Biblical Christianity from Peter DeHaan

Why Can’t Christians Get Along With Each Other?

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date August 25, 2013

It’s a shocking stat, but there are 42,000 Christian denominations in the world!

Yes, the church that Jesus started is currently divided into 42,000 factions. Notice I didn’t say Jesus’ churches (plural), but Jesus’ church (singular).

How do I know Jesus intended there to be only one church? Quite simply because he prayed we would be one, just as he and his father are one.

Jesus even said why he wanted us to be as one: so that the world would believe. Succinctly, our unity maximizes our witness.

The implication is our disunity—our disagreements that have divided us into warring denominations—serves to weaken our witness.

Our divisions and petty squabbling over theology and tradition, lessen who we are, what we stand for, and why we’re here.

Oh, how our disunity must grieve the God we claim to serve.

As Christians, why can’t we all get along? That’s what Jesus wanted and that’s what he prayed for. Let’s ditch our divisions and unite for the sake of Jesus—so that the world may know.

Our factions and denominations don’t matter, Jesus does.

Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.

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Tags denominations, unity, witness

Bible Insights

What Does it Mean to Greet One Another With a Holy Kiss?

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date August 22, 2013
2 Comments on What Does it Mean to Greet One Another With a Holy Kiss?

Many churches have a time of greeting at some point in their service. This can range from awkward to inviting.

At some of these churches people merely shake hands and mumble a rote greeting. Folks at other congregations actually make eye contact and smile as they greet one another. And at a few places, a meaningful connection begins.

One of the 52 churches we visited carried this to an extreme. The minister told us to “greet one another with a holy kiss.” It was a bit creepy, marking one of my more uncomfortable moments that year.

Fortunately, few people attended that Sunday, so the number of holy kisses we received was minimal.

I know this is biblical, with Paul mentioning it four times. But I don’t really know what it means.

Even after experiencing it, I can’t describe it, except for creepy. And Paul doesn’t explain it or offer instructions; he just says to do it. But we can infer a few things.

Church

Each time Paul mentions holy kiss, it’s in a letter to a church, so it must be just for the church community. I take this to imply that outsiders (or in our case, visitors) are not included.

Intimate

A kiss is an intimate sign of affection. Since the context is church, we might want to dismiss a holy kiss as being an act of physical intimacy, instead understanding it as spiritual intimacy.

Holy

Something sacred or hallowed.

This implies a holy kiss is a sacred act of spiritual intimacy for a church community, but I still don’t know how to do it.

[Romans 16:16, 1 Corinthians 16:20, 2 Corinthians 13:12, and 1 Thessalonians 5:26]

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Tags friendly church, holy

Christian Living

Beware of Spiritual Incest

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date August 18, 2013
2 Comments on Beware of Spiritual Incest

When at a business convention, I once spouted off a grand sounding idea, but it was really a bad suggestion that warranted immediate rejection.

Yet I proclaimed it with passion and the air of authority (I had just finished speaking on the subject, and this new added thought added to the discussion).

I presented my spontaneous brainchi l d with logic. The person I said this to, nodded his comprehension.

Intellectual Incest

However, before the convention was over, several people approached me to discuss this same thing. I doubt we all had the same notion at the same time.

I’m quite sure it was my one bad idea, merely recirculated within a tight group, with no one questioning its wisdom.

I later labeled this phenomenon as intellectual incest: reproducing a bad idea within a close group of like-minded thinkers, who blindly accept it as true.

Spiritual Incest

The same can occur in a close group of like-minded spiritual thinkers. I’ll call this spiritual incest. I see it happen often. One person shares an insight or experience with their inner circle.

Everyone accepts it as reliable, without scrutinizing its validity or testing its wisdom. When this happens, people are misled and unhealthy conclusions result.

I recently blogged about theological silos: the natural tendency of people to surround themselves with others who hold to the same spiritual perspectives.

An unhealthy progression of this is spiritual incest. It’s easy to spot by listening to the words and phrases used.

A localized dialect of Christianese emerges.

Theological Incest

A bit harder to notice is when this creeps into our theology. It occurs easily enough when a respected leader makes a passionate statement, sounding wise and maybe even backed up with a sound bite from the Bible.

This moves into heresy, but most don’t realize it. The close-knit faith community reproduces this one bad idea, blindly accepting it as fact, but it’s really spiritual incest.

We need to beware of spiritual incest.

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Tags biblical Christianity, heresy, religious language

Bible Insights

Don’t Worry About What You Don’t Know

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date August 15, 2013

There’s much about God we don’t know. For a society that craves knowledge and desires to fully understand things, what we don’t know about God can cause frustration. This keeps many people from embracing God.

They want all their questions answered before they say “Yes” to Jesus and follow him. But that’s not faith. That’s a sure thing—and we need to live by faith.

The Bible reveals some truths about God, while keeping other aspects secret. It’s easy to fixate on what we don’t know, frustrated over questions and a lack of clarity on things hidden. But this misses the point.

There are things we do know about God, things the Bible teaches us. Let’s focus on them. In these areas, God expects us to do what he says.

We’re not supposed to worry about what we don’t know, but we do need to obey him in what we do know.

[2 Corinthians 5:7 and Deuteronomy 29:29]

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Tags obey God

Christian Living

Do You Live in a Theological Silo?

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date August 11, 2013

In farming, a silo is a tower used to store grain.

The business world, however, turned silo into a metaphor, such as information silos or organizational silos, symbolizing assimilation and isolation.

These business silos function as a repository of information or power—hoarded and not shared, either by plan or by practice.

With silos, there’s an inner circle, with everyone else kept at a safe distance.

Most organizations, including churches, have silos. Many churches also have theological silos. A theological silo, usually the product of a homogenous faith community, holds to a certain set of beliefs as sacred and non-negotiable.

These may include explicit baptism beliefs, how someone becomes a Christian, a certain understanding of the end times, the role of the Holy Spirit today, a particular stance on a societal issue, and even which version of the Bible to use.

(One historical silo occurred over the requirement for men to wear neckties to church.)

Those who agree with the beliefs of the silo are invited in (usually only after they prove themselves worthy), whereas all others are kept at a distance or even shunned.

Historically, denominations formed around theological silos and then later became silos themselves, often exclusive, closed-minded, and dogmatic to a fault.

Jesus desired unity; he prayed we would be as one. Let’s tear down our silos and embrace one another—especially those who are different—just like Jesus did.

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Tags community, denominations, faith, theology

Bible Insights

One Mistake is One Too Many

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date August 8, 2013

Last week we talked about Moses’ mistake of hitting the rock instead of speaking to it. He did this in disobedience to what God told him to do. The Bible calls this sin.

As a result of Moses’ mistake, that is his sin, he was only permitted to see the land God promised to give to the people, but he could not enter into it.

This is a great illustration of the idea of following all the rules but one and then not getting into heaven because we’re not good enough.

We can’t earn our way into heaven, because just one “oops” removes that chance. Fortunately, the way to heaven is much easier; it’s called faith.

[Deuteronomy 32:51-52, Deuteronomy 34:4, James 2:10, and Ephesians 2:8-9]

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Tags faith, heaven, Moses, sin

Christian Living

Puppy Therapy

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date August 6, 2013

Last week our daughter came over for the day. Her intent was not so much to see us but to enjoy our air conditioning. Being pregnant and midway through her third trimester, she had added reason to seek relief from the heat.

She didn’t come alone, however, bringing with her Zane, an adorable bundle of energy and delight. Zane, our kids tell us, is our grandpuppy.

In three plus decades of marriage, my wife and I have never had a dog. She is allergic and so is our daughter. Zane, however, is a mix of hypoallergenic breeds (I didn’t know there was such a thing), so it’s all good.

When they arrived, I hugged my daughter and played a bit with Zane. Then I went back to work. Awhile later, Zane showed up in my office, carrying his favorite toy. He wanted to play.

I didn’t need much convincing. Puppy love is so much more inviting than article editing.

At eight pounds, the pup carries a lot of spunk. We soon engaged in a robust game of tug. Eventually, he wearied of the sport and trotted off. Did I mention how cute he is?

He repeated this throughout the day, providing a welcome interruption to my toil. Sometimes he showed up with a new plaything, other times just to be petted, and once or twice for me to merely acknowledge his existence.

Now I understand why animal lovers like to have their dogs at work, especially when their office is at home. Although Zane is too rambunctious to curl up at my feet, I do envision him doing so when he grows older.

I also had a talk with him, explaining that in a few months, I wouldn’t be paying him as much attention, instead focusing on his new baby brother. Though I’ve mentioned this before, I’m not sure he comprehends it.

I didn’t accomplish as much work as I wanted, but it was a good day—a really good day. Puppy therapy can do that.

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Tags family

Christian Living

Should a Christian Community be Homogeneous or Heterogeneous?

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date August 4, 2013

It’s fun to be in the company of likeminded individuals. It’s comfortable to hang out with people similar to us. But are fun and comfortable, necessarily good things? Do they promote personal growth and advance understanding?

Being with people like us?—uniform or at least similar in perspective—is a homogeneous experience. The opposite of homogeneous is heterogeneous. A heterogeneous community is diverse, comprised of dissimilar people.

They might look, talk, dress, or act differently. Perhaps they hail from distinct neighborhoods, cultures, or even countries. They could be rich or poor or somewhere in between.

They might embrace diverging priorities, worldviews, political alliances, or (gasp) even hold to an alternate theology.

How comfortable are we spending time with people who view God differently than we do? Will we bask in a diversity of perspectives or cringe over perceived heresy?

One of the things I learned from visiting 52 churches in a year is the grand variations in Jesus’ family.

Our vastness and distinctions are beautiful. I’m delighted to have had the experience— and I miss it now that it’s over.

I’ve heard that if two people agree on everything, than one of them isn’t needed. We must apply this to church. How can our faith grow if everyone agrees on everything?

Most churches today are homogeneous, but I think we should be heterogeneous. We need to embrace, pursue, and celebrate diversity in our faith communities.

I learn the most from those whose ideas and understanding differ from mine—or even contradict them. It’s not always a fun or comfortable place to be, but I think that’s where Jesus wants us—and where he would be.

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Tags church, community, diversity, family, heresy

Bible Insights

Listen Carefully to What God Says

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date August 1, 2013

For four decades Moses led the people as they wandered in the dessert. Once when they were thirsty, God told Moses to hit a certain rock with his walking stick. He did and water gushed out.

Later on, the people again clamored for water. This time God told Moses to speak to a rock, but Moses hit it instead. Though the people still got their water, Moses earned a reprimand for his actions.

We don’t know for sure why Moses disobeyed God and hit the rock the second time, but it might be because hitting a rock worked once, so he did it again.

He placed experience over God’s word. Though this worked out for the people, it didn’t work out so well for Moses.

Moses’ example reminds us that it’s important to carefully listen to what God says and then to precisely obey him.

[Exodus 17:6-7 and Numbers 20:7-12]

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Tags Moses

Christian Living

What Should Sunday Look Like?

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date July 28, 2013

For some people, Sunday is a day like any other, while for others, their regimented list of dos and don’ts reduces it to boring idleness. I want neither extreme, hoping for a happy middle ground. Yet what that looks like eludes me.

From a practical perspective, I need a periodic break from the routine; from a spiritual standpoint, I need a Sabbath rest. While I do take my break and seek my rest, I feel I do Sundays badly.

Though I think I’m on the right path, I’m far from my destination, missing what the day can offer. Mired in something that’s okay, I fail to grasp the grandness that awaits.

Most of what I think Sunday should look like comes from my upbringing, with biblical support from Old Testament Law.

Though the answer to my quest for a God-honoring Sunday likely resides in the New Testament, I can think of nothing that applies.

My Sunday typically starts out like the rest of the week: writing, exercise, and time with God. Then there’s church. After lunch is TV, a nap, and then wondering what to do next, which typically defaults to more TV.

The evening is usually a couple hours spent with friends, often followed by even more TV. I generally end the day in frustration over squandering time, anxious for Monday so I can do something meaningful.

This isn’t the Sunday God expects or the day I want to offer him, but I’m clueless in how to improve it.

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Tags Sabbath rest, Sunday