The Gospels - A Reliable and Biased Testimony to an Unparalleled Life

Continued from The Books of the New Testament

Skeptics throughout the ages have asked whether the gospels are to be trusted because they were written by biased people, the followers of Jesus himself.  They surely must have had a skewed point of view as to who this Jesus is.  After all, you cannot trust someone's biggest fans to give an objective account of someone's life...can you?  Recently this skepticism has been found unwarranted for a couple reasons.  First, we know that eyewitness accounts are always the most reliable when looking at events that we ourselves did not observe.  If the gospels demonstrate themselves to be the testimony of eyewitnesses they are then the most trustworthy views of Jesus we possess.  Second, the claim that someone is unable to correctly convey a story because they are "biased" is highly unwarranted.  We will look at each of these issues.

Eyewitness Testimony in the New Testament

When asking the question "What happened with this Jesus guy?" the first persons we should ask are those who walked with him, talked with him and lived their lives with him.  Or as 2 Peter 1:16 rightly records, those who were eyewitnesses of his majesty.  This requires us to look at the claims of the gospels to be just that - a written record of eyewitness testimony.  This was a view taken for granted for years until the advent of critical scholarship in the 19^th century where the origin and source of all the gospel writings was brought into question.  Revisionist historians and liberal New Testament scholars began to claim the gospels were 3^rd or 4^th century compilations of Christian communities which did not reflect anything close to eyewitness testimony. 

However, there has been much movement in New Testament studies over the last several decades which has ruled out the revisionist ideas of liberal theology.  The late 3^rd and 4^th century dates have been utterly repudiated and we have been able to date all the gospels conclusively to the first century.  This has been due to amazing archaeological discoveries such as a fragment of John's gospel dating to around 125 AD.  Additionally, recent scholarship has shown that there are very good reasons to understand the gospels as testimony.  In 2006 Scottish Richard Bauckham published Jesus and the Eyewitnesses - the Gospels as Eyewitness Testimony which makes a strong case for our understanding the gospels as containing the testimony of those who knew the life and teaching of Jesus directly.  More and more scholars are coming to the position which the church has always held.  The gospels are the most reliable portrait of the life and teaching of Jesus because they contain the accounts of the people who were there.  But where these people just Jesus fan boys, too biased to be trusted?  Good question.

Bias is not Always Bad 

The question of bias is important, after all, the gospel writers did not leave us with a simple narrative that records nothing more than rote historical facts.  No, they were convinced of the truth of Jesus' teaching and their account of history contains the teaching of theology about Jesus as well as historical data.  Yes, there are towns, rulers, times and places mentioned, but also teaching as to the identity of Jesus and his mission from God.  But does this one sided account, that of Jesus' followers, disqualify their testimony as being valid?  In fact I will argue that if you want to know something about something or someone, you are better off asking people who are passionately committed to the story he shares.  A few examples can help us see that Bias is not always bad.

One example comes from the world of technology and through a simple question.   If you desire to know about the ins and outs of Macintosh computers, would you ask someone has never touched a Mac to be your teacher?  Of course not...who would you ask?  You probably would ask one of those MacIdolaters who are loyal subjects of the cult of Steve Jobs.  You know that crazy Apple guy who has to put down Windows every time the subject arises.  You know the guy who is flossing[1] his iPhone for all to see.  You may be that guy.  My point is this.  The people from whom you will get the best information about Macs are probably the ones who are the most biased; the ones who are passionate about their elite computers.  In like manner, NASCAR fans should be consulted on the intricacies of Stock car racing, indie rockers should be the ones you talk to about what is happening in the music scene and his original followers are the ones we should consult about Jesus Christ.   

One final example of a more serious kind should be mentioned.  To exclude a person who was involved with an event, who passionately cares that the story be told, as being a reliable witness would be quite odd indeed.  This sort of reasoning would rule out the accounts of Jewish historians of the Holocaust.  They are most interested as they were the ones most closely involved with this horrific course of events.  We would not think of discounting someone's testimony because they are "biased" against the Nazi's because their family went through the Holocaust.  No, rather we trust them as they were the closest people to the events and care most passionately about conveying and passing on this history.[2] 

Until someone is shown to be an unreliable witness we ought to take their word for something until they are shown to be not trustworthy.  The philosopher Immanuel Kant rightly showed some time ago that an assumption that all people are lying all the time is self-refuting.  We should assume truth telling unless we have good reason to think that someone is not telling the truth.[3]  If we find that someone is in their right mind and capable to tell the truth, is willing to do so, his words are recorded and preserved with integrity and his testimony is validated by other witnesses, we should trust the words of that person.[4]  It seems that this is precisely the sort of reality that we find in the writers of the gospels. 

It was their intention to tell the truth

• Most of them were religious Jews who thought that intentional falsification (lying) was a direct violation of one of the Ten Commandments.  Lying was not a virtue in their community.  This does not mean there were not religious Jews who were liars at the time, but it was not a virtue extolled in the community.
• The New Testament writers were concerned with "delivering" the teaching of Jesus and the gospel to the next generation in their writing.  The Apostle Paul specifically says that he delivered or passed on to the Corinthian church the gospel.  This gospel was considered by the early Christians as a matter "of first importance." See 1 Corinthians 15:1-3.  There is good evidence that they believed they were passing on what they saw as a holy tradition through their writings.^[5]

They were able to tell the truth

• They were a culture steeped in a tradition of oral teaching and memorization.  In fact, scholars have shown that ancient peoples could memorize massive amounts of information, with an important focus on maintaining the very words of their teachers.[6]
• If they experienced any external pressure it was against the preaching of their message. They gained nothing in the way of position, power and possessions for faithfully telling the Jesus story.  To the contrary most of them were killed for it.  

 Their Words Preserved Accurately

• It is beyond the scope of this paper but there is good textual evidence that we have the New Testament documents today in a form that is extremely close to the original manuscripts.  This is non controversial.  Most scholars agree that the current Greek texts of the New Testament are very accurate.  To put it simply, we have pretty much what was written.  Interesting enough, one of the few controversial passages, Mark 16:9-20, is in the gospel of Mark.
• Additionally, there was very little time between the actual events of Jesus and the writing of the New Testament.  The less time that passes the less likely legendary development occurs.  The gospels were all finished by around 90AD with Mark and Matthew likely within just a few decades of the resurrection of Jesus.  In the period in which the gospels were written down many eyewitnesses of the events would have still been alive.  As Richard Bauckham states, "The Gospels were written within living memory of the events they recount.  Mark's gospel was written well within the lifetime of many of the eyewitnesses, while the other three canonical Gospels were written in the period when living eyewitnesses were becoming scarce, exactly at the point in time when their testimony would perish with them were it not put in writing"[7]

They are Corroborated/Validated by Others

• If an author shows that he tells the truth on matters that are verifiable externally, he is thought to be a reliable witness.  The New Testament writers note at least thirty historically confirmed people in their works. The gospels in general and the passion narrative in particular find corroboration in several ancient sources outside of the New Testament.^[8]  In addition, we find quotations at length from the gospels in the sermons and writings of the early church fathers.
• When the gospels are examined, they show a strong historicity which is only doubted when a bias against the supernatural is brought to bear.  Many skeptics have written off the testimony of the gospels because they were written down by men who believed in God, who record the occurrence of the miraculous and the resurrection of an incarnate Savior God.  Yet such bias against the supernatural is just the work of a closed mind.  Someone who says - I cannot believe the words of the New Testament because I don't believe in God or miracles - is already closed off to any amount of evidence.  They are saying "I don't believe because I don't believe."  Such views are intellectually stifling and hardened to what God might say if they simply read the gospels with an open heart and mind to see the unparalleled life of Jesus on display.

In closing, the gospel literature is unique indeed.  It is part biography, part history, part theology yet passionately what Bauckham simply calls testimony. 

Understanding the Gospels as testimony, we can recognize this theological meaning of the history not as an arbitrary imposition on the objective facts, but as the way the witnesses perceived the history, in an inextricable coinherence of observable event and perceptible meaning.  Testimony is the category that enables us to read the Gospels in a properly historical way and a properly theological way.  It is where history and theology meet.[9] 

Let's go get some history and theology, in a portrait of the person of Jesus, truthfully set forth in the gospel of Mark.

---

[1] See the Urban Dictionary for a definition of the word floss - The Urban Dictionary, (accessed August 14 2007); available from http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=floss.

[2] For a more sophisticated look at the uniqueness of Holocaust testimonies see the treatment in Richard Bauckham, Jesus and the Eyewitnesses : The Gospels as Eyewitness Testimony (Grand Rapids, Mich.: William B. Eerdmans Pub. Co., 2006), 493-502.

[3] James Porter Moreland, Scaling the Secular City : A Defense of Christianity (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Book House, 1987), 137-138.

[4] Ibid., 138.

[5] Ibid., 144.

[6] See particularly chapters 10 and 11 of Bauckham, 240-263.

[7] Ibid., 7.

[8] See the chapter "The Corroborating Evidence" interviewing history professor Edwin Yamauchi in Lee Strobel, The Case for Christ : A Journalist's Personal Investigation of the Evidence for Jesus (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1998), 73.

[9] Bauckham, 5,6.

Exhorting the obvious - to my seminary brothers

For some reason God has made my theological studies take the long route home. After starting at one institution and playing around in some philosophy classes at a large state school, I have been slowly picking away at a degree at Southern Seminary. I take a class here and there, mostly during January and Summers when my ministry load is not as heavy. This makes the following exhortation perhaps easier for me but I still think it holds for all engaged in theological training.

Over my years of study I have found it quite natural to pass on and actively teach the things I am learning to those I serve in ministry. Whether it was athletes I was walking with in campus ministry or this weekend with some young adult leaders, I have found natural ways of translating that which I am learning into active ministry and discipleship.

Think about it for a moment. We can easily think that our course work will "apply some day" when I am in ministry while we study away. Yet the hard work of on the street ministry is connecting deep theological and biblical insight to common situations and people outside the academic guild. God has you studying XYZ, perhaps doing a pile of reading. Could it be that something you are reading is actually for the people you work with, walk with in church or your family? Now, some of you are thinking...yeah, how do I teach infralapsarianism to the guys I work with? Or, how do I talk about federal headship with my kids? Or, how do I teach the significance of chiastic structure to my Sunday School class? Such is your task to translate doctrine into people's real worlds. I have a firm conviction that what we are learning, can be readily conveyed to others. But it takes some meditation, it takes some work. It takes knowing the content of your studies and the world of people around you - and bridging those worlds.

Here is a simple example. In reading for a church history class I saw the same thing repeated about three times about the nature of the early spread of the Christian church. Over and over the author stated that the Christian gospel spread not primarily through preachers and missionaries, important as they may be, but rather through ordinary people, merchants, servants, families and friends. In encouraging some of our young adult leaders to live the gospel out in the open world, I shared this with them. It has always been the case that the gospel has spread through nameless Christians who faithfully live for Christ and share the good news of God's forgiveness through the work of Jesus on the cross

So here is my simple exhortation - teach someone what you are being taught. Your preparation for ministry will be significantly different in two ways. First, you will learn how to think and minister deep things at a popular level, moving your people towards depth and conviction. Second, you will not leave seminary and think "all that stuff I was taught doesn't help real world people" and be begin to dumb everything down because you have not learned to do the hard work of translating.

In fact, if you are a parent - this is a great parenting deal.  Just teach your kids what you are learning about in life.  Translate it into their world and level of understanding.  Whether science, current events, sports, stuff you are reading, Bible, technology, history, gardening etc.  Now, you may ask "What if I am not learning anything?" - My reply: quit being a moron and learn something.  And make it helpful, good and useful knowledge...your kids need to know more than Xbox Live.

POC Bundles 8.22.2007

On Science

• A very interesting article on cosmology is available over at the American Scientist. It summarizes contemporary inflationary big bang theory and the poor state of modern cosmological speculation.    

Technology

• Arm wrestling arcade game - for real men only...this one breaks arms of girly men
  
• Cool WordPress Theme for Mac fans - the little bomb at the bottom of the screen is what happens when Macs crashed.  Yes, I know they told you Mac's never crashed - but believe me, I used to TA a class on them in college and yes they certainly did.  If you have a Mac Classic in your house that you made into fishbowl then this is for your blog.

Just for Fun

• What men do when they don't have jobs and a mission - they devise ways they can be like Jason Bourne. Don't try these at home.

General News

• This...is just nasty: A Beijing factory recycled used chopsticks and sold up to 100,000 pairs a day without any form of disinfection, a newspaper said on Wednesday, the latest in a string of Chinese food and product safety scares.

The Books of the New Testament

Continued from Introduction to the New Testament... 

The New Testament, shared by Protestants, Catholics and Eastern Orthodox Christians is comprised of 27 individual books of varying length and literary genre.  A genre is simply a kind of writing.  Poetry, narrative stories, legal literature, prophecies are simple examples of different literary genres.  The New Testament contains four main genres of literature: gospel, narrative, epistle/letter and apocalyptic.  Many of these genres contain different sub genres such as parables, poems, creedal material as well as personal testimony.  The following is only a brief description of the parts of the New Testament.

The Gospel Literature - Matthew, Mark, Luke and John 

There are four books in the New Testament classified as gospel literature.  The books of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John are considered to be gospels. The word gospel is derived from the Greek term euangélion, which simply means good news or good tidings.  So the gospels are books containing good news, but not just any kind of news.  It would be one thing if a historical rise in the stock market or the fortunes of a nation are recorded dispassionately as history.  That might be interesting, but it would not be world changing.  The New Testament gospels however record something different-they record good news of God's action in history, to bring people into a relationship of love and worship through Jesus Christ.  The gospels are a fairly unique form of writing comprising several literary forms.  In some ways they are part biography, part history and part theology.  They have the goal of presenting and persuading - they endeavor to present Jesus but also to teach us who he is and what our response to him should be.  Each of the gospels had a different audience which originally received the work and each was composed by a different author.  As such they record some of the same details of Jesus' life but at times in different ways.  There is a commonality in the events, but a different recording depending on the purposes of the author and his intended audience.

The Synoptic Gospels

The gospels Matthew, Mark and Luke are known as the Synoptic Gospels, in that each provides a synopsis, or outline of the life and teaching of Jesus.  The word synoptic is derived from two Greek terms that when combined mean to see together.  When examined together, these gospels present a multifaceted view of the life and teaching of Jesus.  There is an interesting body of scholarship whose goal has been to investigate the origin and compiling of the synoptic gospels from early oral tradition and eyewitness accounts.  Scholars call this the synoptic problem.  The question arises from both the similarity and differences between the texts of Matthew, Mark and Luke and the literary and source connections between them.  A complete summary of the synoptic problem is well beyond our purposes here, but I think a brief summary will help you at least know some of the issues.  I will lay out a few of the issues that make the synoptic puzzle an interesting area of New Testament studies.  For those interested in a very brief, approachable, but scholarly summary of the current discussion I recommend Rethinking the Synoptic Problem published by Baker Academic.[1]  It is only about 160 pages so throw it in your Amazon.com shopping cart.

First Issue - We know the Gospels are Compilations 

The fact that the evangelists, the writers of the synoptic gospels compiled their accounts from other sources is non controversial.  It is the clear teaching of the Bible and of church tradition.  For instance, Luke begins his gospel with the following statement:

Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the things that have been accomplished among us, just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word have delivered them to us, it seemed good to me also, having followed all things closely for some time past, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, that you may have certainty concerning the things you have been taught.

Luke 1:1-4 ESV

A few things should be noted about Luke's goals in writing his gospel.  First, he acknowledges others have taken up the task to compile a written narrative of Jesus.  Second, these compilations are based on eyewitness accounts from those who were with Jesus and ministers of the word.  Third, his concern was to put together a written, orderly, factual account of the teachings of the Christian faith.  Additionally, there is a strong tradition stating that Mark's gospel is a compilation of the account and preaching of Peter which was written around the time of the apostle's death.  We'll have more on that later.   So if the gospels are compilations which were written down at different times, for different communities, by different authors it is likely that they shared some of the same sources and perhaps used one another's writings. 

Second Issue - Same Stories, Different Accountings 

If you ever interact with people who are skeptical about the Bible they are sure to bring up the so called "contradictions" in the gospel narratives.   You see some of the stories are the same, sometimes verbatim (see next issue), but sometimes the stories are similar but have some pretty significant differences.  A quick read of the resurrection narrative accounts in the synoptic gospels will suffice to illustrate.  How many angels were there at the empty tomb?  If you go after answering that question for a moment you run into a feature of the synoptic problem.  My answer?  Probably, at least two...but each does not always get props in the story.

Third Issue - Same Stories, Same Wordings 

Many times the synoptic gospels contain the exact same stories and teachings of Jesus Christ.  This would be rather uninteresting as a mere accounting of the same life would suffice to explain this occurrence.  However, many times in the gospels we find Matthew and Luke repeating Mark almost word for word.  Additionally Matthew and Luke contain some of the same sayings of Jesus that are not found in Mark. This asks the question: Who was using what writings in compiling their work?  In any account, there appears to be a literary interdependence of the synoptic gospels and their sources.  This has led to the dominant position among many scholars today known as the Two Source hypothesis.

The Dominant Solution - Two Source Hypothesis

• Mark was written first.  The view that Mark was the first gospel is simply assumed by many in New Testament studies today. [2] For example, Ben Witherington begins his commentary with a simple statement regarding studies of the gospel of Mark: "The sheer volume of recent studies, however, suggests that we are trying harder to grasp the meaning of this, the earliest of the gospels."[3]  There are many reasons for thinking Mark may have been written first. [4]
• Matthew and Luke had Mark available to them as they wrote
• Scholars have formed a hypothesis (a good and educated guess) of another source which they have called "Q"[5] (from the German quelle for "source").  It is held that this source contained sayings that Matthew and Luke share in common but are absent from Mark.  Q is a working hypothesis used by some scholars.  There is not a single shred of archaeological evidence of its existence.  We do not have one copy of this source.  Yet it is a reasonable inference due to the material shared by Matthew and Luke.  It is questioned by some scholars and an assumed hypothesis by others.
• Today, Markan priority and the use of Luke/Matthew of Mark/Q remains the dominant view.

However, in the last several decades there have been others who are arguing quite convincingly for the priority of Matthew.[6]  This holds promise for a couple reasons.  First, the tradition and teaching of church history is univocal that Matthew was written first.  This was unchallenged for over 1800 years.  Second, this school of thought is giving much more credence to patristic studies, studies of the writings of the church fathers.  For those interested in this school of thought will want to see Why Four Gospels by David Allan Black.[7] 

Let me close briefly by saying that all evangelical scholars-whether those who hold to the two source hypothesis or the priority of Matthew-hold that the synoptic gospels were written down by the inspiration and direction of the Holy Spirit.  All evangelical New Testament scholars agree that each view is compatible with the truth that the writers of the gospels recorded scripture as inspired by God. 

Dr. Craig Blomberg sums this up well: 

...it is important to state up front that none of the major solutions to the Synoptic problem is inherently more or less compatible with historic Christian views of the inspiritation and authority of Scripture. [8]

Though the precise solution to the literary connectedness of the gospels is not of central importance to our faith, it is good to be aware of these issues.  Many so called "contradictions" skeptics claim to find in the synoptic narratives are easily resolved when we realized that each other arranged his material to tell the story of Jesus to a specific audience of Christians from a particular perspective.  Our chief concern with Matthew, Mark and Luke is the person to whom they testify.  Our gaze is the person of Jesus who lived in history, taught us many things, gave his life as a sacrifice for sin and rose from death to set people free.  This Jesus is the Jesus of the synoptic gospels - and to him, the final gospel calls boldly to us...Believe! 

John's Gospel - Believe!

John's gospel states its goal forcefully and with clarity in the twentieth chapter of the book.  These are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name (John 20:31 ESV). John is writing for the purpose of presenting Jesus as the Christ, the one sent from God to deliver his people from sin, and calling us to believe.  It is a narrative of the miracles and teaching of Jesus which has a different feel from the synoptic gospels.  John wrote his material with the divinity of Jesus in the forefront and wants no neutral readers.  To read John is to be brought close to the Son of God in his glory with majesty on display.  The fourth gospel cannot be ignored and calls for a radical commitment of life to the Savior.  All who hear his voice in Scripture will follow and believe and no one who comes to him will he cast out; this is the radical message of John.

Narrative Literature - The Book of Acts

The book of Acts is primarily narrative in nature as it records the unfolding and preaching of the gospel from Jerusalem outward through the Roman Empire.  It begins with the story of the coming of the Spirit at a Jewish feast known as Pentecost and people in Jerusalem becoming followers of Jesus.  It continues with opposition and persecution in Jerusalem and the spread of the gospel outward in the first missionary efforts of the church.  The bulk of the narrative contains the travels of Paul and his companions establishing Christian communities throughout the trade routes of the world.  It tells a story and as such it is narrative literature

Epistles and Letters - From Paul and Others

A large portion of the New Testament is made up of letters written and distributed widely to teach and instruct the early church.  Whereas the gospels lay out the life teaching of Jesus, the epistles expound on the gospel leading us in how to live as followers of Jesus on his mission.  The epistles further explain the gospel, give us instruction on how to move into the world as Christ's followers and teach us how we are to live together as the church.  The letters are usually divided into two groups, the letters of Paul and those known as the general epistles.  We'll look briefly at both groupings. 

Paul's Letters

Much of the New Testament was written by a guy named Paul. Paul was sort of a big time guy in his day that had it on his mind to stamp out the new Christian movement.  As a religious Jew he saw the followers of Jesus as departing from the way of their fathers and began to persecute the church heavily with permission from civic leaders.  On his way to give some people a beat down the tables were turned on him.  Jesus smacked him around, blinded him for a few days and told him that he would now be a Christian and bring the gospel to the Gentiles (non Jews).  Paul then became a pretty radical guy who nobody could silence.  He preached the gospel with courage and at great peril to his own life.  In establishing new churches Paul would write to them, inspired by God, to teach and instruct the new followers in the way of Jesus.  Thirteen of Paul's letters make up a large portion of the New Testament.  Many of the letters are named after cities where the new churches were living.  The book of Romans was written to those in Rome, 1 and 2 Corinthians to the church in Corinth, etc.  If they were written today they would be something like 1 Nashvillians.  The Pastoral Epistles were written to Paul's younger disciples teaching them how to be servant leaders in the church and named after these men.  Finally, Philemon is the name of a friend of Paul and that letter bears his name.  Here is a listing: Romans, 1 and 2 Corinthians, 1 and 2 Thessalonians, Galatians; The Prison Epistles - letters written during his house arrest in Rome - Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, Philemon; The Pastoral Epistles - 1 and 2 Timothy and Titus 

General Epistles

The remaining letters of the New Testament were written by apostles and early Christian leaders dealing with particular concerns of missional living and doctrine in the early communities.  One book, though early on held to be written by Paul, has remained anonymous in its authorship.  It simply is title the epistle to the Hebrews.  Here is a listing of these books: Hebrews, James, 1 and 2 Peter, Jude, 1, 2 and 3 John 

The Apocalypse - The Revelation of Jesus Christ

The final book of the New Testament has a unique literary genre known as apocalyptic literature.  The word apocalypse comes from the Greek word which means to reveal, to uncover, unveil or disclose.   As such the book is commonly called Revelation.  This book has proved very controversial over the centuries with many schools of thought on how we should interpret it.  The book however is very clear in its purpose from the opening lines.  It is a revelation of Jesus Christ.  Whether the book is about bar codes on our foreheads, apache helicopters, one world government, meteors crashing into the earth or being left behind I will leave up to you.  But one thing we must know, the book is about Jesus, not just the end of the world.  The book is about the worship and praise and ultimate revealing of Jesus Christ.  We would do best to focus here when reading this book. 

That is but a brief fly-over of the New Testament writings, but our focus is on the gospels and the gospel of Mark in particular.  So let us move to the gospel literature, the books that focus us on the life, teaching, death and resurrection of the carpenter from Nazareth.

---

[1] David Alan Black and David R Beck, Rethinking the Synoptic Problem (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2001).

[2] Ibid., 17.

[3] Ben Witherington, The Gospel of Mark : A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary (Grand Rapids, Mich.: W.B. Eerdmans Pub., 2001), 1. Emphasis added.

[4] D. A. Carson, Douglas J. Moo, and Leon Morris, An Introduction to the New Testament (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan, 1992), 32-36.

[5] More on "Q" can be found at Peter Kirby, Q Document(2001-2006, accessed August 13 2007); available from http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/q.html.

[6] Most influential has been the late William Reuben Farmer, The Synoptic Problem, a Critical Analysis (New York: Macmillan, 1964).  See brief discussion in R. T. France, The Gospel of Mark : A Commentary on the Greek Text (Grand Rapids, Mich.: W.B. Eerdmans, 2002), 42.

[7] David Alan Black, Why Four Gospels - the Historical Origins of the Gospels (Grand Rapids: Kregel, 2001).

[8] Black and Beck, Rethinking the Synoptic Problem, 18.

Introduction to the New Testament

An Introduction to the New Testament, Gospel
Literature and the Book of Mark
By Reid S. Monaghan

Introduction

Each of our lives is defined by various moments, events and decisions as we travel in life from beginning to end.  The journey we travel has twists and turns, ups and downs requiring a unique perspective if we are "to see" our way forward in the mission of Jesus.  Often people look to the life of Jesus to find a moral example, to find encouragement, or to learn a life lesson.  We find all of these when our gaze finds the living Jesus.  Yet the story of Jesus is much more than the recounting of a great person and his teachings - it is the story by which all of us are defined.  This fall at Inversion we are going to journey to some of the peaks of the gospel of Mark seeking to define our lives in light of the great hero of history - the crucified and risen Son of God. 

This past spring we looked closely at a book in the Old Testament -this year we will walk into the New. So as we begin our journey I thought it would be helpful for us to do a little New Testament overview together.  This article has a few ambitious goals.  First, we want to introduce the New Testament and its relationship to the rest of the Scriptures.  Second, we want to look at a particular genre of Scripture, that of gospel literature.  In doing so we will look specifically at what are known as the synoptic gospels, Matthew, Mark and Luke.  Third, we will rifle our view towards the gospel of Mark itself, a fast paced and succinct look at the person, teaching and works of Jesus Christ.  Finally, we'll close together as we find our way by finding him, giving an overview of our series and the Signposts for life carved out in the most extraordinary life ever lived.

Testaments - Something Old, Something New

When we arrive at the book of Matthew in Scripture there is a mass of literature that has come before it.  Many followers of Jesus can forget that there are 39 books of the Bible before we come to the first book of the New Testament. We labored in detail elsewhere[1] to communicate the importance of the Old Testament...why the Old School matters so much.  So here I want us to look briefly at the relationships between the Old and New as we begin, so we might see the significance of the last 27 books of the Bible.  In a simple way we will begin by looking at the word Testament.  What exactly is a Testament?

Now I know you may be able to pick up some Testamints in a Christian bookstore among the other Jesus junk, but there is much more to the word.  In looking at the language of the Scriptures the word for testament is actually the same word (Greek - διαθήκη diathēkē and Hebrew - בְּרִית berith) which we translate covenant.  If you remember from our introduction to the Old Testament, we defined a covenant as follows:

The idea of a covenant was prominent in many cultures that existed in the time of the Old Testament.  A covenant was usually seen as a treaty or contract between two parties binding them to certain benefits and consequences should one party prove unfaithful to the deal.  In his book Christ of the Covenants, O. Palmer Robertson defines a covenant with firm sobriety: A covenant is a bond in blood, or a bond of life and death, sovereignly administered.[2]  In other words a covenant is a bond between two parties in relationship that is not casual in nature but has commitments of a life and death nature.[3]  As such this relationship and its terms are conveyed to us and established by the Sovereign God of the universe.  It is both a privilege and a responsibility before God to be his people by covenant.[4] 

In short, in the Old Testament, God establishes and unfolds his covenant or relationship with humanity, in the New Testament he fulfills it and brings it to fullness in Jesus Christ.  Or as Mark Dever aptly puts it, the Old Testament records promises made by God, the New Testament records his promises kept.[5]  The New Testament is not a dangling grouping of books unrelated to the rest of Scripture.  Rather, we find in the New Testament the revelation of the life, person, work and teaching of Jesus Christ, the fulfillment of the Old Testament promises of God.  Remember, Jesus is only seen in his fullness (High Def, HD Jesus[6]) in light of both the Old and New Testaments.  It is only in the backdrop of the redemptive history in the Old that we properly see Jesus in the New. 

The Old Testament closes with the book of Malachi in mid 5^th century BC.  That particular book records a prophetic rebuke to the people of God but also a pointing forward to a coming messenger who would prepare the way of the Lord.  This messenger would be known some day as John the Baptizer, the one who introduces Jesus onto the world scene.  In the roughly 450 years that follow this prophet, an era known as the intertestimental period, the word of God ceased in Israel and God was silent.  There was no prophet in the land and Scripture was not being given.  Yet this silence should not be seen as inactivity, for God was preparing the world for what Paul would later call "the fullness of time."[7]  For in the coming time of Jesus, God's ultimate purposes for the world would be fully known in and through a man who would be born in Bethlehem. 

During the time between the testaments many things took place.  A Greek language and culture was established as much of the known world was Hellenized by the conquests of Alexander the Great (356-323 BC).  Vast transportation routes and law and order were brought to Europe, North Africa and the near east by the firm hand of the Roman Empire.  The Romans had a tenuous relationship with the Jewish people in the province of Judea and they had adopted the ancient Persian practice of crucifixion to execute criminals and enemies of Rome.  It was into this world where God became a human being.  He stepped into a world with a common language where a message could be widely proclaimed.  He stepped into a world where free movement was possible, and the trade routes and port cities of the empire became the seedbeds of the Church.[8]  He stepped into a world where a Roman cross was waiting, a world where the Son of God would be pierced for our transgressions and crushed for our iniquities as predicted in the fifty third chapter of the prophecy of Isaiah.  Into this world Jesus lived and died; it was in this world that the gospel rang forth and has continued until this day.  So the New Testament begins in a proper place, with the story of Jesus in the gospels.  In these books, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John we find a body of literature passionately proclaiming and presenting Jesus before a waiting world.  Before turning to these gospels let us first look at the overall breakdown of the New Testament. 

---

[1] Reid Monaghan, An Old Testament Overview and Introduction to the Prophecy of Habakkuk (Inversion Fellowship, 2007, accessed August 2 2007); available from http://www.inversionfellowship.org/mediafiles/article_oldschool_paper.pdf.

[2] O. Palmer Robertson, The Christ of the Covenants (Phillipsburg: Presbyterian and Reformed, 1980), 4.

[3] Ibid., 14, 15.

[4] Monaghan, (accessed).

[5]  Mark Dever, Promises Kept: The Message of the New Testament (Wheaton: Crossway Books, 2005). And Promises Made: The Message of the Old Testament (Wheaton: Crossway Books, 2006).

[6] Reid Monaghan, The Importance of the Old Testament - Hd Jesus (Power of Change, 2007, accessed August 2 2007); available from http://www.powerofchange.org/blog/2007/01/the_importance_of_the_old_test_2.html.

[7] Galatians 4:4-6 But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.  And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, "Abba! Father!"

[8] For an excellent study of the influence of early Christianity in port cities see Rodney Stark, Cities of God : The Real Story of How Christianity Became an Urban Movement and Conquered Rome, 1st ed. ([San Francisco?]: HarperSanFrancisco, 2006).

SignPosts, An Introduction to the New Testament, Gospel Literature and the Gospel of Mark

Over the next few days I will be rolling out an article in many parts.  It will give a brief introduction to the New Testament, the literature of the gospel and the gospel of Mark in particular.  I will post a full PDF once we have rolled it all out.

I pray you find it helpful. 

The Story of Christianity

I have recently started a book for a new seminary class I am taking on the history of the Christian church.  You never know how good of a read a "textbook" will be so cracking this one I was wondering whether it would be a good read or a rather sterile experience.  To my delight I was extremely pleased with the first 15 or so chapters.  So I wanted to pass on my recommendation of this volume.  It is extremely approachable for any level of adult reader, written with an engaging style and thorough in its coverage of the ancient sources.  I found myself wanting to get to my homework because the book was so good.  One thing is certain - any reading of early church history shows me how soft we have become in the American church.  I was inspired by the fortitude and commitment of those who followed the risen Jesus to share the good news in their communities. 

Here is a link to the book.  A great resource for any library or someone who is daring to step into the ancient art known as reading.

The Story of Christianity: Volume 1: The Early Church to the Reformation by Justo L. Gonzalez

Premillennial grocery store nightmare...

Good ESV News

There is some good news on the progress of the ESV translation of the Scriptures. You can read it on the ESV Blog.  Much of it centers around an interview with JI Packer.  Here is an exerpt:

Packer said the intent was to produce a “general purpose” Bible, suitable for preaching and exposition, reading in churches, memorization, lay Bible study, and personal Bible reading by people of all ages. A deliberate attempt was made to use simple words when possible, and to make the text “dance along,” or read easily.

Packer said the producers were very careful to not make extravagant claims or get into a competition with other translations. The ESV was not launched with the “trumpets and drums” of some other translations launched about the same time, he said.

Rather, the ESV was released quietly and soberly and allowed to “find its own level.” ESV’s natural audience is “serious evangelicals who want a translation they can trust to be transparent to the original.”

Packer said this appears to be what is behind the growing sales. Pastors are examining the translation, finding they can trust it and then recommending it to their congregations—and in some cases “retooling” their churches by using ESV as a pew Bible.

Well, we don't have a "pew Bible" or pews for that matter, but we did switch our pulpit and most of our church to the ESV.  This is one of the things I am very thankful for about my time and contribution to Fellowship Nashville.  

POC Bundle 8.13.2007

On Science 

• Apparently, according to Nigel Calder, former editor of New Scientist, Richard Dawkins needs a refresh in Genetics. Audio interview here.
• Interesting article on the Boston Globe regarding the ID/Evolution debate.

General News

• Going way beyond don't ask don't tell...and false historical claims.  Victor Hanson responds to a claim by Mike Gravel that gay is more than OK for the military. 
  
• Parableman rightly chastises a church for not agreeing to do the funeral for the family of a gay man.
• Great article in the Atlantic Monthly on the financial and manufacturing prowess growing in southern China. See China Makes, The World Takes for a fascinating read.  The picture below is pretty amazing...all the little boxes are shipping containers.

Yes...We are moving to New Jersey

Yes – we are moving to New Jersey. This is usually the answer to a follow up question in many of our recent conversations. It most often occurs when catching up with friends or family and explain our desire to plant gospel centered churches in some of the least churched lands in America. We have had this sort of dialog many times:

• Friend: What are you guys up to?
• Us: Well, we are at a church in the Nashville metro area, but we are moving in about 10 months to plant new churches.
• Friend: Really, that’s great, where are you heading?
• Us: New Jersey
• Friend: You are moving to New Jersey!? Why do you want to do that!? Or yesterday at an airport in VA, we just got laughter from an old friend when we said the words “New Jersey” – her co-worker was actually from NJ. I asked her if she liked Jersey and her answer was simply “Well…I’m living here in VA”

None of these conversations have been negative for us at all, but it does seem that Jersey needs a new PR campaign. But when it comes down to it, our motivations to move to the state have little to do with what most people think of when relocating to a city. I have come to realize that in America there are 3Cs which matter deeply to people regarding where they desire to live: Comfort, Cost of Living, and Quality of Life. Well, maybe just 2Cs, but I couldn’t come up with another C which would say it better that “Quality” of life.  Perhaps I could throw in "Career" as well.

The odd thing is that most of the people we are sharing our plans with are Christian people. It seems our motivations are quite similar when it comes to choosing where to live. Not that this is always a bad thing, but it has caused me to reflect a bit on the teaching of Jesus who indicated that the Kingdom of God was more important than the things of this current age.

And he said to them, “Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or wife or brothers or parents or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, who will not receive many times more in this time, and in the age to come eternal life.” - Luke 18:29,30

We are well aware of the difficulties of moving to New Jersey to plant churches. It is expensive, it is crowded, it is unfriendly to the gospel and the biblical worldview. But none of these things deter the vision to which God has called. In my reading of the New Testament it seems to me that Jesus has asked us to follow him, place him, his call, his mission, poor people and lost people before other concerns. This was true for the fisherman and tax collectors of Jesus day and for the businessman or professional of today. No matter what our vocational calling, we are to seek first the Kingdom and allow all else to be added by the sovereign hand of God.

Most of the people we have talked to know that New Jersey is not a place where gospel centered churches are thriving and that Jesus is like a long lost relic from the past to many people there. Yet, if the gospel of Jesus Christ is true – if Jesus is the unique Savior of the world – then the Northeast is a spiritual disaster in our times. New Jersey may not make Money Magazine’s top five places to live. It may not make the travel channel's top US cities list. It may not be the place I would choose to live myself. Yet because of the call of the gospel, we will joyfully go live in this land and among its people.

A friend of mine closes his e-mails with a quote from John Piper. The quote reflects on the beautiful exhortation found in Hebrews 13:7-16. Here is the quote:

Since we have no lasting city here, stop working so hard trying to make it lasting and luxurious, and 'go forth to him outside the camp'--outside the safe place, outside the comfortable place.

Yes, if this is true – we lose nothing for giving all for the sake of the gospel – in fact, we have nothing ahead of us but gain.

We have learned that people love to call New Jersey the armpit of America. We made deodorant to solve the problem of the human armpit – we believe God desires us to establish new churches in the great land of New Jersey.  We would love for you to join us?

Baptism discussion

John Piper recently reflected on his good friend Wayne Grudem's view of baptism and church membership. His main thrust is that membership in a local church is dependent on them being a believer and part of the body of Christ.  He lays out a good path for accepting believers into a church without accepting their view of baptism. Dr. Grudem has replied in turn and ably interacts with Piper's concerns.  This is an important issue I am wrestling with as we prepare to plant new churches.  One quick thought on Grudem's reply.

In his reply Dr. Grudem seems to state that no churches historically, or that he knows of today, allow "membership" without first being baptized...not that I agree with this practice, but many evangelical churches have very low bars to membership that have nothing to do with baptism.

In fact, some of the more pragmatic type churches do not focus heavily on the importance of either ordinance.

A good exchange to read.

You Might Be a Redneck...Well, sometimes you just know

Mud Pit - Belly Flop

(Photo: Nicole Fruge - AP)

Washington Post

Yes, if you have ever participated in the "mattress chuck" or the "ugly butt-crack contest" you need no hypothetical questions from Jeff Foxworthy to confirm your identity.  Oh, yes - welcome to the wonderful world of The Texas Redneck Games.  A few noteworthy quotes.

By the time the latest Redneck Games ended Sunday, more than 54 arrests and citations had been issued on charges ranging from public intoxication to speeding, according to the Henderson County Sheriff’s Department. Officials are considering charges against the organizer and landowners where the event was held. 

Modeled after similar games that have been going in Georgia for more than a decade, the four-day Redneck Games took place about 70 miles southeast of Dallas and included an estimated 6,000 people and live music. 

A few ideas for some new games:

• The beer can pyramid motocross jumping competition
  
• The greased armadillo toss (PETA, this is a joke)
  
• The best mustache competition (women's and men's divisions)

What games would you like to see included?

(HT - Chris Cummins)

An example of "topical" preaching

John Piper provides a great example of a topical series that is thoroughly biblical.  His fall plans are to teach a seven week deal entitled: Spectacular Sins and Their Global Purpose in the Glory of Christ

Here is the lineup:

• “All Things Were Created Through Him and for Him.” - Colossians 1:9-20
• “The Fall of Satan and the Victory of Christ” - Genesis 3:1-15
• “The Fatal Disobedience of Adam and the Triumphant Obedience of Christ” - Romans 5:12-21
• “The Pride of Babel and the Praise of Christ” - Genesis 11:1-9
• “The Sale of Joseph and the Son of God” - Genesis 37:1-36
• “The Sinful Origin of the Son of David” - 1 Samuel 12:1-25
• “Judas Iscariot, the Suicide of Satan, and the Salvation of the World” - Luke 22:1-6

I may have to pick back up on the podcast this fall... 

On Facebook Now

Hey guys, a few friends have pulled me into Facebook. So far I like it - I even learned there was already an Inversion group going that I joined. Fun. Facebook is different than MySpace in the sense you have to be "friends" to view someone else's profile.  It also have heard that it sports sweet tools - but I am just learning.

My friends Rhett and Link did the facebook thing a while back - it recently was featured on a CNN story featuring facebook.  

You can see the CNN story here and check the full video below. 

When the Mystery is Gone and Our Souls are Empty - The Porn Myth

Naomi Wolf has written a rather graphic and heartfelt piece on the effects of pornography on the lives of Western people over at the New York Magazine.  Her discussion centers around how pornography has affected the intimate relationships between men and women.  A few quotes: 

The young women who talk to me on campuses about the effect of pornography on their intimate lives speak of feeling that they can never measure up, that they can never ask for what they want; and that if they do not offer what porn offers, they cannot expect to hold a guy. The young men talk about what it is like to grow up learning about sex from porn, and how it is not helpful to them in trying to figure out how to be with a real woman. Mostly, when I ask about loneliness, a deep, sad silence descends on audiences of young men and young women alike. They know they are lonely together, even when conjoined, and that this imagery is a big part of that loneliness. What they don’t know is how to get out, how to find each other again erotically, face-to-face.

The article discusses how women feel they cannot measure up to the image of porn and how men are clueless about real relationships.  The end of the article takes a surprising turn, even quoting from the Old Testament and discussing traditional views of sexuality.  The final quote is hard breaking - indeed for so many, the honeymoon does not exist any longer.  

“Mystery?” He looked at me blankly. And then, without hesitating, he replied: “I don’t know what you’re talking about. Sex has no mystery.”

God's design for our sexuality is mystery, glory and intimacy.  He intends it to bring us together, produce children, give us pleasure in committed relationship and penultimately, to display the glory of God to husband and wife in marriage.  Porn is everywhere - it is a bigger industry that pro football, baseball and basketball combined.  I hardly meet a young man today who does not struggle with pornography.  My counsel is this - for the sake of joy, for the sake of your relationships, for God's sake...we need a new dream for sex in our lives.  

A year and a half ago we produced some short studies on sexuality and God.  If they are of use to you, please feel free to reproduce them as you see fit.

• Dream a new Dream about Sex - MP3 audio
  
• Dream a new dream about Sex - study guide
  
• Additional file - A Biblical Vocabulary for Sex

Walk in the light brothers, don't hide in shame...take the hand of God and your friends and walk out of this mess. Praying for the men today.

(HT - Ben Schellack) 

Is God by Nature Missional?

There is much discussion today about the Missio Dei, the mission of God.  Many thinkers are predicating 'missional', the attribute of being on mission, to God himself.  I recently listened to a series of messages by Mark Young from Dallas Seminary whereby he expounded on the missional nature of God.  For the most part I would say God is missional, but I believe this is an attribute of God only in relation to creation and not the Trinity proper.

I am unconvinced in placing missional as an "essential attribute" of God prior to or sans creation. Now, this may take us too far into speculative waters, but here are some first principles I am working from. I consider them uncontroversial in the history of Christian orthodoxy.

• The Trinity exists in relational and ontological perfection. God is completely revealed as God, without limit, infinitely among the relationships of Father, Son and Spirit
• The universe (or multiverse, or all that is) is not co-eternal with God - so the mission of God cannot be symmetrical for all eternity. Creation is a significant "change"
• The universe does not spontaneously emanate from the being of God from eternity - this is related to principle two, but slightly different logically
• The Trinity is necessary being, the universe is contingent and was created and continues to exist only by the will of God. Some who hold to a bi-polar view of theism would want to say the mission of God is the same before/after creation due to the universe being necessary "along with" God
  

Now, from these principles I would argue that God is missional only in relationship to creation, not in and of himself in triune perfection. In my mind the Trinity, from eternity, was not missional. It seems that the missional nature of God results from his decree to create/redeem. So God in himself is not missional, but his love and justice move him on mission "in relationship" to created and fallen beings. I would categorize missional as a description of the action of God according to his decrees. There are other attributes which would be similarly derived. Mercy would be one. God is not merciful in the Trinity, as the Father needs no mercy from the Son, nor the Son from the Father. The Spirit is not need of the mercy of the others, etc. Yet mercy is when the love of God is expressed towards guilty and sinful creatures. One of my friends would call these "contingent attributes" - I prefer "relational attributes" whereby we understand God "in relation to" other beings. This keeps us from "adding attributes" to an unchanging God "after" (logically) creation. So I prefer the term relational attributes, or even relational necessities to describe the relationships between God as God, his created world and designed future.  Dr. Bruce Ware uses the term contingent mutability I believe to describe attributes which exist only in relationship to creation. I don't like the word mutability in that construction so I draw these "necessities" as dotted lines between the eternal, perfect, triune God and creation. They exist because of and only in relationship but God himself undergoes no substantial change after creation.

So, now to the "missionality" of the Trinity. Once God decrees a certain world, creates and begins unfolding history, the mission of the Trinity is indeed the glory of God.  Now, this mission now exists because there are a certain type of creatures which can in a sense "glorify God" according to what they are. I would argue that dirt, rocks, birds, trees etc have the mission of the glory of God, but of a different species from you and me. Uniquely as the imago dei we have the ability to consciously relate with or rebel against God, rule with him as vice regents, and have the functional capacities (either latent or expressed) to do so. In other words, we are unique beings designed for the mission of the glorifying God. Why is this so? First, our knowledge is in part - we only see dimly. So when God provides "revelation" of himself to us - through either natural or special revelation we "see him" in some way which sin had previously blinded us. As such God is glorified as he self-discloses and we rejoice in Him. Our mission then becomes loving him and "knowing" him in the full sense of relational knowledge. This satisfying relationship propels mission - to further reveal God in our obedience. From this rightly flows a "following of Jesus" to love the poor, serve/steward/rule as redeemed humanity and proclaim the gospel - which is the glory of God revealed in the face of Christ Jesus.

Now, if "glorifying" God at his self-revealing, creature delighting actions (the missio dei) the Trinity, at least in my understanding, does not have this same mission to "glorify" sans creation (remember, I do think God does have this mission post creation). So before (logically) the world, God the Father, Son, and Spirit have full intimate, perfect knowledge that accords with eternal infinite love and harmony. Perhaps we could say the Father reveals himself to the Son and the Spirit for the Father or something of this sort, but this would be odd for beings with "perfect" and complete self-knowledge. Now, once the world and humans are created, by the mysterious will/fiat of God, the showing off or revelation of God is constant. The Father shows off by creating the world through the Son and the Spirit. The Son shows off the Father for all of us in the incarnation, the Spirit shows off Jesus through the church, by regenerating sinners, sending them on missio ecclesia to love the poor, heal the downtrodden, release the yokes, preach the gospel to all creatures. Then in the penultimate glory feast in heaven, we will know fully and explode with eternal, everlasting joy...Oh, what mind has seen what ear has heard what God has prepared...but he has revealed it to us...

Additionally, it seems to me that mission implies activity and activity requiring movement/time. So I believe the Son to be eternally begotten, not made...but not eternally on a temporal mission. At least not the mission we see in Scripture, post creation. If so, then we would have to require the temporal world to be co-eternal with Father/Son - which to me is a big problem.

If the missio dei is about the self-exaltation of God through redemption this seems to imply creation/fall being "in motion" in space-time. As such this may exist eternally in the mind of God, but is not in motion until the decrees formalize at creation. So the very nature of God as self-sufficient, loving, just...seeking to show off his glory to creatures suited to seeing it...seems to sling shot him by necessity (of his own decree/choice) on mission once creation/fall is substantiated. It flows from the trinitarian nature of God, but is not essentially an attribute sans creation. It seems a relational theology is needed - God in relationship to creation IS missional (relational attribute). God in eternal trinitarian existence is perfect, rejoicing in adoration - the mission, if you will, is at perpetual fulfillment and thereby not in motion "in God" - this "fulfilled mission" is then "shared" with creatures through our redemption and eventual glorification when we will become partarkers of this divine nature.

In summary, I would best understand the mission - in terms of space-time relationships within God (post creation, hence space-time) in direct context/relation with all of creation, with a specific role and focus upon "the children of God" - those created imago dei (full sense of imago dei - functional, relational, ontological).

The mission of God therefore might be summarized as follows:

• It is decreed by the Father
• Who purposes eternally to send Son into the World (space/time) to redeem the whole world from its bondage to decay
• Thrust forward through the empowered church by the Spirit...to follow Jesus in the present age: to love the poor, steward/rule the world under God, preach the gospel of the kingdom, accomplished in the substitutionary atoning work of Jesus of an executioner's cross
  
• Resulting in - perpetual mission in this age, until the glorification and temporal fulfillment of the mission of God
  

Now we have not mentioned the eternal state. In some sense the mission will continue in the Kingdom...it seems it will reach perpetuity and complete fulfillment "in time" - so in a sense Heaven will be a sharing of the pre-creation Trinitarian exaltation, with creatures, in space-time for eternity. So the high happiness of all creation and the perfect self-enjoyment of the Trinity will finally be one...forever.

Emerging Church - Poster Wars...

It seems that there is a bit of a poster banter going on in the blog world.

First up was the Pyro's - Emergent-See Motivational Poster's for Emerging Christians.  Based on the popular "Motivational" and "De-Motivator" poster genre, the Pyromaniacs smack a few straw men, but in good fun nonetheless.  A few of them I actually found offensive as they seem to lack compassion.  But they are using sarcasm so they should not be taken too seriously.

Firing back is Emerging Grace, with some very gracious clarifications.  Now, there are some Emerging folks who would have been less charitable.  I was quite impressed with this response.

 

For those of you who are wondering, I am a bit ambivalent to the whole Emerging Conversation...my brief thoughts are on my Jacob's Well site...so to be honest, I appreciated something from both sets of posters.

(HT - Brett Kunkle) 

New "Jesus" is getting divorced

It seems this self-proclaimed Jesus Christ is getting divorced. If you are not familiar with this guy, he claims to be Jesus come back again. This time he doesn't believe in sin or hell - and instead of "having no place to lay his head" he rolls in luxury cars and rolex watches. Sad that this sort of deception continues today.

Here is a video from CNN

(HT - Garrett Kell) 

Cool picture

For those who follow technology...this is a cool picture showing Apple products from beginning to end.

Here is the link.