are we in control of our decisions?

Do you believe in a pre-tribulation rapture or a post-tribulation one? Do you believe in pre-destination or in free will? Where do you stand on issues like the death penalty, or even more ‘minor’ ones like drinking alcohol?

Would it surprise you if I told you that your position on things like this may not be based on actual decisions that you’ve made on your own?

I caught this great TED Talks video recently featuring Dan Ariely (a faculty member at MIT) in which he talks about how people make decisions. It’s really a very interesting video! Check it out… 

YouTube Video :: Video :: Dan Ariely asks, Are we in control of our decisions?

The ideas that Ariely discusses here make me think about the implications for the church. What this research suggests is that your theology depends less on what you have actually figured out and more on what other influences you have around you.

Wait, what?

Yup, chances are you and I have actually come to very few real decisions on our own regarding what we believe.

Think about it… is your position on a pre-trib or post-trib rapture based on an actual study of the Scriptures that you’ve done? I would even go so far as to suggest that the number of people who believe in a pre-trib rapture increased substantially when the Left Behind series came out (which I loved by the way).

In fact, I also question whether most Christians have even read the entire Bible. Some research indicates that less than 10% of Christians have read the Bible from cover-to-cover.

And this, my friends, is one of the BIG reasons that the church lacks credibility in most Western societies these days. It is also one of the top reasons that many Christians ‘loose’ their faith.

Does anyone else see a problem here?

Not only does this mean that as Christians we should actually read our Bibles, but it also means that we should be students of it.

One initiative that will be starting soon in the BibleDude.net Facebook Group is a chapter-by-chapter study of the Word. But whether you join these studies with us or not, I encourage you to get into some sort of systematic study of the Scriptures. Find ways to dissect the Word of God for yourself.

I might also go so far as to say that the future of The Faith depends on it!

an escape from poverty

If you are a regular at this site, then you probably already know that one thing that is important to me is the fight against extreme poverty. There is a very large part of our world that goes to bed hungry every night, and because of their economic situations they lack the resources to maintain a ‘normal’ and healthy life.

My heart breaks for these people when I read verses like Micah 6:6-8 (ESV, emphasis mine):

6 “With what shall I come before the LORD,
   and bow myself before God on high?
Shall I come before him with burnt offerings,
   with calves a year old?
7 Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams,
   with ten thousands of rivers of oil?
Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression,
   the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?”
8 He has told you, O man, what is good;
   and what does the LORD require of you
but to do justice, and to love kindness,
   and to walk humbly with your God?

Considering that this was an Old Testament prophet that shared this, I am really moved by God revealing His heart to his people in this way. During a  time when ‘salvation’ was based on the Law, God was saying that He didn’t care about those offerings. What He did care about was that we were doing the right thing for His children!

Founder and CEO of Acumen Fund (a global non-profit that uses entrepreneurial approaches to solve the problems of global poverty) Jacqueline Novogratz shared some interesting views on the escape from poverty in this TED Talks video…

YouTube Video :: Video :: Jacqueline Novogratz on an escape from poverty

I love the point that she makes about dignity. I’m not sure what Novogratz’s religious views are, but I do know that this point rings true with my faith. I firmly believe that at the core of the Christian message, there is a message of hope.

In poverty there is no hope.

Helping people out of poverty is an act of giving hope.

And hope helps people to hold their heads high.

It helps to give them dignity.

It helps them to recognize their value.

People that live in extreme poverty often have little reason to hold their heads high. And as children of the Creator, they do have value and significance. That is why it is our job as Christians to help give them the hope and dignity that they need.

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Related article: poverty mission to africa ’09