Nathan E. Lewis

My city center lays claim to hosting the largest Occupy camp in the nation. Michael Moore congratulated more people in Portland, Oregon than in any other city. Our Park and Rec people collected more human excrement in Chapman and Lownsdale Squares than what was collected on Wall Street. Our city will spend over 90k to restore these two parks and our Chief of Police has announced that the Occupy Portland will cost $1.29 million in police overtime. These are small costs if it were for a focused cause, a movement that could articulate a clear demand and a clarion message - like protesting a particular war or abortion, or the indecent exposure laws.

I have a friend who recently has qualified for Denny’s senior discounts and she has responded to the Occupy “movement” with more grace than I have. She decided to join the camp to be the mother of the lost boys. She reported to me that most of the campers with whom she interacted had suffered domestic violence, abuse, and drug addiction. Her heart went out to them as she discovered that while many of their parents had provided financially toward their children’s opulent lifestyle, they had not adequately prepared them with a work ethic or cogent worldview. Don’t misunderstand my description of my friend - she is in no way a family values, card carrying Christian bemoaning the demise of the American family. Ironically, she is so far to the other end of the spectrum, that is in reality a circle, that she has come ’round quite close to those living on the opposite extreme. When the police put an end to the party on Sunday morning, my friend was asleep in her home with 20+ twenty-somethings - lost boys - crashed on her living room floor.

This morning I read in the New York Times: “Whatever the long-term effects of the Occupy movement, protesters have succeeded in implanting ‘We are the 99 percent’ into the cultural and political vocabulary.”Undoubtedly these protesters have done so. But…did they really come up with the one and the ninety-nine? Every time I hear the Occupy protesters chanting, “We are the 99 percent,” I think of the parable Jesus told of the shepherd who leaves the 99 sheep safely in the fold to rescue the one lost sheep in the dark crags of the wilderness. He finds the one lost sheep, slings it over his shoulders and joyfully returns to the village where he encourages all the people to rejoice with him in the rescue of the one lost sheep.

I would be truly surprised to hear that the Occupy organizers came up with their slogan in reference to Jesus’ parable of the one and the 99. Amazingly, the Occupy slogan people agree with Jesus - the one is lost, horribly lost. But, from another perspective the slogan people don’t jive with Jesus - in his parable the 99 are safe and secure in the fold and the one is out in the cold. And so, I conclude that there is no literary or philosophical connection between the two. I would hate to discover that God’s fold is in anyway similar to an Occupy camp of protestors.

Speaking of the Occupy camp the one in Portland was one groovy pot and meth party. Undoubtedly, several hundred children will discover 20 years from now that the location of their conception was Chapman and Lownsdale Squares. Hopefully, by the time of their discovery, their parents will have landed a six figure job enjoying the spinning of their protest stories to their children in the lap of luxury.

One hint that this will actually be the scenario 20 years from now is that some of the homeless people who joined the Occupy Portland camp asked the organizers, “What have you done with the $18k+ of donations you have collected.” The response: “We have set up a corporation and have deposited the money in its fund.” I am happy for the organizers even though the homeless were a bit bent out of shape. But I don’t blame them; the organizers have returned to their hot showers in their rented flats or to the warm homes of their parents - or to their dorm rooms financed by federal loans. The homeless are digging in for a cold winter on the streets of Stumptown.

Presented by Nathan Lewis to the Faculty and Staff of St. Stephen’s Academy, August 2010

One of the contributions of the Wisdom literature of the Bible is its distinguishing between knowledge and wisdom. Knowledge is the acquisition of God’s truth, not only facts but also insight and perspective. Wisdom is the right application of knowledge. Dr. Bruce Waltke, who has taught over the past 50 years at nearly every Evangelical and Reformed Seminary in North America, is the finest presenter of this distinction in our day. Building on Dr. Robert Alter’s knowledge of Hebrew poetry, especially it strongest feature, couplet parallelism, Waltke has not only distinguished wisdom from knowledge but he has also displayed their inseparable relationship. Hebrew parallel couplets most usually follow the form “A line what’s more B line.” In (8:1) not only does wisdom beckon us, but what’s more, knowledge beckons us. A Hebrew reader would expect the reverse order: Not only does knowledge beckon us but ever more so wisdom, the true mastery of knowledge beckons us. But the author desires us to see that at every level, even the rudimentary levels of our acquisition of revealed truth, we are beckoned.
In the classical method of learning we might easily apply this realizing that at our lowest levels of learning in the Grammar school, where we focus on the acquisition of facts, we are beckoned to follow God. This is one of the amazing gospel themes of the whole of Scripture: we do not have to achieve a certain level of learning, discipleship or mastery of virtue to hear the divine voice. Continue reading »

Halloween is growing in popularity, more and more of my neighbors investing in morbid lawn displays of horror and death. While I have never been against my children trick or treating and donning costumes, I do wonder whether or not Halloween has become an indicator of American confusion concerning tragedy and death. Few of my neighbors live according to a Christian world view and so their view of death and the spiritual realm is different than mine. (I am aware of the history of Halloween, that its roots lie in the soil of syncretism, the church co-opting pagan rituals, creating a church holiday.) But few Americans know the connection between October 31, All Hallows Eve and November 1, All Saints Day and few Christians consider Halloween today to be a Christian holiday. A growing number of Christians not only refrain from celebration but speak publicly against Halloween as a cultural evil. Continue reading »

(Nathan Lewis visited the stated meetings of the Presbytery of the Northwest of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church, held this September 24-25 at First OPC in Portland, Oregon, as a fraternal delegate. Nathan is a Minister of the Presbyterian Church in America. Following is the address he offered.)

Fathers and brothers of The Presbytery of the Northwest: In the grace and peace of our Lord Jesus Christ, I bring greetings from the Presbytery of the Pacific Northwest. The Presbyterian Church in America has enjoyed fraternal relations with The Orthodox Presbyterian Church since its inception in 1973. Many of us are heartened to hear of your General Assembly’s Committee on Ecumenicity and Interchurch Relations announcing your entering into new fraternal relationships with the Free Church of Scotland (continuing), the Heritage Reformed Congregations, the Independent Reformed Church of Korea and the Reformed Church of Quebec. At our most recent General Assembly we gladly heard fraternal reports from The Presbyterian Church of Brazil, the Reformed Presbyterian Church, North America and The Orthodox Presbyterian Church. We look forward to the day when our fraternal relations mature in the erasure of unnecessary denominational lines. We are well aware that such a day may be nothing short of “the great and final Day,” when we shall enter into the glorious new heavens and new earth.
Continue reading »

In the circles of the church I serve some parents are suspicious of youth ministries, reluctant to send their children to summer camp, mainly because of their childhood escapades and the trite nature of some youth programs. This suspicion is shared by some of my ministerial colleagues, who assign all youth ministry to the sphere of the family. For the past eight years, I have participated in hosting in the Pacific Northwest the youth camps of Reformed Youth Ministries. Each year we have offered a ratio of 1:4 to 1:6 (camper:staff) highlighting solid biblical and theological training mixed with fun recreation and enriching interaction, not to mention daily worship and prayer.
One of our counselors (a pastor) at our 2010 summer camp shared with me one good reason to send our youth to camp. He wrote:
Continue reading »

Psalm 4: 4
Be angry, and do not sin;
Ponder in your own hearts on your beds, and be silent.

David, who wrote this Hebrew couplet also wrote in Psalm 37, “Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath! Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil.” My personal experience is that I do better to obey Psalm 37 than to find a way to express my anger short of sinning. There must be a rare righteous indignation, but I have yet to experience it. The “A” line of a Hebrew couplet is often related to the “B” couplet in this fashion: “A what’s more, B.” The “B” line helps us to understand what David means in writing, “Be angry, and do not sin.” In the context of the “B” line, it means that the best way to be angry yet refrain from sinning is to keep your anger private. Uh Oh! Is David describing the destructive suppressed anger our counselors warn against? No, he is not recommending suppressed anger but noting that anger is rash. Were we to think first, we might find another response other than anger. We have been taught to think before we speak and now we are learning how to pause before we send an email. David would have us sleep on a troubling matter before any outburst. Continue reading »

In the most recent issue of the Smithsonian Magazine, Andrew Lawler writes an article, “Who Wrote the Dead Sea Scrolls?” Discovered in 1947 these 800 plus manuscripts have been made increasingly available to Jewish and Christian scholars collaborating and now more and more to the general populace. I have listed for your personal online exposure to these manuscripts sites that I have found interesting and helpful. Continue reading »

Come join him! Box office opens at 6 p.m. selling $5.00 tickets. Purchase drinks and food and eat dinner while you view Christopher Hitchens debate Doug Wilson concerning whether or not God exists. For more information about this film go to Collision and for more information about the event, go to the Bagdad.

Annually Evergreen PCA hosts a Catechism Camp for children. The theme is “International Adventures,” taking the children on a whirlwind tour of the world while studying he Apostle Paul’s three missionary journeys. This 2009 camp’s director, Rachel Werner, our summer intern, appointed me the task/privilege of teach the 30-minute Bible talks for the older grammar school kids. Here’s my outline…. Continue reading »

Which U.S.A. President made each of the following statements about Islam?

1) “There is a remarkable trend toward fundamentalism in all
religions, including the different denominations of
Christianity as well as Hinduism, Judaism, and Islam.
Increasingly, true believers are inclined to begin a process of
deciding: ‘Since I am aligned with God, I am superior and my
beliefs should prevail, and anyone who disagrees with me is
inherently wrong.’”

2) “Islam is a peace-loving faith that is practiced by more than one billion people, including millions of American Muslims.”

3) “The United States has in itself no character of enmity against the laws, religion or tranquility of Muslims.”

4) “Among some Muslims, there’s a disturbing tendency to measure one’s own faith by the rejection of somebody else’s faith. The richness of religious diversity must be upheld.”

5) “Wherever the Mohammedans have had complete sway, wherever the Christians have been unable to resist them by the sword, Christianity has ultimately disappeared.”

Answer Key Continue reading »