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St. Patrick’s ministry was considered an outreach to “barbarians” by the Roman Church leaders of his time. To be worthy of receiving the Christian faith, a people first had to be considered civilized to some degree, and upon receiving the faith, they had to be willing to accept “the Roman way” (Hunter, The Celtic Way, p. 17).

The ability to be welcomed into the Kingdom was expected only of the non-barbarians of the world. The Irish who were believed to be uncivilized by the Roman wing of Christianity were considered, to coin a phrase, “Un-Christianable.”

Most established denominations come from Roman or European roots, and most have trouble reaching today’s barbarians. There continues to be a lack of willingness to welcome those who are considered uncivilized and not willing to take on “the Way of the Church.” To be sure, there are some denominations who boast that they are different, and provide a home to those who have no church that will accept them, but in my opinion, that is more lip-service than reality.

Most denominations have trouble welcoming homosexuals (who would come to Church with their ‘mates’), prostitutes (who have no plans of quitting their night job), couples who live together (and have no plans to get married), and, let’s not forget those who come for no other reason than they like the practical teaching of Christianity (but have no plans to “join” the Church).

There are many “barbarians” in our world today, who are not civilized enough, nor are they willing to become “Denominationized” and make themselves able to fit in with the predictable behavior of those to whom the Church finds easiest to minister.

So what to do?

Recognizing that we are all “barbarians” is probably a good beginning (s. Romans 3:23). Secondly, the Church would do well to remember who Jesus spent much of his time with—the twelve not-good-enough’s that no other rabbi would take the time to teach (disciples), and people whom very few, in his time, would even consider inviting to worship (barbarians).

“While Jesus was having dinner at Levi’s house, many tax collectors and “sinners” were eating with him and his disciples, for there were many who followed him. When the teachers of the law who were Pharisees saw him eating with the ‘sinners’ and tax collectors, they asked his disciples: ‘Why does he eat with tax collectors and ’sinners’?’ On hearing this, Jesus said to them, ‘It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners’” (Mark 2:15-17 NIV).

Denominational leaders are expected to spend the majority of their time with the “church folk”, as if he or she is the matradee of the civilized and churchized, while the barbarians are ostracized until they are ready to be assimilated into “the Denomination way”, like good little boys and girls.

I know my words may come across as a bit negative, and my intention is not to offend the establishment, but to bring recognition to the truth that many Christians could stand to hear God’s warning and promise in Ezekiel 34:4: “You have not strengthened the weak or healed the sick or bound up the injured. You have not brought back the strays or searched for the lost. You have ruled them harshly and brutally” (NIV).

As George Hunter says so clearly, “…as in the case of the ancient Roman wing of the Church, denominations are still substantially in the hands of the less apostolic wing of the Church, which works overtime to gain and retain institutional control; which assumes it knows best; and which works persistently to impose Roman, European, or other culturally alien forms upon the more indigenous and growing movements within the denomination. This pathology is observed today, for example, in most of the denominations in the United States that were ‘imported from Europe’” (pp. 95-96).

In His dust,

Johnny

Works Cited:

George G. Hunter III The Celtic Way of Evangelism: How Christianity Can Reach the West… Again (Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 2000).

© 2010 Jonathan P. Gainey and Flock’s Diner.
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Christianity in the Western world is increasingly vanishing. The decline is partly due to a deep-seated, chronic denial by entrenched “Church culture” survivors, who live in the present, while heading into the future with their hearts stuck in the past.

We all wish that every congregation was healthy, boasting thousands, or at least hundreds of passionate believers. But some congregations just aren’t willing to recognize the chronic state of their branch of the body. The difference between those very few congregations that actually see such growth and spiritual vitality, and the majority of congregations that are in a constant decline or, at best, remain temporarily stagnant, is partially due to a willingness to recognize that people have changed. What leaders of strong congregations see is that which George Hunter III recognizes:

“These populations are increasingly ‘postmodern’; they have graduated from Enlightenment ideology and are more peer driven, feeling driven, and ‘right-brained’ than their forbearers. These populations are increasingly ‘neo-barbarian’; they lack ‘refinement’ or ‘class,’ and their lives are often out of control.”

Until we are willing to admit and respond to the fact that younger generations are unable to recognize the language, habits, and values of those of us who grew up in the Church culture, we will continue to see a decline in Western Christianity.

I believe that the decision which we will have to decide upon is whether we care more about our own values, or reaching the West for Christ.

As a songwriter in Nashville, one of the cultural axioms that I picked up rather quickly was that of calling a songwriter’s song his “baby.” I learned that, when a writer performed his song, he was not just trying to sell a product, but he was showing off his “baby.” And if someone didn’t like his “baby,” the writer took the dislike very personally. Rewriting the song was like giving the song up for adoption; something many young or new songwriters were unwilling to do. “This is ‘my’ baby, and I’d rather it never be heard by anyone than see it change!”

The mature songwriter learned that, as beautiful as his baby was to himself, if he wanted it to be recorded and have a chance at being played on the radio, he would have to learn how to make the baby loveable to others, even if the baby would no longer be his. If he was unwilling to give the baby away, it would almost certainly die with the songwriter.

Most congregations and Church leaders are not willing to give the baby away in order for it to be loved. In other words, many of us would rather see our congregation die than see it change.

It is written in the Scriptures that King Solomon had the opportunity to express his great wisdom, when two prostitutes brought in a baby that both claimed as their own. One prostitute’s baby had died during the night, because she suffocated it by sleeping on the baby, so she stole the child of the other prostitute during the night, and left her dead child with the mother of the living child.

Solomon’s suggestion to the two who fought over the child was to have the baby cut in half and each of the women were to be given a part of the baby. Of course the true mother was willing to “give the baby away” so that it would not die, rather than have her baby killed (see 1 Kings 3:16-30).

It seems that many believers would rather have our congregations die a slow death than make it something that another would be willing to love. Even in the face of certain death, many Christian leaders and congregants make no effort to change so that others will be able to love the Church.

Are our traditions and paradigms so valuable to us that we would rather see our baby cut in half than rewrite the song?

In His dust,
Johnny

George G. Hunter III The Celtic Way of Evangelism: How Christianity Can Reach the West… Again (Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 2000), p. 9.

© 2010 Jonathan P. Gainey and Flock’s Diner.
All Rights Reserved

Giving to the ones we love is an important part of our culture in the United States, as well as the cultures of many other countries. Most people enjoy the practice of giving things to one another as a token of friendship, love or appreciation.

Some of us are better at giving than others, as there are those who give what they would want to receive and there are those who give only to be noticed for their exemplary gift-giving ability. And then there are those who give genuinely from his or her heart.

Samuel Lachs teaches that ancient Jews believed that the evidence of a true child of God included the three virtues of prayer, charity, and repentance. Giving to the poor was an act of righteousness which was expected to be observed by all people who claimed to have turned from their sin and live for God.

Just as there are different intentions of gift-giving today, even the Jews who considered themselves pious believers did not always practice obedience to God without personal agendas.

Matthew’s gospel records Jesus teaching that believers are to be careful not to practice acts of righteousness in order to be recognized by people. And when one gives to the poor, he or she is to do so privately (s. Matthew 6:1-4). Jesus elaborates on the subject of giving in secret by contrasting how some give by “sounding a trumpet.”

In the first century, there were thirteen collection boxes in the women’s court of the Temple, which were used to collect alms for the poor. The shape of the collection boxes, being wide at the bottom and narrow at the top, resembled a trumpet, and each time coins were dropped into the boxes they would make a distinctive sound. Some of the Pharisees were particularly interested in being noticed for their generous giving, and would drop large amounts of coins into the collection box at one time, which would make a loud noise that was dubbed “sounding the trumpet.”

Jesus used this well-known act of self-giving (self-righteousness) as an example of how not to give.

As Christmas 2009 is now behind us, perhaps we can all plan next years season of giving with the intention of giving from the heart.

In His dust,
Johnny

Ron Moseley Yeshua: A Guide to the Real Jesus and the Original Church (Baltimore, Maryland: Lederer Books a division of Messianic Jewish Publishers, 1996), p. 28.

Samuel Tobias Lachs A rabbinic Commentary on the New Testament (Hoboken, NJ: KTAV Publishing House, Inc., 1973), p. 112.

© 2009 Jonathan P. Gainey and Flock’s Diner.
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I have been told that work belongs in the realm of business and not within the realm of Christian community development. I have also been told that work that is not profitable is not meaningful. So, what is the purpose of work? I believe that we have all come to embrace the idea that work is toilsome, it is part of the curse brought on us by the original sin. Or, perhaps we hold a more secular philosophy, that work is the opposite of leisure. We work so we can live. We spend most of our time draining our souls, so that we can spend the excess of our efforts on something that will replenish our souls. This is a dreary existence. For many there is never enough excess, their souls are being slowly drained.

Then there are those who can’t compete, they can’t even get in the game. They can’t afford to purchase what makes them feel alive, so they simply steal to purchase what makes the struggle of life less painful. In their pursuit of soulful meaning they will often exchange skill for cash, in ways that rob their souls. These are the poor and many of them wear suits.

The dictionary defines work as: productive or operative activity. That’s straight up, no cultural or philosophical baggage there. My own definition is: any effort focused on a desired outcome and leisure is any effort with no desired outcome. The early chapters of the Bible holds some clues about work. Perhaps a more biblical definition of work would be: a creative, productive or operative activity that reveals the worker. God’s creation is revelation, and we are created in His images. Therefore, our work, our efforts, become meaningful when they are productive, but also when they reveal God and His images in us.

The Church seems to have handed work over to business, because they have bought into the idea that work is only about making money. Our response to the beggar is “get a job”. We have declared that the only kind of work that is honorable is paid work, and anyone who can not pull their weight is useless. We have become like those who passed by on the road to Jericho. I have a son who is 15 years old, he looks like 7 and has the mental capacity of an infant. By these terms he is useless. I have a friend who was traumatized as a child when his step-father danced around, waving his chainsaw. The roar of the saw drowned out the screams of his little sister, who was tied naked to the kitchen table. By these terms he is useless.

What about those with learning disabilities? They are often convinced by the system, and their families, that they’d never amount to anything? By these terms they are useless.

Therefore, the Church needs to have a strategy that includes healthy and meaningful work opportunities for all in their care. We need to make sure that we are not simply feeding their short term needs and ignoring who they really are. Our response to this challenge should be, “Come and share my work with me, I want to see who God has created you to be”.

Writer: Wayne Rumsby is at least a fourth generation follower of Jesus Christ. In his late 30’s Wayne responded to an invitation to visit an inner city mission in the heart of Toronto. At the time he was working as a graphic designer. It wasn’t long before he left his job in the fast paced ad business, in the glass towers, to become a full time missionary on the streets and in the alleys. The focus of his mission was to help the marginalized discover God through meaningful work. For most of the past decade Wayne was helping people discover who God had created them to be, by teaching them to make beautiful furniture in a woodworking shop. Today Wayne and his wife Linda are working with the team at 614 with the very same vision, helping people discover who God has created them to be, and more.

© 2009 Wayne Rumsby.
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The King James Version! Some have ignorantly stated, “It was good enough for Paul, and it’s good enough for me!” I have even heard a preacher say to his congregation, “I hope none of you brought that New Idiots Version into this church today,” speaking negatively of the NIV. Why does the KJV of the Bible cause so much dissension among Christians?

I was in a Christian bookstore today and an entire wall was devoted to the King James Version of the Bible as if somehow that particular seventeenth century translation is the pinnacle of holy scholarship.

The KJV is the most difficult to read, much less understand, and comes from a translation of what F. H. A. Scrivener called “…the most faulty book I know,” which was the Textus Receptus of the Greek New Testament. The Textus Reseptus is a highly unreliable compilation of varied Greek texts hastily put together by Desiderius Erasmus in 1516 A. D.

Erasmus used very few manuscripts, most of which were very unreliable and dating only to the twelfth century. And, where verses were missing, Erasmus simply translated the Latin Vulgate into Greek, translations that neither then nor now match any other Greek manuscripts ever discovered. One example, which is given attention by Metzger and Ehrman is the KJV of Acts 9:6. The KJV is the only translation that adds the words, “And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?” These words exist in no other version, because they were assumed by Erasmus’ own interpolation of the verse in the Latin Vulgate.

What Erasmus did in five months, when compared to the latest scholarly work, is quite scary. And how someone could not listen to the wisdom and scholarship of modern scriptural translations is nothing less than frightening.

When studying our most sacred texts, including how they began and how they have developed to the forms we read today, it is of great importance to know that some of our most reliable manuscripts evaded us for centuries. It is also important to know that many of the most unreliable manuscripts have dominated churches for close to four hundred years, thanks to Erasmus.

An example of true biblical scholarship can be seen in a strange and true story of how some of our most important manuscripts came to be found.

At a time of great economic difficulty, the cost of the writing material known as vellum was so expensive that the parchment of older biblical texts were actually scraped of their ink and used by writers who needed some more writing materials.

Imagine someone today taking a fifth century Greek writing of almost the entire Bible, scraping all of the ink off of the sheepskin, and writing something completely different on the pages. These scraped manuscripts were called palimpsests, meaning “rescraped.” One of the most important manuscripts used by scholars to translate portions of every book of the Bible except 2 Thessalonians and 2 John is a palimpsest called Codex Ephraemi rescriptus. The 209 pages of manuscript were erased in the twelfth century to record 38 sermons of a fourth century Syrian Church father by the name of St. Ephraem.

Thanks to the creation of chemical reagents and ultraviolet rays, the original fifth century writing on the vellum of Codex Ephraemi rescriptus was painstakingly rediscovered by Constantin von Tischendorf.

New translations of the Old and New Testament are made because older and more reliable manuscipts have been discovered in recent history. There are more manuscripts of even higher reliability which have not yet been released for use, because the textual scholars are not finished working with them.

Christians should not be discouraged by new translations; they should be encouraged to know that real work is being done to perfect the inerrant Word of God, which has been carelessly handled by the pens of some men.

In His dust,
Johnny

Kurt Aland and Barbara Aland, The Text of the New Testament (2nd ed., Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1989 pp. 21-22, 142-145).

Bruce M. Metzger and Bart D. Ehrman, The Text of the New Testament (4th ed., New York: Oxford University Press, 2005 p. 12).

© 2009 Jonathan P. Gainey and Flock’s Diner.
All Rights Reserved

Many of you will be surprised to learn that my great grandparents were slaves in America. Usually, we think of African Americans as those who represent the descendants of early American slavery, but there were also other peoples who were kidnapped, taken from the land of their ancestors and forced into slavery in America.

My father’s mother was the child of slaves who were taken from the Spanish Island of Menorca and used to develop the area in Jacksonville, Florida known as Mayport, where the Mayport Navy Base is located.

As a free American, I couldn’t imagine being owned by anyone. My dad and his brothers and sisters have shared stories with me of how my great-grandfather would not be allowed in the front door of a restaurant, but had to go around to the back to be served from a window or back door.

Some of us may have never thought about it, but if you owe anyone a debt, then you are their servant until the debt is paid.

Dave Ramsey shares some myths and truths about loaning money to relatives and friends:

“Myth: If I loan money to friends or relatives, I am helping them.

Truth: If I loan money to a friend or relative, the relationship will be strained or destroyed. The only relationship that would be enhanced is the kind resulting from one party’s being the master and the other party a servant.”

Paul’s letter to the Philippians follows the typical Greco-Roman form, but Paul makes some changes that cause his letters (not only his letter to the Philippians) to be uniquely Pauline. In studying Paul’s letter to the Philippians, one important aspect to note is that Paul does not introduce himself as an apostle, but as a fellow-slave of Jesus (Fee Letter, p. 62).

Often the word “servant” is used to translate the Greek word of this passage, but the Greeks, among the believers in Philippi, would have understood it to mean nothing less than a slave. In Greco-Roman societies, slavery was not like the racial slavery that devastated America, but it was still slavery. First century slaves in the Roman world were not free to do as they chose; they were under obligation as humble servants who belonged to someone. They were in debt to someone, who owned them until the debt was paid.

As David Arthur DeSilva explains, “…slavery in the ancient world was based on practicalities of conquest, criminal proceedings, birth into a slave family or defaulting on debts.”

And though being a slave would seem to represent the deepest loss of dignity for any person, the Savior of the universe would come to the world in the form of a slave.

Paul and Timothy mimicked the attitude of Jesus by living as slaves. In Philippians 2:7, Paul writes that Jesus “made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a slave.”

The Septuagint’s use of the word δοῦλος (du-los) that is translated “servant” often refers to those who are called by God to be used for special and honorable service, such as Moses or David, but this letter from Paul, which has humility as its theme, would more than likely use the word to mean the less honorable role of someone owned by another (O’Brien The Epistle, p. 45). Paul and Timothy are not referring to themselves as honored representatives of God’s Kingdom, but as slaves of their Master, Jesus.

Paul, an apostle called by Jesus himself, and leader of God’s people, considers himself, along with Timothy, to be nothing more than a slave, owned by Jesus Christ.

As believers in Jesus, it is not our goal to be served, but to serve in honor of the one who owns us. We are in His service, serving in his household, and serving those whom Jesus calls his children.

In His dust,
Johnny

Works Cited:

Gordon D. Fee The New International Commentary on the New Testament: Paul’s Letter to the Philippians (Grand Rapids, Michigan / Cambridge, U.K.: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1995) p. 62.

Peter T. O’Brien The New International Greek Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids, Michiagan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. and U.K.: The Paternoster Press, Ltd., 1991) p. 45.

Dave Ramsey The Total Money Makeover (Nashville, Tennessee: Thomas Nelson, Inc., 2003, 2007) p. 24.

© 2009 Jonathan P. Gainey and Flock’s Diner.
All Rights Reserved

M

any congregations have used the “pick-up” form of evangelism to give the opportunity for young people, whose parents refuse to worship, an opportunity to join the body of believers. I’m sure there are and will continue to be benefits of this decades-old idea and practice. However, I have also seen, first hand, the dangers when parents not only drop off their children or allow them to be picked up and carted off to a church building, and give up all responsibility for the spiritual growth of their children.One particular parent even went so far as to say, “You are denying my child the ability to know Christ,” after I refused to allow the very young, and misbehaving child to come to church without his parent. Another mother ran down the van that I was driving to tell me, “You have no right not to pick my child up for church! I’m going to write the congressman.”

“These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up” (Deuteronomy 6:6-7 NIV).

What is the role of parents with reference to a Deuteronomy 6:7 lifestyle?

Most parents, including Christian parents, are not knowledgeable enough in the Scriptures themselves to “teach them diligently to their children.” A passion for knowing and applying the word of God must first be found in the heart of parents and guardians, before it can be shared with others. As one wise person stated, “You can’t give what you don’t have!” I’m not suggesting that every parent is given the spiritual gift of teaching. However, a love for God’s Word should be a valuable virtue for all believers, at least enough to read Scripture and practice biblical teachings within the family.

The most effective congregations in the world have given convincing evidence, if not proof, that home churches and home-based discipleship and fellowship offer an opportunity to experience a Deuteronomy 6:7 lifestyle.  

Home-based ministries give opportunities to share worship and biblical learning with families, without separating parents and children as readily as most programmatic ministries practiced within church facilities.

Many families who do attend church programs and worship are doing all they can to get to the building, and most of us know that our children fight tooth and nail to sleep in or stay home. I think most of us today long for more time at home, and less time fighting traffic and tight schedules. Programmatic ministry can be, and often are, effective, but how healthy is it for those families who rush home from work and school, then off to the church building with fast food in hand, all in the name of being “faithful?”

Home-based discipleship offers peace and less running around; it offers a time to sit and eat together in the comfort and genuine atmosphere of someone’s living space.

The Deuteronomy 6:7 principle seems to be more easily practiced in the more conducive setting of a house ministry, where the parents are not carted off to different classes and children aren’t left to the agendas and sometimes poor teaching of a typical Sunday school class.

With all of that said, I am not speaking at all of removing ourselves from congregational worship. Worshiping together is not only biblical; it is also essential for a healthy Christian body, as believers come together to pray for and with one another, to sing praises together, and to experience God as a community.

A man proudly stated to Dr. Samuel Shutz, Professor of Evangelism and Ministry at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, “I worship every Sunday on the golf course. I speak with God as I play, and I listen to worship music on my MP3 player.” Dr. Shutz responded, “Do you pray for others and experience the blessing of having them pray over you? Do you join your voice with other believers in praising God?” The man then responded, “I see your point. I am able to observe the Christian experience, but unable to experience it without being there.”

Living in a new day requires expressing and experiencing ministry in new ways. We can’t do it alone, and we shouldn’t separate the family. Parents and guardians must take their responsibility seriously to practice Deuteronomy 6:7 lifestyles.

In His dust,
Johnny

© 2009 Jonathan P. Gainey and Flock’s Diner.
All Rights Reserved

Numbers 21:4-9 is a story of snake biting and snake healing. Strange as it sounds, the story is part of the history of God’s people.

The Israelites became impatient and spoke against God and Moses; they complained that God and Moses brought them out into the desert to die of starvation and thirst. The Scriptures tell us that God sent poisonous snakes which caused the death of many of the Israelites. After this, the Israelites repented of their sins and God told Moses, “Make a snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live” (v.8). Moses did just as God told him, and when those who were bitten looked at the bronze snake, they would not die of their snake bite.

Beyond the theology of using a symbol of that which caused death to bring healing, there is also the message of relying on an image for healing.

We are told to place our hands upon one another to heal the sick (s. Mark 16:18b) and even to give the Holy Spirit (s. Acts 8:19). As images of God, somewhat like the bronze snake on a pole, we can be used to provide God’s healing power for the sick and dying.

Another form or image that has been used to give hope to the hurting is the physical building that is used for worship. Safety and comfort have been found in the doors of the sanctuary.

Nurture has been claimed during the 11 O’clock hour of worship and through the programmatic ministries presented to and for youth and adults. Friendships have been formed and lifelong bonds have been created through the structures and ministries provided through Christianity.

Knowing that we can find solace, peace, and friendship during those predictable hours and in those places we call church has given many believers and non-believers a sense of strength and feeling of positive anticipation. Much like the bronze snake in the desert, the church and its programs have offered God’s healing powers to many.

Later in Israel’s history, a problem arose concerning the bronze snake that Moses made. No longer did they look upon it to receive healing from God; they looked upon it to receive healing from the snake. The image which was to be used as a reminder of God’s power, had become their god.

King Hezekiah came along and destroyed the bronze snake that Moses had made, because the Israelites had been burning incense to it; they were worshiping the snake, instead of the God who ordered the construction of the snake (2 Kings 18:4b).

The entire Israelite nation had lost their faith in the true source of their healing and hope. For Israel, the image had replaced the original.

Christianity is fading quickly in the Western hemisphere. No longer do the buildings and programs enjoy the same responses of the sick and dying in our world. The bronze snake has lost its luster and is beginning to break down.

Is the demise of Western Christianity due to a lack of evangelism, effective programming, powerful preaching, stewardship, and building maintenance? Or has the bronze snake replaced the original in the eyes of worshipers, and God has decided to break it into pieces so that we will return to the true source of healing and hope?

In His dust,
Johnny

© 2009 Jonathan P. Gainey and Flock’s Diner.
All Rights Reserved

“My son, keep my words and store up my commands within you. Keep my commands and you will live; guard my teachings as the apple of your eye. Bind them on your fingers; write them on the tablet of your heart. Say to wisdom, ‘You are my sister,’ and call understanding your kinsman; they will keep you from the adulteress, from the wayward wife with her seductive words” (Pro 7:1-5 NIV).

The writer of the seventh chapter of Proverbs shared such transcendent wisdom that no one who reads the words can exclude his or herself from being placed as the “youth who lacked judgment (v. 7). We have all been seduced away from wisdom.

As a teenager I placed myself in many precarious situations; some could have had lifelong effects upon my life. Somehow, probably by the grace of God, I escaped without permanent scars (at least visible scars).

It wouldn’t be fair to leave you hanging without exposing myself a little, so let me think for a moment about what I am willing to share. I’ll admit, I won’t let you in too deep, but I will share one story that is probably common to many.

There were many of us who enjoyed an occasional alcoholic binge in our adolescence. We had no clue of the dangers, and enjoyed the euphoria of our blood’s thinner consistency. And on one occasion, I found myself so inebriated, that I have no clue how my friend and I got home. We were in a tiny sports car that was something like a sardine can with a V-6 engine. It’s a wonder that we even made it home at all.

During another blood-thinning orgy, when I had been married for only a year, I called my wife and begged her to come get me. Because of my tone, she assumed that I was hurt or sick and rushed to pick me up from my friend’s house. When she discovered that I was not sick or hurt, but “three sheets to the wind,” she took me home, threw me in the shower, and three hours later I awoke with the cold water spraying me down while my wife slept peacefully.

I deserved it.

Never again would I place myself or my family in such a juvenile position. I have learned a lot about trading my youth for euphoria.

As the child of an alcoholic, I have experienced many things that have prepared me for difficulty in life, and thankfully I also learned what I didn’t want to be—an alcoholic!

“At the window of my house I looked out through the lattice. I saw among the simple, I noticed among the young men, a youth who lacked judgment” (Pro 7:6-7 NIV).

The writer of this wise saying saw me. The writer also saw you!

Many of us are still being seduced, driven away from wisdom. And like the teenagers who can do more danger to themselves in an hour than can be repaired in a year (borrowed from Dr. James Dobson), mistresses of the world continue to destroy God’s people, until we find ourselves under the cold shower of an empty soul longing for the warmth of our “sister” and our “kinsman.”

In His dust,
Johnny

© 2009 Jonathan P. Gainey and Flock’s Diner.
All Rights Reserved

Abortion is not new. People have been killing babies for millennia.

Abram came from a long history of pagan worship in Ur that included child sacrifice, which is probably why God tested his faithfulness with the gruesome task of sacrificing his own son (s. Gen 22).

Later, in Phoenicia and then in Israel the worshipers of Baal would light fires inside the statue called Topheth and when the hands of the statue were glowing with red heat, the worshipers would place an infant upon the red hot hands and burn the child alive as it screamed until fainting from the pain.

King Josiah eventually destroyed Topheth. “He [Josiah] desecrated Topheth, which was in the Valley of Ben Hinnom, so no one could use it to sacrifice his son or daughter in the fire to Molech” (2Ki 23:10 NIV).

And then in the first century, the women of Rome would insert poisons into their wombs to kill their children, which is why Paul made it a priority to tell the women in Ephesus that God would protect them through childbearing (s. 1 Tim 2:15). Kostenberger explains that the term, σωθήσεται δὲ διὰ τῆς τεκνογονίας, (Eng. ‘saved through the childbearing’) is a reference to protection while she is pregnant. He also argues that the use of the article with the preposition, διὰ, with the genitive, should be translated ‘throughout the course of the pregnancy’ (Winter, Roman Wives, p.110).

And today, we kill babies while they are still in the womb and use foreign langauges like the Latin word for baby, fetus, thereby attempting to remove personal guilt, as we don’t have to watch the baby cook on the hands of Topheth or be cast down onto rocks from the edge of a cliff; we don’t even hear them scream.

Why have children, for thousands of years, been slaughtered by the adults who are supposed to love and care for them?

In every case throughout history the sacrifice of children has been done for the purpose of prosperity. By giving the sacrifice the aborting donors hoped that the gods would open the heavens and pour out blessings up them.

In Ur, Phoenicia, and Israel babies were killed to please the pagan gods so that they would receive rain, healthy crops, and (ironically) pregnant women. In first century Rome there was a stigma attached to being pregnant, because of the preoccupation with the form of the feminine body, causing women to take preventative measures against getting pregnant or poisoning their wombs to end pregnancies. Abortion methods were even deadly to many women, yet they feared being out of shape more than death.

Even today young people are force-fed the propaganda that having a child will ruin their lives and any chances of prospering. And though it is much more difficult to attain the financial status that allows for the easier life, having a child does not mark the end of prosperity.

If young people could grasp the wisdom that waiting for marriage to have sex is much more beneficial, despite the advice of liberal fundamentalists, we would all find that less children would have to be sacrificed for the sake of prosperity.

In His dust,
Johnny

Works Cited:

Bruce W. Winter Roman Wives, Roman Widows: The Appearance of the New Women and the Pauline Communities (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.), p. 110.

© 2009 Jonathan P. Gainey and Flock’s Diner.
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