Politics

I don't particularly like to discuss politics on my blog, but something happened this week that bears discussing.  It began when a friend emailed me with the news that John McCain had rejected Rev. John Hagee's endorsement because Hagee was "anti-Semitic." Ha!  

I wrote back saying, "That's not true. Hagee would sooner stomp on his own mother than say anything against the Jewish people." I know Pastor Hagee, and I know his heart . . . and his courage. He loves the Jewish people, he loves God, and he's not afraid to say what he thinks.  

Turns out that someone went through his sermon archives in search of something volatile (I suspect they were trying to do to McCain what someone else did to Obama re: Reverend Wright) and they came up with a 1990's sermon from the book of Jeremiah (16:15-17) --where the prophet said that God would send a "hunter" who would chase the people of Israel as a means of returning them to their promised land.  Hilter, said Hagee, was one of those hunters, because prior to WWII, the Jews weren't eager to return to Palestine. After the Holocaust, however, everything changed.  

The moment I read the details, I found myself in agreement with Hagee's interpretation of that passage. Much of prophetic scripture, you see, has two meanings--a literal meaning for the time in which it was written, and a prophetic meaning for later. The verse we all quote from Isaiah (7:14): "Behold, a virgin shall conceive" was referring to Isaiah's wife in his time (read on through 8:1-4) and the Hebrew word for "virgin" meant "young woman."  But that verse also refers, of course, to Jesus Christ, who was born of a literal virgin 200 years later. This is known as the "Law of Double Reference." 

(This doesn't apply to every prophecy, but to many). 

So whenever I read the prophets, I always consider what their words meant in their time (the exile to Babylon, the return, the sin in the divided kingdoms) and what their words could mean in our time (which I believe to be the latter days).  I'm not dogmatic about my opinions, because God is free to fulfill his word however he wants to do.  :-)  After all, many of the most learned scholars of Jesus' time missed his coming because they were stubbornly clinging to their own visions of a Messiah who would come to rule and reign. 

But I digress.  Anyway, as soon as I understood why McCain had rejected Hagee's endorsement, I was troubled.  I know that it's not politically correct to believe that God could be involved in tsunamis, earthquakes, or Holocausts, but when you understand the doctrine of God's sovereignty in all its fullness, you do understand that he is either Lord of all, or he's not Lord at all. 

In my book THE PEARL, a couple's adorable five-year-old son is killed in a freak accident with a car.  The mother, Diana, cannot understand why God would do such a thing.  When the pastor suggests that God didn't will it, she says, "Oh, yes he did. Because to say that he had nothing to do with it means he was either asleep at the wheel or he stood by and did nothing while my beloved son died."  

I know this is a hard truth--that God can use evil for his purposes--but we see it illustrated over and over again in Scripture.  God used the freely-committed evil of Joseph's brothers to save a nation from famine. God used the evil of Judas and jealous religious rulers to crucify Christ, who had to die in order to provide salvation. Over and over, God used the evil of other nations to judge the nation of Israel.  God does not sin and yes, he is love. But often we are so caught up in our grief and pain that we cannot see the love behind the hurt. 

I was ruminating on all these things, and today I found this article on the web.  I loved this quote:   

Orthodox Rabbi Aryeh Scheinberg, of Congregation Rodfei Sholom in San Antonio, appeared at an afternoon press conference yesterday to say Mr. Hagee's "words were twisted and used to attack him for being anti-Semitic."

In actuality, Mr. Hagee "interpreted a biblical verse in a way not very different from several legitimate Jewish authorities," the rabbi said.

"Viewing Hitler as acting completely outside of God's plan is to suggest that God was powerless to stop the Holocaust, a position quite unacceptable to any religious Jew or Christian," the rabbi said.

Exactly right.  I am sorry that McCain has rejected Hagee's endorsement because it reveals a true lack of knowledge about God and his authority over the affairs of men. But I don't expect politicians to be theologians. Bottom line, I wish McCain and his team had refused to rise to the bait--because that's exactly what this was, bait.  Furthermore, I suspect that whoever instigated this tempest in a teapot is dancing in glee, and that's downright annoying. 

BUT--I am once again reminded that in tough times--and I've had my share--I can rest in the fact that God is in complete control of everything that touches me (and you).  Everything.  Including this election. 

And that brings a peace beyond human understanding.  

~~Angie 

More theology . . .

I can't believe I'm sitting here watching football--but I am watching the  Pacs play in the snow, and rooting them on.  These men in bare arms, sliding around in the snow . . . (shaking head here) . . . 

Anyway--another theology lesson.  :-)  

Week Two: Does the Bible contain mistakes?

What has more power than an atomic bomb, more knowledge than Albert Einstein, and more value than pure gold? The Bible! It is the best-selling book of all time, and its truths have changed the world in large and small ways.

Last week we saw that the Bible claims to be the word of God. Over forty different men who came from all walks of life wrote the sixty-six books of the Bible. But since those men were human and humans aren’t perfect, how do we know the Bible is trustworthy? Isn’t it possible that somehow, in some way, it contains a few mistakes?

Let’s think about it. God cannot lie and he cannot make mistakes. Since the Bible is his word, the Bible cannot contain mistakes. The belief that God’s word is perfect, true, and without mistakes in the original manuscripts is called inerrancy.

The men who wrote the Bible knew God could not lie:

“For you are God, O Sovereign Lord. Your words are truth . . .” (2 Samuel 7:28).

“This truth gives them confidence that they have eternal life, which God—who does not lie—promised them before the world began” (Titus 1:2).

The Bible itself promises that its words are true:

“The Lord’s promises are pure, like silver refined in a furnace, purified seven times over” (Psalm 12:6).

“Your eternal word, O Lord, stands firm in heaven” (Ps. 119:89).

Jesus said, “Make them holy by your truth; teach them your word, which is truth” (John 17:17).

The Bible is not an encyclopedia; it does not tell us everything about everything. But in everything it does teach, it is trustworthy. Before you start to think of possible exceptions, let’s back up and review a few considerations:

·      Sometimes the writers of the Bible use poetic speech. For instance, I could say, “The Lord is my shepherd” without meaning that I’m an actual sheep, complete with wooly coat and four legs. That’s poetic language in which I’m saying that I’m like a sheep and the Lord is like a shepherd because he guides me and protects me. Just because I’m not a real lamb doesn’t mean the Bible is untrue.

·      Sometimes the Bible writers used round numbers. For instance, in Genesis 15:13 God told Abraham that the children of Israel would be strangers in a foreign land for 400 years. He was using a round number. In Exodus 12:40 we learn that the “people of Israel had lived in Egypt and Canaan for 430 years. In fact, it was on the last day of the 430^th year that all the Lord’s forces left the land.” In this passage, Moses was being very specific, down to the day. In Galatians 3:16-17, Paul confirmed that 430 years stood between the promise given to Abraham and the exodus and law-giving under Moses. So just because a number is rounded off in one passage doesn’t mean it’s not true in another.

Why do some Bibles use different words than others? Because the Bible has been translated into many different languages and many different styles. The Old Testament was originally written in Hebrew and Aramaic; the New Testament was written in Greek. Since you read and speak English, you need to read an English Bible. So whether you read the King James Version, the New Living Translation, the Message, the New International Version, or something else, you should realize that you are not reading the Bible as it was originally written.

So how can we be sure the Bible in our hand is worthy of our trust?

People who translate Bibles are usually extremely careful to get it right—they respect the word of God and do not want to make a mistake. However, because people are human, mistakes do sometimes creep in—for instance, in one King James Version the verse “let the children be filled” was printed “let the children be killed.” (I’ll bet they did a quick reprinting when they discovered that mistake!) That’s why it’s a good idea to consult several different Bibles if you have a question about a particular verse.

Why do people keep printing different versions of the Bible? Different versions are published because language is constantly changing. You know what the web is, what it means to IM someone, and what it means to be Googled, but a few years ago Google and IM meant nothing, and “the web” applied only to spiders! The King James Version of the Bible is lovely and poetic, but it was written in Shakespeare’s day . . . modern people don’t use words like “verily” and “trow.”

Let’s say that Elvis Presley once wrote a song on a napkin. Just for fun, let’s say he gave the napkin to a man who spoke Spanish, and this man went throughout Mexico singing this song in Spanish. The song became such a hit, in fact, that other people sang it, too—in French and Italian, Japanese and Greek. It would sound different in all those languages, right? But no matter how many times you translated it, you could never change the words Elvis wrote on the napkin. They would always remain perfect and complete, just the way he wrote them. However, occasionally a translator might make a mistake.

Translators of the Bible have made occasional mistakes, too. The good news is that we have many more ancient manuscript copies of the Bible than of any other book in the ancient world. Comparisons of our modern Bibles and those ancient manuscripts have demonstrated that our modern English Bible is very accurate. No original manuscript has ever been found with a mistake in it. Furthermore, the mistakes that have been found in copies are small things that are often corrected in another place in Scripture.

For instance: in your Bible, 2 Chronicles 9:25 says that Solomon had 4,000 horse stalls, but 1 Kings 4:26 may say he had 40,000 horse stalls . . . and 12,000 horses. Obviously, which passage do you think is accurate? Most modern Bibles have corrected these small errors either in the text or in footnotes.

Thousands of men and women over the years have given their lives to the study and preservation of the Holy Scriptures. God Himself has watched over His Word, and his people have guarded it, even given their lives for it so that others could read the truth about God and his love for them. The Bible is completely trustworthy. You can stake your life on it.

Memory verse: “How can a young person stay pure? By obeying your word” (Psalm 119:9).

Discussion questions:

1. Before the invention of the printing press, Bibles had to be copied carefully, word for word, by hand. William Tyndale, known as the “father of the English Bible,” believed that all people had the right to read the Word of God in their own language. Many leaders of the church were terrified lest people begin to read the Bible and think for themselves, so they persecuted Tyndale and other translators. In October 1536, Tyndale was tried for heresy and treason in an unfair trial, then strangled and burnt at the stake in the prison yard. His last words were, “Lord, open the king of England's eyes.” This prayer was answered three years later when King Henry VIII published the “Great Bible” for all Englishmen to read.

William Tyndale is not the only man to give his life so that you and I could read a Bible—he is one of hundreds who have done so. Knowing this, how do you feel about the Bible you hold in your hands now? 

~~Angie

Theology Lessons

I have absolutely nothing to say today.  Can you believe it?  

Fortunately, I have zillions of words in storage.  :-)  One of my doctoral projects was to write a curriculum for middle school students about theology.  I found it an interesting challenge--how do you boil down the most important elements of faith and put it into words that lay people can teach and middle school students can understand?  

So from time to time, I might pop one of those lessons up here.  The language is simple, but the lessons are profound.  Enjoy! 

~~Angie 

Week One: What is the Word of God?

Do you have a good friend? Does he or she sometimes send you an instant message on the computer or a text message on the phone? It’s nice to hear from a friend, isn’t it? Before computers and cell phones were invented, though, people sent messages to each other in other ways. God spoke to people, too.  Sometimes he spoke directly (“Hey, Adam! It’s me, God. Why are you hiding?”). Sometimes he spoke through his prophets. (Nathan: “Yes, King David, the Lord sent me to tell you that you’re guilty of murdering Uriah and stealing his wife.”)

And sometimes God spoke had his prophets write his words down. The written word, you see, lasts a long time. Properly preserved, a hand-written document can last for ages. The apostle Peter wrote, “Above all, you must realize that no prophecy in Scripture ever came from the prophet’s own understanding, or from human initiative. No, those prophets were moved by the Holy Spirit, and they spoke from God” (2 Peter 1:20-21).

When we say that the Bible is “inspired,” we mean that it comes from God’s Holy Spirit, not from men alone. Therefore it is God’s Word to man, and we must respect it. For the next few weeks we’ll be looking at the Bible to see how it came to be and how we know it is worthy of our trust.

The Bible is one complete book composed of sixty-six smaller books. Many different men wrote these books over a period of fifteen hundred years, and we can see their different styles in the way they write. But God was the moving force behind all their writing. In fact, the first words intended for the Bible were written by the finger of God! Do you know what they are? No, not the first words in the Bible, but the first words intended for the Bible. They are the Ten Commandments, literally written by God to man. “When the Lord finished speaking with Moses on Mount Sinai, he gave him the two stone tablets inscribed with the terms of the covenant [the two tablets containing the Ten Commandments], written by the finger of God” (Ex. 31:18).

Moses wrote the first five books of the Bible—Genesis, Exodus, Numbers, Leviticus, and Deuteronomy—and these are often called the Pentateuch (pronounced PEN-ta-too-k). Look at Deuteronomy 32:24-25: “When Moses had finished writing this entire body of instruction in a book, he gave this command to the Levites who carried the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant . . .”

Wait a minute—if Moses wasn’t even born in Genesis 1:1 (“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth”), how’d he know what to write? Simple—God told him. Every word came from the Spirit of God. Moses knew what happened before his birth because God told him about the creation, how sin came into the world, and about the worldwide flood. God told Moses everything he needed to know.

The Bible itself tells us how it came to be written:

·      Ex. 24:4: “Then Moses carefully wrote down all the Lord’s instructions . . .”

·      Jeremiah 26:2: “This is what the Lord says: stand in the courtyard in the front of the Temple of the Lord, and make an announcement to the people who have come there to worship from all over Judah. Give them my entire message; include every word.”

·      Matthew 4:4: “But Jesus told him, “No! The Scriptures say, ‘People do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

·      Deuteronomy 18:18: “I will raise up a prophet like you from among their fellow Israelites. I will put my words in his mouth, and he will tell the people everything I command him.”

·      Matthew 5:18: “I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not even the smallest detail of God’s law will disappear until its purpose is achieved.”

·      Joshua 24:26: “Joshua recorded these things in the Book of God’s Instructions.”

So—does that mean that the men who wrote the Bible were like secretaries? They sat with a parchment before them and wrote the words they heard the Spirit whisper in their ear? Not exactly, because a person who simply writes what he hears is little better than a machine that transcribes sound into the written word. The men who wrote the Bible revealed their personalities and writing styles in their books even as they recorded every word God wanted them to write.

A good way to illustrate might be to think of an orchestra. Let’s say we have two excellent trumpet players who are playing the exact same part. The first player might play the part with confidence and an air of showmanship. The second player might play the same notes, but be a little more reserved in his playing. Or his “legato” (it means smooth) might be a little smoother than the first player’s version of the tune. Or maybe he’s feeling sad, and his sadness comes out through the music. Though we can hear their different styles, they are both playing music written by someone else—the composer.

In the same way, the Holy Spirit of God told the Bible writers what to say, and they said it exactly as God meant it to be said . . . while they displayed their gifts, emotions, and personalities.

What is the Bible? It is the Word of God, and “all Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right” (2 Timothy 3:16).

God’s Word is his message to all people—those who lived yesterday, today, and tomorrow. God never changes, and neither does the truth of his word. The Bible is completely trustworthy—and next week, you’ll find out why. 

BOM: Q&A

Well, the only questions I have to answer have to do with animals in heaven and evil animals. :-) Good thing those topics aren't at all controversial . . .

Okay--this is probably one of those occasions where the things of God will seem like foolishness to those who don't believe, but I have based most of the following opinions on Scripture. You're free to look 'em up.

Can animals be evil? I believe they have a will, and they can certainly choose to do wrong. All you have to do is look at the dog who's lying on the sofa and knows he's not supposed to be there. If that doesn't cut it for you, Dr. Penny Patterson tells the story of when Koko was using a stick to pry a window open. (I think I also used this with Sema.) When she was caught, Koko quickly used the stick as a "cigarette" and pretended to smoke it. Ah! Deception!

So yes, I believe some animals have at least a basic knowledge of good and evil and can choose between the two. Not nearly as well-developed as man's of course, and we'll probably only see this in higher animals. (I don't know--do soldier ants whip lazy worker ants into submission? I know ants can use tools.)

I also believe that animals can be used of God--and by Satan. Satan used the serpent to tempt Eve. God used Balaam's donkey to speak to Balaam. God also used two bears to devour a group of boys who called Elisha "baldie" (look it up, 2 Kings 2:24).

I suppose we could also say that God used frogs and locusts and flies in the plagues of Egypt.

If you think of animals as servants, I think we begin to see their rightful position. Not that the position of servant is to be disdained--Jesus said HE came as a servant, after all. God gave man dominion over the animals. They serve us, but we are to be benevolent rulers. "Blessed," says the Scripture, "is the man who regards the life of his beast."

Animals originally lived in peace with man in the Garden--and man was apparently vegan. But after man's fall, God used animals to provide Adam and Eve with clothing. After that, God told man to use animals for food and sacrifice as well.

Notice Genesis 9--a lot about animals in this chapter. First, notice that animals who kill people are to be condemned to death (evil animals?) verse five.

Second, notice verses 8-10: animals are included in the Noahic covenant. They are included in the promise that God will never again destroy the earth by flood.

Third, notice verse 2: for the first time, God says, "All the wild animals, large and small, and all the birds and fish will be afraid of you. I have placed them in your power. I have given them to you for food, just as I have given you grain and vegetables."

Apparently animals weren't naturally afraid of man until this point--and they will return to this fearlessness at some point in the future, perhaps when the lion lays down with the lamb, i.e., in the Millennium or on the New Earth, depending upon your eschatology.

The fact that all the animals came willingly to Noah before the flood is interesting when you realize that this natural fear didn't appear until after the flood.

Aside--did you know they're making Bruce Almighty 2? From the previews I've seen, looks like there's a Noah thing going on.

In the story of Jonah, notice that the king of Ninevah (Jonah 3:7) had even the ANIMALS fast when the people repented. And later, when God chided Jonah for his recalcitrant attitude, God said, "Ninevah has more than 120,0000 people living in spiritual darkness, not to mention all the animals. Shouldn't I feel sorry for such a great city?"

God counts animals, too.

Finally: while I don't agree with Native Americans' pantheism, I do think they had one thing right--I've heard that whenever an Indian brave killed a deer, for instance, he would thank the deer for providing food for his family and giving of his strength. I actually think that's the right attitude toward animals. God has given them to us for our sustenance. So we should be thankful, not domineering or cruel.

For this reason I am not a vegetarian, but neither do I support those horrible farms where pigs and lambs are raised in tiny little boxes, or any inhumane butchering of livestock. I DESPISE the hunting of endangered species and animals' heads hung on walls for show . . . but do not condemn a hunter who kills a deer for food. But those people who go to Africa and shoot elephants and lions who've been penned in . . . don't get me started. My blood pressure begins to boil.

I like elephants. I'm going to write about them one of these days.

Well, enough of my animal ravings. If you're interested in reading more, read DOMINION: The Power of Man, the Suffering of Animals, and the Call to Mercy, by Matthew Scully. It'll open your eyes.

~~Angie