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This week we cover some very interesting and applicable verses. The class has some interesting dialogue and debate regarding the verses covered which are Exodus Ch. 22 verses 21 – 27.
Below are the relevant verses.
Exodus 22 (NIV)
21“Do not mistreat or oppress a foreigner, for you were foreigners in Egypt.
22“Do not take advantage of the widow or the fatherless. 23If you do and they cry out to me, I will certainly hear their cry. 24My anger will be aroused, and I will kill you with the sword; your wives will become widows and your children fatherless.
25“If you lend money to one of my people among you who is needy, do not treat it like a business deal; charge no interest. 26If you take your neighbor’s cloak as a pledge, return it by sunset, 27because that cloak is the only covering your neighbor has. What else can they sleep in? When they cry out to me, I will hear, for I am compassionate.
Note: This comment properly belongs under the link to Podcast 61, which is not listed.
During this podcast, class discussion went to the tripartite nature of God (as Christians are educated about or experience Him). This is a confusing topic for many people. It is often rightly described by priests and other clergy as a “mystery of faith” because it is difficult or impossible for people to understand.
God manifests Himself to people as God the Father, God the Son (Jesus) and God the Holy Spirit. All of these are like the colored panels on a beach ball, as Nahum once used in an earlier podcast analogy. These manifestations are aspects of God, but not God themselves. The Spirit is NOT the Son, and the Son is NOT the Father, nor is the Father the Spirit.
Why do Christians pray “in Jesus’ name”? To someone who asked me this I would explain that it is because Jesus intercedes for us and (more importantly when considered in contrast that some pray to Jesus’ mother, Mary) submitted Himself to be sacrificed to redeem the sins of all humanity. He is “of one being with the Father” and yet NOT the Father. Many verses in the Gospels say that various actions will or may be done “in my (Jesus’) name”, and so when Christians ask for blessings or success in some endeavor, or give thanks, it is often done “in Jesus’ name”.
Also, my personal opinion is that since Jesus was human and lived among us, He is easier to relate to. He bled, grieved, held a job, struggled with temptation, hungered and thirsted. God, on the other hand, is completely alien and unfathomable to us. It’s easier to love Jesus than God, no matter how one might appreciate all of God’s gifts to us. Still, when Christians worship, somewhere in their minds and hearts they have to keep hold on the knowledge that God is the Creator and Jesus is part of creation, even if Jesus is of one being with the Father.
One of the harder aspects of being an inquisitive and rational Christian is accepting that many parts of the Christian faith cannot be understood and just have to be accepted. I am consoled and encouraged to learn that it is the same for Jews, and members of both religions can and do enjoy the practice of questioning and testing their faith, often deepening it.
Thank you so much for your thoughtful commentary and insights. I’m very blessed to have such an educated and articulate audience. Love learning from you!
Have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
God Bless