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The Authority of Scripture: A Theological Reflection

Just a theological reflection paper I wrote for Restoration History that I wanted to share. Feel free to share your thoughts too:
THE AUTHORITY OF THE BIBLE

The authority of the Bible is a debate that has been long going on for many centuries. It was the center piece of the Protestant Reformation, which declared that the Scripture alone, sola Scriptura, was sufficient enough to dictate Church practice and faith. The Scripture is not the authority, but functions only as a witness to God’s authority and a vehicle of God’s authority. Bishop N.T. Wright states, “When we turn the question [of how does God exercise his authority through the Bible?] around, however, and ask it the other way about, we discover just what a rich concept of authority we are going to need if we are to do justice to this book. The writings written by these people, thus led by the Spirit, are not for the most part, as we saw, the sort of things we would think of as ‘authoritative’. They are mostly narrative; and we have already run up against the problem how can a story, a narrative, be authoritative? Somehow, the authority which God has invested in this book is an authority that is wielded and exercised through the people of God telling and retelling their story as the story of the world, telling the covenant story as the true story of creation. Somehow, this authority is also wielded through his people singing psalms. Somehow, it is wielded (it seems) in particular through God’s people telling the story of Jesus.”



The Nature, Inspiration, and Authority of Scripture

As stated the authority of Scripture is non-existent for all Scripture is dependent upon God’s authority. Scripture, however, is a witness to that authority of God and a vehicle of His authority. Scripture derives its power from the power and authority of God who worked through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit upon the men and women who wrote it conveying the story of God’s redemptive work in humanity.

N.T. Wright paints the authority of Scripture as a Shakespeare play with five acts, but the fifth act is missing. The other four acts provide the plot and rich characterization of the play enough for those actors to write the fifth act and carry it out. If we are the actors who have been left with the writing of the fifth act then the Scripture is the other four acts, which is 1) Creation, 2) The Fall, 3) Israel, and 4) Jesus. +Wright states, “The church would then live under the ‘authority’ of the extant story, being required to offer something between an improvisation and an actual performance of the final act.” The authority of God playing through the first four scenes of Scriptures is our authority, and we must remain faithful to the story as told so far.

This lends to Scripture its nature, which is narrative, and its inspiration from the Holy Spirit, which is God’s Words in man’s words. We must remember that Scripture is telling the story of God and humanity. “We read scripture in order to be refreshed in our memory and understanding of the story within which we ourselves are actors, to be reminded where it had come from and where it is going to, and hence what our own part within it ought to be,” writes +Wright.

The Bible as the “Word of God”

In what sense is the Bible the “Word of God”? Again, we must look back at the story being told. God’s authority is expressed in the story that is told by creation, the fall, Israel, and Jesus.

God exercises His authority via the Scriptures. +Wright states, “How does God exercise that authority? Again and again, in the biblical story itself we see that he does so through human agents anointed and equipped by the Holy Spirit. And this is itself an expression of his love, because he does not will, simply to come into the world in a blinding flash of light and obliterate all opposition. He wants to reveal himself meaningfully within the space/time universe not just passing it by tangentially; to reveal himself in judgment and in mercy in a way which will save people.”

God’s Word is God’s Story. It is not about whether or not something is literal or metaphorical, but about gaining a glimpse of the bigger picture. The story of re-creation through incarnation is found in the Scriptures. This story is written by the Most High God. The Scripture is one means of revelation for God.

Bible as the Authority for Faith and Practice

In Prop I of The Declaration and Address, Thomas Campbell writes, “That the Church of Christ upon earth is essentially, intentionally, and constitutionally one; consisting of all those in every place that profess their faith in Christ and obedience to him in all things according to the Scriptures, and that manifest the same by their tempers and conduct, and of none else; as none else can be truly and properly called Christians.” Mr. Campbell states clearly that the Scripture is the authority of the faith and should inform our practice of the faith. The practice of the faith boils down for Mr. Campbell those things that have are expressed terms and approved precedents.

Article VI of the Articles of Religion state, “Holy Scripture containeth all things necessary to salvation: so that whatsoever is not read therein, nor may be proved thereby, is not to be required of any man, that it should be believed as an article of the Faith, or be thought requisite or necessary to salvation.” Mr. Campbell and Article VI are in agreement about Scripture being the primary source of our faith and our practice. The Scripture witness to God’s authority and also to the apostolic witness.

In Romans 15:4 Saint Paul writes, “For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.” Saint Paul is making it clear that the Old Testament Scriptures were written to teach us. At this time the New Testament canon was not present, but the apostolic witness and Holy Tradition were clearly present both from historical and scriptural views.
Dr. William DiPuccio writes, “Let us not forget the Oxford Movement which appealed to the Vincentian canon (from Vincent of Lerins, c. 434) as a criterion for interpreting Scripture in matters of essential faith and practice: Faced with numerous conflicting interpretations, we hold fast to that which has been ‘believed everywhere, always, by all’ (often summed up in the formula, ‘universality, antiquity, consent’).”



Hermeneutic Principles and Restoration Applicable Principles

"History was where Paul looked to see the roots of the story whose climax he believed was Jesus Christ. History is where we have to go if, as we say, we want to listen to Scripture itself rather than either the venerable traditions of later church leaders or the less venerable footnotes of more recent scholars,” writes +Wright, “For too long we have read Scripture with nineteenth-century eyes and sixteenth-century questions. It's time to get back to reading with first-century eyes and twenty-first-century questions." The first key to hermeneutics is to understand the historical context. Too often we neglect to place ourselves in the shoes of the audience of the first century and ask how that applies to us today.

Alexander Campbell writes, “The words and sentences of the Bible are to be translated, interpreted, and understand according to the same code of laws and principles of interpretation by which other ancient writings are translated and understood.” Campbell’s hermeneutical principles are as follows: 1) Historical circumstances (order, title, author, date, place, and occasion), 2) Who wrote it and to whom did he write, 3) Language interpretation used for other books are applied to the Bible, and 4) Common words with one known meaning the interpretation is clear; words with more than one can have no clear interpretation.

Being Anglo-Orthodox I adhere to Scripture, Holy Tradition and Reason when it comes to hermeneutics. Dr. William DiPuccio writes, “Orthodoxy sees Tradition as an organic whole (one source theory) which includes Scripture. Tradition, then, functions as the hermeneutical lens through which we understand the Bible. It is a safeguard against the kind of free-for-all interpretation that permeates many mainline churches today. When approaching Scripture, it is better to trust the collective wisdom of the ages than the myopic vision of contemporary individuals or groups.” I believe this lays a solid foundation for hermeneutics. The problem with Protestantism is that it put a Bible in everyone’s hands and told them to read it and come to their own conclusion hence the 32,000+ Protestant denominations that we see today.
In “Evangelicals and Tradition: The Formative Influence of the Early Church”, D.H. Williams writes, “Tradition also functioned as the chief hermeneutical principle for interpreting Scripture. Because tradition was not perceived as possessing a content separate from scriptural teaching, the former could act as an interpretive guide for the proper use of the Bible.” It is a dangerous mistake to downplay Holy Tradition in favor or private, personal interpretation. Williams goes on to write, “The Bible is capable of being understood only in the midst of disciplined community of believers whose practices embody the biblical story.”

If we are to truly understand the Scriptures we must come to reject Sola Scriptura. I see no evidence in Scripture to support the doctrine of Sola Scriptura. With this doctrine, Protestantism has run amuck. Whenever a interpretation issue arises if one group does not agree with another it will split because they have the “right” interpretation. Sola Scriptura makes the faith individual and personal, which is two things it is not. Williams writes, “The fathers would not have appreciated the principle of Scripture alone, since the historical and theological issues that gave rise to it were particular to late medieval Christianity. To treat the Bible in isolation from the tradition of the church, as it was located in the ancient rule of faith, baptismal confessions, and councilor creeds, would have been incomprehensible to the Christian pastors and thinkers of the patristic era. From their perspective, a radically Biblicist view might easily be driven by a desire to avoid the truth of the church’s teaching.”

This does not make Scripture subservient to Holy Tradition. The Fathers would have held that a true interpretation would lead one to the Tradition, which was the flagship of the Faith.

Current Issues for Christians with a High View of Scripture

“In their quest to reach culture, evangelical congregations have come to reflect the cultural preferences of their audience: anti-institutional, informal, nondogmatic, therapeutic, and unaware of the difference between tolerance and moral confusion,” writes D.H. Williams. I think Mr. Williams is on to something with his statement. I have not met anyone who supports homosexuality, abortion, or heretical teachings like that of John Spong who have a high view of the Scriptures.

The problem we face is the post-modern revisionism, which is full of moral relativism and pluralism. To fit into the society many churches have brought their view of the Scriptures low in order to make allowance for things such as homosexual partnerships that are blessed by God.

We have to remember what N.T. Wright wrote about writing the fifth act of the play and how we must remain faithful to the first four acts. This is the place of Scripture, which is a witness to God’s authority and a vehicle of God’s authority.

LIVING IN THE HINGEWAY: A REFLECTION ON CHURCH AND CULTURE

This is just a simple paper assigned after a introductory study of postmodernity and the current cultural shifts and a reading of The Younger Evangelicals by Robert Webber. This paper is not designed to be very formal containing a thesis and points. It is merely a personal reflection upon 5 cultural shifts that are opportunities for the Church, 5 cultural cultural that are a danger to the Church, and 5 ways I want to create ministry in this cultural context or how to carry out ministry. Hope you enjoy.

LIVING IN THE HINGEWAY: A REFLECTION ON CHURCH AND CULTURE

Dr. Carlus Gupton writes, “Our time is best described as transitional, a very fluid moment where previous ways of understanding the world and functioning within it are increasingly abandoned, yet without clear definition of what will replace it. Something has ended, but the new beginning has not yet taken shape, thus we are in the uncomfortable wilderness, the neutral zone.” The Church is living in a day and age where absolutes are being denied and truth is relative. This day and age of Postmodernism can present to the Church opportunities to ministry and dangers to the Church’s ministry to preach the Gospel and be a hospital for the sick sinners.

Five Opportunities the Cultural Shifts Present

Robert Webber writes, “The younger evangelicals are conscious that they grew up in a postmodern world. One younger evangelical writes of ways postmodern thinking differs from modern thought. Postmoderns ‘no longer feel a need to bow the knee to the modern God of rationality.’ Postmoderns, he argues, ‘have a much broader conception of what counts as reason’ because they acknowledge that ‘all rationality (religious, scientific, or whatever) is laden with faith.’ Postmodern young people recognize that ‘thinking is highly indebted to others.’ Therefore, the younger evangelical rejects the modern notion of individualism and embraces community. And to be postmodern in a Christian way is ‘to embrace the kingdom of God and renounce the values of the world.’” This is the first opportunity presented to us to witness to people. This opens the door that Protestantism with its emphasis on the rational had closed and that is the door to sacramentalism or a sacramental world-view. For too long reason has dominated the Church.


The Enlightenment with the emphasis on reason and scientific method stole all the mystery from the Christian faith ranging from throwing out the sacraments and calling them “ordnances” to the rejection of Christian mysticism. This shift away from reason allows for the Church to restore a sacramental world-view for it allows for a restoration of mystery, the Mysterium tremendum et fascinans (fearful and fascinating mystery). This shift opens the door for the Numinous to be once again believed, for there to be a transcendence beyond our reason. This is not to say reason is invalid. The Church would be wise to follow the words of Blasé Pascal, “If one subjects everything to reason our religion will lose its mystery and its supernatural character. If one offends the principles of reason our religion will be absurd and ridiculous ...There are two equally dangerous extremes, to shut reason out and let nothing else in.”


“The postmodern September 11, 2001, world has led to the recovery of the biblical understanding of human nature. The language of sin, evil, evildoers, and a reaffirmation of the deceit and wickedness of the human heart has once again emerged in our common vocabulary,” writes Robert Webber, “The liberal notion of the inherent goodness of humankind and the more recent evangelical neglect of the language of sin and depravity have failed to plumb the depths of the wickedness that lurks in the human heart. The younger evangelical approaches humanity with a more realistic and biblical assessment of our estrangement from God.” This presents the Churches second opportunity to present the Christian meta-narrative of the Creation, the Fall, Israel, and Jesus Christ. This allows for the Church to tell Her story of redemption and how She has been made a part of the re-creation attempts of God. Pragmatic Evangelicals, seeking to draw in seekers (no pun intended), neglected to preach about the wickedness of men and the depths of humanity’s depravity. David Crowder, of The David Crowder*Band, put it this way: “When our depravity meets His divinity it is a beautiful collision.” This cultural shift allows for a sacramental understanding of the Cross and Resurrection to take place. The shift allows for the preaching of humanity’s depravity coming into collision with God’s divinity, which overcomes the wickedness and clothes the redeemed in the Divine Nature (II Peter 1:4-5). The Church can present the story of the Fall, but that there is more to life. That there is a door for humanity to be ontologically changed, transformed back into an original state of glory. David Horseman writes, “"Theosis is neither a mere psychological change nor a simple behavioral change. It is both, but not in a superficial sense. These changes of thought and behavior are but the indices of a deeper, ontological change, in our nature, a sharing of the divine nature, in which we become more and more like God, changed from glory into glory, until the day of our final redemption..." This could be the story we tell with this change in culture.


The third opportunity presented by this cultural shift is in the context of evangelism. The Next-Wave web magazine states of younger evangelicals’ desire “is to see people enter a relationship with Jesus Christ. Receive His forgiveness, enter His community with the saints, worship in ways that are meaningful to them, and reach out to others in their world.” Robert Webber believes that the new landscape of the culture will provide a new type of evangelism that is ancient-future evangelism. The old is that the Church must emphasis a personal regenerative relationship with the Triune God via Christ, but the new is the context in which the Church worships and facilitates community that is missional. This aura creates an opportunity for the Church to fashion a community focused on relationships of reconciliation: relationships with humanity and with God. The Gospel is presented through relationship primarily. A good model of evangelism in the postmodern world would be: dialogue, demonstration, declaration, and defense all lived out incarnationally.


The Church’s fourth opportunity within this cultural shift is to begin to see Christianity as more than a world view. Robert Webber writes, “Today the younger evangelical questions the priority given to Christianity as a worldview. Younger evangelical Charles Moore writes, ‘The idea of Christianity as a worldview is essentially Gnostic. It makes Christianity a idea, a philosophical viewpoint, a construct. Christianity is primarily a kingdom, an embodied reality and is more about a faithful discipleship than affirming an intellectual construct.’ Moore argues that making Christianity a worldview ‘abstracts reason from history and pits the existing, choosing subject against the object. It reduces Christianity to metaphysics.’” This part of the cultural shift is very important to the life of Christianity because seeing the faith as something to be believed, rationed, and defended can leave it shallow and empty for there is no living it out. Christianity is primarily relational and has to be incarnational in this world. The Church can benefit with this ideological shift because it allows the Church to embody Christ and be formed to His image and live as He lives.


“The Christianity Today articles reported that ‘postmodern Christians are trying to redefine the relation of faith and knowledge, that instead of coming to the faith rationally, true knowledge requires the Holy Spirit to work an ontological change in the human heart,’” writes Robert Webber. He goes on to clarify that this is not a new approach, but that younger Christians are deconstructing in order “to reconstruct an historic life of the mind”. The road to the future lies in the past. The Church has an opportunity today to revisit the past with the Creeds, the Church Fathers, St. Aquinas, and St. Augustine and let that ancient wisdom shape and mold the way the Church carries out faith and practice.

Five Dangers the Cultural Shifts Present

The number one thing for the Church to distinguish in the cultural shift of postmodernity is that there are two schools of postmodernity: soft postmodernity and hard postmodernity. Milliard Erickson, in Postmodernizing the Faith, writes, “Hard postmodernism, best represented by deconstruction, rejects the idea of any sort of objectivity and rationality. It maintains that all theories are simply worked out to justify and empower those who hold them, rather than being based on facts. It not only rejects the limitation of meaning of language to empirical reference; it rejects the idea that language has any sort of objective or extralinguistic reference at all. It moves from relativism to pluralism to truth. Not only is all knowing and all speaking done from a particular perspective, but each perspective is equally true or valuable. The meaning of a statement is not to be found objectively in the meaning intended by the speaker or writer, but is the meaning that the hearer or reader finds in it. ‘Whatever it means to me’ even if it is quite different from what it says to you.” The Church has to remember that wonderful idea by Blasé Pascal that there are two dangerous extremes shutting reason out or letting nothing else but reason in. The pluralism of today’s society is dangerous to the truth of the Gospel. The Church must defend the truth of the Gospel and learn to evangelize to a pluralistic society instead of assimilating into society.


Religious tolerance is the second danger. Dr. Gupton writes, “No religion should be thought of as superior to another. Indeed, this belief in superiority is the major roadblock to religious unity.” This hard postmodernism belief is very dangerous to the truth of the Gospel. The Church believes that She has an exclusive claim on the Truth, which She must stand by and defend.


The third danger of hard postmodernism found in this cultural shift is in the area of evangelism. Dr. Gupton writes, “Proselytizing is bigotry, pure and simple. The idea of winning converts is based on the antiquated notion that one religion has more to offer than another. Our task is to help others discover the hidden inner meaning of their religions, rather than convert them to our own.” This is something the Church must absolutely reject to defend the Gospel. Only through Christ is forgiveness of sin offered and deification began. Other religions contain some universal truths, but do not contain the Truth found in the Gospel presented by the Church.


The fourth danger the Church must be careful to be aware of moral relativism or moral pragmatism. Easum writes, “In the new emerging society right and wrong will not exist. Whatever benefits the individual will form the basis for ethics.” The Church has to come to the defense of morals and ethics. The problem with hard postmodernism is that it deconstructs to the point of chaos, which cannot be upheld. This is no accountability of ethics, but the Church can account for its ethics, which stem from God and absolute truths. Society and individuals are a dangerous grounds upon which to build what is moral, right, or just.


The fifth danger to the Church is privatization. The Church must be careful to fight against this idea that faith, too, can be privatized and individualized. The Church must maintain a strong emphasis on communal living both at home and in ecclesiastical settings. Easum writes, “People are preoccupied with themselves. Whatever is done behind closed doors is considered acceptable conduct. Privacy is the ultimate price…The majority of people will tend to withdraw physically and psychologically.” This is the danger to a incarnational people called to be God’s hands and feet in the world.

Five Ways to Interface with the Culture

I am feeling lead more and more lately to plant a church from the ground up. There is a great outline of postmodern churches compared to pragmatic Evangelistic churches and how they function within the postmoder culture, by Eric Stanford, found on pages 116 and 117 of The Younger Evangelicals that I think fits perfectly how I would like to approach church in this postmodern society:

1. Even though I am the priest and carry out all the sacramental duties I want to approach leadership as a team effort with all the members of the parish helping to carry out the duties of the church. Ministries may not always come from the leadership team, but from within the congregation who feels lead to start up a ministry. Christ is the head of the Church and I am a part of that thus He moves mysteriously and powerfully in all our lives in the parish.

2. Life is about relationships. My life motto is “I am a person of worth created in the Image of God the Father, the Almighty, to live, to love, and to commune with fellow humankind and with the Blessed Trinity.” This is how I want to carry out ministry in the church. Programs, as Eric says, “are means not ends.” Everything thing we do ought to be to foster community and relationship and not just to learn and do. Developing close, healthy relationships is the focus within the postmodern context I want to employ.

3. Eric writes, “Be authentic. Don’t pretend you’ve got it all together, spiritually or otherwise. Admit your mistakes and struggles, for then we can work on them together. No posers allowed.” I believe this is core to who I am. I strive to be real and authentic. I am drawn to real and authentic people, so I want to be a part of a community that emphasizes that over excellence or perfection, but wants to strive towards those together.

4. The emphasis is not on contemporary, but on ancient-future. I want to help create a community that is up-to-date, but realizes the power of ancient Christianity and Her traditions especially in terms of liturgy and spirituality.

5. I want to help create a community that honors “intellect and emotions, doctrine and intuition,” as Eric states. I want to take an holistic approach to faith and life. I want to focus on the power of the story that Christianity tells: Creation, Fall, Israel, Jesus. I see it often as a five act Shakespeare play that has last the fifth act thus we are left to write the fifth act on our own according to the authority of the other four acts. Our stories should come inside of this grand story.

6. I want to create dialogue and relationship between Catholics, Protestants, Anglicans, and Orthodox. There is no us vs. them in regards to other denominations or in regards to non-Christians. Christians and non-Christians often face the same issues and have the same questions. I want to open our doors to all and have to come experience community and maybe even belong, believe, and behave instead of behave, believe, belong. It is about cooperation and not competition or condemnation.

Saint of the Day: Mother Mary, Holy Theotokos

I get a email from American Catholics and todays email was bout the Saint of the Day our Blessed Mother Mary the Holy Theotokos:


"Mary’s divine motherhood broadens the Christmas spotlight. Mary has an important role to play in the Incarnation of the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity. She consents to God’s invitation conveyed by the angel (Luke 1:26-38). Elizabeth proclaims: 'Most blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?' (Luke 1:42-43, emphasis added). Mary’s role as mother of God places her in a unique position in God’s redemptive plan.

Without naming Mary, Paul asserts that 'God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law' (Galatians 4:4). Paul’s further statement that 'God sent the spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying out "Abba, Father!"' helps us realize that Mary is mother to all the brothers and sisters of Jesus.

Some theologians also insist that Mary’s motherhood of Jesus is an important element in God’s creative plan. God’s 'first' thought in creating was Jesus. Jesus, the incarnate Word, is the one who could give God perfect love and worship on behalf of all creation. As Jesus was 'first' in God’s mind, Mary was 'second' insofar as she was chosen from all eternity to be his mother.

The precise title 'Mother of God' goes back at least to the third or fourth century. In the Greek form Theotokos (God-bearer), it became the touchstone of the Church’s teaching about the Incarnation. The Council of Ephesus in 431 insisted that the holy Fathers were right in calling the holy virgin Theotokos. At the end of this particular session, crowds of people marched through the street shouting: 'Praised be theTheotokos!' The tradition reaches to our own day. In its chapter on Mary’s role in the Church, Vatican II’s Dogmatic Constitution on the Church calls Mary “Mother of God” 12 times."


COMMENT:
"Other themes come together at today’s celebration. It is the Octave of Christmas: Our remembrance of Mary’s divine motherhood injects a further note of Christmas joy. It is a day of prayer for world peace: Mary is the mother of the Prince of Peace. It is the first day of a new year: Mary continues to bring new life to her children—who are also God’s children."


QUOTE:
“The Blessed Virgin was eternally predestined, in conjunction with the incarnation of the divine Word, to be the Mother of God. By decree of divine Providence, she served on earth as the loving mother of the divine Redeemer, an associate of unique nobility, and the Lord’s humble handmaid. She conceived, brought forth, and nourished Christ” (Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, 61).


Our Blessed Mother's faith was strong and demonstrated in the words, "Be it done unto me according to Thy word." She never hestitated to do the will of God. In the face of all the public shame she kept her faith and became selfless in her love! May we learn from her example and seek to become faithful as she was faithful to her precious Son, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. She is considered the first Christian, in my understanding, due to her faith in her Son. May we learn from our Blessed Mother, the Holy Theotokos, to keep the faith and remain selfless in our love of Jesus.

O Mary, Blessed Mother of God, pray for us and strengthen us.

It is truly meet to bless you, O Theotokos, who are ever blessed and all-blameless, and the mother of our God. More honourable than the Cherubim, and more glorious beyond compare than the Seraphim, you who without stain barest God the Word, and are truly Theotokos: we magnify you.

Revelation and the End of All Things (A Summary)

I've become very passionate about preaching the Book of Revelation once I'm ordained as a priest one day. This is often a book used by many as a scare tactic! It is a shame to see the Word of the Lord used to scare people out of hell or used as a beating tool across people's heads to scare the crap out of them! This stigma I think is the cause of why so many ignore preaching this book. In my young life I can recall just one sermon I have heard on Revelations.


What I love about Koester is that 1) He begins with all the ways of interpretating this book and their positive/negative traits and 2) He spends the rest of the book presenting a Late-Date Preterist/Futurist Amillienial with High Eschatology view of the Book of Revelation, which is the view I hold to as well. This view simply means that we believe the book was written by St. John in the 90s A.D. Preterist means "past", so we believe most of the book's events have already been fulfilled or passed, ultimately in the destruction of Rome. Futurist means we hold that the ending chapters of the book, Jesus' return, have yet to be fulfilled. Amillienial means we do not interpret the 1,000 year reign of Christ as literal, but symbolic just like much of the numbers and that we are in this age right now and have been since Christ's death, burial, and resurrection. And we have a high eschatological view of Revelations meaning that we do find it to be prophetic and apocylyptic.


So in hopes that some of you would become interested in this book and begin to study it on your own I wanted to share with you my paper on it. I hope you enjoy it. Feel free to comment and share your thoughts :)


“Revelation and the End of All Things”
By Craig R. Koester

Part I
“Embarking on a study of Revelation is one of the most engaging ventures in Biblical studies,” says Mr. Koester in the preface of Revelation and the End of All Things. He goes on to write, “Interest in Revelation is perennially high even among those who do not otherwise give much attention to questions of Biblical interpretation. Curiosity is fed by the popular use of Revelation in print, film and other media.” Mr. Koester goes on to write that his book has come out of many years of studying, teaching, and preaching the book of Revelation.


The interest in this book of the Bible stems from all the hype and sensation that surround books like the Left Behind series. “Many of these questions that people ask…are sparked by sensationalistic interpretations of Revelation, but these questions also point to major issues concerning our understanding of God and the future, death and life, judgment, hope.”


From this point Mr. Koester says he does not want to ignore the popular interpretations of Revelation, but wants to discuss each of them and how they work and why they are also problematic. The rest of the book divides Revelation into sections and study each carefully. Mr. Koester writes, “The goal is to present the message of Revelation in a manner that is accessible, engaging, and meaningful to modern readers, while taking account of the best in recent scholarship.


The first chapter of the book is called “Interpreting the Mystery”. Basically Mr. Koester goes throughout history and outlines some of the major interpretations and approaches of interpretation for the book of Revelation. He begins with the Church Fathers such as Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, and moves on up to Jerome and Augustine and Luther. Mr. Koester then goes into many of the different approaches to interpreting the book such as Premilliennialism, Dispensationalism, and Postmillennialism.


Mr. Koester at the end of this chapter then goes on to explain how he will approach interpreting Revelation. He writes, “Reading Revelation as a whole shows that the book moves in a nonlinear way. This insight goes back to the third century, when Victorinus wrote the earliest existing commentary on Revelation, and many recent interpreters have found this approach helpful. An outline of the book looks like a spiral, with each loop consisting of a series of visions: seven messages to the churches (Rev. 1-3), seven seals (Rev. 4-7), seven trumpets (Rev. 8-11), unnumbered visions (Rev. 12-15), seven plagues (Rev. 15-19), and more unnumbered visions (Rev. 19-22). Visions celebrating the triumph of God occur at the end of each cycle (4:1-11; 7:1-17; 11:15-19; 15:1-4; 19:1-10; 21:1-22:5)” (page 39).


The first cycle is the messages to the seven churches. Although in this cycle there does not seem to be a lot of action or drama it is a very important cycle. The key to reading Revelation and gaining a deep grasp on its symbols and meanings is reading it in context and what it meant for 1st Century listeners. Understanding how this cycle works is key to understanding all the visions that come later in the book. Mr. Koester points out for us that John’s visions do not float freely up to heaven, but have a deep meaning for those on earth engaged in a struggle of faith.


It is important to note that Revelation “is not so much designed to dispense information as it is designed to strengthen the readers’ commitments” (page 44). The book was written to stir readers out of their compliancy or comfort those who are in times of persecution. Also, it is highly important to recognize that this book was written to seven specific churches, but in using the number seven to represent wholeness and completeness John intended this to be for the whole church. There is something for us all to take away from the book of Revelation.


The vantage point of the second cycle, which takes place in chapters 4 through 7 is from the throne of God. John wants the readers to look out upon their world and its affairs from that stand point. This cycle speaks of the Sovereign God. This cycle opens with praise and adoration of God and closes with the same.


This cycle continues with the scroll that is sealed and that no one is worthy to open. John is quite disappointed, but then the Lamb is the one worthy to open the scroll. For the Lamb has conquered, the Lamb is Christ. Christ opens each of the seals. The events that follow are not about predictions per se, but about larger visions. The four horsemen would represent conquest, violence, economic hardship, and death. These are all authentic threats for the first century readers and for those after, even us. Mr. Koester writes, “The principal purpose of the visions in Revelation 6 is to awaken a sense of uneasiness in readers by vividly identifying threats to their well-being. The four horsemen are designed to shatter the illusion that people can find true security in the borders of a nation or empire, in a flourishing economy, or in their own health” (pages 81-82).


In this new cycle, we begin with seven trumpets being blown. They interpret the silence that we saw in the seventh seal from the last cycle of visions. John directs us to these seven angels blowing their trumpets bringing in even more chaotic visions then the ones before. “With each successive scene, disaster strikes earth, sea, and sky, until demonic hordes of locusts and cavalry torment humanity amid clouds of fire, smoke, and sulfur,” writes Mr. Koester (page 93).


Mr. Koester writes, “The visions in Revelation 8-9 do not convey information that allows readers to discern how soon the end of time will come, but they do issue warnings that are designed to bring repentance” (page 93). The visions are meant to bring about penitence.


The Beast and the Lamb of Revelation 12-15 are the next cycle for us. This cycle begins to paint the graphic picture of the battle between good and evil, which ends with God and goodness trampling over evil and Satan. This cycle contains a messianic war that extends from the time of Christ’s incarnation up until His Parousia. We all live in the middle of this time frame and while here we have many things competing for our loyalty. I would say that the point of this cycle of visions is that if we are faithful and loyal to our Lord that we will overcome the evil we witness and endure. And in the end we will stand in heaven and sing praises to Him forever and ever.


The next cycle begins with the seven bowls of judgment being poured out upon the earth. This cycle is about the Harlot and the Bride. In this cycle the Harlot is destroyed and all who worshiped her mourn. But God’s people rejoice and praise His name in the end of this cycle.


In the final cycle we witness the binding of Satan and the defeat of the Beast and False Prophet. During the reign of Christ, Satan has been bound, but at the end of this reign Satan is released to once again deceive many and mount an army against God and His people. In this battle evil is conquered and after the New Jerusalem descends and God reigns from earth.


Part II
I have gained a lot of insight from both reading this book and attending this class. I came here as someone who grew up in a very fundamentalist area where Dispensationalism is heavily taught and Left Behind is God’s modern word for Revelation. I came here believing that those books pretty much portray how it really will all go down in the end. I have come to find that those are far from the truth and represent a view soaked with sensationalism and emotionalism.


I have come to see from reading this book and taking the class that I do consider myself a Late-Date, High Eschatology, Preterist-Futurist Amillienialist. I have learned a lot about how to view this book and interpret it through the eyes of 1st century Christians, but with 21st century questions as N.T. Wright would say.


Mr. Koester has helped me to place Revelation in the 1st century and to read it as a whole and not as a linear type book. He has also helped me to understand some part I did not fully know how to understand before reading. I have always struggled with the notion of the Beast, the False Prophet and such. Coming from a background that I came from I had a tendency to wonder who those represented. Having learned to read this book in the way 1st century readers would have helps me see how this is Rome and the Imperial Cult.


Another great contribution to my understanding is how much of Revelation can actually apply to us today! There are several applications we can take as part of the American Church. One thing is the extremely close ties we as a Church have with our government. I think we rely on our government to do our job for us and to carry out our duties. I think that Revelation should awaken us from the thinking that the Empire can keep us safe and secure. I also think we can be awakened from our complacent attitudes because of the great wealth we have here. Overall, I think Revelation should be taught and preached through lens such as this book more often!

Come Alive or (The Cross is the Way of Life)

Jon Foreman once said, "There's only two ways out of this world and neither of them are safe..."

What does Jon mean? I've pondered this a lot in the last couple months. I think it means this: we can wait around going about life with no meaning and purpose until we die our physical deaths...


OR

We could die now. We could die to ourselves...to our flesh.

Neither of those are safe are they? But which one would you rather have? I'll take the dying to myself. Here's why:

It is in dying that life is born.

It is in crucifixation that resurrection springs forth.

It is in the empty tomb that purpose is found.

Christ said He came to give life and give it ABUNDANTLY!

Why do so many of us never come alive?

I think what Doc Reece said about our wanting cheap grace hits the nail on the head! We want to simply be justifed. We're okay with justification, but where is the longing for sanctication?

We cannot have the life Christ gives if we are in charge of our own little worlds can we? And realizing we aren't in charge is first. There's nothing we can do on our own or by our own merit that promotes Deification. I don't want to make this sound like we are the ones doing this. Only the Holy Spirit can transform our lives and perhaps with our not even realizing He is at work. Our job is to be willing and participate with Him through the disciplines in the work He wants to do.

My friend David said, "In fact even if not in awareness Santificication begins with Chrismation and indeed the response of surrender is initiated by the Holy Spirit endwelling us -- We can 'work out our own salvation' ONLY BECAUSE, as Paul says 'God worketh in us both to will and to do.' I have a concern about reliance on felling or awareness. God works at depths where we are hardly aware."



But can we fully come to life when the programmer at the center of our beings is our Self?

No, we cannot.

The thing about dying to yourself is that when you get up on that Cross and you die to the Self, Christ comes in and lives! St. Paul says in Galatian 2:19-20, "I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." St. Paul is saying he got rid of the old programmer, his Self. He let Christ come in and live through Him.

Christ is eternally begotten of the Father: God from God, Light from Light, True God from True God, begotten, not made, of one being with the Father.

Hence when we die to our Selves we have a new past, present, and future because we take on His eternal transcendence! We take on His life for our old life is gone, it's dead...CRUCIFIED.

Dying is a daily and life long process.

Jesus Christ said, "‘If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will save it."

Christ has called us to pick up our crosses, deny ourselves, and follow Him. What did Christ do with His Cross again? Oh yes, He got up on it and died!

Who are we to expect that we shouldn't follow Him in death. Did not St. Paul say in Romans 6, "For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be destroyed, and we might no longer be enslaved to sin. For whoever has died is freed from sin. But if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. The death he died, he died to sin, once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus."

He says in Romans 8, "But if Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ* from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through* his Spirit that dwells in you."

Herein lies a GRAND and GLORIOUS TRUTH: That the Almighty and Living God dwells within us. The Divine resides in our hearts, His mercy seat.

WOW! I don't know about you folks, but that is a mind-blowing truth!

That the Creator of all and the Sustainer of all life resides in us!

And if we die to our Selves then that same Spirit will bring us life, an abundant life full of joy and goodness.

Haven't you had enough of trying to live on your own? Do you feel how dead we are when we are the captains of our own souls?

I do.

St. Paul said in II Corinthians 4:11, "For while we live, we are always being given up to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus may be made visible in our mortal flesh."

We are Imago Deo! So why aren't we dying to our Selves and letting the Spirit of Christ live in us?

Why do we settle for the mediocre?

Why do we settle for the garbage of living our lives on our own?

Why do we settle for the trivial?

When we're the programmer life is not going to be what it is supposed to be.

Do you feel alive? Do you survive or do you want to THRIVE?

I want to come alive.

O sleeper, arise from your grave.

There is a longing within us ALL to live and live fully. Christ has made this possible for us. If only we get up on our crosses and die the death He died so that we can live the life He lives.

There is hope for real life full of purpose and meaning and joy.

Raise your Ebenezer, your stone of hope this day.

Don't merely stop at the foot of the Cross, get up on it you weary traveler!

Put the nails in your hands and feet.

Put your Flesh to death.

Suffer death to Self.

Come alive.

"For to me, living is Christ and dying is gain..." says St. Paul.

I'm ready to die. I'm ready to put the Self to death. I'm ready to partake of the Divine Nature St. Peter speaks about in his epislte. And this summer I died to myself. In that moment I felt a large weight lifted off my shoulders. I felt a peace. A freedom. A new life. I yearn to do this daily. It's a life long process. Do you want this as well?

I'm praying we all find fulfillment and validation on the Cross, the Way of Life. Paradoxical? Yes, but is it true? You can bet your life on it, or better yet lose your life on it. You'll get a new, better life anyways...

My Secret Heart or (Thrive)

I am wounded...

There I said it, but aren't we all?

Don't we all carry around these deep, deep wounds?

I am not alone...we are not alone.

There's a thing about being wounded, about hurting. If there's one thing that can unite us all and bring us all together it would be that we suffer. We are wounded. We are hurting.

So in turn we hurt others.

I'm guilty of this.

You're guilty of this.

We're all guilty of this.

My question as of late is why do we walk around with wounded hearts, yet so often try to hide them.

We are not ok.

Why do we pretend that we are?

Are we afraid that others may find us abnormal? Are we afraid others may laugh? Are we afraid that others may hurt us more if they see how much we've been hurt, so we put up these walls.

We are builders aren't we?

We like walls.

Big walls.

We put up these walls around our hearts, the center of our souls, the residence of our hurt.

We hide our wounds.

We protect our hearts.

Is that living?

Is that thriving?

No, it's simply suriving.

As of lately I feel like I don't know who I am. I feel like those walls I built, that we all build, have come crashing down leaving my wounds exposed.

I am a man, but I feel like a ghost.

I think it is because we can't fully live behind the walls we build out of whatever reasons we build them.

That's no way to live...actually it really is a form of death.

It's retreating.

Are we afraid to share that we are hurting, that we are wounded? Why?

I think it's ok to not be ok.

This song by Switchfoot has been my theme song as of lately:

Thrive
Been fighting things that I can't see in
Like voices coming from the inside of me and
Like doing things I find hard to believe in
Am I myself or am I dreaming?

I've been awake for an hour or so
Checking for a pulse but I just don't know
Am I a man when I feel like a ghost?
The stranger in the mirror is wearing my clothes

No I'm not alright
I know that I'm not right
A steering wheel don't mean you can drive
A warm body don't mean I'm alive
No I'm not alright
I know that I'm not right
Feels like I travel but I never arrive
I want to thrive not just survive

I come alive when I hear you singing
But lately I haven't been hearing a thing and
I get the feeling that I'm in between
A machine and a man who only looks like me


I try and hide it and not let it show
But deep down inside me I just don't know
Am I a man when I feel like a hoax?
The stranger in the mirror is wearing my clothes

No I'm not alright
I know that I'm not right
A steering wheel don't mean you can drive
A warm body don't mean I'm alive
No I'm not alright
I know that I'm not right
Feels like I travel but I never arrive
I want to thrive not just survive

I'm always close but I'm never enough
I'm always in line but I'm never in love
I get so down but I won't give up
I get slowed down but I won't give up

Been fighting things that I can't see in
Like voices coming from the inside of me and
Like doing things I find hard to believe in
Am I myself or am I dreaming?

No I'm not alright
I know that I'm not right
A steering wheel don't mean you can drive
A warm body don't mean I'm alive
No I'm not alright
I know that I'm not right
Feel like I travel but I never arrive
I want to thrive not just survive

I WANT TO THRIVE NOT JUST SURVIVE
(Words by Jon Foreman)


Jon and I can relate to feeling like a ghost.

Why is that? Do you feel like a ghost? Do you feel like you are FULLY living?

I don't....I'm not alright. Chances are you aren't either. If you're honest with yourself.

I think there's a connection to the walls we build up around our wounded hearts and the lacking of real living that we aren't experiencing!

David wrote in Psalm 51:6, "You desire truth in the inward being therefore teach me wisdom in my secret heart."

The Message reads, "What you're after is truth from the inside out. Enter me, then; conceive a new, true life."

True life comes from the heart, the wellspring.

The good news is that we DO NOT have to have a whole heart! Our hearts do not have to be alright or healed.

We all have wounds and pains in our hearts, but we are called to lift them to the Lord nonetheless.

David goes on to say in verse 17, "The sacrifice accept to God is a broken spirit; a broken and contriteheart, O God, you will not despise."

I read with some fellow brothers in the Lord the other night that contrite in Hebrew refers to having been pounded into dust!

D-U-S-T

Our hearts are but dust aren't they?

Broken.

Wounded.

Hurt...

We carry around contrite hearts whether we own up to that or not.

We are all hurting.

We all have those walls. We don't want to show them, but deep down inside we just don't know as Jon sings.

We really aren't alright.

But there's a beauty I have discovered in not being alright.

It is then that we can offer these secret hearts we all carry unto the Lord not only for praise, but so that His healing grace shall wash them clean with hyssop then mold them into a beautiful mosaic.

He will glorify Himself in our secret hearts.

He will teach us wisdom there.

But we must first start with the knowledge and confession that we aren't ok, that we are hiding our hurts.

It is then that the power of the Holy Spirit by the Blood of the Lamb who takes away the sins of the world will come with His healing balm and restore us.

I don't know if any of this makes sense. I mainly wrote this as a cathartic blog to share with you thoughts that have poured forth from a secret heart full of wounds.

There's a fear in exposing our wounds, but it is in that exposure that we find light for the darkest crevices and recesses of our wounded hearts.

It is in that wounding and brokenness that we are ready to be made more like Him.

My brothers and sisters be exposed. We know our Lord searches the heart. Let Him search you.

Tear down the walls.

Share your wounded heart.

Let Truth search your inward being.

Let Wisdom come to your secret heart.

Begin to live and fully live.

Become alive.

Thrive...


May the peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you now and always. Amem +

O my Most Loving and Gentle Jesus, I desire with all the affections of my heart, that all beings should praise Thee, honor Thee and glorify Thee eternally for that sacred wound wherewith Thy divine side was rent. I deposit, enclose, conceal in that wound and in that opening in Thy Heart, my heart and all my feelings, thoughts, desires, intentions and all the faculties of my soul. I entreat Thee, by the precious Blood and Water that flowed from Thy Most Loving Heart, to take entire possession of me, that Thou may guide me in all things. Consume me in the burning fire of thy holy Love, so that I may be so absorbed and transformed into Thee that I may no longer be but one with Thee. Amen. -- Lanspergius, the Carthusian

Freemasons: An Influential Secret Society

Freemasons: An Influential Secret Society
“The secret of my influence has always been that it remained secret,” Salvador Dalí once said (Thinkexistquotes). The Freemasons, a very secretive brotherhood or perhaps, more accurately, a brotherhood with secrets, has not been very outspoken about the depths of their influence on the United States government. John Hylan said this in regard to the Freemasons:
The real menace of our Republic is the invisible government which like a giant octopus sprawls its slimy legs over our cities, states, and nation. At the head is a small group of banking houses. This little coterie runs our government for their own selfish ends. It operates under cover of a self-created screen and seizes our executive officers, legislative bodies, schools, courts, newspapers, and every agency created for the public protection (FDRS).

The Freemasons have had a deep, influential impact on the American government. Whether through politics, education, or society, the Masons have had a part in helping shape the nation for which they constructed the foundations. “The Freemasons have had a long-standing relationship with the United States government from its early years with George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, and Franklin D. Roosevelt… [Freemasonry] has had a significant influence in the development of the United States constitution as well as the structure of the federal government and our system of laws” (Mason Influence in Government). The Freemasons played a key role in America’s winning the Revolutionary War and establishing herself as a sovereign State. Many Founding Fathers belonged to the brotherhood and “helped influence the structure of American society…” (Mason Influence in Government). The Framers of the Constitution who were masons built their beliefs into the very document that still governs society today, the Constitution. “These men [the Freemasons] and more have added their thoughts, wishes, and expectations to the building and development of the United States Constitution” (Mason Influence in Government).
Politics is a page written upon by the Freemasons’ influence. Many of America’s political leaders have been Freemasons. Each of the three branches of America’s government--Legislative, Executive, and Judicial-- have had Freemasons serve in active duty. The Legislative Branch, or Congress, has had the most Freemasons elected into it.
But it has not been the Legislative Branch alone in the United States which has been subjected to strong Masonic influence. The Craft's control of the Supreme Court already has been explored; and although Masonry's authority has not been as pronounced in the Executive Branch as in the two others, the secret Brotherhood has had good representation among Chief Executives. Fifteen of forty-three Presidents have been members of the Craft, some of whom have been more ardent in their attachment to the Fraternity than others (Freemasonry Watch 1).
Much of the ideology behind American Democracy such as the Bill of Rights and civil rights came from the beliefs of Freemasons. "This nation was nurtured on the ideals of Freemasonry; . . . most of those who are today its leaders are also members and leaders of the Craft (Craft is the practice of Freemasonry). They know that our American Democracy, with its emphasis on the inalienable rights and liberties of the individual, is Freemasonry in Government . . ." (Freemasonry Watch 3). America’s values as a nation resemble those of the Freemasons. “American republican values looked like Masonic values writ large: honorable civic-mindedness, a high regard for learning and progress, and what might be called a broad and tolerant religiosity” (Tolson 30). The Freemasons have helped shape politics by the practices, values, and ideas in which they believed.
Any teaching which is completely antagonistic to all that we consider sacred, in religion, in morals and in government, is subversive of those fundamentals, and on them we depend for our very existence as a Craft. Our first duty, therefore, becomes one of self-preservation, which includes defense of those principles for which we stand and by which we live. This duty cannot be discharged by complete silence on the subject, and this view, it is encouraging to note, is today shared by most of those who speak masonically in the United States (Freemasonry Watch 3).
Education is another page upon which the Freemasons have brushed their pens of influence. From elementary education to college, the Freemasons have written their influence upon the educational system of the United States. Upon reflecting the past of the educational system, the Freemason’s influence on education becomes very important to remember (Clough 1).
The sect of the Masons aims unanimously and steadily also at the possession of the education of children. They understand that a tender age is easily bent, and that there is no more useful way of preparing for the State such citizens as they wish. Hence, in the instruction and education of children they do not leave to the ministers of the [Catholic] Church any part either in directing or watching them. In many places, they have gone so far that children’s education is all in the hands of laymen: and from moral teaching every idea is banished of those holy and great duties which bind together man and God (Robison 308).
They realized that the mind of a child is easily swayed and shaped the way the sculptor wants. But they not only had influence in childhood education but also in college and university education. “John Slifko says, ‘Freemasonry in American history has often had a relationship with university life.’” (Clough 2). The Freemasons would allow any young man older than the age set by that lodge to join. Through this they kept their membership up. “‘One of the things that were common in the 1920s is that there would be a Masonic lodge associated with a specific university,’ wrote John Cooper” (Clough 1). “Indeed, the Freemasonry encouraged social movement and a more inclusive elite through education…” (Tolson 34).
Society is yet another page with the pen marks of the Freemason’s influence. They aided in building the bridge of American society with their ever-present influence (Mason Influence in Government). “‘It would be difficult to exaggerate the importance of Masonry for the American Revolution. It not only created national icons that are still with us; it brought people together in new ways and helped fulfill the republican dream of reorganizing social relationships…’says Gordon Wood” (Bradley 126). Freemasons helped bring the nation together in new ways. Freemasonry literally brought together men and their thoughts (Bradley 127). “…The cultivation of politeness and honor, mutual assistance, networking, and tolerance for differences in the delicate matter of religion” built a sturdy foundation for the society of early America (Tolson 34). By setting up the laws in a certain intellectual way, the Framers literally put in pen how we would live our lives in accordance to those laws (Mason Influence in Government).
The principles of social science follow. Here naturalists teach that men have all the same rights, and are perfectly equal in condition; that every man is naturally independent; that no one has a right to command others; that it is tyranny to keep men subject to any other authority than that which emanates from themselves. Hence the people are sovereign; those who rule have no authority but by the commission and concession of the people; so that they can be deposed, willing or unwilling, according to the wishes of the people. The origin of all rights and civil duties is in the people or in the state, which is ruled according to the new principals of liberty. The State must be godless; no reason why one religion ought to be preferred to another; all to be held in the same esteem. Now it is well-known that Freemasons approve these maxims, and that they wish to see government shaped on this pattern and model needs no demonstration (Robinson 308-309, emphasis mine).
Freemasons brought about unity, nationalism, laws, and beliefs through their incredibly powerful influence which are still seen today. “He [Fay] argues that Freemasons engendered among a limited but very prominent class of people a feeling of American unity without which American liberty could not have developed—without which there would have been no United States” (Bradley 126). The Freemasons have indeed had a deep, influential impact on the American government. From politics to education to society, the weight of their influence has been felt and continues to be. Being such a secretive brotherhood, the depth of their influence may never be measured with accuracy. There is only thing that is true of the Freemason’s influence: “Historians can infer and they can surmise, but they may not be able to explain fully the influence of Freemasonry” (York 7).













Works Cited
Bradley, Michael. The Secrets of The Freemasons. New York: Barnes and Noble, 2006.
Clough, Richard. Geffen Houses a Masonic Past. 2006. 2 March 2008.

Dali, Salvador. Thinkexist Quotes About Influence. 2008. 3 March 2008.
http://thinkexist.com/quotations/influence/2.html
Robison, John J. Born In Blood. New York, New York: M. Evans and Company, 1989.
Tolson, Jay. “Inside the Masons.” U.S. News and World Report 5 September 2005L 30-35.
Unknown Author. Federal Debt Relief System. 2008. 3 March 2008.
http://www.fdrs.org/freemason_quotes.html
Unknown Author. Freemasonry Watch. 2008. 3 March 2008. www.freemasonrywatch.org
Unknown Author. Mason Influence In Government. 2008. 3 March 2008.

York, Neil L. Freemasons and The American Revolution. 2008. 3 March 2008.

A Moderate Approach to Liberal and Conservative Thoughts on the Scriptures or (A Friend's Most Important Question)

This is for all my theological friends that enjoy conversations. This is a little speech written by a friend of mine here at Johnson for his faith community. The theme was, "Your Most Important Question." His thoughts were worthy of conversation, dialogue, and perhaps debate. I ask that all remain friendly and kind if conversation does proceed from such a touchy subject. He has allowed me to share this and leave his name out of it for now. So enjoy my friend's thoughts on the Bible:

My Most Important Question


Good morning. For those of you who do not know me, my name is *** ***** and I am the summer intern here at ********* I am a 21 year old senior at Johnson University and I have been a part of the community here at ********* since the fall of 2009.

My most important question is about the Bible, specifically its authorship and inspiration. I always thought I understood the Bible pretty well. I mean, it all seemed pretty easy in Sunday School. However, the older I became the more I questioned and examined what I believe about the Bible. I soon realized it wasn’t that easy to understand at all

I have been attending church since I was in the womb. God blessed me with a wonderful family who loves him and a family that taught me how to love God. So because of that I’ve been in the church all of my life. I went to youth group, camps, and big Christian youth conferences when I was younger. I was just your prototypical dorky kid in youth group.

When I was growing up I had these grand plans for my life which included meteorology, being a lawyer and then finally I thought I wanted to teach. However, after attending a Christ in Youth Conference my freshman year in high school, I decided that I wanted to enter into the ministry.

So in the fall of 2008, I started attending Johnson Bible College...now Johnson University to prepare for a career in ministry. I wasn’t sure specifically what kind of ministry, I just knew I wanted to do this with my life.

In the last year, more so the last few months, I have been doing some thinking about how I view and interpret the Bible..and it has caused me to wrestle through some hard questions about how to see the Bible...and as a result my approach to the Bible has changed

Growing up in the church I was taught that the Bible was the authoritative word of God.

I was taught that it was inerrant. That it was infallible and that it was inspired by God.

And as 2 Timothy 3:16 says, that it is “useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness.”

I believed and accepted this because it was what I was taught and I trusted the sources that this information was coming from. However, I never really understood what all this meant because I had never worked through the meaning for myself.

I believe that how we see something affects how we read it and how we interpret it. What we bring to our reading of a text or document affects how we read it. All of us, whether we use reading glasses or not, read through lenses.

For the sake of simplicity, I am going to say that there are two ways to read the Bible, that there are two lenses at which to read the Bible through.

Conflict about how to see and read the Bible is a major issue dividing Christians in our country today. Each denomination has their own certain slant and beliefs about how to read certain parts of the Bible. This conflict usually divides Christians into two groups often labeled “fundamentalist” and “liberal.” Separating these two groups are two very different ways of seeing three foundational questions about the Bible: questions about its origin, its authority, and its interpretation.

The first group believes as the church has traditionally taught that the Bible is the inerrant and infallible Word of God. They believe the Bible comes from God, as no other book does. As a divine product, it is God’s truth, and its divine origin is the basis of it’s authority. For these Christians, the Bible is to be interpreted literally.

The second group of Christians are less clear about what they believe about the Bible. They think that some parts of the Bible cannot be taken literally. This second group is often uncertain what it means to say that the Bible is “the Word of God” or “inspired by God,” and they are unsure what “biblical authority” might mean.

I never would have considered myself to be a “fundamentalist,” and now since my view of the Bible has changed I don’t consider myself to be a “liberal.” So, what am I? I don’t know. Maybe I have created my own group.

The issue that I first dealt with about the Bible was authorship. Scholars question the traditional authorship of many of the books in the New Testament. For example, we really don’t know who wrote the gospels. The authors of the texts don’t name themselves. Church tradition actually ascribed the names that we associate with each gospel.

Scholars also believe, and I now agree with them, that some of the texts in the New Testament were not written by the people we think they were. By comparing writing style, theology, and vocabulary, scholars think that Paul only wrote seven of the texts in the New Testament that bear his name. The rest were written probably later, after Paul’s death by other people in Paul’s name which was a common practice of the time to write in the name of a famous figure.

After accepting all this, I had to wrestle with the question of the Bible’s reliability. Could I trust the Bible if it wasn’t written by who I thought it was? How can the Bible be inerrant and infallible if Ephesians or 1 or 2 Timothy wasn’t written by Paul?

The questioning of the Bible’s authorship also led me to question the inspiration of scripture. The inspiration of scripture is understood to mean that God guided the writing of the Bible, directly or indirectly. What scripture says, then, ultimately comes from God.

I became really confused about what I was hearing about the scripture’s authorship. Some of these letters were written by Paul and some were not. And we can’t be sure who wrote this gospel, but we’re fairly certain this person wrote that letter.

I had been taught that the Bible was God’s word, that it was a divine product.

Well then, who wrote Romans? Was it Paul? Was it God? If scripture was “written” by God, then how was it done? Were the writers mysteriously led by God to write what they did? If so, does that still happen today why can’t I do that.

I found it hard to believe and accept the traditional view of inspiration knowing what I did know about the Bible’s authorship.

The alternative to seeing the Bible as a divine product is to see it as a human product--as a human response to God...the product of two ancient communities. This is the lens through which I now see scripture. The Old Testament is the product of ancient Israel and the New Testament is the product of the early Christian community.

What the Bible says is the words of those communities, not God’s words. I know that sounds controversial, so let me explain myself. What I mean by that is that I don’t believe God communicated to the authors the exact words he wanted them to say. I don’t believe that God took control of Paul’s hand and wrote his letters for him.

Scripture emerged from authors who were a part of God’s community and the books in Scripture arose out of particular circumstances and were written by authors with intent and agenda. Those individual authors interacted with one another to carry forward the story of God putting his family back together.

To see the Bible as a human product does not in any way deny the reality of God. In all of this questioning about scripture, I never questioned my faith, I never questioned the truthfulness of what is in scripture. I just had a lot of questions about how the Bible came to be.

Just because I accept that the people who we think wrote certain books in the Bible did not, and because I don’t hold to the traditional view of inspiration does not mean that I reject that the Bible accurately conveys the will of God and the teachings of Jesus

I am not devaluing scripture when I say it is a human product. I see the Bible sacred not in origin, but in status.

The Bible is sacred not because of some mystical, mysterious involvement from God. The Bible is sacred because of its value, because of what it means for us.

For us, the status of the Bible as sacred scripture means that it is the most important collection of writings we know. These are the primary writings that define who we are in relation to God and who we are as a community and as individuals. This is the book that has shaped us and will continue to shape us.

To me, seeing the Bible as sacred in status and not in origin also leads to a different way of seeing the authority of the Bible. Rather than being an authority standing above us telling us what to believe and do, the Bible is the ground of the world in which Christians live.

The biblical canon names the primary collection of ancient documents with which Christians are to be in continuing dialogue with.

Scripture, N.T. Wright says, does not exist to give authoritative answers to questions other than those it addresses.

Some questions and issues of scripture only applied to the time they were written, others still affect us today.

Wright goes on to say that one can deduce from Scripture appropriate answers to such later questions, only that we have to be careful and recognize that is indeed what we are doing.

In the modern period, the Bible has almost been elevated to a position of worship.

The Bible is not an object to be worshiped it is the lens through which we see God. It’s important that we put our faith and trust in God and not just the lens through which we see God.

I still think the Bible is holy, and I still think it is the Word of God

And a word is a means of communication, involving both speaking and hearing. A word is a means of disclosure; we disclose or reveal ourselves through words. Words bridge the distance between ourselves and others; we commune and become intimate through words.

The Bible is a means of divine self-disclosure. It is a record of God’s interaction with his creation. It is God’s way of revealing himself to us. It is God opening himself up to us and saying, “Here I am!” And it contains the stories and traditions that reveal the character and will of God.

By no means do I think that I totally understand the origins of scripture and how to understand it, but I’ve wrestled through these questions about the Bible and I have come out the other end of the tunnel and my faith is still strong. This is how I see the Bible now, as a lens that helps me see God.

Conformed to the Image of His Son

The topic of Spiritual Formation and Discipleship is something I'm very passionate about. And it seems to me, in my experience anyways, that it isn't something many churches talk about or do. I feel that the Church today focus too heavily on evangelism. Now, don't get me wrong, that is quite important, but the lack of discipleship is hurting many.

I attended a Christian school and was surrounded by great Christian men and women, but even after I was baptized I felt I was kind of left on my own to figure things out. The biggest trouble was not having a spiritual director or mentor. Yes, I learned quite a good deal about the Bible, but I still needed that guidance. Maybe it is my fault that I didn't seek someone out. Not to put blame on any of those great folks at MMS for they have given me more than enough in this life, and I'm indeed grateful.

But even still today I feel like I don't have that guidance or one-on-one with a older, wiser Christian with whom I could be discipled. Jesus commanded us in Matthew 28:19, "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." We see that Christ doesn't want us to merely baptize people and then leave them on their own. We are called to MAKE disciple. We are called to disciple and be discipled.

So I listened to one of my favorite professors at JBC give a sermon on the topic of Spiritual Formation. And I mention Discipleship because often it is something we chose for ourselves to undergo. And Dr. Gupton gave an amazing sermon on some ways to have Christ spiritually formed in you so much so that you are conformed to the image of His Son. And that's the point of discipleship and spiritual formation. That you be made to look like Christ Jesus our Lord.

So I listened to Dr. Gupton's sermon and took notes on it. And I wanted to share those notes with you on here so that maybe the Body would be edified. I hope you can take something from them:


Conformed to the Image of His Son
Dr. Gupton on Spiritual Formation and Discipleship


"Spiritual disciplines are activities we do to cooperate with God's work to transform us into the image of Christ." -Dr. Carlus Gupton

I John 3:2-3- “Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.”

Romans 12:1-2-“I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”

Romans 8:28-29-“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.

Each of us lives between two realities. We live between who we are and who we long to be. We say to ourselves, “I am what I am.” We are insecure about our ordinariness. We want to distort who we really are. We change, but not that much. The second reality is: “I am not yet what I shall be.” The truth is underscored by Scripture, I John 3:2-3. In between these two realities is the process we call transformation or spiritual formation, growth. We are not the ones who do the transformation, but we are to cooperate with God in that transformation. Transformation=metamorphosis. God works to conform us to the image of His Son. Spiritual formation is the life-long process of being conformed to Christ for our good and that of the world’s.

How do we do this?

We must discuss the spiritual disciplines and practices. Richard Foster’s Celebration of Discipline is an amazing book on this subject.

Spiritual Disciplines:
1. They are put forth as overwhelming
2. Jesus warns heavily on putting the spiritual life out of reach of people (Matthew 23:4)
3. Spiritual disciplines are not a measure of spirituality. They are SUPPOSED to help us become more like Christ! Spiritual practices don’t help us at all unless they make us like Christ.
4. They are activities we do to cooperate with God’s work in transforming us into Christ’s image.

Spiritual Practice of Prayer:
-Principle 1- Simplicity. Jesus’ prayer. When you pray say these words. Do this. The prayer captured the major tenants of Jesus’ teaching. To learn what is important to Jesus then unpack those phrases. Kingdom is so much bigger than Church. It’s about our response to God and how we bring Heaven to earth. Kingdom encompasses so much of God’s grand vision for the world and how we participate in that vision. The prayers are simple, repeated throughout the day. Acts 2:42-devoted to Apostles teaching, fellowship, breaking of bread, and prayer. They prayed at 9 AM, Noon, and 2 PM. Breaking of bread alludes to Eucharist. Eucharist was about that remembering and that transformation. Consistent participation in God’s work of transformation.

-Principle 2-Regularity. Jesus gives us these as simple, but as something done regularly. I Thessalonians 5:16-18, pray continually. Alludes to praying 3 times a day. Early Christians borrowed the tradition from the Jews.

The 3 Times of Prayer:
The Morning Light- Psalms 88
The Midday- Psalms 92
The Nightfall- Psalms 92

Remember those times so you pray and you honor the presence of God in your life. Reminder that God is in the work of changing you and you want to participate in that work.

1. The Prayer of Morning Light

John Stott’s Morning Trinitarian Prayer

Good morning heavenly Father,
good morning Lord Jesus,
good morning Holy Spirit.

Heavenly Father, I worship you as the creator and sustainer of the universe.
Lord Jesus, I worship you, Savior and Lord of the world.
Holy Spirit, I worship you, sanctifier of the people of God.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.

Heavenly Father, I pray that I may live this day in your presence
and please you more and more.

Lord Jesus, I pray that this day I may take up my cross and follow you.

Holy Spirit, I pray that this day you will fill me with yourself and cause your fruit to ripen in my life: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

Holy, blessed and glorious Trinity, three persons in one God,
have mercy upon me. Amen

2. The Prayer of Midday (can be any prayer)

St. Francis’ Prayer for Peace

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace;
where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon:
where there is doubt, faith ;
where there is despair, hope
where there is darkness, light
where there is sadness, joy
O divine Master,
grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;
to be understood, as to understand;
to be loved, as to love;
for it is in giving that we receive,
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life.
Amen.

Anima Christi
Soul of Christ, sanctify me.
Body of Christ, save me.
Blood of Christ, inebriate me.
Water from the side of Christ, wash me.
Passion of Christ, strengthen me.
O Good Jesus, hear me.
Within your wounds hide me.
Permit me not to be separated from you.
From the wicked foe, defend me.
At the hour of my death, call me
and bid me come to you
That with your saints I may praise you
For ever and ever. Amen.

Mark the time that we say to God that we are walking with God. And that He is working in us, let us cooperate with Him.

3. The Evening Prayer (Prayer of Examen)

5 Practices at End of Day
1. Become aware of God’s presence
2. Review day with gratitude
3. Ask Spirit to see ourselves honestly-reflection
4. Pray about one event of the day
5. Look forward to tomorrow

4 Questions When Reviewing the Day:
-What went well?
-What went poorly?
-What gifts did I receive?
-What needs healing?

Prayer can be simple and regular. By this we participate with God in the process He is engaged in and that is transforming us into His image.

http://ignatianspirituality.com/

http://www.rcdom.org.uk/documents/EXAMEN.pdf

Love Can Last If You Only Let It Grow or (Reflections on Our Marriage)

There's been two central themes to Courtney's and my relationship: Colossians 1:17 and the William Fitzsimmons lyric that is tattooed on my right forearm that says, "Love can last if you only let it grow..."

As many of you may already know Courtney and I became Celebrants in the Sacramant of Holy Matrimony on Saturday May 21, 2011 at 1:30 in the afternoon. We are the chief celebrants of this Sacrament. We minister to one another in this Sacrament. The Book of Common Prayer's Celebration and Blessing of a Marriage begins with this:

"Dearly beloved: We have come together in the presence of God to witness and bless the joining together of this man and this woman in Holy Matrimony. The bond and covenant of marriage was established by God in creation, and our Lord Jesus Christ adorned this manner of life by his presence and first miracle at a wedding in Cana of Galilee. It signifies to us the mystery of the union between Christ and his Church, and Holy Scripture commends it to be honored among all people.

The union of husband and wife in heart, body, and mind is intended by God for their mutual joy; for the help and comfort given one another in prosperity and adversity; and, when it is God's will, for the procreation of children and their nurture in the knowledge and love of the Lord. Therefore marriage is not to be entered into unadvisedly or lightly, but reverently, deliberately, and in accordance with the purposes for which it was instituted by God."The Sacrament of Marriage is not something we have taken lightly or unadvisedly.

With the Sacrament of Marriage we become a little Trinity with Jesus Christ. It is He who brought us together and He that holds us together. Father David Garrett made a point that there's human love and there's God love. Our human love has brought us together, but it is God's love that binds us to one another. Colossians 1:17 says, "He himself is before all things, and in him all things hold together."

This verse was the key verse that Courtney and I discovered and decided to make the verse of Scripture that we build our marriage on. This verse is extremly powerful! The first point to me is that it speaks of the almight presence of Christ, that He is everlasting, everywhere! We can't escape His presence. He is before all creation! He is the Word became FLESH! And it reminds me of the simple notion of letting God go ahead of you, following Him and letting Him guide.

The second point is that in Him ALL things hold together! Now, all things means all things right? That's how we apply the principle here! That Jesus Christ is before us, leading us in our marriage, but that also He is IN our marriage, holding us together with the love of God that allowed the Word to become flesh.

The song lyric by William Fitzsimmons says, "Love can last if you only let it grow..."

This lyric is quite simple and it spoke profoundly to me. In highschool, Mr. Hertzog, one of the Mt. Mission teachers, told us in 8th grade that he never understood why people say they "fell in love". He said that sounds like it was an accident and that you don't fall in love, you GROW in love!

That and the notion that often times we simply don't do things to let love grow. We smother it. We neglect it. We forget about it. We don't care about it. Whatever the reason is the love begins to wither and fail, dying off.

Now, don't get me wrong, marriage is HARD WORK AND YOU MUST WORK TO MAKE IT WORK! I fully understand that statement. I am not neglecting that you must put forth effort. But there's such a thing as trying too hard!

I think we have to find balance and moderation. We just have to exist, to BE :) We must put forth effort to love one another and grow, but we must not put forth too much effort that it is forced or that love becomes a something-I-have-to-do because you made that vow. I said to my bride that day, "In the Name of God, I, Jonathan, take you, Courtney, to be my wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, until we are parted by death. This is my solemn vow."

I made a vow that I will keep by God's help through the holding together of our marriage. He is our strong foundation. I made a vow to let love last if we only let it grow.

Proverbs tells us that a man is blessed and shown favor if he finds a wife. I have found my wife, my lady, my love.

I couldn't be more excited for the journey ahead even though there will be times when the road is meandering and often times rocky, we know that we can make it because we have the love of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit to lead and guide us.

Go forth with great rejoicing and remember that even though it may seem like love is hard that God is fully present in this Blessed Sacrament.

Remember that love can last if you only let it grow...



Most gracious God, we give you thanks for your tender love in sending Jesus Christ to come among us, to be born of a human mother, and to make the way of the cross to be the way of life. We thank you, also, for consecrating the union of man and woman in his Name. By the power of your Holy Spirit, your out the abundance of your blessing upon this man and this woman. Defend them from every enemy. Lead them into all peace. Let their love for each other be a seal upon their hearts, a mantle about their shoulders, and a crown upon their foreheads. Bless them in their work and in their companionship; in their sleeping and in their waking; in their joys and in their sorrows; in their life and in their death. Finally, in your mercy, bring them to that table where your saints feast for ever in your heavenly home; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

A Beautiful Collision or (3+4=7)

GRANT, O Lord, that as we are baptized into the death of thy blessed Son our Saviour Jesus Christ, so by continual mortifying our corrupt affections we may be buried with him; and that, through the grave, and gate of death, we may pass to our joyful resurrection; for his merits, who died, and was buried, and rose again for us, thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Greetings brothers and sisters in Christ who in this day rose from the dead. Resurrected! May the peace of the Risen Lord Jesus Christ be always with you.

There's many things one can say about Easter and the blessed Resurrection of our Lord. But I want to talk about collisions!

David Crowder, in his genius, wrote an entire album about collisions. This album is called "A Collision or (3+4=7)!

David Crowder has a saying on the album leaflet that reads, "When our depravity meets His Divinity it is a BEAUTIFUL COLLISION!"

Is this grand statement so eloquently put not the perfect summation of The Resurrection Day?

It is Heaven colliding with earth! It is the Divine colliding with the human! It is Perfection colliding with entropy! It is the Remedy colliding with pain! It is Wholeness colliding with brokeness! It is the Just colliding with the unjust! It is the Love colliding with hate! It is the Cure colliding with the hurt!

As David Crowder writes, "It is the collision of our fallen state and our Makers's transcendance. It is a rendering of our mortality and eternal life. It is about the tension that exists in the living of life, here, where the sky meets the broken earth. It is about a tsunami in East Asia. It is a bout a sunrise over Hiroshima. It is about too many who know intensely what pain the world 'cancer' holds and the words of my friend whispered in my ear, 'It's okay. none of us are getting out of here alive you know.' It is about victory. It is about the joy that comes when blood tests return and a miracle is announced. It is the hope in a rescue that has come, the hope in a rescue that has found us, and the relentless hope in a great rescure that is still coming--one that has not yet arrived but is no less present...The Kingdom of Heaven is here and now and coming!"

AMEN!

This makes me ponder the previous blogs about Epiphany and Lent that I transposed. There's a connection to Epiphany, Lent, and Easter that I think is tied to Scripture! The Epiphany blog was about how we too share in baptism by witnessing our Lord being baptized. The Lent blog was about dying to sin, dying to ourselves in order that Christ may live with us. And this Easter blog is about the collision of our depravity with the Divinity of the Risen Lord.

Saint Paul writes in Romans 6:3-11, "Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? Therefore we have been buried with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.

For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be destroyed, and we might no longer be enslaved to sin. For whoever has died is freed from sin. But if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. The death he died, he died to sin, once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus."

Even the Lord said, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die."


Death, burial, resurrection! Baptism, Death, Resurrection! Epiphany, Lent, Easter!

There's connection I do believe!

We were dead, but now we are ALIVE! David Crowder explains that 3 is the number used to represent God. The number typically expresed to represent humanity is 4. He talks about when these combined you get the number 7, perfection! Wholeness! Reconciliation!

In our death in baptism we arise to newness in life for Christ too was raised to newless of life in His Resurrection!

When our depravity meets His Divinity it is a BEAUTIFUL COLLISION!

So we have shared and are sharing with our Savior and Risen Lord Jesus Christ the glorious Resurrection life! We have become partakers of the Divine! We have risen from the dead, from a eternal sleep, to a new life!

Saint Peter writes, "Thus he has given us, through these things, his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may escape from the corruption that is in the world because of lust, and may become participants in the divine nature. For this very reason, you must make every effort to support your faith with goodness, and goodness with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with endurance, and endurance with godliness, and godliness with mutual affection, and mutual affection with love. For if these things are yours and are increasing among you, they keep you from being ineffective and unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ!"

With this newness of life we have become divine.

St. Irenaeus of Lyons stated that God "became what we are in order to make us what he is himself."

St. Clement of Alexandria says that "he who obeys the Lord and follows the prophecy given through him . . . becomes a god while still moving about in the flesh."

St. Cyril of Alexandria says that we "are called `temples of God' and indeed `gods,' and so we are."

St. Basil the Great stated that "becoming a god" is the highest goal of all.

St. Gregory of Nazianzus implores us to "become gods for (God's) sake, since (God) became man for our sake."

And my favorite Church Father quote is from one of my favorite saints, Saint Athanasius who wrote that, "God became man so that men might become gods."

Our faith must have goodness, and goodness with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with endurance, and endurance with godliness, and godliness with mutual affection, and mutual affection with love!

But the most important thing about this is that we must take Resurrection to the world. We have been resurrected, are being resurrected, and will be resurrected. As the Kingdom of God resurrection is to come, but is no less present already. St. Augustine said, "Our full adoption as sons will take place in the redemption of our body. We now have the first fruits of the spirit (Rom 8:29), by which we are indeed made sons of God. In other respects, however, since we are not yet finally saved, we are therefore not yet fully made new, not yet sons of God but children of the world."

But we must bring resurrection to those asleep in their graves! We must bring resurrection to this broken earth! We must bring knowledge of Christ's resurrection to those who are hurting, grieving, broken, and are in need of the balm of salvation!

There's plenty of darkness that needs light! There's plenty of death and hell around that needs the glorious eruption of Resurrection to burst forth and shed light and life on the captives.

We on this day celebrate the Risen Lord's triumph over the grave, over death, over sin, over brokeness, over hate, and over hell!

If the Risen Lord's Resurrection conquered all these things, then should not our resurrection that we share with him through our baptism not conquer these things? Does not the Creeds say that Christ descended to the dead? He saved all from death and hell! Should not we be sharing this Good News and doing all we can to reverse the effects of death and hell here and now. The Lord prayed, "Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN!" Again, there is a collision!

The answer is yes because on this day the depravity of humanity came into a massive collision with His Divinity and it was and is and will be always a BEAUTIFUL COLLISION!

N.T. Wright observes, "Easter was the pilot project. What God did for Jesus that explosive morning is what He intends to do for the whole creation. We who live in the interval between Jesus's Resurrection and the final rescue and transformation of the whole world are called to be new-creation people here and now. That is the hidden meaning of the greatest festival Christians have.

This true meaning has remained hidden because the Church has trivialised it and the world has rubbished it. The Church has turned Jesus's Resurrection into a 'happy ending'after the dark and messy story of Good Friday, often scaling it down so that 'resurrection' becomes a fancy way of saying 'He went to Heaven'. Easter then means: 'There really is life after death'. The world shrugs its shoulders. We may or may not believe in life after death, but we reach that conclusion independently of Jesus, of odd stories about risen bodies and empty tombs."

There is more to Easter then Christ going to Heaven. With His Resurrection He brought the world and humanity into collision with Divinity!

He contineus, "The world wants to hush up the real meaning of Easter. Death is the final weapon of the tyrant or, for that matter, the anarchist, and resurrection indicates that this weapon doesn't have the last word. When the Church begins to work with Easter energy on the twin tasks of justice and beauty, we may find that it can face down the sneers of sceptics, and speak once more of Jesus in a way that will be heard."

We must work out our faith and resurrection with justice and beauty sharing it with the world and helping to restore the world to its Creator!

We will never be the same...WE ARE RESURRECTION PEOPLE!

Almighty and everlasting God, who in the Paschal mystery established the new covenant of reconciliation: Grant that all who are reborn into the fellowship of Christ's Body may show forth in their lives what they profess by faith; through Jesus Christ. Amen.