Disciple's Diary

One of your best posts!

2012-01-29T08:23:32.879-05:00

One of your best posts!

These are some good thoughts, Dr. Stacy. As you s...

2011-12-08T16:57:01.704-05:00

These are some good thoughts, Dr. Stacy. As you said, we need to constantly be on watch to ensure that the Jesus we treasure in our hearts is the same Jesus who revealed Himself in Scripture. Any other Jesus is no Jesus at all, but rather an idol.

Wow, John, that's sad to hear about Ben Witherington. Sounds like he's read too much Crossan and likes the idea of a Jesus who is a "Mediterranean Jewish Peasant Cynic."

It is amazing to me that those who address the iss...

2011-12-07T11:29:19.839-05:00

It is amazing to me that those who address the issue of "the historical Jesus" continue to come to such different conclusions. Even among what appears to be conservative scholars, there are such differences. The last I read of Witherington, he says that the historical Jesus was the One greater than Solomon and was a Jewish Sage that embodied God's Wisdom. Wow! Nothing like what I learned in church or seminary. Wright seems more like what I was taught but he seems to de-emphasize the apocalytic nature of Jesus' message. It seems that even if one accepts that the Gospels are historical, exactly what historical reality they portray is open to many interpretations.

I actually focused my first Advent sermon on Herod...

2011-11-29T09:40:38.184-05:00

I actually focused my first Advent sermon on Herod to try and communicate what kind of "hope" the expectant Jews had. They lived in a world that was darkness, personified in Herod, and they lived every day "hoping" for deliverance. Then I transitioned them to Matthew's first audience, who still lived in that dark world, and "hoped" for the restoration of all things that would come with Jesus' return. I compared Herod with the Magi and the baby Jesus to show what kind of person rules our world, and the way the Kingdom of God is ruled. Certainly a fun sermon to preach, whether they liked it or not!

Take it out of morality and move it to medicine...

2011-11-02T18:36:12.101-04:00
Take it out of morality and move it to medicine and the destructiveness and myopia of this kind of reductionism becomes clear.

That's a fantastic analogy, Dr. Stacy. Too bad that we often do not think of sin as worse and more dangerous than cancer.

Take it out of morality and move it to medicine...

2011-11-02T18:35:14.658-04:00
Take it out of morality and move it to medicine and the destructiveness and myopia of this kind of reductionism becomes clear.

That's a fantastic analogy, Dr. Stacy.

ευχαριστώ,Laura. Best to you and Lyle. wayne

2011-10-31T16:01:11.915-04:00
ευχαριστώ,Laura. Best to you and Lyle. wayne

wayne, oh! how i miss the days when words like &qu...

2011-10-31T10:00:28.113-04:00
wayne, oh! how i miss the days when words like "eschatological" were part of my every day vocabulary! wonderful post (as always). i've missed you on the blogosphere and hope there will be more to come this Advent season. Hope all is well with you and Cheryl. Please send her my best and enjoy the coming season! best, lhb :)

wayne, oh how i miss the days when words like &quo...

2011-10-31T09:58:41.229-04:00
wayne, oh how i miss the days when words like "eschatological" were part of my every day vocabulary! wonderful post (as always). hope you and cheryl are well. :) lb

I enjoyed your sermon, Dr. Stacy.

2011-10-03T00:44:16.671-04:00
I enjoyed your sermon, Dr. Stacy.

I enjoyed your sermon Dr. Stacy. To God be the Glo...

2011-10-03T00:43:52.391-04:00
I enjoyed your sermon Dr. Stacy. To God be the Glory!

B Buchanan

Dr. Stacey, have you read Chilton's "The ...

2011-09-27T20:12:52.499-04:00
Dr. Stacey, have you read Chilton's "The Way of Jesus?" I thought his chapter on glory was particularly interesting, would love to hear your take.

OMG - LITERALLY! Thank you so much for this. My ...

2011-07-28T13:24:17.343-04:00
OMG - LITERALLY!

Thank you so much for this. My theology has been taking some wide swings and where it was until recently was freeing but a little too much. The faith of my fathers, and the niggling moral issues of right and wrong and sin were under my skin and itching to be scratched. You just did that. Thank you for putting into words what I have been trying to mentally verbalize

Well said! Sometimes it is difficult, as a pasto...

2011-07-07T19:20:07.493-04:00
Well said!

Sometimes it is difficult, as a pastor, to get this across in preaching.

We have congregations that assume that the goal of Christianity and subsequently, churches, is to get people saved.

The term "Kingdom of God" is almost unintelligible to the average church-goer. To them, it is equated to the place where they go when they die - heaven.

I find conversation an easier means than preaching to share the Kingdom of God. Nevertheless, I continue to work on it, in spite of the desire to hear "How to Have a Happy Life" Sunday after Sunday in the church.

Thanks!

I love it! This really open my mind to approach an...

2011-06-26T20:00:52.727-04:00
I love it! This really open my mind to approach and see the world in a different prospective. I enjoy the read. misty

Thank you Dr. Stacy for this excellent post. This ...

2011-06-02T16:28:57.958-04:00
Thank you Dr. Stacy for this excellent post. This anti-intellectualism has bumped into me too but I continue "Faithful Thinking" and "Thoughtful Believing."

You reminded me of my three favorite quotes on this topic:
(1) "An unexamined faith is not worth having." (Incidentally, I learned this adapted one from Dr. Gregg while at GWU in 1995-6)
(2) "I had rather debate an issue without settling it than to settle an issue without debating it." (Joseph Joubert)
(3) "Faith seeking understanding (fides quaerens intellectum) (Anselm)." (I also learned this classic concept while in college)

May God help us all to have the right balance between "head" and "heart" that leads to active "hands."

Soli Deo Gloria!

A wise English teacher. I once had a seminary pr...

2011-05-28T19:17:02.459-04:00
A wise English teacher.

I once had a seminary prof much like her.

Right on target Wayne! Milton Kliesch

2011-05-21T12:26:59.595-04:00
Right on target Wayne! Milton Kliesch

Right on target Wayne! Milton Kliesch

2011-05-21T12:26:35.068-04:00
Right on target Wayne! Milton Kliesch

Good question, Kevin. Short answer is that we don&...

2011-04-21T16:34:27.144-04:00
Good question, Kevin. Short answer is that we don't know precisely how the Passover was observed in Jesus' day (with "precisely" being the operative word). Joachim Jeremias' "The Eucharistic Words of Jesus" presents a pretty good picture of how it might have been observed and how Jesus' Last Supper with the disciples would have fit into the tradition. As to how that compares with contemporary Jewish Passover observance I do not know. I do know that Jewish Passover observance, just like Christian Easter observance, has gone through significant modification through the centuries making it unlikely that one can read first century Passover observances through the lens of contemporary Jewish practice.

Really interesting! I've been reading a great...

2011-04-21T09:10:51.633-04:00
Really interesting! I've been reading a great deal of literature on the time period (Desire of the Everlasting Hills, Cahill; The Message and the Kingdom, Horsley; Rabbi Jesus, Chilton) and they come to similar conclusions about how Jesus and His followers would have been viewed - as another breakaway Jewish group following a Rabbi - binding and loosing a particular "yoke." In their case, one that was particularly anti-Roman as well as against the Herods (all of them) who had sold themselves and their people into subservience and then merely adopted the Roman model to create greater burdens.

Good article, thanks. Comment/Question: I have Jew...

2011-04-21T09:07:28.117-04:00
Good article, thanks. Comment/Question: I have Jewish friends who celebrate Passover. In today's culture, they celebrate first and second nights of passover. Is there any credance that this tradition existed in Jesus' time (and would this lend anything towards harmonizing the two differing accounts?)

Good article, thanks. Question: I have Jewish frie...

2011-04-21T09:06:47.441-04:00
Good article, thanks. Question: I have Jewish friends who celebrate Passover. In today's culture, they celebrate first and second nights of passover. Is there any credance that this tradition existed in Jesus' time (and would this lend anything towards harmonizing the two differing accounts?)

Well put! I have visited the grave site on Billy G...

2011-04-01T12:58:12.793-04:00
Well put! I have visited the grave site on Billy Graham Parkway. The library is also fantastic.
mark

And this you do so well. I so miss your sermons. E...

2011-01-04T19:47:56.862-05:00
And this you do so well. I so miss your sermons. Everyone has their gift and I am glad to have been given the opportunity to hear you speak in person. Hope your Christmas was bright! Best wishes to you and Cheryl for the coming year.
Much love,
Stephanie