Posts Tagged 'Jesus'

Here is a test – does the subject line above strike you as intriguing or uninteresting?  Well, believe it or not, if you identify yourself as either Jewish or Christian, you should find it interesting.  Monotheism and monolatry both have to do with how the people of the Old Testament / Hebrew Bible (and also today) viewed God.  How many gods are there?  What is his (their) nature?  How should he be worshipped?  Those are pretty big questions!

I reviewed a great book a couple of months ago called Jesus and the God of Israel, in which the author (Richard Bauckham) described the similarities, differences and relationship between monotheism (the belief in the existence of one God) and monolatry (the exclusive worship of one God).  Fascinating book.  In Bauckham’s opinion (which I agree with), the Old Testament reflects both, and somehow, the two wind their way together in both Judaism and early Christianity, and they influenced how Jesus was understood and responded to in the first century.  If you like to “think deeply” about the nature of God and Jesus, you may enjoy this book!

Mixed in with all of the useless stuff on the Internet, there are occasionally some great resources.  And Covenant Theological Seminary’s Worldwide Classroom is definitely one of the good ones!  They provide FREE lecture manuscripts, study guides and mp3’s for twenty courses in spirituality, Biblical studies, theology, ministry, etc.  If you are looking to deepen and expand your Christian worldview, why don’t you take some time and explore the Worldwide Classroom.

For those of you who like to plan in advance … the University of Northern British Columbia has recently announced the next two classes in the Certificate in Christian Studies program:  Christian Spirituality, starting in September 2009, and Life and Teachings of Jesus, starting in January 2010 (I will be teaching both).

More information and details about how to register for either class can be found here, and any questions about the course content can be directed to me.  Thanks!

I’ve been doing some reading about “mission” this week, as I prepare for a teaching time about one of the core elements of a Christian’s “call” to follow God.  What is our purpose, our mission, our calling, etc?  At a high level, it seems threefold – all followers of God are called to holiness, to community, and to mission (which, not surprisingly, is also how our series is unfolding!).  But what is “mission”?

This is where my reading comes in.    Over at Christianity Today, there is a brief article called “The Greatest Social Need” that explores various social needs and concerns, but does so by asking the question of what the root problem is.  The author concludes, and I would agree, that the greatest social problem is

Time for another Q&A from the days of yore …

Question - “Was Jesus “Son” from eternity-past (i.e. before creation of time-space) or was he “Word” until he became flesh at his incarnation and then he became “Son”?”

Reply - While it may not be possible to arrive at a definitive response to the question, I think the answer is inherently connected to one’s understanding of the Trinity. That is, modalistic monarchianism suggests that Jesus’ “Sonship” was realized upon the incarnation, whereas orthodox trinitarianism argues that the Son is co-eternal with the Father and Holy Spirit. I tend to fall on the side of Athanasias and orthodox trinitarianism, until someone can suggest a better concept of the Biblical model. Theological systems aside, however, my initial reaction is to refer to Colossians 1 where the Son (vs 13) is referred to as the creator of all things (vs 16, see also Heb 1:2-3,10), a designation that certainly precedes the introduction of him as the “Word” in John 1:1. However, although the Colossians pericope seems to deal with part two of your first question (ie, “Son” prior to incarnation?), it does not explore the first part of the same question (ie, “Son” prior to creation?). For that aspect of his divine characteristics, Jesus seems to refer to his own eternal nature in John 8:58, but he does not explicitly reference it to his “Sonship” but just his being. Also, the references in Hebrews 1 appears to indicate that the Son has the same nature (creator, eternal-future, etc) as the Father, so would seem somewhat logical to conclude that eternal-past (ie, pre-creation) is also the same as the Father.

Does that make any sense?

Last month, I read I Once Was Lost: What Postmodern Skeptics Taught Us About Their Path to Jesus, by Don Everts and Doug Schaupp.  In the book, the authors do a great job of carefully articulating and categorizing some of the spiritual realities that many of us are intuitively aware of (but we just may not have seen them clearly yet ).  They summarize the five thresholds of coming to Jesus this way:

1. Moving from distrust of Christians to trust of a Christian,
2. Moving from complacent to curious (about Jesus),
3. Moving from being closed to change to being open to change in their life,
4. Moving from meandering to seeking, and
5. Crossing the threshold of the kingdom itself.

A few years ago, this question came through the web site …

Question – “What does the bible say about being a Christian and drinking? Is it wrong/right and where can I find scriptures. Not only for me know but to let someone else have the answer. I need to know how to explain this to someone.  Thank you and God bless.

PS. I choose not to drink and be a Christian, but that is because I personally have been taught long time ago that a Christian should not drink cannot remember about the where and why but I choose not to because I cannot see myself drinking and being a Christian. Is this more a personal choice or is it biblical not to drink? What about a glass of wine with friends or dinner once in awhile? These are the questions I am being asked myself. I cannot seem to answer them right or good enough for them. Now not good enough for myself.. Thanks again for any reply that you can give me …”

Reply – Thanks for the question! The issue of being a Christian and drinking (or not drinking) alcohol can be a tough one sometimes, especially depending on a person’s past experience with drinking, either personally or within their circle of family/friends.

Here is a paper that I wrote about a decade ago (I feel old now) – it is one of the spiritual disciplines that I not only studied, but also subsequently applied in my personal life (and the relational and spiritual benefits have been amazing!):

“[There is] as basic moral principle which pervades biblical ethics – namely that the service of God and mutual human care are inseparably bound together. God will not be worshipped acceptably by those who neglect justice and compassion.”¹

Introduction
Throughout the history of God’s people, the nature and purpose of the sabbath has consistently caused considerable disagreement and confusion. For some, it has provoked many nightmares of legalism (eg., do I eat at home or in a restaurant? do I observe it on Saturday or on Sunday?). For others, the sabbath is some vague concept that became irrelevant and outdated centuries ago. In the Old Testament, however, the sabbath plays a fundamental role, and its influence appears throughout the text. The Hebrew term shabbath occurs 104 times² in the Old Testament (most frequently in priestly and prophetic sections and never in wisdom literature), and it is not surprising, therefore, that the importance of the sabbath is picked up in the writings of the New Testament, especially as seen in the actions of Jesus.

Another undergraduate course that I have taught in various contexts is Introduction to the New Testament.

“Description and Scope – The New Testament consists of numerous types of literature, and reflects the viewpoints of Jesus and his followers. As a detailed exploration of the historical context, literary styles and theological themes of each of the books of the New Testament, this “hand’s on” course serves as an overview of current New Testament studies. This course is also as a launching pad for further study of both Jesus and the first Christians. We will explore the text from historical-critical, literary and canonical perspectives, observing the strengths and weakness of each approach.

Objectives - Upon successful completion of this course, you will be able to:

1. Describe the cultural, political and religious background of each New Testament book,
2. Describe the historical development and intended purpose of each book,
3. Identify and assess the various critical approaches to studying the New Testament,
4. Identify and explain the central themes of each book as well as the themes running through the New Testament as a whole, and
5. Discuss the influence of the New Testament in both the early and modern Church.”

In addition to the New Testament, we all use the following textbooks:

• Fee, Gordon D., and Douglas K. Stuart. How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth. 3rd ed
• Metzger, Bruce Manning. The New Testament: Its Background, Growth, and Content. 3rd ed. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2003.

Reaching back into the vault of questions and articles …

“In spite of the religious inclusivity of New Age thinking, in spite of its interest in Oriental religions, and in spite of its criticism of mainstream Christianity, it is still Christ who dominates New Age speculation wherever the need is felt to explain the relation between God and humanity by some mediating principle”[1]

Background
I was recently on a flight and was barely settled in my seat on the plane when the woman seated beside me struck up an engaging conversation which very quickly turned to questions about the Bible, Christian theology, and finally Jesus himself. Although she was interested in my Christian understanding, her theological perspective had developed from a combination of Hindu philosophy, New Age thought and some vague Christian principles,[2] which she freely disclosed. Eventually our conversation began to focus on Jesus Christ and she mentioned that she believed what Jesus said about himself in the Gospels, but the way to the Father[3] was not limited to Jesus alone. To this, I mentioned that I questioned the value of religious pluralism, given the theologically exclusive nature of the Bible and Jesus’ explicit claims to be the only way to God (eg. John 14:6). It is her response and objection to my thoughts on the exclusiveness of Jesus Christ that is the focus of this brief essay.