Bible Topics

I've thought about the origin of the Bible writings. We were all "hung up" on "revelation" and "inspiration" that we turned the Bible writings from human writings to something un-human.

The Israelites (Hebrews or Jews) were an ordinary group of nomads. They began to search for their origins. They made up stories based on fact and fiction. Gradually, they became a settled people and put some of these ideas and ideals into writing. The prophets and teachers were people who rose up to develop and defend their ideals. John Baptist and Jesus brought all these ideals to a high point and gave us the full picture.

Last night, you (Lois) asked me (Phil) if I believe in God. I certainly do and it is Yahweh who is depicted in the Bible. No one knows what he is like. He is primarily described as a "Father" with his family.

The whole business of a trinity or triune God is ridiculous. Jesus was a real man who was truly concerned about the people around him. The Holy Spirit or Holy Breath is the breath of the New Adam. This Holy Spirit is the harmony, sharing and community that people are supposed to establish in their lives.

I spent a lot of time mulling over the notion of "God" as presented in the Bible. The second word in the Hebrew text of Genesis, "Bara," sets the tone. "Bara" means to "beget a son." It is a late word coming from the 3rd or 4th century BC. It is used only of "God." The writers saw the whole universe as evidence of the "Fatherhood of Yahweh" and this was to manifest the "brotherhood" of all human people.

This "Brotherhood" seemed farther and farther out of reach until Jesus picked up on it. He was thoroughly convinced this true "Family Spirit" had to be restored. He spent his whole life teaching and showing this ideal. He left it as the only purpose of his followers.

It worked. The ideal was so opposed to the pagan Roman plan that they tried to kill them off. However, the first Christians lived it.

Finally, the ideal won out. The Emperor himself was converted and the persecution stopped. Then, within a few decades, the physical structure of the "Church" was established and the ideals of Christ gave way to legalism, ritual and strife. The philosophers took over and we were handed the philosophy of Aristotle as theology.

I feel quite sure the Pauline letters are the third work of Luke. He tries to remove some of the anger and bitterness of Paul. Luke succeeded to an extent. Paul makes special mention that his last letter to Timothy is written directly by him.

There are two words for prophets in Hebrew, "nabi" and "hoseh." "Nabi" is the "moralist." He looks at the actions of people from the viewpoint of good or bad. All prophets had this quality. "Hoseh" is the "seer." He is concerned primarily with the after-effects or future results of this action.

As I listen to the news, I feel as if I am hearing about the Roman times prior to the introduction of Christ and his teachings. The Romans were known for their parties. At one end of the palace was the track for the chariot races. Then a walk through the palace, and a few drinks and they were in the Coliseum to watch the gladiators or the lions and Christians. Then back to the palace for food of every kind and barrels of booze. When they were all in their drunken stupors, the servants put them to bed.

Yesterday, I wrote a few words about the pagan Romans at the beginning of the Christian era. Today I just finished reading a lengthy article in U.S. News & World Report on the very same topic. It is a much more developed picture of the excesses of the Roman leaders. As the author says, the success of the ideas and ideals of Christ is easily understood as a counter-measure to the lack of rights and morals of ancient Rome.

The Roman Empire was famous for its system of roads to and through all the countries. This same highway system was the basis for the rapid spread of the ideals of Christ to the Roman world.

We studied all of these ideas in our history courses at Kirkwood, Oconomowoc and Catholic University. Our system of interstate highways is a parallel to the Roman roads. The Roman roads were made of small, carefully chiseled pieces of stone. Repair work was constant. These roads were still being used in Rome and the environs when I lived there (1951–1952). Since modern cars and trucks are faster and heavier than chariots, the roads need repair often.

The present Matthew dates between 85 and 90 AD. The body of the Gospel is chapters 3–26. Chapters 1 and 2 are an introduction and chapters 27 and 28 are a conclusion. The body of the Gospel appeared first. Then the Mission of Christians was attached to the end to make sure the ideas and ideals of Christ were brought to life. Finally, when the whole writing was put together, chapters 1 and 2 were written as an introduction.

The genealogy in Matthew is limited to 42 names, in groups of 14. The letters in the name of David equal the sum of 14. So the genealogy is to teach that the Kingdom of David is fully established. The Jewish leaders were furious with the idea. They were expecting a real Kingdom with worldwide supremacy.

The Magi story was introduced to show that this kingdom was to reach the whole world, not just the Roman Empire. I think the Magi story is more of a parable than a factual story. Abraham had come from the East and founded the chosen people. Perhaps this story has some literary connection.

Each time I read Mark's gospel, I get a vivid picture of a young man eager to be up front but ready to run as soon as the work was too long or too difficult. Then he becomes the companion of Peter in Rome. Peter, too, had to develop a steady constant approach.

Peter had stressed the need of an "apologia" as the basis for all Christian life. "Apologia" is the Greek word for a "deep personal reason" for something. In this case it was the apologia for the hope that is in you. Mark's Gospel is a presentation of the ideas and ideals of Christ from this viewpoint.

I can practically see Mark and Peter and a few other Christians who were locked in this round silo-like prison. It's about 40 feet deep and 10 feet in diameter. I climbed down the ladder to the bottom when I was in Rome.

As I read Paul's words and read about him in Acts, I certainly understand why the Christians in Rome and Jerusalem wanted him on the foreign missions. Luke certainly deserved a big reward for sticking with Paul to the very end. He must have really worked to offset Paul's temper, self-pity and brash tongue.

I get a deeper insight into the depth and orderliness of Matthew's gospel and the Christian ideals after three generations of living them in the midst of the strong wave of Roman persecution.

The topic of divorce and remarriage is developed twice. Matthew says the only reason for this divorce is "porneia." Unfortunately, this was given the narrow meaning of "adultery" by the Roman Catholic authorities. The Latin translation is "aliquid foedum." This means "anything selfish." This meant that marriage is a total giving of self to each other. This was explicitly stated in the opening account of Genesis, chapters 1 and 2.

I read the article about the successive editings of the Bible in the J E D P sequence — Yahwist (J), Elohist (E), Deuteronomic (D), Priestly (P). This was highly suspect teaching when I first started teaching. Now we have gone beyond into the Apocalyptic and Wisdom editings. These ideas make the whole Bible story more and more meaningful and helpful. When the official teaching finally makes Christ totally human, we'll get a new start.

The first editing of the OT took place in the David-Solomon era, 10th century BC. Many times, a reader can see these various editings in the English translations, such as the Jerusalem Bible (1966 edition). Sometimes, two or three statements are set side by side. One of the best examples is the Noah Story. There are three variants of the story as to the origin of the flood and its cessation. We've read these for years. Only one persists in our Bible stories in schools.

Yesterday, I was reading the contrast between the writers of the New Testament. I compared Luke, Matthew, John and Paul. For centuries, Paul was quoted most often in the theology books. Yet we can see the hot-headed and mean person that he was. His attitude was the background for the church laws, especially Canon Law, for centuries. The real message of Christ was ignored. Each of the Gospels stresses that the whole message is the interaction of people with each other in daily life.

I don't think I really appreciated the prophets fully until I wrote the commentaries on them. They were really great men, filled with courage in spite of the antagonism stirred by their teaching.

I finished the rewriting of the monograph "Who is God?" Now I have to write the Appendix that gives what each book tells us about God. I'll also include the chronology of the editings of the OT.

*Editor's note: This is a simple sentence but a monumental work by Phil.