Stephen W. Hiemstra's Blog, page 37

Las Parábolas Como Género

Entonces Natán dijo a David: Tú eres aquel hombre.

(2 Sam 12:7)

Por Stephen W. Hiemstra

En 2 Samuel 12:1–7, el profeta Natán le cuenta al rey David la historia de dos hombres, uno rico y otro pobre. El pobre sólo tiene un corderito que el rico roba y sacrifica para servir a su huésped. Cuando David escucha esta historia, se indigna porque había sido pastor y comprendió la crueldad del hombre rico. Cuando Natán declara que él es este hombre, debido al pecado de David con Betsabé, David se siente herido hasta la médula y se arrepiente de su pecado. Esta parábola del cordero es una alegoría, donde el contexto cambia y el verdadero contexto sólo se revela al final de la historia. El verdadero contexto se convierte entonces en la clave, como el denario en la parábola de la viña, de toda la historia.

Aunque la historia de la parábola de Natán contada a David normalmente se considera el único ejemplo de parábola en el Antiguo Testamento que se puede comparar con las parábolas de Jesús, la historia no se describe en el texto como una parábola. Cuando el Antiguo Testamento usa la palabra parábola, es en el contexto de historias de juicio divino.

Parábolas de Antiquo Testamento

Nuestro uso de la palabra parábola es una transliteración de la palabra griega parabole que se usa sólo tres veces en el Antiguo Testamento (Salmo 78:2, Ezequiel 17:2; 24:3). En cada caso, la parábola dado es una profecía de juicio sobre la nación de Israel por su falta de fe.

El Salmo 78 relata la historia de Israel durante el vagar por el desierto después del Éxodo de Egipto y la falta de voluntad incluso de Moisés para confiar en la provisión de Dios, cuando golpeó la roca en Cades en lugar de hablar a la, como Dios le ordenó:

“Porque ustedes no Me creyeron a fin de tratarme como santo ante los ojos de los Israelitas, por tanto no conducirán a este pueblo a la tierra que les he dado.” (Num 20:12)

El juicio contra Moisés es personal. La parábola en este caso es la historia de la desobediencia de Israel.

Con una historia sobre dos águilas, Ezequiel 17 relata el intento de Israel de rebelarse contra Babilonia formando una alianza con el faraón en Egipto en lugar de confiar en Dios. Ezequiel 24 habla del asedio de Babilonia contra Jerusalén y de la destrucción venidera como si fuera una olla hirviendo un guiso de carne.

La Parábola Definido

La palabra parábola en griego es parabole y tiene dos definiciones:

1. Algo que sirve como modelo o ejemplo que apunta más allá de sí mismo para una posterior realización, tipo, figura o

2. Una narración o dicho de extensión variable, diseñado para ilustrar una verdad especialmente a través de comparación o símil, contrasto, ilustración, parábola, proverbio, máxima (BDAG 5556).

La definición griega se acerca a nuestra comprensión común de una parábola de las dadas por Jesús.

La palabra hebrea traducida como parabole en griego es mashal. Mashal lleva estas inferencias:

1. Un dicho proverbial, frase breve y concisa de sagacidad popular,

2. Un discurso figurativo profético,

3. Un sinónimo,

4. Una similitud, una parábola,

5. Un poema de varios tipos,

6. Una frase de sabiduría ética (BDB 5753).

Se trata de una amplia gama de significados de mashal en hebreo, que incluye nuestra comprensión de las parábolas de Jesús, pero también incluye los muchos proverbios de Salomón y cosas que normalmente no consideramos parábolas.

Género y Caracter

Jesús amplió el género de las parábolas para reflejar el carácter de Dios.

Nuestra incursión en el griego y el hebreo sugiere que el enfoque de las parábolas de Jesús en Dios extendió la parábola del Antiguo Testamento normalmente asociada con el juicio divino para ofrecer una caracterización más completa de Dios. El Dios del Antiguo Testamento se describe a sí mismo ante Moisés como misericordioso, compasivo, paciente, amoroso y fiel (Éxodo 34:6). La caracterización de Dios como iracundo se limita a situaciones en las que el pueblo de Israel ha sido desobediente a sus obligaciones del pacto o ha mostrado dureza de corazón como Faraón (Éxodo 4:21). Dios no es caprichoso como muchas otras deidades del mundo antiguo.

Esta observación lleva a Matthew Elliot (2009, 46-47) a articular una teoría cognitiva de las emociones. Como el Dios del Antiguo Testamento, nos enojamos por cosas que son importantes para nosotros. Elliott (2009, 53–54) escribe: “Si la teoría cognitiva es correcta, las emociones se convierten en una parte integral de nuestra razón y nuestra ética”, informando y reforzando el comportamiento moral.

Jesús amplió el tratamiento de las parábolas en el Antiguo Testamento de dos maneras. 

Primero, mientras que el juicio divino en el Antiguo Testamento es principalmente corporal (la nación de Israel), el juicio de Jesús es más personal y se relaciona con demostraciones individuales de fe o desobediencia (por ejemplo, Mateo 25), como en el ejemplo de Moisés en Cades. Segundo, Jesús asocia las parábolas con atributos de Dios que están más allá del juicio: misericordia, gracia, paciencia, amor y fidelidad (Éxodo 34:6). Por lo tanto, Dios se convierte en nuestro padre no sólo en la oración del Señor, sino también al ser representado como un Dios que muestra una variedad de atributos y emociones asociadas. Podríamos decir que Jesús describió a Dios Padre como más humano, pero esa caracterización descuida el testimonio más completo del Antiguo Testamento: él siempre fue más que un simple Dios iracundo.

Referencias

Brown-Driver-Briggs-Gesenius (BDB).⁠ 1905. Hebrew-English Lexicon, unabridged.

Bauer, Walter (BDAG). 2000. A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature. 3rd ed. ed. de Frederick W. Danker. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. .

Elliott, Matthew A. 2006. Faithful Feelings: Rethinking Emotion in the New Testament. Grand Rapids: Kregel Academic and Professional.

Las Parábolas Como Género
Also see:
Prefacio de La Guía Cristiana a la Espiritualidad 
Prefacio de la Vida en Tensión
The Who Question
Other ways to engage online:



Author site: http://www.StephenWHiemstra.net
Publisher site: http://www.T2Pneuma.com





Newsletter at:  https://bit.ly/DogDays_24 ,  Signup

 

The post Las Parábolas Como Género appeared first on T2Pneuma.net.

Bacevich Explains U.S. Political Economy Post WWII

Andrew J. Bacevich. 2008.  The Limits of Power:  The End of American Exceptionalism. New York: Metropolitan Books.

Review by Stephen W. Hiemstra

Political economy—the nexus between policy, philosophy, history, and economics—is never more important than in transition periods when the old rules no longer apply and the new rules have yet to be crafted. Yet, those who practice this craft are often castigated both by the old guard resisting change (and rewarding those that aid their resistance) and by specialists defending their professional turf (and under-appreciating the irrelevance of the division of labor in a period of fundamental change). Faced with such changes, it is refreshing to read an author, such as Andrew Bacevich, who is up to challenges posed.

Introduction

In his book, The Limits to Power, Bacevich frames the current dilemma as a political economic problem, writing:

“The United States today finds itself threatened by three interlocking crises: The first of these crises is economic and cultural, the second political, and the third military. All three share this characteristic: they are of our own making.” (6).

Framing this crisis as internal, Bacevich is swimming against the tide—our problem is not, as widely perceived, a problem created by Osama Bin Laden on September 11 or by OPEC in 1973. Looking into the heart of America, Bacevich sees “our pursuit of life, liberty, and happiness” run amok in the face of limits that we refuse to accept and that now erode national power, as our principles, our heritage, our resources, our middle class, our allies, and our military preparedness have been thrown under the bus by leaders attempting to forestall the day of reckoning (9).  Because Bacevich sees this reckoning composed of three related crisis, let me examine each in turn.

The Economic and Cultural Crisis

In discussing the crisis of “profligacy”, Bacevich sees the Jefferson trinity of “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” having been reduced in the current age to one word: “more”. He  writes:

“For the majority of contemporary Americans, the essence of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness centers on a relentless personal quest to acquire, to consume, to indulge, and to shed whatever constraints might interfere with those endeavors.” (16)

More, More, More

This is not a new endeavor; Alexis de Tocqueville noted in the 1830s that Americans possessed a “feverish ardor” to accumulate (17). More recently, this ardor was observed by Reinhold Niebuhr as being manifested in a tendency to “seek a solution to practically every problem of life in quantitative terms” assuming that “more is better” (23). Buttressed by Charles Maier’s America’s “empire of production” after World War II (WWII), America’s “empire of consumption” continued to provide “more” until reaching a tipping point in the period between 1965 and 1971, as Bacevich observes:

“The costs of the Vietnam War—and President Johnson’s attempt to conceal them while pursuing his vision of the Great Society—destabilizing the economy, as evidenced by deficits, inflation, and a weakening dollar. In August 1971, Nixon tacitly acknowledged the disarray into which the economy had fallen by devaluing the dollar and suspending its convertibility into gold.” (29)

Malaise is Real

Bacevich sees this deepening economic crisis coming to a head a decade later in Jimmy Carter’s famous “malaise speech” (July 15, 1979) where he spelled out that a sustainable future required living within our means (31-36). Carter’s analysis was soundly rejected by the American people who overwhelmingly elected Ronald Reagan based on two related ideas: “credit has no limits and the bills will never come due” (36). Modeled on the unlimited federal deficits, personal savings which average 8-10 percent of disposable income for most of the postwar period, fell to practically zero in 1985 (44).

The economic consequences of the Reagan deficits were reversed during the Clinton years only to be reinstated during George W. Bush’s presidency when the debt accumulated effectively reduced the federal government from a prime to a sub-prime borrower, using debt-to-income standards applied normally to individuals. Of course, debt issues have their implications for politics.

The Political Crisis

Bacevich observes that “American democracy in our time has suffered notable decade”, a decade that has its roots in the response to WWII and to the Cold War and that had the effect of concentrating significant power in the executive branch of government (67-68). While the government’s response to September 11 is often cited in development of an ideology of national security, Bacevich sees the George W. Bush’s contribution being primarily in articulating existing convictions. Bush’s second inaugural address cited 4 convictions:

“History’s abiding theme is freedom, to which all humanity aspires…”
“America has always been, and remains, freedom’s chief exemplar and advocate…”
“Providence summons America to ensure freedom’s ultimate triumph…”
“…for the American way of life to endure, freedom must prevail everywhere.” (74-75)

The idea that American can and should intervene in defend of freedom elsewhere in the world, Bacevich notes, “imposes no specific obligations” and serves primarily “to legitimate the exercise of executive power” (77). So legitimatized, military intervention has become the preferred political instrument in a world with only one super-power and for a people whose desire for “more” seems insatiable. This ideology accordingly serves as a reasonable explanation for why the end of the Cold War did not result in the much promised peace dividend and war, not peace, has become the norm (1), thanks, in part, to the Bush doctrine of “anticipatory self-defense” (117) which justified preventive wars, like the Iraq war to unseat Saddam Hussein.

The Military Crisis

Citing Corelli Barnett, Bacevich described war as the “great auditor of institutions” and observes:

“Valor does not offer the measure of an army’s greatness, nor does fortitude, nor durability, nor technological sophistication. A great is one that accomplishes its assigned mission. Since George W. Bush inaugurated his global war on terror, the armed forces of the United States have failed to meet that standard.” (124)

Bacevich explains this failure in great detail, but the short answer is that the use of military needs to be undertaken in the context of political objectives and, when the politicians—including military politicians, become fascinated with the technologies of war, the political context frequently is ignored—tactics displace strategy leaving only a muddle. Having reviewed the muddle, Bacevich concludes:

“America doesn’t need a bigger army. It needs a smaller—that is, more modest—foreign policy, one that assigns soldiers missions that are consistent with their capabilities.” (169)

Bacevich’s Background

Andrew Bacevich is a retired U.S. Army colonel who taught history and international relationship at Boston University. He is a graduate of West Point with both master’s and doctor of philosophy degrees from Princeton University. He is the author of numerous books.

Assessment

Andrew Bacevich’s book, The Limits of Power, ties together many aspects of U.S. history and, for me as an economist with 27 years of service in 5 different federal agencies, adequately explains much of the recent dysfunction (lack of sustainability) of the federal government. For readers who are neither political junkies nor Washington insiders, this may be a challenging book to read and understand because Bacevich challenges many of the assumptions normally taught in high school civics classes. In any case, it is a book well worth reading.

Footnotes

http://www.bu.edu/history/people/emer....

Bacevich Explains U.S. Political Economy Post WWII
Also see:
Preface to a Life in Tension
Other ways to engage online:



Author site: http://www.StephenWHiemstra.net
Publisher site: http://www.T2Pneuma.com


Newsletter at:  https://bit.ly/DogDays_24 ,  Signup

 

The post Bacevich Explains U.S. Political Economy Post WWII appeared first on T2Pneuma.net.

Indirect Speech: Monday Monologues (podcast), August 26, 2024

 By Stephen W. Hiemstra

This morning I will share a prayer and reflect on the Indirect Speech. After listening, please click here to take a brief listener survey (10 questions).

To listen, click on this link.

Hear the words; Walk the steps; Experience the joy!

Indirect Speech: Monday Monologues (podcast), August 26, 2024
Also see:
The Face of God in the Parables
The Who Question
Preface to a Life in Tension
Other ways to engage online:



Author site: http://www.StephenWHiemstra.net
Publisher site: http://www.T2Pneuma.com





Newsletter at:  https://bit.ly/DogDays_24 ,  Signup

 



 

The post Indirect Speech: Monday Monologues (podcast), August 26, 2024 appeared first on T2Pneuma.net.

Indirect Prayer

By Stephen W. Hiemstra

Lord of the Sabbath,

All praise and honor, power and dominion, truth and justice are yours, because you speak to us plainly in the language of faith, veiled to those unable to believe.

Forgive us when we refuse to listen, close our eyes, and pay no attention to fragrance of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

Thank you for deliverance from the evil around us, for the guidance of your image, and the healing that comes from accepting your grace.

In the power of the Holy Spirit, draw us closer to yourself. Open our hearts, illumine our minds, and strength our hands in your service, now and always.

In the name of Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Amen.

Indirect Prayer
Also see:
The Face of God in the Parables
The Who Question
Preface to a Life in Tension
Other ways to engage online:



Author site: http://www.StephenWHiemstra.net
Publisher site: http://www.T2Pneuma.com





Newsletter at:  https://bit.ly/DogDays_24 ,  Signup

 

 

The post Indirect Prayer appeared first on T2Pneuma.net.

Oración Indirecto

Por Stephen W. Hiemstra

Señor del sábado,

Toda alabanza y honor, poder y dominio, verdad y justicia son tuyos, porque nos hablas francamente en el lenguaje de la fe, velado a los que no pueden creer.

Perdónanos cuando nos negamos a escuchar, cerramos los ojos y no prestamos atención a la fragancia del Espíritu Santo en nuestras vidas.

Gracias por la liberación del mal que nos rodea, por la guía de tu imagen y la curación que proviene de aceptar tu gracia.

En el poder del Espíritu Santo, acércanos a ti. Abre nuestros corazones, ilumina nuestras mentes y fortalece nuestras manos en tu servicio, ahora y siempre.

En el nombre del Padre, del Hijo y del Espíritu Santo, Amén.

Oración Indirecto
Also see:
El Rostro de Dios en las Parábolas
Prefacio de La Guía Cristiana a la Espiritualidad 
Prefacio de la Vida en Tensión
The Who Question
Other ways to engage online:



Author site: http://www.StephenWHiemstra.net
Publisher site: http://www.T2Pneuma.com





Newsletter at:  https://bit.ly/DogDays_24 ,  Signup

 

The post Oración Indirecto appeared first on T2Pneuma.net.

Indirect Speech

For the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house 

who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard.

After agreeing with the laborers for a denarius a day,

he sent them into his vineyard. 

(Matt 20:1-2)

By Stephen W. Hiemstra

At one point in graduate school before the Berlin Wall came down in the early 1980s, a Russian friend of mine invited me to a vodka party. My friend’s Russian, ex-pat friends affectionally referred to him as Boris the spy because of his strong family ties to the KGB. At this party, an inebriated Russian friend of his came up to me and began translating an article from Pravda, the official newspaper of the Communist Party of the USSR.

He started saying: How could Pravada be so openly critical of the government? The article read: How could the government of Beethoven, Brahms, and Goethe so opening lie about the murder of so many innocent civilians in concentration camps by Adolf Hitler? The professor immediately substituted: How could the government of Tchaikovsky, Rimsy Korsakov, and Dostoevsky opening lie about the murder of so many innocent civilians in Ukraine by Comrade Stalin? He said that for Russians used to lying and doublespeak, the allegorical implications of this article were as transparent as they were astounding.

Under the threat of death for offering comments critical of the power structure of his day (e.g. Mark 6:27), Jesus spoke in parables. Indirect speech—circumlocution, similes, metaphors, poetry, proverbs, and allegory—are common genres in the New Testament. The most extreme form of indirect speech is seen in the apocalyptic literature of the Book of Revelation. It is no secret why the countries with the most repressive governments often generate the best poetry—indirect speech is the language of repressed people.

Circumlocutions

Explicit in some parables and implicit in others are the words: The kingdom of God is like… Because the covenantal name of God, YHWH, is sacred in Jewish thought, the Bible uses numerous circumlocutions—indirect references—for God’s name. The most common circumlocution is Lord, which in Hebrew is Adoni. Another common circumlocution is The Name, which in Hebrew is Shema. Deuteronomy 6:4-9, which begins the Jewish daily prayer, is also called: The Shema.

Jesus began speaking in parables after the Pharisees began to plot against him (Matt 12-13). In this sense, a parable is an elegant form of circumlocution.

New Testament references to the Kingdom of God (Mark, Luke) or the Kingdom of Heaven (Matthew) are circumlocutions for the name of God. Its like modern media reporting informed sources is the White House— everyone assumes that directly or indirectly such references come from the President. Almost all of Jesus’ parables refer to the kingdom of God, while rabbinic parables typically elucidate a passage of scripture (Blomberg 2012, 77). What was unique about Jesus’ parables was their focus on God.

Allegory

Allegory can be thought of as a pattern where the context has been switched. In the parable of the vineyard, a landowner recruits workers at different times during the day of the harvest but pays them all the same wage. For any business, this would be odd. Here, a vineyard or garden is a frequent metaphor for the nation of Israel and the landowner in the parable is a reference to God, which is obvious because of the circumlocution: “For the kingdom of heaven is like.” (Matt 20:1) The hard part in interpreting the parable is to see that the denarius, a Roman coin, is a symbol of eternal life (Kissenger 1979, 2-3).

Interpreting the denarius as a symbol of eternal life gives spiritual meaning to the parable. As a unit of monetary value, the denarius makes the landowner out to be extremely generous, but the missional interpretation of the parable is hidden. Thus, a believer is likely to understand the inference immediately, while a nonbeliever might only engage in a bit of head scratching. For the believer, the gift of eternal life is something of infinite value that is not easily divided, not something likely to evoke jealousy on the part of laborers hired early in the day as described in the story. This caveat  suggests a limit on the allegory, even though the primary message is clear.

References

Blomberg, Craig L. 2012. Interpreting the Parables. Downers Grove: IVP Academic.

Kissenger, Warren S. 1979. The Parables of Jesus: A History of Interpretation and Bibliography. Metuchen, NJ: Scarcrow Press, Inc. and American Theological Library Association.

Indirect Speech
Also see:
The Face of God in the Parables
The Who Question
Preface to a Life in Tension
Other ways to engage online:



Author site: http://www.StephenWHiemstra.net
Publisher site: http://www.T2Pneuma.com





Newsletter at:  https://bit.ly/DogDays_24 ,  Signup

 

 

 

The post Indirect Speech appeared first on T2Pneuma.net.

Discurso Indirecto

Porque el reino de los cielos es semejante a un hacendado 

que salió muy de mañana para contratar obreros para su viña.

Y habiendo convenido con los obreros en un denario al día, los envió a su viña.

 (Matt 20:1-2)

Por Stephen W. Hiemstra

A principios de la década de 1980, mientras estaba en la escuela de posgrado, un amigo ruso me invitó a una fiesta de vodka. Los amigos expatriados rusos de mi amigo se referían afectuosamente a él como Boris el espía debido a sus fuertes vínculos familiares con la KGB. En esta fiesta, un amigo suyo ruso, ebrio, un profesor, se me acercó y comenzó a traducir un artículo de Pravda, el periódico oficial del Partido Comunista de la URSS.

Comenzó preguntando: ¿Cómo puede Pravada ser tan abiertamente crítico con el gobierno? El artículo decía: ¿Cómo pudo el gobierno de Beethoven, Brahms y Goethe mentir tan abiertamente sobre el asesinato de tantos civiles inocentes en campos de concentración por Adolf Hitler? El profesor inmediatamente sustituyó: ¿Cómo pudo el gobierno de Tchaikovsky, Rimsky Korsakov y Dostoevsky mentir abiertamente sobre el asesinato de tantos civiles inocentes en Ucrania a manos del camarada Stalin? Dijo que para los rusos acostumbrados a mentir y doublespeak, las implicaciones alegóricas de este artículo eran tan transparentes como asombrosas.

Bajo amenaza de muerte por ofrecer comentarios críticos de la estructura de poder de su época (por ejemplo, Marcos 6:27), Jesús habló en parábolas. El discurso indirecto (circunloquios, símiles, metáforas, poesía, proverbios y alegorías) son géneros comunes en el Nuevo Testamento. La forma más extrema de discurso indirecto se ve en la literatura apocalíptica del Libro del Apocalipsis. No es ningún secreto por qué los países con los gobiernos más represivos suelen generar la mejor poesía: el discurso indirecto es el lenguaje de las personas reprimidas.

Circunloquios

Como ya se mencionó en el prefacio, la Biblia utiliza numerosos circunloquios (referencias indirectas) para referirse al nombre de Dios. Una parábola es una forma elegante de circunloquio que Jesús comenzó a usar después de que los fariseos comenzaron a conspirar contra él (Mateo 12-13).

Las referencias del Nuevo Testamento al Reino de Dios (Marcos, Lucas) o al Reino de los Cielos (Mateo) suenan a informes de los medios modernos que citan fuentes informadas en la Casa Blanca. Todo el mundo supone que tales referencias provienen directa o indirectamente del presidente. Casi todas las parábolas de Jesús se refieren a Dios, mientras que las parábolas rabínicas suelen dilucidar un pasaje de las escrituras (Blomberg 2012, 77). Las parabolas de Jesus son único porque se enfocan de Dios.

Alegoría

La alegoría puede considerarse como un patrón narrativo en el que se ha cambiado el contexto. En la parábola de la viña, un terrateniente recluta trabajadores en diferentes momentos durante el día de la cosecha pero les paga a todos el mismo salario. Para cualquier negocio, esto sería extraño. Aquí, una viña o un jardín es una metáfora frecuente de la nación de Israel y el terrateniente en la parábola es una referencia a Dios, lo cual es obvio debido al circunloquio: “Porque el reino de los cielos es semejante”. (Mateo 20:1) La parte difícil al interpretar la parábola es ver que el denario, una moneda romana, es un símbolo de salvación o vida eterna (Kissenger 1979, 2–3).

Interpretar el denario como símbolo de la vida eterna le da significado espiritual a la parábola. Como unidad de valor monetario, el denario hace que el terrateniente sea extremadamente generoso, pero la interpretación misional de la parábola está oculta. Por lo tanto, es probable que un creyente comprenda la inferencia de inmediato, mientras que un no creyente podría simplemente rascarse un poco la cabeza. Para el creyente, el don de la vida eterna es algo de valor infinito que no se divide fácilmente, no algo que pueda provocar celos por parte de los trabajadores contratados temprano en el día, como se describe en la historia. Esta advertencia sugiere un límite a la alegoría, aunque el mensaje principal es claro.

Referencias

Blomberg, Craig L. 2012. Interpreting the Parables. Downers Grove: IVP Academic.

Kissenger, Warren S. 1979. The Parables of Jesus: A History of Interpretation and Bibliography. Metuchen, NJ: Scarcrow Press, Inc. and American Theological Library Association.

Discurso Indirecto
Also see:
Prefacio de La Guía Cristiana a la Espiritualidad 
Prefacio de la Vida en Tensión
The Who Question
Other ways to engage online:



Author site: http://www.StephenWHiemstra.net
Publisher site: http://www.T2Pneuma.com





Newsletter at:  https://bit.ly/DogDays_24 ,  Signup

 

 

 

The post Discurso Indirecto appeared first on T2Pneuma.net.

Lotz: A Poetic Commentary

Anne Graham Lotz. 2000. Just Give Me Jesus. Nashville: Word Publishing.

Review by Stephen W. Hiemstra

Some stories bear repeating. One story that I have repeated over the years concerned a dinner party where Ruth Graham learned that an older gentleman sitting next to her was the former head of Scotland Yard, the British equivalent of the FBI. Because part of his responsibilities included dealing with counterfeit money, she remarked that he must have spent a lot of time examining counterfeit bills.

“On the contrary, Mrs. Graham, I spent all of my time studying the genuine thing. That way, when I saw a counterfeit, I would immediately detect it.” (3)

The punch line here is that the best apologetic for the Gospel is Jesus himself.  After repeating this story over and over, I felt guilty and decided to buy the book where it appears, Anne Graham Lotz’  Just Give Me Jesus.

Anne Graham Lotz

Anne Graham Lotz is an author, evangelist, and the founder of AnGel Ministries in Raleigh, North Carolina. She is also the daughter of Ruth and Billy Graham. According to her website, “The New York Times named Anne one of the five most influential evangelists of her generation.”

Interestingly, in spite of her obvious talents and family notoriety, Ms Lotz writes with reference to 1 Timothy 2:11-12:

“I believe He [God] has forbidden me to teach or preach from a position of authority over a man…So when I speak, I speak as a woman who is not in authority. Instead, I am a woman who is under authority.” (311)

The term, “under authority”, is a quote from the faithful Centurion, whose slave Jesus healed. This same humility led the Apostle Paul to describe himself numerous times (like Moses) as a slave (δοῦλος) of Christ (e.g. Romans 1:1). Placing herself under authority of Christ means that Ms. Lotz has clearly read her Bible and is above other things an evangelist. Why do I say this? Because her first priority is the Gospel, which she wants to be heard by both women and men. If she ignored or abrogated 1 Tim 2:11-12, as many do today, some men could not hear her words, distracting them from her evangelism.

Commentary on John’s Gospel

In reading Lotz’ book, Just Give Me Jesus, I was pleasantly surprised to learn that it is a commentary on the Gospel of John. Lotz’ poetic style steps aside many of the scholarly interests of academic commentators, but she does not tell us directly why she chose John’s Gospel. Instead, she writes:

“While John’s motivation for writing his eyewitness account of the life of Jesus was his overwhelming, passionate love for Christ, his purpose in writing was his love for you.  The desire of his heart was, “that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” (ix)

If one takes on the mind of Christ as an evangelist, then one must take the words of Jesus seriously when he says: “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness” (Matt 5:6 ESV) and the salvation of sinners. John’s passion is contagious.

Poetic Style

Lotz’ own poetic style is striking and pervasively utilized throughout the book. For example, in discussing the Jesus’ conversation with the paralytic in John 5:6, she turns to the reader and asks:

“Do you want to get well? Do you truly want that sin to be cleansed?

                                                             that guilt to be removed?

                                                      that habit to be broken?

                                         that anger to be dissolved?

                                that bitterness to be uprooted?

                     that emptiness to be filled?

            that joy to be reconciled?

     that relationship to be restored?

that strength to pick up your responsibilities and start walking by faith? (122)

While some might take Lotz’ poetry to be simply a stylistic device, it serves an important hermeneutical purpose. Lotz’ poetic style serves her well in both offering a “biblical theological” exegesis and “speaking to everyone in the room.” Following Calvin, biblical theology strives to exegete (a scholarly term meaning to explain) a biblical passage taking into account the entire counsel of scripture, starting with the author’s intent.  Scripture should explain Scripture; if the author’s intent is unclear, then perhaps another passage of the Bible is clearer. By contrast, “speaking to everyone in the room” is a popular preaching style that strives to understand the perspective of different classes of people or, hermeneutically, how different readers might interpret a particular scripture passage. Lotz’ poetic style allows her a sophisticated exegesis that permits her to explore the three most important hermeneutical perspectives:  author’s intent, the canon of scripture, and the reader.

Assessment

A lot more could be said about Lotz’ poetry. It is neither a mere style nor a strictly feminine approach. If one slows down and examines it carefully, it communicates a clear, deep, and diverse perspective. The potential for Lotz to live up to the New York Times claim (cited above) about her influence is clearly present.

In general, the voluminous nature of a commentary makes it hard to review adequately. Let me just say that Anne Graham Lotz’ Just Give Me Jesus is a delightful book to read and ponder. Already this week as I finished the book I have found myself repeating other stories (in addition to the Ruth Graham story above) that she has told. I suspect that you will too.

http://www.annegrahamlotz.org.

“Let a woman learn quietly with all submissiveness. I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet.” (1 Tim 2:11-12 ESV)

“But the centurion replied, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof, but only say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I too am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes, and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”  When Jesus heard this, he marveled and said to those who followed him, “Truly, I tell you, with no one in Israel have I found such faith.” (Matt 8:8-10 ESV)

יְהוָ֑ה עֶ֣בֶד (Jos 1:1 WTT). The Hebrew reads: slave of God (YHWH).

In case anyone wonders why I take notice, my own business card reads: Slave of Christ, Husband, Father, Tentmaker, Author, Speaker.

Lotz: A Poetic Commentary
Also see:
Vanhoozer: How Do We Understand the Bible? Part 1 
The Face of God in the Parables
The Who Question
Preface to a Life in Tension
Other ways to engage online:



Author site: http://www.StephenWHiemstra.net
Publisher site: http://www.T2Pneuma.com


Newsletter at:  https://bit.ly/DogDays_24 ,  Signup

 

 

The post Lotz: A Poetic Commentary appeared first on T2Pneuma.net.

Lotz: A Poetic Commentary on John’s Gospel

Anne Graham Lotz. 2000. Just Give Me Jesus. Nashville: Word Publishing.

Review by Stephen W. Hiemstra

Some stories bear repeating. One story that I have repeated over the years concerned a dinner party where Ruth Graham learned that an older gentleman sitting next to her was the former head of Scotland Yard, the British equivalent of the FBI. Because part of his responsibilities included dealing with counterfeit money, she remarked that he must have spent a lot of time examining counterfeit bills.

“On the contrary, Mrs. Graham, I spent all of my time studying the genuine thing. That way, when I saw a counterfeit, I would immediately detect it.” (3)

The punch line here is that the best apologetic for the Gospel is Jesus himself.  After repeating this story over and over, I felt guilty and decided to buy the book where it appears, Anne Graham Lotz’  Just Give Me Jesus.

Anne Graham Lotz

Anne Graham Lotz is an author, evangelist, and the founder of AnGel Ministries in Raleigh, North Carolina. She is also the daughter of Ruth and Billy Graham. According to her website, “The New York Times named Anne one of the five most influential evangelists of her generation.”

Interestingly, in spite of her obvious talents and family notoriety, Ms Lotz writes with reference to 1 Timothy 2:11-12:

“I believe He [God] has forbidden me to teach or preach from a position of authority over a man…So when I speak, I speak as a woman who is not in authority. Instead, I am a woman who is under authority.” (311)

The term, “under authority”, is a quote from the faithful Centurion, whose slave Jesus healed. This same humility led the Apostle Paul to describe himself numerous times (like Moses) as a slave (δοῦλος) of Christ (e.g. Romans 1:1). Placing herself under authority of Christ means that Ms. Lotz has clearly read her Bible and is above other things an evangelist. Why do I say this? Because her first priority is the Gospel, which she wants to be heard by both women and men. If she ignored or abrogated 1 Tim 2:11-12, as many do today, some men could not hear her words, distracting them from her evangelism.

Commentary on John’s Gospel

In reading Lotz’ book, Just Give Me Jesus, I was pleasantly surprised to learn that it is a commentary on the Gospel of John. Lotz’ poetic style steps aside many of the scholarly interests of academic commentators, but she does not tell us directly why she chose John’s Gospel. Instead, she writes:

“While John’s motivation for writing his eyewitness account of the life of Jesus was his overwhelming, passionate love for Christ, his purpose in writing was his love for you.  The desire of his heart was, “that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” (ix)

If one takes on the mind of Christ as an evangelist, then one must take the words of Jesus seriously when he says: “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness” (Matt 5:6 ESV) and the salvation of sinners. John’s passion is contagious.

Poetic Style

Lotz’ own poetic style is striking and pervasively utilized throughout the book. For example, in discussing the Jesus’ conversation with the paralytic in John 5:6, she turns to the reader and asks:

“Do you want to get well? Do you truly want that sin to be cleansed?

                                                             that guilt to be removed?

                                                      that habit to be broken?

                                         that anger to be dissolved?

                                that bitterness to be uprooted?

                     that emptiness to be filled?

            that joy to be reconciled?

     that relationship to be restored?

that strength to pick up your responsibilities and start walking by faith? (122)

While some might take Lotz’ poetry to be simply a stylistic device, it serves an important hermeneutical purpose. Lotz’ poetic style serves her well in both offering a “biblical theological” exegesis and “speaking to everyone in the room.” Following Calvin, biblical theology strives to exegete (a scholarly term meaning to explain) a biblical passage taking into account the entire counsel of scripture, starting with the author’s intent.  Scripture should explain Scripture; if the author’s intent is unclear, then perhaps another passage of the Bible is clearer. By contrast, “speaking to everyone in the room” is a popular preaching style that strives to understand the perspective of different classes of people or, hermeneutically, how different readers might interpret a particular scripture passage. Lotz’ poetic style allows her a sophisticated exegesis that permits her to explore the three most important hermeneutical perspectives:  author’s intent, the canon of scripture, and the reader.

Assessment

A lot more could be said about Lotz’ poetry. It is neither a mere style nor a strictly feminine approach. If one slows down and examines it carefully, it communicates a clear, deep, and diverse perspective. The potential for Lotz to live up to the New York Times claim (cited above) about her influence is clearly present.

In general, the voluminous nature of a commentary makes it hard to review adequately. Let me just say that Anne Graham Lotz’ Just Give Me Jesus is a delightful book to read and ponder. Already this week as I finished the book I have found myself repeating other stories (in addition to the Ruth Graham story above) that she has told. I suspect that you will too.

http://www.annegrahamlotz.org.

“Let a woman learn quietly with all submissiveness. I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet.” (1 Tim 2:11-12 ESV)

“But the centurion replied, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof, but only say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I too am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes, and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”  When Jesus heard this, he marveled and said to those who followed him, “Truly, I tell you, with no one in Israel have I found such faith.” (Matt 8:8-10 ESV)

יְהוָ֑ה עֶ֣בֶד (Jos 1:1 WTT). The Hebrew reads: slave of God (YHWH).

In case anyone wonders why I take notice, my own business card reads: Slave of Christ, Husband, Father, Tentmaker, Author, Speaker.

Lotz: A Poetic Commentary on John’s Gospel
Also see:
Vanhoozer: How Do We Understand the Bible? Part 1 
The Face of God in the Parables
The Who Question
Preface to a Life in Tension
Other ways to engage online:



Author site: http://www.StephenWHiemstra.net
Publisher site: http://www.T2Pneuma.com


Newsletter at:  https://bit.ly/DogDays_24 ,  Signup

 

 

The post Lotz: A Poetic Commentary on John’s Gospel appeared first on T2Pneuma.net.

Shepherds: Monday Monologues (podcast), September 26, 2022

 By Stephen W. Hiemstra

This morning I will share a prayer and reflect on the Good Shepherd. After listening, please click here to take a brief listener survey (10 questions).

To listen, click on this link.

Hear the words; Walk the steps; Experience the joy!

Shepherds: Monday Monologues (podcast), August 19, 2024
Also see:
The Face of God in the Parables
The Who Question
Preface to a Life in Tension
Other ways to engage online:



Author site: http://www.StephenWHiemstra.net
Publisher site: http://www.T2Pneuma.com





Newsletter at:  https://bit.ly/DogDays_24 ,  Signup

 



 

The post Shepherds: Monday Monologues (podcast), September 26, 2022 appeared first on T2Pneuma.net.