In Spirit and Truth

Moore Justice?

2011-11-06T17:49:00.000-08:00

Over the last several years, the world has gone through quite a dramatic turn of events. Rioting has replaced soccer as the sport of choice for many urban areas, the Middle East began playing musical guillotine with their heads of state (pardon the pun), and according to the occupy Wall St. protesters, Satan now runs most of our wealthy corporations and has been charged by the world's wealthiest with persecuting the have-nots. In the ensuing chaos we call Earth, groups claiming to be the majority, known as the 99%, have begun an occupation campaign. Wall Street, public parks, and the space in front of many ATMs has become occupation headquarters. They claim to be the persecuted majority. While no one would argue that the majority has been the center of persecution at the hands of former dictators like Hitler, Mao Zedong, and Pol Pot, should those pitching tents in city park, blocking our Citibanks, and demanding their student loans be forgiven be complaining? While no one would disagree that poverty does exist in America, when compared to the rest of the world, even those occupying our parks are doing reasonably well. Surveys suggest that most occupiers currently have employment and close to half earn more than $25k per year. In addition, a third of those surveyed claim to make more than $50k per year. Interestingly, Stearns in his book Hole in Our Gospel notes that if you make more than $50k per year, you belong in the top 1% of wage earners in the world.* It is even more startling if we compare the occupiers with those that live in less fortunate countries like Liberia and Burundi where over 80% live on less than $1.25 per day.** Rather than crying out for their piece of the pie, they should be fighting for those that can't feed themselves because they are being robbed of aid by rebels in places like Sudan. That's injustice! To top off the hypocrisy, how can they possibly allow Michael Moore, who lives in a $2 million mansion in MI, serve as their voice? Simple. The world is not interested in justice. The true cry of the protesters is power and wealth.

How should we react as Christians? Jesus repeatedly encouraged his followers to live radically different lives than the world. He taught that we should stop obsessing about wealth, which will rust and decay, and focus on the eternal. He knew that where our treasure is, our heart would be as well (Matt 6:19-21). We must remind ourselves that wealth comes from God, should be used for His glory, and will ultimately be left to someone else (Luke 12:13-21). Our God calls us to radical discipleship. While the world cries out for more, we should acknowledge that God is more gracious than we deserve. Rather than demand that the rich pay for our student loans, we should thank God that we live in a country where we worry about paying for our education instead of where our next meal will come from. Consider visiting an uplifting, heart-warming blog like A Little Accent—a blog devoted to our friends' quest to make a difference in an orphan's life. Now that's justice!

Orphan Sunday was November 6th.

—Michael Makidon
Missionary Appointee to Guatemala
—Please consider supporting us—
michael@makidon.org
www.makidon.org
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* Stearns, Hole in Our Gospel, 216.
** World Bank.

Grace in the Midst of Darkness

2011-10-30T12:00:00.000-07:00

Soaked in sweat, deprived of oxygen and food, and drenched in stench, I was ready to relax. I had just recently arrived in Ethiopia, and my body was not ready for full-court basketball. It was almost an exercise in futility at 8,000 ft. As we started home, I pictured two hot luxuries: a hot meal and a hot shower. Little did I know, I wouldn't experience either that night. After we turned off the highway, I noticed that the neighborhood looked suspiciously dark. It wasn't downtown Dallas, so I didn't expect bright street lights. Yet, I knew something was very wrong. As we turned into the gate of the house where we were staying, we discovered that the power was off. After stumbling around a dark and unfamiliar house to find a flashlight, we discovered more painful news—no electricity and no water! A shower wasn't in my immediate future. We later learned that these blackouts would become part of our weekly routine, several days a week for 24 hours straight.

One night several of us were home trying to makepeanut butter and jelly sandwiches by flashlight when two of our group memberscame home in an unusually pleasant mood. "Excited about PB&J, eh?" we asked. "No," they replied. They had made a discovery. After a shortwalk, we turned the corner and saw a restaurant, lit-up, full of life, and full of light. I was perplexed. Later I asked our group leader, "How is it that they had light when they were surrounded by so much darkness?" He later shared a little insight into theEthiopian power outages. The city is divided into zones. One zone might be completely dark while the next is lit up. The powers that be decide who gets light.

Likewise, Genesis contains places where there are glimmers of lightin the midst of chapters of darkness. The first six chapters chronicle man's rebellion. Adam and Eve rebel. Cain kills Abel. Fast forward through death after death where Moses describes the earth as full of wickedness (ch6). Angelsdecided to take the problem of death into their own hands and create a superior race. For good reason, God was grieved. His family had reached the pinnacle of depravity. Thus, God decided to destroy every living creature that He had made. Althoughthe next three chapters tell of God’s destruction and how darkness would reign,Moses includes one verse of grace in the midst of this dysfunctional family saga we call mankind, Gen6:8: “But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.” We find a whole lot of light in the midst of a whole lot of darkness. Gen 6:8 is a great verse in the midst of some really bad news. God's desire from the very beginning was to redeem His people. Luke 3 chronicles Jesus' lineage, including both Seth and Noah. From the very beginning, God knew that man would rebel but He used sinful men and women like you and me to bring a Savior to redeem His rebellious children.

We too live in a world of darkness. No matter what aspect ofthis world you look at, this world is a dark place. The Middle East isexploding, our economy and Europe arecrumbling, and no matter if you are Republican or Democrat, there is a generalconsensus that you can’t trust either side. Nonetheless, our hope is not in the governor’s office or the White House oron Capitol Hill. Our hope is in the King of Kings. When Adam and Eve sinned, God promised a Savior. After Cain killed Abel, He gave them Seth. When mankind's only inclination was wickedness, Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. How can there be light in the midst of so much darkness? One word, which in the Hebrew spells Noah backwards—grace.

—Michael Makidon
Missionary Appointee to Guatemala
—Please consider supporting us—michael@makidon.org
www.makidon.org

Sundae Sundae, So Good to Me?

2011-10-08T12:32:00.000-07:00

After spending 14 years in the restaurant business, I have witnessed my share of funny, heartbreaking, and truly stomach-turning events. If you have never worked in a restaurant, you may not know that the business has a unique culture. It's much like a good gumbo, a mixture of shrimp, okra, rice, and a delectable rue but includes an equal portion of pure dysfunction. One of the more vanilla stories has to do with the initiation of new employees. For the more fragile new hires, the head waiter would have the naïve newbie "empty" the water out of the coffee maker. After pouring out countless pitchers of water and realizing that the coffee maker could not possibly hold gallon upon gallon of H2O, he/she would realize that the coffee maker had a water line connected to the back of the machine. Everyone would get a good laugh. Nonetheless, another initiation existed that few had the opportunity to endure—the sundae. A typical sundae consists of sweet ice cream covered in sugary chocolate topped with a creamy mixture of sugar and whipping cream. Yet, this sundae wasn’t as itappeared. This particular infamous treat had the outward appearance of an ordinary yet delectable and tastytreat. First, they would get a scoop of lard from the back and then add whippedcream, chocolate, and a cherry. The new employee would take their first bite, which normally would include enough chocolate and whipped cream that he/she wouldn't notice the lard. As soon as they noticed that they were eating lard, their smile would turn to utter disgust. Itdoesn’t matter what you cover something in, eventually you’ll see what is inside. Often times our relationship with God appears to be fine on the outside but our heart is far from Him. On the outside we act like nothing is wrong, yet on the inside we know that it's all just for show.

The Israelites in the Book of Malachi struggled with this same problem. After returning from exile under the Babylonians, they found themselves once again in bondage under the Persians, another wicked nation. They expected blessing and instead were told to wait. Their bitterness led to halfhearted service. They attempted to look like they were being faithful—they offered sacrifices (1:8), cried out to God in repentance (2:13), and gave tithes (3:8-10). Yet, they tried to pull the bate and switch on God by sacrificing blind and lame animals, they divorced their wives and then cried out for blessing, and offered a small tithe. They were halfhearted in their worship of Yahweh. They merely went through the motions but expected blessings in return. As New Testament believers, we may experience persecution and have to wait on our reward (Heb 11), but God still expects true worshipers not halfhearted followers.

Have you noticed that your worship has become just a show for God and others? When we try to fool God, in the end, we merely fool ourselves into thinking that God can be duped. Just as God reminded Samuel when He rejected Saul and chose David as the new king of Israel, God looks at the heart not outward appearances (1 Sam 16:7).

—Michael Makidon
Missionary Appointee to Guatemala
—Please consider supporting us—michael@makidon.org
www.makidon.org

No Estacionar (No parking)

2011-09-17T12:29:00.000-07:00

"No parking"—This was nailed to a tree at the seminary in Guatemala, and I'm not quite sure why. Perhaps the trees are full of militant birds just waiting to terrorize cars from above.

Have you ever regretted parking in a particular spot? I'm not referring to when your husband passes the close, god-appointed parking space at Target and ends up in the back of the parking lot. Has where you parked ever caused you emotional pain? Parking my vehicle in the wrong spot has ruined my day on more than one occasion. I can remember five different occasions when my car was broken into while I attended Dallas Seminary. Once, my car was broken into while I was 15 feet away. Ironically, I was working on a paper about the Book of Hebrews, a book about persevering. Ok Lord, I learned my lesson. I promise! I also discovered that it helps to lock your car door. After the fifth time, my mother suggested that I remove the "Please steal my CD player" bumper sticker off, but I was convinced there was an organized crime syndicate in DFW with low jack on my car to keep track of my daily movements and CD player bu.

Just like parking your car in the wrong spot can cause emotional pain, staying in one spot spiritually for too long can also lead to spiritual problems. This morning our church met for our monthly men's breakfast at a friend's homeless ministry (Our Calling) downtown. Although we usually frequent a restaurant in Mesquite that serves up some truly inspired eggs and bacon, my church (Centerpoint Church) decided to venture downtown today. Java flowed, eggs were eaten, and fellowship occurred just like it always has, but today we had an opportunity to take our spiritual lives out of park and get a new perspective. Instead of sitting around with other middle-class believers, we listened to the stories of homeless men and women, loved on them, and prayed for healing, transformation, and their spiritual walk. It is amazing what putting your life in drive and moving out of comfortable can do to our myopic perspective.

What is your usual? Are you in a rut? Try replacing your usual by doing something different and loving on someone that desperately needs it. Eat with someone different for lunch or call someone from church that's going through a rough patch just to listen. You may be amazed at how blessing others might bless you.

—Michael Makidon
Missionary Appointee to Guatemala
—Please consider supporting us—michael@makidon.org
www.makidon.org

A Review of BibleWorks

2011-08-06T16:35:00.000-07:00

BibleWorks 8. Norfolk, VA: BibleWorks, LLC. $349.00.

Historically, three options have been available on the PC for those that want a serious electronic Bible program: 1) Logos; 2) E-Sword; and 3) BibleWorks. Logos makes for a great library, but diving into the text can at times feel like pushing a shopping cart around with a bad wheel. It looks nice, holds tons of groceries, but it’s rather frustrating when you try to do anything other than hold your stuff and view it. Your second option is completely free, E-sword. While it is free to download, adding Bibles and commentaries will now cost you. With the advent of internet Bible sites, E-sword is practically obsolete.¹ Thus, it probably shouldn’t be considered an electronic Bible program for those serious about studying the Bible. BibleWorks has historically been cheaper than Logos with a more powerful and efficient search engine. While it does ship with commentaries and lexicons, the developers did not design it to function solely as a library. If you want to study the text, BibleWorks 8 will serve you well. It will not do the work of exegesis for you, but it will surely make your Bible study more fruitful, less time consuming, and deeper.

BibleWorks’s ability to do lightening fast searches sets it apart from Logos. While some might welcome the opportunity to finish some chores around the house while waiting on Logos to finish a simple search, most would rather opt for speed. BibleWorks is made to search, and it is the best PC program available in this regard. It uses Boolean searches to accomplish this, but you can easily turn on buttons to help you easily insert the code or you can use a graphical search engine. I did several searches that might be of interest to JOTGES readers. First, I searched all verses that contain both faith/believe and life in the NKJV. My search returned three verses for faith and life and thirteen verses for believe and life. In the Greek, I found twelve verses where both pisteuō and zōē found. Also, when I expanded my search to include places where they occur within two to three verses, BibleWorks thirty-eight verses in the Greek. This quick search would be a great start to a study on faith and life. I also did a quick search using the Greek word sōzō. It occurs 365 times in the LXX and 106 in the NT. When limiting the OT to the translations of “rescue” and “deliver,” BibleWorks returned sixty-six verses. The NKJV contained four NT verses where sōzō was translated as “healed” (Mark 5:23, 34; Luke 8:36; and Acts 14:9), eleven verses where it was translated “made well” or “made you well,” and three verses where sōzō was translated “deliver” or “The Deliverer.” These quick searches would provide any teacher with a quick lesson on the semantic domain of the word sōzō.

Another powerful aspect of BibleWorks comes from its analysis window. Whether you know the original languages, have let them get rusty over the years, or have never studied Greek and Hebrew, the analysis window will provide you with quick original language data. With John 1 open, moving your mouse over “Word” will display the Greek, English transliteration, and an abbreviated form of the entry for logos in Thayer’s Lexicon. BibleWorks will also show you lexicons, grammars, commentaries, and other works that reference John 1:1. Additionally, double clicking on logos will instantly show the 65 other verses where logos appears in the NT or the 316 verses where it appears in the LXX and NT combined.

BibleWorks 8 contains several features that will certainly be of interest to JOTGES readers. First, for those that need to brush up on their original languages, it contains a flashcard tool. It also contains a diagramming tool where you can create your own Greek and Hebrew diagram by seamlessly importing the original text, or you can view the Leedy Greek NT Diagrams. BibleWorks also contains a daily Bible reading tool, parallel Hebrew and Greek texts, and satellite maps with helpful overlays like Paul’s missionary journeys, the Exodus, and places mentioned by Book. Excluding Bibles in twenty-five modern languages other than English, BibleWorks 8 is jammed packed with English, Greek, and Hebrew versions. It also includes Wallace’s grammar, the Apostolic Fathers, Josephus, OT Pseudepigrapha, Philo, and other texts. For anyone interested in going deeper in the text, BibleWorks 8 surpasses every other PC Bible program on the market today.

Although BibleWorks has many positives, it is not without its flaws. First, unless you are well-versed in Boolean searches, learning the code will take some time. Nonetheless, there are examples as well as buttons to help you acclimate yourself. Any program this powerful will take time to learn its inner workings. Second, BibleWorks does not ship with BDAG or HLOT. It will cost you over $200 to add both of them. Yet, you have to spend almost $1,700 for a Logos package with BDAG, which still does not include HLOT. Since some may not want one or both of these lexicons, I can understand why they include them as upgrades. Last, I wish BibleWorks had more upgrade options. Yet, I guess if I want to increase my library, I’ll upgrade my old Logos version. On a related note, one does need to be careful how much he/she relies on electronic libraries. A $2,000 electronic library may not work on the operating systems and computers of tomorrow. Thus, a low-cost, lean, mean, searching machine like BibleWorks 8 may be the way to go. If my negatives seem more like positives, perhaps it is because I really do believe that BibleWorks 8 is the best option for those that desire serious Bible study.

If you teach or attend a Bible study at church, BibleWorks 8 will help you understand and contribute more by giving you access to the original language tools. If you teach or attend a Bible college or Seminary, this software will help you exegete passages more quickly and deeply, compare translations, consult grammars, and perform original language searches with precision. Logos starts at over $400 for a basic original language package and is not as helpful in exegesis. BibleWorks 8 will be more attractive to those that already have a library or want to concentrate on the text.

—Michael Makidon
Future Missionaries to Guatemala
—Please consider supporting us—michael@makidon.org
www.makidon.org

^1.A Mexican missionary with CAM pointed out in the comments that there are instances where E-Sword can be a highly useful program (i.e. distribution of Spanish resources).

** Edited version printed in the Journal of the Grace Evangelical Society **

Knock! Knock! Who is it?

2011-06-17T11:08:00.000-07:00

If you are breathing and have a door to knock on, you've talked with a Jehovah's Witness. Sincere in belief, more informed than most about the Bible, accustomed to abuse, but at the end of the day wrong.

Today I received a knock at the door. To give you a full picture of my crazy week, my wife is currently in Cincinnati, Ohio scoring Spanish Advanced Placement exams and my 1 year old is teething. If you're a parent, you probably just thought, "Awe." If it was an incisor, after a small fight trying to push my finger into her mouth with a little orajel, the world would be back in order. However, four rectangular teeth are presently pushing their way through the flesh of her mouth—molars! They haven't made their appearance, but I know they're coming. I'm praying for their appearance.

Back to the knock. With a sigh of relief, I just put Emma down for a nap. I'm presently waiting on an infant backpack to carry her around this summer while we're on vacation, so I opened the door when I heard a knock. I was expecting a man dressed in brown. What can brown do for you? No, it wasn't UPS. Two JW's, Bibles in hand, stood before me with smiles from ear to ear. With every JW confrontation, there will be a chief and a supporter. The chief does 99% of the talking and the supporter stands next to them to give them confidence. The chief was female and knew her Bible pretty well. She had her plans, but anytime I am confronted by a JW, I have one thing on my mind, "Get to the point!" Not her, but me.

What is the point? She needed to hear the gospel, and I always steer the discussion to what one must do to have eternal life. "What does someone have to do to have eternal life?" I asked. She then began talking about the 144,000 and the rest of us. "Don't get distracted," I assured myself. After I repeated my question, she explained that you have to believe and do all of what the Bible commands. "Where does it say that in the Bible?" I queried. "I know it's in there and I can look it up if you'd like," she responded while flipping through her Bible. After going to James 2 (faith without work is dead/useless, not non-existent) and Matthew 24:14 (The gospel will be preached), I knew that she wasn't going to repent from the Watchtower Society right in front of her disciple.

I left her with something to think about. "I believe that by simply believing in Jesus for eternal life, we have eternal life (John 3:16, 5:24, etc.). I believe that if you add works into the gospel, you no longer believe the gospel. You are trying to earn your way to heaven because Christ's sacrifice on the cross was not sufficient," I explained. At that point, we were both on the same page. At least until I continued, "You believe that you have to have faith and do good works. So, if you're right, I'm ok. If I'm right, I'm still ok. But, if I'm right, you're going to hell," I explained. This began a discussion about Hades and JW's don't believe that it is a real place. We talked about Lazarus and the rich man that was in Hades (Luke 16), but she couldn't explain it. When I said, "It doesn't really matter what you believe about Hades, the most important issue is what you believe about Jesus," she got flustered. "Well, you believe that I'm going to hell, so it is a big deal." She was right. It is a big deal. Hopefully she got my point.

The next time you talk with a Mormon or a JW, get to the point and leave them thinking. Plant a seed that the Holy Spirit may use in the future. Our differences don't lie in acronyms.

Constantine's Time Machine

2011-05-01T17:44:00.000-07:00

Apologetics: What am I apologizing for? (Part 5)

Was Jesus' True History Suppressed?

My father once told me a story about a time when he was goofing off with a friend in my grandmother's house. I'm not sure the exact nature of their tomfoolery, but somehow one of them put a hole in the hallway wall. My grandmother was a sweet lady to the grandkids but otherwise hard-nosed. She was feared. Thus, my dad knew the only sensible course of action that would ensure his survival was to cover it up, flee from the scene, and hope no one would find out. If the latter happened, a swift denial would be in order. The cover up included concealing the hole with a flawlessly placed picture. My dad swears the hole was exactly equidistant between two walls, so as not to throw the balance off. I'm sure they planned that one out. In the end, my grandmother discovered the hole, most likely due to an oddly placed and off center picture. My father was not pleased by the verdict, but there wasn't anything he could do. Lies are hard to cover up when the truth comes to light. The same is true in Jesus studies. Scholars with Ph.D.s and high IQs tell tales of conspiracy, framing the church, Constantine, and even the apostles in a web of deceit. Nonetheless, their argument, once the painting is removed, reveals an enormous crevice devoid of substance.

The Problem

The release of the Da Vinci Code stirred up a hotly debated topic that has been alive for almost two millennia. According to Brown's work of fiction, the Gnostic Gospels were swept under the rug and hidden from the world. In fact, the modern Bible “was compiled and edited by men who possessed a political agenda—to promote the divinity of the man Jesus Christ and use His influence to solidify their own power base.” In addition, Constantine at the Council of Nicaea (AD 325)

...commissioned and financed a new Bible, which omitted those gospels that spoke of Christ’s human traits and embellished those gospels that made Him godlike. The earlier gospels were outlawed, gathered up, and burned (p. 234).

Brown also says that almost everything we know about Christ is wrong (p. 235), His followers saw Him as a human prophet (p. 233), and the Church used Christ's divinity to expand their own power. Thus, the Christ we know was a fourth century creation.

The Facts
Although Brown's account makes for an interesting story, his tale lacks one key ingredient—truth. Maybe he just watched Jack Nicholson's famous scene in "A Few Good Men" where he yells, "You can't handle the truth!" Yet, I think most people would rather the truth even if it stings a bit. The truth is, the Gnostic gospels were written centuries after the New Testament Gospels. The Gospel of John was written at the latest in the last decade of the first century, and we have manuscripts from the second century. Also, the beginning and the end of the gospel is clear—Jesus is God (John 1:1, 14; 20:28). Furthermore, Paul (Rom 9:5; Phil 2:6; Col 2:9; Titus 2:13) and Peter (1 Pet 2:1) were also clear that Jesus is God. All of these books were written in the first century. The Gnostic Gospels were written at least 100-200 years after the canonical gospels. Unless Constantine had a time machine and planted manuscripts that attested to the deity of Christ centuries before the Gnostic Gospels were written, Brown's argument doesn't hold water.

Irenaeus, a church father, wrote against the Gnostics in the second century. From his writings, we can see that the New Testament Gospels were well established. The heretics on the other hand were using the gospels to suit their own doctrines (Against Heresies, III:11,7). Justin Martyr (AD 150–160) wrote that the Gospels were "the memoirs which I say were drawn up by His apostles and those who followed them" (Dialogue with Trypho 103.19). Furthermore, Origen (AD 185–254) wrote that the four gospels were recognized by the church but others such as the Gospel of Thomas were not approved. Others that came before the Gnostic Gospels also attest to the deity of Christ:

Ignatius of Antioch (AD 110) affirms that Christ is God (Eph 1:1; 7:2; 18:2; 19:3).
Clement of Alexandria (AD 210) wrote that Christ was "both God and man" (Exhortation to the Heathen, 1).
Turtullian (AD 200) said that "Christ is Spirit of Spirit, and God of God" (Apology 21).

Conclusion
Although Dan Brown sold millions of copies and certainly grossed millions on the movie, the story is a tale akin to Aesop's fables. In fact, "The Tortoise and the Hare" contains much better theology (the first will be last and the last will be first). Unfortunately, Dan Brown's tale merely popularized the Gnostic Gospels and the theories of scholars that elevate the Gnostics over Scripture. Brown's facts do not add up. Constantine couldn't invent a theory in the fourth century that had been held by the Church for almost three centuries. Constantine's only time machine was the Word of God.

Next: Modern Tales of Conspiracy

—Michael Makidon

Future Missionaries to Guatemala

--Please consider supporting us--
michael@makidon.org
www.makidon.org

Apologetics: What am I apologizing for? (Part 4)

2011-02-27T13:29:00.000-08:00

Was Jesus Married?

The question of whether Jesus was married has been around for centuries. The Da Vinci Code only tossed it back into the spotlight. Since the question has been rehashed countless times on blogs and books, I won't go into great detail. My dissertation deals with the Valentinian Sources from the Nag Hammadi Library, a group of gnostic texts found in Egypt, previously written in Greek but found in their Coptic form. The Coptic translations were in pretty bad shape, so deciphering certain passages is no easy task. As you will see, there are many gaps in the text (in brackets). One of the most controversial passages comes from the Gospel of Philip, a fragmented compilation.

Gospel of Philip 63:32–64:9 describes Jesus’ love for his companion and the fact that he kissed her:

And the companion of the […] Mary Magdalene. [… ] her more than [...] the disciples [...] kiss her [...] on her […].The rest of […]. They said to him, “Why do you love her more than all of us?” The savior answered and said to them, “Why do I not love you like her? When a blind man and one who sees are both together in darkness, they are no different from one another. When the light comes, then he who sees will see the light, and he who is blind will remain in darkness.

You probably notice a glaring problem—the location and kind of kiss is absent from the text. Nonetheless, does the fact that Jesus kissed her prove that they were having a romantic relationship? No, it was common for people to kiss as a greeting in the first century.

Judas kissed Jesus, which wasn't received well (Matt 26).
The woman in Luke 7 continually kissed Jesus' feet in worship.
The Ephesian elders embraced and kissed Paul in Acts 20:37 out of love.
Paul and Peter both instructed the church to greet one another with a holy kiss (Rom 16; 1 Cor 16; 2 Cor 13; 1 Thess 5; 1 Pet 5).

In fact, whoever translated the Gospel of Philip kept the Greek word for kiss (aspazomai) even though there was a perfectly good Coptic word to use (pei). In the Gospel of Thomas 108, when someone drinks from the mouth of Jesus, they will become like each other and what is in Jesus will be revealed. The Gnostics believed in secret knowledge, and once you were enlightened, you were considered a spiritual, the seed within you was awakened. Thus, the kiss between Jesus and Mary Magdalene in the Gospel of Philip most likely is a reference to the fact that she was a spiritual and received teaching from the mouth of Jesus. Using “kiss” as a metonym for “teach” makes sense within an oral culture and between a disciple and her teacher in the first century. In the above passage, the light reveals one who sees. In a gnostic context where salvation is through special, secret knowledge, Mary is an example of an enlightened being whose true self is awakened by Jesus' appearance.

While the Gospel of Philip is not part of our Bible, it has caused considerable trouble for Christians. Yet, the explanation is quite simple. As GI Joe once said, "Now you know, and knowing is half the battle!"

Next: Hasn't Jesus' true history been suppressed?

—Michael Makidon

Future Missionaries to Guatemala

--Please consider supporting us--
michael@makidon.org
www.makidon.org

Pets Don't Just Lower Blood Pressure

2011-01-18T18:25:00.000-08:00

After purchasing toys that promised to promote crawling and spending countless hours on the floor encouraging it, Emma has decided that she would rather back up. I realize there are many kinds of crawling and crawling backwards happens to be one of them. Yet, we also have a dog that backs up on wooden floors, which happens to include three of the rooms in our house, and around the air conditioner located in the hallway. Needless to say, Dublin uses her rear view mirror quite often. It's one thing when it's your dog. The "beep...beep...beep" jokes did crack us up for some time; however, when your daughter is the one that's going in reverse, it's a different story. Well, tonight Emma decided to crawl forward. No, her motivation didn't stem from a toy designed to encourage crawling. It didn't come from her parent's loving calls to her, "Emma, come here baby girl."

What was her motivation you ask? Let me paint the picture. Laying on the floor giggling, Emma listened to Dublin's chicken squeak. The more eagerly Dublin bit down, the louder the chicken squeaked and the harder Emma laughed. With almost no effort, Emma sprang on to all fours, crawled towards Dublin, forward I might add, and ripped Dublin's toy out of her mouth like a grizzly bear plucking a fish from an Alaskan stream. Minus the hyperbolic bits, it happened and we were floored.

This incident made me think. What does this say about life? Sometimes the unlikeliest, repulsive thing will motivate us toward forward motion. We can buy the best Bible software, read the latest Christian living book, but it may just be doing something that we detest, spending time with someone that we don't think is worthy, or going somewhere we really don't want to go. Sometimes God uses our inadequacies for His glory. Be open this week.

—Michael Makidon
michael@makidon.org
www.makidon.org

Apologetics: What am I apologizing for? (Part 3)

2011-01-16T18:11:00.000-08:00

Didn't the Gnostics lose out because of lack of power?

My lawn and I have a love-hate relationship with a dash of indifference. It loves to hate on me, and for the most part, I'm really indifferent about it. Yet, if you were to stand in my front lawn and look to your left, you would see a lawn and owner that clearly have a symbiotic relationship. In reality, he is my major motivation for taking care of the lawn. He loves taking care of his lawn and it shows. His yard makes my front weed patch (a.k.a. my lawn) look like west Texas during a drought. One Saturday while I was blowing the remains of my labor off the side walk, my barechested neighbour approached carrying the brew of the day. After we chatted for a bit, he had two questions for me: "Didn't the Gnostics lose out to Christianity because of power?" and "Wasn't Jesus married?" He knew that my dissertation had something to do with the Gnostics (those that believe that salvation comes through tapping into the knowledge within). I don't remember my exact answer, but over the last several years, it seems like I have seen that idea everywhere. Whether you've encountered these questions or not, you will. We'll deal with the first question now and the second next time.

Two recent scholars have become quite popular by writing about this supposed power struggle. At the heart of this struggle is the belief that there are gospels out there that the church has hidden from us. With a sprinkle of distrust in the church as of late and a dash of suspicion that church leaders have been holding the Bible hostage for centuries, this conjured notion has grown into a small revolution. Bart Ehrman and Elaine Pagel, along with others, have led this charge. Pagels believes that the Gnostic writings that were found in the 40s (The Nag Hammadi Library) have transformed what we know about Christianity (Beyond Belief, 29). Ehrman believes that the Gospel of Judas was hidden and "The victorious side then rewrote the history of the engagement" (The Lost Gospel of Judas Iscariot, 174). What is the truth?

Their first claim is that Christianity was not monolithic, and they hit the nail on the head. Paul wasn't happy with the Judaizers trying to push their traditions into the gospel (Gal 1). Furthermore, the Book of Hebrews makes it clear that some early believers thought about returning to Judaism (Heb 6–10). If diversity didn't exist, would Paul have had to say the bodily resurrection was consistent with the apostles (1 Cor 15) or would John have to say that those that didn't believe that Jesus came in the flesh were antichrists (1 John 1–2)? Christianity was not monolithic; however, this idea should not be used to create a conspiracy that did not happen.

Their second claim has to do with the timing of the Gnostics and first century Christianity. Did they really happen at the same time? Was there a power struggle? Let's look at two of the most publicized documents—the Gospel of Judas and the Gospel of Thomas.

The Gospel of Judas was found in 1978 and had deteriorated into almost irrecoverable condition. It tells the true story of Judas. According to the story, Jesus asked Judas to take the rap. The Bible has the edited version of the story, for he was actually the good guy. Yet, the document is most likely from the second century when the gnostic debate actually took place. The book teaches that salvation is through secret knowledge from within, the creator isn't God, and Jesus is not the son of the creator. N.T. Wright sums it up well, “What we are witnessing is a fictional character called ‘Jesus’ talking to a fictional character called ‘Judas’ about things the real Jesus and the real Judas would not have understood…” (Judas and the Gospel of Jesus, 64). Jesus was a Jew and claimed to be the way, the truth, and the life. He was and is the only way to the Father, not just a divine guide to the truth.

The Gospel of Thomas was found in 1945. Just like the Gospel of Judas, the theology contradicts the New Testament. It contains ideas like Jesus is not the Messiah and salvation comes through knowledge within. Also, Mary could only be saved if she became a man. Yet, it quotes or alludes to many of the New Testament books (Gospels, Acts, Rom, 1-2 Cor, Gal, Eph, Col, 1 Thess, 1 Tim, Heb, 1 John, Rev), which would seem to indicate that the New Testament came first. Perrin seems to have uncovered the truth. He believes that it has second century Syriac roots. As you can see on the left, the Gospel of Thomas is more similar to the Syriac (2nd Century) than the original Greek (1st Century).

What is the truth? There was diversity of thought in early Christianity. However, the diversity that was heresy was squelched and corrected. It was not this unguided sea of thought that the liberal scholars want you to believe.

Next time someone asks if the Gnostics lost out because of lack of power, give them an answer. The gospels of Judas and Thomas were actually second century and borrowed from the New Testament. Then ask, if the Bible is correct, what will you do with Jesus? Only those who place their faith in Him for eternal life, will receive the free gift of eternal life. You never know where a conversation like this might happen. It might be doing something that you detest (like the lawn). God can use even our inadequacies for His glory.

Next: Was Jesus married?

—Michael Makidon
michael@makidon.org
www.makidon.org

For additional study:

Misquoting Jesus by Ehrman

Dethroning Jesus by Bock

Fabricating Jesus by Evans

Apologetics: What am I apologizing for? (Part 2 - The Text of the Bible)

2010-12-05T13:09:00.000-08:00

I remember my senior prom. My mother was letting me take her car, so I wanted to make sure it was clean for my date. I also wanted to spend some time with my best-friend. Unfortunately, I really didn’t have time to do both. Acting like the foolish 17 year-old boy that I was, I decided to make up some time by pulling a Mario Andretti between my friend’s house and the car wash. "Cacoon! Putter, putter, putter…" As I coasted slowly over to the side of the highway, I knew something was wrong. This was pre-Iphone 4... before the age of “every teenager in America has a cell-phone.” So, I had to jump a fence on the side of the highway and call my father: “Dad, I was driving Mom's car and it just gave out.” I stuck to my story. Luckily, my sister’s boyfriend, now husband, was a mechanic and fixed the engine. Apparently “there was too much carbon build up because his mother doesn’t drive very fast… he was probably just passing some one and gave it a little too much gas.” That’s the story my brother-in-law sold my parents, and they bought it. I was home free. But did I tell the truth? The car did just stop going, but I left out a little bit of info. I didn’t want to overload them with all of the details.

Half-truths—Don’t you hate them? I do. When a friend, family member, or co-worker tells us a half-truth we feel betrayed. It’s almost worse than an out-and-out lie because it’s harder to detect.

Well, this is exactly what the world is selling these days. A little bit of truth is given, but unfortunately the facts that are left out change the story completely.

One of the big claims of those who attack Christianity is that the original manuscripts are corrupt. Bart Ehrman, a famous textual critic, writes,

Not only do we not have the originals, we don’t have the first copies of the originals. We don’t even have copies of the copies of the originals, or copies of the copies of the copies of the originals. What we have are copies made much later—much later … And these copies all differ from one another, in many thousands of places … These copies differ from one another in so many places that we don’t even know how many differences there are. Possibly it is easiest to put it in comparative terms—there are more differences among our manuscripts than there are words in the New Testament (Misquoting Jesus, p. 10).

Do we have the originals? No. That is a fact. Do we have to have the originals in order to know that our manuscripts are reliable? No. Let's analyze the rest of his quote.

1. "We don't even have copies of the copies of the originals."

This is what we do have:

10-15 manuscripts within 100 yrs of the completion of the NT;
48+ within 200 yrs;
99 before AD 400;
5,700 Greek manuscripts total;
10,000 Latin manuscripts;
1,000,000 quotes of the New Testament from the Church Fathers;
100s of Coptic [3rd Cent], 100s of Syriac [early 3rd Cent], Gothic/Ethiopic [4th Cent], and Armenian [5th] manuscripts.

When we compare the evidence for the reliability of the New Testament to the evidence for other historical documents, the New Testament stands head and shoulders above the rest (see picture above). Yet, historians do not question the accuracy of these other historical documents. With thousands of manuscripts and translations from different parts of the world (2000 manuscripts in languages other than Greek and Latin) and 1,000,000 quotes from the early Church Fathers, we can rest assured that the evidence for the reliability of the New Testament is sure.

2. "These copies differ from one another in so many places that we don’t even know how many differences there are."

Ehrman estimates that there are 400,000 errors in the New Testament. Yet, he does qualify his statement,

Far and away, the most changes are the result of mistakes, pure and simple—slips of the pen, accidental omissions, inadvertent additions, misspelled words, blunders of one sort or another (p. 55).

The truth is that only 1% of all of these errors are actually meaningful and viable. Here are some examples:

Rom 5:1

echomen - “We have peace”
echōmen - “Let us have peace”

1 Thess 2:9

“The gospel of God”
“The gospel of Christ”

Rom 8:1

“There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit”
“Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus”

Another way of illustrating this is by actually showing you some Greek. I know... it's all Greek to me. Nonetheless, in Greek, we could take the sentence "Jesus loves Paul" and come up with 1,024 different ways to say the exact same thing (see picture above). By adding articles, synonyms, and rearranging the word order (Greek word order can change based on emphasis), we can come up with over 1,000 different ways to say the same thing.

What are the facts?

There are few errors that have a meaningful impact on the text.
No major doctrines are at risk.
The manuscripts that we do have are early and very diverse spanning 7+ languages and multiple continents.

I hate half-truths. Don't you? Yet, I love the truth. We can be confident that the New Testament that we have is reliable and accurate. The critics are feeding the world half-truths. The next time you hear someone ask, "How can we know that the Bible we have today is what they originally wrote 2,000 years ago?" tell them the truth! The next time you see a Fort Worth bus drive by with a sign stating "Millions of Americans are Good Without God," pray for them.

Next: Didn't the gnostics lose out because of lack of power?

—Michael Makidon
michael@makidon.org
www.makidon.org

For additional study:

Misquoting Jesus by Ehrman

Dethroning Jesus by Bock

Apologetics: What am I apologizing for? (Intro)

2010-11-28T15:09:00.000-08:00

Atheists have begun a campaign against those that believe in God—"There's probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life." I wonder why they chose the word probably. Are they just being nice, or were they not able to come to a consensus? Irregardless, you've probably heard about it.

It's really nothing new. Since the very beginning, people have been swallowing apples, building towers, erecting statues made of gold, but God wasn't quite as apt to put up with their arrogance. Nebuchadnezzar ran around eating grass like an animal for several years, Adam and Eve were kicked out of the garden and we know how dysfunctional that family ended up, and the Israelites had to wander around in the wilderness eating manna off the ground. God is jealous. He doesn't like taking second place to things that He created.

So, what is our answer? "Yes, He does exist." I'm sure that would have been sufficient for those that saw the resurrected Christ, but what about us? It does take more faith to believe without seeing (John 20:29).

Over the last several years, I have been asked questions like:

Doesn't the Bible contain tons of errors?
Wasn't Jesus married?
Hasn't Jesus' true history been suppressed?
Didn't the Gnostics just lose out because they didn't have enough power?

You may have wondered about these questions and more, so I thought that I might take the next 5 blog posts or so and give some unapologetic answers. After all, if God does exist, we should be concerned AND we should be enjoying our life knowing that this isn't it.

Next: Don't the original New Testament documents contain tons of errors?

—Michael Makidon
michael@makidon.org
www.makidon.org

Dehydrating Water?

2010-09-11T14:12:00.000-07:00

As most of you know, my wife, Gina, is from Panama. Like a good husband, I graciously give up a week of my life every two years or so to suffer in the Caribbean so that she can visit family. The last time we were down there, we had the island in the picture (Isla Iguana) to ourselves. It was rough. I had words with at least a half dozen crabs and iguanas for running across our private beach.

Anyway... several years ago, Gina was going shopping with the girls and so my father-in-law and I headed up to the north coast to do some suffering in some secluded cove. We paid a guy to take us out and drop us off with the promise that he would return in 2-3 hours. My father-in-law assured me that this was normal. Since I never question anything he says, I was confident that the guy would fulfill his promise.

The snorkeling was great. I saw colorful fish and even screamed like a girl when an electric eel got a little close. Since I usually don't burn, I just turn a nice bronze color, I didn't worry about putting sun screen on or even a shirt. Ok, so I was a little delusional. It could have been the dehydration from the sunburn!?! When all was said and done, I was lobsterfied. I passed the color bronze and proceeded directly to the color fried!

Have you ever had a headache from sun poisoning? It's actually dehydration. Not fun! It's where your body is literally dying for H2O. My body was screaming for aquafina like a marathon runner on the sun.

I was reminded of this story the other day when I was reading John 4 where Jesus is described as the Living Water. As believers, we need to be reminded that Jesus is our source of life. Jesus said, "Whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life" (v. 14). Often times we try to hydrate ourselves with spiritual diet coke... a favorite pastor, an inspiring song, and even an inspirational Christian book. When we're feeling a little spiritually dehydrated, we need to go to the true waters of life—Jesus, the Word.

It Only Takes One

2010-08-14T09:28:00.000-07:00

I had no idea at the time, but the summer before my first year in Seminary would change the course of my life. I had applied to Dallas Theological Seminary and was accepted, but due to complicating circumstances, I decided to go to New Orleans Baptist instead. I was not happy about the decision, and the two years that I spent there were tough... painful at the time. Most of my friends had moved off, and I felt alone. Unbeknownst to me, God knew what He was doing and exactly how to get my attention. He used those two years to shape me. How you ask? Through one individual. The world would chalk it off to coincidence, but it was anything but that. The Sunday before I was taking off for Spain for the summer on a mission trip, my little church that barely had any singles, had a Sunday school class for singles. I normally would have been with the adults. To top it off, I had been struggling with how passages like James 2 fit with faith alone in Christ alone. Ironically, they were studying the Book of James... and they were in James 2. Talk about divine appointment. The teacher, Doug, explained with clarity that I had never encountered. He saw how excited I was and asked if I would like to get together when I returned from Spain. We met weekly for the next two years. God had my attention and through one person, He changed my life.

You don't have to have a Ph.D. in theology to change a life. Doug was a medical doctor discipling a seminary student.

It only takes one to change a life. How could God use you today?

Shepherds, Goats, Monsoon Rains, & Me: Jonah 2

2010-07-11T14:08:00.000-07:00

What do shepherds, goats, and monsoon rains have to do with me you ask? It all began two years ago. Gina and I had been asked to join a group going to Ethiopia to work in various ministries. I was going to teach an overview course on Bible Doctrine.

Over the next several weeks, our team leader continuously reminded us, “Prepare for rain!” It had been 70° and sunny almost everyday, and my hiking boots and rain jacket were collecting dust. “What rain?” I thought to myself, “Sixteen years in the country … he sure hasn’t learned much.” Little did I know.

It felt like just another day as I gathered my things before my thirty minute walk to class. As I left the house, I paused and thought, “Should I take my umbrella?” After all, there was a cloud in the sky. Reluctantly, I grabbed an umbrella. As I walked down the dirt highway, reminiscent of Mad Max, the weather took a turn for the worse. It began to sprinkle. “Should I take a taxi?” I wondered, “Nah! What is the chance that it’s really going to rain today?” Oh silly me!

As I rounded the last corner, it began to rain. I thought to myself, “Well, good thing I brought my umbrella.” The wind had been gusting swiftly up until this point, and what began as a sprinkle turned into monsoon rains unseen since the days of Noah's Ark. The torrential rains would have been fine if they weren't accompanied by hurricane force winds and hail.

Just then I spotted two shepherds. Not German Shepherds, real shepherd shepherds (yes there are real shepherds walking the streets of Addis Ababa), with their goats, running towards a pretty tall fence on top of a hill. At this point, my umbrella had turned into a pick-up sticks game gone awry. “Why not,” I thought to myself. “What do I have to lose?” So, I followed them and stood next to the fence sporting, by then, a broken umbrella, which I was wearing on my head like a wet blanket, khakis and a button down shirt completely soaked, and my laptop. Next to me were two shepherds and about four goats—Twenty-first century meets fourth century B.C. I couldn't help but wonder what they were thinking. I must have looked unusually odd and out of place. Ironically, the guy with the degrees and a laptop was learning how to survive from goat herders—a little lesson in humility. Have you ever ignored good advice? I think we can all admit that! What is more difficult to admit is in the spiritual realm. Have you ever ignored godly advice or even God himself only to awaken to a spiritual monsoon? That question hurts a little bit more, but we think we know better than God from time to time. We pay an incredible price for going our own way.

This is the lesson that Jonah and Israel were supposed to learn. In Jonah 1, God told Jonah to go to the Ninevites—a blood thirsty, vile people. They would skin people alive, cut off body parts, and parade them through the streets as evidence of their power. Jonah didn’t want to go preach there. Talk about an unforgiving audience! After all, they didn’t deserve God’s grace! Because of his Zionism and disgust of the Assyrians, Jonah fled. He went down to Joppa, down into the boat, down into the sea, and down into the belly of the fish. How much farther could he get from God? In Chapter 2, Jonah begins to sing a new tune in the form of a psalm of thanksgiving. In fact, every verse (2-9) was taken from the Psalms (see more). Read Jonah 2. It's easy to spout off pious words. Changing the heart is always more difficult.

Verse 10 states, "So the LORD spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land." Not what we would expect for a prophet of the Living God! After all, Enoch swept up by God (Gen 5:23-24). A fiery chariot picked up Elijah and whisked him off to heaven (2 Kings 2). Yet, Jonah was vomited onto dry land. Not exactly the red carpet!

Application

Jonah had all of the right words to say, but he refused to admit that he was the problem. God's grace was big enough to save a prophet of Israel in rebellion, but not big enough to save a people that didn't know any better. We need to believe that if God's grace is big enough for us, it's big enough for even the vilest offenders.
First Samuel 16:7 says, “Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.” Next time we are running from God, we need to stop, confess our sins, and then pray. If we are going to grow spiritually, we must confess sin—not just rattle off empty, pious words.

—Michael Makidon
michael@makidon.org
www.makidon.org

Back to the beginning where it all began

2010-07-04T03:33:00.000-07:00

Over the past two months, I have observed the look of amazement in the eyes of both young and old as they look upon our daughter, Emma Sophia. New life has a unique effect on us. When life becomes mundane, a new life breathes a breathe of new life into us like nothing else can.

A thought struck me early this morning while feeding her. (The quiet moments seem to revolve around bottles and naps now.) This phenomenon is much like the Christian life. When our Christian life becomes mundane and dry, new life invigorates us. Yet, how can we get a dose of it? Evangelism—when someone is born-again, passes from death to life. Don't be fooled into thinking you need a Ph.D. in theology to explain the gospel. It's simple. Use Jesus' words: "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me has everlasting life" (John 6:47, NKJV). Don't psychoanalyze it. Faith means faith. Don't add to it. The alone in faith alone in Christ alone truly means alone, by itself, singular, solely, unaccompanied, unaided, unassisted, unattached, unattended, and unescorted. Good thing because I have nothing to add!

So, where do we go when our spiritual life is dry? Back to the beginning, where it all began.

—Michael Makidon
michael@makidon.org
www.makidon.org

Innocent and Ignored

2010-07-03T19:34:00.000-07:00

Innocent, ignored, and shipwrecked. Not exactly the recipe for a great day, but it was just another day in the life of Paul. The Book of Acts closes with one of the most exquisite stories of God using an unlikely servant in the most unimaginable circumstances. The Pharisees (23:9), Claudius Lysias (23:29), Festus (25:25), and Agrippa (26:32) all declared Paul innocent. Yet, he was still on a grain ship stacked with prisoners, cargo, passengers, and probably a couple random animals headed for Rome, the capital of the world and the home of the Coliseum. Paul knew the seas better than most, for he had traveled about 3,000 miles on the Mediterranean. (He should have cashed in his frequent sailor miles for more deluxe accommodations.) Nonetheless, no one would listen to him. After they had tied the ship together so that it wouldn't fall apart, lost all hope, and an angel had appeared to Paul (it took all of that for them to finally listen to Paul), the Apostle Paul told them that if they all stuck together they would live... shipwreck but live. In fact, that is exactly what happened. They shipwrecked on the island of Malta, a place untouched by the gospel. Through a snake bite that should have killed him and a healed father, God used Paul to bring his God, Jesus Christ, to those on the boat and the island. The Book of Acts is the story of God furthering his church from Jerusalem to Samaria to the uttermost parts of the Earth (1:8). God used a persecutor of the church in extraordinary circumstances to bring about His mission. If He can use Paul, He can use us. Will you and I be used by God today to further His kingdom? I hope so.