Genesis 30:6, The Tribe of Dan

Then Rachel said, "God has vindicated me; he has listened to my plea and given me a son." Because of this she named him Dan.

//Well, to be honest, it wasn’t Rachel’s son, but her handmaiden, Bilbah, who slept with Jacob and provided a son named Dan. One of the twelve sons of Jacob, one of the twelve tribes of Israel.

The tribe of Dan always seemed a bit of an outcast. They tolerated idols, and they were the only tribe not allowed into the New Jerusalem in Revelation. The hero of Dan’s tribe was Samson, who spent more time with the Philistines than he did the Israelites.

Some wonder if Dan was originally a tribe at all. The Song of Deborah sings about Dan dwelling on his ships, indicating a sea-going people, and  maybe this provides a clue. The Philistines arrived in Canaan about the same time as the Israelites, and came by sea. Among the Sea Peoples arriving in Canaan were a group called the Danuna, possibly a remnant of the Greek Danoi, the people identified by Homer as the invaders of Troy. This group may have relocated inward from the coast, supposedly as a split-off, and carried Philistine pottery there with them. The theory posits that the tribe of Dan were chased north by the other Philistines and joined the Israelite confederation for protection.

Book review: The Beast of Revelation

by Kenneth L. Gentry Jr.

★★★★★

I believe this is the book  (I read the first version, before its reprint in 2002) that first introduced me to the preterist way of interpreting Revelation. This interpretation posits that most, if not all, of Revelation’s promises were fulfilled in the first century.  I was utterly fascinated, and this book still holds a special place in my library.

The book is a condensation of a much larger work by Gentry: Before Jerusalem Fell. It’s broken into two parts. The first half is a description of Nero Caesar and how he fits the beast of Revelation to a T. The second half is an analysis of the dating of Revelation.

Gentry concludes Revelation was written before the great war of 70 A.D., when Jerusalem was destroyed and the Temple leveled by the Romans. I came to disagree with him, as you may know from my own book. Gentry describes his approach: “Holding to an unshakable conviction regarding Scripture’s divine inspiration, I also afford its inherent authority, infallibility, and inerrancy.” Well, there you go, of course a person who studies the first-century message of Revelation, and begins with the assumption that it prophesies the events it describes, would have to conclude that it was written beforehand.

Nevertheless, Gentry is an interesting writer with a fascinating message. That adds up to a very readable book, and earns it five stars.

Gentry, himself, remains for me an enigma who refuses contact. It’s possible I’ve offended him by contradicting his conclusions in my own book, but for whatever the reason, he won’t entertain, for debate or even discussion, theories that contradict his own interpretation. Because he pursues his scholarship in a bubble, his writings must be taken with a grain of salt, yet his perspective definitely deserves attention. This is a book I’m certain will make you think.

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Jeremiah 25:27, Let's Get Drunk!

This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Drink, get drunk and vomit

//Thought maybe you could use a good Saturday night verse. Here you go; have a good time tonight, with God’s blessing.

Or have I aroused a bit of suspicion? Let’s read the verse again, in the context of the next few:

Then tell them, “This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Drink, get drunk and vomit, and fall to rise no more because of the sword I will send among you.' But if they refuse to take the cup from your hand and drink, tell them, 'This is what the LORD Almighty says: You must drink it! See, I am beginning to bring disaster on the city that bears my Name, and will you indeed go unpunished? … The LORD will roar from on high; he will thunder from his holy dwelling and roar mightily against his land. He will shout like those who tread the grapes, shout against all who live on the earth.”

Still sound like fun? This is the doom saying of the prophet Jeremiah, about God’s own city. Jerusalem is about to be leveled, its people falling under the heavy yoke of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. This image provides the inspiration for the whore of Babylon in the book of Revelation, and those destined to “drink of the wine of God's fury, which has been poured full strength into the cup of his wrath.”

The grapes of wrath. Still thirsty? Still planning to stop by the corner bar? Now in Revelation the wine turns into blood: “Then the angel swung his sickle on the earth, gathered its grapes and threw them into the great winepress of God's wrath.  They were trampled in the winepress outside the city, and blood flowed out of the press, rising as high as the horses' bridles for a distance of 180 miles.”

Stay home tonight, guys. Please?

Book review: The Days of Vengeance

by David Chilton

★★★★★

For those of you that read my review of Alan Bondar’s book (http://www.dubiousdisciple.com/2011/02/book-review-reading-bible-through-new.html) and yearned for more, here’s a book you absolutely must read. Chilton (1951-1997) is no stranger to preterist scholarship and first-century eschatology. I suspect this book sits on the shelf of every preterist researcher. And it should.

It’s not a quick read; over 700 pages. A comprehensive exposition, going verse by verse through Revelation, showing its relevance to first-century happenings. It is Chilton who quipped, “Not once did [John] imply that his book was written with the twentieth century in mind, and that Christians would be wasting their time attempting to decipher it until the Scofield Reference Bible would become a best-selling novel.”

Some of the analysis goes a bit deep; one of Chilton’s most important contributions is a long, convincing explanation of how rabbinic numerology would have recognized the number 666 already as the mark of both a king and a kingdom in the Dragon’s image. They also identified, from Daniel, the Roman Empire as the fourth and final kingdom before the end times.  Then, lo and behold, along comes a Roman emperor (Nero Caesar) matching this very number!

Do you really want to understand why first-century Christians were so completely convinced of Christ’s impending return? Then this book is a must-read.

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Exodus 6:3, El Shaddai

And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of God Almighty, but by my name JEHOVAH was I not known to them.

//Today’s topic is for all you Universalists out there. Sometimes the King James interpretation we are familiar with flat-lines the meaning of a verse so much that it becomes unnoticeable. This one is an example. What exactly is this verse saying? Let’s try reading it in the New International Version:

I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob as God Almighty, but by my name the LORD I did not make myself known to them.

Ouch, that’s even worse! God’s name, Jehovah (Yahweh), has become the generic LORD. How about the New Living Translation:

I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob as God Almighty, though I did not reveal my name, the LORD, to them.

Sigh. We’re not getting anywhere. How do you “appear” as “God Almighty?” And who is the LORD? What is this verse really saying? Here’s a non-watered-down version of the original Hebrew:

I am Yahweh. I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob as El Shaddai, but by my name Yahweh I did not make myself known to them.

Now we’re getting somewhere! So who is El Shaddai?

Answer: The “high god” of the Canaanites, the top fella, the almighty one above all other gods. Here we learn that the high god of the Canaanites before Israel arrived in force was Yahweh all along. The God of the Hebrews before there were ever any Hebrews. When he presented himself to the Patriarchs, he did so as the god of the Canaanites, and only later revealed himself also as the God of the Jews.

Book review: The Resurrection of Jesus: John Dominic Crossan and N.T. Wright in Dialogue

Edited by Robert B. Stewart

★★★

When this book first appeared, I purchased it with great anticipation. Crossan and Wright are respected and respectful scholars, both with a reputation for digging deeply. But they sit on opposite sides of the fence.

To set the stage, there is no mention of an empty tomb in Paul’s writings, and the earliest Christian tradition contains no description of the resurrection itself. By the time the Gospels were written, it would have been very hard to certify what the tomb had contained. Tombs in that period were not permanent places of burial but only temporary places where the body decayed, leaving the bones, which were then either pushed to the back of the tomb or collected in ossuaries. In other words, no evidence existed to prove or disprove the claim of bodily resurrection by the time the claims were committed to writing.

Did it happen? How?

Wright believes in the bodily resurrection of Jesus and the empty tomb. He puzzles, as a historian, why anyone would continue to belong to the Christian movement in the first century and regard Jesus as the Messiah, unless the stories were regarded as literally true. Crossan, on the other hand, understands the resurrection as a metaphor for Jesus’ continued presence in the church. Bodily resurrection, to him, means “the embodied life of Jesus,” which continues to be experienced by believers today.

Sound like an interesting discussion? The dialogue between the two lasts all of 18 pages, and is rather uninspiring. The rest of the book contains commentary by other authors, where at least we appear to get a real peek into the minds of Crossan and Wright.

Disappointing.

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Mark 1:4, Did Jesus Exist?

And so John came, baptizing in the desert region and preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.

//In a recent forum, the topic came up of whether Jesus, the man, ever existed. Doubters point out the unlikelihood that any writer of the New Testament had ever met Jesus, and then point to the lack of reliable evidence external to the Bible. The external references that do exist are rare, and some, such as the famous Testimonium Flavianum passage by Jewish historian Josephus, where Josephus describes Jesus as the Messiah and tells how he rose on the third day, are universally considered forgeries.

Yet most New Testament scholars have little doubt about Jesus’ existence, based on the sheer volume of indirect evidence. Let me give you an example.

Virtually every scholar recognizes from the Bible that the Baptist movement and the Christian movement were in competition. And virtually every scholar recognizes the embarrassment of admitting that Jesus was initially a follower of John, and was even baptized by John. Mark’s Gospel hints that, like everyone else, Jesus approached John to be baptized “for the forgiveness of sins!” Yikes! No wonder the connection between Jesus and the Baptist is progressively downplayed in the Gospel accounts until, when we get to the final Gospel, John’s Gospel, Jesus isn’t even baptized!

It's safe to conclude that, if Jesus wasn't baptized by John, there wouldn't be a whisper of the whole embarrassing connection in any of the Gospels.

So, there you have it, one little indirect piece of the pie that helps scholars conclude Jesus was a real, living, breathing person.

Book review: Reading the Bible Through New Covenant Eyes

by Alan Bondar

★★★★★

This is a very important book, and I beg all Christians to read it slowly. It might make you think differently, but there is nothing here to be afraid of, I promise.

I should confess up front that I asked for a review copy of Alan’s book because I have a deep interest in Christian eschatology (the study of the end times). I have written my own book about Revelation (http://www.thewayithappened.com/), and Alan and I both read the Bible more literally than most people. When the scripture says “soon,” we believe it means soon. When Jesus says “within this generation,” we believe Jesus meant his own generation. Yet, though we read the same words with the same literalness, we disagree—quite radically, I might add—about its message. Our two books are polar opposites. And here I am wholeheartedly endorsing Alan’s book. How can that be?

Question: Is the Bible the inerrant, inspired word of God? I personally don’t think of it that way. When I read the scriptures, I see multiple contradictions, differing opinions, human motives, outdated morals, historical inaccuracies, and blatant evangelizing. This is not to say I don’t consider the Bible the most influential and miraculous piece of literature in the history of the world; I do, and I’m greatly inspired by it. I just don’t read it as inerrant scripture.

My approach to interpreting scripture is sometimes called the historical-critical method. This method seeks to uncover the meaning and setting of each passage without resorting to supernatural suppositions. For example, Revelation refers directly to several events that happened during the Jewish war of 66-70 A.D. So, quite naturally, I conclude it must have been written after the war. How else could its author write about what happened?

There is a second way to read the Bible. If read through the eyes of a believer, one who finds that the Bible is prophetic and inerrant, then the logical conclusion is that Revelation could have only been written before the events it describes, since it seems to promote itself as prophecy.

Enter Alan Bondar’s book, Reading the Bible Through New Covenant Eyes. Another equally descriptive title may be Reading the Bible Through Believer’s Eyes. Bondar is a believing Christian who writes under the assumption that the Bible is both holy and inspired—and entirely written before the destruction of the Temple in 70 A.D. Now, I don’t often take sides like this in my book reviews, but I consider myself a scholar of Revelation and first-century eschatology, and here is my conclusion: If Bondar is right about the Bible’s inerrancy and traditional authorship (a big if, but I know many of you share this belief with him) then there is only one way to interpret the Bible as a whole, and Bondar has nailed it. His interpretation remains true to the spirit of urgency throughout the New Testament. Take this to the bank from an impartial judge (yeah, that’s me, the agnostic Christian): If the Bible is everywhere consistent, Bondar’s careful research has uncovered the most logical and contextual way to read it. Deep study of the Bible has turned him into a full preterist: a person who believes God’s promise of a new age, as described in books like Revelation, was fully realized in the first century.

Preterism is a branch of Christianity that believes most of the prophecies and covenantal promises have been fulfilled. Armageddon is over. Full Preterism, Bondar style, carries this to extremes: It’s all been fulfilled. Christ has already come back, the earth is not going to be destroyed, the general resurrection has happened.

Let’s get right to the dirt: Jesus promised he was coming back immediately. Futurists point out that Jesus never came back, and conclude he must not have really meant “immediately.” Full Preterists point out that Jesus clearly said “immediately,” many times in many ways, and conclude Jesus must have somehow already come back. Oh, and irritants like me point out that the writers of the New Testament could have been mistaken in their beliefs, but let’s ignore the irritants for now.

So, how and when did Jesus come back? What about the general resurrection? Has death been abolished as promised? Did the final judgment occur? These are all questions that Bondar answers with simplicity, consistent with the teachings of the Bible. Well, with one exception: I confess Alan Bondar’s explanation of the millennium, the thousand year reign of Christ, seems weak to me.

I was disappointed that this book does not discuss the external evidence of Preterism. That is, the events of 66-70 A.D. that map directly to the story in Revelation. But I’ve read several great Preterist books, and I’ll try to do a review on one or two in the near future. Besides, for Bondar to exhaustively argue his case would take a book twice the size of this one, and obscure its real value:  that of bridging the misunderstanding of many Christians, that Preterism is some kind of wacky uprising to destroy one’s hope, and showing it to be just as “Christian” as orthodox beliefs.

Let me leave you with some advice: If you are content in your belief that the Bible is imperfect, read my book and don’t let Alan corrupt you. If you are a literal believer in the Bible, pick up Alan’s book and don’t touch mine with a ten foot pole. And if you are happy with your creedal, orthodox version of Christianity, burn both books and keep scanning the skies for Jesus to return on the clouds.

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Genesis 33:10, The Face of God

…for therefore I have seen thy face, as though I had seen the face of God, and thou wast pleased with me.

//Said by Jacob to Esau at their meeting.

A few days ago, in a review of Karen Armstrong’s book In The Beginning ( http://www.dubiousdisciple.com/2011/02/book-review-in-beginning.html ) I discussed the day Jacob fought with God.

Actually, the man Jacob wrestled with refused to identify himself. Desperate to escape before daybreak allowed recognition, Jacob’s opponent begged to be let go, but Jacob refused, and held tight to the mysterious man until he blessed Jacob. Jacob then decided he must have been wrestling with God, and changed the name of the place to Peniel, “face of God.”

Karen Armstrong wonders if the author didn’t mean to imply that Jacob dreamed the whole affair. I guess that makes sense, since the Bible is clear that no man can see the face of God and live. But how, then, did Jacob’s thigh get out of joint?

Sorry, Karen, this time you’re wrong, it was no dream. Let’s continue the story. The next morning, along comes Esau, Jacob’s long-lost brother. Jacob feared the meeting, for he had stolen Esau’s birthright through deception. Curiously, Esau meets Jacob not with anger but with forgiveness! What brought about this sudden change?

As they hug one another, Jacob makes this strange pronouncement: “I have seen your face, as though it were the face of God.” Jacob suddenly identifies the man he wrestled with in the dark … it was the face of his brother, Esau.

Book review: Jesus Christ: The Jesus of History, the Christ of Faith

by J. R. Porter

★★★★★

I have no idea how this book slipped through the cracks. I never heard of it until one day it appeared on the discount rack at Borders. With lots of colorful pictures and insightful sidebars, does it not look scholarly enough? Would that explain its obscurity?

This is more than a beautiful book; it’s carefully researched and fun to read. Oh, that’s another sin, isn’t it? Scholarly books are supposed to be boring, reserved for the studious.

Here’s the deal: If you’ve ever wondered about all the hoopla surrounding the Historical Jesus, this is a highly recommended first book, taking you deep into the world of first-century Palestine. It’s respectful but not evangelical; the typical Christian will find it enlightening while the fundamentalist may not. In a simple example, Matthew and Luke provide long genealogies of Christ, that unfortunately contradict one another. Porter points out that such genealogical compilations were common, and were for political or religious reasons, never intended as a straightforward historical record. They are, in the biblical instance, artificial constructions with a theological aim, needing no harmonizing, and the contradiction between the two should not disturb Christians.

Let’s take another example. When Porter discusses the Massacre of the Innocents (King Herod’s slaughter of children when Jesus was born), he discusses how the story in Matthew is woven from various biblical themes, probably influenced by Jewish embellishments of the story of Abraham in the book of Genesis. Many scholars hold the view that Matthew has manufactured the entire story. But Porter doesn’t downplay the possibility that such a massacre did occur at the hands of Herod; it may be authentic, its victims simply not numerous enough to draw the attention of contemporary historians. Such brutal acts were not unheard of for the time.

This constant determination to present all sides of a discussion—in particular, his portrayal of both the Jesus of history and the Christ of faith—is not being wishy-washy. It’s merely good scholarship, and it makes you think.

Beautiful, quite readable, highly recommended.

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Genesis 22:10, 15-16, Did Abraham Kill Isaac?

Then [Abraham] reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. And the angel of the LORD called to Abraham from heaven a second time and said, “I swear by myself, declares the LORD, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore.”

Oops. That’s not how the story goes, is it? Abraham doesn’t really kill Isaac, does he?

Yes, quite possibly, he does. Several midrashic sources actually confirm that Isaac was indeed sacrificed. Why else does Abraham now appear to descend the mountain alone? The story continues: Then Abraham returned to his servants, and they set off together for Beersheba.

Scholars have long recognized that the books of Moses are a collection of multiple authors’ writings, and this particular story is contributed by what scholars label the “E” writer—the one who refers to God as Elohim. Not surprisingly, this “E” writer will never again mention Isaac (though other sources will). But inserted after the sentence where Abraham appears to slay his son are a few verses that I’ve left out; verses written in a different style, verses in which an angel of Yahweh intervenes and stops the sacrifice. Likely, these verses were inserted into the story much later.

The story of Abraham and Isaac may mark a turning point in Hebrew history, when human sacrifice became repugnant. But what’s not exactly clear is when this turning point came … when the story of Isaac was rewritten to be morally acceptable. We don’t know.

Book review: The Unworthy Servant

by Bob Williston

★★★★

The Unworthy Servant is a fictional narrative of a young man who joins an obscure Christian “cultic” group. Bob Williston was raised in such a sect (sometimes called the 2x2s or the “Friends and Workers,” hereafter abbreviated F&Ws), and anyone who knows the author knows precisely the religious group which forms the inspiration for his writings, but this isn’t meant to be a story about only the F&W’s. Bob purposefully introduces idioms and rituals that don’t derive from the F&Ws. For example, he writes about foot washing, which the F&W’s don’t practice; he speaks of “confessing” (the common F&W term is “professing”) and of attending “retreats” (F&W’s will call them “conventions.”) When I asked about this, Bob explained: “The reason I used some different language and some different practices was to make the book focus more on the dynamics and personalities in a cultic group, rather than have it appear to be simply a presentation of life among the 2x2s.”

But don’t be fooled: while Bob writes “generically” of such sects, his storyline and characters derive from an actual living, breathing religious movement. The F&W religion originated in the late 19^th century, and maintains a worldwide nondenominational Christian fellowship of a few hundred thousand members that meet in homes and are directed by a homeless, travelling ministry. The group prefers to keep a low profile, and doesn’t have a legal organization or website to tell about it, but here is a website maintained by a prior member that can provide more information: http://www.tellingthetruth.info/home/

F&Ws will, of course, bristle at Bob’s use of the word “cult” as he describes the book, because this word can be misinterpreted in some very derogatory ways. I don’t want to put you in mind of another Heaven’s Gate or Waco, Texas. The F&W religion is benign by comparison, in my opinion only slightly more “cultish” than mainstream Christianity. Its members are satisfied, happy members of society. Nevertheless, Bob’s story will carry you deep inside a world that is very foreign to most Christians.

Meet Aaron Finkelstein, a young man who finds his spiritual emptiness met by a Christian group called “The Way.” Enamored of its simplicity and friendliness, he offers to become a “servant” (a minister, or, in F&W terms, a “worker”). As instructed, he signs over his life savings to the group so that he can become homeless and penniless.  Thus begins a journey into a world of critical fundamentalism, aggressive exclusivity, under-the-surface legalism, subtle extortion and irrational over-admiration for group leaders. (Note to members of such groups: Yes, whether you feel it’s deserved or not, many outsiders and former members really do see your group in exactly these terms. The lack of financial accountability does not help.)

Ninety percent of the book is dialogue, which can be a challenge for an author. At times this style makes the book appear unimaginative and preachy (you can only do so much with “he said, she said”) but at other times makes it insightful and hard to put down. For me, perhaps because of my religious background, it was a page-turner. I particularly recommend it for anyone with connections to similar religious groups.

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Song of Songs 8:8, Premarital Sex

"We have a little sister too young for breasts. What will we do if someone asks to marry her? If she is chaste, we will strengthen and encourage her. But if she is promiscuous, we will shut her off from men.”

Hey, wasn’t that quite an inspiring love story in the verses I quoted on Valentine’s day? The language isn’t exactly contemporary … try comparing your lover’s hair to a flock of goats and see how far it gets you … but you have to admit, it’s some pretty poetic literature!

So, who are the lovers this book is about? Solomon and his new wife? The book never once mentions God, which may be why some interpreters consider it a love poem between Christ and his bride, the people of God. We have to bring God into the picture somehow, right? Or the book remains no more than a secular love poem of unknown origin that somehow sneaked into the Bible.

The shocker doesn’t arrive until the end of the story, when the young maiden’s brothers arrive, and we learn she isn’t married. “What will we do if someone asks to marry her?” Wow, that’s some risqué stuff for an unmarried couple in a revered book of the Bible! The young maiden argues that she has been chaste, but now her breasts are full and they satisfy her lover. Then, she calls for her lover to come.

What happens next is anyone’s guess. It’s there in black and white, but it’s hard to decipher between the many translations. Some say the young woman shoos her lover away so that she may remain chaste. Others say she defiantly hurries her lover’s sexual climax, consummating their love before it can be prevented. I guess you may write your own ending, to match your own religious standards!

Book review: The Irresistible Revolution

by Shane Claiborne

★★★★

Welcome to the world of radical Christian Shane Claiborne, where compassion and brotherly love trump all else. It’s a world of protest rallies, sleeping alongside the homeless, frequent jail time, caring for others alongside Mother Teresa at Calcutta, and visits to leper colonies and wartime Iraq. Shane believes in works, and has written a book for a new generation of Christians who want to live their faith to the fullest. Church is no longer enough: Shane jokes that if someone had a heart attack on Sunday morning, the paramedics would have to take the pulse of half the congregation before they would find the dead person. A friend of his put it this way: “I gave up Christianity in order to follow Jesus.”

Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. For Shane, these are no longer repetitious words, atonally muttered in anticipation of a future era. They are today’s conviction.

At this point in my book review, I'm supposed to gleefully endorse Shane's revolutionary Christianity. Actually, the book was a bit troubling for me, more so as I saw shades of Jesus himself in its radical suggestions, for I cannot lend my support to some of Shane's teachings, and others, though just as unarguably Christ-like, I find myself unwilling to embrace. I find, like Shane, that Jesus was a radical activist, a role I am uncomfortable with. I agree with Shane that Jesus taught we should literally sell all and follow his humanitarian lead, and the only weak defense I can muster is to point out that that was 2,000 years ago. Shane's energy (fueled by a deep belief in the "Jesus of faith" and the Bible's inerrancy that I cannot share) left me drained and discouraged. I’d like my Jesus served up passive and agreeable, please, even when I know it ain’t so.

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Song of Solomon, chapter 4

Young man:

"How beautiful you are, my beloved, how beautiful! Your eyes behind your veil are like doves. Your hair falls in waves, like a flock of goats frisking down the slopes of Gilead.

Your teeth are as white as sheep, newly shorn and washed. They are perfectly matched; not one is missing.

Your lips are like a ribbon of scarlet. Oh, how beautiful your mouth! Your cheeks behind your veil are like pomegranate halves--lovely and delicious.

Your neck is as stately as the tower of David, jeweled with the shields of a thousand heroes.

Your breasts are like twin fawns of a gazelle, feeding among the lilies.

… Your lips, my bride, are as sweet as honey. Yes, honey and cream are under your tongue. The scent of your clothing is like that of the mountains and the cedars of Lebanon.

You are like a private garden, my treasure, my bride! You are like a spring that no one else can drink from, a fountain of my own.

You are like a lovely orchard bearing precious fruit, with the rarest of perfumes.

… You are a garden fountain, a well of living water, as refreshing as the streams from the Lebanon mountains."

Young Woman:

"Awake, north wind! Come, south wind! Blow on my garden and waft its lovely perfume to my lover. Let him come into his garden and eat its choicest fruits."

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!

Matthew 10:18, Is Jesus God?

"Why do you call me good?" Jesus answered. "No one is good—except God alone."

//In the great debate over whether Jesus is God, this verse is key. It takes some pretty creative manipulation to come to any conclusion other than that Jesus claims not to be God. Which is not to say that Trinitarians don’t manipulate the verse; they assume Jesus is teasing his audience, inviting them to understand that he is good and therefore is God. In fact, Trinitarians see evidence all over the New Testament that Jesus is God, just as non-Trinitarians see evidence all over the N.T. that Jesus is not. Quite often in the very same verses.

So, the debate continues, as mainstream Christians continue to embrace the Trinity while many other groups on the fringes of Christianity do not. Note that these groups never deny the divinity of Jesus, they simply don't assume it, or don’t equate Jesus with God Himself, because the scripture isn't clear. Better to leave it a mystery.

In my opinion, the scripture is clear on both counts. This is one verse of many that indicates Jesus is not God, while others (such as John 1:1 and John 1:14, when put together) indicate that Jesus is God. There is only one logical conclusion I can draw, but it’s a conclusion that somehow endears me to neither the Trinitarians nor the anti-Trinitarians: different Bible writers held different opinions. John thought Jesus was God in the flesh, but it never crossed the mind of Mark or Matthew. I guess it’s normal for people today to hold contradictory theological opinions, but it wasn’t OK 2,000 years ago?

Book review: In the Beginning

by Karen Armstrong

★★★★★

This is not a new book, but it’s one I enjoyed and want to share. It’s short, especially so when half the book is a reprint of the text of Genesis, which, surely, no one reads.

This is the story of the Bible’s first book, raw and unchurched. Karen introduces us one by one to the characters and their stories, making no effort to turn them into saints, for they are nothing like the impossibly and depressingly flawless characters we met in Sunday School. Throughout, the authors of Genesis remind us that we can expect no clear-cut answers. We wrestle with the text, measuring its inconsistent doctrines and contradictory lessons, as we struggle to grasp the character of God. How can God be omnipotent, but powerless to control his creation? How can God be benevolent but a killer; wise but arbitrary; just but partial and unfair; omniscient but ignorant of human yearning?

Let me tell one story to set the tone of the book.

Jacob and Esau were twin brothers destined to conflict from the moment they emerged from the womb; Esau, first, to claim the coveted birthright, but not for Jacob’s lack of trying, who followed with his hand grasping his brother’s heel. As adults, the day came when the two would meet, and Jacob feared the meeting, for he had stolen his brother’s birthright through deception.

Jacob didn’t sleep the night before. Instead, says the Bible, he wrestled all night with a stranger, and became aware only at the end of the match that he had been fighting with God. Jacob brushed with the divine, and no two people experience God the same way. Was it real, or was it a dream? Psychologists speak of the “dream work” that we all accomplish at night at some profound level of our being, which enables us to look at issues that our conscious, daytime self finds impossible to face. Perhaps in some deep reach of his memory, Jacob recalled his wrestling match with Esau in the womb, as he internally prepared for his meeting with his brother in the morning.

Transformed and enlightened, Jacob set off at daybreak to meet his brother face to face.

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Ezekiel 1:16, Ezekiel's Antics

This was the appearance and structure of the wheels: They sparkled like chrysolite, and all four looked alike. Each appeared to be made like a wheel intersecting a wheel.

//Ezekiel? Who reads Ezekiel? Not me, at least not before I began researching for my book on Revelation, when it became a necessity. But now, I find Ezekiel a fascinating character. Dennis Rodman couldn't hold a candle to the publicity stunts Ezekiel dreams up.

Ezekiel, a priest, was part of the first deportation of Jews into exile in 597 BC, where he prophesied to his fellow captives. His visions are among the most psychedelic in the Bible. Artists have had a heyday trying to portray Ezekiel's "wheels in wheels." Ezekiel's most famous vision, of course, is the valley of dry bones, which God brought to life before his eyes. But his views of a vengeful God and his doomsaying about Jerusalem's upcoming destruction didn't win him many friends, so he needed a way to get his message across. From laying on one side for 390 days, to remaining mute for seven years, to digging a hole through the wall of his house, to eating human dung, Ezekiel knew how to draw attention. (Some interpret the Bible to mean Ezekiel didn't eat human excrement but used it only to fuel the fire for baking, but that's unlikely: human dung won't burn).

One of his methods was colorful language; I wouldn't dare repeat the sexually explicit verbiage Ezekiel uses to describe the wayward Israel in chapter 23. But was Ezekiel right? Bet your backside he was! King Nebuchadnezzer savagely razed Jerusalem and destroyed the Temple only eleven years later. Now, Ezekiel's oracles began to shift against others: God remained violent and vengeful, but now bent on the extermination of other nations in order that they be forced to acknowledge that "I am Yahweh."

Soon, even Ezekiel ran out of steam, and began to promise the restoration of Israel. God would gather his people from the nations and return them to His homeland, and establish a new covenant. Right again!

Enter the Book of Revelation, centuries later, where it all plays out a second time.

Book review: The Path of the Blue Raven

by Mark Townsend

★★★★

This is a fascinating, brutally honest peek into the life of a Vicar (Church of England) who first found himself estranged from his priesthood, and then found God. Disillusioned with institutionalized religion, and by circumstance dissolved of his duties as a priest, Mark Townsend became free to pursue God into the world of nature-based spirituality.

Townsend now finds organized religion a barrier to the divine, not a door. Townsend hasn’t rejected Jesus; he still finds the person of Jesus “intensely exciting” and continues to embrace the Christ spirit, but in a more down-to-earth way. He quotes Richard Rohr to say, “One of the most successful ways Christians have avoided doing what Jesus said was to simply worship him. It’s easier to bow down and shout constant hallelujahs than to get our hands dirty by following him out into the world of brokenness and mess.”

In a broken and messy world, Townsend now finds a new way—a pagan way—of interpreting the scripture. The story of Jesus, he explains, merely makes true what already is. The Incarnation? We’re all already filled with divinity. The sacraments? We’re all in some way the body and blood of God (humans filled with deity).

Townsend never fit the mold of a traditional priest in the first place; his life-long practice as a magician (he is a “conjurer”), his frequent bar visits, his occasional colorful language, his determination to respect the feelings and beliefs of others, these things hardly endeared him to strict Christians. Townsend is imperfect and genuine, a person we can identify with. He knows his magic isn’t real, has never pretended it is, but he finds in it a world of enchantment able to awaken us to an appreciation of greater magic, greater enchantment. That’s the subtitle of his book: From Religion to Re-Enchantment. Townsend invites us to live with him a fully authentic life, whatever the cost.

Although foreign to my own version of Christianity, I found this journey both enjoyable and intriguing.

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Revelation 21:21, the Pearly Gates

The twelve gates were twelve pearls, each gate made of a single pearl. The great street of the city was of pure gold, like transparent glass.

//Ever wonder about the origin of the “pearly gates of heaven?” Here it is in Revelation, in black and white. This is where St. Peter waits with his long list, checking off each soul as they enter heaven, right?

Except it isn’t quite that way. First off, there are twelve pearly gates, not one. Picture a square city, a New Jerusalem, with three gates on the north wall, three on the south, three on the east, three on the west. On the twelve gates are written the names of the twelve tribes of Israel, one for each tribe, signifying the long-awaited unification of Israel, as each tribe comes marching home through their own gate.

At each gate, an angel stands guard. If you want through the pearly gates, your name better be written in the book of life! Everybody else stays outside. And they’re not likely to ever get in, because the walls are two hundred feet thick. Not even Satan, when he arrives to do battle, will knock down that wall!

This magnificent New Jerusalem descends from heaven and settles atop Mount Zion. Yes, Revelation makes it clear in many ways that the pearly gates are not up in heaven at all, but on earth, where they will remain forever open for the kings of the earth to enter, and for the leaves of the tree of life to heal the nations.

These things are written in Revelation, but they are not new. These dreams of a New Jerusalem descending from heaven to replace the old one were well-known in Hebrew lore long before Revelation was written.

Book review: Pocket History of Theology

by Roger E. Olson and Adam C. English

★★★★

For anyone wanting a quick overview of Christian theology through the last two millennia, this condensation of Roger Olson’s The Story of Christian Theology hits all the high points. Beginning with the early second century, you’ll meet church fathers and apologists Ignatius, Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, Clement, Tertullian, Origin and Cyprian. On into the turbulent centuries following, you’ll learn about the council of Nicaea (and the Nicene creed), the council of Constantinople, of Ephesus and of Chalcedon as controversy in the church escalates. You’ll meet St. Augustine, of course, and learn about the division of the church (what we now call the Orthodox church and the Catholic church, when neither are
listening; the “Orthodox” hardly consider themselves less Catholic, and the “Catholics” hardly consider themselves less Orthodox).

As we move into the 16th century, division only continues. Luther, Zwingli, and Calvin are highly influential reformers, and a more extreme version surfaces with the Radical Reformers (often labeled Anabaptists, rejecters of infant baptism). Along comes the English reformation and the Catholic counter-reformation. Deism hopes to reconcile with modern science. And on into the 20th century, with the birth of fundamentalism.

This book is dry, but highly informative. An awful lot is packed into 100 pages.

Today, Christian theology is as diverse as ever, and the story of Christianity continues after this book concludes. I find myself reviewing books by Jewish Christians who interpret the life of Jesus within Hebrew roots, liberal Christians who reject anything miraculous, even Pagan Christians. I guess Jesus has something for everyone!

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Jude 13, Wandering Stars

Wandering stars, for whom blackest darkness has been reserved forever.

//Is this what a lost eternity is like? Eternal loneliness, banished from
God’s presence? Many subscribe to this more humane interpretation of a
lost eternity, rather than eternal torture in the fires of hell. Like
comets (wandering stars, in ancient vernacular) destined to float
aimlessly alone. It seems almost peaceful by comparison, doesn’t it? But
this entirely misses the Jude’s meaning.

Jude liberally quotes and references the book of Enoch, and that is where
this image derives. The KJV reading of “blackness of darkness forever” is
perhaps best rendered “deepest darkness forever,” and it refers not to
aimlessly wandering about the universe (of which Bible writers had no
concept) but of the deepest depths beneath the earth. The “stars” in Enoch
are angels, and Jude is comparing evil men to fallen angels. Confinement
to “deepest darkness” is, along with fire, a form of eternal judgment in
Jewish tradition. Below are some fascinating passages from Enoch that shed
light on this  tradition:

Chapter 18: And I saw a deep abyss, with columns of heavenly fire, and
among them I saw columns of fire fall, which were beyond measure alike
towards the height and towards the depth. And beyond that abyss I saw a
place which had no firmament of the heaven above, and no firmly founded
earth beneath it: there was no water upon it, and no birds, but it was a
waste and horrible place. I saw there seven stars like great burning
mountains, and to me, when I inquired regarding them, The angel said:
'This place is the end of heaven and earth: this has become a prison for
the stars and the host of heaven. And the stars which roll over the fire
are they which have transgressed the commandment of the Lord in the
beginning of their rising, because they did not come forth at their
appointed times. And He was wroth with them, and bound them till the time
when their guilt should be consummated (even) for ten thousand years.'

Chapter 21: These are of the number of the stars of heaven, which have
transgressed the commandment of the Lord, and are bound here till ten
thousand years, the time entailed by their sins, are consummated.' And
from thence I went to another place, which was still more horrible than
the former, and I saw a horrible thing: a great fire there which burnt and
blazed, and the place was cleft as far as the abyss, being full of great
descending columns of fire: neither its extent or magnitude could I see,
nor could I conjecture. Then I said: 'How fearful is the place and how
terrible to look upon!' Then Uriel answered me, one of the holy angels who
was with me, and said unto me: 'Enoch, why hast thou such fear and
affright?' And I answered: 'Because of this fearful place, and because of
the spectacle of the pain.' And he said unto me: 'This place is the prison
of the angels, and here they will be imprisoned for ever.'

Chapter 88: And I saw one of those four who had come forth first, and he
seized that first star which had fallen from the heaven, and bound it hand
and foot and cast it into an abyss: now that abyss was narrow and deep,
and horrible and dark. And one of them drew a sword, and gave it to those
elephants and camels and asses: then they began to smite each other, and
the whole earth quaked because of them. And as I was beholding in the
vision, lo, one of those four who had come forth stoned (them) from
heaven, and gathered and took all the great stars whose privy members were
like those of horses, and bound them all hand and foot, and cast them in
an abyss of the earth.

So, be good. I don’t think it’s as peaceful as it first sounds.

Book review: Atoms & Eden

by Steve Paulson

★★★★★

If you really want to start an argument, ask a room full of physicists this question: Are the laws of physics fine-tuned to support life? This question and others are debated in Steve Paulson’s collection of interviews. In the great “religion vs. science” debate, this is a meet-the-players book, from renowned atheists Sam Harris and Richard Dawkins to Roman Catholic John Haught to affirmed Muslim Nidhal Guessoum. En route, you’ll talk with Karen Armstrong, Daniel Dennett, Ken Wilber, Robert Wright, Elaine Pagels, Paul Davies, Steven Weinberg, and more … 20 interviews in all, and these are big names!

These are some of our greatest thinkers, and none are closed-minded. You won’t find anyone here who rejects the overwhelming evidence for evolution; Paulson purposefully excludes fringe theorists like “young earth” believers and intelligent design proponents, preferring to stay on the cutting edge of both science and religion. But what you will find here is an appreciation for today’s mysteries, like consciousness.

There’s another hot spot that’s sure to start an argument: the whole mind-body question. It’s very hard to figure out what’s going on when you throw together 100 billion neurons and 100 trillion connections, but is our mind (in religious terms our soul) hidden in there? Surprisingly, the majority of our greatest thinkers punt on the subject, sometimes suggesting consciousness is a topic we’ll never understand. As Dawkins says, “consciousness is … a very, very big problem.”

I found the book fascinating and, of course, highly intelligent; the best of its kind I’ve read. This is not a book about accepting or rejecting a particular caricature of God, such as the Judeo-Christian God. It is about the big questions: Can consciousness survive after death? (atheist Sam Harris: “I just don’t know.”) Is human existence a lucky evolutionary accident? Does the universe have a purpose? Is faith evil or necessary?

Buy this one.

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Revelation 1:19, Past, Present & Future

Write, therefore, what you have seen, what is now and what will take place later.

//Revelation begins with John experiencing a vision of the Son of Man in all his glory. When John saw him, he fell at his feet, as if dead. But Jesus touched John, and gave him three instructions:

1.       Write about what you have already seen.

2.       Write about what is going on now.

3.       Write what is about to happen.

Those who subscribe to a purely futuristic interpretation of Revelation should have stopped reading a few words back. Not only is John instructed to write about the “past” and the “present,” but he is soon promised the “future” will arrive in short order. Nowhere in Revelation is there any hint that its prophecies are written for a distant century.

So, which parts of Revelation were the past, which were the present (John’s time) and which were about to happen? Maybe the answer is in chapter 11, verse 14:

The second woe has passed; the third woe is coming soon.

So there you have it: the fulcrum on which all of Revelation teeters between what has occurred and what is yet to come. Grab a pair of scissors now, and cut the book of Revelation in two along this verse. You’ll have two manuscripts of about the same length: a history book, and a book of prophecy. Well, it’s not that cut and dried, because Revelation skips forward and backward in time so often it’s nearly impossible to follow, but you get the idea.

Unless you’ve been exposed to a historical-critical analysis of Revelation, this interpretation probably makes no sense at all. How can Revelation’s horrors be half over? http://www.thewayithappened.com/ will make sense of it all, from the perspective of an historian, not an evangelist.

Book review: Life In Abundance

by John R. Donahue, Editor

★★★★★

I introduced Raymond Brown a couple books back as one of the most important theologians of the 20^th century. A few years after his sudden death in 1998, St. Mary’s Seminary and University in Baltimore hosted a conference titled “Life in Abundance,” to follow Brown’s lead in discussing the state of Johannine studies. This volume brings together presentations by scholars there.

Anyone who is a student of John’s Gospel will recognize many of the contributors: Alan Culpepper, Robert Kysar, D. Moody Smith and more. The articles are grouped into four categories: [1] Johannine Studies: Challenges and Prospects, [2] Historical Context and the Gospel of John, [3] Johannine Theology, and [4] Interpreting the Work of Raymond Brown.

Brown, according to Culpepper, “represents an advance over both the skepticism of Bultmann (and more recently the Jesus Seminar) on the one hand and the conservatism of Dodd, Robinson, and later D.A. Carson on the other hand.” For example, Brown originally accepted the traditional identification of the Beloved Disciple as John, son of Zebedee, but later changed his mind.

Brown entered the world of Johannine scholarship at the perfect time, it seems, just as the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls revealed a Jewish sect in first-century Palestine that expressed itself in much the same dualistic, exclusivistic terminology as John’s Gospel. We no longer need to explain the Fourth Gospel in terms of Hellenistic or Gnostic thought, for we now know there were similar forms of Jewish thought contemporaneous with the birth of Christianity. When  in verse 5:24, John explains that “those who hear and believe have entered eternal life and have passed from death to life,” we can see traces of John’s realized eschatology, without completely rejecting the future eschatology displayed in the verses immediately following. Life in abundance … both now and later.

This is a scholarly book, very good for those wanting to catch up on the latest thinking about John’s Gospel. For that purpose, I give it five stars. If you’re looking for inspirational reading, this is probably not the right book.

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Psalm 53:1, There Is No God

The fool says in his heart, "There is no God."

//Please forgive me for taking a break from commentary to climb on my soapbox a moment. It's important to me to be tolerant of various religious beliefs, including atheism, so, naturally, this is not a verse I much appreciate. But I sure hear it a lot.

The verse continues, They are corrupt, and their ways are vile; there is no one who does good. Reading this, it's hardly surprising that outspoken atheists Richard Dawkins and Sam Harris complain that atheists are unfairly despised.

Yet, my forays into religious forums repeatedly run into a problem, and this is where atheism tends to develop its bad rep. In my observation, the angry and the derisive most commonly fall on the unbelieving side of the line (this should come as no surprise). The very angry are also the most vocal, as they spew venom at every pretense of religion. And, as if rejecting God provides license to do so, their ridicule is often spiced with childish vulgarities.

They are corrupt, and their ways are vile; there is no one who does good. Nonsense, of course, and we all know better than to read verses like this out of context. The vast majority of atheists politely back up their reasonable beliefs (non-beliefs?) with a very well-developed moral responsibility to "do good" ... and we know it's an honest and sincere one, without the carrot of eternal reward.

I'm certainly not insinuating that only atheists go on the offensive; regardless of religious affiliation, we can try to understand and befriend those who are hurting, without tolerating their methods. Just as peaceful Muslims must denounce the radicals of their religion, and progressive Christians must speak out against the inhumane teachings of certain fundamentalists, so must atheists calm down their own embarrassing contingent if they wish their non-beliefs to be respected.

Book review: Jesus and Buddha, the Parallel Sayings

by Marcus Borg

★★★★

Three thousand miles from where Jesus was born, another miraculous birth occurred: the Buddha. As the Buddha walked on water, passed through walls, and raised the dead, so did Jesus in his day. As the Buddha fed 500 with a few small cakes, so did Jesus work with loaves and fishes. Five hundred years after a terrible earthquake marked the death of the Buddha, the earth shook again when Jesus breathed his last.

Given the eerie parallels between these two lives, one naturally wonders if their teachings were also similar. In a book that is probably best read as a daily devotional, Borg provides a “Jesus” saying on the left side of each page, and a parallel “Buddha” saying on the right side. Here are some of my favorites:

Jesus: “There is nothing outside a person that by going in can defile, but the things that come out are what defile.” Buddha: “Stealing, deceiving, adultery; this is defilement. Not the eating of meat.”

Jesus: “Do not store up for yourselves treasure on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal; but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in a steal.” Buddha: “Let the wise man do righteousness: A treasure that others cannot share, which no thief can steal; a treasure which does not pass away.”

Jesus: “Whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit can never have forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin.” Buddha: “Do not let there be a schism in the order, for this is a serious matter. Whoever splits an order that is united will be boiled in hell for an aeon.”

What is going on, here? Were Jesus and Buddha spiritual masters inspired by a single cosmic source? Is the Christian “very God of very God” one with the Buddhist “God of gods?”  You can’t help but be inspired as you contemplate the similarities of these two great religious leaders.

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