affirming the authenticity, accuracy, and authority of the bible

S P R I N G 2 0 0 3 I S S U E

CONTENTSSOLA SCRIPTURA MAGAZINE : SPRING 2003, ISSUE 3

DEPARTMENTS3 Opening Thoughts : A Way of Life

4 Letters & Feedback : Defense of the Truth

19 The Van Kampen Collection : The Eliot Bible

24 Truth for Today : Picking and Choosing

26 A Word From the Word : Cursed of God

27 Final Thoughts : 1 Corinthians 15:54b, 57

Founder Robert D. Van Kampen (1938-1999)Publisher Sola ScripturaExecutive Director Scott R. PierreEditor-in-Chief Dr. Dan HaydenManaging Editor Stu KinniburghCreative Director Scott HolmgrenContributing Writers Dr. Herbert Samworth, Dr. Dan Hayden,

Charles CooperContributing Editor Dean Tisch

Sola Scriptura magazine is a publication of Sola Scriptura, a non-profit min-istry that is devoted to affirming the authenticity, accuracy, and authority ofthe Bible—the standard for truth.

The pages of Sola Scriptura are designed to be evangelistic and pastoral innature: evangelistic in that the magazine is dedicated to proclaiming anddefending the historic gospel of Jesus Christ; pastoral in that the magazineis committed to equipping and encouraging believers through sound biblicaldoctrine.

“All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, forcorrection, for training in righteousness…” (2 Timothy 3:16)

“In pointing out these things to the brethren, you will be a good servant ofChrist Jesus, constantly nourished on the words of the faith and of the sounddoctrine which you have been following.” (1 Timothy 4:6)

“Beloved, while I was making every effort to write you about our commonsalvation, I felt the necessity to write to you appealing that you contendearnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints.” (Jude 3)

Sola Scriptura magazine is published four times a year and is copyrighted© 2003 by Sola Scriptura, P.O. Box 617677, Orlando, FL 32861-7677 USA,(800) 844-9930. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may bereproduced or transmitted without publisher’s written permission. Unlessnoted, Scripture is taken from the New American Standard Bible, ©1977,1987, 1988, The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. Periodicalspostage paid at Orlando, FL and additional mailing offices. The annual USsubscription price is $12, a two-year subscription is $20. Printed in the USA.

Postmaster: Send changes of address to Sola Scriptura, P.O. Box 617677,Orlando, FL 32861-7677 USA.

Visit our website at www.solagroup.org or email magazine@solagroup.org.

Image credits: cover, 2, 6, Tim Hall [Photodisc]; 3, (bottom) Photodisc, (top)Tim Kelly; 4, 6-9, 12-18, 20-23 (bg) Photodisc; 12-15 (bg),Widegren/Karlsson [Digital Vision]; 19, Stephen Allen; 20-23, Tom Randall; 24, DigitalVision; 25,Aris Multimedia; 26, Dover; 27 Erv LeMand (photography).

6 The Pretender

In Search of the Real Word of God : The Bible and the Koranboth claim to be the Word of God. Yet the teachings inthese books are diametrically opposed to each other.BY DR. DAN HAYDEN

12 It’s the Whole Thing

The Place of Faith : Faith is so integral to the Christian lifethat it can be boiled down to a very practical definition:Faith is believing in the Word of God and acting upon it,no matter how I feel, because God promises a good result.BY DR. JAMES MACDONALD

16 The Mystery Remains

If You Do Not Know : A biblical mystery deals with issuesthat only God understands. Unless God reveals the mysteryit cannot be known.BY CHARLES COOPER

20 Free Throw

An Interview with Tom Randall : Aconversation with the Director of WorldHarvest Ministries, which takes buildingcrews, medical groups, and sports teamsto minister in the Philippines.

20

We live in an age whenthere are many thingsthat bid for our time. Inmy family, there are workrequirements, social

meetings, church activities, sports events and ahost of other miscellaneous requirements. Inlight of this, I was asked recently to comment ona challenging topic with the people of ourchurch body: How does my family seek to keepChrist central in our lives throughout the entireyear? As I thought about how to share a way ofmaintaining a delicate balance in a complicat-ed life, the answer came to me in a flash. Thereis nothing delicate about it! In my family wehave a solid, uncomplicated bottom line. Thatbottom line has been, is, and will always be allabout Jesus. We must keep our focus on Jesus24-7-365 if we hope to keep Him central inour lives—that’s twenty-four hours a day, sevendays a week, three hundred sixty-five days ayear. In Deuteronomy 6 we read, “And you shalllove the LORD your God with all your heart andwith all your soul and with all your might. Andthese words, which I am commanding you

today, shall be on your heart; and you shallteach them diligently to your sons and shalltalk of them when you sit in your house andwhen you walk by the way and when you liedown and when you rise up.And you shall bindthem as a sign on your hand and they shall beas frontals on your forehead. And you shallwrite them on the doorposts of your house andon your gates.” Further, in Colossians 3, Paulwrites: “If then you have been raised up withChrist, keep seeking the things above, whereChrist is, seated at the right hand of God. Setyour mind on the things above…”

You see, for us to have success in keepingChrist central in our lives, our faith mustbecome a way of life—our lifestyle. My wife andI had the privilege of spending many hourswith her family during our dating years. Rarelywas there a time that they were together—adinner, a walk or a simple night out—that theydidn’t have some sort of spiritual conversationgeared around Christ and His word. Over thenearly fourteen years of our marriage, my wifeand I have tried to emulate that environmentin our own home. Whether it is driving the kids

to school, at the din-ner table or lyingdown in bed at theend of a hard day,we try and relate theevents of our lives toChristian principles,and we talk aboutthings of the Lord.We include our chil-dren in spiritual conversation seeking toimpart basic biblical truths along the way. Ourfaith is a way of life.

It’s a bit like dieting. Most people will trythe easiest, quickest way that they can find tolose weight. Consequently, most diets will pro-vide some sort of weight loss early in theprogram that seems to creep back in overtime, either as we lose interest or as we seesome small success and then return to ournormal eating habits. Any diet that results inlong-term success requires a permanentlifestyle change. It is the same way in our walkwith Christ, except God has given us theperfect food that has no fat or calories: Hiswritten Word. We have all that we need per-taining to life and godliness in this gloriousbook we call the Bible.

In this issue you will read a convicting com-parison of the Bible and the Koran by DanHayden. Charles Cooper provides a compellingarticle on the mystery of the Gospel, andJames MacDonald gives us valuable insight onthe issue of Faith. All this, and lots more in ourregular features will help you to maintain aconsistent, life-changing walk with Christ thatpermeates everything that you do.

It is for this reason that we at Sola Scripturaseek to engage you in the careful articulationand study of the Word. In doing so we hope thatit will become a way of life for you as well.Remember: when you sit, walk, lie down andrise up—saturate yourselves with the truth. ■

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OPENINGTHOUGHTSA Way of LifeScott Pierre, Executive Director

Impact and influence■ I want to first thank you all for everythingyou do. I know you do it for our Lord JesusChrist, but you may not realize the impactand influence you have on many lives. Sothank you, thank you, thank you.

—SCOTT RUSSELLSpring Hill, Florida

■ This seems to be one of the best maga-zines when it comes to answering some ofthe questions which I’ve been asked lately.Your talents are truly being used by the Lord,and I believe this magazine is great!

—LOIS HAMILTONHorseheads, New York

■ Thank you so much for the way your web-site is presented. This is extremely importantto me as a pastor in presenting material tomy congregation. God bless you in all yourwork for the King of kings.

—JEFF DALYMiddletown, California

■ As a pastor I want to thank you for your defense of the Truth and thewillingness to research and present such a logical defense of the gospel. Ihave been receiving information from you for sometime, and I appreciatewhat you are doing. Keep up the good work.

—PASTOR WADE CHILDERSWinston-Salem, NC

A useful resource■ I would like to use your Winter 2003, Issue2, magazine as a teaching aid in our eveningdegree completion program. I have alsorequested that our library acquire a subscrip-tion for the use of day and evening students.

—DR. DAVID COLBURNTrinity College of Florida

■ We just received our initial issue of SolaScriptura because of previous contact withDr. Dan Hayden when he was working in thenorth woods of Wisconsin. My husband and Iwere impressed with the content and thetruth of your words. Thank you for sending itto us, and we will be subscribing so we canenjoy it in the future. We also think our pas-tor would be interested in what you have tosay. God bless.

—KIM RUMSEYTomahawk, Wisconsin

Lampstands and vessels■ Just received the Winter 2003 issue; I’llbet most everyone who received it studiedthe Final Thoughts page, reading the margin-al notes of Revelation 1 from someone’sBible. My favorite is under 2:1, “The church isonly the lampstand–or the vessel throughwhich the light (Christ) shines!” It is thetruth. We are the lampstands, and our lampsmust be trimmed and our vessels filled withoil so that He shines to a lost world.

—DAVID MOHLERDayton, Ohio

Signing up■ I was very impressed with your introductoryissue of Sola Scriptura; I read it cover-to-cover. Considering all the junk that comes inthe mail, your magazine was very welcomeand appreciated I will be subscribing to yourpublication.

—JOE LOGRASSOMorristown, New Jersey

■ Your August 2002 Premiere Issue was mag-nificent. So much value, so heartening toread. The article by Charles Cooper (“WhyAnother Magazine?”) was outstanding, for weare seeing an increasing and swift decline inmorals. What’s the subscription for this trulywonderful magazine?

—ED OXNERManchaca, Texas

Signing off■ A friend of mine turned me on to your web-site a few years back. But today I received aletter from you stating that unless I send youmoney for a subscription I have received mylast issue of Sola Scriptura. Don’t you realizethat there are brothers and sisters out therethat live from one paycheck to the next? Iam sick and tired of so-called ministries thatrequire money for resources. What did theLord Jesus say to those who said to Him thatthey had done many wonderful things in Hisname? Keep your magazine!

—EDWARD VANEK JR.Michigan City, Indiana

LETTERS & FEEDBACKDefense of the Truth

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Aforgery is difficult to detect, especially if it has all ofthe characteristics of the original. Take art forgery,for instance. There are fraudulent paintings of theGreat Masters that are nearly impossible to expose

because the forgers are so good at imitating the features of thetrue artist. Elmyr de Hory was an artist with that kind of ability.In fact, Orson Welles was so impressed with Elmyr that he madea movie of his life, entitled F for Fake.

It is estimated that Elmyr de Hory “made more than 1000counterfeit paintings”1 before he died in 1976. Art critics oftenmistook his works for the genuine masterpieces and, conse-quently, the forgeries were unwittingly sold as originalsthroughout North America, Europe and Japan. Knut W. Jorfald,the Norwegian film maker who also produced a movie of Elmyr’slife in 1997, said that the revenue generated by Elmyr’s forgeries“has been estimated at over one hundred million dollars.”2 Onone occasion in 1968, the Spanish government imprisoned himfor two months and then expelled him from their country for thecrime of signing wrong names on his paintings—“Names likePicasso, and Van Gogh, and Modigliani, and Matisse.”3

Elmyr de Hory’s forgeries were almost impossible to distin-guish from the original pieces. In fact, Robert Wilson makes thesuggestion that, “Every time you walk through a museum andsee a Picasso or a Matisse… you should stop and ask, ‘Now didPicasso or Matisse do that, or did Elmyr do it?’”4 It seems, insome cases, that there is concern in the art world as to who hasthe original masterpiece and who has the forgery.

When it comes to imitations of the Word of God, it can beequally difficult to separate the authentic writing from the pre-tender. Add to that the emotional element, and you have a realchallenge! No one likes to admit that they are wrong or thatthey have been conned into believing something that is untrue.This is the situation faced by people who are committed to theirreligious traditions.

For instance, for a Muslim to admit that the Bible is the realWord of God and the Koran is the fake would be to deny his cul-ture and family heritage, since these things are intimatelyentwined with the religion of Islam. The same would be true forChristianity of course. Yet, ultimately, somebody is basing hisentire life and eternal destiny on a lie—and that’s disconcerting,to say the least. The greater the stakes, the more serious thefraud. In that regard, religious fraud is worse than art fraudbecause it affects both this life and the life to come.

The only reasonable solution is to study the evidence andallow the facts to determine the truth and expose the error.After all, how can a forgery be told from the original? Only bysubjecting it to close scrutiny and careful examination canauthenticity be verified.

The Bible and the Koran both claim to be the Word of God.They are each presented to the world as an authoritative voicefrom a divine source that reveals the will of God for mankind.

Furthermore, both the Bible and the Koran have each enjoyed

a degree of popularity. Yet the teachings in these books are dia-metrically opposed to each other as to who God is and what Heexpects from His people. Therefore, unless we are willing toabandon reason and logic in favor of a pluralistic philosophy (thenotion that conflicting ideas can both be right), we are left witha choice. Which one is the Word of God? So let’s compare thetwo writings as we seek to answer that question.

THE KORAN—The Scriptures of IslamAccording to Muslim tradition, the Koran (sometimes spelled

“Quran”) is the foundation of Islam. It is for them the revelationof divine truth and is the Word of God given to mankindthrough the prophet Muhammad. Muslims consider it theirmost holy writing, although the Hadith (which records the say-ings and deeds of Muhammad) is also highly revered.

Development of the Koran—A Brief HistoryMuhammad was forty years old when he began to receive the

revelations that eventually became the Koran. He had beenspending an entire month each year in a cave three miles northof Mecca, where he would “wrap himself in a garment, keepnight vigils, and repeat the name Allah,”5 which in Arabic means“the God.” While in the cave on one occasion in the year 610 AD,the angel Gabriel reportedly appeared to him and gave to him hisfirst revelation. Initially he thought that he had come under theinfluence of a demonic spirit, but his wife, Khadija, convincedhim that the appearance was an angel of God and not the devil.

For the next 23 years until his death, Muhammad continuedto receive revelations from the angelic spirit whom he had cometo know as Gabriel. However, it was not until twenty years afterhis death that the Koran was actually compiled.

It is generally agreed that Muhammad did not know how toread or write. Therefore, as he received the revelations from theangel, he would repeat them to his followers and they wouldendeavor to remember them. They “carried portions on piecesof paper, stones, palm leaves, shoulder blades, bits of leather,and from the memories of men.”6 The official version of theKoran was then compiled from these sources by Uthman, thethird Caliph (line of successors from Muhammad). There is atradition in the Hadith that Uthman then ordered that “all otherQur’anic materials, whether written in fragmentary manuscriptsor whole copies, be burned.”7 From that point on, the compila-tion of the many fragmentary materials into one text by CaliphUthman became the official version of the Koran.

The Koran contains 114 chapters (called “Surahs”) of vary-ing lengths, and is comparable in length to the Christian NewTestament. Muhammad is said to have received 86 of theSurahs from Gabriel in Mecca and the other 28 in Medina. TheSurahs are not in any chronological order, and are simply a col-lection of instructions on “worship, marriage and family,economics, politics, community affairs, hygiene, and all otheraffairs of humanity.”8

T h e P r e t e n d e r

THE WorDo f G o d

The Koran and the Bible both claim to be the Word of God.

They are each presented to the world as an authoritative voice

from a divine source that reveals the will of God for mankind.

Yet the teachings in these books are diametrically opposed to each

other as to who God is and what He expects from His people.

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The history of the development of theKoran, therefore, is brief and simple. All ofthe revelations were received in private byMuhammad from the angel Gabriel over aperiod of 23 years. Muhammad, then, com-municated them orally to his followerswho, in turn, scribbled them on scraps andfragments. Finally, the fragments were com-piled by the third Caliph, Uthman twentyyears later. Thus, within a 43 year period(from 610 to 653 AD) the official version ofthe Koran was complete.

Comparison with the Bible—A BriefAnalysis

A thoughtful and careful comparison ofthe Bible with the Koran would take morespace than this brief analysis will allow.Therefore, for a fuller treatment of this sub-ject I recommend the book by NormanGeisler and Abdul Saleeb entitled,Answering Islam: The Crescent in theLight of the Cross.

Yet there are a number of initial obser-vations that can be made which will help usin our search for the real Word of God.Both the Bible and the Koran claim to be adivine revelation and the ultimate sourcefor truth; and both have enjoyed a largemeasure of popularity. But a comparison ofthe two reveals a great deal of differencebetween them.

1. First of all, the circumstances sur-rounding the production of each book areradically different. The Bible was producedby 40 different authors (most of whomwere prophets) over a period of 1500 yearsfrom three separate continents under awide variety of circumstances in three dis-tinct languages—giving ample opportunityfor corroborating evidence to substantiatethe claim to divine origin.

The Koran, on the other hand, was con-ceived by one man (Muhammad) in twoadjacent locations (Mecca and Medina)over a 23 year period (610-633 AD) in onelanguage (Arabic). No one else contributedto the Koran, except in compiling the textsof Muhammad (which was done solely byUthman, the third Caliph), and no otherperson ever received a revelation from

Gabriel or witnessed the angelic appear-ances. In other words, there is nocorroborating testimony to bolster theclaims of the Koran—that it is the Word ofGod. It stands solely on the witness of oneman (Muhammad), who was an illiteratebusiness man (admitted by manyMuslims—although challenged by some)9,and who was an Arab living in Arabia fivehundred years after the Bible was complet-ed and accepted as the Word of God bymost of the civilized world.

2. Second, there is no evidence of adivine presence in the Koran, as there is inthe Bible—no miracles and no prophecy.Muhammad was not a man of miracles inthe fashion of Jesus, who did many mira-cles. According to Abdul Saleeb,

All Muslims hold that miracles con-firm Muhammad’s claim to be aprophet. But many Muslim apolo-gists claim that his miracles werethe Suras of the Qur’an. Indeed, inthe Qur’an Muhammad himselfnever offered any other proof, evenwhen challenged by unbelievers todo so (3:181-84).10

In other words, the Koran contains nomiracles other than the miracle of theKoran itself—that is, that an Arabic literarymasterpiece was produced by a supposedlyilliterate prophet. It is true that miracles areattributed to Muhammad, but only miraclesof a spiritual nature, like the miracles of theMiraj, where Muhammad claimed he wastransported to Jerusalem by Gabriel andfrom there “ascended into heaven on theback of a mule”11 or, the splitting ofMuhammad’s breast where “Gabriel is saidto have cut open Muhammad’s chest…removed and cleansed his heart, then filledit with wisdom, and placed it back in theprophet’s chest.”12 But when it comes totangible verifiable miracles like healing ablind man or raising the dead, there is noth-ing to match the Bible in the Koran.

Another area of divine presence mani-fest in the Bible, but lacking in the Koran, isthe inclusion of legitimate prophecy. Thereare hundreds of substantiated prophecies in

the Bible and some 300 prophecies ofChrist’s first advent alone. Yet, there isnothing like this in the Koran. There are nogeneral prophecies that could legitimatelybe called supernatural, and no propheciesconcerning Muhammad. The element ofpredictive prophecy, verified by historicalfulfillment, is missing.

There are a few instances in the Koranwhich Muslims like to claim as predictiveprophecies that prove its divine origin, butthey are mostly predictions of victory inbattle. Muhammad is known as “theprophet of the sword,”13 and Muslim forces,which became a dominant presence inArabia, were promised paradise for theirefforts. Therefore, the prediction that theywould win a battle was not necessarily asupernatural event. Abdul Saleeb adds thisthought: “…the only really substantive pre-diction was about the Roman victory overthe Persian army at Issus...” But he goes onto say, “Close scrutiny, however, revealsseveral things that make this prediction lessthan spectacular, to say nothing of super-natural.”14

There have been numerous attempts onthe part of Muslims to embellishMuhammad with miracles and propheciesin order to establish him as a legitimateprophet. Yet, all of the claims to the super-natural on his behalf are fanciful,unverifiable, and unconvincing. After dis-cussing one such alleged prophecy havingto do with ten years of persecution experi-enced by early Muslims as recorded inSurah 89:2 of the Koran, Abdul Saleebmakes this comment,

In any event, there is certainly noclear prediction of anything thatwould have been evident to anintelligent observer in advance ofthe event. Its very usage as a predic-tive prophecy by Muslim scholarsshows how desperate they are tofind something supernatural in sup-port of the Qur’an.15

3. Another interesting observation withregard to the Koran is the fact that so muchof the Koran is a reaction to the Bible. Most

In comparing the Koran with the Bible… One is a fraud – that much

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of the characters in the Koran are biblicalpersonalities. In fact, Alan Jones, in hisintroduction to the Koran says, “OldTestament stories, often in a guise some-what different from that in the Bible,dominate much of the narratives of theQur’an.”16 These are mostly stories of God’sjudgment on the disobedient infidels (theJews), which in turn, becomes the proofthat Muhammad is right and the Koran istrue. In other words, the Koran is constant-ly trying to justify itself by demeaning Jewsand Christians for their inability to live bytheir Scriptures.

The Bible, in contrast, speaks of a Saviorwho offers salvation to all on the basis of avicarious sacrifice on behalf of those whohave sinned. The Koran has no such thing.It is a self-effort system where the righteousMuslim earns his heavenly reward and Godsimply forgives his shortcomings withoutasking for the payment of a penalty. Thereis no divine justice in the Koran, except thecondemnation of unbelief in Allah. Sincemartyrdom is the ultimate righteous act,worthy of a straight ticket to heaven,Muslims actually seek death in the serviceof Allah. This is the basis of terrorist acts ofself-sacrifice. Some refer to this as “the darkside of Islam.”17

What a contrast to the teachings of theBible where, although unbelief is also con-demned, a truly righteous Savior (JesusChrist) is presented who saves people fromtheir sins by paying the penalty for theirguilt through His sacrificial death. There isno savior in Islam. The Muslim is his ownsavior. The Bible is the only book that offersa Savior and a plan of salvation from the sinand evil that is in our world. The Koran is abook of law and judgment. The Bible is abook of grace and salvation.

4. One other comparison that shouldnot be overlooked is the impact each bookhas had upon society. There is no questionthat over the years, bad things have beendone in the name of the Bible, as well as inthe name of the Koran. And radical extrem-ists in each religious tradition have takentheir teachings to limits that each book wasnever intended to portray. Yet, the type of

society each one produces is radically dif-ferent from the other.

Islamic societies, generally speaking, arerestrictive regimes where other points ofview are not tolerated, and where womenare severely limited in their social interac-tion. Christian missionaries are notpermitted in Islamic countries and prosely-tizing by Christians is a crime worthy ofimprisonment. Also, women do not fare aswell as men in Islam, being largely seclud-ed and relegated to subservient roles.Furthermore, the welfare of the masses is alow priority with favor being reserved forthe wealthy and powerful. These character-istics can be readily observed in countrieslike Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan,where Islam is the dominant political force.

Christianity, on the other hand, hasinfluenced societies toward personal free-dom and individual liberty. In Europe andAmerica, for instance, Muslims can prosely-tize, own property, and build mosques, dueto the principles of religious freedom andpersonal opportunity. Women are affordedequal rights in the western world and, gen-erally speaking, are encouraged to expresstheir individuality. There is a huge middleclass in America, and to a large extent, thepoor can exercise upward mobility throughdiligence, education, and hard work.America certainly is not perfect, but it is theland of opportunity.

Now the point here is that the west hasbeen mostly influenced by the Bible, andthe Middle East has been mostly influencedby the Koran. The two societies are truereflections of the Books that influencedthem. Furthermore, the Books are truereflections of the type of God each Bookrepresents. So the question for us is, whichGod seems to be the true God—the God oflove and opportunity, or the God of law andrestriction? The answer to that questionwill have a great bearing on which Book webelieve is the true Word of God—the Bible,or the Koran.

Weight of EvidenceSo, in comparing the Koran with the

Bible, we are being asked to consider which

one is the Word of God. In other words,which one has the higher degree of credibil-ity and authenticity? One is a fraud—thatmuch is certain. Both cannot simultaneous-ly be the true Word of God.

There is obviously much more thatcould be said concerning the differencesbetween the two books. Yet even a cursorycomparison is enough for a fair inquirer torecognize that the Bible has the weight ofevidence in its favor. The Koran cannotbegin to demonstrate the same divine qual-ities that are manifest in the Bible. It isinferior in every respect, and deserves thelabel—“The Pretender.”

If the Bible, then, is the Word of God—as it claims to be and as we are convincedthat it is—it deserves our undivided atten-tion and requires our absolute allegiance.The Bible is God’s message to man, andthat message simply cannot be ignored. ■

ENDNOTES1. www.nwfilm.org. “Masterpiece or Forgery: The Story of

Elmyr de Hory” (Northwest Film Center Archive:March/April/May, 1999).

2. Ibid.3. Robert Anton Wilson, www.syntac.net/hoax/

elmyr.php., “Painter Jailed for CommittingMasterpieces,” p. 1.

4. Ibid., p. 3.5. George W. Braswell, Jr. Islam (Nashville, Tennessee:

Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1996), p. 12.6. Ibid., pp. 52-53.7. Ibid., p. 53.8. Ibid., p. 52.9. Norman L. Geisler & Abdul Saleeb, Answering Islam

(Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Books, 1993), pp.190-191.

10. Ibid., p. 158.11. Ibid., p. 159.12. Ibid., p. 161.13. Ibid., p. 150.14. Ibid., p. 195.15. Ibid., p. 196.16. J.M. Rodwell, translator. Alan Jones, Forward and

Introduction, The Koran (London: Everyman, J.M.Dent, 1994), p. xxii.

17. R. C. Sproul & Abdul Saleeb, Tape series: The DarkSide of Islam (Orlando, Florida: Ligonier Ministires,2002).

is certain. Both cannot simultaneously be the true Word of God… �

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I don’t know about you, but as a believer in Jesus Christ and as a pastor, I run into a lotof people who tell me they’ve “lost” their faith. They just don’t believe like they usedto. Do you meet people like this? What do you tell them?

I start by getting right to the heart of their question. I ask them, “what do you thinkfaith is?” and “Who do you have faith in?” That usually clears things up real fast.

When you share grace and truth with people you must first get on the same defini-tion page. We’ll get to what God’s Book says about faith in a minute, but let’s first ridourselves of the faulty notions about faith:

• Faith is not an ostrich, head-in-the-sand denial of the obvious or inevitable.It’s not pretending that something is real when deep down you don’t believeit. That’s fear, not faith.

• Faith is not anti-intellectual either. Faith is not a warm feeling that requiresyou to check your mind at the door. That’s feeling, not faith.

• Faith is not a stained-glass and dreamy escapism. I cannot stay in church,hiding from the real world. That’s fluff, not faith.

• Faith is not a motivational seminar, with some high-powered guru calling forbreathing exercises or self-realization, telling you to picture a better future.That’s fad, not faith.

• Faith is not some stupid positive mental attitude, a you-have-to-keep-believingthing. It’s not ignoring the pain and embracing optimism. That’s foolishness,not faith.

Now hear this: Faith is so integral to the Christian life that it can be boiled down to a very practical

definition: Faith is believing the Word of God and acting upon it, no matter howI feel, because God promises a good result.

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Let’s break that definition down so you can see how it will work in practical ways inyour life.

Faith is believing the Word of GodThat word believing is not “wouldn’t it be nice if…” Believing is a lot more than

just shallow hope. Believing is, “I’ve got all my eggs in one basket. I’m 100 percentin.” That’s faith.

But faith is not believing in a vacuum; it’s belief based on the Word of God. That’sthe key. I’m not trusting the newspaper, the television, my neighbor, or my boss. Ibelieve in a God who wrote a trustworthy Book. Faith, Romans 10 says, comes byhearing the Word of God so the more I get in God’s Book the greater will be myfaith.

And acting upon itGenuine faith always downloads into life. We say we believe in all kinds of stuff---

but we really don’t unless it shows up in our lives. In family matters, an active faithmeans we will trust God to work through a wayward child or even an unbelievingspouse. In finances, we will trust God to meet our daily needs, while giving tithes andofferings; we believe the Scripture that says, “God is able to make all grace abound toyou, that always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance forevery good deed” (2 Corinthians 9:8).

Maybe you’re reading this with an overwhelming sense of loneliness. Maybeyou’re just discouraged about your life and your direction. You’re not sure where toturn and you’re not sure what to pursue. As a follower of Jesus Christ, you can turnto Him to meet your deepest life needs. When you believe the answers to life’s deep-est perplexities are found in Christ, then you are believing the Word of God and actingupon it.

No matter how I feelThis is critical. Faith discounts how we feel and boldly acts upon the Word of God. I know a woman who wants like anything to talk to her husband about Christ.

She’s having a hard time believing that she can’t be a big part of the solution! She feelsshe must say something or he will never change. But faith discounts how we feel andboldly acts upon the Word of God.

Maybe you’re at a place of real financial hardship, and you feel giving a consistenttithe or offering to your church is unrealistic. I understand the fear that comes withlimited funds. When Kathy and I were in Bible college, we didn’t have two dimes torub together. We had $180–$200 per week of expenses, and I was making $150 aweek as a youth pastor. I can remember writing that little tithing check for $15 andthinking to myself “Why am I doing this?”

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Those were real fears and frustrations, but they were nonsense compared to God’sfaithfulness. God was teaching us some very important lessons about life. I learnedthat God is true to His Word and can be trusted to meet all of our needs if, by faith,we choose obedience and refuse to be guided by emotion. Here’s the best part offaith: We can act upon our faith, no matter how we feel, because…

God promises a good resultHere are four questions I’ve heard from those struggling with faith:

“Why would I do what God tells me?”“Why would I wait on God to bring my husband to Christ?”“Why would I give of my finances when I have so many debts?” “Why would I invest my energies in following hard after the Lord when I feel

like my life is so empty and meaningless?”

The answer to each question is the same: Because God promises a good result. This message of faith permeates the Bible; it’s somewhere on every page and in

every story. Every step with God is a step of faith. Every lesson learned is a lesson offaith. Every victory won is a victory by faith. That’s the prominence of faith in God’sBook. It’s on that basis that I say this: Faith is not a part of the Christian life.

Say what? That’s right; faith is not a part of the Christian life. It’s not like patience,kindness or other character traits. It’s not like teaching or ministering. It’s not likeworship or prayer or other actions that we take toward God. Those are parts.

Faith, however, is not a part of the Christian life; it’s the whole thing. At the end of the day the Christian is only and entirely about faith. The author of

Hebrews 11:6 wrote, “without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comesto God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.”Genuine believers trust God and His Word and act upon it no matter how they feel,because God promises a good result.

The next time you meet someone who has lost their way, teach them what Godis teaching you about faith. That it’s real and relevant and abundantly rewarded byGod Himself. Faith is not a part of the Christian life… it’s the whole thing! ■

Dr. James MacDonald is the founding pastor of Harvest BibleChapel in Rolling Meadows, IL and radio Bible teacher on Walk inthe Word (walkintheword.com) which emphasizes the preciseexposition of God’s Word and its practical life application. Jamesand his wife, Kathy have three children—Luke, Landon, andAbigail—and reside in the northwest suburbs of Chicago.

More on this topic from James MacDonald can be found in hisbook Lord, Change My Attitude (Before It’s Too Late).

Choose Obedience; Refuse

To Be Guided By Emotion

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TheMYSTERYRemains

by

a wonderful mystery yet to be revealed a wonderful mystery yet to be revealed a wonderful mystery yet to be revealed a wonderful myste

Charles

Cooper

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ery yet to be revealed a wonderful

I do not know.It is a simple statement.There is nothing inherently problematicor accusatory in its structure or meaning.It does not imply that one is lazy or stupid,yet some are so adverse to this statementthat it would require the proverbial sub-zero day in the eternal home of theunrighteous before they would utter

those four simple words.

Pride and fear often make such a response to legitimate questions about the Christian faithuntenable. Perhaps some are inclined to think that an unanswered question exposes a weaknessin the Christian faith. Others boast that Scripture encourages us to “be ready to give a defenseto everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you” (1 Peter 3:15, ESV). In theirthinking, “I do not know” is an inappropriate defense. However, to project the attitude that wecan vocalize an answer to all the great questions of the ages is disingenuous and unrealistic.

There are two significant reasons for using “I do not know” in answer to a question. First,it may indicate that the specific facts required for an answer are available, but require addi-tional research or consideration before a credible answer is offered. In this case, it means, “I’llhave to get back to you.” The second reason to use “I do not know” might indicate “I do notknow because I cannot know.” In other words, the requisite knowledge is beyond the graspof the human mind.

While the Holy Spirit, Scripture, and historical tradition can help us answer most of thebasic questions about our faith, understanding the God of our faith is another issue altogeth-er. There is no shame in admitting “I do not know” in answer to many of the detailed questionsabout the nature of God. This is because the nature of God is a mystery. Unless God choosesto reveal Himself, He cannot be known. A general statement about the nature of God is paint-ed across the landscape of the universe. We can look at nature and see the complexity andbeauty of a creation that speaks loudly of its Creator. On the other hand, Scripture records spe-cific statements about the nature of God. While Scripture does give a great deal of informationabout the nature, purpose, and capabilities of the God of Holy Bible, it is not exhaustive in itsdetail. Some of what is contained in Scripture about God requires a bit more explanation tosatisfy what we would like to know, though not necessarily what we need to know in orderto live the Christian life. How can Jesus be infinite God and finite man at the same time? Howcan God know every possibility, but not influence man’s choices? How can God hold manguilty for the choice of his predecessor? How can God be three individual distinct “persons,”

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yet one in essence? How could God live in perfect happiness beforeanything existed? How can God live outside of time and space? Formany people, responding to these questions with “I do not know”undermines the Christian faith. For some reason, man believes hemust have all the answers.

With the lessons learned from hundreds of years facing oneattack after another against Christendom, many have learned thebasic arguments that allow us to defend our faith. Concerning thecritical doctrines of the Christian faith, the Evangelical Church haslearned well the art of logic and reason. Given that Scripture speaksexplicitly about only some aspects of science, world history and phi-losophy, carefully articulated responses to attacks in these areas areuseful in dealing with a world that changes with each new day. Afterrejecting the objective statements in Scripture (because they have nofaith that what the Bible says is true), critics often delve into philo-sophically speculative matters to argue against the Gospel. Creationis a case in point. Scripture explicitly declares that God created theheavens and the earth out of nothing. The world flatly rejects thisclaim because it cannot comprehend how something can come fromnothing at the hand of an omnipotent God. Instead, they find itmore easily understood that nothing could give birth to everythingby pure chance and happenstance. Scripture states clearly what hap-pened at creation. To some degree, Scripture even tells us how ithappened—“God said, ‘Let there be… and it was…’” Scripture alsotells us when all of this happened relative to the process, which dayfor which created entity.

In this case, there are specific things that we can “know” forcertain because Scripture is clear. For other things, we can logical-ly infer answers, given an understanding of Scripture and a study ofnatural processes. Finally, some of the details “we cannot know”and will remain ignorant of until the information is supernaturallyrevealed. The critical issue for the contemporary Christian is know-ing the difference between what can be known and what cannot beknown. Wisdom can be viewed as the result of a practical applica-tion of this knowledge. More fundamental though, is ourwillingness to admit that “we do not know” the answer to somevery important questions. While we certainly are free to try to log-ically reason our way to the truth, those conclusions must alwaysbe stated in less than dogmatic terms. There is much about our

faith that is still a mystery, even with the effects of hundreds ofyears of applied reason and logic.

A biblical mystery is not synonymous with the recipe for a mod-ern day “whodunnit” mystery. A cup of greed combined with a halfcup of cleverness and a dash of human imperfection yields a mysterythat can be very complex and confounding. Fortunately, the appliedreason of a Sherlock Holmes, a Columbo or Gil Grissom from CSI’sLas Vegas crime lab combined with a tenacious work ethic willalways result in solving the mystery—and usually in under an hour!On the other hand, a biblical mystery deals with issues that onlyGod understands. Unless God reveals the mystery, it cannot beknown. Even in those cases where He does reveal all or part of amystery, there is still a great chance that we will not fully compre-hend it.

Logic and reason are not enemies of the Christian faith. Everybeliever is called upon to think logically and reasonably about hisfaith (1 Peter 3:15; 2 Timothy 2:15; 3:16-17). However, we must becautious not to over emphasize the value of logic and reason. BrianMcLaren, a pastor of a successful church in Maryland, writes abouta young woman’s journey to faith in Jesus Christ in his recent book,More Ready Than You Realize. The young woman writes:

You know, all the logic and reasoning that people always sayabout Jesus, that he “MUST” have been the son of God,that if he wasn’t, he was a lunatic or a liar, that they’vefound proof, blah, blah blah,… it is just so lame, in my eyes,to feeling like your heart is going to explode when you startto see just how wonderful Jesus is… when you start tounderstand that Jesus ISN’T dead. I never understood that. Ithink a major part of my little epiphany was realizing thatGod is so far beyond all that petty logic and knowledge. I’msure for other people, the logic is great. But when proofstops at logic for me, it is pretty lame.

Sola Scriptura’s chief goal is to affirm the authenticity, accuracy, andauthority of the Bible. Through a fifty-five minute journey at TheScriptorium: Center for Biblical Antiquities in Orlando, one is ableto explore the complete history of the English Bible from the earli-est manuscript traditions to the latest translations. The facts arethere for all to see and appreciate. However, it is important that wefully recognize the necessity for passionate hearts to declare theLiving Word. Our proofs do not stop with logic but are confirmed bythe personal experiences of those who have discovered peace andcontentment in Jesus Christ.

The Bible can be viewed as a means to an end. That end is tohave a personal, dynamic relationship with the God of the Bible. TheBible can teach us much about our God and our Faith. One of themany facets of the Father is that we can “know” Him intimately andbeautifully, yet we cannot “know about” all aspects of His character.Saying “I do not know” does not mean that we have given up learn-ing. It merely suggests that we recognize that there is still awonderful mystery yet to be revealed. ■

TheMYSTERYRemains

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In Hebrews, chapter eleven, the writerspeaks of what many have called the“Hall of Faith.” The Hall of Faithincludes men and women who werefaithful to the Lord during the Old

Testament times, including Abraham, Samson,Rahab, the prophets and many others, bothnamed and unnamed.

While no one would dare add to theScriptures, there are certainly other namesthat could be included in this Hall of Faith.History does record the deeds of many whowere faithful to the Lord, and I want to intro-duce you to one such person.

That individual’s name is John Eliot. He wasborn in England in 1604. While there is muchof his life that remains unknown, we do knowthat he attended and graduated fromCambridge University. At that time Cambridgewas the university of the Puritans. Because ofhis Puritan leanings he was denied a positionin the Church of England by the Archbishop ofCanterbury, William Laud. For several years hetaught school in Chelmsford, Essex where heserved under the direction of Thomas Hooker,later to be the principal founder of the Colonyof Connecticut in the New World.

Finding that his entrance to the ministrywas blocked by the leaders of the Church inEngland, Eliot decided to emigrate to the NewWorld. He arrived in the Massachusetts BayColony in November 1631. Although he wasoffered the position of Teacher in the highlyesteemed First Church of Boston, Eliot refusedit in favor of a similar position in the church ofRoxbury, Massachusetts.

It may appear inconceivable to us thatEliot would have turned down one of the mostimportant and influential positions in theentire Colony. What could have motivated himto refuse such a prestigious position? Toanswer that question, we must understand

why the Puritans establishedthe Massachusetts BayColony. The Puritans came tothe New World not only toworship according to theirconsciences, but also toe vange l i ze the Nat i veAmerican Indians. The seal ofthe Colony depicted an Indian imploringsomeone to come and tell them the goodnews of the Gospel. Eliot had already pur-posed to evangelize them, and it was morepractical to do that from Roxbury than fromBoston.

Eliot devoted the remaining fifty-eightyears of his life to serving the church ofRoxbury while evangelizing the Indians. Soonafter his settlement, he began to visit them ona regular basis to learn their language, one ofthe most difficult in the world. After fifteenyears of studying their language and preachingthe Gospel to them, he determined to trans-late and print the entire Bible into theAlgonquian language.

It is impossible to convey in words the enor-mity of this task. Algonquian did not exist as awritten language; there were no dictionaries,grammars, or lexicons for reference. However,with the assistance of a faithful helper, JohnSassamon, Eliot began his work. How was heable to continue despite the seemingly insur-mountable odds? The following statement ofEliot sums up his approach to the difficulties hefaced: “Prayer and pains through faith in JesusChrist can accomplish anything.” News of Eliot’slabors reached the missionary venture inEngland known as the Society for thePropagation of the Gospel in New England.Established in 1649, this society determined tounderwrite the cost of printing the Bible. Notonly did they provide the funds, they even senta press and printer to help in the work.

In 1659 the printing of the Algonquian NewTestament began in the print shop of SamuelGreen in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Fifteenhundred copies were finished in 1661, andwork began immediately on one thousandcopies of the Old Testament. The entire Biblewas completed in 1663. The Algonquian, orEliot Bible, was the first Bible printed inAmerica and the first Bible to be translatedand printed for the express purpose of evan-gelizing a people.

Space does not permit telling the full storyof the impact of this Bible on the indigenouspeoples of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Dueto the ravages of time and war, only eighteencopies of the Eliot Bible are in existence today.One of those copies is on display at TheScriptorium, located at the Holy LandExperience in Orlando, Florida. It testifies ofhow one person invested his life in things thatare eternal in nature.

How can we summarize the life of JohnEliot and his work? Is his name worthy to beincluded in the Hall of Faith? Let one who wasno friend of the Puritans have the final word.Nathaniel Hawthorne, writing in the nineteenthcentury, spoke this of John Eliot: “It is good forthe world that such a man has lived.” ■

The Eliot Bible is part of The Van Kampen Collection, one ofthe world’s largest private collections of Bibles, artifacts, andbiblical manuscripts in the world.The Collection is the center-piece of Sola Scriptura’s ministry, and is housed at TheScriptorium, an interactive museum at The Holy LandExperience in Orlando, Florida.

THEVANKAMPENCOLLECTIONThe Eliot BibleDr. Herbert Samworth

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FREE An Interview with Tom Randall

Tom Randall is director of World HarvestMinistries, which takes building crews,medical teams, and sports teams from theUnited States and Australia to thePhilippines in an effort to equip Phillipinonationals so that they may have opportuni-ty to more effectively minister the Gospelof Jesus Christ. A 1976 graduate of JudsonCollege, he was named a four-time unani-mous All-Conference basketball playersetting seven school records, four confer-ence records and two national records. Heaveraged 31.5 points per game and led thenation in scoring as a senior. He played inover two thousand international basketballgames around the world, sharing theGospel in each location. His half-time uni-cycle and juggling show has beenperformed in Olympic stadiums, on theWide World of Sports in Australia, inpalaces, prisons, universities, militarybases and leper colonies. In February2000, Tom began work as Chaplain for theSenior PGA Tour. The following is anexcerpt from a recent interview with Tom.

Sola Scriptura: Let’s go back to the begin-ning for a moment. What was your life likeas a child, and when did you become aChristian?

Tom Randall: I grew up in an inner-cityintegrated neighborhood in Detroit, so Iwas quickly oriented to crime, conflict,racial prejudice and that type of thing. I didthings at that time in my life that I am notproud of. I was raised Irish Catholic andwent to a Catholic school from grades 1through 8. I had a heavy indoctrination ofreligion. When I got recruited to play bas-ketball and run in college, I met Dick Helm.He was my first coach in college as a fresh-

man. He has now been a coach in the NBAfor sixteen years. The biggest influence inmy coming to Christ was watching his lifeand slowly beginning to ask questions, firstof myself and then of him. I eventuallycame to Christ my senior year, so the wholeprocess took four years! When I came toChrist my senior year, I was at the peak ofmy basketball career. I was second in thenation in scoring and doing very well, but Ijust wasn’t happy. I went to Coach Helmand he explained to me that what was miss-ing in my life was a relationship withChrist. It was a tradition I knew, but itwasn’t a personal relationship. I went onmy knees and asked for forgiveness andasked Christ into my life and walked awayon a cloud. I have never come off thatcloud. It was 27 years ago now, and I havebeen in ministry all those years.

Sola: You’ve been able to merge basketballand ministry in a powerful way. Tell mehow that happened.

Tom: It was really natural the way it hap-pened. When I came to Christ I startedreading the Bible all the time. It was likesomeone took a blanket off of my eyes, andI could suddenly understand what I readbecause of my willingness to believe andfollow it. When I came to the cross, Ithought it was the most magnificent thing,and I wanted to tell everybody else about itso they could too. Basketball was the easi-est way to do that because I had a naturalplatform. Anytime I got a chance in front ofa microphone or crowd, I would share a lit-tle bit about my faith. I accepted a positionon a Christian basketball team to Taiwan in1976, and that’s what really opened myeyes to how much more I could use basket-

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THROWGrace and

Basketball

Meet in

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Around the

World

unicycles. They had ten guys, five on ateam, and the two centers were on giantunicycles. I thought that was great, and Ilaughed so hard. Karen said that thePhilippinos would love that, and I thoughtmaybe I could do it. We went back toDetroit to see my parents when I had abouta month left on my medical leave, and Iimmediately went out and bought two uni-cycles from a circus performer who hadretired. I taught myself to ride while wewere in Detroit. I developed a whole showwith the tricks that I knew and then per-formed them all on the unicycle, likejuggling three balls and spinning the ball. Ialso made up tricks as I went along. Prettysoon, I had developed a 35-minute show.Then I selected some popular music thathad a strong beat and I used that in thebackground. The first time I performed theshow, was in Manila. I went to a playoffgame with a stadium of 25,000 people, andI told the commissioner I could do a half-time show for him. He said, “Tom, I don’tknow what you’re talking about,” and I

ball to share Christ with people as a mis-sionary and not just as a basketball player. Ireally wanted to develop my ministryaround basketball. When I played gamesoverseas, I would share my testimony athalf time and would talk with people afterthe game. I played basketball, but I wasreally there to speak with people aboutChrist.

Sola: How did you get interested in min-istry work in the Philippines?

Tom: When I was in Taiwan, I met a coupleof the players from the Australian nationalteam, and they liked my attitude. They askedme to go to the Philippines with them. Theyknew about my faith and they needed astrong ball player to support them in theirtour of the country. The Philippines is anamazing place if you play basketball becauseit is the national sport there. Everyone justloves the game. I had returned from Taiwanand Karen, my fiancée, and I wanted to getmarried, but the trip to the Philippinesmeant that we had to postpone our wedding.That was a big stretch for us, but the Lordgave us a whole future in the Philippinesbecause of that trip.

Sola: You are known for your Christianityand your skill in basketball, and of allthings, a unicycle! How did that happen?

Tom: I had seen entertainers like theHarlem Globetrotters, and I love that kindof entertainment. I had been learning trickswhile playing basketball like spinning theball on my finger and dribbling behind myback, but I was severely injured in an auto-mobile accident in 1982. I had aconcussion, broken shoulder and my rightelbow was destroyed. I ended up havingseven operations on the elbow, and it neverquite worked just right after that. Duringthe time I was recovering from the accidentand my elbow was in plaster, Karen felt Iwas a bit sad (I’m usually happy-go-lucky),and she wanted to cheer me up, so she tookme to the circus in San Francisco. Theseguys were out there playing basketball with

said, “Well, if you need me I’m here. I’vegot my unicycles and the basketballs, and Ican entertain these people.” I had alreadyworked it out with the guy at the desk. Hewould put the tape in and have the musiccoming out over the loudspeaker. Then dur-ing the game, a guy went out and dunkedthe ball and broke the rim. They had tochange the rim, and it was going to take along time. The people were bored to death,and it was on National TV, so the commis-sioner said, “Tom, maybe you ought to trythat thing.” So the Lord gave me my oppor-tunity, and I went out. At first everybodywondered what in the world I was doingout there because they only knew me as abasketball player. So I started doing it, andpeople were enjoying it and were laughing.By the time I had a kid on my shoulderswhile riding the tall unicycle and dunkingthe basketball, they were going crazy. Thiswent over national TV, and everyone in thecountry wanted to see the show. For thenext 20 years, we went to every place inthe country that we could go. We would goto one town or village, and they wouldwant to see it in the next. So we used thatas a platform to share Christ. I played in thegame, did the half-time show and thenshared my faith. That was our ministry andthe Lord again blessed us. I’ve been onWide World of Sports and in professionalstadiums and universities and schools allover the world.

Sola: Let’s talk about your organization,World Harvest Ministries.

Tom: Well, I was with a larger mission formany years when I first went out minister-ing in the Philippines. The team that I wentout with was called Sports Ambassadors.For twelve years I toured with basketballteams and performed with my unicycles. Iwould take short-term mission teams allaround the country. I had a burden to buildand help nationals get started in the min-istry. Because of my contact with thevillages and cities, I would meet all the keypastors and missionaries and PhilippinoChristians in the area, and I discovered that

We went to

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FREE THROW: An Interview with Tom Randall

they needed help. They couldn’t afford achurch building and some of the pastorsdidn’t even have a place to live. So, at first,Karen and I just gave them some money ofour own and built a home for them. Thenwe broke ground on our first church, and itwent so well that I wanted to build evenmore churches. This was not really an areathat Sports Ambassadors was specializingin, so I started World Harvest for that pur-pose. The main idea was to equip nationalsand try to give them an opportunity to min-ister. I would add short-term basketball tripsto aid them in the building and construc-tion projects. We built over 100 buildings inthe first eight or nine years, starting withchurches and pastors’ homes. We expandedto medical clinics, small hospitals, basket-ball courts, an orphanage, gymnasiums andanything that could be used to help theChristians minister in their area. We recent-ly took lease on a 20-acre piece of land with16 cottages and cabins with a huge spring-

fed swimming pool. It has tennis courts,basketball courts and a big dining hall. Weare developing a Christian sports camp, andwe will have about 40,000 Philippino kidsthrough each year for evangelism throughsports.

Sola: You are now the Chaplain for theSenior PGA. How did that come about andwhat are your responsibilities with thatorganization?

Tom: A Hall of Fame golfer, Larry Nelsoncalled me and asked if I might be able tocome out and help with the tour. I told himI was a basketball player, but that I alsoloved golf, so I told him I would do it forone year. My responsibilities were to organ-ize a fellowship once a week every Fridayevening and give a message. The Fridaynight thing went well, but it was during theweek that I was getting my effective min-istry done—talking with guys aboutpersonal problems or questions they hadabout their faith, their life, problems intheir marriage, or addictions. I never imag-ined it would blossom into such a ministry.We started with about four or five couples,and this year we have reached 90 or morepeople at some of our meetings. I will bestarting my fourth year with the tour inJanuary.

Sola: How can we pray for you?

Tom: Well, people have prayed for myhealth for quite a while now, but physicallyI’m really doing well now. I would ask forprayer for the continued ministry in thePhilippines and with the Senior PGA, andthat I would be able to balance time forboth. I really have everything I need rightnow, plenty to do, plenty to be thankful forand plenty of challenges to go. I’m thankfulfor what God has done in my life, and I giveall the glory for any successes to Him. ■

Tom Randall and World Harvest Ministriescan be contacted at 10404 Big Canoe,Jasper, GA 30143 or through email at:tkrandall@aol.com.

Top: Toto Luchavez, Tom’s right-hand man. Above: An orphangirl from Sankey Samaritan Mission Home.

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Truth for today

The practice of using Bible vers-es to support convictions andbeliefs is central to living agodly life. Christians should beable to defend their decisions

with Scripture. Where Scripture speaks specifi-cally to an issue, the believer is faced with oneof two possible options: obedience with a hum-ble heart, or disobedience with a rebelliousspirit. It is important to note that this simpledecision is made a bit more difficult when con-sidering the text of the Old Testament becausecommands given to Israel do not always applyverbatim to the believer of the New Covenant.Given our strong stance on the authority ofScripture, we must exercise extreme care whenwe advocate action based solely on OldTestament verses that are not also defined inthe New Testament. The practice of picking andchoosing only those passages of the OldTestament that seem to support a belief under-mines respect for biblical authority.

Any discussion of issues must recognizethat, although there are certainly topics whichare as clear today as they were three thousandyears ago, our culture has permitted a dissolu-tion of many practices and beliefs over time.Asan example, let us look at the issue of bodyart, which for our discussion, includes tattoo-ing and piercings. Some Christians, in theirattempt to hold the line on this issue, point toLeviticus 19:28, which states, “Do not cut your

bodies for the dead or put tattoo marks onyourselves. I am the Lord” (ESV). This, they say,proves that Christians should not engage inbody art. Can Leviticus 19:28 be used to sup-port a prohibition against body art or is this anexample of picking and choosing a passagethat supports a desired conclusion?

At first glace, Leviticus 19:28 seems to pro-hibit any kind of body art, yet many Christianspermit “limited” piercing of the female ear. Theproblem here is that once ear piercing isallowed, where does it stop? How many ear-rings can a woman have? What about men’searrings? Why only allow piercing of the ear?From this line of thought, it is easy to under-stand the rationale behind the growth intattooing and piercing among committedbelievers.The cross and other Christian imageshave become favorite symbols for believers tohave tattooed on their bodies. The rose, whichis the most often requested tattoo, is for themost part harmless in that it does not openlyevoke evil or sensual ideas. A Christian crosstattooed on the back of the neck may be seento promote consciousness of Christ’s greatprice for our salvation. However, an over-whelming majority of body art is not harmlessin what it depicts or suggests. The whole tattooculture seems to be a slippery slope. Harmlesstattoos can give rise to evil depictions andbody art can encourage body modifications toan extreme.

What is the big deal about body art? Bodyart has experienced a revival in recent yearsand has gone mainstream. Far from the artthat used to be seen only on the arms ofsailors some years ago, a look in any magazinetoday will show tattoos and piercing on mod-els, actors, politicians and business men. Bodypiercing, tattooing, scarring, and branding areas old as humanity itself. Some cultures usebody art to express beauty and belief. Othercultures use it to express pride and rebellion.Still others use body art to express courageand virility. However, in the American culture,body art, including tattoos, and jewelry innoses, tongues and belly buttons, has beenidentified with the expression of self-choiceand individualism.

The response of the Christian community tothe growth of body art varies. While somebelievers oppose body art, others see nothingwrong with it. Is this a gray area left to individ-ual choice? Let us look again, at whatScripture teaches. Leviticus 19:28 lists onlyone of several prohibitions in this chapter.Notice what else is prohibited: ● “When you reap the harvest of your land, youshall not reap your field right up to its edge,neither shall you gather the gleanings afteryour harvest… You shall leave them for thepoor and for the sojourner: I am the Lord yourGod” (vs. 9-10, ESV).● “You shall keep my statues. You shall not let

Picking and Choosing: Tattoo or TabooCharles Cooper

Can Leviticus 19:28 be used to support a

prohibition against body art or is this an

example of picking and choosing a passage

that supports a desired conclusion?

your cattle breed with a different kind. Youshall not sow your field with two kinds of seed,nor shall you wear a garment of cloth made oftwo kinds of material” (v. 19, ESV).● “You shall not eat any flesh with blood in it”(v. 26, ESV).● “You shall not round off the hair on your tem-ples or mar the edges of your beard” (v. 27, ESV).To pick Leviticus 19:28 as the only verse toobey while ignoring these other verses under-mines the authority of Scripture. Believerswithout thought daily eat their steaks cookedrare; wear sweaters that are 70% cotton and30% polyester; harvest their fields bare; plantyellow and white corn together; shave theirfaces and clip their sideburns. These are allbiblically prohibited. Yet, many believers onlyfocus on the issue of body art when referring toLeviticus 19’s list of prohibitions. Biblical con-sistency demands that we look at all ofScripture and not just those verses we like.

However, the question regarding Leviticus19 is an interpretive one. The question is this:are we to follow God’s specific instructions tothe nation of Israel or are we to apply the prin-

ciples upon which God’s specific instructionsto Israel are based? A clue in Leviticus 19:28will help us answer this question. The reasonpeople cut their bodies in ancient times hadto do with some ritual regarding the dead. Theverse states, “Do not cut your bodies for thedead…” This indicates that God’s prohibitiongoes beyond the mere act to the reasonbehind the act. God prohibited the acts ofbody cutting and tattooing because of the veryreason that the nations around Israel soughtto engage in these acts. He wanted theirbehavior to mark them as distinct from theculture around them.This was the biblical prin-ciple upon which the prohibition against bodyart was based. This also explains the laundrylist of prohibitive deeds outlined in Leviticus19. God listed for the Jews those deeds thatwould make them holy, or set apart from thenations that surrounded them.As we apply thisprinciple today, we do not have to engage inpicking and choosing those verses that weagree with while ignoring others. We askinstead, “What sets me apart from the societyand honors the Lord?”

The fact that Scripture declares that man ismade in the image of God invokes to our bod-ies a majestic legacy. This alone ought to causethose thinking about tattooing or piercing theirbodies to hesitate. Because society preachesthat all bodies are not equal and shuns thosewho do not “measure up,” some people attemptto adorn themselves with the hope of finallypassing society’s test. God forbid! 1 Peter 3:3-4states, “Your adornment must not be merelyexternal—braiding the hair, and wearing goldjewelry, or putting on dresses; but let it be thehidden person of the heart, with the imperish-able quality of a gentle and quiet spirit, which isprecious in the sight of God” (ESV). We mustremember that we are fearfully and wonderfullymade and no amount of body art will increaseour beauty to the God who made us.

Certainly, believers must live in accordancewith what Scripture teaches, but by taking allof Scripture in context and understanding theprinciples of Godly living, we are able to avoidthe pitfall of selectively choosing Scripturethat may only support our desires while under-mining the whole of God’s Word. ■

Land Animals—Did they really fit on the Ark?Question: It’s difficult to imagine how Noah could’ve fit all the land animalson board the Ark—especially when you consider the thousands of species ofanimals that now live on earth. How was this possible?

Answer: First of all, Noah didn’t take all the species of animals on the Ark—just the kinds. For example, Noah didn’t need the African elephant, themammoth and the Stegodon on the Ark. He just needed two elephants. Afterthe Flood, as the elephants spread out over the Earth, different varietiesresulted from the tremendous amount of information God put in the genes ofthese creatures. Thus, Noah didn’t need anywhere near the number of animalswe think he did. Calculations indicate that he probably only had about16,000 animals. There was plenty of room!

Also, many people think most land animals were large, like elephants,giraffes and so on. But only 11 percent of land animals are larger than asheep! So the average size of an animal on the Ark was much smaller thanthat of a sheep. When we research carefully, we find answers to show Noah’sArk had plenty of room.

Even the large dinosaurs had plenty of room in the Ark! Ken Ham reveals much more aboutthese fascinating creatures in his dinosaur booklet. You can read the text right on your computerscreen when you go to AnswersRadio.com, or request it by calling 1-800-950-9507.

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IN MEMORIAMOn January 21, 2003, day six of the Space ShuttleColumbia’s mission, Commander Rick Husband’swife Evelyn requested Steve Green’s recording ofthe worship song God of Wonders to wake thecrew. The words and music of this song proclaimglory and honor to a majestic and all-powerfulGod. We pray for all those involved in the tragedyand for the families and friends of those bravesouls on board the Columbia.

God of WondersGod of all CreationOf water, earth and sky,The heavens are Your tabernacle,Glory to the Lord on highGod of wonders beyond our galaxy,You are holy, holyThe universe declares Your majesty,You are holy, holyLord of heaven and earth…

God of Wonders written by Marc Byrd andSteve Hindalong. ©2000 Storm Boy Music/MeauxMercy (admin. EMI Christian Music Publishing) andNew Spring Publishing, Inc. / Never Say Never Songs(ASCAP) (Administered by Brentwood-Benson MusicPublishing, Inc.) All Rights Reserved. Used by permission.

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A WORD FROM THEWORD

Quality control is a concernfor any business. If thequality of a product orservice declines, then sodoes the business. It is for

this reason that companieshave strict standards and monitoring devicesby which they continually scrutinize what isbeing done. They cannot survive if quality isnot maintained.

This is what Paul is saying in Galatians 1:8with regard to the Gospel. When it comes topure truth, any change from that high stan-dard and any introduction of contaminants isintolerable. The Gospel is pure truth andattention to quality control is essential. This iswhy he says, “But even though we, or an angelfrom heaven, should preach to you a gospelcontrary to that which we have preached toyou, let him be accursed.”

The word “accursed” is a translation of theGreek word anathema, which means “thatwhich is devoted to destruction.”1 KennethWuest makes the following comment aboutanathema in his word studies from Galatians:“It is a word used in the LXX [Septuagint] of aperson or thing set apart and devoted todestruction, because hateful to God. Hence ina spiritual sense it denotes one who is alien-ated from God by sin.”2

When it comes to the Gospel, Paul is say-ing that quality control is a serious matter.Well, this can have any number of applica-tions to heretical divergences from the trueGospel that have been introduced into theChristian community over the centuries. Yetthere is a particular aspect of Paul’s concernthat speaks to our contemporary concern withIslam.

Muhammad claimed to have gotten hisrevelations from the angel Gabriel. Accordingto those revelations, Paul was all wrong about

salvation coming through Jesus Christ.Muhammad said that he valued Jesus as aprophet, but he didn’t accept Jesus as theSon of God making atonement for the sins ofthe world. He said an angel from heaven toldhim that.

Well, according to Galatians 1:8,Muhammad and his religious system are“accursed” and devoted to destruction byGod. For even if “an angel from heaven”should tamper with the true Gospel of JesusChrist, that angelic message is anathema.

There may be nice people with good moralethics in the Muslim religion, and we shouldcertainly be sensitive and caring about theirspiritual need to come to Christ. But Islam asa religious system is cursed by God. Islam isanathema. ■

1. John MacArthur, Jr. The MacArthur New TestamentCommentary: Galatians (Chicago: Moody Press, 1987), p.17.2. Kenneth S. Wuest. Galatians in the Greek New Testament(Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans PublishingCompany, 1944), p.40.

Cursed of GodDr. Dan Hayden

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