Pay Dirt: Literalism or Myth?

"Augustus came from a miraculous conception by the divine and human conjunction of [the God] Apollo and [his mother] Atia. How does the historian respond to that story? Are there any who take it literally?... That divergence raises an ethical problem for me. Either all such divine conceptions, from Alexander to Augustus and from the Christ to the Buddha, should be accepted literally and miraculously or all of them should be accepted metaphorically and theologically. It is not morally acceptable to say directly and openly that our story is truth but yours is myth; ours is history but yours is a lie. It is even less morally acceptable to say that indirectly and covertly by manufacturing defensive or protective strategies that apply only to one's own story. "

- John Crosssan, The Birth of Christianity, 1998, pg 28 - 29.

Pay Dirt: Harry Potter Quote

I just finished Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling...the last of the Harry Potter series. Towards the end of the book, there is a scene where Harry is talking with Dumbledore (who is dead)...Harry isn't sure if he himself is also dead (and in some form of the afterlife) or if this whole scene is some kind of dream he is having. The last interchange between Harry and Dumbledore really struck me...especially the last quote by Dumbledore:

"Tell me one last thing," said Harry. "Is this real?" Or has this been happening inside my head?"

Dumbledore beamed at him, and his voice sounded loud and strong in Harry's ears even though the bright mist was descending again, obscuring his figure.

"Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?"

I found this very interesting when thought about from a religious experience perspective. We often say that the religious experiences people claim to have are "just in their heads". Interesting to consider the question "why on earth should that mean that it is not real?". Maybe in our heads is where we experience God???

Pay Dirt: D'Oh! Top Ten (Plus One) Religious Episodes on 'The Simpsons'

From beliefnet.com

D'Oh! Top Ten (Plus One) Religious Episodes on 'The Simpsons'
By Mark I. Pinsky

Bart Simpson once asked his father about the family's religious identity. Homer classically replied, "You know, the one with all the well-meaning rules that don't work in real life. Uh, Christianity." In 18 seasons of "The Simpsons," nearly 20 episodes of the award-winning animated series have focused almost exclusively on faith, religion, and spirituality, while similar subplots, jokes, and images are scattered throughout 150 other episodes.With "The Simpsons Movie" opening on July 27th (and rumored to explore more irreverent faith-focused storylines), the time is ripe for a list of the top ten (plus 1) episodes dealing with religion. It wasn't easy, but as a repeat viewer and a student of the show, here is my list. Whether you're a die-hard Homer fan, a subscriber to the Ned Flanders school of faith, or even an Apu enthusiast, there's something in this gallery for you.

Homer the Heretic (Christianity) - Oct. 8, 1992
Hapless Homer, a borderline pagan whose faith is largely fear-based, decides that attending church every Sunday is a bad idea. Mostly, he is just lazy. But at one point he uses a theological argument with his despairing wife, Marge, that demolishes the notion of "one true faith." Homer has a great time staying at home while his church-going family suffers for their piety. Then God comes to Homer in a dream, and they work things out. Classic "Simpsons" line: "What if we picked the wrong religion? Every week, we're just making God madder and madder!" --Homer Simpson

Like Father, Like Clown (Judaism) - Oct. 24, 1991
Written with the help of three rabbis, this episode about Jewish identity dramatizes the debate between tradition and modernity--with a little help from the movie "The Jazz Singer." In the episode, Krusty the Clown is revealed to be a conflicted Jew who wants to reconcile with his faith and his estranged father, who, it turns out, is a rabbi. The show also draws on the early life and career of comedian Jackie Mason, who plays Krusty's dad. This episode should be watched with its sequel, "Today I am a Clown," Dec. 7, 2003, which deals with Krusty's adult bar mitzvah. Classic "Simpsons" line: "Mel Brooks is Jewish!?!" --Homer Simpson, after Lisa lists the many Jews in show business

She of Little Faith (Buddhism) - Dec. 16, 2001
Lisa, for many seasons the exemplar of socially-conscious mainline Protestantism, gives up on Christianity when Springfield Community Church goes commercial and seeker-crazy. After some theological wandering, she decides to become a Buddhist, with the help of Richard Gere. At one point the actor tells Lisa that Buddhism is about harmony, so in order to keep her family happy she can still observe Christmas with them. Still, even Gere becomes exasperated at Homer's co-worker Lenny, a Buddhist who doesn't know who Buddha is. Classic "Simpsons" line: "It's a good thing Buddha teaches freedom from desire, because I've got the desire to kick your ass." --Richard Gere

The Father, the Son, and the Holy Guest Star (Catholicism) - May 15, 2005
Thrown out of public school (again), bratty son Bart is sent to Catholic school, where he meets a cool priest, played by Liam Neeson. Homer, seduced by bingo, a pancake supper, and the concept of confession and absolution, decides that he and Bart should convert to Catholicism. Marge panics, and with her minister, Reverend Timothy Lovejoy, and her evangelical next-door neighbor, Ned Flanders, the trio proceeds to refight the Reformation. Lovejoy accuses Homer of being "under the spell of a man in a pointy white hat." But Bart reminds everyone, before bloodshed erupts (again) between the Protestants and Catholics, to remember that they share the same faith. Classic "Simpsons" line: "It's all Christianity, people. The little, stupid differences are nothing next to the big, stupid similarities." --Bart Simpson

Missionary: Impossible (Christianity) - Feb. 20, 2000
Failing to make good on his pledged donation to public television, Homer needs to get out of Springfield ahead of a mob led by Betty White and Rupert Murdoch. In desperation, he jumps on a Christian relief plane on its way to supply and replace missionaries on a South Pacific island. Homer prays to "Jebus," who he says he doesn't believe in, to spare him from the mission. Out of ignorance, incompetence, and an abundance of good will, Homer proceeds to repeat every error made by missionaries to indigenous people in the past five centuries. Classic "Simpsons" line: "I may not know that much about God, but I have to say we built an awfully nice cage for him." --Homer Simpson, after motivating islanders to build a church

Simpsons Bible Stories (Christianity) - April 4, 1999
In this Easter episode, the Simpsons are in church as Reverend Lovejoy drones on with a sermon that puts them to sleep. Homer, Marge, Bart, and Lisa each dream stories from the Old Testament, based on familiar stories from Genesis, Exodus, Kings, and Samuel. (The dreamt-up tales are like the "Fractured Fairy Tales" from the classic "Rocky and Bullwinkle Show.") Homer and Marge--as Adam and Eve--are expelled from the Garden of Eden. But Marge is optimistic, if unclear, on the concept of Original Sin. When the family wakes, they are alone in church, and as they exit the sanctuary, the apocalypse has begun. Classic "Simpsons" line: "I'm sure God will let us return soon. How long can he hold a grudge?" --Marge Simpson, in her dream where she is Eve

Thank God it's Doomsday (Christianity) - May 8, 2005
Homer and the kids stumble into a movie theater at the mall that is showing a film based on the "Left Behind" series of apocalyptic pulp fiction. "The virtuous have gone to heaven," a character intones, "and the rest of us are left below." Fear struck, Homer buys enough Christian books to calculate the exact time and location of the Rapture and convinces townsfolk to gather with him on a mesa at that moment. But he makes an error, and when the event doesn't happen on schedule, he becomes an object of ridicule. On the right date, Homer is raptured by himself. But without his family with him in heaven, he is desolate. So he convinces God to turn back time and postpone the Rapture. Classic "Simpsons" line: "There's no way in God's heaven that I can get into God's heaven. But maybe he'll let me in if I warn others that the apocalypse is coming." --Homer Simpson, wearing a sandwich board and ringing a bell through the streets of Springfield

Bart Sells His Soul (Religious Superstition) - Oct. 8, 1995
Taking a cue from Faust, Bart sells his soul for $5 to his friend Milhouse. Bart argues that he made a good deal, since the soul is not real--just something made up by people to scare kids, "like the boogie man or Michael Jackson." But he soon realizes he has made a terrible mistake. Automatic doors don't open when he approaches, his breath does not produce condensation on the door of a frozen food compartment, he sees no humor in his favorite cartoon show, and he takes no joy from his pranks. In the end, his soul is saved by his sister Lisa, who explains that the soul is "the most valuable part of you... the symbol of everything fine inside us." Classic "Simpsons" line: Bart: "What if you die in a submarine at the bottom of the ocean?" Milhouse: "Oh, [your soul] can swim. It's even got wheels in case you die in the desert and it has to drive to the cemetery."

Pray Anything (General Religion) - Feb. 9, 2003
Homer becomes jealous of Ned when he thinks his neighbor's prayers enable him to win a $50,000 prize for making a half court, halftime shot at a WNBA game. So Homer tries prayer, beginning with a search for a lost TV remote. Lo and behold, it actually works. Success builds on success, until Homer ends up owning Springfield Community Church--turning it into debauchery central. Naturally, this hubris angers God, who rains down retribution on Homer, who in turn is saved from stoning only by the intervention of Reverend Lovejoy. Classic "Simpsons" line: "From now on, I'll pray till my hands are chapped and bleeding." --Homer Simpson, after finding his remote under the sofa

Homer Loves Flanders (Evangelicalism) - Feb. 24, 1994
For once, Homer eases up on the scorn and abuse he normally heaps on his good-hearted but irritating next-door neighbor, Ned Flanders. But first Homer mocks Communion and transubstantiation (the idea that Jesus is present in the wafer) by mistaking a waffle stuck to Ned's ceiling for the Host. Then he prays for tickets to a big football game, only to have his prayer answered by Ned, who offers him a seat. "Why do you mock me, O Lord?" Homer cries. Still, Homer gradually opens his eyes to the evangelical's prayer lifestyle and the way he lives the social gospel. Yet Flanders finds this unexpected friendship stifling and flees Homer, who stands by him when church members are eager to assume the worst about Flanders's erratic behavior. Classic "Simpsons" line: "Bless the grocer for this wonderful meat, the middlemen who jacked up the price, and let's not forget the humane but determined guys over at the slaughterhouse." --Ned Flanders, when he is saying grace

The Two Mrs. Nahasapeemapetilons (Hinduism) - Nov. 16, 1997
Apu, the convenience-store operator, is threatened with the end of his role as Springfield's swinging bachelor, when his mother arrives from India, determined to preside over her son's arranged marriage to a woman from the subcontinent. After failing to convince Apu's mother that her son is already married to Marge, Homer tries to sabotage the ceremony by dressing up as the elephant-headed Hindu diety Ganeesha, with predictably disastrous results. Classic "Simpsons" line: "Do not offer my God a peanut!" --Apu to Homer, when his friend tries to feed Ganeesha

Four Noble Truths

I just finished a short book on Buddhism, appropriately titled Buddhism: A Concise Introduction by Huston Smith and Philip Novak. I hadn't read anything on Buddhism, so even a short introduction was interesting for me.

What struck me on an overall basis was that the original Buddhist philosophy is much more akin to a Dr. Phil-like program as opposed to the stereotypical religious structure I was expecting (and for those of you who are not Dr. Phil fans, this comment was not meant to be disparaging to Buddhism...just that it came across to me more like a life improvement approach than a god-centered religious movement). This may be an incorrrect assessment (given my limited reading on Buddhism) but that is my first impression.

Having said that, I quite liked the basics of Buddhism, so I thought I'd outline some of them here on Prospecting God. In this blog entry, I will outline the "four noble truths" of Buddhism which were supposedly the content for the first teaching conducted by the Buddha. It followed his six-year quest for enlightenment and was a declaration of the key discoveries he had made - they are the "axioms of his system, the postulates from which the rest of his teachings logically derive":

The first noble truth is that life is dukkha, usually translated "suffering". In summary form, the first noble truth is that life (in the condition it has gotten itself into) is dislocated...something has gone wrong...it is out of joint; and as its pivot is not true, friction (interpersonal conflict) is excessive, movement (creativity) is blocked, and it hurts. The Buddha saw clearly that life as typically lived is unfulfilling and filled with insecurity. It should be noted that this observation was prompted more by realism than by morbidity or a pessimistic outlook on life. He did not doubt that it is possible to have a good time and that this was enjoyable, but he did then ask "how much of life is thus enjoyable?" and "at what level of our being does such enjoyment proceed?". He thought the level was superficial, sufficient enough perhaps for animals, but leaving deep regions of the human psyche empty and wanting. Because of this reality of life, we seek distractions to divert us from what lives beneath the surface...some distract themselves for long periods but the overall darkness is not relieved. He went on to pinpoint six moments when life's dislocation becomes glaringly apparent:

• The trauma of birth
• The pathology of sickness
• The morbidity of decrepitude
• The phobia of death
• To be tied to what one dislikes
• To be separated from what one loves

Two conclusions from the first noble truth: (1) even if one gets what one loves, the delight doesn't last; (2) it is not only the grasped-for world of experience that is impermanent - we, the graspers, are as well.

For the rift (as identified by the first noble truth) to be healed, we need to know the cause, and the second noble truth identifies it. The cause of life's dislocation is tanha - the desire for personal fulfillment. When we are selfless, we are free, but that is precisely the difficulty - to maintain that state. Tanha is the force that ruptures it, pulling us back from the freedom-of-all to seek fulfillment from our private egos. Tanha consists of all those inclinations which tend to continue or increase all forms of selfishness - the essence of which is desire for oneself at the expense, if necessary, of others.

The third noble truth follows from the second. If the causes of life's dislocation is selfish craving, it ceases when such craving is overcome. If we could be released from the narrow limits of self-interest into the vast expanse of universal life, we would be relieved of our torment.

The fourth noble truth prescribes how the cure can be accomplished. The overcoming of tanha, the way out of our captivity, is throught the "Eightfold Path". I'll cover that in my next blog entry.

Note: the above was extracted from Buddhism: A Concise Introduction by Huston Smith and Philip Novak.

Pay Dirt: Interesting Quote

From the introduction to Chapter 4 of Hitchens' god is not Great:

In dark ages people are best guided by religion, as in a pitch-black night a blind man is the best guide; he knows the roads and paths better than a man who can see. When daylight comes, however, it is foolish to use blind old men as guides.
- Heinrich Heine, Gedanken Und Einfalle

Summary Reflections on Bible Exploration

I've come to the end of my Bible Exploration series. I thought it would be useful (for me at least!) to summarize the key insights.

Many of my friends ask me why I even bothered to address the Bible. My response is that, although my thinking on things theological has evolved greatly in recent years, I still want to have a spiritual dimension to my life. For me, having grown up in the Christian tradition, I envision exploring that spiritual dimension with a Christian bias (although not with the fundamentalist perspectives I was indoctrinated with). As such, I need to be able to "fit in" the critical components of Christianity (i.e. God, Jesus, Bible, etc.) in a way that makes sense for me. So this is my attempt to explain how I see the Bible as being a potentially relevant source of thinking for that spritual dimension I seek.

Here are the key insights from this series of blog entries:

Bible Beliefs

• The Bible is a human product, containing human words...not the very words of God.
• It should not be read literally...but there are strong metaphorical messages that contain wisdom we can learn from.
• Within the context of the previous two points, Christians should understand the Bible as it is the foundational document for Christians, since it captures the experiences of the ancient Israel community and the early Christian community and their responses to God and Jesus, which is important within the Christian religion.
• For Christians, the Bible can be a mediator to God, as it discloses elements of God's character as interpreted through the Christian tradition.

How the Bible Became a Book

• There are MANY examples of the Bible being incorrect...it is not the inerrant words of God.
• The Biblical texts were initially communicated through oral tradition (for tens of years) before they were written down...wording and specifics would have clearly been altered during this process. In terms of the original texts, we don't have them or even copies of copies of copies of the original texts.
• The texts themselves were copied by hand for hundreds of years...with mistakes and edits happening along the way.
• The determination of what texts should be in the Bible was made by a variety of church leaders over time...with great debate.

A New Way of Reading/Seeing the Bible

• When reading the Bible, we should take a "historical-metaphorical" approach, asking "What did this text mean in the ancient historical setting in which it was written?" and "What does this story mean as a story, independent of its historical factuality?"

Revisiting the Creation Stories

• The creation stories were written in the 500s BCE, during or shortly after the Jewish exile into Babylon. Some suggest that key elements of the stories were used to emphasize Jewish beliefs...importance of the sabbath to the Jews of the day (as opposed to creation stories starting the sabbath ritual); and an assertion that the God of Israel is the creator and lord of heaven and earth as compared with Babylon and its gods (with whom the Jews were obviously not very happy at that point in time!).
• The historical understanding of the universe is important context...Ancient Israelites thought of the earth as the centre of the universe and above the earth was the "dome of the sky" with water being above the dome (hence the falling of rain and snow). Thus, the description of creation (e.g. separating the waters so that dry land is below the sky, etc.) reflects their understanding of the nature of the universe.
• The figurative nature of the creation stories can be seen even through the names of Adam (which comes from the Hebrew word adham meaning "humankind" and coming from the Hebrew word adhamah meaning "ground" or "dust") and Eve (which means "mother of all living").
• Key metaphorical messages that may make these stories useful or relevant for Christians today include the following propositions: (1) God is the source of everything that is; (2) humans are the climax of creation but at the same time we are small, finite, mortal.
• Finally, these creation stories set up the rest of the Bible which is, to a large extent, the Christian tradition's story of humankind's state of affairs: the human predicament and the Christian solution.

Plowing through the Pentateuch

• The Pentateuch captures the story of the "beginning of Israel" as a nation and a people. Its main components include stories about Abraham and his family; Moses and the Jewish exodus from Egypt; Sinai, the covenant and the laws; and the journey through the wilderness.
• The overarching theme throughout the Pentateuch is "promise and fulfillment". God promises Abraham that he will make of him a great nation. The rest of the story of the Pentateuch is the story of fulfillment of this promise...from slavery to the exodus and to the promised land.
• While the Jewish exodus likely happened in the 13th century BCE, the completed Pentateuch was not likely written until around the Jewish exile in Babylon in the 500s BCE. At the time of writing (i.e. during the exile), the promise of God that the Jews would be "a great nation" seemed profoundly threatened again, as did their very existence. In this setting, they remembered and celebrated the promise given to their ancestors, the stories of Israel's liberation from a previous imperial power, and the gift of a new land and a new life.
• In addition, the Pentateuch is Israel's story of radical protest against and liberation from the way Egypt and Pharoah governed human society at the time which included economic exploitation, political oppression and religious legitimation. In that context, the laws in the Pentateuch were written to prevent the emergence of a permanently impoverished class within Israel (i.e. for use in their world several thousand years ago as opposed to for Christians today).
• The metaphorical interpretation and usefulness of the Pentateuch for today's Christian would be an underlying message that in spite of life's threats and seemingly insurmountable obstacles, when birth and rebirth seem impossible, when powers of empires seem to rule the world...living in a manner that mirrors God's nature will enable us to make it through - living fully, loving unconditionally, being all we can be.

New Perspectives on the Prophets

• Historical context is crucial if one is to understand these books. These books narrate the history of Israel from the time of occupation of the promised land until the fall of Jerusalem to the Babylonians in 586 BCE. During that time, Israel lived as a "tribal confederacy" with no centralized government. Then, around 1000 BCE, a monarchy was put in place with kings like Saul, David and Solomon. When Solomon died in 922 BCE, the united kingdom split into 2 parts: Israel and Judah. Israel lasted until 722 BCE when it was conquered and destroyed by the Assyrian kingdom. Judah lasted until 586 BCE when it was conquered and destroyed by the Babylonian empire. Some of Judah's survivors were exiled to Babylon for about 50 years, at which time they were allowed to return to Judah to begin rebuilding their ruined country. So the prophets are writing some 500 years after the exodus, during the time of the split of the kingdom, destruction of the kingdoms, exile and return. It is also important to recognize that during this time period, Israel and Judah had essentially become miniature versions of the ancient domination system that had enslaved their ancestors in Egypt. The victims (the majority of the population) were Israelites, of course, but now the elites at the top were also Israelites...Egypt had been established in Israel.
• In that context, criticism of the reality of Israel's and Judah's social situation is the core of what the prophets were addressing in these books...as they believed that this could not be the will of God who had liberated Israel from similar bondage in Egypt. In essence, they expressed a passion for social justice and had an anti-establishment message...and added warnings of consequences if the societies didn't take peace and justice seriously.
• In that context, it also becomes clear that the prophets weren't foretelling Jesus' story as is commonly thought (instead, because the New Testament authors were Jewish and knew the Hebrew Bible well, they echoed the words of the Hebrew Bible in telling Jesus' story, in order to show continuity between Jesus and the tradition out of which they came, making it seem as though the prophets were foretelling Jesus' story).
• For Christians today, the message of many of the prophets words can still have metaphorical meaning - it can be relevant to the victims and exiles of the domination systems of our time, proclaiming that our identify, value and worth are not grounded in the culture of the day, but in God's regard. The message of the prophets can affirm that God's character, will and justice are different from the justice of oppressive social orders and the solution for exiles of today's world is also a journey of return...a way or path through the wilderness...with the destination being a return to life mirroring God's will.

Gaining Wisdom from the Wisdom Books

• These books (Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Job) were believed to have been written in the post-exile timeframe...between 500BCE to 300 BCE timeframe.
• Proverbs generally affirms "Follow this way, and your life will go well."...essentially a book of conventional wisdom (i.e. cultural wisdom, community wisdom, folk wisdom, "what everybody knows", etc.).
• Ecclesiastes questions conventional wisdom by claiming that the things of life (e.g. wisdom, power, fame, wealth, etc.) do not satisfy and then goes on to establish that bad things happen to good people through no fault of their own. It also emphasizes death...its utter inevitability and randomness...and the fact that there is nothing we can do about it, so we should "Eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow we may die".
• In Job, we encounter a story about a righteous man who endures much suffering. His friends try to share conventional wisdom to him to explain his suffering, but Job dismisses that wisdom as worthless. In the end, Job has a discussion with God which also provided him with no answers or explanations for his suffering. The experience, though, did convince him that God is real in spite of our ability to see fairness in the world. Some think that Job wasn't written to address the question "Why do the righteous suffer?" but instead to illustrate a point that God should be seen not as a means but as the ultimate end (that is, religion unmotivated by self-interest).
• For today's Christian, the wisdom books provide an interesting contrast between secondhand religion (i.e. religion learned from others...Proverbs) and firsthand religion (i.e. religion that flows from the firsthand experience of God...Ecclesiastes and Job). The books also provide a contrast between conventional wisdom and wisdom that is based more on randomness, chance and inevitability.

The Evolving Stories of the Gospels

• The earliest is almost certainly Mark and the latest is John. The gospels are the product of a developing Christian tradition during the decades following Jesus' death...containing history remembered and history metaphorized.
• Mark was a wartime gospel, and, as such, Mark emphasizes things like Jesus' suffering, warnings that followers of Jesus would suffer, and the promise of rewards to those who endured without losing their faith. Mark's theme seems to be focused around the "way"...that is, a way of return from exile (where the community found itself at wartime) which focused on dying to an old way of being and being born into a new way of being.
• Matthew was written about 10-20 years after Mark. Matthew uses 90% of Mark and adds some material from Q as well as some "original" material to evolve the story of Jesus. Matthew was written at a time when Christian Jews were in conflict with other Jews, so Matthew tries to assert that Christian Jews are faithful to the traditions of Israel...he does this by quoting the Hebrew Bible, drawing parallels to the Hebrew Bible and quoting Hebrew scripture.
• Luke was also written about 10-20 years after Mark and uses a lot of Mark and Q. But to evolve the story, he also adds a lot of "original" content as well. When Luke was written, Christianity had become a much more Gentile movement so he wanted to show Christianity projected to the whole world - both Jew and Gentile. Luke also has a repeated emphasis on the Spirit of God.
• John was written about 60-70 years after Jesus's death. John is the most symbolic of the gospels and if you don't try to force yourself to read John literally, you'll find that it is a remarkable book that summarizes how the Christian movement came to understand Jesus...that is, through Jesus you can know what God is like.
• The gospel stories clearly evolve from the first gospel (Mark) to the remaining gospels (e.g. virgin birth idea, resurrection stories, etc.). Matthew and Luke took Mark's writings and morphed them to meet their needs (i.e. Matthew's need to justify his belief in Jesus as being in line with Judaism; Luke's desire to move Christianity to a movement for Gentile and Jew and to emphasize the spirit). John takes the gospels to their next evolution... a more direct link between Jesus and God.
• For Christians today, the gospels tell the story of Jesus, through whom we can see what a life full of God looks like...living fully, loving wastefully, and having the courage to be all that you can possibly be.

A Primer on Paul's Writings

• Paul's letters were the way he kept in touch with the Christian communities he had helped start once he had moved on. Often, Paul's letters are responses to letters he would have received from a community. Thus, it is important to recognize that the letters were not intended to be a summary of his message, but more specifically dealing with issues arising in his communities. In fact, the agenda for Paul's letters was set more by the communities than by Paul...he deals with specific issues raised by them.
• For today's Christians, Paul's themes included: (1) Jesus is Lord (i.e. he showed what a life full of God looks like and, as such, is Lord...and Caesar is not); (2) Being "In Christ" (i.e. characterized by things like freedom, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness and self-control); (3) Justification by Grace (i.e. you don't have to be Jew or live a certain way...justification by grace is the basis for anyone's relationship to God...it is a gift of God, not a human accomplishment); and (4) Christ Crucified (i.e. this represents various messages including Christ was physically crucified; an indictment of the rulers of the age who crucified Christ; a revelation of God's love for us; and a symbol of the path of transformation).

Revelations from Revelation

• Revelation was written for specific Christian communities in Asia Minor (about the events that the author thinks will happen in his own time) as opposed to being a message for people thousands of years later. In this context, key messages were: (1) Despite appearances to the contrary, Christ is Lord and Caesar and the beast are not; (2) God will soon act to overthrow the rule of the beast and its incarnation in Caesar; and (3) Therefore, persevere, endure, be confident, take hear, have faith.
• For today's Christians, there are various themes that can be seen in Revelation: (1) Tale of Two Lordships (i.e. the honor and praise demanded by Caesar is offered to God and Jesus instead); (2) Ancient Cosmic Combat Myth (i.e. story of cosmic conflict between good and evil that has been used in many cultures throughout human history); (3) Revelation and Empire (i.e. Rome won't bring peace as it claims...instead Jesus is the light of the world who can bring peace on Earth); (4) Indictment of the Roman Empire (i.e. Revelation personifies Rome as "the great whore" and a ferocious beast, and claims the fact that the economic exploitation will end); (5) Tale of Two Cities (i.e. city of Rome will fall to the kingdom of God...the "New Jerusalem").

Revelations from Revelation

Revelation is the last book in the Bible...although it wasn't the last book to be written, nor did the author know it would be positioned as the "conclusion" to the Christian Bible. It was placed at the end due to its subject matter...that is, "the end". It is interesting to note that Revelation almost failed to "make it into" the Bible...it was reluctantly accepted in the Greek speaking Eastern church, listed by Eusebius as a disputed book, omitted from canonical book lists made by early church fathers, given secondary stature by Luther, and largely ignored by Calvin.

The book is an apocalypse. Apocalyptic writings flourished in Judaism from about 200 BCE to 100 CE. It was written in the last first century by a man named John. As many as 65% of the verses in Revelation echo or allude to passages from the Hebrew Bible. The book starts with a vision...and this continues throughout ("I saw" is used about 55 times)...using imagery, allusions to the Hebrew Bible, symbolic numbers, etc.

There are 2 ways of reading Revelation:

• The Futurist Interpretation - the central claim of this way of reading Revelation is simple: it tells us about what will happen some time in the future. This is how most Christians read Revelation.
• The Past-Historical Interpretation - this approach is based on a belief that we understand the message of Revelation only by setting the test in the historical context within which it was written - that is, emphasizing what Revelation would have meant in the past. This approach sees Revelation as a message to the specific Christian communities in Asia Minor (as referred to at the beginning of Revelation) as opposed to a message for people thousands of years later. The author seems to think the events will happen in his own time as well (he uses phrases like "what must soon take place", "for the time is near", "soon")...and while modern Christians try to overlay "God's time perspective" on these statements, the original hearers of Revelation would not have had that thought. There is also compelling evidence that the author was writing about realities of his own day (e.g. clear allusions to the Roman empire). In this context, key messages were: (1) Despite appearances to the contrary, Christ is Lord and Caesar and the beast are not; (2) God will soon act to overthrow the rule of the beast and its incarnation in Caesar; and (3) Therefore, persevere, endure, be confident, take hear, have faith. Taking this approach recognizes that the Roman Empire did not fall for another 300 years and Jesus did not return soon...it accepts that the Bible is a human product, not a divine product without error.

But Revelation is more than mistaken prediction...its larger themes are of interest:

• Tale of Two Lordships - Roman emperors were given divine titles (e.g. son of God, lord, god, etc.) and there was religious legitimation to the rule of the empire and Caesar. Against this context, John in Revelation proclaims exclusive lordship of God and God as known in Jesus. The honor and praise demanded by Caesar is offered to God and Jesus instead. In summary, Jesus is Lord; Caesar is not.


• The Ancient Cosmic Combat Myth - this plot is a story of cosmic conflict between good and evil, and has been used in many cultures throughout human history (e.g. in ancient writings, conflicts between the god of light and evil power of darkness, witht he evil power often imaged as a dragon or sea monster; in ancient Near East, stories of god killing the evil seven-headed monster; in postbiblical time, archangel Michael warring with the dragon; and we could keep going up to things like Star Wars with its depiction of good versus evil). John uses similar references in his story.


• Revelation and Empire - there are remarkable similarities between Revelation and the story of Apollo's birth (from Greco-Roman culture)...when Apollos was born, the ancient monster looked to devour the infant, but Apollo was kept safe and went on to kill the monster. John seems to use that story. By identifying the dragon, he refers to the Roman Empire. Instead of Caesar and the Roman Empire being Apollo, Jesus takes that role and they become the dragon, the beast, the ancient serpant. Rome won't bring peace as it claims...instead Jesus is the light of the world who can bring peace on Earth.


• Indictment of the Roman Empire - the ancient domination system included political oppression, economic exploitation and religious legitimation...elites of power and wealth controlled societies in their own interests and declared the order they imposed to be the will of God. In Revelation, John refers to all of these features. John personifies Rome as "the great whore" and ferocious beast...seducing, bewitching, claiming religious legitimation, and then ruling through intimidation and violence. In describing "the great whore", John describes the luxury of the empire (e.g. fine linen, gold, jewels, pearls, etc.), including slaves and human lives...and the fact that the economic exploitation will end.


• Tale of Two Cities - the city of Rome will fall to the kingdom of God...the "New Jerusalem".

So in Revelation, we see an affirmation of the sovereignty and justice of God, and radical criticism of an oppressive domination system pretending to be the will of God. John's vision of the "New Jerusalem" may be the primary reason this book made it into the Bible. It speaks of the reunion of God with humankind, thereby overcoming the exile that began in Eden...there we will see God. It is difficult to imagine a more powerful ending to the Bible.

Note: the bulk of the above has been extracted from Marcus Borg's Reading the Bible Again for the First Time.

A Primer on Paul's Writings

Next to Jesus, an argument can be made that Paul was the most important individual in the birth of what came to be Christianity. He wrote more of the New Testament than any other person (although scholars think that he likely only wrote 7, 8 or 9 of the 13 letters attributed to him), and was responsible for the spread of the Jesus movement into the Gentile world. While both liked and hated, there is not much debate that Paul was seen as an intellectual. He was also clearly Jewish and a Pharisee.

As a missionary, Paul would typically arrive in a new city and begin his missionary work by going to the Jewish synagogue where he would address Jews, but also Gentiles who were loosely associated with the synagogue. Paul's converts would begin a community life of their own, gathering regularly for worship and instruction and life together...in "house churches". These communities were likely small...well under 100 and more than likely between 10-30. Paul's missionary strategy also had him moving on after a local community had been established.

Paul's letters were the way he kept in touch with his communities after he had moved on. They would be read aloud at a gathering of the community. As such, Paul's letters are "conversations in context" - often his response to a letter he would have received from the community. Thus, it is important to recognize that the letters were not intended to be a summary of his message, but more specifically dealing with issues arising in his communities. In fact, the agenda for Paul's letters was set more by the communities than by Paul...he deals with specific issues raised by them.

For example, Paul writes in I Corinthians "Now concerning the matters about which you wrote. It is well for a man not to touch a woman. But because of temptation to immorality, each man should have his own wife and each woman her own husband." An interesting question raised about passages such as this is how much of the passage is Paul's point of view, versus how much is he noting what was written to him by the community. For instance, in this passage, try putting quotation marks around the second sentence (i.e. as if it was what the community had written...to follow the "concerning matters about which you wrote" opening) and then re-read the passage...you'll get a very different perspective. But since there are no quotation marks in ancient Greek, we don't really know...although many modern scholars think that the second sentence is Paul quoting from the letter he received from his community in Corinth.

Some of the key themes in Paul's writings are:

• "Jesus is Lord" - Paul refers to Jesus as Lord frequently. This had both religious and sociopolitical meanings. He was affirming that the "risen Christ" participated in the power and authority of God. He was also affirming that since "Jesus is Lord", "Caesar is not Lord".
• "In Christ" - Paul uses this phrase (or "in the Lord") 165 times. He uses it to refer to being free, no longer enslaved to the dominion of sin and death...characterized by things like freedom, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness and self-control. Life "in Christ" also has a social dimension in that it negates the social boundaries that mark conventional human existence.
• "Justification by Grace" - Paul contrasts justification by works of the law with justification by grace through faith. Justification is a free gift, not a reward for achievement. In Galatians, for example, justification by grace through faith is the basis for Gentiles becoming part of the community without becoming Jewish through circumcision. Similarly, he makes this point in Romans. For Paul, justification by grace is the basis for our relationship to God...it is a gift of God, not a human accomplishment.
• "Christ Crucified" - Paul attaches various meanings to this including that Christ was crucified; an indictment of the rulers of the age who crucified Christ; a revelation of God's love for us; and a symbol of the path of transformation.

The New Testament doesn't tell us about Paul's death, but according to early Church tradition, he was believed to have been executed in the 60s. If so, it is interesting that Christianity's two most formative figures were executed by established authority.

Note: most of the above was taken from Marcus Borg's Reading the Bible Again for the First Time.

Pay Dirt: Christpower

Christpower

Look at him!

Look not at his divinity,
but look, rather, at his freedom.

Look not at the exaggerated tales of his power,
but look, rather, at his infinite capacity to give himself away.

Look not at the first-century mythology that surrounds him,
but look, rather, at his courage to be,
his ability to live, and
the contagious quality of his love.

Stop your frantic search!

Be still and know that this is God:
this love,
this freedom,
this life,
this being;

And
when you are accepted, accept yourself;
when you are forgiven, forgive yourself;
when you are loved, love yourself.

Grasp that Christpower
and dare to be
yourself!

John Shelby Spong. Christpower (arranged by Lucy Newton Boswell Negus). Richmond, VA: Thomas Hale Co., 1975. Reprinted in 2007 by St. Johann's Press, Haworth, New Jersey.

The Evolving Stories of the Gospels

First, a little historical context:

• In 63 BCE, the Jewish homeland was incorporated into the Roman Empire (and administered through "client kings" appointed by Rome)
• Herod the Great was client king in 37 BCE until his death in 4 BCE. At the time of this death, the kingdom was divided into 3 parts.
• Jesus was born around 4 BCE.
• In 6 BCE, one of those parts - Judea - came under the direct Roman rule through governors - the most famous of whom was Pontius Pilate, from 26 to 36 BCE.
• Jesus was executed around 30 CE.
• Jewish revolutionary violence simmered throughout the first century, culminating in the catastrophic war of revolt against Rome in 66 CE. During this war, the Romans brutally reconquered the Jewish homeland and destroyed Jerusalem and the temple in 70.
• The gospels were written between approximately 65 and 100 CE.

The gospels tell the story of Jesus. The earliest is almost certainly Mark and the latest is John. The gospels are the product of a developing Christian tradition during the decades following Jesus' death...containing history remembered and history metaphorized.

Mark was written around 70 CE. It is thought that Mark was a follower of Peter and that much of Mark is based on Peter's teaching. It was written around the time that Jerusalem and the temple were reconquered and destroyed. That event casts a shadow on this gospel...Mark was a wartime gospel. To strengthen those being persecuted in this wartime, Mark emphasizes things like Jesus' suffering, warnings that followers of Jesus would suffer, and the promise og rewards to those who endured without losing their faith. In that context, Mark's theme seems to be focused around the "way"...that is, a way of return from exile (where the community found itself at that point in time)...the path of death and resurrection. When Mark uses the word "repent", he isn't referring to contrition for sin, but returning from exile...that is, dying to an old way of being and being born into a new way of being. Some interesting tidbits about Mark:

• He refers to Jesus' mother ("son of Mary") but doesn't mention Jesus' presumed father, Joseph
• There is no virgin birth story in Mark
• There is no resurrection appearance...just some startled women who "said nothing to any one"

Matthew was written about 10-20 years after Mark. Matthew uses 90% of Mark and adds some material from Q as well as some "original" material to evolve the story of Jesus. Matthew's content points to a late first-century community of Christian Jews in conflict with other Jews. After the Roman conquest of the Jewish homeland, the survivors sought to consolidate and preserve Jewish identity in spite of the loss of the temple. Soon after the temple's destruction, the Jewish community began to ostracize Jews who followed Jesus as the messiah, claiming they were no longer true Jews. Matthew tries to assert that Christian Jews are faithful to the traditions of Israel...he does this by quoting the Hebrew Bible more than any other gospel ("It is written" is used 40 times). He also parallels the Hebrew Bible's stories and quotes Hebrew scripture many, many times in telling the story of Jesus. He traces Jesus' genealogy back to Abraham, restricts Jesus mission during his lifetime to the Jews, echoes the story of Moses in Jesus (e.g. Herod, like Pharaoh, was claimed to command all male babies to be killed, structured Jesus' teaching in 5 blocks like the five books of Moses, etc.). Matthew also introduces some new concepts that differ from other gospels:

• He introduces the virgin birth idea. He suggests Mary and Joseph live in Bethlehem and then move to Nazareth after spending time in Egypt following a plot by Herod to kill infants (Luke has them live in Nazareth but travel to Bethlehem for a census and then return to Nazareth afterwards...no Egypt trip and no Herod plot)
• He has wise men visit Jesus by following a star (Luke has neither wise men nor a star, but instead has angels singing in the night sky to shepherds who come to visit)
• He traces Jesus' genealogy back to Abraham (Luke traces it back to Adam)
• He makes the "son of man" or Christ claim stronger and more overt than Mark did
• He seems to have heightened the miraculous in his stories as compared to Mark
• He emphasized hell more than other Christian writings

Luke was also written about 10-20 years after Mark and uses a lot of Mark and Q. But to evolve the story, he also adds a lot of "original" content as well. By the time Luke wrote his gospel, Christianity had become a much more Gentile movement. As such, he wanted to show Christianity projected to the whole world; to show how its center had shifted from Jerusalem to Rome; and to show how gentiles like himself had come to be included in this Jewish religion. He does this by evolving the story of Jesus through various and sometimes subtle means (for example, he traces Jesus back to Adam (father of all men) as opposed to Abraham; he has Roman Pontius Pilate pronounce Jesus innocent; etc. Luke's thematic construction involves a repeated emphasis on the Spirit of God (Jesus' conception by Spirit, Spirit descending on Jesus at his baptism, Jesus promising to send the Spirit to his followers, and in Acts - the companion book to Luke - the Spirit descending on the community through speaking in other languages...thereby breaking barriers of Christianity beyond language, nationality, economics, etc.). In the power of the Christ-spirit, all separations were overcome...including between Jews and Gentiles.

John is very different from the other 3 gospels, again showing the evolution of the gospels. John includes differences such as the length of Jesus' public activity (1 year in the others; 3-4 in John), geography (Jesus' public activity occurs in Judea and Jerusalem more than in Galilee), and message (Jesus message is about himself as opposed to the kingdom of God). John was written about 60-70 years after Jesus's death. John is the most symbolic of the gospels...Jesus inaugural scene is the "water into wine" story...symbolizing that Jesus message is about a wedding banquet at which the wine never runs out and the best is saved for last. John is also famous for the "I am" sayings...describing Jesus as Lord, Messiah, King and Son of God (those sayings are part of John's evolution of the gospels). For these sayings, the context of the time is important to note...there was a growing divide between some Jews and Christians, with a push by some Jews to argue that it was heritical to attribute to a human being too close a connection with the Holy God (like was being claimed about Jesus). John wrote to encourage and bolster those being banished because of their openness about following Jesus...and he did so through things like the "I am" sayings. The other gospels didn't say these things...in fact, it wouldn't have made sense, for instance, in Mark where the concept was that Jesus' divine identity was a secret only to be revealed through the cross and resurrection. If one doesn't force oneself to read John literally, it is a remarkable book at summarizing how the Christian movement came to understand Jesus...that is, through Jesus you can know what God is like. That is the message of John.

In summary, Mark started the gospel writings. Matthew and Luke took Mark's writings and morphed them to meet their needs (i.e. Matthew's need to justify his belief in Jesus as being in line with Judaism; Luke's desire to move Christianity to a movement for Gentile and Jew and to emphasize the spirit). John takes the gospels to their next evolution...making a more direct link between Jesus and God. And while there are glaring inconsistencies throughout the gospels, (which illustrates the evolving nature of the gospels), this is not a problem for those who don't see the gospels as having to be interpreted literally and as inerrant words of God. For others, this realization is startling and disturbing...in my experience, they either embrace it or refuse to even consider it.

Note: lots of credit for the content of this blog entry to Borg's Reading the Bible Again for the First Time, and to Spong's Rescuing the Bible from Fundamentalism.