In this book, Bultmann tries to "demythologize" the story of Christ, and of His miracles. It's good to read; because it can stimulate critical thinking to be faced with such an opposing view. But it's also really hard to choke down.
Here's an early quote from his argument: "The whole conception of the world which is presupposed in the preaching of Jesus in the New Testament generally is mythological; i.e. the conception of the world as being structured in three stories, heaven, earth, hell; the conception of the intervention of supernatural powers in the course of events; and the conception of miracles, especially the conception of the intervention of supernatural powers in the inner life of the soul, the conception that men can be tempted and corrupted by the devil and possessed by evil spirits. This conception of the world we call mythological because it is different from the conception of the world which has been formed and developed by science." (p.15)
We see straight away that he's not interested in anything spiritual and personally applicable from the Bible. Out of everything he lists, he says "ESPECIALLY the conception of the intervention of supernatural powers in the inner life of the soul" Yikes.
He claims that while some Jewish mystics believed in an apocolyptic future Kingdom of God on earth; that Jesus never believed in such a thing. He credits the modern thought that Jesus was escatalogical to a scholar named Weiss; who wrote "The Preaching of Jesus about the Kiongdom of God" in 1892.
He then goes on to state how silly it would be to believe that God would become a human and forgive sins by dying on a cross. "Particularly the conception of the pre-existent Son of God who descended in human guise into the world to redeem mankind is part of the Gnostic doctrine of redemption, and nobody hesitates to call this doctrine mythological." (p.17) It is a doctrine that 1 Cor. 1 describes that most will see as "foolishness" or "a stumbling block".
However, look at his reasons against the teachings of the Bible - "It is different from the conception of the world which has been formed and developed by science", and "nobody hesitates to call this doctrine mythological" It's a pretty poor argument.
He then describes how to use the Bible, if one wants to read it and still be modern: "For modern man the mythological conception of the world, the conceptions of eschatology, of redeemer and redemption, are over and done with. Is it possible to expect that we shall make a sacrifice of understanding, sacrificium intellectus, in order to accept what we cannot sincerely consider true - merely because such conceptions are suggested by the Bible? Or ought we to pass over those saying of the New Testament which contain such mythological conceptions and to select other sayings which are not such stumbling-blocks to modern man?" (p.17) In other words, just read the parts of the Bible that don't offend your modern sensibilities, and skip the rest.
He then has some fun reinterpreting certain "crude" (his words) truths and transforming them into something really believable. For example, when Jesus said that he would come as a theif in the night, maybe that just means that we should just be open to what God's future may be for each of us. This section really made me feel like I was listening to a teenage girl at a beauty pageant. Who cares about hollow self-created platitudes if miracles and afterlife and redemption are not real?
Then I had enough for one day. So, I'm putting it down. But, I may finish it later in the week.
Showing posts with label teaching. Show all posts
Showing posts with label teaching. Show all posts
Monday, April 26, 2010
Monday, March 8, 2010
Ray Stedman on 2 Cor. 11:3
This is quoted from Ray Stedman's expository teaching series, on the verse 2 Corinthians 11:3 =
"I fear lest you be led astray in your thoughts as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ." (2 Cor. 11:3)
"(Literally it is, "from the simplicity and purity which is in Christ." Some manuscripts even leave out the word "purity," so it becomes basically, "that you might be led astray from the simplicity that is in Christ.") This is one of the most important phrases of the Bible because there is nothing more important than to maintain the simplicity that is in Christ.
I have often quoted this to you, but it will not hurt to quote again the saying, "The main thing about being a Christian is to see that the main thing remains the main thing." That is what Paul is saying. The "main thing" is that at the heart and center of your life is the "simplicity that is in Christ," a simple thing. I have noticed, over many years of observation, that when religion becomes complicated it is always a sign that it is drifting away from the realities and centralities of faith. The world around us is getting increasingly complex, and it is because it is drifting farther and farther from God. Look around at the world of nature and you can see the simplicity of God's design everywhere. He builds the year around four seasons which repeat themselves endlessly and never fail. We are entering upon the most beautiful time of all perhaps, springtime, when everyone delights in the new life that surges on all sides. Yet that simple pattern of four seasons contains within it all the possible variations of weather. Look at a flower and see how simple the pattern of its makeup is, and yet what an infinite variety God produces in a field of flowers. You can see this everywhere. God basically is simple. When religion becomes complex it is a sign that it is departing from Christ. Let me quote something here that is very helpful and confirming about this. The old medieval saint, Thomas 'a Kempis, has gathered this idea up. (Perhaps he got it from this very verse.)
By two wings man is lifted from the things of earth -- simplicity and purity.
And Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones says:
As life in general becomes more and more complex, so religion tends to be affected in the same way. It seems to be assumed that if the affairs of men are so difficult and complicated, the affairs of God should be still more complicated, because they are still greater. Hence there comes a tendency to increase ceremony and ritual, and to multiply organizations and activities ... the argument is that it is ridiculous to assert that the vast problems of life today can be solved in an apparently simple manner suggested by those who preach the gospel in the old evangelical manner... The fact is, that as we get further away from God life becomes more complicated and involved. We see this not only in the Bible, but also in subsequent history. The Protestant Reformation simplified not only religion, but the whole of life and living in general... The truly religious life is always the simple life.
That is what Paul is concerned about here. When you ask yourself just what is that simplicity that he is talking about, the answer from everywhere in the Word of God is: The daily companionship of the Lord Jesus. How many of you sense that Christ is yours all day long? How many of you reckon upon that, think about that, live out of that relationship and out of that sense of the expectation of his presence? We often say, and rightly so, that Christianity is not a creed, it is a relationship; it is living with a Person. That is the simplicity that is in Christ. The danger that we constantly face, even in a church like this where the Word of God is taught, is that we get involved in the things about Christ and fail to live in a relationship with Christ. That is what Paul is deeply concerned about. That is why he is jealous to maintain "that simplicity that is in Christ." The first Corinthian letter starts on that very note. Paul says in Verse 9 of Chapter 1:
God is faithful who has called us into the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord. 1 Corinthians 1:9 RSV)
When your Christianity begins to cool down and you find yourself getting complicated it is a definite sign that you are being threatened in this area of understanding the relationship you have with the Lord Jesus. He is a living Lord -- he is not dead. He is not for Sundays only. He is for all the moments of life. In Philippians, Paul says: "To me to live is Christ" (Philippians 1:21) -- everything, he fills my moments. Though he had one of the busiest lives ever recorded, a life of constant activity, yet he said at the heart of it lay this quiet reckoning upon the presence of the living Lord, the realization that he was with him to do everything that was to be done. That is the simplicity that he is talking about."
"I fear lest you be led astray in your thoughts as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ." (2 Cor. 11:3)
"(Literally it is, "from the simplicity and purity which is in Christ." Some manuscripts even leave out the word "purity," so it becomes basically, "that you might be led astray from the simplicity that is in Christ.") This is one of the most important phrases of the Bible because there is nothing more important than to maintain the simplicity that is in Christ.
I have often quoted this to you, but it will not hurt to quote again the saying, "The main thing about being a Christian is to see that the main thing remains the main thing." That is what Paul is saying. The "main thing" is that at the heart and center of your life is the "simplicity that is in Christ," a simple thing. I have noticed, over many years of observation, that when religion becomes complicated it is always a sign that it is drifting away from the realities and centralities of faith. The world around us is getting increasingly complex, and it is because it is drifting farther and farther from God. Look around at the world of nature and you can see the simplicity of God's design everywhere. He builds the year around four seasons which repeat themselves endlessly and never fail. We are entering upon the most beautiful time of all perhaps, springtime, when everyone delights in the new life that surges on all sides. Yet that simple pattern of four seasons contains within it all the possible variations of weather. Look at a flower and see how simple the pattern of its makeup is, and yet what an infinite variety God produces in a field of flowers. You can see this everywhere. God basically is simple. When religion becomes complex it is a sign that it is departing from Christ. Let me quote something here that is very helpful and confirming about this. The old medieval saint, Thomas 'a Kempis, has gathered this idea up. (Perhaps he got it from this very verse.)
By two wings man is lifted from the things of earth -- simplicity and purity.
And Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones says:
As life in general becomes more and more complex, so religion tends to be affected in the same way. It seems to be assumed that if the affairs of men are so difficult and complicated, the affairs of God should be still more complicated, because they are still greater. Hence there comes a tendency to increase ceremony and ritual, and to multiply organizations and activities ... the argument is that it is ridiculous to assert that the vast problems of life today can be solved in an apparently simple manner suggested by those who preach the gospel in the old evangelical manner... The fact is, that as we get further away from God life becomes more complicated and involved. We see this not only in the Bible, but also in subsequent history. The Protestant Reformation simplified not only religion, but the whole of life and living in general... The truly religious life is always the simple life.
That is what Paul is concerned about here. When you ask yourself just what is that simplicity that he is talking about, the answer from everywhere in the Word of God is: The daily companionship of the Lord Jesus. How many of you sense that Christ is yours all day long? How many of you reckon upon that, think about that, live out of that relationship and out of that sense of the expectation of his presence? We often say, and rightly so, that Christianity is not a creed, it is a relationship; it is living with a Person. That is the simplicity that is in Christ. The danger that we constantly face, even in a church like this where the Word of God is taught, is that we get involved in the things about Christ and fail to live in a relationship with Christ. That is what Paul is deeply concerned about. That is why he is jealous to maintain "that simplicity that is in Christ." The first Corinthian letter starts on that very note. Paul says in Verse 9 of Chapter 1:
God is faithful who has called us into the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord. 1 Corinthians 1:9 RSV)
When your Christianity begins to cool down and you find yourself getting complicated it is a definite sign that you are being threatened in this area of understanding the relationship you have with the Lord Jesus. He is a living Lord -- he is not dead. He is not for Sundays only. He is for all the moments of life. In Philippians, Paul says: "To me to live is Christ" (Philippians 1:21) -- everything, he fills my moments. Though he had one of the busiest lives ever recorded, a life of constant activity, yet he said at the heart of it lay this quiet reckoning upon the presence of the living Lord, the realization that he was with him to do everything that was to be done. That is the simplicity that he is talking about."
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Revelation 2+3
Revelation 2 + 3
Jesus speaks to 7 Churches
If you have ears to hear…
These chapters include principles for us (eras? types?)
Supernatural
Jesus talks about churches - it's super cool to hear from Jesus Himself what God thinks about churches. We get to see what's important to Him and what advice He has.
Formula for Messages
Greeting
Description/ title for Jesus
Assessment and Advice
“He who has an ear to hear, listen to what the Spirit says to the churches”
Promise for “overcommers”
Rev. 2:1-7 Ephesus
“To the angel of the church of Ephesus write: The One who hold the seven stars in His right hand, and the One who walks among the seven golden lamp stands, says this: “I know your deeds and your toil and perseverance, and that you cannot tolerate evil men, and you put to the test those who call
themselves apostles and are not, and you found them to be false; and you have perseverance and have endured for My name’s sake, and have not grown weary. But I have this against you, that you have left your first love. Therefore, remember the height from which
you have fallen, and repent, and do the deeds you did at first; or else I am coming to you and will remove your lamp stand out of its place – unless you repent. Yet this you do have, that you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. He who has an ear to hear, let him hear
what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will grant to eat of the tree of life which is in the Paradise of God.”
Ephesus – Truth without Love
Strengths
Endurance
Discernment
Truth
Loyalty to God’s name
Weaknesses
Leaving their first love
Advice= 1. REmember the height from which you have fallen. 2. Repent 3. Do tthe deeds you did at first
Rev. 2:8-11 Smyrna
Smyrna – Suffering and Poor
Strengths
Though poor and suffering, yet they are rich
Weaknesses
No indictment made
Advice = Be faithful even to death and recieve the crown of life
Rev. 2:12-17 Pergamum
Pergamum – Soft
Strengths
Not denying God’s faith and holding fast to His name – despite being in a hard spot.
Weaknesses
False teaching
Stumbling others
Sexual sin
Advice = Repent!
Rev. 2:18-29 Thyatira
Thyatira – Love w/o Truth
Strengths
Growth
Serving love
Faith and perseverance
Weaknesses
Infiltrated by an evil false prophetess who encourages immorality
Advice = What you have; hold fast
Rev. 3:1-6 Sardis
Sardis – Dead or Dying
Strengths
Reputation
Well taught
A few pure people
Weaknesses
Dead, or dying
Advice = Wake up! And strengthen that which remains. And remember the things you have heard and keep them. And repent.
Rev. 3:7-13 Philadelphia
Philadelphia – Strong
Strengths
Little Power
Kept God’s word, and not denied Him
Perseverance
Missional
Weaknesses
No indictment given
Advice = Hold tight to what you have.
Rev. 3:14-22 Laodicea
Laodicea – Lazy, Rich, Proud
Strengths
No compliment given
Weaknesses
Lukewarm
Rich and proud
Deceived
Advice = Get riches and adornment and vision/insight from Me. Be zealous and repent. And open the door of your heart and invite me in for a relationship.
Titles for/Descriptions of Jesus
Holds the 7 stars and walks among the 7 lamp stands
The first and the last, who was dead but has come to life
Has the sharp 2-edged sword
Has eyes like the flame of fire and feet like burnished bronze
Has the 7 spirits of God and the 7 stars
Holy, true
Has the key of David who can open and shut things that can’t be changed
The Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God
Promises for Overcommers
Eating from the tree of life in the Paradise of God
Not hurt by the 2nd death
Will receive hidden manna
A white stone with a secret name
Authority and the morning star
Clothed in white garments
Not erased from the book of life
Confessed by name in front of God and the angels
Becomes a pillar in the temple with names written on him
Sitting with Christ on His throne
For Further Study
John Stott’s “What Jesus Says To the Churches”
http://www.xenos.org/teachings/nt/revelation/gary/2007/index.htm
Walvoord’s “Revelation”
Tenney’s “Interpreting Revelation”
Jesus speaks to 7 Churches
If you have ears to hear…
These chapters include principles for us (eras? types?)
Supernatural
Jesus talks about churches - it's super cool to hear from Jesus Himself what God thinks about churches. We get to see what's important to Him and what advice He has.
Formula for Messages
Greeting
Description/ title for Jesus
Assessment and Advice
“He who has an ear to hear, listen to what the Spirit says to the churches”
Promise for “overcommers”
Rev. 2:1-7 Ephesus
“To the angel of the church of Ephesus write: The One who hold the seven stars in His right hand, and the One who walks among the seven golden lamp stands, says this: “I know your deeds and your toil and perseverance, and that you cannot tolerate evil men, and you put to the test those who call
themselves apostles and are not, and you found them to be false; and you have perseverance and have endured for My name’s sake, and have not grown weary. But I have this against you, that you have left your first love. Therefore, remember the height from which
you have fallen, and repent, and do the deeds you did at first; or else I am coming to you and will remove your lamp stand out of its place – unless you repent. Yet this you do have, that you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. He who has an ear to hear, let him hear
what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will grant to eat of the tree of life which is in the Paradise of God.”
Ephesus – Truth without Love
Strengths
Endurance
Discernment
Truth
Loyalty to God’s name
Weaknesses
Leaving their first love
Advice= 1. REmember the height from which you have fallen. 2. Repent 3. Do tthe deeds you did at first
Rev. 2:8-11 Smyrna
Smyrna – Suffering and Poor
Strengths
Though poor and suffering, yet they are rich
Weaknesses
No indictment made
Advice = Be faithful even to death and recieve the crown of life
Rev. 2:12-17 Pergamum
Pergamum – Soft
Strengths
Not denying God’s faith and holding fast to His name – despite being in a hard spot.
Weaknesses
False teaching
Stumbling others
Sexual sin
Advice = Repent!
Rev. 2:18-29 Thyatira
Thyatira – Love w/o Truth
Strengths
Growth
Serving love
Faith and perseverance
Weaknesses
Infiltrated by an evil false prophetess who encourages immorality
Advice = What you have; hold fast
Rev. 3:1-6 Sardis
Sardis – Dead or Dying
Strengths
Reputation
Well taught
A few pure people
Weaknesses
Dead, or dying
Advice = Wake up! And strengthen that which remains. And remember the things you have heard and keep them. And repent.
Rev. 3:7-13 Philadelphia
Philadelphia – Strong
Strengths
Little Power
Kept God’s word, and not denied Him
Perseverance
Missional
Weaknesses
No indictment given
Advice = Hold tight to what you have.
Rev. 3:14-22 Laodicea
Laodicea – Lazy, Rich, Proud
Strengths
No compliment given
Weaknesses
Lukewarm
Rich and proud
Deceived
Advice = Get riches and adornment and vision/insight from Me. Be zealous and repent. And open the door of your heart and invite me in for a relationship.
Titles for/Descriptions of Jesus
Holds the 7 stars and walks among the 7 lamp stands
The first and the last, who was dead but has come to life
Has the sharp 2-edged sword
Has eyes like the flame of fire and feet like burnished bronze
Has the 7 spirits of God and the 7 stars
Holy, true
Has the key of David who can open and shut things that can’t be changed
The Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God
Promises for Overcommers
Eating from the tree of life in the Paradise of God
Not hurt by the 2nd death
Will receive hidden manna
A white stone with a secret name
Authority and the morning star
Clothed in white garments
Not erased from the book of life
Confessed by name in front of God and the angels
Becomes a pillar in the temple with names written on him
Sitting with Christ on His throne
For Further Study
John Stott’s “What Jesus Says To the Churches”
http://www.xenos.org/teachings/nt/revelation/gary/2007/index.htm
Walvoord’s “Revelation”
Tenney’s “Interpreting Revelation”
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