Sunday Morning, Singapore

This morning, while visiting in Singapore, I went with Jim & Monica Davis to the Living Praise Presbyterian Church on the northeast side of the country.  We took the Red Line from the west side of the island north through Woodlands, not far from Malaysia, and then around to the northeast where we got off at the Bishan MRT.  We walked Bishan Street 13 for half a mile, finding the church in among the buildings of the Kuo Chuan Presbyterian Primary School.

We had been invited by friends David and Deb Walker, staff with One Challenge Singapore. There are two churches which meet within the Presbyterian school, so I was not sure I was in the right place until I was greeted by David Lin, one of the church elders.  Jan and I had met David before, and he greeted me warmly and quickly took our group to meet our hosts.

I was pleased to learn that this Sunday was a special joint Mandarin-English service.  The church was accepting new members and installing a new elder and deacon and so the Mandarin and English halves had come together in a single service to worship together.  I am aware of the importance of worshiping God in one's own tongue and I am grateful for a Mandarin-English church in The Woodlands in Texas that ministered to one of our university students back in Huntsville.  It was fun to sing in English, while listening to other sing in Mandarin and I am sure one has to carefully pick hymns that will allow both tongues to sing together!

After the service, we had a wonderful lunch with the church body.  Yes, ministry is facilitated by good food and conversation!

I attach (I hope) a short video of the church singing one of the hymns.

The Afterlife

In a related blog, I've been working my way through the New Testament, chapter by chapter. There we are just finishing I Corinthians.

The end of Paul's first letter to the Corinthians is a suitable place to explore Paul's description of the afterlife.  Paul insists that he saw Jesus after his crucifixion and resurrection and claims some 500 others did also.  Paul insists the belief in the resurrection is central to his faith in the Jewish Messiah, Jesus.

Paul then goes on to claim that there will be a final Resurrection of the dead and a "celestial body", a true physical body, but in many ways different from the current earthly one.  How this occurs is unknown and probably unknowable.  Christians have added layers to this interpretation since then.

Central to the theology of the afterlife, within Christianity, is a belief that there will be an afterlife and that one's part in the afterlife is linked to one's response to Jesus is this one.  After this, the viewpoints begin to diverge.  Do those who reject Jesus go on to a place of conscious torment, often called Hell?  Is Hell/Hades a place of annihilation, of a continuance of death and the end of existence?  Is there some type of "cleansing" place of Purgatory? (See here, here and here, as part of a book review on the Jesus Creed blog by Scot McKnight, of the book Four Views on Hell.)

Does one, after death, immediately move into a conscious state, with the soul separated but conscious and aware? Or does life require a body and so after death one "sleeps", unaware, until recreated in the final Resurrection?  The Jesus Creed blog has a brief discussion on that also.

Of course, there is a wide-ranging article on the afterlife at Wikipedia.

I have my own opinions on this ... but the only one I will share here is this: like Paul, I believe (and hope) there will be a Resurrection.  After that, it is OK to not be sure about any of the many views on how the afterlife will occur. One can have doubts.  One should ask questions about the form it takes and whether our existence, as Scot McKnight asks, is "separation of soul and body (dualism)" or "physicality."

We will all find out soon enough....

Next week, on that blog, we will begin studying my favorite gospel, The Gospel of Mark.

Disputing Baptism

In the blog A Year in the New Testament, I've been working my ways through Paul's "first" letter to the church in Corinth....

In the opening chapter of Paul's first letter to the church in Corinth, we see a dispute in the Corinthian church about baptism.  Although the details of the dispute have changed, disputing baptism continues to be a Christian "hobby" even today. This is regretful.

The dispute in Corinth was over which leaders to follow and this was marked by one's choice of baptism.  One person says, "I was baptized by Apollos" and another says, "I was baptized by Peter!" Paul confronts this by emphasizing that each of these individuals, including himself, are working together, ministering in various ways.  One apostle "plants the seeds", another "waters the crops". How then can any one individual claim full responsibility for the bountiful crops?

In recent centuries the dispute has not been over WHO did the baptism, but HOW it was done.  The dispute has been over the mode of baptism.  I was a member of one church where one MUST be baptized, by immersion, as a believing adult. If one had been baptized as a child (as I was) then one MUST be rebaptized.

I was also a member of another church where baptism of infants was the norm and the baptism was "sprinkling", that is, placing water on the infant's forehead. Adult believers who had been baptized as children could make a commit of renewal in a certain manner, but one was NEVER baptized a second time.

In the first church (a Baptist church), the pastor told a Sunday School class, "I have never met a sincere Bible scholar who believes in infant baptism."  A year later I (while on a sabbatical visit) I was in another church (a Presbyterian church) in which the pastor said essentially the exact opposite, "Serious students of the Bible recognize that baptism is a sign of the covenant, like Jewish circumcision, and it has always been practiced with infants."

What would happen if we put those two pastors in the same room together and locked the door? Would it lead to some type of reconciliation? A friend, upon hearing this tale, said wisely, "Those statements say more about the social circles of the two pastors than it does about theology."

Although the dispute has changed, the application of I Corinthians is straightforward.  Paul is almost dismissive of baptism.  Yes, it is important, but he is happy that he did not baptize anyone!  Then he pauses and says, "Well, except for Crispus and Gaius. Oh, wait, also the family of Stephanos.  Hmm, after that, I don't recall if I baptized others."  He downplays the rite, as it has become divisive.  He certainly does not bother to give any instructions on how baptism should be done!

We should follow Paul's example.  Baptism is an important public statement of membership in the Kingdom of God.  Practice it in that manner.  Let us be welcoming of all others who attest to this membership, regardless of the form of that initiation ceremony!

Wikipedia, of course, has a good article on baptism.  If you read that, note the discussion on the mode of baptism in the early centuries of the young church.

The letter to the church in Corinth does describe the mode of another "sacrament", that of communion. (See I Corinthians 11: 23-26.)  This too we need to practice regularly and in common with other Christians.

We will return to our study of I Corinthians tomorrow at that sister blog....

A Perfect Church

Jan and I have been visiting a church in The Woodlands.  They say, "There is no perfect church." A corollary to this is, "If you find one, don't join it, as you will ruin it!"

Still ... Jan suggested that I try out this church's Brew Night, a "guys night out" event in College Park, at the north end of The Woodlands.  The event is at a restaurant only 35 miles from Huntsville and just off the interstate, so just a 30-minute drive.  Maybe, Jan hopes, I can find some Christian guys who like beer, soccer and (maybe even) are interested in scientific/mathy things.

So last night I drove to Wings 'N More for a 6:30 pm Men's "Brew Night".  I tried to keep my expectations low. I am often uncomfortable with the "pseudo-religiosity" I see in various church events.  I got to the restaurant at 6:30 but there was already a table of about a dozen men, with big goblets of Shiner beer.  I ordered a goblet (16-20 ounces) of Shiner and a plate of wings.  I met Todd (Pastor of Community Life) and I chatted a little about small groups.  Todd made me feel welcome, as did Jim, Damon, Matt, Kyle (Pastor of Children's Ministries) and the senior pastor (David.)  All had big goblets of Shiner and were clearly enjoying this monthly get-together.

"So", Todd explains to me, "we do this on a monthly basis.  But sometimes we do a brewery tour, visiting Southern Star or B-52 or... " (he names a third local brewery that I've since forgotten.)  "Or we go to a soccer game."

Soccer!  Brewery tours!  This is too good to be true.  (And the pastor got a bachelors degree in Computer Science!)  I text Jan about the beer and soccer.

She writes back, "I think you're making this up!"  She adds, "They are probably just leading you on!" (She also reminds me that I have to drive home -- on I-45 -- and sends a smiley face.)

Shortly after that, the talk turns to dogs.  Todd and his wife have two.  Kyle has one, staying in St. Louis while he and his family live in an apartment.  Four of us spend 45 minutes telling dog stories. Then, in the warmth of the beer, spicy food and warm conversation, I walk out to my car.

Sitting in my car, I notice a text message from Jan, about 45 minutes old.  I had not seen it until then.

BUT, do they like dogs?!...  ;-)

She adds, "That is the real question!"

I knew she wouldn't believe me when I told her....

(Pericopes of Peter) Mark 3: 20-35, Jesus's Family

Jesus has just appointed twelve men to be his followers, his disciples.

Mark 3: 20-30
Then Jesus entered a house, and again a crowd gathered, so that he and his disciples were not even able to eat. When his family heard about this, they went to take charge of him, for they said, "He is out of his mind."

And the teachers of the law who came down from Jerusalem said, "He is possessed by Beelzebub! By the prince of demons he is driving out demons."

So Jesus called them and spoke to them in parables: "How can Satan drive out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. And if Satan opposes himself and is divided, he cannot stand; his end has come. In fact, no one can enter a strong man's house and carry off his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man. Then he can rob his house.

"I tell you the truth, all the sins and blasphemies of men will be forgiven them. But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; he is guilty of an eternal sin."

He said this because they were saying, "He has an evil spirit."

There are several forms of rejection here.  What are they?

Couldn’t Satan fool people by pretending to be on the wrong side, by driving out demons?  (I don’t completely understand Jesus’ answer.)

Mark 3: 31-35
Then Jesus' mother and brothers arrived. Standing outside, they sent someone in to call him. A crowd was sitting around him, and they told him, "Your mother and brothers are outside looking for you."

"Who are my mother and my brothers?" he asked. Then he looked at those seated in a circle around him and said, "Here are my mother and my brothers! Whoever does God's will is my brother and sister and mother."

But Jesus responds.  What are his priorities?  Ours?  How practical is this, how do we apply it?

(Pericopes of Peter) Mark 3:1-19, Disciples Chosen

Jesus has recently had a dispute with the Pharisees over the Sabbath.  Here another dispute arises, based on another healing.

Mark 3: 1-6
Another time he went into the synagogue, and a man with a shriveled hand was there. Some of them were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, so they watched him closely to see if he would heal him on the Sabbath.

Jesus said to the man with the shriveled hand, "Stand up in front of everyone." Then Jesus asked them, "Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?" But they remained silent.

 He looked around at them in anger and, deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts, said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." He stretched it out, and his hand was completely restored. Then the Pharisees went out and began to plot with the Herodians how they might kill Jesus.

Why is Jesus' angry?  He seems surprised.

What is the response of the Pharisees?  (Who are the Herodians?  What is the relevance of the collaboration between Pharisees and Herodians?)

Mark 3: 7-12
Jesus withdrew with his disciples to the lake, and a large crowd from Galilee followed. When they heard all he was doing, many people came to him from Judea, Jerusalem, Idumea, and the regions across the Jordan and around Tyre and Sidon. Because of the crowd he told his disciples to have a small boat ready for him, to keep the people from crowding him. For he had healed many, so that those with diseases were pushing forward to touch him.

Whenever the evil spirits saw him, they fell down before him and cried out, "You are the Son of God." But he gave them strict orders not to tell who he was.

Why are the crowds coming?

Where are they coming from? (Look at an atlas.)

What is the reason for the boat?  (Explain.  Note that Mark says very little in the way of explanation.)

Why does he give these strict orders?  Why do those he heals disobey it?

Mark 3: 13-19
Jesus went up on a mountainside and called to him those he wanted, and they came to him. He appointed twelve--designating them apostles --that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach and to have authority to drive out demons.

These are the twelve he appointed: Simon (to whom he gave the name Peter); James son of Zebedee and his brother John (to them he gave the name Boanerges, which means Sons of Thunder); Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.

What is the point of this section?  Why?

Why are there 12?  (What is the significance of this number?)

  NIV footnotes on verse 14: Some ancient manuscripts do not have "designating them apostles".

(Pericopes of Peter) Mark 2:13-28, Religion and the Broken

Jesus continues his ministry along the shore of Galilee.

Mark 2:13-17
Once again Jesus went out beside the lake. A large crowd came to him, and he began to teach them. As he walked along, he saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax collector's booth. "Follow me," Jesus told him, and Levi got up and followed him.  While Jesus was having dinner at Levi's house, many tax collectors and "sinners" were eating with him and his disciples, for there were many who followed him. 

When the teachers of the law who were Pharisees saw him eating with the "sinners" and tax collectors, they asked his disciples: "Why does he eat with tax collectors and `sinners'?"

On hearing this, Jesus said to them, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners."

Jesus continues to reach out to the broken and downtrodden, unlike the religious leaders who tend to push those people away.  This is a major theme in the gospels – Jesus (and Christianity) is for the weak, not the strong!

Sometime ago I read a post by a Muslim teacher on why Islam was better than Christianity.  The main idea of his post was this: Mohammed surrounded himself with powerful men; Jesus surrounded himself with weaklings!  "Look at Peter, for example," the Muslim evangelist said.  The disciples of Jesus were worthless, according to that Islamic teacher.  How true.  But there is Christianity in a nutshell – Jesus reached out to people who need a Savior (and know it), to people who are broken and hurting.

A note -- Levi, son of Alphaeus, is also called Matthew.

Mark 2:18-22

Now John's disciples and the Pharisees were fasting. Some people came and asked Jesus, "How is it that John's disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees are fasting, but yours are not?"

Jesus answered, "How can the guests of the bridegroom fast while he is with them? They cannot, so long as they have him with them.  But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them, and on that day they will fast.

"No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. If he does, the new piece will pull away from the old, making the tear worse.  And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the wineskins will be ruined. No, he pours new wine into new wineskins."

Who is fasting?  Why do you think Jesus is asked this question?

The fasting of John's disciples gave a veneer of religious commitment.  Apparently the disciples of Jesus, following their master, were not as committed, were not as "religious" as those of John!  The outside observers wondered about this.

What is Jesus’ response?  What does this mean? What is the stuff about the new garment, old wineskins, mean?

Mark 2:23-28
One Sabbath Jesus was going through the grainfields, and as his disciples walked along, they began to pick some heads of grain.  The Pharisees said to him, "Look, why are they doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?"

He answered, "Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry and in need? In the days of Abiathar the high priest, he entered the house of God and ate the consecrated bread, which is lawful only for priests to eat. And he also gave some to his companions."

Then he said to them, "The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.  So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath."

What do the Pharisees ask?  Why do you think they ask this?  What is their motive?

What is Jesus’ response?  (What does this mean?)

How is this similar to the fasting incident?  What is really going on here?

Note the phrase, "Son of Man".  This is a Messianic term; Jesus is identifying himself as Messiah.