Those of you who have followed me in past blogs know I am a big fan of  understanding the meaning of a specific word. A specific word to me is one that is used to introduce a person, place, thing, event, present a question, or direct our thoughts or conversations toward a shared opinion. I know the correct use of a word is important, correct being the context it is used to convey a thought or point. Today’s blog deals with two specific words, Theology and Conscience. First: Theology is the study of religion. … The study of theology is part philosophy, part history, part anthropology, and also something entirely its  own.  Theologians have the complex job of thinking about and debating the nature of God. Studying theology means taking on challenging questions about the meaning of religion. Next: What does it mean to have a conscience? One definition being the inner sense of what is right or wrong in one’s conduct or motives, impelling one toward right action: to follow the dictates of conscience – the complex of ethical and moral principles that controls or inhibits the actions or thoughts of an individual. 

Theology had an important role in the development of the early church. Four important functions of theology were, catechetical, the apologetical, the polemical and the homiletical. Let’s start with the first and keep it simple. Catechetical relates to Christian instruction.

1

: a convert to Christianity receiving training in doctrine and discipline before baptism

2

: one receiving instruction in the basic doctrines of Christianity before admission to communicant membership in a church

Next we look at the word  apologetical, a systemic defense of an, often religious, position.

Apologetics is the religious discipline of defending religious doctrines through systematic argumentation and discourse. Early Christian writers who defended their beliefs against critics and recommended their faith to outsiders were called Christian apologists. In 21st-century usage, apologetics is often identified with debates over religion and theology.

On to polemical which in its polemical function, Christian theologians defended and expounded the biblical faith against heretical threats from within the church. It was the early church defending itself against controversial or other writings that were disputatious to the church. A christian must grow and mature in the faith and not be blown elsewhere by false teachings.

1

: of, relating to, or being a polemic : CONTROVERSIAL

2

: engaged in or addicted to polemics : DISPUTATIOUS

Now the last being Homiletics, in religion, this is the application of the general principles of rhetoric to the specific art of public preaching. One who practices or studies homiletics may be called a homilist, or more colloquially a preacher. Two among many are these scriptures which says a lot in a few words. First Timothy 4:13 Until I arrive, give attention to the public reading of scripture, to exhorting, to teaching.There is also Titus 1:9, one of many attributes needed by an Elder, He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it.

I have often stated my worry about the increasing pressures on the “church” that are forcing it to take a path that is being guided by those with a personal agenda who are taking biblical texts out of their biblical contexts and allowing them to be driven by societal demands for change. A sound Theology provides a firm foundation to judge whether we are growing and serving Christ as the Great Commission charged us to do and are we obedient to his will? For most of us in the pew, it is the simple direct word of the gospel that drives our Theology.

John 6: 35-40

35 Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. 36 But as I told you, you have seen me and still you do not believe. 37 All those the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. 38 For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. 39 And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all those he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. 40 For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.” It may seem to many of us in the pew that Theology is the equivalent of a course in Christian Algebra, we need it but just find it hard to understand.

Theology is the Church’s Conscience. Thanks for being in the Pew this week. Below are the reference materials used for today’s blog.

Life is Good

jk

Theology – Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theology

The Role of Theology  By John Jefferson Davis, Ph.D.

Merriam – Webster

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 These are two of the most wonderful stories in the Fourth Gospel. Bible study can sometimes lead us to things that challenge our faith and yet at the same time increase our understanding of scripture that in a way captures and here I barrow from Paul Harvey  “The rest of the story.”  There is quite a story here and if you are preaching, one whale of a sermon. Looking at the feeding of the five thousand the improbability of feeding that many people does challenge our faith. It is even more challenging considering the amount Jesus had to work with, now the rest of the story. Setting the scene:

-the people had seen Jesus heal the sick

-Jesus and the disciples had withdrawn to a hill nearby

-at the base was a grassy field

-the field was near a main road 

-the Passover Feast was at hand and the roads were full of people 

-Jesus saw the multitude coming toward him and had compassion for them

The players in this story include not only people but time, place and circumstance.  Now the passover, the feast of the Jews, was at hand and the roads were full of travelers eager to be in Jerusalem for this holiday. There was a main road that ran close by to this grassy field. Jesus asked Philip where they could buy food to feed these people, even though he knew what he would do. Philip replied that it would take six months wages to buy enough food to feed these people. One of the disciples, Andrew stepped forward and told Jesus about a boy who had five barley loaves and two fish! Andrew followed Jesus’ instructions and with the rest of the disciples distributed enough to feed all those present and still have enough left over to fill 12 baskets. Some things to remember. Philip, thinking like any of us often do, saw the enormity of the need and no real practical way to meet it. Now scripture doesn’t say it but I believe it very possible that this young boy offered what he had believing it would help the situation. Andrew apparently was not willing to accept that they just give up and was willing to reach out and put forward any hope of finding a way to feed these people. We see here a perfect example of turning over to God the impossible and having faith God will make it happen! 

Included in these verses is the story of Jesus walking on water and here again we allow mortal practicality to marginalize our faith. Here in verses 16-21 we are again challenged and our faith tested. Jesus had finished feeding the five thousand and the crowds surged toward him and he left quietly instructing the disciples to take the boat to the other side of the lake. It was his intention to walk around the head of the lake while they rowed across and rejoin them in Capernaum. It was as Snoopy was known to say “a dark and stormy night. The Jews would refer to it as the second evening, the time between twilight and dark. They had been rowing for almost four hours due to the intensity of the storm. Then they suddenly saw Jesus walking on the water toward the boat. Now in this day and time all people were superstitious and they believed it to be a ghost and were terrified. In verse 20 Jesus calls out to them and they took him into the boat and in 21 they immediately reached land. Now there is a lot of commentaries and opinions as to what really happened here, all designed to make an improbability a probable. I will not go there but offer these thoughts. These verses contain one phrase that sets to rest any need to ponder what happen here. But he said to them, ‘it is I; do not be afraid” and they took him into the boat. How often in times of uncertainty and fear do we not hear the voice of God because of our lack of faith?

The rest of the story is rather simple. How many times have we as a church using our human reasoning limited our faith that God can do anything? Why can’t we be like that little boy and Andrew? Willing to give, giving it to God and trust he will make it happen. Why are we not able to realize how important it is to listen for God’s voice as he calls out to us and allow him to make our impossibilities, possible, removing our fears of the uncertainties of this life? There are many “rest of the stories”  in the good book and to find them you have to go beyond the words to the faith of a believer who knows the word but also hears the calling of God.

Thanks for joining me in the Pew this week.

Life is Good!

jk 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I am not sure how I got to this title but I will go with it any way. While it might seem strange why I would focus on the Jewish Bible, consider this. If you took the “good book” and open it to Genesis read a bit and then opened the Jewish Bible, Tanakh, read it a bit, it would almost be like looking in a mirror.  Oh there will be some different words here and there and there is only one Bible which has been translated into over 2000 languages. Currently, there are more than 40 different versions in English, from the King James Version, which was published in 1611 and is still going strong, to modern versions, some of them very simplified. (English.https://www.quora.com/How-many-different-types-of-Bibles-are-there-How-are-they-written)

I was drawn to this subject by the differences of the day that plague us in increasing fervor in the church today. There are so many issues that divide us because of societal pressures and the church’s struggle to remain relevant in the lives of its people. Both the OT and the NT are of one God but there is a natural tendency to view each differently and negate one to a lesser role.  Bible translation began about 2000 years ago. It connects us with our heritage and our inheritance, we are after all the adopted children of God through the body and blood of the risen Christ. Now days there is little of the OT in our bible studies in church.The Tanakh , the result of the coming together of a number of Jewish scholars and rabbis from the three largest branches of organized Jewish life in America, resulted in bringing together the three main translations of the Jewish bible. Started in 1955 the ongoing translation was published in  three main stages. The Torah in 1962, The Prophets, (Nevi’im) in 1978 and The Writings (Kethuvim) 1982, all three with applicable revisions were brought together in English in the form of today’s Tanakh. What drew me to the Jewish Bible was the sudden realization that this great written treasure of God’s mercy and redemption was not due to random events of history but rather the will of God and his desire to reconcile with his people.

(The Scriptural witness to the Son of God, however, did not begin with the New Testament – it first appears in the Old Testament in the abbreviated form of “Son” (with one exception).  While the number of Old Testament references to Son [of God]are nowhere near as numerous as that in the New Testament, they are extremely significant and have helped Christians recognize that Jesus Christ is indeed this Son of God and what the Bible means by this phrase.)   

 http://biblicalmissiology.org/2013/02/11/son-of-god-in-the-old-testament/ 

For it is written:

But the LORD will still give you proof. A virgin is pregnant; she will have a son and will name him Immanuel. (Isaiah 7:14)

A child is born to us!

A son is given to us!

And he will be our ruler.

He will be called, “Wonderful Counselor,”

“Mighty God,” “Eternal Father,”

“Prince of Peace.” (Isaiah 9:6)

New Testament writing: 

Galatians 3:28-29 King James Version (KJV)

28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.

29 And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.

I find peace, continuity, certainty, promise and redemption in the scriptures. There is one God, one salvation and one savior before whom all people will stand to be judged by the only judge that matters. We as mortals may find many things that divide us but old things prepare us for the wonders of new things. All things are of God…..Amen

Come back next week, God bless.

Life is Good

jk

 

Authority, Accountability, neither works well unless there is a reasonable amount of responsibility that is driving these two attributes. God has given us both individually and collectively a sense of responsibility. Quite reasonable to say that this particular thing, responsibility, differs in intensity among we humans. God at that moment in the garden gave the human race a guide to their responsibilities: Genesis 28 God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”

We shouldn’t look at that verse as a to do list but rather a very plain listing of what was expected, you might say, our earthly responsibilities. Responsibility can and often does mean different things to different people. In Matthew 25: 14-30 we have the story of the master who was to be traveling for a while  choose  to give three of his servants each a different number of these bags for them to keep safe until he returned. He had wisely thought it best not to carry such wealth while on the road. Sometimes this biblical account leaves me wondering. I find no instruction as to what they were to do with this wealth that had been entrusted to them other than keeping it safe and they would be held accountable to him because they and they alone were responsible for it. There are many scriptures where responsibility is given by God to certain individuals and it is often followed by accountability. Here is a twist I didn’t see coming when I started this weeks blog,  responsibility can also be a corporate thing. Groups, organizations, even churches have corporate responsibilities to their members and their communities. Be a good time here to look at the definition of responsibility.the state of being the person who caused something to happen

: a duty or task that you are required or expected to do

: something that you should do because it is morally right, legally required, etc.

One of the more common aspects of responsibility is the nature of a man to deny responsibility for his failures or transgressions . This usually takes the path of blaming others when we fall short of the goal. Of course one of the best known “blame games” in the Bible took place in the garden. Adam blamed Eve, and ultimately even the Lord, for the sin in which he found himself. Of course Eve blamed the serpent. The scripture is full of examples of God’s people blaming others for many different things. Sarah was not happy with Abraham when Hagar bore him a son, even though it was her advice to Abraham that initiated that event. Esau sold his birthright to his brother Jacob then complained that Jacob had deceived him to get the birthright. Arron made the golden calf but would not own up to it and Pilate washing his hands of any responsibility for Jesus’ death. 

  Paul addresses the issue of accountability in the Book of Romans. He also established that God is righteous and his judgment is based on truth (Romans 2: 2).  We all, each one of us will be individually  held accountable before God. (Romans 14:12)

Paul reminds us in Romans 1:25:

25 They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen.

The Israelites had the law, in some ways they were privileged but with that privilege came a greater responsibility. (Romans 2:9)   

There are none among us that are righteous, we have all sinned. Jews, Gentiles, all must come to Christ and repent. 

Wrapping this series up I will leave you with these thoughts. It is my opinion that of the three responsibility is the most important and here is why. Authority is granted or given, Accountability is imposed……responsibility is an inherent trait which when all is said and done will determine how we use that authority and how we hold others accountable. 

Thanks for sticking with us through this series. Hope to see you back in the pew next week.

Life is Good

jk