You’ve Got This

“Test everything. Hold on to what is good.”
– Paul writing to Timothy

When I was an Evangelical/Fundamentalist who claimed to believe and follow the scriptures, this was one verse that somehow got practically interpreted as:

“Avoid anything I might disagree with;
point out what is wrong about it.”

This shows up in boycotts, like when Scorcese’s “The Last Temptation of Christ” was released many years ago. People picketing and shouting (and providing free advertisement) who had not seen the movie, did not intend to see it, but knew in advance that it was “evil”.

A number of years later when I couldn’t sleep one night, I stumbled upon that movie on cable TV and – contemplating the “Test everything” verse – I decided to watch it.

I learned several things that night:

1. The movie was a work of sacred art
2. I found great encouragement spiritually from it
3. Paul’s advice to Timothy was wise
4. Those afraid to follow Paul’s advice are neither strong nor mature

If I insist on avoiding being exposed to things that might cause me to change my views – whether religious, political, relational, whatever – I’m not allowing change and growth in my life. For those who say they follow Jesus and the guidance of the Holy Spirit, they’re likely avoiding the very things that God wants to teach them.

When you start with the assumption that you and your tribe are “right” and everyone else is wrong, you close yourself off to the world rather than being like light in the darkness or salt in bland food. You rob yourself and the world by digging a deeper trench and holding your ground. You’re merely confirming your bias instead of being open to truth wherever you find it.

It’s scary, I know. I avoided it for many, many decades. I used to think that people who seriously questioned my beliefs were those of whom Paul also wrote to Timothy about:

“For a time is coming when people will no longer listen to sound and wholesome teaching. They will follow their own desires and will look for teachers who will tell them whatever their itching ears want to hear.”

But now I see that it’s all inverted. People who are open to truth wherever they find it are OPEN, not closed. That’s how I am now.

It’s those who insist only hearing what they already agree with who demand teachers to tell them what they want to hear. Yes Evangelicals and Fundamentalists, I mean YOU. You (and I used to be in your company) are the ones who refuse to consider the possibility that you just might be wrong, that scholarship and science and well-reasoned arguments that differ with your thoughts must be boycotted, shouted down, avoided, perhaps even made ILLEGAL.

I remember the fervor when Rob Bell dared to release his book “Love Wins”. Oh my the hatred! Oh the many, many articles (and I read many of them) declaring that what Rob said was wrong, contrary to scripture, contrary to church history, etc.

The only problem is… most of those authors had not read Rob’s book, and when they did they didn’t read to understand his point but instead were just “quote mining” trying to find something nasty to write about him and his book. It was intellectually dishonest.

They also outright LIED about it, claiming Rob wrote things that he did not write. The biggest lie was when they said Rob claimed that there is no Hell. I’ve read the book several times and that is NOT in there. Rob actually, and very artfully, raised many questions without answering them, providing a number of perspectives, and left it to the reader to conclude things for themselves.

It’s also funny that a teaching that is clearly and obviously based on nothing but FEAR and that has been used to manipulate people for centuries could be seen as part of Jesus’ “good news”… because it certainly wasn’t part of the good news he was proclaiming:

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because the Lord has anointed me.
He has sent me to preach good news to the poor,
to proclaim release to the prisoners
and recovery of sight to the blind,
to liberate the oppressed,
and to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

THAT is the good news message of Jesus. Nothing about Hell and fiery torture from a God whose mercies are supposed to “endure forever”. No threats, veiled or otherwise.

Now, if this resonates within you, my encouragement to you is to take Paul’s advice:

“Test everything. Hold on to what is good.”

If you disagree with something or think it’s just crap, simply discard it and move on. THAT is the mature approach. And if instead it makes sense to you, then have the courage and FAITH to figure out how to integrate that into your life in a way that will inspire and bless others. As John wrote:

“There is no fear in love.
But perfect love drives out fear,
because fear has to do with punishment.
The one who fears is not made perfect in love.”

Don’t be afraid – you’ve got this.

Dishonest Questions

Do I “believe the Bible”?

I believe many people interpret things very differently when they read the Bible.

I don’t believe any of them have the “one right understanding. But then… when were we ever asked to believe the Bible anyway?

What I recall – from the Bible itself – is that our faith and trust is to be placed in God. I don’t ever recall Jesus instructing people to believe and assent to human interpretations of scripture. Rather, I recall Jesus saying things like:

• follow me
• love one another – by this shall everyone know you follow me
• preach good news to the poor, sight to the blind, healing to the lame, freedom to prisoners, etc.
• don’t condemn people; trust God with their growth and stop shoving your precious pearls of wisdom on them when they aren’t ready yet
• don’t worry – about the future, about food and clothing, etc – just manifest a society that does God’s will
• don’t be troubled – I’ll send the Holy Spirit (not a book) to guide you into all truth

Do I “believe the Bible”?

I believe Jesus.
His words and actions resonate within me.
His portrayal of what God is like rings true.

He doesn’t reflect an angry God who says “love me or I’ll torture you in fire.” No, this is a God who says “do what you want to me – kill me if you must – but I’ll still love and forgive you.” This is a God who loves and forgives so much he’s willing to sacrifice himself.

So when people use the Bible to propose an angry, Zeus-like thunderbolt thrower of a God, I’ll pass.

When people propose a weak, sociopathic God who “doesn’t want anyone to perish” but “oh well… I guess I can’t get what I want so welcome to Hell”, I’ll pass.

When people propose a God who says we should “forgive 70 times 7 times a day” and then doesn’t have to live up to his own rules… I’ll pass.

When people propose a God who resorts to genocide to get his way – killing men, women, children, and animals – I’ll pass.

The problem isn’t God, nor is it the Bible.

The problem is what the church – very late in church history – has declared the Bible to be (something the early church never claimed): The inerrant words of God clearly communicated once for all time.

And the truth is that no one actually believes that. No one.

What they ACTUALLY believe is that THEIR UNDERSTANDING OF THE BIBLE is inerrant, that THEIR UNDERSTANDING OF GOD is infallible.

This arrogance has led to the creation of tens of thousands of so-called Christian denominations, all who think they are the “most right”.

It’s a distraction that enables them to ignore the life and example and teachings of Jesus so they don’t have to actually follow Jesus to be a “Christian”.

It’s an alternate gospel that merely focuses on getting into Heaven when you die and avoiding an imagined Hell that none of the early church believed in.

It ignores the fact that the early church fathers saw scriptures as the testimonies of HUMANS, not of God, and they considered and appreciated multiple interpretations rather than claiming they had the “only right interpretation”.

It ignores that God “morphs” across the Bible (because peoples’ understanding of God evolved over time, not because God actually changed).

It ignores the serious contradictions in scripture that are easily explained by studying the thought evolution of the authors and the cultural meta-narrative that coincided with it.

It’s worse than a paper pope because everyone who has access to the scriptures can assume THEIR understanding is the one right one. EVERYONE is a pope.

Do I believe the Bible?

Well, I don’t automatically believe that YOUR understanding of it is the most right one.

I’ll go with what the Holy Spirit confirms in my heart, with what resonates within me and makes sense to me. I won’t pretend anymore.

I’ll believe Jesus – both in what I understand he said and what I’ve personally experienced following him because THAT is REAL.

I’ll trust God with my life, my family, my prosperity, my health, my opportunities, with everything.

And I’ll fail. And I’ll try again. And I’ll fail again. And I’ll rise again knowing that God LOVES me, forgives me, roots for me, and sustains me. I’m not afraid of God. Certainly I’m in awe and reverence God, but afraid? “Perfect love casts out fear” wrote John.

Do I believe the Bible?

What kind of question is THAT? It’s a dishonest question and it totally misses the point.