Paul + Jenn

I think most will agree that seeing or hearing these two words (the second two...I don't know anyone who is offended by the words Theology Thursday...but you might...so I'm clarifying. And now I'm done)  cause most evangelicals (myself included) to bow up and prepare to get our debate on. And I am well aware of the controversy concerning whether God CAN shed His character to hate good, lie, or change; or whether He simply CHOOSES not to do that.

And I’m not going to address that.

Honestly, it’s now been about 3 years since my last theology class, and I just don’t have the wherewithal to duke it out on a blog.

What I WILL talk about, however, is what I heard on the radio this morning.

For some reason (possibly a book on a similar topic was introduced on the show before I started listening), one of the hosts of the Christian morning show I listen to every weekday was sharing quotes of things that God CANNOT do.

IF said quotes had been regarding heavy matters as what I mentioned above, I would have:

a) wondered why a radio station who calls ‘That’s What Faith Can Do’ by Kutlass an inspiring song would bring such a heavy topic to the table.

b) possibly not have been as perturbed as I am now.

However, they were gimmicky. Here, let me share some with you:

1) God CANNOT leave or forsake you.

2) God CANNOT recall your sins after they have been forgiven.

Since I’m ONLY in the car for an hour and they only share quotes every other time the traffic report comes on, this was all I got. But really? I mean, really?

Ok, here’s my problem with these two quotes. They are not indications of things God CANNOT do, but things God WILL NOT do. I’m sure you see the clear difference, but I’ll go ahead and share why this is important anyway.

If God is ABLE to leave you but doesn’t, if He is ABLE to recall your sins but CHOOSES to forget them, is not your life in Him more secure and His love for you more sure?

[Dude, I think that kind of rhymed. I didn’t even mean to do that!]

No, you say? What if you do something to make God turn away, you say?

That’s the beauty of it! God CHOSE to do/be these things long before you were born and sinned your first sin, but He knew all along that you would. He still did them. This means that God’s character is not dependent on anything we do. That’s why you can’t “lose” your salvation...or earn it for that matter.

It should be comforting. Think about it.

You know, I was going to put an analogy here, but I just couldn’t bring myself to compare God to anything I was dreaming up.

Suffice it to say, knowing that the omnipotent, omniscient God of all chooses to never forsake you and MADE A WAY to forgive your sins is the best security and love you can experience.

Let’s not argue about what God cannot do/be. Instead, why don’t we make a list of all the things God CAN and CHOOSES to do/be. I’m pretty sure you won’t be done with it in THIS lifetime.

So...you should probably get started.

[Can I just say? I hate to step on any toes. But the above-mentioned song by Kutlass is used dishwater to me. Lukewarm and less than potent. It’s catchy and all, but the whole song is about what YOUR faith can do for YOU. I don’t think James OR the writer of Hebrews considered faith THE driving force at all. It’s just the vessel through which God’s power flows. So, this song which fails to mention an OBJECT of faith (AND implies it should be YOU with lyrics like ‘you’re stronger than you know’ is just a remix of Mariah Carey’s Hero. I mean, really.]

Good morrow!

And happy almost Christmas!

So. While at my parents' last weekend, I encountered the BEST video for Theology Thursday at their church on Sunday. I figured that it covers everything I can't (and some things I already did), so what better to show on the last Thursday before Christmas? Because, seriously, there are only so many Thursdays in a December, people!

So, without further ado, for your entertainment and education, four minutes of fun:

There are quite a few myths and questions surrounding these mysterious men.

Were they wise men, kings, students, or just wanderers? Were there two, three, ten, or twenty? When did they visit the Christ-child? And how did they know to come?

Matthew 2 gives quite a few answers. And when you put a few things together, you realize that after Herod asked these men when they saw the "star" they had been following to find Jesus, he had all male children 2 years and younger killed. Two years is normally guessed to be how long it took them to travel from the east. Also, Matthew specifically states that they entered a house when they visited Jesus, which means Jesus and his family were already established somewhere...maybe back home in Nazareth.

So, no wise men in the stable...but I think we can keep them in the nativity scenes...it's only fair.

As for how they knew, this isn't detailed in Matthew. But they did seem to show a knowledge of Jewish history and literature. They also may have been avid astrologers, as they were able to notice the anomaly in the sky that led them to Israel, claiming they "saw his star when it rose" (Mt 2:2). Maybe they were waiting for it?

How many were there? We really don't know. Magos is the word used for them, and it's in the plural form. So, there were at least two. That's it. Sure they brought three gifts, but that doesn't mean there was one type of gift per person. Maybe each one brought all three gifts. Maybe one guy brought all three gifts and the others paid for camel fuel and pizza.

Ok. WHAT were the wise men/kings/magi? I mentioned above that Magos is the Greek word used for them. It stems from a word that means: "Of foreign origin". It refers to the wise men, seers, teachers, astrologers, etc. of Mede, Persia, and Babylonia. This explains a lot, actually. When the Jewish people were scattered in the Old Testament, they were imprisoned in these lands. That may explain where these eastern men gleaned their knowledge of Jewish culture and history.

They were obviously wise, most likely wealthy (I mean, gold's not cheap...and hey, neither is myrrh. Also. Traveling across the known world. Not cheap.), but kings?

My opinion is that they were not. It just makes sense for them to be wise advisors specializing in astrology. And you remember Jafar from Aladdin? I mean, that guy raked it in! Do you remember his house? Dude. He had a parrot! And, he just kept extra gold-threaded clothes around for when he captured feisty sultans' daughters? Yeah. The man was a bajillionaire.

I'm just sayin'. Sounds to me like those far eastern advisor astrologer types could have afforded some gold and myrrh (and who doesn't have frankincense lying around?).

So. Today is Thursday. Because I meant to post Theology Thursday on a Thursday…and I didn’t.

So, whilst you read this post, it is Thursday. When you are done, it can be Friday again (which should make you smile. What a short Thursday!).

Something you may not know about me (but probably do) is that my degree is in “Religion”. This is actually misleading because I only studied one religion…well, two if you count Early to Medieval Catholicism…but don’t even ask me about modern Catholicism; I have no clue about that stuff. Actually…I also studied a little Ancient Judaism. But again, I know nothing of modern practice.

But Protestant Christianity? They beat that with a stick….because it was my major. Fo’ Reals.

Anyhow. I thought it might be interesting for the season to discuss some of the theology behind Christmas. It’s very easy to forget that the purpose behind this holiday is not gifts. That sounds cliché, but it’s so true! Even well-meaning people can go through Christmas day traveling, wrapping, unwrapping, eating, and laughing (all very good things, I might add…especially the eating) and not think twice about why we celebrate. So, for this and the next two (sheesh, really? Two more Thursdays until Christmas?!) Thursdays, I’ll post the truth behind a commonly believed Christmas myth.

So. Today, I’ll touch on what I deem to be an “easy” topic. I thought I’d share about the real season of Jesus’ birth.

I’m sure most people know about this, but I also know that some people would say something if this wasn’t mentioned: “You know what’s really interesting about Christmas? Jesus wasn’t even born in winter! It’s true. So we don’t celebrate…it’s not Jesus’ real birthday.”

You know, since throngs of legalists (or any throngs) frequent this blog.

So, here’s the thing: Jesus wasn’t born in winter, maybe. It’s true that we can’t be sure what day Jesus was born, but we do know a couple things:

- Most shepherds did not keep their sheep in the fields at night between the months of November and March. It’s cold out there, man! (This is the most common reason behind the argument.) However, some have said that the Bethlehem lambs were an exception to the rule as they were sacrificial lambs being raised and prepared for Passover a few months later.

- Some have said that a mass census would not have taken place during the winter months, as travel to one’s hometown would have been difficult during that season. Honestly, I find this one pretty weak.

And this argument is much more extensive than those two reasons, but this is not an argumentative paper for Christmas class. So we’ll stop there.

So, then let’s just say Jesus was not born on what is now December 25. It’s highly unlikely, anyhow. Why December 25? Where did this date come from?

If you research this topic, you’ll find mentions of Hippolytus, John Chrysostom, and other early church fathers, noting their arguments for December 25 are what brought us to celebrating it today.

But I think it’s something different. Not that those guys didn’t argue for December 25 as Jesus’ birthday, but I think it stemmed from something else.

Ever heard of Saturn? No, not the planet. The god. That’s right, the Roman god, Saturn, of agriculture and what not. I’m mentioning him in a post about Christmas. What’re you going to do about it?

No, but seriously. Saturn was the dad of all those Roman (or better known Greek equivalents) gods and goddesses you know and love. Including good ol’ Jupiter and Juno (Greek: Zeus and Hera). Thaaaat’s right. Them two was brother and sister. Gross.

But this isn’t a stroll into the skewed imaginations of the ancient Greeks and Romans. Saturn was celebrated yearly in a week long festival called: Saturnalia. I know. So original, you guys. It just happened to fall on December 17-23.

So here’s what I think. Rome, being the capital of the free enslaved world still in the 1st Century, also housed the largest, if not most influential, group of Christians. I don’t know if you heard about this, but they weren’t really liked for a while in Rome. They probably would have been kicked in the shins if they openly celebrated Jesus. I think that Christians used Saturnalia as a time to celebrate Christ while festivities were already happening, and they could “fly under the radar” so to speak. I would suspect they tried not to make a big fuss by placing statues of baby Jesus and some shepherds on their front lawn next to their neighbor’s leaf-clad Saturn, but you know.

Also, interesting? The Talmud mentions that “Saturna” a pagan festival before the winter solstice (sound familiar?) was originally a time to remember the reflection and fasting of Adam (that’s right, THE Adam) regarding the proximity of the end of his days and was turned into a pagan festival later.

So, a Jewish holiday turned Roman pagan turned Early Christian turned Commercial. That’s what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown!

But, not really.

I think celebrating Jesus’ birth during this time is a perfectly wonderful tradition that many of us already enjoy for the right reasons. I think tradition is really a beautiful thing, and whether we are harkening back to our roots as Christians, One-God-fearers, or humans, we can celebrate Jesus’ birth on December 25 with confidence, because really, what’s in a date?

Because let's face it, regardless of when, Jesus was born. He did and does live. And he absolutely died for our sins. But best of all? He rose again conquering death and sin in one fell swoop. And THAT is something to celebrate.

Btw? Another cool festival? The Festival of Lights. Not Hinduism’s Diwali (I know that’s what you were thinking…because you watch The Office). Rather Judaism’s Hanukkah. Yep. It’s the celebration of Jewish freedom (which seems to be a trend with God, don’t you think? From the Egyptians, from the Babylonians, from the Syrians, from sin… from the Syrians thanks to those Maccabean brothers, and during the rededication of the temple, they were only able to find a small amount of oil that should have lasted in the lamps for one day but miraculously lasted eight days (just long enough for new oil to be made/obtained).