What God’s Up To on Planet Earth? - Mark J. Keown

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      Copyright © 2012 Mark Keown. All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in critical publications or reviews, no part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without prior written permission from the publisher. Write: Permissions, Wipf and Stock Publishers, 199 W. 8th Ave., Eugene, OR 97401.

      This edition published in cooperation with Castle Publishing.

      Wipf & Stock

      An imprint of Wipf and Stock Publishers

      199 W. 8th Avenue, Suite 3

      Eugene OR, 97401

      www.wipfandstock.com

      ISBN:978-1-62032-607-7

      People have mixed feelings about the Christian faith – some are indifferent to it, some are actively hostile to it, and some view it as an artefact of history.

      But it is also an undeniable fact that, all the time, there are people moving towards and embracing Christianity. Sometimes suddenly, often gradually, they experience a significant change in their lives, accompanied by major shifts in their beliefs, attitudes and values.

      These people appear to discover that Christianity makes sense of life, death, relationships, work and pleasure. God becomes the anchoring point of their whole lives. Instead of that gnawing sense that life in this vast universe is ultimately pointless, they find purpose and meaning, and a growing personal wholeness.

      One famous twentieth century author and scholar – a man who fiercely resisted faith, then became a convinced believer – was Professor C.S. Lewis. He wrote: ‘Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance.’ The implication is that if there is any possibility that Christianity and the Bible are true, then we should investigate them.

      Mark Keown has written this book for that purpose – to aid in our investigation of the Christian faith and to gain a better understanding of what we believe.

      What’s God up to on Planet Earth? is not superficial. It is undergirded by scholarship, but not too technical. It is written from the heart. It is honest and balanced. It focuses on the central issues, and does not get sidetracked.

      Dr Keown is well qualified to write this book – he himself was once indifferent to God, but is now passionate about the Christian faith, a lively and clear communicator, and a credible scholar. He lives by what he believes. I warmly commend this book.

      Dr Stuart Lange (Laidlaw College)

      Contents

       Foreword

       Acknowledgements

       Introduction

       1. Relationship

       2. Rupture

       3. Restoration

       4. Return

       5. Response

       6. Where to from here?

       Notes

       Appendix 1: Am I Really a Sinner?

       Appendix 2: Other Resources

       About the Author

      Thanks to my wonderful wife Emma, the most extraordinary woman in the world. Keep preaching it! Thanks to my three super daughters Gracie, Annie and Esther, I hope and pray you live this out until the end. You light up my world.

      Thanks to all those who have allowed me to test this material out especially the people of St Columba Presbyterian, Greenlane Presbyterian, Mt Roskill Baptist and Glenfield Presbyterian churches. Thanks to the staff and students of Laidlaw College. Special thanks to Brian Chitty who led me to Christ and to Sean Pawson who taught me the gospel; you did well. I am forever indebted to you both.

      Thanks to all those who have helped in different ways with this project: Craig Blomberg, Gerald Bray, Naomi Quirke, Stuart Lange, Adrienne Hunt, Emma Keown, Gracie Keown, Annie Keown, Martyn Newbie, George Dunning, Angelene Goodman, Neil Walker and Julian and Claire Doorey. To Jeff Tebbutt and Lydia Parker who designed the cover, I deeply appreciate your hard work and vision. A special thanks to Andrew Killick for your guidance, editing and over-sight of the final product.

      Thanks most especially to the one whose story this is, God, Father, Son and Spirit. I hope and pray you are pleased with this and use it for your glory.

      Hi, I’m Mark Keown, and this book was written to help you get a handle on the Christian faith. It’s designed as a ‘no-strings-attached’ presentation of what is commonly called the Christian gospel, or ‘the good news’. It’s intended to give an intelligent and coherent explanation of what God is up to in this world with a particular emphasis on us human beings.

      The book is ‘no-strings-attached’ in the sense that its purpose is not to enlist you in a particular church, get money from you or tell you what to believe. Instead, you can take it home, read it, process it and decide for yourself what you think about it. I would be lying if I didn’t admit to hoping that you, like me, would find yourself believing the message and want to follow Jesus. However, this book is written so that you can consider the message yourself, without a preacher or church hassling you. You can take it or leave it.

      I became a Christian in 1985 at the age of 24. I didn’t grow up in a ‘Christian’ home but first remember hearing the Christian message as a teenager while living in the Cook Islands. I found the message convincing but didn’t become involved in Christianity until I left home and came face to face with the challenges of life. I became disillusioned with the greed and futility of much of our western society. On one level our civilisation is impressive with its wealth, technology and science, but I couldn’t escape my feelings of deep spiritual emptiness, not to mention my concern at a growing loss of morality that threatened to destroy me and the fabric of our society. I became concerned that unless there was some intervention or transformation, the western world was heading for a terrible crisis.

      I also had a series of spiritual experiences that led me to convert to Christianity. Without any additional intervention by Christians, I decided to buy a Bible, began to read it and went to church. In that process I came face to face with the shocking realisation that there is a God, that Jesus is not a lunatic, a liar, a legend or a deluded false Messiah, but is the Lord, and that I could know him personally. I found a whole lot of other people who had found this same Jesus and I could see that while they were human like you and me with their faults, they had a love, hope and optimism that impressed me. While still flawed, they had a power in their lives that could change them inwardly – a power that I wanted too. I saw Christian families that stunned me with their love for each other. I discovered true love in the communities where they gathered. So I gave my life to Jesus and joined the church and since then I have never left or wanted to leave, despite sometimes finding church life a bit of a challenge.

      God has changed me. With his help I turned away from addiction to alcohol, shallow pleasure and a desire for personal glory through sport. I’ve gone from university dropout to a pastor and a doctor, and lecturer in theology. As I’ve studied the faith, my belief has matured into an intellectual and emotional confidence that the Christian message is true. God has changed my life and my perspective, and for that I am eternally grateful.

      I write this book hoping that, as you read it, you too will become gripped by what God is really up to on planet earth. No doubt you will already have a few ideas about Christianity and may have had negative experiences of Christians and the Church. I don’t

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