Tag Archives: faith

Interpreting 1 John based on the 3 groups represented

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Reading through and interpreting 1 John can be a challenge. The author would make a good software developer as he deals with things in a very binary way. His statements are  absolute, black and white leaving little wiggle room for readers. However, this writing is very repetitive in nature, echoing the same themes, and saying the same thing over and over. In the software world, we would say that this writing needs some major refactoring (changes that are made to improve readability and eliminate complexity and duplication).

There are two major views on how to interpret 1 John. One view is known as the Test of Life, the other view is commonly identified as the Test of Fellowship. Both views acknowledge that John is providing his readers with a series of tests. They differ on what these tests are being used to evaluate.The Apostle John

The Test of Life view focuses on salvation. The tests are given to help the readers have confidence that they possess eternal life. Failing the tests would indicate that one is unsaved (or at a minimum should have very low assurance that they are).

The Test of Fellowship view focuses on our relationship with God. It starts with the premise that the readers are already saved. The tests are given to determine the strength of our relationship with God. Failing the tests means that one has a weak relationship with God and lacks maturity (but still possesses eternal life). Continue reading →

Fear of the Dark

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Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. – Jesus

Have you ever been approached by a stern-looking man, carrying a sword with a large blade and eyes that glowed as if on fire – eyes that could pierce right through to your very soul? He walks up to you with an unmistakable urgency, wearing a robe splattered with blood and on his belt hung the keys to the land of the dead. I doubt you have so let me tell you, calling it scary is an understatement. Huge understatement! But that is a story for another time.

Yoda

I sense much fear in you

Fear of the dark. I have known it. At least I thought I did. That was until I saw this terror redefined. True darkness is the absence of all light. I can’t imagine what it would be like to experience that. But I saw someone who did once. But that is getting ahead of ourselves.

Fear. That was something that we dealt with a lot following Jesus. Continue reading →

Faith and Signs a lesson from the Cross of Jesus

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Dawkins at the University of Texas at Austin

What is faith? Many define faith as “blind trust” or irrational beliefs:

[Faith] means blind trust, in the absence of evidence, even in the teeth of evidence. … The meme for blind faith secures its own perpetuation by the simple unconscious expedient of discouraging rational inquiry. Blind faith can justify anything. (Dawkins, the Selfish Gene, 198)

Faith is the great cop-out, the great excuse to evade the need to think and evaluate evidence. Faith is belief in spite of, even perhaps because of, the lack of evidence (Dawkins)

Is faith really blind? Continue reading →