Moving Beyond Acceptance

Moving Beyond Acceptance

by | May 25, 2019 | Relationships

Although we may know the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37) well, there is an aspect of that story that is easy to miss – one that lies at the very heart of the parable’s message.

Luke tells us that when an expert in the law of Moses asked Jesus what he must do to inherit eternal life, Jesus confirmed that he should follow the biblical injunction to love God and to “Love your neighbor as yourself.”   This prompted the lawyer to ask Jesus “And who is my neighbor?”  – setting the stage for the parable of the Good Samaritan that Jesus then gave.

In this parable, of course, Jesus related that when a traveler was attacked by robbers and left naked and almost dead at the side of a deserted road, a priest and later a Levite traveling the same road both ignored the injured man and continued on their ways.  Only a Samaritan – one of the neighboring group of people hated and despised by many Jews –  who had pity on the injured man and helped him.

At the conclusion of the parable Jesus asked the lawyer “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?” (vs. 36), to which the lawyer correctly replied “The one who had mercy on him.”  We read that Jesus then told him, “Go and do likewise.”

But as we finish our own reading of this parable and move on to the following story in Luke’s Gospel, it is likely that we will miss a profound aspect of this final exchange between Jesus and the lawyer.  Remember that at the beginning  of the story we are told the lawyer asked “who is my neighbor,” but if we look carefully we see that what Jesus asked at the end of the story changes the wording of this question.

It is hard to see this subtle change because it is obscured in most English translations of the Bible.  For example, the NIV –  which we have quoted here –  has ““Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”   By translating this question with “was” –  the verb to be –  the translators made it match the lawyer’s original question “who is my neighbor?”

However, that is not what the Greek of the New Testament actually says.  The word (gegonenai)  used by Luke to record Jesus’ reply to the lawyer literally means “to have become,” and the question should be translated “who became a neighbor to the man?”   This literal translation is found in some carefully done recent Bible versions such as the New English Translation which has “Which of these three do you think became a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?” (10:36 NET, emphasis added).

While this may seem like a small difference in meaning, it is actually a very important one. Jesus changes the lawyer’s question of “who is my neighbor” –  meaning “ who must I regard as my neighbor”–  to “who became a neighbor” –  meaning “who did something that made him a neighbor?”   Consider this difference. “Who is my neighbor” implies only theoretical acceptance of the person. “Who became his neighbor” implies an action that resulted in a relationship being established.  The difference is that of what we believe as opposed to what we do.

To really understand this difference, we must go back to the parable itself.  It is easy to presume that any priest who passed by the injured man must be callous and uncaring, but that is a judgment that may not be true. In the circumstances described in the parable it may be that a priest could accept the injured man as a neighbor but be afraid to do anything to help him.  Even apart from the possibility of being attacked himself, a priest might well have considered the fact that if he touched a dead or dying man he would have been rendered ceremonially unclean for a whole week (Numbers 19:11).   That would have resulted in him having to return to Jerusalem to undergo lengthy purification rituals – leaving his wife and family not knowing why he had not returned home when expected.  According to the priestly system in place at that time, it would also mean that he and his family would lose expected income.  
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So, under such circumstances, it is perfectly possible that a priest could have viewed the injured man as a “neighbor,” and still not have done anything about the situation through selfishness or fear.   Seen this way, we realize that the change of wording Jesus insisted upon in the lawyer’s question was one that taught him –  and all of us who will listen –  that in our relations with others we must be willing to move beyond acceptance to action.  The changed wording teaches us that acceptance alone is not enough –  our neighbor is anyone in need to whom we extend help, anyone to whom we actually become a neighbor.

Christian Athiests?

Christian Athiests?

by | May 19, 2019 | History & the Bible

​It may sound like a contradiction in terms, but in ancient Rome Christians were often called atheists.   Most people in the Roman Empire believed that there were many gods, and the idea of worshipping only one God seemed so bizarre to the Romans that they viewed it as a denial of the existence of all the other gods – their gods – and as a result they labeled Christians as “impious atheists.”

Although Judaism held the same belief in monotheism, the Jews tended to keep their religion to themselves and generally did not attempt to witness to their religion or spread it in the way that Christians did.  Because of this fact, the Romans knew much more about the beliefs of Christianity and began to take issue with what they saw as Christian rejection of the Roman deities. Additionally, many did not like the fact that Christianity condemned a number of their socially acceptable behaviors.

So the Christians became known as intolerant of other gods and were soon being accused of being “atheists” along with a number of false accusations. The situation was so widespread that in AD 176-7 the Christian thinker Athenagoras (A.D. 133-190) wrote an explanation or “apology” on the matter that he addressed to the Emperor at the time, Marcus Aurelius. 

This work was called the Plea for the Christians and combats the three most common charges against Christians: atheism, incest and cannibalism.  The accusation of cannibalism was, of course, a misunderstanding of the Christian idea of eating the “flesh” and “blood” of the Son of God (partaking of the bread and wine – Luke 22:19-20) in the Lord’s Supper. The charge of incest was based on the common Christian practice of referring to all people – including husbands and wives – as “brother” or “sister,” and, as we have seen, the idea that the Christians were atheists was the result of the “intolerant” Christian belief of monotheism.  

In an interesting turn of events, as history has progressed to the day in which we live, Christianity is being increasingly viewed as intolerant. This is not only because of its rejection of many socially accepted behaviors, but also because the Christian Faith teaches of Jesus Christ that “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).  In today’s inclusive and politically correct world, such an idea seems as bizarre to many modern people as it was to the ancient Romans, and the response is frequently the same – “If you don’t accept my god, you are intolerant and I won’t accept you or your God.”

In ancient Rome the charge of Christian intolerance soon led to intolerance against Christians, and our own time is no different.   We see increasing intolerance regarding the Christian rejection of ungodly behavior just as the early Christians did, and we too can take to heart the words of Peter regarding those who are offended by that “intolerance”: “They are surprised that you do not join them in their reckless, wild living, and they heap abuse on you” (1 Peter 4:4).

Perhaps the similarities between the situation at the time of early Christianity and where our own culture is leaning should not surprise us.  Paul spoke of the same factors affecting early Christians and believers today:  “… everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” (2 Timothy 3:12).  In these words we see that persecution involves the world’s response to both Christians’ moral choices (“live a godly life”) and their theological ones (“in Christ Jesus”), as both are seen as evidence of intolerance by those opposed to Christianity, and both become the grounds for persecution.

For many Christians intense persecution at the hands of other religions is already here, of course, and we are reminded again of Peter’s words: “Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you” (1 Peter 4:12).  Peter was simply reminding his hearers of the words of Jesus himself:  “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you” (Matthew 5:11-12).

History does, indeed, repeat itself.  But as the persecution of Christians becomes more common again – essentially for the same reasons – let us be encouraged to also repeat the outcome of that persecution.  Peter tells us: “…if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name” (1 Peter 4:16 ESV).  We can glorify God in this context by our good works despite the accusations and persecution we endure, and it  is by demonstrating God in us that we best disprove the charges of intolerance and godlessness.  Athenagoras understood that well – as he shows in his rebuttal of the charge of Christian atheism:

“…if [Christians] are unable in words to prove the benefit of our doctrine, yet by their deeds [they] exhibit the benefit arising from their persuasion of its truth: they do not rehearse speeches, but exhibit good works; when struck, they do not strike again; when robbed, they do not go to law; they give to those that ask of them, and love their neighbors as themselves …” (Plea for the Christians, Chapter 11).

The Courage of Irena Sendler

The Courage of Irena Sendler

by | May 12, 2019 | Women of Strength

You may have never heard the name of Irena Sendler (15 February 1910 – 12 May 2008), but hers is a name that deserves to live on and one that you should know.  Born Irena Krzyżanowska, Irena Sendler was a social worker who secretly served in the Polish Underground in Nazi-occupied Warsaw during World War II.

While continuing her normal everyday work for the Department of Social Welfare in Warsaw, Sendler also worked under the cover-name “Jolanta” and was responsible for helping to smuggle a great many Jewish children out of the beleaguered Warsaw Ghetto.  The Ghetto was an area about the size of New York’s Central Park that the Nazis established in 1943 and forced some 450,000 Jewish people to live cordoned off in this area.

By getting hundreds of Jewish children out of the Ghetto, then helping provide them with false identity documents and finding shelter for them with Polish families, orphanages, and other facilities such as Catholic convents, Sendler unquestionably saved the lives of those children and protected them from the horrors of the Nazi Holocaust.

Sendler was not alone in this activity, of course. She was one of dozens of Christian and humanitarian workers who participated in the effort to save the Jewish children, but what places Sendler apart from this group is the fact that she functioned as the “point woman” in the operation – single handedly getting the children out of the doomed ghetto.

The courage of this woman is evident in the incredible ways in which she performed the extractions. In addition to taking the children out of the guarded ghetto by means of sewers and other hidden routes, Sendler utilized methods such as hiding a child under a blanket in an ambulance or hiding a child in a suitcase, a sack, or other container of some kind.  She made a hidden compartment in a wheeled tool box that she took in and out of the ghetto and very small children and babies were smuggled out in that. The rescue of very small children was especially dangerous as they often began to cry. Incredibly, Sendler trained a pet dog that accompanied her to bark in order to cover the sound whenever a hidden child began to cry.  

Using covert methods like these, Sendler was able to rescue some 2500 children from almost certain death. But the Nazis became suspicious of her activities and in 1943 she was arrested and interrogated by the Gestapo.  During the questioning she was tortured and beaten so badly that both her legs and feet were fractured.  Sendler’s courage came into play once again, however, and she did not reveal the names of her contacts and fellow underground workers. 

Nevertheless, someone had informed on her and Sendler was sentenced to death.  But in yet another amazing aspect of this story, the Polish resistance movement managed to bribe the individual assigned to execute her and she was spirited away on the day of her scheduled execution.  On the following day the German occupation forces publicly proclaimed her execution and Irena Sendler, in hiding, had the satisfaction of reading the posters that were put up with the news that she had been shot.

Almost all the parents of the children that Sendler saved died at the Treblinka concentration camp, but due to her efforts those people knew, at least, that their children were safe.   Not surprisingly, after the War, in 1946, Sendler was awarded the Gold Cross of Merit for her work in saving so many Jewish children and sometime later she was also awarded the Order of the White Eagle, Poland’s highest civilian honor.  In 1965, Sendler was also recognized by the State of Israel as one of the “Righteous Among the Nations.”
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But the incredible good that Irena Sendler accomplished must always be seen in the light of the amazing courage that this woman displayed throughout hundreds of missions in which children were saved and in undergoing torture rather than betraying her fellow workers.   Irena Sendler is a name that we should not only recognize among those who have courageously helped others, but also one we should never forget. 

Why an Online Word Search Is Better than a Topical Bible

Why an Online Word Search Is Better than a Topical Bible

by | May 5, 2019 | Bible Study

Sooner or later most readers of the Bible want to put the various scriptures on a specific topic together to see what the Bible’s overall teaching is on that subject. The marginal notes in our Bibles might offer a few parallel scriptures, but there are many times when we can see it would be good to get all the relevant scriptures and have the whole picture.

To do this, many people turn to a printed “topical Bible” that groups all the scriptural instances of a given word such as “faith” together.   This method works reasonably well, but it has serious drawbacks.  The main problem with using a topical Bible for this kind of search is that we can only look up one word at a time. This might get every instance of the specific word we select, but it may miss many scriptures that use other related words.  For example, searching “faith” might not get scriptures with the word “belief” or “trust” that are obviously part of what we are looking for.  The problem is made worse by the fact that many of the same underlying Greek or Hebrew words may be translated differently in different verses. 

The answer to this problem – and others associated with printed topical Bibles – is to conduct a search online using a major Bible website such as BibleGateway.com.  An online search of this type allows us to put all the relevant words into the search at the same time instead of having to laboriously search them all individually.  

But there are a few things we should remember in order to optimize an online search for a biblical term or concept.  The basic method is simple. If you are using BibleGateway.com, just select “keyword search” under the “Bible” tab at the top of the page.  Then, after selecting the Bible version you want to use, you can fill in all the words you want to search and, finally, delimit the search parameters by choosing from:  [book name] to [same book name] for one book, or [first book in sequence] to [last book in sequence] for whatever range of books or section of the Bible you wish to search. 

Notice that when you enter your search word you are given the choice of “Match ALL words,” “Match ANY words,” and “Match EXACT phrase.”  This differentiation is very helpful and one of the ways the BibleGateway search shines.   For example, if you want to search a single word such as “sin,” it helps to choose “Match EXACT phrase” so that you only get scriptures mentioning sin and not scriptures with words like “since” or “sincerely” in your results.  This can save time and avoid frustration.

If you are searching multiple words, selecting “Match ANY word” is usually the best way to get the most complete results regarding a concept found in many scriptures.  “Match ALL words” is best for finding a specific scripture you are trying to locate.  This is much harder to do with a printed topical Bible where you can only search one of the words in the scripture you want and may have to plow through a great many false matches.  With the “Match ALL words” feature you can include any other words that you remember in the verse you want, even if you only have a few of them.

Yet another advantage of online searches is that searching  words in a printed book may mean we don’t get the context of surrounding verses –  something BibleGateway allows us to do by simply clicking  “In Context” or  “Whole Chapter” links beneath the verses returned in the search. 
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So, whether you are searching for an individual scripture you know but want to locate or searching for all the scriptures on a given topic, an online search using BibleGateway.com can save a great deal of time over using a printed topical Bible – and can often produce far more relevant and useful results for your study.