liven your bible reading (biblical theology)

Sometimes reading the Bible can seem a bit bland and uninteresting; primarily because we just don’t know what we’re reading.  Sure, we understand the basic language (sometimes), but the coherency of it is difficult to see.  Often when we read, we see strange laws, weird sacrifices, disconnected information, confusing government structure, seemingly ambiguous symbolism, etc.  And the difficulty usually comes with our reading of the Old Testament.  So, how does all this come together?

The practice of piecing together and interpreting the Bible is called “hermeneutics.”  A good system or principle of hermeneutics will tells us how to look at the whole of the Bible.  And while there are many approaches, the “redemptive-historical” approach seems best.  This approach is often equated with the practice of “biblical theology.”

Redemptive-historical hermeneutics looks at the Bible as an organic whole – revealing a living breathing story from beginning through to the end, and the story is told, ultimately, by God.  As the story courses through human history (i.e. the “historical” part of redemptive-historical) we see that God’s revelation centers in on one overarching theme, namely, redemption (i.e. the “redemptive” part of redemptive-historical).  We need not look far to see this theme of redemption through the Bible.  One only need think of God’s promise of the “seed” after the fall (Genesis 3), or God’s saving of the human race through the family of Noah (Genesis 6-9), or God’s promise to Abraham to make him a great nation (Genesis 15), or God’s deliverance of Israel from Egypt (Exodus 14), and on and on until, ultimately, the fullest redemption is seen in Jesus Christ (The New Testament), who saves and redeems his people from their sins (Matthew 1:21).

However, since it is Jesus that represents the fullest expression of redemption, we can be sure to see types, foreshadows, and symbols of him in the redemptive elements we read in each story throughout the Old Testament.  One theologian said that the Bible can be seen as an oak seed that grows and matures throughout the Bible, and then finds full maturity in Jesus – the oak tree.  Yet, the fully grown tree is no more an oak than the seed.  So it is with redemption.  Though redemption is seen most fully and cleary in Jesus, the significance of the growth stages is crucial.

So, then, as you read through the Bible (esp. the Old Testament) trace the theme of redemption all the way through to Jesus Christ.  It will make the biblical story come alive for you in incredible ways.  It is amazingly worshipful to read the story of David and Goliath and see more than a mere example of courage in a little boy with stones, but ultimately see him as a type of Christ, who is the true and better David.  For he defeats the ultimate “Goliath” of sin and death, and because he did that for us, we can face the significantly smaller “Goliaths” in our own lives!

Happy reading!

Grace to you 🙂

the starbucks generation: a life that counts

A pair of form fitting jeans, some Chuck Taylor All-Stars and a plaid shirt; while listening to Jack Johnson on the iPod and jotting in the Moleskin.  This hip, fresh, artistic style is representative of many of those who frequent the local coffee shops in our day.  The people are, undoubtedly, as eclectic as the various blends these java joints offer.  However, it’s more than just a look; indeed, it is more than just a coffeehouse.  

The “coffee shop,” from the trendy hole in the wall to the chain cafe on every corner, has become a staple of American culture.  It is interesting, however, to see what, exactly, this staple reveals about who we are and our way of life.

The rapid increase and, seemingly, ubiquitous presence of coffeehouses in our day represents the mobility of our industrious generation – we stop just long enough to take a sip of decaf americano before we’re back out trying to “change the world.”  The coffeehouse is where we go to foster our ideas and dream up goals and schemes of development and change.  We don’t like the home office or a big desk in the corner high-rise.  No, a little table next to the window is fine – to draw up our plans before stepping out the door into the wake of horn honking, people talking and the world moving.  The Millennial or Starbucks generation is all about forward progress and development.  Similar to our rapid-fire technology, we are not ones to sit around.  We are all about “making a difference” in the world.  And whether the difference we desire to make is for the mass of humanity or for ourselves, our endeavors can be summed up as follows: We want our lives to count.


However, what does this really mean?  We want our lives to count?  This is an important question.  Yet, whatever our culture may perceive the answer to be, one thing is clear: that nearly every generation (ours included) has understood work as the fundamental grounds for living a life that counts.  And this, I think, is a good conclusion at which humans have arrived.  But to what end are we each working?  Financial security for ourselves and future generations?  Peace in the world?  Change “for the better?”  These things, while good in and of themselves, are not enough.  And, deep down, we know it. 


You see, it is the witness of the human heart that there is something worth working towards, but its beyond the grave.  The way we live indicates this.  For we don’t live our lives, in the fast paced determination of progress and improvement, as if it will all end in the evaporation of existence – in the silence and emptiness of death and decay.  If it was our true belief that death was the end of all things, would we really be striving with such ferver and intensity?  Does not death suck out the heartbeat of the forward thinking mentality that is our generation?  In short…yes.  Death puts an end to the purposes for which we work.  We know this, and our generation is striving for something more.  We just need the answer, and the answer is not far from us.
 
The book of Genesis makes it clear what our design in work/labor is to accomplish, namely, the upholding of God’s glory (i.e. the totality of his manifold beauties) and, thus, our everlasting joy in experiecing that glory.  This is the only eternal purpose worth working for.  If this truth doesn’t undergird all of our efforts in living a life that “counts,” then the sum of all our striving in this current life will be subject to the corruption of this decaying world.  A midst all the hustle of our forward moving generation, we must all slow down just long enough to think about where we’re going.  For unless the driving force behind all our efforts is not the glory of God, the stamp we are trying to make in this world will fade with the hands of time.  The preacher said it best when he wrote,


“Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher, vainity of vanities!  All is vanity.  What does man gain by all the toil at which he toils under the sun?  A generation goes, and a generation comes…[Therefore] the end of the matter [is this:] Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.” – Ecclesiastes 1:1-4a, 12:13


Grace to you 🙂

what’s wrong with killing 6,000,000 jews?

One of the most awful realities in the records of human history is The Holocaust, wherein Nazi Germany methodically and systematically exterminated the lives of millions of Jewish people.

Now, nearly everyone will consider what the Germans did horrific…inhumane, in fact.  However, why is that?  What’s wrong with killing 6,000,000 Jews?

Ultimately, the issue concerns human dignity and value.  The reason what Nazi Germany did to the Jews was so terrible was because the Jews were human beings that had innate value and dignity.  And when we see the Germans disregarding that fact – marginalizing the Jews and eventually crushing them underneath their hatred – not only do we take offense, but we call it wrong.

However, on what basis do human beings have dignity?  Aren’t we just a higher more complex form of animal?  Well, no, we aren’t.  Human beings are made in the image of God (Genesis 1:25-27), and by virtue of that very creative fact, we have innate, inherent value.  Yet, there is no other worldview (i.e. apart from Christianity) that says human beings are created in the image of God, or that have a foundation for believing in innate human dignity and value.  Apart from Christianity, beliefs about innate human value are arbitrary.  And if beliefs about human value can be reduced to arbitrary view points, then there is nothing wrong with what the Germans did.  They can (and did) create their own valuation of the Jewish people (i.e. they saw the Jews as inferior beings) and treat them as they please.  Similarly, we can do the same.

Unfortunately, living out that worldview causes destruction and tragedy…exhibit 1: The Holocaust.  However, this becomes the result if non-Christian worldviews are carried out to their logical conclusions.

Of course, no one (well…most) subscribes to the belief that human beings are devoid of any real, intrinsic dignity and worth.  And the very heart of humanity, which knows, deep down, that people have real worth and value, is testimony to the fact that the Christian worldview is true.

Christianity alone tells us that mankind is created in the image of God and thus has supreme and infinite worth.  When we deny this, however, we lose all foundation for believing in human dignity, which provides an easy justification for killing 6,000,000 Jewish people.

Grace to you 🙂