All posts by Len Joson

Why Some Believe the Earth is Flat

February 25, 2016 Len Joson Leave a comment

It’s amazing and surprising to me that in our modern age, some people still do believe that the earth is flat — a flat circle! Yes, that is correct. They think that the earth is not spherical or a globe. Why is this so?

Well, it’s surprising to note that when you check the internet, flat earth believers abound and they do present to you a lot of their alleged “scientific proofs” to prove they are right. A lot of YouTube videos are out there attempting to “prove” the earth is flat.

Two Reasons Why

I can think of two main reasons why they believe it. It is aptly said by Soren Kierkegaard, a Danish philosopher and theologian of the 19th century. I got this quote recently from a friend on the internet. Kierkegaard allegedly said that:

“There are two ways to be fooled. One is to believe what isn’t true; the other is to refuse to believe what is true.”

Believing What is Not True

Yes, to believe what is not true is to be led into error. That’s for sure. For most flat earth believers, they really believe with all their heart that the Bible teaches that the earth is flat — which of course, is not true. They cannot be reasoned out of it no matter how hard you convince them that the Bible was not written as a scientific textbook, a cook book, an engineering book or a carpenter’s manual — to name a few examples. That is their faith. That is what they believe in. That is their religion. No amount of convincing will do the trick — unless of course God opens their minds.

Refusing to Believe What is True

With this premise and foundation that God has revealed to them in the Bible that the earth is flat, they therefore will not accept and will refuse to believe what is true! While the Bible does talk about a flat earth and the sun rising and setting, they will refuse to believe that there are various considerations in Bible interpretation like literary context, historical context, who the original authors and original audiences were, etc. They will refuse to believe these contextual considerations in Bible interpretation and insist that the Bible is revealing scientific data.

They will refuse to believe all the verified, empirical, authentic and scientific data gathered throughout the centuries by scientists, astronomers and the like. They will think that there is a big conspiracy to hide the “truth” that the earth is really and actually flat. They will suspect all scientific data that does not match up with their “biblical view” that the earth is flat. They think God has revealed to them the truth and the rest of humanity are deceived by a worldwide conspiracy group — which includes NASA.

Related blog:

Flat Earth Theory

Photo Credit: ThinkingHumanity.com

Who is God?

Many are Called but Few are Chosen

February 4, 2016 Len Joson Leave a comment

“Many are cold, but few are frozen.” For people who are somewhat familiar with the Bible, we laugh when we hear this expression because we know this is a distortion of the the Bible verse found in Matthew 22:14 which says, “Many are called but few are chosen” as it is written in the King James Version (KJV) of 1611.

Salvation Only for Some?

The verse in Matthew 22:14 is quite familiar to many and out of this verse, some people have come up with their various interpretations which say that:

Not all are going to be saved but only a few. This is a view held by some who hold on to a view called “limited atonement.” In this view, only the elected few will be saved among the billions of people of this world since Adam. And to them, that’s final. God has already decided from the foundation of the world who will be saved (just a few) and who will be lost (the many). That’s their view of election and predestination.
Not all are being saved at this time, during this present age or era. Only the elect few or the little flock have been chosen and given salvation for now. The rest of humanity will have their chance to salvation in the future during the millennium and after the millennium. This is a view based on eras, eons or dispensations — a view called dispensationalism.

These are the two broad views that I know of held by some groups as they read and interpret this verse in Matthew 22:14. Of course, there might be variations to this view just like there are various views on dispensationalism.

But is this really what Matthew 22:14 is saying? Let’s try to find out and study this verse based on its own context.

Getting the Context

Actually, Matthew 22:14 is the ending part of a parable which Jesus gave about a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son. Jesus was giving a parable about what the Kingdom of God is like (Matt. 22:1-2).

In this parable, the king “called” (KJV) or “invited” (NIV, NJB) his people to the wedding banquet but some refused to attend. The king then invited “as many” (KJV) or “anyone” (NIV) his servants could find (Matt. 22:9). During the wedding banquet itself, the king noticed one of the guests was not wearing the proper attire for the ocassion and he was thrown outside into darkness. Then Jesus said, “For many are invited, but few are chosen.” (NIV, Matt. 22:14)

This statement angered the Pharisees. We read: “Then the Pharisees went out and laid plans to trap him in his words” (Matt. 22:15). The background to this parable is that Jesus was actually talking about the chief priests and the Pharisees in this parable as well as in the previous Parable of the Tenants in Matthew 21:33-44. This is the larger context and background story behind the statement: “Many are called but few are chosen.”

The chief priests and the Pharisees rejected Jesus and wanted to kill him. So Jesus gave these parables and it was intended for them. Yes, they were “called” or “invited” but in the end they were not “chosen.”

“When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard Jesus’ parables, they knew he was talking about them. 46 They looked for a way to arrest him, but they were afraid of the crowd because the people held that he was a prophet” (Matthew 21:45-46 45).

The larger context becomes even clearer when we read Matthew 21:31-32: “Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you. 32 For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him.”

Jesus here was talking to the chief priests and the elders who questioned his authority (Matt. 21:23). The chief priests, elders and Pharisees rejected Jesus, the King. Therefore the King rejected them and threw them outside into darkness in the parable.

Based on context therefore, my understanding is that salvation is for all. The many are invited! The many are called! Tax collectors and prostitutes are included! Not only chief priests, elders and Pharisees! God is not limiting those whom he will save and enter the Kingdom of God. Anyone (tax collectors and prostitutes included) who comes to the Lord will be saved. They have been chosen out of the many.

Photo credit: Google

Who is God?

Flat Earth Theory

January 15, 2016 Len Joson Leave a comment

Did you know that some people today — yes, in our modern age — believe that the earth is flat? Yes, that is correct. A flat earth theory. Some people today really believe with all their heart that the earth is flat. You might find that absurd, weird, foolish, stupid, gullible or however you might want to describe it but they hang on to their belief with such tenacity that the earth is indeed really flat. And they are sincere about it. They really believe it. It is not a globe. It is not spherical and they will show to you their “scientific proofs” complete with many YouTube videos and various articles found on the internet.

They believe that NASA and science in general are out to deceive the whole world — a conspiracy theory — showing fake photos, fake videos and fake scientific facts that the earth is spherical or a globe. Yes, they also believe in so many conspiracy theories! But what is their basis that the earth is flat? Well, they claim their view is based on the Bible. That is the foundation of their faith, their belief — it’s their “religion.”

In most instances, the Bible does really talk about a flat earth and I agree. But there lies the problem! That’s where the misunderstanding can occur!

Bible Not a Science Textbook

While the Bible does give some information about science, it is important to understand and realize that the Bible is not primarily a science textbook. Of course, God and science are not in conflict. God is the author of true science and true religion but please take note: the Bible’s main purpose is not about science. It is something else. It’s about the gospel. It’s about the Kingdom of God. It’s about Jesus Christ.

It is sad to note that flat earth believers use the Bible as a science textbook. They deny this of course, but in practice, they do use the Bible as if everything said there is always scientific or about science. They think the Bible is a scientific book that proves a flat earth. They have not considered the Bible’s various contexts — historical, literary, cultural and various other related contexts as they interpret the Bible.

Context, Context, Context!

We have to consider that the Bible was first written and addressed first of all to an original audience in their original setting — in their own time, place, cultural, historical and literary settings. It has to be understood first in that context — in their original setting with the original audience before we can apply it into our modern times.

In most instances in the Bible, it was written from an earth-centric point of view where “the sun rises” and “the sun sets.” It was written by human authors from their human perspective (inspired by the Holy Spirit of course) and they were not trying to give a scientific explanation that the earth was flat. That’s what they can naturally see — the sun rising from the east and setting to the west. They were not trying to explain science. Most often the original authors were trying to convey a message to their original audience and not necessarily explaining nor revealing scientific data. Let’s be mindful of this fact when we are applying it into our modern times.

Most errors of flat earth believers are in their disregard of context — especially literary context. Believing that the Bible teaches a flat earth (a disregard of literary context), they then proceed and come up with their “scientific proofs” that the earth is flat.

For further study:

Photo credit: Google

Life & Love

Don Carlos, Bukidnon

January 12, 2016 Len Joson Leave a comment

Going through my files today, I saw a photo of me and my little daughter when we lived in Don Carlos, Bukidnon for about a year sometime in 1986. Back then, I was sent there as a ministerial trainee under a pastor. In this photo, my daughter was about 6 years old. This photo brought back memories of our stay there back when we were still younger and more energetic.

My wife took this shot with our Nikon EM film camera with a 50mm Nikon lens. I still have this film camera but it’s now a souvenir item. I don’t use it anymore. But I’m still using the 50mm lens which still works well and produces really good pictures.

Life & Love

When Guitars are Out of Tune

January 11, 2016 Len Joson Leave a comment

Whenever we hear someone singing out of tune, we oftentimes either laugh about it or get annoyed by it. Personally, I don’t look down on people who sing out of tune. I realize that some of us are more gifted than others when it comes to singing. Some people have exceptionally great singing voices and some don’t have it.

I myself don’t also have a great singing voice so I have nothing to brag about. My wife can sing better than me. But I actually enjoy listening to people singing out of tune belting it out with all their might whether it be at shopping malls, family gatherings or at some karaoke bar as they enjoy each other’s company. Never mind the confusion hahaha!

But there’s one thing I can’t stand — a guitar that is out of tune. It’s just me. And maybe that’s because I did have some experience as a leader of a band for a good number of years during my younger days. Before the band starts playing, the first thing we always did was to tune our guitars making sure that the lead guitar, rhythm guitar and bass guitar were all in tune and in sync with the electric piano/organ. I somehow feel bad — a personal thing, it’s just me — when a band or a worship team performs on stage or in church when their guitars are out of tune because I know it is something that could be fixed or made ready beforehand.

Back in the old days, we had what was called a pitch pipe to do that. Sometimes we just rely on a piano as our guide too. That helped. But nowadays, I’m amazed that tuning can be done electronically in so many ways. I was really very fascinated and surprised to see an electronic guitar tuner just a few years ago. There was no such thing during my younger days. Nowadays, you can even use your smartphone to do that offline or online with an android guitar tuner. There are several guitar tuner apps that you can use to do that. Times have really changed a lot!