and much of natural theology perhaps wander astray–the CONSCIENCE CAN BE WRONG. The ELCA decision is a prime example of this. When we begin to appeal to people on the grounds of their conscience instead of revelation and Scripture, we underestimate how profoundly sinful human beings are. Without the divinely inspired truth of God, we will always choose wrongly. We cannot help ourselves apart from the intervention of God through Christ, the Holy Spirit, and His Word.

That is why the ELCA’s language is such a great lesson for us in the direction of our own churches and the theological language we use. If we insist on appealing to conscience and natural theology, we will go the way of the ECLA and the Episcopal Church before them. Conscience and Scripture do not equate. Even if human beings are given the common grace to discern a tiny sliver of truth in this world, D.A. Carson reminds us that “Error is truth out of proportion.” Our broken natures have a profound ability to take that bit of truth and turn it into a God-slandering idol. Our churches must never fall into such a snare.

While I’m on my honeymoon, my friend David Goodman will be posting his thoughts about the relationship between science and theology. Now before you tune out because this sounds nerdy/boring, you should know that my conversations with him have surrounded the issue of birth control, and that’s why I’ve asked him to post. He is going into his 4th year of medical school at UNC-Chapel Hill and has wrestled with this topic a lot as he considers the ethics of prescribing birth control, and how it coincides with his pro-life beliefs. He is a godly man, as well as being super sharp, so I thought you all would benefit from his insights!

 Hello blog world.  She Worships has been invaded by a dude, most notably illustrated in the picture from Rocky IV situated to the left.  No, this is not a shameless plug to get Sly Stallone on Sharon‘s blog.  This was the image that came to my mind when Sharon asked me to write about the relationship between science and theology.  You see in the film Rocky is a fiery, passionate boxer with a mission to prove going up against the formidable Russian Ivan Drago, the machine-man that represents the overwhelming strength of the Cold War USSR who crushes opponents with almost superhuman force.  At one point in the fight Rocky is dancing around the ring, taking punches from the Russian and taunting him saying “You ain’t so bad!” in an effort to tire him out.