It’s -30°C.

It’s minus 30 degree Celsius. How cold is minus 30 degree? Well, you just walk about 10 minutes outside and your eye brows freeze. It’s nostril freezing kind of cold. We worried about the cold weather, but, if you dress up warmly, it is actually all right. God created the world and He also made us to adjust to any environment.

Ruth and Jason are all bundle up to go to the language school everyday. We want to cover our face, too, but you have to see where you are going. Sometimes, your forehead would freeze and you get a brain freeze. It will get colder in January. Oh, how nice!

We can adjust to the cold weather because it is a part of God’s creation. What’s difficult is the polluted air condition created by people. The entire city of Ulaanbaatar is covered with smoke from buring coals. Children with different lung disease have increased six times compared to the last year. Jason also suffers from consistent coughing and flu like symptoms. Government has limited funds to deal with this very important living condition problem. In fact, pollution in the city is more difficult challenge than the cold weather.

Our CAMA international workers are minstering in Ulaanbaatar, Darhan, Bulgan and Erdenet. Our heart is to move further to the western part of the country. It is important to establish good ministry here in Ulaanbaatar as well  because more than half of the Mongolian population live here. We are praying whether or not God will direct us to the West after our language study.

This is the road that leads to Darhan, the second largest city in Mongolia. Many factories were established by former USSR government, however, many have abandoned the area after the fall of former USSR . Thankfully, there are many churches actively invovled in ministries. It takes about 3 hours by car from Ulaanbaatar to Darhan.

Mongolia is famous for long, lonely journey through the desert and stepp. You find only cows and horses, grazing along the road. At night, there are no lights or the signs of civilization. There are only countless stars and amazingly beautiful Milky Way above your head. In the Bible, people often met God in the desert. The desert is a place that embraces the silence. There are no one to listen to you when you shout. There are no one to appreciate you. It is a place where you truly seek God and you truly trust Him and Him only.

Jason arrived in Darhan with his Mongolian friend, Tomoru.

Jason took some pictures of children playing near the newly built monument. Except for the sun glasses, Jason can pass as their uncle.

This young couple is one of local pastors in Darhan church. They recently came back to Darhan after establishing churches in surrouding small towns. They again plan to leave for another mission trip. Within 15 years of Christianity in Mongolia, local Mongolian churches are sending missionaries of their own.

Jason took Peter and Hanuel to our Thanksgiving gathering in Bulgan. It took 10 hours because of frozen roads. Peter could not use the out door bathroom because the bathroom floor has frozen and he might fall. So, there he is.

Here is Bulgan. This is a state capital but feels more like a small town. You can easily find people walking long distance because there is no bus service.

Hanuel took pictures with her fellow missionary children. Children get sick easily in Mongolia and there are limited medical facilities. Our children need lots of prayers and encouragement.

Jason visited a city called Erdenet, one hour drive from Bulgan. Missionary Yim has his post here. Erdenet is a growing city with many mining companies. The train is connected to the city from the capital. The city is also a gateway to the west. Missionary Yim has vision to establish churches in surrounding area.

It’s winter.

We have our first snow in October. Everyone here are getting ready for a harsh winter. People are fixing their ger (Mongolian traditional tent house) and eat lots of fatty meat. During this time, people also stay busy gathering woods and buying coals to keep their houses warm. For many of homeless people, long and difficult winter months await them. It is the same with many animals and livestocks. Cows and horses roam the winterly fields to find grasses buried under the snow. It is easy to find stray dogs frozen to death at night.

Surprisingly, what is more difficult than minus 30 degree weather is the polluted air here in Ulaan Baatar. Each morning, you can not see a mountain right in front of you because of all the smoke from ger, burning coals and woods.

Within past 5 years, Ulaan Baatar experienced a population explosion. There are more than 1.5 Million people living in this city and that is more than half of the entire Mongolian population. Among these 1.5 Million people, 70% of them live in Ger district. There is no public heating or plumbing system in Ger district. This recent population explosion is causing many problems associated with major metropolitan cities (crimes and pollution). Many missionaries and church leaders have recognized Ger district as a place to share the Gospel and have future plans to reach the people here.

You can easily find stores selling coals and woods. Burning coals is the major contributor of pollution. It is also the cheapest way to stay warm in Ger. People spend about $3 a day to heat their home.

Winter is a harsh season for people and animals. You can easily find stray dogs dead during the night.

Some homeless people find a warm place to spend the night under ground.

A power plant in Ulaan Baatar delivers hot water through these pipe lines. It was built in 1930’s and it can no longer be able to service people in Ger District.

We visited our Mongolian friend’s home. His wife’s parents are doctors and they each earn about $500 a month. Working people earn about $200 a month. Due to high cost of living in the city, both parents have to work and many work at several jobs.

Our friend, Erigka will be going to Korea in December with a scholarship from Han Jin Group. We became friends when Jason taught him Korean in his college.

Ruth is drinking “Su-te-che” (Mongolian traditional milk tea. Su-te-che is a very important drink in Mongolia. Su-te-che is to Mongolian as Kim-chi is to Korean.

Oh! It was so cold outside but Angel wanted to play in the snow.

The poster in the back ground reads, “Beware of Dog!” Many people have dogs in their houses, so, Mongolian people would say, “Get a hold of your dog!” when someone visits their houses. This is a television program studio (Channel C1) and Jason was a guest panel to discuss about issues with Ger district. Jason talked about air pollutions in Korea. The program aired at 7pm on Sunday, November 2, 2008.

Back to the school!

We have started our language study on the first week of September. Mongolian and Korean language share remarkably similar language structures. It is amazing how two completely different sounding languages can share so much. We found many of the same expressions are used in both languages. Later on, we will share some of these findings with you.

Peter and Hanuel started their school as well. They go to American School and the instruction is done in English. However, 80% of the students are Mongolian children and each class has a Mongolian assistant. They are instructed in bilingual setting. Peter and Hanuel have made many friends. Ms. Jaya, Peter’s teacher is from India (educated in England) and Ms. Catherine M, Haneul’s teacher, is from Canada.

Angel also attends a local government sponsored day care center. However, he gets sick a lot. So, far, Angel has been suffering from accruing colds, fever, stomach virus, vomiting and diarrhea. It has been non-stop. His body is getting adjusted to a new setting. Please pray for his health. We sometimes feel so helpless because it is our littlest one who is suffering the most.

The air quality in Ulaan Bataar is getting worse by day. You can already smell the burning coals and the sky over the ger district is already foggy as the night time temperature dips into the minus column.

We are excited about how God will guide us as we pray for a ministry. For now, our language study is our ministry and we need to focus on learning one of the best tools in sharing the Gospel, Mongolian language.

At our Bridge Language School with our fellow CAMA missionaries, Erik and Christiana Wahlen

Angel at his day care center with Mongolian friends.

Mongolian meals contain so much fat in order to stay warm during the cold winter month. Angel smells like mutton meat from head to toes when he comes back from his school.

Larry and Susan Savage had served in Mongolia for last three years. Larry is an accountant and financial advisor. They left the field on September 4 and Ruth works as a bookkeeper for the Mongolian field.

Ulaan Bataar’s skyline is changing literally over night. There are many new buildings being constructed and modernized city means more traffic, crimes and higher unemployment.

One of the characteristics of Communist country is a huge square in the middle of the city. Sukbaatar Square is the center of Ulaan Baatar. There are many government buildings, museums, theaters and opera house.

Last summer, Ulaan Baatar was a war zone for a few days. Some of the government buildings were damaged from riots and demonstrations. Some repairs are being done.

We are in Mongolia!

Ulaan Baatar, Mongolian Capital

Ulaan Baatar City View

Traffic Jam! Your wouldn’t think that we have a traffic jam here. There is no traffic light.

Train just arriving from Beijing, China

Old Soviet Structure near the train station.

A Mongolian man selling airag (fermented mare’s milk)

Only the weeds grow in this harsh weather. A weed garden is actually precious in Mongolia where few trees grow.

Mongolian Church

Famous Mongolian Steppe

Traditional Ger

Angel is sleeping! Many cows, horses, goats and sheep roam around the field without anyone watching them.

There are more horses than men in Mongolia. We found some of them on the mountain.

Famous Trelij National Park near Ulaan Baatar.

Beautiful flowers

Transition to Mission

It has been a wonderfully busy month. We had a dedication service, visited many friends who we may not see for a long time and also packed our things. Many “stuffs” we gathered for last 10 years in the United States were thrown away and all we have now are about 10 extra large “immigrant” bags.

Even before we started to grief for our loss, we are called for a month of mission training at Wheaton College in Chicago.

We started our week with 18 other new missionary families. There were no dry eyes as each of us shared their stories of how God faithful lead us.

Within next few weeks, each of us will departure to different areas of the world. Some families are going to places where we are not allowed to even mention the names of the country.

Just like two young missionaries who arrived in the land of Korea 100 years ago, these young missionaries are also called to serve in the land under the rule of darkness and bondage.

We, too, come aboard a long journey to repay our debts to those who have gone before us.

(Korean)

지난 한달 정말 바쁘게 보냈습니다. 파송 예배와 앞으로 오랫동안 만나질 못할 분들을 찾아 인사드리고 또 이사짐 정리를 하였습니다. 지난 10년간 미국에서 살면서 모아 놓은 모든 짐들의 절반이 쓰레기로 버려지고 10개 남짓한 이민 가방으로 다시 정리가 되었습니다.

떠나야 한다는 이별의 슬픔도 다시 시작하는 한달간의 선교 훈련이 새로운 세계로 저희들을 이끌고 있습니다.

이곳 시카고 Wheaton College에서 한달간 다른 선교사 18 가정과 함께 지난 주부터 선교사 훈련을 시작하였습니다. 각자의 다른 삶의 스토리와 주님의 이끄심을 나눌 때마다 모두 눈물을 흘리지 않을 수 없었습니다.

한달 후면 모두 다른 지역으로 각각 떠날 것입니다. 어떤 이는 지역을 밝힐 수 없는 곳을 가는 가정도 있었습니다.

100년전 어두움의 조선 땅을 밝은 미국의 두 젊은 선교사들 처럼 지금도 그들은 이렇게 복음이 들어 가지 않은 미지의 땅으로 떠나고 있었습니다.

저희들도 그 복음의 빚을 갚기 위해 그들과 함께 긴 여정을 떠납니다.

After a long day of training, we are stopping by at a rail road track, returning to our apartment in Wheaton College, Chicago.

(Korean) 저희들이 선교 훈련을 받고 있는 시카고 Wheaton College에서 하루 일과를 마치고 숙소로 돌아 오는 중 기차 철로를 배경으로 잠시 포즈를 취했습니다.

During the last Sunday before coming to our mission training, we visited our Cambodian Church in the Bronx. Ruth is praying for the Sunday School children.

(Korean) 저희들이 모든 짐을 정리하고 시카고로 훈련을 받으려 오기 전 주에 저희들이 지난 5년간 섬기던 브롱스 캄보디아 교회를 방문하여 말씀을 전했습니다. 이 사진은 저의 아내가 주일학교 학생을 위해서 기도를 하고 있는 모습입니다.

We had a dedication service at One Life Church on May 25, 2008. We were worried that not many people would be able to attend the service since it was Memorial Day weekend. We were so grateful that many families and friends came out to support our new ministry in Mongolia.

(Korean) 저희들이 지난 1년간 섬기던 한생명 교회에서 5월25일 파송 예배를 드렸습니다. 본의 아니게 메모리얼 휴가철에 예배를 드리게 되어 많은 분들이 참석을 못하리라 생각하였는데 그래도 많이 첨석하여 주셔서 참으로 감사 드립니다. 특히 캄보디아 교인들이 많이 참석하여 주어서 무엇보다 고마왔습니다.

Jason graduated from ATS (Alliance Theological Seminary, Nyack, New York) a few weeks before leaving for mission. It took him about 8 years. We came to know Christian and Missionary Alliance through ATS where Jason feels like he started his second life.

(Korean) 어렵게 선교를 떠나기 몇 주 전에 ATS를 졸업을 했습니다. 약 8년이 걸린 것 같습니다. 선교를 배우려고 미국에 와서 C&MA 교단을 알게 되었고 다시 이곳 캄보디아 교회에서 봉사하고 드디어 C&MA 선교사로 파송을 받아 갑니다. ATS는 여러 모로 저의 제2의 인생을 갖게한 곳이기도 합니다.

Jason served at a small Korean church in Little Ferry, New Jersey for last 6 months. It is a church with a big heart and love for Christ. We joined their church picnic right before leaving for Wheaton.

(Korean) 지난 6개월간 저가 사역한 조그마한 교회와 마지막 피크닉을 갔습니다. 비롯 교회는 작지만 참으로 마음이 따뜻한 교회였습니다. 다시 4년 뒤에 방문 한다면 기억을 잘 할지…

This is the worship praising team from America Wheat Mission (mission for people with disabilities) during our dedication service. We had never worked so joyfully with an organization before. We only have wonderful memories for the people who are serving the Lord so faithfully.

(Korean) 파송 예배 때 저희가 지난 1년간 사역한 밀알 선교단에서 수화찬양을 하고 있습니다. 정말 재미있게 한 없이 사역을 한적이 없었던 것 같습니다. 그래도 시간이 가도 모두 추억으로 사라지지 않았으면 합니다.

Dedication Service

Finally, we are leaving this country to serve to the people of Mongolia with C&MA.

Please remember our new ministry in Mongolia in your prayer as well as our three young children.

We would be grateful if you can attend our dedication service.

Date: Sunday, May 25, 2008
Time: 6:00 PM
Place: One Life Church at 242 East Midland Avenue, Paramus, NJ 07652

Who we are;

Jason Hyun Lee

• Youth Pastor – Bronx Cambodian Church, One Life Church
• Hospital Intern Chaplain – NYU Medical Center
• Layout Designer – Korea Daily News in NY

• M.Div. Presbyterian Theological Seminary, Seoul, Korea
• M.A. Alliance Theological Seminary, Nyack, NY
• A+ and Network+ certified

Ruth Kim

• Special education teacher
• B.A. New York University, NY, NY
• M.A. Teachers College, Columbia University, NY, NY
• New York State Teacher license N-6 regular education, K-12 Special education

What C&MA is;

The Christian and Missionary Alliance (C&MA) is an Evangelical Protestant denomination within Christianity.

Founded by Rev. Albert Benjamin Simpson in 1887, the Christian & Missionary Alliance did not start off as a denomination, but rather began as two distinct parachurch organizations: The Christian Alliance which focused on the pursuit and promotion of the Higher Christian life and The Evangelical Missionary Alliance, which focused on mobilizing “consecrated” Christians in the work of foreign missionary efforts. These two groups amalgamated in 1897 to form The Christian and Missionary Alliance. It was only much later during the mid twentieth century that an official denomination was formed.

As of 2006, there are 2,010 C&MA churches and approximately 417,000 members in the United States. Approximately 600 of those churches are described as intercultural. In Canada, there are 440 churches, 59 of which are multicultural, and approximately 120,000 members. In the C&MA 2004 annual report estimated that outside of the U.S. and Canada, C&MA membership exceeds 3 million.

(source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_and_Missionary_Alliance)

(Korean)

지난 2년 동안 여러 차례의 인터뷰와 수백 페이지의 서류와 검사를 걸쳐 어렵게 C&MA 파송 선교사로 결정이 나고 이제 6월이면 정든 집을 떠나 드디어 몽골을 향합니다.

선교 파송의 기다림과 설레임이 떠나기전 1달을 남겨두고 이제는 미지의 세계에 대한 두려움으로 변하고 있네요.

항상 저희 가족을 잊지 말아 주시고 특히 저희 어린 자녀들를 위한 기도 부탁드립니다.

시간이 허락되시면 선교파송 예배에 참석하셔서 떠나는 저희 가족에게 큰 사랑의 힘이 되어 주셨으면 합니다.

날짜: 2008 년 5월25일 주일
시간: 오후 6시
장소: 한생명 교회 (242 East Midland Avenue, Paramus, NJ 07652)

The history of translation of the Bible

The history of translation of the Bible

Tanakh

The oldest books of the Bible are the Pentateuch, also known as the Torah. They are written in Hebrew and are also called the “Books of Moses”, being traditionally attributed to the lawgiver Moses himself.

In addition to the Torah, the Jewish scriptures include the Nevi’im (“prophets”) and the Ketuvim (“writings”), the combined tripartite collection being designated by the Hebrew acronym “Tanakh“.

The original texts of the Tanakh were in Hebrew, with some portions (notably in Daniel and Ezra) in Aramaic. From the 800s to the 1400s, rabbinic Jewish scholars known as the Masoretes compared the text of all known Biblical manuscripts in an effort to create a unified standardized text; a series of highly similar texts eventually emerged, and any of these texts are known as Masoretic Texts (MT).

In antiquity other variant readings existed, some of which have survived in the Samaritan Pentateuch, the Dead Sea scrolls, and other ancient fragments, as well as being attested in ancient versions in other languages.

By the year 1, most Jews no longer spoke Hebrew as a vernacular, but instead spoke Greek or Aramaic; so they made translations or paraphrases into these languages. The most important of the translations into Greek was the Septuagint version of the Torah and of other books linked with it, but other Greek translations were made as well. Versions of the Septuagint contain several passages and whole books additional to what was included in the Masoretic texts of the Tanakh. In some cases these additions were originally composed in Greek, while in other cases they are translations of Hebrew books or variants not present in the Masoretic text. Recent discoveries have shown that more of the Septuagint additions have a Hebrew origin than was once thought.

The Jews also produced non-literal translations or paraphrases known as targums, primarily in Aramaic. They frequently expanded on the text with additional details taken from Rabbinic oral tradition.

The ever-increasing number of variants in Latin manuscripts induced Pope Damasus, in 382, to commission his secretary, Saint Jerome, to produce a reliable and consistent text. Jerome later took it on himself to make a completely new translation directly from the Hebrew of the Tanakh. This translation became the basis of the Vulgate Latin translation.

New Testament

Most scholars believe that all of the New Testament was originally composed in Greek. There are also several ancient versions in other languages, most important of which are the Syriac (Peshitta) and the Latin (Vulgate).

The earliest critical edition of the New Testament is the Textus Receptus (Latin for “received text”) compiled by the humanist Desiderius Erasmus. The Textus Receptus was for many centuries the standard critical edition of the New Testament.

On the canonization of the Bible

Development of the Old Testament Canon

1000-50 BC:

The Old Testament (hereafter “OT”) books are written.

C. 200 BC:

Rabbis translate the OT from Hebrew to Greek, a translation called the “Septuagint” (abbreviation: “LXX”). The LXX ultimately includes 46 books.

AD 30-100:

Christians use the LXX as their scriptures. This upsets the Jews.

C. AD 100:

So Jewish rabbis meet at the Council of Jamniah and decide to include in their canon only 39 books, since only these can be found in Hebrew.

C. AD 400:

Jerome translates the Bible from Hebrew and Greek into Latin (called the “Vulgate“). He knows that the Jews have only 39 books, and he wants to limit the OT to these; the 7 he would leave out (Tobit, Judith, 1 Maccabees, 2 Maccabees, Wisdom of Solomon, Sirach [or "Ecclesiasticus"], and Baruch–he calls “apocrypha,” that is, “hidden books.” But Pope Damasus wants all 46 traditionally-used books included in the OT, so the Vulgate has 46.

AD 1536:

Luther translates the Bible from Hebrew and Greek to German. He assumes that, since Jews wrote the Old Testament, theirs is the correct canon; he puts the extra 7 books in an appendix that he calls the “Apocrypha.”

AD 1546:

The Catholic Council of Trent reaffirms the canonicity of all 46 books.

Development of the New Testament Canon

C. AD 51-125:

The New Testament books are written, but during this same period other early Christian writings are produced–for example, the Didache (c. AD 70), 1 Clement (c. 96), the Epistle of Barnabas (c. 100), and the 7 letters of Ignatius of Antioch (c. 110).

C. AD 140:

Marcion, a businessman in Rome, teaches that there were two Gods: Yahweh, the cruel God of the OT, and Abba, the kind father of the NT. So Marcion eliminates the Old Testament as scriptures and, since he is anti-Semitic, keeps from the NT only 10 letters of Paul and 2/3 of Luke’s gospel (he deletes references to Jesus’ Jewishness). Marcion’s “New Testament”–the first to be compiled–forces the mainstream Church to decide on a core canon: the four gospels and letters of Paul.

C. AD 200:

But the periphery of the canon is not yet determined. According to one list, compiled at Rome c. AD 200 (the Muratorian Canon), the NT consists of the 4 gospels; Acts; 13 letters of Paul (Hebrews is not included); 3 of the 7 General Epistles (1-2 John and Jude); and also the Apocalypse of Peter.

AD 367:

The earliest extant list of the books of the NT, in exactly the number and order in which we presently have them, is written by Athanasius, Bishop of Alexandria, in his Easter letter of 367. [Note: this is well after the Constantine's Edict of Toleration in 313 A.D.]

AD 904:

Pope Damasus, in a letter to a French bishop, lists the New Testament books in their present number and order.

AD 1442:

At the Council of Florence, the entire Church recognizes the 27 books, though does not declare them unalterable.

AD 1536:

In his translation of the Bible from Greek into German, Luther removes 4 NT books (Hebrews, James, Jude, and Revelations) from their normal order and places them at the end, stating that they are less than canonical.

AD 1546:

At the Council of Trent, the Catholic Church reaffirms once and for all the full list of 27 books as traditionally accepted.

The early church history

On the early church fathers

• Pope Clement I (called CLEMENS ROMANUS), is the first of the successors of St. Peter of whom anything definite is known, and he is the first of the “Apostolic Fathers”. He has left one genuine writing, a letter to the Church of Corinth, and many others have been attributed to him.

• Ignatius of Antioch was the third patriarch of Antioch, after Saint Peter and Euodius, who died around AD 68. Peter himself appointed Ignatius to the see of Antioch.Ignatius, who also called himself Theophorus (“vessel of God”), was most likely a disciple of both Apostles Peter and John. He is generally considered to be one of the Apostolic Fathers, and a saint by both the Catholic and the Orthodox churches. Ignatius based his authority on living his life in imitation of Christ.
• Polycarp (69?-155?), Christian prelate, one of the Apostolic Fathers, bishop at Smyrna (now İzmir, Turkey) during the first half of the 2nd century. He received a visit and an epistle from another of the Apostolic Fathers, Ignatius of Antioch, just prior to Ignatius’s martyrdom (perhaps in 116). Toward the end of his life he represented the churches of Asia Minor in meetings with Anicetus, bishop of Rome; one topic of the talks was the dating of Easter. Polycarp was martyred at Smyrna at the age of 86.

• Saint Justin Martyr (Justin the Martyr) (c. 100/114 – c. 162/168) was an early Christian apologist (defender of the faith). His works represent the earliest surviving Christian apologies of notable size.

• Saint Irenaeus (c. 130 – 202) was bishop of Lugdunum in Gaul, which is now Lyons, France. He is recognized as a saint by both the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church, and his writings were formative in the early development of Christian theology. The Catholic Church considers him a Father of the Church. He was a disciple of Polycarp, who himself was a disciple of John the Evangelist.

• St. Clement was an early Greek theologian and head of the catechetical school of Alexandria. Athens is given as the starting-point of his journeyings, and was probably his birthplace. He became a convert to the Faith and traveled from place to place in search of higher instruction, attaching himself successively to different masters: to a Greek of Ionia, to another of Magna Graecia, to a third of Coele-Syria, after all of whom he addressed himself in turn to an Egyptian, an Assyrian, and a converted Palestinian Jew. At last he met Pantaenus in Alexandria, and in his teaching “found rest”.

• Tertullian, (b. ca. 150-160, d. ca. 220-240) was a church leader and highly prolific writer during the early years of Christianity. He was born, lived, wrote, and died in Carthage, in what is today Tunisia.Tertullian is a controversial individual within the history of the church. On one hand, he was the first great writer of Latin Christianity, often called the “Father of the Western Church.” On the other hand, he left the orthodox catholic Church late in his life and joined the heterodox Montanists, a movement considered by many to have been a cult, and was thus never declared a saint by any surviving Christian church.

• Origen was a Christian scholar and theologian and one of the most distinguished of the Fathers of the early Christian Church. He was born about 182, probably at Alexandria, and died at Caesarea not later than 251. His writings are important as the first serious intellectual attempt to describe Christianity.

On the heresies in the early church

• Ebionism is the view that Jesus was fully human, but not divine. Ebionites denied the deity of Christ. Ebionism viewed Jesus as a normal human being who was simply empowered by God. Ebionism is rejected by a multitude of Scriptures (John 1:1,14; 8:58; 10:30; 20:28; Philippians 2:6; Hebrews 1:8). Eutychianism is the view that Jesus was neither fully human or fully divine, but rather a mixture of humanity and divinity. Eutychianism is refuted by all of the Scriptures previously mentioned, both those affirming His deity and affirming His humanity. Yet another early church heresy relation to Christ’s nature is Nestorianism. Nestorianism held that Jesus had two nature, human and divine, and that the two natures were entirely separate. Jesus was God, and Jesus was man, but essentially in two separate persons. From what we have studied in relation to the other views, Nestorianism is to be strongly rejected as well.
• Gnosticism is the belief that one must have a “gnosis” (from Greek “Gnosko,” to know) or inner knowledge which is mystical knowledge obtained only after one has been properly initiated. Only a few can possess this mystical knowledge, limiting the number of those “in the know”. It is a heresy that Paul battled against in some of his letters to the churches and was soundly condemned as a heresy in the first century church (40-100 A.D.). It is resurrected today as the forerunner to the New Age Religion where virtually anything goes and “religion” takes on many forms, especially the mystic Eastern religions that are so prevalent today.

• Montanism is named after a man named Montanus who became a convert to Christianity around A.D. 170. He lived in Asia Minor and prior to his conversion, he was a priest in an Asiatic cult called Cybele. He claimed that he had the gift of prophecy, prophesying in an ecstatic state. Montanus was joined by two women, Priscilla and Maximilla, who also claimed to have the gift of prophecy and also prophesied in an ecstatic state.The early church rejected Montanus and the prophetesses and their prophecies. The rejection was based on the biblical examples of other prophets. While Montanus, Priscilla, and Maximilla were irrational when prophesying, prophets of the Bible were rational in their thinking and actions. Old Testament prophets spoke an understandable message; they were always in control; they always spoke with reason and understanding. The church expected New Testament prophets to follow the same pattern as Old Testament prophets. If they did not, they were rejected as false prophets.
• Manichæism is a religion founded by the Persian Mani in the latter half of the third century. It purported to be the true synthesis of all the religious systems then known, and actually consisted of Zoroastrian Dualism, Babylonian folklore, Buddhist ethics, and some small and superficial, additions of Christian elements. As the theory of two eternal principles, good and evil, is predominant in this fusion of ideas and gives color to the whole, Manichæism is classified as a form of religious Dualism. It spread with extraordinary rapidity in both East and West and maintained a sporadic and intermittent existence in the West (Africa, Spain, France, North Italy, the Balkans) for a thousand years, but it flourished mainly in the land of its birth, (Mesopotamia, Babylonia, Turkestan) and even further East in Northern India, Western China, and Tibet, where, c. A.D. 1000, the bulk of the population professed its tenets and where it died out at an uncertain date.

Dispensationalism

Dispensationalism is a branch of Christian theology that (1) teaches Biblical history as best understood in light of a number of successive economies or administrations under God, which it calls “dispensations,” and (2) emphasizes prophecy of the end-times and the pre-tribulation rapture view of Christ’s second coming.

History

Born out of the restless religious environment in England and Ireland in the 1820s, its beginnings are rooted in the Plymouth Brethren movement and particularly the teaching of John Nelson Darby (1800-1882). The Plymouth Brethren movement, basically a reaction against the established church and its ecclesiology, became known for its anti-denominational, anti-clerical, and anti-creedal stance. While theologically within the orthodox camp, the Plymouth Brethren (Darby in particular) developed some unique ideas regarding the interpretation of Scripture while emphasizing prophecy and the second coming of Christ. The theology of this movement became known as dispensationalism.

This new teaching first spread in America through prophecy conferences such as the Niagara Bible Conferences (1883-1897). Most importantly, Dwight L. Moody was sympathetic to the broad outlines of dispensationalism and had as his closest lieutenants dispensationalist leaders such as Reuben A. Torrey (1856-1928), James M. Gray (1851-1925), Cyrus I. Scofield (1843-1921), William J. Eerdman (1833-1923), A. C. Dixon (1854-1925), and A. J. Gordon (1836-1895). These men were activist evangelists who promoted a host of Bible conferences and other missionary and evangelistic efforts. They also gave the dispensationalist movement institutional permanence by assuming leadership of the new independent Bible institutes such as the Moody Bible Institute (1886), the Bible Institute of Los Angeles (1907), and the Philadelphia College of the Bible (1914). The network of related institutes that soon sprang up became the nucleus for the spread of American dispensationalism.

The energetic efforts of C. I. Scofield and his associates introduced dispensationalism to a wider audience in America and bestowed a measure of respectability through his Scofield Reference Bible. The publication of the Scofield Reference Bible in 1909 by the Oxford University Press was something of an innovative literary coup for the movement, since for the first time, overtly dispensationalist notes were added to the pages of the biblical text. The Scofield Reference Bible became the leading bible used by independent Evangelicals and Fundamentalists for the next sixty years. Lewis Sperry Chafer (1871-1952), strongly influenced by C. I. Scofield, founded Dallas Theological Seminary in 1924 which has become the flagship of Dispensationalism in America. Dispensationalism has come to dominate the American Evangelical scene especially among non-denominational Bible churches, many Baptists, and most Pentecostal and Charismatic groups.

Dispensationalist theology

Dispensationalism seeks to address what many see as opposing theologies between the Old Testament and New Testament. Its name comes from the fact that it sees biblical history as best understood in light of (usually) seven dispensations in the Bible. These are:

(1) the dispensation of innocence (pre-fall),

(2) of conscience,

(3) of government,

(4) of patriarchal rule,

(5) of the Mosaic Law,

(6) of grace (the current church age), and

(7) of a still future 1000 year Millennium.

Each one of these dispensations supposedly represents a different way in which God deals with man, specifically a different testing for man. However, in addition to these dispensations, the real theological significance can be seen in four basic tenets which underlie classic dispensational teaching. Dispensationalism maintains:

(1) a radical distinction between Israel and the church, i.e. there are two peoples of God with two different destinies, earthly Israel and the spiritual church,

(2) a radical distinction between the Law and Grace, i.e. they are mutually exclusive ideas,

(3) the view that the New Testament church is a parenthesis in God’s plan which was not foreseen by the Old Testament, and

(4) a distinction between the Rapture and the Second Coming of Christ, i.e. the rapture of the church at Christ’s coming “in the air” (1 Thess. 4:17) precedes the “official” second coming by 7 years of tribulation.

These tenets are supposedly derived from the dispensationalists’ insistence on “consistent literalism” in their hermeneutic, especially in the literal interpretation of OT prophecies regarding “Israel.” Crucial to the dispensationalist reading of biblical prophecy, drawn principally from Daniel and Revelation, is the assertion that the Jewish Temple will be rebuilt on the Temple Mount as a precursor to the Lord returning to restore the earthly Kingdom of Israel centered on Jerusalem. The dispensational movement was therefore fueled by the re-establishment of the state of Israel in 1948. It has grown in popularity particularly since 1967, coinciding with the Arab-Israeli Six Day War and a few years later in 1970 with the publication of Hal Lindsey’s blockbuster book, The Late Great Planet Earth.

Dispensationalism teaches that the Second Coming of Jesus Christ will be a physical event, by which a world-wide kingdom will be established in human history, geographically centered in Jerusalem. Dispensationalists teach that the Second Coming will be a two step process. In the first step, Christ returns to resurrect the blessed dead and rapture the living believers from the Earth. After this, a seven year period of tribulation occurs, climaxing in the Battle of Armageddon. In the second step, Christ intervenes at the Battle of Armageddon and establishes a literal 1000-year millennial kingdom on earth. As such, Dispensationalism is often associated with the circulation of end times prophecy, which professes to read omens of the Second Coming in current events; however, some Dispensationalists have criticised this apocalypticism popularized by authors such as Hal Lindsey.

Viewing the flow of biblical history as a series of “dispensations” may be seen in some works that pre-date Darby’s dispensationalism, such as L’OEconomie Divine by Pierre Poiret (1646-1719). But these earlier works included no hint of the four underlying tenets of classic dispensationalism listed above.

Dispensationalism has had a number of effects on Protestantism, at least as it is practised in the United States of America. By consistently teaching that the Beast of Revelation, or the Antichrist, is a political leader, dispensationalism has weakened the traditional Reformation-era identification of that figure with the Pope, and the Roman Catholic Church with the Whore of Babylon. Dispensationalism has led many evangelical Christians of the USA to temper their traditional anti-Catholicism.

Dispensationalism rejects the notion of supersessionism. It tends to go hand-in-hand with a very protective attitude toward the Jewish people, and the modern State of Israel. John Nelson Darby taught, and most subsequent dispensationalists have consistently maintained, that God looks upon the Jews as his chosen people and continues to have a place for them in the dispensational, prophetic scheme of things. While virtually all traditions of Christianity teach that the Jews are a distinct people, irrevocably entitled to the promises of God (because “the gifts and calling of God are without repentance”), dispensationalism is unique in teaching that the covenant with the Church is only a provisional dispensation, until the Jews finally recognize Jesus as their promised Messiah during the trials that dispensationalists envision coming upon the Jews in the Great Tribulation. Darby’s prophecies envision Judaism as continuing to enjoy God’s protection, parallel to Christianity, literally to the End of Time, and teaches that God has a separate track in the prophecies for Jews, apart from the Church.

On the other hand, dispensationalists tend to be energetically evangelistic, with special interest in the Jews because they are “God’s chosen people“. Dispensationalist beliefs are widespread in many forms of Messianic Judaism, for example, which aggressively seeks the conversion of Jews to a form of Christianity mixed with Jewish ritual and Hebrew language. In some dispensationalist circles, the Jewish converts to Christianity are sometimes referred to as “completed Jews”. Thus, while it is at odds with traditional supersessionism (which was formulated to discourage directly carrying over Jewish practice into the Christian Church), dispensationalism generally is markedly at odds with modern religious pluralism, which is typified by the view that proselytism of the Jews is a form of anti-semitism. Also, some dispensationalists, such as Jerry Falwell, have asserted that the Antichrist will be a Jew, based on a belief that the Antichrist will falsely seem to some Jews to fulfill prophesies of the Messiah more accurately than Jesus did. This belief is not essential to dispensationalism. At any rate, dispensationalists are typically, in practical terms, allies of the Jews and enthusiastic popularizers of Judaica, and foes of anti-semitism in the conventional sense.

Dispensationalism is criticized for other reasons. It teaches that Christians should not expect spiritual good from earthly governments, and should expect social conditions to decline as the end times draw nearer. Dispensationalist readings of prophecies often teach that the Antichrist will appear to the world as a peacemaker. This makes some dispensationalists suspicious of all forms of power, religious and secular, and especially of human attempts to form international organisations for peace such as the United Nations. Almost all dispensationalists reject the idea that a lasting peace can be attained by human effort in the Middle East, and believe instead that “wars and rumors of wars” (cf. Matthew 24:6) will increase as the end times approach. Dispensationalist beliefs often underlie the religious and political movement of Christian Zionism.

Dispensationalists teach that churches that do not insist on Biblical literalism as they deem appropriate are in fact part of the Great Apostasy. This casts suspicion on attempts to create church organisations that cross denominational boundaries such as the World Council of Churches. (See also Ecumenism.)

Dispensationalism and United States politics

Some political analysts have argued that dispensationalism has had a major influence on the foreign policy of the United States because believers in dispensationalism have had large amounts of influence through the Republican Party. This influence has included strong support for the state of Israel. Some dispensationalist authors such as Hal Lindsey have explicitly identified the Antichrist with the Soviet Union or the European Union.

Dispensationalism and fiction

Dispensationalist themes form the basis of the Left Behind series of books.

Biblical arguments in favor of dispensationalism

• The Apostles determined at the Council of Jerusalem (Acts 15) that it was not necessary for Gentiles to become Jewish in order to become Christians. Thus, the church is not a sect of Judaism but a separate entity.
• The term ‘Israel’ in the Bible refers to physical descendants of Jacob.
• Similarly, the terms ‘church’ and ‘kingdom’ are never used interchangeably in Scripture.
• Paul claims that Israel will be grafted in again (Romans 11).
• Abraham was saved by faith, 430 years before the Law was given to Moses. (See Galatians 3:6,16-19.)
• The Book of Galatians is understood to teach that the Law continues to have binding force for Jews, but not for Christians. Now that Christ has come, Christians are not under the supervision of the law (3:25), but Jews are still governed by the law (5:3) unless they are in Christ (3:28).

Biblical arguments opposed to dispensationalism

• “Hear, O Israel, the LORD our God, the LORD is one.” (Deuteronomy 6:4 NIV) “But from everlasting to everlasting the LORD’s love is with those who fear him, and his righteousness with their children’s children — with those who keep his covenant and remember to obey his precepts.” (Psalm 103:17-18) “I the LORD do not change.” (Malachi 3:6) “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” (James 1:17)
• Jeremiah 31 says that the New Covenant will be with the “house of Israel” and the “house of Judah”
• Romans 11 speaks of the “olive tree” (Israel) as having branches broken off (unbelieving Jews) and branches grafted in (Gentiles). The broken branches can be grafted back in, however, if the unbelieving Jews were to come to faith in Jesus: “And they also, if they abide not still in unbelief, shall be grafted in: for God is able to graft them in again. (Romans 11:23)
• Galatians 3 indicates that there is no “Jew or Greek” in Christ, but only those with faith in Christ, etc.
• Deuteronomy 28:58-64 indicates that the promises of God were conditional. “If thou wilt not observe to do all the words of this law that are written in this book… the Lord shall scatter thee among all people, from the one end of the earth even unto the other; and there thou shalt serve other gods, which neither thou nor thy fathers have known, even wood and stone.”
• Joshua 21:43-45, 1 Kings 8:56, Nehemiah 9:7-8, etc., indicate that God kept his conditional promises to Israel
• Jeremiah 31:31-34 indicates that though God did not break his promises to Israel, Israel broke the Covenant with God: “I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake…”
• Dispensationalism portrays a God with changing covenants and requirements that may not be part of a single plan for salvation.
• “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.” (Matthew 5:9)
• Dispensationalists de-emphasize (or even discourage) human efforts to achieve peace due to the belief that we are living in an epoch in which an increase of war and famine is inevitable. Some dispensationalists have taught that international peace institutions such as the United Nations may be paving the way for the reign of the Antichrist.
• “No one knows about the day and hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. . . . therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. . . because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.” (Matthew 24:36, 42, 44) “It is not for you to know the dates or times which the Father has set by his own authority.” (Acts 1:7)
  • Some dispensationalists draw up purported timetables for the fulfillment of prophecy. For example, dispensationalist Hal Lindsey wrote a book with the title The 1980s: Countdown to Armageddon.
• “Remember that at the time you were separated from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility. . .” (Ephesians 2:12-14)
• The Apostle Paul describes one plan of salvation open to Gentile and Jew alike.
• Covenant theology is one popular alternative to Dispensational belief.

TULIP

TULIP (Calvinism)

Calvinist theology is often identified in the popular mind as the so-called “five points of Calvinism,” which are a summation of the judgments (or canons) rendered by the Synod of Dort and which were published in the “quinquarticular controversy” as a point-by-point response to the five points of the Arminian Remonstrants. They therefore function only as a summary of the diffences between Calvinism and Arminianism and are not a good summation of Calvin’s writings or of the theology of the Reformed churches in general. The central assertion of these canons is that God is able to save every one of those upon whom he has mercy and that his efforts are not frustrated by the unrighteousness or the inability of humans.

The five points of Calvinism, which can be remembered by the English acronym TULIP, with supporting passages from the Bible are:

Total Depravity

People in their natural, unregenerate state do not have the ability to turn to God. Rather it is the grace and will of God through the Spirit that causes men who are dead in sin to be reborn through the Word. This concept is summarized by the aphorism “Regeneration precedes faith,” since in the Calvinist view, apart from the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit for the individual, there would never be any faith.

• Romans 3:10-11 “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God.”
• John 6:44 “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day.”
• 1 Corinthians 2:14 “But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them.”

Unconditional Election

Election means “choice”. God’s choice from eternity, of whom He will bring to Himself, is not based on foreseen virtue, merit or faith in the persons He chooses but rather, is unconditionally grounded in His own mercy.

• Romans 9:16 “So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy.”
• Ephesians 1:4 “Even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him.”
• John 1:13 “born not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.”
• Exodus 33:19 “I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.”

Limited Atonement

Also called “particular redemption” or “definite atonement” meaning that, Christ’s death actually takes away the penalty of sins committed by those upon whom God has chosen to have mercy. (As opposed to Christ’s death making redemption merely a possibility that we can perform). It is “limited” then, to taking away the sins of the elect.

• John 10:14-15 “I am the good shepherd, and I know My own and My own know Me, even as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep.”
• John 10:27-28 “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand.”
• Acts 20:28 “shepherd the church of God that He obtained with the blood of His own Son.”
• Ephesians 5:25 “love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her.”

Irresistible grace

The saving grace of God is not resistible. Those who obtain salvation do so because of the relentlessness of God’s mercy. Men yield to grace, not finally because God found their consciences more tender or their faith more tenacious than other men. Rather, willingness and ability to do God’s will, are evidence of God’s faithfulness to save men from the power and the penalty of sin.

• John 15:16 “You did not choose me, but I chose you.”
• Ephesians 1:11 “In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will.”
• 1 Thessalonians 1:4-5 “For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you, because our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit.”
• Romans 9:11 “though they were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad- in order that God’s purpose of election might continue, not because of works but because of his call.”
• Colossians 2:13 “When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him.”

Perseverance of the saints

Also called the “Preservation of the Saints“. Those whom God has called into communion with Himself through Christ, will continue in faith and will increase in faith and other gifts, until the end. Those who apparently fall away, either never had true faith to begin with, or else will return. Thus Calvinists subscribe to the “once saved, always saved” concept popular among many Christian denominations.

• John 10:27-28 “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish.”
• 1 John 2:19 “They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us.”
• Philippians 1:6 “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.”

Calvinism is often further reduced in the popular mind to one or another of the five points of TULIP. The doctrine of unconditional election is sometimes made to stand for all Reformed doctrine, sometimes even by its adherents, as the chief article of Reformed Christianity. However, according to the doctrinal statements of these churches, it is not a balanced view to single out this doctrine to stand on its own as representative of all that is taught. The doctrine of unconditional election, and its corollary in the doctrine of predestination are never properly taught, according to Calvinists, except as an assurance to those who seek forgiveness and salvation through Christ, that their faith is not in vain, because God is able to bring to completion all of His intentions to save. Nevertheless, non-Calvinists object that these doctrines discourage the world from seeking salvation.

An additional point of disagreement with Arminianism implicit in the five points is the doctrine of Jesus’ substitutionary atonement as a punishment for the sins of the elect, which was developed by St. Augustine and especially St. Anselm. Calvinists argue that if Christ takes the punishment in the place of a particular sinner, that person must be saved since it would be unjust for him then to be condemned for the same sins. The definitive and binding nature of this “satisfaction model” has led Arminians to subscribe instead to the governmental theory of the atonement in which no particular sins or sinners are in view.