THE MASTER OF MY FATE AND THE CAPTAIN OF MY SOUL

By Dr. M. R. Dowler

On Monday morning, June 11, 2001, 33-year old Timothy James McVeigh was executed for the April 1995 bombing of the Alfred P Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City in which 168 people died. Prior to his execution, McVeigh, unremorseful to the end prepared a final statement. That statement is the focus of today’s theology lesson.

The unfathomable tragedy of September 11^th has all but overshadowed the carnage of Oklahoma City five years before, but the final chapter of the Murrah bombing came with McVeigh’s execution by lethal injection at the Federal Prison at Terre Haute Indiana. Timothy McVeigh’s final words were the last two lines of a poem entitled Inviticus written in 1875 by William Ernest Henley. After his execution, the warden read the chilling words---“I am the master of my fate; I am the captain of my soul.”

But the question is---Are we as humans the masters of our fate and captains of our eternal souls? The Christian doctrine of salvation is divided between two belief systems; Calvinism and Arminianism. The fundamental tenets of Calvinism is divine sovereignty and predestination---God decided all those who will possess salvation in eternity past (Romans 8:29; Ephesians 1:4-5). Arminianism goes the opposite direction---God leaves the decision of salvation up to each individual person; AKA human free will (Romans 10:9; John 5:39-40).

Theologically, humans cannot be genuinely human without free will. And free will has a part in the age-old question of evil in the world. In order for God to prevent evil in the world, He would have had to made us differently; i.e. with absolutely no say-so. Simply stated, God created us with the ability to choose. But choice involves the possibility of rejection. The Bible tells us to choose (Deuteronomy 30:19; Joshua 24:15; Isaiah 1:18-19). God did not make us as mindless robots. By giving us the ability (and obligation) to choose between heaven and hell, good and evil He is not robbed of His sovereignty. Timothy McVeigh chose his behavior and paid the consequence of his choice (Galatians 6:7-8). His evil was not God’s fault. Think about it.

THE LION SEAL AND THE HOLY SPIRIT

By Dr M. R. Dowler

In 2012 the discovery of an ancient coin-like seal at Beth Shemesh in the Judean hills of Israel was reported in the news and technical journals around the world. The stone object, slightly smaller than a penny depicts a crude engraving of a large feline attacking a long-haired unarmed man. Some biblical archaeologists were excited at the find because it seems to be the only tangible validation of the biblical story of Samson killing a lion with his bare hands.

Not everyone is convinced of the authenticity of the object named the Lion Seal. But archaeologists connected with the Beth Shemesh dig make two salient points---one, the coin dates to the Eleventh Century BC matching the same time of Samson’s life; and two, Beth Shemesh (and the Sorek River valley where the coin was found) lies near Zorah, Samson’s hometown. If this stone object is indeed a crude rendering of Samson’s famous fight with the large feline, it also points to a valid theological principle.

Pneumatology is the study of the person and work of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is undoubtedly the most misunderstood and least appreciated member of the Trinity. And whereas the Holy Spirit performs many tasks in the lives of all born-again believers, there are several areas of doctrinal disagreement among sincere believers. One particular area of contention concerns the indwelling of the Spirit versus the temporary resting of the Spirit.

Theologically, at present the Holy Spirit indwells all believers (Romans 8:9; 1 Corinthians 3:16; Ephesians 3:16). In Old Testament times, the Holy Spirit merely rested on the believer. Simply stated, the Holy Spirit was not a permanent resident in the lives of Old Testament saints (Judges 3:10; 6:34; 11:29; 14:6, 19 and 15:14-15). The Lion Seal may validate the story of the Holy Spirit resting “upon” the Israelite strongman in a time of imminent danger (Judges 14:5-6), but we today can rejoice in His constant indwelling presence. Think about it. 

A ROCK THAT CHANGED THE BIBLICAL WORLD

By Dr. M. R. Dowler

The Negev Desert of southern Israel is a stark, formidable place bordered by the lifeless Dead Sea. Comprising over half (55%) of the total landmass of Israel, the Negev is a dry rocky desert with little vegetation and many caves naturally carved into the high rock formations throughout its 4,700 square mile area. One interesting anomaly to be found in the Negev is the Bedouin shepherds and goat herders living their nomadic life for thousands of years in the harshest of conditions. It is to those Bedouins we focus our attention.

In November 1947 the single most important discovery of ancient scripture manuscripts was made at Qumran near the Dead Sea. The story goes that a Bedouin boy named Juma was startled to hear the sound of breaking pottery after throwing a rock into a cave while looking for a lost goat. Calling to his two adult cousins, a number of scrolls were discovered inside the cave wrapped in linen and stored in clay pots. The scrolls, 972 in total and aptly named the Dead Sea Scrolls is the oldest source manuscript of the Bible and is believed to have been hidden sometime during the second century BC by a group of Jewish separatists called the Essenes.

God has supernaturally preserved His words in the original manuscripts of the Holy Scriptures (Isaiah 40:8; Matthew 5:18). The Westminster Confession of Faith of 1646; still recited in some churches states that the Bible was “by His singular care and providence kept pure in all ages.” The paper pages of the Book may be burned (as many have over the centuries), but the message of the Book can never be destroyed (Matthew 24:35; Luke 16:17).

The Bible is not an ordinary book. It is active (Hebrews 4:12) and working in a world that predominately ignores and ridicules it. Theologically, the doctrine of preservation must be approached by faith, grounded in the fundamentals and passed on by followers. Simply stated, God preserves what He inspires. We can trust the scriptures to be the very words and thoughts of God to us. Our eternal destiny was changed by Jesus the Rock (Acts 4:11; 1 Peter 2:6-8) and our biblical world was enhanced by a boy named Juma with his rock. Think about it. 

THE SUSPENSION OF DISBELIEF

By Dr. M. R. Dowler

Did you ever notice that in the comic books no one ever figured out that Clark Kent and Superman was the same person? I mean, Superman didn’t wear a mask (like Batman) and Clark wore his Superman costume under his suit; but the only facial difference between the two was that Clark Kent wore glasses and his alter-ego didn’t. And Lois Lane, Jimmy Olson and Perry White couldn’t figure that out? But how is it that we accepted the “logic” of this in the comics, television and the movies?

Or what about the action movie where the lead character is able to shoot eighty-five bad guys with a pistol holding only fifteen bullets all while firing at full gallop unscathed while the bad guys are spraying him with a machine gun? Funny when you really think about it. And we all know that the magician doesn’t really cut the woman half, or a make the elephant disappear on stage. As much as we pride ourselves in our intelligence and common sense, sometimes we willingly accept the illogical and unbelievable.

The Suspension of Disbelief is an expression not readily familiar to most, but if you enjoy magic, the movies or fiction, you have experienced the suspension of disbelief. The expression Suspension of Disbelief, AKA Cognitive Estrangement was coined in 1817 by English author Samuel Taylor Coleridge to describe that belief in the unbelievable and the willing surrender of logical thinking. While we can occasionally “check-out” mentally for the sake of entertainment, when it comes to theology, the suspension of disbelief is a dangerous practice.

The Prolegomena is a fancy-schmanzy theology word meaning preliminary assumptions. Simply stated, the prolegomena is what we know before we believe. The Bible begins with an assumed belief in God (Genesis 1:1); that’s the prolegomena; and faith itself is based on the presumed belief in the existence of God (Hebrews 11:6). There are some who claim they do not believe in God or His mighty acts (Psalm 14:1; 53:1). The Bible describes their suspension of disbelief as “willingly ignorant” (2 Peter 3:5). Psst…spoiler alert---God’s not dead. He really exists. Think about it.