Many of today's modern theologians are searching for the real Jesus. They are looking for the Jesus who walked in Galilee and taught his disciples and the masses. They want to know what he really taught and what he really did. They believe that the early church created and embellished stories, turning a real man into a god-like prophet/messiah.
These theologians (the seekers in this game of hide-and-go-seek) are mostly White men. Why that makes a difference, I don't know. Neither do I know why it is mostly a White Man's obsession. Nevertheless, they are looking for the real Jesus.
Jesus is hiding somewhere and they believe that with the right tools, they can strip away what the early church added (the Jesus of Faith) and find his hiding places, thus meeting the real Jesus - the Jesus of history. Jesus is hiding under a pile of Early Christian fabrication and exaggeration called the New Testament writings and the Gospels. But thanks to First and Second Century writings such as Josephus and the Book of Thomas, and thanks to modern scientific thinking and creativity, we are finding his hiding places by scaling back the layers of early Christian zeal and faith.
A common critique states that these men are only finding themselves in their search for Jesus and perhaps this is true to some extent; men like Morton Smith, who have concluded that Jesus was Gay was in fact himself gay. So it is likely that many seekers are finding their own selves - reading themselves into their studies. But I believe that many of these seekers are finding a Jesus who looks more like the areas of interest these seekers have. Let me explain:
Some scholars (such as John Dominic Crossan or Burton Mack), for whatever reason, might focus his studies on Cynics in the ancient world. They begin to see similarities between Jesus and the Cynics, so they pursue that direction more and more. Our scholars look for all the similarities they can find, and in the end will be convinced that Jesus was a Jewish Cynic. Our scholars are not necessarily modern Cynics or Cynic wanna-bees. But for some reason, our scholars stumbled upon or somehow were intrigued with the Cynics. It may also be that our scholars had little or no fascination with the Cynics until one day, while reading about Jesus, it dawned on them that from time to time Jesus did things Cynical. Our scholars then began to look for more evidence; and upon finding more, arm themselves with ways to disregard evidence to the contrary. Before long our scholars become convinced that Jesus was a Jewish Cynic.
Other scholars have discovered other parallels with ancient groups or individuals. And discovering those parallels, they become convinced that they have found the historical Jesus' true hiding place. So one seeker discovers that Jesus was a healer, another that Jesus was a political zealot fighting Rome's domination, another discovers that Jesus was a wandering prophet, and so on.
The weird thing is this: I believe by studying the past and by searching for the historical Jesus, our modern seekers are many times discovering, not so much the historical person of Jesus, but the historical expectations of the people of Jesus' day. Our scholars are helping us to see what people in Jesus day expected to see in Jesus, because they too read into Jesus what they needed to see; what they wanted to see; or what they expected to see. Their opinions and expectations were dictated by the world around them at the time. And because our present day seekers study the times of Jesus to help discover the historical Jesus, they come closer to learning what people in Jesus' day expected to see in Jesus.
The people in Jesus' Day were seeking to know who this Jesus was and where his miracles came from. The Gospels are filled with questions the First Century Jew asked such as, "Are you the Messiah? Are you the Prophet?" and "Who is this man?" The Synoptic Gospels highlight the discovery of the disciples in the middle of Jesus' ministry, "You are the Christ!" But even though the disciples learned that Jesus was the Messiah, their understanding of the Messiah was not spot on. In fact, it was considered demonic and serving the political needs of the people of Jesus day.
Like most in their world and like many modern day seekers, the disciples believed the Messiah was a political figure. The Gospels are filled with people who had different questions and answers that reflected what people expected to see from Jesus, and because they (like the disciples themselves) read into Jesus what their times and desires held dear, they did not truly find who Jesus was. They could only see in part. Metaphorically, they were like the blind man who being healed by Jesus saw men like trees walking - their vision was blurred.
So I congratulate the modern seekers for coming closer to discovering and joining in the opinions of those who saw Jesus and who asked, "Who is this man?" But to answer that question, they have failed.
Saturday, September 28, 2013
Sunday, August 25, 2013
How to Memorize the New Testament - Getting Sloppy
My memorizing journey started out with a bang and ended with a whimper. I started memorizing every day of the week but went down to 5 days a week after a few months. At the time I was in school and reading the Bible for devotions every day, but found the time for working on memorization 45 minutes a day.
During that 45 minutes I spent about 5 minutes memorizing one verse a day and 35 to 40 minutes in what I call recover study. Recover study is going over 90 past memorized verses and refreshing myself so that I didn't forget what I already put to memory. I explain this all in a video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJtG3nsjeWQ
Out of school I added to my Bible study. I was teaching myself Biblical Hebrew, reading the Bible and reading books about the Bible - every day. Years later, I cut down on memorizing to 4 days a week and then 3. By the time I had 20 years in, I was burning out and felt like I needed to cut back on something. I had memorized most of the New Testament books I wanted to and a few Psalms, so to keep my sanity, I quit memorizing but continued with all my other studies which at that time included preparing for sermons.
The memorizing helped me a lot through the years in my ministry. I quoted verses in sermons, and also found that memorizing had helped me to remember and find passages I wanted to use in life and in sermons.
Ten years later I stepped out of being a pastor for a short time (it turned out to be much longer than I planned) and I taught in several local Christian universities. But years without working on recovering scripture, while teaching in local universities, I began getting a bit sloppy in quoting the Bible. When students asked questions about any topic, I had chapters and verses (in their own proper context) to help support whatever answer I gave (of course I only quoted a verse or two - not a whole chapter). But those quotes began to get sloppy and I would forget what followed the verse I was quoting. I found myself paraphrasing more and more and quoting word for word less and less.
That's what happens when you no longer keep up with what you memorized; when you no longer recover scripture put to memory. And so after 10 more years of paraphrasing and being sloppy, I decided to go back to those books I had memorized, work through them again, get updated, memorize again if needed, test myself, push myself to be accurate word for word again. I returned to my recovery process.
LESSON LEARNED
Years ago, I pushed myself to memorize a good portion of the New Testament, and when I had enough, I quit. For some reason, it didn't enter my mind until lately, that I didn't have to quit entirely. At the time I quit I had a regimen of memorizing one verse a day which only took a few minutes. However, it took me up to 40 minutes a day to cover past books I had already memorized, which meant working through and testing myself on 90 verses a day on verses I had put to memory.
For some reason it was all or nothing for me - it hadn't occurred to me that I could stop memorizing verses and cut recovery time in half or less. It wouldn't be as good as a whole 40 minutes, but it would have helped a lot and helped me to quote better.
During that 45 minutes I spent about 5 minutes memorizing one verse a day and 35 to 40 minutes in what I call recover study. Recover study is going over 90 past memorized verses and refreshing myself so that I didn't forget what I already put to memory. I explain this all in a video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJtG3nsjeWQ
Out of school I added to my Bible study. I was teaching myself Biblical Hebrew, reading the Bible and reading books about the Bible - every day. Years later, I cut down on memorizing to 4 days a week and then 3. By the time I had 20 years in, I was burning out and felt like I needed to cut back on something. I had memorized most of the New Testament books I wanted to and a few Psalms, so to keep my sanity, I quit memorizing but continued with all my other studies which at that time included preparing for sermons.
The memorizing helped me a lot through the years in my ministry. I quoted verses in sermons, and also found that memorizing had helped me to remember and find passages I wanted to use in life and in sermons.
Ten years later I stepped out of being a pastor for a short time (it turned out to be much longer than I planned) and I taught in several local Christian universities. But years without working on recovering scripture, while teaching in local universities, I began getting a bit sloppy in quoting the Bible. When students asked questions about any topic, I had chapters and verses (in their own proper context) to help support whatever answer I gave (of course I only quoted a verse or two - not a whole chapter). But those quotes began to get sloppy and I would forget what followed the verse I was quoting. I found myself paraphrasing more and more and quoting word for word less and less.
That's what happens when you no longer keep up with what you memorized; when you no longer recover scripture put to memory. And so after 10 more years of paraphrasing and being sloppy, I decided to go back to those books I had memorized, work through them again, get updated, memorize again if needed, test myself, push myself to be accurate word for word again. I returned to my recovery process.
LESSON LEARNED
Years ago, I pushed myself to memorize a good portion of the New Testament, and when I had enough, I quit. For some reason, it didn't enter my mind until lately, that I didn't have to quit entirely. At the time I quit I had a regimen of memorizing one verse a day which only took a few minutes. However, it took me up to 40 minutes a day to cover past books I had already memorized, which meant working through and testing myself on 90 verses a day on verses I had put to memory.
For some reason it was all or nothing for me - it hadn't occurred to me that I could stop memorizing verses and cut recovery time in half or less. It wouldn't be as good as a whole 40 minutes, but it would have helped a lot and helped me to quote better.
Saturday, August 24, 2013
Memorizing the New Testament - Anyone Can Di It
If you are reading this, you have stumbled upon something you may be quite willing and more than capable to do.
FACE YOUR LIES
I am convinced that that more than anything else, what holds people back from taking on such a task are lies that say they can't for some reason or another. And I am convinced the same lies fill many people who want to run 26 mile marathons but think they can't. Here are some basic ones:
- I don't have the time.
- I am not smart enough.
- That's just too difficult.
The truth is, you do have enough time.
The truth is, you are probably more than smart enough.
The truth is, it is not as difficult as you think it is.
The truth is, you are selling yourself short.
MANURE
I think most of the excuses we use are designed to protect our habits, whether those habits are good or bad. Think about it.
A friend used to tell me, "I know that I am in 5 feet of manure and it stinks, but I don't want to get out of it because it's warm." The metaphorical manure piles we sit in are warm because we are creatures of habit, and we get used to the habits we make for ourselves - even the bad ones.
Moving out of manure is not easy. We convince ourselves that we need and want the manure, and we think we are better off for it.
Think about the manure piles you have made for yourself - bitterness, overeating, love of money, lack of discipline, too much discipline, the desire to make everybody happy, being grumpy, feeling sorry for yourself, feeling better than others, getting attention from talking too much, getting attention from lashing out, turning inward, etc. and etc.
We build our piles and live in those piles. We get used to our piles and feel most comfortable staying in those piles, even when those piles of manure are self-destructive.
The excuses you use to keep from reading the Bible, memorizing the Bible, and praying more regularly are simply protection of your warm manure pile.
GEAR UP FOR CHANGE
Stepping out of manure is cold at first. You may have a moment of euphoria because you are clean for once, but believe me, you will feel cold and you will become tempted to return to the warmth of manure.
But in time you will be used to living a cleaner life.
FACE YOUR LIES
I am convinced that that more than anything else, what holds people back from taking on such a task are lies that say they can't for some reason or another. And I am convinced the same lies fill many people who want to run 26 mile marathons but think they can't. Here are some basic ones:
- I don't have the time.
- I am not smart enough.
- That's just too difficult.
The truth is, you do have enough time.
The truth is, you are probably more than smart enough.
The truth is, it is not as difficult as you think it is.
The truth is, you are selling yourself short.
MANURE
I think most of the excuses we use are designed to protect our habits, whether those habits are good or bad. Think about it.
A friend used to tell me, "I know that I am in 5 feet of manure and it stinks, but I don't want to get out of it because it's warm." The metaphorical manure piles we sit in are warm because we are creatures of habit, and we get used to the habits we make for ourselves - even the bad ones.
Moving out of manure is not easy. We convince ourselves that we need and want the manure, and we think we are better off for it.
Think about the manure piles you have made for yourself - bitterness, overeating, love of money, lack of discipline, too much discipline, the desire to make everybody happy, being grumpy, feeling sorry for yourself, feeling better than others, getting attention from talking too much, getting attention from lashing out, turning inward, etc. and etc.
We build our piles and live in those piles. We get used to our piles and feel most comfortable staying in those piles, even when those piles of manure are self-destructive.
The excuses you use to keep from reading the Bible, memorizing the Bible, and praying more regularly are simply protection of your warm manure pile.
GEAR UP FOR CHANGE
Stepping out of manure is cold at first. You may have a moment of euphoria because you are clean for once, but believe me, you will feel cold and you will become tempted to return to the warmth of manure.
But in time you will be used to living a cleaner life.
Sunday, July 14, 2013
Philosophy of Worship - Full Version
PHIOLOSOPHY OF
WORSHIP
THE OBJECT OF WORSHIP
My body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where
there is no water (Psalm 63:1).
The inner need to worship is found in every group, every
culture and in every individual.
Everybody has a need to look beyond oneself, weather it is looking to
humans, a group of people, or to deity/deities. Christian worship helps direct that need to the proper
place, to the one God who made us.
True worship is directed to Him and only Him.
The God who created us revealed Himself to us through the
writings of the Old and New Testament and ultimately through His Son Jesus, who
together with the Father and the Holy Spirit are the proper objects of our
worship.
FORMS OF WORSHIP
God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit
and in truth (John 4:2).
Although true worship is directed to the one God through His
Son, worship takes on different forms for each individual, for each church, for
each generation, and for each culture.
However diverse forms worship may take, the above mentioned scripture
defines the universal elements of worship.
THE TIMES OF WORSHIP
One man considers one day more sacred than another;
another man considers every day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in
his/her own mind (Romans 14:5).
The Law of Moses set aside days or weeks for the Sabbath and
for festivals. During the Church’s
2,000 year history, some generations, groups or individuals focused on certain
times to worship (in chapter 8:1-3, the Didache set aside 3 times a day for prayer
and 2 days a week for fasting).
The New Testament, however, gives no preference for one day over the
others, but rather suggests that each person walk according to his/her own
convictions.
THE PLACES OF WORSHIP
…For where two or three come together in my name, there
am I with them (Matthew 18:20).
And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some
people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return
is drawing near (Hebrews 10:25).
Although we can worship God any time and in any place,
individually and corporately, the Bible encourages regular corporate
worship. When Paul said you are
the temple of the Holy Spirit, he did not say “you” as an individual are the
temple, he said “you (plural)” are the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians
3:16 & 2 Corinthians 6:16).
THE DISCIPLINES OF WORSHIP
We worship in many ways which include devotions, in prayer,
fasting, preaching of sermons, sacraments, reading and in times set apart for
God such as church attendance and involvement in church activities.
THE GENERATIONS OF WORSHIP
Then the people of Israel—the priests, the Levites and
the rest of the exiles—celebrated the dedication of the house of God with joy
(Ezra 6:16).
Tradition connects present and oncoming generations with
generations of the past. Tradition
also connects us to our own past in that when we get older we like to connect
to what we grew up in. When young
and old worked together on God’s house in the Book of Ezra, there was a
division between generations, so that when work had begun on the temple, the
older generation wept while the younger one celebrated (see chapter 3). However, when the temple was finished, they all
celebrated together. As we worship
and build the kingdom together, we find unity in worship.
THE QUALITY OF WORSHIP
When Moses was building the tabernacle, God chose certain
people who were filled with the Spirit of God and with skill, with
intelligence, with knowledge, and with all craftsmanship, to devise artistic
designs (Exodus 35:31). God is still
concerned about the craftsmanship, about excellence, and about the creative details
of worship today.
According to Pope John Paul II:
Today, as yesterday, musicians, composers, liturgical
chapel cantors, church organists and instrumentalists must feel the necessity
of serious and rigorous professional training. They should be especially
conscious of the fact that each of their creations or interpretations cannot
escape the requirement of being a work that is inspired, appropriate and
attentive to aesthetic dignity, transformed into a prayer of worship when, in
the course of the liturgy, it expresses the mystery of faith in sound.
(Hakim, Naji (2003). "Music in
the Catholic liturgy in France at the end of the 20th century".
Retrieved 2010-08-16)
THE RELEVANCE OF WORSHIP
21st Century cultures are changing faster than at
any other time in all of history.
Because we are facing such speed in change, the church cannot hold on
tightly to what worked in the past.
For sure, we must learn from the past, build upon what the past has
accomplished, and use many of the
tools past generations has given to us; but we must change with the times to remain effective servants to the present generation. We are continuously moving into a new
world and we must be able to adjust with the changes in our culture, or we will
lose much of the next generation.
In this generation, media and technology has dominated our
culture and changed the way we work, the way we play and the way we live. It is no surprise that the churches
that grow the most have learned how to use these tools for the glory of God.
Even though we must be relevant, we must also be careful about allowing the world to dictate too much of what worship should be. We are to use the world's tools in godly ways, and not allow the world to dictate to us what worship can and should be.
THE SACRIFICE OF WORSHIP
Believers in the Old Testament offered sacrifices that were
costly for most people of the day, giving from their flocks and from their crops. Although they gave for different
reasons (such as for sin, fellowship, thanksgiving, and tithing), there was one
dynamic that was the same for every sacrifice. Every sacrifice cost the giver something they needed
connected to their survival. Givers
sacrificed for the work of God in their lives and in the lives of the
worshiping community.
Sacrificing animals and crops is no longer a Biblical
command, as Jesus has become our supreme sacrifice, but we still sacrifice
financially by tithing according to the command of Jesus (Matthew 23:23).
THE CHALLENGES OF 21ST CENTURY WORSHIP
- Remaining theologically sound while focusing on being relevant.
- Bringing in past traditions and forms and staying relevant.
- Connecting worship of the individual to the entire body of believers. We are not simply a Church of individuals with each person individually worshiping God. We are a body of believers connected in faith and in corporate worship.
- Using neglected forms of worship. Many of the psalms praise God, and most churches focus every service around praise; but there are also psalms of lament, psalms of thanksgiving, and psalms of supplication. The challenge today to find ways to include these other forms psalms into worship.
- Not falling into the traps of the culture the 21st Century American culture. While much in our culture can be used for good and can be used for God’s glory in worship, there are some things that can hinder growth in our faith. Some examples include our American individualism and “can do” spirit. Although there is a lot of good in these cultural values, we must be careful to bring Christ and the Bible into these cultural principles and not let these values to become preeminent in our faith.
- Teaching and experiencing the holiness and the fear of God.
Monday, July 1, 2013
Memorizing the New Testament - Books not Verses
There really are two ways to memorize the Scripture of the Old and New Testaments.
The most common way is to pick a verse and memorize it. John 3:16 is probably the most popular. After John 3:16, one memorizes another verse from another book, like Romans 3:10, then on to another. Kids who go to Sunday School get a hand full of these. Kids who are homeschooled or go to a private Christian schools generally get more.
The second way to memorize, which I think is rare, is to memorize whole books of the Bible. I prefer this for the reasons I am about to explain.
THE PROBLEM WITH MEMORIZING INDIVIDUAL VERSES - CREATING NEW CONTEXT
Scripture is meant to be memorized, studied and pulled apart in order to understand it better. Unfortuneately, memorizing key verses is not the best way to understand the Bible. In fact, it can be misleading at times.
I know a preacher who decided to memorize thousands of individual verses, pulling them out of the nest of each book they lie. In other words, he memorizes each verse without any concern for the rest of the book. He assumes that each verse has its own message apart from the rest of its context. Each verse for him stands alone.
As a result of his style of memorizing, he is able to make individual verses fit into his teachings a whole lot easier than letting them remain within their original surroundings, and because his focus is the end times, he is able to fit hundreds and thousands of verses into his "end times" framework. What he misses is that each verse he quotes belongs to a chapter which belongs to a book - all of which is called "context."
One cannot truely understand a verse without understanding its context; and to pull a verse out of its context, which this preacher does (as so many other people do), is to strip it away from its moorings. It fills the verse with other meaning it was never intended to have; and it strips the verse from meaning it had when the writer wrote under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.
People who memorize individual verses never intend to take them out of context. Actually, they assume the context of the verse supports the modern meaning they give to it, but in reality that verse is forced to say what the person assumes it means. Eventually that verse completely takes on the meaning the person has assigned to it. And in time, as that person shares that verse from the pulpit, with others, or on TV, the verse begins to come alive in its new context, no longer just for the preacher/teacher, but now for a whole group of Christians. No longer belonging to its original context, the verse now has found a new home in the context of some 21st Century issue or supporting some 21st Century doctrine, whether that issue or doctrine is good or bad.
Among the classes I teach, one of my favorites is one that teaches students how to study the Bible. In it we learn the importance of context, and we learn how to study each verse in relation to its context - its surrounding verses and its surrounding chapters. Most students love the class, because they learn how to read and how to study the Bible.
During the class each student chooses one small passage to study in context of its day and its context within the book it was written. They study the grammar and the words within their passage. At the end of the class, we get together and discuss what stood out in the class. For many, they learn that their life time's favorite verses had a different meaning than they gave it until that class. In other words, until that class, they read their own lives so much into the verses, that those verses took on a meaning they weren't designed to give.
I think a lot of the students are as disappointed as they are excited. Excited to learn the importance of context and grammar. They are excited to learn new depths to the verses they loved so much, but disappointed because the meaning they gave to the verses meant a lot to them.
THE PROBLEM WITH MEMORIZING INDIVIDUAL VERSES - CREATING NEW HIERARCHY
As I mentioned above, the purpuse of memorizing individual verses is to support a theological / emotional doctrine or to support some arguement in some 21st Century issue. But taking verses out of their nest and filling them with 21st Century meaning is not the only problem of memorizing individual verses. By picking certain verses, one gives the chosen verses more imortance than other scripture.
Now at this point I do have to clarify - Jesus himself said there are weightier matters of the Law; so, yes, there are some issues that are more important in the Bible than others. However, memorizing verses and not books focuses the importance on today's issues and on supporting today's group doctrines rather than the issues, problems and doctrines of the original writings. And once again, I admit that the issues of the 1st Century were different than today's. Sometimes this is okay, but sometimes we can neglect important issues because we are so wrapped up in our own group's focus of the day.
The weightier matters that Jesus spoke about in Matthew 23 are not the weightier matters of most of today's Christians. Faith was important to Jesus, and it is important to us today, but Jesus also said justice and mercy were on top of the list of what is important, and those are poorly defined if not neglected today, just as they were in Jesus' day.
In Jesus' day the religious focused on the details of tithing, keeping the Sabbath, keeping holy, and following the Law. But Jesus saw that by focusing on those things (which Jesus admitted needed not to be neglected), they neglected even more important things.
So there are some things in the Bible that are more important than others. Choosing individual verses does not reflect the importance that the writers of the Bible chose; choosing individual verses reflects what is important to us.
The most common way is to pick a verse and memorize it. John 3:16 is probably the most popular. After John 3:16, one memorizes another verse from another book, like Romans 3:10, then on to another. Kids who go to Sunday School get a hand full of these. Kids who are homeschooled or go to a private Christian schools generally get more.
The second way to memorize, which I think is rare, is to memorize whole books of the Bible. I prefer this for the reasons I am about to explain.
THE PROBLEM WITH MEMORIZING INDIVIDUAL VERSES - CREATING NEW CONTEXT
Scripture is meant to be memorized, studied and pulled apart in order to understand it better. Unfortuneately, memorizing key verses is not the best way to understand the Bible. In fact, it can be misleading at times.
I know a preacher who decided to memorize thousands of individual verses, pulling them out of the nest of each book they lie. In other words, he memorizes each verse without any concern for the rest of the book. He assumes that each verse has its own message apart from the rest of its context. Each verse for him stands alone.
As a result of his style of memorizing, he is able to make individual verses fit into his teachings a whole lot easier than letting them remain within their original surroundings, and because his focus is the end times, he is able to fit hundreds and thousands of verses into his "end times" framework. What he misses is that each verse he quotes belongs to a chapter which belongs to a book - all of which is called "context."
One cannot truely understand a verse without understanding its context; and to pull a verse out of its context, which this preacher does (as so many other people do), is to strip it away from its moorings. It fills the verse with other meaning it was never intended to have; and it strips the verse from meaning it had when the writer wrote under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.
People who memorize individual verses never intend to take them out of context. Actually, they assume the context of the verse supports the modern meaning they give to it, but in reality that verse is forced to say what the person assumes it means. Eventually that verse completely takes on the meaning the person has assigned to it. And in time, as that person shares that verse from the pulpit, with others, or on TV, the verse begins to come alive in its new context, no longer just for the preacher/teacher, but now for a whole group of Christians. No longer belonging to its original context, the verse now has found a new home in the context of some 21st Century issue or supporting some 21st Century doctrine, whether that issue or doctrine is good or bad.
Among the classes I teach, one of my favorites is one that teaches students how to study the Bible. In it we learn the importance of context, and we learn how to study each verse in relation to its context - its surrounding verses and its surrounding chapters. Most students love the class, because they learn how to read and how to study the Bible.
During the class each student chooses one small passage to study in context of its day and its context within the book it was written. They study the grammar and the words within their passage. At the end of the class, we get together and discuss what stood out in the class. For many, they learn that their life time's favorite verses had a different meaning than they gave it until that class. In other words, until that class, they read their own lives so much into the verses, that those verses took on a meaning they weren't designed to give.
I think a lot of the students are as disappointed as they are excited. Excited to learn the importance of context and grammar. They are excited to learn new depths to the verses they loved so much, but disappointed because the meaning they gave to the verses meant a lot to them.
THE PROBLEM WITH MEMORIZING INDIVIDUAL VERSES - CREATING NEW HIERARCHY
As I mentioned above, the purpuse of memorizing individual verses is to support a theological / emotional doctrine or to support some arguement in some 21st Century issue. But taking verses out of their nest and filling them with 21st Century meaning is not the only problem of memorizing individual verses. By picking certain verses, one gives the chosen verses more imortance than other scripture.
Now at this point I do have to clarify - Jesus himself said there are weightier matters of the Law; so, yes, there are some issues that are more important in the Bible than others. However, memorizing verses and not books focuses the importance on today's issues and on supporting today's group doctrines rather than the issues, problems and doctrines of the original writings. And once again, I admit that the issues of the 1st Century were different than today's. Sometimes this is okay, but sometimes we can neglect important issues because we are so wrapped up in our own group's focus of the day.
The weightier matters that Jesus spoke about in Matthew 23 are not the weightier matters of most of today's Christians. Faith was important to Jesus, and it is important to us today, but Jesus also said justice and mercy were on top of the list of what is important, and those are poorly defined if not neglected today, just as they were in Jesus' day.
In Jesus' day the religious focused on the details of tithing, keeping the Sabbath, keeping holy, and following the Law. But Jesus saw that by focusing on those things (which Jesus admitted needed not to be neglected), they neglected even more important things.
So there are some things in the Bible that are more important than others. Choosing individual verses does not reflect the importance that the writers of the Bible chose; choosing individual verses reflects what is important to us.
Sunday, March 17, 2013
How to Memorize the New Testament - Set Realistic Goals
It's important to set realistic goals when trying to memorize 7,958 verses. One website I came across had a schedule for memorizing the entire NT in 5 years. I chose 20 years and discovered that even 20 years was too much for me.
I believe that I could have memorized the NT in 5 years if:
1. If I would only memorize 5 new verses a day (every day) and did not keep up with verses I had already memorized in the past. I would forget most of what I had memorized in the past.
2. If I had hours a day to memorize - which I don't have. At best I was able to carve out 45 minutes a day to memorize, and most of that 45 minutes was spent in testing myself over past memory verses (90 in total every day) so I wouldn't forget what I had already memorized.
3. If I had photographic memory or amazing skills in memorizing - which I don't have.
Because I don't have enough time or brilliance to memorize the NT in 5 years, I chose to try to memorize one new verse a day for just over 20 years. As it became more and more stressful to forge out 45 minutes a day to memorize, I cut it down to 6 days a week, then 5, then 3, and finally quit altogether after I had memorized almost 1/2 of the NT.
GOAL ONE - ONE VERSE A DAY
I suggest one verse a day for anyone who starts memorizing.
GOAL TWO - 45 MINUTES A DAY
You won't be spending 45 minutes a day for a few weeks or even for a month or two. At first it will be just 10 minutes or so a day. But after you begin memorizing entire books, you will need the time to go back to review in order to keep what you have.
GOAL THREE - 20 to 30 YEARS
This seems daunting, but I have learned through experience that 20 years does come and go quickly - and it will for you. After you have been going at it for awhile, you will be able to pace yourself better and set new and more realistic goals. Even if you decide to go for 40 or 50 years, go for it.
I have been in several 26 mile marathons, several 13 milers, and one big triathlon. I was average for the marathons and came in last place for the long distant triathlon (1+ mile swim, 56 mile bike ride, 13.1 mile run). In all these, I finished, I reached my goals, and I felt great when I reached the goals.
In my triathlon, it didn't matter that I had come in last place, because while training, I set a realistic goal for my body and I reached that goal - and I loved it. My goal was to finish this race without failing, and without slowing down from exhaustion. Granted, most of the others were younger, had better equipment and could swim 2 times as fast as me.
In preparing, I considered my health, my age, the time I had for training, and so on; and in preparing, I adjusted my goals accordingly.
It's the same with memorizing the NT. Forge out a realistic amount of time every day (you may have to cut out an hour of T.V.). In forging out your time, consider your abilities.
GOAL FOUR - CONSIDER YOUR ABILITIES
Most people undersell their abilities to memorize. A few people oversell.
If you think you could never memorize so much scripture, you are probably underselling yourself. You can do a lot more than you realize... most people can. To you I say, "Stop telling yourself you can't do it, and try for a few weeks - you will be surprised."
To those who oversell their abilities, "Try out for a few weeks and when you realize you are not as good as you think you are, slow down a bit and reset your goals for the long run."
Like running or swimming, you won't know how much you can do until you jump in and give it a try. Because you are not used to rigorous exercise, you may sink or want to quit quickly; but if you start slowly and build up, you eventually get into the routine and once in the routine you will be able to learn how much you can handle and how much is too much.
GOAL FIVE - DO NOT LOOK AT THOSE AROUND YOU
If in this journey you find others who can memorize a lot better than you, don't get discouraged and quit. In all likelihood, they will quit long before they reached their goals and you will then be able to pass them up. When I was in the triathlon, there were several people who were much faster, younger, and better than I, but they quit during the triathlon for different reasons. I beat them only because I endured and kept to the pace I knew I could handle.
In reality, you will probably not run into anyone else who will run the NT marathon with you. Why not? Most people think its too hard and too much. But you will know better, once you start yours.
I believe that I could have memorized the NT in 5 years if:
1. If I would only memorize 5 new verses a day (every day) and did not keep up with verses I had already memorized in the past. I would forget most of what I had memorized in the past.
2. If I had hours a day to memorize - which I don't have. At best I was able to carve out 45 minutes a day to memorize, and most of that 45 minutes was spent in testing myself over past memory verses (90 in total every day) so I wouldn't forget what I had already memorized.
3. If I had photographic memory or amazing skills in memorizing - which I don't have.
Because I don't have enough time or brilliance to memorize the NT in 5 years, I chose to try to memorize one new verse a day for just over 20 years. As it became more and more stressful to forge out 45 minutes a day to memorize, I cut it down to 6 days a week, then 5, then 3, and finally quit altogether after I had memorized almost 1/2 of the NT.
GOAL ONE - ONE VERSE A DAY
I suggest one verse a day for anyone who starts memorizing.
GOAL TWO - 45 MINUTES A DAY
You won't be spending 45 minutes a day for a few weeks or even for a month or two. At first it will be just 10 minutes or so a day. But after you begin memorizing entire books, you will need the time to go back to review in order to keep what you have.
GOAL THREE - 20 to 30 YEARS
This seems daunting, but I have learned through experience that 20 years does come and go quickly - and it will for you. After you have been going at it for awhile, you will be able to pace yourself better and set new and more realistic goals. Even if you decide to go for 40 or 50 years, go for it.
I have been in several 26 mile marathons, several 13 milers, and one big triathlon. I was average for the marathons and came in last place for the long distant triathlon (1+ mile swim, 56 mile bike ride, 13.1 mile run). In all these, I finished, I reached my goals, and I felt great when I reached the goals.
In my triathlon, it didn't matter that I had come in last place, because while training, I set a realistic goal for my body and I reached that goal - and I loved it. My goal was to finish this race without failing, and without slowing down from exhaustion. Granted, most of the others were younger, had better equipment and could swim 2 times as fast as me.
In preparing, I considered my health, my age, the time I had for training, and so on; and in preparing, I adjusted my goals accordingly.
It's the same with memorizing the NT. Forge out a realistic amount of time every day (you may have to cut out an hour of T.V.). In forging out your time, consider your abilities.
GOAL FOUR - CONSIDER YOUR ABILITIES
Most people undersell their abilities to memorize. A few people oversell.
If you think you could never memorize so much scripture, you are probably underselling yourself. You can do a lot more than you realize... most people can. To you I say, "Stop telling yourself you can't do it, and try for a few weeks - you will be surprised."
To those who oversell their abilities, "Try out for a few weeks and when you realize you are not as good as you think you are, slow down a bit and reset your goals for the long run."
Like running or swimming, you won't know how much you can do until you jump in and give it a try. Because you are not used to rigorous exercise, you may sink or want to quit quickly; but if you start slowly and build up, you eventually get into the routine and once in the routine you will be able to learn how much you can handle and how much is too much.
GOAL FIVE - DO NOT LOOK AT THOSE AROUND YOU
If in this journey you find others who can memorize a lot better than you, don't get discouraged and quit. In all likelihood, they will quit long before they reached their goals and you will then be able to pass them up. When I was in the triathlon, there were several people who were much faster, younger, and better than I, but they quit during the triathlon for different reasons. I beat them only because I endured and kept to the pace I knew I could handle.
In reality, you will probably not run into anyone else who will run the NT marathon with you. Why not? Most people think its too hard and too much. But you will know better, once you start yours.
How to Memorize the New Testament - Dealing with Failure
I already told you the story of a preacher who used the Bible to stir up the crowd and to show off how "brilliant" he was. I said told you how disgusting I felt it was.
I also wrote about the importance of endurance when it comes to memorizing the Bible. I cannot stress this enough. I am not the most brilliant person you will meet, but I have discovered that perseverance goes a long way in the learning (and in the memorizing) process. I have memorized most of the books of the New Testament - not because I am smart or have extraordinary skills. I did so because I memorized one verse at a time for 20 years.
For every day I memorized a new verse, I tested myself on past verses (90 every day). This was no great undertaking as some would think. I failed to reach my goal of memorizing the entire New Testament; and I failed to memorize every day as I planned (by year 20 I was memorizing 3 verses a week); and by year 20 I quit.
At the beginning of 2013, after 20 years of not memorizing, I bought myself a new leather Bible and started rememorizing scripture I once knew. It's coming back a lot better than I thought. At the rate I am going I should be able to catch up to where I was 20 years ago within 2 or 3 years.
I don't know if I will memorize any new material at that time. Maybe I will, maybe I won't.
What is my point?
Sometimes I feel like failure is a big part of my life. In memorizing the NT, I failed. But despite this failure, I did memorize a lot. In areas like this, I discovered that it's better to try and fail along the way than never to try at all. If I had never tried, I would not have any scripture memorized.
My Challenge to You...
Go beyond what I did.
By the way, see the video I did about memorizing the NT: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJtG3nsjeWQ
I also wrote about the importance of endurance when it comes to memorizing the Bible. I cannot stress this enough. I am not the most brilliant person you will meet, but I have discovered that perseverance goes a long way in the learning (and in the memorizing) process. I have memorized most of the books of the New Testament - not because I am smart or have extraordinary skills. I did so because I memorized one verse at a time for 20 years.
For every day I memorized a new verse, I tested myself on past verses (90 every day). This was no great undertaking as some would think. I failed to reach my goal of memorizing the entire New Testament; and I failed to memorize every day as I planned (by year 20 I was memorizing 3 verses a week); and by year 20 I quit.
At the beginning of 2013, after 20 years of not memorizing, I bought myself a new leather Bible and started rememorizing scripture I once knew. It's coming back a lot better than I thought. At the rate I am going I should be able to catch up to where I was 20 years ago within 2 or 3 years.
I don't know if I will memorize any new material at that time. Maybe I will, maybe I won't.
What is my point?
Sometimes I feel like failure is a big part of my life. In memorizing the NT, I failed. But despite this failure, I did memorize a lot. In areas like this, I discovered that it's better to try and fail along the way than never to try at all. If I had never tried, I would not have any scripture memorized.
My Challenge to You...
Go beyond what I did.
By the way, see the video I did about memorizing the NT: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJtG3nsjeWQ
Saturday, March 9, 2013
The Key to Memorizing the New Testament
I teach classes in a Christian College. In my classes, I tell my students that learning is not something that takes place overnight, but is something that builds up with time. Bible knowledge is like that and any other learning skill is like that. The more time you put in, the more you will get out.
4 LESSONS FROM RUNNING
1. I have often compared learning to running. It takes honing your skills by continual practice, and that takes patience. You cannot give up if you want to reach any goal. Endurance is the key to learning the Scriptures, and by all means, if you plan on memorizing any portion of the Bible, endurance is the key.
2. Don't look at how good others are. Several years ago I ran my only triathlon - 1.2 miles swimming, 56 miles biking and 13.1 miles running. I was one of the oldest and one of the most overweight people, so when we swam, everyone passed me using freestyle. I can't last using that stroke, so I used the breast stroke. When I left the water (20 minutes after the last person) I hopped on my mountain bike for the 56 mile ride. Everyone else had racing bikes which are so much lighter and go so much faster. But I didn't care if I was the first or the last. I just wanted to endure every part of this race. By the time I was ready to run, everyone else was either done or close to it.
When I came to the end line, the sponsers were taking down the finish line and no one else was there to cheer me on and to congratulate me. But even though I came in over 40 minutes after the last person, I accomplished my goal - and I felt on top of the world. If you want to memorize the New Testament or even major parts of it, don't think about how smart or how good everyone else is. You just set your mind for endurance and do it for yourself.
3. In running, your body is set to do its best by your early 30s. After that it's a slow downward journey. But, in learning, the only time your brain will start going downhill is if you get alztheimer's when you are old. Until then, your brain only gets better and better - so use it.
4. When you first start running, there is a lot of pain and frustration. Your mind is not used to running and your body is not used to running. Even if you are in shape and have been working out in other areas (such as body building). When you first start running, you will need to put up with shin splints, aches and pains, exhaustion and a multitude of other issues. But once you get into the groove, your body will not only get used to all this excersize, it will begin to crave it (at times). Learning is like that. Memorizing is like that too, but I did find that it didn't take very long to get into the memorizing groove.
MEMORIZING THE NEW TESTAMENT
If you want to memorize the New Testament, more than anything else, you will need endurance. It's not all about being smart or having a photographic mind or anything like that. It's only about endurance. In other words, you don't have to be incredibly smart; you just need to hunker down for the long run.
Plan 20, 30 or even 40 years of memorizing in order to reach your goal. And plan 30 to 45 minutes a day.
If you can grab onto this, you can and will memorize amazing amounts of scripture.
4 LESSONS FROM RUNNING
1. I have often compared learning to running. It takes honing your skills by continual practice, and that takes patience. You cannot give up if you want to reach any goal. Endurance is the key to learning the Scriptures, and by all means, if you plan on memorizing any portion of the Bible, endurance is the key.
2. Don't look at how good others are. Several years ago I ran my only triathlon - 1.2 miles swimming, 56 miles biking and 13.1 miles running. I was one of the oldest and one of the most overweight people, so when we swam, everyone passed me using freestyle. I can't last using that stroke, so I used the breast stroke. When I left the water (20 minutes after the last person) I hopped on my mountain bike for the 56 mile ride. Everyone else had racing bikes which are so much lighter and go so much faster. But I didn't care if I was the first or the last. I just wanted to endure every part of this race. By the time I was ready to run, everyone else was either done or close to it.
When I came to the end line, the sponsers were taking down the finish line and no one else was there to cheer me on and to congratulate me. But even though I came in over 40 minutes after the last person, I accomplished my goal - and I felt on top of the world. If you want to memorize the New Testament or even major parts of it, don't think about how smart or how good everyone else is. You just set your mind for endurance and do it for yourself.
3. In running, your body is set to do its best by your early 30s. After that it's a slow downward journey. But, in learning, the only time your brain will start going downhill is if you get alztheimer's when you are old. Until then, your brain only gets better and better - so use it.
4. When you first start running, there is a lot of pain and frustration. Your mind is not used to running and your body is not used to running. Even if you are in shape and have been working out in other areas (such as body building). When you first start running, you will need to put up with shin splints, aches and pains, exhaustion and a multitude of other issues. But once you get into the groove, your body will not only get used to all this excersize, it will begin to crave it (at times). Learning is like that. Memorizing is like that too, but I did find that it didn't take very long to get into the memorizing groove.
MEMORIZING THE NEW TESTAMENT
If you want to memorize the New Testament, more than anything else, you will need endurance. It's not all about being smart or having a photographic mind or anything like that. It's only about endurance. In other words, you don't have to be incredibly smart; you just need to hunker down for the long run.
Plan 20, 30 or even 40 years of memorizing in order to reach your goal. And plan 30 to 45 minutes a day.
If you can grab onto this, you can and will memorize amazing amounts of scripture.
Sunday, March 3, 2013
Memorizing the New Testament - Arrogance
There are 7,956 verses in the New Testament. That means if you memorize one verse a day you can memorize the entire New Testament in just over 20 years.
When I thought about that at the age of 22 (I was a Freshman in College), I decided to give it a try.
Two years later, I was still in school studying Missions and Bible at a Bible College which required daily chapel. During one of these chapels a guest evangelist preached the typical Pentecostal message about the Holy Spirit.
He walked the stage back and forth, as many Pentecostal preachers do, trying to get the attention of so many older teens and early 20s who have spent their lives listening to these preachers and seeing their shows. For these types of speakers, spirituality seemed to be measured by how stirred up one can get in a church service.
The preacher in chapel (the guest evangelist) had something up his sleeve that none of us had seen before - something that would stir the young crowd into a tremendous spiritual frenzy. At the end of a forgettable message, he quoted the entire 2nd chapter of Acts from memory (the 2nd Chapter of Acts is the Pentecostal's favorite chapter in the Bible, just like Calvinists hang out at Romans 9). Quoting 47 verses from their favorite chapter threw the students into excited and spontaneous cheering. All around me Pentecostal kids were praising the Lord, shouting and clapping. And while everybody stood and cheered, I sat in my chair, ticked off at the whole thing.
Maybe I was that person with issues who didn't want to be carried along with the crowd. I've always had to set myself apart from others.
Maybe I was just too proud to applaud someone else's accomplishments.
Maybe I needed to see a counselor and try to work out my issues with loneliness and feeling lost in the midst of crowds.
But then again, maybe I saw a man using the Bible to draw attention away from God to himself. Maybe I was turned off to the fact that he had just become the center of attention, and the words he spoke had no other meaning than stirring up the crowd, and bringing everybody's frenzied attention to himself.
After chapel a friend oozed out how much she loved that preacher for his ability to quote an entire chapter of the Bible. I told her I didn't like it, which got her angry at me and I could see that what I said upset her. She snapped at me, "I suppose you could do that?" She was implying that there was no way I could accomplish such an difficult conquest. I didn't answer her, but I thought to myself, "Actually I could, and in fact, as he quoted that chapter, I was quoting the same to myself. Furthermore, I could do better than that. I could quote you the chapters before and after. Better yet, I could quote to you entire books of the New Testament." But I let her have her moment and I said nothing.
Memorizing is not something to show off as a gimmick or to use in order to manipulate a crowd - and that's what I saw that day in chapel. People were stirred up to cheer one man's accomplishment, not God's Word. That day, God's Word gave the preacher the tool he needed to show off his ability like a circus performer. He was able to use God's Word to get crowd wound up in a frenzy. Because it was God's Word, it seemed spiritual, but in fact, it was not. It was not spiritual and it was not proper - it was arrogant and it was manipulative.
Memorizing the Bible should not be for people to show off their abilities. Memorizing the New Testament should not be for the sake of pointing people to the person who quotes. Neither should it be used to stir a crowd into a frenzy. Memorizing the Bible is meant to point people to the One who the Bible was meant to reveal - the God of Creation. As John the Baptist once said, "He must increase and I must decrease."
Every once in awhile, in the middle of some movie or TV show, some guy will grab a pitcher of beer and drink the whole thing down while the rest of the bar cheers the fool on. I guess quoting a chapter of the Bible to a group of cheering believers is the Christian version of chugging beer.
For video of this subject, see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJtG3nsjeWQ
When I thought about that at the age of 22 (I was a Freshman in College), I decided to give it a try.
Two years later, I was still in school studying Missions and Bible at a Bible College which required daily chapel. During one of these chapels a guest evangelist preached the typical Pentecostal message about the Holy Spirit.
He walked the stage back and forth, as many Pentecostal preachers do, trying to get the attention of so many older teens and early 20s who have spent their lives listening to these preachers and seeing their shows. For these types of speakers, spirituality seemed to be measured by how stirred up one can get in a church service.
The preacher in chapel (the guest evangelist) had something up his sleeve that none of us had seen before - something that would stir the young crowd into a tremendous spiritual frenzy. At the end of a forgettable message, he quoted the entire 2nd chapter of Acts from memory (the 2nd Chapter of Acts is the Pentecostal's favorite chapter in the Bible, just like Calvinists hang out at Romans 9). Quoting 47 verses from their favorite chapter threw the students into excited and spontaneous cheering. All around me Pentecostal kids were praising the Lord, shouting and clapping. And while everybody stood and cheered, I sat in my chair, ticked off at the whole thing.
Maybe I was that person with issues who didn't want to be carried along with the crowd. I've always had to set myself apart from others.
Maybe I was just too proud to applaud someone else's accomplishments.
Maybe I needed to see a counselor and try to work out my issues with loneliness and feeling lost in the midst of crowds.
But then again, maybe I saw a man using the Bible to draw attention away from God to himself. Maybe I was turned off to the fact that he had just become the center of attention, and the words he spoke had no other meaning than stirring up the crowd, and bringing everybody's frenzied attention to himself.
After chapel a friend oozed out how much she loved that preacher for his ability to quote an entire chapter of the Bible. I told her I didn't like it, which got her angry at me and I could see that what I said upset her. She snapped at me, "I suppose you could do that?" She was implying that there was no way I could accomplish such an difficult conquest. I didn't answer her, but I thought to myself, "Actually I could, and in fact, as he quoted that chapter, I was quoting the same to myself. Furthermore, I could do better than that. I could quote you the chapters before and after. Better yet, I could quote to you entire books of the New Testament." But I let her have her moment and I said nothing.
Memorizing is not something to show off as a gimmick or to use in order to manipulate a crowd - and that's what I saw that day in chapel. People were stirred up to cheer one man's accomplishment, not God's Word. That day, God's Word gave the preacher the tool he needed to show off his ability like a circus performer. He was able to use God's Word to get crowd wound up in a frenzy. Because it was God's Word, it seemed spiritual, but in fact, it was not. It was not spiritual and it was not proper - it was arrogant and it was manipulative.
Memorizing the Bible should not be for people to show off their abilities. Memorizing the New Testament should not be for the sake of pointing people to the person who quotes. Neither should it be used to stir a crowd into a frenzy. Memorizing the Bible is meant to point people to the One who the Bible was meant to reveal - the God of Creation. As John the Baptist once said, "He must increase and I must decrease."
Every once in awhile, in the middle of some movie or TV show, some guy will grab a pitcher of beer and drink the whole thing down while the rest of the bar cheers the fool on. I guess quoting a chapter of the Bible to a group of cheering believers is the Christian version of chugging beer.
For video of this subject, see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJtG3nsjeWQ
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