Julie R. Neidlinger: Lone Prairie Art Works (via Mowser)

The question isn't the point.

written by Julie R. Neidlinger 1 comments link this post

Something about the question, "How much of the Bible can a person not believe and still be okay?", tells me the person asking it may be fairly far down a path that would negate any need for any belief in the Bible.

Let's try a few different "translations" of that question:

How much can I get away with not believing in the Bible yet still get the benefits the Bible claims to offer? How little do I have to hold on to in order to still be in God's good graces? What's the least amount of faith I have to have in order to still be considered saved? How easy can I make it and still be on the narrow path? Can I just pick and choose what feels comfortable to my human reason and still be okay?

Now, I suppose there could be argument about what belief in the Bible means, which could quickly, in the case of say, creation, evolve (sorry for the pun) into a debate not on whether a person believed in the Biblical account but on how they interpreted it.

Regardless, I don't want to make a habit of trying to find the least amount required. Because, in the case of following Christ, the concept of requirement and doing as little as possible means you've missed the boat entirely and, unless you happen to believe that Jesus actually walked on water, missing the boat means you're pretty much stuck on dry land.

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Labels: bible, christianity, creation, links

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Beginnings: The world created, the world marred.

written by Julie R. Neidlinger 0 comments link this post

::As often happens at the end of the year, Christmas programs, snowy weather and other events led to our Sunday School class falling one lesson behind at the beginning of our new quarter material. I decided, rather than skip a lesson that looked pretty good, I'd combine them. As is usual, there's never enough time to cover everything, but at least here I can post my outlined notes and thoughts without time constraints.::

The World Created
Key Verse: Genesis 1:1

This lesson opened with the statement that the word "created" is only used, in the Bible, in reference to God. Out of nothing, God created something. (Heb. 11:3)

Q. What option do we have as Christians in regards to Genesis?
A. Either we believe it or we don't. There are many opinions on how "God created" but this one foundational truth (that He did create) is vitally important.

If we look at Genesis 1:3-29, we see the phrase "God said" repeated often.

Q. What does the frequency of God speaking during creation tell us about Him?
A. It tells us a number of things.

He was very much present He was very much active His word is all powerful

The use and interchangeability of the word "word" in the Bible has always intrigued me. John called Jesus the Word. We have the word of God. We know of Jesus' place in creation. We see there is literal power in God's spoken word. We are as Christians, literally, people of the word. I'm going to come back to this concept, the importance of "word", in a little bit.

If we look at the order of how God created the world, we learn something important about foundation. I made a quick chart, based on material provided with the study, to help visually lay out the order of creation. You can see this chart here.

Q. Using that chart, what is the connection between days one and four, two and five, and 3 and six (i.e. the days across from each other in the chart)?
A. It seems like stating the obvious, but God made the foundation of creation, then went back and added the "detail." You can't have the creatures of the sea without having the sea first.

So, then, what does this say about God, this order of creation? How does He do this in our lives? Does He still do this today? I know I often forget this obvious need for order and want God to make a change in my life right now without remembering that the foundation might not be ready yet.

A note of interest on Day Six of the chart, the day God created human beings. Humans are unique from all of the rest of creation in that only humans:

are created in God's image (Gen. 1:26-27)
given dominion over other creatures (Gen. 1:26)
told to subdue earth (Gen. 1:28)
granted capacity for moral decisions (Gen. 2:15-17)
permitted to name creatures (Gen. 2:19-20)
enjoy intimate fellowship with their Creator (Gen. 2:15-17; 3:8-9)

One side note of interest, for anyone wanting to do a little outside reading, is in regards to humans being the final creation, the pinnacle. John and Stasi Eldridge have written a book, called Captivating: Unveiling the Mystery of a Woman's Soul, that I am still mulling over in which the discuss women and their place and role. The chapter of interest in this discussion is where they talk about creation and Adam and Eve. They note that both Adam and Eve, though very different, are created in the image of God. This would seem to say that God is multi-faceted, something we already understand if we see how He can both wipe out nations and cry over lost souls. The book also notes that woman was the actual final creation and has an interesting take on the result of God's curse on the serpent (Gen. 3:14-15) and how it explains what women have faced throughout history. You can do with that what you want; I'm not going to discuss it here. I would recommend reading the book and seeing what you think. We'll discuss the fall a bit later.

The final day of creation was one of non-creation, a day of rest (Gen. 2:1-3).

Q. What does a day of rest do for us physically, spiritually, and symbolically?
A. There are a few passages in the Bible that talk about the importance of such rest.

It was a reminder of deliverance from Egypt (Deut. 5:15) Spiritual rest has value (Heb. 4:6-11) For further personal study on the importance of rest, check out these verses and note the principles taught: Exodus 20:8-11; Exodus 31:12-17; Colossians 2:16-17

Q. Are we bound to adhere to strict Sabbath rules in regards to our day of rest?
A. No. The rest is important, the symbolism and matters of the heart, but Paul addressed the strict "legalism" of this in Colossians 2:16-17 where he talks of things that are only a mere shadow of what is to come.

The World Marred
Key Verse: Romans 6:23

In Genesis 3:1-7, we read of the fall of mankind, the first sin. What struck me as interesting was the way the serpent, the enemy, worked in order to convince Eve to eat of the tree.

1. Doubt the Word (Gen. 3:1)
Satan's primary attacks are directed towards the word of God, which leads back to my earlier comments on the interesting concept the Bible has of the word "word." Satan asks Eve if she is really certain that what she thinks God said is what He really said.

2. Distort the Word (Gen. 3:2-3)
I never noticed what Eve did here, until the Sunday School lesson guide pointed it out. In her response to Satan, she ever-so-slightly distorts the word of God. She replies to Satan that God told them they were not to eat of it or touch it or death would surely come. If we look in Genesis 2:8-9 and 2:15-17, we see that she has distorted what God said. God didn't say they couldn't touch the tree, but that they were not to eat from it. It seems like a minor thing that Eve has done, an innocent mistake, but Proverbs 30:5-6 tells us we are not to add to His word. I don't know how many times I've seen people trying to over-bolster their debates with others on their interpretation of the Bible, adding to the word or "fleshing it out" in ways God did not intend. There is danger in this, because Satan uses this as part of his method of attacking God's true word.

3. Deny the Word (Gen. 3:4)
Satan makes a huge leap here and throws off all subtlety. He's already gotten Eve to innocently distort God's word. In this verse, he outright denies that what God said was true.

4. Discredit the Word (Gen. 3:5)
After outright denying the word of God, Satan soothes the initial shock by placating words, moving past denial and into the heady ideals of moral enlightenment. He suggests to Eve that the only reason God doesn't want them to eat from the tree is that they will become God-like. I think it interesting how, today, we see people following paths and taking action in a further-degrading path, all the while using the excuse of a similar kind of enlightenment. The study guide pointed out, and I found it extremely noteworthy, that though personal experience may be the best teacher, the consequences are usually far too high. Satan wasn't lying when he said they'd know good from evil - that was the truth and that was partly why Satan sprinkles enough truth in a lie to get us to swallow it. If they ate from the tree, Adam and Eve would not only know good from evil, but they'd experience it. Experience was about to be a very hard teacher. (I am not saying, however, that God wants us to be ignorant and stupid. It is when we place attaining wisdom in place of serving God that the problem begins.)

5. Disobey the Word (Gen. 3:6-7)
Here it is, then, the ultimate disobedience which cost us all everything. One thing of interest to note, here, before I move on to the two kinds of temptations, is the fact that Adam was right there with Eve the entire time. For some reason I grew up thinking that Eve ate from the tree and then ran around Eden trying to find Adam to do the same. This is not the case. Throughout the entire discussion between Satan and Eve, Adam was right there, silent. This is something the Eldridge's point out in their book. My questions regarding this can be reduced to the following:

Why was Eve approached and not Adam? The usual Christian joke fare makes light of weak women and such, but think about it. Why did Satan target woman? Is "weakness" the only answer, or is there something more to it? Think back to the curse God placed on the serpent, and how women are referenced in it. Weakness is not the only answer, if it is even a right answer. Why did Adam remain silent? What does this say about men and the call for them to be leaders? How does this scene on which all the rest of mankind rested explain things between men and women today? In pre-fall Eden, the curse (Gen. 3:14-19) of men and women did not apply. Think of what this means in terms of how God intended women and men to interact with each other; it does not seem that God's original intent was for women to be subjugated in marriage. I often hear that since Adam was created first, it was always God's intention that man be "higher" than woman. Think of how this explains much of the struggles between the sexes through history. There is much importance in these early chapters of the Bible.

The Result of Sin
Sin makes us hide. It makes us hide literally, as Adam and Eve attempted, or in other ways. Adam and Eve had round-about answers to God's questions. They blamed others for what they had done. (Gen. 3:8-13)

God did what He said He would do if Adam and Eve ate of the tree. They, and the serpent, were cursed. The curses placed upon Satan, Eve and Adam have had huge ramifications, obviously, as I've touched on above.

Satan will forever do battle. The seed of Satan and the seed of woman have/will battle until the ultimate end. (Rev. 20:10) Women will have pain associated with childbirth, and not only the obvious physical pain, but mental anguish over their children as well.Women would be subjugated to their husbands, something I have touched on a bit already. Men would no longer have dominion over creation, but it would have dominion over him. He would have to toil for little and upon his death, return to the very dust he came from and worked over.

The Paths of Temptation
If we look at the verses (Gen. 3:6) where Eve is about to make the wrong decision, we can see that temptation came at her by addressing:

her physical needs (that the fruit was good for food) her visual senses (that the fruit was pleasing to the eye) her desire for wisdom (that she would understand good and evil)

I can't think of one human on earth that is free from being tempted in some fashion. For those uninterested in knowledge, their physical needs or senses will be their stumbling block. For those "above" such baser instincts, the drive for knowledge will be their downfall. In 1 John 2:16, in one quick verse, these three stumbling blocks are summed up for what they are: not of the Father but of the world.

Satan used the same three tactics when he tempted Jesus.

he reminded Jesus of his hunger (Luke 4:3)
he showed Jesus all the kingdoms of the world from a high vantage point in a moment of time (Luke 4:5)
he made suggestions towards the wisdom/power that Jesus had (Luke 4:9)

Q. How did Jesus resist temptation when He was tempted (Luke 4:1-13)?
A. He used the true Word of God. (Luke 4:4; 4:8; 4:12)

And there we are, back to the Word.

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Labels: bible, creation, fall, genesis