Short Takes - Process Christianity, Pandemic Brokenness, & Church Repair

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“One World” Finale Performance! - American Idol 2021

Can Process Christianity Become?

by R.E. Slater

I foresee the next area of Christian expansion through the eyes of a Process Christianity. A Christianity which absorbs all the best from Catholic, Lutheran, and Reformed theology then adds to the mixer all the better aspects of Wesleyan Arminianism emphasizing God's love and indeterminate freewill as opposed to Calvinist doctrines emphasizing divine transcendent apartness and determinism.

Next, take away the church's philosophical preferences to interpret the bible in Greek Hellenistic and Western thought in contemporary life by replacing it with Alfred North Whitehead's Process Philosophy with its subsequent corollary, Process Theology.

That is, (i) as to context, the former is quite applicable. (ii) But as for contemporary interpretation, those older forms no longer hold up. They need to be brought forward. Process Christianity is just such the vehicle to do this.

It embraces a here-and-now God who loves all without racism or discrimination. Without religious rules and laws (ahem, Legalism, Asceticism, Stoicism, Gluttony, Adverice, Lust, Pride, Greed,etc). And without the worse parts of Christian traditionalism which too easily divides the religious from the secular not realising there is no such thing before God. All is secular as much as all is spiritual.

Now I'm not sure if I have ever read of such a label but have determined that Christianity is due for an upgrade. Process Christianity cannot be found Wikipedia. But Progressive Christianity can be. That is, Process Christianity has all the earmarks of Progressive Christianity in its social aspects of social justice, equitable equality, and refusal of all elements of neoliberal capitalism (which is how much of America runs these days).

Which means that we may proceed as a Christian fellowship towards biblically-based doctrines of post-capitalism more focused on the equitable sharing of goods to all people. Accessible justice and unheld for all. A mindset of generosity. Of human solidarity with each other in local community. And, the derivative effort of community to restore the earth around the centralising ideas found in (cosmo)ecological societies (sic, civilization).

Said differently, Process Christianity is similar to Progressive Christianity in its social aspects but that its underpinnings (or foundations) can be found in aspects of Wesleyan Arminianism and especially as it relates to Whiteheadian Process Philosophy and Theology.

What this means then is that rather than reading the bible literally we might learn to read it with Process Christian mindsets and progressively in terms of society justice and equality.

To accomplish such a thing we'll need individuals well versed in Whiteheadian Process Philosophy and Theology to step up and rewrite past Christian doctrine into contemporary terms of process doctrines, a process Jesus, process-based teleology (eschatology), and so on.

Here, at Relevancy22, I've attempted such a thing over the last several years. You'll also find a large effort given the idea of Process Christianity in the Open and Relational Theology spaces of Christianity (e.g. Thomas Oord, Tripp Fuller, Homebrewed Christianity, The Open & Relational Center for Christianity, and many, many other authors, teachers, writers, etc). They can do this because the subject of open and relational theology is deeply embedded in Process Thought.

And so, its time to re-orient Christianity away from it's Christian secular structures and foundations towards a greater all-encompassing act of Process-everything. Process is part of the world's evolution. The Earth's very own internal and external structures. And within society itself.

Process flow, rhythm and re-balance is simply everywhere. But no one has thought to look for it in their lives, the organic and inorganic lives of the processes around them, nor in the bible. I once read somewhere (whether true or not I cannot remember) that people would look up into the sky and see whitish colors, but not the color blue. But when they learned to look for the color then they began to see all its nuances, hues, and differences.

Similarly with God's Word. Let's look for a God of process, flow, and rhythm. A God who is, and is becoming, even as His Word and Creation is, and is becoming. When you look for it, you'll find it everywhere. Inhabiting all the spaces we live in now as then in ancient times.

Blessings,

R.E. Slater

May 23, 2021

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http://www.cmalliance.org/

Can There Be Christian Spaces for Healing?

by R.E. Slater

I came across David Fitch's prescient comment this weekend. He works at the Christian ministry organization, Missio Alliance, and I believe is a professor at Chicago's Northern Seminary with my past classmate Scot McKnight.

David's observation speaks succinctly to our past and present period of enduring the global SARS-CoV-2 (Covid19=2019) viral pandemic (Feb 2020 to present). 

More importantly, for a church year dedicated to the need to grieve over our many losses, to seek a kind of healing and restoration to be able to move on, and to find the earthly joys in societal community again.

I would recommend David's insightful list as a good place for Churches to dedicate a whole year of community recovery around; to pray through; and implement within their fellowships.

See what you think... And please, leave a comment or two on any similarly helpful programs you have found along these same ideas and practices. Thanks!

Blessings,

R.E. Slater

May 23, 2021

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The Top 5 Issues for Church Leaders

Coming Out of COVID

by David Fitch

https://www.cmalliance.org/

1

People’s broken relationships revealed by the isolation of COVID...

NEEDED: Spaces for relational connection.

2

People deconstructing their faith after the props to their faith were taken away by COVID...

NEEDED: Spaces for personal and social deconstruction.

3

People’s anger and rage at various coercions/abuses in their lives, including racism, sexual abuse, misogyny... all of which were intensified in COVID...

NEEDED: Spaces for lament and the unwinding from the antagonisms endured.

4

People’s fatigue from the constant drudgery of moving through the blunt challenges of COVID...

NEEDED: Spaces for celebrating God’s sustaining power and hope for a future.

5

People’s grief over losses of friends, family, and economic security...

NEEDED: Spaces for grieving and comfort.

Rarely has there been a time in our history when we needed the social spaces around tables where Christians can tend to one another in the Holy Spirit in all these ways.

Thoughts??

David Fitch

May 23, 2021

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 Amazon Link

Bullies and Saints

Thoughts by R.E. Slater

John Dixon was our church's guest speaker this week and last. His newest book tells of Christian traitors to Jesus and bullies to their churches and public communities.

Now knowing John, and having heard him speak over the years, I can say he will be a lot kinder in his book than I will be in my comments over these next several proceeding paragraphs below. But after witnessing the suffering of so many innocents at the hands of the wayward evangelical church and its harming political policies over recent years it's time to speak out once again....

America's nativist Christians and dominionist churches have given witness to their anti-Semitism and cold-hearted feelings to suffering Muslims across Palestinian, Syria, Lebanon*, and Jordan. To their racist attitudes towards Asians, Pacific Islanders, Hispanics, Blacks, and the impoverished.

Christian nationalism is an ugly expression by the church forcing its ungodly teachings upon a struggling democratic society. Not unlike past eras of poorly lived Christian beliefs holding to an austere, forbidding God full of religious rules and beliefs, guilt and unhappiness. Denying a God of human dwelling for a Greek God transcendently far above our suffering world untouched by our feelings. Denying a God of biblical forgiveness and mercy for a God condemning all to hell. Such miserable Christian beliefs have over-centered themselves on a God of wrath and judgment. This is the kind of God the world can well do without.

But thank God for the church's saints who have stayed strong during this period of Trumpian Christian insanity. Who have preached God's Word with unerring conviction. Who have not been confused by nationalistic or supremacist politics by Q'anon conspiracy politicians. Who have ably discerned the Word of God and preached of God;s atoning redemption through Jesus' love and forgiveness.

These modern-day New Testament prophets and preachers are God's blessings to unloving, secular Christians and their insupportable, ungodly Christian doctrines. These saints are the beacons of light and truth to a lost world. They stand up to the religious bullies. They dissent and resist the lies of the Jesus traitors in the flocks of God's people. And they speak life in Jesus, God's Redeemer for mankind, rather than the death and evil that comes from the mouths of the unrighteous. Praise God for his gate-keepers!

May God bless each and everyone to wear his full armor in Christ Jesus our Lord!

R.E. Slater

May 23, 2021

*My good friend, and university dorm neighbor, was Lebanese. A lovely man and aspiring humanitarian. He was related to his first cousin, a famous American singer, and was the first generation of his side of the family to America. This also would account for his high interest in music and quality stereo equipment :)

Book Description

Is religion a pernicious force in the world? Does it poison everything? Would we be better off without religion in general and Christianity in particular? Many skeptics certainly think so.

John Dickson has spent much of the last ten years reflecting on these difficult questions and on why so many doubters see Christianity as a major cause of harm not blessing. The skeptics, he concludes, are right: even a cursory look at the history of Christians reveals dark things therein--violence, bigotry, genocide, war, inquisition, oppression, imperialism, racism, corruption, greed, power, abuse. For centuries and even today, Christians have been among the worst bullies you could ever imagine.

But these skeptics are only partly right: this is not what Christianity was meant to be. When Christians do evil they are out of tune with the teachings of their Lord. Jesus gave the world a beautiful melody--of love, grace, charity, humility, non-violence, equality, human dignity--to which, tragically, his followers have more often than not been tone-deaf. Denying the evils of church history does not do. John Dickson gives an honest account of the mixed history of Christianity, the evil and the good. He concedes the Christians' complicity for centuries of bullying but also shows the myriad ways the beautiful melody of Christ has enriched our world and the lives of countless individuals. This book asks contemporary skeptics of religion to listen again to the melody of Jesus, despite the discord produced by too many Christians through history and today. It also leads contemporary believers into sober reflection on and repentance for their own participation in the tragic inconsistencies of Christendom and seeks to inspire them to live in tune with Christ.

About the Author

John Dickson (PhD, Macquarie University) is an author, speaker, historian, and media presenter. John is author of more than 20 books, two of which became television documentaries. He also cohosted the documentary For the Love of God: How the Church is Better and Worse Than you Ever Imagined. John teaches a course on the historical Jesus at the University of Sydney, Australia, and researches the origins of Christianity in the Roman empire. He is an Honorary Research Associate at the University of Sydney, a Visiting Academic in the Faculty of Classics at Oxford University (2016–2021), and Distinguished Fellow in Public Christianity at Ridley College Melbourne. John presents Australia’s no.1 religion podcast, Undeceptions, exploring aspects of life, faith, history, culture, or ethics that are either much misunderstood or mostly forgotten.

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Ephesians 6:11 - Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

Ephesians 6:10-20 - Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. 

Ephesians 6:14 - Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;

Ephesians 6:15 - And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;

Ephesians 6:16 - Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.

Ephesians 6:17 - And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:

1 Thessalonians 5:8 - But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation.

Hebrews 4:12 - For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

1 Peter 5:8 - Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.

1 Peter 3:15 - But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear.

Matthew 7:15 - Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.

Matthew 10:16 - Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.

Acts 20:29 - For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock.

Philippians 3:2 - Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the concision.

James 2:14 - What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him?

Ezekiel 22:27 - Her princes in the midst thereof are like wolves ravening the prey, to shed blood, and to destroy souls, to get dishonest gain.

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Let us leave on a more pleasant note...

Christian Artist, Matthew West

https://www.matthewwest.com/bio

Toward Ecological Civilization, Preface

We begin with the public recognition that the Process Philosophy/Theology of mathematician and philosopher Alfred North Whitehead may provide the tone and tenor for any discussions relating to ecological civilizations. That Process Thought is inclusive of all previous environmental and sustainability efforts, movements, projects, and organizations, providing a shared vision of a fairer and more equal system of justice both socially and ecologically. A pervasive justice which is dearly needed in a global world collapsing as equally away from social and environmental justice.

At the 10th Whitehead international conference on June 2015 in Claremont, California, the topic was called "Seizing an Alternative: Toward an Ecological Civilization." it claimed an organic, relational, integrated, nondual, and processive conceptuality is needed, and that the philosopher, mathematician, Alfred North Whitehead provides this direction in a remarkably comprehensive and rigorous way.  (note 1)

The process-based philosophy of an ecological civilization may also be considered an Integral subtheory of the greater Integral Theory of Process Philosophy and Theology. These latter come together in Whitehead as he searched for metaphysical and ontological expression of the cosmos around us. When indicating that the cosmos "feels," Whitehead is speaking to the metaphysical what-ness of the universe and its Maker even as he does to the ontologial who-ness of the universe and its Maker.

From these observations two things immediately emerge. One, both creation and the Creator are in relationship one to the another. And secondly, in process thought it matters not which came first as both the metaphysics and the ontology of the what and the who are equally combined in the Creator Himself. That is, God is the What of the universe as well as the Who of the universe. Each element is equally subsumed in the Creator God Himself as both Initial Process as well as Initial Relationship.

Hence, God as the What and the Who is also the How. That is, God is the First Process of all proceeding processes which are informed and infilled with His Essence and Being. And as a God of Love we must expect all creative processes - that is, all cosmic and earth-bound processes - to flow with God's Love and Light. Here then is found the organic relationality of all things to all things. Moreover, Whitehead initial titled this system A "Philosophy of Organism" by which he intended to not simply state the relationality of the cosmos to its Creator but to its panpsychic nature of feeling, of being, in unlimited open novelty and uncontained creativity that is indetermined by agency, fully free, and fully non-directed.

One might thus think of this latter idea as responding cosmic processes bearing indeterminate freewill. And with this freewill it has the power to become and not simply be. And in its being flow through the streams of space-time with the essence and being of God's relational Self. And where it deviates to becoming less than it was created to be, it is due to the failings of freewill - even as it may also become more than it was created to be as due to the reciprocity of responding to the relational energy, presence, urging, and non-coercive partnership with its Creator-Redeemer God.

Thus Whiteheadian Process Philosophy/Theology becomes a panacea for all past, present, and future expressions of a process-based cosmos where technically speaking we may speak of cosmoecological civilizations in the greatest, most expansive terms pertaining to its being and becoming.

One last, Whiteheadian Process Thought may be seen exampled in Darwin's evolutionary character of the universe. Or in the quantum cosmological display of the Big Bang. Each portrayal emphasizes a process which starts from something  (creatio continua NOT creatio ex nihilo) becoming something greater, more expansive, more distributive, more enhanced, novel, and with continuing energetic expression borne from the past into the present and from the present into the future.

The God of Creation

Two things here:

FIRSTLY, God and Creation were always present. One might capture this idea from the Genesis "void" which is poetically expressed in ancient metaphor. Here, in this passage, it is  admitted that there was something in the beginning of Creation. The ancient's called it a void, most probably meaning "nothing." But if you will forgive me, I'd like to twist it's definition a bit.... In quantum terms of a void being a void let's take free scientific license and simply state that apart from its ancient meaning of apparent nothingness there was actually a somethingness there. A one-dimension spatial infinity filled with a hot, dense plasmic void without irregularity, wrinkle, or asymmetry.

Contemporary, scientifically-informed theologians differ from their classical counterparts in describing this observation as "creatio continua" as versus the older idea of "creatio ex nihilo." Creation from something as versus Creation from nothing. As this latter cannot be possible it is rejected in quantum physics and evolutionary biology. Which bumps up into the more "recent" Christian idea from the 1940s expressed creedly contra Darwin as "immediate" or "spontaneous" creational genesis by God from nothing into something. Later to become tamped down to perhaps admit a "Young Earth Creationism" or several other non-process, or semi-process based models.

However, since the God of Creation is involved in Process as very Process Himself, so we might expect God's "Calling forth" the worlds and man to bespeak process through-and-through. Thus and thus one might speak of "Theistic Evolution" by its old timey name or currently, as "Evolutionary Creationism" by its newer name, admitting Darwin and process together as one. Even as the Big Bang may be spoken of in process terms.

God With Creation

SECONDLY, if creation isn't with God in the beginning than there can be no God as we know God today in all of His Relational-Self and Self-Expression. Nor would it matter. God would be beyond our kin and simply not exist to His creation. God would be considered non-factual and most probably unconceivable much like a dog would never think of God, living in a god-absent world of chaos, chance, and random event. (PS, the current Process models of evolution and Big Bang cosmology would also includes these elements but with an expanding theistic base model of a God-filled teleology as versus an atheistic teleology full of process but devoid of God-filled meaning. Agnosticism would be of no matter here in these matters except for the fact of debating with a process-epistemology which would inform one of a process-based metaphysic and ontology).

So logically, for argument's sake, let's say God may be independent of the cosmos theoretically. For some this will be meaningful. But for the panentheistic theologian, it makes no sense. As God explains the cosmos/world (let's use these terms synonymously now) so too does the world explain God. In a process universe each requires the other metaphysically and ontically. It is a moot question then of which came first as it can never be resolved, only argued over from a Hellenistic point of view. Thus it is illogical and of no meaning. Allowable, fine, if one wishes. But unnecessary.

Within this panentheistic world is a world of relationships between God and the world and the world with God. Panentheism speaks expressively of relationality, of giving, of becoming, of dynamism, of movement. Wherein comes identity, expression, purpose, novelty, and - when agency is used aright - of valuative relational presence. Thus, we may speak of ecological civilizations as expressing social justice, humanitarianism, being human, as much as we may speak of environmental justice focusing on reducing humanity's carbon footprint to one by restoring earth's biophyllic communities to relational balance and harmony with itself and with the anthropocene era which now overcomes the earth perhaps to oxygen-breathing organism's doom.

Side Note: Both charts I find helpful in showing the comparison between older to new theistically-modeled systems. Where problems crop up will be in imperfectly understanding this newer panentheistic model because process theology is poorly understood. You will note too that God is no longer required to be in the "top spot" on the lower chart below, thus "relationally equalizing" God and Creation in mutual affection together, one to the other. The rallying cry, or universal theme, now becomes that of process philosophy/theology described as "creativity" but meaning so much more than this simply word might express. Again, this will come with a better understanding of Process Thought. I have spent some time in explaining this and will leave several index links for those of you interested in learning more about process thought.

Conclusion

At this point I think we should stop. Take a little time to think through these large thoughts which have tilted all the windmills upside down in the classic world of creedal Christianity. I began this exploration some years back and it has take quite a few years to get my head around it. I grew up in fundamentalist churches, and later their more "liberal" counterparts, the conservative evangelical churches. All were megachurches which I attended and all fully devoted to God and family, community and missions. To break from my Baptist background, and later, newer Covenant Reformed roots, required reprising Christianity from a contemporary, postmodern, post-structuralist viewpoint. This website here, Relevancy22, is testimony it can be done and that God, the Gospel of Jesus, and Christian faith is even cooler than it was - if that could even be possible. Which, apparently it is, by my own and other's testimony here on this website.

One finally story. Having been taught in a one-room schoolhouse where we had 19 kids from grades K-8, was the highest and best education I could imagine. It was safe. It allowed me to think and follow my own educational paths. And I had ample opportunity to teach the older kids. But we were closed down after six generations (starting way back with my homesteading relatives in the 1800s) when our township became a city and we were moved into the public school system. Here I felt alone in a very strange world. It was a place I really never considered as good or beautiful as my own country school. Perhaps because I had grown up in an agrarian-based, pre-industrial mindset, making modernism quite foreign to me with its wars and civil unrest. Which is probably why I feel so comfortable in today's postmodernism and in its rejection of industrialism, its rejection of the pursuit of money for relationships, and its disjointedness from the natural world I grew up on, loved, and never every ant hill on the thousand acres I roamed since a young boy, along with the generations of my relatives before me.

And so, I was transferred, and learned in hindsight how much more I would gain in education and socialization though I didn't realize it at the time. I learned, and did things in public school which I would never have in my wonderful country school. But I did struggle. I remember Algebra I as being completely beyond me. I couldn't make sense of variables like "x" and "y". They were ungrounded for me. Just mathematical expressions joined by axiomatic symbols. They were meaningless and confounding. Then one day deep into October, maybe early November, as I kept getting D's and E's the light dawn and I suddenly understood. From there I didn't stop learning mathematics until the end of my junior year in University as I was studying graduate applied maths by then. It's a love affair I sadly miss and wish I had stayed with as a career and theoretician. But somethings are not meant to be in life and this was one. The Lord had me bound for somewhere else.

So, I think, its probably where many faithful, wandering souls are today wondering how Christianity became so foreign to itself. A faith of love, mercy, forgiveness, and service, now become a politicized, partisan faith exhibiting the worst of humanity's sins and fully unlike the Christ it professes. If anything I write to those who have lost their way that there may be hope again. The themes and subjects here are many. And it's all meant to be explored and considered using many pens and writers rather than my own alone. Many of these theologians speak to their own heartaches and frustrations in ministries. Which is well and good as Christianity would be the poorer without their influence, failures, and losses.

In the days ahead I will try to move forward through process thought into ecological societies of the future. For now, rest and be at peace. God has not forsaken this world. There are processes in place which will extinguish the awful, perhaps permanently, with an ecological collapse. But before this happens let's try to put people and trees, land, water, and air, back together again in balance and harmony with one another like it "was" in the fictional Garden of Eden. A utopia fallen into the noise of mankind's dystopia. Let us join together and build a City of God, and therein learn to dwell. Peace.

R.E. Slater

February 16, 2021

1What Is Ecological Civilization, by Philip Clayton, CC x, pp x-x

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RESOURCES

Is There Any Difference Between

Process Philosophy & Process Theology?

Examining Process Philosophy

& Process Theology, Part 1

Examining Process Philosophy

& Process Theology, Part 2

Relational Theology. What Is It?

Whitehead's "Philosophy of Organism" Explained

INDEXES

Index to Process Philosophy & Theology

Index to Process-Based Integral Philosophy

Index - EarthCare and Ecology

Index - Post-Capitalist, Post-Socialist CosmoEcological Societies

Ecological Civilizations - Bill Gates 2021 60 Minutes Interview

Toward Ecological Civilization, Preface

Toward Ecological Civilization, Introduction to Incompleteness

Toward Ecological Civilization, Chapter 1

Toward Ecological Civilization, Chapter 2

Toward Ecological Civilization, Chapter 3

Toward Ecological Civilization, Chapter 4

Toward Ecological Civilization, Chapter 5

Toward Ecological Civilization, Chapter 6

Toward Ecological Civilization, Chapter 7

Toward Ecological Civilization, Chapter 8

Toward Ecological Civilization, Conclusions

How Does God Address Racism in the Bible?

Pete Enns & Drew Hart - Episode 130 Link





Pete Enns & Brooke Prentis - Episode 129 Link

'Hypocrites' (from The Divine Comedy), 1 May 1807

HYPOCRISY:

Holding Up A Mirror To Society

Hold up a mirror means to put a mirror in front of yourself so you can see your reflection.

Metaphorically, it usually means reveal to someone what they look like to the rest of the world.

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The Origin of hypocrite comes from the Greek word hypokrites' which means an actor.

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I'll watch your feet but not your lips. - Larry Cohen

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 I’d never seen a sky

so full of stars, as if the dirt of our lives

still were sprinkled with glistening

white shells from the ancient seabed

beneath us that receded long ago.

Parallel. We lay in parallel furrows.

-- That suffocated, fearful

look on your face.

- Frank Bidart

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The axes of your work, work that

throughout the illusory chaos of your life

absorbed your essential

mind, were there always—What was

there to be done.

- Frank Bidart

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The Importance of Worshipping

God  with a Humble and Contrite Heart

by R.E. Slater

June 14, 2020

My question for this morning:

"Did you know that obedience to God is more ancient than sacrifices?"

As a disciple of the Lord I would expect this. It seems the more natural. The more spiritual. The offerings of religious worship can never be substituted for the offerings of a humble and contrite heart.

The prophet Jeremiah understood this when he said that sacrificing was not part of the original dialogue between God and man:

Jeremiah 7:21-23 GNB - 

“My people, some sacrifices you burn completely on the altar, and some you are permitted to eat. But what I, the LORD, say is that you might as well eat them all. I gave your ancestors no commands about burnt offerings or any other kinds of sacrifices, when I brought them out of Egypt. But I did command them to obey me, so that I would be their God and they would be my people. And I told them to live as I had commanded them, so that things would go well for them."

The priest/prophet Samuel said the same thing (1 Samuel 15:22) - 

"And Samuel said, “Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams."

Also the prophet Isaiah (1.11) -

"To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me? saith the LORD: I am full of the burnt offerings of rams, and the fat of fed beasts; and I delight not in the blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or of he goats."

What about the "Hard luck with faithless women" prophet, Hosea? Yep, him too (Hosea 6:6) -

"For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings."

Jesus? He saved His ire for the religious crowd; the pretenders to the faith (Matthew 23:23) -

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others."

What are the lessons here?

Obedience to God is very important. Much more important than religious rites put on by faithless hearts.

Is there anything else?

Yep, God hates those who pretend one thing but do the other.

Have we missed anything?

Perhaps that the obedience thing is part of the relationship thing? That obedience is just another way of saying, "Let's go at this together God. You and me against the injustice of the wicked and your faithless people."

What might be our response to hyposcrisy?

"Forgive us Lord for our lack of compassion upon the hurting, the suffering, the ones we dislike because we're taught and told to dislike them. Woe be to us for offering bitter tithes of worship to you when all you wanted from your people was to love one another."

Need a prayer? Here's one - 

"Remove the scales from our eyes O' Lord. Let our hearts see past our blind hatreds and legal posturings. Help us to pray for our brothers and sisters; to stand with them in their hour of need; to walk the path of the downtrodden. Help me to show compassion and mercy that I too stand with the sinners and not with scoffers who mock your name. Nor with religious Hypocrites whose worship you hate. Amen."

Book Link

 

Book Link

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Perseus and Medusa.

To Obey is Better than Sacrifice

1 Samuel 15:22

"And Samuel said, 'Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams.'"

Isaiah 1. 11 

"'What are your multiplied sacrifices to Me?' Says the LORD. 'I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams And the fat of fed cattle; And I take no pleasure in the blood of bulls, lambs or goats.'"

Hosea 6:6

"For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings."

Psalm 51:16-17

"For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it; you will not be pleased with a burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise."

Proverbs 21:3

"To do righteousness and justice is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice."

Amos 5:21-24

"I hate, I despise your feasts, and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies. Even though you offer me your burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them; and the peace offerings of your fattened animals, I will not look upon them. Take away from me the noise of your songs; to the melody of your harps I will not listen. But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream."

Mark 12:33

"...And to love him with all the heart and with all the understanding and with all the strength, and to love one's neighbor as oneself, is much more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices."

Matthew 9:13

"Go and learn what this means, 'I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.' For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”"

Micah 6:6-8

"With what shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself before God on high? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?” He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?"

Jeremiah 7:22-23

"For in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, I did not speak to your fathers or command them concerning burnt offerings and sacrifices. But this command I gave them: 'Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be my people. And walk in all the way that I command you, that it may be well with you.'"

Psalm 40:6-8

"In sacrifice and offering you have not delighted, but you have given me an open ear. Burnt offering and sin offering you have not required. Then I said, 'Behold, I have come; in the scroll of the book it is written of me: I delight to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart.'"

Ecclesiastes 5:1

"Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. To draw near to listen is better than to offer the sacrifice of fools, for they do not know that they are doing evil."

Matthew 12:7

"And if you had known what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the guiltless."

Isaiah 1:11-17

"What to me is the multitude of your sacrifices? says the Lord; I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams and the fat of well-fed beasts; I do not delight in the blood of bulls, or of lambs, or of goats. “When you come to appear before me, who has required of you this trampling of my courts? Bring no more vain offerings; incense is an abomination to me. New moon and Sabbath and the calling of convocations— I cannot endure iniquity and solemn assembly. Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hates; they have become a burden to me; I am weary of bearing them. When you spread out your hands, I will hide my eyes from you; even though you make many prayers, I will not listen; your hands are full of blood."

Hebrews 10:4-10

"For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. Consequently, when Christ came into the world, he said, 'Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired, but a body have you prepared for me; in burnt offerings and sin offerings you have taken no pleasure.' Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come to do your will, O God, as it is written of me in the scroll of the book.’ When he said above, 'You have neither desired nor taken pleasure in sacrifices and offerings and burnt offerings and sin offerings” (these are offered according to the law)...'"

Matthew 23:23

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others."

Psalm 50:8-9

"Not for your sacrifices do I rebuke you; your burnt offerings are continually before me. I will not accept a bull from your house or goats from your folds."

Matthew 5:24

"Leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift."

Jeremiah 26:13

"Now therefore mend your ways and your deeds, and obey the voice of the Lord your God, and the Lord will relent of the disaster that he has pronounced against you."

Jeremiah 11:7

"For I solemnly warned your fathers when I brought them up out of the land of Egypt, warning them persistently, even to this day, saying, 'Obey my voice.'"

Exodus 19:5

"Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine."

Jeremiah 11:4

"...that I commanded your fathers when I brought them out of the land of Egypt, from the iron furnace, saying, 'Listen to my voice, and do all that I command you. So shall you be my people, and I will be your God.'"

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Hypocrite / Hypocrisy

http://greekwordstudies.blogspot.com/2007/04/hypocrisy.html

Greek Word Pronunciation: hoo-POK-ree-sis

Strong’s Number: 5272

Goodrich/Kohlenberger Number: 5694

Key Verse: “… you too outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy.” -- Matthew 23:28

The two nouns, hypocrisy and hypocrite, are compound words, comprised of hupo (“under”) and krino (“to judge”). It means literally “to judge under,” as a person giving off his judgment from behind a screen or mask. The true identity of the person is covered up.

It refers to acts of impersonation or deception and was used of an actor on the Greek stage. In Greek drama, actors held over their faces oversized masks painted to represent the character they were portraying. In life, the hypocrite is a person who masks his real self while playing a part for the audience. Taken over into the New Testament, it referred to one who assumes the mannerisms, speech, and character of someone else, thus hiding his true identity; the person is judging another from back of the mask of his self-righteousness. Christianity requires that believers should be open and above-board. Their lives should be like an open book, easily read.

The verb form, hupokrinomai, is used only once in Luke 20:20: “They watched him and sent spies who pretended to be righteous …” (in KJV, “who should feign themselves just men”).

The nouns are used in the epistles once each in Galatians 2:13; 1 Timothy 4:2; and 1 Peter 2:1. In the Synoptics, they are always used of Christ’s judgments on scribes and Pharisees (15 times in Matthew; Mark 7:6; Luke 6:42, 12:56, and 13:15).

In MATTHEW 23, the hypocrisy is in jarring contradiction between what they say and do, between outward appearance and inward lack of righteousness. Hypocrisy is therefore sin: failure to do God’s will is concealed behind the pious appearance of outward conduct. Jesus sought to destroy the false, religious mask. Hypocrisy is: a hard taskmaster (verse 4), lives only for the praise of men (5-7); is mischievous (13-22); concerns itself with the small things of religion (23-24); deals chiefly with externals (25-28); reveres only what is dead (29-32), finds a fearful judgment (32-36); and receives an unexpected lament (37-39). It was Christ, the sole perfect reader of inward realities, who dared pass this judgment.

The Hypocrite

Poem Link

by Stephan Caraway

Oh what a hypocrite that I be,

To live in the sin that pleasures me.

It’s not on the outside that you see,

It’s the hypocrite inside of me.

I go to church and sing the songs,

Knowing that I don’t belong.

You might catch a tear in my eye,

But it’s sin where I choose to lie.

Oh what a hypocrite that I be,

To live in the sin that pleasures me.

Maybe I should, maybe I would,

To live a life that might look good.

Narrow and hard is the way;

But pleasure is the road I stray.

One night I had a frightening dream,

That I stood before our God Supreme.

Oh the hypocrite that I be, in my heart God could see.

The lies that I lived so burdened me.

The God I mocked began to scold,

To hell I would go, for the sins I sow.

Just as the flames began to heat;

Awaken I did, my death to beat.

Oh the hypocrite that I be,

No longer a desire found in me.

I fell to the ground on bended knee

That Jesus would set me free.

My heart He did change inside of me,

No longer the hypocrite for God to see.

Oh the hypocrite I used to be,

Washed in the blood that set me free!

Stephen Caraway

© 2018 Stephan Caraway.

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