House Church Talk - Re: New Testament era literacy rate

[Mike Sangrey]

Dan's posting is probably quite a surprise to many.  From my research,
what he quotes here is pretty much spot on.  So, to those who have a
real struggle accepting the implications, please allow me to suggest you
think about it for a little.  Don't just reject it out of hand.

Why on earth would the Roman government care about a Jewish sect
following some dead guy (at least that's what they would have thought),
a group which spoke of obedience to authorities, wholesome family
values, non-resistant, and non-violent.  Why would they haul one of
their leaders off and lock him in prison (Paul).  Why would people claim
Paul was advocating things Romans weren't allowed to do (cf Acts 16:21,
17:7)  Why on earth were the evangelists of the time getting into
trouble with Rome?  Let's not read our own modern forms and structures
and symbols back into the 1st century.  Let's let THAT environment help
us understand what was going on.  Wasn't this Roman reaction because
Christians were saying a new King had arrived and even Caesar would have
to bow before him?  Isn't this especially true when the fastest growing
religion of the time (except perhaps Christianity) was the worship of
Caesar?  People HAD to choose--is Caesar king?  Or is Jesus?

What does it mean to "go into all the world and preach the gospel" if it
doesn't mean to tell them that Jesus is Lord--here and now and
forevermore?  Doesn't Jesus' lordship mean nothing if it doesn't mean
something where I'm at now?  Is He lord over all time?  Or is it just in
the future?

Just exactly what part of our lives and the lives of those around us
isn't to be brought under the loving Lordship of Jesus, the Messiah?

Isn't He Lord of all?

On Wed, 2003-10-01 at 13:48, DanG wrote:
> Here are a few other words with political meanings which we take as purely religious today.  I
> find these things to be very interesting, but perhaps open to debate as they are part of
> history versus part of truth.  While we value history, there is an element of history which can
> be a lie, whereas truth is truth.
> Dan ChicagoArea

<snip>

-- 
Mike Sangrey
msangrey at BlueFeltHat.org
Landisburg, Pa.
                        "The first one last wins."
            "A net of highly cohesive details reveals the truth."