Homeward Bound

While the majority of objections to Christianity are to its morality and exclusive claims, there is an intellectual minority that seeks to undermine the Biblical authenticity on a more textual and historical basis. We need to be prepared to answer both of those objections. Growing up in the church, I was taught relatively nothing about the transmission process of the Biblical texts or even how certain New Testament books were eventually canonized. But it is no longer enough to just know 2 Timothy 3:16 anymore. It is no longer enough to believe the Bible is true, "for the Bible tells me so." We need to know why we believe 2 Timothy 3:16 to be Scripture in the first place. C. S. Lewis once said, “Good philosophy must exist, if for no other reason, because bad philosophy needs to be answered.” We need to be aware of the good philosophy of how we got the Bible and why we believe it to be authentic, because of the modern assaults on it today.   The Baur thesis is somet...

Last night in our Bible Study we took a look at Daniel 3. One of the top ten most well-known Bible stories. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego (or rather: Hananiah, Mishael, and Azzariah) had been taken from their homes in Judah—and forced to assimilate into a polytheistic, pagan Babylon. They had been taught the language and the literature of the Babylonians in order that they may be future administrators and magistrates in the greatest nation on earth. A fantastic leadership model from Nebuchadnezzar by the way: integrating the best and brightest of the conquered into your ruling class. (Next time you invade a foreign power, take note.) In Daniel 3 Nebuchadnezzar constructed a brilliant golden image for the people to bow down before in worship. Those who refused to do so when the music played were given the threat of a fiery death in the furnace. You remember the story. For these young Jewish men, living in a foreign land, the situation could not be any more black and white...

Our young adult Bible Study has been going through the book of Daniel, a relevant book for today for many reasons. As we studied the first two chapters I was struck by the theological balance between personal responsibility and God's sovereignty displayed throughout. A major theme in Daniel is God’s sovereignty, as the book really paints God in a magisterial light. He is not taken by surprise at the successful invasion by the Babylonians of Jerusalem--rather the text says that “The Lord delivered Jehoiakim” into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar (1:2). God is then the one who gives Daniel favor in the eyes of the Babylonian leader (1:9), and God is the one gives the four young men knowledge and understanding (1:17). He is the one who is working out everything according to the counsel of his will; and in the book of Daniel that reality is undeniable. Furthermore, Nebuchadnezzar’s dream in chapter 2 is proof that God is the one who sets up the mightiest empires and God is the...

G. K. Chesterton in Orthodoxy describes what he thinks to be the worst form of religion, what he calls the "worship of the god within": "Of all conceivable forms of enlightenment the worst is what these people call the inner light. Of all horrible religions the most horrible is the worship of the god within...That Jones shall worship the god within him turns out that Jones shall worship Jones. Let Jones worship the sun or moon, anything rather than the Inner Light; let Jones worship cats or crocodiles, if he can find any in his street, but not the god within. Christianity came into the world firstly in order to assert with violence that a man had not only to look inwards, but to look outwards, to behold with astonishment and enthusiasm a divine company and a divine captain. The only fun of being a Christian was that a man was not left alone with the Inner Light, but definitely recognized an outer light, fair as the sun, clear as the moon, terrible as an army ...

One of my pet peeves is when Christians align themselves too closely with politics. When it dominates our conversations, online posts, general focus; and especially when it is presented alongside Biblical texts from the pulpit. This is not to say that politics are irrelevant and that Christians should not be involved in the political process. Quite the contrary! If we love God, we will by nature love what He loves: people. The second greatest commandment naturally flows from the first. If we truly love God we cannot help but love our neighbor as ourselves, and one of the many ways this manifests itself in the way that we vote and in our involvement in politics. There are also several social issues that are Biblically mandated that we advocate for. God’s Word calls us to care for the widows, the orphans, and the oppressed (James 1:27). It calls us to treasure life and the sanctity of marriage as designed by God. In loving our neighbor as ourselves we should be very much ...

Last night I just missed two Mormon missionaries who were visiting my house. Not to worry, they will be back. Montana informed them that I will be available later this week, so the onus is on me to be prepared. I consider myself sufficiently warned. The biggest issue that I can gather between Mormonism and orthodox Christianity is a question of canon. Mormonism, like any other cult, believes that the Bible as we have it today is in some way, shape, or form—insufficient. They believe that through the centuries following Christ, the Bible was corrupted through transmissions, which made it necessary for new revelation be provided from heaven to “restore the gospel” of the Jesus Christ. And while I have the utmost confidence that God’s word will accomplish what He purposes; that it will not return void (Isaiah 55:11); that Christ, who built his church on the foundation of the apostles and prophets (Eph 2:20), promised to Peter that the gates of hell will not stand against His chu...

I have read almost 4 books by G. K. Chesterton thus far; and Orthodoxy is a masterpiece. The best of what I have read from him yet. Witty, hilarious, intellectually astute--Chesterton is in fine form throughout. And though Orthodoxy is heady, you will find that Chesterton's humor and skill with the pen make it an entertaining, almost addictive read. His paradoxical manner of framing big ideas, his undeniable ability to wield "common" sense as a weapon, his way of speaking to universal human experiences--together makes him one of the most enjoyable writers of his time. And he's not pulling any punches with the philosophers of his day either. In the introduction, Chesterton self-deprecatingly describes himself as a man who sent out from England to explore new lands but gets blown off course in his travels and unknowingly arrives back in downtown London, where he then proceeds to claim this "new land" for England! Chesterton then charts his spiritual j...