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biblical studies
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Friday, 19 March 2010 |
 [This is the second in a series of posts on "Scriptures Taken Out of Context and Why They Matter".]
It is fairly common to see Philippians 4:13 quoted on all types of motivational materials. Most recently, I've seen it on a number of sports-related images and posters. And, in terms of general Christian culture, it isn't uncommon to hear this verse quoted in the following manner (which are based on real conversations I have overheard):
Conversation 1: The No Consequence Version
Person 1: "Man, I haven't studied for my final. I think I'm going to bomb it!"
Person 2: "Don't say that! You can do all things through Christ!"
Conversation 2: The Athletic Version
[On TV interview for FCA]
College Athlete: "I think this year we're going to go undefeated."
Interviewer: "What gives you this hope?"
College Athlete: "Well, as a team we've been looking to Phil. 4.13, which tells us that in Christ we can do anything we set our mind on. Nothing is impossible. We're holding to that promise and believe God is going to give us an undefeated season."
Interviewer: "Isn't that great that God wants us to have and reach our dreams!"
College Athlete: "Like the Scripture says, 'God is for us'."
It should be noted that the team did not go undefeated that season.
 Another example along the same lines, but on a more personal rather than team level, is this excerpt from an article about Stephen Curry last year:
For Stephen to achieve everything he sets his mind to, he needs to believe it completely. And right now, he believes that he can do anything. That mantra is inscribed on the forefront of his sneaker, penned as “I Can do all things…” (Editor’s note: The full quote is “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.” Philippians 4:13) Tomorrow won’t come across his radar until tomorrow. But when it rolls around, know that he’ll have the same confidence and faith that he has today.
Conversation 3: The Life Dream Version
[Really a sermon by a well known TV pastor]
Preacher: "Dream big! God wants you to achieve your dreams. He's the one who placed them in your hearts. Do you want to be debt free? You can do it through Christ! Do you want a healthy marriage? You can do it through Christ! Do you want a six figure job? You can do it through Christ! The Bible says here that 'you can do everything through Christ!' Dream big!"
This is another example of how our "sound-bite" knowledge of the Bible, based upon a few verses taken and used out of context have wrongly influenced our understanding in a number of ways.
Philippians 4:13 in Context
In reality Philippians 4:13 isn't about achieving dreams, setting goals, or any such thing. In context Paul is writing while under house arrest, and in the specific passage he is talking about the troubles that he has faced and the support he has received from the Philippian community of believers. To understand 4.13 it may be better to see what Paul says in Philippians 3:
...Finally, my brothers and sisters, rejoice in the Lord.
To write the same things to you is not troublesome to me, and for you it is a safeguard.
Beware of the dogs, beware of the evil workers, beware of those who mutilate the flesh! For it is we who are the circumcision, who worship in the Spirit of God and boast in Christ Jesus and have no confidence in the flesh—
even though I, too, have reason for confidence in the flesh. If anyone else has reason to be confident in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, a member of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew born of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless.
Yet whatever gains I had, these I have come to regard as loss because of Christ. More than that, I regard everything as loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and I regard them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but one that comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God based on faith. I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the sharing of his sufferings by becoming like him in his death, if somehow I may attain the resurrection from the dead.
Not that I have already obtained this or have already reached the goal; but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Beloved, I do not consider that I have made it my own; but this one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus. Let those of us then who are mature be of the same mind; and if you think differently about anything, this too God will reveal to you. Only let us hold fast to what we have attained. (Philippians 3:1–16 NRSV)
I've quoted a significant portion of the letter because I wanted to point out a couple of things about the passage. Note, first of all that Paul is downplaying and even rejecting his own personal goals and gains. Contrary to this being a passage about personal dreams and aspirations, it actually seems that those types of ambitions have been laid aside. This is a contextual theme throughout Philippians, with Paul stating in Philippians 2 that the we should "do nothing out of selfish ambition". Second, we shouldn't forget that there is an emphasis on suffering in this passage. Paul actually says that he wants to not only know the power of resurrection, but also share in Christ's sufferings and become like Christ in his death! This is a great example of Luther's concept of the "Theology of the Cross"--a view which turns the world on ends because it seeks the cross rather than glory without suffering.
It is from this contextual understanding of Paul's present sufferings and the support that he received from the Philippians in the midst of such sufferings that Paul makes his statement in 4.13. It is important to see this verse in the context of its surrounding verses:
I rejoice in the Lord greatly that now at last you have revived your concern for me; indeed, you were concerned for me, but had no opportunity to show it. Not that I am referring to being in need; for I have learned to be content with whatever I have. I know what it is to have little, and I know what it is to have plenty. In any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of being well-fed and of going hungry, of having plenty and of being in need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me. In any case, it was kind of you to share my distress. (Philippians 4:10–14 NRSV)
Rather than Philippians 4.13 being about achievements it is more about a Christ given endurance and contentment in the midst of good times and bad. This passage isn't even about escape from trials. Christ's power allows Paul to be content with whatever life may be bring, and given the previous contextual passages in chapter 3, whatever a life following Christ may bring. Additionally, Paul is focusing on the fact that the Philippians also chose to share in his sufferings and distress (which also continues Paul's previous theme concerning sharing in Christ's sufferings).
It is unfortunate that we have made this beautiful and inspiring passage about contentment and community, and turned it into a self-focused motivational mantra about personal dreams or accomplishments.
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biblical studies
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Tuesday, 16 February 2010 |
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 [This is the first in a series of posts on "Scriptures Taken Out of Context and Why They Matter".]
It
is commonly stated by Christians (and sometimes even others) that our
individual bodies are the "temples of God." However, the Bible
doesn't explicitly say that.
Well, to be more exact, English translations do
say "Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who
is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own..." (1
Corinthians 6:19) But, the way we in our individualistic culture read
this and what it actually says are very different. The contextual
problem here is an issue of language and the context of Paul's whole
letter; and, unfortunately, from the ambiguity of the English "you" it is easy to see why
people have developed the theological and anthropological view that
their bodies are little temples of God.
What the passage says
is: "Do you (plural) not know that your (plural) body (singular) is a
temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you (plural), whom you (plural)
have received from God? You (plural) are not your own(plural). . ."
Now that's quite a bit different than thinking of my individual
body as being God's temple. What Paul is saying is that the whole
Corinthian community of believers represents a temple of the Holy
Spirit. If we look at Paul's other uses this makes more sense in the
context of his entire letter. The idea of the community of believers being a single
metaphorical or spiritual "building" or "body" is a theme that Paul uses throughout Corinthians
and even in some
other Pauline works. Ultimately in 1 Corinthians, it leads up to the
metaphor of "the body of Christ" that Paul uses to describe the church itself.
If we are going to look at the body as the temple in
context, we need begin reading in verse 3:9, where Paul is concluding a
discussion of the works of different ministers/leaders to the
Corinthian community:
"For we are God’s servants, working together; you (plural) are
God’s field, God’s building. According to the grace of God given to me,
like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is
building on it. Each builder must choose with care how to build on it.
For no one can lay any foundation other than the one that has been
laid; that foundation is Jesus Christ.
Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious
stones, wood, hay, straw— the work of each builder will become visible,
for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed with fire,
and the fire will test what sort of work each has done. If what has
been built on the foundation survives, the builder will receive a
reward. If the work is burned up, the builder will suffer loss; the
builder will be saved, but only as through fire.
Do you (plural) not know that you (plural) are God’s temple and
that God’s Spirit dwells in you (plural)? If anyone destroys God’s
temple, God will destroy that person. For God’s temple is holy, and you
(plural) are that temple." (1 Cor 3:9-17)
Later Paul also says:
“Do you (plural) not know that your bodies are members of Christ?
Should I therefore take the members of Christ and make them members of
a prostitute? Never! Do you (plural) not know that whoever is united to
a prostitute becomes one body with her? For it is said, “The two shall
be one flesh.”
But anyone united to the Lord becomes one spirit with him.
Shun fornication! Every sin that a person commits is outside the
body; but the fornicator sins against the body itself. Or do you
(plural) not know that your (plural) body is a temple of the Holy
Spirit within you (plural), which you (plural) have from God, and that
you (plural) are not your own? For you (plural) were bought with a
price; therefore glorify God in your (plural) body.” (1Corinthians
6:15–20 NRSV)
Notice that when Paul wants to refer to the individual bodies of the Corinthian believers he uses the plural "bodies" in verse 9. This is an important distinction to note regarding his use of the singular "body" with the plural "you" in other places. If Paul were using "body" (singular) as a general reference to the individual bodies of his recipients, verse 9 should read something like: "Do you (plural) not know that your body is a member of Christ?"
And then lastly in 1 Corinthians Paul uses the body (singular) to
refer to the entire community of believers in 1 Corinthians 12:
“For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the
members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ.
For in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or
Greeks, slaves or free—and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.
Indeed, the body does not consist of one member but of many. If
the foot would say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the
body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. And if the
ear would say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,”
that would not make it any less a part of the body. If the whole body
were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole body were
hearing, where would the sense of smell be? But as it is, God arranged
the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. If all were a
single member, where would the body be? As it is, there are many
members, yet one body. The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need
of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.”
On the contrary, the members of the body that seem to be weaker
are indispensable, and those members of the body that we think less
honorable we clothe with greater honor, and our less respectable
members are treated with greater respect; whereas our more respectable
members do not need this. But God has so arranged the body, giving the
greater honor to the inferior member, that there may be no dissension
within the body, but the members may have the same care for one
another. If one member suffers, all suffer together with it; if one
member is honored, all rejoice together with it.
Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.” (1Corinthians 12:12–27 NRSV)
Paul seems to be very concerned that the Corinthians recognize
that they are one. Together they (we) are the body of Christ, and that
body (not each of our individual bodies) is the temple of God. We also
find this concept in other locations. In 2 Corinthians Paul says,
"What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are
the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will live with them
and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my
people.” (2 Cor 6:16 emphasis added) It is because God's presence is
within His people that we are the temple. Ephesians contains a
similarly minded passage that can almost be seen as a summary of some
of the concepts in 1 and 2 Corinthians:
“So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are
citizens with the saints and also members of the household of God,
built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ
Jesus himself as the cornerstone. In him the whole structure is joined
together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord; in whom you (plural)
also are built together spiritually into a dwelling place for God.”
(Ephesians 2:19–22 NRSV)
In summation of the Scriptures on this topic, should be pointed out, however, that Jesus does refer to his own body as a temple of God at John 2:19: "Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.”
So why does this matter?
It matters because in this case is the
scripture not concerned with the individual but with the corporate
existence and self-understanding of the church. Our own culture is
obsessed with the individual--personal morality, personal spirituality,
personal ethics, etc. This doesn't seem to be an issue for the
biblical authors very often. The Scripture is more concerned about our
life together as the people of God. The church as a gathering of believers is the community where God is
present in a special way, and our individual actions have bearing upon
that corporate reality. If I sin sexually I sin against the body--not
just my own body, but the Body of Christ. Paul is also saying in segments of these passages that God
is very concerned about someone who would damage the Christian
community by singling out persons or gifts for special honor in terms
of rank.
Another point to b made is that if you are going to quote something as an important verse (or build whole sermons or doctrines out of them), please be sure you know what the verse says. Study both the terms used and the context of the passage within the book or letter. And a great word of advice when reading "you" in the Bible: always check to see if it is plural or singular.
References
If you would like to do a little of your own research, the totality of
NT uses of the word "temple" can be found at:
Matt 4:5; 12:5–6; 17:24;
21:12, 14–15, 23; 23:16–17, 21, 35; 24:1; 26:55, 61; 27:5, 40, 51;
Mark
11:11, 15–16, 27; 12:35, 41; 13:1, 3; 14:49, 58; 15:29, 38;
Luke 1:9,
21–22; 2:27, 37, 46; 4:9; 18:10; 19:45, 47; 20:1; 21:1, 5, 37–38; 22:4,
52–53; 23:45; 24:53;
John 2:14–15, 19–21; 5:14; 7:14, 28, 32, 45; 8:2,
20, 59; 10:23; 11:56; 18:20;
Acts 2:46; 3:1–2, 8, 10; 4:1; 5:20–21,
24–25, 42; 14:13; 19:27, 35; 21:26–30; 22:17; 24:6, 12, 18; 25:8;
26:21;
Rom 9:4;
1 Cor 3:16–17; 6:19; 8:10; 9:13; 2 Cor 6:16;
Eph 2:21;
2 Thess 2:4;
Rev 3:12; 7:15; 11:1, 19; 14:15, 17; 15:5–6, 8–16:1;
16:17; 21:22
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biblical studies
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Monday, 04 January 2010 |
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This year I'll be posting the daily readings from a 1-Year Bible
reading plan. It runs straight through the Scriptures. I'll also be
linking to free audio downloads of an updated version of the American
Standard Version, so you can listen if the reading isn't possible. It
may not be the best translation, but it is free and open source.
Today's Reading: Genesis 7-9
MP3 Audio:
Gen 7 | Gen 8 | Gen 9
Here's my personal translations from Genesis 1-11 that I blogged last year:
Genesis 7 Translation
Genesis 8 Translation
Genesis 9 Translation
For reading, I highly recommend The Five Books of Moses
by Everett Fox as a great English version of Genesis-Deuteronomy. In
my opinion it captures the feel of the Hebrew text great, while also
being a very readable and accurate translation. I discovered it after
I had worked on my translation and was thrilled that in some places I
had made similar choices.
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biblical studies
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Sunday, 03 January 2010 |
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This year I'll be posting the daily readings from a 1-Year Bible
reading plan. It runs straight through the Scriptures. I'll also be
linking to free audio downloads of an updated version of the American
Standard Version, so you can listen if the reading isn't possible. It
may not be the best translation, but it is free and open source.
Today's Reading: Genesis 4-6
MP3 Audio:
Gen 4 | Gen 5 | Gen 6
Here's my personal translation and commentaries from Genesis 1-11 that I blogged last year:
Genesis 4 Translation | Commentary
Genesis 5 Translation
Genesis 6 Translation
For reading, I highly recommend The Five Books of Moses
by Everett Fox as a great English version of Genesis-Deuteronomy. In
my opinion it captures the feel of the Hebrew text great, while also
being a very readable and accurate translation. I discovered it after
I had worked on my translation and was thrilled that in some places I
had made similar choices.
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biblical studies
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Sunday, 03 January 2010 |
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From an article about the first burial shroud from 1st century Judea being found:
"We really hit the jackpot."
Found in a first-century
cemetery filled with priestly and aristocratic burials, the tomb was
initially opened by looters, who left the shroud behind, apparently
thinking it has no market value. Experts were able to retrieve the
artifact before it began to disintegrate.
The so-called Tomb of the Shroud is a rarity among Jerusalem tombs from the time of Jesus.
For
starters, the Tomb of the Shroud appears to have been sealed shut with
plaster for 2,000 years, perhaps as a precaution against the spread of
leprosy or tuberculosis, which was also detected in DNA extracted from
the man's bones.
The tight seal apparently allowed the
shroud—radiocarbon-dated to between A.D. 1 and 50—to survive the high
humidity levels characteristic of Jerusalem-area caves.
Archaeologists
were surprised to even find remains inside the tomb. Traditionally
corpses were removed from such tombs after a year or so and placed in
ossuaries, or bone boxes.
The article also briefly mentions the following significant discovery:
. . . the remains of the man wrapped in the shroud are said to hold DNA evidence of leprosy—the earliest known case of the disease.
So after all these years of connecting the leprosy of the Bible with skin disorders others than Hansen's Disease, maybe it was leprosy after all?
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biblical studies
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Saturday, 02 January 2010 |
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This year I'll be posting the daily readings from a 1-Year Bible reading plan. It runs straight through the Scriptures. I'll also be linking to free audio downloads of an updated version of the American Standard Version, so you can listen if the reading isn't possible. It may not be the best translation, but it is free and open source.
Today's Reading: Genesis 1-3
MP3 Audio:
Gen 1 | Gen 2 | Gen 3
Here's my personal translation and commentaries from Genesis 1-11 that I blogged last year:
Intro to Genesis 1-11, part 1
Intro to Genesis 1-11, part 2
Genesis 1, part 1
Genesis 1, part 2
Genesis 1, part 3
Genesis 1, part 4
Genesis 2, Part 1
Genesis 2, Part 2
Genesis 3, Translation
Genesis 3, Commentary
For reading, I highly recommend The Five Books of Moses by Everett Fox as a great English version of Genesis-Deuteronomy. In my opinion it captures the feel of the Hebrew text great, while also being a very readable and accurate translation. I discovered it after I had worked on my translation and was thrilled that in some places I had made similar choices.
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biblical studies
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Thursday, 24 December 2009 |
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Here are the various versions of the birth/advent of Christ in NT sources:
The Gospel of Matthew:
“Now the birth of Jesus Christ happened this way. While his mother Mary was engaged to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph, her husband to be, was a righteous man, and because he did not want to disgrace her, he intended to divorce her privately. When he had contemplated this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, because the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son and you will name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” This all happened so that what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet would be fulfilled: “Look! The virgin will conceive and bear a son, and they will call him Emmanuel,” which means “God with us.”When Joseph awoke from sleep he did what the angel of the Lord told him. He took his wife, but did not have marital relations with her until she gave birth to a son, whom he named Jesus.”
(Matthew 1:18–25 NET)
The Gospel of Luke:
“Now in those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus to register all the empire for taxes. This was the first registration, taken when Quirinius was governor of Syria. Everyone went to his own town to be registered. So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family line of David. He went to be registered with Mary, who was promised in marriage to him, and who was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for her to deliver her child.And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.
Now there were shepherds nearby living out in the field, keeping guard over their flock at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were absolutely terrified.But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid! Listen carefully, for I proclaim to you good news that brings great joy to all the people: Today your Savior is born in the city of David. He is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign for you: You will find a baby wrapped in strips of cloth and lying in a manger.”Suddenly a vast, heavenly army appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among people with whom he is pleased!”
When the angels left them and went back to heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place, that the Lord has made known to us.” So they hurried off and located Mary and Joseph, and found the baby lying in a manger.When they saw him, they related what they had been told about this child, and all who heard it were astonished at what the shepherds said. But Mary treasured up all these words, pondering in her heart what they might mean.So the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen; everything was just as they had been told.”
(Luke 2:1–20 NET)
The Gospel of John
“Now the Word became flesh and took up residence among us. We saw his glory—the glory of the one and only, full of grace and truth, who came from the Father.”
(John 1:14 NET)
Paul's Letter to the Philippians
“. . . though he existed in the form of God did not regard equality with God as something to be grasped, but emptied himself by taking on the form of a slave, by looking like other men, and by sharing in human nature. He humbled himself, by becoming obedient to the point of death –even death on a cross! As a result God exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow –in heaven and on earth and under the earth– and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.”
(Philippians 2:6–11 NET)
The Revelation to John:
“Then a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, and with the moon under her feet, and on her head was a crown of twelve stars.She was pregnant and was screaming in labor pains, struggling to give birth. Then another sign appeared in heaven: a huge red dragon that had seven heads and ten horns, and on its heads were seven diadem crowns.Now the dragon’s tail swept away a third of the stars in heaven and hurled them to the earth. Then the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that he might devour her child as soon as it was born. So the woman gave birth to a son, a male child, who is going to rule over all the nations with an iron rod. Her child was suddenly caught up to God and to his throne, and she fled into the wilderness where a place had been prepared for her by God, so she could be taken care of for 1,260 days.”
(Revelation 12:1–6 NET)
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biblical studies
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Monday, 21 December 2009 |
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News of an early Roman period house that has been excavated in Nazareth. This is the first residential building in Nazareth from the time of Jesus that has been excavated.
 An
archaeological excavation the Israel Antiquities Authority recently
conducted has revealed new information about ancient Nazareth from the
time of Jesus. Remains of a dwelling that date to the Early Roman
period were discovered for the first time in an excavation . . .
. . .
According
to Yardenna Alexandre, excavation director on behalf of the Israel
Antiquities Authority, "The discovery is of the utmost importance since
it reveals for the very first time a house from the Jewish village of
Nazareth and thereby sheds light on the way of life at the time of
Jesus. The building that we found is small and modest and it is most
likely typical of the dwellings in Nazareth in that period. From the
few written sources that there are, we know that in the first century
CE Nazareth was a small Jewish village, located inside a valley. Until
now a number of tombs from the time of Jesus were found in Nazareth;
however, no settlement remains have been discovered that are attributed
to this period."
Read the entire press release from the IAA here.
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biblical studies
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Sunday, 20 December 2009 |
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Todd Bolen quoting Joe Lauer:
This morning the IAA's Spokesperson circulated a
notice to journalists inviting them to a Press Conference to be held
tomorrow morning, December 21, at which "The IAA will Reveal a New
Archeological Find in Nazareth". The meeting point will be behind the
Church of the Annunciation, next to the upper entrance to the old
school of Saint Joseph at 10:20 AM.
The notice does not
give a hint of what that "New Archeological find" is, although I
suspect that some list recipients are in the know (and some might think
that it may have something to do with a fast-approaching date on the
calendar).
So, stay tuned.
Hmmm . . . nice timing for an announcement from Nazareth.
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biblical studies
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Tuesday, 01 December 2009 |
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The press release from ITSEE at Universitiy of Birmingham:
New Papyrus of Acts
Volume 74 of The Oxyrhynchus Papyri,
recently published, contains David Parker's edition of P127, a
fifth-century papyrus containing parts of Acts 10-12 and 15-17.
According
to the introduction it is "the most significant new addition to the
Greek evidence since ... 1927... It offers a new free version of Acts.
Although it differs greatly from Codex Vaticanus, it also presents a
strikingly different version from that found in Codex Bezae".
I woud love a chance to see it and compre it to the Bezae and Vaticanus texts.
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