Biblical, Unbiblical, or Anti-biblical? We should be careful not to agree with the accuser when he tempts us to accuse someone of teaching, or even believing, what is not written in the Bible. The Bible does not discuss many issues that were occurring when it was written, nor does it discuss every issue we face today. In order to discern whether someone is teaching what is Biblical, we must familiarize ourselves with the Bible, and not rely on what other people say about it. We must accept that God gives guidance about some issues that are not clearly condemned or condoned by the Bible, through our own intimate relationships with Him, and not condemn people for unbiblical beliefs. Even when a person is teaching what is anti-biblical, we cannot judge the person, but must seek God’s perspective, since Jesus only confronted those who brought their heresies to Him, seeking His endorsement. God is the only one who can protect and defend His reputation and identity, and those who try to help in the process, are normally getting in the way. References: Genesis 1:1-2:4 and 2:5-50; Exodus 2-18, 19-20, 23-24, and 32-34; Numbers 5; Deuteronomy 4, 6, 9, 11, 17, and 28-30; Joshua 1, 8, and 23; 1Kings 2; 2Kings 14 and 22-23; 1Chronicles 16 and 29; 2Chronicles 17, 23, 25, 30, and 34-35; Ezra 3, 8, and 13; Nehemiah 8-9 and 13; Psalms 1 and 40; Proverbs 22-24; Isaiah 65; Jeremiah 30, 36, and 51; Daniel 9-10; Matthew 7-10 and 21; Mark 1-3, 6-7, 9, and 11; Luke 2-5, 10, 18, 20-21, and 24; John 1, 3, 5-8, 10 and 21; Acts 1, 7, 13, 15, and 24; Romans 2, 4, 9, 12 and 14-15; 1Corinthians 9-10 and 14; 2Corinthians 3; Ephesians 3; Philippians 3; Galatians 3; 1Timothy 4; 2Timothy 3; Hebrews 7 and 9-11; James 4; 1Peter 5; 2Peter 1 and 3; 1John 2 and 5; Jude; and Revelation 1-3 and 22 The above is the original “Thought for the Week,” as posted on bucministries.org on 14 October, 2010. Below you will find elaboration based on the biblical references included in the original entry. With few exceptions, the references above are chapter references because the context of a verse is at least as important as the verse itself. There are also examples from personal experiences. This blog is meant to challenge those who read it, encouraging you to consider why you believe what you believe, so you will be able to stand in the day of trouble. If you have comments, concerns, suggestions (including for future "Thoughts"), or simply want to communicate with the author, please post them here, or send them to [email protected]. Genesis 1:1-2:4 is unique in all of the Bible. It is the only passage giving us the perspective of the Creator, regarding His creation. The rest of the Bible is written from the perspective of the created, and expounds on what it means to be created in the Image of God as creative, spiritual, rational, physical, emotional, and relational beings. Even when the prophets are writing about their relationships, and interactions with God, they are providing insights that are limited by their abilities to perceive what God is doing. Biblical beliefs are beliefs that come directly from the Bible as a whole, not just individual verses or passages. Unbiblical beliefs are beliefs that are not clearly found in the scriptures, but do not contradict the Bible. Anti-biblical beliefs are beliefs that clearly contradict the Bible. However, before any conclusions can be made about whether a passage is biblical or not, we must understand what God’s perspective of scriptures is. For this reason, I want to clarify my perspective of how the scriptures developed, so we can see how they affected the lives of those who trusted them. Before Joseph was taken into Egypt, the practice of the patriarch of a family keeping a written record (written on clay tablets, which were then baked), led to what is often called the Toledot formula (referring to the variations of the Hebrew word which is pronounced Toll-led-dote). The first Toledot formula closes the passage giving the account of God’s perspective of His work of Creation (Genesis 1:1-2:4). Often, Toledot is translated as “generations,” but that is only one possible translation, which does not make sense in most cases, like this one, where the alternate translation of “accounts” makes more sense. Other Toledot formulas include genealogies. However, they are more likely statements marking the end of a tablet, or set of tablets. God gave the first tablet to Adam, who passed it down Seth’s line, with his record of what happened within the family, including the genealogy of Cain. Noah took one complete set through the flood, and could have passed it directly to Abram. Whatever path it took, Abram had one complete set, including everything that happened before he became the patriarch of an independent family unit. Abram passed his set, with the additional account of his life to Isaac, who passed it to Jacob, who took it into Egypt, where it was copied onto papyrus scrolls, using the Hebrew alephbet Joseph developed. Joseph based his alephbet on pictographic symbols, but each symbol gave its initial sound to the alephbet. The symbol Aleph resembled an ox (the meaning of the word “aleph”) and served as a symbol of the glottal stop required when you start a word with an “Ah” sound. Bet (pronounced “bait”) means and resembles a house, and serves as the “B” sound when hard, and the “V” sound when soft. One note of interest is the Nun (pronounced “noon”), which means fish, and explains why the short message Jonah delivered to Nineveh (Fish city) led to repentance, when Nahum’s articulate sermon did not. Jonah’s resistance led to him being spit up by a fish, where people could witness and testify to the fact, which is why his message had authority in a city that worshipped a fish god. This means Moses knew what became the first scroll of the Pentateuch when he was growing up. He probably read the scrolls of Joseph and knew he was the one who would lead the descendants of Abram out of Egypt as God had told Abraham would happen (Genesis 15). The problem was, he didn’t realize God was the deliverer, and he was the instrument. This was most likely due to his training as a potential heir to Pharaoh, which taught how to manipulate the gods, and people, in order to retain the position of primary mediator between the Egyptian pantheon and the Egyptian people. Moses became the mediator between God and the people when the people decided they would rather be a kingdom with a priest, than a kingdom of priests (Exodus 19-20). Joshua never left the tent, once it was established, serving as a scribe to Moses, which is why the entire Pentateuch was completed, in written form, before the grieving period was over, after Moses departed. As time passed, copyists updated names of places, etc., so those hearing the Torah, and other scriptures being read could understand what they were hearing. As Moses was preparing to depart, he instructed the people to write down what God did in their lives and teach their children accordingly, so their children would trust God. They failed, and their children fell away, only coming back to God when all other means of escape failed. Of all the kings of Israel and Judah, David is the only one who left evidence of having fulfilled the instructions of Deuteronomy 17, which said the secular leaders were to personally copy the scriptures under priestly supervision. I often wonder why Christian leaders of today think they don’t need to copy the scriptures for themselves, before they try to teach them. In my experience, as we perform this task, God makes every passage come to life, so we are able to teach with the authority that comes from personal experience, as Jesus did, rather than the lack of authority, which comes from teaching theory we learned elsewhere, as the Pharisees did. The only way anyone can know if something they want to teach is biblical, is by getting to know the Bible. Memorization doesn’t work with the Bible any more than it works when driving a car down a curvy mountain road. Familiarity helps you know where to go to find what you are looking for, and that requires an investment of time and attention to details, just as driving a vehicle requires time and attention to detail. A lot of people operate a vehicle without driving it, because they don’t pay attention to what is going on around them, so they can avoid killing animals, and even wooly worm caterpillars that happen to be on the road. Memorization tends to have the same affect on people with regard to the Bible, because they memorized their understanding of a verse or passage, when they memorized it. All of us change our understanding of things as we experience life, so we need to be willing to revisit out understanding of scriptures, and see how God has made them real in our life. I have heard pastors talk about how Jesus and John the Baptist were best buddies when they were growing up, and how Herod was more powerful than God because Jesus had to send his disciples out to finish John the Baptist’s mission. These and other teachings are anti-biblical, because they are contrary to what the Bible says. John the Baptist did not recognize Jesus, but knew who He was by the way the Spirit of God landed gently on him, and remained, like a dove landing near a bird feeder (John 1), and he affirmed his mission was complete when his disciples asked him about the disciples of Jesus baptizing more people than John (John 3). There are groups of people who reject technology on the basis that it is not biblical. However, there are many things that happen in daily life that are not biblical. These are sometimes considered unbiblical, extra-biblical, non-biblical, etc. The fact is, the Bible was never supposed to be the comprehensive dictionary of what life is supposed to be like. The Bible is a collection of letters of introduction, written by more than forty people, over a period of more than two thousand years. Some of these letters were written as historical records like the Torah. Some of them were written as communiqués from the Creator to the people He has chosen to represent Him as emissaries, who weren’t doing their job (some include accounts of what happened when they were delivered, in some cases). Some are just plain letters from people who had intimate relationships with God, to others who sought intimate relationships with God. My own experience has taught me not to expect God to work in any given way, or to limit how God is able to utilize me. I have learned that the person delivering a gift, whether healing, words, provision, or otherwise, is not the person with the gift. They are the messenger God entrusted to deliver the gift. God has utilized me as a courier on many occasions, all of which proved He was God to the person receiving the gift. I cannot breathe without the grace of God providing air that sustains life (and I have seen what happens when people take this for granted). The fact I don’t have to spend my time telling my lungs to breathe, and my heart to beat, is a blessing God continues to grant me. His willingness to take care of the details of my life, frees me to do more interesting and fulfilling things, which the Bible could never cover. As John wrote, “there are also many other things that Jesus did. Were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written” (John 21). Please join me in seeking, and encouraging others, to get to know God by becoming familiar with the letters of introduction provided in the scriptures, and drawing close to Him, each in our own relationship with Him. God is always talking to us, and we often accept His guidance as “insights,” “inspiration,” or something else, without acknowledging God as the source. As we each get to know God, we will learn to discern His guidance as different from the suggestions of the enemy who seeks to keep us from experiencing the fulfillment God desires for us. Since each person has their own relationship with everyone else, our own relationships with God will never be the same, since no two people ever have the same relationship with a third person, anyway. Relax, let God cause you to know He is God, and let Him bring the scriptures to life in you, so you will have a testimony that might serve to help others like Abraham, Jacob, Moses, Samuel, David, Isaiah and the other prophets, Matthew, Peter, Luke, John, Paul, James, Jude, George Fox, A. B. Simpson, and many others have. Trust God to lead others into their own relationship, possibly with your encouragement, so you can focus on drawing closer to Him, yourself. Who knows? You might even find He has turned you into a living example of His success in redemption and restoration. He did create you for a reason only He knows, and a fulfilling life only comes when His purpose is fulfilled in your life.
Posted on: Mon, 01 Jul 2013 11:41:03 +0000
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