Category Archives: Bible

ART TO THE GLORY OF GOD

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I met Dave and Gwen McCoy about twenty years ago when I was a pastor.  Wonderful folks!

Dave was one of our best Sunday school teachers.  Dave is amillennial in his understanding of so-called “end-times” matters or at least he used to be.  The church was and remains premillennial.  I am now “agnostic” on how it will all end/begin anew, but that topic is for another time.

Back to Dave.  Our elders still allowed Dave to teach and several sat in his class.  Indeed, they told me on a regular basis how much they were learning from Dave.

Though Dave’s training is in the sciences (he holds a Ph.D. in organic chemistry), he has a keen interest in literature and the arts.  I vividly remember seeing several of his works of art on display throughout his home.  

Well, what I saw about twenty years ago, you can see for yourself via the marvels of the Internet.  By the way, the picture above depicts Ecc. 9:4 about how it is “better to be a live dog than a dead lion.”

http://dr2mccoy.blogspot.com/

PAY CLOSE ATTENTION: EVANGELICALISM IS NOT SEAMLESS WITH THE BIBLE

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For those of us who have a more “conservative” position of the Bible, there is a rather common delusion we can fall prey to, namely that we believe our interpretation of the Bible is always the correct one.  We may not even be aware that we are interpreting the Bible.  After all, we take the Bible as God’s Word, and gladly do what it says.  At the very least, our approach is far superior to the liberals who see all kinds of human elements and mistakes in the Bible.

I actually came up with some alliteration to convey a common dynamic I’ve seen in conservative or “Bible-centered” environments.  What I have seen is how easy it is for us conservatives to make a personal preference a priority which then slowly becomes a biblical precept.

For example, take a Christian school which has a preference for a certain type of uniform dress.  It is easy for that preference to slowly move to a priority which slowly becomes an issue of whether one is willing to commit to the commandments of Scripture.  Granted, there are passages of Scripture which speak of things like modest dress, but it is still a preference (not biblical precept!) to have all the boys in khaki pants and blue blazers.

ENCOUNTERING JESUS, ENCOUNTERING SCRIPTURE

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Years ago, I read and then interviewed Christopher Hall on his fine book, Reading Scripture with the Church Fathers.  Among other things, I was struck by something we take for granted in teaching “Bible study methods.”  It was something the early Fathers underscored over and over again, namely, that one’s walk with the Lord directly affects how well one will read Scripture.  Seminary classes I took assumed everyone was walking closely with Jesus (a very big assumption indeed) and that our main lack was in the skills of reading more carefully, making the proper connections, and then making sure our application(s) came directly from our interpretation.

David Crump makes a similar point in his important new book, but from a different angle.  Crump reminds us, by ably interacting with the many riches of Søren Kierkegaard, that one must first commit to the Person of Jesus to gain the real riches of Scripture.  Lest you think this sounds rather subjective and perhaps a bit anti-intellectual, you would be wrong.  Crump does a good job addressing that particular objection and so much more.

There are not many books that pack a lot to think about in less than 135 pages, but this is certainly one which does.

My recommendation to Eerdmanns: Consider making chapter 6 a stand alone book!  It would make a terrific resource for those wanting a lot of wisdom in short compass.

 

 

 

HOMER SIMPSON’S INNER ATHEIST (PART 3)

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This is my third and final post on Dan’s terrific book.  There is much I could say about The Skeptical Believer and the previous two posts will give you a good feel for my enthusiasm about it.  If you go to the categories on the right side of the home page and click “doubt” you will easily locate those previous two posts.

I appreciate Dan’s candor with his own struggles to believe, yet he remains hopeful and resolute in clinging to Christ.  He speaks with compassion to the doubter, but he is also willing to give a nice kick in the intellectual seat of the pants if it is called for.

If you struggle with doubt, or know someone who does, make sure to add this to your early Christmas list!

SIN PROMISES, BUT NEVER DELIVERS

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File:Michelangelo, profeti, Isaiah 01.jpg

I am currently meditating through Isaiah.  Many things struck me in chapter one, but the last verse was especially sobering:

“The mighty man will become tinder

and his work a spark;

both will burn together,

with no one to quench the fire.”

Sin is not life-giving.  Sin destroys us.  Sin fools us.  Sin eventually delivers what we never expected!

 

IS THE CIVIL WAR MORE EXCITING TO STUDY THAN THE BIBLE?

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Listen to this one minute of excitement (starts at 21:30) about the endless riches of the Civil War.  Professor Gary Gallagher, an eminent scholar of the Civil War, is unashamed to gush about how thrilling it is to study the Civlil War.

Why do so many of us not have this level of enthusiasm when it comes to studying the Bible?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8Tm5aXS22o

BOOK OF REVELATION: CALVIN OR EDWARDS?

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I recently finished Ravished by Beauty: The Surprising Legacy of Reformed Spirituality.  Belden Lane has written a wonderful book which I include in a piece soon to appear on Scot McKnight’s blog, Jesus Creed.

Lane makes the point that John Calvin wrote commentaries on most books of the Bible, yet steered clear of Revelation.  On the other side of the ledger, Jonathan Edwards did not really write Bible commentaries, but he wrote a lot on the book of Revelation.  It is interesting to note the difference among these two stalwarts of the Reformed faith.

So how about you?  Do you think there ought to be more or less teaching on the book of Revelation?  

MOST MISINTERPRETED BIBLE VERSES?

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At the end of May, Scot McKnight asked his readers what they thought were the most commonly misinterpreted verses in the Bible.  Even though there were many responses, I was surprised to find most of the ones on my own list missing.   http://www.patheos.com/blogs/jesuscreed/2013/05/31/most-mis-interpreted-bible-verses-whats-at-the-top-of-your-list/
Among an array which I hope to write about in the near future, let me mention just one: I Cor. 8:1.
The pithy “knowledge puffs up, but love edifies” is frequently slung out as a warning that knowledge is somehow intrinsically corrosive.  The conclusion many tragically make is to steer clear from acquiring too much knowledge for it will make you arrogant.  Love is where it is at.  The first commandment after all is to love God, not know about Him!
There are many problems with this line of thinking.  Let me briefly sketch out a few.  The context of I Cor. 8:1 addresses those who feel the freedom to eat food sacrificed to idols and those who don’t.  Paul warns against allowing “this knowledge” (as the ESV helpfully renders it) which gives some the freedom to eat the food to guard against being critical of those who don’t have the same freedom.  It is knowledge misused not knowledge in and of itself that Paul is warning about.
Furthermore, we know that Paul makes many appeals to knowledge and right thinking throughout his teaching on Christian growth, so knowledge per se is not in Paul’s spiritual cross hairs.  A brief, but wise summary of these is found in John R.W. Stott, Your Mind Matters (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1972), 41-42.
It would make no sense for the apostle Paul to diminish the importance of knowledge when he warns against “thinking like children” and the need to be “mature in our thinking.”   And this occurs in the same book as the misapplied verse of I Cor. 8:1 (see I Cor. 14:20)!
Our real nemesis is pride not knowledge.  Pride can tempt those who know a lot, but pride can equally tempt those who may not know as much, but are prideful about how zealous they are.  I can attest to pride’s seductive allure with both extremes.
Acquiring knowledge is viewed as virtuous in the book of Proverbs.  And knowledge is much more closely related to wisdom there (and vice versa) than many Christians appreciate, but that will have to wait for another day.
In our pursuit of knowledge (again a noble endeavor) we must remember that pride often lurks to flatter our egos, but knowledge is not our enemy.  Pride is our true nemesis and it is ever-present to entice knowledgeable Christians who look down on those who don’t think in very sophisticated categories.  It also tempts those who are zealous to look down their spiritual noses at those who are not “doing so much for the kingdom.”  As some of my Cru friends used to say, “We are the Green Berets” of American Christianity.  Many times we were encouraged to “attack hell with a squirt gun” while being warned over pursuing too much education.
We need to remember pride is one of the seven deadly sins not knowledge!