Grace Abounding: the Life of John Bunyan by David B

Know i ng

. . oi ng &DC S L ewis Institute Summer 2010 A Teaching Quarterly for Discipleship of Heart and Mind

Prof i l e in Faith Grace Abounding: The Life of John Bunyan by David B. Calhoun Professor Emeritus, Covenant Theological Seminary in St. Louis, Missouri

IN This Issue he sixty years of John Bunyan’s life He later wrote that he had experienced were among the most turbulent and both judgments and mercy, but “neither of 2 Notes from troubled years of English history. Born them did awaken my soul to righteousness; the President T by Tom Tarrants in November 1628, Bunyan lived through wherefore I sinned still, and grew more and 3 The Gospel Old the English Civil War and the execution more rebellious against God.” and New of Charles I, the Commonwealth of Oliver Sometime in 1649 the twenty-one-year- by Kevin DeYoung Cromwell, and the Restoration of 1660. He old Bunyan married. We know almost 4 The Enduring died in 1688, just before the abdication of nothing about his wife, not even her name, Appeal of John James II, the arrival of the reign of William but we do know that Bunyan saw his mar- Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s and Mary, and the Toleration Act of 1689. riage as an important turning point in his Progress by David B. Calhoun John Bunyan was born in the small vil- life. His wife’s father was a devout Puri- lage of Elstow, just south of Bedford on the tan, and so was she. Bunyan’s first child, 6 Considering the 1 Hesed of the Lord London road, in south-central England. His their blind daughter, Mary, was baptized by Will Kynes father was a poor tinker, making and mend- on July 20, 1650. 8 The Problem ing pots and pans. John learned his father’s Bunyan began going to church, but he of Pornography trade, helping him in the workshop and go- “went on in sin with great greediness of Among Christians ing with him as he pushed a small wooden mind,” he says. One day, as John worked in by Joe Dallas cart around the countryside to peddle wares Bedford, he came upon “three or four poor 10 The Centrality of and services. John went to school for a short but pious happy women” sitting at a cottage the Gospel by William Kynes time, long enough, at least, to learn to read door in the sunshine, making lace while and write. The Civil War erupted in Eng- “communing about the things of God.” He 23 Questions and Answers on land during the summer of 1642. About the came closer to hear what they were saying, C.S. Lewis time of his sixteenth birthday, John Bunyan for he was, as he puts it, also a “brisk talker 28 Recommended enlisted in the Parliamentary Army. in the matters of religion.” He soon realized, Reading In the summer of 1647, Bunyan returned however, that they were far above him in 31 Thoughts to to Elstow, where he was the ringleader of spiritual matters, “for their talk was about a Ponder a group of idle young men much given to new birth, the work of God on their hearts.” swearing and breaking the Sabbath. He was “They spoke,” Bunyan writes, “as if joy did 32 Resources not very concerned with religious matters. make them speak.” (continued on page 12) In the legacy of C.S. Lewis, the Institute endeavors to develop disciples who can articulate, defend, and live C. S . L ewis Institute faith in Christ through personal and public life. E S T A B L I S H E D 1 9 7 6

Notes from the President by Thomas A. Tarrants, III, D. Min. President, C.S. Lewis Institute

Dear Friends,

n the past several issues we have looked at things that make for health and flour- ishing in the church. We have explored preaching, Scripture, prayer, and com- Imunity, and we will conclude with leadership. Godly leadership is crucial for the church and for any ministry seeking to serve God, a fact sadly overlooked in today’s preoccupation with career and professionalism in the church. What are some of the characteristics of godly leadership? First and foremost is that the leader is radically God-centered—that he knows God personally, and loves, trusts, listens to, and obeys him. Second, the leader must be a lover of people—especially the people for whom he or she is responsible. These two essential characteristics grow out of wholehearted consecration to and pursuit of God, whatever the cost. A third characteristic is servanthood, as modeled by Jesus. Servant leaders are not narcissistic, self-serving, or trying to use ministry and leadership for personal ambition, success, recognition, or fame. Rather, they are other-centered. Dietrich Bon- hoeffer described Jesus as “a man-for-others” and that should be true of all who seek to lead in his name. Fourth, godly leaders are led by the Word and the Godly leadership is crucial for the church and Spirit, not the latest worldly fads and fashions of the for any ministry seeking to serve God, a fact religious culture. Fifth, godly leaders have gifts from sadly overlooked in today’s preoccupation with God that enable them to be competent in their leadership roles. Much more could be said. career and professionalism in the church. However, we must recognize that godly leaders are human, after all. They do not spring into existence perfectly formed. They must grow and mature in their leadership roles over time. They will make mistakes, and when they do, they need the support, encouragement, and prayers of those they lead. For three years, I and others have been praying for God to raise up a godly president to lead the C.S. Lewis Institute into the future he has for it. In February, the Board of Directors unanimously concluded that we should call Kerry Knott to this role. Having known and worked with Kerry for many years, I have every confidence that he will lead us well. Kerry officially assumes his duties on May 1, 2010. This wonderful answer to prayer now frees me to focus my attention at the Institute on teaching, discipling/mentoring, and developing programs that bring transformation in believers’ lives. Thanks be to God!

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The Gospel Old and New by Kevin DeYoung Senior Pastor, University Reformed Church, East Lansing, Michigan

ave you heard the new gospel? It’s some distant heaven after we die, but right not been codified. It’s not owned here, right now. Even though we all mess Hby any one person or movement. up, we are God’s agents to show his love and But it is increasingly common. bring this kingdom. And we don’t do that by The new gospel generally has four parts. scaring people with religious language or by It usually starts with an apology: “I’m sor- forcing them into some religious mold. We ry for my fellow Christians. I understand why do it by love. That’s the way of Jesus. That’s you hate Christianity. It’s like that thing Gan- what it means to follow him. We love our dhi said, ‘Why can’t the Christians be more neighbor and work for peace and justice. like their Christ?’ Christians are hypocritical, God wants us to become the good news for Kevin DeYoung is the co- judgmental, and self-righteous. I know we a troubled planet.” author of Why We’re Not Emergent: By Two Guys screwed up with the Crusades, slavery, and And finally, there is a studied ambiva- Who Should Be and Why the witch trials. All I can say is: I apologize. lence about eternity: “Don’t get me wrong, I We Love the Church: In We’ve not given you a reason to believe.” still believe in life after death. But our focus Praise of Institutions and Organized Religion. He is Then there is an appeal to God as love: should be on what kind of life we can live also the author of Just Do “I know you’ve seen the preachers with the right now. Will some people go to hell when Something: A Liberat- sandwich boards and bullhorns saying ‘Re- they die? Who am I to say? Does God really ing Approach to Finding pent or Die.’ But I’m here to tell you God is require the right prayer or the right statement God’s Will. Kevin and his wife, Trisha, have four chil- love. Look at Jesus. He hung out with pros- of faith to get into heaven? I don’t know, but I dren: Ian, Jacob, Elizabeth, titutes and tax collectors. He loved uncon- guess I can leave that in his hands. My job is and Paul. ditionally. There is so much brokenness in not to judge people, but to bless. In the end, the world, but the good news of the Bible is God’s amazing grace may surprise us all. that God came to live right in the middle That’s certainly what I hope for.” of our brokenness. He’s a messy God and his mission is love. ‘I did not come into the Why So Hot? world to condemn the world,’ that’s what Jesus said (John 3:17). He loved everyone, This way of telling the good news of Chris- no matter who you were or what you had tianity is very chic. It’s popular for several done. That’s what got him killed.” reasons. The third part of the new gospel is an in- 1. It is partially true. God is love. The vitation to join God on his mission in the kingdom has come. Christians can be stu- world: “It’s a shame that Christians haven’t pid. The particulars of the new gospel are shown the world this God. But that’s what often justifiable. we are called to do. God’s kingdom is be- 2. It deals with straw men. The bad guys ing established on earth. On earth! Not in are apocalyptic street preachers, Crusad- ers, and caricatures of an evangelical view Permission is granted to copy for personal and church of salvation. use; all other uses by request. ©2010 C.S. Lewis Institute 3. The new gospel leads people to believe 8001 Braddock Road, Suite 300, Springfield, VA 22151-2110 wrong things without explicitly stating 703/914-5602 www.cslewisinstitute.org those wrong things. That (continued on page 15)

Summer 2010 | Knowing & Doing • Page 3 “From Age to Age”: The Enduring Appeal of John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress

by David B. Calhoun Professor Emeritus, Covenant Theological Seminary in St. Louis, Missouri

he fifth edition of John Bunyan’sPil - more informed and better entertained by a grim’s Progress introduced fifteen pic- few pages of The Pilgrim’s Progress than by Ttures. Bunyan composed a quatrain lengthy discourses on the will and intel- to go with each picture. For Faithful’s mar- lect. Samuel Johnson praised Bunyan’s alle- tyrdom he wrote: gory for its imagination and style. Benjamin Franklin collected Bunyan’s works and ac- Brave Faithful, Bravely done in Word and Deed! knowledged in his autobiography Bunyan’s Judge, Witnesses, and Jury, have instead engaging blend of narrative and dialogue. Of overcoming thee, but shewn their Rage, Sir Walter Scott’s works include numerous David Calhoun has taught When thou are dead, thoul’t live from Age to Age. allusions to Bunyan, and Samuel Taylor at Covenant College, Co- Coleridge admired Bunyan’s originality. John lumbia Bible College, and Not only have “brave Faithful”—and many Ruskin’s early criticism of Bunyan gave way Jamaica Bible College (where he was also principal). A other Christian martyrs—lived from “age to to an appreciation for his imaginative teach- 1 minister of the Presbyterian age,” but also has Bunyan’s greatest book. ing, resolute faith, and deep insight into Church in America, he has Part one of The Pilgrim’s Progress was writ- the nature of sin, concluding that in these served with Ministries in 4 Action in the West Indies ten while the author was in prison because respects he could be compared with Dante. and in Europe and as dean he refused to promise to obey the laws of Novelists inspired or influenced by Bun of the Iona Centres for Theo- the Restoration government forbidding or yan included Daniel Defoe, Charles Dick- logical Study. limiting preaching by dissenters. A few ens, Herman Melville, William Makepeace years later Bunyan was again imprisoned, Thackeray, Charlotte Bronte, George Eliot, when he wrote part two of The Pilgrim’s John Greenleaf Whittier, Walt Whitman, Progress. Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress was and Matthew Arnold. So profound was immediately popular, selling more than the impact of The Pilgrim’s Progress on the 100,000 copies before John Milton’s Paradise nineteenth-century Indian poet Krishna Lost reached 4,000. Pillai that he converted to Christianity. This Twenty-two editions of The Pilgrim’s Prog- would have pleased Bunyan more than “all ress had been published by 1700, seventy by the literary accolades.”5 1800, and more than 1,300 by 1938.2 For many During the nineteenth century, “the years the sales of no other book except the great century” of Protestant missions, The Bible exceeded it. In the Victorian period, it Pilgrim’s Progress followed the missionaries was said, Milton’s Paradise Lost and Bunyan’s and the Bible to almost every land and was Pilgrim’s Progress “would sit side by side on translated into more than 200 languages. In the family bookshelf as revered classics.”3 Africa alone Bunyan’s book was translated Not only did common people treasure The into eighty languages during the nineteenth Pilgrim’s Progress, many scholars and writ- century. 6 ers admired it. Augustus Toplady spoke of Permission is granted to copy for personal and church the “rich fund of heavenly experience, life, use; all other uses by request. ©2010 C.S. Lewis Institute and sweetness” of The Pilgrim’s Progress. 8001 Braddock Road, Suite 300, Springfield, VA 22151-2110 Jonathan Swift remarked that he had been 703/914-5602 www.cslewisinstitute.org

Page 4 • Knowing & Doing | Summer 2010 Special Feature

The influence of The Pilgrim’s Progress died when he purposely reached its highest point during the nine- rammed an enemy plane, teenth century, but it was by no means forgot- the only way he could se- ten in the twentieth century. In 1986, 200,000 cure victory in his last copies of The Pilgrim’s Progress printed in battle. In his pocket was Chinese by the government of the People’s found his old battered Republic of China, as a sample of western lit- Pilgrim’s Progress. His col- erature and culture, sold out in three days. league and friend, Rich- During a period of convalescence after ard Hannay, says: heart surgery last August, I spent a number of weeks reading whatever appealed to me It was from the Pilgrim’s in history and fiction. I was surprised and Progress that I read… delighted to discover some reference to John when I stood in the Bunyan and his Pilgrim’s Progress in many of soft spring rain beside the books I read (all published in the twen- his grave. And what I tieth century). For example, in Elizabeth read was the tale of the Goudge’s The Dean’s Watch, a clergyman end, not of Mr. Standfast whom he had says to a friend, “You know your Pilgrim’s singled out for his counterpart, but of Progress, I expect, Mr. Peabody. You remem- Mr. Valiant-for-Truth whom he had not ber how Christian carried his burden up the hoped to emulate. I set down the words ‘place somewhat ascending’ where there as a salute and farewell: “Then said he, was a cross, and at the foot of the cross it ‘I am going to my Father’s; and though fell off him and rolled away.”7 with great difficulty I am got hither, yet In his autobiography, John Buchan de- now I do not repent me of all the trouble scribes his love as a child for The Pilgrim’s I have been at to arrive where I am. My Progress. The book became his “constant sword I give to him that shall succeed me companion. Even today I think that, if the in my pilgrimage, and my courage and text were lost, I could restore most of it from skill to him that can get it. My marks and memory,” he wrote. “My delight in it came scars I carry with me, to be a witness for partly from the rhythms of its prose, which, me that I have fought His battles who save in King James’s Bible, have not been will now be my rewarder.’ So he passed equalled in our literature; there are passag- over, and all the trumpets sounded for es, such as the death of Mr. Valiant-for-Truth, him on the other side.”9 which all my life have made music in my ear.”8 In one of Buchan’s books, Mr. Stand- The tercentenary of Bunyan’s birth pro- fast, The Pilgrim’s Progress not only furnished duced at least twenty biographies in 1927 and the book’s title but also played an important 1928. At the end of 1929, young Oxford don part in the story. Mr. Standfast was part of C.S. Lewis was reading Bunyan’s spiritual au- a series beginning with the best-known tobiography, Grace Abounding. He wrote to a of John Buchan’s books, The Thirty-Nine friend: “I should like to know in general what Steps. These adventure “thrillers” featured you think of all the darker side of religion as a young South African called Richard Han- we find it in old books. Formerly I regarded it nay whom Buchan invented and presented as mere devil-worship based on horrible su- in the books in various exciting and danger- perstitions. Now that I have found and am ous situations. In Mr. Standfast, World War I still finding more and more the element of airman hero, Peter Pienaar, who loves The truth in the old beliefs, I feel that I cannot Pilgrim’s Progress, proves himself to be a “Mr. dismiss even their dreadful side so cavalierly. Standfast” by his fortitude, loyalty, moral There must be something in it: only what?”10 and physical courage, and friendship. He Despite Lewis’s struggle (continued on page 17)

Summer 2010 | Knowing & Doing • Page 5 God’s Grace in the Old Testament: Considering the Hesed of the Lord

by Will Kynes Ph.D. Candidate, University of Cambridge

Whoever is wise, let him attend to these Though God’s promise of transgenera- things; let them consider the steadfast love tional punishment may appear problem- [hesed] of the LORD. (Ps. 107:43, ESV) atic, it is engulfed in love, faithfulness, and forgiveness. God twice mentions his hesed, hough we may deny the commonly which is here translated as “steadfast love,” held opposition between the wrath- giving it a prominent place in his self-un- Tful, judging God of the Old Testa- derstanding. If we want to grasp the mer- ment and the gracious, loving God of the ciful and gracious nature of God, we will New Testament, we may still be guilty of have to comprehend his hesed. But what Will Kynes is researching propagating it by neglecting the Old Testa- does this word really mean? the connections between the ment’s own witness to God’s character, and The word’s etymology helps little since book of Job and the Psalms for his Ph.D. program at especially to his grace. Too often, preaching we only know of a doubtful connection Cambridge. He grew up in from the Old Testament (if we hear it at all) with an Arabic word, hashada, which means Cornerstone Evangelical either presents the relationships its charac- “come together for aid.” In the Septuagint, Free Church in Annandale, ters have with God as a foil for the one now a collection of ancient Greek translations Virginia, and interned at Capitol Hill Baptist Church offered in Christ, or focuses merely on the of Old Testament books, the word is pri- in Washington, D.C. moral example of those heroes of the faith marily translated by the Greek word for (“Dare to be a Daniel”). Recently I heard a “mercy,” but several other words are also student say that growing up, he knew that used, including the words for “righteous- Noah had built an ark and Jonah had been ness,” “grace,” “glory,” and “hope.” The swallowed by a fish, but he did not know words that parallel hesed in the Hebrew text who God was. The central figure of the en- also reflect a broad semantic range stretch- tire Bible is God, and we must be attentive ing from “faithfulness” and “goodness” to the many ways he has revealed himself. to “strength” and “salvation.” In English To attend to God’s character in the Old Bibles, hesed is translated with a variety of Testament, we should start with his self-de- words, including “kindness,” “love,” “stead- scription, a description which emphasizes fast love,” “loyalty,” “favor,” “devotion,” and his grace: “mercy.” Attempts to define the word have filled scholarly articles, dissertations, and The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and even entire books, which testifies to both gracious, slow to anger, and abounding its theological importance and indetermi- in steadfast love [hesed] and faithfulness, nate meaning. The streams of ink spilled in keeping steadfast love [hesed] for thou- this debate have congealed around disputes sands, forgiving iniquity and transgres- over the word’s relation to covenant and sion and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity Permission is granted to copy for personal and church of the fathers on the children and the use; all other uses by request. ©2010 C.S. Lewis Institute children’s children, to the third and the 8001 Braddock Road, Suite 300, Springfield, VA 22151-2110 fourth generation. (Exod. 34:6–7) 703/914-5602 www.cslewisinstitute.org

Page 6 • Knowing & Doing | Summer 2010 whether it is inspired by mutual obligation the term. It still de- or gracious condescension. scribes an interper- Some insight may be gained by begin- sonal relationship, ning with the word’s usage in the human but now it can en- plane, where it was likely first used before compass the entire it was applied to God. On this horizontal nation of Israel and level, hesed always involves an interperson- even all of human- al relationship between either individuals ity (Ps. 36:7) as God’s or groups, whether that is between fam- hesed fills the earth ily members (Gen. 20:13), a host and guest (Ps. 33:5). (Gen. 19:19), friends (1 Sam. 20:8, 14), or a Mutuality can no sovereign and his subjects (2 Sam. 2:5). A longer be expected degree of mutuality can be assumed since because God does a response in kind is often expected (e.g., not have any needs Gen. 21:23; Josh. 2:12, 14). for humans to fulfill Further, hesed is never merely an abstract (Ps. 50:12), though he does demand obedi- feeling of goodwill but always entails prac- ence to his commandments (Deut. 7:12). tical action on behalf of another, whether The practical nature of hesed remains, with that involves the restored cupbearer putting the Hebrew verb often used suggesting in a good word to the Pharaoh for Joseph that God “does” hesed for those who call (Gen. 40:14), Bethuel giving his daughter on him (e.g., Gen. 24:12, 14; Ruth 1:8). The Rebekah in marriage (Gen. 24:49–51), or the Psalms are full of appeals to God to work Israelite army sparing the family of Rahab in hesed on behalf of the psalmist (e.g., Ps. (Josh. 2:12–13). 6:4) or the community (e.g., Ps. 44:26) to Finally, hesed is enduring, corresponding hear, answer, save, redeem, deliver, help, to both the unchanging nature of God’s re- protect, and forgive. In fact, the repeated quirements of his people and the lasting commitment built into the relationships in which it is expressed. Here the concept of covenant intertwines with hesed because The central figure of the entire Bible is God, covenants cement an enduring commit- and we must be attentive to the many ways he ment in a relationship in which one would not necessarily be assumed or an uncertain has revealed himself. future threatens, such as David’s relationship with Jonathan, the son of the man seeking his life (1 Sam 20:8, 14). However, refrain of Psalm 136, “for his steadfast love this horizontal study is of limited value endures forever,” suggests that all God’s because the relationship between God and actions from the creation of the world (vv. humans is unlike that between any two 5–9) to the redemption of Israel from Egypt people, with the inequality between the (vv. 10–15) and beyond testify to his hesed. parties far surpassing even that between a God’s hesed can be the basis of these ap- king and his subjects. peals precisely because it “endures forever.” Of the 246 times hesed appears in the Old This characteristic is crucial to Israel’s un- Testament, the great majority refer to the derstanding of God’s gracious relationship vertical plane of God’s relationship with with them and is often repeated, becom- people. The vast disparity between the eter- ing a refrain which resounds in the later nal and infinite God and the mere mortal books of the Old Testament (e.g., Ezra 3:11; 2 recipients of his hesed alters the meaning of Chron. 20:21). Though the (continued on page 20)

Summer 2010 | Knowing & Doing • Page 7 Darkening Our Minds: The Problem of Pornography Among Christians by Joe Dallas Program Director, Genesis Counseling

“The light of the body is the eye: if therefore much the way an addict regards a drug—a thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be destructive vice I have to strenuously avoid, full of light. But if thine eye be evil, thy whole always remembering its lethal impact on body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the my life. light that is in thee be darkness, how great is 1 that darkness!” (Matt. 6:22–23) The Problem that Grows Unnoticed remember clearly, and with inexpress- That same lethal impact is being felt on a ible regret, the night I walked into an broader level today as pornography’s avail- Joe Dallas is Program Iadult bookstore and entangled myself ability has reached levels unimaginable Director of Genesis Coun- in the use of pornography. I was a 23-year- twenty-five years ago. Through cable, vid- seling, a ministry for men dealing with sexual and old former minister at the time, well on my eotape and DVD products, and the Internet, relational problems. Joe and way toward a fully backslidden state, and I virtually anyone wanting to view porn is his wife, Renee, reside in was considering whether to indulge in the able to do so with minimal effort. The sta- Orange County, California, with their two sons. many sexual sins that I had, at that point, tistics on porn usage, therefore, while tragic, only allowed myself to imagine. That eve- shouldn’t be surprising: ning in the spring of 1978, my decision was • During the single month of January 2002, sealed when I embraced what I now call the 27.5 million Internet users visited porno- “dark magic.” graphic websites.2 The “magical” qualities of pornography • Americans spent an estimated $220 mil- were obvious and immediate. One glance lion on pornographic websites in 2001, around that roomful of graphic sexual im- according to a New York-based Internet ages sent a rush through my system very research firm. (The same firm, Jupiter much like a narcotic response. The longer I Media Metrix, noted that the $220 mil- gazed, the more intoxicated I became, and lion figure was up from $148 million in over the next few hours the porn brought 1999; Americans are expected to spend me temporary escape and exhilaration. I’d $320 million annually on porn sites by found a new drug, and it seemed to work the year 2005.)3 beyond my expectations. • In a national survey polling 1,031 adults, The darker aspects of this newfound Zogby International and Focus on the magic soon became clear to me. I revisited Family found that twenty percent of the the same porn shop nightly for the next respondents had recently visited a por- two weeks. I then spiraled into the use of nographic site.4 Every month millions prostitutes, an affair with a married wom- of people stop what they’re doing to an, homosexuality, and a five-year habit of look at erotic images and, in most cases, reckless, degrading sexual practices. It began with the use of pornography, a product Used by permission of The Christian Research Institute. I continued to consume during my backslid- From Christian Research Journal, vol. 27, no. 3 (2004). For den years, and which I have come to regard more information, go to www.equip.org.

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pretend that they are sexually interact- legal definition of obscenity, however, as es- ing with the women or men on display. tablished by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1973, It makes St. John’s description of the narrows the term: world—a place dominated by the lust of 1. While applying contemporary commu- the flesh and the lust of the eyes (1 John nity standards and taken as a whole, it is 2:16)—chillingly relevant. something that the average person would What, at first glance, appears to be a secu- consider appeals to prurient interest. lar problem is, in fact, a problem more com- 2. The work (or material) depicts or de- monly found among Christians than any scribes sexual conduct in a patently of- of us would care to admit. Over eighteen fensive way as specifically defined by the percent of the men polled in the Zogby/Fo- applicable state law. cus survey cited above, for example, identi- 3. The work, taken as a whole, lacks seri- fied themselves as Christian believers.5 The ous literary, artistic, political, and scien- Promise Keepers Men’s Conference conduct- tific value.11 ed an informal poll during its 1996 rally and By this three-part standard, sexually ex- this poll yielded even more dismal results plicit videotapes, DVDs, magazines, and when one out of three men in attendance websites qualify as porn. Honesty and com- admitted they “struggled” with pornogra- mon sense will also allow that any visual phy. 6 Finally, the Colorado-based Focus on material used to incite an erotic response, the Family organization reports that seven out of ten pastors who call their toll-free help line claim to be addicted to porn.7 Considering the prevalence of pornography use The use of pornography is not restricted to men, either, as is often assumed. Thirty- among Christians, it’s time we examine the effect four percent of the readers of the popular it’s having on individuals and families within the magazine Today’s Christian Woman admitted church and on our Christian witness in a secular to the use of Internet pornography,8 and the Zogby/Focus poll indicated one out of ev- and increasingly sexualized culture. ery six women surveyed viewed pornography regularly.9 James P. Draper, president of Life Way Christian Resources, was hardly even if the material is not generally consid- exaggerating when he stated, “It appears ered obscene, becomes a form of pornog- the sin of choice among Christians today is raphy to the individual who uses it to that pornography.”10 end. For the purposes of this article, how- Considering the prevalence of pornogra- ever, we’ll use the Supreme Court’s defini- phy use among Christians, it’s time we ex- tion as a reference point. amine the effect it’s having on individuals and families within the church and on our The Lethal Effects of Pornography Christian witness in a secular and increasingly sexualized culture. The use of pornography, I believe, weakens the church today in three significant ways: Defining Pornography First, it creates a dependency on pornography that weakens the individual believer. Sec- Webster defines pornography as “obscene ond, it causes a disruption of the “one-flesh” literature or art.” This leaves the term “ob- union that weakens Christian marriages. scene” open to interpretation since a good Third, it results in a distortion in thinking deal of socially acceptable material may be that weakens a Christian’s ability to relate obscene to some while artistic to others. The and function. (continued on page 21)

Summer 2010 | Knowing & Doing • Page 9 “I Am Not Ashamed of the Gospel”: The Centrality of the Gospel by William L. Kynes, Ph.D. C.S. Lewis Institute Senior Fellow and Pastor, Cornerstone Evangelical Free Church, Annandale, Virginia

hen it comes right down to it, may need to be administered in the right there is really only one thing I as form. But only the gospel of Jesus Christ Wa pastor have to offer my congre- can heal the deepest wounds of the human gation—and only one thing that the church heart and can enable us to prosper accord- has to offer the world—and that is the gos- ing to God’s design. pel of Jesus Christ. The centrality of the gospel for the Certainly we can do many useful things. church is illustrated most clearly in Paul’s We can help the poor, befriend the lonely, first letter to the Corinthians. This was a and comfort the sorrowing. We can encour- church with a host of problems, and in Bill Kynes studied phi- age struggling marriages and families. And every instance Paul’s response was to ex- losophy at the University we can champion certain moral causes that pound the gospel. of Florida, where he also played quarterback and was could have a positive impact on our society. Addressing their divisions and in-fight- inducted into the univer- But there is nothing particularly Christian ing caused by their pride in wisdom and sity’s Athletic Hall of Fame. about these deeds of kindness. The one knowledge, Paul points to the foolishness He and his wife, Susan, have four boys: Will, Mat- unique and truly indispensable thing we of the cross of Christ (1 Cor. 1:17–18). Re- thew, Cameron, and Cason. as Christians have to offer the world is the garding the sexual immorality that was gospel of Jesus Christ. prevalent among them, Paul urges them to This gospel creates us, this gospel de- get rid of the old leaven of sin from their fines us, and this gospel equips us to serve midst, for Christ the Passover Lamb has the world in Jesus’ name. Nothing is so pre- been sacrificed (5:7). Through the gospel cious to us; nothing can be so dear to our we are joined to Christ. How, then, can we hearts; nothing can so demand our loyalty be joined to prostitutes? “You were bought and commitment as this gospel. with a price,” Paul says, “now honor God This gospel can be found nowhere else— with your body” (6:20). not in any government agency, not in any On the issue of marriage, the gospel university degree program, not in any cor- means you can serve God in whatever cir- porate product line. In fact, you couldn’t cumstance you are in—whether married or buy it if you had all the money in the world. single, whether slave or free. You can live Only the church can offer the world this out the gospel wherever God has put you, rare treasure, this pearl of great price. so don’t be overly concerned about whether In my role as a pastor people come to you are married or not (7:17–24). me with all sorts of problems in life, but I confess: I am a physician with but one medicine to prescribe, and that is the gos- Permission is granted to copy for personal and church pel of Christ. It may need to be applied in use; all other uses by request. ©2010 C.S. Lewis Institute various ways, various aspects of it may 8001 Braddock Road, Suite 300, Springfield, VA 22151-2110 need to receive the right emphasis, and it 703/914-5602  www.cslewisinstitute.org

Page 10 • Knowing & Doing | Summer 2010 Fellows Feature

And as to eating food sacrificed in the This gospel is the very centerpiece of the pagan temples, the gospel prohibits us from plan of God to restore and renew his cre- participating in idol worship, for through ation. The universe itself was created with the gospel we participate in Christ (10:14– Christ in mind. He is the supreme revela- 17). The gospel also sets us free from laws tion of God—his true image. Jesus Christ about what we eat and what we drink (8:1– reflects God in the world and so brings 8). Time after time, Paul’s response to the problems of this church centers on the gospel and what it ought to mean in our lives. Nothing is so precious to us; nothing can be so So it should be for us. Are you battling depression? Cling to the hope that is yours dear to our hearts; nothing can so demand our in Christ. Are you lonely and insecure? loyalty and commitment as this gospel. Reflect on the message of God’s love and eternal companionship found in the gospel. Are you struggling to get along with your spouse? Consider what it means to follow him glory. Jesus Christ is the one through a crucified Messiah who, in humility, gave whom and for whom and to whom are all up everything for you. Are you racked with things. He is the key to the mystery of hu- guilt? Receive the forgiveness found in the man existence, giving us a reason for liv- cleansing blood of Christ. Are you angry ing. Not only that, he give us a hope for the with a brother or sister? Forgive as you future, for in his resurrection glory he has have been forgiven. revealed the destiny of all who are joined to Certainly, I’m not so naïve as to think him by faith. God’s kingdom will come, his that the gospel gives us a quick and easy will will be done, on earth as it is in heaven solution to all of life’s problems, nor that in and through Jesus Christ. the gospel alone is the treatment for all of This is the gospel—the revelation of the life’s ills. But I am saying that it is the ulti- grace and truth of God in Jesus Christ. mate answer and the answer we most need That’s what has to be at the center of who if we are to have a real and final hope. we are as a church. If we give that up, we And what is this gospel? The gospel is have nothing. (continued on page 29) the good news that in his Son Jesus Christ God has revealed his holy love to the world. In Christ God was reconciling the world to himself. In Christ God has given us victory over the powers of sin and death. In Christ God has acted to bring us out from under his judgment and into a right relationship with himself. Through Christ’s death for our sin we can be justified before him— forgiven for all that we have done to offend him. In Christ we can come to know God as our Father in heaven. In Christ we can be given new life by his Spirit living within, changing us from the inside. In Christ we can be assured of a relationship with God that death cannot destroy. Nothing can separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. This the gospel.

Summer 2010 | Knowing & Doing • Page 11 Profile in Faith: John Bunyan (continued from page 1)

This meeting with the One morning the words “My grace is suffi- women marked a definite cient” came to Bunyan. Earlier he had felt that change in Bunyan’s inner life. this verse was “not large enough for me,” but His thoughts became “fixed on now “it was as if it had arms of grace so wide eternity.” He began to look into that it could not only enclose me, but many the Bible “with new eyes” and more besides.” Still there were doubts, until read it as he never had before. one day, sitting by the fire, he suddenly felt a Indeed, as he puts it, “I was desire sound in his heart, “I must go to Jesus.” then never out of the Bible, ei- “At this my former darkness and atheism fled ther by reading or meditation; away, and the blessed things of heaven were still crying out to God that I set within my view,” he wrote. With joy he might know the truth, and the told his wife, “O now I know, I know!” way to heaven and glory.” The Bunyans moved from Elstow to Bed- John Bunyan, however, had ford to further his trade and to be closer to no assurance that he was “one his church. He began to preach not only in of that number that did sit in Bedford but also “in the darkest places in the sunshine.” He was so troubled that he the country.” In 1658 Bunyan’s wife died, hardly knew what to do, when the voice of leaving him with four children under ten Christ broke in upon his soul, saying, “And years old, one of them blind. In 1659 he married Elizabeth (her surname is unknown). He was thirty-one and she was eighteen. During the Commonwealth there had “Those Scriptures that I saw nothing in before are been a large measure of religious freedom made in this place and state to shine upon me. Jesus for most separatists, like Bunyan, but this Christ also was never more real and apparent than liberty ended in 1660 with the Restoration. Parliament now sought to reestablish a single now; here I have seen him and felt him indeed.” state-controlled church, and preaching tin- kers with undesirable views were silenced. On November 12, 1660, Bunyan planned to yet there is room.” These were “sweet words preach to a group of people in Bedfordshire. to me,” Bunyan writes; “for, truly, I thought He opened the meeting with prayer, and that by them I saw there was place enough then, as he began to speak, the constable ar- in heaven for me; and, moreover, that when rived and arrested him. He was charged with the Lord Jesus did speak these words, he holding an unlawful meeting. The local mag- then did think of me.” Bunyan was encour- istrate offered him a way out: if he would go aged for a time but still faced the old temp- home and not preach anymore, he would not tations “to go back again.” For about a year be prosecuted. This he would not promise, he remained in great despair until some re- so he was hauled away and locked up in the lief came from various verses of Scripture, Bedford County Jail, where he spent most of and then from Martin Luther’s commentary the years between 1660 and 1672. on Galatians. The book was “so old that it While in jail, the Bedford tinker who had was ready to fall piece from piece if I did but become a Puritan preacher worked to sup- turn it over,” Bunyan writes. After reading port his family by making shoelaces. Bun a little of this old book, Bunyan, as he puts it, “found my condition, in [Luther’s] expe- Permission is granted to copy for personal and church rience, so largely and profoundly handled use; all other uses by request. ©2010 C.S. Lewis Institute as if his book had been written out of my 8001 Braddock Road, Suite 300, Springfield, VA 22151-2110 [own] heart.” 703/914-5602 www.cslewisinstitute.org

Page 12 • Knowing & Doing | Summer 2010 yan’s wife and children were allowed to journey will end successfully. (Bunyan was visit him in prison. Mary, his blind daugh- a Calvinist who believed in the perseverance ter, regularly brought him soup for his sup- of the saints.) Later Bunyan wrote a second per in a little jar. part to Pilgrim’s Progress. It tells the story of Bunyan’s Bible was his treasure. He tells Christian’s wife, appropriately named Chris- us that he never in all his life had “so great tiana, who decides to take her children and a an inlet into the Word of God” neighbor called Mercy and follow as he did in prison; he writes her husband. that “those Scriptures that I After 1668 Bunyan’s imprison- saw nothing in before are made ment seems to have become more in this place and state to shine and more nominal. He was able upon me. Jesus Christ also was to take on an increasing load of never more real and apparent church work, culminating in his than now; here I have seen him election as pastor of the Bedford and felt him indeed.” congregation on December 21, He did not give up his minis- 1671. In 1672 King Charles II is- try. He simply moved it to the jail. sued a Declaration of Indulgence Bunyan and his friends preached for both Protestant Dissenters and to one another on Sundays. Peo- Roman Catholics, and in March ple came to see him for counsel. Bunyan was released from prison. He hoped that his imprisonment (He was imprisoned again for six might be “an awakening to the months in 1676 and 1677.) saints in the country.” John Bunyan became a recog- And Bunyan wrote. Late in 1667 nized leader among the dissenting Bunyan began expanding a ser- churches of his part of England. mon he had preached earlier into Some, though most often in a jeer- a book called The Heavenly Foot- ing manner, called him “Bishop Man: or, A Description of the Man Bunyan.” Bunyan ministered to his That Gets to Heaven. While he was own congregation in Bedford and writing this book he was inspired to other churches in Bedfordshire, to write another. He explained in Hertfordshire, Cambridgeshire, the preface of the latter work: Surrey, and London, so far as it was possible in the intermittent And thus it was: I writing of the way persecution of those years. And race of saints in this our gospel day, He became famous as a preach- Fell suddenly into an allegory er. His simple themes, homely an- About their journey, and the way to ecdotes and illustrations drawn glory. from his own life, everyday language, and abundant repetition The allegory’s title, The Pilgrim’s Progress, enabled him to hold congregations spell- sets forth the book’s theme—the journey bound. Some 3,000 people came to hear him that Christian and other pilgrims make from one Sunday in London, and 1,200 turned up the City of Destruction to the Celestial City. for a weekday sermon during the winter. Upon seeing the Cross, Christian’s burden King Charles II once asked John Owen, the fell away, never to return. There are fre- distinguished Puritan theologian and Ox- quent times of suspense and uncertainty in ford scholar, how such an educated man as Christian’s pilgrimage (as there are in every he could sit and listen to a tinker. Owen re- Christian’s life) but also certainty that the plied, “I would willingly (continued on page 14)

Summer 2010 | Knowing & Doing • Page 13 “Bunyan stands…as a master of perfect naturalness in the mimesis of ordinary conversation…In dialogue he catches not only the cadence of the speech but the tiny twists of thought.” C.S. Lewis

Profile in Faith: John Bunyan (continued from page 13)

exchange my learning for the tinker’s power that you may look your Father in the face, of touching men’s hearts.” with comfort, another day.” Shortly after completing another book, That day was not far off for John Bunyan. The Acceptable Sacrifice: or the Excellency of a He died on August 31, 1688. The cause of Broken Heart, an expanded sermon on Psalm his death was influenza, or possibly pneu- 51:17, Bunyan rode on horseback to Reading monia, which was contracted as a result of to reconcile a son and father who had quar- his pastoral work of family peacemaking. reled. Traveling on to London, Bunyan was One of Bunyan’s biographers aptly stated: drenched in a heavy rain and fell sick with “Thus one last act of love and charity put David Calhoun has taught a violent fever. He preached on August 19 an end to a life almost entirely devoted to at Covenant College, Co- at a meetinghouse in Boar’s Head Yard. His the good of others.”2 On September 2 the lumbia Bible College, and Jamaica Bible College (where text was John 1:13—”Which were born, not sixty-year-old Bunyan was buried in Bun- he was also principal). A of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of hill Fields in London. minister of the Presbyterian the will of man, but of God.” Toward the end John Bunyan wrote some sixty books— Church in America, he has of what was to be his last sermon, he said: one for every year of his life, it is said. These served with Ministries in Action in the West Indies included many sermons expanded into siz- and in Europe and as dean If you are the children of God, live to- able treatises, poetry, and books for children. of the Iona Centres for Theo- gether lovingly; if the world quarrel with His best known books are his spiritual bi- logical Study. you, it is no matter; but it is sad if you ography, Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sin- quarrel together; if this be amongst you, it ners, and two of his allegories, The Holy War is a sign of ill-breeding; it is not according and The Pilgrim’s Progress, all of which have to the rules you have in the Word of God. been steadily in print since Bunyan’s day. His Dost thou see a soul that has the image of greatest book, The Pilgrim’s Progress, is still God in him? Love him, love him; say, This read and loved by people around the world. man and I must go to heaven one day; serve one another, do good for one an- Notes other; and if any wrong you, pray to God to right you, and love the brotherhood. 1. For Bunyan’s life and work, see my Grace Abound- ing: The Life, Books & Influence of John Bunyan(Gean - Bunyan concluded his sermon: “Consider ies House, Fearn, Scotland: Christian Focus, 2005). that the holy God is your Father, and let this 2. Henri Talon, John Bunyan: The Man and His Works v oblige you to live like the children of God, (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1951), 14.

Page 14 • Knowing & Doing | Summer 2010 The Gospel Old and New (continued from page 3) is, Christians who espouse the new gospel love as for his outrageous feel safe from criticism because they never godlike claims (Matt. actually said belief is unimportant, or there 26:63-66, 27:39-43). The is no hell, or that Jesus isn’t the only way, or new gospel talks of sal- that God has no wrath, or that there is no vation in strictly cosmic need for repentance. These distortions are terms. In fact, the door is not explicitly stated, but the new gospel is left wide open to imag- presented in such a way that nonbelievers ine that hell, if it even ex- could, and by design should, come to these ists, is probably not a big conclusions. In other words, the new gospel threat for most people. allows the non-Christian to hear what he wants, while still providing an out against Why So Wrong? criticism from other Christians. The preacher of the new gospel can always say when It shouldn’t be hard to see what is miss- challenged, “But I never said I don’t believe ing in the new gospel. What’s missing is those things.” the old gospel, the one preached by the 4. It is manageable. The new gospel meets apostles, the one defined in 1 Corinthi- people where they are and leaves them ans 15, the one summarized later in the there. It appeals to love and helping our Apostles’ Creed. neighbors. And it makes the appeal in a way “But what you call the new gospel is not that repudiates any hint of judgmentalism, a substitute for the old gospel. We still be- intolerance, or religiosity. This is bound to lieve all that stuff.” be popular. It tells us what we want to hear Okay, but why don’t you say it? And not and gives us something we can do. just privately to your friends or on a state- 5. The new gospel is inspirational. This ment of faith somewhere, but in public? is what makes the message so appealing to You don’t have to be meaner, but you do young people in particular. They get the thrill have to be clearer. You don’t have to unload and purpose of being part of a big cause, without all the baggage of the Church’s history, doctrine, and hard edges. Who wouldn’t It shouldn’t be hard to see what is missing in the want to join a revolution of love? 6. The new gospel has no offense to it. New Gospel. What’s missing is the old gospel, the This is why the message is so attractive. one preached by the apostles… The bad guys are all “out there.” This can be a problem for any of us. We are all prone to soft-pedaling the gospel, only presenting the whole truck of systematic theology on the attractive parts and failing to mention someone, but to leave the impression that where Christ does not just comfort but also hell is no big deal is so un-Jesus like (Matt. confronts. And it must confront more than 10:26–33). And when you don’t talk about the sins of others. It is far too easy to use the need for faith and repentance you are the new gospel as a way to differentiate very un-apostolic (Acts 2:38; 16:31). yourself from all the bad Christians. This “But we are just building bridges. We are makes you look good and confirms to the relating to the culture first, speaking in a non-Christians that the obstacle to their language they can understand, presenting commitment lies with the hypocrisy and the parts of the gospel that make the most failure of others. There is no talk of repen- sense to them. Once we have their trust and tance or judgment. There is no hint that Je- attention, we can disciple and teach them sus was killed not so much for his inclusive about sin, repentance, (continued on page 16)

Summer 2010 | Knowing & Doing • Page 15 The Gospel Old and New (continued from page 15)

faith, and all the message. This was just the beginning, af- rest. This is only ter which some wanted to hear him again pre-evangelism.” (32). Paul said more in his opening salvo Yes, it’s true, we than some Christians ever dare to say. We don’t have to start may not be able to say everything Paul our conversations said at Athens all at once, but we certainly where we want to must not give the impression in our “pre- end up. But does the evangelism” that repentance, judgment, new gospel really the necessity of faith, the importance of prime the pump for right belief, the centrality of the cross and evangelism or just the resurrection, the sinfulness of sin, and mislead the non- the fallenness of man—the stuff that some Christian into a false suggest will be our actual evangelism— assurance? It’s one thing to open a door for are outdated relics of a mean-spirited, further conversation. It’s another to make hurtful Christianity. Christianity so palatable that it sounds like something the non-Christian already does. A Final Plea And this is assuming the best about the new gospel, that underneath there really is a de- Please, please, please, if you are enamored sire to get the old gospel out. with the new gospel or anything like it, con- Paul’s approach with non-Christians in sider if you are really being fair with your Athens is instructive for us (Acts 17:16–34). fellow Christians in always throwing them First, Paul is provoked that the city is so full under the bus. Consider whether you are of idols (16). His preaching is not guided by preaching as Jesus did, who called people, his disappointment with other Christians, not first of all to a way of life, but to repent but by his anger over unbelief. Next, he gets and believe (Mark 1:15). And as my friends permission to speak (19–20). Paul did not and I consider if we lack the necessary pa- berate people. He spoke to those who were tience and humility to speak tenderly with willing to listen. But then look at what he non-Christians, consider if your God is a does. He makes some cultural connection lopsided cartoon God who never takes of- (22–23, 28), but from there he shows the con- fense at sin (because sin is more than just un- trast between the Athenian understanding neighborliness) and never pours out wrath of God and the way God really is (24–29). (except for the occasional judgment against His message is not about a way of life, but the judgmental). Consider if you are giving about worshiping the true God in the right due attention to the cross and the Lamb of way. After that, he urges repentance (30), God who died there to take away the sin of warns of judgment (31), and talks about Je- the world. Consider if your explanation of sus’ resurrection (31). the Christian message sounds anything like The result is that some mocked (32). what we hear from the apostles in the book Who in the world mocks the new gospel? of Acts when they engage the world. There is nothing not to like. There is no This is no small issue. And it is not just scandal in a message about lame Chris- a matter of emphasis. The new gospel will tians, a loving God, changing the world, not sustain the church. It cannot change and how most of us are most likely not the heart. And it does not save. It is crucial, going to hell. This message will never be therefore, that our evangelical schools, mocked, but Paul’s Mars Hill sermon was. camps, conferences, publishing houses, And keep in mind, this teaching in Ath- and churches can discern the new gospel v ens was only an entree into the Christian from the old.

Page 16 • Knowing & Doing | Summer 2010 “From Age to Age” (continued from page 5) with Bunyan’s theology, his writings “dem- even in the movies. In the 1946 World War II onstrate that Bunyan—particularly The Pil- movie, A Matter of Life and Death, one of British grim’s Progress—served as a touchstone for his cinema’s most popular and best-loved films, thinking since his childhood.”11 In Pilgrim’s John Bunyan makes a (very) brief appearance Regress: An Allegorical Apology for Christianity, with a word of encouragement to the troubled Reason, and Romanticism, Lewis uses Bunyan’s Royal Air Force pilot Peter Carter. theme and also an adaptation of his famous Not only in his books but also in his own title. For broadcast on the BBC on October 16, life John Bunyan sets an enduring example of 1962, Lewis read aloud his essay on “The Vi- courage and perseverance in times of hard- sion of John Bunyan,” in which he provides ship, and even persecution. Attempting to se- wise words about The Pilgrim’s Progress as lit- cure the release of four hostages in Lebanon, erature and theology. Ralph Vaughan Williams knew and loved the writings of Bunyan all his life, and set- ting Bunyan to music occupied him on and Not only in his books but also in his own life John off for over forty years. In 1909 Vaughan Wil- Bunyan sets an enduring example of courage and liams’s Pilgrim’s Progress was presented at perseverance in times of hardship, and even persecution. Reigate Priory. The performance comprised twelve episodes, with Prelude and Epilogue founded on the Roundhead hymn tune “York.” Vaughan Williams’s Shepherds of the Terry Waite was taken hostage himself in Delectable Mountains was first performed at 1987 and held captive until 1991. Kept in to- London’s Royal College of Music in 1922. The tal and complete isolation, he saw no one and text—skillfully adapted from The Pilgrim’s spoke to no one apart from a cursory word Progress—briefly summarizes the story, from with his guards when they brought him food. Christian’s meeting the Shepherds to his One morning he was given with his break- crossing the river and entering the Celestial fast what felt like a piece of a card. “What is City. It was presented as an operatic scene it?” he asked his guard. His blindfold was in one short act, with six singing roles (in- pulled down over his nose so he couldn’t cluding the off-stage “Voice of a Bird” sing- see under it. The guard replied that it was a ing Psalm 23) and a small chorus. In 1942 letter. Waite’s heart leapt. Could it be news there was a BBC production of the complete from his family at last? When the guard left Pilgrim’s Progress by Edward Sackville-West, the room, Waite quickly lifted the blindfold. in thirty-eight episodes with “incidental” He described what he found. “It’s a colored music written by Vaughan Williams. Sir postcard. I think it’s a representation of a Adrian Boult conducted the BBC Symphony stained-glass window. John Orchestra and Chorus. As Christian, Sir John Bunyan sits at a table look- Gielgud (who said that the role was one with ing through the bars of his which he strongly identified) gave one of the cell in Bedford jail. My hand outstanding performances of his broadcast- shakes as I turn it over. It is ing career. The culmination of Vaughan Wil- addressed to me by name, liams’s work on Bunyan, and his last opera, but the address has been The Pilgrim’s Progress, was performed at the scratched out and the post- Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Lon- mark is too blurred for me don, as part of the Festival of Britain in 1951 to read. However the mes- and at Cambridge University in 1954. sage is clear.” It was from During the twentieth century Bunyan not a woman he did not know, only appeared in literature and music, but writing to (continued on page 18)

Summer 2010 | Knowing & Doing • Page 17 “From Age to Age” (continued from page 17)

tell him, “You are not most definitely moved from its secure place forgotten. People every- in the hearts of Victorian readers to the minds where are praying for of contemporary scholars of literature and your release, and that history, from the bookshelves of nineteenth- of the other hostages.” century homes to the bookshops of most uni- Waite wrote: “I reverse versities,” comments Michael Davies.15 In the the card and look once last fifty years, at least 100 doctoral theses more at Bunyan…. Why, have been written on Bunyan and his works. after years without mail There is now an International John Bunyan or news from the outside Society. A journal called Bunyan Studies began world, should this single in 1988 as part of the Bunyan Festival, mark- postcard find its way to ing the tercentenary of Bunyan’s death. Books me?…I place the card on John Bunyan regularly appear from major carefully in my Bible.”12 publishers, including Graceful Reading: Theol- A few days later, Waite asked himself, ogy and Narrative in the Works of John Bunyan “Will I go mad, lose my reason? I take out by Michael Davies (Oxford University Press, the Bunyan card and look at it again. What 2002), Glimpses of Glory: John Bunyan and Eng- a marvelous irony that this man accused lish Dissent by Richard L. Greaves (Stanford of holding services not in conformity with University Press, 2002), The Portable Bunyan: the Church of England should now bring A Transnational History of The Pilgrim’s Prog- me comfort. Bunyan managed to turn his ress by Isabel Hofmeyr (Princeton Universi- captivity to good effect. But he had a strong, ty Press, 2004). W.R. Owens and Stuart Sim certain faith, a rock-like belief.”13 (eds.), Reception, Appropriation, Recollection: Bu- The Pilgrim’s Progress continued to be re- nyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress (Oxford: Peter Lang, printed in the twentieth century. A number 2007) contains ten chapters by Bunyan schol- of children’s versions of the story appeared, ars from England, France, and South Africa including Dangerous Journey (1985), The Ev- and is “testimony to the extent of Bunyan’s ergreen Wood (1992), and Pilgrim’s Progress legacy, and of his pilgrim’s ‘progress’ into an impressively wide range of contexts.”16 Most contemporary scholarly works, however, set aside or at least minimize Bunyan’s The Pilgrim’s Progress is not known and loved theology, with little attention to what was in this secular age as it has been in the past. As the without question his greatest concern. One popular appeal of John Bunyan and his greatest book Bunyan scholar confesses that “many of us have lost the faith Bunyan advocates,” but has waned, scholarly interest has quickened. candidly admits that “this is a great loss.”17 Some see Bunyan as a pioneer in develop- ment of the English novel and as “the great- as retold by Gary D. Schmidt (1994).14 Com- est representative of the common people to mencing in 1976, a new, critical edition of find a place in English literature.”18 Some Bunyan’s works was produced by Oxford who criticize him for his narrow Puritan University Press. mentality praise him for his “pure imagi- It must be acknowledged, however, that nation, the realm of the genuine artist.”19 The Pilgrim’s Progress is not known and loved Bunyan is studied by others as an ex- in this secular age as it has been in the past. ample of the spiritual quest. Joyce Godber As the popular appeal of John Bunyan and has written: “Bunyan has stood for that in his greatest book has waned, scholarly inter- our national tradition which has impelled est has quickened. “The Pilgrim’s Progress has individuals to uphold what they believe

Page 18 • Knowing & Doing | Summer 2010 to be right, regardless of consequences to a Peculiarly British Tradition (London: Faber and Faber, themselves. He has also…helped countless 2008), 12. readers, latterly all over the world, in that 4. Greaves, Glimpses of Glory, 624–627. spiritual pilgrimage which, whether or not 5. Greaves, Glimpses of Glory, 632. it is conscious and articulate, we must all 6. Isabel Hofmeyr, The Portable Bunyan: A Transna- make.”20 Like Bunyan’s Christian, writes tional History of The Pilgrim’s Progress by (Princeton Jenny Uglow, “each of us is a traveler, ‘a soli- University Press, 2004). tary man,’ finding our path through life.”21 7. Elizabeth Goudge, The Dean’s Watch (New York: Some have characterized Bunyan as a Coward-McCann, 1960), 97. champion of individual rights. Twentieth- 8. John Buchan, Pilgrim’s Way: An Autobiography century Marxists see him as “an anti-estab- (New York: Carroll & Graf, 1940), 7. lishment figure who in both his life and his 9. John Buchan, The Four Adventures of Richard Han- fiction refused to compromise his beliefs, no nay (Boston: David R. Godine, 1988), 474. matter what pressure was applied to him 10. Quoted in Roger Lancelyn Green and Walter to conform.” The Pilgrim’s Progress has been Hooper, C.S. Lewis: A Biography (London: Collins, called by these writers “one of the two foun- 1974), 98. dational texts of the English working-class 11. Michael W, Price, “Seventeenth Century,” in movement,” the other being Rights of Man.22 Reading the Classics with C.S. Lewis, ed. Thomas L. Mar- Bunyan’s writings, however, like Bun tin (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2000), 151–2. For yan’s life, had only one goal—to present as Lewis’s “Vision of John Bunyan,” see Selected Literary clearly and vividly as possible the Christian Essays, ed. Walter Hooper (Cambridge: Cambridge Uni- message of God’s grace and forgiveness for versity Press, 1969), 146–53. sinners and the trials and blessings of the 12. Terry Waite, Taken on Trust (New York: Harcourt, Christian life leading to the everlasting joys Brace, 1993), 262–63. of heaven. When he could, Bunyan preached 13. Waite, Taken on Trust, 266. the gospel; when he could not preach it, he 14. See Appendix 2, “Children’s Versions of the Pil- wrote it. Christopher Hill has commented, grim’s Progress,” in my Grace Abounding: The Life, Books “Bunyan’s only weapons were preaching— & Influence of John Bunyan, 217–223. for which he was sent to jail—and then writ- 15. Michael Davies, Graceful Reading: Theology and ing…The tinker’s books lasted longer than Narrative in the Works of John Bunyan (Oxford: Oxford anyone else’s preaching: longer in fact than University Press, 2002), 347. the British Empire.”23 Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s 16. Owens and Sim, eds., Reception, Appropriation, Progress has indeed “lived from age to age.“ Recollection, 15. His continued attraction is due in no small 17. Owens and Sim, eds., Reception, Appropriation, measure to the fact that in him, even today, Recollection, 183. as “in former times men have met with An- 18. Roger Sharrock, John Bunyan (London: Mac- gels here, have found Pearls here, and have millan, 1968), 9. in this place found the words of Life.”24 19. Uglow, Words & Pictures, 39. 20. Joyce Godber, John Bunyan of Bedfordshire, 9. 21. Uglow, Words & Pictures, 116. Notes 22. Owens and Sim, eds., Reception, Appropriation, 1. For Bunyan’s life and work, see my Grace Abound- Recollection, 214. ing: The Life, Books & Influence of John Bunyan(Geanies 23. Christopher Hill, A Tinker and a Poor Man: John House, Fearn, Scotland: Christian Focus, 2005). Bunyan and His Church, 1628–1688 (New York: W.W. 2. These figures are from Richard L. Greaves,Glimps - Norton & Co., 1990), 368. es of Glory: John Bunyan and English Dissent (Stanford:, 24. James F. Forrest and Richard Lee Greaves, CA: Stanford University Press, 2002), 611–12. John Bunyan: A Reference Guide (Boston: G. K. Hall, 3. Jenny Uglow, Words & Pictures: Writers, Artists and 1982), xvii. v

Summer 2010 | Knowing & Doing • Page 19 “God gives his gifts where he finds the vessel empty enough to receive them.” C.S. Lewis

God’s Grace in the Old Testament (continued from page 7)

loss of God’s hesed is threatened on occasion As divine hesed on the vertical plane in- (e.g., 2 Sam. 7:15; Jer. 16:5), God’s institution tersects with the human horizontal plane, of the covenant with the people (Deut. 7:9, it transforms it. Our lives are infused with 12) and their king (2 Sam. 7:11–16; Ps. 89:28– the hesed we experience from God, creating 29), reinforces the gracious and enduring new relationships with those around us as nature of his commitment to them. God is his goodness pours through us. We see this not like a family member whose hesed can in the Old Testament when God demands be taken for granted. He is vastly superior hesed of his people (e.g., Mic. 6:8) and when to the Israelites, and yet, through his cov- David asks if there is anyone remaining in enant, he binds himself to them eternally to Jonathan’s house to whom he may show “the do them good. The appropriate response is hesed of God” (2 Sam. 9:3; cf. 1 Sam. 20:14). Je- to recall God’s hesed (e.g., Ps. 106:7), to hope sus also illustrates this principle in the par- (e.g., Ps. 33:18) and trust (e.g., Ps. 13:5) in it, able of the unforgiving servant, who after and to proclaim it (e.g., Ps. 92:2; Isa. 63:7) having a great debt forgiven by the king is with singing (e.g., Ps. 59:16–17) and rejoic- expected to forgive his fellow servant (Matt. ing (e.g., Ps. 31:7). 18:23–35). The climax of the story is the king’s accusation of the unforgiving servant using the verb form of the Greek word most often used to translate hesed: “And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?” (v. 33). Ultimately, the vertical and horizontal dimensions of hesed cross in the crucifix- ion and resurrection of Jesus himself, as he demonstrates God’s covenant hesed to his people. Jesus takes his place on Da- vid’s eternal throne, thereby providing the means for individual sinners to be made into a community called the church, bound in his new covenant and committed to showing hesed to one another. At the cross, God by no means clears the guilty, but, by visiting the iniquity of the fathers on his only Son, he displays his aboundv- ing hesed.

Page 20 • Knowing & Doing | Summer 2010 Darkening Our Minds (continued from page 9)

A Dependency That Weakens the Individual Believer The value of personal freedom is an ongoing biblical theme. Adam was created under God’s authority with the freedom to choose, manage, and procreate (Gen. 1:27–30); Israel’s slavery was an evil that God sent Moses to confront and dismantle (Exod. 3–15); Jesus began his public ministry by announcing he had come, among other things, to set captives free (Luke 4:18); and Paul asserted that liberty is what God has called us to, that Christian liberty should be protected, and that bondage is to be avoided (Gal. 5:1, 13). The Judeo-Christian ethic places a high pre- mium on personal freedom and condemns anything that restricts or prohibits a person in such a way that it becomes increasingly from reaching his or her God-given poten- difficult for her to sustain even the most tial. If liberty is good, it stands to reason that primary human relationships. Both women addiction—a dependence on a certain behav- are in bondage to some degree, but there’s a ior or experience—is bad; and if something huge contrast in the nature of their bondage can be shown to be addictive, that in itself and in its impact on their general abilities. becomes a strong argument against it. The nature of immorality and its im- There are limits to this argument, to be pact on a person’s abilities are described sure. Most would agree that caffeine is an in Scripture as “enslaving”: “His own in- addictive substance, and yet coffee drinking iquities shall take the wicked himself, and is generally not frowned on; nor is the use he shall be holden with the cords of his of sugar, which many consider a relatively sins” (Prov. 5:22). Peter described the false addictive substance. What distinguishes promise of freedom through immorality: these substances from cocaine or heroin is “They allure through the lusts of the flesh, the degree to which their use impairs a per- through much wantonness….While they son’s freedom and productivity. promise them liberty, they themselves are A woman who drinks three cups of cof- the servants of corruption; for of whom a fee daily, for example, is different than a man is overcome, of the same is he brought woman with a thousand-dollar-a-day her- in bondage” (2 Pet. 2:18–19). oin habit. Both of them may be, in the strict- Bondage to a sexual sin—a growing de- est sense, dependent on their drug of choice, pendency on the sin, similar to dependency and so their freedom is impaired. The cof- on a drug—often goes unrecognized be- fee drinker is not, however, in virtually all cause addiction to a behavior is a relatively cases, significantly and functionally impaired new concept to many people. Most mental by her drug. She can operate on the job, health professionals agree that people can maintain focus and stability, and manage become addicted to chemicals. Many of personal responsibilities quite well despite them also recognize the possibility of be- her habit. The heroin user, in contrast, is coming addicted to an experience. Those rendered largely dysfunctional by her drug, who believe in this possibility—myself will often resort to illegal activities to sup- included—believe addiction to an experi- port her use of it, and is affected by heroin ence, such as gambling or (continued on page 22)

Summer 2010 | Knowing & Doing • Page 21 Darkening Our Minds (continued from page 21)

the use of porn, follows a threefold pattern: consumers, as evidenced by the National the discovery of a hyperstimulating experi- Council on Sexual Addiction Compulsiv- ence, the repetition of the experience, and an ity, which estimates between six to eight eventual dependence on the experience as a percent of Americans display symptoms means of functioning or coping. of sexual addiction (percentages that translate into 16 to 21 million citizens).13 Indeed, Discovery, Repetition, Dependence an MSNBC poll showed that in a sampling of 38,000 respondents, one out of every ten When pornography is viewed for the first persons surveyed indicated they were ad- time—discovered, as it were—the viewer dicted to sex on the Internet.14 experiences a unique rush, accompanied by Any form of sexual sin is serious, wheth- a strong sexual fantasy. The viewer is not, er or not the person committing it is “ad- after all, simply enjoying the sight of an- dicted” to the sin or indulging it only on other person’s body, potent as that pleasure occasion; but when a person becomes de- might be. He is also creating an imaginary pendent on that behavior as a source of bond with the image he’s viewing, enjoying comfort or relief, the problem of sin is now a false but potent connection in which he accompanied by the problem of bondage. orchestrates and controls the entire sexual When numerous Christians have come un- encounter. He has, in short, discovered a der such bondage, the entire church, like a powerful and rewarding product, and like body with parts that are diseased or crip- any consumer, he will be inclined to repeat pled, must suffer. its use until he no longer simply enjoys it but becomes dependent on it. A Disruption That Weakens Christian counselor Robert Ellis describes Christian Marriages this hyperstimulating experience much as one would describe a narcotic rush: “Use Further problems are created when the use of pornography creates an exotic combina- of pornography invades Christian marriag- tion of internal stimulants which cascade es. It will eventually disrupt the unity, both through the bloodstream like liquid flesh. sexual and emotional, that is vitally crucial They create a sense of relief, excitement, ex- to stable marital life. When a group of Pharisees questioned Jesus on the ethics of divorce (Matt. 19:4–6), He articulated a basic standard for the hu- When numerous Christians have come under man sexual experience: sexual union is to such bondage, the entire church, like a body with be heterosexual (“He made them male and female”), independent (“a man shall leave fa- parts that are diseased or crippled, must suffer. ther and mother”), and monogamous (“one flesh”). Paul added that within the sanctity of a monogamous and permanent commit- hilaration, or pleasure—when these plea- ment, husband and wife are to attend to each surable, relieving surges get grooved into other’s sexual needs (1 Cor. 7:4–5) and reserve association with pornography, the flesh their sexual energies for each other, thus pre- gains control over the spirit and the prob- serving the uniqueness of their bond and lem becomes one of addiction. It is not un- avoiding moral transgressions (1 Cor. 7:2). common for pornography to elicit internal The benefits of a “one-flesh” union are surges as addictive as cocaine.”12 confirmed elsewhere in Scripture. A cur- This “addictive as cocaine” experience sory look at Old and New Testament figures is shared by millions of pornography’s confirms the wisdom of (continued on page 24)

Page 22 • Knowing & Doing | Summer 2010 “The Christian religion…does not begin in comfort; it beings in… dismay. If you look for truth, you may find comfort in the end: if you look for comfort you will not get either comfort or truth…” C.S. Lewis

Questions &Answers on C.S. Lewis

Q: Which books (of the ones he had written) were Lewis’s favorites? A: Actually it depends on how you ask the question. According to Walter Hooper, Lewis considered his most important work to be The Abolition of Man. He thought his best work was Till We Have Faces. Lewis’s favorite work was Perelandra.

Q: Did Lewis really deny that there was a historical period called the Renaissance? A: Even though he was appointed to the chair of Medi- eval and Renaissance literature at Cambridge, Lewis

questioned whether there was such a period as “the Photo used by permission of The Wade Renaissance.” Lewis defined the Renaissance as “an Center, Wheaton College, Wheaton, IL imaginary entity responsible for anything a modern writer ap- proves of in the fifteenth or sixteenth century.” He considered two titles for a series of lectures he was going to give at Cam- bridge: “Absence of the Renaissance” and “What Was Happen- ing While the Renaissance Was Not Taking Place.” He argued that dead civilizations (prior to rebirth) do not produce such classics as the King Arthur tales and the works of Dante, or cathedrals such as Chartres or Canterbury.

Summer 2010 | Knowing & Doing • Page 23 Darkening Our Minds (continued from page 22)

monogamy and the chaos much sex as their nonmonogamous coun- introduced by infidelity, terparts, and experienced half the domestic polygamy, or loss of sex- violence of those studied who either lived ual control, all of which together unmarried or lived alone.16 play key roles in some of In light of this, pornography is shown to the Bible’s greatest trag- be especially crippling to marriages, as it edies. Witness the bitter damages the ability of its users to maintain rivalry between Abra- an ongoing, committed union. The claim ham’s wife and her maid that it is a harmless product and practice and the painful repercus- belies the biblical and secular evidence that sions that result, the fool- it violates the one-flesh standard. The man ish loss of judgment that using pornography violates this standard, came with Herod’s sexual whether he is married or single. If he is sin- obsession with his step- gle, he violates it by engaging in random daughter, the death of a sexual fantasies with the innumerable wom- child and permanent fam- en he views in magazines or pornographic ily curse caused by David’s adultery, and the websites. He is, in essence, attempting to spiritual decline of Solomon’s faith because enjoy the ecstasy of sexual union without of his appetite for foreign women. A funda- any of its commitments or responsibilities mental lesson emerges: The one-flesh union and thus creates a false, temporal bond with provides psychological safety to individuals, phantoms. Since a one-flesh union is both stabilizes the family, and enhances produc- authentic and exclusive, he is falling far tivity and order within the community. short of the biblical standard. Jesus further clarified the concept of the When a married man uses porn, he vio- one-flesh union when He declared that lates the Matthew 5 standard as well: the adultery is not limited to actions but can sexual energy he has pledged to reserve for also occur in the heart: “Ye have heard that his wife is now being invested into his pri- it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt vate fantasies. He is, in essence, embezzling not commit adultery: But I say unto you, from his spouse what is rightfully hers, and That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust is instead spending it irresponsibly, much as after her hath committed adultery with her a gambler steals funds from his employer to already in his heart” (Matt. 5:27–28). Por- support his habit. What properly belongs to nography, which necessitates lusting after one person is thus stolen, making the term strangers, accordingly disrupts the one- “cheating” all the more applicable. flesh union, depriving husband and wife Secular studies confirm the crippling ef- of the very benefits the Bible promises to fect of pornography on a person’s ability to those who remain monogamous. maintain a monogamous bond. Research- In concurrence with the Bible, a growing ers Dolf Zimmerman and Jennings Bryant, number of secular theorists are also cele- for example, noted that continued exposure brating the wisdom of monogamous com- to pornography increased its user’s desires mitment. Studies show that it enhances the for sexual contacts and behaviors outside life span of men and women who practice their marriages,17 and author Diana Rus- it15 and that the quality of life improves in sell found that pornography leads men and proportion to the practice of fidelity. Drug women to experience conflict, suffering, and alcohol abuse dropped significantly and sexual dissatisfaction.18 among married test subjects in a University Common sense would lead to the same of Chicago study, and monogamous indi- conclusion. Each of us contains a limited viduals made more money, had twice as amount of sexual/emotional energy, which

Page 24 • Knowing & Doing | Summer 2010 “One road leads home and a thousand roads lead into the wilderness.” C.S. Lewis will either be reserved for a monogamous to violent forms of pornography led to anti- bond or spent elsewhere. Our ability to sus- social attitude and behavior.20 Clinical psy- tain a bond with one partner cannot help chologist Victor Kline concurs, noting that but be impacted by the level of energy we’ve men who consume pornography on a regu- reserved for that partnership. lar basis experienced increased aggression As a counselor, I see this principle played in attitude and behavior, noticed an increase out repeatedly. When a husband engages in in “rape fantasies,” and felt increased indif- the use of pornography, his wife almost al- ference toward women in general.21 ways notices a certain detachment on his Like any drug, pornography’s effects part: less time, less sexual interaction, less vary according to the general health of attention. She suffers; he embezzles; ev- the individual who uses it. In other words, eryone loses. Pornography systematically while a person will be adversely affected weakens marriages within the body of by using an illegal drug, the specific effect Christ, for it disrupts the bonds crucial to a will probably vary from person to person. healthy marriage. A person already predisposed toward violence may well become more violent when A Distortion That Darkens the intoxicated; a person more inclined to de- Christian Mind pression may find himself acutely suicidal when under the influence. Similarly, not The eye is indeed the lamp of the body every porn user becomes a rapist or sexual (Matt. 6:22–23). If a person’s eye is perpetu- deviant, but there can be no question of its ally exposed to darkness, there comes an adverse effects on the user’s thinking. inevitable distortion in that person’s think- I can testify to this firsthand, both as a for- ing. It is in this darkening of the mind that mer user of pornography and as a counselor. pornography makes its leap from an act that Having discovered the “dark magic,” I found is morally repugnant to one that has fright- ening consequences. “Evil communications corrupt good manners” (1 Cor. 15:33), Paul warned, and the impact on the mind of a Pornography systematically weakens marriages Christian consistently exposed to the wrong within the body of Christ, for it disrupts the types of communication is immeasurable. Zimmerman and Bryant, for example, bonds crucial to a healthy marriage. found that continued exposure to pornography affected a male viewer’s basic beliefs about sexuality in general and women in myself increasingly withdrawn from genu- particular.19 They likewise noted that expo- ine interpersonal relationships and more iso- sure to porn increased its viewers’ desires for lated, defensive, and detached. Accustomed deviant behaviors, such as sado-masochism, to the false world of phantom relations, I and also desensitized their attitudes toward found real relations less and less tolerable. I rape. Psychologist Edward Donnerstein of also developed a callousness toward women, the University of Wisconsin came to similar which I repeatedly see in my clients. They conclusions, noting that even brief exposure existed for me—I visually (continued on page 26)

Summer 2010 | Knowing & Doing • Page 25 Darkening Our Minds (continued from page 25)

used them daily via magazines and videos; Repentance: Reject the behavior by sep- I controlled them in my fantasy world; and arating yourself from it. If you have not I became less tolerant of any defects in real separated yourself from it, you haven’t re- women as I spent more time in the company pented. In practical terms, that may mean of unreal, though perfect, images of women. purchasing a filtering device (or switching I had discovered a world in which both I and to an Internet service provider that pro- all around me would be perfect. In the shad- hibits pornographic material from coming owlands of pornographic imagery, people through), or doing away with the Internet altogether. It may mean discontinuing the cable service on your television. In short, Now the person finds that what could have been a do whatever is necessary to separate your- brief skirmish, if it had been attended to earlier, has self from the behavior on which you’ve become dependent. become full-blown war. He chose dishonor over Discipleship: Establish yourself in the battle. In the end, he winds up with both. daily discipline of prayer and Bible study. If you do not have a regular devotional life, begin now by naming a book of the Bible existed for my pleasure, and I existed to rule you can begin reading today. If you haven’t and indulge. In short, I had adopted a mind- read the Bible before, or you’ve been out of set so far away from the mind of Christ that the habit for a while, let me suggest the fol- I decided to usurp His authority for my own, lowing books, and read them in this order thus completing the darkening of my mind. to get you started: the Gospel of John, Ro- C.S. Lewis alluded to this self-idolatry mans, Ephesians, James, and Proverbs. Fol- when he described the world of sexual fantasy low up these daily readings with a time of as being “a harem of imaginary brides. And prayer, following the model of prayer Christ this harem, once admitted, works against a taught in Matthew 6:9–13. Prayer and the man ever getting out and really uniting with reading of Scripture are requirements for a real woman. For the harem is always acces- anyone wanting to renew his or her mind; sible, always subservient, calls for no sacrific- they will diffuse the power of deeply in- es or adjustments, and can be endowed with grained sexual images. erotic and psychological attributes which no Accountability: Start a relationship with at real woman can rival. In the end, they be- least one believer who knows about your use come merely the medium through which he of pornography. Have this person ask you, increasingly adores himself.”22 on a weekly basis, whether you’ve repeated this behavior and how well you’ve resisted Piercing the Darkness the temptations to repeat it. Remember, sexual sin thrives in the dark. A large part When a person is angry enough, scared of recovery from it lies in your willingness enough, or frustrated enough, that person to keep your private behavior in the light will take action. So it is with pornography. of another believer’s scrutiny and prayers. If you recognize its impact on your life, and This, like the daily discipline of prayer and you are sufficiently concerned to take ac- Scripture reading, is required if you’re seri- tion, that is the beginning of true change. ous about your repentance. The journey away from pornography, like the journey away from sexual sin in general, is so simple it escapes many people. It can FOR FREE AUDIO AND VIDEO RECORDINGS be reduced to three simple principles: re- from our Apologetic Evangelism Series, visit pentance, discipleship, and accountability. www.cslewisinstitute.org/resources/index.htm.

Page 26 • Knowing & Doing | Summer 2010 A Battle Worth Fighting

After the English Parliament’s 1938 appease- ment in Czechoslovakia, Winston Churchill saw the danger of choosing peace when hon- or and common sense called for battle. “You have been given the choice between war and dishonor,” he said. “You have chosen dishon- or, and you will have war!” History, of course, would confirm his prophetic warning: refus- ing to fight an honorable battle may afford a temporary peace, but in the long run it’s too costly. Delaying a necessary battle may well result in a devastating, full-scale war. Every person who has become involved in sexual sin makes a decision between battle and dishonor. As always, dishonor looks like an easier choice. Dishonor means terrible price to you, your loved ones, and making peace with your sin. It means telling the church. God grant that today you find yourself that after so many years, it’s become yourself ready to abandon the dark and such a part of your life that trying to cut it see again how wonderful the true light out would be too traumatic and too uncom- can be. fortable. It would mean saying goodbye to a reliable (though destructive) friend, and the Notes battle to abstain from this “friend,” with all the temptations and struggles it would in- 1. All Bible quotations are from the King James volve, seems too demanding, so a dishonor- Version unless otherwise noted. able compromise is therefore reached when 2. Marilyn Elias, “Cybersex Follows Mars, Venus a person decides to live in peaceful coexis- Patterns,” USA Today, February 26, 2002. tence with his (or her) sexual sin. 3. Ibid. Tyrants, however, never coexist peace- 4. “Zogby/Focus Survey Reveals Shocking In- fully; by their nature, they demand internet Sex Statistics,” Legal Facts (Family Research creased territory, fewer limitations, and Council), vol. 2, no. 3, March 30, 2000, cited in Na- more captives. The sin a person decides tional Coalition for the Protection of Children and not to go to war against soon demands Families Web site, “Current Statistics,” http://php. more territory. It begins invading career, eos.net/nationalcoalition/stat.phtml?ID=53. family, health, and reputation. Now the 5. Ibid. person finds that what could have been 6. “Pornography among Christians?” Los Angeles a brief skirmish, if it had been attended Times, March 30, 2001. to earlier, has become full-blown war. He 7. Ibid. chose dishonor over battle. In the end, he 8. Ramona Richards, “Dirty Little Secret,” Christi- winds up with both. anityToday.com, http://www.christianitytoday.com/ If your mind has become a battlefield— tcw/ 2003/005/5.58.html. darkened by the use of pornography, 9. Zogby. which has distorted your basic attitudes 10. James P. Draper, quoted in Tim Wilkins, toward life—you have already yielded “First Person: How to Surf the Internet and Avoid a good deal of territory, and your will- Wiping Out to Porn,” Baptist Press News, October ingness to concede it has already cost a 30, 2003. (continued on page 28)

Summer 2010 | Knowing & Doing • Page 27 Recommended Reading Two Books from Vishal Mangalwadi Truth and Transformation Vishal has been dubbed by some as “India’s Francis Schaeffer.” He studied with Schaeffer in his earlier days and spent considerable time at Cambridge University researching the content of this book. However, he is not just an academic, but has worked with the poorest of the poor in India. In fact, this book began when Vishal was thrown into jail for (guess what?) serving victims of a hailstorm. He brings an Indian perspective to the cultural challenges of the West, arguing that the foundations of what made the West great are crumbling: morality, human dignity, rationality, technology, and character. These foun- dational ideas that have shaped our culture are rooted in the Bible. As these and other principles are replaced by lies, we need to transform our culture by returning to the truth. The first part of the book is the diagnosis of the problem, and the second part the remedy for our sickness. You will find many of the observations he makes and the stories he tells unforgettable.

The World of Gurus Vishal provides a superb, brilliant response to Hinduism. He discusses the leading gurus that have shaped Hinduism and provides a brilliant critique of their positions. He knows what he is talking about because before he was a Christian, he studied with one of the gurus.

Darkening Our Minds (continued from page 27)

11. Miller v. California, 413 U.S. 15 (1973). of Rape,” cited in “The Documented Effects of Por- 12. Robert Ellis, “The Chemical Science of Pornog- nography,” The Forerunner, http://www.forerun- raphy,” AFA Online, http://www.afa.net/pornogra- ner.com/forerunner/X0388_Effects_of_Pornograp. phy/re 011303.a sp. html. 13. Alvin Cooper, et al., “Online Sexual Compul- 18. Diana Russell, “Rape and Marriage,” cited in sivity: Getting Tangled in the Net,” Sexual Addiction “The Documented Effects of Pornography.” and Compulsivity 6, 2 (1999): 79–104. 19. Zimmerman and Bryant. 14. Linda Carroll, “Addicted to Online Porn,” June 20. Edward Donnerstein, “Pornography and Vio- 27, 2000, http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3078769/. lence against Women,” cited in “The Documented 15. Christina Hoff Sommers, The War Against Boys: Effects of Pornography.” How Misguided Feminism Is Harming Our Young Men 21. Victor Kline, “The Effects of Pornography,” (New York: Simon and Schuster, 2000), http://www. C.A.S.E, http://www.c-a-s-e.net/The Effects of Porn. andtheylivedhappilyeverafter.com/48.htm. htm. 16. Ibid. 22. C.S. Lewis, quoted in Laurie Hall, An Affair of 17. Dolf Zimmerman and Jennings Bryant, “Por- the Mind (Colorado Springs, CO: Focus on the Fam- v nography, Sexual Callousness, and the Trivialization ily, 1998), 111.

Page 28 • Knowing & Doing | Summer 2010 “Every Christian is to become a little Christ. The whole purpose of becoming a Christian is simply nothing else.” C.S. Lewis

“I Am Not Ashamed of the Gospel” (continued from page 11)

An abandonment of the gospel rarely hap- common criminal on a Roman cross. After pens by design; it usually happens by de- that he was proclaimed as the Son of God grees. The gospel which was once central in and Savior of the world by a bunch of fish- one generation becomes assumed in the next. ermen from Galilee who claimed that they’d Sometimes good things—things like church seen him back from the dead. We now have growth or inspiring music or community to take their word for it. service or political action for social justice— God didn’t intervene in history to bring these good things begin to crowd their way salvation in obvious might and majesty, but into the center of the church’s life. But where in a veiled way that was bound to look to the the gospel is simply assumed, it soon begins world like weakness and folly. That’s why we to be forgotten. May it never be. are tempted to be ashamed of this gospel. We must be deliberate and bold in seek- Paul had heard the sneers of the cultured ing to keep the gospel at the center of who crowd in Athens when he told them about we are as a church, because by its very na- Jesus being raised from the dead. And he had ture we will be tempted to set it to one side experienced the rejection of his own people and put something else in its place. That’s when he preached this message of a crucified why we must take to heart those powerful words of the apostle Paul in Romans 1:16— ”I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone We must be deliberate and bold in seeking to keep who believes—for the Jew first, and also for the gospel at the center of who we are as a church, the Greek.” because by its very nature we will be tempted to set Paul affirms that he is not ashamed of the gospel, for he knows well that that is always it to one side and put something else in its place. a real temptation, for God, in the majesty of his own wisdom, designed it that way. This gospel doesn’t come in an impressive man- Messiah of Israel. Paul knew that this mes- ner that appeals to the values of this world. sage of the gospel was an offense to the Jews Jesus wasn’t born into a noble household in and foolishness to the Gentiles. He knew the a regal palace as a royal prince, pampered temptation to be ashamed of this message. and adored by all. No, he was born the son That temptation is no less real in our day. of a simple teenage girl, under the cloud of The “gospel” has all sorts of negative as- moral scandal, in a cattle stall. He lived a sociations in our culture today. Some dis- humble life as a carpenter in Palestine, be- miss it simply for being old-fashioned and fore beginning a short career as an itinerant out of date. We live in a world where last preacher, who was condemned to die as a week’s news is old news. (continued on page 30)

Summer 2010 | Knowing & Doing • Page 29 “I Am Not Ashamed of the Gospel” (continued from page 29)

How foolish it is to think that this man who others rather than being served. The great- lived 2,000 years ago could possibly make est among you will be the slave of all, Jesus any difference today. said. Blessed are the poor in spirit, the meek, Some are offended by its exclusive and ab- and those who know they are sick. It’s about solutist character. “You think you alone have a road to glory, paved by the stones of suf- the truth?” some ask. What about the sincere fering. It’s about a Savior who calls us to Muslim, the Hindu, the Buddhist or the mor- come and die to ourselves. al agnostic—are they lost without Christ? It is The gospel is still a scandal; it is still con- an offense even to suggest that they are. sidered foolishness in many circles today. One Add to that the harsh and judgmental might well be tempted to be ashamed of it. character associated with the gospel. It’s But Paul will not succumb to such temp- about law, righteousness, and judgment— tation, for Paul’s eyes have been opened to and even about a blood sacrifice that atones see that that gory cross, that bloody cross, that cross of Christ is, in fact, a thing of great beauty. Nothing is more important than this message of the I’m reminded of the story of the girl who gospel of Jesus Christ—this good news of the love of was deeply ashamed of her mother. The mother’s hands were grotesquely scarred God in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. from burns, and the girl insisted that her mother always wear gloves to cover up their ugliness. Then one day the girl asked her for our sin, appeasing the wrath of God. mother how her hands had become so badly That kind of language is just not used in scarred. “I burned my hands when you were polite company today. only a baby,” she said, “when I reached out And then there is the supernatural nature to pull you out of a fire.” From that day, noth- of this gospel. Christians talk about Jesus’ ing gave that girl more pride than her moth- miracles and his resurrection, and everybody er’s mangled hands. They became to her the knows that these things just can’t happen. most beautiful hands in all the world. It’s all legend; it’s primitive folklore—nobody Are you embarrassed by the old-fash- can believe in all that anymore. ioned, unsophisticated, supernatural, and This gospel is just not in tune with the exclusive message of divine truth known sophisticated world in which we live. What as the gospel? Are you ashamed of the One does it have to do with the network news who endured the humiliation of being spat and the Washington Post and the intellectu- upon, mocked, beaten, and then nailed to al centers in our major universities? Don’t a cross? Are you ashamed of a Savior who think you can say you believe this gospel shed his own blood for sinners like you and stuff, much less try to speak about it to any- me? You shouldn’t be—for there’s only one body else, and still fit in to the mainstream thing worse than you being ashamed of him, of American culture. It won’t work. If you and that is him being ashamed of you. talk about this gospel in public, people We must never be ashamed of the gospel. will be sure to think you’re one of those We can never let the gospel get pushed aside religious fanatics, those “fundamentalists” in the preaching and teaching of the church. whom they read about in the newspapers. Nothing is more important than this mes- Let’s face it, there is nothing impressive sage of the gospel—this good news of the about this gospel message. This gospel is love of God in the life, death, and resurrec- not about the high and mighty, but the tion of Jesus Christ. That is what the church weak and lowly. It’s not about self-promo- must be about—learning to live all of life in v tion, but self-abasement. It’s about serving the light of this glorious good news.

Page 30 • Knowing & Doing | Summer 2010 Knowing & Doing is a publication of the C.S. Lewis Institute, Inc.

Production Editor, Karen Rummel

SENIOR FELLOW Thoughts to Ponder James M. Houston, Ph.D. SENIOR FELLOW Arthur W. Lindsley, Ph.D. SENIOR FELLOW William L. Kynes, Ph.D. TEACHING FELLOW Covenant Prayer Thomas S. Heard, Ph.D. From John Wesley’s Covenant Service, 1780. TEACHING FELLOW Chris T. Morris TEACHING FELLOW I am no longer my own, but thine. Joel S. Woodruff, Ed.D. PRESIDENT Put me to what thou wilt, rank me with whom thou wilt. Kerry A. Knott DIRECTOR OF MINISTRY Put me to doing, put me to suffering. Thomas A. Tarrants, III, D.Min. EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT Let me be employed by thee or laid aside for thee, Thomas W. Simmons exalted for thee or brought low for thee. ADMINISTRATOR Karen J. Adams Let me be full, let me be empty. OFFICE & EDITORIAL ASSISTANT Karen Olink Let me have all things, let me have nothing. PROGRAM COORDINATOR Catherine McDermott I freely and heartily yield all things BOARD OF DIRECTORS Timothy Bradley to thy pleasure and disposal. Bill Deven Elizabeth B. Fitch, Esq. And now, O glorious and blessed God, Cherie Harder James R. Hiskey Robin King Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, Kerry A. Knott Steven J. Law thou art mine, and I am thine. So be it. Jeff Lindeman, Ph.D. Arthur W. Lindsley, Ph.D., And the covenant which I have made on earth, (Emeritus) Chris T. Morris let it be ratified in heaven. Marlise Streitmatter Susan Ward Amen. © 2010 C.S. Lewis Institute. Portions of this publication may be reproduced for noncommercial, local church, or ministry use without prior permission. For quantity reprints or other uses, please contact the CSLI offices.

Knowing & Doing is published by the C.S. Lewis Institute and is available upon request. A suggested annual contribution of $25 or more is requested to provide for its production and publication. An electronic version (PDF file) is available as well and can be obtained via the web site: www.cslewisinstitute.org. Requests for changes of address may be made in writing to: C.S. LEWIS INSTITUTE; 8001 Braddock Road, Suite 300; Springfield, VA 22151-2110 or via e-mail to: [email protected].

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