Can The Bible Be Trusted?

Last week I was the subject of a post on Alexander The Atheist blog about my comments on the Trinity. It seems that one of the biggest issues that non-believers have is that they feel the Bible can't be trusted, be true, be inerrant, or be accurate. As soon as people discredit the Bible, they can believe whatever they want to, bash Christians for their faith, and hold themselves up to be more enlightened because they don't have "blind faith" in God. My question today is why is it that the Bible is being discredited? Some would say it's full of errors, typos, editing problems, etc. and that statement is somewhat true. There are some grammatical errors and such in the copies we have today! If you are a reader of the Bible you would know this because most Bibles will "warn" you of these issues when you come to them. For example look at Mark 16:9-20. This passage should be in [brackets] since it indicates that some early manuscripts do not contain these verses. Answer this before you start saying that people have added things to the Bible we have today...does this passage contradict anything in scripture? No! Is the subject, events, stories found in other parts of the Bible? Yes! The other Gospels contain accounts of the risen Lord, the Great Commission, and The Ascension. Need more proof?

Doubter's Question: Hasn't the Bible been copied and copied over and over again? How can we trust it to be accurate today?

Answers: Yes the Bible we have today is what it is, copies of copies of copies. I believe that the Word of God is inerrant in its "autographed" original copies. As mentioned above, most scholars will conclude that there are some minor textual problems with the copies we have today. Scholars like Ravi Zacharias, R.C. Sproul, Norman Geisler, and Bruce Metzger point out that no "error" contradicts any, yes ANY theology or doctrine! This shows the infallibilty of the Bible in that what we read today is still truth. Let's get back to the whole copying issue. The Bible has more copies than any other literary work ever. There are over 5,600 early copies and manuscripts of the Greek New Testament. When compared to Homer's Iliad there are only about 650 copies. Homer wrote the Iliad around 800 B.C. and the earliest copies we have date from the 2nd and 3rd century A.D. That's a long time. How come there isn't such a big stink over the copying of the Iliad? What's the earliest manuscript we have of the Bible? We have parts of John's Gospel that date from A.D. 100-150! This is not very long after the life of Christ! In addition to the Greek copies, there are about 8,000 Latin Vulgate translation, copies in Ethiopic, Slavic, and Armenian. The total amount of copies is about 24,000 in existence. This is overwhelming when you compare the Bible to other ancient writings. Since the Bible has more copies of copies than any other writing...what's the problem? If anything else this helps support the Bible's accuracy. For those who have made the claim that the Bible is inaccurate...please tell me which part. I'd be glad to discuss those parts here with you.

I Hate Being Sick

As the title implies...I caught a nasty cold over the weekend and it landed me in bed from Friday to Sunday morning. I should have had someone cover for me in worship on Sunday and stayed in bed, but my stubborn self pushed it (it's no fun breaking fevers in the middle of leading worship) I am looking forward to blogging about the accuracy, inerrancy, preservation of the Bible and how it relates to defending doctrines like the Holy Trinity, Salvation, and others. Anybody have any "old home remedies" for soar throats and coughing? I'M NOT GOING TO GARGLE SALT WATER!!!

Penny Pictures

Hey everyone...as promised, here are some pictures of the new dog (Penny) and one really funny one I happened to get of my cat (Millie)

The "True" Side Of Our Forefathers Not Being Taught

One thing that was addressed in the FRPC this week was the fact that the educational system has deleted any remarks, speeches, writings, etc. that mention anything about God made from our Forefathers. Students are being taught to only remember Ben Franklin and Thomas Jefferson who they (Secular Humanist) claim were deist anyways. How can American history be really taught without studying the inaugural addresses from Lincoln, Washington, and others? How can they not teach about the Declaration of Independence which refers to the Truth in God and our inalienable right from our Creator?

I realized how this impacted my studies in public schools when a quote from James Garfield (President # 20) was said:

James Garfield

Now more than ever the people are responsible for the character of their Congress. If that body be ignorant, reckless, and corrupt, it is because the people tolerate ignorance, recklessness, and corruption. If it be intelligent, brave, and pure, it is because the people demand these high qualities to represent them in the national legislature. . . . If the next centennial does not find us a great nation . . . it will be because those who represent the enterprise, the culture, and the morality of the nation do not aid in controlling the political forces.
[James A. Garfield, The Works of James Abram Garfield, Burke Hinsdale, editor (Boston: James R. Osgood and Company, 1883), Vol. II, pp. 486, 489,A Century of Congress, July, 1877.]

We Christians have been responsible for the corruptness of the educational system, Congress, and the overall morality of America by not voting the right people into office. This quote and biography of James Garfield shocked me because I was required to do a report on him in school and the sources given to me to use had no mention of him actually being a minister! He wrote a letter in 1858 stating he had just finished a revival in which there were 34 converts and 31 baptisms. The secular humanist omit these writings because they ultimately know that they would give God and Christianity a stronghold in the young, shapeable minds of today's youth and children. Pray for our children in school...Teach them the truth about religion in America. For an awesome website to get info on our Forefathers...click here.

God and Politics

Now that I am back from Orlando I have much to share with you readers in the next few days about The Florida Renewal Project Conference I attended. Let me start off by saying that this was an eye-opening, jaw-dropping experience for me as the Christian morality of this country in the realms of politics has been steeply decreasing. It seems that most Christians feel that they should leave politics out of the church and their lives. Wrong! It is our God-given duty to elect the right leaders for our government. To not care (not vote) in my opinion is an absolute sin in God's eyes! We must vote based on our Christian values, not on a party preference or getting one candidate in over another one.

Also, the Florida Marriage Amendment is falling short of petitions due to and audit (I feel it was corrupted by the ACLU) and If you have not signed it, are registered to vote in Florida, and feel that marriage is between one man and one woman, then click here...sign the form and mail it now. It must be in by Tuesday the 29th in Orlando. Get as many as you can and sign it now!

Looking forward to sharing with you some thoughts from the speakers like David Barton, Newt Gingrich, Tim Lahaye, John Hagee, Bob Mcewen, Mike Huckabee, and others. Do not forget to vote on Tuesday!

Rediscovering God in America Tour

I am looking forward to Monday and Tuesday the 21st-22nd as I am going to be in Orlando, Fl. with about 600 other pastors meeting with former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich about the current status of America and its losing faith of God. There will be other guest politicians and speakers like Tim Lahaye, Charles Stanley, and David Burton there as well. They are paying for our hotel and meals too which makes it more enjoyable to me also! I look forward to sharing with all of you about this time upon my return.

This Sunday morning's worship service was centered around the theme of Holiness. The music emphasized the holiness and purity in God and the message by pastor Ron dealt with being holy and pure because God is Holy. I'm convinced that the lack of understanding on what being holy is has been causing the church in whole to decline in morals, relevance, status among the community, and even attendance.

Today Jessica and I will be bringing home a new addition to the family! Penny, a beagle-mix was rescued from an abusive home and we are going to be its new LOVING family. Look for pictures of her shortly. Have a great week everyone!

Fake Band Album Challenge

Thanks to Jake over at Cafe de Soiree for inspiring me to get on board with this very fun challenge of making fake band album covers. I am no graphic artist at all (in fact, I had to learn

how to even use Paint to make this attempt. They are not as good as Jake's and Mikey's but they are mine! Hey Dan...The Rockstar Hamster is back!

God Says..."Clean My House!"

O.k. so He (God) may not have actually spoken those words to anyone directly but He has given me that burden to tidy up His house (the church building) and make it more practical for ministry.
The three biggest projects I have started in the past six months to do that are coming close to being done. Our Youth Room is now only needing new carpet and it will be done. I reclaimed a storage room and moved the contents to another part of the building where it was better suited, organized the room into a youth and music ministry storage closet. Everything prior to my coming was left out in the youth room and offices. I hate it when things aren't organized and get in my way. The next big project was completed last Wednesday which was reorganizing the choir room and redo the music library number system. I added room for about 6-8 new chairs in the choir room as we are growing towards an attendance of 30 in choir! As I am writing this, I just completed cleaning out the choir music library of all its antiquated files, music, equipment, etc. that hasn't been used in 30-40 years! (no joke...some of the stuff was dated in the 60's and 70's)

Why should a church be cleaned out? Because if a church is filthy, it shows how well the spiritual life of the church body might be. Is someone going to feel that church is important if they see so much junk lying around the facility? No! For those of you Bayshore readers...join me and the others who have helped in making the church more practical for ministry!

An Accidental New Year's Resolution #2

Well the "fast" from television is over now. Our Rabbit Ears work now after some messing around with them. I enjoyed the free time not watching crap on t.v. but I have missed what's going on in the election process and the news. Jessica missed her reality shows.

Another "resolution" we both have been keeping though is to eat better foods, kick the soda drinks, and exercise more. We have been walking about 2.5 miles a day after work and it has been fun because we get to talk to each other and laugh while doing vigorous cardio. I want to get into biking again to really trim me back down to where my prime was in 2002. I used to bike about 7-9 miles a day and run too after working out in the gym. I was 175 lbs...then I met Jessica, started dating, got engaged, married and well....last year at this time I was 245 lbs.!!! I haven't been able to work out because our gym at the apartment complex is undergoing a makeover and all new equipment. I weighed myself on Saturday and I am now 222 lbs! My target is not to necessarily lose weight but to firm up and lose the fat. I wouldn't mind building more muscle mass so I can whoop up on my youth this summer at camp!

I Couldn't Help But Listen #3

I was getting coffee this morning before filling in for the Highscool Choir teacher and there was a gentleman on the phone talking to his wife. After hanging up...he yelled "woohoo! I have the best wife ever!" I was shocked at the outburst of excitement and wish I knew why she was amazing but that doesn't necessarilly matter. What I learned was that we should publicly praise our spouses no matter how crazy it may sound or what others may think! My wife is amazing too!

FBS

Are you suffering from F-B-S? Foggy Brain Syndrome has affected many of us. To find out what Foggy Brain Syndrome is click here!

"I Don't Mean to be Racist, But..."

I get an occasional glance on my blog from my own church members and I appreciate you out their. Over my short term in ministry, every church I have been in has either directly or indirectly had problems with racism. To set the record straight...I am not racist, prejudice, or think I am better than any other ethnicity in the world. After all, Jesus was not a "white male" either. Growing up in a growing city in south Florida, I have been accustom to all kinds of races at school, work, and church. When I moved into the "Bible Belt" this all changed.

While serving in one particular church, my wife and I were victims of a road rage and shooting...no bullets hit us...Of course the gossips started flying through church and almost everyone who came up to me and asked me questions about it first started off by asking..."Were they black people?" "Nope! They were as white as you and me" I responded watching the shock on their faces that a crime was committed by one of their own kind and not a black person.

I have also heard horror stories of churches in the Bible Belt telling a black person to go worship down at the "Black Church" That enrages me to no end. How can "Christians" do this?

The Church I serve in now is different, there are many different races and ethnic backgrounds represented in Worship. We have Haitians, Greeks, English, Canadian, Chinese, African American, Romanian, Hungarian, German, as well as Anglo-American. It's awesome to see so many types of people joining together as one. I want to list some of my "pet peeves" of how Christians show direct or indirect racism:

1. Don't Call it "The Black Church" - They are a church...I'm sure white people are welcome
2. Don't say "I don't mean to be racist, but..." - If there is something that might sound racist or
stereotypical, than it doesn't need to be said.
3. "Them Mexicans" - not all Spanish speaking people are Mexican. If you are white and speak
english does that make you British?
4."Don't Judge Interracial Marriage" - I believe we humans are all one race bonded together by
one faith in one God. How could skin color break that apart? We have a couple of bi-racial
marriages in our church and they are the sweetest people.
5. (this one's left blank for your examples...let's stop this nonsense of racism)

Reflections of Childhood Memories

Last night, Dan over at Jesus and Java and I were talking and for some reason we got on the subject of childrens' shows of the 80's and early 90's. It shocking how our memories make us feel when we realize how fast time has gone by. I absolutely loved this one show called "Today's Special" which was Canadian and ran on PBS from 1981-1987




it was about a department store manequine named Jeff that would come to life when the magic words were said at night.

Does anybody remember Bozo the Clown? I secretly wished I would go on his show and play a game with him.

Dan reminded me of the Nickelodian show "You Can't Do That On Television" does anyone remember the word you couldn't say or you'd get slimed? I feel like eating a "Barf Burger" for lunch!

There were some other shows that made the conversation like "Fraggle Rock" ,"Eureka's Castle", and "Double Dare"

What was your favorite Children's show growing up?

An Atheist's View on Mormonism

A.C. from Alexander The Atheist blog has an interesting post about how he compares Mormonism and Christianity. It would be worth your time to check it out. Why give an Atheist any shout-outs from a Christian blog? Well, I might be doing more of it in the future because it only strengthens my desire to learn about my faith and apologetics. I have now also added a new Non-Christian link list I will update in the future. I respect A.C. very much, please do not go to his site (or any others) and bash what they believe in because that is not what we should be about and it only gives them more fuel to the fire. View the site by clicking here.

Married for Four

January 3rd was Jessica's and my fourth anniversary! We decided to spend this past weekend in Orlando, Fl. We spent Friday in Old Town and Downtown Disney checking out the shops and restaurants. For lunch we ate at Bongo's Cuban Cafe (owned by Gloria Estefan) it was excellent!

Saturday was spent at Seaworld. I hadn't been since a little boy and Jessica had never been so it was very cool. Jessica's Mom, Dad, Brother Matt and his girlfriend Samantha were all there too that day. If you've nver been before I suggest it. It is quite amazing how they can train the whales and dolphins to do those tricks.

Jessica and I then had the most amazing dinner at Seito Sushi in Celebration, Fl. I did have the yellowtail sushi of which I am a fan of. If you are in Orlando and love Japanese, you must try this place. Jessica had their terryaki chicken which was awesome!

Fishin

Random thought for the day....I'm wishin I was fishin

Prayer Resolution

Hey Everyone...check out Desert Thirst by Christian Gowen. I have enjoyed reading it lately and he had this very challenging New Year's Resolution about praying for people.

When was the last time you prayed with someone else?
When was the last time you prayed with your husband/wife?
When was the last time you prayed with your best friend?
When was the last time you prayed with your son/daughters?
When was the last time you prayed with someone @ work?
When was the last time you prayed beyond the dinner table?
When was the last time you prayed for the person who passed you on the street?
When was the last time you went out of your way to ask if there was anything you could pray for in any one of those peoplese lives?
When was the last time you prayed with that person @ church?
Let me be blunt. I need to stop telling people I will pray for them and PRAY for them- let them HEAR my prayers. WE NEED TO PRAY TOGETHER, non-Christians, Christians alike. How are you with this?
My New Years Resolution: Pray for more people, and let my prayers be HEARD by those people…and then celebrate the victories in knowing the Lord WILL provide. His Faith is good enough for me.

Working or Waiting for the Return?

I posted about being idle in our worship last week. The next question is are we idle in our anticipation of Christ's return? This is not the time for me to share my eschatological views or anything because that's pointless (Matthew 24:36) The Bible does warn us not to be idle in anticipation.

The Gospel of Matthew deals with this theme. Jesus warns us to be alert and ready (24:42,44) If we know that a guest is coming to stay with us at our house, would we not prepare for his or her coming? Cleaning the house, getting groceries, setting up guest rooms are all preparations that must take place. Why is it that when it comes to Christians, many of us live lives not preparing for his coming? Do you prepare by just coming to church or participating in such and such event? I don't think that's all there is to it! Jesus continues this idea with the parable of the talents in Matthew 25:14-30. We see that the first two servants WORKED (they left immediately) for their master anticipating his return, the other one WORRIED and hid his money. On the master's return, those who worked were rewarded and the one who didn't was cursed.
It's like the farmer who was lazy...Lightning struck his old barn down and he thought that it was good that he didn't have to tear it down himself, then rain came and washed his truck so he didn't have to. A friend asked him what he was waiting on next...he replied, an earthquake to come and shake these potatoes up from the ground! Christian should stop waiting for others to do the work of bringing in the harvest. Jesus said the harvest is plentiful but the laborers are few. We are to be anticipating his return by bringing the lost to him, not sitting in a pew wondering what the music or the sermon will be like!

An Accidental New Year's Resolution

Jessica and I are not watching T.V. for a while. It's not some big resolution or anything but what happened is that our "dog ears" broke on our set and we have enjoyed the time not wasted in front of the tube. Yes, there are some people who do not have cable and use antennas to get the local stations! Anyways, we both are going to try and fast a while and spend more time with each other, exercising, reading, and whatever else! I'm looking forward to it except the few shows I do like. I'll keep you all updated as to how long we go with out t.v.