Category Archives: Christianity

Arts, Bible, Christianity, Culture, History

Losers find God

Judea, c. AD 32

– (Matthew 18:12– 14; Luke 15:1–10; John 6:44)

GOD does not keep polite company and the ‘losers’ in this life are the ones who are most likely to find him. Indeed, he goes out of his way to search for them, rather than waiting for them to seek him. This is the message Jesus of Nazareth has told a gathering of lawyers.

He was responding to criticism that according to the Pharisees’ rule book no religious teacher should associate with people who are religiously and socially beneath God’s dignity. Jesus has repeatedly rejected this exclusivity and has eaten with and taught the so-called ‘ungodly’ who include professional ‘sinners’ such as prostitutes and people who work for the occupying forces.

In a strong rejection of religious exclusivism, he has told a series of parables illustrating God’s intense desire to comfort and welcome such people. For instance, a shepherd who loses a sheep will pen up the remainder and go and look for it. It may only be one in a hundred, but it is still important to him. Or, if a woman drops a day’s wages on the earthen floor of her dark cottage, she will light a lamp and go on hands and knees until she finds the lost coin.

People like that who find what they have lost give a big shout and the whole world knows. So, God searches out the lost and rejoices when he finds them and they recognise him, says Jesus. This is a big development of current Jewish thought, which acknowledges that God welcomes the penitent but does not conceive of him taking the initiative in contacting them.

Jesus has also spoken of God ‘drawing’ people to himself, creating in them a hunger which only he can satisfy.

Standard
Arts, Bible, Christianity, Culture, History

Private lives exposed

Ephesus, c. AD 64–65

TWO confidential letters sent by Paul to his assistant Timothy have been released here. The most recent one, written from Rome shortly before Paul’s execution, contains the apostle’s last known instructions concerning Church life and Christian conduct.

The first letter to Timothy, probably written from Greece during Paul’s travels between his two trials, shows that the false teachings he had rebutted in Colossae have spread to other churches in Asia. They include attention to genealogies, speculative myths, enforced celibacy and strict dieting. Arrogant claims to special knowledge, and human desire for wealth, lead to division, he says.

Church leaders are to have exemplary personal and family lives. Bowing to the social mores of the area and the Jewish community, Paul warns women not to disrupt worship meetings nor to assume the role of teachers.

The second letter depicts a more lonely figure. Back in prison, Paul has been disowned by some former associates while others have been sent on foreign missions – Titus to Yugoslavia, Crescens to Galatia, and Tychicus to relieve Timothy in Ephesus. “Only Luke is with me,” he complains, suggesting perhaps that he had taken up the scribe’s pen as the language and style is more like Luke’s than Paul’s other letters.

Timothy, he says, in both letters, is to guard the gospel against false teachers and overbearing leaders. He is also to guard himself against the weakness of the flesh by being bold rather than timid and by drinking wine to prevent his frequent illnesses – a prescription, perhaps, directly from Doctor Luke.

Ambassador’s hard tasks

– (1 & 2 Timothy; Titus; cf. Acts 16:1f; 20:4f)

TIMOTHY AND TITUS are among several ambassadors sent by Paul to assist new churches. Although carrying his authority, they act as advisers rather than leaders.

Timothy was to many observers an unusual choice for a hard job. Quiet, subject to depression and illness, he was thrown like a Daniel into a den of roaring opponents ready to maul his theology and savage his tactics. He was born of a Jewish mother and Greek father in Lystra, where he probably became a Christian through Paul. Set apart for service by prophecies, he has travelled widely with Paul.

Titus is a more robust person and a good organiser. Like Timothy he is Greek, but unlike Timothy has never been compelled to be circumcised as a token gesture to Jewish Christians. Before going to Crete, he had already smoothed ruffled feathers in Corinth. He is said to be Luke’s brother.

Standard
Arts, Bible, Christianity, Culture, History

Solomon’s wisdom: first among equals

OLD TESTAMENT

– [1 Kings 3:16–28; 4:29–34; cf. 2 Samuel 14:2; 1 Chronicles 27:32]

Jerusalem, c. 970 BC

SOLOMON’S WISDOM is now a byword, and his intellect and breadth of knowledge are extraordinary. He is acknowledged by the academic world as a brilliant scholar. He has devised some 3,000 proverbs and over 1,000 songs, is a perceptive scientist, and a specialist in flora and fauna. Students come from all over the world to sit at his feet.

His wisdom is best displayed in his legal judgements, where his razor-sharp mind goes to the issues at the heart of the most complex cases. In a famous hearing, two prostitutes both claimed to be the mother of the same baby. One said that the other had stolen the infant from her because her own child had perished. Solomon ignored the legal pleading and sent for a sword to cut the child in half and give half to each woman.

One woman agreed to the plan, vowing that neither of them should have the child. The other begged him to let the child live, even if it meant losing it to the other woman. Solomon promptly awarded the child to the second woman, who was clearly its mother.

The king stands in a long tradition of wisdom which spans the cultures. Babylon and Egypt are equally famed for their books of wisdom, and Phoenicia and Israel have their own class of wise men and women who advise governments and arbitrate in disputes.

Many of the sayings consist of practical commonsense advice on daily living, especially in maintaining harmonious relationships and keeping out of trouble.

The Teaching of Amenemope, written in Egypt not long ago, contains many striking parallels to collections of Israelite wisdom-sayings in both style and content.

“Guard yourself against robbing the wretched,” it warns. “Don’t remove landmarks. Don’t run after riches. If you get rich by robbery, your ill-gotten gains will soon disappear. Don’t associate with hot-headed people. You’re better off with bread and contentment than with wealth and contention.”

The Babylonian Theodicy which dates from at least a century ago, is a treatise written by a priest on the problem of suffering. The hero debates with his friend as to why the many gods allow or cause people to suffer. The similarity to the Israelite story of Job ends there, however.

Solomon is also credited with writing a superb love poem in which a man courts a woman. The couple speak of their love and hunger for each other, and a chorus adds comment and advice.

Standard