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Theology is Like a Food fight

By Jeremy Myers
16 Comments

Theology is Like a Food fight

In yesterday’s LONG post about why God delayed in sending Jesus, I promised a short one today. Here it is:

theology food fight

Theology is like a food fight. After eating as much as you can, you throw the leftovers around just to have a good time.

Afterwards, however, the cleanup takes so long you wonder if it was all worth it.

You also realize that not much was accomplished and that there was probably a better use for that wasted food.

But you don’t regret it.

Why not?

You had some fun, you made a good memory, and you learned who your friends are.

God is Uncategorized Bible & Theology Topics: Theology - General

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If you think I am a lying heretic, let me help you out…

By Jeremy Myers
20 Comments

If you think I am a lying heretic, let me help you out…

One downside to having the “Ask a Bible and Theology” question section on my sidebar is that some people feel it is an invitation to send me hate mail.

Ever since I put it up, I get a few nasty messages every week from people who think I am a lying heretic leading poor lost souls to the pit of hell through false teaching and heretical ideas.

Usually, they want to engage me in a back-and-forth email debate. Often, I get the feeling that if we lived in a different century, they would want to put me on the rack or give me up to the flames to burn the error from my soul.

lying heretic

Here is one such email I got last week:

Jeremy I am a very well educated theologian and I am personally challenging you to Scripturally support the LIE in which you propagate upon immature Believers.

Scriptural proof is one thing but personal IMO’s are of little theological value.

Once again – I am here should you want to defend you LIES.

I have neither the time nor the desire to engage in fruitless email debates with people like this (or to point out his grammar mistakes).

However, people are entitled to their opinion, and I fully admit that there are areas of my theology which need correction.

So, if you think I am a lying heretic leading immature believers astray, let me help you point out my error. Take these two steps.

  1. Start a blog of your own
  2. Writes posts on your blog in which you refute my ideas, point by point

If you include a link in your blog post to my blog post you are refuting, I will get a notification in my blog that you have written this blog post, and I can come over and read your post to learn about my many errors. If you make good points, I may even comment, or notify my blog readers that I am changing my views because of your compelling Scriptural and theological arguments.

I am so serious about this, I am willing to help you start your blog for FREE. Learn more here about starting your own blog.

I just checked, and these domains are currently available:

  • jeremymyersisalyingheretic.com
  • jeremymyersisthemouthpieceofsatan.com
  • alltheheresiesofjeremymyers.com
  • iamsmarterthanjeremymyers.com
  • jeremymyerssucks.com
  • thebadtheologyofjeremymyers.com

Jump on these domains quick, though, because once they’re gone, they’re gone!

God is z Bible & Theology Topics: Blogging, heretic, lies, Theology - General

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Paul the Apostle of the Last Days

By Jeremy Myers
7 Comments

Paul the Apostle of the Last Days

Buy Apostle of the Last Days on AmazonDr. C. Marvin Pate has written an excellent volume on the theology of the Apostle Paul. It is titled, Apostle of the Last Days. Kregel sent me a review copy, and it is already one of the best books I have read in the past year.

Apostle of the Last Days

I had Dr. Pate as a professor when I was a student at Moody Bible Institute, and really enjoyed his insights into Scripture, his wit, and his quirky personality. I only took him for one or two classes, but consider him to be one of my influential professors from college. He challenged me to really consider the historical and cultural background material of Scripture.

Grammar and word studies are nice, but if you don’t know the history and culture behind a biblical book or passage, you will never really understand what Scripture teaches.

This book by Dr. Pate provides excellent historical and cultural background into the life, thinking, and theology of the Apostle Paul. Though I have not yet read N. T. Wright’s Paul and the Faithfulness of God, this volume on Paul’s theology is by far one of the best on this topic I have found. 

Apostle of the Last Days challenged me to read Paul’s letters not just in light of the history and culture of Judaism, but also in the history and culture of Graeco-Roman thinking, and most importantly of all, in light of the eschatological expectations of both groups. 

Eh… what? 

Let me put it in simple terms: 

Apostle PaulBoth the Jews and the Romans had hopes and dreams for what would happen at the end of days. Pate shows that Paul wrote to reveal how Jesus fulfills and completes these hopes and dreams. 

Summary of Apostle of the Last Days

After a chapter of introduction about the views on the theology of Paul and some of the central tenants of Pauline theology, Pate goes letter by letter through the writings of Paul to show how Paul tied together Jewish and Graeco-Roman hopes about what would happen at the end of days, and shows how these hopes were fulfilled in Jesus Christ and the Kingdom of God. 

Serious students of Pauline theology must not overlook this important volume by C. Martin Pate. Pate is on to something about Paul’s thinking and theology that is often missed by Pauline scholars: Paul is not only writing a response to Jewish theology, but is also writing a response to Greek and Roman theology, and especially the Imperial Cult of Caesar worship. 

It could probably be said that the letters of Paul are not only intended to show how Jesus fulfills the Old Testament prophecies about the Messiah, but how Jesus also fulfills the Graeco-Roman expectations for what Caesar was supposed to be and do. 

This is a challenging idea on multiple levels, and if true, the ramifications are far-reaching. As such, Apostle of the Last Days is a critically important book for thinking about Pauline theology and teaching. If you are preaching or teaching on any letter of Paul, I highly recommend this volume. You can get Apostle of the Last Days at Amazon.

I liked this book by C. Marvin Pate so much, it inspired a book idea of my own which I really want to write. First, however, I have to finish with the five books I am already writing… sigh…

God is Uncategorized Bible & Theology Topics: best books, Bible Study, book reviews, Books I'm Reading, end times, eschatology, Paul, Theology - General, Theology of Jesus, Theology of the End Times

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Theological Debates with Ignorant Christians

By Jeremy Myers
31 Comments

Theological Debates with Ignorant Christians

Maybe it’s just me, but I seem to be running into more and more ignorant Christians who seem to think that the best way to learn theology is to not study it. When challenged on any of their theological beliefs, their only real defense is, “God revealed it to me.”

Here is how these discussions often go:

Ignorant Christian: I disagree with what you taught from the Bible today. You are wrong about _____.

Me: Well, I make no claim to infallibility. It is possible I am wrong. Why do you think so?

Ingorant Christian: Because you obviously haven’t read the Bible. If you had, you would know about Passage X, Y, and Z, which say this: (They then proceed to quote several verses to me from the Bible. I call this Shotgun hermeneutics.)

Me: I am actually quite familiar with those texts, and have studied them extensively. I just simply understand them in a different way than you do.

Ignorant Christian Ignorant Christian: Well, your way is wrong.

Me: Again, that is possible. Besides, I forgot that you are smarter than I am, and have more education than I do.

Ignorant Christian: Oh, you’re mocking me now? I may not have gone to Bible college or Seminary, but I know the Bible just as good as you do. In fact, it is at Bible college and Seminary that you learned all your heresies.

Me: Undoubtedly so. But tell me, where did you get your learning from? What books have you read? What teachers do you listen to? How did you gain the Bible knoweldge you have?

Ignorant Christian: I learned it all on my own. I don’t read any books except the Bible and don’t listen to any teachers except the Holy Spirit. Jesus has taught me everything I know about the Bible.

Me: Wow, I wish I was that spiritual… So have you ever been wrong in anything you believed?

Ignorant Christian: No, God wouldn’t teach me lies. Everything I learn from God is 100% accurate.

Me: …So you’ve never been wrong about anything?

Ignorant Christian: Of course I have! Just nothing God taught me. If I am wrong about something, I trust that God will teach me the truth as I study Scripture, pray, and listen to the instruction of the Holy Spirit. I don’t need human teachers or human books to teach me the truth.

Me: I see…  So why are you correcting me again?

Ignorant Christian: Because you’re wrong.

Me: But you’re human, right?

Ignorant Christian: Of course. What are you saying?

Me: Well, you just said that everything you believe you learned from God through the study of Scripture and the instruction of the Holy Spirit, and that you don’t listen to human teachers or read human books, and yet here you are, a human, trying to instruct and correct me… It seems that if you really believed what you say, you would trust God to teach and correct me the way He teaches and corrects you.

Ignorant Christian: But you don’t believe God does that.

Me: I didn’t say that… I guess I’m just confused. You don’t want human teachers to teach and correct you, but you, as a human, want to teach and correct others?

Ignorant Christian: Because God has taught the truth to me, He has called me to teach that truth to others. And as you were teaching, He revealed to me that I was supposed to correct you.

Me: Well, thank you for being God’s mouthpiece. Please, next time you talk to God, tell Him that I am open to His instruction and correction, and that anytime He wants to correct my theology, He can come speak to me the same way He speaks to you.

Ignorant Christian: You can’t order God around like that! GOD WILL NOT BE MOCKED! DON’T YOU KNOW THAT THE UNRIGHTEOUS WILL NOT INHERIT THE KINGDOM OF GOD?!

Me: Ok, this conversation is over. Thank you for voicing your concerns with my ideas. Good bye.

Ignorant Christian: I WILL PRAY FOR YOUR ETERNAL SOUL!

Not all conversations go exactly like that, but that tends to be the genearal direction. My favorite part of these conversations is always that “I only the need the Bible, but you need to listen to me” argument. It is shocking to me how many people I encounter who have that sort of mindset.

Any of you have similar conversations? Maybe you have interactions online with people like this? Share below!

God is Uncategorized Bible & Theology Topics: Bible study, Bible Study, Christians, Theology - General

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My Life of Regret and Hope

By Jeremy Myers
37 Comments

My Life of Regret and Hope

My life story of regret and hopeSome people think I have lost my faith. I think I am only now beginning to find it.

Parts of my story, my journey of faith, my walk with God (or whatever you want to call it) have been posted in various places online (on Jason Boyett’s blog, for example) and in a book I edited last year, but little of it has been posted here on this blog. Let me summarize some of the highlights.

My Life in a Few Paragraphs

I was raised in a pastor’s family. I had two loving parents, and nine siblings. I loved growing up, going to church, attending school, and spending time with friends and family. I sometimes wish I could go back and relive my childhood.

Upon graduating from high school, I went to college to become a Mechanical Engineer. After my freshman year, a good friend of mine died in a hiking accident, and as a result, I thought that I should reconsider my life goals. So I decided to become a pastor. I went away to Bible college, where I got my degree, and more importantly, met and married my beautiful wife, Wendy.

After graduation from Bible college, I decided to get an M.Div., but after only a year, decided that I would rather just enter into professional, full-time ministry. So Wendy and I went to Montana, where I became the Senior Pastor of a small, struggling church.

I pastored there for three and half years. The church had numerous problems, and I was an inexperienced pastor and so made numerous mistakes. But for the most part, I enjoyed being a pastor, and wanted to do nothing else for the rest of my life. I loved the people I worked with, and loved the community we lived in. I was not the best husband, however, and was too consumed with ministry to help my wife out at home much, or take an active role in raising the two girls that my wife had delivered during this time.

At the end of three and half years, the church could no longer pay our salary. The church was very small (only about 35 people), and I had made some pastoral decisions which had angered the main financial backers of the church, and so they stopped tithing. When the money ran out, the governing board bowed to the demands of the big tither and asked me to resign, which I did.

I then became the pastor of a larger church in a nearby town. This was every pastor’s dream church. Oh sure, there were problems, but for the most part, the people were warm and loving. The services were well-attended. The elders were supportive. The families were active. I loved this church and everybody in it. But I also had a growing sense in the back of my mind that I needed to finish my Master’s degree. So with a heavy heart I resigned, and moved my family to Texas to get a Th.M.

In the process of moving to Texas, I landed my dream job. I got to work with an author and Bible scholar I highly respected, helping him publish his books, plan his speaking engagements, and coordinate various conferences around the country. I even got a few of my own articles published, and was invited to speak at a few conferences and churches as a result of my involvement with this ministry. I was working full time and attending school more than full time (I completed a four-year degree in three years), and so needless to say, my marriage suffered even more than it had before. Then, right before graduation, I wrote a blog post which ended up getting me fired from my job.

regretI sunk into depression. My faith shattered.  Everything I had worked for and hoped for lay in pieces at my feet. I lost my dream job, and almost all of my Christian friends abandoned me. After applying for nearly 60 different jobs, the only job I could get was as a carpet cleaner. I also had pretty much destroyed my wife and my three daughters by ignoring them for most of my time as a pastor and all of my time as a seminary student. It seemed to me that by almost every standard, my life was a complete failure.

Eventually, I found a new job as a prison chaplain in New York. It was not something I ever imagined doing, but it was in my “field” of training, and paid better than cleaning carpets. While in New York, I started trying to rebuild. I sought to rebuild myself, my faith, my marriage, and my family. I changed a lot of my beliefs. My wife and I went to marriage counseling. I started looking for a new way to follow Jesus.

A year ago, we moved to Oregon. I still have the same job, but in a different location. I am still slowly trying to rebuild my life, my faith, and especially, my marriage and my family. There are many signs of progress, but sometimes, I am afraid that sooner or later, it will all come crashing down once again. One of the main things that keep me going however, is hope.

My Life of Regret and Hope

I sometimes regret that I gave up mechanical engineering for pastoral ministry. Though I truly enjoy studying and teaching Scripture, I sometimes feel frustrated that given my current career path, the only jobs I qualify for are in the field of professional ministry. But I am hopeful that God will use my detail-oriented and creative-thinking brain in the field of Bible study and theology to help others see that God may not be like what many of us have been taught, and that the Bible may not say what we have always thought.

I sometimes regret that I left that first church. There are many aspects to pastoral ministry that I desperately miss. I sometimes wish that rather than resign, I had simply taken a secular job in the community and remained on as pastor without taking a salary. This decision would have taken away all the power from the “money” in the church, and would have freed me up to lead the church in the direction we needed to go. But I am hopeful that maybe, somehow, God might lead me into some form of pastoral ministry again, in a way that does not require me to take a salary, and to serve alongside other people who want to follow Jesus into the world.

hopeI sometimes regret that I left that second church to go to seminary. The people there were so loving and kind. I miss many of them desperately. But now that we have finally settled into an area in which we hope to stay for a while, I am hopeful that God will bring more people into our lives with whom we can build friendships, and learn to love. We have been in our current location for just one year, but we already see some of these sorts of friendship developing.

I sometimes regret posting that fateful blog post which got me fired from my dream job in Texas, and which caused a lot of heartache and confusion in the minds of people I worked with or who looked up to me. But I am hopeful, because the experience of leaving that job opened my eyes and mind to a whole new way of viewing people, thinking about theology, reading Scripture, interacting with others, and ultimately, living life. I believe I am now more loving, gracious, and forgiving than I ever was before. And quite a bit more humble. (That’s a joke!)

I always regret the way I treated my wife for all those years as a pastor and as a seminary student and during my years of depression. She deserved so much better. And yet I am more hopeful now for our marriage than I have been in a long time. She has forgiven me, and shown love to me, and we are laughing together and living together with joy in ways that we have never before experienced.

Sometimes Wendy and I ask ourselves if it was all worth it. In so many ways, we see Jesus, we read the Bible, and we understand God so differently than before. We think it was worth it.

I often joke that the “me” of fifteen years ago would consider the “me” of today a heretic. But the “me” of today does not consider the “me” of fifteen years ago a heretic; just somebody who had to learn some difficult lessons the hard way. Though my life is full of regrets (and there will probably be many more to come), I never would have learned the things I know now if I had not experienced what I did. This too leads me to hope.

I hope that the future “me” can remember that when I make mistakes, God can resurrect hope and joy from the ashes. After all, without death, there is no resurrection. So when parts of my life die, whether by design or by poor choices, I must remember that even in the dark despair of the moment, God is at work to bright forth light, love, joy, and hope.


This post was written as part of the November Synchroblog, in which different bloggers write about their journey of faith. Here is a list of other contributors:

  • LoveDay – When God Pulls Your Strings
  • Liz Dyer – Stages of Faith and Beauty In the Wilderness
  • J A Carter – Jesus Christ Superstar Saved My Soul
  • Carol Kuniholm – Stumbling In the Dark
  • Edwin Aldritch – A Journey From Church To Faith
  • Glenn Hagar – How I Became Irreligious
  • DoneWithReligion – My Journey To Leaving Church
  • Kathy Escobar – A Drama + A Comedy = A Dramedy

God is Uncategorized Bible & Theology Topics: church, depression, Discipleship, hope, life, my story, pastoral ministry, regret, Theology - General

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