Growing Up Near The Buckle of the Bible Belt
Mom and Dad Wisdom lived near the buckle of the Bible belt; drove us to Sunday school every Sunday right passed that church with the neon cross flashing the truth known to all, “Jesus Saves”. There was no debate about “how” just that it was an unquestioned fact. Little did mom and dad suspect they were part of a society raising a generation that would question everything. Even the church’s sacred orthodoxy would not be safe in an increasingly scientific, modern world.
The Apostle Paul was the first published writer of the early church and clearly his calling was to take Jesus to the Gentiles—the Greek/Roman communities of the Empire. Paul translated the life and thinking of this Semitic prophet to a community more familiar with Greek philosophy than Jewish theology. The early church fathers were from these same communities, long familiar with wrestling the ancient questions regarding the world, the universe, from where it all came, and who was in control, if anyone.
Most modern scholars recognize the influence of Aristotle and Plato on the culture in which the understanding of Jesus was being shaped. For the first few centuries the church focused more on his person with questions about how and if Jesus was God. And, if Jesus is God, how then did that fit into the picture of monotheism (one God)? Great historical road maps were hammered out during the first four centuries resulting in creeds and doctrines like that of The Trinity, The Apostle’s Creed and especially the Nicene Creed. Read again this last creed and you’ll since the deep struggles were about the nature of Jesus more so than how Jesus saved.
There was an underlying premise to these discussions similar to that of the world being flat--no one would really think otherwise for another thousand years. The premise of these earliest philosophers and scientist was an understanding this “creation” in which we lived was not the real world. The real world was actually the "spiritual" world of God (or in this Greek/Roman culture, the world of many different gods contesting for power). The physical world was both a reflection of and the result of what was happening in that parallel universe that remained unseen. The “cosmos” out there beyond the world we can see is God’s world. That world was real and permanent. This world was not.
The Church’s mission, to build a bridge between the Greek/Roman world and Jewish orthodoxy, was aided by the common human quest to explain the ongoing battle between the powers of good and evil. Satan, from the Jewish context, as a fallen angel represented that which was evil and dark (darkness coming from ancient Persian thought that influenced both Jewish and Greek thinking). Goodness, represented by God/Jesus, was the nature of all that was light and positive. John’s gospel to the Hellenistic community at the end of the first or beginning of the second century begins, “…[I]n him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.” nsrv
Convincing this new world that Jesus was the decisive witness of God’s power to over come evil and thereby save humans in this world and the next would depend on making a convincing case for Jesus being God in human form; totally divine and totally human. The Greek/Roman culture with its rich history in philosophy and mythology became a fertile garden in which the church grew by leaps and bounds.
Overcoming evil in this world and providing a path to that spiritual (real) world became a matter of having faith like that of Jesus; faith that God’s power was sufficient to conquer darkness. Following the way of Jesus, possessing faith in God as did Jesus, and thereby belonging to the “saved” community through baptism made you one in Christ. Being “In” Christ meant you were safely saved for that real world to come. Case closed.
But closed only until the 12th century when archbishop of Canterbury, Anselm, would translate Jesus’ role as spiritual savior in a different way. His thinking would become the lens through which most Christians today understand how Jesus Saves.
Let me warm-up your coffee. Back before you know it.
The Apostle Paul was the first published writer of the early church and clearly his calling was to take Jesus to the Gentiles—the Greek/Roman communities of the Empire. Paul translated the life and thinking of this Semitic prophet to a community more familiar with Greek philosophy than Jewish theology. The early church fathers were from these same communities, long familiar with wrestling the ancient questions regarding the world, the universe, from where it all came, and who was in control, if anyone.
Most modern scholars recognize the influence of Aristotle and Plato on the culture in which the understanding of Jesus was being shaped. For the first few centuries the church focused more on his person with questions about how and if Jesus was God. And, if Jesus is God, how then did that fit into the picture of monotheism (one God)? Great historical road maps were hammered out during the first four centuries resulting in creeds and doctrines like that of The Trinity, The Apostle’s Creed and especially the Nicene Creed. Read again this last creed and you’ll since the deep struggles were about the nature of Jesus more so than how Jesus saved.
There was an underlying premise to these discussions similar to that of the world being flat--no one would really think otherwise for another thousand years. The premise of these earliest philosophers and scientist was an understanding this “creation” in which we lived was not the real world. The real world was actually the "spiritual" world of God (or in this Greek/Roman culture, the world of many different gods contesting for power). The physical world was both a reflection of and the result of what was happening in that parallel universe that remained unseen. The “cosmos” out there beyond the world we can see is God’s world. That world was real and permanent. This world was not.
The Church’s mission, to build a bridge between the Greek/Roman world and Jewish orthodoxy, was aided by the common human quest to explain the ongoing battle between the powers of good and evil. Satan, from the Jewish context, as a fallen angel represented that which was evil and dark (darkness coming from ancient Persian thought that influenced both Jewish and Greek thinking). Goodness, represented by God/Jesus, was the nature of all that was light and positive. John’s gospel to the Hellenistic community at the end of the first or beginning of the second century begins, “…[I]n him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.” nsrv
Convincing this new world that Jesus was the decisive witness of God’s power to over come evil and thereby save humans in this world and the next would depend on making a convincing case for Jesus being God in human form; totally divine and totally human. The Greek/Roman culture with its rich history in philosophy and mythology became a fertile garden in which the church grew by leaps and bounds.
Overcoming evil in this world and providing a path to that spiritual (real) world became a matter of having faith like that of Jesus; faith that God’s power was sufficient to conquer darkness. Following the way of Jesus, possessing faith in God as did Jesus, and thereby belonging to the “saved” community through baptism made you one in Christ. Being “In” Christ meant you were safely saved for that real world to come. Case closed.
But closed only until the 12th century when archbishop of Canterbury, Anselm, would translate Jesus’ role as spiritual savior in a different way. His thinking would become the lens through which most Christians today understand how Jesus Saves.
Let me warm-up your coffee. Back before you know it.
Gene -
ReplyDeleteI have never heard that this theory of the physical world reflecting the spiritual was an actual one. I thought that my scientific musings had come up with it independently. One of my reasonings for this had to do with the physical characteristics of light and the spiritual characteristics of light that you mentioned. In the physical world, darkness never overcomes light but it is light that overcomes darkness. Another way of saying this is that there is really no such thing as darkness but darkness is merely the word we use for an absence of light. That, of course, is physically true. As I became acquainted with those characteristics of light mentioned in the scriptures, it seemed a logical connection was being made.
Thanks for the great blogs.