Who is God? The Secret of the New Covenant

I've begun noticing a sort of central theme throughout the New Testament, a concept that seems to undergird most of the basis of the New Covenant. That theme is obvious, yet obviously a unique realization that has far-flung impact. That theme is:

God is Spirit.

Simple, yet subtle. As Jesus said in John 4, God is spirit, so those who worship him must worship him in spirit and truth. Let's follow his argument:

1) God is spirit
2) God is primarily concerned with spiritual things
3) God is not concerned with physical things like where the temple is located
4) Worship that God will care about must involve spiritual things, like a person's mind and heart
5) True worshippers must worship God in their spirits, in sincerity
6) The outward actions of temple worship are irrelevant to God

Paul uses this concept as well. God is spirit, so he doesn't distinguish between the various "races" of humanity. He cares about what's inside, not what's outside. God is spirit, so he doesn't see any difference between male and female, Jew and gentile, slave and free. All God sees is the heart.

There's more. Jesus applied the concept to religious authorities. God is spirit, so he doesn't need humans to mediate his presence. Therefore, we should not allow humans to be our "teachers", because we have one teacher; we should not allow humans to be our "masters", because we have one master; we should not allow humans to be our "fathers", because we have one father. Part of the New Covenant, as explained in Hebrews, is that no one will need to be a "teacher" for others, because ALL will know God.

Hebrews also brings out another facet of this concept. The blood of bulls and goats, it points out, cannot take away sin. Why? Because God is spirit, and cares nothing for physical blood. As Psalms points out, these bulls and goats are his anyway. What matters is a true sacrifice of spirit, a person submitting themselves to God. That is what Romans 12:1 requires of Christians, and that is EXACTLY what Jesus did. Jesus' physical blood did not cleanse people from sin; Jesus did not physically take his blood to heaven to offer it on an alter (as Hebrews symbolically states); we are never literally washed by Jesus' blood. No; the blood Jesus took to heaven, the blood which purifies us, the sacrifice that takes away the sins of the world, was Jesus' humble submission to God on the cross. It was truly a spiritual sacrifice.

There is much more here. But now we can see that Paul's opposition to racism, Jesus' opposition to religious hierarchy, the New Testaments' emphasis on spiritual worship, Paul's declaration that male and female are alike to God, and Jesus' approval of all foods, were not just haphazard changes or teachings. They all connect to one central thought, one central realization.

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Bertrand Russell's Argument against Christianity

Kevin Beck posted a great analysis of Bertrand Russell's argument against Christianity.

Bertrand Russell said that:

1) Jesus said he would return in the first century.
2) He didn't return in the first century. Therefore,
3) Jesus wasn't correct, and should be rejected.

Kevin correctly points out the first statement isn't disputed by many serious biblical critics. The second statement is where Betrand (and most Christians) got it wrong.

Atheists have a lot to teach us about looking at the bible honestly.

-micah
rock & roll can save the world

Did Jesus Create the World? Or did God?

In John 1, we are told, God tells how he used Jesus to create the world. But, why does Genesis not mention this? That is what I always wondered, until just recently.

You see, John 1 doesn't actually say that "Jesus" helped God create the world. It says "the word" did. "Word" is from the Greek "logos", which means "spoken word", "message", "thought", etc. Also note that the pronouns used here ("he","his",etc) are generic, and can just as easily mean "it" or "he".

After some consideration, here is my translation:

In the beginning was the spoken word (of God), and the spoken words came from God, and the spoken words were (part of) God. They were in the beginning with God. All things were made through them, and nothing exists without them. In them was life, and the life was the light of humans.

And the light shone in the darkness, and the darkness comprehended it not.

...And the spoken word (of God) became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, the glory as of a unique son of the father, full of grace and truth.

Forgive the clumsy and unfamiliar translation. I believe this conveys some of the essence of the passage, without mangling it too much.

Notice that this brings out the Genesis parallels very well. John is not contradicting Genesis, he is expanding upon it. God spoke the world into existence: "let there be light" and there was light. It was God's spoken words that were used to create the world, and it is "every word that proceeds from the mouth of God" which gives life and light to humanity. The word (the message) of God became flesh in the person of Jesus of Nazareth, an individual who fully embodied God's message to humanity.

Our simplistic traditional reading typically just substitutes "Jesus" for "Word", and gives Jesus the title "The Word" with no further thought. John's intent is deeper here. John is drawing out the concept of the powerful utterances of God which formed the world, which guide humanity, and which have now formed into a human individual through whom God utters his complete revelation.

Jesus, John says, is God's most complete utterance. John is not even addressing pre-existence here, as the most common applications would have it. John is addressing the role, power, and importance of Jesus; God's words were powerful when he spoke the worlds into existence, now God has spoken, and that speech is Jesus. Neglecting Jesus is neglecting God's voice.

It is interesting that the spoken words/message/thought/utterance of God is called "God". Typically, we just take this as a statement of Jesus' divinity. But that's reading the text backwards, from the bottom up. John intends his readers to work FORWARDS through the text. So he starts off reminding his readers of Genesis, and how God spoke in the beginning. The words went out from God, BUT (John interjects) the words WERE God.

How is this? What is John saying?

John is saying that the words of God are his very essence, that they convey his true nature. As such, God's words are simply extensions of himself. They convey his thought, his mind. Throughout the bible, we are impressed with the concept of the powerful words of God, words that are so powerful, they are alive. When God speaks, it is as if he is sending out his very spirit.

Then John reminds us that the words of God formed the worlds. All things were created through the spoken words of God, and nothing exists apart from them. And as Jesus pointed out, the words of God are the source of life both physical and spiritual for all humanity. The words of God are life and light to mankind.

And though God has spoken into the darkness (both in sending his spiritual message to darkened humanity and in saying "let there be light" in the darkness of Genesis 1) the darkness of humanity has not comprehended his teachings.

BUT NOW, John says, God's words have become flesh. God's words, the very essence of God, have become incarnate in Jesus of Nazareth.

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The Future is More Real Than The Past

Kevin Beck wrote this blog about the future. Here was my comment:

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The future is something that people, by and large, don't believe in. That's why I thought it was amazing when Frank Tipler, a physicist, realized that in order to do physics on any real scale, he had to study the physics of the future of the universe.

Why? Because THE FUTURE IS SO MUCH LARGER than the past. Even from a purely size-based analysis, using only what science currently knows, the future universe is not only hundreds (thousands, millions?) of times larger than it is now, but the future timespan of our universe is IMMENSELY longer than the past.

Frank Tipler estimates that the universe is less than 20 billion years old, and will continue AT LEAST another 100 billion years into the future.

Think about what life will and must do on that scale of time. Humanity is in a position to sway the entire universe.

-micah

http://emergentchristian.blogspot.com/

The Open Future - Creators with God

People talk about God having a plan for your life. I think differently. If God planned everyone's life in advance, why should we bother to live it? Even more, if God planned everyone's life in advance, how could we possibly change it? But we're told to seek God's plan for our lives, as if we could mess it up if we're not careful.

I want to present a different idea. In the Jewish bible, God acts as if the future is open, only loosely planned. He changes his mind. He feels sorry for things that have occurred. He lets people influence his decisions.

Maybe that is telling us something about the way God wants things to be.

In the beginning, God created humanity "in his image". Jesus came to restore the image of God to humanity. And the result was, as Paul said, that we are no longer servants, no longer little children, but SONS, full-fledged heirs of God. Co-heirs with Jesus, as Paul said.

This situation is described as having the Spirit of God living in us, having Jesus live with us, having full access to God, etc, etc.

Maybe, just maybe, that was the point of biblical history. Yes, God had a plan. Yes, he brought it to completion in Jesus. And as the result of that plan, God's presence has now been restored to humanity. Humanity has been united with God. And in that condition, humanity is no longer just little children, but has actually grown up, inheriting God's full rewards.

Part of those rewards (among, "ruling on the earth", "judging the angels", and "owning all things") is the future. God has given us the future. Rather than God planning out the future for us, rather than God abandoning us to the future, God has joined with us so that we can be co-creators of the future with him.

I propose that instead of seeing the future narrow into a thin line consisting of "God's true plan", we see that by uniting with God, the future expands infinitely. God's power infuses every situation in our lives with POSSIBILITY, possibility to make something much better, possibility to create a greater alternative than those previously considered.

Isn't that a prominent message in the bible? Throughout the bible, people are confronted with difficult choices to make, situations that look impossible. But God steps in and changes the whole landscape of choices available. Moses was trapped between the Egyptians and the Red Sea. Joshua faced an impenetrable wall, and a land full of giants. The 1st-century Jews were looking for a way to be free of the Romans. In each situation, God stepped in and showed them choices that they never would have considered, choices that would have evaded their limited, normal thinking.

The future is open, the future is ours to create. Draw deeply on God and create the unbelievable.