The Bible, The elephent and the Lamb

Anyone have any other thoughts or illustrations?

100% Pro-Life

Without really looking
I found this today
What's it mean to be 100%

NEW SONG: Greek vocab - William Mounce Week 9

Hey Guys and Gals I wrote another song for my Greek Class this one is to help me learn the vocab for "Week Nine" in Bill Mounce's Basics of Biblical Geek! I have transliterated the greek in the Lyrics below!

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Take a listen!


A-ga-thos means good or useful
Ka-kos means bad or evil
Dou-las means slave or servant
Pon-AY-ros is also evil
Eye-o-ni-os means eternal
En-ta-lay means commandment

What's Emos? It means My or Mine
What's Emay? It means My or Mine
What's Emon? It means My or Mine
What's Mau? Just MY

Ka-thos means as or even as
Pra-thos is first and not last
Or else it can mean earlier
Al-lay-loan is used for one another
A-ga-pay-tos means beloved
A-pe-cri-thay means he (she/it) answered

What's Emos? It means My or Mine
What's Emay? It means My or Mine
What's Emon? It means My or Mine
What's Mau? Just MY

Ne-Cross as an adjective means dead
as a noun it means corpse instead
It's a dual functioning word
Pi-stos is used to extol
it means believing of faithful
And Tri-tos means third

N.T. Wright on the Authority of Scripture

The word of God is often spoken of analogically in the scriptures. It is undergoes a typification with a bouquet of images as powerful as they are varied. It is seen as a sword, gold, honey, and countless others. It is out of this tradition that N.T. Wright draws many of his illustrations in the book The Last Word. In this work Tom lays out a careful unpacking of a very loaded term used to describe scripture: authoritative. In his view the church as a “scripture reading community” is the tool by which God is implementing “his saving plan for the cosmos” which was “inaugurated by Jesus.” As the church, we should know how to go about “reading scripture.”

The Suitcase

In Tom’s view many of our terms are like suitcases that we pack up with meaning and use as shorthand so we don’t spend our entire conversation going over semantics. He points out that these suitcases do tend to start rotting after a while and must be unpacked to keep the words fresh. The authority of Scripture must be taken to mean “the authority of God exercised through scripture.” God is the one with the authority and the scripture should not be taken as authoritative apart from him.

The Letter Carrier

Tom expresses this idea further in his discussion of the bible through the anecdote of a letter carrier. Many people wonder where the authority of the Bible comes from. Some would argue that since we were given the complete cannon through the councils, authority must ultimately rest in some magisterial body. Tom says that is similar to saying a letter carrier gives authority to the content of a letter rather than the one who wrote it.

The Bookshelf

That is not to say there is no place for tradition. Tom reinvents “the three legged stool” of Scripture, reason, and tradition. For him these three elements can be seen in a bookshelf. Scripture is the Bookshelf itself. Tradition is the memory of what people in the house have read, understood, and perhaps misunderstood. Finally reason is the spectacles through which people have made sense of what they read. On top of all this Tom adds experience into the mix and describes it as “the effect on the readers of what they read” completing the so called “Wesleyan Quadrilateral.”

The Five Act Play

Tom argues that once you really get into the content of this bookshelf what you find is a narrative. A five act play though which the plan of God’s redemption is revealed. The first act is Creation. The second act is the Fall, the Third act is Israel. Fourth is Jesus, and finally the last act is the Church. Having this “Five-Act Hermeneutic” allows for a multi-layered approach to the scriptures that gives coherence to the sorts of things that happen in each layer or act.

The Boat

Tom demonstrates how this works through the analogy of a boat used for a journey. Much of what we see in scripture is the vehicle by which God moves his people through the story. Once a group reaches shore the boat is left behind as the group continues over land. It is not left because it is “no good,” or the journey was misguided but it is left behind precisely because the ship and voyage had accomplished their purpose. This is how we must view the scriptures if we seek to have a functioning continuity.

Improvisation

Ultimately we are left as a people who must improvise. We must listen carefully at all the voices around us, recognize themes, rhythms, and harmonies and find our place in the performance. We must allow God to form, reform, and transform us though his word to be His people in His world.

Perspectives on Baptism: St. Augustine

Some would argue Saint Augustine was the most important theologian in the history of the Church. His writings and teaching have earned him the title Doctor Gratiae in the Roman Church. One of his main contributions is his understanding of Baptism. Baptism had always been seen as something central to the Christian faith. It was seen as a way a person is born into the family of God. It was a sacrament in which a person entered fully into the unity of Christ and was made one with the church. It was the path in which a person was sealed to join in the coming glory of Christ on the last day. However there were some wrinkles that needed to be ironed out.

What happens when a person “defects” and joins another sect? What was the significant of a heretic’s baptism? If a heretic baptizes another person would that person need to be re-baptized upon conversion back to the Universal Church? These were questions to which there was no good answer. Enter Augustine.

In his sermon “To the Newly Baptized on the Octave of Easter” Augustine lays out an analogy to help new converts understand this confusing topic. He compares Baptism to military service. A soldier who defects does not lose his citizenship, only his legal status. In the same way a heretic does not lose their Baptism, but does enter into condemnation. If a deserter in the military begins to win over people to take the military seal with him those people have entered into the same condemnation the soldier will face when the real army catches up with them. The real beauty of Augustine’s analogy comes into play when the deserter and all of his followers return. In this analogy they are all welcomed back and each convert to the deserter is brought into the Army. The commitment they made to the Deserter is converted to the true General.

In my own church today this analogy might not resonate as it once did. The church is more divided than ever. The lines between heresy and orthodoxy are blurred and what the Universal Church today actually IS can’t be agreed upon by most Christians. There is one thing that Augustine does say that I think is still relevant for all Christians today. He tells us that even if we are baptized in the “right” church and are naked in “faith and morals” we are in a sense still deserters. Our sin can make us work for the wrong side. Repentance is an avenue we must continually return to. Our hope is found in a General who will let us join the ranks of the true army again and again.

A Mystic and A Philosopher Walk Into A Bar

My friend Charlie always talks about a tension he feels when he approaches the subject of God. He says there are two ways to go about it, and he never knows which one to take. On the one hand you can approach God from an intellectual approach. God can read about, and metaphysically evaluated. A person can interact with the philosophy of God, the history of Religion, analyze Sacred literature, or any number of countless intellectual pursuits surrounding this person or energy or force we call God. On the other hand however there is the path of the mystic who peruses communion with God; who instead of trying to understand what and who God is simply desires to be a part of it.

This is a tension I feel every day at seminary. From the intellectual point of view I am in an academic institution. My methodology operates within the parameters logic and reason. The leap of faith is something that is discouraged in my studies and personal experience is something that is seen as an unfortunate factor that should be minimized as much as possible to achieve the most objective results. The mystic within me is repulsed by these sentiments. It finds much more value in contemplation then in comprehension. Knowing about God is often more fueled with our Love for him then our knowledge. As Gregory the Great once said, “Every time we come closer to God, our desire for him is amplified; in the very fulfillment of the desire, there is planted a deeper yearning to experience more of the beloved.” An affective theologian can never separate their work from their relationship with God. The mantra of my mystical side can be summed up in the words of Evagrius of Pontus: "A theologian is one who prays, and one who prays is a theologian." It seems that no matter how I approach God a part of me scoffs at the attempt.

One of the main reasons I chose to attend a seminary that is part of the Evangelical Covenant Church is because it is Evangelical in all the right ways. At North Park there is a focus on training people to know God not just know about Him. There is room for Intellectual Honesty without Spiritual Dishonesty and vice-versa.

The risk is always to put our life among God on hold while we learn about God. God is not an idea but an identity. A pursuit that is simply cerebral alienates us from the relationship that can advise us in overcoming the obstructions that follow pursuing a being that moves within our world but is beyond it. For as Ephesians chapter one tells us, it is God himself who reveals his mysteries. All the rest is a straining to cross the infinite.

FYI - "Oldest Bible" DOES include resurrection

I was recently asked "How are Christians dealing with the resurrection not appearing in the Bible recently published online as the worlds oldest bible?"
I thought you might be interested in my answer:

I take it you are talking about the "codex sinaiticus" The resurrection does appear in all four gospels... However there is a part of mark that is "missing" this really isn't news. Most modern bibles note that some manuscripts don't include the end. The codex itself is something scholars have had access to for some time, although it was split up. It's not actually that old compared to many of the other manuscripts (4th century vs 1st Century). The media has reported poorly on this. I am excited to have it online though. It is a VERY important manuscript.

However it is not oldest manuscript

Also it does not leave out the resurrection anywhere but does "omit" appearances of Jesus to many people FOLLOWING the resurrection at the end of MARK (one of four gospels)

The way Christians deal with that is pretty simple.
1) We either believe that particular section is not "inspired"
2) We believe it was an Oral tradition similar to the "women caught in adultery" passage that was added by a scribe, but validated in the process of Canonization (my personal take)
3) We don't care... or some other perspective

The main thing to remember is that none of the variations in the Scripture change the message and story of Jesus in such a way that the Christian faith would be very different.

FYI the "codex sinaiticus" also includes the Epistle of Barnabas, and portions of The Shepherd of Hermas. If these books were included the faith would be quite different... but they're not and that's the subject for another day.

I think the reader's question highlights one of the main ways the media looks for ratings. Instead of informing the population about this incredible text that is now available to everyone, the media makes up some nonsense about the resurrection not being included. It makes me angry.

Just in case you were wondering

Here is a English translation on the end of Mark from the Codex Sinaiticus.... As you can see the resurrection is there

16:1 And when the sabbath had passed, Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, that they might come and anoint him. 2 And very early on the first of the week they came to the sepulcher, the sun having risen. 3 And they said among themselves: Who shall roll away for us the stone from the door of the sepulcher? 4 And looking up they see that the stone had been rolled away; for it was very great. 5 And they entered the sepulcher and saw a young man, sitting at the right side, clothed in a white robe; and they were amazed.6 But he says to them: Be not amazed. You seek Jesus the Nazarene who was crucified; he has risen, he is not here: see the place where they laid him. 7 But go, tell his disciples, especially Peter, that he goes before you into Galilee: there you shall see him, as he said to you. 8 And going out they fled from the sepulcher; for trembling and astonishment had seized them; and they said nothing to any one, for they were afraid.

Preaching - Part 2: Transformative preaching

Another form of preaching is called "Transformative Preaching." In this kind of preaching the focus is on Changing the hearts of the listeners. Ed Carey sets out "Seven Principles" to achieve the transformation in the heart of a hearer.
I have paraphrased them below for you... What do you think?

Transformative Preaching must...
1) Transform the the pulpit before it can transform the pew
2) Begin with soaking in prayer so the Word of God leads the communicator not vise versa
3) Communicate effectively to the listeners world - have a Bible in one hand and a newspaper in the other.
4) Express transparency in the sermon and in the preachers life
5) Focus on concern for the people over communication of information
6) Communicate specific actions that correspond to the message a hearer can appropriate into their own lives
7) Illustrate the word in ways to help the hearer SEE the message not just hear it (ie parables, expressive language, stories etc)

Jim Pouillon, a pro-life activist killed

Jim Pouillon, a pro-life activist was killed today in Owosso, Michigan. He was shot this morning while protesting in front on the High School while students an parrents were coming into school. I'm not sure how to respond to this. My first reaction was shock, they anger, now I'm just very sad. Killing is wrong always, but killing someone who is fighting to save lives breaks my heart in 12 directions. I know many of you are not Pro-Life, but this is wrong no matter where you stand.

This incident and the murder of Tiller are showing us this issue must be taken seriously, and we can't continue to let it get out of control. I had a knife pulled on me once during a protest some years ago, and I have had friends of mine assulted. Standing up in this fight on both sides can be very dangerous. We must respect life on all sides, even that of the abortionists.

http://news.aol.com/article/anti-abortion-activist-jim-pouillon/666862

Obama Health Care Speech: Full Video

I don't care what you think about it. You should watch the speech Obama gave on health care.

Brian McLaren Weighs in: http://www.brianmclaren.net/archives/blog/on-the-health-care-speech-last-n.html

Scot McKnight has some things to say:
http://blog.beliefnet.com/jesuscreed/2009/09/health-care-speech-your-though.html

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Eight Noun Rules for Biblical Greek - Billy Kangas

I wrote a song this week for my Greek class. It deals with the Eight Noun Rules in William D. Mounce's Basics of Biblical Greek Grammar

What do you think?

Here are the lyrics!

The first rule of nouns deals with stuff that connects

With the Alpha or Eta you’re in the First Set

An omicron’s second and the thirds consonants. The First Rule

The second rule deals with the neuter ending place

It’s the same in the nominative and accusative case

If the cases are plural it’ll probably be an

alpha because that’s the gist of rule three

The fourth rule is one you should write on your finger

The Iota subscripts in the Dative Singular

The fifth rule says vowels ablaut to create

contractions sometimes with another vowel mate

Or they’ll lengthen when a letter’s lost just to compensate, Rule Five

Rule six says the Masculine and Neuter will be

the same if the case is a “G” or a “D”

That’s for Genitive and Dative if your IQ is three, that’s Rule Six

Rule Seven deals with the stops in a square

Look in your book theirs a nice chart there

Rule eight comes up when a word ends in Tau

The Tau gets real nervous ‘cause it isn’t a vowel

And just disappears. That’s the last rule for now, The eight rules!
Philo Tain Hellanikain (8x)

http://www.icompositions.com/music/song.php?sid=122130#

Preaching: invitational preaching

One form of preaching that has captivated the American Religious Landscape for the entire history of this country is what some might call “invitational preaching.” In this school of preaching the speaker’s aim is to convert the listener. Conversion in this form of preaching is not always aimed at Non-Christians, but can also be catalyst to conform a believer’s life and heart more to the message or The Gospel. It can be seen in the preaching of John Wesley, George Whitefield, and Charles Finney to name a few.

In the popular imagination we often look at this process as a minister sharing about sin and atonement and calling people to come forward to pray a prayer. This week I read “ Preaching for Conversion” by Charles Finney and “Invitational Preaching in the Twenty-First Century” by Roberto Escamilla and it raised some issues about this old form.

Finney and Escamilla are both proponents of sermons that speak to the listener, and in many ways hold the same values. They both believe a sermon should by “colloquial is style,” Parabolic or incorporate narrative in some way, relevant to the hearer, and charismatic in delivery. They both look to secular sources for rhetorical inspiration. Overall they are both interested much more in reaching the hearer then following a proper decorum. They do, however, part ways over some issues.

Finney might be characterized as a “fiery preacher.” His desire is for the hearer to repent from sin. He instructs the preacher to inspire this repentance by shocking the listener out of their stupor. Finney even goes as far as to suggest changing ones doctrinal stance to shake the complacency of a hearer. For him one of the most frustrating things he sees in other preachers is, what he sees as, an over emphasis on the work of God, and a lack of discussion of a person’s own part in doing the repentance.

Escamilla on the other hand shy’s away from words like ‘conversion’ and ‘sinners.’ Instead he focuses on specific forms of social action that can better integrate a hearer into the life of the spirit. For him the “Life of the Spirit” is paramount. It is the power that enables a preacher to reach a hearer and the power that enables the listener to respond. This is very much unlike Finney. Escamilla also departs from Finney in his demeanor in the pulpit. Escamilla feels that a preacher must move away from the “fiery” preaching of old and instead make the listener feel “accepted as they are.”

Finney wrote and preached in a very different place and time then we live in today. Escamilla raises a good question in his exposition on preaching. New cultures require new methodology. We must decide what we carry with us and what we leave behind as we carry the message of the cross to future generations. “Invitational preaching” has changed with every generation, but the call to be transformed by Christ has not. No matter how the vessel changes our fidelity to the living water contained within must not.

Christ and Columbine - A story of redemption

The story is as old as time. From Cane and Able, to the Sicarii and the Zelots in Ancient Israel. It’s a story that has been told and retold through the lives of such men as John Brown, Michael Collins, and Che Guevara. On April 20th 1999 Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold entered their high school near Littleton, Colorado and started shooting. The incident left fifteen dead including the shooters.

The Columbine shooting was in a very real sense my baptism into the question of violence. As a high-school student at the time it was the first time I ever really entered into the story and the struggle of those who believe the only voice they have left is through the shedding of blood. I was horrified as I’m sure all of you were with the incident, but it nagged at me like no story had before. I needed to understand why. I had a number of friends at school which by outward appearances looked just like Harris and Klebold (trench coats, metal bands, video games), these were people I felt I understood and could relate to. My proximity to their context brought me to a place where for the first time I was able to look through the eyes of the marginalized aggressor. I began to see how the shooters felt they needed to kill. How there was no other power left to them to persuade or communicate. They truly believed they had no other choice. In their mind the system had failed them and the last option was war on the system. It caused me to question where I stood, with the shooters or with the system. It opened up history to me in a whole new way, and I slowly began to recognize that the narratives that guided my perspective were not always right.

·What should a slave’s response to slavery be?

·How should a poor man respond when every option to feed his family is taken away?

·What happens when the most sacred things to you are appropriated to justify something abhorrent?

·How does a scapegoat find redemption?

Empires are often built on subjugation and a myth of redemptive violence, and power is found in being on the “right” side of the story, which often meant the magnetization of the “wrong” side. Often the only means of communication left between these two sides is through the medium of the sword. At the time of the Columbine attack I was also rediscovering my faith. Jesus was quickly becoming the center of my life and my perspective. As I read the gospels I knew there had to be another way. One in which the dichotomy was broken, a third way. Columbine also helped me frame the incarnation in a new way. God was in the business of making peace and he had called me to work within a new paradigm, that of a peacemaker. God had a new story to combat the old, and I began to see it all around me. Dr. King told it, and so did Maximilian Kolbe. I heard it through Mother Theresa, and Óscar Romero.

Two years after Columbine the old story repeated itself again, this time on a massive scale. On September 11, 2001 a series of coordinated attacks gave voice to another group of marginalized people. It was nothing new, in their original plan Harris and Klebold had plotted to hijack a plane and crash it into a building in New York City too. However for me it was different. Columbine had helped me find how God’s vision for peace. As the world began to respond in violence I knew of another story with a lot mere power. I knew a third way.

Only Begotten?

μονογενηες - (Monogenes)

The Greek word μονογενηες has long been part of what is often called the “Golden Text” of scripture among evangelicals – John 3:16. If your familiarity with the verse is limited to its frequency in crowd shots at sports games allow me to inform you of its content. The verse in the King James Version reads “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him shall not perish, but have everlasting life.” μονογενηες comes into play with the words “only begotten.” According to A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature the word means “"(1) pertaining to being the only one of its kind within a specific relationship, one and only, only; … (2) pertaining to being the only one of its kind or class, unique (in kind)" Some might argue that this beloved verse should not be translated “only begotten” but rather simply “only.” This translation is seen in the English Standard Version, The Revised Standard Version, and even the Tyndale Bible.

μονογενηες is used 8 other times in the New Testament which can be seen in the chart below:

Verse	Meaning in verse
Luke 7:12	It refers here to the “only son” of a mother has died.
Luke 8:42	The word refers to the “only daughter” of a ruler of the synagogue
Luke 9:38	A man from the crowd uses it to describe his “only: son
John 1:14	This passage is describing the “word made flesh” as the one and only, who came from the Father (some translations add begotten)
John1:18	The verse says that no one has seen God, but “God the One and Only” (Some manuscripts add Son to make it Only Son)
John 3:18	Not believing in the “the Only Son of God” is an indicator of condemnation
Hebrews 11:17	This is a reference to Isaac the “only son” of Abraham
1 John 4:9	God sending his “Only Son” into the world is a manifestation of God’s love.

μονογενηες is also seen in the Septuagint ten times. Four times on Hebrew Bible and Six times in the deuterocanonicals.

Hebrew Bible Occurrences
Judges 11:34	A reference to the “only child” of Jephthah
Psalm 22:20 (21:21 in LXX)	In this passage the Psalmist uses it to express how precious his Soul is to him.
Psalm 25:16 (24:16 in LXX)	In this passage the Psalmist uses the word to reflect the vulnerability of an “only child”
Psalm 34:17	In this passage the Psalmist uses the word to underscore that his life is the only one he has.
Deuterocanonical Occurrences
Psalms of Solomon 18:4	This passage has a messianic tone
Tobit 3:15	A self referential term for a young lady describing herself as “only daughter
Tobit 6:11	Speaks in reference to a relative
Tobit 8:17	Speaks of the only children of fathers
Odes 14:13	Speaks of an only son
Wisdom 11:22	A characteristic of Wisdom

As you can see the uses of the word in sacred literature can communicate a great number of things and tend to focus on both when something is unique and precious. Most translators follow what Thayer says in his Lexicon and translate the word “only” in most cases.

Learn The Greek Alphabet in no time!

Last week at North Park I learned the Greek Alphabet as part of my greek course. I thought it might be a good thing for you all to learn.

I learned it using a song located at www.icompositions.com/music/song.php?sid=41885

I just put the thing on loop for a few hours while I was doing other stuff and it worked like magic.

However their pronunciation is a little off.

If you want a video check out the one below. This guy is a little dull, but does a good Job. Listen to his song at about the 9 minute mark.

Click Each letter Below to find out more from Wikipedia!

Αα	Alpha	Νν	Nu
Ββ	Beta	Ξξ	Xi
Γγ	Gamma	Οο	Omicron
Δδ	Delta	Ππ	Pi
Εε	Epsilon	Ρρ	Rho
Ζζ	Zeta	Σσς	Sigma
Ηη	Eta	Ττ	Tau
Θθ	Theta	Υυ	Upsilon
Ιι	Iota	Φφ	Phi
Κκ	Kappa	Χχ	Chi
Λλ	Lambda	Ψψ	Psi
Μμ	Mu	Ωω	Omega