Bible Topics

The approach I am developing is in keeping with the meaning of the writings themselves and the Apostolic Fathers.

Matthew was writing his story from the viewpoint of King and Kingdom. He tells the story of the Wise Men following the path of the sun from the east to the home of the new king. The Sun was the first of the stars created in Genesis to put all creation in light. Wisdom had resided in the east but was now to come to the new King, Jesus. The gifts of king were laid at his feet.

Luke is interested in the new Adam so he has everything center around the "holy Breath" which replaces the breath of the 1st Adam. The new Adam will be a shepherd so he has shepherds come to the manger. The stories are created to fit the reality which is Jesus in each case. The Romans were brutal toward the Jews but the Jews turned the same venom and brutality on the Christians. This brutal conduct has dominated over and over in the co-called Christian era and precisely because the principles of Christ are ignored or turned into a type of stoicism or fatalism.

"Koinonia" is an action word in Greek as indicated by the "ia" at the end. Hence it should be translated by "ing." "Koine" means that which is "common to all" or "shared by all." For example, the Greek spoken by everyone and used in the New Testament is called Koine Greek, the language used by everyone.

So, says Luke in Acts, the trait or characteristic that made the first Christians effective was "koinonia" or "sharing." To put this conviction into words, each person would have to say: "This is mine but I am willing and glad to share it with you." This is the Holy Spirit which Jesus could not give while he was here but which he gave shortly after he left.

This means that as long as Jesus was present and visible, the group would depend on him. As soon as Jesus was gone they would realize what he had talked about and be filled with this "Holy Spirit" of sharing.

There was the noise of a great wind which filled the upstairs apartment. This was the same creative breath of God that brought about the whole of the first creation. Here it was at work in the new creation. It came in the form of tongues of fire to indicate that this Spirit was to spread and engulf the whole world. This would be a reversal of the harmful disunity caused by the Tower of Babel.

The Holy Spirit is the conviction of personal worth and ownership which is freely and willingly shared with others. This new truth took the Roman-Greek world by storm and worked wonders all the way to the conversion of the Emperor himself in 312 AD. Then the "structure" began to evolve, and by 365 AD the council of Nicea sounded the death knell of the new creation.

I have a rough draft of "Holy Spirit" written. However, I have to get to all the references which are numerous, and see the variants of the basic idea. This idea has given a real impetus to the deepening of the ideas of the Christian message and dynamic force. As I read the papers and watch TV, I am reminded of how much these ideals and principles are needed in the world, today.

We have about 16.5 centuries of legalism and ritualism to set aside so that we can see the real value of the message of Christ. The inquiries are in the market place. We have to get the answers there.

At the beginning of the 1st millennium of the 20th century, Jesus was born and presented his ideas. The Roman Empire was opposed and tried to physically destroy the ideas and followers. Yet in the space of less than 300 years, the Roman Emperor himself accepted the ideas and ideals of Jesus.

The Christian ideal spread and had great influence. Then the ritualism and structure destroyed the vitality of the teaching of Jesus. The 3rd millennium of the Christian era would be a great time to restore the vital influence of the Christian ideal.

My article on "Holy Spirit" is by no means in its final stage. As I was re-reading what I had written so far, I realized I should be using Isaiah 11:1-2 as the introduction. Chronologically, he is writing and teaching in the 9th-8th centuries B.C. He is the first to mention and describe this Holy Spirit. Then the Priestly Editors use the concept in the opening account of creation in the 7th-6th centuries B.C. Isaiah clearly says the Holy Spirit is made of wisdom, counsel, fortitude, and the base or foundation is reverence and respect for Yahweh.

When Jesus is talking at the Last Supper, in the long reverie of John, he stresses that this gift of the Holy Spirit is his final and parting gift. The Holy Spirit is now called an "Intercessor," an "advocate" a "counselor." It is a gift from the Father but it can be given only when Jesus is gone.

This I think was the primary concept or social awareness of the 1st followers of Jesus. By their sharing with each other they formed a presence which was Jesus Christ — alive and working in the world. Paul calls it the "Body which is Christ." It is this Holy Spirit which forms or established this "Body."

I'll have to decide how I am going to use the entries on the Holy Spirit. Luke and John are the two that are strong on the Holy Spirit. Luke uses the term everywhere in the Gospel and Acts. For him, the only sense of the phrase is the sense of sharing with each other. This gave them their meaning in life, made them recognizable by others, and brought people to know and join them.

John stresses more the approach of Isaiah. John points out how this Spirit works in the individual and what are its component parts.

The so-called papal infallibility is not supported as far as the Bible is concerned. It was not an official teaching until 1870 and then it barely squeaked through. Matthew is the only one who talks about the point and he says explicitly that the Papal authority is a "kepha" a foundation, not a final seal that is slapped on the top. He uses a "totality phrase" to indicate that it is a judgment type of authority — not a directional.

I started my unifying work on the bible, and I am happy with it. I took the one phrase "The Human Story as Told in the Bible" and started with Genesis. Each book is summarized into one sentence developing this theme. One point about Genesis: the opening sentence of the Bible which comes from the 10th century BC says: "In the beginning, a god begot as a son the heavens and the earth." Even with all the later editings, the writers left the generic word "a god." The proper name, Yahweh, was never inserted although it is used in the 2nd account in Chapter 2, "A god, Yahweh…."

Another description phrase I will use is: "Earth to Heaven: One Lifetime." or "C'est la Vie!" or "Murphy's law: God's Law!", "Blue Chip Stock" or "Bottom Line" or "Buyer's Market" or "C.O.D.," "Down Payment" or "Fringe Benefits" or "installment buying" or "Take Home Pay," or "Work Ethic."

All of these phrases will be marvelous to give a different twist to all the ideas. These are solid ideas but they tie together the parlance of daily living and the Wisdom of the Ages.

As I was listening to public radio, I was hit with a new description of the prophets. They were the "newscasters" of their day. They observed and commented on the events of the day, predicted outcomes and advised modes of action that were needed. John Baptist bridged the crossover from preparation to fullness. Jesus Christ started the full program.

You mentioned the Resurrection. This was a question thrown at Paul in his missionary groups. The people had not seen Christ and they questioned Paul's sanity. His answer was clear: "If Christ had not risen from the dead in reality, we are of all fools the greatest." The teachings of Jesus were fine but the evidence for the truth and value of these teachings depended on the Resurrection from the dead. Jesus stressed that his resurrection was the prototype of all that came after him.

The body will be the same so that it is recognized but its qualities will be heightened. I see it in the sprouting of every seed. The tulip bulb, for example, doesn't look like much. Yet the bulb sprouts and the plant comes forth and there is the beautiful flower. No one could imagine or predict it. The same is true of the human body. The resurrection will be the full flowering. Just as planting the seed is essential to getting the harvest so death is the source of full life.

The break through for me came in '94 when I finally realized what the "Holy Spirit" was. Then Jesus became a man with ideas out of sync with the authorities of the time. The Triune God who wasn't a 3-headed freak finally came to rest.

God was perceived as Father and origin of all the universe in some way. "How" was not even considered. The only point of importance was "why." Jesus was seen as "the man", the 2nd Adam, the person whose ideas could get people back on track. He could do his job only if his followers were bound together by the "true spirit." This spirit was a bond of sharing and giving in a world of selfishness.

Now I have the Creation Story, the Patriarch Story, the Noah Story, the Joseph Story, the Moses, David, Prophet Stories. These are all stories told in Semitic fashion to make a point.

After reading the commentary I wrote on Kepha in Matthew, I realize I have more clarifying to do. I have to show the two-fold aspect of authority and leadership in the church. Matthew stresses the foundation notion and all the varied aspects of Kingdom. John develops the whole notion of Shepherd or Pastor and the flock. The totalitarianism, dictatorial, infallible, absolute and final authority pattern developed by the Papacy and hierarchy is in direct opposition to this picture. Various people rebelled against the idea but were totally squelched or expelled. Finally, in 1870, Vatican I was able to enact the Edict of Infallibility against great opposition. From 1870 to Vatican II, there was no recourse. Then John XXIII stepped into the picture and started an aggiornamento and reversal of the picture. He died and the most that happened was they threw out Latin, turned the altar around and said anyone could handle the wafer even without consecrated fingers.

The basic principles and ideals of Christ and the Gospel are still very much needed. How they will be put before the world, I don't know. Books will help but today the media will have to get in the act.

I didn't get much writing done, yesterday. I had all the references to Peter as "Rock" or "Kepha." I was looking each one up in the Hebrew when I suddenly realized I would find "Kepha" nowhere in the Hebrew since it is Aramaic. First of all, Yahweh is the "Rock" on which the stability of the people is founded. Then Moses strikes the "rock" and they get water. In fact, they carried a piece of "rock" with them in their wanderings.

Now, Christ tells Peter he is to be the "rock" on which the stability of the community is based. He has power over the "Kingdom of death." This is a promise of Resurrection to all. He has the right to include or exclude people in the church. The word "church" is a new one in this passage.

Then John presents the same ideas about Peter as the shepherd who knows each member of the flock and leads them in safety to food, water, shelter and rest. The "infallibility" notion is certainly a misnomer and false application of the post-Trent period. In fact, it is a restoration of a notion in the Judaism of the Scribes and Pharisees which Christ condemned explicitly.

The teaching, ideas and ideals (in NT) are supposed to be updated constantly by the living community founded on them and in them.

Each of the books of the Bible is centered around certain events, teachings and people. The Biblical writings are not history in the western sense of the word. They (gospels) were the memories of certain people as they saw their application in the 1st century and a quarter. Why not take them from there and carry them up to date?

I have several topics or questions I want to develop as I did the question "Who Is God?" or "The Holy Spirit." I find it very interesting to follow the gradual unfolding of an idea in the course of the centuries and in answer to the historical problems and setting. The individual writers or teachers put their special touch on each development. This brings the whole idea of the Bible alive.

As the Old Testament ended, there was serious question as to what lay beyond death. The Jews had settled it for themselves in the early post-exilic writings, about 500 B.C. For the Jews who lived and died faithful to the prescription of the Torah, they would go to the "bosom of Abraham." However, if they failed against the Torah, they were excluded from Abraham's presence and there was no interaction between the two groups. This place was a constantly burning fire as in the Valley of Hinnon or Gehenna. This same figure was used for the NT picture.

In the NT, those who lived by the law of "love" went to the presence of God the Father and the whole family of man. Jesus says explicitly what is the basis for the sentence: Everything depended on how your life was lived in the service of your family, friends, neighbors, people you worked with and for, and strangers. The demands were not gigantic: You were to share what you have and what you are. If you shared you were identified as a child of the father. If you did not share, you excluded yourself from the family.

I maintain we have to return to the true and full message of the Gospel and actually live it. This means a full sharing of responsibility and goods in a truly human way. It does not mean that I sit back and moan because someone has more than I. It means I exert my full potential and work with and for others and myself to reach my goals. The Christian ideal is Koinonia (sharing), not "handouts."

I read through parts of Mark's Story. Mark clearly has the least to say and is almost totally repeated in Luke and Matthew. There is no difficulty in seeing why he became the companion of Peter. He wasn't fiery enough for Paul and he didn't stick to a tough job. Barnabas would have been too slow and laboring for Mark. Peter's tendency to jump in with both feet before he tested the water, his ability to blurt out, and his working in Rome would all have appealed to a person like Mark. John was also a teenager.