Finding our World-view
September 24th, 2007 by JohnO
This is a subject that I’m writing a bit about elsewhere. I wanted to share a section of it, and hopefully more in the future as I work out the concept.
I’ve set out the basic ideas of what a world-view is. It is something that belongs to you. You don’t create it, it merely forms in you based on the culture you live in and your experiences. Our current world-view is miles away from Jesus, and for good reason. There are three thousand years between us, half a world, and the circumstances are entirely different. From technology, to the social and economic change available for an individual throughout their life, to the size of the world - we can actually go to the other end, Jesus could not have. There are so many factors that shaped how Jesus the Jew thought, and how we think today. There are three things from Jewish thought, that Jesus was absolutely exposed to and embraced wholeheartedly, that we need to understand to find our true world-view. Certainly we are not satisfied with our own. That is why we seek God, we seek something else knowing that life isn’t all about us - that is where the world-view of our day is focused. So we need to alter ours. You can’t make your world-view, but you can re-make it. We have to change the way we think and align it with what Jesus is talking about in the gospels. One of the fundamental truths about people is that they behave based on what they believe. Jesus in his presentations combats both beliefs and behavior. We don’t want correct behavior, with wrong belief - that creates way too much struggle and tension in our lives. We want correct behavior and belief. It starts with our world-view, and trickles on down. But where do we begin, what truths create our ethics? We have to start with Jesus.
First, one of the fundamental thoughts of the Jewish people during the time of Jesus was to imitate God. The Jewish belief in YHWH was unique from all the other beliefs in gods at the time. There was only one God, and he was sovereign, gracious, just and merciful.
Second, the study and application of God’s words. The highest pursuit of life was considered to be spending time reading the Scriptures, reading the commentary on the Scriptures, conversing about the Scriptures, and relating the Scriptures to life through parables and proverbs. Since imitating God was the purest form of worship, you have to find Him. The way to find Him was through study of what His words.
Third, the application of the servant songs of Isaiah. This was an idea particular to Jesus. Other rabbis at the time recognized that Israel as a whole plays a part in these servant songs. But Jesus took it one step further, he applied these Scriptures to himself. And the Church applied it to itself as well. It became a way to live and to view the world.
Those three are thoroughly Jewish ways of thinking. As much as I’ve said Jesus is Jewish, he did bring new things to the table. The Jewish people of course knew about the Kingdom of God. But Jesus “one-upped” this notion. He told people to live on a higher plane than the law of Moses. This higher ethic that Jesus commanded was based on the Kingdom. Jesus said to seek the Kingdom first, and to live in its light.
The second thing that Jesus added was an imitation of himself. We know we are to imitate Jesus. This plays in very much with the servant songs since Jesus took these upon himself.
The reason I am searching for this world-view is because so many in christendom seem to be at ends with each other. We all use the same Scriptures - yet we come out with vastly different answers. I wonder why, and how that could be. This is why we search to identify our Christian world-view. We know it is based in the world-view of Judaism. And we’ve looked at the basics of the Gospel message about the Kingdom, though we will eventually say a lot more. I want to spend the next pages justifying the reason for choosing some of these starting points, and explaining how they impact our ethics in greater detail. I first want to start with imitating God, then move to the Kingdom, then Jesus also dealing with the servant songs, and ultimately seeking out God as a principle through His words.
John, you have embarked on a notable journey that will hopefully land you in the realm of “intuitive ethics” (i.e. you don’t have to be told what is right and wrong, you just know based on your worldview what to do and say in a given situation). I am curious why you chose these three to start with in your quest? (1) imitating God (2) study of the Scripture (3) suffering servant songs. May I interrogate you on each of these?
(1) Imitate God. Do you have data from the gospels for this? The only verse that comes to mind is John 5.19 but that is clearly in reference to resurrection and judgment (duties of the Son of Man in the end times). I do see in the gospels that Jesus share a unique relationship with God but I would call that “son of God” not “imitate God” although there is some overlap.
(2) Study the Scripture. Now I have a problem. The common person in 1st century Galilee (where Jesus is from and did much (most?) of his ministry) was illiterate. We are dealing with a largely oral culture here, so we have to be careful not to assume they each had black leather books with the gold letters “Holy Bible” stamped on the cover. In addition, where do you find Jesus in the gospels urging his followers to study the Tanakh (Old Testament)?
(3) Suffering Servant Songs. These are the sections from Isaiah that talk about the “servant of Yahweh.” They are found in Isaiah 42; 49; 50; 52; and 53. What about these sections do you have in mind with regard to worldview?
(1) - Matt 5.48 - be perfect as your Father in heaven is perfect. That is the most explicit one. Others are, forgive because God forgives you. The imitation is limited however - don’t take revenge, vengance is the LORDs.
(2) - Correct, our form of study is different than theirs. We each have a compiled text in front of us, while only synogouges would have a single text of the OT for themselves. Jesus isn’t urging his followers to study the Tanakh in the way that we do. But he is urging a study. The study did take place orally, Jesus was in the temple asking questions. The study is largely a question/response with their Rabbi Jesus. But surely they knew the OT stories and had a sure foundation to work with. Even today, with our texts, most don’t have that sure foundation - the media is replete with claims of societies biblical illiteracy.
(3) - The worldview is in the redemption of the servant. Of course, Jesus as the servant, was redeemed because of his service. Israel as a corporate (the remnant) entity is thought of in the same way:
Rom 11.12 - Now if the fall of them (Israel) [be] the riches of the world, and the diminishing of them the riches of the Gentiles; how much more their fulness?
Israels suffering was good for the Gentiles. Imagine how much better will their glory be? The thought here is seen clearly in Jesus - serve to your end, with the attitude of a slave not thinking anything of yourself (Phil 2), and you will be redeemed.
So we are saying that the major elements of the worldview of the Jews in the time of Jesus were (1) imitation of God (2) studying Tanakh orally (3) understanding that they (or some portion of them) was the suffering servant who by their affliction achieved redemption for the nation.
John, these “big three” seem a bit arbitrary for me. What is your modus operandi that arrives you at these? Or should I just stop clambering for the whole picture when it is not forthcoming yet and you do plan to fit this all together in future blog entries?
I would say it would be less “studying Tanakh”, and more “studying Torah”. Torah with a wide-meaning of the life-giving words of God, not just 613 commands in Exodus/Leviticus.
I mean to connect that this is the world-view that Jesus gives us, in more clarity than was available at the time. I think during his time we can see all these elements in play among the rabbis, just not with the force and focus of Jesus.
The suffering servant idea is the most fluid of them all. Rabbis did not often come with a remnant perspective. Paul evidently did. Jesus didn’t seem to address remnant from a servant song perspective, but instead took them upon himself as his mission to fulfill and live. Thus if we imitate Jesus (clearly we have that command) we will live according to the servant songs. My purpose in bringing them up was realizing more of the perspective in which the learned rabbis at the time looked at them (which would include Jesus and Paul), and how Jesus gave an additional element.
One big mistake I think Christians often make when looking at this topic is “if Jesus didn’t say it, I’m not worried about it”. We often forget the ten thousand things we take for granted every moment we make a decision. Jesus has ten thousand things himself that he took for granted. I think a much better, safer, easier, and makes much more sense, way to understand Jesus is to understand what he could have taken for granted. If he doesn’t explicitly condemn it, he probably agreed with it. Surely he made enough negative statements about things he disagreed with, he wasn’t shy - he would have included other things. And of course the next litmus test is looking at the practice of the first Jewish Christians.
In regards to the “intuitive ethics”, I think Jesus and the rabbis had this. When the proselyte asked them to stand on one foot and tell me the entire law, Hillel basically gave “love YHWH with everything, and love your neighbor as yourself”, and then put his raised foot down. To them, this was intuitive. From that came all the law and the prophets. Now the question is, why isn’t it today?
I thought Hillel said “what is hateful to you do not do to others”
Anyhow, I think you are right to bring love into this discussion on morality. Love is a relational term. Therefore, if we love Yahweh, we will want to live for him in such a way that blesses him. However, this is not quite what I’m looking for when I say “intuitive ethics.” I’m not just looking for overall motivation for obedience, but knowing what things are right to do intuitively. Another way to ask this is, “why is lying wrong?” the answer may be, “because God doesn’t like lying” but then the question comes back, “why doesn’t God like lying?” and this is the question I seek an answer to, if there is one. If you can by your 3 criteria and your discussion of worldview answer this question, then I will be very grateful. But perhaps, this is not your aim, and I’m just hijacking your thread (again) and forcing you to talk about something tangential to your main point.
To understand why God doesn’t like lying requires knowledge about God
Hillel’s remark does create an intuitive ethic. I do not like being lied to, therefore I will not lie to others. The only problem is that we are desperately fallen creatures. Therefore, if I like being lied to, and told that I am smart, then I will lie to others if it makes them feel good.
Ok, let’s press in a step further, what about lust? Most people liked to be lusted after which is why revealing clothing is so popular. Yet God still says we should no look with lust. Or what about sorcery or homosexuality, or taking off your hat while praying, where is the intuition here?
I was just reading a booklet by Joachim Jeremias in which I think he hits on something very relevant to our discussion:
Very true. Again your first example there shows where Hillel falls short in our day. With lust we have to realize that God values commitment. Lust is the anti-thesis to commitment, it is smoke in the wind, gone in a second, scorched like grass in a drought. God has committed to us, through giving us life, the Gospel, and the death of his Son. During Israel often times God uses examples of adultery as the nations actions towards him. It would seem that the notion of marriage exists because of commitment to God, not that commitment to God is likened to marriage. God wants us committed to Him foremost. Thus he would also want us committed to one another.
Interesting ideas, both of you. I do fully agree that love is one of the main things that a christian who is striving to be like Christ needs to have pronounced in their life.
Also, your point that our world-view gives a new point of view to the way we are to live our lives was odd, at first. But I do see how that makes sense. But at the same time, what was shared two posts above, we need to be messengers for the KoG. Even if this means setting our worldview to the side in order to be lights unto the world.
Orsomething.
You bring up interesting points.
See what happens when Obo leaves? Sean and John now have to have all of their dialouge on the Blog.
You just pipe down there
Ian,
You said:
I just came across an interesting note on the “light of the world” concept from Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. As you recall, Jesus said,
This is what Joachim Jeremias says regarding this text:
In other words, the city on the hill is the Zion of the coming age which is shining now (though it is still in the future). It shines back through time by illuminating the people of God here and now. So, the light is the glory of the new Zion and we are the people of the new Zion shining already though we still wait for the city “whose builder and maker is God.”