Why do so many “Christians” who grew up in the church fall away from their faith? I believe it’s because they grew up being taught that truth is an object. They were taught that truth and the Bible are equivalent. But truth is not an object, it is a person – Jesus Christ. The Bible tells stories and prophecies about The Truth but it is not the truth itself. Their hope was misplaced. They were taught that the Bible had all the answers to life but later found out that it did not. Seek the Truth; Seek Jesus. Everything else is just “religion”, you can be sure of that.
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How do I know anything about Jesus?
Through the Bible, tradition, and personal experience.
How did the church in Galatia (for instance) know anything about Jesus? They didn’t have the Bible and they probably didn’t know anything at all about the Old Testament but they still believed and continued growing after Paul left them.
Actually, they had more than tradition and experience. They had already received the biblical gospel from none other than the NT authors themselves. (1:6-8) Also, they had the same scriptures that Jesus had. This is seen throughout Paul’s letter as he quotes OT passages all over the place (and without explanation…he must have been assuming they knew where he was getting this…3:10-13 as just one example). And they are receiving inspired truth in the letter from Paul which is biblical truth.
Based on the epistle of Galatians wouldn’t you agree that Paul actually says that man’s teachings/experience is pretty much second rate? (1:11-12) It seems that he claims that only God’s revelation to man is worth anything.
Besides, I don’t think People don’t fall away because they have believed too strongly in the bible…people fall away because they never really had saving faith in the first place. Because of that they don’t accept God’s word as authoritative and begin to do whatever in the name of Christ. If we go with tradition and experience we get into trouble…there is a lot of both out there and it so often contradicts other traditions/experiences and contradicts the bible. So I ask you in reflection of what Paul says…what if someone comes to me and shares a tradition that isn’t the gospel but they call it the gospel? What should I do with such a teaching or tradition? Cf. John 17:17
Right I agree…I don’t mean a feel good experience. I mean an actual divine interaction with God.
I also agree that they didn’t have saving faith in the first place. They put their faith in the Bible, but didn’t understand that the Bible is simply a collection of stories/prophecies that point to Christ. Christ was never their focus.
I’m confused by your use of the term “gospel”. It just simply means the good news. It doesn’t change. So I don’t understand your question about “what if someone comes to me….and call it the gospel”. No one can add to the gospel. We can add our own experiences and traditions that are in line with the gospel but the gospel is a done deal. I think you’ll agree with that, right?
You make a good point about the Galatians being taught by Paul from the old testament. But I’m still not sure how that all worked out because the Old Testament would’ve meant nothing to them until Paul introduced it to them. That one is confusing to me. Maybe we can talk about that more in person.
I think Paul placed a high value on experience. In 2 Cor 3 Paul says:
You are our letter, written in our hearts, known and read by all men; being manifested that you are a letter of Christ, cared for by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.
He seems to pretty clear that the Spirit of God is a living thing that is manifested in our human hearts. He didn’t say manifested in the scriptures or manifested in my teachings. I’m not quite sure how Gal 1:11-12 downplays experience. In that section he was basically addressing any doubt that had been spread through the Galatian church that Paul didn’t know what he was talking about. I don’t mean this with an angry tone but I think you quoted that out of context a little.
I didn’t think you were angry…
“He seems to pretty clear that the Spirit of God is a living thing that is manifested in our human hearts. He didn’t say manifested in the scriptures or manifested in my teachings.”
Careful…borderline heresy…Calling God’s Spirit a thing, just kidding, I know you didn’t mean it like that. Actually, the bible teaches just those things about itself. The word of God is living (Heb. 4:12,1 Pet. 1:23), the apostles teachings were not just stories but rather the word of God (1 Thes. 2:13). The Holy Spirit breathed out the scriptures and it is complete for all things in life (2 Peter 1:20-21, 2 Tim. 3:16,17). The word is the power of God to bring salvation and manifests itself in believer’s souls (James 1:18, 21).
In Galatians, Paul does not explicitly state that he is inspired but Peter recognizes his words and letters as scripture…inspired by God just as the OT. (2 Peter 3:15-17)
We are not first century Christians who are receiving more and more revelation as we live. God’s word has been revealed and is sufficient to live by and judge all things by.
The whole point of the text in Galatians 1 is about specific vs. general revelation. So when Paul claims that nothing he taught was received from man wouldn’t that imply experience? Certainly human tradition is explicit but since divine revelation is the standard doesn’t that throw everything else out?
2 Cor. 3 Paul placed a high value on looking to these believers as support for his genuine apostolic call especially as he defended his ministry against false apostles. But I would not say that he is validating human experience as equal revelation as the scriptures are.
I believe the Word is a reference to Jesus in James 1. James was one of the first (if not first) epistles written in the new testament. There was no written “word” to refer to.
“In the begining was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God.”
“We are not first century Christians who are receiving…”
I disagree with this statement. God is always being revealed more and more in new ways. The Bible was labeled The Bible by humans, not by God. What makes you think it’s closed?
Yes there was written word to refer to, the OT. It is not correct to say that James is talking about Jesus. The word for “word” in John is “logos” and is only used in John referring. Plus the context demands that the word is not Jesus but what is taught and heard. (verses 19-25)
How is God revealed more and more in new ways? I don’t understand this statement to reply to it. Can you give me an example?