Read: Question #15, p. 59-62, in Banned Questions about the Bible by Christian Piatt.
Scripture Passages: Exodus 21:12-27; Leviticus 24:10-23; Matthew 5:17-48; Matthew 22:37-40; Luke 10:25-37
The responses to this question in Banned Questions… cover a number of points worth reading. For now, I want to consider this in context with the previous question on whether the Bible justifies violence and retaliation. If we take the Bible as God’s unadulterated word, some passages are hard to sort out. Not only do the Israelites wipe out whole towns in order to move into the Promised Land, but that’s what God directed them to do so that they would not be corrupted by the “detestable things” the Canaanites did. And if we think God had qualms about wiping out whole tribes of people because of their evil ways, that’s exactly what God did with the flood.
If we consider that, rather than God’s dictated word, the Bible is a joint effort between God and people, then we can see these passages reflecting both the perception and the struggle of the people who were trying to understand their relationship with God. This is the perspective you see in many of the people who respond in Banned Questions….
But Dave Retherford also made an observation worth considering: “If you think of God as a father, it makes sense that a father allows or even directs some suffering to teach children a lesson or bring about a greater good.” The Old Testament has plenty of accounts of God’s people struggling with how to relate to God and to those around them. Further, as Dave noted, what happened in the Old Testament set the stage for everything in the New Testament, leading to the restoration of God’s kingdom.
Which leads us to Jesus. As followers of Christ, we’re looking at the Old Testament – violence, laws, disobedience and all – through the lens of the Gospel. One of the reasons I struggle with some of those passages is that they run counter to all I’ve learned about God through Jesus. John 3:16-17 is about loving redemption. Follow Jesus through the gospels. He doesn’t spend time condemning others. In fact, he reaches out to the very people who struggled with being human and were often condemned by a religious establishment that claimed to know the intent of God’s commandments (and had their own set of rules for following them).
Jesus turned that teaching upside down in his Sermon on the Mount. But did Jesus void some of the Old Testament laws? That’s a common perception I hear. Jesus also said: “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.” [Matt. 5:17]
How does Jesus’ teaching on vengeance (turning the other cheek rather than responding eye-for-an-eye) and on loving our enemy fulfill the Old Testament laws and prophets? If this is God’s intent, why not start there? For one thing, not only was Jesus’ teaching revolutionary for his day, it still is today. Kathy Escobar noted that “the kingdom principles that Jesus taught were going to be much harder to apply than the old laws by a long shot” [p. 61 in Banned Questions…]. Do you agree with that?
We live in a society that doesn’t exactly embrace forgiving and turning the other cheek. And it’s not always easy to love your enemies when they seem intent on bringing you down. How do we live out these teachings?
That leads to one last comment I want to discuss. Jarrod McKenna asks: “Why is it that people can’t find the hope of the world in our churches?” [p. 60 in Banned Questions…]. He says it’s because we’re not letting God’s love flow through us in loving our enemies, in being merciful and graceful. Do you agree?
Our youth group this year will be learning more about Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount and what it means to live as Jesus calls us in love. If you were to give our youth advice on what it means in everyday life to live in love and grace, what would you say?
Please click on “Comments” below to share your thoughts and to read what others are saying. Come back often to continue the conversation!
1. "How do we resolve...?" For me one way is to see the Bible as a joint divine/human revelation, as I posted previously.
ReplyDelete2. "But did Jesus void some of the Old Testament laws?" Yes, I believe he did. When thinking about OT laws, I found it helpful when I learned of the count of 618 OT commandments. How to manage these in life seems to have been a major challenge and concern for Jews as indicated by the story about Jesus and the Great Commandments. I do not believe that all 618 were intended to be in effect and non-revocable for all time especially in light of human fallibility to interpret and apply.
3. "How does Jesus' teaching on vengeance...fulfill OT laws and prophets?" The Genesis 12 understanding of "Blessed to be a Blessing" is for me a strong signal of God's intention for the people of Israel. I just cannot see how genocidal violence can be construed as a blessing.
4. "Why is it that people can't find the hope of the world in our churches?" EXCELLENT QUESTION!!!
It's the last question - why so many people aren't finding the hope of the world in our churches - that plagues me most. It's why I continue to work with our youth group. It's why I keep telling my colleagues at work that the crazy things such-and-such a pastor said on the news doesn't really have much at all to do with what Jesus taught and did.
DeleteMaybe the real question isn't why is it like that but rather what are we going to do about it.
Good point Nelson. I think it is up to all of us who do believe and go to Church to let the nonbelievers know there are good Christians in this world. Even if you have Pastors who make mistakes, not condoning anything they are doing, but we are not perfect, we are not Jesus and we will fall but what will we do about it when we make a mistake?
Delete1. On Jesus not abolishing the O. T. laws: look at the context. I couldn’t tell if Jesus was speaking to a crowd or just a few followers at that point, but if the chapter is chronological, he had just finished the beatitudes. We don’t really know what preceded the comment on the law, but it’s not clear to me just which laws he was talking about. It must have excluded the Mosaic laws. Maybe Jesus had just finished talking about justice and mercy, or kindly, favorably treating aliens (meaning immigrants). Perhaps he was speaking to us today.
Delete2. I believe there are two reasons why people today can’t find the hope of the world in our churches. First, our society has become very self-centered and cynical. Which leads to the second thing: we are our own worst enemies. It’s so easy and unfortunately pretty correct to call us hypocrites. It’s like Dan Merchant’s movie,” Lord, Save us From Your Followers: Why is the Gospel of Love Dividing America?” Brian McLaren also spouts the same kind of gospel, although I’m not sure I’m entirely on board with them.
3. Escobar had it right; it’s much harder to follow Jesus than the O.T. Laws. It appears to me that the Jews were punished when they strayed from God’s laws which were laid out for them in detail. But what happens to us when we stray from Jesus’ laws? Well, bad things happen too, but the connection is much less clear. It’s tough to keep turning the other cheek, but being a jerk doesn’t succeed 100% of the time either. The hard part is keeping that in mind while you absorb the hits. If you can do that in a deliberate, conscious fashion, maybe it can help you to have a deeper, more loving relationship with God and not just be driven by the fear of punishment or the promise of reward.
What is meant by "hope of the world"?
ReplyDeleteGood question, Greg. I don't know what Jerrod McKenna meant when he wrote it but when I read it, I think of Jesus saying, "You are the light of the world." The hope of the world isn't so much us (as a church or as individuals) as it is what God does through us if we are open to it. The hope of the world is the good news of love, forgiveness, mercy, and grace that Jesus brings. It is God among us. This is the light we should be reflecting into the world. So, for me, if all that people think of when they hear the church is what we're against, then we as the church universal are not serving as God's light into the world.
ReplyDeleteI know too many people who associate church or religion with an institutional structure that is built around preserving a doctrine and telling people how they should behave. Is that the primary role of a church? I think that's what the pharisees and religious establishment of Jesus' time thought. Sadly, what is too often hidden in that view is the loving acts of God at work through the people who are God's church (whether they attend an organized congregation or not).