Sunday, August 30, 2009
Questioning
Have you ever been so certain that decisions you were making were so right, only to look back and wonder if you are doing the right thing?
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Correct Discussion Topic!
I obviously wasn't paying attention when I posted previously. We actually were given a topic!
Here is my "on topic" discussions.
The Martyrdom of Polycarp portrays, in a very extreme way, the values that we as Christians should have at the forefront of all of our thoughts. Christ died for me, and I have been commanded to go into the world to tell others about his name. This text takes it to the point of laying one's life down in order to save another.
What bothers me about Polycarp is the parallel that is drawn. Polycarp went away to pray at a home, Jesus prayed in a garden. The people were astonished with Polycarp's docile submission to the authorities for God's will, while Jesus equally embraced it under the terms of God's will. Polycarp was placed on a mule to enter into the city, and of course, Jesus did the same (granted the timeline is different). It then eventually goes into the part where Polycarp's allegiance was brought into question, whereas the same situation occurred for Christ being God himself.
This thought process leads me to the idea of if I am to be like Christ, am I to die like him? I'd have to say this is a terrible concept! James and Polycarp are just mere men. It also implies that Peter in denying Christ, escaping from prisons like the other apostles, and many other events were not correct. Had this occurred, we would not have the writings we have today! In death, Peter would have been somewhat worthless to the church.
To hold a martyr up above our shoulders, in my humble opinion, is to hold the wrong person up. Due to the grace of God, we do not have to die for our sins. As such, to seek glory, albeit in the name of God, seems to be rather self-righteous. It is definitely clear why this would be a non-canonical text. After reading, I walk away with the feeling that the writing was more about the greatness and praise of Polycarp. This is unlike when I read about Paul, for instance, who clearly points out that he is just a sinner who's only redeeming factor is that he is saved by grace through Jesus Christ.
Here is my "on topic" discussions.
The Martyrdom of Polycarp portrays, in a very extreme way, the values that we as Christians should have at the forefront of all of our thoughts. Christ died for me, and I have been commanded to go into the world to tell others about his name. This text takes it to the point of laying one's life down in order to save another.
What bothers me about Polycarp is the parallel that is drawn. Polycarp went away to pray at a home, Jesus prayed in a garden. The people were astonished with Polycarp's docile submission to the authorities for God's will, while Jesus equally embraced it under the terms of God's will. Polycarp was placed on a mule to enter into the city, and of course, Jesus did the same (granted the timeline is different). It then eventually goes into the part where Polycarp's allegiance was brought into question, whereas the same situation occurred for Christ being God himself.
This thought process leads me to the idea of if I am to be like Christ, am I to die like him? I'd have to say this is a terrible concept! James and Polycarp are just mere men. It also implies that Peter in denying Christ, escaping from prisons like the other apostles, and many other events were not correct. Had this occurred, we would not have the writings we have today! In death, Peter would have been somewhat worthless to the church.
To hold a martyr up above our shoulders, in my humble opinion, is to hold the wrong person up. Due to the grace of God, we do not have to die for our sins. As such, to seek glory, albeit in the name of God, seems to be rather self-righteous. It is definitely clear why this would be a non-canonical text. After reading, I walk away with the feeling that the writing was more about the greatness and praise of Polycarp. This is unlike when I read about Paul, for instance, who clearly points out that he is just a sinner who's only redeeming factor is that he is saved by grace through Jesus Christ.
Week One Discussion Post
On a weekly basis, we are required to submit discussion to the class message board regarding the current week topic. This is my post:
Once I went through the first few sections of the Didache, I noticed that the document became very legalistic. For example, the writer discussed how the baptism process should occur (i.e., the appropriate fasting, timing, method, and alternatives based upon certain events) As I was reading, I started to ask myself "why?". What could have been the context that would call for the need for the step by step procedure?
I then thought about the ancient cultures such as the Greeks. One could argue that the formation of their deity system was derived from explaining the unknown. Those individuals did not have the knowledge that we have today. Therefore, if the wind blows, we can explain it with a wind god. If there is a sun that shines upon us and allows us to be fruitful, then there must be a sun god. As elementary as it sounds, I can see how this could be a definite way to explain worldly processes to those that lacked knowledge.
That is the thought that brought me to a potential answer to my question above. Why did the church feel required to set forth the guidelines? Specifically, why did the church become compelled to tell people what and how to pray? In my limited knowledge at this point, could I propose that the reason that the church was so legalistic was because of the intelligence/knowledge level of its members?
In the United States, the ability to read is essentially a requirement. There are some circumstances that cause some individuals to grow up and not have that ability, but for the most part, we can all read. That being said, we have the ability to read the Bible and form our relationship with Christ. We have our own FAQ that at anytime we can open the Word and get our answers.
However, I can see how this would be a big problem in the earlier societies. So at this point, my thoughts are that maybe the church could have needed to be more legalistic in the past. Maybe in order to avoid heretic thoughts and actions, the church leaders would "help" out their church members in saying what to pray, how to pray, when to be baptized, etc. As we can "read" in the New Testament, the walk with Christ is calls more of a relationship rather than a set of rules (Yes, the rules are implied in that relationship). Yet this also makes me think of my job. At my firm, we have the new guys have a look at prior year workpapers in order to help guide them in completing the current year audit. They lack the knowledge to complete the tasks at first, so having the benchmarks helps them grow in the manner that we want them to grow.
I probably went a little long here, and I apologize!
Once I went through the first few sections of the Didache, I noticed that the document became very legalistic. For example, the writer discussed how the baptism process should occur (i.e., the appropriate fasting, timing, method, and alternatives based upon certain events) As I was reading, I started to ask myself "why?". What could have been the context that would call for the need for the step by step procedure?
I then thought about the ancient cultures such as the Greeks. One could argue that the formation of their deity system was derived from explaining the unknown. Those individuals did not have the knowledge that we have today. Therefore, if the wind blows, we can explain it with a wind god. If there is a sun that shines upon us and allows us to be fruitful, then there must be a sun god. As elementary as it sounds, I can see how this could be a definite way to explain worldly processes to those that lacked knowledge.
That is the thought that brought me to a potential answer to my question above. Why did the church feel required to set forth the guidelines? Specifically, why did the church become compelled to tell people what and how to pray? In my limited knowledge at this point, could I propose that the reason that the church was so legalistic was because of the intelligence/knowledge level of its members?
In the United States, the ability to read is essentially a requirement. There are some circumstances that cause some individuals to grow up and not have that ability, but for the most part, we can all read. That being said, we have the ability to read the Bible and form our relationship with Christ. We have our own FAQ that at anytime we can open the Word and get our answers.
However, I can see how this would be a big problem in the earlier societies. So at this point, my thoughts are that maybe the church could have needed to be more legalistic in the past. Maybe in order to avoid heretic thoughts and actions, the church leaders would "help" out their church members in saying what to pray, how to pray, when to be baptized, etc. As we can "read" in the New Testament, the walk with Christ is calls more of a relationship rather than a set of rules (Yes, the rules are implied in that relationship). Yet this also makes me think of my job. At my firm, we have the new guys have a look at prior year workpapers in order to help guide them in completing the current year audit. They lack the knowledge to complete the tasks at first, so having the benchmarks helps them grow in the manner that we want them to grow.
I probably went a little long here, and I apologize!
Saturday, August 22, 2009
The Didache
The Didache, pronounced did-uh-kee, was originally in Greek but later translated by Roswell d. Hitchcock in 1884. The word didache comes from the Greek word related to doctrine, didactic, teaching, etc. It was discovered in a monastery in Constantinople.
It is a non-canonical book, which is from my understanding a divisional line drawn by the original church councils when deciding which writings would from the Bible. As such, it is a writing that obviously did not make it into the Bible.
The Didache is considered a writing on the teaching of the Lord to the nations through the twelve apostles. Since it is a non-canonical writing, it is not authoritative such as the Gospel, but I really enjoyed reading it. I will note that in my quick research of the text, the Catholic Church placed the text as a part of Apostolic Fathers along with the Martyrdom of Polycarp, which is another text I read today.
The Didache opens with the two ways of living, life and dead. Within this section, it talks the of the life through Christ as well as summarizing the acts of those that live in death outside of Christ. Through these sections, I see many agreements to the gospel and writings of the apostles. The next section is where it loses the parallel.
In talking about baptism, the text goes as far to describe how to baptism (temperature of water, what to do when there is no running water, timing, fasting requirement surrounding baptism, as well as the number of times to say the Lord's prayer. Legalist! It makes sense why the Catholic church held on to the writing, eh? The only thing I can see that would be missing is a diagram describing the appropriate stand-sit-kneel choreography that I remember from my days of attending the episcopal church in my youth.
The Diache ends with discussion of what I would call the "end of times".
Overall, a good text to read, but clearly not an authoritative literature. This is just opinion, but I imagine that texts were written like this that have what to pray, when to pray, how to pray, etc in order to provide help to the uneducated. Our generations are all educated to an extent. As such, maybe that is how all the rules on how to do things came across? Just a thought. Kind of like how the Greek gods were formed. Science was primitive, so if the wind blows, there must be a wind god. If the sea produces great harvest, it must clearly be the work of the seas god.
In Christ,
MOC
It is a non-canonical book, which is from my understanding a divisional line drawn by the original church councils when deciding which writings would from the Bible. As such, it is a writing that obviously did not make it into the Bible.
The Didache is considered a writing on the teaching of the Lord to the nations through the twelve apostles. Since it is a non-canonical writing, it is not authoritative such as the Gospel, but I really enjoyed reading it. I will note that in my quick research of the text, the Catholic Church placed the text as a part of Apostolic Fathers along with the Martyrdom of Polycarp, which is another text I read today.
The Didache opens with the two ways of living, life and dead. Within this section, it talks the of the life through Christ as well as summarizing the acts of those that live in death outside of Christ. Through these sections, I see many agreements to the gospel and writings of the apostles. The next section is where it loses the parallel.
In talking about baptism, the text goes as far to describe how to baptism (temperature of water, what to do when there is no running water, timing, fasting requirement surrounding baptism, as well as the number of times to say the Lord's prayer. Legalist! It makes sense why the Catholic church held on to the writing, eh? The only thing I can see that would be missing is a diagram describing the appropriate stand-sit-kneel choreography that I remember from my days of attending the episcopal church in my youth.
The Diache ends with discussion of what I would call the "end of times".
Overall, a good text to read, but clearly not an authoritative literature. This is just opinion, but I imagine that texts were written like this that have what to pray, when to pray, how to pray, etc in order to provide help to the uneducated. Our generations are all educated to an extent. As such, maybe that is how all the rules on how to do things came across? Just a thought. Kind of like how the Greek gods were formed. Science was primitive, so if the wind blows, there must be a wind god. If the sea produces great harvest, it must clearly be the work of the seas god.
In Christ,
MOC
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
The Rules of Seminary
Today was a lot of fun. I went to orientation this morning at 8:00. One of the professors went over the ground rules for seminary. One of the rules that really stuck out was that you are not to be in possession or consume alchohol while attending Southwestern. He then went on to say that there would be no debate regarding what the bible says about drinking. It was policy, so not it was strictly an ethical decision on our part rather than a theological debate. I love that guy!
He also went over items such as, "Guys, if I see you walking down the hall with your hand in one of these ladies' back pocket, I'm gonna pull you aside and ask you what you think you are doing. If I see you in Chapel so close to one of these ladies that I can't stick a file folder between you, I'm gonna pull you aside and ask you what you think you are doing." Are you starting to get the vibe here?
But ya, that was the most interesting part of my day. That is what made orientation fun. It was mostly me sitting around all day!
In Christ,
MOC
He also went over items such as, "Guys, if I see you walking down the hall with your hand in one of these ladies' back pocket, I'm gonna pull you aside and ask you what you think you are doing. If I see you in Chapel so close to one of these ladies that I can't stick a file folder between you, I'm gonna pull you aside and ask you what you think you are doing." Are you starting to get the vibe here?
But ya, that was the most interesting part of my day. That is what made orientation fun. It was mostly me sitting around all day!
In Christ,
MOC
Monday, August 17, 2009
Urgent Prayer!
I'm not sure how many people read this blog, but I need everyone to pray for the IMB missionaries. If you can, we need to actually give to the IMB. The website to do this is www.imb.org.
Due to the economic recession we are currently facing, approximately 70 full time missionary candidates have been put on hold. In addition to that, 350 short term missionaries have been turned away.
I want to paint a picture of what this means. When my family was going through the process, it was completely by faith. They had sold their house and possessions before they were even appointed. The families that have been established have to get going on that process before they can begin. This often times means they have quit their jobs. That's right, they quit their jobs in the middle of an economic recession.
Let's even step back away from the people themselves. In fact, they wouldn't even want this post to be about them. They do not like it that we, the american church, call them our heros. However, they are. How many people are suffering in the world right now that need to hear the name of Christ? At the very minimum, please pray that these individuals can be sent to tell the world. You and I have everything. Everything we own could disappear tomorrow and it wouldn't matter. We have Christ. Our world is bright with the Shining Son, yet the lost has a world of total darkness.
Thank you for reading, praying, and if you can, giving.
In Christ,
MOC
Due to the economic recession we are currently facing, approximately 70 full time missionary candidates have been put on hold. In addition to that, 350 short term missionaries have been turned away.
I want to paint a picture of what this means. When my family was going through the process, it was completely by faith. They had sold their house and possessions before they were even appointed. The families that have been established have to get going on that process before they can begin. This often times means they have quit their jobs. That's right, they quit their jobs in the middle of an economic recession.
Let's even step back away from the people themselves. In fact, they wouldn't even want this post to be about them. They do not like it that we, the american church, call them our heros. However, they are. How many people are suffering in the world right now that need to hear the name of Christ? At the very minimum, please pray that these individuals can be sent to tell the world. You and I have everything. Everything we own could disappear tomorrow and it wouldn't matter. We have Christ. Our world is bright with the Shining Son, yet the lost has a world of total darkness.
Thank you for reading, praying, and if you can, giving.
In Christ,
MOC
Sunday, August 16, 2009
First Week!
This week marks the commencement of my next stage in following Christ. I have orientation on Tuesday, and after that the engines will be roaring. One thing God has always blessed me with is endurance. If anything, I embrace the challenge that is unfolding in front of me. I had thoughts about dropping one of my classes, but then I remember the teachings of the Bible. David did not wait for a smaller opponent. Gideon defeated the Midianites, and the list goes on and on. If we want God to do something amazing through us, we have to be up for the challenge to follow Him.
I've started my studies as I did in my earlier studies. I took the syllabus for each of my classes and consolidated them into one syllabus. I will probably start studying tomorrow to try to get ahead. After the first few classes, I hope to have a good grasp on the two research papers so I can go ahead and get started on those. I have never written in the Terabian style. In both undergrad and grad school for accounting, we wrote in MLA format. I want to make sure I have plenty of time for proper editing for format. Heck, I spend most of my work time making sure things are properly formatted, so I am excited about that transfer of skills.
I have been bad about posting, but mainly because I haven't had much to write about. I still hope you are all praying for my family in Costa Rica. If you are new, please pray for them as they continue in following Christ to tell the world about Him.
What is this love given to us
That saved my life
through selfless sacrifice
Although we fail the cross prevails
Forgiveness stands
You take me back again
You’ve shown me life
You’ve opened my eyes
So I give You my praise
Yeah I give You my all
You’ve shown me life
You’ve opened my eyes
To the truth that there’s no greater love
Now in the darkness God’s light shines
Christ forever glorified
So come on come on sing out to God
Now with all we’ve got
We live for You our God
Salvation’s strong in Christ alone
The Saviour King alone in victory
I step aside give You my life
For You to move do what You want to do
I can’t imagine a life without You without You
‘Cause it’s all for You
Yeah it’s all for YouGod
I'm ready for the ride.
I stand Amazed,
MOC
I've started my studies as I did in my earlier studies. I took the syllabus for each of my classes and consolidated them into one syllabus. I will probably start studying tomorrow to try to get ahead. After the first few classes, I hope to have a good grasp on the two research papers so I can go ahead and get started on those. I have never written in the Terabian style. In both undergrad and grad school for accounting, we wrote in MLA format. I want to make sure I have plenty of time for proper editing for format. Heck, I spend most of my work time making sure things are properly formatted, so I am excited about that transfer of skills.
I have been bad about posting, but mainly because I haven't had much to write about. I still hope you are all praying for my family in Costa Rica. If you are new, please pray for them as they continue in following Christ to tell the world about Him.
What is this love given to us
That saved my life
through selfless sacrifice
Although we fail the cross prevails
Forgiveness stands
You take me back again
You’ve shown me life
You’ve opened my eyes
So I give You my praise
Yeah I give You my all
You’ve shown me life
You’ve opened my eyes
To the truth that there’s no greater love
Now in the darkness God’s light shines
Christ forever glorified
So come on come on sing out to God
Now with all we’ve got
We live for You our God
Salvation’s strong in Christ alone
The Saviour King alone in victory
I step aside give You my life
For You to move do what You want to do
I can’t imagine a life without You without You
‘Cause it’s all for You
Yeah it’s all for YouGod
I'm ready for the ride.
I stand Amazed,
MOC
Sunday, August 9, 2009
More books!
I received my last 2 text books! For Old Testament, I have received:
1. Handbook on the Pentateuch, Hamilton
2. A Survey of the Old Testament, Hill & Walton
Today is a great day, I start my home bible study! I am going to survey the group, but I am not sure what we are going to do. I have plenty of bible studies we can go through. However, the group might just want to study book by book. Tonight I am going to open with my study of the Whole Armor of God.
I have been in a mental struggle lately. I have had some huge life changes in the past 10 days, and I have subconsciencly removed myself a little bit from God. To be honest, I think all of last week while I was at training, I wrapped myself in all worldly activity. I do not think I once separated myself from society, and worshiped and studied God. It feels very cold. It is a feeling of not calling a friend for awhile, and feeling akward to finally call again. I know the Lord loves me, but when I do not stay in Him, I feel unworthy to get back into it. I know I am not alone, but it feels very lonely.
I know that nothing is lost. My saviour loves me, and is with me always.
1. Handbook on the Pentateuch, Hamilton
2. A Survey of the Old Testament, Hill & Walton
Today is a great day, I start my home bible study! I am going to survey the group, but I am not sure what we are going to do. I have plenty of bible studies we can go through. However, the group might just want to study book by book. Tonight I am going to open with my study of the Whole Armor of God.
I have been in a mental struggle lately. I have had some huge life changes in the past 10 days, and I have subconsciencly removed myself a little bit from God. To be honest, I think all of last week while I was at training, I wrapped myself in all worldly activity. I do not think I once separated myself from society, and worshiped and studied God. It feels very cold. It is a feeling of not calling a friend for awhile, and feeling akward to finally call again. I know the Lord loves me, but when I do not stay in Him, I feel unworthy to get back into it. I know I am not alone, but it feels very lonely.
I know that nothing is lost. My saviour loves me, and is with me always.
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