Should We Eliminate Books of the Bible that Don't Line Up with the Rest of It?

I have read that Martin Luther wanted to exclude the epistle of James from the canon of Scripture, probably because of one apparent contradiction between James and Paul on justification by works vs faith. Should we be willing to exclude one of our holy writings as a result of contradictions or other evidence?

First off, Luther was wrong to want to omit James, because there is no contradiction. James isn’t saying that works save you - he is saying works prove you ARE saved (See James 2:14-26). 

We believe that God wrote the Bible, and we believe God put it all together - all 66 divinely inspired books God made certain were put into one volume. Read God Wrote a Book by James MacDonald for an excellent answer to this, particularly chapter 2.

Jesus On Tour: The Prophecy of Denial (Mark 14:26-31) - Read before 2/15!

1 Corinthians 10:12: Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall.

The Apostle Paul wrote this some time after the events of Mark 14:26-31. But I imagine Peter (and the other disciples), looking back, wished that he (they) heard this and took it to heart during this occasion.

And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

And Jesus said to them, "You will all fall away, for it is written, 'I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.' But after I am raised up, I will go before you to Galilee."

Peter said to him, "Even though they all fall away, I will not."

And Jesus said to him, "Truly, I tell you, this very night, before the rooster crows twice, you will deny me three times." 

But he said emphatically, "If I must die with you, I will not deny you." And they all said the same. (Mark 14:26-31)

This passage comes right off of Mark’s recounting the behind-the-scenes events of Judas betraying Jesus for 30 pieces of silver. It seems that Judas wasn’t the only one who had loyalty issues. (You know how this passage turns out, right? Jesus was correct.) So what’s the difference between Peter (and co) and Judas?

Jesus gives a prophecy and a word of encouragement in the same sentence. Yes, they will fall away. But the promise of the Galilee rendezvous shows that they will be restored. There is a difference between someone who whole-heartedly rejects Jesus (Judas) and a believer who gets caught up in a moment of weakness. Peter’s denial of Jesus was an emotional response to a potentially dangerous situation. Wrong? Yes. Sinful? Yes. But much different than Judas, who we know was never really on board in the first place.

There is a word of caution here for all of us here. How many times have we denied our own potential for weakness? “Other people may fail God. But not me.” Look at the landscape of tragedy even in the church. Affairs. Theft. Gossip. Hatred. Abuse. “Other people may fall in these areas, but I would never!” Making that statement, or even thinking it… you are now in Peter’s shoes from this passage. And the people who DID fall, who sinned, who you are comparing yourself to… they thought the same thing once upon a time, denying their own weakness.

The key here is humility. Pride says, “I am stronger than the average guy. I cannot be tempted as others are.” Humility says, “I am weak. I can be tempted. I am one bad decision away from seriously hurting myself and those around me.”

Humility. Walking with Christ, trusting His strength, one step at a time.

Was That Light an Actual STAR that the Magi Followed?

Was the star the wise men followed really a star? Did it actually move so that they could follow it? The star is a stumbling block for a friend of mine.

Was the star a star like the sun? Well, not exactly, because stars are enormous, and being that close to the earth would have fried everything! Luke 2:9 says the glory of the Lord shone around the angels when they appeared to shepherds. Was THAT the light that was originally seen by the magi? Note that the passage simply describes WHAT happened, not explain HOW it happened. I wasn’t there, so all I can do is read the description gathered from those who were!

Where Do Catholic Beliefs Come From?

If modern-day Catholics have so much information available to show them that many of their beliefs are not in the Bible, why don’t they change their traditions?

This topic boils down to one issue: source of authority. We ALL have a “source of authority”, that is, we all have something from which we draw our beliefs. It can be a book (Bible, Book of Mormon, Koran), church teaching, or even your opinion. The question is: is your source of authority reliable? For example, those who draw their source of authority from their own opinion, I have to ask, “Has your opinion ever been wrong?”

For the Catholic Church, they draw their source of authority from two things: the Bible and church tradition (the latter includes councils, pope decrees, etc). Both hold the weight of authority. And unfortunately, if the church tradition seems to contradict the Bible, the tradition trumps God’s Word. I have discussed such matters with Catholic priests, and the response is simply, “That is what the Catholic church believes.”