results of frustration

the purpose of this blog was not fulfilled while i was in CA. i intended to seek the needs of the church and compare those to the needs of the church in New England. This was not accomplished. It is either because of my apathy towards attending a church in California, or because i am arrogant, or because i used sunday's to catch up on homework.

either way the purpose of this blog has been reassessed.

Over the past several months i have been struggling very deeply with issues of the church, theology, philosophy, and the human condition. This blog is re-dedicated to the struggle. it is dedicated to the questions, not necessarily the answers. But as a friend of mine said, it is a waste of brain capacity to ask questions with no intention of seeking answers. It is also a waste to ask questions that have no answers for the sake of provoking a response from those you ask. I know a guy who needs to be right, and it is impossible to argue with him because he will run you in circles with questions that cannot be answered, or the answers are simple and faith-based, therefore having no logical answer, therefore, in his mind, being completely "stupid". So how do we wrestle?

In my latest experiences with historical and literary criticism i have begun to see Jesus in two realities. We have the historical Jesus - this man walked the earth, had disciples, ate food, died, was buried. We also have the Jesus of Faith - the Jesus who rose from the dead and is alive today, this is the Jesus we experience.

As Marcus Borg would say, The Pre-Easter Jesus, and the Post-Easter Jesus.

These two expressions of Jesus must be seen together. One cannot communicate truth without the other.

Because of Literary and Historical criticism i am having trouble seeing them together. The teachings and life of Jesus was passed down orally for 40 years before any of it was written down. stories change, details disappear, or are added. There is so much room for error that some people are forced to ask, "is it a lie?" or, "how can we trust any of it?"

Does historicity determine truth? This is a big question i have. if Jesus never said, "i am the way, the truth and the life..." etc., does that mean Jesus is not the only way to heaven?

no.

The gospels reflect a development of thought in the first-century. They communicate early theological truths about Jesus that we must take seriously today.

This must all be balanced with how we know and experience Jesus today. The church experiences Christ every day. We can see the way Jesus works today, and the truth of that experience, coupled with the biblical tellings of Jesus, make up all we can know about the one we call the Christ. Each side by itself is incomplete. two halves of a whole truth.

this is not as easy.

i do not have the answers. But it is within this struggle that answers will be found, or there may be some issues that must be considered unsolvable, because it is impossible to put ourselves in the shoes of God.

Forget logical arguments for now. try to understand your experiences. try to understand the Jesus of history.

good luck.

next time: sanctification