Archive for the ‘christ’ Category
In a recent discussion about the validity of Trinitarian theology there was some questions about the use of the term “Son of God” as applied to Jesus. Some have argued that (1) the Son of God can’t technically be part of the Godhead since the Son is the physical manifestation of the Word. The basic argument is that “Son of God” is temporal language (like Jesus) which can only come into proper usage when the Son is born (Luke 1:35-this one will be called the Son of God). Others argued that (2) “Son of God” is an ambiguous term completely interchangeable with “Jesus Christ” and “The Word of God”. Yet others argue that (3) the term “Son of God” has been imbued with new (and exegetically unsound) theological meaning by the New Testament writers.
Starting with their own presuppositions they each make some solid points but I would argue that contra (1) the term refers to something with intent that can only be realized with a preexistent Sonship; contra (2) the term has specific meaning; and contra (3) the terminology’s usage has been properly realized by the New Testament authors.
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Tags: israel, jesus, messiah, son of God
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I’ve tried to highlight
certain assumptions: (1) the Church is made up of people; (2)that the Church could only come about after certain historical requirements were in place; and (3) that the Church’s leadership is divine (in other words: God is the church’s leader). Following those assumptions (and an unmentioned
fourth) I progressed to
highlighting the Goal of the Church summed up in glorifying God by glorifying Christ. Such a broad definition leaves the most vague of us floating helplessly through a foamy sky of ambiguous vapor. Therefore, I want to spend some time looking at how that purpose is evidenced by the overarching Work of the Church.
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Tags: New Testament, redemptive history, the gospel, the holy spirit
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The Point of the book: Horton went into this critical examination to prove that there was a connection between the Qumran Community and the Book of Hebrews in regards to the Melchizedek Tradition. Wanting to show the point of overlap and perhaps their dependence on source material, he traces the development of Melchizedekian thought from the Genesis account, through Psalms, over to Qumran, through the early Church and Rabbinical sources and finally the Gnostics before heading back to the book of Hebrews. What’s great about the book is that when he gets to the end, his point was negatively proven. Not only did he not establish a connection between Qumran and Hebrews but he reversed his position to show that the author of Hebrews cares very little for Melchizedek at all.
The Good: The book deals with the material fairly and whenever there is a question as to the author’s reconstruction, he sagely points out the fact that his conclusion is possible but maybe not probable. The Author deals with each of the sources as they stand (for example examining the Genesis account on its own and seeing how a possible interpretation is that Abraham received tithes from Melchizedek). There are a ton of footnotes and the bibliography section is extensive to allow further personal research.
The Bad: It’s difficult to place any of the book in a Bad category on account that its bad for a person who doesn’t have the technical know-how of a more scholarly professional. For example, there are many sections of the book that delve into untranslated Greek, Hebrew, German, Latin and Coptic. Dealing with those sections requires lots of contextual reading but sometimes he really doesn’t aim to enforce the meaning of those words with the context. But that, like I said, is not necessarily bad since you don’t want to spend a lot of time establishing the contextual meaning of relatively easy Greek concepts like kurios and kosmos. The Hebrew is a bit more difficult on account that, well its Hebrews.
The Ugly: The footnotes in the 1976 edition are a mess, condensing several footnotes onto one line to save page space and I guess page count.
Conclusion: The book is a good read for folks who want to see how the Melchizedekian thought progresses through the first five centuries; it’s helpful for the Biblical scholar and finally its extremely helpful for a person who wants a solid backing for Christ’s own Priesthood: but more info on that on my detailed overview of the book below.
Overview (or the part you don’t have to read):
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Tags: genesis, melchizedek
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Sunday. The Eighth Day.
The door opens and Thomas enters in, the small hot room is filled with men. The meal is being set out on the table. John is wearing a towel, finishing washing Matthew’s feet. Matthew is weeping but there’s no sadness in the tears.
“Look who’s here!” Andrew shouting. Thomas waves as Andrew locks the door behind him.
“Tom” Peter bellows while Thomas says “Hey Pete”
“Tommy!” Phil shouts.
“Hey, you’re here!” John, rising from the floor coming over with bucket in hand. Thomas and Andrew walk towards the group.
“Guys, I’m only here for a little bit but I gotta’ tell you–”
“Shalom. Shalom be with you.” The voice comes to the right shoulder of Thomas. The door is still closed, the lockbar still in place.
Silence. The disciples are transfixed over Thomas’ shoulder and he doesn’t breathe as He closes his eyes and slowly turns around.
“Tom. Come over here with your finger and see My hands. Why don’t you also put your hand here, in My side. Stop doubting but believe.”
Thomas doesn’t move; he barely looks at the very real evidence of the risen Jesus. He stares at his eyes and his long, lonely week slam into him bringing him to his knees, knocking him down to understand and confess.
“You are the Lord Messiah–but more, you are my Lord Master. You are my Lord God. My Lord and My God.”
Tags: doubting thomas
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Saturday.
The sun is shining brightly. We are outside of the house, looking in through the open window seeing Thomas standing at the open door. The table is no longer turned over. The stain on the wall is cleaned. Thomas’ personal effects lay neatly on the table, next to his satchel. We can’t hear the soft voice of the person Thomas is speaking with.
“No, I will not come Sabbath: the High Priest may still be looking for us. I will be leaving on tomorrow evening. They’re still in Jerusalem you say? Well, I’ll see them there then.
A pause.
“I have some words for them: even if He really isn’t alive the signs He did, the words He said, the authority He gave us: all those things are too much for a mere man. I still don’t think they’re specifically right about His being back that would imply–well, its not even worth thinking about that.”
A longer pause.
“Yes, yes, I know: I’m not doubting you. I’m saying that when people hope so much, anything is possible but, let’s not argue. I think I understand some things about Him now that I didn’t have a clue about when He was still alive.
“He knew, Martha! He planned it! I intend to tell them this.”
Tags: doubting thomas
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Friday.
Knocking on the heavy wooden door. No one is answering. Martha says something about the Disciples still being in Jerusalem and now we can see her walking away, sadly looking over her shoulder.
The table is still turned over. The pillows are still in disarray. A smear of dried liquid is on the wall. On the floor, staring up at the ceiling with tired yet active eyes is Thomas.
He raises his hands to his face, turns them upwards, then turns the palms back to himself.
“These hands performed miracles.” He squints at the dirty fingernails and the calluses “These hands cast out demons and yet they have no power.”
He sits up and continues to examine his hands then touches his lips “This mouth preached the Kingdom of God to the Jews and even” he smiles “the Samaritans. These lips.
“And yet they have no knowledge on their own.”
He reaches down to his feet, rubs the calluses and shakes his head “These feet walked about, preaching His Gospel and yet they have no reason to walk about if not for that Gospel.
Thomas’ head shoots up “We did all this because He was the one who told us to. We had no power, He gave it to us. We had no message, it was His words. We had no hope, it was all in Him.”
He smiles.
Tags: resurrection, thomas
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Thursday.
“We don’t know where you’re going, how can we know the way to get there…” Thomas growls to himself. “We don’t KNOW where you’re going!” he yells it snidely, grabs a pillow and throws it against the wall.”
He kicks over the table and punches the wall “Let’s go with him to Judea and die!” grabs his bag and throws it against the wall “We don’t Know where you’re going!” Thomas throws a punch at the air and falls down, heavily breathing.
Now sobbing.
“…Eloi, eloi, lama sabachtani…?” He turns over “How could we have been so blind?”
Tags: doubting thomas
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Wednesday.
Thomas is at the door, basket in hand waving at Martha who is going back to the main house. The sun is high in the noon sky.
He carries the basket back to the table and sits down, heavily sinking into the pillow around it. He takes a big whiff, smiles absentmindedly and opens up the small towel covering the food.
Bread. Fish. A skin of wine.
He stares.
He gingerly, tenderly picks up the fish, his eyes distant “…how we worked that day. Here…there…” He smiles “…how we worked.
“Over five thousand fed from…” he picks up bread, drops it “a few scant loaves and couple of measly fish. We knew He was Messiah from that and yet…and yet it was the next day…
“…at the Synagogue…about His body being bread. Then at the supper on that night–’this is my body given for you.’ Not only did He know but He planned for this very thing.
“At that time He said He’d raise us up on the last day…how could He do that if He was in Sheol where there is no knowledge of God?”
Thomas eats, brow furrowed.
Tags: resurrection, thomas
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Tuesday.
Thomas is splashing water on his face, hair and back. He opens his red-rimmed eyes, and stops, his hands frozen above the basin, water dripping back in. He stares, not at his own reflection but at the sparkling, rippling water.
“The blind man.” He slowly scoops up some water and methodically washes his eyes. “That blind man…we asked Him who sinned. He told us neither: that confused us for weeks…” he chuckles “but still, he told him to wash in Siloam but first…but first: what was it?” He closes his eyes and puts water once more, over his shut eyelids.
“We must work the works of Him who sent Me as long as it is day: night is coming when no one can work. While I am in the world, I am the Light of the world…”
“…did He know…? Is it possible?”
He looks at the water basin again, and stands up, staring at it, backing up against the wall. “That night, there was so much that happened: but when He washed our feet…I’ll never forget that. But…but…how could I have forgotten what He said afterwards.
“Not all of you are clean…from now on I am telling you before it comes to pass, so that when it occurs you may believe that I am He…
“…did he really know…?”
Tags: doubting thomas
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Monday.
Thomas is standing at the window, a rooster crowing in the nearby distance. The sky still has the final purple remnants of night that it stubbornly clings to in the face of the overpowering dawn. A cup of goats milk sits forgotten on the table. A basin of water sits unused by the door.
Clean trails run down his upper cheeks. His eyes are red, bleary, exhausted.
His eye catches Martha carrying water back to the main house. She can’t see him; she’s focused on her task.
He tries to suppress a yawn while whispering “…but Lazarus…”. He yawns again, shakes his head, lowers his eyes.
Tags: resurrection, thomas
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We all know the story about Doubting Thomas and how, in a flash his doubt was wiped away. In John 20, Thomas demands proof for Christ’s resurrection and refuses to believe unless he puts his hand into His side. Well, 8 days later Jesus pops up into the room and next thing we know Thomas is answering the proof (which he hasn’t put his hands on, mind you) with “My Lord and my God!” Jesus’ response to that statement is probably the one some of us have asked: just because he saw Jesus, He believed? I mean what if it was a twin brother or a look-a-like? And really, what made Thomas go that far anyway to call Him God? Well, for a few days, I’m going to be posting a story, in almost screenplay format, called “Thomas’ Lonely Week”.
Sunday.
The small room is dark save for the soft light of the moon that drifts in through one of the nearby windows. The light falls gently onto a wooden table, pillows and finally the large, heavy door. The door swings open and in strides a medium height, curly haired figure, breathing heavily.
He drops a bag on the table, moves a chair and starts shuffling through something on the floor. The clapping of rocks is heard with the bright flash of flintstones (which illuminates his bearded face) until after two strikes an oil lamp is lit.
He sits heavily in the chair, his eyes fiery, daring the flickering flame.
“Oh come on.” he mumbles, then momentarily, laughs humorlessly. “Give me a break!” He reaches over to the bag and pulls out some flat wafers which he proceeds to crunch on. “He was right here. We saw Him.” his voice is mocking, unnaturally deep then he’s shaking his head. “Those guys will believe anything. It’s over…”
“…man, but Lazarus.” He pauses, sits back. “Laz is definitely alive…”
He shakes his head, blows out the candle and gets up and drops onto his mat on the floor.
It goes dark with a passing cloud and unknown amount of time.
The room illuminates slightly as clouds allow the moon to shine on the tossing and turning person on the mat.
Tags: doubting thomas
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27 February
Posted by rey
I’ve spent some time banging around some thoughts on Psalm 110, what it meant in its Jewish culture and how it was used by the early believers. To think about that I had to first spend some time thinking about the origins.
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Tags: christ, melchizedek, messiah, psalm 110, psalms
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Virginia Tech…32 dead: why? The question that always comes up after something like this is: how can there be a good God if there is so much evil in the world? How come he doesn’t stop it right now?
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Death is humiliating. It doesn’t seem like that nowadays when we go to music-filled funeral halls in suits to gather around the dearly departed. There the person lays, sometimes wearing perfume for the first time ever, seemingly asleep and no odor escaping their preserved body. The perfectly ironed suit, the cushioned coffin, the gilded gold and the deep cherry wood—all of it looks rather royal, presidential even. But somebody else washed that corpse, carted it around, ensured that it wouldn’t stink then propped it up for people to see: humiliating.
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