Fine Prints: March, 2007

Beware of Predictions--Especially About the Future March 3

Laughter, Applause and WWJD?  March 10 

How's Your Corporosity?  March 17  

Death by Water Intoxication March 24

Capital Punishment, the Bible and Us March 31    

Beware of Predictions--Especially About the Future

For Christmas Leonie gave me a book titled Sharing Good Times, by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter. It’s an easy-to-read compendium of Carter’s life experiences and the insights he gained from them. The insights from President Carter’s life reminded me of a few insights of my own. And one of them actually revolves around Carter himself.

I began my formal pastoral ministry on February 1, 1976, in Australia. Back in the United States it was not only the nation’s Bicentennial, it was also a presidential election year. Our only unelected President, Gerald Ford, was being harassed by Ronald Reagan in his bid for the Republican nomination. And on the other side, Jimmy Carter had arrived from nowhere to capture the hearts and minds of a lot of Democrats.

On the southwest edge of the Pacific, I was reading Time and Newsweek and anything else I could lay my hands on. And I was really disturbed by what I read. Clearly prophecy was being fulfilled before my very eyes. And, for the most part, my fellow church members—especially in Australia—were oblivious.

In a way I’d never before seen in a politician—during all my 24 years—Jimmy Carter was using his religious faith to establish his bona fides. And it was really scary for a Bible-prophecy student of my ilk.

As a lifelong Seventh-day Adventist, I was highly conversant with the prophecies of Revelation 13. I knew all about the identity of the "beast." But the identity of the "image to the beast"—a power that more or less mirrored the spirit and modus operandi of the beast—was a little more nebulous. But one thing was certain: It would seek to impose spiritual conformity through the arm of the state. Before long, I had an inch-thick dossier of heavily marked news clippings about Jimmy Carter and his use of religion to advance his political agenda.

"I’m not saying this man will usher in the fulfillment of Revelation 13," I remember saying during church services, youth rallies and prayer meetings, "but we certainly need to keep our eyes on him, because the signs seem to be pointing in that direction."

Well, Carter came and Carter went. And nothing all that dramatic happened on the Revelation 13 front. (In fact, I agree with Carter’s take on church-state relations more than I do with our current President.) In the years since 1976 a lot of other would-be diviners of the future have spoken their piece about what’s just around the corner—and they’ve been just as wrong as I was. The image to the beast hasn’t been established. Jesus hasn’t returned. The earth hasn’t melted down.

The insight I gained from the Carter experience is that prophecy wasn’t given so that Christians would have their own private crystal ball. Prophecy isn’t about being able to predict what lies around the corner, as we’ve often assumed. Rather, Jesus said, "I have told you now before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe" (John 14:29, emphasis mine).

Thanks to Jimmy Carter, I now have a much deeper appreciation of what Jesus meant by those words.

Jim Coffin, Senior Pastor

Laughter, Applause and WWJD?

Conservative commentator Ann Coulter definitely stirred things up a few days ago when she described presidential candidate John Edwards in terms that are inappropriate by any standard.

Just in case I might be misunderstood, let me state for the record that this isn’t a defense or denunciation of either of our nation’s major political parties. Nor is it primarily an indictment of Ann Coulter–not in this article, at least. Rather, my indictment is of those in the crowd who laughed and applauded when they should have cringed and booed.

Now before I come over as too sanctimonious, let me hasten to add that I understand where the audience was coming from. My guess is that quite a few kicked themselves after the fact. It may have taken only a second or two, or it may have taken hours, but sooner or later something told them that they shouldn’t have run with the pack. I know–because I’ve been there, done that and have the guilty conscience to prove it.

About three years ago I attended a conference on church planting. While there, I sat in on a seminar presented by seasoned experts who were sharing tricks of the trade. As is often the case with successful people, the presenters were mavericks.

One veteran described a neighbor’s frustration by the sudden burst of attendance in what had once been an empty church adjacent to his house. Whatever the complaint–and I’ve blocked out most of the details–the neighbor was causing trouble. So the church planter marched up to his door and denounced him.

"I told the disgruntled neighbor," the speaker said with theatrical flair, "if you don’t stop creating hassles concerning our worship services, God is going to strike you with prostate cancer!"

Had I heard him correctly? In fact, had I heard correctly on two fronts? Because it seemed that nearly everyone in the crowd was laughing. The others seemed to feel that the story was hilarious; I thought it was heinous.

What kind of picture would the disgruntled neighbor have of God after receiving such a threat from a preacher? What kind of picture would he have of Adventists? On what basis did the pastor make his threat? And why prostate cancer? Why not leukemia or AIDS or ringworm?

I sat mutely as the laughter died and the speaker moved on to his next example of how to plant churches effectively. I wished at the time, and I still wish, that I’d had the courage to play the role of a prophet–to "cry aloud and spare not."

I wish I’d stood up and said in a John-the-Baptist voice, "Folks, what we’ve just heard isn’t funny at all. It’s appalling. We should be ashamed of what was done. And we should be ashamed of having laughed. What we’ve just heard is deplorable! Totally unacceptable! An abomination!"

Unfortunately, I didn’t speak up while listening to the church planters. And I might not have spoken up if I’d been listening to Ann Coulter. But when I ask myself the WWJD question, I find it a lot easier to imagine Jesus jumping from His seat in protest rather than laughing uproariously with the thoughtless crowd.

Jim Coffin, Senior Pastor

How's Your Corporostiy?

During my growing-up years we had a colorful character in our church who had a significant influence on me.

Lee was a German, born to recently arrived immigrants who lived in a large German community. German was his first language. Especially when animated, he’d turn "s" into "sh" and "th" into "d." And the more excited he became, the more pronounced it became.

When he thought people were engaged in frivolous conversation, he referred to it as "bumping deir gums and shnapping deir shnouts." That’s how he depicted board meetings at the church—not to mention the conversations of most women.

Lee was a story teller par excellence. Not the kind who told stories in the children’s Sabbath School. Rather, the kind who told stories during work breaks or after meetings, when the men and boys were just hanging around. I remember one story in particular.

Lee had been taking Bible studies from the pastor and was seriously considering joining the Adventist Church. However, he chewed tobacco. He had for years. And the addiction was powerful. But he promised the pastor he would try to quit.

While working in the barnyard one day, he had just bitten off a big chunk from a plug of tobacco—when who should appear out of nowhere but the pastor. To complicate matters, three or four inches of freshly fallen snow covered everything. If he spat it out, not only might the preacher see, but he would definitely see the mark in the snow. So Lee gulped . . . and swallowed.

The human body—even the body of a chewing-tobacco addict—rebels against the ingestion of that quantity of tobacco. Lee became violently ill. Which created a psychological revulsion to tobacco. Which meant that he kicked the habit immediately!

In addition to his farming, Lee had a tanker truck that he used to deliver gasoline and diesel fuel to farmers. That’s how I really got to know him. The gas tank from which we filled our tractors held 300 gallons. So it meant that whenever Lee came, I had several minutes to talk to him while he pumped the gas from his truck into our tank.

Lee liked kids and was never too busy to take notice of them. In fact, he usually had a Baby Ruth candy bar in his truck for me when he came. If not, he’d dig into his pocket for a nickel—which was a lot more money back in the late 1950s than it is today.

Whether we met on our farm, at the church or on the street, Lee always asked me, "How’s your corporosity?" It was a word he had made up just for me. It was our word. Almost like a secret we shared. It made me feel really important to think that I was so special that Lee would actually coin a new word just for me.

Kids need to feel important to adults.

I wonder if the kids who sat on Jesus’ lap—even though the disciples had tried to shoo them away—didn’t have that same feeling of importance. I wonder if Jesus ever made up a new word for them just to let them know He cared.

Jim Coffin, Senior Pastor

Death by Water Intoxication

Recently I read that a 28-year-old woman in Sacramento, California, died of "water intoxication" after competing in a radio-station-sponsored contest to see who could ingest the most water without going to the bathroom. The prize was a Nintendo Wii video-game system, which the woman wanted for her three children.

When several station employees were fired because of their involvement in this ill-advised venture, it caused considerable discussion on radio talk shows. Who was responsible for the woman’s death? The station? She? Both?

It’s a good question.

Politically conservative talk-show hosts, who deplore society’s increasing willingness to blame someone else for every adverse circumstance, were quick to blame the deceased. If she was stupid enough to consume such excessive amounts of water, the tragedy was her own fault. Thus it was inappropriate to fire anyone. End of story.

The more politically liberal callers argued that by offering a seemingly harmless competition that in fact was fraught with danger, the station bore significant responsibility. They hadn’t demonstrated due diligence in determining the risk. Not only were the firings appropriate, but financial compensation to the family of the deceased would also be in order.

Liberals seem to blame everyone but the "victim." Conservatives seem to view the victim as the sole "cause." A more balanced picture, I would suggest, recognizes that true responsibility includes both looking out for self and safeguarding the wellbeing of others. Neither can be ignored.

The Bible certainly teaches responsibility. That’s what the judgment is about. Our decisions and actions count. Passing the buck—"the woman that you put here with me—she gave me . . ." or "the serpent deceived me . . ."—just doesn’t cut it (see Genesis 3:12, 13, NIV).

The Bible is equally clear about our obligation to our fellow humans. In significant ways we are our "brother’s keeper." "None of us lives to himself alone and none of us dies to himself alone" (Romans 14:7, NIV). What we do affects others.

The biblical principle is: "From the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked" (Luke 12:48, NIV). Similarly, ethics recognizes a "differential of power"—an uneven playing field—in certain situations.

Inherent in the relationship of parent and child, doctor and patient, teacher and pupil, pastor and parishioner is an implied dominance and subservience. The dominant party is assumed to have greater knowledge. The subservient party places substantial trust in the actions and intentions of the dominant. Such a relationship can easily be abused.

Which brings us back to the case of death-by-water-intoxication. The woman was foolish. No question. She should have exhibited more caution. But when a government-licensed radio station urges ordinary, run-of-the-mill people to participate in a contest that involves merely the excessive consumption of a (usually) non-toxic substance, it’s understandable that a listener might enter the competition certain that the station wouldn’t sponsor it if it were potentially lethal.

So the organizers must bear some responsibility. Their position as a government-licensed user of the airwaves constitutes a differential of power. They abused a trust.

Having said that, let me hasten to add that commonsense and conscience must be our guide. Just because certain people and certain things should be trustworthy doesn’t mean they are.

Jim Coffin, Senior Pastor

Capital Punishment, the Bible and Us

The recent executions of Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein and his half brother have made even the most die-hard proponents of capital punishment grimace.

It grates on our senses to watch a condemned man taunted on his journey to the gallows and to see people jump up and down in jubilation because of a death. And when a hanging results in decapitation, it definitely gives capital punishment a ghoulish image.

Now I don’t mean to treat casually what Saddam and his henchmen did. They perpetrated unspeakable atrocities. There should be consequences. And what consequence could be more appropriate than killing them? I mean, doesn’t the Bible say, "Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed" (Genesis 9:6)? Who are we to question God?

Excellent question—because most of us do question the applicability today of some of God’s express commands in the Old Testament. Even about capital punishment.

Large numbers are comfortable with the divine command that if "anyone takes the life of a human being, he must be put to death" (Leviticus 24:17).

But murder is just one biblical reason for execution. Moses commanded: "A man or woman who is a medium or spiritist . . . must be put to death" (Leviticus 20:27). Doesn’t sound too good for Cassadaga, does it?

The list continues: "If a man lies with a man as one lies with a woman, both . . . must be put to death" (Leviticus 20:13). But lest non-gays become too complacent, note that illicit heterosexual activity calls for an equally strong response: "If a man commits adultery with another man’s wife . . . both the adulterer and the adulteress must be put to death" (Leviticus 20:10).

Even a failure to respect authority figures calls for capital punishment: "If anyone curses his father or mother, he must be put to death" (Leviticus 20:9). Further, "anyone who blasphemes the name of the Lord must be put to death" (Leviticus 24:16).

When the Israelites caught a man gathering wood on the Sabbath, they weren’t sure how to react. Hadn’t God said that on the Sabbath "you shall not do any work" (Exodus 20:10)? So they asked Moses . . . who asked the Lord . . . who responded: "The man must die" (see Numbers 15:32-36).

God’s mandate through Moses was: "If anyone injures his neighbor, whatever he has done must be done to him: fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth. As he has injured the other, so he is to be injured" (Leviticus 24:19-20).

The foregoing passage leaves me uncomfortable—as do most of the reasons cited for capital punishment. And Jesus also seems to have had some problems with the Old Testament’s eye-for-an-eye philosophy, for He states: "‘You have heard that it was said, "Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth." But I tell you . . .’" (Matthew 5:38).

Christians have long maintained that certain God-given instructions were given "‘because your hearts were hard. But it was not this way from the beginning’" (Matthew 19:8). If we’re going to discount some biblical reasons for execution, we may have to take the logic a little further—if we’re to lay claim to any consistency, that is.

Jim Coffin, Senior Pastor