Author Archives: Steve Long

Two Wolves

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This modern-day parable was posted on bibleforums.org:

One evening an old Cherokee told his grandson about a battle that goes on
inside people. He said, “My son, the battle is between 2 “wolves” inside us
all.

One is Evil. It is anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret,greed, arrogance,
self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and
ego.

The other is Good. It is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility,
kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith.”

The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his
grandfather:”Which wolf wins?”

The old Cherokee simply replied, “The one you feed.”

A well-meaning individual replied that the story was not biblical. I submit that it can be interpreted biblically.

This story, the origins of which are unknown (possibly invented by a preacher as an illustration), is not unbiblical. The full context of what Paul said in Romans 7 helps us see that.

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Bible Translations

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Translation philosophy

Bible translations commonly adopt primarily one of two philosophies for determining the correct English translation of the Hebrew or Greek text. The first is “formal equivalence” or “word-for-word.” Here the translator takes each Hebrew or Greek word and attempts to translate it into the equivalent English word. An alternative approach is “dynamic equivalence” or “thought-for-thought.” In this case, the translator first attempts to determine the meaning of a complete phrase in the original language, then picks the English words that best convey the same meaning. The translators of the Holman Christian Standard Bible (and perhaps other translations) have opted to use “optimal equivalence” which might be explained as “as literal as possible, as free as necessary.”

I like the idea of “optimal equivalency.” The way I would phrase it is, “word-for-word as much as possible, unless it produces confusion.” I tried to think of an example where a word-for-word translation would create confusion, and although it’s not a great example, consider the following scenario: let’s say I’m translating the phrase “la bota negra” from Spanish to English. I look up each word in the Spanish-English dictionary, and I see that la=the, bota=boot, and negra=black. So the literal English translation would be “the boot black.” According to the American Heritage Dictionary, a boot-black is “a person who cleans and polishes shoes for a living.” However, anyone familiar with Spanish knows that the modifier (adjective) comes after the noun, whereas in English we put the modifier in front of the noun, so the correct English translation would be “the black boot.” This would be a case where a truly literal word-for-word translation would be a bad idea. Then, of course, sometimes a truly literal word-for-word translation isn’t even possible, because there is no one-to-one correspondance of the Greek or Hebrew word with an English word.

There’s also the issue that what is clear to one person might be confusing to someone else. Something that might be easily understood by an English major might be quite confusing to someone who struggled to graduate highschool. In that case, there is certainly a place for a variety of translations at different reading levels. Unfortunately, simplifying a translation can also require sacrificing some accuracy sometimes.

What if the original language is confusing? Should the translator take his best stab at the intended meaning, or leave it ambiguous so the reader can take it either way? This is a judgement call that the translator has to make, in part depending on how much confidence he has in his ability to interpret the true intent of the passage.

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Unfairness

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If you do a web search on “where is God when it hurts” you will find a book by Philip Yancey by this title, as well as some other articles and dicussions of this topic. Here’s one page in particular that is relevant: http://www.gotquestions.org/btgp.html

There is a verse in the Bible, 2 Peter 3:9, that says, “The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness.” If I could have my own book of the Bible, I might have a verse that said, “The Lord is not unfair in dealing with people, as some understand unfairness.”

To illustrate this concept, Jesus tells a story in Matthew 20 about a man who hired some workers to work in his vineyard. At the beginning of the day, he hired some men and agreed to pay them a typical days wage. At various times throughout the day, he went out and hired more workers. The last few workers he hired were hired only an hour before quitting time. Then, at the end of the day, he paid all his workers a full days wage, even the ones who had only worked part of the day. The workers who started first thing in the morning were upset, because they thought they should get more than the workers who only worked part of the day. The owner of the vineyard told them, “Friend, I haven’t been unfair! Didn’t you agree to work all day for the usual wage? Take it and go. I wanted to pay this last worker the same as you. Is it against the law for me to do what I want with my money? Should you be angry because I am kind?”

Another story in the Bible that illustrates how God operates is the story of Job. Job was “blameless, a man of complete integrity. He feared (obeyed) God and stayed away from evil.” God even bragged about Job to Satan. “The LORD asked Satan, “Have you noticed my servant Job? He is the finest man in all the earth–a man of complete integrity. He fears (obeys) God and will have nothing to do with evil.” Satan replies that the only reason Job is so obedient is because God has blessed him greatly. “Take away everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face!” So God said, “All right, you may test him. Do whatever you want with everything he possesses, but don’t harm him physically.” Later, after Job has remained faithful to God, Satan wants to up the stakes. “Take away his health, and he will surely curse you to your face!” So God allows Satan to go even further. “All right, do with him as you please. But spare his life.” Although Job never curses God, he does begin to ask, “Why me, God?” At the end of the book, God goes on for four chapters asking Job all sorts of questions that Job cannot answer, really putting Job in his place. Finally Job says, “I know that you can do anything, and no one can stop you. You ask, ‘Who is this that questions my wisdom with such ignorance?’ It is I. And I was talking about things I did not understand, things far too wonderful for me.” Then God restored Job’s fortunes and blessed him even more than ever. Was God fair to Job? Would it have been fair of God if he hadn’t restored Job’s fortunes? (hint: the answer to both questions is “yes”)

One more verse: Matthew 5:45. “He (God) causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.” Not everything that happens in life is a function of whether we “deserve it” or not.

In reality, everyone has sinned against God and deserves immediate destruction. It would be perfectly fair and just of God to let the ravages of sin completely destroy us. However, in His wisdom, in ways that we do not understand, He extends grace at certain times to certain people.

Originally posted 8/3/2005 on bibleforums.org

Calvinism

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(Also see “Once Saved Always Saved”)

God’s sovereignty does not violate man’s free will. Please understand this…it is very important. God does not force anyone to love Him or choose Him. Please do not let this all-or-nothing thinking be a stumbling block to the biblical principle of man’s total depravity or God’s sovereignty.

I’ve heard lots of objections to God’s sovereignty, usually with the assumption that it overrides man’s ability to choose. I’ve also heard God’s sovereignty explained away such that it’s really man’s choice and God just knows what will happen so He plans accordingly. I don’t recall ever hearing a good explanation of what Romans 9, Matthew 20, and the numerous other passages dealing with God’s sovereignty are really saying if you reject the notion that the choice originates with God, independent of man.

Another thing I’d like to reiterate, as a few people have already mentioned, is that God is the standard of righteousness, justice, and love. God doesn’t just decide what Right is, and then abide with His “rules.” Whatever God does–that, by definition, is Right. If God declared that green was holy and pink was evil, it wouldn’t matter that I think it’s arbitrary and stupid. I would still be sinning if I decided to wear pink anyway. If God decided to eliminate a race of people, it wouldn’t matter if it seemed heartless to us. The fact that God did it, and that alone, makes it Right.

Now, that doesn’t mean that God is inconsistent and contradictory. He has revealed His character to us, and He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. We know from the Bible that He is loving; He is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. He is very patient, pursuing His beloved even after we reject Him time and time again. Our understanding of salvation needs to be consistent with this.

Our understanding of salvation also needs to be consistent with the biblical principles that have been presented, indicating that man is depraved and does not seek God on his own.

Originally posted 7/15/2005 on bibleforums.org

Perseverance of the Saints

Perseverance of the Saints is very much dependant on God’s Unconditional Election and Irresistable Grace. With regards to Calvinism vs. Arminianism, I’m not very interested in proving which of the two opposing views are correct. I believe the Bible gives indications of both, and I am more interested in reconciling the seeming contradictory concepts than picking one versus the other.

However, here are some of the common verses that indicate a Perseverance of the Saints:

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Marriage

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How do I know if I’m ready to get married? It’s a common question I’m sure, and it would be nice if there were a simple checklist or test one could take that would provide the answer. The reality is, it will always be a judgment call. However, it occurs to me that three elements ought to be satisfied before deciding to get married.

1. Ask yourself, “Do I feel confident that I want to spend the rest of my life with this person?” This takes into account the level of emotional attachment as well as your knowledge of your similarities and differences and your compatibility on various issues, but it’s mostly a gut-level evaluation of your feelings for this person.

2. Am I willing to do whatever it takes to love this person for the rest of my life? Am I willing to put their needs and desires above my own? Circumstances change and emotions come and go, but a decision to love someone forever is an act or your will.

3. The final question addresses the physical/practical component. Are we old enough and mentally/emotionally mature enough to make such an important commitment? Will marriage present a great financial hurdle? Will our careers or lifestyles have to change drastically if we get married?