theancientfootsteps

[theancientfootsteps]

my reading of any particular Bible text is not the single definitive reading. your reading is not the single definitive reading. no church's reading is the single definitive reading. and even the reading of the original intended audience of the text is not the single definitive reading. by all means, pay attention to biblical scholarship and incorporate it into your process of interpretation. but don't let it dictate a single definitive reading because it's the most likely original intent or reading. the Bible is a living, breathing text. don't turn it into dead ink on paper

biblical scholarship is interesting and important but there is also a limit to what it can mean for us as Christians. I do think we lose something very important when we view the Bible entirely through the lens of secular scholarship and stop treating it as a sacred text - and I see quite a few (progressive) Christians do this. like for example as long as we remain aware of the context and the different interpretations, I think it's fine to see Jesus in parts of the Hebrew Bible even if the text wasn't originally intended or interpreted to be about a/the messiah........

[theancientfootsteps]

biblical scholarship is interesting and important but there is also a limit to what it can mean for us as Christians. I do think we lose something very important when we view the Bible entirely through the lens of secular scholarship and stop treating it as a sacred text - and I see quite a few (progressive) Christians do this. like for example as long as we remain aware of the context and the different interpretations, I think it's fine to see Jesus in parts of the Hebrew Bible even if the text wasn't originally intended or interpreted to be about a/the messiah........

[theancientfootsteps]

[theancientfootsteps]

I do not delete replies with my hand. He who deletes replies with his hand has forgotten the face of his father.

I delete replies with my phone.

I do not unfollow with my hand. He who unfollows with his hand has forgotten the face of his father.

I unfollow with my mind.

I do not block with a button. He who blocks with a button has forgotten the face of his father.

I block with my heart.

[theancientfootsteps]

what? oh sweetheart no, you're not weirding me out at all. you're weirding me in. keep talking, freak

[theancientfootsteps]

okay I wrote kind of a banger post for the class discussion forum about victimhood in the Gospel of John and since it's absolutely wasted there I'm adapting it for tumblr

Throughout the Gospel of John, we see indications that Jesus is in control of his death. When mobs try to stone him, he hides himself and disappears (8:59, 10:39). His “hour” has not come; he knows when the hour will be and will escape harm until it comes. When the hour comes in chapter 18, he does not avoid it. Jesus doesn’t wait for Judas’ kiss when the arresting force arrives,  as in the other Gospels, but takes control and asks them who they are looking for. When they say Jesus of Nazareth, he answers, “I am He,” and the entire force falls to the ground (18:4-6). This moment establishes Jesus’ power: Rome has come for a Jewish troublemaker and encountered the Word of God. Yet this Word of God does not destroy them, but allows himself to be arrested.

At the end of the crucifixion, Jesus declares his death, saying “It is finished” (19:30). This statement declares that his mission is finished; the crucifixion accomplishes Jesus’ purposes. This reinforces his earlier pronouncement, “No one takes [my life] from me” (10:18) and his agency in this situation. The omission of Matthew and Mark’s cry of despair, “my God, My God, why have you forsaken me?” underscores that in John, Jesus experiences no separation from the Father. The Son and the Father are one and cannot be separated even in death. In fact, Jesus’ death is the victory. The numerous references to Jesus being “lifted up” indicate that on the cross– the ultimate symbol of loss and shame in the Roman world– Jesus is victorious. 

Now, because of all this, the commentator that we’re reading for class argues that Jesus “does not die as a victim.” I differ with this argument; rather, Jesus’ controls the situation by allowing himself to become a victim. As a sexual assault victim*,  it really rubs me the wrong way when people say Jesus isn’t a victim or that he “didn’t let himself be a victim.” (Something a classmate did say to me in our first semester.) “Victim” is not a word that defines intent or action, it is a word that defines experience. By portraying Jesus as in control, John shows that he does not reject victimhood as too shameful an act, but lets himself be a victim. If he did not mean to be a victim, he could have chosen a different way to die.

In the same way that Jesus does not avoid death but overcomes it, he does not avoid the shame of victimhood but overcomes it. Just as believers expect to be raised from death, believers who suffer abuse and violence are raised from shame and spiritual death in the crucifixion. Rather than avoiding victimhood, Jesus radically alters its meaning and shows that through faith victims are not separated from God and still share in God's victory.

*In the secular world, I do use the word survivor for myself but I use victim in religious settings as an reminder that Jesus has removed the shame of my status.

Resources:

Word of Life: A Theology of John's Gospel by Craig R. Koester

John: A Commentary by Marianne Meye Thompson

Touching the Risen Jesus by Sandra M. Schneiders

[theancientfootsteps]

"i do not dream of labour" is one of the worst pseudo-marxist taglines that western leftists have co-opted because when you ask them what they do dream of, they say traveling, studying, and creating art. broski, who's flying the plane to take you to prague? who's the security at the library with the texts you're studying? who are the clerks in the museum showcasing your art? like bro, you do dream of labour. you just dream of someone else doing it so you don't have to! you merely want to outsource the labour and make it invisible.

[theancientfootsteps]

Folk singer and activist Joan Baez greets Palestinian children of Jalazone refugee camp, on May 12, 1988 near Ramallah, during her visit in the West Bank territory.

[theancientfootsteps]

No you don't get it, I'm a Good Person. You don't understand. I'm a Good Person which makes it okay for me to think violently about the Enemy, who is Bad Person. I'm commenting "you should be violently murdered" because I'm Good Person and you're Bad Person. You think saying that to someone is fucked up?? You should be violently murdered, you're probably Bad Person anyway

[theancientfootsteps]

I tried my hand at making a trans flag rosary and I'm absolutely in love

[theancientfootsteps]

Nadia Bolz-Weber

[theancientfootsteps]

This a a reminder to not fall victim to the sunk-cost fallacy. Just because you invested time and energy into something, does not mean you should indefinitely waste more time and energy on it, if you decide it’s not what you want anymore. This goes for anything, from books, to relationships, to jobs, to hobbies, etc.

If it’s not serving you anymore, move on.

[theancientfootsteps]

[theancientfootsteps]

A lot of yall don’t go on daily walks. That’s why you feel the way you do

[theancientfootsteps]

I get to lead afternoon prayer again next week yayayayay

[theancientfootsteps]

Judas, with a kiss you betray the Son of man?

[theancientfootsteps]

Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.