Bible

Does the Bible bore you?

Christianity 101 — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 23:04:58 -0800

The Bible is the most remarkable book ever written, read by more people than any other book by a mile, and yet if you're completely honest, you'd have to admit that at times the Bible bores you. We'll admit it. There are times when we read the Bible out of obligation rather than from a heart of expectation. Why is that? Why do we sometimes get bored when we read the Bible?

We've thought about this and have a theory. See what you think. Our theory starts with the fact that we humans are a self-centered bunch. We're always looking for our own best interests, doing things that make us feel better, and basically orienting everything we do around us, including the Bible. Even as followers of Christ, we live as if we're the center of the universe, and so the Bible becomes just one more thing to add to our lives, like a self-help book.

But God is the center of the universe, not us, and the Bible is His personal message to us. By reading it, we can find out what God has said throughout history and what He is saying to us right now so we can orient our lives--our habits, behaviors, morality, and our beliefs--around the Bible.

Approaching the Bible this way does have a downside. It puts you in direct conflict with the story of the world. You see, the story of the Bible features an immortal, immaterial, eternal, and perfectly just and holy God who has reached out to a fallen humanity through the person and work of Jesus Christ.

By contrast, the story of the world is self-focused and human centered. Meaning and fulfillment is found in individal effort and achievement. Salvation isn't needed because we aren't that bad off. The meaning of life hinges on the meaning you bringto it through your own deeds.

Because this way of thinking has so permeated the mindset of humanity, including many Christians, our default setting is to bring all of our interests, passions, and skills to our relationship with God and our reading of the Bible. We are so caught up in what we want to achieve and become that we hope God will bless what we are doing. But again, this is backward. Mike Erre explains the right way of approaching our relationship with God:

We exist to discover how to get on board with God's program, not the other way around. your life will never be a success if you spend all of your time and energy trying to figure out how Christianity can help you (Why the Bible Matters, 133).

If you have found the Bible to be boring and irrelevant to your life, it's likely that you have been trying to fit the grand story of the Bible into your own world. Don't get us wrong. Your world is meaningful and important, and it's important to God. But rather than wondering why God doesn't pay more attention to you, try taking on the attitude of King David, who had every reason to brag about his accomplishments, but instead saw himself correctly in comparison to the great creator God.

When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is humankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them? (Psalm 8:3-4).

Just as the universe is not about you, the Bible is not about you. The Bible is about God. But it was written by God for you, that you may understand who God is, believe that He wants to have a relationship with you, and trust Him with your life--both now and forever.

There's nothing boring about that. Just the opposite. When you fit your story into God's story, the Bible can become the most interesting, fascinating, utterly fulfilling book you can ever read. Ever.

The Intolerance of Tolerance

Brett Kunkle — Sun, 02 Oct 2011 20:00:00 -0700

Is the Bible intolerant? That was the question Nathan Hansen asked me to answer for hundreds of students and adults recently. Three years ago, Nathan, Snohomish Community Church’s innovative youth pastor, created Jesus University, a five-day youth conference in the Seattle area. During the day, students serve their community. At night, the community is invited to come hear top Christian bands.

But before the bands play, Nathan has a Christian apologist address a tough question for an hour, followed by 30 minutes of Q & A. The big-name bands draw thousands of people throughout the week, but Nathan ensures they’re given more than music. They get an intelligent yet gracious defense of Christianity. And our culture desperately needs some clear thinking when it comes to the topic of tolerance.

Homophobic. Racist. Chauvinistic. Bigoted. Intolerant. Christians are bullied with this kind of name-calling all the time. Rather than cower in a corner, we can counter with clear thinking. First, before we move the conversation forward we need to define terms. When charged with intolerance, we need to ask a simple clarifying question, “What do you mean by that?” and then listen carefully to the answer. Most challengers will offer some version of the contemporary view of tolerance. “You think you’re right and everyone else is wrong and that’s intolerant.” Or, “All religious views are equally valid and none should be considered better.” Only then are we ready to respond in a helpful way.

Contemporary tolerance is self-contradictory. The “you think you’re right and others are wrong” version is offered as a corrective to our views. However, a corrective is only given when one thinks their view is right and another view is wrong. In the very act of correcting Christians, they do what they say we shouldn’t do. So according to their own definition, they turn out to be the very thing they charge Christians with being: intolerant.

The “all views are equally valid” version of tolerance is no better. I put up some statements for students at Jesus U and asked if they were okay with them. For example, “Parents who abuse their children in the privacy of their own homes should be allowed to do so.” Of course, students objected. But I pointed out if the contemporary version of tolerance is correct, then we’re obligated to tolerate this view regarding child abuse. All views are equally valid and this is a view, isn’t it? Students frowned, knowing something was wrong.

I confirmed their suspicions by asking them if the contemporary belief about tolerance is itself a view. Yes it is and therefore, the criterion of the view applies to itself. It is a view that should not be considered better than other views. However, it’s being offered as the correct version of tolerance. But that’s contradictory because there’s no such thing as a correct version if all views are equally valid. The contemporary view of tolerance turns out to be intolerant.

Students got it. A few minutes of clear thinking unraveled years of cultural confusion on tolerance. Afterward, I was able to restore the classical meaning of tolerance: all people are equal, all views are not. We are to treat everyone with dignity and respect regardless of their disagreements because all people are made in the image of God. However, we must put truth at the forefront, always asking what views are true because falsehood in our own lives should never be tolerated.

The church needs a new generation of Christians who will stand courageously for the truth, even as they are called names like intolerant or bigot. Clear thinking is an important first step.

The Spiritual Discipline of Liturgical Prayer

Holly Ordway — Mon, 21 Mar 2011 15:57:41 -0700

In 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, Paul gives us a bracing challenge: “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”

Pray without ceasing! How is that even possible?

There are many ways to approach the idea of constant prayer, but one way that Anglicans all over the world have used fruitfully is to pray what is known as the "Daily Office" for Morning and/or Evening Prayer.

The Daily Office is a liturgical style of prayer, meaning that there is a set structure for the prayer service.The Daily Office is structured around Scripture readings, in a framework of traditional written prayers (most of which draw specifically on Bible verses for their language), with “space” built in for extemporaneous, personal prayer. The Anglican / Episcopalian liturgy for Morning Prayer or for Evening Prayer has a number of different options, so by making choices about what to include and what to skip, each individual can personalize the Daily Office to fit different preferences and amounts of time, from 15 minutes to... however long you want to pray!

Some Christians hesitate to pray using a liturgy, because they fear that it is the "mindless repetition" that Jesus warned us about, or that using the same structure repeatedly will cause them to be less thoughtful in prayer. Certainly we should always be mindful of falling into patterns of prayer that are just going through the motions, but that can happen with extemporaneous or "from the heart" prayer just as easily (if not more so! for it's all too easy for me at least to fall into the same round of petitions time and again.) Remember that Our Lord himself gave us a liturgy: when the disciples said "Teach us to pray!" he gave them, not generalized instructions, but a specific prayer: "Our Father..."

Devoting a portion of our prayer time to structured, liturgical prayer can be a beautiful discipline that helps us to lift up our hearts to God in a deeper, richer way.

The benefits of praying the Daily Office are fourfold.

First, it helps deepen and expand one’s prayer. It is easy to fall into just doing one type of prayer, usually petitionary or intercessory. The Daily Office liturgies lead us through all five main types of prayer: adoration, contrition, intercession, petition, and thanksgiving.

Second, it helps us internalize God’s Word. Many of the recurring prayers and canticles come directly from the Bible. By praying these every single day, the words of Scripture become engraved on our hearts and minds.

Third, it immerses us in the Word. If you read both Morning and Evening Prayer, every day you will read two or more Psalms plus a reading from the Old Testament, one from the New Testament, and one from the Gospel. What’s more, the Scripture selections go in order, so if you read the Daily Office every day, you will find yourself reading through entire books of the Bible in a disciplined way. Thus, we hear all of God’s word, not just our favorite passages.

Finally, praying the Daily Office is a discipline. Committing to praying the Morning or Evening Office means praying regardless of whether you really “feel like it” or not. It is a discipline because our choice to be obedient to Jesus, who tells us to pray, takes precedence over our transitory emotions. It teaches us to turn to God in prayer every day, not just the days when we feel pious or when we feel needy, and challenges us to confront our misplaced priorities. It is far too easy to make time with God something other than #1 on my priority list. If I am “too busy” or “too tired” to pray on a daily basis, that means I am putting something else higher than time with Him.

That said, praying the Daily Office is not about “getting it right” or racking up X number of prayer times per week, but rather about making a commitment to spend time in prayer with God on a daily basis. Committing to the discipline of Morning or Evening Prayer is not valuable in itself... its value is entirely and completely that it points us toward a deeper connection with Our Lord.

I began doing Evening Prayer during Lent in 2008, on the recommendation of my spiritual director. I found that it so enriched my prayer life that I made it an ongoing practice. In the summer of 2009, with the encouragement of one of our senior pastors, I added Morning Prayer, and once again found that this discipline helped deepen my relationship with Christ. What was initially a challenging commitment very quickly became a cherished part of my daily walk with Christ. I can feel a real difference in every aspect of my life when I start and finish the day with prayer. For one thing, I find myself more readily turning to God in prayer at various times during the day, not just during my scheduled prayer time!

Last year I went through a period of some months... probably half a year, really... in which I felt stuck in spiritual dryness. I did NOT feel like praying, and when I tried to pray "from the heart" I found I had nothing to say. During that time, the discipline of praying the Daily Office helped me immensely. The basic habit of getting down on my knees to pray once or twice a day, and of reading a Psalm and a Scripture passage once or twice a day, was so ingrained that I kept doing it. I had no expectations about feeling the presence of God or having a "rewarding" prayer experience; I just prayed. And as I look back on those months, from the perspective of having emerged from that time of dryness into a new and more fruitful spring, I firmly believe that God was doing His work in my heart and mind in those very moments of prayer in which, not wanting to pray, I did anyway, and in which I let the words of the written prayers speak for me.

By now, I hope you are at least a little bit intrigued by this spiritual discipline!

But wait... HOW do you pray the Daily Office?!? It’s easy. Let me walk you through it!

In order to read the Daily Office, you will need two things:

1. Your Bible.

2. The Book of Common Prayer.

The Book of Common Prayer is an Anglican prayer book that is readily available in any Christian bookstore or through Amazon. Created in 1500s England, it incorporates prayer from the very earliest Fathers of the Church, and prayers based on Holy Scripture, as well as prayers written by 16th century and later pastors. You can also find the contents of the BCP online here (in printable form) and also here at BCPonline.org.

The BCP contains the liturgy, the basic “structure” of the Office. The prayers are the same for every day. Note: feel free to shorten the Office by leaving out some parts of it. Keep it simple, and you’re more likely to do it!

Interleaved into the structure of the Daily Office are the Readings: one or more Psalms and one or more Scripture lessons. These readings will change for each day. You can find the readings for each day listed in the back of the BCP, under the title of Daily Office Lectionary. (Or click the appropriate link at the BCPonline.org version.) The Lectionary contains an entry for each day that tells you what the reading is for that day.

The Readings are arranged by the liturgical calendar. Sunday is the start of each week. For instance, as I write this, we are in the week of Last Epiphany (that is, the last week before Lent). We are in Year One right now (we alternate between Year One and Year Two, with the Christian year starting in Advent).

I recommend starting with the online version, to get the feel for it!

Although the Daily Office seems complicated at first, it gets easier very quickly. It is well worth the time it takes to get into the habit... and Lent is a wonderful opportunity to step forward into a deeper, more faithful prayer life. During this concentrated 40-day period, the mindful practice of spiritual disciplines like Morning or Evening Prayer can help us to grow in love and obedience to our Lord. Over our lifetimes, even a very small step taken during Lent can add up to significant spiritual growth and a deeper maturity in the faith.

“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”

More Than 40 Days

Chuck Bomar — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 08:36:38 -0800

Today marks the beginning of Lent and many people will begin giving up something they really enjoy as a point of focus and preparation for Easter. Typically we give up things like coffee, television, Twitter, Facebook, a certain food, etc. I think this can be a very good challenge, but let’s not get it twisted.

These are not “sacrifices,” they are setting aside a luxury that few people in the world get to enjoy. They can be a focusing point for us and for a brand new believer this might be a very good first step. But someone who has been following Jesus for a while shouldn’t view giving up these little luxuries as a sacrifice and ought to be very leery of feeling super spiritual because they gave them up for 40 days.

Consider putting forth an intentionally gospel focused challenge for yourself this Lent season. Jesus didn’t say in order to follow him we had to give up a luxury for a certain amount of time. He told us we had to give up all of ourselves, for life. So let’s use Lent as a time to focus on that calling. This is a process for all, so let’s commit to using this season as taking a step in this direction. Let’s give up something that is actually hindering us from following Jesus whole heartily. And, let’s not make the challenge for ONLY 40 days….let’s make these the FIRST 40 days of truly working toward the giving up of our entire lives.

Battling Your Relationship With Shame

Chuck Bomar — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 11:13:28 -0800

Discovering who we are inevitably leads us to discovering the reality that we're not who we desire to be - at least in ways. Shame and guilt over past sin or current struggles can paralyze us....completely. We feel separated from God, the people of God and the things of God.

We have to understand, though, that shame creeps in because we wrongly identify ourselves in sinful actions/tendency/behavior. At it's core this misplacement of our identity is because we view ourselves as bodies that have a soul versus a soul that has a body.

It may seem like a matter of semantics, but it's not at all. It's an entirely different identity. If we view ourselves as a body that continues to sin and do what we ought not - cf. Romans 7:18 - we inevitably end with feelings of shame and guilt. However, if we view ourselves biblically and through Christ as a soul that has been made new, our identity is beyond our fleshly limitations and actions. This is important to understand because our identity, then, is not found in sin, but instead in who God has made us to be spiritually (cf. Ephesians 1:3-14).

Viewing himself as a soul that struggles with fleshly issues is exactly what led to Paul being able to separate his identity from his sinful actions. Paul knows that nothing good dwells in his flesh (Romans 7:18), but it's clear that he doesn't identify himself in his flesh:

"Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me" (Romans 7:20).

This separation of identity, my friends, is critical to battling the shame and guilt we often deal with. This might be a good point to bring up with someone you meet with today. Or, it might just be for you. Either way, I'd like to remind you that you are a soul (i.e. new creation - 2 Corinthians 5:14-17) that has a body. It doesn't give us an excuse to sin (Romans 6:15). In fact, a proper understanding of grace trains us to renounce ungodliness and points us toward godliness (Titus 2:11-14). But it does give us freedom from shame and guilt and condemnation (Romans 8:1!!!!).

Did God Not Say That?

Chris Tomlinson — Tue, 11 Jan 2011 09:00:00 -0800

It’s better to meditate on what God’s word actually says, but it can also be useful at times to meditate on what God’s word does not say.

Here’s what I mean. Recently, I borrowed my wife's Bible and happened upon a note (from a Beth Moore Bible study I believe) she had handwritten beside Philippians 4:6-7.

This is how the verse appears in Scripture:

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

This is how my wife's note, casting the verse in the negative, appears:

“Do not be calm about anything, but in everything without prayer and without humility, without any thankfulness, do not tell God what you need. Then, you will not have any peace, nor understanding or clarity, so your heart will be open to all and your mind will be like the sea tossed to and fro by the wind.”

God’s word, as inspired by His Spirit, is like a jewel. It is a wonder to behold, but turning it can give another perspective that’s beautiful as well. I think that’s what’s going on here. The Spirit meant every word He inspired, so we do well to pour over each word and think deeply on what He meant. But there are times when we can benefit by thinking over what He did not say as well.

Question: What does your favorite verse look like in the negative?

15 Reasons to Read Your Bible This Year!!

Renee Johnson — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 11:23:50 -0800

In 1997, my mom gave me a NLT One Year Bible. I was in the hospital with severe eczema all over my face and feet. She read to me Hosea 6:1-3 that says,

“Come, let us return to the Lord. He has torn us to pieces; now he will heal us. He has injured us; now he will bandage our wounds. In just a short time he will restore us, so that we may live in his presence. Oh, that we might know the Lord! Let us press on to know him. He will respond to us as surely as the arrival of dawn or the coming of rains in early spring.”

I was determined to find my own verse so I read through the One Year Bible for eleven months and twenty six days later I found it.

“In his kindness God called you to share in his eternal glory by means of Christ Jesus. So after you have suffered a little while, he will restore, support, and strengthen you, and he will place you on a firm foundation” (1 Peter 5:10, NLT).

My life has never been the same since and I wholeheartedly believe in reading the Word daily. That’s why I do what I do. I write, speak, teach, publish, laugh, and love according to what I’ve learned through this book. 1997-2011 marks my crystal anniversary of being in the Word. That’s 15 years of being fruitful and remaining in the vine that is Jesus.

Because I’m SO passionate about it I’m giving you 15 reasons to read through the Bible this year with me!!

1. Get to know Jesus. If you like someone you’re going to spend time & money getting to know them. It’s really that simple!

2. Be a follower. Disciple = follower. It’s not a spiritual term. You follow people on Twitter and Facebook, so why not be mindful to follow God FIRST?

3. Discipline takes time. Over the years I’ve discovered what works for me. Yearly devotional + One Year Bible + journal = a very happy Renee. Find what works best for you and stick with it!!

4. If you’re bored, God’s bored. I don’t remember who told me that, but it’s stuck with me. If you’re in the middle of reading your daily this & daily that and you find that you’ve replaced the ritual with religion. Get. Out. Quick. Find something else. Do something else. Go somewhere else. Ask someone else.

5. Don’t be afraid. Perfect love (from God) casts out all fear. Throughout a year’s time you and I will encounter trials and temptations. Watch for them and stay alert. Mostly though don’t be afraid. If you need help remembering this just open to Joshua 1. I think God says it like 8 times. Don’t be afraid…Don’t be afraid…just keep swimming…just keep swimming…

6. Ask. Just because you or I am in the Word daily doesn’t mean we still struggle. Ask for help!

7. Don’t do it alone. We need community. We need people. We need help. See if one of your friends or family can keep you accountable to spend your time daily with God. If you don’t tell others, they won’t know to ask.

8. Learn more! I’m like a sponge. I soak up everything I see, touch, taste, smell, read, etc. Here is a great way to spark learning in your life. Take a topic you read about in your daily quiet time and dig deeper.

9. Use helpful tools. My favorites are NLT One Year Bible, Streams in the Desert (devotional), My Utmost For His Highest (devotional), BibleGateway.com, You Version, and Logos.

10. Use your senses. The Bible actually says to taste and see what is good (Psalm 34:8). Food tastes good, your time with God should too!

11. Find your promise. There are a million (okay maybe not a million) promises. I like to treat my Bible as a text book and underline my favorite verses and write “Promise” up on the top margin to remind me of God’s promises.

12. Memorize Scripture. If you can quote your favorite movie, you can memorize Scripture. Just sayin’

13. Fall in love with God. No matter what you read, how difficult a passage is, or how frustrating it is to find time to spend with Him…He is worth it! All of it. All the marbles, all the money, everything in the world does not compare to Him!

14. His grace is enough. My heartache is knowing God, seeing that He can heal, and watching when He says no. Grace is figuring out that He is enough. No. Matter. What.

15. God is the Beginning and the End. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. That means that January 1-December 31st is all under His control.

Generational Values Hindering Relationships

Chuck Bomar — Wed, 01 Dec 2010 16:36:23 -0800

Let’s be honest: connecting people of different generations is not the easiest thing to do. We face obstacles like core values being different, older people being intimidated or frustrated by the younger generations, younger people not feeling the value of having an older person in their life…to either generation not knowing how to connect with the other. There are ways we can help with these things (for more on that see chapters 7 and 8 of this book), but there is another issue that is just as obvious – if not more. We just don’t talk about it as openly.

Younger people are desperate for an experience they know is Divine. Of course not all desire this, but many just want to experience God, walk with Him daily, be a part of what He’s doing and be used by Him. Sure, experience based pursuits can be incredibly dangerous if they are separated from truth. But experiencing God can also be rooted in truth. And this is what I find many college age people seeking.

And herein lies the problem. It seems like there is a lack of older adults that authentically experience God – daily. Many of them, if you ask them directly, have a hard time pointing out anything specific they feel like God is teaching them or working on in their life today. Some can’t explain their own testimony of how and why they personally decided to follow Jesus – or why they do today. Much of this is due to, and in some ways this will be an over simplification, older generations not being experience based. They can know scripture, be grounded in doctrine, etc. but as I talk with more and more pastors working with older adults the lack of experiencing God in their lives is a huge issue.

Bridging these generational values together (a high value on experience with a high value on intellectual knowledge of Scripture) is what’s needed. But if these tensions aren’t helped the differences actually hinder sustainable mentor/disciple making relationships. And, I’m not okay with that. More to come…

Spiritual Dryness: Reflecting on Not Wanting to Read the Bible

Holly Ordway — Thu, 25 Nov 2010 14:37:35 -0800

I don’t love reading the Bible. There: I said it. In fact, I’ll go further: I struggle to make myself read Holy Scripture, and when I do read it, it usually leaves me cold. Far from being a sweet experience of encountering God, reading the Word often makes me a bit depressed, because I think “Is this it? I’m not feeling profoundly impacted by the Word... I guess I must be defective.”

Let me be clear about doctrine. I believe that the Bible is the written Word of God, inerrant, inspired by the Holy Spirit. I know how important it is for Christian formation. I know that in these pages, it’s possible to have a life-changing encounter with God through the Holy Spirit.

I just have a really hard time reading it.

Part of the problem may be the weight of impossible expectations. I mean, this is the Word of God. If I have a hard time getting into reading Flannery O’Connor’s short stories, that doesn’t mean I’m an illiterate, uncultured moron; it just means that I’m not fond of the Southern Gothic style. So if I want to read classic literature that will help me reflect on deep matters of faith, I’ll read Dostoyevsky instead. No worries.

O’Connor and Dostoyevsky are both great artists, but they’re human; it’s ok for me to respond on a human level, to like or dislike one or both of them. But the Bible is different. The Word of God. Life-changing! Tremendous! Empowering! So I can’t say, “Well, it’s not bad, but I like Jane Austen better.” Or “Yeah, I like the Psalms, but Job is really boring and repetitive.” All of it – all of it! – is the Word of God. If I don’t connect to it, I know where the problem lies – I’m looking at in the mirror.

So now I feel like a failure, and I’m still not reading my Bible.

It probably didn’t help that at this point, at the end of last year, I’d embarked on the ambitious project of reading all of Isaiah during Advent. Yeah, that didn’t happen.

I went to my priest and asked for advice. “Father, I don’t understand why, but I just have a hard time with the Bible. I start reading and I give up, because I don’t feel like it’s making an impact on me.” He said, “Don’t worry about that. Just read. Read straight through, and don’t fret about what you’re getting out of it. Just read.”

But it wasn’t just the advice that helped, good as it was. It was the unruffled way in which Fr Kraft replied. He didn’t lecture me on why I was a bad Christian for not reading the Bible, or recoil in horror at my lack of spirituality. No, he treated my situation as if it were the most ordinary difficulty in the world, one that many faithful Christians struggle with as part of their spiritual journey.

Come to think of it, maybe that’s the point.

In any case, I put a copy of the Bible next to my bedside in the hopes that I would pick it up and “just read.” With my expectations rock bottom, there really was nowhere to go but up. I started picking it up now and again. Maybe once or twice a week, maybe several nights in a row. I would pick a book of the New Testament as the mood struck me, or perhaps based on a reference from that Sunday’s sermon, and read through it bit by bit over several days. When I would start to think “What am I getting out of reading this?” the voice of Fr. Kraft would sound in my imagination: “Just read, Holly. Just read.”

The copy I chose was the Orthodox Study Bible, which is a wonderful Bible that includes a number of full-color, full-page illustrations of icons interspersed throughout the text. After a while, I noticed something about myself. Sometimes I would be too tired to concentrate on reading the words of Scripture; I’d read a passage and discover that my mind had wandered so much that I didn’t know what I just read. So I’d take a moment and flip over to one of the icons and look at it, rest my eyes on an image that was created prayerfully to express the truth of Holy Scripture, to draw the viewer toward Christ... and I’d reflect on what I was seeing... and I started to realize that “reading” the icon was, in fact, another way of encountering the Word.

Maybe the problem isn’t my personal failure to respond to the Word, but in my stifling framework of expectations for “reading” the Word.

When I was castigating myself for “not reading the Bible,” I was unconsciously excluding my daily encounter with the Word in liturgical prayer.

In fact... as I reflected on this, I realized that I actually do read the Bible regularly. Every day, in fact; sometimes twice a day. My main spiritual discipline is to pray the Daily Office, either Morning Prayer or Evening Prayer (or both, if possible). The structure of the Daily Office in the Anglican Book of Common Prayer is such that each day has a different set of Scripture readings: one each from the Old Testament, one of the Epistles, and the Gospel, plus one or more Psalms. Day by day, the lectionary takes the reader progressively through the entire Bible, OT, NT, and Psalter.

When I pray the Daily Office, these readings are embedded in a particular liturgical structure that includes the affirmation of faith in the Apostles Creed, the Lord’s Prayer, intercessory prayers, and lots of other short Scripture passages and short prayers. The liturgy has a particular rhythm: the structure is always the same, though the readings change from day to day.

And when I pray the Daily Office, I read Scripture without anxiety.

I’ve noticed – in the three years that I have been praying the Daily Office as a regular discipline, the same three years that I’ve continued to struggle with reading the Bible – that Scripture sort of soaks into the mind after a while.

I guess I kind of get a lot of Scripture, actually, because the structure of the Holy Eucharist is the same way – liturgical, with the dual pivots of Word and Sacraments, with Old Testament, Epistle, Psalm, and Gospel in a structure of liturgy that itself is almost entirely drawn from Holy Scripture. At mass on Sundays, most of the words I speak, and most of the words I hear, are drawn from, or point toward, the Word. I hear it and speak it – and it feels different from when I try to sit down, just me and the Book, to “Read the Bible.” It feels natural. It’s like the difference between trying to gulp down a glass of water when I’m not thirsty, just because it’s good for my health, versus taking a shower and letting the water soak me.

I know I’ve got a lot of growth ahead of me, in my relationship with Christ. I look at the example of all the saints who derived such joy and consolation and strength from the written Word, and I desire to be like them. But maybe, just maybe, I need to let go of my own expectations for my encounter with the Word. Whatever God is doing through Scripture in my life, maybe it’s too slow and deep for me to notice. Or maybe I’m just too hung up on analyzing my own experiences: too busy asking “What am I experiencing? What am I feeling?” instead of just letting the encounter be whatever it is. Maybe I need to practice the same kind of abandonment that I feel in the Eucharist: recognizing that God is present, whether I am aware of Him or not, and trusting in Him.

I wish I always felt a sense of God’s presence when I read His Word. I usually don’t. But maybe that’s part of the path that He has for me right now. Maybe it’s not about what I feel, but about who He is; and if I can put myself in the place of that encounter with Him, day in and day out, maybe I will learn to trust Him more. Maybe that’s the point.

Can We Really Trust the Gospels?

Sean McDowell — Mon, 08 Nov 2010 10:19:00 -0800

This weekend I had the chance to hear Michael Licona, New Testament scholar and author of the recent Resurrection of Jesus, respond to some of the most common objections raised against the gospels. His talk was part of the “On Guard” apologetics conference in Denton, TX. These particular objections came from Mike’s debate with Bart Ehrman over the historicity of the resurrection of Jesus.

Objection: “The Gospels are forgeries”

Response: An example from secular history may help answer this objection. Plutarch is a trusted ancient historian. Interestingly, his name does not appear on any of the existing volumes. Yet historians are confident he wrote the volumes because of external evidence from contemporary writers. Similarly, we have external sources that confirm the tradition of the gospel writers, even though their names do not appear on the originals (as far as we know). For instance, Papias confirms that John wrote his gospel and wrote about 105 A.D., roughly 15 years after when John was written. He also confirms that Mark writes the testimony of Peter. And second century apologist Justin Martyr confirms that Luke wrote his gospel.

Objection: “The Gospels are biased”

Response: John says he wrote his gospel to persuade us. Should we discount his gospel as propaganda? Certainly our beliefs are shaped by our biases, but do they disqualify us? Even Richard Dawkins says he wrote “The God Delusion” to convince Christians to give up their belief. You can be biased and right and biased and wrong. Jewish historians are incredibly biased about WWII, but they have labored to preserve accurate history.

Objection: “The Bible is full of contradictions”

Response: There are undoubtedly differences in the four gospel accounts of the resurrection narratives. But differences are not the same as contradictions. A difference involves emphasizing various aspects of an account. A contradiction involves the affirmation and denial of the same proposition in the same way. For example, did both thieves curse Jesus on the cross as Mark records? Or did just one? Both could be true. Maybe they both cursed Jesus but one had a change of heart after seeing the character of Jesus.

Why is this so hard to believe? Without more information we cannot conclude that we have definitive contradictions. Even if there were contradictions, what would that matter for the historicity of Jesus? Some witnesses of the Titanic said it split before sinking and others say it went in one piece. No one concludes the ship didn’t sink. Even if there are contradictions then we have core details about the life of Jesus that are indisputable.

Objection: “Gospels are written 35-65 years after the life of Jesus”

Response: Even if this late dating were true, there would still be eyewitnesses living who could confirm or deny the details. Ehrman compared this chronological distance to WWII. But there are still living witnesses from WWII that can certainly remember key events from their experience in the war.

There are many more objections that can be raised against the reliability of the Gospels. And there are good responses for each of these objections. Much more could also be said for each of these objections. Mike has a four-part video series answering these challenges available for free at his website www.4truth.net.