Written by Men… So what?

One of many arguments people make against the Bible is it’s written by men. The thought behind this is the authors were flesh and blood, fallible human beings like everyone else, neither smarter or holier than the rest of us. What’s most frustrating is if these critics would spend any time reading the Bible, they would see how far from profound or novel this little nugget really is. Scripture itself is very quick to point out the failures of its subjects. Jesus Christ is the only person recorded to be perfect (as one should expect from God Himself) which is an embarrassing detail to include when the authors of the four Gospels readily admit Jesus’s closest followers abandoned Him in His greatest time of need. An odd thing to include if you’re making things up.

The argument fails for another reason. There is no shortage of newspapers and magazines reporting on facts that people don’t bother to challenge. All of these were written by fellow human beings. It’s nothing new and no one objects, though the same argument against Scripture would disqualify the written word in general. “Hold on,” you might say, “This is all well and good, but these magazines and newspapers are current. They haven’t had time to become the thing of legends.” True, but ever hear of Plato or Aristotle or Josephus? They lived around the time of Jesus Christ so they all fall under the same axe, yet they’re subject matter for the universities.

While it is true a book as old as the Bible could easily fall prey to poor copying technique, malicious intent, or legendary reinterpretation, there is something else to consider. If the God who created the universe told some men just like your or me to write something down, and they obeyed, what practical difference is there between that and a biography of Abraham Lincoln? If this God chose to preserve that word from copious error over the millennia, should we be surprised either that He could do it (He created the universe) or that He would do it?

“Fine,” you might continue to argue, “but if God could do all that, why is there evil in the world? Why doesn’t He just fix it if He’s all-powerful? If God truly dictated a book, it would unite the world in peace and harmony and all would be well.” Really? First, it is impossible to know what a perfect being would do unless a perfect being told us because we’re not perfect. The best you can do is guess. More importantly, you assume information is the problem. If a perfect God wrote a perfect book, people would ignore it. It would offend them.

Let’s look at a few examples. People have known for decades that cigarettes are bad for you but they still smoke. It’s been well known for millennia that alcohol abuse will ruin your life. The cause of teenage pregnancy isn’t exactly a recent discovery. Oh, and there are still female celebrities who will date John Mayer. Information is not the problem.

It might be a little different if the writers of the Bible were caught of guard by any of this. In 2 Timothy 4:3-4 (NKJV), the apostle Paul wrote, “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.” Ever meet someone who had a million and one questions for your million answers? You can’t convince someone who’s doesn’t want to listen.

The High Road

It’s coming up on election season and as usual, voters are expressing their extreme distaste for the opposing political party with reckless abandon. There are some clever campaign bumper stickers floating around on the drive to work here in the United States. I’m not sure what the intent is except maybe to amuse other people who think the same way. The only problem is it also shows at least one basic misunderstanding.

Most of my friends are republican and I hear a lot about how evil the current administration is. This is at least partly unfair. There was a two-term republican president right before President Obama and abortion was never illegal while Bush was in office. Gas prices went over $4 per gallon in July of 2008, which has yet to happen between 2009-2012 (though it probably will). If you are opposed to gay marriage, you may be interested to know how big the problem is… or isn’t. According to five independent studies, homosexuals make up only 1.8% of the national population. All I am saying by quoting this statistic is that you probably thought there were many, many more. I blame TV. In any case, you never once hear about the implications gay marriage legislation has on health insurance or states’ representation at the federal level. All arguments against or for gay marriage are designed to be as emotional and divisive as possible.

The economy has supposedly been floundering since the Bush administration took over but I’m sure President Obama will get the blame this election. Interestingly, it took us from President Washington until President Reagan to reach $3.3 Trillion in national debt. Since Reagan’s term we’ve reached $13 Trillion. Both Bushes and President Reagan played as much a part in this as Presidents Clinton and Obama. It really isn’t about which party is in control.

The problem is systemic. For one, we pay our politicians. They should receive no compensation at all for what they do. Men or women who receive the terrible honor of political office should be well-to-do on their own and pay like the rest of us when after enacting laws against free enterprise. The 14th and 17th amendments need to disappear. Welfare, Medicaid, Medicare, and Social Security need to go as well. We shouldn’t have military bases in any land that doesn’t fly an American flag. The Federal Reserve needs to be converted into a McDonald’s play place… You probably disagree with this list. I’ve let the cat out of the bag – I’m a head-over-heels, singin’-in-the-rain conservative. I think the U.S. government should fit in a small office building and have almost no power over internal affairs. Even so, most would agree whatever reforms we do need are at least this drastic and won’t happen based on one man’s election to office.

All that to say the bumper stickers, billboards, and attack ads on TV are a distraction, a slight of hand. Not by a shadow group moving behind the scenes in some conspiracy theory but more like the things we do to waste time while making ourselves feel productive. Much like points in a video game, the victory is hollow. I’m not speaking out against voting. By all means, vote. It’s just there are a lot of things I’ve said and done, especially as a kid, that I regret. There were people I belittled when I should have been saying something constructive or even encouraging. I feel badly about many of the times I was right. Now, as an adult, I get another chance. I don’t have the excuse of being a child anymore. We should not be complacent, or accept the status quo, but if lasting change for the better does finally come, it won’t be through a bumper sticker.

God of the Gaps

The debate between science and religion is poorly named. Often the argument is reduced to the idea that if you believe in God, you must not be a rational person. This is demonstrably untrue. The list of famous men in science who were also Bible believing Christians is long. More important is how science has little to do with religion. Occasionally there is some overlap, but to say the two are opposed to each other is a stretch. It’s like comparing apples and happiness.

Science is the study of things that are testable, observable, or demonstrable. I drop a bar of soap in a tub and it floats – that’s observable science. If someone says that a species of dinosaur evolved into iguanas over millions of years, however, that’s a little harder to verify. Religion, according to dictionary.com, is a set of beliefs concerning the cause, nature, and purpose of the universe, especially when considered as the creation of a superhuman agency or agencies, usually involving devotional and ritual observances, and often containing a moral code governing the conduct of human affairs. Interestingly, that definition can be applied to atheism (the superhuman agency is optional according to the definition). Now, let’s assume that someone sees his buddy taken by a flaming chariot into heaven (and it’s not a hallucination) and then writes about it. That is observable, but no less supernatural. What’s important to remember is even if someone can explain all the mechanics of the flaming chariot, this doesn’t change its nature. Even if I go to shop class and learn everything there is to know about a car, it still has a manufacturer. My knowledge of the parts and how they work cannot change that.

Thus, because true science is limited to our 3-dimensional perceptions and says absolutely nothing about meaning or purpose, it has little to say either way about God. Science can only say, “Soap floats.” If one should trump the other, though, science must lose for simple logic. If someone proves that it is impossible for a human being to rise from the dead, the Bible wins by saying that all things are possible with God. It makes intrinsic sense. If God created all the rules, He can break the rules. Telling God it’s impossible is a self-defeating argument. People make fun of the Bible because it says God did things like give a donkey the ability to speak. That’s hardly the most audacious claim in scripture. The first chapter of the first book claims that God created the universe by speaking it into existence. If He can do that, it would be no harder to give a donkey the ability to speak than it was to give you the ability to speak.

Judge Me Not

In Matthew 7:1-5 (NKJV), Jesus said, “Judge not that you be not judged.” This line of thinking seems to come up a lot in Christian circles. Pointing out another’s mistakes has become the unforgivable sin. I don’t know if it’s worse now than it used to be but it doesn’t seem to matter how sensitively you present the matter; people tend to take criticism very personally, as an outright character attack.

For sure, some are too quick to offer criticism. It’s easy for me to do. The danger is to lose sight of your own imperfections while trying to police everyone else, which is the warning Jesus gave in that same passage when he said, “First remove the plank from your own eye.” It doesn’t stop there, though. This next part is important. Jesus continues, “…and then you will see clearly to remove the speck that is in your brother’s eye.” I could expand on other passages that talk about how sometimes, fellow believers are supposed to hold each other accountable but that’s not really how I want to come at this. I want to speak to receiving criticism.

Every human on this planet is hopelessly insecure. We’re supposed to derive our sense of self-worth from someone outside of ourselves – God, but we usually put too much stock in other people’s approval. When someone toes that line of questioning our behavior, it touches us in a very emotional way. The shields go up. Even the most well-intentioned of individuals will be out of their element, will probably mess it up, and will probably feel guilty afterwards, wondering if it was right to say anything at all. On the other end of the spectrum are faultfinders who will run their mouths with reckless abandon, stomping all over you in a heartless pursuit to correct the poor, lost sinner. Whichever you get, it might behoove you to stop and consider. Yes, the person may have been rude. Yes, their approach may have been cruel and unwarranted. Were they right? Sure, it may have been judgmental but that’s not the same thing as being incorrect.

I want to be the best person, the best Christ follower I can possibly be. Other believers can see things about me that I may be blind to. Sometimes criticism is necessary for growth. Regardless of how badly it comes across, one should mull it over. Maybe it would help to rewrite the critique in a kinder, gentler way. Sure, your critic may have some people skills to work out but the information may still be usable. To paraphrase C.S. Lewis, every evil is an opportunity for grace to shine through. If you’ve just been judged, now is the opportunity to show just how much Christ means to you. Work hard to be approachable and humble, because Jesus says about the unapproachable person in verse 6, “Do not give what is holy to the dogs, nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them underfoot, and turn and tear you to pieces.”

Valentine’s Day? Whatever.

If I haven’t established a pattern of bucking tradition, I sure hope to change that. Not all traditions are bad, I suppose, but as a wise man once said, “Traditions are great so long as they serve you. Otherwise, they’re baggage.” We have a lot of baggage revolving around relationships. You don’t see a lot of them working anymore. High profile marriages end in divorce and fictitious relationships on television are fraught with serious issues like infidelity and deceit (because happy marriages are boring to watch). Following the logic that you don’t take financial advice from broke people, I’m starting to watch the world around me for things not to do.

Now what’s so wrong with a holiday like Valentines Day that celebrates love? Nothing whatsoever. My problem is I don’t bark on command. Now, again, I’m still single (this may be why), but I see a whole lot of people jumping through all sorts of hoops because everyone else is jumping through hoops. In my experience, gifts are best saved for the time in between holidays because they’re appreciated more. All the usual suspects expect to get and give a card every December. I’ve heard plenty of people bemoan how Christmas has become so commercialized and stressful because of shopping. Here’s an idea: forget the shopping! Let’s all get together for a great meal, enjoy each other’s company and remember how Santa Claus came to earth to die for us. Wait a minute…

Dear Occupy Wall Street,

I just saw a very disturbing picture, via financial guru Dave Ramsey’s Facebook page. A young man stood there with a sign that said, I’m a student with $25,000+ in school loans. I’m the 99%. Occupy Wall Street. As aggravating as that statement would be by itself, it was followed by Socialist Party USA.

The obvious first objection to this sign is that none of the “evil rich 1%” were there when this kid signed up for $25,000+ in student loan debt. That was a personal choice. Even if this student was ill-informed, he only has himself to blame with the vast amount of information available to aid in smart financial decisions. Maybe you could cast a raised eyebrow at his parents for not teaching him personal responsibility, that all ten of his digits ought to be pointed back at himself at all times. At no point should a finger be pointed at Wall Street. The reason I’m not in debt isn’t because I have wealthy, greedy friends but because I avoid loans while paying for just about anything. It’s difficult, but not impossible by any stretch of the imagination.

Even more worrisome is this guy believes socialism is the answer to America’s economic woes. I’m not saying that our economy is as good as it could be – it’s too regulated, but it’s inherently immoral for any system to steal from the people making all the right choices to give to those who’ve proven they’re bad with money. For more information on the ideas behind free market capitalism and why it works best, I recommend a book called the 5,000 Year Leap by W. Cleon Skousen, as well as How an Economy Grows and Why it Crashes by Peter and Andrew Schiff.

The bottom line is that as I win, with life and with money, most of the credit goes to Jesus Christ, not the government or the so-called one percent. It is because of His victory on the cross and His very real presence in my life that I can win at all. The last thing I would ever want is for someone, especially the government, to give me a house, or a car, or anything else without my blood, sweat, and tears being somehow involved. It would cheapen the experience. The victory wouldn’t be mine. It’s like when you meet someone whose parents give them everything, even after they’ve supposedly left the house. No one has any respect for that. Earning your own way, paying for your own mistakes, and enjoying your own successes are a right of passage. It’s not easy, but it’s worth it.

A Single Guy’s Rant

Being single can be pretty difficult. Not that being married is a cakewalk, but as you get into your late twenties, the unwed lifestyle can become a point of resentment. Society really assumes that around a certain age (I’m guessing 25) you are going to be hitched. Church groups often run from high schoolers, to singles or college-aged groups, and from there to married couples. Elsewhere in society, you can see that same assumption. You have college and universities that naturally throw people together in large groups. Once you move past the typical college age range, the type of activity where a lot of people are brought together for a similar purpose for any length of time mostly disappears. If you haven’t found that certain someone at this point, you’re left with dating sites, getting set-up by well-meaning friends, work, and for us Christians, church.

Now, some of my fellow believers will cringe that I would bring church down to that level and this is the attitude I want to address. I’ve been to many churches across the US and because I’m a college-age single, those are usually the groups I go to. Most of the time, as an introductory statement, the leader of any of these groups will say, “Now, folks, this isn’t a forum where we try to hook people up.” The temptation is to be sarcastic about this (usually the speaker is married), so I’ll try to be fair. Most youth and college-age group leaders have probably seen romantic relationships threaten to tear their groups apart and are trying to prevent that. I know their intentions are good. I personally have a couple problems with this line of thinking, though.

Marriage and dating are not the only things on my mind, which may not be true of a lot of people. Practically speaking though, no one whose going to get involved in such a destructive relationship is going to stop because they were told. If it’s going to happen, it’s going to happen. Especially when you’re talking to high schoolers. They know better than you! It’s not like you’ve been there and you’re warning them because you care about them! Besides, what would it look like if the group was meant for hooking up? Does anyone think to go to a church singles group to practice speed dating? I make fun. All joking aside, you can’t just tell people that a group isn’t for building immature relationships. Such a safe environment is hard built. You have to be ready to pull would-be-lovers aside and say, “Look, guys, you’re poisoning the group. I love you, but if we can’t fix this, I’m going to have to ask you to leave.”

As for those of us adults capable of sustaining mature relationships, where else should we meet? Everyone stresses that we shouldn’t be unequally yoked with unbelievers. Well then, where do the believers gather? Most people I talk to about this recoil at the idea that church should be associated with dating or meeting your certain somebody, as if it’s an unspiritual, lesser pursuit. Maybe they don’t want people going to church for that purpose, that this shouldn’t be your focus during those few hours. I agree that I’m not going to walk in looking for a date but I won’t argue too hard if it happens anyway. I get the impression that people try to keep church in a very rigid box. Church doesn’t get out, and nothing else gets in. I believe the thought process is that we’re trying to foster a focused environment with a very specific goal of worship and they feel that relationships or anything else in your life tend to be a distraction. Well, the real world doesn’t follow an order of service. Comparing romantic relationships, or anything else you do to worship is like comparing apples to a grocery store. Just as apples are found in a produce section, so are relationships just one possible way among many to worship God (1 Cor 10:31).

I guess this comes from the idea that church isn’t just a place to hear a great message or sing in praise to our awesome God, but also as an environment where I can gather with other, like-minded believers for any multitude of reasons under the overarching theme of worship (fellowship). Along with possibly meeting a significant other, we should be able to gain wisdom from people who’ve been there and can give practical, biblical advice on getting things like relationships, work, and personal finances right. I also want God to be a very real presence in the other six days of my week. I want those lines to blur a little. Maybe some of you feel this isn’t right. Don’t worry. I’m only one voice among millions. Just understand that I’m not apologizing if I meet my future wife at church. It doesn’t have to be a choice between serving God or “hooking up.”

The Right Goal

I’m a firm believer that excellence cannot come by accident. It is a purposeful, daily activity that involves mind, body, and soul. I’m very conscious of how imperfect I am. All the same, I’m also very conscious of how far I’ve come. A few years ago God graciously showed me how little I knew, about Him and everything else. He reawakened my childhood love of books and grew me through it. It’s thanks to this that I have dreams of writing or otherwise creating, and somehow changing the world for the better.

This is why I really can’t see myself borrowing money to get stuff. I have dreams. One day soon I want to start publishing my work. I’ve finished writing one novel and I’m trying to decide which idea I’m pursuing next. Because I’m not in debt, I can afford to spend a little cash to make that dream happen. In Matthew 6:24 of the Bible (NKJV), Jesus says, “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon (money).” I wonder if the reason why so many people borrow so much to purchase all this stuff is because they’ve forgotten how to dream. It’s what keeps me honest. When someone tells me I’m crazy if I don’t get a loan and buy a (insert anything) right now (and I’ve heard this from several people), I cringe, like I’m rushing inward to protect my fragile hope for a future worth having. It’s not that I never want to own a home or whatever, I just don’t want to work for a bank.

I learned long ago that happiness isn’t sold at Best Buy. Through way too much repetition, this became my motto, the thing I used to beat buyer’s remorse before it started. I know better than to purchase anything thinking that it’s what my life is missing.

In Matthew 25: 14-29 (NKJV) (http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%2025:%2014-29&version=NKJV), Jesus tells a parable of a man who gives three different men 1, 2, and 5 talents respectively, each to his own ability. I’ll let you read through the passage at the provided link, but what it comes down to is it doesn’t bode well for the guy who was given one talent. The other two took their talents and made something with them. The man with one acted from fear and buried his talent, presumably for safe keeping. Of course, the Master was not pleased.

Read through that passage and ask yourself what you could be denying the world by not dreaming and playing it safe. What could you be denying yourself? If you’re like me, you’ve forgotten how. You’ll have to dig down deep to find it again. It’s been repressed by public schooling, television, and popular culture. Like I’ve already said, reading helped immensely. It will take time and it will take discipline.

Ultimately, if I end up never owning a home, or never being married, or whatever else we all learned needs to happen by age 25, it’s worth it. As the song writer said, it is well with my soul. What really matters is when I finally die, I can fall before the Throne, bruised and broken from spending myself toward this end, to hear the words, “Well done good and faithful servant! Now come, enter into the joy of your Lord!”

All to the Glory of God

This phrase is thrown around a lot at church’s I’ve been to. What does it mean to be bring God glory? Talking to a friend about a Christian movie our church was showing, I expressed how disinterested I was in seeing it. He replied, “As long as it glorifies God, it shouldn’t matter.”

That statement blew my mind. As long as the movie glorifies God, it shouldn’t matter if it’s lame? Now, let’s say this movie really was poor filmmaking through and through, from the acting to the script to the cinematography and it’s not just my opinion. Is God glorified by mediocrity? As long as a movie, or book, or event is labeled “Christian,” is God properly represented?

This phrase is usually taken from 1 Corinthians 10:31 in the Bible. It reads, “Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” When I read that, I think of something a bit harder than slapping a Christian label on a book I wrote. Take this blog, for instance. If I’m doing it for God, I ought to at least run spell check, right? I ought to make sure my speech is reflecting His kindness, His truth, His glory. The chief inspiration behind my writing is a search of my God-given purpose in life. When someone asks me why I try so hard, or (hopefully) what makes me so good, I can point to Him, because God deserves the glory.

Now this doesn’t mean that every painting should be worthy of the Louvre. A different standard is held for the napkins at a child’s birthday party than a painting being sold at a show. I don’t think anyone expects an OSHA training video to win an Oscar. The point is that Christian books, music, and movies should be held to a higher standard, not a lower one, because our good name is the least of our concerns. Go outside and see what God has made. Go snowboarding at Purgatory Ski Resort in Durango, CO. Go deep-sea fishing in Florida or whale watching off the coast of northern Canada. Can God inspire anything less than excellence?

The Gospel According to Avatar

I’m sure everyone is well aware of the political leaning of James Cameron’s incredibly successful and visual stunning movie, Avatar. However, as I walked out of the theater having thoroughly enjoyed the movie anyway, a few parallels between the story and Christian life started to pop into my head.

The bad guys in the flick, the ex-military, civilian contractors hired to run security for the humans on the planet Pandora, as well as the people hired to strip mine the mineral Unobtanium, all thought of themselves as the good guys. This alone is an important thing to consider. No one ever views themselves as evil – they always justify their behavior somehow. Usually, there’s an element of good involved. The Unobtainum would make a lot of money, which by itself can be a good thing. Since the stuff was so valuable, and considering the deteriorating situation on earth only alluded to in the film, maybe this material stood the chance of helping a lot of people. However, this limited, one-sided view failed to care about the horrible downside. Another race was going to be devastated. Maybe if you were turned off by the movie’s leftist leaning, you can empathize with the humans’ inability to grasp the Pandorans’ religious awe and symbiosis with the rest of the planet, regardless if it’s right or wrong.

Hitler himself justified what he was doing. The extermination of the Jews was an attempt to cleanse the gene pool in the hopes of raising a superior race by means of Eugenics. The Roman Catholic church justified its use of Indulgences and murder during the Middle Ages to weed out heresy. Famously among Christians, the Pharisees thought they did the work of God when they had Jesus crucified. Whenever someone does something wrong, they first have to answer to their own consciences.

Here’s where Christianity comes to play.  When the main character, Jake Sully, infiltrates the Na’vi, he has to literally become one of them. Their atmosphere isn’t the friendly mix of oxygen and nitrogen that ours is. Through his avatar, Jake is able to mix with the people, learn their ways, and arduously, he begins to sympathize with them. It was a complete, slow, radical transformation, a rebirth required to pass from the human camp to live in peace with the Na’vi.

The transformation that we all as Christians are called to experience is easily as drastic. The scary thing is, as I attempted to illustrate with the antagonists of the film, feeling that you are on the side of angels is no sure indicator that you are doing well. Everyone tries their best to feel like they are basically good. That’s why we have to take a look in the mirror of God’s Word for a reality check and pray fervently that the Holy Spirit will illuminate our hearts against our own corruption. The entire set of rules with which you view the world and your own self have to be rewritten. It’s a lifelong process that only begins with prayer. Ultimately, if you think you have this Christianity thing licked, think twice. The Christian life doesn’t have cruise control.