Operating from proverbs

Proverbs of a country are telling of what the people in the country see as important. Here' a recent one - hasta la vista, bebe. It of course means that a person is about to wreak havoc on another person. I appreciate well-placed aggression. Right now at my work is a highly ranked individual that is covering for someone who should have been fired for misrepresentation of reporting to a state agency.

Of course, this highly ranked individual is also covering for himself, at least from all apprearances, because he has probably hidden away something of value in several places not easy to detect. So, my prayer for this enemy is for the Maker of exposing opportunities to finally say, "Hasta la vista, bebe" to this individual. It would right a great number of wrongs in a palace of smoke and mirrors.

Perhaps, to expose this person would be the equivalent of taking off the head of the snake so the rest of the evil bodies involved would die with it. In this humble person's opinion speed is also of the essence. Otherwise, the cover-up will be complete before it can be discovered.

That would employ a second proverb - carpe diem. I think it's time for the CEO to be made aware of the snake, declare "hasta la vista, bebe," and then proceed with carpe diem posthaste.

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.