I had an interesting confrontation yesterday, while trying to find a parking spot at the Scarborough Town Centre mall for Boxing Day shopping with my Mom and sister (for the Americans amongst us, Boxing Day is December 26th, equivalent to Black Friday in terms of shopping deals). I was sitting there in my dad’s Ford Escape, waiting for a shopper to come out of The Bay’s entrance to their parked car to leave, so I can take their spot. One person on the right had their car door opened so I signaled right — but after he closed the door and walked toward the mall, it was obvious that he had just arrived.

So I sit there and wait patiently, car idling, instead of driving around aimlessly wasting gas, looking for a spot.

And then suddenly, a lady on my left walks up to her car, unlocks it and steps in, so I signal left and cheer on the inside at what gift has fell on my lap for my patience. As she backs out, I drive in. Read the rest of this entry »

As we celebrate the birth of Christ this Christmas, may these words be a reminder to us as to what acceptable worship to our God entails:

Thus, acceptable worship in Old Testament terms involves homage, service and reverence, demonstrated in the whole of life. A common factor in these three ways of describing Israel’s response to God is the assumption that he had acted towards them in revelation and redemption, to make it possible for them to engage with him acceptably. By contrast, the worship activities of the nations are considered to be offensive to God, because they are human inventions, arising from misconception about God and ignorance about what pleases him.

David Peterson, Engaging with God: A Biblical Theology of Worship. (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 1992), 73-74 emphasis mine.

“For unto us a child is born…”

Father we thank you for this Advent season…

…this time when even the secular seems to have touches of the Sacred.
As we rush to prepare for services celebrating the birth of your Son,
let us not forget to take time ourselves to consider the meaning of it all.

The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us.

Let that truth pierce our hearts this week… as though we just heard it for the first time.
Out of His great love for us, the Infinite God squeezed himself into our tiny little finite existence!
Fill us with wonder anew that it may drip out onto those around us…
…so that we won’t be just leading services this week, we’ll be experiencing them.

Bring those who need to hear the Good News of Great Joy.
Help us to proclaim it with love and grace.
Fill us all with the Peace that passes all understanding as we gather once more around the manger.
Just as the shepherds did so long ago…
…to bow in worship before the King of all Creation.

To Him be the Glory and Honor and Praise forever and ever.
Amen.

Glad tidings of great joy,
Alex S. Leung

Take note of the time at which each of the following Reformed pastor-theologians have accepted my Facebook Friend request:

Today:
Pastor Mark Driscoll has accepted your friend request. 2:19am (=11:19pm PST)

December 18:
Russell Moore has accepted your friend request. 7:04am

11:19pm on a Saturday night, right before preaching Sunday morning, Pastor Mark still makes the time to be my friend digitally YAY!

7:53 [[They went each to his own house, 8:1 but Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. 2 Early in the morning he came again to the temple. All the people came to him, and he sat down and taught them. 3 The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and placing her in the midst 4 they said to him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. 5 Now in the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?” 6 This they said to test him, that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. 7 And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.” 8 And once more he bent down and wrote on the ground. 9 But when they heard it, they went away one by one, beginning with the older ones, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. 10 Jesus stood up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” 11 She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.”]]

John 7:53-8:11

I was reminded recently (however inadvertently) by a seminarian friend that not every verse in your Bible is inspired. This may sound like heresy at first, but it should be considered an accurate assertion: there are verses and passages in your printed Bible that are not considered to be inspired. These textual variants, especially the major ones like the long ending of Mark (Mark 16:9-20) and the woman caught in adultery from John (above) are not found in the oldest manuscripts of the Greek New Testament. This may come as a shock to the regular layperson reading this post, but the fact of the matter is, most scholars today believe that these verses are not authentic, not part of the original text, and were later additions.*

So what does this mean for our faith in the Bible as the inspired Word of God?

Well, admittedly, these are major textual variants, and a major portion of Scripture. We could blame it on the tradition of the transmission of the Bible’s text for their inclusion in our Bibles, but thankfully no single Christian doctrine hinges on one particular text — for the Bible is nicely redundant as a whole in backing itself up of its claims! Just because the original text of the Bible does not have “go, and sin no more” does not mean that Scripture is lacking in references that show Jesus forgiving sin. If these verses are removed from our Bibles, Scripture still testifies to the underlying principle — that God forgives sinners. The issue is thus not whether the main principle of the passage is true, but rather, whether or not the passage is inspired.

It would be foolish for Bible readers to quickly skip over the warning that precedes such passages in your Bible — “The earliest manuscripts do not include John 7:53-8:11” — as well as the double square brackets that enclose such disputed variants. We must never breeze past such passages, and read them as if they are inspired — especially when it is a concluded by most commentators and textual critics that the verses are not original. (NT scholar Dan Wallace recently raised a question about how translators should best approach these passages.)

I was very tempted to put a big X through the above quote from John 8 in my ESV Bible. However, for the benefit of needing to reference it for future papers, I relegated my pen marks to the side margin. After learning about textual criticism (and the synoptic problem) in my New Testament class, I don’t think I’ll be preaching from John 7:53-8:11 ever. And for the preachers among us reading this, may we be reminded to never preach a text that is inauthentic. For the layperson, this may be all technical seminarian mumble-jumble, but I think it would be good to know and be a ware of what the major textual variants are, so you can hold us preachers accountable to preaching Words that are breathed out by God.

_____
* For more info on this textual variant, see the NET Bible’s notes on this passage. See also Dan Wallace’s recent articles “My Favorite Passage That’s Not in the Bible” and “Textual Variants: What Issues are at Stake“

On the first day of Theology my professor gave to me atonement on an old tree.

On the second day of Theology my professor gave to me two Testaments and atonement on an old tree.

On the third day of Theology my professor gave to me three divine persons, two Testaments, and atonement on an old tree.

On the fourth day of Theology my professor gave to me four Gospel books, three divine persons, two Testaments, and atonement on an old tree.

On the fifth day of Theology my professor gave to me five points of Calvinism! Four Gospel books, three divine persons, two Testaments, and atonement on an old tree.

On the sixth day of Theology my professor gave to me six days of creation, five points of Calvinism! Four Gospel books, three divine persons, two Testaments, and atonement on an old tree.

On the seventh day of Theology my professor gave to me seven churches in Asia, six days of creation, five points of Calvinism! Four Gospel books, three divine persons, two Testaments, and atonement on an old tree.

On the eighth day of Theology my professor gave to me eight persons on the ark, seven churches in Asia, six days of creation, five points of Calvinism! Four Gospel books, three divine persons, two Testaments, and atonement on an old tree.

On the ninth day of Theology my professor gave to me nine fruits of the Spirit, eight persons on the ark, seven churches in Asia, six days of creation, five points of Calvinism! Four Gospel books, three divine persons, two Testaments, and atonement on an old tree.

On the tenth day of Theology my professor gave to me ten Commandments, nine fruits of the Spirit, eight persons on the ark, seven churches in Asia, six days of creation, five points of Calvinism! Four Gospel books, three divine persons, two Testaments, and atonement on an old tree.

On the eleventh day of Theology my professor gave to me eleven apostles on Easter, ten Commandments, nine fruits of the Spirit, eight persons on the ark, seven churches in Asia, six days of creation, five points of Calvinism! Four Gospel books, three divine persons, two Testaments, and atonement on an old tree.

On the twelfth day of Theology my professor gave to me twelve tribes of Israel, eleven apostles on Easter, ten Commandments, nine fruits of the Spirit, eight persons on the ark, seven churches in Asia, six days of creation, five points of Calvinism! Four Gospel books, three divine persons, two Testaments, and atonement on an old tree.

(Source: Rob Bowman)

Whose glory do you make music for?