The Reformed's Westminster Shorter Catechism, point #1, "What is the chief end of man? The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever." That's a solid claim! I don't disagree, except it doesn't explain a deeper-still question, why did God create? What motivated Him? Was there a need in God to be glorified? Did God have a lack He needed to fill? Or does God express Himself through a kind of prodigal (wasteful, overspilling) love? I work through the traditional Protestant emphasis on the motivation of God and then suggest a better, more biblical, more Jesus-y answer. And then, because the majestic Lordship of Christ does not stop at the boundary of culture, I explain why I have been having numerous and regular dystopian nightmares where I awake in a fit of terror as demons lead me off into captivity. Come laugh and think with me!
The Uncensored Unprofessor
375 Ref. vs. Arm. (13) God's Motive—Glory or Love?
(upbeat music) Confession, no, I'm not. I'm not a fan of being played. I don't appreciate defraudation. You know the Briggs and Stratton personality profile? Isn't it Myers Briggs? I'm an ENTJ with a massive load there on my J. All the other three components of that profile are nearly 50/50. But my J, (laughs) it's 99% strong. So my just-to-see vein loads fraud. I hate it when someone tries to get over on me. Look me in to my blue eyes, straight face lie at me. It makes me blood boil. (laughs) Man, in the first year of my marriage to Tanya, 39 blessed years, we went to buy a new car. New youth pastors, we were indigent poor. We were living in a tiny wood stove heated central Oregon apartment. And I was still paying off my student loans. When I graduated, I owed something like $8,000, which was a ton of money back then. We were so broke, we never dreamed of eating out. I mean, our weekly diet consisted of tons of top ramen and peanut butter and jellies. I kid you not. We practically did a dance together when someone in the church invited us over for dinner. We'd go to the grocery store and feel like we were cheating on our budget to buy a half gallon of cookies and cream ice cream. But I had an old white dodge cult and the heater on that thing was broken. Here we were in the middle of a central Oregon winter and the heater was broken in it. Well, it just wasn't worth putting any more money into it. We needed to get a new affordable car. So, and I kid you not. We were wrapped in blankets. Again, it's snowy winter. We drove over the Oregon mountains to Portland. We went to three or four car dealers and we finally landed at a rather famous one. He used to run advertisements all the time and I won't mention the name of that place for the sake of being sued. But outside on the lot, after we agreed with the salesman on a price for a dorky white shoe box of a Honda Civic, we went inside. The salesman went to get the paperwork and asked for the keys to our tired old dodge cult. And there inside the building, we sat and sat and sat. 30 minutes later, he came back and said, "Yeah, we'll take your dodge as a trade-in." Well, Doy, we had agreed with him to those terms out in the parking lot. Now, he walks away to get the paperwork. He didn't come out with the first time. So, we sit there and wait another 45 minutes. Now, mind you, we were young and naive and most importantly, we were flat broke. We were desperate. And the car salesman, the dealer there, they knew that. And they knew that and they played us. Finally, here comes the salesman out again. This time he says, "My sales manager wants to talk with you." So, we wait a noza 30 minutes. And this waiting game, this strategic stalling game, it went on for more than three hours. Finally, the sales manager says to us, "Hey, sorry, kids. "We can't sell you that civic for the listed price. "Because of the value of your trade-in, "I don't know, he made some kind of concocted statement "like that. "What did he say, the cut of your jib?" He gave us some phony reason. He said, "We need another thousand dollars." So, me, I look at him, my blood's boiling now because I don't like to wait, but I especially don't like being played. I looked at him and said, "Give me back the keys to my car." When he stammered and started to further balonious, I raised my voice and I said, "Give me back the keys to my car." When he stammered and halted some more, I looked around the showroom seeing Oza, customers wandering around and for full effect I yelled, "Give me back the keys to my car." Well, finally then, he went and brought out the paperwork and we bought the car for the price we agreed to in the parking lot. It took us some four hours to work through their attempts to manipulate and defraud a desperate poor young couple. So, we finally settled the deal and drove back home over the snowing mountain pass and we had a heater that worked. (audience applauding) Now, I tell that story to clarify, I don't like being played. I loathe being defrauded and guess what? Well, I am today feeling the same emotional surge that I felt at that car dealership 39 years ago. Why, what's going on? Oh, the assemblage, the pastiche of today's events, the events of the last five years, COVID, people losing their jobs for refusing the Vax, Russiagate, urban rioting being given cover by senators, to fallacious impeachments, the murder of police being celebrated by politicians and then Jeffrey was Epstein. (thunder rumbling) We watched widespread election fraud, the forced insanity of men can be women. Men can pretend and then shower with women and now, oh my gosh, in the Olympics, men are beating up women in the boxing ring and we're all supposed to smile and clap and applaud and pretend it's normal. But that's not all. Donald Trump was shot, nearly murdered and the feds have no meaningful information to share. In fact, the way they answered and mostly didn't. Congressional questions, the way they mostly answered congressional questions makes me suspicious. And now the way that Kamala Harris has gone in the Democrats' election strategy from a non-entity, she was a polling embarrassment, she was a let's keeper in the closet kind of nothing burger. Do you want onions with that? - No, we like it plain, no ketchup either. - No, for three and a half years, she was a decided keeper in the closet handicap. - Well, Kamala's unfavorable rating was worse than Joe's. - And in a short week or so, she's become the second coming of Janet Jackson. They're playing me. They're playing us. They're gaslighting us with how you say gaslight? And you look at, we all know politics is a sleight of hand game, right? We all know election campaigns are straight up Wizard of Oz gamesmanship, right? Last week when Trump said, we're going to cure cancer. I wanted to throw a Lego at my TV screen. That's what my mom did when we were kids, when there'd be something absurd on TV, she'd throw Legos at it. It was a way to express her frustration, her disdain, without damaging the TV. But when the media, every single legacy media outlet, every single Google news search that I pull propagates the sleight of hand game? When Google and Facebook try to hide news stories about the Trump assassination attempt, we're seeing fraudation. They're gaslighting us. It's Orwell's Ministry of Truth, ♪ Full steam ahead ♪ Donald Trump, he's a grotesque sexual lout. That's the running legacy media narrative, and that narrative helped them convict him in a Manhattan courtroom. But Kamala Harris didn't sleep her way to the top. She didn't first sleep with California's uber powerful Willie Brown. He was a married man. I wonder, will that angle be at all played in the media? No, huh-uh. Kamala is an articulate, (coughs) intellectual, (coughs) world respected leader, (coughs) who even influences the decisions of Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu. (coughs) Hmm, it's defraudation. And yet, that's not really what I pokes the strong J in my ENTJ personality profile. No, human nature being what it is, I anticipate that's just what's gonna happen. Human nature, both individually, and we see it present in politics, human nature always seeks to get over on the other fallen human nature. That's what it means to be fallen, right? To get over on others. No, what seers the soul of my J? 1/150th. No, 1/25th. No, 1/3rd. No, 50% of the population. And with that Schneicke's 50% of the American church not only goes along with the facade. ♪ It's an ambulance front ♪ ♪ It's an ambulance front ♪ ♪ It's an ambulance front ♪ ♪ It's an ambulance front ♪ But openly propagates that same gas lit bonfire. ♪ It's an ambulance front ♪ Well, let me just say. It grieves my soul. I'm having regular, dark, dystopian nightmares, about being deceived and led into captivity by demons. Always wake up about the time the demons are leading me into captivity. I'm not kidding. And when it comes to American culture, I don't know what to believe anymore. But I do believe that the majestic lordship of Christ does not stop at the boundary of culture. And when it comes to American politics, I don't know if I can believe the Democratic Party ever again. Joe Biden was mentally deficient when he was installed as president four years ago. I'd say elected, but he wasn't. He's really not 81 million Joe. They hid his incapacity from the American people from the election on, from the campaign season through the election and on. Kamala herself hid that from America. They went and forced Joe out. It was a soft coup. They, the Democratic Party so worried about democracy that they soft-cued their vote leading candidate. They shoved him out with threats of the 25th Amendment. And then it comes to the propping of a full force, major media, San Francisco, Kamala Harris is our savior. Now narrative, I just can't believe anything they say anymore. They look into the camera, into our eyes and smile and utter the most vast, awkward things imaginable. And holy God, half the population not only believes that they embrace it, they give it a warm and tender hug. (audience groans) So why does America's demonic archon despise Donald Trump so? Why does the love evacuated Washington DC machine hate his guts? I'll tell you, Trump grinds the gears of the hungry wood chipper. He disrupts that hungry wood chipper. He's a threat to the free-roaming power of the DOJ. He will somewhat hold bureaucrats in the FBI and Homeland Security and Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and the military, he'll hold them somewhat responsible. We saw it in his first term. Trump appoints Supreme Court justices who read the Constitution as it was written. Trump will stop up the river flow of illegals pouring into the nation, cloud-pivin'. That's gonna be put on hold, ASAP. And the Democrats' future plans of packing the Supreme Court with 11. I mean, it's laughable. Laughable, Joe Biden wants to change the rules for the Supreme Court now that he's not getting what he wants. Trump gets in the way, mostly, of our being told the government is the solution to everything totes for sure. If we'd only trust the government so obvious, they only mean to help us. Trump disrupts the wood chipper's play for statist allegiance. And me, I like to shove a cement block down into the wood chipper's gears. Another quick cultural comment, Facebook. Facebook shadow bans most any cultural, political post of mine. They put a, we're gonna fact check this tag on a picture. They did. They put a, we're gonna fact check this tag on a picture I posted of Trump bleeding behind the podium in Pennsylvania. But every day, and I mean every day. I get one or two, hey, you need to contact us. Your account is going to be shut down. You're violating Facebook community standards. And obviously it's a scam, scammers. I'm being invited to be scammed by scammers. But here's what I don't get. Scammers do it under the guise of representing Facebook. Doesn't Facebook care? Don't they care that their own company logo is being used? Don't they care that their name is being used to scam me? I mean, Facebook, come on, man. You shadow ban my 100% true post about the Trump attempted assassination, but you allow rogue users to daily deep fake people with your own company logo? Why know you pull them down? I don't get it. It's like I'm going through a car wash on a bicycle. Oh, Jesus of Nazareth, please deliver us from this body of death. (upbeat music) I'm so happy to share with you this week's un un-studio sponsor, Gallerini Riffing. Do you live in Southern California? The OC needs some roofing work? New work, or we just had a hard rain kind of repairs. Gallerini Riffing is your highly experienced, bonded, insured with over 35 years of professional kind of roofing company. Call 714-244-6567. That's 714-244-6567. They've done outstanding work for family of mine and friends of mine. Everyone was really happy with their work quality and their pricing. And when you call them, tell Gallerini Riffing that you sent you, let's turn to some theology. I love that you want to think so resolutely theological with me. Into this series, it's been fun to have so much positive feedback. And I don't want to go too far afield, but Barna Polling has been reporting for years on end now that the percentage of Christians in America who can espouse a biblical worldview is nine percent. Nine percent of all confessing believers have a resolutely biblical worldview. Hearing that is just a kick in my stomach. But knowing that does make sense of the growing number of nuns, N-O-N-E-S's. Those who now say they have no religion. It also helps make sense of the growing number of nuns. Do you any S's? People who are done with the church. It also helps me make sense of post-biblical progressive Christians, right? I mean, if faith is so lightweight, if our Christian faith is so arbitrary as the progressive Christians say, what's the point? Or if Christian faith is something only for the privacy of one's home, what's the point? So again, that you want to join me for a specifically theological series? Thank you. Here's my question today. What's life all about? Why were we put here on earth? Why do you exist, my friend? I mean, ultimately, cosmically, why do you exist? Here's the answer that the Reformed from their 1646 uber-famous Westminster Shorter Catechism say. What is the chief end of man? Man's chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy him forever. And I believe that's solid. I have no big disagreement. Well, until, until the glorification of God becomes the reason God himself created. No. You guys, please, this is another episode in fine tweaking, fine theology with enormous implications. It's an episode in thinking with theological nuance with me because it has enormous implications. So right up front, I'm gonna say it. I'm solidly 100% in favor of glorifying God. Yes, we should indeed live lives of glorify God. But my agreement on that doesn't necessarily answer the question. Why did God create? The Reformed and their 16th century stepbrothers, the Arminians, both place a huge emphasis upon the glory of God. If you listen to them both, again, they reform more so than the Arminians. There's an enormous emphasis upon the glory of God. And in the best sense, they want to glorify God with their lives, their words, their faith. But in an unhelpful way, and no, it's not intentional, they tend to reduce the motives for God himself to glory. Why'd God issue a pre-creational decree to save some and not others? Both of these groups of Protestants say to glorify himself. Why'd a God choose a nation out of many with whom to covenant to glorify himself? Why'd a God send his son, Yeshua nadzadit, to planet earth to glorify himself? Why'd his God work through the church to gain glory? Why'd his God sovereignly control the events of history so that he might be glorified? I mean, we even saw in an episode earlier in this series that according to staunch Augustinians, God will glorify himself through the punishment of the reprobate in eternal hellfire. So life is framed muchly as a matter of God being glorified. Now surely, again, because both the Reformed and Arminians originated some 500 years ago, this emphasis on glory is itself rooted in medieval and Renaissance culture, no? I mean, the entirety of Latin culture, the ipso-facto background for most of European Christianity emphasizes law, legal formation, guilt and innocence, acquittal, merit? There is zippo we can do to merit, deserve, God's forgiveness or grace, said grace is a free gift from God alone, and more from within that legal, juridical law oriented, which you guys hear me clearly. That's not, I want to be very careful and mindful, saying that it's law oriented is not the same as saying legalistic. I'm not saying that these, that the Reformed and Arminians practice legalism. I'm just saying that this notion, this law oriented notion of God's glory as the great divine one, the great uncaused one, the alpha and omega, it becomes critical, supreme even, who gets the glory for salvation? God and God the judge alone. So to be fair, is the Bible concerned with God's glory? Oh yeah, sure, but God's being is not always cast in the Bible in a courtroom framework. More often in the Bible, God's glory is framed in light of ancient Mesopotamian notions of kings and servants, kings and slaves, kings in his royal court attendance and vassals and serfs. There's a royalty that accompanies old testament notions of glory that don't always come through in Reformed and Arminian frameworks. And so the traditional Protestant, at least popular, populist emphasis even today again is on God's glory. Does what we're doing glorify God? If not, stop it. Do our words glorify the Lord? If not, stop it, why? Because God deserves the glory, or more God wants the glory that is do his name. And again, to be quite careful, indeed it is totes fitting that the creature should glorify the Creator. It squares with metaphysical reality that we should honor and serve and glorify our maker. He's God, we're not. He is Lord, we are not. He's absolute, not us. He gave us life, not us. He gives us our being. So the ever fitting posture of the creature before the Creator is worship, gratitude, glorification, amen, but is that why God created? Was that God's own motive? The Reformed and muchly the Arminian say yes. But theology, theology she asks questions. And theology asks questions because God created us with minds, with wonder, with hunger, and it's not sinful to want to understand. No, it's divine. It's the heart of God to know, to look into a soul and to know her. So, why did God create? And before I give my answer, a Trinitarian answer, I wanna pause to thank my Patreon supporters. From the bottom of my heart, you guys are the best. You're exceptional. Supporting a theology and culture show, you realize that we're living in an epochal, changing of history, time, and you still wanna be salt and light? You don't wanna passively sit by while dark, angry, archons devour the church and American culture? No. So you took action and you support and out of the box, thinking Christians show. So, my Patreon, P-A-T-R-E-O-N, monthly patrons, huge hugs to you all. - Aww. - Wide God create. Here's a few poignant scriptural passages for your theological consumption. The Apostle Paul reflecting on our lives in Christ, on our newfound status in Christ, in Romans 8.30, wrote, quote, and those whom he predestined, he also called, and those whom he called, he also justified, and those whom he justified, he also glorified. Paul believes that following Christ results in our own glorification. Yes, here on earth now, but especially into eternity. And earlier in chapter five of Romans, Paul wrote, quote, therefore, since we've been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him, we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Paul hoped for God's glory. Why? Because, as he's gonna say later in chapter eight, we ourselves will benefit from the glory of God. And I think this is amazing. This is starting to open up new ways of perceiving God's glory, right? But here's a biggie. Here's Jesus himself in John chapter 17, verses 20 through 24. This is my, oh man, my listener, are you sitting down? Here's Jesus in his very last prayer time with the disciples. The thing he wants them to remember at the Last Supper. Here's what Jesus says. I ask not only for my followers here, Abba, but for those who will believe in me through the preached gospel, that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am you, may they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me, the glory that you have given me, I have given them, so that they may be one as we are one. And then, verse 24, Father, I desire that those also whom you have given me may be with me where I am to see my glory, which you have given me, because you love me before the foundation of the world. Oh, you guys, this is so beautiful. Jesus is sharing his glory with the disciples and through it by extension, Jesus is sharing his glory with us. Now, yes, it is true. We have verses like Isaiah 42, 8, I am the Lord. That's my name, my glory I give to no other, nor my praise to carved idols. Isaiah 42 is saying God alone deserves the glory, but in Isaiah, Yahweh is insisting on utter loyalty. Yahweh is not one among many little g-gods, he is the God. The Bible teaches us that he created all the other gods, powers, archons, angels. So the context there in Isaiah is Mesopotamian polytheism. God is not to be worshiped alongside other little g-gods, God alone is Lord. But still, in the same book, still later in Isaiah 60, verses one through two, we get this, "Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples, but the Lord will arise upon you, and his glory will be seen upon you." This is so amazing. God shines his glory on his own. There on the nation of Israel has come into people, but now on his own, the church through Christ, God shares glory. Or here's a weird one, Paul in 1 Corinthians 6-3. Don't you know that we shall judge angels? Judge angels, when? On the day of final judgment, Christ's own people will sit in judgment with Him. Have you ever thought about that, my listener? One day you will be sitting in judgment with the Lord. Jesus is gonna share his power of judgment with us, the redeemed, why? Well, across the scriptures, it becomes obvious. God loves to share. God is not a glory hog. He loves to share his glory. And the pattern that emerges, we share now, and we'll share in the glory of God. God wants to share his glory, why? Because God loves to share. The relational loving being that God is loves to share, and he loves to share because his nature is love. And so we wonder by God's sharing of glory, do we become equal to Him? Stop, let's not be silly. He's divine by nature. He brings us into divinity by grace. He's absolute, but he shares his glory out of love with us, his creatures. We do now, and especially will for eternity, get to share his glory with Him. Again, we have to ask why? Love. And so, Trinitarian theology, what begins to emerge the longer we reflect upon scripture, not really not only from individual specific verses like 1 John 4a, God is love. No, from the entire revelation of God, the entire sweep of scripture, we begin to learn and see in a crystal and fashion, God is love. That's the way Jesus taught about God, his father, love. Love explains Jesus' parables about the kingdom. This is all about Godly love. Love explains Jesus' own voluntary sacrifice, motivated by love. And love explains why God would create and create us and create you. Love explains why God doesn't just pardon us through Christ. Oh, okay, okay, there you be. Gosh, you're pardoned now. Well, sorry, you cuck. Sorry, you'll cease to exist when you die, but at least, at least you're forgiven. No, God doesn't just pardon us through Christ. He wants to share eternal life in a new resurrected kingdom with us. Love. And God loves, and God loves because God is love. So back to the original question, what motivated God to create? That he wanted to be glorified? Did God need something? Was God hungry to be needed? Go, was God hungry to be worshiped? No, that's not enough. That answer doesn't go deep enough. It doesn't go Jesus enough. What motivated God to create? Love. God loves to share. Loves to share joy, peace, laughter. God loves to share music and work and creativity. What motivated God to create you? Love. He loves to love. He loves to bless the other. Fonz vite that he is, fountain of life that he is. He loves to spill out his holy love onto the other person. The other person who can, who will, reciprocate that holy love by loving. Why'd God create to be glorified? Or because he's love. Me, following the great theological tradition of 2000 years, love. And if you're still not convinced, let me ask you my un-listener some questions. And by the way, this will not be normal, this will not be normal theological method, but hey, it's a podcast. Let's go a bit out of the box. Some questions. Which better explains the daily reign of provision and health and bounty falling on the wicked and not only the faithful? Glory or love. Which better makes sense of God having created people? He hopes will join covenant with him. Glory or love. Which better unpacks a kind of over-spilling, prodigal love that gives itself, even to those who revile the giver of that love? Which better explains that, unpacks that, glory or love? Which better explains a gift giver who gives gifts? Artistic capacity, family, laughter, beauty, music, peace, order, reason. He gives those gifts even to those who hate him. Even to those he knows will curse his name and mock his followers and scoff at his word and gafah at his very existence. Which better explains that? Glory or love. Which explains better the fact that with God, his mercy is always greater than his judgment? Glory, do you think or love? Which helps us better? Glory or love to explain why God wants to transform sinners into his own beautiful image. Which better explains Jesus having died at Golgotha for the sins of the whole world? Hm? Glory or love. Me, I believe the majestic glory of God ever draws us to his love. I believe the unquenchable, the unquenchable holiness of God is always present to redeem, restore and invite into the Trinitarian circle of love. And so, the only fitting way to end a reflection like this is a prayer of praise. Will you join me? And I will tell you now, this is a prayer from a prayer herself. She prayed so much. She prayed fervently. Catherine of Sienna. Oh, eternal trinity divinity. Oh unfathomable, abyss, deepest sea. What greater gift you give me than your very self? You are a fire that burns eternally yet never consumed. A fire that consumes with your heat, my own self-love. Again and again, you are the fire who takes away all cold-heartedness and illuminates the mind by your light, the light with which you have made me to know your truth. By this mirrored light, I know you are the highest good, a good above all good, a fortunate good, an incomprehensible good, a beauty above all beauty, a wisdom above all wisdom. You are wisdom itself, the food of angels, the fire of love that you give to men. You are the garment covering our nakedness. You feed our families with your sweetness, a sweetness you are from which there is no trace of bitterness. Oh, eternal trinity, we love you. Amen, amen, amen. Thank you so much for joining me and thinking so resolutely theological with me. Please, until next week, everyone go and turn your beautiful God-given brains on. 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