“The reason Jesus gave for a man marrying a woman is the historical account of Adam and Eve…Was Jesus wrong? Is there a Biblical historical basis for a man marrying a woman? I lean toward believing the scholars who believe that Genesis was historical and really happened.”

This statement was made in one of the comments the other day here.  There were a few other statements made about literal interpretations of Genesis.  As far as creation is concerned, there are at least four different views about its historicity and probably more.  Some view the creation account in Genesis as informing us about God’s literal six-twenty four hour day’s creation, a real Garden of Eden and a man and a woman named Adam and Eve.  Another group of people see it as literal in the sense of the garden and Adam and Eve but that the days are not literal twenty four hour days and instead might be representing ages or eras.  Another group does not believe much of any of this is literal at all and just points to God as creator and how He intended the relationship with His creation to be and that somewhere we failed.  And finally, some view Genesis as well as a lot of the bible as myth and really has no bearing on anything much.

Which of these, or some other view, do you believe?

Are you tolerant of any of the other views?

What do you think might be the consequences of holding to any of the other views?

Would any of you care to answer the questions in the quote at the beginning of this article?

ADDITIONAL ADDED QUESTION…Does any of this matter as far as our mission goes?

I invite all to participate and hope we can discuss this irenically.  Please stay on topic because I will be asking some more about Genesis in future posts.

Love you all

Tags: adam and eve, Beginning, Believe, Bible, Creation, creation account, garden of eden, genesis, Interpretation, literal interpretations, town hall, Tuesday

We were on our way to church last evening and the last few minutes of daylight were passing away.  At one point I became entranced by the size of the full moon that was fully visible despite the daylight.  This vision got me to thinking about the reality of things and the ways we interpret the bible.  Figure that one out.  The paths our thoughts sometimes make are amazing.

What I thought about was how most of us interpret the first ten chapters of Genesis.  I, like most of you, look at these passages as literal as I can, especially the creation account and the fall.  I tend to think of Adam and Eve as real people and of the Fall as a real event.  But there are some that do not.

There are theologians that look at these first verses of scripture as allegory, or an attempt to metaphorically represent certain spiritual truths.  This view is nothing new as most things theological are not new.  There has been a division over this view of interpretation from the beginnings of Judaism.  This approach can be consistent with an inerrant view of the bible but not from a fundamentalist style of literalism.

Gen 1:16  And God made the two great lights–the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night–and the stars.

If we take the moon itself as the lesser light, and we certainly do not have too, then we can see this as metaphorical and we know it cannot be literal.  And there are other arguments that can be raised also.

I am not really concerned with the debate between theologians over this issue.  What I am concerned with is the questions that are asked by non-believers over some of these same issues and our inability to give in on some things to reach out to them.  There are so many people out there that won’t give Jesus a chance over some of our unbending views of creation, the flood, etc. and etc.  Shouldn’t the love of Christ and Him giving Himself for us be the focus and isn’t that enough.

I am not against those ministries that put all their resources into some of these views about the bible but when they think that an argument concerning a young or old earth is going to bring lost souls into the kingdom, I have to wonder about that and them.  These types of arguments should, in my opinion, be reserved for those that are mature in Christ, and not the lost.

As far as whether the first chapters of Genesis are literal or allegorical, I will not commit.  It seems to me that both have their merit.  But I do know that Jesus, who I know is God, primarily used parables to teach His truths.

Love you all

Tags: adam and eve, allegory, Beginning, Bible, Church, Creation, creation account, Ending, full moon, Interpretation, Kingdom, literalism, Love, Sin, Theological

I was just sitting here reflecting on this holiday, New Years Day.  I asked some questions about it a couple of days ago and it seems that this day is really not that big of a deal to all the people of faith that I am in contact with.

A small group of us were at our church until a little after midnight and we just saw the New Year start with a little fellowship and fun.  It was good.  But it was not like the world celebrates it.  The world seems to think we should usher in a new year with a bang.  Loud, raucous, drunken parties are what I remember from the past, if I attended any.

What exactly is going on in this holiday celebration anyway?  I really don’t know but have some suspicions.  We say we are welcoming in a new year but what is January first really?

It is all about time.  And time is something I have had on my mind for awhile.  What is it?  How does God exist in relation to it?  Is it something tangible and real or just a method of measuring sequence as my friend Heath wrote about?

I am not sure but I think it is actually the last for most of us.  Even if time is something that can be affected by the speed of light or our proximity to a black hole, I doubt very seriously if any of us will ever experience any of that.  So let’s agree for a few moments that it is just a method to measure and record sequence.

So this day is all about newness.  A new year starts.  But, actually, any individuals real new year starts on their birthday, not January 1.  If we really have any resolutions that we think we need to make, then shouldn’t it be on our birthday?  But for people of faith, we have a new birthday.

We became a new creation the day we accepted Christ as Lord, King and Savior and went into service for and with Him.  So shouldn’t that be the date we use for our new year beginning?  Individually, yes, I believe so.  There is no more important day in our lives than the day we were saved.

But all of that is personal.  Someone was born and someone was born again on everyday of the year but we can’t have every day off from work, so we have New Years Day.  And it is a good day to be celebrated as a new beginning because it is the first day of the year in our method of marking time.

Our celebrations of this day are as much about saying goodbye to the old as looking forward to the new.  Auld Lang’s Syne is about saying goodbye and we sing it on New Years Eve.  In each of our lives we are always looking ahead, imagining the future and hoping it gets better.  And we should.  Even if the last year was amazingly good, we believe it can only get better.  And for most of us this past year, 2008, decidedly needs to be better and I certainly pray for that.

So we say goodbye to the past and relish the opportunity to move forward into the future.  We reflect on our mistakes and shortcomings and make resolutions and commitments to do it all differently.  We waste our time, in my opinion.

There is a truth that we often overlook and it is that the future never gets here.  Tomorrow will always be tomorrow.  And what we perceived as tomorrow yesterday is in fact today right now.  We need to live in the now.  We should plan and strive to do better, be better but, if we try more to be better right now, tomorrow will reflect that so much more than all the planning about tomorrow.

My resolution for today is to be a better man right now, to be more Christlike right now, to love more right now, and to contend for the faith more right now.  And that will also be my resolution tomorrow and the next day and the next.  No one knows what tomorrow holds, not even God for sure, so we really need to stop dwelling on it.  (I made that statement so most of you could berate me on my wrong theology on purpose, by the way.  But I really believe it is true.)

Just reflect on this.  The past is gone.  Use it for its educational properties.  The future will never get here so stop waiting and get on with it.

Start living and loving and serving right now.

Happy New Year and I Love you all

Tags: Beginning, black hole, celebration, Christlike, Church, drunken parties, Faith, God, Love, Personal, speed of light, Theology, Time

Tomorrow, some of the people in this country will vote.  Whatever candidate wins will bring about a new direction.  He will be placed in office by the ones who bought into his rhetoric the most.  Whoever has motivated the most people to follow his empty promises will win. 

I have not tried to use my space here to push any agenda except the agenda of Christ.  I sincerely do not believe that any political party has His agenda in mind.  And that is okay.  Jesus knew the worldly kingdoms would never seek to merge with the Godly Kingdom.  Instead, He warned repeatedly about the danger of trying to merge His Kingdom with the worlds. 

I do not think that any politician on the national scene is concerned in the least about the things of God.  I wish this was not so.  And I wish the people of God would realize the seriousness of forsaking our mission, which is personal, and relying on government to do it for us. 

Being absorbed with “self” is nothing new.  It was there in the beginning.  But it just seems to be so much more powerful today.  Is there anyone out there concerned with the destination of lost souls?  Is there anyone out there concerned with fulfilling our mission of making disciples?  Is there anyone willing to sacrifice on a personal level instead of relying on government?

I don’t know if I am doing enough.  I surely don’t know if you are.  I am tired of sounding so pessimistic and it feels like all I write is words of warning. 

I watched the people of God for so many years to see the faults, the hypocrisy, and the reliance on anything other than God.  I am now one with you in this great Kingdom.  And I see it as great only because of our King, not because of us. 

I know that almost every election is looked at as the one that is the most important of all time.  This one is shaping up to be that one, for real.  We are either going to vote in a man who will not really get anything done, or we will vote in a man that could take this country further down the path to destruction.  You decide who’s who. 

The pessimism is not my heart though.  I am optimistic because I know to whom I have given my life.  I have given it to Jesus Christ, my King.  No matter what happens in this nation, in this world, I know my destination.  I am safe, secure and will be taken care of. 

My heart grieves though for those that are deceived.  Those that do think they are voting in a change for the better.  I do not pretend to be prophetic but, I will say this, no matter who is elected tomorrow it will not be for the better. 

Do not rely on this world, or its leaders, or its policies, or its agendas for your joy and peace.  Become a citizen of the only eternal Kingdom.  Then you will have peace.

So, as far as tomorrow goes, vote if you want.  Then let God have it.  If enough are aligned with His precepts and principles, He will work it all out the way it needs to be.  After you vote, let it go.  Don’t give in to letting it become the obsession for the day.  Whoever gets the most votes will win and after you are done voting, you have no more say in the matter. 

So why not give the rest of the day to God and go talk about Jesus to someone rather than talking about Obama or McCain.

Love you all

Tags: Beginning, Believe, candidate, Election, God, Government, Hypocrisy, Jesus Christ, King, Kingdom, Lie, Life, Love, Personal, Power, rhetoric, Self, Sin, Vote, War, warning, Work, world