It's been a while, but I did say I was going to write a post about "sola scriptura" or "scripture alone". If you're not grokking what that means, it basically means the the Bible is THE authority for doctrine. To be very clear, that means we should hold to the doctrines clearly found in the Bible (directly or through valid logical reasoning of what the text says) and that we should NOT hold to doctrines that are not clearly found in the Bible (again, directly or through valid logical reasoning of what the text says).
I'm writing this to think more about this statement, which was a response to a man questioning whether or not the Bible was the only authority for truth -- "You can't really demonstrate sola scriptura from Scripture. The Bible doesn't expressly declare that it is the Christian's only authority. In other words, sola scriptura is essentially the historic confession of the Reformers, over and against the Catholic claim that it is Scripture plus the Church and Tradition. For us, then, it is a theological presupposition, our starting point rather than a proven conclusion."
It's a well said answer, but I'm not sure I agree with it. I think I can demonstrate the Bible is our only authority from Scripture, and I'm not going to do it with a verse, but with bigger ideas that surround a lot of verses. For some context, look up the following:
- The first parts of Matthew 15 and Mark 7, where Jesus is ripping the religious dudes for putting their traditions over the word of God.
- Colossians 2 where Paul argues against listening to reasonable human arguments for things that are really only self-made religion, which takes away from Christ.
So how does that tie into scripture alone? It's all in the DANGER.
When we go outside scripture for something, we're depending on men, fallible and sinful. Even the most well meaning men who love the LORD are bound to screw things up. That's kind of our whole problem in the first place. So let's go into the way back machine to when Moses was walking and talking and leading a bunch of grumblers and complainers through the desert.
God delivers the law. God's people want to follow the law. Leadership looks at something like "don't work on the sabbath" and tries to figure out how they should obey that. That's a good thing. Unfortunately over time you end up with a mess of rules that is put forth and accepted by many as what God wants, rather than looking at what God's Word is going for. For fun, go read some of the things rabbis way back wrote about proper washing of hands. It's absolutely insane, and it *started* with men trying to faithfully obey God -- but it went way off in the weeds. Jesus wanted, among other things, to get people out of the weeds and on the road.
So what about groups that claim Christ but don't have the Bible as the sole and ultimate authority? Off the top of my head I can think of Mormonism, Catholicism, and the Jehovah's Witnesses, who have more than the Bible -- as well as many, we'll call them "liberal" -- Christians who don't believe the Bible is the inspired Word of God.
In Mormonism you have other stuff (the Book of Mormon for example) and a claim to be the true church, but that the other stuff doesn't conflict with the Bible or is supported outright by it. In Catholicism you have other stuff (church tradition for example) and a claim to be the true church, but that the other stuff either doesn't conflict with the Bible or is supported outright by it. On top of that you have the idea that the extra stuff the Mormons say doesn't conflict really does. Then you have the Jehovah's Witnesses who claim our translations are jacked up so they have their own version of it, the New World Translation -- along with the claim that the Watchtower Society is the only group with the authority to interpret scripture.
Then you have Bible-only Christians who say this is all nonsense.
What we've ended up with in many cases are extra-biblical beliefs invented by men and taught as truth. Sound familiar in a way? There's nothing new under the sun.
Now before I continue, know that I'm not writing this to pound on and argue individual doctrines in different groups, but rather to point out that you need to start out with the Bible as your authority and go from there -- not start with extra junk you've been taught and shove it into what you read into the Bible. You can find some verses to support any fool thing you want to. Satan did tempting Jesus. The prosperity gospel people do. The "homosexuality and abortion are not sins" people do. We do, but we shouldn't -- we need to catch ourselves and read things in context and look for the plain simple meaning of the text!
With that said, I'll fairly pick on one thing from each of the groups I mentioned to make my point very clear.
- You don't START with the Bible and get different levels of heaven. Yes, I see in 1 and 2 Corinthians where people try to back that up with. If you didn't start with the Mormon doctrine you were taught about the celestial, terrestrial, telestial (what?), and so on, you wouldn't come up with that in reading the Bible. You know what you get when you read phrases like "third heaven" -- well, the atmosphere, space, and what is actually heaven, which is what Paul saw but had no words for. "The LORD will open the heavens to give rain / Anyone who dies in the open country the birds of the heavens shall eat / rain from heaven. Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens / stars of heaven. Look down from your holy habitation, from heaven." Hundreds more uses of heaven to mean three different and obvious things!
- You don't START with the Bible and get that Mary led a sinless life, was taken up into heaven like Jesus was, and is an intercessor for us now that we can ask to pray for us. That's not even a logical conclusion based on the biblical text. "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." "Blessed is the womb that bore you, and the breasts at which you nursed / Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it!" "Here are my mother and my brothers! For whoever does the will of God, he is my brother and sister and mother." Plus, where the Bible mentions talking to dead people, it's always in the context of sorcery, witchcraft, and so on, not asking them to pray for us!
- You don't START with the Bible and get that Jesus was Michael the archangel. Yes, I see in Hebrews where people try to back that up with, and I get the New World Translation of the Bible is different -- despite the fact that people who actually know Greek and look at it will tell you the translation doesn't match any source documents we have correctly! I've done the "Jesus Is God" post before, so go look that up if you really want to understand this; I'm getting a bit tired of writing, and this is a BIG one.
Now that I've probably pissed some people off, including friends and family, PLEASE take this advice: read the Bible for YOURSELF, ALONE, PRAYERFULLY, without drawing from what's been drilled into your head as much as you can -- and see what the plain meaning of the text is. God gave us a book that is simple enough to read and understand without us crapping it up and shoving our own ideas into it. It's a very dangerous thing that didn't end so well the first time.
Showing posts with label Bible. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bible. Show all posts
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Jesus In A Nutshell
Reminds me of a programming book "Perl In A Nutshell". :-)
I took a break from reading through kings to skim one of the gospel accounts. I thought it would be interesting to through and see a big overview of what Jesus talked about while he was here on earth. Here are the key points as I saw them in a nutshell:
1) There is good news for the underdog. Jesus came for us. After all, he came to seek, find, and restore the lost. He didn't come so much to seek and find the stubborn hard-hearted people who refuse to believe him no matter what.
2) We have to see our own sin. We have to come before God in humility and repent of our sins. That means agreeing with God and turning away from sinful behavior and turning toward him. That means getting crap out of our lives that cause us to sin against God.
3) God's Word matters. He wants us to keep it. Judgment will come. The righteous who keep it will be rewarded, while the wicked who do not will be punished.
4) God, however, doesn't want anyone to perish. He wants everyone to turn to him, and the invitation is there for all people. Even so, many will not accept it and turn to him.
5) We need to believe in, and we need to believe, Jesus. We need to follow him. We need to trust him. We need to recognize his divinity.
6) Jesus came to suffer and die for us, paying the price for our sins that we cannot pay on our own.
7) We need to love God above all else and love others very much. We need to put him and his kingdom first.
8) The expression of that love is more than a feeling. It's actions. We need to do something tangible to show God's love to others.
9) The motives behind our actions are extremely important. God cares about the heart.
10) Jesus is coming back and we need to be ready. He will reward the righteous and punish the wicked. Until he comes, we need keep his commandments, point others to him, and be wary of those who will pull us away from him.
There is much more to say than that, but that is the overview. If we get these and keep God's Word, we do well.
Grace and Peace friends!
I took a break from reading through kings to skim one of the gospel accounts. I thought it would be interesting to through and see a big overview of what Jesus talked about while he was here on earth. Here are the key points as I saw them in a nutshell:
1) There is good news for the underdog. Jesus came for us. After all, he came to seek, find, and restore the lost. He didn't come so much to seek and find the stubborn hard-hearted people who refuse to believe him no matter what.
2) We have to see our own sin. We have to come before God in humility and repent of our sins. That means agreeing with God and turning away from sinful behavior and turning toward him. That means getting crap out of our lives that cause us to sin against God.
3) God's Word matters. He wants us to keep it. Judgment will come. The righteous who keep it will be rewarded, while the wicked who do not will be punished.
4) God, however, doesn't want anyone to perish. He wants everyone to turn to him, and the invitation is there for all people. Even so, many will not accept it and turn to him.
5) We need to believe in, and we need to believe, Jesus. We need to follow him. We need to trust him. We need to recognize his divinity.
6) Jesus came to suffer and die for us, paying the price for our sins that we cannot pay on our own.
7) We need to love God above all else and love others very much. We need to put him and his kingdom first.
8) The expression of that love is more than a feeling. It's actions. We need to do something tangible to show God's love to others.
9) The motives behind our actions are extremely important. God cares about the heart.
10) Jesus is coming back and we need to be ready. He will reward the righteous and punish the wicked. Until he comes, we need keep his commandments, point others to him, and be wary of those who will pull us away from him.
There is much more to say than that, but that is the overview. If we get these and keep God's Word, we do well.
Grace and Peace friends!
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
God's Word Is A Pain In The Butt Sometimes
God's Word is sometimes is a pain in the butt.
Literally, in my case. By God's good grace I am getting more fit. Eating healthier, eating less, exercising more. You know its the supernatural power of God at work that enabled me to stop drinking Mountain Dew cold turkey with no headaches. That was my crack, man.
But back to the point. I've got this little Bible I usually have in my back pocket. And now because I have less padding on the posterior, God's Word hurts when I sit down in my car without taking it out of the pocket -- it's a pain in the butt!
That silly little thought got me to thinking also -- that's just what the world says with a totally different meaning. An unbelieving world just doesn't want to hear about what God's Word says. They don't want absolute standards for morality, what's right and what's wrong. They don't want to hear that Jesus is the only way to heaven. They don't want to hear that there is a God whose character is perfect love, perfect mercy, and perfect justice -- and that there is a judgement coming where all wrongs will be righted.
But let's be perfectly clear here. If someone's standing on some train tracks, and a train is coming, no amount of closed-eye-fingers-in-the-ears nonsense is going to change the fact that if that person doesn't move, they're going to be in a heap of trouble.
The same goes for the Word.
It spells out perfectly clearly that God made this world, man's choice to rebel against God brought sin and death into it, God put a plan in action to reconcile man to himself, and that plan culminated in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Because of God's immense love and patience, we have such an opportunity now to accept the offer of salvation through Christ and spread that good news to others. One day Christ will return and the world will be judged, and those not in Christ are like the poor intentionally deaf and blind soul on the train tracks about to get mowed down.
It may be a pain in the butt to hear, but its the truth -- and that trumps everything.
If you're in Christ, spread the message. If you're not, today is the day of salvation -- you never know what tomorrow will bring.
Grace and Peace friends
Literally, in my case. By God's good grace I am getting more fit. Eating healthier, eating less, exercising more. You know its the supernatural power of God at work that enabled me to stop drinking Mountain Dew cold turkey with no headaches. That was my crack, man.
But back to the point. I've got this little Bible I usually have in my back pocket. And now because I have less padding on the posterior, God's Word hurts when I sit down in my car without taking it out of the pocket -- it's a pain in the butt!
That silly little thought got me to thinking also -- that's just what the world says with a totally different meaning. An unbelieving world just doesn't want to hear about what God's Word says. They don't want absolute standards for morality, what's right and what's wrong. They don't want to hear that Jesus is the only way to heaven. They don't want to hear that there is a God whose character is perfect love, perfect mercy, and perfect justice -- and that there is a judgement coming where all wrongs will be righted.
But let's be perfectly clear here. If someone's standing on some train tracks, and a train is coming, no amount of closed-eye-fingers-in-the-ears nonsense is going to change the fact that if that person doesn't move, they're going to be in a heap of trouble.
The same goes for the Word.
It spells out perfectly clearly that God made this world, man's choice to rebel against God brought sin and death into it, God put a plan in action to reconcile man to himself, and that plan culminated in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Because of God's immense love and patience, we have such an opportunity now to accept the offer of salvation through Christ and spread that good news to others. One day Christ will return and the world will be judged, and those not in Christ are like the poor intentionally deaf and blind soul on the train tracks about to get mowed down.
It may be a pain in the butt to hear, but its the truth -- and that trumps everything.
If you're in Christ, spread the message. If you're not, today is the day of salvation -- you never know what tomorrow will bring.
Grace and Peace friends
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Baggage And The Bible
Do we let Scripture transform us or do we let us transform Scripture?
One thing we all do when we approach Scripture is bring our own baggage with us. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but it certainly can be. Its a bad thing when we block God's Word from transforming us because we want it to fit into what we already believe to be true. Its a bad thing when we dismiss the truth of God's Word because that truth is hard to hear. Its a bad thing when we plug our ears to it because it tells us to do things we just don't want to do.
Let me give some examples that have popped into my head:
- As an American, I live in a nation that has crazy wealth. We are the richest people on the planet. Even those we might consider poor in this country have so much more than those in many many parts of the world. Yet how many Americans think they're rich? Very few. We think we're entitled to so much material crap and so many services that most of the people in the world just don't have. That blinds us when we read about how hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God and how the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil.
- The world is filled with atheists, deists, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, in-name-only Christians, and so on. Many in these groups preach the same thing the "politically correct" talk show hosts and politicians preach -- there are many paths to God and all are equally valid -- you have your way and I have mine. We should just be tolerant of one another. And so on. That kind of mentality affects us when we read about our good works being filthy rags in the sight of God, that Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life, that Christ died as an atoning sacrifice for our sins, and so on.
- There are those who claim that monogamous, or even any, homosexual relationships are not against God's will. There are those who also claim abortion is not against God's will. They shout the mantras of "Equality!" and "Choice!". Those ideas affect us also when we read God's commands.
- There are many who embrace the evolutionary theory, despite the fact its a very shaky theory at best. It isn't even compatible with the idea that sin and death entered the world because of Adam's disobedience. Yet that's okay because some atheist scientists with a God-hating agenda to push support it. Embracing such things affect us when we read about our origins, our purpose, and our very nature.
But there's something very sad about those examples I just cited. They don't come from the mouths of unbelievers only. They also come from the mouths of CHRISTIANS -- or so-called Christians at the least.
In that light I must say there is something terribly wrong with:
- Putting self, safety, security, comfort, and worldly pursuits above God, which says "God, you're number TWO, or THREE, or FOUR...and I don't really BELIEVE you when you say you'll take care of me."
- Denying that Jesus is the only way to heaven, which says "God, your sacrifice on the cross is WORTHLESS and I can get to heaven on my OWN."
- Abandoning God's commands for the sake of man's ideas, which says "God, your commandments are nice, but I'd rather do things MY WAY."
- Dismissing God's explanation of origins because some man thinks he has one that doesn't involve God, which says "God, I think WE are smarter than YOU."
I want to vomit now. This is the kind of crap we tell God when we make ourselves the authority instead of his word.
So why do it?
Because it tells us what we DON'T want to hear. That we're depraved and in desperate need of a savior. That we're not in control. That we don't know everything. That we're not the greatest beings in the universe. That we do live in a fallen and broken world. That our hearts lie to us. That some, maybe many, maybe all, of our friends, family members, and co-workers are going to hell. That we need help. That we're weak. That we need to tell people about Jesus even though its hard for us. That we're not basically good. That God doesn't want to be put in a box. That there is something more to life than entertaining ourselves. That we should spend our time and money better. That we don't really earn anything. That people will hate us. That we will suffer through trials. That God hates lukewarm, lip-service paying, I'll believe in you as long as you don't change my heart and my life, nonsense from people.
Should I go on?
So what if we don't want to hear it? Is our baggage THAT important to us? Do we insist on believing in a God only on OUR TERMS? Why, when We can have ETERNAL LIFE through Christ. When we can have a RELATIONSHIP with the CREATOR of the UNIVERSE. When we can serve the LORD OF LORDS and KING OF KINGS? That trumps EVERYTHING we could possible bring to the table and into our reading of the Word.
Let's all pray to have our hearts and minds opened more and more to the transforming power of God's Word as he speaks to us through it.
Grace and Peace
One thing we all do when we approach Scripture is bring our own baggage with us. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but it certainly can be. Its a bad thing when we block God's Word from transforming us because we want it to fit into what we already believe to be true. Its a bad thing when we dismiss the truth of God's Word because that truth is hard to hear. Its a bad thing when we plug our ears to it because it tells us to do things we just don't want to do.
Let me give some examples that have popped into my head:
- As an American, I live in a nation that has crazy wealth. We are the richest people on the planet. Even those we might consider poor in this country have so much more than those in many many parts of the world. Yet how many Americans think they're rich? Very few. We think we're entitled to so much material crap and so many services that most of the people in the world just don't have. That blinds us when we read about how hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God and how the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil.
- The world is filled with atheists, deists, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, in-name-only Christians, and so on. Many in these groups preach the same thing the "politically correct" talk show hosts and politicians preach -- there are many paths to God and all are equally valid -- you have your way and I have mine. We should just be tolerant of one another. And so on. That kind of mentality affects us when we read about our good works being filthy rags in the sight of God, that Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life, that Christ died as an atoning sacrifice for our sins, and so on.
- There are those who claim that monogamous, or even any, homosexual relationships are not against God's will. There are those who also claim abortion is not against God's will. They shout the mantras of "Equality!" and "Choice!". Those ideas affect us also when we read God's commands.
- There are many who embrace the evolutionary theory, despite the fact its a very shaky theory at best. It isn't even compatible with the idea that sin and death entered the world because of Adam's disobedience. Yet that's okay because some atheist scientists with a God-hating agenda to push support it. Embracing such things affect us when we read about our origins, our purpose, and our very nature.
But there's something very sad about those examples I just cited. They don't come from the mouths of unbelievers only. They also come from the mouths of CHRISTIANS -- or so-called Christians at the least.
In that light I must say there is something terribly wrong with:
- Putting self, safety, security, comfort, and worldly pursuits above God, which says "God, you're number TWO, or THREE, or FOUR...and I don't really BELIEVE you when you say you'll take care of me."
- Denying that Jesus is the only way to heaven, which says "God, your sacrifice on the cross is WORTHLESS and I can get to heaven on my OWN."
- Abandoning God's commands for the sake of man's ideas, which says "God, your commandments are nice, but I'd rather do things MY WAY."
- Dismissing God's explanation of origins because some man thinks he has one that doesn't involve God, which says "God, I think WE are smarter than YOU."
I want to vomit now. This is the kind of crap we tell God when we make ourselves the authority instead of his word.
So why do it?
Because it tells us what we DON'T want to hear. That we're depraved and in desperate need of a savior. That we're not in control. That we don't know everything. That we're not the greatest beings in the universe. That we do live in a fallen and broken world. That our hearts lie to us. That some, maybe many, maybe all, of our friends, family members, and co-workers are going to hell. That we need help. That we're weak. That we need to tell people about Jesus even though its hard for us. That we're not basically good. That God doesn't want to be put in a box. That there is something more to life than entertaining ourselves. That we should spend our time and money better. That we don't really earn anything. That people will hate us. That we will suffer through trials. That God hates lukewarm, lip-service paying, I'll believe in you as long as you don't change my heart and my life, nonsense from people.
Should I go on?
So what if we don't want to hear it? Is our baggage THAT important to us? Do we insist on believing in a God only on OUR TERMS? Why, when We can have ETERNAL LIFE through Christ. When we can have a RELATIONSHIP with the CREATOR of the UNIVERSE. When we can serve the LORD OF LORDS and KING OF KINGS? That trumps EVERYTHING we could possible bring to the table and into our reading of the Word.
Let's all pray to have our hearts and minds opened more and more to the transforming power of God's Word as he speaks to us through it.
Grace and Peace
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Loving The Word
After Vietnam fell, a translator named Hien Pham was imprisoned in Vietnam, accused of helping the Americans. He was forced to read only communist propaganda which eventually wore him down. He started to think that maybe God really doesn't exist. He was determined not to pray any more or think about his faith.
The next morning Hien was assigned to clean the latrines. This was the nastiest job there was. As he was cleaning out a can overflowing with toilet paper, some English one on of the papers caught his eye. He grabbed it and washed it. Guess what it was? Romans chapter 8, which in it says "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose" and "For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."
There was no more relevant passage of scripture than that Hien could have read in the situation he faced, and on the very day he was determined to stop praying and stop thinking about his faith.
Hien figured out there was someone in the camp using the Bible as toilet paper. So he asked to clean the latrines regularly so that he could clean off more pages of scripture and add them to his collection for nightly reading.
Now my question is this: Do we love the word of God enough to clean off one waste covered page at a time so we can have just one more little treasured bit of it? The obvious answer is yes, but I'm betting the majority of us don't. We should.
Grace and Peace
The next morning Hien was assigned to clean the latrines. This was the nastiest job there was. As he was cleaning out a can overflowing with toilet paper, some English one on of the papers caught his eye. He grabbed it and washed it. Guess what it was? Romans chapter 8, which in it says "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose" and "For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."
There was no more relevant passage of scripture than that Hien could have read in the situation he faced, and on the very day he was determined to stop praying and stop thinking about his faith.
Hien figured out there was someone in the camp using the Bible as toilet paper. So he asked to clean the latrines regularly so that he could clean off more pages of scripture and add them to his collection for nightly reading.
Now my question is this: Do we love the word of God enough to clean off one waste covered page at a time so we can have just one more little treasured bit of it? The obvious answer is yes, but I'm betting the majority of us don't. We should.
Grace and Peace
Thursday, August 13, 2009
God's Word
A friend of mine said something to the effect of "Isn't God big enough to give us a book we can understand with a straightforward reading?" Absolutely. We don't need to be Biblical scholars to understand the word of God. We don't need to be experts in history or archeology to understand the word of God. We don't need to learn Hebrew or Greek to understand the word of God. We don't need to understand ancient Jewish culture to understand the word of God. These things are all helpful and give us a deeper, richer, understanding, but you know what? We've been given revelation about God's creation, man's sin inclination and way to salvation, and God's final restoration -- that anyone literate can pick up and read.
But do you know what so many individual people and groups do with the simple teaching found in God's word?
They take away from it. It's just history. It's mythology. It's corrupted. It's not inspired. It's not authoritative. It's just a book. When you go there, it reduces Christianity to just another religion of the world and reduces Jesus to just other great teacher and example like Buddha or Ghandi. And so on.
They add extra cruft to it not found in its pages. We have tradition that is equally as important. We have new special written revelation that was written down. We have special messages from God that only our leader understands. And what's the common line among many groups that purport these things? We are the one true church. You must join our organization and abide by our rules to be truly saved or to reap the biggest rewards. And so on.
They twist it. Everyone else translated it wrong, we have a special translation. You don't understand the language of the day, here's a 40 page argument on why my false doctrine is really what this one verse means. Jesus was really just a created being and not fully God. Abortion is really okay. Homosexuality is not really a sin. There's no such thing as the devil. There's no such place as hell. And so on.
You know what? We can have a simple faith as presented in the pages of the Bible without resorting to diminishing or twisting the word of God or making up new teachings that are nowhere to be found in its pages.
If left to my own analysis, I would certainly be baffled that so many mishandle God's word and so many more buy into it; however, all these were issues the first believers had to deal with, and its only gotten worse in the last 2000 years. I am somewhat calmed by the facts that we were told this would happen by our Lord, and that my eyes were opened to the truth of God's word by his grace, rather than being left to my own reasoning or interpretation.
I pray earnestly that all would come away from false beliefs to have salvation through Christ as laid out in the Bible, but, sadly, I know that such a thing is not going to happen.
Grace and Peace
But do you know what so many individual people and groups do with the simple teaching found in God's word?
They take away from it. It's just history. It's mythology. It's corrupted. It's not inspired. It's not authoritative. It's just a book. When you go there, it reduces Christianity to just another religion of the world and reduces Jesus to just other great teacher and example like Buddha or Ghandi. And so on.
They add extra cruft to it not found in its pages. We have tradition that is equally as important. We have new special written revelation that was written down. We have special messages from God that only our leader understands. And what's the common line among many groups that purport these things? We are the one true church. You must join our organization and abide by our rules to be truly saved or to reap the biggest rewards. And so on.
They twist it. Everyone else translated it wrong, we have a special translation. You don't understand the language of the day, here's a 40 page argument on why my false doctrine is really what this one verse means. Jesus was really just a created being and not fully God. Abortion is really okay. Homosexuality is not really a sin. There's no such thing as the devil. There's no such place as hell. And so on.
You know what? We can have a simple faith as presented in the pages of the Bible without resorting to diminishing or twisting the word of God or making up new teachings that are nowhere to be found in its pages.
If left to my own analysis, I would certainly be baffled that so many mishandle God's word and so many more buy into it; however, all these were issues the first believers had to deal with, and its only gotten worse in the last 2000 years. I am somewhat calmed by the facts that we were told this would happen by our Lord, and that my eyes were opened to the truth of God's word by his grace, rather than being left to my own reasoning or interpretation.
I pray earnestly that all would come away from false beliefs to have salvation through Christ as laid out in the Bible, but, sadly, I know that such a thing is not going to happen.
Grace and Peace
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
A New School Prayer
Nice to see young people of character standing up for Jesus:
Since the Pledge of Allegiance
And The Lord's Prayer
Are not allowed in most
Public schools anymore
Because the word 'God' is mentioned....
A kid in Arizona wrote the attached
NEW School prayer :
Now I sit me down in school
Where praying is against the rule
For this great nation under God
Finds mention of Him very odd.
If Scripture now the class recites,
It violates the Bill of Rights.
And anytime my head I bow
Becomes a Federal matter now.
Our hair can be purple, orange or green,
That's no offense; it's a freedom scene.
The law is specific, the law is precise.
Prayers spoken aloud are a serious vice.
For praying in a public hall
Might offend someone with no faith at all.
In silence alone we must meditate,
God's name is prohibited by the state.
We're allowed to cuss and dress like freaks,
And pierce our noses, tongues and cheeks..
They've outlawed guns, but FIRST the Bible.
To quote the Good Book makes me liable.
We can elect a pregnant Senior Queen,
And the 'unwed daddy,' our Senior King.
It's 'inappropriate' to teach right from wrong,
We're taught that such 'judgments' do not belong.
We can get our condoms and birth controls,
Study witchcraft, vampires and totem poles.
But the Ten Commandments are not allowed,
No word of God must reach this crowd.
It's scary here I must confess,
When chaos reigns the school's a mess.
So, Lord, this silent plea I make:
Should I be shot; My soul please take!
Amen
Since the Pledge of Allegiance
And The Lord's Prayer
Are not allowed in most
Public schools anymore
Because the word 'God' is mentioned....
A kid in Arizona wrote the attached
NEW School prayer :
Now I sit me down in school
Where praying is against the rule
For this great nation under God
Finds mention of Him very odd.
If Scripture now the class recites,
It violates the Bill of Rights.
And anytime my head I bow
Becomes a Federal matter now.
Our hair can be purple, orange or green,
That's no offense; it's a freedom scene.
The law is specific, the law is precise.
Prayers spoken aloud are a serious vice.
For praying in a public hall
Might offend someone with no faith at all.
In silence alone we must meditate,
God's name is prohibited by the state.
We're allowed to cuss and dress like freaks,
And pierce our noses, tongues and cheeks..
They've outlawed guns, but FIRST the Bible.
To quote the Good Book makes me liable.
We can elect a pregnant Senior Queen,
And the 'unwed daddy,' our Senior King.
It's 'inappropriate' to teach right from wrong,
We're taught that such 'judgments' do not belong.
We can get our condoms and birth controls,
Study witchcraft, vampires and totem poles.
But the Ten Commandments are not allowed,
No word of God must reach this crowd.
It's scary here I must confess,
When chaos reigns the school's a mess.
So, Lord, this silent plea I make:
Should I be shot; My soul please take!
Amen
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Brilliant
I thought of something tonight that I think is just brilliant in God's revelation to the world. We know the Old Testament testifies about Jesus Christ in many ways and that there are numerous prophecies about him in the Old Testament that were fulfilled nearly 2000 years ago. But a very awesome part of that, to me, is that there was such a gap between the last canonical Jewish scriptures and the coming of Christ.
Why do I think this is awesome?
Because of the following annoyance I had tonight. I came across the part in 2 Kings where Josiah found the book of the Law and cleaned up the nation. There was a note pointing to where 1 Kings where a man of God prophesied this was going to happen. It was a pretty specific prophecy. There's a lot of those in the Old Testament that are fulfilled in the Old Testament. Every once in a while when I run across one of those, that nasty little Satanic voice pops in my head and says "well that's way too specific; maybe it was added in or altered later". Now I don't believe that to be true in the least, but that's what happens to make people doubt the word of God and turn away from it -- Satan sows a tiny seed of doubt and, left to grow, it turns believers into unbelievers and facilitates heretical nonsense like the "emergent church" movement. The prophecies in the book of Daniel that have already been fulfilled are so specific that critics often try to do what this seed of doubt encourages and "late date" the book.
This kind of annoyance, these tiny seeds of doubt that the devil could sow in people's minds, cannot exist regarding the messianic prophecies! Sure, people can argue all kinds of things, but there is no way they can argue that the prophecies were written after the events took place. The Jewish Bible was complete, written down in Hebrew, translated into Greek, stored, etc, all before Christ arrived on the scene to fulfill the prophecies about himself that were in it.
Had canonical writings continued all the way through the coming of Christ with things mixing together, you'd have a door open for people to question the legitimacy of those incredibly important messianic prophecies.
Throw in a few hundred years between Malachi and the Incarnation, and you slam that door shut in the devil's face.
Brilliant!
Grace and Peace
Why do I think this is awesome?
Because of the following annoyance I had tonight. I came across the part in 2 Kings where Josiah found the book of the Law and cleaned up the nation. There was a note pointing to where 1 Kings where a man of God prophesied this was going to happen. It was a pretty specific prophecy. There's a lot of those in the Old Testament that are fulfilled in the Old Testament. Every once in a while when I run across one of those, that nasty little Satanic voice pops in my head and says "well that's way too specific; maybe it was added in or altered later". Now I don't believe that to be true in the least, but that's what happens to make people doubt the word of God and turn away from it -- Satan sows a tiny seed of doubt and, left to grow, it turns believers into unbelievers and facilitates heretical nonsense like the "emergent church" movement. The prophecies in the book of Daniel that have already been fulfilled are so specific that critics often try to do what this seed of doubt encourages and "late date" the book.
This kind of annoyance, these tiny seeds of doubt that the devil could sow in people's minds, cannot exist regarding the messianic prophecies! Sure, people can argue all kinds of things, but there is no way they can argue that the prophecies were written after the events took place. The Jewish Bible was complete, written down in Hebrew, translated into Greek, stored, etc, all before Christ arrived on the scene to fulfill the prophecies about himself that were in it.
Had canonical writings continued all the way through the coming of Christ with things mixing together, you'd have a door open for people to question the legitimacy of those incredibly important messianic prophecies.
Throw in a few hundred years between Malachi and the Incarnation, and you slam that door shut in the devil's face.
Brilliant!
Grace and Peace
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Attacking God's Word
You know one way Satan tries to separate man from God and keep him there? By getting right between the word of God and man. When we've got God's word wrong, we just ain't right, and Satan likes it that way.
So how does it do it? I think a few ways:
1) He tries to get man to disbelieve it. That's right, if we don't believe what the Bible says, we're sunk. "There is no God, that's just all made up." "Jesus isn't the only way to be saved, I have my way, you have your way, he has his way, and she has his way; we're all good." "I'm not a sinner, I don't need Jesus." "I'll get to heaven by doing good works and making myself right with God." All these come from the mouths of people who deny the truth of the word, and anyone espousing these beliefs is in great trouble . They need to come to know the light and the love of Jesus Christ, which is written of in the very word that they deny.
2) He tries to get us to neglect it. So maybe we know Jesus came to seek and save what was lost and we've said the "sinner's prayer" and we go to church most of the time and we tell people about the Lord once in a while. We're good, yeah? Maybe. For now. But if we don't get into God's word regularly, we're going to be in deep trouble. How can we put on the full armor of God if we don't know where the armory is? How can we test things against scripture if we don't know scripture? How can God's word get into us if we don't get into his word? Letting the Bible sit dusty on the shelf isn't going to help us when the temptations come, when trouble comes, when we have doubts, when we have fears, when we don't know which way to go. God gave us a wonderful book, a manual for life. Its on us to open it up and read it.
3) He tries to twist it. "Oh, that's not what such and such means...abortion really isn't wrong." "Oh, that's not what this and that really says...men can have sex with each other as long as they really love each other and our committed to each other." "Oh, that's not what scripture is talking about...Jesus died so that everybody could go to heaven whether they believe in him or not." What I really want to know is this: Do people who twist scripture like this really believe the snake oil they're selling? Or do they know deep down that they're just making up a bunch of crap and feeding it to people? I'll venture a guess and say its the latter.
What do those few ways produce?
Non-Christians, apathetic Christians, and fake Christians. Are the last two any better than the first? I think worse.
You need to get God's word into you more. I need to get God's word into me more. Period.
Grace and Peace
So how does it do it? I think a few ways:
1) He tries to get man to disbelieve it. That's right, if we don't believe what the Bible says, we're sunk. "There is no God, that's just all made up." "Jesus isn't the only way to be saved, I have my way, you have your way, he has his way, and she has his way; we're all good." "I'm not a sinner, I don't need Jesus." "I'll get to heaven by doing good works and making myself right with God." All these come from the mouths of people who deny the truth of the word, and anyone espousing these beliefs is in great trouble . They need to come to know the light and the love of Jesus Christ, which is written of in the very word that they deny.
2) He tries to get us to neglect it. So maybe we know Jesus came to seek and save what was lost and we've said the "sinner's prayer" and we go to church most of the time and we tell people about the Lord once in a while. We're good, yeah? Maybe. For now. But if we don't get into God's word regularly, we're going to be in deep trouble. How can we put on the full armor of God if we don't know where the armory is? How can we test things against scripture if we don't know scripture? How can God's word get into us if we don't get into his word? Letting the Bible sit dusty on the shelf isn't going to help us when the temptations come, when trouble comes, when we have doubts, when we have fears, when we don't know which way to go. God gave us a wonderful book, a manual for life. Its on us to open it up and read it.
3) He tries to twist it. "Oh, that's not what such and such means...abortion really isn't wrong." "Oh, that's not what this and that really says...men can have sex with each other as long as they really love each other and our committed to each other." "Oh, that's not what scripture is talking about...Jesus died so that everybody could go to heaven whether they believe in him or not." What I really want to know is this: Do people who twist scripture like this really believe the snake oil they're selling? Or do they know deep down that they're just making up a bunch of crap and feeding it to people? I'll venture a guess and say its the latter.
What do those few ways produce?
Non-Christians, apathetic Christians, and fake Christians. Are the last two any better than the first? I think worse.
You need to get God's word into you more. I need to get God's word into me more. Period.
Grace and Peace
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Romans Road To Salvation
Until very recently I haven't memorized much scripture. While I've got a number of verses in my head -- most often without remembering the exact chapter and verse -- from just reading the word, I typically think more about general concepts and the bigger picture.
But there are definitely those verses that are packed with so much that you could discuss them at length. I memorized some verses today that I thought I would share. These come from what I have read is known as the "Romans Road To Salvation". I thought that title was clever.
So here goes:
1. Romans 3:23. For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
2. Romans 6:23. The wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
3. Romans 5:8. God shows his love for us in that, while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
4. Romans 10:9. If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
5. Romans 5:1. Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we are at peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
That's just awesome in my opinion. Five verses, jam packed showing the following:
1. Man's big problem - sin.
2a. The result of the problem - eternal death.
2b & 3. The way out - Jesus!
4. How to find the way out - faith.
5. The result of the way out - reconciliation.
Woo hoo!
There's a much cooler article here about the "Romans Road":
http://www.gotquestions.org/Romans-road-salvation.html
Grace and Peace
But there are definitely those verses that are packed with so much that you could discuss them at length. I memorized some verses today that I thought I would share. These come from what I have read is known as the "Romans Road To Salvation". I thought that title was clever.
So here goes:
1. Romans 3:23. For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
2. Romans 6:23. The wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
3. Romans 5:8. God shows his love for us in that, while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
4. Romans 10:9. If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
5. Romans 5:1. Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we are at peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
That's just awesome in my opinion. Five verses, jam packed showing the following:
1. Man's big problem - sin.
2a. The result of the problem - eternal death.
2b & 3. The way out - Jesus!
4. How to find the way out - faith.
5. The result of the way out - reconciliation.
Woo hoo!
There's a much cooler article here about the "Romans Road":
http://www.gotquestions.org/Romans-road-salvation.html
Grace and Peace
Sunday, December 14, 2008
The Authority Of Scripture
One thing on my list of things that bug me is the failure of folks to accept what the Bible says as true and reject it as authoritative and the Word of God just because it says things they don't like.
It seems pretty clear to me that the Bible is a reliable source for learning about the life and teaching of Jesus. It seems pretty clear to me that Jesus was God in the form of a human for a short while and thus could speak with authority. It seems pretty clear to me that Jesus taught Scripture was authoritative.
Therefore, if the Bible says that Daniel was a prophet, then Daniel was a prophet. If the Bible says that trusting in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior is our means to salvation, than trusting in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior is our means to salvation. If the Bible says there is a hell, then there is a hell. If the Bible says that we are to love our enemies, then we are to love our enemies. If the Bible says that something is sinful -- murder, greed, lust, hypocrisy, dishonesty, sexual immorality, self-righteousness, [insert something here that contradicts the Bible, but that you think is okay anyway, by your own standards], than that something is sinful.
Period.
Just because something isn't popular or palatable, doesn't mean it isn't true. We should never dismiss the Word of God because we don't like what it says. After all, what authority do we have over the creator of the heavens and the earth to say that He is wrong?
None.
Thank you God for your Word; please help me to know it and spread it. Thank you also for the atoning sacrifice of Jesus that covers my failure to live up to the standards you have set by it!
It seems pretty clear to me that the Bible is a reliable source for learning about the life and teaching of Jesus. It seems pretty clear to me that Jesus was God in the form of a human for a short while and thus could speak with authority. It seems pretty clear to me that Jesus taught Scripture was authoritative.
Therefore, if the Bible says that Daniel was a prophet, then Daniel was a prophet. If the Bible says that trusting in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior is our means to salvation, than trusting in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior is our means to salvation. If the Bible says there is a hell, then there is a hell. If the Bible says that we are to love our enemies, then we are to love our enemies. If the Bible says that something is sinful -- murder, greed, lust, hypocrisy, dishonesty, sexual immorality, self-righteousness, [insert something here that contradicts the Bible, but that you think is okay anyway, by your own standards], than that something is sinful.
Period.
Just because something isn't popular or palatable, doesn't mean it isn't true. We should never dismiss the Word of God because we don't like what it says. After all, what authority do we have over the creator of the heavens and the earth to say that He is wrong?
None.
Thank you God for your Word; please help me to know it and spread it. Thank you also for the atoning sacrifice of Jesus that covers my failure to live up to the standards you have set by it!
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Disputable Matters
I did two blog-worthy things tonight that kind of ran into each other.
First, I read through the end of Romans (chapters 13-16).
Second, I had a long argument with someone about various things, including the concept of the Trinity, that Jesus was fully God, and that the Bible is in fact the Word of God.
Needless to say the argument frustrated me very much on multiple fronts.
Its kind of funny that I was reading through Romans 14 and 15 as we started talking about these other things, especially where it says "accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on disputable matters" and "accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God".
Some notes in Romans 15 said this as well: "Can Christians agree on everything? No. But the goal is not to think alike or avoid all disagreements. The goal is to glorify God. It is very important to carefully distinguish between absolutes, personal convictions, and personal preferences. We can strive for a unity in Christ that supersedes our different preferences and personalities. Our differences need not divide us -- in fact, our diversity can enable us to multiply our praise and service for God."
This all made me wonder what constitutes a "disputable matter" and where the line is between applying acceptance/tolerance and standing firm.
When Paul wrote this part of Romans, he was only talking about whether or not it was okay to eat certain foods. We're talking about something a little more at the core of Christianity here.
The doctrine of the deity of Christ is very core, and so is the doctrine of monotheism. I don't see how it is possible at all to believe in the deity of Christ (i.e. that Jesus is God in the flesh) and in monotheism without accepting the Trinity! You cannot be a created being and still be God.
So I don't think this is a "disputable matter".
The doctrine of Biblical inerrancy is less core, but its still pretty important. Truth does matter. God's revelation does matter. If the Bible is not reliable, then what do we base our beliefs in God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit on? Whatever we choose to make up? Whatever we take from the Bible that we like, ignoring the things we don't like? Absolutely not! The Bible's message must be taken as a whole. My Lord and Savior Jesus Christ asks for trust, and that includes trust in what He says in His Word. Not liking something in the Bible is a bad reason to say that you don't accept it. God judges us, not the the other way around. The same should go for His Word.
So I don't think this is a "disputable matter" either.
"Disputable matters" today seem to be things more like drinking, smoking, clothing, dancing, acceptable movies, day(s) of worship, birth control, etc, and not key points of Christian doctrine.
Now does that mean that if two people are on opposite sides of this argument, one of them won't be saved because they got part of it wrong? I don't think so, as long as the have truly repented from their sins and have truly accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. If that is really true, does that also mean that we should just allow people to continue to hold incorrect opinions about key doctrines without correcting them? I don't think so either.
As Paul says in 2 Timothy "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness". So as I see it from what I have read in the Bible so far, we should correct those who are out of line with key doctrines, but we must do it as an act of love, not an act of condemnation.
This is very difficult for me to do well at times, especially when the Bible itself is the source of the disagreement! I find that I fail so miserably in the area of calmly and graciously presenting the truth at times, especially to those who are already steadfast in opposing beliefs. All I can do is apologize to God for my failure and ask Him to help me do better the next time around.
May the grace of the Lord Jesus be with you reader.
First, I read through the end of Romans (chapters 13-16).
Second, I had a long argument with someone about various things, including the concept of the Trinity, that Jesus was fully God, and that the Bible is in fact the Word of God.
Needless to say the argument frustrated me very much on multiple fronts.
Its kind of funny that I was reading through Romans 14 and 15 as we started talking about these other things, especially where it says "accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on disputable matters" and "accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God".
Some notes in Romans 15 said this as well: "Can Christians agree on everything? No. But the goal is not to think alike or avoid all disagreements. The goal is to glorify God. It is very important to carefully distinguish between absolutes, personal convictions, and personal preferences. We can strive for a unity in Christ that supersedes our different preferences and personalities. Our differences need not divide us -- in fact, our diversity can enable us to multiply our praise and service for God."
This all made me wonder what constitutes a "disputable matter" and where the line is between applying acceptance/tolerance and standing firm.
When Paul wrote this part of Romans, he was only talking about whether or not it was okay to eat certain foods. We're talking about something a little more at the core of Christianity here.
The doctrine of the deity of Christ is very core, and so is the doctrine of monotheism. I don't see how it is possible at all to believe in the deity of Christ (i.e. that Jesus is God in the flesh) and in monotheism without accepting the Trinity! You cannot be a created being and still be God.
So I don't think this is a "disputable matter".
The doctrine of Biblical inerrancy is less core, but its still pretty important. Truth does matter. God's revelation does matter. If the Bible is not reliable, then what do we base our beliefs in God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit on? Whatever we choose to make up? Whatever we take from the Bible that we like, ignoring the things we don't like? Absolutely not! The Bible's message must be taken as a whole. My Lord and Savior Jesus Christ asks for trust, and that includes trust in what He says in His Word. Not liking something in the Bible is a bad reason to say that you don't accept it. God judges us, not the the other way around. The same should go for His Word.
So I don't think this is a "disputable matter" either.
"Disputable matters" today seem to be things more like drinking, smoking, clothing, dancing, acceptable movies, day(s) of worship, birth control, etc, and not key points of Christian doctrine.
Now does that mean that if two people are on opposite sides of this argument, one of them won't be saved because they got part of it wrong? I don't think so, as long as the have truly repented from their sins and have truly accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. If that is really true, does that also mean that we should just allow people to continue to hold incorrect opinions about key doctrines without correcting them? I don't think so either.
As Paul says in 2 Timothy "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness". So as I see it from what I have read in the Bible so far, we should correct those who are out of line with key doctrines, but we must do it as an act of love, not an act of condemnation.
This is very difficult for me to do well at times, especially when the Bible itself is the source of the disagreement! I find that I fail so miserably in the area of calmly and graciously presenting the truth at times, especially to those who are already steadfast in opposing beliefs. All I can do is apologize to God for my failure and ask Him to help me do better the next time around.
May the grace of the Lord Jesus be with you reader.
Saturday, November 22, 2008
Leviticus 26
We just finished Leviticus. Its quite the read. There was some skimming involved; however, when we got to chapter 26, I had to stop and re-read it. Its all about reward for obedience and punishment for disobedience.
The punishment caught my eye more, because its not some general, vague punishment, but rather a list of ever-increasing curses for the Israelites if they didn't listen to God.
Looking at the big picture from when the Israelites entered the promised land to their exile, its blatantly obvious that those curses that were mentioned happened. I think Daniel specifically points this out, but I haven't read that far yet! :-)
I just think its really cool how much the different books of the Bible really do tie together. Here we have God way back when telling people exactly what's going to happen if they do XYZ (and what's going to happen next if they keep doing it, etc). Then you have a pile of books that show the people not listening, getting into trouble, and eventually being conquered and exiled. Then you have guys later saying "see, God told us that was going to happen".
You would think at some point, these guys would have gotten a clue and changed their tune, yes? Maybe not. I can still remember being a kid. "If you do that, you're going to get your name on the board, then sit out at recess, then go to the office, etc". You know what? We did the same stupid crap anyway -- despite knowing the consequences.
We're not a bright lot sometimes!
The punishment caught my eye more, because its not some general, vague punishment, but rather a list of ever-increasing curses for the Israelites if they didn't listen to God.
Looking at the big picture from when the Israelites entered the promised land to their exile, its blatantly obvious that those curses that were mentioned happened. I think Daniel specifically points this out, but I haven't read that far yet! :-)
I just think its really cool how much the different books of the Bible really do tie together. Here we have God way back when telling people exactly what's going to happen if they do XYZ (and what's going to happen next if they keep doing it, etc). Then you have a pile of books that show the people not listening, getting into trouble, and eventually being conquered and exiled. Then you have guys later saying "see, God told us that was going to happen".
You would think at some point, these guys would have gotten a clue and changed their tune, yes? Maybe not. I can still remember being a kid. "If you do that, you're going to get your name on the board, then sit out at recess, then go to the office, etc". You know what? We did the same stupid crap anyway -- despite knowing the consequences.
We're not a bright lot sometimes!
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Word Of God
I have run into enough people who are down with Jesus to some degree, but don't accept at all that the Bible can be the Word of God, to warrant a post on the subject.
The point of the post is to present the high level arguments for why the New Testament is authentic.
[Start Rant]
1. We have early testimony from at least 10 non-Christian (including anti-Christian) sources about Jesus that indicates the following: He live during the time of Tiberius Caesar, lived a virtuous life, worked miracles, had a brother named James, was said to be the Messiah, was crucified under Pontius Pilate on the eve of the Jewish Passover, darkness and an earthquake occurred when He died, His disciples believed He rose from the dead and were willing to die for their belief, Christianity spread rapidly as far as Rome, and his disciples denied the Roman gods and worshiped Jesus as God.
These all fly with the New Testament.
So, we have early testimony about Jesus that is backed up by secular sources.
2. We have many more, and earlier, copies of New Testament documents than any other ancient document that is not in question. Comparing the New Testament to The Illiad by Homer, we have over 5000 more manuscripts (5686 versus 643) and a much shorter time gap (25 years difference for the earlier New Testament manuscripts versus 500 years). Other pieces of classical literature don't even come close to what we have for Homer.
Reconstruction of the original text is further authenticated by many (thousands) of quotations from early church fathers -- the entire text, save 11 verses, could be recreated just from the quotations of it in other early documents.
So, we have accurate copies of New Testament documents.
3. New Testament documents referenced by other writers by about 100 AD, so they had to have been written before then. In them, the temple and city are still standing at the time of their writing, so most of them had to have been written earlier than 70 AD when the temple was destroyed. Even atheist critics recognize that most of the New Testament books were penned somewhere between 40 AD and 80 AD at the latest.
So, we have early documents.
4. The New Testament writers record the same basic events with diverging details and some unique material, cite at least 30 real historical figures (confirmed by ancient non-Christian writers and discoveries), and include over 100 historically confirmed details.
So, we have real historical events at the heart of the New Testament.
5. The New Testament writers also included embarrassing details about themselves and Jesus, included difficult sayings of Jesus, included very demanding sayings of Jesus, carefully distinguished Jesus' words from their own, included events related to the resurrection that they wouldn't invent (i.e. putting a member of the Sanhedrin in favorable light, using women as the first witnesses to the resurrection, the conversion of the Jewish priests, etc), challenged readers to check out verifiable facts for themselves, and described miracles in the same simple way other events are described.
None of these make any sense if a group of guys was trying to fabricate a story, but the icing on the cake is this:
The New Testament writers abandoned their long-held sacred beliefs and practices, adopted new ones, and did not deny their testimony under persecution or threat of death. They had EVERY reason to DENY New Testament events, but they didn't.
NO ONE is willing to die for something they KNOW is a LIE!
So, we have good reason to believe the events in the New Testament were faithfully recorded.
6. What does the faithfully recorded New Testament say? It says that Jesus claimed to be God and it includes the following information to confirm it:
- His fulfillment of many prophecies about Himself.
- His sinless life and miraculous deeds.
- His prediction and accomplishment of his resurrection.
Given all this information so far, we reach the conclusion that Jesus is God.
Whatever Jesus (who is God) teaches must be true.
Jesus taught that scripture (what we now call the Old Testament) was the Word of God and promised that the Holy Spirit would lead the apostles to author what we now call the New Testament.
[End Rant]
That's the general logical argument in a tiny nutshell. Don't take my word on any of these points -- look up the evidence. For each number here, there is definitely more than one large book written about the subject. Or, for a more condensed summary in one book, check out "I Don't Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist" by Norman L. Geisler and Frank Turek.
The point of the post is to present the high level arguments for why the New Testament is authentic.
[Start Rant]
1. We have early testimony from at least 10 non-Christian (including anti-Christian) sources about Jesus that indicates the following: He live during the time of Tiberius Caesar, lived a virtuous life, worked miracles, had a brother named James, was said to be the Messiah, was crucified under Pontius Pilate on the eve of the Jewish Passover, darkness and an earthquake occurred when He died, His disciples believed He rose from the dead and were willing to die for their belief, Christianity spread rapidly as far as Rome, and his disciples denied the Roman gods and worshiped Jesus as God.
These all fly with the New Testament.
So, we have early testimony about Jesus that is backed up by secular sources.
2. We have many more, and earlier, copies of New Testament documents than any other ancient document that is not in question. Comparing the New Testament to The Illiad by Homer, we have over 5000 more manuscripts (5686 versus 643) and a much shorter time gap (25 years difference for the earlier New Testament manuscripts versus 500 years). Other pieces of classical literature don't even come close to what we have for Homer.
Reconstruction of the original text is further authenticated by many (thousands) of quotations from early church fathers -- the entire text, save 11 verses, could be recreated just from the quotations of it in other early documents.
So, we have accurate copies of New Testament documents.
3. New Testament documents referenced by other writers by about 100 AD, so they had to have been written before then. In them, the temple and city are still standing at the time of their writing, so most of them had to have been written earlier than 70 AD when the temple was destroyed. Even atheist critics recognize that most of the New Testament books were penned somewhere between 40 AD and 80 AD at the latest.
So, we have early documents.
4. The New Testament writers record the same basic events with diverging details and some unique material, cite at least 30 real historical figures (confirmed by ancient non-Christian writers and discoveries), and include over 100 historically confirmed details.
So, we have real historical events at the heart of the New Testament.
5. The New Testament writers also included embarrassing details about themselves and Jesus, included difficult sayings of Jesus, included very demanding sayings of Jesus, carefully distinguished Jesus' words from their own, included events related to the resurrection that they wouldn't invent (i.e. putting a member of the Sanhedrin in favorable light, using women as the first witnesses to the resurrection, the conversion of the Jewish priests, etc), challenged readers to check out verifiable facts for themselves, and described miracles in the same simple way other events are described.
None of these make any sense if a group of guys was trying to fabricate a story, but the icing on the cake is this:
The New Testament writers abandoned their long-held sacred beliefs and practices, adopted new ones, and did not deny their testimony under persecution or threat of death. They had EVERY reason to DENY New Testament events, but they didn't.
NO ONE is willing to die for something they KNOW is a LIE!
So, we have good reason to believe the events in the New Testament were faithfully recorded.
6. What does the faithfully recorded New Testament say? It says that Jesus claimed to be God and it includes the following information to confirm it:
- His fulfillment of many prophecies about Himself.
- His sinless life and miraculous deeds.
- His prediction and accomplishment of his resurrection.
Given all this information so far, we reach the conclusion that Jesus is God.
Whatever Jesus (who is God) teaches must be true.
Jesus taught that scripture (what we now call the Old Testament) was the Word of God and promised that the Holy Spirit would lead the apostles to author what we now call the New Testament.
[End Rant]
That's the general logical argument in a tiny nutshell. Don't take my word on any of these points -- look up the evidence. For each number here, there is definitely more than one large book written about the subject. Or, for a more condensed summary in one book, check out "I Don't Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist" by Norman L. Geisler and Frank Turek.
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