Who Is the Holy Spirit?

By: Norton Herbst
© ExploreGod.com

A vague, impersonal force or an intimate, caring God? You decide.

Many religions teach belief in a cosmic force that gives life and purpose to everything in the world. For example, Hinduism teaches the idea of karma—the law of cause and effect by which each individual creates his own destiny by his thoughts, words, and deeds.

Most Christians, however, hold that this “force” is not a vague and impersonal force at all, but rather a God who cares deeply about our lives. Historic Christianity specifically and uniquely believes that this God is one being made up of three distinct persons: the Trinity of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Each member of the Trinity shares the same substance and has a unique role in the world. The relationship of love and community that is shared among the three overflows into a relationship that the triune God desires to have with every person. As a result, the Holy Spirit is an essential aspect of who God is.¹

The Holy Spirit in the Bible

Christians believe that the Holy Spirit is part of the Trinity because the Bible seems to support that concept.

The Old Testament makes several references to God’s Spirit. The Spirit was present at creation and gave power and strength to people like Moses, Samson, and David.² And the Psalms speak of the Holy Spirit’s infinite presence from which no person can hide or flee.³

The New Testament writers also elaborated on the Holy Spirit. They wrote about the Holy Spirit’s role in convicting people when they do wrong, guiding people to do what is right, and generally teaching and illuminating the truth about God to all who seek him.⁴ Luke, a physician and one of the Gospel writers, indicated that one’s relationship to God is the same as one’s relationship to the Holy Spirit.⁵

Nonetheless, understanding exactly who the Holy Spirit is can be difficult. It’s not too hard to imagine God as a creator or a father-like figure. And Jesus is a tangible person who we can read about and study. But the third person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit, is more mysterious and evasive.

A few images might help our understanding.

Describing the Holy Spirit

In the 1611 King James Version of the Bible—one of the first English translations—the Holy Spirit is referred to as the “Holy Ghost.”

Ghosts are usually perceived as scary creatures. They reportedly haunt houses, graveyards, and people. Or ghosts are portrayed as nice and cute—like Casper or bed-sheet-covered three-year-olds who knock on our doors at Halloween.

But according to most Christians, the Holy Spirit is neither scary nor cute. So what is—or who is—the Holy Spirit?

One image used in the Bible comes from nature. The word often translated “spirit” from Hebrew and Greek, the original languages of the Bible, also means “breath” or “wind.”⁶ In this sense, the Holy Spirit is like the wind—you can feel its effects when it blows but you cannot pin it down.

Jesus described it this way: “The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”⁷

Another image for the Holy Spirit is advocate or helper. When Jesus was teaching his disciples one day, he said, “All this I have spoken while still with you. But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.”⁸

An advocate is a person who stands beside you, works with you, and supports your cause. He is a counselor who supports, defends, teaches, and helps you when you are in trouble. Think of a legal advocate who pleads your case in court. This is the role of the Holy Spirit for those who ask for his help in their lives.⁹

The Presence of the Holy Spirit

So sometimes the Holy Spirit is like the mysterious but powerful wind; sometimes he is like a personal helper, partner, or advocate beside us. But Christians also believe the Holy Spirit can live within us, filling our hearts and minds with freedom, joy, purpose, and grace.

In this way, the Holy Spirit is the presence of Jesus in our lives.

When people first began following Jesus, his love infected them and transformed their lives. Though Jesus is no longer physically present on earth, the Holy Spirit makes his life-giving presence available to all who seek him.

The apostle Paul explained it this way: “But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life because of righteousness. And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you.”¹⁰

And so we come back to the inexplicable role of the Trinity: the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, working together mysteriously to reveal God and his will in our lives.¹¹

What the Holy Spirit Does

Perhaps the best way to understand who the Holy Spirit is comes from describing what he does. For centuries, people of faith have attempted to convey the sacred feeling they experience when they pray and seek God.

For some, it’s a moment of power and ecstasy that provokes emotions that can’t really be explained. Others describe it as the voice of their conscience warning them of danger or challenging them to help someone in need. And at times, it’s the overwhelming sense that—when everyone else has let us down—we are not alone. We are still loved by a God who is both infinitely transcendent and immanently close.¹²

See Alister E. McGrath, Christian Theology: An Introduction, Second Edition (Oxford: Blackwell, 1997), 292-318.
See The Holy Bible, New International Version © 2011, Genesis 1:2, Numbers 11:16-17, Judges 14:6, and 1 Samuel 16:13.
See The Holy Bible, Psalm 139:7-12.
See The Holy Bible, John 16:8-13.
See The Holy Bible, Acts 5:3-4.
E. Kamlah, J.D.G. Dunn, and C. Brown “Spirit, Holy Spirit” in New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology, ed. Colin Brown (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1978), vol. 3, 689-709.
The Holy Bible, John 3:8.
Ibid., John 14:25-26.
It is worth noting that when people refer to the Holy Spirit as “he,” the masculine pronoun can be confusing. This does not mean that the Holy Spirit is male (nor is God, even though the metaphor of Father is often used.) Rather, pronouns like “he” and “him” are used by New Testament writers and others to indicate only that the Holy Spirit is personal and relational, not a vague force like gravity or karma.
Ibid., Romans 8:10-11.
While much of the explicit language in the Bible about the Holy Spirit is found in the New Testament, Christopher J. H. Wright explores many other images and references to the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament. See his excellent Knowing the Holy Spirit Through the Old Testament (Downers Grove: IVP Academic, 2006).
For more on the work of the Holy Spirit, see Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1994), 634-653.
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What Is the Fruit of the Spirit?

By: R. Robert Creech, Ph.D.
© ExploreGod.com

Christians are supposed to reflect the “fruit of the Spirit.” But do they?

Christianity has an image problem.David Kinnaman and Gabe Lyons, unChristian¹

That succinct understatement opens David Kinnaman and Gabe Lyons’s controversial 2007 book unChristian: What a New Generation Really Thinks About Christianity—and Why It Matters. Working from survey data done with 16- to 29-year-olds, the authors discovered that words like “hypocritical,” “insensitive,” and “judgmental” were consistently used to describe Christians—the community of people who are meant to represent Jesus Christ to the world.

The church and Christians in general are widely perceived to be too narrow-minded, anti-homosexual, and sheltered. In short, to many of those outside the church, the followers of Jesus appear to be “unChristian.” Whether they know much or nothing about Jesus and his teachings, those outside the church sense that Jesus’ followers often fail to measure up to his life and example.

Is this the best that can be expected? Did Jesus offer people an impossible example to follow? Can Christians really not do any better at reflecting Jesus’ own life?

What to Expect

Actually, those judging the church in this way have every right to do so. Jesus himself taught that you can know a true follower from a false one the same way you can know a good tree from a bad one—by examining the fruit it produces:

By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.²

Essentially, Jesus gave all of us the right to be “fruit inspectors.” On another occasion he said, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”³

Jesus says flat-out that Christians should be set apart by their love for one another. Yet this doesn’t appear to be the case, does it? Love doesn’t always seem to be the result of subscribing to the Christian faith.

A New Way of Life

So what is the “fruit” that followers of Jesus ought to be producing? Paul, one of Jesus’ early disciples, described a follower of Jesus—one who is led by the Spirit—as bearing “the fruit of the Spirit.” He wrote, “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.”⁴ Clear enough, don’t you think?

Paul believed that God himself (the Spirit) should be working in the lives of Jesus’ followers in such a way that these qualities would become increasingly evident in the way they conducted their daily lives. The concept of “the fruit of the Spirit” underscores a truth about Christian faith that is often overlooked in the contemporary church: Jesus did not come to persuade us to assent to a new set of beliefs. He came to offer us a new way of life.

Christians believe that Jesus came to the world to make it possible for human beings to live in relationship with God now, in our real, day-to-day existence. Through living in that relationship, we begin to be transformed to be more and more like him in our character and in the way we live.

In fact, it would be easy to substitute “Jesus” for “the fruit of the Spirit” in Paul’s statement above: Jesus is love, joy, peace, etc. The fruit of the Spirit is the life of Jesus being made increasingly manifest in the lives of his followers.

The Fruit of the New Life

The analogy of these qualities as “fruit” is helpful. Fruit is produced by the life of the tree; a fruit tree is adorned with beautiful fruit produced by the life within it. Much like this, the fruits of the Spirit are the products of the new life within the follower of Jesus—new life that God gives.

But fruit does not appear overnight. It takes time. The tree or vine must be nurtured and pruned; time must be allotted for growth and development. In the same way, the character of the Christian develops incrementally into the character of Christ—who, in fact, sometimes referred to himself as the vine.⁵

Character is shaped by seeking and meeting God in life’s difficulties.⁶ Life is transformed and enriched by spiritual practices, such as prayer, worship, service, and study.⁷ Through the pruning of life’s challenges and the nurturing of spiritual practices, the fruit of the Spirit will increasingly appear in the life of Jesus’ followers.

Such a life is not something we naturally produce, but one that depends on God’s work in us—that’s the “of the Spirit” part. On our own, we often bear something far less attractive. Paul contrasted the fruit of the Spirit to the ordinary behaviors we often display when we are not living our day-to-day lives in relationship with God—behaviors he called “the acts of the flesh.” He wrote: “The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like.”⁸

When Jesus’ followers fail to live in relationship with him in their everyday lives, they may find themselves bearing the wrong kind of fruit—contributing to the Christian image problem.

Overcoming the Image Problem

It is possible to live a life in which all that we do in relation to others is marked by genuine concern for what is best for them. A life in which we find ourselves deeply contented regardless of our circumstances. A life in which we live with a profound sense of peaceful assurance that we are loved, accepted, and protected by God.

We can imagine a life in which we live with steady patience when things are difficult, treat those around us with kindness, and choose what is good and right. We can imagine a life characterized by faithfulness to God and to our promises to others, a gentleness in word and deed, and a self-control that prevails in every circumstance.

Paul’s encouragement is simply this: “Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.”⁹ This would be a life whose fruit bears witness to Jesus’ reality. This would be a life without an image problem. Let us all work to keep in step with the Spirit.

David Kinnaman and Gabe Lyons, Unchristian: What a New Generation Really Thinks About Christianity—and Why It Matters (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2012), 11.
The Holy Bible, New International Version © 2011, Matthew 7:16–20.
Ibid., John 13:34–35.
The Holy Bible, New International Version © 1984, Galatians 5:22–23.
The Holy Bible, New International Version © 2011, John 15:1–8.
See The Holy Bible, Romans 5:3–5; James 1:2–4.
Ibid., 1 Timothy 4:8.
The Holy Bible, Galatians 5:19-21.
Ibid., Galatians 5:25.
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Do Miracles Break the Laws of Nature?

By: Louis Markos, Ph.D.
© ExploreGod.com

Can miracles happen? Do they break the laws of nature?

A miracle is a violation of the laws of nature; and as a firm and unalterable experience has established these laws, the proof against a miracle, from the very nature of the fact, is as entire as any argument from experience can possibly be imagined.David Hume¹

In his book The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, author C. S. Lewis sends three children on an epic journey to the eastern end of his magical world of Narnia. Though two of the children have rich imaginations and revel in the wonders that they encounter, the other, Eustace Clarence Scrubb, is the product of a “modern” education that deals only in facts, figures, and experimentation.

Near the end of their voyage, the children meet a wizard named Ramandu who is not what he seems. Though he has the form of a man, Ramandu is actually a retired star. When the rational-minded Eustace learns this, he explains to Ramandu that, on earth, a star is nothing but a flaming ball of gas. “Even in your world, my son,” Ramandu replies, “that is not what a star is but only what it is made of.”²

A Clockwork Universe

Science has mapped the heavens, unpacked the atom, and calculated the numerical values of the forces that hold our planet together. The uncovering of the invisible laws of nature must rank as one of the crowning achievements of mankind. And yet, have these discoveries—as great as they are—really delved into the mysteries that lie at the heart of our universe . . . and ourselves?

That is, we know what stars are made of, but do we really know what they are?

Most people believe we live in a clockwork universe, one that runs in accordance with iron laws of motion. For many modern people, there seems to be no room for a personal God in a universe so rigidly and mathematically organized.

In Orthodoxy, author G. K. Chesterton disagrees. Perhaps, he argues, God makes every daisy the same because he has never grown tired of making daisies. Perhaps God, with childlike enthusiasm, looks at the sun every morning and says, “Do it again!” Perhaps God’s eternal appetite exults in that beautiful repetition that we call monotony.

Where Babies Come From

Half a century later, C. S. Lewis approached the same conundrum from a different point of view in his book Miracles. The critics who claim that our clockwork universe is inconsistent with the idea of a personal God will often, in the same breath, claim that the only reason our ancestors believed in miracles was that they did not understand the laws of nature. For example, early Christians, they say, believed in the virgin birth of Jesus Christ because they lacked our modern knowledge of eggs and sperm.

But, Lewis argues, this is nonsense. Joseph knew where babies come from. That’s why he was prepared to divorce Mary when he learned that she was pregnant; he believed that meant she was no longer a virgin—as it generally did.

Indeed, we can only label something a miracle if we know the laws of nature—that is, if we know what the natural course of events should be. Apart from fixed laws, miracles have no meaning.

The argument is a powerful one, but it seems to throw Lewis into the arms of his critics. “If the laws of nature are fixed and can’t be broken,” they will say, “and if miracles by definition break the laws of nature, then miracles must be impossible.”

And that takes us to the crux of the matter.

The Laws of Nature Are a Process

The laws of nature, Lewis explains, do not define an outcome, but a process. They tell you not what must happen but what will happen in the natural course of events. If I lift a porcelain vase over my head and then let go of it, the law of gravity says that it will fall to the ground and shatter—but not that it must do these things.

If, one second before the vase hits the ground, my other hand swoops down and catches it, the vase will not shatter. Have I broken the law of gravity? Of course not. I have merely suspended it by adding a new, outside factor into the equation. If I let go of it again, it will fall and shatter.

Maybe miracles do not break the laws of nature. Maybe they record a moment when the divine hand of God reaches into our world and suspends the natural course of events—suspends, but not breaks.

Consider this: every person whom Christ miraculously healed in Palestine eventually died.

Not a Breach but a Restoration

Miracles, then, do not have to break the laws of nature—but are they necessary? Are miracles really consistent with the dignity of God? Why would God intervene directly when he could just as easily work through the hands of a doctor or a scientist?

In the Gospels, Jesus performs miracles as a way to prove that he was sent by God.³ But what about today? What can miracles reveal to us about the nature of God and our world?

All people, no matter their religious (or non-religious) beliefs, are plagued by the unshakable sense that this world should be better than it is. But why should we feel that way? Surely the world—with modern medicine and near-daily discoveries and progression—has never been better.

Unless, of course, we accept what the first three chapters of Genesis tell us: Namely, we and our world were created perfect. But because we disobeyed our creator, we and nature are now fallen and in a state of disrepair. “Subjected to frustration” is how the New Testament describes it.⁴

If the Bible is correct about this, it leaves open an intriguing possibility. Perhaps it is not the miracle, but our world—with all its death, decay, and disease—that is the strange and unnatural thing. Perhaps a miracle is not a violation of the laws of nature, but a sublime act during which the Creator, for a brief and glorious moment, restores the original order of his creation.

Miracles bring joy, not only because they bring healing, but because they give us a glimpse of what should have been . . . and what yet may be.

David Hume, An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding, 1748, ed. L. A. Selby-Bigge (1894), section 10, part 1, 114–115. Full quote can be found at http://www.todayinsci.com/H/Hume_David/HumeDavid-Quotations.htm
C. S. Lewis, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (New York: Collier Books, 1970), 180.
See, for example, The Holy Bible, New International Version © 1984, John 2:23, 5:36, 10:25.
The Holy Bible, Romans 8:20.
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How to Deal with Addiction

By: David Farmer, PhD, LPC, LMFT
© ExploreGod.com

Many of us would say that we’re “addicted” to something in life. What is addiction and how should we approach dealing with it?

“I know it’s a problem, but I just can’t stop!”

“I promise this will be the last time.”

“What’s wrong with me?”

Sound familiar?

In the Bible, the Apostle Paul described a similar dilemma in his letter to the church at Rome: “For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing.”¹

Paul’s account of our sinful nature sounds remarkably similar to the process of addiction.

We all know someone whom we consider addicted to something—someone caught up in the cycle of dependence and addiction. Maybe your “someone” is even yourself.

Physiological Addiction and Dependence

Addictions can be physiological in nature. A psychoactive substance—such as certain prescription medicines, illicit or illegal drugs, alcohol, or nicotine—is consumed and impacts body chemistry and physical function. Repeated use of the substance can lead to a condition of physiological dependence. Healthcare professionals agree that drugs, alcohol, and nicotine can be addictive.

The diagnosis of physiological dependence (or addiction) is used to describe those experiencing tolerance and withdrawal symptoms. In dependence, tolerance develops. As tolerance builds, more of the substance is required to achieve and maintain the desired physiological state and feeling. Tolerance leads to an increase in amount or frequency of use over time.

Withdrawal, the body’s physiological reaction to not having the substance, is a symptom of dependence. Withdrawal symptoms vary by substance and in severity; in some cases withdrawal can be life-threatening. Stopping use of a substance to which one is addicted is most safely done under the care of a physician.

Psychological Addiction and Dependence

The dependence associated with addiction can also be psychological in nature. This is typically the case with compulsive behaviors. Psychological dependence is not due to physiological conditions but to the emotional feelings associated with the behavior.

Compulsive behaviors can have powerful impacts on our emotional states. Over time the behavior becomes connected with a desired emotional outcome—typically temporary relief from stress.

Dependence develops as the behavior is repeated and continually associated with achieving that desired emotional release. Failed attempts to reduce or eliminate the behavior are seen as symptoms of dependence.

Psychological forms of dependence may include substance use, pathological gambling, excessive spending, compulsive eating, and compulsive sexual behaviors such as pornography and masturbation.

A debate exists among healthcare professionals about classifying compulsive behaviors as addiction. But whether they are labeled addiction or not, compulsive behaviors can have powerful psychological impacts and appear addictive in nature. Compulsive gambling is currently the only behavior officially given an addiction diagnosis.

The Addiction Cycle

Addiction involves continued substance use or participation in a compulsive behavior even when it creates problems in life. These problems might be physical, legal, relational, occupational, or financial.

Often the cycle of addiction starts with a desire to feel better. Over time a substance or behavior becomes associated with temporary emotional reprieve. This relief is often followed by a period of guilt and self-reproach. To ease such negative feelings, the person again uses or engages in the same addictive behavior. And so the cycle continues.

Often we just don’t know how to adjust our emotions appropriately. Excessive spending, gambling, drinking, smoking, eating, pornography use, and masturbation can become habitual ways to adjust emotions.

But it’s only a temporary fix, and before you know it, you need to make the adjustment again.

Helpful Steps for Managing Addiction

Below are seven steps to help deal with addiction.

Recognize the Problem

Denial is the inability to recognize or refusal to admit that you have a problem. An example of denial is getting fired for viewing pornography at work and blaming the job loss on management having it in for you. The denial is present in blaming the boss rather than focusing on the problem with pornography.

Another example would be blaming your spouse for frequent conflict over your emotional unavailability due to hangovers. The denial is present in blaming nagging and unreasonable expectations rather than admitting to a patterned abuse of alcohol.

The first step in dealing with any addictive behavior is to identify the issue and break through denial.

Admit That Addiction Has Power in Your Life

Be honest with yourself and others you trust about the power that addiction has in your life. Paul continues his letter to Rome, describing the power that sin—such as submitting to the behaviors of addiction—has within us: “So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in me waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me.”²

Twelve-step programs like Alcoholics Anonymous encourage members to acknowledge their powerlessness over their addiction. That sounds pretty similar to what Paul is describing above.

Recognize that you cannot do it by yourself. Open up to a minister trained in understanding addiction, a professional counselor, or a support group. You don’t have to do this on your own.

Identify Your Triggers

It’s important to identify the precipitating factors that set the compulsive cycle in process—these are known as your “triggers.” It might be positive stress, such as a promotion, or negative stress, such as a time-pressured work task. It may be conflict within a relationship, or it could be simply being around others who are participating in the addictive behavior.

Triggers can be places, people, events, emotional states—even boredom. They can be things we see on TV, billboards, or the Internet. Pinpointing triggers helps identify the conditioning process and aids in the replacement of addictive behavior with appropriate coping mechanisms.

Capture Your Thoughts

Our thoughts play an active role in this process as well. With compulsive addictive behavior there is a great deal of time spent anticipating and planning the behavior. These thoughts generally look forward to the behavior providing emotional relief.

In reality the behavior often leads to despair, but we get proficient at blocking out thoughts or memories of the negative consequences. We tend to focus on only the relief we associate with the addiction, forgetting the guilt and self-reproach that follows the temporary reprieve of acting out the behavior.

But we can capture our thoughts by consciously, vigilantly monitoring and challenging their focus. We can learn to redirect our thoughts, which is an important step in the management of addictive behavior. Romans 13:14 describes this process of thought management: “Clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature.”³

Our thoughts are powerful and must be focused on doing God’s will instead of gratifying our sinful nature.

Get in Touch with Your Emotions

Emotional intelligence is the awareness of your own emotions and the emotional states of others. An aspect of emotional intelligence is the development of appropriate emotion management strategies. Emotional intelligence can be learned. It is healthy to identify and appropriately express our emotions rather than suppress them with addictions.

Modify Your Behaviors

Explore God’s Word to understand that he does not intend for you to live this way. God desires to support you in your management of addiction. Romans 7:25 reminds us that God “delivers [us] through Jesus Christ our Lord.” He will help in our recovery process. Our deliverance from addiction comes through behavioral changes supported by a healthy thought life and accountability.

We must replace addictive behaviors with healthy behavior. It is important to battle the urge to return to the addiction. Stop associating with the people who enable your addiction. Develop supportive friends who will encourage you and promote appropriate behavior. Identify and implement new behaviors to replace the addictive ones. Behavior modification is possible, but you will need support. Seek out counseling to help with this process.

Establish Accountability Partners

Rates of relapse—the return to addiction—are extremely high. An effective relapse prevention plan and strong support is vital for recovery. Accountability for your time, money, emotions, behavior, and spirituality is key to success. You need trusted individuals who have your permission to initiate conversations about the status of your addiction. Be completely honest about your thoughts, emotions, and behaviors. Commit to contact these accountability partners as soon as the urge to act on the addiction surfaces.

Resources for Understanding and Seeking Treatment for Addiction

For further information on understanding and seeking treatment for addiction, check out any local treatment centers near you. For online resources, please see the note below.⁴

The Holy Bible, New International Version © 2011, Romans 7:18–19.
Ibid., Romans 7:21–23.
Ibid., Romans 13:14.
The following resources provide further information on addiction in general as well as specific addictions themselves.
National Institute on Drug Abuse, http://www.drugabuse.gov/.
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, http://www.niaaa.nih.gov/.
“The Science of Addiction: Drugs, Brains, and Behavior,” NIH Medicine Plus (2007): 14–17, available at http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/magazine/issues/spring07/articles/spring07pg14-17.html.
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, https://www.samhsa.gov/treatment.
“Alcohol,” World Health Organization, May 2014, .
“Management of Substance Abuse,” World Health Organization, .
“Quitting Tobacco,” World Health Organization, .

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The Christian View of Divorce

By: R. Robert Creech, Ph.D.
© ExploreGod.com

Divorce can be hard on everyone involved—but is divorce an unforgivable sin?

In 1989 Dr. Diane Medved, a secular psychologist from Santa Monica, California, published a controversial book entitled The Case Against Divorce.¹ Having experienced divorce herself, Medved argues that most couples who turn to divorce do so prematurely—and often unnecessarily. Her research indicated that “the process and aftermath of divorce is so pervasively disastrous—to body, mind, and spirit—that in an overwhelming number of cases, the ‘cure’ that it brings is surely worse than the marriage’s ‘disease.’”²

We all know how devastating divorce can be, but divorce statistics are some of sociology’s most widely debated numbers. To say that one in three marriages will end in divorce is to say nothing about a particular marriage’s chances of survival. Many variables converge in a marriage to make divorce more or less likely.

Christian faith is one of the variables that hold the interest of researchers. Does faith in Christ make a marked difference in the stability of a marriage?

Faith and Divorce

Some claim that Christians are statistically just as likely to divorce as non-Christians are. In fact, some studies have indicated that evangelical Christians are even more likely to divorce than their non-Christian counterparts.³Others have argued the opposite.

However, when you take into consideration only Christians who are actively engaged in the practice of their faith, the divorce rate drops drastically.⁴ While nominal “Christian faith” offers little in the way of hope, apparently an active faith life can play a role in helping married couples work through the difficulties of forging a life together.

One reason that divorce and the Christian faith is such an intriguing subject is that it is an issue about which the Christian church has taken one of its most rigid stands. Despite its prevalence both inside and outside the church, divorce—or divorce and remarriage—has often been treated as an almost unpardonable sin. Why such a fierce stance?

God Hates Divorce

The ancient Hebrew prophet Malachi, who taught the people of Israel about four hundred years before Jesus, offered this word to his people: “‘I hate divorce,’ says the Lord, the God of Israel.”⁵

To be clear, the prophet did not say that God hates people who have been divorced. He meant that God hates what divorce (all that leads up to it and all that flows from it) does to those he loves and to his purpose for the covenant of marriage.

The pain of a failing marriage cuts deep in human lives, as Medved pointed out. The hearts of men, women, and children are broken when divorce occurs. The impact of a divorce can go on for many years—especially when children are involved. When promises and covenants are easily broken, the very fabric of society is threatened. This is part of what God “hates” about divorce.

Divorce in Ancient Israel

In ancient Hebrew society, divorce was particularly hard on the wife. She could be left without means of support, plagued by shame and the stigma—deserved or not—that she had been unfaithful to her husband.⁶

The Jewish Law made provision for a man to divorce his wife (never the other way around) as long as the woman was given a certificate of divorce, protecting her in some ways from social stigma.⁷ Rabbis (Jewish teachers) who lived a century before Jesus debated the question of the circumstances under which divorce was permitted according to that law.

The school of Rabbi Hillel argued that a man could divorce his wife for almost any reason. The school of Rabbi Shammai, on the other hand, argued that unfaithfulness on the part of the woman was the only basis for divorce.

Jesus on Divorce

This law and its application are alluded to in the story of Jesus’ birth in Matthew 1:18–25. Joseph learns that Mary, whom he is pledged to marry, is pregnant. Apparently she has been unfaithful in her commitment to Joseph. Consequently, he considers initiating divorce proceedings, which even the followers of Rabbi Shammai would have agreed was permissible. However, after being warned in a dream that the child in Mary’s womb is the miraculous product of the Spirit of God, Joseph goes ahead with the marriage.

Jesus himself spoke on the issue of divorce on a couple of occasions.⁸You can hear the rabbinical debate on the topic echoing in the background of his comments.

Some religious officials asked Jesus whether it was permissible for a man to divorce his wife “for any and every reason” (the position of Hillel).⁹ Jesus, although apparently siding with Shammai by saying that unfaithfulness is the only grounds for divorce, took the issue to a deeper level.

Jesus said that the law allowing divorce was given because human hearts are so “hard” (meaning self-centered and unloving).¹⁰ This meant that, given humans’ spiritual condition, divorce would be inevitable, and so the law was given to protect the women in Jewish society. God’s Law didn’t approve of divorce or even require it in cases of adultery; the law regulated divorce.

Then Jesus referred to some of the earliest verses of the Bible—Genesis 2:18–25, specifically. He reminded his listeners that God’s intention for marriage from the beginning had been for a man and a woman to live together in faithfulness and love for a lifetime. In order to accomplish that goal, the human heart would have to learn the full meaning of love.

Christian Marriage

Perhaps this is where one’s active faith practice can help the most. When two people are genuinely committed to following Jesus as his disciples and are seeking to grow spiritually, they have spiritual assets at their disposal. These resources help them deal more compassionately, kindly, and lovingly with both their own and their spouse’s failures and flaws.

Although being Christian does not inoculate a couple against divorce, they may find some resources in their faith to help them sustain their marriage vows when they might otherwise have given up.

In the lives of practicing Christians, prayer will play a vital role in dealing with the typical problems that bring tension to most marriages: finances, child-rearing, relating to one’s in-laws, dealing with one’s sexuality.¹¹ Practicing Christians work on forgiveness, a necessary component in family life that can prevent resentment and bitterness from eroding the relationship.¹² Submission, learning to be happy without having to have one’s own way, is a Christian virtue that both husbands and wives can learn to demonstrate.¹³

Active Christians will also have friendship and community with other Christians who can provide a listening ear and wise advice when family life is difficult. Above all, Christians have the reassurance that God has promised his continuing presence, grace, wisdom, comfort, and leadership to all those who trust in him.

Is Divorce Unforgiveable?

Those who have experienced the pain of divorce need to hear that divorce is never presented in the Christian Scriptures as an unforgivable sin. It is a sin like all other sins, because it falls short of God’s loving desire and plan for us.

But God forgives sin. Many have known the grace of God in the midst and aftermath of divorce. It has helped them to recover from a failed marriage and establish an enduring Christ-centered marriage.

In God there is always hope, always the promise of redemption, always the strength to face all life’s challenges.

Diane Medved, The Case Against Divorce (New York: Dutton Adult, 1989).
Ibid., 4.
Terry Goodrich, “Evangelicals Have Higher-than-average Divorce Rates, According to a Report Compiled by Baylor for the Council on Contemporary Families,” Baylor University Media Communications, accessed February 5, 2014, http://www.baylor.edu/mediacommunications/news.php?action=story&story=137892.
Glenn T. Stanton, “The Christian Divorce Rate Myth,” Crosswalk, March 20, 2012, http://www.crosswalk.com/family/marriage/divorce-and-remarriage/the-christian-divorce-rate-myth.html.
The Holy Bible, New Revised Standard Version © 1989, Malachi 2:16.
Eugene H. Merrill, Deuteronomy: An Exegetical and Theological Exposition of Holy Scripture (The New American Commentary), vol. 4 (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1994), 318.
See The Holy Bible, New International Version © 2011,Deuteronomy 24:1–4.
See, for example, The Holy Bible, Matthew 5:31–32 and 19:1–9.
The Holy Bible, Matthew 19:3.
Ibid., Matthew 19:8.
Ibid., Philippians 4:6–7.
Ibid., Ephesians 4:31–32.
Ibid., Ephesians 5:21–33.
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What Is Sin?

By: Norton Herbst
© ExploreGod.com

To most religious people, “sin” is a four-letter word. Why is that? What is sin in the first place?

Religious people like to talk about sin. A lot. They seem obsessed—like Hester Prynne’s accusers in the novel The Scarlet Letter—with shame, guilt, and condemnation.¹ And most people are not amused.²

The problem isn’t that most of us think we don’t have faults or make mistakes—we know we do. But the word “sin” connotes something more dirty, sinister, or perverted.

So why are religious people so focused on sin? Why do they try to force their understanding of sin and morality on everyone else?

It all depends on your understanding of the word “sin.” Before we dispense with the term altogether, writing it off as an archaic notion that needs to be forgotten, let’s explore the concept a bit deeper.

What is sin? And why is it such a big deal?

Missing the Mark

The most common explanation for the concept of sin comes from the Greek word hamartia. Homer and other classical authors used hamartia and related words to describe “missing the mark” or “failure to reach a goal.”³

The authors of the New Testament used the term in a similar way. For them, the goal of life was to do God’s will, and you could do this by following the teachings and moral “laws” of the Bible. They believed that when we keep these laws—like “do not steal” and “do not murder”—society flourishes as it was meant to.

But when we transgress these laws, that action is called sin. As one biblical writer explained it: “Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness.”⁴

So if the standard is following God’s moral law, then missing the mark—sin—is simply the breaking of God’s moral law. Put another way, sin is falling short of the ultimate goal of obeying God’s directives. And, according to the apostle Paul, no one is immune: “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”⁵

Admittedly, seeing sin as simply the breaking of God’s moral law is not the most satisfying perspective. After all, some of the Bible’s “laws” are hard to understand and feel arbitrary. They make God seem like some cosmic cop waiting to zap anyone who steps out of line.

But that’s not how Jesus described his heavenly Father when he taught, nor did early Christians view God this way. Perhaps our definition is still incomplete.

Corruption of What Is Good

Another way to understand sin is as the perversion or corruption of what is good.

“To pervert something,” theologian Cornelius Plantinga Jr. writes, “is to twist it so that it serves an unworthy end instead of a worthy one or so that it serves an entirely wrong end.”⁶ When we pervert things—whether habits, objects, ideas, or even people—we harm ourselves, our relationships with others, and our relationship with God.

Augustine, one of the church’s early theologians, articulated this understanding of sin most capably. He wrote:

Sin arises when things that are a minor good are pursued as though they were the most important goals in life. If money or affection or power are sought in disproportionate, obsessive ways, then sin occurs. And that sin is magnified when, for these lesser goals, we fail to pursue the highest good and the finest goals. So when we ask ourselves why, in a given situation, we committed a sin, the answer is usually one of two things. Either we wanted to obtain something we didn’t have, or we feared losing something we had.⁷

Some believe that religious people use the concept of sin to control or manipulate others’ behaviors. While that may be true of a few misguided people, the idea of sin as a corruption of good generally comes from a desire to help people avoid the damage sin can do in their lives, their world, and the lives of their loved ones.

Consider just a few of the good things in life that we can misuse and a handful of the consequences of such abuse: food (obesity and related diseases); beer or wine (alcoholism); sex (pornography and sex trafficking); politics (unchecked power); money (greed); recreation (irresponsibility); work (neglect of personal life); friends and family (codependency). The list could go on and on.

Selfishness

While these two concepts—sin as law-breaking and sin as the corruption of what is good—are insightful, there is one other definition that bears consideration. Put simply, sin is selfishness.

Sin occurs when one’s attitudes and actions serve oneself to the detriment of others or our relationship with God. Whether it is manifest in gossiping, losing your temper, or failing to love your neighbor as yourself, selfishness is at the heart of sin.

But selfishness is not only about tangible thoughts and deeds; it is more significantly a matter of one’s internal disposition and identity. Author Tim Keller observes, “Everyone gets their identity, their sense of being distinct and valuable, from somewhere or something.”⁸

The Bible teaches that God created us to be in relationship with him and live our lives in service to him—for his glory and our own good. Therefore, “Sin is seeking to become oneself, to get an identity, apart from him.”⁹

This is why sin is such a big deal. It makes a statement about our identity and relationship to God. One small sin may seem insignificant. But the very nature of sin begs the question of whether or not we acknowledge God as the Creator and ultimate authority—and that is always a big deal. In a certain way, our sin and selfishness say, “I’ll be my own god right now.”¹⁰

Avoiding Sin

What, then, can we do about our sin? Obviously, we could reject the whole idea and go on our merry way. Yet few of us would be comfortable in a world with no boundaries or moral standards.

We can try to be better. But if we’re serious, just trying harder won’t solve our underlying issue of selfishness and identity. There must be a more fundamental change.

Perhaps the first steps are considering what we truly believe about God, evaluating how we incorporate these beliefs into our everyday lives, and striving to harmonize the two by seeking a right relationship with God.

In his famous story, Nathaniel Hawthorne described how a Puritan woman in seventeenth-century New England—Hester Prynne—was required to wear an embroidered A on her clothes to represent a constant reminder of the sin of adultery that she had committed.
David Kinnaman and Gabe Lyons, unChristian: What a New Generation Thinks About Christianity . . . and Why It Matters (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 2007). In this book, the authors demonstrate how the top perceptions of Christians among young adults include negative traits such as “anti-homosexual,” “hypocritical,” and “judgmental.”
W. Gunther, “Sin, hamartia” in New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology, ed. Colin Brown (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1978), vol. 3, 577.
The Holy Bible, New International Version © 2011, 1 John 3:4.
Ibid., Romans 3:23.
Cornelius Plantinga Jr., Not the Way It’s Supposed to Be: A Breviary of Sin (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1995), 40. Author’s parenthetical examples have been removed from quotation.
Augustine, The Confessions of St. Augustine, Christian Classics in Modern English translated by Bernard Bangley (Shaw Books, 2000), 41.
Timothy Keller, The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism (New York: Dutton, 2008), 162.
Ibid.
Millard J. Erickson, Christian Theology, 2nd ed., (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 1998), 597. In this book, theologian Millard Erickson writes: “Dethronement of God from his rightful place as the Lord of one’s life requires enthroning something else, and this is understood to be the enthronement of oneself.”
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How to Experience God in Your Daily Life

By: Leigh McLeroy
© ExploreGod.com

Is it possible to experience God personally in your daily life? How?

If you believe in a benevolent, personal God, you likely want to hear from him and experience his presence in your everyday life. We all do, don’t we? We want to be assured that we follow a God who is dialed in—that he has our numbers and uses them.

Thankfully, he is. And he does.

A Communicative God

If God were a God who simply once reached out to man, who once spoke to us, we could rely on history alone, finding our assurance in what others claim God has already said and done. If our God were a deity who always communicated in the same way, or who could only be known and experienced by “professional” God-followers, then we might be excused from trying to experience him ourselves.

But the God of the Bible, the Father of Jesus Christ and the giver of the Holy Spirit, has been speaking to and communicating with men and women since he first created them. God has never stopped sharing himself with his people.

He is, after all, the God who conversed with Moses through a burning bush;¹ the God who directed the prophet Balaam’s attention by using the very donkey on which he was riding;² the God whose voice and glory knocked Saul to the ground;³ the God who called to young Samuel in his sleep;⁴ and the God who came to dwell among his people as a man.⁵

Old Words

From the beginning, God has spoken to humankind. The writer of Hebrews tells us that “in the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by His Son.”⁶

The Bible—what Christians believe to be the Word of God—records for us the very words and acts of God the Father and God the Son. The Bible also promises still more godly communication from the third person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit: “But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you.”⁷

New Words

The Bible assures me that the God I love and follow is still speaking, still communicating, still involved in human life—and I can experience him through whatever means he chooses to use. For this reason, I should be expectantly attentive in every moment of every ordinary day. I should expect to experience him.

“Human life—all of it—is the precinct of epiphany: of God’s showing, of God’s constant speaking and breathing,” says Father Michael Downey.⁸ God shows up. We should not be surprised. We should expect him.

But How?

First we must learn to be expectant by being attentive to our surroundings and anticipating God’s presence. We hear what we listen for, after all; I’m sure we’ve all suffered from “selective hearing” at least once or twice in our lives.

But something must happen in our hearts for us to be open to and aware of his presence. That something is relationship. “My sheep listen to my voice,” Jesus said, “I know them, and they follow me.”⁹ Belonging to God—and knowing God—makes experiencing him possible. A relationship with him grows through time and trust.

Ordinary Circumstances

We can experience God in ordinary circumstances: in a stunning sunrise or a quiet subway ride. We can sense his power in creation and his sovereignty in its order. We can see his uprightness when mercy is shown for the weak and when justice prevails for the wicked.

But he is just as real and present in your particular struggles and your specific pain. When we feel a peace that “transcends all understanding” in the midst of tough circumstances, we are experiencing the presence of God in our lives.¹⁰ As we’ll learn, God “shows up even when we’re not ‘on retreat’ or ‘having a quiet time.’ He invades grocery lines and football stadiums, cry rooms and cafeterias. He speaks in ways we expect, and in ways we do not.”¹¹

Ordinary People

Though we expect to experience God through spiritual leaders, we must recognize that we can receive his wisdom, care, love, and correction from ordinary folks—people just like you and me. From the insightful words of a friend to even the chastisement or correction of a stranger, God can communicate with us through those around us.

Author Ken Gire calls such moments “windows of the soul,” and maintains that God is certainly behind them: “He comes to us in ways that our senses can take Him in without injury, which is always less than He is. [His glory] must be veiled or it will blind us.”¹²

Pages and Pictures

As a writer, I’ve often experienced God through the written word. God has been present to me in the words of poets like John Donne, Emily Dickinson, Mary Oliver, and Wendell Berry. I’ve encountered him in the novels and essays of Frederick Buechner, in the fantasy fiction of C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien. Even in J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series I have tasted the great struggle between good and evil, and I have celebrated the love of unselfish friendship. In all this, I see glimpses of the goodness and glory of God.

Similarly, a walk through an art museum can remind me that God is the Creator of all creators. Any beauty I see is but a replica of the intricacies of his divine design, and no matter how stunning, I know it would pale in comparison to the true glory of God.

Community and Worship

God promises he is present among his people. When we gather together to worship him or simply to love and encourage one another, he is there. “Where two or three gather in my name,” Jesus said, “there I am with them.”¹³

Imagine that! God is with us in our work, our worship, our celebrations, and our shared sorrows. How different our experiences with one another might be if we imagined Jesus Christ as a guest at every meal, a trusted colleague in every endeavor, a co-celebrant in every glad gathering.

Pay Attention

If we know God through his Son, Jesus Christ, we are already in relationship with him. Connected to God the Father by grace, we can experience him in real, tangible ways. But we must be attentive; we must be ready to recognize his presence in our lives.

“We do not have to live in a monastery to experience God’s embrace,” writes professor and worship leader Robert Webber. “The spiritual life is not an escape from life but an affirmation of God’s way of life in the struggles we meet in our personal thoughts, in the relationships we have in the family, among our neighbors, at work, and in our leisure. The Christian life is an embodied life. It affirms that all of life belongs to God, and God is everywhere in life.”¹⁴

Ibid., Numbers 22:21–41.
Ibid., Acts 9:1–19.
Ibid., 1 Samuel 3.
Ibid., John 1:14.
Ibid., Hebrews 1:1–3.
Ibid., John 16:13–14.
Michael Downey, Altogether Gift: A Trinitarian Spirituality (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2000).
The Holy Bible, John 10:27.
Ibid., Philippians 4:7. The full verse reads: “And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
Leigh McLeroy, The Sacred Ordinary: Embracing the Holy in the Everyday (Brenham, TX: Lucid Books, 2010).
Ken Gire, Windows of the Soul: Experiencing God in New Ways (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1996).
The Holy Bible, Matthew 18:20.
Robert Webber, The Divine Embrace: Recovering the Passionate Spiritual Life (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2006).
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What Is Hanukkah?

What is the story behind the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah?

Hanukkah—the Jewish holiday that typically shares winter calendar space with Christmas—is not the “Jewish version” of the traditional Christian celebration, though it is often mistaken as such. Although Hanukkah decorations are sold alongside Christmas trimmings and gifts are often exchanged on both holidays, Christmas and Hanukkah commemorate separate miraculous events.

The Christmas story celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ, whom Christians believe to be the Son of God and the promised Messiah of Israel. However, the story of Hanukkah predates the start of Christianity by nearly two hundred years. Hanukkah celebrates an earlier and lesser-known miracle of God on behalf of the Jewish people.

The History of Hanukkah

The history of Hanukkah is closely tied to the history of the Jewish temple in Jerusalem. The first temple was built by Solomon, the son of King David of Israel, and dedicated in 953 BCE.¹ This holy place of worship was completely destroyed in 586 BCE by invading Babylonians led by King Nebuchadnezzar.²

When Jews began to be allowed to return from captivity in Babylon, construction of a second temple was begun. It was completed in 515 BCE.³ This second temple stood until 70 CE, when the Romans destroyed it and the city of Jerusalem.

However, in the interim, the structure was desecrated by pagan sacrifice and worship. During an especially turbulent time in Jewish history, Israel came under the control of the Syrians. One of their kings outlawed the Jewish religion, ordering the Jews to worship Greek gods instead. In 186 BCE, a Syrian army massacred thousands of Jews and erected altars to Zeus in the temple, where they sacrificed unclean animals.⁴

In response to this desecration, Judas Maccabeus took action:

Judas Maccabeus and his followers, under the leadership of the Lord, recaptured the Temple and the city of Jerusalem. They tore down the altars which foreigners had set up in the marketplace and destroyed the other places of worship that had been built. They purified the Temple and built a new altar. Then, with new fire started by striking flint, they offered sacrifice for the first time in two years, burned incense, lighted the lamps, and set out the sacred loaves. After they had done all this, they lay face down on the ground and prayed that the Lord would never again let such disasters strike them. . . . They rededicated the Temple on the twenty-fifth day of the month of Kislev, the same day of the same month on which the Temple had been desecrated by the Gentiles. The happy celebration lasted eight days.⁵

Thus Hanukkah was born, for “everyone agreed that the entire Jewish nation should celebrate this festival each year.”⁶

The Miracle of Hanukkah

Now you may be thinking to yourself, That’s a neat story, but there’s nothing particularly miraculous about it. Well, though that’s the foundation of Hanukkah, that’s not the whole story. According to the Jewish Talmud—a vast collection of Jewish laws and oral traditions and their interpretations—Judas Maccabeus (also called Judah Maccabee) and the other Jews who took part in the temple rededication in 165 BCE witnessed a great miracle there.

Many of the ceremonial instruments of Jewish worship had been stolen when the temple was ransacked. Maccabee ordered these to be restored, including the symbolic menorah—a golden candelabra with six branches for burning oil. The menorah had been a part of Jewish worship beginning with Moses and the wilderness Tabernacle (the portable place of worship that preceded the temple in Jerusalem). Consecrated oil was always burning in the temple from sunset to sunrise.⁷

To cleanse the temple of the defilement of pagan worship and restore it to its proper use, a new menorah was lit with only the small supply of consecrated olive oil on hand—which was barely enough for one night. However, the light miraculously continued burning for a full eight days and nights, continuing until a new supply of oil arrived.

This is why today the traditional Hanukkah candelabra, the hanukiah, features eight main branches.⁸ (A ninth candle, called the shamash or “helper,” is used to light the others.) One candle is lit every night to commemorate those eight light-filled nights. This is also where Hanukkah gets its second name, the Festival of Lights.

The Traditions of Hanukkah

As it was with the first celebration of the temple’s rededication, Hanukkah takes place over eight days, beginning on the twenty-fifth day of the Jewish month of Kislev (between November and December). It includes the lighting of one of eight candles on the hanukiah each evening, along with the reciting of special prayers remembering God’s faithfulness to Israel.

Foods fried in oil are typically enjoyed, including latkes (pancakes made of vegetables, legumes, or other starches) and sufganiyot (round donuts filled with jelly or custard). These fried delicacies are meant to remind celebrants of the miraculous provision of temple oil.

Other Hanukkah traditions include a children’s game involving a spinning, four-sided top called a dreidel. Each side of the dreidel is inscribed with a letter of the Jewish alphabet. The letters (nun, gimel, hei, and shin) form an acronym that stands for Nes Gadol Hayah Sham, which means “a great miracle happened there.” The child who spins the dreidel receives a prize of gold-covered chocolate coins called gelt, depending on which letter the dreidel lands on.

Although gifts were not originally a part of the Hanukkah celebration, in recent times—and particularly in North America—Hanukkah “has exploded into a major commercial phenomenon, largely because it falls near or overlaps with Christmas.”⁹

The Significance of Hanukkah

Although Hanukkah is not considered to be among the most important Jewish holidays (such as Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot, and Passover), because of its commercialization and nearness to Christmas it is perhaps better known among non-Jews. It is, however, a holiday rich in tradition and imagery for the Jewish people. Hanukah celebrates and commemorates God’s miraculous provision for them—particularly in times of persecution and change.

That is why, in this season of remembrance, Jews around the world gather by the burning candles of the hanukiah and repeat these ancient, solemn words:

Blessed are You, Lord our G-d, King of the universe, who has sanctified us
with His commandments, and commanded us to kindle the Chanukah light.
Blessed are You, Lord our G-d, King of the universe, who performed miracles
for our forefathers in those days, at this time.
Blessed are You, Lord our G-d, King of the universe, who has granted us life,
sustained us, and enabled us to reach this occasion.¹⁰

Lambert Dolphin, “The Temple of Solomon (The First Temple),” Temple Mount, http://www.templemount.org/solomon.html.
Ibid.
Ibid.
The Holy Bible, Good News Translation © 1992, 2 Maccabees 10:1–6. The four books of the Maccabees are not included in the Torah—the first five books of the Hebrew Bible—as the events that inspired the books of the Maccabees occurred after the Torah was written. However, the first two books of the Maccabees are included in the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox canons and the Protestant Apocrypha.
Ibid., 2 Maccabees 10:8.
“Menorah,” Encyclopædia Britannica Online, http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/375222/menorah.
“What Is the Difference Between a Hanukiah and a Menorah?” Hanukkah Fun, http://www.hanukkahfun.com/367/what-is-the-difference-between-a-hanukiah-and-a-menorah/.
“Hanukkah,” History, www.history.com/topics/holidays/hanukkah.
“Blessings on the Menorah,” Chabad.org, http://www.chabad.org/holidays/chanukah/article_cdo/aid/103874/jewish/Blessings.htm.
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Is Masturbation a Sin?

Masturbation isn’t anyone’s favorite topic. But many wonder if masturbation is wrong.

Did you know that there’s actually an official day that celebrates having an orgasm?¹ I’m not kidding. It’s a real thing.

Clearly, humans are sexual beings. No matter where you live or how you were raised, this is true. Sex floods our television screens, our newsstands, and—if we’re being honest—our thoughts. Biologically, our sex drive ensures the continuation of the human race, but there is so much more to sex than just reproduction.

In some ways and in some cultures, sex is celebrated. In other cultures, various forms of sex are considered taboo. Take masturbation, for instance. Is it a natural part of how we’re wired? Or is masturbation a perversion—a sin, even?

Let’s just get this out there right off the bat so we’re all on the same page: Masturbation is defined as manual stimulation of the genital organs. It is typically thought of as a solo act, but it can also be a part of partnered sexual activity.

If you cringed just reading the above paragraph, then you know masturbation can be an awkward topic to address. In fact, some refrain from talking about the issue at all because it can be downright uncomfortable. It can be embarrassing. It’s certainly not usual dinnertime conversation.

However, countless people privately wonder about it: Is masturbation wrong?

The Case in Favor

“‘Everything is permissible for me’—but not everything is beneficial. ‘Everything is permissible for me’—but I will not be mastered by anything.”²

A 2009 survey of 5,865 Americans between 14 and 94 years old revealed that 78 percent of responders had masturbated at some point in their lives.³

Many people, including some devout Christians, have come to believe that masturbation is permissible at times and can even be beneficial—as long as it does not become an uncontrollable, compulsive behavior.

Masturbation is touted as a great way to release tension, refrain from premarital or illicit sex, sleep better, and increase awareness of what “works” as people explore their sexuality. For someone who is single or widowed, masturbation offers an innocent way to fulfill sexual desire when no partner is available. And for as many as 70 percent of women, vaginal intercourse does not result in an orgasm, while masturbation does.⁴

Advocates of masturbation have even pointed out that in marriages where impotence, general health, or debilitating injuries have impacted sexual ability, partnered masturbation may be the only recourse left for expressing satisfying physical love for one another in a marriage.

The Case Against

“Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a man commits are outside his body but he who sins sexually sins against his own body. Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit?”⁵

Others disagree. For them, masturbation is a form of sexual immorality that does not honor God.

From this perspective, masturbation enters a world where thoughts and actions warrant self-discipline. Some type of mental or visual fantasy usually accompanies masturbation, and opponents point out that these fantasies can create an inappropriate relationship with others, even if only in the mind.

Critics assert that masturbation creates a self-serving habit that makes intimacy between couples harder to achieve because the mutual need for one another becomes unnecessary. Furthermore, the ease of reaching orgasm through masturbation frequently spawns an addictive pattern. This act can easily usurp the intimate role and relationship of a spouse or the desire to seek the other person’s sexual welfare.

In an excerpt from one of his letters, C. S. Lewis says:

For me the real evil of masturbation would be that it takes an appetite which, in lawful use, leads the individual out of himself to complete (and correct) his own personality in that of another (and finally in children and even grandchildren) and turns it back; sends the man back into the prison of himself, there to keep a harem of imaginary brides. And this harem, once admitted, works against his ever getting out and really uniting with a real woman. For the harem is always accessible, always subservient, calls for no sacrifices or adjustments, and can be endowed with erotic and psychological attractions which no woman can rival. Among those shadowy brides he is always adored, always the perfect lover; no demand is made on his unselfishness, no mortification ever imposed on his vanity. In the end, they become merely the medium through which he increasingly adores himself.⁶

From this viewpoint, masturbation could be described as infidelity of the heart.

What Does the Bible Say about Masturbation?

There are no specific references to masturbation in the Bible; Christians are left without clear instructions on the matter. Most Christians agree that God made sex to be good and that sex is an important part of marriage. But nothing is said about self-pleasuring sex before, after, or during marriage.

However, there is a long history within the Christian faith of masturbation being considered sinful. In fact, until 1930, all forms of contraception were considered sinful—including engaging in sexual acts with no potential for reproduction.⁷

But if there is no direct discussion of the topic, how did the Church come to the conclusion that masturbation is sinful?

One of the main sources is a story found in Genesis 38. Often used to condemn birth control, the story of Onan and Tamar has also been cited as evidence that masturbation is sinful.

Some backstory before we begin: According to Hebrew Law, if a woman was widowed and left without a male heir, she was to marry again within her husband’s family in order to preserve her husband’s family line.⁸ The relative who stepped in to serve the family in this way was called a kinsman-redeemer, and the first son produced from this marriage would “carry on the name of the dead brother so that his name [would] not be blotted out from Israel.”⁹

This is the situation in which we find Tamar, a widow, and Onan, her brother-in-law, in Genesis 38. Onan initially appears willing to take on his responsibility as kinsman-redeemer, but we quickly discover that is not the case: “Onan knew that the child would not be his; so whenever he slept with his brother’s wife, he spilled his semen on the ground to keep from providing offspring for his brother. What he did was wicked in the Lord’s sight, so the Lord put him to death.”¹⁰

Many have associated Onan’s sin with masturbation. Both are instances of engaging in a sexual experience while intentionally avoiding the potential for procreation. However, other interpretations postulate that Onan’s action was sinful not because of the act itself, but because it was selfish.

Though this story does not explicitly speak to masturbation, the Bible does say quite a bit about sex itself. A reading of the book Song of Solomon will reveal that, in addition to procreation, sex was also created for intimacy, companionship, and mutual satisfaction within marriage. It is for these purposes that God draws couples together as sexual beings created for one another in love.

Does masturbation fit into a relationship of love? In their book Intimate Issues, Linda Dillow and Lorraine Pintus come to this conclusion: “Only God can clarify when the Scriptures are silent.”¹¹

Gray Areas

As with many modern issues, an absence of biblical discussion on a topic does not mean that something automatically is or is not sinful. The act of masturbation falls squarely into this gray category.

But it may be helpful to remember this: What we allow our minds to think on, to visualize, and to dwell upon does impact our actions. Our thoughts directly affect our behaviors, whether we like it or not. This is why the Bible tells us to “take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”¹²

So do a heart check and consider how the issue of masturbation impacts your thoughts—and potentially your actions. Christians are left to review their God-ordained desire for sexual satisfaction in the light of the motives of their heart and the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

Relationship with God

We should also pause and consider why we ask these questions about masturbation—or other questions like it—in the first place. Are we trying to find the limits of behaviors that stay just within the parameters of God’s favor?

If so, we may be undermining an incredible relationship with God, one intended to be made up of so much more than boundary lines and rules. It’s a relationship that calls us to seek and follow God, grow in our love for him, and trust in his compassions, which are new every morning.¹³

See The Global Orgasm For World Peace, http://www.globalorgasm.ohttps://www.exploregod.com>
Mona Chalabi, “Dear Mona, I Masturbate More than Once a Day. Am I Normal? FiveThirtyEight, https://fivethirtyeight.com/datalab/dear-mona-i-masturbate-more-than-once-a-day-am-i-normhttps://www.exploregod.com>
“Health Benefits of Self Cultivation,” Women’s Health Network, http://www.womenshealthnetwork.com/sexandfertility/healthbenefitsofmasturbation.aspx.
The Holy Bible, 1 Corinthians 6:18–19.
Wesley Hill, “Escaping the Prison of the Self: C. S. Lewis on Masturbation,” First Things, http://www.firstthings.com/blogs/firstthoughts/20https://www.exploregod.comcaping-the-prison-of-the-self.
See F. Campbell, “Birth Control and the Christian Churches” Population Studies 14, no. 2 (November 1960): 131–147. See also the Anglican Church’s “Lambeth Conference,” which issued the very first Protestant endorsement of birth control in history. This came in the form of an official resolution approved in 1930. You can find a transcript of the final draft of the resolution at http://www.lambethconference.org/resolutions/1930/1930-15.cfm. Prior to this time, no Christian group—Catholic or Protestant—had officially recognized birth control as a legitimate option for men and women.
Ibid., Deuteronomy 25:6.
Ibid., Genesis 38:9–10.
Linda Dillow and Lorraine Pintus, Intimate Issues (Colorado Springs, CO: WaterBrook Press, 1999), 129.
The Holy Bible, 2 Corinthians 10:5.
Ibid., Lamentations 3:22–24.
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What Is Grace?

Christians love to throw around the word “grace.” What does that mean?

The film Saving Private Ryan, set during World War II, tells the story of how one soldier—Private James Ryan—is rescued from behind enemy lines in Normandy.¹

The mission is extremely perilous; immediately it begins claiming the lives of the men on the rescue team, one after another. In the final battle scene, set on a heavily-shelled bridge, the captain of the rescue team whispers his last words to a dumbstruck Private Ryan: “James . . . earn this . . . earn it.”

At the end of the movie, we see an elderly James Ryan return to Normandy with his wife, children, and grandchildren. He kneels beside the grave of the captain who rescued him and, as tears fill his eyes, he says, “My family is with me today. . . . Every day I think about what you said to me that day on the bridge. I tried to live my life the best I could. I hope that was enough. I hope that, at least in your eyes, I’ve earned what all of you have done for me.”

Then, turning to his wife, he pleads with her, “Tell me I have led a good life. . . . Tell me I’m a good man.”

Never Good Enough

James Ryan has lived his entire life with the last words of his rescuer ringing in his ears. Earn this. In a way, those words have ruined him. How could his life ever be worth the deaths of those young men? Nothing would ever be truly good enough. But he’s driven to keep trying.

Perhaps you feel something of that in your own life. Are you driven to try to earn approval from your parents, your peers, your spouse, your friends, your God? Do you try to get that sense of being “good enough” from the job you do, the relationship you have, the home you live in, the family you’re raising, the money you earn, the charity you give to, the ethical choices you make, the church you go to? Do you sometimes feel that it’s just never “enough”?

We Can’t Earn It

It’s not only religious people who are driven to try to be “good enough.” The motivation for this endeavor is rooted in something real. The Bible says each of us has a very serious problem, which separates us from our Maker.

It’s called “sin”. Sin isn’t so much the bad things we do—although those are symptoms of the deeper problem we have. Sin occurs when we exchange the real God for false gods.² Instead of living for the real God—the one who created us and gives us every good thing we enjoy—we live for ourselves, or for our career, or for our spouse, or for material things.

The result of doing this is catastrophic. The “gods” we choose to serve are merciless slave-drivers. They are gaping mouths that never seem to be satisfied—and they can never satisfy us in a lasting way. The Bible refers to them as “broken cisterns that cannot hold water.”³

When we treat the God who made us in this way, we deserve every bit of his condemnation and judgment. Jesus is uncomfortably clear that because we sin against God in this way, we deserve hell.⁴

Putting Things Right

The Christian understanding of God reveals that he takes no pleasure in our endless attempts to make ourselves acceptable to him. The book of Acts says, “The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands. And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else.”⁵

In other words, nothing we can do for God can make us acceptable to him, because a) he doesn’t need anything we have to offer, and b) anything we offer him is something that he made in the first place.

So . . . we deserve God’s condemnation and cannot earn God’s acceptance. What hope is there?

Grace

The Bible claims that Jesus is our only hope.

He, too, died as part of a rescue mission—God’s rescue mission for humanity. But the words Jesus cried out just before he died weren’t “Earn it.” He said plainly, “It is finished.”⁶

That simple statement is an expression of the fact that Jesus “earned” forgiveness and freedom for us. In Christian understanding, Jesus lived a uniquely sinless life in which he loved God perfectly. And then, having lived that perfect life, he died the perfect death.

On the cross, he bore the punishment that you and I deserve for our sins. He took on our sins; died in our place; and rose again, conquering death and sin and opening the way for all to have a personal relationship with God. And we—if we put our trust in him—are credited with and redeemed by his perfect obedience. This is what Christians mean when they say things like “Jesus paid it all.”

Second Corinthians 5:21 puts it like this: “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”

This is grace—a word you may hear a lot of Christians throw around. It is by grace that God freely, lavishly sets his love on an undeserving people. It’s all made possible because of Jesus’ life and death.

One of the clearest expressions of this stunning truth comes in the book of Ephesians. The Apostle Paul, one of the New Testament writers, says this to those who believe in Jesus: “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.”⁷

In other words, we can’t earn salvation by the things we do. If we could, we would be proud and arrogant. Instead, we are saved through faith and trust in what Jesus has done for us. And even that faith is a gift from God.

How Should We Respond?

When someone understands God’s grace and embraces it, it transforms them wonderfully and irrevocably.

James Ryan felt he had to “earn it,” and so his life became weighed down by joylessness and anxiety about whether or not he had done enough. But those who put their trust in Jesus know that he has already earned it for them.

As a result, they are freed from the enslavement of trying to earn it. They are freed to love and serve God—and others—as they revel in the joy of a restored relationship with him.

Robert Rodat, Saving Private Ryan, directed by Steven Spielberg (Universal City, CA: DreamWorks Pictures, 1998).
Ibid., Jeremiah 2:13.
See, for example, Matthew 10:28, 23:33 and Mark 9:42–48.
The Holy Bible, Acts 17:24–25.
Ibid., John 19:30.
Ibid., Ephesians 2:8–9.
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