519 lines
27 KiB
HTML
519 lines
27 KiB
HTML
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
|
||
<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en-gb" lang="en-gb" >
|
||
<head>
|
||
<base href="http://www.jesuswordsonly.com/Recommended-Reading/bercot.html" />
|
||
<meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" />
|
||
<meta name="robots" content="index, follow" />
|
||
<meta name="keywords" content="Jesus Words, Jesus Words Only, Jesus Words on Salvation, Did Calvin Murder Servetus, Flaws of Young Earth Science, Ingenious Design, Apostle Paul" />
|
||
|
||
<meta name="author" content="DJD" />
|
||
<meta name="description" content="Jesus Words Only focuses on the words of Jesus as the sole inspired portion of the New Testament Scripture" />
|
||
|
||
<title>Bercot | Recommended Reading</title>
|
||
<link rel="stylesheet" href="/plugins/system/jceutilities/css/jceutilities-217.css" type="text/css" />
|
||
<link rel="stylesheet" href="/plugins/system/jceutilities/themes/standard/css/style.css" type="text/css" />
|
||
<script type="text/javascript" src="/plugins/system/jceutilities/js/mediaobject.js"></script>
|
||
<script type="text/javascript" src="/plugins/system/jceutilities/js/jquery-126.js"></script>
|
||
<script type="text/javascript" src="/plugins/system/jceutilities/js/jceutilities-217.js"></script>
|
||
<script type="text/javascript" src="/media/system/js/mootools.js"></script>
|
||
<script type="text/javascript" src="/media/system/js/caption.js"></script>
|
||
<script type="text/javascript">
|
||
MediaObject.init({'flash':"9,0,124,0",'windowmedia':"5,1,52,701",'quicktime':"6,0,2,0",'realmedia':"7,0,0,0",'shockwave':"8,5,1,0"});jQuery(document).ready(function(){jceutilities({'popup':{'legacy':0,'resize':1,'icons':1,'overlay':1,'overlayopacity':0.8,'overlaycolor':"#000000",'fadespeed':500,'scalespeed':500,'width':640,'height':480,'hideobjects':1,'scrollpopup':1,'theme':"standard",'themecustom':"",'themepath':"plugins/system/jceutilities/themes"},'tootlip':{'classname':"tooltip",'opacity':1,'speed':150,'position':"br",'offsets':"{'x': 16, 'y': 16}"},'imgpath':"plugins/system/jceutilities/img",'pngfix':0,'wmode':0});});
|
||
</script>
|
||
|
||
<link rel="shortcut icon" href="/images/favicon.ico" />
|
||
<link rel="stylesheet" href="/templates/system/css/system.css" type="text/css" />
|
||
<link rel="stylesheet" href="/templates/system/css/general.css" type="text/css" />
|
||
<link href="/templates/js_relevant/css/template_css.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" media="screen" />
|
||
<link href="/templates/js_relevant/css/nav.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" media="screen" />
|
||
<link href="/templates/js_relevant/css/style1.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" media="screen" />
|
||
|
||
<!--[if IE]>
|
||
<link href="/templates/js_relevant/css/ie.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" media="screen" />
|
||
<![endif]-->
|
||
<!--[if IE]>
|
||
<link href="/templates/js_relevant/css/ie.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" media="screen" />
|
||
<![endif]-->
|
||
<!--[if lte IE 6]>
|
||
<style type="text/css">
|
||
img { behavior: url(/templates/js_relevant/js/iepngfix.htc); }
|
||
</style>
|
||
<![endif]-->
|
||
|
||
<meta http-equiv="Content-Language" content="en" /></head>
|
||
|
||
|
||
<body>
|
||
|
||
<div id="main-wrapper">
|
||
|
||
<div id="header_graphic">
|
||
<div class="inside">
|
||
<div id="newsflash"> <div class="moduletable">
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
<table class="contentpaneopen">
|
||
<tr>
|
||
<td valign="top" >"Whatever the devil cannot be or do as it relates to God in Jesus Christ, he will either <strong>counterfeit</strong> or wipe out." Gary Flannigan, <span style="text-decoration: underline;">111: The Media War</span> (2008) at 131.</td>
|
||
</tr>
|
||
<tr>
|
||
<td valign="top" >
|
||
|
||
</td>
|
||
</tr>
|
||
</table>
|
||
</div>
|
||
</div>
|
||
<h2><a href="http://www.jesuswordsonly.com/" title="Relevant">Relevant</a></h2>
|
||
<h2>A Joomla! Template for the Rest of Us</h2>
|
||
</div>
|
||
</div>
|
||
<div class="menubar">
|
||
<div id="navmenu">
|
||
<script type="text/javascript" src="/templates/js_relevant/js/barmenu.js"></script>
|
||
<ul class="menu"><li><a href="http://www.jesuswordsonly.com/"><span>Home</span></a></li><li class="haschild"><a href="/JWO/jesuswordsonly.html" class="haschild"><span>Books</span></a><ul><li class="haschild"><a href="/JWO/jesuswordsonly.html" class="child"><span>Jesus' Words Only</span></a><ul><li><a href="/JWO/jesus-words-only-amazon.html"><span>Purchase from Amazon.com</span></a></li></ul></li><li class="haschild"><a href="/JWOS/jesuswordssalvation.html" class="child"><span>Jesus' Words on Salvation</span></a><ul><li><a href="/JWOS/jesuswordsonsalvationamazon.html"><span>Purchase from Amazon.com</span></a></li></ul></li><li class="haschild"><a href="/Did-Calvin-Murder-Servetus/didcalvinmurderservetus.html" class="child"><span>Did Calvin Murder Servetus?</span></a><ul><li><a href="/Did-Calvin-Murder-Servetus/calvinfreebookonline.html"><span>Download e-Book</span></a></li><li><a href="/Did-Calvin-Murder-Servetus/didcalvinmurderservetusbackground.html"><span>Background Material</span></a></li><li><a href="/Did-Calvin-Murder-Servetus/didcalvinmurderservetusamazon.html"><span>Purchase from Amazon.com</span></a></li></ul></li><li class="haschild"><a href="/Bible/hownottostudythebible.html" class="child"><span>How Not to Study the Bible</span></a><ul><li><a href="/Bible/hownottostudythebible.html"><span>Download e-Book</span></a></li></ul></li><li class="haschild"><a href="/Young-Earth-Science/flawsofyoungearthscience.html" class="child"><span>Flaws of Young Earth Science</span></a><ul><li><a href="/Young-Earth-Science/flawsofyoungearthscience.html"><span>Download e-Book</span></a></li></ul></li><li><a href="/Young-Earth-Science/unintended-disservice-of-young-earth-science.html"><span>Unintended Disservice</span></a></li><li><a href="/Hebrew-Matthew/original-gospel-of-matthew-in-hebrew.html"><span>Original Gospel of Matthew</span></a></li></ul></li><li id="current" class="active"><a href="/Recommended-Reading/recommendedreading.html"><span>Further Reading</span></a></li><li><a href="/Audio/audio-messages.html"><span>Media</span></a></li><li><a href="/About-The-Author/about-the-author.html"><span>About The Author</span></a></li><li class="haschild"><a href="/Review.list/" class="haschild"><span>Reviews</span></a><ul><li><a href="/jwo-reviews.html"><span>Jesus Words Only</span></a></li><li><a href="/jwos-reviews.html"><span>Jesus Words on Salvation</span></a></li></ul></li><li><a href="/Contact-Us/contactus.html"><span>Contact Us</span></a></li><li><a href="http://astore.amazon.com/jwoogm-20"><span>Amazon Shop</span></a></li><li><a href="/Recommended-Reading/topical-index-of-this-website.html"><span>Topic Index</span></a></li></ul>
|
||
</div>
|
||
</div>
|
||
|
||
<div id="mainbody">
|
||
<div id="showcasetop"> </div>
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
<table width="940" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center">
|
||
<tr>
|
||
<td id="leftcol" valign="top" width="200">
|
||
<div class="inside">
|
||
<div class="moduleS1">
|
||
<div>
|
||
<div>
|
||
<div>
|
||
<h3>Search</h3>
|
||
<form action="http://www.jesuswordsonly.com/" method="post">
|
||
<div class="searchS1">
|
||
<input name="searchword" id="mod_search_searchword" maxlength="20" alt="Search" class="inputboxS1" type="text" size="20" value="search..." onblur="if(this.value=='') this.value='search...';" onfocus="if(this.value=='search...') this.value='';" /> </div>
|
||
<input type="hidden" name="task" value="search" />
|
||
<input type="hidden" name="option" value="com_search" />
|
||
<input type="hidden" name="Itemid" value="3" />
|
||
</form> </div>
|
||
</div>
|
||
</div>
|
||
</div>
|
||
<div class="moduleS1">
|
||
<div>
|
||
<div>
|
||
<div>
|
||
<h3>Questions?</h3>
|
||
|
||
Please enter your questions, and we will get back to you as soon as possible. As an anti-spam measure, we ask that you re-type the code you see in the box below, prior to clicking "Send Message"<br /><br />
|
||
|
||
<form name="s5_quick_contact" method="post" action="">
|
||
|
||
|
||
<input class="inputbox" id="namebox" onclick="s5_qc_clearname()" onfocus="s5_qc_clearname()" style="font-size:11px; font-family:arial; width:80%" type="text" value="Name..." name="name"></input><br />
|
||
<input class="inputbox" id="emailbox" onclick="s5_qc_clearemail()" onfocus="s5_qc_clearemail()" style="font-size:11px; font-family:arial; width:80%" type="text" value="Email..." name="email"></input><br />
|
||
<input class="inputbox" id="subjectbox" onclick="s5_qc_clearsubject()" onfocus="s5_qc_clearsubject()" style="font-size:11px; font-family:arial; width:80%" type="text" value="Subject..." name="subject"></input><br />
|
||
<textarea id="messagebox" rows="" cols="" class="inputbox textarea" onclick="s5_qc_clearbody()" onfocus="s5_qc_clearbody()" style="font-size:11px; font-family:arial; overflow:auto;width:80%; height:55px" name="message">Your Message...</textarea><br />
|
||
<input class="inputbox" id="spambox" onclick="s5_qc_clearspam()" onfocus="s5_qc_clearspam()" style="font-weight:bold; font-size:11px; font-family:arial; width:80%" type="text" value="Enter The Code 8340" name="verif_box"></input><br />
|
||
|
||
|
||
<input id="email_address" type="hidden" value="" name="email_address"></input>
|
||
|
||
<input class="button" type="button" onclick="s5_qc_submit()" value="Send Message" ></input>
|
||
</form>
|
||
|
||
|
||
<script language="javascript" type="text/javascript">
|
||
// <![CDATA[
|
||
|
||
var s5_qc_spam_text = document.getElementById("spambox").value;
|
||
|
||
function s5_qc_clearbody() {
|
||
if (document.getElementById("messagebox").value == "Your Message...") {
|
||
document.getElementById("messagebox").value="";
|
||
}
|
||
if (document.getElementById("namebox").value.length < 1) {
|
||
document.getElementById("namebox").value = "Name...";
|
||
}
|
||
if (document.getElementById("emailbox").value.length < 1) {
|
||
document.getElementById("emailbox").value = "Email...";
|
||
}
|
||
if (document.getElementById("subjectbox").value.length < 1) {
|
||
document.getElementById("subjectbox").value = "Subject...";
|
||
}
|
||
if (document.getElementById("spambox").value.length < 1) {
|
||
document.getElementById("spambox").value = s5_qc_spam_text;
|
||
}
|
||
}
|
||
|
||
function s5_qc_clearname() {
|
||
if (document.getElementById("namebox").value == "Name...") {
|
||
document.getElementById("namebox").value="";
|
||
}
|
||
if (document.getElementById("messagebox").value.length < 1) {
|
||
document.getElementById("messagebox").value = "Your Message...";
|
||
}
|
||
if (document.getElementById("emailbox").value.length < 1) {
|
||
document.getElementById("emailbox").value = "Email...";
|
||
}
|
||
if (document.getElementById("subjectbox").value.length < 1) {
|
||
document.getElementById("subjectbox").value = "Subject...";
|
||
}
|
||
if (document.getElementById("spambox").value.length < 1) {
|
||
document.getElementById("spambox").value = s5_qc_spam_text;
|
||
}
|
||
}
|
||
|
||
function s5_qc_clearemail() {
|
||
if (document.getElementById("emailbox").value == "Email...") {
|
||
document.getElementById("emailbox").value="";
|
||
}
|
||
if (document.getElementById("namebox").value.length < 1) {
|
||
document.getElementById("namebox").value = "Name...";
|
||
}
|
||
if (document.getElementById("messagebox").value.length < 1) {
|
||
document.getElementById("messagebox").value = "Your Message...";
|
||
}
|
||
if (document.getElementById("subjectbox").value.length < 1) {
|
||
document.getElementById("subjectbox").value = "Subject...";
|
||
}
|
||
if (document.getElementById("spambox").value.length < 1) {
|
||
document.getElementById("spambox").value = s5_qc_spam_text;
|
||
}
|
||
}
|
||
|
||
function s5_qc_clearsubject() {
|
||
if (document.getElementById("subjectbox").value == "Subject...") {
|
||
document.getElementById("subjectbox").value="";
|
||
}
|
||
if (document.getElementById("namebox").value.length < 1) {
|
||
document.getElementById("namebox").value = "Name...";
|
||
}
|
||
if (document.getElementById("emailbox").value.length < 1) {
|
||
document.getElementById("emailbox").value = "Email...";
|
||
}
|
||
if (document.getElementById("messagebox").value.length < 1) {
|
||
document.getElementById("messagebox").value = "Your Message...";
|
||
}
|
||
if (document.getElementById("spambox").value.length < 1) {
|
||
document.getElementById("spambox").value = s5_qc_spam_text;
|
||
}
|
||
}
|
||
|
||
function s5_qc_clearspam() {
|
||
if (document.getElementById("spambox").value == s5_qc_spam_text) {
|
||
document.getElementById("spambox").value="";
|
||
}
|
||
if (document.getElementById("namebox").value.length < 1) {
|
||
document.getElementById("namebox").value = "Name...";
|
||
}
|
||
if (document.getElementById("emailbox").value.length < 1) {
|
||
document.getElementById("emailbox").value = "Email...";
|
||
}
|
||
if (document.getElementById("messagebox").value.length < 1) {
|
||
document.getElementById("messagebox").value = "Your Message...";
|
||
}
|
||
if (document.getElementById("subjectbox").value.length < 1) {
|
||
document.getElementById("subjectbox").value = "Subject...";
|
||
}
|
||
}
|
||
|
||
|
||
function s5_qc_isValidEmail(str_email) {
|
||
if (str_email.indexOf(".") > 2 && str_email.indexOf("@") > 0) {
|
||
alert('Your email is now being submitted - Thank you!');
|
||
document.s5_quick_contact.submit();
|
||
}
|
||
else {
|
||
alert('Your email address is not valid, please check again - Thank you!');
|
||
}
|
||
}
|
||
|
||
function s5_qc_submit() {
|
||
|
||
if (document.getElementById("spambox").value == s5_qc_spam_text || document.getElementById("subjectbox").value == "Subject..." || document.getElementById("namebox").value == "Name..." || document.getElementById("emailbox").value == "Email..." || document.getElementById("messagebox").value == "Your Message...") {
|
||
alert('All fields are required, please complete the form - Thank you!');
|
||
return false;
|
||
}
|
||
|
||
if (document.getElementById("spambox").value != "8340") {
|
||
alert('Your spam verification answer is incorrect.');
|
||
return false;
|
||
}
|
||
|
||
var s5_message_holder = document.getElementById("messagebox").value;
|
||
var s5_first_message_char = s5_message_holder.charAt(0);
|
||
var s5_second_message_char = s5_message_holder.charAt(1);
|
||
var s5_third_message_char = s5_message_holder.charAt(2);
|
||
var s5_fourth_message_char = s5_message_holder.charAt(3);
|
||
|
||
if (s5_first_message_char == "<") {
|
||
return false;
|
||
}
|
||
|
||
if (s5_first_message_char == "w" && s5_second_message_char == "w" && s5_third_message_char == "w") {
|
||
return false;
|
||
}
|
||
|
||
if (s5_first_message_char == "h" && s5_second_message_char == "t" && s5_third_message_char == "t") {
|
||
return false;
|
||
}
|
||
|
||
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
|
||
return false;
|
||
}
|
||
|
||
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
|
||
return false;
|
||
}
|
||
|
||
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
|
||
return false;
|
||
}
|
||
|
||
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
|
||
return false;
|
||
}
|
||
|
||
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
|
||
return false;
|
||
}
|
||
|
||
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
|
||
return false;
|
||
}
|
||
|
||
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
|
||
return false;
|
||
}
|
||
|
||
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
|
||
return false;
|
||
}
|
||
|
||
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
|
||
return false;
|
||
}
|
||
|
||
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
|
||
return false;
|
||
}
|
||
|
||
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
|
||
return false;
|
||
}
|
||
|
||
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
|
||
return false;
|
||
}
|
||
|
||
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
|
||
return false;
|
||
}
|
||
|
||
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
|
||
return false;
|
||
}
|
||
|
||
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
|
||
return false;
|
||
}
|
||
|
||
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
|
||
return false;
|
||
}
|
||
|
||
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
|
||
return false;
|
||
}
|
||
|
||
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
|
||
return false;
|
||
}
|
||
|
||
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
|
||
return false;
|
||
}
|
||
|
||
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
|
||
return false;
|
||
}
|
||
|
||
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
|
||
return false;
|
||
}
|
||
|
||
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
|
||
return false;
|
||
}
|
||
|
||
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
|
||
return false;
|
||
}
|
||
|
||
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
|
||
return false;
|
||
}
|
||
|
||
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
|
||
return false;
|
||
}
|
||
|
||
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
|
||
return false;
|
||
}
|
||
|
||
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
|
||
return false;
|
||
}
|
||
|
||
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
|
||
return false;
|
||
}
|
||
|
||
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
|
||
return false;
|
||
}
|
||
|
||
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
|
||
return false;
|
||
}
|
||
|
||
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
|
||
return false;
|
||
}
|
||
|
||
else {
|
||
document.getElementById("email_address").value = "info@jesuswordsonly.com";
|
||
var email_str = document.getElementById("emailbox").value;
|
||
s5_qc_isValidEmail(email_str);
|
||
}
|
||
}
|
||
|
||
// ]]>
|
||
</script>
|
||
</div>
|
||
</div>
|
||
</div>
|
||
</div>
|
||
<div class="moduleS1">
|
||
<div>
|
||
<div>
|
||
<div>
|
||
<h3>Recommendations</h3>
|
||
<p><a href="/Audio/music-store-manager.html">Only Jesus</a> (great song by Big Daddy)</p>
|
||
<p><a href="http://astore.amazon.com/justjesus0ece-20">Just Jesus: His Living Words (2011)</a></p>
|
||
<p><a href="http://astore.amazon.com/jesusonchurchstructure-20">Jesus' Words on Church Structure</a> by S. Rives</p>
|
||
<p><a href="http://www.jesusfocusedpublishers.com/"></a></p>
|
||
<p> </p> </div>
|
||
</div>
|
||
</div>
|
||
</div>
|
||
<div class="module">
|
||
<div>
|
||
<div>
|
||
<div>
|
||
<a href="/JWO/jesuswordsonly.html"><img alt="JesusWordsOnS-cropsmall" src="/images/stories/JesusWordsOnS-cropsmall.jpg" width="116" height="117" /></a> </div>
|
||
</div>
|
||
</div>
|
||
</div>
|
||
<div class="module">
|
||
<div>
|
||
<div>
|
||
<div>
|
||
<a href="/JWOS/jesuswordssalvation.html"><img alt="JesusWordsSalv-crop2" src="/images/stories/JesusWordsSalv-crop2.jpg" width="114" height="146" /></a> </div>
|
||
</div>
|
||
</div>
|
||
</div>
|
||
<div class="module">
|
||
<div>
|
||
<div>
|
||
<div>
|
||
<a href="/Did-Calvin-Murder-Servetus/calvinfreebookonline.html"><img src="/images/stories/DidCalvinMurderServetusM.jpg" alt="DidCalvinMurderServetusM" height="NaN" width="120" /></a> </div>
|
||
</div>
|
||
</div>
|
||
</div>
|
||
|
||
</div>
|
||
</td>
|
||
<td id="maincol" valign="top">
|
||
<div id="breadcrumbs">
|
||
<span class="breadcrumbs pathway">
|
||
<a href="http://www.jesuswordsonly.com/" class="pathway">Home</a> <img src="/templates/js_relevant/images/arrow.png" alt="" /> Further Reading</span>
|
||
|
||
</div>
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
<table class="contentpaneopen">
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
<tr>
|
||
<td valign="top">
|
||
<h2>David Bercot on "Apostle" Paul</h2>
|
||
<p>David Bercot is a Texas evangelical attorney. He advises against reading Jesus through the lense of Paul. He advises us to begin with Jesus, and never lose sight of His teachings. Bercot was a forerunner of the Jesus' Words Only movement. In 2010, he continues to support his brave stance to elevate Christ over Paul in his book <em>Theologians </em>at page 51. However, it is his work from 1992 where we first see Bercot's recognition of the principle of Jesus' Words Only.</p>
|
||
<p>David W. Bercot, in <em>Common Sense: A New Approach to Understanding Scripture</em> (1992) writes at page <a href="http://books.google.com/books?id=UCVK9n7uSqAC&lpg=PA21&ots=8vfklcfufN&dq=%22jesus%20words%20only%22&pg=PA21#v=onepage&q=%22jesus%20words%20only%22&f=false">21</a> [books.google link]:</p>
|
||
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">Likewise, when interpeting any single document, I always start at the beginning. I don't skip down to the middle and start reading.</p>
|
||
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">The same principle applies to interpreting Scripture. When searching for the truths of Christianity, this means going back to the words of Jesus himself. This is a rather obvious principle, yet here the majority of evangelical Christians get sidetracked. <strong><em>They begin with Paul, not Jesus</em></strong>. Many evangelicals<em><strong> virtually ignore Jesus' teachings</strong></em>---claiming they apply to an earlier dispensation, or to the 'kingdom age.' Others <em><strong>reshape Jesus' words to fit Paul's words</strong></em>.</p>
|
||
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">How strange. Jesus said "A disciple is not above his teacher." (Matt. 10:24.) Yet<em><strong> we make Paul, the disciple, greater than the teacher</strong></em>. We <em><strong>subordinate Jesus to Paul</strong></em>. We understand Jesus' words only in the context of Paul's writings. In sharp contrast, the <strong><em>early Christians understood Paul in the context of Jesus' teachings</em></strong>. Their gospel was above all the gospel of Jesus.</p>
|
||
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">Principle #2: Start at the beginning with the teachings of Jesus.</p>
|
||
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">Our <strong><em>upside down approach to Scripture</em></strong> is a fairly new tradition. It began with Martin Luther who said that the Book of Romans is "the chief part of the New Testament." We may not use his exact words, but in practice we follow in his footsteps.</p>
|
||
<p>Page <a href="http://books.google.com/books?id=UCVK9n7uSqAC&lpg=PA21&ots=8vfklcfufN&dq=%22jesus%20words%20only%22&pg=PA22#v=onepage&q=%22jesus%20words%20only%22&f=false">22</a>:</p>
|
||
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">However, a common sense approach to Scripture requires us to <em><strong>begin with the Author of Christianity, Jesus Christ---not with Paul</strong></em>. In our illustration of discovering what Scripture teaches about salvation, it means that we begin with the four gospels.</p>
|
||
<h2>Bercot On Paul in Early Church</h2>
|
||
<p>David Bercot wrote a book <em>Will The Real Heretics Please Stand Up</em>? (1999) which was an eye-opener for me. It underscored that doctrines of Paul were rejected in the earliest church through the end of the Patristic era, ending 325 A.D. Bercot touched lightly on the problem of Paul, only saying that it was better to see the early church did not put Paul up on a pedestal in interpreting Jesus' words:</p>
|
||
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">"The early Christians<strong><em> didn’t put Paul’s letters</em></strong> to the Romans and Galatians up <strong><em>on a pedestal above the teachings of Jesus and the other apostles</em></strong>. They read Paul’s words about grace <em><strong>in conjunction</strong></em> with...Scriptures [where Jesus requires endurance for salvation, Matt. 24:13, doing the will of God for salvation, Matt. 7:21, the resurrected will be those who have done good, John 5:28, 29, etc.]." (Bercot, <em>Will The Real Heretics Please Stand Up</em> (Texas: Scroll Publishing, 1999) at <a href="http://books.google.com/books?id=j7K4S5n8hVAC&lpg=PP1&dq=bercot%20Will%20The%20Real%20Heretics%20Please%20Stand%20Up&pg=PA63#v=onepage&q=bizarre&f=false">63</a>.)</p>
|
||
<p><img src="/images/stories/heretics.jpg" alt="Will The Real Heretics Stand Up" /></p>
|
||
<h2>Further Reading</h2>
|
||
<p>David Bercot has strains of thought that puts a lot of emphasis on interpretations of the early church commentators. Corner criticizes putting such weight on non-inspired sources. See "<a href="http://www.evangelicaloutreach.org/david-bercot.htm">David Bercot</a>," Evangelicaloutreach.</p>
|
||
<p>However, I must disagree with Corner -- despite my strong admiration for his work <em>Conditional Securiity . </em><em>Corner </em>misses Bercot's point. Bercot is saying we should use the early church interpretations to re-examine our own interprations. This self-examination will lead us to realize our modern Protestantism is more the product of late church history than the original inspired texts. In other words, we can see our divergence from the original <em>inspired</em> writings by being attune to the early church <em>interpretation</em> of them. This means we need to put aside our current theological perspective, and embrace the oldest interpretations to then see more clearly the original inspired words of Jesus.</p>
|
||
<p>Corner's rationale for criticizing Bercot is obviously due to concern that it opens the door to giving undue weight to oral tradition. We might begin to stray from Sola Scriptura. However, others who favor oral tradition as of equal weight fault Bercot for not supporting their view, which underscores that Corner's concern is unfounded. For example, some from the Orthodox faith criticize Bercot for not acknowledging an oral tradition had significant weight in knowing what is true Christianity. See "<a href="http://www.orthodoxinfo.com/inquirers/bercot.aspx">A Critique of David Bercot's Will The Real Heretics Please Stand Up!</a>," Orthodox Christian Information Center. This demonstrates that Corner's concern is unfounded. It is indeed proper to look at the early church views to see how it construed canon and correct principles from the true canon, which in turn would let us see how we have altered our own focus and emphasis off of Jesus and onto Paul.</p>
|
||
<hr />
|
||
<p>David Bercot has a website where he offers CDs of his various teachings. See "<a href="http://www.scrollpublishing.com/store/cds-wecb.html">What the Early Christians Believed, CD Series</a>," Scroll Publishing</p>
|
||
<hr />
|
||
<p>David Bercot's latest book is <a href="http://www.scrollpublishing.com/store/index.html">Will The Real Theologians Please Sit Down</a>. I like the focus of this book. Here is the synopsis from the publisher's site:</p>
|
||
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">When Christianity was young, the focus was on Jesus Christ and His kingdom—not theology. To be sure, there are foundational doctrines that Christians have always considered essential to the faith. But somehow the things considered essential have grown from a few sentences to a long list of theological tenets, many of which were unknown to the early Christians. <br /><br />In the beginning, Christians understood that the essence of Christianity was an obedient love-faith relationship with Jesus Christ. This was not just any relationship, but a relationship that produced genuine kingdom fruit. <br /><br />But then something happened: Theologians took over the church. Once they took over, the emphasis soon changed from godly fruit to “orthodox” theology. Christianity became Doctrianity. In this provocative work, Bercot argues that it’s time to let Jesus speak through the pages of the Gospels without filtering His teachings through the denials and mental gymnastics of the theologians. It’s time for the children of the kingdom to stand up for Jesus and the gospel He preached—and for the theologians to sit down. <br /><br /><em>Will The Theologians Please Sit Down </em>will challenge you to the core in your Christian walk. (<a href="http://www.scrollpublishing.com/store/theologians.html">Theologians page</a>.)</p>
|
||
<p> </p>
|
||
<p style="padding-left: 30px;"> </p>
|
||
<p> </p>
|
||
|
||
</td>
|
||
</tr>
|
||
|
||
</table>
|
||
<span class="article_separator"> </span>
|
||
|
||
</td>
|
||
</tr>
|
||
</table>
|
||
<div class="bottom_top"></div>
|
||
<div id="bottom">
|
||
</div>
|
||
</div>
|
||
<div id="footer"><strong>Content View Hits</strong> : 952974<br />
|
||
<script type="text/javascript">
|
||
var pv = new Array(1,0,0,0,1);
|
||
var trdlname = "/downloads";
|
||
//<![CDATA[
|
||
var regex = /\.(?:doc|eps|jpg|png|svg|xls|ppt|pdf|xls|zip|txt|vsd|vxd|js|css|rar|exe|wma|mov|avi|wmv|mp3)($|\&|\?)/;
|
||
//]]>
|
||
var trlkname = "/external/";
|
||
var trmlname = "/mailto/";
|
||
</script>
|
||
<script type="text/javascript" src="http://www.jesuswordsonly.com/modules/mod_analytics/gatr.js"></script>
|
||
<script type="text/javascript">
|
||
var gaJsHost = (("https:" == document.location.protocol) ? "https://ssl." : "http://www.");
|
||
document.write(unescape("%3Cscript src='" + gaJsHost + "google-analytics.com/ga.js' type='text/javascript'%3E%3C/script%3E"));
|
||
</script>
|
||
<script type="text/javascript">
|
||
try {
|
||
var pageTracker = _gat._getTracker("UA-3747914");
|
||
pageTracker._initData();
|
||
pageTracker._trackPageview();
|
||
} catch(err) {}
|
||
</script>
|
||
</div>
|
||
<div class="copyright"></div>
|
||
</div>
|
||
</body>
|
||
</html> |