The Book of Revelation is about an apocalypse. There are several books that deal with this topic—some of them are part of the Christian scriptures and others did not make the canon. The first one to be written was Daniel. Others include 1 Enoch, 2 Baruch, 4 Ezra, the Shepherd of Hermes, and the Apocalypse of Peter.
These books share many similar themes. They prophesize that the end of history is near, and that there will be a final judgment where the good are saved and the evil will burn. These books were all written during times of distress and persecution (see Revelation 1: 9 and 2: 10) for the purpose of encouraging the faithful. It may not look like God controls history, but he does. Keep the faith, and God will soon intervene to reward you. All of the above books make this claim about God controlling history, and none of their predictions have come true. God must be controlling history in ways that humans cannot see or understand.
In the Jewish scriptures, God acts in ways that most honest people would find to be repugnant. In leading his people out of Egypt, God shatters the enemy, crunching his foes, devouring them like stubble (Exodus 15: 3-8, see also my book on Evangelical Christianity). A similar view is found in the book of Joshua. The central theme of Joshua is holy war. God leads his people in battle. In that role, God destroys towns and murders innocent women and children. His wrath kills everyone. This is a story about ethnic cleansing. God’s actions are comparable to Slobodan Milosevic. If this is the way God acts, I want nothing to do with him.
Again, let me return to the Jewish scriptures. It is a central article of Jewish belief that God acts in history. God acted to make a covenant with Israel, gave his people Law at Sinai, guided them out of Egypt, led them in battle to conqueror the land of Canaan, and established a monarchy to rule a united Israel. The question I have is why did God stop acting on behalf of his people? Israel as a united state ceased to function following the death of Solomon three thousand years ago. God’s chosen people suffered colonial oppression beginning with the invasion of Assyria in 721 BCE, a condition which continued virtually without interruption until the establishment of the modern state of Israel in 1948. Had the allies not intervened in World War 11, Hitler would have succeeded in exterminating God’s chosen people. I find it hard to understand how any Jew or Christian can accept the central premise of the Jewish scriptures that God acts in history.
Let me conclude this blog with a story that illustrates the belief of many Christians that God continues to act in history. Ten years ago my wife and I were driving from Colorado to our home in the mountains of North Carolina. At a gasoline stop in rural Tennessee, I picked up a local newspaper. It contained an amazing story. A week prior to our arriving, a tornado had ripped through a nearby town in the middle of the night. A young couple awoke the next morning after the tornado and could not find their two year old son. The section of their trailer where their son slept had been destroyed by the tornado. After a two hour search of the surrounding area, they found their son in his bassinette lodged in the branches of a tree virtually unharmed. The minister of their church proclaimed on the following Sunday that a miracle had taken place, that God had entered history to save that two year old boy. In proclaiming this miracle, the minister forgot to mention that the tornado killed five people in the town. Do you want to believe in a God that picks and chooses in that way?
Christians maintain their belief that God acts in history by crediting God with all the good that happens and finding another explanation for the bad things that happen. The claims of God acting in history in the Jewish and Christian scriptures are deeply flawed. The failure of the expectation of God to intervene to save Christian saints described in the Book of Revelation lends further credence to this point of view.
Monday, October 5, 2009
Monday, September 21, 2009
The Nature of Divine Revelation
Many Christians believe that the Book of Revelation speaks to them today, that the revelations received by the prophet John are a blueprint for their future. The most important reason for this belief is the claim that these revelations came to John from God through Jesus Christ (Revelation 1: 1-2). These revelations are seen as the word of God (1:2) which is viewed as eternally valid and communicated perfectly to God’s special representatives.
In The Case Against Evangelical Christianity, I examine the question of the nature of divine revelation at length. There is no evidence in history that such a word of God exists. Consider a few problems from the Judeo-Christian tradition. Millions of Christians believe that God spoke directly to Moses when giving him the Ten Commandments. Read chapter 34 in Exodus. If you do, you will learn that God in fact gave Moses two separate and different sets of Ten Commandments. The question is: which set represents the word of God?
The classical prophets—Amos, Hosea, Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel—were commissioned by God to speak his word. In my book, I list the predictions they make when speaking God’s word, and then compare these predictions with known historical events. The prophets were correct in their predictions less than ten percent of the time. Something must have happened in their receiving that word from God. The word of God was somehow lost.
The same problems exist in the New Testament. Most Christians believe that Jesus spoke for God, that he was in fact the incarnation of God. The central theme of Jesus’ preaching was the coming of the kingdom of God. As I pointed out in several blogs on the Synoptic gospels (Mark, Matthew, and Luke), Jesus announces that the kingdom is imminent, that God will intervene to bring in the kingdom within the lifetimes of his listeners. Paul makes the same assertion. How does one explain the two thousand year delay? Was God really speaking through Jesus in announcing the imminent coming of his kingdom? Does Paul speak the word of God when he makes the same mistake?
Sadly, many claims to speak with divine authority have had profoundly negative consequences. As I pointed out in my blog entitled “The Jewish Conflict in John,” the gospel of John blames “the Jews” for the death of Jesus. This is not historically accurate. The Romans crucified Jesus. This false claim, a claim that many Christians believe to be the word of God, has resulted in two thousand years of anti-Semitism. The apostle Paul is well known for his attacks against homosexuality, and his views about the secondary status of women in the church. When viewed as the word of God, these views of Paul have had negative consequences that continue to influence the policies of some churches. Did God speak to Joseph Smith, the founder of Mormonism, and grant him the right to have several wives? Does God speak to Osama bin Laden?
Confusion over the nature of divine revelation has turned religion into a source of human problems rather than a solution. Revelation is about an encounter of love—period. It has no content. There is no such thing as “the word of God.” The word of God expressed in the Book of Revelation indicates that the events prophesized would take place soon, within the first century (1: 1-3, 22: 11, and 22: 16-21). The fact that these events have yet to take place as predicted lends further evidence to the idea that there is no such thing as the word of God.
In The Case Against Evangelical Christianity, I examine the question of the nature of divine revelation at length. There is no evidence in history that such a word of God exists. Consider a few problems from the Judeo-Christian tradition. Millions of Christians believe that God spoke directly to Moses when giving him the Ten Commandments. Read chapter 34 in Exodus. If you do, you will learn that God in fact gave Moses two separate and different sets of Ten Commandments. The question is: which set represents the word of God?
The classical prophets—Amos, Hosea, Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel—were commissioned by God to speak his word. In my book, I list the predictions they make when speaking God’s word, and then compare these predictions with known historical events. The prophets were correct in their predictions less than ten percent of the time. Something must have happened in their receiving that word from God. The word of God was somehow lost.
The same problems exist in the New Testament. Most Christians believe that Jesus spoke for God, that he was in fact the incarnation of God. The central theme of Jesus’ preaching was the coming of the kingdom of God. As I pointed out in several blogs on the Synoptic gospels (Mark, Matthew, and Luke), Jesus announces that the kingdom is imminent, that God will intervene to bring in the kingdom within the lifetimes of his listeners. Paul makes the same assertion. How does one explain the two thousand year delay? Was God really speaking through Jesus in announcing the imminent coming of his kingdom? Does Paul speak the word of God when he makes the same mistake?
Sadly, many claims to speak with divine authority have had profoundly negative consequences. As I pointed out in my blog entitled “The Jewish Conflict in John,” the gospel of John blames “the Jews” for the death of Jesus. This is not historically accurate. The Romans crucified Jesus. This false claim, a claim that many Christians believe to be the word of God, has resulted in two thousand years of anti-Semitism. The apostle Paul is well known for his attacks against homosexuality, and his views about the secondary status of women in the church. When viewed as the word of God, these views of Paul have had negative consequences that continue to influence the policies of some churches. Did God speak to Joseph Smith, the founder of Mormonism, and grant him the right to have several wives? Does God speak to Osama bin Laden?
Confusion over the nature of divine revelation has turned religion into a source of human problems rather than a solution. Revelation is about an encounter of love—period. It has no content. There is no such thing as “the word of God.” The word of God expressed in the Book of Revelation indicates that the events prophesized would take place soon, within the first century (1: 1-3, 22: 11, and 22: 16-21). The fact that these events have yet to take place as predicted lends further evidence to the idea that there is no such thing as the word of God.
Monday, September 14, 2009
The Book of Revelation
The Book of Revelation is written by a man named John, a Christian prophet, who lived at the end of the first century. The consensus estimate for the time of writing is 95 C.E. The name John has led some to connect the work with the Fourth Gospel, but it is highly unlikely that the authors are the same. The Revelation of John is a book about the end of history, about an apocalypse that was imminent, about a utopian kingdom that would follow on the earth for the elect and would last for 1,000 years. The ideas relating to the kingdom of God are very different in the gospel of John.
The prophet John encounters Jesus in heaven, one like a Son of Man (1:14), where he receives his initial revelation from God. This revelation pertains to seven churches in Asia Minor. Christ dictates letters to each church. These letters discuss the problems facing each church, and the courses of action each church should take to resolve the problems (see chapters 2 and 3). Christ praises church members who have been good, suggesting that their reward will be great. In contrast, he castigates those who continue to sin and warns them that their fate will be dire. The thinking behind this section sounds quite different from Paul’s doctrine of salvation by faith in Jesus Christ.
The revelations become more intense in chapter 4. The prophet is taken up through a window in the sky to heaven and the throne of God. Around the throne, he sees many fascinating things, the most important of which is a scroll with seven seals. Jesus breaks the seal of each scroll which unleashes a specific catastrophe upon the earth—war, famine, pestilence, etc. With the sixth seal, a violent earthquake takes place, the sun goes black, and the stars fall on the earth. That should finish things, but the seventh seal unleashes a whole host of new disasters.
The end finally comes when evil becomes centralized in “the beast” (13:1). In the final battle, Christ comes with his heavenly armies to defeat the beast and destroy Babylon (chapters 15-19). The enemies of God are crushed, Satan is imprisoned, and Christ and his saints establish a utopia on earth which lasts for 1,000 years (20: 1-6). Following the 1,000 year kingdom, the final judgment comes when all people are raised from the dead and rewarded according to their deeds. People who have the misfortune of siding with Satan are thrown into a burning lake (20: 7-15).
In this final revelation, the prophet has a vision of a new heaven and a new earth (chapters 21 and 22). In this vision, Christ comes down from heaven to establish a new Jerusalem where he will reign eternally in a kingdom for the saints, those who have performed good deeds, a group numbering 144,000. At the end of the book, the prophet asserts that his vision is true and will be fulfilled very soon (22: 10 and 22: 16-21).
The prophet’s revelations contain many strange figures and bizarre images. At times his visions tumble out into each other and lead to nonsense. As I pointed out above, when the sixth seal is broken, the sun and moon are destroyed and the stars fall into the earth. This obviously would be the end of the earth, including the 144,000 saints, but that does not end the wrath of God. Even worse disasters ensue with the opening of the seventh seal. The prophet uses numbers to give his predictions an authentic ring. The number seven symbolizes perfection. The number six symbolizes the fall from perfection. The beast is numbered 666.
Many contemporary Christians think that the Book of Revelation is written for today. They take the symbols and numerology and interpret them to explain conditions in the twenty-first century. This is both amazing and stupid. It shows that when reading the Bible they pay little attention to what the Bible actually says and focus instead on reinterpreting scripture to say what they want it to say.
What does the Book of Revelation say? To begin with, the prophet makes clear both in the beginning of the book (1:1) and at the end (22: 10 and 22: 16-21) that these events will take place very soon. The vast majority of scholars who have studied the book argue that the symbols and numerology point to the first century. If you spell out Nero in Hebrew and add up the letters, you arrive at the number of 666. Nero, of course, was the Roman emperor in the first century who was persecuting Christians. The symbol of Babylon clearly refers to Rome. When Christians come to my door to save me, I tell them not to waste their time because there is no room in heaven for me. Salvation is reserved for an elect of 144,000, and I am sure that all the space has been taken up. I express the hope that they are included within that number. My guests either don’t know what I am talking about or reinterpret the number.
The place of heaven and the idea that they are saved are firmly held beliefs for many Christians with deep psychological roots. These conditions create an ideological screen for reading the Bible which makes it very difficult for them to focus on what the Bible actually says. While I am not at all sure about what happens to humans after we die, I am quite confident that events will not unfold as they are pictured in the Book of Revelation.
The Book of Revelation raises two issues that interest me: does God in fact speak directly to human beings and does She control history? Those are the topics of the next two blogs.
The prophet John encounters Jesus in heaven, one like a Son of Man (1:14), where he receives his initial revelation from God. This revelation pertains to seven churches in Asia Minor. Christ dictates letters to each church. These letters discuss the problems facing each church, and the courses of action each church should take to resolve the problems (see chapters 2 and 3). Christ praises church members who have been good, suggesting that their reward will be great. In contrast, he castigates those who continue to sin and warns them that their fate will be dire. The thinking behind this section sounds quite different from Paul’s doctrine of salvation by faith in Jesus Christ.
The revelations become more intense in chapter 4. The prophet is taken up through a window in the sky to heaven and the throne of God. Around the throne, he sees many fascinating things, the most important of which is a scroll with seven seals. Jesus breaks the seal of each scroll which unleashes a specific catastrophe upon the earth—war, famine, pestilence, etc. With the sixth seal, a violent earthquake takes place, the sun goes black, and the stars fall on the earth. That should finish things, but the seventh seal unleashes a whole host of new disasters.
The end finally comes when evil becomes centralized in “the beast” (13:1). In the final battle, Christ comes with his heavenly armies to defeat the beast and destroy Babylon (chapters 15-19). The enemies of God are crushed, Satan is imprisoned, and Christ and his saints establish a utopia on earth which lasts for 1,000 years (20: 1-6). Following the 1,000 year kingdom, the final judgment comes when all people are raised from the dead and rewarded according to their deeds. People who have the misfortune of siding with Satan are thrown into a burning lake (20: 7-15).
In this final revelation, the prophet has a vision of a new heaven and a new earth (chapters 21 and 22). In this vision, Christ comes down from heaven to establish a new Jerusalem where he will reign eternally in a kingdom for the saints, those who have performed good deeds, a group numbering 144,000. At the end of the book, the prophet asserts that his vision is true and will be fulfilled very soon (22: 10 and 22: 16-21).
The prophet’s revelations contain many strange figures and bizarre images. At times his visions tumble out into each other and lead to nonsense. As I pointed out above, when the sixth seal is broken, the sun and moon are destroyed and the stars fall into the earth. This obviously would be the end of the earth, including the 144,000 saints, but that does not end the wrath of God. Even worse disasters ensue with the opening of the seventh seal. The prophet uses numbers to give his predictions an authentic ring. The number seven symbolizes perfection. The number six symbolizes the fall from perfection. The beast is numbered 666.
Many contemporary Christians think that the Book of Revelation is written for today. They take the symbols and numerology and interpret them to explain conditions in the twenty-first century. This is both amazing and stupid. It shows that when reading the Bible they pay little attention to what the Bible actually says and focus instead on reinterpreting scripture to say what they want it to say.
What does the Book of Revelation say? To begin with, the prophet makes clear both in the beginning of the book (1:1) and at the end (22: 10 and 22: 16-21) that these events will take place very soon. The vast majority of scholars who have studied the book argue that the symbols and numerology point to the first century. If you spell out Nero in Hebrew and add up the letters, you arrive at the number of 666. Nero, of course, was the Roman emperor in the first century who was persecuting Christians. The symbol of Babylon clearly refers to Rome. When Christians come to my door to save me, I tell them not to waste their time because there is no room in heaven for me. Salvation is reserved for an elect of 144,000, and I am sure that all the space has been taken up. I express the hope that they are included within that number. My guests either don’t know what I am talking about or reinterpret the number.
The place of heaven and the idea that they are saved are firmly held beliefs for many Christians with deep psychological roots. These conditions create an ideological screen for reading the Bible which makes it very difficult for them to focus on what the Bible actually says. While I am not at all sure about what happens to humans after we die, I am quite confident that events will not unfold as they are pictured in the Book of Revelation.
The Book of Revelation raises two issues that interest me: does God in fact speak directly to human beings and does She control history? Those are the topics of the next two blogs.
Monday, September 7, 2009
The Epistles of John
1,2, and 3 John are three letters most probably written by the same author from the same Christian community that produced the gospel of John. The three letters address a problem within a local church community. 2 John is a one page letter from a Christian leader to the local church that is experiencing the problem. It seems to function as a cover letter for 1 John. 3 John is another one page letter from the same church leader to a member of the community in trouble named Gaius. The letter is written to lend support to Gaius during these troubled times.
The letter we will focus on is 1 John, which though labeled a letter is much more like a sermon written to persuade the members of the troubled community to keep the faith. Although the author of the three letters is most probably the same person, most scholars do not believe that the author of the epistles wrote the Fourth Gospel. The letters seem to come from the same church community that produced the gospel, but at a later time. The problem addressed in the letters is the docetist heresy, the idea that Jesus was God and not also fully human. The references in the epistles to an established church leadership suggest a later date for the epistles toward the end of the first century.
Many of the themes in the letters are similar to the gospel of John. Jesus is portrayed as the preexistent son of God (1 John 2: 14). He is the atoning sacrifice that defeats the power of sin (1 John 4: 10). A sharp contrast is drawn between the world of light and the world of darkness (1 John 2: 9-11). One must reject the world, and live instead in the love of Christ (1 John 2: 15-17). Finally, mutual love is the essence of Christianity (1 John 3: 11). There are only two commandments: to believe in the name of Jesus Christ, and to love one another (1 John 3: 23-24).
The one key difference between the letters and the Fourth Gospel is eschatology. As I pointed out in discussing the gospel of John, a realized eschatology exists in the gospel side by side with an apocalyptic eschatology. A realized eschatology posits that the kingdom of God has arrived in the teachings and acts of Jesus, and that this kingdom is essentially a matter of a renewed heart. The kingdom is within. In the letters a more traditional approach to eschatology is advanced involving judgment and the return of Jesus from heaven. These events are seen as imminent (1 John 2: 18).
As I indicated above, the problem the letters address is the heresy of docetism (1 John 4: 1-3 and 2 John 1: 7). Docetism denies the human Jesus. These believers see Jesus only as divine, as God walking on the earth. Jesus only appeared to be human. 1 John makes clear that Jesus was fully human as well as divine. He was seen, heard, touched, looked at (1: 1-2). He came in the flesh (2 John 1: 7). His real blood is what brings salvation (1 John 1: 7). This heresy led to a split within the community with the docetists leaving the church (1 John 2: 19).
As so often happens in disputes of this nature, it became personal. The dissenters are accused of not practicing the commandments of God (1 John 2:4). They fail to love their brothers and sisters in the community (1 John 2: 9-11 and 4: 20). An us versus them mentality is created in which members of the community are to have nothing to do with the dissenters who are viewed as traitors to the faith ( 2 John 1: 10-11).
The Epistles of John represent what is best about the Christian faith, and also one of its real problems. The essence of religion is love (1 John 3: 11), a love that must go beyond mere words and talk. It must be real and active (1 John 3: 18). That’s all that matters. The problem is that, although mutual love defines the essence of the Christian community, that love does not extend beyond the community. You love those who share your values. That’s easy love; and sadly, because it is confined, it has not been able to heal the problems of the larger society.
The letter we will focus on is 1 John, which though labeled a letter is much more like a sermon written to persuade the members of the troubled community to keep the faith. Although the author of the three letters is most probably the same person, most scholars do not believe that the author of the epistles wrote the Fourth Gospel. The letters seem to come from the same church community that produced the gospel, but at a later time. The problem addressed in the letters is the docetist heresy, the idea that Jesus was God and not also fully human. The references in the epistles to an established church leadership suggest a later date for the epistles toward the end of the first century.
Many of the themes in the letters are similar to the gospel of John. Jesus is portrayed as the preexistent son of God (1 John 2: 14). He is the atoning sacrifice that defeats the power of sin (1 John 4: 10). A sharp contrast is drawn between the world of light and the world of darkness (1 John 2: 9-11). One must reject the world, and live instead in the love of Christ (1 John 2: 15-17). Finally, mutual love is the essence of Christianity (1 John 3: 11). There are only two commandments: to believe in the name of Jesus Christ, and to love one another (1 John 3: 23-24).
The one key difference between the letters and the Fourth Gospel is eschatology. As I pointed out in discussing the gospel of John, a realized eschatology exists in the gospel side by side with an apocalyptic eschatology. A realized eschatology posits that the kingdom of God has arrived in the teachings and acts of Jesus, and that this kingdom is essentially a matter of a renewed heart. The kingdom is within. In the letters a more traditional approach to eschatology is advanced involving judgment and the return of Jesus from heaven. These events are seen as imminent (1 John 2: 18).
As I indicated above, the problem the letters address is the heresy of docetism (1 John 4: 1-3 and 2 John 1: 7). Docetism denies the human Jesus. These believers see Jesus only as divine, as God walking on the earth. Jesus only appeared to be human. 1 John makes clear that Jesus was fully human as well as divine. He was seen, heard, touched, looked at (1: 1-2). He came in the flesh (2 John 1: 7). His real blood is what brings salvation (1 John 1: 7). This heresy led to a split within the community with the docetists leaving the church (1 John 2: 19).
As so often happens in disputes of this nature, it became personal. The dissenters are accused of not practicing the commandments of God (1 John 2:4). They fail to love their brothers and sisters in the community (1 John 2: 9-11 and 4: 20). An us versus them mentality is created in which members of the community are to have nothing to do with the dissenters who are viewed as traitors to the faith ( 2 John 1: 10-11).
The Epistles of John represent what is best about the Christian faith, and also one of its real problems. The essence of religion is love (1 John 3: 11), a love that must go beyond mere words and talk. It must be real and active (1 John 3: 18). That’s all that matters. The problem is that, although mutual love defines the essence of the Christian community, that love does not extend beyond the community. You love those who share your values. That’s easy love; and sadly, because it is confined, it has not been able to heal the problems of the larger society.
Monday, August 24, 2009
Jude and 2 Peter
The letter of Jude is less than two pages in length, and has little to offer. The author of the letter claims to be Jude, the brother of James, the leader of the Jerusalem church, and by implication a brother of Jesus. This family connection is doubtful. Jude, the brother of Jesus, was a Galilean peasant who spoke Aramaic. This letter was written in Greek with no claim to have been dictated. There is also no evidence that Jude ever left Palestine. In addition, the letter defines religion in terms of correct belief, a characteristic of the late first and early second century, rather than in Paul’s terms as faith in the power released by the death and resurrection of Jesus.
As a result, the letter is almost certainly pseudonymous. It also has little to offer modern Christians. The letter is a polemic against false teachers, and is filled with nasty name calling and vitriolic. It’s amazing that it was included in the canon.
2 Peter has similar problems. The vast majority of scholars agree that this letter was not written by Peter, the disciple of Jesus, despite the claim of the author that this was so (1:1). The author further claims to have been with Jesus at the Transfiguration (1: 16-18), and asserts that this was his second letter to the faithful (3:1). Several arguments are presented to deny these claims. The letter is in Greek, and Peter was an illiterate peasant. There is no suggestion that the letter was dictated. In addition, much of chapter 2 is taken directly from Jude. Why would an eye witness copy material in this way? The author, like Jude, defines the Christian faith as a set of beliefs, rather than trust in the power of God (Paul). Finally, there is no reference to the letter until 220 C.E., and it was not widely circulated until the end of the third century.
Like Jude, much of the letter is a polemic against false belief. It does contain one interesting section, however (see 3: 1-15). Apparently there were some members of the Christian community who began to harbor doubts about the impending Judgment and the return of Jesus. They even went so far as to deny that God was in control of history. The author of 2 Peter responds forcefully to these heretical beliefs. He argues that God both controls history and the Judgment is coming, but that God’s time is not like our time. With God, one day can be a thousand years, and a thousand years can seem like one day (3:8). Be patient, the delay has been ordered by God to allow the maximum number of people to come to Christ, and by implication this resolution to history will come within their lifetimes.
I have argued in several places in these blogs that Christians believed that the kingdom was coming in the first century, that most believers in Jesus thought that it would come within their lifetimes. I have also argued that there was no dissent, that this was the near unanimous view presented in the New Testament. I still stand by that position. Although 2 Peter provides evidence to the contrary, this letter does not belong in the canon. It is a forgery. The author obviously lies about his presence at the transfiguration, and by doing so destroys his credibility. As with Jude, I am amazed that 2 Peter was allowed to become a part of the canon.
As a result, the letter is almost certainly pseudonymous. It also has little to offer modern Christians. The letter is a polemic against false teachers, and is filled with nasty name calling and vitriolic. It’s amazing that it was included in the canon.
2 Peter has similar problems. The vast majority of scholars agree that this letter was not written by Peter, the disciple of Jesus, despite the claim of the author that this was so (1:1). The author further claims to have been with Jesus at the Transfiguration (1: 16-18), and asserts that this was his second letter to the faithful (3:1). Several arguments are presented to deny these claims. The letter is in Greek, and Peter was an illiterate peasant. There is no suggestion that the letter was dictated. In addition, much of chapter 2 is taken directly from Jude. Why would an eye witness copy material in this way? The author, like Jude, defines the Christian faith as a set of beliefs, rather than trust in the power of God (Paul). Finally, there is no reference to the letter until 220 C.E., and it was not widely circulated until the end of the third century.
Like Jude, much of the letter is a polemic against false belief. It does contain one interesting section, however (see 3: 1-15). Apparently there were some members of the Christian community who began to harbor doubts about the impending Judgment and the return of Jesus. They even went so far as to deny that God was in control of history. The author of 2 Peter responds forcefully to these heretical beliefs. He argues that God both controls history and the Judgment is coming, but that God’s time is not like our time. With God, one day can be a thousand years, and a thousand years can seem like one day (3:8). Be patient, the delay has been ordered by God to allow the maximum number of people to come to Christ, and by implication this resolution to history will come within their lifetimes.
I have argued in several places in these blogs that Christians believed that the kingdom was coming in the first century, that most believers in Jesus thought that it would come within their lifetimes. I have also argued that there was no dissent, that this was the near unanimous view presented in the New Testament. I still stand by that position. Although 2 Peter provides evidence to the contrary, this letter does not belong in the canon. It is a forgery. The author obviously lies about his presence at the transfiguration, and by doing so destroys his credibility. As with Jude, I am amazed that 2 Peter was allowed to become a part of the canon.
Monday, August 17, 2009
1 Peter
1 Peter is a general letter addressed to a wide group of churches. Although the author claims to be a disciple of Jesus, there are reasons to doubt this claim. We know that Peter, the disciple, was illiterate (Acts 4: 13), and that his native language was Aramaic. The letter under his name is written in highly literate Greek with the author using the Septuagint when making reference to Jewish scriptures. The letter also assumes a level of church organization (5:11) that probably did not exist until after the death of the disciple Peter.
On the other hand, the letter claims to be dictated by Peter to Silvanus (5: 12). One thing we do know is that the letter was most likely written in Rome (5:13), and Peter was reported to have been there. As a result, it is possible that Peter was the author, but it could also have been written by one of his disciples there or by an admirer. Though I am not fully convinced one way or the other, I lean toward pseudonymity because the letter does not have the ring of a Palestinian peasant. There is also no attempt to suggest that the author was with Jesus when.
With the question of authorship set aside, it is apparent that the letter states several well known Christian positions. Jesus’ death on the cross is seen as a once and for all atoning sacrifice for the defeat of sin (1:18 and 3: 18-19). Jesus is also proclaimed to be God’s preexistent son whom God raises from the dead (1:20-21). Salvation is defined as a future hope which is attained through faith (1:3-6). The letter also contains a great deal of practical advice for ethical living and for dealing with specific problems of concern to the addressed communities.
One important reason for the letter is that Christians are being persecuted. In a spirit that reminds me of Mohandas Gandhi, Christians are urged to respond to persecution with reverence and gentleness (3: 15-16). The goal of such a strategy is to shame your enemies into changing their behavior (3: 17). The author also reassures his readers that there will be an end to their suffering. Salvation is coming soon (4: 7) for those who remain faithful to Jesus Christ (4: 17 and 5: 10).
One final note of interest is the question of worldview. Jesus dies in his body, and is raised to life as spirit. In spirit form, he descends into hell, a place beneath the surface of the earth, to preach to those in prison there (3: 18-19). Why? Because judgment comes to all humanity—both those who are dead and those who are alive. It is important that the dead receive the good news of the gospel so that they too might be saved ( 4: 5-6). This scenario presents an interesting picture. The earth is seen as a flat surface. Heaven is a place where God lives above the earth, hell is a place below the earth’s surface where the dead are held in chains. I have asked several committed Christians how such an arrangement works. They don’t want to answer the question. They just want to believe it.
On the other hand, the letter claims to be dictated by Peter to Silvanus (5: 12). One thing we do know is that the letter was most likely written in Rome (5:13), and Peter was reported to have been there. As a result, it is possible that Peter was the author, but it could also have been written by one of his disciples there or by an admirer. Though I am not fully convinced one way or the other, I lean toward pseudonymity because the letter does not have the ring of a Palestinian peasant. There is also no attempt to suggest that the author was with Jesus when.
With the question of authorship set aside, it is apparent that the letter states several well known Christian positions. Jesus’ death on the cross is seen as a once and for all atoning sacrifice for the defeat of sin (1:18 and 3: 18-19). Jesus is also proclaimed to be God’s preexistent son whom God raises from the dead (1:20-21). Salvation is defined as a future hope which is attained through faith (1:3-6). The letter also contains a great deal of practical advice for ethical living and for dealing with specific problems of concern to the addressed communities.
One important reason for the letter is that Christians are being persecuted. In a spirit that reminds me of Mohandas Gandhi, Christians are urged to respond to persecution with reverence and gentleness (3: 15-16). The goal of such a strategy is to shame your enemies into changing their behavior (3: 17). The author also reassures his readers that there will be an end to their suffering. Salvation is coming soon (4: 7) for those who remain faithful to Jesus Christ (4: 17 and 5: 10).
One final note of interest is the question of worldview. Jesus dies in his body, and is raised to life as spirit. In spirit form, he descends into hell, a place beneath the surface of the earth, to preach to those in prison there (3: 18-19). Why? Because judgment comes to all humanity—both those who are dead and those who are alive. It is important that the dead receive the good news of the gospel so that they too might be saved ( 4: 5-6). This scenario presents an interesting picture. The earth is seen as a flat surface. Heaven is a place where God lives above the earth, hell is a place below the earth’s surface where the dead are held in chains. I have asked several committed Christians how such an arrangement works. They don’t want to answer the question. They just want to believe it.
Monday, August 10, 2009
The Letter of James
The letter of James contains a powerful moral exhortation directed toward the early church. The author is James, but who is that? There were many James’ living in the late first century. Christian tradition claims that this James was the brother of Jesus, and the first leader of the Jerusalem church. Most scholars dispute that claim, arguing instead that the author was either a disciple of James or an admirer of him. To support this position, these scholars argue that the letter is written in Greek. While there are many references to the Jewish scriptures in the letter, these references come from the Greek translation, the Septuagint, of these scriptures and not the Hebrew translation. It is very unlikely that the brother of Jesus could read or write Greek. Finally, the level of church organization implied within the letter suggests a dating for the letter toward the end of the first century. James, the brother of Jesus, was stoned in the early 60s.
Though referred to as a letter, this work is more like a sermon. It reflects the piety of the early Jewish-Christian community living in Palestine. The author defines the essence of religion in terms of the commandment to love your neighbor as yourself (2: 8-9). The central thrust of the letter is to urge those with faith to demonstrate it by the way they live (1:22-25). You must express your faith in action by controlling your speech (3: 1-12), helping the poor and oppressed (1: 27), treating people from different classes equally (2: 1-4), being merciful (2: 12-13) and living as a peacemaker (3: 18).
Martin Luther hated this letter because he saw it as conflicting with Paul’s doctrine of justification by faith. The key offending passage reads: “Faith is like that: if good works do not go with it, it is quite dead (2:17).” A person is justified by doing something good, not only by what he believes (2: 24-25). Some scholars disagree that there is a fundamental difference between Paul and the author of James on this issue. They point out that Paul and James are not talking about the same thing. For Paul, the central issue is salvation. One is saved by faith in the power of Jesus’ death and resurrection. The central issue for James is the difference between talk and action. You cannot be a Christian without acting as one. Paul, these scholars note, would agree.
While there is some truth to this position, I think that the weight of evidence supports Luther. To begin with, the author of James seems to deliberately attack Paul when he says that: “Abraham our father was justified by his deed, because he offered his son on the altar (2:22).” Paul clearly makes the point in Romans that Abraham was justified by his faith (4: 1-17). In addition, the author of James seems to suggest that humans can act morally (3: 13-14, 4: 7-8, and 4: 17). He also urges his listeners to keep the Law (4: 11). For James, the whole point about religion is ethics. Much of what he says in his letter reminds me of the Sermon on the Mount. As I pointed out in an earlier blog, Jesus and Paul differ on the issue of justification. I come down on the side of Jesus and the author of James.
Though referred to as a letter, this work is more like a sermon. It reflects the piety of the early Jewish-Christian community living in Palestine. The author defines the essence of religion in terms of the commandment to love your neighbor as yourself (2: 8-9). The central thrust of the letter is to urge those with faith to demonstrate it by the way they live (1:22-25). You must express your faith in action by controlling your speech (3: 1-12), helping the poor and oppressed (1: 27), treating people from different classes equally (2: 1-4), being merciful (2: 12-13) and living as a peacemaker (3: 18).
Martin Luther hated this letter because he saw it as conflicting with Paul’s doctrine of justification by faith. The key offending passage reads: “Faith is like that: if good works do not go with it, it is quite dead (2:17).” A person is justified by doing something good, not only by what he believes (2: 24-25). Some scholars disagree that there is a fundamental difference between Paul and the author of James on this issue. They point out that Paul and James are not talking about the same thing. For Paul, the central issue is salvation. One is saved by faith in the power of Jesus’ death and resurrection. The central issue for James is the difference between talk and action. You cannot be a Christian without acting as one. Paul, these scholars note, would agree.
While there is some truth to this position, I think that the weight of evidence supports Luther. To begin with, the author of James seems to deliberately attack Paul when he says that: “Abraham our father was justified by his deed, because he offered his son on the altar (2:22).” Paul clearly makes the point in Romans that Abraham was justified by his faith (4: 1-17). In addition, the author of James seems to suggest that humans can act morally (3: 13-14, 4: 7-8, and 4: 17). He also urges his listeners to keep the Law (4: 11). For James, the whole point about religion is ethics. Much of what he says in his letter reminds me of the Sermon on the Mount. As I pointed out in an earlier blog, Jesus and Paul differ on the issue of justification. I come down on the side of Jesus and the author of James.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
