Lee Harmon's Blog, page 119

Revelation 4:4, The Twenty-four Elders

Surrounding the throne were twenty-four other thrones, and seated on them were twenty-four elders. They were dressed in white and had crowns of gold on their heads.
//Revelation paints a magnificent picture of the throne of God and, around it, twenty-four elders. 1 Chronicles 24 describes these twenty-four elders in detail. They comprise the governors of the house of God, of the tribe of Levi. King David gave them their priestly duties a long time ago, and the Chronicles list their names.
Ezekiel also experienced a vision of twenty-five men, representing the heads of these twenty-four orders and the high priest. Jesus, of course, serves as high priest in Revelation's version.
In Revelation, the actions of these twenty-four elders form a couple of sly innuendos. These innuendos can only be appreciated in the light of Revelation's denunciation of Nero Caesar, whom it refers to as the Beast of the Sea.
The elders are all wearing crowns, so the first thing they do (Revelation 4:10) is lay their crowns down at the feet of Jesus. First-century readers would be reminded of the Parthian prince Tiridates, whom Nero crowned king of Armenia. Tiridates once fell down before Nero publicly in worship, saying, "I have come to thee, my God, to worship thee as I do Mithras." Then he laid down his crown at Nero's feet. So, the twenty-four elders make a point of laying theirs at Jesus' feet.
Then in the next chapter (Revelation 5:8) the elders are seen holding a harp in one hand and a bowl of incense in the other.  An image of the Greek god Apollo in a similar libation stance, holding a lyre (harp) in one hand and a bowl in the other, would also be known to Revelation's first readers. Nero, as you might guess, played the lyre and thought of himself as the god Apollo. In Revelation, immediately after mimicking Nero, the elders fall down and worship Jesus.
The lesson, of course, is that Nero Caesar is not to be worshiped; Jesus is. Revelation is a fascinating book of deep symbolism, much of which is lost on current-day readers.
http://www.thewayithappened.com

Book review: Naked Pastor 101

by David Hayward

★★★★
This is David's first collection of cartoons, 101 of them, and I hope many more follow. Cartoons just work! They help us laugh at ourselves, and then they help us think outside the box.  In a cartoon, serious topics can hide behind lighthearted drawings.
And David's work is funny. LOL funny. As the Naked Pastor, he bares his soul (not his body, sorry) about problems in the Church … often, problems that result from rigid rules or non-acceptance or unfounded assumptions about the nature of God. Most are annotated with a bit of the thought process that went into their creation.
This book is in no way disrespectful to the Church. David  is an insider; he has completed masters in Theological Studies and in Ministry and Religion, and has been pastor of several churches over 25 years. That's plenty of time for cartoonistic opinions to form, right? David admits that for this book he has purposefully chosen favorites among his less controversial drawings; rants against church vision and mission statements, and cartoons addressing the gay issue, have been omitted, so we may be drinking "Hayward light" at this time. Next time, David, lay it on us straight. We can take it.
(click picture to buy on Amazon)

Matthew 4:19-20, Follow Me

And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. And they straightway left their nets, and followed him.
//This is the Gospel call given by Jesus: Follow me. It's a precious offer, repeated by ministers and evangelists everywhere.
The question is, how? When Jesus said the words, he meant them quite literally. Drop everything, separate from your family, give your wealth to the poor, and join my entourage. We're going to spread the Gospel news, and then we're going to Jerusalem for a little sacrifice. Follow me. But today, there ain't no bearded, sandaled philosopher to follow to Jerusalem anymore, so we can no longer take Jesus' words literally.
So, as Christians, we guess at what Jesus would have meant, had he been speaking directly to us. Then we argue over our guesses, condemn other religious interpretations, and humbly pride ourselves on knowing the Truth … what Jesus really expects of us, 2,000 years later.
I grew up in a strict Christian sect which interpreted many of the teachings of Jesus and the early church quite literally. We believed the ministry must give up all and be homeless; we believed the Gospel must be freely given, taking no pay; we believed church buildings were an economic hindrance, so we gathered in private homes or rented halls when necessary. We looked down our noses at other Christians who interpreted the words "follow me" in any different manner. Somehow, we knew what Jesus would have meant, had he been talking to us instead of to a cluster of backwoods fishermen in the first century.
And while I have no argument with the teachings I grew up with, neither do I any longer have any argument with the various denominational teachings around me. How could I, after reading the Bible for myself? We can't follow Jesus the way he really meant it, so the best we can do is … the best we can do.

Book review: The New Complete Works of Josephus

by William Whiston and Paul L. Maier 

★★★★
I don't know if this is a particularly good translation; I've nothing to compare it to, since I've never read any other. It's not the translation I wish to promote, it's the writings. Every Bible scholar, especially New Testament scholars, simply MUST read Josephus.
Josephus was a Jewish historian who wrote his books during the same years that most of the New Testament was being written. That is, the latter three decades of the first century. Josephus was not particularly well-liked among Jews; he abused his governorship, he defected to the enemy when captured by the Roman legions, and he wrote his history of the war to present the Romans in a good light. Given to exaggeration, he taints nearly every chapter of his War of the Jews with self-glorification and political and religious aims. Yet, he remains our most important historian for the war of 67-70 CE, which proved to be the springboard for the spread of Christianity, and to be honest, it's his personal agendas that make his writing so interesting.
Oddly, as much as Josephus was hated, he became very important to Christians, because of his references to Jesus Christ. But scholars now doubt their authenticity. In one passage, the famed Testimonium Flavianum, Josephus names Jesus as the Messiah. Some through the centuries even claimed Josephus to be a Christian. (If you read my book about Revelation, you'll come away with just the opposite opinion; Josephus may have played a surprising role in the story of Revelation!)
This book contains all four of Josephus' writings:
The Jewish War, which describes the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple.
The Life of Flavius Josephus, his own autobiography, which ends up as little more than a defense against the various attacks on his integrity during his governorship in Galilee.
Jewish Antiquities, a Bible-driven history of the Jews from the beginning of time.
Against Apion, a defense of Judaism.
(click picture to buy on Amazon)

Leviticus 13:40-41, Bald is Beautiful

When a man has lost his hair and is bald, he is clean. If he has lost his hair from the front of his scalp and has a bald forehead, he is clean.
//In the middle of a long series of chapters about the impurity of—well, about everything—we find this short reprieve. In an era where any hint of disease marks divine displeasure, the Law assures us that losing our hair is okay. Male pattern baldness (at least in front) is okay. This is a welcome relief for all of us fifty-somethings.
I have the sneaking suspicion that these two verses stem from the shiny dome of a bored copyist working his way through a series of tedious rules. Why else would we have this odd interruption to the Leviticus list of bizarre epidemics? Baldness in the Bible is usually a self-inflicted state, meant as a public sign of mourning. Like wearing sackcloth and sitting in ashes. Baldness, you would think, is a quality to be pitied.
My suggestion? Ignore that wayward copyist and hang on to the Rogaine.

Book review: Jerusalem

by Karen Armstrong 
★★★
One city. Three faiths. Christians, Jews, and Muslims all lay claim to the Holy City. Armstrong's treatment is impartial as usual, more interested in promoting understanding than any one belief system. She leads us through 4,000 years of history, as this turbulent landmark in the middle of nowhere grew from a tribal village into a cultural and religious phenomenon.
The book of Revelation, about Jerusalem: "The great city split into three parts, and the cities of the nations collapsed." Is this a prophetic inevitability, or is there hope for peace? I'm one of the many with a placard hanging on my wall, requesting that we pray for the peace of Jerusalem. I read Armstrong's book as research for my own book about Revelation, because Jerusalem, both the Old and the New, is the focal point of John's Apocalypse.
Karen's topic is extremely important for today's world of religious unease, and it's an absolutely fascinating topic. Unfortunately, I found the writing to be a bit more dry than usual for Armstrong. I think the book could have been condensed to about 2/3rd its size. But by the time you finish—if you're able—you'll have a better grasp of the bitterness and misunderstanding, and why all three religions claim Jerusalem as their own.
(click picture to buy on Amazon)  

Daniel 5:2; Nebuchadnezzar or Nabonidus?

While Belshazzar was drinking his wine, he gave orders to bring in the gold and silver goblets that Nebuchadnezzar his father had taken from the temple in Jerusalem.
//Much of the book of Daniel concerns King Nebuchadnezzar and his son Belshazzar. However, Daniel has confused the order of the kings of Babylon. Multiple contemporary records attest to the following succession: 1) Nebuchadnezzar, 2. Awel-Marduk, 3. Neriglissar, 4. Nabonidus (who contested the rule of Labashi-Marduk and wrestled the kingship away from him), and finally, 5. Belshazzar, son of Nabonidus, (who was actually never king, but only a crown prince). Thus, in a well-known Biblical error, Daniel confuses Nebuchadnezzar with Nabonidus.
These center chapters of the book of Daniel are written in Aramaic, rather than Hebrew, and thus Daniel is generally recognized as the last book of the Old Testament written. This jibes nicely with my post two days ago, when I suggested that Daniel was written in the year 165 B.C. So, if written four centuries after the period it describes, would an error like this be a surprise?
There is another possibility. Some continue to believe that the book of Daniel was first written earlier, in Hebrew, presumably in the 6th century B.C., when Daniel supposedly lived in Babylon. These Bible scholars blame the error surrounding Nabonidus on the misunderstanding of a later translator, who incorrectly added to the text.

Book review: Jesus, a Very Jewish Myth

[image error] by R. G. Price 

★★★★★
Thorough. Daring. Scholarly. Intelligent. Original. This work may be an undiscovered gem. I reviewed another book by R. G. Price a few weeks ago, but found this one to be even better.
Price begins with a provocative claim: "That Jesus Christ is a pure myth is the only explanation that is consistent with him being both larger than life and absent from history."
Let me lead into the topic with a bit of personal commentary. There are a number of ways of reading the Bible, and each completes a paradigm of its own. For example, considering just the New Testament, you can read it in the traditional way, as if it describes the historical life of Jesus and his followers, and promises a future return of Jesus as a conquering Messiah. The New Testament makes perfect sense in this light, and reading the Bible doesn't break, but rather strengthens, the paradigm. But you can also read the New Testament through the eyes of first- and early second-century writers, the audience for which it was written, and sense within its chapters the excitement of the expected immediate arrival of the Messiah and the absolute, complete assurance that the new age has either just begun, or is just around the corner. When read in this light, every word seems to emphasize the urgency of believers, who knew the world was immediately coming to an end. Another way to read the New Testament, another paradigm, is to recognize many of the stories as myth, midrash, and the retelling of Hebrew scripture, told with the intention of honoring a great man (Jesus). Again, you'll find internal consistency, and the words of the New Testament make perfect sense in this light.
Finally, you can go all in. You can decide, as does Price, that not only are the stories mythical, their human subject is just as fictional. Jesus existed only as an allegory, or a mystical god, or an ideal. If you have never read the Bible this way, I encourage you to do so! Actually sit down with the New Testament, start with the presumption that Jesus never existed, order the books chronologically as best you can, and see if you can read it through. You may at some point recognize a turning point, a point at which Jesus became "real." Or you may never be able to leave the old paradigm behind, that Jesus existed and lived exactly as described. Each reader forms their own comfort level, and though opinions are extreme on the topic, I would never tell you that one paradigm is "wrong" while another is "right." The Bible is living word, and feeds each of us differently.
As I said, Price goes all in. But he approaches the topic of a mythical Christ from a different angle, and his is a welcome addition to scholarship. Rather than emphasizing Christianity as a copycat religion among pagan beliefs, he grants it its own unique Jewish flavor. He sees Christianity's beginnings as a mystery religion built primarily upon Jewish scripture. He points often to apocalyptic literature, both canonical and non-canonical, comparing it to New Testament writings, including the letters of Paul. The testimony of Paul is, of course, critical to the thesis; did Paul believe in a recent, flesh-and-blood Jesus, or did he not? Price's treatment is balanced and fair, as he covers the writings of Paul that both bolster his argument and that traditionally have been used to support the opposing view.
Price discusses the writings of Philo of Alexandria (a Jewish philosopher contemporary with Jesus, but who never wrote a word about him), Josephus (including the famed Testimonium Flavianum which purports to name Jesus as the Messiah but is nearly universally recognized among scholars as a forged passage) and others to expose the scarcity of historical collaboration regarding Jesus. But more than that, Price explains why Christianity should most logically be recognized as mythical. His coverage is in depth and convincing, and concludes with what he sees as a logical progression for how Christianity evolved into the worship of a god in human form, living within first-century history.
I loved the book, and the great research, even as I remain a hard sell. I'll review, shortly, another book arguing the other side of the coin.
(click picture to buy on Amazon) 

Daniel 11:45, When was the book of Daniel written?

He will pitch his royal tents between the seas at the beautiful holy mountain. Yet he will come to his end, and no one will help him.
//Daniel, the central character of the book named after him in the Bible, was brought to Babylon about 587 B.C., when King Nebuchadnezzar conquered Judah. Daniel's claim to fame comes from a series of visions and prophecies, many of which were fulfilled in the second century B.C., and many of which never did come true, so many Christians continue to look forward to their fulfillment today.
As Daniel's dreams unfold, the story he prophesies becomes clear, and historians have traced an accurate line of political events up to the reign of Greek ruler Antiochus Epiphanes from these prophesies. Daniel promised four kingdoms, stemming from a vision of four colorful beasts, and the fourth beast appears to be the Greek empire inaugurated by Alexander the Great. This final beast sported an arrogant little horn, surely representative of Antiochus, who persecuted the Jews for three and a half years. When the author of Daniel writes in chapter 12, From the time that the daily sacrifice is abolished and the abomination that causes desolation is set up, there will be 1,290 days (three and a half years), he refers to a pagan statue of Zeus erected beside the sacred altar of the Temple.
Scholars are nearly unanimous in dating the book of Daniel to around the year 165 B.C., rather than the 6th century B.C. in which its main character lived. Why? Partly because that's when the "prophecies" begin to fail. Today's verse promises that Antiochus will die in battle somewhere between the Mediterranean and Jerusalem. But Antiochus died in the year 164 B.C., far to the east, in Persia.

Book review: The Help

by Kathryn Stockett 
★★★★★
The Help is a powerful victory celebration for the human race. Once in a while, a story comes along that transcends entertainment and hits us between the eyes. Watch the movie. Read the book. Watch the movie again.
This touching story about bridging the difference between white Mississippi homeowners and black maids in the 60's will leave you laughing through your tears. Conflict grows over separate bathrooms, separate eating places, distrust, and legal inequity. It is only because we, as a nation, as a human race, have taken great steps toward conquering racism that we can look back together on the 60's and smile at its heroes.
"God don't pay no mind to color," claims Aibileen, one of the "help" who raises a string of seventeen white children belonging to mothers too busy or uninterested to bother. These black maids, and the one white woman with enough fire to bridge the gap, are the heroes of the story. Stockett's runaway bestseller overcame more than 60 rejections from literary agents and numerous sneers from critics wondering how a white author dare try to get inside the heads of black people who had long been considered property.
Please forgive my religious commentary over the remainder of the review. Racism has not been an easy monster to eradicate, and we still have obstacles to overcome. But we're working on them, and are right to celebrate our progress. Sexual inequality has been another hurdle. Religious intolerance still occasionally rears its ugly head. But there is one area where the struggle against prejudice remains most fierce, and in this arena, our favorite religion (Christianity) has been far more of a hindrance than a help. This disturbing Biblical passage highlights the obstacle we must somehow overcome:
Romans 1:26-27, Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion.
"Due penalty" for their "perversion?" Sigh. We've come so far in some areas. Can we achieve the same level of victory in the arena of Gay Rights? Can we overcome the teachings of our holy books and leave behind our prejudices over differences in sexual preference? This would mean either recognizing that the Bible is imperfect, or rejecting the obvious translation in favor of a more humanitarian understanding. Frankly, I don't care which we choose as Christians … as long as we choose one or the other. Let's not let our Bible make us any less Christian.