Convention Season: In Which We Learn to Be Biblical (or How Not to Be a Moralistic Therapeutic Theist)

How We (Mis)Read the Bible: Being Biblical As We Try To Be Biblical - John Stonestreet

Another speaker I heard last year was John Stonestreet, who is President of the (Chuck) Colson Center for Christian Worldview. I remembered him as a dynamic speaker and wanted to hear him again, especially in light of this topic. Lately, I seem to be surrounded by people who say God told them to do something but the thing doesn't seem to me to be very Biblical. So, what does Mr. Stonestreet have to say?

The first thing he told us is that he has the "spiritual gift of sarcasm." That should set the tone for you right away. This seminar is not for the easily offended. I will do my best to share his ideas from my notes, but I am sure I missed some important thoughts. He also recommended a lot of resources which I will share in a list at the end of this post.

1 - God exists (as opposed to the Naturalistic worldview)

2 - God is personal (as opposed to the Eastern or New Age worldviews)

3 - God has spoken (as opposed to the Post-modernistic worldview)

Are we being shaped by the Bible?

Teens today do value religion, but they mostly identify with a moralistic therapeutic theism which they have learned from their churches and/or parents.

Moralistic: God wants us to be good people.

Therapeutic: God wants us to feel good and be happy.

Theism: God is "there for them" but requires nothing of them.

On the screen, John projected many images of the different views of Jesus that our culture holds.

• Buddy Jesus - Jesus is here to bless YOU. Consumer Christianity: I shop, therefore I am. (for Christian items)
• Social Justice Jesus - This Jesus is all about alleviating poverty and has the attitude that "all poverty is financial."
• Cool Jesus - Biker/hipster/etc.
• Oprah Jesus - One way among many
• Political Jesus - Salvation comes through a political party.

Jewish Rabbi Abraham Heschel – “It seems puzzling to me how greatly attached to the Bible you seem to be and how much like pagans you handle it."

Ways We MisHandle The Bible

Mistake #1 - We don't really read it. We own more Bibles than ever, but most are not read.

Mistake #2 - Read it without recognizing context. 

Don't take verses like Jeremiah 29:11 or Isaiah 55:8 out of context.

Bible verses are not fortune cookies.

Never read *a* Bible verse again. (Except for Proverbs)

For instance, the context of Matthew is Deuteronomy. 

Cross-references are helpful for understanding context.

Read larger sections of the Bible, but don't take those out of context either, such as 1 Corinthians 13.

Don't take the Moral McNugget approach (credit to Philip Yancey) which divorces the meaning from the larger context. He said we squeeze it and squeeze it until out pops a 'moral McNugget'.

Don't treat Bible stories like Aesops's Fables or children will equate them in importance.  He used the example of Max Lucado's Facing Your Giants as a way of taking a Bible story out of context. It's not true that just focusing on God means you will beat your giants.

Mistake #3 - Read Selectively.

We often read about Noah and the Ark but leave out the Noah Drunk in Tent story.

Can you read any novel that way? How about Les Miserables?

Mistake #4 - The "Magic" Use

The Bible Code. Don't look for hidden stuff until you've got the obvious stuff down pat.

Prayer of Jabez

Mistake #5 - Personalization

Every Bible promise is NOT ours.

The Bible is not an "answer book" like an encyclopedia.

The Bible (and Jesus) isn't necessarily interested in answering my questions.

Which world do we actually live in and what's its story?

God chooses to give us the gospel in a story. The entirety of Genesis to Revelation is the gospel. 

On The Handling of Scripture

1 - All but ignore chapter and verse. Better to read 45 minutes once a week than 5 minutes daily. (Except Psalms, Proverbs)

2 - Hold the story together as much as possible.

3 - Read it as written. Ask the questions.

4 - The story culminates in Christ Jesus.

5 - Avoid forced moralisms and therapy.

6 - It's not a book of heroes.

7 - This is our world, from Heavens to Earth to New Heavens and New Earth.

Genesis 1-11 show the brokenness.

Revelation 7-21 show everything returned and restored.

8 - Think "Re". Redemption and created intent.

Despair is a sin because Christ has risen.

RESOURCES MENTIONED

Soul Searching by Christian Smith

Eat This Book by Eugene Peterson

Big Picture Story Bible by Crossway (tells one single story - best children's Bible he knows)

The Jesus Storybook Bible

Biblica - "The Books of the Bible" (reordered, takes out chapter/verse/columns, reads like a book)

Bible Mesh online

Restoring All Things by John Stonestreet

He Has Spoken by John Stonestreet and T.M. Moore (DVD)

For further reading:
Beware Bible McNuggets: WHEN READING THE BIBLE CAN BE SPIRITUALLY UNHEALTHY
HOW TO (MIS)READ THE BIBLE (this appears to be notes on the same talk I heard)

Convention Season: In Which I Practice Discernment (or which seminar was the stinker)

Immediately after the successful first seminar on teaching the reluctant writer, I headed over to a seminar that was supposed to help both children and adult writers get published. My goal here was to find some information on writing that would help me personally. The three speakers were all published authors of Christian fiction. Since I was unhappy with the seminar in general, I am leaving off the names of the speakers and the title of the seminar.

Let me first say that, after this seminar, I searched out the booth and looked at the books of these authors and they seem like perfectly fine Christian literature. My problem with the seminar was not with their books or their methods specifically.

Making me uncomfortable was the definition given in this seminar of "good literature". Here is the list of items that characterize "good literature" according to the speaker.

-Spiritual content (meaning it is supposed to turn the person toward Jesus)

-The message (same thing, I suppose)

-Interesting

-Sparking good conversations

-Well-constructed plot

-Good character development (and this may not be what you are thinking it is)

- Proper grammar & punctuation

-Quality literary style

-Moral tone of Philippians 4:8 

-Incorporates a Christian worldview

-Stimulates thought

-Positive lessons

-True to the period

-Does it glorify sin or show its horrible consequences?

-Does it promote worldliness or godly character?

While I have nothing against stories that promote godly character or incorporate a Christian worldview, I do take offense to the idea that *all* "good literature" does so. I think that a discerning Christian reader can learn from many stories that fall outside of the Philippians 4:8 filter. In fact, that verse does not limit us to only things that are pure, noble, right, etc...; it merely instructs us to think about those things. If we were honestly to *only* think of those things, then why are stories such as Judges 19:22-29 or Judges 11:30-39 in the Bible?

The rest of this seminar was intended to encourage writers in their craft and help them get published. However it was quite general in tone and not very practical. Here are the remainder of the tips:

• Good readers make good writers. 
• Set the example. 
• Read as a family.
• Discover students' interests.
• Teach students to critique (other people's writing).
• Enter a contest.
• Generate creative ideas.
• Read in your genre. See what works, what doesn't work.
• Carve out space and time to write. Decide to write. No excuses. Take your laptop wherever you go.
• Continue your education. 
• Join a writer's group of like-minded writers. (With a warning to avoid writers who go against the "good lit" criteria above)
• Write for publication, such as a blog, letters to the editor, travel articles, Sunday School take-homes (suggested for teens to do this specifically).
• Check the Sally Stewart Christian Market.
• Prepare your manuscript. 
• Use beta readers (term was not explained). 
• Send to a paid editor. 
• Find an agent/publisher. Do your homework first.

So, there you have it - how to get published in the Christian fiction market.

Senior Year Worldview Study

Thinking of sending my oldest child out into the world caused me to do some power-thinking about his state of preparedness. I wanted David to think about his beliefs and the reasons he holds them. I wanted (and still want) him to "own" his beliefs and not just parrot them, so that when they are questioned (and I know they will be), he can defend them stalwartly. I also wanted him to be prepared in social skills and some other areas of his life.

Toward these goals, I chose the following books for him to read during his senior year, in addition to his academic reading.

1 - Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis
I read this book for the first time in my senior year of college and it really resonated with me. I've always been a fan of C.S. Lewis's Narnia books, but reading this made me realize how practical and sincere his faith in God was. I wondered if the book would be appropriate for a 17-year-old, since I had been several years older when I read it. However, David had no trouble with the book and found it insightful and relevant. I had him write a response paper to the book and he said the book is "nearly impossible to put down" and recommended it highly to everyone. I am really glad I had David read this in his senior year and I will plan to have the other kids read it as well.

Reading Guide HERE


2 - Slumber of Christianity by Ted Dekker

David enjoyed the Black, Red, White series of fiction books written by Ted Dekker and I thought that this non-fiction book by the same author might motivate him to a more passionate faith in God. This is a short book and I did find it personally inspiring. The main point is that most Christians have fallen into a boring slumber and we need to reawaken our passion and joy in Christ. David described this book as a "wake-up call" but said the next book he read (#3 on this list) was one he enjoyed more.

3 - Pagan Christianity?: Exploring the Roots of Our Church Practices by Frank Viola and George Barna

History always interests me and this book gives the historical reasons for many of the practices in the current church. Why do priests and some pastors wear special clerical garb? Why do we sit in pews? Why do churches have steeples? Why is the order of service so unvaried? These questions and many more like them are discussed historically and objectively to make us understand that church practices are not necessarily based in Biblical instruction. What's more, some of these widespread traditions harm the church rather than help it. 

I wanted David to understand the reasons behind some of the things we see in church and to look past them to the heart of God. What I didn't consider is that our family's lack of a firm foundation in a local church also affected him as he read this book. (We had left a church in rather a slow unorganized way - just slowly stopping our attendance and not really replacing it with another where we felt at home. Long story, but the main idea here is that David did not feel a connection to a local church body.)

So, even though he devoured this important information and really enjoyed the book, I am not sure it had the effect I was hoping for. He ended up feeling more disillusioned than motivated, I think. Since understanding the roots of church traditions is really important in my mind, I am still glad he read it and I hope that he can use what he learned to strengthen his faith and still maintain connections to local believers.

4 - A Praying Life: Connecting With God In A Distracting World by Paul Miller 
This is by far the best book on prayer I have ever read. I wanted David to read it to understand the insights about prayer that I learned from reading it. I could write tons about this book, but you would be better served to go buy it right now and start reading it. I am currently re-reading it again - my 3rd time through. I cannot recommend this book highly enough.

I had David also do the study guide which you can find HERE. 

5 - How to Make People Like You in 90 Seconds or Less by Nicolas Boothman
This is not a Christian book and I didn't assign it for worldview purposes. However, David is interested in psychology and I thought he would find it interesting from that perspective. Also, he will be meeting many new people and I wanted to give him some strategies for conversation and social situations.

I think this information is important, but I only chose this particular book because I found it used somewhere.  I did read the book beforehand and found it easy-to-read and practical. I will do some research before assigning a book of this type to Emily, but all-in-all, I did find it met our purposes.

6 - Every Young Man's Struggle by Stephen Arterburn
This book is actually going to be a summer study for my husband and my two sons. David has read it before when he was about 13, the age my younger son is now. This book is a frank look at the sexual struggles that young men will face in today's culture. I wanted my husband to do this study with the boys because he obviously has more experience in this area than I do.

 7 - The Bible
I required David to read through the entire Bible during his senior year. I will ask all my children to do the same.  I know we've read the entire Bible during our Bible study time in school throughout his K-12 years, but I wanted him to have the experience of reading it independently and in a fairly short time span. He used both a print version and an audio version of the Bible, both in NIV (New International Version).

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Was this everything I wanted my son to read before he graduated? Well, certainly not! However, he'd probably have been reading from sunrise to sunset if I had assigned everything I thought was important. Just typing out this information on these 7 books I thought of many more things I wish I had been able to stuff into his head in the last year of lessons.

However, I will lay all those thoughts at the feet of Christ and let Him take charge of David's worldview. My prayers will be fervent and frequent and I will take any available opportunity for discussion. But my 13 years of planning lessons for David are over.