Ouch!

“Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you?" Luke 6:46

 

You just can't get more convicting than this.

Testing

This is a test of mobile blogging. This is only a test.

Don't let another chair go empty!

The little boy bouncing on the chair is Ian Sanchez. You can read more about him here.

BookSneeze

Here's a great idea I just found out about. Publishers will send bloggers a copy of a book for free if you agree to review it on your blog and then post your review to their site and to a consumer site. Thomas Nelson has a program called BookSneeze. I recently signed up and am now waiting for my first book to arrive in the mail. I'm including their badge linked to the site if anyone would like more information or to sign up as well. Be on the look out for my first review.

John MacArthur comments on the word of faith movement

Individually or together?

  OK, so this has been on my mind lately. How are we taught from (of) God and his kingdom?  More specifically, in whether he wants us to learn independently as individuals or in the context of a community. Does God want us to learn isolated from others and want they have learned and to give each individual direct revelation from him and his word or does God want us to learn together, giving different bits and pieces to different individuals and requiring his body to come together to see the whole picture, so to speak?

•   First, let me say what I'm not saying! I am not saying that each believer does not need to read and study God's word for themselves. Everyone must spend time immersed in the scriptures if they are to know God.
•   Secondly, I am not ignoring the work of the Holy Spirit in the revelation of truth. He must illumine our minds and enable us to receive anything of God.

  Without the reading of scripture and the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit we would be unable to discern whether any doctrine is true or false regardless if it "came from us" or from others.

  Now having said all that, what do you think? Should we expect God to simply fill us individually with all revelation or does he intend us to be dependent on fellow believers for greater understanding?

  One thing that would factor into this, is the idea of tradition. Does God reveal everything to every generation or does he want us to build upon what he has revealed to those who have gone before us? Is there such a thing as tradition. If so what does it look like?

  I'm definitely bringing up too many topics to be covered in one post. Basically we're delving into the nature and method of God revealing truth to us, either as individuals or as a body. There is so much more I could go into, but for now I'll leave it as it is. Depending how the discussion goes, I'll comment or post again later.

Have at it!

King James Only-ism?

     Now that I've settled on the ESV bible I thought I'd address  the issue of King James only-ism, just in case someone thinks I've crossed the line into heresy. I believe that God has preserved his word in the original languages and it is up to us to translate into English, Spanish, Russian or whatever.  I know some feel that God's word has been preserved in the King James Version and everything else is corrupt. I'm not an expert in this field so I'll just direct any concerns to sites where you can research for yourself.

King James Only? is blog dedicated to this issue. This is from their about page.

Hysteria, misinformation, rancor and hype fill the King James Version (KJV) only debate. Cynicism sometimes colors the view of those on both sides of the debate. This blog aims to confront the King James craze head on, and evaluate the claims of KJV-onlyism from a Biblical perspective.

The authors are all former proponents of KJV-onlyism. Each has made his own journey out of that movement. We shall do our best to fairly represent the opposite view here, yet we acknowledge that there are multiple varieties of the KJV-only position.

King James Only Research Center is another site with much useful information on both sides of the debate.

James White of Alpha and Omega Ministries has dealt with issue many times. Their website contains helpful resources.

The search for a new translation - part 2

    Last post we looked at the differences in bible translations and decided that an essentially literal translation would work best for me. Bibles in this category include versions such as the King James (KJV), New King James (NKJV), English Standard Version (ESV), and New American Standard Bible (NASB). All of these are excellent translations remaining faithful to the original texts. I've included a chart below to show the differences in the literalness of the different translations out there. In seeking a bible with updated language and scholarship I decided to focus my attention on the ESV and the NASB.

    The website for the NASB still claims that it is the most accurate English translation to date. I've heard this claim many times and have yet to hear of anyone disputing it. This bible has been used by many who are devoted to in depth study. John MacArthur uses this version in his ministry, though until recently his study bibles were published in the NKJV. Thankfully they are now offered in the same NASB that he teaches from.

    The ESV came about in 2001. The translators claim they wanted to continue in the tradition of  William Tyndale's New Testament of 1526, the KJV of 1611, the English Revised Version of 1885, the American Standard Version of 1901, and the Revised Standard Version (RSV) of 1952 and 1971. The text itself started with the1971 RSV and was updated the ESV. One nice thing with this is that the words and phrasing come out of the King James tradition. Reading the ESV is very reminiscent of the the KJV which many of us have invested much time in studying and memorizing. Following along in church with the King James being read in the pulpit is not very difficult at all. There are many who now use the ESV in their ministries, John Piper being one of them.

  I found both translations to be very good. Either would be suitable for reading or study. In the end I decided to go with the ESV for a couple of reasons. First thing that put the ESV ahead was its availability in a variety of formats. The next thing I noticed was its wide acceptance among Christians and ministries whom I agree with and follow. And lastly, I do appreciate  the text flowing from the King James tradition. The language is updated yet still has much of the same feel and tone of the KJV  I've loved for so long.
 

What do you think?

 I've been playing around with the design of the blog. Feel free to let me know what you think of the layout and colors.

Poetic Samson

“If you had not plowed with my heifer,

        you would not have found out my riddle.”  Judges 14:18

Samson sure had a way with words! And yes, if you weren't sure the heifer he refers to here is his wife. And they say chivalry is dead.

The search for a new translation - part 1

Image via Wikipedia

  I've always loved the King James and the New King James versions of the bible but recently I started searching for a new translation offering accuracy and faithfulness to the original manuscripts as well as updated language. The first thing I had to consider was the differences in translation philosophies. The two schools of thought on the subject are dynamic equivalence and essentially literal.

  Dynamic equivalence can best be summarized as a thought for thought translation. The top priority of the translator is to portray the message of the original in a way that the modern reader will understand. Greater emphasis is placed on the message than on representing the exact wording and structure found in the original languages. This method is employed by versions such as the NIV and the NLT. The strength of this translation would be the readability of the text and ease of understanding. The weak points would be having to depend on the translator's accuracy of interpretation of the original manuscripts and their ability to represent these messages clearly. All in all this isn't a bad philosophy. For new Christians and children this can be very helpful.

   An essentially literal translation philosophy strives to achieve a word for word translation as much as possible and yet allow an English rendition of the texts. The goal being to allow as much of the wording and structure of the originals to show through. There can be some sacrifice in readability with this approach but strength is found in its precision. This type of translation is especially suited for teaching and study.

   Valuing accuracy and usefulness in study I decided an essentially literal bible would best meet my needs. Next post we'll take a look at what I found.

The Theology Program

 I've been listening to class sessions of  The Theology Program from Reclaiming the Mind Ministries for awhile now. I've got to say that I'm very impressed. The program does a great job of covering and explaining many crucial and sometimes difficult issues in Christianity. I appreciate that they try to accurately represent all sides of a topic rather than just forcing a single point of view. Through out each session they not only discuss issues relevant today for a particular doctrine but also the conflicts that have taken place through out church history. I can honestly say that I now have a much broader, more encompassing view of my faith. The things I thought I knew, I now realize I had not even begun to scratch the surface. I highly recommend checking this program out. You won't be disappointed.

Haiti - I know what God is doing!

Dr. Mohler has an insightful article on God's dealings with the nations and what Christians should and shouldn't say when considering a tragedy like the recent earthquake in Haiti.

  "Does God hate Haiti? That is the conclusion reached by many, who point to the earthquake as a sign of God's direct and observable judgment.
  God does judge the nations -- all of them -- and God will judge the nations. His judgment is perfect and his justice is sure. He rules over all the nations and his sovereign will is demonstrated in the rising and falling of nations and empires and peoples. Every molecule of matter obeys his command, and the earthquakes reveal his reign -- as do the tides of relief and assistance flowing into Haiti right now.
  A faithful Christian cannot accept the claim that God is a bystander in world events. The Bible clearly claims the sovereign rule of God over all his creation, all of the time. We have no right to claim that God was surprised by the earthquake in Haiti, or to allow that God could not have prevented it from happening.
  God's rule over creation involves both direct and indirect acts, but his rule is constant. The universe, even after the consequences of the Fall, still demonstrates the character of God in all its dimensions, objects, and occurrences. And yet, we have no right to claim that we know why a disaster like the earthquake in Haiti happened at just that place and at just that moment.
  The arrogance of human presumption is a real and present danger. We can trace the effects of a drunk driver to a car accident, but we cannot trace the effects of voodoo to an earthquake -- at least not so directly. Will God judge Haiti for its spiritual darkness? Of course. Is the judgment of God something we can claim to understand in this sense -- in the present? No, we are not given that knowledge. Jesus himself warned his disciples against this kind of presumption.
  Why did no earthquake shake Nazi Germany? Why did no tsunami swallow up the killing fields of Cambodia? Why did Hurricane Katrina destroy far more evangelical churches than casinos? Why do so many murderous dictators live to old age while many missionaries die young?

  Does God hate Haiti? God hates sin, and will punish both individual sinners and nations. But that means that every individual and every nation will be found guilty when measured by the standard of God's perfect righteousness. God does hate sin, but if God merely hated Haiti, there would be no missionaries there; there would be no aid streaming to the nation; there would be no rescue efforts -- there would be no hope."

 Pray for the hurting. Pray they receive their physical needs, but lets not forget their spiritual needs as well. They need the Good News. They need Jesus.