tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2828101829504518203.comments2024-03-09T20:57:42.938-06:00Wry Thoughts About ReligionUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger3319125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2828101829504518203.post-16147996832531487942024-03-09T20:57:42.938-06:002024-03-09T20:57:42.938-06:00Thank you Anonymous! And thanks for posting.
Charl...Thank you Anonymous! And thanks for posting.<br />CharlieCharles Hedrickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11285420936166236724noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2828101829504518203.post-79241212346317163712024-03-09T17:22:19.862-06:002024-03-09T17:22:19.862-06:00I love reading what you write!I love reading what you write!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2828101829504518203.post-18934276486064374612024-02-20T06:35:41.834-06:002024-02-20T06:35:41.834-06:00Yo will have to explain your last enigmatic phrase...Yo will have to explain your last enigmatic phrase, "So sensitivity has shifted." Can you clarify a bit? But you did understand me correctly.<br />CharlieCharles Hedrickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11285420936166236724noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2828101829504518203.post-32125096527988073552024-02-19T08:46:03.288-06:002024-02-19T08:46:03.288-06:00Did i understand you to say that the writers of th...Did i understand you to say that the writers of the OT and NT were more likely to use euphemism in different sectors of human behavior (e.g. OT avoids words pertaining to excretion; NT avoids words pertaining to sexual relations)? So sensitivity has shifted?Hedrick jrhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13184866783553665982noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2828101829504518203.post-37360622765315156362024-02-10T09:28:13.386-06:002024-02-10T09:28:13.386-06:00I keep in mind what the new-deceased John Shelby S...I keep in mind what the new-deceased John Shelby Spong wrote: "Catholics want an infallible pope; Protestants want an infallible Bible." It's not about truth but security. The majority of the planet is not even Christian and the "word of God" becomes an even broader subject. At any rate, people are bound by human limitations and the Ground of Being is much broader, deeper, and more timeless than minds can comprehend. No human text can emcompass everything.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2828101829504518203.post-83006890241624495002024-01-21T08:59:03.854-06:002024-01-21T08:59:03.854-06:00Hi Gene,
Offhand I do not know if anyone argued fo...Hi Gene,<br />Offhand I do not know if anyone argued for Romans 1:3-4 being an interpolation. I note that Dewey, et al., The Authentic Letters of Paul (Polebridge, 2010), 212 did not think it was an interpolation. But I will grant you that I have always thought that the idea behind those verses was foreign to Paul.<br />Charlie<br />Charles Hedrickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11285420936166236724noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2828101829504518203.post-14056780760290466292024-01-19T20:19:44.627-06:002024-01-19T20:19:44.627-06:00Sorry, there's a typo in previous message: the...Sorry, there's a typo in previous message: the interpolation verses are Romans 1:3b-4b.<br /><br />GeneAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2828101829504518203.post-74445203902722816032024-01-19T10:01:51.704-06:002024-01-19T10:01:51.704-06:00Hi Charlie,
In my understanding you absolutely hi...Hi Charlie,<br /><br />In my understanding you absolutely hit the nail on the head in the version 4 birth story. Jesus was a human being raised-up upon death to the position of Son of God with Power. I think that this is the only place in the Christian scriptures where the humanity of the risen Jesus has been respected. I also think, however, that Romans 1:3b-4 is a later interpolation not original to Paul. I have prepared a paper setting out that hypothesis and hope to get it published. Do you have any thoughts about an interpolation theory?<br /><br />Gene Stecher<br />Chambersburg, Pa.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2828101829504518203.post-78284828154577329292024-01-19T09:42:03.753-06:002024-01-19T09:42:03.753-06:00Hi Bob, Thanks for the correction. I can only plea...Hi Bob, Thanks for the correction. I can only plead the reason for my omission was a matter of practicality. I try to limit myself to what equals two printed pages. Had I more space I would have added Mark 1:11 (along with Luke 3:22). See my blog "On Calling Jesus my Brother" (where Mark played a large part). In a sense the method of becoming son of God by declaration was covered in the earlier confession Romans 1:3-4. But you are correct, Mark deserved at the very least, a nod. My apologies to Mark.<br />Cordially,<br />CharlieCharles Hedrickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11285420936166236724noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2828101829504518203.post-43258359637033477272024-01-18T14:23:40.972-06:002024-01-18T14:23:40.972-06:00Thanks, Charlie. I'm missing here a nod to Mar...Thanks, Charlie. I'm missing here a nod to Mark, in which I and other Markan scholars think Jesus becomes son of God by divine decree in his baptism. 'Adoption,' as it were, in the manner of Psalm 2, a liturgy for the anointing of Israelite kings, all of whom apparently were "son of God." And of course there is also the odd business of Matthew and Luke's virginal conception stories being accompanied by two different genealogies for Joseph, who is supposedly not Jesus' biological father but rather, I suppose, his 'adopted' father. Curiosities galore, eh?bobinbereahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00501253521947132870noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2828101829504518203.post-22877757888883982302023-12-23T15:35:24.911-06:002023-12-23T15:35:24.911-06:00Charlie,
From a traditional church point of view,...Charlie,<br /><br />From a traditional church point of view, perhaps he meant that their purpose is the same, namely, to glorify the savior. <br /><br />GeneAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2828101829504518203.post-56682626549226670862023-12-23T06:05:47.739-06:002023-12-23T06:05:47.739-06:00Sorry Gene, as with so many things, I must plead i...Sorry Gene, as with so many things, I must plead ignorance. Had he said something like: the manger and the cross are made of the same stuff, or the manger and the cross are made of the same material, I still would not know what he was saying but at least the statement would have made sense.<br />I like your statement, "If only we could realize what we idealize." Christmas never quite lives up to its hype is an illustration of what it means.<br />Charlie<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Charles Hedrickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11285420936166236724noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2828101829504518203.post-35178932522806153702023-12-22T10:12:04.088-06:002023-12-22T10:12:04.088-06:00Excellent commentary Charlie. If only we could rea...Excellent commentary Charlie. If only we could realize what we idealize. The vision fueled by hope doesn't seem to be enough. I once heard a pastor say in a sermon, "The manger and the cross are made of the same wood." Do you have some thoughts on how to interpret that remark?<br /><br />Gene Stecher<br />Chambersburg Pa.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2828101829504518203.post-68168821778536637402023-12-12T14:57:51.685-06:002023-12-12T14:57:51.685-06:00Hi Gene,
I would not call it a parable, since the ...Hi Gene,<br />I would not call it a parable, since the classic "parables" in the bible are narrative. If I thought it was not a literal statement, I would have called it metaphor, which is, simply put: a figure of speech describing one thing under the guise of something else.<br />Cordially, <br />CharlieCharles Hedrickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11285420936166236724noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2828101829504518203.post-43157251815990553152023-12-10T10:50:24.915-06:002023-12-10T10:50:24.915-06:00Hi Charlie,
I think you've seen me write befo...Hi Charlie,<br /><br />I think you've seen me write before that for Jesus, more than anything, the kingdom was about practicing goal-oriented passion. That attitude is particularly evident in the parables: the Vine Keeper (Luke 13:6-9; the Badgering Friend (Luke 11:5-8); The Shepherd's Search (Luke 15:4-6 and //s); Persistent Home Manager (Luke 15:8-9); Merchant's Sacrifice (Matt 13:45-46); Desperate Manager (Luke 16:1-6); Treasure Hunter (Matthew 13:44); Widow's Harassment (Luke 18:2-5;0) Assassin (98:1-3); the Landgrabbers (Thomas 65:1-7 and //s), and, yes, also the Self-castrator, which I classify as a parable.<br /><br />Gene Stecher<br />Chambersburg, Pa. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2828101829504518203.post-48850003010649790322023-12-09T07:28:48.746-06:002023-12-09T07:28:48.746-06:00Hi Gene,
Perhaps, personal self-effacement in the ...Hi Gene,<br />Perhaps, personal self-effacement in the service of the kingdom? I don't know of anyone who has tried to give a practical explanation of that saying. How do you understand it? Through history I think it has been understood literally.<br />CharlieCharles Hedrickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11285420936166236724noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2828101829504518203.post-81057799458484672292023-12-08T17:30:53.691-06:002023-12-08T17:30:53.691-06:00Thanks for the good laugh, Charlie.
Careful not t...Thanks for the good laugh, Charlie.<br /><br />Careful not to take anything in the last post too literally.<br /><br />What would be an acceptable equivalent to the commitment of self-castration????<br /><br />How does one implement the self-denial involved in any item on the list in a reasonable sensible way?????<br /><br />Gene<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2828101829504518203.post-62155231084798691262023-12-08T10:52:19.813-06:002023-12-08T10:52:19.813-06:00Thanks Bill. I had not thought of the essay that w...Thanks Bill. I had not thought of the essay that way but will do so.<br /><br /><br />Gene, I am not sure that the statement about castration will preach! At least it is not part of a gospel I see myself spreading all over the world.<br /><br />CharlieCharles Hedrickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11285420936166236724noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2828101829504518203.post-24226842382613477102023-12-06T19:42:51.066-06:002023-12-06T19:42:51.066-06:00Hi Charlie,
Jesus had a few ideas about success, ...Hi Charlie,<br /><br />Jesus had a few ideas about success, wealth, and God's domain that can be practiced and passed along by a person of any age to any person of any age.<br /><br />Give to everyone who begs from you.<br /><br />If you have money lend it to someone from whom you won't get it back.<br /><br />It's easier for a camel to squeeze through a needle's eye, than for a wealthy person to get into God's domain.<br /><br />You can't be enslaved to both God and a bank account.<br /><br />He was thinking about full store houses when that very night he died.<br /><br />Whoever forfeits life will preserve it!<br /><br />There are men who castrate themselves because of heaven's imperial rule!<br /><br />Funk, Robert. The Gospel of Jesus. Polebridge Press, 1999. 74-75<br /><br />With the communication means at our disposal, each one of us could communicate this type of message across the world daily. But who would back us up?<br /><br /><br />Gehe Stecher<br />Chambersburg, Pa. <br /><br /><br /><br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2828101829504518203.post-87142558494780934652023-12-06T09:17:34.559-06:002023-12-06T09:17:34.559-06:00Charlie this is one of the most introspective refl...Charlie this is one of the most introspective reflections you've posted on your blog. It's excellent and agreeably provocative, at least to me.<br />It may be relevant that most of the biblical sources you cite are your ancient correspondents, the elder sages such as Qohelet's imagined Solomon in dialogue with the imagined sage Solomon in the book of Proverbs. <br />And in your engagement with them you join in their discussion, worthy company.Bill Yhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03810388875583893483noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2828101829504518203.post-48481992273866008082023-11-26T10:08:39.226-06:002023-11-26T10:08:39.226-06:00Thanks for the correction, Anonymous! You are enti...Thanks for the correction, Anonymous! You are entirely correct that 2 Cor 6:14-7:1 is thought to be an interpolation in critical scholarship because of the language used, the issues raised, and the tone of the section. Readers can verify that in Arthur J. Dewey, et al., The Authentic Letters of Paul (Polebridge Press, 2010), 148.<br /> <br />I certainly agree that Paul would not recommend avoiding people because of their immorality and socially unacceptable behavior. I was primarily thinking of certain modern social situations associated with activities and behavior deemed improper for church youth.<br />Cordially,<br />CharlieCharles Hedrickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11285420936166236724noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2828101829504518203.post-30879961341375479002023-11-25T20:57:48.327-06:002023-11-25T20:57:48.327-06:00Good evening, Charlie. Always happy to see you’re ...Good evening, Charlie. Always happy to see you’re still posting. I certainly agree with your perspective here, but in defense of Paul, the passage you quote is often deemed an interpolation. Even if he didn’t write it, he would have agreed that believers should avoid idolatry. However, his attitude towards associating with idolators and other sinners was quite different: “I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral persons, not at all meaning the sexually immoral of this world, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters, since you would then need to go out of the world” (1 Cor 5:10-11). There are other passages that clearly show that Paul expected believers to fellowship with unbelievers. He had more in common with the Synoptic Jesus than the Johannine I’m happy to say. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2828101829504518203.post-38154166147599443142023-11-13T12:35:46.157-06:002023-11-13T12:35:46.157-06:00Charlie,
My thoughts about “inspiration” are fair...Charlie, <br />My thoughts about “inspiration” are fairly simple. When one receives information it is arranged into clusters of knowledge (schemas) organized around a topic, which forms a framework for understanding. When one receives new information one tends to “tweak” what is received to correlate with existing schemas, changing the information to fit what one already “knows.” When these are interrelated the cluster dictates the structure of events, or “scripts” of our thoughts or actions. When they are at significant variation from one’s schemata, they cause dissonance. This can cause a unique synthesis (an amalgamation of separate elements into a connected whole) . Unique syntheses are considered “inspired. “ They are not from a heavenly source. And, they aren’t unique to writing. For me, they are more prominent in music, carpentry, mechanical abilities and intelligences that don’t rely on verbal abilities but problem solving strategies. <br />Dennis Dean Carpenter<br />Dahlonega, Ga.<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2828101829504518203.post-13978450638878867842023-11-11T09:17:06.423-06:002023-11-11T09:17:06.423-06:00Good morning Gene, Thanks for the question. "...Good morning Gene, Thanks for the question. "Gifted" means that someone has a natural ability or aptitude--i.e. s/he is talented. I think of the difference between the two as the film Amadeus portrayed the difference between the composers Antonio Salieri (Italian) and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Austrian). (It was not historical by the way.) Salieri was a "gifted" composer, but Mozart was inspiring and popular, and hence possibly "inspired." Hence one can be gifted but not inspiring. And as I said in the essay one never knows if someone is inspired. <br />CharlieCharles Hedrickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11285420936166236724noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2828101829504518203.post-30645840096488191162023-11-10T10:19:30.660-06:002023-11-10T10:19:30.660-06:00Hi Charlie,
I'm wondering how to compare gift...Hi Charlie,<br /><br />I'm wondering how to compare gifted and inspired. For example, what's the relationship between gifted and inspired in the life of Jesus. Were his words and actions grounded more in inspiration or more in an intelligent understanding of life. Speaking for myself, I don't think I've ever experienced inspiration, i.e., being in-spirited, but I have experienced insight, or intelligent interpretations of life, based on varieties of experience and stimulation. Based on the Jesus Seminar data, I would say that he treated the "inspired" literature ("Old Testament") of his day with a gifted intelligence. One example would be his understanding of the kingdom of God.<br /><br />Gene Stecher<br />Chambersburg, Pa.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com