Over at Jesus Creed, Scott McKnight has a series of posts, 17, about the uses of “wrath” in the New Testament. You can peruse through his theology category to pick them all out. Basically, his conclusions fall in line with what we understand about Apocalypticism in the first century. And as I’ve read more and more about the history and the religious groups that form Judaism at that time I have one large question looming in my mind. But I have to start somewhere.
McKnight goes through each NT text that contains the word wrath, and analyzes it to see if it is talking about either a historical wrath, or an eternal/evangelistic wrath as is commonly presented in Gospel evangelizations (i.e. the Way of the Master). Ultimately, he finds a variety of texts that support both ideas, which is, of course, to be expected.
The inspiration for this post comes from this article, which I suggest you all read. The basic idea is that God is by definition a God who is not silent. The article supports this contention with the Psalm: “Our God comes, he does not keep silence”. This idea can also be widely supported by the whole Old Testament as compared to the other gods of the nations around them. The priests of the other gods had no revealed law, barely any prophecy either. They would cut open animals and lay out their entrails to receive a sign from their gods. They would cast lots and roll dice. They looked for anything, large or small, to receive a sign as to why there was a famine, or their nations were being conquered, or a drought, or their wives barren. YHWH rather, speaks openly, giving a law and laying our revelation to his prophets.
In many of the discussions and interactions we have with contemporary Christians I am always struck by one particular fact. Many Christians have their faith in a historical vacuum. Their ideas and beliefs about the Sriptures more closely fit philosophy than historical Biblical studies. And this comes up very often, as we have seen with the Trinitarian arguments.
At the moment I’m reading two books that are cementing these ideas so much more for me: Galilee by Horsely, and The Sceptre and the Star by Collins. The former is all about the historical reconstruction of Galilee before, during, and after the time of Jesus. The latter is about the idea of Messiah in apocryphal literature and the Dead Sea Scrolls. It is amazing to be reading these two at the same time, and being able to compare the major differences from the north in Galilee, to the south by the Dead Sea/Jerusalem area.
There is a very good interview with Tim Keller about several subjects in Christianity and religion in general. I wanted to focus on just one here: marketability.
You reject marketing apologetics like, “Christianity is better than the alternatives, so choose Christianity.” Why?
Marketing is about felt needs. You find the need and then you say Christianity will meet that need. You have to adapt to people’s questions. And if people are asking a question, you want to show how Jesus is the answer. But at a certain point, you have to go past their question to the other things that Christianity says. Otherwise you’re just scratching where they itch. So marketing is showing how Christianity meets the need, and I think the gospel is showing how Christianity is the truth.
In all the exchanges we’ve had in the debate and as a result of the debate, I’m seeing several charges being leveled against us that are (1) incomplete, (2) false, and/or (3) don’t follow logically from our points. These are all strawmen. I’m just going to list them here:
- That we mix creator and creation based on singular pronouns
- That singular pronouns can be used of multiple persons
- That we deny progressive revelation, or it nullifies our points
- No Unitarian statement appears in Scripture
- Misrepresentation concerning the New Creation of Colossians 1
Presented by Sir Anthony Buzzard at the One God Conference, Seattle WA June 1st 2008, commentary by John Obelenus. Click here to listen.
Anthony opens up talking about singular pronouns, that echad really means one, and that elohim is not a collective noun - no Hebrew scholar says it is. He goes through some personal correspondence and scholarly works in which more and more Socinian Scriptural points are being conceded by self-professed Trinitarian important scholars. None of the approximately 11,000 occurrences of any of the words commonly used for God can be demonstrated to mean the triune God. And Trinitarian commentators are agreeing with this!
Presented by Ken Westby at the One God Conference, Seattle WA June 1st 2008, commentary by John Obelenus. Click here to listen.
Presented by Bob Woodburn at the One God Conference, Seattle WA June 1st 2008, commentary by John Obelenus. Click here to listen.
Bob begins by listing off the list of questions that have always surrounded the Trinity and incarnation, the cause for all the creedal statements and councils. He aims to find out how Jesus is God’s son, and God is Jesus’ father. We know that Jesus is human. And we know that Jesus has not sinned. How can that be since even Adam was instructed directly by God, created mature fell and sinned? He remarks that if the holy spirit is a third person - then “God the Father” is a misnomer, since the conception of Jesus occurred via the holy spirit. Rather this problems goes away when we understand that God is spirit and the holy spirit is God’s operational presence. “The holy spirit is just another way to talk about God, what God is, and what God does”.
Presented by Gary Fakhoury at the One God Conference, Seattle WA May 31st 2008, commentary by John Obelenus. Click here to listen to this talk.
Gary starts by providing the stalwart belief of Judaism to be the belief that YHWH was God. YHWH is a personal name, of a single Person who alone truly holds the title of God. He notes that all serious scholars and pastors agree this is the essential statement of the Old Testament and Judaism until Jesus. We know revelation to be progressive and new truths are given over time to us. However, is this single person of God changed by subsequent revelation in the new covenant?
Presented by Lindsey Killian and Dr. Laura Palik-Killian at the One God Conference, Seattle WA May 31st 2008, commentary by John Obelenus.