Monthly Archives: March 2018

Easter morning: women first

The male disciples were painfully absent at the crucifixion. John was the only one who stuck around.  Besides him, remarkably enough, only Mary, the mother of Jesus, and a few other women, stood at the foot of the cross when Jesus died.  And when Jesus was taken from the cross, and had to be ‘buried’ as quickly as possible, the men who had been Jesus’ disciples were not there, and left this task to Joseph of Arimethea and Nicodemus.

But then it is Easter morning. At dawn a number of women go to the cave where Jesus had been laid. They went there to care for his body, since there had not been time to do so on Friday afternoon, as the Sabbath was near. They were greatly worried about the big stone that had been put before the entrance of the cave. Who would be able to roll it away? Their concerns were, however, unnecessary. The stone had already been rolled away. The tomb was empty. Two angels tell the women that the Lord was risen!

The gospels inform us about a series of ‘appearances.’ Jesus meets with individuals and some groups of people. Would it not have been more logical for Jesus to appear first to the eleven men who were going to be the apostles of the early church? We would have expected that in a society where men always came first. Yet, the first witnesses of the risen Lord are a women. It is a powerful affirmation of the important role Jesus attributes to women.

How tragic it is that almost two thousand year later we must conclude that many who claim Jesus as their Lord, have still not paid attention to this aspect of the resurrection morning, and still do not give women the status in the church that is rightfully theirs. And this also applies to many Seventh-day Adventists. Unfortunately, many have closed their ears for the powerful statement Jesus made by first appearing to women.

Could things change before we celebrate another Eastern? I am not very optimistic when I consider the bureaucratic preparations for the new round of meetings (during the GC autumn council of 2018), which will once again discuss what must happen to those church leaders who have agreed to ordain female pastors, or at least have taken measure to ensure that male and female pastors are treated equally. Must there be punitive measures? It is as if we hear the apostles say to Jesus: ‘Lord, excuse us, but should you not have appeared to us first?

What might be done to change the minds of those church leaders who continue to discriminate women? Perhaps the only way to put this across is to ask all women to discontinue their activities in and for the church during a few weeks. How would the church function if all female pastors and elders would stay home, and if all women who serve in some capacity in the Sabbath school, who play the piano or the organ, or serve as greeters or in whatever other role, would just sit in the pew and passively listen to the men? Would that perhaps get the message through to those who oppose ordained women pastors that putting women in second place goes against the Spirit of the gospel?

In any case: On Easter morning Jesus made clear that for Him women come first.

 

The Lord is risen

For many—whether they are, or are not, versed in theology—the resurrection is a beautiful story, but nothing more. Its inspiring and uplifting message is: Do not despair when things are not going so well. You can always make a new start.

The apostle Paul totally disagrees.  He makes that abundantly clear in 1 Korintiërs 15. He is not satisfied with a symbolic interpretation. To deny Christ’s bodily resurrection changes the gospel into a miserable lie. It ceases to be Good News. And, he emphasizes, if Christ is not risen then all hope that there is something beyond death for us evaporates. Our faith would lose all meaning.

The resurrection of Jesus is a core truth of the Christian faith. There is no living faith if we only have a dead Jesus. The reality of death and the reality of his resurrection must go together.

There is no absolute proof for Jesus’ resurrection. Yes, we have the story of the empty tomb, but we have no witnesses who saw what happened and can take a polygraph test to give credence to their testimony. There are stories that Jesus appeared to some individuals and to some groups of people. Remarkably enough, these appearances do not continue indefinitely. This usually happens when stories that have no basis in truth begin to circulate. Such stories become more and more embellished, and more and more people become involved. But stories about Jesus’ appearances after his resurrection stopped after just a few weeks. Why? Because he was not only risen, but also had ascended to heaven.

Journalist Frank Morison was a skeptic, who believed that the idea of a resurrection was utter nonsense. He decided to write a book about this grand delusion. But after having thoroughly studied all the arguments, he concluded that the resurrection must have been reality after all. His book Who Moved the Stone? became a classic in defense of the resurrection. From a total skeptic he became a fervent disciple of the risen Lord.

For me, personally, the existence of the Christian church is the most powerful argument in favor of the reality of the resurrection. Jesus’ mission seemed to have ended in disaster. The Jewish leaders, with the approval and technical support of the Roman authorities, succeeded in having Jesus crucified. The Man from Nazareth, who for some time had a significant following, died between two criminals—just 33 years old. His disciples were in total despair. Only John and Mary, and a few other women, remained with Jesus to the end. His own brothers and sisters (most likely from a former marriage of Joseph; see Matthew 13:56, 57) had never become convinced that he was anything else but the physical son of Joseph and Mary.

However, just weeks after Jesus’ ignominious death, thousands of people believe that there was more to it. They become believers in a risen Christ. On the Day of Pentecost they come to Jerusalem from many different regions in the Middle-East. They listen to the apostles, they hear what has happened with Jesus, they are convinced, and they take this conviction with them when they travel back home. The disillusioned disciples  become enthusiastic apostles who are prepared to give their life for the Truth of the Risen Lord. James, one of the brothers of the Lord, is no longer a skeptic, but becomes one of the key leaders of the early church (Acts 15:13). What made them change their minds and made them believers rather than disillusioned skeptics? It must have been some momentous event: the resurrection.

I know that even this argument is no final proof. We still must take a leap of faith. And yes, I am prepared to take that leap.

A doubting octogenarian

The other day Dries van Agt was interviewed on Dutch television about his faith. In his weekly program ‘Adieu God’ Tijs van den Brink talks with people about their faith—or the loss thereof. The interview with van Agt startled me. I thought of this former Dutch prime minister as a staunch Catholic believer rather than as a doubting Thomas.

Dries van Agt was prime minister in the Netherlands from 1977 to 1982. It was not the smoothest period of Dutch political history in which van Agt led several cabinets with rather different coalitions. I have always felt great sympathy for van Agt. This sympathy was further increased when I read his fascinating biography which appeared in 2008.[1]  I always enjoy listening to his unique use of the Dutch language, with many archaic words and long, complex sentences. And I must admit that I have great admiration for his tireless efforts on behalf of the Palestinian people. Van Agt played a major role in the fusion of three Christian parties into one political stream (Christian Democratic Appeal), but he was gradually estranged from his party and confessed that, in the last general elections, he voted for the green party.

The conversation with Tijs van den Brink focused, of course, on matters of faith. Van Agt has a Roman Catholic background. As a young boy he served in the church as altar boy, and his faith and his church remained very important for him during a major part of his life. But in the interview he was very open about his continuously growing doubts. He still believes in God. There must be Someone, he said, who is at the beginning of everything. Even if one believes in the ‘big bang’, there must be something or someone who caused it. He had no doubt that Jesus Christ is a historical figure and has left mankind with an inspiring example of how to live. But everything else is more and more surrounded by question marks. He can no longer believe that Jesus rose from his tomb. Is there nothing beyond this life, van den Brink asked. Van Agt replied that it would be nice if there were indeed some form of life after death, but he is far from sure that this is the case.

In the context of my book FACING DOUBT I have in the last eighteen months received may reactions from, and have had numerous conversations with, members of my church who in many different ways struggle with their doubts. I have been struck by the fact that many people develop doubts about important aspects of the Christian faith when they are at an advanced (or even high) age. In some cases it concerns doubt about the very existence of God. Often the doubts center on the why-question—why is the so much misery in the world or in my own life? But again and again there is also the question whether Jesus did indeed rise from his tomb. It comes perhaps as no surprise that, as we become older, we are more inclined to contemplate our own mortality. But in that stage of life it would be more important than ever before to have the inner certainty that death is not the end of everything.

I have my doubt s about a number of things which my church regards as ‘Fundamental Beliefs’, but I do not want to lose the good news of Jesus’ resurrection. I agree with the apostle Paul that I should be pitied if I lost that conviction. If Jesus did not rise from death, faith and church are no more than a sick joke. I would plead with van Agt—especially with Eastern coming soon—not to give up his faith in the resurrection of Jesus. That is what I emphasize when people talk with me about their doubts. I tell them: I have no problem with the fact that you have doubts about many things, but do not let go of the core of the Christian faith—however difficult that may be, There is no ‘hard’ evidence that the resurrection is indeed a historical fact. There was no cctv in the tomb where Jesus had been laid. But there are enough valid reasons to hold on to the belief that ‘Jesus is truly risen!’ That will be the topic of next week’s blog.



[1] Johan van Meriënboer, Peter Bootsma en Peter van Griendsven: Tour de Force (Uitgeverij Boom, 2008).

Take care of your pastor

This past week I had the privilege and pleasure of meeting for a few days with Adventist pastors in one of the German conferences. The sixty men and women who work in and around Berlin, and in what used to be East-Germany, met in a conference center in a village near Leipzig. A few years ago this conference invited me as their speaker and it seems that this had been appreciated, for once again I received a request to come and be their main presenter. This time I was asked to address issues that I wrote about in my last book (FACING DOUBT) which was published in the German language under the title: GEHEN oder BLEIBEN? (Do we go or do we stay?) As i traveled yesterday by train from Leipzig back tot he Netherlands, I had ample time to think about some of the aspects of this meeting with a group of pastors, and about what I saw and heard during several other pastoral meetings in a number of countries, for which I was invited in recent years.

My respect continues to grow for the men and women who pastor our local churches, and also for the leaders in conferences and unions who must coach them. In recent times the job of a pastor has  become ever more difficult. This is also the impression I retain from my conversations of many colleagues in the past few days. Let me give just one example: Nowadays most pastors have more than one congregation. These may be very different in nature. One pastors told me that he has a very conservative church of mainly native Germans, also a church that consists mainly of immigrants from Eastern Europe, and a church of  native Germans who tend to be rather liberal. Such a situation results in continuous splits. How does one deal with this? How does one retain one’s integrity, while constantly switching between different contexts?

In conversations in between meetings and during meals I heard about many personal issues. At times also pastors may have relational problems, but often there is no one they can confide in, and usually they must keep up the appearance that everything is fine. This can produce major tensions. Just like other church members pastors have teenage and adolescent children, who leave the church and who give them great worries.

In the past few days the main topic of my talks was: dealing with doubt. Pastors may have serious doubts about their faith and/or about their calling. Just as many of their church members they may have serious questions about some of the so-called Fundamental Beliefs. When they speak about these questions, some church members show signs of recognition, but others are extremely critical and emphasize that pastors ought to subscribe to all 28 doctrines of the church, and if they cannot do this they should resign. And pastors observe trends in their denomination that they would like to change. How loyal can you be to your church, when it discriminates women and rejects certain groups of people?

I could go on about these things at length. Being a pastor has not become any easier. That makes it important that they experience the support of their church members. It gives them courage when, from time to time, they receive some token of appreciation from their members. Of course, I ought to remind my readers that they should pray for their pastor. That is certainly true, but a book token when he/she had his/her birthday, or a weekend in a nice hotel when he/she has served the church for five or ten years, or an occasional box of chocolade for the partner of the pastor—these are tangible signals that say: ‘We understand that your task is far from simple. We love you and keep you in our thoughts, also when you may go through a difficult period.’ These are some of the thoughts that emerged as I came away from this week’s conference. Pastors are ordinary people who need warmth and appreciation. More than ever before.

 

God’s mirror

Whenever I am home on a Sunday morning I watch the TV program De Verwondering (The Wonderment) in which Annemiek Schrijver talks with men and women about spiritual topics. Her guests may or may not be christians. On February 25 Annemiek talked with Enis Odaci, a second-generation Turkish-Dutchman. Guests in the program are always asked to bring a text with them that they value in a particular way. Enis Odaco read a quotation from the Kasidah van Hji Abu el-Yezdi, a long poem written (under pseudonym) by the British Arabist and discoverer Sir Richard Francis Burton, who wanted to promote the Sufi-tradition in the Western world. This is the quotation

  •    The truth was a mirror in the hands of God
  •    It fell, and broke into pieces
  •    Everybody took a piece of it
  •    and they looked at it
  •    and thought they had the truth.

As I grew up I heard from my mother—and this was affirmed time and again in church—that Seventh-day Adventists have the Truth. That Truth was to be communicated to all people on earth, and the prospect looked pretty dim for those who decided not to listen. Even as an 8-10 year old I sensed that these were big words. Were we the only family in our village who were right? At times I quietly prayed: ‘Lord, let it be true, that our church is indeed the true church!’

Throughout my life this quest for Truth has been important for me. It acquired three layers. 1. Is Christianity true and are all other world religions false? 2. If so, is there a particular stream or faith community that has the correct interpretation of the christian faith? 3. If there is a faith community that has a correct interpretation of the Truth, does that mean that there is just one script that all believers in that community must adhere to?

In the quotation about the Mirror of Truth, the question of Truth is approached in a very different way. God possessed the Truth. This Truth was as a perfect mirror, but God dropped it, and the mirror fell on the earth into thousands of fragments. All people tried to get hold of a shard and cried triumphantly: ‘I have the mirror of Truth.’ Indeed, we seem justified in supposing that God’s Truth has come to mankind in a very fragmented way and that we all possess just a piece of that Truth.

First of all we are confronted with the question whether non-christian religions contain any Truth and may somehow serve as a road to salvation. This questions continues to fascinate me, and I am just now in the middle of reading the book Who can be saved? Reassessing salvation in Christ and world religions.[1] For me many questions remain, but I have concluded that non-christian religions also have picked up a shard of God’s Truth—be it perhaps a somewhat smaller shard compared to what christians have. When contemplating this matter I cannot help but hear in the background the text of that beautiful hymn by Frederick William Faber (1862): There is a wideness in God’s mercy as the wideness of the sea.

I must admit I no longer see a sharp line between my church, as God’s chosen remnant of the endtime, and other Christian churches. I am, and plan to remain, a committed Seventh-day Adventist christian and I believe that my church has a significant shard of God’s Truth, but I cannot deny that other churches also have their shard. Therefore I have no reason to triumphantly claim that only my church has the Truth.

Let me make it just a little more personal. I do have a small shard of the Truth. I do recognize that it is colored by my Adventst heritage. Others in my faith community also have their small shard, but  it may have a somewhat different color or shape. No human being has all of the Truth. That does, however, not mean that there is no Truth. God possesses the Truth and He has shown Himself in the One who said: I am the Way, the Truth and the Life. In Him the Truth is reflected. We only see in our shard of the mirror a small glimpse of that Truth. But that is enough and with this we should be gratefully content



[1] By Terrance L. Tiessen. Published by Intervarsity Press (Downer’s Grove, IL, 2004).