The Longest Day

Last week, Bill Gallaher wrote this email to me - about the events in Joshua 10. I enjoyed it so much that I asked if I could post it here, and he agreed. So here it is (slightly edited to remove the personal info):

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Since today was Veterans Day, I caught the movie The Longest Day on a movie channel and it reminded me of another longest day -- the passage in Joshua (10:13-17) about the sun and moon standing still. Given my scientific background, I have given that passage a lot of thought over the years.

The passage is sometimes ballyhooed as a point of contention between the Bible and science, but I think this is garbage and that there are several reasonable explanations.

The problem is that God would have to suspend a whole host of natural laws to achieve the literal effect of the sun and moon standing still. Unknown to the ancients, we understand now that the sun does not actually move, but that the earth rotates. The moon does move, but its motion is over a month, not a day, so the earths rotation accounts for the vast majority of its apparent movement as well. So, as we would put it today, the earth would have to stop rotating to achieve the effect stated in the Bible.

Halting the rotation of the earth would cause fairly incredible geophysical effects. The sun would disproportionately heat one side of the earth over the extended day, and cool the other side with extended night, leading to disastrous weather effects. The extended influence of the moon would exacerbate incredible tides on the side of the earth facing the moon for a full day. Secondly, as passengers on the earth we are actually moving at an orbital velocity around the earths center, at our latitude and that of Israel, of about 900 miles an hour (witness our awareness of time zones approximately that width). The deceleration from 900 to zero would kill us all. By this logic, causing the sun and moon to stand still is literally impossible.

There are, however, several solutions to reconcile the Bible with geophysics.

One, quite simply, is that God is God. No limits on what natural laws he can suspend if he wants to. The continuing problem with this solution is that such a dramatic event would surely have been given a prominent mention in the histories of other nations, such as Eqypt, Mesopotamia and China who should have independently observed the effect.

Two, the effect was purely local in nature, one of causing the Israelites to have an altered perception of time, or causing them to essentially extend their motions in time, while the actual sun, moon and the rest of world remained apparently normal to everyone else. Or perhaps everything BUT the Israelites and their foes were arrested in time. This is the solution I favor, since our perceptions of time can vary so dramatically. The one minute before the worship service on Sunday appears to go like lightning, especially if the microphones are malfunctioning, while holding ones breath for one minute seems an eternity. As you know, a moment of silent prayer rarely lasts more than a few seconds before the silence seems interminable, and never a full minute. Without an actual clock to adjust ones perception by an external standard, time can indeed seem to stand still. The literal truth is in the eye of the beholder. The Longest Day was coined by the concept that June 6, 1944 seemed to go on forever in the minds of the combatants, as it certainly must have seemed while they were storming the beaches and then remaining under fire for what must have seemed an eternity.

Third, the language of some phrases in the bible is intended to be purely metaphorical, a form of truth that is not literal truth. This gets one into all sorts of hot water in Biblical interpretation since metaphorical truth is frequently a matter of opinion.

Last, the phrase is not a metaphor but a figure of speech, frequently used in antiquity and today, as also illustrated in The Longest Day. There was special significance in ancient cultures in being able to defeat one enemy in a single day, mentioned a number of times in Assyrian and other accounts. The Battle of San Jacinto also gains in stature in this same way, quick defeat by superior strategy resulting in the liberation of Texas from Mexico. The difficulty here is that it applies to the Bible ordinary standards for literature, rather than the reverence it deserves as the inspired word of God.

That God extended time in answer to Joshua I have no doubt. How he did it is a mystery, but then, after all, he IS God.

Best wishes,

Bill Gallaher

What Makes Someone a Christian?

Last night in our Bible Study, I made a comment to the effect that Mary the mother of Jesus was not always a Christian, and probably was not one before his crucifixion. This sparked an animated debate as most Christians, rightly so, hold Mary in extremely high regard. I explained myself eventually (after the chattering died down) that Mary was first and foremost a Jew who had found favor with God through her Judaism (Luke 1:28&30). But during Jesus' earthly ministry, Mary was not counted among his followers. Not only that - but Jesus at one point seemed to even renounce the fact that she was his mother (Mark 3:31-35). After Christ's resurrection, however, there is little doubt that Mary became a sincere follower of Jesus (Acts 1:14) - and her conversion likely happened earlier, although we cannot be sure of the exact time.

So was Mary at the time of her death? Absolutely... But was she always a Christian? Well - to fully answer that, we needed to look into some other questions: What makes someone a Christian? Can we rightly call anyone a "Christian" during Jesus' lifetime?

We quickly realized that no one living during Jesus' days on earth would have referred to themselves as a "Christian." In Acts 11:26, we read that the name "Christian" was not used until much later - and it was first applied to the church in Antioch. During Jesus' day, they were just called "disciples" or "followers."

So what does "Christian" mean? Well - I looked it the etymology of the word this morning, and at its most basic - it simply means "like Christ" - so used as a noun, it would mean "someone like Christ." In my opinion, that's what makes a person a Christian - being like Christ - or at the very least - striving to be like Christ. Over time, we have appended many other things to this basic definition, some good, and some not so good, but in the end, the test for whether someone is a Christian - is if they are striving to be like Christ - to act like him - and to think like him. Let that be our standard...

How does Mark end?

The gospel of Mark ends rather abruptly, or at least it does in the earliest versions we have. At the end of Mark 16:8, we read that the women who met the angel at Jesus' tomb were "trembling and bewildered" and "said nothing to anyone because they were afraid." While many Bibles include verses 9-20, scholars have determined that the earliest manuscripts we can find, as well as many witnesses from the 2nd century, do not include these verses in their versions or commentaries.

This then raises the question of Mark's original intent. Did he mean to leave us hanging - not meeting the risen Jesus - and just with the note that the women were afraid? Or did he have a longer ending that was somehow lost? Or did he just never finish it for one reason or another? We can't be certain. Even the ancient scholars, much closer to the original, do not know the answers. The general consensus, however, is that Mark did not intend for his gospel to end in fear.

So if verses 9-20 were not written by Mark, it brings up the question: What should we do with them? Should we consider them an accurate account, just written by someone else (much as scholars see John 7:53-8:11 - the woman caught in adultery)? Or was this some person's attempt to "correct" the problem - even though they weren't specifically led to by the Holy Spirit?

Most of the additional verses just seem to be repetition of verses and passages that appear in other gospels, except for v17-18, which list the "signs" that will accompany the gospel. v18 in particular is questionable, because it lists "picking up snakes" and "drinking deadly poison" without being harmed as 2 of the signs that will "accompany those who believe." Do I believe God can do these things? Absolutely. But should we try them - and thus put these words to the test? I, for one, never will - unless I am explicitly led to by the Holy Spirit for an evangelistic purpose.

Maybe one day we'll know the final answer to this - but one thing I can say for sure - is that textual problems like this do not shake my faith in Jesus Christ - or in the Bible.

The House of Prayer

In Mark 11:15-17, we read of the time when Jesus cleared the Temple. He was enraged by all the buying and selling going on - and especially the merchants who were abusing the system that God had set up in Deuteronomy 12 - where those who traveled to Jerusalem from afar could purchase their sacrifices at the Temple - instead of bringing them all the way from home.

But it seems the part that really got to Jesus - was that the business of buying and selling - had gotten in the way of the true purpose of the Temple - to be a "House of Prayer for all nations" - as he put it.

Right now, our church is in the midst of the annual stewardship campaign. And while I thoroughly believe in stewardship - and do not mind preaching on it - there's also a part of me that wishes I never had to - that people simply understood the concepts - and didn't need any cajoling or encouragement to give more... Sometimes I get the feeling that our emphasis on money - or the time spent on the administration of the church - gets in the way of the true business of the church: to be a House of Prayer - to be a Sanctuary of Worship - to be a Community of Fellowship and Learning.

But don't get me wrong - because I know the finances and administration are important. They just aren't the most important thing a church does. They are supporting players - things that must be in place - and running smoothly - for ministry to be effective.

I pray that we never get to the point where such drastic action is needed - like what Jesus did at the Temple. I pray that any church I am a part of - will take great strides to keep the Main Thing the Main Thing. I pray that God will honor our attempts to manage a ministry - and that he will look past our tendency to let the things of this world - get in the way of our true purpose as a church: To Love and Serve our Lord and Savior.