Muslims, Jews, and Christians all consider the Bible to be scripture (although, Jews only consider the Old Testament scripture, and Muslims also consider the Koran scripture). And within each of those groups exist many divisions over how these scriptures should be read and applied.
For example, one of the points of greatest division in how Christians have read the Bible in the past 500 years has been over the passages on communion, in particular, 1 Corinthians 11. Questions that come from this text have produced varied answers. How often should we take it, who is allowed to take it, what are we eating, what happens when we take it, and what does it mean are all disputed. The same could be said on the issue of women in church ministry, a Christian’s responsibility to go to war, etc.
On such controversial issues there is an assumption that there is one correct view and the others are dead wrong. Yet when it comes to less controversial verses Christians in particular seem to have a greater openness to a number of appropriate responses.
Now, I know that it is a contradiction to both go to war and be a conscientious objector, so why do we think we can interpret other parts of the Bible any way we want? There are three basic approaches here. 1. The Bible is an inspirational book that can be interpreted any way. This has led to people killing each other in history, or as it is now, ‘I believe one thing and you believe another and we’re all ok’. 2. There can be a few meanings from one verse, but they don’t contradict each other. For example, 1 Corinthians 12:12 (the body is one and has many members) can refer both to the local church, as is clearly the context, but it can also refer to different church denominations, or members in a family. 3. The Bible has one meaning and we are limited to that. While we may not all agree on that meaning, there is only one. So 1 Corinthians 12:12 refers to the local church and while it may be a helpful concept elsewhere, those analogies only helpful, not scriptural.
Here’s how I see it. God exists and has made himself known to us in the Bible. We have no say in what he is like, how he instructs our life, etc. If we choose to ‘make up our own God’ he is just a part of our imagination. The relationship then is God as our creator, and we as his creation. We can’t create God, he knows us, he tells us who he is. Because I see it this way I think we are forever stuck asking the Bible the question, what does it mean. Our answer cannot be plural.
My whole response to the Bible since I read it in my late teens was to search for this singular meaning. It has been my goal to keep the voices of religions out of my head and let God speak for himself. My path has led me to a lot of study, work in the original languages, church life, hard questions, and at times hard stances, but I feel mostly honest about how I’ve approached the text. The text has shaped me, not the other way around.
My Christian friends don’t like it when I tell them that the context of a verse doesn’t allow them to interpret it they way they did. But is it really Christian to read and interpret however we like? That seems more like each ‘christian’ is developing their own religion, rather than getting to know God for who he is.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Silence in Service
Mark Dever makes an interesting point about the purpose of silence in gathered worship. Why are we silent? Do the breaks in our service lead to what Dever is talking about? Mark Dever writes
“There's silence between various aspects of the service. I encourage service leaders to NOT do the "no-dead-airspace" TV standard of busy-ness. We LIKE "dead air space." "Dead air space" gives us time to reflect. To collect our thoughts. To consider what we've just heard or read or sung. The silence amplifies the words or music we've just heard. It allows us time to take it all in, and to pray. We have silence to prepare ourselves. We have silence between the announcements and the scriptural call to worship. We even have a moment of silence AFTER the service! I pronounce the benediction from the end of II Corinthians, invite the congregation to be seated. And then, after about a minute of silence, the pianist begins quietly playing the last hymn that we had just sung. During those few moments, we reflect and prepare to speak to others and depart. We do business with God. We prepare ourselves for the week ahead.
I'm a sound addict. Even as I write about silence now, I've got Paganini blasting in my study! But yesterday morning in church during one of our silences, I became aware of how corporate a labor such public silence is. Everyone works to be quiet. People stop moving their bulletins or looking for something in their purse. There's no movement. We, together, hear the silence. It engulfs us. It enhances our unity. It is something we all do together. Together we consider what we've just heard. Together we contribute to each other's space to think.”
Unfortunately, the breaks at Kimberley fellowship are when someone is taking their time to leave their seat and come to the front. They are not planned periods of silence, but awkward moments when people aren’t sure what they are supposed to do. I agree with Mark that we shouldn’t think of ourselves as a television program. But we should use our moments of silence not for awkwardness, but unity.
“There's silence between various aspects of the service. I encourage service leaders to NOT do the "no-dead-airspace" TV standard of busy-ness. We LIKE "dead air space." "Dead air space" gives us time to reflect. To collect our thoughts. To consider what we've just heard or read or sung. The silence amplifies the words or music we've just heard. It allows us time to take it all in, and to pray. We have silence to prepare ourselves. We have silence between the announcements and the scriptural call to worship. We even have a moment of silence AFTER the service! I pronounce the benediction from the end of II Corinthians, invite the congregation to be seated. And then, after about a minute of silence, the pianist begins quietly playing the last hymn that we had just sung. During those few moments, we reflect and prepare to speak to others and depart. We do business with God. We prepare ourselves for the week ahead.
I'm a sound addict. Even as I write about silence now, I've got Paganini blasting in my study! But yesterday morning in church during one of our silences, I became aware of how corporate a labor such public silence is. Everyone works to be quiet. People stop moving their bulletins or looking for something in their purse. There's no movement. We, together, hear the silence. It engulfs us. It enhances our unity. It is something we all do together. Together we consider what we've just heard. Together we contribute to each other's space to think.”
Unfortunately, the breaks at Kimberley fellowship are when someone is taking their time to leave their seat and come to the front. They are not planned periods of silence, but awkward moments when people aren’t sure what they are supposed to do. I agree with Mark that we shouldn’t think of ourselves as a television program. But we should use our moments of silence not for awkwardness, but unity.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
The gospel...plus (part two)
There are many issues that Christians do not agree upon, but that does not mean they should divide over them. Someone’s position on drinking alcohol, their understanding of eschatology, or which translation of the scriptures they read from are what we at our church call ‘open-handed issues’. They are not things that should divide us.
More importantly, if they do divide us, we add something else to the requirements for salvation. We are not saved by the gospel plus no drinking alcohol, or the gospel plus the King James Version. We are saved by the gospel. The testimony of the gospel is proclaimed by our practice of unity in the gospel.
I recently heard Don Carson speaking on 1 Corinthians 8’s teaching that we should be concerned for our brother with a weak conscience. He made the point that Paul is not at all meaning the person who believes the gospel plus his area of conscience. In the case of someone who believes that it is the gospel plus abstinence from alcohol, he says...’pass the port’. For in that situation it is most beneficial to defend the gospel’s sufficiency to save.
And I know it’s easy for a guy like me who likes a beer on the weekend to support this, but it is just as important for those who are teetotalers. For example, John Piper put his ministry on the line when in the early 1980’s he had his church remove the clause in their constitution about abstaining from alcohol. Our church has similarly removed statements about eschatology.
Are their issues in your head that you automatically add to the gospel?
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. -Ephesians 2:8-9
More importantly, if they do divide us, we add something else to the requirements for salvation. We are not saved by the gospel plus no drinking alcohol, or the gospel plus the King James Version. We are saved by the gospel. The testimony of the gospel is proclaimed by our practice of unity in the gospel.
I recently heard Don Carson speaking on 1 Corinthians 8’s teaching that we should be concerned for our brother with a weak conscience. He made the point that Paul is not at all meaning the person who believes the gospel plus his area of conscience. In the case of someone who believes that it is the gospel plus abstinence from alcohol, he says...’pass the port’. For in that situation it is most beneficial to defend the gospel’s sufficiency to save.
And I know it’s easy for a guy like me who likes a beer on the weekend to support this, but it is just as important for those who are teetotalers. For example, John Piper put his ministry on the line when in the early 1980’s he had his church remove the clause in their constitution about abstaining from alcohol. Our church has similarly removed statements about eschatology.
Are their issues in your head that you automatically add to the gospel?
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. -Ephesians 2:8-9
Friday, July 10, 2009
John Calvin Turns 500
While you probably think in terms of your theology coming from scripture only, that’s never totally the case. How we read scripture has been shaped by the traditions we have grown up in, and for you and I that means the thoughts of John Calvin. A key reformer of a universal church that was badly off track, Calvin was a pastor and theologian that has re-shaped the Christian world. He has helpfully contributed to my theology the importance of the depravity of man and unearned grace of God.
In Calvin’s day the church was wickedly emphasizing what we must do to be in favor with God. Calvin rightly argued that we are out of favor with God because of our sin, and the only answer to it comes from the cross. Today we need to likewise battle the temptation to work our way into favor with God when he has accomplished the work that puts us into his favor.
Calvinism (the school of thought that has sprung from his teachings) is as strong as ever. Time magazine recently placed new calvinism as the #3 idea that is shaping the world right now. Pastors like Mark Driscoll, Rick McKinlay, Mark Dever, C.J. Mahaney, John Piper and many others are sure calvinists and experiencing effectiveness in their teaching. In particular, Calvin’s teaching on total depravity is easily accepted in a generation that has been abused, found relationships difficult, addictions a struggle, and had developed a mistrust from immoral celebrities and leaders. To put it bluntly, a people who spend more money on porn than music doesn’t have to be convinced that they are wicked.
There is a danger of course in becoming a ‘calvinist’ at the expense of being a Christian. People like Calvin do not set out to make a religion after themselves as much as bring the church back to the teachings of scripture. This is how Calvin helps our church. Five hundred years later he is calling us back to scripture, back to the grace of God and the depravity of man. Back to celebrating God’s merciful act of saving believers and keeping them in his love.
In Calvin’s day the church was wickedly emphasizing what we must do to be in favor with God. Calvin rightly argued that we are out of favor with God because of our sin, and the only answer to it comes from the cross. Today we need to likewise battle the temptation to work our way into favor with God when he has accomplished the work that puts us into his favor.
Calvinism (the school of thought that has sprung from his teachings) is as strong as ever. Time magazine recently placed new calvinism as the #3 idea that is shaping the world right now. Pastors like Mark Driscoll, Rick McKinlay, Mark Dever, C.J. Mahaney, John Piper and many others are sure calvinists and experiencing effectiveness in their teaching. In particular, Calvin’s teaching on total depravity is easily accepted in a generation that has been abused, found relationships difficult, addictions a struggle, and had developed a mistrust from immoral celebrities and leaders. To put it bluntly, a people who spend more money on porn than music doesn’t have to be convinced that they are wicked.
There is a danger of course in becoming a ‘calvinist’ at the expense of being a Christian. People like Calvin do not set out to make a religion after themselves as much as bring the church back to the teachings of scripture. This is how Calvin helps our church. Five hundred years later he is calling us back to scripture, back to the grace of God and the depravity of man. Back to celebrating God’s merciful act of saving believers and keeping them in his love.
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
The need for Relational Capital outside the church
I have been thinking about the concept of relational capital, in an organization. Let's take our church for example. We have financial capital (the money in the bank), asset capital (the building and things inside it), and we also have relational capital. This is the culture we have created to develop healthy relationships. It exists on every level from whether someone will let you borrow their table saw for the weekend to how happy the leadership is about their work. In the church, we should excel at this. The work of the Spirit in our lives is to build a people for His name. Having healthy relationships at all aspects of church life should be our strength, and I think we are blessed in this at our church. But for many businesses and organizations in our city, this is not the case. How badly do some need the help of others who know how to operate in a healthy environment. People who respond in love when they are hurt, people who are loyal when times are tough, people who will work with integrity. This is one area of your life where you can live the gospel. Wherever you work, or wherever you volunteer, be someone who can introduce the gospel as you introduce relational capital.
Thursday, July 2, 2009
the gospel...plus (part one)
The gospel is the only thing that saves and we receive this life-changing truth alone. We don't need the the gospel plus anything else. Beware of falling into the many traps that involve us believing the gospel plus anything else to be saved. In a series of posts I hope to bring some of the common ways we fall into this error.
The gospel plus common interests is a lie that abounds in our fallen church culture. People leave gospel-believing churches for all sorts of reasons, but most of these reasons comes down to not finding common interests (ie: there is no one here my age, there is nothing here for my kids, I don't like the style of music...). Conversely, people stay at churches because they find a social network there. Now, the church is about people, but the common reason we have for committing to a local church is the gospel, not the gospel plus anything else. We believe a 'gospel...plus' theology when we stay at a church because others that share our hobbies keep us there, or we leave a church because there are not enough people who share our hobbies. The gospel is enough to unite us, we do not need the gospel plus anything else. Many people who are highly involved in para-church organizations will often find that it is not the gospel that connects them to those they work with, but the task of the organization.
When people leave a local church in search of people they can spend time with on the weekend they ultimately leave with a powerless gospel that cannot redeem the relationships that don't involve a common goal. If your church is all people who hike together, or read the same books, or work in the same office, or whatever, it is likely that it is not a church, but a social gather of people who like that activity.
Do you have relationships with people in your church with whom you have little in common but the gospel? Develop those relationships, love those people, reconcile any fractured relationships only because you have the gospel in common.
The gospel plus common interests is a lie that abounds in our fallen church culture. People leave gospel-believing churches for all sorts of reasons, but most of these reasons comes down to not finding common interests (ie: there is no one here my age, there is nothing here for my kids, I don't like the style of music...). Conversely, people stay at churches because they find a social network there. Now, the church is about people, but the common reason we have for committing to a local church is the gospel, not the gospel plus anything else. We believe a 'gospel...plus' theology when we stay at a church because others that share our hobbies keep us there, or we leave a church because there are not enough people who share our hobbies. The gospel is enough to unite us, we do not need the gospel plus anything else. Many people who are highly involved in para-church organizations will often find that it is not the gospel that connects them to those they work with, but the task of the organization.
When people leave a local church in search of people they can spend time with on the weekend they ultimately leave with a powerless gospel that cannot redeem the relationships that don't involve a common goal. If your church is all people who hike together, or read the same books, or work in the same office, or whatever, it is likely that it is not a church, but a social gather of people who like that activity.
Do you have relationships with people in your church with whom you have little in common but the gospel? Develop those relationships, love those people, reconcile any fractured relationships only because you have the gospel in common.
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