Over at the Jesus Creed you will find an interview I did with R. Alan Streett on his terrific book, Heaven on Earth.
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/jesuscreed/2013/11/16/alan-streett-heaven-on-earth/
HEAVEN ON EARTH
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Category Archives: Bible
MESSY BIBLES ARE BEAUTIFUL
Grant Horner teaches Renaissance literature at the Master’s College. He is a stellar teacher and terrific guy.
He came to Christ from a dark past. He was also not a good student…until becoming a Christian. This is a page out of his Bible. He believes, as I do (and my wife definitely does!) that it is good to get tactile with your reading including your Bible.
Here is Grant’s Bible reading program followed by him working his magic with a group of high school students:
http://jaxpastor.wordpress.com/2013/03/16/a-model-of-bible-reading-that-inspires-me/
BAD ART AND THE TORTURED BEAUTY OF THE CROSS
MOORE ON INTERPRETING THE BIBLE
Yes, having a name like Moore is very useful.
As a piggyback to yesterday’s post, let me add my own maxim:
The more conservative the Christian, the generally less aware they are that they are involved in interpreting the Bible. The converse is also true: the less conservative the Christian, the more they are aware (again generally speaking) that everyone is interpreting the Bible.
Let me underscore again the venerable, old truth which must be at the heart of these matters: “In essentials unity, in non essentials liberty, in all things charity.”
INTERPRETING THE BIBLE
Some Christians do not think they interpret the Bible. Sounds crazy, but there are Christians who think everything in the Bible is crystal clear and their interpretation (though they don’t use the word!) is always the right one.
There is a critical need to remember that there is clarity and wide agreement among Christians on the most important doctrines like the trinity, deity of Christ, bodily resurrection, etc. However, on lesser issues of importance like the age of the earth or when and how to baptize, there are a variety of views.
I don’t agree with many things Rachel Held Evans says, but she does a good job here describing that we all interpret…whether we are aware of it or not.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Ob-0eOSkqw&list=SP0859DCF43D2BBDD1
SCIENTIST STUDIES BIBLE TWO HOURS A DAY
A very encouraging and compelling testimony to God’s faithfulness:
THE BIBLE IS BORING
When pastor Todd Putney convened an enthusiastic community discussion of The Shack, it didn’t go as he had hoped. “I thought that book would be a bridge to the God of the Scriptures, but it wasn’t. No one wanted to go there. They preferred the story and the god of The Shack over the God of the Scriptures.”
Elegant writing coupled with crucial insights in this article:
http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2012/july-august/the-gospel-is-more-than-a-story.html?paging=off
THE BEST STORY TO TELL
All seven billion of us on planet earth are on a level playing field.
We all seek to make sense of life.
The Bible’s story is realistic, comprehensive, and hopeful.
The Big Story by Justin Buzzard is a good resource to give seekers and young Christians. Through wonderful illustrations it does a nice job of showcasing the drama of Scripture’s story.
Buzzard quotes Marianne’s Williamson about the “glory of God within us,” but it would have been better to either not quote her or clarify her New Age convictions. She is talking about something very different than Buzzard!
WAR AND THE BIBLE
It is interesting to note how the Bible has been used to not only justify war, but to justify a particular position of a war. Two books I highly recommend in this regard are The Civil War as Theological Crisis by Mark Noll and Sacred Scripture, Sacred War by James Byrd. I will be reviewing Byrd’s book in the upcoming weeks for Jesus Creed.
WHAT BIBLE ARE YOU READING?!
I decided to write this post before the flooding in Colorado and shootings in DC. But then there are always evils and catastrophic events going on, many of which we are unaware of.
A short time ago I read an article about a former pastor who became a skeptic. The post 9/11 world did not make sense to him. He figured there could be no God in such a world. This is nothing new.
Andrew Delbanco has famously said Americans went from believing in the providence of God prior to the Civil War to believing in luck after it. Too much carnage took place for one to keep believing in a God who is good and in control of all things.
I also struggle to make sense of these realities, yet I am perplexed by those who choose to bail on the Christian faith.
The Bible makes it clear that we are living in a broken world where the most hideous things imaginable will take place. Make sure to digest that important truth. If “delicate women” will boil their own children for food (see Deut. 28:53-57), we know there is the capacity for all kinds of evil.
Further, if God had not made it clear that I will not understand many things this side of heaven, I also would consider bailing on the Christian faith. However, God has made it clear we will only understand very little this side of heaven when it comes to processing evil and suffering. There is quite a bit underscoring this reality in Scripture (for example Deut. 29:29; Job 38-42; Isa. 55:8,9; I Cor. 13:12)
Luther, like the Psalmists (note plural), struggled with the silence of God, even the God who seems to hide Himself at times.
So I wonder what Bible the pastor turned skeptic was reading. I trust you are reading and digesting the entire Bible!