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My book won a gold medal!

By Jeremy Myers
4 Comments

My book won a gold medal!

Well this is fun… The book I published last year, The Atonement of God, won a gold medal from the eLit awards in the “Religion” category.

If you haven’t read it yet, you really should. The first 70 pages are slightly more “technical,” so if the book is rough going at first, don’t let that put you off. The rest of the book is intensely practical. In it, I give you 10 areas of your life and theology that get turned upside down with a proper understanding of the crucifixion of Jesus.

Atonement of God eBook

To celebrate the gold medal, I have temporarily lowered the eBook price of The Atonement of God on Amazon to $2.99 (It’s only $0.99 if you previously purchased the paperback). Go here to buy it today.

If you are a pastor or lead a Bible study, the 10 chapters in Part 2 of the book would make a great sermon series or Bible study. If you just like to read for personal growth and development, this book will help you understand God, Scripture, and yourself in new ways as well.

Here are some reviews of the book that have been left on Amazon:

Most Christian’s are usually taught that God is constantly disappointed and disapproving of us and we have to fear him. This book teaches instead that God loves us. It isn’t a book that teaches God loves us unconditionaly, so just do whatever you want. It’s a lot more complicated than that, but it does teach that God has always loved us and we in turn must love, forgive and care for others. It’s a great book, and it will transform your view of God.
–imani42

OUTSTANDING BOOK! Thank you for helping me understand “Crucivision” and the “Non-Violent Atonement”. Together, they help it all make sense and fit so well into my personal thinking about God. I am encouraged to be truly free to love and forgive, because God has always loved and forgiven without condition, because Christ exemplified this grace on the Cross, and because the Holy Spirit is in the midst of all life, continuing to show the way through people like you.
–Samuel R. Mayer

If you have the same resolve as Paul, to know nothing but Jesus and Him crucified (2 Cor 2:2), then this book is for you. I read it the first time from start to finish on Father’s Day… no coincidence. This book revealed Father God’s true character; not as an angry wrathful God, but as a kind loving merciful Father to us. Share in Jeremy’s revelation concerning Jesus’ crucifixion, and how this “vision” of the crucifixion (hence “crucivision”) will make you fall in love with Jesus all over again, in a new and deeper way than you could imagine. Buy a copy for a friend–you won’t want to give up your copy because you will want to read it again and again until the Holy Spirit makes Jeremy’s revelation YOUR revelation.
–Amy

I’ve always been a curious mind and searcher, and many of the mainstream theology answers felt a little out of place. Now I know why I was dissatisfied with the explanations, not because they were wrong, but rather they were incomplete. Reading Jeremy’s book has shed a much needed light as it explores the character of God, who He is and how He acts towards us humans. It is the same, but different in a very comforting way. It presents God as ever loving and freely forgiving, needing no payment for sin, and explains the Non-Violent view of the redemption. Beware.. it might change your life!
–ThePilgrimm

This is a great read to say the least. The Atonement of God is one book I couldn’t put down. Ive been a follower of Christ for decades, reading this book has led me to be very reflective of what I have been taught about the atonement, Jeremy’s careful and insightful teaching from Gods word has caused a revolution in my thinking. Importantly, it showed me just how much of my understanding had been heavily influenced by past incorrect teaching without realizing it . This book has blown away my thinking that God is both angry and filled with wrath towards us and sin. Jeremy’s call for us to Interpreting Gods word through the lens of Christ is a startling experience and one we should all embrace. Thank you again for such a great read.
–Careful

This book gives another view of the doctrines we have been taught all of our lives. And this actually makes more sense than what we have heard. I myself have had some of these thoughts but couldn’t quite make the sense of it all by myself. J.D. Myers helped me answer some questions and settle some confusion for my doctrinal views. This is truly a refreshing read. Jesus really is the demonstration of who God is and God is much easier to understand than being so mean and vindictive in the Old Testament. The tension between the wrath of God and His justice and the love of God are eased when reading this understanding of the atonement. Read with an open mind and enjoy!
–Clare N. Brownlee

You can read the other review, learn more about the book, and even read a free sample of the book by visiting it’s product page on Amazon. And take advantage of the temporary price drop as we celebrate the gold medal award. (And if you don’t have a Kindle, that’s no problem … Download the free Kindle Reader app here for your computer, tablet, or smartphone.)

God is Redeeming Books Bible & Theology Topics: atonement, atonement of God, Books by Jeremy Myers, Books I'm Writing, christus victor, non-violent atonement, violence of God, violence of Scripture

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Here is the Study Guide for Nothing But the Blood of Jesus (If you are asking these questions, the book will help)

By Jeremy Myers
3 Comments

Here is the Study Guide for Nothing But the Blood of Jesus (If you are asking these questions, the book will help)

Yesterday I announced that my new book has been published and is now available for purchase or download from Amazon. Here are the links if you want to get it (#AmazonAdLink) on the Kindle or (#AmazonAdLink) in Paperback.

In yesterday’s post, I gave the book description and the Table of Contents. The book also has a study guide, which makes this book an excellent resource for your small group Bible study, home group, or Sunday school class.

Noting But the Blood of Jesus

Nothing But the Blood of Jesus Study Guide

Below are discussion questions to help you study the concepts in this book. Each set of questions is based on one of the five key terms discussed in this book: Sin, Law, Sacrifice, Scapegoat, and Blood.

By reading through some of the questions below, you will get a feel for what sort of information I cover in the book, and what sort of questions get answered in the book.

Questions About Sin

1.      How do most modern people define sin? What do we tend to think sin is?

2.      How did many ancient people view sin? What did they tend to think sin was? Why did they think that blood could solve the problem of sin?

3.      Most people today tend to view sin as breaking a law or command of God. This book proposes that such actions are little more than symptoms or signs of the greater problem identified in the Bible as “sin.” What is this “sin”?

4.      When humans become “holy,” will we become more like God, or become more like the humans that God wants us to be? Why is this distinction important?

5.      What do God’s instructions to Adam and Eve in Genesis 2 reveal about the way God wants humans to live? How about God’s instructions to the people of Israel in Exodus 20?

6.      What do you think about the statement that sin is not necessarily breaking God’s commandments, but about engaging in violence and the things that lead to violence?

7.      Near the beginning of the chapter “Scriptures on Sin,” what two truths are discussed about sin and God’s activity in response to sin?

8.      Though sin may have been introduced by Adam and Eve in Genesis 3, when did sin actually “bear fruit” and what did this look like?

9.      How can Paul claim to have faultlessly kept the entire law, but also be the chief of sinners?

10.  Why does God want humans to refrain from sin? Is it because He is so deeply hurt and offended by sin that He just cannot stand to be around sinners? Or is it because He loves us so much, He does not want to see us hurt and damaged by sin?

Questions About Law

1.      What is the law for?

2.      What is lacking in the law?

3.      Why are laws given? Why do laws only increase over time?

4.      How can the law lead us into greater sin?

5.      Why is obeying the law not the answer to our problem of sin?

6.      What is it that God really wants from us?

7.      Why did God give the law, when He knew it wouldn’t work?

8.      According to Paul, what is the purpose of the law?

9.      What does the Sermon on the Mount focus our attention on?

10.  Why do you think Jesus said that His disciples will be known by their love, rather than by their law keeping?

Questions About Sacrifice

1.      What are the three purposes of sacrifice? Describe the differences between the three.

2.      What are humans trying to fix or correct when we offer sacrifices?

3.      Regardless of our religion or heritage, who are humans trying to appease with our sacrifices?

4.      If God truly did demand sacrifices from us, how is He any different from the other gods that require sacrifices? In other words, since sacrifices “work” everywhere they are performed (regardless of religion), what does this mean about the sacrificial instructions in the Bible?

5.      Can God be in the presence of sin? If you answer “No,” how could the killing of an animal (or a person) make a difference in God’s ability to be near sinners? Also, how could Jesus be fully God and yet live here on earth?

6.      If there is no sacrifice for intentional sin, how does God “take care” of these sins? Do you think God also “takes care” of unintentional sins the same way?

7.      What did the chapters on sacrifice begin to reveal about why Jesus died on the cross? Was His sacrifice for the purpose of pleasing and appeasing God? Why or why not?

8.      Why does the Bible contain so much information and teaching about sacrifice and violence?

9.      When is the first sacrifice performed in the Bible?

10.  Why are sacrifices not the solution to sin?

Questions About Scapegoating

1.      What are the five stages of the “scapegoat mechanism”?

2.      How does rivalry lead to violence?

3.      Why is a scapegoat needed to end violence?

4.      If the scapegoat is relatively innocent (or at least, not completely guilty of everything for which they are charged), why does their death create peace between two warring sides?

5.      What is the better way of creating peace between two parties?

6.      What are the three types of scapegoat? Why do they make good scapegoats?

7.      What are the three signs of scapegoating?

8.      How is it that we humans “scapegoat” God?

9.      What are the three ways that Jesus reveals scapegoating?

10.  What does Jesus reveal about scapegoating in regard to God and in regard to humanity?

Questions About Blood

1.      What have these chapters on blood (as well as previous chapters) revealed about the death of Jesus in relation to the wrath of God? In other words, did Jesus die to appease the wrath of God? Why or why not?

2.      What does the bloody crucifixion of Jesus reveal to us?

3.      Why did the crucifixion of Jesus need to be bloody and violent?

4.      What does the law of God do for violence?

5.      If it was not God who forced His Son to die on a cross, who (or what) put Jesus on the cross, and why?

6.      The rationale behind sacrifice is that the taking of one life saves many others. Why and how is this false?

7.      Why did Jesus submit Himself to the “scapegoat mechanism”? What does His death as a scapegoat victim reveal to us?

8.      What is the only kind of sacrifice God calls each of us to practice?

9.      God promises to always give us a way of escape from sin. How does Jesus dying on the cross reveal to us the way of escape from our own sinful scapegoating tendencies?

10.  How does the violent death of Jesus on the cross save us from our sin?

Buy the book on Amazon today:

Whether you want to buy one book for yourself, or multiple books for your church study group, you can get the book on Amazon. Here are the links for paperback and Kindle editions. Just click the image for the edition you prefer.

Nothing But the Blood of Jesus Paperback
Paperback Edition
Nothing but the Blood of Jesus Kindle
Kindle Version

God is Redeeming Books Bible & Theology Topics: blood of Jesus, Books by Jeremy Myers, Books I'm Writing, crucifixion of Jesus, law of Moses, Nothing But the Blood of Jesus, sacrifice, scapegoating, violence of Scripture

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If you have been curious about my new book… The Atonement of God

By Jeremy Myers
27 Comments

If you have been curious about my new book… The Atonement of God

My newest book has been out for a couple months now. If you have been thinking of buying a copy to read, this post will help you learn more about my book, The Atonement of God.

There are quite a few places on the internet that have posted excerpts and reviews of the book, and there are also several locations which are selling it.

Reviews and Excerpts from The Atonement of God

the atonement of God

  • “Victory over Death” at Teaching Non-Violent Atonement
  • “Victory over the Devil” at Zach Hoag’s Blog
  • “Atonement of God” Excerpt at Clarion Journal
  • “Atonement of God” Excerpt at Christianity Without Religion
  • Interview with Chuck McKnight
  • Wesley Rostoll Review
  • Wayne Jacobsen Review
  • Michael Wilson Review
  • Dr. Kevin Ruffcord Review
  • Reviews on Amazon

If you write a review or publish an excerpt of the book and want it listed here, please let me know!

Places to Buy The Atonement of God

  • Amazon (for the Kindle and for Paperback books)
  • Barnes & Noble (for the Nook)
  • Google Play Books (for Android devices)
  • iTunes Bookstore (for Apple devices)
  • Kobo (for a Kobo eReader)

Buy the Paperback in Bulk

The atonement of God BulkIf you have read the book and want to buy paperback copies in bulk to give away or to study with friends, you can do that right here:

God is Redeeming Books Bible & Theology Topics: Books by Jeremy Myers, Books I'm Writing, buy books, christus victor, The Atonement of God, violence of Scripture

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Does Jesus condone the death sentence for children in Mark 7:10?

By Jeremy Myers
11 Comments

Does Jesus condone the death sentence for children in Mark 7:10?

A reader recently sent in this question about Mark 7:10.

I was able to pre-order your book [The Atonement of God] and I can’t stop readingaF it! I am now on my third time around. It truly has continued to redeem my thought about our loving God, just like your blog. Thank you so much for blessing us with such a profound book.

Could you please help me with a passage I am having trouble understanding? Maybe you have written about it before, it’s Mark 7:10 where Jesus seems to agree with Moses “For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, ‘He who curses father or mother, let him be put to death.’” I love the way you have taught us to understand the Old Testament, but here it seems like Jesus is agreeing with Moses about “God’s law” to put someone to death if they do not honor father or mother. I now know God is not violent, so what am I missing?

Thank you so much for considering my question.

Mark 7:10Here is an expanded version of how I responded to him:

What I wrote on page 195 in the book helps explain Mark 7:9-11. On that page, I explain that according to the book of Hebrews, one reason Jesus came was to redeem sin, and especially a certain kind of sin, the parabainō type of sin. This type of sin is the sin of misusing the law. This was using the law in a way that allowed people to sin and in so doing, legally do the exact opposite of the spirit of the law.

In Mark 7:9-14 The religious leaders had found a way to obey the letter of the law while completely ignoring its intent. People were dishonoring their parents (and in a way, even cursing them to death), but were not being “put to death” in response. Quite to the contrary, the religious leaders were saying that it was okay for children to not honor their parents and provide for them if the money that would normally be used to do so was given to the temple.

Those who focus intently on the law almost always find loopholes in the law so that they can obey the letter of the law while completely ignoring it’s intent.

This is a parabainō sin, a transgression of the law, and was the main type of sin Jesus was concerned with in His ministry. The “sins” that most of us Christians are concerned with today were never really on Jesus’ radar. He was only concerned with the religiously approved sins which turned the law on its head so that people could “obey the law” while completely disregarding its intent.

So when Jesus quotes the law in Mark 7:10 about putting children to death for cursing their parents, He is not necessarily quoting it with approval, but is instead pointing out how the religious leaders were using the law to do the exact opposite of what the law said. These adult children were dedicating their money to the temple so that they didn’t have to support their parents in their old age. And the way the Corban law worked, they could keep their money until they died.

In effect, these adult children were cursing their parents to death, which was the exact opposite of what the law said they should do.

stoning children

Jesus responds to this situation by saying that if the religious leaders were really going to obey the law, these children who essentially curse their parents to death should themselves be stoned to death.

But then does this mean that Jesus agrees with what the law says on this point? Does Jesus condone the death penalty for children?

Well, first of all, it is the adult children of elderly parents who are in view.

Even still, I don’t think Jesus was saying that people should be put to death if they fail to take care of their parents. He doesn’t seem to be quoting that particular law from Exodus 21:17 favorably.

Instead, I think Jesus was simply pointing out that the religious leaders were not following the law at all, but were instead misusing the law in a way that allowed them to dishonor their parents, which was the exact opposite intention of the law (see 7:13).

What then would be the proper use of the law in these situations? What was the spirit of the law?

The law was focused on life. The goal of the law is life. The law didn’t want either children or their parents to die.

So the spirit of the law in this case would be that the children who had the money would not be allowed to dedicate it to the temple, but would be required by the temple and the priesthood to use the money to support their parents.

“Oh, but then how would the priests pay for the temple?” Maybe they wouldn’t. What’s more important, a building or your parents?

“Are you saying that people shouldn’t give to God?” No. What I’m saying is that giving to a temple is not the same thing as giving to God, and that God Himself seems to prefer that we use our money to support our family than for supporting the “work of the Lord” as the priestly class defines it. In other words, according to God, supporting your family IS the work of the Lord (cf. 1 Tim 5:4, 8).

Children “give to God” by supporting their parents; not by supporting a priesthood.

Anyway, those are my thoughts. What are yours? Provide your input in the comment section below.

God is Redeeming Scripture Bible & Theology Topics: Bible and Theology Questions, capital punishment, Mark 7:10, violence of God, violence of Scripture

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Why I Might Cherry-Pick Verses from the Bible

By Jeremy Myers
45 Comments

Why I Might Cherry-Pick Verses from the Bible

Do you know what it means to “cherry-pick” verses from the Bible? When someone is accused of “cherry-picking” verses from the Bible, it means that they have a particular doctrine or idea they want to teach to others, and rather than considering “the whole counsel of God,” they pick a choose a few select verses from various books of the Bible which seems to prove their point or present their case in the strongest possible way.

They often then ignore or minimize texts from the Bible which disprove or contradict the idea or theme they are trying to teach.

cherry-pick the BibleI have often been accused of “cherry-picking” verses from the Bible. This is especially true with my recent emphasis on the non-violence of God. I believe that God is not violent; that in Him, there is no violence at all. I base my view, in large part, on Jesus being the exact representation of God (cf. John 1:14, 18; 14:9-11; 2 Cor 4:4; Php 2:6; Col 1:15; Heb 1:2-3). (Please note that I am not saying God is a pacifist. Far from it. There is a huge difference between pacifism and non-violence.)

Jesus was non-violent, and if He perfectly reveals God to us, then this means that God also is non-violent. The only other possibility is that God truly is violent, and Jesus didn’t fully reveal this aspect of God, which means that Jesus is not a very good representation of the true nature and character of God.

Anyway, when I write about the non-violent character and nature of God, I often get accused of “cherry-picking” the Bible. After all, there are hundreds and hundreds of texts in the Bible which portray God as being quite violent. How can I ignore or pass over those sorts of texts in favor of the non-violent texts in the Gospels?

The truth is that I don’t pass over them. I have what I think is a sound logical and theological explanation for these violent texts, which is discovered by looking at Jesus on the cross.

But I am not going to get into my understanding of those violent texts in this post… (but there’s a book coming!)

Instead, I just want to say that even if my understanding of these violent texts is wrong, then I am happy to agree with those who accuse me of cherry-picking the Bible. If I am wrong about how to understand the violence of God in the Old Testament in light of Jesus Christ on the cross, then I will gladly and happily resort to cherry-picking the Bible so that it presents God in a Jesus-looking way.

There are three reasons I don’t mind being accused of cherry-picking verses from the Bible.

1. Jesus Cherry-Picked Verses from the Bible to Present God as Non-Violent

I try to follow the teachings and example of Jesus as best as I can. I fail in many areas all the time, but that is where grace enters the scene.

Anyway, when it comes to presenting God as non-violent, Jesus not only shows by teaching and example that God is non-violent (cf. Luke 6:27-30; 9:54-56; 23:34), but when Jesus declared the purpose of His ministry, He cherry-picked a key Old Testament passage to show that He was not going to be violent at all.

The text I am referring to is Luke 4:16-30. In this text, Jesus lays out His mission statement (Luke 4:18-19), which shows that He is only going to restore, heal, forgive, deliver, and set free. As part of His teaching, Jesus used an illustration from the Old Testament about how God sent Elijah the Prophet to a Gentile woman and a leprous Syrian general.

As a result of this sermon, those who listened to Jesus that day tried to kill Him (Luke 4:28-29). Why did they try to kill Jesus?

Because Jesus cherry-picked the Old Testament to present God as non-violent. His audience believed that God was violent, and this violence is then demonstrated in their attempt to kill Jesus (After all, you become like the god you worship).

How did Jesus cherry-pick the Old Testament?

Well, the text Jesus taught from was Isaiah 61:1-2. But if you go and look at the text that Jesus taught from, and compare it with the text He quoted in Luke 4:18-19, Jesus stopped His quotation midsentence! He didn’t finish reading Isaiah 61:2.

And what did He not read? The next phrase in Isaiah 61:2 talks about “the day of vengeance of our God.” Jesus purposefully ignored this phrase! He excluded it from His reading.

Violent Jesus in the second coming
I don’t know if this is actually a movie … but if so, who can blame them for making it? This IS the way we Christians sometimes present the second coming.

When I first taught on Luke 4 about fifteen years ago, I explained to my congregation that the reason Jesus didn’t talk about the day of God’s vengeance was because the first coming of Jesus, which we read about in the Gospels, was for love, grace, and forgiveness, whereas the second coming of Jesus, which we read about in the book of Revelation, will be full of blood and wrath and violence. I said that since Jesus was only proclaiming the mission statement for His first coming, He had to stop half-way through Isaiah 61:2.

“But watch out!” I told my congregation. “For wrath, and judgment, and blood, and fire are coming! Jesus will return a second time, and you do not want to be on the earth when He comes, for it will be a day of vengeance and death such as the world has never seen.”

Sigh.

I have many regrets about some of the things I preached when I was a pastor, but that is one of the sermons I regret most.

I now believe (because I understand Revelation quite differently … and I will explain how I understand it in a future episode of my One Verse Podcast … make sure you subscribe if you want to hear it) that Jesus stopped half-way through Isaiah 61:2, not because the violence of God was being pushed to some future violent and bloody return of Jesus, but because Jesus wanted us to know that God is love, and in Him there is no violence at all.

To make this point, Jesus cherry-picked Isaiah 61:1-2.

Jesus then went on to cherry-pick a text about how God sent Elijah only to widowed, Gentile women and leprous enemy soldiers (two of the people Jews hated most), to show that these are types of people God is inviting into His Kingdom.

Could Jesus have picked other passages about how God sent prophets to good, morally-upright, Jewish men? Of course. But He didn’t. He picked the worst of the worst (from a Jewish male perspective), and then said, “This is who God loves.”

Naturally, when you preach a sermon like this to a group of people who think God hates filthy Gentile women and leprous enemy soldiers, and that God’s ultimate goal for such people is to kill them and send them to burn forever in hell, you will not be the most popular teacher that this particular audience has ever had.

It would be like going into a super fundamentalist church today and telling them that if Jesus were here today, He would choose gay, transvestite, Muslim jihadists to be His disciples. Imagine the rage! If they didn’t try to stone you on the spot, you would at least be condemned as a heretic liberal who deserved to spend eternity in the deepest hell.

But at least you’d be in good company, because that’s what the religious people said to Jesus too…

So yes, Jesus cherry-picked the Bible to present to His listeners a God who was non-violent. And this message was not any more popular then as it is today.

But Jesus wasn’t the only one who cherry-picked the Bible to present a non-violent God. Paul did it too.

2. Paul Cherry-Picked Verses from the Bible to Present God as Non-Violent

Paul’s magnum opus is his Letter to the Romans. His conclusion to the book is found in Romans 15:7-13, where He basically sums up the entire point and message of Romans for his readers. And the summary of the book is that we should all receive one another, both Jew and Gentile alike, because Jesus has served the Jewish people and brought the Gentile people into the family, so that both might glorify God together (Rom 15:7-9).

Paul then closes with several quotes from the Old Testament which shows how God’s plan all along was to bless the Gentile people so that they might praise Him and glorify Him and sing His name (Rom 15:9-12).

Paul quotes texts like 2 Samuel 22:50 and Psalm 18:49 which say, “For this reason, I will confess to You among the Gentiles, and sing to your name” (Rom 15:9).

Or Deuteronomy 32:52, which says, “Rejoice, O Gentiles, with His people” (Rom 15:10).

Or Isaiah 11:10, which says, “There shall be a root of Jesse; And He who shall rise to reign over the Gentiles, In Him the Gentiles shall hope” (Rom 15:12).

But if you go back and look at the surrounding contexts of these passages which Paul quotes, it is nearly laughable at how Paul completely rips them from their context and quotes them as saying something almost exactly opposite of what they actually say in their context! Paul would get an “F” in almost any seminary for how he cherry-picks the Old Testament texts to make them say what they do not say in context.

For example, the 2 Samuel 22 and Psalm 19 passages do talk about how the Gentiles will sing praises to God. But do you know why they sing praises? In these chapters, the author is basically saying this: “All my Gentile enemies are dead or have become my slaves! Yay! And as a result, they now know that you alone are God! Now they are finally praising you, God! Because they are dead.”

But that is not really what Paul seems to have meant when he quoted that text.

It’s the same with his quotation of Deuteronomy 32:43. In the context, Moses sort of writes a farewell song to Israel, and in it he basically says, “Rejoice, Oh Gentiles! Because God is about to set up Israel in the Promised Land. After He kills everyone who lives there! But that is how you Gentiles will come to know the true and only God! So rejoice! You have been living in sin and violence, but after we come through and slaughter you all, you will finally know the truth! And the slaughter will be so bloody, that God’s arrows will become drunk with blood, and his sword will feast on the blood of the severed heads of the enemy! So rejoice, Oh Gentiles!”

… The whole text is rather twisted. But Paul takes one verse out of this twisted text, a verse about the Gentiles rejoicing, and quotes it approvingly. Talk about avoiding violent passages to cherry-pick the Bible!

Just one more. Paul also quotes Isaiah 11:10. This passage pronounces a blessing on the Gentiles, which is what Paul quotes, but again, in the context, the reason the Gentiles are blessed is because they have all either been killed or have become slaves to Israel. It is sort of saying, “You Gentiles have been running this world into the ground, but now that all you troublemakers have been killed or enslaved, we can start ruling the world the way God really wants. So praise God! Peace has finally arrived!”

I am not trying to make light of any of this. These are extremely troubling texts. These are the sorts of passages that cause some people to reject Christianity and deny God and say that if this is the way God is, they want nothing to do with him.

And I agree.

But thankfully, this is not the way God is, as both Jesus and Paul have shown us.

Jesus reaching non violence

But there is one more reason why I don’t mind being accused of cherry-picking verses from the Bible.

Everybody Cherry-Picks Verses from the Bible (Even you)!

A few minutes of thought reveals that everybody cherry-picks verses from the Bible. It is impossible not to.

The only alternative to cherry-picking verses from the Bible is to allow every verse in the Bible to be of equal weight, significance, and importance. But nobody does that. Nobody.

Look, do you highlight or underline or memorize verses in your Bible that are especially meaningful to you? If so, you cherry-pick verses from the Bible. I mean, have you highlighted Ezekiel 23:20-21 in your Bible? Have you memorized this verse and meditate upon it for encouragement when you’re feeling down? Probably not.

When you decide to evangelize or witness to somebody, do you pick and choose a few verses from various places in the Bible to share? I sure hope so! The only alternative is to throw the whole Bible at someone and say, “Here, read this!” But if you do pick and choose, then you are, by definition, cherry-picking verses from the Bible.

So since everybody cherry-picks verses from the Bible, the only time you will ever get accused of cherry-picking is when they don’t like the verses you picked to prove your point, because the verses they cherry-picked prove a different point.

So how then Should we Cherry-pick verses from the Bible?

Since we are all going to cherry-pick verses from the Bible, and since both Jesus and Paul also cherry-picked verses from the Bible, it seems sort of wise to follow their example in cherry-picking verses, and pick the verses that look more like Jesus. When you cherry-pick verses from the Bible, pick those that present truth and present theology that lead people into an understanding of God that looks just like Jesus Christ.

Pick verses that are full of grace, mercy, forgiveness, and enemy-love. Then read the other verses in light of these. We don’t toss out into the garbage heap the verses that didn’t get picked. No, instead we read them in light of the verses that we did pick.

By cherry-picking texts out of the Bible to reveal the goodness, and love, and mercy, and grace, and acceptance of God, while at the same time, soundly rejecting and denying the texts which talk about a bloodthirsty god of violence, we have seen that both Jesus and Paul are saying what we can loudly proclaim today as well: “God is not like that! God is love, and in Him there is no violence at all!”

So do I cherry-pick verses from the Bible? Well, I hope not. I try not to. But IF I am guilty of it, I at least have good examples in the Jesus and Paul, who also cherry-picked verses in the Bible to prove that God was like Jesus, and in Him there was no violence at all. (And please don’t point to the cleansing of the temple or Jesus’ instruction for the disciples to go buy a sword.)

God is Redeeming Scripture Bible & Theology Topics: crucifixion of Jesus, cruciform, crucivision, Luke 4:18-19, violence of God, violence of Scripture

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