Guest Blogger: Matt Sadler
I think the joke goes something like this- When is baseball first played in the Bible? When? Genesis- in the Big Inning, God created the heavens and the earth.
Thank goodness for 9 years of Christian school education!
Also thank goodness for the popular trend over the recent years to read the scriptures at a high level and bring forth an appreciation and even a context for the overarching story of God interacting with His creation.
The authors take the first section of this book to do the same thing. They look at the story of history as presented in the Old Testament in order to build their case. Being that I have only read up to the end of my assigned section, I will try to refrain from speculating what that case might be (that’s right, I skipped the intro).
As the authors touch on certain points throughout the early history, I am shocked by the subtle and not-so-subtle reminders of how similar these disasters are to some of the problems we see today.
The Tree of Good and Evil- we still seek superiority through our learning. Churches claiming to have the “right way” figured out.
Cain and Abel- we still use violence to take control of what someone else has. Countries invading others for natural resources.
The Flood- we still bring society to the brink of a complete collapse. Cold War. Global Warming.
Tower of Babel- we still seek security in teamwork and innovation. I loved how the author referenced the nuclear bomb here.
The Exodus- we still crave for our addictions and entrapments. There are the obvious ones- drugs, alcohol, etc. But think about all our stuff and possessions. Think about our debt.
Kings- we still seek domination in the name of normalcy and/or security. Think about people giving up liberties so we can feel safer from terrorists. Think about people giving up their flexibility and freedom so they have a bigger yard and a nicer kitchen.
I suspect the rest of the book will continue to show how our lives mimic the story of history and as blessings and the curses that are associated with how we live our lives. I suspect that rest of the book will present us with the rest of the story that has God showing himself as one who continues to provide refuge and life for His creation. So much for not speculating.
What’s the moral here? I think it is still yet to be fully indentified. But I think the cliché remains true- History Repeats Itself. Look for the patterns, because anything that would cause separation from God in the Old Testament is quite capable of separating us from God today.
Matt Sadler is a husband, father of Hayden and a lover of fine foods. You can also find more of Matt’s thoughts at The House of Marinara.
Q: What was the first car driven in the Bible?
A: They were all found in one ACCORD!
Seriously, thank goodness for Christian school education.
seriously?! lame church jokes is the only thing we got out of this entry?
oh, alright. Q: Who has the longest butt in history?
A: Moses- he tied his ass to a tree and walked up the mountain!
took me all the way to christian college to learn that one!!
Q: What state is mentioned in the Bible?
A: Arkansas. Noah looked out of the Arkansas (Ark and Saw)…
Get it. Hehehehehehhehehehehe!
I’m one of those people without a sense of humor so I’ll forgo a joke.
I also do not have possession of the book, so I’m not sure how intelligently I will comment.
My question is: Was the point of this chapter to show the reader that ‘history repeats itself’? Is there any commentary on the poetic nature of Genesis vs. a literal telling? (it’s the first question that popped into my head, so I thought I would ask).
Faith
ps – one can also look to early Greek and Roman history as well to see that we still continue to make the same mistakes…I often wonder if there is any hope that we will address the past instead of ignoring it…I am guilty of this too.
Much of this section is also about the story of God’s people.
pg 55
“We can start to see hos these peculiar people came to see themselves as resident aliens on this earth and how they often found themselves at odds with the culture of empires and markets. Emperors such as Antiochus IV Epiphanies even forbade circumcision, as an attach on the set-apartness of God’s people and to force assimilation. Many of the Israelites’ laws were, after all, direct confrontation with those of the world they knew. They were ways of driving a wedge into the wheels of injustice and interrupting cycles of oppression.”
it continues to discuss how God “put in place other beautiful initiatives to awaken the Israelites’ political imagination and ensure that they didn’t default to old ways of living.” And that even though they kept going back to their old ways he never gave up on them. While telling the history of the story for the next section.
Faith – the whole first section of this book is a look at the story of the Hebrew Scriptures. The authors don’t get to caught up in too much detail, but seem to make the point about getting people caught up in the story of God. This will eventually set up the last two sections of the book.
David – way to jump ahead you overachiever!
But nice point.
faith- great point on the greek and roman history. i think what makes this different is that the mistakes made in the Bible provide more credibility to the church, especially the “evangelicals.” There is a strong demographic that would say, “Sure, the Roman’s made that mistake but that is because they were pagans and didn’t use Biblical principals.” I know this because I also heard that in my Christian school. So if they only look to the Bible for truth, well hopefully they can see it.
David/Brent- Great reveiw of the opening segment.
thanks to everyone for the comments back and for the clarity.
Sads – I need to remind myself that this book has an evangelical perspective even though I do not. Perspective outside of the bible holds more weight with me (though I do not shun biblical reference, just biblical proof text) I can already tell this will be a stretch for me! (which is good…nothing like a good stretching)
Faith – The book is actually not written from an evangelical position, but rather to stretch evangelical thinking. In fact, Shane was invited to my Alma mater (Cedarville) only to be dis-invited because he was too liberal (they didn’t like his view on “truth”).
http://bunderwood.wordpress.com/2008/02/13/cedarville-has-failed
ps – we need voices like yours and are glad you are apart of this conversation!
Brent – thanks, I am glad to be apart of this too. I confess I can get lazy in my own beliefs and diffrent perspectives to bounce off of help keep me strong. I hope the book comes in soon through my work.
Similarly I considered the ways we are like the Hebrew children, in bondage, on the journey, complaining, needing provision, rejecting God over and over, wanting Him and meaning it…
I appreciated the teminology choice of “Hebrew scriptures” and the reasoning behind it – that it’s not outdated. I do wish they could call the New Testament something equally appropriate and different because I think calling it this implies that the other is “old”. Just my op.
And, finally, I think much of this section was trying to establish that the the “Kingdom of God” stands in stark contrast to the “kingdom of the world”. It’s an entirely different life, calling, way. In the world but functioning fully in another one, God’s kingdom.
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