On a day when the foundations are shaken

When the foundations are being destroyed,
what can the righteous do? (Psalm 11:3)

Lord, today the foundations are being shaken once again.
We pray
for families and communities in:
Samson and Geneva, in Alabama USA,
Winnenden, Germany
for whom it will seem as though the world has changed for ever.

In many ways it has.

Lord, what can we do?

The Lord is in his holy temple;
the Lord is on his heavenly throne. (Psalm 11:4)
Father, we don't want to run away from the suffering and sorrows of this world,
we want to stand with those in such pain and need.
But only as we see you,
the Lord who is enthroned over all the chaos,
the Lord who reigns in the beauty of your holiness,
only as we see you can we stand today.

The Lord loves justice (psalm 11:7)
O God, do justice for bereaved families today,
do justice for wounded communities and neighbourhoods,
do justice for a world in great need of your mercy.

Teach us how to pray that we might stand with those in need. Amen.

I'm re reading N T Wright's Jesus and the Victory of God. If you haven't read it then give it a try, it is well worth it.

His section on Burton L Mack (and the Question of Q) pages 35-44 is interesting as it connects with a post on reading the bible I made earlier.

Wright suggests that Mack has allowed his antipathy towards late 20th Century American Christianity colour his reading of the gospel of Mark in a major way. Mack reconstructs a Jesus who resembles a 'Cynic sage, spinning aphorisms designed to subert his hearers social and cultural worlds' (p. 37) Mack achieves this by excluding from his consideration of Jesus any material that is apocalyptic or eschatological. Well if you leave out half the gospel material no wonder you end up with a view of Jesus quite different from that presented in the gospels!

In my earler post - On Bible Reading, Sat 7 March - I was challenging that way of reading the bible which ignores passages or material which the reader doesn't like, or doesn't want to submit to. One of my Professors, the late Bob Carroll, was fond of saying 'Read the text', all of the text. If at the end of an exposition there was surplus text left lying on the table Bob would be hugely critical. (And those who knew Bob would not know him as a conservative Biblical scholar!).

We simply cannot read the parts of the bible we want to read and ignore all the rest and then claim to be scholarly, or historical, or whatever. This is not to exclude the valuable work of textual criticism which highlights for us passages we should rightly be suspicious of, e.g. the endings of Mark's gospel. What the Church has always needed is a commitment from her members to the whole word of God: to read with faith and reverence, to study with all the tools and ability God has given us, to obey in lives given to following this Jesus who is both Christ and Lord.

Facts or/and ideology

It is reported today, see The Herald, that President Obama has overturned a ban on stem cell research. I'm not posting about stem cell research, but about what the President has said in making this decision.

'In lifting the ban, the president stated yesterday that he would make scientific decisions "based on facts, not ideology" from now on.' Facts, not ideology. But later in this article the President is further quoted:
"As a person of faith, I believe we are called to care for each other and work to ease human suffering. I believe we have been given the capacity and will to pursue this research - and the humanity and conscience to do so responsibly."

To believe that we are called to care for each other is not a fact, it is a belief position, an ideology if you like. As humans we function as believing creatures, we act upon points, articles of faith. This is how we have been made. Even to deny that ideology, or faith, has any place in government decision making is a faith, or ideological position.

But more importantly, we cannot deny that many if not all of the decisions made by our governments involve moral choices. There is a choice to be made between moral values and scientific enquiry. This is why we should have our scientists governed by those with moral authority, or at least a moral responsibility to protect the vulnerable and weak.

President Obama has fallen into the false position of claiming to be a person of faith, yet acting independently of his faith. I for one don't want the leaders of our nations to divorce their faith from their decision making.

Tyndale House Newsletter

I'm an associate member of the Tyndale Fellowship in Cambridge which exists to promote Biblical Studies. There current newsletter is available on line, please go over and check out the news from Tyndale House.

An Excellent Book For Easter Reading

I've just finished reading this book, Jesus, The Final Days, by Craig Evans and Tom Wright in the last five minutes and wanted to share how good a book I found it to be.

Not a long book, just 107 pages plus a short index, only three chapters based on lectures given in the Symposium for Church and Academy at Crichton College, Memphis, Tennessee.

Two chapters, on death of the Lord Jesus and the burial of the Lord Jesus by Craig Evans and one on the resurrection of the Lord Jesus by Tom Wright.
Both these rightly respected scholars offer a historical opinion on the events of Easter, asking about these central elements, did they happen? After so many years of Enlightenment hubris it is exciting to read two such able scholars and historians dealing with the historical evidence and showing that historically the death, the burial and the resurrection of the Lord Jesus are credible, if not more than that!

History is important, as Tom Wright comments, 'The "truth" of the crucifixion story would be totally undermined if it could be proved that Jesus died of pneumonia in Galilee, even though of course the crucifixion sets of all kinds of metaphorical resonances in the minds of people ancient and modern. And the "truth" of the resurrection story is like that too. If it didn't happen, it isn't true.' (page 103-104, emphasis added)

If it didn't happen, it isn't true. Let's give thanks to our God that he has raised up in his Church and for his world such scholars to give us great assurance in the events of our salvation. Let us with joy and confidence celebrate the festival as we remember all that our Lord Jesus did for us in those final days.

On bible reading

This week I’ve been reading through Romans 9 to 11. This is surely a very challenging passage of Scripture which must raise some serious questions for us about our God, our relationship to him and the text in which we read these things.

For many any thought of election is an abomination, to be rejected out of hand. However, this is something that is taught in Scripture, even if we might want to argue about what it means. At the very least we should agree that this is what the Scripture teaches.

As a result of just over 100 years of very thorough textual research we can say with something approaching 97% accuracy that the text of the New Testament is settled and well attested. It is just not reasonable to suppose that at some point the actual words of the New Testament are in doubt.

However, while not saying this, or challenging this outcome of scholarly study, there are many who without a backward glance will excise some passage of the New Testament on the grounds that they don’t like it, or it doesn’t fit in with their understanding of God.

In the Reformed tradition we have agreed to place Scripture above human reason and above human tradition. Not above the need for Spirit led interpretation, we are to study the Scriptures with all the skill and wisdom God has given us aided by his Spirit. What we have agreed is to being our study with a humble and reverent submission to Scripture. God has spoken. It is not up to us to ignore or reject God’s word on the basis that we don’t like it, or it doesn’t fit in with our understanding of God. It is up to us to remain before the Scripture until God blesses us in it.

What is needed in our churches, in our Christian living as we seek to be disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the living word of God, is a holy submission before the written word of God that it might be the light shinning in our darkness to lead us into the way of the cross.

EA Slipstream - new podcast

There is a new podcast from EA Slipstream available to download now.

This podcast features Tim Hughes, Director of Worship at Holy Trinity Brompton Church in London. He is also a songwriter with Survivor Records and heads up Worship Central, a worship training resource. He is married to Rachel and they have two children (including a newborn!).

Visit this site and give it a listen, well worth your time.