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PLOUGHMAN'S LUNCH
  
SOMETHING TO CHEW OVER FROM THE WORD

I invite all bloggers to read and make a comment on my blog posts. This includes those who agree with me, those who disagree with me and those who are indifferent. The only thing I ask - no, INSIST UPON - is that responses are courteous and respectful. Failure to observe this will result in post deletion and repeated failure will result in your being banned from my blog altogether. In return I will be courteous and respectful back to you even if I disagree very strongly with what you have said.

I prefer you to make short-ish comments and using your own words to express your own opinions. You will of course wish to quote scripture to back up your opinion, but a post consisting of a long list of scriptures, or one which is "cut and pasted" from elsewhere, is almost certain to be deleted.

Peter
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CREATION BLOG 2: HOW SHOULD WE INTERPRET THE BIBLE? May 13, 2008 1:42 pm
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When I left school my first job was in an insurance office, and that was a career I pursued for 12 years. As part of my professional qualifications I had to study the law of contract, and learned some of the principles for the interpretation of legal documents. Several years later, after I became a Christian, I learned about 'Biblical hermeneutics' i.e. how to interpret the Bible, and was surprised to find similar principles in operation there! Here are some of the things I learned about reading legal documents:

1. If the meaning of a word is ambiguous, then its usual meaning in everyday speech is to be taken.

2. The exception to this is if it is to be used in a specialist capacity, in which case it will be defined to have this meaning at the beginning of the document before it actually appears in use.

3. In the event of a whole phrase having two or more possible meanings, then the plain and obvious meaning is to be preferred.

4. The intention of the person who drew up the contract is to be paramount.

Some of you will have viewed the blog discussion I have been having the last few days with JustChristian1 on the "Gap Theory", and the above points are crucial in understanding my approach to this whole topic. My contention is that a plain reading of Genesis 1 to 3 reveals that God created the universe from nothing, and completed the job in 6 ordinary days. Creatures do not 'evolve' but reproduce 'according to their kinds' (that is not the same as saying that creatures now are exactly as they were at first, but I don't want to expand on that point just now). Adam and Eve were two real people who enjoyed the daily presence of God in the Garden of Eden (a real place) until they disobeyed God and brought death and suffering upon themselves and all their descendants.

Because secular 'scientists' claim to have proof that the world is billions of years old, Christians have sought to reinterpret Genesis in various ways so that the billions of years can be fitted in. Two of the most common of these compromises are:

1. The Day-Age Theory: which suggests that the 'days' of Genesis are not 24 hour days but symbolically represent much longer periods of time.

2. The Gap Theory: which suggests there is a break between Genesis 1v1 and 1v2 in which Satan reigned on earth and after his rebellion against God the earth was laid waste i.e. rendered 'without form and void' as a judgement of God.

Both of these theories fall foul of the Biblical interpretation principles referred to above. Genesis is not poetry, as some have suggested, but straightforward historical prose. A plain reading of this prose tells us that the time period involved from beginning to end was 6 days. The only reason anybody ever 'found' these other meanings is because of the opinions of 'scientists' who weren't there to observe what happened (whereas God WAS there of course). The correctness of the plain reading is also confirmed in Exodus 20v11 where God explains to Moses that the 6-day creation is the explanation of the weekly pattern of 6 days work and one day rest.

However the most important reason why 6 days is the only possible interpretation is connected to the Fall in chapter 3. The Bible is absolutely crystal clear that death (spiritual AND physical) is a direct consequence of the Fall. If we allow billions of years of history before the Fall then these billions of years must have been full of untold amounts of death and suffering not only for people but for creatures of all kinds, and it must have been God's intention all along that this suffering should take place. We have all, I'm sure, had at some time a discussion with someone who blames God (as an omnipotent being) for all the death and suffering in the world, and claims there is no way that he can be a loving God if he causes (or even allows) disasters to befall people. Well, here's the crunch: if we don't hold to 6 days, then those people are right in their condemnation of God (and we can't have that, can we, because we KNOW God is a loving God).

Furthermore, the Gospel is fatally undermined. If death was already here and not a result of the Fall, then what on earth did Jesus die for?
3 Comments
CREATION BLOG 1: The Nature of Truth May 11, 2008 5:26 am
Mood: Bolshy, 172 Views
In 1966 England won the Football (Soccer for you in the USA) World Cup, beating the team from West Germany in the final. On the way to winning the final a goal was scored that has been argued about to this day. England forward Geoff Hurst shot for goal and the ball hit the underside of the crossbar, bounced to the ground and bounced out again. Was it over the line or not? Answering this question gives us an interesting insight into the nature of 'Truth'. There are those who think there is no such thing as 'Objective Truth', that 'truth is what you make it' or 'what is true for you isn't necessarily true for me'. See what you think after reading this:

Subjective Truth
Ask any Englishman if the ball was over the line, and he will say 'of course it was'. Ask any German, and he will say 'of course it wasn't'! On what evidence are they basing these mutually exclusive conclusions? Assuming the people you are speaking to weren't actually at the match, the only evidence they have is the TV coverage of the incident. They both have the same evidence, but reach different conclusions because they are on different sides i.e. they have different loyalties which have been decided in advance and they therefore interpret what they see on the TV footage in the light of what they have already decided. (By the way as a totally unbiased Englishman can I just say that the ball WAS over the line!")

Official Truth
In the 1966 World Cup Final the referee (assisted by the famed 'Russian linesman') decided that the ball was over the line and therefore officially it was a goal, and that is what the records will say if you look them up.

Observed Truth
The nearest person to the ball at the time, and in the best position to see what happened, was another England player, Roger Hunt. He has always maintained that the ball was over the line, which was why he made no effort to run forward to make sure.

Actual Truth
The fans and players may be biased, or the referee may have made a mistake, but there is only one truth about this incident. Hopefully it is clear to everyone that either the ball was over the line or it wasn't - it can't be BOTH over AND not over at the same time!

Creation or Evolution?
My particular interest is in the Creation v Evolution controversy. In this discussion both sides have access to the same evidence, but interpret it differently because of beliefs already held. For example, an evolutionist will look at the layers of the Grand Canyon and conclude that they were formed by a small amount of water operating over a very long period of time. A creationist will look at the same layers and conclude that they were formed by a very large amount of water operating over a very short period of time (Noah's Flood). So we can see that the evidence DOESN'T speak for itself, it must be interpreted.

It is often suggested that we should accept the opinion of scientists as the 'official view' of origins, but should we? The argument falls down on two grounds: (1) unlike a football referee, a scientist is not impartial - he or she has their own worldview to bring to the interpretation of the evidence (2) no scientist alive today was actually there to observe the creation of the world! However God was there and furthermore it was he who actually did the creating work. He has told us how it all happened (Genesis!) so whatever it says in Genesis must be the ACTUAL TRUTH!
1 comment
Lakeland Blog 3: Re-Laying the Foundations Apr 20, 2008 12:58 am
Mood: thoughtful, 260 Views
A conversation I had with someone during last week in the English Lake District set me thinking about how we see the world, and how we go about building our own particular worldview. At the same time I had been thinking about going back to school on Monday (I am a Maths teacher) and one of the classes I will be taking over from another teacher will be studying algebra equations.

Lots of students have difficulties with solving equations, and there are several reasons for that. Sometimes teachers show kids 'shortcuts' which work in certain circumstances. This makes life easier for the student (and the teacher!) so it is often tempting to cut corners in this way. However it is false economy because the shortcuts don't work for harder equations and unless students have learnt the basics properly they will never be able to tackle the harder cases. Often when I take over a class in this situation I have to first get them to UNLEARN the shortcuts before putting in the correct foundational knowledge about what equations are and what they are for, before going on to show them the CORRECT way to solve them. If the basic steps are learnt properly, it paves the way for solving the more difficult cases later.

For most of us, it doesn't matter very much if we can solve equations or not. Only those who will use Mathematics in later life will be concerned about it. However we ALL have daily lives to lead, involving all sorts of decisions, and we need to have the right framework to be able to make the CORRECT decisions. Very often we make our decisions on a 'spur of the moment' basis, or what gets us out of immediate difficulties. This can work well in small issues, but when it comes to the bigger issues of life more thought is needed and these 'ad hoc' methods are simply not up to the task. I am reminded of Ronnie Barker in the classic prison comedy "Porridge", who said to his cellmate (Richard Beckinsale) when they were in a tricky situation: "Have I ever let you down before? Well I might now!"

What is necessary is for us to UNLEARN the old 'instinctive response' methods and base our worldview, and hence our approach to many of today's key issues, firmly on the Bible, beginning with the foundational chapters Genesis 1 to 11, which explain how the world came to be the way it is, and why Jesus had to die. As someone who feels the call of God into the work of challenging Christians' thinking in this way, I find I am encountering the same resistance that I experience in the classroom when I am trying to correct students' misunderstanding of equations! The reasons for the resistance are:

1. What they have learnt before has worked so far so they don't see the need to go back to basics. This could be caused by complacency or laziness or both.

2. People are comfortable with what they know and are often afraid of venturing into the unknown. This is down to fear or lack of faith.

3. We all suffer from pride which makes us reluctant to admit that we don't know or understand something.

In the 150 years since Darwin published his "Origin of the Species" and popularised his theory of evolution, Christians have been on the retreat and have compromised the Word by accepting the earth is billions of years old and that we may have descended from an ape-like ancestor. We have allowed the foundation of our beliefs (the book of Genesis, especially the first 11 chapters) to be destroyed, and are surprised when the rest of Christianity collapses on top of it in Western society.

"Fudging" issues may have worked for us to a limited extent, but it is now time to get back to the basics and build ourselves a true Biblical worldview. Unlearning what we think we know is going to be hard, but necessary if we are to tackle the challenges of the God-less society that surrounds us and come out on top.
3 Comments
Lakeland Blog Supplemental: The Spider in the Shower Apr 18, 2008 1:51 am
Mood: shocked, 261 Views
Yesterday I shared how God had spoken to me about 'living in the Spirit' and comparing it to being in the shower. One of the things I said was that we should be careful not to 'turn the tap off' by grieving the Spirit etc.

This morning I got into the shower back at home for the first time and to my horror was confronted by a giant black spider right at the top of the shower curtain! I know we men like to make out we are tough and macho in that sort of situation, but that is not the case with me. I let out a shriek and jumped out of the shower again immediately! Once I regained my composure I took steps to swish it down the plughole.

Obviously the reason the spider was able to get there was that it had crawled up the bathroom pipes. Normally the regular use of the shower would sweep it back down again but because the shower had not been used for 3 or 4 days while I was away it had time to get all of the way up and out into the bath and up the shower curtain.

Let this be a lesson to us all. If we aren't regularly 'living in the Spirit', then even a short time away from God can give Satan the opportunity to get something nasty 'up our spiritual pipes' so to speak (Eph 4v27). The opportunity to wash it away is still there but we may get a nasty shock first when we realise that we have allowed something horrible to get in.

Oh, and one more thing. From now on I will be examining the shower curtain a little more carefully before getting in. Maybe that's an extra bit to the previous blog - I'll leave you to work that one out.

Have a happy arachnid-free day!
Peter
4 Comments
Lakeland Blog 2: Walking with Jesus Apr 17, 2008 11:46 pm
Mood: wistful, 223 Views
As a young Christian I used to be involved in a lot of countryside walking. There was a guy in the church (now gone to be with the Lord - bless you Jim see you later) who was a keen rambler and took some of us younger ones under his wing.

The English Lake District is a great place to go walking - sunlight reflecting off the water and snow shimmering on the top of the hills - where else do you get both of those in the same picture? Last week, before setting off for the lakes with my church, I realised that my 30 year old walking boots were finally done for, so I bought a brand new pair and also a new waterproof jacket in preparation for the English weather!

To set the scene before I finally get to today's blog (no I haven't started yet!) a week or two ago I received a very interesting prophecy from a valued and trusted friend. Knowing all about some of the trials and tribulations I have gone through, my prophetic friend shared a picture of a clear road ahead, with no further obstacles, although the road was winding so it was not possible to see very far ahead. I was greatly encouraged by this vision as you can imagine, but the question in my mind was: "How do I get started along this road?" On Monday God gave me the 'shower' analogy that I shared yesterday, and on Tuesday he gave me the following answer to my question:

There are 3 things that I needed to have before starting a walk in the Lake District. These 3 things have parallels in our Christian walk:

1. Boots: for everyday purposes any pair of shoes will do as we do not normally do lots of walking whilst going about our daily business. However, if we are going on a long distance walk we need to have proper walking boots because we need to be ready for any kind of ground that we may end up walking on. Stilettoes are fine for the dance floor, and you can even walk short distances to the car in them on your way out, but no good for walking through mud and woods and on mountainsides! (Incidentally I don't wear stilettoes myself but I know many of you ladies do!)

When describing the 'armour of God' in Ephesians, Paul tells us to make sure we have 'feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace' (Eph 6v15). I have read several different interpretations of this verse, but the one I think is relevant here is: we need to be ready for anything! The only way we will be able to follow Jesus all the way along the road is if we are ready to respond to any situation that comes our way, particularly opportunities to share the 'gospel of peace'.

2. Waterproofs: On Tuesday I decided not to go on the walk that many of the others were doing. There were a couple of reasons for this, but one of them was the weather forecast! Heavy rain was forecast, and looking around at some of the waterproof gear that some of my friends had, I realised that my new waterproof jacket was a bit lightweight and might not be up to the job. It was untested and I had no confidence that it would keep me dry. In the event the weather cleared up and the walkers hardly experienced any rain, but by the time I realised it was too late to join the walk.

So if the first thing we need is to be ready for anything, the second is to have faith in Jesus which is justified because he HAS been tested and found to be well up to the task. There are two promises in scripture that I'd like to share here:

(i) Matthew 6v33: "Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well" - so if we seek to put God first he will see to it that our needs are met. I have always been encouraged that this verse starts with the word "seek". In other words, even if we make a mess of everything (as I do frequently!) the promise still stands as long as we're trying to do it right.

(ii) Psalm 23v4: "Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for YOU ARE WITH ME" - so whatever situation (stormy weather!) we may face we have God's protection and he is always with us.

3. Packed Lunch: Before setting off on a walk we had to prepare our packed lunches to take with us. The fact that we have to prepare these in advance led me to 2 scriptures that gave a further clue as to what was required for us to walk with Jesus:

(i) Ephesians 2v10: "We are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do"

(ii) John 4v34: "My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work"

So if we keep ourselves in God's will, and do those things he wants us to do, this will sustain us on our Christian journey. We have his promise that "those who hope in the Lord...will walk and not be faint" (Isaiah 40v31). Here are a few more scriptures that refer to walking that you may like to refer to and read in full and in context:

'walk in the light' (1 John 1 v 6-7)
'walk in obedience' (2 John v 6)
'walk in love' (2 John v 6)
'walk humbly with your God' (Micah 6 v
'keep in step with the Spirit' (Galatians 5 v 25)
'Enoch walked with God' (Genesis 5 v 24)

So to sum up: yesterday I explained that to 'live by the Spirit' required righteousness, confession and openness (to God). Today, to 'walk with Jesus' we need readiness, faith and obedience.

Peter
1 comment
Lakeland Blog 1: Living by the Spirit Apr 17, 2008 1:48 pm
Mood: rejuvenated, 246 Views
Before going away to the English Lake District I had been having a personal struggle with a particular issue, and the Lord had given me two scriptures to help me deal with it:

John 4v14: "Whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed the water I give him will become IN HIM a spring of water welling up to eternal life"

Galatians 5v16: "Live by the Spirit, and you WILL NOT gratify the desires of the sinful nature"

However the question that was in my mind was "In practical terms, how do you actually 'live by the Spirit'?"

On arrival at the country house in which I and the church were staying, the first thing I decided to do was take a shower. In recent weeks I had been aware that the shower was a place in which I could speak to God and also hear from him, but on this occasion the Lord spoke to me before I actually got in! He used the example of the shower to give me the following advice as regards 'living by the Spirit':

1. I did not need to ask God for the Holy Spirit, I simply had to realise that the Spirit was already in me, just as my shower was 'en suite' i.e. already in the room!

2. Before using the shower I only had to turn it on to get the water flowing. I was a little wary of this point because it implied that the flow of the Spirit was somehow under my control (which I don't believe to be the case). However the Lord then clarified the point by pointing out that water pressure in the pipes meant the shower would always flow UNLESS I SWITCHED IT OFF. So I simply had to make sure that I never did anything to 'switch off' the flow of the Spirit in my life. The Bible gives us at least 4 ways in which we can 'turn the tap off':

(i) grieving the Spirit (Ephesians 4v30)
(ii) quenching the Spirit (1 Thessalonians 5v19)
(iii) insulting the Spirit (Hebrews 10v29)
(iv) blaspheming the Spirit (Mark 3v29)

So all we need to do to experience the flow of the Spirit is to avoid doing any of these.

3. The last thing I had to do before getting in the shower was to take my clothes off! This has two meanings:

(i) removing smelly clothes represents confession of any known sin (1 John 1v9)
(ii) being naked represents being open and vulnerable before God, holding nothing back (any suggestions for a scripture verse to go with this?)

As a result of doing these it then becomes possible for God to cleanse me and give me a refreshing spiritual experience!

OK, who has spotted what I missed out? The most obvious part of it all: I must GET IN the shower! In other words, I must actually go into God's presence (perhaps with Hebrews 4v16 in mind).

And the other thing you might have spotted is that I am mixing my illustrations - drinking the Spirit and washing in the Spirit. I don't think that matters a whole lot. What matters is for me (and I guess for all of us) to live by the Spirit!!

More Lakeland Blog material tomorrow.
God bless you all.
Peter
3 Comments
Meeting Jesus by the lake Apr 13, 2008 5:17 am
Mood: contemplative, 281 Views
This week I am going away for a short break with the rest of my church to the English Lake District, one of the most beautiful places in the country and God's whole creation.

I am reminded that Jesus' first disciples were called at the lakeside, and in the New Testament it is common for them to meet Jesus by the lake or on it. I am also reminded of a sermon I heard years ago, which was a classic 3-point sermon, but drew not on one text but 3 connected texts all in Luke's Gospel and all to do with Lake Galilee:

1. Luke 5v3: "Put out a little from shore"
2. Luke 5v4: "Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch"
3. Luke 8v22: "Let's go over to the other side of the lake"

The first part was a call to non-believers to take the first step in following Jesus. The second part was a call to believers to go on and follow him further, and implies a call to ministry. The third part is a call to go the whole way and to allow Jesus to finish the work he began in us. He linked it brilliantly with a text from Hebrews 12v14: "Without holiness no-one will see the Lord".

Even 30 years after first hearing this sermon (by a Methodist minister called Reg Walker - I've no idea if he is even still alive) it still challenges me. I know that I have completed step 1, am working on step 2 (and expect to be so for the rest of my life) and Jesus still has a lot of perfecting to do to get me to step 3!

Since lakes are a good place to meet with Jesus, I am looking forward to doing that a fair bit this week. Although most of you will not be joining me there in the physical sense, why not do so spiritually? I will be back on Thursday and will tell you how it went. I hope to hear some of your thoughts and experiences on this theme too.

Bless you all real good this week. (Thanks Edna for that expression!)

Peter
5 Comments
Does God speak through dreams? Apr 10, 2008 4:15 am
Mood: thoughtful, 487 Views
In the last few days I have had several vivid dreams that appear to offer direction from God in my present unclear situation. It would take too long to describe them in full but here are a few 'edited highlights':

1. In the dining room in my grandparents' old house. Realised the situation had me in a 'time bubble' so tried to 'shake myself awake' but found I was still in the dream, and still in the same room! Called out to the Lord to get me out of it and next thing I knew I was outside!

2. Got off a bus and went the way I thought I was supposed to go. The guy who had told me which bus to go on told me "No, go that way instead". Followed his directions only to find myself on a downward spiralling staircase with a dead end a few flights down.

3. Going out in a taxi for a night out when I realised I was still wearing my slippers! Got the taxi to go back home and then found that I had my shoes with me all along.

Any comments anybody? Is God speaking to me? If so, any interpretations to offer? Or am I crazy? (Or is the answer "YES" to all questions?

Would be very interested to hear if anyone has had similar experiences.

Peter
5 Comments
Creation Matters? Apr 7, 2008 11:14 pm
Mood: enthusiastic, 283 Views
Genesis is real history from chapter 1 verse 1. Chapter 1 teaches that everything was made in six literal days, that creatures reproduce 'according to their kinds' (i.e. evolution could never have happened!) and that man is distinct from all other creatures as he is made 'in the image of God'.

This is not a side issue! The clear message of Genesis is that death, disease, disaster and suffering are a result of man's sin. Any other interpretation of Genesis puts death before the fall and thus part of God's plan. Why would anyone want to follow that sort of God?
4 Comments
Grace AND Truth Apr 6, 2008 9:42 am
Mood: contemplative, 356 Views
John 1v17 says: "The law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ"

I have noticed that Christians tend to lean to one side or the other. Some emphasise grace at the expense of truth, and urge us to forgive sin without requiring repentance on the part of the sinner. Others emphasise truth at the expense of grace, and delight in quoting those passages of scripture (such as Galatians 5v19-21) that warn of severe punishment for the sinner.

My view is that we need BOTH in balance. Of course there are also some Christians who are still in the first half of that verse, and are trying to make themselves acceptable to God by the things they DO e.g. good works, church attendance, supporting charities etc.

What do others think?

Peter
5 Comments
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