Rem |
| Monk |
 |
| Lie to Me |
welcome back
with the two stories of creation:the two stories of creation: Gen 1:1 – 2:3 and Gen. 2:4-25).what do you remember about your observations?
Camp and Roberts (FPU faculty) note:The two accounts are separate but complementary, like the four gospels. They can be read at different levels, from literal to figurative, with no bearing on the truth of it. Poetry is notless true than a newspaper, just a different kind or mode of truth. And, one must always ask the question what the implied author intended and what the implied audience would have understood. Ancient notions of history are very different from ours.Genesis 1:
repetitious, tabular, formaldays of creation reported in the same way, formulaicauthority and brevitystyle of ordering material into a series of similar solemn commands are unchallengedcontent presents major divisions of creation known to writercatalog or tabulation of events and commandsvocabulary = create (bara), humanity as likeness/image, male/fernaleGod = Elohim, characterized as powerful cosmic organizer, speaks things into being, stands outside of cosmos and controls itHumanity = created as vice regent, created in image gives representative statuspolemic against mythical concepts of life and creationGenesis 2:relationship of characters emphasizedlanguage is picturesque and flowing, poetic terms, colorfulGod's actions more interrelated than separated by divisions of time or set expressions (idioms)no two acts are alike and none are preceded by divine commandvocabulary = form (yasar), humanity as living being, man/womanGod = Yahweh, characterized by immanence, personal nearness, involvement on human scene, intimate master, depicted humanly (hands, walking, digging)Humanity = ready contact with and immediate responsibility to God. Humanity's creation linked to ground (word play on adam = man and adamah = ground) and curse is alienation from the land, is distinctive because Yahweh personally addresses himpolemic against fertility cults in Canaan---Compare Genesis accounts to Babylonian Creation story (read an excerpt here). Significant similarities – Genesis is not written in a vacuum. Significant differences – lack of violence, struggle, multiple gods, etc.Enuma Elish:a. creation by word - Marduk has this power. They tell him to open his mouth. At the word of his mouth XXX vanishes or reappears.b. command over elements - Marduk enlists wind and storm to defeat Tiamat, but battles with elements too.c. Tiamat is split in two and body is used to retain waters and set firmament and ground.d. sets stars in their place, gives moon and sun jurisdiction, setting dayse. creation of man - "blood I will make and bones I will cause to be" new idea like Genesis but he creates out of a dead god's body and for the purpose of "the relief of the gods".In Genesis, we see a carefully structured account, bringing order out of chaos. The sea and darkness are elements of chaos in the ancient world. No work can be done in the dark; salt water kills agriculture; unknown depths and sea creatures are in the sea. God has ability to control and limit these. Chaos is not eliminated or bounded. God creates out of nothing (vs. other creation myths of the day), and the verb used for "create" (bara) is something no human ever does in the Old Testament. Only God does this action. There are also no elements of struggle or battle to create, which is typical of other contemporary creation myths. God simply speaks or shapes things into being. There are also no birthing images, which are common in other myths, and quickly lead to a confusion between Creator and creature (vs. God as wholly other), and to fertility cults. Also, most other creation myths were a people’s story (how the Mesopotamians came to be, for instance). Genesis is not presented as Israel’s story, but as the story of the world. ( to really appreciate the beauty and brilliance of these chapters, one has to read Hebrew. These verses are packed with wordplays and puns. It may not immediately occur to one that puns are a good form of theological education, but…)-Camp and Roberts-
He loved his
-= SET THEORY cont
\
Many successful signature papers incorporate set theory.
TO ILLUSTRATE SET THEORY, WE DID AN IN'CLASS EXERCISE. STUDENTS HAD TO DECIDE WHICH SIDE OF THE ROOM TO STAND ON. BASED ON WHICH OF EACH PAIR THEY PREFERRED.
Pick a side of the room to stand on for each pair:
MYSTERY TO SOLVE ]\
Which list of the Ten Commandments is the "real" list??We joked you could win $100 by saying, :Let me read you a list of the Ten Commandments, the only list the Bible explicity calls the Ten Commandments. Tell if this is the list. A hundred bucks says I'm right. Then read them the Ten Commandments from Exodus 34!!:
Exodus 20 Exodus 34: Note: this list, NOT THEOTHER, is the one that says "THESE ARETHE TEN COMMANDMENTS"1. I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before me.
1. Thou shalt worship no idol. (For the Lord is a jealous god). Smash all idols,
2. You shall not make for yourself a graven image. You shall not bow down to them or serve them.
2. Thou shalt make thee no molten gods.
3. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain. 3. The feast of unleavened bread shalt thou keep in the month when the ear is on the corn.
4. Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.
4. All the first-born are mine.
5. Honor your father and your mother.
5. Six days shalt thou work, but on the seventh thou shalt rest.
6. You shall not kill.
6. Thou shalt observe the feast of weeks, even of the first fruits of the wheat harvest, and the feast of ingathering at the year's end.
7. You shall not commit adultery.
7. Thou shalt not offer the blood of my sacrifice with leavened bread.
8. You shall not steal.
8. The fat of my feast shall not remain all night until the morning.
9. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
9. The first of the first fruits of thy ground thou shalt bring unto the house of the Lord thy God.
10. You shall not covet.
10. Thou shalt not boil a baby goat in its mother's milk.
These look only loosely related to the list we've all heard from Exodus 2O. Hmmmmm
What if a real congressman really didn't know the real ten commandments?
Overview
This short video was filmed on the way up to, and on top of, a mountain that may be the actual mountain that Moses climbed to receive the Ten Commandments. The tour guide and group in that video had to make a6,000 foot climb,including ten hours of hiking, riding several camels,eating two meals on the way, and drinking over 100 bottles of water!But what's really amazing is what the text says Moses did! Watch now, and note this is an example of the need to read the Bible in context (con-text), and a Three Worlds Perspective.Preparation for the Live Session THURS 7PM:
Monk 
Lie to Me 
welcome back- with the two stories of creation:the two stories of creation: Gen 1:1 – 2:3 and Gen. 2:4-25).what do you remember about your observations?Camp and Roberts (FPU faculty) note:The two accounts are separate but complementary, like the four gospels. They can be read at different levels, from literal to figurative, with no bearing on the truth of it. Poetry is notless true than a newspaper, just a different kind or mode of truth. And, one must always ask the question what the implied author intended and what the implied audience would have understood. Ancient notions of history are very different from ours.Genesis 1:
repetitious, tabular, formaldays of creation reported in the same way, formulaicauthority and brevitystyle of ordering material into a series of similar solemn commands are unchallengedcontent presents major divisions of creation known to writercatalog or tabulation of events and commandsvocabulary = create (bara), humanity as likeness/image, male/fernaleGod = Elohim, characterized as powerful cosmic organizer, speaks things into being, stands outside of cosmos and controls itHumanity = created as vice regent, created in image gives representative statuspolemic against mythical concepts of life and creationGenesis 2:relationship of characters emphasizedlanguage is picturesque and flowing, poetic terms, colorfulGod's actions more interrelated than separated by divisions of time or set expressions (idioms)no two acts are alike and none are preceded by divine commandvocabulary = form (yasar), humanity as living being, man/womanGod = Yahweh, characterized by immanence, personal nearness, involvement on human scene, intimate master, depicted humanly (hands, walking, digging)Humanity = ready contact with and immediate responsibility to God. Humanity's creation linked to ground (word play on adam = man and adamah = ground) and curse is alienation from the land, is distinctive because Yahweh personally addresses himpolemic against fertility cults in Canaan---Compare Genesis accounts to Babylonian Creation story (read an excerpt here). Significant similarities – Genesis is not written in a vacuum. Significant differences – lack of violence, struggle, multiple gods, etc.Enuma Elish:a. creation by word - Marduk has this power. They tell him to open his mouth. At the word of his mouth XXX vanishes or reappears.b. command over elements - Marduk enlists wind and storm to defeat Tiamat, but battles with elements too.c. Tiamat is split in two and body is used to retain waters and set firmament and ground.d. sets stars in their place, gives moon and sun jurisdiction, setting dayse. creation of man - "blood I will make and bones I will cause to be" new idea like Genesis but he creates out of a dead god's body and for the purpose of "the relief of the gods".In Genesis, we see a carefully structured account, bringing order out of chaos. The sea and darkness are elements of chaos in the ancient world. No work can be done in the dark; salt water kills agriculture; unknown depths and sea creatures are in the sea. God has ability to control and limit these. Chaos is not eliminated or bounded. God creates out of nothing (vs. other creation myths of the day), and the verb used for "create" (bara) is something no human ever does in the Old Testament. Only God does this action. There are also no elements of struggle or battle to create, which is typical of other contemporary creation myths. God simply speaks or shapes things into being. There are also no birthing images, which are common in other myths, and quickly lead to a confusion between Creator and creature (vs. God as wholly other), and to fertility cults. Also, most other creation myths were a people’s story (how the Mesopotamians came to be, for instance). Genesis is not presented as Israel’s story, but as the story of the world. ( to really appreciate the beauty and brilliance of these chapters, one has to read Hebrew. These verses are packed with wordplays and puns. It may not immediately occur to one that puns are a good form of theological education, but…)-Camp and Roberts-
He loved his
-= SET THEORY cont\Many successful signature papers incorporate set theory.TO ILLUSTRATE SET THEORY, WE DID AN IN'CLASS EXERCISE. STUDENTS HAD TO DECIDE WHICH SIDE OF THE ROOM TO STAND ON. BASED ON WHICH OF EACH PAIR THEY PREFERRED.
Pick a side of the room to stand on for each pair:
MYSTERY TO SOLVE ]\
Which list of the Ten Commandments is the "real" list??We joked you could win $100 by saying, :Let me read you a list of the Ten Commandments, the only list the Bible explicity calls the Ten Commandments. Tell if this is the list. A hundred bucks says I'm right. Then read them the Ten Commandments from Exodus 34!!:
Exodus 20 Exodus 34: Note: this list, NOT THEOTHER, is the one that says "THESE ARETHE TEN COMMANDMENTS"1. I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before me.
1. Thou shalt worship no idol. (For the Lord is a jealous god). Smash all idols,
2. You shall not make for yourself a graven image. You shall not bow down to them or serve them.
2. Thou shalt make thee no molten gods.
3. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain. 3. The feast of unleavened bread shalt thou keep in the month when the ear is on the corn.
4. Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.
4. All the first-born are mine.
5. Honor your father and your mother.
5. Six days shalt thou work, but on the seventh thou shalt rest.
6. You shall not kill.
6. Thou shalt observe the feast of weeks, even of the first fruits of the wheat harvest, and the feast of ingathering at the year's end.
7. You shall not commit adultery.
7. Thou shalt not offer the blood of my sacrifice with leavened bread.
8. You shall not steal.
8. The fat of my feast shall not remain all night until the morning.
9. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
9. The first of the first fruits of thy ground thou shalt bring unto the house of the Lord thy God.
10. You shall not covet.
10. Thou shalt not boil a baby goat in its mother's milk.
These look only loosely related to the list we've all heard from Exodus 2O. Hmmmmm
What if a real congressman really didn't know the real ten commandments?
Overview
- ---------------------------------
We read Philemon again, and watched this,Remember, just because NT Wright assumes it's about a slave, feel free to disagreeNotes from video:
Some comments from class discussion on Philemon: - Could Philemon and Onesimus were BOTH master/slave AND literal brothers?Not likely, unless they were half-brothers.Hmm. See this from Tim Gombis:
F. F. Bruce suggests that the two may be related in just this way. He says, “Such a state of affairs would be not at all unusual: if, for example, Onesimus were the son of Philemon’s father by a slave-girl, then Onesimus and Philemon would be half-brothers, but Onesimus (unless emancipated) would still be a slave.”
5) We hinted there could be a helpful chiasm in Philemon..Further hint: check verse 5 in our class translation
.. Paul does not say that the “in the flesh” relationship is one of master-slave. They are related “in the flesh” as beloved brothers. The interpretive debate is whether this means “fellow human” or “actual brother.”
If Philemon and Onesimus are in fact half-brothers, then much of the consensus view is unthreatened. Onesimus is still regarded as a slave in the household of Philemon and in some way brought harm to Philemon and has made his way to Paul. Paul sends Onesimus back to Philemon urging the latter to receive the former as Paul himself. The consensus view would need modification, however, to recognize the additional factor that while Philemon is the freeborn master of the household, Onesimus is now Philemon’s brother in the Lord, having been converted to Christian discipleship by the Apostle. This new relationship in the realm of “the faith” goes beyond the already-existing relationship in the realm of natural relations, in which they are also brothers, sharing a common earthly father.
My main contention in these posts is that commentators must take Paul’s reference to Philemon and Onesimus as "BROTHERS IN THE FLESH" (adelphoi en sarki )with greater seriousness. It is highly unlikely that Paul regards the two as sharing in a common humanity. It is far more likely that they are actual brothers. -TIM GOMBIS7)Philemon, an allegory?
Consider the following passage (Philemon 8-18) with these analogies in mind:
- Paul (the advocate) : Jesus
- Onesmus (the guilty slave) : us (sinners)
- Philemon (the slave owner) : God the Father
Martin Luther: "Even as Christ did for us with God the Father,
thus also St. Paul does for Onesimus with Philemon"Accordingly, though I (Paul) am bold enough in Christ to command you (Philemon) to do what is required, yet for love's sake I prefer to appeal to you—I, Paul, an old man and now a prisoner also for Christ Jesus— I appeal to you for my child, Onesimus, whose father I became in my imprisonment. (Formerly he was useless to you, but now he is indeed useful to you and to me.) I am sending him back to you, sending my very heart. I would have been glad to keep him with me, in order that he might serve me on your behalf during my imprisonment for the gospel, but I preferred to do nothing without your consent in order that your goodness might not be by compulsion but of your own free will. For this perhaps is why he was parted from you for a while, that you might have him back forever, no longer as a slave but more than a slave, as a beloved brother—especially to me, but how much more to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord.
So if you consider me your partner, receive him as you would receive me. If he has wronged you at all, or owes you anything, charge that to my account. I, Paul, write this with my own hand: I will repay it—to say nothing of your owing me even your own self. LINK: Philemon, an allegory?.
==
We didn't show this clip in class yet, but it is helpful:
FUZZY SET:
- Great examples of Fuzzy Set from Rob Bell: The Marker Trick AKA "Yup!":
\Here below is some help on Fuzzy Sets. These readings will help:- new nets: bounded sets, fuzzy sets, or centered-sets?
e that some are not finding my thesis that nurses make stellar leaders immediately obvious. I invite us to consider the same thesis, as articulated by Grossman and Valica, in their exceptional book, “The New Leadership Challenge: Creating the Future of Nursing” (F.A. Davis, 2013):
“One of the areas in which nurses are most skilled is communication. Nurses know how to listen. They know how to encourage people to keep trying when there seems to be no hope of success..They know how to encourage others to respond openly. And they know how to avoid barriers to communication. Therefore, nurses are particularly advantaged when one examines this element of leadership.
The public puts a great deal of trust in nurses, and the credibility of nurses is strong in the eyes of patients, families, legislators, and the general public. Nurses who are providing leadership would therefore do well to take advantage of this trust by communicating their vision at every opportunity.
book link Such opportunities are, in fact, more available than many nurses realize: serving on a committee at one’s institution or in one’s professional association, speaking at a conference, writing for a professional journal or local newspaper or organizational newsletter, meeting with a legislator, talking with patients and their families, being interviewed on a campus radio station, holding office in one’s professional organization, campaigning for a candidate or a particular cause, confronting a healthcare team member, networking at professional meetings, forming alliances with other health care professionals, seeking and using a mentor, and so on. We are limited only by our own imagination and our willingness to take risks.” (Grossman and Valica, p. 14)I don’t know about you, but that exhortation resonates with me. I wish you could feel firsthand the endless potential that Drs. Stacy Manning, Stacy Wise and Peggy Avakian (directors of nursing and health care programs at Fresno Pacific) and I, see in “our” brave nurses. I’m sure other local educators of nurses agree.Allow me to use this public forum to offer heartfelt thanks for the thankless job that nurses routinely bless us with.And allow me a throw-down; a challenge, to any nurses reading: step out, risk well; trust and lean into your “angelic” leadership instincts. Precisely because of your self-effacing “I’m not a leader,” you may well be summoned to a next-level leadership in your city, valley and beyond.Lead on.(There are no discussion topics yet in this forum)
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- a way to watch what happened and to add your timeline in a post
- slave or free
- Jew or Gentile
- extrovert or introvert
- It nowhere says there were three.
- It no where says they were wise
- It nowhere says they were men.
iRemember the Prodigal Son and the forgotten famine?The big idea:What goes without being said for us can lead us to miss important details in a Bible passage, even when the author is trying to make them obvious. Mark Allan Powell offers an excellent example of this phenomenon in “The Forgotten Famine,” an exploration of the theme of personal responsibility in what we call the parable of the prodigal son. Powell had twelve students in a seminary class read the story carefully from Luke’s Gospel, close their Bibles and then retell the story as faithfully as possible to a partner. None of the twelve American seminary students mentioned the famine in Luke 15:14, which precipitates the son’s eventual return. Powell found this omission interesting, so he organized a larger experiment in which he had one hundred people read the story and retell it, as accurately as possible, to a partner. Only six of the one hundred participants mentioned the famine. The group was ethnically, racially, socioeconomically and religiously diverse. The “famine-forgetters,” as Powell calls them, had only one thing in common: they were from the United States.Later, Powell had the opportunity to try the experiment again, this time outside the United States. In St. Petersburg, Russia, he gathered fifty participants to read and retell the prodigal son story. This time an overwhelming forty-two of the fifty participants mentioned the famine. Why? Just seventy years before, 670,000 people had died of starvation after a Nazi German siege of the capital city began a three-year famine. Famine was very much a part of the history and imagination of the Russian participants in Powell’s exercise. Based solely on cultural location, people from America and Russia disagreed about what they considered the crucial details of the story.Americans tend to treat the mention of the famine as an unnecessary plot device. Sure, we think: the famine makes matters worse for the young son. He’s already penniless, and now there’s no food to buy even if he did have money. But he has already committed his sin, so it goes without being said for us that the main issue in the story is his wastefulness, not the famine. This is evident from our traditional title for the story: the parable of the prodigal (“wasteful”) son. We apply the story, then, as a lesson about willful rebellion and repentance. The boy is guilty, morally, of disrespecting his father and squandering his inheritance. He must now ask for forgiveness.Christians in other parts of the world understand the story differently. In cultures more familiar with famine, like Russia, readers consider the boy’s spending less important than the famine. The application of the story has less to do with willful rebellion and more to do with God’s faithfulness to deliver his people from hopeless situations. The boy’s problem is not that he is wasteful but that he is lost.Our goal in this book is not, first and foremost, to argue which interpretation of a biblical story like this one is correct. Our goal is to raise this question: if our cultural context and assumptions can cause us to overlook a famine, what else do we fail to notice? link-------------------------------------------------------------fVENN IT! comparing/contrasting two texts:
We did a "venn it" withDave Matthews' "Bartender" (2 versions):
Remember our manger scene test.How many of you could win big money on this bet on what the text message of the Bible really says:
And we know for a fact they weren't at the manger.
emember the manger scene challenge I gave you?Watch the first 2:44 of this video:
==Remember why I showed you this?
Here's what you said when I asked what might you think, feel, or do if this happened to you.
and this:
specially helpful is the suggestion by Donald Kraybill ("The Upside Down Kingdom") and Ray Van Der Laan ( video below) that throughout his earthly life, Jesus was revisited by remixes of the original three temptations ("testations" ) of the devil"in chapter 4.
Kraybill provocatively proffers the following taxonomy of the temptations; suggesting that any later temptation Jesus faced (or we face) is at heart in one of these three spheres:
1= Bread into stones: Economic
2=Jump from temple and test God:Religious
3=Own all kingdoms: Political;
So, it may be useful to plot out various temptations along your life timeline, and ask which of Jesus' temptation are each is tied to.SO..if every temptation can be filed under one of the three categories:
Economic Religious Political..
Hmm..
How might virtually all temptations (the three Jesus faced, or others you could name) be fundamentally economic? Kraybill, you'll remember, calls the bread temptation "economic," but how might any/all others temptations trace to this root/'garbage"?
HINT: We noted that he term economics comes from the Ancient Greekοἰκονομία (oikonomia, "management of a household, administration") from οἶκος (oikos, "house") + νόμος (nomos, "custom" or "law"), hence "rules of the house(hold)".[1]
aThis short video was filmed on the way up to, and on top of, a mountain that may be the actual mountain that Moses climbed to receive the Ten Commandments. The tour guide and group in that video had to make a6,000 foot climb,including ten hours of hiking, riding several camels,eating two meals on the way, and drinking over 100 bottles of water!But what's really amazing is what the text says Moses did! Watch now, and note this is an example of the need to read the Bible in context (con-text), and a Three Worlds Perspective.Preparation for the Live Session THURS 7PM:
Western (Wailing Wall):
==
Most importantly, we did all three Philemon worksheets IN CLASS.
REMEMBER:Click here to see Philemon help page
W
Click HERE to see BSN 12 pranking a class with a
"temple tantrum"
-------
As a follow-up to Week 4 class discussion on the Church and Culture (Essential/Negotiable) survey, do your best to retake it this week according to the discussion/suggestions from class. Do your best to have as few Es as possible (if you had No Es last time, maybe reconsider adding one E). Post your new results, and a significant response about how you think/feel about this challenge. Answer all questions below at some point.
Remember to think cross-culturally this time. Example :If you were a missionary to a tribe, and the chief of the tribe ..who had five wives, as this is what chiefs do in that culture--converted to Christ, would you ask him to divorce four wives? Ask him to only sleep with one, so he doesn't commit adultery? (See the dilemma; which "sin" do you ask him to commit (adultery, divorce, or polygamy?)
If one of the items is a Scripture, give it priority, and consider giving it an E.
By Paul Hiebert,
Part Uno
Separate all the items that follow into two categories, based on these definitions. Post your results
Essential: These items (commands, practices, customs) are essential to the church in
every age and place. [Mark these. “E” on the list.]
Negotiable. These items (commands, practices, customs) may or may not be valid
for the church in any given place or time. [Mark these “N” on the list.]
1. Greet each other with a holy kiss.
2. Do not go to court to settle issues between Christians.
3. Do not eat meat used in pagan ceremonies.
4. Women in the assembly should be veiled when praying or speaking.
5. Wash feet at the Lord’s Supper (Eucharist).
6. Lay on hands for ordination.
7. Sing without musical accompaniment.
8. Abstain from eating blood.
9. Abstain from fornication.
10. Share the Lord’s Supper (Eucharist).
11. Use only real wine and unleavened bread for your Eucharist meals.
12. Use only grape juice for Eucharist meals.
13. Anoint with oil for healing.
14. Women are not to teach men.
15. Women are not to wear braided hair, gold, or pearls.
16. Men are not to have long hair.
17. Do not drink wine at all.
18. Slavery is permissible if you treat slaves well.
19. Remain single.
20. Seek the gift of tongues.
21. Seek the gift of healing.
22. Lift your hands when you pray.
23. People who don’t work don’t eat.
24. Have a private “devotional time” every day.
25. Say Amen at the end of prayers.
26. Appoint elders and deacons in every congregation.
27. Elect the leaders.
28. Confess sins one to another.
29. Confess sins privately to God.
30. Give at least ten percent of your INCOME
/goods/crops to God.
31. Construct a building for worship.
32. Confess Christ publicly by means of baptism.
33. Be baptized by immersion.
34. Be baptized as an adult.
35. Be baptized as a child/infant.
36. Do not be a polygamist.
37. Do not divorce your spouse for any reason.
38. Do not divorce your spouse except for adultery.
Part dos
Reflect on the process by which you distinguished the “essential” from the
“negotiable” items. What principle or principles governed your decision? Write out the
method you used, in a simple, concise statement. Be completely honest with yourself
and accurately describe how you arrived at your decisions. Your principle(s) should
account for every decision.
Part Uno
Separate all the items that follow into two categories, based on these definitions. Post your results
Essential: These items (commands, practices, customs) are essential to the church in
every age and place. [Mark these. “E” on the list.]
Negotiable. These items (commands, practices, customs) may or may not be valid
for the church in any given place or time. [Mark these “N” on the list.]
1. Greet each other with a holy kiss.
2. Do not go to court to settle issues between Christians.
3. Do not eat meat used in pagan ceremonies.
4. Women in the assembly should be veiled when praying or speaking.
5. Wash feet at the Lord’s Supper (Eucharist).
6. Lay on hands for ordination.
7. Sing without musical accompaniment.
8. Abstain from eating blood.
9. Abstain from fornication.
10. Share the Lord’s Supper (Eucharist).
11. Use only real wine and unleavened bread for your Eucharist meals.
12. Use only grape juice for Eucharist meals.
13. Anoint with oil for healing.
14. Women are not to teach men.
15. Women are not to wear braided hair, gold, or pearls.
16. Men are not to have long hair.
17. Do not drink wine at all.
18. Slavery is permissible if you treat slaves well.
19. Remain single.
20. Seek the gift of tongues.
21. Seek the gift of healing.
22. Lift your hands when you pray.
23. People who don’t work don’t eat.
24. Have a private “devotional time” every day.
25. Say Amen at the end of prayers.
26. Appoint elders and deacons in every congregation.
27. Elect the leaders.
28. Confess sins one to another.
29. Confess sins privately to God.
30. Give at least ten percent of your INCOME
/goods/crops to God.31. Construct a building for worship.
32. Confess Christ publicly by means of baptism.
33. Be baptized by immersion.
34. Be baptized as an adult.
35. Be baptized as a child/infant.
36. Do not be a polygamist.
37. Do not divorce your spouse for any reason.
38. Do not divorce your spouse except for adultery.
Part dos
Reflect on the process by which you distinguished the “essential” from the
“negotiable” items. What principle or principles governed your decision? Write out the
method you used, in a simple, concise statement. Be completely honest with yourself
and accurately describe how you arrived at your decisions. Your principle(s) should
account for every decision.
Part Tres
Review your decisions again, and answer the following questions:
Are your “essential” items so important to you that you could not associate with a
group that did not practice all of them?
Are there some “essential” items that are a little more “essential” than others?
Post a summary and review (400 word min) to the first section of Drops Like Stars (through 54 minute :35 second mark==stop after the audience throws soap, and Bell asks "Are there any Johnny Cash fans here?"). We will watch second half in class.
See questions to include somewhere in your response below.
--Include a comment about insulators.
-- From the intro: Note the way he told the Prodigal Son story . Why do you think Jesus told it that way? What might all this have to do with the theme of suffering?
--Include a comment about insulators.
--What did he say about text and context?
--What is the first art of suffering? . What (specifically) might you remember a year from now from this section, and why? Do your best to give a personal story or example that came to mind of how you have seen this art in your own life.
--What is the second art? . What specifically) might you remember a year from now from this section, and why? Do your best to give a personal story or example that came to mind of how you have seen this art in your own life
--T
---Before watching the 2nd half of the film next week (we will watch it in class , see questions Week 6 forum), guess now what the other 4 arts of suffering might be. No worries if you don't guess correctly--your answers might be better than his! Here's some clues (first letters). They are all one word each; and it might help to think of them as (sometimes) sequential. Clues below (they are all one word, and first letter given). Post (or write down your guesses)
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Remember, you can choose Psalm 22 as your signature text instead of Philemon.
Psalm 22 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
TEMPLE TANTRUM
INTERCALATION is a "sandwiching" technique. where a story/theme is told/repeated at the beginning and ened of a section, suggesting that if a different story appears in between, it too is related thematically. We looked at this outline of Mark 11:
CURSING OF FIG FREE
CLEANSING OF THE TEMPLE
CURSING OF THE FIG TREE
We
discussed how the cursing of the fig tree was Jesus' commentary of
nationalism/racism/prejudice, because fig trees are often a symbol of
national Israel. That the fig tree cursing story is "cut in two" by
the inserting/"intercalating" of the temple cleansing, suggested
that Jesus action in the temple was also commentary on
prejuidice...which become more obvious when we realize the moneychangers
and dovesellers are set up in the "court of the Gentiles," which kept
the temple from being a "house of prayer FOR ALL NATIONS (GENTILES).
This theme becomes even more clear when we note that Jesus statement was a quote from Isaiah 56:68, and the context there (of course) is against prejudice in the temple.
double paste: Often, two Scriptures/texts are combined into a new one. Ex. : Jesus says “My house shall be a house of prayer for all nations, but you have made it a den of thieves.” The first clause (before the comma) is from Isaiah 56:6-8, and the second is from Jeremiah 7:11
hemistiche/ellipsis: when the last section of a well-known phrase is omitted foremphasis: Matthew says "My house shall be a house of prayer......," intentionally
leaving out
the "...for all nations" clause.
”
==
class discussion on Matthew 21 (
This theme becomes even more clear when we note that Jesus statement was a quote from Isaiah 56:68, and the context there (of course) is against prejudice in the temple.
double paste: Often, two Scriptures/texts are combined into a new one. Ex. : Jesus says “My house shall be a house of prayer for all nations, but you have made it a den of thieves.” The first clause (before the comma) is from Isaiah 56:6-8, and the second is from Jeremiah 7:11
hemistiche/ellipsis: when the last section of a well-known phrase is omitted foremphasis: Matthew says "My house shall be a house of prayer......," intentionally
leaving out
the "...for all nations" clause.
”
==
class discussion on Matthew 21 (
Three Acted Parables about Nationalism)
especially focusing on the temple tantrum..
Note, the chapter started with "Palm Sunday":
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we'll watch (next moodle)the "Lamb of God" video and discuss how it was actually a nationalistic misunderstanding. If Jesus showed up personally in your church Sunday, would you wave the American flag at him, and ask him to run for president? 
Note, the chapter started with "Palm Sunday":
--
we'll watch (next moodle)the "Lamb of God" video and discuss how it was actually a nationalistic misunderstanding. If Jesus showed up personally in your church Sunday, would you wave the American flag at him, and ask him to run for president? 
a)Van Der Laan:
Jesus on his way to Jerusalem
On the Sunday before Passover, Jesus came out of the wilderness on the eastern side of the Mount of Olives (just as the prophecy said the Messiah would come).
People spread cloaks and branches on the road before him. Then the disciples ?began, joyfully, to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen? (Luke 19:37). The crowd began shouting, ?Hosanna,? a slogan of the ultra-nationalistic Zealots, which meant, ?Please save us! Give us freedom! We?re sick of these Romans!?
The Palm Branches
The people also waved palm branches, a symbol that had once been placed on Jewish coins when the Jewish nation was free. Thus the palm branches were not a symbol of peace and love, as Christians usually assume; they were a symbol of Jewish nationalism, an expression of the people?s desire for political freedom __LINK to full article
b)FPU prof Tim Geddert:
Palm Sunday is a day of pomp and pageantry. Many church sanctuaries are decorated with palm fronds. I’ve even been in a church that literally sent a donkey down the aisle with a Jesus-figure on it. We cheer with the crowds—shout our hosannas—praising God exuberantly as Jesus the king enters the royal city.
But if Matthew, the gospel writer, attended one of our Palm Sunday services, I fear he would respond in dismay, “Don’t you get it?” We call Jesus’ ride into Jerusalem “The Triumphal Entry,” and just like the Jerusalem crowds, we fail to notice that Jesus is holding back tears.
Jesus did not intend for this to be a victory march into Jerusalem, a political rally to muster popular support or a publicity stunt for some worthy project. Jesus was staging a protest—a protest against the empire-building ways of the world.
LINK: full article :Parade Or Protest March
c)From Table Dallas:
Eugene Cho wrote a blog post back in 2009 about the irony of Palm Sunday:
The image of Palm Sunday is one of the greatest ironies. Jesus Christ – the Lord of Lords, King of Kings, the Morning Star, the Savior of all Humanity, and we can list descriptives after descriptives – rides into a procession of “Hosanna, Hosanna…Hosanna in the Highest” - on a donkey – aka - an ass.He goes on to say it’s like his friend Shane Claiborne once said, “that a modern equivalent of such an incredulous image is of the most powerful person in our modern world, the United States President, riding into a procession…on a unicycle.”
 |
| Some revolutionaries from all nations overlooking the Temple Mount, on our 2004 trip |
I have actually heard people say they fear holding a bake sale anywhere on church property…they think a divine lightning bolt might drop.
Some go as far as to question the propriety of youth group fundraisers (even in the lobby), or flinch at setting up a table anywhere in a church building (especially the “sanctuary”) where a visiting speaker or singer sells books or CDs. “I don’t want to get zapped!”
All trace their well-meaning concerns to the “obvious” Scripture:
"Remember when Jesus cast out the moneychangers and dovesellers?"
It is astounding how rare it is to hear someone comment on the classic "temple tantrum" Scripture without turning it into a mere moralism:
"Better not sell stuff in church!”
Any serious study of the passage concludes that the most obvious reason Jesus was angry was not commercialism, but:
racism.
I heard that head-scratching.
The tables the Lord was intent on overturning were those of prejudice.
I heard that “Huh?”
A brief study of the passage…in context…will reorient us:
Again, most contemporary Americans assume that Jesus’ anger was due to his being upset about the buying and selling. But note that Jesus didn't say "Quit buying and selling!” His outburst was, "My house shall be a house of prayer for all nations" (Mark 11:17, emphasis mine). He was not merely saying what he felt, but directly quoting Isaiah (56:6-8), whose context is clearly not about commercialism, but adamantly about letting foreigners and outcasts have a place in the “house of prayer for all nations”; for all nations, not just the Jewish nation. Christ was likely upset not that moneychangers were doing business, but that they were making it their business to do so disruptfully and disrespectfully in the "outer court;” in the “Court of the Gentiles” (“Gentiles” means “all other nations but Jews”). This was
the
only place where "foreigners" could have a “pew” to attend the
international prayer meeting that was temple worship. Merchants were
making the temple "a den of thieves" not (just) by overcharging for
doves and money, but by (more insidiously) robbing precious people of
“all nations” a place to pray, and the God-given right to "access
access" to God.
Money-changing and doveselling were not inherently the problem. In fact they were required; t proper currency and “worship materials” were part of the procedure and protocol. It’s true that the merchants may have been overcharging and noisy, but it is where and how they are doing so that incites Jesus to righteous anger.
The problem is never tables. It’s what must be tabled:
marginalization of people of a different tribe or tongue who are only wanting to worship with the rest of us.
In the biblical era, it went without saying that when someone quoted a Scripture, they were assuming and importing the context. So we often miss that Jesus is quoting a Scripture in his temple encounter, let alone which Scripture and context. Everyone back then immediately got the reference: “Oh, I get it, he’s preaching Isaiah, he must really love foreigners!”:
“Foreigners who bind themselves to the Lord…all who hold fast to my covenant-these I will bring to my holy mountain and give them joy in my house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for my house will be called a house of prayer for all nations.” (Isaiah 56:6-8, emphases mine)
Gary Molander, faithful Fresnan and cofounder of Floodgate Productions, has articulated it succinctly:
“The classic interpretation suggests that people were buying and selling stuff in God’s house, and that’s not okay. So for churches that have a coffee bar, Jesus might toss the latte machine out the window.
I wonder if something else is going on here, and I wonder if the Old Testament passage Jesus quotes informs our understanding?…Here’s the point:
Those who are considered marginalized and not worthy of love, but who love God and are pursuing Him, are not out. They’re in..
Those who are considered nationally unclean, but who love God and are pursuing Him, are not out. They’re in.
God’s heart is for Christ’s Church to become a light to the world, not an exclusive club. And when well-meaning people block that invitation, God gets really, really ticked.”
(Gary Molander, http://www.garymo.com/2010/03/who-cant-attend-your-church/)
Still reeling? Hang on, one more test:
How often have you heard the Scripture about “speak to the mountain and it will be gone” invoked , with the “obvious” meaning being “the mountain of your circumstances” or “the mountain of obstacles”? Sounds good, and that will preach. But again, a quick glance at the context of that saying of Jesus reveals nary a mention of metaphorical obstacles. In fact, we find it (Mark 11:21-22) directly after the “temple tantrum.” And consider where Jesus and the disciples are: still near the temple, and still stunned by the “object lesson” Jesus had just given there about prejudice. And know that everyone back then knew what most today don’t: that one way to talk about the temple was to call it “the mountain” (Isaiah 2:1, for example: “the mountain of the Lord’s temple”) .
Which is why most scholars would agree with Joel Green and John Carroll:
“Indeed, read in its immediate context, Jesus’ subsequent instruction to the disciples, ‘Truly I tell you, if you say to this mountain..’ can refer only to the mountain on which the temple is built!... For him, the time of the temple is no more.” (“The Death of Jesus in Early Christianity,” p. 32, emphasis mine).
In
Jesus’ time, the temple system of worship had become far too embedded
with prejudice. So Jesus suggests that his followers actually pray
such a system, such a mountain, be gone.
Soon it literally was.
In our day, the temple is us: the church.
And the church-temple is called to pray a moving, mountain-moving, prayer:
“What keeps us from being a house of prayer for all nations?”
Or as Gary Molander summarizes:
“Who can’t attend your church?” -Dave Wainscott, Salt Fresno Magazine
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the money changers were in the Gentile courts of the temple..Jesus' action opened up the plazaso that Gentiles could pray." -Kraybill, Upside Down Kingdom, p. 151.
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Soon it literally was.
In our day, the temple is us: the church.
And the church-temple is called to pray a moving, mountain-moving, prayer:
“What keeps us from being a house of prayer for all nations?”
Or as Gary Molander summarizes:
“Who can’t attend your church?” -Dave Wainscott, Salt Fresno Magazine
--
--------------------
the money changers were in the Gentile courts of the temple..Jesus' action opened up the plazaso that Gentiles could pray." -Kraybill, Upside Down Kingdom, p. 151.
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FOR ALL THE NATIONS: BY RAY VANDER LAAN:
Through the prophet Isaiah, God spoke of the Temple as ?a house of prayer for all the nations? (Isa. 56:7). The Temple represented his presence among his people, and he wanted all believers to have access to him.Even during the Old Testament era, God spoke specifically about allowing non-Jewish people to his Temple: ?And foreigners who bind themselves to the Lord ? these I will bring to my holy mountain and give them joy in my house of prayer? (Isa. 56:7).
Unfortunately, the Temple authorities of Jesus? day forgot God?s desire for all people to worship freely at the Temple. Moneychangers had settled into the Gentile court, along with those who sold sacrificial animals and other religious merchandise. Their activities probably disrupted the Gentiles trying to worship there.
When Jesus entered the Temple area, he cleared the court of these moneychangers and vendors. Today, we often attribute his anger to the fact that they turned the temple area into a business enterprise. But Jesus was probably angry for another reason as well.
As he drove out the vendors, Jesus quoted the passage from Isaiah, ?Is it not written: ?My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations??? The vendors had been inconsiderate of Gentile believers. Their willingness to disrupt Gentile worship and prayers reflected a callous attitude of indifference toward the spiritual needs of Gentiles.
Through his anger and actions, Jesus reminded everyone nearby that God cared for Jew and Gentile alike. He showed his followers that God?s Temple was to be a holy place of prayer and worship for all believers. - Van Der Laan
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Excerpts from a good Andreana Reale article in which she sheds light on Palm Sunday and theTemple Tantrum:
,, Jesus’ entrance into Jerusalem actually echoes a custom that would have been familiar to people living in the Greco-Roman world, when the gospels were written.
Simon Maccabeus was a Jewish general who was part of the Maccabean Revolt that occurred two centuries before Christ, which liberated the Jewish people from Greek rule. Maccabeus entered Jerusalem with praise and palm leaves—making a beeline to the Temple to have it ritually cleansed from all the idol worship that was taking place. With the Jewish people now bearing the brunt of yet another foreign ruler (this time the Romans), Jesus’ parade into Jerusalem—complete with praise and palm leaves—was a strong claim that He was the leader who would liberate the people.
Except that in this case, Jesus isn’t riding a military horse, but a humble donkey. How triumphant is Jesus’ “triumphant entry”—on a donkey He doesn’t own, surrounded by peasants from the countryside, approaching a bunch of Jews who want to kill Him?
And so He enters the Temple. In the Greco-Roman world, the classic “triumphant entry” was usually followed by some sort of ritual—making a sacrifice at the Temple, for example, as was the legendary case of Alexander the Great. Jesus’ “ritual” was to attempt to drive out those making a profit in the Temple.
The chaotic commerce taking place—entrepreneurs selling birds and animals as well as wine, oil and salt for use in Temple sacrifices—epitomized much more than general disrespect. It also symbolised a whole system that was founded on oppression and injustice.
In Matthew, Mark and John, for example, Jesus chose specifically to overturn the tables of the pigeon sellers, since these were the staple commodities that marginalised people like women and lepers used to be made ritually clean by the system. Perhaps it was this system that Jesus was referring to when He accused the people of making the Temple “a den of robbers” (Mt 21.13; Mk 11.17; Lk 19.46).
Andreana Reale
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So Jesus is intertexting and double pasting two Scriptures and making a new one.
But he leaves out the most important part "FOR ALL NATIONS"...which means he is hemistiching and making that phrase even more significant by it's absence,
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"If anyone says to this mountain, 'Go throw yourself into the sea,
and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will
happen, it will be done.' (Mark 11:23). If you want to be charismatic
about it, you can pretend this refers to the mountain of your
circumstances--but that is taking the passage out of context. Jesus was
not referring to the mountain of circumstances. When he referred to
'this mountain,' I believe (based in part on Zech 4:6-9) that he was
looking at the Temple Mount, and indicating that "the mountain on which
the temple sits is going to be removed, referring to its destruction by
the Romans..
Much of what Jesus said was intended to clue people in to the fact that the religous system of the day would be overthrown, but we miss much if it because we Americanize it, making it say what we want it to say, We turn the parables into fables or moral stories instead of living prophecies that pertain as much to us as to the audience that first heard them."
-Steve Gray, "When The KIngdom Comes," p..31
“Indeed, read in its immediate context, Jesus’ subsequent instruction to the disciples, ‘Truly I tell you, if you say to this mountain..’ can refer only to the mountain on which the temple is built!... For him, the time of the temple is no more.”
Much of what Jesus said was intended to clue people in to the fact that the religous system of the day would be overthrown, but we miss much if it because we Americanize it, making it say what we want it to say, We turn the parables into fables or moral stories instead of living prophecies that pertain as much to us as to the audience that first heard them."
-Steve Gray, "When The KIngdom Comes," p..31
“Indeed, read in its immediate context, Jesus’ subsequent instruction to the disciples, ‘Truly I tell you, if you say to this mountain..’ can refer only to the mountain on which the temple is built!... For him, the time of the temple is no more.”
"The
word about the mountain being cast into the sea.....spoken in
Jerusalem, would naturallly refer to the Temple mount. The saying is
not simply a miscellaneous comment on how prayer and faith can do such
things as curse fig trees. It is a very specific word of judgement: the
Temple mountain is, figuratively speaking, to be taken up and cast into
the sea."
-N,T. Wright, "Jesus and the Victory of God," p.422
see also:
By intercalating the story of the cursing of the fig tree within that of Jesus' obstruction of the normal activity of the temple, Mark interprets Jesus' action in the temple not merely as its cleansing but its cursing. For him, the time of the temple is no more, for it has lost its fecundity. Indeed , read in its immediate context, Jesus' subsequent instruction to the disciples, "Truly I tell you, if you say to this mountain, 'Be taken up and thrown into the sea'" can refer only to the mountain on which the temple is built!
What is Jesus' concern with the temple? Why does he regard it as extraneous to God's purpose?
Hints may be found in the mixed citation of Mark 11:17, part of which derives from Isaiah 56:7, the other from 11:7. Intended as a house of prayer for all the nations, the temple has been transformed by the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem into a den of brigands. That is, the temple has been perverted in favor of both socioreligious aims (the exclusion of Gentiles as potential recipients of divine reconciliation) and politico-economic purposes (legitimizing and
consolidating the power of the chief priests, whose teaching might be realized even in the plundering of even a poor widow's livelihood-cf 12:41-44)....
...In 12:10-11, Jesus uses temple imagery from Psalm 118 to refer to his own rejection and vindication, and in the process, documents his expectation of a new temple, inclusive of 'others' (12:9, Gentiles?) This is the community of his disciples.
-John T, Carroll and Joel B. Green, "The Death of Jesus in Early Christianity," p. 32-33
FIG TREE: FOLLOW SCRIPTURES WHERE IT IS A SYMBOL OF NATIONIAL ISRAEL/jERUSALEM/GOD'S BOUNDED SET:
Fig Tree:
s to
the significance of this passage and what it means, the answer to that
is again found in the chronological setting and in understanding how a
fig tree is often used symbolically to represent Israel in the
Scriptures. First of all, chronologically, Jesus had just arrived at
Jerusalem amid great fanfare and great expectations, but then proceeds
to cleanse the Temple and curse the barren fig tree. Both had
significance as to the spiritual condition of Israel. With His cleansing
of the Temple and His criticism of the worship that was going on there (Matthew 21:13; Mark 11:17),
Jesus was effectively denouncing Israel’s worship of God. With the
cursing of the fig tree, He was symbolically denouncing Israel as a
nation and, in a sense, even denouncing unfruitful “Christians” (that
is, people who profess to be Christian but have no evidence of a
relationship with Christ).
The presence of a fruitful fig
tree was considered to be a symbol of blessing and prosperity for the
nation of Israel. Likewise, the absence or death of a fig tree would
symbolize judgment and rejection. Symbolically, the fig tree represented
the spiritual deadness of Israel, who while very religious outwardly
with all the sacrifices and ceremonies, were spiritually barren because
of their sins. By cleansing the Temple and cursing the fig tree, causing
it to whither and die, Jesus was pronouncing His coming judgment of
Israel and demonstrating His power to carry it out. It also teaches the
principle that religious profession and observance are not enough to
guarantee salvation, unless there is the fruit of genuine salvation
evidenced in the life of the person. James would later echo this truth
when he wrote that “faith without works is deadt also teaches the
principle that religious profession and observance are not enough to
guarantee salvation, unless there is the fruit of genuine salvation
evidenced in the life of the person. James would later echo this truth
when he wrote that “faith without works is dead” (James 2:26). The lesson of the fig tree is that we should bear spiritual fruit (Galatians 5:22-23),
not just give an appearance of religiosity. God judges fruitlessness,
and expects that those who have a relationship with Him will “bear much
fruit” ( LINK
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SOREQ
Temple Warning Inscription:
The Jewish Temple in Jerusalem was
surrounded by a fence (balustrade) with a sign (soreq) that was about 5
ft. [1.5 m.] high. On this fence were mounted inscriptions in Latin
and Greek forbidding Gentiles from entering the temple area proper.
One complete inscription was found in Jerusalem and is now on display on
the second floor of the “Archaeological Museum” in Istanbul.
The Greek text has been translated: “Foreigners must not enter inside
the balustrade or into the forecourt around the sanctuary. Whoever is
caught will have himself to blame for his ensuing death.” Compare the
accusation against Paul found in Acts 21:28 and Paul’s comments in
Ephesians 2:14—“the dividing wall.”
Translation from Elwell, Walter A., and Yarbrough, Robert W., eds. Readings from the First–Century World: Primary Sources for New Testament Study.
Encountering Biblical Studies, general editor and New Testament editor
Walter A. Elwell. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 1998, p. 83. Click Here
Three thought experiments.
- -Think if I offered you a drivers license, claiming i had authority to issue it
- -Think if someone destroyed all bank records and evidence of any debt you have owe
- -Think what would happen if you pointed at something, hoping your dog would look at it.
Now watch this short and important video for explanations:
N.T. Wright, "The Challenge of Jesus":
His attitude to the Temple was not "this institution needs reforming," nor "the wrong people are running this place," nor yet "piety can function elsewhere too." His deepest belief regarding the temple was eschatological: the time had come for God to judge the entire institution. It had come to symbolize the injustice that characterized the society on the inside and on the outside, the rejection of the vocation to be the light of the world, the city set on a hill that would draw to itself all the peoples of the world. (64)
…Jesus acted and spoke as if he was in some sense called to do and be what the Temple was and did. His offer of forgiveness, with no prior condition of Temple-worship or sacrifice, was the equivalent of someone in our world offering as a private individual to issue someone else a passport or a driver’s license. He was undercutting the official system and claiming by implication to be establishing a new one in its place. (65) NT WRIGHT
See for more
The Jewish Temple in Jerusalem was surrounded by a fence (balustrade) with a sign (soreq) that was about 5 ft. [1.5 m.] high. On this fence were mounted inscriptions in Latin and Greek forbidding Gentiles from entering the temple area proper.One complete inscription was found in Jerusalem and is now on display on the second floor of the “Archaeological Museum” in Istanbul.The Greek text has been translated: “Foreigners must not enter inside the balustrade or into the forecourt around the sanctuary. Whoever is caught will have himself to blame for his ensuing death.” Compare the accusation against Paul found in Acts 21:28 and Paul’s comments in Ephesians 2:14—“the dividing wall.”Translation from Elwell, Walter A., and Yarbrough, Robert W., eds. Readings from the First–Century World: Primary Sources for New Testament Study. Encountering Biblical Studies, general editor and New Testament editor Walter A. Elwell. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 1998, p. 83. Click Here
- -Think if I offered you a drivers license, claiming i had authority to issue it
- -Think if someone destroyed all bank records and evidence of any debt you have owe
- -Think what would happen if you pointed at something, hoping your dog would look at it.
N.T. Wright, "The Challenge of Jesus":
His attitude to the Temple was not "this institution needs reforming," nor "the wrong people are running this place," nor yet "piety can function elsewhere too." His deepest belief regarding the temple was eschatological: the time had come for God to judge the entire institution. It had come to symbolize the injustice that characterized the society on the inside and on the outside, the rejection of the vocation to be the light of the world, the city set on a hill that would draw to itself all the peoples of the world. (64)
…Jesus acted and spoke as if he was in some sense called to do and be what the Temple was and did. His offer of forgiveness, with no prior condition of Temple-worship or sacrifice, was the equivalent of someone in our world offering as a private individual to issue someone else a passport or a driver’s license. He was undercutting the official system and claiming by implication to be establishing a new one in its place. (65) NT WRIGHT
See for more
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