02.22.06

Number of the Beast

Posted in Rants, Religion, amusements, comics at 10:16 am by spryken

Revelation 3:17 so that no-one could buy or sell unless he had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of his name.

Some have claimed that the National ID will fulfill this scripture. I am not convinced that the Book of Revelation is prophecy as we understand prophecy. That is the foretelling of the future. Prophecy, strictly speaking, is Forth Telling or proclaiming, not predicting. And the Book of Revelation is actually Apocalyptic Literature, which is a separate genre’ of writing. The basic message is “Things are bad, they are going to get worse. But hold on to your faith, because we win in the end.”

The National ID is a scary proposition. Just think George Orwell and Big Brother. Now, with all of that said, a friend sent me this link, a fun, amusing and yes, scary view of that future(Audio Warning). It may be closer than we think.

01.13.06

If you can’t believe the Bible…

Posted in Religion at 4:09 pm by spryken

I was not going to tackle “Inerrancy”. NO WAY, NO HOW!!!!

My friend Bob had asked about a church he was visiting. It seems they used the word “inerrancy” and he wondered what it meant. I shared that it was the belief that the Bible is the literal word of God, without error. I didn’t want to get into the deeper theological discussion of whose translation was THE INERRANT translation. This is just too hot of a topic. It incites strong passions on both sides of the argument.

Yesterday, as I was posting You’re Baptist, aren’t you, I resolved that I would not address Inerrancy in my blog. Then the Raleigh News and Observer published
If you can’t believe the Bible…. I couldn’t believe it. Here was the topic I didn’t want to address.

Oh well. It is not that I am ashamed of my beliefs. It is just that I dislike arguing with people that are so convinced they are correct that they have turned off their reasoning.

When I was in Seminary, I studied the Biblical Greek and Hebrew. There were so many different manuscripts that had slight differences. The issue of inerrancy seemed silly. I mean really, I can possibly agree that the original texts were the “Literal Word of God” and so inerrant. But, after so many copies and translations and with the differences in the manuscripts we do have, I have to say that what we have as the Bible cannot be the “Literal Word of God”.

However, I have to disagree with Dr. Ehrman. I still believe the Bible is the Inspired Word of God. I believe God has spoken to man and has left us His teachings. But I also believe that as God has always worked through mankind, he has allowed His Word to come through mankind. When I study the Bible, I always try to look at more than one translation. I also try to consider the agenda of the translators. I don’t mean that translators consciously attempted to intrepret the scripture for their own ends, but every one approachs all tasks with their own filters. Our life experiences change the way we see the world.

Some Christians seem to need to have someone else take responsibility for what they believe. They want to know what is right and what is wrong. And they want it absolute. I’m afraid that we live in the real world. There are very few absolutes. The true Christian life is lived in the struggle of here and now. We are called to be Christ to others in this life. That means tackling problems that did not exist when He walked the earth as a man.

There are no easy answers. Inerrant, I don’t think so; Inspired, yes.

01.12.06

You’re Baptist, aren’t you?

Posted in Baptist, Religion at 6:57 am by spryken

“You’re Baptist, aren’t you?” So my friend Bob started the conversation. He has lately started visiting a non-denominational church and wanted to run some thoughts by me. He knows that I am baptist and have a Masters of Divinity from a Southern Baptist Seminary. However; he also knows that I am not a typical baptist.

Now, what do I mean by “not a typical baptist”? Well, I drink alcohol for one thing. Sure, a lot of baptists drink, but the stance of the Southern Baptist Convention(SBC) is that the consumption of alcohol is wrong, immoral, a sin. So a lot of baptists are closet drinkers. An old joke illustates this point…..

Q: What’s the difference between a baptist and a methodist?

A: A methodist will say ‘Hi’ in the liqour store.

I am Pro-Choice. I do not believe in Inerrancy as defined by a lot of conservatives. I do believe that “All scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness” (II Timothy 3:16). I believe that all believers are capable of reading and interpreting the Bible. I also believe that every Christian should be a member of a local church and attend it. Individual study is great, but group discussion and debate can help prevent wild intrepretations.

So, I am not “Typical”.

Lately, I have been attending a Catholic church. My girlfriend and her 2 sons are Catholic. Again, not typical. I know some baptists that just barely believe that Catholics are Christian. And others who believe that Catholics are not Christian. My mom is resigned to the fact. She says, “at least he’s going to church”.
Even with all the differences I have with the main stream Southern Baptist church, I am still baptist. I believe in “Adult Baptism”, that is baptism of believers. I believe in the “Priesthood of the Believer”, that is that all are ministers. I believe in “Soul Competency”, that is everyone can read and interpret the scriptures. To me, these are the basic doctrines that make a baptist. And I wholeheartedly believe every one of them.

So yes, I’m baptist.