Pastor E

A Christian Koan?

In my way of thinking A Christian Koan (kōan) is a 'riddle' which defies human logic, but not the divine.

[Japanese kōan : kō, public (from Middle Chinese kəwŋ) + an, matter.]

Mark 10:27 ¶ But Jesus looked at them and said, “With men it is impossible, but not with God; for with God all things are possible.”

Mark 4:11 And He said to them, “To you it has been given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God; but to those who are outside, all things come in parables,
Mark 4:12 so that
“Seeing they may see and not perceive,
And hearing they may hear and not understand;
Lest they should turn,
And their sins be forgiven them.’ ”

Mark 4:13 ¶ And He said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables?

In Buddhism a KOAN is a puzzling, often paradoxical statement or story, used as an aid to meditation and a means of gaining spiritual awakening. (1)

A well-known koan is: “What is the sound of one hand clapping?”

I am not a Buddhist and not suggesting it for you, however meditation is a Christian practice.

Try sitting in a quite place and meditate on this passage:

Luke 18:18 Now a certain ruler asked Him, saying, “Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”
Luke 18:19 ¶ So Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God.

Let me know how it goes!

"E"

"To posit or to think of God at all we must be thinking of something that necessarily exists: ...
Anselm's argument is not primarily a philosophical exercise, but a trick (a 'Christian koan' like the koans of the Zen masters) to make us think of God. He is not – or at least not consistently – concerned with the process of thinking about thinking about God, but rather about the process of thinking about God.

The Five Ways (by St Thomas Aquinas): God as the bedrock of reality

Each of the 'ways' is like a signpost:

1. From observed motion/change: God as the Prime Mover

2. From the need of causation: God as the First Cause

3. From the contingency of things: God as the one Necessary Reality

4. From observed degrees of perfection: God as the Most Perfect

5. From apparent purposefulness and design: God as the Final Cause and End

According to Aquinas, the First Being or Principle differs from all else by the fact that its nature is simply 'to be' (esse). The nature of anything else is to be something in particular. In other words, the existence of each created thing is limited to this or that particular set of (positive) attributes or qualities that reflect some aspect of the divine infinity. From the infinite 'fulness' of Being (esse) derive the Divine Attributes or 'Names' such as Unity, Simplicity, Perfection, Goodness, Beauty, Wisdom, Eternity... "(2)

(1) Dictionary definition of koan
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2004, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. More from Dictionary

(2) Summa Theologica
Thomas Aquinas, Saint (1225?-1274), Rights:Public DomainLC Call no:BX1749 .T5

"What is the gospel of Judas?"

Question:  "What is the gospel of Judas?"
 
Answer:  Sometime in the 1970’s, in a cave in Egypt, a copy of the “gospel of Judas” was discovered. The circumstances of the discovery have been described as shady, with those who possessed the copy asking for exorbitant amounts of money for the codex. For decades, no institution was willing to pay for the purchase due to its dubious origins. Eventually the codex of the gospel of Judas was purchased by a foundation in Switzerland. The existence of the gospel of Judas codex was made public in 2004, but the actual release of the content of the codex has been repeatedly delayed, with the now expected release date of April, 2006. The dating of the gospel of Judas codex is likely the 5th century A.D. Up to one-third of the codex is missing or illegible.
 
Prior to this discovery, the only reference to the gospel of Judas was in the writings of a 2nd century Christian named Irenaeus. Irenaeus essentially wrote that the gospel of Judas was the “invented history” of a long line of heretics and rebels against God. The essential message of the gospel of Judas is that Jesus wanted Judas to betray Him because it was necessary to fulfill Jesus’ plan. If it was Jesus' plan for Judas to betray Him, why would Jesus label Judas the "son of perdition" (John 17:12), and state that it would have been better if Judas had never been born (Matthew 26:24). If Judas was simply following Jesus' instructions, why would he commit suicide once he saw that Jesus was condemned (Matthew 27:5)?
 
The gospel of Judas is a Gnostic gospel, espousing a Gnostic viewpoint of Christianity. The gospel of Judas is simply a heretical forgery, much the same as the gospel of Thomas, the gospel of Mary, and the gospel of Philip. Just as Judas Iscariot rejected Jesus and betrayed Him with a kiss, the gospel of Judas rejects ! the true Gospel and truth of God with a fraudulent appearance of validity.
Recommended Resource:  The Canon of Scripture by F.F. Bruce.

used by permission: © Copyright 2002-2006 Got Questions Ministries. All Rights Reserved.

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"What does the Bible mean that we are not to judge others?"

"What does the Bible mean that we are not to judge others?"
 
Answer:  It seems that whenever one person confronts another person over an issue, the statement "Do not judge!" comes up. Christians are often accused of "judging" in contradiction to what the Bible says whenever they speak out against a sinful activity. However, that is not the meaning of the Scripture verses which state, "Do not judge." When Jesus told us not to judge (Matthew 7:1), He was telling us not to judge hypocritically. Matthew 7:2-5 declares, "For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, Let me take the speck out of your eye when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye."
 
In Matthew 7:2-5, Jesus warns against judging someone else for their sin when you yourself are sinning even worse. That is the kind of judging Jesus commanded us not to do. If a believer sees another believer sinning, it is their Christian duty to lovingly and respectfully confront the person with their sin (Matthew 18:15-17). This is not judging, but rather pointing out the truth in hope of bringing repentance in the other person (James 5:20). We are to speak the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15). We are to proclaim what God's Word says about sin. 2 Timothy 4:2 instructs us, "Preach the Word ; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage — with great patience and careful instruction." We are to "judge" sin, but always with the goal of presenting the solution for sin and its consequences - the Lord Jesus Christ (John 14:6).
Recommended Resource:  Hard Sayings of the Bible by Kaiser, Davids, & Brauch.

© Copyright 2002-2005 Got Questions Ministries. All Rights Reserved.

Are they really teaching the Truth?

"How can I recognize a false teacher?"

 

Answer:  Your question is an important one.  Jesus warned us that “false Christs and false prophets” will come and will attempt to deceive even God’s elect (Matthew 25:24-25; see also 2 Peter 3:3 and Jude 17-18). 

To best guard yourself against falsehood, know the truth.  To spot a counterfeit, study the real thing.  Any believer who, “rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15), makes a careful study of the Bible can identify false doctrine.  For example, a believer who has read the activities of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in Matthew 3:16-17 will immediately question any doctrine that denies the Trinity.  Therefore, “step one” is to study the Bible and judge all teaching by what the scripture says.

Jesus said “a tree is known by his fruit” (Matthew 12:33).  When looking for “fruit,” here are three specific tests to apply to any teacher to determine the accuracy of his or her teaching:

1) What does this teacher say about Jesus?  In Matthew 16:15, Jesus asks, “Whom say ye that I am?” Peter answers, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God,” and for this answer Peter is called “blessed.”  In 2 John 9, we read, “Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God.  He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son.”  In other words, Jesus Christ and His work of redemption is of utmost importance; beware anyone who denies that Jesus is equal with God, who downplays Jesus’ substitutionary death, or who rejects Jesus’ humanity.  First John 2:22 says, “Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ?  He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son.”

2) Does this teacher preach the gospel?  see more below...

The gospel is defined as the good news concerning Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection, according to the scriptures (1 Corinthians 15:1-4).  As nice as they sound, the statements “God loves you,” “God wants us to feed the hungry,” and “God wants you to be wealthy” are NOT the complete message of the gospel.  As Paul warns in Galatians 1:7, “There be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ.”  No one, not even a great preacher, has the right to change the message that God gave us.  “If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed” (Galatians 1:9).

3) Does this teacher exhibit character qualities that glorify the Lord?  Speaking of false teachers, Jude 11 says, “They have gone in the way of Cain, and ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward, and perished in the gainsaying of Core.”  In other words, a false teacher can be known by his pride (Cain’s rejection of God’s plan), greed (Balaam’s prophesying for money), and rebellion (Korah’s promotion of himself over Moses).

For further study, review those books of the Bible that were written specifically to combat false teaching within the church: Galatians, 2 Peter, 2 John, and Jude.

Recommended Resource:  Basic Theology by Charles Ryrie.

By permission:
© Copyright 2003-2004 Got Questions Ministries.  All Rights Reserved.

How can I know if something is a sin?

I often get asked this question. I think you will find a good answer to this below!

Pastor-E

Question:  How can I know if something is a sin?

Answer:  There are numerous issues that are not specifically mentioned in the Bible.  When the Bible does not cover a certain subject, we have some general principles in His Word to guide us.  (1) When there is no specific Scriptural reference, it is good to ask, not whether a certain thing is wrong, but rather if it is definitely good.  The Bible says, for example, to "redeem the time" (Col. 4:5).  Our few days here on earth are so short and precious, in relation to eternity, that we ought never to waste time on selfish things, but to use it only on that "which is good, to the use of edifying" (Eph. 4:29).

(2) A good test is to determine whether we can honestly, in good conscience, ask God to bless and use the particular activity for His own good purposes.  "Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God" (I Cor. 10:31).  If there is room for doubt as to whether it pleases God, then it is best to give it up.  "For whatsoever is not of faith is sin" (Rom. 14:23).  (3) We need to remember that our bodies, as well as our souls, have been redeemed and belong to God.  "What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price; therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's" (I Cor. 6:19,20).  This great truth should have a real bearing on what we do and where we go with our bodies.

(4) We must evaluate our actions not only in relation to God but also in relation to their effect on our family, our friends, and other people in general.  Even if a particular thing may not hurt us personally, if it harmfully influences or affects someone else, it is wrong.  "It is good neither to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor anything whereby thy brother stumbleth, or is offended, or is made weak...  We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves" (Rom. 14:21; 15:1).  (5)  Remember, finally, that Jesus Christ is our Lord and Savior, and nothing else can be allowed to take priority over our conformity to His will.  No habit or recreation, or ambition can be allowed to have an undue control over our lives -- only Christ has that authority.  "All things are lawful for me, but I will not be  brought under the power of any" (I Cor. 6:12).  "Whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus" (Col. 3:17).

Recommended Resource:  Right from Wrong by Josh McDowell.

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