Category Archives: Bible

Magical science

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At end of year and Christmas there are the usual articles to show the silliness of Christianity, the imaginary existence of Jesus, and all other predictable targets. They’re always paper thin arguments, but are gobbled down as readily as the 500th chocolate-covered yuletide treat.

(For example, see this puff piece from The Conversation, but don’t miss the riposte.)

Today I want to point out one such article, one that also wonderfully illustrates one of the common modern scientific follies.

What is magical thinking? (and its picture) pretends to be about Santa Claus. Magical thinking is the “tendency to infer causation between seemingly related stimuli”, and may be seen when people “happily accept impossible explanations”. One such impossible explanation: Santa.

Magical thinking is the “tendency to infer causation between seemingly related stimuli”, and may be seen when people “happily accept impossible explanations”

Being familiar with the way of things, I knew this piece would really be about the non-existence of God. Hiding behind a convenient quotation (“It wasn’t me!”), the author needles “mainstream religion” for “hypocrisy” – calling believers in the Bible hypocrites for bagging the silliness of Scientology.

By inference – what a clever way to write, perfect deniability! – Bible belief is associated with a refusal to grow up, denial as a coping mechanism, and seeing the world as we want it to be.

The trouble is, the author herself, in the guise of science, demonstrates one of the most common types of magical thinking. There’s an increase number of people using untestable evolutionary-psychology claims. It’s pseudo-science, because it’s beyond testing. It’s a just so story – like ‘how the kookaburra got its laugh’ – but the author would be offended if you pointed out that she’s just propagating a myth.

Here’s the relevant paragraph:

From an evolutionary point of view you can see how important making these links have been to our survival. Being able to figure out what precedes what, and develop some method of prediction, can allow us to develop some control over our environment.

How does one test this? It’s magical science, an explanation after the facts. It assumes as true both cause (magical thinking) and effect (its evolutionary sense).

There’s nothing wrong with telling myths, when told honestly. There’s something seriously wrong with telling a myth and pretending it is science: that’s just a power-play and a lie.

So beware of scientists, and particularly psychological scientists, offering magical explanations for the world. It’s happening more and more frequently.

If the Jesus of Christmas is to be explained away it must be on the right terms: history and theology. As for me, I’ve well-convinced of the real life and ministry of the real Jesus, and of the real truth that the living Lord Jesus rules all things.

 


 

St Marcion’s Modern Church

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Are you interested in joining this church?

I have lost their web address – or perhaps the website has been taken down. But I did manage to salvage the church’s own description from the page. Here it is:

Welcome to St Marcion’s

Here at St Marcion’s, we love to keep up to date and new. Why? Because Jesus is so good that he makes everything else old and unhelpful.

So we read the Bible! Well, we read the new part of the Bible. (Obviously the Old Testament is old and so different – nothing good there.) No, actually, we read some of the new part of the Bible (even the New Testament has some ‘Old Testament’ hangovers, they’re easy to spot and to ignore).

Yes, we’re completely people of the Bible.

Hmm. Maybe not for me. I’m glad that Marcion was second century AD, now long gone. No one would be so crazy or arrogant nowadays to assume that new equals good. We’re all reading Old Testament as well as New Testament.

Aren’t we?

 


 

Proverbs and the meaning of words

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I admit it, I love dictionaries. These are from my Australian Pocket Oxford Dictionary:

Definition: statement of the precise meaning of a term
Proverb: short pithy saying in general use

Good, aren’t they? And true. Compare them with the following couplet:

A definition closes the gates,
but a proverb breaks down the fence

These lines also are about definition and proverbs, but so much more confusing! Who wrote that rubbish? (Oh yes. It was me.)

Although the second box is very different from the first, I think it is just as true. And more like the way we should approach Proverbs.

The wisdom of the proverbs in the Bible book of Proverbs is not a series of definitions. It is not a series of specifications of how to behave and think. More often the proverbs make creative associations. They surprise us and our minds go in unexpected directions – good and helpful directions.

Here’s one example.

Treasures gained by wickedness do not profit
but righteousness delivers from death. (Prov 10:2 esv)

If we treat this as simple prose, we get a mundane tip. ‘For a good outcome, don’t chase money but be righteous.’

Reading slowly, however, we find the unexpected and possibly confusing. Treasure is not profit? Profit defines treasure! OK, perhaps we’re meant to think of a ‘deeper’ meaning, of treasure as a metaphor for what’s really valuable.

But it’s still pretty simple. Isn’t it?

The second line of the verse doesn’t let us settle easily. This is the flip side of line one. We might expect the righteous to gain wealth by righteousness, but no. The righteous here couldn’t be bothered listing any possession at all.

Instead, the contrast with ‘no profit’ is ‘deliver from death.’ Is this meant to be a profit? And what kind of death does it mean? And – going back to acts of wickedness – are we meant to see that the unjust treasure is actually the fear of death? Perhaps the wicked possess gold as a foolish way to ignore their own impending death: how pitiful they are!

After reading this one proverb – just one! – we get a reminder of some straightforward advice. But so much more happens, and God puts so many more questions before us. We are meant to ponder and consider and enjoy the creativity of the saying. We cannot claim that we have exhausted the meaning of the text, not even of a single proverb.

 


 

Obligatory thanks

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In 2 Thessalonians 1:3, Paul, Silas and Timothy admit to a debt: ‘we ought always to give thanks to God for you.’ That is, ‘When it comes to thanks, we are obligated, we owe it.’ It’s similar in 2 Thessalonians 2:13.

I can see why some say this is not very warm or personal. Almost: if we have to then we will do it. It doesn’t help that the verse includes a second similar idea, ‘as is right’. This could be the I-suppose-I-should moment.

Yet this doesn’t tally with the sense of how close Paul was to the church of Thessalonica, in both 1 Thessalonians and 2 Thessalonians, as well as Acts. ‘You are our glory and joy’, Paul wrote (1 Thess 2:20).

So how can thanksgiving be both obligatory and personal? Here are two reasons.

First is that these words narrow in on Paul’s relationship with God. Paul is not trying to say to the church, ‘I am so thankful for our relationship’ (even though that would be true). Paul is saying, ‘Father God, your great work in these people make thanksgiving mandatory!’

(Credit: I found this idea here.)

Second, I believe Paul is teaching this church how to give thanks even in troubled times.

2 Thessalonians 1 shows us a church under great pressure: steadfast in persecution, enduring tribulation, suffering, afflicted, requiring relief. I’m not sure thanksgiving would have been at the top of their To Do list!

Despite knowing this, Paul says to the church: It is right and necessary to give thanks. You trust Jesus. Godly love is increasing. Jesus will be revealed and bring justice. Your steadfastness is visible to all.

Paul sympathises with this suffering church, and lovingly lifts their view to consider the magnitude of their blessing – so that both they and he would genuinely thank God. Perhaps they were tempted to bypass thanksgiving for a while. Perhaps they forgot about thanks because of the pressure. But thanksgiving was still obligatory.

Therefore, let’s learn to give thanks today. We can and should be thankful for warm Christian relationships. We also must learn to turn our minds to God and be thankful for all he does. And, by giving thanks, we learn how to live by faith even when life is far from easy.

 


 

Spiritual wisdom

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A great, short quotation from Graeme Goldsworthy:

The quest for empirical wisdom is not an optional exercise for dilettantes. Proverbs, and the wisdom literature in general, counter the idea that being spiritual means handing all decisions over to the leading of the Lord. The opposite in true. Proverbs reveals that the God does not make all people’s decisions for them, but rather expects them to use his gift of reason to interpret the circumstances and events of life within the framework of revelation that he has given.

(This is number five of the theological presuppositions of Proverbs, in his article ‘Proverbs’ in the New Dictionary of Biblical Theology.)

 


 

Psalm 10 and living faith

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Reading Psalm 10 for church led me to describe three types of people, with different mixes of faith and pattern of life. I came up with three terrible titles (as usual!), so want to try and explain less terribly. (The sermon recording is here.)

Practical atheist
The practical atheist believes and lives as if there is no God. At times he will say, “There is no God” (verse 4), but that’s not a philosophical position. It’s practical: in practice there is not God who does anything. God probably exists, but he’s away: “God has forgotten, he has hidden his face, he will never see it” (verse 11).

For the practical atheist, the existence (or non-existence) of God makes no difference to life. God could be real or false, biblical or Canaanite, powerful or made of ice-cream … If you’re a practical atheist, who cares?

According to Psalm 10, the result of this is arrogant injustice. The practical atheist, once holding any type of power, uses that power against others. ‘The wicked hotly pursue the poor’, “I shall not meet adversity”, ‘in hiding places he murders the innocent’.

Impractical theist
The second type of person I imagined is the direct opposite of the first. This one is a theist – one who knows the truth of God and whose life is shaped by this. The changes would include prayer and other acts of devotion. This person’s understanding is, ‘There is a God, and he sees me.’ There’s a big Amen! to verse 16: ‘The Lord is king for ever and ever’.

But it’s impractical. This person is not moved by the oppression all around. Though not unjust towards the afflicted, he or she has no urge towards justice.

This type of person is not identified in the Psalm. He’s closer to home, for us – for it could be me, or you, or any Christian. We can become immune to the pain of this world. If so, we become different from the Lord (‘you hear the cries of the afflicted’, verse 17).

Practical theist
The third ‘type’ is the practical theist. She cries out with concern, ‘Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?’ He prays, ‘Arise, O Lord; O God, lift up your hand; forget not the afflicted.’ This person is very practical and has a soft heart to the downtrodden – especially those of faith’s household (listen to the cries of Revelation 6:10, for example).

The practical theist does not allow a soft heart towards the poor to cause a hard heart towards God. Cries and prayers that apparently border on disrespect to God are really calls for God to be truly known. Effectively, ‘Show them, Lord, that you are present, that you do see, and that you rule with justice!’

The practical theist is the ideal member of God’s kingdom: compassionate and passionate, prayer-filled and theologically deep. The only one to perfectly pray Psalm 10 is Jesus – but Jesus invites all who trust him to become like him.

 


 

Solid Christian … keep listening (i)

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Here’s half a plea to people who are well-established in their Christian faith: keep listening.

(The second half of this plea is really quite similar, and will be a separate post. But I’ll give you a hint: it’s keep listening.)

There’s something I’ve noticed in Bible study groups, general Christian conversation, sermons (live and on-line), social media posts, … People who I consider as solid Christian people using the Bible very loosely.

Perhaps they throw a single Bible phrase at a complex problem as if it solves the whole question. Perhaps they rote-speak a big Bible idea (‘Christ died for us’) as if we need to say this so the conversation can get to the really interesting stuff. Perhaps they hijack a Bible passage to use it as a hook for their latest hobby horse (and ignore what the passage really says). Or perhaps they complete a Bible study with no need of a Bible – every comment is a pre-digested ‘lump’ of theology dutifully regurgitated.

Preachers become enamoured with some philosophy, or the major ’cause’. Committed church members find more pleasure in serving that learning. Initial Christian instruction feels like enough thought to last a lifetime. The activity of life makes slow pondering feel like a waste of what’s precious, our time.

Whatever form it takes, my (half) plea comes from this observation: I see solid Christians lose the wonderful joy of discovering new things in God’s word.

I understand how we can become almost too familiar with some Bible words. ‘You must be born again.’ ‘In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.’ ‘Jesus Christ is Lord.’ ‘The Lord is my shepherd.’

When we feel this over-familiarity, we need to remember the problem is in us. These truths are still wonderful, still life-giving, still refreshing. Every passage is newly a challenge – even if it’s most familiar.

See how the delight of the psalmist brackets active dedication to meditation on the Lord’s teaching:

In the way of your testimonies I delight as much as in all riches.
I will meditate on your precepts and fix my eyes on your ways.
I will delight in your statutes; I will not forget your word.
(Psalm 119:14-116)

Let’s not just see this delight and meditation in our printed Bibles. Let’s see it also in ourselves – and all the more as we mature in faith. Keep listening!

 


 

 

The gospel in two points

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The Christian announcement – the gospel – centres on Jesus. That’s the simple and joyful reality.

The Christian message also is beautiful and profound, open to expression in a rich variety of ways. After all, there are four New Testament gospels.

The simple complexity of Jesus’ truth means there are many, many great ways to speak truly about Jesus. I love that! And have a quick two point option to throw into the mix.

  1. We all judge Jesus as worthy of death
  2. God invites us to share his own view of Jesus, as Lord

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The events of Jesus’ life were remarkable: teaching, wonders, healing, gaining followers and enemies. Without doubt, Jesus’ impact came to its pinnacle in Easter week.

Jesus’ death at Easter was caused by … everybody.

Disciples abandoned Jesus or became traitor. Religious leaders condemned Jesus. The crowds who followed these leaders easily agreed to call for execution. And the world’s power, exemplified through Roman law, decided death was the only option for Jesus.

But God raised Jesus.

So now Jesus is alive. God’s view of Jesus has been established for all time: Jesus is the ruler of God’s people, and Lord of the world.

Thankfully, we can recant from our mis-judgement of Jesus. We can repent, and trust Jesus’ for forgiveness and new life.

«‹›» «‹›» «‹›» «‹›»

The biblical material I have in mind for this two point outline is mainly the preaching of Acts. Here are some of the verses from Acts, so you can test and see it this two point gospel is a fair summary.

Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it.
(2:23-24)

Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.
(2:36)

The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified his servant Jesus, whom you delivered over and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he had decided to release him.
(3:13)

let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead– by him this man is standing before you well.
(4:10)

They put him to death by hanging him on a tree, but God raised him on the third day and made him to appear
(10:39-40)

And when they had carried out all that was written of him, they took him down from the tree and laid him in a tomb. But God raised him from the dead
(13:29-30)

The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.
(17:30-31)

[Testifying] that the Christ must suffer and that, by being the first to rise from the dead, he would proclaim light both to our people and to the Gentiles.
(26:23)


 

Dead world on the cross

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But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.
Galatians 6:14

In both old and new testaments we’re reminded: Don’t boast. The good of knowing God has nothing to do with our goodness. It’s all of God, all of grace. The anti-boast warning is clear in the verse quoted above, with Paul using himself as the example.

But what about the second part of this verse? How is the world crucified?

The cross of Christ is central to Christianity. Jesus died, in accord with the Father’s will, to free a people from sin. No wonder the cross is Christianity’s prime symbol.

Even from the earliest days, the cross was never only about Jesus. The gospel narratives mention the men crucified with Jesus (Matthew 27:44, Mark 15:32, John 19:32). This crucified with description is also applied to believers (Romans 6:6, Galatians 2:19). So it’s not out of the blue to read of Paul being ‘crucified to the world’.

But I am surprised to notice that the world is crucified to Paul. How could the world be crucified? It’s mutual (both crucified to each other), so I think Paul says that the whole relationship between world and believer is revolutionised.

In relation to a believer, the world is shamed, disgraced, and broken.

The world is shamed because crucifixion is disgusting. A cross was always public humiliation. Though Jesus submitted to the cross, it’s the world that is shamed because of Jesus’ innocence and glory.

‘The world did that to the Son of the promise! What a shameful place.’

The world is disgraced because the cross proves worldly salvation foolish. Galatian Christians were tempted to follow worldly ways of salvation (in 6:15, circumcision laws are lumped in with the crucified world). In other words, followers of Christ were considering following the patterns of the world that hated Christ.

‘The world promises me life by its laws, but this world gave death to my Lord. I’m keeping well away.’

The world is broken by Christ’s cross. Before knowing life, we were enslaved by the world’s principles (Galatians 4:3). The cross sets us free – the world’s power over us is snapped.

‘Every day I lived under the world was oppression. But I love being part of the new creation.’

The practical question this leaves us with is this: where do we yet cling to the world, instead of casting it away as dead?

 


 

 

WW1 history & New Testament history

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I write one day after ANZAC Day. This dates from a battle of World War 1, which started a century ago. Next year, it will be 100 years since the Gallipoli landing – the key date for ANZAC memory.

With all these centenaries, there’s been plenty of media. There’s a guarantee that there will be so much more media coverage on 25 April 2015.

This made me realise something about history and the generations. I am old enough (still under 50) to have met WW1 veterans and talked about their military experience. My children will never know a WW1 veteran. One hundred years on, and I am one generation removed – but we are definitely into the stage of two generations removed.

One hundred years after Jesus’ execution and resurrection, there were people still around who had met eyewitnesses. The most famous claim is that Polycarp was a disciple of the apostle John. I guess (as a non-historian) it’s hard to verify the certainty of this. Yet it illustrates a point: it was perfectly reasonable that a man who died in 155 AD could have known an eyewitness to Jesus’ activities in the 30s AD. 

it was perfectly reasonable that a man who died in 155 AD could have known an eyewitness to Jesus’ activities in the 30s AD

Remember also that every book of the New Testament was written before 100 AD, many within even 30 years of Christ’s cross. These writings are so many, and from numerous authors – we don’t rely on one partial scrap of a single piece of writing.

So it surprises me that people seriously consider that there was no Jesus, no Easter, no resurrection proclaimed, no truth in the record of Jesus’ teaching.

If there’s something certain in the nature of Christianity, it’s that our faith claims real historical basis. It’s a basis I’ve never seen effectively undermined.