Participants: Deyvy Rodriguez & Jon Paulien
Series Code: JBOTB
Program Code: JBOTB00001A
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00:21 One of the reasons why I enjoy
00:23 reading and studying the Bible 00:25 is because in it I find purpose in life. 00:27 It guides me, it leads me, 00:29 it is the light unto my path 00:31 and I thank God not because he found me-- 00:33 for He never lost me but I-- but because I found Him. 00:37 The Bible says that there is a way that seems right to a man, 00:40 but its end is the way of death. 00:42 In other words my opinions without any foundation of truth 00:45 will lead me to destruction, 00:47 but then there is another way and that is Jesus Christ. 00:51 He said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life." 00:54 God's desire for us is to follow the way to life 00:58 for there are few who find it. 01:00 My name is Deyvy Rodriguez and I welcome you 01:02 to this program "Books of the Book." 01:04 And I'm so glad you've decided to take this time 01:07 to join us in this Bible study. 01:09 And today we're starting a new series of Bible study 01:12 focusing on the Book of John or the Gospel of John. 01:16 And I'm so pleased to have with us 01:18 a brilliant scholar of the Bible and that is Dr. Jon Paulien. 01:22 Dr. Jon Paulien, welcome. 01:24 Hello, it's good to be here 01:26 and it's good to be with you, Deyvy. 01:30 We're gonna try to do something pretty exciting here 01:32 because the reality is that Deyvy and I have only just met 01:37 and that was just before we came on the set 01:40 that we met for the first time. 01:42 And that means, well, he have some idea of the script. 01:46 I'm not quite sure 01:47 of what exactly he knows about the Gospel of John. 01:50 I'm not quite sure what questions he's gonna ask. 01:54 And I think that's gonna create some interesting-- 01:57 a little bit of jeopardy here even. 01:59 So looking forward to this 02:01 we can talk about the Gospel of John together, 02:02 but since we're just getting to know each other, 02:04 Deyvy, tell me a little bit about yourself. 02:06 Where are you from? 02:08 You know, what brought you here to 3ABN? 02:11 Yeah, well, you know, originally I am from Mexico 02:13 and I grew up in New Mexico 02:15 which is of course another state of the United States. 02:18 And I have to emphasize because-- 02:19 I have to emphasize that because some people don't know 02:22 that New Mexico is actually another state. 02:24 But the way I came to 3ABN is quite interesting. 02:28 I was at one of the GYC sessions or-- 02:33 oh not sessions or conference meetings. 02:35 In Houston, Texas that was about maybe a year ago 02:38 and I had recently comeback from a three year 02:41 missionary journey in South Korea. 02:44 I was in Seoul for three years. 02:46 I was a Bible teacher there in English 02:49 and so after the three years I came back 02:52 and somehow at GYC, 02:54 I made that connection to work at 3ABN. 02:59 Thankfully they saw in me some kind of-- 03:03 I don't know, gift I suppose, but they called me 03:07 and I thank God that I am here today. 03:09 Did you grow up speaking English? 03:11 Or were you born in-- 03:12 how long were you in Mexico and then moved to? 03:15 You know, I was in Mexico for six years, 03:17 my first six years and after that 03:19 we then moved to the United States. 03:21 So at home Spanish is spoken 03:24 and I began to pick up English at school 03:28 and I'm still learning English as I go in. 03:30 So I have to balance, you know, 03:31 make sure I don't forget my Spanish, 03:33 but my parents don't really speak English. 03:36 So when I come home I have to speak Spanish. 03:39 Well, that's interesting 03:41 because I grew up in an immigrant home too. 03:43 I was actually born in the Upper East Side of Manhattan 03:46 when it was poor. 03:48 Today it's some of the most expensive 03:49 real estate in the world. 03:51 And it was like a sixth floor walkup apartment 03:54 where I was born. 03:56 And I grew up in New York City but my parents were German 03:59 and they spoke German at home 04:00 and we went to a German speaking church. 04:03 So I grew up hearing this other language 04:06 but also learning the English from my friends and so on. 04:09 So I kind of had a similar background to you in that way. 04:13 Do you speak German now, still? 04:15 I can do pretty well. 04:17 If I go to Germany I've got to be there three, four days. 04:20 You know, the vocabulary isn't there, the complexity. 04:23 Three, four days in, I'll start searching 04:25 for English words to say what I want to say. 04:27 So I can do okay in Germany after a week or so, 04:31 but I don't use it everyday as part of the language. 04:34 Now what do you currently do now? 04:36 I know that you are a-- 04:38 you told me you were a dean because like we said-- 04:40 like you said we just met today. Yeah. 04:42 And as a matter of fact, we didn't even know what 04:44 we were going to match clothes here, we're wearing purple. 04:47 Yeah, you did a good job. 04:49 But you told me that you are dean 04:52 at the department of Religion 04:55 at Loma Linda University in Loma Linda, California. 04:58 Tell us a little more of 04:59 what are your duties and responsibilities there? 05:02 How long you've been there? 05:03 I'm in charge of the religion faculties. 05:06 We called a school of religion 05:08 and while we have a few small programs, 05:10 most of what we do is teaching in all the other schools. 05:14 It's the only institution in all of North America 05:19 where you have religion involved in every program at every level. 05:24 We are teaching in bio-chemistry, 05:26 we're teaching religion classes. 05:28 medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, nursing, 05:32 you name it, physical therapy. 05:34 This religion interwoven because at Loma Linda 05:36 we believe that healthcare should be holistic, 05:41 that we should deal with the whole person that, 05:43 that patients want to talk about God 05:46 and have spiritual concerns and emotional concerns 05:50 and so on when they are in the hospital etcetera. 05:53 So we teach healthcare in the larger context of faith 05:58 and the sort of my job as to exactly 06:01 how that's going to work from the religion side. 06:05 So I don't teach a whole lot right now, 06:07 I more of an administrator, 06:09 but then I get to have fun like this every so often. 06:11 Okay, so every student who is graduating 06:13 will at least have gone through 06:15 some kind of religious courses. That's right. 06:18 Concerning particularly that the wholeness concept 06:21 as a Seventh-day Adventist Institution. 06:24 Loma Linda University believes that we're whole persons, 06:26 not body and soul separated. 06:28 And so your spiritual life, your emotional life, 06:32 your mental life, all that's gonna effect 06:34 whether you're healthy or sick. 06:36 You know, your body is deeply affected by how you feel, 06:40 what you think and so on by integrating all that, 06:42 we think its better healthcare and also a wonderful witness 06:47 just despite its very existence to people 06:49 who might not otherwise know of God. 06:51 When they see a physician 06:53 treating them with respect and kindness 06:56 and being willing to offer prayer if they want that. 06:59 So in a sense you are preparing missionaries? Exactly. 07:01 To go out into the field and-- Yes. 07:03 You could talk about medical missionaries. 07:06 In that they use the contacts that they have with people 07:10 to engage the whole person and not just the body. 07:14 You know, we're not just treating bodies, 07:15 we're treating people. 07:17 When we get to John 5, there's a story there 07:20 in which Jesus heals a guys body, 07:22 but doesn't heal the spiritual and emotional side. 07:26 And that creates a dynamic in the story that will-- 07:30 I think be instructive for us, 07:32 but that's for later on in the series. 07:34 Tell us a little more about Loma Linda? 07:37 I know that Loma Linda has been in the news recently a lot. 07:41 It's received a lot of positive views 07:44 on this particular university or even community. 07:49 Tell us more about Loma Linda? 07:51 Well, thank you for asking that. 07:53 It has recently been designated 07:56 one of the five blue zones in the world. 07:59 And this is a-- an enclave, 08:01 a small place where would say a few thousand people each 08:05 where the people just live longer 08:06 and are healthier than anywhere else. 08:08 That's what the blue zone is? 08:09 Lot's of 100 year olds things like that. 08:12 And national geographic did some research 08:15 and found Okinawa, I think it's--is it-- 08:21 Italy? Was it Italy? 08:22 Yeah, that's-- is it Sicily? 08:24 No, it said other one Corsica, I think has one of these. 08:27 Nicaragua has one. 08:30 Just isolated communities that live longer, 08:32 Loma Linda is different. 08:34 It's not an isolated community, 08:36 it's in the middle of greater Los Angeles. 08:38 And in that bustling urban western context 08:42 there's a community that lives 10 years longer 08:44 and it's healthier than the surrounding communities 08:47 and people are starting to notice what's going on. 08:49 And that's because for 100 years we've been following 08:53 the Seventh-day Adventist lifestyle. 08:55 And that includes things like vegetarianism, 08:58 lots of exercise, fresh air, sunshine, 09:02 all these natural remedies, proper diet, etcetera. 09:05 And so Newsweek magazine recently published. 09:09 If you want to live 10 years longer 09:11 become a Seventh-day Adventist. 09:12 Now that wasn't us saying, but they just discovered that 09:15 hey, if you take it seriously, 09:18 it can change your life in this world 09:20 not just for the life to come. Amen. 09:22 So they have-- the Seventh-day Adventist have 09:23 like a special message if you want to live longer. 09:26 But, you know, our hearts are touched right now 09:28 because we've come to realize that 09:30 one of the sickest communities in the entire country 09:33 is right next door to us, San Bernardino. 09:36 And there are people have suffered in poverty 09:39 and lack of good health care 09:41 and lack of good health habits and so on. 09:43 And so we are hoping to establish 09:45 centers of healing in San Bernardino 09:49 and see if we can share 09:53 some of the blessings that we have. Amen. 09:55 But, Dr. Paulien, I opened up the program 09:58 saying the reasons why I enjoy reading and studying the Bible. 10:02 And like I said, because in it I find a purpose, 10:05 you know, I find direction in life. 10:07 And the reason I said this is 10:10 because before I became a Christian, 10:13 and I want to say committed Christian, 10:16 I didn't read the Bible 10:18 and when I did began to read the Bible, 10:22 I decided to read it-- read Ecclesiastes and Proverbs. 10:26 And the reason why I chose Ecclesiastes and Proverbs 10:28 is because I believe that 10:30 there was not really much religion in there. 10:32 And so I thought well, you know, 10:33 I'm pretty sure that I can gain 10:35 some kind of wisdom in these wisdom books. 10:39 So I saw some many practical lessons there. 10:43 But then as I began to read more and more 10:46 then I went into more of the theological side 10:49 and who is Jesus and salvation 10:51 and that's where eventually will led me 10:53 to make that ultimate decision to follow Jesus Christ. 10:57 So my question to you is, why or what would be 11:02 your reason for studying and reading the Bible? 11:05 You're a scholar, you've written-- 11:08 you told me you've written several books 11:09 more than 20 or 25, 30 even. 11:12 Tell me what's your joy in reading 11:15 or even studying the Bible? 11:17 What I think is special about the Bible 11:19 and particularly about the four gospels 11:22 is a tremendous story. 11:24 And the story is about a God 11:27 who wants desperately to communicate with us. 11:30 And in order to communicate He's tried visions and dreams 11:35 and different ways to communicate, 11:38 but in the end God is out there 11:41 no one has seen Him or touched Him. 11:43 And so it's very hard for human beings 11:45 to really understand what God is like. 11:47 And so God made a decision, 11:50 I'm going to come down Myself and become human. 11:56 And I'm gonna walk among them, 11:58 live among them and show them what God is like. 12:04 And so the story, the big narrative, 12:07 the big narrative of the Bible is that God loves us so much 12:11 that He was willing to come down and live among us, 12:14 become one of us so that we could see 12:16 in engaging with somebody, 12:18 human being of flesh like ourselves 12:21 that we would understand better what God is like. 12:24 I mean, God spoke through the thunders of Sinai. 12:27 He spoke through the prophets. 12:29 He spoke through all kinds of different events 12:32 in the course of history, 12:34 but to have God in person was special. 12:36 And the four gospels are accounting 12:40 the story of when God came down. 12:43 So that plan of salvation 12:45 we can find it in the Bible? That's right. 12:47 And in the four gospels particularly 12:50 is perhaps the clearest place where this narrative of the God 12:54 who comes down has made real to us. 12:58 Now in this series we're studying the Gospel of John. 13:02 We have the Gospel of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, John. 13:07 I've heard it say that there's really is only one gospel. 13:10 Why another gospel? 13:12 Why couldn't we just do with Matthew, Mark, and Luke? 13:14 Why did-- whoever wrote-- 13:17 and we're gonna talk about this later 13:19 but the author why did he had to come up with another gospel? 13:23 Why are there four-- yeah. 13:25 In other words, what's the difference 13:26 between the Gospel of John than the other three gospels? 13:30 Well, I think the bottom line is this 13:32 that there are four gospels in the Bible 13:35 because God knew there are lot of different kinds of people 13:38 that different stories attract different people. 13:42 And so by having four gospels there are at least 13:45 four different ways you can come to the story of Jesus 13:49 and understand it for yourself. 13:51 And so having four turns out to be better than one. 13:55 Some people might like Matthew the best 13:56 and other might like Luke or John the best, 13:59 but having the four gives us more windows 14:02 into what God is like. 14:04 Now these four gospels do not or do they contradict each other? 14:10 Well, they do not contradict each other 14:12 in the sense that each of them 14:14 is telling the story from a particular perspective. 14:16 Just like if you have an auto accident 14:18 and you have four witnesses 14:20 they may each have a different perspective 14:22 where they're all seeing a part of the story together 14:26 you have an even stronger window into the story. 14:29 So where the gospels don't seem to say the same thing, 14:32 it's like four different testimonies to that one story. 14:36 Okay, well, we're gonna continue 14:38 and picking up on this Gospel of John 14:41 after we return from this short break. |
Revised 2014-12-17