Hoaxes and Hermeneutics

“The biggest problem facing the church is lack of discernment.  If you can’t discern the truth you can die of a thousand heresies.”  - John MacArthur  

Shortly after the Civil War an atheistic cigar maker named George Hull got into a debate with a Protestant minister over the literal interpretation of Scripture.    The pastor’s insistence that Genesis 6:4—“There were giants in the earth in those days”,   should be taken literally, sparked a brilliant marketing scheme in the huckster’s mind.  Hoping to gain a profit while making a mockery of Christians,  Hull  created a  “giant petrified man” out of gypsum. 

Stonemasons and a Cardiff, New York farmer colluded with Hull on the ruse and buried the Giant in the farmer's field.    They hired workers to dig up the "new wonder",  placed it  under a tent,   and charged 50 cents for admission,  drawing crowds by the thousands.   When a group of investors bought shares in the Giant for $30,000  and moved it to Syracuse,    P.T. Barnum offered $60,000  to lease it.    His offer was denied so he created a plaster replica and made  even  more money than the original hoax.

People were divided over the Giant’s origin.   Some  believed it was a petrified man while others, including geologists, believed it was an ancient statue.     A Yale paleontologist finally uncovered  the scam declaring it a fake—and a poor one at that.    Many consider The Cardiff Giant to be one of the greatest hoaxes in history.

 “The simple believes everything, but the prudent gives thought to his steps.” Proverbs 14:15

 We may laugh at such naiveté but the truth is,  people today  can be as  gullible as ever.   Who hasn't  received an email hoax  or seen a Facebook  post  that  can be proven  false with a  quick Snopes search, right?   

 When it comes to  discerning  Biblical  truth everything we  hear  must be tested  against the Scriptures  regardless of how convincing it may seem.    The devil’s most cunning deceptions are  lies with an element of truth in them—a modus operandi that is as old as the Garden.   Truth distorted plunged the church into centuries of  apostasy before the  Reformation and  continues to do so in all of the Christian cults. 

Charles Spurgeon said,  “Discernment is not knowing the difference between right and wrong.   It is knowing the difference between right and almost right.”1.      Cultivating discernment is commanded of  all  believers  (I John 4:1) and it can only be accomplished through  the  means of  careful and diligent  Bible study. (Acts 17:11). 

“But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.”  Hebrews 5:14

Heresies arise  when faulty methods of interpretation are used,   but applying sound hermeneutical principles can  guard against false teaching.   Hermeneutics is the science of  Scripture interpretation which uses  a specific  set of  rules.    Those rules include in part,  interpreting the Bible in the  plain and literal sense,  corresponding  to the author's intent and  the context of the passage.   But when that approach is replaced by allegory, scientific opinion,  or subjectivism  the  text no longer speaks for itself and the meaning is left to the  reader's own  interpretation.   Tragically,  this  way of interpreting Scripture  is rampant today. 

There's  another alarming trend in the church today  and that  is the resurgence of  rank liberal theology.   These kinds of heresies were  fought against in the early twentieth century  by  men like J. Gresham Machen  but have turned up again like a bad penny.

We still have our silly hoaxes today but  far  more insidious  is the "new hermeneutic".    It is no surprise that an atheistic con artist  like George Hull would deny the literal interpretation of the Bible,  but we should be appalled  when this type of  thinking seeps into the church. 

For information regarding the current battle for the Inerrancy of Scripture,  many excellent articles and resources are available at Inerrant Word.

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Quotes: John MacArthur -Strange Fire Conference 2013- Introduction
1. Spurgeon -reference unknown

Sources:
History.com
The Museum of Hoaxes

Worth a click:
 Responding to the New Attacks on Scripture: Dr. David Farnell
A Disastrous Hermeneutical Replacement by Grant Kolkow
No Adam, No Fall, No Original Sin, No Substitutionary Atonement by Rachel Miller

Worth purchasing:
Protestant Biblical Interpretation: A Textbook of Hermeneutics by Bernard Ramm
Evangelical Hermeneutics: The New Versus the Old by Robert L. Thomas

 

Eating My Words

If you are a regular reader here, perhaps you remember that it was just six months ago I wrote a post about not reading the Bible through in a year. I had planned to spend this year reading the Gospels thoroughly. The truth is, I haven't gotten past Matthew 5. I could probably spend the rest of my days studying the Sermon on the Mount and still find there's something new to discover. This method has taught me much about being a follower of Christ.  I've been making copious notes from all the cross-references and a fantastic commentary.  It's been good.

Then a friend of mine linked to an old blog post written by Douglas Wilson, "As Somebody Somewhere Said". As I read, one particular sentence stood out. Wilson writes, "The only way to learn the Bible the way you should is to read and reread it."

As an all-or-nothing type of gal, I immediately starting thinking, What, give up my slow and methodical approach? I didn't want to do that. But I couldn't get away from the truth that I don't know the Bible as a whole the way that I should. I finally decided there is room for both in-depth study and reading Scripture in its entirety. So I'm taking Wilson's advice and beginning with the New Testament. Since I'm sticking with my plan to study Gospels carefully, I started with Acts.

I admit I'm having to squelch the desire to pull out my commentary to read along; however, I didn't have to read very far in Acts before I knew I'd made a wise decision. Over and over again I've been struck by the ability of Peter, Philip, Paul, and Stephen to give in-depth accounts of the Scriptures. Could I do that?  Shamefully, the answer is no. Sadly, I'm not alone. Even among those in Reformed circles who declare their great love for the accurate and systematic teaching of God's Word.

We live in a time of unprecedented access to the Word. There is a translation, type, and form of the Bible to fit everyone's needs. And for all that, our culture is still biblically illiterate, in a time that biblical literacy could not be more important. We have this treasure in jars of clay (2 Cor. 4:5-7), yet it's often reduced it to a list of buzz words and catch phrases that fit on tee shirts and church signs. This watering down has dulled the sharp, two-edged sword (Heb. 4:12). Instead of allowing it to pierce the thoughts and intentions of our hearts, we wield it as a blunt instrument to numb ourselves and others to the real, deep pain of sin. We pick out the verses we like and slap them over our wounds, leaving our souls to fester in our ignorance.

My husband and I have been discussing how the Lord uses people to draw unbelievers to Him. Can He use a tee shirt? Of course. He can use anything He wants. But we must be guard against sentimentalizing the Gospel to the point that it becomes culturally-acceptable kitsch. We may plant seeds by posting, tweeting, or wearing a verse but if we can't properly open the Scripture in explanation, we're overlooking the call to water (1 Cor. 3:5-7). Peter exhorts us to always be "prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you" (1 Peter 3:15).

You may consider this a retraction of sorts. Do I intend to read the Bible through in a year? No, but I do intend to read it through using Wilson's suggested method, however long it takes. It's time to rip off the bandages and cleanse my sin-sick soul with the whole counsel of the Word.

True community

Years ago when our oldest two children were our only two and only babies at that--and even before--my husband and I had a large circle of several close friends and it was wonderful.

We were raising our babies together, we shared meals together, we went to church together, we talked on the phone, we hung out, we did Bible study together, we went on vacation together. One friend and I shared clothes like sisters and even took a smocking class together. Our lives intertwined in friendship and fellowship and, yeah, lots of fun.

I had no idea what I was experiencing was unique. When my husband and I moved away from that city and that group of friends, I assumed I’d just as easily find another peer group that was equally as welcoming and friendly.

I was wrong.

True community is rare. The friendships we enjoyed all those years ago were based initially and perhaps mainly on our common stage of life but I’ve discovered that as the children grow older it is more and more difficult to maintain a friendship with even that in common.

True Biblical community is even more rare and becoming increasingly so. I just finished reading True Community: The Biblical Practice of Koinonia by Jerry Bridges. In this book that is encouraging and convicting and exciting, Bridges outlines the markers of true community, the most important being common communion with God through His Son Jesus Christ. The Lord joins us together as His church and it is there we find the fellowship and partnership we were made for.

In addition to our common faith, true community happens as we partner together on mission for the gospel, as we serve each other for the common good, as we share in the fellowship of Christ’s sufferings, and, yes, of course, as we sit down together over a good meal. This kind of community can and should and will stretch across superficial commonality like age or stage of life or vocation or gender.

I look back on the community I enjoyed and loved twenty years ago with such nostalgia because it was not the norm. It was a unique and beautiful stage of my life that I miss in many ways. Don’t get me wrong, I know community, Biblical community, in my current church and among my current group of friends both real and virtual and I am profoundly, humbly grateful. But it lacks the ease and the openness I once knew.

Community is harder now, I think, because of the demands of our busy lives and because of the distractions of social media. We didn’t have all the expectations of Pinterest thrust upon us. There were no mommy blogs telling us what good moms did and didn’t do. We didn’t know the tyranny of email and Facebook and Twitter. I mean, the only social media I engaged in at the time was talking on the phone. Yeah, me. For real. Now I never do.

True community may be rare and the forces of our culture stacked against it but that only means it is all the more imperative we pursue real, true, and open community, the sort of community that sees and serves another. One of the first things we can do in this pursuit is put down our smartphones and focus on people over Facebook. I’m serious. Few things communicate a lack of engagement, a lack of community, than attention focused on your phone, whether that is the intention or not. Body language speaks volumes. Could you, when you are out and about and with someone else, put the phone away and ignore technology's demands? Could I? Let’s try. 

Regardless of whether your phone stays in your purse or not, let’s be about people, about sharing, and about serving. Let's talk. Let’s engage others. Let’s hang out both with our friends and those not yet our friends. Let’s pursue Biblical friendship and community. As we do so we bring glory to the Savior who loved us and brought us to communion with Him.

Book Review - Second Forgetting: Remembering the Power of the Gospel During Alzheimer's Disease

The fall has taken its toll on our bodies. We get sick. We grow old. We die.

We may also forget.

Something has gone wrong with the intricate inner workings of our brains, and we can't recall recent events. This may begin gradually, but it doesn't stop here. The inexorable progression of this disease begins to impact other areas of our lives. The normal day-to-day routine becomes more difficult, which ultimately leads to the inability to function and the need for constant care. It's as though we have lost who we are. We've lost our intellects, skills, talents, and personalities at the hands of this foe, and we are left as mere shadows of who we used to be.

This is the picture of Alzheimer's disease, and it is heartbreaking.

How do we respond as Christians to this tragic effect of the fall? How do we respond if this indeed becomes our own diagnosis or the diagnosis of a loved one?

Dr. Benjamin Mast, an Associate Professor at the University of Louisville, has written a book on Alzheimer's titled, Second Forgetting. It contains information about the disease itself and wise counsel regarding care, prevention, and planning. But the strength of this book is its application of the gospel.

Dr. Mast defines the first forgetting as the experience of memory loss.  However, the second forgetting is when not only the patient, but the family and church experience a spiritual forgetting. We forget God and His promises and are overwhelmed by it all. Thus the author seeks to remind us that God does not forget us because of Christ's work on our behalf. Through the Scriptures, he offers specific encouragement to the sufferer and those who are providing care. Additionally, the book provides very helpful suggestions for interacting with someone with Alzheimer's and ways to spiritually engage him/her through prayer, song, and the Lord's table.

I was eager to read Second Forgetting because I have a loved one with dementia. I learned a great deal and cried a great deal, but there was hope mingled with the sorrow. I was reminded that God cannot and will not forget for Christ's sake, and my family member's identity in Him is something that this illness can never take away. I was also encouraged that, as time goes on, my family can cry out to the Lord for wisdom and grace, and He will hear those prayers.

I highly recommend Second Forgetting if you have a loved one with Alzheimer's. This would also be a great resource for the local church as it seeks to minister to families who have been affected by this disease.

Though Alzheimer's disease is a frightening and powerful enemy, the promise of God is greater: nothing can separate those who are in Christ from the love and grace of God. Not the plaques and tangles of Alzheimer's disease, not memory impairment observed in psychological testing, not the behavioral problems, the aggression, the confusion, or even the apparent forgetting of the Lord can separate us from him.¹ 

Because of Christ's suffering and resurrection we are promised that our suffering will come to end, and God will bring us into his presence where all things are made new. Here we will know incomparable glory, enduring joy, true freedom from sin and decay, and restoration to the perfected image of God.  

We may doubt and forget, but God has not forgotten us or his promises.²

1. Second Forgetting: Remembering the Power of the Gospel During Alzheimer's Disease, Benjamin Mast, Zondervan, 2014, pg. 69.
2. Ibid.pg. 167.

About the author: Dr. Benjamin Mast, PhD. is a licensed clinical psychologist, Associate Professor in Psychological and Brain Sciences and an Associate Clinical Professor in Geriatric Medicine at the University of Louisville, and an elder at Sojourn Community Church in Louisville, Kentucky. 

On Suffering and Summer Reading

I tell you again, if there be any pathway in which there be not fire, tremble, but if your lot be hard, thank God for it. If your sufferings be great, bless the Lord for them, and if the difficulties in your pathway be many, surmount them by faith, but let them not cast you down. 

- Charles Spurgeon

It seems that I can't get away from suffering. Lately it's been a recurring theme in my reading and listening, and not by my own design. Which makes me wonder if the Lord is preparing me for something. Or maybe He's preparing me to minister to others. Either way, I haven't been able to ignore this providence.

And as I've been reading and listening, I've been thinking about the disappearance of suffering from the contemporary Christian vernacular. It's been lost amidst the dialogue of having your best life and and doing big things for God. It's interesting to me that theologians past (especially the Puritans) wrote about suffering and discipline much more than authors of today. They knew they should expect it. They understood its purpose and importance. We, on the other hand, want to - feel we are entitled to - skip over suffering. We hold to a perpetual belief that God wants to bless us, that He has something better for us.  It is indicative of the narcissism that pervades our culture and has quietly crept into the church.

While God does have something better for those He predestined according to His purpose (Eph. 1:11), He does not guarantee us a comfortable life here on earth. Heaven - not Heaven on earth - is the guarantee we've been given (Eph. 1:14). I wonder if our groanings for Heaven (2 Cor. 5:1-5) are motivated more by our own happiness and less by eternity with God. Perhaps that explains the phenomenon of the "Heaven tourism" books. Perhaps people aren't content with relying on what the Bible says about Heaven because they want to know if Heaven is as desirable as they think it should be. Perhaps they feel they should have a piece of Heaven now.

Yet Scripture is abundantly clear that we will not enter into Heaven without enduring trials.

For this is a gracious thing, when, mindful of God, one endures sorrows while suffering unjustly. For what credit is it if, when you sin and are beaten for it, you endure? But if when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God. For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps.

- 1 Peter 1:19-21

And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.

- 1 Peter 5:10

The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,  and if children, then heirs–heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.

- Romans 8:16-17

When they had preached the gospel to that city and had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch, strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying that through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God.

- Acts 14:22

We cannot ignore suffering. It will come. If not to us, certainly to those around us. Either way, I want to be prepared. This summer, instead of burying my head in the sand, I'm tackling some hard reading on suffering and ministering to others.

~The Hardest Peace: Expecting Grace in the Midst of Life's Hard, by Kara Tippetts
~Rejoicing in Lament: Wrestling with Incurable Cancer and Life in Christ, by J. Todd Billings
~Surprised by Suffering: The Role of Pain and Death in The Christian Life, by R.C. Sproul
~Instruments in the Redeemer's Hands, by Paul David Tripp

Not your typical light summer fare. I'm going to refrain from dubbing this season as the "Summer of Suffering" (how depressing would that be?!). In the coming months I'll be sharing tidbits of what I'm learning from this heavy reading, which will be light compared to the eternal weight of glory that affliction is preparing us for (2 Cor. 4:17).   If you'd like to read along with me, leave a comment below.