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SCRIPTURE QUESTIONARYthe following questionary is part of a series entitled, "jesus and the kingdom or rule of god"
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INTRODUCTION TO THIS SIGHT
scripture in the best of times, the worst of times, and in these times
Many are familiar with what is one of the most famous opening lines in English literary history.
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…”
The opening sentence to the historical novel, Tale of Two Cities, penned by the great English novelist, Charles Dickenson, goes on.
“…it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way…”
We might be forgiven for feeling, as Dickens finally expressed, that all this could be said of our own day.
We, all of us who are likely to contribute to or visit a website such as this one, live lives unique in human history. I walk my community and marvel at the incredible abundance and security, seemingly and mostly unseen and underappreciated. None before us have lived more protected from the vagaries of nature or lived more comfortably or healthily. None have lived longer, better. None. In the millennia of human history there has been nothing like it. Yet, we who are living this incomparable life think it “normal.” Take it for granted. Feel entitled to it. Imagine it to be inevitable and irresistibly enduring.
Still, our age is unsettled. Those living in it often find contentment and happiness elusive. We walk about as the blind, failing to see the uniqueness and magnificence present with every breath we take. Turmoil seems on the rise. The planet’s climate seems to have turned against us as if to remind us of nature’s power and our vulnerability—and, perhaps, our crimes. Human culture—political, economic, intellectual, religious, sexual—is undergoing dizzyingly rapid change, maybe even dissolution, leaving many feeling disoriented, insecure, and vulnerable.
Young people, we say, are particularly vulnerable to the turbulence caused by these rapid changes and cultural trends. They, we hear, are particularly incredulous in regard to faith and religion. In the western, Christian world—the only world I know well enough to speak of—they are leaving churches and the Christian faith in hordes. But I see that the parents, and grandparents too, who watch the disorientation and disillusionment of their beloved youth are, themselves, disoriented and disillusioned. They may not be physically leaving in hordes, but they are asking questions about and of religious ideas and institutions that are new, more critical, and more demanding. They, too, whether realizing it or not, are putting a bit more emotional and spiritual distance between themselves and the religious institutions that seemed to serve them so well for a time, but now seem impotent to provide the same direction and security for the next generations.
Into this fray come a multitude of voices. These voices, as prolific and boisterous as any ever heard, offer their remedies, many, most, little better than that of the old snake oil salesman. It might, then, seem a bold, perhaps arrogant and stupid thing to add one’s voice to the many who suggest remedies for individual and societal-wide disorientation and disillusionment. Yet, in adding my voice to the mix, it is really not my own voice that I raise. It is the voice of others. The voices of those who wrote, recorded, and edited scripture.
Call me naïve, but I continue to believe that the word of God as found in scripture and “the preaching of the word [has] more powerful effect upon the minds of the people than the sword, or anything else.”[1] Scripture, old as it is, with its divine messages, offer better guidance and more powerful comfort in this world of disillusionment and disorientation than any other voice.
I continue to believe that scripture contains dependable insight into the character of a true and interested God, blessedly permitting us intimate glimpses into the very heart of God.[2]
I continue to believe that scripture reveals a Deity who is unfailing in His commitment, devotion, and fidelity to humanity and involved in each individual’s advancement and development.[3]
I continue to believe that the word of God as found in scripture provides decisive and soul-saving warnings against the manifold and deep evils of this world.[4]
I continue to believe that through scripture God provides direction concerning not only the values by which He lives, but the values he recommends for human happiness and endurance—both individual and societal.[5]
These scriptures are not, it is true, perfect. Scripture is, for me, the word of an infinite and infallible God as filtered through finite and fallible human beings. Scripture, itself, is not, by my estimation, infallible or inerrant. It often reflects the weaknesses, the foibles, the prejudices, the provincialisms of its author’s and its author’s time and place.
Still, over several thousand millennia, divine insights have found their way through the haze of human weakness, been recorded, and sprinkled through the text. The sincere, interested, and discerning reading, I believe, can excavate these divine insights from among the human imperfections. These insights, I continue to believe, can provide meaningful guidance in this world of illusion and, who knows, maybe even direction into a more enduring life.
It is this testimony and this trust of scripture and its value that serves as the inspiration for this site. In addition, this site flows out of a belief that constant, careful, discerning, believing, and anticipatory scripture study is of immense value to those who so engage themselves. Finally, this site reflects my own belief, born of personal experiences, that as we read scripture, we are not only reading them, but they are reading us right back. “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”[6] While we seldom read scripture perfectly, scripture rarely fails to perfectly read us. This reading of us, I believe, is at the heart of scripture’s divine mission.
It is hoped that in this time of disillusion, disorientation, and confusion, the scripture readings, questionaries,[7] homilies, meditations, and translations found on this site might assist the visitor as they seek to know the true and living God, His character and values, and His directions for human happiness, meaning, and endurance—both individual and societal. It is hoped that this site might make some small contribution toward the visitor’s discovery and adoption of the same conclusions and sentiments as those of the ancient Hebrew Psalmist.
“How sweet are thy words unto my taste!
Yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth![8]
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
[1] Alma 31.5
[2] See DC 35.20
[3] See Moses 1.39
[4] See Psalm 1.1-3 and 19.11
[5] 3 Nephi 27.27
[6] Hebrews 4.12
[7] “Questionary” is my own invention. It represents a hybrid of question and commentary, questions often serving as a sort of commentary and commentary often addressing questions.
[8] Psalm 119.103
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…”
The opening sentence to the historical novel, Tale of Two Cities, penned by the great English novelist, Charles Dickenson, goes on.
“…it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way…”
We might be forgiven for feeling, as Dickens finally expressed, that all this could be said of our own day.
We, all of us who are likely to contribute to or visit a website such as this one, live lives unique in human history. I walk my community and marvel at the incredible abundance and security, seemingly and mostly unseen and underappreciated. None before us have lived more protected from the vagaries of nature or lived more comfortably or healthily. None have lived longer, better. None. In the millennia of human history there has been nothing like it. Yet, we who are living this incomparable life think it “normal.” Take it for granted. Feel entitled to it. Imagine it to be inevitable and irresistibly enduring.
Still, our age is unsettled. Those living in it often find contentment and happiness elusive. We walk about as the blind, failing to see the uniqueness and magnificence present with every breath we take. Turmoil seems on the rise. The planet’s climate seems to have turned against us as if to remind us of nature’s power and our vulnerability—and, perhaps, our crimes. Human culture—political, economic, intellectual, religious, sexual—is undergoing dizzyingly rapid change, maybe even dissolution, leaving many feeling disoriented, insecure, and vulnerable.
Young people, we say, are particularly vulnerable to the turbulence caused by these rapid changes and cultural trends. They, we hear, are particularly incredulous in regard to faith and religion. In the western, Christian world—the only world I know well enough to speak of—they are leaving churches and the Christian faith in hordes. But I see that the parents, and grandparents too, who watch the disorientation and disillusionment of their beloved youth are, themselves, disoriented and disillusioned. They may not be physically leaving in hordes, but they are asking questions about and of religious ideas and institutions that are new, more critical, and more demanding. They, too, whether realizing it or not, are putting a bit more emotional and spiritual distance between themselves and the religious institutions that seemed to serve them so well for a time, but now seem impotent to provide the same direction and security for the next generations.
Into this fray come a multitude of voices. These voices, as prolific and boisterous as any ever heard, offer their remedies, many, most, little better than that of the old snake oil salesman. It might, then, seem a bold, perhaps arrogant and stupid thing to add one’s voice to the many who suggest remedies for individual and societal-wide disorientation and disillusionment. Yet, in adding my voice to the mix, it is really not my own voice that I raise. It is the voice of others. The voices of those who wrote, recorded, and edited scripture.
Call me naïve, but I continue to believe that the word of God as found in scripture and “the preaching of the word [has] more powerful effect upon the minds of the people than the sword, or anything else.”[1] Scripture, old as it is, with its divine messages, offer better guidance and more powerful comfort in this world of disillusionment and disorientation than any other voice.
I continue to believe that scripture contains dependable insight into the character of a true and interested God, blessedly permitting us intimate glimpses into the very heart of God.[2]
I continue to believe that scripture reveals a Deity who is unfailing in His commitment, devotion, and fidelity to humanity and involved in each individual’s advancement and development.[3]
I continue to believe that the word of God as found in scripture provides decisive and soul-saving warnings against the manifold and deep evils of this world.[4]
I continue to believe that through scripture God provides direction concerning not only the values by which He lives, but the values he recommends for human happiness and endurance—both individual and societal.[5]
These scriptures are not, it is true, perfect. Scripture is, for me, the word of an infinite and infallible God as filtered through finite and fallible human beings. Scripture, itself, is not, by my estimation, infallible or inerrant. It often reflects the weaknesses, the foibles, the prejudices, the provincialisms of its author’s and its author’s time and place.
Still, over several thousand millennia, divine insights have found their way through the haze of human weakness, been recorded, and sprinkled through the text. The sincere, interested, and discerning reading, I believe, can excavate these divine insights from among the human imperfections. These insights, I continue to believe, can provide meaningful guidance in this world of illusion and, who knows, maybe even direction into a more enduring life.
It is this testimony and this trust of scripture and its value that serves as the inspiration for this site. In addition, this site flows out of a belief that constant, careful, discerning, believing, and anticipatory scripture study is of immense value to those who so engage themselves. Finally, this site reflects my own belief, born of personal experiences, that as we read scripture, we are not only reading them, but they are reading us right back. “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”[6] While we seldom read scripture perfectly, scripture rarely fails to perfectly read us. This reading of us, I believe, is at the heart of scripture’s divine mission.
It is hoped that in this time of disillusion, disorientation, and confusion, the scripture readings, questionaries,[7] homilies, meditations, and translations found on this site might assist the visitor as they seek to know the true and living God, His character and values, and His directions for human happiness, meaning, and endurance—both individual and societal. It is hoped that this site might make some small contribution toward the visitor’s discovery and adoption of the same conclusions and sentiments as those of the ancient Hebrew Psalmist.
“How sweet are thy words unto my taste!
Yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth![8]
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
[1] Alma 31.5
[2] See DC 35.20
[3] See Moses 1.39
[4] See Psalm 1.1-3 and 19.11
[5] 3 Nephi 27.27
[6] Hebrews 4.12
[7] “Questionary” is my own invention. It represents a hybrid of question and commentary, questions often serving as a sort of commentary and commentary often addressing questions.
[8] Psalm 119.103