Aaron Simms's Blog, page 25

Now for something a little different

I enjoy ancient history, particularly Greek and Roman history. One of the best books I’ve read is Thucydides’ History of the Peloponnesian War, which I had to read during my academic career when I was getting my BS in International Affairs and my MS in International Relations. It’s basically a required textbook for international affairs students, because Thucydides explores the causes and reasons for the war, and the interactions among nations.

One of the paper I wrote when I was getting my MS...

Genesis 3 and Matthew 4 – Fall and Restoration

Lately, I’ve been looking more and more at Genesis 3 and Matthew 4 as a unit, and here are some thoughts on these two texts.

Genesis 3 contains the account of the temptation of Adam and Eve and their fall into sin. Matthew 4 contains the account of the temptation of Jesus. It is interesting to look at the parallels and differences in these two accounts. They are really two halves of a whole, kinda like the two halves of a pecan shell. In Genesis, we see the opening of the shell to sin and in...

A Few Words for Ash Wednesday

Ash Wednesday begins the Lenten season, where repentance comes into fuller focus for the Church. The lectionary texts for Ash Wednesday include Psalm 51 and 2 Corinthians 5:20b-6:10. The Psalm is a prayer to the Lord for mercy, due to the fact that we are born sinners. The Psalm speaks that truth that we must be delivered from our sin by the Lord Himself; nothing we can do can save us. Only the Lord can save.

Psalm 51 therefore leads into Paul’s letter to the Corinthians where he says, “Behol...

Why are we so quick to discount the Bible?

Lately, I’ve been wondering why we’re so quick to discount the Bible. What I mean by that is, so often, I hear people talk about things they believe were “cut out” of the Bible. People have a fascination with the Gnostic “gospels” and with other apocryphal stories and seem to treat these with greater reverence than the Bible itself.

For example, take Lilith. She is the mythological “first wife of Adam.” Some people believe that the Bible removed all references to her, as if there’s a grand con...

A Funeral

I went to a funeral recently for a very young boy who died in an accident. The funeral service was faithfullypresided over by a strong Lutheran pastor who pointed people to the hope of the resurrection that we have in Christ. The boy’s parents and family also did the same thing, testifying to their faith even in the midst of their sorrow.

Each funeral is difficult in its own way. Death is an intruder in God’s good creation and is not meant to be. Death robs us of our loved ones, separating us...

Thoughts on Government – Part 2

In part 1 of this series I talked about the fact that God instituted civil government and authority for the benefit of His creation in order to help keep and maintain order in the world, pursue justice, and punish evil. Civil government also serves to create space for the Church to operate. By keeping order in the world, civil government provides opportunity for the Church to proclaim the Gospel. Thus, church and state are not so much “separate” as they are “distinct.” Each has its God-given...

Thoughts on Government – Part 1

As Christians, we are sometimes shy about getting involved in governmental affairs. Certain denominations tend to be more involved, such as Baptists, while others (especially Lutherans) tend to shy away from government. In America, in particular, we have all been taught in school about the “separation between church and state.” This is often taken to mean that church and state have nothing to do with each other.

Yet, if we step back and view the world through a Biblical lens, then we begin to...

Race and Ethnicity

I’ve been thinking recently about the subject of race and ethnicity. What is race? What is ethnicity?

Within the Christian church in the United States, I often hear people talk about “ethnic ministry.” When you break down that phrase, what is usually meant is “ministry to people who don’t look or sound like me.” Then, in our society we hear a lot about race; people are described as white, black, Hispanic, Asian – as if we are all somehow fundamentally different from each other due to the color...

The natural order of things

The other day I was looking at Matthew 4:12-25, where Jesus goes into Galilee to begin his public ministry. Jesus says:“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Matthew notes that Jesus’ actions were to fulfill the words of the prophet Isaiah (Isaiah 9:1-4), as Jesus brings light to a darkened world.

That got me thinking about the people of Galilee and whether or not they even realized they were living in darkness. I doubt they did. They were used to the darkness, so they considered it n...

Time bound

I went to the store a couple days after Christmas and noticed that the store had pulled down all the Christmas items they had for sale, replacing them with Valentine’s Day gifts and cards. Seeing this was a revelation for me, as it made me realize that all people live according to a certain cycleand that our American consumer culture has its own “liturgical” calendar.

As the Church, we have a liturgical calendar that begins in Advent, then moves to Christmas, Epiphany, Lent, Easter, and Pentec...