Sep
25

Do Not Brag

by ffenby

Luke 9:18-22 has an interesting command. Peter has correctly stated that Jesus is Messiah, the Christ, the anointed one of God. Immediately Jesus commands the disciples not to tell anyone. Why not? Because Jesus must suffer, be rejected, die and be raised from the dead.

How about us? Do we seek attention for the special things God has done for us? Maybe we should not. Who knows but what we too, like Jesus, have many things to suffer, rejection to face and maybe even killed. If we brag about a special relationship to God, will not the name of God be slandered when we suffer? People will think that either we have lied about this relationship or that God is not able to protect His own.

When God shows himself to us in special ways or uses us to do His work in some unique way, we should keep quiet. For we do not know what will happen in the future.

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Sep
05

Being a Participant-Observer

by ffenby

One of the thrilling things about cross-cultural work is that one is always learning something new. Here I am a 65 year-old and I am just learned a skill every teenage boy has in the bush has. How to net salmon with a 50 fathom drift net. There is a lot to it!

Eskimo and white-man pulling in a drift net

Fishing with an Eskimo Brother

Let’s assume that everything you need is with you in the boat and you are on the river. Where are the best places to deploy that 300 foot net? How is the net “organized” in the boat? How do you mark the end that will be 300 feet away from you during the drift? From what part of the boat do you deploy the net? At what angle to current to you stretch the net? How do you deploy the net? How do you secure the net to the boat? Why don’t all the other boats on the river run over your net? How do you know if you are catching anything? … This is probably less than a tenth of the list for a nice easy drift. But what do you do if something goes wrong? Like, what do you do if the net catches on a big stump in the bottom of the river?

The point here is not to list of all the questions, much less answer them. I do not even know if some of these questions are valid. Probably all of them have more that one right answer.

The next post in this series deals with what to do with all these questions.

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Sep
04

Preventing Suicide (Part 2)

by ffenby

Part one of this series contained general comments on preventing suicide. In this post we will look at instances of suicide in the Bible. Please note: Just because the Bible has examples of suicide does not mean that it approves or even suggests doing it! On the contrary, it shows suicide as a horrible end to life. From these examples we should learn how to help prevent others from even contemplating suicide.

There are only a few direct reference to suicide in the Bible. The authors seem to feel that it is the last thing anyone would want to do (no pun intended). The Jewish leaders reflect this position in John 8:22. Paul says that no one hates is own flesh. ( Ephesians 5:28-30 ) If one loves his flesh he will certainly kill it.

There are several examples of suicides in the biblical record. The first is Samson in Judges 16:28-31. We know from Judges 14:4 that the Lord’s plan for Samson was to bring revenge on the Philistines through him. This he did several times in his life, and now in his death. This case is like a soldier falling on a grenade to protect his buddies; he is fulfilling a mission that is greater than himself.

There are examples of a leader committing suicide rather than being captured killed by his enemies. These include King Saul and his armor bearer ( 1 Samuel 31:4-6 ) and Zimri ( 1 Kings 16:18 ).

The case of Ahithophel, the traitor adviser, is very complicated but essentially the same. (2 Samuel 15:12-17:23 ) The Wycliffe Bible Encyclopedia (sub verbo ((s.v.)) Ahithophel) has the full explanation. Many other reference books miss the main point.

The Philippian jailer ( Acts 16:27 ) is a similar case. He would suffer a cruel execution for a prisoner’s escape, even if it was due to an earthquake. He sees no hope.

The case of Judas is “the same only different.” His remorse at being the key witness at Jesus’ trial, and the scene he created when returning the money means that the Jews now hate him. They always found ways to kill those they did not like. On the other hand, since he was known to steal money from the disciples’ purse, he could not return to that group since Jesus is not there to protect him. He is a man without a social support structure. The following passages trace the downfall of Judas. (John 12:3-8; Matthew 26:14-16; John 13:2-4; 13:21-30; 18:1-5; and Matthew 27:1-5)

In the next part we will look at places in the Bible where people seem to contemplate suicide. We will also consider biblical prohibitions against suicide.

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Sep
03

Preventing Suicide (Part 1)

by ffenby

Why do some social groups have a high rate of suicides? What can they do to prevent it?

I have had occasions to wonder about this. For instance, I had a cousin who did it. He was in a mental institution for murdering his wife and children. He says he had a dream that told him to kill them. What make him crack the first time? What made him decide to take his own life? I have speculations, but no answers, for my questions about him.

Being somewhat of an academic I “hit the books.” And am happy to share my list with you. One thing is troubling. They start with guessing that someone is already thinking about “ending it all.” But if we wait until then we are already in a losing battle. Why not start with doing things to make sure our children, friends, and relatives “suicide proof?” We do things for our loved ones like teach them to swim and have then wear flotation aids to “drown proof” them. What can we do to “suicide proof” them? At the end of this series we will give some suggestions.

The simple answer is to love them. However, there are those who are “loved” who still take their own lives. So there is more to it than that. I wonder if some take their own lives so that those who love them avoid shame when the public learns of some “crime” they have committed. A suicide in the family they think will bring sympathy to the family, while having your name in “Guilty in the Courts” will bring shame. However, both bring shame to the family. People will wonder why the family did not see the suicide coming and work to prevent it; or did not help the person stay out of trouble.

Each family and each community needs to discover their own ways of preventing suicide. I am looking for good examples. However every community and family without a recent suicide is a good example.

Part 2 looks at the stories involving suicide in the Bible. We will look for what drove these people to do it.

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Sep
01

Bibliographies

by ffenby

I have always been involved in schools and teaching. My mother was a first grade teacher who did not retire until she was sixty-six. I am almost that old now and have no plans to retire, die, maybe, but retire no!
The primary tool of western school work is books! What which books should I read? The best way to find out is to ask someone who has already read it. The way we do that is with annotated bibliographies. Lord willing this site will contain a growing number them. Here is a quick sample. It answers the question “What about the writings of Paul Hiebert?”

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Aug
28

Do not boast about visions

by ffenby

2 Cor. 12:1-9 is the climax of Paul’s “Foolishness” speech that began in 10:1. It is part of a larger context dealing with spiritual pride. Here is my note from reading the climax:

Notice that Paul got a thorn in the flesh to prevent him from boasting about his positive special spiritual experience. Those today who think they get these sorts of things must exercise care. First, do not boast. Second, they are setting themselves up for some “thorn in the flesh” to make sure they stay humble. It appears that Paul, while allowing for such experiences, says that a person should keep these things to himself. One should not even mention that it happened. He calls talking about them foolishness. What Paul is talking about in this passage is bragging in public, and splitting the church.

We too, must exercise care and not even speak, much less brag to others, about those times the Lord shows Himself to use in very personal, intimate ways.

I think we should share these things with one or maybe two very close, very mature in the Faith and in life, spiritual mentors. The purpose of this is to confirm that the emotionally important event is genuine and not the result of pride or too much spicy food.

Some feel that they are spiritually forced to go on and on about these things. Paul was not, so I doubt that anyone else will ever be. The disciples felt compelled to share about Jesus’ resurrection, but that was a public and historically verifiable event. Our private moments with the Savior are not public and therefore cannot be historically verified.

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Aug
23

My friend’s Bible Note System.

by ffenby

Sorry I am so long in telling you about my friend’s reaction to Bible note taking methods.

My friend, for now is taking notes in the wide margins of a Bible he just bought. He knows that this method will not last forever. That some day he will need to store his notes by book, chapter and verse.

This is how I started taking my Bible study notes many long years ago. If was good enough for me then it is surely a good enough place for others to start.

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May
28

Where do you store Bible notes?

by ffenby

A friend of my stopped by the other day to help me fixing some plumbing problems. He has been a believer for about two years now. His spiritual growth is nothing less than amazing. He spends about 2 hours a day reading his Bible and taking notes.

He did however have one problem. He could not find his way back through his notes to find a comment on a specific passage. He writes his notes in a bound composition book.

I showed him two ways to solve his problem. One was to use the notes feature in Logos Bible Software.

The other is to use a note card system. When I was using this system I used 4X6 inch file cards. In the upper right hand corner I put the scripture reference. Then I would often add a title on the first line. The note would often fill most of the card. On the bottom margin I put the date I wrote the card in the lower right hand corner. To the left of that I put source that inspired the note. I used a code of SN for notes taken from a sermon and then put the church and preachers name after it. There were similar codes for other sources.

I filed the cards by the scripture reference in the upper hand corner. I probably used this system for 15 to 20 years and collected lots of cards. I now use the note system in Logos software.

My friend took instantly to the suggestion. I will check with him when I get back from Summer ministry in  Alaskan Bush and let you know how he is doing.

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