Introduction to the Crystal Navel

I hope to use this blog to communicate those things I run across in
my life that I find interesting and important. I expect some may be
of a political nature but most will probably come from my study of
Scripture. Being a software engineer I may even have a technical
post or two along the way. But, if these come too frequently, I
will probably create another blog for them.

As such I suppose it would be a good idea to start with a little bit
about me so you have an idea of what to expect.

Theological Perspective

I look at myself as a theological conservative.

The church I attend (Salinas Valley Community Church - SVCC) has a
remarkable statement of faith. In addition, you can look at the
Apostle's Creed or the Nicene Creed and get an idea of my
beliefs. Also, the Auburn Affirmation is a pretty good start.

I am not a Biblical Scholar. However, I have done some study over
the years and have run across a number of very interesting things
that I am excited to be able to share with others. I teach an
adult Sundy School class at SVCC and I am grateful for the
opportunity to serve in this way. My classes tend to be Bible
Studies where we take a book verse by verse and do some exegetical
(and sometimes historical) analysis on it. These are fun classes
and we usually have some lively discussions.

But there are any number of things I would not normally have a
chance to share in these classes as they don't necessarily fit
anywhere in the context of a Bible Study. I hope to use this forum
to share many of these things I have run across over the years.

Biblical Inspiration

I believe in the verbal, plenary (complete) inspiration of the
Bible. This is statement enough to scare many people away.
However, there are very good reasons for this.


First, words mean things. If the words are inaccurate then we have
no confidence in what was meant when they were penned.


Charles Hodge wrote:

If the words - priest, sacrifice, ransom, expiation, propitiation,
purification by blood, and the like - have no divine authority, then
the doctrine which they embody has no such authority.


… Christ and his Apostles argue from the very words of
Scripture. Our Lord says that David by the Spirit called the Messiah
Lord, i.e., David used that word. It was in the use of a particular
word, that Christ said (John x. 35), that the Scriptures cannot be
broken. "If he call [sic] them gods unto whom the word of God came,
and the Scriptures cannot be broken," etc. The use of that word,
therefore, according to Christ's view of the Scripture, was
determined by the Spirit of God. Paul, in Gal. iii.16, lays stress
on the fact, that in the promise made by Abraham, a word used is
singular and not plural, "seed," "as of one," and not "seeds as of
many." Constantly it is the very words of Scriptures which are
quoted as of divine authority.


… All these, and similar modes of expression with which the
Scriptures abound, imply that the words uttered were the words of
God. … The words of the prophet were the words of God, or he could
not be God's spokesman and mouth. It has also been shown that in the
most formally didactic passage in the whole Bible on this subject (1
Cor. ii. 10-13), the Apostle expressly asserts that the truths
revealed by the Spirit, he communicated in words taught by the
Spirit.


(Charles Hodge, Systematic Theology (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1986
reprint), 1:164-5. Quoted in Verbal Plenary Inspiration.)

Second, God has promised that His words are inspired and we can
trust them (2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:21; 1 Thessalonians
2:13). This would also include those texts that have been handed
down to us (providential preservation). The texts that we have
available that are provably the closest to the original autographs
are the Masoretic (Hebrew) text and the Textus Receptus (Greek).
The Reformers accepted these as such and modern scholarship has
failed to unseat them (though many scholars wish to use other
manuscripts for a variety of reasons).


Third, as I hope to show in the coming posts, there are a number of
properties found in the texts that indicate a more than human
authorship.

About Controversy

I don't plan on delving deeply into largely controversial topics.
However, that isn't always easy to avoid when dealing with the
Bible. I expect that no matter what topic I come up with someone
(probably several someones) will find it controversial. So, I
don't plan on shying away from controversy, either.


Please note that I don't intend to make anyone uncomfortable.


Well … actually I do. In your discomfort, I hope you take to the
Scriptures to prove me wrong. If you can do that I will change my
views. In any case, by digging into Scripture you win. If I learn
something then I win, too. (Good luck.)

About the Name

I chose the name Crystal Navel primarily because it was
available. :) In addition, I was looking for a name indicating
(apparent) deep thought, meditation, concentration, (hopefully)
deep understanding. Of course, the idea of "navel-gazing" came to
mind but variations on that name were taken already. I kind of
liked the picture of a "crystal ball" as it is widely understood in
our culture but it also has occult connotations so I rejected it.
However, I thought about marrying the two concepts and came up with
the Crystal Navel.

Also, it sounded like a name that would be easy to remember…

Final Caveat

I need to make an admission up front. I am a happy plagiarist.
Most (if not all) of the things I will write about are gleaned from
the writings (and talks/sermons/etc) of others I have come across
over the years.

I may never get to the point where I pen a completely original
thought on these pages. I will try to attribute the original
writers when and where I can. However, I will not be able to
remember where all of the ideas come from. In those cases I
apologize to those I "borrow" from. I just hope that in passing
the information on I can encourage others to do their own homework
and find this kind of study as beneficial as I have.

In the end, don't take anything I say at face value. Do your own
homework and, if you disagree with anything I put here, I only ask
that you know why you disagree. We are all fallible human
beings, after all, and quite capable of being wrong. In our
disagreements may we find the truth.