Read the TNIV Online Bible

Cool. Looking forward to diving into this new translation!

Messy Scriptures : Genesis 21

8 The child grew and was weaned, and on the day Isaac was weaned Abraham held a great feast. 9 But Sarah saw that the son whom Hagar the Egyptian had borne to Abraham was mocking, 10 and she said to Abraham, 'Get rid of that slave woman and her son, for that slave woman's son will never share in the inheritance with my son Isaac.'

11 The matter distressed Abraham greatly because it concerned his son. 12 But God said to him, 'Do not be so distressed about the boy and your maidservant. Listen to whatever Sarah tells you, because it is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned. 13 I will make the son of the maidservant into a nation also, because he is your offspring.'

Family values. They are thrown around today by all sorts of people. Many who use these words appeal to the Bible as the basis for family values. But if we read the Bible carefully, we will find that the Bible paints a rather distressing picture of "family values."

As quoted above, the story of Sarah having Hagar and Ishmael sent away cannot possibly be held up as a story stressing family values. Yet God counsels Abraham to do as Sarah requests!

Isn't this counsel the breaking up of a family? Isn't this counsel the separation of a young boy from his father? This can't be right! So much for Genesis 21 being a proof text for family values!

Don't misunderstand me. I'm all for the family. But Christians tend to argue from the Bible that the perfect family is one husband, one wife, 2.5 kids, and a dog. Yet we rarely encounter that kind of family in Scripture.

I would suggested that much of what is argued for as "family values" in America is "chronocentrism--our tendency to assume that the worldview we hold at the present time is the ultimately true worldview." (God at War, Boyd, p. 18).

Throughout Scripture we see many families and few of these families can be held up as models of American family values (1 husband, 1 wife, 2.5 kids, a dog).

Dr. Dobson's a "Wacky Evangelical"

Dr. Dobson has made more headlines last week attacking Sponge Bob. Here's some of Phil Vischer's, the creator of VeggieTales take on it.

I doubt if this specific incident will amount to anything more than another 'look at the wacky evangelicals' sidebar.

Here are Phil's thoughts concerning the video and whether it promotes homosexuality or not...

Do you think the We are Family video promotes homosexuality?

Sorry, I haven't seen it. I heard Ernie & Bert were standing very close, though so, you know … that's concerning.

Do you think that the website (and tolerance pledge) does?

Boy, that's a thorny one. Does pledging to "respect people whose … sexual identity or other characteristics are different from my own" promote homosexuality? We're supposed to love everyone. I'm pretty sure that's biblical.

At the same time, we certainly can't endorse behavior that the Bible labels as sinful. So is "respecting" more like "loving," or more like "endorsing"? Are they encouraging grade school kids to accept homosexuality or to accept homosexuals? I'm not sure I'm qualified to parse that sentence.

And what's the inverse of that pledge? To disrespect people of differing sexual orientations? Jeepers, that doesn't sound biblical.

As far as I am concerned, Vischer does a great job of dissecting this whole issue.

Sadly, I believe that most of the church's response to this issue is not one of love but one of disrespect.

Like the song says, "They will know we are Christians by our disrespect, er...love!"

Church Structure and Leadership

Issues of structure apply to the church as well. Most churches have a constitution or bylaws which govern its structure, its officers, and basic operational schema. When a church’s bylaws are poorly conceived, or non-existent, watch-out! In such instances, when people can make up the rules as they go along, a steady stream of conflict and behind-the-scene power plays inevitably follow. One long-time minister who pastored such a church (with no bylaws) reflected, “those were the 20 most miserable years of my life.” Indeed, when an outside consultant was brought in to evaluate the conflict a subsequent pastor was experiencing at the same church, the consultant declared, “the most perfect pastor in the world could not have pastored this church.”

One of my churches is currently experiencing this. To complicate matters, the yoke relationship needs structure but the structure is being resisted because I think those in power at the one church recognize that they have much to loose if the yoke relationship and how the churches will get along with each other is clarified.

This is so utterly frustrating! Why can't we be about advancing God's kingdom instead of our own little kingdoms? Honestly, these little kingdoms don't amount to much! But we protect that turf like our lives depended on it!

Sadly, this dysfunction is really casting a dark shadow over these churches.

Gender-Accurate Bible's Release Triggers Renewed Debate

Theologian J.I. Packer, James Dobson of Focus on the Family, and SBC seminary presidents R. Albert Mohler Jr. and Paige Patterson, were just a few of the religious leaders who argued vociferously against the new NIV revision.

So glad to see that Dobson has decided to throw his weight around on this issue! Not! Why James, why? Let the Bible scholars discuss this! The sad thing is Dobson has a huge platform for shaping opinion whereas the informed Bible scholars do not.

This issue is so frustrating that I don't even know were to begin commenting.

I think Dr. Craig Blomberg in his endorsement of the new translation puts it best,

The TNIV avoids the overly free translation of certain texts that previous gender-inclusive translations have included, while rendering gender-inclusive uses of "man," "he," "brothers," and the like with appropriate, contemporary English exactly corresponding to the meaning of the original Greek or Hebrew. Not to do this leaves a Bible that increasingly misleads the modern reader; as the father of two daughters I know first hand how this works!

ononion: Artwork by Jack Chick...

Great spoof! What if we are wrong? ;)

QuestionsAboutGod - Freethought Media Library

I think its a good idea to read what people who are hostile to the idea of God and the church think. Here's a list of questions. How would you answer these? Would you try?

Family Scuffles, Pastor Says Jeans a Demon

'You're not wearing pants in my church, you demon'

This is ridiculous.

Homosexuality and the Bible

...without proper knowledge of the original language and context of biblical content, these passages can easily be taken to mean something quite different than was originally intended

Sorry Derek, I'm not convinced. At the very least the Bible is negative toward homosexuality and at the very most the Bible labels it a behavior that is outside of righteous behavior (sin).

The real problem I have with contemporary evangelicalism is the making of one's view and treatment of homosexuality an issue of orthodoxy.

Yet to single out one sin among many as a test for orthodoxy seems strange to me. What if we singled out gossip or gluttony as the litmus test? So much for church potlucks!

I still believe the acting out of homosexual desires is sin. But so is acting out heterosexual desires with someone other then a spouse.

Obviously the real difference is that a homosexual person then has no legitimate arena in which to act upon their desire. But is this all that unique? I would say no. Does an alcoholic have a legitimate arena? Does a single heterosexual? People experience all sorts of desires which cannot and should not be acted upon. There is always something restraining us be it culture, morals, religion, or others.

Isn't that what being finite is about...limitation? There is only one who is infinite, without limit, and last I checked you and I are not that one.

That being said, I don't think God has it out especially for homosexuals. I don't think God is out to get anyone. Actually, come to think of it, God is out to get us just not in the negative sense of that phrase. God is out to get us, to reconcile us to himself through the person of Jesus Christ. The infinite pursuing the finite. Unlimited grace to the limited.

I don't have all of this figured out, I just know that I am limited, finite, sinful and in desperate need of an infinite, unlimited, perfect God to help me, redeem me, rescue me, love me.

Westboro Baptist Church FAQ : On the tsunami

Please keep your mouth shut! Sadly this is just more fodder for those opposed to Christianity and belief in God. Can you blame them?

This is the end result of Calvinism applied to situations without any pastoral heart! Is it even possible to apply Calvinism with a pastoral heart?

Beware of 'Free' Services

I have concerns about blogging companies as well. For example, who really owns the content and can a blog be easily moved from one provider to another? Not a huge deal, but if your private blog suddenly becomes public because some vendor screws up or the company suddenly fails and you can't get your content back, then you'd have a problem.

Interesting thoughts. Though I'm not terribly concerned about this, it is a good question. Especially for many of those power bloggers out there.

Lately, my blog has been pretty lame. Mostly links to other articles with very little comment or original thought. Hopefully, I will find the time and discipline to change this in the coming weeks. But if I start writing some really good stuff (and that's a big IF) who really owns the content? Now that's a question worth asking!

Small churches take up pastor-sharing tradition to stay alive

On yoked congregations...

Pastor Dies While Preaching About Going To Heaven

Wow! It'd make a great object lesson!

Atheist's turn toward God was a 4-year process, friend says

'Three weeks ago I received a letter from him where he said that he was rereading my arguments for the resurrection and was very impressed with them,' he said.

Despite his interest in the resurrection, however, Flew remains far from belief in Christianity, Habermas said.

Perhaps you have heard about Antony Flew's change of heart and mind in the existence of a God. Here's an article with a little more insight into his journey from atheism to deism.

The obstacle of legalism

I have been amazed at the amount of legalism that I find in rural America churches. In fact, some of the largest churches that I have seen are very legalistic (at least from my perspective). My feeling is that many of these churches would really struggle in an urban context.

Here is a good article discussing the dangers of legalism. Sadly, it appears to me to be right on the mark.

Tsunami: Map of Destruction

Powerful.

Apple - Mac mini

It's time for me to switch back to Mac. I used Macs for years and loved them. Since I have switched to PC's several years ago, I have grown rather frustrated with how much they crash.

Declining Southern Baptist Churches

More signs of the changing culture.

Telegraph | News | Science's scourge of believers declares his faith in Darwin

'I believe, but I cannot prove, that all life, all intelligence, all creativity and all 'design' anywhere in the universe is the direct or indirect product of Darwinian natural selection,' said Prof Dawkins in the responses published yesterday on www.edge.org.

That, of course, means that there is no need for a god to design the universe: 'It follows that design comes late in the universe, after a period of Darwinian evolution. Design cannot precede evolution and therefore cannot underlie the universe.'

The Partial Observer - Post-Christmas Reflections on a World Deprived of Joy

From silent night to deafening roar
as waves of terror washed ashore.
The product of a monstrous quake
left countless lifeless in its wake.

Powerful poem from Greg Asimakoupoulos