It seems our little band of missionaries has a problem. They are in Turkey (only it wasn't called that back then of course), and every time they want to go somewhere, it seems the Lord is blocking their way. They can't go north, and they can't go south. Finally Paul has a dream in which a man appears and tells them to come on over to Macedonia. So they do, and arrive in the town of Philippi where they met Lydia, a local businesswoman (she deals in purple dye, an exceedingly valuable and rare commodity in those days which is why only royalty got to wear it). She converts and so does her whole family, and everyone is happy. Of course, you know that situation isn't going to last long, Paul being who he is. Too bad Lydia and her friends don't have a copy of the New Testament, because I am sure that if they were to read what their new friend Paul was to write to Timothy about not allowing women to have authority over men in the churches, I don't think they'd be too happy with him. To be fair, some scholars now say Paul didn't write that particular letter, but Paul did write quite a few things regarding the role of women that come across as being rather mean-spirited and they have caused no end of pain to this day.
Anyway, the question is, how did Paul and Company know that it was the Lord blocking their progress through Turkey? Well, Luke doesn't tell us. Even the pastor admits he is stumped by that. We don't know, and that's the problem. It's too bad Luke didn't drop us some hints.
So how does one know? It seems that far from being directly guided by the Holy Spirit as were our band of missionaries in the 1st century, we are left to flounder and guess and hope that we guessed correctly. Because, although it hasn't been mentioned much so far, there is another, evil force out there who seeks to thwart our footsteps. So how does one know the difference?
Now the Catholic church has solved this problem in part by declaring that whenever the Pope makes an ex cathedra statement involving faith and morals, he is infallible. So far since that doctrine was announced at Vatican I in 1870, there have been only two ex cathedra statements, both involving Mary, so you see this is not a run of the mill thing. The Mormons have it a little better. Their President is a Prophet and receives direct revelations from God. So if you are a Catholic and the Pope says it or if you are a Mormon and the Mormon President says it, then you can be pretty sure that you are on solid ground. The rest of us, well, too bad. We just have to hope that we are on the right track. You've probably heard of Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle; well, let me introduce you to the Faith Uncertainty Principle.
Now I don't know about you, but it seems that if there is no reliable, consistent way of telling whether we are listening to God or the other guy, then one might as well consult a Magic 8 Ball and get just as good results. Maybe even better. But then, that is the scientist in me.
Anyway, the question is, how did Paul and Company know that it was the Lord blocking their progress through Turkey? Well, Luke doesn't tell us. Even the pastor admits he is stumped by that. We don't know, and that's the problem. It's too bad Luke didn't drop us some hints.
So how does one know? It seems that far from being directly guided by the Holy Spirit as were our band of missionaries in the 1st century, we are left to flounder and guess and hope that we guessed correctly. Because, although it hasn't been mentioned much so far, there is another, evil force out there who seeks to thwart our footsteps. So how does one know the difference?
Now the Catholic church has solved this problem in part by declaring that whenever the Pope makes an ex cathedra statement involving faith and morals, he is infallible. So far since that doctrine was announced at Vatican I in 1870, there have been only two ex cathedra statements, both involving Mary, so you see this is not a run of the mill thing. The Mormons have it a little better. Their President is a Prophet and receives direct revelations from God. So if you are a Catholic and the Pope says it or if you are a Mormon and the Mormon President says it, then you can be pretty sure that you are on solid ground. The rest of us, well, too bad. We just have to hope that we are on the right track. You've probably heard of Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle; well, let me introduce you to the Faith Uncertainty Principle.
Now I don't know about you, but it seems that if there is no reliable, consistent way of telling whether we are listening to God or the other guy, then one might as well consult a Magic 8 Ball and get just as good results. Maybe even better. But then, that is the scientist in me.
