Tag: Bible study

Jesus’ Parables: Study Them

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Image result for images of parable of the laborers in the vineyard

I reviewed John MacArthur’s book on the Parables of Jesus for the Chalcedon magazine in 2016. Reading that book was hours well spent.

https://chalcedon.edu/magazine/parables-the-mystery-of-gods-kingdom-revealed-through-the-stories-jesus-told-by-john-macarthur

This is an important book, and written in such a way that any reasonably intelligent adult or teen can understand it. It’s full of unexpected insights, and information about the world in which Jesus Christ lived at the time–information that, once we have it, clarifies much that might have been confusing us.

For instance, I didn’t know that the “penny” mentioned in the King James Bible, far from being the lowest possible denomination of money, was actually a more than respectable piece of change–a silver coin, the Roman denarius. That information changed my whole understanding of Jesus’ parable of the Laborers in the Vineyard.

MacArthur’s book is a great tool for Bible study.

Is the Book of Daniel a Hoax?

Posted By: leeduigonPosted On:

Image result for images of daniel

My daily Bible readings have brought me around once more to the Book of Daniel. There is language in there that I find hard to understand. Like, for instance, the “seventy weeks” in Daniel 9.

I should’ve just gone to my Strong’s Concordance, where I would have learned that the Hebrew word here means “a seven” or “sevens,” and can be used to denote a set of seven, or even as a figure of speech. But no, I was lazy, I was already on the computer and didn’t feel like going to my bookcase, so I looked it up in Wikipedia instead.

Silly me. I had momentarily forgotten that Wikipedia habitually cites the supposed authority of “Bible scholars” who don’t believe the Bible is the Word of God. So the Wikipedia article was focused on proving that the Book of Daniel is a hoax.

Follow the logic. Accurate prophecy is impossible. Therefor, the prophecy found in Daniel can only have been written long after the events it pretends to foretell actually took place. I guess that would apply to all prophesies in the Bible, invalidating the whole book.

In his Jewish Antiquities, written in the First Century, in Book 11, Chapter 8, Paragraph 5, the Jewish-Roman historian Josephus relates that when Alexander the Great came to Jerusalem (where the city authorities, although good and loyal subjects of the Persian king, decided it would be futile to resist the conqueror), the priests “showed him” the Book of Daniel, in which his successful conquest of the Persian Empire was predicted.

Alexander visited Jerusalem around 332 B.C., about 200 years earlier than the date assigned to Daniel by Big Shot Bible Scholars Inc. So they say Josephus is hoaxing us, too. He wrote primarily for a Roman audience, with the expectation that important Jews would read it, too. It’s difficult to imagine what purpose such a lie would serve if told to either audience.

I think I prefer to stay with St. Paul, and “let God be true, but every man a liar” (Romans 3:4).

More on That Puzzling Parable

Posted By: leeduigonPosted On:

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I would be a fool if I told you that now, after two hours’ study, I fully understand the Parable of the Unjust Steward in Luke 16. But maybe it would be fair to say I misunderstand it less than I did when I read it first thing this morning.

Pondering the meaning of Christ’s words is not just something to do on a Sunday. As Psalm 1:1 puts it, we are to “meditate day and night” on God’s word. And because it’s convenient to post it here, let me offer you some of Matthew Henry’s meditations on this parable ( https://www.biblegateway.com/resources/commentaries/Matthew-Henry/Luke/Parable-Unjust-Steward ), courtesy of the Bible Gateway.

I got off on the wrong foot with this parable, thinking Jesus was still talking to the Pharisees, to whom He told the parable of the Prodigal Son in Luke 15. I just kept reading, and missed the significance of the opening sentence of Luke 16: “And he said also unto his disciples, There was a certain rich man, which had a steward,” etc. Jesus has turned from the Pharisees to address His disciples. But the Pharisees were still there, as v. 14 tells us: “And the Pharisees also, who were covetous, heard all these things: and they derided him.” The Pharisees heard the proverb, too, and laughed at it. They didn’t listen.

So the parable is spoken to those who are disposed to listen, and who will make an effort to understand it, as we ought to.

Can I tell you, yet, what the parable means? I must confess, not really. Not without more study, more meditation–and more discussion, too. But I think I can say that Our Lord is comparing the believers’ carelessness, when it comes to the “true riches” of the Kingdom, with the great and energetic care taken by worldly folk to pursue their worldly goals; and that “Ye cannot serve God and mammon.” The crooked steward’s master commends the prudence and ingenuity of the steward, although it was used for a dishonest end; and we ought to take equal care in seeking the Kingdom of God.

And now I’ll read these posts to my wife and see if I’ve made any sense to her.

P.S.: I remember a news story from some years ago, about a convict who spent a long, long time carefully and ingeniously fashioning a rope–out of dental floss!– which he used to escape from prison (only to be caught again pretty soon). And I remember thinking at the time, “If this guy had ever devoted that much labor and persistence to some honest work, he would have accomplished much.” I think that story has some relevance to this parable.

Bible Study Without the Bible

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If you’re going to do Bible study without a Bible, you might as well throw in a seance. You’ll have more fun.

I’m beginning to think pseudo-Christianity is a bigger problem in our world than atheism.

Yesterday someone told me about her adult son’s Bible study group. She attended it recently, and was rather put off to see that no one in the group had a Bible. When they wanted to cite or consult a verse of Scripture, they looked it up on their smart phones. That way you can get the verse you want in total isolation from the rest of the Bible, and you can get it to mean what you want it to mean.

They didn’t bring a Bible, but they are currently studying another book in lieu of the Bible–something called Crazy Love by Francis Chan. I haven’t read it, never heard of it, so I looked it up on Barnes & Noble and read some of the Customer Reviews. My friend described this book as “no substance, no current issues, no reality–just soft Jesus-loves-me stuff.” Some of the B&N reviewers were not so kind.

She added, “This week’s chapter is about giving away all your money, living below poverty level, and helping others.” She asked, “If everyone is poor, who will help the poor?”

We’ve been here before. In fact, we were just here a couple of days ago with GOP Presidential hopeful John Kasich saying that if you don’t support Obamacare, you’re probably gonna go to Hell ( http://leeduigon.com/2015/10/07/john-kasich-theology-superstar/ ). He backs this up by taking Matthew Chapter 25 in isolation from the rest of the Bible, to come up with a theology of salvation through good works that the government forces you to do whether you like it or not.

But pseudo-Christianities abound. You’ve got Planned Parenthood’s “Clergy for Choice” groupies, who think Jesus wants you to cut up unborn babies while they’re still alive, and sell the parts. There’s President *Batteries Not Included, whose bizarre version of Christianity moves him to empower sodomites to go on anti-Christian witch hunts, to break the laws he took an oath to enforce, and to urge others to do the same. And you’ve got that whole Romans 13 crowd, who isolate that single chapter of the Bible to justify doing anything “the powers that be” tell you to do, no matter how abominable. They’d make good guards at a concentration camp.

All of this comes from ignoring the Bible and substituting for it the opinions of fallible, sinful men and women. Cherry-picking the Bible is as bad–maybe even worse–than ignoring it altogether.

Ignorance can be fixed a lot more easily than willful blindness.

Do you sometimes get the impression that the Church in America hasn’t quite done its job?

I’ll return to this topic another day.