Is the Bible Really Necessary?

I recently had the opportunity to have a discussion with a United Methodist minister in the form of missives left on a comment board of a blog.  The nature of the story we were engaged in this cyber interaction over is something that I choose not to share because I found it to be secondary to a larger issue that this Elder in full connection brought to the fore in his editorial.  That is the issue of Biblical “essentialness”.  This obviously intelligent, well-educated man, who seems to be earnest in his assertions, said something that had me wondering if some in our denomination are in danger of becoming Gnostics.  (Or maybe my fear is that some already are…) 

I will not share his name as I only want to discuss the merits of his arguments and not level personal attacks or “call him out”.  This is an excerpt from his initial post… I will admit that it is not the entire comment because, again, I do not want to focus on anything but the specific issue raised in this statement by Rev. A.  (His other stances on other issues are for separate discussion later.)

The Bible isn't just about love...

I was asked yesterday by someone who follows my FB posts:

"How come you never post anything about the reality of sin?  If you're going to talk about Jesus, you have to present the whole truth of God, and that includes sin and the need for repentance.  It seems that all you talk about is the "loving" Jesus, not the judgment that He told us would happen."

I have to confess that I may be guilty of that (though I know that I have addressed issues dealing with sin before, just not a specific sin)... but I have long felt that I am called to preach, not against anything, but rather FOR God's loving invitation in everything to be saved from whatever threatens to drown us (and that list is large).  Repentance that results in a life that is transformed into something that is not a burden, but rather a buoy that others can grab hold of is ultimately, I think, a more effective witness than a host of lists of what others are doing wrong.

Most people already know the actions in our lives that are damaging, even if we're able to rationalize certain behaviors, or try to deny that they are damaging.  (Often, though not always, those who shout the loudest in opposition to others' judgment of their behaviors, are engaging in self- evaluation on some level even as they do so.  Or maybe to put it more scripturally, the Holy Spirit is wrestling with them.)  What some may not know though,  is that there is an alternative to the dissatisfaction and pain that always seems present in those destructive behaviors... that there is love available that is unconditional and unfailing and transformational.

Do You Believe In Miracles?

It has occurred to me through interactions I have shared with church members, family members, friends, colleagues and others, that often times we think of the miraculous as only being some huge, mind-blowing, time stopping, space bending, occurrence that defies the natural order of things.  And that is not surprising knowing that the God who has done, does, and will do all of these things again, was the One who created it all (time, space, and a natural order) from nothing to begin with.  However, I also think the fact that we are even able to ponder the nature of miracles, is in itself a miracle.  That I am able to be surrounded by people who manage to love me in spite of my boisterous, opinionated, and unbelievably disorganized personality is miraculous to me.  The fact that the God of perfection chooses to love people covered in what the Bible says God can’t even look upon, and offers to make them clean, is a miracle.  And all of this (thought, relationship, and cleansing) is evidenced inside of the natural order, established and cared for by God, and enacted using both natural and supernatural means.   

Mystery is no problem for me.  It’s wondrous and awe inspiring.  Mystery is exciting and scary.  It reminds me that I am filled with powerful presence and that I am insignificant, all at the same time.  That’s easy to get behind and get passionate about!  In 1983 my grandfather was told he had an inoperable brain tumor, and that he should enjoy the remaining couple of months of his life as best he could.  We buried him in 2006.  Six months after his diagnosis, and with NO treatments, there was no sign of the tumor that was supposed to kill him.  Our whole family was in awe.  Granddaddy had a powerful testimony to share about God's healing power.  I know first hand of God's miraculous healing.  I have witnessed it.  That is easy for me to believe.  However, “small” miracles, things that I can see and maybe rationally understand how God brought them to pass, are the ones that I tend to take for granted or dismiss as "coincidental".  But at their heart, they are no less miraculous than God’s parting of the Red Sea.  They, like the afore mentioned parting, are the ways in which the God of the universe moves people forward, toward the intended goal of a more abundant life.  What do I mean?