Francis Schaeffer made the claim that no-one can now tuth exhaustively but we can all know truth "truely". That may seem like an awkward statement but I shall demonstrate it with the help of elementary mathematics.
Imagine two lines, PQ and PR, each 1 metre long, at right angles to each other. By the theorem of Pythagoras the length of QR is equal to the square root of 2. It has been known since antiquity that this number cannot be expressed as a fraction of two whole numbers. It can only be approximated. If someone said QR = 1.4, it would be true but someone who said QR = 1.4142 would be more accurate. Sqrt(2) can be calculated to whatever degree of accuracy one may desire but it is not a repeating decimal.
When it comes to the Bible there are many passages which contain ambiguities. For example, some of the genealogies in Kings do not agree with the corresponding genealogies in Chronicles. For those who wish to write the Bible off on account of its inaccuracies it would be instructive to heed a statement attributed to Mark Twain. I may not be quoting it perfectly but it was something along the line of: "I am not worried about the things in the Bible which I do not understand, but the things I do understand, they bother me."
And then there are sayings alleged to be in the Bible but they are not. "God helps those who help themselves" and "A fool and his money are soon parted" come to mind.
Some practices are widely believed to be Biblical but they do not have their origin there. One of these is the habit of closing our eyes when we pray. If we were to use Jesus as model we would be lifting our eyes to heaven.
After reading from a modern version of the Bible the accounts of Jesus multiplying the loaves and fishes, I concluded that blessing food is not biblical. Then I decided to read the Greek and the King James versions. There I found that Jesus both blessed (eulogeo) and gave thanks (eucharisteo) for food (see Mark 8:6-7 in Greek or King James Version).
Monday 17 November 2008
Wednesday 12 November 2008
What's so good about laws?
Psalm 119, with its 176 verses, is dedicated to the law of God. In verse 93 the psalmist declares that he was kept alive by God's commandments.
I think the most widespread perception of laws is that they are restrictive. When I think about laws, my mind turns to what I must do or what I dare not do, if I want to stay out of trouble. So how does a law save my life?
When I read Ps 119:93 this morning it hit me. It is knowledge of the law that keeps me alive. If I did not know about the law of gravity, I could decide to walk off a high building into the air. Knowledge of the laws of electricity keep electricians alive while they work on high voltage cables. Divers, miners, mechanics and many more need to know some natural laws if they want to stay alive.
Under certain circumstances a law requires that an aeroplane's fuel tank must be 40% full when it lands. Recently a man landed with little fuel at a place which did not have his kind of fuel. He decided to fly to the nearest refueling station and ran out of fuel in mid-air. He crashed the plane and died.
By law a driver is not to allowed to overtake by crossing over a solid line in the road. Many people who have survived head-on collisions appreciate the value of such laws.
Keeping God's laws can protect us from doing things that could kill us. In our day millions are dying of Aids because they broke God's laws out of ignorance or willful disobedience. Others have defied God by doing violent crime and ended up dead.
Knowledge of God's moral laws can be very helpful, as the author of Psalm 119 found out centuries ago.
I think the most widespread perception of laws is that they are restrictive. When I think about laws, my mind turns to what I must do or what I dare not do, if I want to stay out of trouble. So how does a law save my life?
When I read Ps 119:93 this morning it hit me. It is knowledge of the law that keeps me alive. If I did not know about the law of gravity, I could decide to walk off a high building into the air. Knowledge of the laws of electricity keep electricians alive while they work on high voltage cables. Divers, miners, mechanics and many more need to know some natural laws if they want to stay alive.
Under certain circumstances a law requires that an aeroplane's fuel tank must be 40% full when it lands. Recently a man landed with little fuel at a place which did not have his kind of fuel. He decided to fly to the nearest refueling station and ran out of fuel in mid-air. He crashed the plane and died.
By law a driver is not to allowed to overtake by crossing over a solid line in the road. Many people who have survived head-on collisions appreciate the value of such laws.
Keeping God's laws can protect us from doing things that could kill us. In our day millions are dying of Aids because they broke God's laws out of ignorance or willful disobedience. Others have defied God by doing violent crime and ended up dead.
Knowledge of God's moral laws can be very helpful, as the author of Psalm 119 found out centuries ago.
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