Friday, March 26, 2004
Me, a theologian?
Now, I don't think it helped that I thought I knew everything that there was to know in the Bible. Participating in a Bible quizing program called Bible Bowl, I knew more scriptures than my other church members, but not as much as a great theologian would need. But, now I realize that I know far less than what I ought to know. Its a shame.
Having participated in Bible Bowl for seven years, between sixth and twelfth grade, I had studied Genesis, Exodus, parts of Numbers and Deuteronomy, and I and II Samuel. (Our pastor put to song the main points of 1 Samuel, some of which I remember--like, "In chapter one, Sammy comes to life. Hannah was his mother, one of Elkahanah's wives. Hannah was so thrilled with Sammy's birth you see; she dedicated Sammy to God's family. You can sing it to the Beverly Hillbillies song and get it right.) But those books were only the Old Testament; of the New Testament, I studied and memorized from Luke, John, Acts, Romans, I and II Corinthians, I and II Thessalonians, I and II Timothy, Hebrews, James, I, II, and III John, and I and II Peter. In order to get my cat three years ago, I had to memorize Exodus 1-11. But ask me today how much I remember, and I could probably quote bits and pieces for you and thats it.
From all the studying that I did, I would say that my favorite book of the Bible is 1 Peter, because it covers a variety of issues as well as it is an encouragement and a great guideline for dealing with authority. It is also very vivid. I love it.
But from all the studying that I have done, I have come to some major conclusions in regards to what the Bible says, of which, I will mention some hot topics and points.
In short, I am a dispensationalist and have, at one point, been described as being a hyper-dispensationalist, though hyper-dispensationalism is heresy. I believe that much of what is written in Matthew, Hebrews, and James as well as other chapters in the New Testament that many people use to support the idea that a man can lose his salvation refers to the Jews during the tribulation, as the audience of each book indicates. During the church age, God deals with the Christian by granting him eternal salvation, salvation that cannot be revoked because he sinned.
So, therefore, along these lines, I am also a dispensationalist pre-millennialist, believing that the church will be raptured before the tribulation.
I am neither a calvinist nor an arminian. I have already explained some of my beliefs along this line right here. In regards to calvinism, I only believe that man can never lose his salvation, because to do such, it causes man to be saved solely by his work in the body. However, I do believe that men can resist the calling of the Spirit. Man, because of the small amount of faith God gives every man, And as for Arminianism, I believe that a man can choose whom he will follow. Though God demands that all men everywhere repent, a man can refuse to obey and be condemned to hell when he dies. The man who rejects God condemns himself, as John 3 indicates.
Baptism is not necessary for salvation, but necessary for obedience. And as for the method of baptism, well...I am a baptist.
As for the trinity, I am not a oneness pentecostal. Jesus is the Word as flesh, there is God the Father, and God the Spirit. They all coexist as one being, in a similar fashion as man coexists as body, spirit, and soul. Christ was fully God and fully man.
I also believe that in six days, God created the heavens and the earth. A very literal six days. And on the seventh day he rested. Although I dont believe animals evolve into new lifeforms, like pigeons evolving from reptiles, I do believe in some slight forms of evolution like the evolution of species, the different species of birds and of dogs and of cats. No dog evolved into a cat (or the other way around) and nor did they have a common ancestor.
Adam was in the Garden with Eve--two specific people. There was no Lillith and no Naamah. Adam is not symbolic of a race of men planted on earth.
Women should not be pastoring churches and should be submissive to their own husbands--yes, I take the Southern Baptists' point on this one. They ought to remain silent in the church, as the Scriptures say. However, it is not required by scripture that a woman should have long hair or uncut hair. She also doesnt have to wear a dress or skirt down to her ankles. The key in the Bible is to cover up your nakedness and remain modest. And, throughout the Bible, nakedness is above the knees, therefore, women and men should wear things that cover up above the knee. And modesy includes not showing off every fat roll a woman has.
I believe the King James Bible is the word of God. I also believe that there is advanced revelation. I believe that a translation can be scripture. The King James Bible is the word purified seven times that was promised by God in Psalms and throughout the Bible. In short, I am a King James Onlyist. I do believe that people can get saved from reading other versions of the Bible, but they are lacking in scriptures and distort the truth some of the time.
Among modern Christians in the spotlight (depending which spotlight), I like Peter Ruckman and Gail Riplinger (though she is like the KJV-O's very own Ann Coulter). I don't always agree with Ruckman on different issues, but he does make some great points. And there are others among the KJV-O crowd that I like, but of them, I am not fond of David Cloud. Hyles I am neutral on.
Jack Chick and his tracks are great, and he is not a racists despite what people I know say about him. He is right on on many things.
Among other Christians from different denominations, I tend to take a dislike to Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson, D. J. Kennedy, James Dobson, James White, Bruce Metzger, etc. But, I do have some likes, though. I like David Wilkerson; afterall, it was through one of his letters that I was convinced to become a Christian. But that story will be coming later as my testimony.
So, I hope this answers anyones questions about some of the major theological issues that I hold to. I really can't think of anything else that would be important. While I might not become the world's next greatest theologian, studying the word of God is its own blessing.
When I was younger, my parent's church's youth pastor asked all the students in the Sunday school class what they wanted to be when they grew up. I used to desire to become a politician, a scientist that would cure cancer, a doctor, and a lawyer. But, after one of the girls said that she wanted to be the first female president, I rolled my eyes and voiced my opinion that I wanted to be a theologian.
Now, I don't think it helped that I thought I knew everything that there was to know in the Bible. Participating in a Bible quizing program called Bible Bowl, I knew more scriptures than my other church members, but not as much as a great theologian would need. But, now I realize that I know far less than what I ought to know. Its a shame.
Having participated in Bible Bowl for seven years, between sixth and twelfth grade, I had studied Genesis, Exodus, parts of Numbers and Deuteronomy, and I and II Samuel. (Our pastor put to song the main points of 1 Samuel, some of which I remember--like, "In chapter one, Sammy comes to life. Hannah was his mother, one of Elkahanah's wives. Hannah was so thrilled with Sammy's birth you see; she dedicated Sammy to God's family. You can sing it to the Beverly Hillbillies song and get it right.) But those books were only the Old Testament; of the New Testament, I studied and memorized from Luke, John, Acts, Romans, I and II Corinthians, I and II Thessalonians, I and II Timothy, Hebrews, James, I, II, and III John, and I and II Peter. In order to get my cat three years ago, I had to memorize Exodus 1-11. But ask me today how much I remember, and I could probably quote bits and pieces for you and thats it.
From all the studying that I did, I would say that my favorite book of the Bible is 1 Peter, because it covers a variety of issues as well as it is an encouragement and a great guideline for dealing with authority. It is also very vivid. I love it.
But from all the studying that I have done, I have come to some major conclusions in regards to what the Bible says, of which, I will mention some hot topics and points.
In short, I am a dispensationalist and have, at one point, been described as being a hyper-dispensationalist, though hyper-dispensationalism is heresy. I believe that much of what is written in Matthew, Hebrews, and James as well as other chapters in the New Testament that many people use to support the idea that a man can lose his salvation refers to the Jews during the tribulation, as the audience of each book indicates. During the church age, God deals with the Christian by granting him eternal salvation, salvation that cannot be revoked because he sinned.
So, therefore, along these lines, I am also a dispensationalist pre-millennialist, believing that the church will be raptured before the tribulation.
I am neither a calvinist nor an arminian. I have already explained some of my beliefs along this line right here. In regards to calvinism, I only believe that man can never lose his salvation, because to do such, it causes man to be saved solely by his work in the body. However, I do believe that men can resist the calling of the Spirit. Man, because of the small amount of faith God gives every man, And as for Arminianism, I believe that a man can choose whom he will follow. Though God demands that all men everywhere repent, a man can refuse to obey and be condemned to hell when he dies. The man who rejects God condemns himself, as John 3 indicates.
Baptism is not necessary for salvation, but necessary for obedience. And as for the method of baptism, well...I am a baptist.
As for the trinity, I am not a oneness pentecostal. Jesus is the Word as flesh, there is God the Father, and God the Spirit. They all coexist as one being, in a similar fashion as man coexists as body, spirit, and soul. Christ was fully God and fully man.
I also believe that in six days, God created the heavens and the earth. A very literal six days. And on the seventh day he rested. Although I dont believe animals evolve into new lifeforms, like pigeons evolving from reptiles, I do believe in some slight forms of evolution like the evolution of species, the different species of birds and of dogs and of cats. No dog evolved into a cat (or the other way around) and nor did they have a common ancestor.
Adam was in the Garden with Eve--two specific people. There was no Lillith and no Naamah. Adam is not symbolic of a race of men planted on earth.
Women should not be pastoring churches and should be submissive to their own husbands--yes, I take the Southern Baptists' point on this one. They ought to remain silent in the church, as the Scriptures say. However, it is not required by scripture that a woman should have long hair or uncut hair. She also doesnt have to wear a dress or skirt down to her ankles. The key in the Bible is to cover up your nakedness and remain modest. And, throughout the Bible, nakedness is above the knees, therefore, women and men should wear things that cover up above the knee. And modesy includes not showing off every fat roll a woman has.
I believe the King James Bible is the word of God. I also believe that there is advanced revelation. I believe that a translation can be scripture. The King James Bible is the word purified seven times that was promised by God in Psalms and throughout the Bible. In short, I am a King James Onlyist. I do believe that people can get saved from reading other versions of the Bible, but they are lacking in scriptures and distort the truth some of the time.
Among modern Christians in the spotlight (depending which spotlight), I like Peter Ruckman and Gail Riplinger (though she is like the KJV-O's very own Ann Coulter). I don't always agree with Ruckman on different issues, but he does make some great points. And there are others among the KJV-O crowd that I like, but of them, I am not fond of David Cloud. Hyles I am neutral on.
Jack Chick and his tracks are great, and he is not a racists despite what people I know say about him. He is right on on many things.
Among other Christians from different denominations, I tend to take a dislike to Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson, D. J. Kennedy, James Dobson, James White, Bruce Metzger, etc. But, I do have some likes, though. I like David Wilkerson; afterall, it was through one of his letters that I was convinced to become a Christian. But that story will be coming later as my testimony.
So, I hope this answers anyones questions about some of the major theological issues that I hold to. I really can't think of anything else that would be important. While I might not become the world's next greatest theologian, studying the word of God is its own blessing.
posted by Laura Keslar at 12:28 PM | |
