A New Kind Of Christian (Brian McLaren)

from an email July 5, 2006

One of my goals this summer was to read some books that aren't necessarily inside my "comfort zone". I wanted to read stuff by people who don't hold to the same philosophy of ministry as I do or the same theological positions.

I just finished a book by Brian McLaren. His book entitled "A New Kind of Christian" is … um… let me say… "interesting". There was stuff I totally agreed with him on, there was stuff I totally disagreed with him on. He brought up some great points about what its like to be a pastor, what his ideal seminary (training grounds) for pastors would be, and he touched on missions and evangelism.

All in all, the purpose of his book was to challenge us to engage our culture today where it's at and to go to it, not expect it to come to us! He also said that we should not to get stuck in a rut thinking "oh this is the way church was always run" or "this is the way we also did it". He writes:

I think of Paul in 1 Corinthians 9, saying that he'll become whatever he has to – Jewish or Gentile, educated or simple – in order to effectively convey the good news. Today maybe he'd say, "To the moderns I became modern, and to the postmoderns I became postmodern, so that by all appropriate means I could help people find Christ." (pg 22)

Here some more quotes in my different categories.

Stuff I agree with McLaren on:

Christianity too often is the enemy of the gospel (pg 63)

I somewhat agree. Hypocritical 'christians' often give true Christians a bad name.

I look back over my years in ministry and ask what has really helped people change and deepen spiritually: (1) youth retreats (2) short-term mission trips (3) some small groups (I say some – others were a waste of time) (4) many one-to-one relationships (5) getting people involved leading something or serving somewhere (pg 122)

Let's say that the essence of our identity as people of God isn't that we're an elite, saved for privilege, but ordinary people saved for service, for responsibility (pg 131)

Stuff I disagree with McLaren on:

In the long run, I'd have to say that the world is better off for having these religions (Islam, Hinduism, etc) than having no religions at all, or just one, even if it were ours. (pg 63)

What he meant by that I'm not sure? At some points Brian McLaren says he believes Jesus is the only way. But then other points he says that people of other religions are not really lost. I was confused…. Then he wrote this… (that I totally disagreed with!)

Sometimes I wonder if we have it all wrong. Maybe it's not that there are two places beyond the door of death, heaven and hell. Sometimes I wonder if hell is just what heaven feels like for those who haven't learned in this life what this life is intended to teach. (pg 91)

Quotes about being a pastor:

I told him I was tired, tired of all the church politics, tired of the constant criticism, tired of having to fight for every little change, tired of working for so many people who think they could do what I do better than me, who just don't understand. (pg 11)

I found the pastorate a pretty hard place to be a growing, thinking, honest Christian. Too many people want you to spout the party line, never question, never think. (pg 59)

When did they call him, midnight last night? There's the downside of pastoral ministry. (pg 157)

I guess I didn't really think much before now about how tiring it is being as a pastor. God bless all of the godly men serving in local churches around the world!!

Quote about seminary:

My ideal seminary would be one part monastery, one part mission agency, and one part seminar. Here's what I mean.

(1) By monastery I would want the seminarians to live in community of some sort… more spiritual formation takes place in a weekend retreat than in six months of weekly meetings....

(2) The mission agency part is closely related. I would want my seminarians to spend a lot of time traveling and experiencing places where mission is happening…My seminarians would be sent out on several missionary journeys during their apprenticeship.

(3) The seminar part would be different from a traditional school, which assumes people learn best by listening... People learn more by having to teach it. (pg 151)

I loved this part when I read it… cause I've thought about going to seminary and pretty much at Mac I've been doing the first 2 parts he talks about… living in community, going on retreats and going on missionary journeys :) Now all I have to do is study the Old and New Testaments and "brush up" on my Greek and Hebrew… how cool would that be?!

Quote about missions:

I would say that 30-40% of your generation is modern, with the majority being postmodern. That's why it's so important – if you're going to have any impact at all on your generation for Christ – for you to deal with these issues. If you were a missionary going to Spain, you'd have to learn to think and speak Spanish. If you are a missionary going to any educated culture on earth today, I think you need to learn to think and speak postmodern. (pg 44)

May God grant us wisdom and discernment as we seek to be His ambassador in this day and age in which we live! (1 Cor 5:20)

Safely Home (Randy Alcorn)

from an email June 7, 2006

I just finished reading a great book that was recommended to me by many of my good friends. Some of these friends have been to China themselves, the others long to go. "Safely Home" is a fictional novel based on facts and true stories of men and women who have been persecuted in East Asia. If I were to list my top 10 books that I "highly recommend" this would DEFINITELY be on the list!

I strongly encourage you to read this book! It's about an American man, Ben Fielding, who goes on a business to trip to China and is reunited with his Chinese university roommate.

Parts of this book will shock you; parts of it will tug at your heart; parts will bring you to tears; parts will remind you we're at war and man... the ending is so good! "I can only imagine" the day I kneel before His glorious throne above, having arrived.... SAFELY HOME!

Here are some selected quotes from the book... I didn't put too many... so that you guys will read the book too!!

The book begins with a long dedication, including these words...

This book is dedicated to the hundreds of men, women and children killed for Christ each day, ignored by the world but watched by the eyes of heaven - those of whom the world is not worthy.

"When I decided to leave Harvard, I told you China was my home, not America . I was only half right. I was right that America was not my home, but wrong in thinking China was."

"What do you mean?"

" China is my place of service. It is the battlefield where I've been dispatched as Yesu's soldier. But this is not my home. Heaven is my home, my true country." (pg 88)

"If you are looking for a religion centered around yourself, Ben, I must agree that Christianity is a poor choice." (pg 109)

"I refuse to believe in a God who sends men to hell."

"And do you think your refusal to believe will convince God to change his nature? He is who he is no matter what you think of him. Despite what Americans [and Canadians] believe, the universe is not a democracy." (pg 110)

"The Americans sang about being 'safe and secure from all alarms.' I do not know much about this song. Some of it sounded good. But I think perhaps they did not understand that most Chinese Christians are not safe and secure from all alarms." (pg 133)

I used to like this old-school hymn, "Leaning on the Everlasting Arms", but now I'm always going to sing it with a different idea in my mind.

"Never believe a man who says God no longer does miracles, Ben. But never believe a man who says God must do a miracle the way a man wants him to. God is God." (pg 191)

I liked that quote. God is God! He can do what He wants!

"Wife and husband must be more than lovers. Must be comrades, soldiers fighting side by side for same great cause." (pg 226)

This was a good one too! Fellow warriors in the battle!!!

"When laws are unjust, just men must break them." (pg 238)

These final 3 quotes are from the final 20 pages of the book. Man... they're good! Randy Alcorn gives a great picture of what heaven is like.

A multitude of voices merged into a single hum of excitement. An intimacy pervaded this huge group, a closeness Li Quan had never known among large numbers, though he'd caught glimpses of it in the house church. He heard all the voices in different languages and enjoyed the distinctive tone of each. He heard several Chinese dialects, Swahili, Norwegian, Aboriginal languages, Hmong, Tagalog, Persian, Greek, Hebrew, Arabic. Strangely, he recognized them for exactly what they were, and hearing each caused him to visualize the distinguishing features of the cultures, even those he'd been unfamiliar with. People from every nation, tribe, people and language were here, living together under one flag, one King. (pg 375)

Compared to what he now beheld, the world he'd come from was a land of shadows, colorless and two-dimensional. (pg 376)

MAN! Imagine that! This is probably still even an underestimate. But thinking about the vastness and beauty of our earth here and now and then multiplying that by a billion... SO GOOD!

The archangel threw his arms forward, the hosts of heaven shouted, and millions of horses gathered, mounted by warriors of every tribe, nation and tongue. Eternity's door swung open on its hinges. Out of one realm and into another rode an army like there had never been. (pg 391)

SO GOOD! I guess the warrior deep down inside of me, got all pumped up when I read this final page of the book. Until that day ... may we all be fit with the armor of our King and may we never forget that life isn't just some nice walk in the park, but it's a battle. The war's already won, but the battle rages on!

God bless!

Check out www.epm.org/safelyhome for reviews and comments from people more educated than me.

The DaVinci Code (Dan Brown)

from May 20, 2006

With this paper I don’t seek to rebut all of the false claims of this book / movie. This was some research that I’ve done over the past month and summarized into one 15 page document. I’ve copied and pasted quite a bit of stuff from various websites (most notably from Campus Crusade’s website www.crusade.org and www.discussdavinci.com as well as from Focus on the Family’s website www.family.org)

I listened to a radio broadcast with Lee Strobel and he encouraged believers to ask their friends “diagnostic questions” before discussing the book. For example you can ask:

- What did you learn about history that surprised you from this book / movie?

- How did this book / movie change your view of Jesus?

This way you can learn and see how much of an impact the book / movie had on the person. Here’s my 9 questions and the answers I’ve come up with.

QUESTION 1: Are the “FACTS” that Dan Brown lists on page 1 of the book actually facts?

ANSWER 1: NO!

The Priory of Sion was NOT founded in Jerusalem in 1099. In press materials issued by Columbia Pictures (makers of the movie), the studio contradicts Brown's declaration that the Priory of Sion is a real secret society. It points out that this legend has been debunked as a fraud perpetrated by Pierre Plantard, a French con artist who invented the "Priory of Sion" in 1956 as part of a scam against the French government.

In 1993, Plantard’s name came up in light of a political scandal involving a close friend of then French president Francois Mitternad. Plantard had, in one of his lists of the Priory of Sion, listed Roger-Patrice Pelat as a Grand master. When called before the court to testify, Plantard, under oath, admitted he had made up the whole Priory scheme.

QUESTION 2: Is Jesus God?

"Until that moment in history, Jesus was viewed by His followers as a mortal prophet . . . a great and powerful man, but a man nonetheless. A mortal.” (DVC, p. 233)

"Gospels that described earthly aspects of Jesus' life had to be omitted from the Bible" (DVC, p. 244).

“Constantine turned Jesus into a deity” (DVC p. 233)

ANSWER 2: Is Jesus God? YES!

a) At His trial and under oath, Jesus affirmed that He was the Christ, the Son of God. The Judge and the Jewish court understood His claim and condemned Him to death (Mark 14:61-64, Matthew 26:63-64).

Again the high priest asked him, "Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?"

"I am," said Jesus. (Mark 14:61-62)

b) Jesus claimed to be one with the Father. His hearers understood His claim to be God (John 10:25-33).

"I and the Father are one." Again the Jews picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus said to them, "I have shown you many great miracles from the Father. For which of these do you stone me?" "We are not stoning you for any of these," replied the Jews, "but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God."(John 10:30-33)

c) Jesus claimed a unique relationship with God and equality with God. His hearers understood His claim and sought to kill Him (John 5:17-18).

d) Jesus claimed eternal existence. His hearers understood His claim and sought to kill him (John 8:58-59).

"I tell you the truth," Jesus answered, "before Abraham was born, I am!" At this, they picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus hid himself, slipping away from the temple grounds. (John 8:58, 59)

e) Jesus claimed to be God manifested in the flesh (John 14:8-9).

f) Jesus claimed power reserved only for God. He claimed to forgive sins. His hearers understood that only God could forgive sins (Matthew 9:2, Mark 2:5-12, Luke 5:20-24).

When Jesus saw their faith, he said, "Friend, your sins are forgiven." The Pharisees and the teachers of the law began thinking to themselves, "Who is this fellow who speaks blasphemy? Who can forgive sins but God alone?" Jesus knew what they were thinking and asked, "Why are you thinking these things in your hearts? Which is easier: to say, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Get up and walk'? But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins...." (Luke 5:20-24)

g) He accepted worship, which was reserved only for God. Jesus Himself stated that worship was for God alone. And He did not rebuke those who worshipped Him (Matthew 4:10, Luke 4:8, Matthew 8:2, John 9:35-39, Matthew 14:33, John 20:26-28, Matthew 28:16-17).

And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, "Truly you are the Son of God." (Matt 14:32-33)

Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe." Thomas said to him, "My Lord and my God!" Then Jesus told him, "Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."(John 20:27-29)

Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. (Matt 28:16-17)

h) John claimed Jesus was God (John 1:1-4)

i) Paul's understanding as an apostle and leader of the church

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. . . . For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form . . . (Col 1:15-16, 2:9)

Our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us (Tit 2:13-14)

QUESTION 3: Did Constantine create the Bible that we use today?

"Constantine commissioned and financed a new Bible, which omitted those gospels that spoke of Christ's human traits and embellished those gospels that made Him godlike” (DVC, p. 234).

"More than eighty gospels were considered for the New Testament, and yet only a relative few were chosen for inclusion Matthew, Mark, Luke and John among them . . . " (DVC, p. 231)

"The Bible, as we know it today, was collated by the pagan Roman emperor Constantine the Great." (DVC, p. 232)

ANSWER 3:

NO! While Constantine did convene a Council, it was to discuss other church issues, not to discuss the Biblical canon. (see Question 5 on the Nicene Council Constantine did call and what they discussed there – it wasn’t the Biblical canon)

Constantine lived 272-337 AD and he did not make Christianity the state religion of the Roman Empire. He became emperor in 312 AD and a year later in 313 AD he issued the Edict of Milan which ended most Christian persecution and granted freedom of worship to Christians.

The Old Testament had been completed even before the birth of Jesus and much of the New Testament was recognized before Constantine's reign. The Muratorian Fragment (dated around 175 AD) listed 23 of the 27 (not Hebrews, James, 1 or 2 Peter) New Testament books and in 367 AD Athanasius recorded the earliest complete list of New Testament books.

AD 382:
Pope Damasus I, in a letter, listed the New Testament books in their present number and order.

AD 393:
The Council of Hippo affirmed the Canon written by Bishop Athanasius.

AD 397:
The Council of Carthage reaffirmed the Canons of the Old and New Testaments.

In reality, scholars say, the councils listed above merely codified what everyone else had already accepted:

[The Third Council of Carthage] did not confer upon [the New Testament books] any authority which they did not already possess, but simply recorded their previously established canonicity.

F.F. Bruce, The Books and the Parchments
(rev. ed. Westwood, NJ: Fleming H. Revell Co., 1963), p. 113.

Constantine did not collate the Bible. The Old Testament was compiled even before the time of Jesus. The New Testament began to be recognized by the end of the 1st century. By the 2nd century, church leaders were inserting quotes from the four Gospels into their writings.

(for verses on Biblical inspiration see: 2 Timothy 3:16, 2 Peter 1:20, 2 Peter 3:16, 1 Timothy 5:18)

QUESTION 4: What about the Gnostic Gospels?

ANSWER 4:

Gnostic Gospels include:

Gospel of Thomas, Gospel of Peter, Gospel of Nazarenes, Gospel of Egyptians, Gospel of Ebionites, Gospel of Mary Magdalene, Gospel of Philip, Gospel of Judas, Gospel of James

In the Gospel of Thomas we learn that women can't enter the kingdom of heaven except by being turned into men, for "every woman who will make herself male will enter the Kingdom of Heaven." (apparently Dan Brown didn’t read this or chose not to include this in DVC because he always talks about the “sacred feminine”, whereas the Gnostics believed women had to become men to be saved)

"One particularly troubling theme kept recurring in the [Gnostic] gospels. Mary Magdalene. . . . More specifically, her marriage to Jesus Christ" (DVC, p. 244).

“The Gospel of Philip: And the companion of the Saviour is Mary Magdalene. Christ loved her more than all the disciples and used to kiss her often on her mouth. The rest of the disciples were offended by it and expressed disapproval. They said to him, “Why do you love her more than all of us?... As any Aramaic scholar will tell you, the word companion, in those days, literally meant spouse.” (DVC, p. 246)

That’s nice, but scholars debate whether the Gospel of Philip was written in Greek or Syrian. The first Gospel of Philip that has been found is dated 4^th century and was written in Coptic. So who care’s about Aramaic!! The Gospel of Philip here uses a “Greek loan word” which is “koinonos”. “Koinonos” means “friend / associate” not “spouse”!

OR (from wikipedia)

And the companion of the [...] Mary Magdalene. [...] more than [...] the disciples, [...] kiss her [...] on her [...]. The rest of the disciples [...]. They said to him "Why do you love her more than all of us?" The Savior answered and said to them, "Why do I not love you like her? When a blind man and one who sees are both together in darkness, they are no different from one another. When the light comes, then he who sees will see the light, and he who is blind will remain in darkness.

If Jesus was married to her why didn’t he just answer the question “Why do I love her more and kiss her?” by saying, “BECAUSE SHE’S MY WIFE!” (notice the …’s this is because the manuscripts and text is inconclusive as to what the words should be)

“This is from the Gospel of Mary Magdalene. Sophie had not known a gospel existed in Magdalene’s words. She read the text: And Peter said, “Did the Saviour really speak with a woman without our knowledge? Are we to turn about and all listen to her? Did he prefer her to us?” And Levi answered, “Peter, you have always been hot-tempered. Now I see you contending against the woman like an adversary. If the Saviour made her worthy, who are you indeed to reject her? Surely the Saviour knows her very well. That is why he loved her more than us.” (DVC, p. 247)

BUT… Mary Magdalene didn’t write even write this!!!! Brown screws up again!

The Gnostic gospels were written after all other books in the New Testament had been completed. (250-350 AD several hundred years after Christ lived.) They were written to reinterpret the life of Christ and His teachings, based upon Gnostic philosophy. There were never as many as “eighty” as Brown claims on pg 231, and they were never considered for inclusion in the New Testament.

Matthew, Mark, Luke and John were accepted in the 1st century based upon their authorship and their use in the early Christian centers of Jerusalem, Antioch, Alexandria and Rome. The Gnostic gospels appeared after most of the New Testament was already in use and accepted by the Church. Eusebius, the first church historian, affirms that the early church rejected these gospels as soon as they appeared

QUESTION 5: What happened at the Council of Nicaea in 325 AD that Constantine called?

“Jesus’ establishment as ‘the Son of God’ was officially proposed and voted on by the Council of Nicaea.” “Hold on. You’re saying Jesus’ divinity was the result of a vote?” “A relatively close vote at that”, Teabing added. (DVC, p. 233)

ANSWER 5:

Let's travel back to Nicaea (modern-day Iznik in Turkey, about 125 miles from modern-day Istanbul) to find out what happened there 1,700 years ago.

A man named Arius, was gaining a wide following by teaching that Christ was not fully God, but a created “god” of sorts. He believed that Christ was more than a man but less than God. He said “there was a time when Christ was not”. Arius was a great communicator, and because he put his doctrinal ideas into musical jingles, his ideas became widely accepted. Although many church bishops declared him a heretic, the disputes nonetheless continued.

More than 300 bishops met at Nicaea to settle disputes about Christology—that is, the doctrine of Christ. When Constantine finished his opening speech, the proceedings began. Overwhelmingly, the council declared Arius a heretic. Though Arius was given an opportunity to defend his views, the delegates recognized that if Christ was not fully God, then God was not the Redeemer of mankind. To say that Christ was created was to deny the clear teaching of Scripture: "For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him" (Colossians 1:16). Clearly, if he created all things, he most assuredly could not have been created himself! To this passage many others that teach the deity of Christ were added, both from the Gospels and the Epistles (John 1:1; Romans 9:5; Hebrews 1:8; etc.).

Affirming the divinity of Jesus, the delegates turned their attention to the question of how he related to the Father. Eusebius the historian presented his view, claiming that Jesus had a nature that was similar to that of God the Father. Present, but not invited to the actual proceedings, was the theologian Athanasius, who believed that even to say that Christ is similar to God the Father is to miss the full biblical teaching about Christ's divinity. His argument that Christ could only be God in the fullest sense if his nature was the same is that of the Father was expressed by his representative, Marcellus, a bishop from Asia Minor in the proceedings.

Constantine, seeing that the debate was going in Athanasius's favor, accepted the suggestion of a scholarly bishop and advised the delegates to use the Greek word homoousion, which means "one and the same." In other words, Jesus had the very same nature as the Father.

The council agreed, and today we have the famous Nicene Creed. As anyone who has ever quoted the creed knows, Jesus Christ is declared to be “Light of Light, very God of very God; begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father, by whom all things were made" (italics added). There can be no question that the delegates affirmed that Christ was deity in the fullest sense.

Why should we be interested in this debate? Some critics have been amused that the Council of Nicaea split over one "iota." The difference between the Greek words for similar and same is but one letter of the alphabet: the letter i. Some argue that it's just like theologians to split hairs, arguing over minutiae that have little to do with the real world. How much better to help the poor or get involved in the politics of the day!

In The Da Vinci Code, we read that the doctrine of Christ's deity passed by a "relatively close vote." That is fiction, since only 5 out of more than 300 bishops (the number is actually believed to have been 318) protested the creed. In fact, in the end, only 2 refused to sign it. The outcome was not exactly a cliff-hanger.

Historical works on Nicaea give no evidence that Constantine and the delegates even discussed the Gnostic Gospels or anything that pertained to the canon. Try as I might, I have not found a single line in the documents about Nicaea that records a discussion about what books should or should not be in the New Testament.

20 rulings were issued at Nicaea, and the contents of all of them are still in existence; not one of them refers to issues regarding the canon.

There was a burning of papers at Nicaea but they didn’t burn the Gnostic gospels they burned the heretical papers of Arius.

So at Nicaea the bishops were debating whether Jesus was human more than they were debating whether he was God. The fact that he was God was pretty much settled.

QUESTION 6. Is the Bible we have today reliable?

"The Christian Scriptures 'evolved through countless translations, additions, and revisions.' (DVC, p. 231)

"Fortunately for historians . . . some of the gospels that Constantine attempted to eradicate managed to survive. The Dead Sea Scrolls were found in the 1950s hidden in a cave near Qumran in the Judean desert... Of course, the Vatican tried very hard to suppress the release of these scrolls." (DVC, p. 234)

ANSWER 6

Here's the manuscript evidence supporting a few of the world's best-documented works of ancient history:

AUTHOR	COMPOSED IN	EARLIEST MANUSCRIPT	GAP	NUMBER OF MANUSCRIPTS
Caesar	100-44 B.C.	A.D. 900	1,000 years	10
Demosthenes	383-322 B.C.	A.D. 1100	1,300 years	200
Aristotle	384-322 B.C.	A.D. 1100	1,400 years	49
Aristophanes	450-385 B.C.	A.D. 900	1,200 years	10

Many of these are critically important to historians. Caesar's Gallic Wars, for instance, is the only source for much of what we know about ancient Rome.

The world's second-best documented ancient book is Homer's The Iliad. It was written about 900 B.C.; the oldest manuscript is dated about 500 B.C., separating it from the original by 400 years, and we have 643 manuscripts.

The best-documented ancient book of them all, though, is the New Testament. We have more than 24,000 manuscripts of the New Testament; the oldest, part of the Gospel of John, is conservatively dated at A.D. 125 — only 35 years after the original.

"Countless translations" is excessive hyperbole and vague generalization. Without a specific charge of what was translated, added or revised, it is impossible to respond to this point specifically. However, consider the following points:

Translation issues for the Bible are not different from translation issues for any other document, and cause no more difficulty. The quote implies that there is some great confusion over translation that is cause for concern.

It is true that there are issues to discuss in terms of translating the Bible from ancient Hebrew and Greek to any modern language. This is a natural function of all translation processes and in no way detracts from offering a "definitive," reasonable account of what was originally written.

In fact, the means of transmission of the ancient texts, the voluminous quantity of manuscript copies, the science of textual criticism and the art of translation ensure that any reputable modern translation of the Bible is an accurate rendering of the original text. This subject has been covered so comprehensively and so well by so many scholars that Brown's misrepresentation of the facts is inexcusable.

According to Dr. Paul L. Maier, professor of ancient history at Western Michigan University, Constantine was never involved in any attempt to eradicate any gospels. The Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered in 1947 (not the 1950s as Brown claims) and the Dead Sea Scrolls contained no gospels, nor any reference to Jesus.

The Dead Sea Scrolls contained portions of every Old Testament book except Esther, commentaries on the Old Testament, some extrabiblical works, secular documents and business records. The Qumran community, which wrote or preserved these documents, had nothing to do with Jesus or Christianity.

“[The Dead Sea Scrolls], in addition to telling the true Grail story, these documents speak of Christ’s ministry in very human terms”. (DVC, p. 234)

GET SERIOUS!!! The Dead Sea Scrolls only contained Old Testament books etc and nothing about Jesus! They do support the accuracy of the copying of the Old Testament manuscripts though. And no the Vatican had no reason to try to “suppress” their release.

QUESTION 7: Was Jesus married to Mary Magdalene?

"The marriage of Jesus and Mary Magdalene is part of the historical record" (DVC, p. 245).

". . . [O]ne particularly troubling earthly theme kept recurring in the [Gnostic] gospels. Mary Magdalene. . . . More specifically, her marriage to Jesus Christ." (DVC, p. 244)

“Because Jesus was a Jew and the social decorum during that time virtually forbid a Jewish man to be unmarried.” (DVC, p. 245)

ANSWER 7

There is a total absence of support for this claim in either Scripture or early church traditions.

John Martin of the Renaissance Society of America told News-Press.com, “I think the idea that Leonardo da Vinci had secret information passed down for 40 generations that Jesus and Mary Magdalene were married and had a child is entertaining, but it is not history”

Neither the apocryphal gospels nor the Gnostic gospels refer to a marriage between Jesus and Mary Magdalene.

In 1 Corinthians 9:5, Paul defended his right to have a wife (even though he was unmarried). He cites as support the other apostles, the Lord's brothers and Peter. If Christ had been married, Paul would most assuredly have cited Him as conclusive support for being accompanied by a wife.

Take Da Vinci's allegation that Jesus must have been married and had children. It's based on the notion that singleness was unthinkable for a Jewish man, especially a rabbi. But singleness wasn't unheard of among Jewish men. Moreover, in the first century, there were many rabbis and Jewish teachers who were not married. It was not required that they marry. In fact, there is quite a bit of evidence that there were many rabbis who weren't married.

QUESTION 8: What about the Mona Lisa, Last Supper and other paintings?

ANSWER 8:

“Everything I know about how pictures were used to communicate indicates that the theory is absurd,” J.V. Field, president of the Leonardo da Vinci Society and historian of art at the University of London, told News-Press.

It was common in Da Vinci’s time to paint young men with feminine characteristics. The Last Supper Painting also only includes 13 men (the 12 disciples + Jesus). If Mary were in the picture one of the disciples would be missing.

QUESTION 9: Is this claim true:

“Early Jews believe that the Holy of Holies in Solomon’s Temple housed not only God but also His powerful female equal, Shekinah” (DVC, p. 305)

ANSWER 9:

NO

The Knowledge of the Holy (A.W. Tozer)

from an email April 22, 2006

A. W. Tozer wrote "The Knowledge of the Holy" back in 1961 and it is good! Basically the book goes through 23 small chapters, each talking about a different unique attribute of God ( ie the Justice of God, the Mercy of God, the Grace of God, the Love of God, the Wisdom of God, the Self-existence of God, the Self-sufficiency of God, the Immutability of God, the Holiness of God, the Sovereignty of God)
It's really good!!! I definately recommend it!
Here's some quotes.
In Christ,
David

What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us. (pg 1)

God, being infinite, must possess attributes about which we can know nothing. (pg 13)

Thou dost seek us, though Thou does not need us. We seek Thee because we need Thee, for in Thee we live and move and have our being. (pg 32)

So there may be, and I believe there surely are, other aspects of God's essential being which He has not revealed even to His ransomed and Spirit-illuminated children. (pg 46)

There is no place in heaven or earth or hell where men may hide from His presence (pg 74) --- what do you think? Agree? I firmly believe in God's omnipresence but this quote made me think for a day or so... do I really believe God is present in hell? After having a little "house discussion/debate" and talking with people I've concluded that the Bible agrees with Tozer's quote, that not even in hell can people hide from God's presence.

The world is spiritual: it originated in spirit, flows out of spirit, is spiritual in its essence, and is meaningless apart from the Spirit that inhabits it. (pg 75)

The vague and tenuous hope that God is too kind to punish the ungodly has become a deadly opiate for the consciences of millions. (pg 89) --- Lewis you like that one? How many times have we heard "God is too kind"... GET SERIOUS!!! God is not only loving but also JUST!!

Both the Old and New Testaments proclaim the mercy of God, but the Old has more than four times as much to say about it as the New. We should banish from our minds forever the common but erroneous notion that justice and judgement characterize the God of Israel, while mercy and grace belong to the Lord of the Church. (pg 91)

The apostle John, by the Spirit, wrote "God is love" ... John was by those words stating a fact, but he was not offering a definition. (pg 97)

Holy is the way God is. To be holy He does not conform to a standard. He is that standard. He is absolutely holy with an infinite, incomprehensible fullness of purity that is incapable of being other than it is. Because He is holy, His attributes are holy; that is, whatever we think of as belonging to God must be though of as holy. God is holy and He has made holiness the moral condition necessary to the health of the universe. Sin's temporary presence in the world only accents this. (pg 106) --- this one made me think too... "sins temporary presence"!!!!! One day we'll join with all the redeemed and sin will be no more!

There is a glorified Man on the right hand of the Majesty in heaven faithfully representing us there. We are left for a season among men; let us faithfully represent Him here. (pg 117)

And here's Tozer's closing prayer...

Oh God, raise up prophets and seers in Thy Church who shall magnify Thy glory and through Thine almighty Spirit restore to Thy people the knowledge of the holy. Amen.

Money Possessions and Eternity (Randy Alcorn)

Karen and I finished reading this book together before we got married and we whole heartedly recommend it (whatever stage of life you're at!!) It was great for us as we merged our bank accounts together, came up with a budget for giving and a budget for living etc...

I pray that God will use these highlights from "Money Possessions and Eternity" to challenge your heart, mind and cheque book!

God is the owner of all things, and we are simply his stewards. (pg 139)
- This sentence is Randy Alcorn's thesis. All of the following points flow from this assertion.

A couple other great short statements are :
It's wise to give first, save second, and spend last. (pg 328)

You can't take money with you when you die. Or as someone put it, "You'll never see a hearse pulling a U-Haul." (pg 36)

Whatever treasures we store up on earth will be left behind when we leave. Whatever treasures we store up in heaven will be waiting for us when we arrive. (pg 96)

Alcorn then lists 11 New Testament Guidelines for Giving...
1) Give: "Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give" (2 Corinthians 9:7)
2) Give Generously: (Mark 14:3-9)
3) Give Regularly: "On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with his income" (1 Corinthians 16:2)
4) Give Deliberately
5) Give Voluntarily: "Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion" (2 Corinthians 9:7)
6) Give Sacrifically: "For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability" (2 Corinthians 8:3)
7) Give Excellently: "See that you also excel in this grace of giving" (2 Corinthians 8:7)
8) Give Cheerfully: "God loves a cheerful giver" (2 Corinthians 9:7)
9) Give Worshipfully: (Acts 10:1-4)
10) Give Proportionately: "Each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with his income" (1 Corinthians 16:2)
11) Give Quietly: (Matthew 6:1-4)

To everyone paying off OSAP, a line of credit, or a house mortgage... I encourage you to read these Bible passages and heed this advice:
[In His Word God warns] those in debt to get out as soon as possible (Proverbs 6:1-5)... and Romans 13:8 proves we shouldn't normally borrow and should always pay off debt as soon as possible. (pg 307)

COOL ILLUSTRATIONS:
- I really liked these 2 stories, they show how temporary and fleeting wealth is...

After striking a large deposit of gold, two miners in the Klondike gold rush were so excited about unearthing more and more gold each day that they neglected to store up provisions for the winter. Then came the first blizzard. Nearly frozen, one of the miners scribble a note explaining their foolishness. Then he lay down to die, having come to his senses too late. Months later, a prospecting party discovered the note and the miners' frozen bodies lying on top of a huge pile of gold. Obsessed with their treasure, these men hadn't taken into account that the fair weather wouldn't last and winter was coming. Hypnotized by their wealth, they failed to prepare for the imminent future. The gold that seemed such a blessing proved to be a deadly curse. (pg 58)

When you're on a long airplane flight, you naturally talk to people, socialize, eat, read, pray, sleep, or mayble talk about where you're going. But what would you think if a passenger by the window seat started hanging curtains over the window, taped photographs to the seat in front of him, painted murals, and put up wall hangings? You'd think, Hey it's not that long of a trip. Once we get to the destination, none of this will matter. Even a long plane flight is short compared to the span of your entire life. (pg 102)

ON TITHING:
I've heard so many different varying messages on this topic I appreciated how Randy Alcorn encourages people to considering tithing as the "floor" of their giving (meaning we shouldn't be giving any less than 10% of our gross income back to the Lord)

Jesus was raised in a devout Jewish home, meaning that his parents tithed and instructed him to tithe.... "You should have practiced the latter [justice, mercy and faithfulness] without neglecting the former [tithing]" (Matthew 23:23) (pg 184)

Can tithing be legalistic? Of course. The holy habits of church attendance, prayer and Bible reading can also degenerate into legalism - but that doesn't make them illegitimate. (pg 183)

If Western Christians all practiced tithing, the task of world evangelism and feeding the hungry would be within reach (pg 186)

When people tell me, "I can't afford to tithe," I often ask, "If your income were reduced by 10%, would you die?" They always admit they wouldn't. Somehow, they would manage to get by. That's proof that they really can tithe. The truth is simply that they don't want to. (pg 189)

Bam... the sad truth is the vast majority of born again Christians in North America just don't want to give...

ON MISSIONS AND THE POOR:
I was convicted by this next quote...

I must ask myself, Where are the poor in my budget? Our family gives regularly to relief ministries that bring material help and the gospel to the needy throughout the world. But this isn't enough... Perhaps I must take regular trips away from the cozy suburbs where I live. (pg 236)

I've heard people say, "I want more of a heart for missions." I always respond, "Jesus tells you exactly how to get it. Put your money in missions, and your heart will follow." (pg 101)

And this next quote made me stop, pray and look forward to the day when I will meet people from every tribe, tongue, language and nation in our true Home!

Some can go... All can pray... All can give... Will you? As you consider your answer, imagine for a moment the warm voice of someone from a different culture - perhaps with a different color of skin - coming to you in heaven, embracing you and whispering, "Thank you - you brought us the gospel, and that is all that matters." (pg 242)

FOR MARRIED COUPLES:
Karen and I have tried these next two things and found them to be fun and helpful :)

When one spouse balances the checkbook, it's important that the other participate in the giving. Some couples take turns writing the check. Nanci and I make our giving decision together. She writes out the check and I put it in the offering. We're both involved. (pg 201)

When there are special offerings at church, my wife and I each come up with a figure and then we compare numbers. Normally, we go with the higher figure. Sometimes one of us comes up with the higher amount; sometimes it's the other. (pg 385)

FOR PASTORS AND ELDERS:
The first point he makes I think is pretty basic and hopefully standard in most churches today, but the quote on pastoral work hours and messages on finances I think were bang on!

There are several reasons why I believe that no one in church leadership should know who's giving what. If leaders know how much people give they'll be tempted to show preference to big givers and neglect those who give less. (pg 211)

How much time is the pastor expected to invest in local church ministry each week? Forty hours? Fifty hours? More? This should be mutually agreed upon, so the pastor knows when his church time and personal time begin and end. (pg 250)

I recommend scheduling messages on giving when there are no special please to give or special projects to give to. (pg 409)

LAST WORDS:

Our goal isn't to be penny-pinchers obsessed with money and fretting over every expenditure but joyful, responsible, and generous stewards of God's abundance. (pg 400)

I couldn't have summed it up better myself. May all of our possessions be used by our King until His kingdom comes!

The Rest Of God (Mark Buchanan)

I finished this book a while back... so long ago actually that I remember reading it last summer on the shores of the Welland Canal on a Sunday afternoon in July. Here I am 10 months later reflecting on it again and learning from what Mark Buchanan wrote even still.

In his book "The Rest Of God" he states his purpose as:

I want to convince you, in part, that setting apart an entire day, one out of seven, for feasting and resting and worship and play is a gift and not a burden, and neglecting the gift too long will make your soul, like soil never left fallow, hard and dry and spent. (pg 4)

Now no where in the New Testament does Jesus abolish the 10 Commandments. He comes to fulfill them. (Matthew 5:17). And in fact, many theologians believe "honoring the Sabbath day and keeping it holy" is something for us as believers today to continue to observe. Not legalistically. Not always on a Saturday (as the Jews) or a Sunday (as the early church), but at least one day a week.

Then Buchanan gives a definition. He says:

A good definition of Sabbath: imitating God so that we stop trying to be God. (pg 87)

I know that there have definitely been times in my life when I've tried to "be God", trying to control things and plan everything. So when I read this next part I was convicted...

We’ve not been still long enough, often enough, to know ourselves, our friends, our family. Our God. Indeed, the worst hallucination busyness conjures is the conviction that I am God. All depends on me. How will the right things happen at the right time if I’m not pushing and pulling and watching and worrying? (pg 61)

Well needless to say the world would continue to go around if you or I weren't here. And God doesn't need us. So really what's stopping us from resting?

Then as a good pastor and teacher Marc Buchanan makes an illustration to other aspects of life.

The root idea of Sabbath is simple as rain falling, basic as breathing. It’s that all living things – and many nonliving things too – thrive only by an ample measure of stillness. A bird flying, never nesting, is soon plummeting. Grass trampled, day after day, scalps down to the hard bone of earth. Fruit constantly inspected bruises, blights. This is true of other things as well: a saw used without relenting – its teeth never filed, its blade never cooled – grows dull and brittle; a motor never shut off gums with residue or fatigues from thinness of oil – it sputters, it stalls, it seizes. Even companionship languishes without seasons of apartness. (pg 60)

Finally he gives a couple pointers and ideas for what should be done and not done on our Sabbath's.

This day, we go in a direction we’re unaccustomed to, unfamiliar with, that the other six days have made to seem unnatural to us. We do this, this traveling in the opposite direction, maybe for no higher reason at first than that God told us to do it. (pg 115)

“To cease from that which is necessary”. This is Sabbath’s golden rule. Stop doing what you ought to do. There are six days to do what you ought. Six days to be caught in the web of economic and political and social necessity. And then one day to take wing. Sabbath is that one day.... Sabbath’s second golden rule, or the other half of the first golden rule is “to embrace that which gives life.” (pg 126-127)

I'm currently enjoying my day of rest and I hope you've had some time like this too :)

Just Walk Across The Room (Bill Hybels)

As I enjoy my last Sunday afternoon as a "non working" guy, I thought I'd post some thoughts and favourite quotes from two books I've finished reading.

This first one, "Just Walk Across The Room" was recommended to me by Lane Fusilier, my pastor at Philpott Church in Hamilton. As a church we're going to be launching "40 Days of Bearing Witness" in September 2008 and this will be one of the resources that is used in the small groups.

Overall, the book was pretty good. It kept my attention and I always wanted to read the next chapter. It's only about 200 pages long and I thought the last two chapters "Matthew's Deepest Desire" and "Open Doors" were the best.

Here's a sampling of some of Bill Hybel's thoughts:

One afternoon before I was to speak at our midweek service, I dropped into a local place to get a haircut. As I sat in my car outside of the shop, I said out loud, “God if you want anything to happen in there – if you want me to say a word for you or try to help meet someone’s need – then for the next twenty minutes or so, please know that my heart is ready. I’m completely available” (pg 38)

Errands are run with one eye on the clock and the other on the to-do list, with zero consideration given to the clerk standing at the checkout or the person refilling the prescription. (pg 62)

These two statements jumped out at me. I'm a busy, "go, go, go" type guy and I know I should stop more and pray asking God to give me a heart in tune with His, open to His Spirit's leading.

Next Hybel's writes:

I’ve developed deep concern for a dangerous trend that is alive and well in many evangelical churches. The longer a person attends church, the fewer evangelistic discussions they engage in with family members and friends. (pg 61)

I think I agree with him. Listen to this next one too... I like the last sentence of this quote the best.

I realize some of you believe that unless the plan of salvation gets explained, it’s been an unsuccessful conversation, spiritually speaking. And some of you probably put yourselves through an exhaustive self-deprecation routine unless you extend an invitation to your church each time God opens an evangelistic door. Still others might say that everything is A-OK on your evangelistic value meter as long as you give your personal testimony – all four volumes of it – at every opportunity. And I feel your pain! I can run myself through all these wringers with the best of them. But here’s the reality: the Holy Spirit will bust your nice neat evangelism formulas every time. (pg 41)

Praise God that He is in control and knows just what each person needs to hear.

On page 120, four common criticisms are outlined about things we as believers should avoid when sharing our faith. They are

(1) long windedness - be short and to the point (2) fuzziness - be clear and don't go down irrelevant rabbit trails (3) religionese - don't use Christian terms like "salvation" "washed in the blood of the Lamb" etc (4) superiority - don't act like you're perfect and have it all together

Like I said, the last two chapters were the best.

Read Luke 5:27-32 and imagine this:

Matthew sitting around one night with the disciples and then he mutters to himself, What if I throw a party? I mean, I know how to throw a party; my reputation proves it! What if I throw a party and I bring buddies from my old life and people from my new life to the same house, even stick them in the same room. And what if the people in my new life don’t just hang around with each other but instead disperse and walk across my living room, rubbing shoulders with my old friends and opening themselves up to the activity of the Holy Spirit?”

By now a few of the disciples overhear their friend, who is obviously deep in conversation... with himself. But Matthew is undeterred. “Yeah,” he continues, “what if my new friends are willing to step into the Zone of the Unknown, and what if some spiritual sparks get ignited, and what if a half dozen of my buddies wind up in the kingdom like I did, all because of one party? If that were to happen, it would be unbelievable!” (pg 194)

Back in the early days of Willow, we talked with such frequency about the “Matthew Party” story in Luke 5 that it became part of the fabric of our church culture... Willow folks would grab a few people from the office and a few people from church and host a backyard BBQ or a pool party or hang out shooting pool in someone’s basement (pg 196)

I'd never really read into those few verses in Luke 5 but it's true. Matthew basically hosted an outreach event in his house. Sweet idea eh? :)

One of the other stories I was impacted by was when Bill Hybels retold a story of an interaction he had with some of his non Christian friends on a random trip they had taken.

One of the guys pointed to a particular grave and said, “Hey, that guy’s probably in purgatory. Probably didn’t pay his penance, you know, and has been in limbo for the past 200 years! You’re the professional here, Hybels. Why don’t you explain all this purgatory stuff to us? I mean, what’s the deal with the whole penance thing? Just tell the rest of us what it’s all about?”

Call me crazy but it seemed like an open door to me. They all stared at me, nodding “Yeah, tell us!” they ribbed.

My mind whirred. I’ve got about 45 seconds to make something clear here. Where should I begin?

I live for moments like those! Why? Because I have absolutely no idea what’s going to come out of my mouth in response. But I trust that God’s going to direct some logical flow and make it all work out. Each time, I echo Paul’s words, “Oh, God, please make this clear!”

This probably isn’t what I said verbatim, but something like this rolled off my tongue as the four of us stood in a deserted graveyard on a windy morning in May: “Well, for starters, I’ve never done an in-depth study on purgatory or the whole penance plan. I’m far from being an expert on those things, but this much I know for sure: the Bible teaches that God is utterly heartbroken when anybody ends up anywhere but with him eternally in heave. And he sent Christ, his Son, to pay everybody’s penance so that we wouldn’t have to. When we ask him personally to pay our penance, Jesus joyfully agrees to do so, and that opens the door for that person to be in heaven with God forever.” (pg 213)

Not a bad answer eh? I wish I had the wisdom to give an answer like that. He answered truthfully but was still able to communicate the basics of the gospel. Later in the book he describes the three core ideas he makes sure he conveys.

I call them “irreducible ingredients”

1) God loves you

2) Christ chose to pay for you

3) The choice is now yours (pg 214)

These are pretty much 3 of the 4 spiritual laws. Law 1 = God loves you, Law 2 = All people are sinful and separated from God, Law 3 = Jesus Christ is God's only provision for our sin, Law 4 = We must each individually respond in faith. I prefer remember the 4 laws (especially since I was involved with Campus for Christ for 5 years...) but more importantly I also believe them to be more Biblical than these 3 "irreducible ingredients". Where does Hybels mention sin? Repentance is essential for salvation and needs to be addressed.

The final chapter looked at Colossians 4:2-6 and in it he made an interesting point about having our speech "seasoned with salt"

Let me come back to something Paul requested in Colossians 4:6 – the one about conversations with outsiders being seasoned with salt. I can remember several occasions when I’ve been in a sensitive conversation and have said something to the effect of, “You know, what we’re talking about here is the single most important thing you can be wrapping your brain around. This is your eternity, your forever, your everything! If we need to spend a few extra minutes to get this just right, let’s take the time. It’s that important!” Or sometimes I’ll say, “If you wake up in the middle of the night thinking about this stuff, pay attention. It’s worth losing a night’s sleep over your eternity!” These are “salty” comments. (pg 215)

May God continue to empower us to be His ambassadors in our communities and around the world!