Glocal Christianity

Summarise the Bible in five statements

My friend Sally tagged me: Summarise the Bible in five statements, the first one word long, the second two, the third three, the fourth four and the last five words long. Or possibly you could do this in descending order. Tag five people.

Here's my Bible summary:

1. Revelation
2. God acts
3. Jesus changes everything
4. Spirit calls us forth
5. Now, how will you live?

I tag Nadia, Jamie, Jarred, Brad, Steve

The Man with the Golden Gun

When the people saw that the holy fool was so long in coming down from the mountain, they gathered around the respectable pastor and said, "Come, make us gods who will go before us. As for this holy fool who brought us up out of slavery, we don't know what has happened to him."

The respectable pastor answered them, "Take off the gold earrings that your wives, your sons and your daughters are wearing, and bring them to me." So all the people took off their earrings and brought them to the respectable pastor. He took what they handed him and made it into an idol cast in the shape of a gun, fashioning it with a tool. Then they said, "These are your gods, O America, who brought you up out of slavery.

When the respectable pastor saw this, he built an altar in front of the gun and announced, "Tomorrow there will be a festival to the LORD." So the next day the people rose early and sacrificed burnt offerings and presented fellowship offerings. Afterward they sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in revelry.

Are gospels and Acts our primary texts for missiology?

Janet has suggested, as a topic for debate, we discuss whether the gospels and Acts are our primary texts for missiology. I've decided to respond in the negative and counter with, the New Testament is our primary text for missiology.

Yes, of course Acts is an obvious place to begin, as are the gospels. But I want to suggest that, if we truly affirm God as a missional God, then we need to be open to understanding all of God's word as missional.

The Old Testament

Indeed, if we affirm the YHWH of the Old Testament and the Father of the New Testament as the same, we should also be open to what the Old Testament has to say. The gospel of John suggests we be open to reading Genesis 1 more Christologically, and thus missiologically, and missionaries have long seen missional significance in the calling and sending forth of Abraham. And then we also have the story of Jonah, which deconstructs any suggestion that God cares only for those under the covenant. And then we also have the new covenant prophecies.

The New Testament

But, that being said, I am wary of over emphasizing the Old Testament. For just as Jesus is superior to Moses, so the New Testament is superior to the Old Testament, thus I think its important we keep a Christological focus when discussing mission. But given that all the New Testament was written in the aftermath of the resurrection and the sending of the apostles, I think all of the New Testament is pretty primary.

Revelation and the Letters

For instance, my missiology is heavily shaped by Revelation, by the vision of the extraordinary breaking into the ordinary world, by the vision of the conqueror as the vulnerable one, by the vision of a renewed earth and resurrected community, by the warning that the state is Babylon, by the call to come. Where is mission without vision?
My missiology is also heavily shaped by that extraordinary missionary, the apostle Paul. Where would my understanding of multicultural mission be without Paul's letter to the Galatians? And hey, are there any Calvinists out there? I expect you'd agree Romans shouldn't be underestimated in missiological / evangelistic importance either.

The Good News

Which brings us, of course, to the good news itself. The messiah spread the good news of the kingdom. The apostles spread the good news of the king. How can we understand how the two messages are one message without exploring how the gospels, Acts, letters and Revelation mutually interrelate?

So, without seeking to minimise the importance of the gospels and Acts for missiology, I say, without the letters and Revelation our reading of the gospels and Acts will be lopsided.

The NIV gender bender

Seems like the gender inclusive language debate is on for young and old again with the announcement that the TNIV is to be discontinued and that a new version NIV is scheduled for 2011.

Personally I think this is one conversation where the old maxim of God giving us two ears and one mouth, to be used in that proportion, may be something to take note of. Few who argue for formal equivalence would deny the need for some translation, short of everyone learning to read ancient Greek and Hebrew. Few who argue for dynamic equivalence would deny the need to treat the ancient text with integrity, lest we think we can make it say anything. Let us at least acknowledge some boundaries to the debate!

I think there are few who would argue that New Testament use of αδερφοί (brothers) to address disciples of both sexes is not problematic. So let us acknowledge we share this understanding, let us acknowledge that about one another.

For me personally, one of the language issues I find most difficult is how to deal with the issue of personal pronouns for God. He, him, his, I find these words very difficult, as using them gives many the impression that masculinity encapsulates God, when it does not, not at all. But the alternatives, she, her, hers or it, it's create just as many, if not more problems. So generally I avoid pronouns altogether. But this approach is not without its difficulties either. So, let's listen before leaping to conclusions about people's intentions.   

The Ophite Diagrams

Lately I have been exploring connections between the Ophite diagrams and Revelation 4. There seems to be a way in which the vision of Revelation 4 could be interpreted in a mandala-like fashion, of concentric circles radiating out from the throne of God, with revelations within revelations flowing from the initial revelation of the scroll, holding the whole text together. Have any of you ever explored this?

Violence in the Old Testament

Some forgotten teachings on violence from the Old Testament.

Genesis 6:11
Now the earth was corrupt in God's sight and was full of violence.

Job 16:17
yet my hands have been free of violence and my prayer is pure.

Psalm 11:5
The LORD examines the righteous, but the wicked and those who love violence his soul hates.

Proverbs 10:11
The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life, but violence overwhelms the mouth of the wicked.

Isaiah 53:9
He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth.

Jeremiah 22:3
This is what the LORD says: Do what is just and right. Rescue from the hand of his oppressor the one who has been robbed. Do no wrong or violence to the alien, the fatherless or the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place.

Ezekiel 7:23
Prepare chains, because the land is full of bloodshed and the city is full of violence.

Jonah 3:8
But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth. Let everyone call urgently on God. Let them give up their evil ways and their violence.

Habakkuk 1:3
Why do you make me look at injustice? Why do you tolerate wrong? Destruction and violence are before me; there is strife, and conflict abounds.

Zephaniah 1:9
On that day I will punish all who avoid stepping on the threshold, who fill the temple of their gods with violence and deceit.

Malachi 2:16
I hate a man's covering himself with violence as well as with his garment.

Again, this is just a small sample from the Old Testament. But even from this small sample we can see that the living God associates the violence of humanity with corruption, impurity, wickedness, deceit, wrongness, evil, injustice ... things which are condemned by God.

Sensual Scripture

The Song of Songs, that most sensual of Old Testament poems, is not directly quoted by New Testament writers. But some New Testament interpreters suggest it is alluded to on a number of occasions. See what you think.

The bridegroom knocks

I slept but my heart was awake. Listen! My lover is knocking: "Open to me, my sister, my darling, my dove, my flawless one. My head is drenched with dew, my hair with the dampness of the night." (Song 5:2)

Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me. (Revelation 3:20)

Fragrance for the king

While the king was at his table, my perfume spread its fragrance. (Song 1:12)

Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus' feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. (John 12:3)

Streams of living water

You are a garden fountain, a well of flowing water streaming down from Lebanon. (Song 4:15).

Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him." (John 7:38)

God in the Old Testament and New Testament

Do you find the Old Testament and New Testament difficult to reconcile?

I don't know about you, but as a new Christian I found it very difficult to see the Old Testament as inspired in any way, let alone authoritative. I found myself asking, "How could the same God be so angry and vengeful in the Old Testament, yet so loving and compassionate in the New Testament?" I just didn't get it. I found myself wondering how any thinking Christian could ever equate the YHWH of Moses with the Father of Jesus.

So what happened? How come I see the Old Testament as authoritative now? How did I get from there to here? Well, an important part of my journey was learning that much of my understanding of the Old Testament and the God of Israel was deeply deficient; I learned that I had much to learn.

So, if you have ever struggled with this, if you have ever found the Old Testament and New Testament difficult to reconcile, I'd invite you to read and reflect on what the Old Testament says about God's mercy. Here is a sample:

Nehemiah 9:29-31
You warned them to return to your law, but they became arrogant and disobeyed your commands. They sinned against your ordinances, by which a man will live if he obeys them. Stubbornly they turned their backs on you, became stiff-necked and refused to listen. 30 For many years you were patient with them. By your Spirit you admonished them through your prophets. Yet they paid no attention, so you handed them over to the neighboring peoples. 31 But in your great mercy you did not put an end to them or abandon them, for you are a gracious and merciful God.

Isaiah 63:9
In all their distress he too was distressed, and the angel of his presence saved them. In his love and mercy he redeemed them; he lifted them up and carried them all the days of old.

Hosea 6:6
For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings.

Micah 6:8
He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.

Micah 7:18
Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance? You do not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy.

Zechariah
"This is what the LORD Almighty says: 'Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another.

Personally I find the prophetic instructions from Hosea and Micah particularly arresting. Their words are not so different from how Jesus summarized the Law, as loving God and loving others. Yet here it is in the Old Testament.

Diversity in the New Testament

If the church was supposed to be monolythic why is their so much diversity in the New Testament? Why are there four gospels? Why are there different genres? Letters? Stories? Poetic visions? Why multiple authors?

Is the God of the Old Testament Christian?

Strange question you think? Let me explain. One of the stumbling blocks I find coming up again and again in interfaith conversations, particularly with Atheists and Gnostics, is the difficulty they experience in reconciling the God of the Old Testament with the God of the New Testament.

I am sympathetic to this. I had similar difficulties myself before I experienced my rebirth, but it does lead me to pose the question in this way: Is the God of the Old Testament Christian?

And you know my answer? Not necessarily so.

The Old Testament in Other Religions

You see, what I am very aware of is that there are many non-Christians who also look to the Old Testament as scripture. Most obviously there are the Jews (who call it the Tanakh), but we should also remember the Muslims and the Mormons. They all affirm the Old Testament as scripture, yet understand God very differently.

This should not surprise us. Even in ancient Jerusalem and Galilee there was disagreement over how scripture was to be interpreted. The Pharisees and Saducees and Essenes had very different ideas, very different understandings about what God had revealed and how he called them to act. We are not being particularly original in asking questions like this.

So how can people come up which such different understandings about God from reading the same writings? Well, it is important to consider what else people read as authoritative scripture.

• Christians affirm the New Testament
• Jews affirm the Talmud commentaries
• Muslims affirm the Quran
• Mormons affirm the Book of Mormon and other texts.

Quite simply, the question of revelation needs to be explored more holistically than Atheists and Gnostics are used to doing, and therein lays much of the confusion.

I find the movie Sixth Sense provides a good analogy. If you have seen that movie, starring Bruce Willis, then you’d know that the ending of the movie has a killer twist. In the final moments Bruce Willis’ character has a revelation that reframes everything that was going on up to that moment. He realizes what he thought was going on was not what was really going on. The realization affects his identity and transforms his entire story.

The Old Testament in Christianity

For Christians the coming of Christ is, similarly, a killer twist. Jesus transforms our understanding of God, and hence, our understanding of the Old Testament and how we read it. Reading the Old Testament in isolation from the New Testament is like watching Sixth Sense but walking out fifteen minutes before the climax. You’ll never understand Christianity by viewing it that way, and you’ll never truly understand the Old Testament by reading it that way.

Jesus said if we had seen him we had seen God. That means if we read the Old Testament and don’t see him then our reading is off base. We have not understood, the deeper mysteries remain hidden. If you think I am just pulling this out of thin air I invite you to read the New Testament stories of the Road to Emmaus or Philip and the Ethiopian. Both point powerfully to how the resurrection of Jesus reveals hidden depths in the Old Testament. 

The Old Testament and You

Now if you are an Atheist or Gnostic, the question I have for you is, are you open to exploring the deeper truths and hidden depths of the Old Testament? Or are you content to continue reading it at a surface level? If you can't understand the Old Testament as a Christian would, you can't claim to be critiquing a Christian document, for the Old Testament is not intrinsically Christian. If you truly seek truth and knowledge I invite you to know more.

Missional Stories - Philip and the Ethiopian

Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, "Go south to the road—the desert road—that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza." So he started out, and on his way he met an Ethiopian eunuch, an important official in charge of all the treasury of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians. This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship, and on his way home was sitting in his chariot reading the book of Isaiah the prophet. The Spirit told Philip, "Go to that chariot and stay near it."

Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. "Do you understand what you are reading?" Philip asked. "How can I," he said, "unless someone explains it to me?" So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.

The eunuch was reading this passage of Scripture:

"He was led like a sheep to the slaughter,
and as a lamb before the shearer is silent,
so he did not open his mouth.
In his humiliation he was deprived of justice.
Who can speak of his descendants?
For his life was taken from the earth."

The eunuch asked Philip, "Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?" Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus.

As they traveled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, "Look, here is water. Why shouldn't I be baptized?" And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him. When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him again, but went on his way rejoicing. Philip, however, appeared at Azotus and traveled about, preaching the gospel in all the towns until he reached Caesarea.

Reflection

I think this is a beautiful story that brilliantly illustrates the missional way of life. Philip, in his openness to the Spirit, bypasses Jerusalem and its Temple. On the road he meets a foreigner, whom he listens to, and asks questions of. Having proven himself approachable he is invited to share his insights into the teachings of the ancients, whereupon he shares the good news about Jesus and initiates the seeker into the mysteries of the God of gods. Nothing is forced; he just follows the leadings of the Spirit and the flow of the conversation. Have you ever experienced Christianity this way?

Illustration

The above image is Saint Philip Baptizing the Eunuch of the Queen of Ethiopia, 1854 (?) by Théodore Chassériau (French, 1819–1856) Oil, gouache, black chalk on paper glued to canvas

Simeon's Moment

When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required, Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying:

"Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you now dismiss your servant in peace. For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all people, light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel."

The child's father and mother marveled at what was said about him. Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: "This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed.

Simeon never lived to see the resurrection of Jesus, but he saw the day of his circumcision, his rite of passage as a son of Abraham. Simeon reminds me that we don't always see everything that God has planned, but we get glimpses and often that has to be enough. For Simeon it was more than enough.

Image: "Simeon's Moment" by Ron DiCianni

The Word according to Wordle

Wordle is a new application for generating word clouds from any text you care to input. The clouds give greater prominence to words that appear more frequently in the source text. This is one I generated from the text of Revelation 22.

Why don't you try one too? Feel free to post links to your wordles in the comments.

What are your favourite Bible verses?

What are your favourite Bible verses? It is hard for me to pin down a single, all time favourite. But here are a number of Bible verses that have inspired me over the years, which I keep coming back to:

Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you (Luke 6:27)

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away." (Revelation 21:1-4)

Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. (Proverbs 3:6)

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. (1 Corinthians 13:13)

For the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man's strength. (1 Corinthians 1:25)

Maybe you can see a theme - love, wisdom and hope!  

Do you have some favourite Bible verses? What inspires you?

Biblical Social Network (People and Places)

Chris Harrison has put together a set of cool Bible visualizations representing the interactions between biblical people and places. Web 2.0 for the year 0000. Click on the images to zoom in or visit the website here.