by R. Herbert | May 29, 2014 | The Life of Jesus
It’s clear that we have entered the age of the infographic. So it makes sense that the publishers of the New International version of the Bible have now brought out the NIV Quickview Bible which (usually) effectively summarizes many aspects of the Biblical narrative into easily accessible and interesting infographics.
The infographic we look at here, “Teachings of Jesus in the Gospels,” provides a good example of the value of this kind of presentation for rapidly conveying important data. The first thing we notice in this graph is the huge preponderance of Christ’s teachings regarding “Spiritual Life” – far greater in number than even those on the Kingdom of God. Yet herein lies a problem in that we don’t know what criteria the producer of graphics of this nature utilized in dividing the verses on these topics – many of which overlap. For example, many of the verses where Jesus is speaking about “Spiritual Life” are clearly in the context of what has been called “Kingdom Living” – living according to the principles of the Kingdom of God in this life now (see our article
The Kingdom of God: Living Tomorrow Today), and when this is taken fully into account, the balance between the “Kingdom of God” and “Spiritual Life” categories might be quite different. Further, many of the verses regarding “Last days and judgment” may actually be relevant to the Kingdom of God.
On the other hand, the graphic is successful in showing us several things. Even if we ignore possible or probable overlaps, we can still see the centrality of some of these great themes of Jesus’ teaching; and some – such as marriage and family – may come as a surprise.
As with any other infographic, we must always ask ourselves what other ways the pie could have been sliced. For example, if we made a category for “Prophetic statements,” it would have to include many of those in the “Kingdom of God” category, as well as all those from the “Jesus’ death and resurrection” and “Last days and judgment” categories. As such, at as many as 480 verses, it would clearly become the second largest category. But we can do some of this re-cutting of the pie by simply adding relevant categories to form new ones. If we are willing to take the time to do that, graphs of this type become even more significant.
Most infographics are also limited in the ability they give us to distinguish between real and apparent significance. I would presume that the Parable of the Lost Coin is included in the section on “Money and Treasure,” but if we read that parable we find it is not about money per se, it just uses money as a metaphor for something else. In cases like this we need to be careful that we do not think that Jesus put more stress on the importance of money than he really did – something an infographic can’t really show us.
Ultimately, then, by their very nature, infographics are always going to be limited in the degree that they can be specific about details, but the one we have chosen here represents particularly difficult data to present. The graph still shows us interesting and important things, however, and if we think about it, we can see just a little bit more clearly what Jesus talked about.
by R. Herbert | May 25, 2014 | The Church & the World
We should remember that the more we know about other areas of the world and understand their people, the better equipped – and motivated – we become to help them. But many of us do not fully understand the needs and potentials of Africa. Consider these three aspects:
Outline of Africa showing that the United States, China, India, and most of Europe would fit within this giant continent. Image by Kai Krause.
1) Size: At 30.2 million square kilometers (a little under 12 million square miles), Africa represents 20.4 percent of the total land area of the earth. If you haven’t already seen it, the “True Size of Africa” map above, by Kai Krause, startles in clarifying just how big the African continent is. As the map shows, Africa could comfortably hold the United States, China, Japan, India and most of Europe with room to spare. This huge size means that there is very little infrastructure – not even any roads – in many areas, and many schools, hospitals and churches have to serve huge territories.
2) Population: Growing at an amazing rate, the population of Africa is projected to reach huge proportions in the coming decades. At current growth rates, by 2050 African cities will hold over 6.25 billion people and Lagos, Nigeria, will be the largest city in the world. The high population density in many areas and the fact that 50% of Africans are 19 years old or younger already affects many aspects of life from social problems to agricultural needs. Some 40% of Africa’s people live in slums. Starvation and malnutrition can be frequent realities under such conditions.
3) Peoples: Africa is home to a great number of peoples of different ethnic and cultural groups – ranging from indigenous Bantu and Swahili to “Bushmen” and Pygmies, as well as Arabs and others. Each people is further divided, in many cases, by language groups, and UNESCO has estimated that almost two thousand languages are spoken in Africa. Ethnic and religious differences lie behind much of the ongoing violence, claiming a great many lives in some areas. This situation makes missionary work and Bible translation more complicated, time-consuming and costly, but the need is considerable. This is a continent of people needing our prayers and support in a great many areas.
by R. Herbert | May 22, 2014 | Leadership
“… do you not know that the Lord’s people will judge the world? And if you are to judge the world, are you not competent to judge trivial cases? Do you not know that we will judge angels? How much more the things of this life! (1 Corinthians 6:2-3)
Ask most Christians to think about the qualities the Bible lists that Christian leaders should have and the majority will likely think of the apostle Paul’s instructions regarding the qualifications for elders (1 Timothy 3:1-7, Titus 1:5-9) and deacons (1 Timothy 3:8-13). But are those the only relevant qualities that most Christians should try to emulate in terms of Christian leadership? They are certainly valuable qualities to which we should all aspire, but sometimes we may think only of these elder-deacon qualities and miss an important lesson in scripture.
Not all will be elders or deacons in their Christian lives, but Paul’s words to the Corinthians, quoted above, show that all Christians are called to eventually judge. Paul stresses that we should be able to judge small matters in this life, in our families and perhaps work and other contexts. So what are the biblical requirements for a judge? Read this week’s article: “Why You Need the Qualities and Qualifications of a Judge“
by Staff | May 17, 2014 | Popular Culture, Updates
A short selection of recent tweets pulled from the twitter stream - food for thought, prayer, thankfulness or personal action!
@Dawn_Morris1
– History teaches us that men and nations behave wisely once they have exhausted all other alternatives.
@CSLewisDaily
– “Courage is not simply one of the virtues, but the form of every virtue at the testing point.”
@tacticalbelief
–How do you see prayer – getting to know the pilot, or checking the parachute?
@BookOProverbs
– Exercise daily. Walk with the Lord!
@NLCC
– Hope delayed is not hope denied.
@951SHINEFM
– “Our love grows soft if it is not strengthened by truth, and our truth grows hard if it is not softened by love.” ~John R.W. Stott
@RCPolar
– If abortion isn’t murder, why is it considered a double homicide when a pregnant woman is killed?
@RomCsar
– China on course to become ‘world’s most Christian nation’ within 15 years – http://bit.ly/1piQuaj ~ Telegraph
@blue_saphire5
– Life is “give and take.” Give thanks and take nothing for granted!
@SaltLightFaith
– Most people wish to serve God – but only in an advisory capacity. ~Author Unknown
(Speaking of twitter – don’t forget to follow us @tacticalbelief and @livingbelief )
by R. Herbert | May 15, 2014 | Discipleship
The subject of numerous stories of varying levels of believability and skill, the disappearing person motif is one that has been employed by many mystery writers. Even well-known authors such as Isaac Asimov have used the theme, and it’s one which does hold a good degree of human interest.
The motif of the disappearing person is even one we find in the Bible. Elijah is said to have disappeared from view, not to be seen again (2 Kings 2); and historically, a number of the prophets seem to have come onto the scene only to deliver their messages and then to vanish into obscurity – at least not to be heard from again. In the case of John the Baptist we have a little documentation regarding what happened. John was certainly highly visible throughout the early part of his ministry, while he predicted the coming of the Messiah, but when the Messiah came in the form of Jesus of Nazareth, John began to fade from view.
John continued his work for a while, announcing the One whose shoes he said he was unworthy to carry (Matthew 3:11), and repeatedly pointing his own disciples to Him (John 1:35-37), but John himself knew that his disappearance was imminent. We see this in John’s own words as he spoke of Jesus: “He must become greater, I must become less” (John 3:30). That’s exactly what happened, of course. Soon the work of the Messiah rendered John all but invisible, despite his earlier fame, and John was eventually martyred and vanished from view.
So, great biblical characters such as Elijah and John disappeared in varying ways, but the Bible shows that disappearing is something God has in mind for all of His servants, for everyone who commits to Him. Obviously, this applies in general to us all, as James says: “What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes” (James 4:14). But I’m not talking about the transience of our lives – rather the disappearance of our old selves within the life we have now.
Paul states this clearly in saying: “… if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away” (2 Corinthians 5:17), and “… put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires” (Ephesians 4:22). If we are truly being renewed in our lives, the old person will gradually disappear as our old nature is replaced by a better one. We will never be perfect in this life, of course, but we do need to occasionally take stock of our lives and see if our old selves are truly disappearing or not. Disappearing is imperative if we are to fulfill the calling we have been given. Although it may be in a different sense, we need to be continually reminding ourselves of John’s words: “He must become greater, I must become less.”
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