The Core Teachings of the Bible.
1. General Introduction to this Blog
The 21st century has brought us to an age of increasing complexity and sophistication, which is being driven by scientific advancements on a scale never seen before. These advancements are coupled in a strange way with a veneer of rationality that is difficult to reconcile with the advances in science. As science seeks to explain and explore every detail of the material world, the media and entertainment industries bombard us with increasingly puerile levels of information, often delivered in oversimplified sound-bites backed by expertly crafted graphic imagery for easy acceptance. The outcome is a society which has generally lost the ability to think and reason critically on the deeper questions of life.
Throughout the ages, philosophers, wise men and teachers of religion have spoken and speculated on meaning and purpose of life, often coming to quite incomplete, vastly different and ultimately unsatisfying conclusions. To most people, the answer seems as elusive as ever.
Today we are bombarded with books that promote a version of wisdom that is full of tales and stories that are designed to motivate and instruct us in how to overcome adversity, live more complete lives, be successful in our relationships and in our careers. While these things may provide some value in the short term, do they really address the one question that is more important that all others: ‘What is the meaning and purpose of life’?
To try and shed light on this situation we will begin by exploring the general challenges faced by the average person in their day to day life. From there, we will then begin to look more deeply at the Bible’s teaching. The author believes that the answer to the great question of ‘purpose’ has been revealed by the God of heaven, since the beginning of man’s existence. He further believes that the answers have unfortunately been clouded by human philosophy and traditional wisdom, to the general negation of what God has said and revealed on the subject.
In other words, what God has revealed has been largely misunderstood by the majority of people, including those who are considered experts. We have been misdirected from finding the truth on these matters, sometimes intentionally, but most often unintentionally. We humans have a tendency to re-shape information so that it fits into our pre-existing belief systems and world view. We do this because we interpret information according to the pre-set models that we have been conditioned to accept. This natural behaviour is called ‘Confirmation Bias’. Unfortunately, this is how most people approach the Bible. When we read, we pour the words into the form or pattern that we have already adopted, and thereby confirm our own conclusions. This approach can blind us to the true intention of the message. Most of these biases are received by tradition and imprinted on us by education, in one form or another.
If we are to achieve our goal of discovering the truth of the Bible’s core message we will need to overcome our natural confirmation bias. To enable that, we will be examining numerous scriptural references, and for convenience will include the reference in the body of the text. The reader is encouraged to read both the references and the context from which the references are taken, so as to familiarise themselves with the veracity of the ideas presented. Most Bible references quoted will be from the New King James Version (NKJV).
1. General Introduction to this Blog
The 21st century has brought us to an age of increasing complexity and sophistication, which is being driven by scientific advancements on a scale never seen before. These advancements are coupled in a strange way with a veneer of rationality that is difficult to reconcile with the advances in science. As science seeks to explain and explore every detail of the material world, the media and entertainment industries bombard us with increasingly puerile levels of information, often delivered in oversimplified sound-bites backed by expertly crafted graphic imagery for easy acceptance. The outcome is a society which has generally lost the ability to think and reason critically on the deeper questions of life.
Throughout the ages, philosophers, wise men and teachers of religion have spoken and speculated on meaning and purpose of life, often coming to quite incomplete, vastly different and ultimately unsatisfying conclusions. To most people, the answer seems as elusive as ever.
Today we are bombarded with books that promote a version of wisdom that is full of tales and stories that are designed to motivate and instruct us in how to overcome adversity, live more complete lives, be successful in our relationships and in our careers. While these things may provide some value in the short term, do they really address the one question that is more important that all others: ‘What is the meaning and purpose of life’?
To try and shed light on this situation we will begin by exploring the general challenges faced by the average person in their day to day life. From there, we will then begin to look more deeply at the Bible’s teaching. The author believes that the answer to the great question of ‘purpose’ has been revealed by the God of heaven, since the beginning of man’s existence. He further believes that the answers have unfortunately been clouded by human philosophy and traditional wisdom, to the general negation of what God has said and revealed on the subject.
In other words, what God has revealed has been largely misunderstood by the majority of people, including those who are considered experts. We have been misdirected from finding the truth on these matters, sometimes intentionally, but most often unintentionally. We humans have a tendency to re-shape information so that it fits into our pre-existing belief systems and world view. We do this because we interpret information according to the pre-set models that we have been conditioned to accept. This natural behaviour is called ‘Confirmation Bias’. Unfortunately, this is how most people approach the Bible. When we read, we pour the words into the form or pattern that we have already adopted, and thereby confirm our own conclusions. This approach can blind us to the true intention of the message. Most of these biases are received by tradition and imprinted on us by education, in one form or another.
If we are to achieve our goal of discovering the truth of the Bible’s core message we will need to overcome our natural confirmation bias. To enable that, we will be examining numerous scriptural references, and for convenience will include the reference in the body of the text. The reader is encouraged to read both the references and the context from which the references are taken, so as to familiarise themselves with the veracity of the ideas presented. Most Bible references quoted will be from the New King James Version (NKJV).
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