The Passing of Kerry Kind

It's been a few weeks now since the passing of Kerry Kind, but I wanted to quickly jot down some of my fond memories of him before too much time slipped away.

1. I think I first met Kerry when I was a student at Asbury Seminary. He led the Wesleyan Foundation at the time, the organization that supported Wesleyan students at the seminary. He also attended Stonewall Wesleyan Church, where I attended. By that time he had already returned from the mission field in Sierra Leone and was working on his doctorate at UK in Communication if I remember correctly.

Everyone will recall his booming voice. He always sang in a kind of operatic style. He typically led the singing at Stonewall. What was more curious is the fact that he did not come down from the platform after leading the singing. He would sit on the platform while Larry Freels preached and apparently would fall asleep. It was quite funny to me.

I had heard that at that time Kerry prided himself in some way on having studied at Purdue, a secular school, rather than going to a Christian college. He had been in the world, and he had been able to hack it. Of course, I don't think, if I remember correctly, that he was a Christian at the time, so that would have been a normal path for him to take.

2. But imagine the irony then of him eventually becoming the General Secretary of Education and the Ministry! His job then was to urge Wesleyan students to go to Wesleyan colleges! I believe he followed Ken Heer in that role, who followed Lee Haines. Then my friend Russ Gunsalus followed Kerry after Wayne Schmidt was elected General Superintendent. And now Johanna Rugh is in her first year.

When I was teaching undergraduate at IWU, Kerry tried to dissuade Wesleyan students from going to places like Princeton or Duke. He told them it would make it more difficult for them to advance in the Wesleyan Church later since those schools were so liberal. He was of course a strong champion of Asbury Seminary in those days.

3. But I am getting ahead of myself. Kerry left Wilmore and his doctoral studies at the University of Kentucky in order to become General Secretary of World Missions, I believe. He never did finish the doctorate. He just didn't have the margin thereafter, as I understand it. It was a sacrifice he made in service to the church. As far as I know, he never regretted it.

My next encounter with him was in fact while I was working on my doctorate in England. In my third and final year, he was trying to find someone to follow David Wright as the Wesleyan representative in the education consortium we had going with some other denominations in the environs of Birmingham. He paid for me to travel down from Durham to consider relocating there and taking over the leadership.

I obliged, although I wasn't really interested. I probably was a little too sure of myself at the time, thinking I would get a teaching job at a major university. To be frank, I wasn't sure I would even stay Wesleyan at that time. In any case, the idea of commuting from Birmingham to Durham that next year to finish when I had such a sweet setup in Durham wasn't ever something I seriously wanted to do. I was just being polite.

4. A little over a year later I was eating humble pie. Doctorate in hand, no one would even give me an interview. I was substitute teaching in south Florida, something I was horrible at because of how out of control the students were--and that was in the 90s. It's MUCH worse now.

Kerry had always thought I might be called to the mission field one day. That didn't really happen, but he did get me to Sierra Leone in the middle of a civil war. That was two months in the winter of 1997. Initially, they were going to send me to Liberia. The civil war there had calmed down considerably but there hadn't been a missionary presence there since the war began. However, in the end, the structural conditions (e.g., water systems) weren't restored or adequate. So they sent me to Sierra Leone instead.

As history would prove, Sierra Leone was only at the beginning. There was some serious rebel activity up country, but it had not reached Freetown. I spent those two months in January and February quite nervous that one of those many lights coming down the road from up country would be the rebels to infiltrate Freetown. Jui was right on the way, on the outskirts of Freetown, not far from Waterloo, the real gateway to the rest of the country.

My fond memory of Kerry is the stories he told me in preparation. It was mainly about snakes and rabid dogs. He talked about how when they would hear a certain howl at night, he and some others would get bats and go to find the rabid dogs to put them down. 

Then there were the snake stories. He recounted finding a cobra once behind the refrigerator. Then there were the black mambas in the trees. When I arrived, they had burned off the ground behind where I was going to stay. I heard it was to discourage snakes.

Let's just say I didn't find Kerry's stories particularly encouraging at the time. I was paranoid the whole time I was there, although I never saw a snake.

5. I suspect Kerry may have had a hand in recommending me to Bud Bence and IWU. On my flight back from Brussels, I made a stop in Indianapolis to meet with Dr. Bence at a Richards in Elwood. They had a New Testament position. Bud was concerned I was too liberal for IWU. He had a bad experience at Houghton with a Dunn graduate. In fact, Dunn said he would never write a reference for me to teach at Houghton as a result. Bud had been charged by the then president with getting rid of a faculty member and it didn't go well.

I digress. The interview was the beginning of a series of events that resulted in me teaching for IWU that fall. Kerry may then have played an instrumental role in all that happening, for which I am eternally grateful. Otherwise I might still be substitute teaching in south Florida.

6. Kerry was always a selfless promoter of others, myself included. When they were looking for a resource on women in ministry that could be produced quickly. Kerry tapped a piece I had, perhaps providentially, blogged about that time. It became the go-to resource for women in ministry in the church for the next two decades and had an incredibly wide distribution and impact. It is still being used in an upgraded form.

Kerry used to tell about an exchange when they felt like a certain chapter was missing from a book on a biblical topic. I don't even remember what it was now. He contacted me. I told him if I didn't have it done in the next 24 hours I wouldn't be able to do it. But I was able to get it done.

7. I played a minor role in the presidential scandal at Asbury in the early 2000s. The faculty and the then president were in a major fight with the board. A key Asbury person was feeding me internal information that I published on my blog. It was a real turning point in the Wesleyan Church's relationship with the seminary and, to be frank, was a key moment toward the founding of Wesley Seminary. If that conflict had not occurred, there would not have been a Wesley Seminary.

Kerry was also there in that mix, faithfully representing the denomination on the Asbury board. Although the final outcome probably was as it needed to be, as a member of the broader board, Kerry I believe also had reservations about how the executive leadership of the board had gone about things. He remained an ever insightful and faithful member of those college and seminary boards.

8. I remember interacting with him at Houghton at one of the every two-year gatherings of professors. That was my first time ever to visit the campus. I asked him why the Wesleyan headquarters couldn't serve as the HQ for a Wesleyan seminary with the various colleges as branch campuses. Encyclopedic in his knowledge and insight, he pointed out that the WC was not an accredited academic institution, so couldn't serve in that way. I think we could have found a way in theory, but the colleges have never wanted to work together on that deep a level. Barnes never would have, in my opinion.

Kerry became a great supporter of Wesley Seminary. He quickly allotted EIF money to Wesleyan students going there. A diehard Asbury fan, he faithfully supported this entrepreneurial venture of the church. It had so much momentum in those days.

9. I remember another occasion where he thought quickly on his feet in conversation. I was expressing to him my doubts that the New Testament would restrict administering communion to the clergy. He paused very briefly and then suggested that the Wesleyan Church didn't so much restrict serving the sacraments for theological reasons but for practical ones.

Keith Drury was good friends with Kerry. I occasionally would hear the spill-over of their conversations. Kerry was clearly a soundly conservative thinker. Meanwhile, one of Keith's tasks in life has always been to broaden everyone's thinking--wherever you start out, liberal or conservative, Keith is sure to expand your horizon. Although I don't remember all the topics, I remember Keith relaying a number of such broadening conversations with Kerry. 

10. I was sad to hear of Kerry's physical struggles in recent years. I was so thankful when his lung transplant was successful. So happy he had those last six months, although it would have been grand for him to have twenty more years. In the recent series of Wesleyan presidential searches, I got a message from Kerry suggesting I throw my hat in the ring. To the very end, he remained such a great supporter and advocate. It was always fun to see him engaged on the Wesleyan Pastor's Facebook pages. He was sure to know the answer to any question.

I don't know if the Lord allows those who have passed on to interact with us. It seems doubtful, given the Parable of the Rich Fool. But if he is allowed, I have full expectation that he will continue his ministry to those of us who are still behind.

New book -- GPTChat and I explore the existence of God

I had this idea a while back about a guy talking to an AI about God and the AI objectively going through arguments with him. So when ChatGPT hit this winter, it seemed like the perfect way to flesh out that novel idea. So for the last couple months, I've been going through the arguments for the existence of God with ChatGPT and writing a novel framework around it.

Here's the book: Chats about God. It has some art in it, so I had it printed in color, which made it a little more expensive. But here's to the experiment!  

Summaries of the Messages of the Prophets

Here are the summaries in one place of the spade work I've been doing on the messages of the Prophets:

I. From the Northern Kingdom (700s BC)

1. Hosea
Clearly, the dominant theme of Hosea is that Israel has been cheating on God with other gods and other nations like Egypt and Assyria. Intertwined with this "prostitution" are other indicators of the chaotic and pathetic state of Israel. It is a place of violence. It is a place of stealing. It is a place where daughters get pulled into the prostitution associated with serving other gods like Ba'al.

2. Amos
Two or three themes dominate the prophecies of Amos. Most of them have to do with the oppression of the ordinary person, the "poor." The wealthy are targeted as oppressors. They use unjust scales. They take bribes. They take advantage of those without power. Meanwhile, the affluent think they're ok because they offer their sacrifices. God doesn't care.

Yes, there is also the theme of serving other gods, but this is not in isolation from the concrete actions of Israelites toward each other. The other gods are associated with the violence of the surrounding peoples. The other gods are associated with temple prostitution, for example.

The theme of the violence of the surrounding peoples, including violence toward women, is also mentioned.

3. Jonah
(Not written to or from the northern kingdom, but Jonah was from there) Jonah is about hope for salvation instead of judgment. It is about God's willingness to hear repentance and God's love even of foreigners.

II. Pre-Exilic Southern Kingdom (late 700s BC)

4. Joel
Joel would seem to be about hope in the midst of oppression because of judgment.

5. Isaiah 1-39
Clearly, a great deal of Israel 1-39 is about judgment on the oppressors of Judah and Israel. The rest might be said to be heavily about the oppressors within Israel. Thus the theme of social justice features large. Along with all of this is the hope of salvation and a righteous Davidic king.

The proper worship of Yahweh is associated with all these things. Turning to other nations is turning to other gods, and to worship other gods in Israel is to weaken Israel. Isaiah 6 gives us a sense of the pure worship of Yahweh. Worshiping Yahweh is another strong theme of these chapters.

6. Micah
Micah has a fair amount of hope but also predicts judgment on Israel for its wrongdoing. This wrongdoing includes a lot of injustice, from violence to concrete wrongs to others to the need for social justice. All these things are associated with the worship of the true God and not idols.

III. Lead-up to Exile (late 600s/early 500s BC)

7. Nahum
Nineveh is being judged for its violence and oppression of other nations (what goes around comes around).

8. Habakkuk
A lot of hope in the midst of judgment, judgment for violence and concrete wrongs to others. A reiteration of loving God.

9. Zephaniah
General judgment of Judah's leaders for injustice and corruption, promised judgment on those who are oppressors, hope for the righteous and humble. All this goes with serving the true God.

10. Obadiah
Obadiah is against the violence and oppression Edom had done against Israel.

IV. Beginning of the Exile (early 500s BC)

11. Jeremiah
The overwhelming theme of Jeremiah is judgment for Israel's past sins. There is some strong hope also in the middle, especially around chapters 29-31. The core reason for judgment is that Judah has abandoned the worship of Yahweh. They are serving other gods and ignoring Yahweh's laws. These factors cannot be separated from concrete wrongdoing to others and the lack of justice in the land.

12. Ezekiel
Like Jeremiah, Ezekiah is primarily full of judgment on Israel for its past sins, the greatest of which are going after other gods. The need to serve God is thus primary.  There are also clear messages of hope, especially at the end of the book. Israel's sins also included its oppression, its violence, its failure to bring justice to the poor, the fatherless, the widow, the foreigner. It also has themes that are unique or less common in the other prophets, purity and the need for Sabbath observance.

V. After the Exile

12. Isaiah 40-66
These chapters are filled with hope for the restoration of Judah and the return from exile. This is especially true of the first half. The theme of the greatness of Yahweh, the pointlessness of idols, and the need to worship Yahweh also fills the section. Then there are also the usual themes of social justice, not wronging others, and the evil of oppression.

13. Haggai
Haggai is full of hope both for a restored temple and a restored ruler.

14. Zechariah
The predominant theme of Zechariah would seem to be hope. We find traces of the other themes as well: social justice, against idols and other gods, ending concrete wrongs to others.

15. Malachi
Malachi clearly calls Israel to love God appropriately. They are only serving God superficially and half-heartedly. There is a smidge of mention of other gods. Equally is the call for "social justice" and not wronging others. Finally, there is hope for future restoration.

Messages of the Prophets

The messages of the prophets correlate significantly with their historical context. The end of the exile was a time of hope, so it is no surprise that we find increasing themes of hope as we move from Jeremiah and Ezekiel to the second half of Isaiah to Haggai and Zechariah.

Those toward the beginning of the exile, especially Jeremiah and Ezekiel, are very gloomy, bringing a message of judgment. More than anything else, turning away from God to other gods is the primary reason given, with mention of child sacrifice and prostitution associated with those other gods. The same emphasis is in Hosea in the context of the destruction of the northern kingdom.

At the same time, certain other critiques persist throughout this three-hundred-year period. The corruption and arrogance of its rulers and upper class. The violence, oppression, and injustice within Israel is another recurrent theme. Leaders take bribes. They use skewed scales. They perpetrate concrete wrongs against the people of Israel. 

Another theme is injustice. When the prophets talk about justice, they usually are referring to injustice toward the poor, the fatherless, the widow, and the foreigner. God seems very concerned both with the abuse of power and its easiest targets. When imminent destruction or restoration does not dominate, this theme is strong, although it is always present.

The late 400s seem to have been a time of religious malaise in Judah. The priests and people only seem to be going through the motions of serving God. The same themes of social justice and stopping concrete injustice persists.

Messages of the Prophets: Ezekiel

This will complete my evidence gathering in the Prophets.

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Ezekiel 1 -- he sees the glory of the LORD in hyper-symbolic fashion. He is in Babylon. 

2:5 -- Israel is a rebellious people

2:10 -- lament, mourning, woe

3:7 -- Israel is hardened and obstinate

Chapter 3 -- God is trying to use Ezekiel to turn Israel from its sin (hope)

4:6, 17 -- sins of Israel have brought judgment

5:6 -- rebelled against God's laws (love God)

5:9 -- idols (love God)

6:3 -- high places

6:11, 13 -- detestable practices, idols

7:4 -- detestable practices

7:19 -- their silver and gold will become useless, mighty will fall (24)

8:3, 10 -- Lord jealous of idols in Jerusalem

8:14 Tammuz

9:9 -- land full of bloodshed and injustice (concrete wrongs to others), bringing judgment

Chapter 10 -- the glory departs from Israel

11:2 -- people plot evil and give wicked advice

11:12 -- they have not followed God's laws

11:17 -- God will bring them back (hope)

11:21 -- idols (love God)

Chapter 12 -- judgment is coming

Chapter 13 -- against false prophets; 13:20 magic charms, encouraged the wicked (13:22)

14:3-4 -- idolatry among the leaders, but God wants them back, 6 (love God, hope)

14:13 -- unfaithfulness

Chapter 15 -- judgment

Chapter 16 -- Israel has been unfaithful, served other gods, sacrificed your children to other gods (love God)

16:36 -- gave your children's blood to idols

16:39 -- your fine jewelry

16:49 -- did not help the poor and needy (social justice)

Chapter 17 -- judgment on the covenant-breaking king of Judah (covenant was with Babylon)

18:5-9 description of the righteous person -- no idols, no adultery, no oppression, social justice, feeds hungry, clothes the naked, no stealing, honest judging

18:10-13 description of unrighteous person -- opposite, violent, adultery, oppresses poor, idols...

Chapter 19 -- a lament

20:8, 28 -- Israel served idols

20:12-13, 16, 20, 24 -- desecrated God's Sabbaths (love God)

20:24 -- Israel did not obey God's laws

20:41 -- God will restore them (hope)

Chapter 21 -- because of your sins (e.g., 24)

22:3-4 -- you shed blood, turn to idols (concrete wrongs, love God)

22:6-12 -- use power to shed blood (violence), dishonor parents, oppress foreigner, mistreat fatherless and widow (social justice), desecrate Sabbaths, sexual immorality, exploit poor

22:29 -- poor, foreigner denied justice (social justice)

Chapter 23 -- Israel has been unfaithful, idols, sacrificed their children (37, 39), defiled sanctuary and didn't keep Sabbaths (38), shedding blood (45)

Chapter 24 -- seige of Jerusalem, for its bloodshed (7)

Chapter 25 -- judgment on Ammon, Moab, Edom, Philistia

Chapter 26-28 -- judgment against Tyre

28:16 -- violence

28:18 -- dishonest trade

28:25 -- but Israel will be restored (hope)

Chapter 29-32 -- judgment on Egypt

30:13 -- against idols

33:25 -- eat meat with blood still in it, idols, shed blood, adultery (26) (concrete wrongs, love God)

33:31 -- greedy for unjust gain (social justice)

34:4 -- have not strengthened the weak, healed the sick, search for lost, but have oppressed (social justice, oppression)

34:23 -- restore David (hope)

Chapter 35 -- judgment on Edom

36:8, 24 -- Israel will come home (hope)

36:18 -- violence, idols (love God)

Chapter 37 -- the dry bones will live again (hope)

Chapters 38-39 -- judgment on Babylon. restoration of Israel (hope)

Chapters 40-46 -- restored temple and its practices (hope)

44:7 -- You brought uncircumcised into my sanctuary

45:9 -- End your oppression and violence (concrete wrongs toward others)

Chapter 47-48 -- a river will flow from the temple, the land will be restored (hope)

Summary

Like Jeremiah, Ezekiah is primarily full of judgment on Israel for its past sins, the greatest of which are going after other gods. The need to serve God is thus primary.  There are also clear messages of hope, especially at the end of the book. Israel's sins also included its oppression, its violence, its failure to bring justice to the poor, the fatherless, the widow, the foreigner. It also has themes that are unique or less common in the other prophets, purity and the need for Sabbath observance.

Messages of the Prophets: Jeremiah

Jeremiah prophesied just before and in the earliest days of the exile, early 500s BC.

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1:16 -- judgment because Judah has served other gods

2:5 -- worthless idols (love God)

2:11 -- You have changed gods (love God) 

Chapter 2 -- other gods

2:34 -- lifeblood of the poor (social justice)

3:6 -- other gods (love God)

Chapter 3 -- judgment for not serving God (other gods)

5:1-2 -- do not deal honestly with each other (social justice)

5:19 -- destruction because you have served other gods

5:27-28 -- leaders are fat and rich; they don't protect the fatherless or the poor (social justice)

6:6 -- Jerusalem full of oppression (concrete wrongs to others)

6:10 -- they do not listen to God (love God)

6:13 -- they are greedy for gain (social justice)

6:28 -- they act corruptly

7:5 -- They need to act justly: not to oppress the foreigner, the fatherless, or the widow, not to shed innocent blood or serve other gods to their own harm (SOCIAL JUSTICE) 

7:9 -- They steal, murder, commit adultery, commit perjury, follow other gods (concrete wrongs, love God)

7:18-19 -- serving other gods is harming yourself (love God)

7:22 -- sacrifices, who cares

7:30 -- idols in God's house (love God)

Chapter 8 -- judgment coming

9:4-5, 8 -- deception and lying in Israel; they set traps (concrete wrongs to others)

10:15 -- idols are pointless (love God)

11:7-8 -- Israel did not obey God, did not keep covenant (love God)

11:13 -- worshiped other gods (love God)

Chapter 12 -- judgment, 6 liars

13:27 -- shameless acts in relation to other gods (love God)

14:20 -- sinned against Yahweh (love God)

Chapter 15 -- judgment

16:11 -- Israel is being judged because it served other gods, did not keep Law (love God)

16:18 -- idols (love God)

17:2 -- idols (love God)

17:21-22, 27 -- keep the Sabbath (love God)

18:11 -- evil ways, judgment coming

19:4 -- blood of the innocent (concrete wrongs to others)

19:5 -- burn their children in the fire to Ba'al (love God)

19:13 -- other gods (love God)

20:13 -- the needy

21:12 -- the oppressor (oppression)

22:3 -- rescue the oppressed, the robbed, do not hurt the foreigner, fatherless, or widow, do not shed innocent blood (social justice)

22:13 -- kings made the people work for nothing (oppression)

22:16 -- defending cause of the poor and needy, no dishonest gain or shedding of blood (social justice, concrete wrongs)

23:2-3 -- leaders have scattered flock of Israel

Chapter 23 -- God will bring them back (hope)

23:10. 14 -- land full of adulterers, false prophets

Chapter 24 -- mixed judgment and hope

25:6 -- don't serve other gods (love God)

25:12 -- judgment coming but you'll come back in 70 years (hope)

26:4 -- keep the Law

Chapter 26 -- repent or disaster is coming

27:9 -- don't listen to false prophets and mediums (love God)

Chapter 27 -- judgment coming but there is hope

Chapter 28 -- judgment is coming

Chapter 29 -- judgment is coming but also hope (29:11), 

29:13 -- committed adultery with neighbor's wives, uttered lies (concrete wrongs to others)

Chapter 30 -- hope is coming (30:18)

Chapter 31 -- Hope for restoration, including the blind and the lame (31:8), will write laws on the hearts of Israel (31:33)

32:15, 43 -- hope that Israel will come back

32:30 -- judgment is coming because of Israel's persistent evil

32:34-35 -- set up idols in the temple (love God)

33:7, 11 -- hope that God will bring them back after judgment

33:15 -- hope for restoration of Davidic line

34:8-9 -- Zedekiah gives freedom to Hebrew slaves, although they change their minds 11, therefore judgment 17 (oppression, social justice)

35:14, 15 -- Israel has disobeyed God, served other gods and been wicked (love God)

36:7 -- Israel has wicked ways, judgment on Jehoiakim

Chapter 37-38 -- story of Jeremiah's imprisonment and time with Zedekiah

39:10 -- some poor left in Judah when Nebuchadnezzar conquered Jerusalem

39:18 -- some who trusted Yahweh escape destruction

40:3 -- destruction came because Israel did not obey God (love God)

41:7 -- the poorest get to stay in land

Chapter 41 -- story of the assassination of Gedeliah

Chapter 42 -- don't go to Egypt, or you will die -- Jeremiah taken to Egypt

Chapter 43 -- more of the story, destruction on Egypt    

44:3, 15, 19 -- worshiped other gods, disregarded the prophets (love God)

44:23 -- have not obeyed God

Chapter 45 -- judgment coming, Baruch

Chapter 46 -- judgment on Egypt but hope of restoration for Israel

Chapter 47 -- judgment on the Philistines

Chapter 48 -- judgment on Moab

Chapter 49 -- judgment on Ammonites, Damascus, Elamites, and others, but some will be restored (hope)

Chapter 50-51 -- judgment on Babylon, with Israel restored (hope)

Chapter 52 -- the destruction of Jerusalem, most of this is taken from 2 Kings 25

Summary: The overwhelming theme of Jeremiah is judgment for Israel's past sins. There is some strong hope also in the middle, especially around chapters 29-31. The core reason for judgment is that Judah has abandoned the worship of Yahweh. They are serving other gods and ignoring Yahweh's laws. These factors cannot be separated from concrete wrongdoing to others and the lack of justice in the land.

Messages of the Prophets: Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai

With this post we will only have Jeremiah and Ezekiel left. The prophets of this post are mostly just before the exile, with Haggai just afterwards.

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1. Nahum

About the fall of Assyria in the late 600s BC. 

Chapters 1-2 -- the oppressor will be judged and Judah will have peace (oppression)

3:1 -- Nineveh was a city of blood, with piles of dead (3:3)

3:4 -- Its prostitution and witchcraft

3:19 -- its endless cruelty

Summary: Nineveh is being judged for its violence and oppression of other nations (what goes around comes around)

2. Habakkuk

As Babylon approached in the late 600s/early 500s BC

1:2 -- the Lord is against violence

1:3-4 -- injustice in the land

2:6 -- the piling up of stolen goods (concrete wrongs to others)

2:8 -- Against Babylon for plundering other nations (violence and oppression)

2:9 -- unjust gain

2:17 violence of Babylon

2:18-19 -- idols are pointless (love God)

Chapter 3 -- the Lord will bring deliverance (hope)

Summary: A lot of hope in the midst of judgment, judgment for violence and concrete wrongs to others. A reiteration of loving God.

3. Zephaniah

Time of Josiah, late 600s BC

1:4 -- against the worship of Ba'al (love God)

1:9 -- against violence and deceit

1:13, 18 -- against the wealthy who prosper at the expense of the people (social justice)

2:3 -- seek the Lord in humility (hope)

2:11 -- other gods (love God)

Chapter 2 -- judgment on the nations for their oppression

3:1 -- woe to oppressors

3:1-5 -- injustice, dishonest leaders, corruption, arrogance

3:15 -- hope for restoration

Summary: General judgment of Judah's leaders for injustice and corruption, promised judgment on those who are oppressors, hope for the righteous and humble. All this goes with serving the true God.

4. Haggai

Dates to late 500s BC, after Judah has returned from captivity, before temple rebuilt in 516BC.

Chapter 1 -- rebuild the temple (hope)

Chapter 2 -- glory of the new temple will be greater than that of the first (hope)

Summary: Haggai is full of hope both for a restored temple and a restored ruler

Messages of the Prophets: Joel, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah

My wandering through the Prophets continues. Here are most of the rest of the pre-exilic prophets. 

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1. Joel

Is the locust plague literal? Is it an allegory for the invasion of the Assyrian armies that destroyed the northern kingdom in 722BC? They are perhaps symbolized as a locust invasion from the north (2:20). Both? 3:4-8 may be a later prose interpolation.

Joel 1-2 -- Description of the invasion and devastation. This is the Day of the Lord (2:11). This is God's judgment.

2:12 -- There's a sense that the Day will stop if Israel will return to the LORD. There is hope because God is gracious and compassionate, full of mercy (2:13).

2:28-32 -- God will pour out his Spirit on his people and bring them back to life again (hope)

3:2-3 -- God is against the nations that scattered Israel, traded boys for prostitutes and sold girls for wine. (oppression)

3:17 -- Against foreign invasion (oppression)

Summary

Joel would seem to be about hope in the midst of oppression because of judgment.

2. Obadiah

10 -- against the violence Edom had done against Israel (oppression)

3. Jonah

Jonah is about hope for salvation instead of judgment. It is about God's willingness to hear repentance and God's love even of foreigners.

2:8 -- against idols (love God)

4. Micah

1:7 -- Israel has served other gods (love God) and gathered from the wages of prostitutes.

2:1-2 -- Part of the evil for which Israel is being punished: coveting and stealing the fields of others, defrauding people (concrete wrongs to others)

3:1, 10 -- Embrace justice. Not bloodshed. Taking of bribes, doing wrong for money (3:11) 

Chapter 4 -- hope for restoration

4:6 -- God will gather the lame

Chapter 5 -- hope for the future, no more idols (5:13) or witchcraft (5:12) love God

6:6 -- sacrifices, who cares?

6:8 -- do justice and love mercy (social justice), not dishonest scales (6:11)

7:2 -- violence (concrete wrongs to others)

7:3 -- judges accept bribes (social justice)

7:8 -- hope for restoration (7:18-20)

Summary

Micah has a fair amount of hope but also predicts judgment on Israel for its wrongdoing. This wrongdoing includes a lot of injustice, from violence to concrete wrongs to others to the need for social justice. All these things are associated with the worship of the true God and not idols.

Messages of the Prophets (Isaiah 40-66)

In a previous post, I looked at themes in the first half of Isaiah. Here is a quick look at the second half, which relates to the late 500s BC.

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II. Chapters 40-55 have sometimes been called "Second Isaiah." They relate especially to the time around Cyrus conquering Babylon (ca. 539-38BC).

Chapter 40: hope of return from exile; Yahweh is great (love God)

40:18-20 -- idols are a burden on the poor (other gods; social justice)

Chapter 41 -- Yahweh is great; idols are not (love God, other gods, hope)

41:17 -- God cares for the poor (social justice)

42:3-4 -- God brings justice

42:7 -- God frees the captives (social justice)

Chapter 42 -- idols are pointless (love God)

Chapter 43 -- hope to return from captivity

Chapter 44 -- God is the redeemer, the only true God; idols are pointless (hope, love God)

Chapter 45 -- God is great and bringing Jews home (hope)

Chapter 46 -- God is great; idols are pointless; redemption is coming (love God, hope)

Chapter 47 -- Judgment on Babylon the oppressor (judgment, oppression)

48:1 -- half-hearted service to Yahweh; idols are pointless 14 (love God)

Chapter 49 -- hope for return from Babylon

Chapter 50 -- judgment was because Israel was unfaithful (love God)

Chapter 51 -- God is bringing salvation (hope)

Chapter 52 -- God news is on the way (hope)

Chapter 53 -- The suffering servant, past Israel has paid the penalty so present Israel can be redeemed (hope)

54:8 -- God judged them but is now going to save them (hope)

Chapter 55 -- hope is on the way

III. Chapters 56-66 are sometimes called "Third Isaiah." They picture a time after Israel's return but probably before the temple was rebuilt in 516BC.

56:2 -- keeping Sabbath (love God)

56:3-6 -- foreigner and eunuch should be included (social justice)

Chapter 57 -- those who serve idols, prostitutes, adulterers, sacrificers of children (love God)

57:15 -- God revives the lowly in spirit (humility before God)

58:3, 6, 9 -- exploitation of workers, set the oppressed free (oppression)

58:13 -- honoring the Sabbath (love God)

59:3, 7 -- blood, false dealing (concrete wrongs against others)

Chapter 60 -- hope of restoration

61:1 -- good news to poor, captive, to blind (social justice)

Chapters 61-65 -- hope of restoration (and judgment of wrongdoers)

Summary

These chapters are filled with hope for the restoration of Judah and the return from exile. This is especially true of the first half. The theme of the greatness of Yahweh, the pointlessness of idols, and the need to worship Yahweh also fills the section. Then there are also the usual themes of social justice, not wronging others, and the evil of oppression.

Explanatory Notes: Matthew 28:1-10

I am working toward self-publishing Explanatory Notes on the Resurrection by the week of Easter this year. Here is an excerpt from Matthew 28.

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At the Tomb

1. And when on the dawn of [the] week toward the first [day] of the week, Mary the Magdalene and the other Mary came to behold the tomb.

It is generally agreed that Matthew used the Gospel of Mark as its primary source. We can thus see how Matthew has edited Mark, which potentially gives us insight into Matthew’s emphases and perspectives. Interestingly, Matthew often prunes down some of Mark’s concrete details. In this case, Matthew removes mention of Salome and does not repeat that Mary was the mother of James. Matthew adds that they are planning to anoint Jesus’ body with spices.

2. And behold, a great earthquake came, for an angel of the Lord, having descended from heaven and having approached, rolled away the stone and sat on it. 3. And his appearance was like lightning and his clothing white as snow.

Matthew uniquely mentions an earthquake on Easter morning. This is not the only earthquake Matthew has mentioned. Matthew 27:51-53 also uniquely mentioned an earthquake resulting in resurrection after Jesus dies on the cross. The earthquake indicates the momentousness of the event that is happening, indicating that the creation is in tune with the magnitude of the spiritual event.

If we infer that the young man in Mark 16 is an angel, Matthew is explicit about it. This is an angel of the Lord. This is an angel who has descended from the sky, from heaven. This angel rolls the stone away from in front of the tomb. Mark perhaps implies that the angel rolled it away, but Matthew again is explicit.

Mark tells us that the young man is wearing a white robe. Matthew’s description is more spectacular. The white clothing is white as snow. It is white like lightning.

4. And from fear of him, the ones guarding shook and became as dead.

The sight of the angel is so awesome that the guards become paralyzed with fear. Like possum, they seem to appear dead. They seem to observe the interaction between the angel and the women at the tomb, but they are unable to participate.

5. And, answering, the angel said to the women, “You, do not fear! For I know that you seek Jesus, the one having been crucified. 6. He is not here, for he was raised just as he said. Come see the place where he was laying.”

The two Marys are also afraid. It is typical when an angel appears to someone in the Bible for the angel to tell them not to fear. We can imagine that seeing and angel is a fearsome sight! Such is also the case here.

Matthew removes Mark’s added description of Jesus as “the Nazarene,” another typical removal of a detail. The angel knows why the women are there. He also wants them to witness that Jesus is not there. The tomb is empty. They will be a major witness to the resurrection, beginning with their witness of the empty tomb.

If an ancient were to invent the resurrection story, it is doubtful that one would begin with women finding the empty tomb. Women were not considered as reliable a testimony. We have every reason to believe that the women were the ones first to discover that Jesus’ body was missing from the tomb. And we have every reason to believe that they were terrified.

7. “And, quickly, going, tell his disciples that he was raised from the dead and, behold, he goes before you into the Galilee. There you (pl) will see him. Behold, I have told you.”

As in Mark, the angel tells the women to go announce to the disciples that Jesus was raised from the dead. Note that God the Father is the one implied to have raised Jesus. Matthew removes the added detail, “and Peter.” Also, if all we had were Matthew and Mark, we would assume that Jesus’ resurrection appearances to the disciples all appeared in Galilee.

8. And, having gone away quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, they ran to tell his disciples.

At this point Matthew diverges from Mark. Mark as we have it ends with the women telling no one because they are afraid (16:8). Of course, they must eventually have told someone or else we would not have the account of Mark 16:1-8. We do not know the time gap between their silence and their report, but there presumably was one.

Matthew does not report the gap in time. Matthew only tells us that the women do indeed go to tell the disciples. Matthew also adds a sense that they have joy in addition to Mark’s fear and amazement. We remember that Mark emphasizes the disciples’ lack of understanding, and the women here are also followers of Jesus. Matthew is not nearly as hard on the disciples as Mark is.

9. And, behold, Jesus met them, saying, “Greetings!” And having approached, they took hold of his feet and they worshiped him.

This is the first resurrection appearance that has survived in a Gospel. I have a hunch that there was an original ending of Mark and that it did in fact narrate a resurrection appearance. But among the evidence that has survived, this is the first Gospel resurrection appearance.

Note that the first appearance is to women, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary. In the next verse, Jesus will send them as witnesses of his resurrection. That fact makes these women the very first apostles. An apostle was someone to whom the risen Christ had appeared and whom Christ had sent as a witness to the resurrection. There are no more apostles of this sort today. Paul was the last (1 Cor. 15:8).

Jesus says, “Hello.” “Greetings” here is the standard word that one would use to begin a letter (chairein) or, apparently, to say “Hello” when encountering someone. It is as if he is simply meeting a friend like any other day.

They have faith. In Matthew 28, these women do not hesitate about who Jesus is. They immediately know. They immediately believe. They immediately worship. They grab hold of his feet, a sign of submission to his authority.

The word worship is proskyneō. It can refer to the kind of worship we give God, but it also can be used of the reverence given to a king. It has a sense of bowing before someone, as the women do. Scholars debate how soon the earliest Christians recognized Jesus as fully divine. Certainly, we would not be too surprised if it took some time for God to lead them to see Jesus full divine nature. On the other hand, many scholars believe they came to this recognition very quickly.

Either way, they bow before Jesus, like the wise men had in Matthew 2:11. At the very least, this is the appropriate response in front of your king, the Son of God. You bow before his majesty. You “bent the knee” to him.

10. Then Jesus says to them, “Do not be afraid. Depart. Announce to my brothers that they might go away to Galilee, and there they will see me.”

As the angel told them not to fear, Jesus also tells them not to fear. In his glorified body, perhaps his visage is also fearsome. He commissions them to take the good news to the other disciples. The two Marys are “apostles to the disciples.”

Like Mark, Matthew not only implies but will soon narrate the first resurrection appearance as an event that took place in Galilee. Matthew, the second oldest Gospel, does not narrate any resurrection appearances to the disciples in Jerusalem. Ironically, Luke 24 will do the exact opposite. It narrates no appearances in Galilee, only appearances in Jerusalem and Judea.

Messages of the Prophets: Isaiah 1-39

Isaiah divides into (at least) two parts. The second half clearly relates to the late 500s BC. The first part relates to Isaiah's own time (700s BC). 

Isaiah 1-12 Hope and Judgment for Israel

1:4 -- corruption (concrete harm to others)

1:11 -- sacrifices, who cares

1:15 -- against their violence

1:17 -- "Seek justice" which is to defend the oppressed, taking up the cause of the fatherless, and pleading the case of the widow (social justice)

1:23 -- you partner with thieves; you love bribes; you don't defend with widow and orphan (concrete wrongs to others; social justice)

Isaiah 2 -- hope for restoration

2:6 -- don't follow the practices of those who worship other gods and idols

Chapter 2 -- those following other gods in the east are full of silver and gold (7, 20). They are arrogant (11, 17). They will be humbled (12). humility

Chapter 3 -- judgment, you have been arrogant and plundered the poor (social justice)

Chapter 4 -- hope for restoration

5:7 -- judgment because "he looked for justice, but saw bloodshed; for righteousness, but heard cries of distress." (violence, social justice)

5:11-17 judgment on the rich who live lavish lives (social justice)

5:18 -- deceit in practice

5:23 -- "who acquit the guilty for a bribe, but deny justice to the innocent." (wrong others, social justice)

Chapter 6 -- the holiness of God, judgment is coming (love God)

Chapter 7 -- trust in the Lord for deliverance (hope)

8:19 -- hope, don't consult the dead or use mediums (other gods, evil powers)

Chapter 9 -- hope, coming justice and righteousness in a ruler

9:19ff -- judgment

10:1-2 -- unjust laws, oppressive decrees, deprive the poor of their rights, withhold justice from the people, make widows their prey and the fatherless (social justice)

Chapter 11 -- hope for a Davidic king and restoration of the northern kingdom; social justice, vs. 4, "with righteousness he will judge the needy, with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth."

Chapter 12 -- hope for salvation

Isaiah 13-26 Judgment of the Nations (oppressors)

Chapter 13 -- judgment on the oppressor Babylon, vs. 11 -- "I will put an end to the arrogance of the haughty and will humble the pride of the ruthless." humility

Chapter 14 -- continued judgment of Babylon, judgment of Philistines

14:30 -- the poor/needy will find pasture and safety (social justice)

Chapter 15 -- judgment on Moab (wealth they have accumulated too, social justice)

Chapter 16 -- continued judgment on Moab the oppressor and arrogant; instead a Davidic king of justice will rule (5) 

Chapter 17 -- judgment on Damascus and Israel -- worship other gods (8)

Chapter 18-20 -- against Cush and Egypt (other gods, the dead), 3

Chapter 21 -- against Babylon and Edom

22:11 -- Jerusalem turned away from Yahweh (love God)

Chapter 23 -- against Tyre, vs. 9, arrogance and wealth, 17-18 (social justice, humility)

Salvation Coming (24-25)

24:5 -- Praise of God begins, against lawlessness of the earth, breaking of covenant, Yahweh will reign, 23 (love God)

25:4 -- God is a refuge for the poor, will bring down the proud, 11 (social justice), will bring hope

26:5-6 -- God brings down the proud, brings justice to the oppressed and the poor

26:21 -- against bloodshed (oppressors)

The Woes (28-35)

Chapter 27 -- hope for salvation, no more idols (9), will love God (13)

28:6 -- spirit of justice coming, also 17

Isaiah 29 -- worship in form but not in heart (love God)

29:19-21 -- the humble and needy will rejoice; the false witness and oppressor disappear (social justice, oppression)

Chapter 30 -- going to other nations is going to other gods; there is hope

Chapter 31 -- don't go to other nations which is turning to other gods, trust in Yahweh (other gods, love God)

32:1 -- a king of righteousness/justice is coming, vs 16

Chapter 33 -- woe to the destroyer (oppression), come justice (5), go arrogant (humility)

Chapter 34 -- judgment on the nations (oppressors)

Chapter 35 -- hope of salvation; blind will see, deaf will hear, mute will speak (5)

Historical Interlude (36-39)

These chapters are inserted from 2 Kings as a bridge to the second half of Israel.

Summary

Clearly a great deal of Israel 1-39 is about judgment on the oppressors of Judah and Israel. The rest might be said to be heavily about the oppressors within Israel. Thus the theme of social justice features large. Along with all of this is the hope of salvation and a righteous Davidic king. 

The proper worship of Yahweh is associated with all these things. Turning to other nations is turning to other gods, and to worship other gods in Israel is to weaken Israel. Isaiah 6 gives us a sense of the pure worship of Yahweh. Worshiping Yahweh is another strong theme of these chapters.

Messages of the Prophets: Malachi

Malachi seems to go with Zechariah 8-14 as a third oracle. Some wonder if our current division is a less than optimal dividing of the canon. This stretch of the Hebrew canon is called the "Twelve Scrolls." What if the twelfth scroll should have begun at Zechariah 8? 

Similarly, malachi is Hebrew for "my messenger." It thus isn't immediately clear whether it is someone's name or an anonymous reference to an unknown messenger of Yahweh.

1:4 -- God's permanent judgment on Edom (for its part in Israel's captivity) (oppression)

1:6-8 Israel's lack of honoring God by offering him second-rate sacrifices (love God) ... who cares about sacrifices?

1:14 -- giving less than the best to God

2:1-9 -- the problem with Israel's priests, and they have caused Israel to stumble. They have shown partiality, 2:9 (social justice)

2:11 -- marrying women who worship foreign gods (other gods)

2:14-16 -- divorcing the wives of their youth (concrete wrongs to others)

3:1-4 -- God will restore proper worship (hope)

3:5 -- "I will be quick to testify against sorcerers, adulterers and perjurers, against those who defraud laborers of their wages, who oppress the widows and the fatherless, and deprive the foreigners among you of justice, but do not fear me,” says the Lord Almighty." (social justice)

3:6-12 Not tithing. Not giving God his due. (love God)

3:17 -- restoration of righteousness (hope)

Chapter 4 -- coming judgment and restoration (hope)

Summary:

Malachi clearly calls Israel to love God appropriately. They are only serving God superficially and half-heartedly. There is a smidge of mention of other gods. Equally is the call for "social justice" and not wronging others. Finally, there is hope for future restoration.

Messages of the Prophets: Zechariah

I'm going very out of order, but for various reasons, I wanted to look at Zechariah today, which dates to the last part of the 500s BC.
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1:4 -- turning to the LORD is for Israel to turn from its evil ways.

1:16 -- words of hope to Jerusalem throughout the latter part of Zech. 1. (hope)

Chapter 2 -- return to Jerusalem and judgment of those who scattered it (hope)

Chapter 3 -- promise of a Branch, cleansing of the high priest Joshua and Israel's sin (hope)

Chapter 4 -- two olive branches (Joshua and Zerubbabel?), restoration of the temple (hope)

5:3 -- every thief will be banished, houses of those who swear falsely in Yahweh's name, God was going to cleanse the iniquity of all who live in the land (5:6). (concrete wrongs to others)

Chapter 6 -- a crown for Joshua the high priest (hope)

7:9-10 -- what is true justice -- it is mercy and compassion. Do not oppress the widow, the orphan, the foreigner, or the poor. This was part of the law and why Judah was destroyed (7:12) (social justice)

Zechariah 8-14 is often called "second Zechariah." In scholarly circles, this section is often dated to the late 400s, thus about 100 years after Zechariah himself. It becomes a sort of appendix to "first Zechariah." These chapters have been happy hunting ground for dispensational prophecy teaching, although the context may rather be the malaise of late fifth century Judaism at the time of Malachi.

Chapter 8 -- restoration of Jerusalem, the world will come too (hope)

8:17 -- Do not plot evil. Do not swear falsely (concrete wrongs to others)

9:1-8 Destruction of Israel's enemies (judgment on oppressors)

9:9-17 Coming of the king (Jesus on Palm Sunday), God coming to remove Israel's enemy (hope)

Chapter 10 -- restoration of Israel (hope)

10:2 -- the deceitfulness of idols, false comfort (other gods, putting Israel in jeopardy)

10:3 -- false shepherds of Israel

10:5 -- protection from Israel's enemies (hope)

Chapter 11 -- God rejecting the "shepherds" of Israel (11:8), selling it to others for slaughter, especially the oppressed (11:7) (social justice)

• God removed one shepherd of Israel called his "Favor" because of the oppression of Israel (11:10).
• God removed another shepherd called "Union," the bond between north and south in Israel (11:14). Gives them instead a shepherd who doesn't take of them, doesn't care for lost or injured or healthy.

Chapter 12 -- begins the second oracle in second Zechariah. Hope for restoration. God will bring grace on them and supplication, and they will weep for restoration.

13:2 -- God will banish idols on that day. Prophets will be banished; the shepherd will be struck; the sheep will be scattered.

Chapter 14 -- defeat of Jerusalem, but Yahweh will stand on the Mount of Olives and break it open, splitting it in two (earthquake). Living water to Dead Sea. Yahweh will be king of whole earth. The peoples of the world will worship Yahweh.

HOPE!

Summary:

The predominant theme of Zechariah would seem to be hope. We find traces of the other themes as well: social justice, against idols and other gods, ending concrete wrongs to others.

Messages of the Prophets 2 (Hosea)

What were the main messages of the prophets? I started with Amos. Now on to Hosea.

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Chapters 1-3 In these chapters, Hosea is given the object lesson of an unfaithful spouse to illustrate Israel's infidelity to God. (other gods)

• However, this unfaithfulness has manifested itself in concrete ways. First, there is the violence that Jehu committed when he obliterated all the relatives of King Ahaz (1:4).
• Chapter 4 also indicates that this faithlessness to Yahweh shows itself in murder, stealing, and adultery (violence)
• Turning to other gods includes daughters turning to prostitution and adultery (4:13).
• Involves turning to wooden idols (4:12; other gods). 

5:3 -- Israel is corrupt

5:4 -- prostituting with other gods, turned to outside nations like Assyria (5:13)

6:6 -- I desire mercy, not sacrifice 

6:8-9 -- violence

7:1 -- thieving going on, stealing going on (violence)

7:11 -- turn to outside nations

7:14 -- self-cutting part of engagement with other gods

8:1 -- people have rebelled against God's law (not serving God)

8:4 -- overthrowing their kings

8:4 -- serving idols (other gods)

8:10 -- oppression will come from their dancing with Assyria

8:13 -- they offer sacrifices (who cares?)

9:1 -- they have been unfaithful to God (not serving God)

9:9 -- corruption

9:17 -- have not kept God's law (not serving God)

10:2 -- served other gods

10:4 -- kings making agreements with other nations

11:2 -- went after other gods

12:1 -- violence

13:1 -- serve Ba'al (other gods)

14:1 -- Israel's sins (not serving God)

Summary

Clearly, the dominant theme of Hosea is that Israel has been cheating on God with other gods and other nations like Egypt and Assyria. Intertwined with this "prostitution" are other indicators of the chaotic and pathetic state of Israel. It is a place of violence. It is a place of stealing. It is a place where daughters get pulled into the prostitution associated with serving other gods like Ba'al.

Hosea may allude to Adam. It may allude to the exodus (11:1-2). It may allude to the golden calf story. It clearly refers to God's law. It may allude to the story of Israel asking for a king. It has pretty clear rhetoric about idols and thus implies the aniconic nature of the worship of Yahweh. These seem to imply awareness of significant parts of Scripture in the 700s BC.

Messages of the Prophets 1: Amos

I have hunches about the foci of the prophetic writings in the Old Testament. But before I say they're so, I thought I should do some grunt work.  Here's the first bit of spade work in the two prophets to the northern kingdom, 700s BC.

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Amos

1:3 -- against violence of Damascus toward Gilead (violence)

1:6-10 -- against violence of Gaza and other Philistine cities toward Israel (violence)

1:11 -- against Edom for betraying Israel with Philistines, taking Israelites as slaves, slaughtered the women of the land (violence)

1:13 -- against Ammon, ripping open pregnant women (violence)

2:1 -- against Moab, sided with Edom (violence)

2:4 -- against Judah, did not keep God's decrees, followed other gods (other gods)

2:6 -- against Israel, selling the innocent, needy, poor deny justice to the oppressed, father and son use same temple prostitute to another god

2:12 -- against Israel, faithlessness to Yahweh (other gods)

3:9-10 -- Israel oppresses its people, plunder and loot it (social justice)

3:14 -- other gods

3:15 -- disproportionate luxury of the rich (social justice)

4:1 -- Israel crushes the needy and poor while enjoying drinks (social justice)

4:4 -- who cares about sacrifices

chapter 4 -- faithlessness to Yahweh in general

5:11 -- levy tax on the poor while they are in stone mansions (social justice)

5:12 -- oppress innocent, take bribes, deprive the poor of justice

5:22 -- who cares about sacrifices

5:24 -- "Let justice roll down..."

6:4 -- disproportionate wealth (social justice)

7:9 -- other gods

8:4-6 -- oppression of the poor, dishonest scales (social justice)

Summary

Two or three themes dominate the prophecies of Amos. Most of them have to do with the oppression of the ordinary person, the "poor." The wealthy are targeted as oppressors. They use unjust scales. They take bribes. They take advantage of those without power. Meanwhile, the affluent think they're ok because they offer their sacrifices. God doesn't care.

Yes, there is also the theme of serving other gods, but this is not in isolation from the concrete actions of Israelites toward each other. The other gods are associated with the violence of the surrounding peoples. The other gods are associated with temple prostitution, for example.

The theme of the violence of the surrounding peoples, including violence toward women, is also mentioned.

Jesus and guns

I have finished editing my notes on Christian ethics and will self-publish in the next day or so. I did add a section on gun control to the article on "There are exceptional circumstances where force is permissible."

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The question of gun control has become a fairly serious discussion in recent years. The United States has in its Constitution the right “to bear arms.” This right presumably was put in the Constitution remembering that the country was founded in a rebellion against its ruling authorities, with individuals taking up arms against its government.

It seems strange that some aspects of this topic would be significant enough for Christians to merit inclusion in a book on Christian ethics, but it seems appropriate. On the one hand, the Bible has no prohibition about owning weapons. Israel went to war. Peter has a sword of some kind with him in the Garden of Gethsemane, presumably not only for utility but also for protection (John 18:10).

However, after Peter cuts off the ear of the high priest’s servant, Jesus gives the more basic Christian attitude toward violence: “Put your sword back into its sheath” (John 18:11). In this article, we have argued that the use of force can be justified in some rare circumstances. But it is the exception. The fundamental bias of Jesus is toward peace, and we have no reason to think that Jesus himself carried a sword.

Jesus’ default instruction was to “turn the other cheek” (Matt. 5:39). The more fundamental orientation of the New Testament is to show the power of God in your unjust suffering (e.g., 1 Pet. 3:9): “Do not repay evil for evil or abuse for abuse, but, on the contrary, repay with a blessing.” Paul says the same: “Never avenge yourselves but leave room for the wrath of God” (Rom. 12:19).

This teaching is hard, and many American Christians implicitly reject it. Our culture has a cult of freedom and rights, and the church sometimes cannot tell where its faith ends and its Americanism begins. Bonhoeffer would be appalled at the way one moment of allowing for violence against Hitler under the most extreme of circumstances has now made him a hero for a fundamental attitude of violence by many in the American church. [1] The fundamental attitude of the New Testament in relation to these things is one of peace. “If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all” (Rom. 12:18). Paul did not mean peace at the end of a gun.

In general, it seems permissible to defend yourself, but the use of violence is not the fundamental bias of the Christian. Violence begets violence. Peace begets peace. In the light of the New Testament, which seems to fit Jesus’ bias better: let us have more and more guns or let us have fewer and fewer? If you answered “more,” you are probably not reading the New Testament with a clear head. In the decade after the 1994 Assault Weapons Ban was allowed to sunset in 2004, mass shootings more than tripled. No objective reading of Jesus will likely conclude that the Christian way is “more and more guns.”

Is there not a happy medium between all or nothing? As we will continue to explore later, the Christian ideal for a country would be a place that maximally “loves its neighbor as itself.” If we were to put this idea into secular philosophical terms, “What structure of government brings about the greatest good for the greatest number without violating the fundamental health of any minority in the process?” In philosophical terms, this approach is a mixture of utilitarianism (greatest good for greatest number) and something called universal ethical egoism (maximal benefit for every individual). Because love of neighbor is one of the chief ways in which we love God, such a structure also loves God in the process.

We can thus see an intersection between Christian values and secular values in the question of what approach brings about the greatest good for the majority of people without hurting some segment of the population. Obviously less violence for more people is an easy answer. Further, an unlimited and unregulated freedom to have weapons is arguably neither in the best interests of the majority nor does it hurt the health of some minority. None of the rights in the US Bill of Rights is absolute. They all balance against each other.

As a side note, during this phase of history, God is not yet forcing the world to serve him. In other words, loving God does not mean forcing the rest of the country to follow Christian rules. God allows other religions to exist. During the days of Israel, he allowed other nations to exist, and during the days of the New Testament there was no political entity that was a theocracy, a country supposedly ruled directly by God. In practice, theocracies end up being rule by religious leaders who are the ones who relay to the people what God supposedly thinks.

What is the New Testament view of rights? We should note that Paul clearly subordinates his individual rights to the benefit of others. As someone working for the benefit of the Corinthian church, he had a biblical right to their material support. They had an obligation to support him, Paul says. Nevertheless, “we have no made use of this right… rather than put an obstacle in the way of the gospel of Christ” (1 Cor. 9:12).

He advises the same to the Corinthians, some of them clearly felt the freedom to eat meat that had been sacrificed to another god, perhaps even at a pagan temple. Paul urges them that the way of Christ is not a way of insisting on my freedoms. “‘All things are permitted,’ but not all things are beneficial… Do not seek your own advantage but the other” (1 Cor. 10:23-24). Even if your conscience is clear, Paul says, sacrifice your own freedom for the benefit of the person whose conscience is not clear (1 Cor. 10:28-29).

There are of course limits here. Sometimes the faith of the other person is not in danger because of my freedom. They’re just going to get ticked off. Paul does not say, “Don’t wear a wedding ring because you’re going to offend someone who doesn’t wear one.” Nevertheless, even here, the Christian does not have a bias for giving offense. The Christian bias is for peace, even when the other party seems to be acting unreasonably.

The law is complicated. Laws often have unintended consequences. Let me merely do my best to suggest what I think Jesus would do in relation to gun control. Let us assume that Jesus did not tell Peter to get rid of his sword. Let us therefore allow that there is nothing intrinsically unbiblical about a Christian owning weapons. There is nothing unbiblical about hunting. There seems to be allowance for self-defense.

However, something seems a little off with a thirst for human-killing weapons. We are not talking about the military. We are talking about individuals who stockpile weapons. I cannot say it is prohibited. It simply does not obviously fit the spirit of the New Testament.

Would Jesus have supported an assault weapons ban? Would Jesus have supported some regulations on who can own a gun? Would Jesus have supported background checks to get a weapon? Perhaps Jesus would have said, “Let Caesar do what Caesar wants.” Nevertheless, it is hard to see where Jesus would not have said “yes” to the values behind these questions. This is the value of preserving life. Among his own followers, he would have surely supported limitations, with abstinence from weapons likely preferred when feasible.

When the groups we are part of get into ideological fights, it is sometimes hard to get our heads straight. We are in streams of culture, including Christian culture. We get pushed along. Sometimes we are like that frog in the kettle that does not realize he is being boiled until it is too late. In the early 2000s, I used to joke that the reason some in my family supported the NRA was because they were against abortion. In other words, because they are against abortion, they are Republican. Republicans tend to be aligned with the NRA. Therefore, by the transitive property of equality, they support the NRA because they are against abortion.

This sequence of thought is of course illogical, and it probably is not as funny today as it was twenty years ago. Many Christians have been boiled in the kettle of the pro-gun movement to where, even after so many school shootings, there is still a strong resistance to even basic regulations on weapons. You hear comments like, “Guns do not kill people. People kill people.” This is a distraction. Would you hand a young man some pornography and say, “Remember, son, it’s your choice whether you look at this or not.”

I offer these thoughts as a plea for the church to remember who it is. God has not called us to violence, but to peace. The goal of this section is to remind us of our fundamental principles and values. Legislation is almost always complicated with nuances, exceptions, and unintended consequences. But let us be confident on our fundamental values as believers. Jesus is the Prince of Peace!

[1] It seems to me that this is the fundamental (mistaken) attitude in general of Eric Metaxas, Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2010). It seems doubtful that Bonhoeffer himself would approve of Metaxas’ general take.

The social structures of society can be more or less loving.

Filling another gap in my write-up on Christian ethics (I'm at about 225 pages). I should have it ready to publish by the end of the weekend. Feedback welcome.

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Is it possible for the structures of society to be set up—formally or informally—in such a way that certain groups of people are benefited while others are disadvantaged? It is hard to see how the answer is not an unequivocal yes. When slaves were not allowed to vote or move or own property or even stay with their own families, they were clearly disadvantaged by the structures of society. The same could be said of women, who were not allowed to vote in the United States until 1920. In these cases, the structures of society were “less loving” toward slaves and women than they are now toward African Americans and women.

In the immediate aftermath of the Civil War, there were initially some promising developments for former slaves. In the 1870s, more than a dozen African American men were elected to Congress. But after the debacle of the 1877 election, government soldiers left the South, and southern society quickly found ways to unofficially re-enslave the “freed” slaves. [1] In most of these states, it would be over 100 years before a black representative was elected again. 

In the aftermath of World War II, the GI bill allowed white soldiers returning to buy houses and start a profitable economic path to middle-class prosperity. However, the same black soldiers returning from war often found themselves “redlined.” Redlining was the practice of declaring areas of cities where African Americans lived as risky for banks to give loans. Meanwhile, blacks were not usually welcomed in other areas of the city. From 1945-1959, African Americans received less than 2% of all federal loans. [2]

The 1960s saw a number of landmark laws passed, attempting to change these “structural injustices.” The Civil Rights Act of 1964 ended the Jim Crow era with its segregation of blacks into different theaters, accommodations, and schools. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 made illegal all the underhanded obstacles that whites had created to keep blacks from voting—things like literacy tests and poll taxes, not to mention harassment and other economic reprisals. The Fair Housing Act of 1968 made practices like redlining illegal.

Although the Wesleyan Methodist Church was founded as an abolitionist movement, the Wesleyan Church largely did not participate in the civil rights movement. At best, its churches were silent. At worst, they looked down on “troublemakers” and “law-breakers” like Martin Luther King Jr. The evangelical church in the United States gets no credit for these developments that very much fit the spirit of Christ to set the captive free (cf. Luke 4:18). Indeed, the movement toward desegregation in the mid-1900s resulted in a dramatic surge in white Christians attending private Christian schools.

What are the principles on which Christians should agree, especially those in the Wesleyan-Arminian tradition. First, it should be clear from the previous paragraphs that the structures of society, both formal and informal, can be unjust and unloving. Christians should delight when laws are passed such as those mentioned in the 1960s. We have been focusing on issues of race, but the same kinds of issues have historically existed in relation to women and others as well. It is fallen human nature.

[textbox: The Origins of Race

The concept of race as we understand it today was not always obvious. The slaves taken from Africa did not view themselves as “black.” They distinguished themselves by tribe: Mbundu, Yoruba, Igbo, etc. Similarly, the slave traders did not initially think of themselves as “white.” They were Portuguese, Spanish, English, and such.

The concept of “white” and “black” thus came into existence as a result of the slave trade. Even here, the precise connotations developed over time. The slaves that were first brought to America in the 1600s did not have to be lifelong slaves. Till the time of Bacon’s Rebellion in 1676, black slaves had much in common with white indentured servants. Thereafter, slavery almost inevitably became the life-long identity of the black person.

Similarly, not everyone with light skin was initially considered white. Irish and Italian immigrants were not immediately considered to be white when waves of them immigrated. This is why we say that race is “socially constructed.” Our skin color is simply a continuous scale of how much melanin is in our skin. Prejudice against new groups coming to the States is as old as the second group to arrive. Indeed, prejudice against “the other group” is as old as humanity.]

While the Wesleyan position on homosexual acts and LGBTQ lifestyles is clear morally, secondly, we clearly do not support the harassment or oppression of any group, especially in the name of Christ. Whether it actually happens or not, the sentiment of the Declaration of Independence is noble when it claims that “All men [and women] are created equal.” Scripture binds us to love our neighbor and our enemy. No one else is left.

Therefore, the use of Scripture or theology to harm or oppress others is fake Christianity. Any use of the gospel to hide hate or mistreatment is a false gospel. It is the Devil masquerading as an angel of light (2 Cor. 11:14). Just as we abhor the fact of pastors who belonged to the KKK, we abhor using Christ as a pretense to hate gay or transgender individuals. Just as we abhor the fact that church people might attend church and then go to enjoy a public lynching, [3] we abhor any attempt to hide behind Christ to keep LGBTQ individuals from employment or access to the normal opportunities of secular life.

Racism and prejudice are good at hiding behind impressive-sounding argument. The one giving such arguments sounds smart and likely indignant at the “real wrongs.” They think they are the ones fighting for truth and justice. We saw the same pattern after the killing of George Floyd in 2020. After an initial sense of outrage, the machine of rationalization and white supremacy took over. Indeed, in the end, the quest for racial justice probably lost ground. The real injustice, the real evil, the predictable backlash says, is “CRT,” “critical race theory.” [4] How dare someone suggest that whites are racist or that whites are somehow privileged in society? 

It is distraction. And so the initial injustice is forgotten in a sea of pretend righteousness, with the white church on the front lines. In the end, someone put it well at that time. "If you want to know what you would have done during the Civil Rights era, you are doing it now."

The concept of equity is a third principle. Equal opportunity is a great concept, but it is only as helpful as it is truly available. You can tell me I am free to get a job, but if I do not have a ride, I do not really have the same opportunity as someone with a car. The concept of equity is the notion that truly equal opportunity may involve more empowerment for some than for others. The application of the idea can be complicated to be sure. Sometimes we create more problems trying to fix something than were there in the first place. But the goal remains.

This was a fundamental principle of Jesus’ earthly ministry. “Those who are well have no need of a physician but those who are sick” (e.g., Luke 5:31). Women in Jesus’ day were not full members of society. Jesus elevated them. The “poor” of Jesus’ day were not just those who could not feed or support themselves, they were individuals displaced from where they were supposed to be in society. Those with skin diseases were on the margins of society. Jesus gave them re-entry. And the same went for the demon-possessed—their problems went beyond the spiritual.

We cannot make everyone the same. Redistribute the wealth and, ten years later, natural giftedness will likely redistribute it again to some extent even given equal opportunity. We are talking about getting everyone to a baseline and removing obstacles left by inequitable structures.

Yes, “correlation is not causation.” Unevenness in numbers and statistics is only the beginning of the conversation. What are the actual causes? Where in the “system” is the actual injustice? Some issues may be so baked into our culture that it will take more than one generation to work them out.

Yet it is not the spirit of Christ to give up. Social inequity and injustice may seem like hopeless causes, yet God so loved the world. In the well-known story of starfish washed up on the shore after a storm, we may not be able to save all the starfish, but we can save one, then two, then three. And I do not mean to suggest that the “we” here are the whites saving the blacks, for that in itself is a racism of superiority, a condescending “helping those poor people” mentality. We are in this game together. We save each other together. We will fail often but, perhaps, we will succeed some.

We dare not wait for Jesus to come fix it. That is truly burying our talent in the sand. “Now is the day of salvation” (2 Cor. 6:2).

[1] In 1933, my mother’s father spent a summer in Virginia pastoring a rural church. My mother remembered the lights of prisoners building a highway at night in the distance. A little research showed this was a “chain gang,” a group of African American prisoners. The Jim Crow south after reconstruction made it possible to arrest black men for everything from unemployment to just hanging out in the wrong place, “vagrancy laws.” Then the state rented them out to former slave owners, a clever way of re-enslaving them by other means. Over time, these practices have created a tendency for white culture to see black men as dangerous and likely criminals.

[2] And it is not like these sorts of "structures" only existed in the South, even if they were much more extreme in the Deep South. After the "Great Migration" of the early-1900s, blacks were more or less "ghettoed" into certain parts of northern cities. You can still see the wall in Detroit built in 1941 to separate incoming whites from existing blacks. That the black parts of town became slums was virtually a self-fulfilling prophecy.

[3] In the notorious lynching of Sam Hose in Georgia in 1899, some 2000 “Christians” went to church, then traveled to the lynching site, many by special train from Atlanta. There Hose had his ears cut off and his body mutilated by knife. His body was doused in gasoline and set on fire. Spectators took pieces of bone and flesh as souvenirs.

[4] In my mind, there are extreme elements to some critical race theory, which itself is not monolithic. That is not the point. The point is that the outrage at CRT is mostly a smoke screen, a distraction to get us off topic.

God values the creation, and we should steward it.

1. At the end of Genesis 1, when God has set the world in order, he sees all that he has done and pronounces it "good" (Gen. 1:31). It is no longer "formless and empty" (1:2). Everything is working the way it is supposed to work. [1] 

Part of that goodness is the place of humanity in that order. Humanity is to be fruitful and multiply (Gen. 1:28). Humans are to "subdue" it and "rule over" it. After Adam and Eve are placed in the Garden of Eden, they are to "serve" it and "keep" it (Gen. 2:15). [2] One gets the sense that humanity is the crown of God's creation, and with great power comes great responsibility. 

Humanity is created in the image of God (Gen. 1:27). That both makes humanity valuable and perhaps suggests that humanity in some respects is God's representative on earth. After the Flood, God makes a covenant with his whole creation (Gen. 9:10). He has destroyed the earth, but he will not flood the earth again. 

"The earth is the LORD's and all that is in it... he has founded it on the seas and established it on the rivers" (Ps. 24:1-2). "Heaven and the heaven of heavens belong to the LORD your God" (Deut. 10:14). "The heavens are telling the glory of God, and the firmament proclaims his handiwork" (Ps. 19:1). Humanity may be the pinnacle of the creation, but God clearly glories in the rest of his handiwork as well.

The Law had provisions for the land. Every seventh year the land was to lay fallow to have a chance to recuperate from non-stop farming (Lev. 25:3-4). Just as humanity needs regular rest, so the land does as well. Jesus tells the crowds that God observes even the death of a sparrow (Matt. 10:29). It would appear that God not only loves humanity but the rest of his creation as well!

The holiness codes not only held that a person could become unclean and defiled. Humans could defile the land as well (Num. 35:33-34). A murderer defiled the land with the blood that was shed. The only way to purify the land was the death of the murderer.

The preceding verses give us a certain sense of God's attitude toward his creation. He likes it. He cares about it. Deuteronomy 25:4 looks out for the ox that is plowing the land. The farmer should not muzzle it but allow it to eat as payment for its labor.

A sense of respect for God's creation seems in order. We are thankful for the chickens that give us eggs. We are thankful for the cattle that give us meat.[3] Evangelicals are emphatic about the value of human life from conception. Yet the embryos of humans and those of other animals look quite similar at the earliest stages of development. If we are really pro-life, it would seem consistent to be good stewards of the other life God has created on the planet as well.

2. In the Parable of the Talents, one of the servants is chastised for not growing what the master had given him (25:14-30). The import of the parable is often taken to suggest that God expects us to use and grow the gifts he has given us. With regard to God's creation, we can bless the land and sky that God has given us. We can take care of it, and we can also curse it.

The placement of the parable in both Matthew 25:14-30 and Luke 19:12-27 suggests that these parables were deeply subversive. While they can easily be read in a hyper-capitalistic way, the proximity of Matthew's parable to the Parable of the Sheep and the Goats and the fact that Luke's parable is next to the story of Zacchaeus suggests a subversive meaning. In such a context, "making interest" on one's money becomes a metaphor for using it to help others in need. It is thus a fitting metaphor also for stewarding the creation that God has given us as we think about the lives of our "neighbors" at home and around the world.

God gave us streams from which to drink. God gave us plants to grow for food and animals to kill for meat. Ecology speaks of ecosystems, systems of life where each component of the system works together in harmony. The plants convert sunlight into energy that herbivores eat. They take carbon dioxide from the air and convert it to oxygen. We eat the herbivores and breathe in oxygen. We exhale carbon dioxide and the system repeats itself. It is healthy. It is natural. This is the way God has created the world.

Humanity has advanced industrially and technologically more in the last two hundred years than in all of history before. As of the writing of this article, the population of the world has surpassed 8 billion, far beyond any world population in the past. We are capable of consuming more forest than ever before if we let ourselves. There is plenty of demand to remove nature to build houses, businesses, and industry. There's nothing wrong with building or selling. However, as stewards of God's planet, we should also be mindful of the potential cost to God's creation and others. 

God endorses our growth and advancement. He made us to advance and excel. Otherwise, he would not have given humanity the charge to subdue the earth. On the other hand, God does not endorse selfishness or destructive hedonism. It is thus both biblical and Christ-like for us to open-mindedly consider the impact our advancement might have on others. This is part of loving our neighbor as ourselves. 

It is also a human tendency to sacrifice the benefit of our future for the needs and pleasures of the present. We eat recklessly because it tastes good even though we know we will likely pay for it in the future. We spend the money we have now rather than saving it for the future. The courses of action it takes to "look out" for the environment cut into corporate profit and personal convenience. It is no surprise that it is an uphill battle to get much done in these areas until a crisis emerges.

3. We should be wary of our own susceptibility to manipulation by those with power and resources. It took decades to pass legislation in relation to lead paint and lead gas. The book, Deceit and Denial is a meticulous presentation of how the lead industry managed to successfully oppose legislation against the use of lead, either throwing doubt on the certainty of certain harmful effects or blaming the incompetency of parents in slums for not watching their children closely enough. [4] I remember even as a boy in 1978 a tone of mocking in my family toward how the Carter administration was annoyingly ending leaded gas in lieu of the more expensive unleaded. 

The same narrative played itself out in relation to the tobacco industry. [5] The same narrative has arguably played out in relation to the gun lobby. The same narrative seems to be playing out in relation to climate change. With money or inconvenience at stake, with resistance to being told what to do, data is ignored or obfuscated. Lobbying forces manipulate the public into mocking those trying to work for the public good. "Going to try to regulate the farts coming from cows? Ha. Ha."

Small concessions are made as necessary. "Well, maybe the planet is warming, but there's no proof it is caused by human activity." Blame is diverted. "The problem is not the paint, it is the Negro and Puerto Rican parents who aren't watching what their children put in their mouths." "The problem is the lack of self-discipline on the part of the smokers." "The problem is not guns but the hearts of the people shooting them." Years, sometimes decades later, either crisis or the openness of a new generation breaks through. We wonder how it wasn't seen before because it seems so obvious now.

These sequences of events are repeated over and over again. It is amazing that we do not see the pattern... over and over again.

4. Poorer communities and countries see the impact of pollution sooner and more clearly than the comfortable. A 2016 study found that race is the biggest indicator in the US of whether you live near toxic waste. [6] Similarly, while most CO2 emissions come from the affluent global north, the regions most vulnerable to the effects of global warming are in the global south. Island states whose land is disappearing from rising water levels do not dispute the impact of climate change on the earth, nor do the African nations facing crisis levels of drought.

The love of our neighbor in the southern hemisphere puts an obligation on Christians to listen with an open mind and heart. The fact that this is God's creation calls us to listen with an open mind and heart as good stewards. It is the love of those in Flint, Michigan, whose water was allowed to become so polluted, that calls us to sacrifice a little today for the benefit to others later. We may find that we are also benefiting ourselves, like the rules that keep us from withdrawing from our retirement accounts before a certain age. We could sure use that money now, but it is even better for us to have it later.

Jesus almost scorned the "healthy" and focused instead on those on the margins--the poor, the sick, the demon-possessed. He focused on the lost sheep of Israel. Concern for God's creation translates to concern for those on the margins of the world today, for they are the ones that most suffer from the throwaway society of those of us who find everything convenient. 

5. We can debate the details. In this article, I have gone beyond principles to some specifics that seem relatively uncontested today. Except that they are contested. If we are interested in truth, we must allow for claims to be contested. Hopefully, there can be broad agreement on the principles. It is fully Christian to care for God's world. If we know our actions are harming others--or even potentially harming others--that is a concern for a Christian. 

As a Christian, people are important. The accrual of greater profit is not. Profit is not evil. The pursuit of profit to the detriment of others is. Paul indicts the Corinthians for putting the pursuit of their own freedom over concern for the faith of others (e.g., 1 Cor. 8:13). "Take care that this liberty of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak." (8:9). 

The technological advances of the world are a tribute to the intellectual gifts God has given the world. We can even blow up the world with nuclear bombs. With the great power God has given us comes great responsibility as stewards. God has not called us to selfishness, but to love our neighbor.

[1] John Walton has argued that, in context, the pronouncement of the creation as good likely had more to do with how it was functioning than its moral quality. In The Lost World of Genesis 1 (Downers Grove: IVP Academic, 2009), 148-150.

[2] I am indebted in much of what follows to the benefit of sitting into several presentations by Brian Webb at Houghton University on Scripture and the Environment.

[3] It is interesting that the Genesis narrative gives the impression that humans did not even eat meat before the Flood (9:3).

[4] Gerald Markowitz and David Rosner, Deceit and Denial: The Deadly Politics of Industrial Pollution (Berkeley: University of California, 2003).

[5] Allan M. Brandt, The Cigarette Century: The Rise, Fall, and Deadly Persistence of the Product that Defined America (Philadelphia: Basic, 2009).

[6] From 1996 to 2020, the CDC and NIH were stymied from using their funds to research gun violence.

[7] Paul Mohai et al. "Which came first, people or pollution? Assessing the disparate siting and post-siting demographic change hypotheses of environmental injustice," Environmental Research Letters (2015).

Sermon Starters: "Who are you, Lord?" (Acts 9)

Title: "Who are you, Lord?" 

Text: Acts 9:1-9

Location: College Wesleyan Church, January 8, 2023

Introduction

Old debates over standards, growing up totally convinced, wreaking havoc in relationships, praying for the Lord to show me if I was wrong, an Easter surprise.

It's very hard for us to change our minds on fundamental paradigms, and that's probably a good thing. Sometimes only the Holy Spirit can change our minds.

So it was with Paul. He was totally convinced he had God all figured out. Imagine how disoriented he was after Jesus showed him he was fundamentally wrong about the Bible.

We are trying to emerge as a church from a period of strong disagreement. If it weren't so serious, it would be funny. Two sides totally convinced they represent God, saying some of the very same things about the other, totally convinced they represent God. Two sides, both totally convinced they are being true to the Bible.

We need the Spirit to help us because we can't help ourselves. It would be great if Jesus would tap us on the shoulder. How do we move forward as a church?

1. Start with the faith you have.

Student in philosophy who wanted to throw everything out and start over. Mistake! We will not likely figure it all out from scratch.

• Pascal's Wager -- if we love God and love our neighbor, our lives and the world will be a better place even if we are wrong on something.
• God's been walking with his people for a long time (Bud Bence's church history trailer). He didn't just stop after the New Testament. The faith we have inherited probably has a lot of things right!
• Truths about God aren't just discovered. They are also revealed. Pure reason won't get you there without a lot of help from the Holy Spirit.
• The problem is that we are finite and flawed. We don't see the whole picture, and we tend to find a way to interpret things the way we want to.

2. Submit yourself to the truth, which is what God thinks.

• If you really believe in truth, you must be open to changing your mind.
• My crisis in seminary -- Would God test my faith by insisting I believe something that obviously isn't true? In the end I answered no. If you could disprove God's existence to him, he'd be the first to pack it up. God aligns with the real truth, whatever it may be. "All truth is God's truth."
• My New Testament Survey position paper assignment. My advice to pick a topic that the New Testament actually talks about. Students often submitted papers with nothing from the New Testament in them, showing that the Bible was more symbolic in their views than substantial.

3. Keep listening!

• Listen to God.
• Listen to your "enemy" (whom God requires you to love).
• Don't demonize the "other side." Let God take care of them.
• Stick to your guns. It doesn't mean we don't take a position. It just means we keep talking while we take our position, and we submit ourselves to God in case he wants to change it.

Conclusion

The story of Gamaliel. He was truly interested in the truth and in submitting to God. That meant he was willing to change his position if he turned out to be wrong. Others mistook their positon for a truth to defend no matter what. This is the very nature of a hardened heart.