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It Grieved Him at His Heart, Part 2

“And God saw that it was good,” remember that.

The end of chapter one says, “And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.”  Six days in and all is good!

Now there is a heaven and an earth but no man yet to till the ground. We now have the story of Adam and Eve.  There were no wild plants or grains growing on the earth so far. There was no rain.  What watered the land so far were springs that came forth from the ground.  God decided to make man to care for what he had made and so He formed a man from the dust of the ground.  Keep in mind he made man in his likeness (like Him).  The Lord breathed life into the man’s nostrils which created life and now we have a living person. A man named Adam. God then planted the Garden of Eden and put Adam in the garden. In the center of the garden the Lord placed a tree of life and He also put in a tree of the knowledge of good and evil.  Man was supposed to care and watch over the garden and He gave the man a stern warning, “You can eat of every fruit and tree in the garden except one- He told man that if he were to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil that he would surely die.”

Then the Lord said that it was not good for man to be alone.  The Lord caused the man to fall into a deep sleep and then took out one of the man’s ribs and made a woman out of the man’s rib.  This process by God is the design of marriage. It is why a man leaves his mother and father and becomes joined to a wife with the two being united as one. (The institution of marriage.)

We have just finished the creation and origin of all things. It took six days to create and one, day seven of rest.   We will now go through the stage of corruption.

The woman was convinced by the serpent who was the shrewdest of all the creatures that she should eat from the tree that God had forbidden. She ate some fruit from the forbidden tree and also convinced the man to have some.  As soon as they ate it they realized they were naked and saw things they never saw. They hid themselves because they were naked and when God came walking through the garden He could not find them.  God was not pleased with this outcome.  He then cursed the serpent. “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.” (Genesis 3:15) You might think is about men and women hating snakes but it has a much deeper theological meaning. It could be interpreted this way, “And there will be intense hatred between Satan and Christ. Eventually, Christ will crush the head of Satan, while suffering a heel wound in the process.”  This verse is known as the “Proto-Evangel,” the first Gospel.

He said to the woman, “I will sharpen the pain of your pregnancy, and in pain you will give birth. And you will desire to control your husband, but he will rule over you.” Because the man listened to the woman and also ate from the tree the Lord cursed the ground and caused it to be a struggle to grow food from it because now it will have weeds and thistles. The lord declared that now man will sweat in order to eat and live and will one day return to the dust he was made from.  This is where we had paradise lost and God’s judgment rendered, Adam and Eve were banished from the Garden of Eden and will need to cultivate the ground to be fed from the dust that he made them. It seems the Lord now have the first of a grieving at His heart.  The subtlety of Satan has worked and Adam has sinned.  Can you feel it?  They were overtaken by the three deadly temptations that many centuries later the apostle John would warn us all to beware of. The lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life.  Adam has been declared the first human sinner. In actuality, Eve ate first but because Adam was supposed to be the head of the human race he was responsible. (See Romans5:12)

We will now be introduced to God’s redemptive power and His holiness and grace.  We see his holiness as he pronounces five judgements. The five judgements were on man, (Gen 3:17) on women, (Gen 3:16) on all of nature, (Gen 3:18) on the serpent, (Gen 3:14) and on the devil. (Gen 3:15) We see His grace, as God deals with sinners. He showed grace as he sought out Adam in Genesis 3:9, “And the Lord God called unto Adam.” This is where God took the first step to reconcile man back to himself. He showed grace in promising them a Savior in Genesis 3:15 as mentioned above. He showed His grace in clothing them. (Gen 3:21) He showed grace in removing them from the Garden of Eden. (Gen 3:24) This was an act of mercy and not an act of judgement. If God had not removed them from the Garden it would have been a situation where all of mankind would have eaten from the tree and lived forever in total immorality. The next time we read of the tree of life is not until the end in the first two verses of Revelation 22.

As we get into chapter 4 we know that Eve has given birth to two sons.  And we witness the very first murder of mankind and the very first human liar. Yes, man killing man started way back then. This is nothing other than the effects of pure sin. We see the murder of Abel by his brother Cain, and Cain being driven from the blessings of God. Can you feel God’s heart grieving?  Remember all the times God said, “It is good.”

Before we move on to condemnation and the Great Flood. I want to mention the ministry of Enoch in Genesis chapter 5.  Enoch is one of only two men who walked with God prior to the flood. The other man was Noah who will be introduced next post. We know Enoch walked with God because God apparently had told Enoch that when his son Methuselah died the world would be destroyed by a terrible flood. This might be why Methuselah lived longer than any other human in the history of the world.  Methuselah lived to be 969 years old before he died. That was a prophecy of God and the reason Methuselah lived so long may have been because God was not willing that anyone should perish.  He was giving sinful mankind as much time as possible to repent.  (See 1 Timothy 2:4 and 2 Peter 3:9)

Enoch was a man of great faith and he preached of God’s second coming centuries before even his first coming took place. He was the first recorded preacher and he was the first of only two humans that got to heaven without physically dying. The other man that was directly taken up to heaven by the Lord is Elijah. He was taken up in a whirlwind. Enoch was taken up by God at the age of 365, he just was not there anymore because God took him.

Depending upon your level of belief and faith that may sound strange.  Someday however, millions of Christians will experience the very same thing as it is written.

Click here to jump to the next post when we will look at “The Condemnation of all Things.”

God bless you all;

 

 

The Tubthumper

It Grieved Him at His Heart, Part 1

“And it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart”.  (Genesis 6:6)

I chose the title for this because of the incredible reverse of sentiment from the Lord in only six chapters of the first book of the Bible. As the book begins we see God creating the world. It is a wonderful display of His awesome power and His purpose.  He creates man and woman made in His image.  Before long though, sin enters the picture and what was once bathed in innocence becomes shattered by the Fall.  [The Fall was the willful disobedience of Adam and Eve.]  They broke the fellowship with God and evil was unleashed causing the destruction to begin. One right after the other events began happening.  We had Adam and Eve getting expelled from the garden of Eden, next we saw their first son become a murderer, evil bred still more evil and the world He created became so vile that God spoke those words I began with.  God started out saying, “It was good”, He said it repeatedly but ended by saying, “I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them.” (Genesis 6:7)

I hope you read and study the Holy Bible.  It provides a fantastic spiritual history for you.

Before we get into the heart of things let us start with some background information about Genesis.  There are 50 chapters in the book of Genesis comprised of 1,533 verses holding 38,267 words.  The key word for the entire book is “Beginnings”.  A key verse for the topic I am addressing is Genesis 1:27, “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.”   The topic I am covering with this title is the first half of the book, “the four great events”.  Another key verse is Genesis 3:15, “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.”  Please note that Christ is that seed of woman.

Genesis was written by Moses 1450 – 1410 B.C. and Moses was born at least three centuries after the events in Genesis ended.  In actuality, the book was written by God but breathed through Moses.  We will be dealing with what is called, “The Fertile Crescent”, in chapters 1-11 which spanned more than 2,000 years and 1500 miles. We will learn why God chose Israel to be His redemptive people by the time we end chapter 11.  We will only be focusing on the first 11 of 50 chapters, therefore how God chose Israel will be covered with chapters 12 to 50. In this topic, we will be covering the four great events which are: Creation– God is the sovereign Creator of matter, energy, space and time. Man is the pinnacle of the creation. The Fall– Creation is followed by corruption. Man gets separated from God then gets separated from man. Despite the curse of the Fall, God promised hope of redemption through the seed of the woman (Chapter 3, verse 15). The Flood– As man multiplied, sin multiplied until God had enough and was compelled to destroy humanity with exception of Noah and his family. The Nations– the unity of the human race, we are all children of Adam through Noah. Because of the rebellion at the tower of Babel, God fragments the original culture and language of post flood and scatters people over the face of the earth.  In a future segment, I will cover the second half which is, “The Four Great People”.

Ok, on to the beginning. As I was reading the book of Genesis I connected with several things I hadn’t before. The presence of Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit, reproduction of its own kind, the unknown population and the amount of grief the Lord experienced. Each time you study a part of the Bible the Lord will allow you some more meat to digest. So He opened my eyes on these.

I won’t go verse by verse through the first seven days of creation because you can read that for yourself.  I will note however that in verse 4 of the first chapter God said the first, “it was good”.  In verse 10 when the waters were separate from the land called earth he said the second, “it was good”. I want to mention that God made the stars to light the earth at night and he separated the light from darkness because we were meant to be in the light.  Good goes to light and evil goes to darkness. See verse 16.  I would also like to point out from verse 11 that He made the grasses and the herbs and the plants and fruit, “Whose seed is in itself.” In other words, it will always be the same. You can’t see wheat growing into a corn stalk or rice becoming apples because it is whose seed is in itself.  How awesome is that. In verse 12 He said, “it is good” once again and again in verse 18 He said it.  Then in verse 21 we see that God saw that it was good.  God then made man and women in His own image. He formed Adam form the dust of the ground. No rain had occurred yet, nor had the ground been tilled.

Before we get too far into chapter 2 of Genesis I have a question for you.  Have you ever thought about the fact that Jesus was there during the creation?  That is an incredible thing to get our arms around as human beings. He was there. He always was, even at the beginning we can see the mystery of Jesus Christ. The very first verse speaks of the plurality in the Godhead.  It is indicating the Trinity.  God is the Hebrew word Elohim.  El is a singular term for God and the im ending makes it plural so we have, “In the beginning Gods…” There are other signs and types throughout Genesis which I will visit later, but for now we can already see Jesus the Christ at work in the creation. In Colossians 1:16 it claims it was by Him (Jesus) that all things were created. In 1 Corinthians 8:6 it says all things came from God, but they came through Jesus Christ. Hebrews 1:2, 10-12 says that through Jesus the universe was made and Psalm 102:24-27 refers to Elohim as the One who’s hands made the universe. We must understand that Jesus was speaking the truth when He said He was one with the Father. Let us look at Genesis 1:26, Who is the us? It’s the Father, the son and the Holy Ghost.  Jesus was there and was an instrument of the creation. In Genesis 3:8 who walked with Adam and Eve in the Garden?  God the father is a spirit. (John 4:24) Only Jesus Christ takes on a form. (Hebrews 10:5) We will re-visit this later with the introduction of Melchizedek but there already is plenty of evidence Jesus Christ was there before the world was ever created and is still with us today. The same today as yesterday. Amen! When I think of this I can only say wow! And remain totally amazed and in awe.

Next time I will address the Fall in Chapter 2 and the evil overcoming mankind before the flood that brought that grieving to the Lord. For now, please read Genesis and be encouraged by it. The evil and darkness that is in the world can seem bleak but God has a plan. We have hope. You are in His plan and salvation is available.

To jump to part 2 click here.

God bless you,

The Tubthumper

 

Ish- The Reborn Ruler

The Mature Man                                                                           

Well men, we are never prepared to be defeated by life.  We expect to win in all we do.  And we are not wimps, you are not a man if you are expecting to lose.  That’s not the masculine thing to do. When it does happen we feel totally out of control. We cave in… it’s over. We feel like everything has gone out of control and we don’t respond well we are really confused. We now become slaves to the wounds. We are caught off-guard because, most men today didn’t have a father that modeled or taught us how to get through this wounding process.

Maturity comes only through adversity. “Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.” (James 1:12)   In the Bible, the word temptation can also be taken as trials. So when a man has withstood the test, he will receive the crown of life God has promised to those that love Him.

How many times as a child or adolescent did you hear the words, “grow up?”  Does anyone really know what grown up looks like?  The only thing we know is that whatever it looks like maturity only comes through the crucible of pain.  Through the pain we learn who we are, what we are like, what we should do, and what or who we should be. Mr. Bly reminded men that the path to adulthood often takes a detour through Woundedville.  But it leads to the mature man, the resurrected ruler of the soul, the ish kind of a man.

The Meaning of Ish:

This is a Hebrew word that translates into, “man”, “mankind, or “Husband.” The adult male or mature man.  Ish speaks not only of man but also of God. The husband of His people.  (Hosea) The most important aspect of Ish is its reference to the adult male. This in contrast to the young man “yeled”.

Attributes, the Mature male is known for his attributes.

He is a man of something…

A man of bravery. (1 Samuel 4:9) A man of good presence or good looking. (1 Samuel 16:18) A man of Kindness. (Proverbs 11:17) A man of smooth skin or hairy skin. (Genesis 27:11) A man of understanding. (Proverbs 17:27) A man of peacefulness. (Psalm 37:37) A man of trustworthiness. (Exodus 18:21) A man of the priesthood. (Leviticus 21:9) A man of the King. (Exodus 2:14) A man of war. (Deuteronomy 2:14) A man of God, this is used 75 times in the Bible.  Also a man of the Spirit in Hosea 9:7. So we can see that a mature man is a man of attributes and he knows who he is.  He has decided to stop living through the eyes of someone else and lives his own life.

Ish is also used with reference to a women and shows differentiation.  Ish is the husband of a woman.  For a boy to become a man he needs to break free of mommy, find his father.  After this he must also break free from his father and become the man he will be by finding himself. Sometimes a wife ends up becoming a second mother and a woman can never make a boy into a man. There is a point when a boy must say goodbye to the Woman and become a man. It may not be just the differentiation from women but may be parents, teachers, pastors, churches, systems or friends Don’t get me wrong, these all have their place but can be barriers to personal development. This can be called, “detribalization,” we are all tribalized in some way and need to break free to reframe the disillusionment and wounding we suffered. We need to break away from someone else’s agenda and follow our own.

A mature man is also known for his individualization. Differentiation shows what a man is not, but a man must also show what he is.  So who are you? Can you answer that question?  Who really knows who this person is? Only God knows you and me personally and perfectly, because our self-knowledge is distorted. If a man is going through a mid-life crisis in order to do an appraisal he must look inward. It is a time to discover what the turmoil was all about. Time to find out where he hurts and find his wounds to be licked.  He needs to become more engages with himself to determine how he feels about a lot of things. The prerequisite for maturity is to know what you want to be and do and to know what you do not want to be and do.  Then you can become your own man.

It’s now time to re-kindle the dream. Time to dream again but you will modify the original vision and have a different perspective on it all.

You see, now we will swing a little less often but when we do swing the world had better look out! You have now challenged a mature male at the heart of his dedication.

John Henry Newman, the founder of the Oxford Movement, was rejected by both the Anglican Church (his church) and the Catholic Church he was converting to.  He wrote this: “God has created me, to do Him some definite service; He has committed some work to me which He has not committed to another.  I have my mission-I may never realize it in this life, but I shall be told in the next. I am a link in a chain, a bond of connection between persons.  He has not created me for nothing. I shall do good, I shall do His work. Therefore, I will trust Him.  Whatever, wherever I am. I cannot be thrown away.”

So by getting in touch with who we are and doing the appraisal work needed we can be on a better positon to continue our growth. The warrior is really a one-dimensional man focusing on his weapon. The phallic male is focusing on nothing but his penis. The wounded male is unable to see past his hurting and his pain. Now the mature man (Ish) is finding a new richness in his life he has never experienced before. This does not mean the man has become an isolated man away for those he cares about.  He is also a relational man.

Ish is a relational man.

Ish gets used sometimes along with a similar word for women, Ishah.  This is seen in Genesis 2:23 where Adam gave his wife a name similar to his own. (Ish) but with a feminine ending. A mature man fids equality with a woman. She is like him, as proven in this scripture and she is not an animal to be Lorded over.  Nor is he a wimp without authority to name her.  Things now get more serious between a man and his wife. Both parties are no longer playing any games. Sex can be based on complete, unabashed union of their spirits.  They know each other very well. There now is sexual freedom and the relationship has a new dynamic.  That means we now have the liberty of enjoying our wives for the glory of God.  The best sex is yet to come.

Ish is also involved in civic and social responsibilities.  He is a man of fiends. (Proverbs 18:24)

Ish is a man that is belonging to certain groups, whether to his tribe or nation. (Numbers 25:6, Judges 10:1) He is also a man that holds a wide range of civic and social responsibilities. (Exodus 21-22) A mature man is involved in his church, in his work and in his community, he is involved in his family activities and all the things he simply enjoys.

And Ish is now becoming a royal type of person and is taking control and rules his life.

Ish as a Royal Man

“And it shall be, when he sitteth upon the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write him a copy of this law in a book out of that which is before the priests the Levites: And it shall be with him, and he shall read therein all the days of his life: that he may learn to fear the Lord his God, to keep all the words of this law and these statutes, to do them: That his heart be not lifted up above his brethren, and that he turn not aside from the commandment, to the right hand, or to the left: to the end that he may prolong his days in his kingdom, he, and his children, in the midst of Israel.” (Deuteronomy 17: 18-20)

Men of Royalty such as Priests and Prophets, and messengers of God are often called ish Elohim or “man of God.” A mature man is one who will rule his life with the wisdom of scripture. He is required to meditate on God’s word daily and to tune out other voices. (Psalm1).

The blessing of maturing to the Ish kind of man is that you no longer listen to counsel of evil men, but only to the insights obtained by diligent meditation on the Word of God. The mature man listens to the voice of God in Scripture.

“Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.” (Psalm 1:1-2)

An Ish Bible Character

Elijah- Prophet of God.

He defeated the prophets of Baal and embodies the wounded warrior who grows up and mentors another younger man. He showed all the qualities and came through all the stages that typify the Mature Man. (1 Kings 17-19) (2 Kings 1-2) The young Elijah did everything God told him to do and God came through for him using supernatural strength. He multiplies food and raises a widow’s son from the dead. (1 Kings 17) This was a fantastic start for a young warrior prophet! Now Elijah is ready for the big times. God calls on him to take on the Canaanites and King Ahab along with the Prophets of Baal.

This has all the elements of the warrior challenge.  It has emotion, dreams, victory, pomp, and courage. (1 Kings 18) In 1 Kings 19: 1-2 Ahab tells his wife Jezebel of what is happening and Jezebel goes ballistic. She put a hit on Elijah’s life. Now how does Elijah handle this?  He runs for his life.  Here is a man that has experience with God taking care of him.  Why did he run this time?  There is no answer but I do know men have weak moments when they are at their breaking point.

So now all the elements of wounded behavior show up. Retreat, licking his wounds, self pity, depression, giving up the cause, and this is all in 1 Kings 19:3-10.

“And when he saw that, he arose, and went for his life, and came to Beersheba, which belongeth to Judah, and left his servant there. But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a juniper tree: and he requested for himself that he might die; and said, It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life; for I am not better than my fathers.  And as he lay and slept under a juniper tree, behold, then an angel touched him, and said unto him, Arise and eat.  And he looked, and, behold, there was a cake baken on the coals, and a cruse of water at his head. And he did eat and drink, and laid him down again.  And the angel of the Lord came again the second time, and touched him, and said, Arise and eat; because the journey is too great for thee.  And he arose, and did eat and drink, and went in the strength of that meat forty days and forty nights unto Horeb the mount of God.  And he came thither unto a cave, and lodged there; and, behold, the word of the Lord came to him, and he said unto him, What doest thou here, Elijah?  And he said, I have been very jealous for the Lord God of hosts: for the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.”

God responded to Elijah’s wounded warrior needs. (1 Kings 19: 15-18)

God provided rehabilitation for his personal needs.  God focused on what drives him.  God showed himself in quiet and obvious ways and used no special effects. God rejects the self-pity.  God renews the vision for Elijah to carry on. God re-commissions him to mentor the next generation. God re-assures him with a network of equally devoted colleagues.

Elijah grows up in his relation to others and he becomes a ruler of his own soul. He was wounded and then recovered through the word of God. He became re-born, resurrected in his spirit. Now as a mature man he is ready to be a mentor and sage to a younger man.

The Ish man pulls out of his woundedness and takes the road less traveled. Robert Frost said it well as the man ponders both paths. This is an important crossroad for us men. We can take one road or the other and hopefully will take the one less traveled. Think about the kind of life you want in the years ahead. Make your decision and move on ahead as Frost gives us his vision:

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveler, long I stood

And looked down one as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,

And having perhaps the better claim,

Because it was grassy and wanted wear;

Though as for that, the passing there

Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay

In leaves no step had trodden black.

Oh, I kept the first for another day!

Yet knowing how way leads on to way,

I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-

Took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.

(Robert Frost)

Come back for the next post about the last stop on the male journey.  Think about your roles at home, at work, at church and in the community. Is there an area you could be a mentor and take greater responsibility for the next generation?  Next post is about the Sage- The Fulfilled Man, Zaken.   Click Here to jump to the next post… The Sage.

Thanks and credit to Robert Hicks, The Masculine Journey.

God bless you all,

FJ1

 

 

The Tubthumper

 

 

 

 

Enosh: Part 2

The Wounded Male

Most men share a number of losses in common with Job.  Job’s struggle to make sense of his woundedness provides a rich commentary regarding the enosh experience we all go through.  We find this most particularly within Job 1-3, 6-7, and verse 14.

Job can’t except the fact that he has done anything in his life to deserve what is happening to him.  Why would God allow him to go through such things?  Job is struggling with his woundedness and he is struggling with God as he attempts to show that he is completely innocent.   When things began to happen to him he said in Chapter 1, verse 20, “Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither: the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.” He had not sinned.

But later Job romanticized about back when he had it all and was in his prime of life, back when he had the respect of men and was in God’s favor.  So now he is alienated from God and experiencing the incongruency.  Things are now totally out of whack.  The same as we feel today when this happens… It is the most distressing when the angle that does not fit is the one with God.  When we were once intimate friends with God and now we cannot come to agreement. For a Christian this does not seem right or even valid. The experience is that we are distant from God, we feel alienated and it’s as though God is no longer present or involved in our lives.

Job did what he had to do and he analyzed all the evidence. What he saw probably did not point to a trustworthy God at that point.  But in the end, he kicked and screamed all the way, but he still decided to put his faith on God.  During these wounding time men we must keep the faith. We must place our faith in God even when it feels bad.  That is the incongruency. That feeling of alienation is normal and is part of grieving. This extreme incongruency with God could lead you to new understandings of the mystery of God and a new respect for His mysterious ways.  Show me the way Lord.

We learn in the Bible that death is basic to human existence.  Every time we experience wounds it is a process of death.  We see this in Genesis 5, Psalm 90:3 and Hebrews 9:27 so why do we fight it all the way as if it will never overtake us.  Why don’t we be serious about it and prepare for death instead of continuously pursuing our material dreams in warrior mode? We keep pushing, pushing, pushing on with life as though we can put death off as long as we want. You know how it is, Heaven can wait, but the American dream cannot.

The biblical patriarch Jacob epitomizes the wounded male. Jacob as a young man illustrates a male having been severely wounded by a dysfunctional family. We see this playing out in Genesis 25:19-34, 27:1- 33:20. The first part of the dysfunctional destruction occurred in the mother’s womb with the two twins wrestling. At birth Jacob comes out second but he was holding on to Esau’s heel.  Jacob literally means “heel-catcher”. (Genesis 25:19-26). The next stage carries on in the family kitchen where Jacob tricks Esau into selling his birthright. (Gen 25: 27-34). [You can see my blog post about giving up the birthright and the dysfunction in this family.]  It then hits an all-time low in the parent’s bedroom where Isaac was so unhealthy and blind that Jacob was able to trick him into showing favor to him and giving the blessing of birthright. Gen 27:1-40). Jacob eventually received the coveted patriarchal blessing reserved for the firstborn. We see sibling rivalry, parental favoritism, and fraudulent scams as they conspire for Jacob to eventually receive the coveted patriarchal blessing that was reserved for the firstborn.  Esau should be considered a “real man’s man” both then and now. Jacob was a typical momma’s boy.

Then later on we see Jacob running because he is full of fear, guilt and he is alienated from friends, family and also God.  Even when Jacob had the blessing he was feeling the alienation from God. So here is what Jacob the wounded male does during all this time to affirm to himself that he is legitimately blessed before man and God. He represses the hurt from his family of origin by staying away from them. He sold himself short to Laban, who out-schemed the schemer himself. He does what he learned and reproduces dysfunctional families in succeeding generations.  He practices self-deception and continues to deceive others.  He dreads a reunion with his siblings that he once abused, and appeases him.  He had become so insecure in his walk with God and with his standing with his brother he must prove he can still wrestle and win whoever comes across his path. His blessing that was stolen through deception and parental favoritism doesn’t count for much, but his blessing secured by God comes with a wounded hip.

A lot of men wrestle with strangers in the night searching for the blessing that was withheld.  Jacob’s experience can remind us that the wounding experience does not need to be a negative one but can be a time of wrestling with God to see what life is all about. Has God used a wounding in your life to bless you?  Consider yourself lucky. Why does it take so long to heal a masculine soul? Could it be because Satan actively stalks our souls?

There is admittedly a problem of male hostility and violence.  It is not rooted in men’s power over women.  It is rooted in men’s sense of powerlessness, stemming from deep woundedness. We do not condone the abuse of women under any circumstances but must admit where the violence comes from.

For men to survive the wounding they need to talk about it and get help.  They need to feel safety among fellow sufferers in order to share the pain. That’s why men should be involved in the men’s groups and ministries around. It remains difficult, however, with the loner nature of men. Most men simply withdraw.

Ok men, if we are done licking our wounds we can move to the next step.  In the next step on the journey we can emerge as rulers of our own souls. We reach the mature male stage.

“No one gets to adulthood without a wound.” – Robert Bly

Thanks and credit to Robert Hicks, The Masculine Journey.  See you later men at the next post which is the Mature Male…

Click here to jump to the next post.

God bless you,

 

 

 

The Tubthumper

 

 

Painful Incongruency

The Wounded Male- Enosh  

Many men are walking around wounded or have been severely wounded in the past which is effecting them now.  Becoming wounded is a part of growing up for a male.  It usually is a major piece of the teenager suddenly breaking into adulthood through trial by fire.  Just before the realization of the responsibility that full manhood brings with it.

The biggest problem with the wounded male is that it occurs in silence.  Even though this wounding is part of life we all know that real men don’t cry.  It’s instilled within us as youngsters.  Any other older male that has a direct effect on our lives lets us know that men do not cry.

It’s like when the little boy is out fishing with his grandpa and sticks his finger with a fishhook.  As the blood starts to run so do the tears and then grandpa shuts the faucet off with the words, “Hey, enough of that we men don’t cry!”  We men go through life experiencing painful shrapnel biting at us and we do not flinch.  Hey, man… being a warrior is noble and we are tough.  But given enough wars and enough scars and the man will be seriously wounded to incapacity or dangerous consequences.

 

The Ancient Metaphors and Archetypes of Wounds

 

There is a men’s movement under way and Robert Bly believes, the roots of the movement are within all the repressed pain inflicted from the battles of life.  For us to discover our manhood we must descend to the dark hallways of our souls to find all of our accumulated grief and deal with it.

Another metaphor is the thought of us wounding ourselves through all kinds of self-destructive behavior.  That discovery of manhood involves coming into contact with the innermost part of your soul and staring directly in the face of all our accumulated grief. In primitive societies men go through formal rites to manhood that involve the experiences of pain and wounds to their bodies. Circumcision is certainly a wound that is permanent and daily reminds him that he is a male.

Pain seems to be the pathway to manhood. It has been that way from the beginning of time and well recognized in most civilizations.  Here in our western culture that rite of passage is either denied or just plain forgotten.  The emerging men’s movement could be an effort to reframe and re-acquaint men and society with this wounding experience for men.

The Bible treats this wounding with honor and addresses it as a normal stop on our masculine journey. When men experience our wounds, we wrestle with God.

ENOSH: The Wounded Male

Enosh is a Hebrew word that conveys the concepts of weakness, being feeble and incurably sick.  It describes man’s mortality, calamity, frailness and the fears of men. [Isaiah 17:11, Jeremiah 17:16]

The life of Job pays homage to being wounded in the most severe form.  It illustrates the loss of his family, property, his health, and his wealth.

The prayers of Moses and David show is the Enosh man as well addressing a man whose “days are like grass” (Psalm 103:15) and who will turn “back to dust”. In experiencing woundedness we learn that we are not God, nor are we a little god, and we certainly are not even a little but like God.  It becomes an experience where we are wondering why or how God could possibly sohave anything to do with us at all. [Psalm 8:4] This is a normal experience yet why is it so very difficult for men to accept, talk about and heal from?

It seems both the biblical material and the contemporary literature on the subject support four convlusions:

One: The Deep Mortal Wound

The wound experienced is basically a mortal wound which means it is a death experience.  Every time a man gets a physical or a psychic wound it becomes another foretaste of death.  Each time we feel that pain something else dies within us. Men experience life through their bodies so when that body is wounded it is traumatic.

The wound is also spiritual and therefore the issues we face could be more of a theological nature than other issues.

When men experience midlife wounds, it could be the loss of marriages, jobs, dreams and ambitions. Sam Keen believes all men are in some way and some sense war-wounded. Because of this we have developed a well-crafted psychological armor to enable us to keep on functioning while not getting any healing.  Many men are becoming aware for the first time of the woundedness they experienced in jobs, failed marriages, drug addiction, and family origin or dysfunctionalism.

Two: Deep Loss Reactions

As men, we find our significant meaning by becoming the warrior and being phallic, therefore, when we become defeated in either of these areas it brings us a profound sense of loss. When we get wounded we no longer really know who we are.

Job was a warrior and he had it all. He had wealth and he had a large family, he had a supportive wife, a large estate, good friends and good health. But then one day he was dealt a cruel blow.  Likewise any of us could be hit with one well aimed cruel slug, it could be a car accident, a job loss, or a spouse walking out.  What happens then is we are wounded by life so we feel the remorse for what has been lost. We begin living in the romantic past when things were better.  That is what Job did.  [Job 29:1- 30:21]

Three: Alienation and Incongruency

When we get wounded by those blows that life deals out we tend to have our balance thrown off. A wounded believer will feel a sense of distance an alienation from God. (Psalm 73:1-14) Extreme incongruency with God might lead us to a new understanding and a respect for the mysterious ways of God. (Psalm 73:15-28) Men will tend to isolate themselves, buy some time and lick our wounds, and we won’t want anyone to come near us. This is usually seen as not wanting any help or a rejection of help, but it is a distinctive characteristic of a wounded male.

Just like a wounded animal, sometimes a wounded male can strike out at one that try to come with help. Men can externalize their pain and can manifest hostility and violence toward others

Four: Hostility and Violence

It does not matter how the wound occurs.  It could come from society or circumstances, by parents or a spouse, it does not matter because the male will feel powerless and will strike out. This hostile spirit is rooted in woundedness.  Many men in our society today are lashing out toward women, society, their bosses, and even God because they don’t understand the wounding experience. Men need to learn that out of their woundedness can come significant healing, meaning and growth.

PURPLE HEARTS for BROKEN SPIRITS

In our culture in America we have devalued the role of the warrior and also the role of his wounds.  By awarding a purple heart, the military recognizes, praises and awards the wounded male.  This is something that civilians are having trouble accepting.

We men need to affirm and value the wounds we receive ourselves.  Our own design and process as we go through life and our fathers, wives, and institutions are not going to do it. It might be that only in the circle of fellow wounded males can a purple heart for a broken spirit get awarded. Possibly from our time of wounding we could emerge as rulers of our own souls.

I believe its true that most of us men need the proverbial blow to the head with a two-by-four to wake us up and knock some sense into us.  In the movies we see men portrayed as the insensitive bozo’s that have no idea what is going on in their lives. We just don’t get it, when it is obvious to everyone else there is a problem. As an example a man will continuously deny his problem with drugs or alcohol until someone that cares enough finally confronts him about it.

“I must be ever so careful to remember that my pain is a precious salve that when used in the service of others can heal a thousand wounds and more. And I must likewise remember that if I do not use it as such, I have done nothing more than wound myself yet again.”
― Craig D. Lounsbrough

Again the credit goes to Robert Hicks and his book, “The Masculine Journey.”

Come back for the next post as I finish this up by exploring issues with other men and the Bible.  Click here to jump to next post.

The Tubthumper

FJ1

 

 

God the Warrior, Gibbor

GOD as Warrior 

As a reminder: Every society needs its warriors to survive.  It is the warrior in men that energizes us and allows us to defend our values.  It’s the warrior in us that allows us to stand our ground and protect and defend even to the point of death.  The warrior is an inherent instinct within the nature of men.

When looking at the term “gibbor”, we know that God Himself is a warrior.  We see the words of Jeremiah, “Forasmuch as there is none like unto thee, O Lord; thou art great, and thy name is great in might. [gibbor] – (Jeremiah 10:6) Please turn to Psalm 89 and you will observe the psalmist saying of God, “Thou hast a mighty arm: strong is thy hand, and high is thy right hand.  Justice and judgment are the habitation of thy throne: mercy and truth shall go before thy face.” – (Psalm 89: 13-14)   Righteousness and justice is the foundation of his throne and He is full of power and strength, He is exalted and He acts with love and faithfulness.

When God saves, and vindicates us humans it is His warrior strength that overcomes the enemy. (Psalm 54:1-4, 20:6) God’s warrior strength and the relationship with His character allows His name Yahweh to be identified with gibbor: “Therefore, behold, I will this once cause them to know, I will cause them to know mine hand and my might; and they shall know that my name is the Lord. [Yahweh]” – (Jeremiah 16:21) A commentator has observed, “One thing the Exodus does not require is any military violence on the part of the Hebrews… Moses arsenal does not include a single bona fide weapon – no swords, no spears, bows, or knives, much less chariots and horsemen. It is Yahweh who fights!

God is not passive.  He fights for His people to save, liberate, protect and sustain.  He has all the attributes of warrior.  I’m glad Jesus is a warrior, I’m glad He fought for my salvation by offering up His only son and glad He will fight again.

The Messianic Warrior

In the promise concerning the Messiah, one designation placed on Him will be “El Gibbor” or the mighty-warrior God.  “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.” – (Isaiah 9:6) His name is listed alongside eternal Father and Prince of Peace. This indicates that being God is not inconsistent with being a warrior and being a warrior is not inconsistent with being the Prince of Peace. God’s ultimate representative, His own son, the Messiah, is a warrior fighting and laying down His own life for His Father’s cause.  And one day soon He will mount His white horse and slay the armies of the world to establish a perfect and lasting peace. (Revelation 19:11-21)

Gibbor as National Warrior and Hero

All through the Old Testament the use of “gibbor” refers to the experienced veteran of combat or the hero status achieved from spectacular feats of bravery. Psalm 19:5, Isaiah 36:5, Genesis 6:4, Genesis 10:9 are all examples.

Gideon and Jephthath, two of Israel’s judges were called gibbbors. (Judges 6:12, 11:1) In Judges chapter seven Gideon made a name for himself by destroying the pagan altars and fighting the Midianites with a corp of three hundred gibbors.

The reign of David advanced the concept of the gibbor to an outstanding militia and hand-picked corp of warriors.  It was carried on by Solomon and the number of his gibborim grew to 60.  He comments on their “parade dress” appearance in Song of Songs 3:7-8.

The warrior is part of the routine expression of manliness in the Bible. God the Father and Christ are examples of what it is.  As men, we need to embrace the latent or rejected warrior within for our own development and for the sake of our society and church. The warrior never serves himself. The warrior serves his king and his commander.  We must know and understand what and who we serve. The power of the warrior needs to be in the service of a larger view of masculinity.

Let’s be clear, being a warrior is not the goal of manhood.  It is a stop along the way to full maleness. Scripture shows that a true warrior should develop as a spiritual warrior.  This takes more than just being tough, strong, or determined to win.

Gibbor as the Spiritual Warrior

Solomon says, “Wisdom is better than [warrior] strength.” (Ecclesiastes 9:16) The psalmist adds, “He delighteth not in the strength of the horse: he taketh not pleasure in the legs of a man.  The Lord taketh pleasure in them that fear him, in those that hope in his mercy.” – (Psalm 147:10-11)

Isaiah declares a man’s real strength lies in things like repentance, resting in one’s salvation, and in the quiet trust of God. (Isaiah 30:15)  This is reaffirmed through the prophet Jeremiah: “Thus saith the Lord, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches: But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the Lord which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the Lord.” – (Jeremiah 9:23-24)

This clarifies the true warrior.  Not a warmonger or baby-killer but warriors that know their limitations and place their faith in God. The warrior does not trust in his own ability but he puts his commitment, allegiance and trust in God. For a man that has not had a significant male role model in his life this is bad news.  The fatherless generation could learn a lot about being a man through the study of God’s word and witnessing a true warrior in operation.  The true warrior does not trust his own strength but he trusts in the strength of the Lord.

On the other side of things, the psalmist admits that “gibbor” can use power for malevolent causes and become a violent man full of evil.  This is a possibility inherent in the warrior psyche.

“Blessed is that man that maketh the Lord his trust, and respecteth not the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies.” – (Psalm 40:4) and in contrast, “Thus saith the Lord; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the Lord.” – (Jeremiah 17:5) 

Job was told by God to “Gird up his loins as a warrior would do preparing for battle” in (Job 38:1-3) He was telling Job to receive the words of God as a warrior would do.  For three chapters God put Job in his place by reminding him of who he is and asking him to receive the admonition as a warrior would.  The warrior salutes and carries out the order.  No debate, just Yes, sir.

King David was a supreme example of the spiritual warrior and the gibbor.  He always credited his military accomplishments to God and sang praises to Him. (1 Chronicles 29:11-14) David also illustrated the downside of the life of the warrior.  To be a successful warrior, blood must be shed.  There is a certain irony in the life of the warrior. It is a much-needed stop on the male journey. It is where we grow up. But, it still involves, blood, risk, and/or sacrifice. We need to prove ourselves. It is different with each man how that occurs. Sometimes it takes all the warrior courage we can muster up to pull the task off.  Whatever it is, however, we must call forth the warrior within us to kill it. We must trust God with the outcome and risk psychological or physical injury to become men. “What is a man without his sword?”

The challenge of being a warrior is twofold:  Knowing what to fight for, and knowing when to quit and neither of these is easy to learn. Usually it takes a major and very tragic loss or a severe wounding within the life of a man to move him out of the warrior perspective.  The warrior never leaves us but if the warrior fights enough battles he can become seriously wounded.  The arrows find their targets and we become wounded to the point of new an uncharted territory.  It’s a dark and scary place.  It is a stage on the journey to manhood most men would love to skip.  If you are stuck in the wounded male space, you are lost and feel you will never find your way back.

This brings us to the subject for the next post, The Wounded Male- Enosh: The Painful Incongruency, so come back for this in the next posting.

All credit goes to Robert Hicks and The Masculine Journey.

God bless you all,

The Tubthumper

Click Here to jump to next Post- Painful Incongruency…

GIBBOR: The Warrior

The Glorious Hero                                          

“We are not interested in generals who win victories without bloodshed…sooner or later someone will come along with a sharp sword and hack off our arms.”- Carl Von Clausewitz (On War)

What is a man without his sword? – Robert Bly (To Be a Man)

Back in the day there were men that had a fight within them. Men in their twenties would still be filled the fight of a rhinoceros.  (A rhinoceros is an animal that gets raving mad, charges massively, has two-inch thick skin, and runs over anything and everything in its way.)  That is where most men in their twenties should be.  The concern today is that we see men in their twenties that have already given up the fight. The warrior within has left them. Is it from dysfunctional backgrounds, divorces, lost jobs or what?  They are dead. It is a sad day indeed when we see young men have given up the fight. They have lost their sword. Here we have an excerpt from Robert Bly:

“The warriors inside American men have become weak in recent years…  a grown man six feet tall will allow another person to cross his boundaries, enter his psychic house, verbally abuse him, carry away his treasures and slam the door behind; the invaded man will stand there with an ingratiating, confused smile on his face.”

Young men who are fighters show it proudly.  You see it when you are on their turf.  You will see the trophies of the victories they have won.  The glory of young men is their strength regardless of where it shows, it could be on the football field or it could be in a business meeting.

If you talk to a young marine that just got word his position was canceled and now doesn’t have to go in harm’s way they are disappointed. You would think they might be happy or relieved to be home safe again.  It may surprise you that most will be disappointed.  The mind-set of a marine – of the warrior is to exist for battle.  That is what they train for and that is what their lives are all about. Semper Fidelis is about the warrior.  Always ready, always faithful-to the Corps.  That means to be always ready to be first ashore and first to die if need be.

There is popular rejection of the warrior in our society today.

The warrior has been devalued. Women have decried this as violence! It is very interesting however, that women say they hate violence but they love a conquering hero.  They like their hero to provide a safe home and security.  Is it possible women just don’t want to know about the psychological violence a man must deal with in the process of becoming successful? Women love the decorated hero’s their military husbands have become but they don’t want to know anything about what happened to get them the medals. They simply want a normal and peaceful family.

Much of society today wants to condemn the warrior. It is the anti-gun lobbyists, the feminists and the liberals that would totally dismantle our military in the name of peace. But much of the growing men’s movement in America is about the recovery of the warrior.  This comes with dismay of the feminists.

Robert Bly, the guru of the men’s movement said, “The disciplined warrior, made irrelevant by mechanized war, disdained and abandoned by the high-tech culture, is fading in American men. The fading of the warrior contributes to the collapse of civilized society.  A man who cannot defend his own space cannot defend women and children.”

Gibbor: The Hebrew Warrior

The Bible is a timeless book and it never changes. It is not affected by changes of culture or fads, or trends.  The Hebrew word for warrior is gibbor and it is associated with the concept of maleness.  Gibbor stands unapologetic through the Bible as one of the primary stages along the male journey. When men reach this stop they are at warrior station. Any men that do not discover the warrior aspect of their being are not real men. They are as Bly calls them, “mother-bound” boys still in need of a sword to cut them away from their mommies. 

The Meaning of Gibbor

Without getting technical to save time, the root idea of Gibbor is that of “power, or strength with an emphasis on excellence and superiority.”  The word lends itself to the idea of gaining an upper hand or to be prominent, important, or have significance. (To be distinguished.)

Some of the communication problems men and women have in marriage comes because men speak in a language of gibbor and women speak in a different language.  What I mean is that men use a language of a warrior. That is how we perceive the world, engage people and talk about any subject.  I experience this very struggle in communicating with my wife. We men, speak this language mostly unconsciously. Our language in our world is negotiations, one-ups or one-downs, it’s trying to achieve an upper hand to protect ourselves from others. It is a conquest, a struggle for independence and a struggle to avoid failure.  Women cannot understand this and they understandably get annoyed and feel put down. (Understandably) It serves me well to work at being aware of this in my communications with my spouse.  (When I can.) And trust me… I am often in trouble with it.  But I refuse to be “mother-bound.”

To be likened to a woman is a major putdown for a warrior. “Ask ye now, and see whether a man doth travail with child? wherefore do I see every man with his hands on his loins, as a woman in travail, and all faces are turned into paleness?” (Jeremiah 30:6) It is men over 30 that are called gibborim, because men in the twenties did not yet qualify for the honor. “Now the Levites were numbered from the age of thirty years and upward: and their number by their polls, man by man, was thirty and eight thousand. These were the sons of Levi after the house of their fathers; even the chief of the fathers, as they were counted by number of names by their polls, that did the work for the service of the house of the Lord, from the age of twenty years and upward.  For by the last words of David the Levites were numbered from twenty years old and above.” (1 Chronicles23:3,24,27) The Bible intertwines the concepts of strength and warrior as the Psalmist confesses, “I am reckoned among those who go down to the pit; I have become like a man [gibbor] without strength.” (Psalm 88:4) Like the successful young businessman with the fight of a rhinoceros young men at this stage of life are pretty much right on pace.

It is the warrior in us men that keeps us going, that keeps us pressing toward our goals that keeps us standing our ground, that allows us to defend our personal values even to the point of risking our lives.

The male warrior instinct is alive! It cannot be dead, no way, because it is intrinsic, it is woven into the very fabric of our being.  This is normal and it is a natural stop on the male journey.  It is not to be despised or devalued by women, or men for that matter.  Men that are abused and defeated by life, take note that God is very much a warrior.  And to the feminists and those that have an agenda to make sissies of men and feminize all the males you can to try and turn them into mother -bound boys…IT WILL NEVER HAPPEN!  It is intrinsic, it is in our creation.  Forget about it.

Yes, many men today are so abused and defeated by life, (and in the defense of some women I must say many men simply gave up their positions because of weakness) they do not have enough warrior left in them to defend themselves or their families or their society.  For you men… the place to begin is looking at God and leaning on the strength of God.  God is very much a warrior.     

I’ll end this post here, but click here to jump to the next one and learn about

GOD the WARRIOR.

 

Yours truly,

FJ1

The Tubthumper

 

PS: The entire credit for this material goes to Robert Hicks and The Masculine Journey.

The Phallic Male

My apology to you for the length of this post, however I couldn’t see my way to breaking it to several shorter blocks.  I felt the entire message had to be completed.

This goes out to my fellow men.

How does the doctor know?  How does he know if the baby is a male or female?

That is a rhetorical question.  Of course, he looks.  If there is a penis then its male.  If not it’s female.  End of story.  Only lately has there been confusion around the subject.  It gets debated and politicized.  In this post we will observe what the ancient wisdom of scripture days about it.

Zakar: this word means “male”.  If we go deep and look at the sematic roots of the word it means sharp or pointed or in other words the male protrusion, penis or phallus.  The Arabic take on the word is close in being Dakar with the same meaning.

When we look at scripture it places the male identity and sexuality firmly in anatomy.  Where it should be.  It does not place it in a realm of psychology or sociology.  Modern psychology says that you are a male if, “you feel like one”.  Modern sociology says you are a male if, “you do the things they consider to be male things”.  The Bible on the other hand, describes and defines manhood by the phallus.  It’s just like the doctor saw it as long as it is a natural phallus and not something brought about by some perverse sex change operation.  Male is the Zakar as mentioned above.  There is a female counterpart described as Negevah or “bored through or pierced.  You can see the plain description for the parts on the human body the Lord created. You can also see that one was made to fit with the other.  Is that surprising? This identity was based on the equipment we were born with. With that said, most males have little to no awareness of this identity until puberty begins to set in.

The phallus also was a determination of religious service.  Spiritual service in the Old Testament was regulated by gender.  Because it was determined and regulated by gender it is offensive to most in our society today. The feminists have had a hug impact on this and they have had a planned agenda and movement over the last several decades. A lot of this agenda has led to the sissification (is that a word?) of men but that’s another subject for me sometime. You know what I mean.  I have driven down the road and been unable to tell if the being on the sidewalk moving in a way a sissy would walk is a man or a woman. Enough on that for now.  My point being that the feminists make all gender differentiation into political discrimination.  When a feminist reads the Bible they see sexual discrimination and do not see the true message intended.

Let’s observe how religious service was regulated by gender back in that time.  1. They celebrated animal offerings at feasts and the offerings were made on the basis of gender. The heads of households on Passover were to bring a male lamb. “Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year: ye shall take it out from the sheep, or from the goats”. (Exodus 12:5)  2. For a guilt offering only a female sheep or goat was allowed. “And he shall bring his trespass offering unto the Lord for his sin which he hath sinned, a female from the flock, a lamb or a kid of the goats, for a sin offering; and the priest shall make an atonement for him concerning his sin.” (Leviticus 5:6)  3. Peace offerings could be made with a male or female offering. (Leviticus 3: 1,6) 4. All free will offerings had to be male sacrifices. “Ye shall offer at your own will a male without blemish, of the beeves, of the sheep, or of the goats.” (Leviticus 22:19)

Feminists have pointed out correctly the fact only the males were required to bring a sacrifice. “Three times in the year all thy males shall appear before the Lord God.” (Exodus 23:17)  “Three times in a year shall all thy males appear before the Lord thy God in the place which he shall choose; in the feast of unleavened bread, and in the feast of weeks, and in the feast of tabernacles: and they shall not appear before the Lord empty.” (Deuteronomy 16:16)

Only males were counted in the national census. (Numbers 1:2,20,22) Only males could be Priests. (Exodus 28:1)(Leviticus 8: 1-3) This is probably another issue that raised the ire of the feminists.  But get this: Only males could be killed in mass murder and used as cannon-fodder in war. (Women and children were allowed to live. Deuteronomy 20: 13-14) Men also had to pay more money than women to make the very same vows. (Leviticus 27:3, 5-6)  Now isn’t this unfair?  Why is this?

The Bible indicates there is no conflict between sexuality and spirituality.  We are addressed by God in the Bible with terminology that describes who we are. We are Zakar. We are Phallic males.  By possessing a penis it places us with unique requirements before God. It also determined how we are to worship Him.

Your gender was also a symbol of dedication and connection.  It is no secret that the erect male organ has always been a symbol important to religion. I don’t really need to go into that much. The phallus was the male organ singled out as the unique site for the very first blood-letting and wound that a young man must face. “This is my covenant, which ye shall keep, between me and you and thy seed after thee; Every man child among you shall be circumcised. And the uncircumcised man child whose flesh of his foreskin is not circumcised, that soul shall be cut off from his people; he hath broken my covenant.” (Genesis 17:10,14)  The ceremony became a male marker for his dedication to God and for his connection to the community. The community of Israel.  It was a sign of the Abrahamic Covenant. “And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the Lord appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect. And I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly. And Abram fell on his face: and God talked with him, saying, As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations. Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee. And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee. And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee. And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.” (Genesis 17:1-8) The circumcision ceremony was also a symbol of God’s faithfulness in the provision of male offspring who could, in turn, produce more offspring to continue The Covenant. It was a daily reminder to every boy and man as to who he was. That he was different from the Gentiles and why he was different.  Sexuality and gender marking took a spiritual significance.

Today’s society does all it can to separate the phallus from any spiritual categories.  Our society does nothing to separate the phallus from other sexual exploits and in fact sexual innuendos have reached a fever pitch in our society. If it feels good then do it, is the norm. It needs to be pointed out that in no way is the suggestion here that true sexuality and spirituality should be united like it was with the sacred prostitutes of the pagan societies of the past.  Actually the Apostle Paul had to address the Corinthian Church because some believers were still having intercourse with sacred prostitutes in Corinthians 6: 15-20.  He encouraged marriage, abstinence, etc. but then had to tell them not to deprive themselves because they moved to the other extreme.  I guess there is hardly ever a good balance in anything.

Christianity in our current society is not able to openly deal with the male phallus in its full activity like it was in the Old Testament. Most secular therapists have not given much attention to the spiritual side of things that surround a complete understanding of the phallus.  They deal the sexual dysfunctions and addictions without a consideration of the larger and deeper connections that could be relate to worship, spiritual bondage or demonic activity.  Monick wrote, “People are uneasy with the correlation of sexuality and religion. Christianity, especially has separated the two in a way that would make them appear to be irreconcilable.  Psychiatry continues the disjuncture, emphasizing it with pathological labels.  The church elevates religion, devaluing sexuality.  Psychiatry does the opposite by elevating sexuality and devaluing religion.  The union of sexuality and religion is like an electrical connection. Wrong joining leads to disaster. No joining produces no energy. Proper joining holds promise.”

The fight between scriptural theology of sexuality and irreconcilable psychology can cause men to do harm to themselves in secrecy. It is believed that without proper teaching on the phallus they will have inherent spiritual tensions. This can be due to a spiritual god-hunger that is mysterious and powerful and will seek fulfillment in any way they can.  This could drive men into sexually deviant behavior.  Thus many men never graduate from the locker room school and are still caught in an adolescent philosophy.  Men get stuck in a phallic stage. Unbridled sexuality becomes harmful for men. Women too, however this is about men. When the phallus is given over to its full-blown spiritual power with no restraint, it will become an idol!

Therefore, in the scriptures, God makes it clear… The phallus, though being a symbol of God’s faithfulness and provision, must be regulated, lest it become a very mysterious taskmaster.  This must be kept in check.

How do we keep the phallus in regulation?  “And the Lord commanded us to do all these statutes, to fear the Lord our God, for our good always, that he might preserve us alive, as it is at this day.” (Deuteronomy 6:24)  We are to observe the statutes. We are to fear the Lord our God.  In our society today we see that with the onset of Aids and other diseases they are advocating abstinence, restraint and clean (monogamous) sexual partners.  And this is exactly what God was trying to do in the Law.  It was to regulate our sexual behavior because of the inherent potential for destruction when left unregulated. I will encourage you to read Leviticus 15: 1-33 to note the value placed on the emission of semen by the male along with nocturnal emissions. It is obvious that what happens to a man’s semen is important to God. In Proverbs 5:18 we note how important our sexual lives are to God as well. Our God know our hearts and He knows they need regulation otherwise we do what we will.

God seeks to orient our sexuality for our best interests and for His glory.  He placed a major prohibition with regard to the male phallus and the keeping of creational distinctions.  The first one had to do with bestiality.  The book of Leviticus is very clear on this subject. It is also very clear on the subject of homosexuality. God put these in the Bible because he knew we would be in those situations of temptation. The Bible simply calls them what they are: abominations.  Our society calls them other things like addictions, compulsions, obsessions and disorders.  The Bible also covers the subject of incest and modesty as well. These regulations have been ignored and now we have a society that is outwardly sexually compulsive but inwardly bored.

The real location of the lack of regulation or beginning of adultery is always in the heart and mind. Jesus made this clear in the scriptures.  So the phallus is stimulated by how the mind conceives the ultimate sexual experience and the role of fantasy plays a big part. Men primarily fantasize about having access to beautiful women without risk and without rejection.  This explains the popularity of pornography and addiction. Pornography plays with our minds at the very deepest levels.

When we think of the Phallic Man one that comes to mind is Samson. Samson’s fatal flaw was his phallus. Samson liked and fell in love with good-looking Philistine women. The first time he gazed on one of the daughters of the Philistines, he wanted her simply because she looked good to him. (Judges 14:3) And most of us know the story of Samson and Delilah.  Another Philistine damsel. Delilah got to Samson the same way the other women did, by using the old line of, “If you really love me you would.”  The she cut his hair off and the soldiers gouged his eyes out and imprisoned him. And the ending worked out because his hair grew back and he was able to pull the pillars down.  Samson was a high testosterone, man’s kind of man.  He was Zakar to the core. The only problem was that he never made it beyond the phallic stage. He got stuck like many men do. Even when the spirit of the Lord was upon him he failed at controlling his phallus.  He was hopelessly controlled by his phallus which allowed him to give in to his fantasies about beautiful Philistine women.

Here is some good advice about having some sexual sanity and controlling our phallus by Earl Wilson, a clinical psychologist.

“Sanity returns when three things happen. One, we control our sexual behavior rather than being controlled by it.  Two, we use sex for its intended purposes- pleasure and procreation rather than to meet other psychological needs. Three, we keep sex in its proper perspective and don’t take it too seriously…. There is a certain type of insanity with using sex for other than its intended purposes.  I strongly believe that sexual sanity come when sex is engaged in by a man and a woman who are married and deeply committed to each other.  People who engage in sex apart from these constraints run the risk of becoming enslaved to their sexuality and thus having it lose its meaning.  This is a waste and approaches insanity.”

We never outgrow our phallus. It stays with us all our lives even though its power may wane.  It’s been said, “The flesh never gets better, it just gets deader!” So it is with the phallus.

The phallic stage is only one of six and men can find themselves in several stages at once or in one solitary stage. This was a discussion at our men’s ministry meeting this month and based on the book, “The Masculine Journey by Robert Hicks.

Come back for the third stage of manhood called Gibbor: The Glorious Hero.  The Warrior!

Click here to jump to The Warrior!

The best to you,

The Tubthmper

 

 

The Noble Savage

“Do impulses toward sadistic cruelty lurk in the depths of every human psyche?”- Anthony Storr

“Man with all his noble qualities still bears in his bodily frame the indelible stamp of his lovely origin.”- Charles Darwin

The Creational Male is the first of the six stages of manhood.  We are definitely not saints because for every heavenly thought we have there is the downward pull of our devilish and sinful flesh.  We could have the most noble desires and within us is seated the unexpected savagery of man.  Margaret Mead said, “We as men (and all of humankind) are noble savages“

This first stage on the masculine journey is the only stage that also includes the females 0f the world. Every other stage is totally exclusive to males. The use of the word Adam is uniquely creational and we are creational kind of guys.  We were not created to be alone or to benefit ourselves and we owe something back to our creator.  It is written that man does not live on bread alone. (Deuteronomy 8:3) We are the Lord’s earthly representatives. We should have a relationship with the living God and we should also have a benevolent relationship with the earth and our fellowmen. (Which includes women.) “O Lord, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps.” – Jeremiah 10:23  Genesis 1:28 tell us of our duty regarding wisdom, care and stewardship of God’s creation. We have accountability.  We are to include justice, kindness, and humility before God. This was given to Adam.  If we men try to run away from our Creator and try to run from our responsibilities we are really running from ourselves and running from what it means to be manly.  All men have the holy spirit following us around.  When we realize what it is that we are rejecting and running from and know that it is the creator and the character of Christ we fall down prostrate and see the Creator that we were created for.  This is called repentance, it’s in the Bible and repentance is a manly thing. If we don’t accept this we will never be the men we should be.

Turning again to the word Adam, we find that we are to have a certain relationship with women, our feminine counterparts.  “ And the Lord God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.  And out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof.  And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for Adam there was not found an help meet for him.  And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof;  And the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.  And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.   Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.   And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.” (Genesis 2:18-25)  There is much more to this than the thought of opposites attract because the Lord created men and women as opposites.  What a mystical and magical thing there is with this relationship.  It’s as if God certainly had a sense of humor. If you are married you know exactly what I mean.  And as a man, when I get out of the shower in the morning and look in the mirror at the equipment that was made on me I can tell I was created to go with another.

Please remember your worth, men. Because we are creational we have a dignity and we have a value. Our worth does not come from our performance or what we achieve but rather it comes from our being, from our birth.  We have incredible value just because we are, because we were made, not because of what we accomplish.  It should be encouraging to know you have value and the value is for no other reason than you are you.  When we get disgraced and our dignity gets dinged which is really called pride in our society, it just tells us who we are and what we are, Creational Males.

Well, that original high esteem and dignity we were made with by God didn’t last too long. Probably if Adam had not sinned we would have been immortal.  Young men always deny the sense of mortality that us older men begin to feel and realize.  It’s that foreboding sense of mortality and the deterioration of the human body that God said would be limited because of the curse. We thought we would live forever and not have a heart attack, lose the ability to do things on our own, or literally lose our minds. When you pass a cemetery just know that people are  just dying to get in there. I am amused when people are talking about the end while getting legal affairs in order and they say, “If anything happens to me”.  Hey brother, I’m here to tell you, “something will definitely happen to you, you will die.”  Every one of us will die and turn back to dust. (Numbers 16:29 and Psalm 90:3) We are dependent. Yes we are. My very breath is in my creators hands. (Ecclesiastes 12:6-7) I sleep trusting Him to keep me breathing during my sleep. The very sleep is His gift. (Psalm 127: 2)

Lastly we should address this noble savagery. “This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.  For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.” (Galatians 5:16)  Whether male or female we humans always have the battle raging between flesh and spirit.  The intent of the heart in men and women (all humans) is evil from youth.  “And the Lord smelled a sweet savour; and the Lord said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man’s sake; for the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite any more every thing living, as I have done.” (Genesis 8:21)  It is very hard to explain how in “civilized countries” we have the surprising level of violence, greed, human degradation and depravity we see.  Underneath our noble presence and our refined culture lurks a sea of horrific evil. We may appear to be saints but underneath is a savage.  How is this? Why is this?  Should we be surprised by the savagery of our souls? 

We are made in God’s image, yes we are. We posses immense capability for good. However, because we are creational beings we also have a freedom of choice that allows us to be drawn to unholy paths and become the most evil of creatures.  Until we realize the evil we are capable of it is difficult to believe the presence of Christ means so much. It’s sobering to know what it is we are saved from.  For folks to think the world is made up of just good or bad people is a naive.  To say we are the good guys is crazy, We need to remember what is written in Ecclesiastes: “We have vanity, we have evil, and we even have insanity in our hearts.”

In the end we die and our physical bodies go back to dust where they came from.  Our soul does to either Heaven or Hell.  And yes there is a Hell.  See my post called Hell is Real. So I’ll end this one with the fact that decay always wins. (Psalm 49:10-12) “For he seeth that wise men die, likewise the fool and the brutish person perish, and leave their wealth to others.  Their inward thought is, that their houses shall continue for ever, and their dwelling places to all generations; they call their lands after their own names. Nevertheless man being in honour abideth not: he is like the beasts that perish.”

Credit goes to  The Masculine Journey by Robert Hicks.

Come back for stage two which is Zakar: The Phallic Male.  Click here to jump to stage two.

Yours truly,

The Tubthumper

The Lost Christmas Story

The Lost Christmas Story

We could call this the ignored story behind Christmas or we could call it, “The Grinch that Almost Stole Christmas.”  As we see the Christmas settings around town there will always be a nativity scene.  We usually see the beautiful manger scene with baby Jesus but there is one missing figure every time.  It’s not Frosty the Snowman or Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer and it’s not Santa.

Throughout the World Christmas pageants are common and have been a tradition in many churches. Our Sunday School classes have Christmas plays that always include three characters, Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus.  There could also be some angels, wise men, shepherds and/or a few animals. There is one person however that is never in the Christmas pageant.  And it’s right that he not be there for he is the vilest individual one could run into.  But he is an important figure in the story and must be kept in Christmas.

 And when they were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him.  (Matthew 2:13)

My post revolves around the second chapter of Matthew and verses 13 to 23 of the Holy Bible.  Beginning back in Chapter 1; verse 18, Matthew describes an angel’s message to Joseph in a dream, followed by the journey of the magi in response to the appearance of the star, the magi’s conversation with Herod, their worship of the child, the slaughter of the innocents, and the holy family’s flight into Egypt, precipitated by another revelation to Joseph in a dream.

So, you see, the one figure from the biblical narrative you won’t see portrayed in a child’s Christmas pageant is King Herod. He is way too mean, nasty and evil to be involved on that holy night.

Most of us know the story of the wise men coming into the court of King Herod and asking where they could find the child born King of the Jews.  Herod, was thought of as the King of the Jews and believed he was.  Herod was crafty and thought he could have the foreigners lead him to this child born as King of the Jews and do away with him.  But, the wise men saw through the evil plans of Herod and returned home, “by another way.”   This is usually where the Christmas eve story typically ends.

That was only part one, though, of the two-part story.  The second part is what everyone wants to ignore because the details are just horrific. It gets a “R” rating for the intense violence.  We can’t be sharing this with kids heading home to put out milk and cookies for Santa.  We never want to replace visions of sugarplums with horrible nightmares.

You see, King Herod was enraged when he found out the magi had double crossed him and did not lead him to the Christ Child.  Because of this he sent his soldiers out to commit such an atrocity it ranks up there with Hitler’s deeds.  He commands them to break into every Jewish home in the region in and around Bethlehem, find every male child and cut their throats.

You may or may not know there is a Christmas carol about this wicked action.  It is called the Coventry Carol. The words are a melancholy lullaby, sung by grieving mothers to their dead children:

Herod the King, In his raging,

Charged he hath this day,

His men of might, in his own sight,

All young children to slay.

 

Then woe is me, poor child for thee,

And ever mourn and say,

For thy parting, nor say nor sing,

By, by, lully, lully.

The carol tells the story of everything having been sweetness and light.  But then, it all changed and they heard the pounding of fists on their doors as Herod’s soldiers were after all the newborn sons.   The mothers of the City of David weep their bitter tears, and they cradle their lifeless babies in their arms:

Lullay, Thou little child,

By, by, lully, lullay.

Herod was in his final year of his 41 year reign and he was definitely evil enough to commit these atrocities.  He was king in name only because the Romans were calling the shots then. It was Herod’s job to carry out all the dirty work like subduing a rebellious colony on behalf of the emperor.  And Herod relished his dirty duties.

To let you know the type of guy King Herod was:

During his reign, he had at least nine wives and at least 14 children and perhaps more. He executed one of his wives named Mariamne for adultery, her mother declared herself queen charging Herod was unfit to rule so Herod put her to death without a trial.  There were two young sons from his marriage with Mariamne and he looked at them as a threat so he executed them.  After murdering his wife, mother and two sons he named his eldest son the exclusive heir to the throne.  But then he grew jealous of the crown prince and had him executed. The emperor was so appalled that he refused to allow any of Herod’s remaining sons to claim the title of king- although three of them would eventually rule as “tetrarchs” each governing one third of his father’s realm.

Thirty-three years later, one of them, Herod Antipas, would look upon Jesus at last, as he stood before him in chains, wearing a crown of thorns.

Would anyone doubt that this man was capable of ordering the soldiers to kill babies?

We know that Jesus escaped that fate because an Angel of the Lord came to Joseph in a dream and warned him with instructions to flee to Egypt.  Some may find it troubling that God would send an Angel to rescue Jesus but let all those little babies die.

That is a part of the theological issue we face so often: the problem of evil and sin, the question of why a just and an all-powerful God allows human suffering to take place. With that question answered elsewhere in no easy way, King Herod is well suited to play the role of evil incarnate.

So, Herod does not belong in a Sunday School Christmas pageant or play. But we must not forget about him.

King Herod is important to the Christmas story because he will help us remember what kind of world we live in and why this world needs a savior.  Jesus did not come to the world to bring a mid-winter festival.  He was not born into some Christmas card scene, rather He was born into a World where Families wander homeless and corrupt tyrants rule by murder and deceit.  Jesus didn’t come to offer respite from the world.  He came to save the world.

For us,

His Christmas weary disciples,

We have a role in carrying out the mission, by using the spiritual gifts he gave us along with whatever material resources we have.

It may be easier to remember the mission if we keep King Herod in Christmas.

 

 

 

Gotta Serve Somebody, God Fearing Beer Drinking- Part 6

There is a line of the Guinness genealogical path that has been deeply committed to God.  It’s the descendants of John Grattan Guinness who was Arthur’s youngest son.  It has continued through the years and spurred a book written by Frederic Mullally called, “The Silver Salver: The Story of the Guinness Family.”  The book almost makes the rest of the clan look like rogue pagans. In reality, however the family was pretty much a God fearing Guinness story all together.  The Reformers changed the artificial lines between what was sacred and what was secular and showed that men were sent into the world by God to use their God-given skills to His glory.  This Protestant work ethic can be found all throughout the Guinness line beginning with the greatly reformed and faithful original Arthur Guinness and on through his descendants. They looked at their craft of brewing as being done as a holy offering because it was a craft they pursued within the service of the Lord.  They certainly never saw themselves as secular.  They looked upon themselves as having a calling. They were in God’s ministry of industry and trade.  They performed the work with the Reformation ideal that everything they did was done for God. They strived to please God with all they did.

There was of course a line of Guinness’s that were in-fact missionaries and ministers but we shouldn’t look at them as any more connected to God than the others. The great truth of Christianity is that a banker or a baker can serve just as important a role for God as a priest or pope. So the Guinness story has a base of Christianity and shows that spirituality was involved in their success.  It was the center of all the good they have done in the world.

HenryI would like to introduce the youngest son of the first Arthur.  To make a long story short he grew up and joined the army.  While John Grattan Guinness was in the army and in foreign lands he heard the Christian truth from men that he admired. He heard it from military men that fought mightily by day and worshipped Christ by night. They shared their faith with Captain John Guinness while together and John wrote home that he had become “born again.”  John married and he and his new wife became one as husband and wife and also in spiritual matters.  John returned home in 1824 sick and exhausted after a number of difficult and trying years.  His wife returned with him but died two years after. John tried to work in the family business which was also in the whiskey business at the time.  Having become an evangelical he was now a teetotaler, drank no alcohol and believed all men should do the same so John resigned from his position at the brewery.

 John met a widow named Jane Lucretia D’Esterre who also had a rough past and had found faith in Jesus Christ during a sermon at St. George’s Church in Dublin. The love between the two them became a cure for wounds life had hit them with. They married in 1829 and the first five years a happy life. In 1835 when John was 52 and Jane was 38 they had a son together.   His name was Henry.  Henry Grattan Guinness was a gift from God while his parents were in their later years.  He became such a man of God and full of faith that he would be mentioned with the likes of Dwight Moody and Charles Spurgeon as one of the greatest preachers of the day. He had a soul searching life as all young men do but when Christ found him this is what he wrote, “The future was lighted with hope. The gates of glory and immortality opened to my mental vision and there shone before me an interminable vista of pure and perfect existence in the life to come. It was the marriage of the soul; the union of the creature in appropriating and self-yielding love with Him who is uncreated eternal love.”  He was a man on fire for Christ. On his 21st birthday he wrote in his diary, “my only passion is to live preaching and to die preaching; to live and die in the pulpit; to preach to perishing sinners till I drop down dead.” He became such a great preacher that in 1857 he was preaching at Moorfields Tabernacle in London which had been George Whitfield’s home church. He went on to preach in France, Switzerland, Wales and Scotland bearing much fruit. He eventually returned to Dublin with much acclaim.  It was a Guinness who was now drawing national acclaim during a time when all the well-known, “Protestant preachers of the time were weighted against each other like professional boxers.”

Henry became one of the best known preachers in the world. He had incredible success in the lands north of Ireland and then he toured through the United States.  It was a time when the U.S was troubled over slavery and states’ rights.  He preached 9 sermons a week for many months.  Exhausted he returned to England for some rest and while preaching at a church he met Fanny Fitzgerald.  They were married on October 2, 1860. Although he felt he was now with his soul mate the following years were difficult and lined with turmoil and opposition. This was during the time when he took an antislavery and anti-alcohol stance. Still he preached on while travelling the world.

There was turning point in the Guinness family as Henry joined Hudson Taylor and trained missionaries in England to join Taylor in China. They began training school called Stepney Institute. The school later became known as the East London Institute for Home and Foreign Missions. Before long the support was so strong that land and buildings were donated to become Harley College.  The college was so successful it became a model for Moody Bible College in the United States.Harley College

Henry became an accomplished author as well. He wrote the best-selling book, “The Approaching End of the Age in Light of History, Prophecy and Science” as an answer to Darwin.  His work earned him the Doctor of Divinity and also resulted in is being elected to the Royal Astronomical Society.  He wrote more than 20 books and among them was, “Light for the Last Days,” published in 1886. It was a prophetic writing that came true and he also in that writing predicted the 1948 event when Israel once again became a nation. Henry was not alive to enjoy the pleasure of the role his writings played because he died in 1910 as a very revered man. Henry’s children all went on to do great things for God and the long line of the faithful Guinness’s would continue.  The grandchildren yielded Christian ministers, missionary medical doctors, Christian schoolmasters, Royal Air Force chaplains and missionaries to Asia to name a few.

How is it that ten of Arthur Guinness’s children would have a birth-line of devoted Christians that would move nations due to their faith?  Could it have been something that began within the very first Arthur Guinness’s heart? Could it have been fostered by those early Sunday schools? Whatever it was and is, it continues through time. A historian wrote, “The Guinness family had the brewers and the bankers, but neither of them could match, in adventurousness and energy, the deeds of the ‘Grattan’ Guinness’s, spurred as they were not by materialistic ambition but by a deeply felt, inherited faith in what they believe to be the civilizing power of the Bible.

This will end my review of “The search for, God and Guinness.”  Once again I recommend you read Mr. Mansfield’s book and fill in the details.Mansfield

Sorry for the length of this one, but in closing this last post reminded me of Bob Dylan’s song of which I will include his lyrics here:

“Gotta Serve Somebody”

You may be an ambassador to England or France
You may like to gamble, you might like to dance
You may be the heavyweight champion of the world
You may be a socialite with a long string of pearls.

But you’re gonna have to serve somebody, yes indeed
You’re gonna have to serve somebody,
It may be the devil or it may be the Lord
But you’re gonna have to serve somebody.

Might be a rock’n’ roll adict prancing on the stage
Might have money and drugs at your commands, women in a cage
You may be a business man or some high degree thief
They may call you Doctor or they may call you Chief.

But you’re gonna have to serve somebody, yes indeed
You’re gonna have to serve somebody,
Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord
But you’re gonna have to serve somebody.

You may be a state trooper, you might be an young turk
You may be the head of some big TV network
You may be rich or poor, you may be blind or lame
You may be living in another country under another name.

But you’re gonna have to serve somebody, yes
You’re gonna have to serve somebody,
Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord
But you’re gonna have to serve somebody.

You may be a construction worker working on a home
You may be living in a mansion or you might live in a dome
You might own guns and you might even own tanks
You might be somebody’s landlord you might even own banks.

But you’re gonna have to serve somebody, yes
You’re gonna have to serve somebody,
Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord
But you’re gonna have to serve somebody.

You may be a preacher with your spiritual pride
You may be a city councilman taking bribes on the side
You may be working in a barbershop, you may know how to cut hair
You may be somebody’s mistress, may be somebody’s heir.

But you’re gonna have to serve somebody, yes
You’re gonna have to serve somebody,
Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord
But you’re gonna have to serve somebody.

Might like to wear cotton, might like to wear silk
Might like to drink whiskey, might like to drink milk
You might like to eat caviar, you might like to eat bread
You may be sleeping on the floor, sleeping in a king-sized bed.

But you’re gonna have to serve somebody, yes indeed
You’re gonna have to serve somebody,
It may be the devil or it may be the Lord
But you’re gonna have to serve somebody.

You may call me Terry, you may call me Jimmy
You may call me Bobby, you may call me Zimmy
You may call me R.J., you may call me Ray
You may call me anything but no matter what you say.

You’re gonna have to serve somebody, yes indeed
You’re gonna have to serve somebody,
Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord
But you’re gonna have to serve somebody.

The Guinness’s chose to serve God.  Who do you serve?

May God be with you and bless you,

The Tubthumper

PS: One last post added by surprise.  CLICK HERE TO JUMP TO THE FINAL.

 

Righteous Wealth Works Wonders, God Fearing Beer Drinking #5

As the saying goes, a man becomes the company he keeps.

Just the same, a company becomes the culture they create.

Whatever is regularly affecting the lives of its workers becomes an indication of what type of noble accomplishments the company will make. The Guinness culture changed the lives of its workers, helped eradicate the poverty in Dublin and served as a model for other companies on how to care for their employees.   The culture of faith, kindness and generosity at Guinness taught men how seek ways to serve their fellow men and turn harshness to joy.

Dublin Famine sculpture
Dublin Famine sculpture

In 1990, Dublin was overcrowded and starvation and disease was rampant. It was the point in time that the culture propagated by Guinness moved out to the streets of Dublin and allowed men to serve the streets of a city that was dying. Guinness was able to demonstrate what good their righteous wealth can do.

Dublin was rife with filth and disease.  It had become a cesspool, people were living in squalor, sickness and had all the vices known to man.  It had the highest rates of contagious diseases and the highest death rate in all of Europe.  There was an epidemic of smallpox, measles, scarlet fever, typhus, whooping cough, diarrhea, dysentery, typhoid fever and tuberculosis. These diseases were spreading at an unprecedented rate.  Most of the misery and sickness was caused by the overcrowding which came about by the hordes of immigrants swarming to Dublin in 1840’s to escape troubled lives in their own land. So the poor, weak and sick people were all corralled into the city of Dublin.  A majority of the agony, pain and sickness was self-induced.  These people in Dublin that were extremely overcrowded regularly dumped their sewage into the same river that served as their source of drinking water.

There was also the revered Irish tradition of waking the dead and this played a major role in spreading the diseases around.  (This was the process of laying out the body of a departed relative in the house where they lived and died. All of the family and quite a few of the deceased one’s neighbors and friends would gather at the house. The body was usually laid out in the parlor of the house or living room. There would be lots of food and plenty of drink to be consumed. People would come and socialize and remember the departed person’s life. This wasn’t a time for tears to say the least, it was quite a party and hardly resembled a funeral. It was the traditional Irish way of celebrating one’s life and ensuring that they had a good send off. A proper Irish Wake was pretty wild in the old customs of that period.)  It was common for the body of a loved one to lay for as many as four nights.  The mourners exposed themselves to whatever it was that killed the deceased. One historian called Dublin, “A city of the damned.”

Doctor John Lumsden had just become the chief medical officer at the Guinness brewery.  He was an extraordinary man, devoted Christian with a calling that would allow Guinness to effect the lives of thousands, change Dublin for the good and break new ground in corporate social responsibility.  Doctor Lumsden wanted to serve his fellow man and alleviate suffering in Dublin. He figured out that if he could change the housing and living conditions he could really make a difference. He talked the Guinness board of directors into letting him visit every home of the workers and their relatives. This was 2,287 employees and 7,343 dependents.  The board supported him and they found that over 35 percent of the homes were actually inhabitable. The descriptions were wrenching and I encourage you to get Mansfield’s book to read the details.Mansfield It was much worse than you can think as a modern citizen.  The Doctor outlined a large list of goals and tasks to eradicate the squalor.

The Guinness board convened on 1901 and eagerly followed the Doctors recommendations. What an amazing benevolent move for the Guinness firm.  They absolutely adopted the vision that Doctor Lumsden put before them and approved the funding although they knew the cost was enormous. It is an amazing show of the desire that Guinness had to fulfill a legacy of compassion and generosity. The result of the labor, compassion and expense was that Guinness acquired a reputation of caring for its employees that was second to none. The company earned that reputation in the city that was named the deadliest city in Europe.

SJLumsden_small
Doctor Lumsden

For his work in all he did to serve society, Dr. Lumsden was knighted by King George V, which was very well deserved.

Doctor Lumsden had the vision, but he could have never done it alone.  He needed the strength of a culture of social concern, love of mankind and generosity.  He needed a vehicle, wise and wealthy men to stand in battle with him and help him save human lives. That is what Guinness gave to him. That is what Guinness and the doctor gave to the people of Dublin.  That is just one small example of what kind of good righteous wealth can do.

If you missed the last post you can jump back there and read it by clicking on the Mansfield book.

Come back for the next post when we learn about the Guinnesses for God.  In fact you can CLICK HERE TO GO TO THE NEXT POST.

Till then, may the Lord richly bless you,

The Tubthumper

Beer Brewing and God Fearing Beer Drinking – God and Guinness #4

Moving to Dublin

Guinness Ad-St James
This is a continuation of what has become my summary of Stephen Mansfield’s book; The Search for God and Guinness. A biography of the beer that changed the world.

To go back and read the last post click HERE.
It was 1759 when Arthur Guinness moved to Dublin. That was the very same year the first president of the United States got married to a girl named Martha. He was thirty-four years old at the time. Arthur moved to an old brewery located in the western part of Dublin called St. James Gate. It was a brilliant move given the intention of the government to link Dublin with the River Shannon and Limerick which would put the end of the canal right at his doorstep. Another amazing thing he did was to negotiate a low nine-thousand-year lease. Have you ever heard of someone with a nine-thousand-year lease? Twenty years later in 1779 his beer was so good and his reputation so intact that Guinness was named the official beer maker for Dublin Castle which was the British Governments headquarters for Ireland.
Arthur married Olivia Whitmore on July 17, 1761. Olivia was young, wealthy and an absolutely beautiful woman. She put Arthur into contact with the Dublin society and raised them to a status he could never have done alone. Arthur and Olivia would go on to have ten children. They had six boys and four girls. This set up a long dynasty of the Guinness family of beer makers. By the time Arthur Guinness passed away in 1803 the little brewery he started would become the largest business in all of Ireland.
It is not just the beer he made however, that makes the grand story. It is the story of how he knew that making his beer was a calling and a purpose given to him by God. He knew it was his calling to do good in the world through his occupation.
Let us take a look at who was a godly influence on Arthur’s life.
When the old Gaelic society collapsed and the change to Protestant Ascendancy occurred Ireland was ruled by a small representation of English Protestants. As Arthur rose up in the Dublin society he was a protestant that was outspoken toward anti-Catholic laws and he often challenged the ruling class traditions whenever morality was the basis. He was brought up with values from his parents and he was also influenced heavily by John Wesley. Wesley preached at the church that Arthur attended. It was St. Patrick’s Cathedral and was loaded with the calloused souls of wealthy attendees. Arthur had the opportunity to meet Wesley often through the contacts of his wife’s family and the parties which both he and Wesley attended. It is said that Wesley was unimpressed with Arthur Guinness or with the church as he called it a fledgling evangelical church over in Ireland. There is no way to know the degree of connection between John Wesley and Arthur Guinness but what became clear is the degree that Arthur lived out the values of Wesley. One of these values was that the gaining of wealth was to allow the Christian man to “give all he can to those in need.” Arthur lived that value by the way he treated his workers and contacts. Another project Arthur took on confirmed his faith and also his desire to do good. Arthur Guinness was the founder of the first Sunday schools in Ireland. He did this while it offended the Roman Catholics and others and this speaks volumes about his devotion to the Sunday school movement and to fulfill his calling to do good in the world. None of this would have been possible without his success and skill at brewing beer. Many causes he supported went on to great success. The Sunday schools were all over Ireland, Mead hospital which he supported was a great success and other good causes he supported were thriving.
When Arthur Guinness passed away on January 23, 1803 his children would go on to lead the Guinness Brewery to newfound heights. The causes Arthur supported of caring for the less fortunate for the greater glory of God would be carried on by the family. His beer making skills still carry on as well with over ten million pints a day of Guinness stout consumed around the world. Guinness St James Gate
Come back for the next post on more of what the Guinness culture has done for the world and to the glory of God.

May God bless your day,

The Tubthumper

CLICK HERE TO GO TO NEXT POST

To Act or Not: Part 2

Actsgathering3Is it appropriate to attempt to be an “Acts Church” today by using the book of Acts as a guide?
Yes and No… let me explain. Certainly the ten points I outlined in the last post will be a great resource to follow and I support the use of them. In fact our churches won’t be too successful without doing those 10 things. So yes, I say we should follow the guide and do our best to carry it out. We need to keep in mind however the differences in culture and their community compared to ours. Without intense study of the culture in Jerusalem at that time in history it would be impossible to understand the vast differences. The response to leadership was different and some things done today were completely forbidden. There was also specific revelation occurring from God and the anointing of the Holy Spirit. The early converts were praying like we can’t even imagine and God was responding. I believe this issue of prayer is one of our problems but that is another subject. ActsChurchThe early church was almost completely a made up of Jewish people before it spread to the Gentiles. (Officially in Acts 15) Our community is much more diverse. Things were done much different back then compared to now and the world mindset was different. I remember a guy saying to me, “Ok, that was the church for then but I want to experience our church for now.” We can be an Acts church but must modify for our contemporary times. It would be impossible to do everything exactly as the Apostles did in the early church.
Secondly I think there is more that God wants us to follow and the Bible provides it. I think if we add Ephesians to the Acts Church we have a winner of a blueprint to work from. We must not exclude the teachings of Timothy, Titus and others.
We know that the primary job of the Church is the ‘Great Commission’ of Matthew 28:16-20) which theoretically is a three part process. One is to make disciples, second is to baptize them, and third we must, “teach them to observe all things that I have commanded you.” The Church leaders must see to it that disciples are being made. It is their our principle responsibility.
How are disciples made? They are created through the gospel of Jesus Christ. Everyone does not do the same job in the process. Some disciple, some evangelize, some teach, etc… No need to feel guilt if you can’t do everything well. “And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ.” (Ephesians 4:11-12)
A major part of the blueprint for Church today is Ephesians 4:10-16. The main function of the church leaders is to equip the saints for the work of service. And every Christian is a saint, just call me Saint Frank. Church leaders are to be intimately involved in equipping each and every saint. The body of Christ is built up through the process of equipping. So the purpose of leaders is to equip Christians for ministry and not to replace them. The purpose of equipping members for service is so the body can be built up and the ‘Unity of the Body’ can only be achieved through every Christian ministering and supplying the body. When each individual is functioning properly the body builds itself up in love and unity. It will be self-perpetuating because God guaranteed it. The bottom line is that Churches will grow when we as Christians use our Spiritual Gifts in service to the body of Christ.
We need to be careful because looking at other churches through the ages and how other people are doing things has led to decline in Christianity. Churches that are dying are usually mired in tradition or off the path and unwilling to change. We need to be looking at scripture and reading scripture. We need to also be on our knees in prayer. God’s word has all the answers and it is not only in the book of Acts. Albeit Acts is a great place to be and I don’t want to diminish its importance.
The basic point we must remember is that with a guide or not, the church is built up on disciples that are willing to take up their cross and die for the Lord if need be. (Matthew 16:24)
I think I will close with a thought on this church leadership issue: We will all stand before God some day and answer to Him. Many Church Leaders will stand before God and be asked what they were told to do and if they completed it. Many won’t know what He is talking about and won’t be able to say they obeyed. He will ask if they warned the disciples about their accountability for their instructions in the Word. Not many leaders are reading the Word of God any more. The wrath of God will be visited upon disobedient disciples, and will be visited upon negligent church leaders because it is their responsibility to, “Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood. For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them.” (Acts 20:28-30) Church leadership comes with an awesome responsibility. Woe to those who scatter my sheep.
Blessings for your day through Christ,

The Tubthumper

  1 Stephen Parker, Church Growth Crisis: The Decline of Christianity in America (Oklahoma City, OK: Forever Family Publications, 2011).

 

To Act or Not: Should we use the Acts Church as the guide?

church-model080211A lot of people these days believe the church should be trying to do exactly what the early church did in Acts. This is actually where all the small group craze came from.  Much of the church growth movement is keyed on this principle as well. So do I think mimicking the Acts Church is how we should do things? Yes and no… You see, the Bible has a lot of information on what God wants the Church to do. We have Acts but we also have Ephesians, Timothy, Titus and more. Let us look at this closer beginning with some points about Acts.

There is no question , the early church gave a good model. Acts 2:47 says, “Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.” Some experts have estimated the church in Jerusalem had over 100,000 members. That is larger than many cities.

There are many important principles to follow for Church government. Here are ten examples:
1) Churches should rely on the Holy Spirit’s power. “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.” (Acts 1:8) Church members should have the Lord Jesus controlling their lives. They must let the Holy Spirit take control. Leaning on the Holy Spirit is mostly what is needed.
2) Churches today must nurture a warm fellowship. “And they continued stedfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers. And fear came upon every soul: and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles. And all that believed were together, and had all things common.” (Acts 2:42-44) With a warm, loving and inviting environment new Christians can be loved and grow in the word.
3) Church members must meet together to study the Bible. “And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.” (Acts 2:46-47) They used the temple courts and they met house to house. Both types of meetings occurred. So we must meet at church and we must break bread together and study in our homes.
4) Churches must expand the vision of God. He is in Control. “And when they heard that, they lifted up their voice to God with one accord, and said, Lord, thou art God, which hast made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all that in them is.” (Acts 4:24) We already know the Church will survive and Satan is already defeated. Fear thou not because we have all the resources and strength we need. “And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” (Matthew 16:18) Christ will build His church!
5) Churches must harness the power of prayer like they did in Acts. From the beginning there has been a spiritual battle going on. Spiritual battles are fought on our knees. Jesus said, “This house will be a house of prayer.” Our Church is to be a house of prayer. In Acts it says, “they prayed” 48 times. Churches need to pray like they prayed in Acts. Churches need God’s power to make us different from the world. (Acts 1:3-4, 14)
6) Churches should be united, generous, loving, and charitable. Our church should be a giving church. The church in Acts was a giving church. “And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common. And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all. Neither was there any among them that lacked: for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the things that were sold.” (Acts 4:32-34) We all need to be united and with one mind. Our church should be the place that the needy are cared for. We should learn how to sacrifice for others like the early church did. We should be a powerful testimony to our community. (Acts 2:44-45)
7) Churches must involve everyone in ministry. We find in Acts chapter 6 how this was done. The apostles found men that were specifically shaped and called for ministry. An example is ‘Greek men to minister to Greek widows.’ No one pastor can do everything. God and the Holy Spirit gifts the entire church. The Pastor feeds the flock through preaching and teaching. The rest is up to others. Our churches need to be able to help people discover their Spiritual gifts and then plug them in. The early church sent people out on mission is the community to add to the growth. Don’t allow people to come and just sit on the sidelines. Use the talents and gifts they bring. Not just any people can minister, however, as the position of Deacon is to be filled with men who are currently full of the Holy Spirit. Not one that was filled at one time, but one filled with the Holy Spirit now. Deacons can bless the body and they can bless the Elders by allowing the Elders to devote more time to the Bible and to prayer. Deacons are “hands on” – somewhat a “Buildings and Grounds” people. As they grow they could be appointed to Elder positions. God wants leaders full of the Holy Spirit, wisdom, unity, prayer and to stand in agreement. God raises these people up.
8) Churches need to read the Bible and be devoted to the word. It should be heard from the pulpit, it should be read, it should be memorized and it should be meditated on. The only thing that can change lives in our churches today is the Gospel and the Word of God. We need to be devoted to reading the Bible. (Acts 2:14-40)
9) Churches should love and worship with joy. In the early church they practiced Koinonia. What that means is they would fellowship with one another. They were committed to one another and loved one another. Our church members need to protect, care and help one another unlike the world. We also should celebrate Christ together. Church should be enjoyable and we should express our emotion in Church letting go and worshiping with joy. (Acts 2:42, 46-47)
10) Churches should be reaching out to the community for Jesus Christ. The early church reached people for Christ daily. “And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation. Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.” (Acts 2:40-41) Evangelism is commanded and we are told to be a witness throughout the world.

Can it work to try and mimic the Acts Church? In the next post I will give you my opinion and expand on what I think we should doing with our church structure.

To go part 2 just click HERE. 

In Christ,

The Tubthumper

 

_____________________________________________________

Steve Davis, Spiritual Leadership Examples from the Book of Acts., http://http:www.stevedavis.org/12%20examples%20from%20the%20book%20of%20Acts.html
Rick Warren, How to Have an Acts Church, http://www.christianpost.com/news/how-to-have-an-acts-church-42320/ (accessed May 1, 2014).

GOD FEARIN BEER DRINKIN, Pt 3

Egypt beerEgypt brewer  Egypt

There never was and probably will never be a culture that integrated beer into their religion like the Egyptians. They consumed beer as part of the temple rituals and they offered beer up to the gods as a sacrifice. The Egyptians had gods for each and every stage of the brewing process. There were so many gods it was hard to keep them apart. The Egyptians believed that Isis, the deity of nature gave beer to mankind. They also believed that Hathor, the goddess of joy, invented the processes of brewing. They also had Menquet, “the goddess who makes beer” and her inscription was on the temple of Dendra. In Egypt it was all about beer. Beer was revered so highly as a holy substance that a god was necessary for each act of a human connected to the process. To give you an idea as to how important beer was in the Egyptian world there was one Egyptian myth that credits beer with saving all of mankind. This is the story: Ra, the sun god was being plotted against by mankind and he dispatched the goddess, Hathor to defeat his human enemies, however, later Ra recalled the fierce wrath of Hathor and so he took pity on mankind. Ra brewed up a huge amount of beer, likely over seven thousand jars and he dyed it red to spread over all the vast fields where it would reflect like a mirror. Hathor passed by the fields on her bloody mission and stopped to see her reflection. She then stooped down and drank some of the beer. She became intoxicated from the red beer and forgot her intentions and thus mankind was spared.

Let us put the mythology away and understand that Egyptians made one of the most important contributions to beer in history. They were the very first to explore the health benefits of the brewed concoctions. They came up with over seven hundred prescriptions that include beer as a medicine in the Ebers Papyrus. (The Ebers Papyrus, also known as Papyrus Ebers, is an Egyptian medical papyrus dating to c. 1550 BC. Among the oldest and most important medical papyri of ancient Egypt, it was purchased at Luxor, (Thebes) in the winter of 1873–74 by Georg Ebers.  It is currently kept at the library of the University of Leipzig, in Germany.) It was so important that barley brew was seen as early as 3000 BC in the ‘Book of the Dead’ because it was necessary in order to get to the afterlife. This is precisely why beer vats were found in the tombs of Egyptian pharaohs by archeologists.  egyptian brewing process

One interesting point to make is that beer was not drank from a glass. It was drank from a large vat through a reed. Cups and glasses were inventions developed much later. So when men drank beer they brushed a heavy layer of floating grain mash aside, pushed the straw down into the vat and began drawing the lower liquid up through the reed.  I’ll bet that was some thick and bitter stout.

The fascination of the Egyptians over beer came to shape the course of western brewing. The Egyptians taught brewing techniques to the Greeks who in turn taught it to the Romans. Herodotus, the Greek historian wrote a detailed treatise on beer in 460 BC and the value of beer as part of a healthy life was lectured by Sophocles, the father of theater. The Romans captured the brewing skills and passed them on through the course of western civilization. By the first century there were over two hundred types of beer being brewed throughout Europe. The Romans believed that beer gave them strength and energy. Beer was drank by the soldiers before battle and the Roman athletes put it down by the gallons. This could be the reason the Latin word for beer is cerevisium, which means “strength.”
The Christian influence:
The brewing of beer also existed in the British Isles long before the Romans had it. It is not recorded how it made its way there but this is important to remember as I will be addressing the production of beer in Ireland.

It is very interesting the arrival of Christianity and the Christian influence over the empire with its controversies regarding alcohol never diminished the Romans love of beer. For early Christians, the consumption of alcohol was not an issue and drunkenness was the sin, as taught by the apostles. Beer and wine, when used in moderation were welcomed by the early Christians and were used as a part of daily life. Christians did oppose the drunkenness and immorality that came from excess consumption. Historians have noted that the positive Christian perspective actually encouraged the brewing. It was as much as sanctioning the temperate love of beer and welcoming in the beer as alternative to high alcohol drinks.

Beer was a big part of life as Christians captured the Roman world with their ideals and carried the Gospel to non-Roman lands. As an example, St. Patrick introduced the Christian Gospel to the pagan land of Ireland back around the turn of the century. Mescan, who was St. Patrick’s personal brewmaster was always at his side. So yes, beer did play a role in winning Ireland for Christ.

Another way we see the importance of beer to medieval Christians is how many patron Saints of beer are celebrated by the Catholic Church. Right at the top of the list is St. Arnold who said, “From man’s sweat and God’s love, beer cam into the world.” St. Bartholomew was the patron saint of mead drinkers. Mead drink is fermented with honey. St. Brigid was a famous Irish saint form a leper colony and he asked God to turn bathwater into beer so the lepers could taste the brew. Apparently God did so, according to the Catholic Church and that is why Brigid received his sainthood. St. Columbanus came upon a pagan gathering that was about to sacrifice a keg of beer to the gods. Columbanus preached and the result is that the idol god was sacrificed instead and the beer was revered and thanks given to God before consumption. All of these saints and their stories are part of the medieval worldview.

When the Roman Empire was born beer was there. The Emperor Charlemagne loved his beer and insisted the quality and availability be improved throughout his domain. St. Gall, Charlemagne’s chief brewer is known throughout history for his ministry among beer-loving Celts.

The church gradually became the primary brewer and wholesaler of beer in society because of Charlemagne’s reforms and the eager work of the monasteries throughout the Christian world.

Join me next time for more on the Christian beer influence and the Monks brewery’s in the monasteries.

God bless your day,

The Tubthumper

Click here to continue to the next post on God and Guinness.

 

God Fearin Beer Drinkin, Pt 2

pilgrims-drinking-1040cs092612One of the first buildings the Pilgrims constructed was the brewery. Gregg Smith wrote, “Their critical shortage made a brewhouse a priority among the structures built that first winter in Plymouth. The need for a brewery was immediate. The lack of beer caused them the most displeasure.”  When the Puritans made the trip to New England in 1630, a decade after the original Pilgrims, they were sure to have plenty of beer in supply. On just one ship, the Arbella, they loaded 42 tons of beer. A ton is 252 gallons, therefore no less than 10,000 gallons of beer was consumed by the Puritans on the journey. As soon as they arrived to the new city they called Boston the building of the brewhouse was a high priority.

Keep in mind the Puritans, preferred to call themselves “the godly”. The 17th century English Puritan preacher Thomas Watson used “the godly” to describe Puritans in the title of one of his more famous works, ‘The Godly Man’s Picture.’
Certainly beer was not the most important point of the Pilgrim adventure or the Puritan settlement. But it was there, it was beloved and it was needed. Beer was such a priority that it shaped a lot of decisions made by those forefathers. Beer helped to shape entire civilizations and effected critical decisions. We must consider the role that beer played within the civilization of man.

You might be thinking about how they brewed all that beer back then and how it tasted. Of course the beer of then was not as refined as the beer now but the basic process for brewing beer is relatively simple. Brwing processUsing a grain, usually barley, you wet it to allow it to germinate or sprout. When it sprouts it is quickly dried and has become what is called “malted’. The malted barley is then roasted and the length of time roasted will determine the color of the beer produced. This roasting is important for the dark beers and stouts. The malt is then mashed (or soaked) to convert the natural starches into sugars for fermentation. After this process more water is added to wash the sugars off the grain and this liquid is then called “wort”. Now the wort needs to be boiled, the dried hops get added for flavor along with whatever spice, fruit or other flavoring is desired. Once the hopped wort cools they add some yeast which creates the alcohol and carbon dioxide and magically, now they have the sweet, hopped water known as beer.

Who Discovered it?

The first making of beer likely occurred as a wonderful accident and to find out more we must trace the beginning of mankind. Our first ancestors likely came from the land called the “Fertile Crescent” between Egypt and the Mediterranean coast. It was called the “Fertile Crescent” because its soil was fertile and rich in nutrients and a perfect place to grow wheat and barley. (Or anything else for that matter.) Remember my earlier statement that this beer origination was likely some kind of mistake or a series of mistakes allowing for discovery. That’s how most of our great things of today were discovered. Not only did man need to learn how this stuff of mashing and fermenting happened but they also needed to make jars to contain it. That is why we often discover ancient huge vats and jars. I can imagine someone leaving grain out and getting it wet, it dried and baked in the hot sun, rain again causing the wort and then natural air-born yeast causing fermentation. Can you see this person finding a foaming jar of bubbly stuff and giving it a taste? Then they liked it and figured out how to repeat that process and experiment through curiosity to determine the time honored method of beer production.

There was a professor at the University of Pennsylvania that developed a theory that beer did develop this way an also caused man to change his hunter-gathering ways to production of grains. His name is Solomon Katz if you care to look this up. His main focus was that without beer man would never have become civilized. He claims they began making cities because they needed to be in the same place to have a stable environment to produce this alcoholic beverage of sorts. He points to the fact that civilization literally means “living in cities.” He believes beer is the primary reason man moved from the wild into cities. That’s all I want to say about Mr. Katz as his story is a story in itself and a rabbit trail I don’t wish to follow. Many others have followed the same logic over the years and whether true or not has little bearing on my focus.

Another thing they neglected to put in the history books is that beer was regarded as a sacred drink in the ancient world. It’s not hard to see why they might have thought the process of beer brewing is a miracle and a gift of the gods. In the Jewish and also later in the Christian worldview it was a blessing from the creation of the one God. Everyone agreed the brewing of beer was a sacred cooperation with the cosmic forces of the universe. As an example, the oldest recipe for beer known to mankind is found in the poem called, “The Hymn to Ninkasi,” which is an ode to the Sumerian goddess who lived on mythical Mount Sabu. “The mountain of the tavern keeper.” And what about the word “booze”? It is said that the modern word “booze” came from the Nubian’s exceptional skill at making beer and their word for the tasty brew, bousa. ♦

Of all the ancient peoples, however, it was the Egyptians that really put the breweries on the map, so to speak. They made beer the “heart” of their religion and had a strong myth tied to the brewing process and gods for every stage.

Come back for the next post and we can look at these Egyptian beer gods a little closer.

To jump to Part 3 just click the beer glass….Guiness glass

God bless your day,

The Tubthumper

 

♦ Stephen Mansfield, In Search for God and Guinness (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2009) p 6-7, 14.

 

In the Footsteps of Your Father?

Placidtrail 

   Follow the markers and don’t get lost along the way…

“Have we not all one father? Hath not one God created us?” (Malachi 2:10a)

For you guys out there, have you thought about what it looks like to become a man.  And if you are a father, (defined that you have a son you are responsible for and haven’t just planted a seed and walked away like many) have you thought of the journey your son will make?  The journey to manhood is one that every male must take.

It is a sad commentary that in our times (2014) the jungle out there drains the manhood out of many and the survivors are few.  We now live in a society where there is very little direction for men.  There are no maps for our young men to follow.  Sadly there are few committed fathers willing to show the way young men need to travel.  Back in the day… fathers spent time with their protégé and taught them the way of the land.  They helped their son’s to earn the steps to manhood and to know the day they really become men.  Hikers can follow the markers on the Northville-Placid and Appalachian trails to show them each step along the way for miles.  The Appalachian Trail is a rugged trip through 14 states and each marker gets you one step closer to the summit.  Young men need some markers to show them to the summit of manhood.  They need the trail blazed ahead of them by strong men going forth first. appalachiantrail1

Growing boys and young men need a roadmap and need to see the lay of the land.  Even with seeing the lay of the land they will still need to make difficult choices along the way. A good father will provide a clear roadmap but will still allow the freedom of choice.  He will allow his sons to fail and experience the knowledge that comes from the school of hard knocks.  He will pick them up clean them off and lovingly but firmly set them on the trail again.  A father will provide corrective measures appropriately where needed and do what is necessary to help his seed mature and blossom at the right time. “He that spareth his rod hateth his son: but he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes.” (Proverbs 13:24)

Whether young or old, men need to have instruction repeated.  Most men need to hear instruction five to seven times before it sets in.  Repetition is good for males.  Repetition is good because we are woefully forgetful. “If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons. Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live?” ( Hebrews 12: 7-9)

The world we live in has changed.  Oh, if we could only wake up to the world we once knew it would be so comforting.  This is not to be.  Our world has changed and there is no longer a worldview of fatherhood.  Back in the day we had a good picture of our world with strong, loving and caring fathers.  Back in the day we had men actually fully integrated into family life.  We had fathers for children to go to for some guidance when they needed it.  Our world had fathers that would provide protection, guidance and comfort when needed.  We had fathers to model what a daddy or a husband looks like.  “Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, The fruit of the womb is a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, So are the children of one’s youth. Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them; They shall not be ashamed, But shall speak with their enemies in the gate.” (Psalm 127: 3-5) If you were unfortunate and were one of the few back then that lost your father for some reason it was more likely one would come forth from your neighborhood.  Oh, how we lived in different times.

If you are on the Lake Placid hiking trail and you skip one or two of the markers or check-points along the way you will get lost in the wilderness.  The markers cannot be skipped and the check-points are there for security.  If you miss on of those you will incur a wound.  A son that misses a check-point in the journey to manhood will be lost and will have a wound. “And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.” ( Ephesians 6:4)  If they fall too far off the path they will have a deep wound.  As an example… If your father abandons your family you will need to become a man before you are ready.  You must fill the shoes of the father that should be there for you.  Because you need to fill his shoes you get robbed of your youth.  You are put under inappropriate stress and that is a deep, deep wound.  The scar will remain forever.

Have you ever noticed all the genealogical information in the Holy Bible?  It tells us that so and so begat this son and so and so was the son of this guy and he was the son of that guy and on and on it goes.  Father’s and sons obviously have great importance to God.  “The father of the righteous shall greatly rejoice: and he that begetteth a wise child shall have joy of him.” (Proverbs 23:24) There is hope!

We have hope to carry us through this troubling time.  If you are a man that became lost because you missed a marker or lost the map you can get on the right path.  You can find your way back.  If you are a young man and you want buck the tide and be a good father there is a way.  If you want to be a good male leader there is a way.  There is a roadmap that was developed ages and ages ago. It is for all to follow and it has markings every short distance traveled to show you the way.  You can see the truth and the forest through the trees.  It will show you the way!

There is a Father!  The father figure you have missed and are looking for is there.  He will show you the way and he will help you to stay on the right road.  If we all take a close look we can see God as that great Father we need.  When you read the scriptures it becomes clear the Bible portrays the Lord as the Great Father.  God created everything and God created you. He was not presented to us in the scriptures as mother.  God was positioned for us as the Father.  All throughout the Bible He is the Father.  Seek the Father… turn to His word, notice the markers and get on the right path. “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.” (1 John 3:1)

 God Bless your day,

The Tubthumper

 

GOD FEARIN BEER DRINKIN

BeerAs I begin writing this blog entry I remember a very humorous television session. I think it was on the Ellen Degenerate show. There was a live call with a 90 something old lady and out of the blue (live) she said, “Well Ellen, I love Jesus but I love beer too.” It put people into stitches, me included. But hey, there is some seriousness to her lament
I will be writing many words about beer and the makers of beer. It will likely be 20,000 words or more and I hope you will stay with me. I hope you will be as intrigued as I.
This began as a thought to write about Arthur Guinness and how he used his beer brewing business for the cause of Christ in Ireland. Once I get into the Guiness story you may want to consider it a primer on a best selling book by Stephen Mansfield, “The search for God and Guinness.” Before I do that I must give you some background on the history of beer and it’s relation to Christianity. I think you will be surprised and amazed. If not anything else you will be the benefactor of a wonderful history lesson.
My disclaimer is this: Do not use my writing as an excuse to become intoxicated and drunken with beer or wine. I am not providing any justification or permission to drink. Drunkenness is sinful and bad for society as a whole. “And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;” (Ephesians 5:18) My purpose is to open the eyes of everyone to a great story of how God uses the wealth of men and the things of men for his purpose. “But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty.” (1 Corinthians 1:27) If you stay with me until the end you will see this clearly.

If you have followed my blog you already know I am not stranger to controversial issues. So it shouldn’t surprise you I am taking this one on. I read Christian magazines and blogs continuously and often the subject of drinking comes up. I can’t tell you how many times I have seen writers take on the question of whether or not Christians should be drinking alcoholic beverages. It is not my purpose to take on that particular question today. I will give you my opinion however, regarding the subject of beer and then move on with my topic.
I do not believe it is a sin to have a pint of stout (beer) once in awhile with your meal at a restaurant or at home with your family. I do believe it is a sin to over indulge in it and become drunk. I believe drunkenness is a sin and that is what the Bible addresses. “Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.” (1 Corinthians 6:10) I can point to over 100 verses within God’s word on this subject and all point to abuse and drunkenness. With that said, my position is that if you have trouble with self control then you should definitely abstain and avoid it at all cost. As a friend of mine says, “I am weak-willed and easily led.” If that’s you then be forewarned and do not partake. Secondly as a Christian, I would never do anything to cause a brother to stumble. What that means is to never have anything present or be doing anything among any brethren that could cause them to sin. We want to be sure we are of the same mind. “It is good neither to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor any thing whereby thy brother stumbleth, or is offended, or is made weak.” (Romans 14:21)
So just to be clear, it is not the beer that is the problem. It is the abuse that is the problem. I can’t put it into any better perspective than one of our great reformers and forefathers that also drank beer. Martin Luther wrote, “Do not suppose that abuses are eliminated by destroying the object which is abused. Men can go wrong with wine and women. Shall we then prohibit and abolish women?” Yes, Martin Luther had a love of beer too. I won’t bother to call for a vote among men as to whether to abolish the beer and wine or to abolish the women. It might be a close vote.

Let’s begin the history trail of beer. You might be stunned, as I was to find that beer played a humongous role throughout the centuries within Christianity.
The Pilgrims
Let’s start with the Pilgrims and the Mayflower back in 1621 when they landed at Plymouth. They were standing guard because they knew natives were watching them. It must have been unbelievable to them when one native walked out of the woods and approached them. The native was almost naked with just a small loin cloth covering his private parts as he shouted “Welcome!” in clear English. They must have been even more surprised when this native asked them if they have any beer. Wow! He asked for beer! That’s right, you won”t find it in the grade school textbooks that one of the first of communications with this native was about beer. But it was. You can find it yourself within, ‘Mourt’s Relation’ and ‘Of Plymouth Plantation’ which are two primary sources for information on the story of the Pilgrims. So don’t just take my word for it. The native’s name was Samoset and he mastered the English language traveling with English ships up and down the coast of New England. Not only did he learn the language but he also developed a keen taste for English beer. When the Mayflower left the shores of England John Alden saw to it that it was loaded heavy with more than enough beer to make the trip. As it turned out the supply was running low when they landed and to them it was a dangerous threat. For the Pilgrims beer was more than a refreshing drink on a hot day. They believed it had great medicinal quality and like most people then were afraid to drink the water and instead drank beer. It was believed all the water was unsafe but beer was pure and healthy. They didn’t understand yet that the boiling of the beer along with the alcohol that kills the germs was what made it consumable and could also do the same for water.♦
We need to keep in mind that the Pilgrims represented Godly people. They risked their lives for religious freedom. The risk they took which caused death and sickness hardly explained enough was a religious and spiritual, not a political agenda; moral and theological principles were involved, and from their perspective, there could be no compromise. That is why they boarded the Mayflower.
Visiting the first paragraph of the Mayflower Pact we see, “In the name of God, Amen. We whose names are underwriten, by the loyall subjects of our dread soveraigne Lord, King James, by the grace of God, of Great Britaine, Franc, and Ireland king, defender of the faith, etc.”

These were godly men that were also committed to beer production and consumption.
Join me for the next segment on the beer story among Christians. You will be glad you followed along…     To jump to part 2 just click the glass of beer… Guiness glass

May your day be filled with God’s blessing,

The Tubthumper

 

♦ Stephen Mansfield, In Search for God and Guinness (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2009) p 4-5.

 

WHO WERE “THE SONS OF GOD?”

SonsofGodAnd for that matter… who were the ‘Daughters of Men?” 

That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose. (Genesis 6:2)

      This verse and subject has always fascinated me.  In the past I kind of thought the “Sons of God” were mighty men that truly pleased God in magnificent ways and because of that were graced with some super-human aspects.  Over the last couple years, however, because of my study I have come to more sound decision as to who they were.  I have consulted many different commentaries on the subject of which I will put a few here.  Those commentaries listed here represent a small sample of all I consulted.  It has been interesting to see the views from ancient times until now which have not changed all that much.

      The first commentary I will mention is the Matthew Henry Commentary.  Matthew Henry says we see here a full account of degeneracy, apostasy and rebellion against God.  Men began multiplying on the face of the earth as an effect of the blessing but they abused the blessing and perverted it which caused the blessing to turn into a curse.  Through the mercy of God sometimes sin becomes exceedingly sinful. The more sinners, the more sin; the offenders continue to multiply.  Mr. Henry says the “Sons of God” are those that professed religion and were those that were called into the kingdom on the name of the Lord.  So they were all the believers and God’s chosen.  There were mixed marriages because the ‘Sons of God” married the “Daughters of Men”.  Mr. Henry says the “Daughters of Men” are those women that were profane; they were strangers to God and were un-Godly.  These “Sons of Men” began in the line of Seth and they did not remain pure as they should have.  They intermingled and mixed with the excommunicated race of Cain: They liked what they saw and they took it.  They chose by the eye and only what they looked at and they followed corrupt affections (lust) without taking any advice.  They became unequally yoked which was forbidden.[1]

     Now look at the second commentary which is David Guzik:: Study Guide for Genesis 6. There were days of rapid population expansion (there were long life spans in the pre-flood world) and it led to problems of intermarriage. He says it is more accurate to see the “Sons of God” as either demons (angels in rebellion against God) or they were uniquely demon-possessed men.  He looks at the “Daughters of Men” as human women.  He references the “Sons of God” being used in the other three times in the Old Testament as “angels.”  In the other references it clearly referred to angelic beings and not humans from the line of Seth.  He would not speculate as to the nature of the union.  He says that is not revealed, however we understand there is the occult which is filled with sexual associations with the demonic, and today there are those that pursue these associations.  In his answer to the objection of Matthew 22: 30, he says, “God never said angels were sexless and He was speaking of faithful angels and not rebellious ones.” His position is that Satan tried to pollute the genetic “pool” of mankind and make the human race unfit to bring forth the “Seed of the woman- the Messiah.  He says, “Satan almost succeeded.”  God had to start over with Noah and his sons.[2]

     Lastly I will leave you with another view from The Popular Commentary of the Bible, Old Testament Volume 1, by Paul E. Kretzman.  This source indicates the Cainites had long since forsaken the Lord and would not worship Him.  They lived according to the lusts of their mind.  During the course of time as population was growing their corruption spread over to the families of the pious.  The corruption reached the “Sons of God”.  It got to the believers by a beginning with a laxity of morals. Over the fifteen centuries there was a remarkable increase of the human family.  It became ever increasingly difficult to maintain the discipline the Lord desired.  The men belonging to the tribe of Seth permitted carnal thoughts and lust to guide them when choosing wives.  The “Daughters of Men” were the women that lived only for the world and had only concerns for enjoyment. Their goal was to get all that the world could offer therefore they made the development of their beauty the aim of their being.  Their beauty became the snare that captured the “Sons of God” who were the men from the generation of believers.  They took wives for the mere gratification of their sensual desires and not for helpmates in marriage and honor.  The corruption of the Cainites was brought into the Church of God before the Flood.[3] 

         Wow, when I read about the “Daughters of Men making their beauty the snare to capture the “Sons of Men” it sounds like what goes on around us today.  Have you ever taken a look at the “Young and the Restless” soap opera? 

      So my view on this subject is this: I find that the answer to who was the “Sons of God” to be absolutely impossible to determine.  One thought I have is that if God wanted us all to know exactly who they were He would have made it absolutely clear.  There are as many scholars indicating the “Sons of God” were beings other than human, angels or spirits as there are scholars indicating they were of the line of Seth.   I have consulted many more than three sources and have bridged this discussion in the past.  I consulted Chuck Smith’s Commentary in the C2000 Series on Genesis and he takes the position they are angels.  In the “A Commentary on the Holy Bible” by J. R. Dummelow from 1908 I found he took the stance that they were deities (angels) that mated with the women of earth.  I referenced J. Vernon McGee and R.C. Sproul who both believe it cannot possibly mean angels and speaks of the reprobate and apostate mankind.  Many years ago I read the passage and pondered it for months.  It was troubling to me and I wanted to find the answer.  The answer I came to was similar to some here.  I looked at the “Sons of God” as being the favored men of the Church of God.  I looked at it in way that said, “These men that God looked at as His champions had become corrupt and broken His heart.  I came to the conclusion that God had showered these Sons with blessings and longevity only to have them become corrupt.  I could feel the pain in my heart as I studied that small section of scripture over and over.”  Like J. Vernon McGee I came to the conclusion that these men were the outstanding individuals in the lineage of God from Adam to Seth.  I don’t think I can agree completely that they were all men from the line of Seth but I do think they were men very favored in the eyes of the LORD.   I never looked at the “Daughters of Men” being descendants of Cain because I was consumed with the thought of these men being held in high regard in God’s kingdom and becoming the biggest disappointment of his creation.  Each time this subject comes up we can come to no conclusive result and must continue in faith while accepting it for what it is.  For the record I will stand in the camp with Matthew Henry, R.C. Sproul and Paul Kretzman knowing that there are some very intelligent scholars out there who will disagree with us all.  

God bless your day,

The Tubthumper

[1] Matthew Henry, Text Commentaries: Matthew Henry (Blue Letter Bible: Genesis), http://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/mhc/Gen/Gen_006.cfm (accessed February 2, 2014).

[2] David Guzik, Text Commentaries: David Guzik (Blue Letter Bible: Genesis), http://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/guzik_david/StudyGuide_Gen/gen_6.cfm (accessed February 2, 2014).

 [3] Paul E. Kretzmann, The Popular Commentary of the Bible, Old Testament Volume 1 (St. Paul, Minnesota: Concordia Publishing House, 1919).