PhoenixPreacher

Calvary Chapel pastor Mike Neglia of Cork, Ireland was struck by a car while running this morning in Orange County.

Keep him in your prayers and his family as well…

The Cosby Show was one of my favorite television programs when I was a kid.  For a period of time, it was probably my absolute favorite.  Of course, created by and starred in by Bill Cosby, the show for the most part was good wholesome family fun.  As with anything, there were always elements that could be nitpicked or criticized, but on the whole, the program was very humorous and successful.

Bill Cosby was known as America’s Dad.  His role as the father of the Huxtable clan on this family sitcom, the number one rated show on tv for several years, forged his reputation.  Cosby was beloved for his humor and devotion to family and generally wise advice about life and parenting and relationships.  He was a revered American folk hero.

Undoubtedly, you know where this is going because Bill Cosby has been in the news the past couple years for entirely different reasons.  Last week in suburban Philadelphia, a mistrial was declared as the jury could not come to unanimous agreement as to Cosby’s guilt on charges of sexual assault.  Prosecutors want another trial while reports are that Cosby wants to start a speaking tour, tutoring people on how to avoid accusations of sexual assault (insert your own snide remark here).  The whole thing is quite demoralizing.

When accusations first came out against Cosby, I hoped them not to be true.  Bill Cosby was a man whom I had long liked and thought of well.  I enjoyed his humor and entertainment and he seemed to get the importance of life and family and responsibility.  I did not want the allegations to be true.  If the same accusations were made of many other famous people, I would probably hardly blink an eye.  But with Cosby, I thought he was different than the norm.

As the number of accusers continued to grow and grow, my hopes became less and less.  Some people came to his defense saying that it was all a liberal conspiracy to take down an African American man who spouted many conservative values.  Was such a thing possible?  I guess so.  However, there was just too much forebodement of guilt for me to sign up for any conspiracy theory.

I was not in that courtroom and I have not done any thorough investigation of the details and circumstances of all the accusations, but I am inclined to believe that Cosby is guilty of some, if not most and possibly even all of the accusations of sexual misconduct against him.  And this is the reason why:

I have seen this type of scenario play out so many times over the last so many years and the accused almost always end up being found guilty.  And this scenario is where an individual, or group of individuals, or organization has partaken in some type of sexual misconduct, sometimes over long periods of time, and have managed to conceal and cover up that wrongdoing by measure of their power and influence wielded over the victims.  From the Catholic Church priest abuse scandal to the Penn State football program to the various other stories covered in the media, including many church-related cases covered here, the story is remarkably the same.  Someone or some group that commits these terrible crimes, along with support from their close allies, collectively shame and manipulate and pressure their victims into silence and have been able to keep control over the situation for a long time.  Finally, and thankfully, enough circumstances and details eventually escape the control of the controllers and slowly but surely the wrongdoers are found out.

The advent of the internet and social media probably has much to do with this.  While these things can be a double edged sword and much harm can be brought about by false accusations, it has also given a voice and a conduit to be heard to those who previously had none.  Sometimes it takes only that first person to speak about what happened to them.  Then someone else out there in the world happens to see what that first person said and it hit homes with them because they experienced the same.  They are encouraged and emboldened by that first person speaking out and so they speak up, too.  Then another person sees those first two people speaking out and so on and so on.  What starts as a trickle can sometimes quickly turn into a deluge.  When these types of things happen around false accusations and nefarious motives, they are terrible incidents.  But when they revolve around the truth-telling of terrible past happenings, they are helping to bring justice to situations that otherwise would have never been resolved or even known.

In Cosby’s case, there have now been more than 50 women who have spoken out.  Very few or none who even knew each other, but just about all with very similar tales of what he allegedly did to them.  Yes, it could be some great grand conspiracy.  Or much more likely it is that Cosby is a dirty old man who long had been able to use the power of his celebrity to get away with sexual assault.  Adding to the accusations, there is Cosby’s own past deposition where he admits to drugging women and committing some pretty creepy sexual behavior toward/with them.  And finally, according to the reports, ten of the twelve jurors on this one case that did make it court thought he was guilty and wanted to convict.  All in all, I am very inclined to believe the alleged victims.  Sadly, it would seem quite probable that the real Bill Cosby has a very dark side that betrays his former fame as America’s Dad.

For those of us in the church, we should take heed to learn from and be aware of such situations.  We well know the church is not immune.  We should not be quick to believe every accusation thrown against our pastors and leaders and other fellow believers and even unbelievers.  But we also should not be so quick to dismiss the accusations, especially when there appears to be potential substance to them.  Our acumen and own sin nature should tell us that all of us, even our spiritual leaders, can be just as vulnerable to harrowing sin.  And our observation of other similar cases should tell us that it is far from abnormal for a person or group of people to use their position of power and influence to constrain and conceal their sins and their victims.

May God give us wisdom and compassion and a sense of justice if and when encountering such potentially traumatic situations.

Linkathon! and other…stuff….will be late today as I have some medical stuff to deal with this morning.

Hopefully, our regular content will be up around noon…

Things I Used To Think

(With Apologies to Michael Newnham)

I used to think that theology could be argued and by such argument, one could convince another person of the truth of a position.  Now I know that whatever is not presented in love to another person will be seen as having little, if any, value.

I used to think that preaching could change people’s lives. Now I know that while a sermon may entertain, educate and/or inspire, it is only the life of the one behind the sermon that can touch another life, for good or for ill.

I used to think that there was value in absolute certainty.  Now I know that uncertainty leads to further questioning, further knowledge and a deeper appreciation of those who think differently than oneself.

I used to think that people in a congregation were there to be spoken to and led.  Now I know that, in the words of Chrysostom, “Sometimes the ears of the people are holier than the mouths of the priests…” and some of them may know more of God than myself.

I used to think the Bible was a single book to be outlined, categorized and interpreted. Now I know that the Bible is a collection of history, poetry, chronicles, laws, memoirs and letters, all of which combine to form a unique and singular narrative of God’s revelation and his love for the world he created.

I used to think that the Church was the creation of the Bible.  Now I know that God used the Church to assemble the canon of writings we know as the Bible.

I used to think that Tradition was restrictive and dead.  Now I know that Tradition can be liberating and alive.

I used to think that no one had struggles and disappointments like myself.  Now I know that everybody has struggles and disappointments like myself, and many have far worse.

I used to think that God would eventually bring all “true believers” into my particular Church tradition – Evangelical, Anglican, Catholic, Lutheran, Orthodox, Reformed, Baptist, etc.. Now I know that Our Lord has “other sheep… which are not of this fold…” and he leads each of us to places best suited to who we are as individuals.

I used to think that there were answers to all theological questions, you just had read enough, study enough, pray enough and/or work hard enough to find them. Now I know that we indeed “look through a glass darkly”, and some answers have to wait until we “see face to face”.

I used to think that there was some God given meaning in all tragedies. Know I now that we simply live in a fallen world and tragedies come with the territory and many cannot be explained.

I used to think that with enough theological education and learning, we could arrive at definitive answers.  Now I know how much I don’t know and that, if we are theologically and intellectually honest, any definitive answers will likely lead to yet more questions.

I used to think that The Beatles would get back together….

I was wrong about that one as well…

Duane W.H. Arnold, PhD

The Project

Matthew 22:34-45

The Great Commandment

³⁴ But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together.

So the Pharisees seeing that the Sadducees had failed, regroup.

• I wonder in the sense of competition and jealousy if the Pharisees snickered at the Sadducees as theological lightweights?

³⁵ And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him.

• So they send out a lawyer to ask a law question – they send out a specialist, bringing in the closer in the 9^th

³⁶ “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?”

• Again with the teacher title – although they are unwilling to learn from him.
• This question is quite similar to the question asked by the Rich Young Man.

³⁷ And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.

• OK, softball question, I will give you a softball answer – Love God.

³⁸ This is the great and first commandment.

• OK, this seems simple enough.
• I like the way he divides great and first.

³⁹ And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.

• You asked for one, but I will give you two.
• Love man
• Hey, the Rich Young Man asking a similar question got this one; Sell all that you have, give it to the poor and come follow me.

⁴⁰ On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”

• Hey guys, it’s all here.
• Note that he takes the lawyer back to the scriptures.
• Now this is a summary of the law – not the elimination of the individual laws.
• We do not have the freedom to do whatever we want in the name of love.
• A deeper Look; what does God want from us / you with each command?
• Loving God is a summary of the first 3 commandments.
• 1^st – God wants your heart. He wants you to trust him.
• 2^nd – God wants your mouth – to call upon his name properly in prayer and thanksgiving.
• 3^rd – God wants your ears by which he comes to you in his words so he can ‘holy you’ (make you holy). How do we keep holy? By letting God holy us — through his word.
• Loving Man / your neighbor is a summary of the remaining 4-10 – as you interact with your neighbor.

Whose Son Is the Christ?

⁴¹ Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them a question,

• Jesus wants to take an opportunity to talk to the Pharisees while they are still gathered together. This would be like “let’s try this one more time.”

⁴² saying, “What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is he?” They said to him, “The son of David.”

• So far so good – good answer – 2 Sam 7 stuff.

⁴³ He said to them, “How is it then that David, in the Spirit, calls him Lord, saying,

⁴⁴ “‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at my right hand, until I put your enemies under your feet”’?

• Psalm 110

⁴⁵ If then David calls him Lord, how is he his son?” ⁴⁶ And no one was able to answer him a word, nor from that day did anyone dare to ask him any more questions.

• Jesus is saying “don’t you even know your own scriptures?”
• But I think they had never seen that passage in that light before.
• This is the state that the unbeliever reads scripture – without the illumination.
• I don’t know that you can understand the scriptures in a saving way without preaching. I don’t think someone can say, “I was just reading the Bible on my own and I became a Christian.”
• God says through Paul, faith comes by hearing and then goes on to talk about how can you have a preacher if one is not sent etc.
• Just like the Ethiopian Eunuch could not figure out the mysteries of the scripture until Philip was sent, preached God’s word and immediately baptized him.
• Although I don’t think it helped the Pharisees, I doubt they looked at that passage in the same way going forward.
• And that is probably what happened to every one of us who thought “we knew the Bible” – even if it was just enough to reject it, when we hear God’s word preached the blindness left us.