Gnosticism: A Re-emerging Worldview

There has been at least some "to do" lately concerning the new document that has surfaced recently known as The Gospel of Judas. This is an interesting find for several reasons, on which Albert Mohler gives a pretty good discussion, but I will name a few reasons briefly here. First, as Wikipedia reports above, there are roughly 50 New Testament Gospels that we know of. They are not in the cannon for a reason. Mostly because they were generally not written by the person to whom the Gospel is credited, save the 4 that made it in (for one is more likely to read a gospel by someone notable like Thomas or Judas than he is one written by a nobody, say, Nick Fox). Secondly, the gospel dates to the 2nd, maybe even the 3rd century, hundreds of years after the death of Judas. Thirdly, the Gospel is attributed to a heretical group who called themselves Christians in the first few centuries called the Gnostics.

That is where I want to go today: Gnosticism. The Gnostics were a group that claimed to have a "secret knowledge" about Jesus and spirituality that the bulk of Christians did not have. They believed that all flesh and matter was evil and that spirit was good. The Gospel of Judas is a perfect example of the literature that this group produced. These gnostics show their face in the New Testament in several ways. First, Gnosticism/Dualism is the primary worldview in place in Corinth, which helps explain all of the problems that are going on which Paul is responding to. Secondly, John is responding to gnostic ideas in his Gospel, which is why we see the most conclusive proofs of Jesus humanity and deity.

A form of Gnosticism is popular today, though unknown to many, and that is where my thoughts will be for the rest of this column. These traces, or should I say sprouts, of Gnosticism permeate pop culture, the media, and many times the lives of Americans. People today are craving a "secret knowledge" that only a few have. In the words of Joel Manners, "Americans love a good conspiracy. Whether itÂ’s the Kennedy assassination, UFOs, or the recent 9/11 conspiracy theories, we love to believe that something is being hidden from us." Joel nailed it. We have become infatuated with being "in on something," even if it is ridiculous. This trend is Gnostic through and through.

One of the most famous yet overlooked displays of Gnosticism in our culture today, and I am indebted to my friend and colleaguee Josh Belcher for this, is the Matrix Trilogy. In the movie, the physical, material things the characters see all around them are not real and merely a superficial "cage", similar to how Gnostics view flesh and matter. The reality is what is beyond the Matrix, the "Real World", or the spirit world to a Gnostic. There are literally dozens of other examples of this in the movies, but Idon'tt have time to go into that here. However, what concerns me is how attractive the idea of gnosticims would be if it were to catch on, and indeed is already has, though perhaps unintentionally. A Gnostic, since the flesh does not matter, can physically do whatever he or she wants. He can have sex with who he wants, he can drink whatever he wants, eat etc. This earthly shell does not matter. What matters is what a person believes spiritually. Can you imagine what a generation of Christianss," let alone non-Christians, doing anything they want with their bodies looks like? It is a scary thought. We must guard against Gnosticism at all cost, and teach on what the Bible says about our bodies and Jesus', the care and respect they deserve, as well as the open message of truth the Bible offers, as opposed to a "secret knowledge." It will be interesting to see if this trend continues over the next 5 years as it has over the last 5.

A Closer Look at Acts: Part 2, A Geographically Ordered Pattern

As we continue to explore the Book of Acts and all (well, at least some) of its intricacies, we look at the organization of the book today. Remember that much of this information comes from the Commentary from my friend and professor Dr. W. E. Nunnally, which is not available yet, but should be soon (I will be sure to post when it is). It is a must buy for every serious student of the Bible.

We move onto the issue at hand: the Geographical Organization of Acts. To quote Nunnally, "The Book of Acts is dominated by the organizational patter of geographical movement." This pattern is first shown in an "outline" of sorts in Acts 1:8 where Jesus says "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." Acts then follows this general outline of geography in its story. We see the Church being born in Jerusalem (Acts 2). It begins to grow at an alarming rate as people are healed and the simple Gospel of the resurrection is preached. Then, with the stoning of Stephen (Acts 7), the Church begins to scatter because of the intense persecution. We then see Phillip in Samaria in Acts 8 where we read that he "proclaimed the Messiah there." Thus, we have moved from the first point in the outline to the second (i.e. Jerusalem and the surrounding area of Judea to Samaria). With chapter 9 comes Saul's conversion, who will be the man who takes the Gospel to the ends of the earth. In chapter 10 we see another transition as Peter has his vision and visits Cornelius in Caesarea. The rest of the Book of Acts focuses on part of what Jesus referred to lastly in Acts 1:8, "the ends of the earth."

Why is this important? Is this merely an aesthetic observation? No. There seem to be several reasons that this is significant. I will list three of them here:

1. "[Luke] held a rather ironic view of history." (Nunnally pg 26)
The Roman Empire was expanding in this day in age from west to east, a fact that every person who lived within its control would be aware of. In contrast, the Kingdom of God was expanding as well, but in reverse order. We see "the Gospel march from the spiritual capital of the world (Jerusalem) to the political capital of the world (Rome) and the conquerors became the conquered" (Nunnally pg 26).

2. In another bit of irony, Acts works in reverse fashion from the Book of Luke, its previous volume. In Luke, the focus seems to be on Jesus' journey to Jerusalem, which reaches its climax in Luke 19. A large portion of the Gospel up to that point is focused on Jesus' journey to this spiritual capital. As lake's former book culminates in Jerusalem, his second book starts there and spreads outward.

3. Lastly, the Book of Acts "provides the only early record of the history behind the Gospel jumping over Palestinian Jewish boundaries and out into and throughout the Gentile world" (pg 26). Luke illustrates how the Gospel is not limited by geography, and infers that it is also not limited by time, nationality, ethnicity, previous religious orientation, etc. This is an important idea to grasp from the writings of Luke.

I find joy in noticing the mega-themes in scripture. Luke has plenty in his writings, and I will continue to expound upon them here.

The Resurection of Jesus: Fact or Fiction?

I say fact, unapologeticly and unabashadly so.

However, not all would agree with me. A friend pointed me to this article he came across recently in which a historian, Richard Carrier, attempts to prove that the resurection of Jesus never happened. To the layman, he makes a compelling argument. He appears to have his facts and order and makes the reader think twice about these beliefs on which we hang our faith. My reason for posting this here is for the purposes of preparing Christians to defend their position on the resurection and other related issues. He is not the only person who thinks this way. I am certainly not smart enough to go "toe to toe," so to speak, with this guy (yet). What I will do is make some observations where I think that Carrier and his arguement fall short. Let me first say that my comments will be focused on what Carrier calls his "Main Argument." I would suggest you read the main argument first before you continue onto my comments. It is rather lengthy (13 pages), but worth a skim at least.

To quickly sum up Carrier's main argument, his points are that there is very little historical data on the resurection, that the story evolved through time, and that the first generation Christians never believed in a bodily resurection, that is, the resurection of a corpse, but rather, in only a spritual resurection.



1. Carrier has an agenda

It is important to note a few things about Carrier himself that make this argument interesting. First, Carrier travels around to Universities giving talks on this topic, trying to "convert" people to this idea. As a good friend of mine said, time plus inteligence plus a devilish purpose can do a lot. I am not saying that since he has an agenda it makes his argument invalid. If that were the case, then no Christian scientist would be credible. Rather, I think we need to understand that Carrier is attempting to prove that the resurection is not true from the outset. He is not just sharing information from a non-biased viewpoint. As his bio states, he grew up a "Freethinking Methodist," whatever that means. He must have been really hurt by the church at some point in his life. This is worth noting from the outset.

2. The argument reeks of Early German Liberalism

Early German Liberalism was a movevement in the mid to late 1800's that was concerned with removing any eyewitness accounts that the Bible claimed. This movement eventually evolved into another movement you may have heard of; the Third Reich and eventually the Nazi party. The basic thought process, as I understand it, is that if eyewitness accounts are removed from the Bible, then the Bible is proven unreliable, and we no longer have a responsibility to it. This is a very dangerous endeavor.

3. Some of his assumed facts are wrong

Some of the ponts that Carrier assumes as fact are wrong. There are several examples, but I am not historically sound enough to catch them all, as some of my colleagues are. One is his idea that the books of the Bible were anonymous and that authors names were attached to them half of a century later. There is an army of scholars and hundreds of years of church history that says that is simply not true. Plus, most of the NT books are written in the first generation of Christianity, where it would have been obvious who wrote them, and if the books were being circulated under a different name, the eyewitnesses would have called them out.

4. There are many noticable differences between the New Testament story of Jesus and the mythological fables we see throughout history

Again, this is not my area of expertise, but worth mentioning briefly. The countless fables that we read about throughout history (fables, mythology, fantastic stories, heroes etc.) are night and day different from the New Testament account of Jesus. Literally books have been written on this, and I will try to find some to reference here. The primary differences are in the nature of the outpouring of God and the varification of the incidences. The outpouring of God in these other fables is hyperbolicly extreme. Miricles seem to be for show and are very gaudy in nature. I reference you to The Infancy Gospel of Thomas, an apocraphal work from the 2nd century AD (CE). Giving this work a quick scan, you will see how different the miricles are as opposed to the New Testament.

The second reason they are different is because Luke, the writer of the Gospel of Luke and Acts, was concerned with accuracy. We see more detailed physical discription in Luke than other writers. We also see Luke nail the historical facts time and time again. We see the resurected Jesus appearing to literally hundreds of people after his resurection. We see miricles that are verified (i.e. the formerly blind man showing himself to the priests (critics)). The New Testament is just a different animal than are these other fables.

5. Paul could not have believed in only a spiritual resurection

Lastly, and in my opinion most importantly, Paul could not have believed in a spiritual resuresction only. Paul was a Pharasee. He apparently did not stop being a Pharasee when he became a Christian, because he claims the title several times in the New Testament (Phil 3:1-5, Acts 26:1-5). One of the foundational beliefs of the Pharisees was in a bodily resuresction. In fact, Paul's message is basically that he believes in the resurection like all of the other Jews, the only difference is that he believes it has already happened. This is the primary deviding point between Pharisees and Saducees: the Saducees believed there was no resurection.

This is similar to what the Jahovah's Witnesses have done with John 1:1, which, in their version states "In the begining was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was a god." Even though the Greek would allow this liberty with the language, it is inconcievable that John, a Jew from birth and a disciple, monotheistic to the core, would have written "a god" when he could perhaps not even concieve of the idea of their being multiple gods. In a similar way, it is a must that Paul believes in a bodily resurection because of his Pharisaic background.

In conclusion, there will always be detractors and smart people who are dedicated to disprove or combat Christianity. The fact remains that the message of Christ is "foolishness to those who are perishing, but to those of us who are being saved, it is the power of God" (1 Corinthians 1:18). Our job is to stay educated and in the "current of the river" in order that we may inteligently discuss and defend our positions. I believe that Christians should be the most educated and informed people on earth. If we really love Jesus the way we say we do, we will not stop until we have turned over every stone in order to better understand him and the world in which he lived. In the end, though, no one has ever been reasoned into the Kingdom. God's Spirit must touch a life and change a human heart. Let us continue to be good witnesses to the world for the cause of Christ.

A Closer Look at Acts: Part 1, Theology From History

I recently purchased a commentary on the Book of Acts written by my friend and former college professor Dr. Wave Nunnally. The commentary is very exhaustive (538 pages!), but it is proving to be a great help and supplement to the biblical text. The commentary is still in the process of being published, and is not released yet, but I was able to obtain one from him. I encourage you to check it out when it is released in the next few months.

In the mean time, I plan to share some of the great insights that the commentary shares. Much of this I already new from college, but this has been a good reminder of important biblical truths and practices. This week we look at the reality that Acts intends that Theology is derived from historical narrative. In other words, Luke (the writer of Acts) is not only a historian, but a theologian as well. He is not arbitrarily recording events from the early church in the first century, but intentionally taking the reader on a theological journey. As Nunnally states, "[Luke] frames his narratives in such a way that the reader is given hints as to weather the author approves or disapproves of the actions of the characters."

Though it seems very clear that it is possible to derive theology from narrative, some have challenged this idea. Gordon Fee and Douglas Stewart "have questioned the appropriateness of deriving theology and practice from biblical material composed in narrative form." However, this position brings up several problems. One, this idea would exclude a large portion of the Old Testament as well as large portions of the Gospels from being able to communicate theology and practice. Second, it seems to create a hierarchy of scripture, or a canon within a canon, if you will. Lastly, it seems to go against Paul's words in Timothy 3:16-17 which states "All scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness; that the man of God may be equipped for every good work."

Luke is perhaps one of the greatest and most significant first century historians whose work still survives today. He tells a story, but he also communicates a timeless message. We are truly indebted to Luke for his Herculean contribution to our Bible today.

Book Review: Experiencing Velvet Elvis

Minutes ago I finished reading Velvet Elvis by Rob Bell (click on the image to buy) and I must say that this is one of the best books I have read in a long time.

The premise is this: Bell at one point bought a velvet Elvis painting. He observes that the artist did not sign his name, but rather just an initial, and assumes that the artist must have been a big deal at the time because he expected people to know who he was with a single initial. Now, what if the artist suggested that the painting was so good that there should be no other works of Elvis ever painted? We would think he was crazy (and probably pretty egotistical). Bell makes the point that this is what we have done with the church: that we are still advocating one model as the only way to do it. His subtitle then becomes Repainting the Christian Faith.

Let me start my review by saying that you should not read this book if you are close minded. Bell certainly pushes the envelope with this work. That is a huge part of why I enjoyed it so much. But, if you take him too seriously or get easily angered at new ideas, this book is not for you. He challenges your thinking and stretches your mind, not in a harsh or demeaning way, but as a fellow thinker on the Christian journey. I did not agree with everything Bell said, but there are a number of great observations and perspectives that Bell shares with the reader. The book is an experience. It is a quick read, but in the time you are not reading it, the ideas will run laps in your mind. Bell does not claim to have all the answers. Rather, he spurs the reader to deep thought and evaluation of how the church has done things over the years.

I will make 3 observation concerning the content:

1. Bell is very careful to maintain the Jewish culture in the interpretation of the Bible, something that Christendom has lost for the most part, to their detriment. If the reader is not framiliar with the world of First Century Palestine, Bell's recounts and explanations of common biblical stories will be enlightening.

2. Bell puts huge importance on the church (you and me) being involved in the Social Justice arena. He attributes the bad reputation some have of the church to condemning the world rather than serving them and meeting their needs as we should be doing. He has a huge heart for the poor and needy in our society. He really made me consider what I can do to help out more.

3. Bell has an incredibly high view of people, and believes God does too. He makes the statement that he learned that he needed to have faith in God, and got to the point where he did, and then realized that God has faith in us too. He also has some interesting observations on sin and grace and the churches message in those areas.

I encourage you to experience Velvet Elvis. I found this book amazingly freeing and an encouragement for myself to continue to think outside the box. See if it won't challenge you and open up ideas for you the way it did me.

Here is a sampling of quotes from the book:

"[T]his book is for those who need a fresh take on Jesus and what it means to live the kind of life he teaches us to live." Pg 14

"The moment God is figured out with nice neat lines and definitions, we are no longer dealing with God. We are dealing with somebody we make up." Pg 25

"We have to embrace the Bible as the wild, uncensored, passionate account it is of people experiencing the living God." Pg 63

"Salvation is living more and more in harmony with God, a process that will go on forever." Pg 107

"The resurrection for [early Christians] was not an abstract spiritual concept; it was a concrete social and economic reality. God raised Jesus from the dead to show the world that Jesus is Lord, and it is through his power and his example and his spirit that the world is restored." Pg 164

Myth of The Week: The Missing Day

Ok, so I am sure that all of you have gotten that email that claims that NASA's scientists found a missing day in the cosmos that matched up with the day missing recorded in the bible. I remember being very happy when I read this story, thinking that science was serving Christianity in a huge way (which I still believe it does). However, as this article shows, the fact that NASA experienced such a discovery is merely a myth. I get irritated when well meaning Christians get too ambitious for their own good and authenticity and truth are compromised. There are literally hundreds of these throughout the history of Christendom. Can we please just present the bible and our information truthfully so we don't come off looking desperate?

Anyway, give the article a read. Here is the closing paragraph from it, which I think makes a great point.

[O]ur willingness to accept legends depends far more upon their expression of concepts we want to believe than upon their plausibility. If the sun once really did stand still for a day, the best evidence we'd have for proving it would be the accounts of people who saw it happen. That is what the Bible is said to offer. Some of us accept that, and some of us don't.

Redick:A Man of Courage

This article does a good job of showing why J.J. Redick is my favorite player in college basketball, and probably my favorite Dukie of all time. It is a very long article, but probably worth a read for the true Duke fan, and worth a skim for others. The first third is a good snapshot of the kind of guy Redick is. Here are a few quotes from different places in the article:

The script lettering on his stomach reads, "Isaiah 40:31," referring to this Bible verse: But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.

The other tattoo, on his chest, came first. It's the Japanese word for courage, and beneath it is reference to another Bible verse, Joshua 1:9. That one reads: Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.

That's the tat he got with grandma. And if there is one thing you can say about J.J. Redick, it's this: He's got basketball courage.

"God's got to be his comforter," J.J.'s dad, Ken, said. "There's got to be times in that spotlight, with that much pressure -- and internal pressure from the Duke system of how you have to perform every day -- when he couldn't survive without faith, without being imbued with that spirit.

J.J. Redick has been reading "The Purpose Driven Life" this winter. In basketball terms, he's been living The Purpose Driven Season.

I hope that J.J can finish his college career strong and win a National Championship, then find success in the NBA. We certainly need more role models like him in sports today for children to look up to.

Myth of the Week: Lincoln and Kennedy Really So Similar?

It's time once again for the weekly myth. The time when we look into history or science or politics etc. and find that which so many have repeated as fact, even when it's false.

This week we look at the myth that every one of has heard, about all of the coincidences and weird similarities between the lives and deaths of John F. Kennedy and Abraham Lincoln. I don't know about you, but I was even taught this in school! This article does a great job of pointing out the mistakes that this myth makes, as well as debunking some things that seem remarkable, but upon further review, are nothing special at all. It makes a person realize that you can really bend information and statistics to make your point when you want to. Check it out. It is a very worthy article to read and subject to ponder.

Muslims Show True Colors

There has been a ton of commotion lately about this caricature of Mohammed that was was drawn up by a Danish cartoonist. I do not really get the cartoon, mainly because it is in another language, but from what I've heard, I guess it is pretty degrading to Muslims and their leader. Arabs are violently angry to say the least.

Now, I have to agree that they have a right to be angry. If someone drew a degrading cartoon of Jesus, I would be offended. The Problem I have is when I read this:

A Pakistani Muslim cleric and his followers offered rewards amounting to over $1 million for anyone who killed Danish cartoonists who drew caricatures of the Prophet Mohammad that have enraged Muslims worldwide.

The cleric offered the bounty during Friday prayers as Muslim anger against the cartoons flared anew in parts of Asia.

When a World Religion goes to the point of offering death threats and bounties for slander, I think that is a red flag. I suppose it may not be entirely accurate to judge all of Islam on the actions of one (that would be like judging Christians on the comments of Pat Robertson), but I think this is a red flag nonetheless.

You can read the entire article here.

Update:
Upon further review, it seems that Muslims are offended because of the image of Mohammed that shows him wearing a turban with a bomb in it (top middle). Apparently Muslims were offended that they were being accused of being violent. What great irony. They were accused of being violent, so they just put out a bounty on the cartoonist's head. Does something seem wrong with this picture?

Myth of the Week: A Though About the Brain

I thought I would start a new weekly series about myths and urban legends. I was surprised to see from this website how many myths there actually are out there that people pass off as fact. This irritates me, as I am one who puts heavy stock in truth and validity.

This week's article has to do with the Myth that claims human's only use 10 percent of their brains. This article goes to show, in so many ways, that it is simply not true. It also makes a valid statement about the faulty claims of psychics and New Agers. This is definately worth a read.

What Kind of Pirate Arrrrr Ya?

Ok, so I know that these tests are not musings...but they are really fun. This one is by far the funniest yet. This made me wonder, though, why has there been such a heavy interest in pirates lately? What is it about them that is so appealing? Anyway, here is my pirate info. Cash is the coolest name in the world by the way.

My pirate name is:

Captain William Cash

Even though there's no legal rank on a pirate ship, everyone recognizes you're the one in charge. You're musical, and you've got a certain style if not flair. You'll do just fine. Arr!

Get your own pirate name from fidius.org.

The 50 Most Influential Christians

The Church Report has compiled a list of the
50 Most Influential Christians in the country. Lists like these are always fun. There are undoubtedly a handful of people on the list that you are excited to see represent Christendom. However, there are also several that it shames you to know that is what some people think of when they hear the word "christian". My question is who stood out to you? Who were you happy to see and who were you not so happy to see? I was excited to See Rick Warren and Bill Hybels crack the top 5. I also liked that Erwin McManus, Ted Haggard, and "W" made the list. Let me know what you think.

If You Were A Superhero...

Following with the theme from last week, we will now see which superhero we are most like. I came up Superman, which is awesome, because he is by FAR my favorite superhero of all time. The Flash is cool too, which was my other match. I am also relieved that Wonder Woman came in last! Have fun with these, and be sure to let me know who you were most like.

Your results:
You are Superman

Superman 80% The Flash 80% Spider-Man 60% Hulk 55% Robin 53% Green Lantern 50% Iron Man 45% Supergirl 43% Batman 20% Catwoman 20% Wonder Woman 18%

You are mild-mannered, good, strong and you love to help others.

Click here to take the Superhero Personality Quiz

What World Leader are You

I Stole this from Joel Manners, but it is a fun insight into yourself. I was Gandhi, so I'm not sure what that says about me. Give it a try.

What Famous Leader Are You?
personality tests by similarminds.com

A Little Road Rage Anyone?

I got to thinking today, after the guy in the baby blue Honda Accord gave me the finger, that road rage is a serious problem in our society. I know, I am certainly not the first to point this out, but I think it is worth asking the question "Why is road rage so common in our culture?" I have done some traveling and noticed that the driving in other countries makes the driving in America look like those old cars at amusement parks that only go about 5 miles an hour and have that track between the wheels so you can't steer off the path. In these other countries, Thailand and Guatemala, to be spicific, Red lights are merely a suggestion; following too closely, the norm; merging, a personal challenge. Yet with all the cutting off and such that takes place, you see almost no road rage. It is simply a way of travel, even a way of life. So, to boil it down, what does road rage say about our culture? Too impatient? Too busy? Too stressed? Too carnal? You tell me.