A Crash Course in How to Study the Bible, Part 1

, ,

Imagine arriving at the lake each Sunday at 10AM to capture the mad skills of a gifted fisherman as he captures your lunch for the day. In doing so, do you think you’d learn to fish for yourself by simply marveling at his skills? Not likely. Sure, you’d learn some ins and outs about the sport, but you wouldn’t learn to fish for yourself. That’s because fishing is learned through participating not mere spectating. As the saying goes, “Give a man a fish and you’ll feed him for a day but teach a man to fish and you’ll feed him for a lifetime.” It turns out that fishing is not only caught but taught. Similarly, when it comes to studying the Bible, many of us are like the spectator discussed above. We show up each week at 10AM for church, we marvel at the expositional skills of the pastor as he unpacks for us the weekly Word, yet we leave, bereft of our own skills to study the Bible. In many ways, Bible study methods should be discipleship 101 and yet there’s no shortage of Christians who’ve attended church for years without a single crash course on how to study the Bible. So here it is. A three-part crash course designed to equip you to study God’s Word on your own. To do this, I will devote three blogs to help you develop an approach to Bible study by using three words every serious student of the Bible is familiar with, namely, observation, interpretation, and application.

When it comes to Bible study, observation asks the question, “What do I see?” Interpretation asks the question, “What does it mean?” And application asks the questions, “How does it work?”

Observation: What do I see
Interpretation: What does it mean?
Application: How does it work?”“

It’s been said, “The difference between a good Bible student and a great one is the great one simply sees more. In this blog series I’ll introduce you to three acrostics using these key words to hone your Bible study skills. Beginning with observation, here’s how it looks, acrostic style: O.B.S.E.R.V.A.T.I.O.N.

Observe Prayerfully

The Psalmist captures this idea nicely when he writes, “Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law” (Psalm 119:18).  Similarly, as we delve into God’s Word it’s good to ask the Lord to open our eyes to accurately understand Scripture.

Begin by Seeing the Big Picture

You can do this by reading the passage you’re studying several times to get a feel for the lay of the land. What you’re in search of is the overarching idea. The point of the passage. The big idea.

Select the Style of Literature

This is important. Not all Scripture is to be approached in the same manner. That’s because the Bible is comprised of various genres such as narrative, history, law, poetry, wisdom, prophecy, gospel, epistle, and apocalyptic. If you approach historical sections as metaphorical or apocalyptic portions as overly literal, you’ll soon find yourself in theological trouble when you arrive at the interpretation stage.

Explore any Commands to Follow

It’s helpful to know if the passage before you has any commands to follow, but also crucial to remember where you are in the Bible as it relates to the given command. That’s because some commands no longer hold. If you aren’t careful, you may find yourself feeling bound to commands that already served their purpose but are no longer required. This is especially true as it relates to the Old Testament dietary law that was clearly eradicated with the inauguration of the New Covenant.

Record any Warnings Given

Warnings are evident throughout Scripture. All the way from Adam’s warning in the Garden of Eden to not eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 2:17) to the warning in Revelation to not add to God’s Word (Revelation 22:18-19). When the Bible issues a warning, observe it. Warnings are God’s way of trying to protect us. Therefore, stay alert.

Venture to Find Promises Proclaimed

This can be tricky, so be careful. Not every promise is recorded directly for us. We’ve all seen the abuse of Jeremiah 29:11, which refers to God’s promise to prosper His people after their time in captivity is fulfilled. Many of the people who would’ve heard this original message died in Babylon never to see it come to fruition. Knowing how to apply promises is crucial, especially to protect people from being disillusioned by God all because they claimed a promise that wasn’t intended for them.

Ask and Answer Questions of the Text

Perhaps you remember your six interrogative friends from grammar school. If not, no worries. These friends of old are Who, What, Why, Where, When, and How? We want to ask those questions of the passage we are studying. Who is it talking about? What is the big idea? Why was it written? How does it apply? You get the point.

Target Key People and Places

Here you’re looking to discover who the author is, who the recipients are, e.g., are they Jews, Gentiles, or both? You also want to discern the place from which the book was written and the location it was written to. Identifying key people and places will help you put the pieces of the puzzle together so you can capture a clear picture of the passage before you.

Inspect for Contrasts, Comparisons, and (Apparent) Contradictions

The contrasts may be between light and darkness, or sin and holiness, or truth and error. Comparisons might be between the rich and the poor, or the wise and the foolish, or a leader and his followers, or perhaps between heaven and hell. Regarding apparent contradictions, there are lots of them, but none of them lacks an explanation, so be encouraged.

Overview your Discoveries in Light of the Context

Here it’s important to remember that every text has a context. For example, consider Proverbs 5:15 says, “Drink water from your own cistern, flowing water from your own well.” Absent of context we’d never know that this is talking about enjoying sexual intimacy with one’s own spouse versus drawing sexual satisfaction from another person’s spouse. Wells in the ancient world were privately owned. You weren’t to steal another person’s water, but drink from your own well. So too in marriage, we’re to stick to our own spouse. Enjoy our own well. You see, context is key.

Note Words that are Repeated and Emphasized

Doing this will help you unlock what the passage is about. For example, turn over to Psalm 150 for a quick read and you’ll see what I mean. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to recognize that the key word is praise, which clearly indicates the theme of the Psalm.

If you want to practice your observations let me encourage you this week to take this acrostic and read Philippians once a day over the next week, while jotting down your observations. You’ll be amazed at what you discover. And more importantly, you’ll be ready for the next stage, which is interpretation. But for that acrostic you’ll have to wait for the next blog. Till next time.

O.B.S.E.R.V.A.T.I.O.N., in review:
Observe Prayerfully
Begin by Seeing the Big Picture
Select the Style of Literature
Explore any Commands to Follow
Record any Warnings Given
Venture to Find Promises Proclaimed
Ask and Answer Questions of the Text
Target Key People and Places
Inspect for Contrasts and Comparisons & Apparent Contradictions
Overview your Discoveries in Light of the Context
Note Words that are Repeated and Emphasized

Recommended Resources Related to This Topic

How to Interpret Your Bible by Dr. Frank Turek DVD Complete Series, INSTRUCTOR Study Guide, and STUDENT Study Guide
Why We Know the New Testament Writers Told the Truth by Frank Turek (mp4 Download)
The Top Ten Reasons We Know the NT Writers Told the Truth mp3 by Frank Turek
Counter Culture Christian: Is the Bible True? by Frank Turek (Mp3), (Mp4), and (DVD)
Oh, Why Didn’t I Say That? Is the Bible Historically Reliable? by Frank Turek DVD, Mp4, Mp3 Download.
Living By the Book by Howard Hendricks (Book, Full DVD set, and Condensed DVD set)
How to Read the Bible for All It’s Worth by Gordon Fee and Doug Stuart (Book)
The New Joy of Discovery in Bible Study by Oletta Wald (Book)

Bobby serves as lead pastor of Image Church in Charlotte, North Carolina, and is well known for his YouTube ministry called, One Minute Apologist, which now goes by the name Christianity Still Makes Sense. He also serves as the Co-Host of Pastors’ Perspective, a nationally syndicated call-in radio show on KWVE in Southern California. Bobby earned his Master of Theology degree from Dallas Theological Seminary, his Doctor of Ministry in Apologetics from Southern Evangelical Seminary, and his Ph.D. in Philosophy of Religion from the University of Birmingham (England) where he was supervised under David Cheetham and Yujin Nagasawa. Bobby’s also written several books including: The Fifth Gospel, Doubting Toward Faith, Does God Exist, and Fifty-One other Questions About God and the Bible and the forthcoming Christianity Still Makes Sense to be published by Tyndale in April 2024. He’s married to his lovely wife Heather and together they have two grown kids: Haley and Dawson.

/by

Yes, There is a Difference Between New Age and New Thought

,

When people hear the word “New Age,” they might think of the hippie generation of the ’60s. When people hear “New Thought,” however, most people have no idea what it means.

I believe New Thought has much more influence than New Age. Don’t be fooled by the names. Neither one of them are new. They’re as old as the garden. Many people use the terms interchangeably because the core belief is exactly the same: You are good, and You are God. “New Age” can be an umbrella term used for both New Thought and New Age, but they are actually different. And I believe it’s important to distinguish these terms. There are differences that I believe Christians specifically need to know about. Because New Thought can fool Christians before the New Age will.

First, let’s start with New Thought. If you remember anything about New Thought, remember this one thing: metaphysical Christianity. Literally, take any Christian doctrine and redefine it to put an allegorical metaphysical definition with it, and you have New Thought. It’s spiritual but not religious. This is particularly why I believe New Thought is much more sinister: it’s made to look Christian. Here are some brief terms to know:

Christ

This doesn’t mean the same thing within Christianity. In New Thought, “Christ” and “Jesus” are two different things. Jesus was a man, and Christ is the inner divinity that all mankind can awaken to. Jesus was the Way-shower to how this can be done. He obtained the “Christ Consciousness,” the awakening to his True Self, his inner divinity, and you can too. In this way, you are the I AM just as much as Jesus was.

God

An “It” not a “He.” This is a force or a spiritual source that pours out abundance and prosperity to those who know how to wield their power. New Thought isn’t pantheistic but pan-en-theistic, which is basically an attempt to fuse pantheism with theism. (See, “Panentheism”)

Sin

The only sin is your ignorance of your self-divinity and remaining in your False Self, or your Ego.

Atonement and Salvation

This means “At-One-Ment,” a mixing of the words to mean that you’re awakening to a higher level of consciousness. Salvation is found in your finding your True Self.

Evil/Hell/Satan/Heaven

None of these are literal, but states of mind or metaphorical. Anything that’s considered evil, such as someone flying into the Twin Towers, is because they are in their False Self. The reason for pain, suffering, and evil is because of humanity’s unawareness of their inner divinity, and therefore asleep to their True Self. In this way, they have created their own personal Hell or Heaven. New Thought also believes in an ambiguous Universalism. There is no judgment, only love.

Bible

The Bible is filled with metaphysical esoteric knowledge that those in the “spiritual know” can interpret. People that wrote the Bible only understood it in the time and place that they lived, but we understand more now because we have grown spiritually. This is why they can look at a Scripture and think, “what does this verse mean to me,” because their interpretation is subjective to their lived experience. Their view of the Bible is a higher spiritual view that depicts real Christianity.

Faith and Prosperity

New Thought might be best known through the popular concept of positive thinking that we see in the self-help section at your local bookstore. Faith is a power to make things happen. We can wield this power through our minds. Because New Thought teaches that God only allows good things to happen, if we have enough faith, we can proclaim health and wealth, and it must manifest itself in our lives. The Law of Attraction is probably the most popular New Thought belief that most would recognize. Your words have power and can create. God is a creative force. Since you’re a manifestation of God, you’re able to create with your words as well.

This list is by no means exhaustive. But these concepts are unique to New Thought dressed up as Christianity. New Age parts ways in its more occultic associations. New Thought might say that it frowns upon occultic practices, but that isn’t the case. They would say that truth can be found anywhere, including the occult. Both have gnostic leanings and a relativistic view of truth, but here are three specific differences between the New Age and New Thought:

Three Big Differences Between New Thought and New Age

  1. New Thought claims to be Christian in origin and uses Christian terms, but accepting of all beliefs. The New Age we know today was heavily influenced by theosophy, which does not claim to be Christian.
  2. New Age is more associated with Numerology, Astrology, Tarot, Crystal Energy, Yoga, Auras, Starseeds, Psychedelics, Psychics, Astral Projection, and Alienology.
  3. New Age might be more pantheistic in their worldview than the panentheistic view of New Thought.

Even though there are differences, the two almost always seem to overlap in beliefs on some level. For example, I have never met someone in the New Age who didn’t believe in Christ Consciousness or the law of attraction. I believe this is why the terms are used interchangeably, where most people would associate themselves with being caught up in the New Age when really they were more into New Thought (Myself included).

Both are alluring, and both are deceiving. Both elevate man and demote God. New Thought masquerades as true Christianity, and because of this, I’ve seen numerous Christians adopt New Thought beliefs and not know it. In my experience, Christians tend to be able to spot the New Age much better than they can New Thought. New Thought has been a shadow of a deception in the Church, and I want to shine a light on it so Christians can be equipped to know what they’re dealing with.

A constant companion to avoid deception: The Bible. Stay in it. Read it. Study it. You will be able to discern the metaphysical definitions that New Thought uses immediately if you know the real thing.

Recommended Resources Related to this Topic

How Can Jesus Be the Only Way? (mp4 Download) by Frank Turek
Person of Interest: Why Jesus Still Matters in a World that Rejects the Bible by J. Warner Wallace (Paperback), (Investigator’s Guide).
Another Gospel? by Alisa Childers (book)
Counter Culture Christian: Is the Bible True? by Frank Turek (Mp3), (Mp4), and (DVD)
Defending Absolutes in a Relativistic World (Mp3) by Frank Turek
Is Morality Absolute or Relative? (Mp3), (Mp4), and (DVD) by Frank Turek

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Melissa Dougherty is a Christian Apologist best known for her YouTube channel as an ex-new ager. She has two associate’s degrees, one in Early Childhood Multicultural Education, and the other in Liberal Arts. She also has a bachelor’s degree in Religious Studies at Southern Evangelical Seminary.

 

/by

A Trendy New Breathing and Meditation Technique… and it’s Odd.

,

I was scrolling through the Gram one day, and since I look up a lot of New Age things, the almighty algorithm put in front of my face something it thought I would enjoy. My eyes fell upon people rolling around, screaming, laughing hysterically, crying, convulsing, and rocking back and forth. I, no kidding, thought I was watching something from a Holy Spirit night at Bethel Church or something. It took me a hot second to realize that I was looking at a growing trend called Witality Breathwork.

Growing Trend

As time went on, I saw this strange practice pop up all over America, including in my own hometown. Immediately, I wanted to investigate, so I looked into actually going to the conference to observe, so I emailed them asking if this was possible, even saying I’d buy a ticket. They emailed me back and said that they would prefer that I participate instead of observe. And I was like…

Nah. That’s a dealbreaker. I have asked if they will make an exception for me to observe for research reasons, but I doubt they’ll allow it at this point. The apologist/journalist in me is pining to see this in person, but here’s what I do know at this point.

Witality Breathwork revolves around a man named Witalij Martynow, the Witality Breathwork website states:

Witality™ is an ever evolving complex of breathing, meditative, movement techniques, and philosophies that Witalij Martynow discovered on his healing journey that worked for him and that brought back the vitality to his own life. Witalij combines latest scientific research, eastern philosophies, indigenous teachings and his own ancestral ways of healing and maintaining wellbeing… Witalij believes that the majority of sickness both mental, physical and spiritual comes from the stuck and unprocessed energy that didn’t find an outlet out of our system. Whether it is unprocessed emotion, chronic pain, or childhood trauma, Witalij sees it all as energy. As he discovered on his journey, breathing in specific rhythms and intensities combined with a crafted guidance, allows that energy to move and to be released. During his process we alter our state of consciousness while gaining a different perspective on our life and connecting to our body’s own intellect that jumpstarts the healing process.

Basically, you’re performing intense breathing exercises that alter your consciousness. The goal is to suspend the mind to reach the spirit, where healing can take place. This, they say, is the reason why some people can act out like they do. The website is very straightforward that this is an intense practice, and isn’t shy about showing some extreme aspects of what goes on during these sessions. They reason that in order to die to your ego, your false self, and awaken your true self takes time and work.

First Reactions

Besides the startling images I saw of people manically laughing, rolling, and screaming, among other things, I couldn’t help noticing my first reaction. I thought this was in a church. I’ve seen this behavior more in hyper charismatic settings than I have anywhere else. I know many of the Christians involved in something like that would argue that what goes on in their churches is the authentic version of what Witality participants are experiencing, and I simply have to cry foul at this point. You can’t throw down the “this is actually Christian!” card and think that solves the problem and shuts down the conversation. This stuff is sus.

What’s more, is that these people that have experienced Witality breath work have claimed to have spiritual encounters with spiritual beings. I also wouldn’t be surprised a bit if people were speaking in tongues in these sessions especially considering this type of breathwork came out of ancient India in the form of energy-moving exercises called Pranayamas, which are known for speaking in “tongues.” The common denominator between the two is the emotional workup to have an experience that manifests in the videos and images we see on their website. And then just slap the label “spiritual healing” on it, and voila… the proof is the experience. That’s the standard for if it’s true or not.

Similar to Some Church Services

Many Christians who have attended a Holy Spirit crusade or something similar claim they have had spiritual breakthroughs by having their “spiritual blocks” removed. People go to Witality Breathwork to have their “spiritual blocks” removed. It’s uncanny how the results are indistinguishable from each other. What I’m seeing at a Witality Breathwork conference is no different than what I see at a hyper-charismatic Holy Spirit Healing conference. What concerns me is not only the damage this does theologically to people within the church, but that it always comes back to the Gospel that truly spiritually heals us.

The Witality site is clear that though this is a healing tool to work out energetic blockages, it’s not a quick fix: “Even though the work of release itself is a powerful healing tool, it is important to treat it as a catalyst for change, not a quick fix. Maintaining the vitality requires a lot of discipline on a daily basis, as the next stages of the work become daily practices of increasing our capacity and sensitivity to energy and building up our energetic structures.”

But wanna know the real kicker? It works.

People attending these conferences have had strong testimonies of this Witality Breathwork resulting in extraordinary results. And that’s the point! People do not keep investing in occultic practices if they do not produce results. So why would they be open to hearing anything about the Gospel of Jesus? Perhaps their rationale is that if they can achieve “spiritual healing” through breathwork, they may not feel the need for the Gospel. But breathwork, or anything like it, isn’t true healing. Like all New Age and Occultic practices, this will inevitably result in short-lived relief, and they will need something else to help ease them from what’s truly the issue: their need for a Savior. And it’s not them.

Recommended Resources Related to this Topic

How Can Jesus Be the Only Way? (mp4 Download) by Frank Turek
Person of Interest: Why Jesus Still Matters in a World that Rejects the Bible by J. Warner Wallace (Paperback), (Investigator’s Guide).
Another Gospel? by Alisa Childers (book)
Counter Culture Christian: Is the Bible True? by Frank Turek (Mp3), (Mp4), and (DVD)
Defending Absolutes in a Relativistic World (Mp3) by Frank Turek

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Melissa Dougherty is a Christian Apologist best known for her YouTube channel as an ex-new ager. She has two associate’s degrees, one in Early Childhood Multicultural Education, and the other in Liberal Arts. She also has a bachelor’s degree in Religious Studies at Southern Evangelical Seminary.

 

/by

As Long as It Doesn’t Hurt Anyone Or does it?

,

Watching classic TV recently I ran across one of my favorite episodes of the Twilight Zone series. Fans of that show will probably remember the classic episode “To Serve Man.” In the story, aliens from a distant world come to Earth with they offer “to help.” Initially reluctant, the inhabitants of Earth are quickly convinced that the aliens mean them no harm; quite the contrary, alien technology helps to eliminate many of Earth’s struggles and problems, and the inhabitants of Earth are quickly seduced by the aliens’ promises.

As the story progresses, the aliens offer to take people to their home world, which they promise is a veritable paradise. Many sign up and soon embark on the alien ships to begin their adventure. And why shouldn’t they? After all, everything the aliens did was pleasing and helpful; there was no immediate evidence that they would, or could, hurt anyone

Instant Gratification Culture

The episode got me thinking about modern times. Many people today have adopted a worldview that looks only at the short-term pleasure, and not the long-term harm, of their desires and pursuits. They believe that they can – and perhaps even should – do whatever they like, as long as what they pursue doesn’t “hurt anyone.” They of course retain the perquisite of determining what “hurt” entails, and for the most part that seems to be to obtain the “consent” of whomever might be involved. Where Christians once derived their morality from the teachings of Scripture, many – some would say most – have also adopted this humanist worldview, confident that their notions of what “not hurting” someone means are similar to those of God.

…Versus Heavenly Minded

This willful blindness to God’s law is not new to our culture; it has been the constant throughout history. That is, of course, why adhering to Scripture is such an important and salutary practice; while times and fashions and moods change over time, the word of God is constant, having been reliably passed down for thousands of years at this point. It is suitable for instruction and reproof, as it claims, and should remain our guideposts as we move down this highway of our lives. But sadly, where once Christians sought to be “salt and light” in their culture, today’s increasingly intolerant public square is making such efforts increasingly difficult, and many Christians have been influenced and indeed silenced by the press of that culture.

Which brings me back to the Twilight Zone. Not everyone was convinced that the aliens were benevolent. Several sought to crack the code of their alien language, so they could translate a book which was left behind. The book’s title, To Serve Man, seemed consistent with the aliens’ actions in providing near-miraculous service to mankind, such as restoring the fertility of the soil and rendering nuclear weapons harmless. The story ends with a shocking, albeit too late, discovery: “to serve man” is actually the title of a cookbook. The aliens had come to turn people into food.

And so the parallel continues. While not seeking to literally eat us, our adversary the devil “prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” (1 Peter 5:7) He does this by lies and deceptions, for he is the father of deceit. And the oldest lie of all? The same one told in the Garden: you don’t need to follow God’s rules, for you too can be like God, having the knowledge of good and evil (Gen 3:1-4). What that means in practice is not knowledge, that is, the acquisition of information about good and evil. Instead, it is the god-like power to define good and evil, to do as one pleases without the need to concern oneself with God’s holy will.

And so we Christians must remain cautious and on our guard. A philosophy that tells us to do whatever we want as long as it doesn’t “hurt anyone” is a highly seductive philosophy, one that “tickles the ears” of listeners. (2 Tim. 4:3) But how can we truly foresee the long-term effects of our choices? How can we know, when we give in to our temptations and embrace them as good, what ultimate harm will come to us, and to those we say we love? When we look for a shortcut, or take the easy way out when we know that we should do otherwise, how can we really foresee what the long-term consequence of those actions will be? As Jesus taught, “what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, but to forfeit his soul?” (Mark 8:36)

Seduction comes camouflaged, and it comes in many forms. Behind it is always a lie, a promise of short-term pleasure that seeks to conceal the long-term harm. Staying true to God’s will requires us to know and follow his law. Trying to substitute a “do no harm” philosophy may seem enlightened, but in the end, it will not serve – neither man nor mankind.


Recommended Resources Related to this Topic

Is Morality Absolute or Relative? by Frank Turek (DVD/ Mp3/ Mp4)
Jesus vs. The Culture by Dr. Frank Turek DVD, Mp4 Download, and Mp3
Was Jesus Intolerant? (DVD) and (Mp4 Download) by Dr. Frank Turek
Legislating Morality (mp4 download),  (DVD Set), (MP3 Set), (PowerPoint download), and (PowerPoint CD) by Frank Turek
Legislating Morality: Is it Wise? Is it Legal? Is it Possible? by Frank Turek (Book)

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Al Serrato earned his law degree from the University of California at Berkeley in 1985. He began his career as an FBI special agent before becoming a prosecutor in California, where he worked for 33 years. An introduction to CS Lewis’ works sparked his interest in Apologetics, which he has pursued for the past three decades. He got his start writing Apologetics with J. Warner Wallace and Pleaseconvinceme.com.

 

/by

Is Scientology Compatible with Christianity?

,

By Bobby Conway

I’m often surprised to hear some of the beliefs that Christians contend are compatible with Christianity. One such belief is Scientology. As Christians we are expected to remain discerning about the various beliefs that come our way. That’s why it’s worth asking, “Is Scientology compatible with Christianity?” To all those Christians who’d say, “yes”, I’d respectfully disagree, and here’s why.

First, the Auditing Process Contradicts Scripture

Unlike scientologists, Christians don’t believe they existed as immaterial souls before their bodily existence on earth. Auditors hook adherents up to an E-meter, leading them through a process called auditing, which is supposed to connect them to their pre-existent lives by addressing the traumas they accumulated, which are now apparently blocking them from being CLEAR of these traumas called engrams. A Christian can’t go through auditing to come to terms with a life he never had to discover freedom. Scientologists assume the narrative the E-meter confirms through the auditing process reflect the reality of one’s past lives.

Second, Scientologists Require You to Purchase Your Salvation

Why pay potentially tens of thousands of dollars to get CLEAR from an existence you never had when grace awaits you for free at the table of Christianity?

Third, Scientologists Teach Reincarnation

Scientologists deny heaven and hell, rather teaching reincarnation, a concept foreign to the Bible. As Hebrews 9:27-28a says, “Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many” (NIV).

Fourth, Scientology Reveres L. Ron Hubbard Over the Biblical Jesus

The Church of Scientology denies the Bible and magnifies its founders works as the be all end all guide to truth. As Christians we can’t put the works of a science-fiction writer on par with Scripture unless we’re willing compromise the truth of God’s Word.

Fifth, Scientology rejects the Trinity and the Biblical Jesus

Scientologists deny the Triune God and reduce Jesus to a good moral teacher. For that reason alone, why would we want to tinker with an auditor on an E-meter to the tune of L. Ron Hubbard’s teachings?

Sixth, Scientologists Misrepresent Our Sin Nature

Scientologists deny human depravity, contending our real issue is we’re not clear of past traumas (engrams). While we may have trauma it’s not trauma collected from some past life. And our ultimate issue is not that we need to be saved from the trauma of a pre-existent life we never had, but from the trauma of sin.

Seventh, Scientologists Deny that Jesus Is the Only Way to Salvation

They reject John. 14:6 where Jesus says he is “the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” For Scientologists, freedom comes through being freed from the cycle of reincarnation. Jesus as the only way can be circumvented the L. Ron Hubbard way, so they think. Therefore, comparing the teachings of Scientology with the Bible, we see that the two have very little, if anything, in common. Scientology is a sure path to lead one away from the Gospel of Christ. Scientology, while sometimes disguising its beliefs in Christian-sounding language, is diametrically opposed to Christianity on every core doctrine. The only thing we need to be CLEAR about is this. Scientology is not Christian.

Recommended Resources Related to This Topic

How Can Jesus Be the Only Way? (mp4 Download) by Frank Turek
Is Original Sin Unfair? (DVD Set), (mp4 Download Set), and (MP3 Set) by Dr. Frank Turek
Jesus, You and the Essentials of Christianity by Frank Turek (INSTRUCTOR Study Guide), (STUDENT Study Guide), and (DVD)
Person of Interest: Why Jesus Still Matters in a World that Rejects the Bible by J. Warner Wallace (Paperback), (Investigator’s Guide).
Macro Evolution? I Don’t Have Enough Faith to be a Darwinist (DVD Set), (MP3 Set) and (mp4 Download Set) by Dr. Frank Turek
Early Evidence for the Resurrection by Dr. Gary Habermas (DVD), (Mp3) and (Mp4)

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Bobby serves as lead pastor of Image Church in Charlotte, North Carolina, and is well known for his YouTube ministry called, One Minute Apologist, which now goes by the name Christianity Still Makes Sense. He also serves as the Co-Host of Pastors’ Perspective, a nationally syndicated call-in radio show on KWVE in Southern California. Bobby earned his Master of Theology degree from Dallas Theological Seminary, his Doctor of Ministry in Apologetics from Southern Evangelical Seminary, and his Ph.D. in Philosophy of Religion from the University of Birmingham (England) where he was supervised under David Cheetham and Yujin Nagasawa. Bobby’s also written several books including: The Fifth Gospel, Doubting Toward Faith, Does God Exist, and Fifty-One other Questions About God and the Bible and the forthcoming Christianity Still Makes Sense to be published by Tyndale in April 2024. He’s married to his lovely wife Heather and together they have two grown kids: Haley and Dawson.

 

/by

What Does it Mean That “God Won’t Let You Down?”

,

We often hear in popular Christian songs and from pulpits that “God is never gonna let me down!” or “God hasn’t failed me yet!” Besides the tragedy of grammar (I mean, how does God not fail you yet?), what does that mean? What does the Bible actually say about this? Does God actually make all things possible for you? What does it mean when people say that He won’t fail you (yet) or let you down?

What DOESN’T it mean?

First, I want to say what it isn’t. This does not mean that we expect or demand God to do what we think He should do. It doesn’t mean that God is required to give you what you’re having all the faith in the world for. This might be hard for some people to accept but hear me out and let me hash this out more.

Even David in the Old Testament did everything he could possibly do, begging God, fasting, and believing that his son would live. Sadly, God did not give him what he asked for. God didn’t heal David’s son. One of my favorite stories in the Bible is Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. They refused to bow their knee to the idol, and when threatened with death, they said that God could deliver them. But even if He doesn’t, they won’t bow to the mob. God delivered them, but they knew that in God’s sovereignty, that might not have been the case. Many people in the Old and New Testaments didn’t get delivered. Does this mean God let them down? Did God fail them? No. It means we understand our place and limited power, and we trust God even if He doesn’t give us what we think He should.

Many times I’ve seen people assume that God made them a promise or that God spoke to them when in reality, this wasn’t the case but an assumption on their part. They move forward with making decisions in their life, thinking that God’s stamp of approval is on it because they think, He’ll never let me down! He won’t fail me! He wants this because I can feel it! Then they’re crushed when it doesn’t happen and might assume that God has failed them or let them down. God not letting us down doesn’t mean we won’t feel pain, get hurt, make mistakes, or that He won’t let bad things happen to us.

What DOES it mean?

What it does mean is that even when bad things happen or things don’t go as planned, you are always in His hands as a child of God. There’s no better place to be when things go wrong. It means that He is faithful even when life is kinda terrible. He goes through it with you. I think of Paul and the disciples in the early church and the torture and pain they endured. I think of the Christian martyrs around the world that are in hiding every day and sometimes killed. I think of the Mom or Dad who has lost a child, a horrendous experience that they have to live through every day. I think of the person who is having doubts about their faith or the prodigal child who’s out to have a good time. The thing that sets the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob apart from all others is that He’s with you in it. He walks alongside you, not leaving you alone and abandoned. He endures it with you and never leaves you or forsakes you. Compare this with how God describes other idols in the Bible:

 “Like scarecrows in a cucumber patch, their idols cannot speak. They must be carried because they cannot walk. Do not fear them, for they can do no harm, and neither can they do any good.” Jeremiah 10:5 (NIV)

 

“Their idols are silver and gold, made by human hands. They have mouths, but cannot speak, eyes, but cannot see. They have ears, but cannot hear, noses, but cannot smell. They have hands, but cannot feel, feet, but cannot walk, nor can they utter a sound with their throats. Those who make them will be like them, and so will all who trust in them.” Psalm 115:4-8 (NIV)

It’s about love

I once read in a book about world religions that, in the author’s opinion one of the biggest differences between the Christian God and all other false gods could be summed up in one word: love. God became a human, His own creation, to redeem us when we did not deserve or even want it. The maker of the universe was broken for the sins of the earth. He continues to draw us to Him, wanting us to repent and follow Him. This doesn’t mean we don’t go to Him with our requests or prayers. We should ask in boldness and faith. It should mean that our love for Him isn’t contingent on whether He gives us what we want or not. He’ll never let us down because He is Good, the Great I AM. He’ll never fail because He has promises in Scripture about His character and identity.

To sum it up, God not letting you down has more to do with Him than with us. It’s about knowing His nature, knowing who He is, and the wonders of His glory and character. He is the standard of goodness, love, power, holiness, justice, wisdom, and grace. It’s worshipping a God that is in control, knowing that we can believe and have faith and ask God for anything. But then, letting God be God and trusting that for the believer, for His children, His ways are perfect. That no matter what, He’s our perfect Father.

Recommended Resources Related to this Topic

If God, Why Evil? (DVD Set), (MP3 Set), and (MP4 Download Set) by Frank Turek
God wants you well, or does He? A Closer Look At the Health Gospel (MP4 download) by John Ferrer
Why Doesn’t God Intervene More? (DVD Set), (MP3 Set), and (MP4 Download Set) by Frank Turek
Why does God allow Bad Things to Happen to Good People? (DVD) and (MP4 Download) by Frank Turek
Relief From the Worst Pain You’ll Ever Experience (DVD) (MP3) (Mp4 Download) by Gary Habermas
When Reason Isn’t the Reason for Unbelief (DVD)(Mp4) by Frank Turek

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Melissa Dougherty is a Christian Apologist best known for her YouTube channel as an ex-new ager. She has two associate’s degrees, one in Early Childhood Multicultural Education, and the other in Liberal Arts. She also has a bachelor’s degree in Religious Studies at Southern Evangelical Seminary.

 

/by

How Much Punishment Is Enough?

,

Many people reject the possibility of an eternal Hell because they feel that “the punishment doesn’t fit the crime.” Some atheists focus on this perceived inequality between the sins we commit here on Earth and the unending punishment we face in the life to come. One skeptic framed the challenge this way:

“God is perfectly just, and yet he sentences the imperfect humans he created to infinite suffering in hell for finite sins. Clearly, a limited offense does not warrant unlimited punishment. God’s sentencing of the imperfect humans to an eternity in hell for a mere mortal lifetime of sin is infinitely more unjust than this punishment. The absurd injustice of this infinite punishment is even greater when we consider that the ultimate source of human imperfection is the God who created them.” [1]

The challenger contends that a “limited” offense does not warrant unlimited – eternal – punishment. Such punishment, he concludes, would constitute a greater injustice than the “mere mortal lifetime of sin.” For many people, including perhaps a majority of believers, this argument is accepted uncritically. But upon closer examination, it is apparent that the conclusion the challenger draws is based upon a misunderstanding of what “just” punishment entails.

Who is the crime against?

The first step in the analysis must be to consider the nature of the “sovereign” against whom the crime is committed. If I commit a crime in California, state authorities in Colorado could not impose punishment. Their laws have not been broken. To be just, the laws of the sovereign should be made known. Although ignorance of the law is not an excuse, a fair system makes known its laws, so that they can have the intended effect: to shape behavior by encouraging the good and discouraging the bad. State authorities are by nature limited and flawed, and the laws they enact reflect that they cannot, and therefore do not, expect perfection.

But who is the lawmaker that can sentence us to this “eternal” punishment? It is, of course, an eternal being, and more importantly, an eternal being who embodies and comprises perfection. That he would separate himself from a creation in rebellion is hardly unjust. And if separation from God is in fact the “hell” of which we speak – the agony of seeing but not being able to experience the joy of his presence – then those who reject his gift are in store for an eternity of this experience. This is not a sentencing choice that a capricious lawmaker has conjured up, but the necessary consequence of both living eternally and being eternally separated from the source of perfection.

Compounding offenses

When a jurisdiction enacts “three strikes” legislation, the sovereign makes known that there are offenses which carry with them a punishment of life imprisonment – separation for the rest of one’s life from the society that has been victimized by the offender’s behavior. In some such jurisdictions, the third strike might be a relatively minor offense, one that on its own would not merit such a sentence, but coming as it does after a series of more serious violations, it tips the scales in such a way that this conclusion – that permanent separation from society is warranted – becomes just. It is the appropriate response to an offender who has established that he or she refuses to conform to the requirements of the law and has run out of chances.

One sin would have been enough?

Re-examining the challenger’s conclusion in light of these reflections reveals what is at play: the challenger has ignored the fact that a single offense, committed against an eternal and perfect being, is sufficient to justify separation from him. But of course it is worse than that, for we humans in rebellion have racked up sin upon sin, offense upon offense. But, the challenger complains, is there no proportionality between the offense and the type of punishment? Can’t God come up with a lighter punishment?

But why not a lighter punishment?

Again, this misunderstands the nature of the problem. God is not devising ever more wicked ways of inflicting punishment on us, hoping to make hell as torturous a place as possible. The punishment of hell is, simply, the natural consequence – the byproduct – of being separated from God. God does nothing more than that, but unfortunately for us, this is experienced as unending torment.

Finally, God embodies infinite perfection, so rather than sinning against another human being, who himself has flaws and needs forgiveness, these offenses are against a being who is infinitely holy. Considered this way, eternal separation from God starts to make a bit more sense. The good news, of course, is that God is also infinitely merciful. Knowing that we cannot solve this problem on our own, He solved it for us and made that salvation available to everyone. Perfect justice, perfect mercy, perfectly balanced, providing a truly just and elegant solution to our problem.

Did God make people sin?

But what of the challenger’s further indictment of God for creating imperfect human beings and then punishing them for being imperfect? This conclusion also rests on faulty reasoning. God created beings with free will and each of us chooses to use our free will to defy him. As the creator, he has the right to respond to that rebellion, by separating himself from us. Consider how you might react if you built a robot to clean the bathroom and it eventually refused, claiming that it wished to be served rather than to serve. You could easily unplug or disassemble it, because as its creator you would have that prerogative. So too with God.

We get what we deserve – eternal separation from the source of life, goodness and joy – because we continually choose to focus on what we want rather than submit our will to him. Rather than condemning God for this, the smarter move is to thank him for also providing us the solution.

Endnotes

[1] Edwina Monfort, “Is God Perfet and Just” Blogspot, 21 Dec 2011 at: https://edwinamonfort.blogspot.com/2011/12/is-god-perfect-and-just.html


Recommended Resources Related to this Topic

Hell? The Truth about Eternity (MP3 Set), (DVD Set), and (Mp4 Download Set) by Dr. Frank Turek
Short Answers to Long Questions (DVD) and (mp4 Download) by Dr. Frank Turek
Was Jesus Intolerant? (DVD) and (Mp4 Download) by Dr. Frank Turek

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Al Serrato earned his law degree from the University of California at Berkeley in 1985. He began his career as an FBI special agent before becoming a prosecutor in California, where he worked for 33 years. An introduction to CS Lewis’ works sparked his interest in Apologetics, which he has pursued for the past three decades. He got his start writing Apologetics with J. Warner Wallace and Pleaseconvinceme.com.

 

/by

Is the God of the OT the Same God of the NT?

,

There’s no shortage of accusations claiming the Bible depicts a vision of two Gods: the grumpy, moody, and often volatile, curmudgeon like God of the Old Testament, and the mushy, judge free, glorified sugar daddy God of the New Testament. Is this the case? Does the Bible present a clash of the God’s? The malevolent God of the Old Testament and the benevolent God of the New Testament? Or does God suffer from a bad case of bi-bolar disorder, is he the first mental health patient, exhibiting fits of schizophrenia, or some sort of split personality disorder? Not quite.

Progressive Revelation

What the Bible presents is a God who reveals himself in both Testaments through progressive revelation. As the story unfolds, the revealed nature of God crystalizes, elucidating in greater detail who God is. While it is true that one may capture clearer glimpses of God’s grace in the New Testament due to his ultimate grace coming to fruition at the cross, this does not mean the Old Testament is bereft of God’s benevolence toward humanity. Throughout the Old Testament the Bible presents a God who tirelessly pursues his people even after countless rejections of his warnings of impending judgment.

Mercy in the Old Testament

Yes, judgment comes, but it does so after they ignore his warnings to turn toward him. Even the prophets of the Old Testament as they rail against the nations, are in many ways messengers of mercy, by warning people and giving them a heads up, in advance, to make things right. When they don’t, sure judgment ensues. But so does the great hound of heaven, with another invitation to align to him once again.

Judgment in the New Testament

As you come to the New Testament, it’s not like God is morally indifferent. Like some pushover deity wrapped around our finger whose only aim is to indulge our hedonistic impulses. Not in the least. One’s not hard pressed to find God’s judgment at work there either. A cursory read of Romans 1-3, or Jesus’s clearing of the temple (Mark 11:15-17), or the hardening of the Jewish nations heart as seen in Romans 11:11-24 are a few salient examples. Not to mention the book of Revelation, which unfolds God’s plan of justice in the eschaton (Rev. 20:11-15) or the fact that Jesus addressed the topic of hell more than heaven. In the end, the Bible does not portray of dual headed god, but the entire canon unveils for us the fuller picture of One God who is both just and loving and of course so much more.

Recommended Resources Related to This Topic

If God, Why Evil? (DVD Set), (MP3 Set), and (mp4 Download Set) by Frank Turek
Why Doesn’t God Intervene More? (DVD Set), (MP3 Set), and (mp4 Download Set) by Frank Turek
Why does God allow Bad Things to Happen to Good People? (DVD) and (mp4 Download) by Frank Turek
Is Original Sin Unfair? (DVD Set), (mp4 Download Set), and (MP3 Set) by Dr. Frank Turek
How Can Jesus Be the Only Way? (mp4 Download) by Frank Turek

 

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Bobby serves as lead pastor of Image Church in Charlotte, North Carolina, and is well known for his YouTube ministry called, One Minute Apologist, which now goes by the name Christianity Still Makes Sense. He also serves as the Co-Host of Pastors’ Perspective, a nationally syndicated call-in radio show on KWVE in Southern California. Bobby earned his Master of Theology degree from Dallas Theological Seminary, his Doctor of Ministry in Apologetics from Southern Evangelical Seminary, and his Ph.D. in Philosophy of Religion from the University of Birmingham (England) where he was supervised under David Cheetham and Yujin Nagasawa. Bobby’s also written several books including: The Fifth Gospel, Doubting Toward Faith, Does God Exist, and Fifty-One other Questions About God and the Bible and the forthcoming Christianity Still Makes Sense to be published by Tyndale in April 2024. He’s married to his lovely wife Heather and together they have two grown kids: Haley and Dawson.

 

/by

Is The God of the Old Testament The Same as the God of The New Testament?

,

There’s no shortage of accusations claiming the Bible depicts a vision of two Gods: the grumpy, moody, and often volatile, curmudgeon like God of the Old Testament, and the mushy, judge free, glorified sugar daddy God of the New Testament. Is this the case? Does the Bible present a clash of the God’s? The malevolent God of the Old Testament and the benevolent God of the New Testament? Or does God suffer from a bad case of bi-bolar disorder, is he the first mental health patient, exhibiting fits of schizophrenia, or some sort of split personality disorder? Not quite.

Progressive Revelation

What the Bible presents is a God who reveals himself in both Testaments through progressive revelation. As the story unfolds, the revealed nature of God crystalizes, elucidating in greater detail who God is.

While it is true that one may capture clearer glimpses of God’s grace in the New Testament due to his ultimate grace coming to fruition at the cross, this does not mean the Old Testament is bereft of God’s benevolence toward humanity. Throughout the Old Testament the Bible presents a God who tirelessly pursues his people even after countless rejections of his warnings of impending judgment.

Mercy in the Old Testament

Yes, judgment comes, but it does so after they ignore his warnings to turn toward him. Even the prophets of the Old Testament as they rail against the nations, are in many ways messengers of mercy, by warning people and giving them a heads up, in advance, to make things right. When they don’t, sure judgment ensues. But so does the great hound of heaven, with another invitation to align to him once again.

Judgment in the New Testament

As you come to the New Testament, it’s not like God is morally indifferent. Like some pushover deity wrapped around our finger whose only aim is to indulge our hedonistic impulses. Not in the least. One’s not hard pressed to find God’s judgment at work there either. A cursory read of Romans 1-3, or Jesus’s clearing of the temple (Mark 11:15-17), or the hardening of the Jewish nations heart as seen in Romans 11:11-24 are a few salient examples. Not to mention the book of Revelation, which unfolds God’s plan of justice in the eschaton (Rev. 20:11-15) or the fact that Jesus addressed the topic of hell more than heaven. In the end, the Bible does not portray of dual headed god, but the entire canon unveils for us the fuller picture of One God who is both just and loving and of course so much more.

 “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” (Hebrews 13:8)

Other Recommended Resources On This Topic

If God, Why Evil? (DVD Set), (MP3 Set), and (mp4 Download Set) by Frank Turek
Why Doesn’t God Intervene More? (DVD Set), (MP3 Set), and (mp4 Download Set) by Frank Turek
Why does God allow Bad Things to Happen to Good People? (DVD) and (mp4 Download) by Frank Turek
Is Original Sin Unfair? (DVD Set), (mp4 Download Set), and (MP3 Set) by Dr. Frank Turek
How Can Jesus Be the Only Way? (mp4 Download) by Frank Turek

Bobby serves as lead pastor of Image Church in Charlotte, North Carolina, and is well known for his YouTube ministry called, One Minute Apologist, which now goes by the name Christianity Still Makes Sense. He also serves as the Co-Host of Pastors’ Perspective, a nationally syndicated call-in radio show on KWVE in Southern California. Bobby earned his Master of Theology degree from Dallas Theological Seminary, his Doctor of Ministry in Apologetics from Southern Evangelical Seminary, and his Ph.D. in Philosophy of Religion from the University of Birmingham (England) where he was supervised under David Cheetham and Yujin Nagasawa. Bobby’s also written several books including: The Fifth Gospel, Doubting Toward Faith, Does God Exist, and Fifty-One other Questions About God and the Bible and the forthcoming Christianity Still Makes Sense to be published by Tyndale in April 2024. He’s married to his lovely wife Heather and together they have two grown kids: Haley and Dawson.

 

/by

In Defense of Marriage

,

Language is complex. Language provides the building blocks for communication in society.  What certain words or phrases mean within a given context helps to shape the understanding of the culture at large. Words, and their definitions, are what organize society. Words that define a culture’s foundational institutions most of all. Concise language provides clarity and direction for communities, cultures, and countries.

Language matters. It is important to define what I mean by language here. By language, I simply mean the common words used in a culture and their natural meanings. I am not pitting a *type* of language (English, Spanish, German etc.) against another. It is within these *types* of language that we find the foundational elements of society.

What is a Woman?

It is this fundamental organizing principle of language that is at the heart of the Daily Wire documentary What is a Woman.[1] In it, conservative commentator Matt Walsh seeks to hammer down a definition of the word woman.  In one of the more interesting choices of the documentary he travels to Kenya to meet with a Mosai tribe to seek out their perspective on the topic. In this scene the point of how words are defined is poignantly made. The Mosai do not struggle with what a woman is because they have clearly defined the word within their culture, however, gender theory activists struggled to define the word beyond a mere tautology (a circular definition like: “Apple is defined as an apple”). The ambiguity in our culture concerning the definition of woman is the point and confusion is the natural product. This confusion leads to the dismantling of any cultural implications for the word. In fact, it seems to be erasing the concept entirely. When the definition of a word becomes tautological it is rendered useless. (i.e., if we don’t know what a woman is, then it’s no clearer if we define a woman as “someone who is a woman”).

We must now say “pregnant people”[2] or “birthing person” to not offend those that embrace the new non-definition of woman.  As that definition erodes, the science follows.  Ambiguity leads to confusion, confusion leads to pointlessness, pointlessness leads to identity crisis which ends in nihilism.

Ambiguity leads to confusion, confusion leads to pointlessness, pointlessness leads to identity crisis which ends in nihilism.

This is not a new problem for our progressive society. The redefinition of love[3] into tautology has eroded trust in truth[4], made sexual experience only about consent, and opened the doors for polyamory, bestiality, and even pedophilia. Most recently, our culture has chosen to do the same to the word marriage, and what is worse, many conservatives simply go along with it.

What is a Marriage?

In 2015 the Supreme Court unilaterally decided to change the definition of marriage[5] and recently, Congress followed suit by ratifying the ironically named Respect for Marriage Act[6] in which the legality of gay marriage is codified into federal law. Leaving aside (what should be) the obvious religious liberty complications, the redefinition of marriage, while trivial to some, is a defining moment in the history of this nation.

Marriage is one of those words that has provided the foundation for society for hundreds of years, and not just western society. Much ink has been spilled about what it means for a secular society to redefine marriage.[7] The secular arguments are important because they rest at the heart of society. Marriage, in principle, is the union between two adult human beings, for life, based on the principle of procreation. Alan Keyes, in this debate with Barak Obama in 2004 puts it succinctly:

When the moderator presses the issue with exceptions (elderly couples, infertility, etc.) Keyes does not bat an eye. The idea of procreation being principally possible in marriage is not undermined by outliers and does not open the door for impossibilities. Surrogate procreation, which many homosexual couples have turned to,[8] helps to prove Keyes’ point. The impossibility of natural procreation, in principle, within the confines of homosexual partnership turns procreation into a consumeristic experience rather than a foundational building block for society.

But this redefinition of marriage goes deeper than procreation. It goes straight to the heart of parenthood. Statistics show that children growing up in a two parent (mother and father) household “do better.”[9] The foundational elements of western society are dependent on a majority of children growing up under the direction and nurture of a father and mother. Again, there are outliers within the data, but the principle here stands firm on the scientific evidence. Marriage, as defined throughout history, is foundational for a functioning and moral society.

That is not to say that there is no possibility of same-sex unions providing stable and loving environments where children will thrive and grow into functional members of society, but it is to say that without the foundation of marriage, as historically defined, this possibility becomes far more remote.

Secular History of Marriage?

Those who study history know this full well. Karl Marx and Frederick Engels built a key tenant of their argument on the destruction of the nuclear family.[10] They understood that the keys to overturning the structures of society rested in redefining the foundational institutions of said society: “Theoretically, any sexual relationship between mutually consenting persons would be possible. What would not be possible would be the security of a life-long marriage. This sexual relationship could not be chosen.”[11]

It is for this reason that the Black Lives Matter movement embraced the destruction of the nuclear family, “We disrupt the Western-prescribed nuclear family structure.”[12] There is a deeper and more sinister work at play in dismantling the family system founded by the God.

I say founded by God because it is so, and again, Marx and Engels understood this well. If they could dismantle religion[13]and disrupt the institution of the family the revolution would naturally occur.

Scripture on Marriage

Beyond the secular arguments there stands the argument based on the truths of scripture.  How the church ought to define marriage, fight for marriage, and interact with culture on the topic of marriage is of the utmost import. The Respect for Marriage Act will force churches across the nation to choose a side and prepare for direct confrontation. First amendment protections are not clearly defined (this is a feature of the bill, not a bug) and thus, the tax-exempt status of conservative churches that embrace biblical values will come under scrutiny.

I am not going to argue for the tax-exempt status of the church, but I will argue that the American church will have to choose, possibly for the first time, whether to confront the government head on and deal with the consequences therein or toe the political line. There are, of course, issues that do not call for the church to be confrontational, but the abolition of traditional marriage is not one of them.

The biblical case for marriage is powerful and simple.  Many progressive objectors point to the ubiquitous presence of polygamy within the Bible as a contradiction of the traditional marriage values orthodox Christians espouse. This dishonest trope fails (or refuses) to recognize the difference between prescriptive and descriptive text.

God establishes the marriage covenant at the outset of Creation: “For this reason, a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh.” (Gen. 2:24). Jesus affirms this definition in Matthew 19:5-6. Paul affirms it as a qualification for eldership in 1 Timothy 3:2, as a picture of Christ and the Church in Ephesians 5:21-33 and refers back to in clarifying the relationship of husband and wife in 1 Corinthians 7.

But what About All the Polygamy in the Old Testament?

Good question. Polygamy is handled much like slavery in scripture, it is not endorsed by God, but it is regulated.  The regulation comes with intention of future eradication. Exodus 21:7-11 and Deuteronomy 21:15-17 offer these regulations. However, many Jewish scholars believe Leviticus 18:18 might prohibit it directly.[14]

As David Wilbur says: “…We can understand the Torah’s polygamy legislation as representing not God’s perfect will but his response to the realities of a fallen world. In the beginning, polygamy, like divorce, “was not so.” Marriage in creation was a monogamous union.”[15]

The first case of polygamy in scripture is noted as an aberration in Genesis 4:19. Lamech was the great-great-great grandson of Cain. It took five generations from the Fall for humanity to introduce the concept of polygamy and everywhere that polygamy and sexual deviancy followed so did turmoil. From Abraham and his concubine to Lot and his daughters, to Jacob and his wives, we find that sexual sin is the direct result of rebellion (Romans 1).

Why this foray into polygamy as we seek to defend the definition of traditional marriage?  Simple. As the polygamy of the Old Testament affirms, the dismantling of the institution of marriage carries with it dire consequences. One of the themes of the Old Testament is that of humanity’s rebellion in all of God’s designs. Marriage is no exception.  We find similar issues throughout Israel’s history; the multiple marriages and sexual sins of Israel’s monarchy are directly related to dysfunction in the Royal family and in the nations of Israel and Judah themselves.

This is why Jesus calls the church his Bride. There is a reestablishment of God’s purposes in the language of marriage.  It is one of the only human institutions ordained by God prior to the fall that is carried over into the church age by Jesus Christ himself. The orthodox view of marriage ties us back to the original design of the garden.  The redefinition of marriage in our culture carries with it a similar harbinger of things to come as Lamech’s choice to marry two women in Genesis 4. In Genesis 6 we find the world in wicked disarray. That is not necessarily because of Lamech’s choice to marry two women, but the dismantling of the institution was a symptom of a wider and more insidious problem. The wickedness of the heart.

So it is with our own society. The redefinition of marriage into a mere commitment based on a tautology. Marriage has become a contract concerning two consenting individuals that love each other and want to spend their lives together (so long as it is convenient, annulment of the marriage is simple enough when things get hard). What is love? Well, love is love.  Affection and desire.  Emotive infatuation.  A lifetime commitment based on absurdity, and we wonder why divorce is rampant.

But if love is love and consent is all that matters who is to say that man-beast[16] marriage is immoral? Or man-child marriage? Or polygamy? You might scoff, as many have, and glibly assure me that this slippery slope is only in my mind, but a New York judge recently ruled in favor of polyamory.[17] If a 5-year-old can choose his/her own gender and can consent to treatment what is to keep him/her from consenting to sex with a 30-year-old? Love is love. How can a child be wise enough to understand his own gender transition needs[18] but not wise enough to consent in a romantic relationship?  The rebranding of pedophilia to Minor Attracted Persons (or MAP) indicates the movement is already gaining steam.[19]

As Christians we must allow scripture to define our terms. That includes marriage. As Christopher Watkin and Tim Keller explain:

“…language both expresses and forms a world. To use particular language is to live in a particular world. This is also a reason for Christians, wherever practicable, to use biblical language to describe the world. The Bible’s categories of creation, sin, grace, idolatry, and so on are not neutral and interchangeable with other sets of terms; they are particular figures that belong to and provide the rhythm for the Bible’s account of reality.”[20]

We ought to fight for the civil respect of God honoring definitions.[21] If we want our society to thrive, we ought to implore our civil authorities to abide by God’s definitions.  We cannot do as David French did and acquiesce to the gods of pluralist society.[22]

The defense of marriage is the defense of a god-honoring society. It is not the only thing to defend but it is a foundational thing to defend.  We must stand firm.

Endnotes

[1] https://www.dailywire.com/videos/what-is-a-woman; https://freethinkingministries.com/movie-review-what-is-a-woman/

[2] https://www.nih.gov/nih-style-guide/inclusive-gender-neutral-language

[3] https://www.bustle.com/p/8-lgbtq-activists-share-what-love-is-love-means-to-them-in-donald-trumps-america-7278041

[4] https://freethinkingministries.com/cuties-the-natural-progression-of-love-is-love/

[5] https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/576/14-556/

[6] https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/8404

[7] https://www.heritage.org/marriage-and-family/report/marriage-what-it-why-it-matters-and-the-consequences-redefining-it

[8] https://surrogate.com/about-surrogacy/types-of-surrogacy/can-lgbt-couples-pursue-surrogacy/

[9] https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/children-do-better-when-raised-in-intact-two-parent-homes/

[10] https://www.csustan.edu/sites/default/files/History/Faculty/Weikart/Marx-Engels-and-the-Abolition-of-the-Family.pdf

[11] Ibid., pg. 669

[12] https://uca.edu/training/files/2020/09/black-Lives-Matter-Handout.pdf

[13] https://law.marquette.edu/facultyblog/2015/01/karl-marx-on-religion/comment-page-1/

[14] https://davidwilber.com/articles/does-the-torah-prohibit-polygamy

[15] https://davidwilber.com/articles/understanding-the-torahs-polygamy-regulations

[16] https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1328310

[17] https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2022/10/new-york-judge-rules-favor-polyamorous-relationships/

[18] https://freethinkingministries.com/gender-identity-the-bible-and-the-christian/

[19] https://nypost.com/2021/11/15/allyn-walker-says-attraction-to-children-isnt-immoral/

[20] Christopher Watkin and Timothy Keller, “Humanity,” Biblical Critical Theory: How the Bible’s Unfolding Story Makes Sense of Modern Life and Culture (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2023), 100–101.

[21] https://freethinkingministries.com/the-right-christian-nationalism/

[22] https://newsletters.theatlantic.com/the-third-rail/6377fb0dce44df0038de4c62/respect-for-marriage-same-sex-religious-freedom/


Recommended Resources Related to this Topic

Legislating Morality: Is it Wise? Is it Legal? Is it Possible? by Frank Turek (Book, DVD, Mp3, Mp4, PowerPoint download, PowerPoint CD)
Is Morality Absolute or Relative? by Frank Turek (DVD/ Mp3/ Mp4)
Was Jesus Intolerant? (DVD) and (Mp4 Download) by Dr. Frank Turek
Jesus vs. The Culture by Dr. Frank Turek DVD, Mp4 Download, and Mp3
Letters to a Young Progressive by Mike Adams (Book)
Another Gospel? by Alisa Childers (book)

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Josh Klein is a Pastor from Omaha, Nebraska with over a decade of ministry experience. He graduated with an MDiv from Sioux Falls Seminary and spends his spare time reading and engaging with current and past theological and cultural issues. He has been married for 12 years to Sharalee Klein and they have three young children.

Original Blog Source: http://bit.ly/3Kuy6K2

 

/by