I think at this point, I want to finish reading 1 Clement as I read and wrote about it last year and want to read someone else.
I'm still here. In chapters 47 through 52, Clement writes more paranesis. He accuses the Corinthians of being more divisive than when Paul wrote them. I think in the context of these people being discouraged because of wicked people accusing them of hypocrisy, I doubt that Clement's words were actually appropriate in this situation. It might be true and need to be addressed, but perhaps in better words. Perhaps he could have reminded them to try to end any discord between each other and to love the men God has placed in charge of the church, especially ones that serve blamelessly.
This leads to 53 and 54. He alludes to Aaron and Miriam receiving leprosy because they were jealous of Moses's leadership. "For our sin will not be small if we eject from the episcopate those who have blamelessly and holily fulfilled its duties."
I sit and wonder, but what of some of the leaders really are leading the church astray and going against the Bible or placing themselves in Christ's place, or giving glory to some other Bible character as if he or she was an extension of Christ? Then I think of Smyrna church, where I grew up. I remember many dissensions against preachers, youth leaders, other prominent people. Most of it was not deserved. I hear Clement saying that this is not a small sin. They serve the Lord blamelessly, and who knows, maybe if there was never dissension, some would not have turned to the liberalized PCUSA "theology." Maybe some people would have come to know real theology and I could tell people I grew up Presbyterian.
Then again, all change of leadership comes from one elector: the Lord. He is in control of outcomes. Our church must try to be united in all that matters and charitable in doctrinal differences. We should not be united at the expense of the Truth, which is why we should keep controversy alive, but we must also love people we disagree with and not work to ruin their families or people influenced by them.
Wednesday, May 22, 2013
Monday, May 20, 2013
Scholastics
I saw an article yesterday where a church historian suggested that the rise of Islam was the major turning point in church history post AD 70. I think he's right. The Muslims arose, and the Church took actions to defend her holy cities against them. She made alliances with kings for extra strength. Power was centralized between the Holy Roman Empire and the Pope. The Popes began to assert their authority as vicars of Christ. Here is one more influence they had on the medieval church: the Rise of Scholasticism.
Europeans began talking to Arabian scholars during their time of the Crusades. The Arabians had preserved all of the classic Greek literature from Aristotle and Plato. Men like William of Moerbeke and Averroes began translating those works into Latin, and people began reading them. Monks especially loved reading these philosophies. As a result, the Scholastic movement thrived. Universities began, and people began studying theology through logic and reason. They mostly did not let the pagan values influence how they taught the Bible, though that would be a result later on. They still studied the Bible, creeds, and the early church fathers.
Medieval science was different. Instead of finding knowledge by experiments and observation, the inductive method, the Scholastics would use deductive logic chiefly through the syllogism, also a product of Aristotle. An example is: "No reptiles have fur. All snakes are reptiles. No snakes have fur." This logic is how they would figure things out. This revolution led to both good theology and theology reduced only to reason when God is so much beyond our human reason. All truth is God's truth, and if you find truth through non-Christian means, then great. We must always be careful, however, to make the Bible the source of all revelation. Not some smart guy like Aristotle, but God's saving revelation through Jesus. It cannot always be explained. When reasoning and deduction fall short, we still must follow the Bible with faith like a child and know that all things will make sense some day.
Europeans began talking to Arabian scholars during their time of the Crusades. The Arabians had preserved all of the classic Greek literature from Aristotle and Plato. Men like William of Moerbeke and Averroes began translating those works into Latin, and people began reading them. Monks especially loved reading these philosophies. As a result, the Scholastic movement thrived. Universities began, and people began studying theology through logic and reason. They mostly did not let the pagan values influence how they taught the Bible, though that would be a result later on. They still studied the Bible, creeds, and the early church fathers.
Medieval science was different. Instead of finding knowledge by experiments and observation, the inductive method, the Scholastics would use deductive logic chiefly through the syllogism, also a product of Aristotle. An example is: "No reptiles have fur. All snakes are reptiles. No snakes have fur." This logic is how they would figure things out. This revolution led to both good theology and theology reduced only to reason when God is so much beyond our human reason. All truth is God's truth, and if you find truth through non-Christian means, then great. We must always be careful, however, to make the Bible the source of all revelation. Not some smart guy like Aristotle, but God's saving revelation through Jesus. It cannot always be explained. When reasoning and deduction fall short, we still must follow the Bible with faith like a child and know that all things will make sense some day.
Saturday, May 18, 2013
Clem 45 and 46
In these chapters, Clement defines the ultimate authority sent from God to earth that is objective and tangible. He calls the Scriptures the "true utterances of the Holy Spirit." The people who believe the Scriptures did not ostracize the Corinthian church. The righteous Corinthians were cast of by men who are not holy. If you follow Christ and other Christians consistently shun you, then they are not Christians. True Christians are brothers to each other. If they do shun a proclaimed brother, then they keep a line of communication open and live at peace. Sometimes it is necessary to stand for the truth.
So, knowing that the holy people are the ones who support you, "cleave to the holy, for those that cleave to them shall be made holy." That last clause is not actually in Scripture, nor is it Scriptural. To keep your faith alive, yes you do need to cling to your brothers and sisters in Christ's body. I even believe one person can make another holy by being holy in their presence. But only Christ makes people holy. People are only holy when the Spirit lives within. But then again, if the Spirit lives within a person, then that person needs to cling to other people also with the Spirit in them.
So, knowing that the holy people are the ones who support you, "cleave to the holy, for those that cleave to them shall be made holy." That last clause is not actually in Scripture, nor is it Scriptural. To keep your faith alive, yes you do need to cling to your brothers and sisters in Christ's body. I even believe one person can make another holy by being holy in their presence. But only Christ makes people holy. People are only holy when the Spirit lives within. But then again, if the Spirit lives within a person, then that person needs to cling to other people also with the Spirit in them.
Thursday, May 16, 2013
Hodge Podge 5/16/13
I got busy the past two days. Tuesday night I successfully recommenced the cutting of my carpet in the room. It all must go. I laid tile on the floor again tonight with Tim.
Wednesday, my job with the lawyer sent me to Covington and to Monroe. I came back to Conyers from Monroe only to go immediately back to Walton County for church. I think my kids will do very good on the last day that I lead them. They learned about different parts of the worship service all year. In two weeks they will present what they know by introducing different parts of the service. It's bittersweet to leave them, but also wonderful that I get to start going to church with Tim.
I did read Clement last night. He continued his doctrine of Apostolic Succession. He also moved on to better things which I will report on later. Clem's ideas are very much stuck in the Old Testament and really influenced the current trend of taking church leaders as the ultimate authority.
God the Father sent Jesus to earth and spoke through him. Now the Holy Spirit speaks through the ministers he has placed as stewards of his church. However, the Holy Spirit still uses sinful men. He also provided the Bible so that if the church leaders became correct, the Bible would still show the truth. This blind trust in church leaders is understandable as the Bible was no readily available. But it also led to church leaders proclaiming themselves as Christ's vicars, placing themselves in his seat. Christ himself told the Pharisees that they are not to be called teacher or father because God is the only Father. The same order applies to the church leaders of the New Testament who no longer need a priest because they have Jesus.
I'll continue on to where Clem picks up after this discourse is over. He returns to very good theology.
Wednesday, my job with the lawyer sent me to Covington and to Monroe. I came back to Conyers from Monroe only to go immediately back to Walton County for church. I think my kids will do very good on the last day that I lead them. They learned about different parts of the worship service all year. In two weeks they will present what they know by introducing different parts of the service. It's bittersweet to leave them, but also wonderful that I get to start going to church with Tim.
I did read Clement last night. He continued his doctrine of Apostolic Succession. He also moved on to better things which I will report on later. Clem's ideas are very much stuck in the Old Testament and really influenced the current trend of taking church leaders as the ultimate authority.
God the Father sent Jesus to earth and spoke through him. Now the Holy Spirit speaks through the ministers he has placed as stewards of his church. However, the Holy Spirit still uses sinful men. He also provided the Bible so that if the church leaders became correct, the Bible would still show the truth. This blind trust in church leaders is understandable as the Bible was no readily available. But it also led to church leaders proclaiming themselves as Christ's vicars, placing themselves in his seat. Christ himself told the Pharisees that they are not to be called teacher or father because God is the only Father. The same order applies to the church leaders of the New Testament who no longer need a priest because they have Jesus.
I'll continue on to where Clem picks up after this discourse is over. He returns to very good theology.
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
Clem: our High Priest
Clement goes through a wonderful 4 chapters about Jesus being the High Priest and the leader of our Church. In 36, he calls him "the High Priest of all our offerings." By him all blessings have come and all good things exist. By him, less happy things can be redeemed for his glory.
Christ is not the supreme leader of the Church; he is the only leader. Clement calls us to act the part of soldiers. Let us consider those who serve under our generals. Let us take our body for an example. The head needs the feet, the feet need the head, and the whole body needs even its most insignificant members. The people in the Church are very vital.
But they are only vital when Clement says to let our whole body be preserved in Christ Jesus. Let the strong not despise the weak or vice versa. Let the rich man provide for the wants of the poor while the poor man praises God for blessings that come his way (er, both men should praise God from whom all blessings flow). Let the wise man display his wisdom not just in words but in his actions. Let the humble not bear testimony to himself, but let others praise him. Let him that is pure in the flesh not grow proud. All people remain physically pure only by the grace of God and cannot boast of their self-control. Le us consider of what matter we were made. God just spoke dust into existence and formed it into Adam and then pulled Eve out of his rib.
The Corinthians do remember the foolish and inconsiderate men with no wisdom nor instruction who mock and deride them. They are equally made by God, and God has blessed the Corinthians with a grace not enjoyed by the others.
This point, Clement refers to the Old Testament temple system. His theme is to keep the Church order that God established. I give a hearty amen, but he also did not permanently establish Church order in the priests who could only sacrifice at the temple in Jerusalem. That was only until the true High Priest came and offered his blameless self for our sins. Now Jesus is the only intercessor before God. He stands before God in the for real temple's altar. Anyone who tries to sit in that place is arrogant. Anyone who places anyone in that place is an idolater. Only Jesus leads the Church and stands before God the Father, and he replaced all useless priests before he came for all time.
Christ is not the supreme leader of the Church; he is the only leader. Clement calls us to act the part of soldiers. Let us consider those who serve under our generals. Let us take our body for an example. The head needs the feet, the feet need the head, and the whole body needs even its most insignificant members. The people in the Church are very vital.
But they are only vital when Clement says to let our whole body be preserved in Christ Jesus. Let the strong not despise the weak or vice versa. Let the rich man provide for the wants of the poor while the poor man praises God for blessings that come his way (er, both men should praise God from whom all blessings flow). Let the wise man display his wisdom not just in words but in his actions. Let the humble not bear testimony to himself, but let others praise him. Let him that is pure in the flesh not grow proud. All people remain physically pure only by the grace of God and cannot boast of their self-control. Le us consider of what matter we were made. God just spoke dust into existence and formed it into Adam and then pulled Eve out of his rib.
The Corinthians do remember the foolish and inconsiderate men with no wisdom nor instruction who mock and deride them. They are equally made by God, and God has blessed the Corinthians with a grace not enjoyed by the others.
This point, Clement refers to the Old Testament temple system. His theme is to keep the Church order that God established. I give a hearty amen, but he also did not permanently establish Church order in the priests who could only sacrifice at the temple in Jerusalem. That was only until the true High Priest came and offered his blameless self for our sins. Now Jesus is the only intercessor before God. He stands before God in the for real temple's altar. Anyone who tries to sit in that place is arrogant. Anyone who places anyone in that place is an idolater. Only Jesus leads the Church and stands before God the Father, and he replaced all useless priests before he came for all time.
Monday, May 13, 2013
1 Clement chapters 33-35
I'm realizing more and more that one of my faults is an obsession over money. Are we going to be poor? Will we live in a box? If have a child, will I be able to feed him or her? I think I have calmed down today.
This past November, Granny passed away. I received an inheritance but was hesitant to tithe from it. Then, I lost the security of my job. After 2.5 months, I finally tithed it.
Today, I do the "Finance" chapter of the marriage counseling book. We have also started reading through total money makeover. The chapter in the marriage book listed a ton of Proverbs and other Bible verses to show what our attitude should be toward money.
I felt ashamed. Most of the verses talked about hard work and saving resources, but it shamed me to think that I had been hording at the same time. More often, the Proverbs encourage people to freely give away their money. To walk in integrity and fear of the Lord is more important than great possessions. So, I must move on. The good news: with a fiance, I feel like I can finally do this.
Clement cheers on the Corinthians to live as people who have been blessed by God. To do so, he continues, "Let us hasten with all energy and readiness of mind to perform every good work." God rejoices in all of his work, especially the humans created in his image. God adorned the righteous men with good works, so they should follow his will.
Isaiah 62:12 says, "“Behold, your salvation comes; behold, his reward is with him, and his recompense before him.” Revelation 22:12 echoes this. This reminds us all that we must keep living unlike the rest of the world. We must care more about the Lord and about his people than we do about possessions. We must value human life over money in the bank. Jesus will come and order the whole world to his original plan. Clement also says to consider his angels, who stand ever ready to minister to his will. Instead of worrying about money and status, we simply need to be ready to do his will, meaning we must know Scripture inside-out and pray constantly.
"Let us strive to be found in the number of those that wait for him in order to share in his promised gifts." The answer is not doing good works or keeping up a moral quota. The answer is to simply seek what is pleasing and acceptable to God.
This past November, Granny passed away. I received an inheritance but was hesitant to tithe from it. Then, I lost the security of my job. After 2.5 months, I finally tithed it.
Today, I do the "Finance" chapter of the marriage counseling book. We have also started reading through total money makeover. The chapter in the marriage book listed a ton of Proverbs and other Bible verses to show what our attitude should be toward money.
I felt ashamed. Most of the verses talked about hard work and saving resources, but it shamed me to think that I had been hording at the same time. More often, the Proverbs encourage people to freely give away their money. To walk in integrity and fear of the Lord is more important than great possessions. So, I must move on. The good news: with a fiance, I feel like I can finally do this.
Clement cheers on the Corinthians to live as people who have been blessed by God. To do so, he continues, "Let us hasten with all energy and readiness of mind to perform every good work." God rejoices in all of his work, especially the humans created in his image. God adorned the righteous men with good works, so they should follow his will.
Isaiah 62:12 says, "“Behold, your salvation comes; behold, his reward is with him, and his recompense before him.” Revelation 22:12 echoes this. This reminds us all that we must keep living unlike the rest of the world. We must care more about the Lord and about his people than we do about possessions. We must value human life over money in the bank. Jesus will come and order the whole world to his original plan. Clement also says to consider his angels, who stand ever ready to minister to his will. Instead of worrying about money and status, we simply need to be ready to do his will, meaning we must know Scripture inside-out and pray constantly.
"Let us strive to be found in the number of those that wait for him in order to share in his promised gifts." The answer is not doing good works or keeping up a moral quota. The answer is to simply seek what is pleasing and acceptable to God.
Friday, May 10, 2013
Church History: Proto-Reformers
I just finished reading the penultimate chapter of the fourth Harry Potter book. In that series, there is a major threat named Voldemort. Most of the characters oppose him, but they vastly disagree on how to deal with him. Some are so stubborn to accept his return that they paint both Harry and Dumbledore to be senile or attention-seeking.
In the 1200s, sects outside of the Church started to form. All true Christians oppose heresy and the devil. However, we do not all agree on how to react to it or which people are the good guys. It makes people in higher powers go to extremes in cutting off a nose to spite a face.
The Cathari or Albigenses were the first major zit to crop up on the face of the HRE. Their one defense: they did not accept that the Pope was the vicar of Christ. He was just a steward. They also wanted to go back to the New Testament Church. Sadly, they were also Gnostics. They believed in the good good and the bad god. The bad god created matter, and all matter is evil. They opposed reproduction, sacraments (especially Mass), hell, and a physical resurrection. Their only salvation was for this world. Their religion was pointless.
Then, there are people I side with: the Waldensians. In 1176, Peter Waldo read the New Testament, was captivated by Christ, and gave up all his property except enough to feed his family. His followers called themselves the "poor men." They would try to preach in the streets in non-Latin and promoted a Bible for all people in their own languages, the same Bible that should be the final authority in faith and life. In 1184, they were excommunicated. They still continued to preach in the vernacular languages and they still exist in Northern Italy. I agree with the theology of these guys. People no longer spoke Latin, and the Church clung to it the same way people will cling to the KJV today. The people were perishing for lack of the life-giving Scriptures that make people alive to the Gospel.
I do not really agree with starting a movement outside the Church, but working within the Church to solve its issues. I don't believe in people being preachers without Church training. I'd agree with these guys on theology and social issues, but I would disagree with them on their methods of communication.
Lastly, some nut named Joachim developed a bizarre eschatology. God the Father was important in Old Testament times. The Son was important from the New Testament until 1260. After 1260, there will be a time of antichrist, and then a new era will arrive with the Holy Spirit and an age of love. I'll sooner go with dispensational theology than divide the Trinity like that and place a date on end-times when Jesus didn't even give one.
The Church reacted in various ways. True believers in the Dominican Friars tried to reach out to the Cathari. Other folks went extreme and began to exterminate the Albigensians. The Inquisition developed, and now one could not remotely disagree with the Pope without fearing for their lives. Worst of all, the Synod of Toulous in 1229 forbid the Bible in the vernacular languages. Now, the people had to endure the Gospel shrouded in Latin, and they had to accept everything the priests said unchecked and fell into error. The good news is that forbidding books causes them to be popular. So this only started a ripple of what would later become the Reformation.
In the 1200s, sects outside of the Church started to form. All true Christians oppose heresy and the devil. However, we do not all agree on how to react to it or which people are the good guys. It makes people in higher powers go to extremes in cutting off a nose to spite a face.
The Cathari or Albigenses were the first major zit to crop up on the face of the HRE. Their one defense: they did not accept that the Pope was the vicar of Christ. He was just a steward. They also wanted to go back to the New Testament Church. Sadly, they were also Gnostics. They believed in the good good and the bad god. The bad god created matter, and all matter is evil. They opposed reproduction, sacraments (especially Mass), hell, and a physical resurrection. Their only salvation was for this world. Their religion was pointless.
Then, there are people I side with: the Waldensians. In 1176, Peter Waldo read the New Testament, was captivated by Christ, and gave up all his property except enough to feed his family. His followers called themselves the "poor men." They would try to preach in the streets in non-Latin and promoted a Bible for all people in their own languages, the same Bible that should be the final authority in faith and life. In 1184, they were excommunicated. They still continued to preach in the vernacular languages and they still exist in Northern Italy. I agree with the theology of these guys. People no longer spoke Latin, and the Church clung to it the same way people will cling to the KJV today. The people were perishing for lack of the life-giving Scriptures that make people alive to the Gospel.
I do not really agree with starting a movement outside the Church, but working within the Church to solve its issues. I don't believe in people being preachers without Church training. I'd agree with these guys on theology and social issues, but I would disagree with them on their methods of communication.
Lastly, some nut named Joachim developed a bizarre eschatology. God the Father was important in Old Testament times. The Son was important from the New Testament until 1260. After 1260, there will be a time of antichrist, and then a new era will arrive with the Holy Spirit and an age of love. I'll sooner go with dispensational theology than divide the Trinity like that and place a date on end-times when Jesus didn't even give one.
The Church reacted in various ways. True believers in the Dominican Friars tried to reach out to the Cathari. Other folks went extreme and began to exterminate the Albigensians. The Inquisition developed, and now one could not remotely disagree with the Pope without fearing for their lives. Worst of all, the Synod of Toulous in 1229 forbid the Bible in the vernacular languages. Now, the people had to endure the Gospel shrouded in Latin, and they had to accept everything the priests said unchecked and fell into error. The good news is that forbidding books causes them to be popular. So this only started a ripple of what would later become the Reformation.
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