Feliz Navidad a todos! Merry Christmas!

Feliz Navidad a todos! Merry Christmas!

Who is Christ?

I suppose that based on the title of this post I am getting ready to explain or answer the question, who is Christ. Well, yes and no! Since it is the season of Advent and Christmas is practically around the corner, I suppose sharing or reaffirming who Christ isn't a bad idea. However, one might ask: why all this hullabaloo about Jesus for almost 2000 years, now? Well, I can tell you what the first Christians believed simply based on St. Paul's writings, and trust me he wrote most of the New Testament, and planted most of the early churches we read about in it, so I can assure what he said was pretty much what they believed, unless you where gnostic. And, if you were gnostic back then it is possible that your views on Christ would have seemed a bit delusional. Regardless, what I am about to share probably sounds a bit gnostic since it explains the divinity of Christ in a clear way. Anyhow, enough said, the following texts are from the Epistle of Paul to the Colossians.

Colossians 1:15-23 (NRSV)

"The Supremacy of Christ

15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; 16 for in[a] him all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers—all things have been created through him and for him. 17 He himself is before all things, and in[b] him all things hold together. 18 He is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he might come to have first place in everything. 19 For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20 and through him God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of his cross.

21 And you who were once estranged and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, 22 he has now reconciled[c] in his fleshly body[d] through death, so as to present you holy and blameless and irreproachable before him— 23 provided that you continue securely established and steadfast in the faith, without shifting from the hope promised by the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven. I, Paul, became a servant of this gospel (NRSV)."

I hope you enjoyed reading. Blessings and I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas, just in case I don't post again before then.

Reference:

NRSV Bible

Nobody is Right if Everybody is Wrong, but also Nobody is Wrong if Everybody is Right

Nobody is right if everybody is wrong, but also nobody is wrong if everybody is right. Obviously, part of that line comes from the song For What it’s Worth written by Stephen Stills back in his days with the band, Buffalo Springfield. On November 8^th, in the United States it was Election Day. We voted for many of our future political leaders, for various political issues, and also for who will be the president for the next 4 years. The leading candidates who got the majority of the votes were Hillary Clinton (D), and Donald Trump (R). The moments leading up to the election were very intense and harsh. In the early morning hours of November 9^th, Hillary Clinton conceded to Donald Trump, and he will now be the president. Of course, the supporters of Mrs. Clinton think she was the right candidate, and the supporters of Mr. Trump believe he won fair and square based on the electoral vote count. And, this is correct; Mr. Trump had the most electoral votes thus making him the winner. However, if one looks at the popular vote, it seems that Hillary is possibly a winner too, but either way the popular vote is indeed very close. What this means to me is that the United States is very polarized in our political views thus making us quite divided as a people. Everyone is really aware of this problem, but we don’t seem to figure out a way to solve it via dialogue. Moreover, no one seems to be willing to compromise any of their personal views. But, I do have and know of a solution.

I believe the solution to our problems and for post-election healing lies in what Jesus said two millenniums ago: “love God..., and love your neighbor as yourself.” Of course, if every human being is not on board with this idea, it isn't an effective solution. The alternative is however to continue beating our heads against the wall. What I love about Christianity is that not one gets a free ride; Jesus didn't make it easy for anyone, regardless of whether you are on the right or left politically. Yes, this is my best post-election idea for the healing of our country based on one of the biggest principles in Christianity. In the Gospel of Matthew 22:36-40, Jesus was asked which was the greatest commandment in the Law. Jesus’ response was “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’[a] 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’[b] 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments (NIV Bible).” I am convinced that if everyone practices these two commandments, we can easily solve all of our differences; however, it is up to us. The ones that are unhappy with the results can go to an extreme, and chose revolution, but based on my personal experience coming from a country that experienced revolution; I think this is the worst choice.

My views on revolution based on personal experience are the following. A revolution, past or future, if it commits violence against fellow human beings and does not give them due process is not a revolution. It's criminals committing crimes, and using civil disobedience to justify their out of control urges. Of course, uneducated people or people with no morals are often the authors in such a revolution. Ultimately, many innocent people die, and the instigators also end up dead sooner or later. Radical ideas that threaten institutions often become institutions that are threatened by radical ideas.... And thus, the human condition is a vicious cycle that repeats.

To close, I wanted to say that we often hear people say “he is a Christian” or “she is a Christian.” I think we should instead realistically be saying “he claims to be a Christian,” or “she claims to be a Christian.” In all honesty, if we are not following what Jesus said was the greatest commandment, we probably aren't really Christians anyhow, and we are actually just claiming that we are. My final thought is to put yourself in someone else's shoes, and you might learn a thing or two. Whether you agree with their political views or not! Now, if this is too difficult for you, you might not be a redneck, but you might very well be a very arrogant person.We need to arrive at place in which nobody is right if everybody is wrong, but also nobody is wrong if everybody is right.Thanks for reading! Blessings!

Reference:

NIV Bible

Happy Eighth Birthday!

Today this blog turns eight years old. Happy Birthday to Arango's Apologetics Page!

The Watchers from Daniel Chapter 4 and the Book of Enoch, 300 Igigu or Igigi, The Age of Leo and The Sphinx is 36,000 Years old?, Atlantis 70, 000 years ago?

Hello, I hope everyone is doing well. We are at the start of autumn in the northern hemisphere of our planet. Although, the closer to the equator one is, it still feels more like summer. Trust me on that one! Anyhow, I hope you are enjoying your version of autumn. As you read the title to this post, you may have wondered, what the heck is this? As I wrote the title, I think I wondered where I am going with this. I suppose questioning is always good. I often heard George Carlin (may he rest in peace) say: “question everything.” So a question here, and a question there is always good in my book. Since at this point neither of us know where we are going with this, although I will know before you since I am writing this piece, let us see how many questions we end up asking, and if we can get any answers from them. I think I will break up each idea in the title and discuss them individually, or else this might turn out way too messy.  Well, let’s get started.

The Watchers from Daniel Chapter 4 and the Book of Enoch

The Watchers! They appear in both of these Hebrew Books. Question: who are they, and who are they watching if they are indeed watchers? We find out about the Watchers in Nebuchadnezzar’s Second Dream. The Book of Daniel chapter 4 reads:

13 “I saw in the visions of my head as I lay in bed, and behold, a watcher, a holy one, came down from heaven...

17 The sentence is by the decree of the watchers, the decision by the word of the holy ones...(RSV).

The Book of Daniel mentions the Watchers, but the Book of Enoch goes into great detail about them. I am not going to write much on the subject, but I highly recommend reading the Book of Enoch, and also the following article titled: Enoch & the Watchers: The Real Story of Angels & Demons, written by Michael Howard and found at the link below.

Enoch

300 Igigu or Igigi

What? This is Ancient Near Eastern stuff, I studied it, but I am nowhere near an expert on it. I will tell you that there is a lot of mystery around the whole thing. Here is what some have said below:

“Igigi/Igigu (a group of gods)

This Semitic term describes a group of possibly seven or eight gods. It is likely that the god Marduk was one of them, but the total membership in this group is unclear and likely changed over time....

Like the term Anunna, the term Igigu is equally complicated and in need of a comprehensive new study. Igigu, which is likely of Semitic origin, indicates a group of gods in the Mesopotamian pantheon. It is, however, not entirely clear what distinguishes the Igigu from the Anunna (oracc.museum.upenn.edu/).”

“Igigi was a term used to refer to the gods of heaven in Sumerian mythology. Though sometimes synonymous with the term "Annunaki," in one myth the Igigi were the younger gods who were servants of the Annunaki, until they rebelled and were replaced by the creation of humans (A Dictionary of Ancient Near Eastern Mythology, p. 85).”

Why 300?

“The name Igigi instead is less used, and it almost always describes a portion of the Anunnaki (300 of them, as we read in the Enuma Elish) residing in Heaven and who occasionally went down to Earth (KI), as in the tale about Marduk marrying Sarpanit (www.bibliotecapleyades.net)”

The reason why I wrote about this is because some experts on the subject would tell you all sorts of interestingly mysterious things they interpret or translate from the Sumerian texts. For example, some believe the Igigi were astronauts from the planet Nibiru who remained in orbit around the Earth on platforms and assisted in the transfer of gold back to their home planet. Some believe that man was created by the inhabitants of Nibiru in order to assist in the mining of gold on Earth to take back to use to repair the atmosphere on Nibiru. I am no expert, but the whole thing sounds fascinating. You should read up on it, if you are interested in this whole subject.

The Age of Leo and The Sphinx is 36,000 Years old?

Huh? I am not sure that huh qualifies as a question; however, in a conversation in combination with the right body language it can be a huge question. If you read up on it, you will probably find out that some scientist, specifically geologist; believe the Sphinx in Egypt is possibly 800, 000 years old. Of course, this age does not line up with any current understanding of Earth history. The age of 36, 000 does not line up with Dynastic Egyptology, but it does line up with Egyptian history generationally. I won’t go into much detail about it, but here is a theory below that is only based on Astronomy, and has no mention of the water erosion on the Sphinx, which is also a way of dating it:

“The Sky above Giza at Vernal Equinox in the year 36,400 BC: my proposal on Historical Golden Age of the Zep Tepi (processing by Armando Mei)

At the dawn of the vernal equinox.

The Lion constellation and Sphinx are closely connected to the East. The Orion constellation is on the Celestial Meridian, exactly above the Pyramids.  Most importantly, it’s a perfect connection between Al Nitak – the largest Star of the Belt of Orion – and the Great Pyramid, the biggest monument in the Giza Plateau. The connection occurred only in this astronomical configuration and in no one astronomical alignment ever proposed by experts, from 2,000 AD to 100,000 BC (www.ancient-origins.net).”

Atlantis 70, 000 years ago?

When? Okay, I have to admit that I randomly wrote 70,000 years to get your attention. We know about Atlantis from the Greek philosopher Plato from the dialogues of "Timaeus" and "Critias."  Now, was Atlantis fact or fiction (mythology)? Atlantis was a highly advanced civilization that existed way before the Greeks. Whether it existed 12,000 years ago or 70,000, it doesn’t matter because if it was a real place, which based on Plato’s detail it probably was, then it is amazing that perhaps a civilization that existed thousands of years before us was probably just as or more technologically advanced as we are today. I will let you do research on it, but the whole idea sounds pretty amazing. The Vedas (Ancient texts from India) mention flying machines thousands of years ago. We know that humans have great imagination, but could our writings also be describing eye witness accounts. Even the Hebrew Scriptures mention “Chariots of Fire” thousands of years ago. For instance, in 2 Kings 2:11 Elijah was taken up to heaven in a whirlwind when a chariot of fire appeared. My point is that the fact that such advanced technology is mentioned in writings from many years ago is almost incredible, whether it was written by Plato, or found in the Vedas, or the Hebrew texts.

Conclusion

Did we ask every question? Did we answer every question? I imagine the response to both of these questions is no. Hopefully, we will never stop asking questions until we have all the answers. However, if we are not asking questions, shouldn’t we get started doing so because we should know what we don’t know? Knowledge is power, but research wisely and manage your time wisely, also. Tend to the important and don’t be tyrannized by the urgent. I hope you enjoyed reading! Blessings!

References and Sources:

http://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/amgg/listofdeities/igigi/.

http://www.ancient-origins.net/ancient-places-africa/36400-bc-historical-time-zep-tepi-theory-002617

http://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/sumer_anunnaki/anunnaki/anu_47.htm

http://www.newdawnmagazine.com/articles/enoch-the-watchers-the-real-story-of-angels-demons

Leick, Gwendolyn: A Dictionary of Ancient Near Eastern Mythology (NY: Routledge, 1998).

RSV Bible

Unifying the Faith: Pray for Creation

"September 1 was proclaimed as the World Day of Prayer for Creation by the Orthodox Church in 1989, and many other Christian churches have joined since then, with Pope Francis most recently in 2015. It was then extended to be a month-long Season of Creation, ending on October 4 (Feast of St. Francis)(http://seasonofcreation.org/)."

In our day and age, the message from this post is of utmost importance, Please click on the link below, and go to the ecumenism sibling blog to find out more!


Unifying the Faith: Pray for Creation

Low Church, High Church!

"Evangelical Protestants sometimes become offended when they hear that they are from a "low church" tradition. Indeed, in some cases those from more liturgical traditions use that term in a pejorative way to mean "less sophisticated" or "uneducated."  But then, Protestant Evangelicals are not beyond throwing around the term "high church" to mean "less spiritual than we."  The fact is, neither term in itself carries any of those negative connotations (www.crivoice.org)."

The preceding lines are an excerpt from an article by Dennis Bratcher titled: "Low Church" and "High Church." Either of the terms basically describes a type of worship, and are not intended to imply a social status, per se. Anyhow, I just thought it was a fantastic article, and I simply wanted to share it with everyone. Please follow the link below for the full article.

The Difference Between Low Church and High Church

Reference:

http://www.crivoice.org/lowhighchurch.html

877 Years

877 years! What? I suppose a more specific title for this post would have been 877 Years of Celibacy. I decided to write this piece because I have often had people ask me, why is it that priests have this vow of celibacy and can’t get married? I usually have to correct them and tell them that it's mainly Roman Catholic priests. But, then they ask “doesn't the Bible say to be fruitful and multiply?” And I respond by saying yes, supposedly God gave Adam and Eve those instructions, according to the Hebrew Sciptures in the Book of Genesis. I add that this celibacy thing actually has not always been the case, and is more recent in the history of the Western Church. In fact, Peter who was supposed to have been the first Bishop of Rome was married. Saint Paul, however, was celibate as well as other church leaders and priest in history that also chose to be celibate. Now, with relevance to St. Peter being the first Bishop of Rome, some argue that it was really Linus, although that is another subject altogether. Eastern Orthodox priests are allowed to be married, and also Anglicans. In fact, many other clergy and pastors do not practice celibacy. So, why did I mention 877 years? I shall elaborate.

 The Church united originally had a few councils, starting with the Council of Jerusalem in the Book of Acts, and such as the Council of Nicaea in the year 325 AD. In 1054, East and West split up and the East (Orthodox Churches) only recognizes about seven ecumenical councils, to my understanding, in which the church was not divided. The Roman Catholic or Western Church continues to have councils independently such as the more recent Vatican II during the early 1960’s. In the year 1139 the Roman church had the Second Council of the Lateran. Well, you can do the math, between 1139 and 2016 there are 877 years, hence.... So, what happened in this council of 1139?

"In Lent of 1139 a general council was summoned by Pope Innocent II and held in the Lateran basilica {1}. As we know, the synod had been convoked the previous year; for the papal legates in England and Spain pressed the bishops and abbots to go to the council. Thus, a good number of fathers, at least five hundred, met in Rome. One of these came from the East, the patriarch of Antioch, but he was a Latin. With the pope presiding the council began on 2 April and it seems to have ended before 17 April, as far as we can judge from the sources (papalencyclicals.net)."

Thirty canons resulted from this council, and the following are very relevant to this post.

“6. We also decree that those in the orders of subdeacon and above who have taken wives or concubines are to be deprived of their position and ecclesiastical benefice. For since they ought to be in fact and in name temples of God, vessels of the Lord and sanctuaries of the holy Spirit, it is unbecoming that they give themselves up to marriage and impurity.

7. Adhering to the path trod by our predecessors, the Roman pontiffs Gregory VII, Urban and Paschal, we prescribe that nobody is to hear the masses of those whom he knows to have wives or concubines. Indeed, that the law of continence and the purity pleasing to God might be propagated among ecclesiastical persons and those in holy orders, we decree that where bishops, priests, deacons, subdeacons, canons regular, monks and professed lay brothers have presumed to take wives and so transgress this holy precept, they are to be separated from their partners. For we do not deem there to be a marriage which, it is agreed, has been contracted against ecclesiastical law. Furthermore, when they have separated from each other, let them do a penance commensurate with such outrageous behaviour.

8. We decree that the selfsame thing is to apply also to women religious if, God forbid, they attempt to marry (papalencyclicals.net)."

In the book Christianity The First Three Thousand Years, Diarmaid MacCulloch briefly discusses the Second Council of the Lateran. MacCulloch wrote:

“…it is true that churchmen were deeply concerned about the loss of ecclesiastical estates to possession by families; that had a further effect on the Church’s regulation of marriage…. Married clergy might well found dynasties, and might therefore be inclined to make Church lands into their hereditary property…. Celibacy set up a barrier between the clergy and the laity, becoming the badge of clerical status; at a time when everyone was being called to be holy…. (MacCulloch, p. 372-373).

I strongly suggest that you read up some more on this subject because it is really fascinating. Celibacy has been the norm or the rule in the Roman Catholic Church for 877 years, and counting. I do not know if this will change anytime soon. Moreover, I am aware that Anglican priests that convert to Roman Catholic were recently allowed by the Pope to remain married, please correct me if I am wrong…feel free to comment. I also know about Fr. Alberto Cutie, who is an Episcopal (part of the Anglican Communion) priest here in South Florida who left the Roman Catholic Church because he was in love and got married. Moreover, Fr. Albert and his wife have two children together now. To conclude, I personally do not agree with the celibacy rule, but that is just my opinion and I am not a Roman Catholic. Blessings and I hope you enjoyed reading!

References:

http://www.papalencyclicals.net/Councils/ecum10.htm.

MacCulloch, Diarmaid. Christianity: The First Three Thousand Years. New York: Viking, 2010.

A Basic Illustration on Reading Scriptures Out of Context vs. In Context

            "...You received without paying, give without pay."

-Jesus

If you were to read the foregoing quote by Jesus, you might ask yourself: what exactly does it mean? To be realistic, I would assume it means that if I got something for free, I should give it away and not charge. But, the statement can be so general and applicable to so many things or situations that it can be confusing on its own. However, very often many folks share Scripture verses in this same way, and it definitely opens doors to vague interpretations. Of course, without an actual Scripture reference who knows when, where, and why Jesus said the quote. Well, this specific quote comes from the Gospel of Matthew 10:8. The translation is from the Revised Standard Version (RSV) Bible in English. The entire verse actually reads as follows:

“Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons. You received without paying, give without pay.”

Now, we are starting to get a better picture of what Jesus was really saying; however, to whom is he speaking? Perhaps, we should read the previous seven verses to get a better idea.

“1 And he called to him his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every infirmity.  2 The names of the twelve apostles are these: first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zeb′edee, and John his brother;  3 Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus;[a]  4 Simon the Cananaean, and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.  5 These twelve Jesus sent out, charging them, “Go nowhere among the Gentiles, and enter no town of the Samaritans,  6 but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.  7 And preach as you go, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’  8 Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons. You received without paying, give without pay.”

Now, we definitely have a much clearer picture, and we are perhaps reading the Scriptures in a more proper way. We, now, know and understand that Jesus was speaking to his disciples in the beginning of chapter 10. It is better to read the entire chapter to get a broader view. Furthermore, if one reads the entire Gospel of Matthew, one gets a much larger and fuller picture. However, reading alone should not be considered a study of the Scriptures. One should have a study aid with historical references that provide details such as the year most scholars believe the Gospel was written, and so on. Anyhow, I hope this simple post discourages you from reading and quoting Scriptures out of context, although I am also guilty of doing it, as well, from time to time. Blessings!

Reference:

RSV Bible

The Science Delusion by Rupert Sheldrake

An excerpt from Google Books of the book, The Science Delusion (Hodder & Stoughton, Jan 5, 2012) by Rupert Sheldrake reads as follows:

"The science delusion is the belief that science already understands the nature of reality. The fundamental questions are answered, leaving only the details to be filled in. In this book, Dr Rupert Sheldrake, one of the world's most innovative scientists, shows that science is being constricted by assumptions that have hardened into dogmas (books.google.com)."

The following video is a TED Talk given by Rupert Sheldrake about the book. I hope you enjoy watching and listening!

References:

https://books.google.com/books/about/The_Science_Delusion.html?id=9Zc6AgAAQBAJ&hl=en.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1TerTgDEgUE&feature=youtu.be.

God is Still a Mystery

For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, says the LORD.
       - Isaiah 55:8

I hope everyone is doing well. I am sharing this video by Rowan Atkinson that made me laugh. I hope you enjoy it as much as I. I suppose that all I have to say is that we can do all the apologetics that are possible, and we can write books and blogs, and God will still remain a mystery, regardless of how much we may assume we understand. Blessings and enjoy! 

References:

https://youtu.be/GwkgGPvClF4

RSV Bible

The Story of God: Morgan Freeman

I am not sure if I am like most people today, but I rarely have time to watch TV shows on their actual airtime. So, I usually record the shows that interest me and watch them at my convenience. Honestly, I am not much of a TV watcher, but I do enjoy it. For instance, I love watching Book TV on C-Span 2 on weekends, and I also love watching the Vikings series on the History Channel. The writing in the latter just fascinates me because the main characters seem to have mental illnesses for which they had no labeling in the age the character lived according to the programs depiction, for some reason to me this makes the story line somewhat unpredictable. Anyhow, judging from the title on this post, I am probably not writing about Book TV or Vikings, although one might think I have gotten sidetracked thus far. Just in case, I only wanted to talk a bit about my TV watching habits which I hope do not require me attending a 12 step program or rehab. Well, let’s jump into my title right away: The Story of God: Morgan Freeman.

I am not sure if this post is a review or just I discussing a, seemingly ongoing, series on the National Geographic Channel. Entertainment Weekly said the show consisted of 6 episodes, although I don’t see how that is possible since I just finished watching episode 10. But, Entertainment Weekly does get the idea correct when it comes to the show when they say the show is about "a worldwide quest to understand faith and religion." The story of God is the name of the program, and it is hosted by Morgan Freeman. Variety wrote the following on the program:

“God is arguably the most important topic of our time,” said Lori McCreary, Freeman’s producing partner at Revelations Entertainment and an executive producer on the series. “National Geographic’s unprecedented inside access will allow us to explore the global mystery behind God and religion. With Morgan as our storyteller, we’re going to produce a visually stunning and thought-provoking series that will spur meaningful conversations about God and faith, by believers and nonbelievers alike (variety.com).”

I have only seen one episode, and I am recording them all to watch at a later time. All that I can say is that I enjoyed the show immensely, and I highly recommend it. Basically, the show is a history/documentary in which Morgan Freeman travels all over the world covering the major religions of our planet, often interviewing people on their personal experiences and beliefs about faith and the divine. Some of the programs include topics such as the Apocalypse. The next new episode which airs on Sunday, April 24^that 9:00 PM Eastern Time, will be on the subject of Creation. I can’t wait to watch, and I hope you tune in, as well. Blessings to all! The link to the program is below.

The Story of God with Morgan Freeman - National Geographic Channel

References:

http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/the-story-of-god-with-morgan-freeman/.

http://variety.com/2015/tv/news/morgan-freeman-story-of-god-nat-geo-1201517341/.

http://www.ew.com/article/2016/03/22/story-of-god-morgan-freeman-first-5-minutes.

Happy Passover to All!

Happy Passover to All! I bet some are wondering why this year Easter and Passover were almost a month apart which doesn’t seem to make sense if we know a little about how both holidays are intertwined. Well, Vicki Hyman wrote about it in an article for NJ.com. She explained:

"The start of Passover, which celebrates the Israelite exodus from Egypt, falls on the same day of the Jewish calendar every year — the eve of the 14th of Nissan — but because Jews use a lunar calendar, they must insert a so-called "leap month" every two or three years to keep their holiday cycles in tune with the seasons. This year, there are two months of Adar, the month that precedes Nissan (www.nj.com/news)."

The full article is found at the link below:

Why is Easter so early and why is Passover so late this year? | NJ.com













Reference:

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2016/03/why_is_easter_so_early_and_why_is_passover_so_late.html

Happy Easter

Happy Easter to all! He is risen!

Unifying the Faith: Prayer and Ecumenism

Peace and grace to all! Tomorrow is Easter, and I really have not posted anything during this entire Holy Week. I'm sure many of us have spent at least a small amount of time reflecting on Christ, his death, and his resurrection which ultimately has brought salvation to all of humanity.

In this post I only want to share something from the ecumenism blog written earlier this month. The post is about the WCC, and the prayer and ecumenism section found on their website. I think that at this stage in the game, Christians ought to have unity on our minds. After all, Jesus did pray that we would "all be one." Well, I sure we all get the idea...blessings, and the link to the post is below.



Unifying the Faith: Prayer and Ecumenism

Did Jesus Really Exist?

I hope everyone is doing well. In this post I simply wanted to share an article that I recently read online which I enjoyed. The title is Apologetics: Did Jesus really exist? It is by Al Earley, and it reads that it is “A Religious Point of View.” Now, I personally do not agree with some of the statements made in the article based on my personal theological understanding of Scriptures which in part is that I do not believe in the inerrancy of Scriptures. And, my not believing in the inerrancy of the Scriptures is perhaps based on my understanding of how the canon came about, and the fact that we have much editing and translation that took place. I am a reader of Scriptures, and I believe one should read them as often as possible. My belief is probably best explained in the way I heard someone say once, and it is that “the Bible is the word of God, but not necessarily the words of God.” Basically, I wanted to clear up my beliefs because the article I am sharing uses the Scriptures themselves as a form of apologetics. I don’t think there is anything wrong with doing so, but towards the end the author uses his way of interpreting the Bible to invite the reader to perhaps believe in Jesus the way he understands, and I am always very careful with those who push beliefs on others. I think the Holy Spirit can do his job without anyone pushing a Soteriology idea that could very well be erroneous or erroneous in the long run. Now, let us get back to the article. I think the author makes some really good points relevant to Jesus. Below is an excerpt from it.

“The evidence that Jesus existed is far greater than any other person who lived in antiquity ever existed.

The number of ancient Christian sources both in the Bible and in historical records is numerous and well documented. Skeptics argue that these are not reliable because they have a Christian bias. That is like arguing that Jews can’t be reliable sources about the holocaust. Yes, the early Christian sources cared deeply about sharing Jesus with others. This is more likely to be proof that they got it right, not that they lied.”

To read the entire article, please visit the link below. I hope you enjoy…blessings!

Apologetics: Did Jesus really exist? - Claiborne Progress - claiborneprogress.net

Reference:

http://claiborneprogress.net/opinion/columns/5378/apologetics-did-jesus-really-exist.

So, Where Exactly Did Jesus Go?

So, where exactly did Jesus go? Christians believe that Jesus ascended into heaven. At least, if we go by The Nicene Creed from 325 AD, the relevant portion reads:

“…For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate,

he suffered death and was buried,

and rose again on the third day

in accordance with the Scriptures.

He ascended into heaven

and is seated at the right hand of the Father.

He will come again in glory

to judge the living and the dead

and his kingdom will have no end.”

Well, this foregoing affirmation or belief was derived from canonized Scriptures. What exactly do these Scriptures say with relevance to the question in the title of this post? In the New Testament, the Book of Acts 1: 9-11 reads:

“[9] And when he had said this, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight.

[10] And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes,

[11] and said,  ‘"Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven (RSV Bible)."’

The original language translation for heaven used in this passage is the word "ouranos" which means sky or air. Well, that doesn’t really give us a specific location because obviously if he went into our Earth’s atmosphere, we probably would have spotted him by now with all the planes we have flying around now days. The truth is that Jesus must have gone much further away. The other issue is that he has been gone about two thousand years which is a long time with relevance to the average lifespan of humans these days, not that this couldn’t change in the future if one listens to a lecture by Aubrey de Grey. What did Jesus himself supposedly say about where he was going?

In the Gospel of John chapter twenty,  Mary Mag'dalene encounters the risen Jesus, and he said to her:  "Do not hold me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brethren and say to them, I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God."The translation is very clear; Jesus was basically telling her not to touch him because he had not gone up, yet. But, where was he going that he did not want her to touch him? Honestly, we have no idea what the answer to this question is based on this passage, and many other Scripture references to Heaven. A few chapters before this encounter with Mary Mag'dalene, Jesus also spoke about where he was going. In John 14: 2-7, Jesus said:

“[2] In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? 
[3] And when I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. 
[4] And you know the way where I am going." 
[5] Thomas said to him, "Lord, we do not know where you are going; how can we know the way?" 
[6] Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but by me. 
[7] If you had known me, you would have known my Father also; henceforth you know him and have seen him (RSV Bible)." 

Thomas was right in speaking collectively “we do not know where you are going.” Of course, many these days believe they understand what Jesus was saying in the text, but that is exactly what it is, a belief. There is no certainty in the meaning of his words, but one can believe by faith that Jesus was speaking truthfully.  In fact, many have created a doctrine out of “no one comes to the Father, but by me” assuming they understand what that means thus promoting a theology of exclusivity; however, this same Jesus also said: "...and I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself (John 12: 32, RSV Bible)." Obviously, there is very little exclusiveness in this previous quote, but this is another topic altogether. What we want to know here is where exactly did Jesus go?

I suppose when you read the title, you thought I had the answer. Well, I don’t know for certain, but maybe I have part of the answer. I can speculate briefly, and share some thoughts and ideas I have on the possible answer to the question. I think that if we use some modern science theories, we can probably come up with some ideas that are not too farfetched. Einstein is probably one of the first to offer some answers, and it is highly possible that the idea of where Jesus went never crossed his mind. Okay, so what did Einstein have to say about my speculation? Here is where we start the logical speculation, and I will try to be brief.

"One of Albert Einstein's greatest insights was realizing that time is relative. It speeds up or slows down depending on how fast one thing is moving relative to something else (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova )."

I am going to ask some other questions, and then provide an illustration. How far did Jesus go when he ascended? Did he travel within our Galaxy? Did he travel to the edge of our universe? Did he travel to another dimension or a parallel universe? Jesus has definitely been gone for two thousand years, but keep in mind that with relevance to God, Psalm 90:4 says:  "For a thousand years in Thy sight are but as yesterday when it is past, and as a watch in the night (JPS Tanakh)." Below is an illustration from PBS’ NOVA explaining the “twin paradox.”

"Einstein came up with an example to show the effects of time dilation that he called the "twin paradox." It's a lot like the Time Traveler game you just played. Let's try it out with a pair of pretend twins, Al and Bert, both of whom are 10 years old in their highly futuristic universe.

Al's parents decide to send him to summer camp in the Alpha-3 star system, which is 25 light-years away (a light-year is the distance light travels in a year). Bert doesn't want to go and stays home on Earth. So Al sets out on his own. Wanting him to get there as quickly as possible, his parents pay extra and send him at 99.99 percent the speed of light.

The trip to the star and back takes 50 years. What happens when Al returns? His twin brother is now 60 years old, but Al is only 10 and a half. How can this be? Al was away for 50 years but only aged by half a year. Has Al just discovered the fountain of youth?

Not at all. Al's trip into space lasted only a half year for him, but on Earth 50 years passed. Does this mean that Al can live forever? Nope. He may have aged by only half a year in the time it took 50 years to pass on Earth, but he also only lived half a year. And since time can slow down but never goes backwards, there's no way he could grow younger (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova )."

After reading this brief story, we still do not know where Jesus went, but we can definitely begin to understand the possible time dilation that may be taking place in his delay to return if he travelled extremely far to prepare this place he spoke about in the Gospel. I think that when we start to use some of today’s scientific theories to try to get answers about Jesus, some of the things he said do not seem farfetched at all. In fact, some of these scientific theories today on the multiverse, and such seem more farfetched than many religious ideas, although it is understood that the arrival at many of those ideas are very scientific indeed. To conclude, I apologize if you feel disappointed that I did not fully answer the question asked in the title of where exactly Jesus went. But, I do hope that now the idea that Jesus ascended into heaven seems a bit more believable than perhaps you would have imagined before otherwise. Blessings and I hope you enjoyed reading!

   

References:

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/einstein/hotsciencetwin/#game

JPS Tanakh

RSV Bible

The Pool of Siloam

Okay, I haven’t posted anything on here in over a month. It is a bit difficult to get back in rhythm after all the holidays.  By the way, a happy belated new year, 2016, to all. Now, I suppose we can get back into writing a bit. I don’t really have any special commentary or essay at this time, but whenever that happens, I can always share something I recently read that I feel would be worthwhile for all to read, so here is something. I suppose that many of us know the story in the Gospel of John in which Jesus heals a man that was blind from birth by spitting on the ground, making clay with it, putting the clay in the man’s eyes, and later telling him to wash in the Siloam Pool. Well, in case you don’t know it, I am sharing John 9: 1-11below, so you can read it for yourself.

[1] As he passed by, he saw a man blind from his birth.

[2] And his disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?"

[3] Jesus answered, "It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be made manifest in him.

[4] We must work the works of him who sent me, while it is day; night comes, when no one can work.

[5] As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world."

[6] As he said this, he spat on the ground and made clay of the spittle and anointed the man's eyes with the clay,

[7] saying to him, "Go, wash in the pool of Silo'am" (which means Sent). So he went and washed and came back seeing.

[8] The neighbors and those who had seen him before as a beggar, said, "Is not this the man who used to sit and beg?"

[9] Some said, "It is he"; others said, "No, but he is like him." He said, "I am the man."

[10] They said to him, "Then how were your eyes opened?"

[11] He answered, "The man called Jesus made clay and anointed my eyes and said to me, `Go to Silo'am and wash'; so I went and washed and received my sight (RSV Bible)."

There is more to the story in context, but this gives a basic understanding of it. You probably thought that I was going to give some sort of exposition on the story, but I am not. This post is just a bit of archeological apologetics. That pool was not some fictional place. It was a real place in history for which we have archeological evidence. I wanted to share this article on the pool from the Biblical Archaeology Society titled: The Siloam Pool: Where Jesus Healed the Blind Man. I hope you enjoy reading and getting more acquainted with the historical background of the pool which dates about eight centuries before Jesus. Blessings and the article is below!

The Siloam Pool: Where Jesus Healed the Blind Man - Biblical Archaeology Society

References:

http://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/biblical-sites-places/biblical-archaeology-sites/the-siloam-pool-where-jesus-healed-the-blind-man/?mqsc=E3824051.

RSV Bible