Draw the Circle starts out with Cornelius praying to God regularly. The first sentence convicts me because I don't pray to God with any sense of regularity. The story comes from Acts 10. Since Batterson's theme for the Day is Get Ready I'm trying to get myself ready. I am ready but I don't know how committed I am - not that I don't want to be committed, just that I don't have the discipline to always follow through on my commitments. I'm praying for discipline.
Batterson uses fairly typical modern church language, i.e. "And when you pray to God regularly, irregular things happen on a regular basis" (Batterson, 15). I have to fight the cynicism that naturally creeps up in it. Since my wife and I are doing this devotion together I have to redouble my efforts to keep her from following me down my natural inclination. The message is good, but it sounds very much pastoral, not in a good way, but in a Youth Pastor type of way that comes off as cheesy sound bytes after a game of laser tag at the Lock-In. That's my cynicism coming out. I'm praying for discipline. I'm praying to get out of the seat of mockers. Flowery language aside I am praying that God will take us (my wife and I) places we cannot even imagine. I want to get ready.
"If you establish a prayer routine, your life will be anything but routine... You don't need to seek opportunity. All you have to do is seek God. And if you seek God, opportunity will seek you" (Batterson, 19). Rhetorical games aside, I do in fact, chase opportunity. I might not always see my chase through to the logical conclusion, stopping either out of realization that the opportunity is a trap, getting sidetracked by another opportunity or becoming bored by the chase, but I chase opportunity nonetheless. I don't always seek God. I want to though. I want to seek Him. In that I need patience. I need discipline. I'm praying for discipline. Speaking of rhetorical games, I'm noticing I fall into patterns as well. My cynicism is hypocritical as well.
Batterson tells us that we must seek first his Kingdom; do God's will God's way. That is obviously biblical. I heard it in my sleep all last night - children singing "Seek ye first the kingdom of God" in round fashion. Thank you Psalty the Singing Song Book! I mean this both sarcastically and honestly. The song won't leave my head, which is a bit annoying. But alleluia! His words are written on my heart, even when my flesh belies it.
What I came away from this devotional is that I do desperately want to seek first the Kingdom of God. But, when Erin and I prayed last night I asked that she pray for me to know what seeking first the Kingdom of God looked like in my life practically. I want to get ready. I want to be ready. I pray the patience and discipline to be ready when he calls. I pray to know what seeking first the Kingdom of God looks like and that I have the wherewithal to do it.
On a side note in this passage it makes me think a little theologically. Not that I'm an expert, nor that it is important but I question the statement "If you're a non-Jewish follower of Jesus, your spiritual genealogy traces back to this genesis moment" (Batterson, 16), referring to Peter's role in the salvation of Cornelius.
My questions arise from the passage in Acts 10 itself. It begins with stating that Cornelius and his whole family were God-fearing and devout. Cornelius then has a vision from God and follows it. When Peter arrives at Cornelius' house Peter states "I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism but accepts men from every nation who fear him and do what is right" (Acts 10:34-35). Peter then states that Cornelius knows the message God sent to the people of Israel and retells the short version of Jesus Christ. Then he confirms that he (and his companions) were witnesses of Christ Jesus. It was while Peter was speaking that the Holy Spirit came over the Gentiles. "The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles" (Acts 10:45). My question is whether Acts 10 is about the Jewish followers needing to understand that Gentiles could be endowed with the Holy Spirit or whether it is about the fact that Gentiles could be endowed with the Holy Spirit. To my eyes it seems as if God was stripping away at the Jewish perception of who could be saved rather than opening the flood gates to the Gentiles. Is it not possible that salvation was opened to the Gentiles prior?
What about the faith of the Canaanite Woman? In Matthew 15 we see a Canaanite woman come to Jesus and ask for mercy from Jesus and for Jesus to heal her demon possessed daughter. Jesus tries to shoo her away stating that he was only sent to the lost sheep of Israel (presumably the Jews). When Jesus tells her it isn't right that the children's bread be given to the dogs, but the woman persists that even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from the master's table. Jesus praises her faith and grants her prayer. Doesn't Matthew 15 show that salvation was at hand for all who had faith, not just the Jews?
What about the story of Ruth. When Orpah returns to Moab to her people and her gods (Ruth 1:15) Ruth claims your people will be my people and your God my God (Ruth 1:16). Ruth being a Moabite isn't a lost sheep of Israel, but a lost sheep of Moab. Her salvation through the remainder of the book, isn't that a portrait of salvation being extended to all humanity rather than just to the Jews?
Again, I don't profess to have answers, just thoughts on the spiritual genealogy of non-Jewish Christians going back exclusively to Cornelius. I may be wrong, but I am just thinking aloud.
Showing posts with label Peter. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Peter. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 21, 2015
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Notes on Peter
(Originally Written September 13, 2011 in the Journal)
St. Peter learned discipline through suffering.
God is opposed to the proud. When you put someone else down you are opposing God, not the other person.
God gives grace to the humble. Humble yourself and God gets on your side.
I need to work on this Lord. Forgive me of my pride.
Hebrews 12 - A word of encouragement: do not despair in the face of God's discipline for God disciplines those He loves.
St. Peter learned discipline through suffering.
God is opposed to the proud. When you put someone else down you are opposing God, not the other person.
God gives grace to the humble. Humble yourself and God gets on your side.
I need to work on this Lord. Forgive me of my pride.
Hebrews 12 - A word of encouragement: do not despair in the face of God's discipline for God disciplines those He loves.
Sunday, July 16, 2006
Three Doctors of the Church
(Originally Written July 16, 2006 in Book 5)
The History of Western Philosophy
Bertrand Russell
Chapter III - Three Doctors of the Church
By the way I am watching "Take Home Defensive Driving". Rest of all it cost $40 bucks. Ridiculous. Secondly, it is four hours long. Absurd. Thirdly, it is immensely boring. Irritating.
There are four men regarded as Doctors of the Western Church. (I believe there are a number who have been added since Russell wrote this).
1) St. Ambrose
2) St. Jerome
3) St. Augustine
4) Pope Gregory the Great
"Ambrose, Jerome and Augustine all flourished during the brief period between the victory of the Catholic Church in the Roman Empire and the barbarian invasion" (Russell, 334).
The Barbarian invasions stunted intellectual growth and men of this caliber were not produced for another thousand years.
They, more than any other men molded the Church in how it would be shaped.
Ambrose determined the Church as being dominant to the State. Jerome produced the Latin Vulgate and made great strides in monasticism. Augustine laid the foundation of theology until the reformation and was widely used by both Luther and Calvin.
Ambrose's establishment as the Church being independent of the State was not challenged (philosophically) until Hobbes. It was revolutionary. The capital of the Western Empire at the end of the fourth century was Milan. Ambrose was the bishop of Milan.
His duties brought him into contact with the emperors frequently. He always treated them at least as equals, sometimes as subordinates.
At his time the State was "feeble, incompetent, governed by unprincipled self-seekers, and totally without any policy beyond that of momentary expedients. Contrarily, the Church was vigorous, able, guided by men prepared to sacrifice everything personal in its interests, and with a policy so far-sighted that it brought victory for the next thousand years" (Russell, 335).
Ambrose had every opportunity to become a powerful political figure.
Ambrose was born at Augusta Treverorum to a prefect of the Guals. At thirteen he went to Rome, was educated and learned a strong grounding in Greek. The young adult Ambrose took to law and was successful.
At 30 he became the governor of Liguria and Æmilia. At 34 he turned away from the secular government and became bishop of Milan. He gave all his wealth to the poor and served the Church the rest of his life, sometimes in the face of peril.
All three Doctors of this period, Jerome, Augustine and Ambrose wrote innumerable letters, many of which have survived. For this reason we know them better than any pagan philosopher or ecclesiastics of the Middle Ages.
Jerome wrote mostly to women, instructing them on how to maintain their virginity. Augustine wrote letters to everyone, mostly on doctrine or Church discipline. Ambrose wrote most interesting letters to emperors, chastising them when they failed in their duties and praising them when they fulfilled them.
The first public matter Ambrose dealt with was the altar and stature to Victory in Rome. It was a pagan icon removed by Constantinius (son of Constantine) reinstated by Julian the Apostate and then removed again by Emperor Gratian. Paganism lasted longer in the Senate than elsewhere in Rome. After Gratian's death a senator named Symmachus (a pagan) fought to bring it back. In 384 he became the prefect of Rome. When Symmachus sought to have the new Emperor Valentian II put it back, Ambrose wrote the boy king. He wrote "Let no one take advantage of your youth" and put for the thesis that "as all Romans owed military service to their sovereign, so he (the Emperor) owed service to the Almighty God" (Russell, 337). In addition to flattery, Ambrose threatened the young emperor with not being able to see a priest in Church or receiving a hostile greeting from a priest. Ambrose won the argument. But a usurper of Valentian II, Eugenics (a pagan) restored the idol. In 394 Emperor Theodosius defeated Eugenics and removed the altar.
Initially Ambrose had favor in the imperial court. But when the mother of Valentian II, Empress Justina (an Arian) asked for an Arian church in Milan, the Catholic Ambrose refused. The Empress sent troops to a church in Milan demanding it as it belonged to the Emperor. Ambrose assured the Empress that she may take anything that belonged to the emperor but since the wealth of the church belonged to the poor and the church to God, he had nothing to give her. The soldiers refused to take the church by force because the citizens backed Ambrose. The empress gave in. This established the precedent of the Church having authority over the State in some matters.
Ambrose's next conflict came with the Emperor Theodosius. A synagogue was burned at a bishop's instigation. Theodosius demanded that those responsible be punished and the synagogue be rebuilt at the bishop's expense. Ambrose was furious. He demanded that no such action be taken because it would cause only trouble. If the punishment is carried out the bishop will be martyred for standing up for his faith in Christ or acquiesce and become apostate. Also, money of the Church should not be used to support unbelief (as occurs in a synagogue). Theodosius backed down.
The next conflict between these two occurred when a mob in Thessolonica murdered a Roman captain. Theodosius orchestrated the slaughter of 7,000 Thessalonians in revenge. Ambrose withheld the sacraments from Theodosius until the emperor rented. Theodosius repented, without his purple kingly robes and paid public penance.
Ambrose was a remarkable statesman, but inferior to Augustine in philosophy and inferior to Jerome as a scholar.
Jerome is most notable for producing the Latin Vulgate translation of the Bible. The Vulgate was translated from original Hebrew texts, not the more erroneous Septuagint. Because Jerome illicit help from Jews in the translation it was initially met with harsh responses. Augustine's endorsement helped it to become the accepted version of the Catholic Church.
Jerome was born in 345 AD near Aquileia to a well-to-do, but not rich family. He studied rhetoric in Rome but he sinned there. He traveled through Gaul, retiring to Aquileia and became ascetic. He became a hermit in the Syrian desert and performed penance for his sinfulness in Rome. He then went back to Rome and befriended Pope Damasus, who encouraged him to create the Vulgate.
Jerome was quarrelsome to say the least. He fought with Augustine over the behavior of St. Peter. He fought with his friend Rufinius over Origen. He opposed Pelagius so avidly that his monastery was attacked by a Pelagian mob. He also fought with the Pope after the death of Damasus.
He left Rome for Bethlehem in 386 and lived there until his death in 420.
He converted and convinced many noble women to become nuns, pissing off people all over.
A young girl he convinced to become a nun was Eustochium. He wrote letters to her on how to maintain her virginity, exact meanings of Old Testament euphemisms, erotic mystical praise of covenantal life, stated that a nun is the Bride of Christ and the the Song of Solomon praises this type of relationship.
Linehan - I believe that this is a very bad misrepresentation of this book.
In a vision Jerome heard Christ tell him that he was a follower of Cicero, not Christ. Upon waking from this vision he denounced his love of Greek and Roman learning.
In his letters he embodies the Christian otherworldly hope of redemption outside of the collapsing world of the temporal Roman Empire.
It is strange (Russell contends) that Jerome, Augustine, and Ambrose all devoted themselves to Church issues, but no practical measures to save their collapsing state.
Linehan - The emphasis on virginity by the early church to me seems harmful. It is true that some men and women may be called to a life of abstinence, but I do not think that this is a very likely occurrence. I know from a personal standpoint that living an abstinent life makes it hard to focus on anything other than virginity or how to lose it. I remained a virgin because of fear (partially) and because of failure (mostly). This was a source of enormous tension, self-turmoil, disappointment, frustration, agony, desperation, depression, guilt and countless hours of wasted time and effort. Virginity or abstinence as an end is not a virtue. What makes it virtuous is the reasoning behind it. If one declares perpetual virginity in accordance to God's plan then it is virtuous, but if it (or anything) is done as a way to impress God it is boastful and not a virtue at all. Also I find the practice of father's giving their daughters over to virginity reprehensible. It's a shame that things like this happened within Christianity because it gives ammo to those who are seeking to attack Christianity.
Augustine was born in 354 in Africa to a Christian mother and Pagan father. He spent time as a Manichaean, then became a Christian. He then became the bishop of Hippo, near Carthage, where he remained until he died in 430.
We know much of Augustine's life because of his autobiographical work Confessions.
Augustine was a passionate youth, unconcerned with virtue and impulsive. He searched for truth and righteousness relentlessly.
His youthful sins caused him to have a strong sense of sin later in life, "which made his life stern and his philosophy inhuman" (Russell, 345).
Linehan - I'm sure Russell meant this as a stab, but Augustine may very well have modestly accepted it as a compliment. I must admit that there are a few philosophers, theologians, or men that matter, with whom I identify with or respect more than Augustine.
Augustine opens Confessions with the story of stealing a pear for mischief's sake alone. He condemns himself for loving the act of sinning so much. Russell mocks this and calls it morbid to the modern mind. While this may be true it is a blight on the modern mind, not on Augustine.
Christian theology had two parts:
1) that concerned with the Church
2) that concerned with the individual.
The Catholics emphasized the first. The Protestants emphasized the second. Augustine created a harmonious synthesis that focused on both without any inconsistencies.
Augustine believed individual soul wee predestined to salvation, but had to be baptized and become a member of the Church. Predestination marks a direct connection between God and man, the Church was an intermediate between.
Sin was essential to the direct relation for two reasons:
1) Shows how God can cause man to suffer
2) Shows how souls are the most important member of the created order.
Russell calls Augustine's sense of sin 'abnormal'. Russell's indifference to sin however, is much more abnormal than any developed sense of it.
Augustine grabbed Latin easily, but hated Greek.
Lust overcame him at the age of sixteen.
Augustine's father did not pay any attention to his sins but kept him focused on school. His mother, in vain, tried to keep him chaste. He went to Carthage at 16 and fell in love with love. He also took a mistress because he was not ready for a wife, but was faithful to her and had a son he loved by her.
His mother then encouraged him to marry a girl worthy of his social status (which his mistress was not). In breaking up with his mistress to be married he broke his heart. He then took another mistress while waiting for his bride-to-be to come of age. At this time he prayed, "give me chastity and continence, only not yet" (Russell, 348).
By the time his marriage was to occur he had devoted himself to religion and chastity.
Augustine was excellent in rhetoric and introduced to philosophy by Cicero. He then became a Manichaean and taught rhetoric. He was fond of astrology at this time, but later despised it.
He read as much philosophy as was translated into Latin and mentions Aristotle's 'Ten Categories'. He grasped these works without a teacher, but decried his understanding because it profited him none.
Initially he began to reject Manichaeism because of scientific reasons, citing astronomy and Mani's (the founder of Manichaeism) blatant errors on astronomical matters. After doubting Manichaeism he went to teach in Rome.
He began to feel at odds with the Manichaeans more and more in Rome and began to slide in to skepticism, but still believed that something in men, some nature caused them to sin.
He believed evil to be a substance.
From Rome he went to Milan to teach rhetoric. He began to love Ambrose and admire the Catholic faith, but his newfound skepticism held him back.
His mother joined him in Milan and hastened his conversion.
In Milan he became acquainted with Platonism and fused the Platonic metaphysical doctrine of Logos with Christianity.
He then completely rejected Manichaeism and the notion of Evil as a substance, instead believing evil to come from the perverseness of the will.
Augustine found comfort in the writings of St. Paul (one reason I identify with him so well).
He gave up his new mistress and his wife-to-be and devoted himself to the Church. He moved back to Africa in 388 and spent the remainder of his life fighting heresies like the Donates, Manichaeism and Pelagianism.
The History of Western Philosophy
Bertrand Russell
Chapter III - Three Doctors of the Church
By the way I am watching "Take Home Defensive Driving". Rest of all it cost $40 bucks. Ridiculous. Secondly, it is four hours long. Absurd. Thirdly, it is immensely boring. Irritating.
There are four men regarded as Doctors of the Western Church. (I believe there are a number who have been added since Russell wrote this).
1) St. Ambrose
2) St. Jerome
3) St. Augustine
4) Pope Gregory the Great
"Ambrose, Jerome and Augustine all flourished during the brief period between the victory of the Catholic Church in the Roman Empire and the barbarian invasion" (Russell, 334).
The Barbarian invasions stunted intellectual growth and men of this caliber were not produced for another thousand years.
They, more than any other men molded the Church in how it would be shaped.
Ambrose determined the Church as being dominant to the State. Jerome produced the Latin Vulgate and made great strides in monasticism. Augustine laid the foundation of theology until the reformation and was widely used by both Luther and Calvin.
Ambrose's establishment as the Church being independent of the State was not challenged (philosophically) until Hobbes. It was revolutionary. The capital of the Western Empire at the end of the fourth century was Milan. Ambrose was the bishop of Milan.
His duties brought him into contact with the emperors frequently. He always treated them at least as equals, sometimes as subordinates.
At his time the State was "feeble, incompetent, governed by unprincipled self-seekers, and totally without any policy beyond that of momentary expedients. Contrarily, the Church was vigorous, able, guided by men prepared to sacrifice everything personal in its interests, and with a policy so far-sighted that it brought victory for the next thousand years" (Russell, 335).
Ambrose had every opportunity to become a powerful political figure.
Ambrose was born at Augusta Treverorum to a prefect of the Guals. At thirteen he went to Rome, was educated and learned a strong grounding in Greek. The young adult Ambrose took to law and was successful.
At 30 he became the governor of Liguria and Æmilia. At 34 he turned away from the secular government and became bishop of Milan. He gave all his wealth to the poor and served the Church the rest of his life, sometimes in the face of peril.
All three Doctors of this period, Jerome, Augustine and Ambrose wrote innumerable letters, many of which have survived. For this reason we know them better than any pagan philosopher or ecclesiastics of the Middle Ages.
Jerome wrote mostly to women, instructing them on how to maintain their virginity. Augustine wrote letters to everyone, mostly on doctrine or Church discipline. Ambrose wrote most interesting letters to emperors, chastising them when they failed in their duties and praising them when they fulfilled them.
The first public matter Ambrose dealt with was the altar and stature to Victory in Rome. It was a pagan icon removed by Constantinius (son of Constantine) reinstated by Julian the Apostate and then removed again by Emperor Gratian. Paganism lasted longer in the Senate than elsewhere in Rome. After Gratian's death a senator named Symmachus (a pagan) fought to bring it back. In 384 he became the prefect of Rome. When Symmachus sought to have the new Emperor Valentian II put it back, Ambrose wrote the boy king. He wrote "Let no one take advantage of your youth" and put for the thesis that "as all Romans owed military service to their sovereign, so he (the Emperor) owed service to the Almighty God" (Russell, 337). In addition to flattery, Ambrose threatened the young emperor with not being able to see a priest in Church or receiving a hostile greeting from a priest. Ambrose won the argument. But a usurper of Valentian II, Eugenics (a pagan) restored the idol. In 394 Emperor Theodosius defeated Eugenics and removed the altar.
Initially Ambrose had favor in the imperial court. But when the mother of Valentian II, Empress Justina (an Arian) asked for an Arian church in Milan, the Catholic Ambrose refused. The Empress sent troops to a church in Milan demanding it as it belonged to the Emperor. Ambrose assured the Empress that she may take anything that belonged to the emperor but since the wealth of the church belonged to the poor and the church to God, he had nothing to give her. The soldiers refused to take the church by force because the citizens backed Ambrose. The empress gave in. This established the precedent of the Church having authority over the State in some matters.
Ambrose's next conflict came with the Emperor Theodosius. A synagogue was burned at a bishop's instigation. Theodosius demanded that those responsible be punished and the synagogue be rebuilt at the bishop's expense. Ambrose was furious. He demanded that no such action be taken because it would cause only trouble. If the punishment is carried out the bishop will be martyred for standing up for his faith in Christ or acquiesce and become apostate. Also, money of the Church should not be used to support unbelief (as occurs in a synagogue). Theodosius backed down.
The next conflict between these two occurred when a mob in Thessolonica murdered a Roman captain. Theodosius orchestrated the slaughter of 7,000 Thessalonians in revenge. Ambrose withheld the sacraments from Theodosius until the emperor rented. Theodosius repented, without his purple kingly robes and paid public penance.
Ambrose was a remarkable statesman, but inferior to Augustine in philosophy and inferior to Jerome as a scholar.
Jerome is most notable for producing the Latin Vulgate translation of the Bible. The Vulgate was translated from original Hebrew texts, not the more erroneous Septuagint. Because Jerome illicit help from Jews in the translation it was initially met with harsh responses. Augustine's endorsement helped it to become the accepted version of the Catholic Church.
Jerome was born in 345 AD near Aquileia to a well-to-do, but not rich family. He studied rhetoric in Rome but he sinned there. He traveled through Gaul, retiring to Aquileia and became ascetic. He became a hermit in the Syrian desert and performed penance for his sinfulness in Rome. He then went back to Rome and befriended Pope Damasus, who encouraged him to create the Vulgate.
Jerome was quarrelsome to say the least. He fought with Augustine over the behavior of St. Peter. He fought with his friend Rufinius over Origen. He opposed Pelagius so avidly that his monastery was attacked by a Pelagian mob. He also fought with the Pope after the death of Damasus.
He left Rome for Bethlehem in 386 and lived there until his death in 420.
He converted and convinced many noble women to become nuns, pissing off people all over.
A young girl he convinced to become a nun was Eustochium. He wrote letters to her on how to maintain her virginity, exact meanings of Old Testament euphemisms, erotic mystical praise of covenantal life, stated that a nun is the Bride of Christ and the the Song of Solomon praises this type of relationship.
Linehan - I believe that this is a very bad misrepresentation of this book.
In a vision Jerome heard Christ tell him that he was a follower of Cicero, not Christ. Upon waking from this vision he denounced his love of Greek and Roman learning.
In his letters he embodies the Christian otherworldly hope of redemption outside of the collapsing world of the temporal Roman Empire.
It is strange (Russell contends) that Jerome, Augustine, and Ambrose all devoted themselves to Church issues, but no practical measures to save their collapsing state.
Linehan - The emphasis on virginity by the early church to me seems harmful. It is true that some men and women may be called to a life of abstinence, but I do not think that this is a very likely occurrence. I know from a personal standpoint that living an abstinent life makes it hard to focus on anything other than virginity or how to lose it. I remained a virgin because of fear (partially) and because of failure (mostly). This was a source of enormous tension, self-turmoil, disappointment, frustration, agony, desperation, depression, guilt and countless hours of wasted time and effort. Virginity or abstinence as an end is not a virtue. What makes it virtuous is the reasoning behind it. If one declares perpetual virginity in accordance to God's plan then it is virtuous, but if it (or anything) is done as a way to impress God it is boastful and not a virtue at all. Also I find the practice of father's giving their daughters over to virginity reprehensible. It's a shame that things like this happened within Christianity because it gives ammo to those who are seeking to attack Christianity.
Augustine was born in 354 in Africa to a Christian mother and Pagan father. He spent time as a Manichaean, then became a Christian. He then became the bishop of Hippo, near Carthage, where he remained until he died in 430.
We know much of Augustine's life because of his autobiographical work Confessions.
Augustine was a passionate youth, unconcerned with virtue and impulsive. He searched for truth and righteousness relentlessly.
His youthful sins caused him to have a strong sense of sin later in life, "which made his life stern and his philosophy inhuman" (Russell, 345).
Linehan - I'm sure Russell meant this as a stab, but Augustine may very well have modestly accepted it as a compliment. I must admit that there are a few philosophers, theologians, or men that matter, with whom I identify with or respect more than Augustine.
Augustine opens Confessions with the story of stealing a pear for mischief's sake alone. He condemns himself for loving the act of sinning so much. Russell mocks this and calls it morbid to the modern mind. While this may be true it is a blight on the modern mind, not on Augustine.
Christian theology had two parts:
1) that concerned with the Church
2) that concerned with the individual.
The Catholics emphasized the first. The Protestants emphasized the second. Augustine created a harmonious synthesis that focused on both without any inconsistencies.
Augustine believed individual soul wee predestined to salvation, but had to be baptized and become a member of the Church. Predestination marks a direct connection between God and man, the Church was an intermediate between.
Sin was essential to the direct relation for two reasons:
1) Shows how God can cause man to suffer
2) Shows how souls are the most important member of the created order.
Russell calls Augustine's sense of sin 'abnormal'. Russell's indifference to sin however, is much more abnormal than any developed sense of it.
Augustine grabbed Latin easily, but hated Greek.
Lust overcame him at the age of sixteen.
Augustine's father did not pay any attention to his sins but kept him focused on school. His mother, in vain, tried to keep him chaste. He went to Carthage at 16 and fell in love with love. He also took a mistress because he was not ready for a wife, but was faithful to her and had a son he loved by her.
His mother then encouraged him to marry a girl worthy of his social status (which his mistress was not). In breaking up with his mistress to be married he broke his heart. He then took another mistress while waiting for his bride-to-be to come of age. At this time he prayed, "give me chastity and continence, only not yet" (Russell, 348).
By the time his marriage was to occur he had devoted himself to religion and chastity.
Augustine was excellent in rhetoric and introduced to philosophy by Cicero. He then became a Manichaean and taught rhetoric. He was fond of astrology at this time, but later despised it.
He read as much philosophy as was translated into Latin and mentions Aristotle's 'Ten Categories'. He grasped these works without a teacher, but decried his understanding because it profited him none.
Initially he began to reject Manichaeism because of scientific reasons, citing astronomy and Mani's (the founder of Manichaeism) blatant errors on astronomical matters. After doubting Manichaeism he went to teach in Rome.
He began to feel at odds with the Manichaeans more and more in Rome and began to slide in to skepticism, but still believed that something in men, some nature caused them to sin.
He believed evil to be a substance.
From Rome he went to Milan to teach rhetoric. He began to love Ambrose and admire the Catholic faith, but his newfound skepticism held him back.
His mother joined him in Milan and hastened his conversion.
In Milan he became acquainted with Platonism and fused the Platonic metaphysical doctrine of Logos with Christianity.
He then completely rejected Manichaeism and the notion of Evil as a substance, instead believing evil to come from the perverseness of the will.
Augustine found comfort in the writings of St. Paul (one reason I identify with him so well).
He gave up his new mistress and his wife-to-be and devoted himself to the Church. He moved back to Africa in 388 and spent the remainder of his life fighting heresies like the Donates, Manichaeism and Pelagianism.
Christianity during the first four centuries
(Originally written July 16, 2006 in Book 5)
The History of Western Philosophy
Bertrand Russell
Chapter II - Christianity during the first four centuries
Christianity began as reformed Judaism.
Russell states that St. James and St. Peter wanted it to remain this, but St. Paul changed all that.
Gnosticism played the halfway between Pagan philosophy and Christianity by honoring Christ, but not the Jewish elements of Christianity. Later on Manichaeism played the same role. Manichaeism combined Christian and Zoroastrian elements. It believed evil was only in matter and good was only in spirit. It condemned the eating of meat and all sex.
Gnostics and Manichaeans flourished until the government became fully Christian.
Gnostic views (Docetic Gnosticism) passed over into orthodox Islam.
Christians became hostile to Jews early on. Jewish theology was simple. Christian theology became complex as it was hellenized. Christian theologians attempted to synthesize Greek thought and the Scriptures. It happened haphazardly until Origen.
Origen (185-254 AD) lived in Alexandria. Like his contemporary Plotinus, he was a puppy of Ammonius Saccas (the considered founder of Neoplatonism).
Origen stated nothing is fully incorporeal except God: Father, Son and Holy Ghost.
He believed the stars to contain souls and that the sun was capable of sin.
He believed in soul and nous like Plotinus did.
He believed that all souls were created initially at creation and entered bodies later in time. Ultimately all souls were destined to become nous and wholly submissive to Christ. Even the Devil will eventually submit to Christ.
In spite of being considered a Church Father, Origen was condemned for four heresies:
1) The Platonic view of souls being preexistent
2) The human nature of Christ, as well as the Divine nature existed prior to the Incarnation
3) At the resurrection man's bodies will be transformed into purely ethereal bodies
4) All men and even demons and Satan will eventually be saved.
Origen defended Christianity in two ways:
1) He stated that by using reason one necessarily comes to the conclusions spelled out in the Gospels.
2) The prophecies being fulfilled and the miracles being worked by Christ proved he is obviously God.
The Church government developed gradually over the years. Then it exploded as Christianity was legalized by Constantine the Great.
The bishops gained power through wealth prior to Constantine. Then when Christianity was legalized bishops were given administrative and judicial power by the State.
Russell's underhanded attack on Christianity compares Christian 'intolerance' to the "advantages of intolerance in propaganda" used by Hitler (Russell, 330).
Inconsistency? Russell calls the Jews stubborn to Greek influence, yet credits the Greeks with teaching the Jews resurrection of the spirit.
Christian morality was legendary before Constantine. "Their sexual ethics had a strictness that was rare in antiquity" (Russell, 332). This helped Christianity spread.
Constantine used the Christian underground hierarchy to stabilize the Empire. In doing so it spread Christianity. Constantine demanded unity in Christianity, hence the Nicea ecumenical council and the Nicene Creed.
Orthodox Christianity fought against heresies, like Arianism for a longtime.
Athanasius (297-373) was the champion of Orthodox Christianity.
The History of Western Philosophy
Bertrand Russell
Chapter II - Christianity during the first four centuries
Christianity began as reformed Judaism.
Russell states that St. James and St. Peter wanted it to remain this, but St. Paul changed all that.
Gnosticism played the halfway between Pagan philosophy and Christianity by honoring Christ, but not the Jewish elements of Christianity. Later on Manichaeism played the same role. Manichaeism combined Christian and Zoroastrian elements. It believed evil was only in matter and good was only in spirit. It condemned the eating of meat and all sex.
Gnostics and Manichaeans flourished until the government became fully Christian.
Gnostic views (Docetic Gnosticism) passed over into orthodox Islam.
Christians became hostile to Jews early on. Jewish theology was simple. Christian theology became complex as it was hellenized. Christian theologians attempted to synthesize Greek thought and the Scriptures. It happened haphazardly until Origen.
Origen (185-254 AD) lived in Alexandria. Like his contemporary Plotinus, he was a puppy of Ammonius Saccas (the considered founder of Neoplatonism).
Origen stated nothing is fully incorporeal except God: Father, Son and Holy Ghost.
He believed the stars to contain souls and that the sun was capable of sin.
He believed in soul and nous like Plotinus did.
He believed that all souls were created initially at creation and entered bodies later in time. Ultimately all souls were destined to become nous and wholly submissive to Christ. Even the Devil will eventually submit to Christ.
In spite of being considered a Church Father, Origen was condemned for four heresies:
1) The Platonic view of souls being preexistent
2) The human nature of Christ, as well as the Divine nature existed prior to the Incarnation
3) At the resurrection man's bodies will be transformed into purely ethereal bodies
4) All men and even demons and Satan will eventually be saved.
Origen defended Christianity in two ways:
1) He stated that by using reason one necessarily comes to the conclusions spelled out in the Gospels.
2) The prophecies being fulfilled and the miracles being worked by Christ proved he is obviously God.
The Church government developed gradually over the years. Then it exploded as Christianity was legalized by Constantine the Great.
The bishops gained power through wealth prior to Constantine. Then when Christianity was legalized bishops were given administrative and judicial power by the State.
Russell's underhanded attack on Christianity compares Christian 'intolerance' to the "advantages of intolerance in propaganda" used by Hitler (Russell, 330).
Inconsistency? Russell calls the Jews stubborn to Greek influence, yet credits the Greeks with teaching the Jews resurrection of the spirit.
Christian morality was legendary before Constantine. "Their sexual ethics had a strictness that was rare in antiquity" (Russell, 332). This helped Christianity spread.
Constantine used the Christian underground hierarchy to stabilize the Empire. In doing so it spread Christianity. Constantine demanded unity in Christianity, hence the Nicea ecumenical council and the Nicene Creed.
Orthodox Christianity fought against heresies, like Arianism for a longtime.
Athanasius (297-373) was the champion of Orthodox Christianity.
Friday, February 3, 2006
Notes on the Formation, Interpretation and Composition of Scriptures
(Originally written February 3, 2006 in Book 23)
A Faith for all Season
Chapter 2 - The Need for Holy Scripture
Originally, God created a perfect world in this perfect world there was no distinction between special and general revelation. God's words and God's works (creation) were together. God's works (man) rebelled gains God's words. God could no longer be in the presence of His works because of their sinfulness and neither could God's word. Thus, each is still full of general revelation (God's works) but special revelation (His words) are nowhere to be found. Salvation can not be provided by general revelation, special revelation is needed. God provide that special revelation: the Scriptures and Jesus Christ.
Scripture as the Word of God
Theologians throughout history have affirmed what Jesus said: that scripture was and is the word of God (John 10:35)
The Church's belief of scripture as the word of God's is closely linked with the doctrine of divine inspiration of Scripture.
The doctrine of divine inspiration of Scripture comes from 2 Timothy 3:16-17. All Scripture is inspired by God. The NIV translates it as "God-breathed" The Greek in this passage uses the word "theopneustos" (literally God + Breath)
2 Peter 1:20-21 confirms that the authors were not simply inspired to write something; but the words themselves were inspired by God. No prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet's own interpretation for the prophecy never had its origin in the will of men, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.
Both Paul and Peter were referring to Scripture as the Old Testament, but applying to the New Testament is justified by 3 things:
1) Jesus saw his mission and message as in accordance with the Old Testament
2) Jesus made his apostles agents of divine revelation inspired by the Holy Spirit
3) Jesus stated that future believers would come to faith through the apostolic word
The Scripture is useful in two ways:
1) Doctrine
2) Practice
The Scripture can be used to accomplish 4 Things:
1) Teaching: the idea of proclaiming the truth
2) Rebuking: the idea of combating doctrinal error
3) Correction: the act of leading someone away from an ungodly lifestyle (this is about ethics, not doctrine)
4) Training in righteousness: helping people lead godly lives
The Scriptures make the man of God complete
Nobody profits from understanding the Scriptures if they do not accept and follow them.
Sometimes the words verbal and plenary are used to describe the traditional Christian doctrine of Biblical inspiration
Verbal, Plenary Inspiration
Plenary means full, therefore "plenary inspiration" is full inspiration
"Verbal inspiration" is the idea that the words of Scripture are the exact words God wanted written.
Most Christians do not believe that God dictated to the writers. He allowed them to keep their personalities and styles in their books. God dictating is what Islam believes is the origin of the Qu'ran.
Some Christians believe that God inspired feelings and ideas in the writers. This takes in account for the differing styles in the books. This view however states that the Bible is only quantitatively superior to other works.
The historic consensus of theology is qualitatively superior to other works.
Modern Protestants take the Scriptures as both the word of God and the words of men. This view is that God supervised the writing to get what he wanted said written, but allowed the human authors to keep their humanity and individuality in their work.
Modern Alternatives to Verbal, Plenary Inspiration
Karl Barth: a 20th century Swiss theologian
In his "Church Dogmatics", Barth acknowledges only Jesus Christ as special revelation.
According to Barth's view the Bible is not special revelation and there is no general revelation. The only way God reveals himself is through Jesus Christ.
Revelation only occurs through the risen Jesus Christ living inside of Christian.
Barth denies that the Bible is the "word of God". He states that the Bible can only become the word of God when Jesus Christ uses it to convict us.
Barth believed that knowledge of God was beyond any man's capabilities.
Barth's form of theology is Dialectical theology.
Dialectical theology is when God comes to us as the One who is beyond comprehension and he judges anyone who attempts to comprehend him.
However, Barth changed his views later in life. He states that God can actually be known, but not because man is capable of knowing him. Man can know God because God bridged the gap between humanity and God through Jesus Christ.
In Barth's view the Bible, while not revelation in and of itself, is a witness to revelation in the person of Jesus Christ.
Another school of modern theology bases their beliefs, not on the revelation being in Jesus Christ, but in the belief that the revelation of God comes from the historical events of God's redemption.
Scripture, in this view, is ancient writer's attempts of documenting God's saving acts and those acts' impacts on our lives.
As in the case with Barth's theology, revelation does not lie in the text of the Scripture, but in the "encountered results of what God did for them" (Dorman, 25).
This view holds that the Scriptures are the writers' interpretation of the significance of God's actions. In this view, we are not competed to believe what God did, only what his actions did to impact the writers.
Another modern theology is a partial-inspiration theory. There are various forms of this theory.
This view states that all Biblical statements that deal with spiritual matters are true and from God, but statements regarding historical matters are not necessarily accurate.
The partial inspiration theory does attempt to link the text of the Bible with special revelation.
This view states that the Bible can in fact be erroneous, but is still important on matters of faith.
The Historical events of the Bible are regarded as parables and allegories is the partial-inspiration theory.
The Interpretation of Scripture
Allegory - "the expression through symbolic figures and actions of truths or generalizations about human conduct or experience" (Dorman, 27)
The idea that readers of Scripture must reinterpret the events recorded in them as allegories is rooted in the Greek philosophy of dualism.
According to this dualistic theory, historical events and realities, including the language, are mere images or shadows of the divine realities.
Ancient Judaism and Christianity believed, contrastingly, that God had in fact spoken and acted at specific instances in history. Jesus Christ is the prime example of this.
It is because this belief that the early church generally avoided interpreting the Scriptures allegorically.
During the second century A.D. some of the Church had trouble seeing the connection between God in the Old Testament and Jesus Christ. Marcion is a prime example of this.
Marcion believed that the Bible showed two gods:
1) the Old Testament was a warlike, judgmental deity
2) The New Testament god was kind and loving.
Because of his view of two differently described, Marcion rejected the Old Testament as Scripture and purged the gospel of any Jewish tradition.
Origen considered some of the descriptions of God in the Old Testament as cruel and sub-Christian, but refused to reject the Old Testament like Marcion. He instead removed the offensive passages by interpreting them allegorically.
Origen held that not every Christian was capable of finding the spiritual or allegorical meaning of the text. He believed that this spiritual interpretation was given to the apostles who passed it on to the teachers of the Holy Church. This laid the way for the Catholic view that only its teaching office was able to interpret.
Origen's spiritual interpretation came from two sources:
1) The Holy Spirit was the author of Scripture
2) An influence of Dualism, passed on to him by Philo, who had allegorized the Old Testament in order to synthesize it with Greek philosophy.
Origen held that the literal meaning of the text was inferior to the spiritual meaning because the literal meaning came from the human writer and the spiritual came from the Holy Spirit.
The Antiochean school of theology was opposite to the theology of Origen. They held that the primary meaning of Scripture was its literal, historical sense.
The works of Lucian (of Antioch) set the tone for the Antiochean interpretation of Scripture. Lucian sought to interpret the Scriptures through its Semitic perspective rather than through a Greek philosophical one.
Theodore, a later Antiochean, saw that the literal approach unified a record of God's redemptive work in time, whereas the allegorical method saw it as a collection of timeless truths.
The Antiochean school did not have any lasting effects on theology because of two reasons:
1) Lucian, its founder was also seen as the founder of Arianism. Arianism was a heresy that denied the full divinity of Christ.
2) Nestorious was found to be a heretic. Nestorious was taught by Theodore and therefore Theodore and the entire Antiochean School was condemned as well.
Because of the condemnation of the Antiochean School, one form or another of allegorical interpretation was held by the Church for the next 1,000 years.
The end of allegorical total domination came with the Protestant Reformation.
Luther stated that unless the text is plainly demands us to interpret it allegorically, it is to be interpreted literally, otherwise Scripture is a worthless fable.
Luther's approach to a more literal based interpretation of Scripture was called the grammatical-historical exegesis (exegesis is a fancy word for interpretation).
Luther stressed the perspicuity of Scripture. This basically means that the Bible is clear enough for any reasonably informed person to understand it.
Luther's emphasis on the literal interpretation of the Scriptures opened the doors to new theological insight which were previously shut by the dogmas of the Roman Catholic Church. It also, unfortunately opened the doors to a terrible form of interpretation, the "historical-critical" method.
During the 18th century history was defined by the Rationalists (an Enlightenment Philosophical offshoot) as a closed continuum of cause and effect. Basically, it denied any possibility for miracles. The "historical-critical" method was born out of this view. It declared that the miracles in the Bible were actually myths of the Bible. This method turned Jesus into a human teacher of ethics and denied him of any supernatural being.
This view of Jesus came under attack by late 19th century theologians. These theologians were ironically trained in the "historical-critical" method. They stated that the Gospels were written in such a way that it was impossible to separate a non-miraculous Jesus from a supernatural Christ.
The "historical critical" method seeks to find the meaning of Christ behind the Biblical texts.
The allegorical approach used by Origen sought to find the meaning of Christ above the Biblical text.
The literal approach used by the Antiochean school and the Reformers sought to find the meaning of Christ with the Biblical text.
The historical-critical method denies that Scripture is the word of God.
The Authority of Scripture
Christians have sought to confirm the authority of Scriptures in four ways:
1) The presuppositional approach
-This states that we know the Bible is the word of God because it claims to be.
-God is the author
-This approach does not give any criteria that can distinguish its claims to being divine revelation from the claims of other texts being of divine revelation, like the Qu'ran
-Jesus loves me this I know for the Bible tells me so
2) The Ecclesiastical Approach
-Christians can know Scripture is the word of God because the Church says it is (this is the Roman Catholic approach)
-It is true that the New Testament grew out of the very life of the Church
-Jesus loves me this I know for the Church it tells me so
3) The Spiritual Approach
- This view holds that the ecclesiastical approach places the Church above the Bible
- The inner witness of the Holy Spirit affirms the authority of Scripture
- Absolute assurances of the authority of Scripture can only come from God
- Jesus loves me this I know for the Spirit tells me so
4) The Evidentialist Approach
-There are many convincing proofs that Jesus Christ rose from the dead
-belief in the Bible comes from faith in Christ
-This view holds that the Bible is a generally historically accurate document
-It holds that the evidences from the Bible when combined with reasonable argument establishes that Jesus Christ was crucified, died, buried and rose from the dead beyond a reasonable doubt
-It holds that Jesus' resurrection proves He is the son of God and as such he is trustworthy in all he says
-Jesus trusted the Scriptures we should to
-Because of this we are obliged to follow Jesus and put our whole trust in the Bible as the word of God
The four categories of the authority of Scripture can be placed in two:
1) Fideism
2) Evidentialism
Fideism is based on the term faith, when faith means belief not related to knowledge. The presuppositional, ecclesiastical and spiritual approaches are all fideism.
Evidentialism bases faith upon evidences available to all people. It takes the seriously the historical nature of divine revelation. It refuses to confine knowledge of God to a subjective experience.
All four approaches agree that Scripture is the Church's rule of faith and practice.
The Sufficiency of Scripture
Protestant Reformers believed that the Scripture was alone sufficient while the Roman Catholic Church stated extra-Biblical teachings could be incorporated into Christian dogma.
Roman Catholicism holds that the same spirit which inspired the Scripture still inspires the teaching office of the Church (who they believe is the only fit persons to interpret Scripture).
Their non-Biblical dogmas must meet "apostolic" criteria to be included. There are two criteria it can meet:
1) Any oral tradition whose origins can be traced back to the apostles qualifies
2) The authoritative pronouncements of the ecclesiastical teaching office, whose origin (according to Catholicism) goes back to the apostle Peter qualifies
Protestants believe that only Scripture is apostolic in nature.
The apostles were more than filled with the spirit, they were commissioned by Christ as agents of revelation.
The Protestant definition of "apostolic" is based on the apostle's unique eyewitness experience of Christ's life, death and resurrection gave them the sole authority to write authoritative works to be included in the Scriptures.
The Formation of the Canon
The early church considered the Hebrew Scriptures as the Canon. The need for Scripture that witnessed to Jesus Christ became an issue in the middle of the second century.
It had become more difficult to separate genuine historic oral tradition concerning Christ from the pure myths of Christ.
The need for a church sanctioned canon became more apparent after Marcion produced his canon of some of Paul's letters and the Gospels (purged of any Jewish influence)
The Muratorian Canon is the earliest known list of books which were considered Christian Scripture appeared around AD 200.
In the first half of the third century Origen traveled extensively and recorded which books were considered as Scripture by the various local churches.
He categorized these books three ways:
1) Undisputed
2) Disputed
3) False
The letters of Paul, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John were categorized as undisputed.
2 Peter, 2 & 3 John, Hebrews, James and Jude were categorized as disputed.
The false category included all of the heretical gospels.
Athanasius, the most influential theologian of his day, recorded all 27 books included in todays New Testament in a letter in 367 AD.
The Council of Carthage, in 407 AD affirmed todays canon.
The Reformation saw Luther exclude the Apocrypha from the Old Testament Canon. Thus, the Roman Catholic Bible has nine more books in it than the Protestant one. Luther excluded these because the Jewish Scriptures did and he believed that Jesus and his disciples held the Jewish Scriptures as authoritative.
A Faith for all Season
Chapter 2 - The Need for Holy Scripture
Originally, God created a perfect world in this perfect world there was no distinction between special and general revelation. God's words and God's works (creation) were together. God's works (man) rebelled gains God's words. God could no longer be in the presence of His works because of their sinfulness and neither could God's word. Thus, each is still full of general revelation (God's works) but special revelation (His words) are nowhere to be found. Salvation can not be provided by general revelation, special revelation is needed. God provide that special revelation: the Scriptures and Jesus Christ.
Scripture as the Word of God
Theologians throughout history have affirmed what Jesus said: that scripture was and is the word of God (John 10:35)
The Church's belief of scripture as the word of God's is closely linked with the doctrine of divine inspiration of Scripture.
The doctrine of divine inspiration of Scripture comes from 2 Timothy 3:16-17. All Scripture is inspired by God. The NIV translates it as "God-breathed" The Greek in this passage uses the word "theopneustos" (literally God + Breath)
2 Peter 1:20-21 confirms that the authors were not simply inspired to write something; but the words themselves were inspired by God. No prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet's own interpretation for the prophecy never had its origin in the will of men, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.
Both Paul and Peter were referring to Scripture as the Old Testament, but applying to the New Testament is justified by 3 things:
1) Jesus saw his mission and message as in accordance with the Old Testament
2) Jesus made his apostles agents of divine revelation inspired by the Holy Spirit
3) Jesus stated that future believers would come to faith through the apostolic word
The Scripture is useful in two ways:
1) Doctrine
2) Practice
The Scripture can be used to accomplish 4 Things:
1) Teaching: the idea of proclaiming the truth
2) Rebuking: the idea of combating doctrinal error
3) Correction: the act of leading someone away from an ungodly lifestyle (this is about ethics, not doctrine)
4) Training in righteousness: helping people lead godly lives
The Scriptures make the man of God complete
Nobody profits from understanding the Scriptures if they do not accept and follow them.
Sometimes the words verbal and plenary are used to describe the traditional Christian doctrine of Biblical inspiration
Verbal, Plenary Inspiration
Plenary means full, therefore "plenary inspiration" is full inspiration
"Verbal inspiration" is the idea that the words of Scripture are the exact words God wanted written.
Most Christians do not believe that God dictated to the writers. He allowed them to keep their personalities and styles in their books. God dictating is what Islam believes is the origin of the Qu'ran.
Some Christians believe that God inspired feelings and ideas in the writers. This takes in account for the differing styles in the books. This view however states that the Bible is only quantitatively superior to other works.
The historic consensus of theology is qualitatively superior to other works.
Modern Protestants take the Scriptures as both the word of God and the words of men. This view is that God supervised the writing to get what he wanted said written, but allowed the human authors to keep their humanity and individuality in their work.
Modern Alternatives to Verbal, Plenary Inspiration
Karl Barth: a 20th century Swiss theologian
In his "Church Dogmatics", Barth acknowledges only Jesus Christ as special revelation.
According to Barth's view the Bible is not special revelation and there is no general revelation. The only way God reveals himself is through Jesus Christ.
Revelation only occurs through the risen Jesus Christ living inside of Christian.
Barth denies that the Bible is the "word of God". He states that the Bible can only become the word of God when Jesus Christ uses it to convict us.
Barth believed that knowledge of God was beyond any man's capabilities.
Barth's form of theology is Dialectical theology.
Dialectical theology is when God comes to us as the One who is beyond comprehension and he judges anyone who attempts to comprehend him.
However, Barth changed his views later in life. He states that God can actually be known, but not because man is capable of knowing him. Man can know God because God bridged the gap between humanity and God through Jesus Christ.
In Barth's view the Bible, while not revelation in and of itself, is a witness to revelation in the person of Jesus Christ.
Another school of modern theology bases their beliefs, not on the revelation being in Jesus Christ, but in the belief that the revelation of God comes from the historical events of God's redemption.
Scripture, in this view, is ancient writer's attempts of documenting God's saving acts and those acts' impacts on our lives.
As in the case with Barth's theology, revelation does not lie in the text of the Scripture, but in the "encountered results of what God did for them" (Dorman, 25).
This view holds that the Scriptures are the writers' interpretation of the significance of God's actions. In this view, we are not competed to believe what God did, only what his actions did to impact the writers.
Another modern theology is a partial-inspiration theory. There are various forms of this theory.
This view states that all Biblical statements that deal with spiritual matters are true and from God, but statements regarding historical matters are not necessarily accurate.
The partial inspiration theory does attempt to link the text of the Bible with special revelation.
This view states that the Bible can in fact be erroneous, but is still important on matters of faith.
The Historical events of the Bible are regarded as parables and allegories is the partial-inspiration theory.
The Interpretation of Scripture
Allegory - "the expression through symbolic figures and actions of truths or generalizations about human conduct or experience" (Dorman, 27)
The idea that readers of Scripture must reinterpret the events recorded in them as allegories is rooted in the Greek philosophy of dualism.
According to this dualistic theory, historical events and realities, including the language, are mere images or shadows of the divine realities.
Ancient Judaism and Christianity believed, contrastingly, that God had in fact spoken and acted at specific instances in history. Jesus Christ is the prime example of this.
It is because this belief that the early church generally avoided interpreting the Scriptures allegorically.
During the second century A.D. some of the Church had trouble seeing the connection between God in the Old Testament and Jesus Christ. Marcion is a prime example of this.
Marcion believed that the Bible showed two gods:
1) the Old Testament was a warlike, judgmental deity
2) The New Testament god was kind and loving.
Because of his view of two differently described, Marcion rejected the Old Testament as Scripture and purged the gospel of any Jewish tradition.
Origen considered some of the descriptions of God in the Old Testament as cruel and sub-Christian, but refused to reject the Old Testament like Marcion. He instead removed the offensive passages by interpreting them allegorically.
Origen held that not every Christian was capable of finding the spiritual or allegorical meaning of the text. He believed that this spiritual interpretation was given to the apostles who passed it on to the teachers of the Holy Church. This laid the way for the Catholic view that only its teaching office was able to interpret.
Origen's spiritual interpretation came from two sources:
1) The Holy Spirit was the author of Scripture
2) An influence of Dualism, passed on to him by Philo, who had allegorized the Old Testament in order to synthesize it with Greek philosophy.
Origen held that the literal meaning of the text was inferior to the spiritual meaning because the literal meaning came from the human writer and the spiritual came from the Holy Spirit.
The Antiochean school of theology was opposite to the theology of Origen. They held that the primary meaning of Scripture was its literal, historical sense.
The works of Lucian (of Antioch) set the tone for the Antiochean interpretation of Scripture. Lucian sought to interpret the Scriptures through its Semitic perspective rather than through a Greek philosophical one.
Theodore, a later Antiochean, saw that the literal approach unified a record of God's redemptive work in time, whereas the allegorical method saw it as a collection of timeless truths.
The Antiochean school did not have any lasting effects on theology because of two reasons:
1) Lucian, its founder was also seen as the founder of Arianism. Arianism was a heresy that denied the full divinity of Christ.
2) Nestorious was found to be a heretic. Nestorious was taught by Theodore and therefore Theodore and the entire Antiochean School was condemned as well.
Because of the condemnation of the Antiochean School, one form or another of allegorical interpretation was held by the Church for the next 1,000 years.
The end of allegorical total domination came with the Protestant Reformation.
Luther stated that unless the text is plainly demands us to interpret it allegorically, it is to be interpreted literally, otherwise Scripture is a worthless fable.
Luther's approach to a more literal based interpretation of Scripture was called the grammatical-historical exegesis (exegesis is a fancy word for interpretation).
Luther stressed the perspicuity of Scripture. This basically means that the Bible is clear enough for any reasonably informed person to understand it.
Luther's emphasis on the literal interpretation of the Scriptures opened the doors to new theological insight which were previously shut by the dogmas of the Roman Catholic Church. It also, unfortunately opened the doors to a terrible form of interpretation, the "historical-critical" method.
During the 18th century history was defined by the Rationalists (an Enlightenment Philosophical offshoot) as a closed continuum of cause and effect. Basically, it denied any possibility for miracles. The "historical-critical" method was born out of this view. It declared that the miracles in the Bible were actually myths of the Bible. This method turned Jesus into a human teacher of ethics and denied him of any supernatural being.
This view of Jesus came under attack by late 19th century theologians. These theologians were ironically trained in the "historical-critical" method. They stated that the Gospels were written in such a way that it was impossible to separate a non-miraculous Jesus from a supernatural Christ.
The "historical critical" method seeks to find the meaning of Christ behind the Biblical texts.
The allegorical approach used by Origen sought to find the meaning of Christ above the Biblical text.
The literal approach used by the Antiochean school and the Reformers sought to find the meaning of Christ with the Biblical text.
The historical-critical method denies that Scripture is the word of God.
The Authority of Scripture
Christians have sought to confirm the authority of Scriptures in four ways:
1) The presuppositional approach
-This states that we know the Bible is the word of God because it claims to be.
-God is the author
-This approach does not give any criteria that can distinguish its claims to being divine revelation from the claims of other texts being of divine revelation, like the Qu'ran
-Jesus loves me this I know for the Bible tells me so
2) The Ecclesiastical Approach
-Christians can know Scripture is the word of God because the Church says it is (this is the Roman Catholic approach)
-It is true that the New Testament grew out of the very life of the Church
-Jesus loves me this I know for the Church it tells me so
3) The Spiritual Approach
- This view holds that the ecclesiastical approach places the Church above the Bible
- The inner witness of the Holy Spirit affirms the authority of Scripture
- Absolute assurances of the authority of Scripture can only come from God
- Jesus loves me this I know for the Spirit tells me so
4) The Evidentialist Approach
-There are many convincing proofs that Jesus Christ rose from the dead
-belief in the Bible comes from faith in Christ
-This view holds that the Bible is a generally historically accurate document
-It holds that the evidences from the Bible when combined with reasonable argument establishes that Jesus Christ was crucified, died, buried and rose from the dead beyond a reasonable doubt
-It holds that Jesus' resurrection proves He is the son of God and as such he is trustworthy in all he says
-Jesus trusted the Scriptures we should to
-Because of this we are obliged to follow Jesus and put our whole trust in the Bible as the word of God
The four categories of the authority of Scripture can be placed in two:
1) Fideism
2) Evidentialism
Fideism is based on the term faith, when faith means belief not related to knowledge. The presuppositional, ecclesiastical and spiritual approaches are all fideism.
Evidentialism bases faith upon evidences available to all people. It takes the seriously the historical nature of divine revelation. It refuses to confine knowledge of God to a subjective experience.
All four approaches agree that Scripture is the Church's rule of faith and practice.
The Sufficiency of Scripture
Protestant Reformers believed that the Scripture was alone sufficient while the Roman Catholic Church stated extra-Biblical teachings could be incorporated into Christian dogma.
Roman Catholicism holds that the same spirit which inspired the Scripture still inspires the teaching office of the Church (who they believe is the only fit persons to interpret Scripture).
Their non-Biblical dogmas must meet "apostolic" criteria to be included. There are two criteria it can meet:
1) Any oral tradition whose origins can be traced back to the apostles qualifies
2) The authoritative pronouncements of the ecclesiastical teaching office, whose origin (according to Catholicism) goes back to the apostle Peter qualifies
Protestants believe that only Scripture is apostolic in nature.
The apostles were more than filled with the spirit, they were commissioned by Christ as agents of revelation.
The Protestant definition of "apostolic" is based on the apostle's unique eyewitness experience of Christ's life, death and resurrection gave them the sole authority to write authoritative works to be included in the Scriptures.
The Formation of the Canon
The early church considered the Hebrew Scriptures as the Canon. The need for Scripture that witnessed to Jesus Christ became an issue in the middle of the second century.
It had become more difficult to separate genuine historic oral tradition concerning Christ from the pure myths of Christ.
The need for a church sanctioned canon became more apparent after Marcion produced his canon of some of Paul's letters and the Gospels (purged of any Jewish influence)
The Muratorian Canon is the earliest known list of books which were considered Christian Scripture appeared around AD 200.
In the first half of the third century Origen traveled extensively and recorded which books were considered as Scripture by the various local churches.
He categorized these books three ways:
1) Undisputed
2) Disputed
3) False
The letters of Paul, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John were categorized as undisputed.
2 Peter, 2 & 3 John, Hebrews, James and Jude were categorized as disputed.
The false category included all of the heretical gospels.
Athanasius, the most influential theologian of his day, recorded all 27 books included in todays New Testament in a letter in 367 AD.
The Council of Carthage, in 407 AD affirmed todays canon.
The Reformation saw Luther exclude the Apocrypha from the Old Testament Canon. Thus, the Roman Catholic Bible has nine more books in it than the Protestant one. Luther excluded these because the Jewish Scriptures did and he believed that Jesus and his disciples held the Jewish Scriptures as authoritative.
Tuesday, January 24, 2006
Catholic Epistles, Pastoral Epistles, The Epistles of John
(Originally written January 24, 2006 in Book 20)
The first three Catholic Epistles:
1 Peter
2 Peter
Jude
1 Peter: Salvation & Suffering
What it means to live for God in a world without God.
"For Western Christians at the close of the 20th Century this brief tract written within a culture not yet Christian becomes a relevant textbook on Christian living in a culture no longer Christian".
1 Peter
I. Problem of Authorship
-What difference does it make whether the Apostle Peter wrote this letter or someone else wrote it and ascribed it to Peter?
-Peter is a highly esteemed apostle
-Peter was an eye witness
-Peter's words in 1 Peter & Acts
II. Who was I Peter written to?
-Gentiles
III. Setting of Peter's Readers
-ridicule for their beliefs
-honor and shame
-walking in Jesus' steps
2. II Peter
-Parallels Jude
-II Peter 1:20-21 Source of Scripture
- A response to rationalistic and hedonistic denials of God
-Paul's letter as Scripture
3. Jude: Danger! False Teachers!
-Parallels 2 Peter
-Jude was probably written after II Peter
Pastoral Epistles
Called Pastoral because they were written to young pastors
Contents: Introduction to Timothy and Titus about:
1) Errors of false teachers
2) Conduct and teaching as pastors/teachers
3) Church order and behavior in worship
4) Pastor's relationship to other groups in the Church
5) Qualifications for Church leaders
Authorship: critical scholarship considered non-Pauline
-a pseudonymous writer in the second century
-used Paul's authority
-to combat a rising Gnostic influence
-or could think of them as pious forgeries
Paul's authorship attacked on four grounds
1) Historical arguments
-don't fit into chronology in Acts (written after Paul was released in the end of Acts)
2) Stylistic arguments
-Author uses different style and words than Paul's (Paul was older, could have given secretaries more freedom)
3) Ecclesiastical arguments
-Church structure and church order is too developed for first century church (ignores fact that church in Acts is already highly developed)
4) Theological arguments:
-Heresy is a developed Gnosticism of the second century so it is therefore, post-Paul (Gnostic heresy existed very early on)
1st Timothy Highlights
1:18-20 Timothy's character and Paul's admonition
1 Corinthians 11:29-30
- New covenant stipulation
- Will Hymenaeus and Philters be in heaven?
2 Timothy is written 5 years after and it seems unlikely.
2:11-15
- Role of women in the church is one of the hottest topics in evangelicalism today
Authorship of Hebrews
-Philip?
-Apollos?
-Priscilla?
-Barnabas?
Hebrews was the oldest complete early Christian sermon that has been preserved.
Written to professing Jewish Christians in danger of apostasy (going back to Judaism)
The Epistles of John
Intro to I John
Test of fellowship
-Am I a carnal or a spirit directed believer?
-Assumes all John's readers are believers
Tests of Life View
-Am I spiritually alive or spiritually dead?
-Assumes some readers are not Christian
The first three Catholic Epistles:
1 Peter
2 Peter
Jude
1 Peter: Salvation & Suffering
What it means to live for God in a world without God.
"For Western Christians at the close of the 20th Century this brief tract written within a culture not yet Christian becomes a relevant textbook on Christian living in a culture no longer Christian".
1 Peter
I. Problem of Authorship
-What difference does it make whether the Apostle Peter wrote this letter or someone else wrote it and ascribed it to Peter?
-Peter is a highly esteemed apostle
-Peter was an eye witness
-Peter's words in 1 Peter & Acts
II. Who was I Peter written to?
-Gentiles
III. Setting of Peter's Readers
-ridicule for their beliefs
-honor and shame
-walking in Jesus' steps
2. II Peter
-Parallels Jude
-II Peter 1:20-21 Source of Scripture
- A response to rationalistic and hedonistic denials of God
-Paul's letter as Scripture
3. Jude: Danger! False Teachers!
-Parallels 2 Peter
-Jude was probably written after II Peter
Pastoral Epistles
Called Pastoral because they were written to young pastors
Contents: Introduction to Timothy and Titus about:
1) Errors of false teachers
2) Conduct and teaching as pastors/teachers
3) Church order and behavior in worship
4) Pastor's relationship to other groups in the Church
5) Qualifications for Church leaders
Authorship: critical scholarship considered non-Pauline
-a pseudonymous writer in the second century
-used Paul's authority
-to combat a rising Gnostic influence
-or could think of them as pious forgeries
Paul's authorship attacked on four grounds
1) Historical arguments
-don't fit into chronology in Acts (written after Paul was released in the end of Acts)
2) Stylistic arguments
-Author uses different style and words than Paul's (Paul was older, could have given secretaries more freedom)
3) Ecclesiastical arguments
-Church structure and church order is too developed for first century church (ignores fact that church in Acts is already highly developed)
4) Theological arguments:
-Heresy is a developed Gnosticism of the second century so it is therefore, post-Paul (Gnostic heresy existed very early on)
1st Timothy Highlights
1:18-20 Timothy's character and Paul's admonition
1 Corinthians 11:29-30
- New covenant stipulation
- Will Hymenaeus and Philters be in heaven?
2 Timothy is written 5 years after and it seems unlikely.
2:11-15
- Role of women in the church is one of the hottest topics in evangelicalism today
Authorship of Hebrews
-Philip?
-Apollos?
-Priscilla?
-Barnabas?
Hebrews was the oldest complete early Christian sermon that has been preserved.
Written to professing Jewish Christians in danger of apostasy (going back to Judaism)
The Epistles of John
Intro to I John
Test of fellowship
-Am I a carnal or a spirit directed believer?
-Assumes all John's readers are believers
Tests of Life View
-Am I spiritually alive or spiritually dead?
-Assumes some readers are not Christian
Friday, January 20, 2006
1 Corinthians 15:3-5 & Early Church in Rome
(Originally written January 20, 2006 in book 20)
1 Corinthians 15:3-5
1) Christ died for our sins
2) He was buried
3) He was raised on the third day
4) He was seen by Cephas and the 12
Romans
Who planted the church in Rome?
-Apostle Peter was the founder and first bishop of the Roman Church with a ministry lasting about 25 years.
-Jewish residents of Rome were in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost.
-Christian's from Paul's missionary churches in the east.
Indicative (it is) and Imperative (it ought to be) in Paul's theology: What God has done for us and what God expects from Christians
1 Corinthians 15:3-5
1) Christ died for our sins
2) He was buried
3) He was raised on the third day
4) He was seen by Cephas and the 12
Romans
Who planted the church in Rome?
-Apostle Peter was the founder and first bishop of the Roman Church with a ministry lasting about 25 years.
-Jewish residents of Rome were in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost.
-Christian's from Paul's missionary churches in the east.
Indicative (it is) and Imperative (it ought to be) in Paul's theology: What God has done for us and what God expects from Christians
Thursday, January 12, 2006
Notes on the Introduction to Acts
(Originally written January 12, 2006 in Book 20)
Matthew - Jewish Audience
Mark - Roman Audience
Rabbinic Debate: Shammai vs. Hillel
Shammai - Deuteronomy 24:1 Divorce for adultery
Hillel - Deuteronomy 24:1 Divorce for any cause
Jesus replies with Genesis 1:27 & 2:24
Crucifixion of Jesus
Saturday - Anointment of Jesus by Mary
Sunday - Triumphal entry
Monday - Curses the fig tree (again) and changes the Temple
Tuesday - See the fig tree withered, Jesus argues with religious leaders, Jesus goes to the Mount of Olives and tells the disciples of the signs of the End
Wednesday - inactive
Thursday: Last Supper in Mark's mother's house. Jesus arrested and taken to the Sanhedrin
5 Precautions taken in case that Jesus would not rise from the Dead
1) Prepared in accordance with Jewish burial customs
2) Placed in a new tomb "cut out of the rock"
3) A "Big Stone", "Extremely large" was rolled in front of the tomb's entrance
4) Roman Guard was place in front of the tomb (probably four men)
5) Seal of Rome placed on the entrance of the tomb
Introduction to Acts
Acts 1:8 gives the outline of the Book of Acts
I. The Witness in Jerusalem 1:1-6:7
II. The Witness in All Judea and Samaria 6:8-9:21
III. The Witness to the Ends of the Earth 9:32-28:31
-Antioch (Syria) * Antioch is the missionary church 9:32-12:24
-Asia Minor 12:25-16:5
-Aegean (Greece) 16:16-19:20
-Rome 19:21-28:31
"Progress Report" Refrains in Acts
6:7, 9:31, 12:24, 19:20, 20:31
Acts 8-12
8:1-3 The Church is being persecuted in Jerusalem and the members scattered. Stephen was buried while Saul tries to destroy the church.
8:4-8 Wherever the scattered members went they preached. Philip went to Samaria and cast out demons, healed and taught. There was great joy in the city.
8:9-25 Philip is preaching in Samaria when a sorcerer believed and is baptized. Peter and John came out to Samaria to bring them the Holy Spirit. The sorcerer offers to pay Peter and John to teach him the power. They rebuke him for his wicked and sinful heart, trying to buy God's grace.
8:26-40 Philip goes down to the road and hears an Ethiopian reading from Isaiah. Philip explained what the passage means to the man. Philip baptizes the Ethiopian eunuch and then he is taken away by the Spirit.
Matthew - Jewish Audience
Mark - Roman Audience
Rabbinic Debate: Shammai vs. Hillel
Shammai - Deuteronomy 24:1 Divorce for adultery
Hillel - Deuteronomy 24:1 Divorce for any cause
Jesus replies with Genesis 1:27 & 2:24
Crucifixion of Jesus
Saturday - Anointment of Jesus by Mary
Sunday - Triumphal entry
Monday - Curses the fig tree (again) and changes the Temple
Tuesday - See the fig tree withered, Jesus argues with religious leaders, Jesus goes to the Mount of Olives and tells the disciples of the signs of the End
Wednesday - inactive
Thursday: Last Supper in Mark's mother's house. Jesus arrested and taken to the Sanhedrin
5 Precautions taken in case that Jesus would not rise from the Dead
1) Prepared in accordance with Jewish burial customs
2) Placed in a new tomb "cut out of the rock"
3) A "Big Stone", "Extremely large" was rolled in front of the tomb's entrance
4) Roman Guard was place in front of the tomb (probably four men)
5) Seal of Rome placed on the entrance of the tomb
Introduction to Acts
Acts 1:8 gives the outline of the Book of Acts
I. The Witness in Jerusalem 1:1-6:7
II. The Witness in All Judea and Samaria 6:8-9:21
III. The Witness to the Ends of the Earth 9:32-28:31
-Antioch (Syria) * Antioch is the missionary church 9:32-12:24
-Asia Minor 12:25-16:5
-Aegean (Greece) 16:16-19:20
-Rome 19:21-28:31
"Progress Report" Refrains in Acts
6:7, 9:31, 12:24, 19:20, 20:31
Acts 8-12
8:1-3 The Church is being persecuted in Jerusalem and the members scattered. Stephen was buried while Saul tries to destroy the church.
8:4-8 Wherever the scattered members went they preached. Philip went to Samaria and cast out demons, healed and taught. There was great joy in the city.
8:9-25 Philip is preaching in Samaria when a sorcerer believed and is baptized. Peter and John came out to Samaria to bring them the Holy Spirit. The sorcerer offers to pay Peter and John to teach him the power. They rebuke him for his wicked and sinful heart, trying to buy God's grace.
8:26-40 Philip goes down to the road and hears an Ethiopian reading from Isaiah. Philip explained what the passage means to the man. Philip baptizes the Ethiopian eunuch and then he is taken away by the Spirit.
Friday, January 6, 2006
Quick outline of Mark
(Originally written January 6, 2006 in Notebook 20)
Mark 1:1 - 9:50
1:1-8 John the Baptist prepares the way for Jesus: "After me will come one more powerful than I, ... I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with he Holy Spirit"
1:9-13 Jesus is baptized by John, then sent to the desert by God where he is tempted by Satan.
1:14-20 Jesus gathers his first four disciples, Simon, Andrew, James and John (the fishermen)
1:21-28 Jesus was teaching on the Sabbath when a demon possessed man confronted him. Jesus cast the demons out of the man and all the people wondered what this new teaching and authority was.
1:29-34 Jesus heals Simon's mother-in-law and word spread about Jesus' healing powers. Many people brought the sick and demon possessed to Jesus to be healed. Jesus healed them and cast the demons out but would not let the demons speak, for they knew who he was.
1:35-39 Jesus went to pray one morning. His disciples went looking for him and then they left to go to other villages to preach.
1:40-45 Jesus heals a man with leprosy and informs him not to tell anyone. The man disobeys and tells everyone. Jesus can now no longer enter any town without a mob rushing him. He stays outside the cities, but crowds still flock to him.
2:1-12 When Jesus returned to Capernaum a crowd so large gathered that no one else could get inside. Four men ripped a hole in the roof and lowered the paralytic in to see Jesus. Jesus said to the man, "your sins are forgiven". Some teachers began to wonder and accuse Jesus of blasphemy in their heads. Jesus knew this and asked the men, "is it easier to forgive someone's sins or to heal him of his injuries?" To prove that he was the Christ he ordered the man to rise up and walk home. Everyone was amazed by this and praised God.
2:13-17 Jesus eats dinner with the tax collectors and "sinners". The Pharisees ask his disciples why he eats with those people and Jesus replies, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but the sinners"
2:18-22 Jesus is asked why his disciples are not fasting. Jesus answers they will fast after he has filled them with what they need to be sustained.
2:23-28 Jesus and his disciples pick some grain to eat on the Sabbath. The Pharisees ask why Jesus allows his disciples to break the law and Jesus replies that the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.
3:1-6 Jesus asks the men in the synagogue if it is right to do good or evil on the Sabbath, to save life or to kill; but, no one answers. Jesus then heals a man with a gimp hand and the Pharisees seek to kill Jesus for healing on the Sabbath.
3:7-12 People from all over the area came to see Jesus after they heard of the miracles. Demons bowed at his feet and said, "You are the son of God" but Jesus told them not to say who he was.
3:13-19 Jesus appoints twelve apostles who will preach and drive out demons: Simon (Peter), James, John, Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James (son of Alphaeus), Thaddeus, Simon the Zealot and Judas
3:20-30 Jesus is accused of being possessed by Satan and driving out demons in the name of Satan. Jesus replies with, "How can Satan drive out Satan? A house divided against itself cannot stand. If Satan opposes himself his time is over".
4:1-20 Jesus tells the parable of the Sower. A farmer throws seeds and some land on the path where the birds ate them. Some fell not the rocks where they grew but withered in the sun. Some fell on the thorns where they grew but were choked. Other seeds fell on good soil where they grew and produced a crop. Jesus asked if the people understood. The people didn't understand so Jesus explained it. The seeds on the path are like the people who hear the word but Satan takes it away. The seeds on the rocks are those who hear and accept but fall away at the first sign of persecution. The seeds that fell in the thorns are those who hear the word but it is choked away by worldly things. The seeds that fall in the good soil and produce fruit are those that hear the word and accept it and produce a crop of believers.
4:21-25 Jesus asks if a lamp is hidden, no of course not! It's put on a stand. He says what is hidden will be disclosed. He says you will be judged as harshly and more as you judge others. And says those who have will be given more (the saved) and those without will have more taken away (the lost).
4:26-29 The parable of the growing seed is what the kingdom of God is like. Seeds continue to sprout up without him knowing how. And when the grain is ripe it will be harvested.
4:30-34 The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed. It is the smallest of all seeds but produces the largest of all garden plants. Jesus also explains all the parables he taught to his disciples.
4:35-41 Jesus is asleep in the boat when a massive storm comes over the sea. The disciples woke Jesus and he calmed the sea. The disciples were amazed at His power.
5:1-20 Jesus comes on man who was possessed by a legion of demons. The demons beg Jesus not to torture them or banish them from the area. They beg to be released to a flock of pigs nearby. Jesus lets them and they enter the pigs and cause them all to drown. The town came out to see what had happened and asked Jesus to leave. The formerly demon-possessed man begged to go with Jesus, but Jesus told him to stay with his family and tell how the Lord has been good to him.
5:21-43 Jesus after crossing the lake was approached by a synagogue leader begging Jesus to come heal his dying daughter. On the way a woman who had been bleeding touched Jesus garment and was healed.
6:1-6 Jesus spoke in his hometown and was not accepted. He was appalled by their lack of faith.
6:7-13 Jesus sent the 12 out to preach and cast out demons.
6:14-29 John the Baptist is beheaded by Herod.
6:30-44 Jesus feeds the 5,000.
6:45-56 Jesus walks on the water out to the 12 in the middle of the lake.
7:1-23 Jesus is approached by the Pharisees about why his disciples don't follow the Jewish traditions. jesus calls the men hypocrites for holding to Jewish traditions but ignoring God's law. Jesus then declares it is not the external world that makes a man unclean, but it is man's hearth that makes him unclean.
7:24-30 Jesus enters a house secretly but is found by a Greek woman. This woman begs Jesus to drive a demon out of her daughter. Jesus replies, "first let the children eat... for it is not right to take the children's bread and toss it to the dogs". The woman replies, "but even the dogs under the table eat the children's crumbs". Jesus states that because of the woman's faith her daughter is freed of the demon.
7:31-37 Jesus heals a deaf and mute man. He commands the people not to talk about it but they are amazed and talk about it.
8:1-13 Jesus feeds 4,000 men with 7 loaves of bread and a few small fish. He then rebukes the Pharisees for asking for a miracle.
8:14-21 Jesus warns the disciples about the yeast of the Pharisees and of Herod. The disciples take this literally and Jesus rebukes them
8:22-26 Jesus heals a blind man and orders him not to go into the village.
8:27-30 Jesus asks Peter who he thinks he is. Peter replies to Jesus, "you are the Christ". Jesus warns him not to tell anyone.
8:31-9:1 Jesus predicts his death and resurrection. Jesus rebukes Peter for rebuking him.
9:2-13 Jesus, Peter, John and James go up a mountain where Jesus is transfigured and talks with Moses and Elijah.
9:14-32 Jesus drives a demon out of a boy that his disciples could not. Jesus again predicts his death and resurrection. The disciples were afraid.
9:33-37 Jesus asks the twelve what they were arguing about. The twelve were arguing over who is the greatest disciple. Jesus says the greatest is the least. Those who serve will be great.
9:38-41 Jesus tells his disciples whoever is not against him is for him.
9:42-50 Jesus tells them if your hand causes you to sin it is better to cut it off than go to hell. Then Jesus tells the twelve to be salt.
10:1-12 Jesus condemns divorce.
10:13-16 Jesus rebukes his disciples for not letting the little children come to him.
10:17-31 Jesus tells a young rich man for him to enter heaven he must sell all his possessions, give it to the poor and follow him. The man did not.
10:32-34 Jesus again predicts his death to the twelve.
10:35-45 James and John ask to sit next to Jesus in glory. The other disciples are upset at this and Jesus tells them that to be great they must become a servant.
10:46-52 Jesus heals a blind man who begs for his sight, "By your faith you are healed".
11:1-11 Jesus has his disciples go and get him colt and he rides into Jerusalem while a crowd sings, "hosanna"
11:12-19 Jesus, hungry, walks to a fig tree in the distance. When there is no fruit Jesus says, "may no one eat fruit from you again". Then Jesus goes to the Temple and drives out all the merchandisers and money lenders. The leaders looked for a way to kill him. Then Jesus and the twelve left the city.
11:20-25 The fig tree Jesus cursed withered and died. Jesus tells his disciples that what you ask for in prayer if you have faith will happen and he tells them to forgive others.
11:27-33 The leaders of the temple ask Jesus who give him his authority. Jesus answered with a question: did John the Baptist baptize from heaven or from men? The Pharisees decided not to tell him their answer, so Jesus did not answer their question.
12:1-12 Jesus spoke the Parable of the Tenants to the people
12:13-17 Jesus says, "Give to Caesar what is Caesar's and to God what is God's
12:18-27 Jesus tells them there will be no marriage in the resurrection, people will be as angels
12:28-34 Jesus says the Greatest commandment - Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second greatest - Love your neighbor as yourself.
12:35-39 Jesus warns the people of the teachers of the law's hypocrisy.
12:41-44 The poor widow gave her offering and it was greater than the wealthiest person's gift.
13:1-31 Jesus predicts the end times and tells them what will happen before it comes.
13:32-37 Jesus tells the disciples no one knows the hour when the Son of Man will return except the father.
14:1-11 A woman pours expensive perfume on Jesus and Jesus says it will prepare him for his burial. Judas went to the chief priests to betray Jesus for pay.
14:12-26 Jesus predicts his betrayal, then has the passover dinner.
14:27-31 Jesus predicts Peter's denials.
14:32-42 Jesus prays at Gethsemane where his disciples fall asleep. jesus asks for the cup to be taken away, "but not my will, but thine be done".
14:43-52 Jesus is arrested in Gethsemane, when Judas kisses him.
14:53-65 Jesus is brought to trial and declares He is the Son of Man an the Messiah.
14:66-72 Peter denies Jesus three times, just as predicted
15:1-15 Jesus appears before Pilate. Barabbas is released and Jesus is condemned to be crucified.
Mark 1:1 - 9:50
1:1-8 John the Baptist prepares the way for Jesus: "After me will come one more powerful than I, ... I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with he Holy Spirit"
1:9-13 Jesus is baptized by John, then sent to the desert by God where he is tempted by Satan.
1:14-20 Jesus gathers his first four disciples, Simon, Andrew, James and John (the fishermen)
1:21-28 Jesus was teaching on the Sabbath when a demon possessed man confronted him. Jesus cast the demons out of the man and all the people wondered what this new teaching and authority was.
1:29-34 Jesus heals Simon's mother-in-law and word spread about Jesus' healing powers. Many people brought the sick and demon possessed to Jesus to be healed. Jesus healed them and cast the demons out but would not let the demons speak, for they knew who he was.
1:35-39 Jesus went to pray one morning. His disciples went looking for him and then they left to go to other villages to preach.
1:40-45 Jesus heals a man with leprosy and informs him not to tell anyone. The man disobeys and tells everyone. Jesus can now no longer enter any town without a mob rushing him. He stays outside the cities, but crowds still flock to him.
2:1-12 When Jesus returned to Capernaum a crowd so large gathered that no one else could get inside. Four men ripped a hole in the roof and lowered the paralytic in to see Jesus. Jesus said to the man, "your sins are forgiven". Some teachers began to wonder and accuse Jesus of blasphemy in their heads. Jesus knew this and asked the men, "is it easier to forgive someone's sins or to heal him of his injuries?" To prove that he was the Christ he ordered the man to rise up and walk home. Everyone was amazed by this and praised God.
2:13-17 Jesus eats dinner with the tax collectors and "sinners". The Pharisees ask his disciples why he eats with those people and Jesus replies, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but the sinners"
2:18-22 Jesus is asked why his disciples are not fasting. Jesus answers they will fast after he has filled them with what they need to be sustained.
2:23-28 Jesus and his disciples pick some grain to eat on the Sabbath. The Pharisees ask why Jesus allows his disciples to break the law and Jesus replies that the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.
3:1-6 Jesus asks the men in the synagogue if it is right to do good or evil on the Sabbath, to save life or to kill; but, no one answers. Jesus then heals a man with a gimp hand and the Pharisees seek to kill Jesus for healing on the Sabbath.
3:7-12 People from all over the area came to see Jesus after they heard of the miracles. Demons bowed at his feet and said, "You are the son of God" but Jesus told them not to say who he was.
3:13-19 Jesus appoints twelve apostles who will preach and drive out demons: Simon (Peter), James, John, Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James (son of Alphaeus), Thaddeus, Simon the Zealot and Judas
3:20-30 Jesus is accused of being possessed by Satan and driving out demons in the name of Satan. Jesus replies with, "How can Satan drive out Satan? A house divided against itself cannot stand. If Satan opposes himself his time is over".
4:1-20 Jesus tells the parable of the Sower. A farmer throws seeds and some land on the path where the birds ate them. Some fell not the rocks where they grew but withered in the sun. Some fell on the thorns where they grew but were choked. Other seeds fell on good soil where they grew and produced a crop. Jesus asked if the people understood. The people didn't understand so Jesus explained it. The seeds on the path are like the people who hear the word but Satan takes it away. The seeds on the rocks are those who hear and accept but fall away at the first sign of persecution. The seeds that fell in the thorns are those who hear the word but it is choked away by worldly things. The seeds that fall in the good soil and produce fruit are those that hear the word and accept it and produce a crop of believers.
4:21-25 Jesus asks if a lamp is hidden, no of course not! It's put on a stand. He says what is hidden will be disclosed. He says you will be judged as harshly and more as you judge others. And says those who have will be given more (the saved) and those without will have more taken away (the lost).
4:26-29 The parable of the growing seed is what the kingdom of God is like. Seeds continue to sprout up without him knowing how. And when the grain is ripe it will be harvested.
4:30-34 The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed. It is the smallest of all seeds but produces the largest of all garden plants. Jesus also explains all the parables he taught to his disciples.
4:35-41 Jesus is asleep in the boat when a massive storm comes over the sea. The disciples woke Jesus and he calmed the sea. The disciples were amazed at His power.
5:1-20 Jesus comes on man who was possessed by a legion of demons. The demons beg Jesus not to torture them or banish them from the area. They beg to be released to a flock of pigs nearby. Jesus lets them and they enter the pigs and cause them all to drown. The town came out to see what had happened and asked Jesus to leave. The formerly demon-possessed man begged to go with Jesus, but Jesus told him to stay with his family and tell how the Lord has been good to him.
5:21-43 Jesus after crossing the lake was approached by a synagogue leader begging Jesus to come heal his dying daughter. On the way a woman who had been bleeding touched Jesus garment and was healed.
6:1-6 Jesus spoke in his hometown and was not accepted. He was appalled by their lack of faith.
6:7-13 Jesus sent the 12 out to preach and cast out demons.
6:14-29 John the Baptist is beheaded by Herod.
6:30-44 Jesus feeds the 5,000.
6:45-56 Jesus walks on the water out to the 12 in the middle of the lake.
7:1-23 Jesus is approached by the Pharisees about why his disciples don't follow the Jewish traditions. jesus calls the men hypocrites for holding to Jewish traditions but ignoring God's law. Jesus then declares it is not the external world that makes a man unclean, but it is man's hearth that makes him unclean.
7:24-30 Jesus enters a house secretly but is found by a Greek woman. This woman begs Jesus to drive a demon out of her daughter. Jesus replies, "first let the children eat... for it is not right to take the children's bread and toss it to the dogs". The woman replies, "but even the dogs under the table eat the children's crumbs". Jesus states that because of the woman's faith her daughter is freed of the demon.
7:31-37 Jesus heals a deaf and mute man. He commands the people not to talk about it but they are amazed and talk about it.
8:1-13 Jesus feeds 4,000 men with 7 loaves of bread and a few small fish. He then rebukes the Pharisees for asking for a miracle.
8:14-21 Jesus warns the disciples about the yeast of the Pharisees and of Herod. The disciples take this literally and Jesus rebukes them
8:22-26 Jesus heals a blind man and orders him not to go into the village.
8:27-30 Jesus asks Peter who he thinks he is. Peter replies to Jesus, "you are the Christ". Jesus warns him not to tell anyone.
8:31-9:1 Jesus predicts his death and resurrection. Jesus rebukes Peter for rebuking him.
9:2-13 Jesus, Peter, John and James go up a mountain where Jesus is transfigured and talks with Moses and Elijah.
9:14-32 Jesus drives a demon out of a boy that his disciples could not. Jesus again predicts his death and resurrection. The disciples were afraid.
9:33-37 Jesus asks the twelve what they were arguing about. The twelve were arguing over who is the greatest disciple. Jesus says the greatest is the least. Those who serve will be great.
9:38-41 Jesus tells his disciples whoever is not against him is for him.
9:42-50 Jesus tells them if your hand causes you to sin it is better to cut it off than go to hell. Then Jesus tells the twelve to be salt.
10:1-12 Jesus condemns divorce.
10:13-16 Jesus rebukes his disciples for not letting the little children come to him.
10:17-31 Jesus tells a young rich man for him to enter heaven he must sell all his possessions, give it to the poor and follow him. The man did not.
10:32-34 Jesus again predicts his death to the twelve.
10:35-45 James and John ask to sit next to Jesus in glory. The other disciples are upset at this and Jesus tells them that to be great they must become a servant.
10:46-52 Jesus heals a blind man who begs for his sight, "By your faith you are healed".
11:1-11 Jesus has his disciples go and get him colt and he rides into Jerusalem while a crowd sings, "hosanna"
11:12-19 Jesus, hungry, walks to a fig tree in the distance. When there is no fruit Jesus says, "may no one eat fruit from you again". Then Jesus goes to the Temple and drives out all the merchandisers and money lenders. The leaders looked for a way to kill him. Then Jesus and the twelve left the city.
11:20-25 The fig tree Jesus cursed withered and died. Jesus tells his disciples that what you ask for in prayer if you have faith will happen and he tells them to forgive others.
11:27-33 The leaders of the temple ask Jesus who give him his authority. Jesus answered with a question: did John the Baptist baptize from heaven or from men? The Pharisees decided not to tell him their answer, so Jesus did not answer their question.
12:1-12 Jesus spoke the Parable of the Tenants to the people
12:13-17 Jesus says, "Give to Caesar what is Caesar's and to God what is God's
12:18-27 Jesus tells them there will be no marriage in the resurrection, people will be as angels
12:28-34 Jesus says the Greatest commandment - Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second greatest - Love your neighbor as yourself.
12:35-39 Jesus warns the people of the teachers of the law's hypocrisy.
12:41-44 The poor widow gave her offering and it was greater than the wealthiest person's gift.
13:1-31 Jesus predicts the end times and tells them what will happen before it comes.
13:32-37 Jesus tells the disciples no one knows the hour when the Son of Man will return except the father.
14:1-11 A woman pours expensive perfume on Jesus and Jesus says it will prepare him for his burial. Judas went to the chief priests to betray Jesus for pay.
14:12-26 Jesus predicts his betrayal, then has the passover dinner.
14:27-31 Jesus predicts Peter's denials.
14:32-42 Jesus prays at Gethsemane where his disciples fall asleep. jesus asks for the cup to be taken away, "but not my will, but thine be done".
14:43-52 Jesus is arrested in Gethsemane, when Judas kisses him.
14:53-65 Jesus is brought to trial and declares He is the Son of Man an the Messiah.
14:66-72 Peter denies Jesus three times, just as predicted
15:1-15 Jesus appears before Pilate. Barabbas is released and Jesus is condemned to be crucified.
15:16-20 Jesus has a purple robe put on him, a crown of thorns on his head and is mocked
15:21-32 Jesus is crucified, they cast lots for his clothes and mock him
15:33-41 Jesus dies. The curtain splits in the temple. The centurions who saw Jesus die proclaimed Jesus must be the Son of God.
15:42-47 Joseph of Arimethea asks for the body of Christ. He laid the body in the tomb and wrapped it.
16:1-8 Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James went to the tomb to find Jesus was gone and an angel told him that He had risen.
This is where most early manuscripts end. But later ones contain 16:9-20.
16:9-20 Jesus appears to Mary Magdalene and to two others but no one believes them. Jesus appears to the eleven and charges them to preach throughout the world.
Class Notes on the Critical Study of the Gospels
(Originally written January 6, 2006 in Notebook 20)
The Critical Study of the Gospels
- Where do scholars begin?
First Question: What are our primary sources and how reliable are they?
Source Criticism
Matthew - Eyewitnesses
Mark - records Peter's eyewitness
Luke - a non-eyewitness who did research of eyewitnesses
The Synoptic Problem
Why are there so many differences in the Gospels?
Two source Hypothesis (Marcan Priority)
Q-Source (written 50 AD) served as a source for Matthew & Luke
Mark (written 65 AD) served as a source for Matthew & Luke
The Griesbach Hypothesis (Matthean Priority)
Matthew was written before Luke, both were written before Mark.
There is no need for a Q-Source
4-Source Hypothesis (Marcan Priority)
M (AD 60-65)
MK (AD 65)
Q (AD 50)
L (AD 60)
There was also a porto-luke
5 Sources for the sayings of Jesus:
1) Gospel of Mark
- written in primitive Greek
- least sophisticated regarding context
- forms basis for other two Synoptic Gospels
2) "Q" Source
- sayings common to Matthew and Luke
- Questionable if this was ever a written source
- Could have found fixed form in oral tradition
3) "M" Source (material unique to Matthew)
4) "L" Source (material unique to Luke)
5) The Gospel of John
- Jesus (A.D. 29-33)
- Oral transmission of tradition (AD 30-100)
- Luke (AD 62)
- Theophilus (Gentile believer AD 62)
Form Criticism asks: How are the words of Jesus passed on by word of mouth before they were written?
I've never been this bored before
Never looked at the clock more
Never tallied up the score
Never thought this could be such a bore
The Critical Study of the Gospels
- Where do scholars begin?
First Question: What are our primary sources and how reliable are they?
Source Criticism
Matthew - Eyewitnesses
Mark - records Peter's eyewitness
Luke - a non-eyewitness who did research of eyewitnesses
The Synoptic Problem
Why are there so many differences in the Gospels?
Two source Hypothesis (Marcan Priority)
Q-Source (written 50 AD) served as a source for Matthew & Luke
Mark (written 65 AD) served as a source for Matthew & Luke
The Griesbach Hypothesis (Matthean Priority)
Matthew was written before Luke, both were written before Mark.
There is no need for a Q-Source
4-Source Hypothesis (Marcan Priority)
M (AD 60-65)
MK (AD 65)
Q (AD 50)
L (AD 60)
There was also a porto-luke
5 Sources for the sayings of Jesus:
1) Gospel of Mark
- written in primitive Greek
- least sophisticated regarding context
- forms basis for other two Synoptic Gospels
2) "Q" Source
- sayings common to Matthew and Luke
- Questionable if this was ever a written source
- Could have found fixed form in oral tradition
3) "M" Source (material unique to Matthew)
4) "L" Source (material unique to Luke)
5) The Gospel of John
- Jesus (A.D. 29-33)
- Oral transmission of tradition (AD 30-100)
- Luke (AD 62)
- Theophilus (Gentile believer AD 62)
Form Criticism asks: How are the words of Jesus passed on by word of mouth before they were written?
I've never been this bored before
Never looked at the clock more
Never tallied up the score
Never thought this could be such a bore
Friday, July 29, 2005
Prayer and thoughts on Acts
(Originally written July 29, 2005 in Talks With God)
Acts is the next book I will read. Lord, teach me the wisdom and knowledge of Acts and help me to retain the wisdom you've given me through Isaiah, Daniel and Paul's letters. I love you Lord.
Acts 3:1-10
This is where Peter 'heals' the crippled beggar. I do not question your power or how you do miracles Lord, all I want to know is how to get a faith that strong? What must I do to have faith strong enough to have your healing power come out of my mouth? Lord, teach me, so that I am strong enough to do your work.
Acts 1-14
Lord, I realize that I must continually serve you. That is the only way I will become like Paul and thus be a great servant to you. Lord, I don't worship Paul, nor do I try to bring glory to him. It is not he who I strive to be like in all that I do. I want to be like Christ, I want to look at him in the face and thank him for all he had done for me. But as I see Paul, I see a role model to being a servant of Christ. OF all those who are worthy of your undying love, I am the least. I am a liar, a thief, a cheat, I speak with a crude tongue, I am a lover of money and a wicked, wicked man. But, I feel the Holy Spirit working in me. I feel you cutting away the sins in my life. I look back at the sins I have committed and wonder how can you want to save me. Only by your grace. You are so incredibly full of Grace, your eternal light I cannot even fathom. I love you with all my heart. Let all I do bring glory to you. Watch over me and keep me committed. I want nothing to do with what will bring you shame and dishonor. I want only what is good and pleasing to you.
I see through Acts 1-14 that being a Christian is not an easy road. Lord, as I am at Taylor and other places prepare me to stand up for all the trials I may face. As Jesus did his ministry on earth, the disciples got a 3 year, hands-on training on how to minister. Give me training, whether it is for 3 or 30 years, so that I can be effective for you. Give me strength enough, even in the face of death, to stand up and proclaim your ever living presence. You are Holy. You are Holy. I love you Lord. I can never say that enough.
Lord, two passages of the reading really moved me. I was full of tears because of your amazing power. You've shown me what true faith is.
Acts 3:1-10
When you healed that cripple through Peter my eyes welled up. I could hardly contain myself. I felt your presence as I never felt before. I do not need to see obvious miracles to know your power. I look around and simply see the trees and the water and the clouds and the dirt, and know. I know you have the power to make all of this out of nothing. This is sufficient for me. I should have that faith, a faith so strong I can move mountains. But, I don't. I'm sorry. I tell you today that I will stay faithful and ready and pray everyday until my faith is that strong and more.
Acts 9:36-43
When you raised Tabitha from the dead, Lord I could hardly read more. My eyes welled up and I shook because I knew you were and are the Lord God Almighty. May praise be to you forever and ever! But, Lord I cannot fathom your true power. I want to though, and I will serve you all the days of my life. Bless me if I am obedient, devour me if I am not. Hear my prayer oh King! I love you God.
Acts 15-28
As I have finished Acts, Lord let the wisdom that has been passed down to me sink in. Let the wisdom and grace you have given me be evident to all. You show me how to live in Acts. I must speak your word boldly and continually if I am to be a true servant of Christ. Lord, this is my plea! Help me to speak of you always and boldly. When I open my mouth let your words fill others' hearts and ears. I am nothing without you; use me as you see fit. Let them know that I serve and live for Christ Jesus. Let them know these things, not so that I may be praised, but so that your glory and praise will increase among men. Lord, I ask for much I know, but it is possible for you. I want these things for your glory and not my own. Strip me of pride if it swells. I only want to accomplish things to your account. I love you Lord. As I begin at Taylor I see many people who will be obstacles to my starting in ministry for you. Keep me encouraged and strengthened. Keep my eyes on you and keep this verse in my heart:
1 Timothy 4:12 "Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and purity"
Acts is the next book I will read. Lord, teach me the wisdom and knowledge of Acts and help me to retain the wisdom you've given me through Isaiah, Daniel and Paul's letters. I love you Lord.
Acts 3:1-10
This is where Peter 'heals' the crippled beggar. I do not question your power or how you do miracles Lord, all I want to know is how to get a faith that strong? What must I do to have faith strong enough to have your healing power come out of my mouth? Lord, teach me, so that I am strong enough to do your work.
Acts 1-14
Lord, I realize that I must continually serve you. That is the only way I will become like Paul and thus be a great servant to you. Lord, I don't worship Paul, nor do I try to bring glory to him. It is not he who I strive to be like in all that I do. I want to be like Christ, I want to look at him in the face and thank him for all he had done for me. But as I see Paul, I see a role model to being a servant of Christ. OF all those who are worthy of your undying love, I am the least. I am a liar, a thief, a cheat, I speak with a crude tongue, I am a lover of money and a wicked, wicked man. But, I feel the Holy Spirit working in me. I feel you cutting away the sins in my life. I look back at the sins I have committed and wonder how can you want to save me. Only by your grace. You are so incredibly full of Grace, your eternal light I cannot even fathom. I love you with all my heart. Let all I do bring glory to you. Watch over me and keep me committed. I want nothing to do with what will bring you shame and dishonor. I want only what is good and pleasing to you.
I see through Acts 1-14 that being a Christian is not an easy road. Lord, as I am at Taylor and other places prepare me to stand up for all the trials I may face. As Jesus did his ministry on earth, the disciples got a 3 year, hands-on training on how to minister. Give me training, whether it is for 3 or 30 years, so that I can be effective for you. Give me strength enough, even in the face of death, to stand up and proclaim your ever living presence. You are Holy. You are Holy. I love you Lord. I can never say that enough.
Lord, two passages of the reading really moved me. I was full of tears because of your amazing power. You've shown me what true faith is.
Acts 3:1-10
When you healed that cripple through Peter my eyes welled up. I could hardly contain myself. I felt your presence as I never felt before. I do not need to see obvious miracles to know your power. I look around and simply see the trees and the water and the clouds and the dirt, and know. I know you have the power to make all of this out of nothing. This is sufficient for me. I should have that faith, a faith so strong I can move mountains. But, I don't. I'm sorry. I tell you today that I will stay faithful and ready and pray everyday until my faith is that strong and more.
Acts 9:36-43
When you raised Tabitha from the dead, Lord I could hardly read more. My eyes welled up and I shook because I knew you were and are the Lord God Almighty. May praise be to you forever and ever! But, Lord I cannot fathom your true power. I want to though, and I will serve you all the days of my life. Bless me if I am obedient, devour me if I am not. Hear my prayer oh King! I love you God.
Acts 15-28
As I have finished Acts, Lord let the wisdom that has been passed down to me sink in. Let the wisdom and grace you have given me be evident to all. You show me how to live in Acts. I must speak your word boldly and continually if I am to be a true servant of Christ. Lord, this is my plea! Help me to speak of you always and boldly. When I open my mouth let your words fill others' hearts and ears. I am nothing without you; use me as you see fit. Let them know that I serve and live for Christ Jesus. Let them know these things, not so that I may be praised, but so that your glory and praise will increase among men. Lord, I ask for much I know, but it is possible for you. I want these things for your glory and not my own. Strip me of pride if it swells. I only want to accomplish things to your account. I love you Lord. As I begin at Taylor I see many people who will be obstacles to my starting in ministry for you. Keep me encouraged and strengthened. Keep my eyes on you and keep this verse in my heart:
1 Timothy 4:12 "Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and purity"
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