Romans, Countrymen...

Some like paint-drying. Some like grass-growing. Some like cat-bathing. Some even like room-temperature-coffee...

Them's all good and great...however, I get jazzed about 8,000 pages of J.M.Boice's Expositional Commentary on Romans!

Anyone else? Anyone?

What are you reading? Fiction, non-fiction, prose, poetry, history, biography? Lewis, Knowles, Zacharias, Fitzgerald, Miller, Paul the Apostle...? Who are you reading and how are they shaping your heart, soul, mind and strength? Even Sherlock Holmes has strengthened my faith.

Though nothing replaces the extremity of style, topic, personal challenge and truth as the Word.

Good ole Christian...

'Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.'

Knowing your Bible isn't simply what every good Christian should do is it?

Paul says that 'skillfully dividing the word - handling it rightly' tests and approves us as faithful, unashamed disciples. It shows whether we are on the right track, speaking truth in context, not wavering or babbling fluff. He reminds Timothy of the Gospel he taught, he reminds him to beware false teachers, he even passes on a 'trustworthy saying' and all this before challenging him (us) to handle the Word of Truth with eternal care.

Jacob Neusner explains how Jewish students wrestle with the word, 'This one proposes, that one disposes. This one forms a proposition in response to what the Torah says, and that one says why this one is wrong...' and so on to form a symphony of students attempting to handle the Scriptures carefully.

Peter understood this wrestling and challenged believers to remember, 'If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God' (1 Peter 4:11). Be a student of Truth. Handle the word well. We all teach it the moment we share it with one, one-hundred or one-thousand people.

So continue doing your best with skill.
Constantly present yourself to God for service.
Live daily with an attitude defined by the grace and truth of Christ.
Pray continuously that you may proclaim it clearly, as Paul eagerly desired.

2 Timothy 2:15
Judaism's Theological Voice - Jacob Neusner

colors = words = ideas

A typical thought-mapping scheme on the beloved mighty-whitey (whiteboard).

After I have the initial bulk of research and study done, I then move to creating a color-schemed, quasi-psycho, maplike-outline of the flow of the teaching.

Lines and arrows inter-connect thoughts and flow.

Colors and shapes help divide up various sections of the outline: Intro - Body - Conclusion - Challenge etc...

At times a word-for-word sentence solidifies a main point, thought or a necessary mind/heart bridge.

Ultimately the entire design and layout of my notes on mighty-whitey assists in memorizing the teaching. Of course, being passionate about and familiar with the material is absolutely key to a more authentic communication with the audience.

This method is how I flush out the details and kinks and grab onto the big picture as well as the minute details in a very physical way. Of course there are many ways to dance a jig. It's a healthy combination of learning the key components involved in putting together the material and your personal learning style (both of which take much time to learn and develop).

If your desire is to glorify God in presenting His Word in love and in truth - then how you get there in your prep is totally up to you.

The Singing Seven

If you could listen to a group of strange men singing wildly about hermeneutics would you? Freak yeah!

An awkward group of grown men in red and white striped suits with straw hats painted to match belting out a capella songs about the study of the Word. Sweet, sweet soul music. This is what I picture as I crack open the Scriptures and begin the study process on any given day.

Let's meet the barber shop group and get a feel for the role they play:

 - wrote the book/letter/poem
 - is the main character(s)

 - is the reason for the text: letter, parable, poem etc.
 - are the key words, phrases, ideas

 - was the text written
 - did the events in the text take place

 - was the author at time of writing
 - is the main setting for the text

 - is the author writing
 - do they choose the words, phrases, thoughts, etc.

 - does verse relate to the passage...etc.
 - does what is written affect the audience

 - what am I to do with this text, how does it affect me
 - how does this affect my life in Christ


There it is. A non-exhaustive listing of questions to ask yourself when studying the Word. These guys come in handy once you get the hang of asking their opinion on everything you read. The amount of info you're able to pick up simply by adding these to your study habits will greatly increase your comprehension of the living and active Word of God.

Next time you study, put on an Andrew Bird album, make a hot mug o' chamomile-vanilla tea, pull out a nice and thick journal and sing yourself into hermeneutical bliss.
Enjoy.

The Mind-blowing Hypernymity...

More non/thoughts on the un/knowable (G)od as seen through the eyes of the author of 'How (Not) to Speak of God'.

YHVH is mysterious.
He has not revealed every bit of who He is.
There is more to the Father than we'll ever comprehend.
Yet He has given us everything we need to know regarding truth, orthodox living, faith, salvation...(2 Peter 1:3-4 - is it possible that God would personally 'call/choose/elect' us only to confuse us?)
He has spoken, He has revealed Himself in thousands of situations throughout Scripture and as John the Apostle notes, 'Jesus did many other things as well.' (John 21:25 - if what he did was too much to comprehend or worse, not worth knowing, why even make note of this?)

Anonymity: not easily distinguished, too little info to understand

Hypernymity: too much information to understand, overwhelming sensory overload

According to Rollins, Gods revelation of Himself is so powerful, so sensory blinding that no one is capable of getting a good look at or understanding who He actually is. God is not anonymous, He is hypernonomous. He has now revealed so much of Himself that we will never decipher what has been revealed. (I'm surprised anyone managed to coherently write anything down after meeting the resurrected Jesus...)

Yes, Moses' hair turned white upon meeting the Lord.
Yes, the Lord refused to show His face when passing by Elijah.
Yes, Paul the super-apostle was blind for 3 days after meeting Jesus in all His glory.
Yet God has wanted nothing more than to connect with His people. He has repeatedly revealed Himself in ways we can grasp, comprehend, hope and believe in.

If ever there were to be a blinding reaction in the face of meeting Deity, Jesus would have blinded all. Yet even He taught the opposite. That those with open heart and open eyes would see Him for who He is. And those with a darkened heart would remain deaf - it wasn't the overwhelming Glory of Jesus that blinded people, it was their callous and cynical hearts and minds. The light of Jesus brings life, truth, understanding, faith and ultimately the Kingdom of God.

Rollins seems to ignore every shred of Scripture in order to pass off his incomprehensible un/theology of (G)od.

'To those who believed Jesus said, 'if you truly are my disciples you will know the truth and the truth will set you free.' Truth was/is objective, truth was/is factual, truth was tangible at that moment (Jesus), orthopraxy is not only possible but necessary to truly know what it is to be like Christ. Action and Faith. Paul and James.

Without reading his (Rollins) book it may be hard to gather that he knows little about Scripture and clearly shies away from hermeneutics.

I imagine Rollins heart is in the right place at times, unfortunately he seems to proclaim his 'truth' without the approval of Jesus and the Apostles, without the Holy Spirit and without the support of the Father - all of which come to us through Scripture but only to he who is Wise in the Spirit.

To close my ramblings I want to note a thought of Rollins that almost sounds authentic and worth considering...Rollins believes a follower of Christ is only a true follower of Christ once he has (if even for a moment of clarity) lost all hope of heaven and eternal life, thus resting fully in the despair of Jesus' death on the cross. To Rollins this act proves that ones faith is freely given to Christ if they expect nothing in return...such as life with the Creator for eternity. In other words - A person cannot fully experience faith until he expects nothing in return. I would almost agree...just not with Rollins reasoning.

It's interesting then that Jesus preached the coming of the Kingdom of Heaven, the Kingdom of God. His message was for all to repent, follow Him (the way, truth and life) and live forever in the Kingdom which is His. If Jesus never intended us to faithfully hope in eternal salvation, if He never wanted us to run the race and fight the good fight to receive our crown...then why continuously preach eternal life as a gift to be received?

Rollins - I agree with him to some degree - the disciple ought to wrestle with the weight of the cross, and not just the cross, but the sin that Jesus carried on it and the Life that is lost because of our sin. Vital.
Though we serve a loving God of redemption, which is the narrative of the Bible...so resting and hoping and having faith in Resurrection can't be that bad can it?

There it is. I'd like to think I'm not so defensive all the time in the face of gross error - but I suppose it hit the right nerve - not that my knowledge of God is the end all...but if Rollins is right...then Jesus was wrong.

The Unknowable-Untheology...

Let me start by saying that I love to rethink. I love the discovery process of finding God in anything and everything. The catch is that I believe God is discoverable and has revealed Himself for that purpose.

In 'How (Not) to Speak of God' Rollins lays the foundation of his view of God and the Word by stating first and foremost that:

'[R]evelation [of God throughout Scripture is merely] the overpowering light that renders God known as unknown.' (Rollins, 17) (John 1:1-34, Jesus did want to be known right?)

To help explain his point he uses the 'parable' as an example. Now in my last post I used one from Luke and pointed out that clearly Jesus isn't praising the unethical behavior of the dirty manager, Jesus used that character to shed light on a greater, specific point, which He states clearly.

Rollins, however, believes we have it wrong, that these parables - stories, these allegories, fables have an infinite number of interpretations and that all of them draw us closer to God, all of them transform us into...Christ-likeness?

According to Rollins, orthodox interpretation and theology may be eloquent and well versed but it does not transform - what transforms a person is not knowing who God really is, or better yet, that we can't really know for sure what we think we know. (2 Tim. 3:10-4:2, Paul tells us to correct false teachings with truth found in Scripture - if Rollins is right, then Paul is wrong, because we can't correct if we don't know what should be)

I agree though, we can't know the mind of God entirely, He is mysterious and no one is capable of being identical to Him. That said, we're called to be like Christ, to have His attitude, to carry our cross like Him, to be forgiven and redeemed by God, to personally be His body and worship Him as He has revealed Himself to us.

Rollins uses various stories from Scripture to show us who God really is, or isn't...though, I don't know if I can trust the theology of a person who in one breath denies we can know anything about God as revealed to us in Scripture while simultaneously using that very Scripture as His foundation for understanding this God as presented to us.

What a shame, Jesus wasted his life:

ushering in the Kingdom,

teaching truth,

travelling to open hearts and minds,

connecting personally with His creation,
healing those he loves,

dying for those he knows,

rising again for our personal salvation,
sending the Counselor to guide us in all of Gods revealed truth,
Truth that has been prophesied throughout Scripture and quoted by Jesus Himself...Jesus did all this and apparently it doesn't have to mean what He intended it to. Shhh...don't tell Jesus.

I suppose the Law wasn't really meant to guide, steer and correct.
I suppose 'command' could be interpreted, 'if it sounds good to you'.
I suppose 'I am the way, the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father but through Me' could be a way of saying, 'relax, I'm not here to say anything in particular, what do you think I'm saying anyways?'
I also suppose that when John closed his gospel noting that Jesus did so much more than we could ever imagine, what he was really saying was, 'Jesus did stuff, doesn't really matter, what do you make of it...tell me what it all means cause I don't know what Jesus was talkin' about but I'm willing to die for it.'

Nah.

I'm curious to see where this un-theology, this non-understandable-understanding leads. As open as I think I am to new ideas...the idea that we can't know anything about YHVH just because He is omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient and mysterious doesn't line up with the heart of that very same God as found in Scripture.

He reveals because He desires a relationship, a relationship more in-depth than that of an infant who only knows she has a mother but not really who the mother is. Jesus wants His followers to be mature, knowledgeable believers, faithfully following after Him...the Him He showed us - and yes, He did show us many definite attributes.

Hmm...I suppose I'll have to keep reading.

(I apologize for the sarcasm...it doesn't help in the ongoing conversation...I know)

...learneth my child.

In his second epistle - or letter instructing groups of believers - Peter briefly acknowledges that Paul, his faithful pal, is writing words ultimately by the guidance of the Holy Spirit, text to be considered Scripture amongst the New Church.

He goes on to say that in order to shy away from spiritual ignorance, thus living in the divine nature [2 Peter chapter one] his readers - as well as you and I - must 'grow in the grace and knowledge of...Christ.'

Why? And how does this relate to being a productive teacher. Not only a productive teacher, but one that's able to brush off and defeat false teachings that exploit and destroy without understanding or care[chapter two].

Peter wrote these passionate instructions around the same time that his cohort Paul, while in prison, wrote his second very personal letter to his favorite son - Timothy. I realize how absurd it is to ask 'why' it's important to continue growing in Christ, it's obvious right? Tell me this, how much do you study the life of the Messiah. If you're fully matured in Christ-likeness then by all means, don't waste your time. Otherwise, it's not such an absurd question and reminder is it?

Though the answer can be found throughout the entire body of Scripture, Paul sums it up a bit while encouraging Tim, he says that all Scripture (even the new stuff) is God-breathed - Theopneustos: the very breath/wind/spirit of YHVH infused into the logos, the word - and used for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training up in the righteousness of God [2 Timothy chapter three].

Growing in Christ, according to Peter and Paul, equips us to graciously serve with the wisdom of God. Teaching is an obese part of that service, very weighty responsibility. As the student learns from the Teacher he is equipped to continue the spiritual tradition of passing on the Word, in truth.

So grow, breathe in the attitude of Christ.

Wushu Masters & Christian Rabbi's:

There is a fantastic range of similarities between how one trains to become a master in martial arts and how one grows in the attitude of Christ. In The Forbidden Kingdom, Jackie Chans wise but drunken character attempts to describe to his student where one must begin:

Like a cup overflowing with water, how can a man learn if he is already full of the knowledge he needs.

Like a cup being poured out, one must empty himself of what he thinks he knows and fill himself with actual knowledge.

Jesus and His dsiciples taught:

A student is not above his teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like his teacher. [Luke 6:40]

In fact, if he is rooted and established in love, a love that surpasses all human understanding, he will be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Christlike. [Ephesians 3:14-19]

Isn’t it interesting that those who respond most often to Jesus’ call: the weary, the hurt, the sick, the poor, the stuck, etc – these come to Him with nothing. They come with open arms, teary-eyed, limping and breaking. Even those who are wealthy, who are healthy, comfortable and happy must come to Jesus with nothing in order to experience the filling of His Spirit, authentic response to His call.

The rich young ruler who came to Jesus with everything in his life already fulfilled? Jesus sent Him away with what challenge?…Why did he need Jesus if he were already full?

Jesus gave water to the Samaritan women who was hurting, spiritually blind but alert and very thirsty. She, a person humbled through the forthright truth and obvious compassion of Jesus, stood before Him with nothing, her entire life (in her own words) laid bare.

The student, before he can grow properly, must be properly emptied.

And the teacher, before he can teach, must accept his gift and be properly filled.