Tag: bible

  • Some thoughts on Sola Scriptura

    Some thoughts on Sola Scriptura

    Sola Scriptura

    In my post “The Bible Alone” I offered a definition of sola scriptura as “the belief that the Bible alone is the final and infallible authority in matters of Christian faith and that tradition, reason and emotions, though important, must ultimately be evaluated in light of Scripture.”

    I later deleted the words “and infallible” from that definition because they seemed to add unnecessary confusion. The Reformers didn’t view Biblical inspiration (a belief held by all Christians) as necessitating a belief in the absolute inerrancy and infallibility of Scripture. (more…)

  • The Bible Alone

    The Bible Alone

    The Bible alone

    Mark Driscoll recently tweeted: “The Bible alone gives us the insight we need to understand what’s going on in the world…and what’s going on in us.”

    I realize a single tweet isn’t a full expression of systematic theology, but the idea expressed in that one sentence sums up much of what is wrong with modern American evangelicalism.
    (more…)

  • Follow-Up: Can you be a Christian and still believe … ?

    Follow-Up: Can you be a Christian and still believe … ?

    Chi RhoMy post Can you be a Christian and still believe … ? caused quite a bit of furor on the interwebs, so I’d like to take a moment to offer a few explanatory notes as well as provide some resources for further exploration of these topics.

    First, the point of the post wasn’t to provide a litmus test for Christian faith (liberal or otherwise). The moment we use any of these issues to judge someone else’s relationship with God, we’ve stepped into dangerous territory — territory that belongs not to us, but to God alone. What you believe about these things doesn’t include you in or exclude you from the Kingdom of God. (more…)

  • Can you be a Christian and still believe … ?

    Can you be a Christian and still believe … ?

    Chi RhoGuess what? You can still be a Christian even if you believe that:

    1. Evolution is true.
    2. The Bible isn’t inerrant.
    3. Women have the same rights as men.
    4. Homosexuality isn’t a sin.
    5. Owning a gun isn’t a God-given right.
    6. America isn’t God’s chosen country.
    7. Republicans aren’t God’s chosen political party.
    8. The modern state of Israel isn’t God’s chosen people.
    9. Decisions about abortion should be left up to individual women.
    10. Non-Christians won’t burn for eternity in hell.

    And you just might be a bit closer to the Kingdom of God if you do believe some of those things.

    Update #1:
    For those of you on Facebook, I’ve created a nice little meme of this post.

    Update #2:
    I’ve provided a list of resources regarding these beliefs in my follow-up post, coincidentally titled: Follow-Up: Can you be a Christian and still believe … ?

  • Love God with all your…

    Love God with all your…

    Jesus loves the NLTIn a recent article discussing the New Living Translation, Daniel Block argues in favor of dynamic equivalence translation (“thought for thought”) over formal equivalence translation (“word for word”). He claims that Jesus himself favored this translation philosophy, citing the differences between Luke 10.27 and Deuteronomy 6.5 as evidence. Block says: (more…)

  • Should Experience Determine Doctrine?

    Should Experience Determine Doctrine?

    What lens are you using?I recently heard a pastor say that “experience shouldn’t determine our doctrine, only the Bible should.” He went on to explain that we might experience all sorts of things that lead us to believe one thing or another, but that the only true, infallible source of doctrine is the Bible and whenever our experience causes us to question Biblical doctrine, we must always defer to Biblical teaching, since it is the Word of God.

    For those from a conservative/fundamentalist background, such an admonition will not come as a surprise — it’s the standard trope of “The Bible Says It, I Believe It, That Settles It.” But when I heard those words I got a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach. Why? Because such a hermeneutical framework, while seemingly the safest path towards following the teaching of God, is actually the most dangerous! (more…)

  • Post-Election Perspective

    Post-Election Perspective

    Post-election, regardless of the results, it’s important to keep things in the proper perspective:

    Matthew 28.18

    Then Jesus came up and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.”

    Romans 13.1

    Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except by God’s appointment, and the authorities that exist have been instituted by God.

    1 Peter 2.13−17

    Be subject to every human institution for the Lord’s sake, whether to a king as supreme or to governors as those he commissions to punish wrongdoers and praise those who do good. For God wants you to silence the ignorance of foolish people by doing good. Live as free people, not using your freedom as a pretext for evil, but as God’s slaves. Honor all people, love the family of believers, fear God, honor the king.

    Regardless of who we voted for and who won, we have a responsibility to submit to governmental authority — an authority that was put in place by God. And when we encounter those with whom we disagree, politically or otherwise, how are we to respond to such “ignorance of foolish people”? By doing good. Not by arguing with them or ridiculing them, not by reveling in victory or wallowing in defeat, not by withdrawing from discussion and not by merely accommodating opposing views at the expense of our own beliefs — no, we are to do good by reflecting God’s love for the world through our lives.

  • Vote Biblical Values

    Vote Biblical Values

    Billy Graham entered the political fray last week with a Vote Biblical Values campaign. While not endorsing a specific candidate, he does provide some helpful voting tips:

    I believe it is vitally important that we cast our ballots for candidates who base their decisions on biblical principles and support the nation of Israel. I urge you to vote for those who protect the sanctity of life and support the biblical definition of marriage between a man and a woman. Vote for biblical values this November 6, and pray with me that America will remain one nation under God.

    (more…)

  • Love vs. The Bible

    Love vs. The Bible

    I’d like to take a more focused look at one of the criticisms I discussed in my post All You Need Is Love. Specifically, progressive Christians are often accused of overlooking, ignoring, tolerating and even accepting clearly sinful behavior because of their infatuation with love. This is perhaps no more evident than in the ongoing debate within Christianity regarding homosexuality. (more…)

  • Eunuchs For The Sake Of The Kingdom Of Heaven

    Eunuchs For The Sake Of The Kingdom Of Heaven

    “For there are some eunuchs who were that way from birth, and some who were made eunuchs by others, and some who became eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. The one who is able to accept this should accept it.” Matthew 19.12

    I’ve always assumed that “made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven” was metaphorical rather than literal language and that Origen was sadly misguided in his understanding of that text. But just because we don’t want something to be literal doesn’t mean we should just assume it isn’t. Throughout history there have always been some Christians who understood this text as a literal command to physically castrate themselves — is there a possibility that they’ve been right? (more…)