Darwin's Theory seems true. A great many people today do seem to act like slightly more intelligent monkeys. Further, it's visible to anyone with simple powers of observation: We certainly are evolving, changing slowly. And Freud was right. While we know most of his theories arose from dealing with nutty people, at least part of his behavioral model is accurate. So is Skinner's stimulus and response model. In fact, a whole bunch of similar speculation from godless minds carries an element of accuracy. This stuff still lives on because it works.
That is, it works until the Holy Spirit does. Once the Holy Spirit gets involved, all that stuff breaks down. You see, all those models of human behavior and biology are based on observations of some pretty sharp people. Of course, the Theory of Evolution can tell us nothing about origins because the logical proof rests on insufficient evidence, but it does describe current processes. We know the minds of these men were fallen, and their spirits were dead. They were lost souls, as we say in Evangelical circles -- they died and went to Hell (as far as we know). But that's not the worst of it. Their research and results are based on a world that's dying and on the way to Hell. Had there been a significant number of real followers of Jesus in their work, it would have skewed everything.
The problem is we have so few Christians who respond in a spiritual matter. We have so absorbed the human culture in which we live, we just don't have the background for a truly spiritual response. The Lord saves whom He wills; it's a miracle. No one can turn to Christ, no one can want to, without being called by God. Whether everyone is called is a question no one but God can answer; all we know is people don't turn because they aren't called (yet). Jesus made that clear (John 6:65). So it's all in God's hands. Once we are inside the Kingdom, once the Spirit is in us, we then have a chance to cooperate. No, we don't succeed at anything, because that's still a miracle. But at least we have a chance to become holy. Holiness is defined as the desire to be righteous, a desire only He can give; it is not defined by our success at acting righteous.
Worse, our culture and our Christian legacy is loaded with junk. We have a massive delusion in Western Christianity that our Western worldview is compatible with faith. It's not. It can't handle faith issues, can't grasp the Spirit, nor things spiritual. Our orientation is too worldly; we need that other-worldly frame of reference which only comes down from above. Without that, we have come up with a mass of false teaching, trying desperately to make sense of spiritual things using a pagan framework. While that framework is okay for things visible and conceivable in fallen minds, it utterly fails to make sense of things spiritual. We must adopt that Hebraic understanding of the world to grasp the revelation of God.
It's that fallen Hellenistic frame of reference which brings us Darwin, Skinner, Freud and other brilliant idiots. They can't account for revelation because they refuse to rise up where revelation is found. Instead, they deal with what man can figure out on his own. Given the way so many Christians buy into that false worldview, too much of what those men proposed comes true in those Christians' lives. Want to escape the grip of secular humanism? Stop living by its assumptions. Live by spiritual assumptions. God is not bound by the constraints of fallen creation, and His work in you is equally free. When you start walking in His ways, those chains will fall off.
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Satan's Best Weapon Today
Unspoken assumptions. The biggest lie today is the raft of stuff which you must swallow to make sense of the messages being thrown at you. This means most of us have taken huge leaps across a great chasm of falsehood, because we aren't trained to consider the logical steps between where you are and where they want you to be.
Do I have to explain how Satan is more or less the god of modern media? It's nothing so blatant as every word or every statement is false, but in the stream of objective reporting, there are a few key ideas which are completely false. With advertising it's a lot easier, because here we know the whole intent is to sell something. With mainstream media, that's not so obvious. The first big lie is their claim to report things objectively. That they have a distinct worldview and agenda should be taken for granted. But then, we go ahead and listen more or less uncritically. We might as well hand Satan our ears.
Sure, part of the problem is TV itself is a mildly hypnotic device. So are movies and anything else with moving images of any sort. That's because something inherent in the process itself causes the mind to suspend portions of the rational process. We absorb moving images on a sub-rational level. Our Enemy is truly in love with TV and movies. The make-believe world becomes a reality for you. Cynicism suggesting people know the difference can't change the very real and unalterable fact we still get programmed that way. It requires a great deal of conditioning and study before exposure to resist the ostensible message and subtext, but I don't know anyone capable of simply ignoring the screen when they walk into the room.
Still, we have whole nations of people who buy into even more subtle conditioning by allowing themelves to be led into jumping across that logical canyon. "You gotta see this. It's hilarious!" or "The special effects are awesome!" Do you really want that? Do you need it? Next week, somebody will top that. Is it really so large a part of your life? "But it's just harmless fun." So is helping your elderly neighbor clean up her lawn. Which does Jesus think matters more? Now, if you don't have a neighbor in need, maybe that's cool. Don't buy into a false guilt trip, either. What matters is whether you ever bothered to ask Him what matters in the Kingdom.
Do you doubt Satan wants to rule all mankind? Did it ever occur to you he won't use brute force necessarily? Eve didn't get that fruit shoved down her throat. Satan sold the idea, took advantage of her weaknesses. It's not enough Satan holds every dead soul in his grasp in this fallen world. Human misery is his food. If he doesn't hamper our efforts to bring out the gospel message, he's going to lose his grip. So he seeks ways to prevent the message getting out, seeks ways to condition people against it, seeks ways to sidetrack disciples, etc. You can't imagine what people are planning on our behalf out there, things we'd never accept. The problem is, we aren't aware of them. Sure, there's some effort to hide it from us, but if you really wanted to know, you could find out.
Of course, there is nothing we can do to stop it. That's another planted lie, sold as an unspoken assumption. We most certainly cannot stop this juggernaut of evil New World Order taking over the world. This is my Father's world, says the little song, but He's made it so plain it's not to be reformed, but redeemed at The End by a New Earth. Theonomy is a fool's errand. What we can do is break Satan's power over our daily lives. That requires we shake loose one of the other big lies, which holds us prisoner to our comfort, our plans and our way of life. How quaint the phrase in the KJV, "not loving their lives unto death." Yet it remains one of the three keys to victory over Satan, with the word of our testimony and the Blood of the Lamb. Indeed, a major problem is defining "victory."
We have so very far to go. It breaks my heart thinking how many of my fellow believers just don't see the truth. Yes, the elect are deceived; God help us.
Do I have to explain how Satan is more or less the god of modern media? It's nothing so blatant as every word or every statement is false, but in the stream of objective reporting, there are a few key ideas which are completely false. With advertising it's a lot easier, because here we know the whole intent is to sell something. With mainstream media, that's not so obvious. The first big lie is their claim to report things objectively. That they have a distinct worldview and agenda should be taken for granted. But then, we go ahead and listen more or less uncritically. We might as well hand Satan our ears.
Sure, part of the problem is TV itself is a mildly hypnotic device. So are movies and anything else with moving images of any sort. That's because something inherent in the process itself causes the mind to suspend portions of the rational process. We absorb moving images on a sub-rational level. Our Enemy is truly in love with TV and movies. The make-believe world becomes a reality for you. Cynicism suggesting people know the difference can't change the very real and unalterable fact we still get programmed that way. It requires a great deal of conditioning and study before exposure to resist the ostensible message and subtext, but I don't know anyone capable of simply ignoring the screen when they walk into the room.
Still, we have whole nations of people who buy into even more subtle conditioning by allowing themelves to be led into jumping across that logical canyon. "You gotta see this. It's hilarious!" or "The special effects are awesome!" Do you really want that? Do you need it? Next week, somebody will top that. Is it really so large a part of your life? "But it's just harmless fun." So is helping your elderly neighbor clean up her lawn. Which does Jesus think matters more? Now, if you don't have a neighbor in need, maybe that's cool. Don't buy into a false guilt trip, either. What matters is whether you ever bothered to ask Him what matters in the Kingdom.
Do you doubt Satan wants to rule all mankind? Did it ever occur to you he won't use brute force necessarily? Eve didn't get that fruit shoved down her throat. Satan sold the idea, took advantage of her weaknesses. It's not enough Satan holds every dead soul in his grasp in this fallen world. Human misery is his food. If he doesn't hamper our efforts to bring out the gospel message, he's going to lose his grip. So he seeks ways to prevent the message getting out, seeks ways to condition people against it, seeks ways to sidetrack disciples, etc. You can't imagine what people are planning on our behalf out there, things we'd never accept. The problem is, we aren't aware of them. Sure, there's some effort to hide it from us, but if you really wanted to know, you could find out.
Of course, there is nothing we can do to stop it. That's another planted lie, sold as an unspoken assumption. We most certainly cannot stop this juggernaut of evil New World Order taking over the world. This is my Father's world, says the little song, but He's made it so plain it's not to be reformed, but redeemed at The End by a New Earth. Theonomy is a fool's errand. What we can do is break Satan's power over our daily lives. That requires we shake loose one of the other big lies, which holds us prisoner to our comfort, our plans and our way of life. How quaint the phrase in the KJV, "not loving their lives unto death." Yet it remains one of the three keys to victory over Satan, with the word of our testimony and the Blood of the Lamb. Indeed, a major problem is defining "victory."
We have so very far to go. It breaks my heart thinking how many of my fellow believers just don't see the truth. Yes, the elect are deceived; God help us.
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Hall of Shame: Snopes
Boycott Snopes! Yes, Snopes.com. Take a look at this article at Sunbelt Blog. I highly recommend you read the comments on that article.
The single most popular urban legends site is now an urban legend themselves: You can't trust them because they are hawking spyware. Specifically, they are allowing popup ads from Zango, the infamous fraudulent-waste-of-oxygen-and-electrons miscreants and criminals who have been pushing themselves onto people's computers for a long time. Of course, they always exploit weaknesses in Windows to sneakily install stuff you don't want and can't use for any good purpose. It threatens the stability of your system, steals all your personal information, uses your personal address book to spam everyone you know, hogs system resources, and forces you to look at advertising right in the big middle of something important.
There are better sites:
http://hoaxbusters.ciac.org/
http://www.hoax-slayer.com/
http://www.nonprofit.net/hoax/
http://www.symantec.com/avcenter/hoax.html
http://www.virushoaxbusters.com/
http://urbanlegends.about.com/
I note I have no great love for About.com, but they have to be better than Snopes. I also note this has been going on for quite some time, but I wasn't aware of it because my computer OS is Linux, for which no spyware exists. Further, I run either a Mozilla-based browser or Opera, which tend to block such popups.
Update: It appears Snopes finally got the message, and have stopped pushing malware ads from Zango. However, in the process, several very ugly facts were revealed:
Net result, I recommend you keep away from them still.
The single most popular urban legends site is now an urban legend themselves: You can't trust them because they are hawking spyware. Specifically, they are allowing popup ads from Zango, the infamous fraudulent-waste-of-oxygen-and-electrons miscreants and criminals who have been pushing themselves onto people's computers for a long time. Of course, they always exploit weaknesses in Windows to sneakily install stuff you don't want and can't use for any good purpose. It threatens the stability of your system, steals all your personal information, uses your personal address book to spam everyone you know, hogs system resources, and forces you to look at advertising right in the big middle of something important.
There are better sites:
http://hoaxbusters.ciac.org/
http://www.hoax-slayer.com/
http://www.nonprofit.net/hoax/
http://www.symantec.com/avcenter/hoax.html
http://www.virushoaxbusters.com/
http://urbanlegends.about.com/
I note I have no great love for About.com, but they have to be better than Snopes. I also note this has been going on for quite some time, but I wasn't aware of it because my computer OS is Linux, for which no spyware exists. Further, I run either a Mozilla-based browser or Opera, which tend to block such popups.
Update: It appears Snopes finally got the message, and have stopped pushing malware ads from Zango. However, in the process, several very ugly facts were revealed:
- Snopes had this ad campaign built into their website. This was discovered when trying to send them messages via their built-in comment input page. Using the word "zango" in your message brought back a fault message, showing it was a keyword for a module in their website. Truly nasty.
- Several security professionals had sent them messages by various means, and they ignored them. Not just little nobodies who putter around at home with security issues, but major industry players in the malware protection business.
- The sheer arrogance of the Snopes people shows they really don't care a whit about you and I, but are cynically trying to make a buck by drawing suckers to their website with a "valuable service." These people claim altruism, so this makes them stinking liars. You can no longer trust a single word they post on their site.
Net result, I recommend you keep away from them still.
Tribulation Report #007: Don't Be a Victim
In the years ahead, as trouble comes upon us, we must keep our heads. There will all too many people who don't understand what is going on, will hardly know what to expect, and will respond in ways futile at best, and easily ending in senseless death.
There are two levels of preparation. That is, two levels aside from merely collecting material goods you may believe are appropriate to your circumstances and needs. Do that, but note there is something far more important to all of us who serve the Kingdom: We must prepare our selves. On the spiritual level, I have given plenty of fodder for consideration, particularly in understanding convictions, calling and God's plans for your service. There is also a preparation on the worldly level, mostly in the intellect.
Nothing can replace a solid, Liberal Arts and Sciences education. If you went to public school in recent decades, chances are you got precious little of that. There is probably time yet to at least introduce yourself to the range of useful human knowledge, but that will have to be addressed another day. For now, it's critically important we lay the foundation of expectation: What should such a fine education do for you? When reading and studying in these fields, what should we be seeking?
The most powerful weapon against evil in the human mind is doubt. Not doubt of God and His power or grace, but doubt about anything human. Doubt yourself, first. Look into the mirror of purity and righteousness, and know you cannot attain it. God can grant it in measure while we live on this fallen earthy, but we cannot actually attain. You'll fail; get used to that. Never allow smugness to blind you.
Further, doubt just about anything masquerading as authority. Since you are hardly perfect, should we expect any other human agency to approach it? Many will do quite well, but as the numbers of humans involved grows, the likelihood and scale of stupidity does, too. They'll do well under limits of time, space and area of expertise. All expertise is relative. No one holds the inherent right to go about unquestioned. Those who seem to believe they have such a right are to be trusted least of all. There may be good reasons to play along, but never allow yourself to be as impressed with someone as they are with themselves.
To the degree possible, avoid being a herd animal. Herds are for stampeding and slaughter. Always keep an eye open to your own path, and don't hesitate to follow it when it's clearly what you must do. Know the balancing point between sacrifice commanded by the Spirit for the common good versus obedience to His unique calling on you regardless what others do. The Lord calls us to conform to the image of His Son, not the image the rest of the world has for us -- don't be a conformist. Come to your own conclusions on questions, even if you must keep silent with your answers. Herds are also good camouflage at times.
The greatest danger of all is the lack of creativity. Not of the grand artistic type necessarily, but have no need for all things to be handed to you before acting. If you are addicted to the TV, where every visual and auditory element are fed to you, and the story requires no imagination, you are dangerous to yourself. The child who can take a blank sheet and crayons and begin immediately with constructing some visual dream, however lacking in skill, is far happier than the one who neatly fills the pre-drawn lines with smooth colors. You may have no clue how to go about a given task, but that should never stop you.
An empty soul is a dead soul. So very many people today require some constant level of input and stimulation from the outside. Otherwise they are bored; boredom is the fault of the bored, always. An educated mind never lacks for something to do, even while the body is immobilized. One of the greatest dangers we will face is the number of people who turn to crime and other anti-social behaviors because of boredom. The next new thrill isn't available when the video store closes, or the game company shuts down. They'll find it in recreating vivid scenes of excitement from outrageously senseless movies they've already absorbed.
Thus, an educated intellect has vast reserves on which to draw when facing any and every task. A trained intellect knows what to do with all that information. Our Enemy seeks to destroy the world by raising up dominators in his own image. The greatest threat to evil men is an intelligent and independent mind in any of those they seek to dominate.
There are two levels of preparation. That is, two levels aside from merely collecting material goods you may believe are appropriate to your circumstances and needs. Do that, but note there is something far more important to all of us who serve the Kingdom: We must prepare our selves. On the spiritual level, I have given plenty of fodder for consideration, particularly in understanding convictions, calling and God's plans for your service. There is also a preparation on the worldly level, mostly in the intellect.
Nothing can replace a solid, Liberal Arts and Sciences education. If you went to public school in recent decades, chances are you got precious little of that. There is probably time yet to at least introduce yourself to the range of useful human knowledge, but that will have to be addressed another day. For now, it's critically important we lay the foundation of expectation: What should such a fine education do for you? When reading and studying in these fields, what should we be seeking?
The most powerful weapon against evil in the human mind is doubt. Not doubt of God and His power or grace, but doubt about anything human. Doubt yourself, first. Look into the mirror of purity and righteousness, and know you cannot attain it. God can grant it in measure while we live on this fallen earthy, but we cannot actually attain. You'll fail; get used to that. Never allow smugness to blind you.
Further, doubt just about anything masquerading as authority. Since you are hardly perfect, should we expect any other human agency to approach it? Many will do quite well, but as the numbers of humans involved grows, the likelihood and scale of stupidity does, too. They'll do well under limits of time, space and area of expertise. All expertise is relative. No one holds the inherent right to go about unquestioned. Those who seem to believe they have such a right are to be trusted least of all. There may be good reasons to play along, but never allow yourself to be as impressed with someone as they are with themselves.
To the degree possible, avoid being a herd animal. Herds are for stampeding and slaughter. Always keep an eye open to your own path, and don't hesitate to follow it when it's clearly what you must do. Know the balancing point between sacrifice commanded by the Spirit for the common good versus obedience to His unique calling on you regardless what others do. The Lord calls us to conform to the image of His Son, not the image the rest of the world has for us -- don't be a conformist. Come to your own conclusions on questions, even if you must keep silent with your answers. Herds are also good camouflage at times.
The greatest danger of all is the lack of creativity. Not of the grand artistic type necessarily, but have no need for all things to be handed to you before acting. If you are addicted to the TV, where every visual and auditory element are fed to you, and the story requires no imagination, you are dangerous to yourself. The child who can take a blank sheet and crayons and begin immediately with constructing some visual dream, however lacking in skill, is far happier than the one who neatly fills the pre-drawn lines with smooth colors. You may have no clue how to go about a given task, but that should never stop you.
An empty soul is a dead soul. So very many people today require some constant level of input and stimulation from the outside. Otherwise they are bored; boredom is the fault of the bored, always. An educated mind never lacks for something to do, even while the body is immobilized. One of the greatest dangers we will face is the number of people who turn to crime and other anti-social behaviors because of boredom. The next new thrill isn't available when the video store closes, or the game company shuts down. They'll find it in recreating vivid scenes of excitement from outrageously senseless movies they've already absorbed.
Thus, an educated intellect has vast reserves on which to draw when facing any and every task. A trained intellect knows what to do with all that information. Our Enemy seeks to destroy the world by raising up dominators in his own image. The greatest threat to evil men is an intelligent and independent mind in any of those they seek to dominate.
Monday, January 28, 2008
New Face
I hope you'll pardon the shock, but I did some research and decided the old template wasn't quite as readable as I had hoped. After poking around a bit in the standard templates offered, I decided this one comes closest. About the only change I made was enlarging the font just a bit. If that causes problems for anyone, I really need to know. Unless you are viewing from a tiny display, there shouldn't be any trouble.
Meanwhile, I'm hoping this is better on the eyes. Clarity in communication is a virtue in the gospel of the Kingdom.
Meanwhile, I'm hoping this is better on the eyes. Clarity in communication is a virtue in the gospel of the Kingdom.
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Biblical Manhood Corrected
In my previous post on Biblical Manhood so-called, I showed what was wrong with current efforts to teach it. Criticism is easy, but works best when paired with a clear corrective measure.
In the New Testament, we see little directly addressing the issue. The fundamental item about which there should be no debate is spiritual leadership. Men are called by God to provide spiritual covering. Nothing says women and children can't come up with powerful spiritual discernment, but it's not their normal role in the Kingdom. The basic issues of covering is defense against Satanic deceptions and attacks, things which try to dilute and pervert the truth brought to life in us by the Holy Spirit.
It won't matter what flavor of deception we talk about. Confessing anything different from what God says is sin by definition. The role of men in the Kingdom is guarding against such things. It becomes their role not so much as a direct calling and effort, but the sum total of their obedience to whatever their calling is will have the effect of spiritual leadership and guardianship. It behooves the men to take whatever they do seriously, as a calling from the Lord, because doing what they do best in Christ is covering. Their obedience hinders Satan directly, and has a broader effect of disabling evil. That's how God works.
To the degree possible, men should endeavor to know and understand as much of this as they are able. Manhood training the churches should aim at awakening this role. Know the nature of holiness at whatever level you understand, and reject anything which doesn't match. Yes, it's messy, will give rise to thousands of little debates and even conflicts. All of these things within the Fruit of the Spirit will yield an overall covering effect in the church.
At the starting point for each of us spiritually, we are granted a Presence which forms the core of our response to Christ. That presence manifests as a founding stone, a block of conviction, of principles and moral constraints from which you cannot walk away. These are things you must do, or must not do, in being true to your reborn self. Not a mere conscience, though it often shows up there, but below the cultural conditioning which shapes our consciences. It is our burden to strip away the cultural trappings of our understanding, not reinforce them. This is the failure of most "Manhood Training" curricula in churches. Strip it away until we come to a sure knowledge of what we cannot walk away from, what will not let us alone. Know those convictions, so when the trial comes, we let all this world fall upon us, crushing to dust and ashes whatever is not of the Spirit. That founding stone of conviction will still be there, unchanged, except for perhaps a little cleared of false coverings, a little plainer to our spiritual eyes.
At the end of our manhood courses, let us continue on into the true understanding of what we guard with our souls. Christian manhood is the churches' defense against Satan.
In the New Testament, we see little directly addressing the issue. The fundamental item about which there should be no debate is spiritual leadership. Men are called by God to provide spiritual covering. Nothing says women and children can't come up with powerful spiritual discernment, but it's not their normal role in the Kingdom. The basic issues of covering is defense against Satanic deceptions and attacks, things which try to dilute and pervert the truth brought to life in us by the Holy Spirit.
It won't matter what flavor of deception we talk about. Confessing anything different from what God says is sin by definition. The role of men in the Kingdom is guarding against such things. It becomes their role not so much as a direct calling and effort, but the sum total of their obedience to whatever their calling is will have the effect of spiritual leadership and guardianship. It behooves the men to take whatever they do seriously, as a calling from the Lord, because doing what they do best in Christ is covering. Their obedience hinders Satan directly, and has a broader effect of disabling evil. That's how God works.
To the degree possible, men should endeavor to know and understand as much of this as they are able. Manhood training the churches should aim at awakening this role. Know the nature of holiness at whatever level you understand, and reject anything which doesn't match. Yes, it's messy, will give rise to thousands of little debates and even conflicts. All of these things within the Fruit of the Spirit will yield an overall covering effect in the church.
At the starting point for each of us spiritually, we are granted a Presence which forms the core of our response to Christ. That presence manifests as a founding stone, a block of conviction, of principles and moral constraints from which you cannot walk away. These are things you must do, or must not do, in being true to your reborn self. Not a mere conscience, though it often shows up there, but below the cultural conditioning which shapes our consciences. It is our burden to strip away the cultural trappings of our understanding, not reinforce them. This is the failure of most "Manhood Training" curricula in churches. Strip it away until we come to a sure knowledge of what we cannot walk away from, what will not let us alone. Know those convictions, so when the trial comes, we let all this world fall upon us, crushing to dust and ashes whatever is not of the Spirit. That founding stone of conviction will still be there, unchanged, except for perhaps a little cleared of false coverings, a little plainer to our spiritual eyes.
At the end of our manhood courses, let us continue on into the true understanding of what we guard with our souls. Christian manhood is the churches' defense against Satan.
Saturday, January 26, 2008
Life of Christ: Matthew 27
As noted previously, the false piety of those seeking to make of this part of the narrative more than what it says have obscured the original intent of the author. Matthew continues to emphasize throughout his Gospel how completely the Jews failed to understand, how completely wrong they were about everything regarding Jesus. Further, Matthew takes pains to offer just the details necessary to show how Jesus fulfilled all the prophecies, and ended the Covenant of Moses with His sacrifice. By attempting to add to Matthew's depiction, we participate in the same lie as denying it all.
Having met and palavered throughout most of the night, the Sanhedrin took a short break. Then they reassembled at dawn, in some vague resemblance of Mosaic justice by holding a second hearing. They decided their best choice for actually securing a Roman death penalty was to accuse Jesus of treason. There is every reason to believe the Sanhedrin had conferred with Pilate prior to bringing Jesus before him. This would have been consistent with the oft stated Imperial concern for keeping public order. Pilate normally resided on the coast at Caesarea, but often attended Jewish festivals in Jerusalem simply to ensure a quick response to riots and such with full authority. Hearing from the Sanhedrin Jesus was another rebel, and prepared to accept their fallback plan of accusing Him of treason -- plotting to re-establish the Davidic throne -- Pilate was ready to go through the motions. It was convenient timing for everyone involved.
Matthew notes for us the end of Judas. The simplest explanation of his response is he realized Jesus was guilty of nothing, but had been condemned to a horrible execution. It appears he met with some of the leadership on duty in the Temple. Complaining to the Sanhedrin that Jesus was innocent of any crime, it seemed Judas was trying to exonerate Jesus, making himself a lying snitch. They were having none of it. Passing the offering box near the Temple entrance on his way out, Judas threw the coins on the ground near the box from which they ostensibly were taken. Oddly, the Sanhedrin were now pious about Judas' crime. Without admitting they had bribed for a man's death, they decided to use the money for a charitable gesture. They bought a field for burying non-Jews who died in the city.
There is a good bit of discussion why the text indicates the quote is from Jeremiah, when it is clearly from Zechariah. Matthew seldom mentions which prophet he is quoting, but in this case follows a rabbinical practice of referring to the Hebrew canonical collection of prophetical books by the name of the one which appears first in their order in some collections. The quotation makes reference to the complete failure of Jewish leadership to understand just what had passed them by, sarcastically calling the 30 coins a "princely sum" -- the compensation required for a slave gored by some else's ox. They hardly bothered to investigate His claims. They stood Him before a judge who hardly comprehended any better, but knew certainly the Sanhedrin had lied to him about the case.
Sitting in the official judgment seat out in the open plaza before the crowd gathered to observe, Pilate heard the representatives of the Sanhedrin make their accusation. Jesus was permitted to defend Himself, and Pilate rather expected feverish denials from a desperate man. Instead, the accused stood silent, seeming rather unconcerned about the whole thing. Without describing the private audience Jesus had before Pilate away from the crowd, Matthew tells us Pilate realized he had been set up, and decided to alter the custom of releasing a Hebrew prisoner at the Passover. He offered them the choice between Jesus of Nazareth, and a repulsive thug apparently also named Jesus, the son of Abbaiah (bar-Abbas). It didn't help Pilate had been warned by his wife of a very strong omen about Jesus. His attempts to break his deal with the Sanhedrin were rejected. Though he could have easily set the troops on them and driven the mob out, Pilate was pressed between his pre-arranged deal and the very real threat of a riot. The crowd howled for crucifixion.
It was a common legal practice for prominent men under suspicion of murder to ceremonially wash their hands over the body of a victim. This was a very powerful claim of innocence -- "my hands are clean of this man's blood." The mob, responding to the prompting of the planted provocateurs, ceremonially took full guilt for Jesus' blood, willing to gamble on His guilt. What followed were standard elements of a crucifixion. The intended victim was beaten nearly to death by a professional lictor. The soldiers were conscripts from Syria. This meant they spoke a similar tongue, but their mutual contempt for Jews helped insure there would be no collusion. The chance to abuse a Jewish prisoner helped reinforce this. They mockingly dressed Him as a king, reflecting the crime. The robe was part of the official governor's wardrobe for ceremonial occasions with the troops. The "crown of thorns" was actually made from acanthus, a flowering green ornamental bush with prickly leaves. This was more at mocking the Western style crown of laurel stems. This was more a matter of humiliation and emotional distress than about torture.
Victim of crucifixion were required to bear the crossbeam on which they died. This was more torture by way of exhaustion and humiliation, since they would be marched publicly to the place normally used for this, easily taking an hour or more. At some point, it became obvious Jesus could no longer carry the beam, and we are hardly surprised. The soldiers grabbed a fellow coming from the opposite direction down the road, Simon, known as one who had once lived in a large Jewish community in modern day eastern Libya, a very important city on the Mediterranean coast. The name Golgotha simply designates a grisly place of execution. Skulls littered the place because most victims of crucifixion were left until the birds ate their flesh, easily taking two or more days to die. Jesus rejected the standard offering of drugged wine. The typical division of loot by the guards fulfilled yet another prophecy. Guarding crucified bodies was not a choice duty, but the chance of some little plunder was a consolation. Matthew notes Pilate had the charge written somewhat mocking the Jews -- this is the King of the Jews! Beside Him were a pair of robbers. Obviously they had murdered too, since robbery alone was not a capital offense, only murder and treason.
Jesus was fully alert to the hours of mocking. All His grandiose sounding claims of spiritual authority and power were turned into ludicrous literalisms. No one is precisely certain of the details of crucifixion. What we know for sure is something in the positioning caused near asphyxiation while slumped down hanging by the arms. They could push upward on their nailed feet to breathe until their legs collapsed from exhaustion. This was something the Romans had adopted from the Persians and perfected. It's not enough to simply die, but the victim had to be utterly miserable in every way possible. Whatever the actual geophysical causes, the sky was darkened in a clear symbol of God's own sadness, from noon to mid-afternoon. What is so easy to miss in recounting all the details is the far more important issue in Matthew's mind: Jesus was paying the price for the sins of mankind, because He had no sin of His own. Three hours was long enough, apparently, because Jesus cried out in His native tongue a quote from Psalm 22. It was mistaken by Hellenistic Jews for another chance to mock Him. Perhaps to ensure they heard Him aright, they offered Him a drink of the low grade vinegary wine issued to the Roman conscripts, soaked with a sponge so He could suck it out.
Rather than the miracles of Elijah, Jesus did something far greater. Showing absolute authority over all things, He dismissed His spirit from His human body. Matthew notes at that moment the veil in the Temple, passed only once each year on the Day of Atonement, was torn apart. Jesus now moved that day by opening the way into the Holy of Holies for all. The proximate cause was an earthquake. This was the final closure of an earth-bound covenant of rituals, the final element of God's dealings with humankind on the earth. It was done. To celebrate this new beginning, Matthew notes, many of the bodies ejected from their graves by the earthquake -- which could not be re-buried until after the Sabbath -- were resuscitated after Jesus resurrected.
The hardened Roman officer in charge of the execution knew this for what it was, the death of someone divine. There were plenty of witnesses to the actual death, including some of the entourage which had followed Jesus down from Galilee. Two women named Miriam; one from Magdala, often believed to be a former prostitute, but there's no biblical basis for that. Another was the mother of James the Less (and Matthew), married to Jesus' uncle. The third woman was Salome, a sister of Jesus' mother Miriam (who was also apparently there in other Gospels), and mother of James and John. At some point, one of the Sanhedrin petitioned Pilate for the now dead body of Jesus. Matthew doesn't say much about the details, noting only Jesus was given a hurried but proper burial, wrapped in a linen strip up to the neck, held in place by a mixture of gum arabic and burial spices. This fellow, Joseph from Arimathea (Ramathaim), was wealthy enough to have his own tomb cut into the rock nearby, recently finished just in time to accept this body. To protect it from thieves, he covered the opening with a large stone, a common practice. The two Miriams Matthew mentioned earlier observed the location of the tomb.
During all those debates Matthew recorded between Jesus and the Pharisees, we had to wonder if they were being obtuse at times. Apparently they understood the real meaning of one of Jesus' comments regarding His resurrection three days after His death. After discussing this with the chief priests of the Sanhedrin, a group of them came before Pilate again. Matthew slyly notes they did this on a Sabbath; whether a calendar Sabbath or simply a celebratory Sabbath we don't know, but a Sabbath by Law nonetheless. After revealing their concerns, Pilate agreed it might be a problem if the disciples manage to steal the body of Jesus and claim He had risen. So Pilate permitted them to seal and guard the grave under Roman authority.
How often do we read this passage in Matthew and make the same mistakes of the Pharisees? The traditions of their scholars had added a great pile of manure on top of God's Word, in some pitiful effort to protect Almighty God. They bore an intense focus on the mere appearance of things, never seeing beyond the flesh. For so long, the church has become entangled in magnifying Jesus' death experience as if it were unique in human history. It was not. To the world around Him, this was just another execution of troublemakers. Most of the actual events were rather mundane. What made it unique was the spiritual reality, as testified by the unusual response by Creation, and the ramifications for the end of Judaism. Those miracles were well below the threshold of logical proof. Without a spiritual understanding, this event was only somewhat noteworthy, and easily explained away. That is as it should be, for if the Holy Spirit does not make the message real, it's just a wild and improbable tale. The focus of this chapter is the spiritual reality; the events testify of that reality only if your spirit is alive in Christ.
Having met and palavered throughout most of the night, the Sanhedrin took a short break. Then they reassembled at dawn, in some vague resemblance of Mosaic justice by holding a second hearing. They decided their best choice for actually securing a Roman death penalty was to accuse Jesus of treason. There is every reason to believe the Sanhedrin had conferred with Pilate prior to bringing Jesus before him. This would have been consistent with the oft stated Imperial concern for keeping public order. Pilate normally resided on the coast at Caesarea, but often attended Jewish festivals in Jerusalem simply to ensure a quick response to riots and such with full authority. Hearing from the Sanhedrin Jesus was another rebel, and prepared to accept their fallback plan of accusing Him of treason -- plotting to re-establish the Davidic throne -- Pilate was ready to go through the motions. It was convenient timing for everyone involved.
Matthew notes for us the end of Judas. The simplest explanation of his response is he realized Jesus was guilty of nothing, but had been condemned to a horrible execution. It appears he met with some of the leadership on duty in the Temple. Complaining to the Sanhedrin that Jesus was innocent of any crime, it seemed Judas was trying to exonerate Jesus, making himself a lying snitch. They were having none of it. Passing the offering box near the Temple entrance on his way out, Judas threw the coins on the ground near the box from which they ostensibly were taken. Oddly, the Sanhedrin were now pious about Judas' crime. Without admitting they had bribed for a man's death, they decided to use the money for a charitable gesture. They bought a field for burying non-Jews who died in the city.
There is a good bit of discussion why the text indicates the quote is from Jeremiah, when it is clearly from Zechariah. Matthew seldom mentions which prophet he is quoting, but in this case follows a rabbinical practice of referring to the Hebrew canonical collection of prophetical books by the name of the one which appears first in their order in some collections. The quotation makes reference to the complete failure of Jewish leadership to understand just what had passed them by, sarcastically calling the 30 coins a "princely sum" -- the compensation required for a slave gored by some else's ox. They hardly bothered to investigate His claims. They stood Him before a judge who hardly comprehended any better, but knew certainly the Sanhedrin had lied to him about the case.
Sitting in the official judgment seat out in the open plaza before the crowd gathered to observe, Pilate heard the representatives of the Sanhedrin make their accusation. Jesus was permitted to defend Himself, and Pilate rather expected feverish denials from a desperate man. Instead, the accused stood silent, seeming rather unconcerned about the whole thing. Without describing the private audience Jesus had before Pilate away from the crowd, Matthew tells us Pilate realized he had been set up, and decided to alter the custom of releasing a Hebrew prisoner at the Passover. He offered them the choice between Jesus of Nazareth, and a repulsive thug apparently also named Jesus, the son of Abbaiah (bar-Abbas). It didn't help Pilate had been warned by his wife of a very strong omen about Jesus. His attempts to break his deal with the Sanhedrin were rejected. Though he could have easily set the troops on them and driven the mob out, Pilate was pressed between his pre-arranged deal and the very real threat of a riot. The crowd howled for crucifixion.
It was a common legal practice for prominent men under suspicion of murder to ceremonially wash their hands over the body of a victim. This was a very powerful claim of innocence -- "my hands are clean of this man's blood." The mob, responding to the prompting of the planted provocateurs, ceremonially took full guilt for Jesus' blood, willing to gamble on His guilt. What followed were standard elements of a crucifixion. The intended victim was beaten nearly to death by a professional lictor. The soldiers were conscripts from Syria. This meant they spoke a similar tongue, but their mutual contempt for Jews helped insure there would be no collusion. The chance to abuse a Jewish prisoner helped reinforce this. They mockingly dressed Him as a king, reflecting the crime. The robe was part of the official governor's wardrobe for ceremonial occasions with the troops. The "crown of thorns" was actually made from acanthus, a flowering green ornamental bush with prickly leaves. This was more at mocking the Western style crown of laurel stems. This was more a matter of humiliation and emotional distress than about torture.
Victim of crucifixion were required to bear the crossbeam on which they died. This was more torture by way of exhaustion and humiliation, since they would be marched publicly to the place normally used for this, easily taking an hour or more. At some point, it became obvious Jesus could no longer carry the beam, and we are hardly surprised. The soldiers grabbed a fellow coming from the opposite direction down the road, Simon, known as one who had once lived in a large Jewish community in modern day eastern Libya, a very important city on the Mediterranean coast. The name Golgotha simply designates a grisly place of execution. Skulls littered the place because most victims of crucifixion were left until the birds ate their flesh, easily taking two or more days to die. Jesus rejected the standard offering of drugged wine. The typical division of loot by the guards fulfilled yet another prophecy. Guarding crucified bodies was not a choice duty, but the chance of some little plunder was a consolation. Matthew notes Pilate had the charge written somewhat mocking the Jews -- this is the King of the Jews! Beside Him were a pair of robbers. Obviously they had murdered too, since robbery alone was not a capital offense, only murder and treason.
Jesus was fully alert to the hours of mocking. All His grandiose sounding claims of spiritual authority and power were turned into ludicrous literalisms. No one is precisely certain of the details of crucifixion. What we know for sure is something in the positioning caused near asphyxiation while slumped down hanging by the arms. They could push upward on their nailed feet to breathe until their legs collapsed from exhaustion. This was something the Romans had adopted from the Persians and perfected. It's not enough to simply die, but the victim had to be utterly miserable in every way possible. Whatever the actual geophysical causes, the sky was darkened in a clear symbol of God's own sadness, from noon to mid-afternoon. What is so easy to miss in recounting all the details is the far more important issue in Matthew's mind: Jesus was paying the price for the sins of mankind, because He had no sin of His own. Three hours was long enough, apparently, because Jesus cried out in His native tongue a quote from Psalm 22. It was mistaken by Hellenistic Jews for another chance to mock Him. Perhaps to ensure they heard Him aright, they offered Him a drink of the low grade vinegary wine issued to the Roman conscripts, soaked with a sponge so He could suck it out.
Rather than the miracles of Elijah, Jesus did something far greater. Showing absolute authority over all things, He dismissed His spirit from His human body. Matthew notes at that moment the veil in the Temple, passed only once each year on the Day of Atonement, was torn apart. Jesus now moved that day by opening the way into the Holy of Holies for all. The proximate cause was an earthquake. This was the final closure of an earth-bound covenant of rituals, the final element of God's dealings with humankind on the earth. It was done. To celebrate this new beginning, Matthew notes, many of the bodies ejected from their graves by the earthquake -- which could not be re-buried until after the Sabbath -- were resuscitated after Jesus resurrected.
The hardened Roman officer in charge of the execution knew this for what it was, the death of someone divine. There were plenty of witnesses to the actual death, including some of the entourage which had followed Jesus down from Galilee. Two women named Miriam; one from Magdala, often believed to be a former prostitute, but there's no biblical basis for that. Another was the mother of James the Less (and Matthew), married to Jesus' uncle. The third woman was Salome, a sister of Jesus' mother Miriam (who was also apparently there in other Gospels), and mother of James and John. At some point, one of the Sanhedrin petitioned Pilate for the now dead body of Jesus. Matthew doesn't say much about the details, noting only Jesus was given a hurried but proper burial, wrapped in a linen strip up to the neck, held in place by a mixture of gum arabic and burial spices. This fellow, Joseph from Arimathea (Ramathaim), was wealthy enough to have his own tomb cut into the rock nearby, recently finished just in time to accept this body. To protect it from thieves, he covered the opening with a large stone, a common practice. The two Miriams Matthew mentioned earlier observed the location of the tomb.
During all those debates Matthew recorded between Jesus and the Pharisees, we had to wonder if they were being obtuse at times. Apparently they understood the real meaning of one of Jesus' comments regarding His resurrection three days after His death. After discussing this with the chief priests of the Sanhedrin, a group of them came before Pilate again. Matthew slyly notes they did this on a Sabbath; whether a calendar Sabbath or simply a celebratory Sabbath we don't know, but a Sabbath by Law nonetheless. After revealing their concerns, Pilate agreed it might be a problem if the disciples manage to steal the body of Jesus and claim He had risen. So Pilate permitted them to seal and guard the grave under Roman authority.
How often do we read this passage in Matthew and make the same mistakes of the Pharisees? The traditions of their scholars had added a great pile of manure on top of God's Word, in some pitiful effort to protect Almighty God. They bore an intense focus on the mere appearance of things, never seeing beyond the flesh. For so long, the church has become entangled in magnifying Jesus' death experience as if it were unique in human history. It was not. To the world around Him, this was just another execution of troublemakers. Most of the actual events were rather mundane. What made it unique was the spiritual reality, as testified by the unusual response by Creation, and the ramifications for the end of Judaism. Those miracles were well below the threshold of logical proof. Without a spiritual understanding, this event was only somewhat noteworthy, and easily explained away. That is as it should be, for if the Holy Spirit does not make the message real, it's just a wild and improbable tale. The focus of this chapter is the spiritual reality; the events testify of that reality only if your spirit is alive in Christ.
Friday, January 25, 2008
Biblical Manhood
Sometime late in the previous millennium, it became popular for corporate management types to go off on tribal manhood retreats. Mostly it was play acting with faddish stuff drawn from barbaric cultures "where men were men." The term "male bonding" become mainstream. As long as it was silly, feminists didn't complain too much. Men making fools of themselves was pretty much what they joked about as the norm. These little adventures are still out there, but the silliness has toned down just a bit, and the coed teamwork adventure stuff has displaced it for the most part. Still, a lot of corporate consultants got rich off it, and still do.
You can find something similar at most monster churches, and plenty of smaller ones. It's the Christian Manhood curriculum. They vary in quality. One of the better ones is Men's Fraternity. Having experienced it directly, I know exactly what's in the curriculum, as I do several lesser ones. Further, I was able to examine some of the fundamental concepts. To say "it's one of the better" progams really isn't saying much. It still falls into the same trap as all the rest: It targets a very narrow segment of society.
A primary criticism of modern American Evangelical Churches is the unspoken assumption the epitome of Christianity is middle class corporate lifestyle. The entire underlying assumption is your church needs to be dominated by that particular subculture. Therefore, your entire programming is carefully tuned to appeal to that segment of society, and it pretty much alienates everyone else. If people coming into your discipleship classes exhibit a different set of expectations, some different idea of how people should dress, spend their money, etc., they'll be pressured to conform. The pressure will come under the guise of being different is somehow falling short of the Christian ideal.
Most of these manhood studies fall into that trap. If you happen to be blue-collar, you're going to have a tough time with some of them, and that includes Men's Fraternity. It's written by fellows with deep experience in the particular mindset of American corporate subculture. They've all played some sort of rough and tumble team sports, they still watch and root for their favorite college and professional teams, they blanch at the idea of holding hands with other men, could not conceive of kissing even their son's face once he's past age 8, and think it's okay to have that personal "bubble" of safe distance. While none of things are inherently wrong or right, they do reflect a particular outlook on what's normal. It is not at all normal if you grew up dirt poor, are Native American, a fine arts professional, or if your immediate relatives come from Africa, or just about any European country east of Germany -- in fact, this is "normal" only for the narrow slice of humanity likely to inhabit the corporate office cubicles across the US and maybe Western Europe.
It's not to say these curricula aren't Christian Manhood. It's that they are merely one narrow expression of manhood. Because of the depth to which this is branded into the Evangelical American mind, they are unable to recognize biblical manhood of any different flavor. Thus, these are studies which merely confirm where they are, instead of helping them to better understand the broader implications. Participants will most certainly come away with better job performance, better marriages, better parenting -- provided they live in corporate America.
Meanwhile, they don't understand the particularly biblical concept without all that other stuff. Mens' Fraternity is not a particularly dangerous program, unless you somehow feel it represents the pinnacle of Christian Manhood. The series will introduce the idea of leaving behind profligate immorality, crass materialism, and the petty fears about self-sacrifice. But it only introduces them; it's a first step. That the writers seem to have no concept for viewing the Bible from its own Hebraic mindset is painfully obvious. Until they move that direction, Men's Fraternity, and just about every other Christian Manhood curriculum, will be at best a baby step into the subject.
You can find something similar at most monster churches, and plenty of smaller ones. It's the Christian Manhood curriculum. They vary in quality. One of the better ones is Men's Fraternity. Having experienced it directly, I know exactly what's in the curriculum, as I do several lesser ones. Further, I was able to examine some of the fundamental concepts. To say "it's one of the better" progams really isn't saying much. It still falls into the same trap as all the rest: It targets a very narrow segment of society.
A primary criticism of modern American Evangelical Churches is the unspoken assumption the epitome of Christianity is middle class corporate lifestyle. The entire underlying assumption is your church needs to be dominated by that particular subculture. Therefore, your entire programming is carefully tuned to appeal to that segment of society, and it pretty much alienates everyone else. If people coming into your discipleship classes exhibit a different set of expectations, some different idea of how people should dress, spend their money, etc., they'll be pressured to conform. The pressure will come under the guise of being different is somehow falling short of the Christian ideal.
Most of these manhood studies fall into that trap. If you happen to be blue-collar, you're going to have a tough time with some of them, and that includes Men's Fraternity. It's written by fellows with deep experience in the particular mindset of American corporate subculture. They've all played some sort of rough and tumble team sports, they still watch and root for their favorite college and professional teams, they blanch at the idea of holding hands with other men, could not conceive of kissing even their son's face once he's past age 8, and think it's okay to have that personal "bubble" of safe distance. While none of things are inherently wrong or right, they do reflect a particular outlook on what's normal. It is not at all normal if you grew up dirt poor, are Native American, a fine arts professional, or if your immediate relatives come from Africa, or just about any European country east of Germany -- in fact, this is "normal" only for the narrow slice of humanity likely to inhabit the corporate office cubicles across the US and maybe Western Europe.
It's not to say these curricula aren't Christian Manhood. It's that they are merely one narrow expression of manhood. Because of the depth to which this is branded into the Evangelical American mind, they are unable to recognize biblical manhood of any different flavor. Thus, these are studies which merely confirm where they are, instead of helping them to better understand the broader implications. Participants will most certainly come away with better job performance, better marriages, better parenting -- provided they live in corporate America.
Meanwhile, they don't understand the particularly biblical concept without all that other stuff. Mens' Fraternity is not a particularly dangerous program, unless you somehow feel it represents the pinnacle of Christian Manhood. The series will introduce the idea of leaving behind profligate immorality, crass materialism, and the petty fears about self-sacrifice. But it only introduces them; it's a first step. That the writers seem to have no concept for viewing the Bible from its own Hebraic mindset is painfully obvious. Until they move that direction, Men's Fraternity, and just about every other Christian Manhood curriculum, will be at best a baby step into the subject.
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Sandy Foundations
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus was casting a view of God's ways. He did so as a corrective of a false view, by contrasting it with assumptions the people had about what the Law and Prophets required. They had been taught these assumptions mostly by the Pharisees, whose teaching dominated the synagogues at that time. Their teaching was mostly a pedantic, worldly corruption of the Old Testament, strongly influenced by a system of interpretation developed over three centuries of Hellenistic rationalism, in turn preceded by two centuries of Babylonian and Persian materialism. At the end of His message, as recorded in Matthew's Gospel (ch. 7), Jesus declared His teaching was a reflection of the ancient and eternal truth revealed by God Himself, characterized by a distinctly other-worldly outlook. Any other basis for looking at life was comparable to building on sand.
The task of Christian discipleship is moving people away from their natural and instinctive assumptions shaped by a human world view. It doesn't matter what that world view is; if it comes from any source but God, it's a human view, wholly shaped from fallen perceptions. A primary element in the Fall, we notice, was a change in perception. Adam and Eve suddenly decided appearing before God without covering was a bad idea. Previously, it had not mattered. Among other lessons from that narrative, we draw the understanding fallen man is blinded by a dead spirit. No part of human nature, minus the presence of the Holy Spirit, can see clearly beyond this world. Thus, fallen humanity has made tremendous strides in understanding and manipulating elements of human existence. When any part of those aspirations reaches into the spiritual, it fails, utterly and completely. Without Christ, no human is in any way able to grapple with eternity.
The tools of human reason, then, fall short when dealing with the Kingdom of Heaven. We are hardly surprised when people lacking that eternal perspective mistake what Scripture is saying. While it is clear they should be able to usefully analyze the Law of Moses, not much else in the Bible is within their reach. Sure, the obvious literary meaning of things is there, but the ultimate importance of them is, at best, hit and miss. Fallen men see no problem with passing judgment on God's command to remove the Canaanites from the earth. The assumption their value system is somehow superior to that is both sad and humorous. The spiritual issues involved have no meaning to them. All the rational arguments in the world won't change a clear command from God, who made all things.
Equally foolish are Christians today who, claiming to really embrace the Word of God on such matters, insist on ignoring what Jesus said about such things. First, it's too easy to forget Israel rejected that Covenant of the Law. Consistently throughout their history, they either refused to obey, or simply claimed they were obeying when they had twisted the meaning of the Law. During brief flashes of reform and revival, she experienced a bit of what should have been. Yet, for most of their history, they were off course. As time went on, they got farther and farther from it. By the time Jesus came along, they had no hope of even knowing what it was about, what it all meant. Jesus corrected this in His teaching. Finally, He announced the end of it all, closing God's dealings with man through a discrete nation of earth, and creating a new nation of souls. The whole matter of God's revelation and dealings with mankind became a matter of spirit alone.
Because of the infecting influence of human reasoning, it seems a vast majority of those claiming Christ have missed that. They still insist God has a human political agenda. If that is true, Christ died for nothing. We can detect all we need to know about human justice and political ideals from Moses. The proper Christian view of human politics is that none of it really matters. That's because the few things politics can affect don't really matter to Christians. Sure, we'd rather have our stuff unmolested and untaxed, our freedom to act in Christ as we see best without regulatory consequences, and we certainly would prefer to live a long and healthy life. Those are things God has said governments are supposed to promote, to the degree possible. Yet, the entire New Testament consistently warns us not to become too attached to these things. We bear their loss with grace, counting it all joy when our choice of holy living brings persecution.
Jesus told the Roman governor, "My Kingdom is not of this world" (John 18:36). We do not build His Kingdom on sand. The rock and foundation of faith is Christ, and His teaching clearly points away from this life, to life in the Spirit. How have we lost this?
The task of Christian discipleship is moving people away from their natural and instinctive assumptions shaped by a human world view. It doesn't matter what that world view is; if it comes from any source but God, it's a human view, wholly shaped from fallen perceptions. A primary element in the Fall, we notice, was a change in perception. Adam and Eve suddenly decided appearing before God without covering was a bad idea. Previously, it had not mattered. Among other lessons from that narrative, we draw the understanding fallen man is blinded by a dead spirit. No part of human nature, minus the presence of the Holy Spirit, can see clearly beyond this world. Thus, fallen humanity has made tremendous strides in understanding and manipulating elements of human existence. When any part of those aspirations reaches into the spiritual, it fails, utterly and completely. Without Christ, no human is in any way able to grapple with eternity.
The tools of human reason, then, fall short when dealing with the Kingdom of Heaven. We are hardly surprised when people lacking that eternal perspective mistake what Scripture is saying. While it is clear they should be able to usefully analyze the Law of Moses, not much else in the Bible is within their reach. Sure, the obvious literary meaning of things is there, but the ultimate importance of them is, at best, hit and miss. Fallen men see no problem with passing judgment on God's command to remove the Canaanites from the earth. The assumption their value system is somehow superior to that is both sad and humorous. The spiritual issues involved have no meaning to them. All the rational arguments in the world won't change a clear command from God, who made all things.
Equally foolish are Christians today who, claiming to really embrace the Word of God on such matters, insist on ignoring what Jesus said about such things. First, it's too easy to forget Israel rejected that Covenant of the Law. Consistently throughout their history, they either refused to obey, or simply claimed they were obeying when they had twisted the meaning of the Law. During brief flashes of reform and revival, she experienced a bit of what should have been. Yet, for most of their history, they were off course. As time went on, they got farther and farther from it. By the time Jesus came along, they had no hope of even knowing what it was about, what it all meant. Jesus corrected this in His teaching. Finally, He announced the end of it all, closing God's dealings with man through a discrete nation of earth, and creating a new nation of souls. The whole matter of God's revelation and dealings with mankind became a matter of spirit alone.
Because of the infecting influence of human reasoning, it seems a vast majority of those claiming Christ have missed that. They still insist God has a human political agenda. If that is true, Christ died for nothing. We can detect all we need to know about human justice and political ideals from Moses. The proper Christian view of human politics is that none of it really matters. That's because the few things politics can affect don't really matter to Christians. Sure, we'd rather have our stuff unmolested and untaxed, our freedom to act in Christ as we see best without regulatory consequences, and we certainly would prefer to live a long and healthy life. Those are things God has said governments are supposed to promote, to the degree possible. Yet, the entire New Testament consistently warns us not to become too attached to these things. We bear their loss with grace, counting it all joy when our choice of holy living brings persecution.
Jesus told the Roman governor, "My Kingdom is not of this world" (John 18:36). We do not build His Kingdom on sand. The rock and foundation of faith is Christ, and His teaching clearly points away from this life, to life in the Spirit. How have we lost this?
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
After the Fall: History Not Black and White
Attention, Christians: Humanity is fallen.
Just had to mention that. Too often we look at our modern world and forget most of humanity is not a part of us. That is, their spirits are dead. That's not to say they are uniformly evil, nor even to suggest we are not. Rather, we point out Christians have a living spirit, which imparts a sensitivity not available to the unredeemed. Success in responding to that sensitivity is a miracle of grace, too, the object of a life-long process of discipleship. Meanwhile, most of humanity lacks even that sensitivity, which we refer to as the presence of the Holy Spirit.
Given most of mankind is fallen, dreary estimates of human nature, such as reflected in many secularist writings, are mostly accurate. At any given time of the day, most humans individually are pretty decent. Aggregate them in groups, and group decency declines at approximately the same rate as the size of the group increases. It's built into the human soul.
So we are hardly surprised when people show some element of favoritism for this or that perceived similarity and shared identity. Even less surprising is racism of the sort based on apparent physical features. Give it a little time to watch, and you can predict a stronger reaction when ethnic variations are cataloged. Some ethnic conflicts are older than human memory, it seems. "Can't we all just get along?" No. Not when your different style of thinking and acting is thrust in someone else's face. If your ethnic culture includes a strong demonstrative factor, you'll be hated by other ethnic groups. This is what we should expect in a fallen world.
To then take sides with one against another is just making things worse. An example: Germans and Poles. Somewhere back in the mists of the past, a bunch of Germanic folks invaded Europe. We're not sure where they actually came from, nor whether the places behind them got new folks (pushing the Germans?) or folks they waded through. The Germans settled an area we recognize today as mostly Western Europe. At some point in the Middle Ages, when folks were all stoked up for Crusades, if something distracted them from Palestine, they went to war somewhere else. A particular group called Teutonic Knights headed east and waded through some folks called Poles.
The Teutonics became Prussians, more or less, and maintained a rather developed culture, while the Poles did their own thing. To all appearances, Polish stuff wasn't quite so fancy as the Prussian stuff. Pride enters the picture. (Yes, I'm romping past a ton of details, but I'm not being deceptive, just generalizing simplistically.) They fight. A lot. At some point, the Prussians take over some Polish land. Between them and some other troublemakers, the Poles get pushed back and forth quite a bit. They have nice, productive land. They push back. Both develop the habit of whacking the other when it looks like they can get away with it. Regional politics gives first one, then the other, advantages at different times.
The whole thing remains pretty ugly, and today, they just barely keep from going to war. Now, to a large degree, their weapons have changed from melee weapons, guns, etc., to information and economic weapons. At any rate, there were points when you could find the folks from one side in the other's territory. Massacres were common in their joint history.
Get the picture? Nations of fallen people are more obnoxious than individual fallen people. They've been at each of for so long, no one should be surprised when one of them pokes the other again. They can't resist. Nobody has clean hands. The unpleasantness during the 1930s and 1940s was just more of the same. If you try to point to provocation on either side, and freeze that moment without reference to any previous events, you can't claim it's a Christian evaluation, because your bias is no better than anyone else's.
Same goes with almost every other event which has involved people who claim US citizenship, serving under the US flag. There is nothing pure about any major event. Just like kids fighting in the back seat of the car during a traffic jam -- it's impossible to be just. Close your ears and drive or discipline both. They'll each blame the other, and pure justice simply doesn't exist. It won't matter what you've done to research the evil intentions of any person or group from, say WW2; not a single actor in that scene had clean hands. The results are not universally "good" by any objective measure.
That's what the Bible says about such things. You don't see that? You don't read it enough. The biblical view is cynicism about anything involving human politics. Imbue with false purity any particular side in any war since Christ, when God moved all His operations into the Spiritual Kingdom of His Son, so that no earthly identity mattered in terms of holiness, and you become a liar after the ways of Satan.
Just had to mention that. Too often we look at our modern world and forget most of humanity is not a part of us. That is, their spirits are dead. That's not to say they are uniformly evil, nor even to suggest we are not. Rather, we point out Christians have a living spirit, which imparts a sensitivity not available to the unredeemed. Success in responding to that sensitivity is a miracle of grace, too, the object of a life-long process of discipleship. Meanwhile, most of humanity lacks even that sensitivity, which we refer to as the presence of the Holy Spirit.
Given most of mankind is fallen, dreary estimates of human nature, such as reflected in many secularist writings, are mostly accurate. At any given time of the day, most humans individually are pretty decent. Aggregate them in groups, and group decency declines at approximately the same rate as the size of the group increases. It's built into the human soul.
So we are hardly surprised when people show some element of favoritism for this or that perceived similarity and shared identity. Even less surprising is racism of the sort based on apparent physical features. Give it a little time to watch, and you can predict a stronger reaction when ethnic variations are cataloged. Some ethnic conflicts are older than human memory, it seems. "Can't we all just get along?" No. Not when your different style of thinking and acting is thrust in someone else's face. If your ethnic culture includes a strong demonstrative factor, you'll be hated by other ethnic groups. This is what we should expect in a fallen world.
To then take sides with one against another is just making things worse. An example: Germans and Poles. Somewhere back in the mists of the past, a bunch of Germanic folks invaded Europe. We're not sure where they actually came from, nor whether the places behind them got new folks (pushing the Germans?) or folks they waded through. The Germans settled an area we recognize today as mostly Western Europe. At some point in the Middle Ages, when folks were all stoked up for Crusades, if something distracted them from Palestine, they went to war somewhere else. A particular group called Teutonic Knights headed east and waded through some folks called Poles.
The Teutonics became Prussians, more or less, and maintained a rather developed culture, while the Poles did their own thing. To all appearances, Polish stuff wasn't quite so fancy as the Prussian stuff. Pride enters the picture. (Yes, I'm romping past a ton of details, but I'm not being deceptive, just generalizing simplistically.) They fight. A lot. At some point, the Prussians take over some Polish land. Between them and some other troublemakers, the Poles get pushed back and forth quite a bit. They have nice, productive land. They push back. Both develop the habit of whacking the other when it looks like they can get away with it. Regional politics gives first one, then the other, advantages at different times.
The whole thing remains pretty ugly, and today, they just barely keep from going to war. Now, to a large degree, their weapons have changed from melee weapons, guns, etc., to information and economic weapons. At any rate, there were points when you could find the folks from one side in the other's territory. Massacres were common in their joint history.
Get the picture? Nations of fallen people are more obnoxious than individual fallen people. They've been at each of for so long, no one should be surprised when one of them pokes the other again. They can't resist. Nobody has clean hands. The unpleasantness during the 1930s and 1940s was just more of the same. If you try to point to provocation on either side, and freeze that moment without reference to any previous events, you can't claim it's a Christian evaluation, because your bias is no better than anyone else's.
Same goes with almost every other event which has involved people who claim US citizenship, serving under the US flag. There is nothing pure about any major event. Just like kids fighting in the back seat of the car during a traffic jam -- it's impossible to be just. Close your ears and drive or discipline both. They'll each blame the other, and pure justice simply doesn't exist. It won't matter what you've done to research the evil intentions of any person or group from, say WW2; not a single actor in that scene had clean hands. The results are not universally "good" by any objective measure.
That's what the Bible says about such things. You don't see that? You don't read it enough. The biblical view is cynicism about anything involving human politics. Imbue with false purity any particular side in any war since Christ, when God moved all His operations into the Spiritual Kingdom of His Son, so that no earthly identity mattered in terms of holiness, and you become a liar after the ways of Satan.
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
There Is a Righteousness for the World
The Law of Moses was given to the Nation of Israel. Paul made it clear the Law had nothing to do with saving souls, except as a means of exemplifying righteous conduct in a particular set of circumstances. Jesus often pointed out the Law of Moses was a shadow of the much higher Law of God. The writer of Hebrews made that point the fundamental argument in showing Jesus was the final endpoint of all Israel was meant to be in God's plan. That Moses offered blessings in this life is plainly obvious on the face of things. The whole business of shalom was a worldly experience symbolizing what was possible in spiritual terms. That Hebrew word includes several other concepts from what we might grasp in the mere English translation "peace": security from human threats and diseases, civil and social order, and a measure of material prosperity.
Should we examine the Law of Moses in light of our knowledge of Hebrew history and culture, we could arrive at a reasonable framework of principles for living which would still today give us those sorts of blessings. That's because we know theologically the Law of Moses was at least one example of the applied wisdom of living in harmony with Creation. Given our God and Creator is a moral Being, to say the least, we should hardly be surprised at the logic of seeing how His Creation responds directly to good moral living. While fallen man will inevitably sin for the very reason of having a dead spirit, it is still possible on some level for even the fallen to wise up and see the obvious. This is probably one of the few times when human logic and abstract thinking are appropriate regarding Scripture. They could never grasp the spiritual, but worldly cause and effect on a grand scale is still within reach. Fallen though the world is, nature itself follows a discernable pattern of response which prospers an effort to obey the underlying principles of the Law of Moses.
Further, Biblical Theology points out the Law of Moses fulfills the Covenant of Noah. Dig out the essence of Moses, strip away what is merely historical and cultural, and you have the fuller understanding of Noah. Noah applies to all humanity, particularly in light of the Fall. God's plan includes a final Return of His Son and Redeemer, and until that time, the world is obliged to God to keep some sense of civil order to preserve human life. God has a clear interest in human survival. When an individual endeavors to build a code of behavior drawn from the example of Moses, he will fulfill Noah, but he will also reap those blessing promised in Moses to the individual. When a group of people do the same, the blessings of Moses scale upward to match. This is simply a matter of how God operates in a fallen world, when we set aside for the sake of discussion eternal spiritual matters. To the degree mankind obeys Noah, obeys the essence of Moses, God approves of that under the promises of each.
Thus, we see clearly all human governments on this earth are obliged to the essence of Moses. There is plenty of room for debate on just what constitutes an element of justice versus a merely cultural example of it. For example, it's pretty easy to note universals in the Second Table of the Ten Commandments (5-10). And while there is room for debate on implementation of justice, we ignore a wealth of human history at our peril. Some things should be obvious.
All things are created by God. He gives to whom He wishes, including the ability to obtain material goods. Since there is ample provision offered by doing things the right way, it is plain we aren't permitted to use just any old means to gain wealth. Thus, we aren't permitted to steal, which covers taking by stealth, by force, or even subtle manipulation. We gain things only by God's granted means, mostly by the sweat of our brows. While inheritance is profiting by the sweat of a parent's brow, there is a good bit of discussion about making sure the beneficiary is properly trained to be grateful. Often this means requiring him to add to the pile with his own sweat before having full possession of it. Thus, we see a general concern with honesty in matters of property.
Further, in a broad examination of God's complaints about violations of this honesty through the prophets, we can detect a measure of warning about certain limits regarding wealth and the corollary of political power. On a grand scale, we see the Lord warning repeatedly the aggregation of wealth and power makes people arrogant. Arrogance is not a good thing. It makes people willing to treat others, others who lack similar wealth and power, as lesser creatures. While rank and privilege are simply natural to human communal living, arrogance and the implied hatred is not acceptable. Nothing in Scripture authorizes a means to directly attack these internal moral failures, aside from education. However, we are obliged to prevent its harmful applications. Somewhere on the other side of the brambles of intent, we find a set of very bad results. The symbolic image throughout both Old and New Testaments is the sad lot of orphans and widows.
Along with those who have lost their primary household provider, we see mention of those who are simply poor, or afflicted with various physical ailments and disabilities. Obviously the lazy are expected to starve. The notorious image of gabby busybodies is hard to ignore. However, there are plenty of people who simply fall into bad circumstances because the world is not perfect. Nor can this be corrected in itself. Jesus put that to rest: "The poor you will always have with you." Rather, the focus is on relieving their suffering, and preventing it being made worse by predators. It is always, always, always a matter of voluntary assistance given by individuals. Further, it is broadly assumed those who have been blessed with material goods will be the ones volunteering to give most. Withholding is, indeed, a moral wrong. However, at no time is it just to confiscate their goods when they refuse. Rather, the approved method for getting help to the unfortunate is education and social pressure.
No, this doesn't work every time. However, it is assumed in the long run God will take care of it at His level. Meanwhile, everyone else in the community is still on the hook for doing what he can. In so doing, the Lord promises He will act on this fundamental principle of justice built into Creation, in His own way, His own time. The community is not permitted to actively harm a grumpy, greedy man, but there are a wide range of actions they can take to make him realize his sin. Nothing of this permits in the slightest degree the assumption he owes anybody anything, except to God Himself. The community has zero claim on his property, except in the sense they need not be so enthusiastic about protecting him from an outside enemy. If the greedy grump refuses to participate in the life and health of the community by contributing, he gets nothing in return.
Communal life is critical; the Fifth Commandment makes that obvious, as the concept of community is tied to family. Defense from disaster and assault is a community property, a requirement from God. Humans are designed to live in groups, and the Lone Ranger is justly seen as a threat. However, there is always room in Creation for the fellow only God understands correctly, and He may prosper the solitude of some. Being an oddball inside a community is just fine. Having any measure of inequality in wealth and esteem is just standard fare. It's recognized in the Bible communities can be manipulated by effective propaganda. There is a duty to take your life in your own hands and reveal the truth if you uncover a lie. This is not about piddling little deceptions built into every day life, but about things which matter, things with consequence -- the definition is intentionally fuzzy, though. There is a certain amount of give and take. In any given local government, there must always be something which benefits one or more against the best interests of someone else. Deal with it. That is, accept a certain level of corruption as inevitable, because of such is communal life.
Yet, of a certainty, God notices. He can read all hearts and minds before the thoughts are formed, so He retains the privilege of final judgment. We below are obliged to accept approximations and limitations. It is in our best interests under Noah to prevent any aggregation of wealth and power in human hands. It's not a rule, but an item of general wisdom. Nor is it a matter of some false "zero sum" perception about wealth. God can make anybody wealthy as it suits Him, because He suffers no limits. This is more about the power of one human to treat another as mere object, along with the tendancy some have to do so. Oppression is evil by definition. This is covered in looking at the Second Table. Obviously, human life is precious, and to some degree, so is human comfort.
Notice that last commandment: Stop looking for ways to get something God gave someone else. It's okay to win your own, as long as you don't do so by demanding someone else lose theirs -- we call that "greed." The moment you gain the leverage, you are at risk of God's wrath. It may not manifest itself in any way obvious to other humans, but God sees, and God judges. Our Western commercial culture is mostly a poor excuse for greed. We see nothing wrong with banks impersonally dispossessing widows of their homes. They aren't targeting widows; they just demand what's agreed, right? Wrong. Mob justice and hatred for bankers are sins, too, but when financiers act to expose anyone to living on the streets, that's not "just business." Scripture makes much of things such as not keeping someone's cloak as a pledge overnight. Human need trumps profit in the Bible. Scripture doesn't remove the right of profit, but at some level humanity takes precedence. The failure of every loaning institution to examine the effects of their foreclosures on a case-by-case basis is defiance of God. Our lack of a culture which demands a mechanism for relief it is our complicity.
Again, not relief via tax funding, but in the power of regulation. No, I'm not embracing good, Republican or even Libertarian values. The Bible is above all those labels. It's better to have a world where loans are hard to get than to have a world were bankers can dictate the legislative process which governs them, and excuses their rapacious foreclosures. Luxury goods are a different matter, and so is it justified for bank officers to find out if that widow owns any other living quarters. They can even take the best houses and leave widows just one, as long as it is reasonably livable. Further, they can take into account whether her last mortgage was for reasons utterly frivolous, and perhaps take a lot of stuff from inside the home. But below a certain level of human necessity, the rich and powerful are obliged to take the loss. That's why God gave them their wealth. The health of the community comes first.
We could easily make a book of wrestling with many other applications. That will await another day. For now, it is clear we in the US have given far too much power to people who don't care a whit what God requires, or at the very least really misunderstand it. We have encouraged the rise of rulers who are unaccountable in any way but to their whims. In our own silly demand for national greatness, we have fallen to the depths of national depravity. The American Dream has become a nightmare; American presence in the world is too often a terror. God has already judged us, and we are doomed. In His patience, the wrath comes slowly, so that individuals may yet turn in repentance. However, the patience also allows for a more complete destruction. It will not be pretty.
Should we examine the Law of Moses in light of our knowledge of Hebrew history and culture, we could arrive at a reasonable framework of principles for living which would still today give us those sorts of blessings. That's because we know theologically the Law of Moses was at least one example of the applied wisdom of living in harmony with Creation. Given our God and Creator is a moral Being, to say the least, we should hardly be surprised at the logic of seeing how His Creation responds directly to good moral living. While fallen man will inevitably sin for the very reason of having a dead spirit, it is still possible on some level for even the fallen to wise up and see the obvious. This is probably one of the few times when human logic and abstract thinking are appropriate regarding Scripture. They could never grasp the spiritual, but worldly cause and effect on a grand scale is still within reach. Fallen though the world is, nature itself follows a discernable pattern of response which prospers an effort to obey the underlying principles of the Law of Moses.
Further, Biblical Theology points out the Law of Moses fulfills the Covenant of Noah. Dig out the essence of Moses, strip away what is merely historical and cultural, and you have the fuller understanding of Noah. Noah applies to all humanity, particularly in light of the Fall. God's plan includes a final Return of His Son and Redeemer, and until that time, the world is obliged to God to keep some sense of civil order to preserve human life. God has a clear interest in human survival. When an individual endeavors to build a code of behavior drawn from the example of Moses, he will fulfill Noah, but he will also reap those blessing promised in Moses to the individual. When a group of people do the same, the blessings of Moses scale upward to match. This is simply a matter of how God operates in a fallen world, when we set aside for the sake of discussion eternal spiritual matters. To the degree mankind obeys Noah, obeys the essence of Moses, God approves of that under the promises of each.
Thus, we see clearly all human governments on this earth are obliged to the essence of Moses. There is plenty of room for debate on just what constitutes an element of justice versus a merely cultural example of it. For example, it's pretty easy to note universals in the Second Table of the Ten Commandments (5-10). And while there is room for debate on implementation of justice, we ignore a wealth of human history at our peril. Some things should be obvious.
All things are created by God. He gives to whom He wishes, including the ability to obtain material goods. Since there is ample provision offered by doing things the right way, it is plain we aren't permitted to use just any old means to gain wealth. Thus, we aren't permitted to steal, which covers taking by stealth, by force, or even subtle manipulation. We gain things only by God's granted means, mostly by the sweat of our brows. While inheritance is profiting by the sweat of a parent's brow, there is a good bit of discussion about making sure the beneficiary is properly trained to be grateful. Often this means requiring him to add to the pile with his own sweat before having full possession of it. Thus, we see a general concern with honesty in matters of property.
Further, in a broad examination of God's complaints about violations of this honesty through the prophets, we can detect a measure of warning about certain limits regarding wealth and the corollary of political power. On a grand scale, we see the Lord warning repeatedly the aggregation of wealth and power makes people arrogant. Arrogance is not a good thing. It makes people willing to treat others, others who lack similar wealth and power, as lesser creatures. While rank and privilege are simply natural to human communal living, arrogance and the implied hatred is not acceptable. Nothing in Scripture authorizes a means to directly attack these internal moral failures, aside from education. However, we are obliged to prevent its harmful applications. Somewhere on the other side of the brambles of intent, we find a set of very bad results. The symbolic image throughout both Old and New Testaments is the sad lot of orphans and widows.
Along with those who have lost their primary household provider, we see mention of those who are simply poor, or afflicted with various physical ailments and disabilities. Obviously the lazy are expected to starve. The notorious image of gabby busybodies is hard to ignore. However, there are plenty of people who simply fall into bad circumstances because the world is not perfect. Nor can this be corrected in itself. Jesus put that to rest: "The poor you will always have with you." Rather, the focus is on relieving their suffering, and preventing it being made worse by predators. It is always, always, always a matter of voluntary assistance given by individuals. Further, it is broadly assumed those who have been blessed with material goods will be the ones volunteering to give most. Withholding is, indeed, a moral wrong. However, at no time is it just to confiscate their goods when they refuse. Rather, the approved method for getting help to the unfortunate is education and social pressure.
No, this doesn't work every time. However, it is assumed in the long run God will take care of it at His level. Meanwhile, everyone else in the community is still on the hook for doing what he can. In so doing, the Lord promises He will act on this fundamental principle of justice built into Creation, in His own way, His own time. The community is not permitted to actively harm a grumpy, greedy man, but there are a wide range of actions they can take to make him realize his sin. Nothing of this permits in the slightest degree the assumption he owes anybody anything, except to God Himself. The community has zero claim on his property, except in the sense they need not be so enthusiastic about protecting him from an outside enemy. If the greedy grump refuses to participate in the life and health of the community by contributing, he gets nothing in return.
Communal life is critical; the Fifth Commandment makes that obvious, as the concept of community is tied to family. Defense from disaster and assault is a community property, a requirement from God. Humans are designed to live in groups, and the Lone Ranger is justly seen as a threat. However, there is always room in Creation for the fellow only God understands correctly, and He may prosper the solitude of some. Being an oddball inside a community is just fine. Having any measure of inequality in wealth and esteem is just standard fare. It's recognized in the Bible communities can be manipulated by effective propaganda. There is a duty to take your life in your own hands and reveal the truth if you uncover a lie. This is not about piddling little deceptions built into every day life, but about things which matter, things with consequence -- the definition is intentionally fuzzy, though. There is a certain amount of give and take. In any given local government, there must always be something which benefits one or more against the best interests of someone else. Deal with it. That is, accept a certain level of corruption as inevitable, because of such is communal life.
Yet, of a certainty, God notices. He can read all hearts and minds before the thoughts are formed, so He retains the privilege of final judgment. We below are obliged to accept approximations and limitations. It is in our best interests under Noah to prevent any aggregation of wealth and power in human hands. It's not a rule, but an item of general wisdom. Nor is it a matter of some false "zero sum" perception about wealth. God can make anybody wealthy as it suits Him, because He suffers no limits. This is more about the power of one human to treat another as mere object, along with the tendancy some have to do so. Oppression is evil by definition. This is covered in looking at the Second Table. Obviously, human life is precious, and to some degree, so is human comfort.
Notice that last commandment: Stop looking for ways to get something God gave someone else. It's okay to win your own, as long as you don't do so by demanding someone else lose theirs -- we call that "greed." The moment you gain the leverage, you are at risk of God's wrath. It may not manifest itself in any way obvious to other humans, but God sees, and God judges. Our Western commercial culture is mostly a poor excuse for greed. We see nothing wrong with banks impersonally dispossessing widows of their homes. They aren't targeting widows; they just demand what's agreed, right? Wrong. Mob justice and hatred for bankers are sins, too, but when financiers act to expose anyone to living on the streets, that's not "just business." Scripture makes much of things such as not keeping someone's cloak as a pledge overnight. Human need trumps profit in the Bible. Scripture doesn't remove the right of profit, but at some level humanity takes precedence. The failure of every loaning institution to examine the effects of their foreclosures on a case-by-case basis is defiance of God. Our lack of a culture which demands a mechanism for relief it is our complicity.
Again, not relief via tax funding, but in the power of regulation. No, I'm not embracing good, Republican or even Libertarian values. The Bible is above all those labels. It's better to have a world where loans are hard to get than to have a world were bankers can dictate the legislative process which governs them, and excuses their rapacious foreclosures. Luxury goods are a different matter, and so is it justified for bank officers to find out if that widow owns any other living quarters. They can even take the best houses and leave widows just one, as long as it is reasonably livable. Further, they can take into account whether her last mortgage was for reasons utterly frivolous, and perhaps take a lot of stuff from inside the home. But below a certain level of human necessity, the rich and powerful are obliged to take the loss. That's why God gave them their wealth. The health of the community comes first.
We could easily make a book of wrestling with many other applications. That will await another day. For now, it is clear we in the US have given far too much power to people who don't care a whit what God requires, or at the very least really misunderstand it. We have encouraged the rise of rulers who are unaccountable in any way but to their whims. In our own silly demand for national greatness, we have fallen to the depths of national depravity. The American Dream has become a nightmare; American presence in the world is too often a terror. God has already judged us, and we are doomed. In His patience, the wrath comes slowly, so that individuals may yet turn in repentance. However, the patience also allows for a more complete destruction. It will not be pretty.
Monday, January 21, 2008
Tribulation Report #006: Flight, Not Fight
While there are justly many things which are best handled by human government, even in those things we note wrily government may be the least competent. It seems no matter what it is we are talking about, a private agency can inevitably do it more efficiently, with greater skill, and invariably with less mess than the government. There is one thing at which government excels: destroying things and killing people.
Normally you aren't likely to find this out, but lately these skills are being turned more and more upon the citizens by our federal and state governments. Further, the people executing these skills are increasingly less accountable, and less concerned about being accountable. A government by definition carries a monopoly on violent force. Anyone else using it, by definition, is in revolt, is attempting to act as a parallel government. In the long run, who marshals the greatest violent force will win the battle of who gets to play government.
There is not doubt at this point who will win any such contest. The US federal government will not let any rivals so much as make the announcement of a debate on it. Though distinct groups will come and go, the gangs will probably keep trying, as a longing of the soul for some sort of alternative view of justice. It's hard to be certain whether their vision for tomorrow is so very much worse or better than similar dreams by the armed constitutionalists. Indeed, had the patriot militia ever wanted to be effective, their last chance was during Bill Clinton's administration. He probably half expected it, because he went after them with such brutality. If the militias thought they could lie low awhile and rebound, they are too late. It won't happen, at least not without a major assistance from God which decimates the federal system.
Thus, I want Christians to settle in their minds the police state is here, and the vise will tighten slowly for a time yet. Preparing resistance is easily planning to die. Jesus warned Peter about that in the Garden of Gethsemane; not just for that situation, but Jesus warned him using a broad principle: Nothing of significance in the Kingdom gets done by violence. If you don't feel led to face the meat-grinder, run away.
We have plenty of good solid proof how the government functions when you need help. Just consider New Orleans. Those who did not take the initiative to escape on their own were herded into that dome. They were told blatant lies about safety, shelter and food. There was not enough shelter, far too little food and water, and no plans to solve that problem. The only plans were to insure the people did not leave alive until some incompetent bureaucrats felt like it. Thus, we see many people herded into a makeshift prison, stripped of personal belongings, including the means to protect themselves, and starved. What no one wanted to report was how many suffered from predators because no one would defend them internally, and how many were beaten if they tried to leave.
While there are many other revelations about federal arrogance and downright evil and hateful actions there, one thing becomes clear: You absolutely cannot trust the federal government. Should you find yourself ever in some situation which resembles a disaster, and you hear FEMA is coming to help you out, RUN! Flee far and fast, because whatever you lose by abandoning is far less than what you stand to lose by being "helped." These people will hurt you! Indeed, the one time I might counsel the possibility of engaging in violence is to ensure you have a reasonable chance of escaping. That's the one place where it might serve some use. Once they have you, it's too late.
To the degree you sense the Lord makes you able, prepare a flight plan. Have in mind what you can carry in a vehicle load, what you can carry on your back, what will fit in a paper sack. What's the one thing you would really have to take with you, regardless? It never hurts to have some experience in survival, especially the business of knowing what really matters. Jesus warned His disciples in Matthew 24 about the coming destruction of Jerusalem. A critical element was to recognize the moment when it was too late for anything but flight, at which point no material possession was worth your life. If you aren't called to face death yet, God needs you alive to share His Word somewhere else. Keep your running shoes and Bible handy.
Normally you aren't likely to find this out, but lately these skills are being turned more and more upon the citizens by our federal and state governments. Further, the people executing these skills are increasingly less accountable, and less concerned about being accountable. A government by definition carries a monopoly on violent force. Anyone else using it, by definition, is in revolt, is attempting to act as a parallel government. In the long run, who marshals the greatest violent force will win the battle of who gets to play government.
There is not doubt at this point who will win any such contest. The US federal government will not let any rivals so much as make the announcement of a debate on it. Though distinct groups will come and go, the gangs will probably keep trying, as a longing of the soul for some sort of alternative view of justice. It's hard to be certain whether their vision for tomorrow is so very much worse or better than similar dreams by the armed constitutionalists. Indeed, had the patriot militia ever wanted to be effective, their last chance was during Bill Clinton's administration. He probably half expected it, because he went after them with such brutality. If the militias thought they could lie low awhile and rebound, they are too late. It won't happen, at least not without a major assistance from God which decimates the federal system.
Thus, I want Christians to settle in their minds the police state is here, and the vise will tighten slowly for a time yet. Preparing resistance is easily planning to die. Jesus warned Peter about that in the Garden of Gethsemane; not just for that situation, but Jesus warned him using a broad principle: Nothing of significance in the Kingdom gets done by violence. If you don't feel led to face the meat-grinder, run away.
We have plenty of good solid proof how the government functions when you need help. Just consider New Orleans. Those who did not take the initiative to escape on their own were herded into that dome. They were told blatant lies about safety, shelter and food. There was not enough shelter, far too little food and water, and no plans to solve that problem. The only plans were to insure the people did not leave alive until some incompetent bureaucrats felt like it. Thus, we see many people herded into a makeshift prison, stripped of personal belongings, including the means to protect themselves, and starved. What no one wanted to report was how many suffered from predators because no one would defend them internally, and how many were beaten if they tried to leave.
While there are many other revelations about federal arrogance and downright evil and hateful actions there, one thing becomes clear: You absolutely cannot trust the federal government. Should you find yourself ever in some situation which resembles a disaster, and you hear FEMA is coming to help you out, RUN! Flee far and fast, because whatever you lose by abandoning is far less than what you stand to lose by being "helped." These people will hurt you! Indeed, the one time I might counsel the possibility of engaging in violence is to ensure you have a reasonable chance of escaping. That's the one place where it might serve some use. Once they have you, it's too late.
To the degree you sense the Lord makes you able, prepare a flight plan. Have in mind what you can carry in a vehicle load, what you can carry on your back, what will fit in a paper sack. What's the one thing you would really have to take with you, regardless? It never hurts to have some experience in survival, especially the business of knowing what really matters. Jesus warned His disciples in Matthew 24 about the coming destruction of Jerusalem. A critical element was to recognize the moment when it was too late for anything but flight, at which point no material possession was worth your life. If you aren't called to face death yet, God needs you alive to share His Word somewhere else. Keep your running shoes and Bible handy.
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Grammar Curmudgeon: Twofer
Yes, "twofer" is an acceptable term in some situations. I'm not a Luddite when it comes the development of language. The point is, English is my very favorite ministry tool, and I am passionate about keeping it in usable shape.
A primary mistake these days among journalists -- A pox on them! -- these days is confusing populace and populous, which are pronounced almost the same. The former is a noun, generally used to indicate the folks dwelling in a particular region. The latter is an adjective, indicating a given region is densely populated (peopled).
Far less excusable is confusing the meaning between "I could care less" and "I could not care less." Grammatically, the former is nonsense, except as a comical expression equivalent to, "You want me to get even more hostile to this issue?" The latter is the proper form to express a total lack of concern -- "It is not possible for this to be any less important to me than it now is. It's not even on the radar screen. Don't bother me." Thus, it implies contemptuous dismissal.
A note in passing to those who revel in redneck grammar: You still sound like an complete idiot when you insist on replacing "format" with "floormat." I'll be glad to discuss with you the layout of many things, but when I want to cover the worn carpet in my automobile, I'll just buy something cheap without discussion, because I couldn't care less.
A primary mistake these days among journalists -- A pox on them! -- these days is confusing populace and populous, which are pronounced almost the same. The former is a noun, generally used to indicate the folks dwelling in a particular region. The latter is an adjective, indicating a given region is densely populated (peopled).
Far less excusable is confusing the meaning between "I could care less" and "I could not care less." Grammatically, the former is nonsense, except as a comical expression equivalent to, "You want me to get even more hostile to this issue?" The latter is the proper form to express a total lack of concern -- "It is not possible for this to be any less important to me than it now is. It's not even on the radar screen. Don't bother me." Thus, it implies contemptuous dismissal.
A note in passing to those who revel in redneck grammar: You still sound like an complete idiot when you insist on replacing "format" with "floormat." I'll be glad to discuss with you the layout of many things, but when I want to cover the worn carpet in my automobile, I'll just buy something cheap without discussion, because I couldn't care less.
Saturday, January 19, 2008
Life of Christ: Matthew 26:36-75
The Valley of Death that night was on the lower hillside of the Mount of Olives, in the private garden called Gethsemane. They came here quite often. The name means "oil press," quite appropriate since olive trees grew all over the mountain ridge named for them. Most people would have used that quiet dark place for more fleshly pursuits, but Jesus came here for the last showdown against His flesh. He left the main group near the entrance to the garden, and took the same three who had seen His Transfiguration farther along. Paintings and drawings of this moment are just guesswork, if not pure flights of fancy. It was probably much more mundane to anyone looking on, but false piety afflicts many who think it serves the Truth. The common posture for intense prayer was face down on the ground. Indeed, this was the slave's posture, knees on the earth, bent down between them with the forehead touching the ground. It is quite uncomfortable, and the ultimate sign of humility before some powerful authority. He had asked the trio to pray with Him together from nearby.
Jesus described Himself as feeling tortured. Apparently they were without comprehension on this. His flesh wanted no part of the sacrifice before Him. Still, He was master of Himself, and was willing to take this path if there was no other. He spoke with His Father in terms of a prisoner, sentenced to death by poison. Was there no one else to whom the cup could be passed, so He may be spared? We find His disciples sleeping when He goes back to check on them. Notice His remonstrance was more a matter of their spiritual safety, not His. He could handle what was before Him, but they faced a trial beyond them. Twice He returned to find them overcome by the flesh. Had they any sense of what was ahead, they would have easily been awake and trembling. As always, the business of His impending death fell on their ears with no place in the mind to process the fact. On His third return, ensured He knew His Father's plans, He woke them to face what was coming for all of them. The betrayer was leading the soldiers to them.
Judas knew His former Master's habits. After the Seder, they would typically have come to the garden. Thus, arresting Jesus was simple. Judas was leading a crowd. The Temple Guard, armed with clubs, and Roman soldiers with swords. While the former did the dirty work, the latter by their presence showed it was lawful. There would have been any number of lesser officials of both the Sanhedrin and the Roman cohort, along with servants and perhaps not a few simple onlookers. The pre-arranged sign would be the typical Eastern greeting of respect. Not only was it dark, but many might not have seen Jesus more than once or twice. Judas had no trouble picking Him out.
Impetuous Peter, good as his word, was ready for a fight, though Matthew does not point him out as the one. His "sword" would have been perhaps a large knife, just large enough to be classed by the Romans as a weapon, and thus, illegal. We have to wonder if he lacked skill in its use, for the wound he left was not fatal. Jesus stopped Him there, warning Peter the Kingdom was not served by mortal combat. Should God desire any violence, He uses angels. There were more than enough of them available to have battled the entire city. The need of the moment was to obey the Word, to fulfill the prophecies. Indeed, He mocked the heavy armament of the arresting party. They could have arrested Him at any time, and He would not have offered violence. Still, they did not know they were precisely acting as prophets had said they would.
At that point, the disciples were completely lost. Everything they had expected was wrong, and what happened was utterly beyond anything they understood. The world had turned upside down, so much so they weren't even sure of God anymore. They fled the scene.
Near as we can tell, it would be a good hike to the palace of the High Priest. The position then held by Caiaphas offered a large home on the slope of a hill. The courtyard and entrance was naturally on the lower side. It was here the entire Sanhedrin and court assistants had gathered. Peter managed to follow from a distance. Who knows what was in his mind? He came in the gate of the courtyard and sat near a fire for the servants who must stand in attendance in the open yard. Jesus would have been led up some steps. Most likely the assembly had gathered in a semi-open area just above the courtyard. Jesus would stand at the top of the steps near the entrance, facing the Sanhedrin. This was completely illegal by Moses and by tradition, since it happened at night.
Still, we cannot now know what other corruptions they felt they could get away with at that time. They did attempt to gain a legitimate accusation, but no two witnesses could be found with the same story. With one final attempt at two men suggesting something which added up to Jesus saying He could rebuild Herod's Temple in three days, perhaps after a plot to destroy it, Caiaphas arose to ask if Jesus had any reaction. That they could find a hint of broken law in a mystical statement about temples of flesh shows their desperation. Legally He was not required to answer invalid charges from a single witness. Finally, there was nothing left but to compel Him to answer a question He must, if honest, answer wrongly in their eyes.
Did He claim to be the Son of God? He did. The proof would be after His death, when they would see Him again as the Redeemer of God. They judged Him this night only by an accident of history; He would return to judge them as the Prosecutor of God Almighty. They didn't bother to demand proof of His claim; there could be none in their eyes. It's not as if they would know, in the first place. His claim was blasphemy on the face of it. Of course, for the High Priest to tear any of his garments on official duty was illegal, but he insisted on using the customary symbol of distress as the political leader of the nation, because all who heard a blasphemous speech were supposed to make a tear in their clothes and not repair it ever again. It served to stir the passion necessary to proceed, as they all agreed unanimously to His guilt and death sentence.
They treated Him with the ceremonial expressions of contempt by punching and slapping, and spitting on Him. At the same time, they mocked Him, demanding He as prophet name who was striking Him. From the courtyard below, and still in the Valley of Death, Peter saw all this. He was facing his own torment. Gone was the bravery and boasting, for he could not admit to being so much as acquainted with the Prisoner. Thrice, each time more vehemently, his tortured soul was torn by his fear and his lies. Upon the third time, cursing, he was greeted by the sound of a rooster crowing the coming sunrise. This triggered the memory of Jesus' warning Peter would deny Him three times before dawn. While using the Romanesque term for that final watch before dawn -- "cocks-crow" -- it was all too literal, now. Peter, the man who perhaps struggled hardest with the other-worldly Hebrew mind of Christ, was finally hit with something his literalist mind could understand. It was all too much for him, and he left the courtyard in tears. His sorrows were just beginning.
Jesus described Himself as feeling tortured. Apparently they were without comprehension on this. His flesh wanted no part of the sacrifice before Him. Still, He was master of Himself, and was willing to take this path if there was no other. He spoke with His Father in terms of a prisoner, sentenced to death by poison. Was there no one else to whom the cup could be passed, so He may be spared? We find His disciples sleeping when He goes back to check on them. Notice His remonstrance was more a matter of their spiritual safety, not His. He could handle what was before Him, but they faced a trial beyond them. Twice He returned to find them overcome by the flesh. Had they any sense of what was ahead, they would have easily been awake and trembling. As always, the business of His impending death fell on their ears with no place in the mind to process the fact. On His third return, ensured He knew His Father's plans, He woke them to face what was coming for all of them. The betrayer was leading the soldiers to them.
Judas knew His former Master's habits. After the Seder, they would typically have come to the garden. Thus, arresting Jesus was simple. Judas was leading a crowd. The Temple Guard, armed with clubs, and Roman soldiers with swords. While the former did the dirty work, the latter by their presence showed it was lawful. There would have been any number of lesser officials of both the Sanhedrin and the Roman cohort, along with servants and perhaps not a few simple onlookers. The pre-arranged sign would be the typical Eastern greeting of respect. Not only was it dark, but many might not have seen Jesus more than once or twice. Judas had no trouble picking Him out.
Impetuous Peter, good as his word, was ready for a fight, though Matthew does not point him out as the one. His "sword" would have been perhaps a large knife, just large enough to be classed by the Romans as a weapon, and thus, illegal. We have to wonder if he lacked skill in its use, for the wound he left was not fatal. Jesus stopped Him there, warning Peter the Kingdom was not served by mortal combat. Should God desire any violence, He uses angels. There were more than enough of them available to have battled the entire city. The need of the moment was to obey the Word, to fulfill the prophecies. Indeed, He mocked the heavy armament of the arresting party. They could have arrested Him at any time, and He would not have offered violence. Still, they did not know they were precisely acting as prophets had said they would.
At that point, the disciples were completely lost. Everything they had expected was wrong, and what happened was utterly beyond anything they understood. The world had turned upside down, so much so they weren't even sure of God anymore. They fled the scene.
Near as we can tell, it would be a good hike to the palace of the High Priest. The position then held by Caiaphas offered a large home on the slope of a hill. The courtyard and entrance was naturally on the lower side. It was here the entire Sanhedrin and court assistants had gathered. Peter managed to follow from a distance. Who knows what was in his mind? He came in the gate of the courtyard and sat near a fire for the servants who must stand in attendance in the open yard. Jesus would have been led up some steps. Most likely the assembly had gathered in a semi-open area just above the courtyard. Jesus would stand at the top of the steps near the entrance, facing the Sanhedrin. This was completely illegal by Moses and by tradition, since it happened at night.
Still, we cannot now know what other corruptions they felt they could get away with at that time. They did attempt to gain a legitimate accusation, but no two witnesses could be found with the same story. With one final attempt at two men suggesting something which added up to Jesus saying He could rebuild Herod's Temple in three days, perhaps after a plot to destroy it, Caiaphas arose to ask if Jesus had any reaction. That they could find a hint of broken law in a mystical statement about temples of flesh shows their desperation. Legally He was not required to answer invalid charges from a single witness. Finally, there was nothing left but to compel Him to answer a question He must, if honest, answer wrongly in their eyes.
Did He claim to be the Son of God? He did. The proof would be after His death, when they would see Him again as the Redeemer of God. They judged Him this night only by an accident of history; He would return to judge them as the Prosecutor of God Almighty. They didn't bother to demand proof of His claim; there could be none in their eyes. It's not as if they would know, in the first place. His claim was blasphemy on the face of it. Of course, for the High Priest to tear any of his garments on official duty was illegal, but he insisted on using the customary symbol of distress as the political leader of the nation, because all who heard a blasphemous speech were supposed to make a tear in their clothes and not repair it ever again. It served to stir the passion necessary to proceed, as they all agreed unanimously to His guilt and death sentence.
They treated Him with the ceremonial expressions of contempt by punching and slapping, and spitting on Him. At the same time, they mocked Him, demanding He as prophet name who was striking Him. From the courtyard below, and still in the Valley of Death, Peter saw all this. He was facing his own torment. Gone was the bravery and boasting, for he could not admit to being so much as acquainted with the Prisoner. Thrice, each time more vehemently, his tortured soul was torn by his fear and his lies. Upon the third time, cursing, he was greeted by the sound of a rooster crowing the coming sunrise. This triggered the memory of Jesus' warning Peter would deny Him three times before dawn. While using the Romanesque term for that final watch before dawn -- "cocks-crow" -- it was all too literal, now. Peter, the man who perhaps struggled hardest with the other-worldly Hebrew mind of Christ, was finally hit with something his literalist mind could understand. It was all too much for him, and he left the courtyard in tears. His sorrows were just beginning.
Quick Note: Allegory Versus Symbolic Logic
For most of us, there is no difference between saying a story is allegorical or saying it is symbolic. That's not precisely true, though. Allegory assumes too often a one-to-one relationship between the representation and the thing represented. This is a Western rational tool. The Greeks probably didn't invent it, but most of our use today reflects theirs.
Symbolism is much more obscure, fuzzy even. Symbolism would almost never provide a one-to-one relationship between the parts of the narrative and something more concrete. The elements of the narrative are demonstrative in a broader sense. A biblical parable is symbolic, especially in the older Hebrew mold. It demonstrates in general a single concept, which concept may be otherwise difficult to enunciate. The items in the narrative aren't so important as the whole picture. Thus, the principle: "You can't make a parable walk on all-fours."
Yes, Jesus does point out how some of His parables do appear to have a more concrete allegorical structure. This does not change the principle, but informs us Hebrew minds are simply more flexible in their methods than the Hellenist. Further, I am fully aware the writer of Hebrews uses a lot of allegory, principally because his audience is Alexandrian (Hellenist) in mind. Finally, Paul uses allegory more with the Corinthians than with any other church. The Apostle John, we note, almost never used it. He stayed with the Hebrew model.
Just for fun, we note the Song of Solomon was largely allegorical in structure, but the message is symbolic.
Symbolism is much more obscure, fuzzy even. Symbolism would almost never provide a one-to-one relationship between the parts of the narrative and something more concrete. The elements of the narrative are demonstrative in a broader sense. A biblical parable is symbolic, especially in the older Hebrew mold. It demonstrates in general a single concept, which concept may be otherwise difficult to enunciate. The items in the narrative aren't so important as the whole picture. Thus, the principle: "You can't make a parable walk on all-fours."
Yes, Jesus does point out how some of His parables do appear to have a more concrete allegorical structure. This does not change the principle, but informs us Hebrew minds are simply more flexible in their methods than the Hellenist. Further, I am fully aware the writer of Hebrews uses a lot of allegory, principally because his audience is Alexandrian (Hellenist) in mind. Finally, Paul uses allegory more with the Corinthians than with any other church. The Apostle John, we note, almost never used it. He stayed with the Hebrew model.
Just for fun, we note the Song of Solomon was largely allegorical in structure, but the message is symbolic.
Friday, January 18, 2008
Prayer Request: What To Do Next
As my wife and I pray for direction regarding the future of our ministry, we note several things are rather clear:
That last item is the biggest problem. We find ourselves in a blind spot here. For now, we are fine with the idea of moving there. It matches up quite well with all our expectations for the future, especially regarding the economic disaster and social disorder I predict will come this year. I'd like to be there ASAP. But the window of opportunity appears to be a bad fit. We are pretty much forced to commit ourselves to a course of action before the end of this month. We can give notice and let our lease expire, moving first of March. Or, we can extend the lease to August.
What makes it confusing for us is nothing can be done to prepare the house right now. Repairs and modifications cannot commence until after the point at which we commit ourselves. That these repairs will be done in time is currently dubious. The reason we cannot begin now is lack of funds. My brother is in a very tight bind, and so are we. It's a two-hour drive, and the needed repairs include such things as: removing standing water from the basement, adding a door and window to seal the basement, replacing the back door of the house, replacing a couple of windows, removing stored equipment and junk, adding necessary appliances, etc. The biggest problem is whether the moldy smell can be removed, because my wife and I are allergic somewhat to mold.
So, barring something on the order of a $1000 windfall in the next two weeks, I don't see how we can proceed. For now, I have not been granted the peace of faith to dive in and not look back. Such a move is consistent with my character and desires, but this includes my wife, and she's not happy with this one. I'm not at peace with it, either, because there are other questions I'd rather not delve into here.
Pray that we find that peace about one path or the other. None of this excludes God moving in some different direction altogether. In my experience, that is likely to be the real reason. God can't reveal it yet, for reasons only He knows. At any rate, by the end of this month we either have to lock ourselves into getting out or staying.
- We should get our own server, and a business-grade Net connection and self-host our ministry website. So we are praying to receive a server-grade computer for this.
- The very best form of teaching the Word is a live performance. That's built into the very nature of God and how He reveals Himself to the world. Here we run into a rather amorphous prayer request, because we have no idea how to implement what God intends with that, but I have a burning desire to teach orally in front of a live congregation.
- We don't believe we should stay here in our current apartment. However, we have no idea where to go next, aside from an offer from my brother to live in an ancient house in Muskogee rent-free.
That last item is the biggest problem. We find ourselves in a blind spot here. For now, we are fine with the idea of moving there. It matches up quite well with all our expectations for the future, especially regarding the economic disaster and social disorder I predict will come this year. I'd like to be there ASAP. But the window of opportunity appears to be a bad fit. We are pretty much forced to commit ourselves to a course of action before the end of this month. We can give notice and let our lease expire, moving first of March. Or, we can extend the lease to August.
What makes it confusing for us is nothing can be done to prepare the house right now. Repairs and modifications cannot commence until after the point at which we commit ourselves. That these repairs will be done in time is currently dubious. The reason we cannot begin now is lack of funds. My brother is in a very tight bind, and so are we. It's a two-hour drive, and the needed repairs include such things as: removing standing water from the basement, adding a door and window to seal the basement, replacing the back door of the house, replacing a couple of windows, removing stored equipment and junk, adding necessary appliances, etc. The biggest problem is whether the moldy smell can be removed, because my wife and I are allergic somewhat to mold.
So, barring something on the order of a $1000 windfall in the next two weeks, I don't see how we can proceed. For now, I have not been granted the peace of faith to dive in and not look back. Such a move is consistent with my character and desires, but this includes my wife, and she's not happy with this one. I'm not at peace with it, either, because there are other questions I'd rather not delve into here.
Pray that we find that peace about one path or the other. None of this excludes God moving in some different direction altogether. In my experience, that is likely to be the real reason. God can't reveal it yet, for reasons only He knows. At any rate, by the end of this month we either have to lock ourselves into getting out or staying.
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Tools Left Lying Around
I have some tools I've owned since I first bought tools. There is some natural human sentimental attachment to them, of course. But I never forget they are tools, not people. They are most certainly not gods. Should my service to Christ require it, they'll be abandoned in short order.
Sometimes I happen upon situations where I am in a position to help someone. A powerful blessing of God in my life is the ability to see the abstract nature of many things, and I am able to make tools of many things, often in completely unorthodox applications. A piece of rolled up sandpaper as a gasoline funnel, a piece of pipe to add leverage to a wrench, a folded paper plate driven into soft sand as a marker, a can cozy to cushion the interface of two hard objects, etc. Let it never be said I consider abstract reasoning itself wrong. It has limits; it can't make much of God.
Jesus used all sorts of everyday human experiences to explain something of the Kingdom of Heaven. Parables are God's way of putting symbolic truth in the mind where the spirit can wrestle with it. Eventually it leaks back out into the conscious mind. A parable need not rely on anything holy; it works best when we use the most common objects. We need to see His hand in all creation.
Paul was altogether willing to snatch up just about any tool to make sense of God. He used his high degree of Greek literacy to carry the gospel message to the Mediterranean World. He used the Roman imperial hegemony as a Roman citizen to ease the normal barriers to human communication and travel (thus, I do not fear a "world government"). He quoted pagan poets in Greek, just as anyone today might quote lines from Star Wars to make a point. God knows that movie series is loaded with very bad philosophical assumptions about the world, sometimes downright hostile to Christ. Still, it's something I can expect most audiences to recognize, as Paul did with pagan poets.
Paul also quoted the Septuagint. Jesus would never do that, because in the context of His ministry, doing so would diminish His message. Hellenism was inherently anti-spiritual, and the Kingdom of Heaven is entirely spiritual. He already had enough trouble with Hellenism in the Pharisees, and He always quoted Aramaic Scripture to make that point. He would targum from time to time (rephrase), but we should see in the context of His debates with the Pharisees, He fought their Hellenist tendencies all the way. Whether He knew any Greek is not worth debating, because there seems no place where He needed it. It's simply not part of the picture. However, Paul's ministry was different. Greek was his primary ministry language. He knew in his spirit the Jews he encountered in his travels would be most familiar with the Septuagint; few would know more than a bare few words in Aramaic. He quoted it freely, even as he disapproved of Pharisaism. It was no different than quoting pagan philosophers. His choice of translation was not making a statement as it would with Jesus. Context is everything.
We can easily discern the translators of the Septuagint were deeply infected with Hellenism. This was no work of God, in that sense. God used it, like He used Babylon, Mount Sinai, slavery in Egypt, and any number of other unfortunate things to get the job done. Using something does not mean approval; it means usefulness in a given context. Even in this misunderstanding, our natural Western bias manifests itself. "Paul quotes the LXX. He must have approved of it!" Fat chance. Virtually everything born in Alexandrian schools is at least a partial rejection of God's ways. All the Alexandrian New Testament texts show the same casual disregard for precision in favor of making it sound better in Greek. Critical words are dropped; whole verses clipped out. Heresy had roots there, even among the Early Church Fathers. Further, it was this batch of "scholarship" from which most of the nice modern English translations are drawn.
Some tools just do not suit the purpose. It might not keep someone from being saved to read the NIV, NASB, etc. However, for serious study, they are deeply flawed. Genuine students of the Word need to insure their translations are built on the Byzantine texts (AKA "Majority Text"), not the Alexandrian (AKA "Minority Text"). So far, that means the KJV, NKJV (ignore the margin notes!), and Green's Modern KJV, and his Literal Translation.
Sometimes I happen upon situations where I am in a position to help someone. A powerful blessing of God in my life is the ability to see the abstract nature of many things, and I am able to make tools of many things, often in completely unorthodox applications. A piece of rolled up sandpaper as a gasoline funnel, a piece of pipe to add leverage to a wrench, a folded paper plate driven into soft sand as a marker, a can cozy to cushion the interface of two hard objects, etc. Let it never be said I consider abstract reasoning itself wrong. It has limits; it can't make much of God.
Jesus used all sorts of everyday human experiences to explain something of the Kingdom of Heaven. Parables are God's way of putting symbolic truth in the mind where the spirit can wrestle with it. Eventually it leaks back out into the conscious mind. A parable need not rely on anything holy; it works best when we use the most common objects. We need to see His hand in all creation.
Paul was altogether willing to snatch up just about any tool to make sense of God. He used his high degree of Greek literacy to carry the gospel message to the Mediterranean World. He used the Roman imperial hegemony as a Roman citizen to ease the normal barriers to human communication and travel (thus, I do not fear a "world government"). He quoted pagan poets in Greek, just as anyone today might quote lines from Star Wars to make a point. God knows that movie series is loaded with very bad philosophical assumptions about the world, sometimes downright hostile to Christ. Still, it's something I can expect most audiences to recognize, as Paul did with pagan poets.
Paul also quoted the Septuagint. Jesus would never do that, because in the context of His ministry, doing so would diminish His message. Hellenism was inherently anti-spiritual, and the Kingdom of Heaven is entirely spiritual. He already had enough trouble with Hellenism in the Pharisees, and He always quoted Aramaic Scripture to make that point. He would targum from time to time (rephrase), but we should see in the context of His debates with the Pharisees, He fought their Hellenist tendencies all the way. Whether He knew any Greek is not worth debating, because there seems no place where He needed it. It's simply not part of the picture. However, Paul's ministry was different. Greek was his primary ministry language. He knew in his spirit the Jews he encountered in his travels would be most familiar with the Septuagint; few would know more than a bare few words in Aramaic. He quoted it freely, even as he disapproved of Pharisaism. It was no different than quoting pagan philosophers. His choice of translation was not making a statement as it would with Jesus. Context is everything.
We can easily discern the translators of the Septuagint were deeply infected with Hellenism. This was no work of God, in that sense. God used it, like He used Babylon, Mount Sinai, slavery in Egypt, and any number of other unfortunate things to get the job done. Using something does not mean approval; it means usefulness in a given context. Even in this misunderstanding, our natural Western bias manifests itself. "Paul quotes the LXX. He must have approved of it!" Fat chance. Virtually everything born in Alexandrian schools is at least a partial rejection of God's ways. All the Alexandrian New Testament texts show the same casual disregard for precision in favor of making it sound better in Greek. Critical words are dropped; whole verses clipped out. Heresy had roots there, even among the Early Church Fathers. Further, it was this batch of "scholarship" from which most of the nice modern English translations are drawn.
Some tools just do not suit the purpose. It might not keep someone from being saved to read the NIV, NASB, etc. However, for serious study, they are deeply flawed. Genuine students of the Word need to insure their translations are built on the Byzantine texts (AKA "Majority Text"), not the Alexandrian (AKA "Minority Text"). So far, that means the KJV, NKJV (ignore the margin notes!), and Green's Modern KJV, and his Literal Translation.
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Hall of Shame: Paypal
Paypal is the spoiled brat of Internet companies. If you use Ebay, you have to use Paypal. They won't allow any other means of transferring payment, including sending a check by snailmail. They have many other sins. You can easily find websites dedicated to talking bad about them.
Today, they have shown themselves as worthy of all the Internet's hate. Here we go...
You know there was vote fraud in New Hampshire. Some candidates filed for a recount. They have to pay for it. They don't find out until way late in the game just how much the state wants to do this, but one organization dedicated to defense of voters' rights, and supporters of Ron Paul, decided to head up the fund raising for this effort (Granny Warriors). The amount they were finally told was something like $55K.
The money was collected by transfers via Paypal. They just barely made the time limit. Paypal waited until the last minute, then stopped the transfer of funds to NH. As far as I can find out, this means the recount cannot take place, because it misses the deadline for paying, and NH won't wait until this mess is untagled.
Paypal is owned by Ebay, and the CEO of Ebay is on Romney's Steering Committee.
Even if you love Romney, is this how you want him to win? It's time to close Paypal down.
Today, they have shown themselves as worthy of all the Internet's hate. Here we go...
You know there was vote fraud in New Hampshire. Some candidates filed for a recount. They have to pay for it. They don't find out until way late in the game just how much the state wants to do this, but one organization dedicated to defense of voters' rights, and supporters of Ron Paul, decided to head up the fund raising for this effort (Granny Warriors). The amount they were finally told was something like $55K.
The money was collected by transfers via Paypal. They just barely made the time limit. Paypal waited until the last minute, then stopped the transfer of funds to NH. As far as I can find out, this means the recount cannot take place, because it misses the deadline for paying, and NH won't wait until this mess is untagled.
Paypal is owned by Ebay, and the CEO of Ebay is on Romney's Steering Committee.
Even if you love Romney, is this how you want him to win? It's time to close Paypal down.
Reading Allowed, But Aloud Is Better
Analytical reasoning (inductive logic) works like this -- I go through my life, experiencing the wide variety of things in this world. At some point, I perceive a certain commonality among a certain class of objects. In order to advance my own understanding, and human knowledge in general, I focus some attention on this thing. I seek out as many different examples of things which share this apparent similarity. Then, I analyze the shared traits, and give this new class of concept a name. Let's call it worpent as a new English word. I abstract the "worpent-ness" of these things, list its elements, describe why it should be a thing unto itself, why it matters. Then I publish my research and findings. Ta-da! New noun is added.
Anything wrong with that? No, not at all. The world is full of things which warrant consideration, especially if such considerations improve our grasp on things, our ability to deal with this world and improve our lives. Because of that, we have a good idea why some plants are poisonous, because we know what "poison" is, how it works, and what we might find in nature that qualifies for that term. We also learn about electrons, electricity, bytes and bits, and we have computers and you are reading this silly stuff.
When a writer uses phrases like, "the essence of things," "fundamental nature," etc., we are abstracting the qualities of some particular thing, and stating it as an abstract idea. Our world is full of such logic. When we are given a textbook explanation of abstract ideas, we can then go about our world and deduce what things fit into those abstract ideas. Deductive logic is okay with us, too. It just reverses the same process. Both are based on abstract reasoning -- the process of mentally abstracting an ideal from the many examples of the real. It works so well, we can abstract even more abstract "things." We can abstract ideals which have no concrete form at all, but are very important, like liberty and love.
What about something which can't be fitted into that framework? What if there were something, or even a whole range of somethings, which just cannot be abstracted? Maybe something which, as soon as we begin to abstract its essence and elements, we lose our grip on it. As soon as we bring our analytical frame of reference to bear upon it, the thing changes. Every time. Yet it is very clearly the same thing every time. The only factor we can identify at all is consistency, but a consistency which defies abstraction.
We call that God Almighty. Sure, I can string up a lot of words with well known definitions, but our language just isn't quite ready for something that slippery. Are you surprised so many simply dismiss it? If they can't know it by pulling it down to their frame of reference, it's not worth the trouble. Or, maybe they just pretend they can pin it down, analyze it, define it. Or maybe they relegate it to the land of subjective personal and mysterious experiences -- "your" God and "my" God.
Maybe the problem is with our frame of reference. Even calling Him "infinite" misses the point, because that term includes elements and understandings (or "baggage") which doesn't fit. What can you do with a concept, a something, which requires you simply accept and obey, but never allows for definition in the usual sense? We learn a different way of thinking, at least regarding this particular sort of thing.
When I say the "Realm of the Spiritual," you may have some idea what I'm talking about. I use the words as a sign post, and hope very much they create a very vivid sense of power without too much precise definition. That's the spiritual way of doing things. The whole shebang came to us that way. God revealed Himself because there's no other way to know Him. We certainly could never come up with anything capable of bringing us to Him for examination. He resides outside our frame of reference. Since we don't have a language for that, we resort to figures of speech.
Jehovah (a proper English name vaguely related to the Hebrew name) revealed Himself in terms of impact, in terms of experience, in terms of changed nature, in terms of obligations to obey, etc. Every time He spoke of Himself, it at least implied a requirement of us. We know Him not in Himself, but by how we are obliged to respond to Him. About the only terms which really fit well at all are things like "authority."
For this reason, stories about God are stories about what He has done, always pointing to what obligation that lays upon us. We also are told how others reacted to Him, with a generous helpings of evaluation as to whether that was a good reaction. Sometimes we are left to figure it out for ourselves. Yet, the Lord Himself said it quite bluntly, "You can't look at Me." He said it in a context which said far more than the words themselves mean: You can't analyze God. You can't abstract God, you can't list His elements without messing up your understanding of what's required of you. How do you makes sense of, "The fundamental nature of God is your obligations to Him"? An awful lot of theological gobbledygook wrestles with this, but too often refuses to surrender to His way. That's why we have an awful lot of bad theology out there.
So to talk about God and His concerns, we tell stories. We offer a narrative which illustrates various examples of His actions, His demands, and how various folks responded. Or we wax lyrical in pulling you into an experience which cannot possibly be literal, yet utterly meaningful. Leave your abstractions at the door, folks, or you won't learn a thing.
When I write in modern English, for all the skill I claim to possess, I'm up against an impossible task. I'm standing with a foot in an analytical world of abstract ideas, using those terms and that framework, while doing my very best to draw your soul across into the Realm of the Spirit. If you and I were talking face to face, it would work a whole lot better. The very culture in which God chose to reveal Himself was oral and narrative, and writing was purely an afterthought. It does okay in a pinch, but it's nothing like the real thing. Frankly, I find it frustrating my primary ministry work so far is on this keyboard. God speaks through people more than words. It's a very Hebrew thing for me to tell a story in dramatic fashion, so you feel you were there. That's where the Holy Spirit is strongest.
Thus, the title of this post. I long for a day when the bulk of my teaching is oral. I already know that's where God's power in me is strongest. I've been there. Let me tell you....
Anything wrong with that? No, not at all. The world is full of things which warrant consideration, especially if such considerations improve our grasp on things, our ability to deal with this world and improve our lives. Because of that, we have a good idea why some plants are poisonous, because we know what "poison" is, how it works, and what we might find in nature that qualifies for that term. We also learn about electrons, electricity, bytes and bits, and we have computers and you are reading this silly stuff.
When a writer uses phrases like, "the essence of things," "fundamental nature," etc., we are abstracting the qualities of some particular thing, and stating it as an abstract idea. Our world is full of such logic. When we are given a textbook explanation of abstract ideas, we can then go about our world and deduce what things fit into those abstract ideas. Deductive logic is okay with us, too. It just reverses the same process. Both are based on abstract reasoning -- the process of mentally abstracting an ideal from the many examples of the real. It works so well, we can abstract even more abstract "things." We can abstract ideals which have no concrete form at all, but are very important, like liberty and love.
What about something which can't be fitted into that framework? What if there were something, or even a whole range of somethings, which just cannot be abstracted? Maybe something which, as soon as we begin to abstract its essence and elements, we lose our grip on it. As soon as we bring our analytical frame of reference to bear upon it, the thing changes. Every time. Yet it is very clearly the same thing every time. The only factor we can identify at all is consistency, but a consistency which defies abstraction.
We call that God Almighty. Sure, I can string up a lot of words with well known definitions, but our language just isn't quite ready for something that slippery. Are you surprised so many simply dismiss it? If they can't know it by pulling it down to their frame of reference, it's not worth the trouble. Or, maybe they just pretend they can pin it down, analyze it, define it. Or maybe they relegate it to the land of subjective personal and mysterious experiences -- "your" God and "my" God.
Maybe the problem is with our frame of reference. Even calling Him "infinite" misses the point, because that term includes elements and understandings (or "baggage") which doesn't fit. What can you do with a concept, a something, which requires you simply accept and obey, but never allows for definition in the usual sense? We learn a different way of thinking, at least regarding this particular sort of thing.
When I say the "Realm of the Spiritual," you may have some idea what I'm talking about. I use the words as a sign post, and hope very much they create a very vivid sense of power without too much precise definition. That's the spiritual way of doing things. The whole shebang came to us that way. God revealed Himself because there's no other way to know Him. We certainly could never come up with anything capable of bringing us to Him for examination. He resides outside our frame of reference. Since we don't have a language for that, we resort to figures of speech.
Jehovah (a proper English name vaguely related to the Hebrew name) revealed Himself in terms of impact, in terms of experience, in terms of changed nature, in terms of obligations to obey, etc. Every time He spoke of Himself, it at least implied a requirement of us. We know Him not in Himself, but by how we are obliged to respond to Him. About the only terms which really fit well at all are things like "authority."
For this reason, stories about God are stories about what He has done, always pointing to what obligation that lays upon us. We also are told how others reacted to Him, with a generous helpings of evaluation as to whether that was a good reaction. Sometimes we are left to figure it out for ourselves. Yet, the Lord Himself said it quite bluntly, "You can't look at Me." He said it in a context which said far more than the words themselves mean: You can't analyze God. You can't abstract God, you can't list His elements without messing up your understanding of what's required of you. How do you makes sense of, "The fundamental nature of God is your obligations to Him"? An awful lot of theological gobbledygook wrestles with this, but too often refuses to surrender to His way. That's why we have an awful lot of bad theology out there.
So to talk about God and His concerns, we tell stories. We offer a narrative which illustrates various examples of His actions, His demands, and how various folks responded. Or we wax lyrical in pulling you into an experience which cannot possibly be literal, yet utterly meaningful. Leave your abstractions at the door, folks, or you won't learn a thing.
When I write in modern English, for all the skill I claim to possess, I'm up against an impossible task. I'm standing with a foot in an analytical world of abstract ideas, using those terms and that framework, while doing my very best to draw your soul across into the Realm of the Spirit. If you and I were talking face to face, it would work a whole lot better. The very culture in which God chose to reveal Himself was oral and narrative, and writing was purely an afterthought. It does okay in a pinch, but it's nothing like the real thing. Frankly, I find it frustrating my primary ministry work so far is on this keyboard. God speaks through people more than words. It's a very Hebrew thing for me to tell a story in dramatic fashion, so you feel you were there. That's where the Holy Spirit is strongest.
Thus, the title of this post. I long for a day when the bulk of my teaching is oral. I already know that's where God's power in me is strongest. I've been there. Let me tell you....
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Spiritual Covering
I was asked recently about the concept of spiritual covering. The image is one of layers of protection between a Christian and Satan's attacks. It's also about turning aside the wrath of God.
The fundamental covering is the Blood of Jesus. So much for the obvious -- without that there is no "Christian." I mentioned in more than one previous post the principle in Revelation 12:11, which teaches we overcome Satan by the Blood, the word living in us, and our willingness to face death for Christ's sake. We could also mention the Armor of God in Ephesians 6, a marvelous parable of spiritual warfare.
Still, it's all too easy to miss what is obvious to the Hebrew mind: Faith in God is necessarily a community thing. That is, we are marked before the watching world by a collection of Spiritual Fruits (Galatians 5) which most certainly includes the idea of spiritual love and fellowship. Further, it is a spiritual love which conquers every fleshly barrier. We tend to love dearly people for whom we have no earthly reason to even notice.
Way back in the Garden of Eden, Satan slithered up to Eve and convinced her she needed to taste the Fruit of the Tree of Knowledge. Paul says she was genuinely confused. Adam wasn't. As a part of the curse of the Fall, men who follow Christ take the brunt of spiritual attack in the community. Since Adam failed in that job, we must recover that task in Christ.
In your community of faith, every adult male is responsible for every adult female in this sense. Yes, we know the spiritual maturity of men and women both vary from individual to individual, but this remains the underlying principle. Just as in the flesh you would expect Bro. Joe to defend your gals against a physical threat, so we rely on him to at least do what God called him to do against spiritual threats. That this isn't well understood is largely a matter of our Western cultural biases against a warm and fuzzy Eastern fellowship style. Still, the burden from the Lord remains: Men of the church, keep your spiritual eyes open to spiritual danger, particularly in regards to women. A similar protection for children is obvious, but it works out differently. Women are not children.
Men recognized as spiritual leaders all the more so are tasked with this protection. If they fail, the whole community is in trouble. They are called and vested as under-shepherds. It's their primary duty to see a spiritual attack and prevent it. Your body's pastoral leaders are the primary spiritual covering. Your husband, if applicable, is your closest and first layer of protection. Unmarried? In theory, it's your earthly father. You and I know there are spiritual stand-ins for most of this, simply because spiritual DNA takes precedence over blood kinship. Don't be silly and pedantic.
And please, please don't imbue this whole subject with some magical aura. Our greatest mistake in trying to understand the essentially Eastern mystical religion of following Christ by poor and silly caricatures. This is not about some Hollywood Ali-Babba, Djin (genies), and flying carpets; nor does it bear any resemblance to Harry Potter or the Compass. Wash your minds of such nonsense. Better yet, stay away from it in the first place. Jesus and His Hebrew background is something altogether different. Your spiritual covering is a small part of understanding how God works on this earth.
The fundamental covering is the Blood of Jesus. So much for the obvious -- without that there is no "Christian." I mentioned in more than one previous post the principle in Revelation 12:11, which teaches we overcome Satan by the Blood, the word living in us, and our willingness to face death for Christ's sake. We could also mention the Armor of God in Ephesians 6, a marvelous parable of spiritual warfare.
Still, it's all too easy to miss what is obvious to the Hebrew mind: Faith in God is necessarily a community thing. That is, we are marked before the watching world by a collection of Spiritual Fruits (Galatians 5) which most certainly includes the idea of spiritual love and fellowship. Further, it is a spiritual love which conquers every fleshly barrier. We tend to love dearly people for whom we have no earthly reason to even notice.
Way back in the Garden of Eden, Satan slithered up to Eve and convinced her she needed to taste the Fruit of the Tree of Knowledge. Paul says she was genuinely confused. Adam wasn't. As a part of the curse of the Fall, men who follow Christ take the brunt of spiritual attack in the community. Since Adam failed in that job, we must recover that task in Christ.
In your community of faith, every adult male is responsible for every adult female in this sense. Yes, we know the spiritual maturity of men and women both vary from individual to individual, but this remains the underlying principle. Just as in the flesh you would expect Bro. Joe to defend your gals against a physical threat, so we rely on him to at least do what God called him to do against spiritual threats. That this isn't well understood is largely a matter of our Western cultural biases against a warm and fuzzy Eastern fellowship style. Still, the burden from the Lord remains: Men of the church, keep your spiritual eyes open to spiritual danger, particularly in regards to women. A similar protection for children is obvious, but it works out differently. Women are not children.
Men recognized as spiritual leaders all the more so are tasked with this protection. If they fail, the whole community is in trouble. They are called and vested as under-shepherds. It's their primary duty to see a spiritual attack and prevent it. Your body's pastoral leaders are the primary spiritual covering. Your husband, if applicable, is your closest and first layer of protection. Unmarried? In theory, it's your earthly father. You and I know there are spiritual stand-ins for most of this, simply because spiritual DNA takes precedence over blood kinship. Don't be silly and pedantic.
And please, please don't imbue this whole subject with some magical aura. Our greatest mistake in trying to understand the essentially Eastern mystical religion of following Christ by poor and silly caricatures. This is not about some Hollywood Ali-Babba, Djin (genies), and flying carpets; nor does it bear any resemblance to Harry Potter or the Compass. Wash your minds of such nonsense. Better yet, stay away from it in the first place. Jesus and His Hebrew background is something altogether different. Your spiritual covering is a small part of understanding how God works on this earth.
Monday, January 14, 2008
Galatians 6
While it is true Paul often declares basic principles in passing, to assume that is all he means by them is to miss so very much. Having established so very clearly the Covenant of the Law is now dead, it's time to restore the truth of the gospel to churches which have been nearly torn apart by the Judaizer heresy.
Not everyone in the Galatian churches fell for the Judaizers heresy. These were the ones who continued to exhibit the humble spirit Paul remarked was missing from the Pharisaical Judaizers. To these Paul appeals that they correct the errors, showing the same gentle spirit and patience so uncharacteristic of those taken with the false interpretation of Moses. One look in the spiritual mirror should warn us we could all be so easily deceived by one thing or another.
The only Law which matters is the Law of Christ, and that Law trumps all others. It calls for us to bear peacefully with those who become combative in their heresies. Indeed, a lack of gracefulness is the first warning someone is not quite right with the Word. A mark of the Spirit is taking the time to regularly see ourselves in the mirror of the Cross. No one can be holy for you, but their sins can suck you in so quickly.
A particularly nasty part of this corrupt rabbinical teaching brought by the Judaizers was about material goods. This is what prompted Jesus to make comments about mammon in His Sermon on the Mount. Pharisees taught material wealth was the primary mark of God's favor, so why would anyone give it away freely? Paul showed this was wrong. The whole purpose for material blessings was precisely so they could be passed to others. To the degree possible, gifted teachers of the Word should be set free from the cares of making a living. Those who benefited from that gift should willingly contribute to their support. In the Kingdom gift economy, we have blessings only for the purpose of sharing them. If you invest only in worldly gain, it will be all you ever have, and it will eat your soul alive. If you invest in spiritual growth, you have eternal returns.
Nor should we allow the Lord's sense of timing to throw us off this path of righteousness. While you can watch with your eyes the workings and yield of material investments, what God does with your sacrifice often escapes our human eyes until sometime much later, or maybe never. We can't afford to measure Kingdom business with human accounting principles. Give of your time, your talents, and your material goods. Commit yourself for the sake of Christ, and measure your return in spiritual truth. You obey; you are rich beyond measure. Be ready to give to anyone on earth as if it were Christ Himself, but all the more so to those you know who serve Him.
Paul was literate, but in ancient times the exacting demands of penmanship were not so widely taught. This is natural in a world where writing materials cost so much. Lacking mass produced cheap writing pads and pencils, no one could afford to waste any at all, so scribal clerks were professionals with expensive training. Still, in all his studies, Paul managed to learn a rough bit of hand writing. Thus, he ends this letter in his own hand, rather large and clumsy compared to the neat and compact script of a scribe. Let no one question this is Paul's own words here. And the Galatian Christians were his letter to Galatia, and his hand was easily recognized in the teaching he gave them, the exact same message everywhere Paul had gone.
People who had a stake in human reputation would compel them to pass through ritual circumcision. Just who were they going to show that to? Funny how Jews never bothered to evangelize much, but they could sure make a pass at the established churches behind Christians. They wanted to tone down the emphasis on the Cross, which continued burning in the guilty conscience of Jews everywhere. Jesus was crucified publicly, and a life filled with the Spirit was so obvious no one missed it. The Judaizers themselves proved no man could truly keep the Law of Moses, but their corrupt Hellenistic version of Moses was more Gentile than Hebrew. Were it a matter of appearances, Paul would never have started preaching and traveling the Gentile world. When Jesus died on the Cross, the veil of separation in the Temple was torn in two. In Paul's heart, joining Christ on the Cross tore the veil from his soul, the veil which made so much of ritual circumcision, so much of being a Jew in the flesh. The barrier is gone; it means nothing in the Kingdom. Only grace has meaning.
Making one last stab in the heart of a dead Judaism, Paul notes only those who walk by the Law of the Spirit, leaving the old man on the Cross, can claim to be God's Israel. In His eyes, there was no longer any other Israel. Criticism of Paul was a waste of time, for he bore in his flesh the irreversible marks of walking with Jesus. Criticizing a dead man is a waste of time, because he doesn't hear you. So it should be when the likes of Judaizers pick over the lack of ritual observance in Gentile churches. The old Israel was no longer recognized by God. These Gentiles walking in the grace of Christ were already God's true Israel.
Not everyone in the Galatian churches fell for the Judaizers heresy. These were the ones who continued to exhibit the humble spirit Paul remarked was missing from the Pharisaical Judaizers. To these Paul appeals that they correct the errors, showing the same gentle spirit and patience so uncharacteristic of those taken with the false interpretation of Moses. One look in the spiritual mirror should warn us we could all be so easily deceived by one thing or another.
The only Law which matters is the Law of Christ, and that Law trumps all others. It calls for us to bear peacefully with those who become combative in their heresies. Indeed, a lack of gracefulness is the first warning someone is not quite right with the Word. A mark of the Spirit is taking the time to regularly see ourselves in the mirror of the Cross. No one can be holy for you, but their sins can suck you in so quickly.
A particularly nasty part of this corrupt rabbinical teaching brought by the Judaizers was about material goods. This is what prompted Jesus to make comments about mammon in His Sermon on the Mount. Pharisees taught material wealth was the primary mark of God's favor, so why would anyone give it away freely? Paul showed this was wrong. The whole purpose for material blessings was precisely so they could be passed to others. To the degree possible, gifted teachers of the Word should be set free from the cares of making a living. Those who benefited from that gift should willingly contribute to their support. In the Kingdom gift economy, we have blessings only for the purpose of sharing them. If you invest only in worldly gain, it will be all you ever have, and it will eat your soul alive. If you invest in spiritual growth, you have eternal returns.
Nor should we allow the Lord's sense of timing to throw us off this path of righteousness. While you can watch with your eyes the workings and yield of material investments, what God does with your sacrifice often escapes our human eyes until sometime much later, or maybe never. We can't afford to measure Kingdom business with human accounting principles. Give of your time, your talents, and your material goods. Commit yourself for the sake of Christ, and measure your return in spiritual truth. You obey; you are rich beyond measure. Be ready to give to anyone on earth as if it were Christ Himself, but all the more so to those you know who serve Him.
Paul was literate, but in ancient times the exacting demands of penmanship were not so widely taught. This is natural in a world where writing materials cost so much. Lacking mass produced cheap writing pads and pencils, no one could afford to waste any at all, so scribal clerks were professionals with expensive training. Still, in all his studies, Paul managed to learn a rough bit of hand writing. Thus, he ends this letter in his own hand, rather large and clumsy compared to the neat and compact script of a scribe. Let no one question this is Paul's own words here. And the Galatian Christians were his letter to Galatia, and his hand was easily recognized in the teaching he gave them, the exact same message everywhere Paul had gone.
People who had a stake in human reputation would compel them to pass through ritual circumcision. Just who were they going to show that to? Funny how Jews never bothered to evangelize much, but they could sure make a pass at the established churches behind Christians. They wanted to tone down the emphasis on the Cross, which continued burning in the guilty conscience of Jews everywhere. Jesus was crucified publicly, and a life filled with the Spirit was so obvious no one missed it. The Judaizers themselves proved no man could truly keep the Law of Moses, but their corrupt Hellenistic version of Moses was more Gentile than Hebrew. Were it a matter of appearances, Paul would never have started preaching and traveling the Gentile world. When Jesus died on the Cross, the veil of separation in the Temple was torn in two. In Paul's heart, joining Christ on the Cross tore the veil from his soul, the veil which made so much of ritual circumcision, so much of being a Jew in the flesh. The barrier is gone; it means nothing in the Kingdom. Only grace has meaning.
Making one last stab in the heart of a dead Judaism, Paul notes only those who walk by the Law of the Spirit, leaving the old man on the Cross, can claim to be God's Israel. In His eyes, there was no longer any other Israel. Criticism of Paul was a waste of time, for he bore in his flesh the irreversible marks of walking with Jesus. Criticizing a dead man is a waste of time, because he doesn't hear you. So it should be when the likes of Judaizers pick over the lack of ritual observance in Gentile churches. The old Israel was no longer recognized by God. These Gentiles walking in the grace of Christ were already God's true Israel.
Sunday, January 13, 2008
Sovereign Grace Evangelism
While I don't exactly qualify for the label "Calvinist" -- so the Calvinists tell me -- there's no reason I can't explain something about which the enemies of Calvinism lie. They say you can't embrace the Grace Doctrines, relying wholly on God's sovereignty, and still carry on a vivid evangelism.
You see, it really depends on what you're offering. If we say the gospel should result in a peaceful and successful life, then you better get out there and run up that advertising tab. You need to make sure to manipulate your target audience from every angle. Having those results will require a carefully crafted strategy based on good psychology, along with a very astute understanding of how this world works. In other words, you have to do it yourself, you have to strive to find that most profitable path through this world.
If we say the gospel is making dead spirits alive, and pulling their souls from the fires of Hell, we can't do that ourselves. It has to be a miracle of God's grace. If you try to tell me God has commissioned your market methods to pull folks out of Hell, all I need to see is how many of your people reject the Word of God to know you are lying to yourself. Further, the Word itself calls you a liar, but I'm sure you'll never know the difference. If you can't tell the difference between the two, I am forced to conclude your spirit is still dead. It means I have to treat you as a lost soul. Which brings us to the crux of the issue: All this talk about whether someone is born-again assumes too much on our side of eternity. I haven't heard anybody on this earth claim to have looked into the Lamb's Book of Life. We are told in Scripture the Lord knows who are His, and keeps them by His own power. That's because I can't save me, so I can't lose me.
But you can't know if I'm saved on that level. So you have to take a look at my life, not just whether I'm successful, but whether I exhibit the sensitivity to sin only the Holy Spirit can give. If you share the Word with me, and I seem to respond more or less appropriately, that I can't fight off the demands of it, then you are required to grant me the privileges of the Kingdom, insofar is it lies in your hands to do so. You are required by God to respect His apparent presence in the totality of my observable behavior.
Thus, our message to the lost is not, "Are you Elect?" Our message is, "Turn from sin, embrace the path of righteousness. We realize that may sound a little like works, but we also realize you can't do much of that without His power. We aren't looking at fulfilling legalistic requirements like the Pharisees. We are looking at the larger picture of what you reveal by what we can see. How do you respond when we point out something in your life contrary to the clear Word of Scripture? Do we see in that reaction not just compliance in the ordinary sense, but a betrayal of some internal conflict and change, a release from some previous lie, a pause to reflect, a dilation of the pupils and increased heart-rate? Any or all are appropriate measures for our observation, and we really don't have much else to go on, so we accept it until something else shows we should not.
Further, there is a spiritual power. It is the Spirit of God working in us to sense and understand things our conscious mind cannot. Sure, it's not the most reliable thing in human terms, because we still could mistake signals inside our heads from some other source as a move of the Spirit. We're working on that -- we must. Still, aside from observable reaction of the human eye, there is a moving of the Spirit and we do our best to follow it. So if you don't react at all, as far as we can see, but we have an indefinable sense of peace about you, we'll assume you got it.
You see, truth is not some abstract thing out there in Idea Land. Truth is a Person, God Almighty. When we speak according to His revelation, we speak Him. He has His own power, and He goes where He wishes. We place the gospel of His Son before the world, and whomever He wishes will respond. We don't know. What we do know is His Word is alive and active, and He is never presented to the world in vain. His Word doesn't bounce back to Him empty. We know His purpose in a general sense, but we do not elect new souls. Since we can't target the optimal audience -- as the Market Driven gospeliers claim they can do -- we just try to tell everyone we see, one way or another.
That means we start with living the best we can, knowing it's really in His power in the first place. We can't explain how that works; we only know the Bible says He gets the glory for success and we confess our failures. Even when we fail, He reserves the choice of making it work out. Actually, that's usually how it works, in part so we don't forget it's all about Him. Somehow, against the warring of our fallen flesh, we more or less manage to cooperate. He knows we really want the righteous thing, because He made that want. With that, we go on to say a few words now and then to explain our best understanding. Somehow, God uses what we do as the foundation for what we need to say. Since saying is just an extension of doing -- human speech is a human behavior -- we tend to relate in words the call to turn from sin and embrace the Lord. What the observers/hearers do with that is simply not our problem. There's no way of knowing whether the seed was planted for later harvest. Nothing has to happen during each "altar call" because the Lord works in the place and time of His choosing. We don't need a specific success rate. Indeed, apparent total failure is really no measure of success in the Kingdom. Numbers don't mean a thing.
Further, we deny the necessity of someone memorizing the day and minute of their "conversion." All we need is to see with our eyes and our spirits something alive which only God can bring to life, something called the Fruit of the Spirit. A new believer doesn't have to go through our official counseling program, they don't have to fill out any forms and say any particular ritual phrases. We'd like it if they would participate in a public announcement, typically marked by getting wet. It's one of the few rituals Jesus required, and even then we aren't absolutely certain how it was supposed to be done, just that it is done. Still, we don't require proof of it, just offer it to those who feel the need, letting the Holy Spirit prompt them. It's part of what we teach. Otherwise, we act like these folks are just one of us.
You know? This crazy scheme creates a fellowship of believers, with all the problems and heartaches Jesus promised we should have, as a sign the Devil is upset with us. Since there's no middle ground, making the Devil mad must be pleasing to God. You go ahead and build your church with lots of consultants and planning, lots of investment in facilities and programs, and you'll keep seeing people fully successful in worldly terms -- and just about powerless in the Valley of Death.
You see, it really depends on what you're offering. If we say the gospel should result in a peaceful and successful life, then you better get out there and run up that advertising tab. You need to make sure to manipulate your target audience from every angle. Having those results will require a carefully crafted strategy based on good psychology, along with a very astute understanding of how this world works. In other words, you have to do it yourself, you have to strive to find that most profitable path through this world.
If we say the gospel is making dead spirits alive, and pulling their souls from the fires of Hell, we can't do that ourselves. It has to be a miracle of God's grace. If you try to tell me God has commissioned your market methods to pull folks out of Hell, all I need to see is how many of your people reject the Word of God to know you are lying to yourself. Further, the Word itself calls you a liar, but I'm sure you'll never know the difference. If you can't tell the difference between the two, I am forced to conclude your spirit is still dead. It means I have to treat you as a lost soul. Which brings us to the crux of the issue: All this talk about whether someone is born-again assumes too much on our side of eternity. I haven't heard anybody on this earth claim to have looked into the Lamb's Book of Life. We are told in Scripture the Lord knows who are His, and keeps them by His own power. That's because I can't save me, so I can't lose me.
But you can't know if I'm saved on that level. So you have to take a look at my life, not just whether I'm successful, but whether I exhibit the sensitivity to sin only the Holy Spirit can give. If you share the Word with me, and I seem to respond more or less appropriately, that I can't fight off the demands of it, then you are required to grant me the privileges of the Kingdom, insofar is it lies in your hands to do so. You are required by God to respect His apparent presence in the totality of my observable behavior.
Thus, our message to the lost is not, "Are you Elect?" Our message is, "Turn from sin, embrace the path of righteousness. We realize that may sound a little like works, but we also realize you can't do much of that without His power. We aren't looking at fulfilling legalistic requirements like the Pharisees. We are looking at the larger picture of what you reveal by what we can see. How do you respond when we point out something in your life contrary to the clear Word of Scripture? Do we see in that reaction not just compliance in the ordinary sense, but a betrayal of some internal conflict and change, a release from some previous lie, a pause to reflect, a dilation of the pupils and increased heart-rate? Any or all are appropriate measures for our observation, and we really don't have much else to go on, so we accept it until something else shows we should not.
Further, there is a spiritual power. It is the Spirit of God working in us to sense and understand things our conscious mind cannot. Sure, it's not the most reliable thing in human terms, because we still could mistake signals inside our heads from some other source as a move of the Spirit. We're working on that -- we must. Still, aside from observable reaction of the human eye, there is a moving of the Spirit and we do our best to follow it. So if you don't react at all, as far as we can see, but we have an indefinable sense of peace about you, we'll assume you got it.
You see, truth is not some abstract thing out there in Idea Land. Truth is a Person, God Almighty. When we speak according to His revelation, we speak Him. He has His own power, and He goes where He wishes. We place the gospel of His Son before the world, and whomever He wishes will respond. We don't know. What we do know is His Word is alive and active, and He is never presented to the world in vain. His Word doesn't bounce back to Him empty. We know His purpose in a general sense, but we do not elect new souls. Since we can't target the optimal audience -- as the Market Driven gospeliers claim they can do -- we just try to tell everyone we see, one way or another.
That means we start with living the best we can, knowing it's really in His power in the first place. We can't explain how that works; we only know the Bible says He gets the glory for success and we confess our failures. Even when we fail, He reserves the choice of making it work out. Actually, that's usually how it works, in part so we don't forget it's all about Him. Somehow, against the warring of our fallen flesh, we more or less manage to cooperate. He knows we really want the righteous thing, because He made that want. With that, we go on to say a few words now and then to explain our best understanding. Somehow, God uses what we do as the foundation for what we need to say. Since saying is just an extension of doing -- human speech is a human behavior -- we tend to relate in words the call to turn from sin and embrace the Lord. What the observers/hearers do with that is simply not our problem. There's no way of knowing whether the seed was planted for later harvest. Nothing has to happen during each "altar call" because the Lord works in the place and time of His choosing. We don't need a specific success rate. Indeed, apparent total failure is really no measure of success in the Kingdom. Numbers don't mean a thing.
Further, we deny the necessity of someone memorizing the day and minute of their "conversion." All we need is to see with our eyes and our spirits something alive which only God can bring to life, something called the Fruit of the Spirit. A new believer doesn't have to go through our official counseling program, they don't have to fill out any forms and say any particular ritual phrases. We'd like it if they would participate in a public announcement, typically marked by getting wet. It's one of the few rituals Jesus required, and even then we aren't absolutely certain how it was supposed to be done, just that it is done. Still, we don't require proof of it, just offer it to those who feel the need, letting the Holy Spirit prompt them. It's part of what we teach. Otherwise, we act like these folks are just one of us.
You know? This crazy scheme creates a fellowship of believers, with all the problems and heartaches Jesus promised we should have, as a sign the Devil is upset with us. Since there's no middle ground, making the Devil mad must be pleasing to God. You go ahead and build your church with lots of consultants and planning, lots of investment in facilities and programs, and you'll keep seeing people fully successful in worldly terms -- and just about powerless in the Valley of Death.
Saturday, January 12, 2008
Life of Christ: Matthew 26:1-25
During Passover season, the city of Jerusalem and surrounding areas were packed with travelers. It would be somewhat crowded no matter where a man might walk. The actual residents of the city viewed the outsiders with some small measure of contempt as country bumpkins, even as they relished the chance to milk them with higher than normal prices. In the middle of all bustle, the Twelve are still trying to understand just what exactly their Master was about to do.
In the massive bookshelves of material written about these last couple of chapters in Matthew's Gospel, noting so few scholars pay attention to the importance of this burning question says something instructive. We are inundated in extensive studies of the Passover Seder, and the richness of detail in many ways distracts from the more important story Matthew has to tell. The men who will be tasked to take this earth shattering message to all the world still haven't a clue just what that message is. Jesus relies much on the Holy Spirit to keep track of all this in their minds, so He can breathe life into it at some later date. For now, we have a dozen very confused men, grappling mightily with the fundamental nature of something still foreign to them, yet just in front of them.
They are still gathered on the crest of the Mount of Olives overlooking Zion. Having delivered an extended lesson to the disciples about the nature of His Kingdom, the destruction of Jerusalem, and His final return to earth in glory, Jesus catches them off-guard with something He has said repeatedly over the past year or so: He would be executed very soon. Specifically, He warns it would be only a couple of days away, on the Day of Passover itself. Since the Jews could not legally kill Him, they would have to bring Him before the Roman authorities, and this move would succeed, ending in His death at the hands of Roman soldiers in the gruesome practice of crucifixion. If anything served to point out the fundamental nature of His Kingdom was spiritual, saying He would found it upon His death should have done it.
Even as He said this, folks elsewhere were planning it. The full body of the Sanhedrin were in session, including all the members who might normally be out of town. Having gathered at the palatial home of the High Priest, this was not a judicial gathering, but something less formal. Some time during this annual conference, they discussed the matter of Jesus of Nazareth. Because it was not a formal meeting, they could consider at length how to remove this particularly thorny prophet and rabbi, and not be bothered with the precise requirements of justice. Essentially they concluded they would have to trick Him in some way and arrest Him. Since He was so popular with the bumpkins crowded into the city during Passover, they would have to wait. However, the matter was decided -- Jesus had to die soon.
We have a hard time identifying Simon the Leper. Taking into account the context of Matthew's narrative so far, we might safely guess he was healed at some point by Jesus. Were he still a leper, no Jew would enter the same house with him, most especially during Passover. Further, it appears this man was quite wealthy, and well known in the community. Perhaps in simple gratitude, he invited Jesus and the Twelve to a formal meal, since they were in town. We might expect the meal was conducted in typical Eastern fashion, where the guests lounged on large cushions around a low table, resting on their left sides, with their bodies at an angle to the table, feet outward. Women would not normally be welcome, but one nevertheless came in and dumped a small flask of expensive perfumed oil on Jesus' head. She, too, wanted to express gratitude to Jesus, and was not worried in the least by social convention. Matthew does not identify the woman.
What mattered was what she did, and what it symbolized. Probably it was Judas who led the group in fussing about the apparent waste in this act. If she had simply donated the gift intact, it could be exchanged for something more useful to their ministry. Think of how many poor people could be helped by that money! Jesus shut them up. What she had done was quite according to Kingdom principles, which they still did not understand.
First, we note the obvious intent of the woman was deep devotion, and a powerful desire to do something -- anything -- she could to honor such a beloved teacher. Further, it's implied she, at least, understood His warning He was about to be executed. Seizing the moment before it was too late, she offered the best she had. This contrasts with the petty posturing of the Twelve as they had their eyes on worldly fame and position. It requires a materialistic view of life to fuss over the price of something like this. The proper mystical view is nothing is too good for the Messiah. Ancient nomadic Hebrews would have grasped it immediately, and so did the woman. Second, eradicating poverty is simply not possible in a fallen world. Talking about the abstract notion of "the poor" is an excuse to dehumanize them further. If you want to do something to lift the fallen, you have to do it one by one, individually. Redemption is personal. Meanwhile, is not the Christ someone who deserves a little attention, too? Jesus rightly prophesies His servants in the future would mention this minor event. Sadly, the vast majority seem to have no idea why.
We are told elsewhere Judas embezzled as the treasurer of the group. We can surmise further he came alongside only because he was sure Jesus was the right ticket to political power. He was in it for himself. After being rebuked this way, it was surely more than petty greed which drove his next act. We would miss a great deal if we did not see his swelling worldly ambition, as well. The message of caring for the poor and taking no luxuries for the self would probably sell quite well to the average Jewish peasant, and could form a crucial plank in the reform platform Judas imagined Jesus held. But, Jesus had been warning He would die soon, and perhaps it finally registered on Judas' mind with the anointing incident, or perhaps he simply realized this comment about the poor just went against the best part of a good political campaign. Either way, he switched parties. He became a mole for the Sanhedrin, and accepted an insulting and pitiful small sum for it, roughly the price of a slave.
The Passover Seder with their Rabbi was perhaps the ultimate celebration experience of their ministry so far. Knowing this would be a unique and very special event, they had no doubt planned this much in advance. Most people don't realize Jesus would have worked this out by accepting one of the many invitations He surely would have received from so many supporters. Jesus told them how to find the place, and they went and made the necessary preparations. The meal took place at nightfall, as required in the Law (Exodus 12). During the meal, Jesus shocked them all with the rather calm declaration, obviously a prophetic statement, one of them would betray Him. To say it ruined the mood would be an understatement. With so many doubts already in the minds, each was quick to wonder if he were the man. While Jesus provided an answer we know was literally accurate, noting that would almost miss the point. To share a dish was to share about as much as any two men could share. With Jesus as their Master, it was a much more dramatic statement, for it implied the guilty one was also betraying God Almighty.
This betrayal was breaking a solemn covenant, sworn before the Lord, which made God a party of it. While it was all prophesied in advance long ago, this would not excuse the guilty man any more than noting God brought the Babylonians left them in the clear when they destroyed Jerusalem some six centuries before. They were dealt with severely in due time, and so it would be for the betrayer here. So drastic would be the consequences, a man would willingly take his life. That's one of the implications of the Hebrew phrase, "It would have been better not to be born." Judas merely echoed the others in his question, but he, of course, knew his guilt. Jesus' idiomatic answer was a "Yes." He now knew Jesus knew.
It is not necessary at this point to rehearse in detail the full Seder ritual. We note simply the importance of what Jesus made of two items. The piece of matzo represented among other things the promise of bread eaten in the Messiah's reign. Jesus associated that promise with the substance of His body, clearly saying, "This is Me; I am the Messiah." He showed that His body had to be broken, but it was also to be shared. His body can be associated with the full weight of His teaching, the full revelation of God Almighty, but also His manifestation in the congregation of His followers. The Cup of Blessing Jesus associated with the necessity of shedding blood to cleanse sin. He pointedly notes these two items would be the center of a new ritual and a new covenant, a covenant based on removing sin on a wholly different level. Further, He makes a cryptic remark about a spiritual new wine, using a term indicating the first juice running off pressed grapes. People often miss the symbolism of starting fresh with a whole new kind of Kingdom, a whole new kind of covenant, a whole new kind of life.
Back out on the Mount of Olives, now in darkness, Jesus warns them the times themselves were rather dark. Before the light of day, and before the light of understanding came to them, they would be under tremendous pressure. Indeed, as it was prophesied in Zechariah (13:7), the stress would be enough to scatter them in confusion. Then He promptly reminds them His death is hardly the end of the matter. He would rise again and meet them in their old stomping grounds in Galilee. Peter, as usual, missed the point. Still campaigning as Jesus' second, he loudly promised to face things at Jesus' side. How heroic and heart-warming! Jesus warned him prophetically it was not possible. Indeed, Peter would instead lead the group in denying Jesus -- three times before dawn. Peter argued, but then the rest chimed in with similar claims of bravery and commitment. How sad, they thought they were ready to face death with Him in a dashing display of heroism, but were not ready to face the spiritual Valley of Death.
In the massive bookshelves of material written about these last couple of chapters in Matthew's Gospel, noting so few scholars pay attention to the importance of this burning question says something instructive. We are inundated in extensive studies of the Passover Seder, and the richness of detail in many ways distracts from the more important story Matthew has to tell. The men who will be tasked to take this earth shattering message to all the world still haven't a clue just what that message is. Jesus relies much on the Holy Spirit to keep track of all this in their minds, so He can breathe life into it at some later date. For now, we have a dozen very confused men, grappling mightily with the fundamental nature of something still foreign to them, yet just in front of them.
They are still gathered on the crest of the Mount of Olives overlooking Zion. Having delivered an extended lesson to the disciples about the nature of His Kingdom, the destruction of Jerusalem, and His final return to earth in glory, Jesus catches them off-guard with something He has said repeatedly over the past year or so: He would be executed very soon. Specifically, He warns it would be only a couple of days away, on the Day of Passover itself. Since the Jews could not legally kill Him, they would have to bring Him before the Roman authorities, and this move would succeed, ending in His death at the hands of Roman soldiers in the gruesome practice of crucifixion. If anything served to point out the fundamental nature of His Kingdom was spiritual, saying He would found it upon His death should have done it.
Even as He said this, folks elsewhere were planning it. The full body of the Sanhedrin were in session, including all the members who might normally be out of town. Having gathered at the palatial home of the High Priest, this was not a judicial gathering, but something less formal. Some time during this annual conference, they discussed the matter of Jesus of Nazareth. Because it was not a formal meeting, they could consider at length how to remove this particularly thorny prophet and rabbi, and not be bothered with the precise requirements of justice. Essentially they concluded they would have to trick Him in some way and arrest Him. Since He was so popular with the bumpkins crowded into the city during Passover, they would have to wait. However, the matter was decided -- Jesus had to die soon.
We have a hard time identifying Simon the Leper. Taking into account the context of Matthew's narrative so far, we might safely guess he was healed at some point by Jesus. Were he still a leper, no Jew would enter the same house with him, most especially during Passover. Further, it appears this man was quite wealthy, and well known in the community. Perhaps in simple gratitude, he invited Jesus and the Twelve to a formal meal, since they were in town. We might expect the meal was conducted in typical Eastern fashion, where the guests lounged on large cushions around a low table, resting on their left sides, with their bodies at an angle to the table, feet outward. Women would not normally be welcome, but one nevertheless came in and dumped a small flask of expensive perfumed oil on Jesus' head. She, too, wanted to express gratitude to Jesus, and was not worried in the least by social convention. Matthew does not identify the woman.
What mattered was what she did, and what it symbolized. Probably it was Judas who led the group in fussing about the apparent waste in this act. If she had simply donated the gift intact, it could be exchanged for something more useful to their ministry. Think of how many poor people could be helped by that money! Jesus shut them up. What she had done was quite according to Kingdom principles, which they still did not understand.
First, we note the obvious intent of the woman was deep devotion, and a powerful desire to do something -- anything -- she could to honor such a beloved teacher. Further, it's implied she, at least, understood His warning He was about to be executed. Seizing the moment before it was too late, she offered the best she had. This contrasts with the petty posturing of the Twelve as they had their eyes on worldly fame and position. It requires a materialistic view of life to fuss over the price of something like this. The proper mystical view is nothing is too good for the Messiah. Ancient nomadic Hebrews would have grasped it immediately, and so did the woman. Second, eradicating poverty is simply not possible in a fallen world. Talking about the abstract notion of "the poor" is an excuse to dehumanize them further. If you want to do something to lift the fallen, you have to do it one by one, individually. Redemption is personal. Meanwhile, is not the Christ someone who deserves a little attention, too? Jesus rightly prophesies His servants in the future would mention this minor event. Sadly, the vast majority seem to have no idea why.
We are told elsewhere Judas embezzled as the treasurer of the group. We can surmise further he came alongside only because he was sure Jesus was the right ticket to political power. He was in it for himself. After being rebuked this way, it was surely more than petty greed which drove his next act. We would miss a great deal if we did not see his swelling worldly ambition, as well. The message of caring for the poor and taking no luxuries for the self would probably sell quite well to the average Jewish peasant, and could form a crucial plank in the reform platform Judas imagined Jesus held. But, Jesus had been warning He would die soon, and perhaps it finally registered on Judas' mind with the anointing incident, or perhaps he simply realized this comment about the poor just went against the best part of a good political campaign. Either way, he switched parties. He became a mole for the Sanhedrin, and accepted an insulting and pitiful small sum for it, roughly the price of a slave.
The Passover Seder with their Rabbi was perhaps the ultimate celebration experience of their ministry so far. Knowing this would be a unique and very special event, they had no doubt planned this much in advance. Most people don't realize Jesus would have worked this out by accepting one of the many invitations He surely would have received from so many supporters. Jesus told them how to find the place, and they went and made the necessary preparations. The meal took place at nightfall, as required in the Law (Exodus 12). During the meal, Jesus shocked them all with the rather calm declaration, obviously a prophetic statement, one of them would betray Him. To say it ruined the mood would be an understatement. With so many doubts already in the minds, each was quick to wonder if he were the man. While Jesus provided an answer we know was literally accurate, noting that would almost miss the point. To share a dish was to share about as much as any two men could share. With Jesus as their Master, it was a much more dramatic statement, for it implied the guilty one was also betraying God Almighty.
This betrayal was breaking a solemn covenant, sworn before the Lord, which made God a party of it. While it was all prophesied in advance long ago, this would not excuse the guilty man any more than noting God brought the Babylonians left them in the clear when they destroyed Jerusalem some six centuries before. They were dealt with severely in due time, and so it would be for the betrayer here. So drastic would be the consequences, a man would willingly take his life. That's one of the implications of the Hebrew phrase, "It would have been better not to be born." Judas merely echoed the others in his question, but he, of course, knew his guilt. Jesus' idiomatic answer was a "Yes." He now knew Jesus knew.
It is not necessary at this point to rehearse in detail the full Seder ritual. We note simply the importance of what Jesus made of two items. The piece of matzo represented among other things the promise of bread eaten in the Messiah's reign. Jesus associated that promise with the substance of His body, clearly saying, "This is Me; I am the Messiah." He showed that His body had to be broken, but it was also to be shared. His body can be associated with the full weight of His teaching, the full revelation of God Almighty, but also His manifestation in the congregation of His followers. The Cup of Blessing Jesus associated with the necessity of shedding blood to cleanse sin. He pointedly notes these two items would be the center of a new ritual and a new covenant, a covenant based on removing sin on a wholly different level. Further, He makes a cryptic remark about a spiritual new wine, using a term indicating the first juice running off pressed grapes. People often miss the symbolism of starting fresh with a whole new kind of Kingdom, a whole new kind of covenant, a whole new kind of life.
Back out on the Mount of Olives, now in darkness, Jesus warns them the times themselves were rather dark. Before the light of day, and before the light of understanding came to them, they would be under tremendous pressure. Indeed, as it was prophesied in Zechariah (13:7), the stress would be enough to scatter them in confusion. Then He promptly reminds them His death is hardly the end of the matter. He would rise again and meet them in their old stomping grounds in Galilee. Peter, as usual, missed the point. Still campaigning as Jesus' second, he loudly promised to face things at Jesus' side. How heroic and heart-warming! Jesus warned him prophetically it was not possible. Indeed, Peter would instead lead the group in denying Jesus -- three times before dawn. Peter argued, but then the rest chimed in with similar claims of bravery and commitment. How sad, they thought they were ready to face death with Him in a dashing display of heroism, but were not ready to face the spiritual Valley of Death.
Friday, January 11, 2008
Profane Election
All governments are made by God. Every Roman Caesar who persecuted Christians was put on the imperial throne by His hand. Scripture makes it clear the Lord hardened Pharaoh's heart (Romans 9:17ff). Whomever finally takes the seat in the Oval next year is God's pick, and I am bound under Romans 13 to act accordingly. That's not to say our government is the least bit legitimate. It is not, in the normal sense of the question. I have zero faith in the election process. We have not had a decent constitutional president since Andrew Jackson, and he was on shaky ground. Still, my calling is to face the reality of whomever holds the sword.
I've been asked often whom I favor or endorse, or what I think of this or that one. If the ballots offered an option, "None of the Above," I might register to vote. Otherwise, this election is hopeless.
I need to settle a couple of fundamental issues before going farther. I owe nothing to any party. First, the difference between the two major parties is an illusion. What's the difference between a party which promotes a woman's right to murder her child, and another party which can't be bothered to prevent it? What's the difference between a party which wants to remove the 2nd Amendment and another which gears up mightily to close down every gun dealer in the US on petty technicalities? What's the difference between nanny-state socialism and corporate welfare which confiscates private property? What's the difference between bigger government and bigger government?
Second, the lesser of evils is still evil. My loyalty is to the Kingdom first, and "America" is just a geographic abstraction. Today it contains a bunch of people who reject my Savior, or who simply refuse to obey Him. The US is doomed, and none of this makes much difference. I expect to see a major outpouring of divine wrath this coming year, and more to follow in coming years.
With that, here is my official reaction of the current crop of candidates most people ask about:
I'm predicting Clinton will win. God help us.
I've been asked often whom I favor or endorse, or what I think of this or that one. If the ballots offered an option, "None of the Above," I might register to vote. Otherwise, this election is hopeless.
I need to settle a couple of fundamental issues before going farther. I owe nothing to any party. First, the difference between the two major parties is an illusion. What's the difference between a party which promotes a woman's right to murder her child, and another party which can't be bothered to prevent it? What's the difference between a party which wants to remove the 2nd Amendment and another which gears up mightily to close down every gun dealer in the US on petty technicalities? What's the difference between nanny-state socialism and corporate welfare which confiscates private property? What's the difference between bigger government and bigger government?
Second, the lesser of evils is still evil. My loyalty is to the Kingdom first, and "America" is just a geographic abstraction. Today it contains a bunch of people who reject my Savior, or who simply refuse to obey Him. The US is doomed, and none of this makes much difference. I expect to see a major outpouring of divine wrath this coming year, and more to follow in coming years.
With that, here is my official reaction of the current crop of candidates most people ask about:
- Clinton -- She's Bill Clinton's wife, for Pete's sake! What else do we have to say? She's a feminazi and better actress than most stars in Hollywood.
- Obama -- Lots of emails about this guy going around. "He's a closet Muslim!" Oh yeah? He promises to support Israel just like Bush. The point is, he's not committed to anything but his own power and comfort, and is for sale to highest bidder. That makes him one of the most dangerous candidates.
- Edwards -- Limousine Liberal; this guy will propose the most Draconian laws to force people to behave in politically correct fashion, but you can bet it won't affect his family. Like everyone else, he'll send your kids to war.
- Giuliani -- Think Mafiosi, only worse. He's so corrupt, and so cheerful about it, the Cosa Nostra are taking lessons. He'll ensure millions of ordinary Americans die or end up in prison. Unspeakably nasty man.
- Huckabee -- Fake Christian, but waves it all over the place. Fascist as can be; embraces some really hideous theology, to include a bunch of New Age junk, and symbolizes all that's wrong with Baptists. He'll out-Bush the current president.
- McCain -- Liar on the scale of Kerry. His fellow prisoners in Vietnam hated him, considered him a collaborator: plush cell and soft treatment, at least a year on "vacation" from the Hanoi Hilton, etc. Viciously shoved his way through a crowd of MIA/POW family representatives, bitterly cursing all the way. Bitterly fought every effort in Congress to help MIAs/POWs and their families. He's a traitor.
- Romney -- Nobody really cares about his religion. He's an empty shell. The man flip-flops on so many things, no one can trust him. At least Obama knows who bought him.
- Paul -- The only person in the field qualified for the office of President. Because he's not for sale, he'll be assassinated if he comes close winning. So far, it looks like the GOP will simply make sure no vote for him is counted.
I'm predicting Clinton will win. God help us.
Thursday, January 10, 2008
The Meaning of Babylon
The symbolic language of Scripture offers a thousand fuzzy mental objects. Fuzzy because the context can alter some elements of the picture conjured by the word or phrase. Far too many people have tussled too long over the Biblical image of Babylon. Most of the time, people want to restrict it artificially to a single and precise abstract concept. Sorry, but the Hebrew culture makes no allowance for that. You know, Hebrew -- that language and culture in which God chose to reveal Himself.
The shortest answer is this: Babylon symbolizes the concept everything has a price, and that nothing else matters.
The path to that understanding is not direct. There are more than one stream feeding into that pool of meaning. First, though, we have to establish what it is Babylon corrupts.
The Kingdom of Heaven is fundamentally a gift economy. In a community of spiritual believers, each will tend to give freely out of the endowment they receive from God. Freely you have been given; freely give to others. That includes goods and services. Generally those are offered on the basis of need, or at least usefulness. Inevitably, the Lord will anoint at least one of the community to leadership. In every spiritual community, a significant focus of giving is to the leader, if for no other reason than to organize the distribution. So long as all the giving is giving -- a voluntary offering in God's name to another -- we remain within the boundaries of the Kingdom.
At the point when any of that giving becomes the least bit other than a freewill offering, we have moved into taxation. We find ourselves then in the territory of human government, and not a spiritual family. This is generally seen at the most primitive level where the leader is the strongest or most powerful in some way or another. As leader, they expect to have it better than anyone else under their leadership. Often the only reason anyone gains that sort of power is because there is at least the perception of an external threat. The essential nature of the office of "king" is that of warlord. If there is no threat, there is simply no reason to allow anyone to hold such power. When things get rough and the attack comes, somebody has to make the commands that everyone else follows, or stumbling over each other in chaos, too many in the group will die.
In the Bible, our first glimpse of Babylon is Genesis 11. In the previous chapter we are first told of Nimrod, the legendary hunter. It is typical of ancient Hebrew to leave a little ambiguity, as it notes Nimrod was a mighty hunter, as if that might be a thing men admire. What is not obvious to us, and should be, is the primary image of a proper king is that of shepherd, not of predator. Nimrod held power not because he was a good protector, but because no one could defeat him. Reading between the lines, as we are meant to do in any Hebrew text, we build a picture of a fellow who was probably stronger, faster and certainly more cunning than anyone else. He may well have been a really big dude, but certainly superior in every measure noticed by men in the flesh. That's the whole point: Nimrod was anything but spiritual.
In the Tower of Babel narrative, we don't get much more about Nimrod, but see clearly the imprint of his character. Realizing the tower was essentially a zigurrat, an astrological observatory, we see he attempted to replace worship of the Creator with that of stars and signs in the heavens. (I note in passing, prior to the Flood, all these things were hidden behind the permanent cloud cover over earth which contributed to the Flood, so stars and such were a fairly new phenomena to humans.) Nimrod sought to bind all humanity under his rule by giving them a new religion, one he could manipulate in his favor.
The original Babylon depicts a direct challenge to God's supremacy in man's concerns. That it was astrology was secondary. The point is Nimrod reduced his subjects to objects which existed only to serve his ambitions. It was dehumanizing, and the heavenly cure was to destroy the unity of the human race via linguistic variations. This was grace, because humanity united under any focus other than God Almighty was doomed to Hell. Get everyone clinging to Nimrod's religion, and the revelation of God fades from human memory, and the truth of man's real need for salvation is lost. Humanity becomes locked under an all-encompassing bondage.
Babylon II revives some of this. First, the Chaldeans pretended to inherit the secrets of the more ancient Babylon of Nimrod. The previous generations of city states, petty kingdoms, etc., had left a very ancient legacy of human knowledge. While the truth of God could be found in the eclectic mix of ancient religious materials, it was buried in the cacophony of competing claims. The rest was a big pile of nonsense, some of which was obviously derived from the true story. But that pile included claims of secret knowledge recovered from before the Flood, the knowledge gained when spiritual was corrupted by fallen, and very powerful spiritual evil was loosed on the earth. We call it today "Black Magic." Should any of that stuff actually work, men could shortcut the natural process of Creation, and God's demand humans acknowledge Him, to have what they did not have rights to claim. Naturally, that meant using power over nature and other humans for evil motives.
Again, we see attempts to by-pass the Flaming Sword of God's Word and return to a mythical version of Eden. It would be Eden's powers to manipulate Creation without having to satisfy the Creator's requirements. All of this denies the spiritual, claiming instead this world is all we have, and that's all that matters. Put another way, it dethrones the spiritual truths, the call of a higher plane which is unspoiled by the Fall. These people were denying there was a Fall, denying man was inherently evil. Instead, human lusts and desires were regarded as an appropriate indicator of what men should seek.
We note in the numerous texts touching on Babylon II, these folks had a fascination for wealth and power. What else could a man want? Thus, with enough gold and silver, everything was available. They were the first crescendo of the maxim, "Everything has a price." What could not be bought didn't exist. Near as we can tell, their predecessors in Imperial Assyria did admit to a higher plane, and while their conquerors were brutal and arrogant, they did harbor a healthy doubt about their grasp of spiritual things. The Babylonians, with their Chaldean libraries and ancient academies, were pretty sure they had it all figured out. While paying lip service to gods and such, their actions betrayed an utterly mercenary concern.
Lastly, in John's Revelation, we see Babylon attached to several major themes regarding human sin nature, but a repeating theme is the commerce of the city. It's the ultimate market for all things. When Babylon falls, everybody whose world is built on commerce is really heartbroken. Without Babylon, there is no market for the frivolous luxury goods. It's not so subtle. John clearly disdains the importance of human trade in goods and services. If there was almost no such thing, we could still be joyfully focused on Christ. Since we cannot stop human trade, essentially built on greed, we piggy-back on their constant travel and carry the gospel instead of trade goods. Once the world has been seeded with the gospel, we no longer need Babylon. It can be destroyed for its profligate sins.
Sure, we all enjoy creature comforts. It can save us a lot of time if we can heat the whole house instead of struggling with thick clothing for every little household task. Grain already uniformly ground into flour makes preparing food a lot easier. But a hard chair is probably good enough for most uses, and we don't need that plush recliner. This sort of thinking was inherent in the Apocalypse as John openly criticized the trade in luxury goods. Believers who become wrapped up in either seeking luxury, or made their religion from rejecting them by rules, both served Satan by missing the fundamental nature of the gospel of Jesus Christ: As beings living in a fallen Creation, we all need redemption we cannot get on our own. Jesus got it for us, and we can have that redemption if we embrace Him and His ways. In Him, creature comforts are not that important, mere tools. We just don't need gold-plated rakes and shovels.
Babylon: "Everything has a price, and that's all that matters."
The shortest answer is this: Babylon symbolizes the concept everything has a price, and that nothing else matters.
The path to that understanding is not direct. There are more than one stream feeding into that pool of meaning. First, though, we have to establish what it is Babylon corrupts.
The Kingdom of Heaven is fundamentally a gift economy. In a community of spiritual believers, each will tend to give freely out of the endowment they receive from God. Freely you have been given; freely give to others. That includes goods and services. Generally those are offered on the basis of need, or at least usefulness. Inevitably, the Lord will anoint at least one of the community to leadership. In every spiritual community, a significant focus of giving is to the leader, if for no other reason than to organize the distribution. So long as all the giving is giving -- a voluntary offering in God's name to another -- we remain within the boundaries of the Kingdom.
At the point when any of that giving becomes the least bit other than a freewill offering, we have moved into taxation. We find ourselves then in the territory of human government, and not a spiritual family. This is generally seen at the most primitive level where the leader is the strongest or most powerful in some way or another. As leader, they expect to have it better than anyone else under their leadership. Often the only reason anyone gains that sort of power is because there is at least the perception of an external threat. The essential nature of the office of "king" is that of warlord. If there is no threat, there is simply no reason to allow anyone to hold such power. When things get rough and the attack comes, somebody has to make the commands that everyone else follows, or stumbling over each other in chaos, too many in the group will die.
In the Bible, our first glimpse of Babylon is Genesis 11. In the previous chapter we are first told of Nimrod, the legendary hunter. It is typical of ancient Hebrew to leave a little ambiguity, as it notes Nimrod was a mighty hunter, as if that might be a thing men admire. What is not obvious to us, and should be, is the primary image of a proper king is that of shepherd, not of predator. Nimrod held power not because he was a good protector, but because no one could defeat him. Reading between the lines, as we are meant to do in any Hebrew text, we build a picture of a fellow who was probably stronger, faster and certainly more cunning than anyone else. He may well have been a really big dude, but certainly superior in every measure noticed by men in the flesh. That's the whole point: Nimrod was anything but spiritual.
In the Tower of Babel narrative, we don't get much more about Nimrod, but see clearly the imprint of his character. Realizing the tower was essentially a zigurrat, an astrological observatory, we see he attempted to replace worship of the Creator with that of stars and signs in the heavens. (I note in passing, prior to the Flood, all these things were hidden behind the permanent cloud cover over earth which contributed to the Flood, so stars and such were a fairly new phenomena to humans.) Nimrod sought to bind all humanity under his rule by giving them a new religion, one he could manipulate in his favor.
The original Babylon depicts a direct challenge to God's supremacy in man's concerns. That it was astrology was secondary. The point is Nimrod reduced his subjects to objects which existed only to serve his ambitions. It was dehumanizing, and the heavenly cure was to destroy the unity of the human race via linguistic variations. This was grace, because humanity united under any focus other than God Almighty was doomed to Hell. Get everyone clinging to Nimrod's religion, and the revelation of God fades from human memory, and the truth of man's real need for salvation is lost. Humanity becomes locked under an all-encompassing bondage.
Babylon II revives some of this. First, the Chaldeans pretended to inherit the secrets of the more ancient Babylon of Nimrod. The previous generations of city states, petty kingdoms, etc., had left a very ancient legacy of human knowledge. While the truth of God could be found in the eclectic mix of ancient religious materials, it was buried in the cacophony of competing claims. The rest was a big pile of nonsense, some of which was obviously derived from the true story. But that pile included claims of secret knowledge recovered from before the Flood, the knowledge gained when spiritual was corrupted by fallen, and very powerful spiritual evil was loosed on the earth. We call it today "Black Magic." Should any of that stuff actually work, men could shortcut the natural process of Creation, and God's demand humans acknowledge Him, to have what they did not have rights to claim. Naturally, that meant using power over nature and other humans for evil motives.
Again, we see attempts to by-pass the Flaming Sword of God's Word and return to a mythical version of Eden. It would be Eden's powers to manipulate Creation without having to satisfy the Creator's requirements. All of this denies the spiritual, claiming instead this world is all we have, and that's all that matters. Put another way, it dethrones the spiritual truths, the call of a higher plane which is unspoiled by the Fall. These people were denying there was a Fall, denying man was inherently evil. Instead, human lusts and desires were regarded as an appropriate indicator of what men should seek.
We note in the numerous texts touching on Babylon II, these folks had a fascination for wealth and power. What else could a man want? Thus, with enough gold and silver, everything was available. They were the first crescendo of the maxim, "Everything has a price." What could not be bought didn't exist. Near as we can tell, their predecessors in Imperial Assyria did admit to a higher plane, and while their conquerors were brutal and arrogant, they did harbor a healthy doubt about their grasp of spiritual things. The Babylonians, with their Chaldean libraries and ancient academies, were pretty sure they had it all figured out. While paying lip service to gods and such, their actions betrayed an utterly mercenary concern.
Lastly, in John's Revelation, we see Babylon attached to several major themes regarding human sin nature, but a repeating theme is the commerce of the city. It's the ultimate market for all things. When Babylon falls, everybody whose world is built on commerce is really heartbroken. Without Babylon, there is no market for the frivolous luxury goods. It's not so subtle. John clearly disdains the importance of human trade in goods and services. If there was almost no such thing, we could still be joyfully focused on Christ. Since we cannot stop human trade, essentially built on greed, we piggy-back on their constant travel and carry the gospel instead of trade goods. Once the world has been seeded with the gospel, we no longer need Babylon. It can be destroyed for its profligate sins.
Sure, we all enjoy creature comforts. It can save us a lot of time if we can heat the whole house instead of struggling with thick clothing for every little household task. Grain already uniformly ground into flour makes preparing food a lot easier. But a hard chair is probably good enough for most uses, and we don't need that plush recliner. This sort of thinking was inherent in the Apocalypse as John openly criticized the trade in luxury goods. Believers who become wrapped up in either seeking luxury, or made their religion from rejecting them by rules, both served Satan by missing the fundamental nature of the gospel of Jesus Christ: As beings living in a fallen Creation, we all need redemption we cannot get on our own. Jesus got it for us, and we can have that redemption if we embrace Him and His ways. In Him, creature comforts are not that important, mere tools. We just don't need gold-plated rakes and shovels.
Babylon: "Everything has a price, and that's all that matters."
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
Galatians 5
The fundamental definition of sin is saying anything other than what God says about a given subject. Therefore, the concept of liberty is not absolute. That is, when speaking of liberty on a spiritual level, as with all things, it is what God says it is. If God says serving Him is true liberty, only a blasphemer would argue. From God's viewpoint, the best we could possibly hope for is serving Him through His Son, Jesus Christ. Having just established the difference between spiritual liberty and bondage in the parable of Sarah and Hagar in the previous chapter, Paul makes the obvious request the Galatians choose to remain in Sarah's line, and not fall for the lies of Hagar's bondage.
Circumcision itself means nothing. As the primary symbol of Judaism, it represents slavery. To accept ritual circumcision under the Law comes with a requirement to keep the entire Law of Moses. Attempting to find peace with God through the Law is a major downfall, for the path of grace is much higher. The Law is merely behavior; any sinner can obey the ritual requirements without ever changing their hearts. Following Christ is only possible through the Spirit of Christ. The two systems are mutually exclusive. Only in Christ do we have any hope of eternity.
It's likely Paul knew the names of the Judaizers who swarmed the Galatian churches. His question is rather rhetorical. Having started so strongly in the way of faith, it was certainly not from Christ they were turned off the path. Using the parabolic figure of leaven as sin, Paul shows it takes only a tiny bit of falsehood to destroy genuine faith. Once you admit any element of non-faith into the gospel, it will eventually twist the whole thing around to something humans must do by their own power. Faith is another word for a power of commitment not possible in the flesh, which breeds confidence. Paul gave them faith and confidence, which could pull them out of this mud pit of falsehood. Judaizers didn't even understand faith, so they were doomed.
Part of the Judaizer's lie was telling the Galatians Paul surely supported the ritual of circumcision. If in circumcising Timothy, one should suppose Paul still promoted that ritual as a part of Christian faith, why do the Jews and Judaizers still oppress him? Surely they would have no excuse for taking offense at the Cross! Let them go the whole way, and emasculate themselves. Won't that please God even more?
The Judaizers made the fatal error of equating spiritual liberty with being a moral libertine. Liberty is not about giving the flesh what it wants, but cuts off the flesh in the spiritual sense of nailing it to the Cross. Why would you waste time detailing the various aspects of sexual purity if you could answer the whole question with agape -- what does your fellow human actually need from you to see Christ? In pursuing His teaching of sacrificing the flesh for the higher good of the gospel message, we satisfy all the rules anyone could dream up. You can't possibly do your brother or sister harm by walking in the Spirit. If you let yourself become entangled in the Judaizers' endless partisan debates over ritual details, and rankings and empty gestures of respect and chasing titles, you'll end up destroying one another as your various "positions" become paramount over Christ's love.
By walking in the Spirit, you conquer the desires of the flesh. Those desires include all the silly rankings and rules of the Judaizers. The desires of the Spirit are at war with the desires of the flesh. If you embrace the Law, you embrace the flesh, and cannot obey the demands of the Spirit in your higher nature. Walk in the Spirit and you are far above the detailed nit-picking of the Law, because you are obeying God Himself. If you follow the way of the Law, which is the way of the flesh, you must contend with all the evil which inevitably overpowers the flesh. Paul offers a sample list of those evils. From the beginning, Paul warned those things did not reflect the new Life in Christ. If you embrace Christ and His Spirit, the focus of your life is not avoiding evil, but gaining holiness. Paul paints a picture of holiness with a matching list of righteousness character traits, the traits of Christ's presence in the soul.
Again, Paul emphasizes the power of the flesh is dead for those in Christ. It is not for nothing the Holy Spirit comes to dwell in us. That Presence is meant to permeate our whole existence, manifesting in our daily conduct. A primary feature of this is humility, giving grace and preference to others. That's what Christ looks like in people. His servants don't demand preference, don't wave their ranks and credentials all around. Only the flesh needs that. The Spirit is living Truth, and presents His own credentials. There's no place for envy in His power, because people and their status in the flesh won't matter at all.
Circumcision itself means nothing. As the primary symbol of Judaism, it represents slavery. To accept ritual circumcision under the Law comes with a requirement to keep the entire Law of Moses. Attempting to find peace with God through the Law is a major downfall, for the path of grace is much higher. The Law is merely behavior; any sinner can obey the ritual requirements without ever changing their hearts. Following Christ is only possible through the Spirit of Christ. The two systems are mutually exclusive. Only in Christ do we have any hope of eternity.
It's likely Paul knew the names of the Judaizers who swarmed the Galatian churches. His question is rather rhetorical. Having started so strongly in the way of faith, it was certainly not from Christ they were turned off the path. Using the parabolic figure of leaven as sin, Paul shows it takes only a tiny bit of falsehood to destroy genuine faith. Once you admit any element of non-faith into the gospel, it will eventually twist the whole thing around to something humans must do by their own power. Faith is another word for a power of commitment not possible in the flesh, which breeds confidence. Paul gave them faith and confidence, which could pull them out of this mud pit of falsehood. Judaizers didn't even understand faith, so they were doomed.
Part of the Judaizer's lie was telling the Galatians Paul surely supported the ritual of circumcision. If in circumcising Timothy, one should suppose Paul still promoted that ritual as a part of Christian faith, why do the Jews and Judaizers still oppress him? Surely they would have no excuse for taking offense at the Cross! Let them go the whole way, and emasculate themselves. Won't that please God even more?
The Judaizers made the fatal error of equating spiritual liberty with being a moral libertine. Liberty is not about giving the flesh what it wants, but cuts off the flesh in the spiritual sense of nailing it to the Cross. Why would you waste time detailing the various aspects of sexual purity if you could answer the whole question with agape -- what does your fellow human actually need from you to see Christ? In pursuing His teaching of sacrificing the flesh for the higher good of the gospel message, we satisfy all the rules anyone could dream up. You can't possibly do your brother or sister harm by walking in the Spirit. If you let yourself become entangled in the Judaizers' endless partisan debates over ritual details, and rankings and empty gestures of respect and chasing titles, you'll end up destroying one another as your various "positions" become paramount over Christ's love.
By walking in the Spirit, you conquer the desires of the flesh. Those desires include all the silly rankings and rules of the Judaizers. The desires of the Spirit are at war with the desires of the flesh. If you embrace the Law, you embrace the flesh, and cannot obey the demands of the Spirit in your higher nature. Walk in the Spirit and you are far above the detailed nit-picking of the Law, because you are obeying God Himself. If you follow the way of the Law, which is the way of the flesh, you must contend with all the evil which inevitably overpowers the flesh. Paul offers a sample list of those evils. From the beginning, Paul warned those things did not reflect the new Life in Christ. If you embrace Christ and His Spirit, the focus of your life is not avoiding evil, but gaining holiness. Paul paints a picture of holiness with a matching list of righteousness character traits, the traits of Christ's presence in the soul.
Again, Paul emphasizes the power of the flesh is dead for those in Christ. It is not for nothing the Holy Spirit comes to dwell in us. That Presence is meant to permeate our whole existence, manifesting in our daily conduct. A primary feature of this is humility, giving grace and preference to others. That's what Christ looks like in people. His servants don't demand preference, don't wave their ranks and credentials all around. Only the flesh needs that. The Spirit is living Truth, and presents His own credentials. There's no place for envy in His power, because people and their status in the flesh won't matter at all.
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
Doomed Nation
We have made our bed. Now must we lie in it.
It was very dark time in American History. The nation was divided by a war which almost no one understood, and in which no side could claim completely the moral high ground: The War Between the States. Even today the history books falsely claim it was about slavery. That was merely the propaganda issue used by both sides to stir up the passions of war; it remains the propaganda of today. Who could have predicted in that time a useful liquid mineral found in Pennsylvanian soil would become the means to enslave us all? When the process of fractional distillation was developed, our doom was sealed. The outcome of that war made no difference either way.
We still hold the pretense of having chosen our government. Most of us harbor serious doubts, seeing the power of giant corporations over the process and outcome of our politics. Very early, presidents such as Jackson warned the power of wealth could destroy this grand experiment in republican governing. Alas, it had already done so, and his warning was too late. Today it seems a cruel joke his face adorns a popular piece of paper currency he despised. The system behind that currency is the foundation of our slavery. By its very nature our fiat currency promotes behavior which enslaves us.
First, wealth was the means to force a unitary central government, step by step. Only a complete fool does not recognize what we have today is diametrically opposed to the Founders' intent. If you can read, you know they wrote against the things our governing officials do routinely today. Because we allowed industrialists to write our educational plans, they saw it to it we would cease reading those documents. Their intent was to make us fit only to serve their industrial empire building. Independent free thought was their enemy. Ask John Taylor Gatto about this. The system was shaped to enslave us starting with our minds.
Shake off that pervasive conditioning but for a day, and read again what concerns our forefathers had for the nature of human government, and you would quickly see we are slaves. There is no such thing as "Federal Government" in the US Constitution, nor was it permitted. Ever read The Tenth Amendment? Patently false applications of the so-called "Commerce Clause" have become the lever to pry that amendment off the foundation of our government processes. Wealthy business interests have pushed hard to promote a unitary commerce law. It's cheaper for them if every state is compelled against the wishes of their citizens to do business by a single standard. Corporate profits are the excuse to destroy the unique practices, addressing the unique concerns justly legislated by the various different states.
Forcing the states to hold a common commerce law made possible massive interstate corporations. An indisputable fact of human history is the accumulation of wealth equals the accumulation of power; the two are inextricably linked regardless which comes first. When power and wealth are concentrated in fewer hands, human suffering is inevitable. The cases where someone in power was actually benevolent are so rare in human history as to remain remarkable. Even those few have their glory besmirched by numerous unintended bad consequences of power's use. Bigger power and wealth cannot be divorced from greater harm. Smaller government closer to home is always safer. So we have national companies gaining undue influence in nation-wide government. During that war, which was being waged to take away the freedom of the individual states in America, was born one of the wealthiest, most powerful businesses in the world: the Petroleum Industry.
In a very short time, virtually every element of commerce in the world became dependent on this stuff. Whatever it was you did to make money, it was almost certainly cheaper to use petroleum for the energy you required. Demand soared, driving exploration. In due time, it was discovered the greatest sources of this petroleum was found in a few desert countries, situated mostly between Africa and India. These happened also to be home of some of the most unstable governments in human history. They were also by that time deeply rooted in a particularly barbaric religious culture, Islam. This religion contributed to the instability. For a short time, our ability to take advantage of that instability got us lots of oil at cheap prices.
As it normally goes with the ebb and flow of human behavior on a global scale, these governments managed to identify a common enemy just long enough to taste unity of a sort. In their unity, they decided to attack someone supporting their enemy. Lacking any other weapon, they used their oil supply to harm that supporter of their enemy, to devastating effect. That supporter was forced to come courting, rather than come demanding. We had to make a deal with OPEC. There was no outright victory on any side, except for the folks making money who used the various governments as their tools. Whatever direction was their profitable interest, so they steered the various governments. They did this through their ownership (by various means of gaining interest) of so many other things in American national existence, to include most all the news outlets, and the "free" entertainment channels on radio and TV. You can have broadcast ownership by government, which makes it the mouthpiece of political propaganda, or you can have ownership by profit-making business, which makes them the mouthpiece of corporate propaganda. The difference between the two is almost nil. It's the unity of viewpoint you get by identifying as your enemy the free and independent thought of voters.
Now we find ourselves in a very bad place. The various corporations built here have found cheaper labor offshore. Yet they expect us to somehow remain employed in high paying jobs so as to afford their stuff. Failing that, they pull the levers of public opinion to demand government become the new "consumer." Of course, that means massive government borrowing, far outstripping not just the load-bearing capacity of the tax system, but outstripping the entire national economy itself. We as a nation are technically insolvent, unable to support out financial obligations even by full liquidation of all assets. With a national economy wholly dependent of consumer consumption, which in turn depends entirely on consumer credit, we have built an economy which has wobbled along for some decades on the razor thin edge of stability. As long as things are zipping along, we don't wobble too much. One hiccup and it's all over.
That hiccup came when, during the midst of a completely inexcusable expansion of housing lending, the price of oil shifted upward just enough to tip things out of balance. So the housing bubble has burst. The same people who are walking away from their foreclosed houses in droves are the same people who cannot now walk away from their credit card debts, which debts were available because of rising value in their new homes. In other words, it was a false credit-worthiness which got them the new homes, and which further got them more consumer credit. The entire economy is slowing, wobbling. Hundreds of thousands in the home building industry are out of work. The people they bought from are losing business, along with the mortgage handling businesses, which are all letting people go. It will be a domino effect, but it will take awhile because there are so very many millions of dominoes.
You will note the loss of bankruptcy protections came at the behest of the bankers. They lobbied Congress hard, and it was sold to us as "being responsible." No one wanted to discuss how this closing of loop holes came about the same time mortgage lenders -- essentially bankers -- were gearing up to make all these incredibly stupid loans to people for houses, and the incredibly stupid credit card offers to people whose brand new houses quickly shot up in price, creating a false equity. This scheme might have worked if oil prices hadn't jumped suddenly, just enough of a nudge to make the economy wobble. Why did it go up in price? Because the government was borrowing such a mass of money to fund a war, a war in oil-rich desert countries between Africa and India, countries which are mostly Islamic. It required the bankers to create lots of excess new fiat-dollars, which makes them less valuable. You know, the old supply and demand curves? Yeah, that affects dollars, because they have no intrinsic value, only a market value. The market for dollars is glutted; there are too many. They aren't worth as much, so it takes more of them to get the same stuff we used to buy, including oil.
So the dollar is falling, our economy is falling, and we now find ourselves in a country ruled by a government which is hardly any nicer than if we were conquered by Muslims. We have allowed ourselves to swallow a thousand lies along the path since the Revolutionary War. We have swallowed the lies of "professional education" which makes us stupid, the lies of easy credit which makes us slaves, and lies of "you gotta get one of these" consumerism which makes us shallow fools. We are so used to this slavery we think we are the most free nation on earth. Guess what? The Muslims don't have to conquer America; they can buy it. The thing our lying politicians use to keep us whipped up into a war frenzy against these barbaric Muslims is coming true by their purchase of our failing banks. Did you not know they can set new policy for the banks which rule our lives, controlling our ability to buy a sandwich when we are hungry? Try living without a bank account!
If our economy survives this wobble, the oil-rich countries will have a whopping interest in our banks. They will be in an even better position to punish us should be make them unhappy. If our economy collapses, they will have a legal claim on some of our federally owned property -- some 25% of all American soil. Depending on how certain documents are interpreted, they could hold each of us US citizens liable for a portion of the national debt to them. We have already lost. Whey have they punished us in the past (gasoline rationing during the `70s), and why would they do it again? Because we support Israel, and Israel has made it plain they hate all Islamic nations, in part because the Islamic nations oppose Israel's intent to drive all the non-Israelis out. While that fact is never published in the US, at least not in the mainstream media, it isn't hard to trace down official Israeli government declarations to that effect.
Sure, we believe "God gave the land to Israel." Yes, He did give it to them. Then they lost it, because they defied Him. Many were lost in the sands of time under Assyrian deportation. Many who survived Babylon never bothered to come back to Judea. When those few rejected the Messiah, He warned that was the final straw, describing in Matthew 23-25 how the city would be destroyed, and the Covenant of Moses would be terminated eternally. Paul made it clear in Galatians and other places how the Nation of Israel exists no longer in God's plans, that being a Jew meant nothing at all. There is only one Israel, the spiritual one based in Heaven. Never mind most people today with Israeli citizenship have virtually no genetic connection to the biblical Hebrew people. They are from the Khazar nation which converted to Judaism around 900 AD. Whatever you make of biblical promises to the Children of Israel, the modern nation of Israel isn't them, and cannot claim a single thread of such promises.
We are in Iraq and Afghanistan because that's what Israel wants. All the official reasons are lies, most of the incidens which provide the excuses were cooked up, to hide the fact these invasions were planned long before. Up to now, Israel has controlled our foreign policy. While we can point to agencies like AIPAC, their money and influence has come via all manner of hidden hands. They supply most of the software used in our phone systems, the firewalls on virtually every Windows PC in government offices, not to mention a huge portion of privately owned PCs. We have dual-citizenship Israelis all through our government. No, I'm not talking about Jews, I'm talking about that specific slice of Jewish humans who are involved in Zionist politics, the politics of Modern Israel. Just the other day, we had a lot of noise about some guy representing al-Qaeda named Adam Gadhan (AKA Azzam al-Amriki). His real name is Adam Pearlman, and he's an agent of Mossad. There is no real al-Qaeda. And did you know, many of our government officials are employed by Turkey's government? Yeah, it's really big mess.
I don't have too many answers to obvious conspiracies, not even a good theory. There's so much lying and deception on so many levels, I doubt any the conspirators themeselves know what's going on. The point of all this blabber is clear, I hope: We as people of the Unites States are doomed. You can let the election and Brittney Spears consume your attention, or you can bury yourself in the eternal Word of God. If you insist on reading the Bible through Dispensationalist lenses, you are in for a really big surprise. This heresy, this one big lie, blinded us to the few worldly-wise options we had once long ago. We could have kept on minding our own business, as George Washington himself advised. But we were swayed by the desire for creature comforts, and just had to have one more bit of stuff (lust of the flesh), one more entertaining marvel (lust of the eyes), one more point of national pride (boastful pride of life). So, are we goats, or are we the sheep of His pasture? Believe what you want, but we are in deep trouble. The only thing left is to answer the question of how we shall witness as things go down the tubes in this new, very dark time in American History.
It was very dark time in American History. The nation was divided by a war which almost no one understood, and in which no side could claim completely the moral high ground: The War Between the States. Even today the history books falsely claim it was about slavery. That was merely the propaganda issue used by both sides to stir up the passions of war; it remains the propaganda of today. Who could have predicted in that time a useful liquid mineral found in Pennsylvanian soil would become the means to enslave us all? When the process of fractional distillation was developed, our doom was sealed. The outcome of that war made no difference either way.
We still hold the pretense of having chosen our government. Most of us harbor serious doubts, seeing the power of giant corporations over the process and outcome of our politics. Very early, presidents such as Jackson warned the power of wealth could destroy this grand experiment in republican governing. Alas, it had already done so, and his warning was too late. Today it seems a cruel joke his face adorns a popular piece of paper currency he despised. The system behind that currency is the foundation of our slavery. By its very nature our fiat currency promotes behavior which enslaves us.
First, wealth was the means to force a unitary central government, step by step. Only a complete fool does not recognize what we have today is diametrically opposed to the Founders' intent. If you can read, you know they wrote against the things our governing officials do routinely today. Because we allowed industrialists to write our educational plans, they saw it to it we would cease reading those documents. Their intent was to make us fit only to serve their industrial empire building. Independent free thought was their enemy. Ask John Taylor Gatto about this. The system was shaped to enslave us starting with our minds.
Shake off that pervasive conditioning but for a day, and read again what concerns our forefathers had for the nature of human government, and you would quickly see we are slaves. There is no such thing as "Federal Government" in the US Constitution, nor was it permitted. Ever read The Tenth Amendment? Patently false applications of the so-called "Commerce Clause" have become the lever to pry that amendment off the foundation of our government processes. Wealthy business interests have pushed hard to promote a unitary commerce law. It's cheaper for them if every state is compelled against the wishes of their citizens to do business by a single standard. Corporate profits are the excuse to destroy the unique practices, addressing the unique concerns justly legislated by the various different states.
Forcing the states to hold a common commerce law made possible massive interstate corporations. An indisputable fact of human history is the accumulation of wealth equals the accumulation of power; the two are inextricably linked regardless which comes first. When power and wealth are concentrated in fewer hands, human suffering is inevitable. The cases where someone in power was actually benevolent are so rare in human history as to remain remarkable. Even those few have their glory besmirched by numerous unintended bad consequences of power's use. Bigger power and wealth cannot be divorced from greater harm. Smaller government closer to home is always safer. So we have national companies gaining undue influence in nation-wide government. During that war, which was being waged to take away the freedom of the individual states in America, was born one of the wealthiest, most powerful businesses in the world: the Petroleum Industry.
In a very short time, virtually every element of commerce in the world became dependent on this stuff. Whatever it was you did to make money, it was almost certainly cheaper to use petroleum for the energy you required. Demand soared, driving exploration. In due time, it was discovered the greatest sources of this petroleum was found in a few desert countries, situated mostly between Africa and India. These happened also to be home of some of the most unstable governments in human history. They were also by that time deeply rooted in a particularly barbaric religious culture, Islam. This religion contributed to the instability. For a short time, our ability to take advantage of that instability got us lots of oil at cheap prices.
As it normally goes with the ebb and flow of human behavior on a global scale, these governments managed to identify a common enemy just long enough to taste unity of a sort. In their unity, they decided to attack someone supporting their enemy. Lacking any other weapon, they used their oil supply to harm that supporter of their enemy, to devastating effect. That supporter was forced to come courting, rather than come demanding. We had to make a deal with OPEC. There was no outright victory on any side, except for the folks making money who used the various governments as their tools. Whatever direction was their profitable interest, so they steered the various governments. They did this through their ownership (by various means of gaining interest) of so many other things in American national existence, to include most all the news outlets, and the "free" entertainment channels on radio and TV. You can have broadcast ownership by government, which makes it the mouthpiece of political propaganda, or you can have ownership by profit-making business, which makes them the mouthpiece of corporate propaganda. The difference between the two is almost nil. It's the unity of viewpoint you get by identifying as your enemy the free and independent thought of voters.
Now we find ourselves in a very bad place. The various corporations built here have found cheaper labor offshore. Yet they expect us to somehow remain employed in high paying jobs so as to afford their stuff. Failing that, they pull the levers of public opinion to demand government become the new "consumer." Of course, that means massive government borrowing, far outstripping not just the load-bearing capacity of the tax system, but outstripping the entire national economy itself. We as a nation are technically insolvent, unable to support out financial obligations even by full liquidation of all assets. With a national economy wholly dependent of consumer consumption, which in turn depends entirely on consumer credit, we have built an economy which has wobbled along for some decades on the razor thin edge of stability. As long as things are zipping along, we don't wobble too much. One hiccup and it's all over.
That hiccup came when, during the midst of a completely inexcusable expansion of housing lending, the price of oil shifted upward just enough to tip things out of balance. So the housing bubble has burst. The same people who are walking away from their foreclosed houses in droves are the same people who cannot now walk away from their credit card debts, which debts were available because of rising value in their new homes. In other words, it was a false credit-worthiness which got them the new homes, and which further got them more consumer credit. The entire economy is slowing, wobbling. Hundreds of thousands in the home building industry are out of work. The people they bought from are losing business, along with the mortgage handling businesses, which are all letting people go. It will be a domino effect, but it will take awhile because there are so very many millions of dominoes.
You will note the loss of bankruptcy protections came at the behest of the bankers. They lobbied Congress hard, and it was sold to us as "being responsible." No one wanted to discuss how this closing of loop holes came about the same time mortgage lenders -- essentially bankers -- were gearing up to make all these incredibly stupid loans to people for houses, and the incredibly stupid credit card offers to people whose brand new houses quickly shot up in price, creating a false equity. This scheme might have worked if oil prices hadn't jumped suddenly, just enough of a nudge to make the economy wobble. Why did it go up in price? Because the government was borrowing such a mass of money to fund a war, a war in oil-rich desert countries between Africa and India, countries which are mostly Islamic. It required the bankers to create lots of excess new fiat-dollars, which makes them less valuable. You know, the old supply and demand curves? Yeah, that affects dollars, because they have no intrinsic value, only a market value. The market for dollars is glutted; there are too many. They aren't worth as much, so it takes more of them to get the same stuff we used to buy, including oil.
So the dollar is falling, our economy is falling, and we now find ourselves in a country ruled by a government which is hardly any nicer than if we were conquered by Muslims. We have allowed ourselves to swallow a thousand lies along the path since the Revolutionary War. We have swallowed the lies of "professional education" which makes us stupid, the lies of easy credit which makes us slaves, and lies of "you gotta get one of these" consumerism which makes us shallow fools. We are so used to this slavery we think we are the most free nation on earth. Guess what? The Muslims don't have to conquer America; they can buy it. The thing our lying politicians use to keep us whipped up into a war frenzy against these barbaric Muslims is coming true by their purchase of our failing banks. Did you not know they can set new policy for the banks which rule our lives, controlling our ability to buy a sandwich when we are hungry? Try living without a bank account!
If our economy survives this wobble, the oil-rich countries will have a whopping interest in our banks. They will be in an even better position to punish us should be make them unhappy. If our economy collapses, they will have a legal claim on some of our federally owned property -- some 25% of all American soil. Depending on how certain documents are interpreted, they could hold each of us US citizens liable for a portion of the national debt to them. We have already lost. Whey have they punished us in the past (gasoline rationing during the `70s), and why would they do it again? Because we support Israel, and Israel has made it plain they hate all Islamic nations, in part because the Islamic nations oppose Israel's intent to drive all the non-Israelis out. While that fact is never published in the US, at least not in the mainstream media, it isn't hard to trace down official Israeli government declarations to that effect.
Sure, we believe "God gave the land to Israel." Yes, He did give it to them. Then they lost it, because they defied Him. Many were lost in the sands of time under Assyrian deportation. Many who survived Babylon never bothered to come back to Judea. When those few rejected the Messiah, He warned that was the final straw, describing in Matthew 23-25 how the city would be destroyed, and the Covenant of Moses would be terminated eternally. Paul made it clear in Galatians and other places how the Nation of Israel exists no longer in God's plans, that being a Jew meant nothing at all. There is only one Israel, the spiritual one based in Heaven. Never mind most people today with Israeli citizenship have virtually no genetic connection to the biblical Hebrew people. They are from the Khazar nation which converted to Judaism around 900 AD. Whatever you make of biblical promises to the Children of Israel, the modern nation of Israel isn't them, and cannot claim a single thread of such promises.
We are in Iraq and Afghanistan because that's what Israel wants. All the official reasons are lies, most of the incidens which provide the excuses were cooked up, to hide the fact these invasions were planned long before. Up to now, Israel has controlled our foreign policy. While we can point to agencies like AIPAC, their money and influence has come via all manner of hidden hands. They supply most of the software used in our phone systems, the firewalls on virtually every Windows PC in government offices, not to mention a huge portion of privately owned PCs. We have dual-citizenship Israelis all through our government. No, I'm not talking about Jews, I'm talking about that specific slice of Jewish humans who are involved in Zionist politics, the politics of Modern Israel. Just the other day, we had a lot of noise about some guy representing al-Qaeda named Adam Gadhan (AKA Azzam al-Amriki). His real name is Adam Pearlman, and he's an agent of Mossad. There is no real al-Qaeda. And did you know, many of our government officials are employed by Turkey's government? Yeah, it's really big mess.
I don't have too many answers to obvious conspiracies, not even a good theory. There's so much lying and deception on so many levels, I doubt any the conspirators themeselves know what's going on. The point of all this blabber is clear, I hope: We as people of the Unites States are doomed. You can let the election and Brittney Spears consume your attention, or you can bury yourself in the eternal Word of God. If you insist on reading the Bible through Dispensationalist lenses, you are in for a really big surprise. This heresy, this one big lie, blinded us to the few worldly-wise options we had once long ago. We could have kept on minding our own business, as George Washington himself advised. But we were swayed by the desire for creature comforts, and just had to have one more bit of stuff (lust of the flesh), one more entertaining marvel (lust of the eyes), one more point of national pride (boastful pride of life). So, are we goats, or are we the sheep of His pasture? Believe what you want, but we are in deep trouble. The only thing left is to answer the question of how we shall witness as things go down the tubes in this new, very dark time in American History.
Monday, January 7, 2008
Galatians 4
Having clarified that only those who walked in faith could claim to be children of Abraham, because his covenant was a spiritual covenant of faith, Paul shows how the Law played a part in this spiritual adoption into Abraham.
Under civil laws going back to ancient times in many countries, a man making a will can decide when and under what conditions his heir was allowed to take full possession of the estate. Until those conditions were met, the heir remained legally a minor regardless of local custom. That is, in his own household the heir was hardly better off than a servant, required to obey the will of those appointed over him until he reached majority status under the will. The terms Paul uses describes the typical will, which would nominate an executor or trustee, and house-parent or manager. The equivalent of such appointees in the Kingdom was the Law of Moses and its earthly custodians.
Paul describes the Law in terms of elements or principles of this world. This serves to remind his readers the Law never affected one's spiritual status, but mere ritual purity. The promise of that Law was no more than a material or worldly blessing. To be under Moses was to be under guardianship as a child, not yet capable of grappling with the spiritual nature of the spiritual Kingdom of Heaven.
At the time appointed by Him who made the will, He sent His natural born heir, born in the flesh and under the Law. This was so He could close up the period of minority by fulfilling all its conditions. This opened the door to His own ascension to the Throne of Heaven, and gave Him power to adopt us all as His brothers and sisters, as heirs with Him. The one who died was not the Father, but the Son, and by His death and resurrection, He made it possible to grant the Holy Spirit to humans, to enter their lives and make them able to cling to the Father as their own Daddy. Coming through Christ ends the slavery, the bondage of the Law, the period of minority. The Law restrained sin externally, much as children respond only to external restraints. Mature people need no such restraints, because they understand the Father's will, loving to please Him from the heart.
Worse, Gentiles didn't even really know the God of Moses. They worshiped all sorts of things which were not genuine deities. How is submitting to the Law any better than that, when both require stepping away from the maturity and freedom granted by Christ, back into bondage as fools? Was Paul's mission work so pointless? If Paul, arguably the most Jewish of Jews, has forsaken his Jewishness to become like a Gentile, surely they can leave it behind, since it wasn't their heritage in the first place.
Paul spent a lot of time in the Galatian churches because physical limitations forced him to avoid travel for awhile. They took full advantage of their time with him, as if it were a gift from God, as if God had sent an angel, or His own Son. Obviously it did them some good, for they displayed the same sacrificial love which marks followers of Christ. How did they ascend such heights? Paul implies without stating they came to this change by the power of the message, not by a powerful and thrilling presentation of that truth. Suddenly, they seem to have decided that miracle power of the Word was not enough, and Paul was to be despised for his boring presentation. By contrast, the Judaizers had to really make their sales pitch appealing, largely by stroking the egos of the Galatian Christians. Yet their sales pitch essentially excluded them as "dirty Gentiles" -- how flattering.
This is cheap reverse psychology; deny your marks something to make them want it more. What happened to the strong desire from the Spirit, which seemed to maintain it's power even with Paul gone? How much Paul longed to be with them again, so that he could show them once again how that boring and quiet presentation could change their lives, making them freshly aware of their direct sonship in Christ. Unlike the smooth-talking Judaizers who flatter and insult at the same time, just so they can sell their false religion and make a profit, Paul would gladly pay his own way to be with them as a mother for their souls. He worried over them as a mother over a sick child.
The Judaizers were not their friends, much less family. Even the Law of Moses made that plain. Of the many sons born to Abraham, two played large parts in the Bible narrative. One represented the efforts of the flesh, born to Hagar, a mere servant who could not consent to the covenant. The other was the result of God's promise, a gift born outside servitude. These two are major figures in the Scripture because of what they symbolize. One represents the path to Mount Sinai, the bondage of minority, which makes one no better than a servant in the household. Hagar represents the earthly Jerusalem, chained to the earth and all the limits of this world. The other child was born of freedom and spirit. That represents the spiritual Jerusalem, the one not tied to any fallen earthly location. That Jerusalem is Sarah, the spiritual mother of all who follow Christ.
The spiritual realm is the antithesis of this world. The woman who had no hope of children give birth to a nation larger than any earthly nation. Death and desolation on this earth for the sake of Christ brings a far greater life and joy above. As Isaac was persecuted by Ishmael, so we who are free in Christ, full heirs to the promise of grace, should hardly be surprised at meeting the disapproval of those tied to this world, especially the Judaizers. They cling to this world, and are the spiritual descendants of Ishmael. And as Abraham was commanded to cast out Hagar and her son of bondage, so you should realize the Lord has cast them out of His Kingdom, and you should reject their message. They have come to steal your freedom in Christ.
Under civil laws going back to ancient times in many countries, a man making a will can decide when and under what conditions his heir was allowed to take full possession of the estate. Until those conditions were met, the heir remained legally a minor regardless of local custom. That is, in his own household the heir was hardly better off than a servant, required to obey the will of those appointed over him until he reached majority status under the will. The terms Paul uses describes the typical will, which would nominate an executor or trustee, and house-parent or manager. The equivalent of such appointees in the Kingdom was the Law of Moses and its earthly custodians.
Paul describes the Law in terms of elements or principles of this world. This serves to remind his readers the Law never affected one's spiritual status, but mere ritual purity. The promise of that Law was no more than a material or worldly blessing. To be under Moses was to be under guardianship as a child, not yet capable of grappling with the spiritual nature of the spiritual Kingdom of Heaven.
At the time appointed by Him who made the will, He sent His natural born heir, born in the flesh and under the Law. This was so He could close up the period of minority by fulfilling all its conditions. This opened the door to His own ascension to the Throne of Heaven, and gave Him power to adopt us all as His brothers and sisters, as heirs with Him. The one who died was not the Father, but the Son, and by His death and resurrection, He made it possible to grant the Holy Spirit to humans, to enter their lives and make them able to cling to the Father as their own Daddy. Coming through Christ ends the slavery, the bondage of the Law, the period of minority. The Law restrained sin externally, much as children respond only to external restraints. Mature people need no such restraints, because they understand the Father's will, loving to please Him from the heart.
Worse, Gentiles didn't even really know the God of Moses. They worshiped all sorts of things which were not genuine deities. How is submitting to the Law any better than that, when both require stepping away from the maturity and freedom granted by Christ, back into bondage as fools? Was Paul's mission work so pointless? If Paul, arguably the most Jewish of Jews, has forsaken his Jewishness to become like a Gentile, surely they can leave it behind, since it wasn't their heritage in the first place.
Paul spent a lot of time in the Galatian churches because physical limitations forced him to avoid travel for awhile. They took full advantage of their time with him, as if it were a gift from God, as if God had sent an angel, or His own Son. Obviously it did them some good, for they displayed the same sacrificial love which marks followers of Christ. How did they ascend such heights? Paul implies without stating they came to this change by the power of the message, not by a powerful and thrilling presentation of that truth. Suddenly, they seem to have decided that miracle power of the Word was not enough, and Paul was to be despised for his boring presentation. By contrast, the Judaizers had to really make their sales pitch appealing, largely by stroking the egos of the Galatian Christians. Yet their sales pitch essentially excluded them as "dirty Gentiles" -- how flattering.
This is cheap reverse psychology; deny your marks something to make them want it more. What happened to the strong desire from the Spirit, which seemed to maintain it's power even with Paul gone? How much Paul longed to be with them again, so that he could show them once again how that boring and quiet presentation could change their lives, making them freshly aware of their direct sonship in Christ. Unlike the smooth-talking Judaizers who flatter and insult at the same time, just so they can sell their false religion and make a profit, Paul would gladly pay his own way to be with them as a mother for their souls. He worried over them as a mother over a sick child.
The Judaizers were not their friends, much less family. Even the Law of Moses made that plain. Of the many sons born to Abraham, two played large parts in the Bible narrative. One represented the efforts of the flesh, born to Hagar, a mere servant who could not consent to the covenant. The other was the result of God's promise, a gift born outside servitude. These two are major figures in the Scripture because of what they symbolize. One represents the path to Mount Sinai, the bondage of minority, which makes one no better than a servant in the household. Hagar represents the earthly Jerusalem, chained to the earth and all the limits of this world. The other child was born of freedom and spirit. That represents the spiritual Jerusalem, the one not tied to any fallen earthly location. That Jerusalem is Sarah, the spiritual mother of all who follow Christ.
The spiritual realm is the antithesis of this world. The woman who had no hope of children give birth to a nation larger than any earthly nation. Death and desolation on this earth for the sake of Christ brings a far greater life and joy above. As Isaac was persecuted by Ishmael, so we who are free in Christ, full heirs to the promise of grace, should hardly be surprised at meeting the disapproval of those tied to this world, especially the Judaizers. They cling to this world, and are the spiritual descendants of Ishmael. And as Abraham was commanded to cast out Hagar and her son of bondage, so you should realize the Lord has cast them out of His Kingdom, and you should reject their message. They have come to steal your freedom in Christ.
Sunday, January 6, 2008
Footnotes to Matthew 25
I wanted to note the three parables could be seen as having one other unifying theme. If you read the previous post, you note I associate the Jews with the Ten Virgins. The old fire of the Law dies with Jesus on the Cross. Only those with the new fire of the Holy Spirit within could take their place in the Kingdom of Heaven.
It is possible to see them also in the Parable of Talents as the servant with one talent. That is, they were given a small gift of God in the Law, but did nothing with it. Taking our cue from Jonah and his attitude about Gentiles, willing to do just about anything except take the message of God to them, hoping they would die and go to Hell, we understand Israel failed to be a light to the Nations. They did not build the Kingdom. Instead, they were so focused on preserving the Law, they never allowed it to change the world. However, I saw the message having a much wider application, as a warning to Christians.
Finally, it is possible to see them as the goats. They understood the world was loaded with predators, and understood the need for social order. They fulfilled the Covenant of Noah very nicely, but were not themselves the sheep of God's pasture. They never understood His nature, and did precious little to help the Gentiles to see God's grace by sharing His abundance. However, I felt this was more about all the nations of the world, coming before Him as individuals.
What I wrote in the lesson reflects what I discern as the primary emphasis in each parable, even while I acknowledge the Hebrew mystical tendency to make multiple applications, at multiple levels. The accusation Christ makes against His own nation is powerful, but the lesson has a wider application. The fundamental spiritual principles which can be extracted in terms more obvious to us Westerners, but at the cost of setting aside other likely meanings. I made a pastoral choice, emphasizing what I felt were the best answers to our needs today.
It is possible to see them also in the Parable of Talents as the servant with one talent. That is, they were given a small gift of God in the Law, but did nothing with it. Taking our cue from Jonah and his attitude about Gentiles, willing to do just about anything except take the message of God to them, hoping they would die and go to Hell, we understand Israel failed to be a light to the Nations. They did not build the Kingdom. Instead, they were so focused on preserving the Law, they never allowed it to change the world. However, I saw the message having a much wider application, as a warning to Christians.
Finally, it is possible to see them as the goats. They understood the world was loaded with predators, and understood the need for social order. They fulfilled the Covenant of Noah very nicely, but were not themselves the sheep of God's pasture. They never understood His nature, and did precious little to help the Gentiles to see God's grace by sharing His abundance. However, I felt this was more about all the nations of the world, coming before Him as individuals.
What I wrote in the lesson reflects what I discern as the primary emphasis in each parable, even while I acknowledge the Hebrew mystical tendency to make multiple applications, at multiple levels. The accusation Christ makes against His own nation is powerful, but the lesson has a wider application. The fundamental spiritual principles which can be extracted in terms more obvious to us Westerners, but at the cost of setting aside other likely meanings. I made a pastoral choice, emphasizing what I felt were the best answers to our needs today.
Saturday, January 5, 2008
Life of Christ: Matthew 25
Jesus tried to show the relationship between the destruction of Jerusalem, His ascent to His throne, and His Return to redeem the fallen world. For each of these, Jesus warned His disciples they must prepare. Preparing for His rule was a matter of spiritual understanding they would only gain when the Holy Spirit fell. It would require the presence of the Holy Spirit in their hearts to even understand the spiritual nature of His reign. For the destruction of Jerusalem, preparedness was a more practical matter of recognizing when Rome was ready to besiege the city. For His Return, the issue is quite different. Jesus offers three parables to explain how Kingdom service was the whole matter, for which no timeline was possible.
Jewish wedding traditions are rich and varied, but certain features are fairly well established for Jesus' day. For example, we understand the bridegroom would go to his bride's home, where the priest would engage them in various rituals. She would then leave her childhood home with him, and they would typically arrive at his home around sundown for a celebration with feasting, and distribution of gifts, which might last several days. This provides the background for a vivid parable using standard Hebrew symbols.
The focus of the narrative is the group of virgins who hope to be included in this celebration, symbolizing the people of Israel. It is their birthright to be included, but they have to meet certain requirements. The lamps represent the light of God's revelation, which Israel carried in the Law. It's fire was dying out, and the only fire which would continue burning in the New Covenant will be fired by the Holy Spirit, symbolized by the oil. Those who do not have Him will not be prepared to serve. Some Jews will never get this oil, and some will. No one can ride the spiritual rebirth of another. If the light of their testimony is the Law, they will miss the Messiah, and be excluded from Heaven. While the Lord delayed, giving them ample time, there was a certain and distinct endpoint to His patience. At some point no one could predict, the End will come, Messiah will Return to redeem all Creation, but also to judge all mankind.
Everyone living in Jesus' time could remember when one of Herod's sons had to appear before Caesar to fight a petition by opponents to his inheriting the throne his father bequeathed him. Should he be arrested, all his private property could be forfeited, so he wisely left some of his affairs in the hands of trusted servants. Known as a hard man, he hardly would have allowed them to merely preserve his assets in stasis, but expected the business to continue apace however long he was gone. In this parable, Jesus is the king going away to His Father's throne for a time. During His absence, He fully expects His servants to employ their gifts from Him to the maximum affect, so His domain among the hearts of men will grow. While the word "talent" described a large quantity of money, we rightly use that word in English to describe any particular ability bestowed by God. All our abilities and talents are His, and He demands we use them to increase His Kingdom, serving in ways which make His glory obvious to all. Of those to whom the Son offers much grace, they are expected to share that grace with equal generosity. Anyone who does not apply themselves with a will are unfit for the Kingdom, destroying what little they have, and will not fare well when He Returns.
The Final Judgment of humanity is described as a shepherd liquidating his herd. Raising sheep in First Century Palestine followed ancient established practices, honed to perfection from centuries of experience. Given the very best breeds of sheep in terms of what they produce are also just about the stupidest animals known, a good shepherd kept goats in the herd to protect them. Sheep were deeply focussed on just a few things: eating, drinking, and making more sheep. Predators could easily slip up and devour the sheep, because they wouldn't notice. Goats would smell them coming, and either fight or flee. Sheep were stupid enough to wander off a cliff, and would easily flee over one when frightened. Goats would pay attention and flee to safer ground. But goats were not sheep; they were fundamentally different.
Jesus portrays Himself as the Master Shepherd. His sheep have a mission, and that mission is to feed on His Word, drink deeply of His Spirit, and bring to birth new souls for the Kingdom. They have a His own nature in themselves, and will do by instinct His works, even if they don't quite understand it. The power of the Holy Spirit works to create a holy instinct, a tendency to serve Him in a hurting world by sharing His grace and redemption. In so doing, they are pretty poor at running the world. The world is loaded with predators, those who would destroy the Kingdom by the works of Satan: deceiving, stealing, killing. To prevent them being harmed, the Lord gives to those not His sheep the commission to create a civilized world, to restrain sin. Those who do this will not succeed if they have a sheep's nature, so the Lord appoints sinners to govern our world. By their nature, they are much harsher, and do not understand the peaceful, sacrificial nature of Christ. At the End of Time, they will not understand how they cannot be included in redemption.
In this parable, our Lord describes the nature of the Covenant of Noah. Social stability is the requirement given to sinful men in a sinful world. The work is messy and the results aren't pretty, but this is the plan of God to keep things under some semblance of order until the End comes. His people live among these civil rulers, and will tend to follow the laws of men. However, their true purpose and focus of attention is the Kingdom of Heaven, not any kingdoms of men. By their calling they will not be very effective in such worldly concerns. The obvious warning here is we who follow Christ cannot be goats. If we are to be any use at all to Him, our natures must make us unfit to govern the affairs of mankind. To seek such governing power violates our calling and His nature in us. It requires a nature which makes men unfit to stand before the Judgment Seat of God.
Thus, to be ready for the Lord's Return means to be actively serving His eternal purposes. We must be fired by the Holy Spirit to carry His light to the world, we must aggressively pursue His business using all our grace gifts, and we must not be distracted by the affairs of mere human kingdoms. Only those who embrace the fundamental change in their souls by the Holy Spirit will be ready. Those who seek other pursuits will stand before Him ashamed on that Last Day.
Jewish wedding traditions are rich and varied, but certain features are fairly well established for Jesus' day. For example, we understand the bridegroom would go to his bride's home, where the priest would engage them in various rituals. She would then leave her childhood home with him, and they would typically arrive at his home around sundown for a celebration with feasting, and distribution of gifts, which might last several days. This provides the background for a vivid parable using standard Hebrew symbols.
The focus of the narrative is the group of virgins who hope to be included in this celebration, symbolizing the people of Israel. It is their birthright to be included, but they have to meet certain requirements. The lamps represent the light of God's revelation, which Israel carried in the Law. It's fire was dying out, and the only fire which would continue burning in the New Covenant will be fired by the Holy Spirit, symbolized by the oil. Those who do not have Him will not be prepared to serve. Some Jews will never get this oil, and some will. No one can ride the spiritual rebirth of another. If the light of their testimony is the Law, they will miss the Messiah, and be excluded from Heaven. While the Lord delayed, giving them ample time, there was a certain and distinct endpoint to His patience. At some point no one could predict, the End will come, Messiah will Return to redeem all Creation, but also to judge all mankind.
Everyone living in Jesus' time could remember when one of Herod's sons had to appear before Caesar to fight a petition by opponents to his inheriting the throne his father bequeathed him. Should he be arrested, all his private property could be forfeited, so he wisely left some of his affairs in the hands of trusted servants. Known as a hard man, he hardly would have allowed them to merely preserve his assets in stasis, but expected the business to continue apace however long he was gone. In this parable, Jesus is the king going away to His Father's throne for a time. During His absence, He fully expects His servants to employ their gifts from Him to the maximum affect, so His domain among the hearts of men will grow. While the word "talent" described a large quantity of money, we rightly use that word in English to describe any particular ability bestowed by God. All our abilities and talents are His, and He demands we use them to increase His Kingdom, serving in ways which make His glory obvious to all. Of those to whom the Son offers much grace, they are expected to share that grace with equal generosity. Anyone who does not apply themselves with a will are unfit for the Kingdom, destroying what little they have, and will not fare well when He Returns.
The Final Judgment of humanity is described as a shepherd liquidating his herd. Raising sheep in First Century Palestine followed ancient established practices, honed to perfection from centuries of experience. Given the very best breeds of sheep in terms of what they produce are also just about the stupidest animals known, a good shepherd kept goats in the herd to protect them. Sheep were deeply focussed on just a few things: eating, drinking, and making more sheep. Predators could easily slip up and devour the sheep, because they wouldn't notice. Goats would smell them coming, and either fight or flee. Sheep were stupid enough to wander off a cliff, and would easily flee over one when frightened. Goats would pay attention and flee to safer ground. But goats were not sheep; they were fundamentally different.
Jesus portrays Himself as the Master Shepherd. His sheep have a mission, and that mission is to feed on His Word, drink deeply of His Spirit, and bring to birth new souls for the Kingdom. They have a His own nature in themselves, and will do by instinct His works, even if they don't quite understand it. The power of the Holy Spirit works to create a holy instinct, a tendency to serve Him in a hurting world by sharing His grace and redemption. In so doing, they are pretty poor at running the world. The world is loaded with predators, those who would destroy the Kingdom by the works of Satan: deceiving, stealing, killing. To prevent them being harmed, the Lord gives to those not His sheep the commission to create a civilized world, to restrain sin. Those who do this will not succeed if they have a sheep's nature, so the Lord appoints sinners to govern our world. By their nature, they are much harsher, and do not understand the peaceful, sacrificial nature of Christ. At the End of Time, they will not understand how they cannot be included in redemption.
In this parable, our Lord describes the nature of the Covenant of Noah. Social stability is the requirement given to sinful men in a sinful world. The work is messy and the results aren't pretty, but this is the plan of God to keep things under some semblance of order until the End comes. His people live among these civil rulers, and will tend to follow the laws of men. However, their true purpose and focus of attention is the Kingdom of Heaven, not any kingdoms of men. By their calling they will not be very effective in such worldly concerns. The obvious warning here is we who follow Christ cannot be goats. If we are to be any use at all to Him, our natures must make us unfit to govern the affairs of mankind. To seek such governing power violates our calling and His nature in us. It requires a nature which makes men unfit to stand before the Judgment Seat of God.
Thus, to be ready for the Lord's Return means to be actively serving His eternal purposes. We must be fired by the Holy Spirit to carry His light to the world, we must aggressively pursue His business using all our grace gifts, and we must not be distracted by the affairs of mere human kingdoms. Only those who embrace the fundamental change in their souls by the Holy Spirit will be ready. Those who seek other pursuits will stand before Him ashamed on that Last Day.
Friday, January 4, 2008
She Entices
She appears on the screen. The hormones take over, and you can't avert your gaze. Something you see feeds a hunger inside, and you devour this vision, even as you know you are making a fool of yourself. You stare. For hours, even days after, you can't shake the feeling. Then, some photographer catches her in real life, without the perfect lighting, without the make up and carefully set tresses, etc. Okay, she's still cute, but hardly the vision of loveliness you thought you first saw. You feel cheated, made a fool of, and you wonder how she managed to capture your attention in the first place.
In your service to the Kingdom, sometimes an idea strikes you. It's quite glorious at the time, because the flaws are hidden from you. There are any number of causes, but something inside you wants this thing too much. That should be a warning. Just as a romance worth pursuing should take time, should be able to live on its own without being fed day and night, so are good ideas from the Spirit. The thing should have its own existence, should be a thing which you cannot walk away from, a thing which waits patiently for your return.
An idea from God is a calling, a command, a bit of Living Word. It will be rooted in your very being. Whether it is first pleasant and alluring is immaterial. In the light of day when things are at their worst, it will be even more winsome. Like a woman who is truly beautiful, a lack of makeup and camera angle, a sad face, standing in the ruins of a really bad day, she will still take your heart away.
In your service to the Kingdom, sometimes an idea strikes you. It's quite glorious at the time, because the flaws are hidden from you. There are any number of causes, but something inside you wants this thing too much. That should be a warning. Just as a romance worth pursuing should take time, should be able to live on its own without being fed day and night, so are good ideas from the Spirit. The thing should have its own existence, should be a thing which you cannot walk away from, a thing which waits patiently for your return.
An idea from God is a calling, a command, a bit of Living Word. It will be rooted in your very being. Whether it is first pleasant and alluring is immaterial. In the light of day when things are at their worst, it will be even more winsome. Like a woman who is truly beautiful, a lack of makeup and camera angle, a sad face, standing in the ruins of a really bad day, she will still take your heart away.
Thursday, January 3, 2008
The Mind of a Man
Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, let anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience. For the Word of God is living and works powerfully, and is sharper than any two-edged sword, slicing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and laid open to the eyes of Him to whom we are accountable. (Hebrews 4:11-13)
The context of the passage finds the writer warning his readers the promised rest from the Old Testament had nothing to do with real estate taken in the Conquest, and everything to do with a spiritual condition. We get into that condition by faith. Faith is the result of exposing ourselves to God's revelation. God's revelation is the spiritual mirror by which humans finally see themselves in Truth, by the standards of God's holiness. His rest comes from embracing His holiness. Doing so is utterly painful, for the Sword of the Spirit must kill and cut away what isn't holy in our lives.
The significant principle emerges no part of the human soul is hidden from God. The statement implies a uniqueness for God in this respect. He alone reads the minds of humans. He may offer that insight to some few servants assigned the task of sharing His Word, but it must be a revelation from Him. Revealing the content of a human mind is uniquely God's prerogative. Not even Satan is allowed to read your mind, though his skills in surmising your thoughts from your actions are better than any other creature.
There is much talk in the news these days of what is or is not torture. Some seek to justify such measures as a valid means of compelling some to reveal what they know about certain things. The primary objection is what is revealed is seldom reliable. Anyone saying otherwise is a plain and simple liar. There is an overwhelming body of evidence to prove that torture results only in the victim saying whatever they believe the tormentor wishes to hear, thus making him a liar, too. But all these arguments are somewhat below the more important principle from God's Word: To know the mind of another is for God alone to grant. He will not grant that by sinful means.
Does any Christian doubt the whole context of Scripture forbids use of force for anything except change of conduct? As I wrote elsewhere:
God does not sponsor cruelty. There is a distinct difference between the value of human life and other life. Humans are the pinnacle of Creation, and in some ways human life is the sole reason for the existence of the universe. Taking life from lower creatures for food, clothing or safety is right and just, as we are His stewards of this world on behalf of His purposes. At the same time, the burden of stewardship includes no living thing merits inhumane treatment. All the more so with our fellow humans. The human mind is sacrosanct; no man can justify attempting to invade and manipulate the mind of another. The mind is free, and no thought can be a crime. Only actions can be punished, not motives. God alone reserves the right to judge a man's heart. Contempt for others is not a civil crime; habitual bad behavior is. Causing needless sorrow, fear, terror and other forms of mental stress are wrong. Torture in the slightest degree is a sin. No presumed need of the State trumps such a thing. If a man is your enemy, capture him, imprison him, even execute him; but his mind and heart remain off limits by God's Word.
So if that terrorist is caught who has knowledge of where my wife is, and how she is to be rescued, but smugly refuses to tell me, don't expect me to go along with torturing him to find out. In fact, based on the Word of God, if you proceed to torture him on my behalf against my will, I could justify violence in rescuing the terrorist, and likely would. If my God cannot protect my wife without the use of torture, and the terrorist can't be convinced by the power of God to tell, then I must assume it's His plan to take her. And if it were me needing rescue, I'd rather die than be saved by torture, thank you.
This life is simply not that important. Even if you call it "random" that she or I were selected for this situation, there can be only two ways God would let it happen. One, I was in sin, and what should I expect? In the Kingdom of God, if I suffer while in sin, it's simply justice. No, you cannot pretend to discuss whether this or that sin merits death. God decides that. Two, I was in His will, and that includes the capture and whatever goes with it. Human suffering in the service of God is a primary mark of divine favor.
All this whining about dramatically saving life is contrary to the assumptions underlying God's Word. Yes, we preserve life when we can. That is, we preserve life and reduce suffering within the limits of God's revealed means. Outside those means is sin. Before God Almighty, that terrorist has a right to keep his mouth shut. Does it not occur to anyone he is defeated when I am not terrorized enough to sin?
Use any label you like for me and my ideas here. I could care less what any other human thinks. I am concerned what God thinks. This is not about compelling logic; this is about obeying the divine logic of the Kingdom. Not in my name, for torture cannot possibly be in Christ's name. To say otherwise is blasphemy.
Hall of Shame: Sears (Sears Holding Company)
This merits a post here because it is so egregious, not to mention Sears blatantly lies about it.
There are plenty of people who shop online, for any number of reasons. It usually works out well, because plenty of mainstream merchants with brick-n-mortar outlets will offer things online not in any stores, or prices below shelf prices in the stores. That's just good business sense. Lying to your customers is not.
While shopping with Sears online, you are likely to be offered a chance to join the "My SHC Community" -- an offer filled with glowing promises of numerous benefits, hinting at even better deals. That part may be true at some future date, but so far, it appears to do none of that. Instead, when you join this "community" you will get a raft of spyware installed on your system.
Not just any spyware, but a proxy application which records all your online behavior, including when you login to your bank account via encrypted connections, and reports all this back to a third party, an advertising company named ComScore. You can find write-ups of this nastiness at CA Security Advisor and at Ben Edelman's site (a geek-lawyer).
As a final note, the fellow at Sears HQ who responded to the concerns with outright lies happens to be the former head of ComScore, the third party company who makes this spyware, and to whom all this private information is reported.
There are plenty of people who shop online, for any number of reasons. It usually works out well, because plenty of mainstream merchants with brick-n-mortar outlets will offer things online not in any stores, or prices below shelf prices in the stores. That's just good business sense. Lying to your customers is not.
While shopping with Sears online, you are likely to be offered a chance to join the "My SHC Community" -- an offer filled with glowing promises of numerous benefits, hinting at even better deals. That part may be true at some future date, but so far, it appears to do none of that. Instead, when you join this "community" you will get a raft of spyware installed on your system.
Not just any spyware, but a proxy application which records all your online behavior, including when you login to your bank account via encrypted connections, and reports all this back to a third party, an advertising company named ComScore. You can find write-ups of this nastiness at CA Security Advisor and at Ben Edelman's site (a geek-lawyer).
As a final note, the fellow at Sears HQ who responded to the concerns with outright lies happens to be the former head of ComScore, the third party company who makes this spyware, and to whom all this private information is reported.
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
Discipleship: The Way of the Kingdom
Nobody owns Jesus.
In this, we see a close parallel to the philosophy behind the Open Source. To the degree we can draw a connection between information and truth, we see the idea you can't charge for either of them. My understanding of Jesus, my experience with Jesus, is incomplete without your experience of Him. So we share, and nobody gets to claim exclusive ownership, nobody gets the rights to sell it and profit from it. A part of the legal philosophy behind Open Source is recognizing you can't, and shouldn't try, to prevent people copying it as many times as they like. With Christ, that's the whole idea. We want people to clone Him, to be another copy of Christ born in flesh.
However, the very nature of learning Christ Himself is a matter of getting to know each copy of Him as well as possible. When we get to know enough copies of Him, we are in a position to discern just what part of each copy is actually Christ alone, the what part is the person manifesting Him. So discipleship, as commanded by Christ, includes people getting to know me. That is, they get to know my mind.
To some degree, my writings here and other places aren't really teaching at its best. You can't ask my writings questions. Without that interaction, you don't really get to know a person's mind. You might easily read something and "hear" a tone of voice I'd never use, and tone definitely communicates. So I can't avoid using tone, but I know someone will miss it, as surely as I miss it in theirs. Only by talking face to face can I learn to eliminate things you don't mean. So, my writing works best if you don't read it so much, but talk to me in person, instead. The primary disaster in modern Western education is assuming students can learn simply from reading, or working through worksheets, etc. The Hebrew method of teaching, the method of discipleship, is an on-going conversation between persons. You can read my stuff, but until you get a chance to ask a jillion questions, and I get a chance to answer them, it's certain you'll miss some.
Jesus set the example by His methods. He chose those among His disciples who were best suited to really learn Him, and they spent time for awhile just watching, listening and absorbing His presentation. Then, they were encouraged to ask questions to refine their understanding. Still, most important was the thousands of subtle messages contained in the person. You can't know a man's teaching unless you know the man, not really. The further we step away from factual knowledge, and the more we approach ultimate truths, the more it is a learning of persons, not knowledge in the ordinary sense.
The reason is the Holy Spirit. That statement is intentionally ambiguous, because both meanings are true. To learn to think -- to "reason" -- is to learn the nature of the Holy Spirit. However, His nature is to work behind the scenes, to work outside the conscious reasoning process. He works miracles in your spirit, and these leak out into the conscious mind. The change is not simply more knowledge, but change in your nature. The priority is on the change of the person. Only secondary is the need to change your understanding. Ultimate Truth -- the Person of Christ -- is not taught, but caught. You can know all about Him and not know Him. That's the corollary of education's failure, in that public education philosophy isolates the teacher from the student. "Teaching is about methods, not people." The secular educational objective is objective -- something which can presumably be measured empirically. Nothing of the Holy Spirit is empirical.
Thus, I place my materials here and there to catch the attention of a few. I'm trusting the Lord people He's chosen to hear and learn will be driven here however they get here. Whether they learn me, they will hopefully learn more about Christ. I hardly care if they remember my name. I am hardly concerned if they "steal" my ideas. In the flesh, it might be encouraging if they posted comments more often, but it's not necessary in the Spirit. If they go away and never come back, but someday get an itch to explore the ideas, then I'm blessed. I'm blessed because the Truth of Christ has spread, and that's always in my best interest.
Know me if you get the chance, but it's more important you know Jesus.
In this, we see a close parallel to the philosophy behind the Open Source. To the degree we can draw a connection between information and truth, we see the idea you can't charge for either of them. My understanding of Jesus, my experience with Jesus, is incomplete without your experience of Him. So we share, and nobody gets to claim exclusive ownership, nobody gets the rights to sell it and profit from it. A part of the legal philosophy behind Open Source is recognizing you can't, and shouldn't try, to prevent people copying it as many times as they like. With Christ, that's the whole idea. We want people to clone Him, to be another copy of Christ born in flesh.
However, the very nature of learning Christ Himself is a matter of getting to know each copy of Him as well as possible. When we get to know enough copies of Him, we are in a position to discern just what part of each copy is actually Christ alone, the what part is the person manifesting Him. So discipleship, as commanded by Christ, includes people getting to know me. That is, they get to know my mind.
To some degree, my writings here and other places aren't really teaching at its best. You can't ask my writings questions. Without that interaction, you don't really get to know a person's mind. You might easily read something and "hear" a tone of voice I'd never use, and tone definitely communicates. So I can't avoid using tone, but I know someone will miss it, as surely as I miss it in theirs. Only by talking face to face can I learn to eliminate things you don't mean. So, my writing works best if you don't read it so much, but talk to me in person, instead. The primary disaster in modern Western education is assuming students can learn simply from reading, or working through worksheets, etc. The Hebrew method of teaching, the method of discipleship, is an on-going conversation between persons. You can read my stuff, but until you get a chance to ask a jillion questions, and I get a chance to answer them, it's certain you'll miss some.
Jesus set the example by His methods. He chose those among His disciples who were best suited to really learn Him, and they spent time for awhile just watching, listening and absorbing His presentation. Then, they were encouraged to ask questions to refine their understanding. Still, most important was the thousands of subtle messages contained in the person. You can't know a man's teaching unless you know the man, not really. The further we step away from factual knowledge, and the more we approach ultimate truths, the more it is a learning of persons, not knowledge in the ordinary sense.
The reason is the Holy Spirit. That statement is intentionally ambiguous, because both meanings are true. To learn to think -- to "reason" -- is to learn the nature of the Holy Spirit. However, His nature is to work behind the scenes, to work outside the conscious reasoning process. He works miracles in your spirit, and these leak out into the conscious mind. The change is not simply more knowledge, but change in your nature. The priority is on the change of the person. Only secondary is the need to change your understanding. Ultimate Truth -- the Person of Christ -- is not taught, but caught. You can know all about Him and not know Him. That's the corollary of education's failure, in that public education philosophy isolates the teacher from the student. "Teaching is about methods, not people." The secular educational objective is objective -- something which can presumably be measured empirically. Nothing of the Holy Spirit is empirical.
Thus, I place my materials here and there to catch the attention of a few. I'm trusting the Lord people He's chosen to hear and learn will be driven here however they get here. Whether they learn me, they will hopefully learn more about Christ. I hardly care if they remember my name. I am hardly concerned if they "steal" my ideas. In the flesh, it might be encouraging if they posted comments more often, but it's not necessary in the Spirit. If they go away and never come back, but someday get an itch to explore the ideas, then I'm blessed. I'm blessed because the Truth of Christ has spread, and that's always in my best interest.
Know me if you get the chance, but it's more important you know Jesus.
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
Galatians 3
When Paul established the churches in Galatia, the sole foundation was Jesus Christ. He never taught them about Jewish Law; they didn't need any part of it. Surely, the Law of Moses had its place in redemptive history, but that place had nothing to do with spiritual rebirth. Paul takes great pains to show the place of the Law of Moses by drawing an image of its limits.
You can almost hear Paul's anguish as he cries out in sorrow at the folly of the Galatians. The very foundation is Christ crucified. Paul's message was to draw clearly the picture of Jesus on the Cross. They heard the message. In hearing, the Spirit of God awakened their dead souls, and they received new spirits. Having crossed over from the death of the flesh, into the life of the Spirit, were they going to desert Heaven? Having nailed their old lives to the Cross, having left behind all their worldly desires and plans, and suffering the pain of that transition, how could anyone want to go back to death?
The Jews made much of being "Children of Abraham." It was a lie they told themselves, since Abraham was saved by faith, several centuries before Moses was even born. The only way to be a child of Abraham was to adopt his faith. The Covenant of Abraham was about promises which no man could see, but could only be embraced and claimed by faith, by trust in the God who promised. God had promised this covenant would be extended to all the world, not just Jews. Being born of Abraham's DNA was no basis for any claim to his covenant. That covenant was available only by faith, not as a physical birthright. Did we not see where Isaac was required to have faith, and could not pass it on to his firstborn in the flesh? It could only be claimed by the son who had faith. Thus, all Jews must also come by faith, or they are excluded from covenant kinship with Abraham.
Indeed, clinging to the Law guarantees only one thing: You stand before God accursed. First, the Law requires you obey every single requirement with perfection. No man can do it. Even if he could, it would not save his soul, for that is only by faith. The only blessing the Law could bring is in this life. It is wholly rooted in this world, and to pass into the Spirit Realm is possible only by spiritual powers, the powers of faith. Jesus Christ absorbed into His Person the full curse of the Law, breaking its power, which action renewed the old Covenant of Abraham, the old original covenant of faith. For Gentiles, the only path has always been the path of Abrahamic faith, since the Law applied only to Jews in Canaan during that limited time period.
We know in this world, even when a covenant is between mere men, no one on earth has authority to set it aside. The Covenant of Abraham was a single covenant, and could only be passed down a single line of descent. That line terminated in Christ. In times past, only those looking forward to Christ in faith could be included; its provisions were spiritual, not worldly. Now, we here on the other side of Christ must join directly to Him to be included in these spiritual provisions. The Law of Moses, coming much later, did not abrogate the Covenant of Abraham, since that earlier covenant was terminated in Christ, the One who fulfilled Moses. This spiritual inheritance cannot possibly be connected to a law of human performance. The spiritual provisions of Abraham's Covenant were based on a promise of something which could never be touched by human hands, versus that of Moses, which was entirely a matter of human performance.
So if the Law was so powerless, just why did God command these laws for Israel? The world is fallen, and that includes Israel. Had there been no law requiring a human performance, no one would have realized they were powerless to please God. The Law provided an example of what faith in God would bring under that situation, in that nation. It was given by a God too holy to even tell the Law to humans, but had to be passed via angels. From there, it had to come through a human mediator. It was not a law from Moses, but he was merely the mediator between a holy God and sinful men. The Law restrained Israel's sinful nature, made her tolerable long enough for the promise given Abraham to be fulfilled in Christ. The Law was a mere makeshift, a temporary fix.
The Jews never seemed to understand the Law was a passing phase. They were unable to see they had to leave the Law behind to embrace Christ. Did the Law hinder Israel embracing the Messiah? Hardly. Nothing in the Law promised eternal life. It did not create righteousness, merely exemplified it within limited circumstances. The Law and the Prophets were written to ensure a revelation of God's holiness and His demands for all humanity. Without a consciousness of sin, no one can receive the forgiveness in Christ promised to Abraham, which he could embrace only by faith. He was about the only one ready for such faith. To make it available to the rest of the world required a more universal revelation, the gospel of Christ. Spreading His message made faith open to all. The path to Him lead through Israel and the Law of Moses. Jesus was the Teacher of Truth; the Law was like the school bus, or the escort who made sure the students got to school. Once under the School Master's care, the escort and the bus were dismissed. His one lesson was faith as the one approach to God.
The only way to be a child of God is through the One Son of God, by means of the spiritual embrace of faith. If you have immersed yourself in Christ, you bear His identity before God. In His presence, that is the only identity which matters. No other variation which marks human existence matters. You are in Christ, or you are lost. Only in Christ can anyone claim to be Children of Abraham, to inherit the spiritual blessings of a spiritual promise.
Thus, Paul paints a stark contrast between spirit and flesh. The Law was all about the flesh, and about the things of this world. It was but a shadow of the higher reality of God's holiness. Abraham never gained anything he was promised, if we measure by worldly standards. Yet Abraham was the wealthiest of all humans in his time, for his possession was spiritual, a promissory note written on his soul. It's value was measured entirely by spiritual means, and could only be passed by faith to another soul. It's meaning was discernible only in the spirit, for it promised a final redemption of souls by faith in Christ.
You can almost hear Paul's anguish as he cries out in sorrow at the folly of the Galatians. The very foundation is Christ crucified. Paul's message was to draw clearly the picture of Jesus on the Cross. They heard the message. In hearing, the Spirit of God awakened their dead souls, and they received new spirits. Having crossed over from the death of the flesh, into the life of the Spirit, were they going to desert Heaven? Having nailed their old lives to the Cross, having left behind all their worldly desires and plans, and suffering the pain of that transition, how could anyone want to go back to death?
The Jews made much of being "Children of Abraham." It was a lie they told themselves, since Abraham was saved by faith, several centuries before Moses was even born. The only way to be a child of Abraham was to adopt his faith. The Covenant of Abraham was about promises which no man could see, but could only be embraced and claimed by faith, by trust in the God who promised. God had promised this covenant would be extended to all the world, not just Jews. Being born of Abraham's DNA was no basis for any claim to his covenant. That covenant was available only by faith, not as a physical birthright. Did we not see where Isaac was required to have faith, and could not pass it on to his firstborn in the flesh? It could only be claimed by the son who had faith. Thus, all Jews must also come by faith, or they are excluded from covenant kinship with Abraham.
Indeed, clinging to the Law guarantees only one thing: You stand before God accursed. First, the Law requires you obey every single requirement with perfection. No man can do it. Even if he could, it would not save his soul, for that is only by faith. The only blessing the Law could bring is in this life. It is wholly rooted in this world, and to pass into the Spirit Realm is possible only by spiritual powers, the powers of faith. Jesus Christ absorbed into His Person the full curse of the Law, breaking its power, which action renewed the old Covenant of Abraham, the old original covenant of faith. For Gentiles, the only path has always been the path of Abrahamic faith, since the Law applied only to Jews in Canaan during that limited time period.
We know in this world, even when a covenant is between mere men, no one on earth has authority to set it aside. The Covenant of Abraham was a single covenant, and could only be passed down a single line of descent. That line terminated in Christ. In times past, only those looking forward to Christ in faith could be included; its provisions were spiritual, not worldly. Now, we here on the other side of Christ must join directly to Him to be included in these spiritual provisions. The Law of Moses, coming much later, did not abrogate the Covenant of Abraham, since that earlier covenant was terminated in Christ, the One who fulfilled Moses. This spiritual inheritance cannot possibly be connected to a law of human performance. The spiritual provisions of Abraham's Covenant were based on a promise of something which could never be touched by human hands, versus that of Moses, which was entirely a matter of human performance.
So if the Law was so powerless, just why did God command these laws for Israel? The world is fallen, and that includes Israel. Had there been no law requiring a human performance, no one would have realized they were powerless to please God. The Law provided an example of what faith in God would bring under that situation, in that nation. It was given by a God too holy to even tell the Law to humans, but had to be passed via angels. From there, it had to come through a human mediator. It was not a law from Moses, but he was merely the mediator between a holy God and sinful men. The Law restrained Israel's sinful nature, made her tolerable long enough for the promise given Abraham to be fulfilled in Christ. The Law was a mere makeshift, a temporary fix.
The Jews never seemed to understand the Law was a passing phase. They were unable to see they had to leave the Law behind to embrace Christ. Did the Law hinder Israel embracing the Messiah? Hardly. Nothing in the Law promised eternal life. It did not create righteousness, merely exemplified it within limited circumstances. The Law and the Prophets were written to ensure a revelation of God's holiness and His demands for all humanity. Without a consciousness of sin, no one can receive the forgiveness in Christ promised to Abraham, which he could embrace only by faith. He was about the only one ready for such faith. To make it available to the rest of the world required a more universal revelation, the gospel of Christ. Spreading His message made faith open to all. The path to Him lead through Israel and the Law of Moses. Jesus was the Teacher of Truth; the Law was like the school bus, or the escort who made sure the students got to school. Once under the School Master's care, the escort and the bus were dismissed. His one lesson was faith as the one approach to God.
The only way to be a child of God is through the One Son of God, by means of the spiritual embrace of faith. If you have immersed yourself in Christ, you bear His identity before God. In His presence, that is the only identity which matters. No other variation which marks human existence matters. You are in Christ, or you are lost. Only in Christ can anyone claim to be Children of Abraham, to inherit the spiritual blessings of a spiritual promise.
Thus, Paul paints a stark contrast between spirit and flesh. The Law was all about the flesh, and about the things of this world. It was but a shadow of the higher reality of God's holiness. Abraham never gained anything he was promised, if we measure by worldly standards. Yet Abraham was the wealthiest of all humans in his time, for his possession was spiritual, a promissory note written on his soul. It's value was measured entirely by spiritual means, and could only be passed by faith to another soul. It's meaning was discernible only in the spirit, for it promised a final redemption of souls by faith in Christ.
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