It’s interesting to read Justin’s defense.  He was living in a pre-modern world, where a metaphysical argument carried as much weight as an argument of empirical evidence.  He can glide between judicial logic and theories about demons in one breath, and not be dismissed as a ‘fanatic’ because of it.  Yet when I think about what’s at stake for him, it causes a certain amount of introspection on my part.  Justin’s words are bold and uncompromising in his loyalty to Jesus.  He faced the sentence of death yet loudly proclaimed his faith.  I face a little bit of name calling, and sometimes shrink away from praying out loud or admitting to my place in the church. 

I still ask thequestion….what can Justin say to us from the mists of history?   -R.

Chapter IV.-Christians Unjustly Condemned for Their Mere Name.

The labels we have in society don’t really define us, unless that label is describing some sort of behavior that’s unlawful or detrimental to society as a whole.  Yet the name, or label, we go by is that of a good, law-abiding Man, which should then, by implication, make us good, law-abiding people.

But we’re not asking you to acquit us based on a name.  Our life and behavior in society should be the basis of any judgment of us.  If we engage in criminal activity, it doesn’t matter what name we go by, we deserve punishment.  To convict us solely on the basis of a name is inconceivable, yet that’s the only evidence you use against us. Unlike any other person accused of a crime, you dole out punishment on us as soon as you hear the name; we don’t even get to be convicted in court first. How is it reasonable to be prejudiced against a group of people just because of the name they identify themselves with?  It’s more reasonable to prosecute those who are stirring up trouble against us just because we are known as Christians.

On the other hand, if someone recants, and denies that he’s associated with the name Christian, you acquit him saying you have no evidence against him.  Because of a name!  But the moment someone says he is a Christian, you say you have the evidence you need, and condemn him.  It’s ludicrous.

Please, I’m asking you to be reasonable.  You have to observe how a person acts, how they behave, what their history is to really know what kind of person they are.  Have you investigated the lives of those who bring accusations against us?  What kind of people are they?  Just because they are opposing Christianity they seem to have credibility with you, but how is that fair?  How is it right to condemn us simply because we don’t see things the same way you do?  Look down through history!  There are a lot of differing ideas about life and death and the gods, yet all those who wrote on these subjects are all called by the name ‘philosopher’.  They don’t all agree with each other.  Some you accept and some you reject, some are good philosophers and some are hacks, but you allow for their differing opinions.  In the field of entertainment you have a great deal of leniency. Some of the latest comedy writers even mock the gods and religion of Rome, but they’re winning awards and getting big salaries, they aren’t being thrown in prison or killed.  How is this inequity justified in your minds? 

Chapter V.-Christians Charged with Atheism.

To set the record straight, we actually acknowledge the gods of Rome, but we don’t see them as something to be worshiped.  We believe they are real, but part of an evil rebellion against the one true God of heaven.  We consider the gods to be representations of fallen angels, the force of evil that does all kinds of destructive work in the earth.  We think they really did manifest themselves to mankind. We think these encounters frightened people so badly they considered these demonic manifestations to be the gods.  Socrates saw it this way too, and tried to introduce these same concepts to the philosophy of his day, but was put to death for his efforts.  He was accused, like we have been, of being an atheist and of introducing new religions.  We believe the same evil forces that stopped him from bringing the truth to light are working against us, the Christians, now.

God was trying to reach the Greeks through Socrates.  He was trying to speak through him, to reveal His Word through him.  But God’s loudest word to set the record straight came from among the people you call Barbarians.  The Word, Reason Himself, took shape and came to earth as a man, whom we call Jesus Christ.  Because of what we’ve learned from Him, we not only deny that the gods of Rome are really gods, but we believe that they are a force of evil in the world today. We substantiate our claims based on the contrast between the goodness of Jesus and the depravity of the Roman gods.

—

He was sort of the Jay Sekulow of his day, although “his day” was almost two thousand years ago.  His name was Justin, and all we know about him are the pieces of his history he shared in the three main works he wrote which are preserved for us today.  He was born in Palestine, a Greek with a good education.  Following the discipline of a philosopher, he studied various schools of thought in
Alexandria and Ephesus looking for answers to his questions.

One day, he had a chance encounter with an old man at the beach who told him the story of Jesus.  Justin was enthralled, and gave his life to Christ.  Interestingly, he didn’t abandon his ‘philosopher’s robe’, but continued to identify himself as a philosopher and teacher, just that his truth was now found in Christ.  He even took a different track concerning the accepted philosophies of his day, saying that they weren’t wholly wrong, but only partially right.  Philosophy was a grasp for truth, in his mind, and could serve as a “schoolmaster to bring us to Christ”. 

Justin was killed for his faith, somewhere around 160-165 AD.  During the intense persecutions that broke out against Christians in the
Roman Empire, Justin became the first recorded voice of those who would try to defend the Christian faith against attacks.  He is our first “apologist”. 

I’m fascinated with Justin.  I’ve been reading his works lately, asking the question, “What can Justin say to us today?”  For that reason, I’ve taken up a little project:  to paraphrase Justin Martyr’s “First Apology”.  It was his first defense written to the Roman Emperor as an appeal to reason during a terrible persecution which had been stirred up by the Cynic Crescens.  In this work, we find the voice and heart of the early church… or, at least, of one outspoken man of the early church.  To know that I’m connected to him through two millennia is stirring.  I’ve come to love Justin.  I can’t wait to meet him.

Following are the first few sections of Justin’s First Apology.  I don’t know if it will interest you, but I’ll put it up in sections over the next few weeks.  Let me know if it is interesting or helpful to you.  I’d love to talk about Justin with someone.

Chapter I.-Address.

To: His Majesty, Emperor Titus Aelius Adrianus Antonius Pius Augustus Ceaser,

CC to: Verissimus the Philosopher and son of Caesar, Lucius the Philosopher and natural son of Caesar, adopted son of Pius, who is also an avid student.

CC to: the Sacred Senate, and the Roman people et al.           

Let me introduce myself, I am Justin, son of Priscus and grandson of Bacchius, who were natives of Flavia Neapolis in Palestine.  I’m presenting this petition and address on behalf of myself, and all oppressed people of every nation who are being targeted during this time of unwarranted hatred. 

Chapter II.-Justice Demanded.

You are all reasonable men, and I know you have the intellectual honesty to seek the truth and abandon traditional opinion if it’s proven to be faulty.  Reason dictates that if someone is trying to persuade you to accept an ideology that is proven false, you’d refuse to be influenced by that person.  Those who have a high regard for what’s right would die before they would advance a lie instead of truth.

Since you men are so adamant about doing what’s right and learning the truth, I ask you to pay special attention to my case.  You will prove yourselves to be true philosophers and scholars if you do so.

I didn’t set out to stroke your egos or try to manipulate you into siding with us.  I’ve written to sincerely beg you to thoroughly investigate our case, don’t be quick in passing judgment.  It won’t be easy, given the current climate of prejudice against us, but I ask you to be objective in your assessments, not buying every rumor or bit of hearsay that floats around.As far as we’re concerned, the charges and judgments against us are unlawful, unless someone can prove that we’ve actually broken the laws of the Empire.  Yet regardless of your response, our view is, though you may have the power to kill us, you have no power to hurt us. 

Chapter III.-Claim of Judicial Investigation.

Our demand is not unreasonable, and we are not promoting anarchy.  We submit, rather demand, that a full investigation be made of all who have been accused of wrong-doing.  If the charges against an individual can be substantiated, we agree that he or she should be punished as the law requires (in fact, we feel so strongly about this, we’ll punish them if you’d like).  But is it justice to convict innocent people simply on hearsay or unsubstantiated rumors?  You would do yourself an injustice by ruling the affairs of Rome based on the current hysteria, rather than an examination of the facts.

Any reasonable person would consider it only fair to let those accused give their side of the story.  And it’s only reasonable that those who judge these matters would come to their conclusions based on the facts of the case, not the prevailing emotional state of the mob.  In that way everyone is kept safe, both prosecutor and prosecuted.  There’s an old quote, I forget who said it, “Unless both rulers and citizens decide a matter according to the facts, peace is impossible to achieve.”

Our goal is to set all the facts before you, give a full disclosure of who we are and what we believe so it can counter all the rumors spread by those who know virtually nothing about us.  All we ask is that you give us a fair hearing, and judge us according to what is lawful and reasonable.  If you hear our case and still find fault in us, I’ll have to leave that between you and God.

“It happen’d one Day about Noon going towards my Boat, I was exceedingly surpriz’d with the Print of a Man’s naked Foot on the Shore, which was very plain to be seen in the Sand: I stood like one Thunder-struck, or as if I had seen an Apparition; I listen’d, I look’d round me, I could hear nothing, nor see any Thing, I went up to a rising Ground to look farther, I went up the Shore and down the Shore, but it was all one, I could see no other Impression but that one, I went to it again to see if there were any more, and to observe if it might not be my Fancy; but there was no Room for that, for there was exactly the very Print of a Foot, Toes, Heel, and every Part of a Foot; how it came thither, I knew not, nor could in the least imagine.” – Robinson Crusoe, chapter 18 

In Daniel Defoe’s 1719 novel “Robinson Crusoe”, there is this famous scene where the main character, Crusoe, stumbles upon a human footprint in the sand.  He had thought, up until this point, that he was alone on the island on which he was stranded.  His reaction to this find is one of dismay and fear.  First he runs and hides in his cave/shelter for three days, fearful of what such a find meant to him.  But after the initial shock wore off, he became bolder, and began the adventure of trying to find the foot that made the print.

It makes me think about the Bible.

(Doesn’t everything?)

(No!….I don’t know, maybe.  Stay out of this!)

As human beings, we are a lot like Robinson Crusoe.  By and large, we start our conscious life with a sense of isolation.  We wander through the wreckage of the fall, wondering how we will survive, hardly thinking that there is anything outside our own thoughts and procedures. 

Then one day, we stumble upon The Footprint.  We work to ignore it…we are, if honest, somewhat frightened by it, and especially the implication it brings…that we are not alone.  The Word of God is the footprint in the sand of this earth that reveals to us that we are not alone.

The Footprint itself is quite revealing.  To study the footprint we can learn a lot of things…how many toes, how large or small the stride, how deep the imprint is informs of weight.  We can even tell how fast or slow the movement was when the footprint was made.  But we must not stop there.

What if Crusoe had discovered the footprint, and become obsessed with it as an end in itself?  What if Crusoe had measured and studied the print, then built barricades around it to preserve it from being tampered with.  What if he’d measured how far his dwelling was from the print, and moved his dwelling to a closer proximity to the print, in order to be more aware of its presence?  What if Crusoe had become so familiar with that footprint that he could reproduce it over and over…where he could carve an image of it in wood or stone.  What if he had made a motif from its likeness, and wore it on his clothing or hung it around his neck.  What if he spent all of his spare time examining the footprint, trying to discover more details about the print he may have missed?

What if he had done all of those things……..but NEVER went to look for the FOOT?  His story would have been a mere tedium, and all the adventures that later ensued would have been missed.

The danger which is inherent in a modern endeavor to study the Bible (an endeavor you surely know by now that I passionately encourage) is that we must always remember that we are not trying to catalogue information about the print…..we are looking for The Foot!  The Footprint provides some very important information that is helpful to us, but the most important information of all is what direction we should go when setting off on our adventure to find the Foot.

To learn about the Bible, but never live what the Bible reveals, results in a life of religious tedium and its no wonder we seem so short supplied in joy.  Let’s look at The Footprint and get our direction….then lets go on the adventure of finding The Foot!

(By the by, thanks to all who have expressed such kind thoughts to me during my time away. It goes a long way toward helping an insecure guy feel loved-thank you!)

Ok…so, whew…I think this will be the last one of these I do.

Once again…sorry for the choppiness of this video…some of it is editing, some of it is because it got wonky during the digital capture…hopefully it won’t distract too much.

Here are the links I mentioned:

E-Sword

David Guzik’s Online Commentary

Bible Gateway – I forgot to mention in the video that you can listen to an AUDIO version of the Bible at this site as well, for those who don’t like to read!

Follow the Rabbi

Bible study tools on Crosswalk

If you just can’t bring yourself to read at all…you can still listen to teachings on the Bible online at a LOT of different church sites…Eastgate’s included. 

Some other teachers I would recommend are:

Mike MacIntosh ,  Jon Courson , Joe Focht or you may like Mark Driscoll

There are so many teachers who have their instruction online the list could be endless.

Have fun!

Ok…I’m sorry for the late entry today. I’ve been working on this video here and there throughout the day…sorry for it’s length, and for the choppy editing (though in some way, it may achieve a certain stylization by chopping it up the way I did)(Seriously though…I had to chop it up to remove all the extrenious stuff that just made it even longer).

In his book, “The Pursuit of God”, A.W. Tozer writes:

“The way to deeper knowledge of God is through the lonely valleys of soul poverty and abnegation of all things.  The blessed ones who possess the Kingdom are they who have repudiated every external thing and have rooted from their hearts all sense of possessing. These are the ‘poor in spirit'” 

Where is that voice today?  Where are the leaders calling us to this kind of abandonment to God and His will?  Tozer, in his day, was almost a lone voice calling out a warning about the dangerous, self-oriented path that evangelicalism was taking.  Those voices are still there today, still warning…albeit, mostly from the fringe.

I’m not feeling good today (not just mentally, I think I have that sore throat-flu thing that’s been going about smacking people lately…and given my propensity for asking people to hold hands at Burning House meetings, it’s no wonder).  But anyway…I’m not feeling good, which is my excuse for writing such a biting satire below.  It’s not that I’m trying to be difficult…it’s just that I’m frustrated at what we are passing off as Christianity these days.  Please feel free to take exception to my words.

THE MODERN EVANGELICAL BEATITUDES

Blessed are the rich,

For they show off God’s power to prosper and get more stuff.

Blessed are the entertained,

For they shall be numbed to the realities of life and responsibility.

Blessed are the loud,

For their picketing, protests and demands shall make politicians fear them.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for self-help formulas and platitudes,

For they shall find a cornucopia of books to make them feel good at the Christian bookstore.

Blessed are the condemning,

For their signs and bullhorns prove they are right and all others are wrong.

Blessed are they who are steeped in doctrinal training,

For they shall have an answer for everything, and no more shall mystery be tolerated.

Blessed are those who promote the war on terror,

For they shall always know war.

Blessed are those who work toward legislating Christian values and morals,

Who force the Christian way of life on all, regardless of individual choice,

For theirs is the kingdom of this world and it’s ways.

Sorry for the delay in posting…holidays you know.

You know…Christmas is a wonderful holiday.  I know that many have said that a war is being waged on Christmas, citing the new trend of shoppers being greeted with “happy holidays” instead of “merry Christmas”…and other strange little insignificant issues that people seem to love obsessing over.  In reality though, Christmas itself is a strange mish-mosh of pagan and Christian symbols, replete with syncretism and outright mythology.

One interesting bit of mythology is the ordinary Nativity Scene.  A typical Nativity Scene looks like this:

It has Mary, Joseph and Jesus, which is a good place to start, but what’s really interesting is all the stuff that has been added which is, as far as we know, pure fiction. 

WHAT?!!  How can you say that?

Well…just hang with me here.  As I said, the main characters are right…but in addition to them, we have three wise men (when the Bible just says “Wise men came from the east”….no number given.  There were three gifts mentioned, but that is no proper indicator of how many made the trip.  Also, we are told that the wise men came and visited the “young child”…which most scholars seem to think indicates this was 1-2 years after his birth).

Also in addition to Mary, Joe and Jesus is a group of animals.  I had always heard the wonderful stories of the animals all bowing down to the Little Lord Jesus and always was fond of them.  They are nice…but totally fabricated.  There’s no scriptural indication that any such thing happened.

Actually, the stable which houses this nice Nativity Scene is apocryphal.  The language the Bible uses doesn’t indicate a western style wooden stable at all, but more likely is referring to the lower room of a family house, where much of the cooking was done, and where smaller animals would be housed and fed during the cold months.

Other things like the Innkeeper (which isn’t in the scene above but is usually part of the story), and even the idea of a traditional western style “inn” are fabrications as well.  Joseph was heading to his ancestral home for the census…he would have had family in Bethlehem.  The word translated as inn is really quite nebulous in our language, and is also the word used to describe the upper room where Jesus met with his disciples and families for the last Passover meal they shared.  The word used for “inn” could just mean there wasn’t any room left in the guest room of Joseph’s family when he came to Bethlehem, so he and Mary had to go to the lower room and bunk there…oh yeah, and birth a child.

It’s kind of strange, isn’t it?  All the stuff of tradition that seeps into our understanding of a story, which really alters the original quite a bit.  There are a LOT of things, just like the Nativity Scene, that have been reverently placed in the concept of church which have no basis in scripture for their origin.  That’s why I still insist that simple is safer.  We know Joseph was there….and Mary was too, and best of all Jesus was.  All the other stuff is just along for the ride, we can take it or leave it.   So with the church.  We know Jesus is there…that he died on a cross to save us and draw us together….beyond that, most stuff is based on cultural preference and view.  If we hold to the peripheral stuff loosely, we’ll stay with the simple….and to me, that’s where its safe.

 Merry Christmas!