The Crash of 2008 (2) :Peace Amidst the Storm

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The Crash of 2008 (2): Peace Amidst the Storm

As the worldwide financial crisis develops, one word keeps recurring: PANIC.

If not stated that strongly, the emotion millions now feel is variously called fear, anxiety, or worry, and it comes with scary questions: What is going to happen to me and my family? How will I have enough money to live on? Where will I live? Is my job safe? Can I get another job? What about retirement? Is all hope gone with the wind?

Without knowing the answer to any of those questions, I do know that we can live without fear. Indeed, we can have peace in the midst of this ferocious storm. How?

Reflect upon the past

How has my foolishness contributed to my current fear? Have I lived beyond my income, acquiring more than I could afford, going into debt, failing to save? Do I dwell in a house that is too big and too expensive? Am I driving a luxury car, wearing designer clothes, and surrounded by costly technical toys? Have I been eating out at too often, or taking vacations I can’t really afford?

Where have I set my hope for happiness and security? On my 401(K) plan? The fortunes of my company? My investments?

Have I neglected my family in the race to make money?

In my self-indulgence, have I been like the millions of others who have failed to remember the poor?

What about God? Where has He been on my list of priorities? Have I been “too busy” to read the Bible, pray, or go to church?

In short: What have I placed at the center of my life? Possessions, power, prestige, and pleasure, or people? Most of all, Have I sought happiness and fulfillment in this transitory world, or in knowing the Maker of the universe?

Rely on God

Now is the time to turn our trust from bankers, stock brokers, CEOs, union bosses, politicians (above all!), and anything that they can promise or provide. Nor can we put confidence in ourselves and our own intelligent choices – look where that has gotten us!

There is one upon whom we can rely, however: God. He has made the universe and everything in it, including us. He cares enough for us to have sent His Son Jesus to live, die, and rise from the dead in order that our folly, faults, and failures may be forgiven, and we can have friendship with God again.

Through Jesus, God the Father has told us to pray for our “daily bread,” has asserted that He knows our needs before we even ask, and has promised to provide for those who trust in Him (see Matthew 6:19-34, for example). We are of more value than the birds and the grass of the field, over whom He looks with watchful eye, and He will surely care for us as well as He cares for these little creatures.

He has ordered us to be content with what we have, and not to be greedy for more, but to believe His promise never to fail us or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5). Many times in the Bible, God has told us not to be afraid, but to trust in His loving care for those who love and believe in Him (See Psalms 23, 34, 37; Philippians 4:6-7; etc.).

Re-order our priorities

But there are conditions to meet if we are going to enjoying peace with God and serenity in the middle of financial turmoil.

Jesus says that we should “See first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these [material] things shall be added to you” (Matthew 6:33). That means to put God first in our lives – to read His Word daily, pray to Him often, worship Him in church, and follow His commands, relying on His strength to do so.

Conversely, we are urged not to lay up for ourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust corrupt and where thieves break in and steal, but to lay up treasures for ourselves in heaven, where nothing can touch them. How? By giving to the poor and to the work of the church and by placing our trust not in our own financial assets but in God’s provision.

We must have a “single” eye, focused on God’s Word and His will, not on the things of this world. Even as we work to provide for ourselves and our families, we should do so as unto God, serving Him as our ultimate Boss, seeking to glorify Him and to benefit others, not just to make a living (See Ephesians 4:28; 6:5-9). Since we can’t be loyal to more than one master at a time, Jesus warns us to serve God and not Mammon (the god of wealth and all it represents).

Now is the time to spend more time in Bible reading, meditation, and prayer, not less, as we listen not only to God’s promises to provide for us but also to His commands.

Maybe we need to turn off the TV and spend time with our family members and housemates; give away some of the stuff that fills our storage rooms; eat simply, and at home.

Reach out to others

Remember, you aren’t the only one in this mess! Literally billions of people are being stunned by daily news of default, bankruptcy, market declines, and lost jobs.

This would be a good time to extend a helping hand to those in greater need than we are; to ask our neighbors how they are doing; to pray for the poor, the confused, the desperate.

Rejoice!

Yes, I said, Rejoice! There’s something good about times like these. People come together. Old values are revived. The really important things return to their proper place in our hearts. Most of all, God has “room” to work, now that we really need Him. When the Israelites were between Pharaoh’s chariots and the Red Sea, God told them to stand aside and watch Him work a mighty deliverance for them.

In fact, most of the miracles in the Bible took place when people were at their wit’s end, with no resources, nothing to turn to – except God! That’s when He has a chance to demonstrate both His power and His love.

Maybe something good will come out of this awful Crash of 2008.

A work of grace and beauty

Leighton Ford’s The Attentive Life is a work of grace and beauty, well worth multiple slow and attentive readings.

Coming from the mind and heart of a very wise man, this slender volume is redolent with truth and love. It’s the kind of book that probably could only have been written by an older person, but that deserves careful consideration by people of all ages, especially young men!

Seventy-six-year-old Ford, a former world-trotting evangelist, recently a trainer and mentor of younger leaders, has stepped into the role of “artist of the soul and a friend on the journey.” As an artist with words, he surely succeeds, with elegant, even poetic prose laced with pithy nuggets of his own and apt quotations from a wide array of skilled authors. Rarely has a Christian leader with such a well-earned reputation for character and spirituality revealed so much of his own weakness and shortcomings. One thinks of St. Augustine’s Confessions.

As the back cover says, “Distractions and fear and busyness were keeping Leighton Ford from seeing God’s work in an around him. So he began a journey of longing and looking for God. And it started with paying attention.”

Under the rubric of “attention,” Ford includes concepts like listening, alertness, and the contemplative life. Chapter One, “Paying Attention,” would have been, as the saying goes, worth the price of the whole book, for it highlights how critical is attentiveness for finding “the way to clarity of heart,” which is “the path to seeing God.”

The author wants to help us be “clear at the center” (his preferred rendering of “pure in heart”) “and so with true attentiveness ‘to see God in all things, and all things in God.’” Such a quality mirrors the nature of God himself, who is a “Father who watches with careful attention.” After all, God is love, and “love is focused attention.”

By contrast, we learn how deadly distraction and inattention can be, not only in our relations with those around us, but in knowing either ourselves or God. “Perhaps inattentiveness is our greatest sin – not only against [God] but against ourselves.”

How, then, do we overcome inattention? Ford follows the “hours” of the monastic rule to paint a portrait of a life which stops, looks, and listens seven times a day. Each of these “hours” is related to a time of day, a state of mind, and a phase in our journey through life, until death itself approaches.

I am hard pressed to describe either the loveliness of this book or the depth and relevance of its central message as the theme unfolds and develops with a remarkably organic flow. A banquet of gourmet delights, pleasing to the palate, delightful to the eyes, and nourishing to the soul. A diamond with dozens of facets, each reflecting and refracting light in dazzling variety. A tapestry of rich colors of every hue, complex but coherent. A bouquet of flowers. A symphony of ideas and images, with theme and variation, ending in a quiet but deeply moving climax.

But I cannot do justice to the variegated richness of Leighton Ford’s style or the content of this highly-autobiographical guide to the attentive – and finally contented – life. You must read it for yourself. Soon. Repeatedly. Attentively.

God’s Enfolding Love

God’s Enfolding Love

Yesterday as I was lying in the hammock my wife and daughter gave me for my birthday last year, I reflected on a passage from Julian of Norwich which I had just read on the love of God. I realized that I don’t just ponder the love of God very often. Earlier in the day, I had been reminded by Leighton Ford’s The Attentive Life to slow down and reflect on God, his Word, and his ways with us.

So, I thought about God’s love for a few minutes, and something new to me (though probably not to you) came to my mind.

Christians believe that God grants his pardoning love to us, forgiving all our sins by imputing them to Christ and transferring the righteousness of Christ to us (Romans 3:21-26; 5:6-11; etc.).

We also know that God’s love is transforming: As we consider what he has done for us, we are moved to imitate his kindness to others (John 13:34; Ephesians 5:1-12).

But what I saw yesterday is that God embraces us with an enfolding love. AS we trust in Christ, we enter into such a close relationship with him that the Bible says we are in some way in Christ (John 15:5; 17:21; Ephesians 1:3,4,6, etc.).

Now, since Jesus is in the “bosom” of the Father (John 1:18), indeed “in” the Father (John 17:17:21), and since we are spiritually alive in Christ, raised up with him, and in the heavenly places with him (Ephesians 2:5-6), we are also spiritually “in” the Father – that is, we are as close to him as we can be.

Consider this image: God the Father enjoys unbroken intimacy with God the Son through God the Holy Spirit. Those who fully trust in Christ are God’s beloved children also (Ephesians 5:1), and brought into this eternal loving relationship. God has, as it were, brought us into his divine embrace, surrounding us with his infinite love, enfolding us in the everlasting arms.

Stop for a moment, as I did yesterday, and imagine the rest, the comfort, the security, the peace of being thus enfolded in God’s gentle, powerful, and loving embrace.

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Total Health?

How To Resolve 7 Deadly Stresses: A Health Manual for All Nations. Oak Brook, Illinois: Institute in Basic Life Principles, 2008.

Carefully reading and then applying the principles in this book would prevent a great deal of disease and even bring healing to those already afflicted with major illnesses.

The inside title page adds, and Discover Five Causes off all Diseases, which might seem to be an arrogant claim, but is supported by a great deal of evidence, both from science and from the Bible. Though the author is not named, Bill Gothard’s fingerprints appear on almost every page.

The book begins with a definition of “total health”” not perfect health, but “the ability to fulfill the purposes for which God created you.” We are told that “total health involves a restored relationship with God and the accompanying signs of joy, freedom, and inward peace.”

Next comes a series of chapters on the five factors that determine health, which are: what we think; what we say; what we do; what we eat; what we inherit. Each of these then receives detailed treatment, with a description of how they affect our physical health and how they can be adjusted to foster physical and mental well-being.

“The disease crisis of modern medicine” is that we rely too much on drugs, all of which have toxic side effects. Covering symptoms with unnecessary pharmaceutical intake, we set ourselves up on a “course of increasing drugs and diseases.”

After an explanation of the harmful effects of stress on the body, we read in the body of the work how to “resolve” the seven major stressors in life: anger, guilt, sexual lust, bitterness, greed, fear, and envy.

More specifically, the writers claim that anger affects the cardiovascular system; guilt affects the nervous system; lust affects the endocrine system; bitterness the digestive system, greed the immune system, fear the respiratory system, and envy the musculoskeletal system.

Extensive references to medical literature back these diagnoses, which were apparently contributed by C. Stephen Paine Jr., M.D., who is thanked for his extensive role in the production of book.

Fundamentally, however, the starting point for each analysis is the Bible, which turns out to contain far more specific references to the relationship of mind and body than most of us would think.

At the beginning of each chapter on the various stressors, we learn how we try to hide or deny their presence in our lives. “I am not bitter… I am just deeply hurt.” On the other side of the page are ways in which we reveal express what would otherwise remain hidden. Bitterness, for example, may come out as “harsh, vitriolic speech, being very easily offended, being extremely judgmental, hard facial features,” and other manifestations of a festering wound.

After diagnosis comes a prescription for healing, based on the Bible and illustrated by vignettes of people who have found freedom by carrying out biblical instructions.

I was amazed at just how intensely practical information was packed into this slender volume, and how much wisdom is contained in a very brief compass. The reader will find step-by-step guidelines on how to “have a courageous conversation” and “how to transform lust into the dynamic of genuine love,” for example.

Some of the aphorisms bear careful pondering:

“To love someone is to understand him.” “One of the greatest gifts we can give a neighbor is a listening heart.” “It is not wrong to desire greatness. It is wrong to strive for it in our own way.” “The truest test of being a servant is how we respond when we are treated like one!” “Love is not an emotion but a choice we make based on God’s will. “Love can always wait to give. However, lust can never wait to get.”

Because of my profound admiration for the value of this beautifully-produced, lavishly-illustrated guidebook to health, I hesitate to make any criticisms. No human production is perfect, however, and How to Resolve 7 Deadly Stresses has a few that should be mentioned.

Though in general I found the interpretation of the Bible adequate, a few sections seemed to stretch the original intent of the biblical passage quoted. “Be ye perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect” (Matthew 5:48) probably means that we are to evince kindness to all sorts of people, even those who are unlovely. Instead, it is somehow made to support the otherwise helpful concept that we should be sincere and enthusiastic in the way we greet people!

Indeed, one of the main criticisms leveled against Gothard over the past several decades has been his propensity for forced interpretations of the Bible. Perhaps he would benefit from more input from biblical scholars.

Some will be turned off by another of Gothard’s trademarks: A “simple recipe” approach to resolving complex and sometimes chronic problems. One could get the impression that it’s just a matter of going through a checklist of recommended activities, and everything will be fine. For some reason, this doesn’t bother me, perhaps because I think there is the principles are so true, and most of the application of them so helpful, that a great deal of benefit really would come from following the author’s advice.

More difficult for me to understand were the ways in which a biblical principle is linked with a “resulting quality.” “Go the Second Mile” will produce deference; “Observe Communion” (the Lord’s Supper) will result in thoroughness. And so forth. I found this to be the only really jarring feature of an what is basically an extremely helpful treatise on total health.

Overall, however, I would strongly recommend How to Resolve 7 Deadly Stresses. It deserves repeated and thoughtful reading, and forms a good complement to my The Lord’s Healing Words, available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and AuthorHouse.

You may obtain this book from the Institute of Basic Life Principles http://store.iblp.org/products/rsds/.

G. Wright Doyle

EXPELLED: Evolutionary Ignorance

EXPELLED: Evolutionary Ignorance

The other night I saw “EXPELLED,” a documentary by Ben Stein that exposes a serious crisis in American society: The denial of freedom of speech to those who question evolutionism.

“EXPELLED” features interviews with university professors and others who have lost their jobs because they dared to suggest that perhaps Darwinian evolutionary theory does not adequately explain the origin and complexities of life on this planet. Even worse, some of them mentioned the forbidden term “intelligent design” in articles or lectures, thus signing their own career death warrant.

Not one of these people espoused creationism; none of them even suggested that evolutionary theory not be taught in public schools. They only wanted freedom to discuss different points of view.

That, they discovered, will not be allowed by Big Science.

Himself a Jew, Stein was led to consider some curious and rather scary links between belief in Darwinism and the eugenics movement, which led directly to the Holocaust. Though he makes it very clear that holding to Darwinian evolutionism does not automatically lead to killing off undesirables, Stein’s interviews demonstrated the well-known fact that Hitler was a fanatical follower of Darwin, and used Darwinian theory to justify eliminating the insane, deformed, and otherwise “unworthy” people from society. The same was true of Lenin, Stalin, and Mao Zedong, by the way.

Stein also interviewed eminent Darwinists at length. Allowing them to speak for themselves in answer to his questions, he let them show how irrational is their resistance to dialogue and how inaccurate are their characterizations of those who believe in intelligent design.

One common statement is that no reputable scientist could ever question the “fact” of evolution of all life from the simple to complex by random, impersonal processes.

But Stein found a number of people with one or more doctorates in science and/or mathematics who had serious doubts about the scientific basis for evolutionary theory. It seems that real evidence is lacking for the belief (and it is a belief) that all life comes from some original “simple” cell that somehow mutated into the plants and animals populating the globe today.

When pressed really hard, one evolutionist posited the possibility (he had no proof) that it all started with something piggy-backing on crystals. Richard Dawkins, author of The God Delusion, said – sit down and try to be calm –that perhaps life on earth came from a superior race on another planet who had evolved to a higher intelligence and then had “seeded” the Earth with the original life forms. This is science?

As it happens, I ran into the problems with evolutionism a long time ago, so I asked a friend who worked at the prestigious Cold Spring Harbor laboratory. “Of course,” he replied, “all serious scientists know that evolutionary theory lacks sufficient evidence.”

“So,” I queried, “why don’t they tell us the truth?”

“Because the only alternative is creation, and we can’t believe that!”

My curiosity piqued by his admission of the lack of proof for macro-evolution, I have read a number of books and articles over the years. Thus, I was not surprised when I recognized a couple of the people whom Stein interviewed, including William Dembski, who has been called “the Isaac Newton of information science,” and who holds two doctoral degrees, and the eminent German-born Jewish mathematician, David Berlinski.

If you want to follow this up, I recommend the following volumes, written for non-scientists like myself:

Evolution: A Theory in Crisis, by Michael Denton, an evolutionist who is alarmed by recent findings that undercut evolutionary theory.

Darwin’s Black Box, by Michael Behe, who maintains that Darwin simply could not know how “irreducibly complex” even the simplest cell is, making natural selection over long periods of time virtually impossible.

Darwin on Trial, by Phillip Johnson, a professor of law at Berkeley, who used the normal rules of evidence to evaluate the claims of evolutionary theory and found them almost without basis.

Icons of Evolution: Science or Myth? by Jonathan Wells (who also has two doctoral degrees), which examines the most commonly cited instances of development from one species to another and shows that they are all either fraudulent or lacking any foundation in fact.

I haven’t finished William Dembski’s Intelligent Design yet, but it looks pretty good.

Note: Not one of these people argues for young earth creationism.

But you might want to look at Faith, Form, and Time, by Harvard Ph.D. Kurt Patrick Wise. A student of one of the most eminent Darwinists of the 20^th century, Stephen Gould, Wise actually thinks that the Genesis account of a six-day creation makes better sense scientifically than does the evolutionary model.

One caveat about “EXPELLED”: Stein is pretty angry about the suppression of evidence and the silencing of people who dare to challenge the status quo, so this documentary, though very well done, comes across as pretty stark and black and white. But then that’s how the dogmatic evolutionists portray the conflict between evolutionism and intelligent design, so maybe Stein is simply telling it as it is.

Kentucky Derby 2008 (2): Sudden Death

Sudden Death

Having overcome great odds to earn second place at the Kentucky Derby, the filly Eight Belles suddenly collapsed after the race and had to be put down by the veterinarian.

No one could have foreseen this tragic end to a great performance. Her jockey had no cause to be concerned for her health as he galloped her around the track with the other horses after they had all crossed the finish line. She had run strong, and seemed fine.

With no warning, however, she acted a bit strange and then fell down. With both her ankles broken and no way of standing up to be taken off the field in an ambulance, she had to be euthanized immediately.

Elation turned to intense for her jockey, trainer, owners, and many in the stands.

What a precipitous fall from glory to grief! How unexpected it all was.

Earlier in the day, I had been reminded of the imminence of death when I called a friend who’s dying of a virulent cancer.

“I have two weeks to go,” he said firmly, though with a hacking cough. “It came on quickly in January. I’ve done my best to put my affairs in order, and now I’m about ready to go.”

He’s a strong Christian, with a firm hope in the resurrection from the dead for all believers, so I could detect no self-pity or fear in his voice. On the contrary, he offered me counsel:

“Put your affairs in order!” he urged. “This thing came on me suddenly and left me little time to prepare. Put your affairs in order!”

The sudden demise of Eight Belles later that afternoon pressed home the point. Life is short, and could end at any time. Are we ready?

Two Beggars

Two Beggars

After church yesterday, Dori and I were walking to meet out-of-town friends at a restaurant when we passed three beggars sitting on the street.

Do you have any change you could spare?” asked one shaggy man with a large shaggy dog.

Walking briskly by, I said, “No.”

Strictly speaking, that was true, since I didn’t have any coins in my pocket. But it was also an excuse, because I don’t know what to do with beggars. Sometimes I open my heart and my wallet, and sometimes I just think that I would be feeding someone’s habit.

He didn’t try again when we headed back towards our car after lunch, but a block later we encountered a pleasant-looking young black man who approached me and said,

“Do you have any money you could give me to get something to eat?”

Having just enjoyed a good (though not expensive) meal, I somehow could not refuse.

“Sure, let me go with you,” I said, leaving Dori to wait for me at the car while I accompanied him to a restaurant. (She had indicated that she was happy with this arrangement.)

“What’s your name?” I inquired.

“Stu.”

“What do you do for work, Stu?” I asked, rather insanely.

“Nothing. I don’t have any work. I lost my job.” He sounded dejected.

“What did you use to do?”

“Construction. Sheet rock. I finish sheet rock.”

“Oh, that industry is in a slump, I know.” His story sounded plausible, so I thought maybe he was a responsible sort of fellow.

“What are you doing to find work?” I pursued.

“I go to construction sites, but no one is hiring.”

“Look, that industry is going to take at least two years to recover, so maybe you could use your spare time to gain a new skill or get some free education, so you can get another job.”

He nodded appreciatively. Well, I was glad to help a man like this.

Until we saw the three beggars I’d seen before, and the slightest flicker of recognition passed between them. So, probably these tramps all know each other and occupy different turf where they prey on innocent passersby-like me.

By then I was committed, however, so we entered a lower-priced eatery that he had chosen and I pulled out two dollars (the “change” I had in my wallet) and called the manager over to give him the money.

Glancing at the menu, however, I noticed that two bucks would only buy a cup of coffee and maybe half a piece of toast, so I pulled out a five dollar bill and handed that to the proprietor instead.

”Here,” I instructed, “ use this to pay for a meal for him.”

The man behind the counter rattled me a bit more when he seemed to know my new friend, but I pretended to ignore that and left, with another exhortation to get some education and a “God bless you, Stu.” He shook my hand and thanked me. I still liked him.

The shaggy man with his big dog saw me coming, and asked again for some change. Waving to him, I strode by without a word. I guess I just didn’t like him and his fuzzy companions very much. They all looked well fed and seedy.

“He’ll talk to that nigger but not to me,” the disappointed man uttered just loud enough for me to hear as I hurried back to Dori, who had been waiting quite a while by now.

Turning quickly, I retraced my steps to where he sat and gave him the two dollars originally intended for the black man.

“You were rude to me, but I’m not going to be rude to you,” I said softly, as I handed him the money. “God bless you, brother.”

“God bless you, too, Mister,” he responded.

So many unanswered questions surround this entire event that I can only plead, “May God have mercy on us all!”

The Unknown Artist

The Unknown Artist

Last night, Dori and I visited several art galleries on the Downtown Mall in Charlottesville. It was the first Friday of the month, when they hold special exhibitions and offer free refreshments.

The first one we entered offered some really good art, but the pickings were slim for hungry free-loaders.

The next gallery featured ugly “art” and no food, so we didn’t stay long.

But the last place, which we’ve always enjoyed the most anyway, did not disappoint us. Larger, with dozens of really fine paintings and other objets d’art, it held our attention for quite a while. We especially liked the exhibition of Eric Slayton’s oil paintings. We could see why his work has been displayed in the West Wing of the White House and in U.S. embassies around the world.

The goodies made up for the scarcity at the other galleries – fresh vegetables, crackers, tasty dips, and Sprite. I tried not to appear like the glutton I am, but did manage to, shall we say, silence the messages that had been rumbling up from my mid-section.

Sitting at a table with the little cups of Sprite was a pleasant-looking lady who seemed to belong there. Going over, I asked,

“Are you the hostess here?”

“Yes, I am.”

“Well, I just wanted to say ‘Thank you’ for these refreshments. They’re really good. We love the paintings, too.”

Smiling broadly, she replied, “You are welcome.” Then, pointing over to a tall, handsome man standing by himself, she asked, “Have you met the artist? He’d love to talk to you.”

We hadn’t known that Eric Slayton, the creator of our favorite paintings, was present. I walked over to him and introduced myself, expressing appreciation for his work. He beckoned to his wife, and introduced me to her, remembering my name and even pronouncing it correctly (most people say “Ray,” or “Frank,” or “Dwight”).

Dori had already gone off to another section of the gallery before I met Mr. Slayton, but I remained to chat with them for about ten minutes. Living in Prescott, Arizona, they had never before seen the Blue Ridge Mountains, so we shared our appreciation of the lovely scenery of Albemarle Country. We also talked about modern Chinese painting.

What a pleasant couple they were! And what a privilege, to meet the creator of the art which had brought us so much enjoyment!

And all because I had stopped to say, “Thank you.” Maybe there’s a lesson here somewhere.

One further thought: If we take the time, we can talk to the Master Artist whenever we want to, and thank Him for the beauty with which He has surrounded us.

The Street Preacher

The Street Preacher 

            On St. Patrick’s Day (March 17), I took the train from New Haven to New York, where I had a two-hour layover before boarding another train home to Charlottesville. On my first stopover in Penn Station a few days earlier, I remained below, enjoying the sights and sounds of the subterranean semi-city. This time, however, I decided to emerge from the “safety” of the train station to the busy streets above. I actually thought I might be able to catch a glimpse of the thousands of revelers.

            When I asked directions to the parade, I was directed towards Fifth Avenue, three blocks away. Crossing 34^th Street, I saw a middle-aged man standing not far from the corner, speaking to no one in particular as the crowds hurried by.

            I was about to pass him also, and did, but something in his manner and his message drew me back around to where he was standing, and I just stood there, quietly listening for almost ten minutes.

            This was my first real exposure to a street preacher. I’ve seen men haranguing a crowd, but never have I stopped to listen.

            Holding a little green Gideons’ New Testament in his hand, he cried out with a loud voice as he looked straight ahead and poured forth his message in steady, rhythmic cadences. I was skeptical, and sought to find fault with him. Not that I am opposed to such endeavors, which have engaged the energies of many great servants of God over the centuries, included John the Baptist, George Whitefield, Hudson Taylor, and Jesus himself. It’s just that I see these people as perhaps you do, maybe a little nutty.

            He was dark-complexioned, about my height, though a bit heavier, and with more gray hair. Simply dressed, even a bit shabby, he stood in front of a couple of large plastic bags whose contents I could not discern, but which just might have held his all his most valuable earthly possessions. Clearly, he was not getting rich by thus occupying himself.

            Nor was he acquiring fame. Tourists and travelers like me had other places to go and see, and headed for their destinations with cheerful determination. New Yorkers are too sophisticated, I suppose, to waste their precious time on a non-entity like this, or to halt long enough to hear a message that challenged their fundamental values. 

            For that is what he did, non-stop and with great passion. 

            “Friends, you can cancel your appointment with your hairdresser. You can cancel your appointment with your lawyer. You can even cancel your appointment with your doctor. But you can’t cancel your appointment with death.”

            “The Bible says that there is a hell, and that those who do not repent of their sins and trust in Jesus Christ are going there.” For his Roman Catholic listeners, he warned, “I have read the Bible many times, and in it I find no mention of Purgatory.”

            “But you say, ‘I have lost my job. My wife has left me. My children have gone off the right path. Cancer is eating up my body. I am already suffering enough. I am already in hell.’ Friend, I tell you that the pain you endure now is only a slight foretaste of the eternal misery you will encounter in hell if you do not turn from your sins and put your faith in Jesus Christ.” 

            He spoke of his own previous experience – drug addiction, immorality of all sorts, pride, envy, hatred. “But Jesus Christ, by the Holy Spirit, saved me; he forgave my sins and made me a child of God. Friends, he can do the same for you.”

            The more I listened, the more I admired – no, envied – this man. He had it all:  a firm grasp of the entire Bible, it seemed; up-to-date knowledge of current events and cultural trends, to which he referred frequently; oratorical eloquence of a very high order; and fearless zeal for God’s glory and the salvation of souls.

            He paused only to take the shortest of breaths, so at length I just had to break in (for I did want to see the Empire State Building), and said, “God bless you, Brother. I am a preacher, too, but you are far better than I am.”

            At that he ceased speaking and put his arm around me.

            “Thank you Brother, he replied with a warm smile. Let me pray for you.” And he did, passionately, asking God to give me the fullness of the Spirit as I shared the Gospel.

            There we were, two middle-aged men, with our heads bowed and arms on each other’s shoulder, enjoying the immense gift of instant friendship. He was from Puerto Rico (I learned), where I lived for two years as a child. Maybe we were in San Juan as boys at the same time, unbeknownst to each other. At any rate, God had brought us together on a crowded and noisy street corner in Manhattan for a few brief and blessed moments.

            He returned to his preaching, pouring out his heart in the hope that some would find the freedom and joy and peace which had come to him, perhaps through another preacher on another corner.

            And I – I made my pilgrimage to the Empire State Building, symbol of man’s pride, and then into Macy’s, a place where all our material wants can be supplied (for a price). To be sure, I enjoyed myself thoroughly as a tourist in the big city.

            But in my heart the insistent voice of that faithful, courageous, street preacher,  pleading with all his heart, drowns out the din of downtown New York. At least for me, he re-defines success, and true joy, and the real purpose of this transitory life.

            Happy Easter.

Three conversations

I took the train today to New Haven, changing at New York’s Penn Station. Getting off the train, I saw a young man with a cylinder slung across his back and asked what was in it.

“A poster,” he replied.

“Are you going to a scientific conference?”

“Yes, in Cold Spring Harbor,” he answered in a think European accent.

“Where are you from?”

“Poland”

“Oh, I greatly admire the Poles.”

“Why?”

“They have a noble history.”

“What was noble about it?”

“The Polish cavalry rode out bravely to meet the German tanks at the start of World War II.”

“How do you know that?”

“I read a bit here and there in history.”

“What do you do?”

“I lead a small think tank in Charlottesville.”

“What do you ‘think’ about?”

“China.”

“What about China?”

“Religion in China, and especially Christianity.”

“Oh? Is there any Christianity in China? I thought it was all wiped out.”

“Well, they tried, but now the Chinese church is growing fast, especially among intellectuals.”

He stopped in his tracks and fixed me with an incredulous stare.

“I don’t understand how this could be.”

Well, of course I was more than happy to tell him why many educated Chinese are becoming Christians in droves. That just mixed up the pieces of his little mental puzzle, as I described how really bright Chinese were not only looking for answers to questions of meaning, purpose, and social ethics, but also their own private dilemmas and conflicts, and how some of them are open to sharing their mental journey with us, and even seeking our advice sometimes.

“They must pay you really big bucks for that kind of advice,” he said, sincerely.

“Well, no. But they give us their friendship, which is worth more.”

He smiled appreciatively and we parted.

Briefly, the next conversation was on the next train with a young black student at Fordham University, whom I asked about what her classmates were thinking about life these days, and whether they were optimistic about their futures. In the course of our discussion, I asked what religion(s) her friends were favoring, and she said they were mostly atheists.

“How interesting!” I replied. “In China, among students, it’s just the opposite,”  and went on to explain. She was quite surprised, but didn’t pursue the matter. Too many text messages were coming in, I suppose.

The final conversation was with the Hertz d river who picked me up. He told of how his teenage daughter had reported on him for giving her his frank opinion on some matter of contention, and how the police had called him in the next day for “child abuse.” He is distraught by his inability to discipline his two daughters, even verbally. I sympathized with the  difficulties of rearing children these days, inwardly thanking God for my own mostly respectful daughter, but thought I had an opportunity to put in a word for faith.

“Have you thought of taking them to church?” I queried.

“I take them to church every Sunday but it doesn’t seem to do any good.”

Is there a connection between these conversations? I think so. The decreasing decadence of the West, and the turning of Chinese to  Christianity, having “been there and done that.”