kvanover@twc.com

Is the Bible Consistent?

November 15, 2014 0Comment

You know what I like about my dogs? I like their consistency. For example, I have two dogs, and they are consistently happy to see me. It doesn’t matter if I had a bad day or a good day, my dogs are happy to see me. Now there’s a flip side to consistency. For example, my dogs like to eat breakfast at daybreak. If I haven’t fed them by daybreak, they find me and let me know about it. Furthermore, that kind of consistency can bring about some very rigid behaviors. For example, if you have two dogs, you probably feed one of them first. Switch dogs. Feed the other one first and see what happens. They will look at you like you’re crazy and get all anxious. It’s quite comical, but it’s also somewhat sad that such a simple change can throw a dog for a loop.

As humans, there is something in our core that strives for consistency. For example, my morning commute takes about 25 minutes. If it takes 32 minutes on one particular morning, I am not happy. When I order a Big Mac, I want it to have special sauce. I expect special sauce. If it doesn’t have special sauce, I am not happy. If my car has run perfectly for years, and it suddenly breaks down, I am not happy. You get the picture.

So, when I read the Bible, I expect it to be consistent. However, there appear to be many inconsistencies in the Bible. For example, Sampson was glorified for killing Philistines, but Jesus said turn the other cheek. Proverbs says saving is wise, but Jesus says to not even worry about what you eat or wear.

So, is the Bible inconsistent? I don’t think so. I think humans are inconsistent, but I think the Bible is “consistently” relative to the situation. God doesn’t want robots. He made us with the capacity to reason. And although he didn’t make us gods, he made us in his image (which is another good blog topic..). He doesn’t want us to be the dog who got thrown for a loop because he/she got fed first.

Ecclasiastes 3 sums it up better than I ever could:

There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under the heavens:

²    a time to be born and a time to die,
    a time to plant and a time to uproot,
³    a time to kill and a time to heal,
    a time to tear down and a time to build,
⁴    a time to weep and a time to laugh,
    a time to mourn and a time to dance,
⁵    a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
    a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
⁶    a time to search and a time to give up,
    a time to keep and a time to throw away,
⁷    a time to tear and a time to mend,
    a time to be silent and a time to speak,
⁸    a time to love and a time to hate,
    a time for war and a time for peace.

PS: If you thought that the above verse was just a groovy 1960s song…..you’re not alone.

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Truth, What is Truth?

September 16, 2014 3Comments

Truth, what is truth? These words were uttered by Pontius Pilate in his response to Jesus’ famous statement: I am the way, the truth, and the life.

So, let’s take a minute to examine truth. Merriam-Webster defines truth as- the real facts about something : the things that are true : the quality or state of being true : a statement or idea that is true or accepted as true. Now, I’m not trying to disrespect Merriam-Webster, but you can’t use the word, to define the word, that you are trying to define. The fancy term for that is tautology or circular reasoning. Therefore, the only part of the definition of truth that isn’t tautological is this: the real facts about something. Now, let’s see what Merriam-Webster says about fact. It defines fact as: something that truly exists or happens : something that has actual existence : a true piece of information. In a nutshell, truth is defined as fact and fact is defined as truth, and that really doesn’t help us at all (no offense to Merriam-Webster).

I took us through the preceding exercise to prove this point: truth is very difficult to define. Furthermore, the “truth” can change. For example, only a few hundred years ago, scientists considered the earth to be the center of the universe. That was “truth” for their time. The “truth” also changes for the present time. For example, not too long ago scientists considered the bottom of the ocean to be lifeless. Now, we know that the ocean’s bottom is teeming with life. Scientists long considered Mars to be lifeless. I wonder how long it will take to dispel that “truth”.

Obviously, many of man’s “truths” have been found false. Generally, it doesn’t take very long to prove them false either. So, why do people scoff at the idea that Jesus could actually be the way, the truth, and the life? I agree that it is difficult to prove in a scientific sense, but it has been 2000 years now, and no one has been able to disprove it. My prayer is this: people who have not accepted Jesus would open their minds simply to the possibility that Jesus is truth. I promise that it is more dependable and more reliable than any of mankind’s “truths”.

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Do ChristiansThink Other Religions Can Go to Hell?

July 10, 2014 1Comment

It is a good question. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one goes to the father, except through me”. So, what about other religions? Do their followers simply “go to hell”? Secular society says that religion is a private matter. Furthermore, secular society says that it is none of our business to worry about other people’s salvation. However, I think we would be poor ambassadors of Jesus, if we did not worry about other people’s salvation.

Here is a rough breakdown of religious demographics. There are approximately 7 billion people on the Earth. There are about 1 billion Catholics and about 1 billion Protestants. Therefore, about 2/7 of the earth’s population believe in Jesus. What about the other 5 billion people? If they do not believe in Jesus, do they go to heaven?

Whew. Tough question. Many mainstream churches dodge this question like the plague. And I know why. It is a difficult topic with no politically correct answers. I could literally spend years analyzing evidence on this topic, but I am going to focus what I consider to be the two most important factors: 1) Jesus’ statement about the way, the truth, and the life and 2) God’s love.

1) Jesus said that he was the way, the truth, and the life and that no one went to the father, except through Him.

This sounds like a very exclusive statement. It sounds like he is saying that the only way to heaven is through Him. If I focus on this statement alone, I am led to believe that the only way to heaven is through Jesus. However, one of the most important themes of the Bible is God’s love.

2) God so loved that world that he gave his one and only son as a sacrifice for our sins. If he loved the world that much, will he really allow 5 billion people to perish? This is a tough one for me. I am not talking about people who openly and unapologetically reject Jesus. That is their choice. I am talking about people who were raised in different cultures, where Jesus is not known. I sometimes wonder if had been born elsewhere, such as the Middle East, would I still be a Christian. Would someone perish simply because he/she was born where Jesus is unknown or where it is forbidden to know him?

Again, a tough question. I do not know the answer. I firmly believe that Jesus is “the way”. I will share my faith and beliefs with anyone who is interested. If someone is open to conversion, then I am open to helping them. However, who am I to pass judgement on 5 billion people? There is only one person qualified to do that, and his name is God. Jesus said the two most important commandments were to love God with all our hearts and to love our neighbors as we love ourselves. Our “neighbors” include people with other religions. Instead of judging them, we are supposed to love them.

I think sometimes as Christians, we try to ram conversions down the throats of people with other religions. I think the best strategy is to simply live a Jesus-life around those people. If we set good examples, people will see the power of Jesus, and they will follow him.

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Paul liked Women, but Jesus was a Ladies’ Man

June 22, 2014 2Comments

But I want you to understand that the head of every man is Christ, the head of a wife is her husband, and the head of Christ is God (Corinthians 11:3).

Unfortunately parts of the Bible, including the preceding verse, have been used to oppress women. I have to admit, the first time that I read this verse, I was somewhat stunned. I was born in the 70s in Eastern Kentucky, what many people erroneously consider the backwaters of evolution. And even I thought this verse was completely sexist and chauvinistic. However, my feelings were based on one verse and not the totality of the book.

Paul wrote Corinthians, the book of the Bible that contains this verse. He also wrote other books. Here is what else he writes about husbands and wives. These verses are from Ephesians 5: Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her….However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.

I think the wife got the better end of the deal. Wives must respect their husbands. Now that can be easier said than done (especially depending on your husband). Nevertheless, let us closely examine what the husband is required to do. Husbands are required to love their wives the way Christ loved the church. The last time I checked, Jesus was nailed to a cross for the church. Using that comparison, if husbands are not willing to be tacked to a cross for their wives, then they do not love them enough. Ouch. I think that if men would stand up and be leaders, and that they would love their wives the way that they are supposed to love them, then women would not have so many issues with Corinthians 11:3.

So, one can easily say that Paul liked women, and Paul was a very holy man. But, in the end, he was just a man. What did Jesus think of women? To understand Jesus’ view towards women, one must understand the culture of Israel in the 1st century. Just a few regulations concerning women: 1) women were required to walk six paces behind their husbands. 2) Women could not show their hair in public. 3) Women could not obtain an inheritance. 4) Women were not counted as Synagogue members. 5) Women could only observe and could not participate in ceremonies. To put it mildly, it was a male-dominated society. (from “Women in Ancient Israel”-internet article)

Jesus thought differently. He had female followers, and he was proud of them. The Bible mentions several female followers with the most prominent being Mary Magdalene (and no, Jesus did not have a crush on her…..dang Da Vinci Code.). Some scholars think Mary was as influential as any of the 12 disciples. The Bible also mentions several of Jesus’ encounters with woman. For example, he counsels the Samaritan woman at the well. Jews were not even supposed to speak to Samaritan men, but Jesus counsels a Samaritan woman (John 4). Jesus took time to heal women, such as Mary Magdalene (Luke 8:2). Jesus also saved a woman from being stoned to death (John 8).

To me, however, the most woman-honoring thing that Jesus did concerned the resurrection. On Sunday morning, the first Easter Sunday, Jesus allowed a woman to discover the empty tomb (John 20). Mary Magdalene discovered the empty tomb. Furthermore, she was also the first person to see the resurrected Jesus. There is some disagreement among historians about whether women could testify in court in the 1st century, but the vast majority of historians would say that a man’s testimony would be given much more weight. Yet, Jesus allowed a woman, in a very male dominated society, to be the first person to discover his empty tomb and also be the first person to see him in his resurrected form. Amazing. Jesus was definitely a ladies’ man.

****Picture is from FunnyJunk.com******

kvanover@twc.com

Is the Bible Consistent?

Truth, What is Truth?

Do ChristiansThink Other Religions Can Go to Hell?

Paul liked Women, but Jesus was a Ladies’ Man

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