Tag Archives: Christians

The Bible on History

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Bible, on HistoryI said the same prayer for the History Channel’s presentation of the Bible that I did for GSN’s Great American Bible Challenge last summer: please Lord, don’t let it be stupid. For the sake of Christian’s everywhere, I hoped it would not be something I had to apologize for to non-Christians/ unbelievers.

The Bible premiered tonight on History. For the most part, I would have to say that I liked it. Getting the story of all scripture into ten hours is an ambitious undertaking. Some things must be left out, and other parts of the story condensed. But if that’s the case, then why add anything that is not included in scripture? For all the drama the Bible contains, why add anything for dramatic effect? The producers must have known that some of us would be watching that know the Bible well. For our sake, why not remain as true to the original as possible? Continue reading →

A Short Lesson About Reading the Bible

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bibleThere’s an old saying about a little knowledge being a dangerous thing.  The key to understanding scripture is context.  If you quote half a verse to support any argument, the first thing I’m going to do is go find the whole verse, then read the whole paragraph.  We need to know who is writing, to whom, and under what circumstances before applying any particular verse to our situation.

There are always critics of religion in general and of Christianity in particular that insist religion was invented or the Bible was written to control people.  Roman emperors used religion to build an empire, Medieval kings used it to build wealth and add territory, and Christians today use scripture to justify everything from suppressing women to persecuting homosexuals.  Sadly, to some extent, each of those arguments have some merit.  Emperor Constantine made the switch from persecuting Christians to embracing Christianity in order to defeat the enemies of the Roman Empire.  I think we should blame Rome for that, not Christ.  The problem with the Middle Ages is that the vast majority of Europeans were illiterate.  If the kings and knights of Medieval Europe could have read the Bible for themselves, they would not have been so easily manipulated.  Thank God for Gutenberg,  am I right?  Which brings us to today. Continue reading →

Christians and Santa Claus

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I opened the floor for comments on Santa and got them.  I didn’t go out looking for it, but ran across this sermon outline.  If you’re looking for a scriptural basis that Santa is from Satan, well there it is.  And now for my bit.

Christmas – It’s worth noting to begin with that not all Christians celebrate Christmas.  The Christ mass is Roman Catholic in origin, which is enough to cause some Protestants to avoid it.  Eastern Orthodoxy originally celebrated the day in January, and few countries using the Julian calendar (such as Ethiopia and Russia) still do.  Many of the traditions are clearly not Christian, and some speculate (the history is uncertain) that the December 25th date corresponds to the winter solstice and pagan celebrations.  Tree decorating really was a pagan element that Christians “borrowed” for their own celebration.  The argument can also be made that there is no scriptural command to celebrate Christ’s birth.  Jesus said “This do in remembrance of me” at the Last Supper, but after his birth is recorded in the Gospels there is really no further mention of it.  Only two Gospels record the birth of Christ, Matthew and Luke, but all four record his death, burial and resurrection.  The incarnation is fundamental to Christian theology, but celebrating Jesus’ birth is not. Continue reading →

Chick-fil-A Drama Play by Play

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The Chick-fil-a saga continues, and some would argue has gotten ridiculous.  Here’s a timeline, a play by play if you will, of how we ended up where we are.  The story has been picked up by national media, who of course are reporting many facts wrongly.

  1. Dan Cathy is interviewed by Ken Coleman, a radio talk show host in Atlanta.  The link I had to the interview is longer valid, but Cathy did remark that America is inviting God’s judgement.  That broadcast was over a month ago, and there was no social media attention nor public outrage in the weeks that followed.
  2. Last week this interview was published by the Baptist Press.  Cathy says in the interview there is no such thing as a Christian company.  A company cannot be lost or saved but individuals are.  A company can however be run according to Christian principles.   Continue reading →

Christians Response to Gay Advertising

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Over the weekend I got a rather feisty comment on my Ellen DeGeneras post from February (link).  The commenter railed on Christians that would still shop at JC Penny after they “actively supported this!”  I thought the article was clear that what the retail chain supported was buying more stuff; they sell lots of women’s clothing and DeGeneras is a public iconic figure that wears women’s clothing and probably knows a thing or two about shopping.  Mr. Smith, in his comment, used words like faggot, queers, and terms such as “the homos” and suggested we would talk about his language while ignoring the depravity around us.  Which does beg the question: What should the Christian response be to the proliferation of homosexuality in our culture? Continue reading →

Our Mission is Not Their Mission

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The Bible tells one story; the Old Testament and the New are both part of that story.  The message of scripture from beginning to end is how a holy God, perfect in righteousness, deals with humanity, which is fallen, broken and unrighteous.  At the center of that story is Jesus.

There is a definite relationship between the old covenant and the new.  I often describe Judaism as a analogy for Christianity.  The Hebrews in the Old Testament are analogous in many ways to Christians of the New Testament.  There are many similarities but we must be clear: the two are not the same.  The Hebrews came out of Egypt on a mission; as Christians we should be on mission.  But our mission is very different from their mission. Continue reading →

Can a Christian …

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Can a person be a Christian and _________?  We’ve all heard that or wrestled with it at one time or another.  We may  be tempted at times to wish for a simple list of 80 gazillion rules that spell out every possible situation, leaving no grey areas to deal with.  That’s basically what they had in the Old Testament and that didn’t work out either.  There are so many issues the Bible either doesn’t speak to or doesn’t address as clearly as we would like.  Can a Christian drink?  What about smoking?  Can I be a Christian and still get a tattoo/play cards/dance/listen to pop, rap and/or country music?

The Bible may seem at times to give conflicting instruction.  We are to walk circumspectly of the world, and to not love the world or the things the world loves.  Paul makes cryptic statements like “all things are lawful for me but not all things are profitable.”  That’s the law of grace, but… what?  Can I play Texas Hold’em or not?

Dave Miller at SBC Voices does an awesome job with this.  He divides most issues up into four categories, and rather than attempt to answer each question he guides the individual to set up a rubric of sorts to work them out.  I found this post in particular very well written and extremely helpful.  He links to many other posts in the series.  Highly recommended.

How to Mix Christianity with Patriotism

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This isn’t really about how to mix Christianity with patriotism.  There are plenty of people already doing that.  But if you’re a follower, either online or in real life, you know that’s one of those things that makes me a little nervous.  I’ve been an American since birth and a Christian since age 12, but one is not synonymous with the other.  I get a little weird when Christians quote those Old Testament land promises God gave the Jews and act like those are about us.  A literal kingdom with borders and a king on the throne – that’s what God was doing then.  The kingdom he is building now is bigger than any one nation or one people.  We don’t live in a “Christian nation” either, and on that point I run the risk of starting a war of rhetoric.  We live in a free nation in which many people choose to practice Christianity without fear; but many choose not to as well.  The melting pot of many cultures, languages, races and religions is an essential part of our national identity.  We are not a Christian nation for instance the way Iran or Afghanistan are Muslim nations.  These are sermons I’ve preached before and I don’t want to get too distract before saying

However… Continue reading →

Are Christians Different?

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Are Christians Different?  Are believers different than non-believers?  Are Christians different than followers of other faiths?  Let’s go the scriptures.

Jesus was different. The Sermon on the Mount is recorded in Matthew’s Gospel, chapters 5 – 7.  Jesus spoke to a Jewish audience familiar with the traditions and laws he spoke of.  He turned those well established conventions upside down, often repeating “You have heard it said… But I tell you” something different.  Hating your brother is the same as murder.  Lustful thoughts are committing adultery in the heart.  We are told to love our enemies.  These are just examples.  And the Sermon on the Mount was just the beginning. Continue reading →

Christians and Halloween

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Halloween – I’m not going to write a new rant on Halloween this year, click here to read the one I wrote last year.  After reading the post, be sure to read at least the first two comments; I probably should amend the post by including those footnotes in the article.

Christians – Here’s another thought to keep in mind: we should be Christ-like toward each other.  If you have Christian friends, co-workers or relatives that do not celebrate Halloween, please don’t study up on it and accost them.  Don’t e-mail someone a link to my blog and brag about how right you are/wrong they are, etc.  If I saw a Christian brother who was putting his marriage in danger by spending too much time with a female friend, then I have an obligation to say something.  Maybe he doesn’t even realize, or perhaps he assumes no one has or will notice.  That would be one thing.  If my neighbor does not hand out candy on Halloween, then that’s another entirely.  I have to respect his doing what he feels is best for his family.

If you read those first two comments on that post I linked, you will be reminded that celebrating Easter and Christmas are extra-biblical.  So many details about how to live as Christians in our particular culture have to be worked out by each believer. We are all on the same side.  Christians should not be cannibalistic and apt to devour our own.  Infighting hurts the witness and testimony of us all.  If we can’t love each other, how can we love those in the world?  The un-saved and un-churched need to see Christians treat each other the way we would each like to be treated.