On Astrology

The news reports made it into the category called "news of the weird." Scientists have discovered that the zodiac signs modern culture uses are all wrong. Yes, you read that right.

It seems that when astrologers laid things out more than 3,000 years ago (before the birth of Jesus Christ), they were based on certain alignment of planets and stars against the earth. But over the years, the earth apparently wobbled a little on its axis. So now everything is off by about one month. My sign used to be Virgo. But not anymore. It turns out I was never a Virgo. Instead, I am Leo. (See the chart at http://www.abc-7.com/Global/story.asp?S-13828331).

I will confess that my reaction to this was similar to the reaction I had when the Catholic church did away with Purgatory (http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article598134.ece). A type of sinister looking holy smirk spread across my face. I'd always known the Catholic theology had holes in it. Finally the pope and I were getting on the same page about that.

I've always loved Catholic people. But as I studied the Word of God, it became clear to me that they, for the most part, are a group of people living under deception. Worse yet, they are ignorant of the deception. They don't even know they are wrong!

And so it is with people who follow their horoscope, pay attention to zodiac signs etc. I've always known that was a farce. But the troubling part of deception like this is that it often feels as if its true. In fact, that's usually how the deception proliferates ... it comes disguised as truth.

I don't know if it's me, but I think I'm noticing a lot more posts on Facebook, for example, from people whom I know profess to be born-again Christians. They are posting their horoscope. They are asking people what their sign is. Is it possible that they aren't conscious of the fact that a horoscope intends to gain (or provide) insight into a person's character and tell the future of that person's life? Or do they just get that entertainment value out of it?

The theology of astrology (if you will) is a basic belief that the planets and the stars have power over what happens in our lives. Those who study this theology become experts. They can tell you things about yourself that perhaps even you didn't know. And they can predict your future. It is against this backdrop that the worst of them purport to give you advice and help you make important decisions in your life.

It's a troubling sign for me, to read these fellow Christians posting about their astrological signs. The Bible expressly forbids divination, sorcery, and hidden arts (Deuteronomy 18:10-14). God's people (that's you and me) are to follow only God for direction in our lives (Deuteronomy 18:15). Any other source of guidance, information or revelation is to be ignored and even rejected (Acts 16:16-18).

You see, the truth of the matter is that astrology opposes biblical teaching in at least two important ways. First, it advocates faith in something other than God, and credits something that God created with divine, supernatural power. Second, it places our attention on something other than God for our source of power and guidance. In fact, it denies God's perfect will for my life and His perfect control over all of my circumstances.

Christ-followers are to be reading our Bibles and praying every day. This is how the character of Christ takes over us. It is also our principal source of knowledge about how to move forward, what decisions to make, etc. There is to be no other source of such influence in our lives.

Consulting your horoscope is a direct and clear violation of God's plan for our lives. That the so-called astrology experts have just discovered a massive error in a so-called theology that is older than Christ Himself just provides further evidence of the futility of such wisdom. Think about it. People who have been following astrology for over 3,000 years have been deceived.

I thought I was a Virgo. I was told who Virgos are, how they function and predictions were given to me all my life. I've been told how to make decisions as a Virgo too. Then all of a sudden, I'm a Leo ... an entirely different person. What exactly does that do to an individual --- to mess with their identity like that?

The definition of who I am was decided on the cross. God knew me before I was even in my mother's womb. He had a perfect plan for my life (Jeremiah 29:11), and has provided me with His Spirit to guide me and help me make right choices and good decisions through out my days. So let us put away the entertainment value that we get out of astrology. It's like a false religion. Sadly, the further it goes, the more false it gets.

Fortunately, I don't have much stock in astrology anyway. I used to. But thanks be to God for revealing the truth to me, and exposing the lies I was believing. The thing is that I'm not rattled by this revelation of the whole shift in our zodiac signs which needs to be made, because it's been wrong forever. But for some of my Christian brothers and sisters, and for some of my non-Christian friends as well, they must be wondering what it's all about. Let's lead them to the truth. And in the process, we'll march right over the lies.

Now, my friend ... what sign are you? "Well, you see, I'm a sign of the cross!"

The Face of Christianity

I had breakfast the other day with a guy that I'm becoming good friends with. We attend the same mega-church and hadn't known each other before. But we kept hearing about each other. He reached out to me first. I'm pretty glad that he did too. A breakfast with Brad (that's his name) is complete with a lot of food for the mind and soul. I guess you could say it's thought leadership.

My new friend has founded a non-profit organization aimed squarely at Changing the Face of Christianity. You can check it out at http://www.changingthefacechristianity.com/. At first glance, you have to think about the mission of Brad's organization. I mean really think.

What is the face of Christianity? Why does it need to be changed? How would you change it? What would it look like after the change has occurred? How will we measure success in this mission? Even if I answer all of these questions - how can I know if my answers are accurate? What if my own perceptions need to be changed?

Most everyone has heard the analogy of people not being able to "see the trees for the forest." What it means is that we often can't see things from the inside looking out - as someone looking from the outside in can see. For example, I may live in a brick house. But from the inside looking out, I can't see any of the bricks. However, someone standing outside may only see the bricks.

At any rate, the forest-for-the-trees analogy proves true in most of life's circumstances. I suspect it proves true in Christianity. The people who call themselves Christians absolutely cannot see Christianity the same way as people who don't. Those observing Christianity from the outside looking in are getting an entirely different perspective. So one might ask my friend Brad if he's going to change the face of Christianity for the Christians ... or for the non-Christians? Or is he going to do it for both groups? And if so, is the approach the same for both groups?

The face of Christianity is admittedly a little disturbing sometimes. I've often thought I could write a book about Christians behaving badly. In fact, I've assumed that would be the title of my book, "Christians Behaving Badly." Unfortunately I have plenty of anecdotal evidence that I could use to write the book.

When it comes to Christians behaving badly, there are the extreme stories - like the Westboro Baptist Church in Kansas that marches on soldiers funerals declaring that God is killing U.S. soldiers because He hates our tolerance of homosexuality. And there are the more innocuous stories - like the ladies who installed a metal cross in the lawn of the church ... and hung a donuts & coffee sign on it to direct newcomers to the coffee bar.

So how did it get to this? Have we always had this problem ... of Christians not acting very Christ-like? There was Peter, a disciple of Christ, who denied that he even knew Christ three times before Jesus was crucified. Wasn't that a case of a Christ-follower behaving badly? (I think it was!) Did the early New Testament church(es) have this problem of people who attended regularly and were committed --- but who didn't look very much like Jesus?

Often we take aim at the people who call themselves Christians and don't come to church. "ChrEasters" is a moniker given to them. They are the ones who generally only attend church on Christmas and Easter. Those of us who attend regularly, volunteer and tithe tend to look down upon on the "ChrEasters." We subtly judge them for their lack of commitment. We may even question whether they are really Christians or not. And of course, we'd like to encourage them to act more like us --- and be at church every week.

But what's the truth here? Are the people who attend church regularly really more Christ-like? Does church attendance make a difference? It was Mahatma Gandhi I believe, who said, "I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ." Similarly Mark Twain was quoted saying, "If Christ were here now there is one thing he would not be - a Christian." Essentially they were saying that the face of Christianity is pretty unattractive.

Honestly, I get their point point. I know a lot of so-called Christians. Many of them are difficult to love. They don't look anything like Christ. And while I am called to love them, I don't necessarily like them. They are broken people and they drag their brokenness with them everywhere they go. Oddly enough, some of them act more broken than they really are! In other words it isn't that they're weak or lack faith. Rather it's that they are lazy and selfish.

So changing the face of Christianity is becoming a more interesting topic for me these days. As I contemplate the dilemma and visit with my new friend who's been called to this important mission, I find myself thinking in business terms. Perhaps Jesus needs to re-brand Himself. Can we re-position Christianity in the marketplace? Does this organization (the broader body of Christians) need a massive paradigm shift? If so, what are we shifting it from? What will we shift it to?

One of the dilemmas that those of us inside Christianity seem to find ourselves in is that it cannot be measured in the ways we typically measure things. God said His ways would be different than ours. Somehow I suspect that God really does want to change the face of Christianity. Ironically, we are the face of Christianity --- those of us who consider ourselves Christ-followers. And it occurs to me that if we were more focused on looking like Christ, thinking like Christ and living like Christ, we would be changed people. And our face would change.

So I'm committed to changing the face of Christianity. I plan to stand right beside my brother Brad, locking arms in his mission. And I plan to start by changing that face that I see in the mirror!