Matthew 22:37 Jesus replied: ”‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ (NIV)
Are Christians only to concern themselves with the practical everyday concerns of life and not the matters of the mind? American Christianity styles itself as the relevant practical lifestyle that can improve one's marriage, one's job or one's life. However when it comes to areas such as theology or the deeper issues of life, many will claim such matters lie outside the realm of the practical issues of life.
Unfortunately, when we only stress the relevant and the practical at the expense of a deeper relationship with Jesus Christ, Christians risk becoming less relevant and more ineffective in their Christian walk. In this verse we find that Christians are to experience Christ on three levels:
WE ARE TO EXPERIENCE CHRIST ON THE PRACTICAL LEVEL
To ensure my readers that I am not dismissing the practical dimensions of Christian growth, let it be known that Christian spirituality finds its chiefest expression in practical growth and living. Proverbs 4:23 states: "Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life" (NIV). How one lives proceeds directly from the heart. In the Bible the heart is the control center in which the will, the emotions and the mind operate.
In the realm of philosophy we commonly refer to what is termed "ethics", wherein we are defining the boundaries of right and wrong, good and evil. The great Christian philosopher Francis Shaeffer coined a question that enables Christians to govern themselves in practical matters: "How then shall we live?". As crucial as practical Christianity is, what I do directly flows from my own personal experience of Christ in my soul.
WE ARE TO EXPERIENCE CHRIST ON THE MYSTICAL LEVEL
Practical living flows directly from how one relates to Christ personally or mystically. There is a subjective (mystical) as a well as a practical side to the Christian faith. One only needs to survey the scripture to affirm this truth. In John 1:12-13 and John 3:3 the Christian is described as being "born-again" or "born from above". Luke tells us in Acts 26:18 that Christians have been transferred from "darkness to light" and "death to life".
The writer in Hebrews 12:22-23 describes Christian conversion as that of experiencing the singing of thousands upon thousands of the angelic host. Furthermore, Christians look forward to the day in which Christ will return and take them up into the air, transforming their bodies and transporting them directly into His presence. Not only that, but may scriptures testify to the activity of the Lord in our prayer lives and the manner in which God's own voice can be heard through the reading and preaching of the scriptures.
Truly all of these experiences are mystical. To deny this side of the Christian faith can lead to a dry dead religious lifestyle. To be truly balanced, the believer in Christ must have one foot in the practical and one in the mystical. In the other extreme many Christians will so emphasize the mystical that they lay themselves prone to heresy and error. Both practical and mystical dimensions are crucial to a vibrant experience of Christ, which describes loving Jesus Christ with all of our soul. However there is one other dimension in which we are to grow or experience Jesus Christ.
WE ARE TO EXPERIENCE CHRIST ON THE THEOLOGICAL LEVEL
Notice what Jesus states in Matthew 22:37: "love the Lord...with all of your mind." Theology is not as scary as many people make it out to be. In fact one does not have to go to seminary or Bible College to be a theologian. To do theology or be a theologian simply means to study God. In fact all Christians are to one degree or another theologians. A Theologian is one who attempts to interpret and organize their understanding of life in biblical categories.
As important as it is to have the practical and subjective dimensions of the Christian faith, the believer must ensure that the first two are grounded in the objective revelation of God's wil through the Bible. If you want to live for Jesus more effectively and experience Jesus more dramatically, then you need to learn how to think like Jesus biblically. This requires us delighting in God's word by thinking upon it daily.
Joshua 1:8 states: "Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful." To accelerate ones understanding of scripture, believers should get involved in such things as Bible Studies at church or journaling. Activites such as these will discipline the Christian to understand better who Christ is and who they are.
Theology as a discipline is at the heart of discipleship, a word which Jesus uses to define all of those who follow Him. According to Jesus, loving the Lord includes engaging our minds to think and reason in such a way as to glorify God. If a Christian truly loves Jesus Christ, why would they prevent themselves from engaging Him with their minds?
Thus Christian growth entails loving Jesus Christ in the realm of the heart - or practical Christianity, the soul - or mystical Christianity and the mind - or Theological Christianity. Let all of those who endeavor to love the Lord do so in these three ways both equally and increasingly.
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
If science cannot define the meaning of life, who or what can?
Albert Einstein had established himself in the early 20th century as the premier physicist of our time. He had single handedly rewrote the definition and study of gravity and space and demonstrated the necessary inter-relationship between energy and matter. The first two contributions would advance our understanding of the Universe, while the latter two contributions would help usher us into the Atomic age.
For Einstein, the one remaining intellectual achievement was developing a scientific theory that would in one stroke describe the functions of the four known forces governing our universe: the atomic force holding atoms together; the weak force that describes radioactive decay; the electromagnetic force that holds together molecules and describes all sorts of radiation and then finally, the force of gravity. Einstein's name for this alledged holy grail of physics was simply: "The Theory of Everything". Einstein never did complete his vision, however physicists have been attempting to find such a theory ever since.
In the 60's and 70's the Standard Model of particle physics, which describes the world of the unimaginably small, successfully described how the electromagnetic, weak and strong nuclear forces interracted and worked together. Einstein's theory of gravity (His General Theory of Relativity) is the prevailing theory of gravity today. So far no one has been able to unite Einstein's theory of gravity (which deals with the incredibly large objects such as planets, galaxies and the universe itself) with the Standard Model. Scientists believe that if we can find a "Theory of Everything", then perhaps we will be able to describe the underlying nature and meaning of reality.
The question is, can science tell us the meaning of life? The question of life's meaning is both a who and why question: namely who made the universe and why are we here? Science on the other hand can only answer what and how questions: namely what do I see occurring and how did it come to be?
When it comes to the meaning of life, the questions of who and why are central to the discussion. Philosophy is that branch of knowledge that in a limited way can be used to answer the why part of the meaning of life. However its ability to see beyond the horizon of this physical world is limited.
Theology, the branch of knowledge that draws its assumptions and understanding from the God of the Bible is the supreme way to find the answers to both why we are here and who made the universe. Many scientists are content to just report the facts of how and what happened without concerning themselves with why life occurs or who made it occur. Christians on the other hand believe that outside of the why and who questions, that scientific inquiry is fruitless and that there is no relationship between the questions raised by science and those of theology (and perhaps philosophy).
Though a "Theory of Everything" might not ever be discovered by science, yet if we are to arrive at life's meaning, we must include theology. Theology was believed up until the Renaissance era to be the Queen of the Sciences, and Philsophy its handmaiden. To tackle the meaning of life, intellectual inquiry must include genuine scientific inquiry to answer the what and how questions and theological study to answer the who and why questions. Though we many times might not be able to see the clear connections between science and theology, yet reason and Christian faith understand that there is an ultimate CONNECTION.
If anything else, perhaps this blog would have us conclude that the question about life's meaning should not be so much: What is the meaning of life? Rather the question could be rephrased: Who is the Meaning of life? The God of the Bible revealed in Jesus Christ is the one who created the world that can be studied by scientific inquiry and who spoke forth the word of God that is the subject of theological study. It is only in Him that we can begin to draw conclusions to life's meaning.
For Einstein, the one remaining intellectual achievement was developing a scientific theory that would in one stroke describe the functions of the four known forces governing our universe: the atomic force holding atoms together; the weak force that describes radioactive decay; the electromagnetic force that holds together molecules and describes all sorts of radiation and then finally, the force of gravity. Einstein's name for this alledged holy grail of physics was simply: "The Theory of Everything". Einstein never did complete his vision, however physicists have been attempting to find such a theory ever since.
In the 60's and 70's the Standard Model of particle physics, which describes the world of the unimaginably small, successfully described how the electromagnetic, weak and strong nuclear forces interracted and worked together. Einstein's theory of gravity (His General Theory of Relativity) is the prevailing theory of gravity today. So far no one has been able to unite Einstein's theory of gravity (which deals with the incredibly large objects such as planets, galaxies and the universe itself) with the Standard Model. Scientists believe that if we can find a "Theory of Everything", then perhaps we will be able to describe the underlying nature and meaning of reality.
The question is, can science tell us the meaning of life? The question of life's meaning is both a who and why question: namely who made the universe and why are we here? Science on the other hand can only answer what and how questions: namely what do I see occurring and how did it come to be?
When it comes to the meaning of life, the questions of who and why are central to the discussion. Philosophy is that branch of knowledge that in a limited way can be used to answer the why part of the meaning of life. However its ability to see beyond the horizon of this physical world is limited.
Theology, the branch of knowledge that draws its assumptions and understanding from the God of the Bible is the supreme way to find the answers to both why we are here and who made the universe. Many scientists are content to just report the facts of how and what happened without concerning themselves with why life occurs or who made it occur. Christians on the other hand believe that outside of the why and who questions, that scientific inquiry is fruitless and that there is no relationship between the questions raised by science and those of theology (and perhaps philosophy).
Though a "Theory of Everything" might not ever be discovered by science, yet if we are to arrive at life's meaning, we must include theology. Theology was believed up until the Renaissance era to be the Queen of the Sciences, and Philsophy its handmaiden. To tackle the meaning of life, intellectual inquiry must include genuine scientific inquiry to answer the what and how questions and theological study to answer the who and why questions. Though we many times might not be able to see the clear connections between science and theology, yet reason and Christian faith understand that there is an ultimate CONNECTION.
If anything else, perhaps this blog would have us conclude that the question about life's meaning should not be so much: What is the meaning of life? Rather the question could be rephrased: Who is the Meaning of life? The God of the Bible revealed in Jesus Christ is the one who created the world that can be studied by scientific inquiry and who spoke forth the word of God that is the subject of theological study. It is only in Him that we can begin to draw conclusions to life's meaning.
Monday, February 16, 2009
Book of Hebrews Bible Study - Lesson One: 2 mysteries in the book of Hebrews
PLEASE READ HEBREWS 1:1 "Long ago God spoke many times and in many ways to our ancestors through the prophets." (New Living Translation)
Who doesn't like a mystery? How about this first mystery: The fact that no one knows who truly wrote the book of Hebrews. For over 2,000 years many Bible teachers and serious Bible students have pondered on this question. The early church fathers believed Paul was the author (I for one tip my hat towards that opinion). The strongest possible evidence for Paul's authorship is the mention of Paul's younger protege Timothy, to whom he had written two other letters (1 and 2 Timothy) and whom he had personally discipled. Others, have suggested Apollos, the Greek speaking Bible teacher in the early church, whom we first meet in Acts 18. Apollos loved using the Old Testament in his ministry, and he was apparently well versed in the Greek language.
The book of Hebrews represents the finest example of first century Greek in all of the New Testament, and contains many allusions to Old Testament Patriarchs, ceremonies and festivals in proving the superiority of Jesus Christ.Other possibilities, from Paul's friend and missionary co-worker Barnabas to other lesser known figures have been offered up as possible suspects. Overall, over two millenia of scholarship has not yielded the identity of the human author.
With that said, what is the second mystery? Thankfully, this one is much easier to solve. Namely, what is the purpose or theme of Hebrews: The Superiority of Jesus Christ. A mystery in the Bible has to do with God uncovering information to us that was previously hidden from previous generations. The process by which God makes known the unknown is what is called "revelation".
In the book of Hebrews we see references to Abraham, Moses, the Jew's 1st place of worship called the tabernacle and Angels, as well as many other subjects. All these persons or objects were "great" as they so appeared in the Old Testament. Yet, whenever you read the Old Testament, you realize that it is pointing to something or someone greater than itself. That is where the book of Hebrews comes to aid us in uncovering the connection between the Old Testament and New Testament - Jesus Christ. As we will see in this study, time and time again the unknown author of Hebrews will be showing us who this Jesus is - with the goal of making the Author of salvation more knowable to all who love Him. For Jesus Christ is Superior to everything!
Questions for reflection:
1. Why do you think the Old Testament is not read as much as the New Testament?
2. What do you hope to get out of this study?If you have any questions about this study, or the book of Hebrews in general?.
Who doesn't like a mystery? How about this first mystery: The fact that no one knows who truly wrote the book of Hebrews. For over 2,000 years many Bible teachers and serious Bible students have pondered on this question. The early church fathers believed Paul was the author (I for one tip my hat towards that opinion). The strongest possible evidence for Paul's authorship is the mention of Paul's younger protege Timothy, to whom he had written two other letters (1 and 2 Timothy) and whom he had personally discipled. Others, have suggested Apollos, the Greek speaking Bible teacher in the early church, whom we first meet in Acts 18. Apollos loved using the Old Testament in his ministry, and he was apparently well versed in the Greek language.
The book of Hebrews represents the finest example of first century Greek in all of the New Testament, and contains many allusions to Old Testament Patriarchs, ceremonies and festivals in proving the superiority of Jesus Christ.Other possibilities, from Paul's friend and missionary co-worker Barnabas to other lesser known figures have been offered up as possible suspects. Overall, over two millenia of scholarship has not yielded the identity of the human author.
With that said, what is the second mystery? Thankfully, this one is much easier to solve. Namely, what is the purpose or theme of Hebrews: The Superiority of Jesus Christ. A mystery in the Bible has to do with God uncovering information to us that was previously hidden from previous generations. The process by which God makes known the unknown is what is called "revelation".
In the book of Hebrews we see references to Abraham, Moses, the Jew's 1st place of worship called the tabernacle and Angels, as well as many other subjects. All these persons or objects were "great" as they so appeared in the Old Testament. Yet, whenever you read the Old Testament, you realize that it is pointing to something or someone greater than itself. That is where the book of Hebrews comes to aid us in uncovering the connection between the Old Testament and New Testament - Jesus Christ. As we will see in this study, time and time again the unknown author of Hebrews will be showing us who this Jesus is - with the goal of making the Author of salvation more knowable to all who love Him. For Jesus Christ is Superior to everything!
Questions for reflection:
1. Why do you think the Old Testament is not read as much as the New Testament?
2. What do you hope to get out of this study?If you have any questions about this study, or the book of Hebrews in general?.
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