Insights for Living #5

Jesus said God does not live in temples, in a place. Jesus said something new was coming. What is strange is how the word Ekklesia which means assembly or gathering has been translated "church." Church is not a translation, it is a substitution.

Look at Acts 19:32 (NASV) "So then, some were shouting one thing and some another, for the assembly was in confusion and the majority did not know for what reason they had come together."

Church is translated over one hundred times in English and here it is translated as "assembly." The context here is the idol worship in the city and the people were in confusion. It would make no sense to say the church was in confusion but why translate this word church at all? Jesus was starting a revolution, a movement, a people who gathered together in his name. Why do we call it church?

The term Ekklesia remains a casualty of modern English translations. Jesus has always had a group of followers who refused to define church in the terms of location and hierarchy as the modern church has done. It was always a WAY, a movement, a mobile revolution to the ends of the earth and to all nations.

(Excerpts from Andy Stanley's new book, Irresistible: Reclaiming the New that Jesus Unleashed for the World).

Cosmic Christ Consciousness

"Every Christian, even if he lacks any education, knows that every place is a part of the universe and that the universe 

itself is the temple of God. He prays in every place with the eyes of his senses closed and those of his soul awake, and in 

this way he transcends the whole world. He does not stop at the vault of heaven but reaches the heights above it, and, as 

though out of this world altogether, he offers his prayer to God, led by God's Spirit." ~ Origen

Clothed in Glory

I have been reading Jonathan Sacks fascinating book, Covenant & Conversation, which are some of his observations and explorations of the book of Genesis from a Rabbinic perspective. He makes several observations like first comes cosmology and then anthropology and that God creates order and man creates chaos. Which will prevail? We may be a handful of dust be we have immortal longings.

My favorite observation of going through Genesis 1-3 is his chapter on "Garments of light."
Adam names his wife Eve and God clothes Adam and Eve with garments of skin (Gen.3:20-21). Some Jewish rabbis have interpreted this Hebrew phrase as "garments of light." This young couple bathed in divine radiance, clothed in garments of light.

Adam in the story leading up to these verses knows he is mortal and his life will end. His wife would bring new life in the world and immortality would now come through children. She was only woman before but now he gives her a personal name Eve. They were the same unique persons and his life is now as dependent upon her as her life is dependent upon him.

We also see a movement in Genesis 1-3 on the names of God. In chapter one, God is Elokim, God of divine justice. But in chapters 2-3, God is now called Hashem Elokim, the personal God who speaks, loves, forgives, teaches, and so forth. Just like there is a movement from a noun to a name for Eve, there is also a movement from a noun to name for God. In Genesis chapter 4, God is called the personal name Hashem alone. Something changes in these chapters. It is not God who changes but man's perceptions of God that change.

Just like Adam responded to Eve as a person, he could now see himself as a person. So Judaism now understands God through revelation as a personal God. It is then that God clothed this couple with garments of light. Humanity ceased being a biological species and became an enlightened spiritual being in search of God. The whole story of Judaism is the story about love, language, and relationships and the love we feel for another person leads to the love of God who then robes us in garments of light.

(excerpts from Jonathan Sacks, Covenant & Conversation, pp.33-40)

Insight for Living #4

It is interesting to me that many Evangelicals interpret 1 Peter 3:18-22 as not referring to a second chance after death. The whole conversation is in the context of salvation. But however people want to interpret chapter three, chapter four is even more interesting to me. I Peter 4:6 says,

"For the gospel has for this purpose been preached even to those who are dead, that though they are judged in the flesh as men, they may live in the spirit according to the will of God" (NASB translation).

Several translations (NIV, NET, NLT as examples) add or insert the word "now" before the word dead which changes the meaning of the text. Now it means Christ preached to these people while they were alive but who are now dead. But that is not what the text actually says.

What is even more interesting is the whole history of early Christianity that understood these verses as people would accept Jesus even in the after-life. The early writing of the Shepherd of Hermas, the Acts of Paul and Thelca, Perpetua's prayer for Dinocrates (Perpetua has historically been celebrated by all Christians as one of the first women martyrs), The Gsopel of Nicodemus, Gregory's prayers for Trajen, and several major Christian interpreters from Origen to Gregory of Nyssa.

If someone wants to do some more study on this issue, there are several books on this topic but one of the best I have read so far is Jeffrey Trumbower, "Rescue for the Dead: The Posthumous Salvation of Non-Christians in Early Christianity" (Oxford Univ. Press, 2001).

New Water to Wine Books

I have been reading water to wine books that reveal a more Christ-like God and a more beautiful non-violent gospel. Here are some new and upcoming books worth taking a possible look at:

1.  Reunion: The Good News of Jesus for Seeker, Saints, and Sinners by Bruxy Cavey. Bruxy books are filled with water to wine quotes.

2.  The Bible by Jesus written by Elmer Towns and Lee Frederickson. This comes out in a week or two and the key to this Bible is how does it deal with the hard sayings and violent texts in the Scriptures or do they just skip the hard and violent texts? Either way, it sounds like it will give beautiful insights into our loving Savior. If this book does not fulfill people expectations, then I would highly recommend reading David Bentley Hart's fantastic translation, The New Testament: A Translation. The notes at the back of this translation are worth the price of the book alone. This is probably the most accurate translation of the original Greek texts I have seen to date.

3.  The Violence of the Biblical God by L. Daniel Hawk. This looks like it could be a companion or may even surpass Greg Boyd's magnificent work, Cross Vision. Understanding and dealing with difficult and violent texts in the Bible in light of Jesus is crucial in properly reading the scriptures today. Due date is January of 2019.

4.  Jesus - The End and the Beginning: Tracing the Christ-shaped nature of Everything by Telford Work. Telford usually has great insights into the biblical text and this book comes out January of 2019.

5. Another Name for Everything: Why Christ is more than Jesus last name by Richard Rohr. This book is to be released in March of 2019 and Rohr is always pouring in new wine into old religious containers.

6.  Lastly, I have been waiting patiently to no avail for Ilaria Ramelli's book to come out. Her scholastic and patristic abilities are unmatched today as she unpacks the Christian universalism of the early church fathers and mothers. The name of her forthcoming book, A Larger Hope? From Christian Beginnings to Julian of Norwich. This smaller and popular version of her three hundred dollar book will be a welcome and affordable new book on an important topic of Patristic universalism. By faith I believe this book is going to come out but only the Lord knows when!

The Loss of Sacred Words

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"A person who speaks to this hour's need will skirt the edge of heresy for it is only by risking heresies that one can gain the truth" -  Helmut Thielicke

I started reading an interesting book by Jonathan Merritt called "Learning to Speak God from Scratch." There has not only been a loss and confusion of the sacred speech but words are continually changing in their meanings to different generations. Here are a few trends that Merritt mentions:

1. The politicization of sacred words
2. The exploitation of sacred words
3. The polarization of sacred words

Here is what many people hear when they hear certain sacred words:
1. "God" - a sadistic monster who likes killing people and sends people to Hell
2.  "Faith" - fire insurance policy where you say a prayer or get baptized and get a free out of Hell card.
3.  "Conversion" A decision manipulated by fear and guilt.
4. "Gospel" Supposed to be good news but it sure sounds like bad news like I am a terrible sinner and I am on my way to eternal Hell.
5.  "Jesus Sacrifice" The angry God kills his son and took your place in a brutal execution.

Grace and mystery are words usually not understood or a part of the equation. Merritt says, "preserving a decaying language is like preserving a decomposing corpse" (p.54). Many people, especially church people do not feel the need to regularly attend a church anymore. this certainly impacts how much talk of the sacred happens much less frequently than it used to.

One of our modern problems today is we often approach language like we do chemistry or algebra rather than poetry or music. "Jewish thinkers treated language not as a corpse but as a living being which we are invited to dance" (p.78). Maybe we need a new vocabulary of faith or a new lexicon of sacred words? Maybe we have to go back to the beginning again when it comes to unpacking our suitcases of what words today means to people who have lost the sacredness of words. Or to put it as Merritt does, maybe we have to learn to speak to God from scratch?