Sometimes Christmas is “boring”.

 

I am sure you got a bit of shock at me, a confessing Christian saying that. That sounds unbecoming, doesn’t it? Further my family will be surprised too at me saying this – because I taught my kids some Christmas traditions which I got from my mother and grandparents. As young boy, I looked forward to Christmas Eve the time we celebrate it because where I grew up, I was surrounded by cousins, and it was a lot of fun when the older ones help in what mom and grandma were cooking – and we did have plenty of food. Some of our dishes we only cook exclusively during Christmas Eve, and you do not have them unless it is Christmas or very special occasion. So, wait – do not judge the blog post by its title.

Yeah, it is strange for me to say Christmas is “boring”.

I get bored with the commercialization of Christmas and how the world pushes us to focus on the buying of products so that we can give gifts. In a sense of course, giving is part of Christian virtue. However, today in the West, we are driven to buy many products which are probably going to be kept in the closet unused. It becomes a problem as to what gift you think you should buy for your relatives and friends because you wonder what it is, they still do not have. Also, feasting produces stress and pressure too, the preparation heightens tiredness and thins the patience.  Of course, all of these are FB photo opportunities to post on our FB, but if we be honest – it feels empty. At least that is how I sometimes feel.

It feels empty because we allowed the commercial companies to high jack our precious meaning of OUR Christmas. Did you know that retail companies obtain 30% of their yearly revenue at Christmas time. Try taking away Christmas and you got a fight in front of you, these companies will side with Christians, I can predict – and it is because they get money out of Christmas. Just imagine if we stop celebrating Christmas like we do now – how many tree planters go out of business, how many groceries will struggle, how many butchers will have a dull year, how many people will not have a job! We have allowed the commercial world to dictate to us how we ought to celebrate Christmas and I rebel against that.

I can tell you this was not how the early Christians celebrated Christmas. To them Christmas was the birth of their King.

Luke 2:11

Today in the city of David a Savior has been born to you. He is Christ the Lord!

 Christmas to the early Christians had to do with Sin and Salvation. I read they spend time reflecting and repenting. Repenting? That is something the companies don’t know about – focus on the products and the good time. Careful what we teach our children, we might be building the character of entitlement in them by leading them to expect presents and tons of them.

The early Christians celebrated the simplicity of the gift – the Lord in the flesh – It is all about Jesus. It is not about the presents – it is about the person – Jesus. The real gift of God to us.

 

 

If you are an anti-Calvinist, you must be Arminian? Huh?

 

[Updated - Dec 16, 2023]

There is a common misconception in Evangelicalism that when you write or say something against Calvinism - aha, you must be an Arminian.

Calvinists assume this to be so. In fact, Arminians think this to be so too! They think you are one of them when you oppose Calvinism.

What a false dichotomy fallacy! 

This post is meant to correct this impression - by tracing the situation via history.

Calvinists are quite quick to assume that there is no one else who opposes them except Arminians. Arminius we can recall was the Reformed minister who kicked back against 5 points of Calvinism.

For example, let's take R. H. Lenski - a famous Lutheran NT Scholar well respected by other non-Lutheran who wrote a compelling commentary on Romans 9, which rejects and assails the way Calvinists interpret this to support their decretal/unconditional predestination. Many recognize the formidability of Lenski as an NT Exegete that even the Calvinist Apologist Dr. James White had to write a rebuttal of Lenski's exegesis proving Calvinists exegesis wrong  here. 

Some Calvinist mis-identity Lenski as Arminian - see that here

Furthermore, Arminians love to take Lenski as their own, since he fought Calvinism. In fact even US Synodical Lutherans from LC-MS/WELS/ELS etc who hate Lenski because he rejects their Universal Objective Justification, label him to be Arminian too, not Lutheran! 

Arminianism is a boogey man word. If you want to denigrate a theological opponent, just identify the person as Arminian! Calvinists often resort to straw-man propaganda labelling them as Pelagians or Semi-Pelagians which Arminius, a highly researched theologian, was unlikely to be unfamiliar with these positions. 

Needless to say, Lenski a well respected NT Exegete from the Lutheran camp is loved by Arminians to point as their champion too. See the Theology section of the Wiki article about Lenski here, where there are those who identify him as Arminian.

I read most of R H Lenski's commentary and I don't think he will appreciate being mislabeled and not thought about as Lutheran.

I had a discussion with someone of an Arminian persuasion and I was puzzled why by history and shear evolution of thought why there is reluctance to give credit to where credit is due - that Arminius must have been influence of those who went before - the Lutherans.

Thankfully, I was helped by Arminians who do credit the Lutherans who influenced Arminius with proofs I link below. HT: Andrew David

If you are one of those who would like to make Arminius as an original thinker, here are the facts:

1. The Lutherans have been opposed to Calvinism even before the Arminians came to the scene.  The earliest opposition from Lutherans that can be traced is from 1570.
2. The Lutherans wrote about Calvinism even before the Book of Concord was signed - 1580.
3. Jakob Andrea, a co-editor of the BoC cross "swords" with Theodore Beza, who was Arminius' senior in the university where Arminius studied.
4. Jacob Arminius came to the scene in 1610, that is 1 generation away from 1570.
5. Jacob Arminius claimed that he was influenced by a Danish Lutheran - Neils Hemmingsen and read the writings of Melanchton the author of Augsburg Confession. Here are references to this connection:
1.  Something for Arminius Geeks
2.  The Doctrine of Prevenient Grace in the Theology of Jacobus Arminius

First, argue from Scripture not from your Confession

 

I spoke to a prominent pastor the other day. He said that he does not go anymore to those FB discussion forums and do not engage in those forums anymore. The reason? He said, they do not prove their position from Scripture. Rather, they quote what some Reformation Fathers said and so on. Thus, no exposition from Scripture as to why their position is sound and reasonable.  This is a fallacious position to be in, because this is arguing from authority as if that authority is not human and infallible like us. In Latin, it is called argumentum ab auctoritatis.

This is frustrating because it is no trying to convince you of what Scripture directly says but rather what some teacher in the past that enjoyed respect says. Hence, the argument goes this way - he ( the so called Father)  believed so and so, therefore, you should believe in so and so, like me.

In the Book of Concord (BoC) we have this in FC, SD X, 

Comprehensive Summary, Foundation, Rule and Norm (Source: https://bookofconcord.org/solid-declaration/rule-and-norm/ )

1. First [, then, we receive and embrace with our whole heart] the Prophetic and Apostolic Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments as the pure, clear fountain of Israel, which is the only true standard by which all teachers and doctrines are to be judged. (Source: https://bookofconcord.org/solid-declaration/rule-and-norm/#sd-ruleandnorm-0003 )

If you are true to your so called confession, that you confess the BoC, then quoting the BoC first is something you should not do, rather you need to prove from Scripture first and judge it from all teachings and doctrines. By this, the BoC writers submitted themselves under the authority of Scripture. So, should you.

Yet some hold their confession like the BoC as another "scripture" as another Talmudic book. It is a misuse of this document and an abuse as well.