The Quest for the Radical Middle

I am ordained in the Vineyard Church movement. Take a few minutes and watch this video. 08.06.2017 - The Quest for the Radical Middle from The Eastside Vineyard Church on Vimeo.

What do You Believe and Why?

I am a follower of Jesus Christ. I believe that Genesis 1 describes how the earth and all that is on and above it were created. I do no apologize for standing firm in the belief that what God had Moses write in Genesis is what He intended to be written. I am comfortable in accepting either a literal 6 day creation model or a 6,000 year creation model. I do not believe the earth as we know it was created 4.5 million years ago but I do believe that it could have been first created for the Angels. If you do not mind having your current beliefs challenged watch the video below. WARNING: It is Radical.

What is Your World View?

I have been thinking a lot about my world view. You might be asking what do I mean by world view. World view, as I understand it, is what one bases their beliefs on. Most of you would know that I claim to be a follower of Jesus Christ. So my world view is based on His words.

So my world view would be that God created the earth and everything contained on it. I believe that God created humankind in His image and likeness. We find that in Genesis 1:27 Expanded Bible (EXB) 27 So God created [1:1] ·human beings [T man; C the Hebrew adam can mean human beings, humankind, person, man, or the proper name Adam] in his image [C reflecting God’s nature/character and representing him in the world]. In the image of God he created them. He created them male and female.

Since I believe that I try to form my life around that as my idea. I do not do this perfectly because I am human and sometimes fail. What I have been going through lately is a challenge to which world view I will hold to.

In my mind there are three different world views: 1. What God has inspired to be written in the Bible is true. 2. What is written in the Bible was written by men who were writing about what they knew at the time. 3. The Bible is a myth and not to be believed in as true but looked at like most ancient writings, as history of that time.

When I come face to face with a situation that is challenging I try to use my world view which is the first one I mentioned above and it trumps everything else. I am not against science but if it conflicts with the Bible view point I stick with the Bible.

Having said that I want to challenge you to check your world view. What is it that you have your life securely based in? Is it the first, second or third or is it a mixture of several? What you believe will flow out of whatever world view you have.

Amos 9: Amplified Bible (AMP) 6 It is He who builds His upper chambers in the heavens And has established His vaulted dome (the firmament of heaven) over the earth, He who calls to the waters of the sea And pours them out on the face of the earth—The Lord is His name.

Some Statements about Genesis 1

A few days back I made a statement on FaceBook about the Masons that seemed harsh. I want to say that I know that the Masons, the Shriners, and other groups who have their roots in both of these groups do a lot of great work. I do not want to down play the work they do or the common men involved. What I have shared was true even though it seemed harsh.

With this post I want to share a few statements by Christian leaders and get your response. Please click this link to read the statements.

1. [The Christian is not to compromise so as to obscure the distinction between good and evil, and is to avoid the errors of] those dreamers everything and prevent the order of nature. We will see some who are who have a spirit of bitterness and contradiction, who reprove so deranged, not only in religion but who in all things reveal their that it is the earth which shifts and turns. When we see such minds monstrous nature that they will say that the sun does not move, and we must indeed confess that the devil possess them, and that God sets their imprudence. When they are told: “That is hot,” they will them before us as mirrors, in order to keep us in his fear. So it is with all who argue out of pure malice, and who happily make a show of reply: “No, it is plainly cold.” When they are shown an object contradict the fact. And so it is that they are madmen who would try that is black, they will say that it is white, or vice versa. Just like the man who said that snow is black; for although it is perceived and known by all to be white, yet he clearly wished to to change the natural order, and even to dazzle eyes and benumb their senses.

2. A simple survey of the world should of itself suffice to attest a Divine Providence. The heavens revolve daily, and, immense as is their fabric, and inconceivable the rapidity of their revolutions, we experience no concussion — no disturbance in the harmony of their returns annually to the same point. The planets, in all their motion. The sun, though varying its course every diurnal revolution, hang suspended in the air were it not upheld by God’s hand? By what

wanderings, maintain their respective positions. How could the earth means could it maintain itself unmoved, while the heavens above are it? Accordingly the particle אף, in constant rapid motion, did not its Divine Maker fix and establish aph, denoting emphasis, is introduced — Yea, he hath established it.

3. "There is talk of a new astrologer who wants to prove that the earth moves

and goes around instead of the sky, the sun, the moon, just as if sitting still and at rest while the earth and the trees walked and somebody were moving in a carriage or ship might hold that he was clever he must needs invent something special, and the way he does it moved. But that is how things are nowadays: when a man wishes to be must needs be the best! The fool wants to turn the whole art of Luther (In response to the publication of the brief Commentariolus,

astronomy upside-down. However, as Holy Scripture tells us, so did Joshua bid the sun to stand still and not the earth."

4. "We Christians must be different from the philosophers [i.e. scientists] in the way we think about the causes of these things. And if some are beyond our comprehension (like those before us concerning the waters knowledge rather than either wickedly deny them or presumptuously above the heavens), we must believe them and admit our lack of interpret them in conformity with our understanding."

5. "Indeed, it is more likely that the bodies of the stars, like that of the sun,are round, and that they are fastened to the firmament like globes of creation." - Martin Luther, Luther’s Works. Vol 1. fire, to shed light at night, each according to its endowment and its Lectures on Genesis, ed. Jaroslav Pelikan (St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1958), 42

Notes:

1.- John Calvin, (Sermon on 1 Corinthians 10:19-24, Calvini Opera Selecta, Corpus Refomatorum, Vol 49, 677, trans. by Robert White in "Calvin and Copernicus: the Problem Reconsidered", Calvin Theological Journal 15 1980, p233-243, at 236-237)

2. - John Calvin, Commentary on the Psalms: Volume IV, Ps 93:1

3. – Martin conversations) which appeared a decade before De Revolutionibus. This comes from Luther's Tablebook "Tischreden", or record of dinner-table

4. - Martin Pelikan (St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1958), 30 Luther, Luther’s Works. Vol 1. Lectures on Genesis, ed. Jaroslav

5. - Martin Luther, Luther’s Works. Vol 1. fire, to shed light at night, each according to its endowment and its Lectures on Genesis, ed. Jaroslav Pelikan (St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1958), 42

The Beginning

In Genesis we are told the story of the beginning of the earth, humankind and all that we know that surrounds us. Let's loo at the first 10 verses of Genesis.

Genesis 1Jubilee Bible 2000 (JUB)

1 ¶ In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

2 And the earth was without order, and empty; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.

My comments: In 2 Peter 2 we are told 5 But these people don’t want to remember what happened long ago. The skies were there, and God made the earth from water and with water. All this happened by God’s word.

So in my mind the earth existed but had become void from possibly the battle that took place between the Angels and the Fallen Angels (demons).

Notice the Spirit of God moved over the waters and then the Word of God spoke light into existence.

3 ¶ And God said, Let there be light, and there was light.

4 And God saw that the light was good, and God divided the light from the darkness.

5 And God called the light Day and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.

6 ¶ And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.

My comments: "This firmament has been hidden from most people and not discussed within religious circles." 

7 And God made a firmament and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament; and it was so.

8 And God called the firmament Heavens. And the evening and the morning were the second day.

My comments: "Here is how the Hebrews viewed the earth" 

Far different than what we have been taught in the school and college.

9 ¶ And God said, Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear; and it was so.

10 And God called the dry land Earth, and the gathering together of the waters he called Seas; and God saw that it was good.

My comments: In verses 11 thru 13 God created the trees and plants. What is interesting is He created these before he set the sun, moon and stars in the sky.

14 Then God said, “Let there be lights in the sky. These lights will separate the days from the nights. They will be used for signs to show when special meetings[d] begin and to show the days and years. 15 They will be in the sky to shine light on the earth.” And it happened.

16 So God made the two large lights. He made the larger light to rule during the day and the smaller light to rule during the night. He also made the stars. 17 God put these lights in the sky to shine on the earth.18 He put them in the sky to rule over the day and over the night. They separated the light from the darkness. And God saw that this was good.

19 There was evening, and then there was morning. This was the fourth day.

My comments: "God spoke two major lights to separate day from night. The sun burning brighter and hotter for the day and the moon putting off a cooler light for the night." Verse 16 indicates that both the sun and moon put off their own light instead of what we have been taught."

Again the Hebrew view of earth.

You might be asking what am I trying to say. What I want to do in this blog is to get you to think about what you have been taught and then research it and prove it. Do this with the Bible in one hand and whatever information you gather in the other. Keep in mind the Bible always trumps the other.