When Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the Testimony in his hands, he was not aware that his face was radiant because he had spoken with the LORD. 30 When Aaron and all the Israelites saw Moses, his face was radiant, and they were afraid to come near him. 31 But Moses called to them; so Aaron and all the leaders of the community came back to him, and he spoke to them. 32 Afterward all the Israelites came near him, and he gave them all the commands the LORD had given him on Mount Sinai.
33 When Moses finished speaking to them, he put a veil over his face. 34 But whenever he entered the LORD’s presence to speak with him, he removed the veil until he came out. And when he came out and told the Israelites what he had been commanded, 35 they saw that his face was radiant. Then Moses would put the veil back over his face until he went in to speak with the LORD. (Exodus 34: 29-35)
8About eight days after Jesus said this, he took Peter, John and James with him and went up onto a mountain to pray. 29As he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning. (Luke 9: 28-29)
The popular spin on these stories has Moses coming down from the mountain, his face shining with glory and yet he must hide it from the people with a veil. They are not ready to see even the reflected glory of God. Apparently, Moses alone can stand in God’s presence and survive so he acts as stand in for both God and the people. When Jesus comes off the mountain his face shines with God’s glory but he does not hide it. He claims that what he experienced we all can experience; that, like him, we can encounter God personally and even do greater things than he has.(John 14:12)
We are not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face to keep the Israelites from gazing at it while the radiance was fading away. 14But their minds were made dull, for to this day the same veil remains when the old covenant is read. It has not been removed, because only in Christ is it taken away.15Even to this day when Moses is read, a veil covers their hearts. 16But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. 17Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect[a] the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. (2 Corinthians 3:13-18)
So what is Paul saying about Moses and his veil? What is he saying about the difference between those guided by Moses and those who now follow Jesus?
Some Christians think Paul is talking about Supersessionism; the idea that everything in the Hebrew Scriptures exists only for the purpose of pointing to Jesus as God incarnate. According to this understanding, Paul is clearly saying that the traditional Jewish interpretations of scriptures are incorrect, since they do not point to Christ.
Is Paul really invalidating his own faith, the religion of his people? Is he saying that Jews should no longer be Jews but convert to a new, more authentic religion? His explicit criticism does seem to point in that direction.
At least that’s what I used to believe. Not long ago I was a pretty zealous member of a pretty conservative, neo-Evangelical church. Some might say that I was Christian Fundamentalist – a Fundy. I wore that badge with honor.
I was born and raised a Catholic but left in my early twenties, spending the next 20 years dabbling with atheism, agnosticism, quasi-Buddhism and New Age naturalism. In my early forties, I was ‘saved’ at a little church in Ellicott City. I was ‘born again’ – in all the wonderful and yet, sometime awful, meanings of that phrase.
I was that guy you may have seen coming out of a Christian bookstore; carrying an armful of books written by some of the butt-kicking preachers you can hear on WRBS. I would get into my little red station wagon, barely able to back out of my space, the windows covered with bumper stickers slogans like: “ Honk if you Love Jesus”, “My Boss is a Jewish Carpenter” and “I’m Not Perfect, Just Forgiven”. My Christian fish was much bigger than your Darwin fish. Ahh -the memories still mortify me.
Being ‘saved’, I was convinced that the Holy Spirit had lifted a veil from my eyes, helping me to discern the Truth that had been hiding within the Bible. Like my new friends, I could now see God, as revealed to us through the person of Jesus. I was a transformed creature.
Yet, I began to realize that, though my life had changed in many ways, I was not really transformed. Not at all.
Sure, I pretty much stopped cursing overnight. I read the Bible daily. I became a churchaholic – involved in just about every ministry. I prayed, I tithed, I practiced all kinds of mind control tricks to keep me from lusting after women (they don’t work, by the way).
But I was still the same old guy: a very definite fellow: conservative, fairly judgmental and maybe a touch paranoid - but with a sense of humor. That’s why I fit in so well. I think religious fundamentalism is very compatible with extreme conservatism – as it is with liberal extremism. It’s very serious stuff.
I now think fundamentalism is rooted in fear. The fear of others, the fear of the future, the fear of being wrong, the fear of not having all the right answers, the fear of being left behind. When I looked at my born again self in the mirror my veil tried to hide those fears I still clung to – fears that Jesus told me to let go of. Though my spirit was willing, I found it hard to be rid of these fears, as long as I stayed in that little church.
I believed that a personal relationship with God was possible but my religious friends kept telling me precisely what I should and should not believe, as if they were somehow connected and I was not. I began to think that our words about sacrifice, forgiveness, salvation and love were just so much jargon. Christianspeak. We were all so proud of the fact that we had the answers; proud that we were favored by God. But, of course, life is not that simple.
So I wore yet another veil, one meant to hide my continuing transformation from my community. I did not want them to see that the shine of my conversion had faded. And though I loved them, I eventually decided to leave them, in order to pursue God.
Somehow that pursuit has landed me in a very different, very enlightened spiritual community. A wonderful, and perhaps divine, accident of fate. Maybe I’m wrong about this, but I get the feeling that not many of you share my kind of history; you all seem so… with it…so spiritually hip, so in tune with God’s will. It seems like ALL of you have had the veils pulled from your faces. Enlightened, just like me.
You see, I am no longer burdened with traditional Christian doctrines and dogmas. No longer compelled to earn God’s favor through church work or through missions that I may or may not be called to do. I no longer need the hands and tongues of clergy to bring me in contact with the sacred. I no longer believe in Satan or in Hell. I’ve tossed aside my fears and now live in the comfort that comes from being loved and accepted by God, warts and all. Now I’m spiritually hip.
But if that is really true, then why am I so nervous about standing here in front of you? Why do I fear looking like a fool, or at the very least, as unqualified or incompetent? Why do I still worry about things like money, sickness and death? Why do I worry at all? If God loves me, if I trust in God, then what is to fear? Though perhaps thinner, my veil is still firmly in place.
Paul was a Jew and he told his Jewish friends not to focus too much on Moses and the scriptures, that unlike the Israelites in the desert, their accumulated teachings told them that they could turn to God directly. If Paul were alive today, in Rome or maybe Boston, I think he would probably tell the Catholics to stop seeking guidance from the Pope and look towards God instead. Maybe in Wichita he would tell folks to not hang on the words of Billy Graham. Or he might tell others to not stake much on the teachings of Luther, Calvin, Wesley, Spurgeon, McLaren, Borg or Tolle. Some might need to put their Bibles down for a minute or two. Others may need to give the Buddha a break. Or maybe we all need to let go of our personal, yet perhaps narrow visions of Jesus. Teachers and scriptures are useful but we shouldn’t be afraid to reach out to God on our own. If God is accessible to us then we don’t need any modern-day Moses. We don’t need priests, pastors, vicars, reverends or bishops. We don’t need clergy. (Sorry, Heather)
For those of us who believe we are looking towards God and not men, are there any forms or functions that we hold so dearly to that they might be blocking the view? Maybe they are bridges to the divine, but if the bridges were to collapse, could we still freely connect with God?
My little conservative church recently suffered through a crisis of faith that it barely survived. Our pastor was a brilliant young man; articulate, energetic and charismatic. He was the heart and soul of the church. But he left us for Southern Baptist to pursue his doctorate and the Bishop replaced him with a man who maybe was not such a good fit. Many felt betrayed. Slowly the people began to leave the congregation until this past summer the church was close to being shut down. Of those who left, most moved to other churches but some left their faith behind entirely. I believe that, for most of us, our beloved pastor and church had become, like Moses to the Israelites,a veil between God and ourselves
So…what are our veils? Are there things, perhaps good things, we are so dependent upon – family, friends, career, talents, gifts, causes, pastors, missions, maybe even our community itself – that, if stripped away tomorrow, would leave us without a purpose? Or at least without the purpose we feel God calls us to have? I hope we wouldn’t be afraid to face God alone, face to face, as both Moses and Jesus did.
Wow! I just now listened to Brit Hume’s advice to Tiger Woods, that he convert to Christianity because it’s his best bet for redemption. I guess that’s because of all the practice Christians have had at this, what with the Catholic priest scandals, Ted Haggard, Jimmy Swaggert et al. To suggest that Buddhism has failed Woods here, in light of Christian history, is outrageous.
Gonna give this a rest for a bit. Sort of talked out, at least when it comes to religion, and I can’t think of anything else that really interests me right now. Or at least, that I think anyone would be interested in hearing my opinions on. I tried putting the blog to bed, but a couple of you (might be all of you, for all I know) have requested that I keep this up on the web, so I will. And if you have something to say, then go on ahead. Conversing can still be fun.
So, at the sacred Seder supper that Yeshua bar Yosef (Jesus of Nazareth) shared with his close Jewish friends he dared to suggest they replace the traditional offerings, meant to remind the Jews of their salvation from Egypt, with something new; bread and wine, shared from that time forward in honor of him. Pretty radical. Pretty scandalous, actually. Definitely heretical.
But what was his purpose? Did he want to toss out one religious custom, replacing it with another? Was the broken bread primarily as a poetic reminder of his body broken on the cross? Was the red wine a really a metaphor for the spilled blood of the “lamb of God”? Was this last meal meant to be a symbolic representation of the personal offering God would need of Yeshua, the “perfect” sacrifice made so that we Christian believers might be home free?
Is that all we are to get out of the symbolism of bread and wine? - a reminder that we have been ’saved’. But then what does it mean to drink from Yeshua’s cup – why is this such a challenge for us?
Holy Communion is not just a mystical or symbolic meal – a sacrament (though it is that as well). It is a reminder of what we are to do if we are to follow Jesus: to sacrifice our lives and, if necessary, die. Not for Jesus (Yeshua). Not for God. But for other people. Even our enemies. Just as he did.
He wasn’t laying down a new religious tradition – creating a new ritual. He was proposing a new course of action, one that required no religion.
Boy, did we blow it.
The only unforgiveable sin.
(At least the police in some states give a damn about this. They don’t in Maryland.)
Because then I’ll lose my chance to gloat.
In keeping with the spirit of the season I will once again post my “Ghost Story”.
My wife and daughter share a casual interest in accounts of the supernatural. They love to watch those ghost shows on the cable channels, the ones where the paranormal investigators check out allegedly haunted houses. Although they are not in the least way obsessed with the idea of supernatural contact, they both find it entertaining and have adopted a “who knows?” attitude. As for myself, I am a born skeptic and have little time for these ‘reality’ TV programs.
Last Sunday Bev and I took out our 19 year old daughter, Dot, and her best friend Bekah , for afternoon drive in countryside. It was autumn’s peak – a classic fall day with brisk wind pushing gunmetal clouds across a blue sky. The sunlight had that watery feel to it, softening the bright colors of the leaves. Later in the afternoon we ended up in an old town that is famous for being at the center of a Civil War battle. Dot mentioned that the town was considered a favorite haunt for many ghosts, apparently due to the thousands of violent deaths suffered in the battle.
Since the weather was so nice and the trees so beautiful we were surprised that so few restaurants in town were open, but we found a busy place on the square. Most of the buildings in town looked quite old yet well maintained, and this one was no exception. There was a 20 minute wait for a table so I took my pager outside and sat on a bench. My wife ran into an antique store to check out their advertised “dental artifacts” while the girls ran up to the lady’s room, on the second floor.
Ten minutes later they burst out through the front door, laughing and giggling. When I asked them what was so funny Dot held out her phone to me. “Listen” she said.
The traffic noise was loud on the square but I could just make out Dot’s voice saying; “Is there anyone with us today? If you’re here we would like to talk to you.” There was a long pause full of static, then Dot saying; “You can talk to me (garbled)?” Pause. “ You don’t have to be afraid of us. You can talk to me. My name is Dot. Pause. Allright, bye- bye.” The recording ended with the sounds of both girls giggling. .
I knew what they had been up to. Recently we watched the movie “White Noise” on DVD. In it, Michael Keaton is contacted by souls who have gone over to the ‘other side’. They reached him by laying their voices down on magnetic recording tape. Upon playback these spectral voices could be heard for the first time. Called EVP – Electronic Voice Phenomena- it is taken very seriously by some people, the foremost experts being Lisa and Tom Butler of AAEVP, consultants on the film. [ http://www.aaevp.com/ ] I thought it was a fair movie, but like most ‘scary’ movies you need to suspend your disbelief for a couple of hours. My disbelief in the paranormal returned before the credits were running.
I smiled and handed the phone back. I was never surprise at what Dot might come up with. Just as Bev was walking up the restaurant pager went off. We went in and had an enjoyable meal and within a few hours we were back home. That night, in the quiet of our living room, Dot listened to the recording again. Excited, she had us listen to it as well.
In the middle of the second pause of scratchy white noise what sounded like woman’s low voice could be heard whispering something like “Kitty, kitty’s dead”, followed by a very soft chuckle (or sobbing?). I immediately suspected a prank but Dot quickly convinced me of their innocence. I know my daughter, and that’s not her style. She insisted that they were completely alone in the ladies room (she would never have attempted this stunt in public) You can hear the recording by going to the following link:
I searched for more information on Google and found this:
In 2001 this restaurant burned down to the ground and it had since been rebuilt to the original specifications. During the reconstruction the body of a recently murdered woman had been discovered at the building site, where she reportedly had been left to die. (I have yet to find any other information). The restaurant staff says that the ghost of this woman haunts the building, open and closing doors and windows , with most of the activity taking place in the kitchen and in the ladies room!
OK. I can’t explain it. Is this some elaborate hoax being perpetrated by the operators of this restaurant? It’s not as if they promoted any haunting – it was not easy finding the story of the dead woman’s body. Could it be the tortured soul of someone named Kitty is somehow trapped in this house? Or, as my daughter suspects, was the spirit mocking Dot, comparing her to someone who casually calls for a pet, not knowing what they are really dealing with? Is Kitty someone we should be praying for?
At one time I would never have taken this kind of stuff seriously. But for over the past 5 years I have been very interested in spirituality. Who knows?
What do you think? Does anyone have a ghost story to share?
An interesting conversation is happening over on at Debs’ blog about the problems with capital punishment. The consensus seems to be that even though it is possible to condemn innocent people to death and that it has happened before and is likely to happen again, there is no need to be hasty. Generally speaking, capital punishment works.
One commenter, more or less opposed to capital punishment, agreed, saying:
…we should not throw out the system, until there is more evidence that it is not working. There are very few instances where the individual was found to be innocent after they we executed. It has happened however, so we need to keep improving our judicial review process. It will never likely be perfect.
And if it can never be perfect, if the system can and will execute innocent people, how much different than this is murder? Sure it’s a mistake, but unlike negligent homicide, here the intent of the state is always to kill the accused. The state now becomes an ipso facto murderer.
So here’s my solution: keep the death penalty, because some people certainly deserve to die for their crimes and at the very least should not be allowed to harm others (including inmates). And maybe, just maybe, there is an effective deterrent working here (though I personally doubt it). But….whenever an innocent man is executed, then execute the judge and the prosecuting attorney. For murder.
Can’t fail to work. Deterrence. Won’t know unless we try it.
Jesus was notorious for surrounding himself with the ordinary, the lowly and the unsophisticated, people that we might think of as ‘losers’. This shows Christians that God’s love is not reserved for the beautiful, the wealthy, the powerful – the world’s winners- but that God loves everyone. However, as Christians focus on Jesus as God we tend to forget that he was a rabbi, a teacher, who’s simple message was difficult for many people to grasp. It seemed that the more someone was schooled in religion, the more powerful or affluent, the more thick headed that person was likely to be.
At that time Jesus said, ‘I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to infants; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.
But for the worn out, the tired –the ones looked down upon as stupid and infantile – Jesus’ message seemed to click with them. Somehow the “losers” got it.
‘Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.’
Why did Jesus’ message seem to resonate with the lower classes and not with the intelligentsia? Was it simply because they were suffering and desired relief? Was it because they were victims of a collaboration between religion and empire, ready for social change? Or was there more to it than that?
And as he sat at dinner in the house, many tax-collectors and sinners came and were sitting with him and his disciples. When the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, ‘Why does your teacher eat with tax-collectors and sinners?’ But when he heard this, he said, ‘Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. Go and learn what this means, “I desire mercy, not sacrifice.” For I have come to call not the righteous but sinners.’
What was Jesus saying here? That he hung out with “sinners” because they needed his healing grace but not with the Pharisees because they already had their act together? Doubtful. More likely he was being sarcastic, pointing out that these ‘simple’ sinners, unencumbered with years of scholarship, lofty ideals and the belief that they owned special knowledge, were open to his teachings. Their minds were not cluttered and weighted own with heavy doctrines and dogmas. After all, they weren’t paid to think.
Unlike their righteous rulers, who understood how the world worked, the ignorant common man suspected that something was not quite right with their lives, that something needed fixing. Today we know that it was the righteous who probably needed fixing the most. So, why didn’t Jesus spend more time with them?
Maybe because he knew it would be a waste of his time. Those who already “know” all the answers are just too hard headed, too rigid, and too afraid to consider many counter intuitive messages. Instead he spent his time with the common people and from them he called his apostles, his best students. Maybe it was harder for an educated, successful man to follow Jesus than it was for that camel to thread the needle.
For that matter, how do we know that Jesus only called those twelve men? Maybe they were the only ones who initially heard his call, hearing something of value in it. Maybe they were the only ones who understood enough of it to teach it. Later, they too became Masters, like Jesus. They proved this with their willingness to sacrifice their own lives rather than lose the Way.
Another teacher, who lived 3000 miles away and 500 years earlier, spoke in ways that pre-echo Jesus’ teachings.
My teachings are easy to understand
and easy to put into practice.
Yet your intellect will never grasp them,
and if you try to practice them, you’ll fail.
My teachings are older than the world.
How can you grasp their meaning?
If you want to know me,
look inside your heart.
Not-knowing is true knowledge.
Presuming to know is a disease.
First realize that you are sick;
then you can move toward health.
The Master is her own physician.
She has healed herself of all knowing.
Thus she is truly whole.
Perhaps this has some bearing on why Paul and Timothy were “forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia.” Could it have been because the word – the Good News about a way of living with and in God – was already being spoken there?
The kingdom of God is available to you in the here and the now. But the question is whether you are available to the kingdom. Our practice is to make ourselves ready for the kingdom so that it can manifest in the here and the now. You don’t need to die in order to enter the kingdom of heaven. In fact, you have to be truly alive in order to do so.
Anyone can practice some nonviolence, even soldiers. Some army generals, for example, conduct their operations in ways that avoid killing innocent people; this is a kind of nonviolence. To help soldiers move in the nonviolent direction, we have to be in touch with them. If we divide reality into two camps – the violent and the nonviolent – and stand in one camp while attacking the other, the world will never have peace. We will always blame and condemn those we feel are responsible for wars and social injustice, without recognizing the degree of violence in ourselves. We must work on ourselves and also with those we condemn if we want to have a real impact.
It never helps to draw a line and dismiss some people as enemies, even those who act violently. We have to approach them with love in our hearts and do our best to help them move in a direction of nonviolence. If we work for peace out of anger, we will never succeed. Peace is not an end. It can never come about through non-peaceful means.
When you plant lettuce, if it does not grow well, you
don’t blame the lettuce. You look for reasons it is not
doing well. It may need fertilizer, or more water, or
less sun. You never blame the lettuce. Yet if we have
problems with our friends or family, we blame the other
person. But if we know how to take care of them, they will
grow well, like the lettuce. Blaming has no positive
effect at all, nor does trying to persuade using reason
and argument. That is my experience. No blame, no
reasoning, no argument, just understanding. If you
understand, and you show that you understand, you can
love, and the situation will change
The problem is whether we are determined to go in the direction of compassion or not. If we are, then can we reduce the suffering to a minimum? If I lose my direction, I have to look for the North Star, and I go to the north. That does not mean I expect to arrive at the North Star. I just want to go in that direction.
Thich Nhat Hanh
Gotta thank Theopoet for this scoop. I find it funny – no, actually it’s sad – that so many of these mixed up people belong to communities called “Grace”. They don’t have any idea what the word means.
On October 31, Amazing Grace Baptist Church in Canton, North Carolina will celebrate Halloween by burning Bibles. Here’s the description of this upcoming shindig:
Come celebrate Halloween by burning Satan’s bibles like the NIV, RSV, NKJV, TLB, NASB, NEV, NRSV, ASV, NWT, Good News for Modern Man, The Evidence Bible, The Message Bible, The Green Bible, ect. These are perversions of God’s Word the King James Bible.
We will also be burning Satan’s music such as country, rap, rock, pop, heavy metal, western, soft and easy, southern gospel, contempory Christian, jazz, soul, oldies but goldies, etc.
We will also be burning Satan’s popular books written by heretics like Westcott & Hort, Bruce Metzger, Billy Graham, Rick Warren, Bill Hybels, John McArthur, James Dobson, Charles Swindoll, John Piper, Chuck Colson, Tony Evans, Oral Roberts, Jimmy Swagart, Mark Driskol, Franklin Graham, Bill Bright, Tim Lahaye, Paula White, T.D. Jakes, Benny Hinn, Joyce Myers, Brian McLaren, Robert Schuller, Mother Teresa, The Pope, Rob Bell, Erwin McManus, Donald Miller, Shane Claiborne, Brennan Manning, William Young, etc.
We are not burning Bibles written in other languages that are based on the TR. We are not burning the Wycliffe, Tyndale, Genevia or other translations that are based on the TR.
More here from Waco’s KWTX.com
According to the church website, BBQ and Fried Chicken complete with all sides will be served at the event.
Influences include Billy Sunday, A.W. Tozer, Bob Jones Sr., J. Frank Norris and R.G. Lee.
There have been some (tongue in cheek?) comments on Theo’s site saying, to the effect, that this type of behavior won’t land these folks in hell, but it sure reflects badly on Christians. And that it does. But though burning books may not send someone to a mythical place called ‘Hell’ it is a good sign that these people are already living there. Because hell is surely a place without grace, no matter what you call it.
Delaware 1st grader has 45-day suspension lifted
By BEN NUCKOLS, Associated Press Writer Ben Nuckols, Associated Press Writer
BEAR, Del. – A Delaware first-grader who was facing 45 days in an alternative school as punishment for taking his favorite camping utensil to school can return to class after the school board made a hasty change granting him a reprieve….
Zachary Christie, 6, had faced 45 days in an alternative school for troublemakers after he took the utensil — a combination folding knife, fork and spoon — to school to eat lunch last month….
The punishment given to Zachary was one of several in recent years that have prompted national debate on whether schools have gone too far with zero-tolerance policies.
It was not the first such case in the Christina School District, Delaware’s largest with more than 17,000 students, which includes parts of the city of Wilmington and its suburbs. Last year, a fifth-grade girl was ordered expelled after she brought a birthday cake to school and a serrated knife to cut it with….
School board member John Mackenzie told The Associated Press before the meeting that he was surprised school officials did not use common sense and disregard the policy in Zachary’s case. The need for common sense to prevail over the letter of the law was a recurring theme among the boy’s supporters and school safety experts….
Not everyone believed the school district was out of line.
Jill Kneisley, who runs the special education programs at Jennie Smith Elementary in Newark, said schools need to be vigilant about protecting students. If Zachary or another student had been hurt by the knife, she said, the district would have taken the blame.
“If we can’t punish him, then what about kids that did bring (a weapon) for bad things?” Kneisley said. “There’s more to the school’s side than just us being mean and not taking this child’s interests into account.”
Sure there is. The school’s intolerance is not driven by meanness or disdain for the children. It is driven by fear.
Remind you of anything? I’m sorry, I can’t help it. But legalism, whether found in the school district, the Office of Homeland Security or the local church, is always motivated by fear. It requires that we suspend common sense and put our minds on hold for supposedly higher ideals. And the end result is invariably self defeating. Fear is always intolerant. Fear speaks in absolute terms – everything is either black or white, good or bad. There are no areas in between worth considering. Fear is what drives those who commit senseless acts of violence because fear always drives out love.
