tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-214550612024-03-07T13:32:07.852-08:00Theological DiscussionsPastor Ianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14957702267272140495noreply@blogger.comBlogger61125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21455061.post-37071827776346290322022-01-07T19:47:00.002-08:002022-01-07T19:47:51.531-08:00The Day Christ Was Born<p></p><p dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;">I know it's a little late for this particular topic in the West, but today is the day Christmas is celebrated among the Eastern churches who still use the Julian calendar, so I don't feel too badly about it. This also means that my fellow procrastinators who like to delay taking down their Christmas lights get a reprieve! đ </p>
<p dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;">For most of my life, I've been taught that Jesus was likely born in the Spring, because Judean shepherds didn't take their sheep out to pasture in winter. The old explanation of why we celebrate Christmas on December 25 was that the Romans associated the time with the pagan festivals of Saturnalia and Sol Invictus, and so the Church transformed (or co-opted) the dates to celebrate Christ instead.</p>
<p dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;">This never really bothered me, because if Christ really is God and can bring transformation to someone like me, then He can certainly redeem any, and all, days of the year. What is important to me is the Incarnation, the belief that God the Son, the Divine Logos ("Word") took on flesh as man and dwelt among us, lowering Himself, so that we - as Christ's brothers and sisters - may be raised into the household of God. That's what Christmas is all about, no matter which day of the year it is celebrated.</p>
<p dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;">But, as I've studied this topic more and more over the years, out of historical curiosity as much as anything else, the more convinced I've become that Jesus *was* actually born on or around Dec. 25 and that the available biblical and historical clues support this conclusion (and I'm indebted for this information to more sources than I can list here).</p>
<p dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;">Here's what we can discover from a careful look at Scripture:</p>
<p dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;">1) The angel Gabriel announced to the priest Zechariah the conception of his son, John, when Zechariah was offering incense in the Temple during the alloted time for the priestly division of his clan: Abijah (Luk. 1:5, 8-11). Elizabeth his wife became pregnant immediately after.</p>
<p dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;">1 Chr. 24:5-18 says the descendants of Abijah would serve in the 8th rotation of the year, during Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement, ~Sep. 22-30).</p>
<p dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;">2) The angel Gabriel announced the conception of Jesus 6 months later to Mary (Luk. 1:26), around March 25.</p>
<p dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;">3) Jesus was likely born ~9 months later, around December 25 (cf. John Chrysostom's "On the Day of the Birth of Our Savior Jesus Christ").</p>
<p dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;">So what does it mean for the shepherds who received the angels' message that a Savior had been born to them in the City of David (Luk. 2:8-20)? Was this an anachronistic mistake on the part of the author of the Gospel? I don't think so. As it turns out, according to the Mishnah (Shekalim 7:4), sheep to be offered at the Passover could be found as early as 30 days prior to the festival in the fields as far as Migdal Eder (near Bethlehem, cf. Gen. 35:19-21) from Jerusalem in any direction. Since this would be mid-February, it shows sheep could be found in the area in winter, as Judean winters are often very mild; and shepherds still pasture their sheep in the middle of winter near Bethlehem today.</p>
<p dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;">Even the old argument that Christians stole the date from the pagan celebration of Sol Invictus doesn't hold water on careful historical inspection. The Roman cult of Sol Invictus was instituted on Dec. 25, 274 by the Emperor Aurelian, and its last celebration was in 387.</p>
<p dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;">But Hippolytus of Rome, writing in his Commentary on Daniel, first associates the Annunciation of Jesus' conception to Mary with March 25. Since Hippolytus died around 235 AD, even if he wrote this commentary in the last year of his life, the first written text associating Jesus' birth with December 25 comes a full 40 years before the first celebration of Sol Invictus.</p>
<p dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;">And while it's true that the Roman winter festival Saturnalia was celebrated around this time, that festival was celebrated on Dec. 17.</p>
<p dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;">Rather than Christianity appropriating the holiday from Roman pagans, it appears the pagans may have tried to stem the rampant growth of Christianity by creating their own festival of Sol Invictus in order to directly compete with Jesus' birth.</p>
<p dir="ltr"></p><div style="text-align: justify;">The more I study this, the more convinced I become that Jesus was most likely born Dec. 25, between 6 and 4 BC. So, for those of our brothers and sisters still using the Julian calendar in the East, Merry Christmas!</div>
<span style="background-color: #1877f2;"><div style="text-align: justify;">#Christmas<span style="background-color: transparent;"> </span>#Incarnation<span style="background-color: transparent;"> </span>#JulianCalendar</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhJ2uIhKYJi0APOGQMPuKw6VknictjSxACldoX2SbBM8hchCWDeEbvCo0081i3W9x0gaJImp7lxnMqRhinKEpV8DjaJPY3_YvYyc1PKn2ZsfuEHFYyRhnJlPM51hH0ZjklzqpontfhbQW_sOwP74rer3v5wMLE2b6avl2Oc_S602DsZFibGAA=s2057" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1690" data-original-width="2057" height="329" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhJ2uIhKYJi0APOGQMPuKw6VknictjSxACldoX2SbBM8hchCWDeEbvCo0081i3W9x0gaJImp7lxnMqRhinKEpV8DjaJPY3_YvYyc1PKn2ZsfuEHFYyRhnJlPM51hH0ZjklzqpontfhbQW_sOwP74rer3v5wMLE2b6avl2Oc_S602DsZFibGAA=w400-h329" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div></span><p></p><p></p>Pastor Ianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14957702267272140495noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21455061.post-906105142713713502021-06-05T14:21:00.001-07:002021-06-05T14:21:19.087-07:00Religion or Relationship?<p style="text-align: justify;"> I've seen many memes and posts say that the Christian faith isn't about religion, but relationship. I must vehemently disagree. Jesus never spoke against religion. In fact, he fulfilled His religious obligations. Instead, He spoke against empty, legalistic "religion" - itself a vain corruption of the religion God desires.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">But to understand the difference, I think it helps to define what religion is. Religion is the organized, corporate, creative response of the community to God's grace. It embraces the love of Christ by reflecting it into the lives of others, especially those in need; and it remembers and proclaims God's story of salvation and our part within it.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Healthy religion is ordained by the Father, empowered by the Holy Spirit, and illuminated by Christ's grace. I pray that all humanity embraces God's invitation to *both* religion *and* relationship with Him.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">As the Apostle James once said, "Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world," (Jas. 1:27).</p><p style="text-align: justify;">#Religion #Faith #Christianity #Jesus #Relationship</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH0DvsjUeXU6x1CCses_quJX99p_5LsgbKmjOcTcTKAuW-JlxE1tO62tectQH18KDd5UIQayl-UgVuf3qFmfTCN2Ekr1nS9rub1UD_2FZ2NoSSPcvgupuJsH-N1hpPkUDqTwPA/s1197/Religion+or+Relationship.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="899" data-original-width="1197" height="381" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH0DvsjUeXU6x1CCses_quJX99p_5LsgbKmjOcTcTKAuW-JlxE1tO62tectQH18KDd5UIQayl-UgVuf3qFmfTCN2Ekr1nS9rub1UD_2FZ2NoSSPcvgupuJsH-N1hpPkUDqTwPA/w507-h381/Religion+or+Relationship.png" width="507" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p>Pastor Ianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14957702267272140495noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21455061.post-44711811371351300862021-04-03T12:13:00.001-07:002021-04-03T12:13:22.528-07:00"The Great In-Between Time" A Holy Saturday Reflection<p style="text-align: justify;">This is the great in-between time. The time of silence after the Earth shook and the Curtain in the Temple was torn in two. The time when all Creation â subject to death â groaned at the death of the Divine Son who took that ignoble, shameful punishment on the cross onto Himself so that we might be freed from death forever.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">But in that moment, when darkness covered the face of the Earth and the shadow of darkness fell over menâs hearts, it must have seemed like this was the end of all the beautiful hope Jesus had shared with His disciples, with the broken, with the outcast, with the ones the world said were worthless.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">For those who followed him, who hoped against hope that God would send a great Liberator to free them from the oppressive rule of the Romans, it must have seemed like the world had ended. Echoing Jesusâ own last words on the cross, how many disciples, how many of the women and men who followed them, cried out in their heart of hearts, âMy God, my God, why have you forsaken me?â</p><p style="text-align: justify;">They longed for the way He blessed the bread before He broke it in their presence, for the way He shared meals with Pharisees and tax collectors alike, for the way He embraced sinners and challenged would-be saints to to take an honest look at their own hearts, for the way He welcomed children to hear His teaching, for the way He called all to forgive and be forgiven.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">But now He lay in a cold tomb, with a stone rolled over the door, the seal of Caesar impressed upon it, the deepest darkness within; and his disciples are in hiding, ashamed that they had fled when they should have stood bravely by their Rabbi, their Messiah, their Lord.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">This in-between time, what we call Holy Saturday, reminds us that we all are subject to frailty, illness, decay, and death because of our sins. Our world has been darkened by sin. The innocent suffer, the needy go hungry, the sojourner is deprived of justice â all because of the choices we all have made. We all have allowed our hearts to be darkened like cold tombs, and deep down, we all know that our hearts could be warmed and healed if only we could roll that heavy stone away from the door to let the light of God in. But that stone is too heavy for any one of us to lift.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">But death does not have the final say. Hatred will not be the loudest voice forever. Addiction and abuse will not always enslave the ones we love. Christ died so that death itself might be overcome, the fires of hatred quenched by love, the chains of addiction broken, the wounds of abuse forever healed.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Look! A new day dawns! Why look for the living among the dead? It is done! He is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty He will give water as a gift from the spring of the water of life. Those who conquer will inherit all His promises. He will be their God and they will be His children. See, He makes all things new!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">#HolyWeek #HolySaturday #Nazarene</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8dg_w1DLNkvcXhsQmRLuc7SzOWw4yvHz2KSzZ3_4ynxD9TvI93ATzA6-5f66u2Ozf_lTgcBrxLbN2DQDpQwL8wkMexBzVBHu1aTAkf6HezfBmc51sQ_R40jkZAFNKpE4lzaTV/s1126/Burial+Icon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="826" data-original-width="1126" height="470" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8dg_w1DLNkvcXhsQmRLuc7SzOWw4yvHz2KSzZ3_4ynxD9TvI93ATzA6-5f66u2Ozf_lTgcBrxLbN2DQDpQwL8wkMexBzVBHu1aTAkf6HezfBmc51sQ_R40jkZAFNKpE4lzaTV/w640-h470/Burial+Icon.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p>Pastor Ianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14957702267272140495noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21455061.post-2132910868725561842021-04-03T11:53:00.000-07:002021-04-03T11:53:01.820-07:00The Fear of the Lord<p style="text-align: justify;"> Someone recently asked me, "Are we supposed to fear God because we fear being punished?"</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Always game to wrestle with a good question - especially one many of us have probably asked at one point or another - I thought it might be beneficial to post my response here:</p><p style="text-align: justify;">"When 'fear of the Lord' is spoken of positively in Scripture, it denotes awe or wonder at the incredible strength, depth, and mystery of God. It may be exhilarating or calming, but it isn't fear of punishment.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Our relationship to God should be characterized as one of awe/wonder *and* love. Fear of punishment is antithetical to love and is a sign of spiritual immaturity. Many people first turn to Christ because they are afraid of punishment for sin (I know I did). But if we fear God because we fear being punished, then we are only at the beginning of our spiritual journey.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Entire sanctification/perfect communion with God/theosis is characterized by being entirely illuminated by God's holy love, so that our relationships with Him, with each other, and with all of Creation are fueled entirely by His grace, and reflect nothing but His love.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">As the Beloved Apostle wrote in 1 Jn. 4:16b-19, 'God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them. Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness on the day of judgment, because as he is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear; for fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not reached perfection in love. We love because He first loved us.'"</p><p style="text-align: justify;">#Love #Grace #Faith #Sanctification #Spirituality #Mystery #Theosis #Nazarene</p>Pastor Ianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14957702267272140495noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21455061.post-5460175669471947882020-12-06T11:00:00.019-08:002020-12-08T11:06:04.127-08:00The Real Santa Claus<p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Over one thousand seven hundred years ago, a frail old man stepped out of the Roman dungeons of Asia Minor and squinted in the brightness of the natural sunlight of which he had been deprived for the past eight years. Despite the torture he had endured, his bones broken, set, healed, and broken again and again over the years, he had never wavered in his faith; even though the authorities repeatedly promised him that he would be released if only he would recognize the divinity of the Emperor and sacrifice incense to his name.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Many had given up hope of ever seeing or hearing from him again, but as the Emperor Diocletian's terrible reign came to an end, the old man slowly made his way out into the free, open air on that early May morning in the year 305. The news traveled fast and a cry went up in his home town⌠Nicholas is alive!</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>This frail man, beloved by his people but aged beyond his years by the brutal treatment he suffered, soon returned to pastor his church in Myra, modern day Turkey where his gentleness and kindness with children was only matched by his humble generosity. He had been born to a rich merchant family of Greek Christians many years before, and as a young man, heeded Christâs call to go sell everything he had, give the proceeds to the poor and follow Him.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>And as the bishop of Myra he cared deeply for those in the city who struggled to make ends meet. In one famous episode, a destitute Father had three daughters who were approaching the age at which most Roman girls got married, but he was unable to scrape together enough to provide a dowry for them. In an age when women had few prospects for employment and a father had the power of life or death over his children, it seemed their only future would be to resort to prostitution or be sold into slavery to settle their fatherâs debt. In a culture which cared little about the worth of women in society, Nicholas was deeply moved to help these women who were precious in Godâs sight.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>So, to spare the father the embarrassment of receiving charity and to avoid praise himself, Nicholas went under cover of darkness and threw a bag of gold in the window opening of their house to provide a dowry for the eldest daughter to get married. After she married, and when it came time for the second daughter to be married, he did it again. And when the third daughter came of age, he threw another bag of gold in the window. This time being caught by the father of the three daughters, he swore the man to secrecy regarding what he had done (which obviously didnât work because his fame soon spread, even in his own lifetime).</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>On another occasion three innocent men had been condemned to death on the orders of the crooked governor Eustathius. Standing between the executionerâs sword and the men about to die, he publicly challenged the jurors who had taken bribes to find the men guilty and the governor himself. The governor seethed with rage and wanted Nicholasâ head, but the crowds stood up for their beloved bishop and Eustathius was afraid to touch him.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Towards the end of a life marked by a simple desire to reflect Christâs holy love in the lives around him, Nicholas was summoned for one last service. A priest named Arius had begun teaching that Jesus wasnât who he claimed, that he was neither fully God nor fully human but something in between, a created being like us. The new Emperor Constantine convened the Council of Nicaea in 325 and invited all the bishops of the world to gather and hash it out. Many, like Nicholas, had suffered under the terrible persecutions of Emperor Diocletian for their faith and no power on Earth was going to dissuade them from staying true to the ancient faith as they had received it.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>A staunch defender of the doctrine of the Trinity, a rumor has persisted through the centuries that Nicholas lost his temper and punched Arius in the face at the Council and spent a night cooling off in jail for it. This may or may not be true, but what we do know is that this tough-as-nails bishop was willing to die for what he believed to be true. He pastored his flock with love and care, he defended the innocent, and had compassion on the most destitute. And most of all itâs his humble generosity and kindness which has inspired millions to be a little kinder, a little more gracious to one another for 17 centuries.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Heâs remembered each Christmas as Santa Claus, a commercialized, jolly old elf with an unhealthy addiction to milk and cookies. But as a man devoted to Christ, he would want us to remember what this season is all about: that God loved this world and everyone in it so much that He took on flesh, walked among us, taught us to love as He loves, died for us, and conquered death through His bodily resurrection so that we may be freed from sin and death ourselves.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>So as we celebrate St. Nicholasâ Day on Dec. 06 at the beginning of this Christmas season, take a little bit of time to honor the real St. Nick by sharing a little bit of the same gracious, humble, generous love that he tried to embody and remember Who it was that was ultimately the source of his enduring strength and grace.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">#StNick #SantaClaus #StNicholas #StNicholasDay #Christmas</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjGq5KEX-LscnIUwvHzsv9PhJ9CURgkDvzoMN5bfSibxtE5xw2OxE_kf7PbG6oUA-3n4UM9BqP2lKWztxO6IeB5sewoa0aUN_Ogfjt_XUVJltiQ9ScaNw4Ee9Oa5bSgfscTaSB/s1600/Nicholas+Save+Three+Innocents.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1524" height="422" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjGq5KEX-LscnIUwvHzsv9PhJ9CURgkDvzoMN5bfSibxtE5xw2OxE_kf7PbG6oUA-3n4UM9BqP2lKWztxO6IeB5sewoa0aUN_Ogfjt_XUVJltiQ9ScaNw4Ee9Oa5bSgfscTaSB/w402-h422/Nicholas+Save+Three+Innocents.jpg" width="402" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>"St. Nicholas Saves Three Innocents From Death," by Ilya Repin (1888)</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></p>Pastor Ianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14957702267272140495noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21455061.post-37922218588743574222020-03-10T20:16:00.004-07:002020-03-11T13:08:32.250-07:00Approaches to Reading the Bible: Divine Reading<div style="text-align: justify;">
Example Text: John 3:1-21</div>
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<i>Why This Practice?</i></div>
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<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The spiritual discipline of âdivine readingâ is a centuriesâ old practice with roots in the early Church(1) that is meant to be a slow, careful way of reading scripture designed to help you not just skim or even just remember the text, but to absorb it. Its purpose is to elevate your understanding of the written Word from âhead knowledgeâ to âheart knowledge,â by focusing your attention on your relationship with God during your daily devotions. This is a discipline. And just as an athlete who wants to train for a marathon needs to be intentional about what they eat at every meal and how they train every day, as a disciple of Jesus you must be intentional about your daily diet of scripture and your regular training regimen of prayer, fasting, acts of service, corporate worship, fellowship with fellow believers, and participation in the sacrament of the Lordâs Supper.</div>
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<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Donât rush this practice. This exercise should take 15-20 minutes per chunk of text. Begin by praying that the Holy Spirit would guide and enlighten you as you read scripture. </div>
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1. <u>Read</u> â <i>âAll Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work.â</i> - 2 Tim. 3:16-17 (NLT)</div>
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<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Read the passage slowly. Get a sense of what it is saying. Read it a second time, again slowly. Pick out any words that strike you as significant, or that are relevant and important â either to what the author is trying to say, or to your current situation.</div>
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2. <u>Reflect (Meditate)</u> - <i>âBut [the righteous] delight in the law of the Lord, meditating on it day and night. They are like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit each season. Their leaves never wither, and they prosper in all they do.â</i> - Psalm 1:2 (NLT)</div>
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<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Read the passage a third time, slowly. Savor it, like a bite of delicious food. Pause and reflect on those phrases that stood out to you.</div>
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⢠Why is this phrase important to what the author is trying to say?</div>
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⢠Why does it speak to you?</div>
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⢠Is there some place in your life where you feel Godâs Word has been absent?</div>
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⢠Is there a circumstance youâre going through that calls for Godâs guidance?</div>
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⢠Is there a part of you/your thoughts/your actions that you have closed off to Godâs instruction?</div>
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⢠Is this passage calling you to repent of something you are doing or that you are neglecting to do?</div>
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⢠How should your thoughts, actions, and behaviors change in response to what God is telling you?</div>
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3) <u>Respond (Pray)</u> â <i>âNever stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is Godâs will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.â</i> - 1 Thess. 5:17-18 (NLT)</div>
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<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Read the passage a fourth time. Consider what God is trying to say to you, and respond to Him. Pray. If this passage is leading you to repent of something, confess that thing to God and declare your intention to change. If this passage is encouraging you in some way, thank God for that encouragement. If this passage is challenging you to do something, pray for strength to meet that challenge. If this passage brings to mind the needs of others, pray for them, declare your intention to share Godâs love with them in some way, and pray for opportunities to do so.</div>
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4) <u>Remain (Contemplate)</u> â <i>â...As Elijah stood there, the Lord passed by, and a mighty windstorm hit the mountain. It was such a terrible blast that the rocks were torn loose, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake there was a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire there was the sound of a gentle whisper. 13 When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out...â</i> 1 Kings 19:11-13 (NLT)</div>
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<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Now, just rest in the presence of God. If you need to, set an alarm for 5 minutes or more. This might be uncomfortable at first, and it should be. Technology, busy schedules, and the constant pressure to surround ourselves with friends means that we often forget the value of solitude and we miss God speaking to us through silence, because we drown Him out in all the noise.</div>
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<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Finally, journal what God has taught you through this experience and thank Him. Write down a plan for consistently applying what God has shown you.</div>
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Footnotes</div>
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(1) Adapted from the practice developed by Benedict of Nursia, itself rooted in the practices of the early Church Fathers Origen, Augustine, Ambrose, Hilary of Portiers, and the Desert Fathers; and guided by the instruction the Apostle Paul laid out in Romans 10:8-10 (NRSV), <i>âBut what does it say? âThe word is near you, on your lips and in your heartâ (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); because if you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For one believes with the heart and so is justified, and one confesses with the mouth and so is saved.â</i></div>
Pastor Ianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14957702267272140495noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21455061.post-75769961656059348062020-02-23T16:24:00.001-08:002020-02-24T10:48:58.926-08:00The Discipline of Fasting<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i>Below is the manuscript for the sermon I delivered on Feb. 23, 2020 ahead of Ash Wednesday and the Lenten Season at Cortez (CO) Church of the Nazarene.</i></div>
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Text: Ezra 8:21-23 (NRSV):</div>
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<b>21</b> Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river Ahava, that we might deny ourselves before our God, to seek from him a safe journey for ourselves, our children, and all our possessions. <b>22</b> For I was ashamed to ask the king for a band of soldiers and cavalry to protect us against the enemy on our way, since we had told the king that the hand of our God is gracious to all who seek him, but his power and his wrath are against all who forsake him. <b>23</b> So we fasted and petitioned our God for this, and he listened to our entreaty.</div>
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<i>A Family On the Move</i></div>
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For our family, there is rarely any experience more stressful than preparing for a trip back to Iowa to visit our parents. The kids are always excited about the prospect of staying in motels, of visiting with Grandma and Grandpa, of going out to eat at restaurants, and of taking a break from school. But for Marcia and me, a trip is a major logistical operation. There are bags to be packed, snacks to be bought, vehicles to be vacuumed and checked, and then thereâs all the negotiation that goes with trying to figure out how to split our time between two families who live in the same town, so that one family doesnât feel like weâve spent more time with the other family than with them.<br />
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Then, once weâre on the road, we have to figure out where people want to eat and thereâs always someone who suddenly has never liked the place we just picked, even though they begged for us to go there last week. And of course we have to make sure the dog doesnât run off when everyone gets out for a bathroom or food break, and each time we stop, every single child wants me to buy them some little trinket or piece of candy. In fact, Iâve gotten so good at saying, âPut it back!â It all comes out as one word now, âPudditback! Pudditback!â And thatâs if everything goes perfectly!<br />
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On top of all that, thereâs the added risk of a blown tire, or engine trouble, or those big Midwestern storms, or all the motels being full because of some conference, or roving bands of Nebraskan marauders. OK, maybe that last one isnât as big of a risk, but the point is that there is always plenty of uncertainty involved in just going to visit Grandma and Grandpa, and usually by the end of the trip, weâre more exhausted than when we began. We end up needing a vacation from the vacation!</div>
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<i>The Slow Fulfillment of God's Promises</i></div>
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Things werenât any easier â or safer â for people on the move in the ancient world, and Ezra the scribe, the writer of our passage this morning, knew that. But Ezra was a man âon a mission from Godâ like Jake & Elwood Blues in "The Blues Brothers." Ezra 7:6 tells us he was a priest and âskilled in the law of Moses that the Lord the God of Israel had given; and the king granted him all that he asked, for the hand of the Lord his God was upon him.â(1)<br />
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Because of his devotion to God and to teaching the Law of Moses, he poured over the scrolls of the Torah and the Prophets night and day, and over and over he read in them how even though Israel and Judah had been judged to be unfaithful, and so had been sent into exile, with the city of Jerusalem and its glorious Temple destroyed by the Babylonians; God had not forgotten His people, and He promised to restore the repentant to the land, and the Temple with it.<br />
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Nearly 30 years after the Templeâs destruction, this promise had begun to be fulfilled, when the Persian King Cyrus, who had conquered the Babylonians, issued a decree that the Jews could return to the city and the Temple could be rebuilt.(2) Ezra 4 relates how soon waves of returning families entered the land, but the plan to rebuild the Temple and the city was frustrated by those already there; people who had been transplanted by the Assyrians even before the Babylonians came to power in an effort to maintain control over their conquered territories.(3) They were worried about losing their lands and their favored position within the Empire, and so wrote to their governors and to Cyrusâ successors saying that in the past Jerusalem had been a hotbed of sedition and revolution, and that it didnât deserve to be rebuilt.<br />
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Despite these struggles, for the next 40 years, small groups of people continued to trickle into the land from Babylonia, and Ezra. 5:2-17 describes how they, being inspired by their leaders and the words of the prophets, began building again. This worried the governor of the province. He thought this nonsense about rebuilding the Temple had been ended once and for all! But God was still at work in his people. They still had a mission. And as they continued, he wrote to the Persian King Darius to ask whether they had the authority to do so.<br />
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Dariusâ ministers discovered an old scroll in his libraries containing the decree of Cyrus, and so Darius added his own â not only was the Temple to be built, but all expenses would be paid from the Royal Treasury!(4) Those who tried to thwart Godâs work would now have to pay taxes to see it accomplished! And if they refused, the decree ordered that the supporting beam would be ripped from their house and they would be impaled on it. Those Persian kings didnât mess around!<br />
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Ezra 6:14-15 then relates how the Temple was completed during the reign of Darius and the people celebrated the Passover for the first time in the new Temple, âfor the Lord had made them joyful, and had turned the heart of the King of Assyria to them, so that he aided them in the work on the house of God, the God of Israel.â<br />
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Another 50 years passed and Ezra the scribe and priest, was living in Babylonia, studying the history of Godâs work among his people; when he received his mission from God through King Artaxerxes. It was finally time for priests an Levites to return to the Temple, so that sacrifices could be offered once again, and this time Ezra would go with them â to teach the people about who their God was, what He desired, and what His character was like. But the road was dangerous.<br />
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I joked about Nebraskan marauders earlier, but in the ancient world, bands of raiders attacking caravans was no joke! There was no Highway Patrol, no State Police, no Sheriffâs Deputies to maintain law and order. And Ezraâs caravan was carrying a ton of wealth. All the furnishings of the Temple, which had been captured by Nebuchadnezzar over 100 years before, would have to be carted and carried over 1,600 miles. And such a large group, with their wives and little ones with them, would be moving slowly, kicking up huge clouds of dust by day with dozens of glowing fires by night. They would be easy pickings for bands looking to slaughter the men, capture the women and children for slaves, and carry off one of the largest treasures in the Ancient Near East.</div>
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<i>Fasting to Prepare for the Journey</i></div>
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So, Ezra knew he needed protection. But as our passage this morning makes clear (5), he also knew, that if he were really going to teach the people about Godâs saving work over the centuries, if he was really going to convince them that God loved them and cared for them, he would have to trust God and not in the armies of the Persian King. He certainly could have asked for an armed escort, and Iâm sure the King would have given it! But then his people and the Persians themselves would have claimed it was the grace of the Persian King and not the providence of the Living God which protected them.<br />
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Verses 21 and 23 tell us in Ezraâs own words, âThen I proclaimed a fast there, at the river Ahava, that we might deny ourselves before our God, to seek from him a safe journey for ourselves, our children, and all our possessions⌠So we fasted and petitioned our God for this, and he listened to our entreaty.â<br />
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Ezra wasnât fasting because he doubted that God would care for him â especially as it was clear from the writings of the prophets and from his peoplesâ own history that God had providentially moved to bring them back safely to their own land. And it wasnât to âconvinceâ God to help protect his caravan either; as if God were some mercenary who required people to deny food to their bellies before He would protect them.<br />
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Instead, Ezra called the people to a communal fast because their own hearts needed to prepare for the journey back to the land of their ancestors. They had lived in a foreign land for so long, under foreign influence, and though they may have read about the way God desired to be worshiped in His Tempe, none had ever seen it first hand. Imagine that, none of them had ever offered a Temple sacrifice, or set up the complex schedules and duty rosters required for its maintenance, and now they were being expected to lead it! It was this need to prepare, this need to ready their hearts to participate in Godâs mission that I want to focus on this morning.</div>
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<i>The Purpose of Lent</i></div>
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In a few short days, the Christian season of Lent begins. It is a 40 day season of preparation, of mourning, of repentance before we celebrate Easter. Its roots are in the individual, biblical fasts of Moses and Jesus, but also the communal fasts we find in places like our passage this morning. And it begins with Ash Wednesday, a day of prayer where traditionally ashes are placed on the forehead as an act of repentance and a declaration of our hope in the saving grace of Christ. The practice itself goes back to OT times as well, where we read about prophets like Jeremiah and kings like David sitting in sackcloth and ashes as they mourn.<br />
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For many of you, this practice might seem really odd. At the very least, you might be wondering why we are engaging in a practice that seems so antiquated. For some, the practice might seem too ritualistic, too âreligious,â and didnât Jesus do away with empty religion? And finally, for others, you might be questioning the value of a communal fast â where the whole church comes together to fast and pray; after all, didnât Jesus command us to pray and fast in secret? These are all important concerns that I want us to address this morning as we prepare for this season, but first I should note that each of these assumptions are based on a misunderstanding of what God actually expects of us when we fast and pray, and why we do it in the first place.<br />
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As I mentioned before, when Ezra fasted, it wasnât because he was trying to bargain with God or earn his favor, it was to prepare the hearts of his people for the journey ahead. But this isnât the only reason for fasting that we find in scripture.</div>
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REASONS TO FAST: MOURNING<br />
Often we find passages where it was combined with the wearing of uncomfortable and plain sackcloth and sitting in ashes, as a sign of deep personal heartbreak. Today, we arenât nearly given to such public displays of emotion. Often when people grieve, they are expected to get over it in a few weeks as people try to force normalcy on those whose wounds and sense of loss are still fresh. But people are by nature expressive people. Often, when we bottle up our emotions, they end up bursting out in other, unhealthy ways anyway. For ancient peoples, fasting while wearing sackcloth and sitting in ashes for a set time was seen as a healthy way of expressing grief.<br />
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<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>We see an example of this in Neh. 1:1-4, where Nehemiah himself writes,<br />
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â...While I was in Susa the capital, one of my brothers, Hanani, came with certain men from Judah; and I asked them about the Jews that survived, those who had escaped the captivity, and about Jerusalem. They replied, âThe survivors there in the province who escaped captivity are in great trouble and shame; the wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been destroyed by fire. When I heard these words I sat down and wept, and mourned for days, fasting and praying before the God of heaven. I said, âO Lord God of heaven, the great and awesome God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments; let your ear be attentive and your eyes open to hear the prayer of your servant that I now pray before you day and night for your servants, the people of Israel, confessing the sins of the people of Israel, which we have sinned against you. Both I and my family have sinned.ââ</blockquote>
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Just like with Ezra, Nehemiahâs fast is rooted in trust in âthe great and awesome God who keeps covenant and steadfast loveâ with his people; and just like Ezra, he is motivated by a deep desire to see Godâs will done. But this time, his fasting is brought on by a deep sense of heartbreak at the plight of his people, and a recognition that the Jews in Babylonia have sinned by neglecting their hard pressed brothers and sisters in Jerusalem. Notice that even though he hasnât specifically done anything wrong or consciously rebelled against God, he still realizes that he is still part of a neglectful people and nation, and so he repents for the part he has played in their sin.<br />
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In the same way, on Ash Wednesday and throughout Lent, we also confess the sins of our people, of the nation of which we are a part. We may not have personally stolen or murdered or committed adultery. But we live in a nation enthralled by pornography and lust, where millions of women are forced into sexual slavery, where people freeze to death in the cold, where children die of hunger, where the unborn are aborted by the millions. We have plenty to mourn for and to repent over.</div>
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<i>Reasons to Fast: Repentance</i><br />
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And this brings us to the second major reason for fasting found in scripture. It moves our hearts toward repentance, so that we may be saved. In Jonah 3, we read how God sent the prophet to the people of Ninevah to warn them of their impending destruction. He didnât promise them He would relent if they repented, but in vv. 5-10 we read, âAnd the people of Nineveh believed God; they proclaimed a fast, and everyone, great and small, put on sackcloth.<br />
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When the news reached the king of Nineveh, he rose from his throne, removed his robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. Then he had a proclamation made in Nineveh: âBy the decree of the king and his nobles: No human being or animal, no herd or flock, shall taste anything. They shall not feed, nor shall they drink water. Human beings and animals shall be covered with sackcloth, and they shall cry mightily to God. All shall turn from their evil ways and from the violence that is in their hands. Who knows? God may relent and change his mind; he may turn from his fierce anger, so that we do not perish.â When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil ways, God changed his mind about the calamity that he had said he would bring upon them; and he did not do it.â</div>
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The King issued the decree that all the people would fast and mourn together, and it moved their hearts to repentance. And because of that repentance, God Himself was moved to graciously relent and spare them the destruction they had deserved.<br />
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Again, it wasnât some supernatural bargain. Justice cannot be bargained. It was grace. Grace ushered in through repentance and a change of heart. This is why we read in Joel 2:12-13,</div>
<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>âYet even now, says the Lord,<br />
return to me with all your heart,<br />
with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning;<br />
rend your hearts and not your clothing.<br />
Return to the Lord, your God,<br />
for he is gracious and merciful,<br />
slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love,<br />
and relents from punishing.â<br />
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Godâs grace isnât earned through fasting, weeping, or mourning. And if we do these things without true repentance of the heart they mean nothing. Our âhearts must be rentâ and cracked open, so that Godâs grace can be poured in and transformation can begin.</div>
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<i>Reasons to Fast: Interceding for Others</i><br />
<span style="text-align: justify;">Now, you might be saying to yourself, âBut I donât have anything to repent for, or to mourn over. I am forgiven by Christâs grace the moment I believe and confess my sin. Why should I fast?â And you would be absolutely right! You are forgiven the moment you repent and confess your sin to Him, believing that His grace alone is sufficient to save you. But life isnât all about us. Faith isnât all abut our individual salvation either. We are still called to love, to care for, and to intercede for others. And we find fasting utilized for this last purpose in scripture as well. In Ps. 35:11-14, we read,</span><br />
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âMalicious witnesses rise up;<br />
they ask me about things I do not know.<br />
They repay me evil for good;<br />
my soul is forlorn.<br />
But as for me, when they were sick,<br />
I wore sackcloth;<br />
I afflicted myself with fasting.<br />
I prayed with head bowed on my bosom,<br />
as though I grieved for a friend or a brother;<br />
I went about as one who laments for a mother,<br />
bowed down and in mourning.â</blockquote>
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Here, the Psalmist is making his case before God that he has lived righteously, even though he has been mocked and abused by his friends. He has interceded for his enemies when they were sick, even though they only wished evil for him. The psalmist was able to do this, and we are able to do this, because when we push aside our own hunger to feed ourselves, we can more readily see the needs of others. The gesture might not be reciprocated, but thatâs not the point. The point isnât about what we get in return. The point is that when we deny ourselves, we follow Christâs example and are better able to empathize with the needs of others as He has called us to do.</div>
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<i>Reasons to Fast: It Humbles Our Hearts</i><br />
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<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>And this brings us to the last major reason for fasting found in scripture: it is a means of humbling ourselves before God and others. In Ps. 69:9-12, the songwriter proclaims,</div>
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âIt is zeal for your house that has consumed me;</div>
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the insults of those who insult you have fallen on me.</div>
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When I humbled my soul with fasting,</div>
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they insulted me for doing so.</div>
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When I made sackcloth my clothing,</div>
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I became a byword to them.</div>
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I am the subject of gossip for those who sit in the gate,</div>
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and the drunkards make songs about me.â</div>
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This passage is also quoted when Jesus makes a whip and drives the money changers out of the Temple, but notice the last part of the verse: âWhen I made sackcloth my clothing, I became a byword to them. I am the subject of gossip for those who sit in the gate, and the drunkards make songs about me.â<br />
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Fasting in true humility before God and others is as counter-cultural today as it was when that Psalm was written. In fact, in an increasingly secular culture, fasting can seem downright crazy. But letâs be honest, the Gospel is nuts. The idea that God could love us so much He would take on flesh and die for us is nuts. But itâs true. And not only is fasting a counter-cultural testimony to that fact, it is also a witness to the transforming work that God is doing in the life of the one who fasts and prays. The problem is that it can backfire when fasting is disingenuously used as a means of communicating false humility or self-righteousness.<br />
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This is why Jesus says in Mat. 6:16-18,<br />
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âAnd whenever you fast, do not look dismal, like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces so as to show others that they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that your fasting may be seen not by others but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.â</blockquote>
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Jesus isnât just telling his disciples not to make a scene or to keep their faith private. After all, what is driving the money-changers out of the Temple if not making scene? What is eating with tax collectors and sinners if not making a scene? What is dying on a cross, if not making a scene? And if fasting and prayer were only private affairs, then the early Christians would have no ground for meeting together to âdevote themselves to the apostlesâ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers,â as in Acts. 2:42. And the writer of Hebrews wouldnât have instructed his audience in Heb. 10:25 not to, âneglect to meet together, as is the habit of some.â And if corporate fasting as a whole church was just an Old Testament practice, we wouldnât read in Acts 13:2-3 and 14:23 about how fasting and prayer was part of the regular practice of the Church at Antioch.<br />
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Jesusâ point is that we must examine our intent when we fast. Intent is everything. If we are not fasting for the right reasons, it can actually be dangerous to our faith! But, instead of abandoning the practice of fasting and praying together as a church, we should utilize the occasion of a regular season of fasting like Lent as an opportunity to examine our intent and the depths of our hearts, to see where we need to be humbled, where we need to repent, where we need to mourn, and where we need to intercede on the behalf of others.</div>
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<i>An Invitation to Fast Together</i><br />
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This is why we will be celebrating Ash Wednesday this week, and why I invite you to fast together with me during the season of Lent. It isnât an obligation. It isnât a bargain. It isnât a means of earning Godâs favor. It is so that we can carve out space and time in our busy lives to reflect on Godâs mercy and on our own need for a Savior, our own need for repentance, our own need for mourning. And it is also a recognition that there are many out there who donât yet realize that they need Christ in their lives. They are wandering, hurting, and lost. And so we pray and fast, and receive the ashes for them too, in the hope that they will receive and be transformed by the loving grace of Jesus Christ. Thank you.</div>
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FOOTNOTES<br />
(1) Unless otherwise noted, all scripture quoted is from the NRSV.<br />
(2) Ezra 1:2-4.<br />
(3) Ezra 4:4-5.<br />
(4) Ezra 6:8.<br />
(5) Ezra 8:21-23.<br />
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Delivered Feb. 23, 2020 at Cortez (CO) Church of the Nazarene.Pastor Ianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14957702267272140495noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21455061.post-55098995958807608572019-12-24T18:15:00.001-08:002019-12-24T18:45:57.304-08:00The Significance of the IncarnationA Christmas Eve Reflection.<br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><i>The Technological Drive for
Perfection</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"> Ever since I was a little
boy, I have always been fascinated by the steady march forward of
technology. I used to love going to the school library and picking up
a copy of Popular Mechanics to see what new gadget, or computer, or
AI system was being developed. I would play with electronics kits and
build my own radios. Even when I was in the Army, flying drones, it
was like being a kid again. I mean, not only did I get to play with
robots, but they were flying robots! How cool is that?! And in my
short lifetime, technology has advanced by leaps and bounds,
unimaginable to previous generations.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"> From facial recognition
technology to global climate modeling, and from GPS to automated
manufacturing; machines are able to do incredibly complicated work
with an efficiency and within tolerances unmatched by any human
being. In fact I learned this week that our most accurate atomic
clock, the strontium optical lattice clock, is so accurate that it is
able to measure subtle dilations of time itself as the clock is
placed closer or farther away from the mass at the center of the
Earth. To give you an idea of what Iâm talking about, when you put
your hand over your head, because itâs further away from the center
of the Earth, it actually travels through time a tiny bit faster than
your feet! Itâs such an impossibly tiny change, that we donât
perceive it at all. But this clock does! It can literally measure how
time itself stretches and crunches when acted upon by gravity.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"> Thatâs nuts, right? In
another age, if I had said such things, people would assume I was
crazy. Heck, you might be wondering about my sanity right now! But
thatâs how far science and technology have advanced. We are able to
measure and create with such precision, and yet almost all scientists
agree that our knowledge of the Cosmos and our ability to shape our
surroundings through technology has only barely scratched the
surface.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><i>The Purpose For Which We
Were Created</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"> And yet, with all these
technological marvels and scientific advancements, we are still a
species consumed by war, slaves to our own appetites, ever on the
brink of being destroyed by our own hatred and lust. There is a sharp
contrast between the perfection humanity strives for through
creativity and ingenuity, and the imperfection we see in our nature.
We develop technology in the hope that it will make our lives better,
yet we find that it often brings as many problems as it solves. As
perfect as we seem to be able to make machines, they cannot fix
whatâs really broken in the world. They canât fix us. In fact,
nothing we do can. And weâve tried just about everything. Weâve
tried putting our trust in governments, in political parties, in
philosophies, in technology, in relationships, in wealth, and in
pleasure. And they have all failed to get to the root of the problem
because the root of the problem is at the very core of our being.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"> When we read the opening
passages in Genesis, we find that this wasnât always so. As God
said in Gen. 1:27, âSo God created humankind in his image, in the
image of God he created them; male and female he created them.â<a class="sdfootnoteanc" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=21455061#sdfootnote1sym" name="sdfootnote1anc"><sup>1</sup></a>
And in v. 31, âGod saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it
was very good.â</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"> God created us with
perfection in mind, His own perfection, the perfection of the Son.
This is most beautifully stated in the great statement on the
Incarnation from our reading in John 1 tonight,</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"> â</span><span style="font-size: small;"><b>1</b></span><span style="font-size: small;">
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the
Word was God. </span><span style="font-size: small;"><b>2</b></span><span style="font-size: small;">
He was in the beginning with God. </span><span style="font-size: small;"><b>3
</b></span><span style="font-size: small;">All things came
into being through him, and without him not one thing came into
being. What has come into being </span><span style="font-size: small;"><b>4</b></span><span style="font-size: small;">
in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. </span><span style="font-size: small;"><b>5</b></span><span style="font-size: small;">
The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome
it⌠</span><span style="font-size: small;"><b>14</b></span><span style="font-size: small;">
And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his
glory, the glory as of a fatherâs only son, full of grace and
truth.â</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"> Everything that is good,
everything that is beautiful, and everything that is loving in the
world was created through the Son. Christ Himself is the creative
Word of God, and whenever we try to recreate perfection, whether it
is through art, or poetry, or music, or philosophy, or religious
expression; we do it because deep in our hearts we are being called
upon by the Holy Spirit to fulfill that great purpose for which we
were created: which is to reflect Christâs perfect love in our
hearts and in every area of our lives.</span></div>
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<div align="justify" class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><i>Christâs Anticipating and
Perfecting Grace</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"> But when sin entered the
world, it corrupted us. It corrupted our bodies â bringing death
into our lives; it corrupted our hearts â the deepest seat of our
longing and desire; and it even corrupted our reason â our very
ability to perceive the character and nature of God through His
Creation. We were no longer able to perceive Him or the virtues He
created for us to possess through reason alone, and every attempt on
our part to grasp who He truly is, to grasp perfection itself, falls
short.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"> </span><span style="font-size: small;"><i>This</i></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;">
is why the Word became flesh and lived among us, so that by His
illuminating light which pierces every darkness, we might see His
glory, believe in Him and be filled with His grace which brings us
the truth we have failed to grasp on our own. </span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><i>This
</i></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;">is
why the Incarnation, the moment when the Word became flesh, is so
important to the Christian faith. It is through the Incarnation of
Christ that our wills and our reason are restored, so that we may
perceive the goodness of God, and being moved by the Holy Spirit,
answer His call to repent and be saved.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;"> As
Titus 2:11-13 tells us, â</span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b>11</b></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;">
For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all, </span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b>12</b></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;">
training us to renounce impiety and worldly passions, and in the
present age to live lives that are self-controlled, upright, and
godly, </span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b>13</b></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;">
while we wait for the blessed hope and the manifestation of the glory
of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ.â</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div align="justify" class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;"> When
we repent, receiving His grace by faith and turning away from our
selfish desires and all the things which distort the Image of God in
us, He begins that great work of healing us and restoring that
reflection in us. He restores the ability and the call to perfectly
reflect His love.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;"> As
the Apostle John later wrote in his first letter, 1 John 4:16-19, â</span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b>16</b></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;">
So we have known and believe the love that God has for us. God is
love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in
them. </span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b>17</b></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;">
Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness
on the day of judgment, because as he is, so are we in this world. </span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b>18</b></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;">
There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear; for fear
has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not reached
perfection in love. </span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b>19</b></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;">
We love because he first loved us.â</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div align="justify" class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;"> And
the best, most perfect example of Godâs love was most fully
revealed to us over 2,000 years ago; when a virgin mother laid her
infant son in a feeding trough on a cold winterâs night in a tiny
village, nestled in the center of a backwater province of the Roman
Empire. Itâs this moment that we celebrate tonight through our
songs and worship; and it is His death on the cross and His bodily
resurrection to free us from sin and death that we proclaim as we
partake in the Lordâs Supper together.</span></span></div>
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<div class="sdfootnote-western" style="page-break-before: always;">
<i>Footnotes</i></div>
<div class="sdfootnote-western" style="page-break-before: always;">
(1) All
quoted scripture is from the NRSV, unless otherwise noted.</div>
<div class="sdfootnote-western" style="page-break-before: always;">
<br /></div>
<div class="sdfootnote-western" style="page-break-before: always;">
<i>First Delivered on Dec. 24, 2019 - Cortez Church of the Nazarene, Cortez, CO.</i></div>
<div class="sdfootnote-western" style="page-break-before: always;">
#Incarnation #ChristmasEve #Grace #Love</div>
</div>
<br />Pastor Ianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14957702267272140495noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21455061.post-79073784097187595292019-11-24T19:49:00.000-08:002019-11-24T19:49:03.704-08:00What Does "Morality" Even Mean?<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i>Below is the manuscript of a sermon first delivered at Cortez (CO) Church of the Nazarene on Nov. 24, 2019.</i></div>
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Text: Col. 1:9-23 (ESV):</div>
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9 And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, 10 so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; 11 being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy; 12 giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. 13 He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.<br />15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16 For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authoritiesâall things were created through him and for him. 17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. 19 For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.<br />21 And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, 22 he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, 23 if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister.</blockquote>
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<i>A Clash of Worldviews</i></div>
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In our passage this morning, Paul is speaking to the faithful in the church at the Greek colony of Colossae, now in modern day Turkey. Many of these believers came from a pagan background. They didnât grow up with the benefit of stories about Godâs providence or saving work through Israel. They werenât raised on the Ten Commandments or the guiding words of the Prophets. Many werenât instructed in the wisdom of the Proverbs or Ecclesiastes, and most were not taught to pray in the model of the Psalms.</div>
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Their outlook on life, what they considered important, and what was expected of them was shaped by an entirely different worldview. Though the Greeks believed in gods and goddesses, often these deities couldnât be trusted. They rarely acted in a purely benevolent way for the good of human beings. In fact, when the gods interacted with humans, it was often the result of a spilling over of some divine family squabble. Iâm sure you all have heard of some of the Greek gods and goddesses, but I doubt many here realize just how truly awful they were! For example, Zeusâ wife Hera was renowned for her profound jealousy with regards to her constantly cheating husband, the so-called âking of the gods.â</div>
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In one story, Zeus impregnates a goddess named Leto and Hera curses the land of any people who give her shelter in her wanderings as she seeks a place to give birth. In another, he rapes a nymph named Callisto and in her fury, Hera doesnât punish or confront Zeus; instead she turns Callisto into a bear so that she is hunted and killed by the goddess Artemis.(1) There are lots of these stories and I wonât go into them all here, but the point is, these are the gods the Greeks worshiped! They made sacrifices to them and gave them offerings and praise, as if they were worthy of worship!</div>
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The truth is, these terrible gods were just reflections of the Greeks themselves. In a way, they were embodiments of self-worship and the idols the Greeks worshiped were just images created to represent and validate their own selfish desires. For the Greeks, âgoodnessâ was whatever they wanted it to be, and they created myths and legends to give legitimacy to their own sins.</div>
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<i>A Culture Correction</i></div>
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It is this twisted sense of morality and way of life which Paul is seeking to correct in his letter to the Colossians. The believers at Colossae, being new to the good news of the Gospel, had heard of Christâs forgiveness and grace, but they were adding elements of their old pagan ideas into their new faith. They had been forgiven of their sins when they first believed, but their minds still saw the world the way their unbelieving neighbors around them did.</div>
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So, when Paul opens his letter to the Colossians, he doesnât just open with, âYouâre doing it wrong!â Even though heâd probably be justified by saying that, he knows that a confrontational tone will just shut them off to the truth he is trying to teach them. After all, if I walked up to one of you and just opened up with, âHey, I need to tell you what an awful person youâre being...â You probably wouldnât want to see me again, would you?</div>
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Instead, Paul understands that it is more important to communicate compassion first. He wants the Colossians to know that he loves them and what he desires is for them is all the goodness and graciousness that God has to offer. This is why he begins in v. 9 by saying,</div>
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âAnd so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy; giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.â(2)</div>
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From the day Paul first heard that the believers at Colossae had come to Christ, he began praying for them, and he hasnât stopped! Their well-being and their growth is constantly on his mind, and so he âdoes not cease to prayâ for them. And what does he pray for? He prays that they would âwalk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him.â He qualifies this walk, what the early Christians called âthe Wayâ as being marked by the knowledge of God, by strength, by power, by endurance, and patience, and joy, and thanksgiving and he roots these qualities in God the Father, who through the Holy Spirit, brings them out in the lives of the believers so that we may share in the inheritance promised to us through Christ as adopted sons and daughters of God.</div>
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Thereâs a lot to take in, in this handful of verses, but the central point is that the believers are being called to âwalk in a manner worthy of the Lord.â But who decides what that looks like? I think we can agree that most people want to live a âgoodâ life, and we generally think of ourselves as âgood people,â but who decides what âgoodnessâ is?</div>
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Naturally, if youâre sitting in one of these pews this morning, your default answer will probably be, âGod!â And you would be right, that certainly is a good Sunday School answer. Itâs a safe answer. But in our culture, we have many different ideas about who God is, what Heâs like, and what His idea of âgoodnessâ really is.</div>
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Even among Christians, youâll find a myriad of different answers. For some, smoking and drinking are fine within the freedom which Christ brings. For others, these acts are stumbling blocks which separate us from God and each other and theyâll cite 1 Cor. 8:9 in support of their position.</div>
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Or the issue might revolve around piercings and tattoos. Iâll always remember when I was in High School and I asked my pastor what he thought about pierced ears, because I was thinking of piercing mine. He was horrified and asked why I would even think of doing such a thing! For him, the idea was unfathomable. His answer was pretty harsh and being the rebellious teenager that I was, I got mine pierced anyway. They were even gauged up! Maybe if he had answered in a more compassionate way, I would have considered a different course. The holes where the piercings were have since long closed up, but I will always remember that conversation.</div>
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Some will say that consuming lustful images are no big deal, or even that they provide a healthy outlet for pent up urges, and theyâll cite Jesusâ words in Mat. 7:15 in support, saying, âThere is nothing outside a person that by going into him can defile him, but the things that come out of a person are what defile him.â While others will quote Jesusâ words in the previous chapter, saying âThe eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!â(3)(4)</div>
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Or, some will cite Deu. 10:19, âLove the sojourner, therefore, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt,â as a call to open our homes and our lives to immigrants seeking a better life; while others will note the necessity of laws and governments for maintaining secure and just societies, and will cite Rom. 13:4 in support.</div>
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<i>The Danger of Blind Spots</i></div>
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It isnât my intention to weigh in on these issues, but to note that these questions about what is moral or immoral, good or bad, righteous or evil extend into every sphere of life: the personal, the familial, the social, the economic, the political, the philosophical. And there are so many answers offered up by so many different authorities, that many simply give up on the idea of objective âgoodnessâ altogether. Many have opted to understand the world and humanity within it materialistically, as being shaped by the chance pressures of natural selection alone. I have several atheist friends who would tell me that âgoodnessâ is just that which is advantageous to the survival to the species. We define goodness for ourselves. There is no objective morality. And what we define as âmoral behaviorâ is simply defined by the majority of any culture in consensus.</div>
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This isnât a new idea. In many ways, it is a call-back to the morality of the ancient Greek culture which forms the backdrop of our passage this morning. Just as the Greek gods were simply reflections of Greek culture, and the behavior of these gods was no better than the men who worshiped them; so also, if we define our own morality, what we call âgoodâ will just be an excuse to continue to do what we are already doing. And when our own culture, our own behavior is the pinnacle of goodness, it causes us to look at our forebears as if they were savages, while we hold the âenlightened truth;â and it carries with it the unfortunate result that future ages will consider us barbarians in turn.</div>
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The problem is that each culture carries with it certain blind spots, which make it impossible to see the whole picture accurately and which make it impossible to develop a truly objective morality. As C.S. Lewis once said, âEvery age has its own outlook. It is especially good at seeing certain truths and especially liable to making certain mistakes.â(5)</div>
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To understand just how easily blind spots can be missed, I want you all to try an experiment I learned in flight training. In your bulletins there is an extra sheet of scratch paper for notes. I want you to take that paper and make a + and then about 2 1/2 inches to the right of the +, make a large dot. Now, cover your left eye and look at the + with your right. Then move the paper to about 6-10 inches from your face. If you need to, move it slowly further away or closer to your eye. At some point youâll notice the dot disappear! That represents the spot in the back of your eye where your optic nerve connects to the eyeball and creates a literal blind spot in your vision. But so that you arenât constantly distracted by it, your brain fills in the missing information and you never notice it! Every single person born with working eyes has this blind spot, but most of you have probably never noticed it before. Some of you may have lived for decades without realizing that there is a big ole hole in your vision, because you are accustomed to seeing the world around it. This also means none of you has ever really seen the world for what it is; instead your mind has filled in your field of vision with what it thinks should be there.</div>
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Even worse, basing morality on the consensus of the masses can and has been used to justify some of the worst atrocities in human history. The most ardent followers of Adolf Hitler or Joseph Stalin considered what they were doing to be moral, and they believed that anyone who opposed them was inherently evil and inferior. If our understanding of goodness and morality is based upon natural selection or cultural proclivities alone, then who has the authority to say they were wrong? In order for morality to actually guide us, it must call us to something higher than ourselves, to a way of life that is better than what we would normally choose. This means its source canât come from within in us, because as Rom. 3:23 says, âFor all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.â</div>
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<i>Anchoring Our Understanding of Morality</i></div>
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Among those Greeks who recognized just how terrible the pagan gods were, philosophy became the answer. They may not have fully known why, but their hearts knew that they were meant for something more than to be incidental playthings of the gods. Still, because they were products of a corrupted world, they missed the mark in their attempt to find the answers in nature. They understood that true morality could not originate in the consensus of the fallible majority alone, but they failed to realize that their ability to perceive nature through reason was itself clouded by sinful desire.</div>
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Among the believers in Colossae, this meant many had begun to embrace a system of beliefs called âGnosticism,â that held that all matter was evil and only the spirit was good. For them, the idea that Christ incarnated in the flesh meant that He either must have been less worthy of worship than the angels or that He was really a spirit which had the illusion of flesh and blood. And so it appears from Paulâs letter that some of them had begun to renounce the world, embrace austere fasting and abstinence in order to deny the body, and even worship angels!(6)</div>
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Paul warns the church about these practices in ch. 2:8-10, when he says, âSee to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the universe, and not according to Christ. For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, and you have come to fullness in him, who is the head of every ruler and authority.â</div>
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Paul understood the shortcomings of paganism, materialism, and gnosticism and he understood that our basis for understanding âgoodnessâ for developing morality must be anchored firmly in something outside of ourselves, outside of our perception of nature, even outside of our assumptions of what is pleasing to God.</div>
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The only way we can possibly âbe filled with he knowledge of Godâs will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that we may lead lives worthy of the Lord,â as vv. 9-10 say, is if God revealed Himself to us directly, cutting through the cultural clutter and our clouded perceptions, by literally literally taking on flesh and walking among us.</div>
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This is what Paul means, when he says in vv. 13-20,</div>
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âHe has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authoritiesâall things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.â</blockquote>
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Though God the Son had taken on flesh and walked among us, He was no less worthy of worship or our imitation than when the universe itself was created through Him. Paul calls Him âthe firstborn of all creation,â and this could easily be misinterpreted as meaning He was created first, before the rest of creation. But John 1 and the Nicene Creed make it clear that God the Son was never created, being eternally begotten of the Father. Instead here, Paul is using the term âfirstbornâ to help his audience understand Christâs status in relation to the Father. In the ancient world, the firstborn son had certain legal rights of inheritance that no one else had, and God the Son has a special claim to Creation and us by virtue of His relationship to the Father.</div>
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It is literally by Christâs grace alone that the fundamental forces which hold the universe together are even able to exist. Grace is the glue which binds everything together. Even more importantly, grace illuminates the Cosmos with meaning. And just as Christ is the source of the Cosmos itself, He is also the source of the new beginning, the new creation. Just as He is the firstborn of Creation, He is the firstborn from the dead because He was the first to rise glorified from the dead. And because He rose, we have the assurance that we will rise too. As the firstborn from the dead, the firstborn of the New Creation itself, He is the head of the family of God, the body of Christ, the Church and there is no other authority in heaven or on earth which can compete with Him. We have no other source for understanding that elusive term, âgoodness.â Christâs example as communicated faithfully in the gospels is the only objective good, the only means by which any action or system of thought may be judged moral or immoral, right or wrong, good or bad.</div>
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<i>The Fullness of the Good News</i></div>
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Thatâs certainly great news! But itâs in the next verses that the fullness of the Gospel is explained to the new believers at Colossae as Paul says in vv. 21-23,</div>
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âAnd you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister.â</blockquote>
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Christ didnât just die on a cross to âcover our sins,â as some might claim. He didnât make the ultimate sacrifice on our behalf so that we can continue to wallow in our moral failures. He died so that we might be transformed, made âholy and blameless and above reproachâ according to the only morality that matters â His own example. This transformation isnât accomplished by our own efforts, but by His grace alone. As Paul says elsewhere in 1 Thess. 5:23-24, âNow may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.â</div>
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But this is only if we âcontinue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that [we] have heard.â He doesnât force us, and contrary to what some may teach, we can indeed walk away from the free gift of salvation and sanctification if we so choose. But the good news is that Christ is faithful, His example is sure, and in a world of constantly spinning moral compasses, His goodness will never, ever change.</div>
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<i>Footnotes</i></div>
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(1) Cartwright, Mark. âHeraâ in <i>Ancient History Encyclopedia</i>. Web. Published Sep. 10, 2012.</div>
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(2) If not otherwise noted, all passages are ESV.</div>
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(3) Mat. 6:22-24.</div>
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(4) I take the latter position that they are indeed harmful, but that is a sermon for another time.</div>
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(5) Lewis, C.S. âIntroductionâ in <i>St. Athanasiusâ On the Incarnation</i>. (New York: St. Vladimirâs Seminary Press, 1996), 4.</div>
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(6) âAnnotations,â in <i>The Wesley Study Bible</i>. Ed. by Joel B. Green. (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2009), 1447.</div>
Pastor Ianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14957702267272140495noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21455061.post-2939827449829730682019-08-01T17:35:00.001-07:002019-11-24T19:49:31.911-08:00Resiliency Rooted in Hope<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i>Below is the manuscript of a sermon first delivered at Cortez (CO) Church of the Nazarene on Jun. 16, 2019</i></div>
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Text: Rom. 5:1-5 (ESV):</div>
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5 Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.</div>
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<i>A Ride Through the Mountains</i></div>
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This weekend, as my family and I headed back through the mountains from District Assembly in Denver, we happened to pass a bike race with athletes peddling through the steep twists and turns leading to Wolf Creek Pass and I couldnât help but marvel at the determination and fortitude which these bikers possessed. As they pushed up the grueling, miles-long climb to over 10,000 ft. we would watch as they slowly shoved one pedal down, and then the other. They werenât looking around at the cars as they passed, or even at the beautiful scenery which greeted them with every turn. Their eyes were forward, their shoulders down, and they just pushed on.</div>
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This reminded me of a time when I was a little boy, probably no more than Samsonâs age, out on a ride with my Grandpa. My Grandpa was an athlete all his life, and competed in 100 mile bike rides up to the year he died at the age of 76, even completing the grueling 400+ mile RAGBRAI race across Iowa. Bicycling was a lifelong passion for him, and I asked him one time how he could compete over such amazing distances. I mean, the task of traveling hundreds of miles on your own power is mind-boggling! Surely you have to plan out your rest stops, your calorie-intake, make sure you have enough water and emergency supplies, while also communicating with your support driver so that you have the help that you need, if you need it. The logistics, planning, training, and expense required made me wonder how anyone could commit to such a daunting task.</div>
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But as I asked the question, I remember clearly him stopping and as I pulled up level with him on my own bike, he looked at me and said with a smile, âItâs simple really, you just get on your bike and start peddling.â</div>
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<i>Live Isn't Always a Bike Ride</i></div>
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Thatâs an encouraging story, isnât it? Sometimes we are tempted to look at life like a bike race or a footrace and assume itâs just a matter of putting one foot in front of the other. Paul himself repeatedly uses athletic metaphors and imagery, suggesting life is a race that is worth it if we just donât quit.(1) And while that is certainly true, what do we do when we do feel like quitting? When we feel like the tasks that are in front of us are insurmountable. What do we do when life seems less like a nice, bicycle race through the mountains, with a concrete goal in mind; and instead seems more like a juggling-contest, where more and more balls are piled onto our arms to try and juggle at once, with no clear-cut end game or goal?</div>
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Thatâs a reality I know many of us face today. Our schedules get busier and busier and our lives get lonelier and lonelier. For the first time in our history, more people live in cities than in the country,(2) yet more and more people also live alone than ever before.(3) Economic pressures and the desire for opportunity cause many to uproot from the places where their extended families live, and they often find themselves paradoxically isolated in a crowd of other lonely individuals. And for many, the idea that they must meet all the expectations thrown at them and face the pressure to succeed without any help from others becomes too much for them to bear.</div>
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The most recent statistics tell us that depression is the leading health crisis of our time with over 17 million US adults reporting at least one major depressive episode a year.(4) Depression increases the risks of a host of other health problems, and for some, it leads to the ultimate despair: suicide. Suicide isnât a topic we like to think of often, and the extent of the current suicide epidemic is rarely reported in the media. In the most recent statistics from 2017, over 47,000 men, women, and children lost their lives to suicide; and thatâs the highest rate in well over 30 years!(5) I want you to think about that for a second. Thatâs a medium-sized city lost to suicide every year. Thatâs 129 people per day. And of those, 22 per day are veterans. Veterans make up just under 8% of the population, but over 17% of suicides.(6)</div>
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If a foreign power wiped out a city on U.S. soil, you can bet weâd certainly hear about it in the news! If a terrorist attack wiped out tens of thousands of people, we would remember it for generations! But that is exactly what is happening. An enemy has infiltrated our cities, our communities, even our families; and yet most of us continue with our lives completely unaware of the extent of the problem. This is because the enemy is inside of us. So many of us become our own worst enemies, because we hold on to the unrealistic expectations and hopes which the world feeds us.</div>
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<i>The Hope Expressed in Romans</i></div>
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The world expects us to be materially successful, independent, happy consumers with all the best status symbols money can buy. But thankfully, that isnât what God expects of us, because God knows a much more lasting and meaningful hope can be ours, if we are just willing to accept it. That is the point from which our passage launches this morning. In the previous chapters, Paul laid out the groundwork for justification by grace through faith in the new covenant in Christ, and not through works of the law of the old covenant of Moses. In these chapters he gives the âhowâ and the âwhyâ of salvation, with David and Abraham being examples of those who lived by faith before. But he doesnât stop with the theoretical.</div>
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He now moves into the concrete to describe exactly what salvation looks like in the life of the believer. He begins with the assumption that his readers have already been justified in Christ. They have understood why they needed to be saved, and accepted the free gift of salvation. But like so many of us, they were probably wondering, âOK, what now?â After all, all of life isnât just making that initial confession of faith, though we as Evangelicals sometimes seem to stop right there. I donât want you to misunderstand me. It is absolutely essential that you receive Jesus if you havenât already done so. He is our only hope for forgiveness of the sins which we have all committed, so that we can be redeemed and restored, and spend an eternity with Him.</div>
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But life is more than just the beginning and the end. It is more than just initial justification and the hope of heaven. There is a long space in between, and for most of us, that long space is going to include decades of struggle. For some, that struggle is going to include going through a divorce while trying to raise kids, or itâs going to include coping with a loved oneâs drug addiction, or a friendâs suicide, or the loss of a job, or mounting medical bills, and housing and transportation costs. For many, that struggle might seem like youâre stuck in the mud, going no where, or that youâre sliding down the impossibly high hill youâre trying to climb.</div>
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Itâs to Christians in the midst of that struggle that Paul is now speaking. He begins in v. 1 by speaking of the âpeace of God,â which newly justified believers are party to. Though we were once enemies of God, by receiving His free gift of grace, we are enemies no longer. This free gift is accessed through Jesus Christ alone. The Greek word Paul uses for âaccessedâ begins to paint a picture for us, of a royal court where no one can see the king except through invitation and by exceptional merit.(7) Except that we donât possess that merit ourselves, as outlaws and enemies of the realm, there is no way we would have been granted audience with the king. But Christ has vouched for us by his own merit and brokered a peace treaty. Now we stand firmly before the king, in the confidence that comes with a warm invitation, as ambassadors to a once hostile, but now friendly, power.(8)</div>
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But âpeaceâ in scripture means more than just the end of hostilities. It is rooted in the Hebrew concept of âshalom,â or âwholeness, well-being, and abundant life.â(9) It is what Christ means when he says in Jn. 10:10b, âI came that [you] may have life and have it abundantly.â In Jewish and Christian gatherings today, it is still used as a greeting. How many of you grew up in a more traditional church, where you âpassed the peace?â or where in the liturgy, the pastor said, âPeace be with you,â and everyone responded, âAnd also with you?â This greeting is an implied prayer. It is saying to our neighbor, our brother or sister who may be struggling, âIâm praying the best for you. Iâm praying that you find healing, and wholeness, and well-being in the grace of Our Lord.â Believe it or not, and this sort of floored me when I found out, itâs even the root of the greeting in English, âHello,â which comes from the Old Saxon word, âHaelenâ meaning âwholeness be yoursâ or âhealing go with you.â(10)</div>
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<i>Rejoicing In Our Suffering</i></div>
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By proclaiming and trusting the peace with God which we have in faith, we are expressing the prayer and the hope that wholeness will be ours, and having this hope, we are able to rejoice; even in the midst of our suffering. Now thatâs a hard concept to swallow, isnât it? We have all experienced times where we donât feel like rejoicing at all. And I donât think Paul is saying God intends for us to fake it here. If you are mourning, mourn! If you are angry, tell God that youâre angry! Thereâs no point in hiding it, and if we try, it just eats us up inside.</div>
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But that isnât the end of the story. We arenât expected to just vent our frustrations and struggles to God and move on like nothing happened. Instead, God gives us the tools to meet our frustrations head on, openly and honestly, in the hope that by doing so we will be changed and better able to weather future storms in the process. This is what Paul means in vv. 3-4, when he says, âNot only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope.â(11) I do not believe God causes our suffering, but He does give us the tools to find purpose in suffering.</div>
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This purpose is rooted in peace and propelled by hope. When we suffer, instead of freaking out or shutting down or fleeing, God is calling us to meet our challenges head on, and doing that requires a plan and frank honesty with ourselves. There is no shame in this honesty, because as Paul says in v. 5, that honesty and openness to admitting that we are struggling opens us to hoping in a bright future with Him.</div>
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<i>A Plan For Building Resiliency</i></div>
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When I was an NCO in the Army, and I would conduct resiliency training for my Soldiers, I broke it down for them in three steps:</div>
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When struggling with a series of seemingly insurmountable task, first order your priorities and goals. For people with a strictly materialistic mindset, this probably revolves around professional success, financial security, and physical health. But for disciples of Jesus, our goals need to reflect the things which Jesus cared about. This means that, first and foremost, they must be rooted in love. In Mat. 22:36-40, Jesus tells us that the two greatest commandments are to love God with everything we are and to love each other as much as we love ourselves. And v. 5 of our passage this morning makes it clear that we have any hope at all because Godâs love has been poured out into our hearts, for us to experience ourselves and pour out into the lives of others. This means that, when we sit down and map out our personal goals, they should be specifically crafted as means for more fully loving God and each other.</div>
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The second step is to triage your struggles. When we are depressed, or anxious, or simply overwhelmed with everything we are trying to juggle; it can all seem like one, big impossibly-high mountain that we have to climb. But it might be helpful to break down your tasks into more easily manageable chunks, and treat the ones which are either most urgent or will have the biggest impact. This is what triage means.</div>
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In the early years of battlefield medicine, medics struggled to treat the wounds of all the soldiers lying on the battlefield. Many who could have made a full recovery instead bled out before help arrived. And care was often priorities for officers or nobles, while the common man suffered needlessly. But as casualties mounted with technological advances, and field hospitals were flooded with hundreds of thousands of wounded Soldiers, a systematic way of treating them needed to be developed. This was realized by Baron Dominique Jean Larrey, a French field surgeon, during the Napoleanic Wars, who began to treat Soldiers by the seriousness of their wounds and their treatability; irrespective of rank, social status, or nationality.(12)</div>
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And this is what we need to do with the challenges which if left unaddressed can wound us so deeply. We break them into smaller chunks, and tackle the ones which are either the most essential to our well-being and mission, or are in the deepest trouble first. This means we may not achieve a solution to every problem right when we would want to, but at least we are making real progress which hopefully relieves some of the stress and brings a measure of confidence to our lives.</div>
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The third step in this resilience-building process is observing the cycles which contribute to our struggles. This is especially difficult in Western cultures where we tend to think in linear terms. History builds on itself, and a big part of our theology is the belief that it is all moving toward an eventual goal: the settling of all debts and the restoration of all creation to God. This is certainly true of our salvation history, but equally true is that within lives, families, and generations we often experience cycles where past decisions and actions lead to consequences which make those same decisions and actions more likely in the future.</div>
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This cyclical view of time is much more common in the East, but it is reflected in scripture too. Ecc. 3:1-8 tells us,</div>
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âFor everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:</div>
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2 a time to be born, and a time to die;</div>
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a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;</div>
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3 a time to kill, and a time to heal;</div>
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a time to break down, and a time to build up;</div>
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4 a time to weep, and a time to laugh;</div>
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a time to mourn, and a time to dance;</div>
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5 a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;</div>
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a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;</div>
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6 a time to seek, and a time to lose;</div>
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a time to keep, and a time to cast away;</div>
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7 a time to tear, and a time to sew;</div>
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a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;</div>
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8 a time to love, and a time to hate;</div>
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a time for war, and a time for peace.â</div>
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And Deu. 5:9 says, âI the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me.â Now, I do not believe this refers to God passing judgment on children for the sins of their fathers. After all, God also says in Exo. 34:6-7, that He extends his steadfast love to the thousandth generation of those who remain loyal to Him. Instead, I believe it refers to the natural consequence of sin. Sin, by its selfish, short-sighted nature, naturally breaks relationships and wounds individuals. And these wounds are often carried on to the people around us. In fact, recent studies have demonstrated that violence in communities manifests in clusters, just like the outbreak of physical disease.(13) Violence leads to violence, sin leads to sin, wounds lead to wounds. And these are often carried out into whole family and social systems and across generations. When we realize this, we can begin to discern the causes of the problem cycles in our lives, and directly address (or âtriageâ) those causes instead of just always trying to treat the symptoms.</div>
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The third and final step requires us to take an honest look at how we contribute to the problems and struggles we are facing. Itâs natural to look for the causes of our hurts in others. But real transformation has to happen inside of us before it can be seen in our circumstances. The biggest obstacle to this is often our own sense of shame. Especially if our struggle is one which is cyclical, and which we have struggled with for years, it can sometimes lead us to fear that we are failures, that we can never find victory, and so we ignore our own place in the center of the struggle while despair mounts under the surface.</div>
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Itâs to that fear that Paul speaks in our passage this morning, when he says in v. 5, âHope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.â We have no shame before God, because He has already forgiven us of our failures and coming to terms with them is the necessary first step toward receiving His grace in the first place. God loves us so much that He is happy to meet us and welcome us to Him just as we are, even with our sins, faults, and shortcomings. But He also loves so much that He doesnât leave us the way He found us.(14)</div>
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And it is in that hope, that He will change us and transform us, bring us wholeness and restoration, that we are able to find freedom from fear and shame. This hope isnât simply wishful thinking. It is rooted in the fact that the God who has promised it is a God who keeps His promises. We know this, because He has done so in the past. His care for His people throughout the Old Testament is testimony to this fact, and as Paul says here, the love which He has poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit is testimony to it as well.</div>
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<i>Conclusion</i></div>
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So as you go out to meet whatever challenges and struggles you may face this week, in that in-between-space after salvation, but before the final realization of our hope;(15) remember that God has promised you the tools and the resources to meet them. The ability to meet our challenges, to endure and even rejoice in the midst of suffering is rooted in the peace, the shalom, which only He can provide and which we are promised at the moment of justification; is honed and refined through the building of our character as we grow in sanctification; and is driven by the hope and promise of our glorification in Christ.</div>
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I hope the above steps help you in a real, practical way through the midst of that process. But I also want to encourage you to do one more thing. I considered listing it as a separate step, but it is essential through all of them: Pray. Pray continuously. Carve out time to pray in the morning and before you go to bed. Pray in the car. Pray with friends. Pray at church, and at home, and at work. Seriously, set a daily alarm on your phone if you have to. If we do not pray, if we do not keep that essential line of communication open with God, we will not find the discipline to follow these steps through in obedience. Itâs true that Godâs grace alone is the source of our sanctification, but it does not exempt us from obedience to His commands. And essential to this obedience is our prayer life.</div>
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So with that, I pray that the fullness of Godâs peace goes with you all, and I pray that He gives you the strength and the tools you need to meet your struggles and grow in the process. Thank you.</div>
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<i>Footnotes</i></div>
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(1) 1 Cor. 9:24-27.</div>
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(2) Ritchie, Hanna & Max Roser. âUrbanization." <i>Our World in Data</i>. Web. Retrieved Jun. 15, 2019.</div>
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(3) Fry, Richard. âThe Share of Americans Living Without A Partner Has Increased, Especially Among Young Adults." <i>Pew Research Center</i>. Web. Written Oct. 11, 2017.</div>
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(4) National Institute of Mental Health. âMajor Depression.â Web. Retrieved Jun. 15, 2019.</div>
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(5) American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. âSuicide Statistics.â Web. Retrieved Jun. 15, 2019.</div>
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(6) U.S. Dept. of Veterans Affairs. âSuicide Among Veterans and Other Americans, 2001-2014.â Office of Suicide Prevention. Written Aug. 03, 2016.</div>
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(7) Cragg, Gerald R. âRomansâ in the <i>Interpreterâs Bible Commentary</i>, vol. 9, 452. Ed. by George . Buttrick, et al. Nashville, TN: Addington-Cokesbury Press, 1952.</div>
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(8) Greathouse, William M. and George Lyons. âRomans 1-8â in <i>New Beacon Bible Commentary</i>, 153. Kansas City: Beacon Hill Press, 2008.</div>
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(9) Ibid.</div>
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(10) Ibid.</div>
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(11) All scripture quotes are from the ESV.</div>
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(12) P.N. Skandalakis, P. Lainas, J.E. Skandalakis, P. Mirilas, "'To Afford the Wounded Speedy Assistance': Dominique Jean Larrey and Napoleon", <i>World Journal of Surgery</i> 30:8:1392-9. Aug. 2006.</div>
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(13) National Public Radio. âResearchers Begin to Look at Gun Violence as Public Health Issue,â on <i>All Things Considered</i>. Broadcast Jan. 07, 2017.</div>
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(14) Greathouse, âRomans 1-8,â 154.</div>
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(15) cf. Greathouse, âRomans 1-8,â 151.</div>
Pastor Ianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14957702267272140495noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21455061.post-53740456733673759952019-05-14T23:01:00.003-07:002019-11-24T19:49:49.478-08:00The Problem of Citing Bodily Autonomy in Defense of Legalized Abortion<div style="text-align: justify;">
Authorâs Note: <i>Abortion is an extremely sensitive issue for many, and must be approached with sensitivity and compassion, especially for the women and families who have been so deeply impacted by the agonizing decision over whether or not to terminate a fetus, and for those who have been wounded by the often uncaring and hurtful words of people on both sides of the debate. The intention of this piece isnât to provide a âgotchaâ argument for either side, but rather to help all those involved in forming public opinion and policy to reasonably think through the unquestioned assumptions we often hold regarding when individual lives (and their associated rights) do or donât begin.</i></div>
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Many pro-choice advocates appeal to the individual woman's right to bodily autonomy as justification for free access to abortion. Though attempting to build a strong philosophical foundation for any political belief is important, I do not think the concept of âbodily autonomy,â or the right for a person to make all choices regarding the health and care of their bodies, is as sound as it may at first seem.</div>
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We as a society seem to have already agreed there are certain times when bodily autonomy can and indeed should be violated. For instance, most tend to agree that people should be vaccinated, even if the personal views of individuals run counter to the practice. This violation of bodily autonomy is generally justified by the risk non-vaccinated people pose to the rest of the population. When it comes to gun control, many societies have agreed that the right to bodily self defense must be weighed against the concerns of a safer society and the realities of mass shootings, suicides, and domestic abuse. And almost every nation on the planet is willing to compromise the bodily autonomy of certain classes of people (soldiers, prisoners, etc.) in order to maintain a stable society. Finally, we're also coming to the realization that the fight against climate change will likely require global action which restricts the choices of many individuals with respect to their own bodies (everything from freedom of transportation to the types of food we eat will be impacted)(1).</div>
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All of these pressing concerns demonstrate the reality that a perceived right to bodily autonomy isn't as inviolable as we may initially think. This is especially true when we consider that no man or woman is an island, and each decision we make impacts the lives of many others. This also means that when we decide to end the life of an unborn child (or, at the least, the potential life of a fetus); the decision almost always has further reaching impacts than in the life of the mother alone. The truth is, no body is really autonomous.</div>
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If we say a fetus is less of a person simply because it is wholly reliant on the mother for life, then we may as well argue that no one has rights; because literally every human being on the planet is part of an interconnected, complex system and each requires the others to survive. The species could not survive if each human being were truly divorced from the support she or he receives from others.</div>
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Because of this, and because I do think a fetus is a life with certain inalienable rights, I cannot support legalized abortion (except in the case of medical emergencies). I must admit that as a person of faith, I believe there is a sacredness to life... to all life, but especially to human life. And when we remove our sense of life's fundamental value, then all individual rights are at risk of dissolving before the ever-increasing needs of "the greater good." The irony is that when we begin to see unborn children as expendable tissue, it isn't that far of a cognitive leap to seeing born children as expendable as well.</div>
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But I also recognize that not everyone in this country holds to my particular religious beliefs. Since our country is based upon the principles of free expression, freedom of religion, and freedom of belief; any relevant policy decisions must be based not on the tenets of a particular religion, but through the development of coherent political philosophies arrived at through the application of reason.</div>
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Though I have many religious reasons for opposing abortion (the sacredness of life, the creation of humanity in Godâs image, and Godâs care for the voiceless and defenseless); I do not believe that faith and reason must necessarily conflict. And in this case, I believe that they do not. I simply think there is a stronger philosophical foundation for contending that fetuses have certain rights which must be considered equal to any other right (including the rights of born men and women); than the contention that abortion is justified by the right to bodily autonomy alone, especially since no bodies are truly autonomous.</div>
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This is because the same reasons for asserting the rights of those who have already been born apply equally to the unborn. These reasons are both biological and philosophical. Both groups exhibit biological individuality (both born and unborn have their own, unique DNA). And both groups exhibit the potentiality for agency (agency being defined as the capacity for intentional action).</div>
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If we judge the value of human life on individual agency alone (as many pro-choice advocates seem to affirm), then we suddenly run the risk of arguing that the elderly, the infirm, or the handicapped are somehow less human. This is why "potentiality for agency" is a better basis for asserting individual rights than simply "agency" or even viability alone.</div>
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But when we destroy a life, for any other reason than to save another life (and even then it's an ethical gray area that must be approached with compassion and sensitivity), we necessarily violate the intrinsic value of that life (whether born or unborn).</div>
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I don't want to restrict anyone's rights more than necessary. And I certainly don't want women to be oppressed, or left out in the cold to take care of vulnerable lives alone. We must have strong social webs of support for women in need. But I just can't see the justification for supporting legalized abortion in light of all this.</div>
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<i>Footnotes</i></div>
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(1) I briefly considered including seat belt laws in the list of ways we as a society have decided public health concerns trump bodily autonomy, but I felt that would unnecessarily bog down the article. Suffice it to say there are many laws on the books which restrict the rights of individuals to make decisions regarding their own bodily health.</div>
Pastor Ianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14957702267272140495noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21455061.post-90769748764853726062019-03-26T10:38:00.003-07:002019-03-26T10:38:58.207-07:00A Fig Tree With No Figs<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i>Below is the manuscript of a sermon first delivered at Cortez (CO) Church of the Nazarene on Mar. 24, 2019.</i></div>
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Text: Luke 13:1-9 (ESV):</div>
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13 There were some present at that very time who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. 2 And he answered them, âDo you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered in this way? 3 No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. 4 Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them: do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem? 5 No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.â<br />6 And he told this parable: âA man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none. 7 And he said to the vinedresser, âLook, for three years now I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and I find none. Cut it down. Why should it use up the ground?â8 And he answered him, âSir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and put on manure. 9 Then if it should bear fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.ââ</blockquote>
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<i>Making Sense of a Crazy World</i></div>
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<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Human beings like the world to make sense. Things happen for a reason, and sometimes that reason is that we need things to happen for a reason! We want good things to happen to good people, and bad things to happen to bad people. And we want to know that when things upset our routine, or the expected order of things, that there is some reason behind it. Thereâs a very good reason for this. We were created to perceive patterns in the world, to discover the order behind it, and to relish the beauty found in it. This is so that we can perceive and know Godâs love and care for His Creation by studying the works of His hands. After all, when you want to know the mind of an Artist, you study His Art.</div>
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<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>As Paul says in Rom. 1:20 says, âFor his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made.â(1)</div>
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<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>But sometimes our ability to perceive order and patterns in the world and the events which take place backfires. The same sense that helps us see beauty in the Cosmos is also responsible for people seeing the Virgin Mary in their toast, or faces in clouds, or sometimes even Divine punishment and blessing in the tragedies and triumphs which we experience. We want the world to make sense. And so, in our effort to find meaning, we impose sense on senseless happenings and then get mad at God when the World doesnât look like we believe it should be.</div>
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<i>The Arrival of Bad News</i></div>
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<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>This is what happens in Luke 13. Over the past several weeks, we have been walking with Jesus and his disciples as they head to Jerusalem so that He can fulfill His mission and triumph over sin and death on the cross. But along the way, he has continued to heal, cast out demons, and teach the crowds. As he gets closer and closer to Jerusalem, we notice a subtle shift in his teaching in chs. 12 and 13 as he emphasizes more and more the need for repentance in the face of coming Judgment. This Judgment would arrive very soon for Israel, as the Temple was about to be destroyed and the city of Jerusalem abandoned in a few short decades. But, as Jesus is about to make clear, the Judgment facing Israel is one from which no man or woman is immune.</div>
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<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>And so, when we find Jesus in Luke 13:1-9, he is in the middle of delivering a large block of teaching to the crowds, when a group of people rush in with bad news. The emphasis in v. 1 on âthat very time,â lends a sense of urgency to their news. Something terrible has happened! A group of Galileans who were bringing their sacrifices to the Temple have been slaughtered by Pilateâs ruthless command, and their blood has been mingled with their sacrifices. For an observant Jew, no greater sacrilege could have taken place. Roman occupation was bad enough. And murder was certainly worse. But the time to bring sacrifices was supposed to be one of peace. It was supposed to be off-limits. And the idea that holy sacrifices offered to God would be polluted by human blood was unthinkable to them.</div>
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<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Now such an episode might be shocking to some of us. When most of us think of Pilate, the Roman Governor of Judea, we think of him as a passive and almost unwilling participant in Jesusâ crucifixion who washes his hands of the whole affair and hands Jesus over to the blood-thirsty crowds. Iâve even heard sympathy expressed for Pilate, as if he were forced into a position which he otherwise would have avoided. The fact is, Pilate was known throughout the ancient world for his brutality and iron hand in dealing with the occupied territories.</div>
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<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The Romans crucified thousands, and as far as Pilate was concerned, there was always enough wood available for more crosses. Though we donât find this episode of the slaughtered Galileans outside the New Testament, the ancient Jewish historian Josephus tells us of two other instances of Pilateâs brutality. In one (and this may very well be the news Jesus was receiving), a group of Galileans were protesting Pilateâs raid on the Temple treasury to build a new aqueduct for Jerusalem, so he sent soldiers dressed in plain-clothes to infiltrate the crowds, and they beat the protesters so severely in the streets that many of them died.(2) The Galileans of the time were noted for agitating against the Roman occupation, and so had gained a reputation as insurrectionists, which may have prompted Pilateâs especially brutal treatment of them.(3)</div>
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<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>In another instance of unrestrained violence, he put to the sword a large group of Samaritans who had gathered on their holy mountain Gerizim, where they still offer sacrifices today, and it was this episode which when reported to Caesar in Rome, caused Pilate to be recalled in disgrace in 36 AD.(4) Whatever the event is which the people report to Jesus here, it was certainly well within Pilateâs brutal character to kill a bunch of Galileans in the midst of their offering sacrifices to God.</div>
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<i>The Crowds Want an Explanation</i></div>
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<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Naturally reeling from this horrifying news, the crowds want an explanation. Things happen for a reason. Surely these men who were so brutally murdered with their sacrifices so outrageously polluted must have done something to deserve this sudden, unexpected death. Just like when Jesusâ disciples ask him about why a certain man was born blind and they assume the only two possibilities are that either he or his parents must have sinned in some way for him to wind up in such a state.(5)</div>
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<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>But Jesus makes it clear that that isnât really how the world works. Sometimes people suffer. Sometimes there is no good reason for suffering! Thatâs an answer we donât like to hear. The world has to make sense. Things happen for a reason. Or at least that is what we would like to believe. And that is what the Jews of Jesusâ time had been raised to believe. They were no strangers to experiences of tragedy and Judgment. When the people grumbled and disobeyed in the wilderness during the Exodus from Egypt, they were struck down with snake bites and plague until they repented. When they wandered from God during the period of the Judges, they were repeatedly put under the control of foreign powers until they cried out to God for help and God delivered them. When Israel neglected the poor and needy, when they abandoned justice in favor of the rich, and when they oppressed the orphan and the widow during the time of the prophets, they were once again handed over to foreign powers, this time to the Assyrians and Babylonians who sent them into exile.</div>
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<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>They knew God to be a just God, and they knew that when the people abandon Godâs precepts bad things happen. But that isnât the whole story. Just as integral to their experience is the story of Job, where a righteous man suffered for no discernible reason or fault of his own or the observations of the writer of Ecclesiastes, who saw evil men prosper and good men go to the grave early.</div>
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<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>But itâs easy to forget those stories, because a world that makes sense, where good things happen to good people and bad things happen to bad people, is safe. If we just do what is good, we wonât suffer. When taken to its extreme, this view almost makes God a big bully whose attention we donât want to attract. But as Jesus is about to make clear, that is not what God is like, and thatâs not why we suffer.</div>
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<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>In vv. 2-5, Jesus replies to the crowds, âDo you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered in this way? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them: do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem? No, I tell you: but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.â</div>
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<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Sometimes bad things happen to good people (or at least, they are good by our standards). This is because we live in a fallen and broken world, and we were broken with it. The very sense which allows us to search for and perceive order in the world was corrupted when we first sinned. Continuing Paulâs thought from Romans 1 that I cited earlier, v. 21 says,</div>
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<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>âFor although [we] knew God, [we] did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but [we] became futile in [our] thinking, and [our] foolish hearts were darkened.â</div>
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<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I mentioned last week that in Hebrew thought, the heart was not just the seat of emotion as we think of it, but also the seat of the senses and of reason. So, when we perceive suffering in the world, or experience it ourselves, our ability to perceive the causes behind it is clouded by the debilitating effects of a fallen world. Sometimes people just hurt one another because they are selfish, or because they donât realize all the consequences, or sometimes bad things just happen for no reason because of the broken nature of reality.</div>
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<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Jesus gives this unsatisfying answer to the crowds around him. Maybe they wanted him to make a political statement in the wake of the Galileansâ reputation for resisting Rome. Maybe they wanted him to denounce the Galilean movement.(6) There are certainly many preachers today who wouldnât hesitate to do just that. I remember when 9/11 happened, and later when Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans; there were prominent televangelists who claimed God had visited these calamities on the nation or on the city because of its sins. When tragedy struck, instead of pulling the people together to care for those whose lives were devastated by these tragedies, they sought to divide them further by fueling their need for somebody to blame.</div>
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<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Now, Iâm not denying the reality of Judgment here. Godâs wrath is a necessary result of His justice, and His justice is a necessary component of His love.(7) But the irony is that it can be incredibly self-serving to find fault in others to explain calamity. We think: if they sinned, they deserved it. And if they deserved it, we can avoid deserving it (and so avoid suffering) if we just do what is good and right. But Jesus makes it clear that this isnât the case. Our future with Him, though it ends in glorious triumph, includes suffering and a cross. Anyone who wants to follow Him has to come to terms with that.</div>
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<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Instead, what Jesus tells them is that all Galileans are just as deserving of judgment as those who were brutally killed in Pilateâs crackdown. And by bringing up the fall of the Tower of Siloam, a tower near the SE corner of Jerusalem(8), Jesus is making it clear that the Jews who live in Jerusalem are no more righteous than the Galileans, who had a reputation for being less-than-observant when it came to keeping all the minute kosher laws emphasized by the Pharisees.(9) Jesus is taking these tragic events and making them metaphors for the final Judgment to which we are all liable if we remain unrepentant.(10)</div>
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<i>A Fig Tree with No Figs</i></div>
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<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>To bring this point home, Jesus then tells the crowds a story. In vv. 6-9 he says, âAnd he told this parable: âA man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none. And he said to the vinedresser, âLook, for three years now I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and I find none. Cut it down. Why should it use up the ground?â And he answered him, âSir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and put on manure. Then if it should bear fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.â</div>
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<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>For ancient people, figs were symbols of prosperity and Godâs blessing, but they were notoriously difficult to grow and their trees required constant care.(11) Here, Jesus is recalling the prophet Micahâs words when he says in Micah 7:1-4,</div>
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<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>âWoe is me! For I have become as when the summer fruit has been gathered, as when the grapes have been gleaned: there is no cluster to eat, no first-ripe fig that my soul desires. The godly has perished from the earth, and there is no one upright among mankind; they all lie in wait for blood, and each hunts the other with a net. Their hands are on what is evil, to do it well; the prince and the judge ask for a bribe, and the great man utters the evil desire of his soul; thus they weave it together. The best of them is like a brier, the most upright of them a thorn hedge. The day of your watchmen, of your punishment, has come; now their confusion is at hand.â</blockquote>
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<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Heâs saying the people are like a fig tree that has been given plenty of chances, plenty of seasons to grow and bear fruit, but again and again they have proven barren. Despite Godâs many chances, despite his repeated calls to the people to return to Him, they remain bare branches and they stubbornly refuse to repent. All people, not just a subset of Galileans or even just the Jews living in Jesusâ day, but the entire human race is being called back to through Jesus.</div>
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<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Like John the Baptist earlier in the gospel, Jesus is telling the people to âbear fruit in keeping with repentanceâ or else they will be âcut down and thrown into the fireâ like every other tree that doesnât bear good fruit.(12)</div>
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<i>The Good News</i></div>
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<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Still, the news isnât all doom and gloom. God doesnât relish in punishment and He doesnât delight in destroying the creatures He made to pour His love into. As He says in Eze. 33:11,</div>
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<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>ââAs I live,â says the Lord God, âI have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn, turn from your evil ways! For why should you die, O house of Israel?ââ</blockquote>
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<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>It is for that reason that Jesus, the gardener, pleads with the Father represented by the owner of the vineyard, on our behalf. Though we deserved judgment the very moment we sinned, Christ has pleaded on our behalf from the beginning. Just one more season. Let them have just one more season to repent. And so he digs at our roots, aerating the soil around us, he clears the brush that inhibits our growth. He fertilizes our soil with the means of grace: the sacraments, studying scripture, prayer, acts of service, and evangelism. Because without His mediation, without His intervention, we would be utterly barren and lost. But He gives us everything we could ever need to flourish. He nurtures our fruitfulness so that we may repent of our sins, turning away from them and toward him, and so bear the fruit of love which He planted us to grow in the first place.</div>
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<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>But itâs still up to us to respond. He has enabled us to have the choice, but it is still our choice whether we will repent or not. Whether we will bear fruits of love or not. Notice in the parable, Jesus doesnât tell us what happens to the tree. He leaves its fate open-ended and up to us to decide. But whatever choice we choose, we need to be aware that the Judgment which Jesus promises is very real and very near. It isnât a myth, it isnât hyperbole. Godâs justice wonât wait forever, and it is only because His justice is itself part of His love that he waits for us to respond. Please donât delay! If you search your heart, and find you need His grace and forgiveness, donât wait! Call out to Him this morning. He is quick to forgive and it is desire that you be saved. Itâs his desire that we all be saved.</div>
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<i>Footnotes</i></div>
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(1) All scripture references are from the ESV.</div>
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(2) Josephus, âAntiquities of the Jewsâ, 18:3, 2. From The Genuine Works of Flavius Josephus the Jewish Historian. Transl. by Willian Whiston, 1737. Retrieved from the University of Chicago Website.</div>
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(3) Ibid., see footnote to the text.</div>
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(4) Josephus, âAntiquities of the Jewsâ, 18:4, 1-2.</div>
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(5) cf. Jn. 9:1-3.</div>
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(6) Neale, David. A. âLuke 9-24.â in New Beacon Bible Commentary(Kansas City: Beacon Hill Press, 2013), 110.</div>
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(7) I had many conversations about this topic with my Pastor, Rev. H. Gordon Smith III, while I served as his Associate Pastor in La Junta, CO.</div>
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(8) Liefeld, Water L. and David W. Pao. âLuke,â in The Expositorâs Bible Commentary, Revised Ed. Vol. 10. Ed. by Tremper Longman III & David E. Garland. (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2007), 232.</div>
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(9) Ibid., 59, 232.</div>
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(10) Neale, âLuke 9-24,â 110-111.</div>
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(11) Ibid., 112.</div>
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(12) Luk. 3:8-9.</div>
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#Jesus #parables #figs #Josephus #suffering #love #justice #wrath #repentance</div>
Pastor Ianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14957702267272140495noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21455061.post-35410848790330520432019-03-18T23:25:00.004-07:002019-03-19T10:09:51.316-07:0010 Early Non-Christian References to Jesus<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><i>Popular Doubts About Jesusâ Historicity</i></b></div>
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In recent years, I have encountered an increasingly popular idea among atheists and anti-theists of my generation, often called the âChrist myth theory.â Variations of this theory usually posit that there was no historical person known as Jesus, whose life was anything like that narrated in the New Testament. When the New Testament itself is brought up as evidence to the contrary, they argue that these sources are biased and so cannot be trusted. Thereâs a certain irony there, as naturally anyone who believes that accounts of a man rising from the dead are genuine, will necessarily believe some supernatural force is behind it and so will be more predisposed to believe the claims of that manâs followers.</div>
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Many followers of the âChrist myth theoryâ argue instead that the New Testament claims are an amalgam of different religious ideas from all over the Ancient Near East. They often claim that he is simply Osiris, Serapis, Mithras, or Sol Invictus rehashed, and for evidence they will sometimes make completely unsourced claims as to their similarities (which usually evaporate on closer academic inspection).</div>
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There are so many competing, contradictory claims associated with this âtheoryâ that they cannot all be addressed here. But one claim can, and it is one often repeated in rapidly shared social media memes: that no contemporary (or near-contemporary) Non-Christian historians or writers refer to an historical Jesus. In reality, there are an abundance of references to Jesus and early Christians by non-followers of Jesus writing within about 80 years (i.e. two generations) of his death.</div>
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Just like today, these writers display varying attitudes regarding the beliefs and practices of Christians, with some praising the wise philosophy of their founder and others denigrating their gullibility. Whatever the attitudes expressed, they each demonstrate the very early belief that Jesus was a real historical person and none suggest that he is simply an amalgam or copy of older mythical characters. Even among those who save their most biting ridicule for Jesus and his followers, none ever doubt that he existed.</div>
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These writers include both Jewish and Roman historians (Josephus, Tacitus, and Seutonius), a Roman Governor (Pliny the Younger), and a Syrian Stoic philosopher (Mara bar Serapion). These form the earliest Non-Christian references. Iâve also included later quotes from Jewish rabbis (the Babylonian Talmud) and a Roman Satirist (Lucian) as these have their roots in events and oral traditions of the 1st century.</div>
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So, to put to bed once and for all the claim that no early secular historian mentions Jesus, Iâve included relevant quotations by each of these authors below, along with information on where each of these quotes can be found in their writings, and source citations in footnotes along the way. Questions of authenticity or relevance are also addressed in the footnotes. Whatever oneâs belief regarding the claims by Jesus or his followers, the claim that he didnât exist or that he was a new face on old mythical characters just doesnât hold water when faced with the evidence available.</div>
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<b><i>Catalogue of References Included</i></b>(1)</div>
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⢠73-99 AD, Mara bar Serapion, <i>A Letter</i>.</div>
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⢠93-94 AD, Josephus, <i>Antiquities of the Jews</i> (Book 18, 3:3)</div>
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⢠93-94 AD, Josephus, <i>Antiquities of the Jews</i> (Book 18, 5:2)</div>
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⢠93-94 AD, Josephus, <i>Antiquities of the Jews</i> (Book 20, 9:1)</div>
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⢠112 AD, Pliny the Younger, <i>Letters</i> (10, 96-97)</div>
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⢠116 AD, Tacitus, <i>Annals</i> (Book 15, 44)</div>
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⢠121 AD, Seutonius, <i>Lives of the Twelve Caesars</i> (Claudius, 25)</div>
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⢠121 AD, Seutonius, <i>Lives of the Twelve Caesars</i> (Nero, 16)</div>
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⢠ca. 170 AD, Lucian, <i>The Passing of Peregrinus</i> (11, 13)</div>
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⢠175-475 AD, Various Rabbis, <i>The Babylonian Talmud</i> (Sanhedrin, 43a)</div>
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<b><i>Quotations by the Earliest Non-Christian Writers</i></b></div>
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⢠73-99 AD(2), Syrian Stoic Philosopher Mara bar Serapion (A Letter):</div>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
âWhat are we to say, when the wise are dragged by force by the hands of tyrants, and their wisdom is deprived of its freedom by slander, and they are plundered for their superior intelligence, without the opportunity of making a defence? They are not wholly to be pitied. For what benefit did the Athenians obtain by putting Socrates to death, seeing that they received as retribution for it famine and pestilence? Or the people of Samos by the burning of Pythagoras, seeing that in one hour the whole of their country was covered with sand? Or the Jews by the murder of their Wise King, seeing that from that very time their kingdom was driven away from them? For with justice did God grant a recompense to the wisdom of all three of them. For the Athenians died by famine; and the people of Samos were covered by the sea without remedy; and the Jews, brought to desolation and expelled from their kingdom, are driven away into every land. Nay, Socrates did ânotâ die, because of Plato; nor yet Pythagoras, because of the statue of Hera; nor yet the Wise King, because of the new laws which he enacted.â(3)</blockquote>
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⢠93-94 AD(4), Jewish Historian Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews (Book 18, 3:3)(5):</div>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
âNow there was about this time Jesus, a wise man, if it be lawful to call him a man; for he was a doer of wonderful works, a teacher of such men as receive the truth with pleasure. He drew over to him both many of the Jews and many of the Gentiles. He was [the] Christ. And when Pilate, at the suggestion of the principal men amongst us, had condemned him to the cross, those that loved him at the first did not forsake him; for he appeared to them alive again the third day; as the divine prophets had foretold these and ten thousand other wonderful things concerning him. And the tribe of Christians, so named from him, are not extinct at this day.â(6)</blockquote>
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⢠93-94 AD, Jewish Historian Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews (Book 18, 5:2):(7)</div>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
âNow some of the Jews thought that the destruction of Herod's army came from God, and that very justly, as a punishment of what he did against John, that was called the Baptist: for Herod slew him, who was a good man, and commanded the Jews to exercise virtue, both as to righteousness towards one another, and piety towards God, and so to come to baptism; for that the washing [with water] would be acceptable to him, if they made use of it, not in order to the putting away [or the remission] of some sins [only], but for the purification of the body; supposing still that the soul was thoroughly purified beforehand by righteousness. Now when [many] others came in crowds about him, for they were very greatly moved [or pleased] by hearing his words, Herod, who feared lest the great influence John had over the people might put it into his power and inclination to raise a rebellion, (for they seemed ready to do any thing he should advise,) thought it best, by putting him to death, to prevent any mischief he might cause, and not bring himself into difficulties, by sparing a man who might make him repent of it when it would be too late. Accordingly he was sent a prisoner, out of Herod's suspicious temper, to Macherus, the castle I before mentioned, and was there put to death. Now the Jews had an opinion that the destruction of this army was sent as a punishment upon Herod, and a mark of God's displeasure to him.â(8)</blockquote>
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⢠93-94 AD, Jewish Historian Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews (Book 20, 9:1):</div>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
âAnd now Caesar, upon hearing the death of Festus, sent Albinus into Judea, as procurator. But the king deprived Joseph of the high priesthood, and bestowed the succession to that dignity on the son of Ananus, who was also himself called Ananus... But this younger Ananus, who, as we have told you already, took the high priesthood, was a bold man in his temper, and very insolent; he was also of the sect of the Sadducees, who are very rigid in judging offenders, above all the rest of the Jews, as we have already observed; when, therefore, Ananus was of this disposition, he thought he had now a proper opportunity [to exercise his authority]... so he assembled the sanhedrim of judges, and brought before them the brother of Jesus, who was called Christ, whose name was James, and some others, [or, some of his companions]; and when he had formed an accusation against them as breakers of the law, he delivered them to be stoned: but as for those who seemed the most equitable of the citizens, and such as were the most uneasy at the breach of the laws, they disliked what was done...â(9)</blockquote>
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⢠112 AD(10), Roman Governor Pliny the Younger, Letters (10, 96-97):</div>
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<i>Governor Pliny to the Emperor Trajan</i></div>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
âIt is my practice, my lord, to refer to you all matters concerning which I am in doubt. For who can better give guidance to my hesitation or inform my ignorance? I have never participated in trials of Christians. I therefore do not know what offenses it is the practice to punish or investigate, and to what extent. And I have been not a little hesitant as to whether there should be any distinction on account of age or no difference between the very young and the more mature; whether pardon is to be granted for repentance, or, if a man has once been a Christian, it does him no good to have ceased to be one; whether the name itself, even without offenses, or only the offenses associated with the name are to be punished.</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Meanwhile, in the case of those who were denounced to me as Christians, I have observed the following procedure: I interrogated these as to whether they were Christians; those who confessed I interrogated a second and a third time, threatening them with punishment; those who persisted I ordered executed. For I had no doubt that, whatever the nature of their creed, stubbornness and inflexible obstinacy surely deserve to be punished. There were others possessed of the same folly; but because they were Roman citizens, I signed an order for them to be transferred to Rome.</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Soon accusations spread, as usually happens, because of the proceedings going on, and several incidents occurred. An anonymous document was published containing the names of many persons. Those who denied that they were or had been Christians, when they invoked the gods in words dictated by me, offered prayer with incense and wine to your image, which I had ordered to be brought for this purpose together with statues of the gods, and moreover cursed Christ--none of which those who are really Christians, it is said, can be forced to do--these I thought should be discharged. Others named by the informer declared that they were Christians, but then denied it, asserting that they had been but had ceased to be, some three years before, others many years, some as much as twenty-five years. They all worshipped your image and the statues of the gods, and cursed Christ.</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
They asserted, however, that the sum and substance of their fault or error had been that they were accustomed to meet on a fixed day before dawn and sing responsively a hymn to Christ as to a god, and to bind themselves by oath, not to some crime, but not to commit fraud, theft, or adultery, not falsify their trust, nor to refuse to return a trust when called upon to do so. When this was over, it was their custom to depart and to assemble again to partake of food--but ordinary and innocent food. Even this, they affirmed, they had ceased to do after my edict by which, in accordance with your instructions, I had forbidden political associations. Accordingly, I judged it all the more necessary to find out what the truth was by torturing two female slaves who were called deaconesses. But I discovered nothing else but depraved, excessive superstition.</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
I therefore postponed the investigation and hastened to consult you. For the matter seemed to me to warrant consulting you, especially because of the number involved. For many persons of every age, every rank, and also of both sexes are and will be endangered. For the contagion of this superstition has spread not only to the cities but also to the villages and farms. But it seems possible to check and cure it. It is certainly quite clear that the temples, which had been almost deserted, have begun to be frequented, that the established religious rites, long neglected, are being resumed, and that from everywhere sacrificial animals are coming, for which until now very few purchasers could be found. Hence it is easy to imagine what a multitude of people can be reformed if an opportunity for repentance is afforded.â</blockquote>
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<i>Emperor Trajan to Governor Pliny</i></div>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
âYou observed proper procedure, my dear Pliny, in sifting the cases of those who had been denounced to you as Christians. For it is not possible to lay down any general rule to serve as a kind of fixed standard. They are not to be sought out; if they are denounced and proved guilty, they are to be punished, with this reservation, that whoever denies that he is a Christian and really proves it--that is, by worshiping our gods--even though he was under suspicion in the past, shall obtain pardon through repentance. But anonymously posted accusations ought to have no place in any prosecution. For this is both a dangerous kind of precedent and out of keeping with the spirit of our age.â(11)</blockquote>
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⢠116 AD(12), Roman Historian Tacitus, Annals (Book 15, 44):</div>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
âBut all human efforts, all the lavish gifts of the emperor, and the propitiations of the gods, did not banish the sinister belief that the conflagration(13) was the result of an order. Consequently, to get rid of the report, Nero fastened the guilt and inflicted the most exquisite tortures on a class hated for their abominations, called Christians by the populace. Christus, from whom the name had its origin, suffered the extreme penalty during the reign of Tiberius at the hands of one of our procurators, Pontius Pilatus, and a most mischievous superstition, thus checked for the moment, again broke out not only in Judaea, the first source of the evil, but even in Rome, where all things hideous and shameful from every part of the world find their centre and become popular. Accordingly, an arrest was first made of all who pleaded guilty; then, upon their information, an immense multitude was convicted, not so much of the crime of firing the city, as of hatred against mankind. Mockery of every sort was added to their deaths. Covered with the skins of beasts, they were torn by dogs and perished, or were nailed to crosses, or were doomed to the flames and burnt, to serve as a nightly illumination, when daylight had expired. Nero offered his gardens for the spectacle, and was exhibiting a show in the circus, while he mingled with the people in the dress of a charioteer or stood aloft on a car. Hence, even for criminals who deserved extreme and exemplary punishment, there arose a feeling of compassion; for it was not, as it seemed, for the public good, but to glut one man's cruelty, that they were being destroyed."(14)</blockquote>
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⢠121 AD, Roman Historian Seutonius, Lives of the Twelve Caesars (Claudius, 25):</div>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
âSince the Jews constantly made disturbances at the instigation of Chrestus, he expelled them from Rome.â(15)</blockquote>
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⢠121 AD(16), Roman Historian Seutonius, Lives of the Twelve Caesars (Nero, 16):</div>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
âDuring his reign many abuses were severely punished and put down, and no fewer new laws were made: a limit was set to expenditures; the public banquets were confined to a distribution of food; the sale of any kind of cooked viands in the taverns was forbidden, with the exception of pulse and vegetables, whereas before every sort of dainty was exposed for sale. Punishment was inflicted on the Christians, a class of men given to a new and mischievous superstition. He put an end to the diversions of the chariot drivers, who from immunity of long standing claimed the right of ranging at large and amusing themselves by cheating and robbing the people. The pantomimic actors and their partisans were banished from the city.â(17)</blockquote>
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⢠ca. 170 AD(18), Roman Satirist Lucian, The Passing of Peregrinus (11, 13):</div>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
âIt was then that [Peregrinus](19) learned the wondrous lore of the Christians, by associating with their priests and scribes in Palestine... and they revered him... next after that other [Jesus](20), to be sure, whom they still worship, the man who was crucified in Palestine because he introduced this new cult into the world...<br />
The poor wretches have convinced themselves, first and foremost, that they are going to be immortal and live for all time, in consequence of which they despise death and even willingly give themselves into custody; most of them. Furthermore, their first lawgiver persuaded them that they are all brothers of one another after they have transgressed once, for all by denying the Greek gods and by worshiping that crucified sophist himself and living under his laws. Therefore they despise all things indiscriminately and consider them common property, receiving such doctrines traditionally without any definite evidence. So if any charlatan and trickster, able to profit by occasions, comes among them, he quickly acquires sudden wealth by imposing upon simple folk.â(21)</blockquote>
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⢠175-475 AD(22), Various Jewish Rabbis, The Babylonian Talmud (Sanhedrin 43a)(23):</div>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
â[But](24) it was taught: On the even of the Passover Yeshu was hanged. For forty days before the execution took place, a herald went forth and cried, 'He is going forth to be stoned because has practised sorcery and enticed Israel to apostasy. Any one who can say anything in his favour, let him come forward and plead on his behalf.' But since nothing was brought forward in his favour he was hanged on the even of the Passover! â 'Ulla retorted: Do you suppose that he was one for whom a defence could be made? Was he not a Meshith [enticer], concerning whom Scripture says, Neither shalt thou spare, neither shalt thou conceal him.'<br />
With Yeshu however it was different, for he was connected with the government [or royalty, i.e., influential].<br />
Our Rabbis taught: Yeshu had five disciples, Matthai, Nakai, Netzer, Buni and Todah.â(25)</blockquote>
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<b><i>Relevant Christian Witnesses</i></b></div>
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Though the primary purpose of this piece is to collate a selection of the earliest Non-Christian references to Jesus and his followers, the antiquity of Christian witnesses to Jesusâ life must be acknowledged to gain a complete picture of just how prolific early references to Jesus as an historical figure really were. These Christian witnesses include at least ten different writers of the New Testament who were either eye witnesses themselves, or who relied on oral traditions and even interviews of eye witnesses themselves.(26)</div>
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⢠Probably the most significant New Testament quote to refer to eye witnesses comes from Paul the Apostle, writing only 20 years after Jesusâ death.(27)(28) He says in 1 Cor. 15:3-8:</div>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
âFor I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me.â(29)</blockquote>
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Then there is also the often overlooked collection of writings termed the Apostolic Fathers, written by men who personally knew and followed the Apostles themselves. These include Clement (a follower of the Apostle Peter), and Ignatius, Polycarp, and Papias (all followers of the Apostle John), as well as the writers of the Martyrdom of Polycarp, 2 Clement, the Epistle of Barnabas, the Epistle to Diognetus, the Shepherd of Hermas, and the Didache.(30)</div>
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⢠Within this collection is a short quotation of Quadratus of Athens referring to eye witnesses alive in his own lifetime, written in 124-125 AD(31), and preserved by the Church historian Eusebius:(32)</div>
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âBut the works of our Saviour were always present, for they were genuine:â those that were healed, and those that were raised from the dead, who were seen not only when they were healed and when they were raised, but were also always present; and not merely while the Saviour was on earth, but also after his death, they were alive for quite a while, so that some of them lived even to our day.â</blockquote>
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Given all this evidence: Multiple near-contemporary Non-Christian writers, multiple contemporary Christian writers, and the testimony of hundreds of eye witnesses all make the idea that Jesus didnât really exist an extreme improbability, if not an impossibility to any truly reasoning mind.</div>
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<b><i>Footnotes</i></b></div>
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(1) The dates provided refer only to scholarly consensus regarding the quotations themselves. In the case of the Babylonian Talmud, material was added over centuries, but the specific quotes cited carry with them the associated dates.</div>
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(2) Van Voorst, Robert E. <i>Jesus Outside the New Testament: An Introduction to the Ancient Evidence</i>. (Eerdmans Publishing, 2000), 53-56.</div>
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(3) Mara bar Serapion, <i>A Letter</i>. Transl. By Benjamin Plummer Pratten.</div>
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(4) Freedman, David Noel, ed., <i>The Anchor Bible Dictionary</i>, (New York: Doubleday, 1997).</div>
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(5) This is probably the most contested quote in this collection. Scholars debate whether a later Christian scribe modified this section to reflect Christian attitudes, and most believe this to be the case. Even so, the consensus is that the original passage written by Josephus included a reference to Jesus and to his execution by Pilate, and so it still provides an important witness to the events described.</div>
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(6) Josephus, <i>Antiquities of the Jews</i>. Transl. By William Whiston.</div>
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(7) Though this passage doesnât mention Jesus or Christians, its description of the ministry of John the Baptist is so striking, that its inclusion is appropriate to demonstrate the multiple points at which the Gospel accounts agree with outside sources.</div>
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(8) Ibid.</div>
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(9) Ibid.</div>
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(10) Carrington, Philip. <i>The Early Christian Church</i>, Vol. 1. (Cambridge Univ. Press, 1957), 429.</div>
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(11) Pliny the Younger, <i>Letters</i>. Transl. By Unknown. Retrieved from Georgetown University Website on Mar. 18, 2019.</div>
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(12) <i>The Cambridge History of Latin Literature</i>. Ed. By P.E. Easterling & E.J. Kenney. (Cambridge University Press, 1982), 892.</div>
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(13) The fire that ravaged Rome during Emperor Neroâs reign.</div>
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(14) Tacitus, <i>Annals</i>. Transl. By Alfred John Church and William Jackson Brodribb (1876).</div>
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(15) Suetonius, <i>Lives of the Caesars</i>. Transl. By Catharine Edwards, (2001), 184, 203.</div>
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(16) âSeutonius,â <i>Encyclopaedia Britannica</i>. Web. Retrieved Mar. 18, 2019.</div>
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(17) Ibid.</div>
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(18) Estimation by me, based on Peregrinusâ self-immolation at the Olympic Games of 165 AD.</div>
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(19) Clarification mine.</div>
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(20) Clarification mine.</div>
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(21) Lucian, <i>The Passing of Peregrinus</i>. Transl. By A.M. Harmon.</div>
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(22) <i>The Iggeres of Rav Sherira Gaon</i>. Ed. By Nosson Dovid Rabinowich. (Jerusalem, 1988), 79, 116.</div>
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(23) There are numerous passages in both the Babylonian and Jerusalem Talmuds which may refer to Jesus or his followers. Some are passing references to followers healing in his name (cf. Tosefta Hullin 2:22f), while others consist of polemical word plays possibly intended to ridicule the Virgin Birth (cf. Sanhedrin 67a; Shabbat 104b and Celsusâ <i>On the True Doctrine</i>, written in 175-177 AD and preserved in Origenâs <i>Contra Celsum</i>) or as allegorical stories designed to illustrate Mishnaic points unrelated to Jesusâ historical life or ministry (cf. Sanhedrin 107b and Gittin 57a). The confusion is compounded as many of these references mention characters who lived either during the Hasmonean dynasty 80 or so years before Jesusâ birth or during the Bar Kokhba Revolt 100 years after his death. The passage Iâve included here is, in my estimation, the only one which most directly relates to Jesusâ actual life and death. Even so, thereâs much debate over whether this really refers to the Jesus of the New Testament or not.</div>
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(24) Clarification added by me.</div>
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(25) <i>The Soncino Babylonian Talmud</i>, Sanhedrin 43a. Transl. By Jacob Shachter. Ed. By Rabbi Dr. I Epstein (1935).</div>
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(26) cf. Luke 1:1-4.</div>
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(27) 53-54 AD.</div>
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(28) Robert Wall, <i>New Interpreter's Bible</i>, Vol. 10 (Abingdon Press, 2002), 373.</div>
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(29) ESV.</div>
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(30) The last work listed was probably the first of these written in the 1st century, as a Manual for Church discipline and practice, and possibly by the Apostles themselves.</div>
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(31) âQuadratus.â Ed. By Charles Herbermann. <i>Catholic Encyclopedia</i>. (New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1913).</div>
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(32) Eusebius, <i>Church History</i> (Book 4, 3:2). Translated by Arthur Cushman McGiffert. From Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series, Vol. 1. Ed. by Philip Schaff & Henry Wace. (Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Publishing Co., 1890.) Ed. for <i>New Advent</i> by Kevin Knight.</div>
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#Jesus #HistoricalJesus #ChristMyth #NewAtheism #Atheism #Christianity #Josephus #Seutonius #Tacitus #Pliny #Lucian #Talmud #History #Osiris #Serapis #Mithras #SolInvictus</div>
Pastor Ianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14957702267272140495noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21455061.post-79278914575520232782018-11-16T01:57:00.001-08:002020-01-22T17:21:07.415-08:00A Part of Something Greater, Part III: Defending Nazarene Apostolic Succession<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i>Introduction</i></div>
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This is part of an on-going series which began as a <a href="https://theologicaldiscussions.blogspot.com/2018/06/a-part-of-something-greater.html" target="_blank">reflection</a> on my own ordination to the order of Elder in the Church of the Nazarene, and quickly expanded into an articulation and defense of apostolic succession and the <a href="https://theologicaldiscussions.blogspot.com/2018/10/a-part-of-something-greater-part-ii.html" target="_blank">ordination of women</a>, and why I think it is important for Evangelical Christians to understand their biblical basis, especially as ecclesiology often gets put on the back-burner in American Evangelicalism (1). Though many Evangelicals may contend that their affirmation of the central Christian beliefs and the expression of their individual faith is enough for obedient discipleship; I would argue this isnât the case (2). While Jesus definitely came so that we may all be saved as individuals redeemed and restored to His Image; he also desired that we would all be one, as Jesus and the Father are one (3). It is this unity in Christ, exemplified by love for one another that would show the World that we are truly His disciples (4).</div>
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So, for the sake of unity, one of the ultimate goals of this series is to not only develop a reasonable and scripturally sound ecclesiology for Evangelicals, which includes apostolic succession and the ordination of women; but also to defend the legitimacy of that succession and our ordinations to other communions who make up the majority of the Christian Faith. These include the Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Oriental Orthodox Church, the Assyrian Church of the East and the Ancient Church of the East. Each of these groups affirms the doctrine of apostolic succession and its relevance to ordination and the legitimacy of sacraments, and each declares Protestant apostolic succession (and therefore our ordinations and sacraments) to be invalid.</div>
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Their contention that our apostolic succession is invalid is based on two arguments: 1) that we have left the orthodox faith as (variously) held by their individual communions, and so do not have apostolic authority; or 2) that our ordinations, as being traced through the Anglican Communion, are invalid since Anglican ordinations lost their apostolicity after their form and intent were changed during the Edwardian Reforms following the English Reformation (5). In the piece below, I will demonstrate that the Church of the Nazarene retains apostolic authority both in its orthodoxy (right teaching) and in the form and intent of its ordinations.</div>
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<i>Orthodoxy in Apostolic Succession</i></div>
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As members of the Church of the Nazarene, we hold that everything necessary to our salvation is inerrantly contained within scripture (6). This includes the central doctrines of the faith, namely those expressed in the only creed universally agreed upon by bishops from the entire Church in ecumenical council, namely the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed of 381. The early fathers, called the creeds âsymbolumâ as in âSymbolum Nicaenumâ and âSymbolum Apostolicumâ or âsymbolonâ in Greek. The original meaning of the term meant âwatchwordâ or âbadge of identificationâ and identified the bearer as belonging to a particular community, in this case orthodox Christianity (7). All those who affirm the Creed are orthodox Christians, those who donât, arenât. That the creed itself is the definition of the apostolic faith was affirmed by Canon 1 of the Ecumenical Council of Constantinople in 381 and in Canon 7 of the Council of Ephesus (8).</div>
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This means that, if one uses the Creed alone as the symbol (in the ancient sense of the word) of orthodoxy, then the vast majority of Trinitarian Christians are in fact orthodox in their belief. This would include most Protestants, the Proto-Protestant Churches, the Anglican Communion, the Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Oriental Orthodox Church, the Assyrian Church of the East, and the Ancient Church of the East. If orthodoxy is a condition for apostolicity, then each of those churches has it.</div>
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Now the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox Church, and Oriental Orthodox Church would all disagree with the above statements, as they all hold Ecumenical Councils beyond the first two to be authoritative and necessary for true orthodoxy (9). But it is this effort to define orthodox doctrine beyond scripture and the central Creed of the Church which simultaneously ushered in the first schism of the Church, and caused the visible institutions of the various churches to lose their catholicity and unity, two of the four marks of the Great Pre-Schism Church. The Creed which was defined at Nicaea and clarified at Constantinople was again affirmed at the Council of Ephesus in Canon 7 (10). But while the Fathers of Ephesus sought to clarify the christological understanding of the Church, they anathematized a portion of the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church despite the fact that it held to orthodox christology and to the Creed mentioned above. That their christology was in fact orthodox has since been confirmed by joint declaration between the Catholic Church and the Assyrian Church of the East (11).</div>
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This effectively created two visible institutions within the Church: the Great Church and the Churches of the East, which were not in full communion with each other but which were both fully orthodox and who both preserved apostolic succession. Because of this disunity, all subsequent councils lacked true ecumenical character, as a certain number of orthodox bishops in true apostolic succession were barred from participating, and their sees were ignored and invaded by bishops from the other communions, in contravention of Canon 16 of the Council of Nicaea (12). More schisms have followed among bodies who all hold to the Creed and who also preserve apostolic succession, but which lack catholicity and unity and so cannot unilaterally anathematize or formulate doctrine as a means of denying the legitimacy of the other denominations within the Church. No denomination in existence today has the authority to deny the orders, sacraments, or ministry of any other denomination which holds to the central creed of the Church and preserves apostolic succession.</div>
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The only guides for deciding orthodoxy remain scripture and the Canons of the first two Ecumenical Councils, including the Creed which they formulated. Subsequent Councils may indeed be helpful and espouse solid theology, but they are effectively local synods with jurisdiction over their own denominations only. I, for instance, affirm the theology expressed in the Canons of Ephesus and the Definition of Chalcedon. But I deny that their councils are truly ecumenical in the way the first two are.</div>
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This means that those who would argue the Church of the Nazarene lacks apostolicity because we are âunorthodoxâ are simply wrong. We still hold to the only Symbol of orthodoxy which the Ecumenical Councils have affirmed, and as long as we preserve the apostolic succession with which weâve been entrusted, no other denomination has the right or jurisdiction to take that away from us. And as long as the ancient schisms continue to mar the unity of the Churches, this will not change.</div>
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<i>The Form and Intent Behind Ordination</i></div>
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Having addressed the first common argument against our apostolic succession from orthodoxy, we now move to the second: namely that our ordinations lack the form and intent present within the ordinations of the apostolic churches. This is an argument most often advanced by Catholics, who point to a papal bull issued by Pope Leo XIII in 1896 which declared that the Edwardine rite instituted by the Church of England âcompletely null and void,â as they supposedly changed the form of the ordination sufficiently to communicate an intent that was different from that which the apostles intended (13). Since the Church of the Nazarene traces its superintendents back through the Church of England, they contend that our apostolic succession was invalidated at the institution of the Edwardian reforms in 1552, when explicit reference to the Eucharist as a sacrifice and to the priesthood as a sacrificing priesthood was omitted (14). This meant that those ordained according to the Catholic rite prior to the Edwardian reforms, but after the schism in 1534, were still validly (though illicitly) ordained.</div>
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That schism does not ipso facto invalidate orders is supported by Canon 8 of the Council of Nicaea which made provision for the reception of Novatians who returned to full communion with the Church, and which recognized the ordinations which they performed while in schism (15). The papal bull referenced above recognizes this, and so affirmed that the bishops who separated from the Catholic Church with the Church of England remained bishops with the authority to ordain, even though they were in a state of schism.</div>
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The contention that the Edwardian rite changed the form as a reflection of the intention of Thomas Cranmer and others to deny the sacrificial role of the priest or the nature of the Eucharist as a sacrifice is possible, but is not conferred by the words themselves, as they do not expressly deny the sacrificial nature of the Eucharist. Rather, the omission simply serves to allow for freedom of conscience when interpreting scripture with reference to the sacrificial nature of the Eucharist, while still affirming its sacramental character as a means of grace. That the Eucharist is a sacrament and means of grace in which Christ is really present is still affirmed in the words of ordination and the doctrines of the Church of the Nazarene today (16).</div>
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That the intention of Nazarene ordination is to give the ordained Elder the full apostolic authority to administer the sacraments and lead the Church is evident in the words which were used at my ordination (17) and in the doctrine we hold regarding scripture, that it contains âall things necessary to our salvation, so that whatever is not contained therein is not to be enjoined as an article of faith,â (18). This means the primary intention of ordination (whether Nazarene or by one of our Methodist or Anglican predecessors) is and has always been to transmit the fullness of apostolic authority and all it entails.</div>
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If scripture supports the contention that the Eucharist is a sacrifice (or more accurately is the participation of the Church in the sacrifice of Christ on the Cross), then the fullness of the Eucharist is inferred by our ordination. If scripture does not support the contention, then it is not and need not be inferred in the ordination. The form and intention behind the rite of ordination used in the Church allows for both interpretations inclusively as the Eucharist is positively defined as a means of grace by which Christ is truly present and does not negatively preclude a sacrificial understanding of the Eucharist or the priesthood (whether ministerial or corporate). And since the form communicates the intention of both the ordaining authority and the recipient of ordination to transmit full apostolic authority, that authority is exactly what is transmitted, since we know we can trace our apostolic succession back to the apostles themselves (19).</div>
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That the papal bull of Leo XIII is not as definite as it may initially seem for Roman Catholics is evident by the fact that the eight member commission tasked by Leo XIII to investigate the validity of Anglican Orders was split evenly, 4-to-4 on the question of whether or not Anglican orders were valid, and subsequent investigation by the US Council of Catholic Bishops suggests that a re-appraisal by the Catholic Church of Anglican orders is necessary, given a better knowledge of the tumultuous events and theological positions of the English and Roman bishops during the 16th century (20). In the same document, the USCCB cites the encyclical SĂŚpius Officio, a letter written by the Archbishops of Canterbury and York to all the bishops of Christendom. This encyclical both affirmed the Anglican teaching of the Eucharistic sacrifice and pointed out that the precise terms required by Leo XIII were missing from the earliest Roman ordinals which had been used to consecrate bishops and ordain priests which the Catholic Church naturally considered valid, as they were instrumental to the Catholic Churchâs own claim to apostolic succession (21). That the Anglican understanding of the Eucharist includes both a sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving on the part of the recipient, and the joining of the recipient to Christ in His one sacrifice on the Cross on our behalf, as well as the reality that the bread and wine become the body and blood of Christ, are all affirmed by both the Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion (22). It goes to follow then, that Methodists and Nazarenes, as heirs of Anglican sacramental theology, affirm this understanding as well.</div>
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<i>Conclusion</i></div>
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All of the above evidence demonstrates that the declaration of Anglican orders (and therefore Nazarene orders) as null and void by Pope Leo XIII is likely mistaken in both its estimation of the intent behind the Edwardian reforms and in the forms required for ordination. The deep irony of this is that the standard by which the Pope would require the Anglican Communion to conform would invalidate his very own ordination! Additionally, given the state of schism between multiple denominations in which the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church exists; no single denomination, or pope, or even council has the authority contend the orders of other communions are valid or invalid, beyond what was already decided by scripture and the first two ecumenical councils which were decided when the visible institution of the Church still retained the fullness of the first two marks of the Church: Unity and Catholicity. Until the Church repairs its schisms and decides by Ecumenical Council otherwise, the apostolic succession (and therefore the orders, sacraments, and ministry) of the Church of the Nazarene remains valid, intact, and equal to that of any other Church.</div>
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<i>Sources</i></div>
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(1) Hyde, Ian. âA Part of Something Greater, Part I: Apostolic Successionâ Written Jun. 21, 2018. (<a href="https://theologicaldiscussions.blogspot.com/2018/06/a-part-of-something-greater.html" target="_blank">Link</a>); and Hyde, Ian. âA Part of Something Greater, Part II: Womenâs Ordination.â Written Oct. 22, 2018 (<a href="https://theologicaldiscussions.blogspot.com/2018/10/a-part-of-something-greater-part-ii.html" target="_blank">Link</a>).<br />
(2) Though I fully affirm the Protestant doctrine of Sola Fide, which says it is by grace through faith, and not works, that we are saved (Eph. 2:8-9); what I am talking about here is the obedient Christian walk, which requires community. Though faith saves, if a person refuses to walk with other believers as Christ commands, then do they really have faith in Him?</div>
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(3) Jn. 17:21.</div>
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(4) Jn. 13:35.</div>
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(5) Smith, S. âAnglican Orders.â In <i>The Catholic Encyclopedia</i>. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1907. Web. Retrieved November 15, 2018.</div>
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(6) Para. 4. <i>Manual, 2017-2021</i>. Church of the Nazarene. Web. Retrieved Nov. 16, 2018.</div>
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(7) ĎĎΟβοΝον , ĎĎ. Henry George Liddell. Robert Scott. <i>A Greek-English Lexicon</i>. revised and augmented throughout by. Sir Henry Stuart Jones. with the assistance of. Roderick McKenzie. Oxford. Clarendon Press. 1940.</div>
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(8) âThe Canons of the Council of Constantinople (381),â and âThe Canons of the Council of Ephesus (431),â at Early Church Texts. Web. Retrieved Nov. 16, 2018.</div>
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(9) The Oriental Orthodox Church affirms the first three ecumenical councils. The Eastern Orthodox Church the first seven, and the Catholic Church claims twenty-one ecumenical councils through the ages.</div>
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(10) âThe Canons of the Council of Ephesus (431),â at Early Church Texts. Web. Retrieved Nov. 16, 2018.</div>
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(11) Pope John Paul II and Mar Dinkha IV. âCommon Christological Declaration Between the Catholic Church and the Assyrian Church of the East.â Signed Nov. 11, 1994. Vatican Website. Retrieved Nov. 16, 2018.</div>
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(12) âThe Canons of the Council of Nicaea (325),â at Early Church Texts. Web. Retrieved Nov. 16, 2018.</div>
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(13) Pope Leo XIII. âApostolicae Curae.â Written Sep. 13, 1896. On EWTN Website. Retrieved Nov. 16, 2018.</div>
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(14) United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. âAnglican Orders: A Report on the Evolving Context for their Evaluation in the Roman Catholic Church.â Web. Retrieved Nov. 16, 2018.</div>
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(15) âThe Canons of the Council of Nicaea (325).</div>
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(16) cf. Hyde, âA Part of Something Greater, Part Iâ, as well as COTN <i>Manual</i>, Para. 13, 515.4, 700.<br />
(17) Ibid.</div>
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(18) Para. 4. <i>Manual, 2017-2021</i>. COTN. Web. Retrieved Nov. 16, 2018.</div>
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(19) For a full list of all the names in my line of apostolic succession, see Hyde, âA Part of Something Greater, Part I.â</div>
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(20) USCCB. âAnglican Orders: A Report.â</div>
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(21) Ibid.<br />(22) (22) Anglican-Roman Catholic Dialogue in the United States. âFive Affirmations of the Eucharist as Sacrifice.â Published Jan. 06, 1994. Web.<br />
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*Edited to clarify first paragraph and correct footnotes.</div>
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#Apostles #Ordination #ApostolicSuccession #Nazarene #ChurchOfTheNazarene #Catholic #Orthodox #Anglican</div>
Pastor Ianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14957702267272140495noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21455061.post-48828869527613715102018-10-22T19:10:00.003-07:002018-10-28T15:21:14.121-07:00A Part of Something Greater, Part II: Women's Ordination<i style="text-align: justify;">Back in June I wrote a brief piece titled â<a href="https://theologicaldiscussions.blogspot.com/2018/06/a-part-of-something-greater.html" target="_blank">A Part of Something Greater, Part I: Apostolic Succession</a>â reflecting on my apostolic succession as
an ordained elder through the Church of the Nazarene, and in that context
briefly outlined my support for women's ordination. Needless to say, this is a
very controversial topic which has given rise to a number of passionate articles,
books, and sermons both for and against the idea. Below, I revisit the subject of whether the Church should ordain women in more detail and provide biblical evidence for why we indeed should.</i><br />
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Popular Arguments Against
Women's Ordination</i> <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><o:p></o:p></i></div>
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Since writing that piece, Iâve had many great conversations
with my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, many of whom disagree with my
contention that in Rom. 16:1-7, Paul commends Phoebe as an ordained deacon,
Junia as an Apostle, and Prisca as the pastor (with her husband) of a local
church. They contend that 1 Cor. 14:33-35 and 1 Tim. 2:11-15 demonstrate that
Paul forbade women to teach or speak in church, or to have any authority over
men in the churches.</div>
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Many go further to claim that due to a misplaced accent mark in Rom. 16:7,
Junia may actually be Junias (1) and that in any case, the above passages from
1 Corinthians and 1 Timothy preclude her from having the authority of an
apostle or Phoebe the office of deacon. In the case of Phoebe, they argue that
there is ample evidence of ancient orders of âdeaconessesâ and that Phoebe
likely belonged to one of these (2), or that she was a servant or even
hand-maid, as the Greek word for âdeaconâ can also mean one of these (3). And in
the case of Prisca, they argue that she and her husband led something akin to a
bible study in their home, and not an actual local church in the full sense of
the word.</div>
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As we will see, each of these contentions is based on either a misreading of
the text out of context, faulty manuscripts, or mistranslations of the Greek.
It is my hope that this piece amounts to a convincing defense of my belief that
not only should women be ordained today, but that God has always called women
to ordained ministry. The Church is just now waking up to that fact.</div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><i>An Apostle, a Deacon, and a Pastor Walk
Into a Bar</i></i><br />
First, though the Catholic Answers site cited above
maintains it is unclear whether we should read Rom. 16:7 as referring to the
female name Junia or the male name Junias, I disagree. The early papyrus P46 (from
ca. 200 CE) as well as the early Coptic (3<sup>rd</sup> century), Vulgate (4<sup>th</sup>
century), and Latin (5<sup>th</sup> century) all use the feminine name Julia; while the Codex Sinaiticus, the earliest complete copy of the Bible from the 3<sup>rd</sup>
century calls her Junia (4).</div>
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Likewise, the early Fathers uniformly recognize that this
passage refers to a woman named Junia (5). As John Chrysostom writes,<br />
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"To
be an Apostle is something great. But to be outstanding among the Apostles -
Just think what a wonderful song of praise that is! They were outstanding on
the basis of their works and virtuous actions. Indeed, how great is the wisdom
of this woman that she was even deemed worthy of the title of Apostle," (6).</blockquote>
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It is clear that Paul doesnât just intend to communicate that Junia (or Julia)
and Andronicus are missionaries âsentâ (â<i>apostolos</i>â means âone who is sentâ) to
minister in the general sense, as the only other Apostles he ever mentions by
name are the Twelve, himself, Barnabas, Silvanus, and Timothy (7). All the
others have been recognized as ordained clergy in the apostolic line of
succession by the later Church. It goes to follow that Junia and Andronicus are
as well.</div>
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Though some may contend that the fact that the Twelve were all men demonstrates
women were not apostles in the same sense, I argue this just reflects the
nature of Jesusâ earthly mission specifically to the Jews. After all, when
Jesus initially sends out the Twelve in Mat. 10:5, he gives them the
instructions, "Go nowhere among the Gentiles, and enter no town of the
Samaritans, but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel," and
in Mat. 15:24, where Jesus says his own mission, "I was sent only to the
lost sheep of the house of Israel." Paul affirms this in Rom. 15:8 when he
calls Jesus a âservant (8) to the circumcised,â (ESV). If we used the reasoning
that the Twelve were men, to prohibit the apostolic ministry of women; then we
must use the same reasoning, and say that since they were all Jewish men, we
must prohibit the apostolic ministry of Gentiles.</div>
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It seems to me that Jesus chose twelve male, Jewish apostles (and not twenty,
or four, or three) because he was restoring a new Israel from the old. Just as
the old Israel had twelve sons from which the nation sprang, so the new Israel
had twelve new sons from which would spring the Church. And just as the old
Israel expanded to include many sons (rather than remaining only twelve
always), so the new Israel would expand to have many apostles, but now with
both women and Gentiles equally among their number, among the first being
Junia. And if the bishops (used interchangeably with "elder" in
scripture) are the successors of the apostles, then surely there must be female
bishops and elders just as there were female apostles.</div>
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That Phoebe is a deacon and not a deaconness is clear from
the Greek, where Paul uses specifically the generic male noun "<i>diakonon</i>" rather than its female
form; the exact same noun he uses to describe his own office in Rom. 15. This
is also the first place where he uses "<i>ekklesia</i>",
which refers to the organized, local church at Cenchreae where she pastors with
the same authority with which Paul pastors to the Romans in ch. 15. That she
bears the authority to act as Paulâs representative in Rome is evidenced by
Paul's use of the Epistolatory formula "<i>systemi de hymin</i>" in Rom. 16:1 to commend her as â<i>adelphe hymon</i>â or âour sister,â(9).</div>
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Interestingly, even 1 Tim. 3:11 (which seems to envisage only male leadership) opens the possibility of ordination for women to the diaconate,
where it says, "Likewise the women..." contrary to most translations
which read "Their wives likewise..." (ESV) (10). This betrays a bias on the part of the translators who assume v. 12 restricts the office to men; but if we were to read it that way, we would then have to restrict the office to <i>married</i> men only.</div>
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Finally, that Prisca is a co-pastor along with her husband Aquila is clear from
the fact that where both are frequently mentioned together, Prisca is more often
than not mentioned first in precedence (11); and that both Aquila and Prisca (here
spelled Priscilla) correct Apollosâ teaching in Acts 18:26. That Paul considers
them equals in ministry is strongly suggested by his description of them as âfellow
workersâ in Rom. 16:3 (ESV). And that their church is just that, an organized,
local congregation is evidenced by his second use of â<i>ekklesia</i>â in v. 5.</div>
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The arguments that these three women arenât who Paul says they are must then
fall on other passages for their support. And itâs these passages that Iâll
address next.</div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><i>Misreading 1 Corinthians 14:33-35 and 1
Timothy 2:11-15</i></i><br />
Moving on to 1 Cor. 14:33-35, we find that the passage must
be read in the context of its surrounding verses, dealing with speaking in
tongues and disorderly worship (vv. 26-32, 36-40). Here Paul is writing in
response to a specific problem of women interrupting the service to ask
questions. That women can indeed speak publicly, pray, and prophecy in the
service is demonstrated by 1 Cor. 11:5, as long as they do so with their heads
covered. This itself should be read within the context of Paul's philosophy of
submitting to the Torah to avoid unnecessary offense (1 Cor. 9:20), a
philosophy which informs the entire dialogue (12).</div>
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When taken in the context of the entire Epistle, it is clear that women
speaking in church isnât shameful; but women speaking in the way Paul is
referring to â that is interrupting orderly service to ask questions <i>is</i>
shameful. The fact that the very people these women may be interrupting may
themselves actually be women is demonstrated by 1 Cor. 11:5. If this isnât the
case, then 1 Cor. 11:5 must likewise become artificially generalized and all
women <i>must</i> wear head coverings in church and all men <i>must</i> keep their heads
uncovered.</div>
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Additionally, Gordon D. Fee and Douglas Stuart make the argument that this
passage is likely an interpolation or gloss, as it is the only passage of this
type which is found in two different places in the Greek manuscripts (13). Even
if genuine, in my previous article, I argued that the emphatic of v. 36 likely
means vv. 33-35 constitutes a quote or popular concept which Paul is correcting
(14)(15).</div>
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Finally, I'd like to address 1 Tim. 2:11-15, which if taken prima facie would
seem to be a universal prohibition against women preaching. But I do not think
Paul intends it to be taken as such. Paul bases his reasoning in this passage
on the fallen Eve, forced to submit to her husband as a result of the curse (16).
Elsewhere, Paul reasons that the same curse is lifted in the new creation in
which we are reconciled to God and each other (17).</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
If we are reconciled to God and each other in a new creation in Christ, then
relationally we are to be as we were in the Garden, in perfect communion with
God as when He walked with us there (18), and as equal reflections of God's
image (19) in unity with each other (20) whether male or female.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
That Paul uses the reasoning of the curse in his injunction toward Timothy may
in fact be due to the church in Ephesus coming from a similar hedonistic
background as that in Corinth, who had its own Temple to Aphrodite and a
thousand "<i>heteiras</i>" or priestess-prostitutes (21). The Church
tradition that Timothy was beaten and stoned to death during the festival of
Artemis, and presence of her temple (one of the seven wonders of the ancient
world) tells me that Ephesus was still very much under the curse Paul alludes
to.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
However, utilizing the general reasoning of the curse to justify the doctrine
that all women are forbidden from speaking in church (and by extension, from
ordained ministry) doesn't hold up when given the historical-cultural
context of Ephesus and Corinth, the textual/manuscript problems of the texts
cited, and in the context of Paul's teaching elsewhere (especially Rom. 16:1-7,
1 Cor. 11:5, and Gal. 3:28).</div>
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</div>
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<i>Conclusion: Women
Should Be Ordained</i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Given all of the evidence, it seems clear to me that (contrary to popular
belief) women not only can, but <b>should</b> speak in Church. Women not only can,
but <b>should</b> lead congregations. And women were definitely ordained during the Apostolic
era of the Church. Please understand, my position is not the result of
postmodern influences or attempts to make Christian leadership more socially acceptable.
After all, my denomination has affirmed women clergy since our founding,
decades before women could even vote. My position is an exegetical corrective
and not a social one. To maintain that women should not be ordained and should
not lead congregations is to ignore the evidence cited above, and frankly
stands in opposition to the work of the Holy Spirit.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<i>Footnotes</i><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
(1) Fr. Grondin, Charles. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Was Junia a Female Apostle? </i>Catholic Answers. Web. Written April
06, 2018.<o:p></o:p></div>
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(2) The Revised Standard Versionâs translates Phoebeâs title
in Rom. 16:1 as âdeaconess.â<o:p></o:p></div>
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(3) See Rom. 15:8, where in the English Standard Version,
Christ is referred to as âa servant to the circumcised.â<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
(4) Preato, Dennis J. âJunia, A Female Apostle: Resolving
the Interpretive Issues of Romans 16:7â. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Godâs
Word to Women. </i>Web. Retrieved Oct. 22, 2018.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
(5) Thorley, John. âJunia, A Woman Apostle.â <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Novum Testamentum. </i>Vol. 38, Fasc. 1
(Jan. 1996), 18.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
(6) Chrysostom, John. <i>In Epistolam ad Romanos</i>,
Homilia 31, 2, in <i>Patrologiae cursus completus</i>, series Graeca, ed.
by J. P. Milne, cited by B. Brooten, 141.<o:p></o:p></div>
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(7) Thorley. âJunia, A Woman Apostle,â 18.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
(8) Greek, â<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">diakonosâ.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
(9) Greathouse, William M. and George Lyons. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">New Beacon Bible Commentary: Romans 9-16</i>.
(Kansas City: Beacon Hill Press, 2008), 264-265.<o:p></o:p></div>
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(10) Ibid.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
(11) Acts 18:18, Rom. 6:3, 2 Tim. 4:19; cf. Acts 18:2-3; as
well as Acts 18:26 and 1 Cor. 16:19 where Aquila is mentioned first.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
(12) Metz, Donald S. â1 Corinthiansâ <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Beacon Bible Commentary: Romans, I and II Corinthians. </i>Vol. 8. Ed. By
A.F. Harper. (Kansas City: Beacon Hill Press, 1968), 453-454.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
(13) Fee, Gordon D. and Douglas Stewart. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth.</i>
(Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2014), 88-89.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
(14) Hyde, Ian. âA Part of Something Greater, Part I:
Apostolic Successionâ. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Theological
Discussions. </i>Web. Written June 21, 2018.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
(15) Verbrugge, Verlyn D. â1 Corinthians.â <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Expositorâs Bible Commentary: Revised
Edition.</i> Vol. 11. Ed. By Tremper Longman III & David E. Garland. (Grand
Rapids: Zondervan, 2008), 387. Only here, the commentator argues against it
solely based on the passageâs length.<o:p></o:p></div>
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(16) Gen. 3:16.<o:p></o:p></div>
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(17) Cf. Gal. 3:28; 2 Cor. 2:17-18.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
(18) Cf. Gen. 3:8.<o:p></o:p></div>
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(19) Gen. 1:27.<o:p></o:p></div>
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(20) Gen. 2:24.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
(21) Strabo, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Geographika</i>,
Book VIII, 6:20.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
*Edited for spelling and grammar.</div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13.2px;">#Apostles #Ordination #Women #OrdinationOfWomen #ApostolicSuccession #Nazarene #ChurchOfTheNazarene</span></span></div>
Pastor Ianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14957702267272140495noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21455061.post-3832130934467153542018-09-06T18:57:00.000-07:002018-09-12T10:53:30.131-07:00A Short Discourse on the Question of Miracles<div style="text-align: justify;">
The following is a response I wrote for an atheist friend who asked for personal accounts of miracles, which they then defined as âsomething that defies the known laws of physics.â They stated that while they had heard many stories of unusual events, they believed the causes to be perfectly rational and natural. In my response, I both relayed a personal experience I had a couple of years ago and made the argument that miracles are in fact perfectly rational and natural and that the definition which she used is a modern straw man created by David Hume, and not the classical definition of a miracle.</div>
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<i>A Personal Experience of a Miracle</i></div>
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To begin, I'd like to describe an event that happened to me two years ago, which doesn't defy any laws of physics, but which was extremely (on orders of magnitude) unlikely. I was moonlighting as a security guard, with a number of properties to watch during the night, including a lot with a large number of U-Haul trucks. I never visually checked inside the cabs if they were locked (which they always were) as the windows were above my eye level, and generally just walked around without investigating the particular trucks too closely. My attention instead was on making sure there was no visible damage or noticeable signs of a break-in. One night, I was walking in front of one of the rows of trucks, when the truck immediately to my left suddenly flashed its lights. This was obviously extremely startling. When I checked the cab, I found a small boy sleeping (perhaps 8-9 years old), who must have accidentally kicked the lights causing them to engage at the exact moment I walked by.</div>
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Long story short, the boy had been missing for a week, and hadn't eaten or drunk anything for a number of days. He was very frightened, exhausted, without a jacket or any protective clothing, and the temperatures were sub-freezing. After calming him and assuring him that he wasn't in any trouble, I was able to give him my jacket and small sips of coffee while I called the police, who came with paramedics and child services. I am convinced that if I hadn't found him that night, he likely would have succumbed to the elements.</div>
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Now did this break any laws of physics? No, it did not. But if I hadn't been in that exact position, at that exact moment (with maybe a second or two of leeway), and if he hadn't kicked that light (I assume he did) and it hadn't engaged for a split second to alert me to his presence, then thereâs a very real likelihood that he would have died. Due to its extreme improbability, I consider that a miracle, whereby God (maybe on a subconscious level) interacted with both our minds to cause us to be at the exactly right place at the exactly right time.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i>The (Often Misunderstood) Nature of Miracles</i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
A miracle doesn't have to break the laws of physics. That has never strictly been its definition, even in ancient times. It simply needs to be evidence of an outside Intelligence interacting within those laws, to effect a result that is outside our normal human experience. As Thomas Aquinas wrote, a miracle is simply an event whose source is âapart from the general order of thingsâ and not necessarily contrary to it (1). As far as I can tell, Hume was the first to insist they break natural laws, so that he could build a straw man to knock down using circular reasoning (that miracles can't happen since they break the laws of nature, and human experience shows the laws of nature unbroken, because miracles are never observed)(2).</div>
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I perceived God's presence in that moment the same way I perceive that those I interact with through social media are actual people, based on their tweets, shares, and comments. I don't have any proof that the letters which are posted aren't just a random arrangement of electrical signals that erroneously appeared in the system. I don't have any proof that a social media account is not a non-human bot. But our online interaction demonstrates to me that you exist; in a similar way to how the episode that I experienced above demonstrated to me God's miraculous care in that moment. That interaction between minds, and the perception of outside consciousness intervening in the situation still constitutes a genuine miracle. It is the very unlikelihood of an event occurring naturally and without interference which alerts us to the presence of intelligent interaction (whether among humans or with the Divine).</div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i>The Granddaddy of All Miracles: The Resurrection of Christ</i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
So, what about the reports of miracles we have that are less subtle and truly extraordinary? For that, I suggest we look at the miracle of miracles, the singular one on which the entire Christian faith rests, the resurrection of Jesus. Now, the popular argument that I hear most often against it runs along the circular reasoning of Hume referenced above. Resurrections donât happen, because if they did happen, it would be observed within the laws of nature and would consistently happen all the time under the right conditions. The problem is that the laws of nature are by necessity generalizations of human experience and not immutable realities. âLaws of natureâ are predictive and descriptive, not proscriptive the way we think of human laws. They are simply what we have consistently observed in nature. Since we have not consistently observed all possible conditions, we cannot know all characteristics of the natural order. This uncertainty is highlighted by discoveries over the past several decades within the field of quantum mechanics.</div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
As Heisenberg observed, there are limits to the extent to which we can measure the complementary variables (such as position and momentum) of particles. For instance, if we know a photonâs exact position, we canât know itâs momentum and vice versa. So our knowledge of these particles includes a probabilistic range of behavior. As weâve learned more about the cosmos, weâve realized that the classical assumptions about its deterministic behavior are wrong. The future isnât a predetermined reality, it is an uncreated (until it is created as the present) range of potentialities, many of which are much more likely to happen than others.</div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
Within this almost infinite range of realities, there are quite possibly (but extremely unlikely) conditions which lead to the resurrection of a body. If an outside Intelligence, with perfect knowledge of those conditions, interacts with the cosmos in a way that doesnât change the probability of such an event happening in any given moment, then they cannot be said to have necessarily âbrokenâ the laws of nature, even by effecting a resurrection. Since such an event is so extremely unlikely, if credible reports of a resurrection arise, it does not necessarily mean they are false (unless the reports themselves are unreliable). Rather, with numerous credible reports (which Christians believe we have in the New Testament and early Apostolic accounts), the likelihood of the source being an omnipotent Intelligence increases.</div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
Additionally, given the wide range of possibilities within the natural order, it may be that God acts in such a way so as to not upset the likelihood of expected outcomes. This does not mean miracles are violations of the natural order (as David Hume presumed) but rather unlikely events which disturb the natural operation of the cosmos, suggesting to us the presence of and interaction with an outside Intelligence, in the same way that every day interactions with the effects of other humanâs actions convince us that there are other intelligent beings which exist besides ourselves. Miraculous effects then are observed to be within the natural order, but their source (whether by degrees or outright) is beyond it (3).</div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
Christians, just like skeptics, recognize the extreme improbability associated with miracles. And we should insist that all possibilities be investigated when reports arise. However, given the wide range of human experience and the very nature by which we perceive Intelligence, I do not think we can simply brush aside credible reports when they arise with the outdated Humean response that âmiracles donât happen because the laws of nature prohibit them.â The laws of nature do no such thing because the laws of nature (as characteristics of observed effects) donât actually do anything.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i>Sources</i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
(1) Aquinas, Thomas. Summa Contra Gentiles. 3.101.1. Transl. by Vernon J. Bourke.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
(2) Hume, David. An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding. 10.1.</div>
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(3) Aquinas. Summa Contra Gentiles. 3.101.2.<br />
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*Edited for clarity.</div>
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#miracles #theism #atheism #philosophy #reason #science #experience</div>
Pastor Ianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14957702267272140495noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21455061.post-73756602431103760232018-09-04T08:35:00.002-07:002018-09-04T08:59:27.870-07:00Understanding God's Love vs. God's Wrath<div style="text-align: justify;">
My sister recently commented that of all the questions she'd want to ask God is first and foremost, "How do you balance the whole wrath and fury thing with love and compassion?"</div>
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Here is my response.</div>
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That question used to bother me a ton (it sometimes still does). How do we reconcile ideas about God's wrath with those about God's love? I think the key is in realizing that wrath isn't the opposite of love. It's the opposite of mercy and is the consequence of justice (just as mercy is the consequence of compassion). Showing mercy to one is denying justice to another; and yet both justice and mercy are attributes of love.</div>
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Understood this way, we see that wrath isn't an expression of God's anger at being hurt (just as we often confuse "love" with an emotional response, we do the same for "wrath"). It is an expression of his justice in consequence of our abusing not only God, but also creation and each other. Wrath is as much a part of God's love as is compassion. If there was no wrath, no justice, then how could a rape victim cry out to God in their anguish? How could a homeless man, repeatedly beaten down by the world, turn to God for any kind of hope? Who could an abused child turn to?</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Hypothetically, if God had just decided to forget our past sins and skip the Incarnation, death, and resurrection; the blood of the innocent would still cry out from the ground and our cycles of injustice, oppression, violence and death would spiral ever deeper until humanity wiped out all life (including itself). So God took the wrathful death which we deserved as a consequence of justice (itself being a characteristic of God's love for the innocent and downtrodden) on himself in Christ and conquered it in the resurrection.</div>
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A perfect example of this is the story of Noah's Ark, which is as much a warning for the future as it is a story about the past. In that story, the ark could be said to be Christ carrying the world through the waters of death into new life (think of baptism) and a new covenental relationship between God, humanity and the rest of creation. If there were no ark, no flood, and no new covenant; then humanity would have perpetuated the pre-flood cycles of violence to the point that it would have wiped out all of creation, with no remnant left to be saved.</div>
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It becomes less a question of balance, and more one of fulfillment. How could God's love toward a selfish, death-dealing, abusive humanity be realized to its fullest extent? Only in the incarnation, death, and resurrection of Jesus...</div>
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#God #love #wrath #justice #compassion</div>
Pastor Ianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14957702267272140495noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21455061.post-70201265101811481622018-06-21T17:34:00.003-07:002020-01-04T13:40:09.178-08:00A Part of Something Greater, Part I: Apostolic Succession<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i>This post lays out the reasons I pursued ordination in the Church of the Nazarene as well as a brief foray into some of the more controversial subjects associated with ordination, such as apostolic succession and the ordination of women. Itâs my hope that this post provides a bit of a corrective to the all-too-often underdeveloped ecclesiology of many Evangelicals. At the end, I also included my lineage of apostolic succession traced all the way back to Jesus. Enjoy!</i></div>
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This past weekend I loaded my family into the minivan and we made the three hour drive up to Denver, where I was ordained an elder in the Church of the Nazarene. During the long drive, I had time to reflect on just what all this meant, and how I had come to the place where I would soon be formally consecrated to a lifetime of service. If you had asked me in High School or even in College if I was going to be a pastor, I probably would have laughed at the idea. But God has the habit of making funny ideas stick, and as I was drawn more and more into ministry, I eventually experienced the call to full-time pastoral ministry while deployed with the Army to Afghanistan in 2013.</div>
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During this time, I also reflected on what ordination really means. In our individualistically American flavor of the Evangelical faith, community often takes a back seat and authority figures are mistrusted. After all, one of the central foundational beliefs of the Protestant Reformation was the affirmation of the priesthood of all believers (1); and with it, the belief that the Holy Spirit enables Christ followers everywhere, whether lay or ordained, to study and interpret scripture for themselves. Unfortunately for many, the individual becomes the highest authority for scriptural interpretation, with no regard for historical, cultural, or textual context or how the text was received through the tradition of the Church. Add to this juicy narratives of corrupt clergy in popular culture and itâs a wonder anyone would seek ordination at all.</div>
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<i>The âWhy?â of Ordination</i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
So why do we need ordained elders and deacons? Well, frankly because it is biblical. Not only is communal fellowship, worship, and support extolled repeatedly in scripture as necessary to the Christian walk (2) with Paul even calling it âthe law of Christâ in Gal. 6:2; but the two-fold ordination system is itself prefigured in the designation of Jesusâ closest twelve followers as Apostles (3), and his extended seventy-two followers who are likewise âsent" and who, along with the twelve, prefigure the spread of His Gospel, first to Israel and then to the whole World (4).</div>
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Those who are âsentâ in this way find their model in the Apostle Paul himself, who is called by God and whose call is then confirmed through the work of the Holy Spirit in community (5). It is clear in Paulâs treatise on the uniquely different roles of members in Christâs body, that not all are called in this way (6) but all are called to be ministers of the Gospel in their own unique way. For those called to be sent out as leaders in the Christian community, their call is to be recognized and initiated by the apostolic laying on of hands (7) an act which is itself understood to be a means of grace by which the recipient is enabled by the Holy Spirit to minister with special authority in the Church (8).</div>
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That this ordination initially consisted of a dual system (of presbyter-bishops and deacons) rather than a tripartite one (of deacons, presbyters, and bishops) is evident in Titus 1:5-8 and 1 Pet. 5:1-2, where both <i>presbyteros</i> (translated âelderâ and transliterated âpriestâ) and <i>episkopos</i> (translated âoverseerâ or âsuperintendentâ and transliterated âbishopâ) are used interchangeably to refer to leaders of congregations. This is further confirmed by the fact that a council of elders ordained Timothy in 1 Tim. 4:14, rather than explicitly bishops. Additionally, in Phi. 1:1 overseers and deacons are greeted, but not elders, presumably because elders are the same as overseers. Finally, the qualifications for overseers and deacons outlined in 1 Tim. 3 clearly envision a system of dual ordination rather than tripartite ordination.</div>
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<i>The Sacred Responsibility of Ordination</i></div>
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The sacred responsibility associated with the authority received through laying on hands is grave enough to warrant detailed instructions on the required character of those to be ordained (9), as well as a warning that the one ordaining another shares responsibility for their actions (10). This authority has been passed on through the laying on of hands from the original apostles to every elder-overseer since as a confirmation of the special calling by the Holy Spirit to certain women and men throughout the ages.</div>
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Thatâs right, I said women. That the call to the orders of elder and deacon are open to women as well as men is evidenced by Paulâs recognition of Junia as an apostle in Rom. 16:7, Phoebe as a deacon and Paulâs emissary to Rome in v. 1 of the same chapter, and the New Testamentâs repeated references to the missionary team Priscilla and Aquila who also led a house church, where Prisca is often listed first in precedence (11). Jesus regularly pushed the cultural gender barriers of his time, and women formed an integral part of his ministry. The argument that Jesus had twelve male apostles (to the exclusion of women) ignores the limited scope of his ministry which was initially restricted only to Jews as well (12). But just as the Gospel message was opened to the Gentiles in the apostolic era, an act which was prefigured multiple times in Jesusâ ministry; so also was it opened to women. After all, the division between Jew and Gentile at the time was at least as large as that between men and women, and yet the Gospel message was to transcend all these divisions.</div>
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The argument that 1 Cor. 14:33-35 and 1 Tim. 2:11-14 explicitly prohibit women from speaking in churches (13) ignores the great redefining statement of human relationships in Gal. 3:28 (ESV) that in Christ âthere is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female.â Additionally, the placement of the emphatic challenge in v. 36 of the 1 Cor. passage suggests that Paul may have been quoting (and correcting) a popular slogan among the Corinthians, as he does later in the same letter (14). As for the passage in 1 Tim., it may be that the writer is referring only to the churches over which Timothy is to take charge, as a concession to cultural expectation. From context, it is evident that Timothy was not being charged to lead the Church Universal, but rather was tasked with the leadership of a particular grouping of churches (likely around Ephesus, where tradition holds he was later martyred), and so it would make sense that instructions to him be contextualized as well (15). The fact that his reasoning includes the fallen submissive state of Eve seems to contradict the understanding set forth in Galatians and elsewhere that in Christ, the curse which afflicted human relationships with inequality is lifted. Finally, it is worth noting that the very Incarnate Word of God was brought into the World by a woman (16), and that it was women who first preached the risen Christ to the apostles (17). If the Apostles themselves received the Word from women, then who can say that women are unable to preach the Word today?</div>
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<i>The Safeguard of Apostolic Succession</i></div>
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The term âapostolic successionâ is one which most Protestants probably arenât at all familiar with, even though it governs the theology of ordination for 72% of all Trinitarian Christians (18)(19). This means that almost ž of all Christians believe that it is essential that an ordained minister can trace their lineage back to the original apostles through the laying on of hands by bishops (or, as I argued above, elder-bishops) throughout the ages. Itâs such a big deal for the majority of Christians, that one of the common arguments against churches with Congregational or Presbyterian polities (which includes the vast majority of Reformed, Baptist, Pentecostal and Non-Denominational congregations) is that they donât have apostolic succession, and so their clergy have no authority. This objection to the authority of a significant number of Protestant elders (and the legitimacy of their preaching and sacraments) is a major stumbling block to Christian unity.</div>
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For some, this might not be a big deal. But I, like the vast majority of Christians, including the Church of the Nazarene, affirm the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creedâs statement that there is only âOne, Holy, Universal, and Apostolic Churchâ (20)(21). And I take seriously Jesusâ prayer in John 17:21 (ESV) that we âmay all be oneâ just as Jesus and the Father are one (22). This means that there is only one Church and it must be Apostolic.</div>
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Many of the communions with an episcopal polity believe that their distinct communion is the only true Church. Other churches with valid apostolic succession, and therefore valid sacraments, are defined as âparticular churchesâ by the Roman Catholic Church, while those without are defined as âecclesial communities. They generally understand catholicity (universal character) and oneness to refer to practical polity as well as spiritual reality; and apostolicity as being defined by both a valid line of succession from apostles to bishops, and through them to priests and deacons, as well as orthodox belief (23).</div>
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However, since I believe there are only two orders of ordination (that of elder-bishop and deacon) as affirmed by the New Testament and by John Wesley (24)(25), with the order of bishop being a later development which essentially delegated the tasks of bishops to those who had already been ordained into the order of elder-bishop; that means that I also believe any elder can lay hands on another and ordain them (as long as they also maintain the stream of orthodox belief as affirmed by the scriptures and early creeds). For the sake of order, if a church has bishops, then its elders should refrain from ordaining; but if necessity arises, I believe any elder has the apostolic authority to ordain. I also believe that ordination within the Church of the Nazarene does not simply mean I am ordained into the Nazarene denomination, but that I am ordained through the Nazarene denomination into the Church Universal (26).</div>
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Essentially, I believe most ordinations within Trinitarian churches have valid apostolic succession, even if many in those churches donât fully understand what that means. This paves the way for better inter-church relations between denominations. Though I donât think it necessary for all churches to merge into one polity, I do think it is essential to the biblical mandate to Christian unity that we at least recognize the legitimacy of other orthodox denominationsâ ordinations, sacraments, and right to exist. And to that end, a mutual understanding of apostolic succession among all the churches becomes necessary.</div>
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<i>Why the Church of the Nazarene?</i></div>
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So, why did I get ordained in the Church of the Nazarene? Well, number one, because the Holy Spirit called me to a lifetime consecrated to full devotion to Christ and the service of His Church in Word and Sacrament. Itâs true that I could have done that in a number of denominations, but after much study, I decided that Nazarene doctrines best reflect scriptural orthodoxy: especially in its Wesleyan-Holiness emphasis that God can free us from sin in this life by the consecrating, sanctifying power of the Holy Spirit (27); its affirmation of the early ecumenical creeds (28); its Arminian belief that God has restored the human will to be able to either receive or reject grace (29); that grace can be walked away from after having been received (30); that that the Sacraments are means of grace and not only symbols (31); its use of both infant and believerâs baptism (32); and its dual system of ordination for both women and men (33).</div>
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To address each of these (often contentious) theological assertions would require a bunch more posts, but they were instrumental in my move away from a more Reformed understanding of Scripture. And though the manual never explicitly mentions âapostolic successionâ, I believe history demonstrates that our succession is valid along the theological lines I laid out in the paragraphs above.</div>
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<i>My Spiritual Lineage</i></div>
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So without further ado, both to outline my claim to apostolic succession and for pure historical curiosity, Iâve included the line ordination from me going all the way back to the apostles below:</div>
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I was ordained June 16, 2018 through the laying on of hands at the Colorado District Assembly of the Church of the Nazarene by General Superintendent Dr. Gustavo A. Crocker, District Superintendent Dr. David Ralph, and all the Elders present; Dr. Crocker using these words:</div>
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<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>âIan Devlin Leigh Hyde, I charge thee before God and before the Church, preach the Word, watch thou in all things, endure affliction, do the work of an evangelist, discharge the duties of your ministry, and take thou authority to administer the sacraments and to lead in the Church of Jesus Christ. And now, Ian Devlin Leigh Hyde, by the power vested in me as a General Superintendent of the Church of the Nazarene, I ordain thee elder in the Church of God, in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.â</blockquote>
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Of the Nazarene General SuperintendentsâŚ</div>
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Dr. Gustavo A. Crocker was ordained in 2003 by General Superintendent Paul G. Cunningham. Paul G. Cunningham in 1965 by Gen. Sup. Hugh C. Benner. Hugh C. Benner in 1923 by Gen. Sup. Roy T. Williams. Roy T. Williams in 1908 by Gen. Sup. Hiram F. Reynolds. Hiram F. Reynolds in 1886 by Bishop John Fletcher Hurst (Methodist Episcopal Church) (34)(35).</div>
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Of the Methodist bishopsâŚ</div>
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John Fletcher Hurst in 1862 by Bishop Thomas Asbury Morris (36). Thomas Asbury Morris ca. 1820 by Bishop Robert Richford Roberts (37). Robert Richford Roberts in 1802 by Bishop Francis Asbury (38). Francis Asbury in 1784 by Superintendent Thomas Coke (39). Thomas Coke in 1784 by Rev. John Wesley (Church of England) (40)(41). John Wesley was ordained presbyter in 1728 by Bishop (of Oxford) John Potter (42) and possibly consecrated bishop in 1763 by Bishop (of Arcadia) Erasmus (Eastern Orthodox Church)(43)(44).</div>
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Of the Anglican bishopsâŚ</div>
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John Potter was consecrated bishop in 1715 (45)(46). Jonathan Trelawney in 1685. William Sancroft in 1678. Henry Compton in 1674. Gilbert Sheldon in 1660. Brian Duppa in 1638. William Laud in 1621. George Montaigne in 1617. George Abbot in 1609. Richard Bancroft in 1597. John Whitgift in 1577. Edmund Grindal in 1559. Matthew Parker in 1559. William Barlow in 1536. Thomas Cranmer in 1533.</div>
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Of the bishops before the English ReformationâŚ</div>
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John Longland(s) in 1521 (Roman Catholic Church). William Warham in 1502. Richard Fitzjames in 1497. John Morton in 1479. Thomas Bourchier in 1435. Henry Beaufort in 1398. Roger Walden in 1398. Robert Braybrooke in 1382. Thomas Brentingham in 1370. Simon Sudbury in 1362. William Edendon in 1346. Ralph Stratford in 1340. Robert Wyvil in 1330. Roger Northborough in 1322. John of Halton in 1292. Anthony Beck in 1284. Henry in 1255. Walter Kirkham in 1249. Walter de Gray in 1214. William of S. Mere LâEglise in 1199. Gilbert Glanville in 1185. Peter de Leia in 1176. Roger of Cloucester in 1164. Thomas Becket in 1162. Henry of Blois in 1129. William of Corbeuil in 1123. Richard de Belmeis in 1108. Anselm in 1074. Thomas in 1070. Lanfranc in 1070. Siward in 1058.</div>
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Of the English bishops before the Great SchismâŚ</div>
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Stigand in 1043. Eadsige in 1035. Ethelnoth in 1020. Wulfstan in 1003. Elfric in 990. Aelphage in 984. Dunstan in 957. Odo in 927. Wulfhelm in 914. Althelm in 909. Plegmund in 891 (47).</div>
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Of the Roman Catholic PopesâŚ</div>
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Formosus in 864 (48). Nicholas I in 858 (49)(50). Benedict III in 855. Leo IV in 847. Sergius II in 844. Gregory IV in 827. Valentine in 827. Eugene II in 824. Paschal I in 817. Stephen IV (V) in 816. Leo III in 795. Adrian I in 772. Stephen III (IV) in 767. Paul I in 757. Stephen II (III) in 752. Zachary in 741. Gregory III in 731. Gregory II in 715. Constantine in 708. Sisinnius in 708. John VII in 705. John VI in 701. Sergius I in 687. Conon in 686. John V in 685. Benedict II in 684. Leo II in 682. Agatho in 678. Donus in 676. Adeodatus (II) in 672. Vitalian in 657. Eugene I in 655. Martin I in 649. Theodore I in 642. John IV in 640. Severinus in 640. Honorius I in 625. Boniface V in 619. Deusdedit (Adeodatus I) in 615. Boniface IV in 608. Boniface III in 607. Sabinian in 604. Gregory I in 590. Pelagius II in 579. Benedict I in 575. John III in 561. Pelagius I in 556. Vigilus in 537. Silverius in 536. Agapetus I in 535. John II in 533. Boniface II in 530. Felix IV (III) in 526. John I in 523. Hormisdas in 514. Symmachus in 498. Anastasius II in 496. Gelasius I in 492. Felix III (II) in 483.</div>
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Of the Popes consecrated before the fall of the Western Roman EmpireâŚ</div>
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Simplicius in 468. Hilarius in 461. Leo I in 440. Sixtus III in 432. Celestine I in 422. Boniface I in 418. Zosimus in 417. Innocent I in 401. Anastasius I in 399. Siricius in 384. Damasus I in 366. Liberius in 352. Julius I in 337. Marcus in 336.</div>
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Of the Ante-Nicene PopesâŚ</div>
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Sylvester I in 314. Miltiades in 311. Eusebius in 309. Marcellus I in 308. Marcellinus in 296. Caius in 283. Eutychian in 275. Felix I in 269. Dionysius in 260. Sixtus II in 257. Stephen I in 254. Lucius I in 253. Cornelius I in 251. Fabian in 236. Anterus in 235. Pontain in 230. Urban I in 222. Callistus I in 217. Zephyrinus in 199. Victor I in 189. Eleutherius in 175. Soter in 166. Anicetus in 155. Pius I in 140. Hyginus in 136. Telesphorus in 125. Sixtus I in 115. Alexander I in 105. Evaristus in 97.</div>
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Of the Apostolic Fathers to the ApostlesâŚ</div>
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Clement I in 88. Anacletus (Cletus) in 76. Linus in 67. Peter in 32. Jesus!</div>
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<i>Footnotes</i></div>
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(1) Cf. Mat. 28:18-20; 1 Pet. 2:5; Rev. 5:9-10.</div>
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(2) Cf. Gen. 2:18; Ecc. 4:9-10; Eph. 4:2-3.</div>
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(3) The word âapostleâ comes from the Greek apostolos used first in Mat. 10:2 in reference to the twelve closest followers of Jesus and is continually used throughout the New Testament, referring not only to the original twelve, but also specifically Paul and Barnabas in Acts 13:1-3, where they are also consecrated (âset apartâ) and ordained through the laying on of hands.</div>
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(4) Luk. 10:1-16.</div>
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(5) Acts 13:1-3.</div>
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(6) 1 Cor. 12:27-31.</div>
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(7) Referenced in Acts 6:1-6 when the first seven deacons are ordained by the apostles, and in Acts. 13:1-3 when Paul and Barnabas are ordained as apostles.</div>
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(8) 1 Tim. 4:14; 2 Tim. 1:6.</div>
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(9) 1 Tim. 3; Titus 1:5-8.</div>
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(10) 1 Tim. 5:22.</div>
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(11) Acts 18:18, Rom. 6:3, 2 Tim. 4:19; cf. Acts 18:2-3 and 1 Cor. 16:19 where Aquila is mentioned first.</div>
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(12) Mat. 10:5-6; 15:24.</div>
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(13)<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>âSpeaking in churchesâ or preaching is a fundamental task associated with the apostles. Cf. Acts 6:2.</div>
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(14) Cf. 1 Cor. 15:29-34. Also Cf. Verlyn D. Verbrugge. â1 Corinthians.â <i>The Expositorâs Bible Commentary: Revised Edition</i>. Vol. 11. Ed. By Tremper Longman III & David E. Garland. (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2008), 387. Only here, the commentator argues against it solely based on the passageâs length.</div>
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(15)<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>âApostle Timothy of the Seventy.â Orthodox Church in America. Web. Retrieved Jun. 21, 2018.</div>
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(16)<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> Cf. Mat. 1:18-2:23; Luk. 2:1-20, John 1:14.</div>
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(17)<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> Luk. 24:9.</div>
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(18)<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Out of 2.385 billion Trinitarian Christians, 1.726 billion belong to either the Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, or Anglican Communions. The number of churches which adhere to apostolic succession is actually a little higher, as the Assyrian Church of the East, as well as some Lutheran and Methodist bodies emphasize its importance as well.</div>
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(19)<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>âList of Christian Denominations by Number of Members.â Wikipedia. Web. Retrieved Jun. 21, 2018.</div>
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(20) âHistorical Statement.â <i>Manual 2017-2021</i>. Church of the Nazarene. Web. Retrieved Jun. 21, 2018.</div>
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(21)<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>âThe Nicene Creed.â <i>Creeds of Christendom, with a History and Critical Notes, Vol. 1</i>. Christian Classics Ethereal Library. Web. Retrieved Jun. 21, 2018.</div>
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(22) Cf. John 10:30.</div>
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(23) I define âorthodox beliefâ as that which affirms the validity of scripture, the writings of the apostolic fathers, and the pre-schism creeds of the 4th century in ordering Christian belief and practice. After the schisms, beginning with the separation of the Assyrian Church of the East, and continuing through the schisms with the Oriental Orthodox, Eastern Orthodox, and Protestant churches, I believe no single polity can lay claim to full catholicity or oneness as laid out in the Nicene Creed.</div>
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(24) Through whom I also trace my apostolic succession. Wesley observed that for two centuries the Alexandrian Church (which all major communions agree still holds apostolic succession) ordained through presbyters alone.</div>
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(25) McClintock, John. <i>Cyclopaedia of Biblical, Theological, and Ecclesiastical Literature. Vol. 6</i>. P. 170. Web. Retrieved Jun. 21, 2018.</div>
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(26) Para. 502. âTheology of Ordination.â <i>Manual 2017-2021</i>. Church of the Nazarene. Web. Retrieved Jun. 21, 2018.</div>
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(27) Ibid. Para. 10.</div>
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(28) Particularly the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed and the Apostlesâ Creed.</div>
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(29) Ibid. Para. 7.</div>
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(30) Ibid. Para. 8.</div>
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(31)<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Ibid. Para. 12-13.</div>
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(32) Ibid. Para. 12.</div>
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(33) Ibid. Para. 502.</div>
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(34) âGeneral Superintendent (Church of the Nazarene).â Wikipedia. Web. Retrieved Jun. 21, 2018.<br />
(35) âVermont Conferenceâ in <i>Annual Conferences of the Methodist Episcopal Church: Spring Conferences of 1886</i>. (New York: Phillips & Hunt, 1886), p. 66.</div>
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(36) âJohn Fletcher Hurst.â Wikipedia. Web. Retrieved Jun. 21, 2018.</div>
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(37) âThomas Asbury Morris.â Wikipedia. Web. Retrieved Jun. 21, 2018.</div>
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(38)<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> âRobert Richford Roberts.â Wikipedia. Web. Retrieved Jun. 21, 2018.</div>
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(39) âFrancis Asbury.â <i>Christian History</i>. Christianity Today. Web. Retrieved Jun. 21, 2018.</div>
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(40) Though ordained Superintendent in 1784 by John Wesley, Coke had already been ordained a presbyter in the Church of England in 1772. If one affirms that elders and bishops form a single order, then this should be the date recorded. But since he took on the role out of necessity, due to the lack of Anglican clergy available to administer the sacraments in the United States after the American Revolution, Wesley confirmed the call by consecrating him in 1784. It was this necessity which also prompted Wesleyâs move to take on the role of bishop, which had lain dormant in his role as presbyter in the Church of England, but which was nonetheless valid by virtue of his ordination as presbyter-bishop.</div>
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(41) âThomas Coke (Bishop).â Wikipedia. Web. Retrieved Jun. 21, 2018.</div>
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(42) âJohn Potter (Bishop).â Wikipedia. Web. Retrieved Jun. 21, 2018.</div>
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(43) There is hotly debated evidence that John Wesley may have been consecrated a bishop in 1763 during a private meeting with an Eastern Orthodox bishop named Erasmus of Arcadia. The validity of this evidence would require a whole other paper, but if it is true, then the rest of the lineage would be through the Eastern Orthodox bishops of Arcadia and the Patriarchs of Antioch (rather than through the Church of England and the Roman Catholic Church); though they would still end at Peter just as the line through the Popes of Rome does.<br />
(44) Cooke, Richard J. <i>The Historic Episcopate: A Study of Anglican Claims and Methodist Orders. </i>(Eaton & Mains, 1896), 144-145.</div>
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(45) âPotter, John.â <i>Encyclopaedia Brittanica</i>. 1911 ed. Web. Retrieved Jun. 21, 2018.</div>
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(46) Drews, Carl. âThe Apostolic Succession of the Anglican Mission in America.â 2004. Web. Retrieved Jun. 21, 2018. Used as the source for John Potter through Nicholas I.</div>
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(47) The first Archbishop of Canterbury in this line of succession.</div>
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(48) The last Pope of Rome in this line of succession.</div>
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(49) The dates for Nicholas I to Peter correspond to their consecrations as Pope of Rome. Whether they were consecrated bishops before this date is unknown in many cases.</div>
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(50) âList of Popes.â <i>New Advent Catholic Encyclopedia</i>. Web. Retrieved Jun. 21, 2018. Used as the source for Nicholas the 1 through Peter. Agrees with the list by Carl Drews, cited above.<br />
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Note: A special thanks to Jared K. Henry, whose own efforts to trace his lineage of apostolic succession in his post âMy Ordination Means Something...â on his blog, <i>Taking the High Road</i>, inspired me to do the same.<br />
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#Apostles #Ordination #Women #OrdinationOfWomen #ApostolicSuccession #Nazarene #ChurchOfTheNazarene</div>
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Pastor Ianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14957702267272140495noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21455061.post-24104473545709320052018-05-02T18:09:00.003-07:002018-05-03T14:09:02.669-07:00The God Who NurturesMotherâs Day is right around the corner. Itâs a time when we honor those women who brought us into the world, nurtured us as we grew, and loved us even when the things we did were unlovable. In fact, a motherâs love is so unique and legendary, thereâs an idiom for those of us blessed with rougher features better suited for radio. We have âa face only a mother could love.â Thereâs nothing quite like a motherâs love, and to be honest, to honor them one day a year is much, much less than they deserve.<br />
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Now when we think of God, we often donât think of Him in motherly terms. Thereâs a solid theological reason for using fatherly language when we pray or talk about God. Jesus repeatedly refers to God as âthe Fatherâ especially in Johnâs Gospel, and the Old Testament prophets often refer to God as a Father to Israel (cf. Jer. 31:9, Isa. 63:16, 64:8, etc.). And thereâs good reason for this. Fatherly terms serve to highlight both the Fatherâs closeness to Christ and through him the Church in the New Testament and to Israel in the Old, while also highlighting his roles as Protector, Provider, Redeemer, and Creator (who did not need a consort, unlike many of the pagan creator deities popular at the time).<br />
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But what many people arenât aware of are the many instances in which scripture uses motherly terms to describe Godâs relationship to us. For instance, the verb translated as âMaker of heaven and earthâ to describe God in Gen. 14: 19, 22 (RSV) is the same verb Eve uses when she describes herself giving birth to or âmakingâ Cain in Gen. 4:1.<br />
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Additionally, the same verb is used to describe Godâs creation of personified Wisdom in Prov. 8:22, and God is described as both âfatheringâ and âgiving birthâ to the people of Israel in Deu. 32:18. Finally, and perhaps most beautifully, God is compared to a mother comforting her son in Isa. 66:13 and to a compassionate, nursing mother in Isa. 49:15.<br />
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It is clear from scripture that God is not only a valiant Protector, Provider, and Redeemer; God is also our Birth-Giver, Nurturer, and Comforter. Just as humanity is not fully represented by either male or female alone, but rather both together were created in the image of God (cf. Gen. 1:27); so also God is not fully reflected in our theology or Christian lives unless we recognize that He models both perfect fatherhood and perfect motherhood for us.<br />
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So, this Motherâs Day, as we remember those who gave birth to us, and spent their lives nurturing and comforting us; let us also remember to praise the One who gives birth to the new life we are promised in the Spirit, which our spirits and even all creation groans for (Rom. 8:22-26). <br />
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#MothersDay #Motherhood #Theology<br />
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Pastor Ianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14957702267272140495noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21455061.post-32277014383727870612018-03-09T19:44:00.002-08:002018-03-09T19:44:31.418-08:00Lent: Finding Your Rhythm<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i>Originally delivered as a sermon on March 09, 2018.</i></div>
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Many of you donât know this, and itâs a fact that Iâve attempted to keep well hidden since I got here, but I play the drums⌠badly. I play the drums badly. I rush, I get tripped on on fills, I compete with the bassist for the pacing and back when I was single, I competed with the lead singer for the attention of the ladies!. You would think that after all these years, I would have gotten better at playing; but no, I think Iâve gotten worse! Itâs because I have an almost uncanny knack for completely missing the rhythm of a song. Itâs not just restricted to drums, when I go to weddings and am expected to dance, Marcia has to wear steel-toed boots!</div>
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Now, admit it, weâve all been there. How many of us have, when singing a worship song, come in a half measure on the chorus before everyone else. Anyone here done that? Just me? Well, I can tell you it can be a little bit jarring. One second, our attention is focused on God (or on what weâre going to eat for lunch), and the next weâre snapped out of the song and we begin wondering how many people around us heard that slip up. It can be confusing and embarrassing, as we stumble to get back on track with everyone else in the song.</div>
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You know, life is like that. We feel most comfortable when we are in a rhythm. We get up, brush our teeth, maybe quickly eat breakfast, rush out the door, work, come home, plop in front of the TV for a bit, and then go to bed. Or maybe instead of work, itâs school. And instead of TV itâs social media. And instead of breakfast, itâs a quick cup of coffee because we woke up ten minutes late. But just like when singing that song, something jars us out of our routine. Maybe itâs a bad diagnosis from the doc, maybe itâs a new baby, or it might be news that we just got accepted into the college that we want, or that we got a promotion, but we have to move to a new town. Or maybe itâs a personal or family tragedy. All of a sudden, we are reeling with the changes and trying to figure out how we could possibly get our rhythm back.</div>
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Or something entirely different might happen. Often, it isnât just one jarring experience which throws us and leaves us reeling that causes us to lose our bearings. Sometimes, we just find ourselves swamped with work, chores, our schedules, or our own goal-driven and individualistic tendencies that we soon find we have drifted from those we consider to be close friends and families. This is very common and I would say almost endemic to our culture. We, as a society, paradoxically prize our independence and yet collectively tend to feel more alone than ever. Just a few years ago, for the first time in American history, more adults were living alone than with others in a family unit. The majority of marriages end in divorce. And social media, while technologically connecting us to thousands of people in ways not dreamed of in a previous generation, increases the alienation as relationships lack the face-to-face element we all crave. I actually think that the rising suicide rates over the past decades and the current opioid crisis are devastating reminders that our people carry deep, often hidden wounds of loneliness.</div>
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All of these worries, pressures, and feelings of isolation or alienation can make us feel like we have no rhythm. We are just trying to jump from one task to another, or from one crisis to the next. And this is why the Lenten Season is perhaps more important today than at any other time in our cultural history. Lent reminds us that we need rhythm. We were made for it and it is counter-cultural. Rhythms of life and of seasons.</div>
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<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Ecclesiastes 3:1-11 says,<br />
<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>â1 For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:<br />
<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>2 a time to be born, and a time to die;<br />
<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;<br />
<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>3 a time to kill, and a time to heal;<br />
<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>a time to break down, and a time to build up;<br />
<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>4 a time to weep, and a time to laugh;<br />
<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>a time to mourn, and a time to dance;<br />
<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>5 a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;<br />
<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;<br />
<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>6 a time to seek, and a time to lose;<br />
<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>a time to keep, and a time to cast away;<br />
<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>7 a time to tear, and a time to sew;<br />
<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;<br />
<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>8 a time to love, and a time to hate;<br />
<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>a time for war, and a time for peace.<br />
<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>9 What gain has the worker from his toil? 10 I have seen the business that God has <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>given to the children of man to be busy with. 11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man's heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end.â(1)<br />
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Notice that this passage contains 14 pairs of opposites which is twice the number seven, and is often interpreted as signifying completion or perfection.(2) This tells us that Qohelet intends to speak to the wide range of human experiences and frame them within the natural rhythms of life. Additionally, no value statements are attached to the pairs.(3) When reading this, we may be tempted to insert a dualistic meaning into the passage, but as verse 11 says, âHe has made everything beautiful in its time.â In its time, mourning is as beautiful as dancing, weeping is as important as laughing, being torn up by the roots as inevitable as being planted in soft, rich soil.</div>
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This is the first purpose of Lent: to get us to carve out space and time to perceive and reflect on the rhythms of life, and to see how God is working through them to transform the way we see the world. To see that God is perfect even when our word and our circumstances are not. When we meet these rhythms with the understanding that there can be beauty even in the midst of suffering, and that God walks with us through it all, we can find comfort by reflecting on the eternal promise which God has placed within our hearts. Though our next moments are never guaranteed, we are drawn to a bright, beautiful hope beyond all this suffering.</div>
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But not only does Lent provide us with an opportunity to reflect on the rhythms of life, it calls us to do so together as a community. No matter how busy we are, the Lenten Season is a time when we are reminded that we were not created to handle it all alone. We need each other. And just as each individual is called to carve out space and time for repentance and reflection; we are also called to do so together. As Psalm 133:1-3 says,</div>
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<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>â1 Behold, how good and pleasant it is<br />
<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>when brothers dwell in unity!<br />
<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>2 It is like the precious oil on the head,<br />
<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> running down on the beard,<br />
<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>on the beard of Aaron,<br />
<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> running down on the collar of his robes!<br />
<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>3 It is like the dew of Hermon,<br />
<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>which falls on the mountains of Zion!<br />
<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>For there the Lord has commanded the blessing,<br />
<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> life forevermore.â(4)<br />
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In a world that struggles to find meaning and connection, we have each other. We donât have to do it all alone! Life is always more bearable when we have someone to share our burdens with; and itâs always more beautiful when we have someone to share our joys with. So tonight as we eat together, and in the coming weeks as we continue to incorporate the rhythms of prayerful reflection into our life, I encourage you to reach out to those around you, share the love of Christ and share the weight of each otherâs burdens. Because when we share the fruits of the loving transformation God is working in us, those around us cannot help but be touched and transformed in some way too.</div>
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And this is the third purpose of Lent: to encourage us to carve out the space and time, not only for personal reflection, fasting and repentance, or mutual care and fellowship, but also for taking the love of Christ to the nations and those in our community who feel forgotten or abandoned by the rest of the world. For as Isaiah 58:6-7 says,</div>
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<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>â6 Is not this the fast that I choose:<br />
<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>to loose the bonds of wickedness,<br />
<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> to undo the straps of the yoke,<br />
<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>to let the oppressed[a] go free,<br />
<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> and to break every yoke?<br />
<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>7 Is it not to share your bread with the hungry<br />
<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> and bring the homeless poor into your house;<br />
<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>when you see the naked, to cover him,<br />
<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> and not to hide yourself from your own flesh?â(5)<br />
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While internal reflection and confession are essential to the Lenten experience, if our actions do not reflect the change we are experiencing inside, then it might mean we are holding something back from God. However if you act on your faith, and allow service to others to become as much an expression of prayer and fasting as your thoughts or words, then I think you will find God can transform us just as much through acts of love as he can during quiet reflection and prayer.</div>
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This might mean volunteering with a program at your church, or helping with a non-profit in the area. Or it could simply mean bringing a pan of brownies to neighbors you havenât met, or helping run errands for the elderly in your neighborhood. Or it may mean comforting someone in your life who has experienced loss or is hurting, offering them not platitudes, but presence. Itâs often not the grand gestures that mark the depth our faith, but the little daily actions that demonstrate just how much Christâs love is transforming our lives and the lives of those around. us.</div>
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Now, before we go see what great soups our gracious volunteers have made for us, Iâd ask that you please rise for a brief benediction.</div>
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May Christâs transforming love shine through you and forever change your life and the lives of those around you. Never forget the fact that God loves you deeply and walks with you wherever you go. Amen.</div>
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<i>Sources</i></div>
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(1) ESV.</div>
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(2) Shepherd, Jerry E. âEcclesiastes,â The Expositorâs Bible Commentary: Proverbs â Isaiah, Vol. 6. 3rd Ed. Edited by Tremper Longman III & David E. Garland (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2008), 288.</div>
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(3) Ibid.</div>
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(4) ESV.</div>
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(5) ESV.</div>
Pastor Ianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14957702267272140495noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21455061.post-1339038526047891752018-03-07T23:55:00.001-08:002018-03-07T23:55:09.407-08:00A Dialogue on Discussing Religion with Atheists<div style="text-align: justify;">
My previous post reflected on guidelines for discussing religion with Atheists, principally that any conversation should be characterized by grace, humility, and a genuine desire to listen and learn. In it, I briefly mentioned ontological and teleological arguments for God as evidence (though, I contended, not "proof") for the reasonable assertion that God exists.</div>
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This sparked a very interesting conversation today with an Atheist friend of mine, whom I will refer to as C.S., and which I thought was worthy of reproducing here. It delves into a number of subjects, including cosmology, quantum physics, psychology, philosophy, logic, and even comparative religion. If anything, it helped me to wrestle with my own thoughts on these diverse subjects as I continue to wrestle with and synthesize both my belief in God and my respect for science and logic.</div>
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Without further ado, here is the exchange in it's entirety. I hope you are able to get something out of it as well:</div>
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<i>C.S.:</i> Philosophical arguments like the Modal Ontological Argument have no bearing on reality. What we can and cannot meaningfully, logically say is a function of our language, not the universe.</div>
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Also, as an atheist, I think there are three issues that get mixed up all the time. The possible existence of gods, whatâs the real definition of gods, and which religion/dogmas are correct and true.</div>
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Many of the debates I have seen in YouTube mostly deal with the question of godâs existence. Apologists rarely ever want to defend the existence of their specific god, or the validity of their specific religion.</div>
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<i>Ian Hyde:</i> C.S., I've actually been thinking about that quite a bit recently, but I'm going to break my response up into two parts. Your first point is one of the reasons I think it is important to distinguish between the philosophical application of logic and the scientific process.</div>
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Both processes are essential to our understanding the cosmos, but where the scientific process discovers observable phenomena, philosophy orders them. The problem with the modal ontological argument is as you say, it's an application of logic without any direct bearing on phenomena in the universe as we find them.</div>
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I find it useful only in that it demonstrates that the idea of the necessary maximal greatness is at least logically coherent (if not evidentially demonstrable as a matter of fact). Therefore, it becomes necessary to link the ontological to the teleological, for it to have any bearing on the universe and not just the inner workings of our own minds.</div>
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This is where the dual process theory of the mind comes into play. Both the language of logical expression and the capacity for scientific reasoning are conscious processes (the so-called "System 2". They come with a choice. They can be embraced or ignored. But our abilities to instinctively distinguish order from disorder, life from nonlife, to perceive patterns, attribute meaning to events, or perceive intelligence are all unconscious processes (the so-called "System 1"). System 1 makes us conscious; System 2 makes us human.</div>
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Incidentally, it's also System 1 which provides the mechanism for perceiving the Divine, and it's the perceptions generated within System 1 which provide the foundation for the reasoning expressed by System 2. It's also the processes of System 1 which directly affect the results of the double-slit experiment or the results of the Schrodinger's Cat thought experiment.</div>
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Consciousness creates the reality which we then investigate using the scientific process. And if the presence of our consciousness defines the results of probabilistic outcomes experimentally in quantum mechanics; then it seems reasonable to infer a Divine Consciousness defined the almost immeasurably unlikely probabilistic outcomes leading to the creation of the Cosmos and us in turn.</div>
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That's how I link the ontological to the teleological, anyway; by understanding the observable universe to be a function of Divine Consciousness in a similar way as logical processes are a function of our own consciousness.</div>
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<i>Ian Hyde:</i> In response to your second point, I also agree that the three issues you listed are often conflated; though I also find the common atheistic argument that "Christians don't believe in 999 of the gods of other religions, while atheists just extend that logic to one more" based on a similar conflation of the issue.</div>
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If God is defined according to an ontological definition of "the maximally great Consciousness from which the cosmos is derived", then It is present in nearly every theistic religion. Even ancient pagan religions generally had one central deity from which all others were derived and which presided over all others. And almost all monotheistic faiths (and even non-theistic positions) today recognize the existence of elemental forces and the possibility of ultra-powerful beings which would seem to us as gods.</div>
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The primary distinguishing mark between monotheism and polytheism is not how many of these things exist, but what is worthy of worship. Monotheism (or its close cousin monolatry) simply state that only the Creator is worthy of worship and not the creature. Elemental forces or ultra-powerful beings, even in pagan mythologies, are generally understood as creatures springing from a singular Divine principle.</div>
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In turn, the distinguishing mark between Christianity and other forms of monotheism again does not revolve around which God exists, but rather how that God is self-revealed and expressed in the relational character of the Trinity (as opposed to other supposed self-revelations). We believe that the Father is self-revealed in the incarnation, death, and resurrection of Christ and that both in turn are communicated through the work of the Holy Spirit. All three exist relationally and eternally as distinct Persons, while all are fully One God.</div>
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This means that if I did not think the kerygma (teaching) of the Church as expressed in the Scriptures and the writings of the Church Mothers and Fathers was true, then I wouldn't be a Christian. I'd probably be something else, but I still wouldn't be able to be an atheist, materialist, or philosophical realist; since I'd still be convinced that God very likely exists and is worthy of worship.</div>
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<i>C.S.:</i> Just because we can perceive patterns and attribute meaning to events, and/or perceive intelligence doesnât mean that the answers we come up with to explain them are correct. Our senses can and do deceive us. We are really good at coming up with patterns for things that arenât there. And attribute meaning to things that have none. Have you been to an art gallery lately?</div>
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Also, are you implying that some people have problems with their System 1 if they donât</div>
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perceive divinity?</div>
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And System 2, the conscious process, is affected by many things like education level/understanding, cultural background, biases, experiences, brain damage/disorders, etc. The scientific method helps take biases away when trying to answer hypotheses, and can provide a high level of certainty in some cases.</div>
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But we all donât engage in that method at all times, and canât account for supernatural events or beings with it.</div>
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So consciousness creates a reality, but itâs not the same reality for everyone. I still donât understand how you make the jump from quantum mechanics to Divine Consciousness. Iâm probably missing something.</div>
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I know close to nothing about quantum mechanics, but doesnât it rely on mathematics and science to some extent?</div>
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You can infer almost anything if your System 1 and System 2 allow you to. Mine are telling something else.</div>
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<i>C.S.:</i> Point 2. I think the ontological definition of God is a presupposition and nothing more. They are just words. It obviously hasnât been proven that God exist and what attributes it has.</div>
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Also, a difference between Christianity and other pagan religions is that followers were and are instructed to stop worshipping other deities. And not only that, but once in power, they made it a priority to convert whoever they came across, by force if necessary. Thatâs a big difference.</div>
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The same reason you donât believe in Zeus and worship him accordingly, is the same reason I donât believe in Yahweh. To me thereâs no difference between the two. I would require the same kind of evidence for both if I was asked to believe in either.</div>
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<i>Ian Hyde:</i> I really should go to an art gallery soon. :) Anyway, all art has meaning, whether conscious or unconscious (our aesthetics are a function of System 1, while their analysis is a function of System 2).</div>
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Also, I think everyone actually does instinctively, unconsciously perceive Divinity within System 1; but they choose whether or not to suppress that perception using System 2 processes.</div>
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<a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/cdev.12220/epdf?referrer_access_token=3qet2d_lrR8JsU9UszzB9Ita6bR2k8jH0KrdpFOxC67ax5fYrJmNNj4wYLxmAOcU9swqpi1SoTiP6S7ODyVCCWkb7AZ1SCD9QrvA_l2TYyt8w43c5s1421dzGoFvV7uVFcKzWt7MiRHGkolvD5SfCoQuXL5uQWCvtuNn4sHSVsdCMWYQ-Cc6i2qOvfVPN-h2TdwilEc_R8ht6iuEw5H6jhNwnVPrWPX2dmX4JURx0PY%3D" target="_blank">Here's</a> a link to a published article called "The Development of Childrens' Prelife Reasoning: Evidence From Two Cultures" by Natalie A. Emmons and Deborah Kelemen on the research backing my claim up (namely that we, as a species, are biologically primed to perceive the supernatural).</div>
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I also recommend the book called <i>Born Believers: The Science of Children's Religious Belief </i>by Justin L. Barrett, who is a professor at the Fuller Graduate School of Psychology (Fuller is also where I earned my MDiv.).</div>
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To better understand the logical leap I made, I suggest looking up the double-slit experiment. Basically, when a coherent light travels through two slits in a metal plate unobserved, they exhibit an interference pattern when registered on a screen behind the plate (which means the light traveled through the slits as a wave). But when the beam of light is observed, the screen registers individual particles travelling only through one slit or the other rather than through both slits as a wave.</div>
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Even if the light is only observed *after* travelling through the slit, it registers as a particle hit, rather than a wave. This means that, even though the light should have moved as a wave unobserved through the slits, it uploaded a back-history as a particle when it was observed before hitting the screen.</div>
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This demonstrates empirically two things: 1) The act of conscious observation changes the outcome of the experiment, without physically manipulating the light. and 2) The act of conscious observation collapses the wave function deciding a probabilistic outcome and making it appear as if it had been a deterministic one.</div>
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This is perhaps best expressed in Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle, which asserts there is a fundamental limit to our ability to predict outcomes, making them essentially uncertain and probabilistic until observed. The more precisely a particle's location is known, the less precisely its momentum can be known.</div>
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Where I connect it to Divine Consciousness is that, just as our observation defines the reality with which we can interact and measure; Divine Observation was required for the definite moments (the Big Bang and subsequent events such as the rise of our particular physical laws, the condensation of matter, the formation of the Solar System, the creation of the Moon, the rise of life, and then humanity) which allowed our consciousness to be possible. Without Divine interaction, these definite events would have remained undefined, probabilistic realities.</div>
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Incidentally, both Heisenberg (the father of quantum mechanics) and Georges Lemaitre (the fellow who first postulated the Big Bang theory) were devoted Christians. That really has no bearing on their scientific theories, but it does suggest that these scientific observations were not seen as antithetical to their faith.</div>
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Now, it's totally possible that I am the one missing something, and not you. But I keep going over it all in my head, and it seems to be logically sound and backed up by empirical research.</div>
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<i>C.S.:</i> I will look into the stuff you provided, but I think that youâre assuming stuff. The double slit experiment demonstrated those two things you mentioned and nothing else. You say that Devine Observation was required for the big band to take place, but thatâs just an assumption.</div>
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<i>C.S.:</i> Oh and by the way, when it comes down to children, I told my 6 year old the truth about Santa. He kept asking questions about it and the possibility of certain things, like how can he have enough presents for all the kids. So, I told him that I was the one who bought his presents, and that Santa didnât exist.</div>
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A few days later, he still believes Santa is real. Go figure. Even with all the doubts and</div>
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questions he has about it.</div>
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<i>Ian Hyde:</i> It's an assumption based on how consciousness shapes reality within the Universe. In any case, it seems to be more plausible to me than the Many Worlds Interpretation supported by Lawrence Krauss, which is the only other alternative I've heard of which explains these observations.</div>
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The problem with the Many Worlds Interpretation is that it requires an infinite variety of universes, which is in contravention of Occam's Razor, the founding principle on which all scientific theories are based. Occam's Razor states that plurality should not be introduced into a theory or system without necessity. Or, as Isaac Newton said, "We are to admit no more causes of natural things than such as are both true and sufficient to explain their appearances. Therefore, to the same natural effects we must, as far as possible, assign the same causes." I can think of no greater plurality than an infinite</div>
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number of universes.</div>
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As to your response titled "Point 2" above, I agree that the ontological argument doesn't adequately provide attributes of character (though "Maximally Great Being" does imply attributes of being: namely omniscience, omnipresence, and omnipotence) or provide proof of God's existence (I think I tried, unsuccessfully, to state that in my original response). It's just meant to provide a basic working definition for God and to demonstrate that God's existence, at the very least, isn't illogical.</div>
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Also, it's true that Christians are instructed to worship no other deities, but the definition of deity in that context is altogether different than that which describes the Maximally Great Being of the ontological argument. Other deities are understood to be creature, rather than Creator, and ontologically limited in a way the Creator is not.</div>
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As for those who would kill to bring people into their religion, they do so in direct contravention to Christ's teaching. The very instant they kill someone for not believing what they do, they cease to be Christians (defined as someone who follows Christ's teachings).</div>
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Finally, Santa Claus does exist! St. Nicholas of Myra was a bishop in the 4th century. He was imprisoned for 8 years for his faith, upheld the cause of the vulnerable and the poor, and became a model for generosity. What he stood for, the essence of his character, lives on whenever anyone lives generously or cares for the less fortunate. I have as much proof for his existence as I have for anyone else's. :)</div>
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<i>Ian Hyde:</i> BTW, the other problem with the Many Worlds Interpretation is that even multiverses are subject to the expansionary characteristics of the observed Universe (as multiple possibilities branch off) and STILL require a single point of origin, as demonstrated by the Borde-Vilenkin-Guth (BVG) Theorem. Even a multiverse, it appears, calls for a single Creator.</div>
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#faith #science #philosophy #logic #ontological #teleological #consciousness #quantumphysics #cosmology #psychology #comparativereligion</div>
Pastor Ianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14957702267272140495noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21455061.post-57433949399238799052018-03-07T13:56:00.003-08:002018-03-07T13:56:26.677-08:00Recommendations for Discussing Religion with Atheists<div style="text-align: justify;">
We've all seen internet comment sections get out of hand. I'm sure too many of us, if we looked at our own responses carefully and honestly, would admit that we have occasionally said something hurtful, not because it was right, but because we just wanted to win the argument or because we felt insulted by something the other party said.</div>
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But as more and more opinions are shaped, challenged, or reinforced through discussion online; the way we respond becomes just as important as the arguments we use. In fact, I would argue it becomes more important, as it is indicative of how we view people who disagree with us. If we cannot love those who disagree with us, then we certainly won't be able to love those who hate us, and our responses become antithetical to the gospel, even while trying to prove its veracity.</div>
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Iâve always found that the best way to have a discussion about God, or any other religious, philosophical, or even aesthetic idea with someone who differs in opinion from you, is to approach them with as much grace as possible.</div>
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Always assume the best in their intentions, and try to actively engage in a way that values listening as much as talking. Itâs a little bit like taking marriage counseling. Instead of just waiting for them to quit speaking so that you get your turn, truly listen to them. Weigh what they say. Ask yourself, if you were in their shoes, with their reasons, and their experiences, would you feel the same way?</div>
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So letâs imagine I am having a discussion with an atheist. We likely have very different opinions about God, seeing as I am a devoted Christian. So when I write a response, I donât think, âMan, Iâm gonna trip his logic up good!â Instead I think, âAre there ways that he can legitimately challenge me to think more deeply about my faith?â âAm I willing to be honest with myself about the hard questions?â âIs there a way I can provide him with thought-provoking answers that helps him think about things from an angle heâs never considered?â âHow can we both grow through this experience?â</div>
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Iâve found having this attitude generally leads to much more fruitful and edifying conversations for all parties involved. :)</div>
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As to practical matters of discussion, I try to keep this Dietrich Bonhoeffer quote in mind, âHow wrong it is to use God as a stop-gap for the incompleteness of our knowledge. If in fact the frontiers of knowledge are being pushed further and further back (and that is bound to be the case), then God is being pushed back with them, and is therefore continually in retreat. We are to find God in what we know, not in what we don't know.â</div>
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This means that when we discuss God with someone who doesnât believe, our reasoning should avoid arguments of infinite regression or appeals to a god of the gaps at all cost. There are good, objective reasons for thinking God exists based on the available scientific evidence (though I would argue that âevidenceâ and âreasonâ is quite different from âproofâ).</div>
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For instance, the modal ontological argument at least demonstrates that Godâs existence is logical and plausible; the double-slit experiment and the âSchrodingerâs Catâ though experiment both demonstrate that consciousness plays a defining role in structuring our physical reality (and when it is understood that we are in the same box as Schrodingerâs Cat, an Outside Observer to the Cosmos becomes a necessity. And I would argue that the dual process theory of the mind provides evidence that the very basis of that consciousness which plays an integral role in structuring the physical universe is at its most basic level (the so-called âsystem 1â or âunconscious mind) also geared toward finding patterns in our environment, distinguishing life from non-life, and providing a foundational belief in transcendent Deity.</div>
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All of these, when taken together argue (but do not prove) that Godâs existence, and our foundational experience of religious belief, are both rational and even probable. Deciding to live oneâs life on such a religious foundation then becomes what we call âfaith.â Faith after all is not belief in spite of evidence, but rather relational trust based on the evidence that God exists and cares for us.</div>
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#atheism #faith #christianity #discussion</div>
Pastor Ianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14957702267272140495noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21455061.post-70366694740155425302017-12-14T13:07:00.003-08:002017-12-14T13:07:43.880-08:00The Repeal of Net Neutrality and Its Impact on Churches<div style="text-align: justify;">
Please bear with me, this is a bit of a long post on the grave impacts of today's repeal of #NetNeutrality, but I think it's important (perhaps even vital to the health of our Republic):</div>
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The FCC's <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/14/technology/net-neutrality-repeal-vote.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=first-column-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-news" target="_blank">decision</a> to repeal Net Neutrality unfortunately means the Internet will be divided up into "media packages", much like cable T.V. packages today (this is already the business model used in countries that don't have net neutrality enshrined in law). A place that was once a haven for the underdog, the marginalized, and new ideas will now be ruled by a handful of companies, who will function as gatekeepers, marketing the most profitable, corporate websites over less-profitable, independent websites.</div>
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This means that non-profits, religious organizations, small political campaigns, individual bloggers and podcasters will likely be forced out of the market; either because the costs of internet access for developing their sites will be too expensive, or because people will naturally spend their internet budgets on access to the biggest sites (Amazon, Netflix, Google products, Facebook, etc.).</div>
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The proponents of the repeal claim this will lead to more innovation and more competition, by deregulating the internet. The problem is that ISP's are already well established in almost all markets, and maintaining equal access to the Internet (which is what Net Neutrality is) did not restrict them before. Instead, it will have the opposite effect: stagnation and monopolization, as independent voices no longer have a place to express themselves and be heard.</div>
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And the consequences could be much darker than we realize. ISP's would now legally be able to restrict access to websites which promote Net Neutrality (or whatever ideological view which irks their corporate owners), so that people who want to organize in opposition to this (or any other) decision would have to do so without the powerful tool of the internet (while their political opponents would naturally have full, free access).</div>
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As a pastor, this directly affects my ministry. Websites will likely no longer be an effective tool for outreach, as people unacquainted with our faith will now have to pay an extra fee (or buy a different media package) through their ISP to visit these types of sites. And let's be honest, they would probably rather spend it on a Social Media package, or to have access to Hulu or Netflix.</div>
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Now this doesn't mean an end to the Church by any means, as churches have always been built through the expression of love for one another found in personal relationships. The Church doesn't survive because of marketing, it survives (and thrives) as people are transformed by the Gospel through the work of the Holy Spirit. But it does mean that people curious about what we believe will likely no longer have access to our sermons or blog posts, and people who may want to attend events, won't see our calendar unless they pay for access to these types of sites.</div>
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Most of the ideals I care about will suffer in one way or another: religious freedom, the free exchange of ideas, the cultivation of art, music, philosophy, and theology, and even democracy itself.</div>
Pastor Ianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14957702267272140495noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21455061.post-21052505986173530532017-12-03T16:39:00.000-08:002017-12-03T16:39:22.538-08:00The Real Santa Claus<div style="text-align: justify;">
This morning in Sunday School, I introduced the kids to the real Santa Claus; a pastor named Nicholas, who lived in Myra, Turkey (then the Eastern Roman Empire) in the 4th century.</div>
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Nicholas was passionate about his faith, and giving himself up to save his congregation, was imprisoned and tortured for it. In an age when many great theologians are remembered for their eloquent words, he was remembered for his courageous acts: defending the innocent and self-sacrificial generosity. In fact, paradoxically, when so many men and women have sought to make a name for themselves at any cost, his simple acts of anonymous generosity ensured that his name has been honored continuously for 1,700 years.</div>
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On Dec. 6th, many Christians all over the world will honor the real man behind the modern myths. On that day, I encourage everyone to think of a creative, simple act of "guerrilla generosity." Give in a way that is anonymous, but which is meaningful to those around you.</div>
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For kids, it could be buying easy-to-make cookies and sneaking downstairs before your mom wakes up to bake them, and leave a note saying you love them. For adults, it could mean secretly shoveling your neighbor's walks, or putting together a gift basket and anonymously leaving it on the doorstep of a poor family or widow in the neighborhood.</div>
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In doing so, we remember that little acts of kindness change the world, and we honor the man who lived Jesus' words in Matthew 6:2-4: "So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you," (NIV).</div>
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#Christmas #StNick #StNicholas #SantaClaus #GuerrillaGenerosity #Nazarene</div>
Pastor Ianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14957702267272140495noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21455061.post-14727338022347494722017-09-17T22:40:00.002-07:002017-09-17T22:40:59.910-07:00The Problem of Evil and Epicurus' Trilemma<div style="text-align: justify;">
I've been musing over the problem of evil and that popular maxim put forward by Epicurus, 2300 years ago, as an argument against an all-knowing (omniscience), all-powerful (omnipotent), and all loving God. The argument is still popular today among many of my atheist friends (even being referenced in the movie Superman vs. Batman), so I thought it worthwhile addressing.</div>
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First, in case you are unfamiliar with the argument, Epicurus basically posited that if God is willing to prevent evil, but not able, He is not omnipotent. If He is able, but not willing, He is not all good. If He both able and willing, evil should not exist. If He is neither able nor willing, then He is not God.</div>
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The problem with the Epicurean trilemma (leaving aside the fact it is first quoted in the writings of a Christian theologian arguing against it, and was possibly never uttered by Epicurus) is that it rests on a few (unproven) assumptions: 1) the future is something which can be known, 2) omniscience is properly defined as knowing the future, and 3) evil can be objectively defined.</div>
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The reason this is a problem is that, if the future is something which can be known ahead of time (either because it is predetermined, or "exists" in the mind of its Creator), then free will does not exist. If free will does not exist, no action can be good or evil. A predetermined universe negates the initial premise of the argument.</div>
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However, it seems that quantum mechanics shows us "the future" is probabilistic in nature, rather than deterministic. This means it is essentially uncreated. While an omniscient God can know all the possible futures, there is no way a single future could be known ahead of time. A thing can only be known if it exists; so it follows that if the future does not exist, it cannot be known. In this case, a probabilistic universe negates the argument's definition of omniscience.</div>
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Finally, if evil can be objectively defined (especially as something within the created order), this suggests a moral reality beyond human social contract, which can only apply to functionally free beings in a probabilistic universe. Since humans are (said to be) free beings, then the burden of evil rests entirely on them.</div>
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But if there is no God, then there can be no moral reality beyond transitory human social contract. And again, the burden of breaking any such contract (defined as an act of evil) would rest only on its constituent parties, i.e. human beings. In either case, human beings are to blame for evil's existence, rather than God (whether or not God exists).</div>
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It seems to me that the God of Christianity (the faith with which I am most familiar) is generally described as creating humanity to reflect God's "Image", i.e. to be free beings which possess the ability to make moral decisions, to live in community (with God, fellow humans, and creation), and to create or destroy.</div>
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But the existence of free beings carries with it the implicit risk of evil, broken relationship, and immoral decisions. If Christianity's claims are correct, then the best explanation for the existence of evil is that God loves humanity so deeply, He figured it was worth the risk that we would dork everything up.</div>
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#philosophy #God #atheism #Christianity #theodicy #Epicurus #evil</div>
Pastor Ianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14957702267272140495noreply@blogger.com0