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biblenewsprophecy · 4 months

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Irenaeus: The Most Dangerous Early Heretic?

Who was the most dangerous early heretic? Simon Magus, Marcion, Valentinus, Justin Martyr, or Irenaeus of Lyon? Why should modern Christians care? Though considered a major saint by the Church of Rome, the Eastern Orthodox, and most Protestants, Irenaeus was hot and cold on doctrine. Could Irenaeus have been the most dangerous of early heretics? Was Irenaeus a binitarian or trinitarian? Was he a millennialist? Did Irenaeus quote apocryphal books as scripture? Did he rely on them and traditions of men to push non-biblical doctrines? Did he claim to know Polycarp of Smyrna and endorse him, but not hold to his and the Apostle John's practices regarding the biblical Passover? What about the 'Lord's Day'? Did Pope Benedict XVI refer to Irenaeus as the "true founder of Catholic theology'? Do Protestants consider him the most important second century source of "orthodoxy'? Was Irenaeus wrong about the founding and succession from the Apostles Peter and Paul related to Rome according to Roman Catholic scholars? What about heaven? Who really had (and still has) true apostolic succession? Should the Book of Revelation be allegorized? Did Irenaeus confuse the Beast and the Antichrist? What about 666? What are some of the reasons Christians would want to know about Irenaeus and his teachings today? Dr. Thiel addresses these issues and more.

A detailed and referenced article of related interest is available titled 'Irenaeus: The Most Dangerous Heretic?'

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Sermon Youtube video link: Irenaeus: The Most Dangerous Early Heretic?

Related Items:

Irenaeus: The Most Dangerous Heretic? Was Irenaeus a faithful peacemaker or was he possibly the most dangerous of the early heretics? Here is a link to a related sermon video: Irenaeus: The Most Dangerous Early Heretic?

Who Gave the World the Bible? The Canon: Why do we have the books we now do in the Bible? Is the Bible complete? Are there lost gospels? What about the Apocrypha? Is the Septuagint better than the Masoretic text? What about the Textus Receptus vs. Nestle Alland? Was the New Testament written in Greek, Aramaic, or Hebrew? Which translations are based upon the best ancient text? Did the true Church of God have the canon from the beginning? Here are links to related sermons: Let’s Talk About the Bible, The Books of the Old Testament, The Septuagint and its Apocrypha, Masoretic Text of the Old Testament, and Lost Books of the Bible, and Let’s Talk About the New Testament, The New Testament Canon From the Beginning, English Versions of the Bible and How Did We Get Them?, What was the Original Language of the New Testament?, Original Order of the Books of the Bible, and Who Gave the World the Bible? Who Had the Chain of Custody?

Beliefs of the Original Catholic Church: Could a remnant group have continuing apostolic succession? Did the original “catholic church” have doctrines held by the Continuing Church of God? Did Church of God leaders uses the term “catholic church” to ever describe the church they were part of? Here are links to related sermons: Original Catholic Church of God?, Original Catholic Doctrine: Creed, Liturgy, Baptism, Passover, What Type of Catholic was Polycarp of Smyrna?, Tradition, Holy Days, Salvation, Dress, & Celibacy, Early Heresies and Heretics, Doctrines: 3 Days, Abortion, Ecumenism, Meats, Tithes, Crosses, Destiny, and more, Saturday or Sunday?, The Godhead, Apostolic Laying on of Hands Succession, Church in the Wilderness Apostolic Succession List, Holy Mother Church and Heresies, and Lying Wonders and Original Beliefs. Here is a link to that book in the Spanish language: Creencias de la iglesia Católica original.

Hope of Salvation: How the Continuing Church of God Differs from Protestantism The CCOG is NOT Protestant. This free online book explains how the real Church of God differs from mainstream/traditional Protestants. Several sermons related to the free book are also available: Protestant, Baptist, and CCOG History; The First Protestant, God’s Command, Grace, & Character; The New Testament, Martin Luther, and the Canon; Eucharist, Passover, and Easter; Views of Jews, Lost Tribes, Warfare, & Baptism; Scripture vs. Tradition, Sabbath vs. Sunday; Church Services, Sunday, Heaven, and God’s Plan; Seventh Day Baptists/Adventists/Messianics: Protestant or COG?; Millennial Kingdom of God and God’s Plan of Salvation; Crosses, Trees, Tithes, and Unclean Meats; The Godhead and the Trinity; Fleeing or Rapture?; and Ecumenism, Rome, and CCOG Differences.

The MYSTERY of GOD’s PLAN: Why Did God Create Anything? Why did God make you? This free online book helps answers some of the biggest questions that human have, including the biblical meaning of life. Here is a link to three related sermons: Mysteries of God’s Plan, Mysteries of Truth, Sin, Rest, Suffering, and God’s Plan, and The Mystery of YOU.

Christians: Ambassadors for the Kingdom of God, Biblical instructions on living as a Christian This is a scripture-filled booklet for those wishing to live as a real Christian. A related sermon is also available: Christians are Ambassadors for the Kingdom of God. Here is a video in Spanish: ¿Qué es un verdadero cristiano?

The Gospel of the Kingdom of God This free online pdf booklet has answers many questions people have about the Gospel of the Kingdom of God and explains why it is the solution to the issues the world is facing. Here are links to three related sermons: The World’s False Gospel, The Gospel of the Kingdom: From the New and Old Testaments, and The Kingdom of God is the Solution.

Where is the True Christian Church Today? This free online pdf booklet answers that question and includes 18 proofs, clues, and signs to identify the true vs. false Christian church. Plus 7 proofs, clues, and signs to help identify Laodicean churches. A related sermon is also available: Where is the True Christian Church? Here is a link to the booklet in the Spanish language: ¿Dónde está la verdadera Iglesia cristiana de hoy? Here is a link in the German language: WO IST DIE WAHRE CHRISTLICHE KIRCHE HEUTE? Here is a link in the French language: Où est la vraie Église Chrétienne aujourd’hui?

Continuing History of the Church of God This pdf booklet is a historical overview of the true Church of God and some of its main opponents from Acts 2 to the 21st century. Related sermon links include Continuing History of the Church of God: c. 31 to c. 300 A.D. and Continuing History of the Church of God: 4th-16th Centuries. The booklet is available in Spanish: Continuación de la Historia de la Iglesia de Dios, German: Kontinuierliche Geschichte der Kirche Gottes, and Ekegusii Omogano Bw’ekanisa Ya Nyasae Egendererete.

Faith for Those God has Called and Chosen What is faith? Can faith be increased? Are you saved by faith? What about works? Do Christians need to keep the Ten Commandments? What is the ‘faith chapter’? How do the just live by faith? Is faith one of the weightier matters of the law? How does faith come? Marque aquí para ver el pdf folleto: Fe para aquellos que Dios ha llamado y escogido. In German: Glaube für die von Gott Berufenen und Auserwählten. In French: La Foi pour ceux que Dieu a Appelés et Choisis. Here is a link to a related sermon titled: Faith for the Called and Chosen.and here is a link to another sermon Faith and Courage. Here is a link to shorter version of the written article in Mandarin Chinese 一篇关于信仰的小文章. Here are links to the sermons Christian Faith and Increasing Faith.

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CCOG.ORG Continuing Church of God The group striving to be most faithful amongst all real Christian groups to the word of God. There are links to literature is about 100 different languages there.

Congregations of the Continuing Church of God This is a listing of congregations and groups of the Continuing Church of God around the world.

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ibiverse · 2 years

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location: the solar system

Overview

A medium-sized yellow star with a modest family of planets, the “mother sun” is the cradle of the now-interstellar human species. Life is old here, with a rich and complex history going back for more than a terasecond.

Historiography

Dates are measured both in Earth Years (31.6 Ms) and in total seconds, the reference for both being “After Sun Eater” (ASE), which is used not because anyone particularly likes Sun Eater, but because his deeds are easily correlated with solar eclipses that can be precisely defined from orbital data.

Other major date systems include:

Binitarian Calendar (BinCal): Based on the dispensation of the Binitarian holy texts 1194 years before the zero year of the Sun Eater calendar, the BinCal is widespread in the east and south continents

Digital Epoch (DE): Beginning more or less arbitrarily in year 310 ASE, this is the “computer-friendly” date system widely used in technical settings, and increasingly in everyday life

Magical Epoch (ME): Functionally similar to the DE system, the Magical Epoch has the “Conifer Telltale” detonation test as its zero time. It is fairly obscure, only used, unsurprisingly, in the context of magical stuff.

The “present day” is assumed to be second 20^10 of the Magical Epoch, year 2188 of the Binitarian Calendar, year 994 ASE, 21.5768 gigaseconds into the Digital Epoch.

The System

Inner System

Dee

The ancient Piprima civilization wrote on the Obelisk of the Planets that Dee was an ethereal counterpart to migrating swallows, due to its small size and relatively fast back-and-forth motion. They associated its movement with crops and imagined it as an arbiter of prosperity and health.

A small, rocky planet, Dee is tidally locked: one hemisphere in eternal, scorching daylight, the other in eternal night. Despite its proximity to the sun, the night side of Dee is quite cold and hosts a lot of water ice. Humans have built some mines and cities near the terminator, underground to protect against high-energy solar radiation. Dee civilization is notable for its production of solar sail craft, used in power generation and shipping throughout the inner system.

Daa

The Obelisk of the Planets characterized Daa as a counterpart to Dee, chasing it across the sky but forever falling behind, like a falcon that could never catch up to a swallow, condemned to starvation. Indeed, the Piprima tradition treated Daa as a harbinger of famine when moving “away from” Dee, and a charm for successful hunting when moving “towards” it. Conjunctions between the two were omens of plenty.

In a 2:1 resonance orbit with the sun, Daa is thoroughly heated and much less hospitable than Dee. Several thousand orcs live in “caravan-cities”, trains of rugged crawler-vehicles that follow the terminator across the parched landscape. Wildly divergent religious beliefs produce cultural divides between “strands” of the cities.

Katua

Big and bright in morning and evening skies, Katua has long held a special sway over human imaginations. The first record of understanding it as one object and not a distinct “morning star” and “evening star” was in our old friend, the Obelisk of the Planets. Occupying the border between day and night, the planet was seen as a symbol of change, especially in the forms of birth and death. Katua was a fate-like figure who dictated the lifespans of mortal humans. “May Katua have mercy” was a phrase of blessing often appended to the names of kings of Piprima in many ancient texts.

We now know that Katua is similar in size to earth, but with a dummy THICC atmosphere that makes its surface a hellscape. Orbited by four small moons. Humans and orcs permanently inhabit the four small moons as well as giant, feudal cloud-cities floating in the Katua’s upper atmosphere. Robotic exploration of the surface is conducted often. [more about major cloud cities]

Ulta

Smallest and closest-orbiting moon

Ara

Largest moon, orbiting at a high inclination

Rua

A small moon on the ecliptic

Earth System

Mother Earth

The blueprint of all habitable planets, this terrestrial world has a relatively strong magnetosphere, a surface with active plate tectonics, vast areas of ocean, and diverse life forms of all kinds. It was here that humans first evolved, and where billions live.

The most definitive social unit of Earth is the Megacity – large areas of densely populated artificial environment. The chief megacities are:

Liopolu

Liopolu (pop 2E+8) is a coastal port city. It was formed in 310 yr. ASE from the Kaulahao Polu Republic, a maritime successor state to Sun Eater’s Empire; and the Liomahina Republic, which had been mainly agrarian under Sun Eater but rapidly industrialized post-empire. Its climate is rather cold, so many of its main public spaces are sub-surface.

Talfnapiti

(pop. 4E+7), the Peach Coast, has a long history as an industrial nexus between the vast desert to its south and the populous regions to its north.

Palenaani

(pop 6E+7), the Honey Coast, is renowned for its nice weather and steep, narrow streets. It’s a storied center of research and education

Geopolus

(pop. 8E+7), spanning the three large volcanic islands of Tiradelfa and largely supplied by vast pelagic agriculture systems, is considered by many to be a totally unique society. Vast pontoon bridges cross the huge stretches of deep ocean between the islands. Piers stretch out from the coasts with buildings rising dozens of stories above the sea. The northeasternmost island is designated for natural preservation, and is home to many species found nowhere else.

Charra Kell

(pop 6E+7) is absolutely massive, almost indescribably diverse and dynamic. Notable for the sheer scale of its monolithic apartment buildings.

Pen Tappodam

(pop 5E+7), the city of five rivers, is Totally Not Seattle.

About 85% of Earth’s population live in these megacities, but there are many other noteworthy regions outside them.

Earth-orbital regions

Low Earth Orbit

Several large space stations exist here. After a catastrophic atmospheric entry event, international law requires that low-orbit stations be modular and rapidly dismantleable to minimize the damage they can inflict on the surface of Earth.

Earth-Moon Lagrange Points

Stable orbits with relatively low delta-V requirements to reach from the Moon, the Lagrange Points are a natural place for space stations. And do they ever have space stations!

An Earth-dominated space city - it’s location counter to the moon makes it a symbol of the Earthling Space Renaissance and the end of Lunar hegemony.

Carcinized orcs live here. Largest lagrange point station due to location prograde of the Moon

Geostationary Orbit

This is where the space elevators anchor. Lots of cargo is transferred here, and space stations built in the modular style of the LEO stations (and with a lot of shared standard components)

Earth’s Moon

The classic O’Niellian moon: mining and processing ores, then catapulting them to Low Earth Orbit and the Lagrange Points for fabrication into gigantic space stations and spacecraft. Vast tunnel-cities home to more than a billion people. Solar arrays towering above the poles on rotating platforms to get that sweet eternal sunshine. Humans first settled the moon in 355 yr. ASE after a mysterious supernatural force compelled them to venture to the stars, with the moon as the starting point.

The moon’s topography is characterized by spiky mountains and enchanting caverns containing rare and beautiful gems. It was once its own planet, but was gradually captured by earth’s gravity (this is different from our universe’s moon, which coalesced from a collision between earth and another planet!) In a matter of a few billion years the moon’s orbit may decay and it will collide with the earth!

Socially, the Moon is dominated by the Moonicipality, a sprawling bureaucracy that maintains the mostly underground city near the moon’s north pole where most of its people live and work. Notable among Moonicipal ventures are the “FedSpheres”, huge spherical caverns created by underground nuclear blasts. The first of these were deliberately built on the far side of the moon as a gesture of independence from Earth, where at the time governments were uninterested in the affairs of the moon.

Asteroid Belt

The asteroid belt is a thinly dispersed region of small-ish space rocks. Some are the remains of ancient, destroyed planets, some the hearts of planets never formed, but most are piles of dust and rock that gently accrued together over billions of years.

Most of the asteroids are uninhabited. Hundreds, however, are dotted with bubble villages where small human populations dwell.

Among some of the asteroids live “aster-elves”, humans adapted to the vacuum of space. They hold pure oxygen in their lungs, which they deplete very slowly. They carry spherical fuel tanks atop their heads, which power pistol-like handheld rocket thrusters. They dissipate heat through their impermeable skin, and through leaf-shaped structures protruding from their backs. Many believe they’re just mythical, but those few ‘nauts who see them never forget.

Dwarf planets:

Asteroids large enough to be in hydrostatic equilibrium are called “dwarf planets.”

Shoy

Only ever faintly visible from earth in the darkest and clearest conditions, Shoy was not recognized as a planet until after the invention of the telescope. Its (idk how yet) resonance with Kotha prompted its discoverers to name it after the mythical Kotha’s companion, lord of all bison.

A third the mass of Earth’s moon, Shoy today is filled with deep rotating underground cities. Most are cone-shaped to combine their centrifugal force with the gravity of the dwarf planet. The closer to the surface, the shallower the cone, thanks to our old friend the inverse-square law. The largest cone-city by far, Fissile Fount, is not actually a cone, but a curved funnel like shape that gently changes its slope from [PENDING ANGLE] just below the surface to [PENDING ANGLE] at its lowest depth of [PENDING DEPTH].

The Great Crystal Ball is a major cultural landmark: a glittering garden-dome over Featherman Crater, filled with magnificent strains of giant flowers found nowhere else, and home of the historic first landing site, preserved as a museum.

Its moonlet Thellei has long been a pivotal port of call for ships heading outward. Mining and shipbuilding are its predominant industries.

Kotha

The only belt body easily visible from Earth with the naked eye, Kotha has been interpreted differently across many cultures. The Obelisk of the Planets calls it Dasra and associates it with memory, whereas the Tammarong associated it with their farming god Kotha, and the name stuck.

A moon-and-a-quarter in mass, surface sparsely dotted with majestic bubble-cities, Kotha is regarded by many as the crown jewel of the belt. Its seventeen moons are iconic, lauded in poetry and art. Seeing all the moons in conjunction is a huge tourist event.

Its largest city is Golden Dome, considered an architectural wonder and home to over a million people. Also noteworthy is Silver Spire, the base of a space elevator, and Expo Dome, constructed as a showcase of the wonders of every world in the solar system on Gigasecond 20 D.E.

Dess

A quarter the mass of Earth’s moon, Dess is something of a backwater. Its inclined orbit it’s inconvenient for shipping; the million or so residents of its impoverished tin-can means cities are largely dependent on import for essential goods.

Entoormedon

The terraformed one! Four-fifths moon mass, its craters are turned to seas of towering surf rimmed by forested mountains. Rolling grasslands are traversed by sprightly deer-like creatures. Birds that could never fly in earth’s gravity grace the skies. A tourist destination of the outer belt, for obvious reasons.

Prominent Asteroids:

Istiris

“Gateway to the Belt”, about two-thirds of the way between Earth and Shoy, Istiris was one of the first asteroids to be settled.

Darican

“Capital of the little rocks”, Darican is a heavily urbanized asteroid orbiting about halfway between Kotha and Entoormedon. Due to its near lack of gravity well, it’s preferable to any dwarf planet as a fueling and transfer station, especially for tight-margined independent ore-haulers. The city of Darican takes the form of a tangle of vast wheels - slowly rotating centrifuges - some concentric, some interlocked - that are home to tens of millions of people. A central mast extends outward for miles in each direction, providing a stationary mooring point for vessels coming and going.

Tollemm

Vesk

Named fairly recently after the pan-Maxamari deity of metalwork, Vesk is a precious metal world. Rapidly settled in a literal gold rush before it turned out no one could do much better than break even shipping metals back to earth, it became, by necessity, a world of artists - a society dedicated to making precious metals into strange and beautiful goods.

The Heavenly Gardens

A canvas sphere containing an immense volume of air. The microgravity atmosphere hosts floating islands, sky-ships, bird-people, aerojellyfish, and many other natural wonders.

Gas Giants:

Mind-bogglingly big planets with no solid surface, the gas giants are like little suns, hosting families of moons that are like planets unto themselves! Gas giant subsystems tend to develop more insular shared cultures due to their distance from the rest of civilization.

Theshu

The ancient Tammarong civilization associated this bright, slow-moving planet with their chief deity Theshu - bringer of dreams and fertility, ultimate wellspring of life spiritual and physical. Its opposition to the sun, when it’s brightest, was one of the most significant festivals, traditions from which continue to this day.

This veneration was well-deserved: king of planets, with the mass of over three hundred earths, and orbited by as many moons, Theshu is truly sublime. Its gravitational force shapes the asteroid belt, its magnetic field is deadly to humans without a lot of shielding, many of its moons are planets in their own right.

Needless to say, no one lives on Theshu itself (though there are a few remotely operated atmospheric research platforms). But its moons host a vibrant civilization.

Iscu

A moon in the process of destruction! Iscu, due to a slowly decaying orbit and intense tidal forces, is breaking up and spewing giant chunks of rock into space. It is very dangerous, but scientists persist in exploring it!

Sebzevaan

A large, rocky moon. All its cities are deep underground due to radiation from Theshu. One and a third the mass of Earth’s moon, it is home of a geothermal foundry powerhouse civilization.

Tzashe

A small moon with a rotating cylinder-city at its center. Settled because it is conveniently positioned to derive power from tidal forces via huge “tether-towers” extending megameters above the surface.

Essetoi

Two thirds the mass of Earth’s moon. Huge caves and volcanoes.

Reethar

With an artificial magnetosphere, three quarters the mass of Earth’s moon, Reethar is an industrial and cultural hub of the Theshu subsystem. Elegant, almost gothic bubble domes dot its surface, connected by high-speed railways that are a matter of pride for the moon’s inhabitants.

Telbi

Largest moon in the solar system (roughly three quarters the mass of Earth), it has its own moon! The tidal force of this moon makes the surface of Telbi safe, radiation-wise, for habitation. People live in gigantic bubble-cities. Terraforming has been attempted but was unsuccessful in making the surface human-habitable; only scary lichens survive amidst the caustic rain.

Telbitzi

The moon-moon of Telbi, a spaceport and staging point.

Other Moon names

Thesti

The ancient Tammarong associated the planet Thesti with their god of healing, judgement and death. The god Thesti was a mysterious figure, and the planet turned out to be no different!

A hundred times the mass of the earth, surrounded by a shimmering ring system, and with a near-90-degree axial tilt, Thesti is truly a world of wonder and intrigue.

The Rings

A vast disc of ice chunks, the ring system is a largely mysterious wasteland. It’s insanely vast. Like a sea of ice floes covering more than 80 times the surface area of earth, all shifting and drifting in three dimensions with the gravitational influences of mountain-sized moonlets, it’s a surreal and haunting place. The rings of Thesti are sparsely populated, but home to a number of cultures:

The iceworms are serpentine cyborgs slithering among the chunks of ice and rock. They rarely contact others and remain largely mysterious to human knowledge.

Ring-scrapers search the ring system for valuable minerals and objects of scientific intrigue. A meager livelihood dwelling in small spaceships, the ring-scraping life produces tough people.

There is also a population of aster-elves in the innermost rings. They are more sedentary than most of the belt aster-elves, more often inhabiting one meteorite as something of a genus loci than moving between them.

Shesse

Used to have rivers and lakes. Intricate sedimentary formations remain to this day.

Beeleh

The surface of this moon is covered in huge tubular structures that give it a “fuzzy” look from a distance. There’s a mysterious crystalline mountain that is seemingly unrelated to the geology of the rest of the moon...and has grown slightly over time!

Estaza

Most of the above described moons are equatorial with respect to Thesti, near-perpendicular to the disc of the rest of the solar system. Estaza, however, is roughly coplanar with Earth and the other planets, making it a valuable fueling station for ships heading further into or out of the Thesti system. Its shape is irregular, its mass less than a tenth that of Earth’s moon, and its composition rocky and icy, though its ice reserves have been depleted to an alarming extent to make fuel for the ships passing through.

Outer Planets

The cold, dark outer region of the solar system is a bit of a wilderness. Its planetary systems populated by only the strongest of people, the lags in communication and travel time painfully long, mysteries around every corner.

Ashta

An ice giant with some cloud cities. Dozens of moons, most inhabited by a blue-skinned strain of long-lived cyborg humans.

In the upper atmosphere of Ashta itself is the Cloud Palace, a blocky structure of pumice-like aerogel (helium-gel?) that floats in its gaseous environment. It is here that the Council of Kings convenes in times of great importance.

Thetnia

Very low-orbiting moonlet that serves as a staging point for travel to the cloud-cities.

Deshta

A world of smooth icy plains and towering mountains. Capital of the Ashta Federative Empire and a premier center of cybernetic research

Alfna

A moon with enough atmosphere for wind and snow! wowee! Relatively thin atmosphere, but with less gravity than Earth’s moon, so people travel with gigantic. lightweight sail-like wings.

Esh

Subsurface water ocean that is considered sacred. Pyramid-shaped cities on the surface

Rinla

A dry, rocky, spherical moon with several active volcanoes. Its orbit closely resonates with that of Esh. A handful of vast bubble cities house its population.

Huusek

A solid, icy world nearly twice the mass of earth, Huusek is a foreboding world where few dare venture. Few, but not none! Giant centipedes, brought by humans, have evolved to be right at home in the brutal gravity and temperature conditions. And populations of humans and orcs have adapted to live in bubbles, even under the immense gravity the world exerts! They’re very short though lol. Huusek is named after a Stone Tree goddess of summer, and has several moons:

Thuusek

Two thirds the mass of Earth, Thuusek is a huge sphere of ice. Named after the mythical daughter of Huusek and patron goddess of migratory birds, it is mostly uninhabited save for researchers.

Espna

Subsurface hydrocarbon ocean? Only place in the Huusek system with an interplanetary-grade spaceport, making it de facto capital of the Huusek subsystem

Eshei

Giant ice spikes

Essenai

An ice giant with one spherical moon. Supercritical fluids deep in its atmosphere host native extraterrestrial life! An intergovernmental accords established a mandate that only a particular Essenani Liaison could interact with the planet itself.

Rasseku

Discovered well into the digital epoch, Rasseku remains something of a frontier world. A gaseous planet only twice the mass of Earth

It has a few major moons:

Dasta

Tubular, maaaan. Nearly a fifth the mass of Earth’s moon, Dasta is shaped like a cylinder.

Sesta

Small, icy and spherical, site of the only permanently inhabited base in the Rasseku system. It is about a quarter the mass of Earth’s moon.

Driani

Even in the faint sunlight of Rasseku, Driani is a world of darkness. Two thirds the mass of Earth’s moon but with one of the lowest observed albedos in the solar system.

The Fringe

The extremities of the solar system are a true wilderness. Few have ventured here,fewer heard back from, but It is thought that a few trans-Essanani and trans-Rassek objects host fusion-powered tunnel towns of rugged settlers determined to live free and far from the rest of humanity.

#ibiverse #ibiverselocations

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eli-kittim · 3 years

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Can We Discard Trinitarianism by Rejecting Hypostasis?: A Critical Review of Frank Nelte’s Article “The Facts About 'Hypostasis' “

By Bible Researcher and Author Eli Kittim

——-

Does the Worldwide Church of God Have the Corner on the Market?

The article under discussion that’s still relevant today was written a while back by Frank W Nelte of the Worldwide Church of God——a religious organization, founded by Herbert W. Armstrong——which some have referred to as a cult: https://franknelte.net/article.php?article_id=192

Armstongism refers to the teachings of

Herbert W. Armstrong, which became the

teaching of the Worldwide Church of God.

These teachings were often at odds with

traditional Christian beliefs and at times

were explicitly in contradiction to the Bible.

The most well-known of Armstrong’s

teachings is that of Anglo-Israelism.

(Gotquestions)

Always question the systematic theology behind the articles you read. For example, T. D. Jakes, the famous televangelist, is a self-professed modalist (he believes that there aren’t 3 persons in the Trinity but rather 1, operating in 3 modes). So, we must be cautious of subscribing to theologies that are not grounded in cogent arguments. Many offshoots of The Worldwide Church of God also hold to tenuous and spurious doctrines, such as that of David C. Pack, which promotes Binitarianism (one deity in two persons), and the notion that the Holy Spirit is not a Person.

——-

Frank Nelte is trying to discredit Trinitarianism by showing that the language used to support it comes from outside the Bible and is based on Greek philosophy. He hopes to zero in on a defeater of the belief that the Greek term ὑπόστασις (hupostasis) is a reference to God’s essence or substance: https://biblehub.com/greek/5287.htm

Does Hypostasis Mean Title Deed?

Nelte starts off by trying to change the definition of the term hypostasis by introducing various questionable reference works, such as the “HELPS Word Studies for Greek/Hebrew.” But caution is advised because Bible dictionaries, especially those not accepted by credible scholars, tend to make theological assumptions concerning the denotative definition of words. Accordingly, Nelte declares:

the word ‘hypostasis’ meant ‘TITLE DEED’!

That’s incorrect. That explanation is based on theological “interpretations,” not on the classical meaning of the word per se, as I will show you anon. This assumption can be found in The “HELPS Word-studies” reference work, which reads:

5287 hypóstasis (from 5259 /hypó, ‘under’

and 2476 /hístēmi, ‘to stand’) – properly,

(to possess) standing under a

guaranteed agreement (‘title-deed’);

(figuratively) ‘title’ to a promise or property,

i.e. a legitimate claim (because it literally is,

‘under a legal-standing’) – entitling

someone to what is guaranteed under the

particular agreement. For the believer,

5287/hypóstasis (‘title of possession’) is the

Lord's guarantee to fulfill the faith He

inbirths (cf. Heb 11:1 with Heb 11:6). Indeed

we are only entitled to what God grants

faith for (Ro 14:23).

But the primary meaning of the word “hypostasis” does not mean title deed. According to the scholarly reference work of H.G. Liddell & R. Scott, “A Greek-English Lexicon” (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1901) p. 1639, the Greek term ὑπόστασις (Hypostasis) means “substantial nature, substance.” It defines “hypostasis” as follows:

the real nature of a thing, as underlying and

supporting its outward form and properties,

and so = [equal to] ουσία or η υποκειμένη

ύλη, essence.

This categorically refutes Nelte’s argument completely. The only thing Nelte is willing to concede is that hypostasis refers to some sort of support. He writes:

Hupostasis refers to something we can

stand upon;

Well, yes. But actually, stand under. It’s similar to the English term “understand.” The definition from the “Online Etymology Dictionary” is as follows:

Old English understandan ‘to comprehend,

grasp the idea of, receive from a word or

words or from a sign the idea it is intended

to convey; to view in a certain way,’

probably literally ‘stand in the midst of,’

from under + standan ‘to stand’.

According to the aforesaid meaning, to “stand under” connotes a deeper understanding or comprehension. Similarly, hypostasis means to stand under (see Strong 5287 hypóstasis [from 5259 /hypó, "under" and 2476 /hístēmi, "to stand"]). In other words, just as the word “understand” departs from its denotative meaning and implies comprehension, so does “hypostasis,” whose connotative meaning pertains to an underlying foundation. We cannot simply bypass the latter’s historical-grammatical meaning that dates back to Ancient Greek philosophy and which is described as the underlying substance of fundamental reality. By contrast, Nelte writes:

Put in very plain terms (perhaps somewhat

oversimplified) they teach that

HYPOSTASIS refers to the SUBSTANCE

(from Hebrews 11:1) that the Godhead

consists of. Supposedly God the Father and

Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit are all one

HUPOSTASIS, etc.. Now this interpretation

of the word ‘hupostasis’ is not in any way

supported by the five times that Paul used

this word in two different epistles in the New

Testament. Paul really meant exactly what

Webster's Dictionary understands the

English word HYPOSTASIS to mean. We

should remember that the word

‘SUBSTANCE’ (with its present meaning in

the English language) in Hebrews 11:1 is

really a mistranslation. Hypostasis simply

means: to stand under or upon, to support,

etc. It has nothing to do with ‘substance’.

As stated earlier, according to Liddell & Scott, the term hypostasis means foundation, “essence,” or “substance.” In other words, the term hypostasis can be defined as some sort of underlying support or foundation upon which something else stands or exists. So, it can certainly refer to the essence or substance of the Godhead. This interpretation of hypostasis is clearly supported in the New Testament. In Hebrews 1.3 the Greek text says ὃς ὢν ἀπαύγασμα τῆς δόξης καὶ χαρακτὴρ τῆς ὑποστάσεως αὐτοῦ. This means that Christ is the apaugasma (ἀπαύγασμα) or “radiance” of God’s glory and character, namely, the exact representation of God’s hypostasis. What could that possibly mean? It could only mean that Christ is the exact imprint or image of God’s essence or character or substance. It is true that hypostasis doesn’t denotatively (literally) mean substance. But it does appear to suggest it connotatively!

That’s why at the outset of an argument one must always try to see where the author is going with it. That will reveal their intention and motivation, whether it is pure and genuine or whether they have an axe to grind. In this case, Nelte is trying desperately to prove that the Trinity is false. So, he attempts to manipulate the language in order to prove his point. But true scholarship follows the evidence wherever it may lead. The minute you try to manipulate the evidence, you have turned it into a confirmation bias and a private interpretation.

Is a Borrowed Concept Necessarily False?

Nelte outlines his basic criticism of the Trinity by suggesting that because many of its theological concepts are grounded in Platonic philosophy——especially “the ‘hupostasis ideas’ about the nature of God”——they must therefore be inappropriate or inapplicable, at best, and erroneous or fallacious, at worst. But is this a valid argument? He writes:

It should be quite clear to anyone who takes

the time to study into this, that the religious

views of the Catholic Church, as expounded

by the Catholic ‘church fathers’ and as

discussed at the various Councils of the

Catholic Church (Nicea, Constantinople,

etc.) are STEEPED IN THE IDEAS OF PLATO!

And the ‘hupostasis ideas’ about the

nature of God are central to that whole

scheme of things.

It is true that Christianity borrowed a great deal from Platonic philosophy. But philosophical and linguistic inheritance is only one aspect of New Testament theology; divine revelation is another. There are other metaphysical considerations that need to be addressed. For example, Nelte argues that since the term hypostasis is borrowed from Plato, the 3 hypostases applied to the Christian godhead must be erroneous. And the notion that the Holy Spirit is a 3rd hypostasis must equally be false. But this is a fallacious argument. All historical, cultural, and scientific endeavors have borrowed profusely from their predecessors. It’s part of the evolution of language and culture. It’s part of who we are: Standing on the shoulders of giants! All knowledge is derived from previous predecessors.

The Old Testament Flood of Noah account was borrowed from the Epic of Gilgamesh from ancient Mesopotamia. What is more, the Hebrew name of God in the Old Testament is “El.” But this name was also borrowed from the Levant. Historically, El was a pagan deity and the supreme god of a Canaanite pantheon of gods, analogous to to the Greek god Zeus. But just because the name El was borrowed from this religious and cultural milieu (paganism) doesn’t mean that the corresponding values of the two deities are equivalent. In other words, it doesn’t follow that the Hebrew God is a false, pagan, Canaanite god. Precisely because the culture was familiar with this god, the God of the Bible chose to associate himself with this cultural icon in order to make the transition of faith smoother and far more acceptable. It’s similar to missionary work. If you’re trying to convert aborigines to Christ, you’ll try to explain certain concepts according to the existing terminology of the culture at hand. If you deviate and introduce completely foreign concepts, your theology will create cognitive dissonance with the native and local spiritual religions. Many of the New Testament narratives about Jesus are borrowed from the Hebrew Bible, but they don’t have equal value in both Testaments.

So, the attempt to judge the truth value of a concept based solely on its linguistic and philosophical antecedents is not a sound argument. Besides, historical-grammatical studies alone cannot answer metaphysical questions, as, say, the existence of God and his attributes. So, it seems to me that this is a fallacious argument, namely, the attempt to invalidate certain concepts or to explain them away simply because of previously borrowed religious, philosophical, and linguistic antecedents. That type of argumentation would invalidate science itself. Current science is very different from that of the renaissance. Yet the language of modern science is borrowed directly from Greek and Latin texts. In fact, the entire scientific project has borrowed extensively from the philosophical and linguistic heritage of its predecessors. Does that invalidate its current status? I think not!

Conclusion

Frank W. Nelte tenaciously maintains his objection to the classical interpretation of “hypostasis” throughout the paper. He writes:

The truth is that the word ‘hypostasis’ has

NOTHING to do with ‘substance’ or with

‘ousia.’

Au contraire, as the scholarly work of Liddell & Scott demonstrates, “hypostasis” has everything to do with “substance” and “ousia.” For example, in Hebrews 1.3, the New International Version translates the Greek term ὑποστάσεως (hupostasis) as “the exact representation of … [God’s] being.” The New Living Translation expresses it as “the very character of God.” The English Standard Version renders it as “the exact imprint of his nature.” The Berean Literal Bible translates it as “the exact expression of His substance,” while the New American Standard Bible explicates it as “the exact representation of His nature.” What are all these translations of the word “hypostasis” getting at? Answer: they’re depicting God’s very “being,” “nature,” and “substance.” All these credible translations are talking about the very essence or substance of God. Therefore it is not inappropriate to refer to God’s innermost nature as his hypostasis. This view is supported by the New Testament! Hebrews 1.3 reads:

ὃς ὢν ἀπαύγασμα τῆς δόξης καὶ χαρακτὴρ

τῆς ὑποστάσεως αὐτοῦ, φέρων τε τὰ πάντα

τῷ ῥήματι τῆς δυνάμεως, δι᾽ αὑτοῦ ⸃

καθαρισμὸν τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν ποιησάμενος ⸃

ἐκάθισεν ἐν δεξιᾷ τῆς μεγαλωσύνης ἐν

ὑψηλοῖς.

——-

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esther-pentecostal · 2 years

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#Not Trinitarian #Not Unitarian #Not Binitarian #Acts #Christianity #Salvation

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santandreas · 4 years

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And in Jesus Christ, his only begotten Son, our Lord:

To believe that God has a son!

Yeshua ben Elyon

So “I believe in Jesus, the only son of God” as yet the un-anointed one.

Jesus Christ was Born not made: he was not the fashioned top rung of the ladder to God. But the first born and only son who is our Lord.

To be Christian means to be of Christ,the only son of God else there can be nothing further to acclaim.

Having children is…

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#Binitarianism #Demigod #God the Son #Nicene Creed #Son of God #tritheism

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apenitentialprayer · 2 years

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Do you recommend any articles or books on the development of the doctrine of A) The Trinity, B) The Hypostatic Union, or C) Guardian Angels?

I'm not sure if I can give too much help about this, either. In terms of general overviews, I don't think I can recommend too many. Let's see what I have....

I'm going to get the Guardian Angels out of the way, first; Fr. Jean Danielou wrote a book, translated by David Heimann into English, called The Angels and Their Mission According to the Early Church Fathers. It's not just about guardian angels, but it does show how thoughts on angels shifted a little over time, and I found the bits and pieces of liturgical mysticism found in the work to be interesting. If you're okay trading emails privately, I have a (badly formatted) copy of this book that I am willing to send. Moving on to the Trinity....

This is a little before Christianity, but David Boyarin (who is very interested in mapping out the 'parting of the ways' of Christianity and Judaism) wrote an article called "Beyond Judaisms: Meṭaṭron and the Divine Polymorphy of Ancient Judaism" which suggests that ancient Judaism was a lot more complicated than previously imagined, moving it away from a model of competing religious sects along Christian lines and more fitting a Greek model where strands of competing religious thought could be found even within the same competing sectarian group. 'Polymorphous Judaism,' he suggests, included at least a one current of binitarian thought that was later expelled by normative Judaism. He admits that this idea is controversial, and I don't know exactly how this article was received by the academic community, but I know that his book on the Partition of Judeo-Christianity is very well regarded by all Jewish Studies scholars I have spoken to - it was even recommended by to me by one.

(While we are on the topic of Judaism, if you're interested in how medieval Jews felt and thought about the Trinity, David Berger's translation and commentary on the Niẓẓaḥon Vetus, a Jewish polemical text written against Christian doctrine during the thirteenth century, just as Christian sectarian feelings were intensifying considerably.)

In terms of early development of Trinitarian doctrine, a popular (non-academic) book is by Karen Armstrong, A History of God. It's not all about Trinitarian conflict, but it is supposed to be an overview of the three major Abrahamic faiths, so it does come up for a considerable amount of time. I always feel a little hesitant recommending her, because I do feel like she has a tendency of representing her own opinions as the academic consensus and she definitely has ideological motives, but it's still very informative.

Speaking of popular books with ideological motivations, I cannot say for myself, but I have heard good things about Rod Bennett's The Great Apostasy That Wasn't, a book about the Council of Nicaea and Saing Athanasius of Alexandria in particular. It was meant to defend orthodox Christianity's claims against restorationist Christian sects (often non-Trinitarian) that claim that the Council corrupted the Antenicene faith.

This is waaaay after what you're looking for, but "Relationality and Difference in the Mysticism of Pierre de Bérulle" talks about how that Cardinal understood the Trinity and Incarnation in a mystic sense, and since he is the father of the French school of spirituality, that might be of interest to you.

So, again, not a lot of objective overviews; sorry about that. If you have anything more specific that you want, I can dig around more, though!

#asks #reading

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humorwithatwist · 7 years

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Jesus in the Apocalypse of John: Implications for Modern Christianity (Part I)

This post is part of an ongoing series examining the Christology of the Apocalypse of John.

As a professing Christian standing in the Great Tradition of the Church, I believe that the faith and practices of early followers of Jesus form an important authority for contemporary expressions of Christianity. Regarding devotional practice, worship of Jesus remains not only acceptable, but is in fact…

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wildernessproject2020 · 5 years

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Philippians

빌립보서 Background

신약성경에 바울의 서신서는 몇권인가?

13권 (데살로니가 전,후서, 갈라디아서, 고린도 전,후서, 로마서, 골로새서, 빌레몬서, 에베소서, 빌립보서, 디모데 전, 후서, 디도서)

그 중 옥중서신이라고 하는 서신서, 즉 감옥에서 쓴 편지는 모두 몇 권인가?

4권 (골로새서, 빌레몬서, 에베소서, 빌립보서)

목회서신이라고 부르는 서신서는?

3권 (디모데 전, 후서, 디도서)

빌립보서의 기록된 연도는 A.D. 61-62년 경 (로마에서)

빌립보라는 굉장히 unique한 도시: 왜냐하면, 이 도시의 Roman-ness 때문이고, 유대인 community 가 아주 적었다는 점에서 바울이 전도한 그 어떤 도시보다 굉장히 특이한 도시였다.

팔레스타인에 가이사랴 빌립보와는 다른 빌립보

역사적 배경: “빌립보는 원래 크레니데스라고 불렸다. 마케도니아의 필리포스 2세(알렉산더 대왕의 아버지)는 기원전 4세기 중엽 트라키아인들로부터 이 도시를 빼앗아 자신의 이름을 따서 이 도시를 명명하였다. 이 지역은 매장량이 풍부한 금광이 있어서, 필리포스의 이름이 새겨진 금화가 발행된 곳이었다. 기원전 168년경 로마의 집정관 루키우스 아이밀리우스 파울루스는 마케도니아의 마지막 왕인 페르세우스를 무찌르고 빌립보와 그 주변 지역을 점령하였다. 기원전 146년에는 마케도니아 전 지역이 로마의 한 속주를 이루게 되었다. 옥타비아누스와 마르쿠스 안토니우스가 율리우스 카이사르를 암살한 브루투스와 가이우스 카시우스 롱기누스의 군대를 무찌른 전투는 빌립보 평원에서(기원전 42년에) 벌어졌다. 그 후 자신이 거둔 큰 승리를 기념하기 위해 옥타비아누스는 빌립보를 로마의 “식민지”로 만들었다. (행 16:12) 몇 해 후 옥타비아누스는 원로원에 의해 카이사르 아우구스투스가 되자, 이 도시를 가리켜 콜로니아 아우구스타 율리아 필리펜시스라고 불렀다.” https://wol.jw.org/ko/wol/d/r8/lp-ko/1200003467=5

“It was twice founded as a Roman colonia (Acts 16:12), first by Gaius Octavian (later Augustus Caesar) and Mark Antony after a double battle there in 42 b.c. when they defeated Cassius and Brutus and ended the Roman Republic; and then, after the defeat of Anthony and Cleopatra in 31 b.c., as Colonia Iulia Augusta Philippensis” (*Reumann, John. 2008. Philippians : A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary. The Anchor Yale Bible. New Haven: Yale University Press. https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=302229&site=ehost-live)

가이우스 옥타비아누스와 마크 안토니우스가 빌립보 전투에서 카시우스와 브루투스를 격파한 후, 카시우스와 브르투스 참패. 빌립보는 로마의 식민지로 세워짐 (B.C. 42년경), 두번째로 그 이후 안토니와 클레오파트라의 전쟁 이후 B.C. 31 Colonia Iulia Augusta Philippensis 으로 세워짐

헬레니즘 문화에 로마의 정치적영향력, 마게도냐 현지인들의 종교와 황제의 종교 / 유대인회당은 (아예 없지는 않았겠지만)없었음 (사도행전 16:13)

“이 도시는 로마의 식민 도시로 지정되었기 때문에 세금을 면제받는 데 더해 다른 여러 가지 특전들을 누렸는데, 그러한 특전들 중에는 이곳 주민들에게 준(準)로마 시민권을 부여하는 것도 포함되었을 수 있다. 따라서 이곳 시민들은 그러한 특전들이 주어지지 않았을 경우보다는 로마에 대해 더 강한 애착과 호감을 갖게 되었다. 이러한 점을 생각해 볼 때, 바울이 점치는 악귀를 쫓아내 준 소녀의 주인들이 행정관들 앞에서 바울과 실라를 고발하면서 “우리 로마인들”이라고 말함으로 그러한 사실을 강조한 이유를 이해할 수 있다. (행 16:16-24) 또한 나중에 바울이 빌립보의 그리스도인들에게 보낸 편지에서 그리스도에 관한 좋은 소식에 합당한 “시민으로서 행동”하라고 권고하였을 때나, 그들에게 “우리의 시민권은 하늘에 있”다고 상기시켰을 때, 그들은 그것을 매우 쉽게 이해할 수 있었을 것이다. 세상적인 면에서 로마의 시민권은 빌립보에서 높이 평가되었으며 심지어 자랑할 만한 것이었기 때문이다.—빌 1:27, 3:20”. https://wol.jw.org/ko/wol/d/r8/lp-ko/1200003467#h=6

사도행전 16장 말씀이 빌립보 교회의 성장배경이다. 말씀을 읽어보자, 빌립보에서 어떤 사건들이 있었는가?

바울의 제 2차 선교여행 중 빌립보에 다다름 (A.D. 48/49-51) / 그 이후 로마에서 빌립보교회로 보내는 편지를 쓰게 됨 (에바브로디도 편으로 A.D. 60년경에

마게도냐를 어떻게 설명하고 있는가? (16:12 로마의 식민지 / 16:21 ‘로마 사람인 우리가’ (마게도냐 사람들이지만 정치적으로 이 곳에 사는 사람들은 로마사람들에게 부여하는 특별대우를 받음, 자긍심이 느껴짐)

빌립보: 정치적이고 군사적인 도시였음 / 그래서인지, 빌립보서에는 군사용어가 많이 등장함

마게도냐 지방의 첫 성인 빌립보에서 자색 옷감 장사인 루디아를 만나, 그녀와 그 온 집이 복음을 듣고 세례를 받음

바울과 실라가 점치는 귀신들린 여종을 자유케 함, 그로 인해 여종의 주인들에 의해 옥에 갇히게 됨

바울과 실라가 감옥에서 기도하고 하나님을 찬송함 / 죄수들이 다 듣게 됨 / 지진이 나고 옥터가 움직이고 문이 다 열리니, 간수가 자결하려고 함 / 바울과 실라가 막음 / 간수가 한 유명한 말 16:30 “그들을 데리고 나가 이르되 선생들이여 내가 어떻게 하여야 구원을 받으리이까 하거늘” / 바울과 실라의 대답 16:31 “이르되 주 예수를 믿으라 그리하면 너와 네 집이 구원을 받으리라 하고”

간수가 복음을 듣고 예수님을 따르게 됨 (주의 말씀을 전하고, 간수가 바울과 실라를 씻어주고 온 가족이 세례를 받음)

바울이 로마시민임을 밝힘 / 다시 루디아의 집으로 들어감

>> Observation and Reflection Questions (1:1- 2)

발신인이 누구인가?

바울과 디모데는 자신을 어떻게 소개하고 있는가?

“그리스도의” “of Christ,” “그리스도 예수 안에서” “in Christ,” “하나님 우리 아버지와 주 예수 그리스도로부터” “from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ” 이 of, in, from 의 전치사에서 우리는 바울과 디모데에 대해 무엇을 배울 수 있는가?

수신인은 누구인가?

바울의 Greeting 인사를 관찰해보자. 이 인사는 유대인들에게, 특별히 기독교로 개종한 유대인들에게 어떤 의미의 인사였을까?

빌립보 교회에 대해서는 우리는 무엇을 알 수 있는가?

Larry W. Hurtado, At the Origins of Christian Worship (참조)

“There are basically two main identifying marks of early Christian worship, when considered in its religious context: 1) Christ is reverenced as divine along with God, and 2) worship of all other gods is rejected.” “From the Jewish tradition of the time, earliest Christianity inherited a monotheistic exclusivity of worship, demanding of adherents a renunciation of the worship of other gods.” (39)

“My point is simply the historical observation that at its earliest observable stage Christian worship was more “binitarian’, with devotion directed to God and Christ. Earliest Christine religious experience involved God, Christ and the Spirit; but the devotional pattern was more ‘binitarian’ as to the divine recipients of worship (64).“As I hope to show in the final section of this chapter, the inclusion of Christ as recipient of religious devotion was not intended by early Christians as recognizing another god. Although ‘di-theism’ might well represent the sort of charge that at least some critics might have hurled at them, the term does not seem to represent their own views of their devotional pattern. I propose that in this characteristic ‘twoishness’ of their devotional practice there is also a pattern of religious behavior that links Christ with God in ways that seem intended to maintain an exclusivist ‘monotheistic’ stance. It is this early Christian accommodation of Christ as an additional figure along with God (‘the Father’) within a strongly monotheistic religious commitment that I refer to as the ‘binitarian’ shape of Christian worship.” (70)

>> Observation and Reflection Questions (1:3-11)

“주 안에서” 라고 말할 때 그대는 어떤 의미로 이 말을 하는가? 어떤 의미를 내포하고 있는가?

바울과 빌립보 성도들과의 관계에 대해서 관찰해보라

바울은 빌립보 성도들을 생각할 때마다 하나님께 감사할 수 밖에 없다라고 한 이유가 무엇이라고 말하고 있는가?

복음을 위한 일을 어떤 일일까?

복음을 위한 일에 빌립보 성도들은 어떻게 참여했는가? (partnership in the gospel)

바울은 또한 빌립보 성도들이 은혜에 참여한 사람들이라고 설명한다. 이들은 어떻게 은혜에 참여하였는가? (partakers with me of grace)

바울은 빌립보 교인들을 어떻게 사랑한다고 표현하고 있는가?

바울의 빌립보 교인들을 위한 기도를 읽어보라. 이 기도문에서 바울이 빌립보 교인들이 갖길 원하는 가장 중요한 것이 무엇이라고 생각하는가?

사랑하는 일에 지식과 총명이 어떤 역할을 하겠는가? 왜 바울은 사랑함에 이 두 가지를 덧붙여 기도하고 있는가?

하나님이 원하시는 의의 열매를 얻기 위한 전제가 무엇이 되어야 한다고 바울은 말하고 있는가?

“그리스도의 날까지 이르고…” 그리스도의 날은 어떤 날을 의미하는 것일까? (예수님 부활하신지 30년 정도 되어가고 있다. 그분은 언제 오실것일까? 그 날이 언제 올 지는 모르지만, 다시 오시는 그 날, 곧 오시겠다 하셨으니, 곧 오실 그 날)

하나님의 영광과 찬송이 된다는 것은 어떤 의미일까?

≫ As we wrap up

생각날 때마다, 하나님께 감사가 쏟아지는 사람이 있는가? 간구할 때마다 내 마음에 기쁨이 넘치는 사람이 있는가? 그 이유는 무엇일까? 복음을 위한 일에 함께 하는 동역자가 있는가? 스승이, 제자가 있는가?

기쁨으로 간구한다는 것 – 염려와 근심이 아닌. 기쁨으로 기도하는 삶 (그 content는 9-11절이 되어야 할 것이다)

지식과 총명함으로 with knowledge and all discernment 사랑하는 것 – 나에게 어떻게 적용될 수 있을까? 지극히 선한 것을 분별 (discern)하는 것이지, 판단 (judge)하는 것이 아니다. What makes the two different is love. 사랑이다. 사랑이 없으면 판단이 되고, 사랑이 있으면 분별이 되는 것이다.

우리가 5년 후에, 10년 후에, 이 자리를, 우리 ��양팀 한 사람, 한 사람을 생각해볼 때 우리의 마음이 감사와 기쁨으로 가득 찰 수 있으려면 우리는 서로를 위해 기쁨으로 하나님께 감사하며 간구해야 할 것이다. “ ______ 사랑을 지식과 총명으로 점점 더 풍성하게 하사 ______ 로 지극히 선한 것을 분별하며 또 진실하여 허물없이 그리스도의 날까지 이르고 예수 그리스도로 말미암아 의의 열매가 가득하여 하나님의 영광과 찬송이 되기를 원합니다” (외우고 축복하자)

>> Worship Insights

바울의 제 2차 선교여정 중에 만난 빌립보에서의 사람들, 빌립보 교회는 썩 기분 좋은 만남으로, 애초부터 나에게 힘이 되는 사람들과 시작한 교회가 아니었다. 물론 루디아가 첫번째 회심자였고, 그녀는 빌립보 교회에 기둥 같은 존재였겠지만. 바울과 실라가 갇힌 감옥의 간수도 빌립보 교회의 교인이었다. 인생의 어떤 시즌에서 어떤 사람들을 만나느냐는, 어쩌면 우리의 기대를 넘어서는 놀라운 일이 될 수 있다. 그냥 버릴 수도, 끊어버릴 수도 있는 관계라는 것이 과연 존재할까? 주님을 믿는 우리들의 인생안에서? 바울은 약 10년이 흐른 지금 빌립보 교회에 편지를 보내고 있다. “내가 너희를 생각할 때마다…(3)” “…간구할 때마다…(4)” “이와 같이 생각하는 것이 마땅하니…(7)” “내가 예수 그리스도의 심장으로 너희 무리를 얼마나 사모하는지…(8)” “내가 기도하노라…(9)” 빌립보 교회는 늘 바울의 마음 속에 있었던 것이다.

주님을 믿고 따르는 제자 한 사람 한 사람이 교회다, 라고 한다면 내 마음 속에 바울이 빌립보 교회를 생각하듯, 내 마음 속에 자리 잡고 있는 교회 된 형제, 자매들은 누구인가? 나는 이들을 과연 생각할 때마다, 간구할 때마다 예수 그리스도의 심장으로 보고파하며, 사랑하며, 기도하고 있는가? 빌립보 교회, 즉 그 교회를 이루고 있는 한 사람 한 사람을 향한 바울의 심정은 어머니이고, 아버지이다.

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