Archive for November, 2009

Mary

Sunday, November 15th, 2009

All Christians honour Mary.   She had the unique honour of giving birth to Jesus.   With so much agreement  why are there divisions about Mary within Christendom?

“Mother of God”

The Council of Ephesus (431 AD), one of the great Ecumenical Councils of the Church, had to deal with the Nestorian heresy.   In a nutshell Nestorius and his supporters taught that the Word did not become flesh so much as “inhabit” man; that in Christ there are two persons; that Mary was not the Mother of God, simply the Mother of Christ.

The Council condemned Nestorius and in the process declared Mary to be Theotokos (literally the God-bearer).   In English Theotokos became rather unhappily “Mother of God”

Perpetual Virginity

In the gospels reference is made to the “brothers of Jesus”.   The most natural reading might be to conclude that,although Jesus, according to the gospels, was Mary’s first-born, Mary had other children, too.    The counter-argument is that the Greek word translated “brother” can also be translated “cousin”.

In Mt.1:18  we read that Mary became pregnant before she and Joseph “came together”.

In Mt.1:25 we read that Joseph “knew her not till she brought forth her first-born son”

The question to be answered is whether the two passages above suggest that Joseph and Mary had intercourse after the birth of Jesus.   Catholics and Orthodox say “No”; most Protesstants and Anglicans say “Yes”.

Immaculate Conception Of Mary

In 1854 Pope Pius IX promulgated the following doctrine:  “The Most Holy Virgin Mary was, in the first moment of  her conception  by a unique gift of grace and privilege of almighty God, in view of the merits of Jesus Christ, the Redeemer of mankind, preserved free from all stain of original sin”.

In Scripture we read in Lk.1:28: ‘And the angel being come in said unto her: Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women.’   To be full of grace is to haave the characteristic of complete sinlessness.   To have this requires that it has always been the case beginning with entry intoo life i.e., from conception.   The only other
person who is “full of grace” is Christ.

Although this dogma was not proclaimed until 1854, its roots go back to the earliest centuries of the Church so there was, from a Catholic viewpoint, no question of the Pope having invented a brand new doctrine.

Neither the Greek nor the Latin Fathers teach the Immaculate Conception explicitly; there may be a case, however, for saying that they taught it implicitly.

There is an abundance of reference in the early Fathers to Mary as the Second (by implication sinless) Eve:

  • Justin Martyr (100-163) writes:  “Christ became man by the Virgin so that the disobedience which proceeded from the serpent might be destroyed in the same way as it originated.   For Eve, being a virgin and undefiled, having conceived the word from the faith and joy, when the angel Gabriel announced to her  the good things…….answered: Be it done to me according to thy word”.
  • Irenaeus (130-202), the first great theologian of Christendomm, represented the tradition of both East and West.   He wrote: “Mary the Virgin is found obedient, saying: Behold the handmaid of the Lord……….Eve, however, disobedient: for she did not obey, even though she was still a virgin.   Inasmuch as she, having indeed Adam for a husband,  yet being still a virgin, became disobedient: and was made both for herself and the whole human race the cause of death, so also Mary, having a husband destined for her yet being a virgin, by obeying, became the cause of salvation both for herself  and the whole human race.   And for this reason (namely for the sake of the parallelism between Eve and Mary)  does the Law call her who was betrothed to a man, even though she was still a virgin, the wife of him to whom she was betrothed, signifying the transference from Mary to Eve.   Thus was the knot of Eve’s disobedience, dissolved by Mary’s obedience; for what the virgin Eve had tied up by unbelief, this the virgin Mary loosened by faith”.Elsewhere Irenaeus  refers to Mary as the “pure womb which regenerates men unto God”.
  • Tertullian (155-222) and Origen (185-254) similarly use the parallelism between Eve and Mary.   Ephrem (306-375) declared: “Thou (Christ) and Thy mother are the only ones who are totally beautiful in every respect”.   Augustine (354-430) said:”All men must confess themelves sinners except the Holy Virgin Mary, who I desire, for the sake of the honour of the Lord, to leave entirely  out of the question, when the talk is of sin”.

The Assumption Of Mary

In 1950 Pope Pius XII promulgated that:  “Mary, the immaculate perpetually Virgin Mother of God, after the completion of her earthly life, was assumed body and soul into the glory of heaven”.

In the O.T Elijah is said to have been raised to heaven body and soul; in the apocryphal Jewish writings Enoch similarly; and in the NT (Mt. 27: 52-53)it is recorded that “…the graves were opened: and many of the saints that had slept awoke and coming out of the tombs after His Resurrection came into the holy city and appeared to many.  Among the Fathers the earliest witnesses to the belief are Timothy of Jerusalem  and Epiphanius in the latter part of the 4th.century.   Ambrose (340-397) tells us the circumstances of Mary’s death are unknown and Jerome (340-420) on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, where he visited the holy sites,, makes no mention of Mary’s tomb.   In the East a feast of the Assumption seems to have existed even before the Council of Ephesus (431)

Marian Apparitions

Marian devotion is heightened at shrines where there have been claims that the Blessed Virgin Mary has appeared.   Since 1930 the Vatican has taken note of 83 claimed apparitions of the Virgin. in Italy; 30 in France; 20 in Germany; 12 in Spain and smaller numbers in other countries.   Only 7 have been given even an “informal approval” by the Vatican.   Even such approval does   not amount to any addition to Revelation.   Thus such Marian shrines as Lourdes and Fatima cannot be regarded as affecting Revelation.   At the very most they remain no more than an “optional extra”.

The Founding Fathers of Protestantism

  • Luther said that Mary’s prayers may be sought; that she was without sin; and that she may be called Queen of Heaven.
  • Calvin and Luther said that Mary was perpetually Virgin, as did John Wesley.
  • Zwingli, Calvin and Luther said that Mary may be venerated.
  • Calvin referred to Mary as “treasurer of grace”, even if not in the full Catholic sense.

Posted in The Parables of Jesus | Comments Off

Can We Trust The New Testament?

Wednesday, November 4th, 2009

This article brings together the arguments expressed in many articles scattered around this website for trusting the New Testaameent.   Cross-references occur as the article proceeds.

The existence of God.

Before coming to the main thrust of this article it is necessary to establish the existence of God; otherwise this article loses its main thread.   The cross-reference is the article above this.   Add to this “the God gene”, which causes Humankind throughout history to  be religious

Manuscripts

In all there are about 8,000 manuscripts containing all or part of the NT.   In translating the NT decisions have to be made as to which documents to use.   There are inevitably discrepancies, which account for the differences between the various New Testaments on sale.   However, only some 1-2 % affect a major doctrine.   An example of this is the Johannine Comma: in 1 John 5:8 we read ‘There are three witnesses, the Spirit, the water and the blood and these three agree’; somewhere along the line in a few manuscripts the following words were added ‘and these are one in Christ Jesus; and there are three who bear witness in heaven, the Father, the Son and the Spirit’.    The cross-reference is to the NT documents under Parables.

  • 2 Tim 3:16 :”Every inspired scripture has its use for teaching the truth and refuting error…..” (New English Bible)How does this reference tie up with the above paragraph and with some of the points which follow?One might say that Shakespeare and Mozart were inspired by God (indeed, Mozart said as much) but it does not mean that everything they wrote is perfect.   Something has to be left for human insight.   Cross-reference is to Inspiration under Resurrection

  • From time to time it is argued that several of those who projected the NT were so committed to belief in what they were preaching or writing that they gave their lives for the Gospel.   This only proves, of course, that they were sincere but not necessarily right.

  • The theologies of the evangelistsThese may seem to conflict.   To take one instance:  Mark portrays the disciples as without understanding following Jesus’ walking on the water; Matthew has them worship Him as the Son of God.   Both tendencies are credible in light of the disciples’ mixture of faith and disbelief elsewhere and each fits into distinctive emphases of the gospels in which they appear.

  • Events may appear in contradictory order in different gospels; a passage may be so abbreviated that it contradicts a fuller parallel; Sayings of Jesus may appear in different contexts; an unique event may be told twice in apparently contradictory ways; and names and numbers may appear to contradict each other.   One explanation of these apparent contradiction is that ancient writers often compress stories and use material as they think fit to suit the basic aim of their composition.

  • It is possible – no more – that Mark may have been the companion of Peter; that Matthew is one of the apostles; and that John, too, is an apostle.   If so, three of the four evangelists are eye-witnesses.The cross-reference is to Jesus and the gospels under Resurrection
  • Jesus is the best attested figure in the Ancient World.Apart from the thousands of manuscripts of the NT, a comparison with other figures from the Ancient World reveals that, whereas the time span from the composition to the earliest copy we have is 100-250 for the NT, the time-span for Caesar is 950 years and then only 10 copies; for Tacitus 1000 years (20); for Plato 1450 years (7); for Herodotus 1300 years (8); for Sophocles 1400 years (193); and for Aristotle 1400 years (49)The Jewish historian, Josephus, active in the 1st century AD, refers to Jesus and there are (unflattering) references to Him in the Talmud, dating from the early centuries of the Faith.

    There are many apocryphal gospels and epistles in the vey early  centuries of the Faith which vouch for the existence, status and teaching of Jesus.

  • In the 20th century Jewish scholars have set out to reclaim Jesus for Judaism.   They concentrate on the gospels and have little time for the rest of the NT, seeing St. Paul as the creator of Christianity at variance with the Jesus of history, which they see as genuine.Such scholars as the following are representative of this movement:   Claude Montefiore, Joseph Klausner, Israel Abraham, Samuel Sandmel, David Flusser, Geza Vermes, and Pinchas Lapide etc..   Lapide even accepts the Resurrection but does not regard Jesus as the Messiah.
  • Archaeology has proved the reliability of Acts which at one time was regarded as suspect.   Most of the ancient cities mentioned in Acts have been identified.   Acts mentions a riot in Ephesus and represents a civic assembly taking place in a theatre.   This latter point is confirmed by an inscription which speaks of silver statues of Artemis (Diana) to be placed in the theatre during a full session of the civic assembly.Acts also relates that a riot broke out in Jerusalem because Paul took a Gentiile into the Jewish temple.   Inscriptions have been found which read in Greek and Latin, “”No foreigner may enter within the barrier which surrounds the temple and enclosure.   Anyone who is caught doing so will be personally responsible for his ensuing death”.For some time in the 20th century there were doubts as to whether Jesus could have been crucified outside Jerusalem, as Caesarea was the place for crucifixions.   It emerged that sometimes abandoned quarries were used.   This was confirmed in the early Sixties when restoration work began in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre when it was discovered that 5 meters below the church there was a quarry.

    Several more examples can be given.

  • About 1/3rd of Jesus’ teaching is given in the form of parables in the Synoptic Gospels.   Parables are used elsewhere in the Ancient World but to nowhere the  same extent of Jesus’.   The cross-reference is to Parables

  • The healings performed by Jesus, again the most numerous in the Ancient World, are cross-referenced to Healings under Parables

  • The non-healing miracles are cross-referenced to Miracles under Resurrection.

  • The exorcisms by Jesus are cross-refernced to Exorcisms under Is There A God?

  • The gospels

The  dominant hypothesis among NT scholars is that Mark is the first gospel, used independently by Matthew and Luke.   These latter also drew on a common source (consisting mainly of sayings rather than happenings) usually given the symbol Q – as well  as each  using sources of material distinctive to himself.   Behind these sources lies an oral tradition,   We can thus get back quite close to the life of Christ.

As to the trustworthiness of this method of communication, two points need to be made.   The first is that the semitic mind is very retentive.   Examples can be given to-day from the Middle East of people learning the Koran by heart.   The second is the Ancient World had its own form of short-hand.

The gospels were written partly because the expected Second Coming had not taken place, partly because the first-generation Christians were ageing or dying and it was thought necessary to put something in writing: preaching aids were needed.   We discover from both John’s gospel and Luke’s gospel that others had written gospels before them.

A possible authenticity test for the teaching of Jesus is: can the teaching be found in more than one gospel source?   This is a useful test as far as it goes, for,  if Mark and the document Q mentioned earlier give us a similar impression of the content of Jesus’ teaching, then it is reasonable to believe that it is an authentic impression.   The limitation is that teaching outside these  parameters is not authentic: e.g., the Good Samaritan, the Prodigal Son.   However, it is a useful tool as far as it goes.

Scholars suggest that much of the teaching given in the gospels is in the form of Aramaic poetry.

A point which suggests authenticity is that there are differences between the gospels and the rest of the NT which fiction-writers would have eliminated.   There is no real teaching on the Church itself in the gospels yet elsewhere in the NT this became an important issue.   Even baptism, which very soon became the rite of initiation into the Christian fellowship is sparsely mentioned in the gospels.   The question of Jews and non-Jews is not really dealt with in the gospels but it was important elsewhere.   The term “Son of Man” is the most widely used title for Jesus in the gospels but hardly appears anywhere else.   Likewise, the “Kingdom of God”, which was the heart of Jesus’ teaching, is hardly mentiooned in the rest of the NT.

  • Veracity of the NT shown by:

  1. The apostles not being portrayed in a favourable light

  2. Clash between Paul and James on Justification being reported

  3. The “dark side” of Jesus being reported: e.g., the cursing of the fig-tree and  the language used by Jesus towards His opponents.   The cross-reference is to The Hard Sayings of Jesus under Parables’

  4. If the early Church had invented Jesus they would have made sure that the word “Christ” would have been consistently used.   In fact, in the gospels it is used as a title whereas in St. Paul’s writings it is used as a name.

  • Jesus is the only figure among World Religion founders who forgives sins.   To His contemporaries this suggested divinity.

  • It was not a subject for applause in the 1st century AD or in parts of the world to-day but Jesus not only liberated from sins, He also liberated from social injustice.   He was biased in favour of the poor, prostitutes and the hated quislings, the tax-gatherers.

  • The Transfiguration

This sole vision involving  three of His apostles shows the divine breaking through into this life: a theophany.   It is so extraordinary that it would have been difficult, if not impossible, to invent.

Other claimed visions in Catholicism – but not on this scale – include Marian apparitions at Banneux, Fatima, Guadalupe, La Salette, Lourdes, Mexico City, Pontmain…..There are many claimed cases of visions of  by the saints  of  the Catholic Church.    These, however, do not affect Revelation.   (See next article.)

  • The Resurrection

This was not expected in the manner in which  it occurred.   There is nothing in the OT or the Jewish literature which followed it to lead one to expect the Empty Tomb, the Appearances in the Upper Room, the Appearance on the Lake of Galilee …..The cross-reference is to the article at the head of Resurrection.

  • “Life after Life”   Experiences of those who have “died” for a few minutes on the operating table confirm what some parts of  the NT has to say about the after-life.   See Life after Life under Resurrection.

  • To what extent is Jesus unique and unlikely to have been created by the early Church?    Here are some examples:

  1. Jesus is portrayed as divine in parts of the NT, something which would have been unthinkable in a Jewish milieu.   If it were not true, it would have been blasphemous.   We read such passages as “I and my Father are one” (Jn 10:30-35); “Before Abraham was I am” (Jn8:58);  “His state was divine” Phil:2:5-6)…..

  2. The forgiveness of sins, already mentioned.

  3. Preaching the Kingdom of God, unique in Judaism and the Pagan world.  It is multi-faceted.

  4. Within His milieu Jesus more than others associated with outcasts: e.g., lepers, prostitutes, quisling tax-gatheerers….

  5. The only founding-father of World Religions to suffer martydom for the forgiveness of sins.

  6. Healings and exorcisms took place within the Ancient World but to nothing like the extent as those performed by Jesus.   It is noticeable that, unlike other healers and exorcists, Jesus did not overtly pray when performing His miracles.

  7. Many Jewish scholars draw attention to the uniqueness of the teaching of Jesus within Judaism.

  8. The Resurrection.   It is sometimes said that the Ancient World was full of gods dying and rising again.   However, these are mythical stories and do not go into the detail of the gospel accounts of Jesus’ Resurrection.

  9. Jesus referring to Himself as the Son of Man, a reminder of the same name in the book of Daniel, with possible divine connections.

  10. The Lord’s Supper.   This is original in degree, rather than principle.   It was established in the context of a Passover and , as St. Paul wrote: “Christ is our Passover”.   In the early Church it was celebrated in the context of an agape, a Christian love feast.   It has echoes of the Messianic Banquet, mentioned several times in the OT, the Dead Sea Sect, the rabbinic writings and apocryphal Jewish literature.   There are also accounts of divine communion in sacred meals in the Ancient World.   The Lord’s Supper is the only one still being celebrated.

  11. The range of Jesus’ knowledge:  He knows He is going to be crucified;  He has telepathic powers; His knowledge and perception are detected by the people; He has foreknowledgee of the Fall of Jerusalem; He has foreknowledge of the Parousia…..The cross-refeerence is to the article that follows this: Jesus’ Knowledge

  12. Impact.   Jesus is the leading figure  in history.    Three examples of appraisal of Jesus are:

  • Napolean: “I know men and I tell you that Jesus Christ is no mere man.   Between Him and every other person in the world there is no possible term of comparison”.

  • HG Wells: “Judging a person’s greatness by historical standards,  Jesus stands first”.

  • Jung:   “The coming of Christ itself evokes the spirit of anti-Christ; only when the full light shines in the darkness is the intensity of the darkness made manifest”.

  • It is quite miraculous that a World Faith should have split into 38,000 sects and still be standing!

 

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