In This WorldDavid Tatesong of solomon, song of songs, solomon, romance, dating, marriage, sex, bible study, biblical love, christian love, study, bible2 Comments

The God Who Designs and Defines Love

In This WorldDavid Tatesong of solomon, song of songs, solomon, romance, dating, marriage, sex, bible study, biblical love, christian love, study, bible2 Comments
The God Who Designs and Defines Love

I know I haven’t posted on here in a while.

That’s my bad. With the busy-ness of seminary and working at my church and leading Bible studies and trying to stay somewhat in-shape and socializing and trying to get at least a few hours of sleep a night, I haven’t had much extra time to be writing, and what free time I have had, I have spent researching for a series of videos I am preparing for my YouTube channel.

That being said, beginning this week, the fruits of that labor will hopefully begin to pour fourth. Starting today, I am launching the video series, “David on Dating” (or D.O.D., a play on dod, one of the Hebrew words for love), which, good Lord willing, I am hoping to post on a weekly basis. The series will cover subjects such as love, attraction, dating, marriage, sex, communication, and conflict, and will essentially consist of us walking through one of the least-talked-about books of the Bible, the Song of Songs (or the Song of Solomon), which just so happens to be my favorite book of the Bible. In some weeks we will step out of the Song to spend more time exploring what else the Bible has to say about certain subjects we encounter along the way, but I’m really excited to see where the series leads, and hope that it will provide useful information for young Christians who long to stay true to God in their blossoming relationship, yet are left confused by the mixed messages so often sent by both culture and the church alike.

That being said, below is the first video, which is simply an introduction to the series: The God who is love is the God who designed love, and therefore He should be the one who defines loves. Therefore, if we want to have godly, pure, and satisfying relationships, the first step is to make sure we are in good standing with God. If we want to relate rightly to one another, we must first relate rightly to God. If we want to love rightly, we must first come to know Him who fashioned love in the first place.

I’m really excited for these videos, and hope you will join me in the journey! Once again, sorry for going MIA for so long, but hopefully you will come to see that I haven’t simply been inactive!

David introduces us to D.O.D. (David on Dating), a new video series that will cover subjects like attraction, dating, sex, marriage, conflict, and communication. In this video, David reminds us that before we can even enter the discussion on romantic relationships, we must first get our relationship with God right, since He is the Author, Creator, and Sustainer of love.

To Infinity and Beyond, In This WorldDavid Tategender roles, christianity, bible study, imago dei, masculine god, christ, bible, man and woman, complimentarianismComment

Resurrecting God the Father

It is essential to my argument that I begin today’s writing with a disclaimer:

** Before even beginning to address specific gender roles as they are outlined in the Bible – especially as it pertains to why God is consistently, throughout the biblical narrative, referred to with male pronouns – we must establish that we are discussing things from a strictly Christian perspective. It is easy to object to the biblical ideas of masculinity and femininity when considering the sinfulness of man and the oppression that submission might so easily espouse within power-hungry and demeaning individuals, but we must accept, going into the argument, that we are speaking from the ideal as established by God in His creation of man. In this, we must discuss matters such as submission, sacrifice, headship, and leadership not according to the negative connotations established by a prideful and lustful society, but rather according to the biblical standard to which we all must strive. When you give a man a gun, he may use it to either protect or to slay – we may guide him towards the former, but the option by which he uses it is up to him. All rules and roles in any governance or society stand the possibility of being abused; the Bible seeks to establish gender roles in a manner that is holy and set apart, glorifying to God for the betterment of mankind. A rational and concise conversation regarding such matters is impossible if we do not first establish a stable worldview which we can then extrapolate. Thus, for the purposes of this article, it is my request that we set aside secular ideologies and rather read the “He” of God the Father according to the Biblical context, that we might better understand Christian ideals and even more greatly come to grasp the beauty of God’s love towards us. **

I will begin my argument by stating this: God is spirit. Of course, He stepped into the flesh via the person of Jesus Christ and thus lived on the earth for approximately thirty-three and a half years as a Middle Eastern man, but from eternity past to eternity future God is, according to His divine nature, spirit. Thus, He is neither male nor female; however, the way in which God manifests Himself is masculine in nature, in that he designed man as an image meant to reflect Him. Therefore my thesis is that our use of the pronouns “He,” “Him,” “His,” etc. are essential in comprehending our own selves in relationship to God.

To Infinity and Beyond, In This WorldDavid Tategender roles, christianity, bible study, imago dei, masculine god, christ, bible, man and woman, complimentarianismComment
Resurrecting God the Father
In This WorldDavid Tatein this world not of it, john 17, christians and culture, pharisees sadducees essenes, pharisees, sadducees, essenes, counter culturalComment

Christians and Culture

How should a Christian interact with the world?

There are many books that could be written and have been written on this subject, but for today I want to somewhat briefly (although not too briefly) give a brief overview of my attempt at an answer to this question, motivated by an assignment I was working on this morning for one of my seminary classes. In order to do so, however, I want to introduce you to the three primary parties of Jews who were running around during the life and times of Jesus circa-first century AD. (The reason for this will soon be evident.)

The Pharisees. These, we can call the Scribes. They were the people’s people, primarily middle-class, who adhered to the entire Old Testament (Tanakh) and strived to live a holy life in their current society. They were the largest sect of the Jews, and are largely the spiritual fathers of modern Judaism.

The Sadducees. These, we can call the Priests. They were the upper-class, priestly sect of Jews, liberal in their mindset and more willing to sacrifice doctrine for the sake of embracing Gentile culture. They only adhered to the first five books of the Old Testament (Torah), and had become largely corrupted by their longing for political and socio-economic gain.

The Essenes. These, we can call the Monks. Out of disgust for both the Pharisees and Sadducees, they retreated into the desert to live a monastic lifestyle of religious piety and extreme devotion. In addition to the Old Testament, they adapted many more teachings, committing to strict dietary laws and a commitment to celibacy.

In This WorldDavid Tatein this world not of it, john 17, christians and culture, pharisees sadducees essenes, pharisees, sadducees, essenes, counter culturalComment
Christians and Culture
In This WorldDavid Tatereckless love, is god reckless, love, bible, bible study, worship music, david lee tate sr1 Comment

My God Is Not Reckless

It is no secret that I'm not a huge fan of the song "Reckless Love." That's a soap box I could stand on for hours, defining terms and breaking down how we can't allow our preference for a catchy tune to allow us to embrace what is, at best, shaky theology. I could quote Scriptures and cite evidence after evidence demonstrating that God's love is anything but reckless, and I have done so to exhaustion many times in the past. (I have refrained from doing so on this website, mainly because people's defenses of the song are largely emotional in nature, and so I would prefer to have a face-to-face conversation with them.)

It's no secret that I'm not a fan of the song, but it wasn't until my father passed away last week that I truly began to process the practical ramifications of such shaky theology. Prior to last week, my opposition to calling God "reckless" was more so a result of zeal for correct doctrine and sober worship; now, however, my opposition is from the stance of someone whose present hope and present joy is rooted firmly in the fact that God is not reckless. If I am wrong, my hope, my joy, and my peace is built on a house of cards, and my faith is in vain.

In This WorldDavid Tatereckless love, is god reckless, love, bible, bible study, worship music, david lee tate sr1 Comment
My God Is Not Reckless
In This WorldDavid Tatedon't let anybody steal your joy, joy, fruit of the spirit, david l tate sr1 Comment

The Greatest Lesson My Dad Ever Taught Me

Joy. It’s a funny word, isn’t it?

C.S. Lewis defined joy as “an unsatisfied desire which is itself more desirable than any other satisfaction.” My personal definition of joy is “grace accepted.” When my dad would get up and head out to work, he would always look at me, smile, and say, “Be sure to keep a smile on your face and don’t let anybody steal your joy.” I always loved that, and I even passed that phrase on to my junior high, high school, and college students, so that every time they leave one of my Bible studies, I will say, “Keep a smile on your face,” to which they will respond, “And don’t let anybody steal your joy.”

All my life, my dad reminded me to find joy in all circumstances. When things are going easy, find joy. When times get tough, find joy. In the wake of my dad’s passing, I’ve been left pondering about joy and trying to figure out what it really, truly is. In the nine days since my dad was unexpectedly and quickly taken from me, I’ve realized that I no longer have him to remind me to find joy. In the time when I need his reminder the most, my dad is no longer here to encourage me towards joyfulness. In the time when there is nothing I desire more than to hear him say that phrase again, I recognize that his voice will become fainter and fainter to my memory with each passing day. In time, I won’t even remember how he said it.

In This WorldDavid Tatedon't let anybody steal your joy, joy, fruit of the spirit, david l tate sr1 Comment
The Greatest Lesson My Dad Ever Taught Me