My wife and I have now been married for about 4 months. Now that I have this marriage thing all figured out and the lengthy experience to go with it, I thought I would share with the world my vast knowledge. I feel that since everything has gone perfectly since we got married that you should hear the truth from me. Everything has gone perfect. Nothing has surprised us. Nothing has been hard. Everything is bliss. You should be picking up on the sarcasm by now.
Alright, maybe things have not been entirely peachy the past 4 months but I would not trade one single day, one single fight, one single skiing lesson for anything in the world! We are joined together as one in covenant relationship with God. While its not always pretty, it is a beautiful thing. It is amazing to look and see how much closer we've grown in 4 months and how much more we love each other. I want to share a little about what I've learned and what I wish I would have known prior to marriage.
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Monday, March 14, 2011
The Very Words of God
We study Scripture, commit it to memory, live it out, and put all of our hope and faith in it. Scripture is the foundation on which the Christian religion is based. It is the story of Jesus Christ. From Genesis to Revelation, it all points to Christ. His life, death, resurrection, and return.
But how do we know it is true? How do we know that the Bible is composed of the actual words of God? How do we know that that the Bible is God breathed? How can we be certain?
How would you answer these questions? Let's look at some possible responses and then I will share with you how I KNOW that the Word(s) of God are the words of God.
But how do we know it is true? How do we know that the Bible is composed of the actual words of God? How do we know that that the Bible is God breathed? How can we be certain?
How would you answer these questions? Let's look at some possible responses and then I will share with you how I KNOW that the Word(s) of God are the words of God.
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Can the Bible be taken literally?
Can the Bible be taken literally? This is a question offered up by a lot of skeptics, who, if given the facts, would most likely find that it can be taken literally.
First, let's begin with the resurrection. It is the central theme of the Christian faith and of utmost importance when determining the validity of scripture. After all, if Christ was not raised from the dead, then who cares what He had to say? But, if He was raised from the dead, then everything he prophesied becomes true and He is God.
Logically speaking, the canonized Gospels of the Bible seem to validate themselves with the facts. The Gospels that we read in scripture were written between 40 and 60 years after the death of Jesus. Paul's letters were written just 15-25 years after the death of Jesus. The fact that these books and letters themselves were not immediately shut down gives us a lot of information. The timing of these books tells us that they were too early to be legends. In Luke 1:1-4, the author says that the following is a narrative from eyewitnesses. In Mark 15:21, Simon of Cyrene was compelled to physically carry the cross of Christ. After his resurrection Christ appeared to 500 people. These eyewitnesses and people just didn't disappear. People would have questioned them about these events and if they were untrue the story of Jesus' resurrection would have died out immediately.
The belief that the Bible is fictional writing can be debunked by comparing it to fictional writing of its time. The details in scripture were unheard of for fictional writing of that time period. Writing of that time consisted only of things necessary to develop the plot or the characters. Things such as the cushion Jesus was sleeping on in Mark 4, the 153 fish caught in John 21, and Jesus doodling in the dust in John 8 would have not been included in fictional writing at that time.
One of my favorite arguments against the Gospels being fictional or figurative is the fact that if this is all made up to "rally" people into Christianity, the writers did not hit their mark at all. Why would the risen Christ appear first to women instead of male pillars in the community? The prayers of Jesus in Gethsemane and feeling abandoned on the cross would lead readers to believe that Jesus was weak and failing His God. The story of the crucifixion would immediately lead readers to believe the crucified man to be a criminal. If the story of Christ is a fictional work, these writers had not learned the art of persuasive writing.
The fact that the history of this man named Jesus has made it to us today seems to prove itself worthy of its message. The tomb was empty and people saw it. No one has been able to prove these people wrong. When all is said and done, faith is based on faith. While Christianity does take faith, we can definitely use evidence that leads us to a rational faith.
This is a hot topic for skeptics and there will be another post to come soon about how we know the Bible are the actual words of God.
First, let's begin with the resurrection. It is the central theme of the Christian faith and of utmost importance when determining the validity of scripture. After all, if Christ was not raised from the dead, then who cares what He had to say? But, if He was raised from the dead, then everything he prophesied becomes true and He is God.
Logically speaking, the canonized Gospels of the Bible seem to validate themselves with the facts. The Gospels that we read in scripture were written between 40 and 60 years after the death of Jesus. Paul's letters were written just 15-25 years after the death of Jesus. The fact that these books and letters themselves were not immediately shut down gives us a lot of information. The timing of these books tells us that they were too early to be legends. In Luke 1:1-4, the author says that the following is a narrative from eyewitnesses. In Mark 15:21, Simon of Cyrene was compelled to physically carry the cross of Christ. After his resurrection Christ appeared to 500 people. These eyewitnesses and people just didn't disappear. People would have questioned them about these events and if they were untrue the story of Jesus' resurrection would have died out immediately.
The belief that the Bible is fictional writing can be debunked by comparing it to fictional writing of its time. The details in scripture were unheard of for fictional writing of that time period. Writing of that time consisted only of things necessary to develop the plot or the characters. Things such as the cushion Jesus was sleeping on in Mark 4, the 153 fish caught in John 21, and Jesus doodling in the dust in John 8 would have not been included in fictional writing at that time.
One of my favorite arguments against the Gospels being fictional or figurative is the fact that if this is all made up to "rally" people into Christianity, the writers did not hit their mark at all. Why would the risen Christ appear first to women instead of male pillars in the community? The prayers of Jesus in Gethsemane and feeling abandoned on the cross would lead readers to believe that Jesus was weak and failing His God. The story of the crucifixion would immediately lead readers to believe the crucified man to be a criminal. If the story of Christ is a fictional work, these writers had not learned the art of persuasive writing.
The fact that the history of this man named Jesus has made it to us today seems to prove itself worthy of its message. The tomb was empty and people saw it. No one has been able to prove these people wrong. When all is said and done, faith is based on faith. While Christianity does take faith, we can definitely use evidence that leads us to a rational faith.
This is a hot topic for skeptics and there will be another post to come soon about how we know the Bible are the actual words of God.
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