So many Bibles to choose from ...

Selling the Good Book by its cover - from the Los Angeles Times

This is an interesting article about how the Bible is marketed to us. One of the interesting things in the article is that the Bible out sold the latest Harry Potter book by about 2 to 1. I have to admit I was skeptical when I began reading it, but the more I read, the more I did have to agree with it. Anytime I read something related to the man that our church, (Jan) Hus Presbyterian Church, my interest is automatically peaked and Stephanie Simon, the Los Angeles Times Staff Writer that wrote the article did just that:

"In a way -- an admittedly commercial way -- theologian Kurt Fredrickson sees modern publishers as following the hallowed footsteps of Christian heroes such as Jan Hus, William Tyndale and Martin Luther, who risked their lives to bring God's word to the masses."

There are a lot of different Bibles out there. You can narrow your search by finding a translation that works for you. How? Check them out online before buying one. There are several websites that you can use to do this:

• BibleGateway.com
• Blue Letter Bible
• Christianity.com Bible Study Tools
• Biblos.com
• Crosswalk
• The Bible Researcher (includes several additional links as well as downloadable software)

After you have chosen the version you like best go to your local Christian bookstore and they can help narrow your search even further (i.e. compact version, study Bible, Life Application Bible, youth, teen, adult, etc.). The best part about actually having a printed copy is that even when the power goes out, you can still read by candlelight. God bless and happy searching.

Because of Him ~ Terry

Breakdancing Nativity

Okay, Marko posted this on his blog, ysmarko, with a ht to chris at think christian. You have to laugh ... this is funny. Thanks Marko! Hope you all had a blessed Christmas. Because of Him ~ Terry

Lifehouse Everything Skit

I have nothing to say other than WOW, this is powerful.

ht to Marcia F.

File this under things that make you say hmmmm.

F in science, A in self-esteem - Los Angeles Times


We "ranked 21st out of 30 industrialized nations." On a global scale I would say that we are being "left behind."

The Central West Bohemian Presbytery

December 2007 Newsletter

A History of Hus Memorial Presbyterian Church, Part II
Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
Adapted from a Historical Treatise Written by Charlotte Stelcik

The Central West Bohemian Presbytery

Before explaining the actual beginnings of Hus Memorial Presbyterian Church in Cedar Rapids, it is necessary to consider the beginnings of the Central West Presbytery of which the local church became a member in November 1908. This was the beginning of an effort to consolidate all the Czech churches in the Central West states together.

The foundations of the churches of the Central West Presbytery were laid in the pioneer period of the central states and manifest the characteristics of the settlements about the middle nineteenth century. The Church today is reaping the results of their hard toil, abundant faith, honest work, simple wants, and high ideals, all abundant contributions to the agricultural development of the Middle West.

The founders of the Czech churches were sons and daughters of the Reformed Church of Bohemia and Moravia. Their immigration to the United States commenced after the downfall of the democratic uprisings in Europe in 1848, and with the approaching reaction against political and ecclesiastical autocracy.

From their mother church, these settlers brought the heritage of faith in God, the Bible, the prayer book, and the hymnal. Unlike other happier immigrants they were not accompanied by ordained spiritual leaders. For forty years the Bohemian Protestant pioneers kept the Christian fellowship without a ministry and without any assistance from abroad. Yet they met regularly for worship, often in the homes of their neighbors, built churches, and hoped for a trained ministry. The reliance upon self-help in religious nurture has not disappeared. In 1920, at a time of threatening dearth in the number of candidates, the Committee of Education advised the return to the “well tested method of laymen leading in service in church and Sunday School where no other better way” was provided. It is touching to read of the appeals sent to the only man available, in the fifties, for a preaching service and for the administration of the sacraments. This man was the Rev. Francis Kun, an ordained minister from Bohemia, a man with extensive university and theological training. Descended from a family of preachers, he was an admirable leader and an unselfish friend. This pioneer evangelist arrived in Tama County in 1856 and tilled the soil while waiting for a call. Demands soon were coming from neighboring states. Mr. Kun accepted the call to Ely, Linn county, Iowa, October 1, 1860, and made Ely the base for his visitations of Bohemian congregations. Besides, he filled for two years the chair of professor of Latin and Greek at Western College, Western, Iowa, prior to its removal to Toledo.

Of his stern resolve and his devotion to what he considered his duty to co-religionists, we can form a faint conception when we remember that he often braved a trip of sixty miles through roadless country to visit people. That was before the Civil war. He preached in English, Czech, or German, as circumstances required. Rev. Kun came to the United States in 1856. Before coming, he was warned that “the prospects for a Czech pastor were not encouraging.” The worthy man died at Ely in 1894 in his sixty-ninth year.

The year 1888 is a milestone in the history of the Churches of the Central West. So far the Bohemian churches existed as Independent Reformed Congregations without union among themselves or any denomination.

In September 1888, three candidates for the ministry, Joseph Bren, Vaclav Losa, and Francis Pokorny, arrived and entered Union Seminary under the care of the Presbytery of New York. After a survey of their work, Dr. Vincent Pisek of New York presented a favorable report, which was supported by the synodical superintendents; whereupon the Presbyterian Board of Home Missions became responsible for mission work among the Bohemians in the Central West. The independent congregations one by one were organized into Presbyterian churches by the presbyteries within whose bounds they were located. Within six years the churches so organized were all served by resident pastors. In addition every pastor in the respective churches regularly visited and preached at one or more stations in nearby towns.

Because of Him ~ Terry

14-18"'Watch for this: The time is coming'—God's Decree—'when I will keep the promise I made to the families of Israel and Judah. When that time comes, I will make a fresh and true shoot sprout from the David-Tree. He will run this country honestly and fairly. He will set things right. That's when Judah will be secure and Jerusalem live in safety. The motto for the city will be, "God Has Set Things Right for Us." God has made it clear that there will always be a descendant of David ruling the people of Israel and that there will always be Levitical priests on hand to offer burnt offerings, present grain offerings, and carry on the sacrificial worship in my honor.'"

Jeremiah 33:14-16 (MSG), A Fresh and True Shoot from the David-Tree

Movie Night - Dec. 5th!

Join us December 5th for youth movie night!

The Fall and the Flood

Introduction

God said to Adam “You may freely eat of every tree of the garden; but the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall die” (May & Metzger, 1977, p. 3). Why was this temptation placed right in the middle of the garden where it would always be seen? God creates the heavens and the earth and everything in it, judges and punishes it for its sin, and starts over (just not completely).

Motivation of the serpent

“Chapter 3 [Genesis] brings readers into the middle of a conversation between a snake and two human beings (3:6 makes it clear that the man is present the whole time)” (Birch, Brueggemann, Fretheim, & Petersen, 1999, p. 55). The serpent would deceive them and get them to eat the fruit from the tree of knowledge. The serpent is able to get them to question if God “could be fully trusted with their best interests” (Birch et al., p. 55). That trust is called into question because the serpent told them that they would not die. What motive could a serpent have on its own to do this? The serpent, which was actually Satan, wanted to take the man and woman away from God. Satan committed the original sin when he desired to be God and now he wanted to bring that into the world that God had created.

The participants – in the beginning

The man, whose name is Adam, and the woman, whose name is Eve, do not die a physical death. The death that God was talking about is the sin that separates man from God. In comparison to the wonderful life that Adam and Eve had enjoyed in the garden, this separation likely felt like death. Sin is something that is thought about before it is carried out. Adam and Eve had to think before they took that first bite. Cain had to think before he committed the first murder by killing Abel, his brother. Yet God was gracious. He did not put Adam, Eve, or Cain to death for disobeying him. He did, however, punish them. Adam and Eve were banished from the garden and Cain was sent to wonder the earth. Instead of looking at what God wanted for them and making their decisions, they chose to make decisions based on what they wanted. “The expulsion mirrors later Israelite banishments from the land because of disloyalty to God (see Lev 26)” (Birch et al., 1999, p. 57). These banishments, while undesirable, had to be preferred over the kind of death that was to be brought by the flood.

God

Between the fall and the flood the world would be populated as it is recorded in Genesis 5, “the book of the generations of Adam” (May & Metzger, p. 7). During this time man would become increasing separated from God because of sin. The sin of man would become so great that it is God’s judgment that all living things on earth would perish. "God intended to undo the creation and begin again" (Birch et al., 1999, p. 60). The text goes on to explain that God did not completely begin again, in fact everything that had been prior to the flood still existed. The only thing that was different was that the people had been reduced to Noah, his sons, and their families. The only person that God had found favor with was Noah, who "was a righteous man, blameless in his generation; Noah walked with God" (May & Metzger, p. 8). So God stops just short of total destruction. It does not say that his sons were also righteous and that they walked with God. It is obvious that God knew this and expected man to fall again.

The participants – the new beginning

God instructs Noah to build an Ark in preparation for a flood. God has Noah take his family as well as male and female of every living creature onto the Ark. God caused it to rain for 40 days and nights, flooding the world killing every living creature that lived on land and breathed the air. Once the water had receded and the land was once again dry Noah, his family, and all the living creatures came off the Ark and would once again populate the world. God establishes a covenant with Noah and with all his descendants that he would never destroy the world by flooding the earth and gave the rainbow as the sign of this covenant.

Consequences

“It becomes clear that the flood has not cleansed the world of sin and the curse; the new Adam (Noah) and his sons get caught up in their spiraling effects” (Birch et al., 1999, p. 63). We do not know what the population of the world was in pre-flood days, but one would imagine that the world's population is greater today. Increased population means increased sin. Anyone who has read the Book of Revelation must wonder if we are nearing the end. Disasters are being reported at a greater rate than they were and with greater intensity. We see and read about fires, tsunamis, hurricanes, and other natural disasters. Toss in wars, terrorist attacks and the genocide of different people groups and there is a constant loss of life.

Jesus warns us that there will be wars, earthquakes and famines and tells us that they are only “the beginning of the birth-pangs (May & Metzger, pp. 1203-1204). Jesus also tells us that we (his followers) will meet with persecution and that it will not matter whether you are related or not for “brother will deliver up brother to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death” (May & Metzger, p. 1233). The Voice of the Martyrs recently reported a Christian being beaten because he drank from the public water supply from which Christians are forbidden to drink.

Conclusion

“The world continues to live and breathe, and to establish families and nations, because God makes a gracious, unconditional commitment to stay with this world, come what may in the wake of human sinfulness” (Birch et al., 1999, p. 65). The tree of knowledge was in the middle of the garden the whole time until Satan introduced sin Adam and Eve had no interest in eating the fruit. They completely trusted God and that had been enough. One wonders if God allowed the sin because he does not want a bunch of robots as followers. God knows we are going to sin, but he still wants us to completely trust him. Trusting in God and being repentant of our sins has always had eternal consequences. If we choose not to listen to God, then we will be separated from him for eternity. Each time you see a rainbow let it remind you of God’s love, his covenant, and his desire for an eternal relationship with you.

References

Birch, B. C., Brueggemann, W., Fretheim, T. E., & Petersen, D. L. (1999). A Theological Introduction to the Old Testament. Nashville, TN: Abington Press.

May, H. G., & Metzger, B. M. (1977). The New Oxford Annotated Bible with the Apocrypha Expanded Edition and Revised Standard Version. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, Inc.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Psalm 100 (NIV)
A psalm. For giving thanks.

1 Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth.
2 Worship the LORD with gladness;

come before him with joyful songs.
3 Know that the LORD is God.

It is he who made us, and we are his;

we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving

and his courts with praise;

give thanks to him and praise his name.
5 For the LORD is good and his love endures forever;

his faithfulness continues through all generations.

May the grace and blessings of God be upon you on this day of Thanksgiving. It is my prayer for you today that you would have safe travels and fond memories of family and friends as you celebrate Thanksgiving.

Because of Him ~ Terry

Thanksgiving Service - Nov. 21st

A lot to be thankful for ...

November 2007 Newsletter

Hi All,

Each year the confirmation class learns about a lot of things, including the history of our church. In just over a year Hus Presbyterian Church will be celebrating its 120th anniversary. We have a lot to be thankful for this Thanksgiving. In recognition of this I will be reprinting the history of Hus Church starting this month and continuing over the next year.

A History of Hus Memorial Presbyterian Church
Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
Adapted from a Historical Treatise Written by Charlotte Stelcik

Hus Memorial Presbyterian Church of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, began as one of two Protestant Czech churches in the city. The building that currently is home to the church is located between J Street SW and Bowling Street SW on 29th Avenue. The actual address is 2808 Schaeffer Drive SW. Why give a different location than the actual address? Because Schaeffer Drive SW is only about 3 blocks long making it difficult to find. To really understand the hardships and the prosperous times that this church has undergone, we must go back into history and trace the steps of the Czech Protestant people to this day.

European Beginnings

The religious situation among the Czechs has been unique, for among no other immigrants who have come to the United States, have there been so many people who professed religious liberalism. The origin of this liberalism may be traced back to fifteenth-century Bohemia where the followers of Jan Hus sought to correct the abuses of the Roman Catholic Church and to offset Austrian autocracy with Czech democracy. For two centuries following Jan Hus, Protestantism was the dominant religion of Bohemia; then came the defeat of the Czechs in the battle of White Mountain and the subsequent supremacy of Austria and the Roman Catholic Church. Many of the Protestants fled to other countries or remained in Bohemia to worship in secret, still clinging to the motto of Jan Hus, “Seek the truth, hold the truth.”

Perhaps it would be well to say a few words here about Jan Hus and his beliefs. To Bohemia Jan Hus is more than a religious reformer; he is the national hero, the great prophet of the Czechs. In lofty idealism and courage as well as in dramatic details, and in his martyrdom, his life was not unlike that of the great prophets of the past, and is even today a source of inspiration to the Czechs. Also they consider the Hussite wars the most glorious periods of their history. Through the moral courage of his convictions and his ideals, and through the influence he exercised, Jan Hus merits a distinguished place among the forerunners of modern thinkers who advocated freedom of thought.

The direct causes of the Hussite movement were in nature religious, social, and national in character. Among the first causes was the corruption of the Roman Catholic Church. In 1419 the Hussites, radicals and moderates agreed on a common program called the Four Articles of Prague, stipulating first, that the Gospel should freely be preached; second, that all mortal sins and other misdemeanors against the laws of God should be prohibited and prosecuted; third, that Holy Communion under both kinds should be taken by all; and last, the priests should abandon all possession of worldly goods and should live up to the teachings of Christ. The Hussite wars are of great importance as the first significant effort made by a whole nation against the authority of the Roman Catholic Church, and as the first attempt of its kind in asserting the modern principle of freedom of conscience and of democracy.

In spite of the Hussite movements, Catholicism soon became the prevailing religion in Bohemia, and ninety-six percent of the people professed the faith. After the Toleration Patent of 1781, issued by Joseph II of Austria, religious freedom was granted to Lutherans and Calvinists but not to the Bohemian (Moravian) Brethren. Protestants, Catholics, and Free-Thinkers, made up the Czech immigration to the United States.

In the nineteenth century when a liberal trend appeared in Bohemia, Charles Havlicek, with his anti-clerical ideas led a movement against the Roman church and some of the liberal-minded Czechs, who had fled from Bohemia during the revolution of 1848, renounced a religion which to them was associated with the Austrian autocracy. They gladly welcomed the American idea of the separation of church and state.

Because of Him ~ Terry

" Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth. Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. Know that the LORD is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations."

Psalm 100 (NIV), A psalm. For giving thanks.

Analysis of “The Passion of the Christ”

“The Passion of the Christ” is one of the most graphic movies ever made about Jesus, but how does it hold up against Scripture? Does the movie take liberties in adding things to what we have in the Scriptures and if so, why?

“The Passion of the Christ” begins in the garden of Gethsemane and Jesus is praying. He stops and goes to where he left the disciples to pray. He finds them sleeping, wakes them and asks them why they could not stay awake. (Oxford University Press, Inc. [OUPI], 1977, pgs. 1208, 1235, 1280) When Jesus returns to where he had been praying Satan appears in the background. Of the four Gospels only one has a visitor to Jesus in the garden and that is in Luke 22:43, “and there appeared to him an angel from heaven strengthening him.” (OUPI, p. 1280) The scene is further exaggerated when a snake comes out from under a rock and crawls over to Jesus. Jesus then stands and crushes the head of the snake linking this scene back to Genesis 3:15 (OUPI, p. 5) as well as inferring that Jesus is the second Adam. It is only moments later that Judas and the guards arrive in the garden.

In the middle of the first scene there is a cut away to Judas negotiating his pay for betraying Jesus. This scene is not in order with the Scriptures. We have no idea how the exchange between Judas and the chief priests actually played out, but by having one of the chief priests toss a bag of coins to Judas and then having him fail to catch it made for more dramatic scene.

According to the account in the Synoptic Gospels, a crowd came with Judas and the guards to arrest Jesus. The account in the movie is more like what is recorded in the Gospel of John, where “Judas, procuring a band of soldiers and some officers from the chief priests and the Pharisees, went there.” (OUPI, 1977, p. 1313) What followed was a fight scene which is a clear exaggeration of what is recorded in the Gospels. All that is recorded in the Gospels is that one of the disciples reached out as Jesus was arrested and cut off the ear of a servant of the high priest. In the movie it is the ear of a guard that is cut off during the fight. The movie and the Scriptures do agree that Jesus did reattach man’s ear. The scene departs from Scripture when the scene cuts to Mary and Mary Magdalene. The addition of Mary in so many of the scenes would likely be associated with Mel Gibson’s Roman Catholic upbringing.

The Scriptures go from Jesus being arrested to being in front of the Sanhedrin. The movie creatively fills in the time between these two events. First, as Jesus is being led to the Sanhedrin he is thrown off the side of the wall they are walking on. Before being pulled up we see Judas crouching in the shadows and after Jesus is pulled back up a demonic spirit manifests and scares Judas. This would be the first, but not the last time that the movie depicts Judas’ tortured soul. The second piece that is filled in is when John barges in on Mary and Mary Magdalene telling them that Jesus had been arrested. While this is the first time that we see these three together, it will not be the last. They will remain together through out the remainder of the movie. This is fitting as at the end of the movie and in the Scriptures Jesus says “Woman, behold, your son! Then he said to the disciple [John], “Behold, your mother!” And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home.” (OUPI, 1977, p. 1315)

As Jesus is brought to and is waiting for the high priest something Jesus see triggers a memory and we see the first of many flashbacks. Some of the flashbacks are things that been added that are not in the Scriptures, others, such as the flashbacks to the Last Supper, have been inserted to define certain scenes to bring better understanding to the viewer. The first flashback is one that has been added for dramatic purposes as it is not in the Scriptures. Mary has arrived in the Temple courtyard and this flashback, like the one as Jesus is carrying the cross, establishes the parent-child relationship between mother and son.

Caiaphis, having questioned Jesus and getting no response, finally says “I adjure you by the living God, tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God.” (OUPI, 1977, p. 1209) At Jesus’ response that he is, Caiaphis “tore his robes” and says to the other “You have heard his blasphemy.” They responded that Jesus must die. In the movie when Caiaphis tears only a small section of his robes, but in the Scriptures when it say he tore them it makes it sound like he did more damage to his robes.

Although this is but a minor detail, it shows how different people can interpret the Scriptures in such different ways. Because they could not execute Jesus they took him to Pilate. Earlier in this scene we saw Claudia, the wife of Pilate, having a dream. It will not be until later that we find out that she had a vision that Jesus is a Holy man and that her husband should not have anything to do with his death. As Caiaphis finishes questioning Jesus Peter leaves, obviously shaken and unable to make any sense of what is happening. As he is trying to leave he is confronted by two men and a woman to whom he denies now Jesus. It is then that Peter makes eye contact with Jesus and we see the flashback to when Jesus predicts Peter’s denial of him three times. Peter then goes to Mary and confesses his denial of Jesus. Not in Scriptures Peter confessing to Mary shows how highly she is held by Roman Catholics. Jesus was led to a cell where he was mocked and beaten by the guards. As this is happening we see Mary wondering through the Temple. Suddenly she drops to the ground and listens as the viewer is taken below her to where Jesus is being held. This scene which is not in the Scriptures, like some of the flashbacks, serves to strengthen the bond between mother and son.

Increasingly being tortured by what he realizes he has done, Judas goes to the high priests and offers to give the money back because he has condemned an innocent man. The high priests want nothing to do with him as they finally have what they want, Jesus. Judas throws the money at them and leaves. Again we see more added what is not in the Scriptures as the movie fills in the time between Judas returning the coins and hanging himself. His soul tortured he sees demons in two young boys he see him sitting on the street and they begin to mock him. As they are doing this Judas sees demonic faces and tries to get away. The scene unfolds further as he is outside the city being chased, beaten and spit on by a group of children. Satan appears and the children disappear. It is then that Judas sees a dead donkey. He takes the rope from the donkey and hangs himself in the tree above the donkey. Just by the way that he looks at the donkey it makes one wonder if this was not the donkey that Jesus had ridden into Jerusalem just a week earlier, symbolizing the shift in people’s attitude towards Jesus.

Jesus is then taken before Pilate whose wife has now pleaded with him to let Jesus go based on her dream earlier. Not being able to find Jesus guilty he sends him to Herod to make the call. While the words in this scene are based on Scripture the movie took the opportunity to show what kinds of a lifestyle that Herod led. Unable to get Jesus to do a miracle he sends him back to Pilate. Pilate then lets the Jews choose what to do with Jesus as he has obviously been shaken by Claudia’s dream. In another departure from Scripture he tells his soldiers to chastise him, but not to kill him. During the beating we are given images that the Scriptures do not go into detail on. Obviously some research into the torture that was used was done as we see Jesus beaten with rods and then whips with sharp objects embedded in them so as to cause gashes when they hit. Stopped before they beat Jesus to death he was taken back to Pilate who asked the people if they wanted him to let Barabbas or Jesus go. The crowd, incited by the chief priests cried out to crucify him.

Interestingly the two criminals were not beaten as bad as Jesus and only had to carry the cross beam of their crosses. The movie has Jesus carrying a cross that is completely together. They symbolism of this being that Jesus bore the cross for us. The cross that was used for Jesus appeared to be a very nicely finished one, done likely to honor Jesus for what he did for us. While carrying the cross a man is chosen from the crowd to carry the cross for Jesus as he could no longer carry it on his own. This man was obviously affected deeply by this, especially after making eye contact with Jesus. A woman along the route was also affected and at one point was able to get to Jesus after he had fallen and he wiped his bloodied face on her head garment before she was told to get away. During this scene we also see Mary rushing to be near Jesus. Just before she is able to do so we see a flashback to when he was just a young boy and she was there for him. The flashbacks with Mary have served that purpose through out the movie, to show that she was there for him, just has he was there, on the cross for us.

There were many things that happened in the movie that could not be covered completely here, but the movie goes from being true to the Scriptures to adding things for dramatic effect. This then helps to better define the relationships between the people involved. The departures from Scripture also help the viewer to better understand the world as it was when Jesus was alive. In a creative venture as this it is hard for those who are creating it to not have their personal views show up. While that does happen the movie is still able to convey the long-suffering of Jesus which gives people hope. Just like the Scriptures, the movie can be interpreted in different ways. Because Jesus is God in the flesh, he chose to do what he did for us. It was Jesus the prophet and his admission to being the son of God that led to his crucifixion which showed him as the Messiah.

References
Achtemeier, P. J., Green, J. B., & Thompson, M. M. (2001). Introducing the New Testament: Its Literature and Theology. Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company.

Oxford University Press, Inc. (1977). The New Oxford Annotated Bible with the Apocrypha (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Oxford University Press, Inc..

Jesus as Prophet, Messiah, and Son of Man

Prophet. Messiah. Son of Man. Each has been used to describe Jesus Christ. Of the three, “Prophet” is the one description that has changed the least between the 1st century and today. To call Jesus the Messiah or the Son of Man, however, means different things today than it did in the 2000 years ago.

Prophet is defined by the Random House Dictionary as “a person who speaks for God or a deity, or by divine inspiration.” (Random House, Inc. [RHI], 1980, p.1061) He was called prophet by those who heard him, “It is a prophet, like one of the prophets of old.” (Oxford University Press, Inc. [OUPI], 1977, p. 1221) He was called a false prophet by those who questioned his methods and motives, calling into question what he taught and the miracles that he performed. By the very definition of the word, Jesus is a prophet as he did speak for God and he was divinely inspired. Today “well over a billion Muslims revere Jesus as a prophet of God” (Bockmuehl, 2002, p. 1). Many have come and gone through out the course of history claiming to be a prophet. In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus warns us to “beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits.” (OUPI, p. 1179) Jesus came to speak the Word of God the way that God had intended it to be, not the way man had interpreted it. In doing this there were times that he was at odds with the priests and others, so much so that they would call for Jesus to die. “We need not doubt that Jesus saw his words and deeds as fulfillment of the opening verses of Isaiah 61. ‘He has sent me to announce good news to the poor, i.e. to gospel the poor ... to comfort all who mourn.’ Indeed, I believe that this passage was the most important part of Scripture for Jesus’ own self-understanding: not Isaiah 53 with its references to the so-called suffering servant, but Isaiah 61.” (Stanton, 2004, p. 13)

Messiah is defined as “the promised and expected deliverer of the Jewish people.” (RHI, 1980, p. 839) Christians today consider Jesus the Messiah, but that has not always been the case. In the 1st century Jews were looking for something very different from the Messiah. The Prophets of the Old Testament had told of his coming. The Messiah was to be from the line of David. While Jesus was from the line of David, but it was difficult to believe that he was the awaited Messiah since he was born in a stable. Not where you would expect royalty to be born. The Jews were looking for someone like Moses, someone to raise up an army and lead Israel out from under the rule of the Romans. “The Messiah was to be a king, not a proclaimer of God’s will, judgment, and redemption.” (Achtemeier, Green, & Thompson, 2001, p. 231) 1st century Jews were waiting for someone to physically deliver them. They rejected Jesus as the Messiah because he failed to deliver them so they continue to wait. When James and John asked to be seated next to Jesus in his kingdom they were thinking an earthly one. At that point they still did not understand that Jesus had come to deliver them, but not in the way that was expected. Jesus came to deliver us spiritually. To save us from our sinful nature and bring us back into communion with God. “The nature of Jesus' messiahship as described in the New Testament has remained a puzzle for almost two thousand years. According to the Synoptic Gospels, Jesus never declared himself to be the Messiah. Moreover, when others called him the Messiah, he asked that it not be publicly revealed.” (Knohl, 2000, p. 1)

“The Gospels show that Jesus speaks most often of himself as “Son of man,” a designation derived from Daniel 7.” (Achtemeier et al., 2001, p. 233) “Since Jesus always speaks of the Son of Man in the third person, one could infer that he is referring to someone other than himself. In most of the sayings, however, it is clear that Jesus uses the phrase to refer to himself.” (Burkett, 2000, p. 1) Why Son of man instead of Son of God? In Matthew 26:63-64 Jesus ties these two terms together. “And the high priest said to him, “I adjure [urge] you by the living God tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God.” Jesus said to him, “You have said so. But I tell you, hereafter you will see the Son of man seated at the right hand of Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven.”” Jesus was God who became human. He was both the Son of God and the Son of Man.

While on earth Jesus was a prophet who foretold of the coming kingdom of God. He was the Messiah sent by God to deliver his people from sin, to bring them back to God. To do this, God came into the world as a man. He was both the Son of God and the Son of man. Since his resurrection Jesus has reigned in heaven as the Messiah, the deliverer of all the nations. This is summed up in the Gospel of John where the writer says “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal lie. For God sent the Son into the world, not to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him.” (OUPI, 1977, p. 1289)

References
Achtemeier, P. J., Green, J. B., & Thompson, M. M. (2001). Introducing the New Testament: Its Literature and Theology. Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company.

Bockmuehl, M. (2002). Companion to Jesus. Retrieved October 21, 2007, from http://site.ebrary.com/lib/grandcanyon/Doc?id=10019082&ppg=19

Burkett, D. (2000). Son of Man Debate : A History & Evaluation. Retrieved October 21, 2007, from http://site.ebrary.com/lib/grandcanyon/Doc?id=10001911&ppg=15

Knohl, I. (2000). Messiah Before Jesus. Retrieved October 21, 2007, from http://site.ebrary.com/lib/grandcanyon/Doc?id=10053519&ppg=15

Oxford University Press, Inc. (1977). The New Oxford Annotated Bible with the Apocrypha (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Oxford University Press, Inc..

Random House, Inc. (1980). The Random House College Dictionary (Revised ed.). New York, NY: Random House, Inc..

Stanton, G. N. (2004). Jesus and Gospel. Retrieved October 21, 2007, from http://site.ebrary.com/lib/grandcanyon/Doc?id=10131754&ppg=27

Serving Christ by Serving the City

October 2007 Newsletter

Hi All,

In less than a month nearly 1000 volunteers from 38 churches and ministries will be taking part in Operation Serve 2007. What is Operation Serve? Glad you asked. This event is part of Serve the Cities "three-year initiative, an adventure focused on reaching the lost of this community with the gospel of Christ."

In February 2006 we launched Prayer, Care, Share at Hus Church by going to the wall to pray for people that we know that do not have a relationship with Jesus Christ. Since then we have been praying for that God would open these people up to here the Good News of Jesus Christ. The weekly average attendance of the churches and ministries that are part of Serve the City is just over 10,000. That means that if everyone is praying for just three people that over 30,000 people who do not know the Lord are being prayed for. That is about 1/6th of the population of Linn County.

"Here's another way to put it: You're here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We're going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don't think I'm going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I'm putting you on a light stand. Now that I've put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand—shine! Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you'll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven." (Matthew 5:14-16 The Message)

As followers of Jesus we need to be God's light in this sometimes-dark world. Operation Serve is part of that. Through Operation Serve we are going to simply serve our community. How? By serving the schools systems in the area, by holding a blood drive, and with a food collection and distribution.

Help us as we rake leaves, clean weeds and grass from fence lines, cut down small trees, take on some landscaping projects, and other tasks as the schools need:
Cedar Rapids Community Schools: Harding, Garfield, Grant Wood, Johnson, Kingston Stadium, McKinley, Roosevelt, Washington, Wilson, and the Bus Barn
College Community Schools: Prairie High School
Linn-Mar Community Schools: Bowman Woods Elementary, Novak Elementary, Linn-Mar High School, Educational Services Center, Wilkins Elementary, and Indian Creek Elementary
Marion Independent Schools: Administrative Offices, Marion High School, Francis Marion Intermediate, Starry Elementary, Vernon Middle, and the football field.

In addition to serving the schools there will be a blood drive at St. Mark's Lutheran Church that is being done in partnership with The Mississippi Valley Blood Center (MVBC). The MVBC serves 50 hospitals in Eastern Iowa, including Mercy Cedar Rapids, Mercy Iowa City, and the VA Hospital in Iowa City. They also supplement for St. Luke's Cedar Rapids and they provide about 10,000 units of blood to the University of Iowa Hospital.

Also there will be teams of people helping package food for Kids Against Hunger at 1st Lutheran Church Cedar Rapids. The goal is to package 8,000 meals to send overseas. There will also be a canned food drive to help fill the shelves of local food pantries.

More information will be coming in the next week to 10 days so watch out for it and see how you can be a light to Cedar Rapids by volunteering some of your time.

Because of Him ~ Terry

"Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the LORD for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper."
Jeremiah 29:7 (NIV)

A Comparison/Contrast of Matthew and Mark

The first two books of the New Testament are Matthew and Mark. Since the authors did not sign their work, we can only guess who they are. These two Gospels while different both tell the story of Jesus Christ in different ways because their intended audiences were and continue to be different.

When these Gospels were written it was not important for a writer to lay claim to his work. Because of this neither of these books can be attributed to a particular person. The only information that we have about either writer we get from the clues they left us in the Gospels. By studying these two Gospels we can see that both writers were knowledgeable of the Scriptures of Israel. Because “it [Matthew] focuses largely around an interpretation of the meaning of the Torah,” (Grand Canyon University [GCU], 2005, p. 1) we can be relatively sure that this book was written by a Jewish writer for a Jewish audience. Mark’s audience was most likely Gentile. Many of the differences that we find in these two books are due to their distinct audiences.

Matthew is the first book of the New Testament, however Mark was most likely written first. Matthew was originally placed first as it was thought to be the first Gospel to be written. This later changed as more research was done. It has since been concluded that “more than 95 percent of the Second Gospel appears also in Matthew or Luke of both.” (Achtemeier, Green, & Thompson, 2001, p. 69) Because of this it is believed the writer of Matthew used Mark as a reference. Regardless of which was written first, “Introducing the New Testament” calls Matthew an “effective bridge within the Christian canon of Scripture – from the OT to the NT.” (Achtemeier et al., p. 89) It is believed that Matthew was written by either the disciple Matthew or more likely a scribe. Mark on the other hand is believed to have been written by either Peter’s interpreter Mark or John Mark.

Matthew was written as a biography that included “a focus on Jesus’ public life,” with “an overall interpretive aim indicating the cause-and-effect relations among the events that make up the narrative, and a presentation of Jesus and his behavior as exemplary for the Gospel’s audience.” (Achtemeier et al., 2001, pgs. 92-93) While Matthew looks more at the “cause-and-effect relations,” Mark is considered the most historical of the narratives of Jesus’ ministry.” (Achtemeier et al., p. 123)

Matthew uses Jesus’ life and teachings to appeal to the Jews. His use of the genealogy of Jesus is almost like saying that “we could not have the New Testament if it were not for the Old Testament and that Jesus would not be Jesus if it were not for the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.” (Cannon, 1982, p. 1) Jesus tells us in Matthew 5:17 that he did not come to abolish the law but to fulfill it. Through His teaching he not only provided the earthly view of the law but took it another step into the spiritual implications. It was through Jesus’ teaching that the Old Testament Scriptures were brought to life for the people to better understand. Matthew makes the point that Jesus is the fulfillment of the Old Testament prophesies.

Mark uses the events of Jesus’ life to lead us up to his death and resurrection. Mark’s Christian audience would not have been familiar with Jewish traditions so the writer takes the time to explain them, something the writer of Matthew did not have to do. “Some of the most ancient authorities bring the book [Mark] to a close at the end of verse 8 [chapter 16].” (Oxford University Press, Inc., 1977, p. 1239) This ends Mark immediately after Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome have gone to Jesus’ tomb, found it empty, and been told to tell the disciples that Jesus has gone ahead to Galilee where they will again see him. This abrupt ending “provides a powerful way to end this Gospel – or, rather, to leave this story open-ended in a provocative way.” (Achtemeier et al., 2001, p. 142) Verses 9 through 20 were likely added later to give this Gospel closure.

Matthew and Mark show that Jesus is the Messiah that was prophesied in the Old Testament, that He was the Son of God who came as a man to live a sinless life who paid for our sins by dying on the cross. While Matthew begins with the birth and childhood of Jesus, Mark catches up with the baptism of Jesus (Matthew 3:13-17, Mark 1:9-11). Matthew’s (4:1-11) account of Jesus’ temptation is more detailed than Mark’s (1:13). Both Gospels tell their audience about the calling of the disciples (Matthew 4:18-22 and Mark 1:16-20). Even though their audiences were different both Gospels tell the story of the disciples picking grain to eat on the Sabbath and the resulting questioning that Jesus receives from the Pharisees (Matthew 12:1-8, Mark 2:23-28). In both of these books Jesus heals a leper, cures a paralytic, and heals a man’s hand on the Sabbath as well as many of the miracles. In addition to having the power to heal Jesus also had the power over nature. Jesus calms a stormy sea (Matthew 8:23-27, Mark 4:36-41) showing His command over nature. Jesus taught using parables including new wine in old wineskins (Matthew 9:17, Mark 2:22), the mustard seed (Matthew 12:31-32, Mark 4:30-32), and the fig tree (Matthew 24:32-44, Mark 13:28-32).

Just as the writers of Matthew and Mark had intended audiences so do I. For personal study I find that one book cannot stand without the other. Because of this I will use a comparison chart of the Gospels to get the most of my study time. If I am teaching those who do not know who Jesus is or only have a cursory knowledge of Him I start them with Matthew. I find Mark the better starting point when working with people who know who Jesus is, but are just beginning to study the Scriptures.

References
Achtemeier, P. J., Green, J. B., & Thompson, M. M. (2001). Introducing the New Testament: Its Literature and Theology. Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company.

Cannon, W. R. (1982). The Gospel Of Matthew. Retrieved September 30, 2007, from http://www.religion-online.org/showchapter.asp?title=651&C=870

Grand Canyon University (2005). BIB 123 Lecture Four.

Oxford University Press, Inc. (1977). The New Oxford Annotated Bible with the Apocrypha (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Oxford University Press, Inc..

Jesus as a Historical Figure

For us to believe in Jesus as the Son of God takes faith. To want to know who Jesus was is a matter of human curiosity. For several centuries scholars have been trying to figure out who the historical Jesus was. They have studied the Gospels and other ancient writings trying to discern what they do or do not reveal about him. Did Jesus really live? Is he the Son of God? Was he any different than Jose de Jesus who claims to be Jesus Christ, man, the second manifestation, the Second Coming of Christ," (Avila, 2007, p. 1) just a man calling himself the Messiah.

In “Introducing the New Testament” we are introduced to three “quests”; the (First) Quest for the Historical Jesus, The New Quest and The Third Quest. (Achtemeier, Green, & Thompson, 2001, pgs. 55-62) In the First Quest scholars attempted to divorce the idea of the supernatural events of the New Testament from history. H. S. Reimarus is credited for being one of the first to write about the historical Jesus. “Reimarus saw in Jesus of Nazareth a Jewish messianic revolutionary whose failure led his followers to steal his body and create a new story of Jesus based on aspects of Jewish messianism. The Christian religion did not grow out of the teaching of Jesus; it is a new creation which gradually unfolded out of a series of failed expectations.” (Pearson, 1995, chap. 2) “There perhaps is one basic, broad attitude which operated during this period: a true, critical understanding of the history of Jesus’ life leads one away from the faith that had been received by the contemporary church.” Michael Burer found this statement by N. T. Wright to be “representative of the period as a whole” even though Wright was talking about Reimarus specifically. (Burer, 2004)

David Friedrich Strauss believed that the church embellished the story of Jesus to so the prophecies of the Old Testament would be shown as fulfilled. His work, like many scholars before and after him, showed “Two of the key characteristics of the Quest – namely, an unassailable confidence in reason and a consequent commitment to divorcing religion (or theology) from history.” (Achtemeier et al., p. 57)

Albert Schweitzer’s writings on the history of Jesus would precede the New Quest or period of No Quest. “The story of the "Quest of the Historical Jesus," as told by Schweitzer, includes not only rationalist attempts at discrediting traditional Christian teaching, but also attempts by Christian theologians to fend off such critiques by creating an edifice of critical theological scholarship by which a believable "real Jesus" might emerge to view. The result, often enough, was a "modernized" Jesus, one whose ethical genius and message of a "spiritual kingdom" brought him close to the liberal ideas of 19th-century German Protestantism.” (Pearson, 1995, chap. 2) Shortly after he wrote this there would be a period in which no new developments would surface.

Rudolf Bultman taught that “Authentic faith can never rest on historical research, he insisted, for then it would no longer be faith.” (Achtemeier et al., 2001, p. 59) As one of the influencers of the New Quest, Bultman believed that there was no need to know anything more about Jesus other than that he had lived. Yet it would be Bultman’s own students that would start to question his teachings. During this period Ernst Troeltsch would devise three principles for historical discovery. Those principles were doubt, analogy, and correlation. The principle of doubt requires that there be evidence to support historical statements. Troeltsch felt that things that happened when Jesus lived logically should also be happening today. Finally his principle of correlation held that all things that happen are the result of a natural cause. The criteria of multiple attestation and dissimilarity would be added to these principles. Traditions were more likely to be believed if they came from multiple independent sources or if it were expressed in multiple forms. On the other hand it was felt that Jesus was more authentic the greater the dissimilarity there was from Judaism.

By the end of the New Quest scholars were still looking at Jesus, not his Jewish heritage or the correlation between himself and the church. Nothing new had been discovered about the historical Jesus and scholars were still attempting divorce theology from history.

By the time of the Third Quest it was decided that there were multiple layers that included both history and theology. The theology and history of the Gospels should not studied separately but together. It would not be until now that Jesus was looked at from his Jewish heritage and how that affected his life and teachings. We must look at Jesus through lens of Judaism because he was Jewish. Nicholas Thomas Wright, one of the more recognized scholars of the Third Quest, “… insists that our view of the history of the Gospel traditions, like our portrait of Jesus, must make sense within the structure of early Judaism, not least because all the Gospel writers (with the possible exception of Luke) and their forebears were themselves Jews before they became followers of Jesus.” (Witherington, III, 1997)

The search for the historical Jesus continues. For some scholars Jesus did not exist as the church sees him. In “The Quest of the Historical Jesus” Schweitzer would state that “The Jesus of Nazareth who came forward publicly as the Messiah, who preached the ethic of the Kingdom of God, who founded the Kingdom of Heaven upon earth, and died to give His work its final consecration, never had any existence. He is a figure designed by rationalism, endowed with life by liberalism, and clothed by modern theology in an historical garb.” (Schweitzer, 1906, p. 399) As far as he was concerned Jesus was just another man. Our curiosity will fuel this debate to the end of time. Jesus told Thomas and the other disciples that they believed because they had seen him, and those who had not seen but still believed were also blessed. It is a matter of faith.

References
Achtemeier, P. J., Green, J. B., & Thompson, M. M. (2001). Introducing the New Testament: Its Literature and Theology. Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company.

Avila, J. (2007, March 6). Jesus of Suburbia -- Has He Risen Again in Houston, Texas?. ABC News Primetime, , . Retrieved September 23, 2007, from http://abcnews.go.com/Primetime/story?id=2925021&page=1

Burer, M. H. (2004, May 27). A Survey of Historical Jesus Studies: From Reimarus to Wright. Retrieved September 23, 2007, from http://www.bible.org/page.php?page_id=539

Pearson, B. A. (1995). The Gospel According to the Jesus Seminar. Retrieved September 23, 2007, from http://www.veritas-ucsb.org/library/pearson/seminar/js2.html

Schweitzer, A. (1906). The Quest of the Historical Jesus; A Critical Study of its Progress from Reimarus to Wrede. Retrieved September 23, 2007, from http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/schweitzer/index.html

Witherington, B.III (1997, November 19-26). The Wright Quest for the Historical Jesus. Retrieved September 23, 2007, from http://www.religion-online.org/showarticle.asp?title=37

Movie Night - Oct. 3rd!

Fun & Fellwoship

The sun is setting sooner and it is getting colder so it is time to go miniature golfing one last time for the year. Join us this Friday, September 28th at 5:30 PM at The Ridge Putting Course. Click on the map below for directions to get there.

For more information email us at youthandfamily@huschurch.org.

On the Lookout for Suspicious White Van | KCRG-TV9 Cedar Rapids, Iowa | News

On the Lookout for Suspicious White Van KCRG-TV9 Cedar Rapids, Iowa News

And the search goes on. This time near Truman Elementary. Please pray that our youth stay safe. Please pray that the person(s) that are involved with this slip up and get caught before something happens.

Because of Him ~ Terry

Students join hands in prayer | GazetteOnline.com - Cedar Rapids, Iowa City

Students join hands in prayer GazetteOnline.com - Cedar Rapids, Iowa City

Area See You At The Pole Numbers (thanks to 89.1 The Spirit who posted these on their MySpace):

• Linn-Mar: 138!! Praise the Lord!!
• North Linn: 81
• Marion High School: 78
• Prairie High School: 19
• Waterloo West High: 40
• Center Point-Urbana: 34
• McKinley: 14
• Benton Community: 12
• Taft Middle School: 5
• Elk Ridge: 15
• Excelsior Middle School: 22
• Alburnette: 24
• Independence: 29
• Jefferson High School: 35

The Gazetteonline also posted a video from Jefferson High School in Cedar Rapids where they had about 35 students prayed this morning.

First Century Rome and the 21st Century

The Roman Empire eventually encompassed what was at the time the known world. Today the known world encompasses the globe. With all the changes in the world how are things today different from the world of the Roman Empire? How are they the same?

Looking at a map of the Roman Empire we see that it encompassed much of what is now Europe, Southeast Asia, and the areas immediately surrounding the Mediterranean Sea. The Romans are well known for their roads, aqueducts, and buildings many of which can still be seen today in the areas that the empire covered. The roads that they created were necessary for the flow of information, their “information highway.” Much of the empire was bordered by water which provided another way to get information, goods, and the army from one place to another. Today we are not encumbered by distance. With the Internet we can send an email half way around the world in an instant, something that took the Romans days, even weeks to accomplish.

There was little government involvement in running the empire as this was left to the cities to take care of. “Military installations were spread throughout the empire but, except in troubled areas (like Galilee and Judea), direct Roman intrusion into daily affairs was minimal.” (Achtemeier, Green, & Thompson, 2001, p. 28) The Roman army was in place to keep the peace within its borders. Countries today have military installations around the world to keep the peace.

Land taxes, income taxes, and toll taxes were used to pay wages and fund the military. The bulk of the taxes fell to those who were already struggling to get by. In addition to these taxes Jews imposed additional taxes which furthered the hardship. The rich could get out of paying taxes by giving money and time to the running of the cities. Every country collects taxes of some sort to help pay for the government and bulk of the burden of these taxes falls to those who have the hardest time paying them. Taxes that are collected still go to paying for wages and the military. In the United States and other countries taxes also go to providing social services.

The Jewish people lost their national identity but they stuck to following the Law of Moses and ultimately went from a country to a religion. (Achtemeier et al., 2001, p. 32-33). From this grew what Josephus refers to as the “four parties within Judaism – the Pharisees, the Sadducees, the Essenses, and the “Fourth Philosophy.””(Achtemeier et al., p. 33) These groups made up a small portion of the population of the Jews. Today putting your religious identity before your national identity can still get you arrested and in some countries killed. Just like the “four parties” that Josephus put Judaism into, religion today is splintered along beliefs. In Christianity there are different “parties” each with their own subtle nuances. Like Israel, many countries, like France once considered a Christian country, are no longer associated with a specific religion.

Jews in living in the 1st century were separated from God by where they fell in the structure of their culture. If you wanted to be a priest you were out of luck unless you had the right parents, you had to be born into the priesthood. Today we are all ministers of our faith where ever God has placed us. Judaism could be looked at like an exclusive club that only certain people could get into whereas Christianity is inclusive and all are invited. If you had a problem with a Jewish priest, you had a problem with God. Today if we have a problem with a minister we refer to the teaching from Matthew 18:15-17 where we are given instructions on how to resolve the problem. (Oxford University Press, Inc., 1977, p. 1195)

The Scriptures, while considered by all to be God’s Word, were interpreted differently by those who taught it to the people. Today Scripture is still interpreted differently by those who teach. Through out history the Scriptures have been used to justify all kinds of abuses. In the New Testament world the father had the ultimate power and final say in a family. The family in this included his wives, children, slaves, and anyone else who lived in the household. This could and did lead to all kinds of abuses, physical and mental, that would have a person today in therapy. This paternal oversight did not stop in the home; it carried over into the government with the emperor seeing himself as the father of the empire. Outside of the home reciprocity was based not on kinship but on who did what for whom. Different groups emerged from this and their “overlapping obligation spread throughout the empire, ultimately with everyone indebted to the emperor as benefactor…” (Achtemeier et al., 2001, p. 49) This same web of “overlapping obligation” can be seen in many governments today. In the United States this is what has led to the ear marks that get attached to legislation to get certain pet projects funded. Yet unlike today money was not as important in determining your power in the 1st century. Power and privilege were things that you were born into and could lose. Like today you could earn it, but it was more difficult and you could still lose it.

In some ways things have changed and in others they have remained the same. Today the world bigger place geographically, but with all the advances that have been made it is also much smaller. People are still paying taxes to governments but now some of that money is funding social programs. We still struggle for our identity as God’s people. Fathers in most cultures today do not wield the power that they did in the 1st century and they have also become more nurturing with their families. Things have changed and we must have a good understanding of the 1st century Roman Empire if we are to understand the writings of the New Testament.

References
Achtemeier, P. J., Green, J. B., & Thompson, M. M. (2001). Introducing the New Testament: Its Literature and Theology. Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company.
Oxford University Press, Inc. (1977). The New Oxford Annotated Bible with the Apocrypha (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Oxford University Press, Inc..

Personal Reflection: Bible Study

When reading the Bible have you ever wondered what it means? How are you supposed to study the Bible? I have heard people say the King James Version of the Bible is the only truly inspired translation, but when if go to the store I can easily find about two dozen versions to choose from. Which version should I choose? Did I choose the right one? My brother and I were talking about the Bible and conversation turned to which version he should read. He still had the Bible he received for confirmation, but did not read it because he did not connect with it. To help him with this I had him go online to BibleGateway.com and read a passage from the many translations that are available. This got me to examine my Bible study time.

Since I have several translations on my bookshelf I decided to turn my attention to how I was going to study the bible. In “The New Oxford Annotated Bible” five different approaches are given to studying the Bible. They are literary criticism, form criticism, redaction criticism, transmission (or tradition history), and summary (NOAB, 1977, Pages. 1519-1522).

When taking in to account literary criticism one needs to look at sentence structure, the words that are used, the way that is was phrased, as well as the different genres that could be at work in determining the meaning of a passage. Literary criticism can be problematic in that “it failed to take seriously the oral traditions that lay behind the final written form of a biblical book, nor did it adequately examine questions of the origin or life-setting of the individual units within a book.”(NOAB, 1977, Page 1519) Form criticism puts the text into context looking at where the event took place and the customs of the time. Redaction criticism is concerned with looking at what the author used to create the text by analyzing the information used. Transmission or Tradition History looks at how the stories were handed down from one generation to another and how it might possibly have changed due to each generation’s culture and settings. I find it important to look at each of the previous criticisms when studying the Bible. Not only is it important to look at the way the text is written, but you need to place the text into context and understand what the author was thinking and how the author came to write what they did. You also need to know more about how that information was originally gathered and passed from one generation to another, especially in the case of the Bible where much of the Old Testament was passed orally for several generations. This is why I find summary the form of criticism I prefer. When reading a passage I will not just read one particular translation of the Bible, instead I will consult at least three or more. For purposes of study I my favorite translations are the New International Version (NIV), the New Century Version (NCV), and The New Living Translation (NLT). I prefer these translations because they are the most familiar to me. I also will read one or more commentaries and sometimes I will look at an exegesis.

I look at as much information about a passage as possible because I know how difficult is can be to translate from one language to another, even one dialect of a language to another. My high school French final was to watch a movie in Spanish and then present an oral report in French. In the process of doing this I listened for Spanish words that sounded like French ones that I knew. I took those words and put them in English so I would understand the concept and then I translated the concept into French for the report. Because of the feedback that I received from my teacher I knew where I had hit the mark and where I had missed it completely. A similar process was likely taken to translate the ancient Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek texts in to our current translations of the Bible. This in itself had to make translating the Bible difficult. Add to this the different nuances of the different languages and it becomes even more difficult. Many of those who wrote the early translations meet with opposition and even death as was the case for William Tyndale. Tyndale met came up against strong opinions and views from church leaders of his time. Even today changing someone opinions and views on a subject can be very difficult and in some cases deadly. God never said follow me and it will always be easy, rather He wants us to be obedient.

To be obedient one must study the Word of God. By reading and studying the various translations of the Bible and Bible commentaries I have come to a better understanding of what the words mean and how they tie together. When studying the Bible use the techniques that are most comfortable to you. Some learn better by digging deep while others find it best to learn by studying with others. I do not agree that the King James Version is only translation that one should read. If I am reading the Bible simply to read it I like the Message. If I am studying I choose to use the NIV, NCV, and NLT translations. These translations work for me because I am comfortable with them, not everyone is and they choose other translations. As long as I am alive I will wonder if I got the right things out of my study time. It is the questions that come from wondering that help me dig deeper and get more out of the Bible. Rereading the Bible is like watching the same movie several time, you get more meaning from it each time.