John Michael Lane

Created in the Image of God. That is quite a bold statement. As Christians we know that this statement is true. We teach it in Sunday school, homeschool, and in private schools; however, we don’t teach it in a way that its applicable to our lives. We teach it as an abstract concept that, while true, doesn’t offer any guidance as to who we are, how we should live, teach, parent, or educate.

I’m a teacher at Artios Academies (A homeschool program) where I teach among other things, Worldview. Right now we are talking about this very idea. We are asking ourselves and delving into what it means to be an Image Bearer of God. Surely such an idea has profound implications that should impact every area of life, especially the areas of parenting, education/homeschooling, and our chosen vocation. However, in order to begin to understand the implications of such an idea, we must first begin to understand in what areas are we image bearers of God. While there are many possible areas, I am going to focus on nine areas (or atributes) that we see this idea.

1. God is Purposeful
2. God is Rational
3. God is Creative
4. We are Creators
5. We are Creatures of Morality
6. We exercise Free Will
7. We Exercise Dominion
8. We are Emotional
9. We are Relational

Obviously, this is to much to go through in one blog post. With that in mind, I’ve decided to turn this post into a series of posts. I will try to post about it once a week until we cover all nine areas. I hope this series will be a thought provoking series that will both challenge and encourage all who read it. But before we begin, what are your thoughts?  What do you think about these nine areas? Do you agree or disagree with these attributes? Post your thoughts and comments below.

Legalism is a hot button topic right now. Its a word that is often thrown around without much thought given to what the word even means. Its easy to look at colleges, churches, and families with strict rules regarding behavior and label them legalistic. To be a Baptist preacher one must abstain from alcohol, to attend BJU one must adhere to a certain dress code, to be a good Christian you mustn’t curse. All of these statements could be labeled legalistic; however, I believe legalism is something more than a construct of rules regarding one’s behavior.

To understand whether or not one is being legalistic, one must look to the heart. Legalism is not a construct of rules, its a belief. Its a theology that depends on behavior. Its a theology that believes that salvation comes from the Law rather than faith in Christ. When one looks at baptists, BJU, or conservative families, its easy to label them as Legalistic, but without knowing their hearts, when we call them legalistic based on only their behavior are we not being legalistic? Are we not holding them to a set of standards that we hold regarding what legalism is?

To sum up, calling a rule or standard legalistic without first understanding the heart of the rule is indeed, legalistic.

My wife and I recently saw the new movie by Sherwood Pictures, Courageous. I can honestly say it was the best movie I’ve seen this year. Now, those of you who know me know how critical I am of Christians in the arts. Its not because I don’t think Christians should be involved in the arts; but rather, when Christians are involved in the arts they tend to be really bad at it. That being said, this film was really good for many reasons, but mainly for three I list below.

Production Quality:
Most Christian films have very poor production quality. I’m not hating on Christian film makers but the bottom line is that most christian films don’t have a big budget and don’t have the experience to make a good film. That being said, Courageous was an exception. They still didn’t have a HUGE budget, but the production quality was equal to any other A list movie out there, and the artistry of it was equally as good.

Story:
The story of courageous was great! It was funny, deep, and heart felt. There wasn’t anything ground breaking about the story, but it was sure communicated well and with excellence. Yes, its still corny in parts, but it was still better than any other movie I’ve seen this year! My wife and I left the movie having laughed more than when we saw “Date Night” and cried (at least Windy cried) more than any movie we’ve ever seen!

The Gospel Message:
The movie Courageous had the Gospel message in it. It was so prevalent that it I even felt like it was preaching to me (and not in a bad way). Christian artists will understand just how difficult it is to create a movie that contains the Gospel Message that is neither completely corny and preachy, nor so vague that its drowning in metaphors to an extent that Woody Allen can’t figure out the point of the movie.

Bottom Line:
This was a great movie that I would encourage anyone to see. Its not quite where I would like to see Christian film, but its sure closer than anything else I’ve seen.

There is a rising trend of Modern Skepticism in today’s culture. It’s not an atheistic skepticism, post-modern skepticism, or even an apathetic skepticism; rather, it’s a form of philosophical skepticism. It’s a skepticism that believes in the existence of truth, and even pursues after truth. However, this new skepticism, while it searches for truth, claims it cannot be objectively known. This skepticism is starting to creep into the evangelical church. The most obvious modern evangelical skeptic is Pastor/Author Rob Bell.

Rob Bell will passionately search for truth; however, he won’t claim to have found it. Rob Bell will say, “How we respond to Christ is terribly important; but, how things play out is firmly in the realm of speculation”.

Read that sentence again. “Firmly in the realm of speculative thought”. The problem with this statement is that man is still stuck in Plato’s cave. All man can do is speculate at the shadows cast on the cave’s back wall. It denies the doctrine of Revelation. The idea that God has revealed certain things to Man through Scripture and that Man can come to know absolute Truth through the study of scripture. The Skeptic will merely view scripture as an intellectual stimulation, not  as truth.

This is the same type of skeptic that St. Augustine fought against. As Christians, we should rejoice in the fact that God has revealed truth and knowledge to us, not cover it up with Skepticism.

St. Augustine. The Prodigal Saint.

St. Augustine was a man who lived way back in the day (354-430AD). He was a hedonist who said before he became a Christian, “God, Grant me chastity and continence…but not yet”.  However, at one point under a fig tree, God saved him. With a zeal for Christ and the Gospel, St. Augustine of Hippo rose and began preaching the Gospel. There are many things one can learn from St. Augustine, but there are three in particular that I learned.

1. Truth is Knowable
   1. Augustine believed that we can all learn and know truth. He fought against the skeptics arguing for a foundation of truth. He argued that in the act of self-consciousness, the mind’s objective reality is known.
2. All Truth Comes from God.
   1. While augustine did argue for truth, he understood Plato’s analogy of the cave. He understood that Man cannot know absolute truth apart while he exists in the cave. Something must release man from the cave. Augustine argues that God’s revelation to man was that release. Truth and knowledge come from God.
3. The Problem of Evil and the Nature of Free Will.
   1. St. Augustine answered the problem of evil and explained the nature of Free will. In Augustine’s view, before the fall, Humanity had Perfect Free Will and Perfect Liberty. Man had the will to choose something and the liberty to actually carry out his will. Man had the will and liberty to do good AND to do evil. After humanity fell, man still had free will, but man lost his liberty. After the fall, man has the will to do evil, and the Liberty to do ONLY evil.

While there are many things we can learn from St. Augustine and many other doctrines that he began to systemize (Original Sin, Trinity, etc.) these are three things that I learned from him. I love his writings, and I love the story he has.

I recently read an article in the New York Times regarding the poor state of mathematics education in the United States. Ever since NCLB, districts, schools and teachers have had to teach mathematics as a way for students to score well on the SAT. Math and other subjects are being taught in a way that has no real world applications.

“Today, American high schools offer a sequence of algebra, geometry, more algebra, pre-calculus and calculus (or a “reform” version in which these topics are interwoven). This has been codified by the Common Core State Standards, recently adopted by more than 40 states. This highly abstract curriculum is simply not the best way to prepare a vast majority of high school students for life.”

Teaching a concrete subject like mathematics in an abstract way that is separated from how we all use mathematics is a flawed way of teaching. It only confirms to students that they will never really use mathematics after highschool. After all, when was the last time you used pre-calculus?

We recently finished staff training for Artios Academies. During staff training I gave a workshop on “Project Centered Teaching”. While this workshop was focused on teaching the arts, I gave an example of when mathematics became real to me.

For my 14th birthday, my Grandmother gave me a mutual fund with $100.00 in it. I knew that the 5 year average of this mutual fund garnered a 10% annual return that compounded monthly. As we all do when we we see the prospect of making money, I took out my calculator and tried to see how long it would take me to make $10,000. I saw that if I put $110.00 per month into the mutual fund at a 10% ROI that compounded monthly, I would have $10,974.00 in my mutual fund by the time I was 20!

When I figured that out, Math became very real to me! It wasn’t some abstract formula, I had just used algebra to make money! Who wouldn’t study Algebra if they knew it made money! Taking math out of the realm of abstraction and into the realm of life application is how we should study math. Consider the quote from the NYT article below:

“Imagine replacing the sequence of algebra, geometry and calculus with a sequence of finance, data and basic engineering. In the finance course, students would learn the exponential function, use formulas in spreadsheets and study the budgets of people, companies and governments. In the data course, students would gather their own data sets and learn how, in fields as diverse as sports and medicine, larger samples give better estimates of averages. In the basic engineering course, students would learn the workings of engines, sound waves, TV signals and computers. Science and math were originally discovered together, and they are best learned together now.”

The problem with Education in this country isn’t what we are teaching, but rather, how we are teaching it. At Artios we teach subjects in an integrated, creative manner. Its a method that makes the subjects real to the students immediately. The article ends with the following quote, and it is a quote that can be applied to all forms of education, not just mathematics.

“It is through real-life applications that mathematics emerged in the past, has flourished for centuries and connects to our culture now.”

I strongly encourage you to read the entire article in the New York Times. Look at the underlying philosophy of the article. Think about applying this method of education and teaching to all subjects, not just mathematics.

Pride must be the most pervasive of sins. It can creep into the hearts of even the most religious and faithful of men. But how can we cope with it? How, as christians, are we to overcome this sin? The most obvious, short, and simple answer is Christ. Through Christ we can be set free from the bondage of pride. When we approach Christ with pride and self-righteousness, our sins and lowliness will be exposed. We must acknowledge that we are totally and completely unworthy to stand in the presence of God, let alone, experience his Grace and Mercy.

“When you feel yourself to be utterly unworthy, you have hit the truth” -Spurgeon

I love this quote by Spurgeon. I love that Spurgeon uses the phrase “…you have hit the truth”. He doesn’t say, “and you will see God”. While the latter might be true, Spurgeon’s says “You have hit THE TRUTH”. The one truth that man has is that we are totally fallen, utterly unworthy, and irredeemable. When man begins to understand and internalize this doctrine of total depravity, Christ and the Cross become more glorified, and man becomes humbled.

So, how should Christians fight Pride? With Truth.

Today I’m guest posting over at Seven Sentences about the subject of Inspiration! Head over there and let me know your thoughts! If you’re new to my blog, take a look through my blog! Its fairly new so I’d love to hear your thoughts! You can also subscribe to my newsletter below!

• Biblical Worldview Series
• Spurgeon Book Give Away!
• Woe is Me: Three Ways we Humble Ourselves Before God.

After two incredibly fast weeks of Artios Outpost summer camps, I’m back to blogging. I must say that I have missed blogging these past couple weeks, however, camps and the blog were not going to happen at the same time. That being said, now that camps are over, I have quite a bit of content coming and I’m looking forward to hearing your thoughts on what I write! I’m also going to be guest posting quite a bit over the next few months, so keep an eye out for some links to other blogs! My first guest post is going to be over at Seven Sentences about inspiration. That post gets published on July 4th, so make your way over there this Independence Day and let me know your thoughts!

“The fact is, we sometimes read Scripture, thinking of what it ought to say, rather than what it does say.” – Spurgeon

In case you can’t tell, I’m on a huge Spurgeon kick right now, and the previous quote is just another example as to why I love reading Spurgeon! This quote cut me to the core almost immediately. Often times I approach scripture, or life in general, with a notion of what I think scripture says or how I think life should be. Its a notion of self-centeredness. What we ought to do is study the scriptures and seek to understand what God is saying to us. We should seek to understand the intent of the text and let the text speak to us rather than trying to make the text say what we think it ought to say. When we try to morph the text into what we think it should say, we are in effect, telling God that we know better, which rarely goes well.