by Andrew Corbett | Apr 3, 2019 | Theology
Language is more than just words. Each time I travel to another country where English is not the national language, I like to learn a few phrases in that language to help me get by. The hardest language I have attempted is Vietnamese. I was quite proud that I had learned the phrase- “How much is this?” and found that amazingly I was understood by the first Vietnamese shopkeeper I tried it on. But then my limited grasp of Vietnamese was exposed when the shopkeeper responded in Vietnamese (with words that meant nothing to me)! Like many Asian dialects, it not only uses sounds, it also uses tones. Depending on how you say a word, like “ma” will determine whether you are referring in Vietnamese to your mother or a family ghost! When we try to understand a foreign language from the perspective of our familiar language we make certain assumptions that will actually hinder us from both appreciating the foreign language and translating it correctly.
by Andrew Corbett | Jan 19, 2019 | Theology
One of the most contentious issues among Christians today is the age of the universe. Is it 6000 years old like 17th century Bishop Ussher calculated, or is it around 13,000,000,000 years old like scientists say? How we determine the answer determines how we interpret the Bible and understand the world around us.
The opening verse of Genesis is perhaps the most famous, and probably the most read, verse in the Bible. It is so plain, so clear, so unambiguous, that nearly every English translation of the Scriptures for the past 400 years has rendered it identically. Of all the statements that God could have chosen to utter first in His revelation to mankind, He gave us this one. Little wonder. If this statement is proven to be false then the entire credibility of the Bible is undermined. But if this statement is found to be true its ramifications are infinite!
by Andrew Corbett | Nov 19, 2018 | Theology
I have a son who thinks he is the world’s best speller. It’s actually become a family joke just how bad his spelling is though. In his 5th year of elementary school, he couldn’t see the irony of how he had labelled his Spelling Workbook – ‘Speeling.’ Even now, at pre-tertiary level, Tiger (my son) still struggles with spelling. I have to read and re-read what he has written in order to figure out which word he is actually trying to use.
So if you saw the mis-spelt word b a i r in your child’s schoolwork how would you determine what he or she meant? Did he/she mean bare or bear? If your child meant bear, which bear did they mean? After all, if they meant bare they could have meant: empty (the cupboard was bare), or: naked (bare shoulders sometimes need covering), or, they could mean: show (bare one’s teeth). But then, if they meant bear they could mean: an animal, or to turn (bear left), or to carry (bear a burden). The only way you could determine what your child means would be to read the context of what they had written. This is because words are generally equivocal- the context determines it’s meaning.
by Andrew Corbett | Oct 21, 2018 | Theology
The Doctrine of Perspicuity says that God has given mankind His message in the Scriptures which can be clearly understood. That is, if a person was just to read the Bible they would understand its message. But there is a counter-doctrine known as the Doctrine of Perspicacity which says that mankind’s sinful heart will always tend to distort what God is clearly saying. This is why the formation of Creeds was both necessary and possible.
At the establishment of the Church in the first century, copies of the Scriptures were not readily available. The truth of Scripture was encapsulated into short memorable sayings. There are traces of these credal statements to be found in the New Testament. Examples are found in First Corinthians 15:3-4, First Timothy 1:15, Second Timothy 2:11, and Titus 3:4-7.
by Andrew Corbett | Aug 28, 2018 | Theology
When it comes to the revelation of salvation: Sola Scriptura (the Scriptures alone). When it comes to the identity of the Saviour: Solo Christo (“Christ Alone!”) When it comes to the cause of salvation: Sola Gratia (Grace Alone!). And now – “Faith alone!” Against the backdrop of a State Church, which taught that salvation was earned by a person’s righteous efforts, the Reformers reaffirmed the Biblical position that salvation was received by faith, not works.
by Andrew Corbett | Aug 28, 2018 | Theology
When it comes to the revelation of salvation: Sola Scriptura (the Scriptures alone). When it comes to the identity of the Saviour: Solo Christo (“Christ Alone!”) When it comes to the cause of salvation: Sola Gratia (Grace Alone!). “Grace alone!” Perhaps the most abhorrent and repulsive summary of the most sublime news anyone could ever herald.
Abhorrent? Indeed. We are so conditioned to earn every merit or reward that comes our way that the concept of someone else paying our debt with no thought of seeking any form of payment is truly abhorrent. Repulsive? Certainly. The attitude of “I got myself into this mess and I’ll get myself out of it!” is so entrenched in most people’s thinking that the notion of another exhausting all their resources to rescue us- and then making no demand for any kind of repayment is indeed repulsive! Yet that which most find abhorrent and repulsive is the core of the Gospel: God’s grace.
