With the recent visit of Pope Francis the spotlight has been on the Catholic Church. Do Protestants and Catholics basically agree on things? Actually they have different views of Scripture and its interpretation.
Roman Catholics and Protestants disagree on the matter of interpreting the Bible. Catholics believe only the Pope and bishops provide the correct and authoritative interpretation of Scripture. Protestants believe individual believers may come to the correct interpretation of the Bible themselves with study and the leading of the Holy Spirit. For a long time the Roman Catholic Church would not allow the Bible to be translated into the language of the people. In effect the Roman Catholic Church kept the Bible out of the hands of the people.
The Roman Catholic Church believes written Scripture, church tradition, and the Pope and bishops are all authoritative. They believe the Catholic Church is the ultimate authority and the Bible gets it's authority from it. During the Reformation of the 1500's Protestants proclaimed sola Scriptura which means Scripture alone. Protestants view Scripture as the ultimate authority and not the Pope or church tradition. They believe that the church gets it's authority from the Scripture. Protestants believe the Bible is clear and sufficient as well.
The Catholic Bible has seven more books or parts of books included in it's Old Testament. These books are known as the Apocrypha and were included in the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Old Testament done around 200 B.C. The Apocrypha was not part of the original Hebrew Bible. The early church did not recognize it as part of Scripture and believed that it had errors in it.
When Jerome translated the Bible into Latin in A.D. 382 he included the Apocrypha after initially intending to leave it out. Jerome's translation known as the Latin Vulgate became the Bible of the church up until the time of the Reformation in the 1500's. Martin Luther and the other Reformers rejected the Apocrypha and returned to the original Hebrew Bible.
Catholics believe the Roman Catholic Church is the ultimate authority and that Scripture as interpreted by the Pope and bishops is authoritative. They also believe that the Pope is infallible in matters of faith and morals. Protestants believe that Scripture alone is authoritative and that the Pope and bishops are not. They believe that the Bible is inerrant and infallible because it is the Word of God.
Monday, September 28, 2015
Monday, September 21, 2015
Republican Presidential Candidate Rankings
MARS HILL EXAMINER
Candidate Rankings
1. Ted Cruz
2. Marco Rubio
3. Ben Carson
4. Rand Paul
5. Carly Fiorina
6. Bobby Jindal
7. Rick Santorum
8. Mike Huckabee
9. Jeb Bush
10. Chris Christie
11. John Kasich
12. Lindsey Graham
13. George Pataki
14. Donald Trump
Candidate Rankings
1. Ted Cruz
2. Marco Rubio
3. Ben Carson
4. Rand Paul
5. Carly Fiorina
6. Bobby Jindal
7. Rick Santorum
8. Mike Huckabee
9. Jeb Bush
10. Chris Christie
11. John Kasich
12. Lindsey Graham
13. George Pataki
14. Donald Trump
Ben Carson Says Muslim Should Not Be President
Dr. Ben Carson has stirred up much controversy with his comment saying Muslims should not be President of the United States. So is Ben Carson a bigot or a truth teller?
First of all Carson should have said things in a different way. It should be pointed out that all Muslims are not terrorists and the U.S. Constitution requires no religious test.
But if Dr. Carson simply meant that Sharia Law is not compatible with the U.S. Constitution then he is exactly right. Islam is not a wonderful, peaceful religion as politically correct forces would have us believe. The teaching of the Koran is very problematic. So Ben Carson was generally right in his point but he should have said it in a different way.
First of all Carson should have said things in a different way. It should be pointed out that all Muslims are not terrorists and the U.S. Constitution requires no religious test.
But if Dr. Carson simply meant that Sharia Law is not compatible with the U.S. Constitution then he is exactly right. Islam is not a wonderful, peaceful religion as politically correct forces would have us believe. The teaching of the Koran is very problematic. So Ben Carson was generally right in his point but he should have said it in a different way.
Scott Walker Drops Out Of Presidential Race
Governor Scott Walker has decided to drop out of the Republican presidential race. This is somewhat sad because Walker was one of the best candidates in the field. He was never able to break through the crowded field and generate much needed excitement for his campaign. The media did not give him much attention instead we have been subjected to the endless foolishness of Donald Trump.
Monday, September 14, 2015
Evangelical, What Does It Mean?
The term evangelical seems to have lost its meaning in recent times. Evangelical is basically the same as the word gospel. So an evangelical Christian is a gospel Christian. Evangelicalism itself has it's roots in the Protestant Reformation of the 1500's. Martin Luther actually used the term evangelical instead of Lutheran.
During the Reformation the gospel was rediscovered. The Biblical gospel had become obscured by the Roman Catholic Church with it's faith plus works doctrine of salvation. Men like Martin Luther, Ulrich Zwingli, and John Calvin lead the way in the recovery of Biblical Christianity. The Reformers taught that salvation is by grace alone through faith alone because of Christ alone. Since it is all the work of God, it is to God alone be the glory. The Reformers also taught that Scripture alone is authoritative. The Bible is the ultimate authority and not the Pope or the Roman Catholic Church.
By the early 1900's the authority of Scripture was under attack by the secular culture and theological liberalism. The fundamental doctrines of the faith as well as the authority and inerrancy of Scripture were defended by early fundamentalists like B.B. Warfield, R.A. Torrey, and J. Gresham Machen. Unfortunately later fundamentalists became anti-intellectual and extremely separatist, retreating from the culture.
In the 1940's and 1950's modern evangelicalism arose led by figures such as Carl Henry and Billy Graham. The movement initially held to historic, orthodox Christianity believing in the inerrancy of Scripture. But division emerged in the movement as early as 1962 when Fuller Theological Seminary removed inerrancy from it's doctrinal statement.
Some within evangelicalism no longer hold to the inerrancy of Scripture and deny certain parts of it. Some modern evangelicals deny the existence of hell, believe in evolution, and some even embrace homosexuality. Also many have embraced feminism as can be seen in the popular 2011 NIV translation of the Bible with it's gender neutral language.
Evangelicalism has been infiltrated by liberalism no longer strongly identifying with historic, orthodox Christianity. Some no longer want to even use the term evangelical because it has been emptied of it's meaning. The term often needs to be qualified with other descriptive terms such as conservative evangelical or confessing evangelical. A recovery of Biblical Christianity is badly needed in the evangelical movement.
During the Reformation the gospel was rediscovered. The Biblical gospel had become obscured by the Roman Catholic Church with it's faith plus works doctrine of salvation. Men like Martin Luther, Ulrich Zwingli, and John Calvin lead the way in the recovery of Biblical Christianity. The Reformers taught that salvation is by grace alone through faith alone because of Christ alone. Since it is all the work of God, it is to God alone be the glory. The Reformers also taught that Scripture alone is authoritative. The Bible is the ultimate authority and not the Pope or the Roman Catholic Church.
By the early 1900's the authority of Scripture was under attack by the secular culture and theological liberalism. The fundamental doctrines of the faith as well as the authority and inerrancy of Scripture were defended by early fundamentalists like B.B. Warfield, R.A. Torrey, and J. Gresham Machen. Unfortunately later fundamentalists became anti-intellectual and extremely separatist, retreating from the culture.
In the 1940's and 1950's modern evangelicalism arose led by figures such as Carl Henry and Billy Graham. The movement initially held to historic, orthodox Christianity believing in the inerrancy of Scripture. But division emerged in the movement as early as 1962 when Fuller Theological Seminary removed inerrancy from it's doctrinal statement.
Some within evangelicalism no longer hold to the inerrancy of Scripture and deny certain parts of it. Some modern evangelicals deny the existence of hell, believe in evolution, and some even embrace homosexuality. Also many have embraced feminism as can be seen in the popular 2011 NIV translation of the Bible with it's gender neutral language.
Evangelicalism has been infiltrated by liberalism no longer strongly identifying with historic, orthodox Christianity. Some no longer want to even use the term evangelical because it has been emptied of it's meaning. The term often needs to be qualified with other descriptive terms such as conservative evangelical or confessing evangelical. A recovery of Biblical Christianity is badly needed in the evangelical movement.
Monday, September 7, 2015
The Religion Of Donald Trump
Donald Trump professes to be a Christian in the Presbyterian denomination. He says his favorite book is the Bible and he loves the church. In an interview Trump was asked if he had ever asked God for forgiveness. After trying to avoid the question he finally said I don't guess I ever have, I just try to do better. Trump was also asked about his favorite verse in the Bible. He could not come up with any verse. He was also asked if he preferred the Old or New Testament. Trump could not give an answer and finally said it was a private matter. Donald Trump also said he went to church regularly, you know every Easter and Christmas, and then added he went on the Sundays whenever he could. Trump finally added that Norman Vincent Peale was his pastor and expressed great love and admiration for him.
So, who was Norman Vincent Peale? Peale lived from (1898-1993), he was a liberal pastor who became famous for his book "The Power Of Positive Thinking" published in 1952. The focus of Peale's message was self help and self love. You could use positive thinking to achieve whatever you desired or to make yourself successful. The focus was the self instead of God.
Norman Vincent Peale preached a false gospel devoid of Biblical content. Conservative theologian, Donald Grey Barnhouse once said Paul is appealing, Peale is appalling. Those who have followed in the line of Peale include Robert Schuller and Joel Osteen. Robert Schuller focused on self esteem and once said who wants to talk about sin. Joel Osteen has combined positive thinking with the prosperity gospel. All three of these men teach what Michael Horton has called "Christless Christianity." It is what Martin Luther referred to as "the theology of glory" instead of "the theology of the cross." It is probably accurate to call Norman Vincent Peale the Joel Osteen of his day.
Donald Trump seems to have been influenced by the teaching of Peale. Trump seems to be a very arrogant and self centered man, the very opposite of Jesus and his teaching. It seems that Donald Trump does not know much about his favorite book. Considering his own words I cannot consider Trump a true Christian. He has never asked for forgiveness, this is a very basic thing. A person must face the reality of his sin, repent, and seek forgiveness which is found in Christ alone. Also I would suggest Matthew 23:12 as a favorite verse for Donald Trump.
(Matthew 23:12) "Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted." (ESV)
So, who was Norman Vincent Peale? Peale lived from (1898-1993), he was a liberal pastor who became famous for his book "The Power Of Positive Thinking" published in 1952. The focus of Peale's message was self help and self love. You could use positive thinking to achieve whatever you desired or to make yourself successful. The focus was the self instead of God.
Norman Vincent Peale preached a false gospel devoid of Biblical content. Conservative theologian, Donald Grey Barnhouse once said Paul is appealing, Peale is appalling. Those who have followed in the line of Peale include Robert Schuller and Joel Osteen. Robert Schuller focused on self esteem and once said who wants to talk about sin. Joel Osteen has combined positive thinking with the prosperity gospel. All three of these men teach what Michael Horton has called "Christless Christianity." It is what Martin Luther referred to as "the theology of glory" instead of "the theology of the cross." It is probably accurate to call Norman Vincent Peale the Joel Osteen of his day.
Donald Trump seems to have been influenced by the teaching of Peale. Trump seems to be a very arrogant and self centered man, the very opposite of Jesus and his teaching. It seems that Donald Trump does not know much about his favorite book. Considering his own words I cannot consider Trump a true Christian. He has never asked for forgiveness, this is a very basic thing. A person must face the reality of his sin, repent, and seek forgiveness which is found in Christ alone. Also I would suggest Matthew 23:12 as a favorite verse for Donald Trump.
(Matthew 23:12) "Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted." (ESV)
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