The Bible's Use of Story Telling

It is quite obvious that the texts of Scripture (The Bible) contain the use of "telling stories" in order to communicate certain things about people, places, events, etc. In fact, the majority of the Gospels demonstrate that "story telling" was the most popular (or favored, if you will) means by which Jesus communicated. Of course, we know these stories as parables, but these were stories nonetheless. I find it interesting that Jesus would use this style of communication to communicate certain moral truths, or truths about the Kingdom of God.

However, Jesus was not the only one who utilised stories in the texts of Scripture. There are many stories found in the Old Testament. For example, the story of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses and the exodus, Job, and many more. This being the case, the Scriptures certainly use narrative story telling, but why?

The first reason, and the most obvious reason, seems to be that stories capture an audience more than any other style of writing (or speaking). Secondly, since prehistory (recorded history) most accounts of the past, or of explaining why and how things are were communicated via stories. For instance, every major ancient civilisation has an account of a huge flood. All these accounts that have been recorded are in the format of a story which details the events of the flood, many with a moral implication, religious explanation, etc. to go along with the story. But by using a story style to explain the account, the details are remembered with greater ease, and the story can be retold from generation to generation. This is true even for writings (or oral traditions) other than religious scriptures.

So it makes perfect sense that if this was a common practice in ancient times, the Bible, being an ancient document would contain such stories. With this in mind, in previous theological discussions with my friends, the notion that certain stories in the Bible may not be historical has been offered as a possibility at our discussions. While this is no new suggestion, it certainly seems to disturb the more conservative readers (or theologians/Biblical exegetes) of the Bible.

Because of this I have asked myself on several occasions, what if, for example, the story of Noah was not actually an historical event? By historical event I mean an event which actually occurred in history? How would this affect my Christian beliefs? Moreover, are there actual stories in the texts of Scriptures which are merely stories as such and should not be read as historical accounts?

(To be continued . . . )

Telling Stories

Storytelling is a large part of how we communicate to one another in our everyday lives. If something happens to you and you want someone else to know about it, you tell the events which occured in a story format. In fact, this has been the case, it would seem, since recorded history, whether the story be fact or fiction.

What this does not mean is that every story, or narrative, is fiction (or nonhistorical as the case may be). Some stories told are quite accurately dipicting events which actually occurred, others are, however, told as fiction to actually demonstrate a point or present a certain meaning behind reality. Nonetheless, the intent of the story is to communicate one thing or the other, whether the story is fiction or fact. Communication is the pulse of the story.

So why am I harping here on "stories?" What's up with that. Well, this is a topic that has been on my mind for at least a half a year, maybe longer. To what extent does the Bible use stories? Or in what context, and for what purpose? These questions seem to further lead to the question of whether certain stories (or narratives) in the texts of Scripture are fact or fiction, and does it matter, if certain narratives are fiction, but are included in the text for the purpose of revealing certain truths or meanings about certain things?

The reason I am posting on this is that over the weekend this very topic was the centerpiece of discussion for the usual "gathering" I participate in with two or three other friends every other weekend. So the topic is fresh, and has, quite frankly, been biting at my mind all weekend long.

So how are stories used in the Bible? And, are there any stories in the texts of Scripture that are nonhistorical but are used to convey a certain meaning or truth about some thing? I think the answer to this last question is "yes." But if this is the case, how do we know which stories are historical and which are not? My next few posts will be centered around these questions.

A Recent Trip

Here are pictures from our trip to Georgia:

This (above) is a view of the Vinyard (where my friend's wedding was) from the main Bar and Resort area.

Same vinyard, different angle (Beautiful isn't it?)

This is a picture of me (far right) with my two best friends from seminary - Josh (far left) and Eric (center - the one getting married that day).

Here we all are at the rehearsal dinner . . . Josh and his wife Sarah (far left), Eric and Wendy (center - they are the couple getting married) and me and my wife (far right). It was great to get to see my friends again, and the wedding was very nice! Congrats Eric and Wendy!

New Book by N.T. Wright

A few days ago I discovered that N.T. Wright's latest book Evil and the Justice of God is now available. This may be old news by now, but I had heard about this upcoming book several months ago and was anticipating its publication. I have already orderd a copy. Below is a link to the book at Amazon if you are interested. Can't wait to read it!

Disturbing News

I recently learned several facts about children in the U.S. that really disturbed me. Here are a few of these facts:

Today . . .

• One out of every nine children does not have health care coverage,
• Poor children are four times more likely to be uninsured than more affluent children.
• Most uninsured children have at least one working parent and most live in families with incomes above poverty.
• White children are the largest group of uninsured children (40% - probably due to the larger numbers in population) However, the odds of being uninsured are worse for Black and Latino children; Black children are almost two times more likely and Latino children are almost three times more likely tha White Children to be uninsured.

Uninsured children are waiting for health care . . .

• One in six has parents who delayed medical care because of the cost.
• One in every nine has an unmet medical need.
• One in every five has an unmet dental need.
• One in every seven has not seen a doctor for two or more years.

I guess the thing that disturbs me most is not the fact that these are children who are potentially suffering from the lack of necessary insured medical care (even though this fact disturbs me very much), but the fact that this is happening in the U.S.! The most affluent country on the planet, and a very large part of the population has children who need medical attention and care but will not get it because of lack of insurance.

IMHO these facts communicate that money in the insurance industry is far more important than the care of individuals. Insurance costs in this country are so out of control it's scary. To often, those who are barely making ends meet do not work for companies which can provide their employees with health care benfits, so these families suffer. This should not be.

One Year Anniversary

Today is the "official" one year anniversary for this blog. By "official" I mean exactly one year ago today the very first post was placed on Shadows of Divine Things.

However, this blog was actually created almost one month prior, and I originally called the blog Iustitia Dei. The original intent was to discuss the issues of justification but since that was so limited to the one topic, I thought better of that idea and changed it to the current blog.

Anyway, happy one year anniversary!

Motel Hell (conclusion)

This time the clerk gets me a new bed spread and sheet. I actually hold my tongue, take the sheets, and march back upstairs. I change the sheets on the bed, prepare myself for sleep and finally lay my head down to go to sleep at around 2:30 am.

The next morning we wake up and I have tossed and turned all night thinking about what has just happened to us. I decide that I am going to go downstairs and get a telephone number for customer service for the hotel so I can call and report these things to someone. So, I get up (at about 7:30 am), get ready, and go downstairs to the front desk.

When I arrive at the front desk there is a new worker there and she is asleep with her head on the front counter. I approach, wait a few seconds thinking that she will wake up. After about 5 seconds of just standing there watching her sleep, I tap on the front desk and she abruptly jumps up and looks at me like I have disturbed her from her “beauty slumber.” I then ask her for the hotel’s customer service number to report what happen to us last night, she gives me the number, and I then ask her for the name of the gentleman who worked last night’s shift. She gives me his name. Two or three weeks later, after many calls to the number she gave me, we finally got a refund for the room, only to find out that the guy who worked the shift when we arrived that hellish night, double charged us for a one night stay. YIKES!!!!

Since this incident I have heard several horror stories about other’s experiences at certain Super 8 motels across the country. If you can, I would avoid staying at any of their hotels and spare yourself the agony of “Motel Hell!”

Motel Hell

When we (my wife and I and two of our friends) were in Georgia, north of Atlanta for one of my best friend’s wedding, we stayed at two Super 8 motels. The first two nights we were in Georgia we stayed at a Super 8 motel in Dawsonville. For my wife and I this stay was actually not too bad. However, the friends who were with us had a room that was fairly dirty.

The morning after our first night at this Super 8, our friends told us about their room. They said there was hair all over the bathroom floor, and dirt and candy in certain corners of their room. Well, I’m not sure if the hotel cleaning crew actually cleaned up the hair and the candy (my guess is they did not), but the story only gets worse from here.

Immediately following the wedding, which was at Frogtown Cellars in the northern mountains of Georgia, we drove back into Atlanta to stay at another Super 8. The drive itself took about two hours, and we began this trek at around 10 pm or a little later. So, by the time we reached the second hotel in Atlanta it was quite late. Wanting to simply get checked into our rooms, we got registered at the hotel’s registration desk, got our keys, unloaded the rental car and headed to our rooms.

When my wife and I entered our room, the only thing we noticed was there were no towels in the bathroom. We knew right away that we needed towels. However, when we began to get situated in the room, I pulled the sheets back on the bed and there “IT” was. On the bed spread was a large semen stain mixed with blood. Apparently someone had done their “fun stuff” on the bed and left all their “fun stuff remains”; which also meant that the cleaning service for the hotel had not changed the sheets, they merely remade the bed. Needless to say, we were both quite upset. Soooooo . . . I immediately got on the phone and called the front desk. I explained to the person at the front desk that our bed had this lovely “artwork” on it, and our room had no towels and we were not happy. The clerk at the front desk told me I needed to come down to the front desk and get another key to a different room. So I make the trek downstairs.

Upon arriving downstairs there was this tall man holding a sheet up in the air. My initial thought was, ‘I hope they do not think that I’m going to take that sheet and replace it with the messy one.’ As I approached this man, I asked him, “That’s not my sheet is it?” He looked at me rather strangely and said, “No, this was the sheet in my room and it is covered in blood.” Good lord, I thought, what kind of hotel is this? I went round the corner to the front desk and the clerk hands a new key to a new room down the hall gtom our old room.

By this time it is about 1 am and I am very tired. I go back upstairs to our room, tell my wife they gave us a new room, and we packed all our things up and walked down the hall to our new room. As soon as we enter the room I notice a nasty odor. The room smells like sweaty people. My wife looks at me and says, “I don’t know if I can stay in this room.” At this point I turn on the air conditioner in hopes that will remove some of the smell. I then immediately go to the bed and pull the sheets back. No blood stains, but as I am examining the sheets there is a huge (yes, huge) urine stain and under the bed is someone’s underwear. By this time, I am pissed. I grab the phone and call the front desk at the same time my wife says (in her angel like sweet fashion) “Be nice!” I’m thinking in my mind, ‘Be nice, my ass!’

I explained the situation to the guy (in a nice tone I might add, at the request of my sweet wife), and he offers me two suggestions, switch rooms, or switch hotels. Well, it was way too late to switch hotels (we had to get up to catch a plane the next morning), and what would be the point of changing rooms if they are all this filthy? So I piped up and asked him if someone could come up here and change the sheets real quick. The clerk told me he was the only one there and if I wanted new sheets I had to come down there and get them and change the bed myself. He actually said that to me.

By this time, everything Christian about me is being put to the test simultaneously. I hang up the phone and I am so angry I can hardly breathe. My wife notices this and tries to calm me down, which by the way never works, the more she tries the angrier I become. Moreover, I am trying my hardest to hold my tongue because when I am usually this angry I tend to let my anger out by cursing, something my wife really hates me doing; so I make the trek back down the stairs to the clerk’s office. (To be continued . . .)

Quote of the Week

"Determine never to be idle. No person will have occasion to complain of the want of time, who never loses any. It is wonderful how much may be done if we are always doing."

- Thomas Jefferson

The Devil's Music

When I was doing some online searches for info on one of my favorite bands, the Eagles, I came across this link. The background music for the sight is hilarious! Nobody in the music industry seems to be safe at this site, even Dolly Parton (YES! Dolly Parton!) is "tagged" as a performing the "devil's music."

On the site there is a rock and roll "death list," and a link where you can actually hear backward masking of certain songs from these "devil loving songwriters." And of course, Christian rock is not safe either, it is "tagged" as "Satan's Worm in the Apple." Now I'll admit that I'm not a huge fan of Christian music, simply for the fact that the music is just not appealing to me, but "Satan's Worm in the Apple?" YIKES!!! Of course, I'm so glad to know that, "There is NOTHING even remotely Christian about Amy Grant"; a claim made on this site.

Anyway, for a good laugh, check out the link above, and IMHO this is the biggest pile of crap that I think I have ever read! This is the type of environment I grew up in at my local home church, so seeing this garbage makes me cringe at the same time it makes me laugh out loud.

Hostility Between History and Theology

"This potential mutual hostility between 'history' and 'theology' has resulted in the well known split in New Testament studies, whereby the subject is divided into 'Introduction', conceived as a 'purely historical' task, and 'Theology', conceived less historically and more synthetically. This split is now enshrined in the rubrics of many a university syllabus, and (an even more Law-of-the-Medes-and-Persians area) in the classification systems of many a library. But this great divide, however much it is encouraged by some on either side, is neither necessary nor automatic, and is in fact highly misleading. On the one hand, studying the theology of the New Testament depends on some belief, however vague, that certain things that happened in the first century are in some sense normative or authoritative for subsequent Christianity. On the other hand, studying the history of early Christianity is impossible without a clear grasp of early Christian beliefs. It is notoriously difficult to go beyond these two vague statements. This, however, does not detract from, but rather emphasizes, the fact that theology, even specifically Christian theology, cannot exist in a vacuum, or in a sealed world away from public scrutiny and question. Integration, though difficult, remains an appropriate task."

- N.T. Wright, from The New Testament and the People of God (Fortress Press: Minneapolis, 1992); 13.

Credit Where Credit is Due

I always figured that it was the Beatles who actually created MTV!




This is one of my favorite Beatles songs!! So I had to post it!

Additions to my Library

A friend of mine, who is working on his Ph.D. at OU (God help him for being at OU - Go TEXAS!!!) recently told me that he went to the local Mardel's (a Christian educational supply company that sells books) and "cleaned house" from their discount book table. An explanation is probably needed at this point.

Mardel's actually sets up several tables and places them around their store (at my location anyway) with all the more academic texts that they receive from the publishing companies periodically. Mardel's actually gets these books directly from their distributers and once they arrive at their various locations, Mardel's then discounts them and sells them. These discounts are usually 50% off. So, when my friend told me that his location had a whole new group of discounted books, I immediately went to my location and I cleaned up as well. Here is a list of the books I purchased:

1) Christianity for Modern Pagans: Pascal's Pensees edited, outlined and explained by Peter Kreeft (Ignatius Press, San Francisco, 1993).

2) Scripture: An Ecumenical Introduction to the Bible and Its Interpretations edited by Michael J. Gorman (Hendrickson Publishers, Massachusetts, 2005)

3) The Character of Theology: An Introduction to Its Nature, Task, and Purpose by John R. Franke (Baker Academic, Grand Rapids Michigan, 2005)

4) Literary Giants, Literary Catholics by Joseph Pearce (Ignatius Press, San Francisco, 2005)

5) Aspects of Aquinas by Francis Selman (Veritas, Dublin Ireland, 2005)


In addition to the above selections, I was sent in the mail an invitation to join the InterVarsity Press (IVP) bookclub. Well, the invitation was so nice and welcomed with open arms, I actually got to choose five (5) books from their selections for one dollar each. Yes that was $1.00 per book! The total on the books came to $8.79 after postage and handling. Here is a list of the books I orderd from IVP:

1) The Challenge of Jesus: Rediscovering Who Jesus Was and Is by N.T. Wright

2) To Everyone and Answer Edited by Francis J. Beckwith, William Lane Craig, and J.P. Moreland.

3) Mere Theology: A Guide to the Thought of C.S. Lewis by Will Vaus

4) A User's Guide to Bible Translation: Making the Most of Different Versions by David Dewey

5) An Introduction to Ecclesiology: Ecumenical, Historical & Global Perspectives by Veli-Matti Kärkkäinen

Additionally, I have made some much needed purchases from Amazon, these include:

1) The Drama of Doctrine: A Canonical Linguistic Approach to Christian Theology by Kevin J. Vanhoozer (Westminster John Knox Press, Kentucky 2005)

2) Deconstructing Evangelicalism: Conservative Protestantism in the Age of Billy Graham by D. G. Hart (Baker Academic, Grand Rapids Michigan, 2004)

3) Catholic Matters: Confusion, Controversy, and the Splendor of Truth by Richard John Neuhaus (Basic Books, New York, 2006)

4) The Orthodox Church (New Edition) by Timothy Ware (Penguin Books, London, 1997).

5) Simply Christian: Why Christianity Makes Sense by N.T. Wright (HarperSanFransico, 2006)


It's nice to have a job that pays well!! Cheers!

Homosexuality (Part 3)

“Homosexuality can only ever mean same sex attraction and not same sex acts because it is NOT just homosexuals who have same sex acts is it!” I believe this comment to be a non sequitur. Simply because someone who claims to be heterosexual (or not a homosexual) but commits same sex acts (maybe because they are in a porn movie, or whatever other circumstance that would involve such acts) does not negate the fact that same sex acts are an indication of homosexual activity. The activity itself is a homosexual activity, and is, it seems, recognized as such universally. The above comment is simply too problematic to embrace on a number of rational levels and is wrought with all sorts of difficulties.

Whether homosexuality be a single act (i.e. same sex act) or a lifestyle that someone has embraced (i.e. the homosexual lifestyle), is it a sin? Biblically speaking, other than the texts of Deuteronomy which clearly seem to indicate that if someone performs a sexual act with someone of the same sex they are to be put to death, Paul’s letters are the only place we can find homosexuality addressed. The most obvious text seems to be Romans 1:26-27. Paul uses the language of exchanging natural sexual intercourse with unnatural. These unnatural acts Paul describes are same sex acts. Now I’ll grant that Paul is speaking exclusively in these passages about same sex acts, and not same sex attraction. However, Paul clearly condemns same sex acts. So we can conclude that at least Paul is condemning same sex acts in these passages.

However, something can be wrong even outside of the notion of whether the Bible says it is so. I think my friend Jeremiah summed this up quite well in the comments section of the first post of this series. Jeremiah declared, “IMHO, it seems that as in most other areas of morality (or Moral Theology) one must appeal quite a bit outside of Scripture to help one's case in an argument of this sort. . . . To give everything to a spouse is to fully love that spouse. And the spouse is called to give everything in return. Now, what we are, as human persons, encompasses a lot. At least one thing it encompasses, as it is relevant to homosexuality, is fecundity. What it is to be human is to be fecund? But, what it is to be male and female (since a human is expressed in one of the two genders--there are no genderless humans) is to be fecund in a complimentary way. The man gives of himself to the woman, and the woman receives her man and gives all of herself as well--in the conjugal act. I'm just introducing the basic tenets here.”

I think Jeremiah, much more eloquently put than I could have ever put it, has detailed a necessary factor involved in the idea of what it means to be human, and why we are created the way we are, male and female. To go beyond this natural state, is to do the very things Paul declares in Romans, to exchange the natural for the unnatural. Procreation is one of the reasons, or at least end results of our being created, and it is obvious that there is a natural breakdown if this way is distorted in some way (i.e. homosexuality). Given theories of natural law this seems to be the most obvious intuitive way to view the distortion, or “wrongness” with respect to homosexuality.

While in no way am I posting this series in order to be judgmental about a given “lifestyle.” I am not trying to tell anyone how they should live; I certainly do not want that responsibility. However, given that I am a rational being, I can certainly determine that which is right (or correct) and that which is wrong (incorrect); or put another way, that which is natural, and that which is unnatural. To reduce the definition of homosexuality to ever only mean same sex attraction is, in my estimation, wrongheaded. There is so much more invloved in homosexuality than merely "attraction."

Liturgical norms and charges of traditionalism

My good friend, David, has posted a great article titled Liturgical norms and charges of traditionalism. I know that he has struggled with this issue for many years, and this article is quite honest about the subject at hand, and I appreciate that. It is well worth the read, so if you have time check it out!

You Supply The Caption

Recollecting CDs

Since I got my now relatively new job, I've been on the hunt. Whenever my wife and I moved back to Texas some years back, I sold a lot of my CDs in order to pay some bills. Some of these CD were rare and quite difficult to find (and this was 5 years ago). Now many of these same CD are near impossible to find.

Well, lately I've been back on the hunt for these CDs trying to add them back to my collection. I have found some of them, but I am still missing quite a few. Some of the more difficult CDs that I have been on the prowl for are:

GTR - Self titled CD (Steve Howe of YES and company)

Emitt Rhodes - His 3 solo CDs and the CD collection from the band he was with called The Merry Go Round

Franke and the Knockouts - CD titled Makin' The Point (this has been the most difficult one to find with the exception of the next one)

Olivia Newton-John - If You Love Me, Let Me Know (her only country album, she does a few cover tunes from the Beach Boys, and others).

Here are a few CDs I've managed to add back to my collection:

Glass Moon - Self Titled CD and Growing in the Dark

AXE - Their first two albums (this was a late seventies early eighties hard rock band)

And of course, I've been adding the more common CDs back to my collection. If anyone reading this knows of any place where I might be able to find copies of the 4 CDs listed above, or if anyone out there has copies of these CDs that they are willing to sell I would appreciate it. Feel free to leave me the info in the comments. I know the typical internet places like Ebay, Allmusic.com, etc.

Also, if you have any suggestions of any bands (even the more obscure ones - believe me I know some really obscure older bands who had, at best, average hits, but their music is great) feel free to let me know.

Homosexuality: By Definition (Part 2)

Considering the definition sent to me via e-mail, that homosexuality is romantic love, I have several things to say. First, romantic love seems to involve sexual acts. Second, being attracted to someone does not always entail romantic love. Moreover, someone could be romantically in love with someone of the same sex or opposite sex and never have sexual relations. However, the norm is that when romantic love occurs, sexual relations typically accompany, unless there is some physical “problem” that would keep both parties involved from performing such acts.

I have a good friend (male) who has modeled for various fashion companies. Needless to say, because he has modeled he is very attractive. I can recognize that he is an attractive man and do so without ever feeling any sense of romantic love for him. In fact, I can find a female attractive and never have any sense of romantic love for her as well. Thus, merely finding someone attractive does not entail romantic love. Attraction does not equal romantic love.

So back to the initial question; the person who sent me the e-mail asked me what my thoughts were on same sex romantic love and if I thought it was a sin. I have included some of my thoughts on same sex romantic love (and romantic love in general) in this post. I now emphasize my point that unless there is a physical “condition” that would keep two people (whether of the same sex or opposite sex) from performing an act of sex, sexual acts usually always accompany romantic love. To use the terms romantic and love together connotes a very specific type of “love” which implies or includes some sort of physical contact in the relationship beyond merely holding hands, finding someone attractive, etc.

That being the case, romantic same sex love implies sexual acts. The two seem to go hand in hand, unless “love” is defined or qualified with some other term, relationally. So what are the implications of this type of relationship? Is this kind of relationship sinful? These will be some of the questions I will attempt to answer in the next post.

Quote of the Week

"Enormous forces in our culture are determined to deny Jesus was raised from the dead. And, over and over again, they use arguments which can be shown to be invalid, and they propose alternative scenarios about the rise of Christianity which can be shown to be impossible. And that, I think, is an important exercise in itself."

- N. T. Wright

Homosexuality (Part 1)

I do not usually do this, but recently a total stranger sent me an e-mail asking me all sorts of questions about the sin of homosexuality. This person set the tone of the discussions by telling me (here I quote), “Homosexuality only means same sex attraction.” This being the case, based upon this person’s definition, homosexuality could not possibly be considered a sin via the Scriptural references that are typically provided.

While I was quite willing to discuss the issues which this person had originally asked me, I was fairly stunned at the, dare I say unreasonable position, mixed with the narrow definition that this person provided. In the midst of our e-mail exchanges I received a response to one of my e-mails that declared, “Romans 1 only has Paul condemn same sex lust in passions, in idolotry, how's that a case on same sex love? And 1 cor 6 and 1 tim has Paul use [sic] the ancient greek [sic] word arsenokotie which doesn't mean homosexual, but male lust.How has lust got anything to do with love?”

I’m not sure exactly how to unpack the above quote, especially since there are so many shifts/transitions in the overall thought. So, in hopes to get my thoughts out on the table regarding this issue, especially in light of this person’s comments/thoughts/ideas, I intend to post on the issue in response to this person’s e-mails to me. The initial question that was posed in the original e-mail to me was, “What are your thoughts on same sex romantic love, and where does the Bible say that it is sinful?”

It will be to this question, and this person’s responses that these next few posts will be devoted. Please feel free to comment on the subject as I really would like everyone’s feedback on this issue.

An Assurance of Pardon

Hear the good news! Who is in a position to condemn? Only Christ, and Christ died for us, Christ rose for us. Christ reigns in power for us, Christ prays for us. Anyone who is in Christ is a new creation. The old life has gone; a new life has begun. Know that you are forgiven and be at peace. Amen.