'Tis the season! Football I mean. So,off we go to a UNC - East Carolina game. We usually eat when we get there (at places really close to the stadium) but this time, we decided to make sandwiches to eat in the car and go out after the game. A little change never hurt anyone, I reckon. And I was excited to be going on my first Chapel Hill excursion of the season. Upon our arrival, Don has a great place to park at the Global Center deck. We used to be able to tailgate there but no more since they replaced a parking lot with the deck. Anyway, we went down a level since we were arriving later than most others and almost impaled my car on an overhead pipe that missed the top of the car by one inch, if that. We were appalled when we got out and saw what we had nearly done. Then Don bumped his head on the thing anyway and we decided to move the car even though no damage had yet been done.
With all our Football NCAA woes, who knew what would happen as far as scoring goes - but I love Chapel Hill no matter what and won't turn down a chance to go there. The game was at 3:30 and we didn't leave Charlotte until 12:20 or so - got there in the nick of time to see the kickoff. (I was a little bummed that I didn't hear "Hark the Sound" before the game.) Lots of East Carolina fans in the stadium. Way more purple than I believe is normally so. L. H. seats were filled with 3 EC fans and one UNC fan but they were quite subdued, even when EC was ahead at times.
Kenan Fieldhouse is gone and there is massive construction on that side of the field. The huge screen where we could see the scores and replays has been replaced by what looks to me like a smaller screen which is buried inside scaffolding and was impossible for me to see from our seats. Oh, well, maybe that will be cured by next year. Seems to me, we are losing a lot of our character by demolishing the old familiar and getting all these new, BIG, slick things. I understand there will be new ways of allotting where season ticket holders will be sitting. I don't know when that will happen but if our seats wind up in hot sun, I am so going to watch on tv from home - or maybe on some big tvs at the Carolina Inn would be even better!!!
Anyway, the score at halftime was 14 all. At least we were keeping up, I thought. Then the second half started and we pulled ahead slowly. Finally, I relaxed a little when the score got to 35 - 17. Don wished for one more TD so we would be at 42. I guess all humans want just a little more, right. I laughed at him - But he got his wish. Before the game ended, we got one more TD and point after making the final score, 42-17.
Since we hadn't done our normal before-the-game meal, we decided to walk across campus (which we very rarely do and which I LOVE to do), visiting the Old Well and Silent Sam along the way. (That man NEVER shoots his gun, come to think of it.) Then we went down Franklin Street and visited the Shrunken Head where the owner tried to sell us a jacket that cost $134 (beautiful but...) Don bought a shower curtain and got me a couple of magnets I liked that were pink UNC's. Then we decided to try the Carolina Coffee House (only restaurant remaining that I remember from umpteen years ago). We had to wait about 20 minutes to be seated as we were not the only ones with that idea. I spent the 20 minutes talking to some East Carolina fans who were waiting to eat before driving home to Raleigh. Pretty nice folks and I enjoyed their company. I even joked with one of them about swiping rolls at the old Porthole restaurant that is now closed. When we were seated, we got a blackened chicken that was very very good. Then we walked to the car, going down Columbia Street and had our ears assaulted with Fraternity House "music" blasting next door to the Carolina Inn. The Carolina Inn had two HUGE flatscreens broadcasting a game from a side porch and had seats set up outside for viewers to sit. I imagine they broadcast the UNC games there - an alternative to attendance at the live game maybe??? Along the way, we saw Top of the Hill Restaurant (maybe bar) and what used to be the Intimate Book Store (now Tarheel Book Store). We looked down the alley where Rathskeller used to be - nothing happening there at all and took pictures outside Johnny T-Shirt which had closed for the day.
All in all, I had a great day and Don did too.
10/3/10
8/31/10
2010.08.10 Bargaining for Tickets
My friend has 9 Panthers home game NFL tickets and it is pre-season. The game is at 8 p.m. tonight. My friend wants to sell the tickets to tonight's game and asks me to go along for the ride. It was around lunch and as a treat, we went to Green's Hot Dogs and got lunch. We enjoy that and the people there are always nice to everyone.
First, we rode around the stadium and didn't see much activity except for those who are in it to buy cheap and sell a little higher to anyone making the best offer. So we went to eat first. After, we went to one corner where there had been a little more activity. One guy comes running over and offers $60 for 4 tickets. Then another guy comes over and tells the first guy he is horning in on his corner. He offers $80 for (I think) 5 tickets. Don is talking to both these guys who are already talking over one another and yet another guy comes to my side of the car and starts matching whatever these other guys are offering. But not just matching, tossing $20 bills onto the seat next to me even though my friend is not even talking to him!!!!! This guy is right in my face as he is leaning down to talk through the car window and I am saying, I have NO tickets, please stop dropping money on the seat next to me. But he won't quit. He wants tickets. Then, the next thing I know, Don picks up this guy's money and says somebody didn't pay him and acts like he is keeping the money from the guy next to me. I am saying, you didn't sell him any tickets and that is his money. The guy is going "Give me back my money, give me back my money." And the guy who really has the tickets and hasn't paid is walking down the street to talk to someone (evidently). My friend beeps his horn in several little beeps and the guy with the unpaid for tickets comes back and gives us the $60 he agreed to and Don gives back the money to the guy beside me. All ends well (as far as I know). But it was quite an adventure. I didn't expect quite all that much activity over some pre-season tickets. Still had fun though and it was a new experience for me after all.
First, we rode around the stadium and didn't see much activity except for those who are in it to buy cheap and sell a little higher to anyone making the best offer. So we went to eat first. After, we went to one corner where there had been a little more activity. One guy comes running over and offers $60 for 4 tickets. Then another guy comes over and tells the first guy he is horning in on his corner. He offers $80 for (I think) 5 tickets. Don is talking to both these guys who are already talking over one another and yet another guy comes to my side of the car and starts matching whatever these other guys are offering. But not just matching, tossing $20 bills onto the seat next to me even though my friend is not even talking to him!!!!! This guy is right in my face as he is leaning down to talk through the car window and I am saying, I have NO tickets, please stop dropping money on the seat next to me. But he won't quit. He wants tickets. Then, the next thing I know, Don picks up this guy's money and says somebody didn't pay him and acts like he is keeping the money from the guy next to me. I am saying, you didn't sell him any tickets and that is his money. The guy is going "Give me back my money, give me back my money." And the guy who really has the tickets and hasn't paid is walking down the street to talk to someone (evidently). My friend beeps his horn in several little beeps and the guy with the unpaid for tickets comes back and gives us the $60 he agreed to and Don gives back the money to the guy beside me. All ends well (as far as I know). But it was quite an adventure. I didn't expect quite all that much activity over some pre-season tickets. Still had fun though and it was a new experience for me after all.
6/27/10
2010.06.24 Lunch with College Friends
I had lunch with 2 college friends today. We went to Lupie's which, it turns out, has great vegetable plates in the summer. They go to the farmer's market frequently and get fresh, locally grown veggies. I loved their green beans and tomatoes especially. But you have to ask, as they get what looks good and do not produce new menus every day.
Both my friends were nursing students and did take jobs as nurses for a time. Neither of them practice now but one is director of student nurses at a local nursing school and is over admittance there. She was going back to work after our long lunch as this is a crucial time to get students registered for a session.
We talked about people we knew, recipes, and such and memories of professors and classes there. My roommate for all 4 years, did not like French, and feels like she passed it because she invited the professor out to lunch or dinner toward the end of the semester she took it. I was unlike her as I loved foreign languages and especially French, since I came to college equipped to speak and read it pretty well already. The other girl with us took a calculus class that was so foreign to her, she promised her professor she would take alternatives to math in the future if she could just get out of his class with a decent grade. She did and immediately signed up for Latin as an alternative. That was a good choice for her as it hopefully helped with some of the medical/pharmaceutical names she needed to learn. I told about the professor I had who was driving over from Duke to teach some over my head math course. He didn't show up first class which we thought was funny, then he didn't show up another class which we thought was odd, and then he didn't show up again which scared us. Finally, we appointed someone to go tell and the guy started coming to class and kept his back to us the whole time writing "stuff" on the board with no interaction from the class. Needless to say, no one did well on his first test and he decided that might also reflect poorly on his teaching abilities. So he got a little better after that. Good grief!!!!
I told about finding my religion notes from all those years ago and I told them why I went in pursuit of them. All 3 of us agreed that Dr. BB was a great and much loved professor with completely deserved credentials. Enough said for the 3 of us on that subject.
We had a good time and the food was good too. We'll hopefully do it again in the not too distant future.
Both my friends were nursing students and did take jobs as nurses for a time. Neither of them practice now but one is director of student nurses at a local nursing school and is over admittance there. She was going back to work after our long lunch as this is a crucial time to get students registered for a session.
We talked about people we knew, recipes, and such and memories of professors and classes there. My roommate for all 4 years, did not like French, and feels like she passed it because she invited the professor out to lunch or dinner toward the end of the semester she took it. I was unlike her as I loved foreign languages and especially French, since I came to college equipped to speak and read it pretty well already. The other girl with us took a calculus class that was so foreign to her, she promised her professor she would take alternatives to math in the future if she could just get out of his class with a decent grade. She did and immediately signed up for Latin as an alternative. That was a good choice for her as it hopefully helped with some of the medical/pharmaceutical names she needed to learn. I told about the professor I had who was driving over from Duke to teach some over my head math course. He didn't show up first class which we thought was funny, then he didn't show up another class which we thought was odd, and then he didn't show up again which scared us. Finally, we appointed someone to go tell and the guy started coming to class and kept his back to us the whole time writing "stuff" on the board with no interaction from the class. Needless to say, no one did well on his first test and he decided that might also reflect poorly on his teaching abilities. So he got a little better after that. Good grief!!!!
I told about finding my religion notes from all those years ago and I told them why I went in pursuit of them. All 3 of us agreed that Dr. BB was a great and much loved professor with completely deserved credentials. Enough said for the 3 of us on that subject.
We had a good time and the food was good too. We'll hopefully do it again in the not too distant future.
6/23/10
2010.06.23 Doctor's Visits and Hair Cuts
It's been a while since I posted anything here.
I went very early (there before 7 a.m.) to get my hair cut. Chuck did it in 15 minutes and I was out by 7:20. That included wash, cut, dry and style. I really like it.
I am also extremely happy that I got my physical done today and it looks like I am doing just great. I know I had a great time talking with Dr. B, my doctor of probably 25 or 30 years. He just made me feel like a million dollars, he was so impressed with how well I was doing. He said it was good to see me smiling and engaged in conversation in a positive way.
First of all, my blood pressure was 124/74 which was GREAT. It was a major goal of mine to have it down for our meeting today and I succeeded. Dr. B asked if anything was worrying me and I showed him a few bumps on my hands and legs. I wanted to know if any of them looked like skin cancer or something to worry about. He answered by asking if I just needed something to worry about. I said No and he said, "Well, I wouldn't add this to the list of things to think about too often." He said they are age related and wasn't I happy to have lived to get them. My right knee hurts on the right outside and it is virtually impossible to get down on all fours because a pain just shoots through it. It has been going on since I fell in my bedroom 2 months ago. I thought I had scraped the leg because of the sensation I had there but that would have healed by now. He says to try Aleve for a few weeks and see if the pain abates. If not, we might need to see a specialist to determine what is the matter with it. It really is somewhat debilitating in that a lot of yoga happens from an on your knees position and I can't look under furniture because it hurts pretty much when I try to do that. He said my head hurting on the right side is just after effects of surgery as there is alway something that does not ever really go away as a result of having been cut. So I am quitting my worry about that. My blood pressure was 124/74 and since it was a major goal of mine to have a great reading today, I felt victorious about that. Dr. B was very happy with it too and he was very happy that I was smiling and a little lively during our talk. He asked if I was happy and I said yes. He said "Me too" and "I think you are doing just great especially after the kind of surgery I had." All in all, I think this was a great exam and left on cloud 9 about it. I did ask my questions and I got answers.
Then he asked if Don were with me and I said he was in the waiting room. He wanted to go say hello and get to tell him himself about the way to change cholesterol meds. I think it helped him, me and Don to do that conversation in person.
This blog does not do justice to how happy I felt after this exam but I hope it tells what a great relationship I feel I have with Dr. B. And I am thrilled with the b.p. reading.
Then we went to Chick Fil A to get a sandwich for this evening. Before we ate it, Bob and Anne, Nancy and Jim called to ask us to meet for dinner. So we refrigerated the sandwiches and went to dinner with them. We had a great time together and talked about only pleasant subjects. It was a good meal and good company too.
I went very early (there before 7 a.m.) to get my hair cut. Chuck did it in 15 minutes and I was out by 7:20. That included wash, cut, dry and style. I really like it.
I am also extremely happy that I got my physical done today and it looks like I am doing just great. I know I had a great time talking with Dr. B, my doctor of probably 25 or 30 years. He just made me feel like a million dollars, he was so impressed with how well I was doing. He said it was good to see me smiling and engaged in conversation in a positive way.
First of all, my blood pressure was 124/74 which was GREAT. It was a major goal of mine to have it down for our meeting today and I succeeded. Dr. B asked if anything was worrying me and I showed him a few bumps on my hands and legs. I wanted to know if any of them looked like skin cancer or something to worry about. He answered by asking if I just needed something to worry about. I said No and he said, "Well, I wouldn't add this to the list of things to think about too often." He said they are age related and wasn't I happy to have lived to get them. My right knee hurts on the right outside and it is virtually impossible to get down on all fours because a pain just shoots through it. It has been going on since I fell in my bedroom 2 months ago. I thought I had scraped the leg because of the sensation I had there but that would have healed by now. He says to try Aleve for a few weeks and see if the pain abates. If not, we might need to see a specialist to determine what is the matter with it. It really is somewhat debilitating in that a lot of yoga happens from an on your knees position and I can't look under furniture because it hurts pretty much when I try to do that. He said my head hurting on the right side is just after effects of surgery as there is alway something that does not ever really go away as a result of having been cut. So I am quitting my worry about that. My blood pressure was 124/74 and since it was a major goal of mine to have a great reading today, I felt victorious about that. Dr. B was very happy with it too and he was very happy that I was smiling and a little lively during our talk. He asked if I was happy and I said yes. He said "Me too" and "I think you are doing just great especially after the kind of surgery I had." All in all, I think this was a great exam and left on cloud 9 about it. I did ask my questions and I got answers.
Then he asked if Don were with me and I said he was in the waiting room. He wanted to go say hello and get to tell him himself about the way to change cholesterol meds. I think it helped him, me and Don to do that conversation in person.
This blog does not do justice to how happy I felt after this exam but I hope it tells what a great relationship I feel I have with Dr. B. And I am thrilled with the b.p. reading.
Then we went to Chick Fil A to get a sandwich for this evening. Before we ate it, Bob and Anne, Nancy and Jim called to ask us to meet for dinner. So we refrigerated the sandwiches and went to dinner with them. We had a great time together and talked about only pleasant subjects. It was a good meal and good company too.
3/26/10
2010.03.25 Judaism and Christianity Discussion
Dr. Howell and Rabbi Murray Ezring met with an audience of MPUMC people and Temple Israel people to discuss Judaism and Christianity.
Rabbi Ezring began with saying another session is planned on "Are Biblical Miracles Real?" He does not yet have a date to announce.
Dr. Howell began by asking who are the chosen people. He talked about how it felt to be "unchosen" like a teen at a dance who doesn't get asked to dance. It doesn't feel good to be part of the unchosen. God did choose Abraham and Israel.
In Deuteromy 7, God tells Israel not to intermarry with other peoples and to destroy their idols. Deut 7:6 "For you are a people holy to the Lord your God; the Lord your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the earth, to be his people, his treasured possession." So Chosen means to have responsibility. God asks of us as well as blesses us. Genesis 12: 1-4 "Now the Lord said to Abram, "Go from your father's house to the land that I will show you. I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed." So Abram went, as the Lord has told him..."
Is God breaking his promise to the Jews by also choosing the rest of the world with Jesus? We think of God as a promise keeper, not an untrustworthy promise breaker. God does the choosing, not humans - so God chooses both - He chooses to bring us all into covenant with him. In Isaiah 43, God chooses and fashions a people and when they sin he blots out their sin and forgives. Isaiah 43: 1-3 "But now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: Do not fear, for I have redeemed you: I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior." Isaiah 43:23 "I, I am He who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins." Then in Isaiah 44, the people choose and fashion a god - it is idolatry when people make their own gods. It is not people who choose gods, rather it is God who chooses and fashions people.
Being a chosen people implies it is God who does the choosing. He can choose more than one group of people. Americans often think they are chosen. But this becomes a way of attaching arrogance to God's name because we think our preferences are God's preferences. It implies that our preferences are the "chosen" ones since we, as Americans, are the chosen.
Christians, over the years, have done terrible things to the Jews and this is tragic since we should be friends of one another.
John Calvin had a high view of God's promises because he said God promised and does not break his promises. Karl Barth at the University of Berlin said Jews are to this day the chosen people of God and if we Christians also have this promise, it is only as guests in their house.
John 4:22 "Salvation is from the Jews."
Romans 9 discusses whether God has rejected his people and the answer comes back, "no". In Romans 11: 1 and 2, Paul writes "I ask, then, has God rejected his people? By no means! I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, a member of the tribe of Benjamin. God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew." Paul continues that salvation has come to the Gentiles too.
Dr. Howell mentioned a writer (Palikan?) who says the church has suffered due to its loss of Jewish thought. God does not choose a single people but a people. God gave the Torah, the law on how to live a holy life.
In modern politics, what is the Protestant viewpoint on policy about Israel. Are the Palestinians victims and justice should be on their side. Some believe that deeply. Dr. Howell believes we should be in sorrow over the tensions there but we are obligated to be friends of the Jews.
Rabbi Ezring: It feels good to be one of the chosen people. But he thinks actually God calls Jews to be a special people to God, rather than use the word, "chosen." In the Sinai experience, God put Israel in the place of the bridegroom with the Torah as the bride. Torah was a gift before creation even began and he gave it to the people at Sinai. The bride chooses the bridegroom in a wedding. So does this mean the Torah chose Israel. However, the groom also chooses the bride so the choosing is mutual. Israel and the Torah chose each other mutually. There is a story that God offered Torah to other peoples but only Israel chose to accept it.
Jews do not believe they are the only ones with a relationship with God. They are Jewish because of God's covenant with the Jewish people. Jews willingly accept their Jewishness. If they do not, then they are not considered Jewish even though they were ethnically born as a Jew.
He went into the fact that Jews make up only .02% (14MM Jews) of the world's population yet have won 24% of (161 of 700) Nobel Prizes. Jews look at their special relationship with God at a responsibility rather than as giving them privileges. Their efforts in the areas honored by the Nobel Prize are seen as evidence of their striving to meet those responsibilities to the world.
However, Jews think Christians, Muslims and other religious groups have their own path to God. Jews do not think they have the ONLY path to Him. God loves each of us.
Howell: Luke 17:20-21 "Once Jesus was asked by the Pharisees when the Kingdom of God was coming and he answered, " the Kingdom of God is not coming with things that can be observed;....the Kingdom of God is among you." Some translations have Kingdom of God is within you. Dr. Howell thinks this is an unfortunate translation. Jesus was talking to the unchosen at the time he said this and these people were not respected as a group of people so Jesus meaning was that the Kingdom of God was among the people.
Jesus was primarily a Jewish teacher. He did not go around thinking of himself as anything other than that. He told stories in order to teach. His stories were full of the surprise of grace to those who were not chosen. It was all about blessing and God's mercy and grace.
The Kingdom is still out there but it is not wrought yet. Jews accept the yoke of the Kingdom of Heaven, the 613 commandments are accepted. The Kingdom of Heaven is spiritual and brought to a world with an honest relationship with God.
Ezring on how people are considered Jewish: Nowhere in the Bible does it say Jewishness is only by heredity. You can choose to become a part of the Jewish faith but it is a long process and not to be taken lightly. Ezring says Paul wanted a big population of believers so he did away with the requirement of circumcision (which was painful and not done by other groups back then) to become a member of the Christian community.
Dr. Howell said Paul was not just interested in numbers. His understanding of Jesus was that of a saving story. You did not get to salvation by adherence to laws but the the grace and mercy of God. Paul believed laws made people overly judgmental and people could not keep all of them. Each one was meant to have a core, spiritual meaning. Paul had a transformed view of what the laws meant to convey.
Ezring said Jewish law is not used for judgment but to give a path to the proper way of living. Jews don't accept Pauline thought since it takes away personal responsibility. It takes away the law which is what makes religious life different. In paganism, life has no real value except for what can be given to the gods. The Bible teaches we have value in our eternal soul so it is important how we live and what we bring to the world. The law changed human history and changed the way we look at the value of each other.
Dr. Howell: Christians have loads of rules on how to live. Grace comes and then you want to do good.
Ezring: The Holy Roman Empire was followed by the Crusades. The law slackened and bad things were wrought by Christians.
Howell: Christians have had a bad record of thinking their own warring power is somehow attached to God and religion. The book of James says we need to keep the law and works do count vs Paul who says Gentiles can be part of God's people without adherence to the law.
Christianity began to spread throughout the Mediterranean and Jews and Christians split into two groups.
God's purpose in choosing people: Howell says it is for the task of bringing God's love to everyone else. God chooses unlikely people for his people and we have to respond to his call.
Ezring: Amos 3:2 "You only have I known of all the families of the earth; therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities." God is punishing because he chose these people and they were not doing right. When chosen, you are to be a light to other nations. Live a life of goodness, honesty, and openness. Love has to do with trust.
Ezring told of a camp sponsored by houses of worship where youth of Christian, Jewish and Muslim faiths are brought together and it shows how we need to help one another and honor the rights of all. But faith is tested publicly this way and we need to put it to a private test.
Howell said the accomplishments of the Jews earning Nobel Prizes and other awards is commendable and notable but in the New Testament, we are also called on to embrace the world's poor and lowly.
Ezring was asked if it is possible to be born Jewish and not be Jewish and he answered yes and gave an example of a boy born to a Jewish family, adopted by a Catholic family and who was deemed not to be Jewish when he wanted to go to Israel to open a Christian organization. But he said traditionally, once a Jew always a Jew. If a Jew leaves for another faith and later wants to come back, it is done right away. Jews believe we are all children of God and those who are not part of the chosen Jews still need to follow the covenant laws.
Acts 15 agrees that those who are Jews will continue to follow the law.
Rabbi Ezring spoke of the seven laws of Noah which are inferred from Genesis 9 and 10. Traditional Judaism hold that God gave these laws to Noah and his family to observe when he saved them from the flood. These commandments are:
(1) to establish courts of justice
(2) not to commit blasphemy
(3) not to commit idolatry
(4) not to commit incest and adultery
(5) not to commit bloodshed
(6) not to commit robbery
(7) not to eat flesh cut from a living animal (The way we treat lower forms of life is reflective of your own goodness.)
These commandments are simple and are recognized by most of the world as sound moral principles. Any non-Jew who follows these laws has a place in the world to come. These laws are binding on all people since all people are descendants of Noah. The 613 mitzvah of the Torah are only binding on those who accepted them at Mt. Sinai and on those who take them voluntarily (by conversion). Also the Noahic commandments are applied more leniently to non-Jews than to Jews because non-Jews do not have benefit of the oral Torah to guide them in interpretation. (from jewfaq.org).
Howell: Jesus and Paul were good Jews. Jesus didn't say to make a new religion called Christianity. He taught, he crossed social boundaries and led by example. We do try to mimic Jesus' behavior but we don't say we must mimic Jesus. We can't come close to living like he did. We believe by grace of God and by faith in God, we are saved. Jesus did not think so much about himself. He was focused on others. Abraham did think about himself. Jesus was killed because he didn't defend himself. Jesus as Messiah can be a divisive statement so would rather look at how Jesus loved others.
Martin Buber (Jewish) - When asked about Messiah, said "I'm waiting for the Messiah to come. You think he has already been here and is coming back again. So let's wait for him together."
Isaiah 53 - Asked what suffering servant refers to if not the coming of Jesus, Rabbi Ezring said the suffering servant refers to Israel. In Exodus, Israel is referred to as "my chosen son" so that is how Judaism comes to that conclusion.
Asked about second coming, Howell believes there will be an accounting. How did we use our resources? Ezring believes there will be a time when history will be no more and an end of pain will come and people will live in harmony. God's presence will fill the world. Doesn't know if this will be in form of a personal Messiah or a Messianic era. However, we should all do things because it is right, not because we are trying to bring about a Messianic Era.
Jewish theology is about personal and collective suffering. Judaism is constantly changing to meet the needs of the day and the way people think. God does not get you back for things. We are given free will and we control some things ourselves. Those choices we make have consequences. God set a world order in process and he is not punishing and rewarding every time we act. We learn to find blessings in the world to make life meaningful. God and faith give us strength to face the world.
Judaism is a community religion. Jews can't practice Judaism alone. They need others for prayers, for keeping kosher (which is very difficult). The sense of community and family gives strength. Just witness a bar-mitzvah and you will see that. During Yam Kipper, forgiveness is asked and the prayers don't say "I" apologize but "we" have all sinned. We face judgment together.
Howell: We ave lost communal identity to some extent. We are often there for our personal salvation. Confession is not great in the Christian church. We don't have a corporate confession. Dr. Howell spoke of going to the Holocaust museum and being behind a Jewish group who was saying this is what Christians of Germany did to Jews. Howell apologized to the man and was criticized for doing so.
Ezring says the Holocaust did not bring Jews closer together. Orthodox Jews did not support Israel as a state after. So Jews were at odds over Israel.
On Judgement day, Jews will be judged on what they do. We need right reasons but just doing the right thing gets credited too. So just do it because you are supposed to and if you have right reasons and do it from the heart, maybe you get double credit. But just doing it gets credit too. The rationale for doing something isn't what counts. The fact that you did it is what counts.
Howell mentions an author (Ann Tyler) who said she thinks God should give us credit for what we thought of doing but didn't do.
Upon that the crowd was told we need to disperse. The meeting had lasted about 2 hours.
Rabbi Ezring began with saying another session is planned on "Are Biblical Miracles Real?" He does not yet have a date to announce.
Dr. Howell began by asking who are the chosen people. He talked about how it felt to be "unchosen" like a teen at a dance who doesn't get asked to dance. It doesn't feel good to be part of the unchosen. God did choose Abraham and Israel.
In Deuteromy 7, God tells Israel not to intermarry with other peoples and to destroy their idols. Deut 7:6 "For you are a people holy to the Lord your God; the Lord your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the earth, to be his people, his treasured possession." So Chosen means to have responsibility. God asks of us as well as blesses us. Genesis 12: 1-4 "Now the Lord said to Abram, "Go from your father's house to the land that I will show you. I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed." So Abram went, as the Lord has told him..."
Is God breaking his promise to the Jews by also choosing the rest of the world with Jesus? We think of God as a promise keeper, not an untrustworthy promise breaker. God does the choosing, not humans - so God chooses both - He chooses to bring us all into covenant with him. In Isaiah 43, God chooses and fashions a people and when they sin he blots out their sin and forgives. Isaiah 43: 1-3 "But now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: Do not fear, for I have redeemed you: I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior." Isaiah 43:23 "I, I am He who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins." Then in Isaiah 44, the people choose and fashion a god - it is idolatry when people make their own gods. It is not people who choose gods, rather it is God who chooses and fashions people.
Being a chosen people implies it is God who does the choosing. He can choose more than one group of people. Americans often think they are chosen. But this becomes a way of attaching arrogance to God's name because we think our preferences are God's preferences. It implies that our preferences are the "chosen" ones since we, as Americans, are the chosen.
Christians, over the years, have done terrible things to the Jews and this is tragic since we should be friends of one another.
John Calvin had a high view of God's promises because he said God promised and does not break his promises. Karl Barth at the University of Berlin said Jews are to this day the chosen people of God and if we Christians also have this promise, it is only as guests in their house.
John 4:22 "Salvation is from the Jews."
Romans 9 discusses whether God has rejected his people and the answer comes back, "no". In Romans 11: 1 and 2, Paul writes "I ask, then, has God rejected his people? By no means! I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, a member of the tribe of Benjamin. God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew." Paul continues that salvation has come to the Gentiles too.
Dr. Howell mentioned a writer (Palikan?) who says the church has suffered due to its loss of Jewish thought. God does not choose a single people but a people. God gave the Torah, the law on how to live a holy life.
In modern politics, what is the Protestant viewpoint on policy about Israel. Are the Palestinians victims and justice should be on their side. Some believe that deeply. Dr. Howell believes we should be in sorrow over the tensions there but we are obligated to be friends of the Jews.
Rabbi Ezring: It feels good to be one of the chosen people. But he thinks actually God calls Jews to be a special people to God, rather than use the word, "chosen." In the Sinai experience, God put Israel in the place of the bridegroom with the Torah as the bride. Torah was a gift before creation even began and he gave it to the people at Sinai. The bride chooses the bridegroom in a wedding. So does this mean the Torah chose Israel. However, the groom also chooses the bride so the choosing is mutual. Israel and the Torah chose each other mutually. There is a story that God offered Torah to other peoples but only Israel chose to accept it.
Jews do not believe they are the only ones with a relationship with God. They are Jewish because of God's covenant with the Jewish people. Jews willingly accept their Jewishness. If they do not, then they are not considered Jewish even though they were ethnically born as a Jew.
He went into the fact that Jews make up only .02% (14MM Jews) of the world's population yet have won 24% of (161 of 700) Nobel Prizes. Jews look at their special relationship with God at a responsibility rather than as giving them privileges. Their efforts in the areas honored by the Nobel Prize are seen as evidence of their striving to meet those responsibilities to the world.
However, Jews think Christians, Muslims and other religious groups have their own path to God. Jews do not think they have the ONLY path to Him. God loves each of us.
Howell: Luke 17:20-21 "Once Jesus was asked by the Pharisees when the Kingdom of God was coming and he answered, " the Kingdom of God is not coming with things that can be observed;....the Kingdom of God is among you." Some translations have Kingdom of God is within you. Dr. Howell thinks this is an unfortunate translation. Jesus was talking to the unchosen at the time he said this and these people were not respected as a group of people so Jesus meaning was that the Kingdom of God was among the people.
Jesus was primarily a Jewish teacher. He did not go around thinking of himself as anything other than that. He told stories in order to teach. His stories were full of the surprise of grace to those who were not chosen. It was all about blessing and God's mercy and grace.
The Kingdom is still out there but it is not wrought yet. Jews accept the yoke of the Kingdom of Heaven, the 613 commandments are accepted. The Kingdom of Heaven is spiritual and brought to a world with an honest relationship with God.
Ezring on how people are considered Jewish: Nowhere in the Bible does it say Jewishness is only by heredity. You can choose to become a part of the Jewish faith but it is a long process and not to be taken lightly. Ezring says Paul wanted a big population of believers so he did away with the requirement of circumcision (which was painful and not done by other groups back then) to become a member of the Christian community.
Dr. Howell said Paul was not just interested in numbers. His understanding of Jesus was that of a saving story. You did not get to salvation by adherence to laws but the the grace and mercy of God. Paul believed laws made people overly judgmental and people could not keep all of them. Each one was meant to have a core, spiritual meaning. Paul had a transformed view of what the laws meant to convey.
Ezring said Jewish law is not used for judgment but to give a path to the proper way of living. Jews don't accept Pauline thought since it takes away personal responsibility. It takes away the law which is what makes religious life different. In paganism, life has no real value except for what can be given to the gods. The Bible teaches we have value in our eternal soul so it is important how we live and what we bring to the world. The law changed human history and changed the way we look at the value of each other.
Dr. Howell: Christians have loads of rules on how to live. Grace comes and then you want to do good.
Ezring: The Holy Roman Empire was followed by the Crusades. The law slackened and bad things were wrought by Christians.
Howell: Christians have had a bad record of thinking their own warring power is somehow attached to God and religion. The book of James says we need to keep the law and works do count vs Paul who says Gentiles can be part of God's people without adherence to the law.
Christianity began to spread throughout the Mediterranean and Jews and Christians split into two groups.
God's purpose in choosing people: Howell says it is for the task of bringing God's love to everyone else. God chooses unlikely people for his people and we have to respond to his call.
Ezring: Amos 3:2 "You only have I known of all the families of the earth; therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities." God is punishing because he chose these people and they were not doing right. When chosen, you are to be a light to other nations. Live a life of goodness, honesty, and openness. Love has to do with trust.
Ezring told of a camp sponsored by houses of worship where youth of Christian, Jewish and Muslim faiths are brought together and it shows how we need to help one another and honor the rights of all. But faith is tested publicly this way and we need to put it to a private test.
Howell said the accomplishments of the Jews earning Nobel Prizes and other awards is commendable and notable but in the New Testament, we are also called on to embrace the world's poor and lowly.
Ezring was asked if it is possible to be born Jewish and not be Jewish and he answered yes and gave an example of a boy born to a Jewish family, adopted by a Catholic family and who was deemed not to be Jewish when he wanted to go to Israel to open a Christian organization. But he said traditionally, once a Jew always a Jew. If a Jew leaves for another faith and later wants to come back, it is done right away. Jews believe we are all children of God and those who are not part of the chosen Jews still need to follow the covenant laws.
Acts 15 agrees that those who are Jews will continue to follow the law.
Rabbi Ezring spoke of the seven laws of Noah which are inferred from Genesis 9 and 10. Traditional Judaism hold that God gave these laws to Noah and his family to observe when he saved them from the flood. These commandments are:
(1) to establish courts of justice
(2) not to commit blasphemy
(3) not to commit idolatry
(4) not to commit incest and adultery
(5) not to commit bloodshed
(6) not to commit robbery
(7) not to eat flesh cut from a living animal (The way we treat lower forms of life is reflective of your own goodness.)
These commandments are simple and are recognized by most of the world as sound moral principles. Any non-Jew who follows these laws has a place in the world to come. These laws are binding on all people since all people are descendants of Noah. The 613 mitzvah of the Torah are only binding on those who accepted them at Mt. Sinai and on those who take them voluntarily (by conversion). Also the Noahic commandments are applied more leniently to non-Jews than to Jews because non-Jews do not have benefit of the oral Torah to guide them in interpretation. (from jewfaq.org).
Howell: Jesus and Paul were good Jews. Jesus didn't say to make a new religion called Christianity. He taught, he crossed social boundaries and led by example. We do try to mimic Jesus' behavior but we don't say we must mimic Jesus. We can't come close to living like he did. We believe by grace of God and by faith in God, we are saved. Jesus did not think so much about himself. He was focused on others. Abraham did think about himself. Jesus was killed because he didn't defend himself. Jesus as Messiah can be a divisive statement so would rather look at how Jesus loved others.
Martin Buber (Jewish) - When asked about Messiah, said "I'm waiting for the Messiah to come. You think he has already been here and is coming back again. So let's wait for him together."
Isaiah 53 - Asked what suffering servant refers to if not the coming of Jesus, Rabbi Ezring said the suffering servant refers to Israel. In Exodus, Israel is referred to as "my chosen son" so that is how Judaism comes to that conclusion.
Asked about second coming, Howell believes there will be an accounting. How did we use our resources? Ezring believes there will be a time when history will be no more and an end of pain will come and people will live in harmony. God's presence will fill the world. Doesn't know if this will be in form of a personal Messiah or a Messianic era. However, we should all do things because it is right, not because we are trying to bring about a Messianic Era.
Jewish theology is about personal and collective suffering. Judaism is constantly changing to meet the needs of the day and the way people think. God does not get you back for things. We are given free will and we control some things ourselves. Those choices we make have consequences. God set a world order in process and he is not punishing and rewarding every time we act. We learn to find blessings in the world to make life meaningful. God and faith give us strength to face the world.
Judaism is a community religion. Jews can't practice Judaism alone. They need others for prayers, for keeping kosher (which is very difficult). The sense of community and family gives strength. Just witness a bar-mitzvah and you will see that. During Yam Kipper, forgiveness is asked and the prayers don't say "I" apologize but "we" have all sinned. We face judgment together.
Howell: We ave lost communal identity to some extent. We are often there for our personal salvation. Confession is not great in the Christian church. We don't have a corporate confession. Dr. Howell spoke of going to the Holocaust museum and being behind a Jewish group who was saying this is what Christians of Germany did to Jews. Howell apologized to the man and was criticized for doing so.
Ezring says the Holocaust did not bring Jews closer together. Orthodox Jews did not support Israel as a state after. So Jews were at odds over Israel.
On Judgement day, Jews will be judged on what they do. We need right reasons but just doing the right thing gets credited too. So just do it because you are supposed to and if you have right reasons and do it from the heart, maybe you get double credit. But just doing it gets credit too. The rationale for doing something isn't what counts. The fact that you did it is what counts.
Howell mentions an author (Ann Tyler) who said she thinks God should give us credit for what we thought of doing but didn't do.
Upon that the crowd was told we need to disperse. The meeting had lasted about 2 hours.
2/28/10
2010.02.28 Surprises at Church
I am not naming names in this blog as most of those who read it will know anyway but this morning, we picked up a lady to take her to church and I walked in with her early while Don parked the car. A husband and wife were in the sanctuary with their baby wondering if they were meant to sit in the chairs where the acolytes sit. I said good morning and asked if their baby was being baptized. They said yes and I said, I think you are supposed to sit on the first row rather than in the chairs. They moved and the lady said she was really worried the child would cry during the baptism. I said just look upon it as a joyful noise if so and she said "Well maybe he will have his own conversation with God about all this." I looked in the bulletin to learn their names since we don't usually have baptisms at the early service. Anyway, to my great surprise, a beloved coach (with the same last name as this couple) who means a lot to Don and me came in. At first, I did a double take, thinking that it was someone who looked like this person but then I realized, No, this is the guy all right and this is his grandson who is being baptized. We almost always sit on the 3rd row at church (there is leg room here for Don's long legs) and this coach sat right in front of me. I leaned forward after a bit and congratulated him on his grandchild. He said it was about time he had one and then I commented on being a great fan and told him those sitting around us are fans also. He said he appreciated that and hoped to keep us as fans. I let him know we are not fair weather fans but tried and true ones.
Don came in and did not notice this guy. I went down to talk with a friend I spotted down the row. Don says, he said out loud, "Oh, we have a baptism today. How neat!" To which, this coach turned around and INTRODUCED himself! Don about flipped out, it was such a surprise.
I am sorry to couch this in vagueness as I would love to tell the story, name included, but I don't want to risk having my story googled by some stranger.
Suffice it to say, this "event" made our day today and the poor lady who went to church with us just sat in fascinated silence throughout the whole drama.
Then Lou taught us about songs in our hymnal - a great idea for a Sunday School class and it turned out to be very interactive and fun. (We sang some of the songs.) All in all a great morning for us.
Don came in and did not notice this guy. I went down to talk with a friend I spotted down the row. Don says, he said out loud, "Oh, we have a baptism today. How neat!" To which, this coach turned around and INTRODUCED himself! Don about flipped out, it was such a surprise.
I am sorry to couch this in vagueness as I would love to tell the story, name included, but I don't want to risk having my story googled by some stranger.
Suffice it to say, this "event" made our day today and the poor lady who went to church with us just sat in fascinated silence throughout the whole drama.
Then Lou taught us about songs in our hymnal - a great idea for a Sunday School class and it turned out to be very interactive and fun. (We sang some of the songs.) All in all a great morning for us.
2010.02.25 Judaism and Christianity
Rabbi Ezring from Temple Israel spoke at church tonight along with Dr. Howell, our senior minister. They took many questions from the audience and the purpose was to have a dialog between the two religions.
Rabbi Ezring began by asking the audience the meaning of revelation. One of the audience members mentioned that Revelation is the last book of our New Testament Bible. Rabbi Ezring acknowledged that but wanted the meaning of the word which he and others gave as something being revealed, enlightenment. He said that for Jews, revelation occurred at Mt. Sinai when Moses came down from the mountain. It was such a wonderful moment the people were awed by it and asked Moses to meet with God alone and report back. Moses then came back with 16 commandments (not explained but Christians count commandments differently than the Jewish people). In the Jewish Torah, God commands people 613 times. Jews believe these laws or commandments tell us how to live. What God said to Moses is still relevant to us today.
Therefore on Saturdays, Jews don't work. He said he could lead his congregation on Saturday because proclaiming God's word is not work. It is a pleasure.
Right now, Jews are reading Exodus in their services. This talks of Jews having slaves and servants which he said is not comparable to American slavery in the early days of American history. American slavery took an unacceptable form, being cruel often. Slaves in the Bible were treated better. If you hurt a slave back then, you had to free the slave. The law told an ethical way to treat the slave. The law says the punishment for murder (taking life with intent to kill) is always capital punishment. But if you take a life by accident, there are other ways to handle punishment. One thing brought out is that the death of a fetus is not considered murder, at least if the death is caused without intent. He made it clear he is not advocating abortion but Jews look at the life of a fetus differently.
Law can only be understood by the living according to Rabbi Eleazer. That has been Rabbinic attitude since early times and law is important so it can't be determined lightly.
Jews have laws around their food and it is harder for them to go out to eat and find things they are allowed to eat. He says he and Dr. Howell go out sometimes to restaurants and Dr. Howell eats what he wants whereas Rabbi Ezring has to be much more selective due to following Jewish law. For instance, Jews do not mix dairy and meat in case the dairy and meat came from mother and calf which is against Jewish law.
Rabbi Ezring said this struggle between law and the Bible is what being Jewish is about.
Dr. Howell said this importance placed by the Jews on the interpretation of scripture is to be admired and we Christians don't do our interpretations to the same detail. We Christians are more selective in what we think is important in the old laws. We are not about laws but we do think the Bible is special and to be followed.
Matthew's Jesus is interested in the law. The Letter of James says to be doers of the word and not hearers only. So many Christians get confused about the meaning of grace and its role in our responsibility to do works. Many Christians think grace forgives any works. Dr. Howell seems to come down on the side of still needing to do good works whenever we have the opportunity. Paul boasted of obeying the law but in Romans 10:4 said Christ is the end of the law. We don't know his exact meaning for those words. Paul says we can have salvation apart from the law and also said people don't need to be Jewish in order to convert to Christianity. This left open the door for people who did not follow the law to become fully Christian. As Christians we do believe in the law of Moses but we do not follow the food laws and don't believe ourselves bound by them. Yet Paul says we need to leave some for the stranger, the poor, an the hungry when doing our harvest.
Jews are asked to take a leap of action even more than a leap of thought. We Christians are willing to and often do work on Sundays, our Sabbath. Jews are not allowed this. Dr. Howell mentioned a book by Christopher Ringwold about keeping Sabbath holy. But restriction can bring joy. Christians are often more the thinkers about Scripture. As an example, Matthew 5 says Jesus expects us to obey the law. For instance, we are not to kill but Jesus says if we even harbor thoughts of anger, then we have done the equivalent of killing. Ephesians 2:8 says we are saved by grace. So we have lots to ponder in New Testament teachings, some of which seem to conflict.
Rabbi Ezring says there is a a fear of law as it limits us in what we want to do. It limits our free will. God tells us the law but He also gave us free will. Adultery is one law - it says don't mess with another man's wife but it doesn't say don't mess with a single woman. Men did and they wound up with more than one wife this way and it was legal. But in a way, law is not limiting because it evolves over time. Sometimes, law is revolutionary as in the civil rights movement. Those laws came into being as a result of unrest of our African American citizens but we still have a way to go with this as the laws can't just be in print, they must become a part of people's hearts.
He asked can we really love our neighbors as ourselves and he concluded this is don't do to others what you don't want done to yourself. Love your neighbor including the resident alien. This is a commandment too. People ask why love of God does not come first in these laws and Rabbi Ezring says loving other people is how we learn to love God. We must love God's creatures in order to love God. Rabbi Ezring says Jews believe in personal responsibility so they can't get their ideas around one person paying the price for everyone's sins and then responsibility is taken away from the individual.
Dr. Howell said God is interested in all we do and think so we can offend God by our actions. God is mortified and saddened by the actions of some. How do Christians view Jews who are worried about following the law? The effort to do what God says in the law puts Jews in conflict with society at large and society does not do enough to help them follow the law - such as provide kosher food products at all restaurants or planning around Jewish holidays the same as planning is done around Christian holidays.
Rabbi Ezring gave an example of having an election one year on Rosh Hoshana, a holy day which meant Jews should not go out to vote on that date. The election offices would not allow Jews to get absentee ballots because they were not out of town or disabled. This was taken to court and Jews won the right to vote absentee in this case.
Rabbi Ezring said it is only difficult to be a Jew if Jews are in the minority. It is not hard to be a Jew is Israel where Jews are a majority. It is harder there to be Christian.
Someone asked what kind of Messiah the Jews are expecting. He said Jews do not expect an incarnate God. They do not believe God would reduce himself to human body. The Messiah will be anointed and will restore the Davidic Kingdom as King of Israel. When Israel is a Jewish state with a Jewish king, then God will come and his focus will be on the earth and humanity.
Rabbi Ezring does not believe in the miracles that Jesus is said to perform were such big things since he said there were many other rabbis who claimed to do similar things. He doesn't believe any human can die on behalf of others. We all have to answer for our own sins. No one else can do that for us. Judaism lets God judge, not man. There are 39 forms of work not allowed on the Sabbath and there are varying degrees of how Jews observe this. For instance, they are not allowed to shove, carry, winnow, separate, or sponge. Some Jews don't brush their hair on the Sabbath because this could be viewed as separating and some do not bathe as this is sponging. Jews are not allowed to write two letters together. They can write one letter since there is no Hebrew word that is only one letter. So if you write one letter, you have done nothing.
Parents are required to do for their children: teach them about Torah, to read, to trade, and to swim. They also are required to find their children a spouse. They are required to teach children to swim as they need to learn how to "sink or swim," i.e. to take care of themselves.
God left man in the Garden of Eden. When man disobeyed God, man could no longer walk with and be in the physical company of God anymore. God stepped back to let man grow on his own.
Judaism is about relationships - community of and with God, community of individuals and God, and a community of individuals in group. They struggle all the time with what the law means. There are lots of things called abominations in the Torah which are tied to ritual acts. One of them is what is interpreted as homosexuality but Rabbi Ezring does not think it is necessarily homosexuality that is being referenced but one of these ritual acts that is called an abomination.
The essence of Judaism is to live well and do good and put yourself in place of where things are done wrong. We are to try and correct the wrongs of the world.
Rabbi Ezring began by asking the audience the meaning of revelation. One of the audience members mentioned that Revelation is the last book of our New Testament Bible. Rabbi Ezring acknowledged that but wanted the meaning of the word which he and others gave as something being revealed, enlightenment. He said that for Jews, revelation occurred at Mt. Sinai when Moses came down from the mountain. It was such a wonderful moment the people were awed by it and asked Moses to meet with God alone and report back. Moses then came back with 16 commandments (not explained but Christians count commandments differently than the Jewish people). In the Jewish Torah, God commands people 613 times. Jews believe these laws or commandments tell us how to live. What God said to Moses is still relevant to us today.
Therefore on Saturdays, Jews don't work. He said he could lead his congregation on Saturday because proclaiming God's word is not work. It is a pleasure.
Right now, Jews are reading Exodus in their services. This talks of Jews having slaves and servants which he said is not comparable to American slavery in the early days of American history. American slavery took an unacceptable form, being cruel often. Slaves in the Bible were treated better. If you hurt a slave back then, you had to free the slave. The law told an ethical way to treat the slave. The law says the punishment for murder (taking life with intent to kill) is always capital punishment. But if you take a life by accident, there are other ways to handle punishment. One thing brought out is that the death of a fetus is not considered murder, at least if the death is caused without intent. He made it clear he is not advocating abortion but Jews look at the life of a fetus differently.
Law can only be understood by the living according to Rabbi Eleazer. That has been Rabbinic attitude since early times and law is important so it can't be determined lightly.
Jews have laws around their food and it is harder for them to go out to eat and find things they are allowed to eat. He says he and Dr. Howell go out sometimes to restaurants and Dr. Howell eats what he wants whereas Rabbi Ezring has to be much more selective due to following Jewish law. For instance, Jews do not mix dairy and meat in case the dairy and meat came from mother and calf which is against Jewish law.
Rabbi Ezring said this struggle between law and the Bible is what being Jewish is about.
Dr. Howell said this importance placed by the Jews on the interpretation of scripture is to be admired and we Christians don't do our interpretations to the same detail. We Christians are more selective in what we think is important in the old laws. We are not about laws but we do think the Bible is special and to be followed.
Matthew's Jesus is interested in the law. The Letter of James says to be doers of the word and not hearers only. So many Christians get confused about the meaning of grace and its role in our responsibility to do works. Many Christians think grace forgives any works. Dr. Howell seems to come down on the side of still needing to do good works whenever we have the opportunity. Paul boasted of obeying the law but in Romans 10:4 said Christ is the end of the law. We don't know his exact meaning for those words. Paul says we can have salvation apart from the law and also said people don't need to be Jewish in order to convert to Christianity. This left open the door for people who did not follow the law to become fully Christian. As Christians we do believe in the law of Moses but we do not follow the food laws and don't believe ourselves bound by them. Yet Paul says we need to leave some for the stranger, the poor, an the hungry when doing our harvest.
Jews are asked to take a leap of action even more than a leap of thought. We Christians are willing to and often do work on Sundays, our Sabbath. Jews are not allowed this. Dr. Howell mentioned a book by Christopher Ringwold about keeping Sabbath holy. But restriction can bring joy. Christians are often more the thinkers about Scripture. As an example, Matthew 5 says Jesus expects us to obey the law. For instance, we are not to kill but Jesus says if we even harbor thoughts of anger, then we have done the equivalent of killing. Ephesians 2:8 says we are saved by grace. So we have lots to ponder in New Testament teachings, some of which seem to conflict.
Rabbi Ezring says there is a a fear of law as it limits us in what we want to do. It limits our free will. God tells us the law but He also gave us free will. Adultery is one law - it says don't mess with another man's wife but it doesn't say don't mess with a single woman. Men did and they wound up with more than one wife this way and it was legal. But in a way, law is not limiting because it evolves over time. Sometimes, law is revolutionary as in the civil rights movement. Those laws came into being as a result of unrest of our African American citizens but we still have a way to go with this as the laws can't just be in print, they must become a part of people's hearts.
He asked can we really love our neighbors as ourselves and he concluded this is don't do to others what you don't want done to yourself. Love your neighbor including the resident alien. This is a commandment too. People ask why love of God does not come first in these laws and Rabbi Ezring says loving other people is how we learn to love God. We must love God's creatures in order to love God. Rabbi Ezring says Jews believe in personal responsibility so they can't get their ideas around one person paying the price for everyone's sins and then responsibility is taken away from the individual.
Dr. Howell said God is interested in all we do and think so we can offend God by our actions. God is mortified and saddened by the actions of some. How do Christians view Jews who are worried about following the law? The effort to do what God says in the law puts Jews in conflict with society at large and society does not do enough to help them follow the law - such as provide kosher food products at all restaurants or planning around Jewish holidays the same as planning is done around Christian holidays.
Rabbi Ezring gave an example of having an election one year on Rosh Hoshana, a holy day which meant Jews should not go out to vote on that date. The election offices would not allow Jews to get absentee ballots because they were not out of town or disabled. This was taken to court and Jews won the right to vote absentee in this case.
Rabbi Ezring said it is only difficult to be a Jew if Jews are in the minority. It is not hard to be a Jew is Israel where Jews are a majority. It is harder there to be Christian.
Someone asked what kind of Messiah the Jews are expecting. He said Jews do not expect an incarnate God. They do not believe God would reduce himself to human body. The Messiah will be anointed and will restore the Davidic Kingdom as King of Israel. When Israel is a Jewish state with a Jewish king, then God will come and his focus will be on the earth and humanity.
Rabbi Ezring does not believe in the miracles that Jesus is said to perform were such big things since he said there were many other rabbis who claimed to do similar things. He doesn't believe any human can die on behalf of others. We all have to answer for our own sins. No one else can do that for us. Judaism lets God judge, not man. There are 39 forms of work not allowed on the Sabbath and there are varying degrees of how Jews observe this. For instance, they are not allowed to shove, carry, winnow, separate, or sponge. Some Jews don't brush their hair on the Sabbath because this could be viewed as separating and some do not bathe as this is sponging. Jews are not allowed to write two letters together. They can write one letter since there is no Hebrew word that is only one letter. So if you write one letter, you have done nothing.
Parents are required to do for their children: teach them about Torah, to read, to trade, and to swim. They also are required to find their children a spouse. They are required to teach children to swim as they need to learn how to "sink or swim," i.e. to take care of themselves.
God left man in the Garden of Eden. When man disobeyed God, man could no longer walk with and be in the physical company of God anymore. God stepped back to let man grow on his own.
Judaism is about relationships - community of and with God, community of individuals and God, and a community of individuals in group. They struggle all the time with what the law means. There are lots of things called abominations in the Torah which are tied to ritual acts. One of them is what is interpreted as homosexuality but Rabbi Ezring does not think it is necessarily homosexuality that is being referenced but one of these ritual acts that is called an abomination.
The essence of Judaism is to live well and do good and put yourself in place of where things are done wrong. We are to try and correct the wrongs of the world.
2/20/10
2l010.02.20 Stories from this Past Week
Over the past week, I have had a stomach virus followed by sinusitis. The sinusitis has caused coughing spasms that are harsh and uncontrollable. I went to a great doctor for the stomach virus and then again for the coughing. Poor guy. I told him we cured the original problem but now I have the coughing that I need help with getting stopped. I told him I collapsed a lung once when I had one of these coughing spasm episodes. He was a little shocked at that thought and he ordered chest and head ex-rays to see what was going on. The ex-ray technician is always so professional - yet has a great and friendly sense of humor. This guy is completely slick bald - not a sign of a hair on his whole head. He looked at me and he said - "Could you take that thing out of your hair? I never know what to call hair baubles since as you can see, I don't place much importance on the stuff." I took off my headband and he took chest and head shots. When he got through, he asked me to have a seat for a moment while he made sure the ex-rays would be readable for the doctor. Within 30 seconds, he came around, looked at me and said, "Ms Myers, have you had brain surgery!!!!????!!!!" Well, yes, I said - so I am told, I slept through the whole thing though so I'm really not a great witness. He said, "You have got to see this - it's like someone decorated inside your head and I think you deserve to see what it looks like." Basically, there were little cut out blocks (2 or 3) with X's in them and other little squiggly things. I said "What are the X's?" He said he thought they were the remains of sutures used to hold the cut out blocks in place but he cautioned he was not a doctor so he didn't know for sure. I had a pretty good time at this appointment because of this guy and I love the doctor I have been seeing.
1/25/10
2010.01.25 Class about Wesley
We had our first of four classes on the Wesleys tonight.
John Wesley was born in 1703 and died in 1791.
Organized Christianity came to British Isles in the sixth century (500s) with Augustine of Canterbury. There is a history of contention between the monarchy and the church (Catholic) about who had the real leadership in the church. So there was a great deal of back and forth between the monarchy and the Pope for authority and this went on for many, many years. An anti-papal sentiment rose up. Henry VIII separates from Catholicism and the Pope. He separates because he wants to divorce his wife and Catholicism would not allow for that. The monarch became head of the church. Church services began being conducted in English instead of Latin. However, the church remained basically Catholic in nature but without the Pope.
Thomas Cranmer wrote the Book of Common Prayer which is still used today and we Methodists use also at times in some of our services (or prayers coming from there).
Mary I was Catholic and had divisions with Elizabeth I, her sister. Her nickname was Bloody Mary and she tried to get rid of Protestantism in order to return England to Catholicism. She had important Protestant clergy arrested including Thomas Cranmer and she had 287 Protestants slain which earned her the nickname, Bloody Mary. After Mary, Elizabeth I came to the throne. She was not that religious and wanted peace in her church. She was herself a Protestant and Protestants, who had been exiled during Mary's reign, came back to England. Elizabeth tries to take a middle road to keep the peace. She said she was not prepared to "open windows into men's souls" and ended the bloody imposition of orthodoxy. Then came James I and Charles I who were both of a more Catholic thinking. (Charles I was beheaded). Then there was no monarch and Oliver Cromwell led for a while. After this, England went back to a monarchy and Charles II came to the throne, then James II, both of whom also had Catholic leanings. By this time, the people had gotten fed up with all this back and forth and wanted to be left alone about religion.
English people had to pledge their loyalty to the Church of England and everyone is born into a parish whether they go to church or not. This continues to this day.
In 1688, William and Mary came to the throne. The Glorious Revolution occurred, called that due to its being a peaceful revolution. Many, many people thought William and Mary were pretenders to the throne and did not recognize their authority.
In Epworth, the Wesleys had a non-conformist background. Samuel (John and Charles' father) was rector at St. Andrews. Samuel thought William and Mary were rightful authorities on the throne. Susanna, his wife, did not think they should have authority. This caused a rift in their relationship and Samuel went away. Susanna is, by the way, known as the mother of Methodism.
Then Ann came to the throne and both Samuel and Susannah thought she belonged there. Samuel and Susannah were reconciled after this.
John was born into a family of girls and until Charles came along, he was the only boy. Susannah made sure her daughters were educated in knowledge and in religion. Susannah herself began conducting services when her husband was out of town and Samuel criticized her for doing that.
There was a fire in the Wesley home and Susannah wrote of it and of the drama of trying to save everyone in the household from succumbing to the fire. John Wesley was 5 years old at the time and was rescued. This made a deep impression on the young boy and he regarded himself as saved for a reason as a "brand plucked from the burning."
At 12, John goes to school in London and then goes from there to Oxford. This is the first big phase of his life and of the Methodist movement. He reads lots of pious literature such as Imitation of Christ and Practice of True Devotion. These readings had rules for living and a search for holiness in common.
About this time Charles meets William Morgan and plans to meet with him on a regular basis on how to be holy. John gets involved and they form what they call the "Holy Club."
Second Phase of the rise of Methodism is when John and Charles go to Georgia. Prior to this, John went to be an Associate Minister with his father. His father dies. John gets invited to go to Georgia and since his father had dreamed of going to Georgia on missionary work to convert Native Americans, John felt this was the thing to do. On the way over, John was impressed by how calm the Moravians remained even when being tossed and turned in heavy storms. John was himself scared and wondered if he was assured as the Moravians said they were assured and this kept them from being afraid.
Charles went to St. Simons Island and John to Savannah. He formed the Savannah Society and met Sophie Hopkey. They were together a long while and Sophie wanted to marry. John literally draws straws to decide whether to marry her and he gets the straw that says they should wait a year. Sophie doesn't wait and marries someone else. He withholds communion from her and is sued by Sophie's husband, Mr. Williamson. He defends himself and says he does this because of her neglect of public service, her neglect of fasting, her neglect of communicating and because she had wrongfully told him she was no longer inclined for Mr. Mellichamp although she was inclined toward him. He said she had also told him she had no desire to marry Mr. Williamson when she knew she did. And she had deliberately lied to him about Mr. Mellichamp and Mr. Williamson. He goes on to say "O how fallen! How changed! Surely there was a time when in Miss Sophy's lips there was no guile..."
He returns to London and the third phase of the rise of Methodism begins . At Aldersgate, he wants people to follow the rules. He meets Peter Bohler who tells him to "Preach faith until you have it and because you preach it, you will have it." He had begun to notice that his faith fluctuated and grew over time. He wrote "In the evening I went very unwillingly to a society in Aldersgate Street, where one was reading Luther's preface to the Epistle to the Romans. About a quarter before nine, while he was describing the change which God works in the heart through faith in Christ, I felt my heart strangely warmed. I felt I did trust in Christ, Christ alone for salvation: And an assurance was given me, that he had taken away MY sins, even MINE, and saved ME from the law of sin and death."
He becomes very involved with the Moravians, visits their homelands, and sees how organized they are. He thinks there might be degrees of faith and came up with the notion that faith grows over time and also waxes and wanes throughout life.
He meets George Whitfield in Bristol an the revival begins. Gwennap Pit in Cornwall was a great place to preach. People are wary of him but at the same time, people came to hear him preach. In Bristol, he builds the New Room. There are Societies, Classes, and Bands. He takes over a Foundry in London for meetings of these societies. The Classes were asked to help pay for expenses. (Classes were made up of men and women so they were co-ed.) Those richer paid more than those who were poorer. Bands were separated between groups of men and groups of women (they were not co-ed). Bands kept everyone accountable.
Rules of Society were categorized into the three simple rules: (1) Do no harm, (2) Do good, and (3) Stay in love with God. Wesley details specifics on what to do or not do for each of these rules (pages 73 and 74 of tonight's handout).
Some believed if not moved to do something, then wait for the spirit to move you. Wesley says, do something.
The group around Wesley was called Methodist in Oxford but it was not a formal church. Wesley holds things together in the middle. Wesley refutes the "only by faith" idea by saying works are important too.
In his life, Wesley traveled all over the country. People were not fans of his fanaticism. He goes to Epworth and is not allowed to preach in church. He goes out to his father's grave and preaches there. He got thrown out of town for being too enthusiastic about his faith or so people thought. There were lots of evangelicals around during Wesley's time but Wesley had such great organization skills that he was more successful.
Methodist organization:
Preaching and Conferencing - teaches how, what, etc.
Education - Kingswood School
Publishing - Christian library, notes, sermons
Foundry in London
Francis Asbury sent to the colonies to evangelize. Most missionaries were leaving the colonies and Asbury noted that communion was unavailable to the people due to lack of ordained clergy. Wesley decided to ordain Thomas Coke himself. Charles never forgave John for this as he said only bishops can ordain. Charles in buried in church graveyard. John was buried outside church graveyard.
John did marry and it was an unhappy marriage with no children. Charles married happily.
For next week, we were given a sermon to read and we will discuss in class and also a sermon for the week following. Next week's sermon is "The Scripture Way of Salvation" and the week after's is "The Means of Grace." Neither is meant to be a spoken sermon but was written for the purpose of being read.
John Wesley was born in 1703 and died in 1791.
Organized Christianity came to British Isles in the sixth century (500s) with Augustine of Canterbury. There is a history of contention between the monarchy and the church (Catholic) about who had the real leadership in the church. So there was a great deal of back and forth between the monarchy and the Pope for authority and this went on for many, many years. An anti-papal sentiment rose up. Henry VIII separates from Catholicism and the Pope. He separates because he wants to divorce his wife and Catholicism would not allow for that. The monarch became head of the church. Church services began being conducted in English instead of Latin. However, the church remained basically Catholic in nature but without the Pope.
Thomas Cranmer wrote the Book of Common Prayer which is still used today and we Methodists use also at times in some of our services (or prayers coming from there).
Mary I was Catholic and had divisions with Elizabeth I, her sister. Her nickname was Bloody Mary and she tried to get rid of Protestantism in order to return England to Catholicism. She had important Protestant clergy arrested including Thomas Cranmer and she had 287 Protestants slain which earned her the nickname, Bloody Mary. After Mary, Elizabeth I came to the throne. She was not that religious and wanted peace in her church. She was herself a Protestant and Protestants, who had been exiled during Mary's reign, came back to England. Elizabeth tries to take a middle road to keep the peace. She said she was not prepared to "open windows into men's souls" and ended the bloody imposition of orthodoxy. Then came James I and Charles I who were both of a more Catholic thinking. (Charles I was beheaded). Then there was no monarch and Oliver Cromwell led for a while. After this, England went back to a monarchy and Charles II came to the throne, then James II, both of whom also had Catholic leanings. By this time, the people had gotten fed up with all this back and forth and wanted to be left alone about religion.
English people had to pledge their loyalty to the Church of England and everyone is born into a parish whether they go to church or not. This continues to this day.
In 1688, William and Mary came to the throne. The Glorious Revolution occurred, called that due to its being a peaceful revolution. Many, many people thought William and Mary were pretenders to the throne and did not recognize their authority.
In Epworth, the Wesleys had a non-conformist background. Samuel (John and Charles' father) was rector at St. Andrews. Samuel thought William and Mary were rightful authorities on the throne. Susanna, his wife, did not think they should have authority. This caused a rift in their relationship and Samuel went away. Susanna is, by the way, known as the mother of Methodism.
Then Ann came to the throne and both Samuel and Susannah thought she belonged there. Samuel and Susannah were reconciled after this.
John was born into a family of girls and until Charles came along, he was the only boy. Susannah made sure her daughters were educated in knowledge and in religion. Susannah herself began conducting services when her husband was out of town and Samuel criticized her for doing that.
There was a fire in the Wesley home and Susannah wrote of it and of the drama of trying to save everyone in the household from succumbing to the fire. John Wesley was 5 years old at the time and was rescued. This made a deep impression on the young boy and he regarded himself as saved for a reason as a "brand plucked from the burning."
At 12, John goes to school in London and then goes from there to Oxford. This is the first big phase of his life and of the Methodist movement. He reads lots of pious literature such as Imitation of Christ and Practice of True Devotion. These readings had rules for living and a search for holiness in common.
About this time Charles meets William Morgan and plans to meet with him on a regular basis on how to be holy. John gets involved and they form what they call the "Holy Club."
Second Phase of the rise of Methodism is when John and Charles go to Georgia. Prior to this, John went to be an Associate Minister with his father. His father dies. John gets invited to go to Georgia and since his father had dreamed of going to Georgia on missionary work to convert Native Americans, John felt this was the thing to do. On the way over, John was impressed by how calm the Moravians remained even when being tossed and turned in heavy storms. John was himself scared and wondered if he was assured as the Moravians said they were assured and this kept them from being afraid.
Charles went to St. Simons Island and John to Savannah. He formed the Savannah Society and met Sophie Hopkey. They were together a long while and Sophie wanted to marry. John literally draws straws to decide whether to marry her and he gets the straw that says they should wait a year. Sophie doesn't wait and marries someone else. He withholds communion from her and is sued by Sophie's husband, Mr. Williamson. He defends himself and says he does this because of her neglect of public service, her neglect of fasting, her neglect of communicating and because she had wrongfully told him she was no longer inclined for Mr. Mellichamp although she was inclined toward him. He said she had also told him she had no desire to marry Mr. Williamson when she knew she did. And she had deliberately lied to him about Mr. Mellichamp and Mr. Williamson. He goes on to say "O how fallen! How changed! Surely there was a time when in Miss Sophy's lips there was no guile..."
He returns to London and the third phase of the rise of Methodism begins . At Aldersgate, he wants people to follow the rules. He meets Peter Bohler who tells him to "Preach faith until you have it and because you preach it, you will have it." He had begun to notice that his faith fluctuated and grew over time. He wrote "In the evening I went very unwillingly to a society in Aldersgate Street, where one was reading Luther's preface to the Epistle to the Romans. About a quarter before nine, while he was describing the change which God works in the heart through faith in Christ, I felt my heart strangely warmed. I felt I did trust in Christ, Christ alone for salvation: And an assurance was given me, that he had taken away MY sins, even MINE, and saved ME from the law of sin and death."
He becomes very involved with the Moravians, visits their homelands, and sees how organized they are. He thinks there might be degrees of faith and came up with the notion that faith grows over time and also waxes and wanes throughout life.
He meets George Whitfield in Bristol an the revival begins. Gwennap Pit in Cornwall was a great place to preach. People are wary of him but at the same time, people came to hear him preach. In Bristol, he builds the New Room. There are Societies, Classes, and Bands. He takes over a Foundry in London for meetings of these societies. The Classes were asked to help pay for expenses. (Classes were made up of men and women so they were co-ed.) Those richer paid more than those who were poorer. Bands were separated between groups of men and groups of women (they were not co-ed). Bands kept everyone accountable.
Rules of Society were categorized into the three simple rules: (1) Do no harm, (2) Do good, and (3) Stay in love with God. Wesley details specifics on what to do or not do for each of these rules (pages 73 and 74 of tonight's handout).
Some believed if not moved to do something, then wait for the spirit to move you. Wesley says, do something.
The group around Wesley was called Methodist in Oxford but it was not a formal church. Wesley holds things together in the middle. Wesley refutes the "only by faith" idea by saying works are important too.
In his life, Wesley traveled all over the country. People were not fans of his fanaticism. He goes to Epworth and is not allowed to preach in church. He goes out to his father's grave and preaches there. He got thrown out of town for being too enthusiastic about his faith or so people thought. There were lots of evangelicals around during Wesley's time but Wesley had such great organization skills that he was more successful.
Methodist organization:
Preaching and Conferencing - teaches how, what, etc.
Education - Kingswood School
Publishing - Christian library, notes, sermons
Foundry in London
Francis Asbury sent to the colonies to evangelize. Most missionaries were leaving the colonies and Asbury noted that communion was unavailable to the people due to lack of ordained clergy. Wesley decided to ordain Thomas Coke himself. Charles never forgave John for this as he said only bishops can ordain. Charles in buried in church graveyard. John was buried outside church graveyard.
John did marry and it was an unhappy marriage with no children. Charles married happily.
For next week, we were given a sermon to read and we will discuss in class and also a sermon for the week following. Next week's sermon is "The Scripture Way of Salvation" and the week after's is "The Means of Grace." Neither is meant to be a spoken sermon but was written for the purpose of being read.
2010.01.25
Big day in a way. Went to exercise class where teacher recommended something called Biofreeze for sore hip joints/muscles. I ordered a small bottle from Amazon but I need it NOW.
Then, we went to a dentist office I had found that is in a DMO I would like to join. They accepted me right away as a new patient and I went to my old dentist and got a copy of my last ex-rays and copy of a record of my last checkup to give the new dentist. We went back there and filled out forms for them to make a file on me.
I went home and researched Aetna EPO to see if my doctors are members and all of the ones I have used in the last year and a half are. I think the EPO is more trouble to use than the PPO but it has a less expensive premium and appears to have wide doctor choices in it. We will just have to check out the doctor's membership before getting treatment each time.
Then I called about some new leaks in my ceiling. Rick says he has already told the roofing company we are calling in our warranty and want a new roof installed on the building I am in and on a couple of other buildings in the complex. No timetable yet but he knows there is damage in my place that he says will be fixed once the new roof is on.
I called the bank and asked about when I could/should sign up for these new benefits. Basically, I should do it soon in order to get new cards, etc. but I have an absolute deadline of 3/31. If I went into March, they would grant the coverage retroactively and I think that would be a bit more difficult if I had a claim before I had chosen the coverage. Anyway, I plan to go ahead and register my picks next week sometime. I can't sign up until after Jan 30, I was told.
Then, this evening, we went to a class on John Wesley at church this evening. It was a history of his life and a really interesting class I thought.
Pretty productive day, I think. I got a lot done that I have had on my mind for some time. It will take some time to complete it all but I am further along than I thought I would be at this juncture.
Then, we went to a dentist office I had found that is in a DMO I would like to join. They accepted me right away as a new patient and I went to my old dentist and got a copy of my last ex-rays and copy of a record of my last checkup to give the new dentist. We went back there and filled out forms for them to make a file on me.
I went home and researched Aetna EPO to see if my doctors are members and all of the ones I have used in the last year and a half are. I think the EPO is more trouble to use than the PPO but it has a less expensive premium and appears to have wide doctor choices in it. We will just have to check out the doctor's membership before getting treatment each time.
Then I called about some new leaks in my ceiling. Rick says he has already told the roofing company we are calling in our warranty and want a new roof installed on the building I am in and on a couple of other buildings in the complex. No timetable yet but he knows there is damage in my place that he says will be fixed once the new roof is on.
I called the bank and asked about when I could/should sign up for these new benefits. Basically, I should do it soon in order to get new cards, etc. but I have an absolute deadline of 3/31. If I went into March, they would grant the coverage retroactively and I think that would be a bit more difficult if I had a claim before I had chosen the coverage. Anyway, I plan to go ahead and register my picks next week sometime. I can't sign up until after Jan 30, I was told.
Then, this evening, we went to a class on John Wesley at church this evening. It was a history of his life and a really interesting class I thought.
Pretty productive day, I think. I got a lot done that I have had on my mind for some time. It will take some time to complete it all but I am further along than I thought I would be at this juncture.
1/10/10
2010.01.10 Sunday School Class
We had a great class this morning, January 10, 2010. It was announced that Bob Johnson is getting remarried. All are invited to his wedding in Tennessee and we shared his new address and phone number. We were all glad to see Mrs. Halpern back in class. Janie brought a guest, Betty Kirby, and introduced her to everyone.
Durward began by telling the class he and Tom Stinson are in process of taking contributions to acquire a set of Ben Witherington III's books for our church library. Since Ben, III's parents are members of our Sundy School class and he has been a speaker at our church and many other local churches, this is something he feels is important and appropriate. He needed $699 and has all but $149.10. Don Hammer added there is a new $18.95 book so that may up the total by $18.95. Barbara Barden had checked to see which books we already have in our library and which needed to be purchased to complete the set. Durward made a point of saying Don Redding had wanted the class to be offered a chance to make contributions to this effort.
Durward taught about the hymn, Amazing Grace, (published 1779 in Olney Hymns) and the class was, well......amazing. Most of the verses were written by John Newton but Stanza 6 in our hymnal is written by an anonymous person. There is also a seventh verse that we do not include in our hymnal. (I looked up the song on Wikipedia and it shows the following verse as part of the original 1779 publication but is not in our hymnal:
Amazing Grace and How Great Thou Art have been the two most popular hymns throughout the years.
Again from Wikipedia, Charles Newton's father was a shipping merchant and he got his son a job on a ship as an apprentice. He was headstrong, disobedient, often sickly, and even more profane than other sailors of his day. He renounced the religion of his family until he had a conversion experience after spending time on a ship which nearly shipwrecked. Even after this experience, he took a job on a slave ship and made 3 voyages. He was then given the opportunity to move to a ship that did not deal in slaves but was too ill to take the job. Durward said he became a surveyor at this point. He was ordained in the Church of England in 1764 and began to write poems/hymns with William Cowper. They published Olney Hymns, named for the location where Newton was a curate. This book included Amazing Grace as one of its offerings.
The first time Amazing Grace was heard, it may have been chanted as no one knows what music it might have used. The hymnal showed only the words, not the music. Wikipedia says the song is associated with over 20 melodies but in 1835, it was set to the music of a song called New Britain, and this is the melody most used with the words today. The song is very popular and is used often in churches. Folk music also picked it up and, as well, it is known as an African American Spiritual. It is so popular due to its theme of God's forgiveness and mercy, a theme which came from Newton's feeling he had been redeemed by God from his life of profanity and disregard for others.
The 1960s and 1970s saw the song's words set to such music as House of the Rising Sun, an Eagles song, the "real thing" Coca-Cola ad, and many others. Durward had a singer on tape who demonstrated many of these versions. It was interesting to hear these versions and some of them were beautiful when using the words to Amazing Grace. Others took liberties beyond just setting the words to different music. The song and its title have been used numerous times by musicians on popular CDs, on tv, and in movies and there is now a movie titled, Amazing Grace.
Durward then shared his recently-authored "Upper Room" article which told about his miraculous experience with giving up smoking. He had tried many times without success and had suffered through several attempts. When his son joined the Methodist Church, he was asked by a Catholic friend what he was giving his son as a gift for the occasion. Durward told his friend it was not a tradition among Protestants to give gifts for this. However, when his son came to meet him, Durward handed him an almost-full pack of cigarettes and said he was stopping smoking as a gift to his son. He has never smoked again. Durward was overcome with emotion in the telling his story so his wife, Connie, came up and finished the story for him. She said they both consider this event as their personal miracle and gift from God.
A very touching class and one that we will remember for a long time. Thank you, Durward.
Durward began by telling the class he and Tom Stinson are in process of taking contributions to acquire a set of Ben Witherington III's books for our church library. Since Ben, III's parents are members of our Sundy School class and he has been a speaker at our church and many other local churches, this is something he feels is important and appropriate. He needed $699 and has all but $149.10. Don Hammer added there is a new $18.95 book so that may up the total by $18.95. Barbara Barden had checked to see which books we already have in our library and which needed to be purchased to complete the set. Durward made a point of saying Don Redding had wanted the class to be offered a chance to make contributions to this effort.
Durward taught about the hymn, Amazing Grace, (published 1779 in Olney Hymns) and the class was, well......amazing. Most of the verses were written by John Newton but Stanza 6 in our hymnal is written by an anonymous person. There is also a seventh verse that we do not include in our hymnal. (I looked up the song on Wikipedia and it shows the following verse as part of the original 1779 publication but is not in our hymnal:
The earth shall soon dissolve like snow,
The sun forbear to shine;
But God who called me here below,
Will be forever mine.)
Amazing Grace and How Great Thou Art have been the two most popular hymns throughout the years.
Again from Wikipedia, Charles Newton's father was a shipping merchant and he got his son a job on a ship as an apprentice. He was headstrong, disobedient, often sickly, and even more profane than other sailors of his day. He renounced the religion of his family until he had a conversion experience after spending time on a ship which nearly shipwrecked. Even after this experience, he took a job on a slave ship and made 3 voyages. He was then given the opportunity to move to a ship that did not deal in slaves but was too ill to take the job. Durward said he became a surveyor at this point. He was ordained in the Church of England in 1764 and began to write poems/hymns with William Cowper. They published Olney Hymns, named for the location where Newton was a curate. This book included Amazing Grace as one of its offerings.
The first time Amazing Grace was heard, it may have been chanted as no one knows what music it might have used. The hymnal showed only the words, not the music. Wikipedia says the song is associated with over 20 melodies but in 1835, it was set to the music of a song called New Britain, and this is the melody most used with the words today. The song is very popular and is used often in churches. Folk music also picked it up and, as well, it is known as an African American Spiritual. It is so popular due to its theme of God's forgiveness and mercy, a theme which came from Newton's feeling he had been redeemed by God from his life of profanity and disregard for others.
The 1960s and 1970s saw the song's words set to such music as House of the Rising Sun, an Eagles song, the "real thing" Coca-Cola ad, and many others. Durward had a singer on tape who demonstrated many of these versions. It was interesting to hear these versions and some of them were beautiful when using the words to Amazing Grace. Others took liberties beyond just setting the words to different music. The song and its title have been used numerous times by musicians on popular CDs, on tv, and in movies and there is now a movie titled, Amazing Grace.
Durward then shared his recently-authored "Upper Room" article which told about his miraculous experience with giving up smoking. He had tried many times without success and had suffered through several attempts. When his son joined the Methodist Church, he was asked by a Catholic friend what he was giving his son as a gift for the occasion. Durward told his friend it was not a tradition among Protestants to give gifts for this. However, when his son came to meet him, Durward handed him an almost-full pack of cigarettes and said he was stopping smoking as a gift to his son. He has never smoked again. Durward was overcome with emotion in the telling his story so his wife, Connie, came up and finished the story for him. She said they both consider this event as their personal miracle and gift from God.
A very touching class and one that we will remember for a long time. Thank you, Durward.
1/1/10
2010.01.01 Water Park
Don and I tried to find a church to attend last night but we couldn't locate one - unless we wanted to try out Bertha's which was having a 10 to midnight service. We decided to stay quietly at home. Then this morning, Don called to surprise me with a little trip to the Whitewater Park for a walk and lunch. Although it was 30-something outside, the sun came out and it was very pleasant for walking with a jacket and sweater. We walked around the artificial lake and saw all kinds of things we can't really see in the more heavily attended months. The water was down and some of the bridges that are blocked off in the summer were open for a little extra walking. We enjoyed it and went at a good pace around it. Then we went to the restaurant and got waited on right away. They were having beef stew as their soup special today and both of us had that with a grilled cheese and tea. It was enough food for us and didn't get us overly full. We came home and Don wanted to watch football and read on his "Anatomy of a Game" book for a while so both of us have had a great day. We also uploaded our pictures into SmugMug and let the program merge his pictures and mine by filename (basically by time of day taken). Nice to have a record.
Last year this time, I was still recovering from a fall I had on Dec 29, 2008, but I think we went to the Water Park early in the year sometime as I remember walking around it in a low traffic time. Don thinks it might have been 2008 but it feels (to me) like we did it in early 2009 as well.
Bob told us about a book he was reading that is set in Crozet, Virginia and has cats as important characters. This one is "Cat's Eyewitness." Have to check that one out. Might be a fun read.
I also made reservations today to go hear the Clef Hangers on 1/23/10 at the McGlohan Theatre. We really love this acapella men's group and look forward to hearing them in a whole concert. We have heard them several times do 2 or 3 songs at places we have been but never a whole concert. Last night I heard another acapella group, the Overtones, on a tv program. They sing seven or eight songs for the movie, Invictus. I think I love men's acapella groups as I fell in love with these guys as well.
Last year this time, I was still recovering from a fall I had on Dec 29, 2008, but I think we went to the Water Park early in the year sometime as I remember walking around it in a low traffic time. Don thinks it might have been 2008 but it feels (to me) like we did it in early 2009 as well.
Bob told us about a book he was reading that is set in Crozet, Virginia and has cats as important characters. This one is "Cat's Eyewitness." Have to check that one out. Might be a fun read.
I also made reservations today to go hear the Clef Hangers on 1/23/10 at the McGlohan Theatre. We really love this acapella men's group and look forward to hearing them in a whole concert. We have heard them several times do 2 or 3 songs at places we have been but never a whole concert. Last night I heard another acapella group, the Overtones, on a tv program. They sing seven or eight songs for the movie, Invictus. I think I love men's acapella groups as I fell in love with these guys as well.
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