Let's Talk About Sex

Introduction

            The Bible is extremely explicit on sex. From the Genesis 2 passage to explain that a man and woman will become one flesh, through to the sexually immoral dogs of Revelation 22, sex is a constant topic of conversation in this book. The current culture has redefined and perverted sex beyond the point of recognition. This perversion has caused some to misunderstand the church’s view, saying that the Bible condemns sex or that we aren’t meant to enjoy it. But, a proper handling of the word of God reveals the true view of sex, and this view is the subject of the following paper. To begin, we will discuss the pertinent passages to the issue, and then, from these passages, we will define the biblical model of good, moral, sex. After this, we will look at the boundaries that should not be crossed, boundaries that protect us from the perversions of sex, which carry physical, emotional, and spiritual consequences. Then, some of the most common perversions of sex will be addressed from the biblical standpoint.

Don't Be Who You Are. Be Someone Better.

            There is a cultural phenomenon sweeping through our world today, and I think it can best be epitomized by a comment made by Taylor Swift in an interview discussing her hit music video “Shake it Off.” The comment was, “I wanted it to be—kind of—unapologetic about like, ‘you don’t like me for being who I am, watch me be who I am more.’” [1]

            It’s the phenomenon of being who you are… unapologetically. Some female celebrities who have spearheaded this phenomenon are Jennifer Lawrence (known for her wacky behavior and outspoken nature on unhealthy body image), Taylor Swift (quoted above), Miley Cyrus (whose antics are well known). Many pop-stars fall into this mold. Justin Beiber is so used to steering into the skid that he decided to strip at a fashion show because he was being booed.[2] Talk about individuality!

            It’s a philosophy that says, “I’m not going to let other people tell me who to be. I’m going to decide who I am.” The hilarious and ironic subtext of this proposal is that most decide to be who they are by being the opposite of what everyone tells them to be, which means that they are still allowing public opinion to determine their personality.  

            It’s also a philosophy that has been adopted by the homosexual community, the transgender community, and the feminist community. From the feminists we often hear ‘positive’ descriptions of women who live by this philosophy as strong, sassy, feisty, and independent. From the homosexual community we hear comments about being ‘born that way’ and the transgender community says that it’s wrong not to be true to ‘who you are on the inside.’

            The problem with a philosophy like this is that it encourages people to look to themselves to determine right behavior. Unfortunately, the self is corrupt and wicked. Rene Descartes’ fatal idea ‘I think therefore I am,’ has encouraged humanity down through the ages to turn inward for the source of truth instead of turning to the author of truth, and we see the imports of such a philosophy lived out in our culture.

The Script

A script has been given to Christians today

It tells them the words that a Christian should say.

Lord fill my heart or Lord give me peace

Lord use your power to make my pain cease

We speak the right words and we do the right deeds

And say we're, quote, "ready to go and plant seeds."

if you pray for me then I’ll go pray for you.

Take love and make love… but show love? To who?

My neighbors are mean, and my enemies lie

And I want my friends to think I’m a nice guy!

This script, farce, lie, fantasy, play we perform

To satisfy those who, like us, are lukewarm

Who claim to believe and say that they know

But really right now have a lump in their throat

Cause they never did stop for a minute to think

Is it actually true?

                            before taking a blink

And then joining in singing and praising THEIR God.

The created lay’s claim never thinking it's odd.

Simply say the right words and close your eyes tight.

It won’t have to be true if I act the part, right?

The Seven Signs of John's Gospel

Introduction

            Within the Gospel of John, there are seven or eight – depending on one’s outline – major miracles recorded. This paper will take the position that the healing of Lazarus, and not the resurrection itself, was the seventh sign. That being said, they are as follows: (1) Turning water into wine, (2) healing an official’s son, (3) healing at the pool of Bethesda (4) feeding of the five-thousand, (5) walking on water, (6) healing of the man born blind, (7) raising Lazarus from the dead. The Resurrection of Jesus will be treated as an eighth miracle and not examined here since this miracle is the one in which a person puts his faith, and so is different in quality to the seven previous miracles that attest to the eighth. These seven miracles are all recorded for a singular purpose, which John states near the end of his Gospel. “These are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His name.” Each of these miracles will, in turn, be described in detail and all of the implications regarding the historical context will be given. After that, it will be explained how each miracle lends support to John’s overall purpose, as recorded in 20:31.

Who Wrote Hebrews?

Introduction

Among the books that comprise the New Testament, few incite as much controversy about the nature of their authorship as the letter that begins not with a greeting, but with an assertion about how God communicates to his people. Commonly called “Hebrews” because of its extremely Jewish slant in argumentation and assumptions, this book gives an insight into the superiority of Jesus Christ over all previous revelations from God. The question that plagues scholars of the work is simply, “Who wrote it?”

This question has been beaten and battered throughout the centuries and no conclusion has been reached. There are, however, a few leading theories as to its authorship. This paper will strive to present the cases for the most widely suggested authors and the arguments for and against each suggestion, as well as how each suggestion has been accepted throughout history. That stated, the most commonly suggested authors of the book of Hebrews in our day, arranged in order of age of the view, are: (1) Paul, (2) Barnabas, (3) Luke, (4) Apollos, and (5) Priscilla.