How can a book I don't really know be my authority?

I've watched a lot of discussion online recently about biblical inerrancy and the authority of Scripture. An article by Australian theologian Michael Bird caused no small amount of discussion when shared on a Facebook group for discussion among scholars in my national church fellowship.

A couple of days later, I read the following statement in an article about biblical authority and divisions in American Christianity:

Perhaps in certain parts of academia – and in ministerial training in some denominations – historical criticism caused some to question the authority of the Bible, but for more than a century after the Civil War, the reading preferences and church affiliation choices of millions of American Protestants suggested that respect for the Bible’s authority continued undiminished, even if biblical literacy was not quite what it had once been. 

Note that last phrase: even if biblical literacy was not quite what it had once been. 

Dealing Gently with the Wounded

Not too long ago, I saw the following posted on social media:

Ultimately people don’t quit church because of bad Christians or churches.  They don’t stop eating out after they go to a bad restaurant.  They don’t stop going to the doctor even though doctors make mistakes.  No matter how much they blame others, Jesus said they quit the body of Christ because of themselves:

“Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed.  But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.”  (John 3:20-21) 

While it is true that ultimately each individual's decision whether to follow Christ or self rests with that person, those of us who claim to represent the King of kings do bear a great responsibility. In Luke 17, Jesus said:

Things that cause people to stumble are bound to come, but woe to anyone through whom they come. It would be better for them to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around their neck than to cause one of these little ones to stumble. So watch yourselves.

The Relationship between Peace and Gentleness

Recently, our senior pastor spoke to the leadership team of the Latino ministry at our church. After giving us several lessons about leadership he has learned in his 20 years as lead pastor, he told us about a couple of verses of Scripture the Lord has been impressing on him over the past year or so.

The first one he mentioned is Philippians 4:5:

Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 

He went on to raise the question as to whether this gentleness is tied to the peace Paul mentions a couple of verses later in 4:7:

And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

I think my pastor is on to something here.

Does Everything Always Turn Out How God Wants?

I recently saw the following statement on Facebook:

If things aren't turning out how you expected, don't worry, they're turning out how God wants. Amen. 

This sounds very spiritual and even pious when you first read it. But does everything really happen because it's "turning out how God wants?"

Did God really desire for a teenage girl, who loves and serves Jesus, to be beaten and raped, and get pregnant as a result?

Is it God's plan that thousands of women and children should be working as sex slaves in the red light districts of Calcutta, India?

Is a young wife and mother of three dying of breast cancer at 30 really God's best intention for that family?