Given enough time...

My sister lives in a place that usually receives about 25 inches of rain each year and is plush with greenery. She's had 40 days of 100 degree weather this summer and the place is brown. I live in a place that usually receives about 13 inches a year and the lawn is green only during May and June. It's brown the rest of the time. I've had very few days of 100 degrees and the month of August has had as many rain days as hot days.

I guess I can learn from nature here. What is here today is gone tomorrow or vice versa. So, if I can get this principle through my thick skull, then I will be able to live life on a more even keel. I certainly need that. I thank Mother Nature for her lesson.

The real life

What happened? I was rocking along in my 20s doing all the right things. Going to college, picking a career, getting married, being ambitious. I turned 30 and started having children, raising them "right," according to all the gurus of parenting, taking them to places that would help them morally, exposing them to dance and sports so they could more intelligently pick their own paths when the time came. I turned 40 and started noticing that life wasn't working out according to what I had been taught. Kids had a will of their own, wife had a will of her own, everyone's ends and means to ends were different at home and work. Then the kids left home. Now life really is upside down. What used to not bother me, bothers me so-o-o much now. My toleration level is up in many areas of life, but not in a few. I know where the skeletons are and which battles are really worth fighting. But I have to say that the parenting gurus were wrong, the childhood preachers were so idealistic that their teaching has lost all value, the kids of my loins depend on unconditional love rather than displaying any sense of genuine care of family ties. Life's a bitch and then you die. From the vantage point at the end of this day, it's true.

Bloglections

Tonight I got to comment on blogging in an unlikely context. I meet with a group on Tuesdays that gets together to study various parts of the Bible and apocrypha from time to time. We are studying Psalms at the moment. Someone asked if the Psalms attributed to David were written throughout his life on the spot of an incident that may have sparked his poetry or if he wrote of his experiences after the fact, years later.

I truly don't know since I wasn't there, but that allowed me to make a comment about blogging. If one were to go back and read my blogs from the time I started blogging, then I think you would have a pretty good idea at what point on life's path I am on. And judging from the tone of some of the blogs, you could guess that the events were near or far from the writing of them. And you would find that some blogs were mere musings while others were strong opinions. Some are philosophical in nature, while some are very much associated with direct experience. So in some ways, David's ancient psalms are like modern blogs.

What would a collection of blogs be called if they were collected like the Psalms? Maybe Bloglections. Someone ought to try it. Maybe they would assemble a modern, inspired book.

Ripping hearts

The thing about children is that they rip your heart out. Yes, there are those good times and memories, but on the long, rocky road to maturity, so many do not make it to the end of the tunnel. It is torturous to watch all the mistakes children make. The mistakes are the innocent kind during early adolescence. But, oh how they get more treacherous. They are our DNA. They mimic our habits both good and bad. It seems that they inherit the bad from both parents sometimes. But, when they leave home and follow their own roads that lead to nowhere, but they don't realize that the road goes nowhere, it empties your being of any redemptive value you might have thought you attained from having raised them. They just rip your heart out.

About starting points

My friend told me not long ago that I didn't belong any longer to the church denomination that I grew up in. We, of course, belong to the same denomination. I got further confirmation of this full force this morning.

I had gone to a Bible study class that I had studied for, but a guest speaker was in the usual teacher's place. The guest teacher was a leader in this particular church. His topic was Deuteronomy 13. The chapter is one of the harshest chapters in the Bible since it tells the Israelites to basically kill anyone, including wife and children, who takes them away from worshiping God. It's not that I don't know that chapter is there, it's that the ensuing explanation for that chapter by the teacher followed a whole different hermeneutic than I am willing to accept.

First, the teacher said Moses wrote this. Second, he started applying what he read there to strict adherence to following God in today's society. Third, he juxtaposed a passage from Matthew 10 (no person should love father or mother more than Jesus) with the Deuternomic passage. And finally, he asked the question of whether God's grace had become a god to lead us away from obedience to the true God.

I usually know that if I am listening to someone else teach and the starting point or premise of the lesson is different from mine, then there is never going to be a point in the lesson that will line up with my way of thinking about a passage. So, I knew right away that I probably should leave when he said that Moses wrote the passage. Scholars of Deuteronomy usually date the book to somewhere after the time of the kingdom split when priests became important. After all, the meaning of the title of the book is "Second Law" not "Moses' Law" or "Law in Moses' time." Second, there are few places in the Old Testament that have direct application to modern times. Today is a different time and place, so distant from Biblical times that not even the terrain of the world is the same, not to mention that an intervening covenant happened between Deuteronomy and today. Third, what Jesus taught in no way resembles what the Israelites were asked to do, so juxtaposing verses from Matthew 10 against Deuteronomy 13 is a non-sequitur - they're not even close to having the same meaning. And finally, to attribute a quality of God the same status as the deity himself is not even a possibility. Who would worship God's love without acknowledging the God behind the love? So, who would worship grace without acknowledging the God who grants the grace? I don't even think that is possible!

Once again, someone thought that the Bible was seamless, that the Bible's words to different people at different times in history were applicable to any group of people at any point upline in history. The leader was a federal judge. It escapes me how anyone that educated can buy into the same religion he learned as a child. Shouldn't the investigation taught to anyone who gets a post-secondary education mitigate childish notions about the Bible? Shouldn't those uninvestigated ideas that come historically from Medieval times and that slip down the time continuum be relegated by 21st century college graduates (especially those with advanced degrees) to the bone pile for not passing muster? I can't even believe I heard that grace could be worshiped as a god! That is doubly disgusting coming from someone with a jurisdoctorate degree no matter what his religious heritage is. It's as if he has mastered the many laws of the land but is still a high school dropout when it comes to hanging on to Medieval notions about the Bible.

It goes without saying that I will not be back for the next lesson that this person teaches next week. Fortunately, a saner person will be back the following week to teach. And he's not a leader of the church, but he at least knows that the Bible has different interpretations. He and I disagree often, but our starting point is usually close.

Deuteronomy having a modern application... Whoever heard of such a thing!

Light and dark

In a rerun of one of the CSI series, one of the CSI characters gave a homeless lady a flashlight. The lady took it and said, "Now I can see the stars better in the dark." I find myself thinking that books or church attendance or overcommitment on doing good things will illumine THE star (the Maker) so that I can see Him better. But they're just flashlights, and they don't illumine the star better. In fact, they interfere with it just like the flashlilght does. Light on earth just interferes with the light from the heavens. So, I accept more readily these days that to see the light better, I have to operate in the dark more often. So be it.

THE day

I wrote this blog a few days ago when I was unable to connect to the internet.

8-13-06

This is a special day. My son of 19 years changed his residence from this world to the next. That was 3 years ago. I miss him terribly, but I will catch up to him soon. His memory is a joyful one. On one hand, the experience gutted me of the will to carry on. On the other hand, the experience inspires me to do what it takes to meet him again. I used to be afraid of death. Now I know to just look it in the eye and welcome the unknown state with joy because it is merely a passage way to God’s place.

I really haven’t been able to express the utter anguish that I have felt for the last 3 years and don’t have the will power now to try writing about this experience. All I have to say is, “Jordan, I love you. I’ll see you soon.”

A map - I don't think so

I wrote this blog a few days ago even though I couldn't put it on the internet until today.

8-12-06


I have heard that the Bible is like a map to life since it guides a person to a destination. Well… yes and no. Mainly no.

Life contains many specific situations. The New Testament contains general principles. I guess I could take the position that the general principles guide the behavior to manifest in specific situations. But that’s a position that doesn’t hold true very many times.

Maybe I don’t know how to apply the general principles. But, here’s an example. A woman castigates me to her supervisor, who in turn complains to my supervisor, who double-checks what I said and did. What is my reaction to the immediate circumstance? And since I have to work with the original complainer for the long term, what should be my standard working relationship? I guess I could apply the principal of being slapped on one cheek and turning the other to her in the short term and continue to be nice to her and pray for her as an enemy in the long term. Or, I could say that Jesus doesn’t mention anything about how to treat subordinates, and go confront the woman. Or, I could take the way I would want a person to address me if I had lodged a complaint against someone. Or, I could consider her a sister in Christ and take a witness to let her know of her offense to me. Or, I could ignore her behavior and chalk it up to the passage that refers to the attitude of allowing the filthy to continue in their filthiness and the righteous continue in their righteousness.

All of the above is just dealing with one circumstance. What would happen if I tried applying principles to the daily little circumstances that arise? I suppose that is why Jesus promised that after he left, there would be a spirit to guide us, stand beside us, and allow us to understand what a correct reaction would be.

Of course, the above statement opens up a whole other can of worms. But that is a matter for another day.

Leaves for the moment

Walking in the park, I noticed that the leaves were very green because it had rained the last 3 days. But my mind jumped back to the winter months so that I could only see tree limbs and no leaves. That time period seemed as if it were only a week ago. I knew that the leaves would be gone soon again and I could expect the same leafless limbs as before in just a short while.

That's pessimistic in a way - looking for the lifeless season in the midst of the season of life. But it's realistic in a way - noticing or anticipating what patterns are around and trying to prepare mentally for the recurring patterns.

But it's the recurring patterns that make my heart ache. Only the Maker of patterns can reach down and allow someone to change a pattern. That's why we need Him. I count on His forgiveness, but I also know to ask for His attention to my patterns so that I can change to a pattern of hearing his communication with me more clearly. And that's my prayer for today and tomorrow. It's my prayer for my enemies. It's my prayer for my daughter and wife. It's my prayer for my friend's wife and son.

So, now I pray

Once upon a time I thought I had all the answers to child raising. What I learned on the way through the child raising years was that every child is different, and life screws up everybody on the way through so that there is no such thing as an ideal family. I thought about starting the blog with "What I learned on the way through the child raising years could fill a book." Oh, I could write a lot about what I learned from the experiences life gave us, but I think it really boils down to the two observations I actually did start the blog with.

On good days, I say I love my daughter no matter what. On bad days I say I don't know where I went wrong. My children are not me, but when they are so different from me that the family resemblance (metaphorically speaking) is not noticeable any longer, then I have to wonder about the chain of events that led to a breakdown in family resemblance. I also have to try to wonder about the spiritual aspect. I started out thinking, in those days when I had all the answers, that I could present my children to God as spiritual people because they would see the same in me. But, as I mentioned, life screws up everybody on the way through. Such idealism as I started out thinking ought to be condemned everywhere it is taught. I don't know if I was taught such idealism, or if I just thought that is what was taught. Either way, it doesn't matter now.

So, now I am in the business of prayer. I don't understand much about prayer. It doesn't make sense intellectually that God would need to his people to pray if prayer is merely a series of requests. But, even though I don't understand it, it is one of the strongest themes found in both Old and New Testaments. But if one of the clearest themes will accomplish God's will, then I ought to abandon my petty idealism for sure and just do what has been a spiritual discipline throughout the ages. The results couldn't be worse than the way it turned out thinking that a strong Christian example would work. I kick myself now for my stupid idealism. So, now I pray.

Divinely appointed

The day started as a normal day. But, after just 5 minutes, my day changed. I was given a mission. Sometimes my supervisor gives direction or marching orders, but this was different. It was direction from someone out of the norm, and was unmistakably couched as a divinely appointed mission. So, I have my work cut out for me for the next month and half with this mission.

I was raised in the Church of Christ, so receiving a divinely appointed mission from a charismatic Christian is somewhat out of the norm and comfort zone of my background. But, God has altogether worked with me in a different way since the death of my son. I guess He knew I would be listening more closely to his voice or that I would not be throwing up theological arguments to the way in which He wanted to work with me. And I am certain that he knows I have finally learned the discipline of prayer in my life, so He uses that.

I am the least likely Christian to use in regards to prayer since that has been a Johnny-come-lately discipline in my life. But, from the first hint of my job outside the teaching classroom in Odessa to the present, prayer has been the source of God's direction for my life. It's a more exciting spiritual life I am leading these days. And it certainly depends less on people for the fulfillment of spiritual goals. It depends wholly on what God wants to send my way in His own timing of things. I'm game.

Future glimpse

I'm thinking that all is well. But, I can't see the future. So, life might be just starting to get really messed up. Or it might be on the upswing right now, so that the future might really be something grand. There's no way to know. Or if life is a series of trade-offs, then the future will not be any better or worse than it is now. It will just be different. First there will be one trade-off then another. One door will open while another one will close. One event will need addressing giving rise to arresting the development of other events. So, the future will hold about the same as the present. That's why I'm thinking that all is well.

2 or 3 more curves

A person can tell when something interrupts the usual way of life. Here it is June 24th and the last blog was June 3rd. 3 weeks of interruption. Part of it is the need to focus on a problem that cropped up that took extra time to fix. Part of it is just wearing out from work-a-day routines. Part of it is being depressed when several fires crop up at the same time and need attention from lack of attention for a somewhat lengthy period of time. After looking back over the last several blogs, I guess the time off was good to get the venom and rage out of my system.

But, there is a little relief from waiting 3 weeks. I don't feel like I need to vent about anything tonight. Oh, there is plenty to whine about. But, much time has gone into fixing problems. At least there has been forward motion started. Hopefully, that will gain momentum as time goes by. Some time on extra teaching has ended. A clearer direction for future physical meanderings is closer than it ever has been. So, much is looking up.

Tomorrow I go to the Revelation class again. But, somehow, I think I have reconciled what my role is and what it needs to be. It is a demon inside of me that wants others to give something that is not in their aresenal. My time needs to be spent on what I have to offer in writing more than anything. My arena needs to be somewhere other than some Sunday morning class in which no one really notices my going or coming. Perhaps, the creater wishes to use the opportunities he has presented me with just to get me over some obstacles in my path home. They're not for anyone else really unless it would be for some other lone traveler on the path.

Next week I return for a full regimen of work. I know what needs to be done and where to concentrate my energies.

The personal stuff in life will get taken care with or without me, so I don't have to fret about that. The personal goals I have will continue to come clear.

The race I am in is not over yet. But, I do know that I might have one or two more curves I can't see around, then the end of the journey will be in sight. May the One who Leads Me Home make me an efficient person at last.

Finally an early church literature review

If one were to review early church history, one would find that there are also seven letters to churches from Ignatius, the bishop of Antioch.These letters were written on his way through Turkey to face execution in Rome. Four of the letters went to the same towns as found in the seven letters from John's Revelation (Smyrna, Ephesus, Philsdelphia, and Sardis). Perhaps by looking at them, a person could find some corroboration of ideas to what is found in Revelation. Besides the commonality of seven letters and four to the same churches, the time period is very nearly the same. If John the apostle is the author and the date is around 96 AD, then Ignatius' letters come second, being dated to around 110 AD. If John the Elder wrote the Revelation, then the letters could have been written contemporaneously with Ignatius' or even shortly afterward. If shortly afterward, then perhpas Ignatius' letters served as a model or inspiration for the letters appearing in Revelation. Nonetheless, there are several connections between the two sets of seven letters.

First, in Ignatius' letter to the Ephesians, he addresses corruptive teaching forcefully. This matches the vehemence found in Revelation by John's using the term Jezebel for corruptive teaching. Ignatius' words are these, "Do not be deceived, my brothers and sisters. Corrupters of houses will not inherit the Kingdom of God. If a saying about corruptors of houses exists in the fleshly world as good advice, how much more meaningful is it if a person, through evil teaching, corrupts the faith of God for which Jesus was crucified. Such a person, having defiled himself, shall go into the unquenchable fire, as shall the one listening to that person" (Ephesians 16).

Second, if the term in Revelation, Jezebel, a name from the Jewish Bible, refers to a group of Jews, and if they belonged to a "synagogue of Satan" as the Jews were referred to in the letter to Smyrna (Rev.2.9), then the "knowledge of the depths of Satan" would refer to the Jewish teachings from the Jews in Thyatira. If this is the case, then there is a match of thought in Ignatius' letters as well. One of the stongest criticisms by Ignatius is found in his letter to the Magnesians. It states, "Do not be seduced by strange teachings or ancient fables because they are profitless. For if even to this day we live as Jews would have us live, we show that we have not received grace. The divine prophets lived as Jesus would have us live and they were persecuted because they were inspired by His grace. But because of this, disobedient Jews were supposed to have been fully persuaded that there is one God who manifested himself through Christ Jesus His son, who is the message that proceeded from His silence, who in all things was pleasing to Him who sent him... It is monstrous to talk of Jesus Christ and practice Judaism. For Christianity did not believe in Judaism, but Judaism in Christianity, and on that belief every tongue believed and was gathered together for God" (Magnesians 9, 10).

Ignatius also adressed "deep thoughts." He was speaking about speaking with the same authority as the apostles, but he would not do so since they knew more than he did. Ignatius says, "I have many deep thoughts in God: but I take stock of myself, otherwise I might die (spiritually) because of my boasting... So I crave gentleness whereby the prince of this world is brought to nothing" (Traillians 4).

So, Ignatius' words throw some light on what is being addressed at Thyatira. Hopefully, one can learn that the Jews were causing problems in the area for those wanting to believe in Jesus' teachings. In general, Christians lived among a corruptive forces whether secular or spiritual, and those who were leaders in the churches cared a lot about their flock following teachings that would lead them away from Jesus' teachings. And that sounds like the American environment, in which case I can take to heart the gist of the message—don't take my eyes off of the Jesus of the gospels in which he said, "I am the truth, the way, and the life." End of story.

Third a language check

It's always worth the while to take time to check the original language and to check manuscript traditions for variants in the text. The check doesn't yield much, theologically speaking, in this letter, but it offers a couple of interesting points.

Verse 24 uses a word for what many translations render "the deep things" belonging to Satan. The word in Greek does mean depths but it is put in juxtaposition with the word preceding it, which is "knowing." At the very least this is a classic case of sarcasm, and at most an obvious contrast or oxymoron. The sarcasm comes from some of the Christians not "knowing" what should be "known" if they would only plumb the depths of Christianity. But, Jesus is complimenting those not "knowing the depths" or having only shallow knowledge. Of course, then shallow knowledge is what Christians should know and knowing the depths is what gets people in trouble. If the phrase is taken as an oxymoron, then knowing something generally implies that one has studied deeply. But, who would want to know the depths "of Satan." The contrast is to take the phrase "knowing the depths" and putting it against "of Satan." The Gnostic group of Christians could have been referred to as Jezebel in the letter, and if that is the case, then using the verb for "know" is a slam against the group whose name derives from "knowledge" because the gnostic group has just been named the Satanic group. Gnostics thought they knew so much more than the regular Christians. But the "less knowing" group is complimented here.

A second tidbit from the language is the variant found in verse 22. Jesus says that Jezebel will be thrown on a sickbed. Three other words are found as variants for sickbed here. All of them are punitive. But each of them has a different slant on what will truly happen to Jezebel. One variant is that she would be thrown into prison; one is that she would be thrown in to a furnace; and one is that she would be thrown into a state of weakness. Whichever one is really right doesn't matter so much as the picture that God is ready to deal with Jezebel because she represents such utter evil. Thus, God is going to come through for the Christians at Thyratira for having such a "simple" faith. He will give the one who conquers (the temptation to know deeply a teaching from Satan) someone to brightly guide him or identify him with brilliance—the morning star!

Second an Old Testament allusion

A short excursion to the Old Testament reveals a little more meaning to the letter to Thyatira. Revelation in general is rife with Old Testament allusions. The 7 letters are no exception. Three OT allusions are encountered in this letter to Thyatira.

First is the reference to Jezebel from 1st and 2nd Kings. Ahab had to be the most wicked king in all of Israel's history. He had help, though. He married someone whose father carried the name of Baal, God's competitor in Sidon. After marrying this lady, he instituted her false religion in Israel. In other words he prostituted Israel's religion, figuratively speaking. Because of her influence, prophets uttered oracles against her, one of which was that she would die in Jezreel and another saying that her sons would be cut down and her royal line would come to an end. So, in Revelation Jezebel is the sybolic name for a prophetess who prostituted Jesus' religion and whose symbolic children would be cut down or caused to suffer great grief. God would not stand for a verse 2 of Jezebel to happen with the religion surrounding his son.

Another reference is to Psalm 2.8-9. This Psalm touts the overcomer to rule powerfully over his enemies. This definitely offset the legend of Thyrimnos with his double sided ax and his alliance with the Roman power. Jesus, in effect, says that his followers would be every bit as powerful as the local icon. Thus, the praise of verse 19 was reinforced with the Psalm portion in order to give encouragement to worn-out hearts for the love, faith, service and patience they had shown in their community.

A final reference seems to echo Jeremiah 11.20. The prophet is asking God for revenge on his enemies or at least observing that God would avenge him since he was God's prophet, so he says that the Lord of Hosts would judge fairly because he tries or searches the heart and mind. In Revelation the echo serves the same purpose. God would judge the Christians' enemies because he can search their minds and hearts for the evil they have in them.

The OT allusions have an identifying and encouraging role to play in the letter to Thyratira. Christians' hearts should have been encouraged because God was going to put evil in its place. The first centruy Christians needed to hear such a message. They understood it plainly and stood up as Christians against the backdrop of paganism starkly.

Connecting to history

Sometimes good literature has great symmetry in it. The first three chapters of Revelation certainly fit in here. Each of the 7 letters opens with an identifier that takes one back to the last several verses of the first chapter which is identifying Jesus as a person worthy of remembering. In the opening of this letter, the identifier "eyes like a flame of fire and feet like burnished bronze" connect directly to one of the main businesses in town, the metal workers. They not only made coins but other objects as well, such as armor and weapon parts. So, if Jesus was introducing himself to Christians in the town as one who knew them intimately, he had to name himself with an identifier that showed he had knowledge of the main guild in town in which some of them may have worked, but at least most of them respected or were beholden to. Jesus was perhaps saying that he was at least as powerful as the main guild was also, so he was not beholden to them nor would the Christians be if they were to follow him more closely.

Jesus also referred to a prophetess in Thyatira. That would be the priestess of Sembethe. She had been delivering oracles that "beguiled" or "seduced" the Christians into eating meat offered to idols and sexual intercourse. This doesn't take a wild imagination to understand what her oracles must have contained. Meat can be eaten without it having to represent the idol it was offered to. And, of course, if that is true, then sex can be separated from love so that it doesn't have to represent one's sharing of souls or one's giving of love. Of course, that also gets into the temple worship that seems to have existed in association with Artemis as well, that is, the association of sex with offerings to the great goddess Artemis.

A quotation was also given that Thyatirans could appreciate. "To the one who conquers (his temptations), I will give him power over the nations, and he shall rule them with a rod of iron." On some of the coins minted at Thyatira is the figure of Thyrimnos, the local legendary military hero. He always carried a double edged ax over his shoulder and was wearing a general's cloak. On one coin he is joined by a Roman general and both were referred to as the "sons of Zeus." So, militarily ruling with power might have an appeal or at least an immediate point of understanding by a Thyatiran.

One can derive all of this without any trouble if he just takes the time to do a little study of the history of Thyatira. Already the original listener to ths letter is attentive because he just might be thinking that Jesus knew the kind of person a Thyatiran was. Jesus would know the environment he lived in and understand him that much better. So, he would give an ear to hear "what the spirit is saying to the churches."

First a history lesson

I have to test this out. I thought after my railing in the last blog that I should quit stewing and do something about what I was upset about. So, I am going to blog the few things I come up with and see if there is a match next Sunday morning. I will also log my time to see if I come up with as much information in the same or less time than the teacher. So, over the next few blogs I am going to recount what I have found. The last several verses of Revelation 2 deal with the church at Thyatira.

First, I thought I should know something about ancient Thyatira. I have spent about 4 hours over the last 2 days looking at internet sites on ancient Thyatira. I would do this if I were teaching a class. 7 matters of interest pop up right away. Between 80 AD and 270 AD Thyatira was in the business of minting coins for the area. The town seemed to have been established as a garrison of soldiers for reinforcement purposes since it took the name Thyatira after about 330 BC. Over time it had become a center for guilds such as cloth dyeing, leather making, copper making, and about 7 others. An oracle (or temple containing a priestess [or prophetess in Jewish terms]) representing Sambethe was there. A temple to Artemis was also there although it was not to the same magnitude as the temple to Artemis in Ephesus. The local hero with demigod status was depicted on some of the coins. His name was Thyrimnos and he is also coupled with a Roman general and they were known as the sons of Zeus. In addition, bronze burnishing was a major guild and they had a demigod or legendary status at least for the founder of the trade. He also was put on the coins minted at Thyatira.

All of the above information is important because the letter delivered to the messenger to Thyatira adresses every aspect of their daily life and belief system. The next blog will deal with the connection between the history and the verses of the letter.

TOTALLY uninspiring

Occasionally times change and one aspect of society or another is behind the curve. Usually it doesn't take long for that aspect of society to catch up with the rest of it. If it doesn't, of course, it risks passing out of existence. So, this morning I got up and went to a class at a church within a denomination I have attended all my life. But, after leaving the class, I came home with such a sigh of disappointment in the inmost part of my psyche that I couldn't let the feeling go. So, I pondered it.

The class is studying the book of Revelation. It is in the beginning stages. The teacher took the class time this morning to comment on the letter that was written to Pergamum in chapter 2 of that book. Perhaps he didn't allow enough study time for his presentation, but he should know that Revelation is a rich literary work and has much to offer literarily, not counting spiritually. So, it's not the book to study if one only has limited time. He began by recounting what Pergamum was known for in the ancient world, moved to reading the verses dealing with the letter to Pergamum, and proceeded to divide his comments between how the church has allowed the material world to infiltrate it and how the church should discipline it members.

There aren't enough words for me to create the emptiness that lesson caused. Just so that the teacher could feel like he should critique the church as a whole on its acceptance of materialism or feel that he should suggest that we should act as God's agents of punishment on members who don't tow some kind of imaginary line, he held class this Sunday morning.

This is where going to church is about to become a relic of the past for me. I sat at home Saturday night and listened to a pastor of a huge church (Hillsong) that was more inpiring and who had spent more time discerning the New Testament than the class I chose to go to this morning. And I wasn't inconvenienced by having to go anywhere. Many times I can see a Biblical documentary on television and learn more than I did this morning because the program's producers have gone to various places or have interviewed knowledgeable people in the field. The lesson this morning had no use of media in it. I even receive power point presentations in email that help me understand someone's ideas such as translating Psalms or Proverbs. When I go to work, on a typical day I receive email with attachments from EXCEL or Adobe Acrobat or First Publisher, or I make them myself to send.

But maybe the most galling part of the presentation was the way in which the teacher only had one line of thinking about a very rich matter. There are probably 5 different points to the letter, each with at least 3 layers of meaning, some with 4, one with 5. Minimally educated people in America know that they can expect more than one line of thought on almost anything, but especially the Bible. Why did we get only one? Was it lack of preparation, lack of exposure (in which case the teacher needs to select a different book or topic on which he is more exposed), lack of class time (in which case he needs to prepare according to the time elements involved better), or just bigotry in presenting only one view? Even if he thought his view was right, he could have at least presented the "literary elements" in the passage—symbolic versus literal if nothing else. And what about all the historical connections that could have been brought to bear on the understanding of the passage? And what about all the Old Testament allusions that could have been brought to bear on the passage? And what about all the early church history that could have been brought to bear on the passage?

So, if I can pick up a book or flip to a history channel and not even leave home to learn about the book that I trust to help me get to my final destination, then what am I doing getting up earlier than I normally would on a weekend day to go antagonize myself? And for those who would say that Sunday's are not about learning but about being around other believers, then I say they have too narrow a view of Christianity because I am among believers all during the week. And what about "worship?" I am most inspired when I have a great conversation with one of those believers during the week or whenever I spend time driving to work listening to Third Day, Michael W. Smith, or Caedman's call or whenever I am translating my next work or whenever I am writing in my blog.

Society has changed. I hope that I can not be enslaved to my own powerful habits that waste my precious time on earth. And I hope that God uses a number of well placed people to change his church to reach people in the world that they really live in.

A seeker moment

I had a talk today with another who seeks out the hard questions. He was almost half my age. I am elated that someone his age will carry on the questioning in the next generation. I tried to give him examples of the path ahead if he continues to question things like inspiration of the Bible, origins of the Bible, historicity of certain events, timelines for the Bible, cultural ideas versus doctrinal ideas, etc. I felt for him because I know the rejection he feels and will feel. But I also know that won't throw him off track. It will certainly make him remain honest before God. And I know that it will not lead him to reject God. So, I ask the Maker of him who seeks to lead this young man beside calm waters and to some very green pastures knowing that he will not receive his spiritual food from the religious establishment, but from God and a handful of true friends. And I thank the Maker of satisfactory and encouraging moments for the journey He has made with me and for the handful of true friends given to me on my walk through life.

An evening for the heart

I had a great spiritual experience. But, it wasn't church and it wasn't even Sunday. I went to a friend's wedding. It was held at an Episcopal church, so it was very different from the protestant church I go to. During the wedding, as a part of the ceremony, the wedding party and the rest of the attendees shared the eucharist. It was a very meaningful part of the service and always in a non-Sunday communion I am made to meditate on things near to my heart. The liturgy was outstanding, and they had two women read the scriptures for the wedding. And I always think it's good to include the Song of Songs at a wedding ceremony, and this one had a section from that book in it.

At the wedding reception afterwards, all went well, and I got to visit with a friend who had come from Mexico and another linguistic buddy. But, at the very end, one of the ladies who had read scripture came over to me and touched my arm. She told me that she could tell from touching my arm that I had more to me than people see, that there was more under the surface than people knew about. My friend said, "I think you just received a prophetic utterance." I said, "Yes I did."

I don't know what the significance of the lady's telling me that was. Perhaps for personal encouragement, perhaps for some other reason. No doubt it left me pondering. But, the whole evening fed my soul with all that happened.

Keeping eyes where they should be

Walking the park was interesting today. A higher than usual number of people were enjoying the heat and the park, many of them walking as well. That is many times a distraction for me. But not this evening. My eyes kept looking at the looming clouds in the distance. I knew that a storm would not drift my way because it was headed away from me. But the clouds held my attention. So, it enabled me to hold my usual conversation with the Maker of the storm clouds. It's a good thing. I needed the time with him. There is something about soaking in the nature around you that gives clarity to thought. So, he gave me that.

Yokes and burdens

A nice word play surfaced while I was studying this morning. It comes from Matthew 11.28-30. The old version of it goes like this: "Come to me all who are weak and heavy laden and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart and you will find rest for your souls for my yoke is easy and burden is light." The word play is in verse 30–for my yoke is easy and my burden is light. As is the case with any pun, there is a more literal understanding and a figurative understanding. An added stroke of genius in this teaching is the paradoxical phrasing. Since Jesus grew up in a rural area, he would know about yoking oxen to plow fields. So, he uses something right out of countryside to express a profound truth to his followers.

The literal goes like this. My yoke is easy (to wear) because when I put it on you, it fits you exactly. It's not too loose to cause rubbing and sores. It's not too tight to keep you from working or cause you physical harm. It's the perfect fit. If you follow my teachings, they will be the perfect fit for you. The second part is about loads. That is what oxen are teamed together for. They share the load so that it goes faster with less strain on the animal. Team with Jesus and the load becomes nothing at all, which is paradoxical since loads by definition are heavier than someone would want to deal with. So, the language carries a pun and a paradox. The translation to express this literal idea would read, "For my yoke fits you exactly and my load weighs nothing at all."

Figuratively speaking, you get a second meaning and a second contrast. A yoke suggests that you are being controlled by someone behind you and to a lesser extent by someone beside you, yoked with you. One use of the word translated as light is reputable or benevolent. So, Jesus would be meaning that his yoke or type of control would be to make us reputable or benevolent people. On the second part of the statement, burden is light, the burden is usually oppressive or hampering in some way so that we don't achieve happiness or satisfaction. But the word for light can also mean nimble in handling or insignificant. The translation to express this figurative idea would read, "For my control causes you to have a good reputation and my heavy load is something you can nimbly handle."

The pun and the paradox are very comforting to those of us who have experienced some of life's most difficult circumstances. It makes his invitation to come to him attractive, and the ensuing walk with him makes us reputable and refreshed people. May it always be.

To those who would be word gurus

Sometimes people go through the exercise of answering what is necessary, what is important, and what is urgent. People taking managerial school often get asked this question because it is supposed to help them know how to priortize their days. To me, this is merely a semantics game. All three words, necessary, important, and urgent, have some commonalities in their semantic domains that keep them from being heirarchical. Managerial schools teach that necessary items get done on a regular basis, not every day. Important items get done first in day whether or not they are necessary or not. Urgent items get done immediately, and since they have deadlines for being accomplished, they are never routine. That order makes sense if a person gets to control the meanings of words in the English language.

But, the language is bigger than one speaker, and only certain people during certain stages in a word's history get to control the meaning of words used. Just as easily as the above hierarchy, one could say that what is necessary for a moment in time gets done because it is the important item for that moment, thus requiring our urgent handling. In that way they all have the same meaning. Or what about this meaning? Nothing should ever get to crisis stage (urgent) if everything gets handled in its appropriate time (importance), so working a plan or schedule is always necessary. We could go on.

All that to say, people should not get too excited nor too bent out of shape over following someone else's model for word definitions. If one wants to willingly do so, fine. But, don't impose those definitions unless he knows it is specific to time and place. Or unless a person or group is destiny's choice for changing a word in its own historical cycle.

Gambling my life away

I wonder about so much. I control very little. That gives rise to all sorts of anxiety and situations that I have to live with that go against my value system. I suppose that's where trust comes in. Someone is controlling the big picture. Not controlling humans necessarily, but perhaps events to a certain degree. Of course, that is a guess and a wish on my part. But, I choose to call it a trust. I certainly would be depressed without the hope of that trust's existence. And I have to live my whole life to know for certain if I was right in gambling that the trust was true. But, I'm taking that risk. It's too bleak to think otherwise and a waste of a good investment of time and energy. So be it.

A rail against mindless youth

I'm finding out more all the time that aged people and youth have little in common. By the time I die I might be an island entire of itself even though John Dunn's famous poem says that no man is an island entire of itself. The logic of youth is nearly always egocentric and myopic. The ambitions of youth take on well established ideas even though they have not thoroughly explored what is in place or they have no replacement at all for an idea they rue. They're sickening, but they are what The Progenitor of the ages gave aged people to work with. I'll have to ask about that when I get to the other side.

The 50-year lens

Recently I had a 28 year old person try to correct me on the matter of God's predetermined will for people and His omiscience. I still resist the idea that I have tried to reconcile all my life. My 20s decade is the last decade of my life to really entertain the thought that God might have some predetermination in history. I just cannot believe that is how it is. God works with people no matter their condition. I have seen that over and over.

People in their 20s have not seen God work in people's lives very often, much less their own. So they may hypothesize, but I don't think they have the ability to see so clearly. Of course, their usual response to my rejection of their idea of predetermination is God's omniscience. I can't buy that either if they mean God is all-knowing by it. I think it is a little convenient to concoct the idea that God can see the whole time continuum of one's life so that people can think God is in control. Free will means that God has given up that aspect of control to his creation. I have seen God pull people from some pretty seedy places in life and give them hope. I have seen others slip slowly away into nothingness and never reach out to God. But I have not seen people who have walked with God who think it was because God willed it to be so before they were born.

We have a creator that is magnificent and certainly more powerful than humans. We have a creator that loves his human race so much that he gave his only son so that he could offer them a life that never ends. We have a creator that works with us to lead us home to him.

We do not have a creator that knows our every move before it happens because he predetermined it. No way. That would surely have impeded his great care for his human race. Which he wiped out once in anger—except for one person and his family. Which he abandoned after he tried to fashion a certain man's descendents into a nation that would acknowledge him. But which he agreed to work with in a nurturing way after letting his son seal a new agreement with them. But that's looking through a 50 year old lens. And I like it a whole lot better.

Two birds, one stone

Encouragement doesn't always come in the form of confirmation, but it is nice when it happens. Today, I received 2 confirmations, one in two different areas. It was so very heartwarming. When other people say something unexpectedly about the tons of work and a good span of years that it took to make something productive, it is like a fresh puff of wind against the face. When what they say is also complimentary or something they find useful, you know that all the energies you put into the aim and goal has just paid off. And it is not just an acknowledgement of human energies, it is a recognition of the opportunities and energies of the one who is using his human vessel to reflect something of Him. So, while confirmation is encouraging, I am not the end receiver of the compliment. The one using his human vessel is. But two birds are hit with one stone, and the two birds feel good about being hit.

Sober parent

It's always sobering to think parenting. All I have to do is visit with my daughter to see in what areas I surley went wrong. On the other hand, there are those moments when everything said is just what needs to be said. I can't see a trajectory line when I look at my daughter to know if 30 years from now she will have "come full circle" and not be stuck in her self-centered, counter-productive activities. I know that she fights two forces, her mother's and mine, for we have left two very different examples for her to choose from. Then there's her own example that she is bent on providing for herself.

All I know is that she is on her own path, one that she to some extent will control, at least in the early going. Life will spin out of control gradually as she ages. What will her end be like? But that is not in the crystal ball for me to see. I simply ask the one who could control to nudge, cajole, coax, and give opportunity for her to stay on the path that leads her home to Him. In the meantime, it's sobering to think of parenting.

Imagined opinions of equal weight

It's always interesting to carry on a conversation with someone who begins talking and thinking that I, the other conversant, am on the same page with him. As it dawns on him that I am polar worlds apart, then I guess he feels betrayed because the defenses come up. People do that with me about the Bible frequently, but is more marked in the field of language. It is my experience that disagreement over time becomes contempt. So be it. If educational training has taught me anything, it has taught me to yield in an area I don't know much about, and to stand my ground in an area that I do. That principle rankles some people. They would like to have the same knowledge without any of the training. In fact, they imagine themselves as having equal training footing so that their opinion might count as much as a more informed or trained opinion.

In the end, one opinion counts as much as the next person's, especially in casual conversation.

Groupings of sayings

Over time many things happen. What a difference a year makes. Where do you want to be in 5 years? 10 years? Living life on the installment plan. There's always tomorrow. Enjoy it now—and later.

All of these are sayings about the wisdom of stretching things out. Even the Maker decided his creation needed a little more than 30 years for the body to wear down, wear out, and finally give out. So, life in the fast lane and the early bird gets the worm might not be sayings for the ages. But, even if they are, I am going to discount them for the lifestyle represented by the first group of sayings.

Appreciating spring

The scenery was beautiful on the last drive to Austin that I took. One could tell that spring was in the air. The countryside teemed with new life. The color green was everywhere. Nowhere was even a hint of the sun scorching the earth. Nothing was brown unless it represented what had not given way from the winter to the verdant green announcing spring. The same drive just a few months ago portrayed a different season of the year.

It's odd that I would notice spring in such a way in the first place since long ago I left the spring of my years in terms of the seasons of life. If I take the average age for mortality, I must be in the fall of my life. Now, if I live as long as my grandmother, I am only half way through life, so I would still be in summer. But, I'll go with the average age for now. Maybe I still notice spring because I have a daughter behind me in the spring of her life. Or a son behind me etched forever in the spring of his life.

But I am not intrigued by spring because I know what is ahead–the burning days of summer, the shed leaves of fall, and the bitter cold of winter. I just know how to enjoy spring. And perhaps there is a message in this musing for me. If I take the seasonal cycle as a microcosm of the life we only get to experience once, then I need to pay attention to the rhythms of the microcosm and know how to enjoy each part of the cycle. So the pressing news for me is to know how to enjoy fall weather. At first there is a moderation of temperature. Leaves don't fall till late in the cycle. Then, comes winter.

Arbitrary words

Words are arbitrarily chosen to represent ideas. But do the words chosen really represent the ideas? Stock phrases like Happy Birthday wouldn't be said any other way, such as Glad Birthday or Happy Day of Birth. But in running speech the ideas we have are not so common as to have only one way to say it. So, Our troops are still in Iraq, and Our boys have yet to return from Iraq, only have a small chance of representing the same idea. Who is making the utterance has everything to do with what the idea may be. If a mother of a soldier were speaking, utterance #2 would probably be chosen. If a reporter was asking Don Rumsfield to comment on the status of the troops, utterance #1 would be chosen over utterance #2. Utterance #1 seems more factual while utterance #2 seems fuller of sentiment.

I had a chance recently to discuss at length some of the principles of translation when translating the New Testament. It's always interesting to see how others react to a discussion of translation principles, but I was talking with a fellow translator. If I had to characterize the discussion with the main idea of the discussion, I think we mentioned time and again how arbitrary words are in representing ideas. Neither of us would be able to answer the question, "What is the best translation?" or "Which translation most accurately reflects the original language?" Judging matters like the attitude of speakers or trying to figure out how much fact or sentiment was involved becomes tricky since it would guide the translator to select a certain set of words to use. For example, are "I am the light of the world," and "I'm the world's light," the same expression? What about "I am the one who lights the world," or "I light up the world?"

Although I am reminded how careful one must be when translating, I am equally reminded that a great degree of liberty exists in translating. And in that I am relieved. That liberty is the very essence of the one who created the ideas in the first place. If the Son of Man set you free, you are really and truly free.

Finding the flash

It is exhiliarating to be a fish in water, to be in an environment that you know you were born to be in. Every circuit in your brain is working flawlessly and efficiently. Energy flows without end. Everything seems interesting. You go for hours on end without flagging. Everything is familiar in one way or another and connections to new ideas are everywhere.

Once every three years or so, this is the case. It's beautiful when it happens. It rejuvenates, refreshes, and retools. It makes you ready to go fight the good fight for the next 3 years. It affirms your previous course of action. It prepares you for likely changes on the horizon. I's sweet to the palate.

Chinks and prices

Words are sobering when they reflect a chink in the ol' armor of our character. A CSI rerun came on, and I watched. It was interesting as most of the episodes are. At the very end of the show the last line was delivered before the credits began to roll. The words were pretty sobering, "Everyone has a price." In the case of CSI, the price was crime. But even if we move into other arenas of life, the saying still holds true.

I hate to think that I have a price. I have had some hard testing, but the thought still lingers—the price just hasn't been raised high enough. I am old enough to know where the chinks in my armor are. If I wonder why the chink is there in the first place, I think that I thwarted some arrow, that an attempt at buying me off has failed. Maybe it just means that on that occasion the price was just not raised high enough. A thought like that raises my eyebrows. I hope the One who Made me does not allow the death blow. Chinks only, please. Or that the enemy doesn't secretly know what my price is.

Words leading home

Expressions can be beautifully worded sometimes. Those expressions can make us feel that we belong, or that we have value, or that we feel gratified. But the other possibility exists. Words can be used to make us feel unworthy, despicable, and unloved. Words themselves really have no value. The attitude of the speaker, the tone of the voice, the physical presence or absence of the one giving the words are taken into account much more than the words. Many times we remember harshness or love, but cannot remember the words themselves. We remember the occasion, the expression on the face, the strength of the tone, the rapidity of the delivery, but seldom the words themselves. So, perhaps, the Giver of words would like us to use the words we utter to leave prints behind, kind prints, caring prints,warm prints, valued prints–the kind that lead the way home to Him.

Ebb and flow

What in life looks more like life than the ebb and flow of the ocean on a coastline? The usual tide in-tide out gets to be expected. The constant dull roar soon is not heard at all if you are on the coastline long. Sometimes the tide is higher than normal, especially when storms come. Some waves in a lifetime are tsunamis, but that is abnormal. Much gets washed ashore given enough time. Undertows are unseen, but strong nevertheless and have been known to cause death for non-swimmers.

Every line above has an equivalent in living life. Sometimes I write a blog when the tide is in and sometimes when the tide is out. Some of my blogs represent the stuff that gets washed up on the shoreline and sometimes it represents the dull roar that people forget to hear. Certainly the storms and tsunamis are recordable events. Hopefully, I won't drown in the undertow, but occasionally I do have to fight against it as it drags against me pulling me somewhat out to sea.

I'd say at the moment I see clouds on the horizon. At least it is just rain that's coming. Maybe it will hit as the tide comes in so that it won't be so dangerous. I'm waiting for the sunshine at high tide to bask in the sunlight and splash along the beach. Life's a beach and then you die.

Long journeys

Some motivational posters contain quotations along the lines of "All long journeys begin with the first step." Well, that helps some. All journeys are taken by putting one step in front of the next. But, then there are these really long journeys. The kind where steps are taken, but they don't necessarily lead to any destination. They are just steps.

Sometimes they are steps of evasion of coming trouble, sometimes steps of curiosity of glimpsing what could be or might have been, sometimes steps full of spring because "things are turning out right." But no matter what kind of steps—troubled steps, grieving steps, contented steps, outrageous steps, unbelivable steps—the journey is just outright long. Really long. Like L-o-o-o-o-n-g long. There aren't any motivational posters for those kinds of journeys. They are just endlessly long journeys. A good dose of Christianity doesn't even help in understanding some of these journeys. They are just long. Such is life.

I guess the proper attitude to have is that we are strangers passing through this world. To the next world I hope. I am really counting on those journeys being a lot different.

No-not in the plan

Quite often I hear that a day's activity in its entirety is planned by God. It comes in the phrase, "God's got a plan for your life," or "Absolutely nothing will happen to you today that God hasn't already planned." As much as I would like to believe that's true, and have at times tried to believe that it's true, in the end I can't really find any truth in it.

Two people aren't supposed to be mad at each other or highly critical. But they are. I don't think it's part of a plan. Children aren't supposed to die young. But they do. Surely, God in his mercy doesn't control death of youth. Children aren't really supposed to learn deceit and loose living from their parents. But it happens. Did God have that planned already? Then there is the age old question that God has never really answered in the sacred book claiming Him as author. Why do the wicked prosper? Is that really what the Father that Jesus represented wants perpetuated in this sordid world?

My prayers really reflect more what Paul asked for others to pray for him about, "In your conversations with God, ask that He rescue us from people's moral morass and base living." Because others' base living is not a part of any plan!

Out of the blue sky

Two geese this morning flew right over my head and landed about 20 yards from me in the park. They came out of nowhere it seemed and they sounded motorized as they landed. I don't know why they chose to come to the park at mid-morning. One was larger; one was smaller. I was there 30 minutes and so were they. I left so I don't really know how long they outlasted me. Usually I take note of things that happen out of the ordinary like this scene. Today was no different. Were they a message to me? What did they represent? If they were a harbinger of things to come, I guess it wasn't today that something happened. But if they were a harbinger of things to come, then I probably need some time to adapt to whatever will occur.

And yes, something like this has happened to me before. Sometimes the scene means that something good will happen. More often than not, though, the sign is a portent of difficult circumstances. In that light, I don't look forward to future events. On the other hand, it's nice to be forewarned because in some circumstances, forewarned is forearmed. We warily eyed each other during the 30 minutes I was at the park. But, I can't for the life of me see the symbolism—yet. I guess that will be a topic for a future blog. In the meantime, I live each moment as it comes with peace and contentment as much as that may depend on my actions.

Constant reminding

This has been one of those days that felt like nothing was accomplished. However, as I was recounting to someone what I had done in the day, the list sounded quite productive. I get to thinking like that about my life, too. When I do take the trek down memory lane, it's not so bad and there is more productivity than I was remembering at first. I have to remember periodically that long trips start with taking the first step.

I don't know why I have to remind myself frequently that I am not a failure, that I have productive moments in life. It's certainly not attached to a poor self-esteem. It could be just a self-defense mechanism against becoming idle or lazy. Or it could come from a habit of monitoring and adjusting. It doesn't matter, I guess. I just offer to the Maker of all humanity the hours he has given me. It is He then that gives opportunities to be productive and to compound that productivity into some work of art. So be it.

A reflection on smoothing out

Spring break is a good time to reflect on many matters. One such matter is the reflection on whether one's walk through this life is decent or not. I have a lot of times looked back, usually by decades. There is regret, for sure. But there have been times when I think the direction was correct. But, there's always that gray category. Probably the actions were correct, but the attitudes were not or the clear receptions of others were not. A person would think that by making time for reflections from time to time, like the one here at spring break, one's life would smooth out over time or be more even-keeled than it is.

I think one can only see smoothness if some of the same events happen a number of times in each decade. Then, maybe one could see a smoothing out. A couple of events come immediately to mind. One of those events was a week ago. And looking at it this time, I finally see that growth can be charted. That's rewarding in a way and nerve-wracking in another way. It's nice to see that events can be reacted to differently. It's nice to see that as human beings we have the ability to monitor and adjust during the course of our whole lives. But, one growth event does not a smoothing out make. What will happen the next time or the next? Maybe 10 events with a certain reaction would reflect a smoothing out. Whatever. The first of ten is now in the record books. I'm really not looking forward to the other nine, but I know they will inevitably come. I hear the words of a book I recently translated, "So many do not have faith. But God is faithful." And so I trust that the other nine will be in line with decent living.

Thumbs up or down?

Academic types and business types don't get to be together too much. When the two worlds come together, it's many times awkward. Business types are very pragmatic. Academic types are pretty ethereal. Business types are focused on the goal or bottom line. Academic types are focused on the exploration of paths to get to a bottom line, if one exists at all. So, if the two types should ever meet, there is either a true appreciation of the other because neither could exist easily in the other one's world. Or there is World War III because they look at matters so differently that they can't agree on what is important.

I have two acquaintances that are one of each. With one I have World War III every time, with the other annual bonding trips to some entertaining region of the state. One is a true friend, the other a wolf in sheep's clothing. Both profess Christianity. One accepts me as I am. The other rejects me as a heretic. When the Maker looks down and sees such a threesome, I wonder what goes on in his mind? Does he see worth and dignity? Or does he see uselessness and disgust? I guess I'll just have to ask him tonight when I walk in the park. I'm anticipating a clear answer to this one.

Not by sight

The wind is blowing a gale outside at the moment. I feel safe on the inside hearing it pummel the house. Safety is something we all count on from one day to the next. But I also know that in the case of the wind, I am safe from something I cannot see, only hear. If I were out in it, I could feel it also. Two of my senses tell me that it is windy. Most of the time I think we depend almost wholly on what we can see. In that way we can know something is happening. But there are only two other ways available to know it is windy. Sight is excluded.

Perhaps, in the other dimension, our sight is excluded. We can only know by other ways of knowing. Whether I am in tune with the other dimension might only come through a sensitivity to reading the actions of those around us or to seeing abstract ideas like kindness being given an opportunity in our own actions. The Son of Man made a comparison to the wind once. He also noted that we couldn't see it, but we could see evidence of it, which is parallel to matters of the spirit. Touche.

The other cheek

I have never understood why one person might attack another for an opinion expressed. I guess I have spent too much time in the academic world where debate is expected. Usually sides of a linguistic issue are debated, then people see evidence of both examples/counter-examples. At the end of the discussion, no one is expected to change sides. Anyone listening can weigh for themselves what the evidence is and choose to remain neutral, bring up further examples or counter-examples, side with one view or another, or be indifferent to the whole discussion. Rarely have I encountered vehemence, passion for one's view yes, but rarely vehemence with a fair amount of venom spit my way in such debates.

So, when the spit venom happens, it usually takes me off-guard. Also, usually when it happens it is rarely about the topic under discussion because I am prepared to argue the case for a position and concede the evidence given in the counter-examples or account for the counter-examples within the scope of the linguistic theory being offered. What takes me off-guard, then, is the resulting personal attack or the judgmental condescension of a person on the other side when the evidence stage of discussion is ended. What takes me completely off-guard is when a person does not engage in the debate at all, but takes the judgmental condescension/personal attack route first, without engaging in theoretical discourse at all.

Such an experience I offer to the one who can make all things work together for good. I follow the route the Master Teacher suggested, "If someone strikes your right cheek, turn the other to him also." The debate takes second chair. The lesson the Master Teacher wants seen is primary. More lives are touched by memory of a scene than by tenets in a debate. Actions over words any day of the week. Especially actions recommended by the Son of God. It is my offering. So be it.

An ancient phrase

This is the last post for the class studying 2nd Thessalonians. Previous posts have covered several aspects of the book and nearly the whole gamut for the first 11 verses of chapter 2. I wish any who have read these posts well on their spiritual journey. I end with a post on the end of the Christian's trip on the earth—Jesus' coming.

2nd Thessalonians 2.1-12 begin and end with Jesus' coming. The verses in between can be understood from a futuristic point of view, a historical view, a continuous-historical view, an event-specific view, or simply the view of good versus evil. But, no matter what came between the first and the last parts of the passage, the outside of the sandwich is consistent. The end hasn't happened. But when it does, heads will roll. Vengence will be taken. The first of the passage is a plea not to be troubled in spirit. The meaning is for the Thessalonian Christians not to give up on the Christian life or give in to the pagan lifestyle. The end of the passage means that if they would hang on, something would be done about their persecution.

Perhaps, a word that doesn't get uttered in the New Testament but once applies. Marana tha. 1 Corinthians 16.22 contains it. The expression holds both the idea that Jesus has come and will come again. That is the important part of this 2nd Thessalonian passage as well. One other Christian document contained the utterance as well, the Didache. It is mentioned there in the context of the Lord's supper. A model prayer is given giving thanks for the church and Jesus. At the end of that prayer it asks for God to gather the church from the 4 winds. Then is uttered Marana tha. So, I utter those words at the end of this study.

MARANA THA. Lord come again as you have once. MARANA THA.

The end of those against us

8 blogs have been used to try to fathom the words contained in 2nd Thessalonians 2.1-12. I suppose that all the different angles have contributed to having an informed opinion regardless of the place where one's opinion may have landed. So, I am hoping that Alexander Pope's words have been fulfilled when he wrote (found in Essay on Criticism, Part II, lines 215-218):

A little learning is a dangerous thing;
Drink deep or taste not the Pierian Spring.
There shallow draughts intoxicate the brain,
And drinking largely sobers us again.

Since I think "drinking largely" has occurred, I offer the following translation from Greek as a reflection of "drinking deep."

2nd Thessalonians 2.1-12

Brothers and sisters, we ask you, in light of Jesus Christ’s coming and our gathering to meet him, to resist being so quickly disturbed in thought or troubled in spirit. Don’t be thrown off track just because someone has been telling you that the Day of the Lord has come or has been reporting that we wrote a letter saying that. Enough time must first pass for people to abandon our teaching and show themselves for what they are–reckless and lost. They will oppose God, become arrogant and God-like, and accept people’s accolades as if they are God. I did tell you this when I was still with you, remember?

Now you can see the kind of people behind the resistance being put up against us. They have made themselves apparent. Of course, you couldn’t see this at first. But, their reckless actions won’t last forever. Now that you see them for who they are, know that these reckless people will be destroyed when Jesus comes again to show how truly flimsy their actions are. They only seem strong because Satan has enabled them to create illusions of power and sordid visions of grandeur. They are being destroyed because they won’t love the truth in order to rescue themselves. God makes available this activity of deception as a choice for those who want to believe a lie. But He punishes them for this choice and for considering wickedness good.

A translation by David Singleton
from Greek for use by Liftwords.com

The coming

2nd Thessalonians 2.1,2,8 all talk about the coming of Jesus in one way or another. At the end of first Thessalonians 4 and at the beginning of chapter 5, Paul speaks of Jesus' coming and the Day of the Lord. Perhaps, from this portion of the letter, some people in the Christian group got the idea that Jesus had already come. No one knows exactly how that could have occurred, but one scenario is that the group of Christians, known as the gnostic Christians, took the part about being children of light to mean something spiritual in nature. If one achieved mental spirituality, then something like a physical day on which Jesus would return with vengence would be out of the question. As long as one remained a child of light, then the day of the Lord would not overtake him. Only if he became a child of the dark would the day of the Lord come as a thief in the night.

So, the writer of 2nd Thessalonians takes on the gnostic Christians. He says they are deceived, reckless, very arrogant, and claim to be God actually (that would be achieved spiritually and mentally). However, since they claim to be God in such an abstract state, then Jesus could use something transparent and abstract, His breath, to annihilate them. Gnosticism was pretty much wiped out during the 2nd century AD, so Jesus' breath was all it took. Noteworthy, also is that similar beliefs were expressed in Judaism by the Essene sect. It has even been hypothesized that both Jesus and Paul had contact with this group at Qumran and espoused some of their teachings. The Essenes too disappear during the 2nd century AD.

The only drawback to the above being true is that Jesus has not come again. True, not in a final event for the world. However, at every person's single final event, his or her death, perhaps Jesus comes. At least He comes individually. So the Day of the Lord is personal rather than a cataclysmic end time. If this could be true, then the gnostic threat to Christianity was destroyed just as the author said it would be. These Christians who seemed to think of themselves outside of the law or written code were only enabled by Satan for a short time. Jesus blew his breath against this vapor of time, and the gnostics dried up and blew away.

Revealing what is hidden

2nd Thessalonians, verses 6 and 7 present somewhat an enigma with the introduction of either something or someone who hinders. Phillips' translation renders the word "the restraining power." Verse 6 states that the Thessalonians would know upon reading the letter the thing or person hindering, preventing, holding back or holding up the message Paul was trying to present. Who exactly or what exactly is this restraining power according to Phillips?

Is it God who was holding back on revealing the nature of resistance to Paul? Is it God who didn't want the Thessalonians to see what kind of evil was behind the resistance until they matured somewhat? Is it Satan who is being prevented from coming against the new Christians with full force? Is it merely the human mind rationalizing the message of Paul as absurd that made people resist accepting his message?

Whatever was restraining or being restrained was made obvious through Paul's letter. And the key is that God would act decisively against it. In answer to the question, "Has the day of the Lord come?" Paul says evidently not because you have not been able to see, for whatever reason, the kind of power that is really against you. Now you do. But not to worry. God will act to destroy it. End of story. Satan loses. God wins. During Paul's time. During our own time.

Rebellion

Usually at the heart of any controversy over the interpretation of a passage of scripture is the amount of attention the interpreter pays to the cultural aspects surrounding the writer of the passage. It is no different with 2nd Thessalonians 2.1-12. If one pays no attention to the cultural aspects of the Macedonian people in the middle of the 1st century AD, then one feels free to view various portions of the Bible that read similarly as parts of a consistent whole. On the other end of the spectrum is the one who feels that different regions and different time periods make different portions of the Bible dysjunct from each other.

One of the terms used in this 12-verse stretch of the New Testament is "a rebellion." If the Bible is seen as a seamless whole, then one could say that "a rebellion" is mentioned in Daniel 7, Matthew 24, and Revelation 13. The 3 references must be speaking about the same event. If the Bible is seen as having different parts that might or might not relate to each other, then one could say that Macedonia is not Judea and that 42 AD is not 500 BC (or 180 BC depending on when Daniel might have been written) so the rebellions refer to different events and different groups of people.

One aspect of Paul's message that seems to stand out in both Acts and the two Thessalonian letters is the persecution that Paul receives at the hands of the Jews during his "2nd missionary journey." They were relentless in opposing his message. Easily, one could see that Paul could have included that treatment in the "rebellion" that happened to him. Also, the Roman authorities didn't do much to stop the Jewish rough treatment. In fact, they added to it. They had him in prison in Philippi, made Jason put up bond money in Thessalonica, and did nothing to quell animosity in Berea. They also thought Christianity was an atheistic superstition. One could call that "a rebellion" against the message of Jesus.

Whatever Paul meant by it, he had known to expect it because he reminds the Thessalonian people that he had mentioned this rebellion during his 3-week stay with them. And whatever Paul meant by it, talk of the Day of the Lord started the discussion of it. It almost seems like Paul is saying that God wouldn't have people to punish on the Day of the Lord unless enough time had passed for people to have a chance to reject the teaching of Jesus. Given enough time, people would have that opportunity. Truly, within 10 years of Paul's entering Thessalonica both Jews and Romans had had plenty of opportunity to hear the message of Jesus and make a decision about it.

As the Roman world circa 50 AD, so America—plenty of opportunity to make a decision about the message of Jesus.

There is no lawless person

One of the great principles of translation and interpretation of the New Testament is to make sure that all the manuscripts say the same thing about a passage. The New Testament has come down through so many years that manuscript families and traditions are traceable. In the case of this man of lawlessness, perhaps it is worth checking the manuscript families to make sure that they all say the same thing. In fact, they don't. The top 4 manuscript traditions are split 50/50 on what words actually existed for the translation that so many render lawlessness. Two of the big 4 say man of sin.

Some may say that there is not a lot of difference between being without law and sin. But one of the easiest ways to look at the difference is to say that the man of sin means the opposite of the expression man of God or man of righteousness. Therefore, all the writer is saying is that the man of sin is a pagan or non-believer, nothing more.

If this idea is plugged into the passage, the interpretation goes somethig like this. There would be resistence to the message of Jesus. Pagans, who have sold out to the devil anyway, would become gods unto themselves. God would bring to light the contrast between those who want to destroy themselves and those who want to rescue themselves as the message spread through the Roman world (The writer's current time period would then fit the phrase at just the right time [vs. 6]) and encountered various kinds of resistence. Jesus would win the battle of resistence as people began to show faithfulness to the new message. Satan would begin losing his tight grip on the world because God would begin punishing those who would not believe or those who would persecute believers.

The above paragraph is merely a flowery way of describing the war between good and evil that has always existed except it is given a Christian wrapping since goodness is equated with believing the story of Jesus. Good and evil happens in every generation. So when a modern reader reads about the man of sin, he or she reads it as a synonym for non-christian, not as a person in a particular time period, simply a pagan in need of a lifestyle change.

Who is this lawless person? (4)

Anytime a document from antiquity is read by someone in the modern world, certain oddities stand out. It is true with any ancient document. Peculiarities about Beowulf stand out from the Old English language; strangeness is noticed in Ulysses in Latin; some unique features surface in the Greek of the Odyssey. The further back one goes in time, usually the stranger certain features appear to the modern eye. So, when features of a passage from 2nd Thessalonians 2 suddenly appear to have some odd features to the modern reader, then understanding the historical, literary, and linguistic context goes a long way in clearing up the oddity. In particular, a term appears that seems to carry a little more weight than other words in the passage–the lawless man.

The connotation of the word "law" was well understood by every Jew. The word used for lawlessness could have the connotation of whatever is exactly opposite from what every Jew understood because the word is the letter "a" in front of the word law. English follows the old Greek pattern for this in words like moral and amoral, typical and atypical. Very literally then, the phrase is not man of lawlessness, but man of no law or man without law. The word "man" should also be pretty clear to every Jew. Isaiah 53.3 refers to "man of sorrows." I Timothy 6.11 refers to "man of God." People usually know to substitute "person" for "man." So, when "man of no law" shows up in the text, people don't have any qualms against translating it "a person without law." Even if the more general law of nature is meant (Romans 1) rather than the Mosaic law that every Jew would understand, the meaning is still "a person above the law" or a person who doesn't abide by laws."

If this meaning were to be plugged into verses 3-11, the meaning would be as follows. Paul told the Thessalonians that he had told them ahead of time about people out to destroy themselves (sons of perdition). They are people who act as if there is no law. They put themselves in God's place, that is, they are self-sufficient and demand the respect for this self-sufficiency from others. "Something" (a mystery) has hindered this group of people from seeing themselves as headed for destruction, but Jesus has appeared and his teaching indicts their behavior. That is apparent to both those who come to follow Jesus and those who, after being exposed to Jesus' teaching, reject it for themselves. Jesus will destroy this group at his coming because they were enabled by and deluded by Satan's illusions of "signs and wonders."

All of this seems to have been motivated by the writer's frustration with why it had been so hard to get people to accept the fabulous story of Jesus for what it was worth. That's why chapter3, verse 1&2 begin with a request. "In your conversations with God, ask for the message of the Lord to spread and for people to honestly weigh its worth as you have done. And ask for us to be rescued from most people's moral morass and base living because so many people do not have faith."

Who is this lawless person? (3)

Anytime a document from antiquity is read by someone in the modern world, certain oddities stand out. It is true with any ancient document. Peculiarities about Beowulf stand out from the Old English language; strangeness is noticed in Ulysses in Latin; some unique features surface in the Greek of the Odyssey. The further back one goes in time, usually the stranger certain features appear to the modern eye. So, when features of a passage from 2nd Thessalonians 2 suddenly appear to have some odd features to the modern reader, then understanding the historical, literary, and linguistic context goes a long way in clearing up the oddity. In particular, a term appears that seems to carry a little more weight than other words in the passage–the lawless man.

A third possibility is what many an ancient piece of literature contains–the use of figurative language, in this case personification. Personification is giving human traits to inanimate objects. Sometimes, the inanimate object is merely an idea. Personification then becomes humanizing an idea. The idea is that wickedness exists. If given a human face, people could visualize it better. Paul had told the Thessalonian christians when he was with them that people would be protesting the story of Jesus (a rebellion). Paul was even railroaded out of town because people protested the message so much. These lawless people would be given a collective face, the lawless man. They would not accept God and, in fact, they would know no God but themselves. These people were reckless Romans who hindered Paul at Philippi, Thessalonica, Berea, Athens, and Corinth. They were deluded by Satan, exposed by the message of Jesus as accepting wickedness as goodness and would be destroyed when Jesus comes. The idea that Jesus had already come is what triggered the discussion about lawless people in the first place. But the christians are assured that God would sentence these lawless Romans. The christians are reminded that they have, in contrast, been selected by God as the first fruits of this revolutionary message about Jesus.

Other intepretations for this important term will appear later this week.

Who is this lawless person? (2)

Anytime a document from antiquity is read by someone in the modern world, certain oddities stand out. It is true with any ancient document. Peculiarities about Beowulf stand out from the Old English language; strangeness is noticed in Ulysses in Latin; some unique features surface in the Greek of the Odyssey. The further back one goes in time, usually the stranger certain features appear to the modern eye. So, when features of a passage from 2nd Thessalonians 2 suddenly appear to have some odd features to the modern reader, then understanding the historical, literary, and linguistic context goes a long way in clearing up the oddity. In particular, a term appears that seems to carry a little more weight than other words in the passage–the lawless man.

Some see this term as a common noun rather than a proper noun. Truly, in Greek, only context determines whether a noun is general or specific (common or proper). So if the term is a common noun, then the lawless man is any person who sets himself up as important enough to displace God. This would be many an American here. Americans are so affluent that they don't depend on anyone for sustenance. They are competitive and knowledgeable. So, they know as much as anyone else in the world or in their sphere of influence. They even accept the praise of those who might not know as much as they do. In other words, they set themselves up as rulers of their own lives and displace God. Ask any non-American about how arrogant the American people are.

The Romans were every bit as arrogant as Americans are. So when the writer of 2nd Thessalonians talks about a lawless man, many Romans would fit the description. Plus, Romans thought Christians were atheists for not believing the Roman pantheon of gods. So, many a Roman did put someone else or themselves in the place of God. Of course, the writer says he warned them ahead of time that lawless man would rebel against the truth about God and believe that wickedness was goodness.

Other intepretations for this important term appear later this week.

Who is this lawless person?

Anytime a document from antiquity is read by someone in the modern world, certain oddities stand out. It is true with any ancient document. Peculiarities about Beowulf stand out from the Old English language; strangeness is noticed in Ulysses in Latin; some unique features surface in the Greek of the Odyssey. The further back one goes in time, usually the stranger certain features appear to the modern eye.

So, when features of a passage from 2nd Thessalonians 2 suddenly appear to have some odd features to the modern reader, then understanding the historical, literary, and linguistic context goes a long way in clearing up the oddity. In particular, a term appears that seems to carry a little more weight than other words in the passage–the lawless man. Some say that the religious and historical context demand that the term be seen as a proper noun. Jews had been interpreting Daniel's visions for quite some time as being a predictor of an end of the age scenario in which someone would blaspheme the Most High so horrendously that it would trigger the sequence of events for the end of time. If that's the case, then the term becomes The Man of Lawlessness. Once the term takes on proper noun status, then one can start to see connections between it and other proper noun references in other parts of the Bible. Daniel's 4th beast (ch.7) and Revelation's ten-horned beast (ch.13) seem to line up with a Man of Lawlessness because all 3 proper nouns blaspheme the name of the Almighty.

Other intepretations for this important term appear later this week.

Using natural human behavior

Accountability is a word the business and educational fields know a considerable amount. It is also found among the Christians that lived in Thessalonica. In chapter 3, the writer remarks, "If someone doesn't want to abide by what I have highlighted in this letter, then the rest of you should ostracize him so that he should feel ashamed. You shouldn't hate this person like you would an enemy, but you should send a message of clear warning like you would for a brother or sister" (verses 14,15).

In business and education people get chastised by having their pay docked, or by being suspended for a while, or by having a certification or license revoked, or by being fired. When people deal with a brother or sister whose life has spun out of control, that is, he or she shows blatant disregard for sound Biblical principles, then they have to find a way to send a clear message of warning to that person. That method may not be in the same way as this writer outlines, but some way needs to exist. Since business and educational principles and customs were different in Roman times from today, then probably showing distance from a brother or sister will not be shown in the same way as in this letter from Roman times. Even so, people use ostracism all the time—from elementary grades up to send messages to others.

Perhaps, the clear point of the passage is to shun someone with the intent to warn or advise rather than the intent to hate or "write off completely."

Image making

Image is everything so society says. Perception, right or wrong, is reality. Some could argue that such a world would be hard to live in. But, really, such a world has been around a very long time. In 2nd Thessalonians 3, the writer chastises a group of people who leach off of others. He calls them irresponsible and undisciplined. He even calls for the other Christians in Thessalonica not to associate with the undiscipined group in order to shame them (verse 14).

Why? Because he knew that the Thessalonians were God's "firstfruits" in Macedonia (2.13). It was important for the non-Christians in Thessalonica to see the splendor of God in people who were "not tired of doing good" (3.13). Image and right perception were important. Christians should show their understanding of the spiritual dimension and their great trust in a message they considered "the truth" (2.13). Thus, bad press from Christians within the group could not be tolerated.

Getting off my duff

Doing nothing feels good on occasion. But I have had those stretches of days when I tried to sit around, not doing any physical labor, getting so bored with TV that I couldn't take another second of the small screen. I couldn't sleep because I wasn't tired and I just wanted to have the life of Riley. But the reason doing nothing feels good is that I am resting from my labor.

This concept is at the heart of a play on words by Paul. In two back to back verses (11 and 12) of 2nd Thessalonians chapter 3, the writer shows an attitude toward those who are living "undisciplined" lives among the Christians. In verse 11 he says that these undisciplined people are not working, yet they are working hard at doing absolutely nothing. The writer's disdain is easily discernible. In verse 12, he "urges and encourages such irresponsible people... to eat their own bread, but only after they rest from working." Sarcasm characterizes the writer's attitude here.

Perhaps the distaste that the writer expresses here is something we should take note of. I think most people do work for a living without trying to leach off of someone else. However, I think all people have areas in which they are negligent. Maybe one should hear this passage say, "Get up off your duff and accomplish something in the area in which we know we are remiss." If one hears disdain and sarcasm for doing nothing in an area he knows that he should be productive in due to a gift from God or in an area in which he has been given an opportunity, then maybe one should not have peace in his spirit, but turmoil as a sign that he should get off his duff.

Fortuantely, the chapter closes with an appeal to Jesus or God, "May the Lord of peace himself grant you peace all the time in every way." I personally take this to heart. If I find myself not able to enjoy this wish, then I try to figure out a reason why I don't have peace. Usually I can restore my peace by getting off my duff and doing what God has set before me to do.

Pricetags

Every adult knows that sometimes in life a law from thermodynamics is seen—for every action there is an opposite and equal reaction. In other words, there is a price to pay for the action. To whatever degree I acted, the reaction is equal. Kindness could actually be mistrusted to the degree it was given, or evil could be counter-acted to the degree it was experienced.

The writer's experience must have been the same when he penned 2nd Thessalonians 1.6-9, which records the opposite but equal reaction of God for those who lifted a hand against Christians innocently living out their decent, everyday lives. These words were recorded, "After all, God is being just when he repays your oppressors with His oppression. You will gain relief from being oppressed, as will we, when the Lord Jesus appears from Heaven with his powerful angels against a backdrop of flaming fire. He will take his vengence on those who are completely ignoring the fabulous story of our Lord Jesus. Eternal destruction is the price they pay because they cannot be in the Lord's presence nor enjoy the awe of His splendor."

Now, that's a steep price to pay—absent from the Lord's presence and trading splendor for destruction. Fortunately for the believers in Thessalonica, the vengence God took was on behalf of those who suffered for the Kingdom of God. It was evidence that God considered them worthy (verse 5). With about 30 years left in this life, I know it is high time for me to consider pricetags whenever I act. If I find myself as an oppressor in any shape, form or fashion against a fellow believer, I bend my knees and ask for forgiveness.

"Much virtue in grandfathers"

Once I saw mountains angry,
And ranged in battle-front.
Against them stood a little man;
Aye, he was no bigger than my finger.
I laughed, and spoke to one near me,
"Will he prevail?"
"Surely," replied this other;
"His grandfathers beat them many times."
Then did I see much virtue in grandfathers,—
At least, for the little man
Who stood against the mountains.

Stephen Crane

There have been a number of occasions when a circumstance arose that I have thought of my father and how he would have handled a situation or would have commented on how I handled a situation. I was blessed to have him around 77 years. His comments and vivid images still invade my conscious awareness on important occasions. Just such an occasion is leading a class on Sunday mornings. Dad approached leading a class with the idea that everyone would benefit and we would feel unified in spirit as believers. In the past leading a class meant something different to me. I'm sure people spoke to each other saying, "Do you think he will ever conquer never including the spirit of unity in his leadings?" And I hope that God spoke to their hearts saying, "He'll come around. His father was all about unity in Christ." I thank God for his sticking with me through the years allowing me time to see much virtue in (grand)fathers, at least for me, a little man who stood against the mountain of detachment from family.