Read this carefully

Some very timely teaching from Robert A. Gagnon, Professor of Bible at Wesley Biblical Seminary in Mississippi. It speaks to current debates about illegal or undocumented immigration. This is not, as commonly believed, a parable about social justice, but about how Gentiles receive and treat Christian missionaries, and the Gospel itself. The Bible commentary set and board games on the shelf behind him are slightly distracting. 

Son of the father

This is a neat summary of Christology, as outlined in the first chapter of the New Testament book of Hebrews. Some errant pseudo-Christian new religious movements need to be reminded that Jesus is God, and not a created being. 

Broken shards

Potter's House, a controversial, to put it politely, Christian sect, has made national headlines amidst reports of alleged spiritual abuse of its members. The reader is encouraged to read the full article. I wish to take issue with their teachings on marriage. Ex members report pressure from leaders to get married young.  

One of them reported: 

“If you are single, your pastor will tell you if someone is a good choice to marry. And they firmly believe in marrying them young. If you are not married by 25, something is wrong.”

I once bumped into some Potter's House members in a suburban shopping strip. They asked me how old I was, and if I was married. I told them my age, and that I was single. They tried to tell me that being single was a sin. It appears that this is what they teach their members, and cause a lot of damage to peoples' lives as a consequence. 

At the time, I was too polite to challenge their rebuking of me. I can only speculate that they take the Adamic procreation mandate, initially given to Adam, and later reiterated to Noah, Ishmael, Jacob, and Jacob's sons, as a binding Christian command. (See Genesis 1:28, 9:1, 7, 17:20, 28:3, 35:11, and 48:4). 

This takes some very creative hermeneutics, to say the least. No Christian member of the clergy should teach such nonsense. While the Bible teaches that marriage is a good thing, as the apostle Paul taught in his first letter to the Corinthians, marriage and singleness are choices. Regardless of their situation, faithful obedience to God is commanded.

It would be a good thing if news stories like this cause people to leave Potter's House. It is disheartening to think about all the people whose lives they have negatively influenced. 
 

https://www.news.com.au/national/former-pastor-linked-to-the-potters-house-breaks-silence-they-believe-in-marrying-them-young/news-story/ce85706b7f9e2546a051cf7b4265e819

What is to stop me from being baptised?

This Youtube video makes a compelling case that the Christian sacrament of baptism should be kept for believers, and not infants. Looking at passages such as Genesis 15, Exodus 19–24, Jeremiah 31, Ezekiel 36, Matthew 28, John 3, Acts 2, Acts 8, Acts 10, Acts 16, 1 Corinthians 7, and 1 Peter 2, the Bible simply does not permit the baptism of infants. 

Stop what you're doing

A well known Christian worship song entitled, Be Still and Know That I Am God, based on Psalm 46:10, uses this verse as a meditation. It's a reminder to make a regular habit of resting in God's presence, blocking out other distractions, seeking the peace that only He can provide, and to be more receptive to His voice and leading. It is definitely something that I need to do more often. In other words, if you are a Christian, and already doing this, keep it up. More strength to your arm. 

According to the South African Old Testament scholar Willem S. Prinsloo (1944-1997), the central theme of Psalm 46 is unconditional trust in God no matter what should happen, in the face of danger and menace. 

His exegesis can be summarised as follows: 

In context this Psalm is addressed to nations who think that they can defy an omnipotent God's sovereign purposes for Israel, and all nations. It is both encouragement and warning. God will be exalted. He graciously invites them to make Him their refuge. More broadly, many scholars believe that the year 701 BC was the historical context for this Psalm. God delivered Jerusalem from the hands of the Assyrians during the reign of King Hezekiah (2 Kings 18:13-19:36). It was also used during the postexilic period, when God's people were suffering, to encourage them and restore their faith in God. It is also a reminder that faith in God did not protect His people from danger and catastrophes. Menacing dangers are clearly alluded to. The people of God suffered danger and suffering during their history, especially during their time in exile, when Jerusalem and Zion, the symbols of their security and God's presence, were destroyed.

God is sovereign. Individual human beings and nations are not. It is futile to attempt to defy His purpose and will. He graciously invites all people to submit their lives to Him. 

Prinsloo, Willem S. (2019) Psalms [Hoopla] Grand Rapids, Michigan: Eerdmans.

Be Still and Know

Fossil fuels

More Petra, this time from their 1993 album, Wake Up Call. The single Midnight Oil is a call to Christians to live in anticipation and expectation of the return of Christ, based on the parable of the ten young women in Matthew 25. 

Turn the cassette over

Back when I was in high school in the 1980s, a Christian friend got me into the American Christian rock band, Petra. I haven't listened to them in years. They were mentioned in the 2021 documentary, The Jesus Music, which explores the origins of the contemporary Christian music industry. Petra, formed in 1972, were one of the pioneers of this genre. As an older listener, I have a newfound appreciation for the theological depth of their lyrics. 

Think a little

I have been doing a lot of thinking about leadership, character, integrity, and manhood. The CNN article below prompted this post. A passage from 1 Timothy in the New Testament of the Bible has a lot to say about such matters: 

"Here is a trustworthy saying: Whoever aspires to be an overseer desires a noble task. Now the overseer is to be above reproach, faithful to his wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money."

In context, this was originally written as instructions to the early church, for vetting potential leaders, but its principles also speaks to leadership in other areas of life, including politics. To my mind, a voter should be careful about whether somebody with an unstable personal life should be given the responsibility of elected office. For male political candidates, they should be good husbands to their wives, and good fathers to their children.

They should also be level headed, and not constantly lashing out verbally at their opponents. This speaks to the importance of self-control, being respectable, hospitable, kind, able to learn and grow, and not arrogant and greedy.. This also extends to being scrupulously honest in handling money. These are the things that I hope my American friends are weighing up as they enter yet another election cycle over the next eighteen months. 

https://edition.cnn.com/2023/07/07/politics/casey-desantis-iowa-campaign/index.html

Unpleasant to think about

Antisemitism refuses to die. I wish it would. It's even more grievous when it's perpetuated by Christians, of all people. 

https://mosaicmagazine.com/response/politics-current-affairs/2023/06/unchurched-christians-and-anti-semitic-ones/

Please read me

I read with interest the news reports of former US Vice President Mike Pence's speech to the Gridiron Club in Washington, DC, in which he mocked former President Trump for holding classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago home.

“I read that some of those classified documents they found at Mar-a-Lago were actually stuck in the president’s Bible," Mr Pence said. “Which proves he had absolutely no idea they were there.”

During his 2016 election campaign, when has was courting the evangelical vote, Trump claimed to have a deep love for the Bible, but when asked to elaborate on this by journalists, he gave vague and evasive answers. If mainstream media reportage of this issue is any indication, it appears doubtful that he has read that much of it. In a 2020 article in New York magazine, Ed Kilgore charted Trump's clumsy attempts to articulate coherent Christian beliefs. 

By contrast, Pence, on the face of it, appears to be more sincere in his Christian beliefs. Every chapter of his memoir, and possible campaign biography, So Help Me God, which was published earlier this year, begins with a Bible verse. 

For the Christian, Trump is a good example of how not to engage with the Bible. Christians should make it their life's work to master its contents. This means reading it carefully, understanding it, and correctly applying it to their life. Passages such as Acts 17:11 and 2 Timothy 2:15 are instructive here. If asked questions about the beliefs they claim to hold, we should be prepared to give convincing answers to anyone who asks. The Bible is to be treated with respect, and not used as a prop.

https://www.theosthinktank.co.uk/comment/2020/06/02/donald-trum

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/mike-pence-trump-accountable-gridiron-dinner-b2298963.html

Do as you're told

I have been pretty angry with the Chinese government this year. Now I have another reason for my anger. According to news reports:

"Communist party officials in China have rewritten one of the Bible’s most powerful accounts of Jesus Christ’s grace and divinity by blasphemously claiming the Saviour stoned to death the woman caught in adultery. 

The well-known New Testament account in John's Gospel (8:3-11) is completely altered to depict Jesus Christ as a devious murderer, and self-proclaimed “sinner”, in a “professional ethics and law” text book used in Chinese vocational secondary schools.

The textbook’s amended version of the account states, “The crowd wanted to stone the woman to death as per their law. But Jesus said, ‘Let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone.’ Hearing this, they slipped away one by one. When the crowd disappeared, Jesus stoned the sinner to death saying, ‘I too am a sinner. But if the law could only be executed by men without blemish, the law would be dead.’”

The Biblical account describes how the scribes and Pharisees attempt to set a trap for Jesus in the temple courts, asking if an adulterous woman should be stoned as Moses commanded in law. Jesus replies, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.”

Each of the men drops his stone on the ground and departs. And Jesus, who has been stooping down write on the ground, looks up and asks the woman, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” “No one, sir,” she said. “Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”

My prayer is that one day, persecution of Christians, or indeed other religious minorities in China, will come to an end. This pariah state must change. 

https://news.barnabasfund.org/Chinese-Communist-Party-rewrites-Gospel-story-to-depict-Jesus-Christ-as-killer-and-sinner/

Let my people go

I recently discovered Tubi. Think of it as like Netflix, only free, and with possibly lower quality content. This documentary series, The Biblical Plagues, is in my queue. I assume it will be one of of those documentaries that discounts the supernatural, and seeks to deconstruct these events by finding natural, scientific explanations for them. For example, the Nile River didn't really turn into blood, as recorded in Exodus 7:14-25. It was actually caused by a red algal bloom.

Whomever was responsible for creating the thumbnail for this documentary on the Tubi menu screen made a boo boo. As you can see, they have incorrectly spelt "biblical." It doesn't speak much for the quality of the documentary. 

Mass delusion

In the fascinating and often frustrating world of internet atheism and agnosticism, I have taken a passing interest in the Jesus myth movement. Jesus mythicists believe that Jesus Christ did not exist, or that there is little evidence for his existence outside of the Bible, which they also claim is not a reliable source. I will not address the question of Jesus in the Koran, as I have not read enough of it to deal with it adequately.

Jesus mythicism is a fringe movement based on a fringe idea. The agnostic New Testament scholar Bart Ehrman, who is no friend of Christianity, unequivocally believes that Jesus existed. Bear in mind that he is not on the faculty of a seminary, so he is not bound by a doctrinal statement.

The point of this meme is this. All of the New Testament gospels were written before the end of the 1st century AD, as were the pastoral epistles. To this we can add the extra-Biblical writings of Clement of Rome, Ignatius, Polycarp, Tacitus, Aristides of Athens, Justin Martyr, Lucian, Melito of Sardis, the Talmud, and Mara Bar-Serapion, all of which were definitely written between the first and third centuries. The first century historian Josephus also writes about Jesus, but it is likely that later Christian editors altered his original text. Even so, by the standards of ancient literature, this is not that long after the events.

Even if they believe that Jesus existed and was killed by crucifixion, it goes without saying that they totally reject the Christian belief in his resurrection. From a Christian viewpoint, the problem with this line of thinking is that without the death and resurrection of Christ, Christianity is worthless. The apostle Paul said as much in 1 Corinthians 15. That is precisely why this is so crucial.

Jack Zavada has compiled a handy summary of the evidence for the resurrection. He presents the following evidences.

Firstly, we have Jesus's empty tomb. Two major theories have been advanced by unbelievers seeking alternative explanations for this empty tomb. One is that someone stole the body, and the other is that the women and disciples went to the wrong tomb. Neither his executioners or the apostles had any reason or capacity to do this. The women who found the tomb empty had earlier watched Jesus being placed in it, so they knew where to find the correct tomb. Even if they had gone to the wrong tomb, the Sanhedrin could have produced the body from the right tomb to stop the resurrection stories. Jesus's burial cloths were left neatly folded inside, hardly the action of hurrying grave robbers. Angels said Jesus had risen from the dead.

Secondly. women were the first eyewitnesses to the resurrection. This was in a time when women were regarded as second class citizens. If the accounts were not factual, the male gospel writers would not have used women for witnesses. Because they were the first witnesses, the Gospel writers had no choice but to record this information.

Thirdly, we have the evidence of the changed lives of the apostles. After Jesus was crucified, they fled and went into hiding, fearing for their own lives. The risen Christ appeared to them on multiple occasions. Only something truly remarkable as this could have happened to change these men into bold and courageous preachers of the Christian message, spreading it throughout the Roman Empire and beyond. Most notable among them were the apostle Thomas, who initially doubted that he was seeing a flesh and blood man when Jesus appeared to him, and Peter, who denied knowing Christ on the night he was arrested, and John, who is believed to have been the only disciple to die of natural causes.

Jesus was seen alive by more than 500 people at once, as the apostle Paul records (1 Corinthians 15:6). He states that most of these witnesses were still alive when he wrote this letter, about 55 A.D. Undoubtedly they told others about this miracle. It is not possible for hallucinations to be shared between such a large number of people.

Speaking of the apostle Paul, his dramatically changed life is itself further evidence of the resurrection. He changed from being a fierce opponent of Christianity to becoming its most passionate early missionary, enduring many years of suffering and ridicule, and eventually his life, as his New Testament writings attest. Christians believe that Paul was converted because he had a supernatural encounter with the risen Christ. It was his unshakable belief in Christ that enabled him to accept these hardships.

Lastly, countless people have died for Jesus, absolutely certain that the resurrection of Christ is a historical fact. Hundreds or thousands of early Christians died in the Roman arena and in prisons for their faith. For centuries, thousands more have died for Jesus because they believed the resurrection is true. Even today, people suffer persecution because they have faith that Christ rose from the dead. An isolated group may give up their lives for a cult leader, but Christian martyrs have died around the world for nearly 2,000 years, believing Jesus conquered death to give them eternal life.

Taken together, all of these evidences give us good reason to believe that Jesus was a historical figure, was crucified, and was resurrected. This summary is not exhaustive, but it is a good starting point. If you look into the New Testament documents, and some of the material which is listed here, which is a mixture of Christian and secular sources, it is my hope that your beliefs about Jesus and who he was will either be strengthened or challenged.

https://www.bethinking.org/is-the-bible-reliable/the-historicity-of-the-new-testament

https://www.history.com/news/was-jesus-real-historical-evidence

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/did-jesus-exist_b_1349544

https://www.learnreligions.com/proofs-of-the-resurrection-700603

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2017/12/jesus-tomb-archaeology/

https://www.rzim.org/read/a-slice-of-infinity/credible-witnesses

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gm4DWnD72TE

Speech must be free

I quite like reading Quadrant. This opinion piece on the Israel Folau controversy is offered in the hope that it will clear up the contentious Bible passages that he quoted in his meme. Rather than singling out one particular group of people, the Bible clearly teaches that sin is a universal human condition. In plain language, every human being is a sinner, including me. Every human being needs God's mercy. Even though It is this message may be confronting to some people, it is not helpful to distort it, either in ignorance of its context, or deliberately.

https://quadrant.org.au/opinion/qed/2019/06/the-shouting-down-of-free-speech/?fbclid=IwAR0G5Sjaw8qj93_ZgYFRyLV5bzMe8oZ9s5IuiUgPPFc7QWtoBQGD645yPbE

Missing the mark and the point

The Israel Folau controversy has divided the Christian community in Australia, with passionate and vocal people on either side of the debate. Geoff Thompson, a Uniting Church minister and theologian, takes issue with what he considers to be Folau's "cavalier and uninformed" use and interpretation of the Bible, not to mention "disturbingly indifferent to its impact, and strikingly incurious."

Folau has certainly offended people, and he has paid a high personal price for his actions, losing his rugby contract, and taking his former employers to court for wrongful dismissal. Perhaps for legal reasons, to my knowledge, Folau has not yet given a full statement to explain his actions, and the reasons for them. Media reports I have seen have not helped the situation.

With respect to Thompson, it seems to me that he has missed the point. Memes should not be taken as definitive statements on any topic. In the words of a recent article in the Melbourne Catholic, social media users use them to "provoke questions and create conversations." That's what I have used memes for; to prompt people into looking into topics further. The meme was based on I Corinthians 6:9-10. This passage is only part of what the Bible has to say about sin.

In this case, I would hope that it would prompt them to look into Christianity for themselves, without any preconceptions or agendas, and simply take the time to properly understand what the Bible has to say about God, the concept of sin, the human condition, and the solution that God offers to that through Jesus Christ. Far from singling out one group of people, the Bible presents sin as a universal human condition.

If you want to get the full concept of these ideas, and the plan of redemption that the entire Bible narrates, you cannot read one verse, passage, or indeed an entire book of the Bible in isolation from the rest of the Bible as a whole.

https://theconversation.com/why-christians-disagree-over-the-israel-folau-saga-118773

Pure as the driven snow

After noticing this typo in a daily reading from a Christian mens' devotional phone app, out of curiosity I looked up the word, "jget." To my surprise, I discovered that this is an actual thing. It is a download manager, and also the title of an open source academic journal, the Journal of Global Engagement and Transformation. Perhaps the writer of this devotional uses the app, or reads that journal, Then again, maybe not, and I'm waffling.  

Highly uncontroversial

Unlike another recent social media post of the Bible, this is unlikely to cause any controversy. King David wrote the 23rd Psalm to express his confidence in God's love, care and provision for him. Ever since then, countless readers have turned to this Psalm for comfort and encouragement. 

My name used to be Matt, but people kept walking all over me, so I changed it

The Western world is gradually stripping away the last vestiges of its Judeo-Christian heritage, including Christian influence in the legal system. Christians who hold to the classical definition of marriage, family, gender, and other contentious issues are frequently facing legal action from other parties who find these views objectionable, and out of step with modern societal norms. In a recent debate on social media, we were discussing the question of whether or not Christians have a right to recourse through the legal system in these situations.

One person replied to me by quoting Romans 13, claiming that this passage commands Christians to unquestionably obey all the laws of the land.

A superficial reading of the text supports this interpretation. This is a quote directly from the ESV Study Bible text notes on Romans 13:1-7. "This passage addresses the responsibility of Christians to the governing authorities. They are to "be subject to" (which generally means to obey, cf 1 Peter 3: 5-6) the government because it has been ordained by God. Paul is speaking here of the general principle of submission to government. Several other passages show that God approves of Christians disobeying government, but only when obedience to government would mean disobeying God (see Exodus 1:17, 21; 1 Kings 18:4-16, Esther 4:16, Daniel 3:12-18; 6:10, Matthew 2:12, Acts 5:29, Hebrews 11:23). There were even times when God raised up leader to rebel against the government and deliver his people from evil rulers (Exodus 1-14, Judges 2:16, Hebrews 11:32-24).

You can see this principle in action in the lives of people such as the 19th century abolitionists, Corrie ten Boom, Dietrich Bonhoeffer and the Confessing Church movement in Nazi Germany, as well as the Scholl siblings and the White Rose resistance movement, Martin Luther King in the 1950s and 1960s in the United States, Archbishop Romero in San Salvador during the 1979-1982 military dictatorship, and plenty of Christian groups who support asylum seekers.

Not to mention the millions of Christians in Asia, Africa, and the Middle East whose governments persecute them just because of their religious faith.

https://www.commongrace.org.au/organisations_supporting_asylum_seekers

Hmm, fascinating

When you spend enough time in Christian circles, whether it's listening to sermons, or engaging with other Christians on social media, and especially talking to unchurched people, either face to face, or online, you learn how important careful and sound Biblical interpretation is. A friend of mine told me about the Naked Bible podcast, hosted by scholar, Mike Heiser.

Having listened to a couple of episodes, it certainly gives me a lot to chew on, and also reminds me that the Bible is an inexhaustible treasure. Learning and applying it properly is a lifelong pursuit.

http://www.nakedbiblepodcast.com/

Brainfade

Occasionally, when I have too much time on my hands, I like to discuss religion with others on online chatrooms. It can be very instructive. One user adamantly asserted that the Bible commands cannibalism. I asked him, or her, as the case may be, to give me the passage. He referred me to Jeremiah 19:9.

"I will make them eat the flesh of their sons and daughters, and they will eat one another’s flesh because their enemies will press the siege so hard against them to destroy them."

This is another case of creative hermeneutics. The context makes its clear that this is a prophetic passage. God is declaring judgement against the Israelites for disobeying Him. The Babylonians will invade their land and besiege Jerusalem, cutting off their food supplies. They will resort to cannibalism. 

Other references to cannibalism are found in Leviticus 26:29, Deuteronomy 28:53, 2 Kings 6:24-29, Lamentations 2:20, 4:10. Again, in context, these references are either declarations of judgement for disobedience, or descriptive. It should be absolutely clear to the reader that these passages are not prescriptive. As I have written on this blog before, you often learn what the Bible says by what it doesn't say.