I am an ELCA Lutheran from South Carolina. Today (January 12, The Baptism of Our Lord) this was our New Testament Lesson (or Epistle) of the Day. This passage is also usually read on Easter Sunday.
Sometimes, I think about God's authority over me. I start to get a pit in my gut. I'm not one to easily bow before an authority. But then I think about it, and common sense takes over. Then I'm fine with it. I have a 94 jeep wrangler. I did a lot of work to it. I striped off the old paint, repaired rust in the body and frame; and painted everything. I installed new seats and floors. I made the front and rear bumpers, front fenders, rear fender flares, and the rear door. I made all of this from scratch. I am also installing axles that came out of a ford F250. So I kind of think of my jeep as my kid (yea I know, that sounds weird). But I also see it as a real bad analogy. I made my jeep. I didn't make every part, but I can definitely call it mine. I want whats best for it; but, to me anyway, I have authority over it. I tell it to go, it goes. I tell it to turn right, it turns right. So if it decides one day to not listen to me, and it goes faster when I tell it to stop, I would be a bit upset. I made it for me, not itself. But I still want whats best for it. When I tell it to do something, its for good reason. Who is it to think it knows better than the person who has tighten practically every bolt on it, several times. I think this is similar to how we should view Gods authority over us. Yea, it may be a big pill to swallow, but God made us. He knows every cell in our bodies. Who are we to think that He shouldn't have authority over us. We didn't make ourselves, God did. Yea, it may be a bad analogy, but I thought it was worth sharing.
+610bob I think your analogy makes a ton of sense, and that's why some view this as being a very high stakes conversation. If we are made, then the maker has a claim on us. The specifics of that claim could be debated, but God would have a degree of ownership. Some people mistake that for meaning that some religious authority figure wields ownership of the lives of others, and that rightly really freaks them out, but Jesus talks about his burden being light.
This can't be a 3 part series if I absolutely HAVE to watch 8 episodes in a row! I'm glad I discovered you when you interviewed different religions, so I had to start watching from the beginning. Your presentation and humor make it quite enjoyable!
I hate authority, lol. I think the fact that I see Christ as King and submit to him is evidence that God has done work in me. "It is hard for you to kick against the goads."
Jn 1:3 “Without it became *not one* that has become.” Major Premise: How many ‘things’ is the logos? One. Minor Premise: How many things came to be without the logos? Zero. Conclusion: The logos is uncreated.
How about the claim making no sense? This speech moves the narrative from an ethnic distinction to a religious distinction (believers vs. non-believers), but still operates from a god that supposedly enforced and promoted an ethnic distinction for centuries. Did this god suddenly change his mind or could it be that certain elements within Jewish society, in an increasingly metropolitan context where personal salvation stories were all the rage, were just part of the Zeitgeist and adopted a more universalist approach, especially given an apocalyptic mindset where Jews thought the end times would bring in the nations to worship their god? My money is on the latter. I also find verse 38 interesting, i.e. "how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power", because it sounds very adoptionistic. Especially when it then goes on to say that he could only perform healings because "God was with him". Regarding verse 41: The fact that Jesus is only said to appear to "chosen people" doesn't sound very credible or convincing to me. To understand how I feel when I read that, just consider some of the miracle claims and post-death sightings regarding Menachem Mendel Schneerson, where people say similar things like "A few people can see the Rebbe" and "A few spiritually developed people have seen him - in body and in flesh looking as he did before his passing" (Lubavitcher Messianism: What Really Happens When Prophecy Fails, p. 94). When it comes to having to "fear" this god (v. 35) or "everyone who believes in [Jesus] receives forgiveness of sins through his name" (v. 43), I have no idea what that actually means or how that could make any sense. Why is the emotion of fear required to be acceptable to this being and to what extent does it have to be present to reach the acceptable level? And what does it mean to "believe in Jesus"? How many of my neurons have to be dedicated to a certain (cluster of) proposition(s) regarding this person at any one time? What's the cut-off point? What if I suffer brain damage and those neurons are knocked out, or I undergo a commisurotomy of my two brain halves and certain neurons in one hemisphere answer "yes" to the question "Do you believe in God" and neurons in the other hemisphere answer "no"? And how does a belief stored in my brain magically save me from... what exactly? And how did a person dying initiate and enable this mechanism?
I am an ELCA Lutheran from South Carolina. Today (January 12, The Baptism of Our Lord) this was our New Testament Lesson (or Epistle) of the Day. This passage is also usually read on Easter Sunday.
Sometimes, I think about God's authority over me. I start to get a pit in my gut. I'm not one to easily bow before an authority. But then I think about it, and common sense takes over. Then I'm fine with it.
I have a 94 jeep wrangler. I did a lot of work to it. I striped off the old paint, repaired rust in the body and frame; and painted everything. I installed new seats and floors. I made the front and rear bumpers, front fenders, rear fender flares, and the rear door. I made all of this from scratch. I am also installing axles that came out of a ford F250. So I kind of think of my jeep as my kid (yea I know, that sounds weird). But I also see it as a real bad analogy.
I made my jeep. I didn't make every part, but I can definitely call it mine. I want whats best for it; but, to me anyway, I have authority over it. I tell it to go, it goes. I tell it to turn right, it turns right. So if it decides one day to not listen to me, and it goes faster when I tell it to stop, I would be a bit upset. I made it for me, not itself. But I still want whats best for it. When I tell it to do something, its for good reason. Who is it to think it knows better than the person who has tighten practically every bolt on it, several times.
I think this is similar to how we should view Gods authority over us. Yea, it may be a big pill to swallow, but God made us. He knows every cell in our bodies. Who are we to think that He shouldn't have authority over us. We didn't make ourselves, God did.
Yea, it may be a bad analogy, but I thought it was worth sharing.
+610bob I think your analogy makes a ton of sense, and that's why some view this as being a very high stakes conversation. If we are made, then the maker has a claim on us. The specifics of that claim could be debated, but God would have a degree of ownership. Some people mistake that for meaning that some religious authority figure wields ownership of the lives of others, and that rightly really freaks them out, but Jesus talks about his burden being light.
This can't be a 3 part series if I absolutely HAVE to watch 8 episodes in a row!
I'm glad I discovered you when you interviewed different religions, so I had to start watching from the beginning. Your presentation and humor make it quite enjoyable!
Excellent video once again!
I hate authority, lol. I think the fact that I see Christ as King and submit to him is evidence that God has done work in me. "It is hard for you to kick against the goads."
+James Craver I'm a very independent minded person and that someone like me can be a Christian is something I marvel at too.
Brother if you Teach Jesus is God ?
Your Teaching is Not True Teaching.
How do you understand Verse 38 of chapter 10 ?
Jn 1:3 “Without it became *not one* that has become.”
Major Premise: How many ‘things’ is the logos? One.
Minor Premise: How many things came to be without the logos? Zero.
Conclusion: The logos is uncreated.
How about the claim making no sense? This speech moves the narrative from an ethnic distinction to a religious distinction (believers vs. non-believers), but still operates from a god that supposedly enforced and promoted an ethnic distinction for centuries. Did this god suddenly change his mind or could it be that certain elements within Jewish society, in an increasingly metropolitan context where personal salvation stories were all the rage, were just part of the Zeitgeist and adopted a more universalist approach, especially given an apocalyptic mindset where Jews thought the end times would bring in the nations to worship their god? My money is on the latter. I also find verse 38 interesting, i.e. "how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power", because it sounds very adoptionistic. Especially when it then goes on to say that he could only perform healings because "God was with him". Regarding verse 41: The fact that Jesus is only said to appear to "chosen people" doesn't sound very credible or convincing to me. To understand how I feel when I read that, just consider some of the miracle claims and post-death sightings regarding Menachem Mendel Schneerson, where people say similar things like "A few people can see the Rebbe" and "A few spiritually developed people have seen him - in body and in flesh looking as he did before his passing" (Lubavitcher Messianism: What Really Happens When Prophecy Fails, p. 94). When it comes to having to "fear" this god (v. 35) or "everyone who believes in [Jesus] receives forgiveness of sins through his name" (v. 43), I have no idea what that actually means or how that could make any sense. Why is the emotion of fear required to be acceptable to this being and to what extent does it have to be present to reach the acceptable level? And what does it mean to "believe in Jesus"? How many of my neurons have to be dedicated to a certain (cluster of) proposition(s) regarding this person at any one time? What's the cut-off point? What if I suffer brain damage and those neurons are knocked out, or I undergo a commisurotomy of my two brain halves and certain neurons in one hemisphere answer "yes" to the question "Do you believe in God" and neurons in the other hemisphere answer "no"? And how does a belief stored in my brain magically save me from... what exactly? And how did a person dying initiate and enable this mechanism?