by R. Herbert | Jul 26, 2015 | The Church & the World
In films such as “Conspiracy Theory” (1997), “Enemy of the State” (1998) and a number of others, leading actors like Mel Gibson and Will Smith have portrayed individuals struggling to survive despite governmental or corporate conspiracies that threaten to destroy them.
Movies of this type have produced wryly humorous lines such as “It’s not paranoia If they really are out to get you,” but many people view the threat of conspiracies aimed at the control of society as not at all humorous and all too real.
For some, conspiracy lurks behind every movement of the stock market, every government announcement, every corporate merger. The threat of conspiracy affects not only how they see the world, but also how they live in it. In some cases, fear of conspiracy leads to everything from not using credit cards to not drinking tap water.
Even some Christians fall prey to worry over conspiracies based on things people think they see going on in the world, but ironically the apostle Paul indicated quite clearly that there really is a conspiracy against humans that cannot be seen and which is far greater than the real or imagined conspiracies of governments and mega-corporations: “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms” (Ephesians 6:12).
But whether we think of physical or spiritual conspiracies, the Bible makes it clear that these are not things we should fear. The prophet Isaiah stated this emphatically: “Do not call conspiracy everything this people calls a conspiracy; do not fear what they fear, and do not dread it. The Lord Almighty is the one you are to regard as holy, he is the one you are to fear, he is the one you are to dread” (Isaiah 8:12-13).
Isaiah’s words are interesting on two levels. He certainly does not deny the existence of conspiracies, but he clearly suggests that people see more conspiracies than actually exist. More importantly, Isaiah stresses that it is not some shadowy “they” we should fear, but the One who is far greater than any human power. The prophet’s words were reinforced by Jesus himself in saying: “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell” (Matthew 10:28).
So the Bible does not deny the existence of conspiracies in the world in which we live, and certainly not within the world we do not see, but it categorically directs us not to waste our lives in fear of such things. This is not to say that we should ignore evidence of conspiracy and corruption, or that we should not fulfill our social duty of fighting it where it may be fought, but Christianity does preclude apprehension that affects our lives or fear that begins to form our behavior.
For the believer, even the worst of hidden conspiracies need not be feared because every power, seen or unseen, is ultimately subject to the One who guides history and who promises his servants protection according to his will. Living by that understanding is an important part of how we see God – that he is the only “unseen power” that matters. To freely paraphrase Isaiah, it is more important to maintain a truly reverent respect for God than to worry about the tap water.
by R. Herbert | Jul 20, 2015 | Difficult Scriptures, The Life of Jesus
Filling the wine jars with water. From an ancient mosaic.
Scripture in Focus: John 2:3-4
In the story of the wedding at Cana when Jesus performed the miracle of turning water into wine, readers sometimes think that he addressed his mother somewhat harshly or even disrespectfully. Look at the exchange:
“When the wine was gone, Jesus’ mother said to him, ‘They have no more wine.’ ‘Woman, why do you involve me?’ Jesus replied. ‘My hour has not yet come’” (John 2:3-4). Jesus’ words sound perhaps even harsher in the KJV: “Jesus saith unto her, Woman, what have I to do with thee?” But there is no harshness or disrespect here at all. Actually, “woman” was a standard form of address in the ancient world – just as Jesus often addresses males as “Man” (Luke 5:20, etc.) – and the expression carries no lack of respect any more than saying “lady” or “ma’am” would for us today.
Remember that we don’t know the actual words Jesus used in this circumstance. He probably spoke to His mother in Aramaic which was the commonly used language in Palestine at that time, but in the Greek in which the New Testament was written, the word “woman” guné (from which we get our word “gynecologist”) is in the ‘vocative’ case which was reserved for addressing others, even in the most formal speech. Jesus used the same form of address when speaking to other women (Matt. 15:28, etc.). At his crucifixion, when he lovingly delivered his mother into the care of his disciple John as his last act of kindness before his death, this was the form of the word he used in saying to her “Woman, behold your son!” (John 19:26).
Another detail of the wedding story which might sound harsh to our ears is the fact that Jesus said: “…why do you involve me?” (John 2:4), or as the KJV has it: “…what have I to do with thee?” But in the original Greek, the expression is literally “What [is that] to me and to you?” – in other words he includes his mother with himself in saying, in effect, “Is this our responsibility?” or perhaps even “Does this situation need to involve us?”
But the story itself shows us that there was no tension between Jesus and his mother. Immediately after he answered her, note that “His mother said to the servants, ‘Do whatever he tells you,’” showing that she had not been rebuffed and that Jesus was about to help as she had requested – as, of course, he did.
Although the turning of water into wine is usually said to be Jesus’ first miracle, we do not know that to be the case. The New Testament does not say it was his first, it is just his first recorded miraculous deed. The fact that Mary turned to Jesus and asked him to help in the situation suggests that he may have already quietly done deeds of healing and help before this point. In saying his time was not yet come (John 2:3-4), Jesus may have meant not the performance of good deeds, but that the time for public display of such deeds – as in a wedding before many guests – was not necessarily yet.
by R. Herbert | Jul 20, 2015 | Great Commission
LivingWithFaith.org recently interviewed Rachel Barach, senior vice president, Bible Gateway & Olive Tree, for HarperCollins Christian Publishing, and general manager of Bible Gateway. Ms. Barach’s answers to our questions provide a fascinating inside view of the development, current operations, and plans of BibleGateway.com – the world’s most visited Bible website. You can read this encouraging interview on our sister site here.
by R. Herbert | Jul 12, 2015 | Prayer
Excerpted from “A Prayer to Avoid” by Richard Woike.
“O thou pleasant, comfortable, kindly, good-natured God: How glad I am that I can look forward, with a reasonable degree of certainty, to another ordinary day. Keep me today from anything that taxes my faith, from discomfort, from unnecessary strain, from unusual problems …
Dear Lord, grant that nothing may occur which will disturb my satisfaction with the way I am, and the things I say, and the thoughts I think, the acts I do, or the many deeds I leave undone. Give me this day, in addition to my daily bread, the butter, meats, and sweetmeats that are my necessary diet, and let me not be troubled by qualms of conscience concerning the amount of time and money I spend on food and clothing, pastimes, good and bad, and those pursuits which, while not of spiritual value, are the accepted hallmark of the normal citizen in this enlightened age … “
by R. Herbert | Jul 6, 2015 | Difficult Scriptures
The principle of “an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth” is one of the most well-known laws in the Bible, but do we really understand it as we should?
Known legally as the
lex talionis or the “law of retaliation,” and discussed by Jesus himself in his teaching, most people see the law of “an eye for an eye” as an ultimately fair but cruel principle of revenge and restitution. But is that really what this law is all about?
You can find the surprising answer to this question, and what Christ meant in his comment on the law, in our article uploaded today: “ ‘An Eye For An Eye’: A Law of Revenge or Restraint?” Don’t miss it – it might just change your understanding of something you always took for granted!
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