Paul's Passing Thoughts

Those who know me know I am all about the objective. But I must admit, love is at times mysterious to me. Here is one example: love possesses an unexplained patience with its object. Susan and I are very busy and she is a very social being. She works days; I work nights. So, this morning was not an unusual event.

I was awakened from a coma-like sleep by Susan on a bedside soapbox prior to her leaving for work. In her very welcomed new radio series, “Coffee Commentary with Susan Dohse,” her research has led her to an issue that is new to her: the whole Reformed “Idols of the Heart” doctrine. Her conversation with me in this particular venue began per the usual: at first I am not sure if I am dreaming, then I realize what is going on. Then I ask myself if she realizes that I got home at midnight followed by answering myself in the affirmative. Then the whole love thing kicks in and I begin to focus on the content of her speech followed by actual dialoged.

The Idols of the Heart doctrine is very familiar to me and was the focus of my fulltime research circa 2009. Undoubtedly, Susan will be addressing this in her new weekly series. I am excited about this new endeavor by Susan because it represents the possibility of ongoing teaching unique to present teaching among women taking place in a parched desert. Remember, all of these female puppets are “under the authority” of their Platonist husbands. For all practical purposes its Islam Light. I believe God has charged Susan with being a unique light among women. She is a born teacher, and loves THE truth, not A truth that fulfills misguided needs.

As her words became more and more in-tune as I awoke from my slumber, I understood exactly why she would be so exercised over such a doctrine. As she spoke, the Christmas tree still erected in the TANC conference room was dominate in the background of my mind. I am nowhere near the social being that Susan is, and I am nowhere near a lover of days either. For six years, I have pondered her love for days because God wants us to live with our wives according to understanding, so I always seek to understand her more and more.

On our very large Christmas tree is custom made ornaments that recognize what is going on in the lives of people near and dear to us. The ornaments testify to new careers, new preferences, new relationships, new arrivals into the world, and other elements of life. It testifies to this fact: I have never known a person who loves life and the people in it more than Susan. And I am married to her. And as a result, I am becoming more of a person who recognizes days because these days are when we pause to celebrate life and the people in it. Susan is one who sees little separation between God and His creation.

Any argument about the existence of God defies intuitive knowledge; the real debate is the character of God. Does He love His creation, or does He hate it? Does love for God necessarily demand a hatred for one’s life and all things material because God hates such? In regard to Protestantism, if you know what it really is, the answer is, “yes.”

Hence, we must not “eclipse the Son.” What does that mean? Well, ANYTHING that obscures the sun blocks the glory of the sun shining on us and creates shadows of truth. And in regard to relationships, responses to those relationships tell us whether we love/desire that relationship or any other material thing in the universe more than God. So, if we have an indifference towards the failings of our spouse, this indicates that we love God more than our spouse. Ahmen. Wow, look at him/her; married to a horrible spouse but yet has that silly spiritual grin with glassed-over eyes. Proof positive of a real lover of God and a hater of all things material.

Folks, read the book titled “Uneclipsing the Son” by John MacArthur sycophant Rick Holland; this is the very thesis of the book. This is mainline evangelical stuff that underpins the massive biblical counseling movement.

So, anything in our life that we “desire” more than God (as indicated by our response to the woes of life) is an “idol of the heart.” Gospel counseling teaches us to “reorient our desires” so that we desire nothing but God. Please note: this doctrine doesn’t call for a reorientation of desires that will result in a desire to DO things according to God’s law, this is merely a desire apart from anything we do. Remember, John Piper’s ministry is simply, “Desiring God” ministries and not “Desiring to do good stuff” ministries. It is “beholding as a way of becoming,” but as I reminded Susan in the dialog process during the morning event, this “becoming” is strictly perception. The goal of all of this a “bigger cross” in our lives. Remember, Soli Deo Gloria! For the Glory of God Alone. And trust me, “alone” means, ALONE.

But wait a minute still: because we are totally depraved, “the human heart is an idol factory” (John Calvin). So, all of life is repenting of heart idols that our heart is continually producing. Paul David Tripp calls this a “lifestyle of repentance.” We are right back to the cross chart that this ministry continually shoves in your face. The sum and substance, supposedly, of sanctification is a perpetual return to repenting before the cross of Christ in order to keep ourselves saved. Oh, and by the way, you only have access to this ongoing forgiveness for newly created idols in your heart via church membership.

And remember this: like all other Protestant doctrines, the whole Idols of the Heart thing comes right out of Calvinism. BUT, when you call them out on that we hear this: “Calvin isn’t our authority, the Bible is.” That’s just a lie straight out of the pit of hell. EVERY fundamental of Protestant soteriology is found in the Calvin Institutes without exception.

It will be interesting to see how Susan references all of this with her book review. Be sure to tune in.

paul

The following is a comment I posted today:

“Prior to being a Christian a life of fear and anxiety (condemnation, guilty conscience, fear of judgement, fear of death) led me into deep depression. After becoming a Christian, I was full of assurance and joy…then I went church hunting. What did I find there? Only reasons to doubt my salvation. Eventually I found myself back into deep depression.

Why? Same reason. Did the “biblical counseling” I received help? Sure it did because it focused on the absolute sovereignty of God and the goal of emptying myself of all value before God. Don’t worry, be happy, God is in total control. Eat and drink for tomorrow we die. Que Sera, Sera (Whatever Will Be, Will Be).

Recently, I went to a funeral for a longtime pastor/acquaintance of mine who was heavily involved in the biblical counseling movement. Before the funeral, I predicted to my wife Susan that the atmosphere was going to be very stoic and there wouldn’t be a WET eye in the place. I was absolutely spot-on; in fact, his very own son stood up in front of the hundreds of people who were there and proudly proclaimed that his father was a “wicked sinner.”

Bottom line: assurance of salvation comes from knowing that Christ ended the law’s condemnation, and justification is defined by having this treasure of the new birth in earthen vessels…not the perpetual imputation of Christ’s fulfillment of perfect-law keeping through faithfulness to the Protestant institutional church where weekly condemnation is the order of the day.”

paul

The Protestant Reformation ushered in another version of everything salvation. Life being about getting into heaven is a lot like being in a movie theater and someone yelling, “Fire.” Yes, life is characterized by panic in running for the exits while the less agile get trampled to death. While Protestants love everybody, you can be sure they will get the hell out of that theater at all cost. Fear and panic is an interesting study. When I was in the building industry we were not allowed to install dummy door knobs on doors that simply push-open from the inside; in the event of a fire, a panicked individual will try to turn the knob to no avail until they are overcome by smoke when a simple push could have saved their life. There may not be a more apt picture of Protestant orthodoxy.

Protestants talk a lot about focusing on good living; theologically dubbed, “sanctification.” Of course, that’s a lie. Regardless of the nuance and doublespeak, Protestantism is about sitting near the exit doors. John Calvin and Martin Luther both proclaimed in no uncertain terms that sanctification is driven by fear of spending eternity in hell. This Sunday everywhere in America Protestant parishioners will sit calmly in their pews under the pretense that everyone would parish in the event of a fire while waiting for everyone else to get out first. Yet, like the Catholics, there is no greater chance of your child being molested in any other venue while legal ramifications are least likely in the same. In no other venue are children more estranged from their parents, and in no other venue is divorce more likely. This is the result of life being about escaping the fire. If Deacon Dan is arrested for molesting your child because you filed criminal charges, that will give the church a bad name, people will not come to church, and therefore, because of you, people will go to hell. And besides, god is sovereign and nothing happens that isn’t his will to begin with. Ahmen.

Salvation is not a journey; it’s an identity that lives a life indicative of God’s family. God is not glorified by a salvation marathon, he is glorified by His literal children who are like Him. The “race of faith” is not about salvation; it’s about love. It’s not a race for the exit doors. Because Protestantism has always been about salvation alone and not new birth, there is no cult that is more ignorant about wise living and all learning entails a hundred different ways to get out of the theater alive. Therefore, the focus needs to be on family life with salvation being a settled issue. Once you are born into God’s family love is the focus, not salvation. You can’t be unborn, and relegating yourself to the futility of weekly ritual will not keep you born. The way in which the institutional church robs families of time together is another discussion, but indicative of what people really value.

Hence, the necessary exodus must be from institutional salvation to literal family meetings where families gather together; in homes. The focus must be wise living that exemplifies our Father. This is a call to a new focus on real sanctification. Come now, be honest, all you hear in church is “the gospel” this and “the gospel that” while there are no concrete answers to life’s real and deep problems. In fact, the focus of evangelical counseling is “living by the gospel.”

If you go to church, you are under fear and not love, period. Sorry.

After nine years of studying the doctrine of salvation apart from Protestantism’s mad dash for the fire escape, my life focus is now sanctification which is predicated on love and not fear. My job as a nurse aide is a valuable asset to learning about life from God’s perspective and applying what I learn accordingly. Unfortunately, people see skilled nursing facilities as primary care and that’s not the truth. No institution can provide complete primary care; what makes it work right is family. Without family, nursing homes are where people go to die.

As a nurse aide, I hear one constant drum beat from those I serve; not home, and alone. I see this now as clearly as I see the day; those two things combined equal the death spiral. Those who are not home and alone I serve as they slowly die. They always stop eating first, that’s the last leg of their institutional loneliness. Initially, you lie and say that you need to stock the hall supplies, but really you hide someplace and cry, you know, your first ones, then it just becomes part of the job. The new arrivals always ask for the phone book being from that older generation. They need a phone book because they want to call their family who surely don’t know they are lost in a strange place that is not home. It’s a pattern; the phone book, constantly talking about home, eating less and less, acting out during the holidays, not eating at all, and then death, but it all starts with the phone book.

At this point, I don’t fully understand home as a primary pillar of wellbeing, but this much I am sure of; humanity is wired for family and home. Institutions of no sort can replace that. Protestantism claims that you should place higher priority on your “church family” than your actual family. Yes, you are a good Christian if you put yourself under the “authority of godly men.” Gag. These people come to the nursing home at times different from the scheduled institutional “worship service.” Residents gather in the main hall while some preacher screams “fire” with stuffed suits standing behind as the lesser of God’s authority to “preach the gospel.” The hope is that some will believe and at least get enough gospel verbiage to gain heaven at the end of their purposeless existence.

I can give these screamers some credit; they are confused Protestants which is much better than the few that know what a Protestant is. Protestant orthodoxy calls for water baptism into church membership as the only way to receive ongoing forgiveness for “present sin.” I would much like to assist them in being better Protestants by offering to lower these people into a tub of water with a Hoyer lift and afterward they could sign a membership card, but I keep myself in enough trouble at the facility as it is.

In all of this, Abraham Maslow is better.

“Abraham Harold Maslow was an American psychologist who was best known for creating Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, a theory of psychological health predicated on fulfilling innate human needs in priority, culminating in self-actualization.”

Self-actualization is purpose. Regardless of the mental or physical state of any resident you often see them seeking and practicing self-actualization. Whether requesting a towel and liquid to do some cleaning in the hallway, or expressing concern about the welling of other residents, they seek purpose. But be sure of this: I have seen the souls that are not home, alone, and without purpose slowly die as a result. No physical ailment is their demise; death of soul is their demise.

It is no surprise then that real ministry is about home and family, and not institutions or their authority. Institutions are for supporting the freedom of individual endeavors and the pursuit of happiness. Institutional authority never prevented any soul death. Claims by institutions that they can supply family wellbeing is an insult to collective commonsense and worthy of pitiless insult by school children.

The home fellowship movement will combine organization with the efficiency and wellbeing of real families. Home fellowship movements need to look no further than nursing homes for a vast ministry white unto harvest. They enter without the need to scream out the vomit of institutional authority, but rather offer purpose, fellowship, and a gospel that speaks softly of no condemnation.

Love has no limits because our Father represents a fatherhood that is only found where fathers are found…

…in the home, not temples built for the glory of men drunk with the desire to rule over others.

paul