During trying times like these, with many storms upon us (literally and figuratively), no book provides greater comfort than the Bible.
Yet how many actually read it? Although there are studies noting a drop of Bible-reading among Americans in recent times, nonetheless, 47 million are reported to be “Scripture engaged.” No other book would come close to that kind of readership.
As of this writing, the education department of the state of Oklahoma is planning to purchase 55,000 Bibles for the public schools. I’m sure the left is gnashing their teeth over such a plan.
But historically the Bible was the reason that education for the masses was developed in America in the first place. The Puritan forefathers created schools for the masses (a forerunner to the public schools), so that children could learn to read, so they could read the Bible for themselves.
Someone might argue, “Well, that was the Puritans. But surely the founding fathers didn’t agree with that.”
But actually, they did argue for that in 1787 and in 1789 when the founders adopted the Northwest Ordinance. As new territories became states in the newly formed United States, they were to follow the same basic template.
Here’s what Article III of the Northwest Ordinance had to say about schools, which were voluntary at that time and often run by churches: “Religion, morality, and knowledge, being necessary for good government and the happiness of mankind, schools and the means of education shall forever be encouraged.”
The Bible was the chief textbook in one way or another for the first 200-300 years of America — and that’s when the children could read, because of it. It was the Bible that gave birth to Harvard, William and Mary, Yale, Princeton, Dartmouth, Brown, and so on.
It was only when the schools explicitly went against the Scriptures that American education went off the rails. Now there are major portions of society who can’t read, despite years of schooling.
Meanwhile, is there a correlation between reading the Scriptures and human flourishing?
Many social science studies have shown that church is good for society, that attending church on a regular basis lengthens your life (on average), and that attending church often improves the quality of your life as well. Dr. Byron Johnson of Baylor’s Institute for Studies of Religion has spent years assessing studies on the impact of applied religion (generally, Christianity) leading to positive personal and societal improvement. Dr. Johnson even wrote a book showing how Christian belief and practice help lower criminal behavior. The book is appropriately titled, More God, Less Crime.
But what about Bible reading? A recent study that Dr. Johnson wrote, along with M. Bradshaw and S. J. Jang, is entitled, “Assessing the Link Between Bible Reading and Flourishing among Military Families.”
Before exploring their results (which were positive), the study mentions earlier related findings: “Previous research shows salutary associations between multiple dimensions of religiosity (including reading sacred texts) and different aspects of flourishing (e.g., physical health, psychological well-being, character and virtue, social connections and support).”
The abstract of the study noted: “Bible reading may promote overall mental, physical, and social well-being.”
They list at three of their findings on how the Bible fosters human flourishing: “First, Bible reading is likely to promote psychological well-being by helping individuals develop a close relationship with a loving and caring God who engages in the lives of individuals.”
They continue: “Second, Bible reading may facilitate feelings of divine control that help cope with stress. Third, positive and encouraging messages in the Bible may also promote purpose in life and guidance seeking, which may also enhance flourishing.”
I have found personally that when I started reading the Bible myself as a young man, it was such a great source of knowledge, for wisdom, for direction, for personal relations, etc.
The Bible was important to great Americans like George Washington, whose writings and speeches are filled with Biblical phrases, such as “And every man shall rest under his own vine and fig tree, and there shall be none to make them afraid.” This was Washington’s vision for America.
Even Jefferson collected many of the teachings of Jesus (including a few miracles) in a document for Native Americans, so they could benefit from them, just as we have. People mistakenly call this unpublished work “The Jefferson Bible.” But as Jefferson noted once, the morality of Jesus is the most sublime and greatest moral teaching of all time.
President Lincoln called the Scriptures “the best gift God has ever given men,” through which we learn about the Savior. Millions of Americans have revered the Bible.
As Ronald Reagan once said of the holy book, “Inside its pages lie all the answers to all the problems that man has ever known.”
To promote human flourishing, spread the message of the Scriptures.
Jerry Newcombe, D.Min., is the executive director of the Providence Forum, an outreach of D. James Kennedy Ministries, where Jerry also serves as senior producer and an on-air host. He has written/co-written 33 books, including George Washington’s Sacred Fire (with Providence Forum founder Peter Lillback, Ph.D.) and What If Jesus Had Never Been Born? (with D. James Kennedy, Ph.D.). http://www.djkm.org? @newcombejerry www.jerrynewcombe.com
Noted theologian and preacher John Piper recently listed eight ways he says the Old Testament doesn’t apply to modern Christianity while also believing that the promises of the Hebrew Bible largely apply to the Church.
In an episode of the podcast “Ask Pastor John” posted last week, a listener named Maureen asked Piper, “Which Old Testament verses are for me, as a Christian, today.”
“Sometimes I select a verse that is meaningful to me from my Bible reading in the morning. But then later in the day, as I further reflect on it, it feels like I’ve lifted the verse out of context and misapplied it to myself. How, Pastor John, do I know which Old Testament promises are for me?” Maureen asked.
Piper responded that, while he believed “all of the Old Testament is for those who are in Christ Jesus,” there were still “differences between the people of God — the Church — today and the people of God — Israel — in the Old Testament, and how God relates differently to each.”
Piper listed eight specific differences, beginning with how Old Testament Israel was “an earthly, political nation-state,” while the modern Church “is a people whose citizenship is in Heaven and who are sojourners and exiles here, scattered among all the nation-states.”
The second difference Piper pointed to was that Israel was “a theocracy to carry out God’s punishments for those who broke His law, including capital punishment for idolatry and various other sins.”
“The Church is not a civil government and is not authorized as a church to carry out God’s punishments. Excommunication from the church through church discipline replaces execution through the judicial processes,” Piper said.
A third difference is that Israel was “basically one ethnicity” while “the Church is made up of all ethnicities.” Piper added that “practices that were designed to separate Israel from the surrounding peoples and ethnicities” are “done away with as requirements for God’s people.”
The fourth difference Piper laid out was that while Israel “had defined geographic borders and a geographic religious center,” the New Testament Church “has no geographic borders or religious center.”
A fifth point of difference, according to Piper, was that individuals were born into ancient Israel, while “people are born again into the Church.”
“The new covenant is entered by the miracle of God’s forgiving sins through faith and through God’s writing the law on our hearts,” he explained.
Difference number six was that Israel did not have a “great commission,” specifically a call on members to evangelize, whereas the New Testament believers are called to evangelize.
“The Old Testament religion was mainly a ‘come and see’ religion, while the New Testament religion is mainly a ‘go and tell’ religion,” Piper said.
A seventh difference, according to Piper, was that ancient Israel had a sacrificial system in place, “but that entire system was done away with when Jesus fulfilled it by becoming the final sacrifice and by acting as the final High Priest.” theologian saying that “the people of God in the Old Testament did experience the working of the Spirit of God, but they did not experience or know the Spirit as the indwelling Spirit of the risen Christ.”
“Today, we know the Holy Spirit as the Spirit of Christ. He works in His Church, therefore, in a way that he did not work in the Old Testament, because the Church is His body, the body of the risen Christ,” he added.
Despite the key differences, Piper added: “We can take any text in the Old Testament and make it our own by treating it as fulfilled in Christ, with the necessary changes implied in those points.”
In May 2018, megachurch Pastor Andy Stanley garnered controversy when said in a sermon that Christians needed to “unhitch” the Old Testament from their faith.
Stanley referenced Acts 15, in which the leaders of the early Church decided that Gentile converts did not need to strictly observe Jewish law to become Christians.
“[First century] Church leaders unhitched the Church from the worldview, value system and regulations of the Jewish Scriptures,” said Stanley. “Peter, James, Paul elected to unhitch the Christian faith from their Jewish Scriptures, and my friends, we must as well.”
Critics, among them Messianic Jewish author and radio host Michael Brown, argued that “throughout the New Testament,” Gentile believers “were called to live holy lives, based on Old Testament teaching.”
“Pastor Stanley forgets that the Old Testament also tells us the story of Israel, including Israel’s blessed future,” wrote Brown at the time.
“Cut out the Old Testament, and you cut out much of Israel’s destiny, which all believers should understand. Cut out the Old Testament, and you also cut out the destiny of the nations.”
For his part, Stanley told Brown in an interview in July 2018 that he still considered the Old Testament inerrant, and that his comments were centered more toward an audience that does not trust the Bible.
“I told my kids growing up, if anyone ever asks you, ‘Do you believe Adam and Eve are real people?’ here is how you are to answer: do not say ‘yes’ because the Bible says Adam and Eve were real people,” Stanley said.
“You say this: ‘I believe Adam and Eve were historical characters because Jesus did. And when somebody predicts their own death and resurrection and pulls it off, I go with whatever they say.'”
White House walks back Biden remarks about seeing images of beheaded Israeli children
ChristFollower01
Pray for discernment. Pray for all who are suffering. Understand that “the first casualty of war is truth”. All wars employ propaganda.
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Why does the Bible contain prophecy?
Marshall
The Church Age is the period of time from the day of Pentecost (Acts 2) to the Rapture, otherwise known as a “gap.” If you don’t believe in any of this, then you will not have the missing pieces of the puzzle.The Prophet Daniel is my favorite because he wrote prophecies concerning Greece and the Macedonian Empire that turned out to be Alexander the Great. Not only that but he also wrote about the Antichrist and the Tribulation which is the 70th “week” (which is not 7 days but 7 years due to the translation). It’s like a dozen means 12. There is a gap after the 69th week in which God stopped the game time clock. The 69 weeks have already happened (69 x 7 = 483). Sir Robert Anderson studied Daniel and wrote the book, The Coming Prince, in which he explained the prophecy that the Jewish Messiah would come 483 years after the commandment (of Artaxerxes, king of Persia) to rebuild and restore Jerusalem. Anderson’s calculations showed that Jesus Christ rode into Jerusalem in Luke 19, known as the Triumphal Entry, on the precise day that was prophesied by Daniel. God warned Israel about the 70 weeks (70 x 7 = 490 years). Due to the pause, there are the final 7 years remaining (490 – 483 = 7 years). And that is one reason why the book of Daniel is so helpful in learning about the Antichrist.
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Thoughts on leftwing support for Hamas and radical Islam
Jan Shay
We knew the end times were coming and told to be prepared. I agree with Wayne. We are to pray for Israel, support them and stand with them. I will follow God’s direction as He tells us what to do in His Word.
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Dr. Ben Carson lists 7 ways communism has won in America
Tiresias
His speech is just a red meat for conservatives. The choice between capitalism and communism is a false choice. We can choose what the role of government is going to be and how to socialize those costs across the population. I’d like to see him give a speech of what programs to support and how to govern rather than mere rhetoric.
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John Piper lists 8 ways the Old Testament doesn’t apply to Christians
Roger McKinney
“Israel was ‘a theocracy to carry out God’s punishments for those who broke His law…'”No, Israel was not a theocracy. Theocracies are ruled by human religious leaders. Israel had no human executive. God did not rule Israel day to day as human kings do. And God was no less king under the monarchy. We learn from the prophets that God is king of all nations in a similar way as he was king over Israel.And no, Israel wasn’t one ethnicity. Caleb and the Kennites who joined Israel during the Exodus were Israelites. And Israel had pagans living among them from the start, any one of whom could become a citizen of Israel simply by converting, as Rahab did and Ruth.We shouldn’t try to apply OT law woodenly, but we shouldn’t ignore it, either. It represents God’s wisdom for governments. We should try to distill general principles from it as Paul did with thecommand not to muzzle the ox.
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Pastor arrested for allegedly raping family member at least 600 times since age 7, getting her pregnant
Wes
If this is true I hope he enjoys spending the rest of his life in prison as a recipient of what he has perpetrated.
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DDonald25 minutes agoBeginning at Genesis 1:1 and ending at Revelation 22:21, the Word of God is for all of God ‘s people regardless of anyone’s ethnic background. When Paul writes to Timothy in 2 Tim. 2:15, to “rightly divide the word,” (KJV) he doesn’t mean to actually divide the word up for people groups. He means t…See moreReplyShare
JJohn1 hour agoPiper’s fifth point of difference fails to recognise the difference between the visible and the invisible church. The Reformed view is that the children of believers are part of the visible church. The Paedobaptist view is that they must be baptized into the visible church as soon as physically pos…See moreReplyShare
JTJames Tucker3 hours agoIf you don’t at least have a basic understanding on how your behavior should be like the 10 commandments because Jesus did not or at least did not point to all things that were good and bad except when he said go and sin no more which points to the 10 commandments. The other Jewish laws where the o…See moreReplyShare
DHDonald Hannigan3 hours agoMatthew 5:17-19 Do not presume that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish, but to fulfill. For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke of a letter shall pass from the Law, until all is accomplished! Therefore, whoever nu…See moreReplyShare
MMarshall4 hours agoI appreciate John Piper giving us 8 specific examples and the fact that he was on a podcast when a listener called in that question; it means that he was able to field that question without having advance notice of it. I say, “Good job!” However, at some later point, it would be instructive for Pip…See moreReply1Share
HHospes1 hour agoFYI, Piper does not field live questions on his podcast “Ask Pastor John”. The questions are sent to him beforehand.ReplyShare
JJim5 hours agoIf you need the old Torah to live rightly then you aren’t following Jesus and His commands and expectations. Jesus, “upped the ante” so to speak by making following Him having greater expectations than OT Torah.Hating another is akin to murder according to Jesus.Just lusting is committing adultery …See moreReply1Share
TTruthTeller5 hours agoEverything JP writes or states should be carefully examined before anyone agrees with him. Check out his statements on Christian hedonism or CRTJP often uses words to deflect true meanings to “ride the fence” so as not to offend. We must learn from the OT or we loose our sense of a Holy God and how…See moreReplyShare
RRecognizingTruth14 hours agoThat is some AWFUL theology right there.Reply3Share
MPModerate Politically15 hours agoThis does not mean we get a get out of jail free card and can do anything we want. We are to follow Christ. Most everything in the law is about showing love to God, and others. There are also some health and religious laws mixed in as well.ReplyShare
JJohn55 minutes agoWe get a get out of jail free, but with it a new nature added, so we will not do everything we wanted to do before. And if there isn’t a signifcant difference from what happened before, that puts the new nature in doubt, giving us reason to suspect we may not actually have got out of jail either.ReplyShare
LKLen Kinzel15 hours agoIs this saying there are parts of the Old Testamant from which we may need to unhitch ourselves? Asking for a friendReplyShare
HHospes59 minutes agoYes, unless you want to adhere to sacrificing lots of animals.ReplyShare
ChristFollower01
Marshall
Jan Shay
Tiresias
Roger McKinney
Wes
Psalm 119: 38 