Category: Reports

November 2010 Tyrannus Report

“The Canonization of the Bible”

“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness…” (2Ti 3:16)

Academy Attendants

Our November Tyrannus Academy was an extension of the previous topic: “What are the critiques of the Bible via the postmodern world view?” This academy was in response to the postulations of “Who gave the Bible its authority?”, or “Why does the Bible have to set absolutes?” This led to our November Academy topic entitled: “The Canonization of the Bible” presented by Melissa Christopher. This lecture outlined how the Bible came to be. Melissa outlined the historical establishment of the OT canon and the NT canon. We learned that acceptance of the Scripture is determined by inspiration meaning that canonicity is determined by God and is discovered by men.

Among the points discussed:

The formation of the OT
The meticulous care of the source documents by Hebrew scribes
The Septuagint (The account of the 72 scribes that transcribed from Hebrew to Greek.)
The comparison of source documents such as those between the Masoretic era (dated 500-1000AD) and the Dead Sea scrolls (dated 1000-500BC) which were recently discovered in 1946

The formation of the NT
The New Testament manuscript is the best attested book from the ancient world (The number of original NT manuscripts is 5,366.)
The books were established from the apostolic era (50-95AD); the necessity of establishing the canon was to defend against other philosophies, the existence of heretical threats, and persecutions

Andrew Christopher

Melissa Christopher

Melissa also presented key historical dates about the translations of the Bible. All in all, Christians have 27 NT books. Catholic Christians accept the 46 OT books from the Greek Septuagint. Protestant Christians accept the older 39 OT books from the Hebrew Palestinian cannon. (Jews have the same OT canon as the Protestant Christians.) Afterwards, we had an open forum on the points of contention on the authenticity of the Bible and the reliability of translations.

“Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.” (Acts 17:11)

After the presentation, David Jumeau gave a Bible message based on Acts 17:11. The Bereans were of nobler character not because they were more cultured or more dignified compared to the Thessalonians (not to say that they were); they were noble because of their scholarly attitude in their Bible study. They did not take Paul’s preaching at face value. They eagerly studied the Scriptures and verified what Paul said was true. Because of their attitude towards the Scriptures, they came to believe in the gospel and had personal faith– not because someone told them, but because it was confirmed with the word of God. In order to discover Biblical truth, we must put in the effort to study the Bible diligently and practice its teachings in order to really understand its meaning.

Our Tyrannus Academies are inspired from the Apostle Paul’s discourse in the hall of Tyrannus in Ephesus during his missionary journey to reveal the gospel of Jesus Christ. (Acts 19) Our lectures are designed to tackle current issues of society so that we may answer the question of the reason of our hope in God. (1Pe 3:15)

October Tyrannus Report: A Talk on Postmodernism

Postmodern Challenges to the Bible

“Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’” – John 14:6

Philip Wong

Jason Northey

Academy Attendees

We live in a post-modern generation. Christians hear many things like “I don’t believe in organized religion”, “That’s good for you, what I believe is good for me”, etc. Jason Northey and Philip Wong gave a presentation on the topic on the challenge of post-modernism, and about it’s origin and it’s characteristics. They explored many of the post-modern arguments from a theoretical, historical, and existential context based on Amy Orr-Ewing’s chapter on the book “Beyond Opinion” [Ravi Zacharias Ministries] . As we examined these questions, we learned that many of their arguments cannot hold when applied to itself. For example, relativism can be applied to all world views, but it cannot hold when applied to itself. We realized that the post-modernist argument are valid questions that Christians should address and can provide an answer for. There is no need to have a pessimistic attitude in viewing our present generation. Rather, it is an opportunity for dialogue with students to discuss what the Bible really says. It is necessary for Christians to practically live as Jesus’ disciple to show the world that a life of faith is the difference. The gospel message is the universal truth which touches the lives of all people, different races, and different cultures.

Post-modernist Questions

A Sample Response

John Giesbrecht gave a testimonial message based on John 14:6. Though he was raised in a Christian family, he questioned his faith and decided to live free from the constraints of a “Christian” lifestyle. But he soon discovered that being “free” could not help him practically live an ideal moral life. Through an invitation to Bible study, he rediscovered Christ as the way, the truth and the life. By God’s grace, he accepted Christ newly and has been living a life of mission dedicated to help students with the truth of God.

We also had a wonderful testimony given by brother Nicholas, and the Montreal UBF Ensemble performed such a high quality instrumental piece we felt as if we were attending a concert at the OSM.

After our Q&A session, a question emerged on how the Bible came to be. Therefore, our next Bible Academy will discuss how the Bible canon progressed into its current form.

God and Science

September 2010 Tyrannus Academy Report

Nasa photo Source: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/spitzer/multimedia/pia13409.html

You may view Francis Collins’ speech here.

Source: http://storiesforspeakers.blogspot.com/2009/07/dr-francis-collins-shares-awesome.html

Sometimes we are confronted with conflicting issues during our studies at university. According to the scientific and academic community, as well as in the media, it is assumed that science is the basis of discovering truth and generally discounts the existence of God. What can science tell us and what is science incapable of telling us about life? A critique of Dr. Stephen Hawking’s new book “The Grand Design” helps us to understand the difficulties of understanding questions of origin and meaning through only a physical science approach. In fact how does atheistic science “explain away” the evidence a designed universe? Though S. Andrew’s lecture, we learned that despite such arguments, the evidence of God’s work of creation speaks for itself in the universe and in biology.

Andrew Christopher

There is a clash of world views happening. The Bible world view states of the existence of a personal God who created the universe. Human beings are created in the image of God and thus we have an inherent value that is non-negotiable. On the atheistic world view, they perceive that human beings are not so special. Stephen Hawking said, “Philosophy is dead… so it seems that we are no more than biological machines and that free will is just an illusion.” Their world view is based on the material. There is no recognition of the spiritual.

Despite all the knowledge that science has provided, no science can tell us the meaning of our existence. In short, they cannot answer the “Why?” of our existence. Andrew gave an illustration of a woman named Matilda who baked a cake. A group of the world’s top scientists studied all aspects of the cake from its general form all the way down to its molecular structure. However, can they determine why Aunt Matilda made the cake by scientific analysis? No. She can only reveal it according to her will. Likewise, God chose to reveal the “Why” through the revelation of the word of God in the Bible. We could learn about God’s love and design through the Creation, and through the miraculous incarnation of Jesus Christ.

Furthermore, we examined several postulations from various fields of science. We examined evidences from biology, evidences from cosmology and physics, and the rationality of science. We give thanks to prof. John Lennox for his structure of apologetics of this great theme.

Sylvia Na

After S. Andrew’s lecture, S. Sylvia Na gave her message based on Psalms 8. When we perceive the ultimate vastness of the stars and heavens that God created, how could a Great and Glorious God care about me? When David considered the greatness of God, he had to ask: How can a Great God care about puny men? Man tries to picture themselves as an advanced technological society, but the reality of the darkness of the nature of man is ever more clearly revealed. Man without God are, in reality, violent and restless wanderers in this world. Then, what does God see in us? Why would he send Jesus to bring redemption for mankind? Sending Christ is proof of God’s care for us in a personal way. God’s word to us is proof of his care for us to guide us into the path of righteousness. The proof is, though we are infinitesimal compared to the universe, God created us. We are fearfully and wonderfully made. Humans are created by God to be caretakers of God’s world. When we consider God in our lives, we can give thanks for his wonderful love for us. Science cannot answer: “Why?” “Why did God make these things?” “Why did God make me in this particular time?” Through the study of God’s word, may we meet Him and He will explain to us and will tell us what we have to do in our lives. When we carry out God’s mission, our lives become full of purpose and meaning.

Special Song

Our next Tyrannus Academy will be held on October 29th, 2010 at our Bible house. Our theme will be based on Post-modernism.

University Bible Fellowship - Montreal Chapter

Église de la communion biblique universitaire - Montréal