Bible, Theology & Philosophy

It is fascinating to see the part women had in the life of God’s Son during His third of a century on this planet. We all know of His arrival in the body of a young virgin and of the encouragement that Elizabeth and Anna gave to her at that time (cf. Luke 1:36-45, 2:36-38).

Then, for 30 years, Joseph and His mother had authority over Jesus (cf. Luke 2:51, Matt. 13:55). Mary suffered much shame in that notorious town of Nazareth for having a son by an unknown father (cf. John 1:46, 8:41, 8:48).

During the three years of His public ministry in Israel, the Savior cured women who were ailing (cf. Matt. 8:14-15, 9:20-22), raised one from the dead (cf. Matt. 9:18-26) and highly praised one for her sacrificial giving (cf. Luke. 21:1-4). He also reached out to “a woman of Samaria” (John 4:7ff.) and to “a woman of Canaan” (Matt. 15:22) in the land of Tyre and Sidon, concerning whom He said: “Great is your faith!” (Matt. 15:28).

Much if not most of the finances that our Lord and His apostles needed came from women who were thankful for his ministry in their own lives (cf. Luke 8:1-3). Also, Mary and Martha, sisters of Lazarus, provided rare hospitality and devotion to Him at Bethany, near Jerusalem (cf. Luke 10:38-42; John 11:1-45,12:1-8).

Finally, when the Lord Jesus was betrayed by Judas and abandoned by the other disciples (cf. Matt. 26:47-56), it was women who stayed by our Savior as He was crucified (cf. Matt. 27:55-56, Mark 15:40-41). The one named last, Salome, was a sister of Jesus’ mother and the mother of the apostles James and John. Then the apostle John returned to Jesus with these four women (cf. Jn. 19:25-27). Amazing! Of all His disciples, only one man showed such devotion to the end—and four women!

Even more amazing, if possible, is the record of what women did when Jesus died and rose again. When Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus buried the body of Jesus in a special tomb (cf. John 19:38-42), “the women who had come with Him from Galilee followed after, and they observed the tomb and how His body was laid” (Luke 23:55).

(Read part 1.)

The Affect on Exegesis

“For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.” (Gal. 3:10)

From what has been said already we may view the NPP as an attempt to adjust Christian understanding of the way First Century Jews saw themselves in relation, first to God and second to the Gentiles. To God they apparently did not think, like the Reformers believed they did, that they could earn merit with God. Instead it is claimed, they held that by grace they were in the grace covenant which assured national blessing to Israel. Hence, by observing the rites and solemnities of circumcision, Sabbath observance, kosher practices, etc., they were showing fidelity to the covenant. Hence, when they read “works of the law” as in Gal. 3:10 above, the Jews understood it to mean these exclusivistic observances.

Most people balk when they are first confronted with the biblical teaching that all humans sinned in Adam. Their initial reflex seems to be, “How can God hold me accountable for something that Adam did?” This intuitive reaction to the doctrine of original sin is so consistent that it might just lead to the suspicion that most people are born Pelagians.

The two principal theories that attempt to answer this question are called federal headship and natural headship. To most people, the theories are hardly more comprehensible than the doctrine itself. Federal headship states that God sovereignly appointed Adam as the representative head of the human race, so that whatever obedience or disobedience Adam chose would be imputed to his posterity. Natural headship states that all of the human race was somehow in Adam, participating in his sin.

Most people can’t help thinking that federal headship is unfair. This supposed unfairness, however, evaporates pretty quickly once the theory is understood. Everybody understands that some people have to make choices for other people, and that sometimes these choices are matters of life and death. For example, small children are not allowed to decide for themselves whether they will receive an inoculation or other painful procedure. They do not have the maturity to make a wise choice. Parents are tasked to make the decision for the child, and a good parent will make the choice that mature persons would make for themselves if given the choice. Certainly Adam was in a better position to choose to obey God than any of his posterity. It makes sense that God would permit Adam to choose for all of his children. No evidence exists that any of Adam’s children would have made a better choice. In fact, none of them ever does.

Reprinted with permission from Baptist Bulletin Mar/Apr 2013. All rights reserved.

Troubling headlines

Recent incidents of genocide (the systematic killing of ethnic or religious groups) and ethnic cleansing (the forced deportation of ethnic or religious groups):

• 1991 450,000 Palestinians expelled by Kuwait in retaliation for the PLO’s support of Saddam Hussein
• 1993 170,000 Croatians and non-Serbs murdered or deported by Serbian rebels led by Slobodan Miloševic
• 1999 800,000 Albanians flee their homes during the Kosovo War
• 1994 As many as 1,000,000 Tutsi killed by Hutus in the Rwandan genocide
• 2000 200,000 East Timorese killed or expelled from Indonesia after voting for independence in a 1999 referendum
• 2003 450,000 from various black ethnic groups killed and another 2 million expelled from the Darfur region of Sudan
• 2008 200,000 Karen and 120,000 other refugees displaced from their Burma (Myanmar) homes, fleeing to Thailand
• 2012 400,000 people displaced in dispute between Bodos and Bengali-speaking Muslims of Assam, India

Problem: How should a believer respond to accusations about genocide in the Old Testament? Does the Bible encourage genocide for religious purposes?

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I remember the first time I entered the world of Middle-earth. I was twelve or thirteen and noticed an interesting little yellow book on my mother’s shelf. I’m not entirely sure if she ever read it or not—as that kind of book was not what I remember her reading. But I asked if I could read it and eagerly dove in. At that age I don’t believe I was even aware there was a sequel to the book. But from the first few moments I was hooked.