Reviewing "The Bible" Mini-Series

I am a total fan of Middle Earth--a kind of Lord of the Rings nerd. I first read the books in 6th grade and have read them many times since. I lost count at 25 times many years ago. I just read them again this last year.

So, when Peter Jackson's version of The Fellowship of the Ring came out about 12 years ago, I rushed to see it. My wife asked if I liked it. "I think it was a good movie, but I'm not sure if I like it yet," I answered. You see, I knew the books so well that I could not yet enjoy the movie. The medium of film imposes certain limitations, but also certain creative possibilities, that are different than the written word. So, it was not until the 4th viewing that I began to really enjoy the movie as well.

Still, I would like to know how Jackson would do "Tom Bombadil."

This is kind of where I'm at with The Bible, the five-part mini-series that aired on consecutive Sundays on the History Channel and culminating last weekend, on Easter Sunday.

I have read the Holy Bible many times. And I have a daily reading program that gets me through the entire Bible pretty much every year. So, I am immersed in God's Word. And since I am a pastor, I am also weekly writing messages (and this blog) in a way that tries to communicate God's message.

So, I have mixed feelings about the film that I viewed the last 5 weeks. Overall, I really enjoyed getting the grand sweep of God's story in a way that lifted me above the minutia of the "begets" and "thou shalt nots." God created this world and humankind with a purpose. We have an enemy who has tried to pull us away from God. But there is story after story of God's faithful love being expressed through people like Abraham, Moses, Joshua, Samson, Samuel, David, Daniel, Jesus, Mary, Peter, Paul and John. And his plan culminated in the resurrection of Jesus so that He is now being proclaimed through his disciples.

I cried like a baby several times as the reality of certain Bible stories just washed over me. Abraham relieved that God's test was satisfied and he did not have to sacrifice Isaac. Jesus telling the story of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector to Matthew and then calling him to follow. Jesus on the cross. Paul being healed by Ananias. John on the isle of Patmos.

And I was very happy to note that 10 million people watched the first episode, and that it had the potential to start conversations all over about what the Bible actually teaches. And perhaps the commercials for free Bible apps would result in actual Bible reading.

My complaints are really just a kind of knowing sadness. That some people will watch the movies and think that they now understand the Book. Angels are like ninja-assassins. The Ark of the Covenant just sat under a wispy pop-up tent in a way that Joshua could walk up to. That Jesus said "We're going to change the world." (That one is right next to "God helps those that help themselves" in 1st Hezekiah.)

I recently wrote a blog about "Reaching the Shallows and Going Deep" (2/27/13). There is a growing tendency to "scan" a topic in a way that gives us a shallow understanding of an issue. But if you really want to understand God and His ways, do you think He can be grasped in a shallow way? If He really is the God of the Universe, how can anyone be satisfied with the Cliff Notes?

Let us accept films for what they can do: capture a theme, convey a plot, touch us emotionally by helping us humanize the characters. But let us progress from there to a deeper understanding, which begins with a plan to read, study and meditate on the Word of God for ourselves. It is the Bible that was "God-breathed" (2 Tim. 3: 16), not the script for a movie version. If we really want to hear from God, we must spend time reading His Word.

"I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you" (Ps. 119: 11).

"Your word is a lamp to my feet, and a light to my path" (Ps. 119: 105).

"The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul;
The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy, making wise the simple;
The precepts of the LORD are right, giving joy to the heart;
The commands of the LORD are radiant, giving light to the eyes;
The fear of the LORD is pure, enduring forever;
The ordinances of the LORD are sure and altogether righteous.
They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold;
They are sweeter than honey; than honey from the comb.
By them is your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward" (Psalm 19: 7-11).

The Examined Life

"The unexamined life is not worth living." Thus Plato quotes his teacher, Socrates.

Of course Socrates is talking about the need for the moral person to examine his life in light of "virtue" so that he or she can live a good life. The life that seeks to live ethically pure results in the greatest good.

Certainly for the Christian, the concept is also true. Only by looking into our own hearts and examining our own behaviors can we hope to change. Not only is it important that our behavior come under scrutiny, but the motives behind our behavior must also be judged. Thus Jesus says, it is not just sinful to commit adultery, but it is sinful to give in to lustful thoughts. It is not just sinful to murder my brother, it is sinful to live with hatred towards my brother.

But the examination of our hearts is not left solely to our own conscience. In other words, just because I am not feeling convicted, it does not justify my behavior.

For example, a disturbing trend in our digital age is that many young people do not think that sharing pirated copies of music with their friends is wrong. It doesn't feel wrong to share with my friends. And besides, the music industry is rich and can afford it. The idea of piracy being wrong does not intrude on my personal behavior.

And so, we need external and objective standards by which to evaluate our own hearts. That is why the Bible is so important.

"For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart" (Heb. 4:12).

Paul says that the Word is "useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness" (2Tim. 3:16).

But if it was just a matter of changing my mind, Christian transformation would be easy. But as soon as our minds are convinced of God's ethical way and we want to change from walking according to the "flesh," we find that a "war" is going on between the "law of sin in my members" and the "law of my mind." (Read Rom. 7). We need a power greater than ourselves in order to truly change.

It is the Holy Spirit who takes the Word of God and empowers us to apply it so that it has a transformative affect in our lives. The scriptures are "God-breathed." You could say that the Breath-of-God, who is the Holy Spirit, wrote them. And so the Holy Spirit resonates within us when we read His own words in a way that applies to us personally. "You have an anointing from the Holy One, and you know the truth...His anointing teaches you about all things..." (1John 2:20, 27).

The Holy Spirit is the one who empowers us to be "renewed in the Spirit of our minds" (Eph. 4:23) so that we are "transformed by the renewing of our minds" (Rom. 12:2).

The point of all this? In order to truly change into the people that God intends us to be, we need not only to be students of the Word, but we also must be filled with the Spirit who makes us holy. And so the formula goes: one part Bible + one part self-examination + one part Holy Spirit = transformed life.

How's your journey of transformation going?

"Was Jesus Married?" and Other Red Herrings

Every few years someone "discovers" some amazing new archeological scrap of evidence that threatens to overturn a major assumption of our faith.

Today, news is breaking that some fragment of a 4th century document, supposedly quoting from a 2nd century source, hints that Jesus had a wife. Of course, this will provide further "proof" to people who swallowed the fiction novel, The DaVinci Code, by Dan Brown, as if it were uncovering a 2,000 year-old conspiracy to hide this same thing. It made for a fun read, as long as you did not spend years studying the actual ancient documents, or if you already hated the Catholic Church or Christianity and just wanted another reason to hate them.

The only problem is that you would have to ignore the vast preponderance of the evidence to believe that this proves anything more than that there was a movement in the 2nd century, dominated by the Gnostics, to re-invent Jesus for their own purposes. Young Christians are often duped into thinking that something like "The Gospel of Thomas" is another suppressed writing.

There is a reason that these writings were not included in the New Testament canon (the recognized authoritative writings). They were rejected because:
1.  They were not accepted as reflecting the teaching of Jesus and the Apostles;
2.  They could not be credited to an Apostle or someone with close proximity to an Apostle.

Early writings like "The Didache" and "Shepherd of Hermas" and the epistles of Ignatius and the writings of Clement were rejected, not as heretical, but not authoritatively inspired. The early church debated canonicity for centuries. Some rediscovered Gnostic writing, was consistently rejected by contemporaneous Christian leaders centuries ago.

Thus, the four Gospels were accepted as the direct teaching of an Apostle (Matthew and John) or were the work of the disciple of an Apostle (Mark from Peter, Luke from Paul). The Gospel of Thomas was written by someone in the 2nd century using the name of an Apostle to add credibility so that a heretical Gnostic slant on Jesus would be accepted. It was soundly rejected.

The rest of the New Testament is similar. Luke, who traveled with Paul, wrote Acts. Paul wrote many epistles (although scholars dispute some authorship). James and Jude, brothers of Jesus each wrote one epistle. Peter and John wrote epistles. John wrote Revelation. The book of Hebrews was attributed to Paul, but does not match his writing style. As Origen said, "Only God knows who wrote the epistle of Hebrews." But we do know that the early church accepted the Apostolic authority that resonates in the book of Hebrews. In my opinion, if it was written by someone we know, Apollos fits the bill. It is the best Greek in the New Testament and makes many arguments using neo-platonic logic. Apollos was from Alexandria, the center of Philo's school which utilized neo-platonism. And we know that Apollos was a strong teacher, compatible with Paul's teaching and accepted as an early apostle.

So why am I spending a blog column on seemingly esoteric textual issues?

I don't want you to be shaken up by titillating news stories and History-channel sensationalism that lacks real substance. God has given us His Word and the Church throughout history has affirmed the teaching of Jesus and the Apostles. Don't get fooled by flashy news stories that actually lack real substance.

In Peace with God, Billy Graham tells the story from the bombing of Warsaw by the Germans in World War II. "Warsaw was flattened, but on Jerusalem Street one wall of the Old British and Foreign Bible Society remained standing. On it were these words painted in large letters: 'HEAVEN AND EARTH WILL PASS AWAY, BUT MY WORDS WILL NOT PASS AWAY.'" (p. 24).

Jesus' words were recorded exactly the same in the three synoptic Gospels (Matt: 24: 35: Mark 13: 31; Luke 21: 33).

And after 2,000 years, the New Testament continues to stand as the authoritative Word of God to us today.

So, rather than try to find some scrap of evidence that might bring down that wall--perhaps we should begin to take it seriously. If it is indeed God's Word to us, maybe it is time that we actually studied it and obeyed it.

As G. K. Chesterton said: "The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting. It has been found difficult and left untried."