Site Title THOUGHT THINKING

  • IS SEX A PART OF HEAVENLY GOODIES?

    I admit that I too have scratched my head at Jesus’s teaching, “The sons of this age marry and are given in marriage, but those who are considered worthy to attain to that age and to the resurrection from the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage” ( Luke 20: 34-35 ). In the resurrection, God’s people will be like the angels in heaven — without spouse or sex (Matthew 22: 30 ).

    I stumbled upon a quote in Lewis that has helped the tension. I was troubled, as Lewis memorably puts it, not because the future reality is wanting, but because my imagination and faith are weak. He writes,

    I think our present outlook might be like that of a small boy who, on being told that the sexual act was the highest bodily pleasure, should immediately ask whether you ate chocolates at the same time. On receiving the answer “No,” he might regard [the] absence of chocolates as the chief characteristic of sexuality. In vain would you tell him that the reason why lovers in their raptures don’t bother about chocolates is that they have something better to think of. The boy knows chocolate: he does not know the positive thing that excludes it. We are in the same position. We know the sexual life; we do not know, except in glimpses, the other thing which, in heaven, will leave no room for it.

    Those who know (or at least can imagine) marital bliss and sexual pleasure may be tempted to think heaven the duller for excluding them. The perpetual sexual fast, the augment of relational depth with your spouse — “How can a world of bliss forbid such chocolates?” What does God have against chocolate? Nothing, he reminds us. He invented them.

    Instead of thinking heaven the less interesting, we wonder, as the boy in Lewis’s analogy, what kind of happiness does God have in store for those who love God when the highest pleasures on earth stand as a distant and forgotten memory? What light renders the flickering candle irrelevant? This heaven, the man couldn’t understand, is the only one worthy of the name. We do not have earth’s joys 2.0 with the absence of pain. The God who joyfully invented such ecstasies, eclipses them to make room for something more.

    To sigh at heaven because we lose something of earth, to cling to earth’s most brilliant shadows with trembling grip as they give way to the substance, is to forget what is coming. Even now, we can remind ourselves: heaven’s pleasures threaten to overwhelm earth’s best delights — delights so intoxicating that the passing of them seems an irreplaceable loss, a dimming of heaven. We need not stuff our pockets as we step into the marriage supper of the Lamb. God’s proclamation at the end of the story, “Behold, I am making all things new” ( Revelation 21: 5 ), contains a “new” that we on earth can’t quite comprehend.

    The Bible tells us plainly that fullness of joy is in the presence of the Lord ( Psalm 16: 11 ). Eternal life is to know him ( John 17: 3 ). The new heaven and new earth descend with Christ when he returns, not before. Already God’s kingdom spreads over the face of the earth; already the gates of hell bend at the barrage of the church ( Matthew 16: 18 ); already, with every passing day, God transfers new sinners from the domain of darkness into the kingdom of his beloved Son ( Colossians 1: 13 ); yet our lives arrive fully only with the second advent. Heaven gallops towards earth — with fullness of joy, the end of death, the vanquishing of sin, and the glory of God — seated on a white horse.

    Faith unhesitatingly holds that God alone can architect the best heaven. Faith reminds us that God does not bury his best joys in a fallen world. Faith is assured that the country still ahead is best ( Hebrews 11: 16 ). We groan, not because we go to rule in that city of everlasting day without a few of earth’s favorite candy bars; we groan inwardly and wait eagerly because we long for the fullness of our adoption as sons ( Romans 8: 23 ). We enjoy chocolate, but hunger for steak. Faith teaches us to enjoy the things of earth mindful of God during the day, and to pray at night, with childlike anticipation, “One day nearer, my Lord. One day nearer!”

    Jesus’s return in his glory — the climax of all human history — will not be an intrusion. We cannot allow unbelief to put up a “Do not disturb” sign above even the most excellent gifts from our heavenly Father. We enjoy our candy now, and as we do, we grow in our trust in the Father who knows how to give good — the best gifts — to his children. Our heaven does not offer sexual pleasure, but it offers that which makes sexual pleasure obsolete. It offers fullness of joy. It offers us God himself.

    Ntabo Ntabo is a writer and a graduate of Theological Studies at ANU!

    READERS CAN SHARE THEIR VIEWS OR SUGGESTIONS TO: ntabontabo91@gmail.com

  • THE GOAL OF BIBLE MEMORY

    For many Christians, the term Scripture memory means rote memorization of Bible verses. And this conjures up feelings of past failure (over how often they’ve tried and given up), or futility (over how little they recall of what they once memorized), or fear (over memories of having to publicly recite verses).

    Who wants to pursue Bible memory if it means more failure, futility, or fear?

    No one, if that’s what Bible memory means. But that’s not what it means. It means so much more than rote memorization. And it’s crucial that we see the bigger picture of Bible memory so we understand why it’s so important to the Christian life — why God repeatedly commands us to remember.

    YOUR AMAZING MEMORY

    Your memory is amazing. If you’re thinking, “No, it’s not,” you’re probably overly aware of your memory weaknesses. And you probably measure yourself against people with extraordinary memories, like Charles Spurgeon, who, as J.I. Packer described, had “a photographic memory, virtually total recall, and as he put it ‘a shelf in my mind’ for storing every fact with a view to its future use” ( Psalms, 4 )

    But don’t let phenomenal memories blind you to the marvelous gift of God that is your own memory. Your ability to recall information to your conscious mind is just one function your memory performs. But it does far more than that.

    Your memory is a vast library, far more sophisticated than the Library of Congress, where you’ve been collecting information since before your birth. In that three-pound lump of wet grey tissue inside your skull, in ways that remain largely mysterious despite wonderful recent advances in neuroscience, you have stored enormous amounts of information in the form of impressions, sensations, sights, sounds, smells, cause-and-effect observations, propositional statements, stories, and dreams, as well as real, unreal, or anticipated experiences that produce joy, sorrow, pleasure, anger, delight, horror, desire, fear, and on and on. And you draw from this mental library all the time, every day, consciously and unconsciously, to do everything you do.

    And more marvelous still is how your memory works with all levels of your consciousness to allow you to imagine.

    WHY YOU UNDERSTAND ANYTHING

    By imagination, I’m not talking about our ability to create fantasy worlds in our minds. I’m talking about our ability to draw from our vast store of information and construct an image (or model) of reality, and then draw implications for what it means. That is the primary function of our imagination. It allows us to conceptualize things we learn are true, but cannot see. Which is crucial for those of us called to “look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen” ( 2 Corinthians 4: 18 ), to “walk by faith, not by sight” ( 2 Corinthians 5: 7 ).

    And what empowers our ability to imagine is our memory.

    It’s our immense memory that provides our creative imagination the information from which to make sense of reality and draw the correct implications. And we can’t imagine anything that isn’t meaningfully present in our memory.

    This is why Bible memory so important.

    YOU SHALL REMEMBER

    Have you ever noticed how often the Holy Spirit inspired biblical authors to stress the importance of memory? Over and over God commands us to remember his word ( For example, Numbers 15: 40; Psalm 103: 17-18; Luke 22: 19; 2 Timothy 2: 8 ). In fact, it would be worth a week of your devotional Bible reading to look up all the texts that mention these words as they relate to what God has revealed to us. (memory, memorial, remember, remembrance, remind, call to mind etc )

    Bible Memory is calling to mind and keeping in mind biblical truth we’ve learned, so that it expands and deepens our understanding over time, and continues to shape the way we live.

    KEEP THE GOAL IN MIND

    If Scripture memory has negative connotations for you, don’t think of it as memorizing Bible verses.

    As someone who struggled with memory weaknesses and who used to believe that Bible memorization wasn’t for me, I strongly recommend memorizing Scripture, especially larger sections. This is something you can do —you really can. You won’t regret employing this very effective servant of meditation.

    For accurate understanding comes from careful meditation on true information. And accurate understanding results in our discerning right implications for what true information means. And when we live according to this understanding, the Bible calls it wisdom ( Psalm 111: 10 ).

    This is the goal of Bible memory.

    Ntabo Ntabo is a writer and a graduate of Theological Studies at ANU!

    READERS CAN SHARE THEIR VIEWS OR SUGGESTIONS TO: ntabontabo91@gmail.com

  • IT IS MY BIRTHDAY: A LETTER

    Dear Ntabo Ntabo,

    You understand that the journey to 30 something hasn’t been easy; but that notwithstanding, good vibes and memories have been created along the way. You have met good people who have supported you in many different ways and while others left ( for whatever reason ), they still count because they added to your greatness today.

    On ministry, the Lord has been gracious and faithful. His wisdom, knowledge and understanding has been your portion especially while delivering the word of God. People have given their lives to God under your watch and what can we say? To God be the glory!

    On academics/writing, friends have been gained across the world through your writings and teachings ( especially on bible, theology and philosophy ). Many have become better bible readers including young children, but what can we say, To God be the glory!

    On work, the colleagues have been nothing but outstanding. Your boss who lives in the United States of America, is proud of you ( and she may gift you a blue-berry cake later in the day ). Your workmates are also planning on surprising you with good gifts, so be happy, Honestly, what can we say? To God be the glory!

    On Family, you have the best members and God knows, you wouldn’t ask for a better team. We all know you love them so much and they know that. You are quoted as saying the following, “For them, I can do anything.” Without a doubt, to God be the glory!

    A big thank you to the readers as well. Ntabo Ntabo loves you much and looks forward to meeting you in person within and outside the country. To God be the glory, great things he has done!

    Thank you

    Ntabo Ntabo is a writer and a graduate of Theological Studies at ANU!

    READERS CAN SHARE THEIR VIEWS OR SUGGESTIONS TO: ntabontabo91@gmail.com

  • THE THEOLOGY OF EXPIATION AND PROPITIATION

    In this article, I will address the following questions: What is the biblical view of propitiation and expiation? Can the two be reconciled? Is one or the other more consistent with one of the two Testaments? Will also look into Scobie’s ( Professor Emeritus of Religious Studies ) thoughts on the same.

    Furthermore, an attempt to offer a brief explanation of these two terms–propitiation and expiation, is offered. A brief review of what Scobie says or insinuates about propitiation and expatiation is included. Eventually, a personal view on expatiation and propitiation is presented.

    These two terms—expatiation and propitiation, are greatly deployed when inspecting the concept of atonement of sins, the thereafter forgiveness and the price to be paid in the process. Generally, these terms are used technically while examining the imagined process of repentance and forgiveness. According to an online article by (Sproul 2017), these terms elicit differing opinions in regard to which one of them should be applied in the translation of Greek words. One of the challenges in explaining expatiation and propitiation is the fact that they are not the type of words used in daily conversations.

    Propitiation and expiation are not synonyms—they are not interchangeable. As such their meanings differ greatly although they may at times share some link (Morris 1983). Morris notes that propitiation connotes some deeds carried out for someone. For example, through suffering, Jesus propriated God. That is, through his suffering, death and rising from the dead, guilty sinners were spared of the ire and fury of God.

    He achieved propitiation through the experiences that he had to undergo alone at Calvary. Walter Scott, the writer of two volumes entitled  Bible Handbook observe that “Propitiation is for God, and for Him alone, although it vitally concerns us. It is the blessed answer of Jesus meeting, in death and before God, the holy and righteous claims of Jehovah’s throne. God has been infinitely glorified, and His moral government gloriously vindicated in the blood-shedding of Jesus.”

    However, expiation entails the actions taken on the committed ills, evils or sins. Considering Jesus, his life, suffering, death and rising from the dead, served to cleanse the humanity sins. Therefore, in this instance, the act or the purpose of Jesus cleansing humanity of sins is expatiation. This is avowed by the New Testament—that Jesus’ death and his subsequent blood served as symbolic cleansers of human sins. One of the intriguing questions that has for long interested scholars is that of the necessity for propitiation and expatiation.

    Some theological scholars argue that propitiation and expatiation were necessary because that is the only appropriate approach that God had to undertake. To them, this was the actual and seamless formula for God to discourage sinning and the acts of evil in humanity.

    As a result, it was absolute compulsory and necessary that Jesus had to come and die for humanity. Other scholars believe that the description of propitiation and expatiation does not represent the real attitude of God on evil. Nonetheless, propitiation is viewed as the description of outcomes of evil and sinful deeds. If so, expatiation—the death of Jesus, is needed to cleanse the sins from humanity.

    In the authorized King James Version of the Bible (KJV), the term expiation is lacking. However, the term was used three times in New Translation by J. N. Darby. Observably, the usage of expiation in Darby’s translation, is to some extent, different from propitiation. In this context, expatiation connotes an issue whose problem has been handled to its logical conclusion. As such, expatiation can viewed as a term for describing the happenings whose resolutions have been found. In such instances, the issue is never revived—or it is never expected to come up in the future (Truglia 2015).  Therefore, expiation can be though of as the act of God using his only begotten son for redeeming the humanity. Expiation indicates that Jesus birth, ministry, death and rising from the dead was a mark at final act of atonement of our sins and thereafter, the forgiveness. The term—expiation encourages us not to worry because the sins are forgiven and they will never come up again.

    According to Gen. 32:20 JND, propitiation, in its literal linguistic understanding and meaning, is the process of relieving an aggrieved person. Accordioning, God is never happy with commitment of sins by the human beings. It is appropriately and justifiably right that God gets offended by our sins (Weng, 2017). Jacob, for example, in the Old Testament, was appeased by Essau when he realized that he had planned to kill him some two decades before. Essau brought four hundred men with him for appeasement. “I will propitiate [appease, NKJV] him with the gift that goes before me, and afterwards I will see his face: perhaps he will accept me” (Gen. 32:20 JND).

    But then propitiation, in the New Testament, goes beyond our efforts to soothe God.  In 1 Jn. 4:10 NKJV, God “loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins”. From this verse, it is clear that human beings cannot do anything to appease God. God’s merit and favor comes from His mercy for us not based on our efforts to appease Him.Furthermore, 1 John 2:2 denotes Lord Jesus as “the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.” Jesus self-suffering, ministry, his death on Calvary was an act that in a holy way contenting God as well glorifying His name. We are now “accepted in the Beloved”, based on Eph. 1:6. Indeed, the purpose of Jesus is so immeasurable and invaluable that, in the final days, the world and God shall become an inseparable entity.

    Scobie presents expiation and propitiation through the suffering and vindication of Jesus Christ. Jesus, according to Scobie, did not suffer in vain—his suffering brought salvation to humanity. His vindication came upon his blood achieving the purpose of washing away the sins of the world. Ideally,  God’s servants and more so, Jesus, “was not one of privilege, prestige, or power. The lives of these individuals were frequently marked by anguish and suffering” (p.403). In most cases, the call to serve God invited untold suffering and in many cases, could result to death.

    Based on Scobie’s work, it is clear that he call us to associate expatiation and propitiation with the entire process of suffering and the acceptance of this unjustified suffering. Jesus did exactly that—he accepted to suffer for the sake of our sins. However, his suffering and the subsequent death and arising from the dead, was a design by God.

    Because Jesus is vindicated by achieving the redemption of humanity,  it is critical that believers follow the footsteps of Jesus. Expiation and propitiation can best be comprehended by accepting Jesus in our hearts as our savior. God’s mercy, holiness and love for us is represented by the purpose of Jesus—dying for humanity. The purpose of Jesus Christ is ample and unconditionallysatisfactory.

    It is critical to note that acknowledgement and understanding of expiation and propitiation is not enough for salvation. Instead, we are called to believe and appreciate what Jesus role is to our acceptance in God’s glory. Apostle Peter advices us to  “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen” (2 Pet. 3:18).

    Ntabo Ntabo is a writer and a graduate of Theological Studies at ANU!

    READERS CAN SHARE THEIR VIEWS OR SUGGESTIONS TO: ntabontabo91@gmail.com

  • ASSISTED SUICIDE

    Assisted suicide, medically known as euthanasia, is a practice that has been the cause of much debate in medicine, ethics and philosophy among other fields concerned with morality. In cases where it has been resorted to, the practice has been used as a means of relieving a patient of pain that has been determined to last for the rest of their lives without the hope of treatment. With the permission of the patient or the family, a doctor medically ends the patient’s life by administering medication that will cause the least painful death possible. In countries such as the Netherlands, assisted suicide has been legalized and a patient can seek termination of their lives through this means.

    However, other countries have refused to legalize it on grounds that it is unethical, or at least, immoral ( 1 ). Interestingly, both sides of the debate have been able to conjure up reasonable debates to support their support or disapproval for the practice. The convincing nature of the arguments from both sides of the debate speaks to the fact that assisted suicide as a medical practice precipitates difficult ethical issues that are challenging to address.

    The ethical dilemma that arises from the question of whether to conduct the practice or not can be ascribed to the idea it is both good and bad depending on the perspective from which one approaches the issue. From the perspective of the patient seeking to have the practice done on them, it can be argued that assisted suicide is, on balance, good. The conditions under which it is approved make it good from the patient’ perspective because they are characterized by a terminal painful disease whose ailments will torment the patient for the remainder of their lives. Therefore, ending the life of such an individual early can be seen as good because it reduces the number of days in which they suffer ( 2 ). In ethics, morality is associated with an action that helps human beings move from a state of pain to a state of relief from undue suffering.

    In light of the above advantage of assisted suicide, therefore, the doctor who oversees the process can be said to have done a moral act because he or she had participated in a process that ended the pain felt by another human being. On the other hand, the action can be termed as unethical when viewed from the perspective of the idea that life is sacred. Despite the fact that it relieves the patient of pain, at the core of the action is a deliberate end to a life through unnatural processes ( 3 ). Once one concedes that life is sacred, it follows that assisted suicide is unethical as it directly leads to an end of life.

    In moral decision making, part of the process of determining whether an action is moral or immoral is listing the alternatives in order to determine if there other less controversial routes to achieving the desired results. In assisted suicide, the alternatives are at least two. The first alternative is to let the patient continue in the hope that an unforeseeable medical breakthrough will alleviate them of the pain. However, this alternative is only viable in cases where there is little hope of such a medical breakthrough.

    In cases where such an occurrence has been ruled out and the doctors are sure of the patient’s inevitable death, the only alternative to assisted suicide is palliative care where medical practitioners engage in efforts to reduce and manage the pain suffered by the patient. Compared to assisted suicide, the two alternatives have the advantage of prolonging life and the obvious advantage of extending the suffering experienced by the patient.

    The difficulty in determining whether assisted suicide is moral or immoral can also be seen in the consequences involved in deciding either for or against the practice. For example, there are social consequences of deciding in favor of assisted suicide can be devastating. Even though the patient requesting the procedure might have his pain ended, the doctor who assists them commit suicide effectively participates in causing the patient’s family pain. An unnatural end to the life of a loved one is never easy to accept.

    One is always left with the feeling that they could have had more time with them were it not for assisted suicide. Another consequence is on the doctor’s part where they violate the Hippocratic Oath in which they categorically swear not to administer any deadly drug. However, deciding against assisted is also followed by consequences that can be used to render it unethical. One of the direct consequences of such a decision is the continuation of the patient’s undue suffering. Moreover, what makes the consequences even the more unethical is the fact that the pain is extended only for the patient to meet the same fate that is being avoided; I.e., death ( 4 ). Another consequence is that it will cause the family more pain by seeing their loved one suffer and postponing their inevitable pain caused by the death when they finally die. In addition, the cost of care for the family will be increased by the number of days the patient stays alive and depends on medical services to survive.

    Given the above reasons for and against assisted suicide, one is compelled to term the practice immoral if they approach the problem from a purely Christian perspective. Therefore, a doctor who engages in the practice partakes in an immoral act for a host of reasons. Christian ethics are clear on life being sacred. The bible teaches that life is a gift from God that should not only be respected but also protected. No human being has been given the authority to take a life, not even their own. Giving and taking life is a mandate reserved only to the creator of life, that is, God himself. In the Ten Commandments, God instructs the Israelites, and by extension all Christians, to not kill. Only god can choose when life starts and when it ends for the main reason that he has a divine plan in which all occurrences in the world fit ( 5 ).

    God has a reason as to why people are born the time they are born and why they die the day they die. In his plan, one’s birth and death are not random occurrences but carefully planned incidences that are designed to serve him. For example, in Jeremiah 33: 3, tells prophet Jeremiah that he knew him before he was formed in his mother’s womb hence demonstrating his omnipotence. Logically, and as demonstrated severally in the bible, it also follows that he has a plan on when we are all going to die.

    Given the above teachings from the bible, both the patient and the doctor will be wrong to participate in a process whose result is an unnatural death. In doing so, the doctor will go against God’ commandment against killing. Moreover, by taking a life, he will assume the role of God which is blasphemous hence immoral. Thirdly, from a Christian perspective, the doctor will have interfered with God’s divine plan. In Jeremiah 29:11 the lord declares that he knows the plans he has for every Christian.

    He further reiterates that the plans he has for everyone are good and they are geared towards their prosperity and not harm. Therefore, even in sickness and total despair, God still has a plan that is based on good intentions. Terminating the life of cancer patient on grounds that he or she is suffering is an action that communicates disregard to God’s plans for good and prosperity. In brief, assisted suicide is an immoral interruption of God’ plans for the person involved and the people around hence immoral of the doctor’s part.

    Assisted suicide is also immoral from a Christian perspective because it represents unbelief, which is a sin. In Christianity, one of the key tenets is the belief that God is all powerful. He has power over nature as Jesus demonstrated through his miracles that defied and reversed processes of nature. Moreover, God’s omnipotence means he also has power over death as Jesus demonstrated through resurrecting Lazarus and his resurrection.

    His omnipotence enables him to cure diseases declared by Man to be beyond cure as Jesus demonstrated when he healed numerous people who had suffered from ailments that had proved impossible to cure to the physicians of his time. A true Christian is expected to believe that God is capable of solving all problems as he has demonstrated numerous times. Additionally, this belief is to be coupled by the belief that he will solve the problem at a time of his choosing, which has reasons behind it ( 6 ). Failure to believe the above, for a Christian, is a sin because it means he doubts God’s ability and intentions which qualifies as immoral behavior.

    In assisted suicide, all of the above beliefs are not only disregarded but also presumed to be untrue. By ending the life of an individual suffering from brain cancer, the doctor and the patient who approves the process profess their unbelief in God’s omnipotence. They communicate that they do not believe God has the power to heal the patient despite the prediction that the disease is terminal. They also communicate their unbelief in the fact that God has power over death and that he can stop the death that has been predicted to be inevitable. Thirdly, they show their unbelief in the fact that God has power over nature and that, because cancer is a result of a natural process, God has the power to manifest his supremacy over nature and heal the patient. One of the critical ethical principles in Christianity is submission to God in the belief that he has the ability to solve the problems we face. All such instances of unbelief signify the doctor’s disregard to God’s instructions and power which is unethical from a Christian perspective.

    In conclusion, it is true that assisted suicide can be viewed from a positive light when approached from a worldly perspective. However, from a Christian perspective, the practice is immoral and therefore, a doctor who conducts the procedure on a patient with brain cancer engages in an immoral act. The immorality of assisted suicide in light of Christianity can be ascribed to the fact that it speaks to the unethical and immoral acts of failing to respect the sanctity of God-given life and unbelief. The two unethical actions make the practice unfit in Christianity.

    REFERENCES

    Anita, M. Pabst Battin Rosamond Rhodes. Physician assisted suicide: expanding the debate. Psychology Press, 1998.

    Csikai, Ellen L. “Euthanasia and assisted suicide: Issues for social work practice.” Journal of Gerontological Social Work 31, no. 3-4 (1999): 49-63.

    Ferrell, Betty R., Diane Novy, Mark D. Sullivan, John Banja, Michel Y. Dubois, Melvin C. Gitlin, Daniel Hamaty et al. “Ethical dilemmas in pain management.” The Journal of Pain 2, no. 3 (2001): 171-180.

    Klagsbrun, Samuel C. “Physician-assisted suicide: A double dilemma.” Journal of pain and symptom management 6, no. 5 (1991): 325-328.

    Stassen, Glen H., and David P. Gushee. Kingdom ethics: Following Jesus in contemporary context. InterVarsity Press, 2003

    Wells, Samuel, and Ben Quash. Introducing Christian Ethics. John Wiley & Sons, 2017

    Ntabo Ntabo is a writer and a graduate of Theological Studies at ANU!

    READERS CAN SHARE THEIR VIEWS OR SUGGESTIONS TO: ntabontabo91@gmail.com

  • CAN CHRISTIANS DATE NONBELIEVERS?

    Of all the Christians who start dating a nonbeliever, how many of them planned to do so?

    I suspect few Christians set out to intentionally date (much less marry) a nonbeliever. The question really isn’t all that controversial in theory. Would anyone who genuinely loves Jesus sincerely prefer to marry someone who doesn’t? No, but when the question comes, it’s not theoretical anymore. By the time he or she is asking about dating “a nonbeliever,” the nonbeliever already has a name, a story, often an attractive face and a good sense of humor.

    When we set out to marry, of course we want to marry another believer. We want to read the Bible together, pray together, go to church together, serve together. But for a variety of reasons, believers often struggle to find the right man or woman. For one, people are getting married later, which means many are having to look harder or wait longer. Combine that with apps and websites that multiply the competition hundreds of times over, and people are pickier and slower to settle down. Also, some Christians have already had bad experiences dating Christians.

    Considering this, it really shouldn’t surprise us that some believers entertain the idea of dating outside the church. There’s more to choose from, and you can still have some things in common. In fact, it may seem at first like you have more in common with the non-Christians online or in your class than you do with the single people you see each Sunday.

    But this isn’t what you wanted, is it? This wasn’t Plan A, or B, or even C. You’re here because you’ve run out of good plans. I’m writing to encourage you to press on and not settle for a bad one.

    ONLY IN THE LORD

    When it comes to dating nonbelievers, the verse that often immediately comes to mind is (2 Corinthians 6: 14 ): “Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers.” It’s certainly relevant to our question (and we’ll come back to it in a moment), but the verse isn’t narrowly about marriage. No, probably the clearest one-verse answer is more often over-looked, 1 Corinthians 7: 39 )

    The verse might seem obscure at first, but it wasn’t for the apostle Paul. After addressing various circumstances in which followers of Jesus might marry (or not), he lands with a smaller, but precious group in the church: women who have lost a husband. It would be careless to assume, however, that what he says in verse 39 only applies to widows (as if the not-yet-married were free to marry outside the Lord). No, if a Christian decides to marry, he or she is free to marry whom he or she wishes, but only in the Lord.

    That phrase tucked into the end of Paul’s counsel to single believers is written in large capital letters across his letters. To begin this letter, he writes, “To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus. . . .” ( 1 Corinthians 1: 2 ). And he ends the letter on the same all-important note: “My love be with you all in Christ Jesus. Amen” ( 1 Corinthians 16: 24 ).

    More than twenty times in 1 Corinthians alone, he uses the phrase “in the Lord” or “in Christ.” This phrase, for the apostle, was not merely a spiritual tag onto his counsel about marrying wisely; it was his whole world. In his mind, we do everything we do — especially our major commitments and callings — in the Lord. For a Christian, there’s simply no other place to be, much less marry.

    WHAT A MARRIAGE SHOULD SAY?

    The phrase “in the Lord” was filled with meaning in another way, though. First, a Christian does everything he or she does in Christ — how much more so marriage? But then second, marriage is uniquely designed to unveil what it means to live in Christ. This love, of all human loves, was patterned after the love between him and the church.

    When Paul says, “Marry in the Lord,” he’s saying, “Tell the truth about Christ and the church.” Say with your marriage what marriage was meant to say. Marry in a way that sheds light on God and his glory, sin and grace, the cross and tomb, heaven and hell — rather than clouding them like so many do.

    MARRIAGE COULD COST EVERYTHING

    Who you marry will likely shape who you become more than any other human relationship. If your husband runs from Jesus, you won’t be able to avoid the undertow of his lovelessness. If your wife runs from Jesus, you will live in the crossfire of her unrepentant sin. You may survive an unbelieving spouse, but only as through fire. Marriage under God would become a long and devastating war.

    And, God warns us, you might lose your soul while fighting that war. That’s the clear warning in 2 Corinthians 6: Being yoked with the wrong kind of heart could cost you yours. We should be careful who we align ourselves with in the church, Paul says. How much more so in the bedroom, in the budget and schedule, in parenting and suffering, in the demanding trenches of everyday life? The wrong marriage really might ruin you. Therefore, Paul says a few verses later, “Let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God” ( 2 Corinthians 7: 1 ).

    When you read a verse like this (in context), you realize we might be asking the wrong questions in dating. Instead of asking whether we can date a nonbeliever, we might start asking, how might I bring holiness to completion in the pursuit of marriage? What will help me run my race well? Who would the fear of God lead me to love? Could holiness thrive in a relationship like this?

    In sum, for the believer, a marriage without God would be a lifetime without sunshine, a sail without wind, a love without true love.

    Ntabo Ntabo is a writer and a graduate of Theological Studies at ANU!

    READERS CAN SHARE THEIR VIEWS OR SUGGESTIONS TO: ntabontabo91@gmail.com

  • TO MEN WHO WANT TO MARRY

    PURSUE GOD ABOVE ANYTHING ELSE

    Preparing well for marriage begins with regular encounters with God — seeing him in Scripture for who he is in all his glory, greatness, and grace. No matter how many times we’ve read through the Bible, we need to be continually captivated by God again and again. “Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised, and his greatness is unsearchable” ( Psalm 145: 3 ). Similarly, the apostle Paul urges us to follow his example and “count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord” ( Philippians 3: 8 )

    As C.S. Lewis famously phrased it, God invites us to “come further up and further in.” An ever-expanding view of God is worth more than a million tips and hacks for marriage. Most of us, however, have had the experience of reading our Bibles and feeling cold and unmoved. Therefore, we meditate on the Bible, slowing down to think about and pray over what we read. When we do, God often brings a new sweetness to our souls. As Psalm 1: 2 says, “His delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.”

    In our distracted age, meditation will be a battle. But we can strive to read our Bibles during our best discretionary time, the time when we are most rested and unhurried. For many of us, this will be first thing in the morning. Before you begin reading, ask God to make something glorious stand out to you. “Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law” ( Psalm 119: 18 ). When he answers that prayer, slow down and feast.

    LEAD, PROVIDE, AND PROTECT

    Preparing well for marriage begins with pursuing God, but it certainly doesn’t end there. Pursuing God provides the strength and fuel men need to keep growing into God’s calling as leaders, providers, and protectors.

    God clearly calls men, not just husbands, to these kinds of responsibilities in Scripture. While marriage radically narrows and heightens the responsibilities of leading, providing, and protecting, it does not create them. Before Eve’s creation or the fall, God established Adam as a leader by creating him first, as a provider by commanding him to “work and keep” the garden ( Genesis 2: 15 ), and as a protector by commanding him to avoid the tree of the knowledge of good and evil ( Genesis 2: 17 ).

    Every man can practice and grow into these callings now, even before he gets married. In particular, the church is an especially good place for a young man to cultivate the kind of responsibility and initiative that will be required of him in marriage.

    So what are ways for single men to learn to lead, provide, and protect within the church?

    1. GROW AS A LEADER

    As a husband, a man will be tasked with sacrificially leading his wife ( Ephesians 5: 22 ). God will call him to become the kind of Christlike leader a godly woman can follow wholeheartedly, even as the church follows Christ. Paul says, “The husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior” ( Ephesians 5: 23 ).

    Practically, men can grow into this kind of sacrificial leadership by cultivating humble initiative. With the help of others, we can see our own particular tendencies, repent, and seek grace to grow in concrete ways. For instance, a man characterized by pride might invite trusted friends to plainly point out selfishness they observe. A man who leans toward selfish passivity might take the initiative to greet people sitting alone at church, rather than merely moving toward those he already knows.

    2. GROW AS A PROVIDER

    As a husband, a man will be called to another form of leadership: primary provision for his family. Paul makes this plain in ( Ephesians 5: 28-29 ): “In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church.” Just as a man provides for his own needs, God calls him to provide for his wife. This does not mean the husband will be the home’s only breadwinner, or even that he will necessarily earn more than his wife. It simply means he will take ultimate responsibility to ensure his family’s physical and spiritual needs are met.

    Unmarried men can begin applying this by working hard for the right reasons ( Proverbs 14: 23 ). Are we essentially working to fund hobbies, experiences, and vacations? Or, believing God has called us to meaningful work, are we actively, tangibly using it to love him and others?

    FIND A HUSBAND TO FOLLOW

    While seeking God first and leaning into his callings for us as men is critical, it’s immensely helpful to find a godly married man to disciple you ( 1 Corinthians 11:1; 2 Timothy 2: 2 ). Proactively find someone you admire who’s willing to be transparent, and ask to spend time with him and his family. Ask him what he’s learned from the successes and failures in his marriage, and consider how you might incorporate those lessons even now.

    As men, all of us are called to run hard after Christ regardless of whether we marry one day. But as we pursue Christ and grow as leaders, providers, we will be more prepared to date — and ultimately, marry — a godly woman, if God wills.

    Ntabo Ntabo is a writer and a graduate of Theological Studies at ANU!

    READERS CAN SHARE THEIR VIEWS OR SUGGESTIONS TO: ntabontabo91@gmail.com

  • WHY YOU NEED TO READ YOUR BIBLE

    1. For your own spiritual state.
    2. To gain an understanding of who God is all about.
    3. To create a relationship with God and His Kingdom.
    4. For preparation of the eternal life.
    5. To preach the good news to the world.
    6. To learn how God goes beyond culture.
    7. To learn to pray with a view of unlocking mysteries that may otherwise not be unlocked.
    8. To live a righteous life.
    9. To be a witness of how God can use fallible beings and make them useful for the Kingdom.
    10. To permanently defeat the evil one whose primary role is to, ” Steal, kill and destroy.” ( John 10:10 )

    I have offered ten reasons but there are more!

    May God bless you as you prepare to keep digging for the treasures found within the Holy Scriptures!

    Ntabo Ntabo is a writer and a graduate of Theological studies at ANU!

    READERS CAN SHARE THEIR VIEWS OR SUGGESTIONS TO: ntabontabo91@gmail.com

  • GREET WITH A HOLY KISS

    Some Christians today might be surprised to learn that the apostles command us, five times, to “greet [each other] with a holy kiss” ( Romans 16: 16; 1 Corinthians 16: 20; 2 Corinthians 13: 20; 1 Thessalonians 5: 26 OR ” kiss of Love,” 1 Peter 5: 14. Really? How’s that supposed to work? When you arrive at church? When you cross paths during the week? And is it okay that many of us today, at least in my Christian circles, are not obeying this command? Or are we?

    How do we understand the apostles’ charge about the holy kiss, and how might we apply it today across the stretches of our varying times and customs?

    We Are Family

    A massive and easily overlooked assumption beneath the apostles’ charge is the familial claim implicit in such instruction. Christ came to create a social reality that transcends that of blood relatives. He came to establish and build his church, as not only a people who receive his grace and salvation but as a family joined together to him, the elder brother, and through him, to the Father, by faith.

    The holy-kiss charge communicates more than simply the implicit “we are family” as brothers and sisters in Christ, but we should not ignore this remarkable reality, nor a second truth which flows from it.

    We Love Each Other

    Not only are we, in Christ, family in fact, but we also are to be familial in affection. That is, we come to be like King David, not only in our words and acts but in our affections, when he says of fellow believers in Psalm 16: 3

    As for the saints in the land,

    they are the excellent ones,

    in whom is all my delight.

    As sinners ourselves, we often find fellow Christians to be some of the hardest people to love. But in our new selves, by the Spirit, the saints — our fellows in Christ, joined also to him — become our delight. However strange and quirky and annoying and difficult, however foolish and weak by the world’s standards ( 1 Corinthians 1: 26-29 ), we learn to see our family members in Christ, despite their many flaws, as “excellent ones.”

    We might then check ourselves with every “holy kiss,” whether a literal kiss (if acceptable still in some places) or in every kind word of greeting, expression of affection, handshake, or hug to a fellow Christian: Do I really manifest the new birth I have in Jesus, the heart that first loves God and also loves those who too have been born of him ( 1 John 5: 1 )? Are my demonstrations of affection toward other believers sincere expressions of love? Are my greetings holy, like that of the redeemed “woman of the city” in Luke 7? Or are they deceptive, even conniving, and unholy like the Judas kiss?

    When affectionate ways of greeting one another in Christ become our norm, we may notice more readily emerging breaches in relationship. When we newly feel hesitant to embrace, say, some fellow believer (or extend a handshake, heartfelt word, or warm smile), that may indicate some unaddressed issue that needs attention and resolution (at least in our own hearts). Just as it’s hard to sincerely pray for someone while remaining angry at him, it would likewise be hard to give someone a “holy kiss” (or whatever culturally appropriate sign) while harboring bitterness.

    Reticence to kiss between spouses may signal unresolved issues in a marriage. So too, in our churches, reticence to greet each other with manifest and unqualified warmth may signal a problem (and lead us to revisit Jesus’s teaching in ( Matthew 5: 23-24 ). This leads to a third and final truth informing how we think of, and apply, the holy kiss today.

    We Love with Sincerity

    Surely, “the holy kiss” meant, at least, kissing without lust. But again, kissing in the ancient world (and in Scripture) was far more familial than romantic. And very likely, at the end of five New Testament Epistles, the emphasis is not as much on the charge to kiss, as if early believers were not greeting each other with kisses and needed to introduce this new act. Rather, the emphasis, given that the kiss of greeting was already common and assumed, was that early Christians do so, unlike Judas, with holiness. Greet each other, as family, and without sin.

    In other words, express your affection with sincerity, not pretense. When you greet each other, in word or deed, mean it. Don’t flatter or deceive. But first and foremost, genuinely love one another from the heart, as family, brothers and sisters in Christ; then express it genuinely.

    No Judas Kisses

    Perhaps often overlooked, against the background of Scripture’s most infamous kiss, is the charge to holiness and sincerity in our demonstrations of affection to our fellows in Christ. Imagine how Judas’s unholy peck of betrayal would have freshly dominated the connotations of the kiss for early Christians.

    The apostles’ charge for holy kisses means, at least, “Let there be no Judases among us.” Not in the church. Heaven, forbid it. May we never leverage the familial trust of our shared faith in Christ to deceive, use, trick, or exploit other Christians.

    So, we resolve with every “holy kiss” not to betray or backstab each other, not to “bite and devour one another” ( Galatians 5: 15 ). Rather, we resolve to serve each other, be loyal to each other, love each other in ways that show the world, the flesh, and the devil what kisses are for — not to con or manipulate but to convey heartfelt affection. We greet each other, as family, with sincere love — and resolve to live consistently with our greetings.

    Holy Kisses Today

    Christians today, in our differing times and cultures, can feel the freedom not to greet each other with literal kisses. But some still may. And regardless, we are enjoined to greet each other — and not without holiness — whether with a hug, handshake, heartfelt word, or whatever similar expression. And perhaps our lingering today over the repeated holy-kiss charge will remind us how important it is to cultivate, and express, affection for our fellows in Christ, who are family, even deeper and more enduringly so than blood relatives.

    The holy-kiss charge is a rebuke to any who would claim Christ and yet nurse a critical disposition toward his people. It exposes the folly of Christians who would claim to love our brother Jesus but find his other brothers and sisters merely annoying, or maddening, or to be flattered or exploited.

    The holy kiss also reminds us of an important dynamic in corporate worship, to ready our hearts for each Sunday. Indeed, we gather to worship Jesus — and we gather that we might do so together.

    Which might lead to an application almost as uncomfortable to modern people as a kiss of greeting: slowing down. What if we considered how hurried we are before and after worship — how late to arrive before the call to worship, and how quick to rush off to lunch or the next event?

    We will hardly greet each other with sincere expressions of holy, familial affection without the time and space to greet each other at all.

    Ntabo Ntabo is a writer and a graduate of Theological Studies at ANU!

    READERS CAN SHARE THEIR VIEWS OR SUGGESTIONS TO: ntabontabo91@gmail.com

  • CELEBRATING WELL-WRITTEN 500 ARTICLES: A LETTER

    Dear Reader,

    I take this time to appreciate you for always taking time to read my articles. It has been said that, ” Africans don’t read,” but ALAS! the number of people all over the world most notably from our beloved continent who visit my blog, is astonishing and definitely amazing. Believe me, I intend to keep writing.

    Together, we’ve achieved the 500 mark and I refuse to overlook the immense love God has bestowed upon me. The good health, sober mind, lovely family and many other things, cannot be explained enough. Glory to God! The next chapter of my writing will focus mostly on the following subjects: The bible, philosophy, theology, political history, personal stories and book reviews.

    For those who have sent gifts, offered prayers, encouraged me, hugged me and criticized me, all I want to say is, thank you! In one way or another, everyone has contributed to the success of my blog.

    Feel free to reach out for any advice, prayer or lessons through my email address: andyntabo@gmail.com OR ntabontabo91@gmail.com. I will also be available through my personal line: 0705556166 ( use text rather than call ).

    Shalom!

    Ntabo Ntabo is a writer and a graduate of Theological Studies at ANU!

    READERS CAN SHARE THEIR VIEWS OR SUGGESTIONS TO: ntabontabo91@gmail.com

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