I often talk to people who believe that “theologically conservative” has some connection to “politically conservative.” Other will marry theological and political liberalism. These connections simply do not exist as a matter of course.
A theological conservative is someone who believes in a literal interpretation of the Bible, accepts the miracles of the Bible as historical fact, and believes that biblical principles apply to the lives of Christians regardless of cultural norms at any given time or in any given society. A theological liberal on the other hand does not see the Bible as the infallible Word of God, denies miracles in the Bible, and believes that many interpretations can come from a given passage of Scripture and further, that we should apply biblical insight in light of our current cultural norms.
Political conservatives historically favor “traditional” values and a strong military, while political liberals historically see “liberty” (or individual rights) as their primary political value. In recent times, conservatives argue for less government interference in the free market economy while liberal argue for more governmental involvement to “protect the individual.” I can go on and on about the differences but my point is this: conservatism means something completely different from a theological perspective than it does from a political perspective. The same goes for liberalism from both perspectives.
This is an incredibly important distinction for all of us to understand. I talk to many young adults in D.C. who believe that if they are theologically conservative then they must adhere to politically conservative ideology (same assumptions for young adults who are theological liberals). Big mistake! “Conservatism” and “liberalism” mean to completely different things when applied to theology and politics. I’ve often argued that we, in the church, should come up with our own terms instead of borrowing political terms that have been around for centuries (theological “liberalism” only came about in the last century and a half). But, until someone bothers to do this there will be continued misunderstandings, continued confusion in terms, and continued numbers of young adult Christians developing a grossly inaccurate “political theology” or theological politic” – you pick the term you like best.
So, you want to understand these four terms? The quickest way to get a cursory understanding of each is to click on the hyperlinks above and read the wikipedia articles on each subject. These articles are not infallible and have some errors and inconsistencies in them but none that will cause more damage to you as a believer than having little or no understanding of the ideological differences between the terms.
You might be thinking, “Todd, why is this such a big deal?” My answer lies in keeping the Gospel and the Word of God pure and undefiled by the philosophies and ideologies of men. Jude warns the church, “Dear friends, although I was very eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt I had to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints.” (Jude 3) The “faith” written about here is the doctrines or Christianity that have been entrusted to us as believers. Are responsibility is to pass it on to the next generation untainted by worldly philosophies. This is exactly what I fear happens in our national capital of Washington, D.C.
As young adults we must take ownership of the terms we use when describing ourselves and others. We must take responsibility for using language correctly so we don’t get dragged into erroneous thinking and debate. In Washington this is especially paramount. I’m also going to be taking on some issues over the next several months in my blog that will require you to understand at least the basic differences between these four terms; issues like abortion, capital punishment, and suicide.
So, for some of us the next few months will be very challenging, but I believe worth the time spent. Read the blogs. Reflect on the issues. Leave comments for others to read on my blog. Let’s create a lively and productive dialogue that ends with all of us being biblically wiser for the effort.
Until then…
Carpe Deum! (Seize God!)
Todd Phillips
http://www.toddphillips.net/
http://www.frontline.to/
Friday, January 05, 2007
Friday, December 29, 2006
Phillips Christmas Give-a-thon Part 2
I’m excited to let you know about the results of the Phillips Christmas Give-a-thon! Around the middle of November I posted this:
“Julie (my wife) and I will give when you give. If you purchase any World Vision gift of any value my wife and I will give $5. If your gift is over $100 we will give $10. We'll contribute up to $500 to World Vision for up to five shares of a Deep Water Well. So, that's fifty of you giving over $100 to World Vision or one hundred of my faithful readers giving any amount to World Vision.”
Then we left the link to the World Vision catalog:
“To be a part of the Phillips Christmas Give-a-thon, just go to the World Vision online catalog by pressing the following link – CATALOG.”
In response, we had two posts on the blog:
Liz “bought a wheel chair” and Peg “bought a goat!” I want to thank both Peg and Liz for their giving spirit! Here’s the interesting part, though. Many others chose to email me privately on both myspace and my Frontline email to let me know that they had purchased something from the catalog. Several of them said that they “didn’t want to lose their reward in heaven!” This came directly from a sermon I preached on November 27th, only a few days after I posted the “Phillips Christmas Give-a-thon” blog. (Here’s the link to listen to the message online: Center part 8. Go about half way down the page until you see a series titled “Center.” Part 8 is the sermon I’m talking about here).
I’m thrilled that many of you decided to give “in secret” in response to the sermon! I also want to clarify though that people like Liz and Peg will receive their heavenly reward as well! The important thing to remember is the motive behind the act! Remember, “God alone search[es] the heart and examine[s] the mind, to reward a man according to his conduct, according to what his deeds deserve.” (Jeremiah 17:10) In other words, those of you who gave in secret will be rewarded just as those of you who gave publicly for the purpose of spurring others on to acts of giving!
In total, nineteen of you purchased something from the catalog. Julie and I didn’t have time to determine how many gave under $100 or over $100 so we gave everyone credit for a purchase of $100 or more. So, we agreed to give $10 for every purchase over $100. The total then is $190. We rounded up to $200 and here’s how we partnered with your donations:
Goat - $75.00
Fishing Kit - $40.00
Hope for Girls Rescued from the Sex Trade - $35.00
Provide $300 Worth of Necessities - $25.00
Maximum Impact Fund - $25.00
TOTAL - $200.00
Thanks again for joining with us to show God’s love to people around the world in a practical and tangible way. Julie and I are looking forward to partnering with you in 2007 to live out our mission of impacting our generation in Washington and around the world with the message of Jesus!
Carpe Deum! (Seize God!)
Todd Phillips
www.toddphillips.net
“Julie (my wife) and I will give when you give. If you purchase any World Vision gift of any value my wife and I will give $5. If your gift is over $100 we will give $10. We'll contribute up to $500 to World Vision for up to five shares of a Deep Water Well. So, that's fifty of you giving over $100 to World Vision or one hundred of my faithful readers giving any amount to World Vision.”
Then we left the link to the World Vision catalog:
“To be a part of the Phillips Christmas Give-a-thon, just go to the World Vision online catalog by pressing the following link – CATALOG.”
In response, we had two posts on the blog:
Liz “bought a wheel chair” and Peg “bought a goat!” I want to thank both Peg and Liz for their giving spirit! Here’s the interesting part, though. Many others chose to email me privately on both myspace and my Frontline email to let me know that they had purchased something from the catalog. Several of them said that they “didn’t want to lose their reward in heaven!” This came directly from a sermon I preached on November 27th, only a few days after I posted the “Phillips Christmas Give-a-thon” blog. (Here’s the link to listen to the message online: Center part 8. Go about half way down the page until you see a series titled “Center.” Part 8 is the sermon I’m talking about here).
I’m thrilled that many of you decided to give “in secret” in response to the sermon! I also want to clarify though that people like Liz and Peg will receive their heavenly reward as well! The important thing to remember is the motive behind the act! Remember, “God alone search[es] the heart and examine[s] the mind, to reward a man according to his conduct, according to what his deeds deserve.” (Jeremiah 17:10) In other words, those of you who gave in secret will be rewarded just as those of you who gave publicly for the purpose of spurring others on to acts of giving!
In total, nineteen of you purchased something from the catalog. Julie and I didn’t have time to determine how many gave under $100 or over $100 so we gave everyone credit for a purchase of $100 or more. So, we agreed to give $10 for every purchase over $100. The total then is $190. We rounded up to $200 and here’s how we partnered with your donations:
Goat - $75.00
Fishing Kit - $40.00
Hope for Girls Rescued from the Sex Trade - $35.00
Provide $300 Worth of Necessities - $25.00
Maximum Impact Fund - $25.00
TOTAL - $200.00
Thanks again for joining with us to show God’s love to people around the world in a practical and tangible way. Julie and I are looking forward to partnering with you in 2007 to live out our mission of impacting our generation in Washington and around the world with the message of Jesus!
Carpe Deum! (Seize God!)
Todd Phillips
www.toddphillips.net
Thursday, December 28, 2006
It's About Time!
Well, my fellow Fronltiners, I've finally succeeded (with the help of several other staff members) at duplicating my entire blog archive from myspace and transferring it to my permanent blog site here. So, for the many of you who have subscribed to my blog from the Frontline website in the past two months and were wondering why you weren't receiving any email blog updates, it's because I'm (at times) technically challenged. But, I'm in the game now and ready for the new year!
If this is your first contact with my blog please do me a favor and post a response to this blog simply saying "I got it!" This will help us to verify that you are all receiving the blog posts and that everything is in working order.
You will also find that there are over fifty archived blogs on many subjects such as tithing, temptation, sin, eternal security, a series of blogs on biblical responses to the book, "The DaVinci Code," and many other topics. So, please feel free to browse the archives. They are separated by months of the year on the bottom of the right column of the blog.
If you have any questions about any of the topics, even in the archives, just write a comment directly to the blog that you have questions about, and I'll receive an email that a comment has been left so that i can respond to it promptly. I don't respond to many of the comments that are left on each post because many times a reader is simply adding to their opinions and/or insights to that particular blog.
Finally, for all of you that are new to blog reading or blog writing, you are welcome to leave comments to other readers who leave comments! Many times a dialogue between two or three people will develop from a blog I've posted and I'm not anywhere in the mix. That's what makes blogs so interactive and challenging.
Please remember to leave a comment if this is the first post you've received form me so we can verify that everything is in working order.
I look forward to impacting our generation in secular Washington with the message of Jesus with you in 2007. Let's work together to change the world for maybe one last time!
Carpe Deum! (Seize God!)
Todd Phillips
www.toddphillips.net
If this is your first contact with my blog please do me a favor and post a response to this blog simply saying "I got it!" This will help us to verify that you are all receiving the blog posts and that everything is in working order.
You will also find that there are over fifty archived blogs on many subjects such as tithing, temptation, sin, eternal security, a series of blogs on biblical responses to the book, "The DaVinci Code," and many other topics. So, please feel free to browse the archives. They are separated by months of the year on the bottom of the right column of the blog.
If you have any questions about any of the topics, even in the archives, just write a comment directly to the blog that you have questions about, and I'll receive an email that a comment has been left so that i can respond to it promptly. I don't respond to many of the comments that are left on each post because many times a reader is simply adding to their opinions and/or insights to that particular blog.
Finally, for all of you that are new to blog reading or blog writing, you are welcome to leave comments to other readers who leave comments! Many times a dialogue between two or three people will develop from a blog I've posted and I'm not anywhere in the mix. That's what makes blogs so interactive and challenging.
Please remember to leave a comment if this is the first post you've received form me so we can verify that everything is in working order.
I look forward to impacting our generation in secular Washington with the message of Jesus with you in 2007. Let's work together to change the world for maybe one last time!
Carpe Deum! (Seize God!)
Todd Phillips
www.toddphillips.net
Friday, December 22, 2006
Jesus Becomes More to Me Every Day
A couple of years ago I visited what used to be Crenshaw’s Day Camp. It’s closed now but for several decades it was the place to be as a kid in the summer. The camp included about one hundred yards of waterfront on Lake Austin. I attended Crenshaw’s in Austin, Texas (where I grew up) every summer from the time I was six until I was thirteen. This place was heaven for a kid like me who lived in a trailer park with a single mom. Horses, water skiing, archery, riffle shooting ranges, hiking, gymnastics, trampolines, kayaks, canoes, fishing…everything a kid could want to do, this place had it. And, it was HUGE! At least I thought it was until I stepped out of my car that beautiful spring day a few years ago at the age of thirty five.
I parked in front of the old Crenshaw house that marked the official entry into what I always thought of as the “Disney World of Texas.” But, the first thing I noticed was that everything was so….SMALL! I have very clear memories of walking down the HUGE driveway beside the house to get to the locker room where each camper put their towel, sandals, and lunch money. I also remember the ENDLESS sprint from the picnic tables outside of the locker room down to the water front. I figured when I would race my buddies to the water’s edge to be first in line for skiing that we were easily running half a mile, maybe more. I even remember the BIG hill where they built the riffle hut out of cedar poles. The hut was so big that three of us at a time could lock and load our .22 riffles and take aim at the targets way down at the bottom of “bullet valley.”
The HUGE driveway beside the house was now only seven feet from top to bottom. The half mile distance from the locker rooms to the water front was no more then a hundred yards now. Did the shores of Lake Austin erode that much? And the riffle hut…I couldn’t get under the cedar roof of the hut without hunching over and it seemed as though someone had filled in “bullet valley” with dirt because the bottom of the valley was only thirty feet down.
How could everything have possibly shrunk so much! My larger than life memories had been accosted by the reality of a grown man’s sensibilities. What a tragedy, I thought to myself as I began to cry. The only thing that had actually changed was the fact that my eyes were approximately thirty inches higher than they were when I was thirteen years old. How could such a small change in my perspective have such a massive and devastating impact on the way I remembered my “Disney World?”
If only I had chosen not to stop that day. If only I would have driven past the entrance to the camp. Then the grandeur of my memories would still be, well…GRAND! But, they are different now. Life is a little bit smaller, less magical. I lost a tiny bit of the child in me who still fights for survival in the midst of this sinful and decaying world.
For some reason this whole camp experience came to mind a few days ago when I was thinking about Christmas. I thought of another wonderful childhood memory. I remember waiting all day long each December day for my grandmother, who lived next door, to let me open the window of the Christmas calendar she bought me every year. Each day there was a tiny little picture of a Christmas tree or a dove. The best night though was Christmas Eve, when she would let me open two windows; one for Christmas Eve and the last one for Christmas Day. There He would be – the little Christ child lying in a manger. So, small was the picture that I had to look very carefully to see the baby’s face.
As a little boy, I wasn’t a follower of the Christ child. Although I was elated each Christmas to open the final window to see the picture of the Christ child, I had no idea who he really was or what, if anything, he could offer me. But, ironically enough, unlike my camp experience, everything about that little Christ child has grown larger, more immense since I chose to follow the God-man who was symbolized by those half inch pictures on all those Christmas calendars. The great irony is that as the world gets smaller, experiences become less surprising, the wonders of life become, well, less wondrous with age, I can honestly say that Jesus keeps surprising me, inspiring me, becoming larger than life and then larger again! Unlike my memories of camp as a child, Jesus continues to burst on to the scene of my life each new day and his grandeur overshadows the wonderful memories I had of him only the day before. He is more loving, more caring, more giving than I remember.
What an awesome God we serve.
May your experience of Christ this Christmas be more immense, more intense, more breathtaking than the Christmas before.
I parked in front of the old Crenshaw house that marked the official entry into what I always thought of as the “Disney World of Texas.” But, the first thing I noticed was that everything was so….SMALL! I have very clear memories of walking down the HUGE driveway beside the house to get to the locker room where each camper put their towel, sandals, and lunch money. I also remember the ENDLESS sprint from the picnic tables outside of the locker room down to the water front. I figured when I would race my buddies to the water’s edge to be first in line for skiing that we were easily running half a mile, maybe more. I even remember the BIG hill where they built the riffle hut out of cedar poles. The hut was so big that three of us at a time could lock and load our .22 riffles and take aim at the targets way down at the bottom of “bullet valley.”
The HUGE driveway beside the house was now only seven feet from top to bottom. The half mile distance from the locker rooms to the water front was no more then a hundred yards now. Did the shores of Lake Austin erode that much? And the riffle hut…I couldn’t get under the cedar roof of the hut without hunching over and it seemed as though someone had filled in “bullet valley” with dirt because the bottom of the valley was only thirty feet down.
How could everything have possibly shrunk so much! My larger than life memories had been accosted by the reality of a grown man’s sensibilities. What a tragedy, I thought to myself as I began to cry. The only thing that had actually changed was the fact that my eyes were approximately thirty inches higher than they were when I was thirteen years old. How could such a small change in my perspective have such a massive and devastating impact on the way I remembered my “Disney World?”
If only I had chosen not to stop that day. If only I would have driven past the entrance to the camp. Then the grandeur of my memories would still be, well…GRAND! But, they are different now. Life is a little bit smaller, less magical. I lost a tiny bit of the child in me who still fights for survival in the midst of this sinful and decaying world.
For some reason this whole camp experience came to mind a few days ago when I was thinking about Christmas. I thought of another wonderful childhood memory. I remember waiting all day long each December day for my grandmother, who lived next door, to let me open the window of the Christmas calendar she bought me every year. Each day there was a tiny little picture of a Christmas tree or a dove. The best night though was Christmas Eve, when she would let me open two windows; one for Christmas Eve and the last one for Christmas Day. There He would be – the little Christ child lying in a manger. So, small was the picture that I had to look very carefully to see the baby’s face.
As a little boy, I wasn’t a follower of the Christ child. Although I was elated each Christmas to open the final window to see the picture of the Christ child, I had no idea who he really was or what, if anything, he could offer me. But, ironically enough, unlike my camp experience, everything about that little Christ child has grown larger, more immense since I chose to follow the God-man who was symbolized by those half inch pictures on all those Christmas calendars. The great irony is that as the world gets smaller, experiences become less surprising, the wonders of life become, well, less wondrous with age, I can honestly say that Jesus keeps surprising me, inspiring me, becoming larger than life and then larger again! Unlike my memories of camp as a child, Jesus continues to burst on to the scene of my life each new day and his grandeur overshadows the wonderful memories I had of him only the day before. He is more loving, more caring, more giving than I remember.
What an awesome God we serve.
May your experience of Christ this Christmas be more immense, more intense, more breathtaking than the Christmas before.
Friday, November 24, 2006
Consumer Nation
We now live in a nation where police must escort buyers of PS3 game systems from the front door of their local retail store to their vehicles in order to keep someone from robbing them!
We now live in a nation where police and ambulances must be dispatched to various retail stores around the nation because people are literally trampling each other to get the best deals on “Black Friday” (the Friday after Thanksgiving when retailers get out of the red and into the ‘black’ in revenue).
We now live in a world where people wait in line for hours for their favorite store to open at 3AM in order to get first dibs on cashmere sweaters that are normally $49.00 but are on sale for $29.99 until noon.
What in the world is happening to us?
Oh, I almost forgot…we live in a fallen world. But, the extent to which we will succumb to the draw of possessions is truly staggering. We are a nation blinded by greed and it manifests itself in more surprising and disturbing ways each holiday season. As Christians, we are given so many opportunities to shine brightly in a dark and sinful world. But, it seems as though we often miss the most opportune moments to shine and instead we choose these moments to hide our light of hope and selflessness. Not only do we hide, but many times we hide by taking on the form of darkness. In these moments we not only keep others from experiencing the light of Christ but we also give tacit approval of the world’s ways by we ourselves becoming “of the world.”
Christmas is one of those God-given times of the year when we as believers can truly stand out as givers among a people of takers. But, is this what we do? Do we give? “Yeah, Todd…” you might be thinking, “I give many gifts to friends and family during Christmas and I have a credit card bill to prove it.” I don’t have time to delve into all the problems with that one statement but let me suggest that it is the kind of giving that sets us apart from the world. After all, the way of the world is to give and receive gifts in exchanges with friends and family. This is a wonderful tradition but it is not unique to Christian culture in any way. In our time, I’m arguing that the only way to set ourselves apart form the world is to give to those who can return nothing to us; to be aggressively selfless at a time when the rest of the world is acting selfish.
I am fully aware that giving to churches and non-profit organizations increases substantially at the end of each year and many people look for opportunities to give out of their abundance. But, what about the act of giving sacrificially? What about giving out of our limited store of reserves? What about giving without any concern for the tax deduction we will receive? Again, nothing is wrong with giving out of abundance and/or giving with a strategic tax benefit in mind, but I would challenge us all to look for an opportunity this Christmas season to give in the following way:
1. Give to someone who cannot give back.
2. Give anonymously – tell no one but God.
3. Give sacrificially. Give out of the scarcity of your possessions rather than the abundance of your worth. (This is different for everyone, but I promise that you will know when you have given in a truly sacrificial way.)
4. Give purely. Give in a way that you cannot receive a tax benefit from your act of kindness.
Give in all the ways you planned on giving this year but also give in a way that honors the four caveats above. God will get the glory. You will mature in your faith. Others will be blessed by Christ’s love. Give…
Carpe Deum! (Seize God!)
Todd Phillips
www.toddphillips.net
We now live in a nation where police and ambulances must be dispatched to various retail stores around the nation because people are literally trampling each other to get the best deals on “Black Friday” (the Friday after Thanksgiving when retailers get out of the red and into the ‘black’ in revenue).
We now live in a world where people wait in line for hours for their favorite store to open at 3AM in order to get first dibs on cashmere sweaters that are normally $49.00 but are on sale for $29.99 until noon.
What in the world is happening to us?
Oh, I almost forgot…we live in a fallen world. But, the extent to which we will succumb to the draw of possessions is truly staggering. We are a nation blinded by greed and it manifests itself in more surprising and disturbing ways each holiday season. As Christians, we are given so many opportunities to shine brightly in a dark and sinful world. But, it seems as though we often miss the most opportune moments to shine and instead we choose these moments to hide our light of hope and selflessness. Not only do we hide, but many times we hide by taking on the form of darkness. In these moments we not only keep others from experiencing the light of Christ but we also give tacit approval of the world’s ways by we ourselves becoming “of the world.”
Christmas is one of those God-given times of the year when we as believers can truly stand out as givers among a people of takers. But, is this what we do? Do we give? “Yeah, Todd…” you might be thinking, “I give many gifts to friends and family during Christmas and I have a credit card bill to prove it.” I don’t have time to delve into all the problems with that one statement but let me suggest that it is the kind of giving that sets us apart from the world. After all, the way of the world is to give and receive gifts in exchanges with friends and family. This is a wonderful tradition but it is not unique to Christian culture in any way. In our time, I’m arguing that the only way to set ourselves apart form the world is to give to those who can return nothing to us; to be aggressively selfless at a time when the rest of the world is acting selfish.
I am fully aware that giving to churches and non-profit organizations increases substantially at the end of each year and many people look for opportunities to give out of their abundance. But, what about the act of giving sacrificially? What about giving out of our limited store of reserves? What about giving without any concern for the tax deduction we will receive? Again, nothing is wrong with giving out of abundance and/or giving with a strategic tax benefit in mind, but I would challenge us all to look for an opportunity this Christmas season to give in the following way:
1. Give to someone who cannot give back.
2. Give anonymously – tell no one but God.
3. Give sacrificially. Give out of the scarcity of your possessions rather than the abundance of your worth. (This is different for everyone, but I promise that you will know when you have given in a truly sacrificial way.)
4. Give purely. Give in a way that you cannot receive a tax benefit from your act of kindness.
Give in all the ways you planned on giving this year but also give in a way that honors the four caveats above. God will get the glory. You will mature in your faith. Others will be blessed by Christ’s love. Give…
Carpe Deum! (Seize God!)
Todd Phillips
www.toddphillips.net
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