The Word in Our Lives

Years ago, Angela and I were frequent guests in the Canadian home of a man whose success I admired. He and his wife were wonderful hosts to us, but he expressed disdain for some of our behaviors that he found peculiar. For example, I recall being addressed from the other end of a long dinner table;
"Alister, when when you grow up, you will find this to be a fine whisky."
Advice duly noted, ... and discarded.

Last year Angela and the girls visited our erstwhile hosts and found not a hint of disdain. He asked whether he could say bed-time prayers with our girls, and his conversation with God and the girls confessed to a relationship with God that he had previously resisted and rejected.

What made the difference? Can the Bible re-create a person?

Could evidence of re-creation speak more for the Bible's validity than does evidence for Creation?

What is the Bible's track record as a change agent in human lives? I lived in Rwanda for a year, a country that had more members of my Christian denomination than any country on the planet. When church was out, the city's traffic ground to a halt! But all those Sabbath School lessons and Bible-based sermons didn't preclude the subsequent brutality of the 1994 Rwandan Genocide.

You may have acquaintances with encyclopedic Biblical knowledge and no evidence of a relationship with Him who is Love. Does this argue for rejecting the Bible? Are our acquaintances likely to seek out Bible truth because of what they see it doing in our lives?

© Alister L Hunt PhD

The Bible and Science

A vivid childhood memory is of sitting amongst members of Dad's sales team on Sabbath afternoon, listening to discussions of God, the Bible and how the world works.

Chris, a member of that group, had an engineering background and an expansive mind. I recall Chris' excitement as he pursued a picture of God emanating from Genesis 1:3, "And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light." Chris understood that the physical matter of this universe can be conceived of in terms of energy and waves, much like visible light. So, the next thing he was busily calculating out in his head the energy equivalence of the earth's mass -- energy equals mass times the speed of light squared.

Chris was in awe of this picture of the power of God's word that could bring physical matter into being. The numbers he came up with meant nothing to me as a child (and probably wouldn't now), but the vivid picture of a person earnestly seeking out an understanding of God through scientific insight remains with me.

How do you gain glimpses of God in the 'science' of your vocation?

As an economist I am constantly amazed at the beauty of market equilibrium. The "invisible hand" of Adam Smith's 1759 'Theory of Moral Sentiments' provides me with a glimpse of the free, self-ordering nature of God's universe -- a picture of the "Great Architect of the Universe", as Smith put it. Others don't share my excitement with equilibrium, suggesting that markets are from the dark side of 'dog eat dog' competition instead of heavenly harmony. But I can see the beauty of "voluntary market exchange such that both parties are better off" as part of the creative order of God's universe. Karol Wojtyla, better known as Pope John Paul II, was prominent among many Christians in recognizing that free economic creativity is part of what it means for us to have been created in God's image.

This study asks us to consider how the Bible can contribute to our understanding of science. I encourage you to consider how the Bible affects your view of scientific knowledge in your field of daily endeavor. Do you see pictures of God where others see randomness and chance?

© Alister L Hunt PhD

When the Rocks Cry Out

While this study primarily examines archaeological support for the Bible's historicity and authenticity, it also examines the nature of Christian faith. Interestingly, this week the US is examining the basis for Mormon faith, with considerable coverage of Mormonism on both Public Television and National Public Radio. A recurring theme is that all religious revelation is somewhat mystical, so we need not press on the details too hard -- Nephi Plates, or the Bible.

What part does the Bible's authenticity play in your Christian experience?

How seriously have you evaluated the Bible's authenticity?

How seriously should we?

Here is an excerpt from an interview with Terryl Givens, professor of literature and religion at the University of Richmond and author of 'By the Hand of Mormon: The American Scripture that Launched a New World Religion'. Read through the excerpt and consider whether you could insert 'Bible' in place of references to the Book of Mormon.

'My idea going into this study of the _____, ..., was if the _____ is true, then it has to stand up to the most rigorous assaults and critiques that skeptics and nonbelievers can make. So I made every effort to honestly, fully investigate every criticism, every objection that's ever been made to the historicity of the _____. One has to suspend judgment in a number of cases, because it's hard to say when the evidence will all be in, but at the present there are still a number of unresolved anachronisms and problems and ambiguities in the text.

But I felt satisfied that there was in every case a corresponding weight on the other side of the equation, which actually led me to, I think, some very important insights into the nature of faith and how faith works. I came to the conclusion, ..., that for faith to operate, and for faith to have moral significance in our lives, then it has to at some level be a choice. It can't be urged upon us by an irresistible, overwhelming body of evidence, or what merit is there in the espousing of faith? And it can't be something that we embrace in spite of overwhelming logical rational evidence to the contrary, because I don't believe that God expects us to hold in disregard that faculty of reason that he gave us.'

© Alister L Hunt PhD

The Bible is Reliable

We continue our study of Biblical authenticity and reliability, addressing
external validity -- the resurrection as the basis of faith -- and
internal validity -- the New Testament's reliance on the Old Testament.

Both are important and interesting studies.

Here's something to think about. Do the references by Jesus, Paul, etc. to the OT indicate reliance and authenticity? Or, were they just referring to something that their hearers could relate to, much as we might refer to the 'Lord of the Rings' trilogy or Narnia Tales to illustrate a concept?

Note that there are quotations in the New Testament from the heathen poets, such as Aratus in Acts 17:28, Menander in I Corinthians 15:33, and Epimenides in Titus 1:12. Also, there are eleven margin references in the original King James Bible to Apocryphal books.

So, as we read through NT references to the OT, lets consider whether they are intended to establish and strengthen our reliance on the scriptures, or whether they are nothing more than, say, Paul's reference to the poet Menander.

© Alister L Hunt PhD

Bible Prophecy Fulfilled

I watched an interesting film as a teenager. A judge empanels an independent jury and then a lawyer presents a 'case' for Jesus being the Messiah. The jury returns a verdict of 'Messiah' on the basis of incontrovertible evidence.

Powerful stuff - prophetic fulfillment - that strengthened my faith.

It wasn't until recently that I read the messianic prophecies in context and found that they weren't quite as forensic as I had thought as a teenager.

For example,

* Matt 2:15 reference to Hosea 11:1 (Messiah called out of Egypt)
Hosea was actually talking about God's deliverance of Israel out of Egypt, and deliverance from idol worship, etc., not the Messiah.

* Matt 2:18 reference to Jeremiah 31:15 (Herod kills the babies)
Jeremiah was talking about Rachel weeping for her children, who are then brought back from captivity by God, not the Messiah.

* Matt 2:23 reference to ..., well, that's the problem. Its a reference to nothing identifiable in the 66 books of scripture.

These three examples from one New Testament chapter make it look like my 'case' is unravelling! What do the rest of the New Testament references back to Messianic prophecies look like in context? If you were a member of the jury, what would your verdict be?

I don't raise this issue to shake your faith in Jesus as the Messiah. Rather, I want us to have a look at each of these OT / NT linkages in full context BEFORE we engage in trying to prove to someone that Jesus is the fulfillment of Messianic prophecy.

When I was a teenager I was happy to rush through a prepared Bible study guide, ticking off each apparent NT fulfillment of OT prophecy. But I would hope that the rigor of my Biblical analysis and understanding would have progressed in the last 30 years. All of us are analytical thinkers in our respective fields, and we owe it to ourselves to bring at least that same level of rigorous thinking to our Bible study, particularly study that purports to be forensic.

Take the time to prayerfully read the Messianic prophecies that may lead to another Emmaus Road experience with Christ.

© Alister L Hunt PhD

The Final Word

Some years ago I was selling Christian books door-to-door and happened to call on the local Anglican clergywoman. She dressed me down emphatically for selling expensive books to parents who, according to her social analysis, could barely afford to feed their children. Being the impertinent youngster that I was, I responded by quoting Matthew 4 to her -- scripture from this week's study.

Visualize it: young Alister standing on the vicarage doorstep, quoting "It is written: Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God." She was quite unimpressed, and said "That's the problem with you fundamentalists; always quoting scripture." Well, she was only 21% right, as last week's entry attests.

Jesus was, of course, quoting from Deuteronomy, where God fed the Israelites with manna from heaven. It's fascinating to go back and read Deuteronomy and realize that we typically use this scripture out of context. God is reminding his people of his care and leading over the last 40 years and then says:
'I gave you manna so that you would know that you are sustained not by your own efforts, but by my word. I covenanted with you, and I will not forget my word.'

What word? Well, we have to go back 40 years to the Exodus, with the Egyptians hot on their trail. The prophetic word from God through Moses was
'Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. ... The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.' (Ex 14:13,14).

Manna follows in the next chapter.

Two thousand years later, Jesus was not so much making a statement about scriptural authority as he was declaring His reliance on His Father, even in circumstances of extreme hunger far beyond anything the Israelites experienced in their 40-year wilderness safari.

This week's study is a case for the 'authority' of scripture, with Jesus' reliance on scripture as Exhibit A. The 'authority' of scripture has always been of more interest to the supposed custodians of God's word than it has been to God's people. If the Bible is the 'final authority', then clergy entrusted with expositing and ruling on scripture also have 'final authority'. Fortunately, most of us meet within a community of faith that rejects such views. But Jesus had to deal with that view head on. In the Sermon on the Mount, he repeatedly rebuts Biblical interpretation that is inconsistent with His character with "You have heard it said, ... but I say ..." (Matt 5). Nothing is 'final' while God continues to more fully reveal His character to us.

Read the Bible passages for yourself and prayerfully consider what they say about scriptural authority.

BTW, the 'further study' reading, pp. 15-23 Selected Messages, Book I, is excellent.  I have included an excerpt below (which I find personally challenging).

"But the oracles of God have been so manifestly neglected that there are but few in our world, even of those who profess to explain it to others, who have the divine knowledge of the scriptures. There are learned men who have a college education, but these shepherds do not feed the flock of God. They do not consider that the excellencies of the Scriptures will be continually unfolding their hidden treasures as precious jewels are discovered by digging for them."

The Voice From Heaven

I just completed an interesting online questionnaire. It is meant to categorize a person's Christian beliefs on the basis of their responses to a series of questions. It then quantifies and graphs various dimensions of your Christian belief. I'm not sure how scientific it is, but it is quite a bit of fun to compare assessments with others.

Have a go at it, and consider sharing your assessment with others who have done it.
http://quizfarm.com/test.php?q_id=43870

I am categorized as an Evangelical Holiness/Wesleyan. Apparently that means that I share John Wesley's belief that the doctrine of predestination is blasphemous, representing "God as worse than the devil". I am also apparently not a Roman Catholic and score poorly in the 'Liberal' and 'Fundamentalist' categories. It also says that I believe that I am saved by God's grace, even though I am "totally depraved". How did it know that!? : )

So, what has a non-scientific questionnaire got to do with this study? As we begin this study of the Bible's role in our lives, it is interesting to consider (and perhaps quantify) how we view the Bible as a revelation from God. I am apparently 21% fundamentalist. I'm surprised it isn't 0% fundamentalist, since I don't accept the idea of word-by-word inspiration of the Bible. I recognize the human dimension of inspiration inherent in the statement that
"Holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost." 2 Peter 1:21.

Spend some time considering where you sit on the fundamentalist spectrum. It will be interesting to compare our views of the Bible at the end of this quarter and consider how they might have changed as we study and share together.

"What is the Bible, and how does it come to be?" The clearest, rational and most Biblical answer to that question that I am aware of is in the Introduction section to a book called Great Controversy that many of us are familiar with. I'd suggest reading that brief section as quite a good start to this study, if not for the quarter. You can find it at the following address:

http://www.whiteestate.org/books/gc/gcintroduction.html