Challenging Your Assumptions: Advice for a College Freshman and the Life-Long Learner

Historical geology, evolutionary biology, ancient history with its Mesopotamian and Babylonian creation and flood stories, sociology of religion….my children are both hearing and learning things they have never been exposed to before. What will they do with the apparent contradictions to their faith? Have they learned how to analyze and evaluate?  How will they integrate the new information with their beliefs?

It may sound dangerous, but my first advice is to challenge our assumptions, including our assumptions about what we believe the Bible says before automatically dismissing  new ideas as contradictory or dismissing the Bible as myth without fully examining both sides.  Clinging to our assumptions prevents growth, stunts loving God with all our minds, and inhibits insights.

We get stuck when we fixate on false assumptions.  For example, consider the mind puzzle with the 9 dots.  Can you connect all the dots with no more than four straight lines without lifting your pencil from the paper? 

In preschool, we learned about connecting dots and coloring within the lines.  Based on these experiences, we might assume that 1) we have to stay within the borders, and 2) each turn is supposed to pivot on a dot.  Sticking to these assumptions prevents us from solving the puzzle.

Another way we get stuck in our assumptions is the lack of challenge to our assumptions as illustrated by ‘the internet bubble’.  Search engines like Google and Bing learn our preferences and show matches that are likely to satisfy us based on our previous selections.  They will eventually screen out contrary information or information from other parts of the spectrum. Because we never see what gets filtered out, we wrap ourselves in a cocoon of our own beliefs. Similarly, when we tend to read books, blogs, and news media that agree with our points of view and we hang out with people who think like us, we may fail to see assumptions that need to be challenged.

For those of us raised in the church, and even those of us who were not, we need to recognize our assumptions about how we interpret the Bible as we attempt to reconcile its apparent contradictions to history/science and our experiences.

Here is my advice in challenging assumptions to my college freshman, who is quick to see the world as black and white:

1. Listen and understand before you automatically judge something to be wrong. Put yourself in their shoes and understand why they believe that way.
2.  Remember that all truth is God’s truth.  Know what your Bible says and the various ways of interpretation, both literal, non-literal, and figurative. You may have always assumed it said something it did not, or you may have always interpreted a passage in a way that it was never meant to be interpreted.
3.  Engage others in conversation about challenges to assumptions.  Examine all avenues and different perspectives.
4. Know that it is not all diabolical – not all black and white, good or evil.  It’s more than various shades of gray – think of it more like a rainbow of glorious colors to discover in a lifetime of learning, new ways of seeing, perceiving, understanding that enrich your life. God, the world, and you do not fit in a neatly defined box.
5. Avoid the ‘internet bubble’, but don’t try so hard to avoid it that you build a bubble at the other end of the spectrum.  Keep surrounded by Jesus followers, all kinds, and look for things you have in common.  Be willing to challenge each other’s assumptions while remaining united in your core beliefs.  Grow spiritually by continuing to worship with a group of believers and hanging with them.    

Resources for Understanding the Bible

When studying the Bible, before we ask the question, “What is God saying to me personally today”, it is essential that we first ask the question, “What message was both the divine and human author intending to convey to the audience?”  Each of the 66 books of the Bible was inspired through human authors steeped in their culture, in many different cultural settings over a span of 1500 years.  Without some understanding of the author and setting to determine the message they intended to convey, we are prone to misinterpretation.

My absolute, most favorite resource is How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth: A Guide to Understanding the Bible, by Gordon Fee and Douglas Stuart, recommended by my hermeneutics professor in seminary.  This book is essential for everyone to read who teaches the Bible, facilitates Bible studies, or just wants to seriously study and understand the message of each type of genre in the Bible and applying it to life today.  The authors conversationally point out the interpretation problems that come with not understanding the author's intent and setting and provide guidelines for application. It's not an easy book to just sit down and read lightly and leisurely, but it is insightfully rich and worth every effort.

While I have a stack of books and study Bibles that give quick summaries on each biblical book, my favorite book to go to is How to Read the Bible Book by Book: A Guided Tour, by Gordon Fee and Douglas Stuart.  They provide specific advice on how to read the message of each book.  However, they assume the readers are familiar with theological jargon, so it is not a book I would hand to a friend who is reading the Bible for the first time.

A better basic selection would be William Marty and Boyd Seevers’ book The Quick-Start Guide to the Whole Bible.  The authors are also professors who have dedicated their lives to studying and teaching the Bible, but they set aside the theological jargon without dumbing down their summaries.  For each book of the Bible they provide the setting in which it was written, a brief summary, and its significance by pointing out what is important for each book.  In the section on the book’s significance, they also share insights on how the message of the book may be applied today.  If you have a study Bible that provides introductions to each book, this book doesn’t offer a whole lot more, but it is an excellent brief summary which lives up to its title as a “Quick-Start Guide”.  Whether you are reading the Bible for the first time or you need a quick refresher before diving into study, I highly recommend this concise and easy-to-read guide.  (I was provided a complimentary copy of this book from Bethany House in exchange for my honest review.)

Still, I cannot speak highly enough of How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth when looking for understanding and keys for interpretation.  I wish there was a more concise summary of this book readily available for those who want just a brief summary in the style of The Quick-Start Guide to the Whole Bible, but with more substance.  Maybe I will write one.  

The Psalms - Language for All Seasons of the Soul

The Bible is readable as it stands, but there is much breadth and depth to studying it, and studying it deeply, gleaning knowledge from scholars who study the original culture and language, especially in the Psalms, which is diverse with songs of both praise and lament.  In Psalm 13 when the psalmist cries out, “will you forget me forever?”, is he accusing God of not being aware or not paying attention to his circumstances?  The connotations of what it means for God to “remember” is not that He suddenly realized what was going on, but that He finally is visibly acting.  Scholars can help us to see beyond our milieu to a different perspective of understanding.

Psalms is both simple and difficult.  Some of the psalms seem contradictory to what Jesus taught us to be like. Demands for justice and for destruction of our enemies flies against Jesus’ teachings of praying for our enemies and to go the extra mile.  But the psalms express the full range of God’s love in all seasons of the soul – in times of joy as well as times of pain.  They are filled with the faithful voices of the people of God in response to His saving history as they petition for His justice and praise His faithfulness. They give us permission to lament, and enables us to meet with God in a special encounter.  In our silence and pain, God waits for us to turn to Him for comfort and restoration.   

Scholars can help us see the richness of the Psalms.  The Psalms, Language for All Seasons of the Soul, is a collection of 19 papers from the Evangelical Theological Society’s Psalms and Hebrew Poetry Consultation written by seasoned Psalms scholars.  It’s not as dry as it sounds!  While it is scholarly, it is readable and enlightening as well as practical.  The book accomplishes its purpose of celebrating the impact the Psalms has had throughout history to the 21^st century with an emphasis on insights into current studies and application in today’s world. 

The book is divided into five sections, but the longest one on the lament, expressions of sorrow and pain, was my favorite as it provided insight to who God is and what He is like in the midst of it all.  It inspired me to pray my emotions, to pray honestly and boldly, to join with other believers throughout history who have struggled to make sense of life while developing a fuller understanding of faith.

 I spent months devouring the words of this book and will undoubtedly return to this treasure again and again for deeper understanding.  It is rich with keys to interpretation and analysis.  This book is a great tool for those who love to study Scripture and teach.  I highly recommend this book for pastors, professors, seminary students, and anyone who wants a deeper understanding of the Psalms.

Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of this book from Moody Press in exchange for my honest review.

Just the Facts? The Problem of Text without Context...

“Let the science speak for itself,” my boss told me.  As scientists, we look at the facts.  But it’s never just the facts.  Facts have to be interpreted.

So I did. I re-evaluated the facts and drew my conclusions. 

Then, my boss tells me in frustration, “You can make science say whatever you want it to say.”  

Rather, what I think he meant was that you can start with a biased conclusion and then pull out the facts that you want to support it.  We both had the same sets of facts but were drawing different conclusions.

Not just in science, but in theology, this occurs as well.  The Bible contains the ‘facts’. Sometimes people start with a biased conclusion and then pull out the facts from the Bible that support it.  This is called ‘pretext’.  The facts may be taken out of context in such a way to support the already-determined conclusion. Thus, the saying that originate with D.A. Carson, “text without context is pretext.”

We should let the Bible speak for itself, to let God speak to us for Himself through His Word.  It is impossible to approach the Bible and science with a blank slate and no presuppositions, but awareness of our presuppositions is a good start to right interpretation. 

I resolve be a theologian and a scientist who is not guilty of pretexting.

I Joined a Bible Study on Spiritual Disciplines

I joined a women’s Bible study on spiritual disciplines at my church.  Jumping into a women’s Bible study isn’t easy for me. I am an introvert who does not enjoy small talk and am energized through solitude with God instead of corporate fellowship, but I know that I must have both.

While it’s been a couple years since I have been part of a women’s Bible study, this is the first one at this church, which I have been a part of for almost three years.  The overwhelming largeness and growth of this church makes it hard for this introvert to get plugged in. 

And now I wish it hadn’t taken me so long because I’m thrilled to find out the depth of the women’s ministry; it’s not fluffy or shallow or dependent on popular speakers on DVD. They encourage digging deep, not living off the crumbs of other’s findings but finding true nourishment in the Word and God speaking into your life and applying it in your relationships and circumstances.

In our study this week, it is just an introduction to the disciplines.  We are using Donald  Whitney’s Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life: A Study Guide – and just the study guide only, not his actual book on which it is based, so we are encouraged to dig into the scriptures instead of Whitney’s teachings.  We are told that we might disagree with some of his points, and that’s okay, but to glean from it and dig and grow.

One of the points that Whitney emphasized is that growth in relationship with God is completed only in fellowship with His children, not in isolation.  As tempting as it is for me to close myself in my library and study what I want to study and read what I want to read, it is through the Church and fellowship with my brothers and sisters in Christ that keeps me from diverging down the path of error or putting too much emphasis on lesser things. 

Check back on Mondays for more on the spiritual disciplines and this chapter of my story….

Why Jesus Was Baptized

Imagine a long line of people along the bank of a river, the Jordan River. They stand, watch, whisper to each other, each waiting their own turn.  The next in line wades out to John the Baptist, publicly confesses their sins, and is then immersed under the water, symbolically freeing them of their sins.  

Why were they doing this? Where did their sins go? 

And the biggest question of all, why did Jesus arrive to be baptized too?  He didn't have any sins to wash away. He was the only one there who was without sin, and would in fact be rendered dirty by the water of sin instead of being cleansed by it.

Jesus wasn't there to purify himself.  Nor was Jesus there to set a good example.  It wouldn't make sense that the Father would express such pleasure and delight in His Son just for providing the demonstration for his followers to imitate.  It's bigger than that.  

In this one pivotal moment, Jesus, pure and sinless, took up our sin when he was baptized.  The water that symbolized washing away sin and a sign of repentance became a filthy frothy basin of sin that Jesus would bear upon his shoulders for us. Through his baptism, he initiated the act of taking away the sins of the world (John 1:29), beginning the forward motion of the divine plan. 

Jesus' choice to be baptized was showing His Father his willingness to take the journey to the cross.  And THIS is why the Father was so pleased with him.   



  

Are you a Bible Worshiper?

Are you a Bible worshiper?  The denomination I was raised in has been accused of “Bible idolatry”.   The first time I heard this idea, I was stunned.  Really?  Since the Bible is God’s words, then how could that even be possible?  I read a book recently called The Blue Parakeet, by Scot McKnight that opened  my eyes to exactly what it might look like to worship the Bible instead of God.

Do I value the Bible more than God Himself?  If I no longer had a Bible at my fingertips, what would happen to my relationship with God?

Scot McKnight, professor of religious studies, profoundly says, “Without denying the legitimacy of the various terms in the authority approach, those who have a proper relationship to the Bible never need to speak of the Bible as their authority nor do they speak of their submission to the Bible.  They are so in tune with God, so in love with him, that the word “authority” is swallowed up in loving God. Even more, submission is engulfed in the disposition of listening to God speak through the Bible and in practice desire what He calls us to do.” (page 93, The Blue Parakeet: Rethinking How You Read the Bible).

I had been taught the “authority approach” to God’s Word, defined with words such as revelation, inspiration, inerrancy, authority, submission.   I had a relationship with the Bible.  Scot McKnight showed me that the Bible is far more than submitting to an authority.  It is an integral part of a relationship with God.  Our relationship to the Bible should actually be a relationship with the God of the Bible. 

In Psalm 119, the psalmist declares God’s word to be delightful and expresses a love for doing whatever God asks.  He does not say, “Your Words are authoritative and I am called to submit to them.”  Instead, he says, “Your words are delightful, and I love to do whatever you ask.”  The first approach emphasizes a relationship to the Bible. The second one emphasizes a relationship to God.

We should stop asking what the Bible says and instead ask what God says to us in the Bible. Is this just semantics? Is it the same outcome, different perspective?  I think it boils down to relationship.  God gave the Bible – not so we can know it, but so we can know and love Him through it.

The best way to read His Word is to be in conversation with Him. To listen to Him. To be attentive to His voice. To absorb what He says, and then to act on what we have heard.

The Bible is the vehicle for knowing God. It is the means to the end, not the end in itself. God wants us to take the two-dimensional words on paper and allow them to become a three-dimensional encounter with Him.

Why Should We Read Old Testament Law?

Why should we read Old Testament law?  The Law lost its obligation with the old covenant, no longer needed as a nationalistic distinction.  Under the new covenant, we are not obligated to the Law’s demands but instead to a deeper commitment and submission of our whole lives to the control of the Holy Spirit.  So why read Old Testament Law?

Many theologians say that some of the laws are God’s unchanging will and are still in effect today.  The coming of Jesus changes how we worship, but it doesn’t necessarily change the way we should live.  We still sin, but the method God wants us to handle our repentance has changed.  The laws are useful for finding God’s will and living wisely.  The trick is determining which laws apply today and which ones no longer apply.  The Law consists of three parts:

1) Ceremonial laws that enabled believers to maintain a proper relationship with God.  These laws foreshadow Christ and were fulfilled by Christ.  These were not abolished, but rather, completed in the death of Christ, the ultimate and final sacrifice.

2) Judicial/moral laws that determine right from wrong. These are meant for all God’s people in every era, as shown by the teaching of Jesus and the apostles in the New Testament.

3) Civil laws for governing the nation of Israel and separating them from others. These are no longer in effect because of Christ, who brings all nations together. 

For some laws, the category is obvious, while for others, they are debatable. But I don’t think we have to sit around and debate categories, such as whether the forbidding of tattoos was moral or ceremonial.  Let’s focus on the big picture.

Jesus says the whole law is summed up in a single command – to love God and to love your neighbor.  Any of the laws that line up with this summary in our culture today would still apply.  Any laws that are supported in the New Testament, we clearly should submit to their authority.  And laws clearly fulfilled should not be observed.  For example, the book of Hebrews makes it clear that we would violate the Gospel if we continue to practice the ceremonial laws.

Ultimately, the Law IS the content of the gospel.  It foreshadows the coming of the ultimate Gospel in Jesus Christ. The Law and the Gospel are parts of one continuum, not contrasting items.  It is through the cross that we are released from the obligation of the Law, yet also have the power to be enabled and compelled to love God and love our neighbor, the sum of the whole Law in a single command.

So why read Old Testament Law? In summary:

1. To learn the meaning and significance of the work of Jesus on the cross
2. For greater understanding of God’s character and how He works in the world
3. To know how to live wisely and how to love.

Are You a Jesus Stalker?

While driving last week and listening to the radio, I heard a discussion on being a “Jesus stalker”.  It stopped my thoughts in their tracks - a Jesus stalker? If all you do is read the Bible or go to church or memorize Scripture, gathering information about Jesus but not actually talking to Him, then maybe you area Jesus stalker.  Collecting all the information you can without pursuing a relationship is stalkerish.

The analogy of the stalker falls apart, though.  Usually a stalker wants a relationship but for some reason feels like he can’t have it.  God is not like a stalker victim.  He is the one pursuing the relationship with us but leaves it up to us as to whether we respond, or even notice. But He’s not the stalker, either. He doesn’t harass us into a relationship with him.

The point of the failed analogy, though, is that without love and without being in relationship with God, all the studying, learning, and memorizing is cold.  Meaningless.  Opening your Bible in the morning to read before you begin the rest of your day, but just checking it off your list of things done may be a good start but God desires something a little different with us. He wants connection, interaction.

As an academic type, I love studying the Bible and memorizing passages, but time spent in prayer on a daily basis doesn’t come so easily for me – and I’m not talking about the shot-gun prayers on the run, but the intentional setting aside of time to connect with Him and have a two-way conversation with Him. Here are some things I am practicing to make my devotional time every morning more interactive:

·        Using Scripture memory as a tool for meditation, listening, and prayer ;

·        Praying Scripture that I’m reading/studying in the form of praise, thanksgiving, confession, and/or request;

·        Asking God to show me ways I can put a memorized verse or passage that I read into practice that day and then letting Him guide my thoughts and ideas;

·        Singing or meditating using music into my devotional time;

·        Listening to Misty Edwards, Jesus Culture, or other similar genre on YouTube and letting God speak to me through pictures or impressions on my heart as I sing along the simple (and repetitive  lyrics of praise to Him).

What are some ways you really connect with the Father in your quiet time?

How to Memorize an Entire Book of the Bible

In Beth Moore’s Bible study, Mercy Triumphs, Beth challenges her students to not only write out the entire book of James through the course of 7 weeks, but to also memorize the entire book over five months or longer.  She says the key to memorizing large portions of Scripture is to “abide” with God, and she uses the letters in the word "abide" to describe how to do it:

A –  Ask.  Ask God for the ability to memorize and to have His living Word in us.  He wants to give it to us.  When we memorize, the mind is captive to Christ.

B – Believe.  Believe you can do it! In the captivated mind we find a power we never knew was possible.  God’s Word is set up for memory work.

I – Increase.  Increase the portion you are memorizing each week from a translation of your choice that speaks most to you.  When memorizing chapters, you must treat them differently than verses.  She recommends printing out one chapter at a time and laminating it. Set goals that work for you. Don’t leave it open-ended, and be willing to extend the goal if you need to.  Plan on one chapter per month, several verses per week. The first week you will memorize several verses, then the next week you will review the previous verses while memorizing a few more.

D – Determine.  Determine to set a time every day to practice.  Practicing requires discipline.  She practices while exercising, setting her page in front of her on the treadmill.

E – Enjoy it! Even if you don’t get every single word, the Word is accomplishing something in you.  The Word sets us free when our thoughts get caught in the muck.

If you have a chance to do this study, be sure to listen to the segment on the DVD where she recites the book of James from memory – totally awesome!!

Other related posts:

Why Memorize Scripture

10 Tips on Memorizing Scripture

10 Transforming Bible Chapters to Memorize

Stepping Up

Is God leading you on a path – through a dark valley, over a mountain, or across a desert? Or do you feel stuck in the grassy plains that stretch from one horizon to the other, hopeless of change? Do you want to make progress as you go from here to there? Do you want to consistently take the high road in your circumstances instead of the tempting low road?

God is inviting us to go up, to draw our souls closer to Him through a spiritual pilgrimage. When we let Him lead, we never stay in the same place. He wants to take us to the next level, which is always out of our comfort of sameness. God wants us to make a daily practice of “going up” with Him.  The process of how we go there is part of getting there.

I’m beginning a journey through the Psalms of Ascent through Beth Moore’s Bible study Stepping Up, and over the next few weeks as I join a small group of beautiful ladies, I hope to summarize the words that the Spirit impresses on my heart.   Psalms 120-134 were sung by the Israelites during the Pilgrimage Feasts, so this part of Scripture will be the Biblical focus of my upward trek the next six weeks. 

I often lament that my emotions interfere with my walk.  But Beth Moore asks "What if those very emotions become avenues of worship rather than distraction?"  When your feelings need Biblical expression – overwhelming praise and gratitude or oppressing sorrow, fear or anger – the Psalms help us express them to God and turn our emotions into worship – and not just the happy thankful feelings but the not-so-pretty feelings too.  The Psalms show how we can bare our souls to integrate all our emotions into our relationship with Him. It's not like we can hide them from Him anyway since He knows us more intimately than we could ever know ourselves.

Beth Moore says that God has goals for us and a private agenda for each of us, but we can count on them being based on the following truths:

·         God desires to dramatically change our outlook on daily life.

·         God wants to raise us to a higher plain of worship and service.

·         God wills to usher us to the next step in our personal journeys with Him even if we have to press through the thickest forest to get it. (page 12)

My deepest desire at this time of my life is to interpret my circumstances, situations, and relationships through His eyes, and then match my steps with the path and rhythm of His. I eagerly anticipate learning how my emotions can be a source that evokes praise and worship to my Almighty God and draws me closer to Him.  Time to take the first step...

No More Sterile Gloves - Application of Biblical Truths

Seminary ruined me on applying the Bible to my life.  I gathered many new tools to dig deeper into Bible study, but my approach has involved the careful donning of sterile gloves before beginning the operation.  While it has been a number of years, some of the words of one particular professor still bounce around in my head. For example:

• One of my favorite basic childhood memory verses: “God will supply all your needs…” Philippians 4:19.  The professor insisted that Paul spoke those words to a specific people at a specific time. We can only claim this promise if we are giving as generously as the Philippian people were giving.
• One of my favorite verses that encourages me as a parent: “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is grown, he will not depart from it.” Proverbs 22:6.  He said that Proverbs is just general sayings, not promises to claim.  I knew that already, but suddenly they seemed pointless – life doesn’t seem to follow the rules.
• Verses that fill me with courage and hope -- you know those words in the Old Testament prophets about being strong and courageous and God having a plan and a purpose – “Do not be terrified, do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go,” in Joshua 1:9and “for I know the plans I have for you…” in Jeremiah.  The professor said those were for specific people at a specific time, and we have to be careful how we apply to ourselves. 

Suddenly, nothing in the Bible seemed to apply to me.

In an effort to avoid hermeneutical error, I immersed myself in all the rules of interpretation – assessing the original audience, culture, intent of the author’s words at that point in history and what God is trying to say to us today without wrongly applying it.  While focusing on the character and ways of God, I patted myself on the back for avoiding self-centeredness.  This was easy anyway – easier to fill my brain with facts than to reflect on them in my heart.   

Knowledge is not deeply understanding.  The truths and concepts that we understand with our minds must sink into our experiences in order for us to embrace the truth.  It’s acceptable and even good to draw connections to our own stories and to think about how we can demonstrate truth in our lives. I don’t want to just have a brain full of knowledge.  I want a transformed life, and God wants to use His Word in me to accomplish this.

My sterile, intellectual approach to God’s Word has truly slowed down my transformation process.  As of today, I’m peeling off the sterile gloves and putting away my sharpened dissecting scalpels that have left something lacking in my heart because I was so afraid of hermeneutical error.  I’m going to still use some valuable tools, but I won’t be afraid of making a mess.  It is better to err on the side of over-application instead of avoiding it altogether.

Fast Food or Gourmet Bible?

As a young teenage girl, I was obsessed with horoscopes to guide my day, eagerly searching them out each morning in the newspaper.  A good friend pointed out that this daily practice was an offense to God (though she never really explained why).  In an effort to find an acceptable alternative, I copied my favorite verses from Proverbs onto tiny pieces of paper, rolled them up, tied them each with a colorful piece of yarn and placed them in a small glass jar.  When the jar was full, each morning I would pull one out at random to read and live by for the day instead of reading my horoscope. 

I wonder what God thought of my fortune cookie approach to His Word? Are one-verse devotional readings, promise books, and verse-a-day calendars the same thing – like spiritual fortune cookies? Ways we seek to get a faith fix?  What does God think when I use a fast food approach to His Word? 

I know a fast food diet is unhealthy, but it is readily available and quickly eaten.  A steady diet of fast food would wreak havoc on my heart and arteries. Maybe God wants me to approach the Bible more like a gourmet meal – savoring the flavor, chewing it slowly and enjoying it.

Perhaps a verse with a pithy devotional has its place – a few minutes in a busy day to focus my thoughts on God and to open my heart to hear Him speak.  But He also wants me to take the time to study His Word – the complete passages in context, that I may be able to think God’s thoughts after Him instead of imposing my own ideas on the meaning of a single sentence.

I yearn to be so nourished by His Word that it fills my mind, directs my feet, and gradually transforms me.   A burger and fries are alright sometimes, but I would rather have almond butter chicken and Caesar salad.