Category: religion

What does a biblical Christian look like?

So many people are afraid to say that the bible is open to interpretations, I believe it is. It also seems clear to me that there is only one ‘right’ interpretation, but equally clear, that no one has that one interpretation in its entirety. I might be right about one point, but just as wrong about another point.


To me, I believe the bible makes it clear that it’s not about being perfect, it’s about learning, and growing from each other, changing and maturing to be more like Christ would ask us to be (The law and the prophets are summed up in two things, Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind and Soul, and Love your neighbor as yourself). Lewis, in his book “Mere Christianity” makes the statement that if there are those that have chosen a different ‘denomination’ then you, and you believe they are wrong, then you are to pray for them, and love them, for even our enemy we are told to pray and love all the more!



With all that being said though, I think it’s important to have a set of rules for interpreting it, a correct Hermeneutics as it’s called. If we don’t agree on the rules for interpreting English, how then can we agree on what an English passage says – the same with the bible, unless there is a scholarly agreement on how to interpret the bible, then how can we know for sure, what the passage says, either in the context of when it was written, or in the context of today’s day and age.



And I disagree with some who say that the rules for biblical interpretation are “How it sounds to me”. I think the Spirit’s working is definitely part of it – but God never worked in one individual. Even Christ found himself a party of believers to surround himself with and preach the word. Christ says “Where two or more gather in my name, there I will be”. When Paul talks about the gifts of the Spirit he makes it plain that the gifts were spread out to many believers, so that together, they may work together to display and proclaim the word of God and encourage each other for more noble things.



I think the solo scriptura view is false [That is much different than the Reformed view of Sola Scriptura] (that is, solo scriptura is the view that the bible is the only authority (me the bible and God), solA scriptura is the view that the bible holds the final authority, but that God has revealed himself in many different fashions throughout all of history) – God gave us history, he gave us great thinkers, he gave us revelation about himself spread throughout history, more than just in the bible (Romans said what may be known about God is plain, because God has made it plain).




C.S. Lewis calls it, in his book “Mere Christianity” – “Good Dreams”, that God throughout history has spread himself and the knowledge of himself throughout the entire world, so that those who seek him will find him, although he is not far from them. In Athens on Mars Hill, Paul says, that they are serving the idea of God, but they do not even know the real God, that the Greeks call him Zeus (His reference to the poets citing “In him we move and breath and have our being” is a reference to a poem written to Zeus), but he says that he will declare to them the real God that they are speaking of.



God clearly wants us to rely on his Spirit not just in the here and now (which is another false pretence that many Christians think that our generation is better, smarter and more informed than previous generations) – but he wants us to rely on his workings throughout history. To read, and learn, and understand the decisions and disagreements throughout history, and use them to help build and understand what it is that God wants us to learn.



One thing that Lewis said is that belief is Jesus’ death and resurrection is the pivotal thing of Christianity. That understanding Christianity (more specifically Jesus’ death), is like understanding Vitamins and minerals when we eat. We ate before we understood vitamins and minerals, we eat even now with our understanding of Vitamins and minerals, and if someday we find that our whole view of vitamins and minerals was wrong – we will continue to eat. We can still be nourished by the vitamins and minerals in our food, without understanding exactly how it nourishes us. We can be saved as Christians, without understanding the in-depth technical details of what actually happened when Christ died and was resurrected.



I think this vitamin view can be applied to so many other things in Christianity. True, we don’t intentionally disregard God’s word, if we don’t like it, or want to do something different, but there is no reason that we should fear that if we get something wrong, because we couldn’t understand it that he is going to condemn us to an eternity in hell.



I’m finishing up a book right now, a book by C.S. Lewis called “Mere Christianity” – I would HIGHLY recommend getting a copy and reading it. Lewis was not a theologian, and he speaks in such plain terms about what “mere Christianity” is, apart from all the things that people have tried to make it into. It’s AMAZING!

Confusion in the world

Today, I read a blog from someone, who until recently was unknown to me; although, my interest has definitely been piqued. Their post, I believe, may show some confusion in understanding the Christian God of the bible. I will paste my response first; and then follow up with a paste of their post.




————— My Response ————————–


Hello, I’m a visitor, but wanted to comment. I’m basing this comment on an understanding of a common Christian Orthodoxy, which, I admit, as a visitor, I may be out of step with the general consensus in the various discussions, or may miss the context of the conversation all together.



While the bible agrees with the view of a loving and compassionate God, we have to be careful not to sacrifice one of his qualities for any other (for example the justice of God). Will there be justice on the Day of Judgment for those who never accepted the work of redemption done on their behalf? Will there be justice for those whom, through Christ’s work of redemption, are thus rewarded, not based on something they have done, but on a work that was completed despite (and in spite) of their own desires?




If God is truly God, then he is omnipotent. As an all powerful God, there is nothing that happens outside of his control, he knows beforehand all things that are to happen. Whether there is a disagreement on the semantics of whether God is the primary or secondary cause, at the very least, he knows that bad things are going to happen, has the power to stop them, and yet, still chooses not to. Why? There are many reasons we could speculate, in fact many have.



This is one major paradox: if God is all powerful and loving, how can there be evil in the world. But in our quest to explain this, let’s be careful not to sacrifice one quality for another (the love of God for the sovereignty of God or omnipotence) to fulfill our desire to answer that question in a satisfactory way. In trying to understand this, it may be like trying to explain to a rock what it’s like to be a dove, when we ourselves are only fish. It may, in fact, be a futile endeavor; but our inability to describe a dove does not indeed make the idea of a Dove nonsense.



What father, that loves his child, would not allow them to face adversity [Not beyond what they are capable of handling], or permit or exact punishment, to refine them. Gold is purer when refined by fire, iron is stronger. Adversity brings character.


I don’t view the Christian God of the bible as being sadistic or schizophrenic, although I confess that the New Testament clearly portrays him as a loving father who disciplines and allows hardships to come under all of his Children. If he did not allow this, then we could be assured of one thing: That we are illegitimate children and not sons of God.





(Heb 12:7) Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father?



(Heb 12:8) If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons.



(Heb 12:9) Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live!



(Heb 12:10) Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness.



(Heb 12:11) No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.









—————Original Post —————————-



It’s so sad to hear and know that there are actually people out there who believe that God literally controls and “ordains” everything that happens in their lives. How depressing it must be to serve such a sadistic, cruel and tyrannical being. I honestly can’t imagine serving someone who uses his adversary to torment his own children!

If God is ultimately responsible for and controlling everything that happens, then that would mean Jesus and God worked against each other quite often while Jesus walked this earth. That would mean that God caused storms and then Jesus reversed God’s work by calming them. God made people sick and then Jesus destroyed His work by healing them. God gave people demons and then Jesus cast them out. You’d think that Jesus would have eventually been annoyed by such ridiculous behavior on God’s part. Then again, since Jesus is God, I guess God was actually working against Himself! Wow… what a great way to make God look like a complete idiot!

The Bible says that Jesus went about doing good and healing everyone who was sick. It also says that He was sent [by God] to destroy [and undo] the works of the devil (1 John 3:8; Acts 10:38). The works of who? So God and the devil were actually working together to make people sick and bring pain into their lives? Hmm… how comforting and edifying to believe that God is actually the tormentor!

If God “ordained” that satan bring sin, sickness, and problems into peoples’ lives (as religion claims), then what was Jesus doing destroying those works?? If God “controls everything”, then all of those works of the devil were ultimately works of God, right? How can we ever resist (actively fight against) the devil (James 4:7) if we believe that God is using him to “develop our faith” and teach us a lesson??? Hmm… what amazing theology religion has introduced to us! The sad part is that people actually believe this stuff!

It’s amazing how people can make God out to be so schizophrenic. It’s no wonder why so many millions of people are rejecting God on a daily basis. They probably believe that following Him will make them as confused as the religious people who have described God in such a confusing, unscriptural way.

I’ve got an outstanding idea…. Let’s consider presenting the same Father God to people that Jesus did. People have heard enough false doctrine about God controlling their problems and “ordaining” the hell in their lives as a part of His “sovereign plan”. Isn’t the Gospel supposed to be GOOD News? I don’t think telling someone that God is the one behind the garbage in their lives is Good News.


That is not at all what people are needing to hear from us. We need to allow Jesus to reverse the works of the devil in peoples’ lives. We don’t need to teach them that the devil’s work in their lives is actually God’s work and God’s desire for them!

All I ask is that everyone please consider their beliefs and doctrines about God. Do they line up with what the New Testament proclaims and do they line up with the God that Jesus presented to us? Jesus told us that He was an exact representation of the Father. Did Jesus ever do the things that religion has blamed God for and claimed that God is responsible for?

Have you presented a confusing image of God to other people?
If so, please consider what you’re doing. You’re not helping people, you’re hurting them. People need to know and experience a loving and compassionate God who’s willing to help them… and religion has presented to them a sadistic, all-controlling “God” who is actually the one hurting them and “sovereignly ordaining” their pain!

Why do they call us consumers?

My professor asked me a question today, he said:


I study a lot about metaphors and “consuming” and “consumer” as we use these terms today especially interest me. But what do you think of this: We don’t “consume” computers or cars, we “use” them. But when computer and car companies think of their customers, they speak of them as “consumers.”



Here was my response…


What they are trying to sell us, is not so much a product, but an idea. We consume their rhetoric, their ideals, and their sales pitches. Day in and day out, we are hypnotized to think we need products to be fulfilled, to be independent, or to be satisfied.

I think in this way – we are all consumers.

Do you know a hypocrite


Define: Hypocrisy is the act of condemning or calling for the condemnation of another person when the critic is guilty of the act for which he demands that the accused be condemned.


Where is the eternal destiny of a hypocrite?


(Mat 24:50) The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of.(Mat 24:51) He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.


Please tell me if you ever see me being hypocritical….

Th house of mourning


(Ecc 7:2) It is better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting, for death is the destiny of every man; the living should take this to heart.


Perhaps the teacher, son of David was a universalist, or a annihilationist, because it is not always better to go to a house of mourning….


I am on my way to a friends funeral in just a short while – as far as I know, he never accepted Christ, I invited them to Church a few times, but they never came. He was a very compassionate, friendly and caring person. Sure, he had his flaws, as we all do.


It’s moments like now that bring you back to earth; and make you want to question.


If only we could see things from begining to end.



-Gene

Do you surrender all?

In my Humanities course I was asked to comment on this story.



“A man went on a walk one day along the edge of a cliff, as he often did. This day, however, a strong wind came and blew him over the edge. Before falling to his death, he managed to grab a shrub. There he dangled, too weak to climb back up; his fate certain. Then he spied a beatiful flower nearby. It was like nothing he had ever seen before. The image of this flower seized him. Its brilliant blossom, its shape and size, its colors, its scent, its intricate design; for the few moments he had left, he caught a vision of absolute beauty. His grasp weakened, and he fell to his death.”



Here are my comments:



“It is said that in death, all things become clear.” – (Dan Brown, Digital Fortress)

It is unfair that I can’t comment on Tolstoy yet (or can I). 🙂

For now, I’ll stick with Dan Brown’s illustration. In our lives we spend so much time trying to get to a target destination that we often forget to enjoy the scenery on the way. When facing our ultimate demise, when facing the final rung on the ladder (so to speak), when, as humans, we are forced to come to the realization that our time on this earth is indefinite, when we come face to face with that realization, there is inevitably the awakening of the inner soul. The point where one begins to look around and realize what is most important. While not everyone can, or will undergo this during their lifetime (or even at the point of death), it is at the point of this surrender that all things become clear, and life has been put into perspective.

In reading this story, I have to wonder, as often as this young man had walked on this cliff, had he ever stopped to take the time to enjoy the breeze, the smells, the sounds, and the loftiness of the heights below him? How often do you think he passed that flower, just within view (or perhaps even reach), and yet, he had never seen its likes.

Studying the humanities gives me the opportunity to learn how to appreciate even the most simple and wonderful things about the world around me. Over the years, I have been a work-a-holic, driven and mad trying to control my own destiny, and make of the world, what I want it to be. Through this study, I hope to learn to better live my life, in what Bob Jacks in his book “Divine Appointments” calls “relaxed anticipation”. I hope to find more direction within myself to, as the colloquial statement goes: Learn to stop and smell the roses. I desire to come to the point of surrender, before I’m holding onto the edge of a cliff, waiting to take the plunge into the unknown.

Is it well?

This is a true story – I have copied it from http://chi.gospelcom.net/GLIMPSEF/Glimpses/glmps064.shtml.


May the Lord always give me the comfort to say “It is well with my Soul”, no matter the circumstance…



In the 1870s Horatio Spafford was a successful Chicago lawyer and a close friend of evangelist Dwight L. Moody. Spafford had invested heavily in real estate, but the Chicago fire of 1871 wiped out his holdings. His son had died shortly before the disaster.


Spafford and his family desperately needed a rest so in 1873 he planned a trip to Europe with his wife and four daughters. While in Great Britain he also hoped to help Moody and Sankey with their evangelistic tour. Last minute business caused Spafford to delay his departure, but he sent his wife and four daughters on the S. S. Ville Du Havre as scheduled, promising to follow in a few days. On November 22 the ship was struck by the English ship Lochearn, and it sank in twelve minutes. Several days later the survivors landed at Cardiff, Wales, and Mrs. Spafford cabled her husband the brief message, “Saved alone.”


When Horatio Spafford made the ocean crossing to meet his grieving wife, he sailed near the place where his four daughters had sunk to the ocean depths. There, in the midst of his sorrow, he wrote these unforgettable words that have brought solace to so many in grief:




When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll,
Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.


Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,
Let this blessed assurance control,
That Christ hath regarded my helpless estate,
And hath shed His own blood for my soul.

When can I write about something happy?

I am filled with disgust and anger at the hard hearts and the cultish minds of those that belong to the local fundamentilist unorthodox Campbellites (also known in their own circle as the Church of Christ).


They are blinded by their own minds… they can’t even see past their nose to look at their face in the mirror. They are filled with a mix of so many unchristian attitudes, and unbiblical teachings – they are as much of a cult as a cult can be – I really can’t figure out which emotion I am more overwhelmed with Anger, or Sorrow…




In truth, as much as the local group of Campbellites accuse me of trying to draw their members away – I am beginning to wish nothing more than to be able to do just that… to snatch each and every one of them out of the fire that is burning all around them.



Someday this local group (not the physical building – but the spiritual people) are going to collapse in around themselves and all that will be left is charred remains of poor wayward individuals that never knew what it was truly like to be a Christian.


Should I be angry or should I be sad – I’m overwhelmed with both…