Interesting Coptic Text. Be sure to read all the warnings in the article. One shouldn’t conclude this is historical evidence that Jesus had a wife. One should wait for further scholarly study. But it’s still a very interesting piece. The article also does a good job of qualifying the find.
This letter is worth looking at for those interested in ancient letters, particularly Philemon.
There’s God in the Gaps and then there’s God in the Box. A great cartoon at Exploring Our Matrix.
Miguel Angel Nuñez, in a post on Facebook, discusses what he would like to see in a church. Here’s an extract:
Deseo formar parte de una comunidad cristiana que base su relación en la igualdad y no en la jerarquía, en la sinceridad y no en medias verdades, en la intimidad y no en un vínculo fingido, en la aceptación y no en la aplicación de etiquetas y partidos, en el poder curativo de un Dios de amor y no en la toxicidad de un dios que atemoriza, que culpa, que persigue y que manipula.
For those who don’t read Spanish, let me provide a quick translation:
I want to be part of a Christian community that is bases its social structure in equality and not in hierarchy, in sincerity and not in half-truths, in intimacy and not in fake ties, in acceptance and not in applying labels and parties, in the healing power of God’s love and not in the toxic nature of a god who frightens, blames, drives away, and manipulates.
I like the kind of community we’re talking about, but I wonder just how it is that we can achieve it. I have experienced many different Christianity communities, either through membership or as a visitor. I have tried connecting with groups that claimed to be non-hierarchical, and in general I find that they are very hierarchical. In fact, the less explicit they are about their hierarchy, the more manipulative they become. There is nothing quite like the manipulation that takes place in a group where the lines of authority and the social connections are poorly defined.
On the other hand, manipulation does not disappear in highly structured organizations. It may be easier for the newcomer to navigate the structure, but the more subtle manipulation of the group with an undefined structure is replaced by an inflexibility of the fixed structures. Methodist churches often fall into this second category.
But I have observed something else. Often the structure that is claimed, either in writing or reported by members, is not the same as the real structure. If the claimed structure is not being followed in reality, the result can be even more manipulative than one that is completely undefined.
In any of these churches one will hear calls to community, to give up oneself, to live for others. It’s not about me. It’s not about you. It’s all about God. But when all is said and done, God seems to support some “me’s” and “you’s” more than others. Those god-favored folks for some reason seem to be the same group that tends to become leaders in any social organization.
It’s not supposed to be this way with the church.
In his first letter to the Corinthian church Paul has to address issues of immorality as well as serious errors in theology and in church practice. But he starts out with his surprise that factions have broken out in the church. There’s even a “Christ” faction. I don’t know if the groups precisely match, but this reminds me of myself in a factional dispute. I’m prone to create a “not part of any faction, just following Jesus” position, which quickly become its own faction of holier than thou folks because, well, we’re not a faction! We’re an unfaction. Or something.
Whether you’re in a home church organization or in a highly structured church organization, this human tendency toward hierarchy and faction can, and probably will, rear its ugly head.
What can we do?
The one answer that I have found is more application of the gospel message. When we apply the gospel message, we need to apply it first to ourselves. In other words, I need to get out of my faction, including the faction that says I have the answer, and start pointing to Jesus. No, not pointing to the way in which I’ve got Jesus under control so that my non-faction is the only group in the church that has things right.
The gospel teaches us that we are all outsiders. We’re not part of any “in” crowd. It is only by grace that we become part of the only community that really matters, the community that belongs to Jesus Christ.
(You can also follow me on Facebook.)
I want to thank UM Insight for publishing a post from this blog, Defensive Christianity. It’s encouraging to have a post recognized and republished, and I appreciate what they do for the United Methodist Church.
In The Way Sunday School class at First UMC Pensacola we just completed The Journey to the Undiscovered Country by William Powell Tuck. We used that book as an interlude between Philippians and the Ephesians study to follow.
The entire class really appreciated the book and the discussions that resulted. Unlike some books you may have read about the afterlife, this author doesn’t consider all the questions already answered. He is willing to let you look at various alternatives and to admit that we know only a little. But, as he affirms through 
story in the final chapter, we may not know precisely what is on the other side of the door, but we do know that our master is there.
The logic behind continuing with Ephesians is simply a vote of the class. Our intention is to study the Bible and communicate what we learn creatively, both with one another and with others. The study guide is Ephesians: A Participatory Study Guide by Bob Cornwall.
Brandon Haught, board member of Florida Citizens for Science has an opinion piece at the Orlando Sentinel on Florida’s science education. With the great need for people qualified in various fields of science, it’s distressing to know how poorly we’re doing as a state. Perhaps some of these measurement tools we’re using aren’t doing what is claimed for them.
I appreciated the contribution of Bob Cornwall, who calls on us to make this a time of building bridges. One of the most disastrous wounds that result from this event is the combination of our fear, anger, hatred, and desire for revenge. I don’t mean to diminish the impact of the evil act of hatred itself, but it is critical that we don’t partake of that evil by becoming hateful ourselves. We can take necessary actions for justice and for our own security without doing so.
The act itself was evil, but what we do about it, and what we become as a result is up to us, not to the terrorists.
I was impressed with Bob Cornwall’s call to build bridges. We desperately need more bridge building.
I’m delighted that my church, First United Methodist Church of Pensacola has started offering Holy Communion at all services. For several years this has been offered at the ICON service and at the 9:30 service, but was only offered monthly at the others. Now this will be consistent, and I think closer to the way Jesus commanded it.
Now if we could do communion as part of a meal … but I suspect it’s going to be hard to get there with a 3000 member church!
