My Religion, Unplugged (Part 4)
My final category of issues facing the Christian faith in my blog series, is my catch-all, entitled Things That Don't Really Matter. These are topics, which to me in the grand scheme of the Christian faith, make for interesting debates, great discussion topics, and intriguing mysteries, but do not stand in the way of someone’s salvation. But, it is sometimes these topics which lead to a divide in the overall Christian faith, and I think explains the plethora of denominations around today. Indeed as the authors of “I’m Fine With God…It’s Christians I Can’t Stand” state, “the Christian army might be the only one in the world who soldiers shoot at each other on purpose.”
It is not my intent or desire to offend those of a particular denomination or belief, but rather to state for myself, as a Christian, the arguing and bickering over these points is driving seekers from our faith and our churches. And that is so terribly wrong.
Now, let me preface all of this with the word FAITH. Look it up in a dictionary. You will not find the definition containing the word absolute. You will find the words belief and confidence. There is nobody, I repeat nobody, who can honestly state they have THE absolute answers to all of life's questions. By even claiming so, they are merely proving their own ignorance to the world. Sadly, I am sure we have all met someone in our lives who lives in such self-delusion.
Some of the topics which have generated rifts, arguments, debates, and more are:
* Were the six days of creation, six actual 24-hour days or longer periods of time?
* Is the earth 6000 years old, or is it possibly older, or even just made to appear older?
* Music in the church has become too influenced by the devil music of the secular world, electric guitars and drums?
* The Bible is the inerrant word of God.
There are so many more issues which could take up volumes and volumes of books to address: should baptizing by done by immersion or sprinkling, tongue speaking, communion practices, drinking, etc. I simply chose the few items above as an example of things some Christian groups will argue about until they are blue in the face, and what does that show the non-believers of the world?
In "I'm Fine With God..." the authors tell of a Bible Study group who had a non-Christian participant with them, because he simply enjoyed hanging out with them. One week they were discussing Genesis and it's contrast and context with science. The guy figured if the Bible kept sticking to the 6 literal 24-hour days timeline for creation, and the 6000 year old age of the earth; then given what science had shown, he figured the Bible must have been wrong, in the first chapter and why bother reading the rest.
But, when he heard the other ideas for the creation event, and how the Genesis chapter could co-exist with science, he decided to give the Bible another chance. And another heart was opened.
I can sum up my view as a Christian, and I am sure many will differ. The foundation to my faith is Jesus Christ. The key to salvation is belief and acceptance of Jesus. Two passages of scripture in the book of John summarize this: (John 14:6,NIV) "Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." and John 3:16-17 "For God so loved the world that He gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him."
There is nothing in there, or any other part of the Bible, about requiring belief in a literal, modern 6 days creation. There are some who make reference to the earth being 6000 years old, usually citing the genealogies as backtracking the beginning of man to that timeframe. But, you will not find a verse or passage clearly stating the amount of time which has passed for the earth.
The key point to Genesis, as I read it, is WHO created the universe. My answer is God. The rest of Genesis can be read several different ways. As for my view, I finally figured out how to best summarize it. God created the heavens and the earth. If He snapped His fingers, and it was so; fine. If He did it in 144 hours; fine. If He did it 6000 years ago; fine. If He 'intelligently designed' the intricate pieces and parts, and allowed everything to brew for millions/billions of years; fine. He created it all however He wanted to. Sure I have an opinion as to which of these ideas is accurate. But, I refer back to the word FAITH.
Everyone has faith their answer is the right one, I simply hope those exploring and learning about the Christian faith are not turned off or turned away by something so … unimportant to their salvation.
As for the music question, I follow the line of thought we need to keep our music in time with our world. Since the piano was not invented until around 1700, I guess the early churches didn’t include one. Can you honestly imagine a church today without a piano, or an organ? Of course not. But, if we follow the old traditions, sorry, no piano. Sadly, I can envision a group of people back in the early 1700s, arguing the piano was the invention of the devil. Thankfully many churches are now including more upbeat, contemporary services for those members who prefer that style, and a traditional service for those who prefer it.
Finally, I come to the inerrancy argument. This really could be a book of its own. It could be a series of blogs on their own. Let me only say this: Read the Bible, many times. Read it vertically (book by book) and then read it horizontally (choose an event and read the different accounts of the event). Try the Birth of Jesus, or the Crucifixion events. Take note of the details.
I do believe, as I believe all Christians do, the Bible is divinely inspired. However, given the number of translations which have occurred, and the simple notion each author of the New Testament had no idea at the time of authorship they were writing the New Testament, and well, you can see where this is going. I have often wondered what a strict inerrant believer would do if there was a typo in his Bible.
Anyhow, to wrap this up, I hope everyone is passionate about their faith. I hope these blogs might allow someone to consider not all Christians are alike. Some are more rigid, some are open-minded. Some are a bit overzealous, some are pretty laid back. But somewhere under the large tent of Christianity, there is a home for you. Please don't let some of these man-made stumbling blocks keep you from walking the path.
Thanks to all for allowing one simple Christian to speak his mind, say his peace, and share his thoughts. I will be writing next about the many wonderful trends and innovations I have seen in the church the past few years.
It is not my intent or desire to offend those of a particular denomination or belief, but rather to state for myself, as a Christian, the arguing and bickering over these points is driving seekers from our faith and our churches. And that is so terribly wrong.
Now, let me preface all of this with the word FAITH. Look it up in a dictionary. You will not find the definition containing the word absolute. You will find the words belief and confidence. There is nobody, I repeat nobody, who can honestly state they have THE absolute answers to all of life's questions. By even claiming so, they are merely proving their own ignorance to the world. Sadly, I am sure we have all met someone in our lives who lives in such self-delusion.
Some of the topics which have generated rifts, arguments, debates, and more are:
* Were the six days of creation, six actual 24-hour days or longer periods of time?
* Is the earth 6000 years old, or is it possibly older, or even just made to appear older?
* Music in the church has become too influenced by the devil music of the secular world, electric guitars and drums?
* The Bible is the inerrant word of God.
There are so many more issues which could take up volumes and volumes of books to address: should baptizing by done by immersion or sprinkling, tongue speaking, communion practices, drinking, etc. I simply chose the few items above as an example of things some Christian groups will argue about until they are blue in the face, and what does that show the non-believers of the world?
In "I'm Fine With God..." the authors tell of a Bible Study group who had a non-Christian participant with them, because he simply enjoyed hanging out with them. One week they were discussing Genesis and it's contrast and context with science. The guy figured if the Bible kept sticking to the 6 literal 24-hour days timeline for creation, and the 6000 year old age of the earth; then given what science had shown, he figured the Bible must have been wrong, in the first chapter and why bother reading the rest.
But, when he heard the other ideas for the creation event, and how the Genesis chapter could co-exist with science, he decided to give the Bible another chance. And another heart was opened.
I can sum up my view as a Christian, and I am sure many will differ. The foundation to my faith is Jesus Christ. The key to salvation is belief and acceptance of Jesus. Two passages of scripture in the book of John summarize this: (John 14:6,NIV) "Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." and John 3:16-17 "For God so loved the world that He gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him."
There is nothing in there, or any other part of the Bible, about requiring belief in a literal, modern 6 days creation. There are some who make reference to the earth being 6000 years old, usually citing the genealogies as backtracking the beginning of man to that timeframe. But, you will not find a verse or passage clearly stating the amount of time which has passed for the earth.
The key point to Genesis, as I read it, is WHO created the universe. My answer is God. The rest of Genesis can be read several different ways. As for my view, I finally figured out how to best summarize it. God created the heavens and the earth. If He snapped His fingers, and it was so; fine. If He did it in 144 hours; fine. If He did it 6000 years ago; fine. If He 'intelligently designed' the intricate pieces and parts, and allowed everything to brew for millions/billions of years; fine. He created it all however He wanted to. Sure I have an opinion as to which of these ideas is accurate. But, I refer back to the word FAITH.
Everyone has faith their answer is the right one, I simply hope those exploring and learning about the Christian faith are not turned off or turned away by something so … unimportant to their salvation.
As for the music question, I follow the line of thought we need to keep our music in time with our world. Since the piano was not invented until around 1700, I guess the early churches didn’t include one. Can you honestly imagine a church today without a piano, or an organ? Of course not. But, if we follow the old traditions, sorry, no piano. Sadly, I can envision a group of people back in the early 1700s, arguing the piano was the invention of the devil. Thankfully many churches are now including more upbeat, contemporary services for those members who prefer that style, and a traditional service for those who prefer it.
Finally, I come to the inerrancy argument. This really could be a book of its own. It could be a series of blogs on their own. Let me only say this: Read the Bible, many times. Read it vertically (book by book) and then read it horizontally (choose an event and read the different accounts of the event). Try the Birth of Jesus, or the Crucifixion events. Take note of the details.
I do believe, as I believe all Christians do, the Bible is divinely inspired. However, given the number of translations which have occurred, and the simple notion each author of the New Testament had no idea at the time of authorship they were writing the New Testament, and well, you can see where this is going. I have often wondered what a strict inerrant believer would do if there was a typo in his Bible.
Anyhow, to wrap this up, I hope everyone is passionate about their faith. I hope these blogs might allow someone to consider not all Christians are alike. Some are more rigid, some are open-minded. Some are a bit overzealous, some are pretty laid back. But somewhere under the large tent of Christianity, there is a home for you. Please don't let some of these man-made stumbling blocks keep you from walking the path.
Thanks to all for allowing one simple Christian to speak his mind, say his peace, and share his thoughts. I will be writing next about the many wonderful trends and innovations I have seen in the church the past few years.
Comments
Post a Comment