Rightly handling the Word

I don't think any Christian would disagree that Bible study is important, both individual and in a group, however I am coming to see that the way in which we study the Bible is also important, particularly given the recent rise in alternative methods such as Lectio Divina. I am not going to comment on that particular method here, but would encourage anyone who is interested to follow this link. Instead I want to concentrate on an increasingly common way of doing Bible study, particularly in groups, where those involved are encouraged not just to read the passage and understand it but to try and think their way into the emotions of the characters, including the writer of the passage. It is meant to be a way of making the scriptures come alive, and it can be quite successful in doing that, however it can also be fraught with dangers, the main one being that we read our own emotions into the story.

Feelings are not ignored in the Bible - one only has to read the Psalms to see that - however many of the stories in the Bible tell of what people did, rather than what they felt. The type of study mentioned above seeks to fill in this gap, however I can't help but wonder if we are really meant to do that. If God wanted us to know how individuals felt, would he not have said so? When we read emotions into a passage primarily concerned with actions, are we not adding to scripture? In Jeremiah 17:9 we read that 'The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure.' however in the next verse we find that 'I the Lord search the heart and examine the mind, to reward a man according to his conduct, according to what his deeds deserve.' (NIV - emphasis mine.) So our emotions (which come from the heart) are not to be trusted but God rewards us according to what we do, rather than feel, which is a relief, to me anyway.

It seems to me that the rise in popularity of this kind of Bible study is linked to the general rise of Romanticism in the church - the elevation of imagination to the status of revelation, the elevation of experience over obedience, the elevation of emotion over action. Christianity ultimately is a decision, not a feeling. It is not of works but true faith manifests itself in works i.e. actions. Perhaps that is why so many Bible stories are about actions, not feelings.

On the road to Rome?

As a sign of how far the ecumenical spirit has penetrated the protestant, evangelical church in Scotland I need look no further than the Christmas Eve Watchnight Service in Stornoway, which included representatives from the Roman Catholic church, the Church of Scotland and the Free Church and which was broadcast on BBC Alba. Unsurprisingly, this ecumenical event has stirred up some controversy in the Western Isles and further afield. I personally am not surprised after I heard the Rev David Robertson, minister of St Peter's Free Church, Dundee, saying on Radio Scotland that he welcomed the Pope as a fellow Christian when the Pope visited Scotland last year. With influential voices such as that in the Free Church it is not difficult to understand how, in the space of one generation, the Free Church should abandon its fundamental beliefs to the extent of having a joint service with the Roman Catholic Church.

The Free Church (Continuing) may seem like a voice crying in the wilderness as they remonstrate with their erstwhile colleagues, all the more so given their seemingly hopelessly outdated beliefs in the Pope as the Anti-Christ, however events now fast-unfolding in Europe and on the world stage now begin to give some credence to this belief. The Bible makes clear that, in the last days, there will be a global financial system which true believers cannot be part of because it is inextricably linked with a one-world order or government, led by the Anti-Christ. There will also be a false prophet who will encourage all people to worship the Anti-Christ, ie a global false religion. With that in mind, consider the following:

Rome regards all protestants as apostates who need to be brought back into the fold, forcibly if necessary, however the current strategy is assimilation back into the Roman Catholic Church by stealth. Hence the rise in mysticism, icons, labyrinths and monasticism in certain parts of the church, in particular what is called the 'emerging' church. Add to this the ecumenical movement which seeks to portray those who hold to the teachings of Rome as fellow Christians. Then consider the steps being taken to heal the historic breach between the Roman and Orthodox churches, along with overtures from Rome to the Muslim world, who also venerate Mary.

If that doesn't worry you, look at Europe. The European Union is a reincarnation of the Holy Roman Empire (962-1806), which was centred on Germany. All it needs to be complete is political union (which won't be long in coming due to the crisis with the Euro), a common leader and a common religion. No prizes for guessing what that religion will be. If you are still not convinced, take a look at this article and the Vatican article which it references. (The Vatican article is a bit hard-going but do read the last 20 or so lines, which are scary enough even without the rest of it.)

All I can say is that thank God there are still some churches, the FCC included, which have not succumbed to the wiles of Rome. Would that there were more like them!

Only half the story

It was good to hear the Queen giving an unashamedly Christian Christmas message yesterday which emphasised the importance of family and community and, dare I say it, marriage between a man and a woman. It was better than many of her recent Christmas messages, so much so that it seems a shame to take issue with it, however...

I do have a problem with her saying that 'we sometimes need saving from ourselves' because I think we need saving from ourselves all the time. I also think that while forgiveness is at the heart of the Christian faith, as the Queen said, the message of forgiveness in Christ came after John the Baptist's call to repentance. One of the problems in our society today is the emphasis on love, reconciliation and rehabilitation without the requisite repentance and confession of wrong-doing. Indeed, how often do we hear on the news that some politician or other public person has 'denied any wrong-doing'. It has almost become a mantra. Our prisons are full of repeat offenders who have manifestly not repented of their crimes because society has more sympathy for them than for their victims.

Until our society heeds the call of John the Baptist it will not know the peace that comes through Christ.

'The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, prepare ye the way of the Lord' - Isaiah 40:3 (KJV)

Merry Christmas!

Wishing all my readers a very merry Christmas and a peaceful New Year.
Unashamed Arminian

Is there a Way of Escape?

The Daniel Project Movie – a review

The Daniel Project is a film about end-times Bible prophecy, produced in Scotland. It is being hyped as 'the most important film of the century?' and a 'film that some want to ban'. If that isn't enough to persuade you to buy it, the trailer on the film's website talks about a 'journey of a lifetime'....'life changing for all of us'...'only the wise will understand and live'...'tumultous events'......(if you listen long enough to get past the funny voices of presenter Jeremy Hitchin). The subtitle of the film (which for some reason is written in the Greek alphabet) is 'Only the Wise will Understand' and the overall impression I got is that Armageddon is about to happen but if you are wise, you will survive.

Really?

The phrase 'only the wise will understand' comes from the book of Daniel, chapter 12 verse 10. Unfortunately for the film makers, there is a full stop after the word 'understand' in Daniel. How inconvenient! However that doesn't seem to stop them using the phrase 'only the wise will understand and live' – after all, it sounds a lot better than the original and they are not claiming Daniel said it. Let's face it – anyone with any sense wants to escape Armageddon and any film which might offer information on how to do that is going to be pretty attractive. Someone has done their marketing homework.

OK, supposing you've fallen for it and bought the DVD. What exactly are you getting? Well it's a very slick, professional production. Thankfully Jeremy Hitchin leaves his funny voices at home and does a very reasonable job of presenting, looking suitably worried when the script requires it without going OTT. There's a long list of experts to back up the claims of fulfilled prophecy in the movie, most of whom I've never heard of before. (Interestingly, quite a few of them are Jewish or from a Jewish background. Perhaps not surprising given the nature of the prophecies.) The film has a lot of good material in it but could be shorter if a lot of repetition at the end was cut out – at 85 minutes it is definitely a bit on the long side for my liking.

What you will not get in this film, in my opinion, is a clear definition of how the 'wise will ... live'. Jacob Prasch, Director of Moriel Ministries and the film's main expert, says early on in the film that 'God gives the prophecy for our best interests so we will know what kind of action to take in anticipation of these events' and 'you need to know what it means for you'. It would be nice if the film then went on to give us some guidance regarding the action we should take but if it does, I missed it. Twice in the film Prasch says 'we are also warned by Daniel there will be an escape'. Are we? I can't find anything in the book of Daniel which says this. Near the end of the film Prasch says 'The New Testament teaches that when these events begin to unfold, at some point, there will be, for the righteous, a way of escape.' Where in the New Testament does it teach this? Chapter and verse would be helpful, as it would with the final prophecy, Prophecy 20 - 'Only the wise will understand and escape', because I can't find that phrase anywhere in my Bible.

Which leads me on to another question – who exactly is this film aimed at? I first heard of it via a round-robin email from a Christian acquaintance. I've been told that the film makers are Christian and at the moment it seems that Christians are the main ones interested in the film, however the email mentions world-wide cinema and TV. Regardless of whether the film is aimed at Christians or non-Christians, the inclusion of references to escape is a problem to me. I think that some Christians could well interpret the film as saying that when persecution comes, there will be a way of escape for them. I don't personally believe that that is true, much though I'd like it to be! We need to be preparing ourselves for hard times, not looking to be beamed up out of them! If the film is meant to be aimed at non-Christians then, I'm sorry, but I just don't think the message that the 'way of escape' is through faith in Christ, and Christ alone, comes through clear enough.

It may be that the film makers have avoided an explicit Christian message in order to get into the secular TV market. If this is so, it is a great pity because a) I suspect that their strategy will fail and the film will still not get a broad showing and b) they have possibly lost an opportunity to give a clear and unambiguous presentation of the way of salvation, albeit to a smaller audience. And that, to me, is a shame.

121 speak with forked tongue?

Well, the Church of Scotland has got its knickers in a twist and no mistake. Just before the end of the Scottish Government's consultation, it finally came out and said that the laws on marriage should not be changed to allow same-sex marriage. That must have taken some soul-searching on the part of 121 (George Street – HQ of the church). Given that we already have at least one minister who has been openly living with a same-sex partner in a CofS manse, what this latest pronouncement means is that the CofS has ditched the requirement that sex should be kept only for within marriage. To put it another way, by upholding one part of Scripture, the CofS has effectively denied another. Forked tongue indeed. It will be interesting to see how they slither their way out of this one.....

When is a Denomination not a Denomination?

When the members of that denomination cannot worship in some of the churches ostensibly belonging to the same denomination because of fundamental differences regarding the nature of worship. I refer of course to the current situation in the Free Church of Scotland. Much was made at the time of the vote on worship last year about the preservation of unity in the face of major differences, however the upshot is that some members now cannot worship happily in all Free Churches. And surely that is the whole point of a denomination – that a member can go to another church in the same denomination knowing that their beliefs and style of worship will be very similar to those in his home church. Since that is no longer the case, would it not be better for the Free Church to admit it and split amicably?

Did God really say?

A friend recently attended the ladies Bible study of a conservative, evangelical church for the first time and probably the last. Not that she had any problem with the study, which was looking at the life of one of the disciples. It was the conversation on homosexuality which took place after someone mentioned the case of the christian couple who are no longer allowed to foster because of their christian beliefs. She was horrified to hear how far Satan's deception had penetrated into even this once-conservative denomination. Statements such as 'God made people to be gay' and 'gay people are born that way' were made as if they were fact.

Let me just digress a moment to remind you what the actual facts are viz

1. there is no scientific evidence that anyone is born gay
2. there is no biblical evidence to support the view that God creates some people homosexuals
3. there is no evidence that sexual orientation is fixed from birth
4. there is evidence that people can and do change their sexual orientation – eg the book Setting Love in Order by Mario Bergner

Back to the Bible study, although, by this stage, calling it that sounds like it could be a breach of the Trade Descriptions Act since very little reference to the Bible was being made in the conversation. Instead, a lot of man-made wisdom was being touted as if it were gospel. The bottom line seemed to be that God couldn't be very loving if he made people homosexual and then denied them the chance to marry someone of their own sex. Put like that, the argument that gay is OK sounds very reasonable and those who took a biblical stand, my friend included, were left feeling that they were being unreasonable and unkind.

However the real bottom line is this – did God really say? (Gen 3:1) Just as Satan deceived Eve by getting her to question what God had said, and the motivation behind it, so he has deceived the poor women in that Bible study. Instead of believing God's word they have believed the lies of man and have elevated their own feelings and opinions above the Word of God. They have quite literally exchanged the truth for a lie (Rom 1:25). Either you believe the Bible or you don't. There is no middle ground. That is the battle in these last days and it is being carried into even formerly conservative evangelical churches by those who call themselves christians but who are not. There is only one way to answer such attacks – 'it is written' (Matt 4:4).