SECURITY, SYRIAN REFUGEES & CHRISTMAS

Jesus and his parents were Middle Eastern refugees. They fled to Egypt. It is excessively ironic to turn refugees away while setting up a manger scene and hanging Christmas decorations. The xenophobic response of 30 American governors who have issued statements refusing to allow Syrian refugees into their states, is insupportable.  Of course we deserve to be protected and we are obliged to properly vet refugees entering Canada and the United States. So let's do that but I am suggesting that people like me, with a worldview influenced by faith in Christ, must discern crises with empathetic eyes.  We can be cautious but we cannot be supportive of panicked protectionist bigoted positions. In a dramatic moral teaching moment Jesus declared that, "The King will reply, 'Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.'" He followed that remark with this. "Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me." You can debate the definition of 'brothers and sisters' yet one of the least of these is mentioned as 'the stranger," for which the original Greek term was 'xenos,' meaning 'foreigner, immigrant, or stranger.' Jesus is the King about whom he himself speaks and he takes personally how we treat the stranger. (Matthew 25:31-46)

ISIS HAS NO FREEDOM

Credit for the image and content is to Jim Cunningham. It was presented to me as an illustration of how one can acquire and achieve freedom within personal relationships. In that context one's faith relationship with Jesus Christ opens possibilities for forgiveness and reconciliation and mutual respect with people who have been offensive or adversarial or uncaring. 

The visual also speaks to me about the differences between the terrorist group ISIS and followers of Christ.

ISIS AND LOVE - IS THERE ANY CONNECTION

If ISIS is a faith-based movement, do its foundational documents contain anything like this?

Does the Koran contain references to unconditional love of others, humanity in general? Find an online concordance and settle on the four orthodox English translations and do a word search for ‘love,’ and the results may surprise you.

There is no citation of unconditional ethic of love for outsiders, enemies, or fellow humans in general. 

In contrast, do a concordance search of the New Testament for the word "love" and here is the result.

OPINION ABOUT OLD TESTAMENT - THE RING OF TRUTH - 6th of several

John Bertram Phillips (J.B.)

As a young college student, I came across the Philips translation of the New Testament. It was novel then, new, a refreshing way to read scripture. It was the product of John Bertram Phillips or, J. B. Phillips, who was an English Bible scholar, translator, author and clergyman. He learned that the young people that attended Church of the Good Shepherd in London UK, where he was minister, did not understand the King James Authorized Version of the Bible. During the London blitz of World War II, he spent hours in bomb shelters, time which he used to begin a translation of the New Testament into modern English, starting with the Epistle to the Colossians. His results had great appeal for his young people who found it easier to understand. Encouraged by this, following the war, he continued his rendering of the New Testament into colloquial English, completed it and it was published with great commercial success.

OPINION ABOUT OLD TESTAMENT - 5th of several - JESUS REGARDED THE OLD TESTAMENT AS GOD BREATHED AND HE SHOULD KNOW

Jesus explained his identity and purpose using Old Testament scripture as reference and resource material. Here are some indicators.

In Luke’s account an occasion is mentioned which occurred soon after Christ’s resurrection from the grave. Jesus appeared to two disciples as they walked from Jerusalem to Emmaus, seven miles away. They had left Jerusalem unaware of the resurrection and they were discussing the horrors and the sadness that had transpired over the past several days.

They remembered some women who went to the tomb where Jesus’s body had been placed, returning to the other disciples and reporting that Jesus' body was no longer there. They recalled some disciples hurrying to verify this and to their astonishment they found the report to be accurate. At that moment in their conversation, coming up alongside them, Jesus gently interrupted their conversation with this remark, “O foolish men and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and to enter into His glory?”

Then as he walked with them,

OPINION ABOUT OLD TESTAMENT (4th of several)

Is a promise that was made to someone in OT times, also applicable to someone else today? No? Maybe? Yes? Asked another way, can Christians today claim OT promises that were made to other individuals or groups?

This may help to answer that. Realtors say there are three factors that determine the marketability of a property, "location, location, location." When it comes to hermeneutics, which is the art and science of biblical interpretation, the top three words are "context, context, context."

Unless we understand the context of an OT promise before lifting it into our contemporary life situations, we may force a meaning upon the words, which the Holy Spirit never intended to say through the original author.  Once we do understand that one correct interpretation, then we must ascertain whether there is a range of application that reaches all the way to us. It certainly can. If within the promise of God to an original audience, there is an integral communication about God's character, which does not change, and His actions toward people in accordance with their relationships to Him, then the promise is broadly applicable.  

You may appreciate reading this informative article by Ron Jones of the Titus Institute.

OPINION ABOUT OLD TESTAMENT (3rd of Several)

Have some parts of the Old Testament been repealed? No? Maybe? Yes?

Most definitely there are aspects of Old Testament scripture, the Mosaic Law to be precise that we can all agree has been abrogated by that which is new, that is, in the New Testament. Here is an example.  During the unpredictable fury of two men fighting, a pregnant woman is accidentally struck and this results in the premature birth of her child.

OPINION ABOUT THE OLD TESTAMENT (2nd of several)

Some Christians disparage the Old Testament. Of course that position appears a bit shocking to traditionalists and purists. After all, Christians have normally considered the Old Testament to be God’s Word. They have found help and pleasure in reading Proverbs and spiritual inspiration in the Psalms. The training of Christian preachers has emphasized proficiency in Hebrew and Greek to insure accurate application of Old Testament narrative and instruction to New Testament times.

So why would people ignore the Old Testament?

OPINION ABOUT OLD TESTAMENT (1st of several)

I grant you that this is not a topic the non-follower of Jesus could care anything about, since the authority of the entire Bible is rejected. To the believer however, this is germane. 

It will be a tragedy if Christians dismiss the Old Testament.  

The easy conclusion is that the Old Testament, suffused in Mosaic Law was written for a Jewish population. It's irrelevant to us today. That's faulty thinking.