One of the wonderful
things about the Bible is that there are so many layers of meaning to the
things it says. Take Psalm
87 as an example. This psalm was written as a song for worship in the Jerusalem
Temple. Its purpose was to describe the blessing of being born in Jerusalem,
which meant to belong to God in a special sense. This was because Jerusalem was
the spiritual and political capital of God’s earthly nation Israel. However, it
is possible to apply it to the life of Christians today.
Friday, April 29, 2016
Friday, April 22, 2016
Why Can't Women Lead in Church?
I received this question a few weeks
ago, and I have spent that time considering the best way to respond to it. It’s
very difficult to know where to start, because it is definitely a loaded topic.
No matter what I say, someone is going to take offense.
Still, it is discussed in the Bible, and one of the major purposes of this
ministry is to show there is no reason to shy away from the difficult
questions. If I could ask one thing, it would be that you listen to the
recording rather than just merely reading the article. That gives me my best
chance to get my attitude across, and not just my ideas.
Labels:
Authority,
Bible,
Christianity,
Church,
Emotion,
Equality,
Facts,
Feelings,
Gender,
God's Will,
Leadership,
Men,
Nature,
Sameness,
Truth,
Women
Friday, April 15, 2016
Can We Justify Ourselves?
This article is going to be off to an odd start, because it is in response to a
story I do not want to tell, or share. Suffice it to say, there are indications
that incest is going to become another battleground in the war for our society’s
soul. Now of course, what I saw may easily have been a hoax. We all know how
the internet is, so I am not saying we should become indignant, at
least not until the truth is more firmly established. What we need to do right
now is be vigilant and sober. That is the reason why I am writing this. I want
to respond to the supposed justifications the people in the story offered, and
I want to provide a reminder of why we must continue to stand against the tide.
Friday, April 8, 2016
Was David as Terrible as He Seems?
As regular readers know, David has been
a frequent subject of my posts. He is just such a compelling character, and his
life offers so many illustrations, I can’t seem to get away from thinking about
him for long. Fortunately for me, I am not the only one. I received a question
this week about the life of David, and in particular, about his behavior in 1
Samuel 27.
Friday, April 1, 2016
Is Anything Lost in Translation?
The first Quest Forums
discussion meeting is coming up this Sunday, and I have been thinking a lot
about its topic. We are going to be talking about the Bible itself, which seems
like a good place to start. My preparation has been to collect some information
about its composition, its trustworthiness, and how to read it. The great thing
is, there is no way for me to exhaust the subject in one hour. The real
difficulty is in knowing what is most important for me to say in such a short
time. It isn’t really up to me, though. Not entirely, anyway. The goal is to
discuss questions, not just for me to get up and share information. Hopefully
we get some interesting back-and-forth going.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)