Stephen W. Hiemstra's Blog, page 70
March 17, 2023
The Callous Judge
Pilate said to him, What is truth?
(John 18:38)
By Stephen W. Hiemstra
Truth comes in many forms, some of which we prefer to ignore. The Book of Job articulates three ethical systems that are often in conflict:
One is good if one obeys the law (law).
One is smart when one understands how the world really works (wisdom).
One can only be justified through divine intervention (grace).
What then is truth? Pilate was smart enough to ask the question, but did not have the courage to act on what he knew.
The Parable of the Callous Judge
Sometimes leaders do the right thing for the wrong reason, as Jesus illustrates in the Parable of the Callous Judge:
And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart. He said, In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected man. And there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying, Give me justice against my adversary. For a while he refused, but afterward he said to himself, Though I neither fear God nor respect man, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice, so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming. And the Lord said, Hear what the unrighteous judge says. And will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them? I tell you, he will give justice to them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth? (Luke 18:1-8)
It is interesting that Jesus relates this story of conflicting motivations with faith. Too often we find ourselves struggling with multiple motivations and can be accused of even others. In the parable, the judge acts on behalf of the widow, not because it is the right thing to do under the law—although we assume it is—but because he wants to avoid her nagging. It is his own benefit, not hers, which prompts him to act.
The Ethical Dilemma
Motivations and even principles often come in tension with one another. Bonhoeffer (1976, 367) cites this example:
A teacher asks a child in front of the class whether it is true that his father often comes home drunk. It is true, but the child denies it. The teacher’s question has placed him in a situation for which he is not yet prepared. He feels only that what is taking place is an unjustified interference in the order of the family and that he must oppose it.
In Bonhoeffer’s example, the student is presented with an ethical dilemma and must choose between the Commandments to tell the truth (Exod 20:16) and to honor your parents (Exod 20:12). Which Commandment is more important and how do you decide?
More generally, the Ten Commandments provide theological principles outlining good and bad behavior. It is helpful to distinguish good and bad principles from right and wrong actions (Johnson and Zerbi 1973, 12). In Bonhoeffer’s example, it is good for the student to tell the truth and to honor parents, but it is wrong for the teacher to pose the question about the father’s drunken behavior (and embarrass the student publicly) and wrong for the student to verify it in public.
Principal Agent Problem
The Parable of the Callous Judge and the Bonhoeffer story are both examples of a principal agent problem, which arises when a leader makes organizational decisions based on personal benefits rather than organizational benefits. In the Bonhoeffer example, suppose that the teacher is a sadist who derives pleasure from tormenting students. By putting the student on the spot to verify the father’s drunkenness in public, the teacher derives sadistic pleasure at the risk of opening the school up to a potential lawsuit from the student’s family. In doing so, the teacher’s interests and the school interests deviate demonstrating a principal agent problem, a special kind of ethical dilemma facing leaders.
Sexual harassment, pedophilia, taking bribes, and narcissistic leadership are all potential manifestations of the principal agent problem. In the postmodern context, a distinguishing characteristic of an amoral organization is that leadership prosecutes principal agent problems while generally eschewing the moral failings of members and leaders.
In a world of conflicting motivation and incomplete information, law and worldly wisdom are insufficient. The intervention of the Holy Spirit remains our only option. In the Parable of the Callous Judge we meet a God who desires to be part of our daily lives.
The Callous Judge
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: https://bit.ly/Spring_23 , Signup
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March 14, 2023
Lerner Mentors Authors
Betsy Lerner. 2000. The Forest for the Trees: An Editors Advice to Writers. New York: Riverhead Books.
Review by Stephen W. Hiemstra
What do you plan to study? I was asked at a family gathering during my freshman year in college. Comparative literature. I responded. My great aunt retorted: What’s that? As if I were out of my mind. The next time someone asked, I responded: Economics.
While this story sounds glib, after a couple semester’s study of literature I realized that my life experiences and knowledge of foreign tongues was too shallow to make a go of it as a writer. I still became a writer, but my writing focus shifted from matters of the heart and erudition to the subject of business and economy where the return on investment is somewhat higher.
Introduction
Betsy Lerner’s The Forest for the Trees: An Editors Advice to Writers was recommended to me by my editor. Lerner writes: “This book is about what I’ve seen and what I know. I wrote it to help writers achieve or get closer to their goals.” (9) She does not advise on how to write, but rather provides context about the life and craft of writing at the turn of the century.
The business of writing has evolved rapidly since Lerner put pen to paper, but the world that she describes remains entombed in the practice of traditional publishing, which still influences everything else. Pens and pencils have mostly been displaced by personal computers. Ebooks make up about two-thirds of sales, reducing timeframes in ordering online and leading most bookstores into bankruptcy. Print on demand has mostly replace impress printing, which has eliminated the need to carry an inventory and made self-publishing cheap and easy. These changes have altered the business of books, but they have also facilitated more wannabees becoming published authors—the focus of Lerner’s mentorship.
Background and Organization
Betsy Lerner graduated with a masters of fine arts in poetry from Columbia University. She is an author, editor, and agent.
Lerner writes in twelve chapters preceded by an introduction and followed by a bibliography:
PART I: WRITING
The Ambivalent Writer
The Natural
The Wicked Child
The Self-Promoter
The Neurotic
Touching Fire
PART II: PUBLISHING
Making Contact: Seeking Agents and Publication
Rejection
What Editors Want
What Authors Want
The Book
Publication (vii).
Surprisingly for a traditionally published book, it ends with an about the author page that might easily have been summarized in a paragraph on the back cover. But that space was displaced by some first-tier blurbs.
Authors Classified
With so many books being published today, the number one problem facing authors is discoverability. Some days I feel like I could pour gasoline on my head and light myself on fire in front of the White House and still go unnoticed. Why is it then that some authors end up on morning news programs and most don’t?
Lerner spends about half of her book classifying successful authors and telling their stories. Her classifications—the ambivalent writer, the natural, the wicked child, the self-promoter, the neurotic, and touching fire—are funny types because a bit of each one of them is found in every one of us. Perhaps, they better described as moods.
An ambivalent writer, Lerner observes, arises out of a mood of defiance: “Some of the most striking and successful books in recent history were clearly born of a writer’s obsession and complete disregard for what, supposedly, sells.” (18) Quality writing is harder to produce without a commitment to the cause far beyond the likely renumeration, which makes it more likely that the quality writing that does take place finds root in non-pecuniary motivations.
The average self-publisher today does not sell a single book, not even to their mother, so no rational observer would conclude that monetary incentives were at work. Lerner writes: “Many of the best books are born of anger or pain, of the struggle for self-definition, freedom, and revolution.” (22) Ergo, it must be some sort of mood.
Publishing for Dummies
Publishing is a team effort, even for serious self-publishers. Recreational self-publishing still carries the stigma of the old vanity press because the serious problem of rending a good book seldom takes place without the intervention of editors, some knowledge of the publishing process, and people willing to offer reviews and endorsements.
The need for a support team in publishing is more obvious in traditional publishing because authors must deal with the gate keepers who insist on attention to the details of the process. Lerner observes: “Editors do respond to well-written cover letters and to opening sentences that bring a manuscript to life.” (142) She notes: “Too many writers, in trying to secure the services of a literary agent or publishers, simply do not do their homework.” (143)
It is hard work to keep up with all the details, but the easiest rejection-form-letter to send is to writers who don’t bother to read and follow submission guidelines. After all, a good writer is someone whose attention to the details of grammar and spelling don’t get in the way of the plot and character development and, incidentally, require minimal editing. A poorly written cover letter is a great flag for what’s to follow in a manuscript. It’s like a tell in poker.
The two most important costs of publishing are editing and promotion. An author who exhibits attention to detail requires less editing and demonstrates that they are good team players in following guidelines. Both elements are important to publishers in keeping their costs down. In a fickle business where demand is highly volatile, publishers are more likely to bet on authors who minimize their costs.
Assessment
Betsy Lerner’s The Forest for the Trees: An Editors Advice to Writers is a good read likely to be interesting to writers and others interested in the publication process.
Footnotes
https://www.simonandschuster.com/auth....
Lerner Mentors Authors
Also see:
Bell Introduces Writing as a Business
Snyder Explains Screenwriting
Other ways to engage online:
Author site: http://www.StephenWHiemstra.net
Publisher site: http://www.T2Pneuma.com
Newsletter: https://bit.ly/Val_Day_2023, Signup
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March 13, 2023
The Rock: Monday Monologues (podcast), March 13, 2023
By Stephen W. Hiemstra
This morning I will share a prayer and reflect on The Rock. 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!
The Rock: Monday Monologues (podcast), March 13, 2023
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/Janu_2023 , Signup
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March 12, 2023
Spirit Prayer
By Stephen W. Hiemstra
Spirit of Truth,
All honor and glory, power and dominion, truth and justice are yours, because you lay the foundations of the earth and heaven, sustain all things, and show us how to honor beauty, truth, and justice.
Forgive us for our neglect of your creation, the people around us, and your church.
Thank you for the gift of the scriptures, your presence, and the many blessings of this life.
In the power of your presence, teach us your ways that we might share them with the people around us. Be our rock in the midst of the storm.
In Jesus’ precious name, Amen.
Spirit 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: https://bit.ly/Val_Day_2023, Signup
The post Spirit Prayer appeared first on T2Pneuma.net.
March 10, 2023
The Rock
I am the way, and the truth, and the life.
No one comes to the Father except through me.
(John 14:6)
By Stephen W. Hiemstra
The fifth characteristic of God in Exodus 34:6 is faithful, also translated as truthful. The Hebrew word, emuth (אֱמֶֽת) translates as firmness, faithfulness, truth (BDB 601). The Greek word in the Septuagint, ἐλεήμων means “to being concerned about people in their need, merciful, sympathetic, compassionate of God” (BDAG 2487), suggesting a much narrower focus. In English, we might describe someone as being true to their word, especially when it involves cost. The idea that God himself is truth pervades the biblical witness.
The Great I Am
The divine image of God lends stability to our lives that cannot be obtained any other way. When God reveals himself to Moses in the burning bush, Moses asks God his name. God responds with an enigmatic statement: “I am who I am.” (Exod 3:14). In vernacular English, a paraphrase might be: I am the real deal—I exist: Deal with it.
Mathematics suggests that we should. Houston Smith (2001, 89) paraphrases Gödel’s Incompleteness Theorem with this description:
His famous Incompleteness Theorem states that in a formal system satisfying certain precise conditions, there will always be at least one undecidable proposition—that is, a proposition such that neither it nor its negation is provable within the system (Smith 2001, 89).
God provides one assumption from outside the universes’ closed system that stabilizes the entire system. One God—one set of physical laws throughout the universe. Our reality determined by God and evident through physical law.
Known Reality
If God defines objective truth, which was the dominant value in the modern era, then postmodernism, which argues there are multiple truths (e.g. my truth, your truth), is inherently polytheistic. First century people outside of Israel believed that the gods were territorial. We might anticipate a polytheistic world to have fundamentally different physical laws in different territories. Everywhere that scientists have studied, such differing physical laws are nowhere present.
The implications of Gödel’s Incompleteness Theorem are far-reaching. In psychology, for example, we observe that faith in God serves to stabilize our psyches. The widespread prevalence of anxiety and depression that we currently see may simply be a barometer of the falling away from faith in this generation. Moreover, if the universe truly reflects God’s unity and postmodernity denies it, then we are fundamentally out of sync with reality, which cannot end well.
The Rock
This problem of being out of sync with reality is, in fact, an important takeaway from the Parable of the Two Builders found in Matthew and Luke:
“Everyone who comes to me and hears my words and does them, I will show you what he is like: he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when a flood arose, the stream broke against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built. But the one who hears and does not do them is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the stream broke against it, immediately it fell, and the ruin of that house was great.” (Luke 6:47-49)
Instead of focusing on the builders here, consider the rock. The builders can either utilize the rock to guarantee stability or save a few bucks by not. The reality of the rock does not change whether they do or do not build on it.
The rock is an apt analogy today. Only this morning, I saw photographs online of coastal property being eroded by rising sea levels and apartment buildings crashing into a heap of dust in Turkey, as the earth shook. How are builders today to respond to these obvious ecological challenges?
Allegorical Truth
Jesus does not, however, tell the Parable of the Two Builders to provide construction advise; it is explicitly a simile, as the first sentence makes explicit: “Everyone who comes to me and hears my words and does them, I will show you what he is like…” (Luke 6:47). The question in view here is about truth. The need to build with a foundation is a concrete, practical truth that parallels the spiritual truth of God. Because of God’s transcendent nature, no viable alternative to such allegorical reasoning is possible.
Faith in God in an anti-intellectual society is particularly hard because of the influence of materialism, which denies all transcendent reality. It is truly ironic to see people making use of technologies that depend heavily on thought processes and disciplines that they eschew. Faith in God is accordingly counter-cultural and has the benefit of preparing our minds for other transcendent concepts, like mathematics and science.
In this sense, the rock of our salvation breaks the ground for a foundation in science and technology in two ways. First, a disciplined lifestyle and allegorical thinking in one realm makes it easier apply the same talents in another. Second, knowing that God created the universe (and is a God of truth), we expect it to be orderly and worthy of scientific study. A materialistic, polytheist would harbor no such predilections and, as a consequence, are less likely than people of faith to populate the scientific community.
The Rock
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: https://bit.ly/Val_Day_2023, Signup
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March 7, 2023
Gagnon: Bridging the Bible and Gender Confusion, Part 3
Robert A. J. Gagnon. 2001. The Bible and Homosexual Practice: Texts and Hermeneutics. Nashville: Abingdon Press. (Goto part 1; goto part 2)
By Stephen W. Hiemstra
If homosexual conduct reduces life expectancy today when modern medicine is readily available, then it must have been even worse in the ancient world. In a context where the poor routinely starved to death, child mortality was extreme, and any access to medical care rare, except among the very wealthy, living a godly lifestyle was a survival strategy. When the Apostle Paul writes:
“For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures…” (1 Cor. 15:3 ESV)
Life and death hang in the balance. So Paul describes faith as of “first importance”.
New Testament
Gagnon divides his discussion of the New Testament into a short chapter (44 pages) on the witness of Jesus and a long chapter (108 pages) on the witness of Paul. He writes in 6 working chapters, including:
The Context of Ancient Judaism and Jesus’ View of Torah.
Jesus on Genesis and Male-Female Complementarity.
Deconstructing the Myth of a Sexually Tolerant Jesus.
Love and Righteousness in the Ministry of Jesus.
Romans 1:24-27.
The Vice Lists in 1 Corinthians 6:9 and 1 Timothy 1:10.
Let me focus on the longer discussions, items 4 and 5 above.
Love and Righteousness in the Ministry of Jesus
One of the enduring pictures of Jesus come from the parable of the loss sheep (210). Luke the physician writes:
“What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost. Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.” (Luke 15:4-7 ESV)
Notice that the parable targets those who are lost in sin and, when lost, are brought back to repentance. Jesus’ healing ministry was not restricted to physical healing, but focused on repentance of wayward lifestyles and transformation into godly lifestyles (211).
Faith in God is like that—life requires acknowledging that we participate in both a physical and spiritual reality. Ignoring our spiritual reality leaves us like zombies—physical beings without life; ignoring our physical reality leaves us like ghosts—spiritual beings without a body. Jesus rose from the dead both physically and spiritually [2].
Luke 15
Gagnon makes the point that Luke 15 has a theme of lostness—lost sheep, lost coins, lost (prodigal) sons. He writes: “The lost son is even identified with a dead person or corpse.” (211) In some sense, the modern church has, relative to those lost in gender confusion, often played the part of the older brother in the parable of prodigal son (also lost) who could not love his father and refused to accept the return of his wayward brother (211-212).
How do you properly love an unrepentant sinner? Luke points to the father in the parable of the prodigal son who offers forgiveness and reinstatement in the family. Gagnon (213) points out: “Jesus did not confuse love with toleration of all behaviors…” Citing the story of the woman caught in adultery, Gagnon focuses on Jesus’ parting words to her:
“Jesus stood up and said to her, Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you? She said, No one, Lord. And Jesus said, Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.” (John 8:10-11)
Healing comes not only from being loved on but also from being transformed. Truth and grace together make the Gospel—truth alone cannot be heard; grace alone denies the law [3]. This idea is captured also by the author of Hebrews: “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.” (Heb 4:15) We need to hear the bad news before the good news makes any sense. Grace is a gift that we have to live into if it is to transform us.
Romans 1:24-27
One question that intrigued me in seminary was the nature of the new covenant that we have in Christ. What exactly does the new covenant look like and what are its provisions?
The Mosaic covenant is fairly easy to articulate because the law, starting with the Ten Commandments, is laid out in concrete detail in Exodus 20 (and Deut 6) and the blessings and curses are laid out in even more detail in Deuteronomy 28. In Paul’s writing, the new covenant in Christ is loosely described as the Gospel and in the dichotomy between law and grace. The most specific statement of the Gospel appears in Romans 1:
“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, The righteous shall live by faith [in Jesus Christ]. For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.” (Rom 1:16-18)
Salvation from sin is freely given to all that believe in Jesus Christ—those that reject this salvation become objects of wrath. What is this wrath? Rejecting salvation garners a curse: “God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity…” (Rom 1:24) Because of the deprivation of original sin, being given up to your own desires is a curse—it is a curse to get what you want . Rejecting the Gospel also means that one remains subject to the law. Living a Christian lifestyle is not denying our true selves as victims of dark desires; it is expressing our true selves as victors in Christ’s righteousness.
Gagnon observes that Romans 1:24-27 is a central New Testament text dealing with homosexual conduct, both among men and women (229). The overall context for Paul is original sin that affects both Jews and Gentiles (240; Rom 3:9). This passage is edgy because:
“God does not judge them for their ignorance but for acting contrary to the knowledge that they do have. This suppression of knowledge shows itself especially in two ways: idolatry and same-sex intercourse.” (247).
Idolatry is about priorities. Idolatry is anything that we substitute for God’s priority in our lives—is our identity in Christ or is it in other things like our work, sexuality, or entertainments? Idolatry is not just substituting stone statues for the reality of God; it is replacing God’s priority in our lives for other priorities. The prohibition on idolatry is the first of the Ten Commandments because our survival depends on it:
“You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the LORD your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me…” (Exod 20:3-5)
God is jealous, not because He depends on our love or somehow needs sycophants; God is jealous because He loves us and knows how easily we are tempted into self-destruction.
Notice the inter-generational curse implied in Exodus 20:5 focused on those that hate God (247-249). Paul is not making up stuff in Romans 1—he is just adjusting the law to suit the new covenant in Christ. Ignoring God means worshiping something else and earns the curse of being given over to your own desires. Because the Romans were famous for their immorality and homosexuality, Paul’s emphasis on immorality and homosexuality is tailored to his audience—but it is also obviously tailored to our unrighteous situation today.
Assessment
In spite of the passage of time, Robert Gagnon’s The Bible and Homosexual Practice remains an important resource for biblical scholars and interested Christians. A key difference between Gagnon’s exegetical work on homosexuality and other treatments is his insistence on using scripture to interpret scripture. Authors who claim homosexuality is consistent with scripture usually focus on a narrow number of verses (e.g. Matt 22:36-40) and discount other passages (e.g. Lev 20:13) that disagree with their position. Consequently, progressives desiring credibility on this subject and evangelicals wanting to be informed need to engage this text.
Footnote
A parallel is found in Deuteronomy for disobeying the Mosaic covenant: “The LORD will strike you with wasting disease and with fever, inflammation and fiery heat, and with drought and with blight and with mildew. They shall pursue you until you perish.” (Deut. 28:22)
[2] Resurrection of the Body (http://wp.me/p3Xeut-Ii).
[3] The story of the woman caught in adultery is widely recognized as a later addition to the text of the Gospel of John and is bracketed in the Greek text. However, the tension between grace and truth is deep part of the biblical tradition. See, for example, the attributes of God listed in Exodus 34:6 which are divinely reveal immediately after God gives Moses the Ten Commandments. The translation reads: “The LORD passed before him and proclaimed, “The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness,” (Exod 34:6). Grace is specifically translated. The word translated as faithfulness ( אֱמֶֽת ), is translated as truth in the King James and the New American Standard versions. This implies that both grace and truth have always been God’s character traits.
Child mortality is still a problem in many countries. My mother-in-law (born 1914) grew up in a well-to-do family in Iran. Still, her mother had only 4 children survive out of 16 live births.
Gagnon: Bridging the Bible and Gender Confusion, Part 3
Also see:
Fortson and Grams Bible Limits Sex to Christian Marriage, Part 1
Campbell Turns Gender Confusion into Ministry
Rogers Argues for LGBT Equality, Part 1
Webb: Analyzing Culture in Scripture and in Life
Vanhoozer: How Do We Understand the Bible? Part 1
Books, Films, and Ministry
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: https://bit.ly/Val_Day_2023, Signup
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March 6, 2023
Dynamic Love: Monday Monologues (podcast), March 6, 2023
By Stephen W. Hiemstra
This morning I will share a prayer and reflect on Dynamic Love. 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!
Dynamic Love: Monday Monologues (podcast), March 6, 2023
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/Janu_2023 , Signup
The post Dynamic Love: Monday Monologues (podcast), March 6, 2023 appeared first on T2Pneuma.net.
March 5, 2023
Dynamic Love Prayer
By Stephen W. Hiemstra
Blessed Lord Jesus,
All glory and honor, power and dominion, truth and justice are yours, because you patiently loved us teaching us reconciliation, offering us restoration, and sheltering us as we grew to maturity.
Forgive our wandering hearts, footloose thoughts, and wanton desires. We confess that we are undeserving of your affections.
Thank you for your mercy on the cross, forgiving our sin while we were indifferent to you and those around us.
In the power of your Holy Spirit, draw us to yourself. Open our hearts, illumine our thoughts, and strengthen our hands in your service.
In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Amen.
Dynamic Love 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: https://bit.ly/Val_Day_2023, Signup
The post Dynamic Love Prayer appeared first on T2Pneuma.net.
March 3, 2023
Applying Love
Know therefore that the LORD your God is God,
the faithful God who keeps covenant
and steadfast love with those who love him
and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations,
and repays to their face those who hate him,
by destroying them.
(Deut 7:9-10)
By Stephen W. Hiemstra
In the parables examined, we begin to see the many facets of God’s love.
Jesus introduces the Parable of the Good Samaritan to address the problem with interpreting God’s love. When the Samaritan stops to attend to the wounds of the man beaten by robbers, it is an example presumably of offering love to an enemy, because the man beaten is presumed to have been a Jew and Jews hated Samaritans (Matt 5:43-46). More than this, there is also an echo of the story of Cain and Abel (Gen 4) in the parable because Samaritans and Jews can be thought of as estranged brothers—the Northern and Southern Kingdoms of Israel—who have been reunited in love (1 Kgs 12). The parable thus offers love as an allegorical reconciliation of the long-divided, Davidic Kingdom.
If the Parable of the Good Samaritan shows love as a conduit to reconciliation, the Parable of the Two Brothers displays love as a catalyst for adolescent growth and maturity in a context reminiscent of God’s request of Abraham: “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you.” (Gen. 12:1). This reality of God’s love is captured in the adage: God don’t so much care what you do as the person you become. Where we might see criminal justice, God is more interested in restorative justice where, like Jesus with the woman caught in adultery, focused on the person she could be, not the person she had been (John 8:10-11).
Note that in these two parables, love is not a static description of adoration so much as a dynamic strategy for growth, reconciliation, and restoration. Furthermore, the love of the father for the prodigal son multiples the love than the son displays. This is not a transactional love between two narcissists, but a transformative love that, like the Parable of the Friend at Midnight and enemy love, which comes at a cost and is never convenient. Getting out of bed at midnight to offer hospitality to a neighbor in need is never convenient. One never counts one’s change with family and friends, and it is best not to grumble about it.
The reckless love of the Shepherd for the Lost Sheep is most meaningful when we realize that we are all lost sheep. The dichotomous world of good and bad fish illustrated in the Parable of the Dragnet highlights the cost of such reckless love and serves to shock us out of complacency. Do we turn to God in our pain or sulk in our grief? Over time Gethsemane moments move from a decision, to a habit, to a lifestyle and define the person we become and the culture we engender. The reckless love of God more than the threat of judgment gives us a reason to turn to God in our pain.
In Christ, love is an open-handed affection with an eye on the future.
Applying Love
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: https://bit.ly/Val_Day_2023, Signup
The post Applying Love appeared first on T2Pneuma.net.
February 28, 2023
Gagnon: Bridging the Bible and Gender Confusion, Part 2
Robert A. J. Gagnon. 2001. The Bible and Homosexual Practice: Texts and Hermeneutics. Nashville: Abingdon Press. (Goto part 1; goto part 3)
By Stephen W. Hiemstra
What does it mean to be human?
The focus of the modern church since the nineteenth century has been on finding new interpretations of the Bible’s view of anthropology—anthropology is the study of what it means to be human. According to one definition of anthropology, it is: “the science that deals with the origins, physical and cultural development, biological characteristics, and social customs and beliefs of humankind.” Much of what the Bible says about the nature of humanity comes from the Old Testament, especially the Book of Genesis. One of the Old Testament’s core teachings is that—whatever else we are—we are all inherently sinful by nature.
Old Testament Teaching
Gagnon appropriately devotes more than 100 pages at the beginning of The Bible and Homosexual Practice to the Old Testament. These topics are covered:
The Ancient Near East (ANE; outside of Israel) laws and practices pertaining to homosexuality;
The creation accounts in Genesis 1-3;
Noah’s curse of Ham in Genesis 9:20-27;
The story of Sodom and Gomorrah in Genesis 19:4-11;
The rape of the Levite’s concubine (Judges 19:22-25) and the image of women in Judges (19-21);
Homosexual cult prostitution in Israel;
The prohibition of homosexuality in Leviticus 18:22 and 20:13 where it is described as an abomination ( תּוֹעֵבָ֖ה); and
David and Jonathan.
Because most conversations about homosexuality sexuality within the church revolve around the creation accounts and only occasionally stray as far as the story of Sodom and Gomorrah, let me focus my comments accordingly.
The Creation Accounts
The creation accounts in Genesis 1-3 are important because they set the standard for “acceptable sexual practice”— homosexuality is not specifically mentioned (56). Only human beings were created in God’s image and given the task of ruling God’s creation. Only human beings are capable of working the garden and resting on the seventh day to consciously worship God. Ruling requires populating the earth with human beings and procreation makes this happen. Gagnon (57) writes: “The complementarity of male and female is thereby secured in the divinely sanctioned work of governing creation.”
Gagnon views male/female complementarity in Genesis to be more than simply physical—it is physical, interpersonal, and procreative sexual complementarity—that is blessed by God, anchored in a stable family structure, and given a mission (58, 62). God said:
“Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” (Gen. 1:28 ESV)
Adam and Eve were blessed to be co-regents (having dominion) in the Eden kingdom working on God’s behalf—procreation was part, but not all, of being a co-regent. Animals were rejected as suitable partners for Adam; Eve was acceptable because she was “bone of my bones and flesh from my flesh” (Gen. 2:23)—part of what it meant to be a complete human being (61). Furthermore, the marriage was more important than parental obligations—an uniquely Hebrew concept in the Ancient Near East (ANE) where family and clan had priority over everything else.
The story of Eden, however, does not end well. Adam and Eve disobeyed God and were cast out of the garden (Gen. 3:24). Much of the remainder of the Book of Genesis outlines the corrupting power of sin. This corruption runs deep—polluting both our hearts and minds—and no one is immune. Sin affects who we are (our identity) and everything that we do. Confusion is not the exception; it is the norm. The good news is that in Christ we are no longer slaves to sin, but slaves of righteousness (Romans 6).
Sodom and Gomorrah
Gagnon describes the story of Sodom and Gomorrah as the classic story about homosexuality. More recently, critics have argued that the story only deals with homosexual rape or merely being inhospitable. However, Gagnon makes the point that this narrower reading focusing on rape is inappropriate. The text, like other texts such as the curse of Ham, uses the reference to same-sex intercourse as expressing an “inherently degrading quality” which is, for example, why Sodom and Gomorrah are destroyed by God himself (71, 75).
The interpretative dilemma arises because in Genesis 18, where the reason for God’s destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah is discussed, the first 9 verses in the chapter portrays Abraham as the ultimate hospitable host—the first 3 verses of Genesis 19 do the same thing for his nephew Lot. Meanwhile, Genesis 19:5-11 shows the men of Sodom as an angry mob bent on homosexual rape. The key verses spoken by the men of Sodom to Lot is: “Where are the men [angels] who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us, that we may know [יָדַע] them.” (Gen. 19:5) . This verse accordingly explains, presumably, why: “the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great and their sin is very grave” (Gen. 18:20).
Is Genesis 19 being used by the author, presumably Moses, as a case of an inhospitable community or is it displaying an arch type of wickedness?
Gagnon opts for the latter interpretation and uses other scripture passages in the Old and New Testament to argue his case. For example, the Book of Leviticus, also written by Moses, could not condemn homosexuality more strongly than saying:
“If a man lies with a male as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination; they shall surely be put to death; their blood is upon them.” (Lev. 20:13)
Why would Moses treat homosexuality more leniently in one place as another? (75, 83) Gagnon interprets later references to Sodom and Gomorrah in Ezekiel 16 as displaying—in addition to immoral conduct, pride, child sacrifice, and contempt for the poor (injustice)—arrogance in relation to God. Gagnon additionally cites 2 Peter 2:6-10 and Jude 7 as New Testament passages supporting this interpretation (85, 89).
Curiously, it is God that destroys Sodom and Gomorrah, not Abraham, even though Abraham had ample opportunity. Abraham captured it as a prize of war (Gen 14) and later interceded with God not to destroy the cities (Gen 18:20-33). If Abraham is our model of faith, then we are to leave judgment to God and pray for those around us caught up in gender confusion [5].
Hostility in Old Testament?
More generally, why is there such hostility to homosexuality in the Old Testament?
The usual answer among Jewish scholars is that homosexuality is contrary to nature, as created by God (159-183). Reviewing extra-biblical sources, such as Philo and Josephus (160), Gagnon cites 4 reasons for why only heterosexual intercourse was natural:
Homosexual intercourse cannot lead to procreation;
Physical complementary of male and female sex organs;
Homoerotic desire reflects an excess of passion; and
Animal do not normally practice homosexuality (163).
Of these 4 arguments, Gagnon sees the first two arguments as constituting the primary concerns (180-181). Because God is first identified as a creator in Genesis, procreation in the accounts of Adam and Eve plays an important role in bearing God’s image (Gen 1:27).
Assessment
The gist of Gagnon’s argument is that homosexuality is clearly inconsistent with the Old Testament witness and that this inconsistency entails health consequences even today. Therefore, the moral teaching on marriage and prohibitions in the Bible on homosexual practice remain binding on the church today (theological statement). Our response, however, should be to stand with those caught up in gender confusion—much like we would stand with someone caught up in alcoholism—and, at a minimum, to pray for them (ethical dilemma). Obviously, because it is hard to hate or to ostracize someone that you pray for, God’s instruction here implies that we should do much more than simply pray.
In part 3, I will explore Gagnon’s arguments based on the New Testament.
Footnote
http://dictionary.reference.com/brows....
Commentators frequently argue that Ham’s son Canaan was cursed to be a slave of his brother because he homosexually raped his father Noah. Therefore, because his sin involved his “seed” then the curse would fall on his “seed”. Theologically, this is an important argument because it essentially justified the genocide practiced against the Canaanites—the sin of homosexuality, especially the rape of one’s father— was so extreme that an extreme remedy was thereby justified.
In the Hebrew, to know [yada] someone was a euphemism for sexual intercourse.
“And the angels who did not stay within their own position of authority, but left their proper dwelling, he has kept in eternal chains under gloomy darkness until the judgment of the great day–just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities, which likewise indulged in sexual immorality and pursued unnatural desire, serve as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire. Yet in like manner these people also, relying on their dreams, defile the flesh, reject authority, and blaspheme the glorious ones.” (Jude 1:6-8 ESV)
[5] This same prayer template is repeated in the enigmatic story of Abraham, Sarah, and Abimelech (Gen 20) which also focuses on sexual sin (adultery/polygamy). In this story, Abimelech takes Sarah into his harem and God informs him in a dream that he would die because he has done this. Abimelech protests that he has not touched Sarah. God then instructs him to return Sarah to Abraham and to ask Abraham intercede in prayer for his life. Abimelech faithful adheres to God’s advice—he returns Sarah to Abraham; grants Abraham a huge reparation payment; asks Abraham to pray for him; Abraham prays for him; and Abimelech’s life is spared. Why is prayer successful in Abimelech’s case and unsuccessful in the case of Sodom and Gomorrah? My guess is that it is because Abimelech repented of his sin.
Gagnon: Bridging the Bible and Gender Confusion, Part 2
Also see:
Fortson and Grams Bible Limits Sex to Christian Marriage, Part 1
Campbell Turns Gender Confusion into Ministry
Rogers Argues for LGBT Equality, Part 1
Webb: Analyzing Culture in Scripture and in Life
Vanhoozer: How Do We Understand the Bible? Part 1
Books, Films, and Ministry
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: https://bit.ly/Val_Day_2023, Signup
The post Gagnon: Bridging the Bible and Gender Confusion, Part 2 appeared first on T2Pneuma.net.
