Lesson three
GOD (Part 1)
We must never think that we can completely define God, that is impossible. But we can look at what God has revealed.
Assumptions
I am going to begin this study by making a few assumptions,
First, I am going to assume that God exists.
In The Joyful Christian CS Lewis dealt with the challenge by Russian cosmonauts who having ventured into space announced, “They could not see God”. Lewis gave four reasons why this might be. The first was that they did not travel far enough out. The second was God is confined to earth. Lewis dismissed these responses as being the religions of “savages” and sadly what the Russian cosmonaut thought of when they referred to religion.
The next reason was that they lacked the correct tools to see God. His last reason was that God exist but is not an object to be found in one place. These are the correct reasons. He concludes “...send a saint up in a spaceship and he’ll find God in space as he found God on earth. Much depends on the seeing eye.”
Second, I am going to assume that when I refer to God I am talking about the God described in the Scriptures.
Third, I am going to assume what we find recorded in the Scriptures is the result of God’s revelation to us.
Lastly, for the sake of organization and time I am going to look at those revelations in Scripture under two topics: The nature of God and the Attributes of God.
The nature of God
Another way to speak about God’s nature is to say, “it is who has God revealed Himself to be.” There are four components to this issue.
First , God is one. This is called monotheism. It states not only the fact that there is only one God (a belief held by Christians, Jews, and Muslims), but also that He is the true God.
Exodus 20:3
Secondly, God is a spiritual being. God does not have a material body, therefore, God can not be confined to one place (like a temple or sacred location) but instead is capable of being everywhere at once. Likewise, no idol can be made of Him, and there is nowhere a person can go that God cannot see them.
John 4: 24
Thirdly, God is a personal being. God can and does interact with His creation. He thinks, He wills, He even has a personal name. And it is possible to have a relationship with Him.
Matthew 6:9
Fourthly, God is a tri-person. This is what is often called the Trinity. And according to both Jewish and Muslims this point disqualifies Christianity as being monotheistic. First let me define the term as expressed in the Baptist Faith and Message: “The eternal God has reveals Himself to us as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, with distinct personal attributes, but without division of nature, essence, or being.” (Art. II)
In other words, while the Father, Son, and Spirit differ in what they do (Attributes) they still remain one in being God. They are not three separate gods (Mormonism) nor is it just God in different costumes (Oneness). But it is one God in three persons. Lastly, and this is very important, all three always existed. It was not God the Father first, then Jesus and later the Holy Spirit. All three have always existed because they all three are God.
Confused? You should be. This is one of those things that is true yet hard to comprehend.
Saturday, September 29, 2007
Friday, September 14, 2007
Theology: Scripture
Theology for everyday life
Lesson 2: Scripture
What are names we use for the Scriptures?
What is the Bible?
The Christian Bible is divided into two parts: the Old Testament and the New Testament.
The Old Testament
The Old Testament is divided into three parts: The Law, The Prophets and the Writings and together make up 39 books.
The New Testament
The New Testament is divided into four parts: Gospels, History, Letters (Pauline and General) and Prophecy. Together they make up 27 books.
Canonization
The process that brought together the books of the Bible is called canonization. Canon is a word that means “Rule”. Some people think that this occurred through church councils hundreds of years after Jesus’ resurrection. This is not necessarily true. While there were church councils and at those councils certain books were listed as being considered Scripture this was not the primary purpose of the councils. The councils were designed to deal with issues of false teachings which at times were the result of erroneous material passing itself off as having been authored by an apostle.
The books of the New Testament were for the most part accepted early on based on the authorship (An apostle or associate of an apostle) and its intended purpose (present the Gospel or instruction). The letters of Paul (often the most controversial) were among to the first to be recognized as Scripture.
The Lost Gospels
Every few years someone claims to have uncovered a Lost Gospel or found a missing book of the Bible. (Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code for example). None of these so called Lost Gospels or missing books were ever lost or missing. They have been known about from their beginning and rejected from the start as being false in their authorship and in their teachings. At no time were any of these thought to be Scripture by the church at large and therefore they were never removed or hidden from the world.
There are three things that make the Scriptures unique.
1. Sole Authority
One of the major attributes that separates Scripture from all other literary material is its authority. It is recognized as the final and sole authority in Christian life. Religious experience, individual conscience, human reason and tradition are all secondary to the Scripture.
The Scripture is not a book of wise sayings or suggestions but is the sole authority by which a Christian must examine their thoughts and actions in life.
When presented with challenges we must respond, “What does the Scriptures say?”
It is able to claim this sole authority because it is the product of Inspiration and Revelation from God.
2. Inspiration
As I shared last week, the Scriptures were written by human beings but they did so under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.
A modern reading of that statement makes one to assume that God laid an idea on a persons heart but the person wrote as they felt led. That would be an incorrect understand of the word inspired .
When we say inspired we are saying that despite human authorship the Scriptures are of divine origin and supernatural nature.
a. Divine origin
2 Timothy 3:16
Being of divine origin in no way denies that humans were involved in the writings of the Scriptures nor does it suppose that they merely acted a recording devices. Instead, it recognizes that what they wrote (despite their different personalities , cultural bias, or historical placement) was what God wanted recorded. It is for this reason, that God is seen as the true author of the Bible.
b. Supernatural in nature
Because Scripture is due to the inspiration of God and originated from Him the Scriptures hold supernatural qualities.
1. They are the Words of God
John 10: 35
2. They are Infallible and Inerrant
Another way of saying this is, the Bible is without error or contradiction, it does not contain falsehoods or mislead.
There is a circular thinking that goes with this idea. If the Scriptures do have errors or contradictions then it cannot be God’s word, because God does not lie or contradict Himself. If the Scriptures are the Word of God then they must also be free of error and contradiction.
But the infallibility and inerrancy of the Scripture can be defended without appeal to it being God’s word. It has proven to be extremely accurate in its historical references, in prophecies, and in its practice. Many assumed falsehoods or contradictions have later been explained through archeological finds and better translations of the original text.
3. Divine authority
Lastly, being that the Scriptures are divinely inspired (God’s word, Infallible and Inerrant) then they also act with divine authority. What they call us to do and the way we are to conduct our lives are not laws mandated or created by humans but are divinely mandated by God.
3. Revelation
How these authors receive their inspiration is part of a larger question: “How do humans know God?” The answer is revelation
As Christians we believe that God reveals himself to us. This revealing by God is Revelation (I am not talking about the New Testament book).
God does this in two ways: General revelation and Special revelation.
General revelation is how God reveals himself in the concept of order in the universe, beauty in nature, the concept of right and wrong, and even in humans ability to reason.
It is God revealed apart from the Scriptures and it is effective in revealing to humanity its sin nature. It reveals that something has gone very wrong.
Rom 1:20, Rom 2: 14-16
But it is inadequate in providing the solution. To this we must turn to special revelation.
Special revelation is God revealing Himself in supernatural ways. The two most common is that of miracles and that of the Scriptures. The Scriptures are Special Revelation.
Hebrews 1:1
Special revelation is necessary because General revelation does not disclose the means of salvation. Special revelation does, as seen in the Scriptures.
Special revelation is also necessary because we are blinded by sin and therefore it is only through special revelation we are made aware of our situation and the means of salvation.
Col 3: 10
This still begs the question of how exactly does special revelation work, how does God put the right words in a person’s mind, how does he make sure what he wants written is written? The exact means is a mystery. By mystery I do not mean it cannot be understood but, that we do not understand. Our sinful nature blinds us to the understanding. What is clear is that special revelation is supernatural in action. It is God’s intervention into the natural structure of life.
Will there be any new books to the Bible
The question of special revelation presents a very interesting question, “Will there be any new books of the Bible?” The answer is no. While God still acts through special revelation the Scriptures are complete. All we need to know in understanding God’s plan of salvation and our role is found within the Scripture. There is no need to take away and there is no need to add.
Lesson 2: Scripture
What are names we use for the Scriptures?
What is the Bible?
The Christian Bible is divided into two parts: the Old Testament and the New Testament.
The Old Testament
The Old Testament is divided into three parts: The Law, The Prophets and the Writings and together make up 39 books.
The New Testament
The New Testament is divided into four parts: Gospels, History, Letters (Pauline and General) and Prophecy. Together they make up 27 books.
Canonization
The process that brought together the books of the Bible is called canonization. Canon is a word that means “Rule”. Some people think that this occurred through church councils hundreds of years after Jesus’ resurrection. This is not necessarily true. While there were church councils and at those councils certain books were listed as being considered Scripture this was not the primary purpose of the councils. The councils were designed to deal with issues of false teachings which at times were the result of erroneous material passing itself off as having been authored by an apostle.
The books of the New Testament were for the most part accepted early on based on the authorship (An apostle or associate of an apostle) and its intended purpose (present the Gospel or instruction). The letters of Paul (often the most controversial) were among to the first to be recognized as Scripture.
The Lost Gospels
Every few years someone claims to have uncovered a Lost Gospel or found a missing book of the Bible. (Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code for example). None of these so called Lost Gospels or missing books were ever lost or missing. They have been known about from their beginning and rejected from the start as being false in their authorship and in their teachings. At no time were any of these thought to be Scripture by the church at large and therefore they were never removed or hidden from the world.
There are three things that make the Scriptures unique.
1. Sole Authority
One of the major attributes that separates Scripture from all other literary material is its authority. It is recognized as the final and sole authority in Christian life. Religious experience, individual conscience, human reason and tradition are all secondary to the Scripture.
The Scripture is not a book of wise sayings or suggestions but is the sole authority by which a Christian must examine their thoughts and actions in life.
When presented with challenges we must respond, “What does the Scriptures say?”
It is able to claim this sole authority because it is the product of Inspiration and Revelation from God.
2. Inspiration
As I shared last week, the Scriptures were written by human beings but they did so under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.
A modern reading of that statement makes one to assume that God laid an idea on a persons heart but the person wrote as they felt led. That would be an incorrect understand of the word inspired .
When we say inspired we are saying that despite human authorship the Scriptures are of divine origin and supernatural nature.
a. Divine origin
2 Timothy 3:16
Being of divine origin in no way denies that humans were involved in the writings of the Scriptures nor does it suppose that they merely acted a recording devices. Instead, it recognizes that what they wrote (despite their different personalities , cultural bias, or historical placement) was what God wanted recorded. It is for this reason, that God is seen as the true author of the Bible.
b. Supernatural in nature
Because Scripture is due to the inspiration of God and originated from Him the Scriptures hold supernatural qualities.
1. They are the Words of God
John 10: 35
2. They are Infallible and Inerrant
Another way of saying this is, the Bible is without error or contradiction, it does not contain falsehoods or mislead.
There is a circular thinking that goes with this idea. If the Scriptures do have errors or contradictions then it cannot be God’s word, because God does not lie or contradict Himself. If the Scriptures are the Word of God then they must also be free of error and contradiction.
But the infallibility and inerrancy of the Scripture can be defended without appeal to it being God’s word. It has proven to be extremely accurate in its historical references, in prophecies, and in its practice. Many assumed falsehoods or contradictions have later been explained through archeological finds and better translations of the original text.
3. Divine authority
Lastly, being that the Scriptures are divinely inspired (God’s word, Infallible and Inerrant) then they also act with divine authority. What they call us to do and the way we are to conduct our lives are not laws mandated or created by humans but are divinely mandated by God.
3. Revelation
How these authors receive their inspiration is part of a larger question: “How do humans know God?” The answer is revelation
As Christians we believe that God reveals himself to us. This revealing by God is Revelation (I am not talking about the New Testament book).
God does this in two ways: General revelation and Special revelation.
General revelation is how God reveals himself in the concept of order in the universe, beauty in nature, the concept of right and wrong, and even in humans ability to reason.
It is God revealed apart from the Scriptures and it is effective in revealing to humanity its sin nature. It reveals that something has gone very wrong.
Rom 1:20, Rom 2: 14-16
But it is inadequate in providing the solution. To this we must turn to special revelation.
Special revelation is God revealing Himself in supernatural ways. The two most common is that of miracles and that of the Scriptures. The Scriptures are Special Revelation.
Hebrews 1:1
Special revelation is necessary because General revelation does not disclose the means of salvation. Special revelation does, as seen in the Scriptures.
Special revelation is also necessary because we are blinded by sin and therefore it is only through special revelation we are made aware of our situation and the means of salvation.
Col 3: 10
This still begs the question of how exactly does special revelation work, how does God put the right words in a person’s mind, how does he make sure what he wants written is written? The exact means is a mystery. By mystery I do not mean it cannot be understood but, that we do not understand. Our sinful nature blinds us to the understanding. What is clear is that special revelation is supernatural in action. It is God’s intervention into the natural structure of life.
Will there be any new books to the Bible
The question of special revelation presents a very interesting question, “Will there be any new books of the Bible?” The answer is no. While God still acts through special revelation the Scriptures are complete. All we need to know in understanding God’s plan of salvation and our role is found within the Scripture. There is no need to take away and there is no need to add.
Friday, September 7, 2007
Theology for the real world: What is Theology
A. What is Theology
When you hear the word Theology what comes to mind?
Theology is not the study of God. We do not study God. It is about understanding our relationship to God and God’s relationship to us and the world. It is human talk about the divine.
We are going to look at Biblical theology. The term Biblical theology first appeared in 1708, in C. Haymann’s Biblische Theologie, I just say that to look impressive. What I do want to point out is that we are going to be looking at Theology from a Christian worldview and will be using the Bible as our authoritative source. We will talk later about why I call it authoritative.
CS Lewis in The Joyful Christian gives a great allegory to explain Theology.
Imagine a person who sees the Atlantic Ocean. Then goes and looks at a map. He is turning from the real thing to something less real. But there are two very important things about the map.
One, it is based what hundreds and thousands of people have found out by sailing the real Atlantic.
Two, if you want to go anywhere beyond just a short walk on the beach the map is necessary.
In the same way, Theology is a map. It is not the real thing but it is based on hundreds of people who have been in touch with God. It also is key in helping us grow deeper in our faith, to move beyond a touchy feely sort of religion.
B. Why do Theology
There are numerous reasons to study theology but here are three in particular:
1. It is there in the Scriptures
Theology occurs in the very pages of the Bible. This occurs because the Scriptures (unlike the Koran or the Book of Mormon) are not presented as having fallen from heaven. Although divinely inspired, and at times directly quoting God, the Scriptures were written by human beings over thousands of years. By its very nature then the writers are doing Theology. They share not only their reactions and relationship to God but also that of others and at times entire nations.
This brings with it a problem because we must interpret what these writers are sharing and how it applies to our lives today.
2. Necessary in communicating the Christian faith
Often when we think about telling others about Christianity we think of sharing the Gospel. But did you ever realize that to do so we use Theology?
Perhaps the best example of this is the Roman road, a collection of verses taken from the book of Romans that explains salvation. But did you realize that the book of Romans is itself a book of theology in which Paul explains God’s plan of salvation throughout time. The message he shares is universally true but some of his wording is not. So even though we use the verses we also rely upon Theology to help explain them in the 21st century America.
3. It aids in defending the Christian faith?
When I say "defend" I am not saying that Christianity’s survival rests upon us. If every Christian were to fall down dead today the message of Jesus Christ would continue. Why? Because it is truth and not opinions.
Too often we talk of winning the hearts and minds, this is persuasion. Persuasion has nothing to do with Truth but of winning a person over to your opinion. But God is truth. And what we do in theology is help people to see and accept the truth.
Augustine, an early church leader, used theology to help explain Christianity to the Roman society that was untrusting of it and filled with false ideas. The City of God is one of the best known examples.
C. The dangers of Theology
Theology does have it’s danger. Consider the imagery provided by CS Lewis when he talked about Theology being like map making:
1. When the maker does a poor job
If someone just drew a map on how they thought the world should look or were simply sloppy in their work the map would be useless or cause those who read it to get lost.
Theology that is based simply on how we feel or done poorly does the same thing. It presents an understanding of God that is not true and can lead others astray.
This is the reason for so many cults.
2. When the map becomes more important than the real thing
A map is great, but the point is to help get you to the location so you can enjoy the real thing.
Likewise, Theology is intended to help you in your relationship with God. Do not become so bogged down in the study that you miss the reason for doing so.
This is what has often been the cause of liberal scholarship.
3. When we hold on to faulty maps
Some maps are just wrong. New information or reexamination shows the map to be faulty.
Likewise, there are times when some theology, no matter how popular, is just wrong needs to clarified. It was Martin Luther’s willingness to do theology (on Romans of all things) that caused him to challenge the theology of that day and set forward the protestant reformation.
Holding to faulty maps causes legalism.
D. Being Theologians
The solution is not to abandon the maps. All that will do is get you further lost. Nor is the solution to jut go it on your own. The solution is to learn how to read the map and eventually become a map maker.
We are all called to be theologians or at least practice theology. Studying and discussing it is just the start. You also need to do it.
When you hear the word Theology what comes to mind?
Theology is not the study of God. We do not study God. It is about understanding our relationship to God and God’s relationship to us and the world. It is human talk about the divine.
We are going to look at Biblical theology. The term Biblical theology first appeared in 1708, in C. Haymann’s Biblische Theologie, I just say that to look impressive. What I do want to point out is that we are going to be looking at Theology from a Christian worldview and will be using the Bible as our authoritative source. We will talk later about why I call it authoritative.
CS Lewis in The Joyful Christian gives a great allegory to explain Theology.
Imagine a person who sees the Atlantic Ocean. Then goes and looks at a map. He is turning from the real thing to something less real. But there are two very important things about the map.
One, it is based what hundreds and thousands of people have found out by sailing the real Atlantic.
Two, if you want to go anywhere beyond just a short walk on the beach the map is necessary.
In the same way, Theology is a map. It is not the real thing but it is based on hundreds of people who have been in touch with God. It also is key in helping us grow deeper in our faith, to move beyond a touchy feely sort of religion.
B. Why do Theology
There are numerous reasons to study theology but here are three in particular:
1. It is there in the Scriptures
Theology occurs in the very pages of the Bible. This occurs because the Scriptures (unlike the Koran or the Book of Mormon) are not presented as having fallen from heaven. Although divinely inspired, and at times directly quoting God, the Scriptures were written by human beings over thousands of years. By its very nature then the writers are doing Theology. They share not only their reactions and relationship to God but also that of others and at times entire nations.
This brings with it a problem because we must interpret what these writers are sharing and how it applies to our lives today.
2. Necessary in communicating the Christian faith
Often when we think about telling others about Christianity we think of sharing the Gospel. But did you ever realize that to do so we use Theology?
Perhaps the best example of this is the Roman road, a collection of verses taken from the book of Romans that explains salvation. But did you realize that the book of Romans is itself a book of theology in which Paul explains God’s plan of salvation throughout time. The message he shares is universally true but some of his wording is not. So even though we use the verses we also rely upon Theology to help explain them in the 21st century America.
3. It aids in defending the Christian faith?
When I say "defend" I am not saying that Christianity’s survival rests upon us. If every Christian were to fall down dead today the message of Jesus Christ would continue. Why? Because it is truth and not opinions.
Too often we talk of winning the hearts and minds, this is persuasion. Persuasion has nothing to do with Truth but of winning a person over to your opinion. But God is truth. And what we do in theology is help people to see and accept the truth.
Augustine, an early church leader, used theology to help explain Christianity to the Roman society that was untrusting of it and filled with false ideas. The City of God is one of the best known examples.
C. The dangers of Theology
Theology does have it’s danger. Consider the imagery provided by CS Lewis when he talked about Theology being like map making:
1. When the maker does a poor job
If someone just drew a map on how they thought the world should look or were simply sloppy in their work the map would be useless or cause those who read it to get lost.
Theology that is based simply on how we feel or done poorly does the same thing. It presents an understanding of God that is not true and can lead others astray.
This is the reason for so many cults.
2. When the map becomes more important than the real thing
A map is great, but the point is to help get you to the location so you can enjoy the real thing.
Likewise, Theology is intended to help you in your relationship with God. Do not become so bogged down in the study that you miss the reason for doing so.
This is what has often been the cause of liberal scholarship.
3. When we hold on to faulty maps
Some maps are just wrong. New information or reexamination shows the map to be faulty.
Likewise, there are times when some theology, no matter how popular, is just wrong needs to clarified. It was Martin Luther’s willingness to do theology (on Romans of all things) that caused him to challenge the theology of that day and set forward the protestant reformation.
Holding to faulty maps causes legalism.
D. Being Theologians
The solution is not to abandon the maps. All that will do is get you further lost. Nor is the solution to jut go it on your own. The solution is to learn how to read the map and eventually become a map maker.
We are all called to be theologians or at least practice theology. Studying and discussing it is just the start. You also need to do it.
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