Devil's Concert

He stood before them, elegant in tailored tuxedo , waiting for the applause to die. He bowed, turned and seated himself at the console. Bank on bank of ivory keys, patinaed with age, curved around him. Row on row of stops made all but the master organist himself quail in fear. Practiced movements, perfected over millennia, created a graceful dance of arm, hand and finger as he adjusted stops and touched buttons. The image of the Victim himself appeared on a giant screen above the Maestro’s head. Wild cheers and whistles greeted the Maestro’s newest innovation. He paused, ever the consummate showman, waiting for full attention. Fingers poised above keys, he held the pose for a few more heartbeats, then, with lightning stroke, he plunged into the new composition. Hellish sound filled the room and crashed against the walls reverberating back on itself, a wave of sound that deafened and resonated within the hearers. The translucent apparition, suspended in mid air, danced a grotesque marionette dance in time to the cacophony. Arms flailing, legs jerking, head seeming in danger of losing its attachment to his body, It was obvious he was completely out of his own control. The vast audience roared with laughter. Anger, fear, frustration and self-loathing distorted his face. But, always, he danced to the terrible, irresistible beat. In the box seats, left and right of the stage, special guests reveled in the physical sensations of the Victim And gloried in his pain and shame. The master organist forced actions which mocked, degraded, and humiliated the Victim in his own world. Then, for the greater pleasure of his listeners, he played a cacophonic chord that inflicted excruciating pain. Building to a crescendo, pulling stops to their full open position, he played the final bars of his masterwork. In ghostly green light, the Victim performed as commanded. In his real world, those he loved paid a dear price in terror and pain. The last long note hovered in the air, dying slowly into silence. The Victim slowly collapsed in on himself. None of the hearers moved or spoke, overwhelmed by the experience. Then a mighty roar filled the giant auditorium. “Bravo! bravo!” The adulation of his minions stroked his giant ego. He remained seated, back to the audience, bathed in their praise. Finally, turning to face them, he bowed condescendingly and strode into the wings. The sound of their applause followed him for long moments. A weeks later, He announced a new composition and concert. They assembled, expectant, wondering how he would top his last performance. An excited buzz filled the room. Again he set the stops. The audience gasped in admiration at his cleverness and applauded as the Victim appeared in full color. And this time, even those in the cheapest seats, now felt the exquisite sensations of the Victim. Hands poised, the Maestro paused , wringing the fullest measure of tension from the moment. Then,, as before, his fingers crashed to the keys. A sweet simple melody filled the room. Howls of agony washed the room. Straightening himself, he made a minor adjustment to a stop, implying some small error of setting. Sweating, attempting to hide a tremor, with a bravado he didn’t feel, he brought his hands down again. The name of their Enemy on the Victim’s tongue filled the room. Even the maestro screamed with terror. He slammed his hands on the keyboards trying to find the combinations he knew so well. Nothing worked. The simple prayer of the Victim twined with cries of terror and pain. Exits jammed and fights broke out. Some were trampled. At the console, the Maestro wept and cursed. Over time, he tried different combinations, variations on old familiar themes and new compositions. Nothing worked. The voice of the Victim grew stronger and more determined. The Maestro filled his ears with wax that he would not hear him. Rarely, he found a responsive chord and, feverish with anticipation, manipulated it in minor variations seeking that perfect chord which would restore his mastery. These, too, failed before long, leaving the Victim even stronger in his resistance. He craved the ego boost of the adoring audience, but dared not risk another humiliation. He cringed at the memory. From time to time, now, he touches the keys in melancholy reminiscence. No responsive note does the once-great organ sound. He hears only that music he once loved, but which now causes the hair to prickle at the back of his neck. He flees, hiding his shame and anger. *** And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, Ephesians 2:1-6 NASB (Used by permission)

Heavenly Laziness

“how do you like my place?” he said, waving a hand, indicating house, grounds, pool, gardens. “Pretty nice, huh?” I nodded, impressed in spite of myself. “How much…?” I asked. “It was a gift from my dad.” “He must be loaded!” “Yep, and this isn’t half of it. He gave me a boat, a car and a plane too. The pilot of the plane and the captain and crew of the boat too.“ “Wow!” I breathed. “oh, and he gave me an unlimited credit card to boot, for expenses and incidentals, as he put it.” He leaned back and sighed in contentment. “Wish I had a dad that was so rich.” “You do. He’s your dad too.” *** Our Dad has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing, which comes in Christ: In Christ, He chose us ahead of time to be holy and blameless in His sight; Through Christ, He predestined us to adoption as sons; In Jesus, we have redemption; Through His blood, we have forgiveness of sins; He revealed to us the mystery of His will: that all things would be summed up in Christ; He gave us an inheritance: We are sealed by the Holy Spirit of promise. This sevenfold gift contains all of our relationship with Him: salvation through glorification. Not once in these verses (Ephesians 1:4-14) is there a single reference to anything that is our doing. We are saved by grace, through faith, and that not of ourselves-it too is a gift of God. Salvation is through faith alone, but if that very faith is a gift, then we have absolutely nothing, nada zip to do with it. All is grace; all is of grace; all is from His generous hand. We are saved by His actions, His initiative, not ours. (Ephesians 2:1-10) So laziness is how the heavenly economy works. He does it all; we sit back and reap the rewards: a mansion of relationship, a luxury yacht of grace, a flying-high jet with crew of faith, daily spiritual food and drink aplenty all on His tab. To the praise of His glorious grace which He lavished upon us in His Beloved Son; all this in harmony with the riches of His grace (Ephesians 1:6, 7) 10-02-12

Church Board Meeting

“this is the tenth ballot. If we cannot reach a decision on this ballot, we will have to adjourn and bring it up next board meeting. It’s after one already.” The board chairman sounded as weary as he looked. He handed the pieces of paper down each side of the table. Each took one and almost immediately wrote on it, folded it and passed it back up the chain. The chairman opened each, read the results and marked a tally sheet. “Split again, five to five.” He sighed. “I know this decision is critical to our congregation,” he said. “Keeping or dismissing a pastor is not a light issue. It will effect us for years to come. Some of us have known Bob for many years and have learned to love and trust him. Some of you are new to the board and a few even to our congregation.” “That is exactly the point,” said one of the younger members. “If we don’t have a change in leadership we’re going to lose the younger crowd. We need a young pastor to lead us.” The arguing started over again, divided along age lines, music and worship style were the predominant themes. The chairman broke into the heat of the discussion. “May I have a motion to adjourn?” he asked. “So moved,” said one. A week later, as the board members filed in, they saw Bob sitting at the foot of the table. “As you see, I’ve invited Bob here to the meeting. I’ve asked him to give a brief worship before we begin our discussion tonight. He will leave after that and so will not break the board rule against his presence when discussing his employment. Bob, the time is yours.” Though all had heard him speak many times from the pulpit, none remembered a more gracious presentation. He did not talk of his employment, music or worship style. His last words were, “If you elect to have me stay, I do so gladly; if you ask me to leave, I do so gladly. In both cases, you are expressing the will of God in my life and I desire that above all things.” He prayed a brief prayer and left. There was silence in the room. Finally the chairman said, “Let’s take a vote.” Ballots were passed gathered and counted. “it is unanimous,” he said; “We’re keeping Bob.” Some have objected to Universal Reconciliation, stating that it destroys free will. The argument is that, if God exerts His power or even exhibits His love in such measure that all are convinced against their will, then free will is violated. The fictional board meeting is my answer to this. Should all be convinced that something is right doesn’t mean that their right to vote as they please has been violated. It means only that something bbhas happened to change their mind. Their freedom of choice is still in operation; they are not being forced. They just choose to align themselves with a position which they previously opposed. When exposed to the naked love of God; when all questions are answered; when all actions are seen for what they truly are; when all wrongs are righted; when we know as we are known, will we not freely and joyously surrender to Him who loves us beyond death? When we say, “love conquers all,” are we not saying that, exposed to infinite love, will we not joyously agree that we are wrong and He is right?

Shadow's Shadow

A shadow has no shadow. Shadow isn’t light and shadow isn’t solid but both are required for its existence. A flower’s beauty is but a marred mirror reflecting the face of Him who spoke it into existence. A dog’s loyal affection is a faint echo of that infinite friendship which knows no bounds. Human love is an order of magnitude above plant and animal; an elegant shadowy allegory of His perfect and unconditional love. All of nature, all of humankind and all relationships speak in hushed but eloquent words of the Creator; a shadow formed by Him Who is Light shining into this world. “But,” you object,“ “what of evil?” How can the horrendous things we do to one another speak of Him who is only good?” Is it possible that even this, the unthinkable, speaks of Him, for are not all things of Him, “through Him and to Him (Rom 11:36)?” If our reality is a shadow of the real reality; of that other realm, is not evil a shadow of those good things which are themselves but shadows of Him? Is not all evil a parody, a mimicking a distortion of something earthly but nonetheless good? Is not theft a shadowy shadow of the reward of work? Is not adultery, a negative of the good love that reflects His love? Is not murder an attempt at justice? Is not pedophilia a monstrous distortion of parental love? Evil is not the opposite of God. There is no opposite of Him. If there were an opposite, then it would be equal in some way. We would have a Zoroastrian conflict of a good and evil God contending for supremacy. As a shadow is only an absence of light; Darkness cannot put out light; it is merely its absence. Evil is but a parody, a dim shadow of the shadows of good. Even it is to His glory, revealing a lack, an absence of that which is good; of He who is good. We cringe at evil, rail against it in others, fight it,. But it is an empty nothing and even that void reveals the outline of the bright light who is only Good. A shadow’s shadow; empty, powerless, defeated. Turning our eyes on Jesus, looking full in His wonderful face, the things of earth do grow strangely dim; the things of heaven do grow wondrous bright in the light of His glory and grace. Even in our most defeated evil acts, we reveal something about Him to ourselves, to others. The worst of all mankind, at some level in some way, makes His glory brighter, His love more evident. The mightiest railer against truth and Truth is singing a hymn of praise, unwillingly, unknowingly. Some day, some way, we will see all for what it truly is; we will know as we are known; see as we are seen and truly worship in spirit and in reality Him who is the real reality. Among us we have the victims of rape, incest, pedophilia, murder torture. Holocaust victims still live. Many are disabled, maimed and born into a life of less-than-normal existence. What can I say to them? Not being of the first class, I cannot answer, but being of the second, I can say clearly that there is justice and that given eternity, all will be remedied one day. Will not He who is Just be just? Will He not bring all things into judgment and right the wrong and give the wronged satisfaction with which they will be content? This is faith, trusting that He Who loves all will redeem all and will make all things turn out right. Should I be the victim of something far worse than what little I have endured in this life, may I have the patient endurance, the trust and faith to continue to believe that this will be so. 09.20.12 e

de Torquemada's Logic

aTomas de Torquemada (1420-1498) was probably not known to his friends as “TT” or any other nickname for that matter. In fact, he probably had few friends. You see, he was known as “The Grand Inquisitor.” As Grand Inquisitor, his job was to ensure doctrinal orthodoxy by whatever means. In addition to torturing and burning at the stake hundreds of “conversos” (Jews or Muslims who had converted to Catholicism), he supported the Alhambra Degree (1492) which expelled hundreds of Jews and Muslims from Spain. There is no doubt that inquisitors, including de Torquemada, were seeking purity of doctrine, purity of faith and political and ecclesiastical power. However, alongside these less-than holy goals, he also desired the true conversion of those he tortured and burned. Here’s how it worked in his mind. If a person died a true catholic, he or she was spared the torture of hellfire. Hellfire being of much longer duration, was infinitely more severe. Therefore, torture and death in this life were of small consequence in comparison. A person, therefore, taken into custody of the Inquisition rarely had the hope of release; she or he died either in or out of communion of the church. If confession was made, the death was often swifter and more merciful, but death was still the end as it was deemed that the person should die before any recantation could take place. Some of these conversations are recorded in an Inquisitor’s own words in the book The Martyr’s Mirror, a book about the persecution of the Anabaptists under the Inquisition in the 16th century. We are repulsed by the horror of such thought, but is it not still a logical one? Is it not better to suffer a little and enter into bliss than to die and suffer eternal torment? Andrea Yates, who drowned her five children in 2001 (ages six months to seven years) told her prison psychiatrist, Melissa Ferguson, “…her sons were developing improperly. …It was the seventh deadly sin. My children weren't righteous. They stumbled because I was evil. The way I was raising them, they could never be saved. They were doomed to perish in the fires of hell. …they had to die to be saved." Most Christians believe that a child who dies prior to age 12 will be saved automatically since they have not yet reached the “age of accountability,” that is, they have committed no sins of their own. If Ms. Yates believed, then there is again, a certain logic to her actions: Better to die young than to suffer eternally. Though it seems, to this point, that Advocate torture and death to avoid hell, I would like to take this argument into an entirely different direction. Suppose hell didn’t exist? Suddenly the whole logic disappears. No hell, no torture, no drowning of children. But how can this be? The Christian church back to Augustine, believes in hell. The word is even in the Bible. But it isn’t in the Bible. I’m not going to go into all the technical details of translation and Hebrew and Greek words here. Suffice it to say that scripture nowhere uses the equivalent Hebrew or Greek word for an ever-burning torture chamber. (Below are some links to sources of information on this subject.) Scriptures do not even declare annihilation. What they do declare is that all mankind, first, last, best and worst will eventually come to know and love Him who is the Lamb “Who takes away the sin of the world.” (John 1:29) When I first understood this glorious Good News, I danced and sang in my spirit (well, as much as a truly introverted recluse can sing and dance). Think of it, is it not the most wonderful news you could possibly imagine? My children, grandchildren, aunts uncles, cousins, nieces nephews, siblings and parents along with everyone I’ve ever known or possibly could know; all mankind will share in that wonder of wonders, an eternity of love, joy and peace with our Lord Jesus Christ, His blessed Father and our constant companion the eternal Spirit. Whether you believe me or not, you must still admit, you’d like it to be true. This is not an attempt to convince you or coerce you into believing as I do. I share this as something so beautiful it’s impossible not to share it. I am aware that it is controversial in the Christian church; I objected to it for most of my life. It is the Good News, the Best of all News promised to Abraham and announced by the angels in glorious song at His birth. Here are a few of the primary scriptures which burst into my awareness and made me a believer in this glorious belief (all scriptures from NASB-used with permission.) The next day he saw Jesus coming to him and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! John 1:29 "And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself." John 12:32 But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep. For since by a man came death, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive. 1 Corinthians 15: 20-22 But the free gift is not like the transgression. For if by the transgression of the one the many died, much more did the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abound to the many. The gift is not like that which came through the one who sinned; for on the one hand the judgment arose from one transgression resulting in condemnation, but on the other hand the free gift arose from many transgressions resulting in justification. For if by the transgression of the one, death reigned through the one, much more those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ. So then as through one transgression there resulted condemnation to all men, even so through one act of righteousness there resulted justification of life to all men. For as through the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the One the many will be made righteous. The Law came in so that the transgression would increase; but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, so that, as sin reigned in death, even so grace would reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Romans 5:15-22 For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities -- all things have been created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything. For it was the Father's good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven. Colossians 1:14-20 For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, Titus 2:11 4 who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. 1 Timothy 2:3 For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom for all, the testimony given at the proper time. 1 Timothy 3:5, 6 It is a trustworthy statement deserving full acceptance. For it is for this we labor and strive, because we have fixed our hope on the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of believers. 1 Timothy 4:9, 10 My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world. 1 John 2:1, 2 Sources Tomas de Torquemada Wikipedia article: “Tomas de Torquemada” Andrea Yates’ story: Houston Chronicle, February 23, 2002. http://www.chron.com/news/article/Feb-23-Psychiatrist-says-mom-delusional-2103360.php Hell and universal reconciliation: Hope Beyond Hell (Note: This book is the first reading I did on the subject.) http://www. HopeBeyondHell Charles and Paula Slagle http://sigler.org/slagle/ Eric stetson http://www.christian-universalism.com/ Concordant Publishing http://www.concordant.org/ Harold Lovelace http://haroldlovelace.com/ J Preston Eby http://www.kingdombiblestudies.org Sigler Ministries http://sigler.org/ A Tale of Two Twins http://www.sigler.org/slagle/tale_of_twins.htm Tentmaker Ministries http://www.tentmaker.org/ Tom Talbot http://www.sigler.org/slagle/tom_talbot.htm Note: While the sites listed above vary somewhat in emphasis and even on significant details, all of them contend that all mankind will be saved. I do not agree with all of their conclusions, methods, or arguments but I do agree with that primary conclusion. 09.29.12