Getting High On Jesus

In this clip Pastor Mark Driscoll, of Mars Hill Church in Seattle, hangs out at Hemp Fest and asks how the BIble is confusing and if smoking a little weed can help us understand it better ; )

Moving Past The Instruction Manual

A Continuation Of A Changed Biblical Perspective: It seems that the more I learn the more I see how language is the key to any discussion. What I have always thought scripture to be, for example, was anchored in large part on how I was defining the various words and phrases such as, inerrant and God's word. Also from these definitions came my various doubts, disagreements, and (more often than the previous) a weird almost spiritual kind of discomfort whenever I would refer to the Bible as "the word of God".  

Inerrant word of God always seems to mean, when used by the average Evangelical, the clear spoken law and picture of God that is all truth, authoritative, and in some cases literally the word of God. There is no room for error or uncertainty and to question this means you are on a slippery path towards liberalism, and/or falling from faith (It makes me smile that those two should be associated with each other). It seems to me that this view of scripture is fine as long the overarching perspective from which it comes is addressed with a little more detail. Taken by one individual, this definition could mean that the Bible was literally spoken by God to an individual human being who then transcribed it onto paper (or papyrus... what have you). 

The problem I have had, until recently, was identifying that perspective. Where was I coming from, and what did I mean when I defined the Bible as God's inerrant word? A common view regarding what the Bible is would be the answer book/roadmap model which I mentioned in a previous post. It is the approach to scripture that is the foundation of this model that I, and I believe all Christians must move past.

The Transition: Although I knew that the Bible was not an instruction manual for life, I was defining my terms as if it were. I could not reconcile how the Bible could be 100% inerrant and authoritative. How could the "inspired" letters of Paul be taken just as authoritative as those words of Jesus Christ himself? And it seemed to me that our methods of viewing the Bible stripped it of its mystery since what we did not understand we would almost discard. The problem for me, and I think for a lot of young Christians, had been that I was approaching the Bible with mixed assumptions (Postmodern vs. modern?). I knew I could not say the Bible was literally the word of God in the way a lot of Evangelicals would, yet I had no way of verbalizing

my frustration that I knew the Bible was the word of God but not in the way it had been presented to me. The problem was in how I was approaching the Bible. My approach had been tainted by a definitional allegiance to the answer book model. I did not hold that model but since it was the only solid picture I had ever been presented with it was hard to disassociate from certain terms in that tradition. I was so rigid and rooted in my own modern method of reading and understanding books that although I knew when and where the Bible came from, my process of seeking answers was from a completely different method of understanding. My mental picture (if one was even possible) needed to change, and as it changed I began to see my perspective shift from the Instruction book model into something much more useful, mysterious, and in a way more certain (paradox?).  It is this new perspective on scripture (which I know is not really new at all) that will be addressed in my next post. Until then!

-Luke

Ray Comfort Analyzes A Very Powerful Clip From ER

Please watch this clip. As the video rolls see how reflective it is of our current culture and how it views the principles of truth and reality.

A cry against the False American Gospel from John Piper

Sola Scriptura!: Changing Biblical Perspectives

I must begin this post by saying that my own views regarding how the Bible should be viewed have been moving back and forth for some time now. Coming from a more conservative Southern Baptist upbringing I had always been, and still am, told that the Bible is the inherent word of God. Beyond this there was never any real explanation as to how or why it is the word of God, and as I grew older and progressed in my public education the idea of a book written by many different authors, including books whose authors are unknown, being the ultimate written expression of God, seemed both highly improbable and illogical. Add onto this the fact that it was put together some 300 years after Jesus Christ was crucified and it posed quite the intellectual problem for my faith. As I moved past the basic historical issues and discovered that realm of Christian Apologia, I was then forced to ask myself a question that to this day I have only begun to answer: Is the Bible inherent, and where does it fit into my faith? To most traditional Christians this would seem a question not worth asking because it is just simple fact that the Bible is breathed of God quite literally and is God's instruction manual, answer book, and road map to life. . . I think however that those Christians who would offer such a response have neither proper understanding of what scripture is, or what they are even saying when they use the terms inherent and God's word. 

I do not know if what I will offer will be of any value, but I sincerely hope that you will read, critique, and contribute to this important conversation, as it is an issue which I am positive we can always learn more. Until tomorrow!

- Luke