July 20, 2025

Last week I shared a poem. The was written by Matthew Arnold an English poet who died in 1888. Arnold describes that waning faith of the English people as a tide which is on it’s way out and in fact isn’t even visible just the sound of it’s retreating roar is left.

The Sea of Faith

Was once, too, at the full, and round earth’s shore

Lay like the folds of a bright girdle furled.

But now I only hear

Its melancholy, long, withdrawing roar,

This sentiment is not unknown to us today. Many have commented on the seemingly ongoing retreat of faith as a cultural influence in the west. Recently Jay Manimtim visited with us and shared that the number of Canadians who report no religion grows year after year. 

This is a concern for many reasons, what hope is there for children who grow up without a knowledge of God? What hope is there for a society that is not restrained by the knowledge of a moral framework to which we are all accountable? As a practical matter what will the world look like if the influence of Christian faith continues to retreat? What kind of society will our children or their children inhabit?

These thoughts are deeply troubling and should motivate us to share the truths of God far and wide. 

We must also understand that God can still work and all hope is never lost. I heard about the poem above in a book called “The Surprising Rebirth of Belief in God” by Justin Brierley. In the book Brierley notes the diminishing influence of “New Atheism” and the realization that society can’t enjoy the fruits of Christian morality without the historical and spiritual roots. 

People with large platforms and influential voices are expressing some appreciation for Christianity, even allowing apologists to defend God and the Bible in some cases. Wes Huff and Steven Meyer have recently been invited on many popular well viewed media outlets. 

While it’s hard to predict the outcome of these things, this change of tone may represent a turning tide. 

We should think seriously about how we can personally and congregationally use this as an opportunity to share the gospel.

~ Kevin Cleary

July 13, 2025

The sea is calm tonight.

The tide is full, the moon lies fair

Upon the straits; on the French coast the light

Gleams and is gone; the cliffs of England stand,

Glimmering and vast, out in the tranquil bay.

Come to the window, sweet is the night-air!

Only, from the long line of spray

Where the sea meets the moon-blanched land,

Listen! you hear the grating roar

Of pebbles which the waves draw back, and fling,

At their return, up the high strand,

Begin, and cease, and then again begin,

With tremulous cadence slow, and bring

The eternal note of sadness in.

Sophocles long ago

Heard it on the Ægean, and it brought

Into his mind the turbid ebb and flow

Of human misery; we

Find also in the sound a thought,

Hearing it by this distant northern sea.

The Sea of Faith

Was once, too, at the full, and round earth’s shore

Lay like the folds of a bright girdle furled.

But now I only hear

Its melancholy, long, withdrawing roar,

Retreating, to the breath

Of the night-wind, down the vast edges drear

And naked shingles of the world.

Ah, love, let us be true

To one another! for the world, which seems

To lie before us like a land of dreams,

So various, so beautiful, so new,

Hath really neither joy, nor love, nor light,

Nor certitude, nor peace, nor help for pain;

And we are here as on a darkling plain

Swept with confused alarms of struggle and flight,

Where ignorant armies clash by night.

Arnold reflecting on the diminishing Christian influence on Europe imagines a faith who’s tide is ebbing and seems to assume that it will not return. Next week I’ll ask you to remember this poem and offer some thoughts related to Arnolds sad reflection on the receding sea of faith. 

~ Kevin Cleary

July 6, 2025

 I am too young to have seen much of the Andy Griffith show, I am more familiar with Matlock which my grandparents watched faithfully. However I am aware of the influence of Andy Griffith and have seen enough to know why many people remember the show and it’s influence fondly. 

A few years ago I read a good little article by Steve Higginbotham. Steve is clearly a bigger fan than I am and makes some wonderful points.

“My wife and I just returned from a visit to Mt. Airy, NC, the home of Andy Griffith. Since we’re fans of the Andy Griffith show, we thought it would be fun to go to Mt. Airy, Andy’s real-life home town, and the model town for the fictional town of Mayberry. We went through the Andy Griffith Museum, took a few pictures, and headed home. Within hours, we learned that Andy Griffith had passed away.

Since hearing the news of his passing, I listened to an interview he gave a couple years ago. The interviewer asked him if he could remember all the episodes of the Andy Griffith Show. Surprisingly to me, he said, “no.” Oh, he remembered many of them, had some favourites, but just didn’t remember all of them. I found that amazing because there are thousands of people across the country who remember every episode, can tell you what’s going to happen next, and even quote lines. But Andy, himself, couldn’t.

That caused me to reflect on how our influence can long outlive our lives. Some of the episodes that Andy Griffith actually participated in were not remembered by him, but thousands of people who simply “looked on” remember every detail. What that tells me is that I had better be cautious about my words, attitudes, and actions. What I might say or do today, and forget about tomorrow, may never be forgotten by an “onlooker,” even long after I am dead and gone.

The passing of Andy Griffith reminded of a truth spoken by the apostle Paul, “For none of us lives to himself, and no one dies to himself” (Romans 14:7). Make sure that the influence you have on others is the kind that you want to outlive you.”

Steve Higginbotham”

~ Kevin Cleary

June 29, 2025

    Jude is using a well-known contemporary source as an example of the point he is making. In doing so Jude does not force us to conclude that 1^st Enoch was inspired by God or that it was written by Enoch. He is simply using a truth expressed by an influential contemporary work to bolster his warning. The most we can say is that Jude guided by inspiration believes the statement describing judgement to be a true warning worth heeding. 

     It should be noted that Jude is not the only New Testament writer to do this. The Apostle Paul quoted a number of popular writings to make various points in his teaching:

• Epimenides and Aratus Acts 17:28 “For in him we live and move and have our being”
• Menander I Cor 15:33 “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die”
• Epimenides Titus 1:12 “the Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, and idle gluttons!” 

     Jude may have used a quote from a different pseudepigraphical book “The assumption of Moses” in verse 9. Both Clement of Alexandria and Origen attribute the quote to that work. 

     The same principle is at play, Jude is using a cultural reference that his readers would be familiar with to make his point. As mentioned above, these examples do not mean that Paul or Jude affirm anything more than the specific quote used. It is still a common practice for a teacher to use  a quotation that hearers or readers will understand and identify with. We should not read too much into the fact that New Testament authors sometimes do this. 

     Ancient religious writing can help us gain insights into the concepts with which people were familiar. They can also help translators learn about words and phrases. They may supply important historical context, helping us understand the meaning of scripture.

     That said, there was a reason ancient Jews didn’t accept 1^st Enoch as an inspired book or include it in the Bible. Rather, they saw it as human speculation not divine revelation. 

     Lest we miss the point, we would all do well to heed Jude’s  warning as it remains as important today as it was for those who first read it. 

Kevin Cleary

June 22, 2025

     The book contains several visions of Enoch which tell of fallen angels, a coming messiah, the future state of the faithful, and God’s justice winning out in the end. 

     The discussion of fallen angels has been the matter most discussed in recent times. On that connection, the book speculates on who the sons of God were in Genesis 6:1-4. Further how their intermarriage with the daughters of men led to the rise and activities of the Nephilim. Curiosity seekers are drawn to these questions and eager to believe that this book has answers provided by a reliable person who was there when it happened. The problem of course is that Enoch was long gone before someone assumed his name and wrote an imaginary version of events. 

     This document gained enough popularity to be included in the collection of works

among the dead sea scrolls. Fragments of it were found in Cave 4 at Qumran along with

fragments from 574 other manuscripts. It was part of a library that included portions of

Biblical books, Biblical commentaries, Apocryphal books, books on Jewish law, prayers,

sectarian documents and others.

     The book is also quoted by some early church fathers again indicating familiarity with, and popularity among, not just ancient Jews but also ancient Christians. 

     This brings us to our second point of discussion why does Jude quote it? 

     Jude is writing to warn of false teaching and further to encourage the faithful to defend the truth (Jude 3-4). He offers a series of warnings giving examples of those who have abandoned God’s truth down through history. Then beginning in verse 8 Jude starts to describe the nature of these people. 

     As a final warning Jude makes the point that Enoch seventh from Adam prophesied about these people saying “Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousand of his holy ones to execute judgement on all and to convict all the ungodly of all their deeds of ungodliness that they have committed in such an ungodly way and of all the harsh things that ungodly sinners have spoken against him.” 

~ Kevin Cleary