Theology of Nuance; Struggling with God and Man and Overcoming

(3rd Excerpt from original posting on Theology of Nuance on October 15, 2006 and a precursor for Diversity Around the Table of the Last Supper)

I encourage anyone interested in this subject to download and listen to this sermon from Dr. Thomas Robinson of the Manhattan New York Church of Christ. Just click on this paragraph and you will directed to the MP3 of the lesson. Pay particular attention to the sermon at 11:15 through 15:00 minutes into the sermon. If you are from a CoC background you will be challenged greatly by Dr. Robinson’s sermon. However, I have studied the passages that he references, and I am confident that his context for the passages are correct. In other words I do agree with his interpretation of the scriptures.

There are many possibilities for who we might be, by carnal standards.
We may even wear these labels with pride.

I could be:
1) A Disciple of Jesus (Christian)
2) A Democrat
3) An Arab
4) A Woman
5) A Parent
6) A Man
7) An American
A Hunter
9) A Texan
10) Pro-labor (Union)
11) Pro-business
12) An environmentalist
13) Caucasian (White)
14) Animal Rights Activists
15) Progressive
16) A Seminole (Tribe)
17) A Warrior
18) Conservative
19) A Sooner (OU)
20) A Cowboy (OSU)
Are any of these sinful? If you answered “yes” you are correct. If you answered “no” you, too, are correct.
In fact, none of these are sinful, when correctly placed in priority. But, all of these, except the first, may be sinful, if they supplant the first by even one place.

The world, i.e. the carnal conventions outside the Church, “must” make judgments in order to know who is accepted and who is rejected.

It is a “natural selection” thing. This is a Charles Darwin phrase, please don’t reject it just because it was described by Darwin. It is valid to the carnal/natural.

If labels are not applied, any and all are, by default, accepted into the tribe or camp. The tribe and clan is threatened if there are no physically discernable ways to keep out of the camp, those who have no kinship, and vested interest in protecting the members of the camp.

Jesus however, changed the rules for all time. As a means of exclusion, the labels began to disolve, even while Christ taught only to the descendants of Israel. Look at this exchange between Jesus and a “gentile” woman. This may be a very harsh answer to her, or it could be a very harsh example of faith to the descendants of Abraham. Which is it? Let me say this, God/Jesus doesn’t need to know if the poor woman had great faith. The creator knows her heart. However, those disciples with Jesus did not know her heart. Did they? The teachers of the Law did not know her heart either. In point of fact, she may not have fully known her own heart, until God provided her with the opportunity (a.k.a. “test”) to exercise her faith.

• 25 Right away a woman came to him whose little girl was possessed by an evil spirit. She had heard about Jesus, and now she came and fell at his feet.
• 26 She begged him to release her child from the demon’s control.
  Since she was a Gentile, born in Syrian Phoenicia,
• 27 Jesus told her, “First I should help my own family, the Jews.* It isn’t right to take food from the children and throw it to the dogs.”
• 28 She replied, “That’s true, Lord, but even the dogs under the table are given some crumbs from the children’s plates.”
• 29 “Good answer!” he said. “And because you have answered so well, I have healed your daughter.”
• 30 And when she arrived home, her little girl was lying quietly in bed, and the demon was gone.

By the original plan of God, it was His purpose to have Israel as a light to the nations. It was Jesus who finally fulfilled the ultimate plan for the nation of Israel. Read Isaiah 49 and see for yourself. The exclusionary rule, which comes from the the carnal law of natural selection, was being banished by the Holy One, long before the resurrection of Christ.

• 5 And now the Lord speaks—he who formed me in my mother’s womb to be his servant, who commissioned me to bring his people of Israel back to him. The Lord has honored me, and my God has given me strength.
• 6 He says, “You will do more than restore the people of Israel to me. I will make you a light to the Gentiles, and you will bring my salvation to the ends of the earth.”
• 7 The Lord, the Redeemer and Holy One of Israel, says to the one who is despised and rejected by a nation, to the one who is the servant of rulers: “Kings will stand at attention when you pass by. Princes will bow low because the Lord has chosen you. He, the faithful Lord, the Holy One of Israel, chooses you.”

The labels that we live under, by our own choosing, are not bad, unless we allow those labels to push Jesus’ plan of bringing “light to the nations”, into second or third place.

• Each “thing” that I am, that I perceive in my own mind, affects how I act and respond to others.
• Each “thing” that I am to others, that they perceive in their minds, affects how they respond to me.

Matthew 10:37 “Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me;…”

• Is it really possible that being “Pro-life” can be a sin?
• If so, how?
• And if so, how can we keep from walking or even running into our adversary’s trap?
  The questions are valid.

If Jesus was being honest in Mt. 10:37, that loving your parents & kids is bad (evil/sinful) when placed in the wrong order of priority, then Satan’s potential armaments are as varied as there are things & ideologies in the universe. Because we can see that anything and everything in this world has the potential to be a weapon wielded by the evil one, against the Way of Jesus (The Church.)

So, let us be clear.

1. Being “Republican” can be evil. If or When it pushes people away from “God”
2. Being an “English Speaker” can be evil. If or When it pushes people away from “Jesus”

3. Being a “member of a specific church” can be evil. If or When it pushes people away from “the Father” (THIS ONE SHOULD RAISE QUESTIONS, PLEASE ASK IF YOU HAVE A QUESTION.)

4. Being “American” can be evil. If or When it pushes people away from “the Holy Spirit”

5. Being an “Environmentalist” can be evil. If or When it pushes people away from “the Lamb of God”
6. Being “Pro-life” can be evil. If or When it pushes people away from “the Holy One”

7. Being “Democrat” can be evil. If or When it pushes people away from “I AM”

When any of these detract from Christ, they are Satan’s weapons against “the Bride of Christ,” which is the Church

Our historical context hides the carnal biases and fools us into giving our hearts to these benign or even noble clubs and causes. Even when we recognize the potential for harm, we often have trouble tempering our desire (lust) for the thing or ideal with which we’ve identified.
Sports fanaticism may become “religion” for which we may spiritually harm our fellow man.

Governmental Political zeal may become “religion” as well, as we condemn those with whom we disagree, and thus harm our ability to reveal Jesus’ love, hope, and healing to these souls still held captive by our Lord’s adversary.

A single issue may become our “religion” and overtake our “faith”, as priority and focus.

(To Be Continued)

God bless,

DSM

p.s. Did you notice that I was intentionally provocative with the title for this post. We need to guard against following the apostle, Nathaniel’s, example, which is found in John 1:46;

“Texas!” exclaimed Nathanael. “Can anything good come from there?”.

Nathaniel didn’t really say Texas, I think it was more localized and specific. Maybe it was Austin.

(The painting is by Jacopo Bassano ca. 1550AD, entitled “The Purification of the Temple.”)

This article, that is hyperlinked under this paragraph, is about the unification of Christian disciples and all believers becoming one in Jesus Christ.

It was brought to my attention by my best friend. He published it on his Blog post here.

Nonetheless, I had a very good discussion at work today, with a fellow believer, who has been visiting this blog.
Our discussion reminded me of this published article.

Look at this paragraph.

• Barna also identifies a growing movement of what he calls “Christian Revolutionaries” -– believers who demonstrate much higher commitment to group worship, personal spiritual growth, Bible study and biblical beliefs, community ministry, evangelism and financial investment in Christian work.
• Even more than self-professed “born-again” or “evangelical” believers, “Revolutionaries” have a clear sense of meaning and purpose; consider their relationship with God the top priority in their life; strive to love Him with all their hearts; believe they will spend eternity with Him only because they have confessed their sins and accepted Christ as personal Savior; and have made a personal commitment to Christ as Lord.

My best friend, and fellow blogger who showed me this article, had been somewhat cynical, that the Church was not following its mission.

But the above story shows that many within the “body of Christ” are recognizing the purpose for the “body of Christ” [the body of Christ, is defined by the Holy Spirit, speaking through the apostle Paul at 1Cor. 12:27 "Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it."]

Even if I were to say, that the “big dogs” of Christendom are promoting these fractures (and I know that many are), this would not justify me, willingly ‘giving-up’ the the body of Christ to the power of Satan, who may be working through the “big dogs.”

In-fact, this makes it imperative that I, not give-up the bride of Christ, and abandon her to the evil-doers.

I must remain in the body, to work for God and serve His Son, for the sake of Jesus’ holy bride, i.e. the Church.

I love Jesus Christ, therefore I will not abandon His wife, to the will of Satan.

Think about this.

• If my buddy calls me “friend”, and yet, when he sees my wife being attacked by evil men and women, he says to himself… “I am getting out of here. I am not going to help her.”, is he, really, my friend?
• If he is truly my friend, he will ‘throw-down’ with the ‘bad guys’, and go to the grave, before leaving my wife to the thugs.

This is the same scenario with the Church.

We need to get into the fight and save the bride of Christ.

We may not be able to do it alone, but we are not alone.

We have God’s Holy Spirit empowering us. Right?

This is what I believe in my heart. And, through this blog, I am trying to encourage people to just allow God’s Spirit to work through them, to save souls.

• Folks can’t be saved, if they are never brought into the body of Christ.
• Folks can’t be saved, if the bride of Christ is given over to the men and women who are serving the world’s goals and not the Father’s goals.

Anyway, that is why we must all be together in worship to Him.

Remember Christ’s final prayer (John 17), He prayed for all believers to be unified as one, just as the Father and He are one.

You and I must be a part of the Holy Father’s answer to the prayer of His Son Jesus Christ, because we are integrated into it by Jesus very sacrifice on the cross.

If we say ‘No’ to the Church, then we have said ‘No’ to the power of the Father, to even answer His Son’s prayer.

Why would Jesus waste time with the prayer in John 17, if the Father was powerless to answer Him, in the affirmative?

I am, just as the article above describes me, a “Christian Revolutionary“.

But, praise God, so is my Lord Jesus Christ.

And if you are wondering about the painting by Jacopo Bassano at the top of this post, Jesus is a Revolutionary, and that is why He drove the money changers from God’s temple.

God bless,
DSM

(Part Two)

The family, and how it is a symbol for the unity of God.
There is so very much in this thesis.
If…, this is true, it could help us to understand why the family is threatened by so many temptations.

Consider just a few things that the world can offer us to break the husband’s unity with his wife.

• workaholic/careers threaten it
• pornography threatens it
• blogging threatens it
• infidelity threatens it
• Sports and Recreation threatens it
• Alcohol and chemical dependency threatens it
• Motorcycles threaten it
• Hotrod cars threaten it
• Anything that we can imagine threatens the unity of the Wife and Husband

As a symbol, Satan might see the family as a physical representation of God’s nature.
Therefore, when Satan succeeds in breaking the unity of families, he might view this as a victory over his enemy, God.
It explains Jesus’ words against divorce in Matthew 19

• ·3 Some Pharisees came and tried to trap him with this question: “Should a man be allowed to divorce his wife for any reason?”
• ·4 “Haven’t you read the Scriptures?” Jesus replied. “They record that from the beginning ‘God made them male and female.’
• ·5 And he said, ‘This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.’
• ·6 Since they are no longer two but one, let no one separate them, for God has joined them together.”

Note that Jesus does, in-fact, make use of the same language that is recorded in Deuteronomy 6 about Yahweh being One.

This passage in Deuteronomy is difficult for many Christians to understand or explain. But, in the context of a family, we may see a clearer picture of what the Lord intended by the statement found in this Old Testament passage. Look again, and compare/contrast the wording from the old 1901 American Standard Version to the King James Version.

• ·4Hear, O Israel: Jehovah our God is one Jehovah: ASV
• ·4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: KJV

ASV is a more accurate interpretation of the Hebrew text. The name “Jehovah” that is used by the American Standard Version is carried over from the original German translation, instead of spelling it phonetically.

Therefore, just as the spelled name “John” in Dutch or German is pronounced “Yon” and “William” is pronounced “Villhelm”, we see why Jehovah could alternately be pronounced “Yahweh”. With these differences understood, the ASV is far more accurate in showing that ‘Yahweh is one Yahweh’ or ‘Jehovah is one Jehovah’.

There are three individuals (Holy Spirit, Father, and Son) but only One Yahweh.
The Family of Yahweh may be the most simple way to understand & explain the nature of God.

As an analogy, we might consider personal examples of very strong, even “unified” families. If one is insulted then all are insulted. If you honor one family member then all are honored.

My wife often teaches a weekly Ladies Bible class, people will approach me at worship and tell me how “wonderful” and “inspiring” she is to them. This is an honor to me. I feel 10′ tall, when people tell me about Molly’s gift and the encouragement that she is to them. Molly is an extension of David, therefore I am being complimented, when I receive praise for my wife.

This is not so difficult for us to understand. How many mothers & fathers will beam with pride, as they see their son throw a game-winning touchdown pass or hear their daughter play a flawless piano recital.

We, as parents, know that when our daughters and sons are recognized for special honor, we ourselves are honored.

The underlying Unity between the wife-mother, husband-father, & son/daughter is present in the Trinity. When we accept God’s Holy Spirit, offered by Jesus Christ, we obtain the power to overcome the devil’s scheme to break up the unity of family.

We must accept our role in the symbol of Marriage & Family, however, because when we accept this mission, we have the unique position of fighting the devil on God’s terms, i.e. the terms of Holy Unity, instead of fighting him on his terms, i.e. self-gratification (a.k.a. pride).

*_____*

Back to the scenario that I laid out in my preceding post, concerning God’s creation plan and Satan’s diabolical scheme, it involves some supposition from scripture and from life experiences.

I may be wrong or right.

But, one key debate that I faced was not addressed in the comments to the post. The issue was about Satan’s creation timing. The common supposition is always that Satan was created at the same time that the physical universe was created. But, this cannot be supported by scripture. It is not mentioned, when the devil was created.

The typical texts from Isaiah or Ezekiel or Revelation do not state anything about Satan’s origination. But, since no one has mentioned these passages I won’t go into them now.

But, if I am wrong please show my error, by writing and posting.

Nevertheless, the creation described in Genesis 1 and 2 is a physical creation of the Cosmos. And we needn’t presume that all spiritual beings were created at the same time as the physical Cosmos.

Furthermore, I might point out that the use of the term “time” is utterly useless prior to the physical Cosmos, because time is inextricably linked with space and matter, which are not spiritual, but rather, are carnal.

I will pick-up again later. The time is late for a physical being such as I am.

(TO BE CONTINUED)

God Bless,

DSM

There have been some issues, about which I have written, in many small snigglet-sized thoughts, through many of my essays, but have never addressed directly.
The nature of the family is one such issue.

All human cultures have at their basic civil organization (a.k.a civilization), the family.

The “family” is, in my opinion, the government of humankind, in its most elemental form, and is designed to be so, by the Creator.
God has imbued the institution of “family” with His holy nature of union.

I am convinced that the family is a holy & symbolic representation of the relationship, which exists in Yahweh our God. You may recall that I have written about this in other essays in the past.

While many disciples are reticent to say this, my wife among them, I am comfortable in saying the Trinity represents all positions in a loving and functional family.
Holy Spirit, Father and Son, are symbolically represented by mom, dad, and child, respectively.

I hope to receive opposing opinions on this.
And to the opposing argument, I recognize that Holy Spirit is never referenced as “mother”.
I further recognize that Holy Spirit is always referenced by the use of the masculine pronoun, “he”.
However, I am not saying that God is anything physical.
“Religious” people who think it wise to rewrite the bible, and thus remove all gender from the scriptures, which references God, bemuse me.
However, to be fair, those who think that God is a physical man (”He”) also bewilder me.

I should be clear on what I am saying.

Jesus the Messiah was a physical man, but he is no longer a physical man. (If you have questions about this look at 1 Corinthians 15:35-58, specifically note verses 49 - 50; “49 And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly. 50 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.”)

If you are reading this, and you are reluctant to consider the notion that the “family” is a physical symbol, which represents the holy Spiritual relationship with and between the individuals who compose the Trinity of God, then imagine this scenario for a few minutes.

1. The almighty Creator, who is made up of three separate and distinct individuals, determines that “He” wants to share & participate in love (Agapē) with a created being.
2. However there are preexisting created beings, which are not invited to participate in this union between Creator and creation.
3. These preexisting created beings are spiritual, but are not participants inside the holy union of the Spiritual Creator.
4. As the Creator completes His plan for a new type of creation, which is not an exclusively spiritual nature, some of those beings, which were created before the new creation, become jealous about the interlopers, who are designed “in the image of the Creator” and for the purpose of union with the Creator.
5. The chief executive officer (CEO) of the created spiritual beings is given a responsibility for the new creation and the divine reflections, which inhabit it. This “prosecutor/constable” is also given the power to imbibe the physical creation, however this power is available only through the consent and will of the corporeal beings.
6. For an unknown price, a certain corporeal being agrees to grant the “constable” the use of its body and form, for the purpose of interacting directly with the divine copies.
7. The jealousy of the spiritual CEO comes to culmination, as the constable/prosecutor of the created spiritual realm actually encourages the divine images to forsake their betrothal with the Creator. The constable engages in an act of legal “entrapment”.
8. As the Man and Woman take the forbidden fruit, they fulfill the constables hope and dash the Creator’s great dream of a marriage between God and humanity, or more properly the Son of God and mankind.
9. The Almighty God & Host of Heaven, Yahweh, has been thwarted by an unholy alliance between a created spirit, Satan, and created corporeal, the Serpent.
10. All Humankind are dupes for the dope of the spiritual war that rages.
11. The dope of the spiritual war, is pride. And Adam and Eve took it in. They breathed these fowl emanations into their hearts and minds before the fruit ever touched their lips, even before the fruit was plucked from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. They doubted the love (Agapē) that was promised by the Creator.
12. The Creator, however, knew everything before it ever happened. And, He had a plan for the renewal of the marriage vow between humanity and Himself. (THE CREATOR CANNOT BE THWARTED. Because, LOVE NEVER FAILS. ·

1 Corinthians 13:7,8: Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance. Love will last forever,…

(TO BE CONTINUED)

God bless,

DSM

This assumes, in my opinion, that “lines” exist, where none necessarily may be.
This very point shows up through the Scriptures, both OT and NT.
My blog is an attempt to reflect this and possibly to give some semblance of understanding to these nuances within God’s nature.
Hence, the title “Theology of Nuance.”

Example:
David is a man after God’s very heart.
But, David is not worthy of preparing the Temple for Him, because the blood of violence stains him.
Or:
Jehovah is a man of war: Jehovah is his name. Exodus 15:3
Yet, “Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is begotten of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.”
Or:
“Wherefore I take pleasure in weaknesses, in injuries, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.”

Tension, for sure…, but not only with grace & obedience, because we find nuance, subtlety, and even harmony between disparate philosophical concepts everywhere our God turns.

God bless,
DSM

My point is that Jesus made a clear point of who the Kingdom of God was intended to battle and (FYI) it was never other people. On the contrary, people are always portrayed as the reason for Christ’s giving up Heaven and dying on the cross. People are called captives of the devil, not demons of the devil.
We are not following Jesus when we act as if our fellow man is an enemy.
How did Jesus defeat his human “enemies”? The answer is he did not defeat them. He surrendered to them. He died for them.
Jesus died for me while I was turning my back on God. Jesus did not say ‘David is my enemy, therefore I will, attack him, ignore him, avoid him, or let him go to Hell.’
Disciples of Jesus should not do what our Lord did not do.