Why We Love Jesus but Reject Islam

A few months ago, Jefferson Bethke's video entitled "Why I Hate Religion, but Love Jesus" went viral over the Internet. His poem caused quite a stir among evangelicals, and many Christians began to discuss the relationship between false religion and true religion which relishes obedience to Christ. If you are interested in reading more about the critique of Bethke's video, you can find one of many articles here.

However, the hype from this video has not only caused a stir among Christian evangelicals, but in the Islamic world as well. Soon after Bethke's video went viral on Youtube and Facebook, a young Muslim produced another video in response. The video is certainly produced very well. The problem is that he sadly, like many Muslims, completely misunderstands the basic teachings of Christianity, primarily regarding the nature of the Trinity and the hypostatic union of Christ (that's a fancy phrase that teaches that Jesus was both fully God and fully man). Here is the video for those who have not seen it.

The uninformed Christian may at first be confused or have questions concerning this young man's arguments, which may seem rather convincing. However, upon further examination, his claims are built upon a basic misunderstanding of Christianity which results in many of his straw-man arguments. (A straw-man is when someone misrepresents another person's position in order to create a false caricature which is easily refuted without ever addressing the actual position.)

This video's claims require a biblical response. For those of you who are looking for an in-depth response to the video above, you should go here and here. However, in today's technological world, arguments are rarely made in books, podcasts, or articles (arguments are made, but fewer people are reading them.) So instead of a book response, in the spirit of this blog post, I will post another "rapping, rhyming, video response." This video was developed by Ivey Conerly under the direction, inspiration, and writing of apologist James White. I hope this video will be shared with all our Muslim friends who need to know the truth about Jesus Christ and his gospel.

Soli Deo Gloria,

Josh P.

When Marriage and Work Collide

Nearly one month ago, on New Year’s Eve, I married the love of my life, Jenny “Derrick” Pilgrim. I can still remember what it felt like as my heart beat out of my chest as I watched her walk down the aisle to become my bride. She was beautiful. The wedding was wonderful. Everyone cried (except me, I had some dirt in my eye). The reception was a wonderful celebration, and our honeymoon cruise was an unforgettable trip. As we headed home to begin our new life together, I was so excited that I had finally left behind the unrestrained freedoms of singleness and bachelorhood to finally enjoy the ecstasies of marital bliss. But then it hit me, like a train colliding into a brick wall, that one dreaded thing that everyone who has ever been married has experienced… Reality.

Yes, I know, you married folks already saw it coming, but I did not. Suddenly I was no longer an unmarried campus minister who lived by myself with no restrictions. No, I had a roommate now, but not just any roommate. I was now living with a girl. It is a massive understatement to say my life immediately changed. I had to adjust, and I am quickly finding out that life is not all about me. I have a new obligation to love my wife as Jesus loves his Church, and although it is a great joy, it is really hard. I am learning to balance my life at home with my work at Shorter. Whether you are married or single, you have probably struggled between the tensions of the daily grind of work and the challenges of home, all the while trying to figure out what it means to follow Christ as a faithful and obedient disciple. While I admit to being a rookie in marriage, let me offer some practical ways that may help you merge your spiritual walk with Jesus into your secular work.

First, cultivate a grace-filled, gospel centered home. One thing you quickly realize in marriage is that you are married to a sinner, and your spouse will be quick to remind you that he or she married to a sinner too. The Scripture is clear that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Rom. 3:23). It’s not just that we aren’t perfect… we are sinful, which means that even your closest friends and family will eventually let you down. So when something goes wrong at home and you are left disappointed by your spouse’s shortcomings, be quick to forgive. Be kindhearted and gracious, as God has been gracious to you (Eph. 4:32). This will only be possible if everyone in your home understands the gospel and their own need for forgiveness which can only be found in Christ.

Second, feed your soul with spiritual food. It is well documented that people who eat breakfast in the morning tend to be healthier than those who do not. The same applies in the spiritual realm. Make a practice of reading Scripture daily, meditating on it, and praying that the Lord would help you understand and obey His word. If you miss a day, don’t beat yourself up, just start again the next day. I knew a man who once said that he would never take a bite of physical food until he had first spent time reading his Bible. The Psalmist said, “I rise before the dawn of the morning and cry for help. I hope in Your word.” We would all do well to do likewise.

Finally, work hard at your job as if Jesus is your boss.  True Christians cannot separate their secular job from their spiritual life. Colossians 3:23 says, “And whatever you do, do it with all your heart, as if you are working for the Lord and not for men.” You will never find balance in your life as long as you try to compartmentalize your spiritual walk with Jesus from your daily work. Your relationship with Christ should affect every aspect of your life. My entire life changed when I met Jesus, and my life has certainly changed since I married Jenny. If I love Christ, it will show in my love for Jenny and how I do my job at Shorter. I pray that you will join me and my wife as we serve Christ together in our jobs and at home for the glory of God.  

The Valley of Vision

It is certainly true that our clearest sense of God's presence is most clearly perceived in our darkest moments of suffering. Clearly, light shines brightest against the backdrop of immense darkness. In other words, the stars are always present in the sky, but you can't see them clearly until the sky is as dark as night.

The same may be said in reference to the gospel. We will never fully appreciate God's grace until we are overwhelmingly aware of our sin. The Law must precede the gospel just as night is necessary to see the glory of the stars. Until we become conscious and convicted of our sinful rebellion against God through the Law, we will never see our need for Christ's redemptive work on the cross through the gospel.

Psalm 23 is a wonderful passage that describes God's relationship to us as a Shepherd to his sheep. The Shepherd leads us "beside still waters" and "in the paths of righteousness" for His own namesake. However, sheep inevitably wander, and even though we walk through the valley of the shadow of death, our Shepherd is always with us. Regardless of how perilous and hopeless our situation in life, Jesus walks with us. By taking sin and death upon himself at the Cross, death has only become a shadow that has lost its sting and no longer holds us in fear. We fear no evil because our Shepherd has conquered evil. We are surrounded by goodness and mercy... forever.

But let's be honest. Did you really see your need for Christ while everything in your life was calm? Were you tightly gripping God's hand while you strolled through green pastures and still waters? Probably not. But what happened the day one of your parents died, or when you lost your job, or you found out someone you loved had cancer, or you fell into a horrible sin that has left you guilty and in despair? What happened when your green pastures because a dry desert and your still waters became a raging river? More than likely, you ran to God. You realized you needed help. You had reached the valley... the valley of the shadow of death... the valley of vision. If you were like me, you realized just how far you had drifted from God during the times of peace... and you hopefully saw that your time of darkness was a gracious intervention of God to bring you back to the light.

Often it is in the deepest valley that we catch our clearest glimpse of Almighty God. And so I conclude with a Puritan prayer which bears the same name as the book from which it was taken, The Valley of Vision. I highly recommend this book, and you may purchase it here.

THE VALLEY OF VISION

Lord, High and Holy, Meek and Lowly,

Thou has brought me to the valley of vision, 

  where I live in the depths but see thee in the heights;

  hemmed in by mountains of sin I behold thy glory.

Let me learn by paradox

   that the way down is the way up,

   that to be low is to be high,

   that the broken heart is the healed heart,

   that the contrite spirit is the rejoicing spirit,

   that the repenting soul is the victorious soul,

   that to have nothing is to possess all,

   that to bear the cross is to wear the crown,

   that to give is to receive,

   that the valley is the place of vision. 

Lord, in the daytime stars can be seen from deepest wells,

   and the deeper the wells the brighter thy stars shine;

Let me find thy light in my darkness,

   thy life in my death,

   thy joy in my sorrow,

   thy grace in my sin,

   thy riches in my poverty,

   thy glory in my valley. 

Entering the Blogosphere

Hello everyone! This is my first official blog, so I thought I would share a little bit about the purpose of this site. As you can see, the title of this blog is "Pilgrims' Progress," and you can probably tell by now that there is a double meaning. No, I'm not original, since John Bunyan wrote his classic book hundreds of years ago. However, Bunyan's work was an allegorical work that told the story of a young man named Christian and his journey to the eternal, celestial city. And now, with a carefully placed apostrophe, I hope to do the same thing on this blog, except my articles will not simply tell the story of one Christian, but two... and it just so happens that their names are Pilgrim. That's right, my last name is Pilgrim, and I recently married my lovely wife Jenny.

One of the primary purposes of this site is to track our progress as spiritual "pilgrims" as we live life together and journey with Christ towards our eternal home. I hope to share news and updates about our life, as well as theological reflections about... well, everything.

Also, this site will not only be intended to track our spiritual progress, but also our physical progress. That's right, Jenny and I are working out together with the program P90X-2. Many of you are probably familiar with the popular workout program that made its way into all of your homes via television called P90X. In fact, many of you may have bought this program with the intention of using it, only to find out that your DVD's are great for collecting dust and your pull-up bar is a great clothing hanger. Regardless, Jenny and I are beginning the sequel to this popular workout program. Hopefully, as we track our progress, some of you may be motivated to join us by getting into shape. We do not simply want to honor Christ with our minds, but our bodies as well. We will post our progress, struggles, videos, and anything else that might be helpful (or entertaining) for the rest of you. (By the way, if you are interested in purchasing a workout program to help you get started, you may do so here.)

So if you are looking for some accountability to meet your fitness goals, or you enjoy talking about spiritual/theological topics, shoot me an email. My prayer is for this blog to uplift Jesus and encourage others to love God with their entire self, including spirit, mind, and body.

Soli Deo Gloria,

Josh P.