Inspired by God for Edifying or for Restricting?

Just about anyone who has been, grown up in, or had a confrontation with literalism has been confronted with 2 Tim. 3:16 (All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness;) as a proof-text that the Bible is God's inerrant and literal book of rules. But is this really what that verse means, or does it have a larger meaning when taken in a larger spiritual context?

To take "inspired by God" (in Greek, God-breathed) and use it as proof for inerrancy requires us to logically move directly from 'God' to 'perfect' and ignore the decidedly imperfect thing that lies in between: people. Also, at the time Paul wrote this to Timothy, the only Scripture he could have been referring to was the Old Testament. A Jew such as Paul would have completely believed that the Hebrew scriptures were from God, but as a new being in Christ, and considering the other things Paul wrote against law-keeping, would he really have been trying to tell Timothy that his other letters should be considered a perfect rule-book with no errors? Was Paul giving Timothy a set of restrictions, or a set of tools with which to build up himself and others?

Let's look at a bit more of the 2 Tim. passage to get some more context:

New Direction...

This morning, I'll be officially placing membership at the church that I attended in my teenage years. I and that congregation have both changed a lot in thirty years, and I've felt completely comfortable in the past few weeks I've been attending services there.

Why did I leave the last church I was attending? Primarily because they're going in a direction that I didn't feel had very much to offer me in terms of my usefulness to others. I honestly can't tell you how many ministers ordained by the denomination attend there, but it turns out to be many more than I ever realized. Being someone who believes in the universal priesthood of believers, the concept of official ordination doesn't really sit well with me, and the clergy/laity boundary only makes me feel somewhat alienated and minimally useful to the Church.

Forgiving God

 "If there is a God, He will have to beg my forgiveness."
Written on a wall in the prisoner barracks at Mauthausen Concentration Camp

Why I Like Liturgy (Well, Some Of It)

Growing up in the Churches of Christ, I had zero exposure to any sort of liturgy or church history. Even though I attended a Lutheran school for grades K - 2, they weren't teaching us liturgy, the religious part of our education was learning the big stories of the Bible, (it was the early seventies, mind you, so it was probably different than religious schooling before and after that time.) We did have Chapel services on Wednesday mornings, but it was just some singing with an interactive Bible lesson afterwards, for us kids; pretty much the same as a CoC Wednesday night meeting, just in the morning. Still, it was far more progressive a school than what I would imagine most church schools to be; we even listened to and discussed Jesus Christ, Superstar in the Easter season of my second grade year. I doubt you'd find that happening in any Christian school today!

But, back in the conservative Churches of Christ in which I grew up, (sectarian, rather than ecumenical ones, as Richard Beck would put it) there was never any mention of liturgical calendar holidays. In fact, the only times Christmas or Easter were mentioned were in parts of sermons explaining why Santa Claus and the Easter bunny shouldn't be taught to kids as having any relation to a holiday. The only reason that we didn't have any observances of those Holy Days was simply sola scriptura; they weren't expressly mentioned in the Bible.

Do This...

When the hour had come, He reclined at the table, and the apostles with Him. And He said to them, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; for I say to you, I shall never again eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He said, “Take this and share it among yourselves; for I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine from now on until the kingdom of God comes.” And when He had taken some bread and given thanks, He broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” And in the same way He took the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in My blood." Luke, Ch. 22, vs. 14-20, NASB

We do this in remembrance of Him. Remembering His love for us, his devotion to us, His sacrifice for us.

I was raised in, and still attend, churches of the Restoration Movement ; Churches of Christ as a child and young adult, and a Disciples of Christ congregation today. In these churches, The Lord's Supper is the pinnacle of the worship service, the prime reason that we meet each Sunday. "For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until He comes." 1 Cor., Ch. 11, v. 26, NASB.

Palm Sunday

Christ, the Heavenly King, made his entrance into Jerusalem riding a donkey.

Not on a white horse or in a chariot as befits His position, but as a peasant would.

He comes to us in the same way. Quiet, unassuming, not raising His voice for recognition.

Do we recognize Him when He comes to us today?

In His distressing disguise, do we look past the homeless, the sick, the abused, straining our eyes to see Him in the glory of men? 

He is not here dressed in fine clothes and jewelry, yet He is still here.

Do we see Him in our majestic church buildings and chapels?

Do we see Him in our church leaders?

Do we see Him in ourselves?

Sexual Abuse and Forgiveness

This is a very different kind of topic for me to write about, especially as I haven't been sexually abused, but some of the women I have loved have suffered that horror, and I know my reactions to hearing that. This will be a deeply personal post for me to write, and difficult as I feel that anger and desire for vengeance again.

First off, as I write about the forgiveness part, I want you all to know that I am not speaking to the victims of sexual abuse here, that is a subject best handled by well-trained and compassionate people. Rather, I'll be speaking about my experience as someone who loves a person that has suffered that abuse.

Rejoice!

"Rejoice with Jerusalem and be glad for her, all you who love her; rejoice greatly with her, all you who mourn over her." Isaiah 66:10, NIV


It's Laetare Sunday, a name which means almost nothing to most American Protestants. Laetare is the Latin word for 'rejoice'.

In the midst of the contemplation of our sins and mortality of Lent, Laetare Sunday reminds us of the words of John the Baptist, "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world."

A Sunday to rejoice, in the midst of our repentance. After all, what reason would we have to repent were it not for His love bringing our redemption?

What Can I Say?

I hope you read my last post, and then clicked through to Les' blog. His story is compelling and painful, sickening and heartening.

Some of what disturbed me most were the reactions of some ostensible 'Christians' to Les in the weeks and months following that tragedy.


Dealing with someone who is grieving is difficult for the majority of people. It's even harder for all parties involved when death comes through horrific tragedy. Our compassion wants us to help, but without a modicum of grief counseling training, it's extremely difficult to know what to do. Feeling the grasp of the futility of which Qoheleth wrote, many times the only thing left to the bystander is what we can say.

We want desperately to speak words of wisdom to help guide the grieving one (and as often as not, ourselves) to a point of healing.

The thing is, wisdom doesn't heal; only Love heals.

Are you struggling with your faith?

Then I'd suggest that you read Les Ferguson's blog, Desperately Wanting to Believe Again. Specifically, I'd recommend to start off with this post, Obscenity Redux. It contains the elements of the story necessary to catch up with what happened exactly

Les, a former Church of Christ preacher, lost his wife and son to a man who had been raping his son, who came and murdered them horribly after he was arrested for the sexual abuse. The reactions towards Les from some of the congregation in the aftermath was both disgusting and infuriating.

Yet even after this horrible event, the spirit of a true Christian still shines through in Les' words as he struggles to find a semblance of the faith he once felt.


May Les, his family, and all of us be blessed and comforted by the One who makes all things new.