Category: Christianity Page 3 of 7

Last night was the last scheduled Wednesday night Bible study we will have at our little apartment here in Lewisville. We had it there biweekly, but because we are moving at the end of the month and have the funeral to attend later in the month, it will move to another home for the next time when it would have been with us. It was a great privilege to meet with this little group, we enjoyed it immensely and will miss it very much. The beautiful flowers by the window were kindly sent by the other members of the meeting in condolences for Grandpa Milo and were very much appreciated.

Note to the person who sent the very unhelpful and graceless comment to this blog after Grandpa Milo’s death: Grandpa Milo, Grandma Sarah and all our little family believe now and have always believed that salvation is by grace through faith in Jesus Christ alone and not by works. That is the common belief in our fellowship and what has always been preached in our hearing.

Over ten years ago (starting in February 2006), I decided I would try to be more consistent in my reading of the Bible. One thing that helps me stay on track with that kind of thing is setting a goal and keeping a record. I set what I thought was a modest goal of just reading one chapter per day until I had read through the entire Bible three times and for each time I read through the whole Bible, I would try to read through the New Testament an additional two times for a total of three times through the Old Testament and nine times through the New Testament.

Today, I finished my third read through the Old Testament which leaves with three reads through the New Testament to complete my goal. I had been faithful both in reading and keeping track for quite awhile, but sometime last year I found myself reading more than one chapter per day. Actually, when I got to the Psalms, I generally read more than one chapter per day the whole time, but the amount of time I spend in the Bible now is surely more than double what I did previously.

The great thing about all this is that my level of enjoyment and benefit in reading has increased over time, too. I know a lot more about the entire flow of the Bible than I did when I started this. I highly recommend setting some goals and keeping a reading record for people with a mindset like my own (I am an engineer at the core of my vocational being). When I hit my goal, Lord willing, I hope to set some new goals, probably starting with a read through a couple additional translations (probably NASB and ESV). Then, I want to find a systematic way to do some topical studies.

The results of this effort are joy, a firmer grasp on a great, overarching plan set into motion by the God who has our best interests at heart even when we ourselves do not.

Update: Our friend David K. made some nice comments about this post and it dawned on me that I had not mentioned that my entire reading history for this goal has been in the KJV. I love the KJV and I cannot imagine a time when it will not be my favorite. That being said, after learning Spanish, the Reina Valera 1960 version of the Bible is way up there on my list of translations and has no need to apologize in any way to the KJV. Really, reading the Bible in Spanish has changed the way I think about translations of the Bible.

It is amazing to me that in our day and age, new physical evidence continues to accumulate that shows the Biblical scripture did not change in any meaningful way from what was originally written. An article came out yesterday about technological advancements that allow previously unreadable scrolls from the first century AD to be read reliably. That in conjunction with the relatively new ability to recover Biblical text from, of all things, mummies masks that also go back to the first century. There was little doubt before we had these new confirmations that the Bible we read today is very, very close to what was initially written–nothing of any doctrinal consequence with respect to the foundation truths of Christianity was ever in question. Still, it is nice to have them.

Os Guinness wrote a book titled Impossible People: Christian Courage and the Struggle for the Soul of Civilization about what Christians should do in a world that has changed dramatically and mostly for the worse. Eric Metaxas lays it all out in an article to describe the change and why Guinness used the term Impossible People. He starts out by saying this:

In the opening scene of the 2001 film adaptation of “The Fellowship of the Ring,” Cate Blanchett’s Galadriel whispers hauntingly, “The world has changed. I can feel it in the water. I feel it in the earth. I smell it in the air. Much that once was is lost; for none now live who remember it.”

Western Christians in 2016 can relate. Something has shifted. The world we inhabit seems to have become disenchanted, and so many of those around us have entered a state in some ways worse than atheism—a state of indifference toward God and the supernatural.

Then he goes on to explain in brief what Christians can, and I would say must, do. The answer is a refusal to conform and I think that is exactly right. The eleventh century stand taken by a fellow named Peter Damian is worthy of emulation and a very interesting read. What is required is not comfortable, but it is required if we want to both be right and have any hope for cultural redemption.

Update: I guess I should not be amazed that Marvin Olasky wrote an article a week back that could be a companion to the one written by Metaxas. It gives another example of what to do when caught in a culture that is diametrically opposed to your world view in very bad ways. You can read it here.

I wrote a post yesterday about the very bad direction the world is headed and a post showed up on a similar theme titled Muslim Scholars Declare Post-Coup Erdogan Supreme Leader for the Entire Muslim World. The Right Scoop has written about what is happening in Turkey for awhile now and it just seems to continue to percolate. The above linked article is written by an Arab man who has watched all of this for quite some time. The idea that what is happening in Turkey might have global, Biblical implications is pooh-poohed by many, but that it is something to be pooh-poohed is, in and of itself, something that makes all these goings on at this time and in that place very interesting. Even if you are not a little bit of a conspiracy theorist like myself (Why would you not be? How boring is that?), this is a very interesting article. It is worthwhile to read the other stuff written about Turkey at The Right Scoop, too.

Demon possession is a real thing ( e.g. Mark 5:1-20). Recently, a board certified psychiatrist  named RIchard Gallagher from New York wrote an article on current manifestations of this evil. The article is titled As a psychiatrist, I diagnose mental illness. Also, I help spot demonic possession. It describes how he differentiates between demonic possession and mental illness. It also talks a little bit about the different factions within the medical community, some who are sympathetic toward his thinking and some who are skeptical and even openly derisive . I found another article that describes the case of a woman he called “Julia” to hide her identity. I do not know what else to say about these articles other than that they were a very interesting read. I have never seen anything like this up close, but have heard first person accounts of such things in Mexico from people I trust, take these topics seriously and are not given to exaggeration.