Moments I Wish I Could Take Back / Echo Chamber Churches / Election Season & Your Soul

Author

Douglas Jacoby
November 05, 2024

Good morning!

In the words of a much-quoted saying, “To be old and wise you must first be young and stupid.” We all make mistakes, and I’m old enough to have made a boatload. Yet we can learn from the past.

And so today we begin a new series, “Moments I Wish I Could Take Back.” This may sound negative or regret-filled, but that’s not the intent! Rather, through reflecting on the past, we can grow wiser, living a more-Christlike life.

In Bowness-on-Windermere, Cumbria

Next, Brian Zahnd offers sage advice for navigating stormy climate of the political world. Malcolm Cox spotlights another important topic, as he warns of the dangers of echo-chamber churches. We can also learn from Thomas Wilson, whose pithy sayings feature in Quotable.

Last, we continue our exploration of the Early Christian Writings. It’s just after the middle of the second century, and Justin Martyr relays several interesting ideas: Jesus was born in a cave; Adam died at the age of 22 hours; Judaism has come to an end; and more. Appreciate the other writings of Justin, as he continues to write about Christ, martyrs, and the next world.

My prayer is that this bulletin will help us to think biblically about the world, and to love our Lord more deeply.

MOMENTS I WISH I COULD TAKE BACK (1)

As we think back on all the mistakes we've made in our lives, wouldn't it be great to be able to go back (in time) and get a "redo"? Alas, that is not possible. Yet we can still learn from these moments.

Moments I Wish I Could Take Back

In undergraduate days I was bold, but also insensitive, sometimes doing more harm than good. You’ll hear about dozens of decisions, words, and actions I wish I could take back—things done in the name of Christ (that is, thinking I was pleasing the Lord).

Listen to the first talk HERE.

ELECTION SEASON & YOUR SOUL

While we engage with the world, our ultimate identity remains rooted in the love and grace of Christ, which transcends earthly systems. Here are some valuable thoughts from Brian Zahnd to help guide us (suggested by my assistant, Sandy, of the Denver Church of Christ).

1. The political process, while necessary, has little to do with how God is saving the world.
2. The fate of the kingdom of God does not depend upon political contests.
3. Don’t be naïve. Political parties are more interested in Christian votes than they are in Christian values.
4. The bottom line for political parties is power. The bottom line for a Christian is love. And therein lies the rub.
5. While in pursuit of the Ring of Power, you are not permitted to abandon the Sermon on the Mount.
6. If your political passion makes it hard for you to love your neighbor as yourself, you need to turn it down a notch.
7. Your task is to bring the salt of Christian civility to an ugly and acrimonious political process.
8. To dismember the body of Christ over politics is a grievous sin.
9. Exercise your liberty to vote your conscience and conviction, while accepting that other Christians will do the same and vote differently than you.
10. It’s more important that your soul be filled with love than it is for your political team to win the game.

From Brian Zahnd, Election Season & Your Soul

Further:

EARLY CHRISTIAN WRITINGS (14)

Justin’s Dialogue with Trypho (conclusion), c.160 AD

  • Jesus was born in a cave (chap. lxxvii). The magi came from Arabia (see also chap. ciii, cvi). Biblical scholars believe the wise men came from Babylon, Arabia, or Persia.

  • When we die, we do not immediately go to heaven (chap. lxxx). Justin’s view is in agreement with Jesus’ teaching (John 3:13). No one is in heaven yet.

  • With Gen 3 and Psalm 90 in mind, since with the Lord a day is 1000 years, Adam’s punishment (death) must have been carried out on the same day—he was only 22.3 hours (930 years) old (chap. lxiii)!

  • The prophetic gifts are still present (chap. lxxxii). Although we might consider it tidier if they’d disappeared in the first generation after the apostolic age, the patristic evidence oes not support this view.

  • The Aaron and Hur supported the arms of Moses (Exod 17:12), forming the shape of the Cross (chap. xcvii).

  • The churches read aloud the “memoirs” of the apostles (chap. ciii; also civ, cv, cvi). This almost certainly refers to the four canonical gospels, the latest of which was authored before the year 100—only a few generations earlier.

  • Christians do not hate Jews, but pray for their repentance (chap. cviii).

  • Simon the Sorcerer is referred to as the god of Samaritans (chap. cxx).

  • Justin speaks of “the worm and unquenchable fire, remaining immortal” (chap. cxxx). In my view, this is a misreading of Mark 9:48, which is a correct take on Isa 66:24. The seeds of the medieval doctrine of hell are in the second century.

  • The Jews still permitted polygamy—4-5 wives (chap. cxxxiv).

  • Christians are the true Israelites (chap. cxxxv). That is, the Jews are not in any sort of covenant relationship with God—individually or nationally.

The Discourse to the Greeks—The Greeks imitated the grossly immoral behavior of their gods (chap. i). There’s a connection between what we worship and who we become.

Justin’s Hortatory Address to the Greeks—Comments on the philosophers. Justin, like other ancient apologists, advances the claim that they borrowed from Moses. (For reference, Plato taught in the 4th century BC, while the oldest layers of the Law of Moses date to the 13th century BC.)

Justin on the Sole Government of God—more on philosophers and ancient gods.

Fragments of the Lost Work of Justin on the Resurrection —Must the deformed rise deformed?—I’ve often been asked this question. Justin’s: the body will be made whole at the resurrection (chap. iv).

Other Fragments from the Lost Writings of Justin—The bird sacrifice of Lev 14 points to Christ (chap. x). For more on Jesus in the Torah, click here (login may be required).

The Martyrdom of the Holy Martyrs—Justin, Chariton, Charites, Paeon, and Liberianus, all of whom suffered and were executed in Rome.

Next week: Irenaeus, Against Heresies. Irenaeus was a prominent church leader in Gall (modern France). He lived AD 130-202.

QUOTABLE

  • We are accountable to God for our time as for His other favors; and to squander it is a sin. — Thomas Wilson (1663-1775)

  • The greatest of all disorders is to think we are whole, and need no help. — Thomas Wilson

  • Never do anything which you are sure you must repent of before you die. — Thomas Wilson

THE DANGERS OF ECHO CHAMBER CHURCHES
by Malcolm Cox (Watford, UK)

What do echo chambers and healthy biblical teaching have to do with each other? I believe theological echo chambers are one of the most dangerous locations for churches, Bible teachers and students. Much of what we do in AIM UK & Ireland is to attempt to prevent us as teachers and students from inhabiting a subconscious theological echo chamber.

Watch Malcolm’s 4-minute video HERE.

TILL NEXT WEEK…

Thanks for your prayers. A special prayer request: my Lebanese friend asks that we remember our Christian brothers and sisters in the midst of this intensely challenging time. They don’t view themselves as victims, but instead are energized through the extra opportunities to minister to the grieving and displaced. How inspiring!

Yours in Christ,
Douglas