Monday, March 1, 2010
Purim 2010. And I Missed It.
What is Purim? Rabbi Brad Hirschfield describes it as a serious party, a socially responsible Mardi Gras. To learn more about this Jewish celebration, click here.
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Oh God, Oh God, Oh God
Hear Heather Godsey and Hillside Christian Church's Lara Blackwood Pickrel discuss their new best seller Oh God, Oh God, Oh God: Young Adults Speak Out About Sexuality and Christian Spirituality. The interview takes place on God Complex Radio and has a lead in with Rabbi Laura Winer.
Arcing and the Bible
I was recently reminded of a class I took many years ago (1976?) while attending Fuller Theological Seminary. The course was Hermeneutics and was designed by Daniel Fuller. While Fuller did not teach the section I was in, all classes at the time used his method of working with the biblical text called "arcing."
What called this class to mind is a relatively new website, Bible Arc, that uses Fuller's arching method. The site both explains the methodology, and also make it easy for students to develop their own arcs. Check out the video explanation and the site by clicking here.
What called this class to mind is a relatively new website, Bible Arc, that uses Fuller's arching method. The site both explains the methodology, and also make it easy for students to develop their own arcs. Check out the video explanation and the site by clicking here.
The Israel Museum and Jerusalem Model
Here's two sites for the price of one. Please visit the Israel Museum and see the exhibits on display. And while you're there, you've got to take the interactive virtual tour of the Jerusalem Model from the time of Jesus.
Adam Christology in the Philippians Hymn
Thank to Judy H who found this entry from the now defunct ntWrong blog (right, it's Wrong, not Wright). This post does a commendable job of showing two possible ways of understanding the Song of Christ in Philippians 2 and the difficulty we have in interpreting ancient texts.
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Philippians and Christology
One of the significant questions for New Testament scholars and people of faith is the matter of the development of Christology in early Christianity. We touched on the subject in our course on Paul and the Philippians when we looked at the Song of Christ in chapter 2. To consider one aspect of Christology, the question posed in that lesson was really: "What evidence do we have for the concept of "pre-existence" in the New Testament?"
Pre-existence certainly plays a large role in the Gospel of John, written toward the end of the first century. But does the concept go back to an earlier time? Is it evident in Paul's letters? Is the background for Philippians 2 "pre-existence" or is it something else, Christ as a second Adam?
Most of us read the New Testament through the lens of church teaching that gives primacy to the Gospel of John and the great ecumenical creeds. We are conditioned to believe that Jesus was seen as divine from the very earliest period. And, of course, that he was born of a virgin. And, of course, he was pre-existent with God from "the beginning." These assertions, no matter what your understanding, are theological assertions, not historical statements. To put it into the words of Larry Hurtado: "How in the world did Jesus become God?"
When phased in that manner, we move from a question of faith to a question of history and to doctrinal development. When on the plane of history was Jesus conceived as divine and as pre-existent? In our question to answer, we need to be careful and not merge disparate concepts. To say Jesus is the Son of God and quote evidence from Paul makes the mistake of assuming the concept "Son of God" implies divinity. It does not. To say Jesus was born of a virgin does not imply pre-existence. In fact, one could see it as evidence of thinking that contradicts pre-existence.
Below is an illustration that looks at many examples of Christological thinking. They developed at different times in different places. Each concept is worthy of exploring historically as well as theologically. From a purely historical stance, if the background of the Carmen Christi is based on a second Adam motif, what other evidence can we discover to hypothesize an an early pre-existent Christology?
Pre-existence certainly plays a large role in the Gospel of John, written toward the end of the first century. But does the concept go back to an earlier time? Is it evident in Paul's letters? Is the background for Philippians 2 "pre-existence" or is it something else, Christ as a second Adam?
Most of us read the New Testament through the lens of church teaching that gives primacy to the Gospel of John and the great ecumenical creeds. We are conditioned to believe that Jesus was seen as divine from the very earliest period. And, of course, that he was born of a virgin. And, of course, he was pre-existent with God from "the beginning." These assertions, no matter what your understanding, are theological assertions, not historical statements. To put it into the words of Larry Hurtado: "How in the world did Jesus become God?"
When phased in that manner, we move from a question of faith to a question of history and to doctrinal development. When on the plane of history was Jesus conceived as divine and as pre-existent? In our question to answer, we need to be careful and not merge disparate concepts. To say Jesus is the Son of God and quote evidence from Paul makes the mistake of assuming the concept "Son of God" implies divinity. It does not. To say Jesus was born of a virgin does not imply pre-existence. In fact, one could see it as evidence of thinking that contradicts pre-existence.
Below is an illustration that looks at many examples of Christological thinking. They developed at different times in different places. Each concept is worthy of exploring historically as well as theologically. From a purely historical stance, if the background of the Carmen Christi is based on a second Adam motif, what other evidence can we discover to hypothesize an an early pre-existent Christology?
360 Degree View of Jerusalem Sites
First, you likely would appreciate visiting the Bible Places blog site to learn more about locations of significance from the Bible.
Second, these 360 degree shots at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, Dome of the Rock, and the Western Wall are awesome!!! Make sure and view them in "full screen."
Second, these 360 degree shots at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, Dome of the Rock, and the Western Wall are awesome!!! Make sure and view them in "full screen."
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