The Chronics
I will be glad when I am through II Chronicles. Such a considerable portion of what I've been going through lately has been recording history of wars and kings' rule. So many portions are phrased in exactly the same way. Most often, the record is that a particular leader did not please God, usually because he let idols to other gods stand and/or worshiped them himself. David is one of a handful of exceptions. He was a man of war, it to me he seems a womanizer, but many times he is depicted as trying to act rightly despite some of his subjects or those around him acting outside of God's will (through killing someone or trying to kill him). Something humorous that is repeated over and over is to the effect of, "As to the rest of King _____'s reign, is it not recorded in the Book of the Annals of the Kings of Israel?" I respond to this immediately with, "I don't know," and then by wondering, what has become of this book? Was it decided that it would be non-canonical?
I do wonder why so much space is accorded to detailing the history of the Jewish people. This gives us a lot of information about protecting their interests and expanding their territory, but there is not much in the way of theology there. In fact, I have noticed that a number of important concepts either haven't been mentioned at all yet or have been mentioned minimally, namely heaven (not at all yet, unless I've missed it) and Satan (not mentioned since the creation account, unless I've missed it). Job is coming very soon, so I know that this is soon to change. It makes me return to a concept about which practically all theologians agree, to one degree or another--progressive revelation.
This concept can in fact mean different things to different people, but even the dispensationalists subscribe to it, to my understanding. Their view is that there are several distinct dispensations, or time periods during which God dealt with people in a different way. In the broader sense, it might explain why to this point the Bible is far from the fullest complexity of Christian theology, which would at least take until Paul's writings (I'm sure when I get to that point, I will have something to say about how he is maligned and misunderstood). So maybe we can say that, and this would be a fairly conservative way to look at it, the initial focus is on "Trust me, and don't be distracted by competing religions" (this is not to let the genocide off the hook). It will be interesting to watch how worship evolves, which has already been evidenced by David's more complex ethical system and shortly the end of animal sacrifice.
As to the topic of finding a church that does not endorse the worst aspects of the status quo or, beyond that, positions that could be deemed anti-Christian, there is hope. There are a lot of denominations out there, and much variety within those denominations. I have looked to find which of those are most supportive of social justice. Believe it or not, those are almost bad words in several circles. But the Mennonite church strongly emphasizes peace. It's history can explain why, as its early followers were persecuted and killed.
So I searched and found one Mennonite church about a half hour away. On the first morning that I visited, many people welcomed me, and the church was celebrating an annual multicultural Sunday. The next Sunday that I visited, the church launched a shelter within the building, and a speaker discussed attending a peace rally, urging us to write representatives about allocating tax dollars for programs other than wars. Amazing. The struggle that I'm having at this point is the resistance I feel to getting involved. Two Sundays in a row, I have declined lunch invitations. Beyond that, though, I feel a hesitance to volunteer my time. This is a challenge that I will have to figure a way to meet. I don't have to volunteer for everything, but as this is what I have been seeking, I need to find the places I can best fit in.
PostScript - Hearing repeated mentions of the Israelites' conflicts with the "Philistines," at some point I nearly began to laugh and wonder whether these Philistines were in fact Palestinians. In other words, can we go back thousands of years and still find a persistent back-and-forth struggle between Israel and Palestine? From what I gather, it is not necessarily established that the Philistines are Palestinians, but to consider them as such builds another layer to the futility of their ongoing problems.
I do wonder why so much space is accorded to detailing the history of the Jewish people. This gives us a lot of information about protecting their interests and expanding their territory, but there is not much in the way of theology there. In fact, I have noticed that a number of important concepts either haven't been mentioned at all yet or have been mentioned minimally, namely heaven (not at all yet, unless I've missed it) and Satan (not mentioned since the creation account, unless I've missed it). Job is coming very soon, so I know that this is soon to change. It makes me return to a concept about which practically all theologians agree, to one degree or another--progressive revelation.
This concept can in fact mean different things to different people, but even the dispensationalists subscribe to it, to my understanding. Their view is that there are several distinct dispensations, or time periods during which God dealt with people in a different way. In the broader sense, it might explain why to this point the Bible is far from the fullest complexity of Christian theology, which would at least take until Paul's writings (I'm sure when I get to that point, I will have something to say about how he is maligned and misunderstood). So maybe we can say that, and this would be a fairly conservative way to look at it, the initial focus is on "Trust me, and don't be distracted by competing religions" (this is not to let the genocide off the hook). It will be interesting to watch how worship evolves, which has already been evidenced by David's more complex ethical system and shortly the end of animal sacrifice.
As to the topic of finding a church that does not endorse the worst aspects of the status quo or, beyond that, positions that could be deemed anti-Christian, there is hope. There are a lot of denominations out there, and much variety within those denominations. I have looked to find which of those are most supportive of social justice. Believe it or not, those are almost bad words in several circles. But the Mennonite church strongly emphasizes peace. It's history can explain why, as its early followers were persecuted and killed.
So I searched and found one Mennonite church about a half hour away. On the first morning that I visited, many people welcomed me, and the church was celebrating an annual multicultural Sunday. The next Sunday that I visited, the church launched a shelter within the building, and a speaker discussed attending a peace rally, urging us to write representatives about allocating tax dollars for programs other than wars. Amazing. The struggle that I'm having at this point is the resistance I feel to getting involved. Two Sundays in a row, I have declined lunch invitations. Beyond that, though, I feel a hesitance to volunteer my time. This is a challenge that I will have to figure a way to meet. I don't have to volunteer for everything, but as this is what I have been seeking, I need to find the places I can best fit in.
PostScript - Hearing repeated mentions of the Israelites' conflicts with the "Philistines," at some point I nearly began to laugh and wonder whether these Philistines were in fact Palestinians. In other words, can we go back thousands of years and still find a persistent back-and-forth struggle between Israel and Palestine? From what I gather, it is not necessarily established that the Philistines are Palestinians, but to consider them as such builds another layer to the futility of their ongoing problems.
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