Revolutionary Christmas I: The Advent of Caesar Augustus

Here's my summary of Part 1 of Mars Hill's recent Christmas series.

Summary: (details)
Bell sets the context of the Christmas story by answering the question, "What was the world like when Jesus was born?" The Romans ruled by extreme force from Briton to India. The caesar's were considered gods. Slogans such as "son of god", "he will establish a universal empire of peace", and "divine king of salvation" were prevalent. Caesar taxed to pay his war bills. It is estimated that 80-90% of a person's income in Judea was given in taxes. So, why does Luke include certain details? Why caesar? Why a census? How do the angels' words relate to the slogans used of caesar? How is the story about religion? About politics? About power? About worship?

Thoughts:
I guess you could say Rome was the world's first super power. It seems the Text has much to say about true power and how to wield it. Luke is asking in his Christmas story, "Who is your Lord? Is it Caesar?"

I'm part way through a book that Bell mentions, Christ and the Caesars by Ethelbert Stauffer. Stauffer is a coin expert and comments heavily on the god-like proclamations made by the caesars on the coins. When Jesus is asked if taxes should be paid to caeasar, he was probably shown a coin with caesar on it (an idol/graven image) that claimed caesar as god. What was Jesus thinking when he saw the text on the coin? And yet he says render to caesar what is his.

In the sermon, Bell mentions temples built to honor and worship Augustus. We visited a Roman temple in northern Israel that dates to the first century and might have been built by Herod as part of the Augustus' emperor cult. The temple site is called Omrit and is an active dig. The column capitals are at least one Quentin tall, see the photos. It's near the road to Damascus, which Paul traveled, but that's another story.

Here are a few of my photos from Sepphoris (Zippori in Hebrew) and Gamla, two places that Bell mentions. Here is a slide show on Gamla from Roy Blizzard (thanks Eric).

Revolutionary Christmas

Mars Hill has a new sermon series called Revolutionary Christmas. Part 1 deals with the Roman empire and the kingdom that ruled when the King was born. Part 2, discusses Herod, the rule of Judea at the time of Jesus' birth. Part 3 appears to discuss the politics of Mary's song. I'll post my summaries as I listen to them.

I can see your house from here

The new U2 album has been ringing through my head for the last two months and it's blowing me away. Have you heard their new single, Vertigo? If not, check it out at u2.com. Then read this.

Bono was asked, "Where is Vertigo?" He replied, "It's a dizzy feeling, a sick feeling, when you get up to the top of something and there's only one way to go. That's not a dictionary definition; that's mine. And in my head I created a club called Vertigo with all these people in it and the music is not the music you want to hear and the people are not the people you want to be with. And then you just see somebody and she's got a cross around her neck, and you focus on it -- because you can't focus on anything else. You find a little tiny fragment of salvation there."

Vertigo...a dizzying place where temptation is near. Sounds like Matthew 4. Verse 5 reads, "Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple." And later in verses 8 and 9, "Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. 'All this I will give you...'"

The "highest point" of the temple is likely the southwest corner, the place where the shofar was blown. Archaeologists have found the engraved corner stone which served as a platform for the priest blowing the shofar. At the temple, the shofar was blown to call people to assembly and to announce the daily sacrifices. Here are a few photos of the southwest corner stone I took this summer in Israel.

So, imagine. Jesus is being tempted at the place where the shofar was blown. He is standing at the place where the shofar sounded for the ninth hour sacrifice (3pm). Did he flash forward to his ninth hour sacrifice (Matthew 27:46)? “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?”

There is a verse in Vertigo that goes:

All this, all this can be yours
All of this, all of this can be yours
All this, all of this can be yours
Just give me what I want
And no one gets hurt.

Was Jesus dizzy? Did he lean over the parapet? Did he see a "girl with crimson nails" to remind him of the truth? Thank God something did.

May something always bring us back to our senses.

(Steve, the title is for you...)

RVL Shephelah Messages Online

RVL and his ministry, That the World May Know, have recently released the Shephelah messages online. You can now download the monthly messages with appropriate "donations". These are full of GREAT study and inspirational material. My notes on recent messages are forthcoming.

A New Perspective On Paul

Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to share on this blog. May this resource be a blessing to the community of Christ!

The New Perspective
My recent studies have brought me to the subject of Saul of Tarsus, a subject relevant to Jamie's current study in the book of Romans. Through searching and [re]searching, I came across www.thepaulpage.com, a website dedicated to what is known as the "New Perspective on Paul" (this link is also referenced at www.en-gedi.com). New Testament (NT) scholars are revisiting Paul, specifically, our modern understanding of this Jewish sage.
The major subjects in this "New Perspective" are Saul's Conversion, Paul's perspective on the law, (Torah), and his teachings as a missionary to both the Jews and the Gentiles. The website promises to help us in five areas:

1. Better understand Paul and the early church
2. Reconcile contemporary biblical scholarship with theology
3. Build common ground between Catholics and Protestants
4. Improve dialogue between Christians and Jews
5. Flesh out a theological foundation for social justice.

These are honorable objectives, and I pray it helps us be better stewards of God's Word and Truth. The Paul Page references multiple articles and reviews, websites, and other resources dedicated to this discussion that will prove more than intriguing.

N.T. Wright at Calvin College
You can listen to Wright's message entitled, "St. Paul in the Big Picture: The Apostle and the Gospel in the 1st and 21st Century" here. In addition to giving discourse on the New Perspective, Wright dives into the socio-political implications of this new understanding for our modern day world including current events.

One More Step On The Journey Of Understanding
There is huge value in this new conversation. Paul is arguably the most influential figure in Christianity, save Jesus. Two-thirds of the New Testament are written by Paul, and our doctrines primarily stem from Paul's writings. He is considered the greatest missionary in the world. Influential orthodox as well as heretical teachings are based upon the words penned by Paul. The world is truly different because of Paul...and because of our interpretations of him. The New Perspective changes nothing about Paul's view, but rather our view of him.

Questions?

Feel free to ask questions. I'll keep my eyes open for answers during my study and send out pointers if I find them.

Pryor: Romans Part 2 of 20

Summary: (details)

Provides a summary of historical views on Paul and his theology. Pre 20th century summarized as: 1) Paul's center of thought is a polemic against the Law, 2) the Law had no real practical meeting to him, and 3) ancient Jewish literature was not a useful source for explaining Paul. Scholars focused on two questions:

1. Was Paul Jewish or Greek in thought?
   
2. What is the heart of Paul's theology?
   

In the 1970's, E.P. Saunders started a revolution in Pauline theology with his concept of "covenantal nomism". "Briefly put, covenantal nomism is the view that one's place in God's plan is established on the basis of the covenant, and that the covenant requires as the proper response of man his obedience to its commands, while providing a means for trangressions." His work showed that Judaism in the 1st century was NOT a religion of "works rightousness" where
one had to earn ones salvation. Virtually all scholars see Paul as Jewish; the question now is "what is the center of his theology?" Pryor highlights his key descriptions of Paul:

1. He is a zealous Pharisee more closely aligned to Shammai than Hillel.
   
2. Paul affirmed monotheism and was deeply influenced by his eschatological (end times) views.
   
3. Paul was primarily concerned with "halakah", how to walk in a way that was right with God.
   
4. His "calling" is not so much a conversion, but a being "set apart", akin to Jeremiah and Isaiah. It's better to view Paul in the role of a prophet, both to the Jews and Gentiles. His critique of Israel is from within it.

Thoughts:
Mostly, I just have questions. I'm trying to picture Paul and it isn't easy. Who was he? What was his main teaching point? He calls himself a Pharisee in Phillipians. How does that jive with my Gospel view of Pharisees? Who is he arguing with and why? Paul is weaving themes that run throughout the entire Text, am I following them? Seeing Paul as a prophet is new for me. Danielle described his discussions with Jews as a "family argument". You can say things to family members that you don't say to strangers because you know in the end you're still family. I'm still pondering halakah and how to walk. I'm reminded of John, "But if anyone obeys his word, God's love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him: Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did," 1 John 2:5,6.

Pryor: Romans Part 1 of 20

Summary: (details)
Tape 1 is a short introduction to this provisional study of Paul's letter to the Romans. Come back next year for the next session.

• It's a letter, not a theological treatise. Romans is not a linear treatment.
  
• Paul is not a Greco-Roman philosopher, he's a Jewish rabbi. There is a spiral effect going on in the argument.
  
• Verses 1:3,4 and 1:15-17 are critical to understanding the letter. Verses 1:3,4 are the content of the gospel of God, focus on God. Verses 1:16,17 summarize the effect of the gospel.
  
• Romans is not about us. It's about God, the gospel of God.
  
• Classical Protestant reading makes it personal, otherwordly.
  
• For Paul, it's always personal but never private.

More detailed notes here.

Thoughts:
Whenever I think of Romans, I think of the Roman road (the classic HowTo on becoming a Christian drawing on verses from Romans) and many other key verses. This study is going to be deep and broad and looks like we'll be covering a lot of ground.

Dwight Pryor: Paul and Romans

We've finally started listening to Dwight Pryor's in depth study of Paul and his letter to the Romans, "Paul--Jewish Apostle to the Roman World". It's been on my shelf for almost a year now. It's designed to be a semester long class, 20 tapes, and was taught over a week at one of Pryor's Haverim schools. His approach is to study Paul as a Jewish rabbi speaking to a Hellenistic Roman world. I have never really studied Romans in depth so this should be interesting. So far, I've listened to about half the series and have taken detailed notes on the first three. I'll be posting as we make our way through it.

Recommended reading

I've started a recommended reading/listening list. Email me if you'd like specific recommendations. I'll be posting detailed summaries of the material as I get the chance.

Online materials

There are great Biblical study tools online and I've listed a few of my favorites in the link section on the right. Here is a brief overview:

• Biblegateway -- Good for passage and word searching the Bible (or the Text). Also has a variety of translations for comparisons.
  
• KJV Dictionary -- I use this to look up original words in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek. Not that I speak/read those language yet, but it's useful for finding deeper meanings and connections between different portions of the text. I'll give some examples at some point.
  
• Follow The Rabbi -- This is Ray Vander Laan's ministry site and provides excellent study resources. RVL is a Dutch Christian from Michigan who received his PhD from Yeshiva University, an orthodox Jewish university. His perspective on the Text is fascinating.
  
• Mars Hill Bible Church, MI -- This church started with teachings on Leviticus. The sermons blew me away and I began to see the Bible as one big story, all connected and intricately interwoven. They own a mall in Michigan and meet in the former main department store. Check out their sermons online.
  
• Jerusalem Perspective -- Publishing site for the Jerusalem School of Synoptic Research. There is a great dialogue section and written material from some of the leading scholars in New Testament studies.
• j.c.studies -- Teachings from Dwight Pryor focusing on the Jewish roots of Christianity.
• Kehilat Ariel -- A congregation of Messianic Jews (and Goyim) from San Diego. Great online sermon archive. I highly recommend the series on Acts that is currently available.

Shadow of God

I've begun reading a book called The Shadow of God by Leo Dupree Sandgren. It's comes highly recommended by RVL who has read it three times in the last year. The book is historical fiction and captures episodes from six centuries of Jewish history. The stories themselves are a good, easy read. The chapter notes are incredibly deep and rich while drawing from an extensive depth of resources, many primary. I probably won't take notes on the chapters but will send out comments or thoughts. So far, I highly recommend it, it's worth the read.

I read a couple of good articles on trends in the church. I highly recommend the first one:

• The Subversive Art


• The Emergent Mystique (Thanks for the pointer PD.)

My vote

A quick aside...

Bet...

It hit me a couple years ago at a National Youth Specialties conference while listening to Rob Bell talk about Jesus as one who "taught with authority". One facet of this verse is the technical meaning of "authority" during Jesus' time (and even now). It's from rabbinic Judaism and translated to Hebrew is "s'mikah". The tradition is found among rabbi's today and dates back to the time of Moses and the giving of "authority" to the seventy elders. Brilliant light from this facet struck me and revealed my blindness. I had eyes but wasn't seeing. Jesus was Jewish and I had absolutely no idea what that meant. No wonder he seemed so strange and distant and other worldly. Could I dare to admit that I believed in someone whom I barely understood? For me, this illumination on my ignorance of Jesus' Jewishness is incredibly urgent. And so, these are my steps as I learn to "walk as Jesus did".