Recently during a discussion about class curriculum my position on scripture and why I preferred it over various books as a platform for Sunday School study was in all honestly a bit dogmatic. I was asked …why scripture? ….Consider this…To most Christians their conviction is that Scripture is the primary source and criterion for Christian doctrine. Keeping the definition simple scripture is the sacred writings of Christianity contained in the Christian Bible. There are many different faiths and religions in this world that contain sacred scripture, or the revered texts, of the world’s religions. Scriptures comprise a large part of the literature of the world. (Britannica) The point here is we are discussing scripture contained in the Christian Bible. First, we need to clarify some terms that are common when discussing Biblical Scripture. The word “canon” comes from the rule of law that was used to determine if a book measured up to a certain standard regarded by the Christian or Jewish community as part of the Bible. Consider this…Christianity as we know it did not start out defining God, Jesus Christ, or salvation. As I researched for this blog and tried to process all the information that was available to me, it became apparent to me that one truth stood out. Our Christian precepts of who God is, of Jesus Christ or even our salvation, can be found only in the authority of Scripture. Now that is humdinger of a statement for me, a layman to make. I write that because there is a whole world of theological truth to be understood. The truth is If we cannot identify what Scripture is, we will be hard pressed to properly distinguish any theological truth from error.  

Some other points of interest can be made just by human logic. Jude had something to say that we can take to heart… Our faith is being defined by scripture that has been given by and through God to the Saints and it is given to the benefit of all Christians. 2nd Timothy 3:16,17 confirms that. There are other things implied as well. God’s word gives us strength to function in this world, through the word we have freedom. The word of God creates and sustains life and gives us hope. There is of course the importance of hearing and reading the word, because through the word we come to receive The Holy Spirit, just as Jesus promised us we would. The clear fact is that Scripture awakens and strengthens our Faith. This brings me to my final point. The repository we have been given is the Christian Bible, God’s Word, which helps us to Discern God’s character and provides us God’s revelation of himself to his people. 

What is the importance of the Bible? There are as many answers for that question as there are stars. Well, maybe I overstate that a bit. Point being the importance of the Bible is impossible to overstate. Importance is best revealed by what the Bible tells us about itself, that is all that matters. I may be repeating myself, but at my age repetition is good for retention.  The Bible is: 

-the inspired word of God

-reveals His sovereignty and power

-character and nature

-wisdom and guidance for making our way through life

-God’s word is eternal…. Isaiah 40:8 The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever. 

I enjoy reading God’s word, studying and seeking its meaning in my life and putting it to use. There is joy in the word. I Pray that you too can find that joy and I feel blessed that I can share my joy with you.

Philippians 4:

6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

Life is Good

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The Book of Sirach or Ecclesiasticus is a Jewish work, originally in Hebrew, of ethical teachings, from approximately 200 to 175 BCE, written by the Judahite scribe Ben Sira of Jerusalem, on the inspiration of his father Joshua son of Sirach, sometimes called Jesus son of Sirach or Yeshua ben Eliezer ben Sira”. (Wikipedia)

One more time back to the Apocrypha, this time Sirach, The Wisdom Book. Two centuries before Christ the son of Sirach wrote this book. Simply put it is about the traditions and teachings of the sages, sort of a synthesis, that forms a combination of ideas to form a theory. He was well established and respected, a head of an important household with servants. He maintained that it was the writings of the sacred books that had taught him the secret of success. It was his intent to share what he had learned in the sacred books which he believed were the reasons for his success. At that time many Jews were attracted by the Greek culture, believing their religion was antiquated, or in today’s world…old…outdated. This man’s belief was that no other nation had a God or faith such as Israel. It was his task to present a God that inspired such faith, the faith of Israel to the world. There was no other nation with anything of wisdom superior to that of God’s people. God’s wisdom dwelled among their nation because of divine decree. The book shows us how the Law of God leads people to a much kinder way, more intelligent, and more responsible personal and social life. In some ways there are maxims that mirror scripture. Many sources believe it to have two main parts. The first being Chapters 1-42, with seven series of maxims in praise of wisdom. Chapters 43-51, praising God for the order of the universe and the wise use of God’s wisdom through the great people of the Old Testament and yes, consider these things as you read this blog. 

Taken from got questions.org :

“The book of Sirach is part of what is considered the Apocrypha/Deuterocanonical scripture and appears in the Old Testament of Catholic Bible. It is considered one of the  Wisdom books. Except for some Episcopal or Lutheran Bibles, Sirach and other books of the Apocrypha do not appear in Protestant Bibles. Sirach, also known as “Ecclesiasticus” or the Wisdom of Sirach is one of 12–15 books generally recognized as comprising the Apocrypha.”

One point to consider would be that many biblical scholars point out that Jesus never quoted any verses from the Apocrypha while it is known that He quoted often from the Old Testament books. It must be noted that Jewish Scripture never included any of these documents as sacred writings. Do not be misled, The Pews intent here is to simply widen our readers knowledge and understanding of the existence of other period writings. Please note… “It does  possess a wealth of varied expressions of wise and foolish behavior reminiscent of the book of Proverbs.” (gotquestions.org) 

It is necessary that we note that there can be found some sound biblical doctrine within this book but there is still much more that conflicts  significantly with good Christian beliefs. This book is not part of the recognized canon of Scripture due to the fact that it is not the inspired Word of God. Many turn to this scripture to explain the view of most scholars.

2 Timothy 3:16 (ESV)

16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness…

The book makes for good reading is useful to expand our knowledge of times before Jesus came. We must not set aside the fact that the Jewish faith is interwoven with our own road to the cross and our adoption into the “The Family of God”.

Life is Good

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16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:17 That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.

Back in The Pew and God’s word, well, almost. The Pew is focused each week on sharing the word of God through the writings of the Prophets who told of his coming also the Apostles who followed and spent time with him. Those saints of past times who through divine guidance have provided us with a record of His ministry. 2 Timothy provides one path of giving us a rock solid definition of Scripture as it is intended to be.There are many great writings that don’t reach that level but they can widen our understanding of the depth and width of those things of value that encourage a life of worth. Knowledge is obtainable…but Wisdom comes only through God. To go beyond the word today it will be necessary to visit some books that are disputed as to where they need to be. First off let’s put forth their family name… often referred to as the Apocrypha, meaning “hidden.” Written primarily in the time between the Old and New Testaments the following is from gotquestions.org…

“The Wisdom of Solomon, also called the Book of Wisdom, is one of the books of the Apocrypha. Others in the group include 1 and 2 Esdras, Tobit, Judith, Ecclesiasticus, Baruch, the Letter of Jeremiah, Prayer of Manasseh, and 1 and 2 Maccabees. Most of the books of the Apocrypha are accepted by the Roman Catholic Church and are included in Catholic Bibles. The Apocrypha/Deuterocanonical books teach many things that are not true and are not historically accurate. The Roman Catholic Church officially added the Apocrypha/Deuterocanonicals to their Bible at the Council of Trent in the mid-1500s AD, primarily in response to the Protestant Reformation. None of the apocryphal books are included in the canon of Scripture.” Because of the historical and theological errors, the books, including The Wisdom of Solomon, must be viewed as fallible historical and religious documents, not as the inspired, authoritative Word of God. This week we open with The Book of Wisdom, written about fifty years before the coming of Christ. We do not know who the author is but historical speculation leads to the belief it was probably a member of the Jewish community at Alexandria, in Egypt. It was written in Greek but patterned in style on the Hebrew verse. 

This author has a profound knowledge of the earlier Old Testament writings and it is reflected in almost every line of this book. It was the purpose of the author to lift up those who where of like mind and were suffering and experiencing oppression at the hands of apostate fellow Jews. These Jews had abandoned their religious beliefs and principals. His message  made use of the most popular religious themes of his time, namely the splendor and worth of divine wisdom. We will move from The Book OF Wisdom to The Letter of Jeremiah, also called the Epistle of Jeremy, is also one of the books of the Apocrypha.

What is the Letter of Jeremiah? The earliest manuscripts of the Letter of Jeremiah are in Greek. It is thought among theological scholars to have originally been written in Hebrew or Aramaic,  The point to be considered is that it is not a letter, nor is it from Jeremiah because it is thought to have  been written nearly 300 years after Jeremiah’s call to prophecy. Most of the text concerns  warnings about the idolatry they will be exposed to in Babylon and the uselessness of such things. The exiles are encouraged to   avoid such idolatry. I remind you that like all apocryphal books, this one cannot be considered to be the inspired Word of God. Consider this…To be an informed and knowledgeable follower of our Lord we must know what we believe and why. More next week.

Life is Good

jk

A short note to start off. I was going through some older blogs and found this one that never really made it from the computer to the page. I wrote it in January of 2020. After reading it I was struck by the fact that if anything…very little had changed. Last week “The Pew” dealt with a problem that has been around for a while…so I thought I just might linger outside the pew a little longer. I could have renamed it An “Old Man’s Lament” but passed it by. Next week we will get back in the “Pew” and back to God’s word. Thanks for reading and I hope I do not offend anyone.

 Off The Soap Box…and Dancing With The Devil 

The past year has been filled with hate, distrust, lies and the prejudice of power. I see a system that has put an asterisk besides those phrases “nation under God and Liberty and Justice for all.” Justice has become subservient to power. God has become an afterthought and the definition of liberty is defined by social and cultural pressure. It would not surprise me if Webster decided to re-write that one. We are a nation divided, we are involved in a civil war but without the armies. As noted earlier we have set aside the principles of justice for the acquisition of power and reason and fact has fallen to social and cultural pressures. We find “lady wisdom” in status and celebrity, ignoring the process of reason, thought, knowledge and experience and leave “truth” to baseless accusations and selfish agendas. Our nation is a mess. I will leave it up to you how big a mess but I think we can all agree it is a mess. I assign this mess to changing values and a culture of not us but me. A need for safe places, political correctness and a state of “it’s my right” kind of mentality has taken the place of just good ole courtesy and respect for others along with the disturbing trend of a loss of value for life itself. I would look to this business of political correctness and an old buzz words of years past like inclusiveness, to provide some sense of direction to this mess. Let’s start with being politically correct… “conforming to a belief that language and practices which could offend political sensibilities (as in matters of sex or race) should be eliminated” ( Merriam Webster’s  definition…) One more definition before we move on. This one is from Wikipedia: “Political correctness is a term used to describe language, policies, or measures that are intended to avoid offense or disadvantage to members of particular groups in society.” Such effort is worthy of consideration but like many good intentions there are always those who seek to take advantage of a good thing. Political correctness has now become a selective thing driven by the pressures of society and cultural influences. One other motivator of our behavior towards others is the practice of inclusiveness.

The old way of social inclusion is defined as such: “Social inclusion is the process of improving the terms on which individuals and groups take part in society—improving the ability, opportunity, and dignity of those disadvantaged on the basis of their identity.” We have now moved on to a higher standard, a culturally inclusive-environment, that brings with it a new set of standards to be considered which is now recognized as Cultural Inclusiveness. ‘Cultural inclusiveness addresses and supports the needs of people from diverse cultures, and values their unique contribution. It involves ongoing awareness raising, where negotiations and compromise may be necessary …. So begins the Dance. When we move from ‘inclusiveness‘ too ‘inclusivity‘  The simplest difference is ‘inclusivity‘ it is the noun and ‘inclusiveness‘ is the adjective. The word is about not being exclusive but open to all.  (2015 teaching.unsw.edu.au)

This embracing of inclusivity changes the playing field and demands  that we embrace all things and in the politics and culture of the day, we of the faith are at a disadvantage. There is one fact that adds to my understanding of the mess we find ourselves in at this time. For decades now there has been a continual effort of removing God from our schools and I go much further in suggesting that removal extends as well to our culture and society in general. This effort has contributed to a disconnect between people in general and the value of life. Another way to look at this is a desensitizing of us as a people to the finality of death. The so called realism of today’s movies, the injection of realism into video games, the increase in on screen violence and language now found to be acceptable in motion pictures, plays along with the suggestive lyrics in some forms of music today. It is a cliche but proven fact that time changes all things but the word of God never changes. Our God is the same today and yesterday and will be for all the days to come. Time, cultures and societal changes have brought one change that is crucial to this mess we find ourselves in today. Look at these figures from a Gallup poll and article of April 18, 2019, written by Jeffrey M. Jones.

• Half of Americans are church members, down from 70% in 1999
• Most of the decline attributable to increase in percentage with no religion
• Membership has fallen nine points among those who are religious

The trend of those who respond they have no religious preference or affiliation has doubled, from 8% to 19%. It should also be noted that even those who profess a particular religious affiliation do not belong to a church or other place of worship.  (Gallup)

There are lots of numbers to play with here but one fact lurking behind the numbers is that people in general have little or no confidence in institutions. My personal thoughts here would be people see no progress being made by their government in dealing with all the problems of these changing times. The hypocrisy of leadership in all areas of their life and the fact that justice in this world is closely aligned with a power which is fueled by those with a personal agenda, does not instill much confidence in the need for reasonable dialogue among the people. These are rather simplistic reasons by an ordinary layman. Being among the 89% of traditionalists born 1945 or earlier I have seen the church struggle for years to fight against declining membership, the inclusion of other cultures and the pressures of the demands of changing societal and moral standards. The point to be made is  ‘American relations and orientation to religion is changing and they don’t find membership in church or other faith institutions a necessary part of their religious experience.’ (Gallup, 2019)

I wrote some time back of seeing a sign on a church board that read “Tried Religion …. Try Jesus”. That sign has always stuck with me and even today it offers a message we need to hear. For four decades the Church has quietly been destroying itself from within struggling to find within scripture justification for the acceptance of a shift in social morals that do not correspond with biblical teachings. I cannot justify the space needed to present my position here but maybe instead of each side building a case for their position, maybe we ought to be building up Jesus Christ. Instead we as a nation and also the church, we both are Dancing With The Devil. The Lord’s Day Will come and the dance will end…. Who will you be going home with?

15 January, 2020

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