Legalism disturbs me. In theological or secular terms, legalism is not the search for truth. Legalism is a declaration of ABSOLUTE truth where there may not be any such thing.
I have no issue with respect for the truth. I believe that there ARE incontestable truths.
I consider myself to be a Conservative Fundamentalist. However, a Fundamentalist is NOT a Literalist. A Literalist is, by definition, a Legalist. A Fundamentalist is someone who believes that there are incontestable fundamental principles. A Legalist is someone who believes that there is only one valid and acceptable interpretation of each individual detail.
It's not what you know that will hurt you... It's what you know that just ain't so!
My book Following The Cloud will not be promoted by the Hiram Bookstore because contained in that book is the suggestion that the Earth might be more than 6018 years old! I include everything from the Reformation to Quantum Physics and THAT'S the issue!?! I was astonished to find that the owner of a bookstore with tens of thousands of books on every subject could object to such a thought. I was further amazed to find that he had no willingness to even consider any alternate possibilities. In fact, there seemed to be a fear of considering any alternate interpretations to those that he already had. The overt excuse he gave was that he might offend some Southern Baptist pastors that frequently come into his store. But he revealed his real uncertainty when he said that believing that the Earth was older than 6018 years old "was a slippery slope". What? If you find out that a number somewhere is not what you thought it was, you can no longer believe in Jesus Christ? That is a very weak faith.
I know for a fact that Southern Baptist pastors are NOT required to believe that the Earth is 6018 years old. I took an Old Testament theology course in a Southern Baptist seminary class with 30 Southern Baptist pastors. I listened to a Southern Baptist Theology professor explain the original Hebrew in Genesis 1:1 and 1:2. The Bible begins by saying, "In the beginning, GOD created the Heavens and the Earth." Genesis 1:2, which is traditionally translated, "and the Earth was without form, and void...", can be read, in the original Hebrew, "and the Earth became without form and void." The interpretation of that one word introduces numerous possibilities. There is no actual suggestion of the specific elapsed time between the original creation and the beginning of the current cycle of creation. From the beginning of Genesis to the end of The Revelation, the Bible presents GOD as the sole Author, Creator, and Sustainer of everything that was, is, or ever will be. Whether the Earth is 6 thousand or 6 billion years old does not change that.
In every aspect of my life, I am required to analyze - to find out how things work. As an engineer, what I choose to believe had better agree with what is. If it does not, I might endanger the machine that I am designing and the lives of the people using it. There are practical, physical, moral, and legal implications surrounding my understanding of the world and the rules that God has created to govern it. Likewise, as a Christian and a theologian, I am encouraged to understand the underlying principles that God has established to govern His Creation. I do not need to be afraid that I will discover a scientific principle that will invalidate the sovereignty of God. My faith is not a blind faith. I am not required to close my eyes to what is around me. At the same time, I am not required to believe every scientific theory. (This requires the ability to distinguish between theory and fact - not something everyone is qualified to do.)
"If the King James Version was good enough for Paul and Silas, it's good enough for me!" (old joke - still relevant) God has given us analytical tools to discern reality. He has given us the tools to distinguish between theory and fact. In the physical realm, those tools include thousands of specialized measuring instruments. In the theological realm, God has given us the Gifts of the Holy Spirit to discern what is so. The Old Law in the Old Testament was based on ten simple principles (not, "The Ten Commandments", but "The Ten Words). God was not commanding us to do or not to do ten things - He was telling us how things were. The Old Law developed into an intricate and convoluted set of laws and regulations because Jesus had not yet brought the Holy Spirit and made the Gifts of the Holy Spirit available to every believer.
Legalistically closing your eyes to what is around you is crippling. You build fences that are unnecessarily limiting. You will miss many of the wonders of the world around you. Your efforts will be wasted on needless crusades over issues that may not even exist. Figuratively, you will walk out into traffic without looking.
Southern Baptists are missing many of the analytical tools that they need to discern theory from fact because they have rejected the pentecostal manifestation of the Gifts of the Holy Spirit. Their particular edition of the King James Version of the Bible in English does not supersede the interpretation of the original Hebrew or Greek that it was written in! And the original document, even though it was inspired by God, still reflected the limitations of the original (non-technical) languages and the understanding of the original (non-technical) authors. What is revealed to us in the Bible is NOT WRONG - but it was never intended to be a physics textbook or a complete, detailed, technical manual on the whole universe. God has left us the tools and discretion to determine those things for ourselves. Use them!
Sunday, August 10, 2014
Saturday, August 9, 2014
Evil is Good and Good is Evil
Isaiah said, "Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who substitute darkness
for light and light for darkness; Who substitute bitter for sweet and
sweet for bitter!"
The world is outraged at Israel, who is defending itself from hundreds of daily rocket attacks. The world sympathizes with Hamas, who, along with the rest of the Muslim world, mutilates and tortures their women and treats them considerably worse than animals. Hamas is holding their own women and children hostage in live combat! They deliberately place their rocket launchers in schools and hospitals!
How would we react if a bank robber hid behind his own wife and child while he was shooting at the police? "Oh, that poor persecuted bank robber!" Would we blame the police for the bank robber's actions?
How would we have reacted during World War II if 2 million U.S. soldiers had forced their families to go with them into battle in Europe and the Pacific? No soldier ever deliberately endangers non-combatants - they are fighting to protect those who are not soldiers. Only the criminally insane think otherwise.
These people are evil! Their terrorist attacks caused enough International pressure that they were given Gaza. The first thing they did after being given Gaza was to destroy all of the existing houses there! Then everyone is appalled at how poor their living conditions are! Whose fault is that? They can't be trusted to have a job. They can't even be trusted to walk down the street with normal people.
As a Christian, I believe in compassion and forgiveness. But the Apostle Paul cautions against blind forgiveness. He cautions against restoration without reformation. He says that there are some who should be turned away without forgiveness.
Jesus pointed out that a man who knew his house was going to be robbed would be ready to repel the attack. We are forbidden to murder - it is generally considered to be the worst possible sin and crime. But we are not forbidden to kill in our defense or in the defense of others. Jesus never condemned government police or soldiers for doing their jobs, he just told them to do their jobs honestly without corruption. It is the purpose of a State to protect its citizens - not to use them for political proposes.
These Muslim groups are terrorists. Terrorists are evil. Evil has no legitimate claim to existence. It must be wiped out whenever possible.
The world is outraged at Israel, who is defending itself from hundreds of daily rocket attacks. The world sympathizes with Hamas, who, along with the rest of the Muslim world, mutilates and tortures their women and treats them considerably worse than animals. Hamas is holding their own women and children hostage in live combat! They deliberately place their rocket launchers in schools and hospitals!
How would we react if a bank robber hid behind his own wife and child while he was shooting at the police? "Oh, that poor persecuted bank robber!" Would we blame the police for the bank robber's actions?
How would we have reacted during World War II if 2 million U.S. soldiers had forced their families to go with them into battle in Europe and the Pacific? No soldier ever deliberately endangers non-combatants - they are fighting to protect those who are not soldiers. Only the criminally insane think otherwise.
These people are evil! Their terrorist attacks caused enough International pressure that they were given Gaza. The first thing they did after being given Gaza was to destroy all of the existing houses there! Then everyone is appalled at how poor their living conditions are! Whose fault is that? They can't be trusted to have a job. They can't even be trusted to walk down the street with normal people.
As a Christian, I believe in compassion and forgiveness. But the Apostle Paul cautions against blind forgiveness. He cautions against restoration without reformation. He says that there are some who should be turned away without forgiveness.
Jesus pointed out that a man who knew his house was going to be robbed would be ready to repel the attack. We are forbidden to murder - it is generally considered to be the worst possible sin and crime. But we are not forbidden to kill in our defense or in the defense of others. Jesus never condemned government police or soldiers for doing their jobs, he just told them to do their jobs honestly without corruption. It is the purpose of a State to protect its citizens - not to use them for political proposes.
These Muslim groups are terrorists. Terrorists are evil. Evil has no legitimate claim to existence. It must be wiped out whenever possible.
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