Welcome to The Bible Today.
Why this site? "There are a lot of very intelligent and educated adults who were brought up in religious homes and who have very nuanced, adult, views of all sorts of things like economics, history, politics, math—even other religions. But when it comes to the Bible, their thinking hasn’t changed much from their childhood views. For some reason, growth to adulthood has bypassed their understanding of the Bible. This isn’t about being “stupid.” It’s about the nature of religious training, where too often staying still in one’s view of the Bible is lauded as a virtue, a sign of “strong” faith that does not “give in” to change—for change is simply a polite way of saying “compromise,” a weak or dying faith. And that is unfortunate. The Bible is a rich and complex book. It deserves—in fact, demands—more than being kept safe in our younger ways of thinking. Studying the Bible with adult faculties alerts us that the nature of the Bible requires of us a more nuanced appreciation. Not “compromise” but nuance, where naivete gives way to an appreciation of the Bible’s more “adult” nature—like children who grow up to adulthood and their view of their parents grows right along with them." - Peter Enns Galileo Galilei is quoted as saying, "I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us with sense, reason, and intellect has intended us to forgo their use." It took the Catholic church hundreds of years to finally admit that Galileo was right about the earth revolving around the sun. Today's evangelical churches are in a similar situation. They need to interact with the modern intellectual world – namely three areas: 1. modern biblical scholarship 2. biblical archaeology 3. modern science. This website can help Evangelical Christians who want to learn more than what they are hearing in church, those who are ready to come out of their theological comfort zones. Some Introductory Thoughts "Theological discomfort should never be the reason for failing to follow through with where the evidence leads." - Peter Enns “We do not start our Christian lives by working out our faith for ourselves; it is mediated to us by Christian tradition, in the form of sermons, books, and established patterns of church life and fellowship. We read our Bibles in the light of what we have learned from these sources; we approach the Scripture with minds already formed by the mass of accepted opinions and viewpoints with which we have come into contact, in both the church and the world…It is easy to be unaware that it has happened; it is hard even to begin to realize how profoundly tradition in this sense has molded us. But we are forbidden to become enslaved to human tradition, either secular or Christian, whether it be “catholic” tradition, “critical” tradition, or “ecumenical” tradition. We may never assume the complete rightness of our own established ways of thought and practice and excuse ourselves the duty of testing and reforming them by Scriptures.” - J.I. Packer “Fundamentalists yearn for a world in which all is fixed and certain. For this reason they militantly eschew anything and anyone that introduces doubt, uncertainty, or ambiguity into their worldview.....Nothing is more important to a fundamentalist than being right and being sure of it.....Fundamentalism fears the evidence that challenges its views; healthy Christian orthodoxy revels in the evidence, since it believes that all evidence, properly understood, will lead to a healthier view of life and faith.” - Kenton Sparks God's Word in Human Words "The plea for a frank dialogue among evangelicals on the basis of Scripture may be very difficult if not impossible, to realize. The reason is simple. Evangelicals are conditioned by their denominational traditional teachings, just as much as the Roman Catholics and Eastern Orthodox. In theory, they appeal to Sola Scriptura, but in practice, Evangelicals often interpret Scripture in accordance with their traditional denominational teachings. If new Biblical research challenges traditional doctrines, in most cases, Evangelical churches will choose to stand for tradition rather than for Sola Scriptura. The real difference between Evangelicals and Roman Catholics is that Catholics are at least honest about the normative authority of their ecclesiastical tradition. To be an "Evangelical" means to uphold certain fundamental traditional doctrines without questioning. Anyone who dares to question the Biblical validity of a traditional doctrine can become suspect as a heretic." - Samuele Bacchiocchi "One must be willing to be wrong before he/she can become right. Therefore, Bible study will only benefit those who are so dedicated to the pursuit of truth that they are willing to be wrong. ...If there is to be freedom in Jesus, it can be realized by those who refuse to become complacent and are engaged in the continual pursuit of truth. To become truly free of the shackles and chains of the doctrines of men, we must be continually vigilant and engaged in an unending search for truth. We can never allow ourselves to become complacent in our understanding of God’s word, or so steadfast in the teachings of a given church that we fail to listen to other views.....If we hold that truth has no value, then we are free to teach opinion and become nothing more than false teachers. I would also point out that what we believe on doctrine molds our perception of God. How we perceive the character of God dictates our response to Him, or at least the reason for that response. Regardless of one’s personal view of these matters, the quest for true knowledge and understanding is a part of one’s responsibility toward God. Growth lies in the search for truth. " - Francis Beffert "The Truth never changes; but we are not always as well informed as we would like to believe. We Christians must be flexible enough to change our positions when we discover we have made mistakes. We may not be comfortable with Truth which is different from what we were taught as children; but then we have no promise that the Truth is something which we will always be comfortable with. In any case, when differences come to light, we, not the Truth, must change." - Don Stoner Topics covered on this website include: The Nature of Scripture Genesis and Human Origins The Second Coming of Jesus Christ Archaeology of the Hebrew Bible Polytheism in Ancient Israel The New Testament Use of the Old Testament New Perspectives on Paul Hell The Doctrine of Satan 12 Way Evangelical Leaders Avoid Dealing With Real Problems in The Bible |
Highly Recommended Books Inspiration and Incarnation The Human Faces of God How to Read The Bible Who Wrote The Bible? God's Word in Human Words Who Wrote The Gospels The Bible Against Itself: Why the Bible Seems to Contradict Itself Evolution of Adam: What the Bible Does and Doesn't Say about Human Origins Websites The Voice BioLogos Questioning Answers in Genesis American Scientific Affiliation Early Christian Writings Early Jewish Writings Blogs Peter Enns Mod Synthesis Andrew Perriman Cognitive Discopants Respectful Conversation David Williams Study Bibles Harper Collins Study Bible Jewish Study Bible New Interpreter's Study Bible New Oxford Annotated Bible Evolution of the Word Books on the Old Testament The Old Testament: A Very Short Introduction Inspiration and Incarnation:Evangelicals and the Problem of the Old Testament The Bible Unearthed Who Were the Early Israelites and Where Did They Come From? How to Read the Bible Who Wrote the Bible? Introduction to the Hebrew Bible How to Read the Jewish Bible The Old Testament: Text and Context The Early History of God:Yahweh and the Other Deities in Ancient Israel The Origins of Biblical Monotheism:Israel's Polytheistic Background and the Ugarit Texts Old Testament Parallels Non-Related Sites Lincoln's War Paleolibertarian . |