Handlebars - Flobots

So this edition of Culture Corner is...a little different. I heard a song called "Handlebars" on the radio a few weeks back that really caught my attention. It's from a Denver band called the Flobots. The song and accompanying video really speak to the evil that humans can do to one another. The song captures the depravity of sin, thereby helping us to understand how necessary and effectual Jesus' death on the cross really was and is. If you choose to listen to the song and watch the video posted below, then, I urge you to think about what you are hearing and seeing through the lens of the gospel. Think about what redemption really means. Think about the work of the Holy Spirit. Think about God's amazing love. Think about what you can do to enlarge His kingdom.

On Biblical Inerrancy.

I have a friend who recently asked me how I would defend inerrancy of the original biblical manuscripts. Namely, this friend was looking for me to speak to how we can be assured that when God spoke to humans in ages past, those humans got it down on paper right the first time? That's a pretty good question, and my simple response is I don't know. I have posted my response below, in hopes that some of you out there might be able to add to this discussion. Both my friend (who reads this blog) and I would love your input.

...in the end, Christianity is a matter of faith. There is no way to be 100% sure about the question you are asking. I have found, though, that there is really no way to be 100% sure about much of anything in this life. I have a friend who wants to have everything all figured out before he makes any major life decisions, and as a result, he’s a college-educated and very smart and talented guy working in retail, making very little money and generally not doing much with his life. This does not negate the fact that he is a good friend and a great guy (and I'm not trying to say there is anything wrong with working in retail), but it does exemplify that having all one’s ducks in a row before one begins a life journey, commits to a worldview, etc, is neither possible nor a good idea. There is a very real and necessary element of taking a long, hard look at your options, making the best decision you can based on what you know at the time, and then, well, having faith that you made the right call. (That is my own personal definition of wisdom, by the way.)

So what are we to do, then, with the issue of the transmission of God’s word from God to humans? First, I don’t know why there have not been as many questions raised about this as have been raised about subsequent transmission of that word, so I am of no help to you there. I’m sure somebody somewhere has written about this. Maybe Dr. _______ would know. I email him occasionally and always get a quick response. But moving on…

The idea that God spoke to humans in history is unique (especially for present-day Westerners like us) in several ways. Let me expound. First, the very idea that God, if He exists at all, would actually interact with humans in time and space does not bode well with most people’s world view. Second, the question you raise is a historical and not scientific one, which again poses problems. To understand what I mean, let’s look at something Francis Schaeffer called the “fact-value dichotomy”. Simply put, since about 1850 science has defined itself as the study of natural things in a closed system. That is, science repeatedly tests things to confirm or deny hypotheses, and it allows no room for supernatural activity. Science has also claimed “truth” as its own and banished religion, values, etc, into the realm of relativity. You know, “That’s true for you but not for me” type stuff. Given that, how do we Westerners gage the truth of something? That’s right, through science! But wait, science does not allow for God. In addition, God speaking to a person in the past is not a repeatable event, so it cannot be tested scientifically. So, given that science=truth, there is no way to “know” 1) that God spoke to someone in the past, and therefore 2) that the person in question copied it down correctly. Because of the arbitrary restrictions we have placed on knowledge, there is no way for us to verify (or deny, a point that many people miss) the answer to your question. Our worldview, in effect, has bound us rather than made us free.

So to ask your question from a scientific point of view does us no good. Thankfully, there are other ways to look at the issue. I prefer to look at this issue as one part of the whole. That is, the foundation of my faith is made up of many different arguments and ideas. Now, if I were to take the question of original inspiration by itself, it is useful in pondering and working through the issue. If I make this issue the crux that makes or breaks my faith, then of course I will develop serious doubts! But if I research this question, all the while with the other arguments for faith in the back of my mind (things like fulfilled Messianic prophecy, events in my own life that lend credence to biblical teachings, and so on), then even if at the end of the day, I don’t have a good answer, my faith is not likely to waiver due to the preponderance of other evidence.

So to make a long answer longer, I don’t have a good answer for you on your original question. Again, I would suggest emailing Dr. _______ for much better insight than I could give. At the same time, though, there is enough other evidence supporting what I believe that I can live with a little faith in this area. This probably sounds like a total cop-out, but I do not mean it to be. What I do mean is there will always be mysteries, things you have to take on faith. You investigate and question those as best you can, but sometimes you have to live without knowing the answer for a little while. For instance, I’m buying a house. I have an idea of what homeownership is like, but I don’t know and can’t know what it is like short of owning a house. I have to have faith that I can handle the responsibility, that my house won’t be a money pit, etc. But I have done careful financial planning, I have researched basic home repairs, Jessica and I have discussed this a lot, and I am comfortable knowing that we are making the right decision, even if I at the same time I am a little scared that we won’t be able to make it work! But I’m still buying that house.

I hope this somewhat lengthy but probably inadequate response at least will serve to help you out a little.

On Giving.

I have come to the conclusion that the most spiritual thing I do is giving. It's not praying, or reading the Bible, witnessing or anything else. Giving, for me, encompasses so much more.

When my wife and I were first married, money was very tight. To be honest, we didn't have enough to cover the basics. Unfortunately, we had to buy groceries and pay some bills on credit. It wasn't the best financial policy, but when one's other option is going without food and shelter, well, them's the breaks. As you can imagine, paying the bills was not a pleasant experience, and we were remiss to part with our money. In the middle of this, of course, I felt that we needed to tithe. I reasoned that being faithful to God was more important than amassing more debt. I was putting obedience over the basic needs of life, potentially. It was not an easy decision for us to make, but it was something I felt we needed to do.

What happened next was a truly spiritual event. I wrote the first tithe check. Even as I wrote it out, I felt all of the financial pressure I had been under melt away. I had effectively removed myself from the driver's seat; I was telling God that He was now in control of my finances. I was free. Free from worry, free from doubt. I knew that God would provide.

I wish I could say that we got a check in the mail for thrice the amount we gave the next day, but we didn't. (This did happen to us recently, though.) We didn't magically get out of debt through a clerical error in our favor. We still had to struggle to pay the bills. The act of giving up control, though, changed everything for me. No longer did I live under the tyranny of the present. No longer did I have to white-knuckle every last dollar before sending it to a creditor. I simply paid the bills as best as I could, and trusted God.

In the long run, God has provided. I do not tithe, have not tithed and will not tithe so that I will be blessed; I tithe because I want to be obedient to God. God, however, out of His mercy, has blessed us. Since beginning tithing, we have both become gainfully employed, we have implemented and maintained successfully an aggressive debt-reduction plan, and we have even been able to afford decent transportation and a roof over our head, all without having used a credit card in well over a year. This is much more than we expected or deserved. Every day, I see God blessing us financially, and I must assume it is at least in part because we have been obedient to Him.

Even if He chooses henceforth not to bless us materially, though, I will still give faithfully. "Though He slay me, yet I will hope in Him." For me, giving is about submitting to His Lordship. If in His wisdom, He allows us to lose everything, I will submit. If He allows us material riches beyond imagination, I will submit. If He just gives me joy living in a regular house with my family, I will submit.

All because of writing one check.

Book Alert - Rediscovering Paul.

I discovered this morning at the seminary bookstore that one of my old college professors, Dr. Rodney Reeves, has just co-authored a new book on Paul, entitled, appropriately enough, Rediscovering Paul.

According to the dust jacket, it is meant as a textbook for undergraduates, but seminary students would also benefit from it.

Here's a description of the book from Amazon.com:

For some of us, the apostle Paul is like a distant uncle. We've heard he's pretty important. We've read the good parts of his letters. But sometimes he comes across as prickly and unpredictable. Not someone you'd like to hang out with at a coffee shop. He'd raise his voice, try to convert the barista, and we'd want to slink out the back door. For a mid-afternoon latte, we'd prefer Jesus over Paul. But actually, this is the guy who, from Ephesus to Athens, was the talk of the marketplace and the raconteur of the Parthenon. Maybe it's time to give Paul a break, let go of some stereotypes and try to get to know him on his own terms. If that's where you are, Rediscovering Paul is your guide. This is a book that helps us find Paul again--holding forth in the marketplace of Corinth, working with a secretary in framing his letter to the Romans, or pastoring the messy emerging churches of Philippi and Thessalonica. Drawing on the best of contemporary scholarship, honed by teaching and conversing with today's students, Rediscovering Paul is a textbook that rises above the rest.

Unfortunately, I can't claim that I have read it and it's the greatest book ever, but I did sit under Dr. Reeves, and he is definitely an expert on Paul. And another New Testament expert, Dr. Craig Blomberg, was kind enough to write a blurb for it, as well. Considering these two men are two of my favorite professors of all-time, it's enough for me to want to read the book. And if I ever finish all of my required reading, I shall...

Cake, Anyone?

I hate to harp on subjects unnecessarily, but I must go back to the dichotomy of faith and reason. I have had several conversations and have read several blogs generally dealing with this theme lately, and it reminded me of a point I was probably going to make some time ago.* It goes something like this…

In the ongoing battle over God’s existence, evidence for Christianity, etc, there are typically two camps. In one camp is the Christian who says that there is plenty of evidence for his or her belief in God and such. In the other camp is the non-Christian who says there is no evidence for this kind of thing (or the evidence points in the other direction). The stage is set; the debate continues ad infinitum.

There are good and bad arguments on both sides, but I want to look at one in particular. This is the argument that there is no “scientific” evidence for God or faith, so therefore these things cannot be true. Now, if one believes in a unified theory of truth, that all areas of study can touch each other, that there is Truth that transcends categories, in that case we have an argument. But if one believes in the fact-value dichotomy, we have a problem. Since we humans have apparently decided that science is and should be separate from religion now and forever, then let us dispense with the argument that a belief in God is false for scientific reasons. In a fact-value dichotomy, there is no true or false in the realm of values. True and false become meaningless terms. Science becomes useless in matters of faith. Likewise, faith becomes useless in matters of science.

Whether or not this dichotomy is the actual state of affairs in the universe is extraneous for the current discussion. The point I wish to make is this: If you adhere to such a worldview, you limit yourself a priori from arguing against God, Christianity, etc, by using evidence (or a lack thereof) as a criterion. In a fact-value dichotomy, there can be no evidence for or against faith. It is entirely subjective. You can, therefore, never claim that Christianity is wrong—or right. Any such statement is mere emotivism, or at best, relativism.

I suppose I see this issue surface the most with the evolution debate. Purported evidence is presented against a Christian worldview (namely, that God created the universe with purpose), and this is labeled science. When purported evidence is presented arguing for a Christian worldview, this is labeled as pseudoscientific garbage not worth the paper and ink expended upon it.

It brings to mind the old adage, “You can’t have your cake and eat it, too.”


*This is in no way directed at anyone personally.

Freedom of Thought.

One of my favorite things about Denver Seminary is captured well by the words of long-time administrator Vernon Grounds: "Freedom to think within the limits laid down by Scripture." This statement is incarnated by the mix of professors and students who make up the seminary.

In my seminary career, I have become friends with and learned under people with beliefs ranging the evangelical spectrum (and even some outside of evangelicalism *gasp!*). I have had a class with a dyed-in-the-wool Republican professor, only to go directly to my next class, taught by a registered Democrat with Liberation theological leanings. I have fellowshipped with students who were tee-totaling business entrepreneurs and anti-capitalist beer connoisseurs. Some refuse to patronize Wal-Mart, some (like me) worked for them.

Though not always a Utopia, I have enjoyed my time at the seminary, and a lot of that is due to this reason. I enjoy the eclectic mix of theology and politics, because it forces me constantly to evaluate my own beliefs. And I can assure you, those who doggedly hold on to shoddy ideas in such an arena are probably not engaged.

There is a wide spectrum of beliefs in Christendom, some good, some not so good. I have learned that there are a lot more good ones than I thought. "Freedom to think within the limits laid down by Scripture" enables us (well, most of us) to dialogue respectfully with those who may view things differently, while at the same time moving forward singularly toward our goal of glorifying God.

And that is a very refreshing thing.*

*I should note that this has been my own experience. There are students who have had quite different experiences, and I do not presume to speak for them.

Thoughts on Thoughts.

There is enough light to enlighten the elect and enough obscurity to humiliate them.  There is enough obscurity to blind the reprobate and enough light to condemn them and deprive them of excuse...Blaise Pascal, Pensees (236/578)

When we are accustomed to use the wrong  reasons to prove natural phenomena, we are no longer ready to accept the right ones when they are discovered...ibid. (736/96)

Truth is so obscured nowadays and lies so well established that unless we love the truth we shall never recognize it. ibid. (739/864)

We are from God; he who knows God listens to us; he who is not from God does not listen to us.  By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error. 1 John 4:6