Faith Seeking Understanding

N.T. Wright on Genesis

james — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 13:00:48 +0000

So, what does it mean to take Genesis literally?

Essential Books – Part 4

james — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 13:00:05 +0000

One of my favorite books of all time, written by one of my favorite authors, is The Jesus Creed by Scot McKnight. McKnight is a professor of religious studies at North Park University and has written extensively on the New Testament and the life and mission of Jesus. In Jesus Creed, he argues that the heart of Jesus’ teaching is found in Mark 12: 29-31, in which Jesus quotes the OT shema and then adds a quotation from Leviticus when he is asked which is the most important commandment: “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. ³⁰ Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ ³¹The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.” (NIV)

The remainder of the book is the outworking of this command. If the chief responsibility of the follower of Jesus is to love God and love others, we need to think through what that means. McKnight does that better than anyone else. Using biblical stories and excellent illustration throughout the book, he guides the reader through how the Jesus Creed affects spiritual formation, personal life, and society, and McKnight does this in engaging way.

I have worked through this book with both groups and individuals, and I have found that most Christians find it extremely insightful and helpful. If you are attempting to deepen your understanding of what the Christian life should be like, this is a excellent resource.

“Masculine” Christianity

james — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 14:56:12 +0000

Lots of blog space has recently been devoted to John Piper’s comments the nature of Christianity. You can read his words firsthand here. He attempts to make the case that since God is spoken of as masculine, since the priesthood included only males, since Jesus was a male, and since the apostles were males, Christianity must be primarily masculine in nature. His expands on this premise in the following paragraph:

“Theology and church and mission are marked by overarching godly male leadership in the spirit of Christ, with an ethos of tender-hearted strength, and contrite courage, and risk-taking decisiveness, and readiness to sacrifice for the sake of leading, protecting, and providing for the community—all of which is possible only through the death and resurrection of Jesus. It’s the feel of a great, majestic God, who by his redeeming work in Jesus Christ, inclines men to take humble, Christ-exalting initiative, and inclines women to come alongside the men with joyful support, intelligent helpfulness, and fruitful partnership in the work.”

Wow! I see that as a most unfortunate paragraph. First, Piper ignores all of the women who appear throughout the Bible in his arguments leading to this conclusion. In cultures in which women were often ignored and subjugated, it is remarkable that the Bible includes so many women as heroes. One needs to look no further than two women who have books named for them: Ruth and Esther. But the list does go on: Sarah, Hannah, Deborah, Jael, Mary, Mary Magdalene, Priscilla, Lois, Eunice, Philip’s daughters, Junia, and many others. It seems very difficult for me to say that Christianity has an exclusively masculine or feminine nature or even that one strongly outweighs the other.

Second, the conclusion once again identifies the roles for women as supporting male ministry roles. When can the church move past this? Women can minister effectively in vitally important roles to the church. They need not always “support” men. Why can men never “support” women in their roles?

The case can certainly be made that certain leadership roles were filled by men in the New Testament. That is not my concern here. I am more bothered by the fact that the church can’t see the value of having the female voice present. It need not be muffled by men who demand that the women support them in what they do.

Essential Books – Part 3

james — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 13:00:00 +0000

I bought a copy of Mounce’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words last year to supplement my Vine’s Dictionary which I have been using for nearly 20 years. The basic purpose for a volume like this is to provide English definitions for Greek and Hebrew words used in Scripture. Since it is a single volume, it is not comprehensive, but it provides just enough information to give most students of the Bible a basic understanding of the words included. Mounce’s is filled with biblical references which help delineate between the various meanings of the original Greek and Hebrew.

Vine’s has been the standard for many years, but Mounce’s improves on the classic in two important ways. First, the scholarship is updated. Mounce uses all of the latest tools to help provide the clearest meaning in current English usage. Second, the words are organized with both Old and New Testament uses together. Vine’s had an OT section and a NT section. I was constantly flipping back and forth to see how word meanings grew and changed between the two. Mounce’s convenient arrangement ends all of that.

This is a great volume to have next to your Bible.

Christianity Today’s Movie Awards

james — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 20:23:23 +0000

Christianity Today publishes two lists of movie awards. I’m most interested in their Critic’s Choice Awards, which looks fairly interesting. We only watch movies when they are released on DVD, partly because we’re cheap and partly because we have a three-year-old. So, I’ve only seen Moneyball. I read the book several years ago and thought it was very insightful. When I heard that it was being made into a movie, I wondered how it could possibly be done. They did it, and it was interesting, but it stretched out a but in the middle. Lots of scenes of Brad Pitt riding around industrial sections of Oakland.

Any way, what do you think of the rest of these movies? I’m looking forward to The Way, which will be released this month because I’m a Martin Sheen fan (mainly because of The West Wing) and because it seems to explore some interesting religious themes.

Essential Books – Part 2

james — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 13:00:13 +0000

In this series of posts, I’m recommending the books that I think are the most important for Christians to have on their shelves. Last week, I began with the first book I would buy if had was starting from scratch: the NIV Study Bible.

If that book is on your shelf already, your second purchase should be the two volume set IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament and IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament. With these two volumes, the Bible student has commentary on the entire Bible in an affordable and compact format. Some of the most frequently asked questions among people studying Scripture are related to background issues: cultural practices, government, family issues, religious practices, etc. While these commentaries are not designed to answer technical language, interpretation, or theological problems, they do a better-than-adequate job of dealing with the background questions.

I continue to consult these commentaries first in my teaching and preaching preparation because they tend to answer the most obvious questions which come to mind when I read through a passage the first time in my preparation. I go on to other resources, but this continues to be the best starting point for me, and they would be a great addition to any library.

When Jesus Isn’t What We Were Expecting

james — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 13:00:09 +0000

We have this tendency to recreate Jesus in our own image. When we describe Jesus, he often looks a lot like we do. The problem with this tendency is that Jesus had a particular identity. He does not morph into what we want him to be, and the only way to get at who Jesus was is to allow the gospels to speak into our understanding of Jesus. We have to allow these stories to correct our misunderstandings and our wrong perceptions of who Jesus was.

I want to allow the gospels to speak into the life of our church in just that way. On March 7, we will begin a new series on the identity of Jesus with an emphasis on busting of the myths that we create about Jesus. I may call this Uncomfortable because so often, when we encounter who Jesus really was, it makes us very uncomfortable. We will look at a variety of texts throughout the gospels, and we will rethink how we have shaped Jesus into someone who is safe and non-threatening, though that bears little resemblance to the person that he was.

Essential Books – Part 1

james — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 13:00:08 +0000

One of the things that preachers love to do is recommend books, and I am no exception. This is the first in a series of posts in which I plan to recommend what I think are the best books for Christians to have on their shelves. This will include a variety of topics from Bible study to devotional literature.

First on my list is the NIV Study Bible. This latest release is based on the NIV 2011, which I have found to be an excellent translation and update of the original NIV. It is definitely not the only translation I use, but it is the Bible which I consult most frequently and the Bible from which I preach and teach. The NIV Study Bible has developed a reputation as a reliable and thorough source of insight and background information for Bible study, but this edition goes far beyond what we have seen in the past. It is full-color throughout, which includes numerous photos, illustrations, and maps within the text, not tucked away at the back or in a center picture section. This brings the text alive in ways that previous version simply could not. The timelines are helpful (though some scholars would probably quibble with some of the dates), and the charts and references which appear frequently organize both the history and topics of the Bible in ways that can readers make better sense of biblical narrative and theology.

This Bible is an excellent resource for personal Bible study and for preparation to teach or preach. While no study Bible is a good substitute for consulting commentaries, dictionaries, and other resources, this is best one volume resource that I have found. The price is fairly reasonable, especially from online sellers, running around $30 for the hardback or leatherbound editions.

Noah’s Dad

james — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 19:26:20 +0000

Rick and Abbie Smith have gotten a good bit of attention recently because of Rick’s blog Noah’s Dad, which recounts the couple’s experience with their son Noah who was born with Down Syndrome. The blog has become popular, and the family has been interviewed by a couple of local TV news outlets as well. It’s a great story and an excellent witness to the value of each person. It’s also a story of real joy. Today on their facebook page, people are posting photos of their children with special needs. These photos are beautiful, and they will probably some tears to your eyes.

Reading through the blog makes me think about how the church should minister alongside families who have children with special needs. How should we partner with these families to help their children develop spiritually? That’s an important question, and it’s one we need to examine. But I think a question that sometimes gets overlooked is how the church can work to involve families of children with special needs in ministry. We all need the opportunity to serve, not just to be served. What is the church doing to help all of our families find the space to serve? That’s a good question for us to talk about.

Finding Satisfaction

james — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 13:00:08 +0000

As I work through this series of Sunday lessons we’re calling Can’t Get No Satisfaction, I am struck by the fact that so much of our effort to find satisfaction comes down to one decision. As we think about our money, our families, and our work, we often decide that we would find contentment or meaning in life if we had something different. That mentality is pervasive in our culture.

Scripture teaches a simple response to that thinking, and this is the key decision that we have to make. When we look at our lives and see our money, our families, and our work as gifts from God which makes our lives better and richer, we can’t possibly think that something else would be better. We can only give thanks, and in the simple act of giving thanks, we are communicating that God’s blessing is sufficient.

This approach is counter-cultural, and some people won’t understand. But it can be a key to transforming the way that we approach life.