NEUROSCIENCE IS BETTER THAN GOOD THEOLOGY!

We are human, but we don’t wage war as humans do. We use God’s mighty weapons, not worldly weapons, to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments. We destroy every proud obstacle that keeps people from knowing God. We capture their rebellious thoughts and teach them to obey Christ.

2 Corinthians chapter 10, verses 3 thru 5; from the New Living Translation (NLT); emphasis mine

Some may think I am disqualified for saying anything about the United Methodist Church (UMC) because I left. If they want to think that way, feel free to do so. But I spend 66+ years in the Methodist/United Methodist Church. They had abandoned me long before I left them. And I have friends who still think it’s OK to stay in the UMC. Therefore, I am still qualified to speak into the 21st century version of the Titanic. And a recent article only affirmed that I was listening to The Holy Spirit in the choice and decision to leave the UMC.

On 8 February 2023, the United Methodist News Service shared an article by Rev. Taylor Burton-Edwards titled Using Our Brains: A Proposal for General Conference. He would have the delegates for the upcoming 2024 General Conference rely on their brains rather than good solid biblical and Holy Spirit inspired theology. Well, here’s some of what Rev. Burton-Edwards wrote:

How can next year’s General Conference make good decisions about the future of The United Methodist Church? I’d like to offer a perspective and several concrete suggestions about how to make sound decisions — and feel good about them — grounded in what neuroscience and neuropsychology have been discovering over the past several decades.  There are two pairs of best practices in decision-making one can derive from this literature. One is about reducing: Reduce the number of options and stressors. The other is about building: Build consensus and satisfaction. The first two relate to how our brains are structured to help us make significant decisions about new or complicated situations (neuroscience). The second two relate to internal and external factors that can influence our ability to persevere through a difficult decision process and feel good about it when we’re done (neuropsychology).  Attending to these best practices can set up the Charlotte meeting of General Conference in 2024 to deal successfully with perhaps the most momentous decisions it will have made since the Dallas meeting in 1968 that created The United Methodist Church.

Rev Burton-Edwards

Don’t misunderstand me. I want the UMC to be healed and move forward in God’s Kingdom. It would fill me with Great Joy to see a revival break out like it has been happening at Asbury. His answer to the quagmire of the United Methodist Church is neuroscience and neuropsychology. When I read that, my brain went immediately to the Scarecrow from The Wizard Of Oz. If he only had a brain! Now, I’m not against thinking and using our brains. God knows I wish more people would! But to base the future of a church solely on the brain? And then expound that it will solve the spiritual problems and move them forward into a better future? Geez, Louise! It seems to me that brains without The Spirit is what led the UMC to this point in history.

Now, I am like an umpire or referee. I only call it like I see it. And here’s how I call it. Neuroscience and neuropsychology have become the Baal of the modern United Methodist Church. Did I offend someone? Oh, well. The Truth has a tendency to offend at times. This is one such time. To remain a United Methodist is to bow down to Baal–the Lord of neuroscience and neuropsychology, rather than The Lord Of Lords and King Of Kings. It’s replacing Jesus as the Head of the Body of Christ with the head of neuroscience.

Does anyone want to speculate on the final outcome if this madness continues? Without knowing it (but then again, maybe he did) John Wesley made this comment, and I will leave you with it:

I am not afraid that the people called Methodists should ever cease to exist either in Europe or America. But I am afraid lest they should only exist as a dead sect, having the form of religion without the power. And this undoubtedly will be the case unless they hold fast both the doctrine, spirit, and discipline with which they first set out.

-John Wesley-

Advertisement

WHO CAN YOU TRUST?

Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.

Proverbs chapter 3, verses 5 and 6; from the New Living Translation (NLT)

Let’s talk about TRUST. Synonyms for trust includes words such as conviction, assurance, certainty, dependence, and hope. But before we can talk about TRUST we need to define this word. According to Dictionary.com the word TRUST means: “reliance on the integrity, strength, ability, surety, etc., of a person or thing; confidence.” Look carefully at those first two words: reliance and confidence. Think of these two words like book ends that hold up all the other books. Remove either end and the books tend to fall over–i.e.–lean to one side, depending on which book end you remove.

TRUST can be applied to a myriad of situations. Consumer products, services, automobiles, and human nature are just some examples. Speaking of human nature, my level of TRUST in human nature can be described this way: I look both ways before crossing a one way street. But it’s not human nature I want to talk about with you. Well, then again, perhaps it is. Who can we trust when it comes to living the life that pleases and honors God? This is called The Life Of Holiness.

For centuries people turned to The Bible. But for the past several decades, this view has been challenged by those once identified as liberals and now identifies themselves as progressives. Progressives want us to believe that the established ethos of The Bible is UNTRUSTWORTHY. In other words, The Bible cannot be TRUSTED when it comes to the life of Holiness. So, what can this all mean?

Well, for one thing, God was missing in action. He was missing in action when the words were formed. He was missing in action when those words were copied, by human hands. He was missing in action when the early church leaders were trying to figure out what was reliable and what we could have confidence in when it comes to Holiness. And He was missing in action when it was being proclaimed and taught by countless individuals as being THE BOOK and we could rely on and have confidence in when it came to discerning what God wanted of us.

So, why was God missing in action all that time? Human reasoning and logic offers us some insights. Perhaps He was apathetic, unconcerned of what was being taught. Maybe He was powerless to stop all that false and inaccurate teaching. It could be that He, the Creator, was waiting on the Created to help Him understand Himself. And if we embrace what progressive theology purports as the truth, God was just waiting. Waiting for the time when they would arrive on the scene to set thousands of years of errant teaching straight. For example, that sexuality is determined by our feelings and beliefs. And all that God wants from us is to love others by approving of their feelings and beliefs.

But tell me this, how can anyone rely on and have confidence in a “God” who has been missing in action for all this time? Or a “God” who changes His mind and delivers these changes via a select group who are enlightened to the level of revealing those changes to the rest of us? Progressive theology declares that the missing in action “God” has finally arrived on the scene to set the record straight.

Maybe they think they can rely on and have confidence in that kind of “missing-in-action-until-now-god”. And maybe you think that you can rely on and have confidence in that kind of “god”. But I cannot! And neither should you!

WHAT ARE THEY TEACHING???

⁶ So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace. ⁷ For the sinful nature is always hostile to God. It never did obey God’s laws, and it never will.

Romans chapter 8, verses 6-7; from the New Living Translation (NLT)

Recently I had a conversation with a fellow United Methodist clergy on Facebook. It was focused on a post this individual had made. It was surprisingly civil (up to this point)–still, I couldn’t help but think: What are they teaching now in United Methodist Seminaries? Here’s the screenshot of that comment:

This person compared understanding Scriptures to a 3-legged stool. The top is the Scriptures and the 3 legs are tradition, reason, and experience. Thus, without tradition, or reason, or experience, one cannot adequately understand Scripture. The primary (and often times “sole determining factor”) way to understand Scripture is through tradition, reason, and experience. Now, before you call me that dreaded “fundamentalist”, hear me out. We do not study the Scriptures in a vacuum. There are traditions. We all have experiences. And God created us to be able to reason, or think if you prefer.

But it seems that many of our clergy are using reason as the final determining factor. In other words, if it doesn’t make sense to us, or if the culture tells us something contrary, then we are free to change or ignore what the Bible clearly teaches. This is what many seminaries are teaching. Not all of them, mind you; but enough of them are and the result has been the dilution and devolution of the power of Scripture to guide us and form in us the life of Holiness demanded by God for His Image Bearers. Go back to the writer’s analogy of that three-legged stool.

The writer is correct in stating that for a three-legged stool to be secure enough to sit on, it needs all three legs. And, by implication, those 3 legs need to be the same length. Otherwise it is unstable. But do not overlook the other implication–that Scripture (the seat of that three-legged stool) cannot safely support us until all three of those legs are the same length. In other words, Scripture is to be formed by OUR traditions, experiences, and reasoning.

Can I be frank with you? I know, my name is Randy. But I need to be FRANK with you this morning. Using the writer’s analogy of that three-legged stool, when those who are supposed to be our Spiritual Leaders are taught that human reasoning overrides the Scriptures and that we need to change our beliefs about anything in the Bible, then the result is the chaos and soon to follow destruction of the United Methodist, and any other church that follows the same primrose path. And to my fundamentalist friends, if you allow your traditions to determine your beliefs about the Bible, then your three-legged stool is just as unsteady.

Hear me out! Yes, reason, tradition, and experience are helpful tools when it comes to understanding Scripture! But they do not determine what is THE TRUTH! The Truth is set by the Bible for all matters of faith, life, and conduct. But none of them gives us the permission to change The Standard clearly set in The Bible! From my perspective, many seminary professors took a bite of that apple Satan offered Eve and Adam, and unlike Eve and Adam who recognized the shame and mistake, they “reason” that the apple is good, and that Satan was right. Is there any doubts now as to why the United Methodist Tribe is imploding? It looks like that three-legged stool analogy doesn’t work after all.

ALL IN! OR ARE WE ALL IN?

⁴ “Listen, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. ⁵ And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength. ⁶ And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today. ⁷ Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up. 

Deuteronomy chapter 6, verses 4 through 7, from the New Living Translation

All means all, doesn’t it? At least that’s the way I think; and it’s very apparent that God feels the same way. In this season where the Orthodox faith has been thrown away like last week’s leftovers, this is even more true. Within many churches here in the good old U.S. of A., they are demoting their churches to a way that looks more like the culture, rather than the Kingdom of God. How can they expect to see God’s Kingdom here when they look, think, and act like the kingdoms of this world? They say it’s because they love God and love others. But then there’s this word ALL!

In the world of Poker there’s a phrase and an act called “All-In”! The player thinks and believes that their hand is better than all the other hands, so they put everything they have on the table; nothing is held back. Not one single chip is held back. Now that’s what you would call “high-risk” living! Without sounding blasphemous or irreligious, that’s what it means to love God and to live in His Kingdom. We don’t obey God in order to love Him. We love God and thus we obey Him. So we put everything on the line–with nothing held back.

Progressives think that we can love God and love our culture. And because they love God, that changes what is wrong and what is right. Love transforms the mess into perfection. By choosing to form their values around pop culture rather than The Bible, they cannot and have not loved God with their All! One of the places Moses reminds us to love God is with All of our “soul”. But one of the meanings of that Hebrew word translated “soul” is “appetite”! When one’s appetite is being fed by feelings and yes, even lies, then they are not loving God with their All!

And even many Orthodox folks who claim to love God with their All have another appetite. It’s for the property, buildings, and bank accounts. They are looking for a way out and at the same time wanting to keep those said assests. Now, I want to talk to my sister and brother Orthodox family. Is your church property and assests absolutely essential in order to break free of this hot-mess culture and get in on what God is doing? Are you afraid to leave the UMC because you are afraid of losing a building and checking account to your Annual Conference? If so, then you are NOT loving God with your ALL!

Does God really need our buildings in order to bring people into His Kingdom? Sure, many of us have an emotional attachment to that place. But if that emotional attachment is keeping us from stepping out of this hot-mess and stepping into what God is doing, then obviously our appetite isn’t All-In for God. What I am about to suggest that we need to do is indeed frightening and daunting. But it is also exhilerating, if you think about it. We are being led by the Holy Spirit to step out of the old and into something new; IF our appetite is All-In for God!

If we lose our assests of property and banks accounts, what’s left? I’ll tell you what’s left! What’s left is the God who delivered the Hebrews out of slavery. What’s left is the God who answered Elijah’s prayer with fire! What’s left is the words of the angel to the women: “Why are you seeking the living among the dead? He’s not here! He’s going ahead of you, waiting for you!” What’s left is Peter’s message at that Feast of Pentecost: “This is what the prophet Joel was talking about! The Holy Spirit is here! He’s giving dreams to young and old. He’s giving His message to men and women!” If we should lose everything we associate with our local church to an Annual Conference (meaning property and money), folks, we still have The Kingdom of God and the Presence of The Holy Spirit within us! And to be a part of another Great Awakening, isn’t that more than enough? Don’t allow your “love” for emotional attachments, get in the way of loving God with your All! If we love God with our All, then He is going to provide for us what we need! Trust Him because He’s proven that He is ALWAYS Trustworthy. Get rid of that anxiousness and embrace God with your All!

BUT I THOUGHT!

Welcome to another “Saturday Fair Tale”. Once upon a time there was a kingdom, and The King that ruled it was unique. Unlike the other kingdoms ruled by kings who did not care about his subjects, This King cared deeply for his citizens. Whenever one of His citizens had problems, and they would bring them to Him, He always helped them through whatever issue they were facing. He never turned away anyone.

The King wanted the very best life for His citizens. And to ensure their best life, He wrote laws and rules that were for the benefit of His citizens. Because He is The King, He wisely never asked the citizens for their input. You see, The King was very wise–wiser than anyone and everyone else. His laws and rules were not intended to deprive His citizens of joy and life. To the contrary, they were given to enable them to live the very best life. Now, one of His rules was no one could wear a Yellow Feather in their hats. And because The King was so very good, most did not question the rule.

But one day, a citizen by the name of Gray thought about the rule of no Yellow Feathers. Gray loved Yellow Feathers. He thought that the rule was rediculous. One day he said to himself, “I bet the Yellow Feather Rule was made a long time ago, and The King didn’t understand how some of us felt about Yellow Feathers. I feel like it’s OK to wear a Yellow Feather in my hat.” So, he did. It was obvious when he walked down the street that he was violating The King’s rule against Yellow Feathers. Soon others who liked Yellow Feathers saw his courage and decided they would wear Yellow Feathers.

Other citizens, who loved The King, began to question Gray about his decision to wear Yellow Feathers. Some would say, “Don’t you know that’s against The King’s rules?” And Gray would proudly say, “Oh, it’s OK! I feel like Yellow Feathers. It is how I was born!” And they would reply, “Don’t you know that one day The King is having an Accountability Day and He is going to judge everyone?” Accountability Day! If anyone was found to be living outside His Rules were to be forever banished from His Kingdom. Yes it was coming though no one knew when. But this didn’t bother Gray. He would always say, “Yes, but The King is good and loving. I love The King and I love His citizens. So, that’s all that matters. This, and how I feel.”

And then it happened! The King’s Trumpet blew and one by one, each citizen appeared before The King. Those who lived by The King’s carefully designed Rules, were welcomed and told they were no longer citizens, but His daughters and His sons. They instantly became princesses and princes. Amazingly, they became exactly like their King. But Gray noticed as he waited his turn, that some were being banished forever from The Kingdom. They started crying loudly as they were led away.

Gray became uneasy. He thought to himself, “I know I wore Yellow Feathers because that’s how I felt and I really loved them. I loved The King and His citizens, surely He won’t banish me!” When it became his moment to face The Accountability, he noticed The King looked sad. The King said, “Gray, you know I love you. I always have. But you chose to ignore my rule about The Yellow Feather. I know how you felt about Yellow Feathers. I know what you believed about Yellow Feathers. But you would not trust Me. Gray, I am sad to tell you, that you are forever banished!”

Gray wanted to argue with The King, but suddenly he realized that he was wrong. He pleaded with The King for another chance. He wanted to use all the reasons why he broke The Yellow Feather Rule, but the words just wouldn’t come. He felt guilty. And The King sadly replied, “Gray, you always had another chance before this moment. But Accountability Day ends another chance.” And as Gray was led away from The King, he knew The King was right. And to make Gray’s heart even sadder, and hurt even more, he heard the unmistakeable sound of Great Joy coming from within The King’s Palace. And Gray’s broken heart said to him: “If only I had trusted The King!”

THE END

It Matters!

It Matters! There’s so much talk–scratch that–there’s so much SHOUTING about WHO matters. Black Lives. Blue Lives. Asian Lives. White Lives. All Lives. But this morning I don’t want to talk about WHO matters. The burden that has been in my heart for some time now has been IT MATTERS! The reason being is that there are so many–way too many–who believe IT DOESN’T MATTER–though it does. What is the IT I’m talking about?

The IT is What We Believe About God And His Word–otherwise known as The Bible! Theological progressives are promoting this crazy idea that when it comes to God and His Word, it doesn’t matter what we believe, as long as we believe, especially that part about Love. Progressives say, “Just let us believe what we want. And you can believe what you want. And let’s just live together side by side. As long as we love each other, then the rest doesn’t matter.” But IT does MATTER!

People are heading down what they believe is the yellow brick road to enlightenment full speed ahead. But left in the wake of their ignis fatuus are broken, disillusioned, and deeply wounded people. They live a disconsolate and wistful existence. And the Progressives blame that lugubrious state of mind on those who of us who understand that IT DOES MATTER what we believe. While their mantra has been “You believe what you want and we believe what we want and we can still get along” is an incongruity because it elevates US human beings as the highest and final authority of what it means to put our faith in Christ–and to be His disciple and follower.

This kind of thinking is built upon a supposition that we humans are fully capable of understanding the heart and mind of God. That WE have the mental acuities to determine who God created us to become. That WE are free to determine what is right and what is wrong; what is acceptable and what is unacceptable; what is sin and what is not sin. In an online conversation with a progressive, she told me, “The Fall was a good thing because it freed us to determine our own life.” Excuse me, but isn’t that what Satan told Eve and Adam? I think it was.

Another alleged Gospel has been presented–it may sound good and reasonable to the human mind. It even sounds like it’s the way for all of us to get along. But sounding good and being good isn’t the same. Paul warned about this in Galatians Chapter 1, Verses 8 and 9–“Let God’s curse fall on anyone, including us or even an angel from heaven, who preaches a different kind of Good News than the one we preached to you.  I say again what we have said before: If anyone preaches any other Good News than the one you welcomed, let that person be cursed.”

Good News includes the truth that there is also Bad News! The bad news is that we are all infected, tainted, and under the influence of sin. This infection has corrupted our mind, and thus our ability to understand exactly what God wants of us. And the only reliable source to understand both the nature of sin and how it is affecting us is found in The Bible. Though the Bible was written by human hands, and though human minds brought together all these books as our Canon–our source for authority over us–I maintain that God was watching over these processes ensuring that today we have an accurate and reliable foundation, both about sin and God’s Grace. If God cannot protect The Truth from being transmitted through the millenniums, then God cannot be trusted at all.

We are not equipped mentally nor spiritually to determine what is or isn’t sin. Besides, we already have those definitions. It’s called The Bible. Here in The Bible is where we find Personal Holiness. Do we always get it right the first time? Hardly! But we are not left alone to our own devices to figure it out. We have many centuries of writers and witnesses who attest to the Truth of God’s Word. The Orthodox ways, though not perfected completely, reveal to us that Truth is Truth is Truth. And we are not free to redefine things like sin and personal holiness.

We have the Holy Spirit to help us. And the Holy Spirit will not, cannot contradict The Bible. We need to be careful, very careful, how we handle This Word. It matters what we believe–when it comes to sin, salvation, and a life of holiness. It matters, even if you think it doesn’t matter.

Getting What We Ask For–But Didn’t Realize It Would Be THAT!

PSALM 106:6-15 (NLT)

⁶ Like our ancestors, we have sinned.
    We have done wrong! We have acted wickedly!
⁷ Our ancestors in Egypt
    were not impressed by the Lord’s miraculous deeds.
They soon forgot his many acts of kindness to them.
    Instead, they rebelled against him at the Red Sea.^[a]
8 Even so, he saved them—
    to defend the honor of his name
    and to demonstrate his mighty power.
⁹ He commanded the Red Sea to dry up.
    He led Israel across the sea as if it were a desert.
¹⁰ So he rescued them from their enemies
    and redeemed them from their foes.
¹¹ Then the water returned and covered their enemies;
    not one of them survived.
¹² Then his people believed his promises.
    Then they sang his praise.

¹³ Yet how quickly they forgot what he had done!
    They wouldn’t wait for his counsel!
¹⁴ In the wilderness their desires ran wild,
    testing God’s patience in that dry wasteland.
¹⁵ So he gave them what they asked for,
    but he sent a plague along with it.

It’s amazing to me how anyone can think that The Bible is an outdated book, lacking current relevance.  Solomon was right when he wrote that there is nothing new under the sun.  This passage is just one of many that backs up this jewel of wisdom.  In this one Psalm, we have the history of God’s ancient people, and God’s current people.

Here’s the flow:  God’s people, the Hebrews, called out to God for deliverance.  They were slaves, helpless at the hands of their oppressors.  God called Moses to lead this movement.  Pharoah refused; God spoke; Pharoah still refused; pattern repeats.  Until Pharoah finally agrees to let them go.  Then he changes his mind and sets out in pursuit of them.  THEY are at the Red Sea and no bridges or boats around.  They are scared they are about to die.  They whine at Moses, but God intervenes and gives a promise:  “You will get to the Promised Land, and you will never see these Egyptian soldiers again.”  God parts the water, they cross over.  The Egyptians follow and God closes the Sea and dead soldiers everywhere.

They head towards The Promise and God does 3 things:

1. He provides for their physical needs
2. He leads them all the way
3. He assures them He is with them through the Pillar of Cloud during the day and a Pillar of Fire at night

These 3 things occur 24/7.  And how do they respond?  Here’s the Cliff Notes Version:

1. They whine about fresh food from heaven that costs nothing and which they did nothing to produce it
2. They can’t wait for Moses to return from consulting with God, so they make an idol they can see.
3. They whine some more, a lot more
4. They face some enemies threatening them but God promises Victory and it happens
5. They get to the edge of the Promised Land, God still providing, leading, and assuring them of His Presence, and they give up without even trusting.
6. They want a new leader and go back to Egypt–to slavery–but at least they would have garlic and onions–slavery for sure–but oh, those good old onions!

So what does God do?  God gives them what they asked for:  denying them entrance into The Promise.  They all die (except Joshua and Caleb)–in the wilderness.  They never tasted those wonderful onions in Egypt–the land of slavery and oppression.  But they got what they asked for–to turn away from The Promise.

Don’t be hard on those Hebrew children.  It’s happening in our culture today.  God offers us The Promise–The Promise of Life–Life that is full and meaningful–Life that happens through dying to self and self-interests.  Instead people choose to go back in the direction of slavery and oppression all to satisfy their selfish desires.

The Promise of God is that through giving we receive.  Through helping we are helped.  Through listening we are heard.  Through humility we are lifted up.  Through dying we begin to live, really live.  Instead, this Post-Christian culture has opted-in for selfishness, entitlement, fear, hate, blame, hate, and thousands of other destructive mindsets–all in the name of finding life.

The rejection of God’s Truth, as revealed in the Bible, has given people just what they’ve asked for–the politics of hate and fear, and settling for lifestyles that are nothing but onions in the land of oppression.  Don’t misunderstand me, I love a good onion and garlic seasoning.  But here’s what I’m learning:  When we human beings decide what is good and not good, right and wrong, people are led back to oppression and bondage.

Why is our nation in the mess its in?  Simple, the majority are wanting onions and garlic rather than The Promise of God–a life that is rich in meaning and profoundly filled with purpose.  I just remembered an old Burger King^® advertising campaign from years ago:  “Have it your way.”  From thinking they are entitled to whatever they want to sexual identities to ethics to morality and even to the definition of “right and wrong”, when we have it “our way” the result is…..well just watch the news…..onions, leeks, garlic for everyone–but also bondage and oppression….

Love God with all your heart.  Love others the way Jesus loves you.  And make sure all the glory goes to Him!