Pastoral Musings

Evidence for God by Michael Licona

The good folks at Baker have done a great job with Evidence for God. Edited by William A. Dembski and Michael R. Licona, this is a one volume quick reference guide to apologetics.
Contained within the book are fifty articles (as the subtitle states it “arguments”) for faith from the Bible, history, philosophy, and science.
The articles are concise, well-written, and very informative. I cannot imagine finding a better book for those who desire to defend their faith, or strengthen their faith.
Contributors include Craig Blomberg, Andreas Kostenberger, Darrell Bock, Craig Evans, Ben Witherington III, Phillip E. Johnson, and many more. One cannot ask for a better set of writers.
Whether one is dealing with arguments for God (cosmological argument, moral argument) or against God (the problem of evil), this book has a section to address it. There’s also a section dealing with science, the impossibility of evolution, and even a chapter that debunks some myths about the “Scopes Monkey Trial”. Wondering about skeptics arguments against Jesus? There’s a section filled with information. Finally, there is a section on the Bible, the canon, the reliability of the Bible, inerrancy, and the “Gnostic gospels”.
I cannot speak too highly of this book. I give it a five star ranking only because there aren’t ten stars to give.
Disclaimer:
I received this book free from Baker Publishing. Providing me a free copy in no way guarantees a favorable review. The opinions expresses in this review are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.

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MT 1:20-23, LK 1:26-33 An angel announces to Joseph and/or Mary that the child (Jesus) will be “great,” the “son of the Most High,” etc., and ….
MT 3:13-17, MK 1:9-11 The baptism of Jesus is accompanied by the most extraordinary happenings, yet ….
MK 3:21 Jesus’ own relatives (or friends) attempt to constrain him, thinking that he might be out of his mind, and ….
MK 6:4-6 Jesus says that a prophet is without honor in his own house (which certainly should not have been the case considering the Annunciation and the Baptism).

It is often only by looking for fault that fault is found.  So it is in this particular case.

All of the Scripture references listed above are true.  Together they do not make a discrepancy or error.  One only needs to remember that it was prophesied that Jesus would not be received by the people:

“He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. ” (Isaiah 53:3, KJV)

We also read a statement in the second Psalm that is used to show that Jesus would be rejected:

“The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed, saying, Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us. ” (Psalm 2:2–3, KJV)

The early church recognized this as referring to the Christ (Messiah, anointed one):

“ they lifted up their voice to God with one accord, and said, Lord, thou art God, which hast made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all that in them is: Who by the mouth of thy servant David hast said, Why did the heathen rage, and the people imagine vain things? The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord, and against his Christ. For of a truth against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered together, For to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be done. ” (Acts 4:24–28, KJV)

The glorious thing about being able to refute this “finding of an error” is the fact that once again the Gospel of Jesus can be preached.  God’s love for us sinners was so great that He gave Jesus to die for our sins.  He was raised from the dead and now receives, forgives, and gives eternal life to all who believe Him.

“He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. He came unto his own, and his own received him not. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: ” (John 1:10–12, KJV)

MT 1:18-21 The Annunciation occurred after Mary had conceived Jesus.
LK 1:26-31 It occurred before conception.

MT 1:20 The angel spoke to Joseph.
LK 1:28 The angel spoke to Mary.

Wow!  How simplistic can one be?

It only takes a cursory reading of the text to see that there are two different events recorded.  In Luke the angel speaks to Mary.  In Matthew the angel speaks to Joseph.  The time, the place, and the persons are different.

I must observe that one finds what one wishes to find.  If he seeks errors, he shall find what he deems to be an error.

On the other hand, with the Bible, he will always find truth.  That is why they seek errors in the Bible.  They simply do not wish to face the truth of the Bible.

MT 1:17 There were twenty-eight generations from David to Jesus.
LK 3:23-38 There were forty-three.

Is this truly an issue of an inconsistency or discrepancy?

Could it be that the Biblical writers wrote with a purpose?

Could that purpose not necessitate a strict listing of every person in the lineage of Jesus?

We have already seen that the two genealogies are different, and are different for a reason.

It should be no surprise, then, that there is a difference in the number of generations counted from David to Jesus.

Why?  Because the purpose was simply to show that Jesus was of the lineage of David, and of the seed of Abraham.

In an oral culture it is most likely that only the most important of names were retained in the genealogies.  If Uncle Joe was insignificant, he might have been dropped.  One less name would make the list of names easier to remember and transmit to others.  Uncle Joe was not a significant “missing link”.  He could probably be found it there were need to find him in history.  The fact that he didn’t make the list doesn’t mean that the list was incorrect.  Grandpa Ebenezer may have been skipper for the same reason.  You don’t forget Solomon, though.  Important names are retained along with a few lesser names to show the connection.

The person to person connection isn’t as important as showing that the genealogical connection existed.

These two genealogies are not contradictory or inconsistent.  They serve different purposes and are formed to carry out those purposes.

Between a Church and a Hard Place by Andrew Park

My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Andrew Park was raised in a home that was not so much antagonistic toward Christianity as it was a home that ignored Christianity. It did makes things very tense, however, when his brother became a Christian.
Later in life Andrew finds himself faced with questions. What is he to do about God? His child is asking questions, after all. It is sort of a reverse crisis of faith. How is he to address it?
Between A Church And A Hard Place is a journal of his struggles. Park discusses the issue with folks that he grew up with; folks he knew were not believers. His desire? To determine why they were not, and what they had done since they had matured. Park seems to have been somewhat surprised to find that there were no conclusive answers to his questions about what he should do about church. His wife was not receptive, it seems, to the idea of going to church. At times, he found himself strangely drawn to his roots in a sort of southern fundamentalist group that was led/fostered by an ancestor of his. Yet he knew that he did not fit there.
Over the course of time Park has determined that there is no wrong in presenting the ideas of Christianity to his children along with the ideas of other religions. In fact, he even had a blessing of sorts performed over his child.
I believe this is an honest portrayal of a man’s struggles. I would love to have read that Park converted and was born again. That was not the case. The book does, however, allow us to get another glimpse into how those outside the church view the church. That is a benefit.
In the end, I must say it was an engaging and interesting book.

An Amazon Vine Review.

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Busted: Exposing Popular Myths about Christianity by Fred von Kamecke

Busted
Thanks to Andrew Rogers of Zondervan for sending me this book to review. I had requested for Andrew to send me a book that he thought would be a good book for my readers. I think he chose quite well.
Busted deals with various myths about Christianity. Kamecke, as he writes, does not take the pains to document his sources. Neither does he write in a scholarly fashion. He writes for the common person who does not have the time to fight his way through difficult tomes to find the answers that they are seeking.
Busted busts many myths about Christianity. Whether the myth is that Christianity is a cruel, heartless religion, or that Jesus didn’t die on the cross, or that Jesus didn’t rise from the dead; these myths are busted. Perhaps one has heard the myth that the Bible books were chosen by a bunch of big-wigs in the fourth century, and were not simply thee Word of God as recognized by the church- Busted!
On, and on, and on, Kamecke simply destroys myth after myth.
What is very nice about this is that the book deals with the issue at hand in a very good manner. This book has no vitriolic tone. Neither does it call names or ridicule. In fact, good-natured humor plays a large role in the book.
At the end of each chapter is included a section that gives resources that one can go to for the purpose of learning even more about that particular myth.
I hope that this book gets the attention that it deserves. It is a gift to God’s people, that is definite.

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GE 22:1-12, DT 8:2 God tempts (tests) Abraham and Moses.
JG 2:22 God himself says that he does test (tempt).
1CO 10:13 Paul says that God controls the extent of our temptations.
JA 1:13 God tests (tempts) no one.

On the surface this does indeed look like an inconsistency.  Why is it not?

It is not inconsistent because there is one thing that is very important in reading the Bible- CONTEXT.

There are three basic rules to remember when reading the Bible:
1.  Context

2.  Context

3.  You got it…..Context

Someone once wisely said that ” a text without a context is a pretext”.  How true, especially in this situation.

In the Old Testament passages cited God is putting people to test to refine them and to bring to light what is in their hearts.

In the passage from 1Cor the Scripture is presenting us with encouragement that God will not allow us to face temptation to sin that is more than we can handle, because He will always provide a way to avoid, or overcome in times of temptation.  This does not mean that God sends temptation to sin our way.  It does mean that God does control how much we are tempted and won’t allow us to be overcome.  Thus we are encouraged to trust God who will help us in temptation.

The last passage is totally out of context.  Why?  Because the context tells us that God does not tempt us with evil.  It is obvious, however, from the context of the argument presenting this as an inconsistency that the skeptic wishes us to think that God does indeed tempt us with evil.  If that is not the intent, the only other would be for us to think that God does not test (tempt) us at all.  Either way one looks at it, this is a terrible abuse of the Bible and takes the verse totally out of its context.

Let us be glad that God tempts (tests) us so that He might refine us.  He gives us choices and we are tested by trials and hardships in life, as was Joseph (See Ps 105:15-22).

Let us also be glad that God is for His people (See Rom 8:31) and will not tempt us to sin.  If He were to do so, none would be able to stand before Him (Cf Ps 130:3-4)

Below one will find an exchange between a commenter on this blog and myself.

I stated to him (David) that the Bible has demonstrated itself sufficient to withstand the onslaught of criticisms directed its way.”

David replied to me with the following (my remarks are in blue):

“It has indeed demonstrated itself sufficient to withstand the onslaught of criticisms directed its way”

I have to disagree with this statement. I know that some christians believe it has held up, but there are numerous fallicies the bible contains that cannot hold up in light of modern science.

For instance, the bible teaches that the earth is flat and immovable. This is no surprise since those who wrote the bible had no idea that they were on a spherical planet, within a solar system, within a galaxy, within the universe. They were geocentrists because they simply lacked the technology to know better.

The earth is immovable:

1 Chronicles 16:30: “He has fixed the earth firm, immovable.”

Psalm 93:1: “Thou hast fixed the earth immovable and firm …”

Psalm 96:10: “He has fixed the earth firm, immovable …”

Psalm 104:5: “Thou didst fix the earth on its foundation so that it never can be shaken.”

Isaiah 45:18: “…who made the earth and fashioned it, and himself fixed it fast…”

David,

We must distinguish between literal speech and figurative speech.

Isa 66:1 Thus saith the LORD, The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool: where is the house that ye build unto me? and where is the place of my rest?

For example, I am convinced that no Jew thought that Heaven was a large chair, or that the Earth is an ottoman. The Scriptures, however, present this. It is a figure of speech.

The above referenced verses point to the fact that God has set this earth in space and intends for it to stay in its orbit. They also demonstrate His sovereignty over the universe.

When one considers the context of the verse in Ps 104, we know that none of us have seen God riding on a cloud as one would ride in his car. That is precisely the picture, however, that is given to us. Ps 104:3b who maketh the clouds his chariot: who walketh upon the wings of the wind. We do not take this literally, because it is not intended to be taken in that manner. Psalms are poetry. Poetry takes much license with language, and especially uses figurative language.

The earth is flat:

Isaiah 11:12: He will raise a signal for the nations and will assemble the banished of Israel,and gather the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.

Isaiah 44:24: Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer, who formed you from the womb: “I am the LORD, who made all things, who alone stretched out the heavens, who spread out the earth by myself”

Again, we are dealing with figurative speech. It is the same Isaiah who stated that the earth is indeed spherical.

Isa 40:22 It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in.

The four corners of the earth, when viewed on a map that is laid out before one, are readily seen to be represented by the four points of the compass.

The spreading out of the earth and stretching of the heavens are nothing more than figurative language. Figurative language is inescapable in the Scriptures. We must take it into account. To ignore it is to miss the point of much of what God is telling us.

The earth is on top of pillars:

Job 9:6: “who shakes the earth out of its place, and its pillars tremble”

Psalm 75:3: When the earth totters, and all its inhabitants,

it is I who keep steady its pillars.

David,

Consider Job in another place.

Job 26:7 He stretcheth out the north over the empty place, and hangeth the earth upon nothing.

He is not being inconsistent. One simply must distinguish between figurative language, phenomenological language, and literal speech. While I believe in a literal hermeneutic, I do not believe in a rigid literalism that takes everything literally while ignoring the fact that language is sometimes figurative in nature.

Jason, this is the only way they understood their world. These were intelligent men, but they didn’t have the knowledge about the the earth and the universe we do now. They were geocentrists, just as most people were in ancient times. Doesn’t this show you that the bible has limitations and is a product of its time?

I hope that this has at least given you a picture of how easily the Bible is misrepresented and misunderstood. The ancients were not as simple as we would like to think. After all, who has explained the pyramids? Having replied to you concerning your proof-texts I must say that I do understand that the Bible was a product of its times. It is also a product of God and is timeless. Its limitations are not limitations that make it fallible or errant. Its limitations are simply that its main message is to show us the plan, purpose, and glory of our Creator, and not science or mathematics. When tested, however, the Scriptures will be found to be correct.

Thanks,

David

GE 19:30-38 While he is drunk, Lot’s two daughters “lie with him,” become pregnant, and give birth to his offspring.
2PE 2:7 Lot was “just” and “righteous.”

This is one of the most glorious of truths that is set before us.

It is certainly to be understood that the skeptic does not understand such a truth.

The truth is that of justification by faith.

You see, Lot was indeed a terrible sinner.

Incest is certainly wrong, evil, wicked, etc.  There simply aren’t enough negatives in the English language to describe it.

At the same time, however, God does something for sinners who believe in His gracious forgiveness of sins.  He justifies them.  He declares them righteous in spite of their sins.

You see, the contrast is between my works and God’s works.  Thus it is that Paul said, “Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness”  (Rom 4:4-5)

The wonderful truth is that Jesus came into this world to take our sins upon Himself and give His righteousness to us.

“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committedc unto us the word of reconciliation. Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God. For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.”  (2Cor 5:17-21)

No inconsistency here- only glorious, gospel truth.

GE 18:20-21 God decides to “go down” to see what is going on.
PR 15:3, JE 16:17, 23:24-25, HE 4:13 God is everywhere. He sees everything. Nothing is hidden from his view.

Answer:

Anthropopathy

Anthropomorphic

–adjective