Some Collegians Know Just Enough History To Question The Bible

We’ve collected a number of great questions about Christianity and the Bible from our campus this week. One of the most disheartening questions are those that question the authority and historicity of scripture. Simply put, some college students know just enough Bible history to be dangerous. They may have read a Dan Brown novel, researched on Wikipedia, or watched a Bible documentary on the History Channel; unfortunately, these sources aren't infallible to say the least.  

One question we received wondered why a corrupt church determined which gospels were canonized. The idea that the lost gospels or gnostic texts emerged as orthodox is simply bad history.  Believing there were over eighty gospels is a gross embellishment. They assert only four were chosen for emperor Constantine’s power and political leverage.  What liberal scholars won’t tell you is the evidence that the four gospels were canonized by the end of the second century well before any of the lost gospels or gnostic texts were written. One of my professors in seminary wrote his dissertation on Ireneaus of Lyon’s famous 2^nd century writing called, “Against Heresies”.

My professor said, “Why did Ireneaus already believe the four gospels were canon by the 2^nd century rather than the lost gospels which most didn’t exist until well after Nicea? The implication is that those gospels were not written by their supposed author” 

Even if these lost gospels were credible, they are a far cry from the Jesus liberal historians like Ehrman are trying to recreate because Jesus is far too divine in the lost gospels.  The gnostic Gospel of Thomas says that Jesus is omnipresent. This gospel was the result of a gnostic heretical teaching called docetism. 

It seems clear to me given the amount of overwhelming evidence we have for Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, that these 4 were canonized and withstood the test of time for a divine reason. There's historical value in learning about the lost gospels, but there are more reasons than just dating why these weren't canonized.

We have over 5,700 greek manuscripts of the four gospels that exhibit miniscule textual variances. This is more evidence than all of antiquity combined. I am overwhelmingly confident with the authority and historicity of scripture they way we have preserved it today for these reasons and infinite more.

Questions Collegians Have About Christianity & The Bible

@astatebcm is kicking off a new series entitled "FAQ: Questions Collegians have about Christianity & The Bible" Over a week, our outreach team has surveyed our campus and compiled a list of the most popular questions in no particular order. These questions are important so we can understand the questions students are dealing with in regards to their faith or lack thereof.

How do we know the Bible is accurate?

What happens to babies and young children who die or those who commit suicide? Heaven or Hell?

How do we know which Bible translation to read from?

What does the Bible say about alcohol?

If Jesus were president, would he go to war?

Were there dinosaurs on the ark?

What does the Bible say about tattoos?

Why didn’t God just forgive us without the crucifixion of Jesus?

How do you confront someone living in open sin?

Is Gandhi in Hell?
What does the Bible say about interracial relationships?

Should Christians be judgmental?

Is Christianity the only way to heaven or can other religions get you there?

How do you get rid of doubts?

Why do people deserve heaven?
Why pray if God knows what's gonna happen? 

Does the Bible support free grace? 

What does the Bible say about cussing?

What does the Bible say about predestination?

Where does God’s wrath fit into his love?

It looks like I will have a very long night of study and prayer.

My Prayer?... To let the scriptures teach themselves... 2 Timothy 3:16

You Know You're Addicted to Social Media When...

         1.  You can’t go to the bathroom without your smart phone.

         2.     You’re constantly thinking about your next status update.

         3.     You find yourself secretly hoping for red lights to check for messages.

         4.     You know precisely how many friends and followers you have.

         5.     The battery bar depleting on your smart phone is directly related to your stress & anxiety level.

         6.     You would choose the Internet over radio, TV, and Newspaper combined.

         7.     Facebook and e-mail is seen as the New VCR of social media.

         8.     You will risk your life in order to get a good Twitpic.

         9.     You ask people their Facebook & Twitter name before you ask their real name and phone number.

        10. You were hesitant to read this post because you were scared you would find that you are addicted to social media.

And finally, you may be addicted to Social Media if you write a blog about being addicted to Social Media… I tend to be a twitter addict much more than Facebook or other social media.

T.D. Jakes on The Impact of Social Media During Whitney Houston's Funeral

@BishopJakes tweeted earlier today “Today the whole world went to church. Hope they return tomorrow. It really helps the heart” The church service he was referring to was Whitney Houston's funeral, but what Jakes said is happening online through social media outlets like twitter is unprecedented. 

Regarding Whitney’s Houston's funeral today, T.D. Jakes said,

"It’s a new day today, so many people are appreciative of the technology we have today that enables us to participate in ways we otherwise would not be able to. It’s wonderful that we can watch it on T.V., but to be able to chime in and let our voices be heard is how we do church. It’s not a monologue, it’s a dialogue.  It’s not just the preacher talking to us, but the congregation talking back… Other culture’s are becoming less formal and more participatory as we have a more relaxed and younger generation that wants to express themselves through twitter." 

These are strong words from one of today's most highly recognized evangelical leaders regarding the future of social media and how we "do church"

How can we continue to leverage social media to "do church?"

The Shortage of Male Representation in College Ministry

After a couple years of speculation, my thoughts were hauntingly true. I decided to quantitatively measure the guy/girl ratio in our large group college worship this past week; there were almost twice as many girls than guys. This is not only indicative in our large group meeting, but our small groups as well. What is going on with our Guys? Are we doing something wrong? This percentage was almost as close last year when our staff was essentially male dominant. 

I’ve heard fellow colleagues across the country echo these same results.

Let’s talk briefly about some factors in order to get to find some reasons and we’ll talk solutions another day. 

There is a marked difference in gendered spiritual development during the college years.

UCLA performed an interesting survey that concluded college women experience a greater spiritual component to their lives than men. It concluded that 37% of Women and 25% of men were highly committed to religion; twice as many men as women (20 vs 10%) were decidedly skeptical about religion.

Women typically focus on the personal connections with a loving God and a loving community, while men are more interested with God’s power, judgment, and theology.

Guys easily get side tracked during the span of a semester. The drop out rate with men in our ministry is typically much greater than women. This is due to the influence of academic forces, jobs, etc. Women typically find friends, philanthropic participation, and a sense of belonging in ministry much easier than men do.

Women also see ministries as a coping mechanism for stress in order to find meaning and hope for life and death. Freud would say women are drawn to ministry because it becomes the family they never had; put differently, God is the father they never had.

The gap of religious involvement among genders continues to widen.

We desperately need to start thinking of creative ways to reach out to college men in hopes to reaching an accurate proportion of the population around us.

Creativity: A Divine Inspiration

Genesis 1:1 “In the beginning God created…” The fifth word in the Bible is created.

God’s creation was the direct result of His "ex nihilo" creativity.  He birthed sound, lights, shapes, textures, all visual stimulation, movement, and colors. 

Jesus was potentially the most illustrative and creative teacher in history. He taught from boats, drew on sand, spoke in parables, etc... Simply put, he used creativity to clearly communicate truth in the most understandable way possible.

Consequently, creativity is not an option; it is both a responsibly to reflect the nature of God and an opportunity to connect to people who have not previously been connected to.

Historically, the church understood the value of creativity especially in the Eastern Christendom world through iconography, incense, and interactive liturgies. 

The result of the protestant revolution was a well-needed orthodoxy (Sola scriptura, Sola fide, sola gratia, Solus Christus, Soli Deo Gloria) but creativity was lost in the orthopraxy. 

How are we being stewards of God creativity in our worship environments? God used many forms of creativity for redemptive purposes. Why can't we? 

4 Ways The Internet Can Help College Ministers

             

       

             1.     Easy Networking

-     No longer do college ministers have to go to conferences to generate new ideas, have Q&A sessions, and meet new college ministers. Networking through Twitter, Facebook, blogs, and other social media make it easy to talk with anyone around the country in college ministry without the price tag of travel etc...

             

              2.     The Priesthood of All Experts

-     Because everyone is an expert on social media sites, ministries don’t look as homogenous as they once were. Put differently, we are all learning from each other instead of only those leading the big conferences. The variety of ideas generated by both large and small ministries, amateurs and experts, provide more resources that can better help you find your campus culture. 

              3.     Immediate Education

-     We don’t have to wait for the publishers and the printing press because valuable information can be provided instantaneously by the experts. Some rightly argue much of this information is pooled ignorance; wisdom and discernment is required.  

              4.     Gospel Exposure

-    Through search engines, people from around the globe can easily access Gospel-driven and Biblically centered information. Roughly 8-10% of my blog traffic is from countries who have little to no access to the Gospel. 

Vanderbilt: Do Student Organization's Have The Right to Self Govern?

Five Christian student organizations at Vanderbilt University are now in violation of the school non-discrimination policy because of their restrictive criteria for leadership positions. Should these organizations be forced to embrace school standard for selecting their leadership in the name of non-discrimination? Diversity, tolerance, and nondiscrimination are all biblical causes; however, Vanderbilt is essentially creating it’s own criteria for their student organizations to elect it’s leaders. This policy has serious ramifications for both religious and secular student organizations.

Making decisions to distinguish differences is something we do daily. Under Vanderbilt’s non-discriminatory policy, it appears that everyone who asks for a resume for the purpose of hiring is being discriminatory. Put differently, did Vandy football coach not discriminate on National Signing Day after selecting future Vanderbilt football players? Of course he was distinguishing athletic differences between potential signees. Under this policy, coach Frankin appears to be discriminating. Religious student organizations ought be open to all students on campus, but the integrity of its leadership should be protected by its own organizational standards.

Hosanna Tabor case: “A religious body’s right to self-governance must include the ability to select, and to be selective about, those who will serve…"

One Word That Stifles Our Lives

What lies to us and tells us the weight of life rests solely on our shoulders?

What causes us to make really bad decisions and question faith driven decisions?

What causes us to remain indifferent about an important issue when we should speak loudly?

What causes us to lose zeal about the passion that God has ignited in our souls?

What causes us to question our calling?



What causes us to live comfortably instead of radically? 

What causes us to harbor sin that will lead to imminent disaster?

What causes us to rest in our complacency rather than challenge the status quo?

What causes us to impose control over others rather than empowering others?

What causes us to minimize God and question His supremacy in our lives?

FEAR…

Fearing that God is NOT enough

We fear daily yet the Bible clearly commands, “do not fear”

Phillipians 4:6-7 says “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

3 Non-Negotiables For Small Group Involvement

This year, we had a higher percentage of students plugged into small group ministry; there are a variety of factors as to why, but what are some of the factors that we have control over when offering small groups? The primary key is to eliminate potential excuses for not being in a small group.

         1.     Offer a wide variety of small groups with different commitment levels

a.     We have one small group that meets for 45 minutes in the cafeteria during lunch; anyone can carve out time for a life lesson over lunch.

b.     We have another group that meets 4 days a week reading through the New Testament in 55 days.

c.      We couple many of our bible studies with other activities such as exercise, food, and other social events.

          2.     Offer a gender specific studies

a.     Interestingly, we have found this year that our collegians have shown high interest levels in Biblical manhood and womanhood studies. Ironically, students have overwhelmingly  preferred being in a gender specific group.

          3.     Funnel large group worship service attendees to small group studies through speaking, videos, small group panel Q&A, and sign up sheets.

a.     Discussing the importance of small groups and getting students to immediately sign up after large group worship created an easy step toward small group for students.