NowTHINK!AboutIt

Avoiding Hackneyed...Making Sense

Jesus Death: Ugly And Beautiful At Once

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Everything God Does Says
I Love You

Some portions of Scripture are very pleasant to read and very popular.

Who doesn’t like Psalm 23. Even nonreligious people enjoy reading this passage and many can repeat it from memory.

We love to talk about God’s grace and the song “Amazing Grace” is still one of the most popular songs in the world.

We love to talk about the nativity. Pictures have been painted, scenes have been constructed and theatrical productions have been organized all of which depict the beautiful story of Jesus’ birth.

But there are other portions of Scripture we don’t enjoy so much. The last few chapters of each Gospel tell us about the death of Jesus and the reports don’t make very pleasant reading.

When Jesus died it was visually very ugly. His accusers were unfair, unreasonable and manipulative. His executioners were aggressive, violent, abusive and cruel and the Gospel writers recorded all of it in great detail.

The amount of time covered from His arrest to His death was at least fifteen hours, possibly longer, and the humiliation Jesus endured during that time was unspeakable. He was lied about, spit on, whipped, mocked with a crown of thorns and beaten so badly He couldn’t be recognized (Isaiah 52:14). Even His disciples forsook Him.

And because He knew what was coming, just before His arrest He agonized in prayer.

Most people, preferring romance or mystery to gore, shy away from this type of reading. But when it comes to the death of Jesus we should take another look. [Read more…] about Jesus Death: Ugly And Beautiful At Once

OT Law – Restrictive Not Prescriptive

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Prominent use of the death penalty reflects poorly on society.

Commands And Laws
Never Change
Statures Always Do

Exodus through Deuteronomy are the four books of the Old Testament that contain what is called the Law of Moses and these laws are the topic of many discussions.

Some people misguidedly attempt to superimpose these laws on today’s cultures, a hopeless and useless endeavor. 

Refrigeration and modern farming methods have made Old Testament dietary restrictions obsolete.  We eat pork today with no nutritive repercussions.  Even in Jesus’ day improved food handling had overcome the obvious dangers of eating “unclean” animals.

Of course, Old Testament laws are not all given an equal hearing. Some people attempt to uphold certain laws while completely ignoring others.  We love the laws relating to monogamous marriage but are a bit embarrassed to admit polygamy was regulated rather than run out of town. Regulation, however, wasn’t meant to endorse polygamy but was rather a way of controlling it or keeping it from getting out of control. The plan worked. You rarely hear of polygamous marriages in most Bible-influenced societies today.

Moralists today are adamant about one and embarrassed by the other. It’s difficult to argue loudly for monogamy from an Old Testament perspective without getting tripped up by the likes of Jacob, David, and Solomon to name a few. It raises additional questions also: Why wasn’t polyandry regulated? And a question like that opens the door for discussions about chauvinistic tendencies in OT history. [Read more…] about OT Law – Restrictive Not Prescriptive