Tag: Church Traditions

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Predestination 101

 

Yes, You have a spirit!

But how did you get it?

Predestination? Let’s start from a different angle:

The belief in the existence of a Human Spirit in each one of us is widely held across many belief systems, and, of course, is also Biblical. Ideas about the Spirit after death are also commonplace. But what about before birth? How does the human spirit come in to a human body? Where, if anywhere, was it before? These are obvious questions, but questions which nobody seems to ask, never mind answer.

All agree that the Spirit is eternal. For our purpose here it is enough to accept that “eternal” means beyond time and beyond the material world.

Logically, there are only a limited number of possible answers to the questions above :

1 The spirit existed before it became part of a person

2 The spirit came into existence when the person did.

3 People’s spirits attach to them randomly.

4 People’s spirits are placed in them by God’s decision.

The answers here have a powerful bearing on what the Bible says about Predestination. Calvin’s views on this are widely accepted by Churchgoers and Atheists alike, and naturally used by the latter to portray God as an ogre. But Calvinistic views are blasphemous – they present God as cruel and unjust, when the Bible makes it clear that though He may ultimately punish, He is overwhelmingly loving, patient and forgiving.

I am certain that answers one and four above are correct and provide a proper understanding of Predestination; that is, the Spirit existed before it became part of a person, and people’s spirits are placed in them by God’s decision. Firstly, the Scripture tells us that God has “foreknowledge”. This is often taken to mean that He knows exactly what will happen in all cases ahead of time. In reality it simply means that he knows each spirit in much the same way that we know other people. We cannot predict exactly what they will do and when, but we have a good idea of the sort of thing they will do; we know if someone is honest or dishonest, whether they are selfish or generous, and so on. Given our knowledge of their motivations and thinking, we have a fair idea of what they are likely to do in any given situation. Because of God’s infinitely greater understanding, and because He sees the “naked spirit”, not clothed and camouflaged in a human body, His ability to predict future actions is streets ahead of ours. Notice that this analysis is completely compatible with Free Will. The fact that God has foreknowledge of a spirits’ inclinations before He places it in a human body in no way effects that spirit’s Free Will.

The debate about whether men have Free Will or not should never have taken place in a Biblical context. Since God is both Just, and also punishes men for wrongdoing, the conclusion that men must have Free Will is unavoidable. Those who do not accept Free Will must deny that God is Just. They are making an error that is roundly condemned by almost the oldest book in the Bible, the Book of Job. It is a long and difficult book, but those who take the time to read it properly will discover that it has a very strong message: Do not ever question the Justice of God.

The second part of the answer, that God chooses the Spirit for each new-born, completes the understanding of Predestination. God not only has deep knowledge of each individual spirit, but he also chooses the time and place that it will live on Earth. This does not mean that every single act or incident is either laid down or known in advance; but that the particular desires of each person/spirit, added to the particular environment in which it lives, makes for a highly predictable path through life.

This also explains how God justly punishes the sons of God-hating fathers to the third and fourth generations, while showing love to a thousand generations of those who love Him. For those who love God, part of the blessing is to have descendants who will receive God-loving spirits. For those who hate God, part of the punishment is to have descendants who will receive rebellious spirits. Thus everybody (every spirit) ultimately receives punishment for their own wrongdoing; there is nothing of naturally righteous people taking a beating because of what Great-Granddad did. However, because the love descends for thousands of generations, it seems a lot of rebellious spirits will be blessed on Earth in ways they don’t deserve.

See also Free Will and Predestination: No Contradiction!

 

 

 

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Hats for Women in Church? Why?

Many denominations accept without question that a woman should wear a hat in Church, or even wear some kind of bonnet at all times. The justification for this is said to be found in Corinthians 11:

4 Every man praying or prophesying, having his head covered, dishonoureth his head.

5 But every woman that prayeth or prophesieth with her head uncovered dishonoureth her head: for that is even all one as if she were shaven.

6 For if the woman be not covered, let her also be shorn: but if it be a shame for a woman to be shorn or shaven, let her be covered.

7 For a man indeed ought not to cover his head, forasmuch as he is the image and glory of God: but the woman is the glory of the man.

8 For the man is not of the woman: but the woman of the man.

9 Neither was the man created for the woman; but the woman for the man.

10 For this cause ought the woman to have power on her head because of the angels.

11 Nevertheless neither is the man without the woman, neither the woman without the man, in the Lord.

12 For as the woman is of the man, even so is the man also by the woman; but all things of God.

13 Judge in yourselves: is it comely that a woman pray unto God uncovered?

14 Doth not even nature itself teach you, that, if a man have long hair, it is a shame unto him?

15 But if a woman have long hair, it is a glory to her: for her hair is given her for a covering.

16 But if any man seem to be contentious, we have no such custom, neither the churches of God.

Paul here talks about a “covering”. The word “hat” is never used. The Greek used is katakalupto. Kalupto means covered, the prefix kata suggests “well covered” or “going down”. This is often taken to mean a veil, in which case a hat does not fit the bill. But 80% of the way through this passage Paul suddenly starts talking about “hair”, with no indication at all that he is switching to a different topic, or why. The simple answer to this apparent change is that there is no change. Paul has been talking about hair all along.  He even says “ her hair is given her for a covering”. He also asks “ Doth not even nature itself teach you” that a woman should have long hair and a man should have short hair? Nature itself does indeed teach that. Even for non-Christians it seems simply natural that women should have long hair and men should wear it short. Even though pop groups popularised long hair for men in the 1960’s, it didn’t catch on. Even though feminism and fashion promotes similarity of hair and dress for men and women, the long/short, female/male division remains the norm. Paul is actually saying something very simple, that the God-given differences between men and women should be preserved, not destroyed. Also, earlier in the passage Paul refers to it being a “shame for a woman to be shorn or shaven”; this too we should recognise as obvious. Following wars, women accused of having relations with the enemy have often had their hair shaved. For a woman it is an obvious sign of shame. In short, long hair is the only covering a woman needs.

The implications of this go well beyond the wearing of a hat in church. If a woman who is Saved wears a hat in church because she believes that is right, it is not necessarily a problem for her personally. However, the fact that this plain and simple passage is misinterpreted so consistently by so many churches shows that they are not following Scripture, but tradition. It is but one example of where the Churches and Authentic Christianity divide.

On the individual level, any person who is genuinely Christian should be leaving behind these misinterpretations as they work out their Salvation; any person whose Christianity is merely cultural will remain content with the traditions, and content with Church.

See Sorting Churchgoing Christians from Churchgoing Churchgoers for more on the divergence of Church teachings from the Bible, and its implications.