The Best Blog Post I've Ever Seen!

Both this very short post and this video are simply amazing. It may be the best thing I've ever seen on the Internet:

http://michaelhyatt.com/2009/02/the-gift-of-validation.html

Zechariah & Mary

I have a lot of Bible questions that I don’t think I’ll get answered (in this life anyway). I suspect it is the same with you.

Here’s an example from my recent daily reading: in Luke 1:18 and 34, why did Zechariah’s question to Gabriel warrant punishment but Mary’s did not? From the text, they seem to be very similar questions, asked in the same way, with the same degree of respect:

And Zechariah said to the angel, "How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years." - Luke 1:18

And Mary said to the angel, "How will this be, since I am a virgin?" - Luke 1:34

I’ve thought about this and asked a couple of Bible scholars and the best we can come up with is the realization that overall the Bible only gives us a certain amount of information (otherwise it would be a really big book!). In this case, Zechariah may have had an attitude or something else that just isn’t carried to us in the text. And for God’s purpose for us via this text, that information must not be needed.

That brings up a point (that I mentioned previously) which has taken a lot of work for my engineering-type personality to accept: there are just some things in the Bible that we can’t know. We’ve got to trust God enough to accept that He’s told us what we need. If we want to know more, maybe we should concentrate on getting to Heaven so we can ask him!

"An astrologer and a Christian?"

I saved the Friday, October 31, 2008 "Life" section of the Huntsville (AL) Times because it had a story about an astrologer named Keisha Tafari, and I knew when I had time I was going to have to comment. There was a sub story with the title that I’m also using for blog post:

An astrologer and a Christian?
“Sure. A Christian can study astrology”, says Keisha Tafari, minister of music at Unity Church on the Mountain and a student of astrology for about 13 years. She holds a first-level certification from the School of Metaphysics.

She turns in the Bible to Genesis 1:14: "God said, 'Let there be lights in the dome of the sky...and let them be for signs and for seasons.'" Then to Luke 21:25, where Jesus is talking to his disciples about the days before his second coming: "There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars."

"It's almost like we're instructed to study astrology, that it's a form of God's guidance along the say," Tafari said...

I’ve often wondered how someone can honestly think this way. Unfortunately, as incorrect as I believe this lady's thinking is, reasoning like this isn't uncommon. What I suspect happens is that people have some idea in their head or some belief that feels good to them and want to pretend that the Bible supports it. So they pick a verse or two that might, possibly, kind-of-if-you-read-it-just-right, almost, sort of imply that belief. And they ignore many other verses that much more clearly address the issue (in this case ones such as Isaiah 47:13-14, Deuteronomy 4:19 and 18:9-12, Leviticus 20:6, Daniel 1:20 and 2:27-28, Acts 16:16-18, 2 Chronicles 33:5-6, Revelation 3:16, Matthew 7:22-24, etc.).

Many of us will scoff at the thought of Christianity being compatible with astrology, but let's ask ourselves whether we're making the same mistake. Do we hold beliefs just because they are comfortable? Have we checked them against what the Bible actually says (as opposed to what we want it to say)? I think our obligation to do just that should be stronger than our ability to rationalize our way out of it. Remember what Jesus said in Luke 6:46: "Why do you call me 'Lord, Lord,' and not do what I tell you?"