The Rambling Disciple

Today, October 31, is a very important day. Yes it is Halloween, but that's not why today is considered important. Today, 499 years ago, Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses to the door of the Wittenberg Castle church. This was the start of the Reformation. We don't usually think of today as being anything other than the day we pass out candy and dress up in scary costumes. What's ironic is that the events of October 31, 1517 led to an atmosphere and a culture where we CAN dress up and be silly. Luther standing up against corruption and proclaiming that it is our faith in Jesus Christ that leads to salvation led to people everywhere reading the Bible for themselves. I didn't post the usual historical blog on Friday because I knew Reformation Day was just around the corner. Halloween is a fun holiday, but I think it is sad that it has overshadowed one of the most significant events in the history of Christianity and the world. Whether you agree with Luther or not, the ...

When many people try to read the prophetic books they frequently get discouraged. They read the numerous pronouncements of judgment and wrath and don't really know how to handle it. It seemingly goes against everything they know about God. This can be a real problem. Typically in our churches we only ever look at the New Testament. There we see what most would consider a more positive view of God. It is in the New Testament where "God is love" comes about. In the New Testament we see God sacrificing his own son to save the universe. It is in the New Testament that we see Jesus showing compassion to the weak and healing the sick. When these "New Testament Christians" (so called because this is the only part of the Bible they read) open the Old Testament, they are often horrified at what they see. The reaction is typically to stick to the New Testament and only read those stories or passages from the Old that seem to agree with it.  This mindset gives ...

As we move past the New Testament period things begin to change. The Apostles are gone, and with them the first hand accounts of Jesus Christ. We now look to those who sat at the feet of the Apostles who have now become leaders in the church. The void left by the Apostles is felt in every church, and their absence leaves room for dangerous new heresies to arise. Brief History The Early Church Period is a time of both persecution and growth for Christians. This time period produced some of the most influential and important theological work of all time. Over the next two hundred several very important thinkers and writers will emerge that will shape Christian thought for ages to come. This period truly begins around the year AD 100 with the death of the Apostle John. The last books of the New Testament, written by John, are just now being circulated amongst the churches. A new threat has emerged; Gnosticism. This weird religion takes elements of Christianity (and many other rel...

The story of Jonah is one of the most well known in the entire Bible. It is one of the very first stories we learn about in Sunday school. It is the story of a man who tries to run away from God, but is swallowed by a big fish! To a child, and quite a few adults, that sounds like an incredible story. It is. The problem we have with the book of Jonah is that we never move beyond this way of looking at things. We see it as a kid's story and nothing more. Rarely would do we as adults ever open the book of Jonah outside of teaching little ones. We've already touched on this with the story of the Flood and the Battle of Jericho. This week we are going to look at the book of Jonah and discover just how intense this book really is. Background We do not know who wrote the book of Jonah. It is unlike the other prophetic books in that it doesn't contain oracles and proclamations from God to Israel. The book of Jonah tells a story. This doesn't mean, however, that the boo...

Today marks the beginning of a long series over viewing the history of Christianity. With all the things we've been discussing, I feel that it is important that we all have a basic framework to reference. Today's section, the New Testament period, is one most already are pretty familiar with. Since that is the case, allow me to briefly describe how this will work. Each time period will have three sections; a brief overarching history, important events, and important people. From time to time we will take a break from the usual big picture pieces in order to focus on particular events or people that are very important. Overall these may be a little longer than normal since there is so much ground to cover. So today we begin with the New Testament period. This is basically the first century AD; the time of Christ and the Apostles. This blog will be shorter than most since we are familiar with this period from the New Testament. Brief History The story of Christianity rea...

Obadiah is one of the shortest books in the Bible. It is a whopping twenty one verses long. It is entirely possible that this blog entry will be longer than the book itself. Still just because it is short doesn't mean there isn't something there for us to learn. Background The book of Obadiah was written after the fall of Jerusalem in 586 BC. It was written by the prophet Obadiah, but we don't know much about him. Obadiah was a common name during that time (there are multiple Obadiahs in the Old Testament).  Themes Obadiah is a book with a singular focus; denouncing the actions of the nation of Edom. Edom was a country that bordered the south east of Judah. They were descendants of Esau, brother of Jacob from whom the Israelites were descendants. As such the Israelites typically viewed the Edomites as brothers, though the two nations seldom got along. We learn in Jeremiah that the king of Judah had gathered the rulers of the neighboring kingdoms in order to m...

The last several Fridays have been devoted to examining ancient heresies and how they still influence Christianity today. I pray that this has been an educational couple of weeks that has helped you grow in understanding about our faith. Spotting these heresies matters because they can cause a lot of damage to some one's walk with Christ. Studying about these heresies has strengthened my conviction that we need a strong theology. I have talked about the importance of theology before, but now seems like an appropriate time to reiterate this. Seeing the various misinterpretations that have cropped up over the centuries, sometimes with good intentions, should make all of us take pause and reconsider our faith. Theology is the backdrop against which we live out our faith, sort of like the backdrop of a play. What the actors/actresses are doing on stage must fit within the backdrop of the play. If the stage was set up to be the arctic it would make no sense for the actors/actresses ...

One of the most essential and proclaimed attributes of God is his justice. God is completely just. Everything he does is the perfectly just thing to do. This central aspect of God's character is a relief to some and unsettling to others. Many find comfort in the knowledge that God will one day take care of all evil. Still many others find this news to be nerve racking, probably because they realize that this includes them. God's justice does not end with himself. He expects those who follow him to be just as well. In the Law of Moses there are many statutes and commands concerning the treatment of prisoners and the punishments for various crimes. This is obviously an important aspect of justice, but this is far from a complete definition. Our world and culture defines justice much like described above. It is punishment for those who do wrong. Justice is really only used when describing criminals or those who work to punish evil. This definition, though partially correct, is...