Understanding Christian Truth-Claims

This program is being presented in an effort to investigate all Christian truth-claims by comparing them with a contextual understanding of the Bible and its original intent. We are not interested in supporting or promoting any tradition, person, practice, culture or denomination that stands contrary to this reasonable and contextual approach to scripture. Nothing is so sacred that it is exempt from scrutiny. Nothing so popular and accepted that it won’t be discarded if found wanting and unreasonable. This is Heart of the Matter… where we make every effort to worship God in Spirit and Truth.

The Excommunication of John Dehlin

Show 3 430 The Bible – part II January 20th 2015 “Live from Salt Lake City, Utah, this is Heart of the Matter where our aim is help all people worship God in Spirit and in Truth.” I am your host, Shawn McCraney

Well it seems John Dehlin of Mormon Stories fame has finally been threatened with excommunication by the LDS church. Good. Praise God. I love John and his family and consider the actions of the Mormon institution a blessing to John rather than a shame, curse or blight on his good name.

I mean, do we mourn when a person is released from prison, when they are cured of a disease, when they are asked to leave actually leave organized crime? No. We rejoice for them and their emancipation from their former debilitating confines, right? I see the churches action toward John in the same light. To be honest I think anyone who is “excommunicated” from any respective religious organization for reasons other than they are trying to physically or emotionally harm another that it’s a cause to celebrate not mourn.

Why? Who in their right mind wants to belong to a church – which ought to be a hospital for the sick – that kicks their patients out when they need love and attention most? It’s illogical to the whole premise of Christianity.

Now I am aware of what Paul says about associating with sinful believers. It’s one of the problems with taking the Bible today and assigning its insights to us today. And I’ll get deeper into this topic tonight. But in my opinion John Dehlin is a blessed man and I pray he finds a gathering of believers up there in Logan who are not bent on controlling each other but are bent on doing all they can to love in Jesus name.

Political Musings

Also heard rumors this past week that LDS faithful Mitt Romney is possibly gearing up for a third attempt at the White House. And a few people have asked my thoughts. Let me lay them out.

First, I am NOT politically minded in any way. I have no interest. North Korea could have a candidate running and it won’t get a rise from me. Why? My Lord said that His kingdom is not of this world therefore neither is mine. God is in charge, and whatever happens in this arena He allows or disallows – so I don’t care.

Second, we know that the LDS will forever have a candidate in the running at this stage in the game. It is part of their historical charter and their religious DNA. They are not going to go away. So again, with God in charge we will get who we get. God gave us Obama. If He gives us Mitt so be it.

Third, my past comments on an LDS candidate have ALWAYS been couched in the opinion that in terms of governance it is my personal opinion that an LDS candidate would in all probability be superior to all the others. I mean, let’s be honest, “Mormon-boy gots game. They usually do.”

But here’s the deal – no active LDS promoting candidate of any ilk deserves to be elected. What do I mean by this? I think that the public has to send a strong message to LDS leadership that says, “we see your merits, we know your abilities, but until you really come clean and truly sever ties with the doctrines and deeds of your founder you will never get national support. Ever.

This is NOT punitive it’s done out of love for the LDS who get their way through money and political sway. It is my hope that the failure to obtain the oval office will someday cause the LDS to

The Intersection of Religion and Political Vetting

Renounce doctrines rather than just revise their views of them. It would go a long way in liberating people who are caught up in the religious machine and held captive. But some things have changed in my mind since the last presidential elections. I think ANY person running for office ought to have their religious stance vetted. A KKK member ought to have his faith exposed to the world. So should an Evangelical Christian like Huckabee. I would hope that the nation would expose any and all idiotic religious views as much part of their nomination as they make a Latter-day Saints.

I mean shouldn’t every evangelical candidate be asked if they believe God created people to become kindling for hell? Shouldn’t every candidate be asked if they think Jesus is coming back to town at any minute to wipe us out? Shouldn’t every Evangelical candidate be asked to explain his or her acceptance of the non-biblical descriptions of God known as Trinity? I think a candidate's beliefs in these areas are as important as an LDS candidate believing he or she will become a God, don’t you? So, whether a Latter-day Saint or a rabid Evangelical futurist, or a twisted Calvinist is running for public office I think all of them have to pass the litmus test for having reasonable, rational views on God before anyone chooses to put them in office.

And with that, let’s have a word of prayer.

Contradictions in Gospel Accounts

Paul Carlson received his Master of Divinity in 1974 A.D., at the “Pittsburg Theological Seminary.” In 1995 he wrote an article entitled “New Testament Contradictions”, below I have quoted from a few of his writings:

“According to Matthew, Jesus was born during the reign of Herod the Great (Matthew 2:1). According to Luke, Jesus was born during the first census in Israel, while Quirinius was governor of Syria (Luke 2:2). This is impossible because Herod died in March of 4 B.C, and the census took place in 6 and 7 A.D., about 10 years after Herod's death.

Both Matthew and Luke say that Jesus was born in Bethlehem. Matthew quotes Micah 5:2 to show that this was in fulfillment of prophecy. Actually, Matthew misquotes Micah (compare Micah 5:2 to Matthew 2:6). Although this misquote is rather insignificant, Matthew's poor understanding of Hebrew will have great significance later in his gospel.

Specific Prophecy Controversies

Luke has Mary and Joseph travelling from their home in Nazareth in Galilee to Bethlehem in Judea for the birth of Jesus (Luke 2:4). Matthew, in contradiction to Luke, says that it was only after the birth of Jesus that Mary and Joseph resided in Nazareth, and then only because they were afraid to return to Judea (Matthew 2:21-23).

Matthew says that the birth of Jesus and the events following it fulfilled several Old Testament prophecies. These prophecies include:

1. The virgin birth (Isaiah 7:14). This verse is part of a prophecy that Isaiah relates to King Ahaz regarding the fate of the two kings threatening Judah at that time and the fate of Judah itself. In the original Hebrew, the verse says that a "young woman" will give birth, not a "virgin" which is an entirely different Hebrew word. The young woman became a virgin only when the Hebrew word was mistranslated into Greek. This passage obviously has nothing to do with Jesus (who, if this prophecy did apply to him, should have been named Immanuel instead of Jesus).

2. The "slaughter of the innocents" (Jeremiah 31:15). Matthew says that Herod, in an attempt to kill the newborn Messiah, had all the male children two years old and under put to death in Bethlehem and its environs, and that this was in fulfillment of prophecy. This is a pure invention on Matthew's part. Herod was guilty of many monstrous crimes, including the murder of several members of his own family. However, ancient historians such as Josephus, who delighted in listing Herod's crimes, do not mention what would have been Herod's greatest crime by far. It simply didn’t happen. The context of Jeremiah 31:15 makes it clear that the weeping is for the Israelites about to be taken into exile in Babylon, and has nothing to do with slaughtered children hundreds of years later.

3. Called out of Egypt (Hosea 11:1). Matthew has Mary, Joseph and Jesus fleeing to Egypt to escape Herod, and says that the return of Jesus from Egypt was in fulfillment of prophecy (Matthew 2:15). However, Matthew quotes only the second half of Hosea 11:1. The first half of the verse makes it very clear that the verse refers to God calling the Israelites out of Egypt in the exodus led by Moses, and has nothing to do with Jesus. As further proof that the…

Examination of Gospel Discrepancies

The slaughter of the innocents and the flight into Egypt never happened, one need only compare the Matthew and Luke accounts of what happened between the time of Jesus' birth and the family's arrival in Nazareth. According to Luke, forty days (the purification period) after Jesus was born, his parents brought him to the temple, made the prescribed sacrifice, and returned to Nazareth. Into this same time period Matthew somehow manages to squeeze: the visit of the Magi to Herod, the slaughter of the innocents and the flight into Egypt, the sojourn in Egypt, and the return from Egypt. All of this action must occur in the forty day period because Matthew has the Magi visit Jesus in Bethlehem before the slaughter of the innocents.

1. Since the prophecies mentioned above appear to be incomplete in their original context, ….. why did Matthew include them in his gospel? There are two possibilities:

2. The church says that the words had a hidden future context as well as the original context, ie, God was keeping very important secrets from His chosen people.

3. Matthew, in his zeal to prove that Jesus was the Messiah, searched the Old Testament for passages (sometimes just phrases) that could be construed as messianic prophecies and then created or modified events in Jesus' life to fulfill those "prophecies."

Personal Journey of Faith

From: Dee

Subject: Episode 376=Revolution

Hello Shawn,

I wanted to share a little bit about me first- I was raised in an LDS family, but at the age of 11, I sensed something wrong with Mormonism and walked away from it entirely. I lead a life without God but was always a seeker. After much studying, I came to the conclusion Jesus was a myth and that Christianity was nothing more than an amalgamation of beliefs/cultures overlapping during the Roman Empire. Also, that the Bible was a book compiled by men(namely the Council of Nicaea). I studied the Bible to dismantle it, not to mention having another book in my library called the "Other Bible" containing Gnostic texts, Christian Apocrypha etc. all of which I know you are familiar with. When I began to encounter born again Christians I would take it upon myself to correct their misunderstandings of who Jesus was(the universal man and among many other 1/2 God 1/2 Man from various mythologies) and their contradictory confusing Bible…. or so I thought.

Spiritual Transformation

At the age of 35, I had a very powerful encounter with the living God and I was knocked to the ground (humbled) very much like Saul was and went through a very similar experience. I was not even looking for it, it just happened. I was saved and now a born again believer (after much repentance). I began to have a lot of supernatural experiences and the Holy Spirit took me on a crash course on understanding who Christ was and what He accomplished on the cross. He opened up His Word to me and I was seeing everything fresh as for the first time (like I had a secret decoder ring- ha, ha, as I know you can relate).

A couple of years later I had a friend get saved and remain in the LDS church and then another friend outside the state got saved and also remained in the Mormon church. I was befuddled as to how this could be regardless of my gentle promptings to the reality of that organization. A few more years go by and I get a phone call from the one telling me they were leaving the LDS church and told me it was because of your show. A couple of months later I get another phone call from the second friend and he tells me the exact same thing- he was leaving because of your show.

The Significance of Number 76

Now I have to backtrack about 18 months. You might think this sounds strange, but it's true. I was constantly seeing license plates on cars with the number 76 in front of me everywhere I went. I didn't know what it meant and so I read Psalm 76 and nothing clicked. I began seeing the number almost like a trail of bread crumbs. I noticed that my driver's license ended in 76, shortly after I was issued a new credit card ending in 76. One day while driving down to Salt Lake a car does a quick lane change on the freeway and hits his brakes in front of me causing me to have to slam on my brakes and realized the car had a 76 license plate. I was somewhat angry and then as I calmed down I said out loud "God, what is up with this 76, what does it mean?" I clearly heard- REVOLUTION (as in 1776).

By the way, I am a professional artist.

Observations from Personal Encounters

For a living, God has been orchestrating connections for me in the art world (but that is another story). Shortly after this 76 incident, God had me drive to New York to meet another professional artist, which turned out to be a Christian (we are a rare breed) as well. Lo and behold, he had a 76 license plate. Again, God punctuating the 76 breadcrumb trail pointing out who were the revolutionists that I would be encountering. So, back to my two friends telling me about your show convinced me I needed to check out who this Shawn guy was because you were clearly making an impact on them. It was January of 2014, and it was your first episode of the year- episode number 376! I thought to myself- ah, another revolutionist- let's find out what he has to share!

Needless to say, I watched every episode of 2014 and backtracked and watched all of 2013's over the course of last year. I loved your silent episode, by the way- that was Art! I also realized CAMPUS is just down the street from my Land Rover mechanic- ha, ha. So here we are in 2015 and most curious where The Lord is leading you/us. I believe you tackled some tough territory last year and caused many believers to think and hopefully dig.

Biblical Numerology and Structure

Something I wanted to mention in regard to the Bible, since you might be making it a focus at the start of this year. I always in the past believed that the numbered chapters/scriptures in the Bible were man's idea/concept and arbitrary. Now- I am not so convinced. It's too much to go into in great detail but thought I might get you looking into it a little bit yourself.

So there are 66 books in our Bible. There are 66 chapters in Isaiah. Bible scholars point to there being a separation in Isaiah starting with chapter 40. The first 39 chapters of Isaiah are the Old Testament portion, if you will, and the remaining 27 chapters are the New Testament portion. If you read Isaiah chapter 40 verse 3, we read "a voice calling, make a way in the desert," pointing to John the Baptist. If you go to the 40th book of the Bible and Chapter 3, you will see the beginning of John the Baptist's ministry and crying "make a way in the desert/wilderness." We could just think man planned it all this way- however, the exact center of our Bible is Psalm 117 and also happens to be the shortest chapter in the entire Bible, composed of only two passages reading "1 Praise the Lord, all nations; Laud Him, all peoples! 2 For His lovingkindness is great toward us, And the truth of the Lord is everlasting. Praise the Lord!"

I find it most interesting that it has two passages, and it cuts the Bible in two at the middle of these two passages. If this is true, then only the divine hand could orchestrate something of that scale. Also, if you find the center of the New Testament portion of Isaiah, you land on this passage: "But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed." Isaiah is pretty much a microcosm of the entire Bible message. As you would say- don't take my word for it- check it out yourself.

Trust in the Word

I do believe the Bible is as God intended it, and I do like that you have taken the time to examine the translations of certain passages. I had been doing the same thing in regards as it needs to be examined, and so it was nice to see you doing the same. It was a journey for me to come to the conclusion that the Bible is truly trustworthy after all the years of me tearing it down. It was even punctuated when I heard The Lord say to me in the middle of the night, "You can trust the truth of the Word."

You brought up your opinion on "Revelations," so I thought I would share a quick story. I have an unsaved (Pre-Christian) friend who does not own a Bible (has never read it) had a dream where he was told to read an exact passage out of Revelations. He was shocked as he doesn't even really believe in God, and this got his attention. He was scrambling to see if that passage even existed by using the internet (again he doesn't own a Bible) and couldn't believe it when he saw that it was an actual passage. He knew that it didn't come from his subconscious, and as a result, he is on a journey now.

Beliefs about Hell and Biblical Authority

Caller on this past Tuesday night's show challenge you on your beliefs about hell and the first book you brought up to defend your position was "Revelations". I say that as I believe Revelations clearly has it's place, but I am in hearty agreement with you on the harm it has caused having misunderstandings of what it really means. I chuckle when listening to theologians/teachers think they have it figured out and go off on some huge breakdown of all the crazy imagery in that book and what they think it means. That said, if it was not in the Bible wouldn't people just come up with similar end time conclusions without it? I mean, think of Jesus' words in regards to end times or Paul's "being caught up in the air" and talk of the "abomination of desolation" or John's "antichrists". It would still be there as end times material for people to hold on to and instead of bringing the kingdom/heaven to earth as Jesus taught us to pray, we just sit on our hands until Jesus comes back.

Curiosity and Future Discussions

I am curious/wondering where you will be going with this over the next few weeks and what the wisdom is in bringing up your thoughts in regards when the Bible has had more than enough of it's authority challenged. I'm curious where this is going to go in strengthening and making clear our position as believers?

I have always thought about writing you, but never felt lead until now. If you have read this far then I thank you. Heck, I would much rather go to coffee as there is so much to share, but I know you are busy and I respect your time. Thank you for all that you have done with your ministry over the years.

Blessings and wisdom to you sir,
Dee

Views on Hell from a Christian Perspective

Hello Shawn, I've been watching HOTM for a couple years now and I love it. Especially recently when you've gotten back to examining certain doctrines and teachings from a Christian view and how it differs with the Bible. It's been helping me because I've been having trouble with the whole cult-ure and everything that is associated with the word "Christian."

Your series on hell was very eye-opening to me and I thought you backed everything up very well. I agree with you on it. So my question does not come from criticism but from total curiosity.

With your contextual, Biblically supported views on hell, how do you explain certain Christians in the mainstream who claim that God is taking them to hell in order to warn people that time is running out? I ask because I'm leaning towards thinking they are totally off their rocker…

If you don't know what I'm talking about, here are a couple links to people sharing their experiences

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HGQDkCi-OIY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wY9c4Zw6pik

I don't want to get you in more trouble so if you want to reply through email, that is cool. Keep up the good work!
Bronson

Oklahoma's Traditional and Religious Stance

Here is a resolution that was actually submitted to vote in the Oklahoma state government as provided by Rightwingwatch:

WHEREAS, the people of Oklahoma have a strong tradition of reliance upon the Creator of the Universe; and

WHEREAS, we believe our economic woes are consequences of our greater national moral crisis; and

WHEREAS, this nation has become a world leader in promoting abortion, pornography, same sex marriage, sex trafficking, divorce, illegitimate births, child abuse, and many other forms of debauchery; and

WHEREAS, alarmed that the Government of the United States of America is forsaking the rich Christian heritage upon which this nation was built; and

WHEREAS, grieved that the Office of the president of these United States has refused to uphold the long held tradition of past presidents in giving recognition to our National Day of Prayer; and

WHEREAS, deeply disturbed that the Office of the president of these United States disregards the biblical admonitions to live clean and pure lives by proclaiming an entire month to an immoral behavior;

NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that we the undersigned elected officials of the people of Oklahoma, religious leaders and citizens of the State of Oklahoma, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world, solemnly declare that the HOPE of the great State of Oklahoma and of these United States, rests upon the Principles of Religion and Morality as put forth in the HOLY BIBLE

Reason Needs to swing in from all directions folks. Take a look at this:

(YouTube)
Allow me to introduce myself…

My name is Krista, otherwise known as "The Femitheist". I am a female, a feminist, and someone who believes strongly in True Equality.

Now, I will begin explaining this entry before I post the actual article… for your discussion, of course.

Proposal for International Castration Day

Women MUST and WILL have equality, and this is the ONLY way to achieve TRUE equality. The testicles of all males, which produce the majority of their testosterone, are the primary cause of their violent behavior. The testicles also attribute greatly to many of the health problems men experience later in life (such as prostate cancer and, of course, testicular cancer).

The Solution… International Castration Day

It is my belief (which I consider factual based on my research) that all men SHOULD be castrated. Not only for their own safety, but for the safety of all innocent women and children. And, to achieve this…

The entire world should have an international holiday known as: "Castration Day." Males of all ages will be brought to the public squares of their cities nude, to stand together in a circle, as they await castration by a woman known as "The Castrator," who will be a woman chosen from the public much like a juror.

Girls of all ages will attend, lining the streets to cheer and applaud the males as they join the rest of civilized society. It will be a free vacation for any working woman. And, young girls will be able to leave school to attend this glorious ceremony. The males will then have one hour to get to know their Castrator. Their female "spouse" will also be able to choose whether or not they would like to milk the male in order to retain a sperm sample. If the male is too young for a "spouse," their mother or closest female relative will decide.

After this, the men will be given anesthetics. They will be placed on a table, where their Castrator will then slice open their ball-sack, remove their testicles, and the excess skin, stitch them up, and clean them up. They will be given thirty minutes to rest after the procedure. Once the males have all been castrated, they will be grouped together again for one last look before walking nude back to their homes. The women will then return to their jobs, schools, et cetera, and rejoice in the completion of yet another successful ceremony. Any man who tries to evade this holiday, "Castration Day," should be murdered wherever they are found (treated as a criminal, as it will be a crime not to attend). Or, forced to attend. Regardless of age.

Any woman who disagrees should be provided therapy in order to free her from misogynistic indoctrination. This holiday should replace the day known currently as "Father's Day."

If this practice were adopted officially all across the world, all war, crime, and violence would end. We would have a true Eutopia, where peace reigns, and men do only what they exist for…

1. Breed.

2. Labor.

3. SERVE.

4. Die.

Perspectives from Debunking Atheists

Likewise, the change of their hormones would make them less aggressive, and thus less likely to rape. It would also provide them with better health throughout their life, as the testicles are a major cause of health issues in males as they age.

All will profit from this… And, I believe this will come to be someday soon. Thanks for your consideration!

FROM the WEBSITE Debunking Atheists we get a shot of this stellar logic:

Let's just say, you know for a fact that eating children is wrong. A great number of people believe as you do and we all acknowledge it in unity. Then there is a website that says that eating babies is fine that you don't need to "buy into it" and believe that eating babies is wrong. There is a couple of blogs that talk all day how liberating and fantastic eating children are. Now whoever listens to them think they are crazy and very wrong but a few listen to the intellect behind the reasoning, they listen to the argument. Let's say the argument says it's natural for many animals eat their young in nature, and people are just a part of the natural process or something like that. Some people buy into it and start doing it.

You struggle everyday as to why people think like that, they all must be crazy, what do they know that you don't? This goes on and on but after a while you get curious. You then start to go around thinking why you don't get to eat babies as others do and how some people demand that you don't, like your parents. Then one day you get an opportunity to do it but everything in your soul KNOWS it.

Moral Decline and Atheism

Is this what an atheist goes through when they start to not believe in God? The stories of struggles, that I have heard, turning away from God are similar to this scenario. Many authors talk about the struggle they go through from belief to non belief. The agonizing pain it causes themselves as well as their families. Could atheists talk themselves into anything? The methodical erosion of one's values and morals can be so damaging, to the point that it's acceptable that "Atheists eat babies."

An atheist may still be moral and say murder and rape are wrong: but when asked why, they will not have a final reason or authority to which they can appeal.

“That's the beauty of Heaven… we can leave our brains behind.”

A Short Debate

A person wrote this:

"The Hebrews crossed the 'sea of reeds'. Most Jews agree on this. After all, the first 5 books are theirs."

A CHRISTIAN wrote back:

“The first five books are theirs? Um, no. Moses was a Christian. Sorry.”

Views on Homosexuality

Here’s a classic piece of Christian articulation:

Mary Boyd wrote the following on Disgrace book:

“You all are intolerant asses. I wish you could all see that people are truly just people. So what if they love people of the same gender? You all sicken me.”

Danny J (from I hate Homosexuals wrote back)

Intolerant? Looks like you're intolerant of homophobes. I'm going to call you Biotch okay? Biotch, there are many reasons as to why homosexuality is “effed” up. Number 1, it's by choice. When a person willingly chooses to become gay that's when I get angry. Not only am I angry that Gay's even exist, I'm pissed that you consider Gays as people. These 'people' want special rights for them and THEM only. Since when has being a fag entitled you to having extra rights? You know what they did back in the biblical times? They killed gays. That's right, stoned their asses to death. You know why? Because God hates gays. By not hating gays, you're disobeying him, and you don't want to go to hell do you?”