Date: Sun, 17 Aug 1997 02:39:07 +1000

Items:

Meditation for your bulletin (Saying ‘Yes’ or ‘No’)

Comment on CLM 463 Historical Jesus or Christ of Faith

Free Library

Religious (golf) humour

Now you know _or_ You have been warned!

Christian Quotation of the Day

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From: Rowland Croucher <

Subject: A meditation for your church bulletin…

SAYING ‘YES’ OR SAYING ‘NO’

Last week I watched the video of Jonathan Livingstone Seagull. Most of you will know the story – of a bird who wanted to be different: to fly higher, faster, further than other birds. But his bird-friends and family had a meeting or two about Jonathan. ‘You’re not allowed to be different’, they told him.’Why can’t you be like us? It’s always been done this way…’

We live in a world that wants to squeeze us into its mould – its way of thinking and doing things. It’s very hard being different. Teenage girls worry about their figure; young men fear to be shamed in front of their peers; kids hear their friends saying ‘Oh, that’s silly!’ if you try to be different.

(I sometimes wonder what we’d do if John the Baptist came to our church – with body odor and dressed like a hobo…)

In Shakespeare’s Hamlet we have the famous lines (I’ve updated the language a little):

‘… to your own self be true, And it must follow, as the night the day, You cannot then be false to anyone.’

When the world’s a mess; when movies and TV tell us wrong or bad things are fun – we Christians are called to be different. We follow Jesus who was crucified, in one sense, for being too good, for being different.

A Jewish proverb says: ‘Whoever does not sin among the wicked is a better person than the one who does not sin among the righteous. It’s hard to be true to Jesus out in the world. But in his strength we can say ‘no’ to bad things and ‘yes’ to the good…

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From: Edwin New <

Subject: Comment on CLM 463 Historical Jesus or Christ of Faith

Just a brief comment inserted below the section I wish to respond to…

“Such a cosmic view dismisses the historical Jesus, as if nothing Jesus ever did is of significance. Only His death and resurrection is of eternal value. These Christians emphasise the Lordship of Christ. They know His presence and await His return. All is of faith in Him as living Lord. To know Christ and to make Him known is our supreme purpose. To possess His Spirit is the end of Christian experience. There is no need to know anything of the historical Jesus. Our salvation depends not upon knowledge but upon our relationship with the living Christ. But this is not Christianity either. This is Gnosticism.”

I think you misrepresent this view, or at least my own personal version of it (and that of many of my friends). The problem is that the historical details of Jesus’ life are far more ‘unknowable’ than the present living Christ, the Son of God. If the historical details were so important, I suspect the Holy Spirit would be busy revealing them to human hearts the way he is busy revealing God’s love, justice, mercy and grace. The church has survived nearly 2000 years without much of this ‘historical’ information. Do you suggest the 20th century can improve on the work of God by applying its academic expertise? Paul resolved to know “nothing but Christ crucified” when he was among the Corinthians on mission. When you stand before the historical Jesus to be judged, what will bring you more reward, that you discovered by your researches the mailing address of the synagogue he went to as a kid, or that you preached Christ crucified?

Given a choice between on the one hand waiting for the scientists to come up with a biography of Jesus the son of Mary and (?) Joseph, and on the other hand getting on with a living discipleship and relationship with what you call “the Christ of faith,” well, I’ll just get on with the latter, thank you. Knowing whether Jesus had brown or blue eyes will save no-one, neither will learned dissertations from the pulpit as to whether He actually ever said “let he who is without sin cast the first stone.”

The historical Jesus is alive today, he is the King. Whoever takes the name Christian should never accept any kind of distinction between the historical Jesus and the “Christ of faith.” There is none. He is no less than fully human, with a real history like any other human. He is no less than fully God, with everything that implies. Don’t try to set one against the other.

There, you’ve seen my true colours! I am christologically orthodox! Gnostic? Never!

Yours in the Historical Jesus / the Christ of faith…

Edwin New.

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From: “Council Christian Academy” < Subject: Free Library

I have a Free on line library that may interest any Pastors who find the purchase of books a bit burdensome. If any could benefit from these God will have blessed. Thanks!

Pastor Dennis Dickinson

http://www.cyberhighway.net/~cochac/library.htm

[Stance is mostly Reformed/conservative/ evangelical… Rowland]

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From: “Thomas F. Fischer” < Subject: Religious (golf) Humor

The story is told of the time the nation of Israel hosted an international, inter-faith golf tournament for all clergy of the Jewish-Christian world. It was, as they say, a really big deal!

When word of the tournament reached the Vatican, the Pope called in his advisors and said, “Who’s representing us at this tournament?” “No one is,” they responded, “We don’t have any world class golfers here right now.” Well, the Pope didn’t like this at all. He thought about it for a few moments and said, “What about Greg Norman? Why don’t we get him to represent us?” One of the Cardinals says, “Greg Norman? He isn’t a clergyman! He isn’t even Catholic.” “Ask him,” the Pope answers, “I’ll make him a Bishop.”

Norman agrees, plays the tournament and comes back to the Vatican. “How did it go Bishop Norman?” the Pope asks. “Great,” Norman replies, “We came in second.” “Second?” the Pope exclaims obviously disappointed, “Who came in first?” Norman responds, “Rabbi Arnold Palmer!”

Have a good weekend! Tom

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From: Subject: Now you know _or_ You have been warned!

There are those knowing the anti-christ needs a global medium of communication who believe they now have the answer: (as in http://www….). As you all know, “w” corresponds with “waw” in Hebrew (and by now you are ahead of me) being of course the 6th letter of the alphabet….

(At least it might put to rest the story that surfaces periodically about the massive computer in Brussells that fills a building as long as a street and which will store data on the whole world population. Ex-Commander Grace Hopper (“grandmother” of computing in the US Navy and who helped develop the COBOL computer language) was once asked about the danger of a giant computer being used to control the world. She said she would only start worrying about that if the Navy ever managed to get its computer payroll to come out error-free!)

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From:

Subject: Christian Quotation of the Day

We Christians must simplify our lives or lose untold treasures on earth and in eternity. Modern civilization is so complex as to make the devotional life all but impossible. The need for solitude and quietness was never greater than it is today. … A. W. Tozer (1897-1963)

[Dear friends, Today (6 Aug 97) we have passed a milestone. As of this date, according to my calculations, over 1 million CQOD’s will have been sent. In agreement with the author today, I ask for each, as directed by the Spirit, to remember this tiny ministry in prayer, that it may cast light upon the darkness and provide a special word of encouragement or instruction where it is most needed. Blessings and peace to you all on this occasion. RMA] _____

Slowly, all through the universe, that temple of God is being built. Wherever, in any world, a soul, by free-willed obedience, catches the fire of God’s likeness, it is set into the growing walls, a living stone. When, in your hard fight, in your tiresome drudgery, or in your terrible temptation, you catch the purpose of your being and give yourself to God, and so give Him the chance to give Himself to you, your life — a living stone — is taken up and set into that growing wall.

Wherever souls are being tried and ripened, in whatever commonplace and homely ways, there God is hewing out the pillars for His temple. Oh, if the stone can only have some vision of the temple of which it is to be a part forever, what patience must fill it as it feels the blows of the hammer, and knows that success for it is simply to let itself be wrought into what shape the Master wills.

… Phillips Brooks (1835-1893), The Law of Growth _______________________________________________________________

CQOD Compilation Copyright, 1997, Robert McAnally Adams, Curator.

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