What
are the prophecies about the Second Coming? I would feel AWFUL
if He has returned "like a thief in the night" and
I/mankind missed Him.
I
think we should acknowledge that the end-time (second coming,
parousia) is a mystery about which we shouldn't attempt to
be too specific. The Biblical witness to this idea had two
aims, both of them time-bound.
First,
Jesus himself is quoted as anticipating an end-time that would
occur shortly after his death and resurrection, perhaps within
the lifetime of his first followers. Paul began his ministry
with that expectation uppermost in mind. When the end-time
didn't occur, Paul and others began to rephrase their expectation
and to make it less specific, more a matter of God's intention
some time in the future.
Second,
the persecuted Christians waited eagerly for their victory
over Rome. The Revelation to John contains some of their conviction
that God would smite their persecutors. In fact, their persecutors
joined the Christian fold, largely for political purposes,
and Christianity went from underdog to top-dog, as it were.
Later, Revelation's apocalyptic visions became the basis for
some exotic theories about the Second Coming of Christ.
It
is an article of Christian faith (as in the Nicene Creed)
that Jesus Christ “will come again.” Over the
years, various people—some well-intentioned, some charlatans—have
used that expectation to justify various exotic schemes, such
as going to a certain mountain to await the end-time, or visions
of the rapture.
Jesus
himself seems to have been more down to earth than that. He
taught about loving one's neighbor here and now, loving God
in the actions one takes here and now, and a kingdom that
was coming to pass here and now.
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I
am searching for scripture explaining the drying of palm branches
from Palm Sunday and burning them for the ashes used on Ash
Wednesday. Can you enlighten me?
Like other religions of the era, ancient Judaism used ashes
to signal mourning and penitence. They were connected with
the “dust” from which humanity was made. (“Ashes
to ashes, dust to dust,” as we say at a burial.)
Palms, in turn, were an ancient symbol associated with brides,
rulers, destruction, the city of Jericho (known as the “city
of palms”), and abundance. When Jesus entered Jerusalem
as a king, palm branches were strewn on his path, a sign of
recognition and celebration.
The two symbols were linked naturally with Ash Wednesday as
the start of Lent and Palm Sunday as its culmination. It was
Christian tradition, not Scripture, that made this connection
literal, by burning Palm Sunday ashes for the next Ash Wednesday.
This captures nicely the cycle of the church year, namely,
that even though the original events took place in the linear
march of history, we encounter them every calendar cycle as
reminders of who we are and who Jesus is.
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I
am studying the topic of shame. The fall in the Garden has
always been presented as the original sin and sign of disobedience.
In our shame as sinful beings, we were expelled to toil and
suffer. Is this truly how God sees mankind—as
shameful and disobedient? Could it be that the fall in the
Garden was actually intended, and God sees Eve's choice as
a blessing to humanity wherein a new level of Knowledge arrived
allowing us to choose between good and evil? Are we really
deemed to suffer under the guilt and shame of this act from
a long-held belief system?
Shame,
like conscience, seems to be a fundamental human characteristic.
No one taught Adam and Eve to feel shame, or imposed shame
as a punishment. They just felt shame when they saw their
nakedness. Whatever one makes of the Adam and Eve story (see
below), shame seems to precede it as a given of the human
condition.
Guilt,
on the other hand, seems to be taught. Religion has tended
to encourage guilt, because guilt can keep people in line.
Shame can lead to feelings of guilt, but guilt might not be
a healthy way of dealing with shame. Repentance is the way
Jesus taught.
That
said, what do we make of Genesis 2-3? The Book of Genesis
isn't a history text. It is a search for origins and the meaning
in origins. It was written over a period of 400 years by at
least three different authors. The earliest wrote around the
time of King David (1000 BC) and sought to understand how
Israel had come to such a good place. Filled with self-confidence,
the author dared to consider the problem of sin and told a
story about a man (adam or ish) and a woman (adamah or ishah)
who presumed to be like God and were punished and banished,
but not destroyed.
Later,
after the horror of exile, another author wrote a different
account of creation (Genesis 1), in which God can bring order
out of chaos and has everything neatly lined out.
Neither
tells history or science. They try to explain life as the
authors knew it and God's place in that life.
It
was Christian theology that returned to Genesis 2-3 and developed
doctrines of the Fall and of Original Sin. Those doctrines
reflected a dim assessment of humanity and a belief in a powerful,
controlling Church. If humanity is inherently depraved, then
only obedience to an external authority can redeem human hope.
Thus, baptism cleanses, confession leads to absolution, last
rites redeem, and only those who belong to the one Church
that dispenses those sacraments have hope. Or so the Church
taught.
Contemporary
liberal theology has moved far away from such Church-centered
conceptions. Modern fundamentalism, on the other hand, tries
to reinforce them, but with Scripture as the infallible source,
not the Church. Doctrines like the Fall and Original Sin,
therefore, seem to be interpretations with political agendas,
not the revealed nature of God.
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How
can I forgive someone who has never asked for forgiveness
or admitted that what he did was wrong? I know I need to forgive
him, in order to release myself from the power he has over
me. But, I don't know how. I question that if I am trying
to forgive him for my own benefit, can it be real forgiveness?
Our
forgiveness of each other must be modeled on God's forgiveness
of us. That is, unconditional, without counting the cost,
a gift that is given in mercy, not in expectation of reward.
Jesus said there should be no limit to our forgiveness of
those who hurt us.
How,
then, can you do it? By letting go. Letting go of any control
over the other, letting go of any thought of revenge, letting
go of bitterness. Your feelings can't be easily set aside.
You could still feel anger or a sense of betrayal. But you
do have control over your actions.
The
goal of forgiveness isn't to manipulate or fix the other person.
The goal is to be in right relationship with God, which includes
loving one's neighbor.
All
of this is easier to say than to do, of course. But it is
important that you try.
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I
am a Democrat. Most people refer to me as a liberal. Also,
to most people, this means I do not have a strong faith in
God or morals and values believed to support what Christianity
is all about. This is so very far from the truth. My progressive
political stance is based on wanting to treat all individuals
with dignity and respect. Please help me with some words I
can use to explain this to those who continue to insult very
faithful people like myself.
Over
the years, both Republicans and Democrats have claimed to
represent “true Christianity,” and have dismissed
their opponents as faithless. Such a claim is nonsense, of
course. Neither party in American politics has a unique claim
on virtue or faith. God is neither a Republican nor a Democrat.
In fact, to judge by what Scripture says, God's word to America
probably eludes both parties, as Jesus taught about giving
up power, not craving it, and about sharing wealth, not amassing
wealth.
Depending
on what era it is and what side of the fence you're on, you
can find ample evidence of Conservative Republicans and conservative
Christians making common cause and seeking to portray liberal
Democrats and liberal Christians as deeply in error, just
as you can find liberals claiming the moral high ground and
condemning conservatives.
In
my opinion, Christianity serves the nation best when it remembers
what Jesus did say and do, and avoids letting itself be co-opted
by either party. Christians, like followers of other faiths,
have roles to play in civic life, including partisan politics.
The nation needs our diversity of witness and our zeal for
justice. It doesn't benefit from our posturing or bullying.
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When
was the Gnostic Gospel written?
The
term “Gnostic Gospels” refers to several books,
not to a single book. They were written during the same time
frame as the four canonical Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and
John), that is, during the second half of the First Century,
and later. They are grouped because they shared a certain
theological emphasis. Some Gnostic Gospels were quite popular,
such as the Gospel of Thomas, and are known in some detail.
Others are more obscure. Like the canonical Gospels, they
told the good news about Jesus.
The
early Church decided that the Gnostic Gospels were not authoritative,
and they acted to prevent their use. A bishop named Irenaus
even demanded that every copy of the Gospel of Thomas be destroyed.
While
they don't have the same place in Christian tradition as the
four canonical Gospels, the Gnostic Gospels do give us a rich
picture of the early years when people were abuzz about Jesus
and trying to understand who he was.
An
excellent book on the subject is Elaine Pagels' The Gnostic
Gospels.
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