Reading from Sunday, July 11

Alright - catchin on up.

Reading for July 11
1 Chronicles 11:1-12:18
This section delves into the history of David's reign as King over Israel. As far as I can remember, Some of these events are recaps of 2 Samuel and 1 Kings, while others are completely new stories. For instance, there is a story about three chiefs who risked their lives to bring David some water from Jerusalem while he was pinned down by the Philistine army, and then David refused to drink it because of the great risk these chiefs put themselves in. I don't remember that from the previous books. At the same time, I don't really see the significance of it, but its interesting nonetheless.

What I find most compelling is just the nature of these books as a whole. Many of these stories were passed down orally for many years before they were written down. I would imagine that something like Chronicles would have to be written down, but the earlier books of the Bible were likely transcribed much later. So it's interesting to see what stories were selected to be in which books. Like why was that story about the three chiefs omitted from 2 Samuel but put in here? I don't think there's any malicious intent in leaving it out or adding it somewhere else, I'm just curious.

Acts 28:1-31
Sweet - this is the last chapter of Acts. Romans is next, yo. 

OK, there's a lot to digest in this closing chapter of Acts. The tiny little island the arrow is pointing to is the Island of Malta. This is where the prisoner ship crash landed. The author says that the islanders showed them "unusual kindness". They built them a fire and gave them shelter for three months until the winter passed and they were able to continue on to Rome. What's interesting is the author's use of "unusual" - as if kindness was not expected from strangers, or at least not that level of kindness. Especially in the story of the Bible, where foreigners were slain for being foreigners. But if you have a heart like mine, that little sentence that describes the unusual kindness of these people, you will feel all warm and fuzzy inside. I am a big fan of kindness. I just think that being generous and nice to others, strangers especially - is the key to a strong and healthy population. Have you ever been the recipient of unusual kindness? It changes your entire outlook on a day. There's a story I want to share.

My grandmother used to visit nursing homes to provide company to the elderly who had no one else to talk to. She went in with a bouquet of flowers one day intending to give them to a woman she was supposed to meet with. The woman wasn't there, I forget why...so she looked around and thought "who could use these flowers?" She saw an elderly man sitting alone in a wheelchair, with his head sagging into his chest and his hands on his lap. She said she prayed about it and felt that this was the man she should give the flowers to. She stood in front of him with the flowers hoping to get his attention. After a few minutes passed with no reaction, she just laid the flowers on his lap, and giving one final glance to see if he had any reaction (he didn't) she left.

A week later she returned to the nursing home to meet with her regular friend. She saw the man she had given the flowers to, still in his wheelchair, but looking in much better spirits. He recognized her immediately.

"You! You're the lady who gave me the flowers last week!"

She was a little shocked that he remembered her - after all she didn't even see the man's face. He went on to thank her over and over for giving him those flowers. He later told her that he had planned to kill himself the day which she and he had their fateful interaction. He told her how he had laid out the extra pills he was going to take, and had written a suicide note and the whole deal. He said that no one had spoken to him in months and he had no reason to live anymore. The simple gift of those flowers completely changed his outlook on his life.

So remember that - the smallest little thoughtful act of kindness can literally save a life.

OK - back to Paul. So he arrives at Rome and is placed under what is essentially house arrest. He is given a house to live in with a guard posted to him. During this time he preaches to anyone who comes to visit him. Here is something I really liked - some of the Roman citizens came to visit Paul to hear his message - here's what they said:

²²But we want to hear what your views are, for we know that people everywhere are talking against this sect."

Notice how they didn't instantly judge his views, they didn't automatically assume that his religion was crazy and evil. They had heard some bad things about it, but they wanted to hear it straight from the source. This is something we as Christians, and as a country, should pay attention to. Too often are we snapping to judgment about a group of people. Blanket statements are thrown around, entire groups are discriminated against, and lives are sometimes ruined, all because we aren't listening to each other.

This is my new personal challenge: Think of someone who's world views you disagree with. Then take some time to sit with that person and listen to what they have to say.

The final thing I want to point out about Acts overall is the fact that we actually read about the people to whom Paul addresses his letters later in the Bible. In fact the next dozen or so books are all letters that Paul writes to the different cities and nations he visited, with the first being Romans. These upcoming books are probably where I have the most experience in the Bible in terms of the amount of time spent on them, and yet, I'm excited to see them with new eyes. I'm excited to put a face with a name so to speak. I was able to read about the interactions - personal interactions - that Paul had with these large groups of people. And these people absolutely loved this guy, for the most part. So the books that originally came off as a little "condemn-y" will now hopefully read a little more loving.

One more thing. I have tried maybe 10 times to read the book of Acts and have failed each time. Now I've done it. 

ACTS. DONE.

Psalm 9:1-12
This is interesting:

 ¹² For he who avenges blood remembers;
       he does not ignore the cry of the afflicted.

It sort of gives a bit of gravity to the shockingly violent acts God had committed. At least to me, it seems like God doesn't take those acts lightly - he is someone who kills, but he remembers those who are in trouble.

I don't think I'm expressing that correctly. Can someone else try to say what I'm trying to say?

Proverbs 19:1-3
 ¹ Better a poor man whose walk is blameless
       than a fool whose lips are perverse.
 ² It is not good to have zeal without knowledge,
       nor to be hasty and miss the way.
 ³ A man's own folly ruins his life,
       yet his heart rages against the LORD.

Next.

 

Reading from Saturday, July 10

Yes yes. Way behind you know. I've been having some serious computer problems as of late and thus I have fallen behind. Fortunately I picked up Ye Olde Papere Biblee last night and tried to catch up as best I could. So let's hit the catch up train, friends.

Reading for July 10
1 Chronicles 9:1-10:14
In my reading of my actual physical Bible, I was able to read some of the additional footnotes and summaries that were included that shed a little light on the idea of 1 and 2 Chronicles. The summary of the book says that most people won't enjoy reading through long lists of names, but the author suggested that we look at it as a bigger picture. Why was this included? What makes it important? That's sort of what I've been doing so far with this book. Realizing that while it's not interesting now, it was extremely valuable to the Israelites back in the day.

The other thing the summary noted was that 1 Chronicles is divided neatly into two sections. Chapters 1-8 are strictly names (except for the prayer of Jabez flamethrower) while 9-the end retells the History of the Jewish people. We see the beginning of this here with the lineage and History of Saul. Something interesting that the footnotes mentioned was that Saul was the first king of Israel, but because he was so disliked by God, his lineage did not continue. All three of his sons died in combat before reproducing and Saul killed himself after being critically wounded. So the royal lineage that was supposed to come from Saul's tribe of Benjamin was shifted over to David's tribe of Judah. Just an interesting tidbid.

Something else I picked up on in the footnotes (gosh I should really start reading my physical Bible instead) which is somewhat unrelated was that the twelve tribes of Israel equated to Jacob's twelve sons. However, if you'll notice, Joseph is not one of the twelve tribes. Joseph passed the honor on to his two sons Ephraim and Mannessah. That's why those tribes are referred to as the "half tribes". Ahhhh. Now I get it.

Acts 27:21-44
Paul's adventure begins to wind down.

So the storm on the prisoner ship continues to rage and Paul continues to pray. After fourteen days. the storm settled and they finally ate again - I assume they were fasting to appease God and calm the storm. Then Paul took bread, gave thanks and broke it for all the prisoners and shipmen and guards on board - 276 people in all. To me, this as an absolutely beautiful scene. Leading an act that is so reminiscent of Jesus and everyone comes to the table as equals. The prisoners, the guards and the crew all ate together and gave thanks to God. If that is not a perfect scene of true Christian love, I don't know what is.

Psalm 8:1-9
This is stunningly beautiful:

 ³ When I consider your heavens,
       the work of your fingers,
       the moon and the stars,
       which you have set in place,
 ⁴ what is man that you are mindful of him,
       the son of man that you care for him?
 ⁵ You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings ^[c]
       and crowned him with glory and honor.
 ⁶ You made him ruler over the works of your hands;
       you put everything under his feet:
 ⁷ all flocks and herds,
       and the beasts of the field,
 ⁸ the birds of the air,
       and the fish of the sea,
       all that swim the paths of the seas.
 ⁹ O LORD, our Lord,
       how majestic is your name in all the earth!

I like the idea of God delegating responsibility of the Earth to us.  This also gives us the responsibility to take care of our planet - I would imagine that Environmentalist groups use this passage a good bit.

Proverbs 18:23-24
 ²³ A poor man pleads for mercy,
       but a rich man answers harshly.
 ²⁴ A man of many companions may come to ruin,
       but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.

All aboard the catch up (katsup) train. Woo woo! 

 

Reading from Friday, July 9

Hey girl hey. I just got back from Jilly's 30th birthday party. It was a Ghetto Fabulous theme so I sagged my jeans a little, threw on a borrowed Lakers jersey and a sideways dice hat and hit the party hard. And by that I mean I took pictures of my friends. I'll post a few here once I get em uploaded.

Reading for July 9
1 Chronicles 7:1-8:40
This continues the genealogy of the twelve tribes of Israel. Nothing too exciting, but I was thinking about the purpose of this book today and I think that there is a great deal of pride for the Jewish people in this collection of family trees. Think about it: all these hundreds of thousands of people were born from the same great great great great (great?) Grandparents. God created a man and a woman and from those two people came this strong nation of people. And after the nomadic existence the Jews endured for a good couple centuries, it must have been nice to have this beautiful collection of names.

Today it's as exciting as a pile of rocks, but for them this must have been a national treasure.

Acts 27:1-20
Paul's Roman Sea Adventure.

In this section the first person point of view returns and the "we" becomes the main character again. The writer talks about accompanying Paul to Rome after it was decided he would be sent there with other prisoners. As they make their journey by boat they sail into a heavy storm - which the writer actually refers to as a "northeaster". I'm not sure if that's just translated into modern language or if that's what it's always been called. Also - they stop in a town called Fair Havens. Peeps in Fair Haven, NJ - know your roots, son.

What I find really cool about this whole "we" thing is that this book was like blogging back in the old days. The writer is just capturing events and thoughts as he goes - which is kind of what I'm doing. Except I'm not on a journey across the Middle East. I'm on a journey across the middle east of my mind. BAM!

Psalm 7:1-17
A God that is not to be F'ed with

¹¹ God is a righteous judge,
       a God who expresses his wrath every day.
 ¹² If he does not relent,
       he ^[c] will sharpen his sword;
       he will bend and string his bow.
 ¹³ He has prepared his deadly weapons;
       he makes ready his flaming arrows.

He expresses his wrath every day. I do not want to be the one who is wrathed on.

Proverbs 18:22
 ²² He who finds a wife finds what is good
       and receives favor from the LORD.

Agreed.

Well, this wasn't my best post - but they can't all be winners. Or in my case, none of them can be.

Reading from Thursday, July 8

It's been a busy bloggy day.

I finally beat the first game (Final Fantasy XIII) in my game adventure and just finished writing the review. You can check it out here if you're interested.

Or you can check out my rants and raves about the Bible below. The choice if yours.

You can also obviously do both.

Reading for July 8
1 Chronicles 5:18-6:81
Boring.

No, there is something kind of cool in here. What I'm finding interesting is that I think Chronicles is written by someone different than wrote the last few books of the Bible. This person is including previously unmentioned details from periods that were written about in previous books. And this is one of those instances.

 ³¹ These are the men David put in charge of the music in the house of the LORD after the ark came to rest there. ³² They ministered with music before the tabernacle, the Tent of Meeting, until Solomon built the temple of the LORD in Jerusalem. They performed their duties according to the regulations laid down for them.

Who these people are isn't important. What's interesting to me is that David had musicians in his employ. Remember that David wrote many of the psalms - it was probably with these musicians that he did that. Pretty cool. 

Acts 26:1-32
Man, this story just gets better and better. Paul is now defending himself before King Agrippa and he drops a little nugget of wisdom during his defense that I have so far overlooked: that the only thing he is doing is preaching about the manifestation of God's promise to the Jewish forefathers.

. ⁶And now it is because of my hope in what God has promised our fathers that I am on trial today. ⁷This is the promise our twelve tribes are hoping to see fulfilled as they earnestly serve God day and night. O king, it is because of this hope that the Jews are accusing me. ⁸Why should any of you consider it incredible that God raises the dead?

I never thought of that. I mean of course I knew that Jesus was an answer to a promise God made, but I never made the connection between him and the message Paul preaches in Acts. He is again defending himself the right way - flattering his accusers and showing that he was once just like them, but now has something much greater.

At the end of his speech the king says "surely you don't think you could convince me to become a Christian in such a short time?" Here's how Paul so eloquently responds:

"Short time or long—I pray God that not only you but all who are listening to me today may become what I am, except for these chains."

I like this, but I also don't. As a Christian in this modern "I'm OK, you're OK" society, I often struggle with the issue of Christianity being "right" or the only true religion. Christian tough guy, Tony Campollo once said "If you're doing good in the world, I don't care who you're worshiping. As long as you're doing good." And yet, we're told to try and convince people who aren't Christians to become Christians and that has become the goal of many churches. Should we focus on seeing how many people we can convince that we are right, or focus on how many needy people we can help out of the charity preached by Jesus? Both missions are equally weighted in the gospels so which one should we focus on? Or should it be both?

Sorry, I'm worked up about this because I just watched the 700 Club featuring everyone's favorite Televangelist, Pat Robertson. They had a story on there about a Muslim woman who was being abused by her husband. She was praying to Allah when all of a sudden she saw Jesus and decided to pray to him instead. Then she became a Christian while watching the 700 club (shameless self endorsement) and all was great! This bothers me because first of all it demonizes Islam as people who just abuse their wives. How many Christian men abuse their wives? Probably more. And secondly it declares without a doubt that she was wrong for being a Muslim and now is right for being a Christian. How can someone be wrong based on their upbringing and culture? Why are we right? We serve a God who has slaughtered millions for no reason sometimes. Why is he the right one?

I know this is a common moral dilemma among thinking Christians. Questions like "well, does Gandhi go to hell because he wasn't a Christian?" I can't believe that he would. I don't know, though.

I think I'm starting to lean towards religion as relative truth - Christ is true for me because that's what I believe, but Mohamed and Allah are just as true for Muslims because that's what they believe. Is that wrong?

Rant off.

Psalm 6:1-10
 ⁶ I am worn out from groaning;
       all night long I flood my bed with weeping
       and drench my couch with tears.
 ⁷ My eyes grow weak with sorrow;
       they fail because of all my foes.
 ⁸ Away from me, all you who do evil,
       for the LORD has heard my weeping.

I like verse 8 in there. Like "He's gonna getcha! Watch out! He's gonna getcha!!" 


Proverbs 18:20-21
 ²⁰ From the fruit of his mouth a man's stomach is filled;
       with the harvest from his lips he is satisfied.
 ²¹ The tongue has the power of life and death,
       and those who love it will eat its fruit.

Bam. Bedtime. 

Reading from Wednesday, July 7

Aw snap yo. Aw snippy snappy.

Reading for July 7
1 Chronicles 4:5-5:17
Within this reading we see the beginnings of the genealogies of the twelve tribes, but we also see something that was a bit of a Christian pop-culture phenomenon in the early 00s: The Prayer of Jabez. So here's what it is - a small prayer buried within this list of names from this guy named Jabez. Here is the passage:

⁹ Jabez was more honorable than his brothers. His mother had named him Jabez, saying, "I gave birth to him in pain." ¹⁰ Jabez cried out to the God of Israel, "Oh, that you would bless me and enlarge my territory! Let your hand be with me, and keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain." And God granted his request.

So some guy all of a sudden discovered this - probably the first non scholar to actually look through Chronicles - and decided to write a little book about it. It was one of those little gifty type books that you would buy for your mom for mother's day or something like that.

Well this thing became so popular in the Christian sub-culture that it turned into that scene from Spaceballs. There was Prayer of Jabez everything. CDs, plaques, books about the book, framed art, gift sets, T Shirts, hats...freaking everything! I was working at a Christian bookstore at the time so I was on the front lines of all this crap that came through the doors, exploiting and capitalizing on this tiny little prayer. Then the most egregious offense came through the door - The Prayer of Jabez pillow. The marketing machine took it so far that there was a pillow with this little prayer embroidered onto it. That's when I decided it had gotten ridiculous. OH! And how about this??! A $216 14K Gold Bible pendant with the Prayer of Jabez inscribed on the inside. What a great Christian the people who buy that must be!!!

Allow me to comment on this thing as a whole for a moment. There were so many awful things that I saw come through the loading dock of that store - I am now convinced that things like that is exactly what forced Jesus to flip over the money changers tables in the Temple. I have nothing against Christian Living books or Large Print Bibles, or even artwork portraying Jesus. I don't even mind that corny "Footprints in the Sand" thing. Everyone had their own ways of reminding themselves of their faith, but when things like the Prayer of Jabez Pillow or a $300 WWJD ring come through the door, that's when I put up a red flag. The thing that pissed me off the most were these Bibles that were disguised as a teeny bopper fashion magazine. Throughout the text of this "Bible", there were pictures of perfectly thin and beautifully airbrushed girls smiling and "worshiping God." And then there were little side-bar articles about "What Real Guys Want..." with things like "Guys don't want girls who drink or curse. They want a woman of the LORD!" Ugh. To me there's nothing wrong with trying to keep teenagers away from alcohol, but to put dating advice in an actual Bible actually made me throw it on the ground in disgust. I threw a Bible on the ground because I was disgusted with it. Think about that. OK Rant off.

Now, back to this prayer. I never actually read the little Prayer of Jabez book, but just looking at the prayer itself doesn't instill a whole lot of confidence in the overall message of the book. This prayer channels what my friend Christian calls the "Cosmic Vending Machine God." This is the view that God's sole purpose is to answer prayers and give things to people. Look at it. "Enlarge my territory?" "Keep me from harm?" What a selfish prayer. Now I'm not saying that Jabez was wrong for asking for these things, but take it within context. Its things like this, when isolated, that fuel televangelists wholly incorrect message of "God only wants you to be happy and have a Ferrari." Or, the frequent victim of my spite, Peter Popoff's message of "God wants to immediately heal your afflictions." Again, I'm not saying God is incapable of healing people, but in some cases, someone's illness is part of a greater plan. How many times have you gone through something difficult that has made you a better or stronger person? "Consider it pure joy brothers when you face trials of many kinds."

Boom. Bible'd.

Acts 25:1-27
Paul's legal limbo continues.

After Felix had stepped down as the governor of the area and left Paul in prison, Festus took over and wanted to review why Paul was there. He brought out Paul and the Jews who accused him of whatever they were accusing him of, and waited to hear the charges. Again they brought false charges that could not be proved and they begged Festus to bring him back to Jerusalem to have him tried because they had set a trap where they would ambush and kill Paul as soon as he arrived in Jerusalem.

Festus refused and instead granted Paul's request of an appeal to Caesar. He, like Felix, saw no reason for Paul's guilt. He has a conversation with King Agrippa that is really cool:

"There is a man here whom Felix left as a prisoner. ¹⁵When I went to Jerusalem, the chief priests and elders of the Jews brought charges against him and asked that he be condemned.  ¹⁶"I told them that it is not the Roman custom to hand over any man before he has faced his accusers and has had an opportunity to defend himself against their charges. ¹⁷When they came here with me, I did not delay the case, but convened the court the next day and ordered the man to be brought in. ¹⁸When his accusers got up to speak, they did not charge him with any of the crimes I had expected. ¹⁹Instead, they had some points of dispute with him about their own religion and about a dead man named Jesus who Paul claimed was alive.

I like this conversation. It's sort of like overhearing a private, government conversation. It's also interesting to read an outsiders perspective of the Jesus story. It's also interesting to see Jesus referred to as "a dead man".

This section ends with Agrippa awaiting to hear Paul's appeal.

Psalm 5:1-12
This is sort of the antithesis of the Prayer of Jabez

¹¹ But let all who take refuge in you be glad;
       let them ever sing for joy.
       Spread your protection over them,
       that those who love your name may rejoice in you.

Instead of "things" or "territory", David here asks only for joy and gladness within God's mercy. 

Proverbs 18:19
 ¹⁹ An offended brother is more unyielding than a fortified city,
       and disputes are like the barred gates of a citadel.

If you offend someone, you can expect them to be stubborn about forgiveness.
 

Reading from Tuesday, July 6

So a few people were wondering what I ended up doing with that money I had last week. Well it turns out that Kreacher (our dog) needed medicine that we didn't have the flow for, so I ended up having to spend the money on that. I don't feel totally guilty though because I wasn't spending it on myself. So there it is.

Reading for July 6
1 Chronicles 2:18-4:4
OK - total disclosure here - this is mad boring. I do promise to actually read through these, but again, I may not have much to write about. One thing that kind of stuck out here is the lineage of David. Here it is:

Shammua, ^[g] Shobab, Nathan and Solomon. These four were by Bathsheba ^[h] daughter of Ammiel. ^6[i] Eliphelet, ⁷ Nogah, Nepheg, Japhia, ⁸ Elishama, Eliada and Eliphelet—nine in all. ⁹ All these were the sons of David, besides his sons by his concubines. And Tamar was their sister. The Kings of Judah

There were also Ibhar, Elishua,

 ¹⁰ Solomon's son was Rehoboam,
       Abijah his son,
       Asa his son,
       Jehoshaphat his son,
 ¹¹ Jehoram ^[j] his son,
       Ahaziah his son,
       Joash his son,
 ¹² Amaziah his son,
       Azariah his son,
       Jotham his son,
 ¹³ Ahaz his son,
       Hezekiah his son,
       Manasseh his son,
 ¹⁴ Amon his son,
       Josiah his son.
 ¹⁵ The sons of Josiah:
       Johanan the firstborn,
       Jehoiakim the second son,
       Zedekiah the third,
       Shallum the fourth.
 ¹⁶ The successors of Jehoiakim:
       Jehoiachin ^[k] his son,
       and Zedekiah. The Royal Line After the Exile

Like I said, not the most exciting section of the Bible. But interesting. If you're a nerd like me.

Acts 24:1-27

Paul is brought before the Roman governor, Felix in this chapter. I'm not sure how he got there since in the last chapter he made a great escape to a faraway land. Regardless, here he is and the Jews brought their accusations about Paul to Felix. Before they bring the accusations though, they open with a big flattering speech about how they have appreciated Felix's rule over them. It's remarkable how the Jews were sucking up to a leader of another nation (albiet a nation that rules them) when back in Moses' time, they would have killed him and his people.

Anyway, their accusations were that he was desecrating their temple and stirring up riots amongst the Jews all around. These were obviously false and Paul is allowed to defend himself. What I found interesting about Paul's defense is again comparing it to how Jesus handled the exact same circumstance. Jesus spoke very little when he was in situations where people were condemning or accusing him of something. If he spoke, he said maybe three or four words total. One thing that sticks out in my mind is when Jesus is on trial right before his death, they accuse him of claiming to be the son of God. Jesus replies "It is as you say." Basically confirming that his belief is that he is the son of God, and at the same time accepting his fate to die.

Paul does not have that great predetermination of his life and valiantly defends his honor. He gives a paragraph worth of intelligent defense about how he was not at all guilty of the charges brought against him. Felix decides to hold him and question him further - this leads to a discussion about Paul's beliefs and what he had been teaching for the past few years. When he begins to speak about God's impending judgment, Felix becomes very afraid, but still keeps him imprisoned in hopes that Paul will slip him a bribe.

In the end, when Felix's time was up as governor, he decided to keep Paul in jail as a favor to the Jews. The sweet talkin works sometimes I guess...

Psalm 4:1-8
I really like this.

 ³ Know that the LORD has set apart the godly for himself;
       the LORD will hear when I call to him.
 ⁴ In your anger do not sin;
       when you are on your beds,
       search your hearts and be silent.
       Selah

I like the idea of laying down and being silent and searching one's heart. It's something I don't do enough of, and would like to do more of. That is my personal challenge this week. To take, say, 5 five minutes a day to just be silent before God.  I would encourage you to try that too!


Proverbs 18:16-18
 ¹⁶ A gift opens the way for the giver
       and ushers him into the presence of the great.
 ¹⁷ The first to present his case seems right,
       till another comes forward and questions him.
 ¹⁸ Casting the lot settles disputes
       and keeps strong opponents apart.

Verse 17 is pretty wise. The first account of a story is always the one we believe. We need to wait to hear both sides. 

 

Reading from Monday, July 5

So my friend Henry is currently in Seminary at Princeton and he is in a class called Introduction to Systematic Theology. Henry sent me his professors lectures from this class and I've had a chance to read through the introductory lecture which kind of sets up the terms and there are some really interesting things from an intellectual standpoint when it comes to Christianity.

One of the things that really struck me was the idea of Contextual Theology. This is the idea that your interpretation of the message of the Bible is filtered through your race, gender, upbringing, and the time and place in which you live. For example, puritanical Christians of early colonial America were very much focused on avoiding sin and the devil, had a high degree of belief in "the devil" and "evil spirits". Today, there is a movement in Christianity to focus on charity and loving and caring for the outcasts. That's not to say that either view is wrong, but that all views should be considered when getting into a theological discussion.To me it seems like these sort of contextualizations are necessary to put Christianity in a way that is palatable to the people of the day. If pastors were still preaching Hell fire and brimstone (some are), Christianity would not have much growth.

The professor then goes on to talk about the idea of these contextual frames going beyond meeting the needs of the immediate culture and actually distorting the core theology of the faith:

The good example of the ideological distortion of Christian theology was the "German Christian" ideology elaborated in the 1930s in order to provide Adolf Hitler's political program with a religious (even churchly) justification.  Among the statement of principles of the "German Christian" party at that time we find the following: "We see in race, folk, and nation, orders of existence granted and entrusted to us by God.  God's law for us is that we look to the preservation of these orders.  Consequently, miscengeneration is to be opposed.  For a long time German Foreign Missions, on the basis of its experience, has been calling to the German people: `Keep your race pure,' and telling us that faith in Christ does not destroy one's race but deepens and sanctifies it. ... We want an evangelical Church that is rooted in our nationhood."  The root of this German Christian ideology lay in the direct identification of divine revelation with the ethnicity of the German peoples (Aryanism).  The three watchwords of the movement were: blood, race, and soil.

In my eyes we have this problem in America today. Too often are political agendas carried by the Evangelical voters, and when that happens, messages get distorted and squeezed to little boxes that fit to benefit specific groups of people and rather than the American people as a whole. Obviously we are not in a Hitler controller Germany, but I do think it's a serious problem and I don't think it accurately represents Christianity.

I am hoping to read through all of these lectures in the coming weeks (I think there's about 15 of them), so if I catch something cool I will be sure to bring it up here.

Reading for July 5
1 Chronicles 1:1-2:17
OK. Chronicles. Probably the slowest and most dreaded books of the Bible. If you don't know, these books are literally lists of who were the sons of whom. From a historical standpoint, I know these books hold a TON of value, but from a narrative or bloggable standpoint, these aren't the best or most interesting books to write about.

It is interesting to read (or, honestly, skim) through these chapters with the knowledge of who these people are rather than just picking up the Bible, opening to Chronicles and going "Eugh! No!"; but its still very slow. So forgive me if I don't have much to write about as I work through 1 and 2 Chronicles. I will do my best to find some interesting nuggets of information, but I don't have the highest of hopes.

What I will do is repost the twelve tribes of Israel, because I think that's something that I should have memorized. First I'll try to recall as many as I can without looking. Scouts honor.

Judah, Benjamin, Levi, Simeon, Dan, Gad, Naphtali...that's all I got. Seven - not bad. Let's see the full list:

Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, ² Dan, Joseph, Benjamin, Naphtali, Gad and Asher.

Acts 23:11-35
Paul's sweet escape.

So the Sanhedrin begin their plot to kill Paul. They are planning to ask the Roman officials to send Paul back before them to question him some more, but when he gets in, they planned to ambush him and kill him. Paul's nephew hears about this plot and goes and reports it to Paul, who has him report it to the commander of the Roman army.

The commander wants to do what is right because Paul is A) a Roman citizen and B) not guilty of anything deserving of death and probably C) because of that colossal screw up with Jesus and Pontious.

So in the night, the commander sets up a guard of hundreds of Roman soldiers and puts Paul on a chariot going as far away from Jerusalem as possible. It's a pretty exciting story and almost reads like an action movie. I would recommend reading it if you have five minutes. Just click the "Reading for July 5" link above and scroll down to the Acts section.

Psalm 3:1-8
I was tempted to not re-read the Psalms after I had finished them earlier this month, but I'm glad I am. There is so much more in here for me than the first time around. This Psalm was written by David when he was fleeing from his son Absalom, one of the darkest times of David's life.

¹ O LORD, how many are my foes!
       How many rise up against me!
 ² Many are saying of me,
       "God will not deliver him."
       Selah ^[a]
 3 But you are a shield around me, O LORD;
       you bestow glory on me and lift ^[b] up my head.
 ⁴ To the LORD I cry aloud,
       and he answers me from his holy hill.
       Selah

It's no wonder that David was one of God's favorite sons. He had a spirit about him that was of constant praise, no matter the circumstances. Of the few Kings of Israel that did worship God, I'm sure a very small percentage of those would continue to praise God when times got as tough as they did for David. I think we should all try to learn from David's example and remember to praise God and remember his power and glory in times of struggle. 


Proverbs 18:14-15
 ¹⁴ A man's spirit sustains him in sickness,
       but a crushed spirit who can bear?
 ¹⁵ The heart of the discerning acquires knowledge;
       the ears of the wise seek it out.

Alright, chums. Until tomorrow.