A Response to “8 Things Your Pastor Will Never Tell You About the Bible”

So here’s the article: 8 Things…

Point by point I will rebut, accept with qualifiers, or shrug off as inconsequential.

1. The fact that the apostles don’t discuss the virgin birth doesn’t mean they didn’t know about it.  Or maybe they didn’t. That also doesn’t mean a hill of beans as to whether it occurred or not.  If they were good Jewish boys who knew the Scriptures, then they knew of the prophecies surrounding the Messiah, and when they decided to follow Jesus, maybe they just assumed His mother had been a virgin when He was conceived. Or maybe they were simpler guys who didn’t know all the Scriptures, like the Pharisees, who seemed to know it all and yet somehow missed their own Messiah. Maybe it didn’t occur to them that this man should have been born of a virgin. I don’t know anyone who walks around sharing the story of their own birth, even if it was somehow miraculous. Miraculous births (like, surviving against all odds kind of stuff) are usually talked about around the time of their occurrence.  I don’t know any miraculous birth stories from 30 years ago that are being hailed today. And maybe the apostles didn’t use that in their message throughout Acts because that wasn’t what made Him a Savior.  It was the resurrection, defeating death (literally and eternally) and sin. Not only that, but Paul spent most of his missionary career reaching the Gentiles, who didn’t care what Scriptures foretold about a Messiah, because they didn’t know any of those Scriptures, and they certainly weren’t looking for a Messiah. If you believe that the book of Matthew was actually written by the apostle Matthew, then at least ONE apostle knew about the virgin birth.

2. Jesus wanted to offer nothing to the Gentiles. Not true. Simply not true. Early on in His ministry He says things like that because He was “building His base”, so to speak, for His church.  In the exchange with the Samaritan woman, in John 4, Jesus mentions that salvation is from the Jews (meaning Himself, since He’s Jewish). He doesn’t say it’s FOR the Jews. He also tells her she worships what she does not know (meaning, in my opinion, that since the Samaritans are half-breeds, they try to worship God, but they aren’t really His chosen people, so they don’t have any relationship with Him. They know OF God, but they don’t KNOW God). But then He says “a time is coming…”, which means things are about the change. The exclusive relationship of God with His people is shifting. Who can be identified as “His people” is changing.

Jesus also says other things which tell me that He was indeed offering Himself as a sacrifice for all, not just Jews. Like this. And this.

3. The full message of Jesus, across all the Gospels seems to be that He is God. To me, at least. In the passage quoted in the article, I don’t read the same tone of voice in Jesus that the writer does. I think He’s saying, “Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone” as a challenge to the people. Do they indeed believe Him to be God? In every situation where He downplays His deity, it seems to be so that people won’t tag along hoping to just get something from Him, like a genie, or a magician.

He also says a lot of things in the first 3 Gospels that only God would have the authority to say, in the eyes of the Jews. Like in Matthew 9 and other like passages where He performs a physical miracle followed by forgiveness of sins. It seems the author of the article is drawing a fine line between Jesus saying He was “sent by God” or “the son of God” or “the Messiah (Christ)” and whether He actually used the words “I am God.” In Matthew 25:17-46, He tells of a time when He will come in all His glory, and all the people of the earth will be gathered before Him and He will separate the sheep from the goats. As in, He has the power to determine people’s eternal destiny. Seems like some God-talk to me.

4. The differences in the resurrection stories don’t really matter to me. They all include Jesus coming back to life, revealing his resurrection to many. The author argues about what kind of impression that actually made on His followers. I would say Jesus’ resurrection is the only thing substantial enough to make those men go from fleeing and hiding (essentially the Jesus movement was over at His crucifixion), to becoming bold enough to preach His resurrection in the face of authorities who had the power to condemn them to torture and death. And who did in fact do that in almost all the apostles’ cases. I mean, I certainly wouldn’t risk a horrible end for the sake of perpetuating a hoax. I don’t know anyone whose pride is so great.

So when I read the varying accounts, I kind of try to make it all work. Or I take the parts that do line up and go with that.

5. Jesus was against public prayer. I’ll go with that. Except for this one spot in John 11 where Jesus publicly prayed that everyone would see the glory of God, then He raised Lazarus from the dead. But maybe at that point He was just with Mary and Martha and some close family friends and His disciples. At least earlier in the chapter as He enters the village, there are many Jews who see Him weep and question why He didn’t do anything to save Lazarus earlier. But maybe they didn’t follow Him to the tomb to hear His public prayer. I don’t know. But overall, I do get that Jesus wanted prayer to be personal, not for show. And I have no problem with not praying before football games. I don’t think Jesus cares about football.

6. Some of the books of the Bible are forgeries. First of all, no one KNOWS this for sure. Just like there is no actual proof that Abraham Lincoln wrote the Gettysburg Address. There is a really old address written on some really old paper. There are people who wrote about the fact that he gave that address. But there are no pictures, no audio recordings, no one living now who was there and can attest. There’s also no proof of evolution. There’s a lot of scientific research and stuff we know about carbon dating now, that can be applied to make plausible theories about the age of the earth and how life possibly became what it is now. But, we take a lot on faith. I’ll take the Bible on faith. Some parts I do place “in context” if I don’t feel they apply to all people at all times. EVERYONE DOES THAT. I also don’t place the validity of 1 Timothy in the core beliefs of my faith. So if it turns out to be false, my faith doesn’t erode.

7. Some parts are written to intentionally disagree with other parts. See above.

8. Jesus’ apostles disagreed with Paul about the Gospel. I don’t read that passage in 1 Corinthians to be referring to the original apostles. I guess it could be. Some translations call them “super apostles”, some call them ” most eminent apostles”. But he talks about a false Jesus or a false gospel. I think he and the 12 were in agreement on those things. He had words with them at one point, but they hashed out their differences and went separate ways, Paul with the blessing of the 12 to continue missionary work around the world. I think they just parted ways due to personality conflicts. Later, there definitely were some “words” between Paul and Peter. The Incident at Antioch. It may be in reference to this kind of nonsense that Paul said folks should listen to him and not anyone who opposed him, even Peter. He staked his claim on the gospel of salvation through Jesus’ sacrifice alone, not accompanied by any adherence to Jewish law.

So them’s my thoughts. Took me a really long time to write. Hopefully won’t take you too long to read.

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My post-election tirade

I seem to only post a blog lately when, once in a blue moon, I have a rant to go on that will take too much space in a Facebook post. So here I go on this rant…

I get really peeved at everyone’s attitude after an election. Whether liberal or conservative, Republican or Democrat (Libertarians haven’t yet gained enough traction to have an attitude), “win” or “lose”. I put those in quotes because, really, you’re never going to win and make this world set right, and you’re never going to lose because the pendulum of culture will swing back to you. So just simma da na.

From a conservative friend on Facebook, happy with the Republican-heavy election results, I saw a post to the tune of: Praise God for this victory for our country. Please pray that these men and women will seek God’s will and…. you get the picture. As if God is Republican. As if Democrats are all heathen reprobates, none of whom could possibly be Christians.

From a liberal friend on Facebook, I saw a picture of a map of the U.S. All the blue states were labeled “America”. All the red states were labeled “Dumbfuckistan”. As if all Republicans are stupid. Only stupid people would possibly be conservative. They’re all just good ol’ boys and their little women who do their bidding, who vote the GOP line without a thought in their heads. And they certainly don’t care for anyone’s rights but the white man.

This is lunacy. And if results went the other way, Republicans would lament that Democrat voters were all mindless robots, believing what the bureaucrats promise them, believing it’s the government’s job to take care of them and all the illegal immigrants, at the expense of the hard-working American who can’t support his/her own family.  And Democrats would smile and say, “Finally we are progressing. All conservatives want to do is dig in their heels, keep the woman and the black man down. We can finally show compassion to all humans, because that’s what liberals do.”

I actually voted about 60/30/10. Republican, Democrat, Libertarian. I had a spread. I was let down a lot, needless to say. But I don’t ever get too happy with wins, or wring my hands over losses. I trust God, and I believe He exists outside of politics.  I don’t believe promises made in the Bible to the nation of Israel should be extrapolated and quoted for the USA today. Americans aren’t God’s chosen people. If you believe the Bible, then you must believe that the world is going to hell in a hand basket. Whether America is lead by Republicans or Democrats. It doesn’t matter. Our nation will never be “made right”. So don’t ever get too settled….or unsettled.

But religion aside, let’s please try to look at the opposing political views presented to us and ask, “How can they think that?” and actually look for an answer. Not just look to ridicule, hate, and dismiss. Take welfare, for instance. Democrats and Republicans want it to work in different ways. But a Democrat shouldn’t look at a Republican and think, “You don’t care about your fellow man! You don’t care about the poor.” A Republican wants to see the poor helped, he just thinks it can be done in a different way.

I’m always trying to hear and understand the opposing point of view on a given subject.  I may not ever agree with it. But I cannot hate my opposition when I hear them out.  I can only say, maybe you or I don’t know all the facts yet, because I still don’t agree with you on this. Or I can say, there is a fundamental difference in the basis our beliefs (usually that I’m a conservative Christian, and therefore view the entire world thru a different lens), and we will never agree unless one of us changes that core belief that we hold true. But we can still try to continue the dialogue and see where we do agree and meet there.

One last word about the poor/welfare. Whether you are Republican, Democrat, or other, if you consider yourself to be a Christian, or any sort of philanthropic religion, or even an adamant atheist who is very philanthropic, then you should seriously look at your giving habits. I’m talking about giving money to charities, churches, missions for the poor. If just all the Christians tithed and gave willingly like they should, we wouldn’t have disagreements about welfare, because there would be no need for welfare. The Bible says in both Old and New Testaments that the three main classes we should look after are the poor, the widows, and the orphans. If one family in every church in America would foster a child, there would be no children waiting around in the foster care system. If everyone gave regularly (like monthly, not just at Christmas time to make yourself feel good) to a private organization or charity to help the poor pay bills and find jobs, we’d have no need for welfare. Just open your own damn wallet, and stop giving grief to the political opposition about how THEY should help the poor.

I will stop here. I’ll end by saying again, please stop with the hateful (or smug religious) post-election comments. Just talk to each other.

Thoughts on the “Hobby Lobby Scandal” (or whatever you want to call it)

First of all, let me say that I agree there is something to discuss concerning their dealings with China, although smarter, wiser people than I can probably make me agree with them concerning whether or not it’s right or wrong. And whether or not it’s hypocritical.

Also, I am upset that they don’t provide fully covered maternity leave.  If they’re so concerned with right to life, as am I, they should give new mothers paid time off to nurture their sweet, innocent, helpless newborns. No woman should deal with new mother postpartum stress and also worry about not receiving a decent paycheck.

I’ve read the Matt Walsh blog post and tend to agree with him on just about everything. Maybe it’s because he’s so witty and funny that I just laugh along and say, “Yeah, you go boy!” I don’t know.

Progressives got all up in arms at the decision the Supreme Court handed down yesterday.  I just want to say, get over it.  That may be harsh, but as a conservative Christian who has wrung my little hands many a time over past Supreme Court decisions, I’ve heard that same attitude come from the left. Get over it. No one wants to be told that, yet we both feel justified in telling the other side.

How important is this pill, really? I mean, other than if a woman gets raped, she really ought to just be responsible and prepared when engaging in sexual encounters.  In the past, before we had kids, before we wanted to have kids, Brandon and I used double contraception.  I was on birth control and we used condoms.  And we’re MARRIED!! Sorry, Brandon, for the TMI. It isn’t asking too much for young men to carry condoms on them any time they think they might have a sexual encounter that night (or day, if you’re really horny). Or even to ask a woman to carry one. Heck, I’d be in support of insurance coverage for condoms! 

And also, a woman can only conceive like two days out of the month. If a woman is having normal monthly cycles, she really can EASILY figure out when she’s ovulating and avoid sex for those two days a month. That isn’t asking too much. Google it, ladies. You can learn how to tell when you’re ovulating pretty quickly.  Women are so eager to figure it out when we want to get pregnant, why not do the same if you DON’T want to get pregnant? Be responsible. Be an adult. How often should you really need this “abortion pill”? Once a year, maybe? Can you not afford it?

Now, I know there are always outliers. Like rape. Like women who have irregular cycles (some women only get one once a year) and can’t really easily tell when they’re ovulating. But what percent of women fall into those categories, and what percent of them work for Hobby Lobby, or any other “closely held” corporation that might be willing to run this gauntlet that HL just ran? I’m not saying those women should be ignored. Obviously more discussion should take place surrounding women in those circumstances.

If I were the head of HL, I’d put a clause in every full-time employee’s contract that, if they are a woman who winds up unexpectedly pregnant and feels like they have a need to get an abortion, just write me a letter outlining the reasons and I will personally meet with them to work something out.  Either handling legal fees for adoption, or if I feel the case is compelling, fronting the money out of my pocket for an abortion. I WHOLEHEARTEDLY disagree with abortion on principle. But if I felt the case of the woman was convincing, I’d help her in the way that she wanted. I’ll bet I’d see maybe one woman per year. Maybe. Of all the HL female employees in the nation. Because most women who worked for me would either engage more responsibly in “safe sex”, or they just wouldn’t want to have their work cut out for them to write me a letter, meet with me, etc. Then there would be that one woman a year (maybe) who would be really grateful that I put up the money to help her out of a real jam. 

That’s my take on it.

On Faith and Science

There was a debate recently on creationism versus evolution.  Some people got up in arms about it.  Some just shrugged it off as unimportant. I do think hammering out these arguments has a place for Christians inside the church. But in our interactions with those outside of the Christian faith, it detracts from the message of Jesus and the overall message of the Bible. But I’ll go into it a little bit, just for the fun of it. One of the best arguments for creationism, or most interesting to me at least, is the idea that God simply created the earth with the APPEARANCE of age. For those that believe in Adam and Eve, we believe that they were awakened into existence already full grown as adults (or at least as adolescents capable of sexual reproduction).  So if at one day old, they appeared to be much older, it’s possible that the rest of creation could also simply appear much older than it actually is.

I hate when “religious folk” try to also use natural laws to justify creation. An example is that water dwelling organisms that eventually moved to land would have drowned if they were still living in water as their lungs were developing. And if they moved to land before their lungs were developed, they would have suffocated out of water. But then those same “religious folk” have to suspend natural laws to explain that certain events in the Bible “were just miracles, plain and simple!” When the earth stood still for a whole day (Joshua 10:12-14), if the laws of nature were in effect, then the earth actually had to stop in its rotation. Everyone on the planet would have been hurdled into space! So, if one wants to argue for creationism, please don’t try to use laws of nature to explain it, then suspend them to explain other Biblical events.

Also, I don’t believe that science and faith have to exist apart from one another.  There are lots of Christian scientists a lot smarter than most atheists. Yet many atheists act like anyone who believes in God must be an idiot. I just don’t get it. And Christians shouldn’t believe that if we can just convince those darn atheists that evolution is wrong, then they’ll suddenly turn to God and become Christians.             Testimonies that I’ve heard from religious cynics are almost always rooted in disillusionment or abuse associated with people who claimed to be religious (usually Christian). A few are people who were raised as atheists and have simply followed the “religion” of their parents, just as I have followed the religion of mine. And testimonies from former cynics who then converted to Christianity never include the line “But then, so-and-so proved to me how the Bible is truly inerrant, and now I believe in Jesus.” In every case I’ve heard of, conversion is due to a Christian coming alongside a nonbeliever in need and ministering to them, with no ultimatum.

But the key to my faith is not rooted in science at all. So please don’t try to use science to convince me of how dumb the Bible or my Christianity is. It won’t work. Because my faith is cemented in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. And in my opinion, the strongest argument for this is found in the actions of the disciples in the hours, days, weeks, and months following that event. First, all the disciples went and hid after Jesus was arrested. Peter denied Him 3 times. He was trying to save his own skin. Yet, he later becomes the leader of the Church? Confronts authorities who have it in their right to beat and execute him (and they eventually do)? SOMETHING happened.  And all the other disciples followed suit (except Judas, who had betrayed Jesus, and hung himself out of guilt). None of them were waiting expectantly for Jesus to rise.  As my pastor likes to say, none of them were standing outside the tomb on the third day counting down, “10!….9!…..8!…..”  The movement they had been part of for three years was over. Dead in the water. Or dead on a cross, if you prefer. Then SOMETHING happened, because they all banded together to launch the early Christian movement – known as The Way – from the hub of Jerusalem. A movement that has carried across the whole world for over 2,000 years. They all risked their lives and suffered beatings, imprisonment, and execution. Was this all for an elaborate hoax? Yeah, right.

Take Paul, originally known as Saul of Tarsus. He hated Christians. He cheered as Jewish religious leaders stoned an early Christian named Stephen. This is recorded by Luke in Acts 7 and in Acts 22, where Paul is speaking of it in the first person. His mission in life was to stamp out the Christian movement. He was on one of those missions when, suddenly, he did a 180. In Acts, Luke writes that even the Roman soldiers who were escorting Paul were blinded by a bright light in the sky. But only Paul claims to have heard the voice of Jesus speaking to him. The man is blind for three days, then suddenly becomes gung ho for Jesus! He becomes one of the most adamant proclaimers of God’s love and Jesus’ resurrection, to the point that he is also imprisoned, beaten, and eventually executed. Why? Why would he do that to himself? SOMETHING happened.

Several times in the book of Acts and in the letters of Peter and John, the disciples talk about Jesus’ resurrection using the words, “…and we have seen this with our own eyes,” or “we are witnesses to this.” To me, this is the confirmation I need to place my faith in Jesus as my Savior. So no need to blind me with Science. I’ve been blinded by the Light.

I Love Lydia

I’m referring to my maternal grandmother, Lydia, from whom I get my middle name and my daughter gets her first name. Of course, I love my daughter very much, but this post is about my Nanny. I don’t have much to say myself in this post, but please read this blog by my cousin’s wife, LaDonna Speight. It made me cry….more than once….and it is a very interesting story I didn’t know about my grandmother. And I didn’t know blogs about quilting could be so interesting!

p.s. That’s my brother, J.D. (Jon David), in the picture. Such a cutie!

Hallie Lynn Green’s Memorial Service

Today I attended the memorial service for little Hallie Lynn Green. It was held at Buckhead Church. I thought I was prepared by having a few tissues on hand at the beginning, but by the end they were all soaked and I needed more. It wasn’t built up to be a big tear-jerker. I am just the kind of person who cries very easily. I was also in that susceptible place of being the mother of small children, so the feelings and memories of holding a newborn in my arms are very fresh. Thus, the idea of losing one of mine brings on very strong emotions.

Here are the highlights (completely subjective) of the service:

1) Pre-service slideshow featured pictures of little Hallie with various family members holding her and kissing her. There was such love and heartache in each one. They were beautiful. Then the service began with a short video comprised of some still photos and some short video segments of Hallie. Seeing her little body breathing in those moments gave me a feeling of having been with her, having met her, even though I never did. That was nice.

2) Casey Darnell sang an opening song that he had co-written with Chris, the father. It was called “Hallelujah”, since that’s the root of Hallie’s name. “Praise”. The line I really liked in the song, and I don’t remember it verbatim, said something like, “I never understood a father’s love until I held you in my arms…. I never understood the Father’s love until I lost you, and had to give you back to Him.” I lost it on that line (one of the many times I lost it, you know).

3) Billy Phenix gave a welcome and some opening remarks. He quoted a verse I’ve never heard, but I love it now that he gave some insight into it. It was Ecclesiastes 7:2 which states: “It is better to go to a house of mourning than to a house of feasting, for death is the destiny of everyone; the living should take this to heart.” Now, I know what you’re thinking. What a Debbie Downer of a verse, right? But think about it. If you’re at a party, you’re living for the moment. You’re not thinking about tomorrow. You’re not thinking beyond yourself. You’re focused on having a good time right then and there. But in a house of mourning (such as at a funeral), you start to ponder your own life. You think about your purpose, your posterity. What legacy am I leaving to my loved ones, my children? What a great little nugget of truth. Don’t run away from grief. Don’t run away from mourning, seeking out only feasting. I mean, sure, enjoy the feasts of life when they come. But allow yourself to soak it in when you’re in the house of mourning. You’ll learn so much about life, about yourself, in those times.

4) Chris and Katie each gave a personal testimony. This was the best part, for me. Katie started. She is such a sweet person. A devoted mother. She was able to talk about how perfect and wonderful Hallie was, without going to pieces on stage (stage fright can actually help us keep our emotions in check sometimes). I really enjoyed hearing her talk about Hallie. Just like all mothers when we talk about our sweet babies, about their cute fingers and toes and their soft baby skin and sweet baby smell. It was just wonderful to hear her talk. Chris said he couldn’t wing it on his testimony, so he read it. He’s a good writer and puts his thoughts down well on paper. Yet he read with a lot of meaning and feeling. I loved what he said about God’s goodness (which, if you read their blog, he’s written as well). He said (again this is paraphrased), “You can’t look at Hallie’s broken condition as a measure of God’s goodness. We see God’s goodness in the love and support that has been poured out to us. We see it in how it has brought our family closer together, made our faith stronger. We especially see it in how Hallie’s story has touched so many lives. This is where we see the measure of God’s goodness.” One last thing that he said, that touched me, was that all the time that other people had been focusing attention on their story, Katie had kept her attention squarely on Hallie.

5) Andy Stanley, our lead pastor, shared a message. I like that it didn’t include any platitudes about how God’s ways are higher than our ways, she’s in a better place, or anything else we’ve all heard before. He talked about how since the first sin in the garden, the world has been broken. Sickness and pain are a result of a fallen world. And God mourns with us. So He set about redeeming us to Himself. Then Andy segued into talking about Jesus meeting Mary and Martha right after Lazarus had died. Even though He knew He was about to raise Lazarus, what did He do? He wept. Jesus wept. We can be comforted in knowing that even though God is redeeming this fallen world to Himself, He still weeps with us in our suffering and loss. One parallel that he drew that I really liked was this: Chris and Katie used Hallie’s pain and their own loss to show others the love of God, just as God used Jesus’ pain and His own loss to show us His love. They were redeeming her life for a greater purpose. So awesome. Chris and Katie’s special verse for Hallie is Jeremiah 1:5: Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you; before you were born I set you apart. This verse was fulfilled in Hallie’s life.

Those are the highlights. It may seem like the entire service was one big highlight for me, but I promise I only touched on a few parts.

I will end by saying this one last thing: in Katie’s testimony, she talked about how she had never imagined that she would be able to survive something like this as a mother. But she has, and she has done it beautifully. I certainly don’t wish anything like this on myself or my family, ever. But I know that if God ever chooses to test me in this way, Katie has left a pretty good roadmap to follow.

*To read Chris and Katie’s blog, click here.

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Hallie Lynn Green

So about a week ago, I found out that some friends, Chris and Katie Green, were going to have a baby who had Trisomy 13. They had been blogging about it for the past several months, I just didn’t know about their journey until these last days. I started reading their story on the day (or maybe the day before) little Hallie was born. Every post would leave me in tears.

Finally last night, after I had read Chris’s latest post and I was bawling my eyes out in bed (and continually getting up to go get tissue), I asked, “Why God?” Now, this wasn’t a question of “why would You let this happen”. I was asking, “Why am I crying? What are You trying to teach me? How do You want to change me?” My tears couldn’t just be tears of pity. Chris and Katie wouldn’t want that. They were certainly tears of compassion (which is good, since God wants us to be compassionate) and also tears brought on by empathy. Although I’ve never lost a child, I am a mother and I was crying as I imagined how I might feel in that position. But I didn’t want that to be the extent of my tears.

I learned today that little Hallie had gone to meet Jesus last night, just a short time after my tears subsided and I fell asleep. She passed away at 12:30 a.m. this morning. She was at home, cradled in her mother’s arms, surrounded by loving family. She was five days old. The Greens will be heavy on my heart tomorrow and for the next several days as I know they are celebrating her arrival in heaven and the time they had with her here on earth, but also mourning their loss of her here on earth. But I will continue to pray that God teaches me a lasting lesson through this. Maybe it is as simple as having more compassion, but not simply for the next few days or weeks until some other story occupies my thoughts. Rather, having more compassion for the rest of my life. Maybe it is a more obscure lesson that I haven’t realized yet. Whatever it is, I will continue to ask, “Why, God?”

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