Anyway...
Back to my assertion that the Song of Solomon is not just about sex.
I saw another preacher the other day talking about it. He, like most preachers, asserted that it WAS all about sex. It's not about gardens and vineyards and farms. It's about sex.
At first I was a bit miffed.
But I saw this preacher AFTER I saw what my Internet friend said to the Atheists she engaged in friendly (for the most part) debate.
(For those who didn't read the May 20th post, she said that God wasn't a triabalistic, patriarchal misogynist. But He was dealing with that sort of culture and so therefore may come across that way.)
And thinking about it, if God wanted to hide messages in His Word about the uplifting of women from the place of property, slavery, and second class citizenship, where better to hide it than in a book that men think is all about sex???
What would any red blooded male of any nationality do with a book about sex sanctioned by God?
First of all, make sure it is never lost to posterity. And if they were trying to get together a Big Book about God, and there was a book about sex from God, you know that the majority of the boys are going to make sure it is included.
What if it was a book about uplifting women with no mention of sex? Might one of the boys accidentally misplace it?
Okay, I'm done with my little diversion. I know I can't speak for God on this one. But it really makes me wonder if my pondering has any basis in truth.
So looking it over, perhaps on the surface it is about gardening, and the first level beneath that is about sex. But the level after that appears to be about uplifting a female, bringing her healing, and setting her in a place of maturity and authority.
Next blog post, we are going to look at an overview of Songs, where it starts and where it ends up and why I think it's about more than just sex.
Friday, May 22, 2009
Thursday, May 21, 2009
The Big Picture
Before I deal specifically with SOS, let me tell you about a lesson I taught my preteens.
I drew a picture of a mountain scene with trees and a lake and wrote on it "Overview" and "Big Picture" and taped it to the wall.
Then I took another piece of copy paper and drew on it a flower, an ant, a mushroom, a leaf, a butterfly etc... I wrote "focus" and "details" on that piece of paper and taped it to the wall under the "Overview" picture.
Under that, I taped a picture of balanced scales with Proverbs 11:1 on it. God abhors a false balance.
Then under the balance I put up a paper with the two greatest commandments according to Jesus and the Golden Rule. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul and all you strength. Love your neighbor as yourself. And do unto others what you would have them to do unto you. And I labeled these as foundational truths.
I explained to the children that these picture show the way we should look at the Bible. First we need an overview of what it is about, who God is, where things started, and where things are going. Since I'm helping my kids to memorize, or at least become familiar with the names of the books of the Bible, whether they are part of the law, history, poetry, etc... , I used that as an example of an overview.
And since we are memorizing John 5:1-5,14 and John 14 1:1-7, I used that as an example of studying the details.
And the balance had to do with balancing the overview with the details.
Then I shared with them the story of Atheist, Nate Phelps who was abused by his pastor father. The story was particularly about an abuse against Nate's mother, the pastor's wife.
http://hupotasso.wordpress.com/2009/04/24/my-father-had-a-fascination-with-1-corinthians-11/
Then I started another column of pictures.
Only I taped the first one even with the "details" picture in the first column. On this picture I wrote, "over focus", "hyper focus", "warped view". And I drew a row of mushrooms under the words.
On the second paper I drew a balance with a red circle/slash over it pointing out that Nate's father's over focus on isolated Bible verses gave him an off-balanced view of the Bible.
Then I drew a picture of a giant mushroom/toadstool and labeled it "Warped Overview" and "Wrong Big Picture"
We were able to discuss in the class how Nate's father broke the 2 Greatest Commandments and the Golden Rule in his zeal to use I Corinthians 11 to hurt his mother.
Having been a part of a slightly off-balanced, somewhat spiritually abusive church before, one of my concerns as a teacher, is to help others get the critical thinking skills they need in order to see through off-balanced teaching. So that's what I tried to do, or at least start to do with my class.
I drew a picture of a mountain scene with trees and a lake and wrote on it "Overview" and "Big Picture" and taped it to the wall.
Then I took another piece of copy paper and drew on it a flower, an ant, a mushroom, a leaf, a butterfly etc... I wrote "focus" and "details" on that piece of paper and taped it to the wall under the "Overview" picture.
Under that, I taped a picture of balanced scales with Proverbs 11:1 on it. God abhors a false balance.
Then under the balance I put up a paper with the two greatest commandments according to Jesus and the Golden Rule. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul and all you strength. Love your neighbor as yourself. And do unto others what you would have them to do unto you. And I labeled these as foundational truths.
I explained to the children that these picture show the way we should look at the Bible. First we need an overview of what it is about, who God is, where things started, and where things are going. Since I'm helping my kids to memorize, or at least become familiar with the names of the books of the Bible, whether they are part of the law, history, poetry, etc... , I used that as an example of an overview.
And since we are memorizing John 5:1-5,14 and John 14 1:1-7, I used that as an example of studying the details.
And the balance had to do with balancing the overview with the details.
Then I shared with them the story of Atheist, Nate Phelps who was abused by his pastor father. The story was particularly about an abuse against Nate's mother, the pastor's wife.
http://hupotasso.wordpress.com/2009/04/24/my-father-had-a-fascination-with-1-corinthians-11/
Then I started another column of pictures.
Only I taped the first one even with the "details" picture in the first column. On this picture I wrote, "over focus", "hyper focus", "warped view". And I drew a row of mushrooms under the words.
On the second paper I drew a balance with a red circle/slash over it pointing out that Nate's father's over focus on isolated Bible verses gave him an off-balanced view of the Bible.
Then I drew a picture of a giant mushroom/toadstool and labeled it "Warped Overview" and "Wrong Big Picture"
We were able to discuss in the class how Nate's father broke the 2 Greatest Commandments and the Golden Rule in his zeal to use I Corinthians 11 to hurt his mother.
Having been a part of a slightly off-balanced, somewhat spiritually abusive church before, one of my concerns as a teacher, is to help others get the critical thinking skills they need in order to see through off-balanced teaching. So that's what I tried to do, or at least start to do with my class.
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
New Approach
Yep, I've not posted for two months.
Part of it is because of the Sunday School class that I'm teaching to preteens. It's taking up some of my limited extra time since I'm making artwork and poster boards to help explain my lessons a little better. And I'm really enjoying my class. They are a bunch of bright, active young men and women full of all kinds of intelligent questions and a bit of mischief.
But I've also not written because I need a new approach on talking about SOS.
You see, I've visited the No Longer Quivering site, which led to (more) interaction with people who have been hurt by the Patriarchy/Quiverfull movement and even some interaction with (more) angry women who have been hurt by Christianity in general.
Some of these women are now Atheists.
Others have turned toward one form of Agnosticism or another.
Some still hold onto a form of Christianity while hating the excesses of certain male favoring doctrines that has permeated much of Christendom.
But I've also met those who minister to such women.
One of them said something that I appreciated. I can't quote it word for word. But I'll try to give the gist of it here.
She said that when she speaks with Atheists they say:
"Your Jewish/Christian god is a woman-hating, tribalistic, patriarchal god. It's clearly there written in your bible"
She would say:
"No. My God was trying to work in a woman-hating, tribalistic, patriarchal society."
They would say:
"Stop making excuses. Your god is a woman-hating, tribalistic, patriarchal god as evidence completely there in your bible."
I thought that her laying it out like that was very interesting and it helped me to consider somethings.
If, for sake of argument, God wanted to make an impact on a woman-hating, tribalistic, patriarchal culture and had to entrust His words to men who thought women were, in fact, completely inferior to them and to be subjugated in every respect, even if God did not think that, what would He do? If God knew that these men were simply not capable of comprehending the idea of women being equally the image of God and on an equal footing with men, where would God begin? If He felt women should have rights that men didn't feel like letting women have, how would He start.
God would probably have to ease into it slowly, integrating the concept that men were not only to honor their father (in a patriarchal culture) but that they should also honor their mother who gave them birth, and so on.
Perhaps God would also hide nuggets through out what would become today's Bible for men and women to find that would reveal His true heart for women.
If God is not a woman-hating, tribalistic, patriarchal God, (and I don't believe that He is) where are the Scriptures that say otherwise to counteract the accusations of both Atheist and those who do promote Patriarchy in Christianity?
Do they even exist?
Or are we just making excuses for a God who really does love men more than women?
Part of it is because of the Sunday School class that I'm teaching to preteens. It's taking up some of my limited extra time since I'm making artwork and poster boards to help explain my lessons a little better. And I'm really enjoying my class. They are a bunch of bright, active young men and women full of all kinds of intelligent questions and a bit of mischief.
But I've also not written because I need a new approach on talking about SOS.
You see, I've visited the No Longer Quivering site, which led to (more) interaction with people who have been hurt by the Patriarchy/Quiverfull movement and even some interaction with (more) angry women who have been hurt by Christianity in general.
Some of these women are now Atheists.
Others have turned toward one form of Agnosticism or another.
Some still hold onto a form of Christianity while hating the excesses of certain male favoring doctrines that has permeated much of Christendom.
But I've also met those who minister to such women.
One of them said something that I appreciated. I can't quote it word for word. But I'll try to give the gist of it here.
She said that when she speaks with Atheists they say:
"Your Jewish/Christian god is a woman-hating, tribalistic, patriarchal god. It's clearly there written in your bible"
She would say:
"No. My God was trying to work in a woman-hating, tribalistic, patriarchal society."
They would say:
"Stop making excuses. Your god is a woman-hating, tribalistic, patriarchal god as evidence completely there in your bible."
I thought that her laying it out like that was very interesting and it helped me to consider somethings.
If, for sake of argument, God wanted to make an impact on a woman-hating, tribalistic, patriarchal culture and had to entrust His words to men who thought women were, in fact, completely inferior to them and to be subjugated in every respect, even if God did not think that, what would He do? If God knew that these men were simply not capable of comprehending the idea of women being equally the image of God and on an equal footing with men, where would God begin? If He felt women should have rights that men didn't feel like letting women have, how would He start.
God would probably have to ease into it slowly, integrating the concept that men were not only to honor their father (in a patriarchal culture) but that they should also honor their mother who gave them birth, and so on.
Perhaps God would also hide nuggets through out what would become today's Bible for men and women to find that would reveal His true heart for women.
If God is not a woman-hating, tribalistic, patriarchal God, (and I don't believe that He is) where are the Scriptures that say otherwise to counteract the accusations of both Atheist and those who do promote Patriarchy in Christianity?
Do they even exist?
Or are we just making excuses for a God who really does love men more than women?
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
More Bitter Waters
Taking another break from SOS for a second.
I found another blog with an example of women spitting bitter religion out of their mouths.
These women, Laura and Vyckie, were a part of a Christian subgroup that promotes "Biblical Patriarchy" and the "Quiverfull" movement. It is a very hard teaching that can sap the very life out of a woman. I have friends not associated with that blog who are still recovering from the bad doctrine and oppressive teaching of this movement.
The women who own this blog are so turned off to Christianity because of this legalistic group that one or both of them is considering Atheism. And Atheists are stopping by to to congratulate them for escaping such a toxic religion as "Christianity"
The blog is called No Longer Quivering and is located at:
http://2spb.blogspot.com/
Jesus said, "Come unto me all who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest."
If anyone is finding no rest in their Christian faith, perhaps it is time to re-examine it.
God calls us all to a Sabbath rest.
Edit made 3/25/09
After reading this again I realized that I could be misunderstood.
Those following my blog who have read the earliest posts would have known that I meant that the bitter waters being spit out by these recovering women did not originate within them. I don't think that they are just a couple of bitter vindictive women.
What I mean is that Patriarchy and Quiverfull teaching can be very bitter. I mean that these women are spitting out the bitter waters of this teaching. And rightly so.
Patriarchy and Quiverfull have both morphed into a works-based religion that doesn't bring life.
My hat's off to them for their strength and courage to escape and recover and speak out against such bitter waters being held up as sweet "Biblical" waters. They are not sweet waters. Too much man-made religion has been stirred into it making it toxic.
I found another blog with an example of women spitting bitter religion out of their mouths.
These women, Laura and Vyckie, were a part of a Christian subgroup that promotes "Biblical Patriarchy" and the "Quiverfull" movement. It is a very hard teaching that can sap the very life out of a woman. I have friends not associated with that blog who are still recovering from the bad doctrine and oppressive teaching of this movement.
The women who own this blog are so turned off to Christianity because of this legalistic group that one or both of them is considering Atheism. And Atheists are stopping by to to congratulate them for escaping such a toxic religion as "Christianity"
The blog is called No Longer Quivering and is located at:
http://2spb.blogspot.com/
Jesus said, "Come unto me all who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest."
If anyone is finding no rest in their Christian faith, perhaps it is time to re-examine it.
God calls us all to a Sabbath rest.
Edit made 3/25/09
After reading this again I realized that I could be misunderstood.
Those following my blog who have read the earliest posts would have known that I meant that the bitter waters being spit out by these recovering women did not originate within them. I don't think that they are just a couple of bitter vindictive women.
What I mean is that Patriarchy and Quiverfull teaching can be very bitter. I mean that these women are spitting out the bitter waters of this teaching. And rightly so.
Patriarchy and Quiverfull have both morphed into a works-based religion that doesn't bring life.
My hat's off to them for their strength and courage to escape and recover and speak out against such bitter waters being held up as sweet "Biblical" waters. They are not sweet waters. Too much man-made religion has been stirred into it making it toxic.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Failure to Attach
I have a coworker who has adopted boys who were neglected and abused in their early years (ages 0-three years). As a result of the abuse they have developed Reactive Attachment Disorder (RAD).
Wikipedia says that, "RAD arises from a failure to form normal attachments to primary caregivers in early childhood. Such a failure could result from severe early experiences of neglect, abuse, abrupt separation from caregivers, or a lack of caregiver responsiveness to a child's communicative efforts."
In other words, the child has not properly bonded with a caregiver.
Wikipedia goes on to say that not all children suffering from abuse and neglect at an early age develops RAD. It is actually "relatively uncommon".
Bonding is an extremely important time of development in a baby. God made us to be socially attached to one another. This is why Adam's "aloneness" in Genesis 2:18 is "not good."
God made Eve so that Adam was not alone anymore. He needed to bond with someone.
The Bible calls it cleaving in Genesis 2:24.
Interestingly, the same Hebrew word translated cleave in Gen 2:4 is used in Deuteronomy 10:20 & 13:4. My version translates it as cling.
Deut. 10:20 You shall fear the Lord your God; you shall serve Him and cling to Him, and you shall swear by His name.
Deut. 13:4 You shall follow the Lord your God and fear Him, and you shall keep His commandments, listen to His voice, serve Him, and cling to Him.
The word in Hebrew for cleave/cling also meant adhere, to catch by pursuit, fast together, follow close or hard after, be joined (together), pursue hard, stick.
So the children of Israel were encouraged to attach themselves, bond with, and even chase after God. And men are encouraged to do the same with their wives.
To become one with their wives? To become one with God?
Is such a thing possible?
Here are the words of Jesus.
John 17:21 that they may all be one; even as Thou, Father art in Me, and I in Thee, that they also may be in Us; that the world may believe that Thou didst send Me.
Vs 22 And the glory Thou has given Me I have given to them; that they may be one, just as We are one.
Vs 23 I in them, and Thou in Me, that they may be perfected in unity (into a unit), that the world may know (continually) that Thou didst send Me, and didst love them, even as Thou didst love Me.
We are called to be one with God. Whatever that means exactly, I don't know. But it must be possible or God wouldn't ask it of us.
But when the Beloved in Song of Solomon 1:2 longs for the Lover to kiss (fasten, touch, attach, etc) her, she is longing for attachment. She is longing for a bond between herself and Him.
This is what we are called to do. To cling to God. To reach out for attachment and bonding. To let Him know we long for a touch, a look, a word from Him.
This is our highest calling.
Meditating on SOS can prepare our hearts to pursue this calling and open up to a healthy attachment to our God.
But distracted by the many worries, riches, and pleasures of this life (Luke 8:14) some Christians suffer a failure to attach.
Wikipedia says that, "RAD arises from a failure to form normal attachments to primary caregivers in early childhood. Such a failure could result from severe early experiences of neglect, abuse, abrupt separation from caregivers, or a lack of caregiver responsiveness to a child's communicative efforts."
In other words, the child has not properly bonded with a caregiver.
Wikipedia goes on to say that not all children suffering from abuse and neglect at an early age develops RAD. It is actually "relatively uncommon".
Bonding is an extremely important time of development in a baby. God made us to be socially attached to one another. This is why Adam's "aloneness" in Genesis 2:18 is "not good."
God made Eve so that Adam was not alone anymore. He needed to bond with someone.
The Bible calls it cleaving in Genesis 2:24.
Interestingly, the same Hebrew word translated cleave in Gen 2:4 is used in Deuteronomy 10:20 & 13:4. My version translates it as cling.
Deut. 10:20 You shall fear the Lord your God; you shall serve Him and cling to Him, and you shall swear by His name.
Deut. 13:4 You shall follow the Lord your God and fear Him, and you shall keep His commandments, listen to His voice, serve Him, and cling to Him.
The word in Hebrew for cleave/cling also meant adhere, to catch by pursuit, fast together, follow close or hard after, be joined (together), pursue hard, stick.
So the children of Israel were encouraged to attach themselves, bond with, and even chase after God. And men are encouraged to do the same with their wives.
To become one with their wives? To become one with God?
Is such a thing possible?
Here are the words of Jesus.
John 17:21 that they may all be one; even as Thou, Father art in Me, and I in Thee, that they also may be in Us; that the world may believe that Thou didst send Me.
Vs 22 And the glory Thou has given Me I have given to them; that they may be one, just as We are one.
Vs 23 I in them, and Thou in Me, that they may be perfected in unity (into a unit), that the world may know (continually) that Thou didst send Me, and didst love them, even as Thou didst love Me.
We are called to be one with God. Whatever that means exactly, I don't know. But it must be possible or God wouldn't ask it of us.
But when the Beloved in Song of Solomon 1:2 longs for the Lover to kiss (fasten, touch, attach, etc) her, she is longing for attachment. She is longing for a bond between herself and Him.
This is what we are called to do. To cling to God. To reach out for attachment and bonding. To let Him know we long for a touch, a look, a word from Him.
This is our highest calling.
Meditating on SOS can prepare our hearts to pursue this calling and open up to a healthy attachment to our God.
But distracted by the many worries, riches, and pleasures of this life (Luke 8:14) some Christians suffer a failure to attach.
Monday, March 2, 2009
Oh, My Goodness (a break from SOS)
Something strange has happened.
I finally decided my life is stable enough that I can teach a Sunday School quarter in my church.
I'm teaching the fourth, fifth, and sixth graders.
That's not the strange thing.
The strange thing is that the first unit in this quarter is about turning the tide of emotions.
The first lesson yesterday was on anger and the lesson next week is on...
Wait for it...
BITTERNESS!
Whoa.
Can you believe it?
And just for the record, I'm honored that it fell this way. I'm honored that God would trust me with these lessons on emotions and with this Sunday School class. The lesson yesterday went well even though I went in a bit of a different direction than the lesson.
I handled it differently in part because of a discussion I had with Molly and others on her blog:
Adventures in Mercy
http://adventuresinmercy.wordpress.com/2008/12/17/letters-to-an-abused-soul-when-love-is-no/#comment-22746
It is important to me to stress to these children that anger, itself, is not the enemy.
The Bible says to be angry yet do not sin.
It doesn't say do not be angry. And yet I've heard enough cautions over the years from teachings that stress the evils of anger that it left the impression on me that I was not allowed to be angry.
I eventually learned that suppressing anger is worse than the anger itself.
I had to learn to take my anger to God and let Him teach me, even release me, that it is okay to be angry.
So in my class we learned about appropriate anger, anger as a symptom of something else, anger addiction, and anger used to control.
The last two mentioned above, I stressed, were inappropriate anger. We called it sin.
The second one could go either way.
Though the curriculum touched on appropriate anger, it really stressed the dangers of inappropriate or unhealthy anger to the point that I feared my students would think that they needed to repress their anger. And I didn't want that. I wanted them to understand symptom anger.
Cain had symptom anger when God rejected his offering. (Genesis 4:1-8)
But the beautiful thing about this story is that God, Himself, was right there to direct Cain on what to do with this symptom. Unfortunately, Cain didn't listen to God and he ended up killing his brother.
This story was not included in the lesson curriculum. But I had to include it because so much of the time we don't recognize our anger for what it is. -- a symptom of something else.
Cain felt rejection and expressed it in anger.
It was actually good because it revealed that he really did care about what God thought about him.
And God provided a way for him to do what he needed to do to not be rejected. But Cain gave himself over to anger and sin instead of mastering the sin.
This story made an impression on my students. They seemed interested in the four expression of anger.
So anyway, I'm quite pleased that I get to teach this unit to my students.
They are in a very important time in their lives. I pray that God will give me what I need to teach this unit in a way that helps them along in healthy emotional growth and development.
I hope I can help them avoid some of the pitfalls that I have had.
I finally decided my life is stable enough that I can teach a Sunday School quarter in my church.
I'm teaching the fourth, fifth, and sixth graders.
That's not the strange thing.
The strange thing is that the first unit in this quarter is about turning the tide of emotions.
The first lesson yesterday was on anger and the lesson next week is on...
Wait for it...
BITTERNESS!
Whoa.
Can you believe it?
And just for the record, I'm honored that it fell this way. I'm honored that God would trust me with these lessons on emotions and with this Sunday School class. The lesson yesterday went well even though I went in a bit of a different direction than the lesson.
I handled it differently in part because of a discussion I had with Molly and others on her blog:
Adventures in Mercy
http://adventuresinmercy.wordpress.com/2008/12/17/letters-to-an-abused-soul-when-love-is-no/#comment-22746
It is important to me to stress to these children that anger, itself, is not the enemy.
The Bible says to be angry yet do not sin.
It doesn't say do not be angry. And yet I've heard enough cautions over the years from teachings that stress the evils of anger that it left the impression on me that I was not allowed to be angry.
I eventually learned that suppressing anger is worse than the anger itself.
I had to learn to take my anger to God and let Him teach me, even release me, that it is okay to be angry.
So in my class we learned about appropriate anger, anger as a symptom of something else, anger addiction, and anger used to control.
The last two mentioned above, I stressed, were inappropriate anger. We called it sin.
The second one could go either way.
Though the curriculum touched on appropriate anger, it really stressed the dangers of inappropriate or unhealthy anger to the point that I feared my students would think that they needed to repress their anger. And I didn't want that. I wanted them to understand symptom anger.
Cain had symptom anger when God rejected his offering. (Genesis 4:1-8)
But the beautiful thing about this story is that God, Himself, was right there to direct Cain on what to do with this symptom. Unfortunately, Cain didn't listen to God and he ended up killing his brother.
This story was not included in the lesson curriculum. But I had to include it because so much of the time we don't recognize our anger for what it is. -- a symptom of something else.
Cain felt rejection and expressed it in anger.
It was actually good because it revealed that he really did care about what God thought about him.
And God provided a way for him to do what he needed to do to not be rejected. But Cain gave himself over to anger and sin instead of mastering the sin.
This story made an impression on my students. They seemed interested in the four expression of anger.
So anyway, I'm quite pleased that I get to teach this unit to my students.
They are in a very important time in their lives. I pray that God will give me what I need to teach this unit in a way that helps them along in healthy emotional growth and development.
I hope I can help them avoid some of the pitfalls that I have had.
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
A Bit More About Spiritual Senses
Hebrews 5:14 But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil (KJV)
Hebrews 5:14 (NAS) But solid food is for the mature who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil.
In the previous post I talk about involving the senses in worship. I consider there to be both natural senses and spiritual senses. And really, when you think about it, Jesus said that the true worshipers will worship in Spirit and in truth. (John 4:24)
The above verse given in both King James and New American Standard version translations talk about senses. It doesn't specify that they are spiritual. However, the discerning of spirits is a spiritual gift listed in I Corinthians 12:10. So to me, the above verse encourages us to train and practice our spiritual senses.
So how do you do this?
I don't have all the answers to that, of course. Who does?
But I know that we need the truth that is found in the Bible if we are to worship Jesus in spirit and in truth. And Hebrews says this sort of thing takes practice. The only place I know to start is in prayer and worship and fellowship with other believers who are already heading down this road. It is a process, learning to let God partner with us to train our senses. We must trust Him to meet us and work with us when we practice the Christian disciplines that have been handed down to us by the church fathers and mothers.
Hebrews 5:14 (NAS) But solid food is for the mature who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil.
In the previous post I talk about involving the senses in worship. I consider there to be both natural senses and spiritual senses. And really, when you think about it, Jesus said that the true worshipers will worship in Spirit and in truth. (John 4:24)
The above verse given in both King James and New American Standard version translations talk about senses. It doesn't specify that they are spiritual. However, the discerning of spirits is a spiritual gift listed in I Corinthians 12:10. So to me, the above verse encourages us to train and practice our spiritual senses.
So how do you do this?
I don't have all the answers to that, of course. Who does?
But I know that we need the truth that is found in the Bible if we are to worship Jesus in spirit and in truth. And Hebrews says this sort of thing takes practice. The only place I know to start is in prayer and worship and fellowship with other believers who are already heading down this road. It is a process, learning to let God partner with us to train our senses. We must trust Him to meet us and work with us when we practice the Christian disciplines that have been handed down to us by the church fathers and mothers.
Monday, February 9, 2009
Involving the Senses in Worship
~I John 1:1 What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we beheld and our hands handled (touched NIV), concerning the Word of Life-
~Psalm 34:8 O taste and see that the LORD is good; How blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!
I told Brenda that I did not think of Song of Solomon (SOS) as being a sexual book. I also told her that I don't look upon it as sensual. What I meant was - sensual in a sexual way. But in all honesty, SOS very much involves the senses.
This is not exclusive to SOS. The two verses above also involve the senses. John's words are a witness, a testimony of his very intimate involvement with Jesus Christ Himself. The Psalmist calls upon the worshiper to seek God and experience Him personally. The senses are very important to us in our understanding of the world.
SOS's second and third verses also call upon the senses.
~Song of Solomon 1:2&3 May he kiss me with the kisses of his mouth! For your love is better than wine. Your oils have a pleasing fragrance, Your name is like purified oil; Therefore the maidens love you.
This is the maiden, or beloved, speaking here in 2&3, talking about her desire to be kissed by Solomon, a.k.a the lover.
The Hebrew word for kiss means both literally and figuratively to kiss. It also means to touch or fasten up or an attachment. She wants to be touched and she compares the lover's kiss/touch as being better than the taste or effects of wine.
In verse 3 she notes that the bridegroom smells good. Don't let the word oil throw you. They didn't have Bath and Body Works back then. No lotions or after shave. Olive oil was an important staple in the Hebrew home. It was used for lighting, food, and for cosmetic purposes. Oils infused with different fragrances were used. Later on in the song specific smells are brought up and they are highly symbolic, some of them for the purpose of healing. But for now, just know that the presence of the lover is so pleasing that not even the beloved notices, so do other maidens, and they love him.
This is a nice story about two people falling in love. But the deeper symbolism is the worshiper looking with longing toward God, toward Jesus the Bridegroom and desiring to be closer, close enough to reach out and touch Him.
I heard once at a Praise and Worship Seminar that one of the definitions of worship is to turn to face and kiss. And this view is not so hard to imagine when you think that long ago a kiss was a form of worship. I don't know if you have seen historical movies where someone kisses the hand of a lord or a king or high official in the catholic church. But it was not uncommon back then.
So hopefully it is not a hard step to take to meditate on the Christian longing to be closer, to touch, to taste and see that the LORD is good.
~Psalm 34:8 O taste and see that the LORD is good; How blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!
I told Brenda that I did not think of Song of Solomon (SOS) as being a sexual book. I also told her that I don't look upon it as sensual. What I meant was - sensual in a sexual way. But in all honesty, SOS very much involves the senses.
This is not exclusive to SOS. The two verses above also involve the senses. John's words are a witness, a testimony of his very intimate involvement with Jesus Christ Himself. The Psalmist calls upon the worshiper to seek God and experience Him personally. The senses are very important to us in our understanding of the world.
SOS's second and third verses also call upon the senses.
~Song of Solomon 1:2&3 May he kiss me with the kisses of his mouth! For your love is better than wine. Your oils have a pleasing fragrance, Your name is like purified oil; Therefore the maidens love you.
This is the maiden, or beloved, speaking here in 2&3, talking about her desire to be kissed by Solomon, a.k.a the lover.
The Hebrew word for kiss means both literally and figuratively to kiss. It also means to touch or fasten up or an attachment. She wants to be touched and she compares the lover's kiss/touch as being better than the taste or effects of wine.
In verse 3 she notes that the bridegroom smells good. Don't let the word oil throw you. They didn't have Bath and Body Works back then. No lotions or after shave. Olive oil was an important staple in the Hebrew home. It was used for lighting, food, and for cosmetic purposes. Oils infused with different fragrances were used. Later on in the song specific smells are brought up and they are highly symbolic, some of them for the purpose of healing. But for now, just know that the presence of the lover is so pleasing that not even the beloved notices, so do other maidens, and they love him.
This is a nice story about two people falling in love. But the deeper symbolism is the worshiper looking with longing toward God, toward Jesus the Bridegroom and desiring to be closer, close enough to reach out and touch Him.
I heard once at a Praise and Worship Seminar that one of the definitions of worship is to turn to face and kiss. And this view is not so hard to imagine when you think that long ago a kiss was a form of worship. I don't know if you have seen historical movies where someone kisses the hand of a lord or a king or high official in the catholic church. But it was not uncommon back then.
So hopefully it is not a hard step to take to meditate on the Christian longing to be closer, to touch, to taste and see that the LORD is good.
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Acronym Break
Just learned this one.
Sorry if everyone already knows this one. I'm not always known to be on the cutting edge of these kinds of things.
This is dedicated to all people with addictions, bitterness, and brain disorders who refuse to acknowledge the fact.
DENIAL = Don't Even kNow I Am Lying
I like a good acronym.
Sorry if everyone already knows this one. I'm not always known to be on the cutting edge of these kinds of things.
This is dedicated to all people with addictions, bitterness, and brain disorders who refuse to acknowledge the fact.
DENIAL = Don't Even kNow I Am Lying
I like a good acronym.
Monday, February 2, 2009
Lovers & Fighters, Praisers & Mourners, Fools & Sages
I really do want to get to Song of Solomon (SOS) chapter one verses two & three.
But I think a quick Old Testament overview might help to give a better perspective of SOS and it's place in the Bible.
If you aren't much into overviews, I apologize. But I have found that overviews help me. And some people checking in here might benefit. Others that check in here probably already know what I'm about to share, and a whole lot more.
The Old Testament is divided into four parts.
~The Law
~Historical Books
~Poetic Books
~The Prophets.
The Law contained five books. Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, & Deuteronomy. The stories within these books include, Adam & Eve, Noah & the Ark, Abraham, Isaac, & Jacob, Joseph and his coat of many colors, and the Ten Commandments among other stories.
The Historical Books are Joshua, Judges, Ruth, I & II Samuel, I & II Kings, I & II Chronicles, Ezra, and Nehemiah. It contains stories like the Battle of Jericho, Gideon, Sampson & Delilah, David & Goliath, Elijah's chariot of fire, the building and rebuilding of the temple.
The Poetic books are Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Solomon. I will come back to this section.
The Prophets start with Isaiah (The evangelical prophet) & Jeremiah (The weeping prophet) and goes on to the end of the Old Testament. Stories within this grouping include Danial in the Lion' Den, Jonah and the Whale (or big fish if you want to be literal), and Ezekiel's valley of dry bones.
Now back to the Poetic section where SOS is found. To me, the poetic books are the heart and soul of the Old Testament. In the poetic books we see deep grief, high praise, great wisdom, intimate love and been there done that extremo. They deal with the deep places of the human heart.
The oldest book in the Bible may in fact be Job. And his is the story of a good man who loved God and his family. He's going along minding his own business when WHAMO (in loving memory of Steve Irwin). Now where was I? Oh yes, Job was going along, minding his own business, when WHAMO, everything is riped away from him. The rest of the book is him struggling with his situation, his friends telling him he must have done something wrong, and him calling on God. God answers him in the end. It's an excellent read.
Psalms is the longest book in the Bible, containing 150 chapters. It is not just a book of praises and high praises, but of repentance (Ps 51) and prayers of faith in adversity (pofia). Besides praise and thanksgiving, worship, waiting and meditating are common themes.
Proverbs is practical, rubber meets the road, observations on how the world and relationships work. There are 31 chapters and many people read through Proverbs once a month, chapter 1 on the first of the month, chapter 2 on day 2 etc. If you've never done this, I highly recommend doing so once in a while.
Ecclesiastes... well... It's the book of excesses. A wise and wealthy man became foolish and financed it freely for sometime, then comes back to his original conclusion. The last two verses of this book state:
Ecclesiastes 12:13 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.
vs 14 For God shall bring every work into judgement, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.
Then there is SOS. The best of the Songs. In the poetic section, they saved the best for last.
But I think a quick Old Testament overview might help to give a better perspective of SOS and it's place in the Bible.
If you aren't much into overviews, I apologize. But I have found that overviews help me. And some people checking in here might benefit. Others that check in here probably already know what I'm about to share, and a whole lot more.
The Old Testament is divided into four parts.
~The Law
~Historical Books
~Poetic Books
~The Prophets.
The Law contained five books. Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, & Deuteronomy. The stories within these books include, Adam & Eve, Noah & the Ark, Abraham, Isaac, & Jacob, Joseph and his coat of many colors, and the Ten Commandments among other stories.
The Historical Books are Joshua, Judges, Ruth, I & II Samuel, I & II Kings, I & II Chronicles, Ezra, and Nehemiah. It contains stories like the Battle of Jericho, Gideon, Sampson & Delilah, David & Goliath, Elijah's chariot of fire, the building and rebuilding of the temple.
The Poetic books are Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Solomon. I will come back to this section.
The Prophets start with Isaiah (The evangelical prophet) & Jeremiah (The weeping prophet) and goes on to the end of the Old Testament. Stories within this grouping include Danial in the Lion' Den, Jonah and the Whale (or big fish if you want to be literal), and Ezekiel's valley of dry bones.
Now back to the Poetic section where SOS is found. To me, the poetic books are the heart and soul of the Old Testament. In the poetic books we see deep grief, high praise, great wisdom, intimate love and been there done that extremo. They deal with the deep places of the human heart.
The oldest book in the Bible may in fact be Job. And his is the story of a good man who loved God and his family. He's going along minding his own business when WHAMO (in loving memory of Steve Irwin). Now where was I? Oh yes, Job was going along, minding his own business, when WHAMO, everything is riped away from him. The rest of the book is him struggling with his situation, his friends telling him he must have done something wrong, and him calling on God. God answers him in the end. It's an excellent read.
Psalms is the longest book in the Bible, containing 150 chapters. It is not just a book of praises and high praises, but of repentance (Ps 51) and prayers of faith in adversity (pofia). Besides praise and thanksgiving, worship, waiting and meditating are common themes.
Proverbs is practical, rubber meets the road, observations on how the world and relationships work. There are 31 chapters and many people read through Proverbs once a month, chapter 1 on the first of the month, chapter 2 on day 2 etc. If you've never done this, I highly recommend doing so once in a while.
Ecclesiastes... well... It's the book of excesses. A wise and wealthy man became foolish and financed it freely for sometime, then comes back to his original conclusion. The last two verses of this book state:
Ecclesiastes 12:13 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.
vs 14 For God shall bring every work into judgement, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.
Then there is SOS. The best of the Songs. In the poetic section, they saved the best for last.
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Not About Sex. At least not for me at this time.
My new friend Brenda left a comment under my January 25th, 2009 post that makes me wonder if I better cover something about Song of Solomon (SOS) before I move onto verses 2 & 3 of chapter one.
When I replied to her first comment on my blog I made the observation that SOS was not about sex to me but about intimacy with God.
Her reply was as follows--
Brenda: "Wow, I don't think I found your blog my mistake either! I also need to get to a more intimate place with God. For quite awhile He has felt very distant even though I haven't given up pursuing Him by staying in the Word and prayer. It's been very frustrating to me. I'm looking forward to reading more of your thoughts on what you get from SOS. It is difficult to read about breasts, lips, mouth, tongue, thighs, and navel, and picturing God and me. It's much more fun imagining my husband in it. But, I'm going to give it a shot. Because you may just be on to something."
I'm very glad she brought this up. And please, those of you who check in here from time to time, bear with me as I try to explain this. I am getting to a very specific point. And it is about intimacy with God. But sometimes you have to wade through some stuff to get everyone on the same page, or at least in the same book.
As Brenda mentioned, breasts, lips, mouths, tongues, thighs, and navels are mentioned in this book. No wonder people immediately think about sex first thing. Especially in our sexually overcharged society. I mean, magazines and websites exist that are dedicated exclusively to large breasts. And sex is used to sell anything and everything. In a society such as ours, women can be viewed as sex objects. I mean, what other purpose is there for breasts than to attract men?
Well, actually, women's breasts do exist for something else besides sex. They exist for nursing babies. But with our sex oriented culture, it's hard for many to think of them for anything else. Women who want to nurse in public places, even discretely covered, are not looked upon favorably by many. Sometimes the outcry against such a thing is huge. Some people treat nursing as something nasty that needs to be hidden from the public eye. A private matter between a mother and her infant child. With this collective social attitude, no wonder many women resort to bottle feeding their babies. A gal might like to go out in public once in a while and feel caged within her home or have to run to a public restroom and sit on a toilet seat with no lid in order to nurse so as not to offend anybody.
Well, breasts have other uses besides sex, I think it's safe to say that lips, mouths, tongues, and thighs also have other uses. We don't need to automatically assume, sex.
I think you get my point. So enough of my nursing soapbox. That's not what this blog is about. What it is about is my journey out of bitterness.
When I started reading SOS I had no idea why God wanted me to study there.
But I was very much aware of something else.
I was aware that God uses symbols and pictures to reveal Himself to us and the relationship He wants to have with us.
~He uses sheep and Shepherd. He wants us to see His protection over us and how dependent we are on Him.
~He uses slaves/servants and Master. He wants us to see and respect Him as LORD.
~He uses children and Father. This is even as deeper and more intimate view than the servant/Master mode, as a child is more cared for than a servant or slave.
~He uses student/Teacher. We have a lot to learn from Him.
~Jesus, as the first born from the dead can also be looked upon as our older Brother. Hey, this is a good meditation. How do you think your life would be different if you had an older brother who was a prince or king? It would be a good thing if your brother liked you. Not so good if He didn't.
~After the disciples followed Jesus a while, He told them that they were no longer His servants, but His friends. This is definitely a step up.
~Then, of course, there is Jesus as the Bridegroom and the church as the bride. What greater place can there be than to be one with the Creator and Redeemer of the universe?
Of course, in this life, in this world, we can only see in a mirror dimly. In heaven we can see Him face to face.
But it is our job in this life, to try to get to know Him as best we can here. Why wouldn't we want to? After all, we will spend all eternity with Him. We shouldn't be practically strangers with Him when we die.
I had a friend who was orphaned very young. Because she had no earthly father, she meditate deeply on the fact that she had a heavenly Father. It brought her great comfort, made her feel loved and not rejected. But a mutual friend of ours pointed out to me that this orphaned friend was stunting her own spiritual growth by only focusing on one aspect of her relationship with God. She'd been in this place for years. She didn't need to let go of her understanding of Father. But she needed to not fear the deeper intimacy that God calls us all to.
It was from this perspective that I felt I should study SOS. And it is from this perspective that I'd like to share what I've learned so far.
And please, any one who checks in here, look at Brenda as a good example. If you don't understand something, or if I've not been clear, please ask me.
I am far from a perfect communicator. I may be assuming people know things that they don't. Or I may assume people have a similar view to my own when I shouldn't make such an assumption.
When I replied to her first comment on my blog I made the observation that SOS was not about sex to me but about intimacy with God.
Her reply was as follows--
Brenda: "Wow, I don't think I found your blog my mistake either! I also need to get to a more intimate place with God. For quite awhile He has felt very distant even though I haven't given up pursuing Him by staying in the Word and prayer. It's been very frustrating to me. I'm looking forward to reading more of your thoughts on what you get from SOS. It is difficult to read about breasts, lips, mouth, tongue, thighs, and navel, and picturing God and me. It's much more fun imagining my husband in it. But, I'm going to give it a shot. Because you may just be on to something."
I'm very glad she brought this up. And please, those of you who check in here from time to time, bear with me as I try to explain this. I am getting to a very specific point. And it is about intimacy with God. But sometimes you have to wade through some stuff to get everyone on the same page, or at least in the same book.
As Brenda mentioned, breasts, lips, mouths, tongues, thighs, and navels are mentioned in this book. No wonder people immediately think about sex first thing. Especially in our sexually overcharged society. I mean, magazines and websites exist that are dedicated exclusively to large breasts. And sex is used to sell anything and everything. In a society such as ours, women can be viewed as sex objects. I mean, what other purpose is there for breasts than to attract men?
Well, actually, women's breasts do exist for something else besides sex. They exist for nursing babies. But with our sex oriented culture, it's hard for many to think of them for anything else. Women who want to nurse in public places, even discretely covered, are not looked upon favorably by many. Sometimes the outcry against such a thing is huge. Some people treat nursing as something nasty that needs to be hidden from the public eye. A private matter between a mother and her infant child. With this collective social attitude, no wonder many women resort to bottle feeding their babies. A gal might like to go out in public once in a while and feel caged within her home or have to run to a public restroom and sit on a toilet seat with no lid in order to nurse so as not to offend anybody.
Well, breasts have other uses besides sex, I think it's safe to say that lips, mouths, tongues, and thighs also have other uses. We don't need to automatically assume, sex.
I think you get my point. So enough of my nursing soapbox. That's not what this blog is about. What it is about is my journey out of bitterness.
When I started reading SOS I had no idea why God wanted me to study there.
But I was very much aware of something else.
I was aware that God uses symbols and pictures to reveal Himself to us and the relationship He wants to have with us.
~He uses sheep and Shepherd. He wants us to see His protection over us and how dependent we are on Him.
~He uses slaves/servants and Master. He wants us to see and respect Him as LORD.
~He uses children and Father. This is even as deeper and more intimate view than the servant/Master mode, as a child is more cared for than a servant or slave.
~He uses student/Teacher. We have a lot to learn from Him.
~Jesus, as the first born from the dead can also be looked upon as our older Brother. Hey, this is a good meditation. How do you think your life would be different if you had an older brother who was a prince or king? It would be a good thing if your brother liked you. Not so good if He didn't.
~After the disciples followed Jesus a while, He told them that they were no longer His servants, but His friends. This is definitely a step up.
~Then, of course, there is Jesus as the Bridegroom and the church as the bride. What greater place can there be than to be one with the Creator and Redeemer of the universe?
Of course, in this life, in this world, we can only see in a mirror dimly. In heaven we can see Him face to face.
But it is our job in this life, to try to get to know Him as best we can here. Why wouldn't we want to? After all, we will spend all eternity with Him. We shouldn't be practically strangers with Him when we die.
I had a friend who was orphaned very young. Because she had no earthly father, she meditate deeply on the fact that she had a heavenly Father. It brought her great comfort, made her feel loved and not rejected. But a mutual friend of ours pointed out to me that this orphaned friend was stunting her own spiritual growth by only focusing on one aspect of her relationship with God. She'd been in this place for years. She didn't need to let go of her understanding of Father. But she needed to not fear the deeper intimacy that God calls us all to.
It was from this perspective that I felt I should study SOS. And it is from this perspective that I'd like to share what I've learned so far.
And please, any one who checks in here, look at Brenda as a good example. If you don't understand something, or if I've not been clear, please ask me.
I am far from a perfect communicator. I may be assuming people know things that they don't. Or I may assume people have a similar view to my own when I shouldn't make such an assumption.
Friday, January 30, 2009
The Best of the Songs
Solomon wrote much of Proverbs.
He also wrote a lot of poetry and sayings.
From what I understand, only a very small part of all that Solomon wrote ended up in the Bible.
The first verse goes like this:
Song of Solomon 1:1 The song of songs, which is Solomon's.
In Hebrew, the saying, song of songs, is like saying the best of songs. Just as in Isaiah 6, the angels didn't just cry out, "holy is the Lord." They cried out "holy, holy, holy is the LORD God Almighty." One holy simply was not enough. God most certainly is three times holy. So saying that Song of Solomon is just a song, is not enough. It is the Song of Songs. It is the best.
Now, I don't know if SOS (Song of Solomon) is the best song written by Solomon, or if it is the best song written in it's day, or if it is the best song written ever. But at the very least, we should get that this was/is one awesome song, even if we don't understand every part of it.
Funny thing about this best of songs.
It was banned by certain Puritan groups in at least one of the original 13 colonies. Seems SOS wasn't just a bit racy for this 21st century gal. It was also a bit much for some of our earlier settlers.
And I had also heard that some Jewish sects did not allow their members to study SOS until they turned 30. They also thought it was a bit much, at least for the younger generation.
So it is safe to say that SOS is a controversial book.
Yet we must never forget that it is the Best of Songs and is worthy of our attention.
He also wrote a lot of poetry and sayings.
From what I understand, only a very small part of all that Solomon wrote ended up in the Bible.
The first verse goes like this:
Song of Solomon 1:1 The song of songs, which is Solomon's.
In Hebrew, the saying, song of songs, is like saying the best of songs. Just as in Isaiah 6, the angels didn't just cry out, "holy is the Lord." They cried out "holy, holy, holy is the LORD God Almighty." One holy simply was not enough. God most certainly is three times holy. So saying that Song of Solomon is just a song, is not enough. It is the Song of Songs. It is the best.
Now, I don't know if SOS (Song of Solomon) is the best song written by Solomon, or if it is the best song written in it's day, or if it is the best song written ever. But at the very least, we should get that this was/is one awesome song, even if we don't understand every part of it.
Funny thing about this best of songs.
It was banned by certain Puritan groups in at least one of the original 13 colonies. Seems SOS wasn't just a bit racy for this 21st century gal. It was also a bit much for some of our earlier settlers.
And I had also heard that some Jewish sects did not allow their members to study SOS until they turned 30. They also thought it was a bit much, at least for the younger generation.
So it is safe to say that SOS is a controversial book.
Yet we must never forget that it is the Best of Songs and is worthy of our attention.
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