A Couple Of Quotes From ‘The Bible Vs Theology’ Book

Posted on by John Mwafise Woloko

 

“Theology is a method by which we seek and reason about God, His Word, and His will for humankind, organizing information and gathering evidence to understand Him better.”

 

“We teach theology because we want to add to our existing understanding of what the Bible already says, not because of any additional revelations. Theology comes with discoveries that bring more light to the Scriptures—nothing more, nothing less.”

 

“We preach what is authentic, but we teach what needs authentication to allow an evaluation through reason.”

 

“Power and salvation are not in theology, rather in God’s Word. Many theologians are ashamed of the gospel but not of their theology.”

 

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Commonsense Is All You Need Sometimes

Posted on by John Mwafise Woloko

A Teacher Or Prophet Is Not Always Necessary

 

A debate took place between a Christian and an Atheist. The Atheist raised an argument about the Pillar Jacob erected on Rachel’s tomb in the Bible (Genesis 35:16-22). The Bible says the pillar is ‘‘there to this day.’’ His argument was that the Bible’s validity hinges on locating the pillar it claims is still present to this day. Once we discover the pillar, he won’t hesitate to believe in God.

The Bible reveals that Joshua and the Israelites killed the king of Ai and buried him under a heap of stones that remains to this day (Joshua 8:28-29). The Atheist was adamant that we locate that pile of rocks to validate the accuracy and reliability of the Bible. He employed identical arguments for the Temple of Solomon and other biblical passages, asserting that we must discover these things today for the Bible to hold true.

In another debate between a Muslim and a Christian, the Muslim asked the Christian to show him where in the Bible Jesus says ‘‘I am God, worship Me.” Several Muslims consider this apologist to be a genius for employing that argument against the Christian, as if it is the only way to show that Jesus is God.

I had a discussion with a brother in the Christian faith. I voiced my concerns about the lack of agreement among our many theological perspectives. The Christian brother, who was studying theology said, ‘‘that’s okay, everyone needs to have their own theology.” Well, if that’s true, what should we do with the many verses in the Bible that emphasize unity? I asked. The conversation suddenly grew quiet.

 

 

It’s not always necessary to rely on someone to interpret certain things in the Bible. Often, basic logic and common sense are all that’s needed. That the Bible mentions something ‘‘is there to this day’’ doesn’t imply its continued existence in our era. Without preservation efforts, a pile of stones or wooden pillar from over 2000 years ago would have decayed into the ground. It is clear that these things were present when the writer wrote this part of the Bible. You can figure this out without the help of a teacher.

Believing that Jesus is God doesn’t depend on a specific statement He makes in that Bible stating ‘‘I am God, worship Me.’’ There are many other ways to show that He is God from the same Bible. The president of your country doesn’t have to announce himself from a rooftop if he visits your area for you to know he is the president. You can identify him by observing the security guards and the special honors surrounding him. There’s no need for anyone to inform you about that. So, you can know that Jesus is God by observing the events that surround Him.

The Bible has faced relentless criticism from skeptics throughout history. Many individuals have gone to great lengths, working behind closed doors, to discredit its value to mankind. Truth is, people who criticize and battle against the Bible often struggle more with their own belief systems than Christians do with the Bible’s teachings. Sin remains unresolved in the belief systems of Muslims, Buddhists, modernists, and New Age movements. Atheists, agnostics, and other groups offer countless contradictory explanations regarding the meaning of life. But all these groups treat the Bible as if they possess flawless understanding and explanations within their own belief systems. The Christian worldview exceeds these groups by a large margin in revealing life’s meaning and purpose.

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Let’s Focus On Jesus If Everything Points To Him

Posted on by John Mwafise Woloko

Key Points for Interpretation of Scripture

 

When interpreting the content of the Bible, there are many factors to consider. Some of them comprise the writer’s context, the intended meaning, context of Bible times, translation difficulties, the original audience, and the Holy Spirit’s way of applying the message today.

Many preachers selectively choose verses from the Bible that suit their preferences and build theologies that do not align with reality or present truth. Some often refer to the laws of Moses in the Old Testament to justify divorce and vengeance. Others take verses about liberal giving in Paul’s letters to churches and reframe them as doctrines promoting tithing.

The reason for these misunderstandings is our failure to practice what we teach in theological schools, Sunday sermons, and discipleship schools. We are quick to declare that everything points to Jesus in our words. However, our actions contradict our words in practicing what we preach.

For a correct understanding of the Scriptures, the Holy Spirit must primarily lead the interpreter to observe Jesus’ actions. Jesus is the perfect role model for us to follow. We should adopt his course of action, even though there are certain topics for which we can’t observe much action from Him. Marriage is one example. He didn’t marry because we are His bride. Our wedding ceremony will take place at the end of this current setting.

The next thing to look at after Jesus’ actions is what He says about the topic. While He may not directly involve practically Himself in marriage issues, He offers guidance on what a Christlike marriage looks like.

There are situations where He doesn’t engage in practical action or provide a lot of insight on the topic. That is the case with the church lifestyle. During His time on earth, He focused on preparing minds for the church age in His Gospels. There are few direct instructions from him on dealing with church administration issues.

Therefore, we examine the actions and words of the Apostles and Early Believers. The Holy Spirit intentionally recorded the acts and words of those early individuals in the Bible because they were direct eyewitnesses. Jesus used them to establish the foundation we currently rely on. The Acts and Letters serve as a record of their actions and words for us to learn from. There is a lot in them on how to handle church issues.

Once we complete this step, we can proceed to what the rest of the Bible says about the topic. In this way, everything points to Jesus and we truly engage in ‘‘…bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ’’ (2 Corinthians 10:5).

If you randomly select verses to construct theologies, you’re likely to interpret them with bias and prejudice. Ultimately, you end up with an interpretation that contradicts others in the Body of Christ, rather than being guided by the Holy Spirit and pointing to Christ.

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