THE BOOK THAT BREATHES NEW LIFE

The above caption is the title of a book by Walter Brueggemann. In this book he addresses the issues of scriptural authority and biblical theology. In the next few weeks I will be addressing some of the comments and insights he provides in this work. Below is his first sentence in the Preface:

            “The matter of biblical authority is ancient, endlessly vexed, and of immense importance in the church”[page xiii].

            I have always personally found the issue of biblical authority a difficult topic to get my mind around. This is for several reasons.

First, articulated versions of “biblical authority” seem to be founded on different concerns from scripture itself. Usually (and historically) appeals are made to “scriptural authority” to manipulate you to see and practice things the way I do. It is almost as if the issue of “biblical authority” becomes the big stick of orthodoxy to wield over those we want to control.

Second, I do agree with Brueggemann that it is an issue of “immense importance in the church.” The role of Scripture in the life of the church is one of the most important topics Christians can think about. Perhaps we have viewed this topic almost schizophrenically…individually I can read Scripture the way I want to; communally you need to read Scripture my way so I can make sure you are right with me and my understandings.

Third, I am fascinated how Scripture just assumes authority over the life of the Christian and the community of faith without spelling out a full-blown doctrine of “scriptural authority.” I would say that the Bible only has the power to authorize if a person allows it to.

For me personally, I like how the Psalmists address the matter of biblical authority. It is a recognition of the powerful influence and interaction that one has with the word of God. Listen to this…”Blessed is the man who delights in the law of the Lord, and on  his law he meditates day and night” (Psalm 1:2). This is a perfect example of allowing the Word of God to have a claim on one’s life. Indeed, if it is the delight of my heart, and I meditate on it day and night, its authoritative and transformative properties will shape me into a “blessed” person!

In Christian love, Curtis

PUTTING A “MODERATE EDUCATION” TO USE!

Abraham Lincoln is one of my favorite American presidents and personalities to study. I was reading his March 9, 1832 Address to the People of Sangamon County. In reading that written speech one learns that Lincoln had a strong view that every person should receive a moderate education. His reasoning was so that every person would be able to do three things:

1.    Read the histories of his own and other countries.

2.    To appreciate the value of our free institutions.

3.    To experience advantages and satisfactions to be derived from being able to read the Scriptures, and other works of a religious and moral nature.

As you can imagine, it was number 3 that really caught my attention. I would say that all of us have received a “moderate education.” I am wondering if we fully “experience the advantages and satisfactions” that come with reading such material?

Being able to read the Scripture for ourselves and interpret them faithfully because of such attention to reading is a blessing beyond comparison! Historically, generations before us did not have that privilege. Only after the printing press, the work of Martin Luther, and the translating of Scripture into current languages did such privilege become commonplace for nearly everyone.

This coming year, we want to encourage one another to become involved in the E-100 Bible Reading program. 50 Passages from the Old Testament and 50 passages from the New Testament have been selected as essential ones to read in order to gain a broad, comprehensive view of the Bible.

Each week I will print in the bulletin and the Sunday morning Worship Assembly Bulletin both readings for the upcoming week. The first reading assignment for the week of January 2-8 is #1—[Creation] Genesis 1:1-2:25;    #51—[The Word Became Flesh] John 1:1-18.

     If you need a bookmark for your Bible, see me Sunday and I can make sure you get one. You may also want to get a journal to take notes on  your reading for this year. May God bless each one of you on this journey!

In Christian love, Curtis

THE PRAYER OF GOD

          “The prayer of God”—this the strangest reference to prayer in all of the New Testament. I was made aware of this expression while reading Joseph Longking’s Notes on the Gospels, volume 2. This antique book was published in 1840 by Carlton and Porter in New York. It was given to me as a gift. As I began reading LESSON I the author comments on a section of Luke’s gospel, 6:12-19. It is in verse 12 where the expression under consideration occurs.

            “And it came to pass in those days, that he went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.”

            After checking 30 different English versions and translations of the Bible, 2 translated this expression at the end of verse 12, “The prayer of God”(Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition; Young’s Literal Translation).

            While commenting on verse 12, Longking quotes Wesley. “Mr. Wesley renders the passage, he ‘continued all night in the prayer of God,’ and says, ‘the phrase is singular and emphatical, to imply an extraordinary and sublime devotion (page 2).

            This made me ask the following questions: Since the expression “the prayer of God” is a literal translation of the Greek phrase, what are we to make of it? How are we to understand it? Why is it used this one time in reference to Jesus’ prayer life? Is it a dynamic of the spiritual/divine aspect of prayer that only Jesus could experience? Grammatically, it could refer to Jesus’ prayer being directed to God, or it could be prayer coming from God.

            I am not sure we have to choose one or the other. I think what Luke is trying to say is that while Jesus spent that night on the mountain in prayer, he talked with God and God talked with him. Wouldn’t you just love to have been there eavesdropping on that night-long conversation! Perhaps the intense opposition building up against his ministry, and the need to choose twelve apostles the next day provided the need for this conversation.

            The Wycliff Bible, (Old version republished by Terence Noble, 2001) says this, “he was all night dwelling in the prayer of God.” Presence and conversation, mutual exchange of the divine/covenantal relationship.

            I am wondering what it might mean in my own prayer life to “dwell in the prayer of God?”

In Christian love, Curtis

What is the Protestant principle?

Historically and theologically Christianity tends to get divided into 3 major groups: Protestants, Catholics, and Orthodox. There are other ways of conceptualizing all of the Christian groups that have materialized over the centuries, but for the purpose of this article we will stick to these three. I want to reflect on the following quote:

“Christianity is final only in so far as it has the power of criticizing and transforming each of its historical manifestations; and just this power is the Protestant principle.” Paul Tillich, The Protestant Era

Would you agree that this is the “Protestant principle”? Perhaps Tillich is thinking of Martin Luther and his protest and critique of the church of his day with the 95 theses nailed to the door of the monastery in Wittenburg. If so, what is Tillich talking about?

Plainly, since the Protestant Reformation the church has learned to be self-critical in each of its historical manifestations. To be sure, each denomination and religious movement sometimes reaches the point of ceasing to do this. Church history has shown that when the church becomes complacent that is the beginning of its demise.

I am not sure that I would have stated like Tillich that this is “the” Protestant principle. It seems several principles actually converged to produce the Protestant movement. I am listing them below. You may want to add a couple of your own after looking at it.

1. The Bible available in the vernacular and available to every person to read for themselves.
2. The priesthood of all believers.
3. Moved Christianity from the cloisture to the community
4. Believed that everyday work was a divine calling.
5. An emphasis on personal conversion and individual piety
6. Some form of millennialism, Christ’s return for a 1,000 years (or, for non-millennialists, Christ’s Second Coming)

Each of these principles were significant in the Protestant Evangelical movements of the Great Awakening. Interestingly, as contemporary Christianity is being expressed in new and different forms, these 6 principles are still alive and well. Books could be, and have been, written on each of these 6. Suffice it to say, each of these principles are rooted in a biblical world-view that seeks to take faith seriously. Where do you see these principles working in your faith today?

In Christian love, Curtis

My True Son in the Faith

It is customary to refer to other Christians with familial terms. The marriage and family bond is one of the strongest bonds in the human experience. It is no surprise then that it is appropriated by New Testament writers to designate how strong our bond is with one another in Christ.

          In Paul’s letter to Timothy he begins by identifying him as “my legitimate/true child in the faith”(1 Timothy 1:2). This is a fascinating reference because of two words Paul uses.

          First, Timothy is  true/legitimate (gnesios). This word carries with it the idea of the real, genuine thing. When I read Paul’s two letters to Timothy, I am immediately struck with the genuine friendship and relationship that existed between these two Christians. Paul knew Timothy’s family well, and entrusted the young man to some very responsible tasks connected with the apostolic ministry.

          Second, the tender word for “child” (teknon) helps Paul express how dear, special and familial Paul feels toward this young man Timothy. Later on in this very letter, once again, Paul addresses him as “Timothy, my son…”(1 Timothy 1:18). He wants to get Timothy’s attention as he instructs him how to fight the good fight of faith in the face of opposition. As his father in the faith, he knows that this precious young man in the faith is about to face some pretty stiff opposition.

          For each of us today, God has placed in our stewardship the a spiritual “true son/daughter in the faith.” Who is that person? Do they know of your spiritual concerns for them? Do they hear affirmation from you regarding the bond of genuine friendship? Do you watch out for their spiritual welfare, and seek to instruct them?

          “My true son in the faith”—what a beautiful expression!

In Christian love, Curtis

Promoting and Advancing the Work of God

When the apostle Paul writes to Timothy about what he needs to focus on as a young evangelist, Paul is interested in how Timothy promotes or advances the work of God. In doing so, Paul uses one of the strangest phrases for ministry in all of the New Testament: “a stewardship of God in the faith.” What in the world can he mean by that?

          Paul had expressly left Timothy in Ephesus to urge certain individuals not to teach anything differently. Early on in the church we already have a distinction between heterodoxy and orthodoxy. Anything taught differently from the apostolic tradition would be suspect and identified as “heterodoxy.”  In this immediate context (1 Timothy 1:3-7) they were devoting themselves to myths and endless genealogies.

The myths were legendary, fictional stories-- but unfortunately Paul does not name them so we do not really know their content or anything else about them. Whatever they were, it is evident that they were designed to replace the central story of Jesus.

The next thing that was heterodoxy was the unending genealogies, or the tracing of one’s ancestors or family tree. Rogers makes the following apt comment on this practice: “In postexilic Judaism there was a keen interest in family trees, and this played a part in controversies between Jews and Judaism” (Rogers, The New Linguistic and Exegetical Key to the Greek New Testament, p. 487). Interestingly, this may be what is behind the very reason that both Matthew and Luke include a genealogy of Jesus.

Essentially  what Paul is telling Timothy is that one does not promote or advance the work of God by making up stories to replace the central story of Jesus, nor trying to make a family connection that would prove one’s faithfulness to an established, traditional religion.

I am really intrigued by this expression “a stewardship of God in the faith” that Paul uses to describe ministry for Timothy. Does each one of us see our gifts and ministry as stewardship before God?

In Christian love, Curtis

 

SINCERE FAITH

What does “sincere faith” look like? Where does it come from? Why is it important, and how does one get it?

          For starters this expression (“sincere faith”) is used by Paul twice in his correspondence with the young evangelist Timothy. The word “sincere” translates the Greek word, anupokritos. It can be translated literally into English as “non-hypocritical.”  Here are both of those verses:

          “The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith” (1 Timothy 1:5).

          “I have been reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your  grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also” (2 Timothy 1:5).

          Some significant insights present themselves from these two readings. “Sincere faith” is one of three things necessary in order for a person to truly love.

          Additionally, a “sincere faith” can be spoken of as something that lives in people. Because of Paul’s reference to Timothy’s mother and grandmother, the implicit implication that he does not spell out is that this “sincere faith” can be passed on  to succeeding generations.

          The questions that all of this raises is vital indeed.

1.   Does my love for God and others flow from a “sincere faith?”

2.   Does “sincere faith” live in me?

3.   Am I gratefully aware of how that “sincere faith” first lived in my parents and grandparents and was passed on to me?

The greatest need of the hour for Christianity in our culture is a “non-hypocritical faith.”  Does it live in me so that others can see Jesus?

In Christian love, Curtis