seek God

Expect Some Discomfort And Controversy Here

Rick TryonLeave a comment

Churchianity and the theological status quo should be scrutinized by all people of faith regularly. That is exactly how we got the Reformation.

Is there a New Reformation brewing? It seems so. There is a difference between truth and tradition.

Man-made Christian creeds and doctrines are no longer being blindly accepted as biblical truth just because the Protestant clergy or the Catholic Papacy say so.

The nature of God, heaven, hell, sin, the apocalypse, predestination or free-will, the Rapture, the origins of the universe – all of these ideas and more need solid reexamination to see if the commonly accepted doctrines of men used to explain them measure up to the message of scripture.

The Bible Rebel blog is a resource for those seeking original and curated content, including news and commentary, covering faith, biblical studies and interpretation, and the intersection of politics, culture, and the Bible.

Our Mission

  1. To monitor current news and events related to faith and culture.
  2. To provide an alternative viewpoint to the world’s pervasive climate of darkness, nihilism, and hopelessness for those seeking truth, light, and purpose.
  3. To examine and question the assumptions of religious tradition and provide a resource for information and inspiration for people of faith who have become dissatisfied with an increasingly lifeless and empty ‘churchianity’.
  4. To present the Biblical truths which reveal God’s nature and purposes and proclaim the lifechanging, world-altering, radical message of Yeshua the Messiah – Jesus Christ, our risen Lord and Savior.

At Bible Rebel, this is our one and only creed:
Our living God is a loving God and the Bible is His revealed word and will.
Our hope and eternal salvation relies entirely on the work of God’s only begotten son, Jesus Christ, who is the way, the truth, and the life.

So, expect some controversial viewpoints and uncomfortable ideas in some of the coming content from Bible Rebel.

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Death Row Letters: The Hiddenness of God 2

Rick TryonLeave a comment

Greetings,

In my previous letter I asked the question a lot folks have: If God is real why doesn’t He just do a bunch of magic tricks for everyone all the time so that they will see Him, believe in Him, and love Him?

Well, lets take a bit of a deep dive into the answer.

Maybe God seems ‘hidden’ to our five senses so that folks can choose faith freely, rather than being forced by undeniable proof.

God isn’t some old dude up in the clouds or some alien in outer space – God is spirit, imperceptible to our limited senses.

“God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” John 4:24

God wants a genuine, personal relationship with us, and He wants us to know him as He is. That requires some effort on our part, as in any human relationship. God doesn’t seek robots or slaves who have no choice but to obey and believe in Him.

God’s hiddenness requires us to seek deeper understanding, to doubt, to wrestle with Him, and to develop faith and patience. It requires us to work on our own character.

But make no mistake, God reveals Himself everywhere and at every moment through the complexity, precise workings, and order of His creation.

Until next time,
Your fellow death row occupant.

Why Did Paul Speak In Tongues So Much?-Part 3

Steve Sann1 Comment

Editors note: the guest article appearing here does not necessarily reflect the views of Bible Rebel editors or other guest authors and contributors. Bible Rebel seeks to present a wide range of ideas and viewpoints in order to fulfill our mission to provide resources for “Curious Fearless Faith”. This is the third installment in an ongoing series on prayer by Steve Sann.

Read Part 1 here
Read Part 2 here

So, what motivates me to speak in tongues in the first place? Most basically, because Jesus said I should, and Paul said I could. Jesus, in his final instructions on earth, commanded that future believers should speak in tongues: “And these signs shall follow them that believe…. they shall speak with new tongues.” (Mk. 16:17 KJV). And later Paul, encouraged all believers, that they both should and could: “I would that ye all spake with tongues…” (I Corinthians 14:5a KJV). So, the morning of the Day of Pentecost, when the gift of holy spirit was first received, what did the apostles do? They spoke in tongues as the Lord had commanded. 

And yet, as we look around today, it’s not uncommon to see those seeking tongues becoming discouraged, waiting endlessly in disappointment to “feel” something. Some even have reasoned that God certainly has not granted them this “special gift”. 

Even others have been taught it is exclusively for ministering in foreign languages as a missionary. But in reality, that phenomenon occurred only once in all of scripture (Acts 2): there is no promise offered nor reason suggested that it would be often repeated. Quite the opposite: we speak in tongues because the scriptures stipulate it, not because we expect sensations, or are planning some sort of religious pilgrimage! 

Every one of us has the ability to speak in tongues at the time of the new birth. Physical sensations and other such phenomena are never guaranteed by the Word, and, frankly, are most uncommon. Why should God have to use five senses incentives (emotions, feelings, and the like) to motivate a mature Christian to do what is clearly commanded in His Word? 

No—rather, the scriptures plainly encourage all believers to speak in tongues: “I would that ye all spake with tongues…” (I Corinthians14:5a). God would have all of us manifest, showing forth this ability which is already inherent in each of us. But why, then, should we strive to speak in tongues frequently? Didn’t we fulfill Christ’s directive by merely speaking in tongues the first time? On the contrary. Paul emphasized, when it comes to tongues, more is definitely better. As an example of this most healthy lifestyle, Paul pointed to himself: I thank my God I speak with tongues more than you all. – I Corinthians 14:18 

Paul’s daily habit? He spoke in tongues—much. In fact, he spoke in tongues so much that he surpassed everyone in the entire first-century Corinthian church: “…I speak with tongues more than you all.” Perhaps, as some translate, he actually spoke in tongues more than the entire Corinthian church combined. Whatever the case, by this one declaration in I Corinthians 14:18, Paul commended his own example as the standard for the church of the first century. 

Erasing Jesus, Part 4: I Don’t Like Your Jesus

p.s. tryonLeave a comment

I don’t know when I started actually liking the painting. I’d wake up in the morning, stare at it momentarily, feel somewhat comforted by the image of this fake Jesus. Weird, I know. Even cheesy. Nothing in my life outside of that was better, but focusing on the painting first thing in the morning brought a little hope that no matter what, all would be well. National politics with its surges of screamers and haters had less effect on my inner peace. I began a daily ritual of praying for world peace, the Middle East, our own country. Even my neighbors. Why hadn’t I thought before to pray for them? Right where I live, for heaven’s sake.

This particular morning I was prepping for Saturday flea market. The season was in full swing but I hadn’t gone back since homing the painting. I was anxious to chat with the old man who passed it on to me, to discover why it was me he singled out. To see if there was any reason besides just unloading a piece of old junky art that wouldn’t sell onto a likely looking sucker.

I parked and locked my bike outside the gate, hoping no one would steal the double basket that I had never fully secured over the back wheel. There on a bench sat Jojo, a well-known community homeless man. Jojo had once been a thriving business man with a wife and kids. What happened I couldn’t say, but he’d been homeless and seemingly content for a long time.

I sat down next to him in a moment of loving thy neighbor, said hello, extended my hand. I’m John, I offered. He sat silent and looked away. I wondered if he got sick of people trying to be nice to him. But I asked him how he was doing anyway. Good, good, he said. He finally smiled. I could see sandwiches peeking out of the pack he carried and a bottle of water on the bench.

Before I thought about what I was saying, I asked him if he knew Jesus.

I don’t like your Jesus! He spat the words out. I was taken aback. What could I say? I wasn’t there to push “my” Jesus on him. So I commented on the weather, asked if there was anything he needed. He shook his head and mumbled thanks.

I got up and walked away, pondering whether there was any value in talking to anyone about Jesus. I had some ideas of the Biblical Jesus, who he demonstrated himself to be. It seemed to me more important to simply try to be more like him than to mention him. You know, be kind to the poor, feed the hungry, be nice to your neighbor and don’t steal their shit. Love God (somehow) and Honor Thy Father and Mother.

Later I wondered if there were different versions of Jesus. How did Jojo even know what “my Jesus” represented? Maybe what he assumed about the subject wasn’t really my Jesus at all. Heck, I wasn’t even sure who my Jesus was, to be honest. And why hadn’t I pursued that opportunity for conversation? An open door I had closed without even trying.

I determined to dig a little deeper the next chance I got, if there ever was a next chance with anyone.

There was no booth that day for the old man with his paintings. I didn’t know if it was a temporary absence. I was surprised at how let down I felt, not being able to visit with him.

The next morning I observed a slight smear near the eye of Jesus on the painting. Had it been there all along? I’m not known for attention to detail. Then I remembered I had sprayed ammonia cleaner on

outer glass when I got it, wiping off flea market dust. Some moisture must have gotten beneath the glass.

Interested In Writing Or Vloging For Bible Rebel?

Rick TryonLeave a comment

Bible Rebel is a resource for those seeking original and curated content, including news and commentary, covering faith, biblical studies and interpretation, and the intersection of politics, culture, and the Bible.

Bible Rebel is always looking for interesting, compatible content for our biblerebel.com website/blog. We are accepting writing and video submissions for review and possible publication on our platform.

If you have a teaching series, opinion piece, research piece or other content that fits with the Bible Rebel mission we’d like to see it!

If your content fits our mission and creed, included below, then email it to us at info@biblerebel.com. Written pieces should be no more than 500 words and video content no longer than 7 minutes – either can be submitted as part of a longer series for consideration.

Our Mission

  1. To monitor current news and events related to faith and culture.
  2. To provide an alternative viewpoint to the world’s pervasive climate of darkness, nihilism, and hopelessness for those seeking truth, light, and purpose.
  3. To examine and question the assumptions of religious tradition and provide a resource for information and inspiration for people of faith who have become dissatisfied with an increasingly lifeless and empty ‘churchianity’.
  4. To present the Biblical truths which reveal God’s nature and purposes and proclaim the lifechanging, world-altering, radical message of Yeshua the Messiah – Jesus Christ, our risen Lord and Savior.

Creed of the Fellowship of the Nons
Our living God is a loving God and the Bible is His revealed word and will.
Our hope and eternal salvation relies entirely on the work of God’s only begotten son, Jesus Christ, who is the way, the truth, and the life.

Death Row Letters: Dear Atheists Part 2

Rick Tryon1 Comment

In my previous letter addressed to my atheist friends I promised we’d start looking at some of what the Bible says about the problem of suffering, which is a top argument against the existence of God.

Although, I’ll say here that folks arguing against the existence of God is akin to fish arguing against the existence of water.

Nevertheless, questions need to be answered so here’s some of the biblical answer to the problem of evil and suffering in the world today.

Romans 8:18 – For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.

Well, I reckon I agree with the Apostle Paul here.

If eternity is represented by the size and scope of the entire known universe, which contains billions of galaxies, each with billions of stars, and according to best estimates, is 93 light years across, then our short lives in this age by comparison would be the size of a grain of sand. Even smaller.

Actually there is no comparison that we can wrap our heads around to understand the eternal life God has promised us in relation to the short years of our mortal lives in this age.

And not only has our heavenly Father guaranteed us everlasting life, but everlasting life in resurrected, glorious, immortal bodies to live forever with Him, free of death, pain, and suffering.

So, while suffering and pain is hard to understand and bear while going through it, no matter how awful or how long one has to endure it, it is infinitesimally brief compared to what God has in store for those that love Him.

2 Corinthians 4:17 – For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory…

So, going back to what I said in my last letter – God is entirely just, and He has committed Himself, for now, to abiding by the conditions which allow for suffering and pain in our physical world and in our current time – but it all is as nothing in the face of the coming eternal glory.

Oh, look at where the time has gone. I’ll have to wrap it up for now, but next time I’ll get into a little more about what the Bible says about the two kinds of evil – human evil, and natural evil.

Sincerely yours,
Your fellow death row inmate