Archive for the 'Bible' Category

Psalm 30: I will praise you for ever

Published by bcg on 23 August 2012 in Bible. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , .

David wrote Psalm 30 for the dedication of the Temple, praising God for helping and healing him when David called for help. He calls on the people to praise God, for his anger is only temporary.

v6-7 are so true – I won't summarise them you'll have to look them up.

And then David starts reasoning with God – look, he says, what's the point in letting me die? Why silence me? After all, what good is dust, it can't praise you or proclaim your faithfulness, so you might as well show mercy, lift me up, and save me.

And then the pattern of Jesus emerges, one of the passages when Jesus teaches how the Scriptures say the Messiah must suffer and die:

You turned my wailing into dancing;
you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy,
that my heart may sing your praises and not be silent.
Lord my God, I will praise you for ever.

Psalm 30.11-12 (NIV)

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Weakness turned to Strength

Published by bcg on 7 May 2012 in Bible. 0 Comments Tags: , , .

This morning I read Hebrews 11, which is of course the famous 'By faith..' passage, listing various Old Testament examples of faithful followers of God, from Abel to Rahab before skipping over Gideon, David and Samuel in a single verse.

There are all kinds of important verses in this chapter, but I think for me the most important one is this little clause in the middle of verse 34:

whose weakness was turned to strength

Hebrews 11.34 (NIV)

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Questioning God

Published by bcg on 9 March 2012 in Bible. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , .

In Job 37 Elihu (the youngest of Job's 'friends' in the conversation about his suffering) tells Job to 'stop and consider the wondrous works of God' (v14).  From thunder and lightning to snow and rain, animals, whirlwinds and people, God made them all, is behind, above and beyond them all, upholds and sustains them all.  His power is, quite simply, awesome.  Elihu ends like this:

God is clothed with awesome majesty.
The Almighty—we cannot find him;
he is great in power;
justice and abundant righteousness he will not violate.
Therefore men fear him;
he does not regard any who are wise in their own conceit.

Job 37.22b-24 

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End of the World?

Published by bcg on 21 May 2011 in Bible and Current Affairs. 0 Comments Tags: , , .

Surprisingly (or not) the world is not ending today – probably!  This guy has the right idea:

An atheist and entrepreneur from North Hampshire, Bart Centre, is enjoying a boost in business for Eternal Earth-bound Pets, which he set up to look after the pets of those who believe they will be raptured.

He has more than 250 clients who are paying up to $135 (£83) to have their pets picked up and cared for after the rapture.

They would be disappointed twice, he told the Wall Street Journal. "Once because they weren't raptured and again because I don't do refunds."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-13468131

The arguments are well-worn: the Bible does not contain hidden 'codes', that's not what Jesus meant when he said he spoke in parables; the Bible tells us no-one knows when Judgement Day will occur, not even Jesus (Matthew 24.6), and that it will come 'like a thief in the night' (1 Thessalonians 5.2-4); similes are not literal statements (2 Peter 3.8).

And, the 'rapture' is a North American conceit, having little to do with what the Bible actually says about the end of the world.  It is founded on half-truths, snippets of verses, and who knows what else.  If you want to read a really careful exploration of the end of the world as the Bible tells it, I recommend Simon Ponsonby's book, 'And the Lamb Wins' (available here).

The 'end of the world' syndrome is not unique to religious nuts – I think it is something to do with being human.  Remember the Millennium bug, or the Large Hadron Collider creating a black hole at the centre of the earth?  Or how about the regular scares about asteroids hitting the earth, or the North and South pole switching polarity and heralding a new ice age?

People are people – crazy, impressionable and gullible.  But also wonderful and beautiful, inquisitive, caring and loving.  Whatever you think, please don't write off all Christians because a few people do crazy things.  Most of us are really quite sensible!

Good News Proverbs

Published by bcg on 31 March 2009 in Bible. 0 Comments Tags: , .

By this I don't mean Proverbs that necessarily are Good News, but the translation of the Proverbs in the Good News translation of the Bible.  One or two have actually made me laugh out loud, because the language is so blunt and in-your-face.  Here are some examples, in the Good News and ESV:

10.13

Intelligent people talk sense, but stupid people need to be punished. (GNB)
On the lips of him who has understanding, wisdom is found, but a rod is for the back of him who lacks sense. (ESV)

10.21

A good person's words will benefit many people, but you can kill yourself with stupidity. (GNB)
The lips of the righteous feed many, but fools die for lack of sense. (ESV)

11.26

People curse someone who hoards gran, waiting for a higher price, but they praise the one who puts it up for sale. (GNB)
The people curse him who holds back grain, but a blessing is on the head of him who sells it. (ESV)

12.8

If you are intelligent, you will be praised; if you are stupid, people will look down on you. (GNB)
A man is commended according to his good sense, but one of twisted mind is despised. (ESV)

12.15

Stupid people always think they are right.  Wise people listen to advice. (GNB)
The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man listens to advice. (ESV)

12.25

Worry can rob you of happiness, but kind words will cheer you up. (GNB)
Anxiety in a man's heart weighs him down, but a good word makes him glad. (ESV)

13.16

Sensible people always think before they act, but stupid people advertise their ignorance. (GNB)
In everything the prudent acts with knowledge, but a fool flaunts his folly. (ESV)

14.13

Laughter may hide sadness.  When happiness is gone, sorry is always there. (GNB)
Even in laughter the heart may ache, and the end of joy may be grief. (ESV)

14.29 (one for me)

If you stay calm, you are wise, but if you have a hot temper, you only show how stupid you are. (GNB)
Whoever is slow to anger has great understanding, but he who has a hasty temper exalts folly. (ESV)

15.4

Kind words bring life, but cruel words crush your spirit. (GNB)
A gentle tongue is a tree of life, but perverseness in it breaks the spirit. (ESV)

15.13

When people are happy, they smile, but when they are sad, they look depressed. (GNB)
A glad heart makes a cheerful face, but by sorrow of heart the spirit is crushed. (ESV)

15.17

Better to eat vegetables with people you love than to eat the finest meat where there is hate. (GNB)
Better is a dinner of herbs where love is than a fattened ox and hatred with it. (ESV)

15.19

If you are lazy, you will meet difficulty everywhere, but if you are honest, you will have no trouble. (GNB)
The way of a sluggard is like a hedge of thorns, but the path of the upright is a level highway. (ESV)

16.22

Wisdom is a fountain of life to the wise, but trying to educate stupid people is a waste of time. (GNB)
Good sense is a fountain of life to him who has it, but the instruction of fools is folly. (ESV)

16.24

Kind words are like honey – sweet to the taste and good for your health. (GNB)
Gracious words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the body. (ESV)

17.10

An intelligent person learns more from one rebuke than a fool learns from being beaten a hundred times. (GNB)
A rebuke goes deeper into a man of understanding than a hundred blows into a fool. (ESV)

17.12

It is better to meet a mother bear with her robbed of her cubs than to meet some fool busy with a stupid project. (GNB)
Let a man meet a she-bear robbed of her cubs rather than a fool in his folly. (ESV)

17.22

Being cheerful keeps you healthy.  It is slow death to be gloomy all the time. (GNB)
A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones. (ESV)

18.2

A fool does not care whether he understands a thing or not; all he wants to do is to show how clever he is. (GNB)
A fool takes no pleasure in understanding, but only in expressing his opinion. (ESV)

18.13

Listen before you answer.  If you don't you are being stupid and insulting. (GNB)
If one gives an answer before he hears, it is his folly and shame. (ESV)

18.20-21

You will have to live with the consequences of everything you say.  What you say can preseve life or destroy it; so you must accept the consequences of your words. (GNB)
From the fruit of a man's mouth his stomach is satisfied; he is satisfied by the yield of his lips. Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits. (ESV)

That's enough for now – as you can see a lot of the ones I've chosen revolve around the word 'stupid'.  But it does highlight the difference in translation philosophies – the ESV is 'essentially literal', whereas the GNB is 'dynamically equivalent'.  In other words, the ESV simply tries to translate word-for-word, whereas the GNB tries to explain some of the Hebrew / Greek idioms in plain English.

I have to say reading the GNB this year is very refreshing, after reading the ESV last year.  I'm especially enjoying the Proverbs – no doubt more will follow!

Incorporation ‘in Christ’ and Justification

Published by bcg on 17 February 2009 in Bible, Reviews and Theology. 1 Comment Tags: , , , , , .

I am currently reading Tom Wright's latest book, 'Justification: God's plan and Paul's vision'.  I am about a fifth of the way through, and so far it is typical Wright: engaging, well-written and thought-provoking.

The back cover quotes someone as saying that he 'out-Reforms' the popular 'neo-Reformed' writers in America.  Wright's starting position is that we should not privilege tradition over Scripture – even the Reformed tradition.  He critiques contemporary evangelicalism for failing to be critical enough of its own tradition in the light of Scripture.

One of the areas he highlights as particularly lacking, is that of 'incorporation'.  This is one of Paul's main themes (just count how many times he uses the phrase 'in Christ', let alone the number of times he relies on the concept) yet it is one of the least developed in contemporary evangelical theology (argues Wright).

I would agree with him whole-heartedly.  He says that incorporation (among others) is one of the main themes, of which the evangelical definition of justification is a part.  His book is therefore making explicit his position, attempting to look at what Paul actually said, rather than what the Reformed tradition says he said.

This is a bold move, but if there is anyone who can pull it off, it's Tom Wright.  Methodologically, he's spot on.  It has been one of my constant frustrations that there is an implicit 'correct' and 'sound' interpretation and understanding of the New Testament, far beyond the basic and fundamental non-negotiables of the Christian faith (e.g. Jesus' resurrection) – especially when this 'correct' interpretation (in my view) ignores the Old Testament, or treats it simply as the backdrop, rather than as the way of understanding what Paul is really talking about.

I am looking forward to reading the rest of Wright's book – and will no doubt post a full review when I'm done.

Calvin on Ceremony

Published by bcg on 3 February 2009 in Bible, Church and Quotations. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , .

Writing on John 4.20, Calvin writes that error lies in 'the confusing of different ages':

Later generations devote themselves to the examples of the fathers, not thinking that a different law of action has been enjoined on them by the Lord.  We can ascribe to this ignorance the huge mass of ceremonies with which the Church under the Papacy has been buried.  Immediately after the beginning of the Church they began to sin in this way from a foolish and undue affectation of Judaism.  The Jews had their sacrifices; and therefore, that Christians also might not be without a show, the rite of sacrificing Christ was invented. ... This madness later broke out more strongly and spread beyond all bounds.

Therefore, that we may not fall into this error, we must always heed the following rule: Incense, lights, sacred vestments, altar, vessels and ceremonies of this kind were formerly pleasing to God; and the reason was that nothing is more aceptable or precious to Him than obedience.  We must therefore regard what He enjoins us in the Gospel, so that we may not unthinkingly follow what the fathers observed under the Law.  For what was then a sacred observing of the worship of God would now be a wicked sacrilege.

John Calvin, John 1-10 (trans. THL Parker), Paternoster (Carlise, 1995): p.96-97.

The Anglican Church tries to hold together those who lean towards a more Roman Catholic practice of worship, and those who lean towards a more Protestant/Reformed simplicity.  Many of us regard this as acceptable, that ceremony is a 'matter of indifference'.

However, here Calvin sees it to be a matter of great significance.  He argues that if we 'unthinkingly follow' what was commanded of our fathers, and in so doing ignore what we are commanded to do, we are guilty of 'a wicked sacrilege'.

Calvin's argument is that the practice of ceremony, with 'Incense, lights, sacred vestments...' etc, belongs to a former time, and is not now commanded.  In fact (if I understand him correctly) it distracts us from what is enjoined in the Gospel, and so is a matter of disobedience, not indifference.

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