Not Ashamed

The courageous man is one who goes into battle knowing he will take a beating, but is committed to getting up one more time than he gets knocked down.

I want to be courageous.

This article from the Washington Post is so relevant to understanding what the educational machine is doing to the minds and lives of our children! Read it!  www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/post/when-an-adult-took-standardized-tests-forced-on-kids/2011/12/05/gIQApTDuUO_blog.html?

Who encourages you on your spiritual journey? Who comes along beside you and makes the way not only more bearable, but more enjoyable? The Lord finally has me at the point where even the difficulties have become a time of joy. Joy comes in His presence, and it is in the time of difficulty that I have experienced that joy to a measure I never expected when I set out on the journey. His presence becomes at those points more tangible when I realize his provision, direction, comfort, and grace.

Sometimes that joy comes in the presence of my fellow travelers, sometimes listening to their stories of deliverance on the journey, sometimes listening to them pour out their hearts in praise.

These guys encourage me in my journey.

EnJOY!

No, this is not someone’s birthday celebration. It is something’s birth celebration.

I mentioned in a recent message that I am currently in a study to debunk the myth that the accounts of the resurrection to the ascension found in the Gospels, Acts 1:3-8, and 1Cor 15:3-8 cannot be reconciled. I say currently because I initiated the study about three weeks ago, but I have to put it on low heat while I am fulfilling prior commitments.

This is without doubt the most thrilling study of Scripture I have ever undertaken, and perhaps the most important I ever have or will work on. This is bedrock for the Christian faith.

So far I have considered sixteen issues I have found firm or potential resolution for so far in the harmonizing of the resurrection to ascension texts. I use the word error in this list a lot, not to signify error in the text, but error on the part of those who use these issues as reason to doubt the reliability of the accounts. Some were suggested to me by freethinkers, others I picked up on my own. Here is the list for now, which I am sure will grow as the study progresses with a brief mention of why each issue seems “irreconcilable” to those unskilled in understanding the Word of God:

1. Mary did or didn’t touch Jesus after the resurrection problem. Greek translation error.
2. The chronological witness appearance list problem between the Gospels and 1 Corinthians 15. Genre observation error.
3. The ascension location problem. Location detail observation error.
4. The event order problem within Matthew. Greek grammar/syntax error.
5. General sequencing problem between the Gospels. Greek translation error (above).
6. Information compression problem in Luke. Stylistic rendering error.
7. The Eleven/Twelve problem referring to the disciples. Point of View error.
8. Missing/additional information problem between Gospels. Misunderstanding author purpose error.
9. Additional name problem regarding who was with the women. False assumption errors.
10. Additional spice problem with the women. Misunderstanding of action and purpose error.
11. The women did or didn’t tell others problem. Cultural context error.
12. Turned and met, or ran and met Jesus problem. Spatial precision ambiguity error.
13. Saw men or saw angels in the tomb problem. Visual manifestation concept error.
14. One angel or two angels spoke problem. Excluded middle error.
15. First visual manifestation witness problem. Mistaken identity error.
16. Roman soldiers fleeing problem. Misunderstanding of delegated authority error.

The main problem for me right now is not coming up with viable solutions, but getting everything written down in a formal format presenting each response. My experience so far is that if you do not have every i dotted, and every t crossed you will hear about it in no uncertain terms from those who mock the reliability of scripture.

On the front burner now is getting a formal presentation of the Greek structure of 1 Corinthians 15:3-8 for review by a college Greek professor. This will take a major time investment that I only have snippets to give to right now until after the first of the year.

As I have each solution ready my plan is to turn each of the above into a hyperlink so people can just click on it to see the explanation.

If you find yourself in the valley of gloom and despair click on my Daily Blog button above.