A Dad's Wise Advice

When I was a young boy, one of the most profound pieces of advice my father ever gave to me was this:

Don’t form an opinion on someone based on the words of someone else.

For 20 odd years, I enjoyed playing cricket with various clubs. Every Saturday morning, I can still remember the smell of the fly repellent, the fresh dew on the grass at 8am, and chatting and laughing with my buddies. The regular butterflies in my stomach in some ways still haunt me as I prepared to pad up to face the first ball of the day. Whether I was out in the middle batting, bowling or fielding, or whether I was sitting with my team mates waiting to bat, cricket was great fun.

I recall my very first game at Llandilo against Nepean Youth Club. They were formidable opponents. We fielded first. When it was time to bat, I pleaded with Mr Hadler to let me open the batting. He accepted. I remember racing out to the middle to face the first ball. On a score of 1 run, my team mate hit the ball straight back to the bowler, and in my haste to be on strike, I started running. Much like most of my running between the wickets in my grade days, I was run out from an utterly suicidal attempt at a run. Ha! Those were fond memories.

With these pleasant memories, playing cricket for many years also exposed me to the dark side of the sport. It wasn’t the actual game that was ‘dark’, but rather the politics of the selections and so on. The politics of the game brought the worst out in people. Good mates would turn on one another, dragging down people who had nothing to do with the disagreement.

I can still recall the time when the Penrith Junior Cricket Association elected a new President, Mr Clarence. He revolutionised many aspects of the club, drawing new sponsors, innovations and interests in the club. These changes allowed more boys who did not make the first XI to be involved in representative cricket. I benefitted from this when I was in the Under 13s, playing in the IDCA comp that year.

With the revolutionary changes, though, came the opponents. Many people had negative things to say about Mr Clarence, some perhaps may have been warranted. Though, even when I was inclined to agree with the petty gossip, my father, however, was very quick to redirect me to think about the interactions I had had with Mr Clarence as opposed to blindly following what other people had to say about him. “Clarence seems alright to me”, my dad would say. “Don’t listen to what others say, Rhys”.

We humans have a nasty knack of blindly believing and following others. A great deal of the time, we are persuaded by the petty, agenda laden gossip, aimed at turning one against another. The poison tends be proceeded by a gentle and seductive, “You won’t believe what I heard…”. It’s in our workplaces, our clubs, all over the media and into our homes.

Now, take that poison we’ve all been dosed up with and consider how much of it has persuaded you and your perceptions about God. I wonder how much you truly know about what Christianity actually teaches about God? I wonder whether you have ever considered who God is and what He desires. We all have some theological understandings, from believing in an all-powerful deity, to believing in not believing in a deity, pardon my play on words. But, just how much have your perceptions about the divine been shaped by the unguided and misleading popular media. I wonder whether you’ve based these beliefs about God on what someone else has said rather than just listening to God himself.

One of the most provocative stories in the Bible is about the interaction between God and his first people, Adam and Eve. After crafting all that exists, God carefully and wonderfully created humans in his image (Genesis 1:26). God then placed the first humans into an abundant paradise, filled with sumptuous treasures. God personally related with them, protecting and providing for their every need.

As the story progresses, we meet the ultimate chaos agent, the serpent. Rather than being a faithful member of God’s creation, the serpent worked towards forming a wedge between God and his image bearers. The serpent, just like the gossipers we encounter day after day, whispered the most manipulative words – “Did God really say; He is holding you back from reaching your potential; You can be just like God!” Rather than trusting in the integrity of God first hand, the first humans rejected Him in open rebellion. They based their opinion of God on what someone else had told them.

To not know God is a product of our rebellion. To not seek to know God is an outworking of our rebellion. Ignorance, as they say, is bliss, but ignorance does not hold up in court. This world and everything in it belongs to God. You and I belong to God and a day of reckoning has been set when we will give an account for the way we have lived the life God has given us. This life only has meaning when we are plugged into following God’s plans and purposes. But how can one do this without knowing God and what He wants? Rather than rely on what God has said about himself, we tend to rely on what others have said about Him. I’m sure you’ve heard all too often, “God wouldn’t care if I did this”, or “God isn’t like that”. Honestly, how would you know whether God would care or what he’s like if you don’t even know Him?

My father’s wise words still ring true. Rather than go to someone else to know about God, a more productive thing to do would be to ask yourself what does God actually say about himself. Christians, for two thousand years, have believed that the Bible is the inspired words of God. They believe that if you want to know God, then reading the Bible is the answer as in it, God reveals himself through them, ultimately pointing to Jesus, God incarnate.

So, finally, what’s my point? The Bible has a huge amount to say about God and our relationship with Him. The challenge I have for you is do you actually know what the Bible has to say about God? Have you ever sat down and actually studied it? Are you going to take ‘my dad’s wise advice’ and take God for face value, or will you rely on what others have said about Him?

Psalm 100 - Know that the LORD, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture….. For the LORD is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations.

Have a Merry Christmas

Bible: Fiction or Nonfiction?

University is an amazing institution where the minds of the future can be shaped and moulded. As a university student, I was exposed to many different types of theories and philosophies. One of those philosophies was post modernism, which is the belief that there is no absolute truth, but there are actually many different truths which are socially constructed. As a student who did not believe in the teachings of the bible, I found this philosophy compelling as it seemed inclusive and tolerant, blowing ‘narrow minded Christians, Muslims, Modernists and so on, out of the water.

My post modernism shaken

Midway through my university studies, I started to question the philosophy of post modernism. My mind dabbled in the possibility of their existing absolute truth and meaning. So, naturally, I asked the question, ‘how can all belief systems (including atheism) be right’ if there is such a thing called absolute truth? Thus, I came across the bible, which teaches that:

• The world was created by one God, who loves us and wants to have a fulfilling relationship with us,
• However, we have all rejected him and now suffer the consequences of death and suffering.
• God became a man named Jesus, lived the perfect life, experienced the turmoils and trails we face, and died on the cross to pay for our rejection,
• Jesus was resurrected and now reigns as King of the universe, and will return to recreate everything, judge the world and save those who trust in him.

Learning these biblical teachings and becoming regenerated by the Holy Spirit, my post modern understandings were shaken and eventually made completely obsolete, as the teachings of the bible were clearly absolute in nature.

How can the world still neglect the bible?

So if the bible is absolute in its teachings, then what place does post modernism have in our society? Strangely, post modernism, and every other counter argument to the bible, continues to thrive even though it’s contradicted by the bible. A driving force against the bible is the notion that the scriptures cannot be trusted as it is an unreliable text, full of historical errors and contradictions. This was one of the hurdles I tackled on my path to Christianity, which I found in the end, a rather facetious counter argument.

The claim that the bible is unreliable text due to the amount of errors and contradictions in it, is a rather laughable counter argument. Biblical textual criticism is the field of study where scholars compare the many New Testament manuscripts dating back to the Early Church period. Most critical biblical scholars are in agreement, that the bible is a reliable historical document which holds absolutely no damaging contractions, as claimed by some. The contradictions that seem to be evident are possible minor changes in words, which have occurred over time.

 

An immensely helpful article was written about five years ago, titled Misanalyzing Text Criticism--Bart Ehrman's'Misquoting Jesus'. This article was authored by two of the world’s most leading textual and biblical scholars, Professor Ben Witherington III and Professor Daniel Wallace. The article is a response to another textual critic named Professor Bart Erhman, who has created a stir with some of his most recent publications, claiming that the bible is a fabrication, full of historical errors. Both Witherington and Wallace expertly dismantle Erhman’s arguements. I recommend you read the article as I will do this field of study a massive disservice if I try.

Where to from here?

After examining the evidence, I came to the conclusion that the bible is God’s word, in perfect agreement within itself and a reliable historical document, detailing the work of God in his creation. I endorse the endeavour of examining the historical and biblical evidence for yourself. To many of us, including myself, can be indifferent, ignorant or hold an incorrect bias to the field of biblical textual criticism, and as a result, completely miss the enormous claims of scripture. Please don’t fall into this trap, as there is a great and loving God who is communicating with us through his scriptures.

So I leave you with this question – are you listening to God? Or, have you closed your ears and minds to God because you are taking someone’s else’s word for it? 

Resource Review: The New Bible Dictionary (3rd Edition)

To order this product:

Click Here (Koorong) (Amazon)

This book is easy to read, very thorough and extremely perceptive. I have found this book a handy addition to my library.

As an accessible, comprehensive A - Z of Bible terms, place names, books, people and doctrines, the NEW BIBLE DICTIONARY has stood the test of time. It has long been recognized as an essential reference work, now revised and improved for the Bible students of today.

Written by an international team of over 150 scholars, this Third Edition updates key articles, time charts and all bibliographies - revisions that reflect recent developments in biblical studies. Maps, family trees, line drawings, diagrams and charts clarify and expand the text. A vital tool freshly sharpened for contemporary use. 1323 pages, from IVP.

Endorsement:
John Stott says: "I doubt if there is any better value for money today than theNew Bible Dictionary and the New Bible Commentary. As basic books for every thinking Christian's library they are indispensable."

Hardback, IVP Press 1298 pages

Price: Approx. $40 (Koorong)

Price: Approx. $29 (Amazon)

Science and Jesus (8): The Great Confusion!

‘Irrational, infantile, idiotic and primitive’; this is how the New Atheists have described the Christian belief system. Man like Dawkins and Sam Harris claim that ‘following an ancient book called the bible is absolutely irrational’. Harris goes as far as to say that anybody espousing a faith in a irrational God should be murdered (see Why God won’t go away for more).

The massive stumbling block for the New Atheists like Richard Dawkins is the interpretation of Genesis 1. If God created the world 6 000 years ago, in six days like Genesis 1 appears to do, then how could anyone trust this document. The major problem with this view, in my humble opinion is that Genesis 1 is not articulating the mechanism and the fine details of the process by which God created the universe, as I have explained in Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 and Part 4 of this series, but rather, that one all powerful and eternal being named God, created the world with a purpose and for relationship.

A huge problem arises when we try to make the bible say something that it is not. It creates great problems, which in the case of Genesis 1 and creation, leads to mistrust that is unwarranted. This is what leading Christian preacher, Phillip Jensen has to say about Genesis 1, creation and evolution:

This leads me to another issue, most people who discredit and scorn at the bible have never actually read it for themselves. I experienced this when chatting to a friend, who espouses an Atheistic worldview. He made a heap of claims that weren’t even true, like the bible clearly says that the world is 6 000 years old. “Okay”, I said to him, “where in the bible does it say this”? The answer is absolutely no where. My friend was going off inaccurate second hand information. So I say to you now, below is a link to Genesis chapter 1 to chapter 3:

These are the first three chapters of the Christian bible.
Genesis 1 – 3 (ESV)

I hope this helps answer a few of your questions pertaining to a faith in Jesus and science. I will continue with a few more post on Jesus and Science, then move onto Jesus and History. Stay posted and check out for yourself the real Jesus.

Resource Review: An Introduction to the Old Testament

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Reading the Old Testament can be as tough as licking your big toe. It is a collection of different writings, which were written between 2500 to 3500 years ago, spanning many different cultures but addressing one main issue – God and his redemptive plan for humanity.

This second edition of An Introduction to the Old Testament integrates and interacts with recent developments in Old Testament scholarship. Several distinctives set it apart from other introductions to the Old Testament:

It is thoroughly evangelical in its perspective. It emphasizes "special introduction"----the study of individual books. It interacts in an irenic spirit with the historical-critical method. It features points of research history and representative scholars rather than an exhaustive treatment of past scholarship. It deals with the meaning of each book, not in isolation but in a canonical context. It probes the meaning of each book in the setting of its culture.

Including callouts, charts, and graphs, this text is written with an eye on understanding the nature of Old Testament historiography. This upper-level introduction to the Old Testament offers students a solid understanding of three key issues: historical background, literary analysis, and theological message.

DVD Format
Price: Approx. $39.95 (Koorong)
Price: Approx. $29 (Amazon)

Resource Review: The Daily Audio Bible

If you are anything like me, reading foreign books is a rather difficult task, particularly if you have no prior knowledge of the text. So, do you want to know Jesus but you aren't an  avidreader? Well I have some great news for you. The Daily Audio Bible is an excellent resource, which offers daily bible readings in an audio format so you can listen to them on you IPod, IPhone or any other electronic device that plays MP3's. Below is a short clip detailing some of the great resources available at the Daily Audio Bible:



To access the many resources available at the Daily Audio Bible, please CLICK HERE