The Da Vinci Code

What is the Christian response to the DaVinci code? Should a Christian boycott the movie? Should they go and see it to relate to their friends? How can it be used to witness? Hollywood and the media are making such a big deal about this movie...Is it really this big of a deal?

The Gospel of Judas

An important distinction must be made between being predestined and serving an omniscient God. Just because God knew Judas was going to betray Jesus doesn't mean Judas was forced into it. In the same way pharaoh was not predestined to refuse to free the slaves. God just knew Pharaoh's pride would prevent him from doing so and used his sinfulness to create good.

Judas' sinful greed was used to give us the greatest gift of all, our salvation.

It goes back to the questions of "why some and not others?" The answer: Because it is all part of God's perfect plan for our salvation.

Gospel of Judas

Father Jonathan Morris is a blogger for FOX Fan Central. He is responding to comments made concerning his take on the Gospel of Judas. 

Original article is at : http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,191172,00.html

My comments concern an excerpt from Father Jonathan’s article at: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,191505,00.html

Dear Father Jonathan:

Perhaps you could help with a question regarding Judas that has really troubled me. I was always taught (I am Catholic), that we are born of free will. However, it seems to me like Judas was predestined to betray Jesus in order for Christ to be handed over. If this is correct, it doesn’t seem like Judas had free will and he was born for damnation. Your thoughts if you have a moment.

You do a very good job for FOX News.

— Laurie (Strongsville, OH)

RESPONSE: You must have listened well in Sunday school. Yes, we all have free will. In fact, it’s what makes us human. Here’s how I would explain a very difficult question: God is outside of time and knows everything. He knew before creating Judas, that he would be the traitor. But God’s “pre-knowing” doesn’t take away our capacity to choose. God knew, for example, that I would talk back to my mother. Did he make me do it? No. I was just ticked off and wanted her to know it.

The question immediately arises, if God knew Judas would betray Jesus, why did he create him? I don’t know. What we do know is if God is all-loving, somehow he has got to bring a greater good out of such evil. Christians believe the passion and death of Christ was the greater good. But where is the “greater good” for Judas? Is he in hell? I don’t know.

I accept Father Jonathan’s answer to a point. God’s foreknowledge does not take away our capacity to choose. However the topic of free will needs expanding on. 

Free will allows us to live an outwardly honorable life and to make choices among the things is comprehensible. Without the grace, help, and activity of the Holy Spirit we are not capable of making ourselves acceptable to God. Reason does not choose faith. Faith chooses us. Faith points out what we can not see and reason makes sense of the things we can. We have the freedom to choose among the works that reason can grasp. However, without the Holy Spirit human hearts have neither the fear of God nor trust in God nor the faith that God hears, forgives, helps, or saves them. When talking about free will we must make a distinguish between a civil righteousness and spiritual righteousness. 

Adam was not predestined to sin. King Saul was not predestined to fail. And Judas was not predestined to damnation. The question can not be answer is the cause why one person is saved, while another is not. God tells us that we must go and be a witness to others of Him. God does exist outside of time but he also is in time with us. God looks at me and see no sin. Our all knowing God forgives my sins and does not remember them. This does not make sense. There is nothing in us that moves God to predestinate anyone to salvation. Predestination does not explain Exodus 4:25-24 where the Lord was about to kill Moses if not for the actions of Zipporah. It does not explain Jonah 3:4 &10 where God spares Nineveh from destruction from his own hand. God earnestly desires to save all, and that we repeat. Those who are lost are lost by their own fault, because of their willful and persistent rejection of God’s grace. 

What would life be like if Adam had just come clean instead of making up an excuse for why he ate from the tree of knowledge? For blaming someone else for his actions? Would we view Judas in a different light if he’d repented like Peter?

Scriptures are able to make us wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus (2 Tim 3:15). The answer is found on the Cross. It is found in the wounds of Jesus. God looks at us through the lensed of Christ. The reform traditions (and apparently the Roman Catholics) emphasize the sovereignty of God. The Biblical (Lutheran) perspective is to focus on what God has done for us. 

The purpose of the Passover was to remind God’s people what God has done for them. God will free us, God will deliver us, God will redeem us, and God will takes us to be His people. This He has done through the work of Christ Jesus.

Grace & Peace,

- Curtis

Gospel of Judas

Ancient Manuscript Suggests Jesus Asked Judas to Betray Him
Thursday, April 06, 2006


WASHINGTON — An ancient manuscript rediscovered after 1,700 years
may shed new light on the relationship between Jesus and Judas, the
disciple who betrayed him.

Full article at: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,190826,00.html

My response:

I'm not sure why this article is making the headlines. I suspect it
is an attack on Christianity, the Church, and the Bible in
particular. It certainly is aimed at those of us who accept that
Scripture contains no errors or contradictions and that only the
canonical books of the Scriptures are to be regarded as inspired. The
folks who are making the fuse do not understand our convictions or
how Scripture was canonized.

What I find interesting is that the Gospel of Thomas and the Gospel
of Judas date back to the same era. Both these documents were
rejected as being inspired, because what is in them. All Scripture
bears witness to Jesus Christ and that its primary purpose is to
make men wise unto salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. If a
document has a different agenda then it was not included in the canon.

We find Apocrypha literature valuable. When Luther translated the
Bible he also include the apocrypha books in his translation. (Those
extra books found in the Roman Catholic Bibles). The German reformers
freely quoted from the Apocrypha. The Gospel of Barnabas, while
highly respected and canonical by some at one point is not in our
Bible today but I suspect more inline with the purpose of the
Scripture that Thomas or Judas. I think on one dimension the
interest in the Gospel of Judas is to say that the Church did not
examine this text and that is why it was not included. I'm saying
that the Church had the Gospel of Judas and rejected it and not
because it cast Judas in a different light but because it took us
away from Jesus on the Cross. The Gospel of Judas is not listed on
the Muratorian Fragment - the earliest listing we have of NT books
that dates back to 200AD, a time when the Gospel of Judas is thought
to have been in circulation.

It really changes nothing. I believe that God was at work when the
Bible was canonized. I still accept Scripture as the Inspired Word of
God and in Scripture Judas is described as the betrayer of Jesus. But
if you think about it, so are we all at some point in our faith walk
a betrayer of Jesus. To understand Judas's betrayal you have to look
at Peter's betrayal. Why is Peter looked upon in favor after he
denied even knowing Jesus? It has to be in the different way the two
men responded to their sin. My thought is that the betrayal that
condemned Judas occurs in Matthew 27:5 "... he went away and hanged
himself" and not the act of handing Jesus over to the temple guard.

Grace & Peace,
- Curtis

Gall in Matthew 27

Matthew 27:34 There they offered Jesus wine to drink, mixed with gall; but after tasting it, he refused to drink it. 

I'm reading this text and some questions come to mind. 

- Why is the reference to gall mentioned at all? Luke and John don't provide this detail and Mark doesn't call it Gall.

- Why does it say that, "after tasting it, he refused to drink it." The Son of God would know what was being offered .... wouldn't he?

If Gall is offered as a drug to the condemned to ease their way into death ---- after they just tortured a guy? Compassion seems out of place here but that could just be me. Why doesn't the text mentioned this drink being offered to the other two who were crucified with Jesus? Wouldn't that make it read something like this; "There they offered those to be crucified wine to drink, mixed with gall; but after tasting it, Jesus refused to drink it." But that's not what the text says. Perhaps there is more. Perhaps not. 

Consider this, Gall is a bitter, poisonous herb. It is also a term used to describe an unfaithfulness to God.

Deuteronomy 29:18 Make sure there is no man or woman, clan or tribe among you today whose heart turns away from the LORD our God to go and worship the gods of those nations; make sure there is no root among you that produces such bitter poison. 

Lamentations 3:19 I remember my affliction and my wandering, the bitterness and the gall. 

Could this Gall reference be something more? Could Matthew be saying that even here, at this time, Jesus would keep His faith and trust in God? There may not be a definitive answer but something I'll ponder.

Grace & Peace,

- Curtis

Life Lessons

We are surrounded by news of tragedy. Places far away are brought to us by mass communication and we see the pain of loss all around the world. It happens close to home too. We go to hospitals and visit friends and family. We go to funerals and share the grief of others. When it happens to us it doesn’t always seem real at first. We don’t wish pain on some one else. It’s just that it shouldn’t be us. In Job 7:16 we read: I despise my life; I would not live forever. Let me alone; my days have no meaning.
Job is complaining to God. He finally gets down to the question we all ask. He wants to know why. His wealth was gone. His health was ruined and worst of all, his children were killed in a calamity. Why did this have to happen, God? Why did this have to happen to me?
This isn’t what he really wanted. He really wanted to have it not be real. There is no explanation that will explain to a father why his ten children had to die. There is no “why” that fixes anything on this day.
So God does for Job what we wish He would do for us. He talks to him face to face. He never tells Job why. He does explain life. Here is what we learn from this conversation with God.
1. God is in charge of every detail of our lives.
2. He has reason and purpose beyond what we can see or understand.
3. Adversity is not a mark of God’s anger at our actions. We don’t have to measure up. He comes down to us. It’s His gift to us.
4. The only real fix for loss waits for us in heaven.

What do DCEs do?

Teach confirmation and Bible Class. This appears to be the answer we usually hear. What would you add?

What Does a Pastor Do?

Pastors are often kidded about working one day a week. What do you think they do the rest of the week?