Finding the Truth

In my 11th grade English class, I had a teacher named Mr Dasher. He was an educated country boy from Georgia who was very disenchanted with the US Army, and had a killer music collection. Aside from introducing me to Young Goodman Brown, Giles Corey, and the French Lieutenant’s Woman, he also turned me on to Van Morrison, John Lee Hooker, and Freddie King.

We had lots of Bible beaters at the high school I attended, and one day, I overheard Mr Dasher talking to one of them. “Now, do you believe in the God of the Old Testament, or the one in the New Testament?” he asked in his lazy drawl. I don’t at all remember the girl’s response; I think I was too busy pondering his question. Of course, I knew exactly what he meant, but I think that was the first time I had ever really heard it phrased that way.

He (as well as many others) viewed God in the Old Testament as harsh, unbending, veangeful, possibly even cruel. Whereas, God in the New Testament was loving, forgiving, and merciful. I know Mr Dasher didn’t believe these were two separate gods; he was merely mocking this girl’s faith. But this is still an interesting observation, and one that I think bears looking into.

Authority
Any time you study an issue, you’ve got to have a reliable source. You’ve got to be able to go back to something (or several things) upon which you can base observations, compare your findings, gain unbiased information. God has given us such a source in his Bible. I’m not going to spend time giving proofs to the authenticity of God’s word; that would take us so far off topic we’d completely lose sight of our intended goal.

Instead, I’m going to let you know that I believe the Bible to be the inerrant, infallible, and inspired word of God. I believe that the scriptures are “God-breathed” – that “holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit” (1 Pet 1:21). And I further believe that the Bible is “profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness” (2 Tim 3:16).

That said, we’re going to look at what the Bible says about God’s character. Does he change? Why did he do certain things in the Old Testament that seemed so harsh? And do the different testaments provide two different views of God, or is there a larger picture?

Change
Again, it’s usually in a mocking tone that people refer to the “different” gods of the Old and New Testaments. But behind the jab lies the deeper question of whether or not God acts differently between the two testaments.

For I am the LORD, I do not change; – Mal 3:6

God is not a man, that He should lie,
Nor a son of man, that He should repent. – Num 23:19

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. – James 1:17

God does not change. And if we go with the premise we mentioned earlier, that the Bible is true, then we have to accept this statement. So when we read the Bible and we think we see differences in God’s nature, there must have been some unifying purpose behind his actions. So what might that purpose be?

Why so harsh?
Before we can understand the purpose behind some of God’s actions, we need to identify the things that tend to stand out to people. Things like slavery, the Jews’ annihilation of foreign nations, and the seeming unfairness, at times, of God’s actions have caused some to question God’s purposes. After all, God is no respecter of persons, right (Acts 10:34)?

Slavery
In Leviticus 25, God hands down his laws about slavery to the Jews. Basically, Israelites were not to be taken as slaves; at most, they could act as indentured servants for a while. However, they were allowed to take slaves of other nations. Doesn’t that sound harsh? By our standards today, isn’t that kind of inhumane?

But you know, what’s interesting is that the New Testament doesn’t condemn slavery either. Ephesians 6:5-9 talks about it. These two verses sum up the point pretty clearly:

5 Bondservants, be obedient to those who are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in sincerity of heart, as to Christ;9 And you, masters, do the same things to them, giving up threatening, knowing that your own Master also[b] is in heaven, and there is no partiality with Him.

Servants are to continue to serve their masters. Why? So they can be a godly example. And masters are to treat their servants well. But the actual practice of slavery is not condemned here. I think the reason for that is the same as when Jesus told Peter to render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s. The gospel was not meant to be political. Christians could live and serve God even in a society that practiced slavery. They would have more impact by obeying than by causing revolution. God didn’t place us on this world to live a comfortable, happy life. If we can, then that’s fantastic. But it’s not something we’re promised. Consider the following verses:

14 There is a vanity which occurs on earth, that there are just men to whom it happens according to the work of the wicked; again, there are wicked men to whom it happens according to the work of the righteous. I said that this also is vanity. – Ecclesiastes 8:14

15 As for man, his days are like grass;
As a flower of the field, so he flourishes.
16 For the wind passes over it, and it is gone,
And its place remembers it no more – Psalm 103:15-16

For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. – James 4:14

We aren’t on this earth for very long at all. Compared to eternity, our lives here happen in an instant. Furthermore, the rain falls on the just and the unjust (Matt 5:45). Good and bad happen to us all, and that’s what it really means for God to be no respecter of persons.

See, God has perspective. He views things from a standpoint of eternity, but we often only view things from a standpoint of now. When you view things God’s way, you can see how what happens to us in this life doesn’t compare with the life to come. As Paul said:

17 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, – 2 Cor 4:17

So with slavery, we see that God’s stance didn’t change. Either way, servants were to obey their masters, and masters were to treat their servants well. As always, their physical states were not as important to God as their spiritual states.

Annihilation of Israel’s Enemies
Here’s another one that often bothers us. Several times throughout Israel’s history, they were instructed to utterly destroy the inhabitants of a certain land. In Joshua 6, all the inhabitants of Jericho were destroyed – men, women, children, and animals. The only people left alive were of Rahab the harlot’s household, because she had harbored the Israelite spies.

Why? Why did God have them completely destroy all those nations? The answer is given here:

31 “And I will set your bounds from the Red Sea to the sea, Philistia, and from the desert to the River.[b] For I will deliver the inhabitants of the land into your hand, and you shall drive them out before you. 32 You shall make no covenant with them, nor with their gods. 33 They shall not dwell in your land, lest they make you sin against Me. For if you serve their gods, it will surely be a snare to you.” – Exodus 23:31-33

God had them destroy those people in order to avoid temptation. Does that still seem harsh? Remember, God deals in eternity. All of us will die… does it really matter how it happens? It wasn’t as though all those people were condemned to Hell. Even though none of them were God’s chosen people – the Israelites – we know that some of them were still saved. Paul, in his address to the Athenians, explains why:

30 Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent – Acts 17:30

God judged these people on some sort of moral law, so when the Israelites were commanded to destroy them, it was to prove a point. It was to show the Israelites that God as no place for sin. We’re taught the same lesson in the New Testament as well.

22 Abstain from every form of evil – 1 Thes 5:22

11 But you, O man of God, flee these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness. – 1 Tim 6:11

34 Awake to righteousness, and do not sin; for some do not have the knowledge of God. I speak this to your shame. – 1 Cor 15:34

God commanded the Israelites to wipe out the nations around them so they wouldn’t be led astray. The Israelites didn’t completely do everything God had required of them, and they were subsequently led into the very idolatry that God had warned them about. Gal 3:24 tells us that we use the Old Law as a tutor – we learn from it. And from these examples, we can see that God despises sin, and that if we don’t remove sources of temptation from our lives, we will almost certainly be led astray. God’s methods may have been different between the two laws, but the purpose was the same.

Fairness
Finally, there are a few stories in the Old Testament that seem to go against our ideas of fairness. For instance, in 1 Chronicles 13, we have the story of David transporting the ark of the covenant. Now, God had decreed that the ark should be transported on the shoulders of the Levites. However, David decided that it would be more convenient to ship it on an ox cart. As the cart was traveling along, one of the oxen stumbled, so Uzza, who was driving the cart, stuck his hand up to steady the ark. When he touched it, God struck him dead.

Isn’t that harsh? Uzza only wanted to ensure the ark didn’t fall from the cart. And it wasn’t his idea to transport it that way, it was David’s. Yet God punished him. Why?

Again, God used that instance to teach. His commands couldn’t be taken as mere suggestions; his word had to be respected. It was unfortunate that Uzza had gotten in the way, but God had warned them about what he wanted. Was what happened unfair? Not at all! In fact, I’d say it was extremely fair. God didn’t bend the rules for Uzza; he simply followed through with what he had commanded. He was, by no means, being a respecter of persons. And for us, we learn that God means what he says.

What’s the Bigger Picture?
So after looking at all that, does God contradict himself? Does he show different qualities between the two different testaments? No. As we stated earlier, God is the same. The entire Bible shows the progression of the relationship between God and man. In the beginning, man has a direct relationship with God in the Garden of Eden. Sin destroys that, and the rest of the Bible tells the story of our redemption.

The Old Testament is given to establish a specific people that would be set apart from everyone else – an entire nation to serve God. He gives them a law to teach them how to serve him. Prophecies were established to “set the stage” for Christ’s coming, and the New Law came to complete the process, giving man an avenue to be “reunited” with God in Heaven.

When we see God’s strictness, in either testament, it’s to show us that God means what he says. He is strict. But he’s also merciful. The New Testament tells us that:

28 “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” – Matt 11:28-30

And so does the Old Testament:

12 “ Now, therefore,” says the LORD, “ Turn to Me with all your heart,
With fasting, with weeping, and with mourning.”
13 So rend your heart, and not your garments;
Return to the LORD your God,
For He is gracious and merciful,
Slow to anger, and of great kindness;
And He relents from doing harm. – Joel 2:12-13

You know, sometimes it’s easy for us to get down or feel like we’re all alone, struggling through the difficulties of our lives. It’s easy to see all the bad that we come into contact with everyday, easy to become discouraged from all the times we’ve failed. We fall into despair.

In 2 Kings 6, there’s an account of someone who felt just that way. And I want to thank my friend Harris for mentioning this to me a couple of weeks ago, and to Randy for reading from this passage tonight. It was a great thought and one that should be shared. In 2 Kings 6, Syria was involved in a war against Israel (doesn’t sound too far-fetched for today either, does it?), but they were having limited success because Elisha, God’s prophet, had been supplying information about Syria to the Israelite king. When Ben-Hadad, the king of Syria discovered this, he was furious. He discovered that Elisha was staying in the city of Dothan, so he sent a great army there, and they surrounded the city by night.

The next morning, Elisha’s servant arose early and went out, only to find the army encamped around their city! The servant ran to Elisha distraught. But Elisha answered him, “Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” Then Elisha prayed that the servant’s eyes be opened. The mountains all around them were full of chariots and horses of fire.

The Lord takes care of his own. We’re promised this, but it’s so easy to forget it! And Satan wants us to forget it. When things are at their worst, what would we see if God would open our eyes in that way? I think we would see something very like what Elisha’s servant saw. How comforting! We’re never really alone. As 1 Cor 10:13 tells us, God ensures that we never face more than we are able to bear. He’s placed a protective shield around us – an army of flaming chariots, and we can take comfort in the fact that when we’re burdened by tragedy or filled with sorrow, God knows and cares.

In today’s religious world, “worship” has become anything that someone does in the name of God or Jesus (or any other deity, such as Britney Spears). It runs the gamut of everything from preaching, prayer, and singing, to basketball, pie-eating contests, and paintball. I’ve got a close friend who’s a big hunter, and someone recently told him that his hunting was a form of worship too. But we need to understand that just because we may have a skill in something, that doesn’t make it “worship.”

Here’s a link to several different definitions of “worship.” My favorite one is one from The American Heritage Dictionary, which says:

1) The reverent love and devotion accorded a deity, an idol, or a sacred object.
2) The ceremonies, prayers, or other religious forms by which this love is expressed.

Ok, so worship involves expressing our adoration and awe before God, but how exactly do we do that? More importantly, who should decide the things that constitute worship? The worshipper, or the worshipped?

Who Makes the Call?
There are three Old Testament examples that answer this question for us very clearly. Actually, let’s throw a fourth in there just for fun – the blog space is unlimited, after all.

In Genesis 4, we have the story of Cain and Abel. Cain excelled at farming, while his brother, Abel, was a shepherd. At some point, both brothers brought an offering before the Lord. Cain brought some of his crops, and Abel brought of the firstborn of his flock. God respected Abel’s offering, but not Cain’s. Why was that? Well, we don’t know specifics. Perhaps God had told them that he wanted animal sacrifice, but Cain ignored him. Perhaps God hadn’t specified, but something in Cain’s attitude made his offering unacceptable. We just don’t know; although, Hebrews 11 does tell us that Abel’s offering came by faith. Whatever the reason, Cain’s sacrifice was not what God wanted. Cain’s method of worship was unacceptable.

Another example is found in Leviticus 10. Nadab and Abihu were Aaron’s sons, and they were priests. We’re told in this passage that while performing sacrifices, they offered “profane fire” before the Lord, and he consumed them with it. We don’t know exactly what “profane fire” is, except that it was something God hadn’t commanded them. Now, in their minds, I’m sure they were still “worshipping” God; after all, they were offering sacrifices to him. So this wasn’t an outright rebellion against God; it was simply doing something differently than what he had authorized.

Moses also did something other than what God had authorized in Numbers 20. The Israelites were thirsty, and God commanded Moses to speak to a rock, after which, God would cause water to come out of it. Instead, Moses struck the rock (something God had told him to do on a different occasion) and said, “Hear now, you rebels! Must we bring water for you out of this rock?” Water came from the rock. But because Moses hadn’t done what God told him, he was not allowed to enter into the Promised Land.

Finally, though there are plenty of other examples, we’ll leave off with this one. In 1 Sam 13, Saul, who was the first king of Israel, had been waging a war against the Philistines, and the Philistines seemed to have the upper hand. Saul was waiting in Gilgal for Samuel to come, who was a prophet and priest, and would have been able to offer a sacrifice to God on their behalf. After seven days had passed, during which time Samuel was supposed to have come, Saul decided to offer the sacrifice himself. However, Saul was of the tribe of Benjamin, and only Levites were allowed to offer sacrifices. The rest of the story picks up 1 Sam 13:10:

10 Now it happened, as soon as he had finished presenting the burnt offering, that Samuel came; and Saul went out to meet him, that he might greet him.
11 And Samuel said, “What have you done?”
Saul said, “When I saw that the people were scattered from me, and that you did not come within the days appointed, and that the Philistines gathered together at Michmash, 12 then I said, ‘The Philistines will now come down on me at Gilgal, and I have not made supplication to the LORD.’ Therefore I felt compelled, and offered a burnt offering.”
13 And Samuel said to Saul, “You have done foolishly. You have not kept the commandment of the LORD your God, which He commanded you. For now the LORD would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. 14 But now your kingdom shall not continue. The LORD has sought for Himself a man after His own heart, and the LORD has commanded him to be commander over His people, because you have not kept what the LORD commanded you.”

Here, we see that Saul’s reason for offering the sacrifice was very good, but that didn’t excuse the fact that it was still wrong. Because of that, the kingdom was taken from his family, and David reigned instead.

By its very definition, worship is something that is done for the object of worship; therefore, it should be something that the object actually wants! And as luck would have it, God has given us the Bible to tell us what we should do in worship to him.

The Elements
No, I’m not talking about the ones on the Periodic Table. I actually memorized those in 10th grade – no one was surprised by that fantastic feat more than I. No, I’m talking about the elements of worship. I don’t want to go into a whole lot of detail with it, as most of them are pretty self-explanatory.

The worship service should consist of things like teaching (Col 3:16, Heb 5:12-14, Eph 4:11-13), singing (Col 3:16, Eph 5:19, 1 Cor 14:15), preaching (Matt 10:7, 27, Acts 14:21), prayer (1 Thes 5:17, Acts 2:42), the Lord’s Supper (Acts 20:7, I Cor 11:23-34), contribution (1 Cor 16:1-2), etc. Basically, what most people would think of in a “traditional service.”

Many times today, “traditional” services are looked down upon as being stodgy, uptight, and boring. Some of them are. There’s nothing wrong with doing things in a different format from what most of us consider “traditional” as long as it still includes the elements listed above, and as long as it stays in harmony with 1 Cor 14:40, “Let all things be done decently and in order.” But laser light shows, rock concerts, and theatrical productions lend more toward entertainment than exhorting one another or helping each other grow stronger in God’s word.

But We’ve Got to Make It Fun!
No we don’t. Of course, we don’t need to make it boring either, but God was never interested in the entertainment value of his message. Nobody puts a radio or a Parchesi board on a life-preserver because it’s designed to save your life, not show you a good time. God’s word is the same thing. It’s our life-preserver, and if we try to draw people in to learn more about it by having Bingo night and fried chicken dinners, we cheapen it. And we typically only get people who are interested in Bingo and fried chicken.

Instead, we should all be working in our personal lives to be shining examples of Christianity so people can tell that there’s something different about us. And our worship services should be full of things that will actually capture the attention of those who are interested in spiritual things – things that will help them grow in knowledge and wisdom. Gimmicks that are designed to draw more people in the doors, do only that. They bring more people in, but they don’t make more Christians.

In Other Words…
Touchy-feeliness is way too prevalent today. It sounds good and feels good to have this grandfatherly picture of a God who’s always happy his grandkids have graced him with a visit and is just “tickled pink” with everything those precious little kids decide to do. You know, the whole “kumbayah” idea. But that’s not the picture the Bible paints. Does God love us? Of course he does! He sent his own son to die for us! But because of that, the stakes are raised. He’s not going to send his son to be mocked, tortured, and killed by mankind, and then just accept any scraps we’re willing to throw his way. God is love. God is mercy. But he’s also veangeful and just. He demands the utmost respect, which includes respecting what he wants in worship.

It’s very important for us to understand that we don’t get to dictate to God how we want to worship Him. He tells us. And if we’re doing something that doesn’t fit that pattern, then we’re wrong. It’s just that simple. There are lots of things that are ok to do (swimming, cooking, playing cards, washing cars, playing video games). But not all of them belong in the worship service, and they certainly don’t all fall under the realm of “worshipping God.”

Read his word and follow the instructions. Everything else will follow.

What if this were it? What if time was up and your life was over? Would you be happy with the way things turned out? More importantly, would God be happy? What did you live for?

You know, one day, time really will be up. In Bill and Ted’s Bogus Journey, it was so aptly put this way: “You may be a king or a little street sweeper, but sooner or later, you’ll dance with the Reaper.” The book of James tells us that our life is like a vapor – here for a moment, then vanishes away. It’s up to us how we spend that time.

I spend a good 50 hours at work every week. I have two young daughters that require a lot of attention, I like to play video games and watch TV, I try to exercise semi-regularly, I’ve got a lot of friends I enjoy spending time with as well as a large family spread over three states, and I attend church services at least 3 times a week. Most of you probably fall into the same category – almost every second of our lives is filled with something. Yesterday, I heard that some buses are starting to carry wireless high-speed in an effort to draw more commuters. Tons of people have blackberries or video iPods so we can be entertained every second. Hey, I’m no different, if I’m waiting in line or sitting in traffic, I’ve always got a book with me.

Amid all this hustle and bustle, it’s easy for us to lose track of the things that are really important. One of my favorite passages is Ecclesiastes 12:13-14:

13 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter:

Fear God and keep His commandments,
For this is man’s all.
14 For God will bring every work into judgment,
Including every secret thing,
Whether good or evil.

We don’t need to forget that the whole reason we’re here is to serve God. What defines you or me as individuals? Do people think of you as a good musician, a funny guy, someone who’s good with numbers? Or do people first think about your character, your integrity, your walk as a Christian? Matthew 5:14 tells us that we should be the “light of the world.” We should be shining examples to those around us!

Remember what Paul said:

20 I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. – Galatians 2:20

He was no longer really concerned about himself; he was living for Christ, and Christ was living in him! Every aspect of Paul’s life centered around being a Christian. That was what defined him as a person – so every other endeavor that he involved himself in fit around that aspect. He gave us the same admonition:

1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. – Romans 12:1-2

We should be “living sacrifices,” and as the passage points out, that’s our “reasonable service.” Jesus gave his life for us, though we were completely undeserving, and he basically asks us to do the same for him. Put to death our old lives, and live for him instead. Quit trying to be like everyone else around us (conform), but become what Christ wants us to be (transform)! You know, that’s exactly what baptism does for us.

3 Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? 4 Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. – Romans 6:3-4

This thought is continued on through verse 14 of that chapter, but it’s evident from what we see here that the waters of baptism symbolize the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. We put to death our old life of sin by turning away from it in repentance. Then, we’re buried in the waters of baptism, just as Christ was placed in the tomb. And just as he rose from the dead, we rise from baptism a new creature, cleansed from all impurity. Only then can we “walk in newness of life” by serving God and following Christ.

Another excellent passage is Romans 8:38-39:

38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, 39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

What a comforting passage! Nothing can separate us from God’s love – nothing has that power! And nothing can separate us from the salvation that he offers. Except of course, for ourselves. Nothing, not even Satan, can pull us away from God – unless we allow it. If we get too tangled up in the affairs of this life, we’ll drown. God’s thrown us the life-preserver, but we have to grab it! And once we’ve taken hold of it, we can’t let go!

Read your Bible. Teach those around you. Be the example that God wants you to be. He’s promised to protect us and guide us through, but we can’t lose sight of the goal. Push forward!

12 Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. 13 Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, 14 I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. – Phil 3:12-14

26 Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air. 27 But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified. – 1 Cor 9:26-27

When I logged on here tonight, I saw a good article called “How Hubble Killed God.” As you might have imagined, this article details how some of the data from the Hubble telescope disproves the notion that the earth is only about 6000 years old. You really should read it, since he explains his position much better than I ever could, but to give you the gist of it, his argument centers around the distance of the images the telescope has captured.

“Light speed, Mr Sulu…”
I’m sure most of you are familiar with the term “light-year,” but aside from old Star Trek episodes, do you know what it means? It’s pretty self-explanatory. A “light-year” is the distance that light is able to travel in a year. Light does not illuminate an object immediately. For instance, if you shine a flashlight at your wall, there’s a slight delay from the time you flip the switch to the point that you’re able to make shadow puppets (of course, you’ll never notice this delay). The average distance between the earth and the sun is 92,900,000 miles, and it takes light about 8 minutes to travel that distance. So when you see the sun finally sink below the horizon, it actually passed that point 8 minutes earlier. Pretty trippy, huh?

Stu (the blogger that posted this article) points out that the Hubble telescope has captured images from galaxies that are about 13 billion light-years away! Therefore, he concludes that the earth can’t be a measly 6000-ish years old (as far as the question of whether or not there’s a God, he’s pretty ambivalent; just thought the title was catchy). Well, I’d like to make a couple of observations.

The Chicken, or the Egg?
First of all, if you look at the creation account in Genesis, there are several interesting things that pop out at you. For one, creating this complex universe didn’t seem to be too difficult for God – he merely spoke it all into existence. Just as interesting is the fact that everything was fully formed. He didn’t make Adam and Eve into infants, they were adults. The four rivers mentioned in Genesis didn’t start out as tiny streams, they were rivers. Trees were trees, not saplings, etc.

So when God made the sun, I don’t believe he had to wait 8 minutes for its light to reach the earth. When God made stars (all of the stars, planets, etc were made on the 4th day, by the way), I don’t think he had to wait light-years before they showed up. God made everything as if it had already been here, so why couldn’t he have made something with its light already shining as far away as he wanted? After all, if he can speak things into existence, do you really think he’s going to be bound by the same rules of physics he created? Now, Stu would probably say that that’s a convenient copout. And since God created us all with a free will, Stu’s entitled to that opinion. But before you agree with him, check out the next section.

Proofs
The coolest thing about all of this is that the Bible gives some actual proofs for its veracity. Archaeology has backed up many of the Bible’s claims, and history has as well. But sticking to the realm of science, there are some passages that mention things that weren’t common knowledge until relatively recently.

10 He drew a circular horizon on the face of the waters,
At the boundary of light and darkness – Job 26:10

22 It is He who sits above the circle of the earth, - Isaiah 40:22

These two passages show that the earth was round long before anyone knew that, and definitely long before many people maintained that it was a possibility.

7 He stretches out the north over empty space;
He hangs the earth on nothing. – Job 26:7

We know now that the earth hangs in empty space, supported only by gravity (which is invisible). There were countless theories back then about how the earth was supported. Very few would have believed that it was hanging in empty space, yet that’s what the Bible teaches.

16 “Have you entered the springs of the sea?
Or have you walked in search of the depths? – Job 38:16

People didn’t know there were “springs in the sea” until the last few centuries.

Bottom line: there are several things that science has only proven in the past few centuries that were written well before Christ’s birth. People who choose to follow God and the teachings in the Bible must do it based on faith. But it doesn’t have to be blind faith.

One Last Point
In my very first real blog post, I talked about the mystery God has revealed to us. This final point I want to make goes along with that first post very well. We need to be careful when we put too much stock in science or our own understanding. Plenty of people have made severe blunders in the name of science. Marie Curie helped discover radium, which has been very useful. However, she made the mistake of carrying it around with her a good bit too, and that stuff will make you glow in the dark…

The Bible comes right out and warns us several times about blinding ourselves with our own wisdom. Several of those passages are quoted in my first post. One of the most direct passages is this one:

9 The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, 10 and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. 11 And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, 12 that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness. – 2 Thes 2:9-12

For those who don’t really want to believe in God’s word, there are other things they can choose from. Now that’s not to say that they’ve been led astray and can’t help it. 2 Pet 3:9 tells us that God wants everyone to be saved and do what’s right. But some people just aren’t interested, and so God allowed a way for them to do what they want. When people embrace evolution, the Big Bang, etc, etc, they’re looking for anything other than what God said, and they’ll find just enough substance to convince themselves, and therefore, blind themselves to the truth. Let’s not fall into the same trap. Let’s keep open minds and continually strive to find the truth, whatever that might be.

Ok, here’s a great article. In a nut shell (and I’m trying not to use “nut” disparagingly), the Vatican held a summit to discuss the recent excommunication of an African archbishop, Emmanuel Milingo, who ordained four married American men as bishops. He was already on the hotseat for getting married himself in 2001. In the summit, it was decided that the excommunication would stand, and the Vatican reaffirmed its stance that clergy (honestly, I’m not sure if it’s all clergy or not) must remain celibate.

On Whose Authority?
One of the things that I find interesting about this is the fact that the Vatican gets to decide anything. It reminds me of Han Solo reprimanding Princess Leia for wanting to bring everything before a committee. About the only time we see the early church bring something before a committee was in Acts 15, when the apostles met to discuss circumcision. But see, at that point, the only direction they had was God’s inspiration through the apostles. The Bible hadn’t been written yet.

But today, we have the Bible, and it tells us exactly what God wants us to do. Christ doesn’t change (Heb 13:8), and therefore, his message doesn’t change either. Furthermore, Galatians 1:6-10 tells us:

6 I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel, 7 which is not another; but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed.

And Jude 3 says:

3 Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints.

God’s given us his message, and it’s not going to change. So for a group of men to sit around and decide what is acceptable and what is not should send red flags up for us.

Thou Shalt Not Acquire a “Ball and Chain?”
Another issue is this whole idea of celibacy. Ok, yeah, Paul gave the idea the big thumbs up, but only as a “hey, that’d be nice” kind of idea. Let’s look at what he said about it:

8 But I say to the unmarried and to the widows: It is good for them if they remain even as I am; 9 but if they cannot exercise self-control, let them marry. For it is better to marry than to burn with passion. – 1 Cor 7:8-9

This was not a command. Paul was saying that if you can remain unmarried and keep from sin, then do it! You’re free to serve God in so many capacities, when you don’t have to concern yourself with providing for a family. However, if sex is too big of a temptation, then you should get married. That’s it.

And as far as those in positions of “spiritual leadership” go, the Bible always placed great importance on being married. Obviously, marriage is not a prerequisite to preaching – Paul is a great example of that. But to be an elder or a deacon, marriage is a necessity (1 Tim 3; Titus 1).

Then there’s the biggest problem with this concept. There’s the passage that seems to have been written specifically for Catholics:

1 Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, 2 speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron, 3 forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from foods which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. – 1 Tim 4:1-3

This passage makes it clear that commanding celibacy is a false doctrine, and yet it’s something the Catholic church refuses to let go of. The passage even mentions how these false teachers will command people to stay away from certain foods, etc… Hmm, sounds a little fishy to me…

The Big Finish
You know, what really gets me about these kinds of things is that people will wax eloquent on all the reasons why “blah, blah, blah,” and why not “blah, blah, blah,” instead of going back to the (supposed) source of it all – the Bible! I just don’t understand arguing back and forth over an issue that is so black and white in the Bible. Now, that’s not to say that I’m perfect or have it all figured out (not to say I don’t, either ), but some issues are so clear that we just don’t have any excuse. You know, it’s the same thing that Romans 1 talks about concerning the Gentiles, before the New Law came. Even though they didn’t have God’s law at the time, it didn’t matter:

20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, 21 because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Professing to be wise, they became fools – Romans 1:20-22

We have to follow Christ’s teachings, if we’re truly going to be Christians.

If you’ve spent much time perusing your Bible, you’ve probably stumbled across passages dealing with the “mystery” (and most likely, these were passages written by Paul).  In Ephesians 3, Paul spends time revealing the mystery to us: that the Gentiles now have access to salvation!  Wrapped up in this mystery is God’s entire plan of salvation – salvation for all!  But why is it called a “mystery?”  And should it still be “mysterious” to us today?

I think 1 Corinthians 1:18-25 best explains the way in which Christ’s gospel was/is a mystery.  As vs 18 says:

18 For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

We can see from this passage that God’s plan of salvation makes no sense to those who refuse to believe it, but to those of us who accept it, it’s brilliant!  Verse 21 goes on to say:

21 For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe.

See, because the world is so “wise,” it views the concept of God as foolishness.  They have been blinded by their own pretensions.  For the Jews and Greeks of the day, it wasn’t that they didn’t believe in the supernatural; it wasn’t that they didn’t believe in deities.  Their problem was that they thought they already knew what God would do.  The Jews already had a fixed idea of what the Messiah would be, so when Christ appeared and didn’t lead them to victory against the Romans, they refused to accept him.  The Greeks didn’t accept Christ because they couldn’t conceive of a god allowing himself to be put to death by his own creation.  And because they already had things “figured out,” they missed their chance.

Today, people do the same thing.  They would rather put faith in scientific theories that have not been proven.  They would rather believe that all of the order we see in our universe (the fragile food chain, vast differences throughout the animal and plant kingdoms, the very specific orbits of planets, etc) was created through a giant explosion (something that, in all practical applications, has only been shown to destroy, not create).  Have they been blinded by their own “wisdom?”

Too often, even those who profess to be religious only listen to their own ideas about what God wants.  Many times they view the Bible as a collection of stories or suggestions, and not the ”wisdom of God that leads to salvation” that 1 Corinthians purports it to be.  How is that different from what the Jews and Greeks were condemned for?

Throughout the Bible, passages talk about truth and understanding.  I firmly believe that God gave us understanding and intellect for a reason.  We are supposed to be able to understand God’s message for us.  It’s not supposed to be “mysterious” any longer.  It’s not supposed to be some “better felt than told” experience.  No, God’s word is supposed to be powerful and undeniable.  It’s supposed to move us and touch us in a way that nothing else can.  But for it to do that, we have to read it, study it, know it.