I’m too busy to write a post or respond to comments. But if you want a laugh, take a look at the “World’s Most Effective Speed Bump.”
Applying Matthew 23:8-12
8ὑμεῖς δὲ μὴ κληθῆτε ῥαββί · εἷς Î³Î¬Ï á¼ÏƒÏ„ιν ὑμῶν ὠδιδάσκαλος, πάντες δὲ ὑμεῖς ἀδελφοί á¼ÏƒÏ„ε. 9καὶ πατÎÏα μὴ καλÎσητε ὑμῶν á¼Ï€á½¶ τῆς γῆς, εἷς Î³Î¬Ï á¼ÏƒÏ„ιν ὑμῶν á½ Ï€Î±Ï„á½´Ï á½ Î¿á½Ïάνιος. 10μηδὲ κληθῆτε καθηγηταί, ὅτι καθηγητὴς ὑμῶν á¼ÏƒÏ„ιν εἷς ὠΧÏιστός. 11ὠδὲ μείζων ὑμῶν ἔσται ὑμῶν διάκονος. 12ὅστις δὲ ὑψώσει ἑαυτὸν ταπεινωθήσεται καὶ ὅστις ταπεινώσει ἑαυτὸν ὑψωθήσεται. (NA26)
8 But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all brothers. 9 And call no man your father on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven. 10 Neither be called instructors, for you have one instructor, the Christ. 11 The greatest among you shall be your servant. 12 Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted. (ESV)
One of the best commentaries on Matthew is written by Davies and Allison, who are by no means conservative. About this passage, they say:
Although one might urge a less literal interpretation, we assume that, taken together, the injunctions against ‘rabbi’, ‘father’, and ‘instructor’ constitute a general prohibition against all ecclesiastical titles. Thus there is no more room for ‘bishop’ or’the most reverend’ than ‘rabbi’. If so, one could scarcely find a biblical text so little heeded (3: 278).
I don’t want to do more here than simply raise the question. I think it’s easier to think about this issue when you’re younger than when you’re older. Before you have titles than after. You can read the whole passage, particularly the previous 7 verses where Jesus is denouncing the Pharisees for doing the opposite of this. The question is, what would Jesus say to your church, or your school, or to you about this matter. How should we apply it? If we can’t quite maintain the proper tension, on which side of the fence is it better to fall off? Woe to you if you get it wrong.
10-1
My wife grew up in Green Bay, so no more explanation need be given of why she is a Packers fan. I grew up in southern California, so it may not be readily obvious why I am a Cowboys fan. Perhaps it was because their training camp was in the next town over (Thousand Oaks). More likely it was because I knew of the strong faith of some of their players and coach. A few years ago I tried to switch to become a Packers fan. My family probably doesn’t even know that the Cowboys are a football team, so it wouldn’t offend anyone there. Kelli’s family are very committed Packers fans. So I had only to gain. The problem was…well, the conversion just never “took.” I don’t know why. Probably a lot of it is owing to the fact that we aren’t real fans, and I don’t really know what’s going on besides whether they won last weekend or not and who the quarterback is. Now, however, I live in the Dallas area and thus it’s only natural to put away the Green Bay clothing I’ve been given at previous Christmas and birthdays and be a Cowboys fan.
I checked online about getting tickets to tomorrow’s game between the two 10-1 teams. I’ve never been to a professional football game and I figured it wouldn’t be worth the $50 or so that tickets cost. But I thought I’d look anyway. And yep, I found out just what you’re thinking. I’m an idiot for thinking that tickets are available (sold out through 2008 at which time they move to a new stadium and those tickets aren’t yet for sale). And I’m an idiot for thinking that tickets could be bought for less than $275 (on the resale site). That’s not $275 for the family, including a steak dinner. That’s $275 for one seat; hot dogs extra. And that’s the worst seat in the house (well, it probably has a pretty good view of the blimp). A better seat can be had for $4475. But you have to buy two.
We decided not to go. Instead of two seats for 3 hours, I can buy a year of school in a fine graduate school. Or a lot of other things. Tomorrow night, when the game’s all over, someone will be out a lot of money. A lot of someones. And for what?
Back to school. Yesterday I had lunch with a seminary professor. None of my readers have likely ever heard his name. I bought lunch for both, for a total of $6.70. That included the seats, the food, and the drinks. For that investment, I got an hour of undivided attention from a wise man who has studied Scripture and ministered to college and seminary students for many decades. I think I could probably take every faculty member of DTS for lunch for less than the cost of the cheapest two tickets tomorrow night.
So here’s a thought for some of you still in an educational environment. Maybe you should consider taking someone you respect to lunch in order to learn from them. You wouldn’t blink at spending $50 for a football game or a Kenny Chesney concert or a U2 event. Maybe there’s a better way to spend your money.
A Lost Way
Perhaps you know that Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is in Annapolis, Maryland this week for a “peace summit.” I think that all observers, liberal or conservative, would agree that Olmert is eager to give away as much as he can in order to secure peace. Whether that is a wise course or not is not the question of the day here. Instead it is something else. First, read (via Arutz-7) what Olmert said in 1994 shortly after being elected mayor of Jerusalem:
“There are those who say that there are some parts of the Land of Israel that cannot be given up, and others that can. [They say] with the same light-headedness that they are willing to give up some. They will also propose, at some time in the future, giving up the others.
“I have come here this evening with my deputies from the Jerusalem municipality to say in the name of the large majority of the residents of Jerusalem that Hevron and Jerusalem are together in the struggle for the Land of Israel. Whoever fights for the integrity of Jerusalem and our sole sovereignty there, must also fight for Jewish Hevron under Israeli sovereignty.
“On the day that we decide – [pause] – not us; someone else decides – that Hevron is not ours, he is at the same time decreeing the beginning of concessions in Jerusalem. We must not allow anyone this option. We must not allow any government this chance.
“Together, Hevron and Jerusalem, the Land of Israel. We are not fighting here for geography, though that is something very important. We are not fighting here for territory, though that is something very important. We are fighting for history, faith, tradition, and the rights of our forefathers. We are fighting for the unbreakable bonds between the Nation of Israel and the Land of Israel, and between the past and the future for ourselves and for our children who will come after us in this land…”
Olmert then predicted that the days of the government then in power, headed by the late Yitzchak Rabin, were numbered. He said that those in power “should know that the result of all their great hopes and fancy ceremonies and great fantasies, will be nothing but piles of ruins of a lost way, of blurred conceptions, and lack of thought.”
The question is this: what changed from 1994 to 2007? Is the political situation so much different now? Have we learned that the Palestinians are a reliable peace partner? Did Olmert simply mature in his thinking? Is this pure political opportunism?
Is it true now that the bond are breakable? Has the fight for history, faith, and tradition become unnecessary?
Does anyone think that the present summit will result in anything more than “piles of ruins of a lost way, of blurred conceptions, and lack of thought”?
Or to ask it another way: who do you trust – the Olmert of 1994 or the Olmert of 2007?
A different day, a different place
I wish it was January 28 again. It seems like forever ago…
Wonderful people, with names supplied for those not fortunate enough to know them: Jenn Kintner, Gracie Jamison, Jeremy Edwards, me, Yuliya Molitvenik, Cynthia Hawkins
Today, November 19, is Mark’s 8th birthday. He had a great day including a game of bowling with his friends (unfortunately the 5-year-old sister beat all the boys).
My Twin Brother
No wonder my parents never told me about him…
NILES, Mich. (AP) — Talk about being in a pickle: A judge gave a 35-year-old man probation in a case that police said involved an assault with pickles.
According to police reports, the pickle problems began when Bobby Lee Bolen of Buchanan was hanging out at his then-friend Jody Lee’s home in Buchanan on Aug. 20.
Bolen went to the refrigerator and helped himself to some pickles. According to the report, Lee told Bolen he couldn’t afford to feed everyone and not to eat his pickles. Bolen then began yelling and swearing and stormed out, according to the report.
Later, Bolen barged back into the house and got into an argument with Lee. Lee told police Bolen slammed him down on the couch and threw two large pickles at him and said, “Here’s your damn pickles.”
Bolen also shoved former friend J.W. Romanski III and beat Lee with a telephone when he tried to call 911, according to the report. Two counts involving Bolen’s assaults were dismissed as was a charge of cutting or interfering with phone lines.
“If this is not the silliest case I’ve ever seen in this courtroom, it certainly is in the Top 10,” Berrien Trial Court Judge Scott Schofield said. “The fact that it’s silly doesn’t mean that it’s not serious.”
Source: USA Today
Pray for the Peace of Jerusalem?
A friend asked me if the command to “pray for the peace of Jerusalem” was in effect for us today. Here’s what I think.
All commands must be interpreted in context. Sometimes the motivation for the command is included in the context and thus sheds light on the nature of the command. “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem” is found in Psalm 122, which was a psalm of ascent sung by pilgrims going up to worship at Jerusalem. When this was written and sung, the temple of the Lord was standing in Jerusalem, and it seems that this is the primary motivation for this prayer: Pray for the peace of Jerusalem that God’s temple may be safe (v. 9). That this was not an idle prayer was demonstrated by various raids on the city during the time of the Divided Monarchy and ultimately by the destruction by the Babylonians in 586 B.C. Given that there is no temple (or like access point to God) today, the motivation to pray for the peace of Jerusalem does not apply for this reason.
There is another reality of this psalm: it comes from the mouth of an Israelite and not from God himself. In context, the writer is exhorting his fellow pilgrims to pray. This writer would not make the same exhortation today for the same reason, and so even though this is included in Scripture, I do not believe that this command is incumbent upon us in the same way in which it was written.
There is another motivation given in verse 8: for the sake of my brothers and friends. I think the best understanding of this is to see a godly man desiring the peace of those he loves. He prays for Jerusalem’s peace so that his beloved will be safe. We can follow his example by praying for those that we love. That may include brothers and friends in Jerusalem, and therefore you would be motivated to “pray for the peace of Jerusalem.” This, however, is not the same as a universal, timeless command to all believers to pray for the peace of Jerusalem.
Having said that, I think there may be other passages that would ultimately lead one to pray for Jerusalem’s peace. To take but one, Jesus taught us to pray, “Thy kingdom come.” What Jesus meant, and what I think it still means, is that we should pray that God would establish his direct rule over the earth. More specifically, we know from Scripture that this is the rule of the Son of David, Jesus, on the throne of David in Jerusalem over the whole earth. There are many verses that give understanding to this, but here are two:
The Lord will be king over the whole earth. On that day there will be one Lord, and his name the only name. (Zech 14:9)
My servant David will be king over them, and they will all have one shepherd. They will follow my laws and be careful to keep my decrees. They will live in the land I gave to my servant Jacob, the land where your fathers lived. They and their children and their children’s children will live there forever, and David my servant will be their prince forever. I will make a covenant of peace with them; it will be an everlasting covenant. I will establish them and increase their numbers, and I will put my sanctuary among them forever. My dwelling place will be with them; I will be their God, and they will be my people. Then the nations will know that I the LORD make Israel holy, when my sanctuary is among them forever. (Ezek 37:24-28)
Jesus is telling us to pray that the day will come when God rules over the earth. From the context of Zechariah, it is clear that “the Lord” here is a clear reference to Jesus (cf. Acts 1:11). At the end of the Bible, there is a similar prayer to “Thy kingdom come” – “Come, Lord Jesus” (Rev 22:20). The fulfillment of this prayer will result in the Prince of Peace ruling over Jerusalem (Eze 48:35) in perfect peace.
I would conclude that we are in fact to pray for the peace of Jerusalem. BUT, I think we are better to pray “Thy kingdom come,” or “Come, Lord Jesus,” than to pray for the “peace of Jerusalem.” The reason I say that is “praying for the peace of Jerusalem” is too non-specific in our world. That is, it can mean a variety of things and it can be prayed by a Buddhist as well as a believer. When we pray for the peace of Jerusalem, our ultimate prayer is not that Jews and Arabs would stop killing each other. It’s not that there would be some sort of superficial harmony between neighbors. This sort of peace does not last and is not genuine. It’s easy to tell others to “pray for the peace of Jerusalem” because this is non-offensive – no one would argue against praying for peace. But if in your heart you desire the submission of individual Jews and Arabs to the Messiah of all nations, I think it’s better to be more specific than simply seeking “peace.” I do think it’s appropriate to pray for violence to stop as part of our compassion to all men. But it’s not our primary or ultimate prayer and it’s not limited to Jerusalem, Israel, or the Jewish people.
When I pray for the peace of Jerusalem, I am praying that:
1) the people of the city would recognize the “Prince of Peace” and submit their individual lives to him as their Messiah and Lord
2) violence would cease so that innocent men, women, and children would not be maimed and killed
3) the “Prince of Peace” would return to his city and establish his rule of perfect righteousness, justice, and peace
Today at ETS
It has been an amazing week in California so far. My heart is full. I don’t have time tonight to go back through previous days, as much as I would like to. Instead I’ll make a few comments from today.
Today was the first day of the Evangelical Theological Society conference. I have been to these only twice before (2001 and 2004), because it’s just too difficult to fly in from Israel. But I like these kinds of things because they inspire me, instruct me, and humble me.
I actually skipped the morning sessions (despite the presentations being given by former IBEX students) because another friend (and, yes, former IBEX student – do I have any other friends?) invited me to his PhD class at UCSD with David Noel Freedman. Those who have studied with me will recognize that name as the editor of Anchor Bible Dictionary and various other works. I’ve never had the chance to meet him and since he’s now 85, I probably won’t have too many other opportunities. The class is a Hebrew Bible reading seminar, and today they were in 2 Chronicles 17-18. Students took about 5 verses and read, translated, and parsed them. Freedman commented on various issues. I was struck by 1) his amazing knowledge of the Hebrew text without any apparent preparation; 2) his ability to laugh at many, many things; 3) his ability to blast and encourage a student in consecutive sentences; 4) certain passions of his that he discussed at length (apparently for the tenth time this quarter). I’d love to say more about #4 but am not sure if I will. Here are some verbatim examples of #3:
You are so totally wrong, I can’t believe it. [discussion] So keep changing until you get it right. What’s the matter with you people?
Do you know the difference between a gerund and a gerundative? [Student: No]. Well, google it. [TB: this is hilarious on several levels.]
There was more but I didn’t get them. Lest the quotations suggest otherwise, I was impressed with Freedman’s overall kindness. A few other snippets from my notes:
The very beginning, the first words of the Bible, everybody’s got it wrong all along. The correct reading is bereshit bara. We have so many examples of a prepositional phrase followed by the perfect form of the verb. Not a question. I can show them all to you. In the beginning when God created. Subordinated clause. Very complicated but the first words of the Hebrew Bible have been mistranslated by everyone else. It really helps to study grammar. Opening words of book of Hosea: Hos 1:2 – construct followed by the perfect. Exactly like Gen 1:1….
I am the only person in the world who ever said this, so naturally you won’t accept it. What I am proposing is perfectly legitimate; it is grammatically correct. Predicate adjective. Any other reading requires a strain in the grammar. It is saying that he is “a god.” But Yahweh is not “a god.” If you question it, you ‘re wrong...There are many scholars, all of whom are wrong, who claim that Yahweh is not a verb. There’s a perfectly legitimate verb because the verb hayah in biblical Hebrew was originally heh vav yod.
The best thing (#4) I’m not sure if I should share. In any case, it was an enjoyable experience for more reasons than the teacher.
After lunch, we went to the ETS meeting. Douglas Moo gave the first plenary address. It was good, though, like many things of the day, there was much that I didn’t understand (or while maybe I understood the words themselves, I knew that I was ignorant of the necessity for saying such words). Moo isn’t exactly one of my heroes, but I have so greatly appreciated his contribution on a very important issue in my life during our years in Israel – the relationship of the Law to believers. So for that reason alone, I feel greatly appreciative of his work.
I went to five regular sessions after this.
1: J. P. Moreland delivered an impassioned plea for evangelicals to stop being “overcommitted to the Bible.” Without much personal knowledge of him, I always thought that I greatly respected him. He pretty much ended that today. It was certainly an interesting and provocative lecture, but it got worse the further he went along. His basic premise is that Scripture should be our ultimate authority but not our sole authority. He gave an analogy from archaeology that made sense. But it faltered when it got to psychology and fell apart when he started talking about learning about demons from sources outside the Bible. (Did he really say that if you command a demon in the name of Jesus to tell the truth that they will be bound to do so?) He’s so concerned about this issue because of the damage that is being done to American evangelicals (but he made it clear that such problems lie primarily with Americans and not those outside).
2: Excavations at Gezer 2007. This was an interesting summary of what was accomplished this year. There were a couple of pictures in the PowerPoint presentation that I recognized.
3: Historical Reliability of Chronicles by Eugene Merrill. Classic Merrill: well-organized, clear, and biblical.
4: Did Prophecy Fail by Robert Chisholm (DTS OT prof). He examined 2 Kings 3 and concluded that Elisha’s prophecy did not come true because Israel’s faith was weak. I started out expecting to agree with his conclusion, especially as he surveyed the other positions. But in the end, he didn’t give sufficient support for his view and I didn’t buy it. But I am inspired to study it more.
5. Panel discussion with Merrill, Chisholm, Grisanti and a Danish guy about harmonization. Interesting and provocative, though one guy in the audience (a well-known OT prof) was argumentative and did not advance the discussion. Chisholm pointed out a couple of apparent contradictions in the Bible that I hadn’t thought much about before.
After this there was a special lecture by John Piper. I’ve been a fan of his writings for much longer than most people have known about him. I’ve read most of his books and tried to direct hundreds of students to his ministry. I’ve long said that he is the most important living person in my life that I’ve never seen in person. Well, I can say that no longer. He gave a great message on justification, and inspired me on things completely unrelated to justification. Crossway also gave out free copies of his latest book on the subject to all attenders. That itself is worthy of note: an organization gives away his latest book to the people most likely to buy it (it’s a technical work less suited to average church people).
There is much more but it is now late and tomorrow is an even longer day. Besides all of the above, I saw a lot of former students, former teachers, and other acquaintances, plus a few I’ve only known from email.
P.S. You’re welcome to comment below but if you ask me questions about something, I’m not sure if or when I’ll be able to answer them.
Update (11/16): Moreland’s talk is the subject of this Christianity Today blog post.
Update (11/22): Moreland’s paper is now online. It does not include some of the more goofy things he said, including stories about revelations he has received, demons he has exorcised, and how to command a demon so they will be bound to speak the truth. Justin Taylor mentions the paper and may have a different take on it.
Next Week in California
I am off for a week in California. Until three months ago, I lived my entire life either in Israel or in California. But I haven’t been in California for four years now. That’s more interesting because that’s where my employer is located, and we had family there until a few months ago. I’m going out to see friends and visit the college in Santa Clarita for the first few days, and then will spend the rest of the time in San Diego at the annual conference for the Evangelical Theological Society. I have not had many chances to attend that because we have been living in Israel. Along the way I have a few important meetings. I am most looking forward to a couple of get-togethers with previous IBEX semester groups. I turned in a research paper yesterday and so will enjoy the trip without that hanging over my head. I have another one to write, but I don’t need to start that until I return.
Is This Me?
Guy in his mid-30s moves to Plano, Texas to attend Dallas Theological Seminary but his website takes off and he has little time for school. This AP article is not about me and BiblePlaces.com, but about GodTube.com. He started in August and I started 6 Augusts ago, but he probably got more visitors last month than I did in the last year. His is the fastest growing site on the web, and mine isn’t growing at all. He’s sharing content, and I’m creating it. He says they’re not making a profit, but I am (depending on whether he’s lying or if I know what a “profit” is). His big hit is a video of a 4-year-old; my big hit is a CD of still photographs of old, dirty places. If you watch the video of him, you’ll see that I know how to button my shirt better. His seminary studies have moved to the back burner, but mine have not.