What is EPISTEMOLOGY?
To many bible believers this word may never come up in any conversations you have. Though, since coming to reformed faith I have heard it frequently. In general it is not a word you would see in your everyday sermon from your pastor. I've heard it spoken at conferences, such as Ligonier and on programs such as the White Horse Inn. Lets see if I can do this word any justice.
The standard dictionary definition of this word states: A branch of Philosophy that investigates the orgin, nature, methods, and limits of human knowledge. In the Greek we find the word episteme, which means knowledge. We see a form of this word (epistemon) used in James 3:13. Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? Let him shew out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom. We don't see this actual Greek word used in scripture, and we don't see the term Epistemology used at all. A couple of the most frequent used Greek words for knowledge in the New Testament are "Gnosis", or "Epignosis".
The word EPISTEMOLOGY is used typically in high intellectual settings such as Colleges and Universities. But if we look at the bible it is full of the orgin, nature, methods, and limits of human knowledge. We know that all knowledge comes from God when we have Paul in 1 Corinthians 1:5 say "That in everything ye are enriched by him, in all utterance, and in all knowledge". It starts as early as Genesis with the tree of knowledge in Genesis 2:9. We are told that this tree is the tree of Knowledge of good and evil (Gen 2:9). But we also know that in Genesis, God creates everything. We are told that he speaks everything into existence. We know that God is the giver of our Knowledge, but at the same time he is the limiter of our knowledge. God could have told us everything about him, but he didn't. He could have told us exactly how the world was made, the compounds he used, the purpose for doing it and etc... However, he didn't. God is the great supplier of knowledge, and he is also the great limiter of that knowledge.
The scriptures are full of knowledge. Reading and understanding the knowledge that is in scripture leads us to be wise. Wisdom is what we all should seek, but without the knowledge of who Jesus Christ is in our life's, we will never have that wisdom. I thought that it would be important to understand the origin, nature, methods, and limits of human knowledge before we take on any other words. I hope I did it some justice.
Look for my new word next Monday.
Monday, January 28, 2008
Sunday, January 27, 2008
The White Horse Inn.
I want to give a plug for a great organization called the White Horse Inn. The White Horse Inn is a nationally syndicated radio talk show hosted by Michael Horton, Rod Rosenbladt, Kim Riddlebarger and Ken Jones. On the air since 1990, the show features a regular roundtable discussion of Christian theology and apologetics.
I would suggest each and every visitor of mine go visit this site. They are currently running a great series that will make you re-think how Holy are God truly is. My favorite so far is the one titled "Joel Osteen: A Case Study in American Religion". You may be shocked to find out what you will learn about one of this countries better known preachers.
This isn't just a beat-down on Joel Osteen, it is a program designed to help you "Know what you believe, and why you believe it". Most of us don't even know why we believe something, other than it was told to us years ago. Go to the site and read the "About us" link. The radio broadcasts are the "bomb".
Give it a listen, I promise you won't be disappointed.
Something New.
I'm going to start something new on Monday. Around Lunchtime I will post a new dictionary word to define. To help me and all my friends with our bible terminology I will post each and every week a different word. I will attempt to define the word by Webster's dictionary. I will also define it biblical, and I'll finish up by putting the word in some type of context. i.e. in what it means to us, and why we should understand the definition.
I hope you will all enjoy this new endeavor.
I hope you will all enjoy this new endeavor.
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
The Religion of Peace Strikes again.
This is what makes me mad about the followers of Islam. Fox News is reporting that a man in Afghanistan downloaded a paper that supposedly condemns the religion of Islam. This man even supposedly admitted his error and asked for forgiveness. However, a panel of three judges found him guilty and he is sentenced to die for his crime.
Now this aggravates me on two fronts. One, isn't this the country where our men and women are dying trying to give them freedom. We just liberated them from the Taliban and this is what they turn too. Second, isn't this the religion of peace, shouldn't any peaceful religion ask their people to hold their faith up to scrutiny. Check and test the faith to ensure it is true. Maybe I'm blinded because I claim Christianity, but that is what we should do in any faith. I challenge you to hold Christ up to scrutiny, test the faith, test his witness, test who he says he is. I have no fear in your findings. Is it that our Muslim brothers are worried about what they might find out. Will Islam not hold up to spiritual or even historical scrutiny. I don't know what the findings will be. I do know I have no fears with Christ and who he is and what you would find.
My Muslim brothers who may read this, can't you see the problem here. Where is your outcry for this person. Where is your compassion for him as a fellow human. Scream from the roofs how wrong this is, especially if you have any compassion for your fellow believers. I don't desire to challenge you on your faith or what you believe, but your brothers and sisters should be able to seek the truth and they should be able to seek it without a death sentence hanging over them.
I'd like to finish by saying that I'm a pretty reasonable person. I understand the culture; I spent 15 months in Saudi Arabia at the U.S. Consulate in Dhahran on Embassy duty, so I can relate to the religion and the people. But, I find this sentence scary, and I find the lack of any outcry on the Moderate Muslims even more scary. You can read the article here.
Now this aggravates me on two fronts. One, isn't this the country where our men and women are dying trying to give them freedom. We just liberated them from the Taliban and this is what they turn too. Second, isn't this the religion of peace, shouldn't any peaceful religion ask their people to hold their faith up to scrutiny. Check and test the faith to ensure it is true. Maybe I'm blinded because I claim Christianity, but that is what we should do in any faith. I challenge you to hold Christ up to scrutiny, test the faith, test his witness, test who he says he is. I have no fear in your findings. Is it that our Muslim brothers are worried about what they might find out. Will Islam not hold up to spiritual or even historical scrutiny. I don't know what the findings will be. I do know I have no fears with Christ and who he is and what you would find.
My Muslim brothers who may read this, can't you see the problem here. Where is your outcry for this person. Where is your compassion for him as a fellow human. Scream from the roofs how wrong this is, especially if you have any compassion for your fellow believers. I don't desire to challenge you on your faith or what you believe, but your brothers and sisters should be able to seek the truth and they should be able to seek it without a death sentence hanging over them.
I'd like to finish by saying that I'm a pretty reasonable person. I understand the culture; I spent 15 months in Saudi Arabia at the U.S. Consulate in Dhahran on Embassy duty, so I can relate to the religion and the people. But, I find this sentence scary, and I find the lack of any outcry on the Moderate Muslims even more scary. You can read the article here.
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
The Great Commission - What are we forgetting?
Very frequently we hear about the "Great Commission". In many church circles the great commission means a yearly or bi-yearly trip to some place other than where the Church is (Missionary Trip). The trip is a time to gather as many of the flock together for the purpose of saturating an area with Gospel presenters. Sometimes this trip is designed to be taken outside of the United States to some poor area of the world where the Gospel has not been, but in many Church's this trip is taken somewhere in the United States for the same purpose. This can be an effective ministry if there are teams of local people to follow-up with the seeds planted with these missionary teams. I would like to focus on what we should be doing after this Gospel presentation.
The follow-up seems to be what is essentially missing when we evangelise or go on mission trips. If we read the scripture in Matthew 28:18-20 we can understand what Jesus truly means with the great commission. Let us read. And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always , even to the end of the age." Amen.
Jesus tells us to make disciples of all the nations, we are to baptize them, and then we are to teach them to observe all that He commanded us to do. So many times we are in a great rush to make disciples and even a greater rush to baptize. However, what seems to missing most is the follow-up, or the "teaching to observe all things" part. We can't teach someone something if we never see them again. When we meet unbelievers, and we show them they are guilty of violations of the Law (Bad News) and they will surely perish, but that there is a savior that will take their place for the Wrath that is coming to them, and all they have to do is Repent of their sins and Believe (Good News), we set them up for failure; we also have to continue to teach them and strengthen them in the faith. It is our responsibility under the great commission to do this. We can't just give them the Gospel message without any support. It would be like telling someone to drive to Michigan from Tennessee in a car when they don't know how to drive and they have never seen a car. It is setting them up to perish. We are doing the same poor job with our unbeliever when we don't take the time to follow-up with them and bring them into a body of Christ. We are setting them up to perish.
We are taught about the body of Christ and that the Church is like a body with all the different parts functioning together in some form or another. This new Christian must become part of the body of Christ to become a faithful servant. Just like Paul alludes to in Hebrews 5:12-14 concerning the immaturity of believers. New believers must be given the milk to prosper like a little baby into a fully developed adult. Like babies, we need other adults out there teaching us, supporting us, and carrying us, if needed. As they prosper they will then be nourished with solid food. This process cannot be done if we just do blanket gospel presentation and do not follow-up with the teaching. We must be there for these new believers, otherwise they will perish like a baby not being fed.
Shame on us, and shame on the Church. When we evangelize, lets make sure we also teach. This new believer needs to be taught all that Jesus commanded of us. Why? Well so he can be a functional member or functional part of the Church body. Another or most important reason that we are to teach is because Jesus commands it of us.
The follow-up seems to be what is essentially missing when we evangelise or go on mission trips. If we read the scripture in Matthew 28:18-20 we can understand what Jesus truly means with the great commission. Let us read. And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always , even to the end of the age." Amen.
Jesus tells us to make disciples of all the nations, we are to baptize them, and then we are to teach them to observe all that He commanded us to do. So many times we are in a great rush to make disciples and even a greater rush to baptize. However, what seems to missing most is the follow-up, or the "teaching to observe all things" part. We can't teach someone something if we never see them again. When we meet unbelievers, and we show them they are guilty of violations of the Law (Bad News) and they will surely perish, but that there is a savior that will take their place for the Wrath that is coming to them, and all they have to do is Repent of their sins and Believe (Good News), we set them up for failure; we also have to continue to teach them and strengthen them in the faith. It is our responsibility under the great commission to do this. We can't just give them the Gospel message without any support. It would be like telling someone to drive to Michigan from Tennessee in a car when they don't know how to drive and they have never seen a car. It is setting them up to perish. We are doing the same poor job with our unbeliever when we don't take the time to follow-up with them and bring them into a body of Christ. We are setting them up to perish.
We are taught about the body of Christ and that the Church is like a body with all the different parts functioning together in some form or another. This new Christian must become part of the body of Christ to become a faithful servant. Just like Paul alludes to in Hebrews 5:12-14 concerning the immaturity of believers. New believers must be given the milk to prosper like a little baby into a fully developed adult. Like babies, we need other adults out there teaching us, supporting us, and carrying us, if needed. As they prosper they will then be nourished with solid food. This process cannot be done if we just do blanket gospel presentation and do not follow-up with the teaching. We must be there for these new believers, otherwise they will perish like a baby not being fed.
Shame on us, and shame on the Church. When we evangelize, lets make sure we also teach. This new believer needs to be taught all that Jesus commanded of us. Why? Well so he can be a functional member or functional part of the Church body. Another or most important reason that we are to teach is because Jesus commands it of us.
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Quarrel's among us.
I've noticed a trend among my many friends that attend Christian Church's. The trend seems to be that we, to include myself are quarreling in church. We are fighting among ourselves and wasting our energies and resources. Seriously, this is happening not just in small town Oneida, but all over the country and in church house, after church house, after church house. I've not met one, listen to me, NOT ONE pastor that hasn't or isn't currently going through some type of quarrelling at church. I don't simply mean the occasional flare-up over carpeting or paint, I mean quarrelling that divides Church's. Quarreling that leaves men spent and finished or so demoralized they don't want to come to church to do the Lords work. Quarreling that has driven men to anger, and left friendships in disrepair. Quarreling that has made Godly men leave the ministry. So what is it that we quarrel over.
It's simple, the issue is Pride. Oh now you can name a million things it could be, but in 99% of the cases, it comes back to pride. The definition of Pride is a high or inordinate opinion of one's own dignity, importance, merit, or superiority, whether as cherished in the mind or as displayed in bearing, conduct, etc. The universal truth "Pride will come before the fall" fits here. Let us look quickly at Proverbs 16:18 "Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall". We can't teach the proud, they will see destruction. Pride is the issue causing us to quarrel and fight. Pride will be the reason some of us are sent to Hell.
So how do we rectify this situation. Lets go to James 4:1-3 "What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don't they come from your desires that battle within you? You want something but don't get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask God. When you ask, and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures".
This is a pretty good comparison to US in the church. You see, with the pride in our life's, we battle for what we want in the Church. We may want a better youth, maybe a new vehicle, a new Pastor, even new better faithful members. All of this is of the Devil. We ask for selfish, prideful reasons. Sometimes we use the saying "oh, things will be better after this and that happen". Wrong, we still will have the same problem once we look in the mirror. The problem of US is still there. We are that person in the mirror, we are those people at church, and we are the problem.
James tells us how to fix this situation later on in verse 7. "Submit yourselves then to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will wash your hands you sinners and purify your hearts you double-minded. Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord and he will lift you up." For us to solve this problem James tells us we need to worship God. Look at verse 9 again. We are to Grieve, mourn and wail, and in verse 7 we are to Submit to God. If we want to get rid of Pride in our life's we need to make some easy fundamental change. 1. Submit to God, 2. Worship God, 3. Resist the Devil. That's why Pastor after Pastor, and Christian after Christian told me to Pray before I do anything. Put my heart in the right frame of mind. As we pray, we aim ourselves in God's direction which should allow us to ask of our Lord with all the right motives.
One last point. In James 4:6 it says "God opposes the proud". We are in for a tough road if we don't get rid of our pride and point our hearts to God our creator. Make the easy changes and enjoy the worship in God's house, not the quarrels.
It's simple, the issue is Pride. Oh now you can name a million things it could be, but in 99% of the cases, it comes back to pride. The definition of Pride is a high or inordinate opinion of one's own dignity, importance, merit, or superiority, whether as cherished in the mind or as displayed in bearing, conduct, etc. The universal truth "Pride will come before the fall" fits here. Let us look quickly at Proverbs 16:18 "Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall". We can't teach the proud, they will see destruction. Pride is the issue causing us to quarrel and fight. Pride will be the reason some of us are sent to Hell.
So how do we rectify this situation. Lets go to James 4:1-3 "What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don't they come from your desires that battle within you? You want something but don't get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask God. When you ask, and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures".
This is a pretty good comparison to US in the church. You see, with the pride in our life's, we battle for what we want in the Church. We may want a better youth, maybe a new vehicle, a new Pastor, even new better faithful members. All of this is of the Devil. We ask for selfish, prideful reasons. Sometimes we use the saying "oh, things will be better after this and that happen". Wrong, we still will have the same problem once we look in the mirror. The problem of US is still there. We are that person in the mirror, we are those people at church, and we are the problem.
James tells us how to fix this situation later on in verse 7. "Submit yourselves then to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will wash your hands you sinners and purify your hearts you double-minded. Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord and he will lift you up." For us to solve this problem James tells us we need to worship God. Look at verse 9 again. We are to Grieve, mourn and wail, and in verse 7 we are to Submit to God. If we want to get rid of Pride in our life's we need to make some easy fundamental change. 1. Submit to God, 2. Worship God, 3. Resist the Devil. That's why Pastor after Pastor, and Christian after Christian told me to Pray before I do anything. Put my heart in the right frame of mind. As we pray, we aim ourselves in God's direction which should allow us to ask of our Lord with all the right motives.
One last point. In James 4:6 it says "God opposes the proud". We are in for a tough road if we don't get rid of our pride and point our hearts to God our creator. Make the easy changes and enjoy the worship in God's house, not the quarrels.
Geography Test
Here is a nice litte travel / geography IQ test. Lets see how well you can do. I finished level 10, but have struggled to get past 8.
I tried embedding it into my blog, but can't make it happen. Get it here.
I tried embedding it into my blog, but can't make it happen. Get it here.
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