tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26076649.post3447587687601195091..comments2023-10-24T04:27:01.992-04:00Comments on 23 Acres of Black Dirt: Speak truthsharecropperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15138522185303347235noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26076649.post-71744068946124789992007-03-21T22:02:00.000-04:002007-03-21T22:02:00.000-04:00Thanks, Journeyman, for a different perspective on...Thanks, Journeyman, for a different perspective on the creed. And, truly, we all suffer. <BR/><BR/>Paul certainly dwelt on Jesus' life and ministry, even if he distorted it by his own biases (don't we all?). But, Paul expected Jesus to return within his lifetime, as did most of the apostles.<BR/><BR/>Resurrection was a major part of their worship of Father and Son. The Holy Spirit seems to have been added a bit later. And, for most people in those times, the afterlife was as unknown as it is to me now. They were concerned with relief from suffering of all kinds - much of it to do with patriarchy and the Romans. Resurrection provided a reason to go on - afterlife with God, the promise of golden streets and many mansions.<BR/><BR/>As we interpret scripture with a different eye now, we may need to revisit the creeds, not only with new interpretation (which you have given us) but also with new words which have more meaning for our lives today. <BR/><BR/>I believe the resurrection has an important place in that credo, but I like the eucharistic prayers that empahsize Jesus' ministry and love so much. They speak to me where I am now. Even the crucifixion speaks to me more than resurrection - although I believe that we are resurrected when we repent and turn toward God. Bodily resurrection after death is a concept that holds no appeal for me.<BR/><BR/>Thanks for your comments, and please keep them up!sharecropperhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15138522185303347235noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26076649.post-41976162928386588532007-03-21T08:00:00.000-04:002007-03-21T08:00:00.000-04:00Prayers for you, and I'll need to think more about...Prayers for you, and I'll need to think more about incarnation vs. resurrection. I still find it odd, after Abraham's attempted sacrifice of Isaac, that God would ever desire a human sacrifice for anything.Davehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01744626513934324151noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26076649.post-62061933673686627542007-03-21T02:28:00.000-04:002007-03-21T02:28:00.000-04:00Try it this way:born of the virgin Mary,suffered,u...Try it this way:<BR/><BR/>born of the virgin Mary,<BR/>suffered,<BR/>under Pontius Pilate was crucified, died, and buried...<BR/><BR/>Suffering is not passive. The Eucharistic Prayer in Apostolic Tradition says "In order to fulfill your will and make for you a people, he extended his hands when he suffered, that he might deliver the suffering ones who hoped in him; who was betrayed to suffering in his own will, that he might destroy death, and break the chains of the devil, and trample hell, and direct the saints, and fix the boundary, and manifest resurrection...."<BR/><BR/>Three items I notice here. His suffering is an identification with all who suffer. His suffering is a suffering he is delivered to by his own choice. And nowhere here is the effect of his suffering (note-- the word here is suffering, not sacrifice) said to do anything about sin... but rather about deliverance from all sorts of powers, leadership and protection for us, and the manifestation of resurrection before the whole world. <BR/><BR/>And from another angle, if you read sermons from the period that gives us the Apostles' Creed, the life and ministry and teaching of Jesus is nowhere in doubt, and everywhere in plain view. One didn't need to say much more about it in the creed, because it was most of what one learned and heard all the time. <BR/><BR/>Peace in Christ,Taylor W Burton Edwardshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00963804209682220712noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26076649.post-48821606439782353882007-03-19T00:23:00.000-04:002007-03-19T00:23:00.000-04:00I have always been troubled by the fact that the c...I have always been troubled by the fact that the creed goes from "born of the Virgin Mary" directly to "suffered under Pontius Pilate," with no mention of the life between. I think if that life had not been so extraordinary, so filled with acts of healing and standing up to the powers and principalities, we never would have heard of Jesus of Nazareth-- he would have been just another crucified victim of the Roman empire. Instead, by his living as well as dying, he is the face of God to us.<BR/><BR/>Pax, C.Ceciliahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10812791378130572065noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26076649.post-53675144016460035612007-03-18T20:54:00.000-04:002007-03-18T20:54:00.000-04:00My prayers are with you, too. This is wonderful wr...My prayers are with you, too. This is wonderful writing. Thank you for it.Ninahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05414248070555399826noreply@blogger.com