Paul vs. Jesus

This is a picture I took of my in-laws’ gate in Uganda. I always loved this picture.
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Bill said in a comment on my last post, “it is all about Jesus and not about Paul…isn't it?”

I think you’re right. I think that Paul would agree with you. However, the churches that I’ve been a part of seem to take Paul’s letters to certain churches and certain people and try to make them rules for all time for all people.

Paul’s commentary on Jesus and the church are helpful, but I don’t assign them the same authority in my life as the teachings of Jesus.

Are there some parts of the Bible that are more important than others? For me there are.

I’m interested to hear what others think about this. Are some parts of the Bible more important than others? What does that mean about the inspiration of the Bible?

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By the way Bill, it was good to see you as well. I also regret that we didn’t get to talk more. I hope that we’ll be able to stay in touch through the wonderful world of the internet.

Just wondering

What if heaven isn’t something that comes when you die? What if heaven is what happens in life when we live it in the way of the Christ?

What if the second coming of Christ isn’t something that will happen at the end of the world? What if the second coming of Christ happens whenever we internalize the message of the Christ and live it out in our lives?

Would Christianity be something better?

Would people stop nitpicicking on the small verses that Paul wrote and start living out the broad message of the Sermon on the Mount?

If the second coming of the Christ is in us, then we have power to make it happen. If heaven isn’t at the end, then the hope is now.

Freedom

My Future

In clarification to the last post:

There are several different gods in the ancient Near East at the time of the pre-exilic and exilic prophets of Israel, and all of them would have had prophets employed by the king. The big ones would have been Baal, Asherah, and El. Each nation worshipped a different god, or at least a different manifestation of a god and each king would have had prophets to communicate with the god.

I learned yesterday that recent archeological digs have found a large cache of prophetic writings from the ANE. My professor thinks that the message of justice and righteousness through caring for the poor/downcast will be a message we will see in those writings.
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On a different note I’m having a lot of trouble deciding what to do. I know that I’ve got time to decide and all that, but what I do after this degree will have direct implications for which degree I work toward. Here are some options:

I am very interested in world religions/comparative religion. I could finish the MDiv, which is a professional degree that would prepare me for ministry of some sort (chaplaincy, parish ministry, etc.). Then I could go do another master’s in comparative/world religion somewhere. This option would keep me from having to do a dissertation which I fear.

I could also go on to a PhD program in comparative/world religion. This would put me face to face with the feared dissertation. This would prepare me for a life of teaching and/or writing. I like writing and I think I might like teaching, but I like the learning part of school the best.

However, if I am going on to do a PhD I really don’t need to do an MDiv. It is a huge degree and it doesn’t have a Thesis project which would be helpful when applying for a PhD program. So, I could switch now to an M.A., which would take considerably less time and prepare me more for the PhD program.

Here’s the dilemma: I could do any of these. I think that if I put my mind to it I could probably do any of these things. I have nobody telling me to hurry up and decide. I have no money either way, so that isn’t really an issue. I guess the question is do I have the guts to settle on one and point my life in a very specific direction? If so, do I have the guts to make my direction toward something so lofty as a PhD?

I do have an idea for my doctoral work: I think the influx of missionary activity in Africa has not changed the religion of the Africans from native African religions to Christian, rather I think it has created a new religion entirely that is a grafting of the two together.

Any words of advice? Anyone looking back on a life of things they wish they did?

My Query

Well, we’re on to prophetic literature in Hebrew Bible. The history of it is a bit confusing for me. The Israelites seem to be constantly on their way into captivity. But the theology and sociology of it all is exciting.

In the study of the Hebrew Bible it becomes clear the God fits the profile for gods of the time. The way that YHWH interacts with Israel is very similar to the way that Baal interacts with Canaan. God speaks through prophets, God’s ambassador on earth is the king, sacrifices, etc. God in the Torah and Deuteronomistic History (Deuteronomy-Kings) is a typical ancient Near Eastern god in many respects.

We were discussing the message of the prophets in class on Tuesday and it was mentioned that their message was much like that of Jesus. “Your sacrifices aren’t cutting it because you neglect justice and righteousness.” This is the message of the prophets, the message of Jesus, and it is the constant message to people of every age it seems.

Here is my question. Is this message unique to those messengers of the Hebrew God? Or are there messages like this coming from prophets of other gods as well? Can we find other gods calling for justice and righteousness instead of feasts, festivals, and sacrifices?

Probably not interesting to many people.

If only I were an ancient Near Eastern historian…
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A tattoo is immanent.

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Only three more weeks of school. Then we’re taking a massive road trip with a baby. Is that a good idea? I’m really looking forward to seeing family and friends as good as family. Plus I get to eat at Pluckers and see the Mavericks.
After November 21 I don’t have any school until January. This quarter system is weird.