What is the Bible, exactly? I believe that this is the question that MUST be answered before we ever attempt to tackle the problem of "historical reflection."
In all of my discussions I try to help people understand that the Bible is the story of God's interaction with humanity, starting with the first humans, moving through Israel, and then the whole world. My understanding of the Bible is this: "The Bible is the story of the lengths that God is willing to go to in order to redeem his people." Pretty simple, yet so complex.
The Bible really serves three functions:
1. History
2. Literature
3. Theology
The Bible always works from those perspectives, BUT not all three have to be present at any given time. The section being read could be literature and theology, but not history. (Song of Solomon, anyone?) The story can be historical and theological, but not very literary. (The first few chapters of Numbers or the book of Ezra comes to mind.) The important thing to remember is this: No matter what the story concerns, its ultimate goal is to present a theology of Go.
The Bible finds various individuals wrestling to come to grips with a God they don't understand and cannot control. The Bible simply outlines the best they can do. Habakkuk's discussion/prophecy is a good example of this. Habakkuk is a prophet, wrestling to understand a message that he doesn't like. He calls God on the carpet and tells him to answer his questions, because the world doesn't seem fair and nothing seems to be going the way it should. The ultimate message is this: you cannot always understand my ways, you simply have to trust that it will all work out in the end.
The Bible deals primarily with theology: Who is God? What is he doing? What is he calling us to do/be? Can we trust in his ways? The Bible displays raw emotion in this search.
Theology is the primary function of the Bible. History and literature form the secondary functions of the Bible. Thus, the Bible is NOT written as history for history's sake. The Bible can even deviate from history in small ways in order to make its point. (For example, many of the narratives in the Gospels are taken in different sequential orders; i.e. the anointing of Jesus before the Triumphal Entry in John vs. the anointing AFTER the Triumphal Entry in the Synoptics.)
I think the problems we encounter in academia is when we try to make the Bible something it isn't. Those of us in the Western world approach the Bible from our own cultural understanding, not realizing (or caring) that the Gospels are written from a different time and place. No matter how hard we try, we will always be saddled with our Western contextual understandings. Thus, we always approach the Bible with some bias, even an unintentional one, and it colors the way we see the text.
The Bible was never meant to be a science book, so toss that understanding out the window completely. It wasn't even written to be a history book, at least not history from our understanding. Rather, it is the history of Israel's (and the world's) interaction with God. This is the purpose that it serves. It teaches us who God is and what he has done so that we can realize what God can (and will) do in our lives.
What are your thoughts?
Showing posts with label OT. Show all posts
Showing posts with label OT. Show all posts
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Friday, December 12, 2008
Biblical History?
Two of the most important questions in the study of history are:
1. What historical sources are accurate?
2. How do we determine the historical accuracy of each source?
This question is used to determine whether or not a source is useful for determining the actual events of the past. All sources are inherently biased in some fashion, because history is always written from a specific point of view. The question a historian wants to ascertain is whether or not the source is useful for examining the past.
I am always intrigued, however, that Biblical scholars systematically reject the historical accuracy of the Bible offhand. Every detail is open to argument and speculation:
David never existed (and any reference to David, i.e. the Tell Dan inscription) must be a forgery or the result of the Davidic myth of Israel
The Israelites were not a pastoral society that broke away from Egypt and moved north, conquering Canaan; instead, they were Canaanites who moved from the coast into the interior. Everything else written about them is a myth used to promulgate the “Davidic” monarchy.
The people of Israel were never absolute followers of YHWH; they followed dozens of other gods and didn’t become strict monotheists until after the Exile, although some scholars argue that THAT event never happened either. (Actually, even the Bible supports the fact that Israel wasn’t very good at monotheism!)
The timing of Jesus’ birth is simply off; astrological events from 7BC, random events from 6-4BC, Herod never kills baby boys in Bethlehem; etc.
The Biblical “Historians” are minimalists; they don’t believe much of it ever happened. They believe you can trust the most basic facts: there are a people called Israel living in Canaan who thought that they were chosen by God and placed in a specific location. And… well, that’s about it. Biblical historians take more of the NT at face value, but they negate any possible ideas of miraculous works, strange events, or the resurrection. Jesus was simply a great rabbinic teacher who taught that the tenets of Judaism were being misapplied. Everything else was made up by the disciples.
The problem is, no one else tries this with other teachings. No one attacks the Quran from an historical point of view; they don’t doubt Mohammed’s existence, even if they doubt things written in it. No one attacks the Buddhist writings for their historical accuracy; they don’t argue that Sidharta Guatama once existed. As for other historical writings: No one doubts the overall accuracy of Julius Caesar’s Gaelic Wars, the writings of Suetonius, the histories of Egypt. No one thinks that Plato never lied, even though he never wrote for himself, his teachings were simply passed down through Socrates and Aristotle. Although we might dispute numbers and smaller events from their statements, we never dismiss them offhandedly or question the authenticity of the individuals they are describing. Even in those religious books we don’t agree with!
Yet this is systematically done to Christianity and the Bible. Even biblical “scholars” like John Dominic Crossan, Michael Borg, Bart Ehrman, etc, argue that the events in the bible are not meant to be taken literally or even historically. Instead, they form a parabolic sequence that describes the growth of Christianity (and Judaism). In The Birth Narrative, Crossan and Borg’s most recent book together, they deny the authenticity of either biblical account of the birth of Jesus. They dismiss not only the virgin birth, but the accounts of Jesus in Bethlehem, the shepherds, the star, the stable, the presence of Joseph… You name it, they discount it.
Where do we start, in a world that sees supposed “biblical” scholars discount the very thing they chose to study?
1. What historical sources are accurate?
2. How do we determine the historical accuracy of each source?
This question is used to determine whether or not a source is useful for determining the actual events of the past. All sources are inherently biased in some fashion, because history is always written from a specific point of view. The question a historian wants to ascertain is whether or not the source is useful for examining the past.
I am always intrigued, however, that Biblical scholars systematically reject the historical accuracy of the Bible offhand. Every detail is open to argument and speculation:
David never existed (and any reference to David, i.e. the Tell Dan inscription) must be a forgery or the result of the Davidic myth of Israel
The Israelites were not a pastoral society that broke away from Egypt and moved north, conquering Canaan; instead, they were Canaanites who moved from the coast into the interior. Everything else written about them is a myth used to promulgate the “Davidic” monarchy.
The people of Israel were never absolute followers of YHWH; they followed dozens of other gods and didn’t become strict monotheists until after the Exile, although some scholars argue that THAT event never happened either. (Actually, even the Bible supports the fact that Israel wasn’t very good at monotheism!)
The timing of Jesus’ birth is simply off; astrological events from 7BC, random events from 6-4BC, Herod never kills baby boys in Bethlehem; etc.
The Biblical “Historians” are minimalists; they don’t believe much of it ever happened. They believe you can trust the most basic facts: there are a people called Israel living in Canaan who thought that they were chosen by God and placed in a specific location. And… well, that’s about it. Biblical historians take more of the NT at face value, but they negate any possible ideas of miraculous works, strange events, or the resurrection. Jesus was simply a great rabbinic teacher who taught that the tenets of Judaism were being misapplied. Everything else was made up by the disciples.
The problem is, no one else tries this with other teachings. No one attacks the Quran from an historical point of view; they don’t doubt Mohammed’s existence, even if they doubt things written in it. No one attacks the Buddhist writings for their historical accuracy; they don’t argue that Sidharta Guatama once existed. As for other historical writings: No one doubts the overall accuracy of Julius Caesar’s Gaelic Wars, the writings of Suetonius, the histories of Egypt. No one thinks that Plato never lied, even though he never wrote for himself, his teachings were simply passed down through Socrates and Aristotle. Although we might dispute numbers and smaller events from their statements, we never dismiss them offhandedly or question the authenticity of the individuals they are describing. Even in those religious books we don’t agree with!
Yet this is systematically done to Christianity and the Bible. Even biblical “scholars” like John Dominic Crossan, Michael Borg, Bart Ehrman, etc, argue that the events in the bible are not meant to be taken literally or even historically. Instead, they form a parabolic sequence that describes the growth of Christianity (and Judaism). In The Birth Narrative, Crossan and Borg’s most recent book together, they deny the authenticity of either biblical account of the birth of Jesus. They dismiss not only the virgin birth, but the accounts of Jesus in Bethlehem, the shepherds, the star, the stable, the presence of Joseph… You name it, they discount it.
Where do we start, in a world that sees supposed “biblical” scholars discount the very thing they chose to study?
Sunday, December 7, 2008
Notes from a sermon, 1/27/07
Courageous Leadership: Do we really know what we are getting ourselves into?
Dietrich Bonhoeffer: “When Christ calls a man he bids him come and die.”
Now most of us didn’t enter ministry with the goal to die for our faith; it’s certainly not the driving aspiration of most of us in this room!
Yet the very core of courageous ministry lies a type of death, a death to self, and a willingness to do whatever Christ asks us to do wherever he asks us to do it!
Courageous ministry, at its very heart, is a willingness to put aside our own desires and to live for the will of God.
Isaiah 6:8-12: Isaiah’s call.
“Here I am! Send me!”
- Does he know what he is agreeing to? Probably not!
- For God says, “OK, but your ministry is going to be totally ineffective. But go anyway!”
- And Isaiah goes as a prophet to the people of Judah, yet the vast majority refuse to hear his message.
- Yet he goes with no regrets!
Inspiring story of William Borden.
-Already a millionaire at age 16 when he graduates High School
-Heir to the Borden Dairy fortune
-Was sent on an around the world trip for his graduation gift. This trip had a profound affect on Borden’s life. As he saw the hurt and devastation, people living without hope, he decided then to become a missionary. He wrote home and told his parents, “I am going to give my life to prepare for the mission field.”
-Motto: “Say ‘no’ to self and ‘yes’ to Jesus every time.”
-In his Bible he wrote the phrase, “NO RESERVES!”
-Attended Yale, where his passion to reach the lost was intensified. He saw the need even there on campus, and began small prayer groups that grew from 2 individuals to 1,000 by Borden’s senior year, and started a spiritual revival on Yale’s campus. He also began reaching out to the poor in the city and founded Yale Hope Mission in New Haven
-He decided he wanted to reach the Kansu people, one of the largest Muslim populations in China
-On graduation from Yale he was offered a number of high paying jobs, but turned them down in order to attend seminary at Princeton.
-“NO RETREATS!”
Upon graduation from Princeton, Borden decided he needed training in Arabic, and moved to Egypt to study there. Soon after his arrival, Borden contracted spinal meningitis and died. American newspapers wrote, “A wave of sorrow went around the world. . .”
- Yet Borden kept his resolve throughout his month long suffering. In his Bible he wrote two more words: “NO REGRETS!”
Courageous leadership means living life with the realization that it’s not our own; it goes to the will of God. It means living life with “NO RESERVES, NO RETREATS, and NO REGRETS!”
Dietrich Bonhoeffer: “When Christ calls a man he bids him come and die.”
Now most of us didn’t enter ministry with the goal to die for our faith; it’s certainly not the driving aspiration of most of us in this room!
Yet the very core of courageous ministry lies a type of death, a death to self, and a willingness to do whatever Christ asks us to do wherever he asks us to do it!
Courageous ministry, at its very heart, is a willingness to put aside our own desires and to live for the will of God.
Isaiah 6:8-12: Isaiah’s call.
“Here I am! Send me!”
- Does he know what he is agreeing to? Probably not!
- For God says, “OK, but your ministry is going to be totally ineffective. But go anyway!”
- And Isaiah goes as a prophet to the people of Judah, yet the vast majority refuse to hear his message.
- Yet he goes with no regrets!
Inspiring story of William Borden.
-Already a millionaire at age 16 when he graduates High School
-Heir to the Borden Dairy fortune
-Was sent on an around the world trip for his graduation gift. This trip had a profound affect on Borden’s life. As he saw the hurt and devastation, people living without hope, he decided then to become a missionary. He wrote home and told his parents, “I am going to give my life to prepare for the mission field.”
-Motto: “Say ‘no’ to self and ‘yes’ to Jesus every time.”
-In his Bible he wrote the phrase, “NO RESERVES!”
-Attended Yale, where his passion to reach the lost was intensified. He saw the need even there on campus, and began small prayer groups that grew from 2 individuals to 1,000 by Borden’s senior year, and started a spiritual revival on Yale’s campus. He also began reaching out to the poor in the city and founded Yale Hope Mission in New Haven
-He decided he wanted to reach the Kansu people, one of the largest Muslim populations in China
-On graduation from Yale he was offered a number of high paying jobs, but turned them down in order to attend seminary at Princeton.
-“NO RETREATS!”
Upon graduation from Princeton, Borden decided he needed training in Arabic, and moved to Egypt to study there. Soon after his arrival, Borden contracted spinal meningitis and died. American newspapers wrote, “A wave of sorrow went around the world. . .”
- Yet Borden kept his resolve throughout his month long suffering. In his Bible he wrote two more words: “NO REGRETS!”
Courageous leadership means living life with the realization that it’s not our own; it goes to the will of God. It means living life with “NO RESERVES, NO RETREATS, and NO REGRETS!”
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Worship and Social Justice (part 1)
Too many of us think that worship is all about our time with God. It's about the songs we sing, the sermon we hear, the Lord's Supper... These are (some) of our acts of worship. We believe that worship is what we do on Sunday mornings when we assemble together. Or, if you were to ask another (more well-informed) Christian, he/she would tell you that worship is more about a lifestyle. Romans 12:1 tells us: "Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship." Thus, worship is about a lifestyle, the way that we act in the various aspects of our lives. It's about bringing God glory and honor in whatever circumstances we find ourselves in. It's about the way we treat our co-workers, our friends, our family, the guy we see standing on the street corner... It's about our reaction to homeless people and the poor... And about our reactions to those where God is the furthest thing from their mind.
Let me see if I can illustrate it a little better... If you were to ask an Israelite during the period of the Divided Monarchy, he would tell you that worship involved (1) following the Law of Moses, and (2) offering the proper sacrifices to Yahweh. However, when God was talking to his people he told them that the sacrifices and the Law were a good starting point, but without a life of mercy it was all worthless:
Isaiah 1: ""The multitude of your sacrifices— what are they to me?" says the LORD. "I have more than enough of burnt offerings, of rams and the fat of fattened animals; I have no pleasure in the blood of bulls and lambs and goats. When you come to appear before me, who has asked this of you, this trampling of my courts? Stop bringing meaningless offerings! Your incense is detestable to me... wash and make yourselves clean. Take your evil deeds out of my sight! Stop doing wrong, learn to do right! Seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow."
Micah 6:6-8: "With what shall I come before the LORD and bow down before the exalted God? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousand rivers of oil? Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God."
A host of other verses make the same requests. God does not need the sacrifices; they are for men, not for God. What God wants is for us to make a difference in the lives of other people... But, let me make a confession: this is REALLY difficult for me to live by.
More to come tomorrow!
Let me see if I can illustrate it a little better... If you were to ask an Israelite during the period of the Divided Monarchy, he would tell you that worship involved (1) following the Law of Moses, and (2) offering the proper sacrifices to Yahweh. However, when God was talking to his people he told them that the sacrifices and the Law were a good starting point, but without a life of mercy it was all worthless:
Isaiah 1: ""The multitude of your sacrifices— what are they to me?" says the LORD. "I have more than enough of burnt offerings, of rams and the fat of fattened animals; I have no pleasure in the blood of bulls and lambs and goats. When you come to appear before me, who has asked this of you, this trampling of my courts? Stop bringing meaningless offerings! Your incense is detestable to me... wash and make yourselves clean. Take your evil deeds out of my sight! Stop doing wrong, learn to do right! Seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow."
Micah 6:6-8: "With what shall I come before the LORD and bow down before the exalted God? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousand rivers of oil? Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God."
A host of other verses make the same requests. God does not need the sacrifices; they are for men, not for God. What God wants is for us to make a difference in the lives of other people... But, let me make a confession: this is REALLY difficult for me to live by.
More to come tomorrow!
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
The Heart of Worship (Part 2)
My biggest pet peeve is this statement: "I just didn't get much out of worship today." (Ok, honestly, my biggest pet peeve is loud teenagers, followed closely by these statements...) Equally as annoying: "I loved worship today, because it was so upbeat and I loved all of the songs."
Most of us worry about what we willGET out of worship rather than what we BRING to worship.
o Instrumental (because we like it), or noninstrumental (because we think you are wrong)
Most of us worry about what we will
o Instrumental (because we like it), or noninstrumental (because we think you are wrong)
o Contemporary songs vs. Traditional songs
o Clapping/Raising Hands vs. Not
- Worship becomes a war
- Worship becomes a THING rather than a LIFESTYLE
o Worship is reserved for corporate, Sunday/Wednesday
o Worship becomes something we DO, rather than something we
- Worship, in essence, can become an idol
Worship comes down to the heart.
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Worship: Reflection of the Presence of God (Part 1)
The next few blog posts will be on the nature of worship. I am beginning a new series in my ministry on the "Heart of Worship," and I am trying out a few ideas on this blog. Please let me know your thoughts through your comments and emails. Thanks!
~Daniel <><
_________________
Worship is acknowledgment that God is worthy of our praise. God is holy, other, set apart, distinct. The transcendence of God calls us to worship a God who reigns on high, who created the world and established its foundations, who creates and sustains life, who establishes the universe and sets all things into motion. This alone is cause to worship God. Yet it is only one facet of his character. We also worship a God who is immanent, who interacts with his people and intervenes in their lives.
Throughout the OT, we find God constantly interacting with humanity. Genesis 1-11 tells the story of YHWH's provision even for those who refuse to acknowledge him as God. Genesis 12ff tells the story of YHWH's interaction with humanity through the descendants of Abraham, a Chaldean who moves to
Rather than acknowledging their role in God's plan, the people of
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