I ate supper and had forgotten about the incident, after which I noted some 49 notifications on Twitter. Seems several avid Christians had noticed our conversation, probably because it contained @DavidLimbaugh in the message chain. Trouble was they attacked this fine Jewish Man like wolves attacking a piece of red meat. Yes they were quite sure they knew how to witness to a lost man, but they failed to size up the mindset of the man they wanted to witness to.
I reentered the conversation trying to do too many things at once on my busy keyboard. One trying to explain what a fine, yet dyed blue in the wool, Jewish Historian my friend was. Two, trying to tone down their attack, and three trying to interject actual Scriptural Quotes. My eyes were getting tired, my fingers were stumbling on the keyboard, and:
I made a mistake. I tried to do it all on my own. I forgot to Pray for the right words, instead blindly typing my own. Yes, I was saying good things, right things, even scriptural things, but I didn't stop to ask for the help of the Holy Spirit.
My friend is a genuine Historian with a very strong background in the Torah. He considered the Book of John ahistorical, yet the Christian attackers kept quoting John. Funny I, like they, had always considered John the very 1st Book of Authority on just who this Man Yeshua really was. Seen coming to earth by John the Baptist, and leaving earth by John the Revelator and written by Jesus best friend Disciple; John is the Love Chapter of the entire Bible, the definitive resume of who Jesus was and is. Yet my friend was asking us from a Scholarly standpoint to leave the book of John out of the discussion, and the Christian Attackers were having none of it. They countered with Isaiah 53 but as a practicing Jew my friend had another view of who the suffering Servant was and is. My friend knew the Messiah was supposed to be a Conquering Hero, not die, and he didn't understand how the Crucifixion of a Lamb applied to him as a Jew.
Somewhere along the line he quoted a PBS video, and I told him that, "PBS has as little understanding of who Jesus is as does a fat Baptist of all things Kosher". He came back and said that the man in the video was the "renowned Scholar" L. Michael White, PHD. When I quickly watched a video of Mr. White, I discovered he was a Professor at Austin, TX and a Homosexual Rights Activist with 5 or so books casting doubt on the accuracy of the Bible, making (to me), his PHD mean:
'Pretty Handsomely Dumb'. Anyone who can doubt what God's Holy Word says about the Abomination of Homosexuality and Bestiality in Leviticus and Romans, is no authority at all to me.
But I had not Prayed. I was right but for the occasion I was all wrong. My friend mistook one of the others comments for mine, called me stupid, and blocked me. I lost a good friend, and I lost my chance to lead him to Christ. He believed that the Book of John was written in CE 95. What is this CE business? That would make John about 135 years old when he wrote John. It is A.D., for after all our Calendar was dated to reflect the death of the most influential Man/God that ever walked the face of the earth. Whether you believe he was God or Man or both, one has to admit He changed the World forever. None other was ever so influential.
I reprint now my earlier article on Bible Scholars. Do they or do they not have a better understanding of the Gospel than does an average Born Again Believer? I say not:
Sunday, May 10, 2015
Understanding the Bible
There is an all too common misconception in Academia, as well as in the general public, that so called Bible Scholars understand more about the Bible than do believers. Well, it ain’t necessarily so Professor. Often it is not the case at all. The Bible is not just another book. The Bible is alive. It is the Living Word of Jesus, our Creator, Lord, and Savior. Only a believer with the indwelling presence of The Holy Spirit can understand what Paul rightly called the mysteries of the Gospel.
Take the shortest verse in the Bible. Jesus wept. Most Bible Scholars would scoff and say the two words explain all that is needed, all by themselves. That would be nonsense. First one has to answer the question “who is Jesus?” Just saying He is God or God’s son is far from sufficient. Maybe John Hagee, or say Billy or Franklin Graham, or perhaps the late Adrian Rogers could say it concisely in 15 or 20 words, but even as well as my own mind has a grasp on it, I doubt I could explain it in 20 paragraphs. John said it best:
“And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen.” John 21:25 (KJV)
Next one would have to answer, why would the all-powerful God, the Master and Creator of all universes, the omnipresent, the omnipotent Lord of all, sob and cry? Both questions are so complex a non-believer, even a non-believing Bible Scholar, would be totally incapable of a reasonably complete answer.
For example; what kind of a Military Scholar would a man or woman be who had never shot a weapon or been shot at; never sought cover in a bunker or foxhole? Would you seek out a Legal Scholar who had never been to court? Many, (far too many), of our Seminary Deans and Professors are unsaved, yes, as lost as a goose in the Sahara. They have never had the indwelling Holy Spirit enlighten their studies, because they have never accepted Jesus as their Personal Savior.
How could a Professor expound on a Bible concept like Faith if they have never experienced victory in a seemingly hopeless situation as a believer? Make no mistake; God’s Word will still “never return void”, at least not in the Student’s case, and God may even chose to show even non-believers a truth or two. But often the Student of a non-believing Professor learns as much from the Scripture itself and the Professor’s obvious ignorance on the subject, as he does from the misinformation the Professor spits out, and after all the believing student has the indwelling guidance of the Holy Spirit.
One of the reasons we have hundreds of differing denominations instead of one unified Church is the tares, (false teachers, non-believing Seminary Professors, and so called Bible Scholars who never accepted Christ), pumping out misinformation. Tares are planted in strategic places of authority by Satan and his demons, and Satan’s oldest trick after all is; Yea? hath God Said? (Questioning and misquoting/misinterpreting the Bible).
So keep your chin up Believers. Pray for the Holy Spirit to enlighten your Bible studies. Your Spiritual eyes and ears will be opened. Compare what your Pastor teaches with the Scriptures. A good Pastor will tell you so and not let his ego get in the way. And next time you hear unsound doctrine, don’t doubt what you read in the Bible, and doubt instead the understanding and or Salvation of the one spouting it.
Take the shortest verse in the Bible. Jesus wept. Most Bible Scholars would scoff and say the two words explain all that is needed, all by themselves. That would be nonsense. First one has to answer the question “who is Jesus?” Just saying He is God or God’s son is far from sufficient. Maybe John Hagee, or say Billy or Franklin Graham, or perhaps the late Adrian Rogers could say it concisely in 15 or 20 words, but even as well as my own mind has a grasp on it, I doubt I could explain it in 20 paragraphs. John said it best:
“And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen.” John 21:25 (KJV)
Next one would have to answer, why would the all-powerful God, the Master and Creator of all universes, the omnipresent, the omnipotent Lord of all, sob and cry? Both questions are so complex a non-believer, even a non-believing Bible Scholar, would be totally incapable of a reasonably complete answer.
For example; what kind of a Military Scholar would a man or woman be who had never shot a weapon or been shot at; never sought cover in a bunker or foxhole? Would you seek out a Legal Scholar who had never been to court? Many, (far too many), of our Seminary Deans and Professors are unsaved, yes, as lost as a goose in the Sahara. They have never had the indwelling Holy Spirit enlighten their studies, because they have never accepted Jesus as their Personal Savior.
How could a Professor expound on a Bible concept like Faith if they have never experienced victory in a seemingly hopeless situation as a believer? Make no mistake; God’s Word will still “never return void”, at least not in the Student’s case, and God may even chose to show even non-believers a truth or two. But often the Student of a non-believing Professor learns as much from the Scripture itself and the Professor’s obvious ignorance on the subject, as he does from the misinformation the Professor spits out, and after all the believing student has the indwelling guidance of the Holy Spirit.
One of the reasons we have hundreds of differing denominations instead of one unified Church is the tares, (false teachers, non-believing Seminary Professors, and so called Bible Scholars who never accepted Christ), pumping out misinformation. Tares are planted in strategic places of authority by Satan and his demons, and Satan’s oldest trick after all is; Yea? hath God Said? (Questioning and misquoting/misinterpreting the Bible).
So keep your chin up Believers. Pray for the Holy Spirit to enlighten your Bible studies. Your Spiritual eyes and ears will be opened. Compare what your Pastor teaches with the Scriptures. A good Pastor will tell you so and not let his ego get in the way. And next time you hear unsound doctrine, don’t doubt what you read in the Bible, and doubt instead the understanding and or Salvation of the one spouting it.
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