This is a great quote for this election season:
"I charge you, citizens of the United States, afloat on your wide sea of politics, there is another King, One Jesus: The safety of the State can be secured only in the way of humble and whole-souled loyalty to His person and of obedience to His law."
Monday, July 28, 2008
Friday, July 25, 2008
Reading Scripture for a Biblical Worldview: Proverbs 19:2
Worldview Points: Knowledge
"Also it is not good for a person to be without knowledge, And he who hurries his footsteps errs."
The word "knowledge" here is synonymous with wisdom which refers to the idea of having skill in living. Solomon is indicating here that a believer must gain knowledge and understanding of the world, not for the sake of knowledge alone, but rather a gaining of knowledge for the purpose of living life skillfully. A failure to grow in the knowledge and understanding of God and His creation will hurry the steps of the believer resulting in an errant way of life.
"Also it is not good for a person to be without knowledge, And he who hurries his footsteps errs."
The word "knowledge" here is synonymous with wisdom which refers to the idea of having skill in living. Solomon is indicating here that a believer must gain knowledge and understanding of the world, not for the sake of knowledge alone, but rather a gaining of knowledge for the purpose of living life skillfully. A failure to grow in the knowledge and understanding of God and His creation will hurry the steps of the believer resulting in an errant way of life.
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Great Quotes: Augustine
"If the Church should request your services, do not accede to this request out of a desire to get ahead, nor refuse it moved by pleasureful idleness. Obey God, rather, in simplicity of heart, submitting yourselves humbly to him who directs you. Neither should you prefer your peaceful leisure to the needs of the Church. If there were no people to minister to her as she gave birth, not even you would have found a way to have been born."
Augustine calls for Christians to put aside their own desire for personal pleasure and recreation in order to serve and minister to the people of God. I do not believe that Augustine is saying that there is no place for recreation and leisure in the life of the believer but I do think that he would argue that the believer's personal pursuit of recreation and leisure takes a second place to the life lived in service to the community of God's people.
Augustine calls for Christians to put aside their own desire for personal pleasure and recreation in order to serve and minister to the people of God. I do not believe that Augustine is saying that there is no place for recreation and leisure in the life of the believer but I do think that he would argue that the believer's personal pursuit of recreation and leisure takes a second place to the life lived in service to the community of God's people.
"The Choices of Bruce Wayne: The Dark Knight" by Gary Robinson
If you are a Batman fan I encourage you to read this commentary by Gary Robinson. The article looks at some of the moral questions and worldview issues covered in the movie "The Dark Night."
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
An Explanation of Position
After pondering some of the things I talked about in Sunday school class this past Sunday I became concerned about the possibility of some misunderstanding. In addition, Audrey voiced some misunderstandings that she had. In order to clear up any possible concerns I am providing the following statement of my beliefs concerning the issues of Bible translations and inerrancy/infallibility. I also want to explain what I meant concerning the issue of modern day preachers/teachers using the prophetic utterance “Thus saith the Lord!” At the end of my statement there will be a couple of links to articles that would be beneficial. Please read them. I emphasize the importance of you reading these articles to better understand my position in case there was any confusion or misunderstanding.
I. The Bible Translations & Inerrancy/Infallibility
a. I do not believe there is any promise from Scripture of inerrancy and infallibility in any biblical translation outside of the original Greek, Hebrew, and Aramaic manuscripts. In other words, only the original biblical manuscripts are truly inerrant (without error) and infallible (trustworthy, sure, without error). Now, what does this say about the translations that we use in English? None of the Bible translations from any era, including today, should be considered inerrant or infallible in the same way the original manuscripts are considered inerrant or infallible. There are errors of grammar, syntax, history, etc... in the translations of the original manuscripts but some of these “errors” are at a minimum within the more reliable translations noted below. There are some good translations out there that I think have done a good job of accurately translating the original languages enabling believers to better understand and study the Word of God. Do I believe that English translations are the Word of God? Yes, but not in the same sense as the inerrant and infallible original manuscripts. When we read the Scriptures in English are we reading the Word of God? If we are reading from reliable literal translations of the Bible then I would say that we are reading the Word of God but again, not on the same level as we would if we were reading the original biblical languages. This point emphasizes the importance of using good Bible translations. Examples of good translations include the following:
i. New American Standard Bible
ii. English Standard Version
iii. Holman Christian Standard Bible
Note: Literal translations (NASB, ESV, NKJV) are word for word translations. Dynamic Equivalent translations (NIV, NRSV, NLT, TNIV) are thought for thought. One of the problems with thought for thought translations is that they involve more opinion (less accuracy) on the part of the scholars doing the translating whereas with literal translations scholars simply have to find a word in the modern language that corresponds to the word in the original. There is less scholarly opinion involved in this process. No doubt, sometimes with literal translations, there is difficulty understanding the text but some of the more modern literal translations (NASB, ESV) have done an excellent job of aleviating these kinds of problems.
b. The statement concerning this issue in the Second London Baptist Confession of Faith: 8. “The Old Testament in15 Hebrew which was the native language of the people of God of old, and the New Testament in Greek which at the time of the writing of it was most generally known to the nations, being immediately inspired by God, and by his singular care and providence kept pure in all ages, are therefore16 authentic; so as in all controversies of religion, the church is finally to appeal to them17. But because these original tongues are not known to all the people of God, who have a right unto, and interest in the Scriptures, and are commanded in the fear of God to read18 and search them, therefore they are to be translated into the vulgar language of every nation unto which they19 come, that the Word of God dwelling20 plentifully in all, they may worship him in an acceptable manner, and through patience and comfort of the Scriptures may have hope.”
c. Other Links:
1. John Piper and his church's doctrinal statement concerning this issue of Scripture. Please notice primarily the first paragraph. I affirm this statement.
2. "Does the inerrancy of the Bible only apply to the original manuscripts?" This is an article by Norman Geisler who is a sound theologian and respected Christian apologists.
II. The Modern Preacher/Teacher & The Prophetic Utterance “Thus Saith The LORD!”
a. I now believe that I jumped the gun, so to speak, with my injunction that it is inappropriate for the modern day preacher/teacher to use this declaration when preaching the Word of God. I do believe that the phrase should be used with great reverence and respect for God and His Word. The declaration originally was only used by those who God had chosen to be His spokespersons in the world of men. God directly revealed Himself, His commandments and His will to His prophets and they affirmed their message and attached God’s authority with the phrase “Thus saith the Lord.” The modern preacher/teacher must be diligent to only use the term when they are sure that it is God’s Word and not their own word that is being proclaimed.
I hope this clears up any misunderstandings and concerns about my statements from Sunday morning. If you still have any concerns etc…please let me know. I want to encourage all of you to feel free to voice any concerns or disagreements that you might have with me or something that I teach. Our goal should be to work out the faith together so that God will be glorified and His Church edified.
Blessings,
Craig
I. The Bible Translations & Inerrancy/Infallibility
a. I do not believe there is any promise from Scripture of inerrancy and infallibility in any biblical translation outside of the original Greek, Hebrew, and Aramaic manuscripts. In other words, only the original biblical manuscripts are truly inerrant (without error) and infallible (trustworthy, sure, without error). Now, what does this say about the translations that we use in English? None of the Bible translations from any era, including today, should be considered inerrant or infallible in the same way the original manuscripts are considered inerrant or infallible. There are errors of grammar, syntax, history, etc... in the translations of the original manuscripts but some of these “errors” are at a minimum within the more reliable translations noted below. There are some good translations out there that I think have done a good job of accurately translating the original languages enabling believers to better understand and study the Word of God. Do I believe that English translations are the Word of God? Yes, but not in the same sense as the inerrant and infallible original manuscripts. When we read the Scriptures in English are we reading the Word of God? If we are reading from reliable literal translations of the Bible then I would say that we are reading the Word of God but again, not on the same level as we would if we were reading the original biblical languages. This point emphasizes the importance of using good Bible translations. Examples of good translations include the following:
i. New American Standard Bible
ii. English Standard Version
iii. Holman Christian Standard Bible
Note: Literal translations (NASB, ESV, NKJV) are word for word translations. Dynamic Equivalent translations (NIV, NRSV, NLT, TNIV) are thought for thought. One of the problems with thought for thought translations is that they involve more opinion (less accuracy) on the part of the scholars doing the translating whereas with literal translations scholars simply have to find a word in the modern language that corresponds to the word in the original. There is less scholarly opinion involved in this process. No doubt, sometimes with literal translations, there is difficulty understanding the text but some of the more modern literal translations (NASB, ESV) have done an excellent job of aleviating these kinds of problems.
b. The statement concerning this issue in the Second London Baptist Confession of Faith: 8. “The Old Testament in15 Hebrew which was the native language of the people of God of old, and the New Testament in Greek which at the time of the writing of it was most generally known to the nations, being immediately inspired by God, and by his singular care and providence kept pure in all ages, are therefore16 authentic; so as in all controversies of religion, the church is finally to appeal to them17. But because these original tongues are not known to all the people of God, who have a right unto, and interest in the Scriptures, and are commanded in the fear of God to read18 and search them, therefore they are to be translated into the vulgar language of every nation unto which they19 come, that the Word of God dwelling20 plentifully in all, they may worship him in an acceptable manner, and through patience and comfort of the Scriptures may have hope.”
c. Other Links:
1. John Piper and his church's doctrinal statement concerning this issue of Scripture. Please notice primarily the first paragraph. I affirm this statement.
2. "Does the inerrancy of the Bible only apply to the original manuscripts?" This is an article by Norman Geisler who is a sound theologian and respected Christian apologists.
II. The Modern Preacher/Teacher & The Prophetic Utterance “Thus Saith The LORD!”
a. I now believe that I jumped the gun, so to speak, with my injunction that it is inappropriate for the modern day preacher/teacher to use this declaration when preaching the Word of God. I do believe that the phrase should be used with great reverence and respect for God and His Word. The declaration originally was only used by those who God had chosen to be His spokespersons in the world of men. God directly revealed Himself, His commandments and His will to His prophets and they affirmed their message and attached God’s authority with the phrase “Thus saith the Lord.” The modern preacher/teacher must be diligent to only use the term when they are sure that it is God’s Word and not their own word that is being proclaimed.
I hope this clears up any misunderstandings and concerns about my statements from Sunday morning. If you still have any concerns etc…please let me know. I want to encourage all of you to feel free to voice any concerns or disagreements that you might have with me or something that I teach. Our goal should be to work out the faith together so that God will be glorified and His Church edified.
Blessings,
Craig
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