Why did God command a child sacrifice from Abraham? September 11, 2008
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I had just come upstairs from putting Brielle, my four year old daughter, to bed, an hour past her bedtime—as usual. Earlier, as I sat down on her bed to tuck her in I noticed she was reading from her Children’s Illustrated Bible. She immediately fired a question, “Dad, why is this guy holding a knife?” Not the sort of thing you normally hope to be your child’s last thoughts before drifting off to sleep. Caught off guard, I looked and saw that she was “reading” (or examining the picture of) the story of Abraham’s near sacrifice of his son, Isaac, in obedience to God (Gen 22). While I knew this could not be a quick answer, I immediately found myself struggling to say much of anything. I could just imagine her furrowed little brow communicating that I had left her with far more troubling questions than she had begun with. So, I rapidly regrouped and told her that I would love to explain it but that we’d need more time. “Remind me tomorrow and I’ll tell you all about it.” This all happened last night. And tonight, right at bedtime, she reminded me. This time I skipped the several false starts of explanation and went right to the bit about needing more time. But to be totally honest, it really isn’t a “bit.” I did need more time to explain the whole story. Jumping right in with a 30 second answer, neglecting the bigger context of the story, would have left her with understandable concern and even worry. And I think that for most of us adults, the situation is not all that different. (more…)
“God Is Not Dead Yet” August 5, 2008
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The past 40 or so years have seen a recovery of natural theology—and thereby, the classical arguments for the existence of God—within the field of academic philosophy. Some of the most influential philosophers of our day are not only theists, but outspoken Christian believers. We’ve even seen one of the most influential atheists of this past century, Anthony Flew, become a theist due in large part to the advances of today’s design arguments. And in conjunction with this philosophical movement is a renewed appreciation among young people for apologetics—that is, giving winsome and cogent arguments for the Christian faith. (more…)
Jesus didn’t address homosexuality…right? July 23, 2008
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A good friend of mine recently stated that we ought to give pause before tackling the morality of homosexual practice from a biblical perspective. After all, he reasoned, Jesus never even addressed it in the Gospel accounts. Therefore, as professed “followers of Jesus,” how can we be so confident on the issue? And while I think this assumption about Jesus’ supposed silence on the issue is quite common, I don’t believe it’s an informed assumption. Instead, I think that a careful examination of this assumption will both demonstrate its inadequacy, as well as give us greater confidence in understanding how Jesus views homosexual practice.
Why God’s “promises” don’t work July 15, 2008
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One of the most tragic and frustrating conversations that I have from time to time is the one that starts something like this: “I don’t understand! I’ve been living for God—praying, reading the Bible, trying to honor God with my relationships, finances, possessions, etc. But God isn’t following through on His promises. Doesn’t He promise blessing for righteousness (e.g., biblical promises to prosper the nation of Israel if they obey and trust Him).” They wonder why their experience of following God doesn’t comport with the theology that’s been peddled to them. And they are left reeling with understandable confusion and frustration. Tragically, for many, there is no one there to offer what they need most at that moment—a healthy dose of biblical truth. And as a result, some walk away from God, thinking that He simply doesn’t keep His promises. (more…)
Review of Eckhart Tolle’s book, “A New Earth” April 23, 2008
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I spoke this evening at our mid-week service here at Timberline Church. We’re in a series considering the implications of living a spirit filled/influenced life. Tonight was on “learning humbly.” We explored the idea that recognizing and submitting to objective truth (or “true truth” as Francis Schaeffer used to say) seems to be a prerequisite to being a humble learner. However, much in our culture suggests that truth is a private and subjective endeavor. One contemporary example of that come from spiritual teacher, Eckhart Tolle’s latest book, A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose. (more…)
Is God evil for destroying entire nations in the Old Testament? April 19, 2008
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While this post originally appeared last year, I thought it would be appropriate to reengage with it, given our consideration of the supposed evils of Christianity which we’ll be discussing this Sunday in our Atheism class.
I recently heard from somebody who said that he could never believe in a God who would command the destruction of an entire group of people—an act of genocide! Genocide is murdering a group of people because of a hatred of who they are. And after all, why would God destroy a group of people for being who they are (ethnically) if God made everyone in the first place? So, obviously the God described in the Old Testament, who did such things, cannot be the true God who made all people. (more…)
Does Freud’s argument against God work? April 2, 2008
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The 20th century skeptical Lutheran New Testament scholar Rudolf Bultmann stated that it is impossible for a person to live in the modern world—using “electric lights” and so forth—and still believe in spirits and miracles. Now, quite obviously there are many intellectually sophisticated people today who continue to believe in the supernatural, and who believe that being a Christian doesn’t require a person to be intellectually dishonest. However, this attitude or philosophical persuasion of modernity (as expressed by Bultmann) continues to be believed and championed by many still today. And while Bultmann represents the modernist attack on historical Christianity from the disciple of New Testament studies, the assault can be seen in many disciplines. In fact, one of the more influential attacks on belief in God from this past century came through the field of psychology—specifically, through the person of Sigmund Freud (1856-1939). But does Freud’s argument against God really work? (more…)
Was Jesus forsaken by God on the cross? March 20, 2008
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What is the meaning of Jesus’ statement spoken on the cross, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?” (Mt 27:46; Mk 15:34)? Many suggest that Jesus’ words are desperate cries out of the depths of the deepest depression imaginable, as a result from being separated from the Father. However, I tend to think that something is being missed here. There are four reasons why I would take a different interpretation.
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Women & Evidence for the Resurrection (Wed @ 7pm) March 17, 2008
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Women and the empty tomb
This Wednesday evening at 7:00pm, during our normal Journey service here at Timberline, I’ll be speaking for about 45 minutes on the historical evidence for the Resurrection of Jesus. I’ll be suggesting that the best explanation for all the evidence (see below for an outline) is that God raised Jesus from the dead. We’ll explore the evidence under three main points: the Tomb, the Appearances, and the Belief (TAB). More specifically, I mean . . . (more…)
The New Atheism — Class starting soon March 11, 2008
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Dr. Matt Hickey and I are going to be starting a new short seminar beginning the Sunday morning after Easter (3/30 @ 10am). We’ll be taking six weeks to look at the current movement which has been dubbed “the new atheism.” Below is a general outline that Matt and I are working with. We’d love to have your feedback on any of it. Also, if you’re planning on making it to any of the classes, you might be interested in doing some preliminary reading and/or listen to some free downloadable audio files online now (though it certainly isn’t expected that you know anything about atheism when you show up). So, please take a look at the below schedule, give us any of your thoughts, and check out some of the below resources (we’ll try to add to the online resources over the next couple days so keep checking back). (more…)
Jesus’ use of Haggada-questions March 4, 2008
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Jesus was well known for his skill in asking questions. Of course, he wasn’t the first person to use the tactic of questioning in order to discover the truth. In fact, we often call this methodology the Socratic method, reaching back to the ancient pagan philosopher, Socrates. He utilized this method masterfully. But Jesus did engaged in question asking as it was a part of his upbringing and cultural heritage. In fact, one snapshot we have of his early life involves him sitting in the Temple courts at the age of twelve asking questions of the city’s religious elders (Lk 2:41-52). So, clearly this was a skill which he developed and honed early on.
Toward the end of the Mark’s Gospel (Mk 12:35-37) we read of an encounter Jesus had later in his life with other religious elders in which he proposed a classical Jewish question—called a Haggada-question. And in so doing, he pushed his listeners to come to grips with who he really was. (more…)
Why does God allow disappointment? February 24, 2008
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The small group that Kristen and I are involved in has decided to trek through C. S. Lewis’ book, “The Screwtape Letters” (we’re discussing four letters/chapters each time we meet). I had read the book once before, but it’s been quite a few years since I last picked it up. If you’re not familiar with this book, I’d highly encourage you to get it. It consists of fictional letters from an elderly, retired devil (Screwtape) to a young devil (Wormwood) who has just started working on his first “patient” or human. The point of the letters is to give the reader a window into the psychology of temptation, but from the perspective of the tempters. And because it’s written from this opposite perspective, “the Enemy” refers to God, while “Our Father Below” is Satan. From our last study, there was one point in the second letter that I’ve been thinking a lot about. The elderly demon, Screwtape, tells his young apprentice that “the Enemy” (God) continually allows His people to encounter disappointment, and that this is both opportunity and danger for the demons. (more…)
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