I've known you for a few years now. You are a thoughtful lady God has used in many people's lives. For those who don't know you, can you share a bit about who are you, where are you from and what are your passions in life?
Certainly, I would be happy to. I am a wife and mother of five children. I have always lived in Nova Scotia's beautiful Annapolis Valley. My husband and I have been married for 27 years, and our children range in age from 14 to 27. My current passions include reading my Bible, learning ancient languages (I have been studying Koine Greek for going on three years now and Latin for a year-and-a-half), homeschooling my 14 year old twin girls, making sourdough bread and knitting whenever I get a spare moment which admittedly is not as often as I would like. Today I want to chat about logic and the need for it in our education. Can you explain what logic is and why it is important to use it to understand our world? Logics' purpose is for evaluating arguments. I'm not using the term argument to mean some ugly quarrel between angry people. In logic, an argument is a reason to believe something. The Latin noun argumentum, which is where we get our English word argument, means evidence or proof. The Latin verb argiuo means to prove or reveal. In the ancient mind of Greeks or Romans, an argument was not necessarily an emotional disagreement but rather an attempt to reveal what was true on the basis of evidence and reason. Logic is the discipline that shows us how to judge whether an argument is good or bad, whether it fits properly together or not. Evaluating the arguments of others is one of the most important skills that any person can have. This perhaps is more true today than it ever has been. The world bombards us with all sorts of recommendations about what to do and believe. Politicians and advertisers often find it easy to manipulate people's emotions or convince them by misleading them or confusing them. In addition to evaluating the arguments of others, we sometimes need to make our own recommendations to others about what to do, to believe or maybe even to buy. Learning logic helps us to craft our own arguments with integrity. It means avoiding manipulation and deception. Logic helps us build arguments the right way. You have recently introduced me to the classical education method, which involves teaching logic. What motivated you to teach using this method? God has led my husband and I on quite a journey with the education of our children. Our children begin their education at the Kings County Christian School. When that no longer was an option for us we began to explore the option of homeschooling. Initially, homeschooling for us looked like doing what was done at the Christian School only at home, which is common for many parents. As time went on and I believe by the leading of the Holy Spirit, I began to research different methods of education. This research eventually led me to an essay called "The Lost Tools of Learning" by Dorothy Sayers. This essay is available for free online if it is of interest to any of your readers. In this essay, she talks about something she calls the trivium. The three stages of the trivium are grammar, logic and rhetoric and Dorthy Sayers points out in her essay that these three stages of the trivium correspond to the three stages of child development. Her essay sparked a desire in me to learn more and as I continued to research classical education. I became more and more convinced this was the path I wanted to take with our children. I talked to my husband about it, and here we are many years later, still educating classically and loving it. What benefits have your daughters been given by being taught logic? Well, honestly, I believe the benefits that my girls have received from learning logic are the ones I referred to in question two. It has been very rewarding seeing them able to think and reason through everything from TV commercials and election campaign ads to conversations they have had with friends and family. They have sometimes even caught and pointed out an error or two in my reasoning. I have heard that you have taken real-life events to teach your children about logic. I think it was great that your girls got excited for the leaders debate during the election for Prime Minister in September. They were pretty excited to point out all the logical fallacies. What are the common ones you and your girls noticed? Oh my David...fallacies in the election debate. I can safely say they were numerous. I think some of the common ones that we see regularly are Ad Hominem Abusive, Circular Reasoning, Sweeping Generalization, lots of Loaded Questions between the party leaders. The leaders debate this past election sadly was more a game of "Count The Fallacies" than it was a lesson in analyzing good arguments. I sometimes wonder if more Canadians were taught the skills of evaluating arguments and were able to recognize the fallacies taking place in these debates, would the people then hold our leaders to higher standards. If anyone wanted to pursue the topic of logic further, what books would you recommend them to read? For book recommendations on logic, I would recommend the "Fallacy Detective" and "The Thinking Toolbox" by Nathaniel Bluedorn and Hans Bluedorn. They are great for a variety of ages and an excellent place for all people to start. If anyone is interested in finding out more about classical education "The Well Trained Mind" by Susan Wise Bauer is an excellent resource. I've been slowly learning that education isn't merely to grow in knowledge but to grow in our understanding of who God is. As we come to an end of this interview, can you share with me how learning logic helps you and your children understand God better? The Bible teaches that God is a God of knowledge (1 Samuel 2:3; Romans 16:27). Being eternally omniscient, God is not only the source of His own knowledge; he is also the source and determiner of ALL truth. That which is true is true because God thinks it so. The laws of logic are the way He thinks. God is the author of logic. God is not the author of confusion (1 Corinthians 14:33). He is a rational being, the "LORD God of truth" (Psalm 31:5). In John 1:1 λόγος (Logos) is translated "word," but this is also the root word for our English word logic. λογιζομαι (Logizomai), which uses the root λογος (Logos), is translated "I think" in English. Jesus Christ is the "Word" and the "Logic" of God: "In the beginning was the Logos, and the Logos was with God, and the Logos was God" John 1:1 emphasizes the rationality of God the Son. Christ is the logic of God. He is Reason, Wisdom, and Truth incarnate (1 Corinthians 1:24, 30; Colossians 2:3; John 14:6). The laws of logic are the way God thinks. God and logic cannot be separated.
0 Comments
Times are increasingly becoming difficult for the church. How do we prepare our family well for persecution? Read what Brad Bredenhof, Elder at Grace Life Church in Edmonton, has to say.
Before we dig into the topic I want to explore today with you, please share with my readers a bit about who you are, where you are from, and what your passions are in life. My name is Brad Bredenhof. I have been married to my wife, Fenna, for 14 years. We have seven children, five boys and two girls. We live on 80 acres about 40 minutes west of Edmonton. On this land we raise meat goats, chickens and rabbits. I also work on my Dad’s dairy farm; milking cows for him. I am an elder at Grace Life Church of Edmonton. For about 11 years my wife and I have done some mission work in Cuba to support and help the churches there. I enjoy working with animals, studying history, preaching and spending time with my family. I have a passion to see Biblical churches planted in our province and country. Today I want to chat with you about preparing our families for persecution. You have not only been studying this topic for lessons you will be teaching in Grace Life, but you have experienced it as well. Now as you know, there are many Christians who believe that the church in Canada is not being persecuted. I blame this on a limited view of what persecution is. Having spent time studying this topic, can you share with me what a biblical understanding of persecution is? Last February, after Pastor James was imprisoned due to resisting the orders from the government which restricted the capacity of our worship services, I had the opportunity to teach Sunday School for our church. I started with teaching two lessons on persecution to help and prepare our church. I agree that many Christians don’t have a clear understanding of what persecution is. Let me share some verses from Scripture that I think will give us a very clear and simple definition of persecution. Matt 5:11 “Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me." 1 Peter 2:20 "For what credit is there if, when you sin and are harshly treated, you endure it with patience? But if when you do what is right and suffer for it you patiently endure it, this finds favor with God." 1 Peter 3:13 Who is there to harm you if you prove zealous for what is good? 14 But even if you should suffer for the sake of righteousness, you are blessed. 1 Peter 4:14 If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. 15 Make sure that none of you suffers as a murderer, or thief, or evildoer, or a troublesome meddler; 16 but if anyone suffers as a Christian, he is not to be ashamed, but is to glorify God in this name. I have highlighted how in these passages the authors define persecution. Persecution is suffering ill treatment because of doing what is right in the eyes of Christ. If, in our obedience to our Lord Jesus Christ, we suffer from others, then we are experiencing persecution. With this definition, you can see that we could even suffer persecution because of other immature or misguided Christians. The Bible teaches that if we belong to Jesus that we will suffer. It's not a matter of if, but when. Often time we want to retreat from persecution, yet the Bible teaches that we are blessed when we are persecuted. From your own experience, what blessings have you received as a family? Yes, we have been blessed as we have faced persecution. I believe persecution has drawn us nearer to our God as the fountain of all joy, help and comfort. It has brought us nearer to our church family and deepened our relationship with them. Persecution has refined us. It has made us evaluate our motives and desires. Am I living for heavenly purposes and goals? Persecution has produced a greater longing for heaven so that we are less bound to the things of earth. We are given assurance of our faith as we suffer for doing right as we see the quality of our faith as it continues to trust and obey God in the midst of persecution. I think its safe to say that the persecution that the church is experiencing today is only the start. It will get worse. As a young father I'm concerned for my daughter. How can I prepare my family for difficult times? I understand your concern. I have children too and I often wonder what life will be like for them. The way we expected our society to function for so many years is changing drastically. The future looks scary and dark. The suffering our country could go through may be terrible and horrifying. Just study the history of the Soviet Union or Communist China for a possible preview. Yet I know that Christ is sufficient for even the worst this life can bring. A Christian can be full of joy and be content even in the midst of persecution and suffering. My children need Christ. They need a new heart to enjoy Christ. So, our children need to hear the gospel. They need to be called to repent and believe that only Jesus Christ can forgive their sins. Explaining the gospel to our children is the best way we can help them prepare for difficult times. Good theology is vital to going through difficult times. It is important for our and our children’s peace to know who our God is and what He has done for us. Our children need to understand a theology of man and his sinful nature. They need to understand why there is persecution and the spiritual war that is going on. Our children need to know Biblical theology, for even if they are not interested, it will impact their thinking and God may use that knowledge in the future to convert and comfort them. Having daily devotions in which we read the Scriptures, pray and sing is a great way to teach our children good theology. Don’t skip over difficult parts. Remind them of the reality of what this sin-cursed world is like. Tell what the cost of following of Jesus is. We also can prepare our children for difficult times by getting them to memorize Scripture and even good hymns. I would add that knowing church history is helpful, especially biographies of God’s servants who have suffered much. We can see how God has worked in the lives of others in the midst of suffering to accomplish His purposes. We can see how He comforted and strengthened them. Our God doesn’t change and He will operate in a similar way in our lives. Part of my worry is that I may not always be there to protect my daughter. How do you prepare yourself to trust God when you can't be there for them? The sovereignty, wisdom and goodness of God will be such a comfort in those times when we are helpless to protect our children. So, the best way to prepare for such a time is to learn to trust God now. Know who your God is. Walk in daily fellowship with Him so you can know Him by experience. If something happens to the ones we love and we can’t do anything about it, we can rest in the truth that we know our God is good in all He does; all He does is wise and He loves our children or loved ones more than we can. We can be assured that He is doing what is best and trust Him with our loved ones. As we come to an end of this interview I want to touch on one last thing. As I see it, part of preparing children for persecution is understanding that God is still good, trustworthy and in control even when the worst happens. How do you share these truths to your family in the midst of suffering? Yes, our comfort in suffering comes from knowing who our God is. Hopefully those truths are firmly imprinted on our minds before suffering comes. It is much easier this way. Having to work through our theology while we are suffering is difficult. There is wisdom needed to share truth with our family while they are suffering. When people are grieving and suffering deeply, giving them a lecture or sermon on God’s goodness or sovereignty isn’t going to go over well. We need to show compassion and grace. We need to grieve with those who grieve. We will need to look for a good opportunity to see how they are doing and to help them if they are struggling with any doubts or questions. Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions. What are some sources that you would recommend for further study on this topic? I found some of the books by Richard Wurmbrand, like “Tortured for Christ” And “Preparing for the Underground Church” to be helpful. I was blessed by “Tortured for his Faith” by Haralan Popov. Brother Andrew’s books are beneficial. There are many different biographies about saints who suffered much which would benefit the Christian, such as the autobiography of John Paton or Corrie ten Boom. John Macarthur has a book called “The Power of Suffering” and John Piper has a book called “Suffering and the Sovereignty of God” which should be good resources. I haven’t read these books but I am familiar with the authors’ teaching on this subject. We have known each other for a few years, ever since we attended the same post-secondary school. For those who don’t know you, can you share a bit about who you are, where you are from, and your passions in life?
Well, I’m an ever-humbled husband of 12 years to my wife Betsy and a father to a soon to be 2 year old beautiful son Jeremiah (we gave him that name so he for sure goes to heaven) that we adopted when he was a half hour old. I have been a Pastor for 7 years and was sent out by a Church in Calgary to plant a church in Penticton BC, Canada, in the same valley where Betsy and I grew up. This church planning road is extreme in the highs, and the lows and I couldn’t imagine doing anything else. Some Passions: I love to be a husband and a father; I love to hike, hunt, fish, motorbike, mixed martial arts, preach, mountain bike, play board games, develop skills to live off the land, volleyball and I’m sure some more that aren’t coming to me. My main passion in life is for God to be glorified for who He is. What is biblical fellowship and how does it differ from what we have seen over the last few years? Jesus, our High Priest, Lord and Saviour finishes one of His prayers with a picture of what true fellowship in His body looks like when He says, “I do not ask for these [His 11 disciples who were in the upper room with Him before His crucifixion] only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me” Jn. 17:20-21 [Brackets mine for context]. Here we see that true Fellowship starts in and is modelled by the Godhead, that because they are in each other, they are one. So it follows that if we claim to know and be known by God we must be in Him, and thus we will be one with others who are in Him. It is the Father that animates and quickens our oneness with His Son through His supernatural drawing (Jn. 6:44) and the changing of our hearts (Jn. 3, “Born From above”). Then Jesus explains in John 15 what it actually will look like if this has truly been done to us using the summary word “Abide.” If we have truly been made new (2 Cor. 5:17) we WILL abide in Christ. This “abide” is an ever-continuing reality actualized and sustained by the Godhead. In the languages of scripture, “being in” or “abiding in” is not talking anatomically, like saying “I am in a house” but ultimately in regards to adoption. Either I have been bought at a price and given the family name with all of its benefits or, in the case of a false convert, I am committing Identity fraud; claiming I am in Christ, but I’m really a child of Satan, and he has never been forced to give up possession of me based on the blood payment of Christ on my behalf, and ultimately, I will die “in” my sins. Now, If I am in Christ, my heart has been changed to love Him, and if my new heart beats for Him, if I truly love Him, I will follow His commandments (Jn. 15: 10) and His greatest commandment concerning His body, the church, is that we love one another as He has loved us, that is, giving ourselves away (laying down our lives, Jn. 15:13) to each other. Finally, concerning the end of this verse which is where we find the purpose of the church, that is, that the world may know and glorify the One who was sent to the world from the Father to save them from their sins (my transliteration of Jn. 17:21b). All that to say this: The fellowship of the Saints and their mandate supersedes all earthly authority because it is not what she (the Bride of Christ) does; it’s who she is, for true belief is never void of faithful action. The Apostle echos this truth by his description and charge to the church, “I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment.” (1 Cor. 1:10). In no way can those who claim to be in Christ’s Body uphold this Apostolic charge of oneness if we are tossed to and fro by every wave of earthly government dictates that they try to impose on the house of the Lord. The church has one head, one government. When it comes to its tenets, only Jesus can write them, and those who are in Him will follow them no matter what. I am so thankful for the last few years; for the longest time in the history of the professing church, nothing has revealed more the true authority of those who occupy the pulpit and the pew. Why is it important to be involved in the life of a church and not simply just a Sunday morning pew-sitter? We have a strange notion in the professing-only church today that should be called to account by all those who have been made to abide in Christ. That notion is that somehow, even though the Godhead itself is a community, that Christ walked day-in and day-out with His followers, that faithful shepherds throughout history were desperately intimate with their flock, that individualistic and narcissistic fellowship with God is okay. There is one thing our sin hates more than anything else - it’s God. Why? Because we know that if there is a God, we are accountable to Him and deserve judgment. So what have we done to combat such a nuisance while at the same time not having to actually follow Christ? Those who pollute the office of Elder have allowed into Christ’s house a culture of no accountability resulting in no church discipline, which caters to those who wish to stay at peace with their sin. These seat warmers are allowed to keep face in front of “the church” but will never be able to keep face in front of its King. No one more than these “elders” will be held accountable for such atrocities, for they use the guise of the church to comfort souls to hell by representing a form of following Christ that doesn’t demand one being all in. A way to combat such a culture is to do what Jesus did. Jesus never rushed anyone into salvation; in fact, the opposite is true. Jesus was very clear that before you claim to want to follow Him, you’d better count the costs. Access to Jesus was kept broad, but He wasn’t intimate with the masses. He was only intimate with those who were true to paying the costs. And intimacy with Christ is the only thing that saves. Christ’s Under-Shepherds do themselves a service when they clearly lay out and hold all those who would profess Christ accountable to the high costs, so as not to cheapen the value of the High Prize. Motivating someone from being a pew-sitter to becoming an active member in the church is difficult work. As a pastor, how do you encourage and ensure that biblical fellowship is taking place in the church? Unfortunately, some Elders get hired into churches where the previous Elders allowed pew-sitters. So you gotta do the work of weeding, which doesn’t tend to make one very popular this side of heaven. This can be one of the real beauties of church planting. That is, church planters who are more concerned with making disciples than just making converts can lay out clearly what it means to follow Christ and then there’s no surprises to the new member when we aren’t interested in playing church. They won’t be shocked when they are biblically rebuked or when we cater to the truth more than feelings (and so on). When you throw actual biblical fellowship on a churchgoer of 20+ years for the first time, you’d better bring your shield. Christ never allowed “pew-sitters”; in fact, He said, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.” (Luke 9:62). You claim to be a Christian, but you don’t have fruit? You don’t serve? You aren’t known as not your own? You don’t joyfully give? All this and more is to say you don’t love Christ. To which the faithful Pastor responds, “Actively repent or leave. This house is for the Saints!” As a follow up to that last question, what biblical authority have you been given by God to ensure that biblical fellowship is taking place? Controversial these days to say, but there is no biblical local gathering without Elders. We are called to submit to our Elders because they watch over our souls and will be judged greatly by how they carry that responsibility out (Heb.13:17, 1 Thess. 5:12-14). It’s remarkable how we just pass over this foundational office when most of the New Testament was written to Churches with established, tested and true Elders (Acts 14:23). The foundation was laid by the Prophets and the Apostles but inside of the house is under the authority of the Elders who, and no one else, will stand before God and give an account by how they honoured the ways of His word. If one chooses not to submit, nay, if one doesn’t desire greatly to joyfully submit to biblical local Elders then they say to Christ, “I love you, just not your ways.” They, in turn, will die in their ideas of who they think God should be like and that god can’t offer salvation. Only Elders can beget Elders. No biblical Elders in your area? Move! The kingdom is of much more concern than all the other things (Matt. 6:33). How has the “crisis” over the past two years shaped your understanding of the church? I think we have all been challenged by this invasion of Caesar in the last couple of years. But more than just being challenged to revisit our ecclesiology, we have been revealed. We’ve all hopefully ran to the scriptures again and again to seek, but who’s will have we sought? Some have exegeted and were given the spine and perseverance of Christ. Some have eisegeted and attempted to justify their weak spine and hollow professions, to which stepping down and repentance would need to follow in order to continue in the office at another time in the future. Many pastors have not only hindered fellowship but outright cast it aside. What would you say to encourage them to open their doors regardless of restrictions? Disqualified and dishonourably discharged. Some churches in Canada that have stayed open has grown substantially in size because of Christians finding a place to worship. This has led to different problems, such as difficulty in providing spiritual care to everyone in the church. What would you suggest that these pastors do to address this issue? We are not dealing with a subset theology in this situation, like the culture somehow forced men to make some decision in a vacuum void of their beliefs. Decisions are made way before decisions are made. Again, we are dealing with allegiances or horrible hermeneutics, both of which disqualify one from the office. It is the Pastor’s duty to find the answer to the question of all those that transfer, “Would you have stayed at your old church if your church didn’t close?” Suppose the answer is they wouldn’t have transferred. In that case, you are either dealing with a very young Christian or an unbeliever because there would have been way more signs of an unhealthy church before any restrictions came out. This is to say that the fact that the church closed is the least of the issues with that church. That means these transfers either don’t know how to see these obvious things (and need to be taught them and asked to submit to them) or they could care less about the larger issues and thus reveal their true heart. In the vast majority talks I have had with transfers, even at other open churches, they transferred because it’s their rights the government is taking, not because they wish to honour Christ. If their desire was truly to honour Christ, they would’ve transferred a long time ago because the shutting down of a Church is just a small symptom. This is just the symptom they decided to act on. All that said, if people transfer because their past church shut down, they are complete babies or lost pew-warmers looking for a new seat to heat. For these churches that are doubling in size from these transfers, if they are solid churches, most transfers should only last about a month unless they come to terms with the true doctrines and theology that has inevitably resulted in the church staying open. Not all churches that have stayed open stayed open for solid reasons. Those ones will tend to keep lots of the transfers because they expect about the same as the transfer’s last church…which isn’t much. Churches that have closed do not possess a biblical spine because of either poor hermeneutics or poor profession, so they, in turn, wouldn’t expect either of their congregants. Solid churches, based on the biblical costs of following Christ, mandate expectation, so the moment they call the transfers to step up, most will leave. The ones the Father called to Christ will stay. However, you cannot faithfully do this without a correct number of qualified Pastors to hold the gates through being intimate with the entire flock. If your numbers have doubled, but your Pastorate has not, there’s no way you can faithfully Shepherd those who are coming because we are called to the public (pulpit) AND the private (this is where you actually get the smell of sheep on you) proclamation of the Gospel. Either the gates will be overrun with rampant unchecked heresy in the pews, or the Pastors will have to somehow find a clear conscience and be okay with Pastoring a Church that has no ability to march together. I pray Pastors will never think they have the ability to find that clear conscience by pretending they are faithfully Pastoring in such ways. “Oh happy the church of Christ, where the labourers are able and faithful and so proportioned to the number of souls that they might be able to take heed unto all the flock.” - Richard Baxter Thanks for your time. As we come to an end of the interview, is there anything you would like to add? This is such a beautiful time for the church! For so long, the Refiner’s fire has been held at bay, but the Church the Spirit indwells will stand arm in arm in the furnace because they know they don’t walk in it alone. Their King lives! Oh how beautiful are the feet of Jesus! Thanks for having me David. |