{"id":224,"date":"2020-04-20T22:26:02","date_gmt":"2020-04-20T22:26:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/3.14.142.208\/?p=224"},"modified":"2024-01-17T15:05:53","modified_gmt":"2024-01-17T15:05:53","slug":"the-bible-engagement-crisis-in-america-part-1-of-a-9-part-series","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stevebelsheim.com\/?p=224","title":{"rendered":"THE BIBLE ENGAGEMENT CRISIS IN AMERICA – Part 1 of a 10 Part Series"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

INTRODUCTION<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The joint statement of January 3, 2020 reflecting the recent decision by the United Method Church (UMC) to split over the issue of homosexual practice reveals a Bible engagement crisis in America.  People in the pro-LGBTQ faction and the \u201ctraditional\u201d UMC faction each profess to be Christian.  These professing Christians essentially represent that their respective Bible engagement has resulted in diametrically opposed understandings and interpretations of Scripture about homosexual practice.   Yet, the Bible cannot concurrently condone and condemn same-sex marriage and the ordination of practicing homosexuals as
clergy.  One faction or the other has arrived at an erroneous \u201cunderstanding and interpretation of Scripture.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this case, the pro-LGBTQ faction has formulated an \u201cunderstanding and interpretation of Scripture\u201d that is wrong. The Bible engagement practiced by the pro-LGBTQ faction fails to satisfy the biblical standard for Bible engagement. This situation is the epitome of a Bible engagement crisis. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This article is the first in a series of ten post articles in which I address what I characterize as \u201cThe Bible Engagement Crisis in America.\u201d  In this first article, I define \u201cBible engagement\u201d and present the four steps necessary to evaluate if a situation rises to the level of being a \u201cBible engagement crisis.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the second article, I will explain that the Bible calls for a 21st Century Christian to engage the Bible. 
In other words, God\u2019s Word mandates a Christian carry out Bible engagement, but such engagement must be consistent with the biblical standard for Bible engagement. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the third article, I will analyze 2 Timothy 2:15 to arrive at a foundation for the biblical standard for Bible engagement.  In each one of the fourth through sixth articles, I will look at two actions set forth in 2 Timothy 2:14, 16-26, which is the literary context of 2 Timothy 2:15, that are in contrast to \u201cone approved\u201d who is \u201crightly handling the word<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the seventh article , I will present a clear definition of the biblical standard for Bible engagement. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the eighth article, I explain the reasons the pro-LGBTQ faction uses to support its position. In the ninth article, I explain why the \u201cunderstanding and interpretation of Scripture\u201d by the pro-LGBTQ faction is biblically wrong.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the tenth article, I will explain my reasoning for characterizing the UMC split as a Bible engagement crisis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

THE DEFINITION OF \u201cBIBLE ENGAGEMENT\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The website of the American Bible Society has a \u201cBible Engager\u2019s Blog\u201d (link: https:\/\/blog.bible\/bible-engagers-blog<\/a>).   Because the word \u201cengager\u201d has an expansive scope, the term \u201cBible engagement\u201d aptly describes a believer\u2019s interaction with the Bible.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A more detailed description of \u201cBible engagement\u201d is the action a believer takes to establish a genuine connection with God through what the Bible reveals.  Exemplary ways to engage the Bible include studying, reading, meditation, or listening.  As one can appreciate, each one of these ways requires a different level of effort and takes place at a different depth. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is a biblical standard for Bible engagement.  In other words, when a Christian engages the Bible, there is a biblically-based standard he or she needs to satisfy to achieve a genuine connection with God.  The reason I say \u201cgenuine\u201d is any connection with God must be consistent with the teachings in
the Bible.  Later in this series, I will define the biblical standard for Bible engagement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


FOUR STEPS TO EVALUATE IF THERE IS A BIBLE ENGAGEMENT CRISIS<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

believe there are four basic steps to evaluate if a situation like the UMC split rises to the level of being a Bible engagement crisis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

First, we need to the activities and actions that comprise \u201cBible engagement.\u201d   I have accomplished that in this article.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Second, we need to understand what the Bible teaches about the outcome of engaging the Bible.  Through this step we define the biblical standard for Bible engagement.  In the second article, I present that the Bible teaches that a Christian must carry out Bible engagement.   Please keep in mind that Bible engagement must satisfy a biblical standard.  In the third through seventh articles, I present the biblical foundation for, and define, the biblical standard for Bible engagement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Third, we need to evaluate a situation and its inherent Bible engagement to determine if the biblical standard for Bible engagement has been satisfied.  In the eighth article, I explain the reasons why the interpretation advanced by pro-LGBTQ faction fails to satisfy the biblical standard for Bible engagement. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fourth, if an outcome of Bible engagement fails to meet the biblical standard, we must evaluate whether such a failure rises to the level of a crisis.  In the ninth article, I set forth the reasons why the circumstances surrounding the UMC split is a Bible engagement crisis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In my next post, I will show how the Bible teaches that a 21st Century Christian must practice Bible engagement. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Please send me any comments to steve@stevebelsheim.com or use the comments feature of the blog.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

NOTICE OF PERMISSIONS – I am mindful of and respect the rights other authors and publishers possess in their works.  I thus try my best not to violate any copyright rights other authors and publishers possess in their works.  The below copyright permission statement is the result of my best efforts to understand that limited usage or \u201cfair use\u201d is available and to secure direct permission for specific works.  Scripture quotations are from the ESV\u00ae Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version) copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.  Used by permission.  The brief quotations from other resources are
fair use.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

INTRODUCTION The joint statement of January 3, 2020 reflecting the recent decision by the United Method Church (UMC) to split over the issue of homosexual practice reveals a Bible engagement crisis in America.  People in the pro-LGBTQ faction and the \u201ctraditional\u201d UMC faction each profess to be Christian.  These professing Christians essentially represent that their […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"off","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[319],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-224","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-lgbtq"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stevebelsheim.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/224","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stevebelsheim.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stevebelsheim.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stevebelsheim.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stevebelsheim.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=224"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/stevebelsheim.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/224\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2185,"href":"https:\/\/stevebelsheim.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/224\/revisions\/2185"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stevebelsheim.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=224"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stevebelsheim.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=224"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stevebelsheim.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=224"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}