![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Bible in 90 Days: Reflection
Aug. 6th, 2011 12:02 pmOver the past couple of weeks, I've been letting what I've read in the bible sink in. The following in an unordered list of thoughts and questions that have been dominant during/after the Bible in 90 Days project. To be honest, I've been delaying my posting these thoughts because each time I think about it, I feel...um...unqualified...er...lacking in serious thought and knowledge(?)...uncertain about how to best articulate what it is I do and don't know. Anyways, the following is my best effort on this Saturday morning. ;) These are my feelings at this time. I don't mind explaining my thoughts more, but I have no interest in debating these issues because these are my opinions and I'm not claiming I fully understand God's will.
* Above all else, faith in God is key. The whole Bible is filled with discussions, stories, and advice that pinpoint faith and the number one resource humans need to utilize in their day to day life.
* Sin and God's Reaction to It - In the Old Testament, sin wasn't just violating the 10 Commandments, there were TONS of rules that the Israelites were to follow. It was an impossible task, really. The rites for forgiveness were just as complicated as the instructions on holy behavior. Then comes Jesus! He simplified the rules mankind was to follow and poured His grace upon us. Jesus died to forgive our sins, if we accept him as that sacrifice.
When going through the OT, I was relieved about God's forgiveness of David's multitude of sins. I was relieved that my sinful foibles can be overcome by staying faithful to God. But, I guess I've got to blame Paul, for my relief decreasing when I came upon the letters at the end of the NT. Paul wrote about believers becoming new people and that the new person they became wouldn't sin and could avoid temptation. While I feel that I have found an increased supply of patience and flexibility when working in conflict situation with others, there are sins I've done for years that I find no easier to spurn than in the past. There are times where I feel like a bipolar Christian; I bounce between feeling unworthy and sinful to feeling joyous for being forgiven.
* Sexual Immorality/Homosexuality - I am no more or less content with my understanding of what exactly is God's view on this now as I was before. Homosexuality isn't enough of a sin to be included in the 10 Commandments. It shows in the excessively long list of regulations and sins detailed in Leviticus, etc...but then Jesus essentially sweeps some/most/all of those non-10 Commandments under the rug. There is no seeming documentation of Jesus talking about homosexuality. Then come the letters from Paul and others. While Jesus didn't talk about sexual immorality much, Paul seems to bring it up all of the time.
I have known and love many gay and lesbian friends. I know they didn't chose their sexual orientation and can't just pray away the gay (as a few of them from charismatic/Pentecostal/fundamentalist Christian childhoods tried to do as youth). If I had the time to pursue this area of study, I'm curious about what particularly provoked Paul to discuss this issue so much. Was the Hellenization of the Holy Land so fixated on sexual promiscuity and homosexual acts by heterosexuals that Paul felt a need to address it? Was Paul/God speaking out against all homosexual acts or heterosexuals partaking in homosexual acts? When there was a small human population, it is logical to be against homosexuality (considering God stated the purpose of creating humans was for them to "be fruitful and multiply). But as population increases, having a small percentage of humans naturally inclined to homosexuality seems like a way of nature tempering the birthrate of our species to a more sustainable rate.
Anyways, my reading the bible DID NOT make me dislike my gay friends. I still love them all and hope that they can find churches that will accept, embrace, and pray with them without homosexuality being considered a "disqualifying" sin. We all sin, God sees sin equally, so don't ban the gays from church if you let in those that swear, abuse their wives/children, drink to excess, leer at cheerleaders having car washes, or work on the Sabbath come to church.
* I wish I could learn more about Q source. I am intrigued by the evidence of a Q and would love to delve into this exploration more. On the other side of the coin, I'm not as interested in the Apocrypha and other books that were removed from the bible as I thought I might be.
* What happened with the Israelites between the Old and New Testament? I knew there was a Intertestamental period gap, but I didn't realize how frustrated I was going to be after getting acclimated to OT Judaism and then having to greatly alter my understanding of ritual and structure when I came to the Pharisees, Sadducees, rabbis, and synagogues that showed up in the NT.
* Early Church politics - especially surrounding Paul. I became very intrigued by how Paul's letters dominate the NT after the Gospels and Acts. Here comes this persecutor of Christians, he has a dramatic convergence, and then becomes the most prolific and adamant disciple for Christ. How many original Van Halen fans took a liking to Sammy Hagar? How many original Star Wars fans love the second trilogy? How did the 11 apostles feel about Paul's convergence, his starring role spreading the word of Jesus, and his confidence in documenting religious instruction...despite not being a follower of Jesus before the resurrection? Were Peter and Paul frenemies (friend-enemies) or just those that took sides with Peter or Paul?
* Above all else, faith in God is key. The whole Bible is filled with discussions, stories, and advice that pinpoint faith and the number one resource humans need to utilize in their day to day life.
* Sin and God's Reaction to It - In the Old Testament, sin wasn't just violating the 10 Commandments, there were TONS of rules that the Israelites were to follow. It was an impossible task, really. The rites for forgiveness were just as complicated as the instructions on holy behavior. Then comes Jesus! He simplified the rules mankind was to follow and poured His grace upon us. Jesus died to forgive our sins, if we accept him as that sacrifice.
When going through the OT, I was relieved about God's forgiveness of David's multitude of sins. I was relieved that my sinful foibles can be overcome by staying faithful to God. But, I guess I've got to blame Paul, for my relief decreasing when I came upon the letters at the end of the NT. Paul wrote about believers becoming new people and that the new person they became wouldn't sin and could avoid temptation. While I feel that I have found an increased supply of patience and flexibility when working in conflict situation with others, there are sins I've done for years that I find no easier to spurn than in the past. There are times where I feel like a bipolar Christian; I bounce between feeling unworthy and sinful to feeling joyous for being forgiven.
* Sexual Immorality/Homosexuality - I am no more or less content with my understanding of what exactly is God's view on this now as I was before. Homosexuality isn't enough of a sin to be included in the 10 Commandments. It shows in the excessively long list of regulations and sins detailed in Leviticus, etc...but then Jesus essentially sweeps some/most/all of those non-10 Commandments under the rug. There is no seeming documentation of Jesus talking about homosexuality. Then come the letters from Paul and others. While Jesus didn't talk about sexual immorality much, Paul seems to bring it up all of the time.
I have known and love many gay and lesbian friends. I know they didn't chose their sexual orientation and can't just pray away the gay (as a few of them from charismatic/Pentecostal/fundamentalist Christian childhoods tried to do as youth). If I had the time to pursue this area of study, I'm curious about what particularly provoked Paul to discuss this issue so much. Was the Hellenization of the Holy Land so fixated on sexual promiscuity and homosexual acts by heterosexuals that Paul felt a need to address it? Was Paul/God speaking out against all homosexual acts or heterosexuals partaking in homosexual acts? When there was a small human population, it is logical to be against homosexuality (considering God stated the purpose of creating humans was for them to "be fruitful and multiply). But as population increases, having a small percentage of humans naturally inclined to homosexuality seems like a way of nature tempering the birthrate of our species to a more sustainable rate.
Anyways, my reading the bible DID NOT make me dislike my gay friends. I still love them all and hope that they can find churches that will accept, embrace, and pray with them without homosexuality being considered a "disqualifying" sin. We all sin, God sees sin equally, so don't ban the gays from church if you let in those that swear, abuse their wives/children, drink to excess, leer at cheerleaders having car washes, or work on the Sabbath come to church.
* I wish I could learn more about Q source. I am intrigued by the evidence of a Q and would love to delve into this exploration more. On the other side of the coin, I'm not as interested in the Apocrypha and other books that were removed from the bible as I thought I might be.
* What happened with the Israelites between the Old and New Testament? I knew there was a Intertestamental period gap, but I didn't realize how frustrated I was going to be after getting acclimated to OT Judaism and then having to greatly alter my understanding of ritual and structure when I came to the Pharisees, Sadducees, rabbis, and synagogues that showed up in the NT.
* Early Church politics - especially surrounding Paul. I became very intrigued by how Paul's letters dominate the NT after the Gospels and Acts. Here comes this persecutor of Christians, he has a dramatic convergence, and then becomes the most prolific and adamant disciple for Christ. How many original Van Halen fans took a liking to Sammy Hagar? How many original Star Wars fans love the second trilogy? How did the 11 apostles feel about Paul's convergence, his starring role spreading the word of Jesus, and his confidence in documenting religious instruction...despite not being a follower of Jesus before the resurrection? Were Peter and Paul frenemies (friend-enemies) or just those that took sides with Peter or Paul?
