I AM listening
Romans 10:17
"So faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ."
The capitalization of "I AM" is intentional. For when we listen or read the Word of God, the Bible, I AM speaks. "I AM" reminds me of something that my cranky yet competent 8th grade English teacher Mrs. Bowman said. She noted, over and over again during the year, that only God could say "I AM" with nothing else in the sentence. He is self-defining and self-referential.
I also remember that she used to pick her nose like a drill spinning into a hole...so quickly, that one just might miss it unless paying close attention. She thought she was getting over...out and in without us noticing. Not a chance.
Critics of the Bible like to note that since the New Testament Gospels were not written down until a decade or two later after Jesus lived on earth, then somehow these book are highly unhistorical and mythological. Skeptics disbelieve the promise that Jesus gave to his Disciples that the Holy Spirit would give to them a complete remembrance of what He (Jesus) had said. The Apostle John apparently recalled so much that he noted that he did not have the space to write down all of what Jesus had done. John had to intentionally edit down what he remembered:
John 21:25 "And Jesus did such a number of other things that, if every one was recorded, it is my opinion that even the world itself is not great enough for the books there would be.
(BBE)"
Another cultural norm was that Jewish culture was an oral culture. As the Gospel began to spread out of the Jewish culture, into the much more literate Greek and Roman arena, it became important to write the Gospels down, particularly since the listeners would have had no first-hand experience of hearing Jesus teach in person (who many in the early Church had and time was passing even with the generation that had lived in Israel during the life of Jesus). Writing words down make them recorded for posterity, and highly transmittable. The Reformation was greatly aided by Luther's use of the printing press. How much more today with the web and all other technologies. It is truly ironic that although we have the capacity to say more in volume, we are saying less and less in terms of value.
Writing down the Gospels allowed them to preserved and promoted among a wide range of people and populations. Most of the New Testament was either originally written in Greek or translated into Greek. Yet, the thinking is all Hebrew. You want someone to remember something, tell them a story using the things around them to remind them of the point. The Gospel has always been about conveying the principles of Christ in an idiom that its listeners could understand. This is not to denigrate the pursuit of understanding the original language of the teachings of Jesus (Aramaic) or to suggest that there are not real difficulties in translation from original languages to others. Yet, with wisdom and effort, the message can come across and be understood.
The Gospel has shown remarkable adaptability. Although it arose from God, through the Jews, it has gone into all of the world. The Gospel is for all people, and as such, it should be in the language of all people. From what I know, there is much more tension in Islam about how the Koran, so rooted in Arabic language and culture, is to be contextualized. It seems the some Muslims believe that doing so will much weaken the Koranic message. I am not an expert here on this so I have to tread carefully but I think what I have said is true and it really shows the beauty of the Gospel in all of its comprehensiveness. It also shows the relative inflexibility and non-incarnational nature of Islam, which will lead to its demise.
Or, radical Islam will succeed in setting the world aflame. Good to know that Christ is risen above the fires of earth. The world can become a cinder and Christ still reigns.
On a personal note, I vowed to seek out God more in 2010. It is my primary Resolution. As such, I am listening to His word every morning on the Daily Audio Bible. It is an excellent resource and I commend it to you highly: http://www.dailyaudiobible.com/
"So faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ."
The capitalization of "I AM" is intentional. For when we listen or read the Word of God, the Bible, I AM speaks. "I AM" reminds me of something that my cranky yet competent 8th grade English teacher Mrs. Bowman said. She noted, over and over again during the year, that only God could say "I AM" with nothing else in the sentence. He is self-defining and self-referential.
I also remember that she used to pick her nose like a drill spinning into a hole...so quickly, that one just might miss it unless paying close attention. She thought she was getting over...out and in without us noticing. Not a chance.
Critics of the Bible like to note that since the New Testament Gospels were not written down until a decade or two later after Jesus lived on earth, then somehow these book are highly unhistorical and mythological. Skeptics disbelieve the promise that Jesus gave to his Disciples that the Holy Spirit would give to them a complete remembrance of what He (Jesus) had said. The Apostle John apparently recalled so much that he noted that he did not have the space to write down all of what Jesus had done. John had to intentionally edit down what he remembered:
John 21:25 "And Jesus did such a number of other things that, if every one was recorded, it is my opinion that even the world itself is not great enough for the books there would be.
(BBE)"
Another cultural norm was that Jewish culture was an oral culture. As the Gospel began to spread out of the Jewish culture, into the much more literate Greek and Roman arena, it became important to write the Gospels down, particularly since the listeners would have had no first-hand experience of hearing Jesus teach in person (who many in the early Church had and time was passing even with the generation that had lived in Israel during the life of Jesus). Writing words down make them recorded for posterity, and highly transmittable. The Reformation was greatly aided by Luther's use of the printing press. How much more today with the web and all other technologies. It is truly ironic that although we have the capacity to say more in volume, we are saying less and less in terms of value.
Writing down the Gospels allowed them to preserved and promoted among a wide range of people and populations. Most of the New Testament was either originally written in Greek or translated into Greek. Yet, the thinking is all Hebrew. You want someone to remember something, tell them a story using the things around them to remind them of the point. The Gospel has always been about conveying the principles of Christ in an idiom that its listeners could understand. This is not to denigrate the pursuit of understanding the original language of the teachings of Jesus (Aramaic) or to suggest that there are not real difficulties in translation from original languages to others. Yet, with wisdom and effort, the message can come across and be understood.
The Gospel has shown remarkable adaptability. Although it arose from God, through the Jews, it has gone into all of the world. The Gospel is for all people, and as such, it should be in the language of all people. From what I know, there is much more tension in Islam about how the Koran, so rooted in Arabic language and culture, is to be contextualized. It seems the some Muslims believe that doing so will much weaken the Koranic message. I am not an expert here on this so I have to tread carefully but I think what I have said is true and it really shows the beauty of the Gospel in all of its comprehensiveness. It also shows the relative inflexibility and non-incarnational nature of Islam, which will lead to its demise.
Or, radical Islam will succeed in setting the world aflame. Good to know that Christ is risen above the fires of earth. The world can become a cinder and Christ still reigns.
On a personal note, I vowed to seek out God more in 2010. It is my primary Resolution. As such, I am listening to His word every morning on the Daily Audio Bible. It is an excellent resource and I commend it to you highly: http://www.dailyaudiobible.com/
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