Happy Thanksgiving Everyone

God's richest blessings to you and yours.

In response to Julie's links:

The writer makes some good points and, to be honest, my brief summary of "Scripture" was incomplete. There is much more that could be said. My primary purpose in the reply to my friend was to point out that what we call the Bible is indeed much more trustworthy a source of inspired writings than any other writing of that time. I personally believe that it continues to be so.

Fr Stephen makes very good points on the issue and his is very much my understanding of the Orthodox/Roman view of scripture. I do have some issues with the O/R view but I don’t claim to have any superior understanding and welcome discussion on the subject.

I lean heavily toward the Anglican tradition when it comes to the authority of scripture and, to a lesser extent, my personal studies and what seems logical to my understanding. Anglican tradition claims that the Church rests on a 3-legged stool, scripture, tradition and reason. Actually it’s a rather lopsided stool in that the leg of scripture is much longer than the other two. In other words, in fully recognizing the importance of Church tradition and reason, Holy Scripture is preeminent. I and many Anglicans would also add a 4^th leg, the Holy Spirit, for just as faith without works is dead, word without Spirit is tenured theology.

Fr Stephens seems to think that “Protestants” have made an idol out of the Bible. Perhaps some have. Most that I have known don’t know enough scripture to make the distinction (and even more O/Rs). For most “Protestants” the Bible is no more an idol than a statue of the Virgin Mary is to O/Rs. He also seems to think that “Protestants” view the Bible in the same way Muslims view the Quran. If they did they would get upset when someone burns or defaces a Bible the same way Muslims do when someone defaces a copy of the Quran. They don’t.

  

In the first essay Fr Stephen talks about the authority of scripture and how scripture was given by the Church and how the Church is preeminent in interpreting scripture.  My first issue is this, did the Church determine what was/is holy writ or did it recognize what is holy writ? The O/R view is the former, the Reform view, which I agree with on this point, is the latter. I respect the O/R view and I recognize that there is more to this view than many Protestants recognize. But, if the Church is equal to or above the Scripture then what is the Church? Is it strictly the priesthood or is it the entire body of Christ. For the Church to be the sole interpreter of scripture would seem to mean, the learned, ordained, apostolic members of the Church. I respect the need for traditional understanding and experience and I think we can all agree that we don’t want a novice interpreting scripture for us, even if there are exceptions but on the down side, without input by the whole body (the Church) the (c)urch is apt to develop interpretations, traditions and theologies that are self-serving which is the situation that provoked Luther’s 99 theses and the reformation movement.

In the second essay Fr Stephen makes a very good point about how the Quran is a false Bible. I whole heartedly agree. Islam is a cult as is Mormonism, and Rastafarianism and many others that twist and rewrite Scripture for their own benefit.

It is important to understand what the Bible is and isn’t. If you study the Bible as a scientist you will find many scientific errors. That is because, although there are many scientifically accurate entries, it is not a science book. If you study the Bible as a historian you will find many errors. That is because, although there are many historically accurate entries, it is not a book of history. What the Bible is is a book of Truth. I would personally say that it is not the only book that contains Truth but it is the most comprehensive, reliable and trustworthy book of Truth that exists and as such I consider it a gift from the living God to mankind.

He also talks about how Christianity is not a submitting to God. I understand what he is saying. It is not a forced submission. Conversion at the point of a sword or gun is not, usually, a true conversion, it is a conquest. I also appreciate what he’s saying about unity with God. Understanding our unity with our Creator leads us on paths of communion and fellowship that many saints have traveled before us. But, Christianity is a submission. It is a submission in the sense of a bride that submits herself to her husband, not legalistically or in fear but because he has won her. We do not submit to Christ because he has conquered our flesh but because He has conquered our heart. We do so willingly. Not out of fear.

I do passionately disagree with Fr Stephen when he attempts to attach Protestantism to Islam. It appears to me that he is taking rather liberal leaps of logic to encourage the Orthodox faithful to stay in the corral while at the same time apply guilt by association to the schismatics and heretical Protestants.  

To put it in modern political terms, one view believes that power and authority should be centralized and the other view is that individuals are generally intelligent enough to make good decisions when they are give the truth unfiltered.

It is not my intention to offend anyone with my views and, hopefully I have not. If I have I blame it on Julie who provoked me to expound ;-). My thoughts are not settled on the subject so please feel free to expound, expand, rebuke or reply. 

A little while back a young friend asked me what I thought about the books and writings about Jesus that didn't make it into the Bible and, by extension, the ideas found in books like The Da Vinci Code.
Here's what I wrote to him:

Dear . . . ,

Before answering your question I think a little background on the Bible may be in order.

1.       The Bible contains 66 books or letters, 39 Old Testament and 27 New Testament.

2.       These 66 books are considered to be the inspired Word of God by the Protestant Church. There are also several books called the Apocrypha that are also accepted as Old Testament Scripture by Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox and a few others. The Apocrypha is respected by most Protestant churches and valuable for wisdom and training but not considered inspired by God. 

3.       Why are these 66 book considered inspired by God and not others?

a.       The Gospels, the book of Acts and the Epistles (letters) were all written between about 45-50 A.D. and 110-120 A.D.

b.      The early Church had only the Old Testament to work from.

c.       The 39 books of the Old Testament were regarded by the Apostles as the Word of God mainly because they were Jewish and had long been accepted by the Jewish leaders as such. (the books of the Apocrypha were respected by the Jews but not considered inspired – which is why most Protestant Churches consider them as they do)

d.      As the Apostles and others began to travel, teach and plant churches they would write letters to those churches for instruction and correction. Also, wherever they went they told the story of Jesus, His life, death and resurrection.

e.      The oral history as told by the original 12 apostles eventually was written down and these histories, along with the letters would be read in the churches, copied and distributed to other churches.

f.        As the Church grew and matured – A.D. 100 – A.D 300 – the early fathers began to realize the serious need to canonize, or standardize and compile these histories and letters. The 27 writings we use now were not the only writings being distributed in the churches. There were many, many others. Some of the writings were genuine but many were fake. Much like today, there were people who either misunderstood or willfully twisted the truth of the Apostles and would write or edit the writings for their own purpose. These were the Arians, Gnostics and outright charlatans.

g.       Over the first 300-400 years  there were several councils consisting of the leaders and theologians of the Church. Their job was to establish what was and what was not true Christianity. It was vitally important for them to address the many heresies that were attacking the Church.

h.      Over the course of many years, through many councils and much prayer and heated debates the 27 writings were recognized and accepted as the inspired Word of God by the Church.

4.       So, to answer your question:

a.       Although extra-biblical writings can be interesting, they are nothing new. The Church Fathers read and considered more of them than archaeologists will ever discover.

b.      Most of them are, either by design or by error, a distraction from the Truth.

c.       We have the very Word of God. Why would we settle for anything less?

Blessings,
R.B.

November Has an 'R'

Old School Oyster Harvest

Here's a quikie for today:

John Wesley, the Methodist, found it natural to approach the Gospel with habits of thought formed by a classical education but he was quick to recognize the value of other approaches. The early Methodist meetings were often led by lay preachers with very limited education. On one occasion, such a preacher took as his text Luke 19:21, "Lord, I feared thee, because thou art an austere man." Not knowing the word "austere," he thought that the text spoke of "an oyster man." He spoke about the work of those who retrieve oysters from the sea-bed. The diver plunges down from the surface, cut off from his natural environment, into bone-chilling water. He gropes in the dark, cutting his hands on the sharp edges of the shells. Now he has the oyster, and kicks back up to the surface, up to the warmth and light and air, clutching in his torn and bleeding hands the object of his search. So Christ descended from the glory of heaven into the squalor of earth, into sinful human society, in order to retrieve humans and bring them back up with Him to the glory of heaven, His torn and bleeding hands a sign of the value He has placed on the object of His quest. Twelve men were converted that evening. Afterwards, someone complained to Wesley about the inappropriateness of allowing preachers who were too ignorant to know the meaning of the texts they were preaching on. Wesley, simply said, "Never mind, the Lord got a dozen oysters tonight."

- Source unknown

Daily Office

The readings assigned to today by the Book of Common Prayer are:

Psalms 69 & 73

Revelations 17 

and Luke 13:31-35.

A few excerpts 

Psalm 69:

“Save me, O God!

For the waters have come up to my neck.

2 I sink in deep mire,

where there is no foothold;

I have come into deep waters,

and the flood sweeps over me.”

Verse 30:

“I will praise the name of God with a song;

I will magnify him with thanksgiving.”

Psalm 73:3

“For I was envious of the arrogant

when I saw the prosperity of the wicked”

Verses 16-17

“But when I thought how to understand this,

it seemed to me a wearisome task,

17 until I went into the sanctuary of God;

then I discerned their end.”

Revelation 17:14

“They will make war on the Lamb, and the Lamb will conquer them, for he is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those with him are called and chosen and faithful.”

Luke 13:35

“Behold, your house is forsaken. And I tell you, you will not see me until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!’”

The emphasis seemed to be of pain, suffering, hope and victory.

Then I read this FB post by a new missionary friend:

My Children’s Foreign Mother

He gazed at me through darkened eyes,

This man who fled from war.

“I had to wait until my wife

Had died from all her sores.”

“Her sores?” I asked without a thought

Of how this mem’ry might

Uncover pain too deep – too raw –

Too close to fear and flight.

He blinked and turned his face away

As if to hide inside;

And then with measured words he told

Me how it was she died.

“You see,” he murmured quietly,

“We were from different groups.

When we were joined in matrim’ny

We were not split in troops.

But now the war has pitted us

‘Gainst one, and ‘gainst the other…

My people just could not accept

My children’s foreign mother.

At first there were just angry words

And insults flung her way,

But soon there followed slaps and blows

And threats if she should stay.”

But then things got quite out of hand,

As I was pushed aside.

The mob was now out of control

And she was trapped inside.

I pushed and pulled and sobbed and cried

Until I found her there,

A bloodied mess of flesh and bone

With blind and vacant stare.

She did not die that fateful night,

But fought and fought for life.

How could she leave me all alone

With children, but no wife.

As in the dawn began to creep

Her soul began to leave…

One light come in and one go out…

A family left to grieve.

We buried her under the tree

Where we two once were wed.

And with her in that sandy grave

I lay my heart to bed.

And then we packed up all our things,

The little we still had,

And started out on foot towards

The good or t’wards the bad.”

“And now we live within a camp

Together with those who

Had dealt the blows that killed my wife

And left me with these two…

Little ones too young to know

Such sorrow and such strife;

Too young to know that they will ne’er

See her in this life.

How can I speak to them of heav’n,

When hell is all they know?

How can I speak to them of love,

When hatred brings us low?”

He sighed a sigh and closed his eyes

Perhaps to recollect…

Was that a quiver in his voice

Detected, but soon checked?

He turned his face to me once more

As if with pleading eyes

He sought from me, a mortal man,

An answer to his whys.

“But there are some,” he softly said,

“Who suffer more than us…

You see the ones who dealt the blows

Now live among the just.”

“And they must look into our eyes

Each and every day,

Their conscience pricked when every time

We choose instead to say

That we forgive and we still love,

In spite of all the pain

That by their actions they have caused…

For only one thing will remain…

For faith and hope, the Bible says,

Will all too quickly pass,

But love goes on beyond the grave

And on beyond our past.”

He slowly rose as if to go

But then he turned and said,

“I miss her so, my foreign wife,

And even though she’s dead,

A part of her I always see

Within my children’s eyes.

And when I think I may forget

I find her in their smiles.

And by their lives they testify

To one and to the other,

That bitter hatred could not kill

My children’s foreign mother.

© Johann Vanderbijl 2014

It’s ok, I cried too.

Emmaus Road

Sneaky Jesus

There is a well-known rumor going around here in Charleston that when Bill Murray is in town he likes to sneak up behind people as they are walking around downtown and tap  them on the shoulder. When they turn around to see who it is, Bill puts a big grin on his face, says, “Nobody’s gonna believe you” and runs away. I say it’s a rumor because it has yet to happen to me or anyone I know personally but, as he is part owner of our mighty River Dogs minor league baseball team and does like to be in Charleston when his schedule permits and because the rumor has surfaced from a variety of sources, I tend to believe it.

In my meditations this morning the Spirit dropped in my mind an image of the two disciples walking along the road on the way to Emmaus. It was a Sunday and as they were walking they were discussing the rumors they had heard from the women who went to the tomb and found it empty and reported to the apostles that an angel had told them that Jesus had been resurrected from the grave. As the two were walking, talking and pondering the meaning of it all Jesus drew near and began walking with them. He snuck up on them. After a few minutes of listening to them He asked, “What are you guys talking about?” Cleopas answered, “What planet are you from? Haven’t you heard about what has happened in Jerusalem?” “What things?” Jesus responded, drawing them further in and preparing their hearts for a revelation.

So, they told Him the whole story of Jesus’ death burial and rumored resurrection. “And he said to them, ‘O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?’ And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.” (Luke 24:25-27)

As they approached Emmaus Jesus acted as if He would continue walking but they, being drawn to Him and His words of enlightenment, “urged Him strongly” to stay with them. He had been sprinkling salt on their thirsty hearts and, like the woman at the well, were at once confounded and amazed as their understanding began to open and their assumptions about the Scripture were systematically challenged and replaced. Like the old country preacher use to say, “They were like calves looking at a new gate”.

I think sometimes that we forget that the Physician tells us in Acts 1 that during the 40 days between Passover and Pentecost Jesus was often with the disciples, appearing to them and teaching them about the Kingdom (wouldn’t you like to hear those teachings?).

The Jewish Passover is, as you know, a time of celebrating Israel’s deliverance from Egypt, setting them free from bondage and being led into the desert. Jewish Pentecost, or the Feast of Weeks is a time of celebrating the act of God supernaturally giving, with signs and wonders, His Law to Moses on Mt Sinai which was the establishment of a nation. Hmm, I wonder if this is one of the correlations Jesus shared with Cleopas and that other disciple?

Anyway, Jesus reluctantly (?) follows them on to Emmaus continuing to talk with them. They arrive at the inn where they will spend the night and as they sit down to dinner, Jesus takes the bread, blesses it and breaks it and puts a big grin on His face. In a flash they recognize Him – and He disappears.

 In that singular moment He is, at once, confirming His resurrection, the witness of their hearts as they listened to Him explaining the Scriptures while on the road and preparing them for His Pentecost, the establishment of His Kingdom in the hearts of men.

Lord Jesus, I am so dull of hearing and my heart is so hard of understanding. I wander off, pondering the meaning of it all in my own weak intellect not recognizing your presence with me. Lord, I am so dull and rebellious. I have no excuse for my dullness or my rebellion. I only confess it and ask your forgiveness and in your grace to please sneak up on me. Sneak up on all of us. 

How the World Lost Its Story

By Robert W. Jenson – Critique by Rogelio Bueno

I know what you're thinking, Joan is feeding me great essays again, but no, as much as I would like to credit her for this one I can't. I and my fellow postulants for the ordained Diaconate were asked to read, "How the World Lost Its Story" and be ready to discuss our thoughts on it in our next class. 

These are my impressions of Robert W. Jenson’s well-stated premise that western post-modernism is caving in upon its empty core, and what role the Church has in the post-modern world.

First of all, Mr. Jenson makes good points with his understanding of our post-modern society. Keeping in mind that his essay was originally written in October of 1993, it is especially insightful and even more relevant today as the signs of his observations of over 20 years ago are all around us.

The un-narrative narrative of today is evident everywhere. The post-modern mind only wants to shun its past, destroy the foundations it stands upon and demand more and more illogical and morally baseless “rights” for itself, all the while having absolutely no idea of what should replace what they rail against. The post-modern mind is one of self-delusional anarchy.

 Mr. Jenson’s answer to this dilemma is for the Church to remember her traditional roots and historical narrative encouraging a Eucharist-centric foundational narrative to display to a world in chaos. He is obviously writing from a very Roman Catholic viewpoint and, though I do not totally agree with his assumptions about how the Protestant Church has contributed to the post-modern issues we are dealing with, I think he is spot-on about the error of churches chasing “social relevancy” as a way to attract and keep members.

“The modern world, the world that instrumental and critical reason built, is falling about us. Modernity, it now becomes evident, has been all along eroding its own foundations; its projects and comforts have depended on an inheritance to which it has itself been inimical.”

I am growing more persuaded that he and others are right about our being in a post-modern society. I also tend to believe that we are worshiping in a post-Constantine church; a church that has, for the most part, lost the position of respect and authority given to her by Rome. That position has been both a blessing and a curse for the Church. When Rome collapsed in on itself, as Western culture is doing today, the Church held a position of stability and moral authority that she used, for the most part, very well and was able to preserve and eventually revive civilization. It is important to remember that, by and large, it was not the politicians and publicans of the Church that did the heavy lifting but the monastics. It was the monastics who, disgusted with the political intrigue, greed and decadence that came into the Church with Constantine’s protection and generosity, separated themselves from society and began to build Christ centered communities that taught the peasants how to follow God, cultivate crops and organize themselves.

“As the church once lived and conducted her mission in the precisely post-Hellenistic and post-Roman-imperial world, remembering what had vanished but not knowing what if anything could come next, so the church must now live and conduct her mission in the precisely “post”-modern world.”

I do not advocate the creation of monasteries or of Christians heading to the desert to escape the decadence of our society, though I couldn’t blame anyone if they did. I do think, though, it’s time that the Church remembered who she is. It is a sin for Christians to see themselves as another political action group, voting block or social activist organization. It is a sin for Christians to identify themselves as conservative, liberal, Protestant, Catholic, or any other identity, including sexual identity. We are Christians. Our identity is Christ in you. Within that identity we may find ourselves with conservative or liberal, etc. leanings but those tags are not who we are. They are only our opinions, choices, sins and efforts to work out our salvation.  

” The entire project of the Enlightenment was to maintain realist faith while declaring disallegiance from the God who was that faith’s object. The story the Bible tells is asserted to be the story of God with His creatures; that is, it is both assumed and explicitly asserted that there is a true story about the universe because there is a universal novelist/historian. Modernity was defined by the attempt to live in a universal story without a universal storyteller.”

Christ is the foundation stone of the Church and the Church is the foundation stone of society, nothing less. Society does not need a Church that is following it around begging for crumbs of popularity and influence. Society needs a strong and confident foundation upon which to build and live and thrive. Time and again throughout history you find examples of people who chose to live by Judeo/Christian ethics of God first, your neighbor second and yourself third. And, time and again you will find that those cultures have prospered, grown - and suffered persecution.

“. . . if the church does not find her hearers antecedently inhabiting a narratable world, then the church must herself be that world.”

” In the postmodern world, if a congregation or churchly agency wants to be “relevant,” here is the first step: It must recover the classic liturgy of the church, in all its dramatic density, sensual actuality, and brutal realism, and make this the one exclusive center of its life. In the postmodern world, all else must at best be decoration and more likely distraction.”

It is important for Christians to remember; the Church was here long before the current crop of social experimenters came along, and She will be here long after they have become a minor byline of history. Along the way, our job is to confidently live out the Gospel before a dying culture, providing loving truth and a solid foundation for people and society to build upon. Our job is to work with Christ as He seeks and saves the lost and dying.