(Recommend you watch it in full-screen)
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Galatians 5:1-12 Retelling the Biblical Story: Fall: Redemption Plan: The Role of the Nation with the Laws Covenant Nomism The Badge of Circumcision The Good Side of the Law: Locked Up Under Sin: Purpose Of The Law: Jesus came on the scene and enacted a new covenant. The Role of the Law Part 2 Galatians 5:1-12 Conclusion: 2 Applications 2. The problem with ethnic Israel was that they had a hard time adjusting to the new day. They were wearing shorts and flip flops in the middle of the winter, hoping that it was still Summer. They were reverting back to their old ways. In what ways are tempted to do the same thing? Maybe there are people who are luring you back into some old ways, some youthful ways that you’ve out grown. Maybe you can remember it is for freedom that Christ set me free. How Do People Grow? Does a school define and set the life path of its students? Haven’t some of the best scholars been the ones that weren’t afraid to modify and negate what their teachers taught them? (Jesus of Nazareth, Karl Barth) Could a new possibility emerge out of the straight and narrow? Is ones theology formed primarily through books and teachers or a multiple array of factors?
As a recent Dallas Seminary graduate, I’ve wondered if my application would be looked at by all churches? Dallas Seminary has a reputation, among many, for being an ultra-conservative, dispensational, pre-tribulation rapture, women fearing, fire and brimstone breading ground. During my job search, I have often asked myself, “Will this church even consider someone with a Dallas Seminary background?” I have received many of the following responses to my resume; “We have reviewed your resume but feel it does not fall within our hiring parameters.” Don’t get me wrong, I understand that many will reject my resume for good reason but I find it fascinating that I’m not even considered for positions where my resume exceedingly meets the qualifications. I have the experience, but for some reason, I don’t meet their hiring parameters? While many churches are eagerly seeking and hoping for a Dallas Seminary grad, others are less than excited about Dallas Seminary students. I’ve heard one Senior Pastor say “When I see Dallas Seminary on a resume, it’s a RED flag.” This puts me, a Dallas Seminary graduate, in an awkward position. I once tried to contrast the prejudice against female pastors with the prejudice against Dallas seminary grads with a female pastor of a prominent church in Texas. Her response was that women didn’t have the ability to choose gender but Dallas Seminary graduates had a choice in the school they chose. She was right……but is there more to the story? Is Dallas Seminary Narrow? There are a couple different ways of dealing with this situation. I could, as some have done, explain how Dallas Seminary is no longer your your fathers seminary. I could talk about some of the different theological arguments that are floating around and how views have evolved over the years to become more ecumenically friendly. I could talk about how revised dispensationalism is very different from classical dispensationalism. I could even post some of the required and recommended reading lists for classes that I took which include books by Rob Bell, Brian Mclaren, N.T. Wright and others who would be considered on the other end of the Dallas Seminary spectrum. I could also talk about how the majority of my professors were more interested in my ability to argue a point than they were my actual point. One of my fondest memories from Dallas Seminary was when my Greek professor would say, “I don’t care if you agree with me but I want to see what evidence and method you use to defend your points.” Another student once said to me, “There are no answers, just good or bad arguments.” The bottom line is that Dallas Seminary is an institution which is set in its beliefs but also open to how those beliefs are communicated. Different definitions are on the rise which emphasize the old but communicate in the new. The professors are more than open to feedback and have often times researched further when legitimately challenged. Many professors go out of their way to have different Christian and non-Christian traditions challenge their work through conferences. (ETS, SBL). One of my favorite activities during my time at Dallas Seminary was attending debates between professors who respected one another and yet held different theological convictions. Instead of going into detail about those areas, I would like to raise another point which was mentioned in my opening paragraph….. Again I Ask: Is a persons theology formed primarily through books and teachers or a multiple array of factors? Dallas Seminary is one chapter or maybe a couple chapters in the novel of my life. Since when did a school become the end-all of a persons education? Where does the role of family of origin, important experiences, music, and the Holy Spirit fit into a persons theological makeup? Granted, there are many in the “Christian” subculture who have subscribed to one group as the director of their faith but not everyone has to jump on one bandwagon. Not everyone feels compelled to throw pep rallies for their school of choice. Some of my favorite theologians have gone to multiple different schools for their theological training. Not only have some of my favorite theologians come from a variety of different schools but some of my favorite people have come from a unique mixture of people, schools and experiences. Have you ever seen the “Evangelist Idol Complex”? This happens when one person, we’ll call them “the evangelist”, leads another person to faith, and the new convert forever exalts that persons teachings . The error in this complex is that the new convert fails to recognize that “the evangelist” while playing a significant role in the conversion is not responsible or even a major part of the conversion. The new convert fails to recognize that Jesus has been trying reach out to them way before “the evangelist” ever showed up. At some point or another, the new convert becomes an old convert and must deal with this issue. The new convert must learn that God has been trying to “woo” them through all sorts of experiences, people and avenues before and after the initial decision to come to faith. I believe that God has shaped me through MANY different avenues. What Shaped Me? I was raised in a small town named Turlock in the heart of Central Valley California. This region has a personality of its own which is known for its rich agriculture and of course…. cows. My parents emigrated from Iran in 1981 and I was born in November of that year. My parents raised me Roman Catholic although we did not attend church regularly. I loved watching the Ninja Turtles and Parker Lewis Can’t Lose. I went to Crowell School elementary where I had some wonderful teachers who impacted me with required readings such as Hatchet by Gary Paulsen. I was deeply impacted by my “Introduction to World Literature” class during my senior year of high school. It was in that class where Mr. Avey prodded his students to look deeper and think critically. I was the chaplain for Theta Chi fraternity for 3 years and it was there that I learned a lot about different world-views. Theta Chi was filled with members from all different types of religions and I still look back at that time as one of the most formative times of my theological life. I spent a few too many dollars and hours at West Village Starbucks in Dallas, where I enjoyed intense theological conversations with Atheists, Buddhists, Muslims, non-religious skeptics and many Christians. The Point Any person or organization that judges my theological framework strictly based off of my seminary experience is selling the story of my life short. They are selling how God works short and are impairing what could be. I believe that there is more to a person then their schooling and that every person, regardless of their theological background, should be given an equal opportunity at a job. There are a few bad apples on every tree but that doesn’t mean the tree is all that bad and that the rest of the apples should be discounted. Perhaps you can be a catalyst in changing the perception by allowing an interview or entertaining a different worldview? I am glad that I was able study at Dallas Seminary and more importantly I am thankful to have had the professors that I did. But I also remember that a school doesn’t make a person. The school exists for the scholar and NOT the other way around. Bible? Who Said Anything About the Bible? I love how leaders in the Bible responded those who preached about God from different backgrounds. Numbers 11:28-29 Joshua son of Nun, who had been Moses’ aide since youth, spoke up and said, “Moses, my lord, stop them!” But Moses replied, “Are you jealous for my sake? I wish that all the LORD’s people were prophets and that the LORD would put his Spirit on them!” John 9:38-40 “Teacher,” said John, “we saw a man driving out demons in your name and we told him to stop, because he was not one of us.” “Do not stop him,” Jesus said. “No one who does a miracle in my name can in the next moment say anything bad about me, for whoever is not against us is for us. Acts 5:34-39 But a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law, who was honored by all the people, stood up in the Sanhedrin and ordered that the men be put outside for a little while. Then he addressed them: “Men of Israel, consider carefully what you intend to do to these men. Some time ago Theudas appeared, claiming to be somebody, and about four hundred men rallied to him. He was killed, all his followers were dispersed, and it all came to nothing. After him, Judas the Galilean appeared in the days of the census and led a band of people in revolt. He too was killed, and all his followers were scattered. Therefore, in the present case I advise you: Leave these men alone! Let them go! For if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail. But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God.” Philippians 1:15-18 It is true that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of goodwill. The latter do so in love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. The former preach Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing that they can stir up trouble for me while I am in chains. But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice. Thoughts? All my life I have been involved in a debate about the nature and scope of salvation. Early on in my days at Bible Study I was fiercely warned against gospels messages which were works orientated. I was also warned rather profusely that Roman Catholics were the main culprits of a works-based mentality. My sources sited the Protestant reformation (ie: Martin Luther rebelling because of the selling of indulgences), the Roman Catholic view of the Eucharist which insures salvation to those who partake(Roman Catholics, please be patient with me as I broad brushed over a much more intricate and complex doctrine), and the Roman Catholic sacraments as a means of grace(ie baptism, eucharist, marriage, ect). I was taught that the Roman Catholics believed that they could earn there salvation and that Protestants believed you you saved ONLY by grace(Eph. 2:8-9). It all made sense too. Of course no one could earn their salvation right? The problem with the Roman Catholic view which I was taught was that it created a fickle God. A God whose mood changed about me based on my actions. Right? If I can lose my salvation because I did not partake in a certain work which insures my salvation then what hope is there in this world? The Protestant view obviously seemed much more favorable because its God was ALWAYS full of grace and love even if I happened to sin. Now both schools of thought obviously have underlying inherrant flaws. The question that was always posed to me as a Protestant by some Catholics was “If God is full of grace and love then why not sin, he’ll obviously always forgive you?” To which I usually had a shallow response such as “if you really loved God then you wouldn’t sin.” Which if I am being honest has a works based mentality built into it, the very thing I was taught to disregard. To make matters worse I was taught that I did not earn my salvation yet it was MANDATORY that I ACCEPT Christ. Somehow my Protestant mentors didn’t believe there was any sort of work involved in ACCEPTING. Is it me or does this all sound like a complex web to which most of us want simple answers? Unfortunately, or fortunately, depending on which way you look at it, there is no easy answer. And I am glad that there is no easy answer in untangling this complex web. However, there are very good and solid answers that spring forth life and hope. I hope to bring some of those resolutions out in the rest of this blog post. One of the main stumbling blocks for both groups is the nature and scope of Salvation. Let’s be honest, for most Protestants………. Salvation = Heaven. Right? How can I get into heaven when I die is the basis of most gospel presentations of our day. But is heaven what salvation is all about? This I believe is a deathly lie which has robbed most young adults who pursued hard after Christ at a young age of our ability to enjoy the world God has created. If the gospel presentation you heard was all about where you go AFTER you die then of course why be happy about LIVING? If the end goal is where you go then who cares about what happens here. Protestants have run circles around how it is our duty to treat the world good and glorify God but the methodology is flawed if there isn’t a direct connection between the gospel that is preached and the actions produced. In other words, how can the gospel of going to heaven be good news for this earth if it is all about exiting this earth and floating on clouds in the afterlife? Perhaps, perhaps, perhaps, perhaps, there is more to salvation then going to heaven? One of my favorite Protestant thinkers likes to say “heaven is important but it isn’t the end of the world.” A question to help guide the discussion. In the New Testament what does it mean to be saved? What I have done is surveyed the passages of Scripture which talk about salvation and I have created a chart which shows the percentages for the benefits of salvation as mentioned in the New Testament. I must admit to you that this chart isn’t perfect but it certainly isn’t fatally flawed. “Most people think great God will come from the sky, take away everything and make everybody feel high. But if you know what life is worth, you will look for yours on earth.” – Bob Marley “The idea that you actually have to go to heaven to enjoy your reward is like imagining that you have to spend your life savings in the bank where your account is held.” – David Lawrence If you heard a group of young men say something like “lets go get high”, would you assume that they were heading to the mountains? Directional words work qualitatively. – me! Some of the myths I’d like to dispel in this post are:
The early Christians never hoped that they would go to heaven, in fact, nowhere in the Bible does it say that we go to heaven after we die. The hope of the early Christians was not that they would go to heaven but that heaven would come to earth. When we talk about hope, our hope must be rooted in God or it is no hope at all. If I hope for something that God doesn’t hope for then I have no hope. They say that the first few paragraphs of a blog are the most important.
Heaven The word ‘heaven’ occurs 641 times in the Bible and so I will not be able to go through every instance. However, I will be able to broadly categorize the two different ways that it is used among those 641 appearances. The meaning of the word ‘heaven’ in the world of the Bible can carry either one or two meanings. In the Bible, heaven refers to the atmosphere which hovers above the earth(clouds, sky, stars) and it is also refers to the location of God, (Our Father in heaven). Below I have listed the two meanings and have given an example of usage.
The Location of Heaven The clouds, sky, stars (definition 1) earthly heaven exists above the earth but where does the spiritual heaven exist? The earthly heavens are above the earth but does that mean that the spiritual heaven is also above the earth? If we say that the spiritual heaven exists above the earth then are we saying that God doesn’t exist on earth? Where the heck is heaven? Matthew 3:2 Repent for the kingdom of heaven is near. - Is it close to earth? Mark 11:30 Johhn’s baptism-was it from heaven, or from men? Tell me! - Jesus is asking if an earthly event was from heaven? Good question Jesus. John 3:31 The one who comes from above is above all; the one who is from the earth belongs to the earth, and speaks as one from the earth. The one who comes from heaven is above all. - Jesus was from heaven and yet he was spatially on parallel footing with others? Ephesians 4:10 He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe. - Does filling the universe include the earth? I think so. Philippians 3:20 But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ. - We eagerly await a Savior FROM there? I’m surprised it doesn’t say that we are eager to go there? Revelation 21:2 I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. - Heaven seems to be a storehouse of gifts coming to earth. Exciting? Spatial Setting of Heaven Could the spiritual heaven be closer then we think? We know from several Old Testament passages that God also lives in places other than heaven. One dictionary notes “Most of the references to heaven which are important for Israel’s faith speak of Yahweh’s dwelling in heaven. A simple presentation of the relevant instances, however, would give a very one-sided picture. For there are in fact other statements which call, not heaven, but the innermost sanctuary of the temple, or Sinai, or the ark, or other sacral places, the place of the presence or even of the dwelling of Yahweh, and which cannot be brought under the slogan שָׁמַיִם(heaven).”[1] In the Old Testament God was present in various different places such as gardens, deserts, mountain tops, in the middle of a war, and the very presence of people.[2] Therefore, it follows that if God was present in places which were not above but instead on dry land then heaven might need to take on a different outfit. If God is in heaven AND God is also on earth then can we argue that heaven exists on earth? Or further, could we argue that heaven has the potential to be on earth? What would this sort of thinking do to our Bible reading? Dallas Willard defines heaven as any place where God’s rule and reign are perfectly enforced and abided by. Heaven as a Sphere: “The most helpful way of understanding the meaning of ‘heaven’ when it appears in the Bible is as ‘the dimension in which God exists.’
Is Heaven Popular Because Earth is a Loser? Often time’s heaven is viewed as a better place then earth. Earth is apparently God’s accidental step child who doesn’t belong. Earth is full of rust, decay, evil and all sorts of other incumbents that reign against the good way of heaven. But the question remains, has God given up on earth in favor of heaven? Perhaps we could refresh our Biblical image of the earth. Physical World Goodness Genesis 1 and 2 have much to say about the creation of the earth. So let us look at what the Creator thought of his creation. God created a physical world which he deemed good. God created physical things and felt that they were good. Next, being the generous God that he is, he decided to create people who would rule over the earth. Does the Bible say anywhere that the earth is bad because it needs someone to rule over it? In Gen. 1:26, there is no mention of the earth being bad and therefore needing someone to rule over it. Is a baby evil because it needs someone to take watch over it? Things Not Mentioned in Genesis 1 or 2 1. The earth is a temporary holding place. 2. The earth is bad. 3. The earth is a problem. 4. The earth is a burden to God. I understand that Genesis 3 takes a turn for the worst. The created order suffers incredible harm at the hands of an intruder who looks to disrupt the vibrant created order which God deemed good in Genesis 1 and 2. The intruder is successful in his attempt to overthrow the created order for the time being BUT let’s make a list of things that the intruder was not successful in.
Further Examples that God Loves the Earth
God Regrets Making Mankind In Genesis 6 we see that God is deeply grieved over the state of mankind. Does this grieve indicate that God does not value the earth? Couldn’t the intensity of his anguish toward the earth reveal the bright future it was created for? Perhaps it is a sign of his love for the created order and his anger toward a distortion of that created order. *Note The flood does not destroy the elements or the fabric of the earth. Rather it cleanses the earth. Humans are still kept alive so that they can order and take care of the earth. The earth is still in tact. A big difference between cleansing and destroying. Earth Theology God made promises to Abraham and his descendants that his offspring would be great and we tend to focus in on that part of the promise but there is another part of the promise which we might easily miss. Genesis 12: 2 “I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. 3I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on EARTH will be blessed through you.” (caps mine). It is important to remember that the Biblical land trajectory which God promised to his people went something like this. Eden à Jerusalem à The Ends of the EARTH. Initially Eden was the place where God dwelled with his people and sustained them. Eden didn’t work out so well and so the people began to dream of another Eden. That place was Jerusalem and then God did the unthinkable. He showed up in Jerusalem to kick it with his people but his people rejected him. One early follower of God said “He came to that which was his own but his own did not receive him.” The amazing thing was that he was crucified in Jerusalem and so that place didn’t end up fulfilling the promise he had long since made to Abraham either. Controlling Questions:
Resurrection is Distinctly Christian
Conclusion Over the past few years I have been flooded with a flurry of conflicting thoughts regarding the notion of heaven. I have been confronted with many contradicting strands of thoughts about heaven and mainly; a biblical view of heaven. What does the Bible say about heaven and what does the Bible mean when it uses the word heaven? When I think about the story of the Bible, I try to relate the parts to the whole. I recognize that God’s intention since the fall (Genesis 3), was to redeem the creation. Naturally, one should be able to see all the different parts of the Bible through one gigantic lens, namely, the restoration of the fallen creation which includes but is not limited too: the earth and all its inhabitants (animals, plants, humans, sea creatures, video game players, flirts and all the rest). Even though for most of our lives we’ve been taught that heaven is some far off place where we will float on the clouds and listen to angels playing harps, I think we’ve missed the point. If heaven is some distant future then our lives here are wasted away, awaiting that special day. It is a lot like the parents who are waiting for their child’s report card in hopes of straight A’s but never taking the time to encourage their child. Sometimes it isn’t about what you secure or where you are going but the process in which you take to get there. I do believe that the full realization of heaven is in the future but in the mean time God has called us to pray for heaven to invade earth. Jesus himself said “let your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” Perhaps then, we ought to spend more time entertaining the possibilities of bringing heaven to earth rather then escaping here. So how does one bring heaven to earth? It all depends on how you define heaven. One quaint definition I heard was that “heaven is a place where God rules, and hell is a place God doesn’t rule.” It is really simple, let me explain. When something happens here on earth as it happens in heaven, then, heaven has invaded earth. When something happens here on earth as it happens in hell, then, hell has invaded earth. Each day we have decisions to make about whether we are going to bring some heaven, or bring some hell. Does anyone remember the force field the Ninja Turtles would put up around themselves? Oh did you say no? No worries, I found a photo on ninjaturtles.com. If any of this made no sense to you, that is okay. I’m not quite sure I have it all worked out. Actually I think I understand it very well but it isn’t easy to communicate. Let me know if you got the idea. I’ve heard Paul quoted many times from the book of Romans, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news.” I always understood what it meant metaphorically in that someone who brings good news will appear beautiful because of their message. However, I think there is a more vivid picture we could employ. “How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, “Your God reigns!” The question then becomes, what did Isaiah have in mind? The entire book of Isaiah can be broken up into two parts. Chapters 1-39 basically depict a God who is angry because his people have broken their covenant. Chapters 40-66 depict a new hope for the people. Israel had been taken over by the Assyrians who treated the Jews rather harshly. The Jews were deported from their land in a violent and gruesome manner. Psalm 137 is a reflection upon one of the deportations. So these people are deported from their land and taken to a foreign land where they are forced to sing songs for their captors. Asking someone to smile while they are weeping tears of pain is probably one of the cruelest things you could do. These people had lost everything. For years and years they lived in these circumstances…….Not knowing whether they would see their homeland again, their family, friends, loved ones, romantic relationships, facebook friends or any of that stuff. They were forced into slavery and had to speak to a people who did not speak their language……………until one day…………one day when they saw some feet on a mountain. Dirty feet that had traveled a long distance to announce some good news. To announce that the exile was over, the captives would be set free and allowed to return to their homes. How beautiful did those dirty feet look then? Announcements were usually made on tops of hills so that many people could listen. Listen to the good news that they would no longer be tormented by their enemies and that they could return home to their family and friends. Paul, understood Isaiah very well which is why I find it incredibly fascinating that he chose this phrase in speaking of one who shares the good news of Jesus. First century Christians were also in exile. Even though they were living in their own land, they were still under the evil Roman empire. The 1st century Christians never got out from under the rule of the Romans which begs the question…..what did the good news free them from? If the feet of those who brought good news during Isaiah’s time were beautiful because they announced freedom from exile then what did the good news of Jesus free the 1st century Christians from? Obviously in a blog this size, it is impossible to go through all the mentions of justification in the New Testament or the Messianic expectations. However, one thing we can mention is that, Paul understood that the first century Christians may not have escaped from the Romans during their time but they were still freed from many other battles. It was Christ who could save them from the evil arguments which waged war against their dignity. 2 Corinthians 10:3-6 For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. 4 The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. 5 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. 6 And we will be ready to punish every act of disobedience, once your obedience is complete. So, how many people in our world are being tormented by evil oppressors? How could we announce to them that those evil oppressors really don’t have power? How could we disarm those who are in “power” and announce good news to those held hostage? Not just in physical prisons but also those in destructive patterns of abuse. Those who are held hostage by abuse, depression, drugs, loneliness, lust, and many other ailments the destructive one has to offer? How could we notify everyone that the God of love reigns? Hey friends, this is a talk which I will be giving at a college group on Tuesday night. My disclaimer is that I’m simply opening up a huge can of worms and I do not intend on dealing with every objection. I’m not entirely sure that this whole article makes any sense. I would appreciate feedback on clarity if you have any. Disclaimers
God of the Old Testament Vs. the God of the New Testament: When I was in college, I was in a fraternity. The fraternity was an excellent experience. Just like a lot of things in life, there were some good things and some bad things. The one thing that I was very thankful about was that the guys in the fraternity didn’t hold back, nothing was set in stone and cliché answers didn’t work. Many of my fraternity brothers knew I was a Christian and so they would hurl huge questions my way about the God of the Bible. After working through some basic questions they usually had some deeper questions. Questions not so much about the reliability of the Bible but questions about the reliability of the God of the Bible. Questions about the nature of God. The main hiccup was that whenever someone had preached to them, they would always tell them about how Jesus loved them and wanted a relationship with them. This was all well and good but one of the main issue they had was that while the Bible revealed a compassionate, forgiving, graceful, and loving God found in Jesus, it also revealed, what appeared to be, a flagrant, harsh, killing, violent and vindictive God in the Old Testament. This was quite the problem for my fraternity brothers. Some of the feedback I got was “don’t tell me about a loving Jesus until you can explain to me how the God of the Old Testament commanded the Hebrews to slaughter thousands of people.” Bridging the Apparent Gap: That was just one objection but there were MANY more…. Like, why did God choose the Jews? And, did God choosing the Jews mean that all the other religions went to hell? What about some of the stories of unfair treatment of women? What about when God commanded Abraham to sacrifice Isaac, or when the prophets of Baal got slaughtered or the little boys who called Elijah baldy, or many other complicated Bible stories These were some of the key issues that I zeroed because I didn’t want to blindly believe in a nonsensical God. Also, if I’m being honest, I found myself asking the same questions. These were things that puzzled me but I wasn’t taught how to deal…. Most of the time, I was told to “trust and believe” or that “God can do whatever he wants.” Others would give some sort of justification for God’s actions but they’d hardly ever go into detail. Usually God would get off the hook through some spiritual maxim that somehow excused him. These responses didn’t really help and so I researched further. In my research, I came across some reasons which had solid logic to back them. What I learned was not just reasons but also a framework for dealing with these issues. A legend to a apparently perplexing map. I’d like to apply one event to this framework and see if it reveals a logical or illogical God. I have learned this framework from others and so I am simply passing it along. Perhaps it can be reworked or expunged but it is certainly worth looking at if we are to love the Lord with all our MIND. But before we continue, I wanted to open up our time for a few minutes of discussion. First off, does any of this ring a bell for anyone? Does it spark any interest? (If nobody says anything, here are some basic questions).
Bible Texts: Turn with me to Numbers 21:1-2 Before, I read the passage, let me do a quick review of what has happened in the Bible up to this point. We all know it starts with Adam & Eve in the good garden that God had created for them to enjoy but we also know there was an intruder who raped and ravaged the good garden. God could have trashed the whole thing and started over but instead he decided to continue, so Adam & Eve got kicked out of the garden and life goes unhealthily goes on. Then God spoke to one of their great, great, great, great, great grandchildren named Abraham. And what did he tell Abraham? In a nutshell, that he would bless Abraham and the ENTIRE WORLD through him. He said that one day he would give him a better land. A land flowing with milk and honey, by the way, that is not as the Bud light commercials say, a metaphor for cigarettes and beer. (lol). I’m kidding, he said he was going to give him a land which was not just like the Garden of Eden but better then the Garden of Eden. So, Abraham started moving toward that land and ended up having kids who eventually became the leaders of a group called the Hebrews. The Hebrews, ended up becoming slaves to the Egyptians who beat them and treated them horribly. This caused them to doubt whether God had promised anything to Abraham but God reaffirmed his promise by showing up to another Hebrew named Moses. God reassured Moses of the promise and he helped the people flee from the Egyptians. They fled and now were heading toward the Promised Land! That is where we are going to pick up the story. PS. That is the cliff notes on Genesis and Exodus in case you were wondering. Here is the account. When the Canaanite king of Arad, who lived in the Negev, heard that Israel(also known as the Hebrews) was coming along the road to Atharim, he attacked the Israelites and captured some of them. Numbers 21:2 Then Israel made this vow to the Lord: “If you will deliver these people into our hands, we will totally destroy their cities.” 3 The Lord listened to Israel’s plea and gave the Canaanites over to them. They completely destroyed them and their towns. It was passages like this that stood out to my fraternity brothers. God’s plan included killing people? The text says that they would completely destroy them….women….children…and everyone? How could the loving God of the New Testament found in Jesus help the Israelites slaughter people? I don’t know about you but that doesn’t sound hopeful to me. That doesn’t sound very logical or loving. Let’s get going on the framework I talked about earlier. 1. Literal or Figurative or Both? The first thing we need to do is evaluate whether or not the stories were meant to be taken literally or figuratively. When Jim Morrison says “I’m going to love you until the stars fall from the sky”, he obviously doesn’t intend his hearers to believe that a Super Mario fireball is going to destroy the earth. Some books such as Song of Songs or Proverbs are written in genres that are not meant to be taken literally. The passage we just looked at is a historical event being reflected upon. Therefore, we cannot sweep it under the rug as if it didn’t happen. We can’t just say they were made up stories. Once we’ve established that they actually happened we’ll need to look at context. 2. Context Understanding the context will allow us to determine whether these events portray an illogical God. Exploring context has two layers. The first layer is historical. There are aspects of these texts in which our vision is disabled because we are thousands of years removed. In between us and the Old Testament are cultural, economic, political and social blinders. The world of the Old Testament had its own cultural, political and social norms. Usually we can alleviate some of the tension with a passage by locating the main blinder. The main blinder for us in this text is that in the Ancient Near East, to quote Rambo, “when you’re forced….killing is as easy as breathing.” 3. Biblical Context So the second layer of context is Biblical. What are some of the things in the story of the Bible which have infused this event. The account in Numbers occurred when the Hebrews had recently been liberated from the dominant Egyptian world power which was oppressing them as slaves. These Hebrew slaves were escaping from their oppressors and these slaves were planning on starting a new kingdom where there were no slaves. God helped the Hebrews to overthrow the Canaanites but he had given them some conditions once they took over. Look with me at Exodus 23:9 This is a command that God gave to the Hebrews right before they were to take over the land of the Canaanites. “Do not oppress an alien; you yourselves know how it feels to be aliens, because you were aliens in Egypt.” The God of the Bible, commanded his people NOT to hurt the alien. Yes, he said, I’ve got your back in wiping out the inhabitants of the land but once you take over the land, treat the aliens around you with respect. Therefore, it is clear that God is working under a different underlying principle then the surrounding nations. God is not trying to create an oppressive empire which is what the other nations were doing. There is a huge difference in intent. 4. Text With Context Reveals Principle Therefore, one of the things we lose when we read this commandment to “not oppress the foreigner” is that for the Ancient Near East, it was a BRAND NEW IDEA. During the time in which the event took place, taking over the land was how things were, that is how they functioned, but treating the alien with respect? This was not apart of their world-view. This was a fresh movement of God in the world. For those people then, this was a progressive way of seeing the world, it was a graceful and caring way of seeing the world. In both the Old and New Testament God is always calling humanity toward a better way. However, in order to move humanity toward a better way he must speak in terms that they understand. He must work with their world. Ask yourself this question, what if God would have shown up and said, “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you”; would the Israelites have understood what he was saying? Would that type of forward thinking have been beyond their ability to comprehend? It isn’t that God takes pleasure in destroying people but he does take pleasure in helping people get to the next right step. (Ezekiel 23:11) And that is precisely what we see with the Canaanite wars. God spoke to them as they understood without lowering his standard. This is something which is mimicked by Jesus (Philippians 2:7-8). The principle stays the same but the application is different. God is still working in a progressive way even when dealing with some barbaric situations. Illustration I have a 4 year old niece, totally beautiful, full of energy and always looking for a fight. I picked her up from school the other day and she immediately asked me why here mom didn’t pick her up. I let her know that her mom had some work to do and that she sent me to pick her up. So, we get home and she immediately says that she needs to tell me something but that she needs to do it upstairs. So, we go upstairs, I notice that she is anxiously looking around upstairs to see if anyone is home. Then she quietly asks me where her mom is. As soon as she hears her mom on the phone in the other room she quickly walks off. It occurred to me after she heard her mom in the office that that’s what this whole thing was about. She didn’t really have anything to tell me. She was nervous, she had a fear that she would walk upstairs, nobody would be home and that I would leave her alone. Yes, I understand that it sounds illogical but for some reason she was afraid. So, what should I have done? What was the proper response? Should I have talked to her about how she has abandonment issues and how the best way to work through those was many hours in silence and solitude? No of course not! The only caring response would be to speak to her and to respond to her in a way that makes sense to her. Eventually my niece will get older and I will be able to communicate with her in that way but in the mean time what am I to do? I mention this event with my niece because I think it coincides with the story of the Bible. Humanity has been at different stages in its development and God has worked with them where they were, always pointing them toward the next right step. The next right step for them was to over throw the Canaanites but to not establish an oppressive empire as the other nations were doing. Perhaps this doesn’t sit well with some of you and you might think there was a better way to do it. Perhaps but could we dream of a better way? In my opinion this was the best possible and most gracious way for God to continue the ongoing story of redeeming the world. What should God have done? Should God have given up on humanity because of how barbaric they were? What is more barbaric, to give up on humanity or to try to help it towards the next right step. Gas Powered Cars Some of you might be thinking, no that’s a cop out. These people were totally messed up. God shouldn’t have even wasted his time. But lets take a look at our current world. I recently finished up with a 3 year seminary program. During that time, money was tight. Occasionally, friends and family from back home would send me a care package or some money. Usually there would be a nice note attached to the check or card. Something that read like this, “Steve, during my daily prayers, I felt an intuition from God to send you gas-card. I hope you can use this gas-card at a gas station near you.” So what did I do with that gas-card? I filled my car up with gas. Now, imagine, 3000 years into the future. The air is incredibly polluted and they are breathing bad air because there was a civilization before them where soccer moms drove army vehicles called Hummers, which polluted the environment, to go the grocery store and buy a half a gallon of milk. They are no longer using gas-powered cars. They came up with a new technology where the atmosphere doesn’t get polluted. They have progressed culturally and are living totally differently than we are today. Archeologists happen to dig up a folder from the year 2010. The folder has a diploma in it from a Christian school, and it also has a little note about a gas-card in it. Historians analyze the note, they do research on the language and figure out that the note meant exactly what it said! Would it be fair of them to conclude that the God who the Christian school endorsed didn’t care about the environment?
Conclusion: The only logical conclusion is that God cared for the people who were living in some awful ways and that his intention was to carry them into a good future. It isn’t so much that God wanted some of these things to happen but it’s more so that God didn’t want to give up on humanity. He has a plan to redeem humanity and his plan included working with people through every step of their development. God never acted out of his character, he always treated people in a way that made sense to them and in a way that would be redeeming. God was and is leading his people into a good future. We still live in a world that is barbaric in many ways but the story isn’t over. Christian hope is that Jesus will come back and put the world to rights. In the mean time, God is working with us towards living rightly. Straight From Jesus Mouth Lets look at another passage which takes place about 1500 years after the conquest event. Mark 10:2 Some Pharisees came and tested him by asking, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?” 3 “What did Moses command you?” he replied. 4 They said, “Moses permitted a man to write a certificate of divorce and send her away.” 5 Jesus replied “It was because your hearts were hard that Moses wrote you this law.” 6 “But at the beginning of creation God ‘made them male and female.’ In other words, Jesus is saying, “look it isn’t that God likes bad things like divorce or genocide, but God works with people where they’re at.” At the end of the day, I think that, that response, that way of looking at the Scriptures is a lot more reliable and hopeful then simply brushing these passages off. A Review of the Method
Application: Once we figure out the underlying principle we can then ask some questions about how this applies to our life. Many of us find ourselves doing some barbaric things. We find ourselves sometimes caught in the grasp of some sin. Maybe some of you are in some really dark places and you don’t think there is anyway that God would meet you there because it’s just too barbaric. Rest assured that he is there and he is pointing you toward the next right step. Whether it’s an addiction, or a hurt, or a selfish desire that you can’t get rid of, he is there, point you toward the next-step. We can have hope that God has not given up on us just as he did not give up on the people in the past. What if the Israelites would have not treated their neighbor good? Where would the plan of God be now? Every little step counts. Perhaps the event would seem less barbaric in its proper perspective. Would anyone fault Bonhoeffer or the many others who tried to assassinate Hitler before his evil spread? Many of us do not see it this way because we are so far removed from the culture in which those people lived. Sorry fellow blog followers. I have been working on quite a few posts but have not posted any. I will be posting a bunch of stuff sometime next week. stay tuned….. |
This was the type of civilization that they lived in (might I add that some in our day still live like this). This was the air they breathed and the water they drank. In the Ancient Near East kingdoms established and maintained power through military force. So the goal of Ancient Near Eastern kingdoms was to establish an empire. What do the Assyrians, Babylonians, Greeks and Romans all have in common? They all tried to establish a world empire by overthrowing their neighbors and by making them their slaves. This was how you got bigger, stronger, faster. So, so far our historical context has revealed that the Hebrews were doing nothing out of the ordinary for their day. With that in mind, we must now ask the question with respect to the event we are studying, is the God of the Bible simply doing what all the other nations were doing by trying to become an empire through military force? If that is the case then surely we have no reason to trust the God of the Bible anymore then we trust the Canaanite gods. 
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