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Friday, January 30, 2015
Jesus' "incredibly disrespectful, offensive and irresponsible inaugural miracle"
Teaser: it has something to do with Tuma.
The entire section can be viewed on Google Books; pp. 31-36 here (the page numbers are not marked, so read from the paragraph beginning "Jen had a warm but weary..." to the paragraph ending "confines of the riverbanks.")
When Shane autographed my book, he asked about me. I mentioned I was a pastor and Bible teacher, and that I had found his teaching helpful. He smiled, "And you haven't gotten in trouble for that yet?"
I have always found it fascinating that John very intentionally hitches (some would call it framejacking) this story to Jesus' temple cleansing. So it's worth pursuing how the temple tantrum was also an "incredibly disrespectful, offensive and irresponsible inaugural miracle"...and for similar reasons.
Also: see Michael Frost video HERE for help on this text, including a suggested inclusio.
("Uncle Joshua would've had a lampshade on his head")
Thursday, January 29, 2015
" Jesus had almost nothing good to say about families."
-Walter Wink
I'm guessing you may want context!
See Walter Wink, The Powers That Be - p. 75
"the city devours": Zombie Eucharist
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| pic credit |
Many often talk about cities as being soul destroying, whether it is in reference to a cultural deadening borne from the replacement of theatres, independent stores and galleries with consumerised counterparts (especially via commercial chains), or in reference to the decaying (often brutalist) architecture.A similar insight can be found in the sociologist Jacques Ellul's The Meaning of the City, in which Ellul warned his readers about cities being more than just boring architecture or sites of waste. For Ellul, cities are parasites. More specifically, Ellul compares them to vampires as they
prey on the true living creation [...] The city is dead, made of dead things for dead people [...] the city devours menWriting thirty years later, Ward made an explicit reference to this passage and extended the analysis to give it a Eucharistic inflection. In his Cities of God, Ward spoke of vampires as working in an anti-Eucharistic fashion. Rather than giving blood for the life of the world, the vampire takes blood from the world and and ends life to sustain an already dead being. "Vampire stories," Ward argues "are Eucharistic stories played out negatively. A similar observation could be said of the zombie genre...continued here
On a related note:
Wednesday, January 21, 2015
Dr. Hani Raoul Khouzam on PTSD
Dr. Hani Raoul Khouzam gave an amazing presentation on post-traumatic stress at a local seminar for clergy(Thanks to Chaplain Terry Rommerheim and Veterans Adminstration Central California Health Care System team for organizing it).
Here's an interview from another event.
Here's an interview from another event.
prayer to Allah in the House of Representatives
This prayer to Allah in the House of Representatives is a sign-ificant sign of the times...
and the implications need to be discussed..
But I sure was shocked to see this pop up when I clicked to play the video:
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| source |
Ignatius of Loyola directs mimetic and histrionic kittens to play religiously on stage: copy-catechism
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| pic credit |
The Histrionic Sensibility: The Mimetic Perception of Action
The trained ear perceives and discriminates sounds; the histrionic sensibility(which may also be trained) perceives and discriminates actions.Neither form of perception can be defined apart from experience but only indicated in various forms of its use...
Kittens in their play seem to be using something like our histrionic sensibility. They
directly perceive each other’s actions: stalking an imagined quarry; the bluff and formal
defiance which precedes a fight; flight in terror; the sudden indifference that ends the
play. Their perception of each other’s actions is itself mimetic, a sympathetic response of
the whole psyche, and may be expressed more or less completely and immediately in
bodily changes, postures, and movements. The soul of the cat is the form of its body; but to some degree the soul is actual in different ways in different moments, depending upon what the cat believes, or make-believes the situation to be...When kittens perceive and imitate the actions of grown cats, the histrionic sensibility is being used for educational, moral (or by analogy) religious purposes: to explore the potentialities of the cat nature and the dimensions of the world in which the cat finds itself...The Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius Loyola would seem to be far removed from the play of kittens; yet their purpose is to reveal, through the techniques of make-believe, the potentialities of human nature and the realities of the human situation, as Loyola understood them. When he explains to the devout how to make present to their feelings and imaginations as well as their reason, scenes from the life of Christ, he sketches a technique like that which the Moscow Art Theater used to train actors. His immediate purpose is similar: to reveal a scene significant on many levels, and a mode of action capable of evoking a mimetic response of the whole being pp 236-238, The Idea of a Theater, Fergusson
Tuesday, January 20, 2015
binding and loosing as blank check
A recent discussion after church reawakened a long-time concern regarding the popular interpretation of Jesus’ instructions regarding dealing with conflict, recorded in Matthew 18:15-20.
This is a glaring example of translators’ neglect (whether deliberate or inadvertent is not mine to judge) of very elementary grammar, which has resulted in both the assumption of inordinate and unwarranted power/authority on the part of people who consider themselves to be in positions of “leadership”, and abject fear and submission on the part of those deemed their “underlings” – neither of which, may I remind you, is a category instituted or approved by Jesus himself (see Mt.23:7-12).
In the vast majority of English translations of the passage familiarly labeled “binding and loosing” (v.18), Jesus’ words are interpreted as if those two terms were cast in the future tense, and therefore amounted to a “blank check” enabling “church authorities” to hand down a decision that will be confirmed unquestionably “in heaven”. In our large collection of English translations, I have found only two (Charles B. Williams -1956, and Clarence Jordan – 1970) besides my own, where any effort has been made to convey accurately that those words are NOT future, but perfect passive participles. I find it interesting that both of these, like my own work, were translated by individuals, and not by committees hired by institutional hierarchies!
This grammatical error should have..
from Discernment vs. Decision,
from Discernment vs. Decision,
continued here
See related posts on this blog here
Rob Bell on binding and loosing: "the Bible is a difficult book"
Dan Martin on apologetics
"Doubt, it appears, is unacceptable for an apologist … which is just one reason I don’t aspire to be one.
...When atheists, agnostics, and seekers object to the apologist that the theistic explanations on offer don’t cut it, my vote is with the skeptics, not the apologists" link
"Don’t breed like rabbits"- Pope Francis
"Don’t breed like rabbits"- Pope Francis
Once again, some find it tough to tell when Pope F is being rade just need context and translation.
See this
fill in the blank: "_____ is the only thing that gives me any authority to say anything"
"..The problem comes when I think God agrees with me or is co-signing on it, or it’s somehow the prophetic thing to assert that my snotty opinions are God’s truths."
"Being grounded in a congregation is the only thing that gives me any authority to say anything"
link
Sunday, January 18, 2015
añoranza/sehnsucht
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| It's also wine. link |
"some rabbis who work with conversos talk about a feeling of
añoranza, a yearning or longing to be whole, a universal quest." -Doreen Carvajal,
Wikipedia:
Sehnsucht (German pronunciation: [ˈzeːnzʊxt]) is a German noun translated as "longing", "yearning", or "craving",[1] or in a wider sense a type of "intensely missing". However, Sehnsucht is difficult to translate adequately and describes a deep emotional state. Its meaning is somewhat similar to the Portuguese word, saudade, or it can be equally translated as theRomanian word dor. Sehnsucht is a compound word, originating from an ardent longing or yearning (das Sehnen) and addiction (die Sucht). However, these words do not adequately encapsulate the full meaning of their resulting compound, even when considered together.[2]Sehnsucht represents thoughts and feelings about all facets of life that are unfinished or imperfect, paired with a yearning for ideal alternative experiences. It has been referred to as “life’s longings”; or an individual’s search for happiness while coping with the reality of unattainable wishes.[3] Such feelings are usually profound, and tend to be accompanied by both positive and negative feelings. This produces what has often been described as an ambiguous emotional occurrence.[citation needed]It is sometimes felt as a longing for a far-off country, but not a particular earthly land which we can identify. Furthermore there is something in the experience which suggests this far-off country is very familiar and indicative of what we might otherwise call "home". In this sense it is a type of nostalgia, in the original sense of that word. At other times it may seem as a longing for a someone or even a something. But the majority of people who experience it are not conscious of what or who the longed for object may be, and the longing is of such profundity and intensity that the subject may immediately be only aware of the emotion itself and not cognizant that there is a something longed for. The experience is one of such significance that ordinary reality may pale in comparison, as in Walt Whitman's closing lines to "Song of the Universal".,.
...Sehnsucht took on a particular significance in the work of author C. S. Lewis. Lewis described Sehnsucht as the "inconsolable longing" in the human heart for "we know not what." In the afterword to the third edition of The Pilgrim's Regress he provided examples of what sparked this desire in him particularly:
That unnameable something, desire for which pierces us like a rapier at the smell of bonfire, the sound of wild ducks flying overhead, the title of The Well at the World's End, the opening lines of "Kubla Khan", the morning cobwebs in late summer, or the noise of falling waves.[5]
is he or isn't he?/are we or aren't we?
Reminds me of the pastor who said after hearing Bono speak at Willow Creek Leadership Summit:
"Before I heard Bono, I wasn't sure he was a Christian. After I heard him, I wasn't sure I was."
Wednesday, January 14, 2015
"From Sex Addict to Saint": video
A random episode from the long-ago KRDU video series, "Before They Were Saints."
Apologies for the cheesy host.
Apologies for the cheesy host.
Augustine and the prophetic nature of "producing stinkless musical sounds from your behind"
From "Jesus and the Grotesque," an excellent chapter in Tortured Wonder: Christian Spirituality for People, Not Angels (click that title for a review in the MB journal, Direction), here's Rodney Clapp:St. Augustine observes... there are those who “produce at will such musical sounds from their behind (without any stink) that they seem to be singing from that region" ...there are recurrent rumors of jazz trumpeter Bix Beiderbecke's ability to pass gas in tune, or the historically documented showmanship of the “fartiste” Le Petomane a nineteenth-century cabaret performer who "could blow out candles with a well-aimed blast and break wind in tenor, baritone, and bass registers" ... (Who knew comedian Jim Carrey and his ventriloquized butt had such a venerable pedigree?) -link, p. 186, most of the chapter readable between the pages here and here
If you don't get the profound connections to a deep theology yet...(:
...read the chapter.
Tuesday, January 13, 2015
Please take this challenge by a humble rock star: 20 case studies in reading the Bible in context (of all things)
I've said it before: The humble and unassuming Craig Keener is a rock star among Bible scholars/teachers.
I highly recommend doing what he recommends below (see his first sentence for the challenge)
When you've finished, click the link at bottom to see if you independently came to the same conclusions he did, simply by reading the Bible in context.
Craig Keener:
I highly recommend that you
look up the following verses in context and decide for yourself what they
mean. Ask yourself the questions we have
attached to each of these texts. After
you have finished, you may check your own conclusions with our observations on
these and other texts below. If our
observations bring issues to your attention that you had not considered, you
may want to consider them and reread the text (although in the end you are not obligated
to accept all our conclusions). If our
observations merely confirm your own reading, you can surmise that your
context-reading skills are fairly well-developed. The goal is not simply to hold particular views
on the sample texts listed below, but to learn the skill of reading all Scripture in context. (As a young Christian I used most of the
following verses out of context until I began systematically studying the Bible
book by book, at which time their context gradually became obvious to me.)
Some of the more difficult
passages (toward the end of our list) are more debatable in sense than some of
the more obvious ones (toward the beginning).
Also, in some cases the passages may include a principle that applies to
the point for which people often quote them.
But the exercise here is to determine what the text specifically means,
so that we can apply the principle in all the appropriate ways and not just in
the ways we have often heard.
1. John 10:10: Who is the thief? (Start back at least at 10:1 or 10:5)
2. When Jesus says, “If I am lifted up, I will draw
all people to myself” (John 12:32), what does He mean by being “lifted
up”?
3. Which day is the “day that the Lord has made” (Ps.
118:24)? Does the text refer to every
day (the way most people apply it) or to a specific day? (See Ps. 118:22-23;
more generally 118:15-29)
4. Is God’s announcement that He owns “the cattle on a
thousand hills” (Ps. 50:10) an assurance that He can supply all our needs? Or does it mean something else in
context? (Keep in mind that other
passages do teach that God supplies our needs; the question here is not whether
God will provide, but whether that is what this passage means.)
5. What does the “baptism of fire” refer to in Matt.
3:11? Is it just a purification or
empowerment for believers or something else?
(Keep in mind that “fire” symbolizes different things in different
passages. The question is, what does
“fire” mean in this immediate
context?)
6. By calling us to “imitate” God (Eph 5:1; King
James’ “followers” here is literally “imitators”), does Paul want us to speak
planets into existence? To be everywhere
at once? Check the context (4:32-5:2).
7. What does it mean to resist the devil in James
4:7? In 1 Peter 5:8? In Ephesians 4:27? Some people use these verses to support
rebuking the devil whenever something goes wrong. Is that the point?
8. Some people quote Joel 2:9 to say that we are God’s
mighty army (in a spiritual sense).
Other texts may say that, but is that the point of this text?
9. Some people quote Joel 3:10 to say that we should
claim God’s strength when we are weak.
While that is a biblical principle (2 Cor 12:10), is it the point here?
10. More controversially, read Isaiah 14:12-14 in view
of the whole of Isaiah 14. To whom does
this text refer? (Keep in mind that “Lucifer,”
found only in the King James Version, is simply a Latin title for the “morning
star,” not actually found in the Hebrew.
Because some interpreters believed this text referred to Satan, they
applied the title to Satan, but the Bible does not use the term anywhere else,
so whether or not it is actually Satan’s title depends on the meaning of this
passage.)
11. Many people apply Ezek 28:12-14 to the devil, just
as they apply Is 14 to him. In context,
is that really the point of this passage?
(Again, we are not questioning whether the devil exists or whether the
devil fell. The question is whether this passage discusses it.)
12. When Paul says, “I can do all things through
Christ who strengthens me” (Phil. 4:13), does he have anything in particular in
mind? (I.e., does “all things” mean that
he can currently fly, walk through walls, spit fire, and so forth, or does it
mean something more specific?)
13. What is the “word of God” (or, “word of Christ” in
most translations) in Romans 10:17? Does
it specifically refer to the Bible in this case or to something else?
14. 1 Corinthians 13:8-10. Some people quote this passage to claim that
spiritual gifts have passed away. But
according to the context, when will the gifts of the Spirit pass away? For that matter, what is the function of this
chapter in the context of the whole letter to the Corinthians (cf. 12:31;
14:1). What is the function of 13:4-6 in
the context of the whole letter to the Corinthians? (You may save this question until our study
on book-context if you wish.)
15. Some people emphasize “now-faith” in Hebrews 11:1,
as if faith must be directed toward what we receive in the present. In context, is the sort of faith that Hebrews
11:1 talks about oriented toward receiving something in the present or toward
receiving it in the future? (Start back
around 10:25 and read through 12:4.)
16. Revelation 3:20.
When Jesus knocks at the door, is he trying to get someone
converted? (To whom is the verse
addressed?)
17. One could say that when God “gave” his Son (Jn
3:16), this refers to giving Jesus at his birth in Bethlehem
18. When one seeks first the kingdom, what things are added to one (Matt
6:33)?
19. Who are Christ’s ambassadors in 2 Corinthians
5:20? Whom are they entreating to be
reconciled to God?
20. Some people say that the “witnesses” in Hebrews
12:1 are the dead watching us from heaven.
But in the context of Hebrews chapter 11, does “witnesses” refer to
those who watch us or to those who testified to the truth of God’s claims? (This one may be harder to see depending on
your translation, since some translations do not show the connection of related
words in this context.)
21. Some people claim the promise that no weapon
formed against them would prosper (Isaiah 54:17). Is this a guarantee for every individual
Christian in every circumstance or for God’s people as a whole protected by His
plan for them?
22. Does Proverbs 23:7 mean that whatever we think
about ourselves will come true? (“As a
person thinks in their heart, so they are.”)
Or does it mean something else?
(Read 23:6-8.)
23. Does Psalm 18:7-15 refer to Jesus’ second
coming? Read 18:4-6, 16-19.
24. Who is the rose of Sharon, the lily of the valley,
in Song of Solomon 2:1-2?
25. In Matthew 18:18, what does Jesus mean by “binding and loosing”? Does He refer to how to treat demons here, or does He refer to something else? (Read especially 18:15-20.)
26. What is the “coming” to which Jesus refers in John
14:1-3? Does He refer here to His second
coming or to something else? (Read
14:4-23, and perhaps 13:36-38.)
27. This final question may be the most difficult
one. Read Isaiah 7:14 in context
(especially 7:10-16; 8:1-4). In the
immediate context, to whom does this newborn son refer? (If your conclusions may disturb you, don’t
worry; we will clarify them below. But
it is important for you to grapple with the text intelligently in its context
first, and not simply to interpret the passage according to how you’ve seen it
used elsewhere.) --
--The Bible in Its Context: How to Improve Your Study of the Scriptures, LINK,
click for suggested answers
--
Related:
Bonus: Dave's Top Ten list of "misundertaken" Scriptures
"Why you WANT to be left behind"
Here on his podcast he interviews James-Michael Smith..an awesome missionary
to and from the US (:
Topic: "Why you WANT to be left behind."Listen here
Related:
in my Father's house, there are many rooms..here and now
see also
"I go to prepare a place for you": 'many mansions' on earth?
Craig Keener video: Matthew and Great Commission
t
Here's Keener, in some text related to the video:
Here's Keener, in some text related to the video:
How to Make Disciples in Matthew 28:18-20
The immediate context of 28:18-20 provides us
examples for how to testify about Christ (28:1-10) and how not to testify about Christ (28:11-15). But the context of the whole Gospel of
Matthew further informs how we should read this passage, especially because it
is the conclusion of the Gospel and readers would have finished the rest of
this Gospel by the time they reach it.
The command to “make disciples” of all nations (KJV
has “teach” them) is surrounded by three clauses in Greek that describe how we
make disciples of the nations: by “going,” “baptizing,” and “teaching.” Jesus had spoken of “going” when he had sent
his disciples out even within Galilee (10:7), but here disciples must go to
other cultures and peoples because they will make disciples of the “nations.”
Making disciples of the “nations” fits an emphasis
developed throughout this Gospel. The
four women specifically mentioned in Jesus’ ancestry (1:2-17) appear to be Gentiles:
Tamar the Canaanite, Rahab the Jerichoite, Ruth the Moabitess, and the “widow
of Uriah” the Hittite (1:3, 5-6).
Ancient Jewish genealogies normally emphasized the purity of one’s
Israelite lineage, but this genealogy deliberately underlines the mixed-race
heritage of the Messiah who will save Gentiles as well as Jews.
When many of his own people ignored or persecuted
him, pagan astrologers from the East came to worship him (2:1-12). God and his Son could raise up Abraham’s
children even from stones (3:9), work in “Galilee of the Gentiles” (4:15),
bless the faith of a Roman military officer (8:5-13), deliver demoniacs in
Gentile territory (8:28-34), compare Israelite cities unfavorably with Sodom
(10:15; 11:23-24), reward the persistent faith of a Canaanite woman (15:21-28),
allow the first apostolic confession of Jesus’ Messiahship in pagan territory
(16:13), promise that all nations would hear the gospel (24:14), and allow the
first confession of Jesus as God’s Son after the cross to come from a Roman
execution squad (27:54). Matthew
probably wrote to encourage his fellow Jewish Christians to evangelize the
Gentiles, so the Gospel fittingly closes on this command.
“Baptizing” recalls the mission of John the Baptist,
who baptized people for repentance (3:1-2, 6, 11). Baptism in Jewish culture represented an act
of conversion, so as “going” may represent crosscultural ministry, we may
describe Jesus’ command to “baptize” as evangelism. But evangelism is not sufficient to make full
disciples; we also need Christian education.
“Teaching” them all that Jesus commanded is made easier by the fact that
Matthew has provided us Jesus’ teachings conveniently in five major discourse
sections: Jesus’ teachings about the ethics of the kingdom (chs. 5-7); proclaiming
the kingdom (ch. 10); parables about the present state of the kingdom (ch. 13);
relationships in the kingdom (ch. 18); and the future of the kingdom and
judgment on the religious establishment (chs. 23-25).
But in Matthew’s Gospel, we do not make disciples the
way most Jewish teachers in his day made disciples. We make disciples not for ourselves but for
our Lord Jesus Christ (23:8). This final
paragraph of Matthew’s Gospel fittingly concludes various themes about Jesus’
identity in this Gospel as well. John
(3:2), Jesus (4:17), and his followers (10:7) announced God’s kingdom, his
reign; now Jesus reigns with all authority in all creation (28:18). Further, we baptize not only in the name of
God and his Spirit, but in the name of Jesus (28:19), thereby ranking Jesus as
deity alongside the Father and the Spirit.
And finally, Jesus’ promise to be with us always as we preach the
kingdom until the end of the age (28:20) recalls earlier promises in the Gospel. Jesus himself is “Immanuel,” “God with us”
(1:23), and wherever two or three gather in his name he will be among them
(18:20). To any ancient Jewish reader,
these statements would imply that Jesus was God.
Does the promise that Jesus will be with us “till the
end of the age” (28:20) imply that once the age ends he will no longer be with
us? Such an idea would miss entirely the
point of the text. Jesus is promising to
be with us in carrying out his commission (28:19); that must be accomplished
before the age ends (24:14), so the nations can be judged according to how they
have responded to this message (25:31-32).
Taking this passage in the context of the entire Gospel provides us
plenty of preaching material without even stepping outside Matthew! LINK, Bible in Context pp. 29-30
David Bauer's commentary on Matthew, free online
MATTHEW
- Introduction
- I. The Origins of The Gospel
- II. The Structure of The Gospel
- III. The Theology of The Gospel
- IV. Outline
- Commentary ---
- See also:
Sunday, January 11, 2015
Invisible Gorilla: selective attention
I recommend showing this video to a group or class ,and doing it this way.
Show the first (Regional Emmy winner) video below starting at 4 second mark, telling the group that no one should say anything, or make any noise, while watching; just concentrate hard on following the instructions:
You can see why calling it the "Invisible Gorilla" test might jinx things(:
Here is the backstory:
More? Click: theinvisiblegorilla.com/
How about this version:
\ TED Talk by Daniel Simons:
Christopher Chabris' talk at Google about Invisible Gorilla:
Here's a great spoof version:
Of course people have made endless variations:
YouTube search: "selective attention"
YouTube search: "invisible gorilla"
Show the first (Regional Emmy winner) video below starting at 4 second mark, telling the group that no one should say anything, or make any noise, while watching; just concentrate hard on following the instructions:
You can see why calling it the "Invisible Gorilla" test might jinx things(:
Here is the backstory:
More? Click: theinvisiblegorilla.com/
How about this version:
\ TED Talk by Daniel Simons:
Christopher Chabris' talk at Google about Invisible Gorilla:
Here's a great spoof version:
Of course people have made endless variations:
YouTube search: "selective attention"
YouTube search: "invisible gorilla"
"The first thing a principle does is kill somebody."
a principle does
is kill somebody."
- Lord Peter Wimsey, in Dorothy Sayers' 'Gaudy Night'
Great quote, though often spelled wrong when quoted: "principal," not "principle." Well, that might work, too (:
Friday, January 09, 2015
postdictable
"To be surprising, an event can’t be predictable.
Surprise is the opposite of predicatability.
But to be satisfying, surprise must be 'post-dictable' ...
If you want your ideas to stick, you’ve got to break someone’s guessing machine and the fix it"
- Heath and Heath, Made to Stick, p. 71. HT: Ryan Davis
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| still slide from this power point based on the book |
Thursday, January 08, 2015
absent-minded, accidental photobomb
This picture is amazing! It captures the cliche "absent-minded professor" (me!).
After the most recent Fresno Pacific University commencement ceremony, I spent time on the quad (traditional place for families to gather for photos and congrats) tracking down several graduates who were students of mine. I was especially on the lookout for Veronica, and was disappointed when I never found her in the crowd.
A few days later, she posted this picture on my Facebook wall. I was shocked that I appeared in the picture, looking like a passerby or photobomber. I realized that I had walked right by Veronica and her family...likely specifically looking for her as I walked by...but didn't recognize her with her hair down! I'm sure the relative or friend taking the photo didn't even notice me..
After the most recent Fresno Pacific University commencement ceremony, I spent time on the quad (traditional place for families to gather for photos and congrats) tracking down several graduates who were students of mine. I was especially on the lookout for Veronica, and was disappointed when I never found her in the crowd.
A few days later, she posted this picture on my Facebook wall. I was shocked that I appeared in the picture, looking like a passerby or photobomber. I realized that I had walked right by Veronica and her family...likely specifically looking for her as I walked by...but didn't recognize her with her hair down! I'm sure the relative or friend taking the photo didn't even notice me..
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Dave Wainscott, I didn't get a pic with you but I guess this is close enough — with Danny Ramirez, Evelin Landeros and Dave Wainscott. |