opinions and musings

I’ve been taking classes at an online Seminary for the past four years, and one thing that I’ve learned is an appreciation for the writings and theology of the Eastern Orthodox Church.   Up until my early 50’s I had not been exposed to the Eastern Orthodox Church.   My church roots as a child were in the Episcopal Church, followed by the Quaker Church and followed by the United Church of Christ.   When I was 17 I had a conversion experience that we in my tradition call being “born again.”   It was an intensely emotional experience in which I asked the Lord Jesus to come into my life and to forgive my sins.  I surrendered to Him as Lord of my life. After that experience I began attending a Pentecostal Church in Huntington, New York, which was part of the Assembly of God denomination.   I had a very godly pastor named Charles Shaffer. He was the first Christian leader I had ever met who believed that the Bible was an inspired message from God and that it...

Christianity presents to us a God who does not coerce others or control humanity...Instead He attracts followers by the beauty of his humility and by the spectacle of his self-giving love.  He empties himself of magnificence to become a simple Jewish peasant. He spends his life on behalf of others, particularly the poor, the sick and those who are social outcasts. Then He willingly submits to torture and murder at the hands of self-righteous religious leaders. It is in his weakness and in his suffering love that we see the treasure and beauty of who He is.  He is one with the victim and He suffers with those who suffer. His love transcends death and He offers healing that extends far beyond the grave.

Here is a good exercise for my fellow followers of Jesus.  Can we summarize the message of the entire Bible in 200 words or less?  This is great to be able to do when sharing your faith with someone who is not a believer in Jesus.  The message of Jesus really doesn't make much sense when it is presented out of context.  We must present the saving work of Christ in the context of the overall story of Israel and in the context of the God who created the physical universe and has always loved humanity. Here is my attempt at this: "The Bible tells the story of God's journey with mankind as He reveals Himself as a Father who delights in his good creation and in humanity.   He called out a people to Himself called Israel - the descendants of a Jewish man named Jacob.  He revealed Himself in a special way to this group of people. They became His representatives in the earth.  The story reaches its climax when God Himself comes to earth in the form of t...

Within evangelical Christian circles these days I often hear the statement that “time is short – we are in the last days you know!”    Some Christians spend a great deal of time studying “end time prophecy” and looking for “signs of the end” in current events and international politics.   I would like to present a refreshing, Biblical alternative to all of that.    Last Days                           My proposal is that the term “last days” as it was used by the New Testament writers referred to the last days of the Old Covenant age, and that age ended in 70 AD with the destruction of the Jewish temple in Jerusalem by the Roman legions.   If this is true then we do not need to worry about the great tribulation, the anti-christ, the “mark of the beast”, etc. because all of those prophetic elements were fulfilled nearly 2000 y...

4th century fresco of Saint Paul Have you ever noticed that the message of Paul in the letters to the churches is somewhat different from the message of Jesus as recorded in the four gospels?   Paul focuses on the theme of justification – how a person is declared righteous before God.    Jesus on the other hand never mentions justification in his teaching.   Paul also focuses on the contrast between law and grace.   Jesus really doesn’t deal with that in his teachings. Jesus’ message centers on the coming of the Kingdom of God and the attributes and qualities of life in that Kingdom. I believe that God in his wisdom gave Jesus and Paul two different messages to proclaim.   Jesus was sent to announce the coming Kingdom of God and to offer his life as a sacrifice for the sins of humanity.    Paul was given a different message.   God revealed to him the full significance of the death and resurrection of Jesus and he was given the ta...