Dictionary
Just a follow up post on that FaceBook thread I included at the end of the last blog post. This is something I like to bring up at the beginning of conversations with skeptics, since I'm also one of them (yeah I have my doubts on the moon landing, but the last Transformers movie cleared it all up for me.) The gentlemen with whom I was discussing the age of the earth and the existence of life on other planets got what he was looking for: a chance to label me. Because apparently the way I articulated the 3 options wasn't obvious, he again asked again how old the earth was, and I replied: “My answer is that I don't know, I wasn't there when it was born. You'd have to ask someOne who was if you really want to know. If you want to know how old I think it is (I guess my last comment wasn't so obvious) – option 3 it is!" Option 3 was the theory that the earth is 6-10k years old, and it earned me the title: “young earth creationist." My friend of a friend also labeled himself a “secular humanist," so at least we both share a title in his eyes. I will say that I despise labels, and I told him that two people could have the same label and yet see things 100% differently – just ask my wife!
I could post the follow on comments in what has become an 18 comment thread (and long comments too) but I won't do that. I'll add something I haven't added there yet, and it's something I sent to my Mighty Men a few weeks ago so I posted a note on YouVersion under 2 Timothy 3:14-17. Most Christians who believe in the authenticity and authority of Scripture know verse 16, but adding the context of the other 3 verses really gives you something to ponder for a while. Here's my note: “If everything we know or believe has been learned through instruction or experience, we must conclude that the source of our teaching is of vital importance…"
It's so cool that Paul tells Timothy how to grow! As a side note here I just want to echo what Chuck Swindoll and many others have said: “everyone needs a Timothy, and everyone needs a Paul" I've also heard that everyone needs a Barnabas or Silas too, and I couldn't agree more. That's why I set up a list of 30 Mighty Men that includes a 10 man “Paul list," a 10 man “Timothy list" and 10 man “Barnabas list." I think I've mentioned this before, but it's worth mentioning again, and these lists are ever evolving as people move in and out of my AOR in military speak: (area of responsibility) – but the top 3 or 4 in each list don't change; some are family and some are like family. There's a friend that sticks closer than a brother, right?
Ok, that was a side bar, now back to considering the source. I did the math a while back, and I can't remember if I blogged about it, but the amount of time someone spends in church is, in most cases, a whole lot less than the amount of time they spend in school (unless you're attending school at church like I did my last 2 years of High School.) I added up the hours in a day kids are in school or doing homework and multiplied it by the average school year. Then I added up the amount of time the average Christian reads the Bible and goes to church, and I think it was like 60 hours to 1 difference over about 16 years of grade school and college. (The higher number went to academia obviously) It is very clear that the source of information in our current day is not the Bible or Church, and most are really glad that's the case – but it's very important to remember that was NOT the case between 150-250 years ago…
I have set a goal to be one of the key sources of instruction for my sons. Obviously I will aim to put the Bible as the paramount source for the reasons Paul laid out in that 2 Timothy passage. And wisdom is also found in a multitude of counselors, so I don't plan to be the only source for my boys either.
The bottom line is that when someone questions your reasons for believing what you believe, you can simply point to your source of learning. As for me and the “secular humanist" it is clear that our sources are different, therefore it's not me or him that need to be questioned – it's our source. I know mine has been tried and is true – the all time best seller – and it's not just a book, but that Word has been around from the beginning, it was with God and it was God, and then it became flesh and lived right here on earth!
There's no doubt in my mind how faithful my source is, and that's why I spend so much time studying it and writing about it. It hasn't failed me, though I have failed many times. I asked my mentor who has a few years on me, “have you ever seen the righteous forsaken?" “Nope." He said, and the righteous live by faith, and faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. Consider your source, my friends, I pray you find one that is faithful and that you stay faithful to it.
peace,
Adam
Linked Verses:
Prov 24:6 NKJV
John 1 (the whole chapter!), NIV
Psalm 37:25, NASB
Hebrews 10:35, NLT
Romans 10:17, KJV