Pro-Life Ad? This Joke was on Us

Apparently the definition of "Pro-Life" has been expanded to include anyone who uses the words "miracle" and "baby" in the same sentence. THIS is what all the hub-bub was about?

I kind of feel like Charlie Brown in this classic Peanuts cartoon. EVERYBODY was hyped up about this commercial. If you were pro-life then you just had to support this ad, I mean you just had to. It seemed as if Tim Tebow became a household name almost overnight.





















If you were pro-choice, you let the expletives fly about that big bad wolf - Focus on the Family. How dare those women-demeaning, gay-hating, fundamentalists try to shove 30 seconds of "politics" down our throat.

Larry King was having panel discussions with all the "experts", watchful Facebook members dutifully created Tim Tebow fan pages, and even the gay rights folks got a little air time.

And then...Lucy pulled the football away. We all, for the first time, actually saw the ad in it's entirety. Epic fail. If you didn't know the back story, the ad would have left you scratching your head. (Actually, I knew the back story and I was still scratching my head.)

Whether it was a genius marketing ploy by Focus on the Family to draw attention to the issues, or the most expensive way to show a son tackling his mother on TV - this joke, was on us.

Bible Snob

Being the, in my wife's words, "Bible Snob" that I am, I brought my Greek/English Septuagint to church this morning. The Septuagint (or LXX) is a Koine Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible (including some Apocryphal books) used and quoted by Jesus Christ and the Apostles. If you're still reading, you might be muttering, "Who cares?"

Hang with me.

If you want to enhance your sermon-listening experience, bring a DIFFERENT translation than your pastor uses. Trust me, 30% of the time a preacher is simply repeating himself, - you'll have time to catch up. Furthermore, bring a translation that highlights textual variants (differences in the manuscripts).

Allow me to give you a simple illustration of why it can be so fascinating to bring a different version. This morning in church the pastor quoted Psalm 139:14 which reads,

"I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well." NIV

Many, many translations follow (more or less) this translation - including the NASB; NLT; KJV; ESV; NKJV; HCSB.

However, check out what the Septuagint (a translation) says,
"I will give thee thanks; for thou art fearfully wondrous; wondrous are thy works; and my soul knows it well."

Did you catch the difference? What English translation also translates it this way? The NET Bible.

The NET Bible reads,
"I will give you thanks because your deeds are awesome and amazing. You knew me thoroughly."

Here's the NET note on this verse (the NET Bible has over 60,000 translator notes).
"...The text as it stands is syntactically problematic and makes little, if any, sense. The Niphal of (pala) occurs elsewhere only in Exod 33:16. Many take the form from (pala)...which in the Niphal perfect means "to be amazing" (see 2 Sam 1:26; Ps 118:23; Pro 30:18). Some, following the LXX and some other ancient witnesses, also prefer to emend the verb from first to second person, "you are amazing"...The present translation assumes the text conflates two variants...The original text likely read, ..."your works [are] awesome [and] amazing")."

This is just one of the reasons I recommend the NET version. It doesn't have study notes - it has translator notes. These notes bring issues to your attention that, had you brought the same translation as your pastor - you would have never known. It would be embarrassing to build entire arguments on this one verse, only to discover the complicated variants.

So do yourself a favor, and start bringing a different version to church. It's worth the extra effort, can be very fascinating, is highly informative, and will make you a much more cautious Theologian.

Invisible People

Butch from InvisiblePeople.tv on Vimeo.

After watching this video (and many others), I'm torn between two responses. One response blames me and rest of society for not doing more. The other response (I'm afraid to actually say it) blames the homeless person. I think to myself, "Why should I be blamed when this all could be the fault of the homeless person?"

Is finger pointing the point? Here's a guy who's lived on the street for 40 years, and I'm debating who's to blame! Is that what Christ would expect of me? I'm glad Christ did something for me when I was in need. By the way, speaking for myself, I was clearly to blame.

Romans 5:8
"But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."

Certainly Not: Part Six

Using an analogy, I argued in the last post that conversation is the best way to respond to Theological Fallibility. So what exactly does it look like to "leave an access door to the foundation" of your Theology? There are two things I would mention.

1. Welcome Dialogue from Different Perspectives

Take any chance you can get to talk to someone of a different faith. I firmly believe that Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world, so why would I spend the rest of my life only talking to people who believe the same thing? As a Christian, I should not be ashamed of the Gospel, I should be going into all the world to make disciples. However, don't miss the blessing that comes from witnessing - dialogue. You can leave that access door open and re-examine your foundation. When people ask you those hard questions about your faith, it's time to perform a little maintenance. Why does God allow evil? Can I trust the Bible? Does the New Testament display antisemitism?

Is dialogue risky? Of course. You could take the "easy" way out, and just seal off your access door - just don't be surprised when nobody wants to come and visit your house.

2. Welcome Books from Controversial Authors

It can be exhausting to read something you don't agree with. Your emotions run high, and you sometimes wish you could just sit down with the author and give them a piece of your mind. However, the attitude which most troubles me is the attitude that says, "I only have something to learn from those who are orthodox (agree with me)." Truth be told, and I'm speaking from personal experience, you can learn a lot from people you don't agree with. Believe it or not, the only smart people in the world are NOT people who believe the same thing as you.

Two words of caution:

First, sin, even false ideas, can be very appealing. In your quest for truth, you must remain committed to it. If you lack wisdom, ask God who gives to all men liberally. Fear God - this is the beginning of wisdom.

Second, I am not suggesting that you must read/watch moral filth in order to be more educated. I made a commitment to my wife to stay faithful to her, I don't need to frequent pornographic websites (for example) in order to "keep the access door open". Don't forget - there is black, gray, and white areas. My commitment to my wife is one area in which I am not ashamed to say I'm, "close-minded".

As I think back about this series, I certainly realize I don't hold all the answers to our Theological Fallibility. There are still lots of unanswered questions in my mind, and dots I have yet to connect. It's funny, a small part of me honestly feels like writing a rebuttal against myself! I've done the best I can to build a foundation, but let's just say I'm leaving the access door open.

Kids, Santa's Not Real

Warning, I'm about to do some soap-box preaching (writing, actually). I'm not sure if you are aware of this, but there is a deceptive pandemic spreading through American homes everywhere - it's called, Santa Claus is coming to town.

I'm not talking about the ancient Bishop of Myra, more commonly known as Saint Nicholas. Nope.

I'm talking about the widely taught belief that a plump jolly fellow brings presents for the little kiddies during the hours of whenever-they-are-asleep the night before Christmas. I'm talking about the amplification of Sir Santa by retail stores simply to sell some sure-to-break-soon merchandise. I'm talking about the blatant manipulation of a child's behavior based on the premise that someone who lives in the North Pole can actually see them throwing a fit. Ridiculous.

I can hear what you're saying, "Get real, Jason. There are far more important things you could be writing about, such as, what you'd like Santa to bring you for Christmas."

Get real, reader. Unless you can honestly argue for lying (figure that one out), I'll stay on my soap box. I can just picture the conversation some parents must be forced to have with their kids once the cat's out of the bag.

Heartbroken Child: "You mean (sniff, sniff) Santa's not.....real??"
Mommy/Daddy: "Oh Johnny, stop crying, mommy and daddy were just lying to you! That's all! I know you get in trouble for lying - but when your an adult you get to make stuff up all the time! It's really wonderful! Now, what did you want for Christmas again?"

So kids, in the rare case that you have internet access, still believe Santa is real, and actually chose to visit my blog - let me clue you in - Santa's not real.