Well, I haven't had much time to write lately as I am working near 11 hours a day now, with very little time from Monday through Friday. This is Sunday, so I am finally getting to rest some. I ordered a trial subscription to the "Biblical Archaeology Review". Archaeology and especially pertaining to the Bible, the cities and history in it have been a strong interest of mine since I was a child. I believe so, simply because the more these men; archaeologist and their science look at the past in these things, the more it establishes the authority of scripture and it's truth of history from the Bible. My faith is based on more than just a blind trust. I believe not just because of the archaelogical finds, but because of my experience, with a living Savour.
I recently started up a Bible study at a friends home, for the reasons I have always strongly believed in for doing so, Americans are basically ignorant when it comes to knowing their Bibles.
I am not being arrogant and saying that when doing a Bible study I know anything, often many other Bible reading Christians come to these, and I learn as well, and often it will attract those who really want to get to know their Bible. I generally will only create a outline, and simply try to keep us inline with our purpose with simple guidance, not dictatorship or the one voice to be heard, but I want the Bible study to be a learning experience for us all. A time to share what God has shown us, a time to dig into scripture and learn together. I can promise you I often learn as much or more than what I bring to the table of discussion.
American Christians have sat too long on the bench and listened to the orators but have taken little time to listen to the great Orator - God himself, by studying scripture themself. It is easy to be spiritually lazy and the system generally propagates this leaving all the studying to the Pastors and Sunday School teachers. Laymen or the laity rarely take the time to dig into scripture themselves.
Even though Sunday Schools have this intention they too often become a one big mouth and a bunch of little ears, simply because the teacher is usually coming to the table as just that, feeling his or her title as "teacher", gives them the authority to hold all the answers and to do most of the talking. They rarely are willing to listen to others and learn something themselves. They may be surprised how much another person in their class may know, they may be surprised to find perhaps someone else should be teaching the class.
Great teaching is accomplished through interaction and discourse versus sermonizing. If you note, Jesus when discipling, often opened up discussion with question, a story, or an illustration, and from there others learned, but he also allowed himself to be questioned by others. This is the example for teaching, it was clearly the way that Paul taught and it is the way they learned in synagogue as Jews before his conversion.
Dialegomai is the Greek word used in scripture for these meetings or assembly of beleivers. They were not one sided in any fashion. I wonder what would happen if one Pastor in America , paused for one minute after each paragraph spoken and he were to ask and allow others to speak?
I believe the assembly of believers would soon become life changing, for all misconceptions, non scriptural beliefs would be exposed and corrected, even some of those that have come from the pastor himself, he just might find himself being corrected biblically as well. There would be truly a time where "God is among His people" (plural).
The Holy Spirit wouldnt be quenched because He would be there doing the teaching. We lock him outside our "church" doors, and tell Him, only the pastor or some other recognized organizational leader has the authority to speak and to teach.
How can we claim we believe in the "Priesthood of Believers" and practice just the opposite. It's hypocritical and a lie to practice as we do.
There was always an interaction among students and teachers rather than an orator. The church developed it's ideals of one sided oration from Pagan Greek orators and Roman orators, it was not the way of the early church.
I want to repeat an article here that I found in my new trial magazine, that proves my point about the average American's biblical ignorance.
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More than 10 percent of Americans believe that Joan of Arc was Noah's wife!
This is just one of the distressing statistics that Stephen Prothero, the chair of the religion department at Boston University presents in his book " Religious Literacy: What Every American Needs To Know - and Doesn't". He claims that though United States is arguably the most religious nation in the developed world, it is also the most religiously ignorant.
How does your biblical knowledge compare to that of fellow Americans?
Only half of those polled could name even one of the four Gospels!
A mere one in three knew who delivered the Sermon on the Mount and less than half of those polled could identify the first book of the Bible.
I won't insult you by printing the answers here.
On the other hand approximately 75% of adults believe that the Bible teaches that "God helps those who help themselves", (It was Benjamin Franklin, that said it, and is not to be found in the Bible).
It may be a bit surprising to learn that Evangelical Christians, who traditionally place a high value on biblical literacy, fared only slightly better than their non- evangelical counterparts.
Unsurprisingly however, Americans know even less about Islam, Buddhism, Confucianism, or Hinduism than about Christianity and Judaism.
This lack of biblical proficiency is only one maifestation of a more general decline in the public's cultural and civic knowledge. According to polls conducted by the National Constitution Center, only one third of American's can name even one of the rights protected by the First
Amendement.
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I believe we have two goals if the body of Christ is to ever fulfill it's call to go forth and preach the Gospel to all the nations, making disciples of them, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
The very first thing, is those that claim they lay so much importance on their Christian life, is to have their minds transformed, renewed, by the Word of God first and foremost, not by man's rhetoric or ideals.
The one and only true washing - "baptizo" that is the one the Bible calls for in baptism is the "washing of the water of the Word".
Americans and their failure to have a life changing experience with Christ, is due to a large part in their failure to know the Bible, to know what they really beleive based on the Bible.
They often can quote what their particular church or denomination believes, but rarely can they quote the Word of God, and rarely have they been taught by the Holy Spirit. If they are truly His children, then their is a responsibility to know Him personally, to hear him, and to hear him, without the rhetoric and doctrines and ideals of men, so often that comes to them in a sermon versus one on one study - Man to God, and God to Man.
It is lazy, carnal and brings SUFFERING to the body of Christ un-necessarily.
Our Christian lives suffer, because we really don't know what God has to say to us personally. We just won't take the time to hear him. We have time for television, our kids sport programs, time to make money, time to entertain and be entertained, but not time to hear the still small voice of God speaking to us in scripture, the testimony of Jesus Christ.
I believe so much in this, that I will do whatever it takes in my personal life and ministry to simple bring people to a love of the Bible, versus hearing me talk or anyone else. I want new believers and old believers to find what I have found, and I can say right along with Paul, "no man taught me, I only heard from the Lord Jesus Christ".
It even astounds me, to see Americans so willingly giving up their rights as a citizen in America to a Police State mentality that is so prevalent in this country today, and this is due to the ignorance of Americans understanding their own history, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, as the poll reveals.
This once again is due to laziness and an unwillingness to study our heritage as a nation. Not that it has any saving grace in it, but knowing it might help keep us free to live in peace and be free to preach the Gospel.
Perhaps if more Christians read the greatest sermon ever preached, the Sermon on the Mount, there would be a whole lot less Christians so willing to jump in the Christian Nationalist and Zionist bandwagon of politics and finding themselve WAR MONGERS, if they would only realize, it was the Son of God himself, that spoke the words, to LOVE THINE ENEMY in the Sermon on the Mount.
It is so easy to be carnal, when you don't spend time yourself in God's Word. It's easy to listen to those voices that are not scriptural in their sermons and their rhetoric when you don't know the Bible, and you think you do. You can't know what the Bible says, unless you READ IT FOR YOURSELF! PERIOD!
It is easy to excuse our sins away, that way.
You must remember, reading the Word, is like looking at ourselves in the mirror and seeing our true selves, and even more it reveals our need for Jesus to do his work in our individual lives not just once but everyday of our lives left on this earth.
Perhaps this is why Americans are religious but very few actually know the Jesus of Scripture, especially when they can't even name one of the Gospel books of the Bible.
It makes it a lot easier to not know our own sin, and the solution for our sins, and to conitnue to live in ignorance or a once week sermon, and live our lives, totally without ever knowing the abundant life in Christ, versus this ignorant life we lead in sin, suffering and evil.
It's time for the church to give people the basics, teach them the name of the books, showing them how to find them, give them an outline of what they are about,who the characters are, and get them involved, rather than as passive listeners.
Dialegomai- discourse was the way of the early church and it is the greatest need of the modern church. Discipling others doesnt mean giving them doctrine, or our church beliefs. It means giving them the Word, the Living Word of God. It means getting them off the bottle and our breast and getting them to the table where they can pick up the fork and the knife themselves, and eat REAL meat.
They will never do this Pastors as long as you spoon feed them and keep them dumbed down, the body should be teaching us by now.
They for too long have been babies, we make them that way.
Let's grow them up, give them the Bible, and tell them for once to look it up for themselves. Let's give them the basics, then challenge them, let's turn them into biblical students rather than babies dependent on us for their every need and every supposed word from God.
The facts are, if you are a Pastor your job is to guide, not direct, your job is not to be God's voice, but to lead others to seek God's voice. It is your job to bring them to the fullness and the knowledge and maturity of Christ, not by being their God but directing them to God.
They may come to where they don't need you anymore, wouldnt that be great, if they found all they ever needed was Jesus all along?
Imagine for one moment, if you really could become unemployed as a pastor.
That would mean, that they have finally discovered the true Pastor and they are opening their Bibles everyday to hear from Him, our High Priest on High - Jesus Christ Our Lord and the Holy Spirit- our guide into all truth. That would be restoration- that would be revival.
I challenge every American who claims to be a Christian, to dig into the Word of God for themselves everyday for one year. I promise it will be life changing and many of your problems you just don't seem to have escaped from by just going to church every Sunday, would all fade away in His glory. If you want to have the mind of Christ, you first have to know that mind, and only an intimate relationship with God's Word will ever do that for you. I challenge you - become Biblically Literate for once in your lives.
Study and Show Yourself Approved!
Dr. J.
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