High
Tech Ministries
A community seeking Christ within the Atlanta technology
industry
"Whatever
is in this book (the Bible) is what I believe. Even
if I don’t believe it, I still believe it. Whatever
it says is what I believe. And, wherever I disagree
with what it says, I’m wrong.”
-
Jim McClarty
I am a
Reformed
Christian, baptised in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy
Spirit. I adhere to a Literal
Hermeneutic when interpreting Scripture, because
it is the only method which allows the text to speak to us
and be consistently understood in its normal sense,
which is the intent of the author(s).
#1.
The Holy Bible is TRUE.
Every word of it. It is absolutely the inspired, infallible
Word of God, written with many hands, but with one Author.
It is God's revelation of himself, and His analysis of Man.
We need to align our thinking with what the Bible actually
says, instead of trying to make the Bible say what we want.
If you and the Bible disagree, then YOU are the one in error.
The Bible
is inerrant. Any of the so-called "errors" or "contradictions"
that can be found in the Bible are basically misinterpretations
and out-of-context extractions and have all been clarified
and explained to be perfectly harmonious. The misreadings
are usually the result of a man-centered (read: deeply flawed)
understanding of what the Bible "must surely mean",
rather than simply accepting the black-and-white information
and facts it presents. The writers of the Bible knew what
they wanted to say, and they said it quite plainly (and most
of them were killed for it). There is no "secret code"
to understanding the Bible. The only key necessary is a literal
hermeneutic.
In order
to be intellectually honest, evidence for a Biblical "error"
must result from a comprehensive exegesis of the text. That
is, fully explain and understand in total what
is being said, who is saying it, to
whom is it being said, why is it
being said, and what are the circumstances
surrounding what is being said. The most common places people
claim to find Biblical contradictions are among the four Gospels.
The fact that they each contain seperate details does not
logically mean they contain errors. Each account is included
in the Bible for a reason, and the details they each include
are relevant to their purpose. Anyone can take out-of-context
phrases from the Bible and make a wispy little case that
it contains contradictions, but it makes no sense intellectually
to argue such a point without first fully understanding the
text itself. To do any less is a short cut to thinking. Be
careful if you think you've found something in the Bible that
contradicts itself. It has been studied and explained before,
so all you need to do is a little research
to discover
the truth.
We must
remember that a contradiction only occurs when one statement
excludes the possibility of another, and this NEVER happens
in the scriptures. The Bible does not contradict, confuse
itself or make errors.
#2.
God is in control of EVERYTHING.
Including all world events and YOU. Whether you are a Christian,
an Atheist, a Hindu, or whatever, you are living out God's
plan for your life. Either you will come to worship Him in
this life, or you won't. It's all a part of His absolutely
sovereign will for the people of this world. Nothing happens
that God doesn't decree. Nothing. You will either accept this
now, or you will accept it later. There is NO third option.
God has all the power, all the choice, all the will. We have
NONE. We are in God's hands. For the believer, this is truly
GOOD NEWS!
#3.
The more significant God becomes, and the less significant
I become, the cooler and more amazing my Christianity becomes.
When you realize that Christianity is not about YOU and your
activities. Rather, it is about God and His electing GRACE
which brought you to him despite your sinfulness, that's AMAZING
GRACE indeed! If you happen to believe, it's NOT because you
made a choice. It's because you were CHOSEN by God BEFORE
the world was even created, and the Holy Spirit was placed
inside you for the purpose of insuring your salvation! How
incredible is that?!
Podcasts
I recommend the following podcasts to all Christians.
They are an excellent way to keep your mind engaged
and focused on the things of God, especially as
listened to in earbuds as you go about your daily
routines! These broadcasts are not exercises in
feel-good preaching, but rich sources for stimulating
discussions and rigorous defenses of the Gospel
of Jesus Christ.
Grace Christian Assembly
Pastor Jim McClarty
The
Dividing Line
Dr. James White
Unbelievable?
Justin Brierley
The
GraceLife Pulpit
Phil Johnson
SMYRNA,
TN
Intensive live Bible study messages from Grace
Christian Assembly, and teaching on theology and
sound doctrine
PHOENIX,
AZ
Call-in radio program covering a range of topics
in Dr. White's sphere of apologetics
UNITED
KINGDOM
Weekly broadcast bringing people with opposing
views together for rich dialogue
SUN
VALLEY, CA
Sermons from the GraceLife Fellowship at Grace
Community Church, hosts of the Shepherd's Conference
Blogs
For further reading, food for thought, current insight,
and sharp entertainment, read up on these fascinating
blogs.
Alpha
& Omega Ministries Dr. James White and Team Apologian
post articles about current events and topics
related to Christian Apologetics."The
Gospel is Ours to Proclaim, Not to Edit."
SalvationByGrace.org Pastor Jim McClarty's blog covering
topics of theology and Grace Christian Assembly.
Pyromaniacs
Phil Johnson and his fellow "Pyromaniacs"
serve up some interesting food for thought.
Lane's
Blog Young blogger Lane Chaplin posts
interviews and clips, featuring his Rightly
Divided program.
Now
that you know where I'm coming from, read
on ...