Institute of Biblical Defense

Everyone believes they live in the real world. We see, feel, taste and smell real things everyday. Therefore, for most of us, this is our reality.

However, most people never confront the nature of their reality. In their eyes, either something is real or it isn’t. Why ask what is real when the answer is apparent and obvious? Although such esoteric questions may occasionally cross their minds, these deep and meaningful questions are more often merely tossed aside. Who has time to investigate the meaning of life and the nature of existence?

Matthew J Coombe, Vice president of the Institute of Biblical Defense proudly announces the beginning of his latest lecture / discussion series entitled, “The Nature of Reality”. Is this series, Matthew will start with the basics and cover, precisely and succinctly, the philosophical foundations of reality: What is truth? What is real? Can we trust what we see, hear, taste and touch?

If you’re in the Seattle area, we invite you to attend the series each Sunday evening at the Grange Hall on Clear Creek road in Silverdale. The first lecture begins at 6pm on February 28th, 2010. If you’re not in the area, the audio version will be available shortly thereafter.

We look forward

Originally posted by IDB Vice President, Matthew J Coombe on mjcoombe.com

Do you think of  yourself as a thankful person? When you give thanks for a delicious meal, are you really thankful? Trying giving the same thanks after fasting for 3 days; You will come to realize that your amount of thankfulness has changed.

How many Christians out there have never fasted? How many even know how to fast?  Try imagining them in an extended fast. I would be shocked if more then 1% of all believers (in North America) have ever experienced any of these. Now, most Christians know what fasting is.  The problem is most don’t understand its function, purpose or its power.

On the other hand, there are those Christians who do know about fasting and its importance, yet do not recall the one rule Jesus had about fasting: keep it a secret. How do I know people are breaking this rule? They tell me they’re fasting.

Lastly, there is the rare group of people that know how to fast, partake in it, but even then do only small 12 hr or 24 hr fasts. Don’t get me wrong, when you have never fasted before 24 hours is quite daunting, but if one has become comfortable and accustomed with such a fast they should challenge themselves to something longer and more difficult.

If you want to know more about fasting, go to my audio page and listen to my sermon on it. If you truly want to be thankful during this holiday season, spend some time fasting!

Originally posted by IBD Vice-president Matt Coombe on mjcoombe.com

I usually don’t like to talk about myself; I especially don’t like to talk about my accolades via a blog … but here goes.

We need to have the capacity to be servants! It is a great notion and fun to think about when Jesus said things like, “Let the first be last and the last first,” and other similar charges, but how often do we act on notions like this? I often get down on myself for selfishness and wish I was a greater servant. But today as I was driving to Starbucks to get some studying done a truck stalled out and became stuck in the road. Without thinking I pulled over got out in the rain and started pushing the truck. I pushed him to the near gas station and then without a word got back into my jeep and continued on my way. Helping the man was nothing of a huge effort and is really not what is crucial to such a story.

What is worth note is when I saw the man in trouble there was no deliberation or thought in my head. I saw a need and met it. True servitude is both thoughtful and mindless. If any of my readers know me, they will be shocked that I am claiming in any sense that it is good to be mindless, but allow me to continue. Thoughtful servitude makes sense. We should be intentional in how we serve and help others and even in some situations plan on how to help and serve. When I say mindless, I mean we should act in all situations as a servant. Our servitude should not come down to deliberation. We should see a need and then meet that need.

Of course this does come with caution. For example, if your friend asks for money and you give it to him and he spends that money getting booze so he can get drunk. If he asks you for money again, you should not mindlessly hand the money over, but rather realize the greater act of servitude would be to not pay for him to sin against God. Therefore, servitude is both thoughtful and mindless. If these are separated servitude becomes less powerful.

I challenge you be a servant today, use your mind to be intentional in your actions, but be mindless in your deliberation to help! Take care, and God bless!

For those of you who enjoy the “Christian World View”, this is one you won’t want to miss. Here Matt Coombe and Dr. Fernandes discuss information I’ve been waiting to hear for quite a while. Bert Ehrman is in view here and the dynamic apologetic duo offer a solid apologetic response to his near atheistic hyper-skepticism. The scriptures of God are defended against those who would bring their accuracy into doubt and the historicity of the Jesus of the Bible is given a solid base in fact. Listen, enjoy, learn.

And now for the long awaited return of Matt Coombe, the vice president of the institute of Biblical Defense, to the teaching podium. In the short talk, Mr. Coombe confronts the “faith” vs “evidence” schools of thought in the Christian community. Does your belief in God, Jesus and the Bible stand on faith, facts, reason or some combination of these.

Listen as Matt gives us his opinion and the biblical reasons for his personal stand.

Originally posted on mjcoombe.com

by Matthew Coombe Vice President of the Institute of Biblical Defense

For the longest time I had considered myself in a way that was not biblical. It wasn’t an overt or intentional evil, but rather pride mistaken for strength. If you’ve ever seen the movie About a Boy, you know that protagonist is playboy with Peter pan syndrome who is not only incorrigible but believes himself to be a pillar of strength and independence. When questioned about the futility of trusting in himself he claims, “Some men are Islands, I am a bloody island!” But throughout the course of the movie he comes to realize his need for others, and eventually learns to love and trust.

I remember the first time I watched this movie, I was completely enthralled with the main character, he was me. The way he thought, the things he said, it was completely me. While the character learned relatively quickly his faults and became more dependent on others, my dependence came about after a much greater amount of time.

The two scripture verses I first memorized were both centered on dependence. One on God, and one on other believers. Nahum 1:7 “The LORD is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble, and He knows those who take refuge in him. “ If a single thesis can be gleaned from the entirety of the Old Testament it is God claiming, “I alone am worthy of worship.” Of all the things that worship entails it must occupy some dependence. Worship means “worthship” when you worshiping something you are claiming its ultimate worth. But words alone are not that significant, true worship is entailed by actions. And in order to react to God’s single thesis and worship Him, we must be dependent on Him. True worship cannot exist if one is claiming independence for they have not understood God’s single thesis—independence is self-worship.

The other verse was Proverbs 27:17, “As Iron sharpens Iron so one man sharpens the countenance of his friends.” This proverb contends the reader to surround himself with trusted people who can lift him when he falls, be some light when it is dark. It is a call for dependence on others.

Is independence then without effect? Absolutely not! It does however need to be focused! The independence the LORD blessed/cursed me with has become one of my greatest strengths, but only when it is directed at him. Even in scripture we see the interesting dichotomy of people who are both very dependent and independent. For example Paul, he is so focused on the will of God that he says things like, “I will try to find a way in the will of God to come and see you.” He is always talking about his concern for the church and specific people, but he was likewise able to do much of his ministry alone. He had found and continued on in the perfect balance.

Through years of breaking me, I have started to understand this balance. I now start my days with a prayer, “Lord I declare my absolute dependence on you.” This is good. But I need to learn to be dependent on God’s people too. I challenge you, examine yourself, of what do you trust and are dependent on? What is that source’s worthship?

Finally, The Christian World View is back on the air.  Wasting no time, Dr. Fernandes and Matt Coombe get right to the most relevant issues in the apologetics today.  In this episode, the questionable New Testament criticisms of Bart Ehrman Ph.D., chair of the Religious Studies department at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, are analyzed in light of modern scholarship.

Not scared to be honest and tough, Dr. Fernandes and Matt Coombe defend the Christian faith using the latest modern scholarship.  Find out who Bart Ehrman is, why he believes what he believes, where he comes from and how he draws his controversial conclusions. One by one, Ehrman’s criticisms about the unreliability of the New Testament manuscripts are tackled head-on.

Don’t be fooled by those purporting to prove the unreliability of the New Testament manuscripts; They are reliable.

Listen to this entertaining and enlightening episode now, online, click the PodCast icon to the right to use iTunes, or download this in mp3 format now.

Originally posted by IBD Vice President Matthew J Coombe on mjcoombe.com

I’ve developed a thorough response and refutation of the Book of Abraham which is a section in the Mormon Scripture “Pearl of Great Price.” There is a wealth of information on this subject and in order present it in a blog worth space I have presented it in bullet format. To read about this subject in full, I suggest reading, “By his own papyrus” by Charles M. Larson. This is the primary resource for this blog.

-Joseph Smith the Founder of the Mormon Church claimed to have the gift of “seer.” Mosiah 8:13 (from the Book of Mormon) defines a seer as “a man that can translate all records that are of ancient date.” Smith apparently utilized this gift to translate the book of Mormon from golden plates.

- July 4, 1835 After having somewhat of a following the “church” was delighted when a man named Michael H Chandler came to town. He had with him a mummy exhibit. This exhibit included four mummies and some ancient hieroglyphics on fragments.

- The Church was excited because they knew smith had the gift of “seer” and would be able to translate the hieroglyphics. He began to translate and a cursory glance led him to conclude, “…I commenced the translation of some of the characters or hieroglyphics, and much to our joy found that one of the rolls contained the writings of Abraham, another the writings of Joseph of Egypt, etc.—a more full account of which will appear in its place, as I proceed to examine or unfold them. Truly we can say, the Lord is beginning to reveal the abundance of peace and truth.” Daniel H Ludlow, Encyclopedia of Mormonism. Vol. 1, s.c. ‘Book of Abraham—Origins of the Book of Abraham,’

-Also while translating this work Smith made a guide called, “Egyptian Alphabet and Grammar.” This never became a “holy” book like Book of Abraham, but the fact that he created it is significant.

- 40 years later a few things had occurred. The book of Abraham was completely translated and had become an official scripture of the Latter Day Saints or Mormons. However, also during this time due to the work of some dedicated scholars the Rosetta stone became fully understood and a usable tool. The Rosetta stone was an Ancient Egyptian artifact that contained a passage in Hieroglyphics and then same passage in Greek. Thus, as much as one is able to discern Greek, with the Rosetta stone he can likewise know Hieroglyphics.

-1878 Orson Pratt the Mormon Prophet (head of the church) claimed the superiority of Mormonism because of their gift of seer, “Have any of the other denominations got this gift among them? Go and inquire through all of Christendom…’Can you translate ancient records written in a language that is lost to the knowledge of man?’ No…the universal reply of the Christian denominations, numbering some 400,000,000 would be that they have not the power to do it…you must give us credit.”

Herein lies the ability to prove the validity of the cornerstone of Mormonism, Joseph Smith and his gift of “seer.” For:

The Mormons have

1. The Ancient Hieroglyphics

2. The alphabet written by Smith

3. The Rosetta stone

4. A chance to prove themselves to the world.

-1965 The alphabet was published. It was written off by experts as non-sensical and having nothing to do with the correct translating of hieroglyphics. While this caused some doubt in the eyes of some Mormons, the alphabet was never considered an official scripture, so it was not a huge deal.

-Eventually several Egyptologists were allowed to examine the Papyrus fragments, their independent conclusions were unanimous: The fragments were common funeral texts, all clearly dating after 500 B.C (which was 1,500 years or more later then when the supposed author “Abraham” lived.) Therefore, they concluded there was no connection whatsoever with the Abraham or any Biblical figure or content.

-The documents were identified as:

1. Book of Breathings

2. Book of Dead, for Lady Amon-Re Neferirnub

3. Book of Dead, for Tshenmin

They were ancient pagan texts.

- There is no consensual response from the LDS church, they vary from the comical “nobody really knows Egyptology” to views of hidden meaning. The hidden meaning response claims that there is both a literally and a spiritual interpretation. However, this response (and the many other similar ones) fail to account for Orson Pratt’s challenge nor Smith’s apparent “seer” ability. Larson discusses all the responses he knows of in his book

-If you want to know how damning this refutation is, then attempt to buy a new copy of Larsons book. The LDS church has purchased and destroyed all new copies. Outside the philosophical problems with the Mormon view of God, Jesus, and Grace, this is the greatest refutation of the cult.

When Matt Coombe wants to get personal, he has a very open way of doing it. When speaking about prayer, Mr. Coombe has no problem handing out his own experiences like free candy. This is really an opportunity for us to learn.

In this episode of Spiritual Disciplines, Mr. Coombe delves into the suprising simplicity of prayer. I know you’ve probably heard great speakers cover the topic from one end to the other. That said, this isn’t one of those speeches. This is a personal look into the prayer life of a dedicated Christian; It is a hand to help you along.

It seems like there should be some formula or chart or list to go about it. Listen in as Matt gives you the important and most relevant facts about the Spiritual Discipline of Prayer.

Once again Mr. Coombe demolishes the traditional to make way for the truth. In his treatment of the Spiritual Discipline of Spiritual Gifts, Mr. Coombe askes the obvious, but always overlooked question, “If you’re not living a life that follows after the Lord, why are you seeking to use special gifts to serve Him?”

Apparently, trying to “serve” the Lord without following him is just a waste of time. Is this you? Do you feel like you could be serving the Lord with a special gift but something is holding you back? You think it’s the devil? Maybe it’s you. Maybe God isn’t letting you serve him yet; Maybe He’s waiting for you to first seek intimate fellowship with Him.

Hey, maybe you are seeking after the Lord and you’re ready to use your gifts. Where do you start?

In this enlightening recording, Matt outlines his own struggle to find the right way to express his gift.  He also follows the twists and turns involved in discerning what is your spiritual gift as opposed to your “natural” gifts.

Want to serve the Lord and His people with your spiritual gift? Listen and learn.