These are all messages from his compliment machine, an exhibit in an ongoing art project in Washington, D.C., that plays random compliments as pedestrians walk by.
People are drawn to your positive energy…
The *real* message of the project might not be so flattering. Joshua Zumbrun quotes Greaves as saying, "It's a response to how on kids' soccer teams… win or lose, everyone gets a trophy." Greaves refuses to unpack this statement any further, saying only "People can believe it [the compliment] or not." Zumbrun continues, "Will they believe it? If everyone gets the trophy, if everyone receives the compliment, does it really mean anything?"
No. No, it doesn't. As Amy over on the Stand to Reason Blog puts it, "… it's hard not to see the meaninglessness of endless, unmerited compliments, randomly dished out, unconnected to any real truth about the recipients."
You are on a constant quest for knowledge…
Like an inverted version of Kurt Vonnegut's Harrison Bergeron, the compliment machine invents a reality in which everyone is equally wonderful, equally worthy of praise. We like the compliment machine because it tells us what we already believe about ourselves. In our pride, we believe that we deserve the compliments it pays us, no matter how random or disconnected they are. We truly believe that I'm OK, and you're OK. We don't really believe that any of us deserve God's wrath; we can't imagine a god who isn't made in our own image, that wouldn't let us all into heaven for doing our best.
This is, I believe, why we have so much trouble believing the doctrine of total depravity. We can cope with the idea that we were bad enough that we needed a savior, but we still believe that the Father was obligated to send us one. We like the idea of having a choice between heaven and hell, but the thought that we are so wicked that we will always, in all circumstances, choose hell because it best suits our wicked and rebellious hearts is just too much. We can acknowledge that we sin from time to time, here and there, but not that, as Paul Washer says, we've "never done anything but sin!"
Your eyes are beautiful…
And so, our gospel becomes a spiritualized version of the compliment machine:
God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life…
God desires to have a personal relationship with you, if only you'll let him come into your heart…
We end up with a gospel that doesn't take our sin seriously, addressing our "felt needs" without addressing our single greatest deficiency: our complete and utter wickedness before God.
Until we realize we are dead, we cannot be made alive. Until we understand the depths of our sinfulness, we cannot repent, that our sins may be blotted out (Acts 3:19). While this gospel keeps playing, we will never be made into something truly incredible: holy, blameless, children of God.
"ENTPs are idea people. Their perceptive abilities cause them to see possibilities everywhere. They get excited and enthusiastic about their ideas, and are able to spread their enthusiasm to others. In this way, they get the support that they need to fulfill their visions"
- Portrait of an ENTP (The Personality Page)
"It is so natural for these individuals to practice devising gadgets and mechanisms, that they start doing it even as young children. And they get such a kick out of it that they really never stop exercising their inventive bent"
- The Portrait of the Inventor Rational (Keirsey)
"ENTPs are usually verbally as well as cerebrally quick, and generally love to argue–both for its own sake, and to show off their often-impressive skills… argument as a sport."
- ENTP Profile (TypeLogic)
"ENTPs contribute an innovative, versatile, and enterprising approach to work. They view limitations as challenges to be overcome and look for new ways to do things. They need to find a niche for themselves in order to be free to maneuver. They prefer the start-up phase of a project rather than the followthrough or maintenance phase. Once the project is designed, they prefer to turn it over to someone else."
- ENTP - The Innovator (Lifexplore)
"…attention seeking, experience junky, insensitive, adaptable, not easily offended, messy, carefree, dangerous, fearless, careless…"
- Jung Type Descriptions (ENTP) (similarminds.com)
37Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, "Brothers, what shall we do?" And Peter said to them, "Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself."
- Acts 2:37-39
36And as they were going along the road they came to some water, and the eunuch said, "See, here is water! What prevents me from being baptized?" 38And he commanded the chariot to stop, and they both went down into the water, Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him.
- Acts 8:36-38
27When the jailer woke and saw that the prison doors were open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped. 28But Paul cried with a loud voice, "Do not harm yourself, for we are all here." 29And the jailer called for lights and rushed in, and trembling with fear he fell down before Paul and Silas. 30Then he brought them out and said, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" 31And they said, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household."
- Acts 16:27-31
When you read through the book of Acts, one of the things you will notice is that the apostles never employed the use of altar calls. They never, as far as I can tell, issued an "invitation" or asked their hearers if they were ready to "make a decision." Some heard their message and wanted to kill them, and no amount of coaxing or inviting would have had any impact on them. Others were "cut to the heart" and would not rest until they had received a satisfactory response to the burning question in their hearts… What must we do to be saved?
We do a great disservice to the gospel of Jesus Christ when we reduce it to an illustration or a formulaic process wherein we present a certain set of propositional truths and then solicit a response from our unconverted target. The gospel isn't a how-to for salvation. It is nothing less than a proclamation of the lordship of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who died to take away the sin of the world. People will certainly respond to this message, but not because we've asked them to. If your "gospel presentation" requires you to ask for a response, you're probably presenting something other than the gospel.
Does anyone have any advice on how to avoid finding out how Book 7 ends?
My wife and I weren't really into the Harry Potter scene until about 6 or 7 months ago when ABC family showed the first three movies in succession. We got hooked and went out and got HP and the Goblet of Fire on DVD shortly thereafter. Once we had exhausted the list of available movies, we turned to my brother and sister-in-law, who had two copies of each of the first six books they were willing to loan to us. We devoted every spare minute to getting through the series, with my wife (who would readily tell you isn't much of a reader) finishing a couple of the books in 3-4 days each.
It is true that the series gets better with each installment, and that was especially true for us in reading books 5 and 6. Since these books were beyond the progressive boundaries of the movie franchise, each page was completely new to us. And, since we were a couple years behind the curve, we didn't have to worry about "spoilers."
Not so with Book 7. I fear I won't make it through the weekend without hearing through somebody's blog or some conversation overheard at church about who dies, who doesn't, who wins in the end, and what *really* happened to Dumbledore at the end of Book 6. Short of huddling up in the basement with the lights off for the next few days, I don't really know how one is supposed to avoid finding out all the details and plot turns of HP and the Deathly Hallows.
On a side note, the Presbyteer has an interesting theory of how Book 7 might end, which you can read for yourself here. We'll know soon enough, I suppose, but it seems that Keith might be pretty close to the truth considering the excerpts from two interviews with J.K. Rowling that Jeff Meyers has posted on his blog.
Finally, I've thrown together a Daily Prophet-esque theme for the blog in honor of the book's launch tonight. I'll probably leave it up until Monday. Did I mention that I love Wordpress?
I found Jeff Meyers' blog a few months back via the Presbyteer's blogroll, and I've found his writing to be rather thought provoking. In the last three weeks, Jeff has written about everything from Harry Potter to the Fall of Satan to Jonathan Edwards' "trinitarian speculation" on why the world was created.
As usual, his latest post got me thinking. Jeff maintains that infant baptism is "scandalous" among us Americans because of our one-man, one-vote mentality and our celebration of our individualistic freedoms. When we baptize our babies, God puts his mark on helpless, incapable creatures and claims them as his, without even a hint of consent from them or any respect for their rights as individuals. Jeff writes, "It is not a confession of what man has done or of the faith someone possess or of the experience that someone may have had. Infant Baptism is all about God in his Sovereign freedom acting upon a passive infant…. [Salvation] comes from above, like the sprinkling."
That last line caught my attention. Does the method of baptism matter? I would say that, at the very least, the method has a great influence on the message that is communicated through baptism. Or, who it is that is doing the speaking.
The believer baptist camp depends on the method (i.e. immersion) of baptism for much of its derivative meaning. Baptism becomes an outward symbol of an inward experience that has already taken place, initiated by the convert. He descends into the water as a sign of being buried with Christ, and then is brought out of the water as a symbol of being raised to newness of life with Jesus. By performing this ritual, the convert confirms publicly that he has agreed to be saved. There may be a conversation here between him and God, but the convert is the one speaking the loudest, declaring "I belong to God" because of what I've already brought to the table (i.e. faith).
When water is sprinkled on the head of an infant, the child is passive. The water is poured from above, onto the child's head. The baby goes nowhere and does nothing. He contributes nothing to the ritual, nor does he even consent to it. It is God who speaks, saying "This one is mine" as he places his mark on the child. For years to come we will hope and expect to see the child exhibit real and vibrant faith, but it is very clear who has initiated this relationship, and it isn't the baby.
As I've said before, infant baptism isn't just about baptism. There are several foundational questions we have to get right before we can get the right answer about who to baptize. The question, then, is this; do we initiate our own salvation by producing saving faith, which makes Christ's death efficacious in our lives, that we would be raised with him? If so, baptism by immersion makes perfect sense. Or, do we receive the grace of God even when we are unable to choose to accept it for ourselves, bringing nothing to the table from within ourselves? If this is the case, then sprinkling from above makes perfect sense and gives God the glory as the one who speaks through baptism.
18While walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter) and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. 19And he said to them, "Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men." 20Immediately they left their nets and followed him. 21And going on from there he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and he called them. 22Immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.
- Matthew 4:18-22
Jesus calls Peter, Andrew, and the Sons of Thunder to follow him and he will make them "fishers of men." The obvious reference is to their prior occupation, that Jesus would employ them in pulling men into the boat instead of fish. Thomas Boston encourages us to take it one step further, considering why the men they were after would be compared to fish:
BUT WHY ARE UNCONVERTED MEN COMPARED TO FISH IN THE WATER?
Among other reasons, they are so because as the water is the natural element of fish, so sin is the proper and natural element for an unconverted soul. Take the fish out of the water, it cannot live; and take from a natural man his idols, he is ready to say with Micah, Ye have taken away my gods, and what have I more? The young man in the gospel could not be persuaded to seek after treasure in heaven, and lay by the world. It is in sin that the only delight of natural men is; but in holiness they have no more delight than a fish upon the earth, or a sow in a palace.
Oh, the woeful case of a natural man! Bless the Lord, O my soul, that when that was thy element as well as that of others, yet Christ took thee in his net, held thee, and would not let thee go, and put another principle in thee, so that now it is heavy for thee to wade, far more to swim in these waters.
- Thomas Boston, The Art of Manfishing
The unconverted man loves sin and hates righteousness in much the same way that fish love the water and hate dry land. No amount of coaxing or persuasion can effectively convince a fish to forsake the water in favor of dry land. A fish may, for a short time, force himself to live out of the water. This will not last long. He may die, but more likely he will find a way back into the water for which he is most naturally suited. If a fish is to exist permanently out of the water, he must become something other than a fish.
This is what the Holy Spirit does in man's conversion. Through the proclamation of the Word (1 Cor. 1:23) and the working of the Holy Spirit (John 3:8), he who is spiritually dead is made something other than a dead man. The rebel who hates God and loves sin is made to love God and hate sin. Anything less than this and all you have is a convert in name only, who is no more suited for the Kingdom of God than a fish for dry land.
Amanda and I remind each other all the time that our goal in raising Pete is, by God's grace, to take this cute, little, snuggly boy and turn him into a man who can protect, provide for, and lead a family someday. The clock continues to tick, and we keep looking for ways to be intentional in cultivating the virtues we hope he will someday possess when he has grown into a man.
One of the primary values we are teaching him is that men should protect and defend what is beautiful, especially women, even at great cost to themselves. We are always on the look-out for opportunities where we can teach Pete this concept experientially. A few months back, Pete's friend Courtney had a tough time at Children's Church with some of the rougher kids in the room. Her mom, Ann, told Pete's mom, and Pete's mom told Pete what had happened, and asked Pete to keep an eye on Courtney. Pete went in and found a couple of empty seats, and then he turned to Courtney and said, "You can sit by me, Courtney. I'll protect you." And he did.
Today, Amanda and the kids spent a morning at the zoo with the Mom-to-mom troupe. One of the exhibits there includes a small fire station, with a small fire truck that kids can climb around on. When the group got there a bunch of *big kids* (i.e. 5 and 6 year old boys) were climbing-and-jumping-and-yelling, in and around the truck. When they finally left, Courtney turned to her mom and said, "I'm glad there aren't any more boys on the fire truck." Ann corrected her, noting that Pete was still playing on the truck. "Oh, Pete doesn't count. He protects me."
Guess who's picking up popsicles on his way home from work tonight…
I'm of the opinion that there's a Johnny Cash song that's just right for each holiday throughout the year. Father's Day? How 'bout A Boy Named Sue. I Walk the Line is a Valentine's Day classic, and what could make a guy more thankful on Thanksgiving than not having the Folsom Prison Blues? Were You There (When They Crucified My Lord) has Easter written all over it, and Don't Take Your Guns to Town is a sober reminder that mother knows best, a good thing to remember on Mother's Day.
As for Independence Day, you can't do do much better than this:
Have you always wanted a brand new Treo 700p from Sprint? With… wait for it… BONUS ACCESSORIES! Well, today's your lucky day:
Amanda and I remind each other all the time that our goal in raising Pete is, by God's grace, to take this cute, little, snuggly boy and turn him into a man who can protect, provide for, and lead a family someday. The clock continues to tick, and we keep looking for ways to be intentional in cultivating the virtues we hope he will someday possess when he has grown into a man.
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