Archive for the ‘ Bible ’ Category

Destroying [Atheist] Arguments

Build up your knowledge and wisdom with some of the thoughts from Proverbial Thought!

I recently saw a talk given by Eric Hovind. He is a biblical Creation apologist with Creation Today and the face of Creation Minute.

His talk was simply titled “Proof of God”. In it, he laid out four questions to destroy an atheist’s argument while building a bridge to the Christian worldview. I will briefly discuss those questions here!

Question #1: Is it impossible for the God of the bible to exist?

Here is why an atheist must answer “No, it is not impossible that the God of the Bible exists”: To follow science and reason, it must be concluded that in a Universe (or even multiverse) of possibly infinite possibilities, that would mean it is possible that the God of the Bible could exist.

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them.
Romans 1:18-19, ESV

Question #2: Is it impossible for the Bible to be what it claims to be?

This is also a “No” because if it is possible that the God of the Bible exists, then it must be possible that the Bible could be His written revelation to us.

For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.
Romans 1:20

Question #3: Could the God of the Bible reveal Himself to us so that we can be absolutely certain of His existence?

Again, the answer to this question is a “Yes” because if it is possible that God exists and if it is possible that the Bible is His written revelation to us, then it is possible that He could reveal Himself to us so that we could be certain He exists.

For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.
Romans 1:21

Question #4: Could you be wrong about everything you think you know?

Scientists the world over admit that we know, probably, less than 1% of what can be known about the Universe. If you look at what was believed about our own Solar System just a decade ago (let alone the entire Universe), things have changed (on a small scale, just look at the status of Pluto going from “Planet” to “Dwarf Planet” … keeping in mind we did not even know Pluto existed 100 years ago!).

An atheist, therefore, must admit that with the constant changing of our understanding of the Universe it is possible that everything he or she knows about everything could be wrong.

Therefore, atheists have no rational foundation for their worldview.

Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.
Romans 1:22-23

The reason I feel it is so important to share this, other than that I do subscribe to the idea of a literal 6-day Creation of the heavens and the Earth, is this little tidbit from Paul:

For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ …
2 Corinthians 10:3-5

But we must always remember to do it with love, respect, and compassion, for all humans were created in the image of the God of the Bible, regardless of their beliefs:

but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame.
1 Peter 3:15-16

Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for God made man in his own image.
Genesis 9:6

I say this in order that no one may delude you with plausible arguments.
Colossians 2:4

2014
10/07
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Trinitarian Elements of Doctor Who!

Find wisdom in unlikely places, such as through the thoughts of a rag-tag group of pastors, lay-leaders, and a young woman at Proverbial Thought!

If you have followed by blog for a reasonable amount of time, you may have learned I am a Whovian, a fan of the British sci-fi television show Doctor Who. The Doctor is a time-travelling alien who looks human, but he is a Time Lord from the planet Gallifrey. He is able to escape death by regenerating (all Time Lords can do this), but this has the side-effect of changing his appearance and personality while still being in essence himself.

The topic at hand, however, is one of his companions. He picks up companions frequently, usually from Earth but not always. For the show, companions act as a sort-of stand-in for the audience to ask the questions we might ask … or to simply help move the plot along.

Before I continue, however, I must warn of possible spoilers, specifically about an episode from Spring of 2013, The Name of the Doctor. If you do not wish to have anything spoiled as you watch through the series, you may wish to stop reading now!

How the Trinity Works Its Way into Doctor Who

In the above mentioned episode Clara Oswald helps the Doctor in a big way.

It must first be known that she is called “The Impossible Girl” because she was first seen earlier in the season in an episode in humanity’s future in which she saved the Doctor and his companions. In that season’s Christmas special, she saved the Doctor in Earth’s past.

This is the episode in which we find out how she could have existed hundreds or thousands of years in the past or future and exist in the present.

Clara “Oswin” Oswald, to save the Doctor from being torn from Time/Space by an enemy, jumps into the Doctor’s personal Time-stream. In doing so, copies of her are seeded throughout his lifetime to help him at important junctures in life and thus help him retain his Time-memory and not cease to exist. (Yes, it is very complicated. Just know that she was able to help him in every regeneration the Doctor has had.)

Recently, I have read some articles critiquing newer episodes, especially in connection with Clara’s personality and memory of these other events.

A friend and I noticed how religious some fans get over this show, and how like Christians they act over “dogma” and ideas they have but do not fully understand about the show and its characters.

How Clara Is Like the Trinity

In this similarity, Christians do not understand things such as the Trinity, and this misunderstanding throws off other elements of their theology.

The Doctrine of the Trinity is simply that God exists as three distinct Persons (Father, Son, Holy Spirit) yet is a single Being. The word “trinity” never appears in Scripture, but it has been deduced from Scripture (e.g. see Matthew 3:16-17 which has all three Persons present simultaneously).

Clara helps demonstrate this (and, please remember from here on out that nothing can adequately explain/compare to the concept of the Trinity. Our finite brains will always struggle with this concept) in that while she was interjected into various points along the Doctor’s timeline, each “incarnation” experienced birth, life, and death in each context. Therefore, while each and every “Clara” is, was, and will be Clara, they are never exactly the Clara who is the current companion of the Doctor.

In a sense, she is one being who has been many persons in the Doctor’s life.

It is no wonder, then, that so many people, many of whom are not necessarily Christians if not agnostics/atheists, struggle with this concept of Clara.

If Christians have been arguing about this concept for two thousand years, why should we expect anyone to grasp a fictional adaptation (that was not intended as such by the writers of the show)?

2014
09/23
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Olive Juice

Do not misunderstand wisdom and get some insight at Proverbial Thought!

There is a game called Mad Gab. This is a game in which your team has to guess what actual phrase or name is hidden in a series of similar sounding words. They are encouraged to say these words out loud to hear the sounds. For example:

Olive ewe

Have you gotten it, yet?

Here is the spoiler:

“I love you.”

(My wife and I follow a similar play on words. We mouth the words “olive juice” to each other. Have someone say it to you (or say it to yourself in a mirror) without actually speaking. It looks like “I love you” is being said.)

Why do I bring this up?

How many times do pastors/churches/denominations or teachers/professors and others hear what they want to hear or read what they want to read from the Bible?

How many people get confused over all of the teachings that are presented in church, bible studies, and in public?

How many people get caught up in the genealogies in the Bible (did they list actual descendants or only important descendants? The names are spelled wrong.) or seeming contradictions?

To really get controversial, how many people try to read evolution, social justice, and/or personal beliefs into their Bibles?

How many people hear God calling them to do something and misunderstand?

How many misunderstand the Gospel?

How often do you do these?

How do we confuse God’s “I love you” with olive juice?

charge certain persons not to teach any different doctrine, nor to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies, which promote speculations rather than the stewardship from God that is by faith. The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. Certain persons, by swerving from these, have wandered away into vain discussion, desiring to be teachers of the law, without understanding either what they are saying or the things about which they make confident assertions.

Now we know that the law is good, if one uses it lawfully, understanding this, that the law is not laid down for the just but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who strike their fathers and mothers, for murderers, the sexually immoral, men who practice homosexuality, enslavers, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine, in accordance with the gospel of the glory of the blessed God with which I have been entrusted.
1 Timothy 1:3b-11, ESV

Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”
1 Corinthians 1:20-31

2014
09/16
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Keeping It Really Simple Today … on the Gospel

Keep it simple and find the goodness of wisdom at Proverbial Thought!

Here is keeping it simple: I will just post a quick thought on a topic. Nothing else.

This week’s topic:

The Gospel

The Gospel is that God has a perfect standard that no person has ever been able to perfectly meet. We are all guilty of breaking this standard, of sinning, and there was no way we could ever fix it. So God came in the person of Jesus of Nazareth to perfectly live by that standard, and then He died. His death brought about the forgiveness we needed for our sins. Three days later, He proved He is God by rising from the dead, and those who believe all of this have the hope of a future resurrection and eternity with Him!

 

Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.
1 Corinthians 15:1-3, ESV

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
Romans 1:16

2014
09/09
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Doctor Who and the Need for a Savior

Fill your need for wisdom, and go to Proverbial Thought!

This past Sunday I shared a poem about what people need. That was prepared before realizing I would be sharing today’s entry!

The eight season (series, for all of you BBC/British television/Whovian people out there) of the rebooted Doctor Who television show recently kicked off. This season began on August 23rd, setting some BBC America records, and that is compared to last November 23rd’s globally record-setting release of the 50th Anniversary Special, The Day of the Doctor.

There are a lot of people who really like Doctor Who, and, as a Whovian myself, I can understand the passion that goes into following this show.

I read an article recently titled, “Entertainment Geekly: ‘Doctor Who’ is the saddest show on television“. Here is a little excerpt:

One way of looking at this: The Doctor is friends with everybody! But another way of looking at this: The Doctor is never close with anybody. And even when he is close with someone, it won’t last. He’ll leave them behind, or they’ll leave him behind; or they’ll just get older, and he’ll grow a young man’s face. The Davies era immediately played up the Doctor’s loneliness by repositioning him as the Last of the Time Lords: No longer a plucky renegade from an elaborate culture, but rather, that culture’s last remaining memory.

Maybe “sad” is the wrong word for Doctor Who: It’s a show that takes tremendous joy in simple human connection, even as the modern iteration constantly futzes with those connections. (It’s never clear if the Doctor likes his Companions, or loves them, or if he just needs them to be in love with him.) . . .

The central tension of most action-thrillers derives from the fear that someone might die. But because the Doctor will never die, the central tension of Doctor Who is the utter certainty that things will definitely change. Every change is like death, but every change is also like birth. Doctor Who is never bleak—compared to our current apocalypse vogue, it looks positively chipper. . . .

The Doctor never gets to live a normal life, which is his tragedy. (Tune in to a new episode of Doctor Who, and remind yourself that soon–this year, next year, certainly the year after that–the Doctor and his closest friend will say goodbye.) But I also wonder if that’s why, the longer you watch Doctor Who, you find yourself relating less to the every people Companions and more to the Doctor. From our perspective, the world might change, but we always stay the same–as friends come and go, as we move from one place to another. It takes someone else to notice when we become a new person. Maybe that’s why the Doctor always seeks out new Companions: So that the man who never changes can change, over and over again.

It seems to me that Doctor Who is popular because of how it plays off of the loneliness so many people feel. It feeds into the need for hope all people have. Whether it is in relating to his companions or relating to the Doctor himself, people watch Doctor Who because of a need and a desire for a savior.

And it becomes sad when we realize that there is indeed a Savior who can fulfill all of our needs, but so many do not know about Him or ignore Him … or, worst of all, flat out deny Him.

All it takes is to seek God and the forgiveness offered through His Son, Jesus Christ.

Turn to me and be gracious to me,
    for I am lonely and afflicted.
The troubles of my heart are enlarged;
    bring me out of my distresses.
Consider my affliction and my trouble,
    and forgive all my sins.
Psalm 25:16-18, ESV

2014
09/02
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Play-Doh Heart

Find solid wisdom through the thoughts at Proverbial Thought!

There are some things in this world that are rock solid and others that are softer, more pliable.

Something that should never be seen as pliable is Truth. While some things may not be black and white, set in stone (such as one person thinking the weather is beautiful while another thinks it is horrible) most truths are firm (such as the weather is overcast and rainy).

One truth that is never negotiable, no matter how much someone may want it to be, is that God is real and sovereign, and Jesus Christ is His Son who died for the sins of the world.

On the other hand, there are some things that are just better the softer they are: some cookies and cake, gelatin (without being melted, of course), your seat on an airplane, water after you have been pushed from the side of the pool, Play-Doh, and on and on.

Something that should always be pliable is your heart and mind. While you hold firm to certain truths, you should always be willing to always learn, always love, and always seeking after truth. Just as Play-Doh is soft, pliable, and even fun to shape and mold, so must our hearts be in this world of pain, injustice, and competing attentions.

Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind.
1 Peter 3:8

Here is the thing: you must entrust your Play-Doh heart to the Rock of Salvation. Only in His hands can it be properly and lovingly formed for the greatest good.

Prove me, O Lord, and try me; test my heart and my mind.
Psalm 26:2

On our own, we will only have some fun, waste some time, and forget to put the lid back on at the end of the day. Then our Play-Doh hearts become hard. In hardness they either become brittle or useless … or both.

1 Oh come, let us sing to the Lord;
    let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation!
2 Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving;
    let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!
3 For the Lord is a great God,
    and a great King above all gods.
4 In his hand are the depths of the earth;
    the heights of the mountains are his also.
5 The sea is his, for he made it,
    and his hands formed the dry land.6 Oh come, let us worship and bow down;
    let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker!
7 For he is our God,
    and we are the people of his pasture,
    and the sheep of his hand.
Today, if you hear his voice,
8     do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah,
    as on the day at Massah in the wilderness,
9 when your fathers put me to the test
    and put me to the proof, though they had seen my work.
10 For forty years I loathed that generation
    and said, “They are a people who go astray in their heart,
    and they have not known my ways.”
11 Therefore I swore in my wrath,
    “They shall not enter my rest.”

Psalm 95, ESV

2014
08/12
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Weekend Words & Sunday Stanzas – 08/10/2014

Find the light of wisdom and get a head start over at Proverbial Thought!

My family is currently going through one of the more difficult times a family can face.

In this time, my mom said that if there was one thing she wanted in this life it was that Jesus would be seen through her.

Even Jesus spoke to this being true in our lives:

“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”
Matthew 5:14-16, ESV

Let us remember that others giving glory to God ultimately means that they come to believe that Jesus is the Son of God, the Savior of their souls, and the lover of their lives. And, as Jesus also said, they will know these things “if you have love for one another” (John 13:35). When we come together as one in Christ, His light shines brightly through us!

 

 

 

 

bonfire

we all try to be candles
in our darkened world
but as barely a spark
what are we good for
if we can come together
and our lights shine brighter
more of the world will light up
we will look more like a bonfire
our light will shine bright
more like a city on a hill
illuminating more than
alone we ever will
let us come together
and let the fire roar
saving the sick and homeless
the worried and the poor

2014
08/10
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Weekend Words & Sunday Stanzas – 07/20/2014

Find joy in wisdom over at Proverbial Thought!

In the summer of 2007, I noticed a word in Proverbs 14:33 for the first time, even though by that point I had read through the book of Proverbs at least four times:

“Wisdom reposes in the heart of the discerning and even among fools she lets herself be known.” (NIV)

It was an amazing time in my life. I learned a new word, and it totally rocked my world!

Repose means “to rest” or “to recline”, so “Wisdom rests or reclines in the heart of the discerning …”

Later, I read 2 Corinthians 5:14, “For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died.”

Now you have the inspiration for the poem today:

                    _____________
for the joy that besets my soul
not just on my heart to repose
do i find i am being compelled
the love of Christ to share with all
my soul is blessed by God above
with His mercy and grace and love
to the world i shout to come in
and find the joy found only in Him

2014
07/20
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Mythic Jesus?

Find truth in myth by finding wisdom in proverbs over at Proverbial Thought!

My wife and I have been in a class at Phoenix Seminary for the past two months, and this class is “Technology in Ministry”.

Mythbusters from Flickr via Wylio

© 2008 grace, Flickr | CC-BY | via Wylio

One of the first ideas introduced to us is the idea of technology becoming mythic. This idea is that once a technology is introduced it relatively quickly seems to have always been with us, usually within a generation.

Think about it: what would life be like without the wheel? What would life be like without light bulbs or refrigerators or running water? What would life be like without the internet or cell phones?

And to drive that last part home, cell phones are less than 20 years old (affordable, small, portable, able to fit in a pocket), yet almost every people group on the planet has cell phones. I personally witnessed it in the mountains of Morocco, and a friend has seen them in the mountainous regions of China where there is almost no other modern technology.

Children born in the past decade will have no experience in a world without the internet or touchscreens. For this children, touchscreens and the internet are mythic. They have always been here.

Other things become mythic, too.

When we hear the word “myth” we automatically jump to the same conclusion as C.S. Lewis before he converted to Christianity: myths are lies and fancy.

What J.R.R. Tolkien and Hugo Dyson showed him, however, is that myths are always based on some element of truth.

The ancient myths most likely were derived from actual people and events in history, but over time they became embellished and twisted. They are not lies, but they are stories that lost their way.

In other words, myths are simply stories. Some contain more truth than others.

Over centuries and even millennia, many stories of human history, stories that pointed to the truth of God, were embellished and twisted. Many people assume there could not have been a global flood. It just seems so outrageous. Yet, virtually every ancient culture around the world had flood stories that are eerily similar, stories that may have been embellished and twisted here and there.

But because these stories have always been with us, we just disregard them as mythic.

But what if a myth was shared that was not embellished or twisted? I mean, it always happens, especially in an age of instant gratification in which people share a story before having all of the facts and the story gets blown out of proportion and people get hurt (like the woman who sued McDonald’s over hot coffee).

Our stories quickly become mythic. There is truth, and it is possible to find that truth.

The thing that Tolkien and Dyson helped Lewis to see is that the myth of Jesus Christ is a true myth.

For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty.
2 Peter 1:16, ESV

 

2014
07/15
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Weekend Words & Sunday Stanzas – 07/13/2014

Search no more, and find some wisdom at Proverbial Thought!

Firstly, I offer to you today a sort-of-proverb:

those who have accepted Christ

do not like me

those who have responded to Christ

love being around me

The meaning behind this is simple: it is actually easy to accept a truth. People do this all the time without acting on a truth. Think of how many times we see commercials calling for us to sponsor a child or rescue a dog or cat or do something amazing. We accept that we should be doing something to help our world be better, but then we change the channel and maybe think about it again.

It is when we respond that real change begins to happen. When we respond to a call (and I am assuming a positive response), those who have not responded tend to feel guilty or envious. What do guilty and envious people do? They make excuses, they accuse, and they shun. What do those who also responded do? Get together and share stories!

That being said, here is a poem for you about what we are responding to:

______________
i could search forever and never find
a love like that from this God of mine
He is the Creator of the universe
all things from the past through the future
He made my heart and mind and soul
and He maintains His loose yet firm control
because i searched all over and found
that my God can be found all around
He is all good things that exist
and He redeemed us all through His Son Jesus
because His love and grace so wonderful
extends to all men and women who are sinful
and means it covers every person
and therefore all of His Creation
you could search forever and also find
the greatest love is shown in Jesus Christ

2014
07/13
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