The Two Commissions

Pirate Christian Radio recently aired a sermon preached by Pastor Gervase Charmley entitled ,,The Two Commissions". You can listen to it here. The sermon is the last 50 minutes or so of the podcast.

If you like this sermon, check out Pr. Charmley's blogs:

Free St. Georges
Strict and Particular

Germans not flocking to church this Easter

Deutsche Welle has a brief article on Germany and Easter.

I am sure pastors and churches in Germany would like to see church attendance rise, especially at Easter. Here in the American northeast, it seems as if Christians are of the same mindset as those mentioned in the DW article, with the same percentages even.

I have been told and taught that we are now living in a post-modern Western society. I am not so sure about that. There certainly seems to be a strong modern ideal in my corner of the American northeast. Post-modernism, while it claims to be a return to things spiritual as an essential part of the human experience, does not necessarily translate to higher attendance at religious festivals or even in an interest in faith or God.

We do seem to be living in a post-Constantinian Christian world and living more in a first century world, as far as the Church is concerned. That is not necessarily a bad thing. To be sure, it is certainly a more challenging environment where Christianity is one of many religious possibilities for people to believe. It is also an exciting time, where each challenge also brings with it God's blessings. Hopefully, it will be a time of less obession with numbers, attendance, and finances, and more attention and delight in people and relationships: people with one another and people with Christ.

Time will certainly tell the tale. Perhaps the classic Devo song from the very early 1980s sums it up best: We're all living in a post-post-modern world.

Christ is risen! He is risen indeed. Hallelujah!

Christos aneste! Alethos aneste. Hallelujah!

Christus ist auferstanden! Er ist auferstanden ist. Hallelujah!

Kristus er oppstått! Han er steget virkelig. Halleluja!

Battlestar Sonatica - Baltar's Theme

This piece was written for BSG to musically score Baltar's experiences on the Cylon basestar. It has a classical sound to it, but when paired with Baltar it has a requiem-like tone in regards to who he is and what he has done.

It is interesting that the official title of this is "Battlestar Sonatica" and that it was written specifically for Baltar's character. In an earlier blog I noted that BSG seems to focus on Baltar's fall from grace and his redemption.

A couple of weeks ago I watched some of the original BSG episodes from 1978. The original Baltar character is similar to the reimaged character. Both fall from grace and both are redeemed, although in the original series Baltar's redemption is not fleshed out completely or satisfactorily.

"Battlestar Sonatica" has a somber and sad mood. This fits Baltar perfectly because, although he is directly linked to the annihilation of the colonies and also responsible for signing (at gunpoint) the authorization fo the Cylons to round up and execute Human resistance fighters on New Caprica, Baltar experiences extreme angst and Anfechtung throughout the series. This occurs all the while when he is receiving visions from God. BSG did an excellent job keeping this tension, especially when Baltar (and we the viewers) were not sure if he was only a con-man, delusional, suffering a nervous breakdown, or really chosen to be an intregal part of God's plan for Humans and Cylons. "Daybreak" finally settled the issue: he was really getting guidiance and visions from God; he really was an agent in God's plan.

The weakness of the BSG series regarding Baltar's redemption is that there was no real, specific person who took upon him or herself Baltar's guilt and paid the price for his freedom. The closest we get is when he is on trial and Lee Adama becomes his lawyer. Lee's passionate arguments persuaded the jury to find Baltar "not guilty" of his crimes against humanity on New Caprica. The deciding vote on this verdict was Adm. Adama.

No human ever tried to save Baltar out of the pure goodness of his or her heart. Lee came the closest, but his reasoning for defending Baltar was not out of kindness or love, but because he believed everyone deserved a fair trial. Lee probably wouldn't have been too heart-broken had Baltar been found "guilty" because, after all, he got a fair trial.

In a small way, Baltar and Caprica Six are BSG's Abraham and Sarah characters. Yes, they imperfectly fit that description, but both Baltar and Caprica Six believe in a monotheistic God. In Baltar's case, he, like Abraham, left a polytheistic culture and embraced the one God. Baltar's farm on Earth is akin to Abraham's settling in Canaan -- the future promised land. If we play this theme out, then Baltar and Caprica Six are the forerunners in the BSG universe for monotheism. Like Abraham, Baltar is still a sinner while also a saint, albeit in Baltar's case his sins make Abraham's pale in comparison. Nevertheless, Baltar seems to embody the monotheistic concept, faith, and justification by faith when he deserved nothing but a sack over his head and a firing squad.

Baltar, then, becomes the character who embodies hope and deliverance from God. He becomes the character who embodies hope for all people. I read one blog where the person was upset that after all Baltar and Caprica Six had done, they get to enjoy a lush piece of land on Earth. Well, that's what happens to those who are redeemed and delivered -- they get what their actions don't deserve, they get grace instead of condemnation. This is the whole point of justification -- someone else merits our salvation. There was no mediator and propitiator for Baltar, but we have one who is called Jesus Christ. He suffered, died, and rose again for us. Praise God for His great gift.

The Struggle to Keep Justification Pure

The Harrowing of Hell as depicted by Fra Angelico


I was re-reading a LOGIA article written by Armin Wenz entitled ,,Justification and Holy Scripture: Sola fide et sola Scriptura" (LOGIA, Vol. XIV, No. 2 [Eastertide 2005]).

Two points (among many) struck me as very pertinent:

1. The principles of Scripture alone and faith alone are inseparably connected, and justification must be reflected in these distinctions concerning holy Scripture (Wenz 5).

2. Every approach to holy Scripture which emancipates itself from the christological approach would be nothing less than a relapse into a humanist, rationalist, or works-righteous approach (Wenz 6). These three approaches strike against justification by grace through faith in Jesus Christ.

Humanism wasn't always against the article of justification. In the 14th century, European universities (starting in Italy) began stressing humanism over the traditional scholasticism. The Reformation began at a time in the Middle Ages when the Renaissance and humanism were blooming. Humanism sought to return to the classical languages of Hebrew, Greek, and Latin, and going back to the original texts. Humanism soon influenced concepts of freedom, religion, history, science, and other academic disciplines. Humanism helped further things like the Textus Receptus (the Received Text, which was the first compilation of the Greek New Testament that was the forefather of the Nestle-Aland Greek New Testaments that pastors and theologians use today). The University of Wittenberg was established as a humanistic university. Philip Melanchthon was a humanist scholar and he was the first Greek professor at the University of Wittenberg.

Rationalism grew out of humanist philosophy. Reason reigns supreme in rationalsim, and as such, miracles and the supernatural tend to be downplayed or rejected. Rationalism lead to the Enlightenment (examples of Enlightenment thought can be seen in the writings of the early American founders, like Washinton, Jefferson, and Madison, etc.). Rationalism lead to the 19th and 20th centuries fascination with historical criticism, which is a Biblical exegetical process that attempts to critique the holy Scriptures using a variety of source theories. Unfortunately, historical criticism leads to the denial of Christ.

Strictly speaking, humanism and rationalism are not antithetical to the article of justification. They are merely tools that theologians have used to mine the depths of holy Scripture. However, when humanism and rationalism are allowed to run amok, the article of justification suffers. This occurs when humanism and rationalism focus solely inward on the mind and intellect of human beings as the answers to all things.

Works-righteousness is the exact opposite of justification by faith. Works-righteousness is the approach that by our works we can merit or help merit our justification before God. As such, works-righteousness is a Pelagian or Semi-Pelagian heresy whereby we do our part in meriting justification.

Unfortunately, our sinful human flesh is drawn to our own reason and works to merit or help merit our justification before God. Justificaiton, therefore, is revealed in the written Scriptures, and justificaiton must be received by faith.

Why I Like the BSG Character Gaius Baltar

Since the Battlestar Galactica finale on 20. March, I have read a number of blogs where fans complained about the final hour of the episode. I think some aspects were hastily brought to a conclusion, and other plots were left unanswered. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the 3-hour finale.

From beginning to end, this show was about the characters. While I enjoyed most of the characters, my favorite is Gaius Baltar (wonderfully acted by James Callis, I might add). Here's why:

Baltar is an intelligent, egotistical, selfish man who is responsible for the destruction of Caprica. He allowed the Cylon Caprica Six access to the planet's defense mainframe, and she used it to let the Cylon sneak attack annihilate the colonies. Right there, the man is a traitor to humanity ... because he is selfish.

And yet, God uses him to unveil and unfold His plan to save both the humans and the Cylons from extinction. This is why I really like his character, because he is so much like many of the men and women that God used in the Bible to save humanity. People like Jacob and Samson come to mind, who when you read about their exploits in the Bible you scratch your head wondering why on Earth is God using people with such horrible personality traits, faults, and down-right sinful behavior.

Baltar is not perfect. He doesn't try to be perfect. Even though he thinks He is doing God's will, he still goes around using circumstances to further his own self-interests. He is like me and every other sinner on this planet. We often tend to hide those aspects of our nature from other people; Baltar didn't, and he was the most despised human in the Colonial fleet because of it.

As the seasons wore on, I kept cheering for Baltar to finally get it. Slowly he did, but he never got it perfectly nor did he act like a pious saint. He remained and acted like a fallen sinner. Again, he acted like all the saints in the Bible.

Finally, when ,,Daybreak" began, he had his last chance. Lee Adama challenged him to name one time when he did something that was not in his own self-interest. Baltar admitted that he could think of no instance. And then when he had a chance to join the mission under Adm. Adama, he chose to stay with the fleet ... until at the last moment he changed his mind. This action put him in the right place and the right time that God had been preparing him for from the very first episode. He was there to save humanity and the Cylons by rescuing the little girl, Hera.

I often wondered if BSG was really about the fall and redemption of Gaius Baltar, much like Babylon 5 was about the fall and redemption of Londo Mollari. It seems to me that Baltar is one of the main figures in the whole BSG storyline; I think it really was all about his fall and redemption, for he is the Everyman. If God can redeem Baltar and use him for His plan, then God can redeem me and everyone else, too. That is really what the Bible's salvation history is all about: God redeeming us and using us in His plan; Jesus Christ came to make it so.

The best part of the finale is one of the last scenes with Baltar and Caprica Six. He tells her that he's found a nice plot of land on Earth that looks suitable for farming. ,,You know, I know about farming" he tells her. And then he breaks down because his whole life had been one of denying his past, despising his father who was an overbearing father and farmer, so much so that Baltar studied science and changed his accent so no one would know his roots. But at the end, he has come full circle. He can embrace his past, his father, his despised roots, and he realizes that he can stop being a scientist and enjoy being a farmer. Why? Because God redeemed him and showed him that he has value. God did not give up on him when everyone else did. God loved him when everyone else despised and hated him.

Okay, BSG wasn't the greatest at portraying such ideas in pure Christian language (and I wouldn't expect it to because it is science fiction, not Biblical theology), but enough gospel handels snuck through so that any Christian could read into the plot and see salvation being played out upon the least deserving. And just like Baltar, God so loved us and sent His only Son to suffer, die, and rise again for us so that we would have peace with Him forever.

,,Daybreak"

Last night I watched the series finale of the reimaged TV show ,,Battlestar Galactica". Overall, I thought it was a good finale. I pondered some of the lukewarm Christian themes that ran throughout the series.

I thought the title ,,Daybreak" was very fitting for the last episode. Throughout much of the series, the characters experienced one challenge after another, one heartbreak after another, and seemed to always be on the verge of complete annihilation. ,,Daybreak" brought some much needed hope and grace upon a group of people who were so overwhelmed by the law, sin, and death.

Daybreak has a strong element of resurrection theology. The rising of the sun each day in the east is symbolic of Christ's resurrection on Easter Sunday. We also have the promise that on the last day we will receive a daybreak -- a rising up of our own dead bodies to everlasting life.

BSG had a theme of cycles: all this has happened before and will happen again. This is very common in Eastern philosophy and culture. While Buddihsm and Hinduism have strong strains of cycles, so also Christianity. Ecclesiastes laments that there is nothing new under the sun, implying that sin and the world continues ever onward in a series of cycles. Nothing ever really changes, sin and death still swing around and snatch away happiness and life. Someone must show up to break the cycle and restore hope. Christians see that occur in Jesus Christ.

And in the midst of this, God sends other people to touch our daily lives and remind us of the hope we have in Christ. The original series had the angels of light: advanced beings who flew around space in ships of light. It was tacky and very 1970s-ish. Ron Moore took a more human approach and had these guides appear as ordinary people in cognito. We never really discovered that three of these angels were guiding the Colonial Fleet until the last few episodes. It worked well, because there was an air of mystery of who these beings really were and more importantly for me, these beings were very subdued and working simply and behind the scenes. That is how the angels often operate in the Bible. The Scriptures talk about entertaining angels unaware.

The finale had a few illogical flaws, like why would everyone gladly give up all their technology, especially medicine? The show's answer was to break the cycle of violence between the humans and the cylons. Unfortunately, another cycle of sin and destruction would quickly arise and dominate the people. Our history proves that.

I would also would have liked to have some more explanation about the Lords of Kobol and the 13th tribe. There was not much closure there.

The best scene was with Baltar and Caprica. Baltar was such a despised individual, the worst of the worst. He always did things in his self interests and gladly endulged in all sorts of vices. He represented us, the worst parts of our fallen nature. I always liked the Baltar character (and the fact that all the characters were realistically human, making all sort of mistakes and doing things out of selfishness), knowing that but for the grace of God I would be like Baltar. Baltar finally gets grace and redemption as the series closed. He didn't deserve it, but that's what makes grace grace. We don't deserve God's love and forgiveness, yet we have them nonetheless. If that's the highpoint of the series, then I rejoice at being reminded that we are redeemed by grace and resurrection will also be ours, too, and that by Jesus alone.