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Archive for the ‘Bible’ Category

Does God Kill Babies and Hate Women?

In Bible, Books, God, People, Theology on February 24, 2010 at 9:12 pm

by Elizabeth K

Did the God of the Bible, like the god Molech, demand the sacrifice of babies? And does God have a very low disregard for women? One would certainly think so after reading the Bible:

‘When you are living in the towns that the LORD your God gives you, you may hear that some worthless men of your nation have misled the people of their town to worship gods that you have never worshipped before. If you hear such a rumour, investigate it thoroughly; and if it is true that this evil thing did happen, then kill all the people in that town and all their cattle too. Destroy that town completely. Bring together all the possessions of the people who live there and pile them up in the town square. Then burn the town and everything in it as an offering to the LORD your God. It must be left in ruins for ever and never again be rebuilt’ (Deuteronomy 13:12-16).

‘[W]e captured and destroyed every town, and put everyone to death, men, women, and children. We took the cattle and plundered the towns’ (Deuteronomy 2:34-35).

‘We destroyed all the towns and put to death all the men, women, and children, just as we did in the towns that belonged to King Sihon of Heshbon. We took the cattle and plundered the towns’ (Deuteronomy 3:6-7).

‘When the LORD you God gives you victory in battle and you take prisoners, you may see among them a beautiful woman that you like and want to marry. Take her to your home … Later, if you no longer want her, you are to let her go free. Since you forced her to have intercourse with you, you cannot treat her as a slave and sell her’ (Deuteronomy 21:10-14).

‘So the assembly sent twelve thousand of their bravest men with the orders, “Go and kill everyone in Jabesh, including the women and children. Kill all the males, and also any woman who is not a virgin”‘ (Judges 21:10-11).

‘Babylon, you will be destroyed. Happy is the man who pays you back for what you have done to us – who takes your babies and smashes them against a rock’ (Psalm 137:8-9). Read the rest of this entry »

Who Are The Dogs Outside Of God’s Kingdom?

In Bible, God, Gospel, Heaven, People, Theology on February 24, 2010 at 7:14 am

by Elizabeth K

In the last book of the Bible, in the last chapter, after it’s all said and done, this is what we read:

“Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter by the gates into the city. Outside are the dogs and the sorcerers and the immoral persons and the murderers and the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices lying.”

Elsewhere we read in the Bible that no unrighteous person such as drunks, people who get angry, the envious, those who idolize something or someone other than God, etc. (Gal 5:19-21) will inherit the kingdom of God.

I’ve noticed in my Facebook discussions that Christians tend to quote these special verses when the subject of unconditional grace arises….

In light of the fact that God is love, how are we to understand Bible scriptures which seem to portray God as being so holy, that no unrighteous person can get near Him, unless they are covered by the blood of Christ (after his father killed him, that is.) Although that last statement is full of absurdities, it seems to be partly why the above quoted verses cannot be logically reconciled with unconditional love.

Let us first understand that God is not what is so commonly understood to be as a heartless tyrant who demands to be worshiped, plays favorites, wipes born-sinners out of existence if they screw up and tortures souls with unimaginable and unthinkable suffering without escape for eternity. That is man’s idea of God, I believe, and you can find this human perspective all the way through your Bible if that is what you think about Him. Read the rest of this entry »

The Scribes and Pharisees Thought God was Full of Wrath… And They Were Wrong

In Bible, God, Theology on February 19, 2010 at 9:14 pm

by Elizabeth K

Growing up in church, I always had the general view of God as a distant or even unknown being whose wrath must be appeased.  Although Christ supposedly took care of this appeasement on the cross, I still felt this wrath hovering over me, especially if I did not live up to Christian standards.

After a series of unfortunate events, stories for other posts, I realized that my former understanding was nothing new under the sun.  Religions and gods of all eras and cultures resembled the same exalted being who must be worshiped in certain ways so that he will send rain for the crops, or help me not to lose my job, or cure my grandmother of cancer.

Now-a-days, I have a different view of God, or rather I view a different God entirely.  The God I believe I know is much more merciful, kind and loving. In fact, He loves me, as well as the whole world, with a love that has no conditions. He shows no partiality with his love and his love will never give up, on anyone.

Interestingly, the above statement seems to disturb many Christians.  What about the God of the Old Testament who smote His enemies and the enemies of His people? What about the God who killed His own people on the spot if they misrepresented Him? What about the fact that God hated Esau? What about hell? Ah, good questions. Questions I have been pondering for a while myself in confusion.

From my understanding, having “ears to hear” these Bible stories will reveal a hidden truth, one that cannot be read from the surface of words, many of which may be mistranslated and misinterpreted anyway. And this hidden truth seems near impossible to explain without sounding like a heretic, but that has never stopped me before… so here is my explanatory attempt: Read the rest of this entry »

The Vanity of Theologising

In Bible, Life, People, Theology on November 17, 2009 at 11:28 am

By Marc

I spend most of my free time reading, writing or thinking about matters theological. I listen to sermons, debates, even audio books or Bible chapters over and over again in the hope of better understanding the puzzles and riddles in the story the Bible tells and how this relates to my life and the world around me.

It was Elizabeth who first pointed out that all this activity, intriguing as it may be, is not good in and of itself if it does not lead to more and better love of God and those around me. This is a simple and obvious observation to anyone who knows the greatest commandment but I wonder if it doesn’t need restating and we don’t need to highlight this problem. I know of no passage in the Bible which says God wants us to synthesise as many Bible texts as we can before we die and produce the best and most water-tight theology or theory yet many people, myself included, spend our time trying to do this out of a deep-rooted and wide-spread conviction that good beliefs are more important than good lives. But surely, as Brian McLaren says, judgement will not simply be a case of God looking inside our heads? Read the rest of this entry »

Is President Obama More Of A Christian Than Many Church Leaders?

In Bible, Books, Church, Life, People, Politics on October 7, 2009 at 6:42 pm

by Elizabeth K   :)

According to the Bible, true religion is love for one another, and the evidence of this love plays out in caring for the poor, orphans, widows, sick, prisoners, and strangers.  It will not be the religious who enter heaven, but those who showed mercy to their fellow human beings and who, like the Good Samaritan, took care of those who were needy.  The Bible also says that by not helping the needy, we are actually oppressing them.

“Will a man rob God? Yet you are robbing Me! But you say, ‘How have we robbed You?’ In tithes and offerings.  “You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing Me, the whole nation of you! “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house, and test Me now in this,” says the LORD of hosts, “if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you a blessing until it overflows.  ~ Malachi 3:8-10

Many a church teacher has used this verse to compel members to give financially to the church, but, who benefited from these tithes and offerings in Bible history?  Malachi 3:5 tells us that the tithe was instituted by God for the wage earner, the widow, the orphan and the alien.  Cheerful, free-will offerings in the New Testament church were also used for this ends.  God desired for his people to support church workers, single women (who have no financial support), children without fathers, and the immigrant.  And if we do not support them, one day Jesus will tell us to depart from Him, for He never knew us.  That’s a pretty serious warning.

Churches today rightfully use financial offerings to support the workers of the gospel, but many (not all) then fail to help the poor.  In fact, some churches pressure their members so much to give of their finances in order to make the church budget, that they create more poverty.  Where is this money from and for the poor designated?  Church overhead costs, or in other words, the money it takes to buy, maintain and expand a building and the church itself.  Basically, the money is going to the church instead of the poor. Read the rest of this entry »

Alright, Let’s Hash Out This Concept Of Hell… Is It Literal, Figurative, Eternal Or Temporary?

In Bible, Eschatology, Hell on September 18, 2009 at 7:43 pm

by Elizabeth K

People all over the world most likely have heard about and possess some degree of fear concerning hell.  This concept is a common reason for some to become atheist or “unchristian”.  Still, human conscience seems to convict us of the law of cause and effect, that there are consequences for wrongs, and that justice must be served in some way.

Misconceptions of hell (and the devil) abound.  So what does the Bible say?  I have been revisiting this topic and wondering about different beliefs concerning it.

Following are Scriptures (in the ASV) which are translated using the term hell by most major Bible translations using the Hebrew word Gehenna used in both the Old and the New Testament, or the Greek term Tartarus which is used one time and concerns the casting of angels into hell. Also listed are a few other Scriptures that may or may not pertain to hell, and a couple of verses which use the Greek term Hades as indicated.

Wikipedia says Gehenna is “used in the New Testament as a metaphor for the final place of punishment for the wicked after the resurrection. Hell is taught as the final destiny of those who have not accepted Jesus Christ as their savior after they have passed through the great white throne of judgment, where they will be punished for sin  and permanently separated from God after the general resurrection and last judgment.”  This seems to be the traditional Christian understanding of hell.

I did not include Old Testament Scriptures that contain the words Sheol which are clearly not eternal and because Bible translations translate this term differently.  The King James version translates it as hell sometimes and other times it is translated as grave in places where hell does not make sense, such as where the patriarch Jacob believed he would go, a place “in peace”, where righteous Job wanted to be hidden, where animals (sheep) go after death, etc.  Sheol is also translated as pit. Read the rest of this entry »

The Antichrist Will Be A Church Leader, Not A President Or Any Other World Leader

In Bible, Church, Eschatology on September 17, 2009 at 6:41 am

by Elizabeth K

I have been called a heretic for pointing out Scriptures which are forthright in distinguishing Christ from God who is the Father, such as:

“For even if there are so-called gods whether in heaven or on earth, as indeed there are many gods and many lords, yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom are all things and we exist for Him….”  ~ 1 Cor 8:5-6

There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all.  ~ Ephesians 4:4-6

“This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God [God], and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.”  ~ John 17:3

“For there is one God, AND one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.” ~ 1 Timothy 2:5

But I am surprised that so many of the speculations among Christianity, (dispensational premillennialism to be specific) concerning end times are so readily embraced as true doctrine without Scriptural support.  There is an even wider amount of guessing of how these events and characters will play out through media such as The Left Behind book series as well as urban legends floating through email inboxes such as this one found on Snopes:

“According to the book of Revelations the anti-christ is:  The anti-christ will be a man, in his 40’s, of MUSLIM descent, who will deceive the nations with persuasive language, and have a MASSIVE Christ-like appeal….  the prophecy says that people will flock to him and he will promise false hope and world peace, and when he is in power, will destory everything.  Is it Obama?” Read the rest of this entry »

10 Detrimental Differences Between Church In The Bible And Church Today

In Bible, Church on September 11, 2009 at 2:04 am

by Elizabeth K

The fallacy of the post-biblical trinity doctrine is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to differences between Bible teaching and church teaching.  But I realized that Christians will not be able to hear or understand these differences as long as organized religion possesses so much control over our beliefs.  It is generally considered unsafe by many Christians to begin studying outside of the confines of the long-standing traditions held by Christian churches everywhere, and there is hardly a motive to do so anyway.  Our churches today make us feel comfortable and superior in such large, long-standing  groups.

So, my goal for this post and future posts is to begin to tear down this unhealthy dependency on the overly powerful, self-claimed mediator between God and man, the church institution.  Many will see this as rebellion against Believers, and therefore against Christ Himself, but nothing could be further from the truth.

Here are ten significant proofs that the church in the Bible, the body of Christ… is NOT the church institution and that there are significant differences between the two.  And, therefore, my tearing down of this unworthy stronghold has nothing to do with tearing down my precious fellow Believers. It is solely intended to free us all from a strangled faith that we have to come accept as reality and which causes us to think that our Christianity is just fine when, in fact, our faith overall is fruitless and far from what God intended for us as individuals and as a body. Read the rest of this entry »

Truth Vs. Tradition

In Bible, Church on September 5, 2009 at 6:51 am

by Elizabeth K

Here are some questions to get us thinking outside of the church institutional box, along with attempts at some answers.

1.  Should we distinguish ourselves from other church denominations, for example, by calling ourselves “Lutherans, Protestants, Wesleyans, Calvinists, Anglicans or Roman Catholics”?

Is Christ divided?  The Bible says there is only one body of Christ (Eph 4:4) and Paul specifically warned against church divisions in 1 Cor 3.   “For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not mere men? What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task. I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow.  So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow.” (v 4-7)

2.  Are titles such as “Pastor” and “Reverend” used for church elders in the Bible?

We are never told to give titles to men, especially “Reverend”, a term used only once in the Bible and for God.  (Psalm 111:9)

3.  Did the first century church celebrate the Lord’s supper through the ritualistic ceremony of communion that churches do today? Read the rest of this entry »

Can we Preach the Gospel without Hell?

In Bible, Church, God, Gospel, Hell, Jesus on September 4, 2009 at 6:14 am

By Marc

Most Gospel presentations today will begin with, or at least include, the idea of Hell whether explicitly or implicitly. The strategy of good “old-fashioned” Gospel preaching requires that the preacher first convict the audience of Sin and then offer Jesus as the solution. The conviction is accomplished by highlighting the fact that all humans do sin and attempting to show that a perfect God must punish these offenses (perhaps infinitely). John Piper (The Supremacy of Christ in a Postmodern World) says:

Because God is holy, we are sinful, justice is beautiful, and God will not be mocked, we must contend for the conscious, eternal torments of hell and invite everyone to avoid its clutches by turning from sin to Jesus, who speaks of hell more than anyone in Scripture. (p 139)
…
If you strip that [hell] away from Jesus, he’s a local guy. He’s just no big deal. (p161)

Even preaching which focuses on God and His Holiness, will eventually come around to Man’s sinful state and will often fail simply because the Conviction was not convincing – the challenge to produce a problem (guilt) and a need (forgiveness) which post-modern people do not, of themselves see is often too great for our preachers. Certainly any mention of Hell is bound to have a critical audience thinking: “What kind of God sends folk to hell for not believing?”. Read the rest of this entry »

Is Protestant Christianity Biblical and Faithful To Jesus?

In Bible, Church, God, Gospel, Jesus, Life, People, Theology on August 24, 2009 at 8:47 am

by Marc

The question is provocative but important and needs continually asking as we are called to first be self-critical before we critique others. We must ask ourselves: What is a true Christian according to Jesus will as taught in the Bible? We could answer this question by asking an even more risky one: what would happen if all the people who stopped being Christians nevertheless continued being disciples of Jesus? Is that possible? Well, it is clear that there are such people, who have rejected key doctrines, yet nevertheless live more like Jesus than much of the Church is doing.

The fact is the world would be a better place if most people lived as Jesus taught and lived than if most people were simply good Believers. Whereas the Christian Faith has been reduced to belief in certain creeds and doctrines, Discipleship is submission to Jesus as a teacher and master, a life led His Way. What began as “The Way” has become “The Faith”. What began as a walk became a teaching. At times, the Protestant Church borders on Gnosticism (saving knowledge) and yet we wonder why it’s in decline. Read the rest of this entry »

Is The Trinity Doctrine Biblical?

In Bible, God, Jesus, The Spirit, Theology on August 16, 2009 at 3:05 am

by Elizabeth K

Is There One God Or Are There Three?

While protestant churches today continue to seek to lay their foundations upon the Bible, they also continue to teach traditions and doctrines of men that are found nowhere in the scriptures.  One of these man-made doctrines, which began centuries after the Bible was written, is the belief that God the Father, Jesus the Son and the Holy Spirit are three distinct persons that are co-equal and make up one God… and this confuses a lot of us.

Wouldn’t three persons be three gods?  The Bible is clear that God is one God and He is the Father.  He is the only God and no one has ever seen Him (except the Son) and no one has ever heard his voice (John 5:37).

“For even if there are so-called gods whether in heaven or on earth, as indeed there are many gods and many lords, yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom are all things and we exist for Him….”  ~ 1 Cor 8:5-6 Read the rest of this entry »

Will People Really Burn In Hell For Eternity?

In Bible, Theology on July 16, 2009 at 8:43 pm

by Elizabeth K

See the original post with lively comments at my other blog on Vox.

The Biblical understanding of hell has been one of the greatest controversies throughout church history.  The issue has undergone many debates.  The traditional view over the centuries has been generally a picture of a dark cave on fire, filled with unimaginable physical torment that never ends and is irrevocable.  It has been the subject of famous sermons and comic strips alike.

Since we are speaking about existence after death, that great unknown, we must rely primarily upon prophecy.  Few other documents give us as much solid and consistent insight as the Holy Bible, although those truths can be difficult to comprehend.

In my limited study of the issue, I’ve been compelled to look at differing viewpoints such as Conditionalism, that souls are naturally mortal unless granted immortality by God; Annihilationism, the belief that sinners are completely destroyed either before or after a time of punishment; and Universalism, that all humans will eventually be reconciled to God and saved from hell in the afterlife.  All of these views have been supported by theologians and Bible scholars, some greatly renown…. Read the rest of this entry »

A Woman’s Role in Ministry

In Bible, Church, God, Jesus, Life on May 4, 2009 at 5:52 pm

The question of a woman’s role in the church is one which can be very controversial. Almost all churches nowadays openly acknowledge an equality in terms of the worth of a person (it was not always so) but most traditional evangelical churches remain convinced that Paul’s letters, seen more or less as a clear and complete guideline for how churches should operate, discriminated or, to put it more politely, prescribe different roles for different genders. In practice this means: no women as elders and no women preachers.

These two limitations (leadership and teaching) are based mainly on such shockers as “women should remain silent in the churches” (1 Cor 14) and “I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man; she must be silent.” (1 Tim 2). For many these 2 passages are sufficient to forbid women being pastors or elders.

1 Cor 14 is not as straightforward as one would imagine at first glance because Paul clearly does allow, even encourage women to speak in the congregation (1 Cor 11) where he provides guidelines for prophecy. This provides room for debate as to how 1 Cor 14 is to be limited in scope and application.

Read the rest of this entry »

THE SHACK: It Contains Much More Truth Than What Some Perceive

In Bible, Books on March 26, 2009 at 12:52 am

by Elizabeth K

Note:  This post is a partial spoiler.

So, I am now one of the 6 million reader statistics of the New York Times #1 bestseller book, 36 weeks running, with a plan to be printed in 30 different languages, The Shack.  While I do not usually engage myself with Christian fiction, I was excited to delve into the controversial hooplah concerning such a popular book.  Yeah, okay, so I love a good debate.  What caught me by surprise was that I would appreciate the book much more than I expected.

Because of the theological liberties used in the book, not a few Christian leaders such as Dr. Norman Geisler, Chuck Colson and Pastor Mark Driscoll warn their followers against even reading it.  The author is accused of promoting universal-unitarianism, pantheism and the New Age philosophy, among other criticisms.

I have to admit that this book asks the average Christian to step beyond the traditionally accepted security of church teaching today.  This step can be risky, especially for those who are not too familiar with the Bible.  But, although the book definitely borders some contradictions to Scripture, I believe that it does not actually cross that line.  Allow me to expound. Read the rest of this entry »

The Bible and Homosexuality

In Bible, People on February 24, 2009 at 8:33 pm

Article contributions to Unravel do not necessarily or entirely represent the views of its founders.  A diversity of perspectives, opinions and beliefs are requested or welcomed with the purpose of cultivating vivid, informed and well-rounded discussions on this site.

The Bible and Homosexuality: a Pastor’s Argument for Acceptance.

By Ben Daniel

On Saturday, August 19, 2006 I delivered the homily at a wedding in Leeds, Maine. It was a happy event: the service was sweet, the food was wonderful, and we danced into the night. The brides were radiant, both dressed in white, both in full possession of the particular beauty common to those in their early thirties, when the loveliness of lingering youth meets the gathering wisdom of mature adulthood. The wedding was memorable, and I’m proud to have played a part in it.

When I returned to California, with the permission of the brides, I wrote about the Maine wedding, first on my blog, and later as a commentary for KQED FM in San Francisco, the nation’s largest NPR affiliate. The response to both bits of writing was the same: sincere appreciation from most of my readers and listeners, and absolute outrage from others. I am, after all, a Christian pastor who has placed himself under the authority of scripture. So how could I possibly take part in a lesbian wedding? Read the rest of this entry »

No Salvation Apart From Works

In Bible, Church, Gospel, Jesus, Theology on February 11, 2009 at 8:13 pm

by Marc

We often hear that salvation, Christian-style, is apart from works. This is however a muddling of terms. The Bible, in particular, Paul’s writings actually teaches that justification is by faith apart from works of Torah [1].

For Paul, justification is God declaring a person a covenant member wile salvation is the ultimate rescue from evil. They are not the same thing and Paul does not interchange the terms (see e.g. Rom 10:10).

I think it’s equally clear that works of Torah (circumcision, food laws etc.) were marginalised if not done away with in the New Testament because the gentiles were coming in and ethnic markers were dissolving. But surely good works were raised higher than ever by Jesus and his successors! Why then do we still equate the two and assume salvation is apart from good works?
Read the rest of this entry »

John’s Deep Simplicity

In Bible on February 3, 2009 at 10:19 pm

Prompted by Ken Boa’s free mp3 teaching series on John, I started reading the Bible for the first time since conversion seven years earlier. I grew to cherish John’s account of Jesus because of it’s simplicity and depth which I prize to this day, keeping a copy within reach everywhere I go. Read the rest of this entry »