Flat Bible

Not flat earth

Progressive revelation is defined as the understanding that God's self-disclosure is in progression from the Old Testament to the New Testament. Grenz, Guretzki, and Nordling (1999: 96). Therefore the New Testament offers a more complete revelation. The Old Testament is to be understood in light of the fuller teaching of the New Testament. Grenz, Guretzki, and Nordling (1999: 96).

Recently someone asked me in person about progressive revelation and we had a discussion. The following is a later non-exhaustive email response sent by me in answer to an email from this person. It is slightly revised for this blog.

At Columbia Bible College (Mennonite) and Canadian Baptist Seminary, I was taught that the Bible is not flat, as there is progressive revelation which ended in the apostolic age. There is no place for Islam, Latter-Day Saints, etc, continuing the Christian faith.

Jesus is the mediator of the new covenant. (Hebrews 12: 24). The law in particular was only a shadow of good things to come. (Hebrews 10). The law cannot save as in Romans 4, but persons are saved through righteousness of faith fulfilled in Christ. Galatians 2 mentions the folly of following the law as we now have Christ. In the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 4-6, Jesus explains the deeper spiritual meanings of the law.

The Old Testament/Hebrew Bible is as valid as the New Testament, but it is often stated that we must interpret the Old Testament through the New Testament. Well, I can understand this since there is progressive revelation, but the Old Testament must be read in context, or else one risks reading the New Testament into the Old Testament. Christianity explains that the New Testament revelation of Christ/apostles does not contradict the previous revelation and instead adds to it explaining the plan of God. Islam is rejected for reasons such as the denial of key doctrines about Christ, including his deity, and the Latter-Day Saints theology is rejected for reasons such as holding to polytheism which is against Scriptural teaching. (Isaiah 43, 44, 45). There are various reasons why these other religions are rejected as well, but I mention those key points. If my concentration academically was on the Hebrew Bible, I would have no problem with studying Hebrew scholars for the original context, but I reason the New Testament can shed light on many of the older teachings.

Russ:)

GRENZ, STANLEY J., DAVID GURETZKI AND CHERITH FEE NORDLING (1999) Pocket Dictionary of Theological Terms, Downers Grove, Ill., InterVarsity Press.


A famous guitar player, practicing.

This is not a political statement, and I enjoy Coca-Cola as a drink, but I find the parody interesting.

Don't buy what you cannot afford

1. My thanks to Chucky for the clip below. I am not a fan of Saturday Night Live, as I find it usually non-humourous, but this clip is good and educational. It concerns debt.



Now, I have student debt, but I have very worked hard as an academic and have had part-time work. If when I started academics, I would have known about all the health problems, academic delays and changed advisors/institutions, I would have pursued another career and worked on the goal of obtaining a Theology PhD on the side. As it is, I live cheaply, and do not buy what I cannot afford. Some debt is required in life, as Romans 13:6-7 explains that Christians are to pay taxes to the state. Debt from foolish unwise purchases may eventually put a person into the position where income does not cover debt, and this is a serious situation.

I reason that the stress associated with unmanageable debt, is not worth the pleasure of unwise purchases. I realize there is necessary debt at times such as student loans, and mortgages, but I am discussing unnecessary purchases. Even with necessary purchases it is wise to limit debt as much possible. For example, it is good to drive that fine older car a few more years, if a newer vehicle is not that affordable.

2.Below is a clip of a blown call from the Turkey-Hungary, Euro 2008 qualification game. In my view, the player in the box was taken down by the goalkeeper. The goalkeeper should have been carded and not the player who was given a yellow and red. For the largest and most popular sport in the world there are quite a few controversies that should be avoided.

3. Even for those of you who are not Rush fans there are a couple of funny solos with this song below. It is rare to see them goof around this much. The solos also feature some excellent playing. The clip is from the R30, 2004 tour in New York. By-Tor and the Snow Dog is featured.



4. Okay, I am not interested in promoting celebrity culture on this blog, but this is funny. Paris Hilton runs out of gas and photographers assists. It is funny how Ms. Hilton dumps change in the back seat.

Recently, I had the misfortune of running out of gas at 70 miles per hour on a freeway. It felt like being rear-ended! I was not driving and it was not my car!



Opinions?

I updated the following older article.

http://thekingpin68.blogspot.com/2006/05/arminianism-and-free-will.html

Site Meter, Red Dwarf and Elvis

1. This is one of my favourite episodes from Red Dwarf. The clips are short.

2. I received a good review for my statistics chapter and I am now working on revisions. Things are looking promising for the PhD!

3. I realize that a few new readers check out this blog and likely do not scroll all the way down the page, or look in the archives. Unlike most blogs, I have all my postings available on one page. I like this and it is part of my philosophy that all my articles are open for revision. Here are some of the older postings that I know through Site Meter receive a fair amount of views through web searches. Please check them out if they are new to you and interest.

http://satireandtheology.blogspot.com/2006/09/scammer-files.html

http://satireandtheology.blogspot.com/2006/09/old-news-but-still-relevant-james-randi.html

http://satireandtheology.blogspot.com/2006/10/timeline-of-christianity_04.html

http://satireandtheology.blogspot.com/2006/11/250-000.html

The above is very funny as an angry preacher with bad language asks for $250,000.

http://satireandtheology.blogspot.com/2006/12/christianity-in-summary.html

http://satireandtheology.blogspot.com/2007/06/facebook-graffiti-one.html

The above is my most popular posting. I think the title has a lot to do with it.

Statements, perhaps funny

Antrim, Belfast, Northern Ireland (photo from trekearth.com)

I will not attend a wedding reception unless invited to the wedding. I never enjoy being the fifth wheel. What do you think of my view?

Friends of mine have three cute and sweet little girls, and one of them that is 3 and a half-years-old is quite the character.

I was joking with her as she sat in my lap and I asked her why I did not have three cute little teddy bears (girls) like her parents. She stated ‘Your belly is too fat, and you should eat less’. I smiled and stated that I did not eat much, had a lot of stomach muscle and had sleep apnea.

I was playing on the floor with her and her older sister and grabbed their dolly to tease them and make them jealous, showing them how much the doll ‘loved me’. The 3 and a half-year-old stated, ‘You are too fat to have a baby’.

Daddy was holding baby sister in hand and knocked over some food on the floor. The 3 and a half-year-old and the older sister were asked to clean up the mess. The older sister complied, but the 3 and a half-year-old stated, ‘Why don’t you clean it up yourself’! Daddy had a huge grin on his face, and then had to go into Daddy/discipline mode.

I had not seen the girls in a few weeks, I asked the oldest, ‘Did you miss me’, she smiled and said ‘yes’. I asked the 3 and a half-year-old, and she stated, ‘No, you stink’!, within a minute they were both jumping and crawling over me.

I found the profile of a young woman on Facebook that I used to be attracted to that was not attracted to me. She does not look near as good now, and I am somewhat pleased. I guess I will not be up for any nice guy blogger award now.;) As if I was in the running with these blogs...

With God's help I aim to be good rather than nice, although I try to be both. The pursuit and discussion of truth can sometimes lead to hard feelings, and that cannot always be helped, but I attempt to stay on good terms with everyone.

I have a friend at church that I respect very much since he is over 80 years old and still works. He teases me about a few things, and one day we were talking about films. I asked him if he remembered his first 'talkie'. He laughed hard.

This is weird. My Mom just sent me the following set of photos. This is supposedly from off the coast of Orange Beach, Alabama.













Thanks to Casa Di Pace in my links for presenting this hilarious UK advertisement featuring Mr. T.